Hey guys (:

I don't really have much to say about this chapter, other than I feel like I rushed it. Sowwy. ):

Hm...I don't own Danny Phantom.

Erm...

Yeah.

Chapter seven (: (it took me like three tries to type out seven...I didn't get much sleep last night /: )

Missing

Chapter Seven: Is It Selfish?

August 10, 2011

Danny gritted his teeth. Tucker and Jazz were huddled together in the back seat of the Spector Speeder. They were hurtling toward Colorado at speeds impossible to reach in a normal car. Danny could feel his heart beating a million miles a minute.

When they crossed the state line into Colorado, Tucker limped into the seat beside him. Danny glanced at him, trying to keep the desperation out of his eyes. "I'm sure she'll be okay..." Tucker murmured, though he looked completely unsure. Danny merely nodded and stared out the window, desperately hoping Tucker was right and she was okay.

I'm coming Sam...don't worry. Just hang in there, I'll be there soon...and Vlad better be ready to die when I get my hands on him...especially if you're hurt...

Danny was out of the Speeder and flying toward the house before they had even come to a complete halt. He phazed through the front door and was immediately greeted by the sounds of a struggle coming from a room in the back of the house. Without missing a beat, Danny shot toward the noise, phazing through a wall.

A most curious scene greeted him in the room. Vlad was in his human form, struggling with...Danny's mother?

But wait...my mom's hair is brown, not black...Danny thought. So...so that's...

"SAM!" Danny shouted. He flew in a blur towards Vlad, catching him around his waist and slamming him into the wall. Sam collapsed, clutching her head and moaning in agony. Blood was pouring down the side of her face and staining the blue material of the jumpsuit she was wearing. Danny heard Jazz racing into the room, and, assuming Jazz would take care of Sam, he turned all of his attention to destroying Vlad. "What the hell is your problem?" Danny growled, punching Vlad soundly in the stomach. "I...don't care...if you attack...me...but you...stay away...from...them..." He accented each word with a punch, accompanied by a grunt of pain from Vlad.

Vlad blasted Danny off and flashed into Plasmius, launching beams of energy from his hands. Danny forced a forcefield around himself, causing the blasts to rebound and hit the walls. He waited until Vlad paused to shoot a stream of ice at the man. Vlad dodged the blast narrowly, jumping several feet into the air and twisting impossibly. Danny took that opportunity to whip the Fenton Thermos around and suck Vlad into the metallic prison.

Once the lid was securely twisted on and the cylinder was given a sound shaking, Danny realized he was completely alone in the room. Hardly daring to glance around (lest he see something that made his stomach churn even more than it was already), he raced out of the house. He could see Jazz sitting in the driver's seat, looking anxious. Tucker was in the back, supporting a huddled mass that Danny assumed was Sam.

"Is she okay?" Danny asked hurridly as he phazed into the Speeder. Jazz immediately stomped on the gas and shot toward a hospital.

"I don't know...she passed out as soon as Jazz got her in the Speeder," Tucker said quietly. He was holding Sam against his chest; his jacket was wrapped around her torso. Danny held his arms out, and Tucker passed the girl to him wordlessly. Sensing that Danny wanted to be alone with Sam, Tucker joined Jazz at the front of the Speeder.

"You're okay, Sam..." Danny whispered, brushing her matted hair out of her blood-stained face and trailing his fingers over her closed eyelids and parted lips. "I've got you. Vlad's gone, he won't hurt you anymore. I'm gonna take care of you. Everything's gonna be okay..."

He kept up this string of whispered promises until he felt the Speeder come to a stop. "Danny, we're here," Jazz murmured, twisting around to look at him. Danny nodded and scooped Sam gently up in his arms. He cradled her against his chest, rushing into the emergency room without jostling her.

The nurses did not ask questions, thankfully. They took one look at Sam and immediately hauled her into the confines of the emergency room, dragging a very reproachful Tucker along as well. Danny and Jazz were left alone in the waiting room, each pacing nervously.

"Mom and dad are probably freaking out right now..." Jazz murmured, glancing at the clock. It was 3 in the afternoon; they had been gone nearly 10 hours. "Do you have your phone on you?"

"No, I left mine in my room before we left..." Danny said. "I was a little preoccupied..."

"I understand. I left mine at home, too. I guess we'll just tell them when we get home...I really don't feel like dealing with them right now,"

"Yeah. It's like...I don't know. I don't want to share them yet."

"Exactly! Like...I just want to keep them to ourselves for a while. Then give them back to their parents."

"Right. Is that wrong?"

"Probably..."

"Um...Fentons?" A nurse's voice rang from the doorway Sam and Tucker had been taken into. The siblings jumped and turned at the sound of their names. "If you two could follow me.

"They're both going to be perfectly fine," The nurse said. Waves of relief crashed against Danny and Jazz as they trailed behind the nurse. "Mr. Foley is awake and requesting your presence."

"What about Sam?" Danny asked breathlessly.

"She is still unconscious, though she will make a full recovery."

"Could...could I go in and see her?" Danny asked hesitently. The nurse eyed him carefully for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"This is Mr. Foley's room," The nurse said. Jazz took Danny's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Tell Sam I said hi," she whispered.

"Tell Tuck I said the same," Danny murmured, returning the pressure of her fingers gently.

The nurse led Danny down a stark, sterile, white hallway. She gestured to a darkened room, door of which was slightly ajar.

Danny stepped in cautiously, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He could hear her before he could see her; she must have been attatched to a hundred different machines, each beeping, whirring, and whizzing loudly.

"Sam,"

I just got an idea for the next chapter.

I really hope it turns out as cute as I think it's gonna be...

We'll see!

You guys should review. Make a desperately sleepy girl happy, please?

I wuv yoo. Rawr. (: