Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or plotline from Danny Phantom.

Danny found himself wakened by the sound of his bedroom door opening and closing quietly. Years of unexpected ghost attacks had sharpened his senses. He was about to open his eyes when the familiar light scent of Sam's perfume caused him to realize it was not Tucker as he had assumed. A small thud and a whispered "Ow!" made Danny grin to himself. He kept his eyes closed and his breathing even as he listened to the rustling sounds and footsteps that indicated she was coming closer.

"Danny" she said quietly as she reached out to shake him.

Danny pounced grabbing her and pulling her down on the bed, rolling over so that she was trapped underneath him. Sam shrieked in surprise and opened her eyes to see Danny's laughing eyes over her.

"Danny! You nearly gave me a heart attack." She smacked him across the shoulder, but she was laughing.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." He grinned down at her leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "So, to what do I owe this surprise?"

Sam's eyes lit up. "It's snowing!" she practically squealed, pushing him off of her as she got up and rushed over to the window pulling up the blinds. "Come see!"

Danny couldn't help but smile as he watched her childlike excitement. Usually pretty serious, the first snowfall of the year brought a new sparkle of life in Sam.

Sam turned around "I thought maybe we could go take a walk in the park. Please?"

"No wonder you're so cheery this morning." He pushed the blankets off and stood up running his hands through his unkempt hair. Sam's eyes widened as she realized that Danny was standing in front of her in nothing but a pair of black boxers. She quickly averted her eyes.

"Ah, right, I'll just wait out here while you get dressed." She practically ran by him, opening the door and quickly leaving, shutting it behind her. Sam flushed as she heard Danny laughing behind her.

They strolled through the park enjoying the morning. It was still early and only one couple with their children were playing nearby. "This is so perfect, untouched. This is the one day a year I feel like everything is new and unspoiled, like a new chance," Sam said as she looked around at the snow-covered trees.

"You think we should have woken Tucker up to come with us?" joked Danny. They looked at each other and laughed. As much as Sam loved the snow, that's how much Tucker hated it. Constantly complaining about the cold and the wetness, trying to get Tucker outside on a day like today was like trying to separate him from his PDA, you had to drag him kicking and screaming.

PLOP. Danny lifted his hand to brush the snow off his head. Looking up he noticed two things: 1. They were not standing under a tree and 2. Sam was looking much too sweet and innocent.

"Oh, so it's going to be that way is it."

"What?" Sam said with wide eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mmhmm" replied Danny as he reached down, grabbed a handful of snow, and looked at her with an evil grin. Sam eyed him warily and took a couple steps backward.

"Now, come on Danny, it was only a joke, you don't want to do that." Her hands lifted as if to ward him off and she continued to retreat as he advanced. Seeing the look in his eyes, she shrieked and ran, ducking behind a bush to hide, watching for Danny. When he walked by looking for her she snickered, gathered up some more snow and threw it, hitting his back. As he turned around, she ran again, this time hiding behind a tree. When she didn't hear him, she peeked out. Where was he? She turned around to look the other way. Nothing.

"Hey no fair going invisible Fenton" she yelled. She heard a chuckle as she was tackled gently from the side. Danny reappeared, twisting as they fell to land with his back in the snow and Sam on top of him. She looked at his laughing green eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. "Cheater" she grumbled. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and wrapped an arm around her waist, rolling them so she was now under him. His mouth met hers in a passionate kiss and she was surprised to find that his lips were almost as warm in ghost mode as they were in his human form. Long minutes passed as they lost themselves in the kiss, only breaking apart when they needed air. Sam shivered feeling the cold air and Danny noticed. He stood up and helped her to her feet, brushing the snow from her hair.

"How about we go back and have some hot chocolate?"

"Sounds good."

When they reached the apartment, Tucker was up at the computer.

"Hi Tuck" Sam said as she removed her coat. Tucker grimaced at her and Danny.

"Man, I'm cold just looking at you two. Let me guess you were out playing in the snow." Danny walked into the kitchen and Sam grinned at him as she walked over to sit on the couch.

"You should have come along; it was great, cold…wet."

"Aack, enough" Tucker said, shivering as Danny came out from the kitchen carrying three steaming mugs. "Oh, before I forget Danny, your mom called. She wants to double check that you're going there for Thanksgiving."

"Thanks Tuck" Danny replied taking a sip from his mug. "I forgot it's only like two weeks away. What about you Sam? you want to come with me to Mom and Dad's for thanksgiving or are your parents doing something."

Sam snorted. "They're going to my Uncles for some fancy dinner party. I don't want to intrude on Jack and Maddie; I'll probably just go with my parents."

"You are never intruding; my folks love you, besides my mom told me last week she's making vegetarian lasagna and that if I don't bring you, I have to eat it."

"Well if you're sure it's okay with them."

"Good that's settled."

Sam was putting the finishing touches on her salad for dinner when her phone rang. Grabbing the kitchen phone, she said "hello?" There was only silence at the other end. "Hello?" she tried again. Still nothing. Annoyed she hung up only to have it ring again a few seconds later.

"Hello?" Silence. "HELLO?"

There was a clicking sound on the other end as if someone had hung up. She growled as she hung up the phone again. Stupid kids, I really need to get a block on the phone. She had been getting hang up calls off and on for a couple of weeks now but she kept forgetting to call the phone company. Looking out the window, she noticed the mailman stop at her mailbox. She wiped her hands off and walked outside to grab the mail. When she entered the house again, she threw it on the table and sat down to eat her dinner.

"Bill" she muttered flipping through them. "Junk, junk, bill." At the end of the pile, there was a lumpy yellow envelope with her name and address and no return address. Curious she opened the envelope and peeked inside. Frowning she dumped the contents onto the table. It was a single rose, dead with the brittle petals falling off in pieces. Sam simply stared at it uncomprehendingly for a moment. Why would she get a dead rose in the mail? Vaguely she remembered a couple of weeks before she had found a half dead rose in her car. Now she gets a dead one in the mail. Okay this officially creeps me out she thought. Unsure of what to do with it she scooped it back into the envelope and placed it on the back of the counter. Sam picked up the phone, suddenly wanting to talk to Danny, when she heard his voice from the living room.

"Sam?"

She placed a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath as she hung the phone up. "Danny?" she called leaving the kitchen. Sam gasped when she saw him. Still in ghost mode, Danny was bruised and bleeding, leaning weakly against the wall. "Oh my god, what happened?" she said as she ran over to him.

Danny gave her a weak smile. "Hey. Don't worry, I'm okay it looks worse than it is." Sam pulled him over to her couch, making him sit down.

"What happened?" she asked again as she ran to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit.

"Plasmius decided to pay me a visit" Danny said changing back and wincing a little, as Sam helped him pull his shirt off, which was stained with blood.

"Well I hope he looks worse than you," she said as she grabbed the alcohol and gauze.

"Don't worry, he does" Danny said glancing at the bottle in her hand. "Ah, we don't really need that do we?" he said sitting back on the couch a little.

"Yes, don't be a wuss." He hissed in pain as she pressed the alcohol soaked gauze to the wound on his shoulder. She placed a bandage over it and finished cleaning up his face and hands. "There, all done." Sam stood up to look at him and saw his eyes had closed.

"Thanks" he whispered opening his eyes. "I'm just going to sit for a minute before I head home."

"Oh no you don't. I'm going to call Tuck and tell him you're staying here." She got up and put the kit away before walking back into the kitchen to call Tucker. As she spoke to him, her eyes fell on the envelope. I really wanted to talk to Danny about what I should do. She hung up from Tucker and went back to find Danny lying on the couch half-asleep. He looked like he was exhausted and hurting. No way am I going to bother him with that now she thought. He needs to rest and heal. Sam walked over to her grandmother's hope chest and removed a blanket and pillow.

"Here, lay back down" she said as she put the pillow under his head and removed his shoes before covering him with the blanket. She then sat on the floor next to the couch and brushed her hand through his hair.

Danny opened his eyes again, "Sammi I…"

"Ssh, no more talking, just rest" she whispered. She stroked his hair as he closed his eyes again, watching him drift off to sleep.