Disclaimer: Still don't own Danny Phantom.

"I'm glad you and Tucker are here, I love the cause but hate the politics.

"Samantha, there you are, I've been looking all over for you." Sam made a face at Danny, and then turned to face Nathan.

"I was greeting my friends and I prefer Sam if you don't mind."

"Well, I find Sam to be rather distasteful and Samantha suits you much better, so that is what I will call you" Nathan replied.

Sam's eyes sparked angrily and she opened her mouth to retort, and then snapped it shut, reminding herself that she was going to be pleasant. She turned and gestured toward Danny and Tucker who had now joined the small group.

"Nathan these are my closest friends, Danny Fenton and Tucker Foley. Danny, Tucker, this is Nathan Brooks, his family does business with my father."

Danny shook the man's hand with a nod, not saying anything.

"Hey man, how are you?" Tucker asked as he slapped him on the back of the shoulder.

Sam covered her laughter with her hand, seeing that Nathan was obviously offended by Tucker's greeting.

"Yes, well shall we Samantha?" He held out his arm for her.

"Actually I have something to discuss with Danny and Tucker, so I'll meet you in a moment," Sam said as she grabbed their arms and steered them away to a table in a far corner, leaving Nathan standing with a pinched look on his face.

"So, who's the stiff?" Tucker asked as the three of them sat down.

Sam just rolled her eyes. "Two words, My. Parents. My mother pulled out the guilt trip." Sam lifted her voice in a simpering tone and mimicked her mother. "Oh, Please Sammykins, do it for us. The man's come such a long way."

"Ouch" Danny said, wincing in sympathy.

"You should have just told him you were going with Danny, I mean you guys look like a couple, your outfits' even match perfectly, how weird is that?" Sam looked at Danny and realized that his shirt was the exact shade of blue that her dress was. She blushed slightly, realizing how much she wished it were true.

"Knock it off Tuck." Danny said a slight red flush creeping across his own face.

"Well you two are joining us at the table. At least my misery can have company, and you have to dance with me at least once to get me away from him," she told Danny. Sam dragged them back to where Nathan was sitting and said "Nathan, Tucker and Danny are joining us."

"How… nice" Nathan replied looking down his nose at the men. He stood up to pull out a chair for Sam only to find that Danny had already done so. During dinner, Nathan attempted to monopolize Sam's attention, completely ignoring Danny and Tucker other than an occasional snide remark. Getting angrier by the minute, Sam finally lost it when he insulted Danny's parents after finding out that they were ghost hunters. Sam very quietly stood up, picked up her glass of red wine and dumped it over Nathan's head causing him to shoot up to his feet.

"What… how dare you!"

"How dare YOU come in here and insult my friends!"

Tucker and Danny had immediately backed off, having seen Sam in action before, not wanting her to turn her wrath on them. Nathan glanced around noticing that people were starting to stare.

"Samantha, I think its time we left."

"Go right ahead and leave, I'm staying."

Nathan stared at her for a moment, then "You know, I heard stories about how much trouble you caused your parents as a teenager, I had hoped that you had matured with a little time, but now I see that you haven't. You're nothing but a common tra…"

"That's enough," Danny stated in a hard voice, now standing next to Sam. "I think you need to leave…now."

Nathan looked up at the man standing there and involuntarily took a step back. Anger radiated from Danny and Nathan could swear that his eyes had flashed a glowing green. He adjusted his suit, glared at Tucker who smirking at him, said "goodbye Samantha," turned, and walked out.

Danny was watching Sam warily, knowing she would not appreciate him speaking up in her defense. He waited for her to rebuke him, but Sam simply kept her eyes to the floor, murmured, "Excuse me please" and walked slowly over to the ladies room.

Sam leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. As much as she resisted fitting into the mold her parents wanted her to she did not like public scenes like the one that had just happened. Her parents were sure to hear about it and be humiliated by their daughter's behavior. She felt bad but she was not about to sit there and let that jerk insult Danny's parents, people who were like family to her. Sam sighed, then freshened up, squared her shoulders and left the rest room. She wandered about the room for a few minutes, looking for her friends. She found Tucker dancing with an attractive girl with glasses, both of them talking excitedly about the new software Tucker had gotten from Sam. Finally, his kind of girl Sam thought with a smile. Several men asked her to dance, but she politely turned them down. Not seeing Danny, she decided to step out on to the balcony for some fresh air. There were few people outside because of the cold night air, and Sam shivered a little but found herself relaxing, staring at the stars. She gave a sad smile, remembering desperately wishing on those same stars as a young girl, hoping that Danny might look at her the way he looked at the most popular girl in school, Paulina.

She heard footsteps approach so she turned around to see Danny standing in the moonlight behind her. He stared at her for a long moment, and then simply held out his hand. She let him lead her to a quiet, shadowed area of the dance floor. As he pulled her toward him and started the dance, Sam said, "Danny, I'm sorry for walking off earlier, I just needed a moment…" Danny stopped her and shook his head putting his finger up to his lips. They continued to dance, and Danny stared at her, pulling her closer. Sam was starting to feel uncomfortable with the way he was staring at her and drew back, suddenly noticing that they had drawn even deeper into the shadows.

"Danny, why are you staring at me like that? Stop." Danny continued to stare and a smirk appeared on his face. Sam stopped dancing, something was not right. Maybe he's had a few too many drinks.

"I'm tired why don't we just sit down" she said starting to turn toward the tables, but Danny caught her wrist in his grasp to keep her from leaving.

"Danny knock it off, I'm not in the mood for any games." Sam again tried to turn away but gave a sudden gasp of pain as his hand squeezed her wrist hard.

"Ow!" her voice became louder, causing people to look their way. "Dammit Danny that hurts, let me go!" He whirled her to face him and she gasped again as she saw the anger in his face.

"Sam!"

She turned her head to see Danny running across the room toward her. The man holding Sam suddenly released her and darted into the crowd.

"Sam! What happened? I heard you yelling. Who was that, did he hurt you?" Danny turned intent on finding the man when Sam grabbed him. "No, Danny! Wait." Danny turned back to her.

"It was a mistake, it was dark and he was wearing the same type of clothing as you, I thought it was you." Sam made took her hand from Danny, making sure to keep her wrist covered by her sleeve and continued. "No, he didn't hurt me, he asked me to dance, and like I said I thought it was you so I did. He kept staring at me so I said I wanted to sit down and he didn't want to let me go." Danny's eyes darkened at that statement and his fist clenched.

"I think he just had a little too much to drink." Sam laughed, trying to relieve the tension. "Nothing happened."

Danny sighed, running his hand through his hair and tried to make himself relax.

"Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could take me home? I'm kinda stranded."

He chuckled at her and placed his hand on her back. "Sure, let's go find Tucker and tell him we're leaving."

Sam tiredly unlocked her door and turned the light on as Danny closed it behind them. She walked into the kitchen and poured each of them a drink, and then collapsed on the sofa and kicked off her shoes as she watched Danny wander over to the stereo and look through her CD collection.

"Didn't get enough music earlier?"

Danny shook his head as he chose a CD and put it in. "I forgot something."

"What?"

Danny walked over to Sam and held out his hand. "Our Dance."

Sam laughed nervously. "Danny, that's silly, you don't have to…"

"I know," he said still holding out his hand. "Come on Sam, Pleeaase"

"All right, all right, not the puppy dog eyes." She laughed as she put her hand in his and he lifted her off the couch, only to wince as pain shot up her wrist. Of course, Danny noticed immediately.

"Sam? What's wrong, did I pull too hard?" he lifted the sleeve of her dress to examine her wrist. Danny frowned when he saw the fresh bruises. "These look like fingerprints, did he do this to you?"

"Danny It's fine, no big deal. He looked drunk, I'm sure he didn't even realize that he was doing it."

Danny stared at her with a look of regret on his face. He looked down at her wrist again and stepped closer to her drawing her hand upward he brushed his fingers gently over the skin and then, shocking her, leaned over and pressed a kiss against the inside of her wrist.

"I'm sorry." Sam felt her pulse skip and hoped that Danny didn't notice. She looked up at him to find him looking at her again.

"Sorry about what?" she whispered.

"If I had been there…"

Sam put her fingers up and covered his mouth. "Stop, Danny you have to stop feeling responsible for everyone around you. I'm perfectly fine, jeez we've certainly seen our share of bumps and bruises over the years, most of them caused by our own clumsiness," she teased. "Now where is my dance you forgot?"

Danny smiled and led her toward the middle of the living room floor. Holding her hand, he wrapped his other arm around her waist and drew her close to him. Sam relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the peaceful feeling as he moved them to the music. He smelled so nice, a combination of his musky cologne and a scent entirely his own.

"This is nice" she sighed.

Danny pulled her closer and unconsciously pressed his lips her head. "Yeah, it is" he murmured. He felt his heart swell with feeling as he looked down at her. He couldn't describe the feeling, but he knew that somehow he had crossed an invisible line, that what he felt for this woman was more than just friendship.

"Sam" he whispered to her, watching as she lifted her head to look at him. He swallowed hard and let go of her hand to bring his up and bush the back of his fingers across her cheek. Her eyes were wide and filled with emotion, hope maybe? Danny lowered his head slowly, waiting for her to pull back. When she didn't he gently covered her lips with his own, brushing small kisses across her mouth.

Oh, god, he's kissing me Sam thought feeling lightheaded. Her arms circled his waist and crept slowly up his back as he deepened the kiss, silently asking permission to enter. She moaned and opened her mouth, letting his tongue taste hers. Heat spiraled through her as he threaded his hands through her hair, dislodging the clip and her hair tumbled down her back. Sam pressed closer, feeling as if she couldn't get close enough.

Danny was lost in the feeling of her mouth under his. He angled her head deepening the kiss even more, plundering her mouth with his. He groaned as he felt her press against him feeling his control slipping. He knew they needed to stop. Danny forced himself to slow down, pressing light kisses over her forehead, eyes, nose, and back down to her mouth. He kissed her once, twice more and pulled his head back to look at her. Her eyes were glazed and she was breathing heavily. He leaned his forehead against hers,

"Sammi, we have to stop."

Sam stared at him comprehension starting to seep back in. She pulled herself away from him and turned away, feeling embarrassed, ashamed, and heartbroken.

"Danny I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean…," she stammered, feeling tears prick her eyes. She felt him move up behind her and his arms wrapped around her, drawing her back against his chest.

"No, Sam I think you misunderstood me" he said in a rasp. He turned her back around and cupped her face in his hands. "Make no mistake; I care about you Samantha Manson, very much. Am I wrong in thinking you care about me too?" Sam looked at him, seeing the slight apprehension in his eyes. She shook her head.

"No, you're not wrong" she whispered. He smiled before becoming serious again.

"Sam I don't want to jump too fast with this, it's too precious." Sam nodded, suddenly feeling very tired, all the events of the evening catching up with her. "I'd better go, you need to get some sleep," Danny said as he released her and walked to the door, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him. As he opened the door, he turned back to her and kissed her slowly, savoring it.

"Goodnight Sam."

"Goodnight Danny." He squeezed her hand and let go stepping outside.

"By the way" he said turning to look back at her grinning devilishly. Deliberately lowering the pitch of his voice as he let his eyes sweep over her leisurely from head to toe and back, "You were the hottest woman there tonight darling" he said giving her a broad wink.

Sam rolled her eyes at him, laughed, and gave him a little shove further out the door. "Okay, Fenton enough with the kidding around and flattery, now go home!" Danny chuckled and reached out a hand to catch the door as she started to shut it.

"What now?" she said dramatically.

He caught her eyes with his, not smiling now. "Who said I was Kidding?"

Sam saw the honesty in his eyes and felt herself blush hotly. "Danny that's not necess…" He interrupted her with a finger to her lips and shook his head. "Lock the door behind me." She nodded and he reached over, took the door handle, and shut it carefully behind him, listening for the lock engaging before leaving for home.