"Hi, Mom," I said, sitting up as she walked into my room.
"Hey." She smoothed her hand across my forehead, like when I was little and had a fever. "You're cold."
"I'm always like this."
"And we missed it."
"Why would you think I was half-dead?" I asked, bluntly. Mom didn't flinch away from my words. "I didn't want you to see it either. This isn't bad parenting."
"We should have known something."
"Is that what Dad's saying?" I asked, trying not to sound bitter.
"Something like that. He wants to be the best for you that he can be and he feels like he failed you. We hunted you."
"I know. I know and I made the decision to let you. That's not your fault either. That's still on me. You didn't know. It's not something you could guess," I said again. I hadn't meant to hurt them like I was.
Mom shook her head. "We still love you, Danny, we just need time."
"That's okay. I needed time too."
She kissed my forehead and I tried not to choke up.
"Goodnight."
"Night," I said.
I laid down on my bed, exhaling heavily. Maybe it would be all right. Maybe we all could be forgiven. I watched the stars above my head, realizing that, for the moment, I was okay to be alone. A smile started to grace my face and then my phone rang. I answered it without so much as glancing at the screen.
"Hello?"
"Did I wake you?" Sam asked and she sounded out of breath, like she was scared.
"No. Are you okay? What's going on?"
"Come over, please."
"Already on my way," I swore, diving through my wall.
I raced to Sam's, not knowing what was going on. I hoped that she wasn't being attacked but, somehow, I didn't think that was it. She hadn't sounded that type of scared. That, there's a monster in the next room, scared. I knew what that kind of scared sounded like. As I approached her house, I noticed that the only light on in the house was in her bedroom and I dived for it, tumbling through her balcony doors.
"What's going on? Is everything all right?"
Sam was curled up on her bed and she sobbed, "I … I had a nightmare and I thought that I was still in the cell and … and … and I'm home alone and I don't want to be alone anymore."
My heart ached. She had been through too much. I slowly approached.
"Hey, it's okay. You're free, remember? And you never have to go back there again. You never have to see either of them again. They are sealed away. You're safe, I promise."
"I don't feel safe," she cried, trying to make herself small.
I sat beside her on the bed, trying not to make myself too much at home. I didn't know what part of me that she wanted me to be right now.
"But you are. Nothing like that will ever happen again." I'd die before I let it.
"But I'm scared it will!"
"I know, I know," I said, even though I was sure it was the most useless thing I could have possibly fucking said. "And I wish I could say something to heal your wounds, I wish I could. But … there's not. I can't do anything else than just be here and promise I'll protect you."
"Then don't leave!" she sobbed, sounding unlike Sam as she grabbed onto me, holding me tighter than I thought she could. "Just don't go!"
"I promise I won't. I'll be here as long as you want me to be. I'm not going anywhere."
I ran my hands along her hair and her back, trying to be soothing, but Sam just kept crying. I didn't stop, even though I didn't know if I was helping per se but I knew that I wasn't hurting. She kept her hands curled into my shirt sleeves and I just let her cling because I was clinging to her too. When she finally fell asleep, I tucked her into bed. I knew that I couldn't curl up next to her but I had also promised her that I wouldn't leave. I collapsed into the armchair in the corner of her room, feeling exhausted. I sent a belated text to Jazz, telling her that I was safe and to tell my parents not to worry, and then I curled up, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible, and tried to fall asleep.
I must have succeeded because the next thing I knew, there was something touched me. Power surged threw my fingertips as I grabbed onto it, yanking my eyes open. I stared down at the thing in my hands. Blanket. It was a blanket.
"I'm sorry," Sam said, and my heart thundered in my chest. It was Sam.
"I was … just surprised," I said, trying to get the words to leave my mouth.
I had gotten that scared over a blanket. Something I'd seen almost every day of my life. A blanket.
"I know. I'm sorry. The same thing happens to me and I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry I scared you."
Sam understood. I touched her arm softly, feeling her warmth. I took her hand.
"Sit with me?" I asked.
Sam sat down in my lap, curling herself around me. I put my arm around her and reached for the blanket. As I stretched it out, I noticed a dark spot on the blanket. Shit.
"Oops."
Sam laughed at me and then her lips brushed along my cheek. I held her tighter to me, trying to remind myself that this was real. This moment was real. She wanted me and we were here and we made it out alive and we were real.
"Sing to me?" Sam asked.
I kissed at her hair again, because I could. "What do you want to hear?"
"Surprise me."
I hated those words but I loved the way that she hugged me.
"I won't talk,
"I won't breathe,
"I won't move till you finally see,
"That you belong with me,
"You might think I don't look,
"But deep inside,
"In the corner of my mind,
"I'm attached to you,
"I'm weak,
"It's true,
"Cause I'm afraid to know the answer,
"Do you want me too?
"Cause my heart keeps falling faster,
"I've waited all my life,
"To cross this line,
"To the only thing that's true,
"So I will not hide,
"It's time to try,
"Anything to be with you,
"All my life I've waited,
"This is true,
"You don't know what you do,
"Every time you walk into the room,
"I'm afraid to move,
I'm weak,
"It's true,
"I'm just scared to know the ending,
"Do you see me too?
"Do you even know you met me?
"I've waited all my life to cross this line,
"To the only thing that's true,
"So I will not hide,
"It's time to try anything to be with you,
"All my life I've waited,
"This is true,
"I know when I go ill be on my way to you,
"The way that's true,
"I've waited all my life to cross this line,
"To the only thing that's true,
"So I will not hide,
"It's time to try anything to be with you,
"All my life I've waited,
"This is true."
By the time I had finished singing, she had fallen asleep again. I wrapped my arms tighter around her, thinking that it was far too early for us to be awake. I tucked my head against her and let myself fall against her. I was far more uncomfortable with both of us squashed into the chair but it was also a lot better to be together than it was to be apart.
(-.-)
"What is that noise?" I bitched, since it was the first thing that I was aware of.
The second thing I knew was Sam, waking and stirring along with me.
"My cell phone. It's my mother's ringtone."
I stretched out my arm, wondering if it would suddenly grow in length and I would be able to wrap my hand around it.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked.
"I'm using the force to get your phone," I said.
Sam just sighed at me instead of laughing and went to get up.
"No, no," I said, pulling her legs back onto the chair. "I'll get it."
It would be easier for me. I darted across her room, had the phone in my hand, and was back in the chair, readjusting her legs away from my healing wounds before she had even noticed I was missing. Sam let me play around with her as she called her mother back.
"It just didn't wake me."
I discovered her ankle and tapped my finger to her bone. She jumped and smacked at me but I just laughed at her. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop on her conversation with her mother but, even without my super hearing, I could hear her mother warn her that she'd be home within twenty minutes and I tried not to pull a face. It meant that I would have to go and I wasn't sure that I wanted to. There was no way that my ever-vigilant parents wouldn't have noticed my absence and I was sure to get an earful when I got home. After what had happened at Vlad's party, I was going to get bitched at, and I just wasn't prepared for that.
"Okay," Sam said. "I'll see you soon."
They said their goodbyes and Sam turned to face me.
"I heard. I'll leave in a minute," I promised.
Sam pressed her forehead to mine. "Thank you for coming over last night. I know I didn't make a lot of sense and that I was really out of it."
"I'll always come when you need me. You ought to know that." I wrapped my arms around her.
"I think I do," Sam said. I wanted her to be sure of it but I knew it would take her time, time that I was willing to give, because I knew that she wasn't pushing at us either.
And then she kissed me first. I loved it when she did that. I wrapped my arms around her and just kissed her until she was gasping for air, her arms locked so tightly around me that I couldn't have to let her go even if I wanted to.
"You have to go."
But neither of us wanted me to.
"Can I see you later?"
"Text me."
"I will," I promised.
I kissed her once more before I slid out from underneath her, transforming and then taking off out her window. I breezily cut through the skies. I was Danny Phantom. I was Danny Fenton. I was Sam's boyfriend, Jazz's brother, Tucker's best friend. We had all made it through and we were all going to be fine. As I touched down in my bedroom, I wondered, though, if I was still my parents' son. I transformed back into Fenton and then I tramped down the stairs, checking the time on my phone. Just before eleven. It wasn't unreasonable that I was just waking up, if by some miracle, my parents hadn't noticed my absence.
"Danny, where were you?" Mom asked before I even stepped into the kitchen.
Well, shit.
"I told Jazz to tell you I was fine."
"Which she did," Mom said, "but that wasn't what I asked."
I walked into the kitchen. Dad was sitting there, at the table, like it was normal. I kept my mouth shut. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it. I could play along until Dad said something to me first.
"Sam was having a rough night. She needed someone who understood and so I went to be with her. She didn't want to be alone."
Mom gave me an 'I know better' look and I tried to shrink away from the expression.
"It was just sleeping, I swear."
"I remember what I told you when we first met her," Dad said.
I stared at him a moment, groping around in my brain until the so-called advice Dad gave me rang back in my ears. "Marry a woman smarter than you". I'd been embarrassed then and I was embarrassed now but it still made me laugh. I had been forgiven.
We were all going to be okay.
So, on tumblr I'm: we are all of legend now (with dashes between every word). If you want to find my replies to anon reviews, add backslash tagged backslash anon dash replies. If you want to see anything I post about Superman or the Reflections Universe, go to my tumblr URL and add backslash tagged backslash reflections dash universe. Punctuation is spelled out due to Fanfiction's restrictions. If you're having any trouble accessing the tumblr content please send me a pm and I can format it for you in a different way.
~TLL~
