Hi Everybody! Just a quick author's note before you read the chapter. I know it's been a while since I updated. I apologize for that. Some personal and computer issues got in the way of writing but I'm glad to be writing again and happy to continue Post Planet.

I also wanted to thank everyone who was kind enough to follow, favorite and review my work. It's a good feeling that makes me want to keep writing. Thank you all! Enjoy!

Danny Phantom Post Planet Chapter 9

Danny's mind went blank. He saw Sam lying on the ground but something kept him from moving towards her. He didn't know if it was fear, shock or a combination of both.

"D…D…Danny." Sam moaned.

This jerked Danny back to reality. He ran as fast as he could he didn't care how tired he was. He didn't care if he transformed back from ghost to human before he reached her. He didn't care where the hell Vlad was either. He just knew that Sam needed him and that was what needed to take priority.

He reached Sam and took a good look before he tried moving her. Part of her left side and left arms were covered in burns that looked really bad but the rest of her seemed unharmed and she was breathing. Danny carefully placed one hand her head and moved it so he could look at her. Her face wasn't burned but there a couple of cuts.

"Sam." He said. "Can you hear me?"

No answer.

That was all Danny needed to spring back into action. He carefully placed one hand behind the small of her back and the other underneath her knees.

"Hold on Sam." He whispered more to himself than her. He crouched down and then jumped into the air heading for the nearest hospital.

He found it within a few minutes and quickly found the Emergency Room entrance. He flew down, landed and kicked through the doors. Every nurse and doctor on duty turned to look at him.

"There was an explosion at the Nasty Burger. My girlfriend's badly burned. I need help!"

A couple of nurses in scrubs immediately came over. One had even grabbed a stretcher. Once it was in front of Danny, he carefully laid his girlfriend down on it. The nurses immediately went to work and Doctors shortly followed. Danny was informed that they were taking her to be examined and to run tests. All he could do was nod. He was in too much shock to really do anything else.

After they had taken Sam away, Danny felt really dizzy and tired. He fell to his hands and knees, transformed back to Danny Fenton. He had trouble breathing and cold sweat was dripping down from his hair to the floor. He felt awful and was sure he was about to be checked into the hospital along with Sam when he felt something under his arm lift him to his feet. He turned to his right and immediately saw Dash. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Before Danny could really register him being there, much less what he had been doing there, he was steered by Dash into a nearby chair. Once satisified that Danny was properly seated Dash grabbed a sports drink bottle out of his backpack and offered it to the superhero.

"Dude you need to drink something." He said, "You look really pale and this will help you get your energy back."

Danny grabbed the drink from him and promptly drained half of it in one gulp.

"Thanks. But what are you doing here?" He asked. It wasn't that he wasn't ungrateful or anything but it just seemed weird that Dash showed up to the hospital a few moments after he arrived with Sam.

"I was on my way to the gym for a workout and I saw you flying overhead with Sam to the hospital. I called Tucker and he said to tell you he's calling your and Sam's parents and he's gonna be here as soon as can."

Danny was speechless. He didn't believe what he was hearing. Two years ago, Dash would be running as far as possible in the opposite direction of danger. The only exception to this was when the two of them shrunk down to 6 inches and had their own nightmarish version of "Honey I shrunk the ghost kid."

Now he was helping Danny, offering him sports drinks and calling his friends and, strangest of all: he was genuinely concerned about Danny's well being as well as Sam's. When exactly had they gone from being enemies to friends? Sure they were workout partners but Danny never thought of Dash as a potential friend.

"Thanks," Danny said after a few minutes of silence and taking another sip of the sports drink. He turned his head towards the door that the nurses and doctors had taken his girlfriend through. He felt himself going numb and felt more cold sweat. He was scared now. Danny, Sam, Tucker and Jazz were all experienced ghost fighters but there was a reason he always wanted to fight the stronger ghosts like Vlad on his own. They were powerful and unlike say, the Box Ghost, they were not afraid to use people against him. Danny was always secretly afraid that someone close to him would get hurt fighting ghosts and in two years they had been relatively lucky. But now he was staring at those hospital doors and the very scary reality that he was going to lose his girlfriend.

"No problem." Dash replied, grabbing a drink for himself out of his bag. "But what happened to you and Sam?"

Before Danny could respond to this question, the doors to the waiting room busted open and Danny's parents along with Sam's own parents and grandmother had come in. Sam's parents immediately ran to the reception counter and were yelling at the top of their lungs demanding to see their daughter and threatening to sue the hospital if they didn't.

Danny's mother saw him and ran as fast as possible to him, his father wasn't far behind. She cupped his face in her hands and looked him over. Danny guessed that he looked pale and sweaty. His dad was right behind her taking in his son's appearance too.

"What happened to you?" His mother asked. "You look terrible, Did you throw up? What did you eat at the Nasty Burger?"

Danny would have answered but his father then started throwing questions at him. "What kind of ghost did you fight? Where is it now? Did you get it in a thermos?"

Now Danny was overwhelmed. He still hadn't really known what had happened to him and Sam. His brain was still shifting through the memories of about half an hour ago. What was worse was that Sam was still being examined and tested to determine how badly she was hurt. He knew she was burned but she had been breathing, albeit very weakly, when he got her here. He wanted to answer their questions but he was scared and their questions weren't helping.

"Everyone calm down!" Said a voice that turned out to be Sam's Grandmother. She had moved in her motorized chair closer to where Danny was sitting. His mom let go of his face and stood up to join her husband who put his arm around her.

"Now Danny," Sam's grandmother continued. "I know you're scared right now, we all are, but we need to know what happened or we can't help you or Sam. So let's just take this one thing at a time. "

Danny looked at her. He always knew that Sam adored her grandmother and the two of them had always been really close. When they had started dating, her parents were still skeptical of Danny, and he suspected they always would be. That hadn't been the case with her Grandmother. She supported their relationship from the beginning and Danny knew the older woman had liked him. But Danny had never respected her more than he did right now. She knew what Sam needed right now, hell, she knew what they all needed and it was Danny to try and be calm and they couldn't really do that by hammering him with questions.

Danny drank the last of the sports drink Dash gave him and took a deep breath. He told them about the lunch they were having at Nasty Burger, how Tucker had left and Vlad showed up for a fight about how the idiot tried to kill all of them by igniting the Nasty Sauce and how he shielded Sam from the blast. He explained how the fight continued. At this point though Danny was struggling again. He had reached the point where he was defenseless against a final ecto blast and how Sam had pushed him out of the way and was caught in the resulting blast.

"It took everything I had left in me to get Sam here." He finished, not looking at any of them. Dash then explained how he had gotten here and found Danny on his hands and knees in human form.

"How do you feel Danny?" His mom and Sam's Grandmother asked.

"Better thanks to this." He said showing them the empty sports drink bottle. "I don't feel sick or anything."

"What about Vlad? Any idea where he went?" His dad asked.

Danny shook his head. He was more focused on getting Sam to safety. For the first time in months, he could have cared less about his archenemy. He looked again at the doors where they had taken Sam. He didn't know how long ago they took her back but it was longer than Danny had liked. By now Tucker showed up and had gotten the story from Danny's parents and they were discussing ways to track down Vlad once they knew how Sam was feeling. Dash was sitting next to him on his left, Sam's grandmother to his right in her chair. Sam's parents were talking with lawyers determining their next course of action.

"You doing ok man?" Dash asked him.

Danny shook his head again. The longer he sat there, the more he felt like he was going to have some kind of breakdown. He was also beginning to feel like this whole thing was his fault. If he'd been able to move a little faster or hit Vlad a little harder he would have stayed down and they wouldn't be here now waiting for news on Sam. He felt a hand on his shoulder and found Dash looking at him again.

"I may not know you or Sam very well but I know how tough you guys are, she's gonna make it through this."

Danny tightened his grip on the now empty sports drink bottle. He knew that Dash was just trying to help and he was grateful. He was just scared and with every moment passing by, he just felt worse. The fact that there was no news of any kind didn't help calm his nerves and he was starting to worry about how serious Sam's condition was.

"Are you sure I can't get you anything else?" Dash asked him. "I just want to help you man."

"Actually." Danny replied looking around the room and handing his phone to Dash. "We're missing someone. Can you call my sister Jazz and let her know what's going on?"

Dash, to his credit didn't hesitate, and he took the phone from him and dialed Jazz's number.

"Hello Jazz? This is Dash Baxter. Yeah, it's been a while. Listen, I'm here with Danny, Sam was taken to the hospital and Danny's not doing so well. Yeah, we're at Amity Memorial. Ok, I'll tell him."

Dash hung up the phone and handed it back to Danny. "She's leaving now and will be here as soon she can, maybe half an hour."

Danny nodded and took the phone back from him. He asked Dash to call Jazz for him because he really needed her here. His parents were still new to him being a half ghost and even though they knew Sam was Danny's girlfriend, and they liked her, they just didn't know how much Sam meant to him, Jazz did and she could help him get through this.

The minutes dragged by. Danny was still sitting in the same chair that Dash had steered him into earlier staring at his feet. They still had no news on Sam. Dash hadn't moved either and Tucker moved to one of the chairs close to Danny. Tucker knew better than to try and talk to him. He may not have shown it, but he was worried about Sam too. Sam's parents had given up trying to argue with the receptionist and they were pacing up and down the room along with Danny's parents. Sam's grandmother was still here too but she was glancing up at the clock every few minutes.

Danny was exhausted. He had gotten some energy back thanks to the sports drink but he still spent a lot of it fighting Vlad, dodging debris, protecting Sam and getting her here. He desperately wanted to rest but he forced himself to stay awake. There was no way he was even going to try sleeping until he knew Sam's condition.

Suddenly the doors to the reception room opened and everyone turned to see who entered. It was Jazz. She was quickly greeted by her Parents and ignored by Sam's completely. After saying her rushed hello to her parents, she ran to Danny who stood up as soon he saw her.

She stood in front of him and opened her arms. Danny wrapped his arms around her as tight he could and that was when he felt the tears coming. He began crying, the tears dropping freely from his face into his sister's shoulder. Jazz didn't care though, she hugged her brother close to her and patted his back while he cried.

"It's gonna be ok Little Brother." She said. "It's gonna be ok. What happened?"

Danny didn't think he could live through what happened again. Dash and Tucker seemed to sense this and told Jazz what happened. All the while Danny hugged his sister. However when Tucker got to the moment when Danny found Sam and flew her to the hospital, Danny lost it and began crying even harder.

"This is all my fault!"

"No it's not." Jazz said, still patting her brother on his back.

"What if I lose her?"

"You're not going to lose her. She'll get through this, she's tough."

"I can't lose her Jazz! I love her!"

"I know you do Danny."

"Oh my God!" Danny was quite hysterical now. "I never told her that, I never told her I love her! What if she doesn't know? What if I never get a chance to tell her?"

"Danny, look at me." He didn't move. "Danny, I need you to look at me ok."

He managed to move his head off her shoulder and look her in the eyes.

"Ok, listen to me. This was not your fault and I know Sam wouldn't see it that way either. I know you're scared right now but you really need to pull yourself together for Sam. She will get through this and when she does, you'll be able to tell her how much you love her."

Danny looked at his sister. He was glad that she was here. The only other person who could calm him when he got like this was Sam. "Ok Jazz, I'll pull it together." She smiled and they broke apart.

His minor recovery didn't last long though. At that moment, a man dressed in scrubs and a white coat came out of the doors that they wheeled Sam through earlier. Sam's parents and Grandmother all came forward. Danny took a deep breath and stepped towards the doctor with them. Jazz was right behind him and she gripped his shoulders for comfort.

"Mr. and Mrs. Manson, Mr. Fenton." The doctor said shaking hands with each of them in turn. "My name is Doctor Thomas Jackson. I am the doctor currently on duty and I just finished examining Sam. I have some good news and bad news."

Danny held his breath.

"The bad news is that Sam was pretty badly hurt. She has some minor burns on her left arm and left side and some second degree burns on her left leg. Also a lot of cuts, scrapes, and a minor concussion."

Danny felt his chest tighten.

"The good news is that Danny got her here in time for us to help and I'm happy to report that she will be able to make a full recovery."

Danny lifted his head back and let go of the air he was holding in. He was so happy that he couldn't express it with words. Jazz hugged him from behind, happily clapping her hands across his chest. All the parents were hugging each other. It had to be the first time either one of their parents had made some kind of physical contact with each other. Dash and Tucker were high fiving and shaking hands.

"Can we see her?" Sam's grandmother asked Doctor Jackson.

"Absolutely." He smiled. "Let's start with immediate family, but not for too long though, I want her to get some rest."

The parents all hugged each other again and walked through the doors Doctor Jackson was holding open for them. He reached out to Danny and clapped his shoulder.

"You got her here in time son, any later and things really could have been worse. Good job."

"Thank you." Danny would have said more but he felt so relieved that he couldn't really say anything else.

He turned around and broke out of his sister's hug to hug his parents. He high fived Dash and Tucker. Finally, he hugged his sister again.

"Thank you so much for coming."

"Don't mention it. I'll always be here when you need me. You know that."

"Same here."

"Excuse me Danny." Danny and Jazz separated and turned to the voice calling him. Sam's father had poked his head out from the doors that they had just walked through a few minutes ago.

"Yes sir."

"Sam wants to see you."

He turned to look at his sister. She was smiling at him. "Go ahead but I would clean your face a little first. I'll wait out here and I'll drive you home. I'll tell Mom and Dad to go."

Danny smiled. "Thanks Jazz." He stepped quickly into the bathroom of the waiting room and washed his face of the cold sweat and tear marks. Once finished, he walked back through the waiting room and followed Sam's father through the doors leading to the hospital rooms. A couple minutes later, they reached Sam's hospital room, Sam's mother and grandmother were standing outside the room.

Then something happened Danny never would have expected, Sam's mother hugged him. He was so taken aback that he almost didn't hug her back. But he did.

"Sam told us what happened." She said. "You saved my daughter. Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

"Alright, that's enough of that." Sam's grandmother said after about 30 seconds of hugging. "Get in there and see your girlfriend. We'll give you two some privacy."

"Thanks Mrs. Manson." He said hugging her too before going in.

He opened the door and the scene was the greatest thing he had ever seen. Sam was in a white hospital gown and hooked up to a machine and she had an IV drip. Her left arm and legs were heavily bandaged with gauze and there were random pieces of gauze covering other spots all over her body. But she was sitting up and looking out the window at the setting sun. She never looked more beautiful to him.

When the door opened, Sam turned her head to the noise and smiled at her boyfriend. "If you blame any of this on yourself, I'm going to hit you."

Danny laughed. "Duly noted." He moved over from the door and moved a chair over to right side of her bed and sat down next to her. Once he was comfortably seated, he reached out and started stroking her hair behind her ear with his fingers.

"How you feeling?"

Sam leaned her head into Danny's hand. "A little tired and groggy. My left leg is really numb too."

Danny glanced at her leg. It was sticking straight out and was the only spot of the body that was very heavily bandaged.

"But I'm going to be ok."

He kept stoking her hair over the next few minutes. "You really scared me you know. What happened to staying out of the way or getting to safety while I fight Vlad?"

Sam reached up to his hand with her good right one and gripped it.

"I don't know Danny." She was very quiet all of a sudden. "I felt something, I could just feel that you were in trouble and I had to help. I can't explain it."

"You just felt something?"

She nodded.

He moved closer to her. He was now at the edge of his chair and about 6 inches away from her face. Jazz was absolutely right as always. Sam and Danny may have never said it out loud but their connection was so strong that they never really had to. Now was the time to break that silence.

"I love you Sam Manson."

"I love you too Danny Fenton."

He closed the 6 inch gap between the two of them and kissed her. It was totally different than any of the other kisses they ever shared. It was like their kiss in the arctic. The world around them disappeared and it was just the two of them. All the pain, anxiety and stress he felt in the last few hours completely disappeared. She was alive and would be ok and that was all that mattered.

"Ahem."

They broke apart and turned to see Doctor Jackson standing in the doorway holding a clipboard.

"Sorry to interrupt." He said. "But I'm going to have to cut this visit down, I want Sam to get some rest. You can come back any time during visiting hours starting tomorrow Mr. Fenton."

"Ok Doctor." He moved to sit up. He didn't really want to leave but he suddenly felt really tired and he knew that Sam was in really good hands. He moved in close to his girlfriend one last time and kissed her forehead.

"I got to go. Doctor's orders. Get some rest ok?"

She smiled at him. "Ok. You coming to see me tomorrow?"

"Yep. Good night, I love you."

"Love you too."

He thanked Doctor Jackson and left to the waiting room to meet up with Jazz to get home. He was tired and suddenly starving but he was ok, Sam was ok and that was all that mattered to him.