My, my, my; it's been a while hasn't it?! I'm sorry for neglecting you, but school has been, and still is, hectic!!! And it'll only get worse for the next few months- tests and all coming, you know? Anyway, I won't keep you waiting any longer, here's the next installment. Enjoy!

Sam smiled, chuckling slightly as Danny stared down at her in shock.

"You…you can understand me? T-That's great!" smiled Danny.

Overcome with joy, he scooped Sam up into his furry arms and hugged her, twirling her around in the air as they both laughing happily. Sam gripped Danny as tightly as she could around his mane covered neck, overwhelmed with emotion at the sound of his all-to-familiar voice. He sounded exactly as he use to with only the slightest tonal change to his wolf-like vocal chords. Danny smiled into Sam's shoulder; her wonderful scent so strong and clear with their close proximity- it was intoxicating, and made it very hard for Danny to even consider letting her go. He purred in content, nuzzling the side of his head against her as he held her. However, when Tucker cleared his throat to reminding them of his presence, his head was cleared and they stopped their little scene immediately. Sam looked at the ground in sudden embarrassment while Danny threw Tucker a dirty look. Tucker immediately took a step in the other direction.

"Wow, I can't believe our luck!" commented Sam, her cheeks tinted pink slightly as she lifted her head to meet Danny's gaze and smile at him.

He immediately returned the smile before asking, "What do you think did it?"

Sam shrugged, "Maybe something triggered it?" she suggested.

"Hello?! Triggered what? How come you can suddenly have cosy little chats with him?!" exclaimed Tucker.

She levelled a glare at him, "I don't know, I just understood what he was saying," she blinked suddenly, "…wait…you can't understand him Tucker?"

Tucker shook his head at her as if she was stupid, "Uh…NO! He's still growling to me Sam, but I can understand what your saying- you're still speaking English at least."

Sam frowned in confusion, "That's so weird…"

"Tell me about it…" sighed Danny, still overwhelmingly happy that Sam was the one who could understand him. Don't get him wrong; Tucker was like a brother to him, but Sam…

"…Maybe it had something to do with your little 'emotional episode' back there!" joked Sam with a raised eyebrow, nudging him with her elbow lightly.

"Hey, it could have been," shrugged Danny with a wide toothy grin.

'Ah yes, the pros of beating up Dash…' he thought in satisfaction, looking to the sky as he reminisced.

"Well, I think we should go before we attract anymore unwanted attention," advised Sam as she looked around her.

"Good idea," agreed Tucker, bending down to grab the take away bags from the ground but having Danny snatch them away at the last second, sticking his tongue out at him childishly as he did so.

With the carried bag handles locked firmly between his clenched teeth, he crouched down to let Sam and Tucker on his back, sprouting a few horns carefully on his shoulders for 'handle bars'. Once they were securely on, Danny took off on all fours back into the forest and up the hill, with Tucker screaming all the way.

Long into the afternoon, after the two teens and one furry creature had eaten their share of food, Tucker had surprisingly managed to scoff more food into him than Danny! It was suggested soon after by Sam that herself and Tucker should take it in turns to be look out, in case some hikers or children were to come up the hill and discovered 'Creature Danny'. Tucker volunteered to go first since it would be pointless to try communicating with Danny seeing as he couldn't understand anything he was saying…and because he was still a little intimidated by his new form! Sam also 'half forced' him to go to lose some of the weight he gained during his meat-gorging rampage! He was also instructed to look up more information on his PDA about this 'Leon' character while he patrolled, so they could find him a fast as possible to fix Danny… so, all-in-all, Tucker had a lot of work to look forward to! After exchanging quick farewells, he left, tripping over a few branches on his way and earning him loud barks of laughter in his wake. Sam and Danny, meanwhile, lay down on the grass near the lake and watched as the clouds flew across the sky. Danny was the first to break the small peaceful silence that had grown between them, his eyes still concentrating on the billows of cloud and a faint smile on his face.

"I'm really glad you can understand me Sam. I was starting to get lonely!" he joked with a hidden truth behind his words.

"You're never alone Danny. Me and Tucker will always be here for you, even if we don't understand you sometimes!" reassured Sam with a smile, chuckling quietly at the double meaning of her own words.

Danny glanced at her, smiling back softly and looked ahead of him towards the sky once again. The clouds were beginning to form objects and pictures in the sky, as they tended to do when you stared at them for so long. For a moment, Danny felt like a normal teenager again- just watching the world go by with his best friend, not a care in the world…

Danny chuckled as he realised something, "Well, at least there's some good coming out of this whole thing…"

Sam looked at him in confusion, one eyebrow tilted upwards slightly.

"I have an excuse not to go to school!" he boasted with pride, poking a thumb into his chest.

Sam shook her head at the utter randomness of what he just said, before she smiled mockingly and played along, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to collect your homework from all of your teachers for you!"

Danny turned to her with a look of shock and slight betrayal, his mouth hanging open.

"You wouldn't…" he dared, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I would!" she said smugly, sitting up and folding her arms.

Danny followed suit, a mischievous glint in his eye, as he began to growl at her.

"We can't have that," he said darkly.

Sam raised her eyebrows at him. She could feel her heart jump slightly at the sight of him; his teeth displayed, eyes dark and hidden behind a mane of hair, but she suppressed her nervousness from showing.

"I'm sorry, was that supposed to be scary?!" she asked dully, her voice never wavering.

Danny frowned, jumped to his feet and grabbed her, pinning her to the ground in one lightening fast action, holding her shoulders down with his paws. He glared at her when she, although surprised, didn't make a visible reaction. She was, however, incredibly nervous on the inside; her heart rate continuing to rapidly increase, though she did well not to let it show on her facial features.

"Well, we're gonna have to fix that…" he threatened with a husky voice.

He leaned down so his face was close to hers and he growled louder, baring his teeth and inching dangerously close to her neck. Of course, he would never dream of hurting her, but he wanted a reaction and, right now, he just wasn't getting one. Sam, on the other hand, had to remember to breathe at his close proximity with his extremely sharp teeth dangerously close to her. She blinked, suddenly wanting to slap herself at her stupidity, forgetting her fears as she realised something she always knew- 'Danny's my friend- he would never hurt me.' He was mere millimetres from her exposed skin when -

"Drool on me, and you're dead."

He pulled away, frowning at her and pouted- or made an attempt to pout at least!

"Sam-my, you're supposed to be scared!" he complained.

"It's kinda hard to be scared of an overgrown kitten that also happens to be my best friend!" she grinned.

Danny felt a wave of self-pity and self-hatred instantly wash over him, hatred being the stronger of the two emotions. His expression noticeably dropped as he got off her and turned his gazed to the lake, studying his reflection carefully with abruptly cheerless eyes.

"Not everyone would see me as an overgrown kitten…" he muttered sadly.

Sam sighed as she realised what had upset him. He saw himself as a monster, a freak of nature, worse so than his old ghostly form, and it troubled her that he thought so little of himself.

"Danny…I know it sounds cheesy, but the old saying, 'it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside; it's what's on the inside that counts' is true. I think you should know by now that looks aren't everything!"

Danny turned to glance at her, his ears drooping back against his head in a pitiful fashion. Getting to her knees, she sat facing him as she continued to explain.

"I mean…Paulina- I'll admit, she is the…prettiest girl in the school, but she certainly isn't the nicest person to meet. By the way, you tell anyone I just said that and I will kill you -insert Danny's snort- …and Tucker; he's a nice guy…granted, once you get past all the technology, but he's labelled as a nerd! -Danny chuckles- Don't tell him I said that either, he'd kill me! But people are put off getting to know the real Tucker because there's too much based of the way he looks…"

Danny rolled his eyes in a playful manner, "Well, we can't all be as lucky as you Sam!"

"What're you talking about?" asked Sam, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"Oh come on, you're beautiful and you have a great personality!" he explained gently with a small smile.

Surprisingly, a blush came to Sam's cheeks.

'Did he mean that?' she thought to herself, 'Wait…is it the animal instinct blurting this out or did he just become more confident in the last couple of hours?!'

Regaining her composer, she smiled slyly at him. She could see she was beginning to pull him out of his depression.

"How do you not know my personality is all just an act and I'm really just an anti-social Goth freak?!" she questioned, folding her arms.

"Because I've known you since kinder garden!" he said matter-of-factly.

"I could have been faking it…" she shrugged, looking away indifferently.

Danny blinked before smirking, "You're a good person, I could tell from the start."

Sam snorted, now having complete control of the situation.

"Shows how much you know! No wonder you're a C student!" she joked, creating a 'C' shape with her fingers and holding it to her head.

"That's it!" Danny growled before pinning her to the ground once more and gently poking her ticklish sides with clawless fingertips.

Sam screamed in surprise, much to the satisfaction of Danny, as she tried, but failed, to push his paws away.

"No! NO! Stop! P-please!" she gasped through laughter.

"Only if you admit I'm right and you're wro-ong!" he sang.

Sam nodded her head, still erupting with laughter.

"…And that I deserve to be an A student!" he added as an afterthought.

"Ok, OK! You're right! The 'A student' is right!" she yelled.

Giving his familiar, but slightly distorted, lopsided grin, he stopped tickling her and sat beside her, allowing her to catch her breath. Surprisingly, Tucker then jumped out from the trees; breathing heavily, his clothes covered with broken twigs and his face covered with yet more scratches.

"Is everything alright? I heard a scream?" panted Tucker in confusion.

The two grinned, exchanging a guilty glance, before a small gust blew around the clearing. Frowning in confusion, Danny got to his feet, pulling Sam up with him.

'Funny, this area should be totally shielded from the wind by all the trees…' thought Danny in suspicion.

Surprised, the three friends looked at each other and the leaves blowing around them as the draught picked up into a fierce wind. Sam's hair wiped about her face as she looked around for the source of the wind while Tucker gripped on to his hat in case it should blow away. Danny, hearing something strange beyond the noise of the wind, looked up to the sky. Suddenly, two black helicopters appeared in the sky; hovering above the clearing the three friends were situated in. They all gasped as they saw Jack and Maddie in one of the helicopters, each holding what looked like a ghost rifle. Danny's eyes widened in fear as his mind finally registered what was happening- they were coming for him. He grabbed Sam's arm to get her attention, and she turned to him with anxious eyes. He stared for a moment, and time seemed to slow- her hair was gently floating in an unfelt breeze, the leaves had slowed around them, and sound seemed to become non-existent. All he could see was her, and lost in the amethyst ocean that was her eyes, it took him to blink a few times before he snapped out of his daze- that's when the world came back to life and everything happened at once.

"SAM, GET TUCKER AND RUN- THEY'VE COME FOR ME!" he shouted over the noise of the helicopters.

"RELEASE THE GIRL, MONSTER!" ordered Maddie as she raised the rifle at Danny, pulling back the bolt to load the weapon.

"GO NOW!" Danny urged to Sam, pushing her in the right direction, but she jumped back to him and grabbed the fur of his arms.

Tucker stared up at the Fenton's, his arms covering his face slightly due to the winds intensity, and watched as Maddie took aim with Jack loading his own gun behind her.

"UH…GUYS?!" Tucker called in worry, never taking his eyes off the helicopter and their passengers.

"I SAID RELEASE HER!" shouted Maddie as Jack followed suit and raised his own rifle.

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!" Sam yelled to Danny in desperation.

"SAMANTHA!" bellowed Maddie from above.

"Sam," Danny murmured to low for anyone to hear. He stared at Sam with sad eyes, her loyalty to him pulling at his heartstrings.

Maddie, frustrated at being ignored, turned to Jack.

"Open fire, but be careful not to hit Sam," she instructed as Jack nodded.

Danny looked up and gasped as he noticed them taking aim.

"SAM, LOOK OUT!"

Danny grabbed Sam close to him and turned his back on the helicopter, protecting her from the sudden gunshots. Danny roared in pain as he was shot in the back and arm. Sam looked up at his arm and gently removed the object that had penetrated the skin, noticing it was a tranquilliser. She looked up at Danny in horror as his grip on her weakened and his eyes began to close.

"Sam," he slurred as he pushed her away, afraid of collapsing on her.

"I'm here Danny. Please, try to keep awake." She urged as he fell to his knees.

He tried, he tried to stay awake for her, but it was too much. He took in a deep breath and murmured to her before falling under the sedation,

"Don't let them take me…"

Sooooo...review? Please?