A/N: I couldn't quite figure out what to post as an update to this story. So I decided that, to make up for the undercooked little shot next door, I'd make a 'through the years' collection to fill in the gap chasm between the end of Shy and just before when the sequel (titled 'Doubt') will be set (PM/review if you'd like more info). I realise this will give it away with the date of the last part. The start is only 5 days after they meet and 3 days after Shy finishes (yes, it was New Year's Eve when that story finished). Don't worry, I'll put an approximate date at the top of each. This can't be read as a stand alone piece and I own nothing. There were going to be 10 of these little parts but I cut one centred around Sam's Birthday, because you've seen her thirteenth and it wasn't really revealing anything new or interesting. And, before I stop babbling, I did some re-calculations and updated Shy so the dates are right. Daniel is 16 when they meet. Enjoy!

Warning: This may contain traces of fluff.

January 3rd, 1982

"Sam, are you sure about this? I mean, I didn't go to any transition sessions or anything," Daniel asked his girlfriend, lingering at the gate with a reluctant expression. Sam sighed and back-tracked to his position. She laid a hand on his arm, the other still clutching her backpack strap as it was battered by the wind, and offered him a comforting smile.

"There weren't any transition sessions. The school's so tiny it can't afford to have them," she countered, crushing his statement. He cast his vision down at the concrete for a short moment then back up at her. "Look, just give it a try. Because home-schooling isn't going to be any better - we won't get to see each other at lunch. And the adoption probably hasn't even started to be processed."

"It's not that I'm worried about..." Daniel stressed in a lower tone. Sam's narrowed her eyes, a wounded look seeping into them.

"Daniel, are you...ashamed...to be seen with me?" her question was a stab to his heart, fuelling the vigorous reaction in him.

"No, no... That's not what I meant," he muttered frantically. "It's the opposite, actually. I'm scared you won't want to be seen with me."

Sam shook her head before she pulled him into an embrace that banished the warmth of the waning winter. When they separated, a fond smile graced her lips.

"Not only do I have no friends, but there is no one else I would rather spend my time with. No one," she assured him as she attempted to build friction between her hands. "Can we go in now? I'm kind of cold."

"Sure," Daniel nodded, taking one set of fingers in his own and turning towards the entrance. They paced wordlessly down the path, aware of the eyes fixated on their spectacle - a new boy holding hands with the recluse. Both opted to feign ignorance, content with their own little world. Until a fountain of juvenile sniggers rose from the group by the bicycle racks.

"Well, aren't you two cosy?" grinned the tall, lanky one (a statement that was backed up by a high-pitched wolf whistle from beside him). "Who's the new guy?"

"His name's Daniel," Sam replied, interrupting without giving the brunette a chance to speak for himself. "He moved in just after Christmas."

"What would you know about it, Carter? Is he your boyfriend or something?" was the teen's scornful retort. Daniel's fists clenched and he stepped forward. Little did the nameless boy know, he had left himself ripe for humiliation.

"Actually, I am," and the words hung in the air. A metaphorical feline had stolen the taunting male's tongue so the pair strolled on.

August 28th, 1982

Sam chuckled, pushed Daniel away and burrowed hurriedly through the water to the other side of the pool. Searing sun beat down upon the two swimmers - tan lines had already begun to form on Sam's skin around her bikini. They were two among many seeking refuge in the cool waters of the resort's many pools. However the small one they'd chosen was considerably less populated, allowing Daniel to easily navigate his way after her and seize her ankle.

"Daniel!" she chided as she worked her way out of his grasp. "Our parents are watching, stop it."

"Your dad's never complained about us. And my mum and dad, when they adopted me, you were...well, part of package," he explained. Then he nodded over at the lounge beds where Jacob, his adoptive mother and her husband sat. Supposedly, they were supervising them.

About as likely as me being a billionaire by the time I'm eighteen, Daniel mused internally. Mum's probably been eaten by the crossword already.

"They're not looking," he whispered as he leaned so close to her ear that, had he been marginally nearer, his lips would've been pressed against it.

"And?" Sam smirked. "I don't know if I get what you mean..."

"This might clear things up for you," he shifted away from her ear, breath drifting across her face and causing every hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. Soft lips descended upon hers. Sam responded eagerly to the kiss eagerly, allowing one hand to mould to his neck while the other clutched the side of the pool to keep them afloat. She felt him smile into the kiss and couldn't help but catch on to its infectivity.

Meanwhile, Daniel's mother removed her sunglasses and made a little noise to gain the attention of the men either side of her.

"Jacob, Pete, see the kids?" she gestured incrementally in the direction of their offspring. Pete chortled as he held the page in his book.

"I think they think that we can't see them," he commented. "I remember when I was like that - oblivious to the rest of the world..."

"Anne," Jacob interjected, sensing that his potential in-laws were taking a trip down memory lane, "maybe we should just focus on the kids. I've got a few questions - like 'how am I supposed to get Sam to do her homework when her boyfriend lives less than five minutes away'?"

2nd June, 1983

"Cradle robber!"

"They better watch the Kindergarten, you never know who he'll steal next!"

The voices, there were so many. All crammed into his head, wearing away at his resolve until he began to believe their twisted lies. Or were they lies? Couldn't they just stop?

"I thought Carter was a nerd with no social skills. Now I realise that she's just plain stupid!"

It was that tall guy again. He must have grown another few inches since the last time they'd crossed paths. And the venom in his voice had increased tenfold.

"He's way too old for her... You just watch, he'll leave school and she'll never hear from him again."

Daniel tore himself away from his recollections of the day as the door swung open and Sam paced out lowered herself onto the back doorstep, placing her back in her lap.

"Hey, your mum said I'd find you out here," she greeted him perkily in an attempt at light banter. He didn't respond but continued to intermittently toss pebbles across the patio. "She told me that you seemed a little...off."

"I'm fine, Sam. Just...leave it alone," he muttered as his careless aim led one pebble to strike the fence.

"No, I won't. You don't look fine and you don't sound fine. So tell me," she demanded, focusing an insistent glare on the back of his head in case her protests fell on deaf ears. Daniel's fidgeting ceased and turned to her.

"You probably know already."

"Know? Know what?" the confusion plastered all over her features increased. "I might be able to tell you how to solve an equation but I still don't have no idea what's got you into this state."

"The comments. It happens every day," he burst out with, and continued when she gave a slight inclination of the head, "and I just can't handle it, Sam. They keep calling you stupid and saying we'll break up anytime soon, and-"

"Well that doesn't matter, does it? You know I'm not stupid and I'm not planning on leaving you for a long time," she offered. However, Daniel just shook his head.

"No, you don't get it. They weren't saying that you'd break up with me. They were saying that I'd break up with you. I got called a Cradle Robber in the middle of the cafeteria. The whole school probably thinks I'm some kind of stalker now," his head dropped into his hands. Sobs came unaccompanied by tears, shuddering throughout his frame as though it were hollow. Tender arms came around his shoulders, their owner shaking off their own shock and disgust to comfort another.

"It's all a lie. I promise," she informed him, voice sincere and sweet. "You've never taken advantage of me in any way - especially that one. And then, if you were only interested in that, why did run away with me when you'd known me for less than a day and save my life when you'd known me for less than two? Explain that."

"I didn't save your life. You just fell and I took you back to the farmhouse," Daniel corrected her, glancing over his shoulder.

"Carried me, actually," Sam smiled, pleased. Her companion scowled and relaxed back into her arms.

"So you don't think I'm one of those creepy guys who..." Daniel sighed. "You don't think I'm a cradle robber?"

"Never in a million years."

20th July, 1983

Pens carved letters into the paper at a steady speed, with enough pressure to make an audible crackle. Sheets of paper were strewn across the desk, Sam focusing on schoolwork and Daniel on a form that she hadn't found the courage to inquirer about. All of sudden, he dropped the writing implement onto the desk and shuffled his chair closer to her.

"Sam, you've been quiet all evening. I know you want to get some work done but you barely said hello," he deflated, lingering near but not quite touching her.

"Sorry. I'm just...down, okay?" she explained openly. Daniel signalled for her to elaborate. "It's just, high school's going to be lonely without you. Think about it - I eat with you, I walk to classes with you, I study with you... I only know one girl who doesn't shun me and she's moving to Scotland."

"You'll still see me afterwards," he attempted to console her. In response he received a smile that paled in comparison to the ones he'd seen her don. "I know... Pathetic excuse."

"No, it just reminds me of when you first went to that school and you didn't want to go in," she sighed. "Maybe you were right, maybe you shouldn't have. That way, I wouldn't have anything to miss."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"The 'maybe's," Daniel gazed at her, bemused. "Stop going over things that've already happened. You can't do anything about them."

"Then what should I do?" Sam quizzed him. "I've got another four years left at that school."

Words seemed to scramble away from him then, leaping away from the tip of his tongue and back down his throat. Until, like a strike of lightning crashing down onto the land, an idea hit him. Pride brewed within him.

"Another four years that I have to save up for us going to college," he pointed out. Sam's eyebrows knotted together. "We can go together. They'll accept me as a student if I get good grades and pay fees. I'll get a job at the local library, they're desperate for workers and it'll give me access to all the books they have on archaeology."

"You'll be twenty-two."

"And you'll be eighteen. I think I got that," was his reply - she couldn't help rolling her eyes at that.

I don't know why I bother, she thought. Daniel patted her shoulder and winked. Oh, yeah, that's why.

25th December, 1983

Tuxedo-clad men hung about the village hall with immaculately dressed young women in tow, and Daniel was one of them. Only, he stood alone by the double doors - anxiety for his delayed date grew gradually. Eventually, the clicking of heels reached his ears and he spun on his heel to face the doorway. What he saw there took his breath away. Her blonde hair tumbled down her back, covering the porcelain expanse of back that the dress failed. All except the tips of her shoes were concealed by the ocean of flowing silver fabric. A circle of miniscule jewels was positioned beneath her bust, laid on a band of white silk. Daniel hurriedly corrected his slack-jawed appearance.

"You look beautiful..." he gasped, approaching her one small step at a time. A beam lit up her glossed lips, shining through every pore in her body.

"Thanks," she said. "I wasn't sure whether it would work. I had to cut my pocket money for a year just to buy the dress."

"Well, I think it was worth it, don't you?" Daniel took her hand as they headed into the fray of dancers that'd grown when late afternoon had turned into early evening, now full of parents and teenagers seeking escape (not necessarily from the same thing). They came to a stop and Sam placed one hand on the shoulder of the tuxedo, and slipped the other into Daniel's. "Do they do a Village Christmas Ball every year?"

"Most years. The one they had the year you moved here was shorter because they had to get all the decorations out, the place cleaned up and give my dad time to get all the stuff in ready for my birthday party. And, the year before, they didn't have one at all - the roof fell in," Sam remarked.

"The roof fell in?!" Daniel gawked, almost stumbling in a tangle of their feet.

"Easy," she chastised him, leaning closer to avoid losing her balance. "Just because I'm a few inches shorter than you doesn't mean you can walk all over me."

"I'd never. Besides, it'd ruin that dress," he reasoned. However, any reply Sam was about to give was consumed by her yawning. "Tired?"

"I've been awake since 5am, I'm exhausted!"

"Now, whose fault is that? Your dad said it sounded like there was an elephant going down the stairs..." he gave her a mirthful grin, allowing her to position her head on his shoulder as they spun about the wooden floor. "Anyway, it's 7pm now. So you've only been awake 14 hours. You stay up longer on a school day!"

"I spend three hundred and sixty-four days doing that. Can I have one day off? Please?" her eyelashes batted and scraped, feather-light, against the material of his tuxedo. Daniel let out one insignificant laugh and placed his chin upon her crown.

"You can have any day that you like off," he told her. Their twisting dance slowed to the pace of a gentle breeze. "Unless it's exam day. I don't want you to fail your exams."

"Let me guess - you don't date failures," Sam spoke, her breath heating the patch of skin it covered and strands of golden hair brushing against his jaw.

"No, I love you for who you are," he dismissed the suggestion candidly, then amended as he realised the implications. "Not that you're a failure."

"Stop panicking," she nuzzled the soft skin of his neck. "Oh...and Merry Christmas."

Her head withdrew from his grasp and motioned to the ceiling. His followed, setting eyes on the parasitic plant of the season. It was suspended several centimetres above them. The eighteen-year-old snorted derisively.

"Merry Christmas, Sam."

8th July, 1984 (Daniel's 19th Birthday)

"Happy Birthday to you!" Anne clapped, as Daniel blew out the candle and worked it out of the cake. She took it from him, laying it on the kitchen counter before returning to see her husband handing their son the knife.

"Just don't go on a rampage with it and you'll be fine," he told the younger man. The birthday boy tutted at his father's humour and plunged the knife into the confection. He divided it into five pieces, one for each of the gathering - his mother, his father, Jacob, Sam and himself.

Don't have enough friends for a bigger party, he added in a chunk of mental commentary, handing one slice to Sam. She mouthed a thank you, scooping up a finger full of icing. Daniel smirked and sat down on the sofa with his piece.

"I know your parents told you to wait until after we've eaten to open your presents, but I've got something special I want to give you," Jacob flopped down on the sofa next to him. He pushed a small black box into his palm and closed his fist around it. "It's the ring I used to propose to Sam's mother. I'm not assuming anything but if you ever need it-"

"Jacob," Daniel replied, shocked by the sentimental value of the gift, "I can't accept this. It's all you have left."

"Sam is all I've got left. That's just a ring. But I think it'd mean a whole lot more to you two," the ageing man said as he forced the young man's hands away from him.

"Thank you," a tear pricked Daniel's eyes. He tucked it in his jacket pocket. "Man-hug?"

"Sure," Jacob allowed Daniel to draw him into an gratitude-filled embrace.

"Daniel?" Sam was standing beside them. Both men swapped glances - had she seen their exchange? "What are you up to?"

"It's a man thing, Sam," Jacob grinned.

"I take it that I'm not allowed to know, then?"

"Oh, you'll find out," Daniel told her, sharing Jacob's in glee. "Soon enough."

6th September, 1984

Impossible. Just impossible, Daniel thought in disbelief. It's ridiculous, Sam wouldn't punch someone.

That was little comfort against the phone call he'd received only minutes prior to the beginning of his journey. He was striding towards the school, catching sight of a disgruntled fifteen-year-old through the reception window. Shaking off his doubts, he pushed open the doors to the school and stepped inside. A woman in a tight pencil skirt, and a white blouse that made her seem emaciated, tottered up to him.

"Mister Jackson?" Daniel nodded at her. "We contacted you because we couldn't get hold of Samantha's father."

"Right," he replied, approaching Sam where she sat with her head perched on her school bag. "Hey. What happened? I got told you hit someone - is that true?"

"Yeah. She was getting on my nerves and I couldn't think of any other way to shut her up," she sighed. Her eyes suddenly found the tiled floor so much more interesting.

"That's no excuse for hitting someone-" the woman began, only to be cut off by Daniel.

"I'll handle this, thank you. Come on, Sam, I'll walk you home," he ordered - no margin was left for discussion. The blonde rose from her seat, followed him out and left a gaping receptionist behind them. When they were out of earshot, Daniel began talking again. "Who's 'she'?"

"Huh?" Sam frowned in puzzlement before she realised his meaning. "Oh... Just some girl with make-up plastered all over her face."

"And what did 'just some girl' say?" he queried, almost entertained by her terminology

"She...insulted you," Daniel was incredulous - Sam had attacked someone because they took a shot at his pride?

Wonderful, he deliberated. Something else for me to get confused over.

"I see. Was it enough to wear a hole in my heart or just some silly name-calling?" he raised both eyebrows.

"It was just name-calling. But it was about our age difference and I just got so frustrated that they still tossed that charade around after so many years. I couldn't help it," Sam lamented, stopping in front of her house. "I just hope you're not mad at me."

"Mad?" he briskly shook his head. His hands came to rest on her shoulders. "I think it's hilarious. It's not like you but I still think you should be congratulated, not sent home. Just don't tell your teachers I said that. They've known me for years, they can judge."

5th November, 1985

One minute, she was strolling down the sidewalk (a usually quiet route to the library). And, the next, the world had stopped spinning. In the place of the tall semi-modern structure was a blazing inferno. The heat was tremendous, invading every crevice it could find. Yet it didn't choke her - that was the smoke's job. Thick, black and malicious-looking clouds billowed out from the site, ready to suffocate all that dared to stand before it. A window had blown, sizzling fire roaring out of it like a lion uncaged, and the glass laid shattered at Sam's feet. Firemen and passing observers were already milling around the scene. She rushed up to one who stood by the fire engine's hose.

"What's wrong, Miss?" he turned to her, still busy at work with his equipment.

"My boyfriend, he works in there," she babbled out. The fireman stopped and appeared to give her his full attention.

"What's his name?"

"Daniel, his name's Daniel," she continued, churning out information as speedily as she could. The officer bit his lip. "What is it? Have you found him? Is he okay?"

Her heart pounded in her chest, frantic in its distress. It wanted to break out and see it its keeper was doing fine. If he was still alive. Questions of how long the fire had been there and what - or who - had started it rushed into her mind.

"We found him. He was barely conscious, the last time I saw him, and he has burns. We don't know how severe they are, yet," he explained, solemnity in every word. "He's in the back of that ambulance."

The fireman pointed to a vehicle with it's rear doors flung wide open. Sam's heart missed a beat as she saw the motionless body lying inside it. Hurrying closer, she paused at his bedside. Her heart screamed at her to look away. The burns didn't seem too severe but his eyes were red and raw, still damp despite lack of consciousness. Scratch marks surrounded his mouth.

That's probably where he tried to stop breathing in the smoke, she assured herself while her rational side dissected the situation. Bending down, she found an untouched patch of his forehead and pressed her lips to it. Then she took a seat and whispered, "I'll be here when you wake up, don't worry."

Somehow, the heart that still beat inside her swore that she'd keep that promise.

July 16th, 1987 (Sam's Prom Night)

Jewels glistened under the bright lightbulb that filled her room. Daniel surveyed the array of ornaments sown into the fabric of the dress, the tiny tiara perched on her head, the rather heavy necklace that settled just below the outfit's neckline and the mascara that inflated her lashes beyond belief. Yet none of it seemed to outshine the face that was almost lost amongst it.

"You look like an angel," he told Sam, standing up from his perch on the end of her bed and strolling over to her stance by the mirror. A blush captured her cheeks.

"People complain about not getting enough compliments. Is there such a thing as too many?" she fumbled with her hair. He intercepted her hands, placing the curls neatly in their designated formation.

"Not in our world."

"Our world?" she questioned as she turned, followed by the rustle of the dress.

"It's called Earth, Sam. You know, blue and green, orbits the sun," he teased, forgoing the usual hair-ruffling.

"Very funny. Do you think I'll be fine?" she said, finally abandoning the excessive 'fixing' of her jewellery. Daniel nearly exhaled in relief.

"Absolutely fine. In both senses of the phrase," he chuckled. "Now, go on, blow them away. And enjoy it."

"I'll love every minute of it - but not celebrating my last night at that school. I'll be honouring the first night that I'm free to be with you again. For once, I can't wait for September."

A/N: And that's all for today (or this month, more like). There's nothing in 1986, I'm sorry about that. But we've got to give the poor kids a rest! I specifically dated these on a general idea (and tortured myself straightening out the ages of both of them). While the birthday dates are correct, I don't know when Sam's school would've had their prom night but it's an AU so I'm making it up. Same goes for the start of term in January. And for whether or not Sam's village has a lot of Christmas Balls. XD Anyway, thanks for reading! The sequel to this - and don't ask me when it'll be starting - starts with Sam as an eighteen-year-old and Daniel as a twenty-two-year-old. Any guesses what it's about?