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OOOOOOO

Sam woke the next morning with a pounding headache from crying and an empty feeling in her chest. She lay there for several minutes, not wanting to get up. Eventually she forced herself off the bed and walked to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she realized she was still wearing yesterday's clothes. Her face was blotchy, her eyes red, overall she looked horrid. She showered and got ready for the day mechanically, not bothering with food, only thinking of one thing, Danny. She felt the tears start to well again and shook herself, gathering her books for class and stepping outside. Instinctively she looked around, hoping to see Danny. Even if he is here, he probably won't show himself. She heard footsteps and her breath caught, hope swirling through her. Sam looked up only to feel her heart plummet as she saw Tucker walking toward her from his car where he had been sitting.

"Hey Sam" Tucker said quietly.

"Hey" she said her voice a little hoarse from crying.

Tucker stopped in front of her and looked at her silently, and then reached out and pulled her into his arms for a hug. She buried her head in his shoulder, giving a sob before straightening up and taking a deep breath. "Come on" Tucker said as he led her to his car. A small part of her wanted to protest, or flat out refuse to have Tucker play bodyguard, but the simple truth was she just couldn't bring herself to care.

She was silent throughout the ride to school, staring into space and Tucker seemed to know that she didn't want to talk. When they arrived, Sam looked over and gave Tucker a weak smile before getting out of the car.

"Thanks, Tuck."

Tucker just looked at her, the concern on his face plain to see. "Your last class ends at 2:00 right?"

"Yeah."

"One of us will be here." Sam just nodded as she shut the door and turned to head to class.

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Sam, who simply moved from one class to the next by routine. She had no clue what happened in any of them and several of her classmates asked her if she was all right. She gave each of them a vague answer and walked away. At 2:00 she left the building to find Danny's sister Jazz waiting for her. Wow, he's really trying to avoid me she thought. Several days went by like this; if Tucker was not there Danny would send Jazz. Oh, she knew he was there at night, but he stayed silent and invisible, watching over her. The phone calls continued, but she didn't answer them and they had found two more things in her mail, a crystal heart that had been broken into three jagged pieces that Tucker had cut his hand on while checking the envelope, and a candid picture of Sam the night of the benefit. Both had gone to the police. Jazz and Tucker had tried to talk to Sam, but nothing seemed to help. She had drawn into herself, only going through the motions of daily life and they were really starting to worry.

Danny was no better. He spent his days trying to track down the stalker when he didn't have to be at school or work, and his nights at Sam's house keeping watch. He had lost weight and was getting careless, almost getting caught transforming into Danny Phantom several times. When a preoccupied Sam narrowly missed being hit by a car crossing the street and Danny had nearly gotten himself killed fighting Ember because he was distracted, Jazz and Tucker decided to take matters into their own hands. Jazz called Danny in sick to work, saying if he didn't get some rest he was going to collapse.

"Jazz this is an internship I can't just call in sick."

"Think of it this way Danny, you need a good report from them in order to finish school right? Well how can you get that if you are so tired that you start making mistakes, ones that are costly and possibly dangerous?" Danny reluctantly agreed that she was right. Jazz smiled at him.

"Danny why don't you relax and I'll go make you some lunch," she said as she walked into the kitchen.

Danny collapsed onto the couch with a wry smile. Jazz is such a mother hen he thought. His smile disappeared as Sam came to mind again. He could not get her out of his mind, the pain of being near her every night and not talking to her or holding her was slowly crushing him. The last several nights he had phased into her room and simply sat and watched her sleep. The worst part was that he could tell how badly this was affecting her. She was frail looking, with dark shadows under her eyes and her sleep was restless, often crying out in her sleep. The phone interrupted his thoughts and Jazz yelled, "I'll get it, you just rest." He heard her voice talking and then the click of the phone hanging up. She walked into the living room with a tray for Danny with soup and sandwiches. She sat down next to him and watched as he picked at the food, not really eating anything.

After a few minutes, he asked, "Who was that on the phone?"

"Oh, just Tucker checking up on you." He simply nodded and stared at the food in front of him. A key rattled at the door indicating someone was unlocking it and Danny looked up to see Tucker come in, his head turned as he talked to someone behind him. His heart stopped when he saw Sam walk in. As soon as she saw him, she stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him, stricken. She turned to Tucker with a look of betrayal on her face.

"You said he wasn't here"

Tucker looked guilty for a minute before Jazz spoke up.

"It was my idea to do this Sam."

Danny shot his sister a hurt look.

"Tucker and I have been watching the two of you waste away, both physically and emotionally. This has to stop. You two are going to sit down and talk this out, and I'm sorry about this Danny but I need to make sure you aren't going to phase out of here" Jazz said as she pulled the Fenton AntiGhost Bracelet (similar to the belt) out of the bag at her feet and snapped it around his wrist before he could realize what she was doing, taking the key and putting it in her pocket.

"Jazz" Danny growled. "Take this thing off me now."

"No, Danny I'm doing this for your own good." Sam simply stared at Danny knowing that if he could go ghost he would be gone. She backed up, capturing everyone's attention. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

"I…I have to go…" she said as she turned toward the door. Tucker stepped in front of her.

"You can't leave Sam; you need to talk to him." She looked at her best friend and shook her head.

"Tucker…I can't…he hates me now…" she whispered.

Tucker took hold of her shoulders and made her look at him. "You know that's not true. Talk to him." He led her to the nearest chair and sat her down, and then Jazz picked up her bag and walked to the door with Tucker. She stopped and turned back. "Oh and I set the ectosensor in the portable Fenton Ghost Lock to identify humans, once I activate it you won't be able to open this door." Tucker and Jazz looked at Sam and Danny, said a silent prayer that this would work, and left.

The tension was thick in the room, neither one of them saying anything, not looking at each other for what seemed like forever. Sam finally took a shuddering breath and blurted out "I'm sorry that you're stuck in here with me, I'll just stay out of your way until they get back." Danny lifted his head to look at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Look, Danny I know you don't want me here, I mean it's pretty obvious that you hate me with the way you've been avoiding me" she said, looking at the floor.

Danny sighed heavily. "I could never hate you Sam, hell I wish I could then this wouldn't hurt so much."

"I never meant to hurt you," she whispered.

"I know."

"Danny, I've always had to do everything for myself, I learned early on that I couldn't count on my parents to be there. When I was little I wanted more than anything to have my parent's love and attention, I tried so hard to get them to notice me. I got the best grades, took the piano lessons and dance lessons they signed me up for. I even wore those stupid pink dresses my mother got me." She laughed bitterly. "I was so jealous of you and Tuck when I met you in third grade, because you both had families who loved you so much. I'd see your mom and dad at your little league games, and Tucker's dad always sitting and playing those computer games with him."

"I remember being so excited at my first piano recital, Mom and Dad had promised me they were going to be there. I kept telling myself they were just late. I waited and waited, but they never showed up. I found out later that they decided to go to a business party instead." Sam looked up to find Danny watching her quietly, his expression neutral.

"Anyway, after that I decided if I couldn't get their attention by being good, maybe I could get it by rebelling and well, we all knowhow well that worked." Sam stood up and started pacing a little. "My point is that I've always had to depend on just myself. Anytime I needed them they let me down, instead of holding me up they let me fall. I learned not to let people in so I couldn't get hurt." She walked over and sat down next to him, looking into his eyes.

"I've let you in more than anyone else in my life, and I know it's no excuse but I'm scared. You already have so much power over me Danny, letting go of the last bit of defense I have left scares me to death." Sam felt tears threaten and she stood up again breaking their gaze. She walked over to the window and rubbed her arms as she leaned her head against the sill.

"I am so sorry Danny, I should have told you, I wanted to tell you, but…I didn't want to fall." Sam turned around. "Please tell me we can still be friends…" she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, gathering her courage to admit what she should have before, "I…love you…I need you in my life…even if it can only be as friends. She held her breath as Danny stood up, walking toward her slowly.

"Sam, I...don't think we can be friends."

Sam's heart dropped and she looked at the floor, feeling her body start to shake. "I understand," she said in a broken voice, starting to turn away. Danny grabbed her arms gently and turned her back, lifting her chin with his hand to make sure she was looking at him.

"I love you far too much to settle for being just friends."

Sam stared at him, feeling hope, relief, and love filling her whole being. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably and he held her tightly, lowering them to the floor so she was cradled in his lap. He simply held her as she cried, stroking her hair, and let his own tears fall, not caring if she heard. When they had calmed, he stood up with her still in his arms and carried her to his room. Danny lay her down and crawled onto the bed with her, pulling her into his arms so her head was lying on his chest, his arms holding her securely. As they started to drift into an exhausted sleep, Sam felt him kiss her hair as he whispered, "I'm never going to let you fall baby."