Hey y'all, what's shakin'?

Oh come on. So I didn't exactly get the update up on the weekend…. Sorry about that. Mostly schoolwork and sickness I assure you. The fanfic's still going strong. :3

Thank you again, ChibiSamiSala, for helping out with this chapter as well! You've been a lifesaver! ToT Love ya, hon.

…Psst, by the way, if you're a fan of Remordere, check out Royal Thorns ( www. fanfiction. net/ s/ 3149958/ 1/ ) too! DiscordianSamba and I are in the process of writing it. It's going to end up quite a bit darker than this 'fic though…. If that's possible…

Okay, I'll shut up and stop placing shameless plugs all over the place… so here we go!

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Chapter Thirteen

In Waiting

The next morning found the young girl curled up in Tucker's bed, having his pillow in a strangle hold, wearing one of his large hoodies as pajamas.

There was a faint knock on the door, as if whoever was on the other side was scared of startling her. "Sam? You up?" Came Tucker's slightly tired, if not nervous voice.

She groaned, pulling his blanket over her head, snuggling closer to his pillow. "Mnnnphhhn."

"Sam...c'mon, I can hear you." He sighed, rolling his eyes as he adjusted his yellow sweater. "Look, I've got to get to school... but... I checked on Danny," There was a break in his voice, as if he were cringing. "And he's not doing well. In fact, I'm getting the feeling he may be worse than yesterday."

She was on her feet immediately, throwing open the door, her hair messy and his sweater riding up around her hips. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"H-hey, calm down." He blushed, looking away and adjusting the hoodie so that he didn't get an eyeful of what he already had. This was demoting... he couldn't get her up himself, but one mention of that damned ghost and she nearly runs right into him. "Look, he's just tired, and he's coughing up ectoplasm again. Other than that, his wounds look a little better, but..." He looked down at her, surprised himself that he was so willing to help. "My gut tells me there's something else going on. We can't take him to a doctor, or treat him ourselves... so I thought of something."

She nodded, adjusting the hoodie as well, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Let's hear it." She said quietly, leaning up against the wall. It was odd not having to go to school with him...

"Well... I thought that, maybe all we need to do is get someone who knows a lot about ghosts. Someone who wouldn't try to turn Phantom in for a reward or anything." He grinned, holding up a finger. "I was thinking, maybe Jazz? She has access to all her parents' inventions. All we do is say Danny's infected with something ghost related, that he didn't want to get involved with anyone big, have him stay in his human form, and we're good!"

She looked at him, before throwing her arms about his neck hugging him tightly. "Tucker you're a genius!" She said thankfully, hugging her best friend on her tip toes.

He began to blush furiously, before shakily returning the hug with a rapidly beating heart. "A-ah...yeah, well you know...I try." He grinned triumphantly.

She let her arms slide from his shoulders slowly, smiling up at her best friend. "Seriously Tucker, I don't know what I'd do with out you. Thank you, for everything..."

"N-No problem." He stammered, looking away with a dark blush still on his cheeks. "I'll stop by later with Jazz, okay? She's sure to come. After all, we three have been pretty tight over the past couple of years." He tentatively took a few steps towards the stairs, looking back to see if Sam would return to bed, or follow him to see his 'archenemy' downstairs.

She chose the second in those options, yawning and stretching as she followed him barefoot down the stairs, seeing Tucker off before slipping into the living room to slide to her knees beside the couch, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep.

It seemed her suspicions were true - the raven haired boy laying silently on the couch, his head buried into one of his arms in a very kid-like fashion. He didn't stir even as she walked into the room and sat beside his makeshift 'bed'.

She sighed, checking the bandages, to see that they were starting to seep through again. She sighed, looking at his face quietly. She had spent the night pondering over what she was feeling, and as unrealistic as it seemed, she had to admit what was happening. Though she was sure it was because of his rapid change to the hero, rather then the villain. It would pass, she was sure.

A few minutes passed as she carefully checked his wounds, and surprisingly, he continued to sleep soundly as if nothing was happening. Truth be told, a nuclear bomb could have gone off and he'd still be asleep. Fully dead, but still asleep. After figuring she's done all she can, Sam pulled back and leaned against the couch, half watching whatever the Hell was going on in the news that morning, half sleeping. Though as she began to fall into a trance, Danny's voice eerily whispered into her ear, dark and familiar. "Good morning, Sammy"

She gasped, recoiling to the side as she looked up at him, eyes wide and startled.

Whoa, WHAT!

Danny sat there, leaning up from the same position he was at last night, laughing softly at her reaction. "Well, that certainly got your attention..."

"Will you QUIT that!" She gasped, clasping her hand to her rapidly beating heart, the other covering the ear he had so abused. "You scared me!"

"But you're so cute when you're scared... no wonder I did that to you all the time." He replied with a somewhat blank face, looking like a kid who was simply stating the obvious.

"You want another meeting with Mr. Pillow don't you?" She said flatly, crossing her legs as she looked him over worriedly. "How are you feeling?"

"Ahh, I'm alright. Better, actually! I should be out of your hair in another day I suppose..." He gave her a half-hearted grin and a thumbs up.

"What do you call that then?" She pointed at an old pot that was full of ectoplasm, her expression flat.

"Uh... the after affects of Tucker's cooking?" He replied innocently, not really succeeding in putting up a convincing facade.

"Tucker doesn't cook that badly." She smiled slightly, picking up the first aid kit that Tucker left beneath the table, offering him her arms. "Here, let me help you up, I'm going to change these again."

"You don't need to Sam." He said in a rather firm tone. "I really appreciate your help and everything, but... you've been doing too much as it is. More importantly, you need to eat something. You need to rest and recover. I doubt one meal and one night's sleep will qualify as full recovery."

"There's no time to rest." She said softly, "And I'm not hungry. Nor am I the one who got jammed with lasers nearly killing me on contact." She said firmly. "How about this, I'll take a nap if you let me fix you up."

He sat there a moment, pondering. "...Fine." He finally replied, before looking up at her with mischievous blue eyes. "But you have to sleep on the couch with me."

She opened her mouth to retort, balling her fists, before letting her eyes move back to the pot, and then to his waist, and her shoulders slumped. "Fine." She growled, offering her arms out again.

He smiled triumphantly, and then gladly accepted her offer, letting her help him up into a sitting position. "Do I get another kiss for my ouchies?" He asked in a cheerful voice. "That helped a lot the other night you know."

"Don't push your luck." She said quietly, untying the knot and unwrapped his bandages, disposing them to the side before she carefully covered the wounds in Neosporin, and then bandaged them back up, slowly and tightly. She finished up in silence, throwing away the old bandages before making her way back to the couch, tugging the hoodie down her hips again, nervously looking at where she had set him back down on the couch.

Danny looked up, then simply smiled and made room for her, laying at the very edge of the couch as he held out his arm. "You proooomised" He sang with a smile on his features.

She sighed, making a good deal of fuss about it, carefully climbing over him, fitting herself between him and the back of the couch, her cheeks warm as she rested her head on his shoulder, diverting her eyes.

Bloody deal.

Even as she pouted, trying her best to clearly state she wasn't backing down, but god damn it she didn't have to like it - Danny smiled and wrapped his arm around her, resting his head against hers softly. "Thanks, Sam." He whispered softly, his fingers lightly playing with the stands of hair that fell past her shoulders in a fond manner.

She stayed quiet, his breathing brushing over her ear as he played with her hair, one of the rare occasions that it was down all the way, and he could play with it freely. She could feel her heartbeat speed up as she flushed, squirming a little to get comfortable, before reaching up and tugging the throw off the top of the couch, the little blanket toppling over them, covering their forms beneath its red threads. "I'm a bit cold..." She explained; of course, that had to do with not wearing any pants, but she wasn't going to say it.

He just smiled, using his free hand to gently tuck her in, helping her cover her entire form before settling back in himself. "Not wearing any pants will do that." He spoke quietly in her ear, humor in his voice. "Not that I mind..."

"You do realize my knee is precariously close to your crotch right?" She snapped, glaring up at him, squirming under his arm. "Let me up, I'm going to change."

"Oh Sam, I was kidding." He laughed, not releasing her from his hold, but not strengthening it by any means.

"I'm not used to this Danny; I'm going to be jumpy." She huffed, though her struggling slowed down. She was warm and so very tired... and unaware of the implications of what she said it seemed.

"If you leave..." He brought his lips closer to her ear, his warm breath wafting over her skin as his voice darkened to the familiar sadistic tone she grew oh so used to hearing not two days ago. "I'll start speaking like this, Sammy..."His fingers gently caressed the side of her cheek, eyes half-lidded as he assumed the role he knew would make her cringe.

"Do that and I WILL leave, Danny! Stop!" She squirmed, recoiling away from his touch. She pushed at his chest, though worried that she might hurt him.

Slowly he pulled her closer, despite her efforts to pull away from him, his grip tighter but still nowhere near painful. Gently he pressed his lips to her forehead, before he surprisingly let her go, leaving her plenty of room to get off the couch. "Damn... it's fact now. I can't do that to you anymore." He grinned at her.

She flushed darkly, half sitting up, but made no move to leave. "So you will actually stop that?"

"I suppose..." He sighed, leaning back into the pillow completely, but raised one eyebrow at her suggestively. "Question is... do you want me to stop?"

She gave him a flat look. "Most definitely." She huffed, before settling back down, tugging the blanket back over her cool shoulder, snuggling herself into the back of the couch, their knees still touching. "I'm going to take a nap Danny, do anything, and you'll find your face in the opposite wall."

"What if I do something in my sleep?" He asked with fake innocence.

"You'll get it anyway." She said flatly, closing her eyes, resting her cheek on her hands.

She must have laid there by his side for a while, because he fell victim to a deep sleep, dreams already obscuring his subconscious. A few times his brows would furrow, or he'd mumble something so softly it was a mystery if he had actually said anything at all. Though slowly, a hand found the hem of her shirt, his fingers lightly tugging on it as he gripped it like a small child, his head sinking farther into the bed pillow.

"Sam..." His quiet voice whispered, small and broken - much unlike the tone he portrayed as a spectral prince. "...'m sor'y..."

She had started to fall asleep herself finally, just as his knuckles brushed against her stomach, tugging at her shirt pathetically calling her name. She opened tired violet eyes, about to berate him when he whispered his apology. She squirmed slightly, watching him with worried eyes. "Danny? Are you ok?"

He didn't reply in the least, his eyes still shut tightly as he seemed to relax a little at her voice, before his grip on her shirt dropped altogether. "...'M sorry..." He whispered again, his relaxing state depicting that he was most likely falling back into peaceful dreams.

She flushed, propping herself up onto one elbow, watching him curiously. She had once heard if you talked to someone in their sleep... "Danny?" She asked softly, just next to his ear. "Can I ask you something?"

Her question was met with silence as the boy continued to sleep. But hey, that wasn't a 'no'.

She snorted, pushing his hair out of his face before rolling onto her side, placing her back to him. "So much for that."

Sam slipped off into deep sleep not soon after, the blanket cuddled over the both of them. The day crept by, the two not moving from the couch until Tucker opened the front door, yammering incessantly to the person beside him. "So he's on the couch, Sam's probably still upstairs asleep, she's had a really rough week."

"So I've heard... I can't believe tha-" Jasmine Fenton pause after she walked through the door after Tucker, eyes quickly finding the small couch set up in front of the TV in the living area, where two forms lay, fast asleep. "Tucker, isn't that Sam?" She pointed towards the young girl, though both she and Danny were almost completely hidden under the covers.

Tucker blinked, looking up to see tufts of black sticking up from the blankets, which was rising and falling just slightly, and he felt his blood rush to his face in aggravation. "I swear if I lift up that sheet and find even ONE of them naked, I'm killing him." He stomped over to the couch, reaching out for the blanket.

Jazz blushed slightly, looking off to the side as Tucker walked over to them, as if expecting him to lift the sheet off and scream in horror - though she knew Sam better than that. And the fact Tucker overreacts too much due to his blatant crush on Sam... Though it is a little odd for Sam to sleep with a guy (literally, not metaphorically) she barely knows, especially after all that's happened to her. "Relax Tuck; I'm sure she just crashed with him to make sure he's doing alright."

"Uh huh." He grumbled, yanking the blanket off of them, making Sam flinch and curl closer to the warmer form beside her, blurrily cracking one sleep addled eye.

"Mnnfuphh?"

Danny merely winced at the intrusion of light and buried his face farther into the pillow as if he was trying to escape. "Go 'way." He mumbled into the fabric.

"Make a new boyfriend, Sam?" Jazz grinned, stepping up beside the couch with her arms crossed. "You two sure are friendly."

Tucker flushed, dropping the sheet to reach over and, once again, yank his hoodie down over her hips, as she sat up slowly, rubbing at her eyes. "Whaddya talking about..." She mumbled, before realizing who she was still crammed on the couch with, and she squeaked, scrambling off the couch. "No no no no, it's not like that!"

With a rather painful 'thud', Danny was shoved off the side of the couch, dragging most of the sheets with him as he let out a painful cry after the rough contact with his injured body. "Ow! Goddamnit... Sam, what-" He leaned up, blinking with confusion spread across his face, before he slowly turned to see Tucker standing there with a very disgruntled expression. That and some red-headed girl he could have sworn looked familiar... "Aww Tuck... if you wanted to cuddle, you coulda just said so..."

"I'm gonna..." He growled, balling up his fists as his glasses slid down on his nose. "Will you QUIT that!"

Sam adjusted her attire nervously, pushing her hair out of her face as she half smiled at Jazz. "Thank you for coming..."

Jazz didn't reply, her entire body frozen as her gaze fixated on the sole boy who struggled to stand up, his breathing a bit labored. Shakily, he stood to his feet, one hand leaning on the couch, the other to his side where a shredded T-shirt barely covered the green and red stained bandages. Slowly, her blue eyes widened considerably.

"...Danny...?" She whispered, voice cracking and face pale as if she had seen a ghost.

Danny hesitant looked her way, at first worried that he had done something wrong... until their gazes locked.

He knew this girl. "Jazz?"

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Bum bum BUM.

Oh, evil cliffhanger. And a nice little pun, if you caught it. There's a reason why Sam never put two and two together with Danny and Jazz, but that's for next chapter. :3

Thanks again ChibiSamiSala, for helping me edit the past few chappies! I LOVE YOU! GIVE ME SMOOCHES!