Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.

Note (8/25/2020): I decided to throw Sam a small bone so we can at least understand her side of all this. Old habits die hard but she's a really stubborn person so I feel like this is the only way it'll finally sink in that she needs to change, especially when even Tucker gets fed up with her attitude. Also, sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual. I meant to make it the usual length but it felt like it ended better at the break where I was going to switch POV's. Regardless I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 16: Adding Insult To Injury

Sam's POV

I honestly didn't think today could possibly get any worse, but somehow it did...

My parents usually really disapprove of my friendship with Danny but even they looked sad and worried when they gently confirmed what Valerie yelled in my face just a few minutes ago. Danny is in the hospital and he's going to be transferred back to Wisconsin with Vlad later this afternoon. But that's not even the worst part! No, the worst part is I wasn't even allowed to see him off because of this stupid piece of paper in my hands!

It was a restraining order. Vlad freaking filed a restraining order on me to keep me from seeing Danny again! I didn't think even Vlad would stoop so low but there you have it. If he thinks this is going to stop me though Vlad has another thing coming!

"Samikins, I know this must be hard for you to accept but I think it's probably for the best," my mom began, leaning against my dad when he rested his hands on her shoulders. "Danny needs his rest and time to recover somewhere safe from that horrific experience and putting some distance between him and the place it all happened will do him some good."

Nodding my dad added, "I know we haven't exactly been fair about how we've treated your friend Danny in the past or very understanding of his living situation but let's face it, we all knew it was only a matter of time before his parent's ghost hunting put him in danger like this! The poor boy must be so traumatized after being kidnapped by such a terrible ghost but that being said I know it's not your fault he collapsed sweetheart. This has probably been building up ever since Danny was rescued and Mr. Masters is just trying to do what's best for him."

"You mean like keeping me away from him because we had one argument?! How is that best for Danny?" I snapped, crumpling the paper in my hand and throwing it at the wall. "Can't you see Vlad's evil and he's trying to isolate him from his friends and family? That guy is obsessed! He's the one who should have a restraining order on him. No, scratch that, Vlad should be behind bars for all the sketchy stuff he's done!"

Putting their serious faces back on, my mom frowned at me and chided, "I know it's hard to understand why he felt this was necessary but I'm sure you will once you're older. And Sammy you haven't been yourself since that boy went missing to begin with. That's not healthy. At first I thought it was just you acting like a little rebel again in protest but then Vlad told us that you and Tucker broke into his home searching for Danny and I remember we grounded you for that."

"Your mother is right, you can't keep losing your head over a boy like this," glancing at the principle my dad put the final nail in the coffin by saying, "And seeing as you got into a fight with one of his other lady friend today, we have every right to be worried you're taking this situation with Danny too personally. That's why until further notice you will be driven to and from school by one of our drivers to make sure you don't make any detours. And no buts! You're lucky we're not grounding you again on top of this for this unladylike behavior."

I didn't respond to that and angrily picked up the crumpled restraining order and stuffed it into my spider backpack. Yep, today couldn't possibly get any worse and I just wished it was over. But no, I still had to get through at least one class before lunchtime so I could track down Tucker and apologize to him then come up with a plan to sneak out of school. I mean if I'm going to be punished anyway I might as well go all the way right? What's the worst thing that they can do to me when I already feel like my best friend is leaving us forever and...

...I never even got the chance to tell him how I really feel?

I wasn't surprised when lunch finally did come around to find Tucker sulking and messing with his PDA at a table way off to the side outside the cafeteria. What did surprise me is that Tucker seemed...really deep in thought about something. And no I don't mean the way he does when working on his tech stuff, but I mean like actually seriously in thought. Either way, whether Tucker was ready to forgive me or not this might be our last chance to see Danny so-

"Before you say anything Sam-" Tucker began while I was trying to figure out what to do and how to apologize to him, "-Valerie told me what happened to Danny last night on their end of things, and honestly, looking back on everything he said it all makes sense. Danny wasn't talking about how Valerie felt when that stuff happened to them at all. None of this was really about her, Danny was just trying to tell us how HE really felt when Dan did all those horrible things to them and explain why he feels the way he does now.

"But we should have realized what he really meant to say without Valerie having to spell it out to us like that. We should have been more supportive of Danny, not give him another reason to want to get out of here. And look, I know you and Valerie have this...girl thing going on between you, but honestly, I'm sick of getting caught in the middle of it. So I'll accept whatever apology you want to give me but beyond that I need some time to myself too, ok Sam?" Tucker said tiredly, finally looking up at me.

Frowning, I put my hands on the table and said, "Tucker we don't have time for this! Vlad's up to something and he put a restraining order on me! Look!" whipping out the crumpled paper, I smoothed it out as best I could and explained, "I bet there's one waiting at home for you too so if we don't go see Danny now Vlad might never let us see him again. I know he's done a lot for Danny but-"

"Sam, stop. Just stop!" Tucker snapped, glaring at me and pushing the paper back at me, "You don't get it do you? The only people who're are pushing Danny away is the two of us! Not his parents, not Vlad, not Dan, not any other ghosts, it's just us!

"So yeah, I might not like it either but we can't keep doing this to him! He's my best friend Sam! And leaving Amity Park for his own good instead of trying to make things work here is probably the hardest decision he's ever had to make. But Danny has already put everything on the line to make sure all of us still have a place to call home and families to go back to when he wasn't even sure HE would have any of that after his parents learned his secret. That's why he deserves a chance to escape from the pressure we keep putting on him to be everyone else's hero instead of rescuing himself for once! Things can't go back to the way they were, Sam. No matter how much we don't want things to change, we have to let them or we're just going to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again."

Taking a deep breath since I didn't want to get mad at Tucker again like I did earlier, I sat down and admitted, "You're right, I...I really messed up last night. I know that. That's why I have to see him, Tucker! I have to tell Danny that in person and see for myself if he really did end up in the hospital like Valerie said or if it's just another one of Vlad's excuses to take him away from us. Please, Tucker, I can't do this on my own and there isn't much time left!"

Shaking his head, Tucker replied somberly, "Come on Sam, let's be realistic. We both know that's only going to make things worse. For one thing, if you get caught sneaking into the hospital and violating that restraining order you could get in serious trouble! And if you're right and I've got one waiting for me at home too then the thing same applies to me. On top of that, what if it IS true that Danny lost control of his ghost powers and ended up in a coma because of us? He's not going to be able to talk to us let alone hear you tell him anything even if we did try to see him and apologize. That's why I really think that the best thing we can do now is just wait for this whole thing out. I mean...this is only temporary right?"

Reaching over and picking up the paper again, Tucker straightened his glasses and nodded to himself before pointing out, "Yeah, it says right here that this is only a civil harassment restraining order so it should expire on its own in about 25 to 50 days unless Vlad renews it, which I doubt he'll bother doing once he takes Danny away to live with him since it won't be as easy for us to visit him anyway. I'm surprised Vlad didn't go all out to make this more permanent since that seems more his usual style. Then again he probably doesn't want Danny to get super pissed off at him if he ever finds out about this."

"Are you seriously suggesting that I shouldn't do anything?" I gaped, shocked since I thought Tucker of all people would behind me on this until it struck me that- "Wait, is this just because you don't want to help me break into a hospital?"

"No! No, it's not that at all! Sam, you're not LISTENING to me!" Tucker huffed, slamming the paper back down on the table. "Just like you didn't listen to me before storming off last night in the middle of talking to Danny! This is exactly what happened when we broke into Vlad's mansion and where did that get us, Sam? Huh!? Danny kept blaming himself for losing control back then too and couldn't stop agonizing over the things we said to him which made it easier for Dan to worm his way into his mind even more in the first place! And this time is no different since we made him overexert himself trying to open a portal to get away from us so you know what, I'm done putting up with this."

Shoving his things back into his backpack, Tucker scowled, "If you wanna risk getting caught and never being allowed to talk to Danny EVER again when Vlad completely cuts us off from him with more than just a pair of restraining orders, be my guest."

Looking up at the sky, he continued a bit more calmly, "As for me, I'm going to do the right thing for once and give Danny the time he needs to figure things out on his own and whether or not we're still worth being friends with. Especially after all the crap we've pulled like kicking him when he's down. And Sam, you're my friend too but I'm not going to be your scapegoat or be forced into the role of mediator anymore, it's way too mentally exhausting for me to deal with anymore. So if you're not gonna listen to anyone anyway, then do whatever you want. But I hope you're ready to live with the consequences because I'm not going to be any part of this. I'll cya around Sam."

And just like that, Tucker walked off without another word, leaving me too stunned to move from that spot. I just stared down at the paper in my hands for a solid minute and before I knew it the tears started falling and they wouldn't stop. My face was soon so damp from the tears that it was smearing my makeup all over as I folded my arms and sobbed. But I didn't care since it already felt like the world was falling apart around me anyway even though Danny managed to save it from Dan. All I could think about was that today just couldn't possibly get any worse.

I just had to jinx it this morning thinking it was going to go completely south, didn't I? Now I know how Danny feels at least on that front, I thought bitterly, tightening the grip on my arms, But he's not here anymore, and now we're going to have to rely on Valerie of all people for protection against ghosts. She'll never be as good as Danny was, never. And nothing is going to be the same without him.