Chapter Four

"You know, when you smiled like that, I assumed you had some sort of ingenious idea... not slave labor!" Tucker cried out softly, elbows locked under Danny's armpits and wrapped around his chest.

"Yes, this was my ingenious plan. Sorry you don't approve! Now come on! Only one more step and then we're in the hallway to Danny's room!" Sam hissed back, lugging Danny's white booted feet up the steps.

Groaning and panting, Sam and Tucker made it up the last few steps with their precious cargo.

Slowly, the two moved toward's Danny's bedroom, careful not to bump the boy against anything. They still didn't know the extent of his injuries and while they had decided to move him, they didn't to aggravate anything.

Tucker had wanted to lay Danny out on the couch, but Sam had quickly nixed that idea.

It was shock enough that Danny looked like some punk rocker that had missed the bus to his roadshow, but for him to be unconscious! That would give anyone that walked in the front door a heart attack! No, Sam had explained to Tucker, best to break it to them slowly and maybe ease the shock.

With a grunt, the friends laid Danny out on his bed so that now it only looked like he was sleeping. Well... except for the white hair, jumpsuit, and the ridiculous shivering.

Bowing to some sort of motherly instinct, Sam found a few blankets in Danny's closet and laid them over him so that they came all the way up to his chin. Softly brushing away his snow white hair, She laid a hand on his forehead. It was like touching ice! She leapt back with a yelp and held her hand, looking at it in surprise and then to Danny.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Tucker came forward, looking at Sam with concern.

"He's freezing!"

"What do we do?"

"Don't look at me! Why do I have to have all the answers?!" Sam frowned, stretching out her arms questioningly. "You could come up with some ideas too!"

"I tried. You didn't like my ideas. Besides, women are much better at taking care of kids than men." Tucker rolled his eyes and glared at Sam.

"What the heck does that have to do with anything?" Sam squinted, confused by Tucker's logic, or, in her mind, lack thereof.

"Its kind of like Danny is our kid and we are taking care of him." Tucker explained, leaving Sam to gape at him, eye twitching.

"Ew." Sam shivered at the thought and put up a hand for Tucker to stop talking.

He did and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I'll go get something to warm him up..." Sam announced glumly, stomping away in disgust.

"While you're at it, can you get me a sandwich?" Tucker called hopefully. Sam didn't respond, so Tucker decided this meant she was on it. Quietly, he turned back to Danny, breathing heavily at the sight of his friend.

Danny had stopped shivering, which was good, but he had yet to make another sound or even show any sign that he could hear anything that was going on.

What if Danny came out of this different? It was strange to think, but Tucker knew that sometimes when bad things happened to people, it changed them. Not in the way that fame or popularity changed but people, but rather they were affected by unseen injuries. What if something had happened to his brain? Or his heart?

When Danny woke up, would he and Tucker still be the same friends?

Tucker frowned, suddenly afraid of what might come. Gently, Tucker grabbed part of the blanket that had slid off Danny's shoulder and pulled it back up to his chin, smiling sadly at his friend.

"Don't worry, Danny." he whispered. "No matter what happens, Sam and I will still be your friends, promise."

Tucker took a step back to look over his friend. He frowned.

The blanket was deflating at the end of the bed... as if there was nothing beneath it!

Leaping forward, Tucker pulled the blanket back to see that Danny's booted white feet were no longer there! He threw the blanket off and looked up the bed to Danny's face.

He jumped back from his friend with a cry.

Danny's body was disappearing!

Tucker wanted to scream, but he couldn't find his voice. He just watched in horror as finally, Danny's face disappeared too, leaving Tucker alone in any empty room.

He stood in silence, unsure of what to do or say.

"S-sam...?"

He was answered by a loud "thunk" that came from downstairs.

"Tucker!"

"I don't know, Sam! He just disappeared!" Tucker shouted as he and Sam situated Danny back in his bed, although, at this point, Tucker wasn't sure that was a good idea. Since Danny just randomly slid through the ceiling and fell to the floor below, nowhere seemed like a safe place for him.

Sam was glaring at Tucker as she re-situated the blankets around Danny's neck.

"Tucker, if he woke up, just tell me!" Sam said in annoyance, wiping Danny's face with a warm cloth she had found in the downstairs bathroom. "This is no time for jokes."

"I'm not joking, Sam! I was standing here, pondering on what state out friendship would be in if Danny had brain damage when he just started disappearing!"

"Well, if he didn't have any brain damage, he certainly does now!" Sam barked, glowering at Tucker.

"Sam! I am not lying!"

The girl didn't turn from Danny, she simply sat, trying to ignore as Tucker ranted and paced, trying to persuade himself that he had seen his best friend fade right in front of his eyes. If the situation hadn't been so dark, Sam might have found it comical.

In honesty, she knew Tucker hadn't been lying. He was a joker, but even he knew the severity of the issue. She could tell by his face and the way he was pacing (and the way that he hadn't touched his PDA in over two and a half hours) that he was scared.

But she also couldn't admit to not knowing why she'd found Danny in a crumpled heap on the living room floor. He couldn't have gotten up, not with the testimony Tucker was giving. But how could she believe Tucker's story? It was just too ridiculous!

She turned, deciding that she had put the other boy under enough stress.

"Tucker," she whispered, waiting till he stopped pacing and looked at her. "I believe you-"

At first, Tucker smiled, but his smile flipped and he was staring just past her, fear in his eyes.

"Uh-uh, Sam?" He pointed and Sam's heart flipped excitedly as she realized that Tucker was pointing at Danny. With a smile she turned to face her friend.

Immediately her smile faded and any words she was about to speak died within her as she stared into the brightest pair of glowing green eyes she'd ever seen.

TBC~