I know that this is a bit late, but hey, it's better than nothing. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!! LOL! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 4: Daniel
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, though that was on my wish list for Santa this year…*sigh* Thanks a lot Santa.
Sam could hear Tucker, Zoey and Shaire running around the house, creating a lot of noise, but she liked it. It made her day different, made her feel alive.
"Ben's friend had not yet arrived, but Sam frankly did not care. On the other hand, Ben was all over the place trying to get things ready for the visitor. She had never seen him so excited, which got her to thinking that this friend of his must be quite different. She was just glad to see Tucker again. He worked at the biggest computer manufacturing company in the state as one of the managers, so he was always busy. Sam didn't work. Her parents had said it would look good that way, the marriage that is. She was the one to cook, to clean, to tidy and to attend to anything relating to the house. And she did it for two people: Zoey and Shaire. Shaire was the little boy who she had picked up earlier, he was her son. She felt tears burn her eyes. It was horrible, her life. She hated it, but she no longer lived for herself, she lived for everyone else and for those who had died before their time. She knew life was sacred, but hers was worthless.
The door suddenly opened and the group of three: Tuck, Shai and Zoe, ran inside and straight toward Sam. A smile graced her lips as the two children jumped on her. She exploded into laughter as she fell off the chair, her 2 children on top of her. Green eyes and blue-violet stared into Sam's amethyst eyes and she couldn't help but think how lovely they looked as a family.
"Can I join too?" Tucker asked as he sat on the chair that Sam had just fallen off of. Sam smiled and sat up.
"Sure, why not," she said.
"Nah, your kids have done enough damage," he said, his eyes moving from Zoey to Shaire. Sam looked at Shai and wanted to burst into tears. He was finally hers, after 7 long years. No one would take him away from her. She hugged the bright eyed boy who was fitting in easily and quickly into her family. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding back the tears.
"I love you, remember that. Mommy loves you," she said, holding him tight.
"I love you too…mommy," he said as if he was trying on the word. Sam brought Zoey into the hug. She loved them both very, very much. Tucker observed them and his heart went out, as usual, to his best friend for life. He knew she had been through a lot and that she was feeling great pain, but he wasn't the one to take her pain away, no matter how hard he would try. He admired her though; she kept her cool and thought rationally. Any decision she made after today would be best for her kids. They were not Sam's and Ben's kids, no, they were Sam's and she needed them. Sam had changed drastically over the past years and he missed the old Sam.
The front door opened and closed and then they heard Benjamin's voice drifting up the stairs.
"Samantha! Tucker! Kids! He's here!" Benjamin said happily. Sam let go off the children and pushed them toward Tucker. She got up and surveyed them for a second.
"Ok, you're both good. Tucker take them downstairs and I'll follow in a bit," she said.
"Ok, Sam, but do you want me to come back up and wait for you?" He asked. She shook her head 'no'.
"Then I guess I'll see you downstairs then. Come on kids! Let's go meet this strange guy!" Tucker said.
"Yay!" Shaire screamed, being fun and childish.
"Hip, hip, hooray," Zoey said, sarcastically as she made her way out after the 2 males. She closed the door behind her. Sam quickly pulled on a knee-length pink skirt and a pink blouse. Her black pumps were on and her hair swept back into a long ponytail. Her make-up was done lightly and as she looked at herself in the mirror, she practiced her smile.
'Perfect,' she thought. As she turned to leave, Zoey burst into the room.
"OMG! Sam! He is absolutely adorable!" Zoey squealed. Sam looked at her in confusion.
"The guy downstairs, duh! He's so cool and so very, very cute! Sam, you gotta see him!" Zoey said and grabbed Sam by the hand. Sam was being pulled out the door and down the stairs. She had enough time to break free from Zoey and get herself in the mood before she entered.
There, in her kitchen, leaning on her sink and laughing it up with Benjamin was the most handsome man she had ever seen. She seemed to float over to them and when she smiled, it seemed as if she wasn't in her own body. He turned his eyes to her and Sam's feet touched ground harshly, almost throwing her off balance. She was back in reality, until his eyes met hers and her knees went wobbly. He was taller than her and Ben. His figure was laid back and well-built but not bulky. He wore black from head to toe and his hair was in a ponytail which grew halfway down his back. His skin was a bit pale, like a vampire. He was beautiful and those eyes, those blue eyes spoke to her, telling her that something was going to happen. He seemed almost dangerous, but so very sexy and safe. He was the meaning of contradiction. Shaire broke her trance as he attacked the stranger's leg. The man looked down at the little boy and lifted him up to their height. Sam was appalled. They resembled each other so intensely that anyone could mistake them for father and son and she the mother.
"Hi, I'm Samantha Nichols," she said pleasantly, hiding her attraction very well.
"Mommy, he's nice," Shaire said and hugged the man. The man laughed and allowed the child to hug him.
'What could he have possibly done in the 5 minutes I was upstairs to have everyone love him?' Sam wondered.
"And I'm Daniel," he said. The name struck her and her brain went flying into many calculations.
"This is a bit strange, Ben. Your wife looks exactly like someone I knew. She even has the same name, but I used to call her Sam. She hated Samantha," Daniel said. Sam's heart pounded faster as she heard this. It was impossible! She could feel her wobbly knees become weaker as she thought of the possibility. She came to the conclusion that IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE! She didn't even notice that Daniel had called her husband Ben.
"Danny…if you don't mind me calling you that…where did you say you were from again?" She asked, trying to hold herself up and keep her voice in check. Zoey looked at her mother then at the stranger with an analytical eye. Her eyes widened as realization hit her. She fell off her seat in shock. Everyone's eyes turned to look at Zoey, well, everyone except Danny and Sam. The look in Danny's eyes changed when she asked that. He clutched Shaire just a little bit tighter and his mind was going into overdrive at the very thought of…of the possibility that had seemed impossible 7 years before. But 7 years was long and people. He had. Even though he was losing his cool,, no one could see that he had. His body remained as relaxed as ever.
"Amity," he said. It barely registered to Sam before her knees gave way and her swirling thoughts went blank. This wasn't happening.
Danny could feel his strength failing and he quickly put down the boy. He looked at her. He really looked at her. It was Sam, Sam Manson and she was married and she was still beautiful. He inhaled and exhaled as everyone around him and her. Then he lifted her up and steadied himself.
"Don't worry about her, I'll just take her outside for a little air, she'll be ok," he said.
"Ok, I trust you, but don't take too long," Ben said, stepping back and calming himself.
"Mommy?" Shaire asked.
"Mom's ok, Shai. Uncle Danny is just going to bring her outside for a bit," Tucker said, his eyes meeting Danny's.
'Tucker,' Danny thought. His eyes moved to a pair of green ones: Zoey. Somehow Danny got the message that she knew about him. He nodded slightly to show her she was right. Her eyes moved to Ben and then to Danny. They were sad. He knew why. Something in Zoey's eyes told him that it was close to impossible to get her back. But close wasn't impossible and he knew that he could do it. He didn't care that she was married. She was Sam and she was his. He gathered what strength he could and lifted her feet off the ground. Her head hung backward and he walked carefully to the porch.
Once he closed the door, he leaned her against it and stared at her. She looked different. Her hair was longer and her skin was darker. Maybe she had spent a lot of time in the sun. He almost burst into laughter as he noticed she had on pink and pumps. He was used to black with combat boots.
"Sam," he whispered, tasting her name. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at Danny. He couldn't control himself then and he pressed his lips to hers passionately, making up for the past 7 years. Sam didn't resist. At that moment she forgot about Ben. She felt tears roll down her cheeks. She was so glad that he was here because she had missed him. She felt something pulling her away from Danny and she remembered Benjamin. She turned away from him. His eyes opened and he looked at her.
"Sam…" he said.
"'m sorry, Danny, but I'm married," Sam said.
"Why?" He asked, almost sounding upset.
"Because you told me to!" She said, looking him in his eyes. She started crying and collapsed into Danny's chest. He hugged her as she cried and he felt ready to cry also.
"How could you, Danny? How could you Danny? How could you leave me alone to do this? That should have been you, Danny. You know I love you. I do. I do. I do. I do love you, Danny," she said, "I've missed you. I have so much to tell you." He stroked her hair and rocked her gently.
"I've missed you, too, Sam. It hurts being away from you. And the pain gets worse everyday. This is just so weird, saying for the past few years. I love you, Sam," he said. The door opened behind them and Tucker stared out at them. She pulled herself from Danny and focused her eyes on something else.
"Danny," Tucker simply said. Danny smiled and the two men embraced.
"Everyone inside was kind of wondering what was happening out here. Shaire is even crying," Tuck said. Sam looked up at Danny then at Tucker quickly before she rushed inside. The two men stood outside in silence for a minute before Tucker broke it.
"So, what do you plan to do? You know she's married," Tucker said, obviously on Danny's side.
"It can't be too hard, can it Tuck? I mean she's miserable," Danny said.
"Did she tell you because she wouldn't tell m" Tucker said.
"Tuck, its Sam…in pink. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that something is going on," Danny said.
"Hey, you trying to diss me?" Tucker asked, good-naturedly.
"Umm…maybe," Danny smiled. Tucker let out a short laugh and punched Danny playfully on the shoulder.
"Let's go inside," Tuck suggested.
"Yeah, I agree. I'm starving, I need to eat," Danny said. They laughed together as they entered the house. Danny was escorted to the table and he sat beside Ben and an empty seat.
'Sam,' resounded in his head. His heart hurt like fire and just seeing her after all these years drove him insane. Everyone else sat in their seats. Zoey seemed a bit too excited as her eyes constantly trailed from Danny to the kitchen, where Sam was.
'Does everyone in this house know what's going on except Ben?' Danny questioned himself. Ben was chatting away and brightly smiling at Danny. Shaire's eyes were red but he had stopped crying. Tucker sat beside Shaire on the other side of the table. Sam brought out the food and set it on the table. It looked delicious.
'Wow, she cooks!' Danny thought as he admired how her body moved.
"This dinner looks like it's going to be a delectable one. Quite delicious I can tell," he said. Sam glanced at him then sat in her seat. She had made fried chicken, white rice, macaroni and cheese, a salad and a jug of Kool-Aid.
"Let's pray," Tuck said before anyone could dig in. Everyone bowed their heads and closed their eyes for the short prayer.
"Amen," Tuck said and the chatting began. Danny glanced at Sam. She kept looking at Shaire with this unreadable expression on her face. It piqued his curiosity. However, in her eyes he could see worry and he wished that he could do something about it. His hand found its way to her leg. She let out a small scream and jumped slightly. Everyone's attention turned to her. Silence.
"Umm…are you ok?" Zoey asked, one hand on her fork picking at her food before eating it and the other propping up her head.
"Yeah, fine. Just a little problem with my umm…my skirt," she smiled sheepishly and settled back down in her seat. Her hand covered Danny's and she squeezed it. He turned to her and she to him and they shared a secret look that lasted for a second. No one saw and no one would ever know of it, but in that second, Danny knew that Sam would be his, no matter what.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this Christmas chapter of Love Me. I have a confession to make. I actually had this written since September, but just got to typing it. I'm sorry, ok, but it's a good gift. *smiles sheepishly* Review! Please! Give me something for Christmas…since I got nothing…yet.
