Chapter 10. I feel so accomplished! I started this chappie right after I finished chapter 9!! Huzzah!!! LOL! It was good to know that you guys took note of the strange guy from chapter 8. Good detective skills my friends! And I was proud of the review response.

THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED!! I LOVE YOU!!!: Flaming Water, ShortSweetN'ToThePoint, DinoButtons, hauntedgal26, Jessi, bloodmoon13, Extant, Magma823. Hope I didn't miss anyone!

Sorry for not answering your reviews. It's been busy round here.

Chapter 10: Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. If I did, I'd have several LG phones.

Sam stared. She couldn't help it. She sat in her chair and she stared at the man who floated above his chair a few feet in front of her. She had to be dreaming. He looked at her sheepishly and smiled. Of course, Phantom was back. It was rather obvious from the beginning that Phantom, the ultimate ghost fighter was back, after all, Danny was around every day.

"Dan…Phantom, what a surprise to see you here," she said, her eyes narrowing at the spectral being.

"I'm pretty much surprised myself. You're not the only one who wished I was still in 'retirement'," he said, wrapping air quotes around the word "retirement". His butt hit the seat softly and he leaned back, his cold feet brushing against Sam's. She crossed her feet at the ankles and pushed them out some more so that her toes touched his.

"So, am I the only one conscious who knows what happened?" She asked, crossing her arms under her breasts. His eyes automatically latched onto her chest and for a few moments she knew she had lost him.

"Umm…what? Huh?" He asked when he was back in the room, on planet Earth with Sam.

"I wanted to know what happened. Who did it?" She asked. He blinked and then understanding swept across his handsome, ghostly features.

"I really don't know. After you both left, I sensed this ghost. It was so sudden and I knew it wasn't good. I started worrying about you and Zoey. So…I changed. I didn't want to, but better doing something I don't want than risking anyone getting hurt, especially if those people are the ones you care about," he said. He was staring deep into her eyes, smoldering green versus apprehensive violet. There was silence and all they both did was stare. Their minds were in discord. What did Danny mean by "I can't do it"? Do I really want this? Sam out of my live? Both were wondering, 'what do I do?'. Sam took a deep breath and looked away.

"How do we know who attacked us? What if he or she continues?" Sam asked.

"I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to Shaire. I promise Sam. He's mine as much as he is yours," Phantom promised. He drew his feet back at which Sam lost physical contact. Her heart fell. Then he leaned forward and placed his hands on hers which were resting on the arm of her chair. Her heart felt as if a few jolts of electricity had passed through it. Her hopeful feelings were halted by realization.

"How did you know?" She asked, turning her eyes back to his. She also leaned toward him. She was searching his eyes, trying to read what lay beneath.

"Do what?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"You do what Shaire does," Sam said. She paused, mouth open, confusion attacking her face. Then that look of confusion turned to one of understanding and her open mouth spread into a smile. She leaned back and stretched out her feet to touch his ankles. She shivered internally. Touching him was euphoric.

"Again I ask, do what?"

"You read minds," she said, satisfied with herself. Now it was Phantom's turn to have a dozen expressions crossing his face.

"How did you know?" He asked, leaning back also, his back hitting the chair.

"I'm not a complete idiot, Phantom," Sam rolled her eyes, "I would have had to realize it one day. And that day happened to be today," she finished.

"He reads minds too?" Phantom whispered, leaning toward her again. She mirrored him and soon their heads were resting against each other.

"Not only that, he heals…quickly! I couldn't believe it!" Sam exclaimed in a whisper.

"No," Phantom said in disbelief.

"Yes. What did you expect? He's your son. He's a quarter ghost," Sam continued. Phantom's head fell into her lap and his hands splayed on her thighs.

"I…I…is it possible?" He asked, bringing up his head to look into her eyes. Sam leaned back against her chair and covered her eyes. A headache was coming on. She was tired now.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I really am sorry. I shouldn't put you under so much stress so soon after the accident," he said. He got up and sat in the seat next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and willingly she leaned against him, defeated. It was 4 in the morning. They had been there for the entire night, waiting for Zoey to wake up. Sam had woken up not so long after fainting. She was still in Phantom's arms then. She had been checked up due to Phantom's reluctance to accept her 'I'm fine's'. They had found nothing wrong with her. But Zoey hadn't woken up as yet. They were both on edge about her.

"Zoey is terrified of ghosts. They killed her parents and she's been terrified about them since," she said softly, leaning into his chest, happy to be there. Would he tell her that he was just joking around with her earlier? She was praying that he would. It would have been a cruel joke, but a joke nonetheless.

"Maybe I should stay away from her then," he said, enjoying the feel of Sam in his arms. He mentally slapped himself. No, Sam was not his. There was silence again and then Sam lifted her head to look into his eyes. She took a breath and spoke.

"Why did you say what you said earlier?" She asked softly.

"I don't want to discuss this right now, Sam. You can't manage it now. I promise, we'll talk about it later," he said.

"No. Maybe it's you who can't manage it now, Danny!" She whispered, calling him by his real name.

"Sam. We can't," he said, enunciating every word.

"Yes, Danny, we can and we will. I need to know. Its torture not knowing why you don't want me now…it's like you've never truly loved me," she said, her brows showed downright anger. Danny groaned.

"I do love you, Sam…"

"I know, but why…" she asked, interrupting him

"I'm not good enough for you," he said, cutting her off. Sam's mouth remained open from her previous sentence. Phantom avoided her eyes. Had she finally seen his logic?

"You think you don't deserve me? You actually think that…again?" She asked.

"Yes. I wasn't so sure the first time I said it. I just said it so that you'd forgive me, but…it finally came to me. If you're set on living with Ben, because of your children, my children, our children, then who am I to stop you? I did it already and I'm going to do it again. I just can't have you, Sam. That would be unfair and selfish of me," he said. Sam turned his face to hers. She was smiling. She cuddled into his chest as best as she could and felt light-hearted. She wanted to roll on the floor with laughter at Danny.

"Have you ever noticed how fragile human beings are? A single word or thought can easily change everything. Sometimes, what we truthfully know becomes confusing to us. Most of the times, the worst case of confusion comes from relationships. If some people don't hear 'I love you' every hour, they don't feel like they're loved though they know deep down that the person they hold in their arms loves them more than life itself. It's all so easy to ruin a relationship because someone thinks they're not good enough for the other. I think that's bullshit. Why be together in the first place? Why waste years of loving and yearning for that person? But…I have to admit, this weakness that humans have had affected me too. It still does," she said, a little smile still on her lips.

"How?" He asked, looking at her.

"I'm one of those persons who needs someone to tell them 'I love you' every minute, just to be sure," she said. Phantom opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. Sam looked at him, expectantly. He closed him mouth and twisted it to the side. It appeared that it was causing him pain to hold back his words.

"Say it, Danny. I know you want to say it," she whispered, resting her head against his chest to hear the steady rhythm of his beating heart. She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his willpower dissolving. His face twisted and his mouth opened and closed with the words he wanted to say. He closed his eyes and exhaled.

"I love you," he said. It came out as a soft whisper. As if he was afraid it would hurt her. She smiled.

"I want to hear that every day," she said, capturing one of his hands in hers. He pulled it from her grasp.

"No, you can't…I meant what I said about loving you, but I can't continue to ruin your life," he said, turning his head away to look at nothing in particular. He felt her sigh.

"I don't know why you don't believe me, Danny, but like you, I won't give up," she said. Phantom could hear the determination in her voice and he almost smiled. How badly irony was alive in his life. He heard nothing more from Sam and then he realized that she was sleeping. He relaxed his composure, trying his best to make her comfortable. Sam had made up her mind and was granted peace of mind. It was the opposite for him. He was trying to choose whether to do what was right for Sam or do what was right for him.

"You selfish halfa." The words rang through his head. They had sunk themselves into his brain and had diffused there. The words were everywhere and he knew he wouldn't be rid of them for a while. He flinched and his heart burned as he thought of his words to her. If her words, kind words when compared to his, had hurt him (permanently he was almost sure) then what had his words done? Had she forgiven him already? He had not forgiven himself. This was even more proof that he could not be with her. She was so angelic and kind. He was a selfish, evil halfa. No, they could not co-exist; no matter how much they tried.

His mind brought him back to when they had first met. How much they had changed since then. Sam was no longer rebellious and he was trying to figure out which personality worked for him. He couldn't be goofy after all that he had been through, yet he could not be cold. No one deserved that attitude from him. So, he was stuck somewhere, unable to find his real self. How could she like what he was? How could she love him?

'No, she does love me. She does. I know she does,' he thought. He remembered what she had said about fragile human beings. Was he just like her? Did he need someone to faithfully tell him that they loved him every minute of every day? How pathetic. But did the same rules apply to half-humans?

~~~*~~~

Sam opened her eyes and blinked back the push of the sunlight on her eyelids. Her head was comfortably rested on something cool.

'Danny is still here?' She asked herself sleepily as she fought back the sleep. A hand pushed softly against her face. It was a small hand. She smiled. She knew who it belonged to. Someone leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Another kiss followed and Danny shifted in his seat.

"See, I told ya," Shaire's voice floated to Sam's ears. He was speaking as softly as he could, trying not to bother Sam so much.

"So, you're 7. You know when your mom's gonna wake up and you never give trouble…I couldn't ask for a better nephew," Tucker's voice seemed to shout in her ears. She groaned and removed her head from Phantom's chest. She pulled her eyes open and stared at her son and best friend, sitting in Phantom's original seat, staring at her with wide smiles on their faces.

"Hey Sam," Tucker grinned. Shaire jumped off of Tucker's lap and ran over to Sam.

"Mommy," he said as if he was looking at an angel.

"I missed you, Shai. You having fun at Uncle Tucker's?" Sam asked as he jumped into her lap and hugged her. She smiled at the loving gesture. He pulled back and imitated Tucker's grin.

"Definitely. He has so much cool stuff! And I get to use anyone of them I want. Uncle Tucker said I was a tech genius," Shaire smiled. His eyes flickered to Phantom and his breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened and he looked at Phantom as if he were the most unbelievable thing on Earth. He pointed toward Phantom and looked at Sam.

"Mommy, is that…Daddy?" He asked. Sam was taken a back for a while and she glanced at Tucker. He too was shocked.

"Yes, that's your daddy," she said, unable to believe what she had just said. Tucker continued looking shocked. Shaire leaned his head against Sam's chest and stared at Phantom.

"He's very cool. I hope I get to be like him one day," Shaire said softly. Sam's heart began to beat. No, she could not allow her son to become a ghost fighter. She didn't want him risking his life. She couldn't afford to sit at home and wonder how he was faring against the vicious ghosts. To make matters worse, he was only a quarter of a ghost, he could never be stronger than Phantom. And Phantom was not invincible. But she could not destroy his dreams, not yet.

"Fighting ghosts is not all that easy, Shai. People get hurt," she said, leaving the issue with those words. She trusted him to come up with a smart decision. She knew he was capable. Phantom groaned and shifted and then suddenly, without warning, he sprang up to his feet, his breathing hard and his eyes wide. Everyone looked up at him, eyebrows cocked.

"Took ya long enough," Shaire muttered just loud enough for Phantom to hear him. Phantom looked down and his expression relaxed. His eyes softened and he sat down in his seat. He saw Tucker and grinned at him.

"Morning daddy," Shaire said.

"Morning Shai," Danny answered. He leaned back in his seat then stiffened before his back could touch the back of the chair. He turned slowly to face Sam, his question evident in his eyes.

'How did he know that I was…me?' He asked. Sam smiled, a small smile as she hugged Shaire closer to her and kissed his head.

"I told you before, Danny. He knows everything," Sam said. Shaire was quick to agree, a bright smile adorning his features. Danny looked across from him and was greeted by a grinning Tucker.

"Dude, you look like…wow. You look worse than Sam. That should say something," Tucker said. Sam playfully glared at Tucker and Danny laughed.

"Morning to you too, Tuck," Danny said, extending his fist. Tucker touched Danny's fist with his own and then they went back to relaxing in their chairs.

"Good morning, Daniel," Sam purred. He turned to her and smiled a brilliant morning smile.

"You're probably the only one who can get away with calling me Daniel while I'm Phantom," he said, huskily. Sam did another one of her internal shivers and turned away from him. Her body ached to be against his. Phantom was thinking along the same line, but he pushed back the thought and started thinking how he and Sam could ever be friends. Just friends. His features took on a look of chagrin at the new thought. Was it possible? Even when they had been 'just friends', they had been closer than normal friends. In proximity at first and then in feelings. They had never been anything like normal. Now he was wondering if they could be like this without him haunting her room or her living with him.

'This is gonna suck,' he thought and flung his head back to look at the ceiling.

"Oh, how could I forget? Zoey woke up!" Tucker said, hitting himself in the head, his grin still intact.

"What?" Phantom and Sam exclaimed as Sam straightened up and Danny's head was now facing Tucker.

"Yeah, she's been up recently. She's ok now," Tucker said. Sam quickly placed Shaire on his feet and stood up.

"This is something you should have woken me up with. What time is it?" She asked, taking Shaire's hand.

"It's…umm…9:30," Tucker answered, looking at his watch.

"You wanna go and look for your big sister?" Sam asked Shaire. He nodded anxiously.

"Definitely. I heard what happened and I was…worried," he said, giving Sam a hurt expression. She looked at Tucker.

"Don't look at me, I didn't tell him the details," Tucker said.

"I know. He reads minds," Sam reassured Tucker.

"You're kidding me," Tucker said.

"It's true my friend. He is my child after all," Phantom said. He was also up, ready to go and look for Zoey.

"Maybe you should change back, Danny. You know that Zoey's terrified of ghosts," Sam said.

"Oh," was all Danny said as a circle of blinding light surrounded him. She wasn't used to his transformation. She had only seen it a few times. She closed her eyes while Shaire stared in awe at the circle breaking apart and moving along the length of his body, both circles going opposite ways. When Sam opened her eyes again, it was Danny that they saw. He stretched his muscles and everyone could hear them crick.

"Let's go. Are you coming, Tuck?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just wait until I get back some amount of sight. Damn, Danny. Why you gotta show off?" Tucker asked as he rubbed his eyes behind his glasses.

"Be glad you didn't wear contacts," Danny grinned.

~~~*~~~

"So, I can bring her home today?" Sam asked cautiously, making sure she was hearing the correct thing from Dr. Headley.

"Yes, Mrs. Nichols. She woke up sometime in the early morning, around 5 am and she hasn't been back to sleep yet. She's up and around and she wants to go home," Dr. Headley said.

"And you agree with her wanting to come home?" Sam continued her questioning.

"Do you think we'd be doing this if we did not agree?" He asked. Sam's eyes narrowed and her blood boiled.

"Probably you didn't know, but little Sammy's got a temper. So, for your good, watch the words you say around her," Danny cut in before Sam could say anything. She turned to glare at him.

"Thanks for the help Danny, but I can handle it myself. And for the record, I was not going to snap at this man," Sam said. Tucker. Danny and Shaire rolled their eyes.

"Right," they all said in unison. Sam ignored them and gave the doctor a fake smile.

"May I go and get her now?" She asked, her tongue twitching to warn the man about trying to degrade her intelligence.

"Yes, you may ma'am," the doctor said and begun leading the way to Zoey's room. The three boys followed her. Dr. Headley left them at the door and went off to his own business. Sam pushed the door to enter and rolled her eyes.

"Finally," she said through gritted teeth.

"Heard that," Danny whispered to her. She rolled her eyes again and sighed. Zoey was already dressed and waiting. They were no bags. The only things she owned in the room were the clothes on her back. As the door closed, Zoey turned to face them.

"I am saved! I was waiting hours for you guys to come get me! They didn't want me leaving without a parent or guardian," she grumbled, getting up from the bed and crossing her hands over her chest. She crossed the room to get to them and a big group hug was initiated.

"I can see that the hospital hasn't had a bad effect on you. It always gives me the creeps," Tucker said and shivered. Zoey smirked at him.

"Once afraid of hospitals, Uncle Tuck…always afraid of hospitals," Zoey said.

"I'm glad you're alive. So very, very glad,' Sam said, taking one of Zoey's hands.

"And I want to get you out of here," Danny said, grabbing her other hand and tugging her lightly toward the door, "now come on!"

"Zoe, are you sure you're ok?" Shaire asked, looking up at his sister with concerned eyes.

"Yes, I am. I'm positive that I can go home now. So don't worry Shai. I'll be fine," she smiled at him. Sam smiled at their exchange.

"Good, then we'll all go now, but…" Sam trailed off.

"I'll drive," Tucker said, "I brought the mini today. I was so expecting this," he beamed.

"Good, now we go home," Shaire said, pointing to the door.

"Yes! Let's go!" Zoey said and ran for the door. She flung it open and propelled herself outside in a show of her freedom. Sam walked out behind everybody, contentment filling her body. Zoey was alright and she had a plan apropos to Danny. Ok, it wasn't a definite plan, but she knew what she wanted and she was going to work for it. And she would get it. That was a sure thing.

As Sam closed the door behind her, she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned to see Dr. Headley stopping beside her.

'Great,' she mumbled internally.

"It seems today is your lucky day Mrs. Nichols. Your husband is free to go too," he smiled, his green eyes staring wickedly at her. Her eyes widened and for a moment she was speechless.

"What?" She managed not to scream. His smile only increased, if that was possible, and Sam swore that she saw his eyes glow. But she dismissed that. She was just losing it.

"He's all right now. No permanent damage and just like your daughter, he can't wait to get out of here and get home," Dr. Headley continued. Sam swallowed past the lump in her throat and nodded to the man. She knew what would come next and it wouldn't be pretty. She would definitely be kicked out and divorced, possibly prosecuted and put in jail, but she was ready for it. The problem was, she hadn't expected it so soon. She had somehow thought, the day before, that by the time Ben could get out, she and Danny would have been a couple again. Unfortunately, that was not so. She wasn't worried. She had places she and her children could go. They would survive.

She turned to look at Danny. His eyes suggested that he was battling with a decision. She knew what this decision was and she hoped the outcome would be in her favour. She would make it turn in her favour. But she could also see the look of panic in his eyes and she could see that he was staring at Dr. Headley. She turned to the doctor, now thinking of him as untrustworthy. His eyes were no longer that familiar green. They were dark blue and Sam once again swallowed past a lump in her throat. It was happening again.

Ahh, another cliffie. Somehow I always find one for my chapters. This chapter was longer than the others, but I had fun writing it, as I did the others and I hope you have fun reading it. So, what is happening? Seriously, what is happening? Lol! I guess we'll find out soon, huh? And somebody please tell me if I have any mistakes. Whether spelling or improper use of words!!