Posted on my LiveJournal as well. See earlier chapters for disclaimers.


I am Not Afraid of Ghosts

"But I can't go down there!"

A curious look crosses the features of the six-year-old Sam as she looks at her friend. "Why not?"

Danny risks another look down the drak flight of stairs to the basement of his house and squirms. "Well... because... Mommy and Daddy are out and there's nobody down there right now. And there are ghosts there, and... I'm scared."

Sam's eyebrows hitch upward. "There are ghosts?"

Danny nods feverishly. "There are! Really! We get them sometimes. Jazz says it's because of what Mommy and Daddy do, but I'm really scared of them-"

"But we need your ball back to play, don't we?" Sam stands up, dusting her hands off on her shorts to join him at the stairs.

Danny nods again, defeatedly now, and Sam smiles.

"Well come on then. I'll go with you. I'm not scared of ghosts."

"...You're not?" He asks, surprised. "How come?"

Sam shrugs. "I don't know... I'm just... not, I guess."

But even after this interesting revelation Danny still looks reluctant, and so she smiles again and holds out a small hand. "It's okay, Danny. I'll be beside you all the way."

There is a second's hesitation, and then deciding ultimately that it probably won't be so bad is Sam is with him and that he doesn't want to look more cowardly than a girl, Danny takes her hand and courageously steps forth with her.

Years later, Danny Fenton has by then learnt that sometimes, allowing Sam to goad him on isn't always the best thing to do - but no matter what happens, she is still with him, fighting alongside him and pushing him on as he faces far more than his long-gone childhood fear of ghosts. And whether he is up against a dangerous enemy, dealing with a town-wide (or even world-wide) ghostly crisis, or just going through the regular ups and downs of teenage-hood, Danny still remembers.

Because deep in his heart, in the blood that courses through his veins, he knows - beyond its simple words it is the same promise that he draws his strength and hope from, the same promise that has brought him this far and given him all he never knew he could have today, the same promise that allows him to stand tall and say I am not afraid. It is a promise he knows she has never broken.

I'll be beside you all the way.


A/N: I'm a little rusty from not having written these two in so long, but another dose of the few DP eps I still have yet to watch (don't worry of course I've already devoured everything Danny/Sam there is) should have my muse back good and proper. For now, though, hope you still enjoyed, and as always, reviews still make my day. (: