The Only Gift That I Need
Summary: Danny and Sam are faced with the idea of Christmas apart but Danny has other plans.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does. I do not own Only Gift that I Need, Dashboard Confessional does.
Dedication: This one is going out to Obi-quiet for being so supportive of me lately! Obi, you're an amazing fan and I enjoy talking to you.
Author's note: Want to hear the song? Http : / music / resource / TheOnlyGiftThatINeed . mp3 Just delete the spaces!
Danny resisted the urge to slam his head into the wall of his and Sam's. "I'm sorry," Sam said through the phone for the ninth time. "It's just this is a one time opportunity, Danny."
He almost growled. "Sam, this internship was supposed to be over Spring break. Not Christmas. You promised when you couldn't come home this summer that there was nothing that would stop you from coming home for Christmas."
"Do you think I asked for this? They told me if I want this job this is when they'll take me. I'm really sorry, Danny. I'd give anything to be home for Christmas."
Danny shifted the phone against his ear. "Wouldn't anything entail telling them 'No, I'm sorry. I'm supposed to go home and spend Christmas with my husband who I haven't seen since Thanksgiving and even then, only for two days!'?"
They sat there for a moment neither one of them speaking. It was killing Danny to be arguing with her, especially when they hadn't seen each other in forever. "I'm sorry that you hate me," she bit out.
He sighed, suddenly weary of this whole situation. "I don't hate you, you know that. I'm just frustrated and I'm taking it out on you. This is the job you've always dreamed of. I should be shot if I made you give it up for me."
"I promised I'll come home as soon as I can. Danny, I have to go or I'm going to be late for my accounting final."
He sighed, forcing a weak smile. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"
"I'll be online about nine o'clock tonight."
He glanced at the clock. "Your time or mine?"
"Your's. I'll see you on okay?"
He ran a hand through his hair glancing at the book for art appreciation that he was supposed to be going through for his ten o'clock final tomorrow. "Sure. I love you. Good luck on your final."
She laughed through the phone, but instead of making him feel better it reminded him that he wasn't seeing her in two days. Suddenly, Christmas seemed much bleaker. "Thanks I'm going to need it. Love you too. Bye." And with that the call ended. Danny tossed the cell phone angrily at the desk. When Sam had accepted a scholarship to a school three states away, he knew that it would be hard to have a wife several states away but going this long with only phone calls and emails was rubbing on him.
The two of them had gotten married less than a month after graduation. It worried both their parents that they were making this commitment so young but everyone else seemed to think it was about time. Sam had wanted to major in business marketing, insisting she wanted to fix corporate America from the inside out, and Danny felt that going into science and studying the paranormal was one of the few things he could actually excel at. Sam had gotten in her basic curriculum at Usher College, where Danny was still attending, then transferred to a school with a better program.
He glared at his The Marvels of European Renascence Artist as if his ten o'clock was the reason his spouse wasn't coming home. He let out a frustrated sigh and dropped back down onto his bed. This was just getting worse as the day went on. He reached over to the little nightstand next to his bed, hardly big enough for the lamp and digital alarm clock that sat upon it.
He felt around without looking over until his hand closed around the handle for the drawer. He pulled it open and felt around deftly for the little box in the right corner that he knew was there. He opened the box. The little ring was modest but he hadn't had the money in high school to get her one. And he was to busy hunting ghost to get a job to pay for one. It was a vicious cycle.
Upon the light hitting it, it seemed to glitter more brightly than the day he picked it out. He felt sick. It was as if that stupid little stone that he'd spent his past three months savings on was mocking him. He had been eating nothing but generic cereal for almost all of the first semester of his Senior year so that he would have a ring he was actually proud to give her. Something that reminded him of her, that he looked at and just thought that was perfect.
It was supposed to be perfect. He slammed his head back into the pillow, snapping shut the black velvet ring box. He was so disgusted with himself. He couldn't even plan to make up for his mistakes without life stabbing him in the back. Sometimes he really, really wished he was just like everyone else...
You'll be leaving' for the winter
but I'll concede that it's true
It's the right thing for you
but it's tough to be moved with the holiday spirit
And to tell you the truth
I had big plans for Christmas and high hopes for you
Sam dropped the suitcase into the alcove by the door of the hotel room. The company was putting her up here. She had to admit it wasn't terrible, not by a long shot, but she had stayed at much better. She sighed. Why was she even here? She should be at home. But this was a job she'd been wanting for forever something that Sam could actually see herself doing and happy for the rest of her life. And of course, in order to be happy for the rest of her life, she was spending December 23 alone in this hotel room.
She fell back onto the cheep comforter feeling horrible. Having to take summer semester so that she could make up the six hours of credit that wouldn't transfer and get ahead of the others had seemed like such a good idea at the time. But then she had figured she was going home for Christmas and that that would make up for it. Danny had to work this summer anyway. Maybe it would have been easier on them both if they had just waited till after college to get married, like everyone had been suggesting. She sighed. Thinking negatively wasn't going to help. It was Christmas time, after all.
She let her gaze drift to the little bit of scenery that was visible from her window. Visions of skyscrapers and concrete drifted back to her. There wasn't even any snow. It just made the whole thing seem less like the magical time that she had associated with Christmas the past two years. They had been a starting of couple in a lousy apartment on a half-decent side of town; the kind of neighborhood that would have a nice house next to a run-down one. But it was a neighborhood that Danny felt comfortable to leave Sam home alone in and they could still afford the rent on two part time jobs.
Sam sighed. Their first Christmas together had come only weeks after finalizing everything on the apartment. The day after Christmas was when the carpet was set to be installed. So Christmas eve and Christmas day had been spent painting all of the four rooms in the meager little apartment and getting into paint-fights when the opportunity arose.
The next year Danny and Sam were the uncle and aunt of a beautiful baby girl and Jazz couldn't of been doing better. It was the baby that was the question. She was a very sickly little baby. And it was around Christmas that Jazz's husband had gone on business so the Fenton kids, Sam and little baby Alisa had been ordered to spend the Christmas with Jack and Maddie so everyone could help out on baby duty. Danny had been the star at it though. Maybe it was because her dad wasn't there but for some reason Alisa really took a shine to her uncle.
It was a blessing in disguise. Jazz needed the break after a week of taking care of the baby herself. But it had been in that week that Sam had realized just how great a father Danny was going to be. It was a good thing, too. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of a mother she'd make. But Danny just loved kids and kids loved him. They'd discussed the subject and decided they would wait until after college. Sam sighed looking over at the mirror across from the bed. Her reflection stared back, pale and tired looking. Wouldn't it be wonderful if for once their lives went according to plan?
I want you here by my side
Cold nights and fires and white wine
And dreams of holidays to come
But I'll wait for spring to bring you to me
The only gift that I need
Danny couldn't believe that he was actually doing this. But sitting their talking to her tonight, he was realizing how selfish he was being. How come she was always the one who had to come home? How come he hardly ever went to see her. Because Sam's parents would pay for her to fly back and Danny and Sam's budget couldn't afford for the ticket to come out of savings. But he had decided in that instant that the only gift he had wanted this year was to have Sam home. And if Mohammed couldn't go to the mountain, the mountain would come to Mohammed.
Danny leaned back in the chair and glanced out the window at the darkened country side below. If there wasn't a wind chill of negative twenty tonight he would have just flown. But when his parents had called and asked one last time if he wanted anything for Christmas, this time he did ask for something. The plane ticket had probably been more than they were expecting him to ask for but it had been all he'd wanted. His mom was always a sap for romantic movies and had mentally warped this into some moment off Sleepless in Seattle rather than a simple trip to see Sam.
Sam had no idea. It been killing him to talk to her all night knowing that he was taking the red-eye flight out to see her and not drop any hints. He wanted this to be a totally surprise. Sam disserved it. She was already stressing over every aspect of this internship. Last night, a half-hour of their conversation was spent expressing exactly what she wanted to say to her boss about his work ethics. Danny smiled. She sure knew how to make the holidays interesting.
Phone calls and emails were the highlight of his life anymore. That seemed almost pathetic, that he was married and the thing he looked forward to the most was cards, letters, emails, and phone calls. But even if it was the highlight of his life it was the days that she actually came home that made it worth living. It was hard living in their apartment without her. The 22-year-old sighed. He thought that for someone who dealt with the paranormal as often as him, a simple memory filled apartment wouldn't fazed him.
He couldn't wait to have her back home. But strangely it was the littler things that made him miss her the most. The way Sam could never stand the coffee table at an angle so he would give it a little nudge every time he walked by. He missed the way she would hum to herself when she was tired and half the time didn't even notice. It wasn't the big things he noticed; it was always the little ones. But at least he noticed things; that was one step up from his dad.
Despite all the hardships, the fact that neither of them could cook, and they were barely making ends meet, he never regretted for a moment marrying her. Even if he had only got to see her for a few days at Thanksgiving and an occasional weekend this summer, Sam was still his angel. He couldn't imagine surviving any of this without her. He knew that they weren't out of the woods yet, things would probably get worse before they got better. But at least it was Sam he had to go through it all with.
I'll be living off your phone calls and your letters and your postcards
Every single word is like a secret wish come true
Well, who cares if we're apart for the big days
It's the small ones that made me fall in love with you
The cell phone split the silence in the darkened room. A hand came out and smacked at the cell phone a few times before her fingers started to function and she managed to grasp the object. Sam pressed it against her ear, raising her head briefly. "Hello?"
Danny's laughter floated out of the receiver. "Good morning, sunshine." God, she hated how he was a morning person. "Wakie, wakie; eggs and bakie."
Sam fell back onto her stomach and turned her face sideways so she could still talk. "Fenton, if you say another word to me, I swear you're a dead man."
"Aw, come on, Sammy!" He whined, still overly cheerful. "It's Christmas Eve, your loving husband decided to be the first thought on your mind—"
"The first thought that crossed my mind was 'I'm going to kill whoever's on the phone.'" Sam yawned into the phone, closing her eyes and snuggling slightly into the pillow. "What time is it anyway?"
She could almost hear him grin. "Six fifteen."
Sam groaned. "Six fift—As soon as I see you, Daniel James Fenton, you're a dead man." She opened her mouth to continue the threat but was cut off by a pounding at the door. "God, there is someone else out there as stupid as you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She smiled just picturing the overly confused look on his face.
She dropped her voice to a whisper. "There's somebody at the door."
There was a moment of silence. "Do I want to know why you have people at your door at six o'clock in the morning?"
Sam grinned. "It's probably my Latin lover, Carlos." Sam emphasized the name, pronouncing it in almost perfect Spanish and rolling the 'r' just to spite her husband. Danny just laughed. "No es comico. Quiero Carlos. El es mi hombre. No necesito tu."
"Sam!" he protested over her laughing. "That's not fair. You know I can't understand a word of that!"
Sam smiled swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "That's what you get for dropping foreign language! You should have stuck with it, not just Spanish one."
He snorted. "Oh, like you're much better! You only took it till Spanish three."
Sam opened her mouth to retort but was cut of by another round of knocking on the door. "Danny, I don't think this person is going to go away."
"Maybe you should just open it," he suggested, smirk resounding in his voice.
Sam padded over to look through the little viewing whole on the door. "Sure I'm going to just invite some random stranger in for Christmas Eve break—" The conversation ended abruptly with the cell phone falling to the carpet.
Sam flung open the door to see Danny standing there cell phone against his ear, smile plastered across his face. Sam let out a scream and launched herself at him. He dropped his cell phone and caught her deftly, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Happy two-days-till-boxing-day, Sammy," he whispered.
Sam let out a laugh, smile still prominent. She buried her face in his neck, breathing in. "Dork," she whispered back.
He drew back slightly. "Hey! I just traveled all the way here to get called names. That's not very nice."
She grinned, "I'm not very nice." She bent over to grab his cell phone, switching it off. She stood back up and just stared into blue eyes for a moment or two. "Merry Christmas, Danny," she said softly smile on her face.
Danny flashed her that little boy grin that she loved. "Merry Christmas, Sammy." His grin widened. "Is this the part where you kill me for waking you up now?"
I want you here by my side
Cold nights and fires and white wine
And dreams of holidays to come
And I can't wait for spring to bring you to me
The only gift that I need
"I can't believe that you're actually here," Sam murmured from the couch, curled up watching some version of the Christmas Carol. It could have been the Muppet one for all she cared at the moment. Danny was sitting over at the rooms table working on something on a piece of paper with a pen. He looked over his shoulder and flashed her a grin before going back to working on whatever it was. "What in the world are you doing?"
Sam twisted her ring and smiled again. The two silver bands twisted together never separating except for where the diamond was set in between them. It was gorgeous and she adored the symbolism behind it. She sighed snuggling into the couch before look over to Danny for a reply. He smiled at her, obviously just watching her. . It had been a perfect day, and tomorrow when they woke up it would be Christmas could life get any better?
"Making us a Christmas tree," he replied. "Wanna help me decorate it?"
Sam looked over at him. "Please tell me you're joking." Danny's hand stilled and his eyes flashed with disappointment. Remorse instantly washed over her. She reached over to her nightstand and picked up one of the hotel issued pins that was next to the phone. She got up and crossed over to where he was. She dropped lightly into his lap. "What do I do?" she asked looked down at the cookie-cutter type tree.
"Draw an ornament; we'll take turns." He smiled drawing a simple little about halfway up the tree. Sam in turn drew a little heart-shaped one. "Cute."
She smiled, turning slightly in his lap to face him better. "Well, all yours are boring circles." He pocked her lightly in the side with the other end of his pen before drawing another boring circle. "This isn't bad."
"How could it be? We're together for Christmas."
Sam grinned, a twinkle lighting up her violet eyes. "My turn," she said. Reaching over to the paper she drew a little circle with a handle on it.
She turned to watch her husband's reaction. Danny stared at it for a moment, brows knitted together. "What's that supposed to be?"
Sam bit her lip, not sure whether to be nervous or fighting a smile. "It's a baby rattle."
Bright blue eyes widened in surprise. "Why'd you draw that?"
A small smile curved her lip as she slipped her hand into his. "You're a science major. You try and figure it out."
The only gift that I need
The only gift that I need
The only gift that I need
