~Chapter 20~

It was his shoebox that held those old shoes from the dance. He hated those things. They were so uncomfortable. He went to put them back in the box so he could shove that thing back into the depths of his closet where his mother would never find them. The first one was fine, nothing happened, it was a normal shoe. But the second one, having been turned upside down when it fell out of the box, was a normal shoe with something underneath it, something that had come out during the fall. He picked it up and as he did, he heard a sort of clatter under it. He looked down. He could hardly believe what he saw.

"Uh...Sam," he called to his girlfriend.

"Hm?" she hummed from the bathroom. "If this is about your chest, I haven't put away the bandages yet. Yes, we'll still have to use peroxide, but thankfully you won't be tortured by how long you have to wait. It'll be over before you know it."

"Uh, no, that's not it. Can you come here for a second?" he asked, still hardly able to register what he was holding.

There was a soft thud as she closed the cabinet, the medical supplies safely tucked away inside. They were in the corner, where his parents weren't too likely to find them. If they found them, they'd think something was wrong and they would want to know. If they found Danny wrapped up in all those bandages, they'd interrogate him. And chances were, he wouldn't win the interrogation. Bad news for everyone at that point.

She quickly checked on the twins, making sure they hadn't woken up from their nap yet, before turning her attentions to Danny. She immediately halted, horrified, and felt the color in every part of her body drain away. She drew a sharp breath and seemed unable to let it back out.

"Sam, is there something you want to talk to me about?" he asked softly, slowly moving his held object behind his back. "Because you can tell me anything. I won't get mad, I swear. I'm just...I'm kinda worried about you."

Speechless, she could only stare in his direction. She was too shocked to so much as open her mouth. Heck, the girl didn't even know what to say at this point!

"It's okay," he coaxed, "You can talk to me."

Still motionless. Still shocked. Still out of words. Still holding in a breath.

"Look, I know I'm supposed to be going to school right now, but I want you to tell me what's wrong. I can still afford tardy slips. And the worst they can do to me is detention."

Still nothing.

"Please, Sam. I've been through everything with you. Just tell me what's wrong. I can help. I won't tell anyone, I-" He was cut short when he saw her raise a shaky finger, pointing at him. Her jaw dropped and he could tell she was trying to speak but couldn't.

"You can tell me anything, even if you think it'll hurt me. I can take it, I can! I mean, if this is because of me, I can fix it. Or is this about your scars? What about when I was gone, what happened? How long-" Again he stopped himself.

"Y...You...but..." she whispered, trying to find the words.

"Yes, I found it, but it's okay. Just...please, tell me what's wrong!"

She still looked like she was about to pass out, but she was trying to speak, and that was a start. "Dan-Danny...how'd you...how'd you find...?"

"I tripped over my shoebox when I was getting a new shirt. When I put the shoes back in, this fell out."

She let out a quivering breath. "That's not..."

"Yes it is," he continued. "Please...tell me, I need to know what's wrong, I need to know why you were hiding this from me."

Slowly shaking her head, she responded, "I...you don't... That was...that was from a long time ago..."

"What do you mean?" he asked warily, bringing out the item from behind him. "If it was from so long ago, what was it doing in my shoe?"

"I forgot about it!" she blurted. "I forgot I put it there!"

A look of confusion crossed his face. "What?"

She sighed and plowed on. "Okay, look. That thing has been in your shoe for years now, almost two and a half years. I forgot it was there and didn't think you would ever find it."

"Why?"

"Because you never touch those shoes."

"No, I mean why'd you hide it in the first place? What is this, how'd you get it? Where'd you get it?" he corrected, assaulting her with his new barrage of questions.

She snatched it up and before he had a chance to take it back, she began explaining everything. "Remember when that man almost slit my throat, back when I was still pregnant with the twins?" She didn't give him time to answer and continued on. "Well, he used this knife. I think he dropped it when you saved me. A few weeks after you were all crazed up on pollen, I went out and somehow wound up at my old house."

He made no attempt to ask questions, hoping she would explain everything thoroughly enough to satisfy him. If he wanted to know anything, it could wait until the end, when she was done speaking. It was still weird, even after all this time she'd spent living with him, that she was still referring to her parents' house as her 'old house'. It was true, of course, but it didn't make it any less awkward.

"I found this and..." The blade flipped out.

He nodded as he forced himself to keep a straight face.

"It was the same day you started sweating out the poison. It was also the same day you found out and promised not to tell. When you asked me where the knife was, I lied and said it was in the dishwasher. This was what I used most of the time. Ever since then I had to hide it from you because it was stained with blood and I couldn't wash it off. I kept it hidden in your shoe because you hate those shoes and haven't touched them since the dance. I thought it was the perfect hiding spot. But after I got back from Other Ways, I forgot I even had it."

For a few minutes, he kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word. His expression was kept even and emotionless. Even his eyes seemed to be dead. She wondered what was going on in his mind. She wondered what he would think of her now, considering all that had happened last night, and then today... He was her boyfriend and her children's father, and she expected him to love her unconditionally, but recalling what happened with her parents and how she could so easily have sworn they would never do such a thing to her, she had to keep in mind that this might not be the case with him. She didn't want to doubt him. She wanted to trust him. But it was hard, especially with the tension in the room thickening with each second that passed.

She pushed the blade back in and set it beside her, getting down on her knees and crawling up to Danny, who had actually sat down while listening to her story. She noticed the little red blotch on his chest. He really didn't need a shirt. Those bandages were good enough; more like a strapless tank top. If he had cleavage, it wouldn't be showing. She mentally slapped herself and shook the thought of her boyfriend having cleavage out of her head. That was an image she didn't want to remember. And hopefully that one wouldn't haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Danny?" she murmured.

His eyes flickered over to her, still completely emotionless and dull. It scared her.

"Danny...?" she repeated, this time her voice small and unsure.

With a sigh, he got up from his cross-legged position and lifted himself onto his knees, still looking straight at her. He dropped to all fours, just as she had, and crawled closer. She couldn't get over his eyes. He showed no love, no care, not even the negative emotions she was beginning to think he had. There was...nothing. And it was scaring her half to death.

But then he closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips to hers. There were no words to describe how relieved she was at that point. And his eyes were closed. She didn't have to see his cold, lifeless eyes anymore. It made her feel more comfortable. Instead she could enjoy his kiss, the only sign right now that showed he still loved her.

It wasn't deep and passionate, but it was soft and gentle. Still a kiss. A kiss that, she noticed, he'd initiated.

Although it was a kiss nonetheless, he quickly pulled back and stared at her. His eyes were starting to show emotion, but his expression was still void. "You're not going to use that switchblade again," he said firmly, much more of a command than a statement.

She frantically shook her head. "No, I'm done! I want that thing destroyed!"

There were times-and this was one of those times-when Danny seized control. He never did it very often, but when he did, she backed down and did what he said. Every time this happened, she became uncharacteristically submissive. He never said anything that would hurt her and he never made her do anything uncomfortable, unless it was a time like this where she had to answer his questions. But nevertheless, whenever Danny took over like this, she actually felt safer, knowing that the situation was in his hands and he would handle it probably better than she would.

He smiled. "Good, because I was gonna destroy it anyway." This time, a genuine question with every hint of curiosity, he added, "You aren't thinking about starting that up again, are you?"

The goth grimaced, as if disgusted with the question. "Absolutely not. I'm never doing that again. It's the worst mistake I've ever made."

The entire atmosphere around him lifted and all tension dissipated. "Everyone's made mistakes."

"What's your worst mistake, Baby Blue?" she mocked.

He seemed to ignore his hopefully-not-permanent new nickname and looked away. He didn't want to remind Sam of all she'd been through. Remembering it was all too easy for her and it was the very reason she feared the dark. She even had nightmares when he didn't wrap his arms around her each night. She needed him, needed to feel his safety. She needed to know he was there for her. But his biggest and by far worst mistake was failing to protect her three times, consecutively. He was never there for her, it was just something she wanted to believe, something to quell her fears. It was something that was completely untrue and had he been there to help her, she wouldn't have suffered so badly. That was his worst mistake.

"Uh..." He laughed nervously. Sam never had a record of responding well when he berated himself over not being there when she needed him. "Uh, you know, I have so many mistakes...it's hard to keep up with them. I'm mean, I'm clueless, remember?"

"Yeah. Because the laugh didn't give it away," she pressed.

He smiled and looked away, trying to look innocent and truthful. "I...don't really know."

She crawled around him to meet his gaze. "Biggest liar on the planet."

He looked down, but she dipped under him and looked up. He looked diagonally and she moved into a position that forced him to look her in the eyes. He gave up, knowing it was useless to keep looking away. She was even still under his head, determined to keep him captive!

Sighing, he said, "I was never there for you when you needed me."

She frowned and, to satisfy the current position of her straining neck, flipped onto her back and let her head rest on the floor. "Danny, that's not true. Weren't you the one who saved my throat from being slit? Weren't you the one who found me in the rain? Weren't you the one who sent me to Other Ways? Weren't you the one who let me move in with you when I needed a place to stay? Weren't you the one who stayed by me even after I got drunk...and supposedly did certain things?"

Before she could finish her little speech, he cut her off at perfect timing after her last sentence. "Wasn't I the one who could've prevented all that in the first place?"

She shook her head. "You didn't know about any of this. It's not your fault. And besides...weren't you the one who agreed to be the twins' father, and weren't you the one who held that promise even though I told you you didn't have to?"

He wanted to look away, but chances were, she'd squirm herself to a point where he had to face her.

"Stop beating yourself up over it. None of this is your fault, it never was," she added. "Besides, if none of this happened, the twins wouldn't exist and you might not be my boyfriend. Especially given how shy you are."

He flushed. "I'm not shy!"

She smiled and stared at him, letting her eyes reply for her. Yes he was. Even now, even when he was seventeen years old, he was shy. Of course, he was still male, and he still flaunted what he had every now and then. So...in a way, that much had changed over the years. He used to never show off, especially not around her, but now he took a small opportunity. Take for instance, the whole escape of the Guys In White fiasco. He acted like it was a cinch getting out of there but she knew it was much harder than he let on. Why else would he have that deep a gash in him? And he was away for a very long time, if it was in fact such a 'simple' and 'easy' escape. The Guys In White were complete idiots but he had been transferred to one of their facilities. Getting out of it...probably not that easy.

But that just proved how he felt the urge to flash his feathers, even if he didn't know he was doing it. Or, maybe he did, and maybe he was proud that she noticed it. She assumed it was a male instinct. And although he acted like a baby sometimes, he was a male nonetheless. Thus, a little bit of a showoff nonetheless.

"And...besides, even if I was, there's nothing wrong with it," he said defensively. "I've heard that girls happen to like shy guys."

"Well, there's shy guys, and then there's you. One half is shy as heck, and the other half loves to show off for his fans," she teased.

"That half is a hero, he has to do that!" he retorted. "It's in all comic books, look it up and see for yourself."

She chuckled. "You just want a reason to show off in front of everyone, admit it."

The halfa still wanted to look away and it was becoming hard to do now that Sam kept on about this. He never showed off! So he smiled for the cameras and flew around really fast, was that a crime? It was just part of being a hero, that's all. Heroes had to look good and...well, heroic. So he had to prove his strength. It let the citizens know they were safe.

Then again... He sighed. Sam was always like this. It was just part of her personality. Yeah. Not that it was bad. Actually, it was charming. In a weird, overly sarcastic kind of way. Hm...now might be a good time to tell her. They were alone, the twins were asleep, Jazz was at school, and his parents were down in the lab. No interruptions, no loud noises...only peace.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Hm?"

His flush turned into a blush. "I, um..." He cleared his throat. Why was he nervous about this? They'd lived together for almost two years now! "I know I told you to meet me after school, but...I think I'll just tell you this now. I..." His voice trailed off and as the goth waited, he slowly summoned enough courage to spit it out, and while that short burst of courage still lasted... "I love you!"

She couldn't believe it. He'd never once said that to her. And here he said he wasn't shy...

She swiveled herself around so that her body, though still awkwardly under him, was parallel to his. Grinning widely, she locked her arms around his neck and yanked the entire front portion of him down, his lips crashing onto hers. He almost pulled away in shock, but only managed a twitch. She had him good and she had no intentions of letting him go anytime soon. He said he could afford a late slip, didn't he? And he'd already offered to take a late slip, didn't he? Plus, he was already late. Lunch was over and that meant he could skip the rest of school for today. But that boy wouldn't be missing any classes tomorrow. She never allowed him to skip unless ghost trouble rose up.

But today was different. It was the first time he'd said he loved her. She had been waiting for the day he would say that. Now it had finally arrived and she wasn't going to simply lose him to mental torture. No, she had an opportunity this time and she was taking it. And...she also had a surprise for him, but it would have to wait until she turned eighteen. It was a shame, really, because she knew he would leap with joy upon seeing it. Maybe he would even go ghost and flutter into the air. Now that would be funny!

A/N

:'D D'AWWW! I've been planning to make him say that for awhile now but figured that because he WAS so shy, I should wait to make it super cute. Or sweet, whichever.

DON'T FORGET THE POLLS!

;) What do you think the surprise will be...?

Review quota: two hundred eighty-three (284).

Review replies:

BooksAreMyVideoGames- Books are my video games too. :D AWESOME fishy faces! They ish epical... (patent pending on that word)

smallvillephantom14- D: No of course not! I'm evil but I'm not THAT evil! ...Okay, maybe a little bit. But not enough to make him trip over one of the twins.

Zinnia99- Woohoo! Thanks, I was hoping to get a better chapter on that one. :)

AJ- It's fine. And yeah, I was trying to go for a more realistic scene after escaping the Guys In White. What with the tests and the anti-ghost rope as well as a million government agents chasing him down, I thought it had become a little too fake. Couples fight in real life and there's gonna be ups and downs, just like I promised in FWB. That was one of those down moments. :D Now time for an up moment! As for my dizzy spells...I dunno. They come and go and sometimes I see double, sometimes the world is hopping up and down...so I'm not quite sure. I work on this when I get the chance though, I really do. :( I hate it when I can't update regularly (I am traumatized from those horribly long hiatuses on FWB).

Favorite Daughter Of Hades- Nah, even when I'm giving them they suck. :D In fact, they suck BECAUSE I'm giving them! MUAHAHAHA!

I'm. Only. Human. Dude. - I know, I can hardly believe I did that! Originally she was going to flirt with Danny but stay really sweet toward Sam. She found the loophole in what he said. Yeah, with that much blood running out like that, he could've passed out or ever wound up in the hospital...having a blood transfusion. (and BAM secret is blown!)

HeroAce- XD Perhaps. I won't tell. lol You have great taste in the fine art of revenge.

Inuyuke- Well you just found out. :) Was it satisfactory?

Thunber- XD I know, I was smiling trying to hold back laughter as I imagined Danny acting like a little kid trying to get Sam to pity him and let him off the hook with the peroxide (peroxide doesn't hurt on scratches and stuff but when you pour it on a really deep wound like that it KILLS you).

Another announcement for those who are willing to hear me out: my friend PlasticPencils has created two new stories, both for Danny Phantom and both DannyxSam (she loves that pairing just as much as I do and refuses to do anything but that). If you're interested, one of them is called Enough where Sam stops eating; the other is called Watch and lemme tell you, Danny is HILARIOUS in that one! XD Anyway, in Watch, Danny has waited too long to tell Sam how he feels and she's moved on; now they're twenty-two years old and Sam is dating other guys, which depresses Danny...and...*cracks up HARD* just see for yourselves, it is BEYOND funny! I promise you, you won't be disappointed (especially by Watch, that's my favorite one so far).