This one is set before the events of Phantom Planet.

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"Don't you usually go to Sam for this?"

"Your place was closer."

"Uh huh." Tucker sighed as he attempted to attach the black piece of thread into the small needle. "What about Jazz?"

"Are you kidding?" Danny scoffed. "You know she'd freak."

Oh, Tucker knew she would freak out big time if she saw the condition her little brother was in right now. He was surprised he was keeping it together so well. The fear he felt when Danny came tumbling through his window, caked head to toe in ectoplasm and barely conscious, it was indescribable.

He was quick to help his best friend, practically falling over himself in his haste to get the first aid kit that he hid under his bed, just for situations such as this one, and grab some towels in order to attempt to stop the flow of ectoplasm staining his floor and bed.

He now had Danny seated on the floor, leaning against his bed. His green eyes were half lidded and glowing softly, looking rather detached from the world. He was shaking slightly, something that concerned Tucker greatly, and had a towel wrapped around his quaking shoulders. Even his white hair was stained green from the large gash he had on his forehead.

Tucker finally got the thread attached and turned to his friend. "You know I'm no good at this." He mumbled, not looking forward to the task he was about to commence. Danny smiled grimly through the ectoplasm coating his lips.

"B-better than me." The ghost stuttered. "Besides, I t-trust you, dude."

"I wish you'd trust me a little less." Tucker sighed, although Danny's absolute faith in him did make his chest tighten. Now wasn't the time to be the pessimist, he had to help his buddy, and that means keeping his spirits up…so to speak. "Right, let's see how well my sewing has improved."

Danny nodded slowly and pushed himself away from the bed. Tucker tried to ignore the way his friends face scrunched in pain and moved to help him. Danny's shaking hands fumbled with the small zip on the front of his jumpsuit, slipping from the sleek ectoplasm that covered his fingers, until Tucker gently lifted his chin and worked the zip himself.

It was a slow and painful process, but the two finally managed to pull Danny's arms out of his suit and pull the latex clothing down so that it now rested around his waist. Tucker now had a clear view of his best friends back and abdomen. His chest and stomach were decorated with large, painful looking bruises, he had most likely broken a rib or two, but his back had suffered the worst. Right across his back, from shoulder blade to hip, was a huge gash. The cut was deep and, without the added clothing, was now freely leaking ectoplasm, dripping down Danny's back and pooling in his jumpsuit.

"Jeez, Danny." Tucker breathed, his eyes wide as he took in the wound. He saw the muscles in Danny's back tense.

"It's n-not as bad as it l-looks." Danny grumbled, but Tucker could see right past that. It was obviously causing him immense pain.

"Why didn't you call us?" The techno geek asked as he carefully wiped away the mix of ectoplasm and blood.

"I…I thought I could…handle it." Danny grunted as Tucker wiped over the wound. The spectacled boy sighed again and shook his head.

"You're too reckless." He said softly.

"H-hey." Danny protested lightly. "I beat the b-bad guy, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but not before he beat you." Tucker pointed out, his gaze momentarily landing on the discarded Fenton thermos that still lay on it's side on the floor where Danny had dropped it. "You should of give us a call when things started turning bad."

"Well excuse me, but I kind of had my hands full fighting an evil ghost." Tucker didn't need to see Danny's face to know that he was scowling. A tense silence fell between the two, but it was quickly broken by Danny's soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Tuck. I know you're just worried about me."

"It's ok, dude." Tucker replied. He really didn't want to get into an argument about this right now, he had more pressing things to worry about. "You ready?" He asked, holding up the needle and thread for his friend to see.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Danny tried to sound confident, but Tucker could tell he was nervous. This wasn't the first time one of them had to stitch Danny up, but it was never a pleasant experience for any of them.

"Ok, try to relax your back, your as tense as a rock." Tucker placed a feather light hand on his friends back, offering his physical reassurance in an attempt to help him relax. He felt some of the tension slip away and took this as he cue.

In one swift motion, Tucker stuck the needle into Danny's skin and began the task of pulling the wound back together. Danny grit his teeth against the pain, his fingers digging into the carpet and his eyes scrunching shut.

Tucker worked fast, trying to get the task over with as soon as possible, for both their sakes. It was killing him having to cause his best friend so much pain, but it wasn't like they could just drop him off at the hospital and the best pain relief he could give him was some ibuprofen, which could barely kill a migraine.

The skin beneath Tuckers hand soon became hot and feverish and soaked in sweat as he continued to sew. In. Out. Pull the skin together. That became his motto. His hands began to tremble slightly as he listened to Danny's ragged breaths.

"I-I'm almost done, dude." Tucker hated the way his voice trembled as he attempted to reassure his friend.

"S…swell." Danny grunted.

In. Out. Pull. In. Out. Pull. In. Out. Pull.

Not soon enough, it was finally over. Tucker let out a tremendous sigh of relief as he gently wiped away the remaining ectoplasm, careful not to disturbed the stitching.

"I'm done." Tucker let out a breathy laugh. "It's over." He looked down at his trembling hands that now sat useless in his lap, coated in ectoplasm. He was startled slightly when another hand appeared in his line of sight and rested gently on his own. He looked up to see Danny's glowing, green eyes now locked on him, still full of pain, but looking clearer than they had all night.

"I'm sorry for making you do this, Tuck." The ghost boy said softly, squeezing his hands. "I know how much you hate hospitals and stuff, a-and trust me, if there was any other way I wouldn't-"

"It's ok, Danny." Tucker quickly cut off his rambling as he removed his hands from under Danny's and placed them on the ghost teens bare shoulders. His skin was still warm and feverish and he could see the hot flush on his friends face. "I know you don't have a choice, and I'm your best friend, dude, I've always got your back." Tucker sent him a reassuring smile as Danny continued to gape at him before slowly shaking his head.

"Thanks, Tucker." The hybrid smiled back but Tucker quickly took notice as Danny began to sway a little, the red flush getting darker on his cheeks and his eyes drooping a bit.

"Right, let's get you wrapped up, then you can rest, God knows you need it." The dark boy said, keeping his hands firmly on Danny's shoulders, keeping him steady.

"Sounds good." Danny mumbled. Tucker removed his hands as soon as he was sure Danny wasn't going to face-plant the floor and quickly got to work wrapping a thick layer of gauze around his abdomen. About half way through the process, Danny rested his forehead on Tuckers shoulder, no longer having the energy to hold it up himself and Tucker wasn't sure if he'd dozed of or not.

"Ok, D. I'm done." Tucker placed a hand on Danny's own shoulder and gently pushed him up. The ghost teen looked close to passing out. "You can change back now." Danny nodded and allowed the bright rings of light to flash to life around his waist, swiftly moving over his body and changing the ghost hero into the boy that Tucker had known for all his life, the flush now much more noticeable on his pale face.

Tucker gently manoeuvred a now human Danny so that he was once again leaning against the bed. "I'm going to find you some pyjamas, dude. You're staying here tonight." The techno geek said, leaving no room for an argument. Danny nodded mutely, still staring off into space. With a sigh, Tucker stood and began digging through his dresser draws. He was sure he still had some of Danny's pjs form sleepovers past.

"Ah ha." Tucker grinned as he pulled out a simple white t-shirt and a pair of red, plaid pants. "I knew they were in there somewhere." He quickly returned to Danny's side and helped his best friend to trade his current clothing for the pyjamas, careful not to disturb the freshly applied bandages.

Once Danny was finally dressed, Tucker hooked an arm around his shoulder and hefted his friend off the floor and onto the bed, Danny's only complaints being a few grunts and hisses. Once he was sure he was comfy, Tucker moved to the other side and climbed right in next to him, just like they used to do when they were little.

Tuckers mind soon found itself wondering back to their early childhood. Back to a time when things were simpler and the only thing they had to worry about was bullies and homework.

"Hey, Danny?" Tucker called softly, not wanting to wake the boy if he had already fallen asleep.

"Hm?" Danny replied, his eyes still closed.

"Remember when we first met?" He heard Danny chuckle quietly next to him.

"Of course I do." The young hero said and Tucker could practically hear the small smile in his voice.

Flash back

Five year old Tucker Foley wondered around the playground, his little PDA junior in hand, watching other groups of children play together. It was his first day of kindergarten and he had yet to make any friends. Everyone already seemed to have found their little friendship groups, but Tucker couldn't seem to find his.

Every group he went to seemed to reject him straight out and he couldn't seem to understand why. Was it his small tech? Or the thick, framed glasses that rested on his little face?

Tucker hugged his PDA junior close to his chest as another group of kids chased him away. He dragged his little sneakers through the dirt, attempting to keep his tears in check and soon found himself coming up the the swing set and slides.

However, as he got closer, he noticed a lone figure sitting on one of the swings. It was a boy, who looked to be around his age, with a mop of thick, messy black hair and startling blue eyes. Tucker looked around and, seeing that there was no one els there, decided to approach the boy.

The boy was looking out over the playground with a rather sad look on his face, so he didn't notice Tucker until he was standing right next to him.

"Um…hi." Tucker said with a little wave, catching the boys attention. The black haired boy jumped, his head spinning around until his large, blue eyes landed on him, full of of nervousness. "I'm Tucker." The little geek boy continued, not at all put off by the other boys reaction.

"D-Danny." The boy replied shyly, a deep blush spreading across his cheeks. Tucker grinned brightly at the shy boy.

"Can I sit with you?" He asked, pointing at the other swing. Danny nodded and watched as Tucker climbed onto the swing next to his. "This is my first day of kindergarten." The dark skinned boy went on chatting. "But no one here wants to play with me."

"M-me too." Danny agreed quietly. It was taking a lot of courage for him to talk to this boy.

"You know, you're kind off quiet." Tucker blurted, making Danny's cheeks redden even more. "But I like you, Danny." Tucker received a small smile for his efforts and after a little coaxing he learned that Danny was too shy to ask the other kids if he could play with them and that's why he was sitting alone on the swing set and as they continued to talk, Danny became more and more confident, smiling and laughing freely.

Tucker also learned that his parents hunt ghost and Danny instantly became the coolest person he'd ever met. It wasn't long after that that the two had met Sam, the trio quickly becoming inseparable, despite their contrasting personalities.

Flash back end

Danny had kept his shy, quiet attitude for most of his early school years, that, along with his parents ghost hunting career, he quickly became a target for bullying. However, after the portal accident, Tucker had noticed a confidence in Danny that was never there before. He could stand up to Dash now and speak out in large crowds.

Although this was great, Tucker sometimes felt himself missing those earlier days. Back when things were simpler and they were ignorant of the hardships life was going to throw at them.

But he would never stop helping Danny. No matter what happened, no matter how many times he himself got hurt or dragged into danger, he would never abandon his best friend. Danny didn't deserve that.

Tucker rolled onto his side to see that Danny had fallen asleep whilst he was lost in his thoughts. He too was lying on his side, facing him, in order to keep the pressure off his injured back. Tucker stared at his friend, taking him the scabbed cut on his forehead and the large bruise on his jaw, but he was happy to notice the hot flush on his cheeks had died down, now a soft pink colour.

Danny had changed greatly in the last few months. Gone was the quiet, shy boy he grew up with. Instead replaced by this confident, young hero. An incredible boy that wasn't afraid to put his life on the line to protect the people he cared about.

Tucker suddenly realised, with a start, that he too had change. They all had. Ghost weapons and gadgets hidden in his backpack, ready to use when needed. He no longer feared Dash and the other bullies, knowing he could now easily take him in a fight; ghost hunting was a great way to build some muscle.

Tucker sighed at the great mess their lives had become and gazed once more at his sleeping friend. No. Their relationship had gone far greater than friendship. They were like brothers. Had been since the day they met and Tucker could barely imagine a time in his life when Danny hadn't been in it.

"I got your back, dude." Tucker whispered, careful not to wake the sleeping boy. "Always have, always will."

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Just some brotherly fluff between Danny and Tucker :)

Danny, Sam and Tuckers friendship is one of the many things I love most about the series. They're just so close. And I'm sure not many people would stick by you, putting their lives on the line to help you fight evil ghosts.