Title: Stairs
Theme: Levels
Pairing: None, (Well, DxS if you squint)
Rating: K+

9. Levels

Sam wished she wasn't so stubborn sometimes. It would make things a lot easier, considering she was running up twelve flights of stairs and Danny was floating beside her, smirking in a way that made her want to punch him in the face. She would have hit him if she knew he wouldn't go intangible if she tried. She supposed she could always give in and ask him to just take her up, phase through the ceiling, but that meant admitting he was right and she was wrong.

"Need help, Sam?" he taunted.

"No, I'm good." Level three. A quarter done and she felt fine. She could do this. Just focus on how loud her boots were on the concrete steps as she ran. "Why don't you go check on Tucker?"

"Tucker's fine."

Fourth floor, Fifth floor. Her legs were starting to tingle and she realized how different it was to run upstairs rather than on flat ground. She ignored it and let her eyes flick to Danny, whose smirk was growing with every passing moment. She squared up her shoulders, took a deep breath and snapped, "I can run up stairs, Danny. I don't need you to carry me."

"Sam, it's twelve levels," he argued, then laughed. "And you're already breathing heavy!"

She glared as she hit the landing of the sixth floor. She contemplated stopping to tell him off, to say breathing hard was normal and that unlike some hybrids, she was actually in decent shape, but she was nervous she couldn't keep going if she stopped.

"Want to make this interesting?" he asked, flying in front of her.

Floor seven. "Not really."

"Afraid you'll lose?"

"Danny," she growled, "just go check on Tucker." Floor eight. Almost there. Oh, God, her legs felt like fire and her lungs were starting to sting. She blamed the boots for that, for being so heavy and awkward on the steps, and for being laced too tight so her ankles couldn't bend the way she wanted them too. She wished she had worn sneakers as she hit floor nine.

"Why don't you just let me fly you up?"

"I've got all the money I could ever need," she said, and hit floor ten with a ragged breath. "I've got everything I could ever want. School is easy and I don't have to work at it. I pick up a phone, and I can have…oh, man. Name it, I can get it. I don't have to work for anything."

Floor eleven and she runs faster. "There's no shortcuts to ghosts and ghost hunting, Danny. When you have a shortcut, you take it because you need to, because you work so hard at everything else."

She burst onto the roof and collapsed, panting with a blissful smile. "Dammit, Danny, can't you let me work for something?"

I love this one best so far! Sorry this took longer. My internet went down for a while, but now it's back and just as strong as before!