Chapter 8

I'm so SORRY about the wait for this guys! I know you all probably hate me now and I'm more sorry than you can even imagine, but I had such writer's block on this story, I couldn't even describe it to you. It was awful! Part of this chapter also may seem rushed. It's supposed to be that way. The pace is supposed to be urgent and fast. You'll see why.

Anyway, there is one person in particular who has helped me SO much I can't even begin to thank her. Me the Anon One, better known as Nonny. I love you, Nonny! You're so amazing! All the rest of you, go read her fic "Cupid's Curse" because it is utterly fantastic!

So because Nonny is so amazing, she gets a little cameo with me in this chapter. You'll see it. It actually serves a pseudo-purpose.

Sam practically floated back to her room and fell onto her bed as if she were falling back onto a cloud and sighed. She blinked for a moment, realizing how out of character she was acting… and then decided that she really didn't care. She'd realized she was in love and the boy she was in love with loved her too, so who the hell cared how she acted.

"Sam?" Madison asked. "What happened?"

Sam sighed again almost as though she hadn't heard the maid. "He loves me…"

"Who?" Cherry asked.

Madison rolled her eyes. "Always dense, aren't you Cherry? The prince!" Then she turned back to Sam.

"That's so great!" She paused. "Oh, by the way Sam, Dr. Li came by looking for you. He said that he would be back soon to take some tests."

Cherry smiled almost blissfully. "You know, Sam, that doctor of yours is pretty cute…" Madison rolled her eyes.

Sam's face paled at what Madison had said. The one thing that could mess up her perfect ending. The one thing she hadn't told Danny. Her illness. "Right."

"Do you want us to wait with you?" Cherry asked.

Sam shook her head and smiled. "No, you guys can go… but don't tell anyone."

"About what the prince told you?"

Sam blinked for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah… that. And not about Dr. Li either, please."

Cherry and Madison bowed. "Of course, Sam. Our lips are sealed." The two maids left.

Sam sat down on her bed for awhile and waited. Oh, how she wished she wasn't sick. Why her? Why did it have to be her? Not that she wished her illness on anyone… but still. It seemed as though the universe were conspiring against her and Danny. Danny… why did he have to be so damn wonderful? Why did she have to be so in love with him and he with her? She used to think that dying would have been okay, that she'd finally be rid of everyone that she hated so much, that no one would really miss her. But now, now she had friends. She had Tucker and Jazz and Cherry and Madison. And she had a lover. Danny. She didn't want to leave him… she'd give anything if only she didn't have to die…

A little while later, Dr. Li knocked on Sam's door. "Samantha, it's Dr. Li, may I come in?"

"Yeah, come on in."

Dr. Li smiled warmly at Sam, just as he always did when he saw her. "How are you feeling today?"

Sam beamed at him, for the first time ever. "I'm really great," she answered. "I don't feel tired and… something really good happened with the prince…"

Slightly taken aback for a moment by the display of actual happiness he'd just received, Dr. Li shook his head and smiled back at the princess. "That's wonderful, Samantha."

"So, what's up?"

"Well, I ran a few tests on your blood… and… I found something very peculiar."

"Really, what?"

"I've known you since the very moment you were born, Samantha and until you came here to Amity, it had never occurred to me to test for this before, but-"

"GHOSTS!" came a sudden faint, but bellowing cry from deep in the hallways.

Dr. Li turned toward the door with a puzzled look on his face.

Sam smiled. "Don't mind that. That was just the King."

Dr. Li shook his head again to clear it and went on. "As I'm sure you're now aware, Amity is infested with ghosts," the doctor said, a bit superfluously. "So, I tested a sample of your blood taken after you came here and found something very strange."

"Well?"

"Some of your white blood cells are being eaten up by a form of toxic ectoplasm. Then, I wanted to make sure of whether the ectoplasm was just because you came here and were affected somehow, or if it had been this way for awhile… and I found something even stranger. As far as I can tell, Samantha, you've had this little ghostly invader since the time you were born."

"Well, is there anyway to cure it?"

"Unfortunately, no. Although, if a cure does come, it will come from this very palace. Queen Madelyn has made extraordinary advances in the field of ectoplasmic diseases… so it appears that it would not behoove you to go home," Dr. Li smiled more warmly.

"So… it's still killing me… but at least we know what's going on now, right?"

"Right, which means I can administer better palliative care… there are certain medicines that will slow the spread of the ectoplasm… invented, actually, by Queen Madelyn. I would like to inform her of your illness because I think it could benefit her research and help you immensely, but I didn't want to do that unless you said it was okay because I also know that she might tell the Prince, even accidentally," Dr. Li paused. "And I gather you don't want him to know."

"I don't." Sam thought for a moment. "Could you maybe just tell her you have a certain patient and give her my blood samples or something."

"I could… but it would still be more beneficial to let her see and speak to you in person."

"I know, Dr. Li, but I don't want her to think that I might be unfit to rule the kingdom… I mean, I know I probably won't live long enough to become queen of anything, but I'm not giving up…" Sam sighed. "And I don't want her to tell Danny."

Dr. Li smiled. "Of course, Samantha. I understand." He handed her a few bottles of pills. "Take these as the bottles tell you to. They're the new palliative treatments, okay? They should make you feel a lot better, but call me if you get sick again."

"Yeah, I will," and then, for the first time ever, Sam embraced her doctor. The man who had been caring for her since before she was born, the man who was more like a father to her than her own. "Thank you."

Dr. Li was surprised at first, but hugged Sam back. "You don't ever have to thank me, Sam." He smiled as the nickname she'd been begging him to call her for years rolled off his tongue for the first time.

"You're going to be okay. You're strong."

Sam released him and smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Li," she said again, even though he'd told her she didn't have to, "I don't know where I'd be without you…" the princess confessed in a rare moment of softness. Outside of being with Danny, she didn't like to confess dependence, and even with Danny… she still wanted to be her own person.

Dr. Li smiled warmly at her and for a moment, Sam wished that she had been born his daughter and not the daughter of her parents. She chuckled to herself as she realized that that would have been impossible. Dr. Li was a confirmed bachelor. He was not young, but certainly not old and quite handsome, but… he was still a bachelor nonetheless. "I'll see you later, Sam." He smiled again and left.

"My lady, the Prince requests entrance," the computer lit up about five minutes after Dr. Li left.

"Let him in," Sam said, her smile widening.

Danny came in and immediately wrapped Sam in his arms and locked her in a passionate kiss. His hands massaged her back almost roughly as he pulled her closer to himself.

Sam pushed him away gently. "Well, hello to you too," she grinned.

Danny looked at her for less than a second. "Hi," he said shortly before kissing her again, green eyes alight before they closed. He moved his lips with gleeful intensity against hers, slowly prying open her mouth until he slipped his tongue between her lips. It was the first time they'd kissed since he'd told her he loved her and vice versa and somehow, now, kissing her was even better. He heard her moan softly against his kiss and he pulled her closer to him as though wanting to overshadow her, but not quite. Plainly and simply, he couldn't get enough of her.

Sam had barely even noticed that they'd moved until the back of her knees hit the edge of her bed. To be honest, she didn't really mind when Danny pushed her back onto the mattress, lying on top of her, still kissing her. She continued to match his passion, not even minding the rather compromising position they were in. To be honest, she enjoyed the feel of his weight on her, something about it felt right and oh-so warm…

Miraculously, without breaking the kiss, Danny moved the two of them so that they were sitting upright. He hugged her into his chest and continued kissing her passionately until he lost too much air and was forced by his damned lungs to release her. Taking the shortest time possible to catch his breath, he softly kissed her neck until she laughed from the tickling sensation. He held her tighter against him, locking her arms at her sides and breathing heavily as he whispered in her ear, "I love you, Sam," his swollen lips barely brushing her earlobe.

Sam shivered, which only sent her deeper into his embrace. "I love you too, Danny," she answered immediately.

He held her a little away from him and looked at her, her eyes glazed and darkened, cheeks burning pink, and plump, swollen lips, bleeding a pinprick from where he'd nipped them too hard. "You're so beautiful…"

Sam blushed, casting her eyes downward.

"Princess, look at me."

Sam refused. She knew exactly what she would see if she looked up, green eyes staring back at her with so much love and passion that it would send her into her own little, giddy, lust-filled world and she'd never be able to come back.

Danny, though he knew well that it was cliché, cupped her chin faintly, sparks flowing from his hand throughout his entire body where his skin met hers. He tilted her head up and stared back into hazy, loving violet eyes and kissed her again. He'd completely forgotten what he'd wanted to say to her. It seemed that every time he looked at her, some unseen force drew his body towards hers and the only thing he wanted to do was touch her. Anywhere.

The prince took a deep, shuddered breath and looked Sam straight in the eyes. She probably wasn't going to like what he had to ask her next. "Princess… I know that there's something… not right with you… I mean, I've seen you sick and I've met Dr. Li and… I just want to know what's wrong so I can help."

Sam gulped. He'd hit her right where it hurt. He had told her his secret and now he wanted to know the one that she couldn't tell him. "I-I… can't tell you, just yet, Danny… I love you so much, but I just can't tell you."

"Is it really bad?" Danny asked.

Sam took a deep breath, trying not to stare directly at his trusting green eyes. "No," she lied. "I'm okay."

Danny smiled and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. "As long as you're safe, Princess."

At that moment, part of Sam wished that he was a jerk. That she didn't love him… just so that it wouldn't hurt so badly to keep secrets from him. She reached her hand up to his cheek and pulled him into a kiss, mostly to hide a few mutinous tears that were falling unbidden. When she finally regained her composure, she pulled away gently.

Danny smiled at her. "What was that for?"

Sam smirked back at him. "Does it have to be for something? Can't I just kiss you?"

Danny pretended to look thoughtful about it for a moment. "You're right. Good answer."

"I thought so," Sam said with an air of playful smugness.

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Danny, in his ghost form, wandered pensively around the lilac grove. He'd tried to sit in a tree, as was usually very comfortable for him, but he couldn't sit still. What could possibly be wrong with Sam? He knew it was something that made her sick, but… other than that, he had no clue. How bad was it? It was obviously worse than she was letting on. He knew enough about Sam to know that she was too strong, too proud to actually tell him how bad it really was. She was just that kind of person, the kind that downplayed all of their own vulnerabilities and problems. It also, though, seemed like she didn't want to worry him. What on earth was so bad that it could possibly make him worry anymore than he was now? His face paled as a thought suddenly occurred to him. Was she dying?

Danny shook his head. No, she couldn't be dying. She couldn't be dying because he loved her. And if she died, he'd never be able to handle it. No, no, he was definitely going to be the one to go first. He'd never survive without her.

No, she wasn't dying. That simply wasn't even possible.

A sigh suddenly resounded throughout the grove and Danny froze.

"Who's there?" He asked.

"Your highness?" Came a familiar masculine voice.

"Dr. Li?" Danny asked incredulously when the brown haired man revealed himself. "Why are you here?"

"I needed to think." He smiled wisely at Danny, "And I can assume the same of you?"

"Yes," Danny confessed.

"About Sam?"

"Yes."

Dr. Li merely nodded. "She's quite an amazing young lady, isn't she?"

Danny beamed his agreement.

Dr. Li almost started to tell Danny about Sam's illness. He wanted to, he felt the prince at least had the right to know a little, but he could never betray Sam's trust. Never.

"Dr. Li?"

"Yes, your Highness?"

"I was wondering…" Danny paused. "I was wondering if you could tell me what's wrong with Sam…"

Dr. Li looked shocked for a moment and then sad. "I can't. She's asked me not to."

Danny's face couldn't possibly have looked more pleading. "Please, Dr. Li. I love her. If there's anything I can do to help then… Please?"

The doctor sighed. "I wish I could, Danny, but you know Sam well enough to know that she immediately alienates anyone who betrays her trust."

"I'll never tell her you told me! Please, I won't even tell her that I know!"

Dr. Li looked long and hard at Danny. He'd never seen anyone look so desperate, so in love, so tormented before in his life. He sighed heavily again. "You have to swear on pain of death that you won't breathe a word of this to anyone else."

"I swear."

"She's very sick. She always has been…" He thought it best not to tell Danny that his love was dying.

"There is an extremely odd strain of ectoplasm in her blood and it causes her to become ill periodically."

"Ectoplasm?" Danny murmured. How was that possible…? "Just tell me something, how long does she have to live?"

"Not as long as she should," Dr. Li answered ambiguously.

"She's dying?" The prince held himself up against a tree. He didn't even mind so much that Sam had lied to him, he could understand why she'd done that. But… dying…? Why! Why her? Why did it have to be her? It was so unfair…

"There's still time," Dr. Li said softly.

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Vlad threw a chair against the wall. "ARGH!"

"Sir…?" the Knight ventured.

"I knew that doctor would ruin everything! I knew it the moment I met him!"

"With respect, sir, what does it really matter if the prince knows about her illness?"

Vlad took a deep breath. "It doesn't. It doesn't," he muttered. "Our beloved Prince Daniel isn't smart enough to figure out anything else. We're safe." The web of secrets and lies that Vlad had so carefully concocted was still in tact. For now. He didn't have much time…

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Dr. Li left and Danny changed into his human form and began tending to a few of the lilac trees.

Sam suddenly appeared in the garden, beaming at him. "Hel-" She didn't get to finish because the second Danny noticed her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately for the second time that day. Sam pushed him away again and with a smirk said, "Greetings are just a really foreign concept to you, aren't they?" Not that she really minded…

"No, they just prevent me from kissing you more," he grinned back before resuming kissing her. He couldn't let her know that he knew. He couldn't let her know that his plan was to kiss her as much as he could before- he cleared that thought from his head.

Sam pushed out of his arms, crossed her arms and smirked at him. "Sorry, no one that corny is allowed to touch me. Those are the rules."

Danny (pleasantly ;)) surprised Sam with an almost feral growl before ensnaring her in his embrace again and kissing tenderly down her jaw line.

Sam laughed low in her throat. "You're bad," she chided playfully. "You're spoiling me."

Danny paused in his onslaught of her neck to look up at her, eyes glowing green. "Good, then you'll never be able to leave me."

Sam gulped guiltily, then gave Danny a challenging look. "Uh-huh… We'll just see about that."

The prince gave her his best pout. "You mean that you'd really abandon me and force me to choose

Paullina or some other horrible girl?"

"If you pissed me off, yeah." Sam said, still holding her challenging stare.

Danny kissed her softly. "Then I'll try real hard to keep you happy."

Sam grinned at him, leaned up and uncharacteristically planted a little kiss on his nose. "You had better. For all you know, I might one day just walk right out of your life for no apparent reason…" she said coyly.

Danny wondered if maybe she was trying to see what his reaction might be to her imminent death. He decided it was best to be honest with her. He looked at her sadly. "Oh no," Danny took her hands in his. "You can't do that. I'd die. You don't want to kill me, do you?"

For a moment, the princess was stunned, but then she smiled mysteriously at him. "Well now that you mention it…" she grinned.

"Hey!" Danny said indignantly. "Now that's not fair, you know I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Sam blushed a little. "Come on, Danny. I'm only teasing you."

Sweeping her into his arms again, he laid his head on her shoulder, occasionally kissing her neck. "You'd never really leave me, would you Sam?" He asked softly.

She wished he hadn't asked that. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her secret from him. Something about him was so disarming, so warm and so open that she felt constantly compelled to tell him. It wasn't fair that he could do that to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck softly. "Not on purpose," she said quietly. "They'd have to kill me."

Danny pulled her back and smiled at her. "And even that wouldn't stop us."

Sam cracked a smile too. It was a testament to how much she loved him, he could always put her at ease.

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"I swear, I saw him in the lilac grove! He was watching Prince Daniel and the Princess from Casper! I'm telling you, Nonny, the man is crazy!"

"Blue, don't be daft. It was probably just a trick of the eyes. Lord Masters is far too busy to be spying on the Prince and Princess…"

"Nonny, I swear! I saw him!" Blue, the first scribe threw her hands up into the air as she and Nonny walked down the hallway.

Nonny, the second scribe, just gave her a look. "Girl, you flippin' crazy. If you're right, then Vlad is going to kill you."

"It's not me we should be worrying about…"

"How would you know that?"

"I don't. But I do know that he's got plans for Princess Samantha."

"Blue, you had better get on with this fic or else people are gonna get pissed."

"Okay, okay, Nonny, I got it. Hey, thanks for all your help."

"You're welcome." Nonny just watched as Blue strolled down the hall. "This cannot end well…"

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"Sir, I still don't understand what's going on!" The Fright Knight exclaimed.

"It's not for you to understand," Vlad replied with forced calm. These ghosts, though they were useful minions for keeping the king and Daniel busy and doing his bidding, were starting to wear on his nerves.

"So let me get this straight?" The Knight continued anyway. "You wanted the Prince to find the one girl who was destined for him, which you found out she was from Clockwork?"

"Yes," Vlad answered.

"But that just seems like a win for the Prince. How is it going to hurt him by finding the one person he's meant for?"

"She's sick."

"But now he knows that. And he's going to try and find a cure, you know he is."

"He will not succeed in time. And even if he does, it will not matter because the contest is still running, which means our darling Samantha can still be disqualified…"

"And how do you know that she will be?"

"Because everything is all under control, Knight. My control…" Vlad glared at the Knight. "Now go. Your presence irks me." The Fright Knight left and Vlad gazed at Sam in a screen. "You are quite exquisite, aren't you, my dear?" He murmured to her, though she couldn't hear. It was true, she was beautiful, unique, intelligent. It was a rare combination. Vlad had only seen it before in Maddie and he did feel sorry about what had to be done. "It's such a shame that such a lovely girl as you has to be the casualty in this war…"

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Danny turned ghost and flew into the Ghost Zone. He had one goal: find Clockwork. Fortunately, he knew where the ghost resided and had no trouble finding the place. "Clockwork!"

"Ah, Danny…" The time master smiled as he shifted from an old man to a teenager, then to a man in his thirties. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty good. I found the girl I want to marry. Her name is Sam and she so amazing…"

Clockwork smiled. "That's fantastic."

"And she wants to marry me too, well at least I'm pretty sure she does… but…"

"But?" Clockwork, of course, already knew what Danny was going to say, but he preferred to let the boy say things and figure things out on his own, without "creeping him out" as Danny called it when Clockwork would finish the Prince's sentences, or even start them before Danny thought of them.

"She's sick."

"How do you know?"

"Her doctor told me. He says she's dying."

"And Sam didn't tell you herself?"

"No… I don't think she wants anyone to think that she's weak or dependent. Even me."

"That's very observant of you, Danny."

"Thanks, but… that's kind of the reason I'm here. I want to know, what's wrong with her? Do you know? Because you usually do know stuff like this and… and I need to find the cure so that she doesn't die and- Please, I know I'm not supposed to go messing around with time and information I'm not supposed to have, but couldn't you make an exception just this once?"

Clockwork gazed sadly at Danny. "I'm sorry, Danny. I can't tell you. I wish I could, but this is one of those things you have to do on your own."

"Please! Clockwork, I love her! I've never felt this way about anyone, I never will again! If she dies, I'll never be able to move on!"

"Daniel," Clockwork said seriously. "I cannot help you. I can tell you this, the answer you seek is in someone who has been near, but not close to you since birth."

"Near but not close?" Danny asked, confused. He really hated it when Clockwork spoke in riddles.

Clockwork smiled fondly at him. "Here's some more direct advice, while you're trying to figure out my riddle, go talk to your mom."

Danny shook his head in exasperation. "Thanks. See, was that so hard?"

Clockwork grinned mysteriously.

"Oh, can I ask one more question that I'm sure you can't answer anyway?'

"Go ahead."

"Is Sam going to die?'

"Yes."

Danny looked horrified.

"And so will you. Everyone does eventually. She's not exempt from death just because you love her, Danny."

"I know, but that's not what I meant…"

"I know what you meant. And you were right in assuming that I can't tell you."

Danny dejectedly left the Ghost Zone and decided to follow Clockwork's advice. "Hey Mom?" Danny sauntered as casually as he could into his mother's lab.

"Yeah Sweetie?"

"What if I told you that I know someone who is being killed by ectoplasm that's attacking their blood cells?"

"I'd say who? And what the heck are you talking about?" Maddie answered.

"Well I can't tell you who. But this person I know has ectoplasm literally eating up their blood. This person is dying and is nearly always sick…"

"Hmm… well, I'd need a sample to do more tests."

"And if I could get you a sample? Could we find a cure for it?"

"Sure."

Danny kissed his mother's cheek. "Thanks, Mom!" He nearly started bounding out of the lab.

"But Danny!" Maddie called. "It could take years to find a cure! If this person is as bad as you suggest, then it could be too late for them."

Danny's face fell. "Oh… but, it could take maybe a few months. Or even weeks too, right?"

"Possibly. Highly improbable, but possibly."

"Good, that's all I needed to hear!" Danny had made up his mind. He was going to find the cure for

Sam's illness. He was going to save her. He was going to live happily ever after with her. They were going to run the kingdom and have a bunch of kids and everything would be perfect. Maybe not always perfect, but generally pretty damn good. Danny loved Sam more than anything; he would give his life for her and they were going to be together and be happy. He ran off to find Dr. Li, who, oddly enough, was walking down the hall toward the lab.

"Your highness?"

"Oh! Dr. Li! I was just looking for you."

"Why?"

"My mom and I need a sample of her blood."

"I was just bringing one to your mom. I take it you already told her about-" They didn't want to say Sam's name in case someone walked by and heard.

"Yes, just now. I can take the sample."

Dr. Li gave Danny the sample of Sam's blood and Danny immediately turned on heel and went to give it to his mom.

"Wow!" She exclaimed. "That was fast."

"I found the doctor with the sample on the way to find him…hehehe…"

"Oh." Maddie immediately began running a battery of tests on it. "It's Sam, isn't it?"

Danny blinked at his mom. "No! I mean… ugh… yes."

Maddie smiled. Her son was truly the worst liar in existence. "I figured since you were so zealous about finding a cure. I'm proud of you, Danny, I really am."

"Mom, we have to find that cure. If she dies… I'll die. And if I don't die, I'll kill myself. I won't go on without her, I refuse to even try."

"Does she know that you know about this?"

"No."

"You'll have to tell her, Danny. Soon."

He sighed. "I know…"

Maddie half smiled at her son. "Danny, you go rest, okay? You've had a long day."

Danny obeyed and slumped back to his room. He was tired, now that she mentioned it. He fell back onto his bed and sighed heavily. It wasn't fair. Why did it have to be Sam? Why did it have to be the girl that he loved? Just when he finally found the girl he never wanted to let go, he found out that she was the one girl he had to. He imagined her lying in bed, sick, dying. It hurt him, hurt him so badly that he had to grab the garbage can and wretch. Tears he'd been holding back finally fell down his face as he threw up. When his stomach was finally clean, he went into his bathroom and got a drink of water. He vowed then and there, as he stared at his reflection: eyes with dark circles and bloodshot, dry and fresh tears on his cheeks, that he would find a cure if it took all his life.

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The next morning, Danny wasted no time in marching straight down to his mother's lab. "Hey, Mom."

"Hi, Danny. I've just finished testing Sam's blood."

"And?"

"You'll be happy to know that other than the ectoplasm thing, she's perfectly healthy. More than perfectly…"

"Okay. What about the ectoplasm?"

"Well, other than the strange-enough fact that she has ectoplasmic eating her blood, what's really strange is that when I tested her DNA, to make sure it was genetic, it wasn't. She's had it since she was born, but, she wasn't born with it."

Danny's eyes widened. "So that means… someone's been making her sick on purpose…"

-dodges flying objects- I KNOW! I'm SORRY! But I promise, next chapter should end it. I really don't think I can do more than that… Please review, even if it is to threaten me!