Danny Phantom Post Planet Chapter 10
Danny slept incredibly late on the Sunday morning following the attack on the Nasty Burger. Jazz took him home after he saw Sam and he ended up eating an entire pepperoni pizza by himself. Afterwards he crashed on his bed still fully dressed. He would have slept all day if it weren't for his phone.
"Seriously." He grumbled reaching out for his phone on the bedside table. He fumbled around for almost a whole minute before grabbing it.
"Hello?" He mumbled softly, answering the phone and not even bothering to look at the caller ID.
"I need you as soon as possible." Said a female voice.
Danny raised his eyebrow. He was way too tired to recognize the voice. Instead of responding right away, he pulled his hand away from his head to check the caller ID. Despite how tired he was, a smile crept across the teenager's face. Having your girlfriend calling you and telling you she needs you is a good feeling.
"What do you need from me Sam?" He asked, yawning and scratching the back of his head.
"I need you to come over and rescue me from my parents. They've been here since dawn and are driving me crazy!"
"What are they doing this time?"
"They're arguing with everyone. Doctors, nurses, even the cafeteria workers! It's really starting to stress me out and I just need you here, Please!"
"Tell you what, you say three little words, you know the ones I want to hear, and I'll be right over."
There was silence over the phone for about thirty seconds while Sam thought about what Danny could mean. Meanwhile the half ghost was smiling. Hopefully she got what he meant.
"I love you."
"Love you too. Hang in there, I'll be there in about an hour or two, alright?"
"Alright."
Danny hung up the phone and went to the bathroom for a shower. Truthfully, he would have gone to see Sam anyway but he really enjoyed hearing "I love you." from her. It was suddenly the greatest feeling in the world. Once done he went back to his room to change into his usual clothes. He was slipping on a fresh shirt when he heard a knock at the door. He turned his head to see Jazz standing there. After she had driven him home from the hospital last night, she had stayed rather than going back to school right away. Danny knew she was staying to keep an eye on him after what happened and he was more than grateful.
"Glad to see you're up. You really hit the sack last night after devouring that pizza."
Danny chuckled. "Yeah, I was pretty drained."
"And not without good reason." She laughed. Danny finished lacing up his Converses and grabbed his wallet from the jeans he was wearing the day before. "Going somewhere?"
"Yeah. I'm going to spend some time with Sam. Her parents are driving her nuts and I know she doesn't like being bedridden."
Jazz ruffled his hair playfully, just like she did when they were younger. "Awww. Look at my little brother being the good boyfriend."
He laughed and pulled his head out from under his sister's hand. In reality, he didn't think he was that great of a boyfriend. Sam may not have thought so but Danny still felt partially responsible for what happened to her. He couldn't stop Vlad fast enough and because he didn't, it put Sam in a situation where she needed to help and it resulted in her injuries.
"Tell you what." His sister said, breaking Danny from his thoughts. "I'm heading back to school in about half an hour. Want a ride to the hospital? Then I can just drive back and you can fly home."
Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Sure." He didn't think it was all that necessary because he felt fully recharged and could have easily flown to Amity Memorial and back today but he was also grateful to Jazz and spending a little more time with his sister is always good.
After a quick breakfast 20 minutes later, Danny and Jazz were in her car heading out to the mall to get a few things for Sam while she was in the hospital. The mall wasn't that crowded for late on a Sunday morning so they were able to get everything Danny wanted easily. He picked up two books that he at least thought she hadn't read yet, a digital gift card for movies and music and a raven black teddy bear with a blue bow that Jazz insisted on buying.
"I still think you should have gotten some flowers." Jazz told him as they got back in the car after the shopping trip.
Danny shook his head. "Sam's not a flower kind of girl. Never has been."
"She has a garden."
"Vegetable garden. Trust me, not the same thing."
"Ok, you're the boyfriend."
Danny smiled. He was used to being called Sam's boyfriend after almost eight months of being together but after yesterday, after they said those three words, they were closer and stronger than ever.
They got to the hospital fifteen minutes later and checked in at the reception desk. Jazz had wanted to say hello and stay for a little while before going back to school. Sam had been moved from the room she was in yesterday to a more long term room, hopefully they would find out just how long Sam was going to be in here. They reached her hospital room and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Said a voice Danny recognized as Sam's Grandmother. He opened the door and found Sam sitting on a hospital bed, still hooked up to an IV drip and vitals monitor. Her grandmother was sitting close by idly flipping through channels on TV. Sam looked up as soon as the door opened. She smiled and held her arms open towards her boyfriend.
"Thank God you're here!" She happily said as he walked in and hugged her close.
"Glad to know I have that effect on you." He said breaking the hug and grabbing a chair to sit next to the bed. "Things can't be that bad here can they?"
"It's not the hospital." Sam said, "It's my parents going overboard and really stressing me out."
"What are they doing?" Jazz asked grabbing another chair and sitting next to Danny.
"What aren't they doing?" Sam's Grandmother said. "It happens every time Sam gets sick, they go nuts and think they need a miracle cure or something for Sam to get better. All the doctors say she's going to be fine in a couple weeks but they of course disagree. I just got them to calm down and convince them Sam will be fine here."
"They wanted to move me to another high end hospital out of the city." Sam said. "Can you believe it?"
Danny shook his head. He could believe it. Sam's parents were the typical overprotective parents that always insisted they knew what was best their kids. This also meant that they were doing more harm than good. Sam usually put up with their overprotective nature but now that she was in the hospital and recovering, she didn't have a lot of strength to do so.
"Well maybe this will make you feel better." He said holding up the shopping bag from the mall.
"What's this?" She asked grabbing the bag and starting to rifle through it.
"Get well soon bag."
Sam smiled as she dug through the contents of the bag pulling each item out one at a time. Thankfully, Danny managed to pick up the right books since, according to his girlfriend, she hadn't read any of them yet. She chuckled though when she reached the teddy bear. "Really?" She asked, holding it up towards him.
"Yeah." He laughed, grabbing it from her. "I can't be here all the time so he's gonna be here for you when I'm not." He playfully rubbed the bear's face against hers before he gave it back. She grabbed it and set it on her lap. Then she reached for his face and pulled him into a kiss.
"Feel any better?" He asked after they broke apart.
"Yeah much better. Thanks for coming."
"No problem."
Danny and Jazz stayed there for about another hour, talking with Sam and her grandmother. They played a couple card games and caught the end of a movie on TV. As the credits rolled, Jazz announced that she was going back to her dorm and she needed to get some homework done. They all waved goodbye and she hugged both Danny and Sam before leaving. He looked at the clock on the wall by the TV. It was after two. Visiting hours weren't over for another few hours, but his sister's desire to finish homework reminded him that he still had some to do to. Then there was the matter of Vlad to deal with, if the guy was even in the city anymore.
After the explosion at the Nasty Burger yesterday, Tucker released a statement to the public and press saying that his predecessor was now taking top priority. The guys in white were being called in to assist the police with a perimeter around town. The FBI was sending in experts. Even Danny's parents were getting in on the action, having finally been given access to the confiscated equipment. The problem with that was, there was a lot of things to sort and go through so it was going to take time. With all the extra security and work being done, Danny wasn't sure that there was going to be another Vlad sighting anytime soon. If it were him, he would have stayed low.
As the ghost hero thought about this, he eyes focused on his girlfriend sitting up in the hospital bed, one arm wrapped around her new teddy bear and the other holding a book. He smiled at her. At least she was ok and recovering. He didn't want to worry about Vlad right now, with all the extra security coming in, there was no way he was getting near Sam or really anyone else.
After about another hour spending time with Sam, Danny decided, against his own wishes that it was time for him to leave. He still had homework to do and he wanted to check in with his parents and see how they were progressing with the guys in white and FBI. He kissed his girlfriend goodbye and promised that he would be coming tomorrow after school. He said goodbye to her grandmother too before leaving.
On his way home, Danny flew over the crater that was the Nasty Burger. By now though, the place had been quarantined and covered with agents. He sighed, if there was a chance of finding anything here, it was long gone. He turned around and flew home.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" he called out, unlocking the front door and stepping into his home. There was no answer. Maybe they were in the lab and didn't hear him. He went through to the kitchen to grab something to drink. After locating a bottle of fruit punch, the teenager sat down at the kitchen table and found an envelope attached a handwritten note from his mother.
"Danny," He read aloud, for what reason he didn't know. "We've been called in to look at some equipment with the Guys in White. Going to be late, we've left you some money for dinner. Hope you had a good visit with Sam. Love Mom."
He opened the envelope and counted the money inside. Thirty five dollars. That was a lot of money for one person to have dinner. Danny was used to this sort of thing though. His parents would get caught up in work and not pay attention to how much they were giving him. He put the money in his wallet and glanced at the clock. It was a little before 4, a little too early for dinner. He grabbed his backpack from the hallway and peeked inside. He had two textbooks and three notebooks but he really didn't feel like doing homework right now. He needed someone to hang out with.
He texted Valerie and offered but she declined in favor of spending time with her Dad. Tucker was busy working with the FBI and more than likely his parents. Sam was in the hospital so that was out of the question. Danny thought for a few more minutes, then it hit him. He owed a big favor to someone for helping him out yesterday. He took his phone out and dialed another number.
"Hello?" Said a male voice.
"Hey Dash, it's Danny."
"Oh hey Danny. What's up?"
"Not much." He answered, scratching the back of his head. "Look man, I'm all on my own tonight at my place and my parents left me some money for dinner. You up for a hang out with take out? My treat."
"Sure man. You want me to come over now?"
"Yeah, we can order when you get here. You need directions?"
"Nah, I can find it. Your place isn't really hard to find you know."
Danny laughed. "True that. Alright man, see you soon."
"Later."
Danny hung up the phone and went to grab some takeout menus from the kitchen. He also had a fun text conversation with Sam, letting her know he was hanging out with Dash for the night. She had made a joke about him wanting to hang out with him more than her. He was texting her back telling her no chance of that happening when the doorbell rang.
The young man answered the door and found Dash there waiting for him. They shook hands and Danny let him in.
"Hey dude." Dash said once he was inside. "Do you mind if we turn on the Packers game? It's gonna start in a few minutes."
"Yeah sure." Danny replied, immediately grabbing the remote and flipping channels trying to find the game. "I didn't think they were playing today, I thought they had a bye week."
"Nah," Dash said shaking his head and reaching for the takeout menus, "Bye week is next week. They're playing New York this week."
"Giants or Jets?"
"Jets."
Danny laughed. "Oh this will be a cakewalk for the Packers. There we go." He successfully found the game and it looked like it hadn't started yet. "Find someplace you feel like ordering from?"
"What are you in the mood for?"
"Anything but pizza. I ate an entire pie myself last night after I got home. Not really in the mood for any more right away."
"Ok…" Dash replied, holding up a menu from a local deli. "Sandwiches are always good with a football game."
"No arguments there." Danny replied taking the menu from him and looking it over. "At least they deliver. Alright pick out what you want and I'll call in the order."
A few minutes later, he had called in an order for two big sandwiches, turkey and cheese with lettuce for him and ham and bologna for Dash. He ordered drinks too and the food was going to be delivered by the end of the first quarter. They had settled in to watch the game. And he was having a good time. They were yelling at the screen together and high fiving at good plays. Dash seemed surprised that Danny was such a big Packers fan.
"Oh, I've been a fan since I was a kid." He told the athlete once the first quarter was over and the food arrived. "My Grandfather used to come over all the time to watch me and my sister and we would watch the games together."
"Nice man. I think I was a fan right out of the womb."
"I believe that." Danny said to him, handing him a plate with his sandwich and an empty glass for his drink. They poured sodas and sat to watch the rest of the game. They kept talking and Danny was surprised how easily he was getting along with him. It was really no different than hanging out with Tucker or his father. It was around half time when Dash changed subjects away from football.
"How's Sam doing?"
"Pretty well all things considering." Danny answered pouring another soda for himself. "She'll be in the hospital for the rest of the week. They want to make sure the burns heal and the concussion doesn't turn out to be serious."
"Glad to hear it. What about you man? How are you doing?"
Danny leaned back in his seat on the couch. "Much better than yesterday. Sam's safe and recovering. That's all that matters to me. By the way man, thanks for everything you did yesterday. I really needed it."
Dash clapped a hand on his shoulder. "No problem man. I was just glad I was close by."
Danny smiled. "Me too." He was actually glad Dash had been there too, even if it had been just a coincidence. Chalk it up to everything that had changed in his life in the last 8 months. As far as he was concerned, he was now friends with the high school quarterback.
Dash ended up staying for the entire game and they said their goodbyes, promising to hang out again for another football game. By now it was getting late and Danny still had a little homework to finish but thanks to the soda, with its sugar and caffine now coursing through his body, he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. He wound up spending over an hour finishing his homework. The teenager yawned as he put away his finished work and decided to call Sam before going to bed for the night.
"Hey Sam." He called "How you feeling?"
"I'm feeling better than I was this morning. I think my parents may have finally backed off."
"That's good. How long you think that'll last?" he asked chuckling.
"Hopefully more than a day." She laughed. "How about you? How was your date with Dash?"
Danny laughed. "It was not a date, we just hung out and watched the football game. By the way, he's nowhere near as cute as you are, especially when you're holding a teddy bear in your lap."
"Thanks for all that today. For everything you do for me."
"You would do the same for me Sam."
"Yeah I would. You off to bed?"
"In a few minutes."
"Ok. Good night Danny. I love you."
"I love you too Sam. Night"
Danny turned off his phone and crawled into bed. Had he known how bad the next day was going to be, he would have stayed in bed.