A/N: Don't kill me for that last one!

Disclaimed.

…Technology Institute dormitories…

"Hey, Darren, I thought you were going to that party?" Tucker greeted his roommate. He had been hoping the dorm would be empty.

"I was, but it turned out to be a bust," Darren answered. "You got a call by the way. Some lady. Since when do you get calls this late anyhow?"

"There's an emergency at home," Tucker told him. "Hey, is there some place you can hang for a couple of minutes? I need to talk to Val."

His roommate shrugged, but complied with the request. He knew how to take a hint. The couple waited a couple of minutes to make sure no one was listening before they continued their conversation.

"So, what did Mrs. Fenton mean by 'the Workshop'?" Valerie interrogated her boyfriend.

"Danny's Workshop. I can't believe Vlad stooped so low. Val, I want you to think very hard about what Danny's job is. Think of every clue you've been given, no matter how small it seemed," Tucker coached. Time was of the essence; they needed her to know.

Valerie thought on it.

"The beard…" Tucker hinted.

She kept trying to remember. It had been a long time since she'd thought about this.

"He always knows where we are…"

The last time she had tried to figure out the riddle that was Danny Fenton/Phantom was in high school, after that she'd given up.

"He loves kids…"

Valerie broke her concentration, "Danny always did love kids. Even when I was popular I could see that!"

Tucker laughed, "Yeah, but it'll help to remember that."

She raised an eyebrow at this but closed her eyes to help herself concentrate.

"He almost always wears red…"

She peeked out at this. "So?"

"Just go with it. He has lists of names," he continued.

She nodded; she remembered that.

"And he has a workshop," he finished anxiously.

Valerie's face scrunched with effort, but it was useless. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. There was just no way she would ever get it.

"I'm sorry, Tuck, I'm just not getting it."

"Stop thinking of Danny then; just think of the clues," the techno-geek explained as the minutes ticked away.

"Okay," Valerie agreed and listed off what her boyfriend had told her. "He has a beard, knows where everyone is, loves kids, wears red, has lists and a workshop."

"Yeah, now who comes to mind? Right now?"

"Tucker, are you telling me that Danny, Danny Fenton, is…" she started to joke, but then she saw from his face that that was exactly what he was telling her.

…FentonWorks…

Jack paced the kitchen; even fudge couldn't ease his worry.

"She's fine," Jazz comforted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The large man smiled down at his daughter.

"I know, but I'm still worried."

"Maybe if you called Maddie," Ida suggested. Her son and daughter-in-law were sitting anxiously in the living room trying to contact Sam.

"I haven't been able to get through, but thanks Mrs. Manson," he answered sadly.

…Far Frozen…

Maddie and Dewice ran to meet Frostbite as he carried the two beings to the medical caves.

"Danny!" Maddie exclaimed, seeing her baby boy closer.

"Frostbite, is he…?" Dewice asked, wondering about the condition of the Great One.

"No, it is only to protect his identity," he assured them.

"What's wrong with him? And where's Sam?" Maddie anxiously asked, her momentary relief that he was alive replaced by the fear that he wouldn't stay that way.

He set down his burden, "I do not yet know what ails him, but she has a severe burn on her side."

For the first time since she'd arrived, Maddie took a good look at the cloaked woman, "Sam?"

Hazily, the woman looked up with amethyst eyes. Maddie covered her mouth and tried to regain her composure. Both of them…

She looked away and took the white blazer from her son's face and loosened his tie, "I know you're very capable here, but I think it would be best if I took them home. You'll need the beds for the elves and other ghosts."

Frostbite and Dewice nodded, un-offended by the comment; Mrs. Fenton was right.

…FentonWorks…

Jack snatched up the Fenton phone when it rang, "Maddie?"

"Jack," she took a moment to compose herself, her lips pressed together.

"What? What's wrong?" the long pause had frightened him.

"Jack, I'm sending the Specter Speeder back; I want you to come here," she told him before hanging up. She didn't give him the chance to ask any more questions.

Tucker called on the house phone a few minutes later to tell them he and Valerie were on their way and that Red Huntress was ready for battle.

…Realm of the Far Frozen…

"How are you feeling?" Maddie asked Sam as she awoke. Her hair had changed back to its original color as she slept and her cloak had disappeared.

"A little better," Sam yawned. "How's Danny?"

She looked down, "Nothing's changed."

The two women sat in silence for a moment, just watching him, each with her own thoughts and fears.

"It was a heart attack," the goth choked out, on the verge of tears. "I don't even know how; he said…"

She hugged Mrs. Fenton, wincing when her side screamed with pain.

"I think I may know, Great Lady," Frostbite confessed with quiet reverence as he entered.

Sam looked up, startled by the title.

He took a heavy breath, "When I was young, at Christmas time, my mother would tell my brothers and me a story, a legend that had been told in the Ghost Zone for centuries, of the connection between the first Santa and Mrs. Claus. How they lived for each other.

It is said that Santa was a strong young man whose greatest joy came from helping others, doing good for the world. He did not adhere to the belief that women were less important than men and treated them as equals. He had a beard, as was the tradition of the day, and always wore the brightest colors he could afford."

Maddie and Sam looked at each other, then at the young man that lay unconscious between them.

"Mrs. Claus is said to have been a strong, determined young woman, who defied the etiquette of the day, which dictated that a woman should be meek and subservient. But she was gentle as she was strong, kind as she was determined. She wouldn't stand for the mistreatment of others and was even accused of witchcraft at one point. She wore her hair long and preferred colors that allowed her to blend with the dark woods that surrounded their home.

The couple worked together in harmony, each supporting the other while also being the other's voice of reason. At times it would seem that they could hear each other's thoughts. They brought out the best in each other.

As time went by, Santa learned how to make toys, something that he could see brought happiness to children and their parents. Mrs. Claus also helped by discovering new remedies, temporary fixes for what kept the men from work, so that they and their children would not go hungry.

Years passed, and they became well-known in their home town… and our world. The time came, however, that Santa had grown tired and ill. When he died, he did not go on, choosing instead to wait for his beloved wife. At this time, ClockWork and the Observants struck a deal with him, that while he waited, he could continue his work. He, of course, agreed to this and was given the Workshop, elves, and powers to aid him in his work.

When the day finally came that Mrs. Claus joined him, they promised to return one day and asked that their work be continued until then. It was Santa who specified that any who took his name after that be a ghost. He gave no reason, though many theories have sprung to life, such as that he did not trust humans, or he believed ghosts to be superior or more capable. No one knows for sure.

What they do know is that when ClockWork tried to see ahead to when he would see his friends again, he was blocked. It is believed that when the True Mrs. Claus returns, so will her husband, but that is a mystery even ClockWork can't solve."

Sam and Maddie sat stunned as they processed what they had just been told. The younger of the two looked down at her hand, where the antique engagement ring Danny had given her still rested. She admired the tarnished silver set in intricate designs that surrounded an emerald so bright that it almost glowed and suddenly she couldn't help but wonder where Danny had found such an exquisite piece.

Shakily, she stood, not caring about the burn on her side as she sat by him and took his hand in hers and kissed it.

Are we them? She couldn't help but wonder. She wiped at the tears that rolled gently down her cheeks.

"I believe that, just as the pain of a child gave him a heart attack in his first year, your pain was too much to bear," Frostbite finished. The words were harsh, but there was no blame behind them; they were simply the truth.

…FentonWorks…

The two families waited in the lab anxiously for the Specter Speeder, only leaving to admit Tucker and Valerie. When it finally did arrive, three of them boarded the craft and set course for the Far Frozen.

…

A/N: What did you think? Did you like when Valerie finally figured it out? Did the title Frostbite gave Sam make sense? What did you think about the legend? And which three people went to the Far Frozen? Tell me in a review, and as alwaysALOHA!