Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
A quick note: This one's a little short too. I had to end it the way I did though. I've got to have you guys coming back for more.
Reviews: Samantha-Girl Scout, hamanor12, katiesparks, Sapphire Wolf Master.
Chapter 8: Admitting Feelings
"I can't attack Danny," Vlad whispered, staring into the fire.
"Yes, you can," Plasmius' voice hissed in his mind. "Danny Phantom may be all but invincible, but Fenton only needs some… instruction."
"What do I do?" Vlad asked, turning away from the fire.
"Instruct him in the ways of loss and pain. Make him wish he were dead then grant his wish."
Vlad knelt on the ground before the fire. "How?"
"The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind."
Vlad nodded. "His heart," he whispered. "Attack his heart."
Maddie sat in her room, flipping through photo albums of the old days, smiling and gently stroking a photo of she and Jack when she was pregnant with Danny. She screamed and covered her head as the window exploded, throwing glass, wood, and plaster everywhere. She looked up, screaming as she gazed into the glowing red eyes of Plasmius.
Danny pushed open the door of the hospital, walking quickly down the stark-white hallway. He broke into a run as he heard his mom crying and moaning. "Mom!" He ran to her side, grasping her hand. "What happened? Is she going to be okay? What happened?"
"She's going to be fine," the nurse said, pushing him away. "You need to leave right now."
"Those eyes!" Maddie cried. "Those evil red eyes!"
Danny was only dimly aware of the nurse pushing him out of the room before he found himself leaning against the opposite wall, eyes gazing without seeing. "He knows who I am," he whispered. Suddenly, nothing felt safe.
When Danny was finally allowed to see her, he never left her side, gazing at her sleeping face. He reached forward and grasped her hand in his, barely holding back tears. He had lost his dad because of his powers. Was he going to lose his mom too?
"I'm sorry," Danny whispered, a tear trailing down his cheek.
"Is she going to be okay?" Sam whispered, stepping to Maddie's side.
"She's going to be fine. She's been sleeping all day." Danny managed a weak smile. "Thanks for coming."
"Of course," she said, rubbing his arm.
They were silent. "How are you?" he asked. "I mean, are you okay about the other night?"
She nodded, smiling. "I'm fine. I just feel bad about walking out on Maddie like that."
"Did you talk to Tucker?"
She shook her head. "He called me, but I didn't call him back." She picked up the flowers she had brought then set them down again. "You see, I think I'm in love with someone else."
His eyes widened in surprise. "You are?"
"It's not the right time to talk about this…"
"No, go on. Would I know his name?" He sat down in a chair, urging her to sit across from him.
She laughed, sitting across from him. "You'll think I'm a stupid little girl with a crush."
He smiled. "Trust me."
She shook her head. "It's funny. He's saved my life twice, and I've never even seen his face."
He almost started laughing but simply rolled his eyes. "Oh, him."
"You're laughing at me!" she said, slapping his hand.
"No, no. I'll admit, he is pretty cool." That was definitely an ego boost.
"Do you think all those terrible rumors about him are true?"
"No, not Danny Phantom. I kind of know him; I'm his unofficial photographer."
She leaned forward. "Has he mentioned me?"
"Uh, yeah."
She laughed a little. "Well, what did he say?"
"Uh, I said… He-he asked me what I thought about you."
"And what did you say?"
"Um, I said, uh, Phantom, the thing about Sam is when you look in her eyes and she's looking back in yours, everything feels not quite normal because you feel stronger and weaker at the same time. You feel excited and, at the same time, terrified. The truth is, you don't know what you feel, except you know what kind of man you want to be. It's as if you've reached the unreachable and you weren't ready for it," he said slowly.
She blushed a little, smiling. "You said that?"
"Oh, yeah, uh, something like that." He nodded, looking at the ground. Neither noticed that Maddie was watching them with a smile on her lips before she closed her eyes and fell asleep once more.
Sam reached out and took Danny's hand in hers, smiling when he looked up at her. The door opened, and Tucker stepped in. Danny and Sam quickly pulled away, but they knew Tucker had seen. The silence was awkward, and Sam looked out the window while Danny looked at his friend.
"Hey," he said.
Tucker stormed into the Masters Mansion, stopping when he heard an evil laugh. "Vlad?" He ran up the stairs. "Vlad, is that you?"
He walked into the study, and Vlad looked up. "What is it?"
Tucker sighed. "You're right about Sam. You're always right. She's in love with Danny."
His eyes flashed red for a moment, but his nephew didn't notice. "Fenton?" he whispered. "And how does he feel about her?"
Tucker rolled his eyes. "He's loved her since the first grade. He pretends like he doesn't, but there's no one Danny cares for more."
Vlad sighed. "I'm sorry. I haven't always been there for you, have I Tucker?"
The young man blinked. "Well, you're busy. You're an important man. I understand that."
Vlad shook his head. "That's no excuse. I've been a terrible father-figure, but I'm going to make it up to you. I'm proud of you, Tuck'." He nodded, walking toward his nephew. "I'm going to rectify certain inequities."
For the first time that Tucker could remember, his uncle hugged him, and Tucker actually felt loved.
Danny felt something ruffling his hair, and a voice was whispering, "Wake up, sweetie. Wake up." He groaned and lifted his head off his textbook, looking blearily into his mother's blue green eyes. "Go home, Danny. You look awful."
He smiled. "And you look beautiful."
She laughed softly. "Well, thank you sweetie." She ruffled his hair again. "You do too much: college, a job, spending all this time with me. You're not Superman, you know." He chuckled slightly. She didn't even realize just how funny that actually was. "A smile, finally. I haven't seen one of those on your face since Sam was here."
He gaped at her. "You were supposed to be asleep!"
She smiled and patted his hand. "You were about six years old when Sam moved in next door. When she got out of the car and you saw her for the first time, you grabbed my hand and said, 'Mommy, Mommy, is that an angel?'"
He stared at her. "I actually said that?"
She nodded. "You sure did."
"Well, Tucker's in love with her." He looked away, gazing down at his textbook. "She's still his girl."
"Now, sweetie, I think that's for her to decide."
"But she doesn't really know who I am…"
"Because you won't let her! Would it be so dangerous to let Sam know how much you care?" She laughed a little. "Everyone else knows."
He looked at her, eyes widening. "I'll be right back." He walked out into the hallway, making his way to the nearest payphone. He hurriedly threw in a quarter and dialed Sam's number. He got the answering machine. "Sam, it's Danny. You there?" He sighed when he didn't get an answer. "Well, I'm just calling to… to check up on you. Will you call me when you get in? Don't… don't wander around in the dark." He pulled his ear away from the phone as a screeching noise reached his ears. "Hello?"
An evil laugh came from the other line instead of the voice he had hoped to hear. "Can Phantom come out to play?" Plasmius asked.
"Where is she?" Danny demanded, eyes flashing green.