Hello out there! So sorry for the delay, but I had some major writer's block for a multitude of reasons. At any rate, I decided on the direction of the story and ran with it, so here's chapter three at last! And again, constructive feedback is always highly welcome, so thanks again to all my reviewers.

A special note for this chapter: This has a bit of fluff towards the end. Not smut, but if you're not into that kind of thing, feel free to skip that part. You will know it when you see it, so just keep scrolling down. But the fluff is short-lived, and the ending of this chapter is very important, so make sure not to skip too much. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Danny Phantom. I also do not own any work by Paula Abdul.

Sam opened her eyes and found herself in the Ghost Zone. Puzzled over how she got there without even waking up, she stood up and looked all over for Danny. She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and levitate her.

"Oh, Danny, I'm so happy-"

Sam's words died in her throat as she turned around and saw that the arms were not those of Danny. They instead belonged to Prince Aragon, a ghost that had once had her abducted and brought to his castle in the Ghost Zone so he could marry her.

Sam tried to scream, but the ghost clapped a hand over her mouth. "This time you will be mine. No one can help you know," he hissed.

Something occurred to Sam at that moment. She remembered Danny once telling her that in the Ghost Zone, humans are like ghosts are in the Living World. She hoped this meant that she had the power to escape the ghostly prince's grip.

Sam closed her eyes and concentrated. Feeling as if she was drawing from some sort of power source within her, Sam managed to turn intangible just long enough to slip away, only to find herself falling. By the time she was aware of this, she was going deeper and deeper into a chasm.

"Help!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Sam awoke from her nightmare at 2:30 a.m. and discovered that she had fallen out of bed. She rubbed her bottom where it had met with the floor, then gripped the side of the bed and used it as leverage to stagger to her feet. Pain shot through her arms as the muscles under her wounds tensed, causing her to lose her grip and her balance to waver slightly. However, she managed to catch herself before falling onto her bottom again.

Sam's thoughts went to the request Danny had made earlier. She wanted him with her whole being, but she knew that dating him hinged on how things turned out between him and Valerie. For all Sam knew, Danny and Valerie could end up married!

Sam shook that last thought out of her head. After all, Danny was only sixteen! But still, there was always an outside chance.

As she ruminated the heartbreaking image of Danny marrying Valerie, the anguish returned to her heart. She needed a release. She needed to let the pain flow out of her.

Regaining her balance, Sam walked to the bathroom and took out her razor. Disregarding the pain in her arms just a moment before, she reopened the wounds.

Sometime later, Sam went back to bed, still undecided as to whether to fulfill Danny's request. But even as the weight of the decision hung over her, she somehow felt relaxed enough to return to the subconscious world, and she quickly fell asleep and did not wake up for the remainder of the night. As she slept on her side, her hands were tucked under the pillow, her wounds rubbing against the bed linens. But the girl remained in a heavy slumber, dreaming of her upcoming sixteenth birthday.

Because Danny had his driving test that day, his parents allowed him to practice by driving to school, meaning Sam wouldn't see him until their snack break between second and third period. Although the classes were short because it was a minimum day, the first two periods seem to drag by slower than ever. Sam tapped her foot nervously as she waited for her British Lit. course to end. Normally she enjoyed the class, but she was anxious to tell Danny her decision after much deliberation.

Come snack break, Danny was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, he appeared just before the bell rang, flushed and breathless.

"Sorry... guys... ghost... problems," he managed to say, just in time to hurry off to his third-period class. All Sam could do was call out a very rushed, "See you later!"

Frustrated and impatient as ever, Sam trudged off to her next class, dreading having to wait nearly another two hours to talk to Danny. She grumpily got through third and fourth period, hoping that Danny wouldn't have to fight any ghosts during their lunch break.

No such luck. First it was the Box Ghost, hiding out in the cafeteria. Then it was Skulker, pestering a rare purple-backed gorilla at the Amity Park Zoo. Then it was Lydia, robbing another jewelry store. Sam didn't see Danny until sixth period, during which they had a test.

After school let out for the day, Danny said a hasty good-bye to Sam before leaving to take his behind-the-wheel test. Sam boarded the bus and spent the whole ride home staring out the window, thinking about Danny.

Upon arriving home, Sam immediately started on her homework. Midway through math, her thoughts were interrupted by the honk of a car horn. Sam arose from the table and walked to a front window. Looking out, she saw a car belonging to the Fentons pulling to the curb in front of her house. She heard the motor shut off right before Danny alighted from the driver's seat.

"Sam! Sam!" he shouted excitedly, hurrying up the walkway and waving a piece of paper. "I got it! I got my license!"

Sam opened the front door and met him halfway. "Congratulations!" she said, actually smiling for the first time that day as he pulled her into a hug.

"All that practice in the Specter Speeder really helped a lot," Danny commented after they broke their embrace, following Sam into her house.

"Hey, you want a snack?" she offered, motioning for him to sit on the sofa.

"Sounds great."

Sam returned a moment later with a tray containing a plateful of oatmeal raisin cookies and two glasses of soy milk. That's just part of why she was so attracted to Danny- he wasn't weirded out by her eating habits. If anything, he admired her all the more for them. He even joined her in them every so often.

Sam set the tray down on the coffee table, and took the spot next to Danny on the sofa. As they had their snack, Danny told Sam about his behind-the-wheel test.

"I know you're not a fan of cars, but would you at least consider riding to school with me?" Danny asked Sam after they finished eating.

"I don't know, Danny. I mean, I'm happy that you got your license and all, but still..."

"Well, here's the beauty of it. I have great news. My parents said that if I keep my grades up, they'll buy me a car. A used one, but a car. When Jazz goes away to college this fall, she's going to get a new car, so my parents are going to trade in her old one and use the money to buy me one. And I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I've decided to go with a hybrid car."

"That's great, Danny. As soon as you get that car, I will be happy to ride to school with you. And I very much appreciate your efforts to be more environmentally conscious."

"Hey, anything for a close friend," Danny explained, grinning at Sam.

"By the way, Danny, about that..." Sam trailed off, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"What's up, Sam?"

"Well, remember what you asked me last night? I thought about it, and I've decided that, yes, I will give the little thing between us a chance if things don't work out between you and Valerie."

Danny breathed a huge sigh of relief. "I'm really glad to hear that. Now, I have something to confess. After the test, while I was waiting for my interim license to be processed, I overheard some kids from school gossiping about Valerie. You know I'm generally not one to put much stock in rumors, but some of the things they mentioned... well, let's just say they weren't pretty. And I found myself thinking, Who am I kidding? I already have someone in my life to whom I'm close, and with whom there's a mutual attraction. I mean, Valerie says she likes me back, but at school, she pretends like I don't exist as soon as anyone popular shows up. So basically what I'm getting at is that I want to focus on you, Sam. And I only wish I'd figured that out sooner."

Sam couldn't resist flashing her love interest a toothy grin, which he promptly returned. Danny scooted closer to her and pulled her into another warm embrace. After letting go, he locked eyes with her, and they just sat there, lost in each other's gaze.

"I really like you a lot, Sam," Danny murmured dreamily, breaking their intense stare to put her hand to his lips and kiss the back of it gingerly.

"I really like you a lot, too, Danny."

Danny began to kiss up Sam's arm. When he reached her shoulder, he stopped and moved to kiss her cheek. Sam sighed longingly as his soft lips grazed her skin. He stopped momentarily to stare into her violet eyes again, before leaning in and kissing her lips.

"Danny..." Sam breathed after he pulled away. In response to her tone of voice, he gave her a fiery kiss.

If Sam was surprised by his actions, she didn't betray it at all. Instead, she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to explore it. As their kisses deepened, Danny and Sam could sense the excitement building within each other.

"Danny," Sam growled into his ear in between his kisses.

At that point, Danny couldn't take it anymore. Too excited to take the stairs up to her room, he simply turned himself and Sam intangible and flew up, laying her on her bed. Lying down next to her, his lips quickly found their way to her neck.

Sam's breath quickened as Danny continued to kiss her neck. She could feel the heat building up inside her. Danny must have noticed it, too; he stopped what he was doing to gaze deep into her eyes.

"Yes," was all she said.

Danny's lips went back to Sam's neck, his hot breath tickling her sensitive skin. She started to unbutton her blouse, but he quickly stopped her.

"Let me. I want to cherish you, like you deserve," he breathed.

Danny and Sam shared a heated kiss before he shifted his focus to taking in the beauty that lie before him. He turned onto his side, facing her, and began to slowly remove her clothing. He kissed each part of her as it was revealed. When he finished, she did the same to him.

"I wasn't too sure at first, but now I know. I love you, Sam," Danny said.

"I love you, too, Danny."

They need not say anymore, for they spent some time showing each other exactly how much love the two of them shared.

Danny nuzzled his face into Sam's neck as she ran her fingers through his thick hair.

"You are so beautiful," he mumbled, sliding his hand along the curve of her waist. "I wish we could just stay like this forever."

"Mm-hmm," Sam murmured in agreement, a satisfied smile still creasing her face.

Danny began to kiss down Sam's arm, much more deliberately than he'd had the patience to do earlier. "I just wish that-"

Danny cut himself off as he noticed long, thin wounds on the inside of Sam's forearm, near her wrist. Although all were scabbed over, some of them looked more recent than others. As he examined them more closely, the look of pleasure on his face quickly turned into one of concern.

"What are these?" he asked Sam.

"Oh, nothing," she lied, jerking her arm away.

"Tell me the truth, Sam."

"I don't have to tell you anything."

Incensed by Sam's attitude, Danny nearly forgot the heated exchanged they'd just had in her bed. His mind clouded with possible causes for her arm wounds, he quickly got out of the bed and pulled on his boxers.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sam shouted as she watched him hurry into the bathroom.

Danny ignored her as he began to search. He opened drawers and cupboards, looking for the implement responsible for Sam's injuries.

Danny flung open the shower curtain and discovered Sam's razor, sitting on a low shelf near the faucet. He grabbed it and turned it over in his hands, looking for any indication that Sam had used it for any purpose other than that for which it was designed.

Danny took a close look at the blade. Although Sam had made a point of thoroughly rinsing it off after each instance of self-inflicted wounds, she had missed a spot somehow. But Danny found it- a little bit of dried blood that sent him into a frenzy.

"Why are you doing this to yourself, Sam?" he shouted, his tone of voice striking fear into the girl's heart.

Danny made his way back to the bed with the incriminating evidence still in his hand. As Sam sat there, a look of shock affixed firmly to her face, Danny picked up her cell phone from the nightstand. Opening the Address Book, he scrolled down to an entry marked "Dad-emergency," then quickly hit the "Send" key.

The other end of the line rang five times before the voicemail picked up. Danny waited for the beep, then began to leave a message. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Manson? This is Sam's friend, Daniel Fenton, and I'm calling about-"

"Danny, don't!" Sam shouted desperately, snatching the cell phone from him and flipping it shut to end the call.

"Sam, it's for your own good."

"Please, don't tell my parents," she implored him, "They wouldn't understand."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't think I understand, either. Why, Sam? Why are you hurting yourself intentionally?"

Concealing her face with her hands, Sam burst into tears. "I don't know," she confessed, hot tears wetting her face. "All I know is that I need your help. If you love me, please help me."

All Danny could do was hold Sam and kiss her tears away, in an effort to comfort her. "Don't worry, Sam. We're going to get you some professional help," he told her, rocking her back-and-forth. "And even if I have to spend every waking hour with you, we're going to get through this mess together. I promise."

Please review! Thanks a bunch!