A/N: WOOW! Is it already Friday? Then TGIF, y'all! And what better way to celebrate than with an update? I certainly can't think of anything else! And, of course, I hope this will be the spark for a great weekend for y'all! And even though I would like to forget it, I need to mention the 'IDNOAC' thing, just so you know that if I did own the DP characters, I would have given them to Cartoon Network, who would undoubtedly see it as the jewel it is and would still be showing it off! In any case, I'm off my soap box. So, let's get right on to Chapter 37—and to throwing your thoughts at me about the story so far. Enjoy!

TrueHeart—Chapter 37—Bumps in the Night

The lynx began to stir, growling with a low sound of pain as he did. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around and saw some shimmering green bars in front of him. What was this? Was he in a cage—again?

He peered past the bars and into the strange, darkened room. He saw odd shadows move with the quiet flicker of the small candles that dotted some parts of the room. He had no idea where he was. But because his blurry vision impeded him from seeing too far past the glowing bars, he also had no idea that the he had company in the form of Sam, who was still sleeping soundly and had yet to hear the wildcat's waking.

A more intense pang of pain shot up his left front paw when he tried to stand up. He quickly fell back down and his cage rattled slightly. This time, the girl, unconsciously reacting to the odd sound, stirred. But the lynx's still muddled mind didn't pick up on that.

The lynx shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "I'm hurt?" he asked himself in bewilderment. "But how?" Then, his memory began to come into focus. "That white-haired boy attacked me with some kind of …of energy beam!" That confused him, again; but then, he remembered his fight with Bertrand. And he jolted at his next thought, "Where's my Sarah?"

He tried to get up again, but that same injured paw buckled under him once more. He tried again, determined to make that paw obey him. But the pain didn't obey him, and he felt his body fall forward and sideways, this time crashing right into his cage. He was immediately jolted by a large bolt of anti-ectoplasmic electricity when he did and he yelped in pain. And that anti-ghost blow was enough to knock him back out.

But the sound of his body's getting zapped and his feline cry startled Sam awake. She quickly turned on her light and made a dash toward the cage. She looked at the beast and was surprised to see smoke billowing from his fur. But she was too worried from hearing his cry of pain to think anymore about it.

"Oh, you poor thing!" she cried as she threw open the cage's lid. This time, she was going to chance it! He must have rammed right into the cage and hurt himself all over again! She couldn't let that happen again, especially since she had hated the cage from the very beginning.

She opened the shimmering lid, reached in, and wormed her arms under the lynx. Why did he feel so cold? But she lifted him up anyway; and when she quickly saw how difficult it was, she made a concerted effort and pulled him out of the cage. She swayed slightly, trying to balance her weary body and his weight. As she headed to her beanbag, sweat began to form on her brow and her breathing increased with her effort; and she silently chided herself for putting the cat at risk for more injury.

Finally, she just made it to the beanbag, though the landing of the cat when she placed him upon it was harder than she had wanted it to be. She cringed, but the lynx didn't seem to have gotten any more hurt by it.

She hurriedly got some extra pillows and gently propped up the silent beast, especially his left front paw. She shivered a little when she saw just how sharp his claws were and bit her lower lip. Maybe she had made a big mistake in taking him out of the cage. But it was too late, now. She didn't want to chance dropping him in trying to put him back into the cage.

She went to a nearby chair, sat down, and looked at her clock. It was two o'clock in the morning. She groaned, but stayed where she was and waited, dozing off slightly as she did.

A few minutes later, it looked as if the lynx was coming to again. Sam immediately heard the shift of his body and woke with a slight start. She carefully got out of her chair and gingerly approached the beast. He then uttered a pained sound, and her eyes widened in surprise when he seemed to groan like a human. But she thought that her groggy mind had merely imagined it.

The wildcat slowly opened his eyes and as his blurred vision cleared, he saw amethyst-colored eyes looking back at him. He immediately startled, not expecting to see anyone so suddenly right in front of him. And he was especially not expecting to see the same girl he had faked wooing for the past few weeks!

Sam gasped when the beast tried to pull away from her and whimpered in pain when he did. "It's OK, little fella!" she instinctively and gently said. "You're hurt, but I'll take care of you!"

Derek looked at her in bewilderment. His still-dazed eyes blinked as he tried to think. What did she mean by that? She wouldn't be able to help him! He was a ghost! But then, he was suddenly aware of an intense pain pulsating up his left leg. He glanced down at his throbbing left paw and jolted a little. It wasn't glowing. He then remembered that his ghostly aura must still be masked by that potion, and because of that, his body did look real. She must have thought that he was a real wildcat. But then, he wondered why this girl would let a 'real' wildcat run loose, especially in her own room?

Another thought struck him immediately after that. Maybe she knew who he was after all! But how could that be? She hadn't seen him in this form. And he had overshadowed that other human teen and had used that teen's voice. He stifled his gasp. Maybe he had uttered something in human speech while he was unconscious and she had heard him? But then, would she put it all together? How? And why would she take him out of his cage if she knew who he was?

He shook his head, trying to clear it. And the next thought riveted it into more focus, though not completely just yet. Where was his Sarah? He suddenly tensed with worry, which clouded his already dazed mind. Had his wife phased into the oblivion? NO! He wouldn't believe that! Maybe somehow this girl did know of them and had taken his wife away to get back at him for what he did to her? So then, the girl could have him out of his cage and still have power over him if she held his Sarah hostage. NO! He felt a pang within his central core. He couldn't bear the thought of being made a servant of another again!

This time, he reacted. He was too worried about his wife and then grew angry that anyone would put her in danger again. No one was going to keep him from getting to her! He tried to pull himself upward, but fell again when the pain shot through his left paw again.

Sam gasped and instinctively stepped toward him, trying to help. And in the next instant, their eyes met. Sam reeled backwards in shock when she could swear that she felt his thoughts for a fleeting moment. And they were human thoughts!

Derek, too, felt what she did and now he was desperate. She did know who he was! Did she have some sort of magic, too? After all, he knew nothing of the humans of this time period. Then, she must have his wife! He instantly flared his fangs in fear for his wife, and growled threateningly at the girl.

Sam stepped quietly away while trying to reassure the animal. "Shhh...It's OK! I could have kept you in that cage over there,…" She pointed out the glowing cage and was surprised that the lynx followed her hand and looked to where she was pointing. But she continued, "…but I wanted to prove to you that you could trust me. Please don't get upset. You're still too hurt to attack me!"

Derek knew she was right. He was still too injured to do much at the moment; nevertheless, what had she done to his Sarah? He growled again. He still wanted to know what had happened to his wife. But he didn't want to let this girl know that he could speak and understand her. He tried to think of a way to get out of here.

He tried to shift his weight more forcefully upward off the beanbag, but as soon as he put any weight on his left front paw, he yowled in pain and slipped back down.

Sam gasped in worry and in fear. The animal was definitely getting agitated. Perhaps she should call Danny—now! She began to concentrate, feeling the familiar movement in her mind whenever she used her telepathy.

But just a few moments after she had a connection and called to her boyfriend, she lost her concentration. And that was because of what the lynx did.

In its efforts to pull itself up again, the wildcat had stumbled and tumbled onto the floor, jolting Sam out of her thoughts. He let out an angry and painful growl immediately afterward.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx

Back at the Fenton residence, Danny startled awake when he felt Sam's brief connection and heard her cry out his name…and the cry of a…a wildcat! He shot up in his bed, instantly knowing that his girl had tried to reach him by that now familiar pressure in his mind.

"She's got to be in trouble! I knew I shouldn't have left the cat with her!" he gasped out loud, and he heard a rattle in the bird's cage when he said it. But there was no time to check on the bird. He jumped out of his bed, willing his bluish-white transformation rings at the same time. An instant later, he turned intangible and soared out of his window at supersonic speed.

Meanwhile, Sarah had been startled when she heard that male voice.

She had recovered a couple of hours before, but she had remained quiet, mustering her strength before she would try to see where she was. And because her ghostly vision was still blurry, she hadn't seen much of anything in this darkened room except the shimmering green bars of her cage. But she thought she had heard breathing the entire time that she had regained consciousness. That is, until she heard that male scream just now.

She startled again when, following the echo of the male voice, the room was momentarily illuminated by two bluish-white rings of light. She caught a glimpse of a dark-haired boy suddenly turning into a white-haired….ghost? She didn't know what to make of this and hadn't seen the boy's face, since he had his back to her. She anxiously watched as the boy phased through and shot out the window. She kept still, not certain on what to do. She felt her central core freeze more with the sudden recall on what that boy had last said. Didn't he mention a cat? Was it her cat?

The thought jolted her and her head unexpectedly began to spin. She instantly knew that she had not completely recovered from her wound when she felt her eyes grow heavy at her sudden drain of strength. She succumbed and was soon senseless upon the floor of her cage.

Danny phased quickly into Sam's room and saw the wildcat out of his cage, on the floor, and glaring threateningly at his girl. The animal was already in a crouched position, and Danny just knew that it would be milliseconds before the wildcat would pounce upon Sam.

But Danny didn't know that the cat was crouched like that because he really couldn't get up to attack Sam. The hybrid immediately flew right between them and shot the wildcat with a powerful green ectoplasmic ray.

The black lynx howled in more pain, and then collapsed.

"Danny, why did you do that? He couldn't hurt me!" Sam objected, frowning with chagrin at the unconscious animal.

"But you called me and I heard him growl!" Danny countered, his face etched with worry and confusion.

"I did?" Sam began, scrunching her forehead in bewilderment. She then blushed when she remembered. She squeamishly added, "Oh, yeah! I did. But just as I called you, he fell off the beanbag and that's when he growled in pain and I guess…you must have heard it."

Suddenly aware on what must have happened, Danny was now irritated with her. "Off the beanbag? How did he get out of the ca—…Sam?" he tersely asked.

She blushed even more. "Uh, sorry, Danny. He got hurt by that cage! And I thought he would trust me! So I—"

"How did he get hurt by the cage?" Danny abruptly interrupted her, bewildered by this part of her explanation. But he quickly grew irritated again with her for putting herself into unnecessary danger. He firmly replied, "Never mind! I thought we agreed to keep him in the cage until we could figure out what to do with him!"

She grew irritated as well. But more with herself than his reprimand. "All right! You're right! I should have known better! And now I do. Let's just…."

But she couldn't continue. There was a pounding on her door.

"Samantha? Samantha? What's all that noise?"

It was her parents!

Danny's eyes widened in dread. He instinctually scooped up the senseless lynx and turned them both invisible.

Sam threw her blanket over the cage, and then darted to her door and unlocked it.

"Sam! Are you alright? We heard all this terrible noise and were so scared!" her mother anxiously said, pulling her daughter into a nervous hug.

"Yeah, well, sorry about that! I must have had a nightmare!" her daughter lied, biting her lower lip. "But thanks for checking on me! I think I'll be alright!"

"OK, if you say so, Sweetie," Mrs. Manson said, her voice sounding more relieved this time.

Her father then added, "Are you sure you're all right, Honey?"

Sam nodded and smiled weakly. "Yes, uhm…thanks for checking on me."

Satisfied that everything was fine, the girl's parents gave her another quick hug and went back to their room.

Sam sighed as she closed and locked her door again. But then, she startled when she heard an "OW!"

When she turned around, she saw a rematerialized Danny putting the lynx back into the cage. Still irritated and therefore distracted about the situation, Danny had accidentally brushed one of the bars as he tried to slowly lower the cat down. He was still getting little zaps by the cage even as he was trying to finish his careful task.

Sam bit her lower lip when she could see he was still upset by what she did. "Danny?" she softly said.

"Yes, Sam?" he brusquely replied, pausing and glancing only briefly at her after he had gotten the lynx safely back into the cage. He didn't want to brush against the bars and get zapped again on the way out.

"Uhm, thanks for rushing right over as soon as you thought I was in trouble, which I guess I kinda was!" she said with a weak smile.

He didn't smile back, as he was still smarting from the cage's ectoplasmic zaps and was still irked with her for pulling this stunt. Instead, he firmly said, "Well, good-night, then. And keep that cage closed!" He turned intangible and soared right off without another word.

She looked at the wall through which he had phased and frowned, chiding herself. She should have known better than to let the cat out. But she then sighed in surrender, and just slowly made her way back to her bed. As she tried to get her racing mind to settle, she quietly hoped the cat would be better in the morning. And she wasn't planning on taking him out of the cage again. After all, getting slashed by an angry lynx wasn't her idea of late-night entertainment. Still, if Danny hadn't intervened as only he could, she would have been fried. She sighed, irritated with herself again. She had really ticked Danny off. Not that she could blame him. She really should have known better. But then again, she also still wasn't too much in a hurry to take the cat to a zoo…