Chapter 4: My Dear, Dear, Friend

Danny watched as Sam crouched on the kitchen floor, nervously watching the oven window. She chewed the end of her thumb, seemingly hypnotized by the warm glow illuminating her face. Why she was even bothering to cook from scratch for this stupid dinner was beyond him, but after the mood she returned to the apartment yesterday, he wasn't going to interrupt her manic hostess mode.

"Sam, I'm sure it's gonna be fine." Danny reassured, unsure how to soothe someone who had been a cleaning and cooking nut job all day long. He was sure this must have been the result of living with her mother's deranged Stepford Wife act for eighteen years, but he didn't dare point that out to his friend.

"It's gotta be perfect." Sam muttered, unmoved by his weak attempt at encouragement. Danny nodded, thinking that no, it really didn't need to be. She was just feeding Aubrey and himself, and he knew that at the very least he was hardly a picky or fussy eater. After nearly a decade of foraged canned goods and supernaturally-preserved produce, he wouldn't dare criticize or complain about anything she tried to feed him now. Danny had even asked her why on earth she would attempt to make a lasagna anyway, when it was perhaps the meatiest and cheesiest dish she could have possibly picked to vegan-ify. He had only gotten a withering look that seemed to say "Are you stupid?" before she simply responded that it was Aubrey's favorite food.

Danny glanced at the clock over the stovetop, dreading this whole affair. Sam deep-cleaning the entire apartment and cooking since the morning hadn't eased his anxiety at all. But he figured that they couldn't both be neurotic at the same time, so he was sucking it up and trying his hardest to be on his best behavior. He was honestly a bit proud of himself, having successfully avoided complaining and suppressing any sighs or groans all day. He had tried to help out with the preparations, but Sam had shooed him away each time. So Danny just simply hovered around, feeling a bit useless as he waited for the arrival of their guest.

"When are you going to get dressed?" Sam asked brusquely. Danny peered down at his outfit, a pair of dark jeans and a green long-sleeve shirt.

"I am dressed." He answered dumbly, thinking that he looked fine. Sam might have been all done up in her black cocktail dress and neat hairdo, but he had chalked that up to her being a girl. They get dolled up for no reason all the time, right? She turned to him, eyes sweeping up and down his body.

"When are you going to get dressed for dinner?" She clarified. Danny blinked, trying to think of a response.

"I was just gonna wear this." He said, somewhat defensively. He was in his own home!

"I have an outfit for you hanging in the closet." Sam replied, attention quickly going back to her lasagna. Danny balked, when the hell had she picked out a whole outfit for him? Probably while she was tearing through the apartment like a tornado this morning.

"Oh. Okay." He said, leaving the kitchen to go find the stupid clothes. Honestly, at least this gave him something to do. Danny didn't know how many more times he could try to unhelpfully reassure her that the food was going to be great. He walked into his bedroom, throwing the closet door open. Sure enough, there was a perfectly-ironed dress shirt, pants, and tie. There was even a pair of polished, leather shoes under the outfit. He didn't recognize anything, so Sam must have bought them special just for this occasion.

Danny sighed, accepting his fate. Sam put up with a lot from him, so the least he could do was dress up and try to socialize with her friend. Besides, she had been really upset yesterday. He frowned, shrugging off his green shirt and grabbing the dress shirt off of the hanger. Despite repeated attempts, Sam still hadn't told him what that was all about. She had simply showed up later than usual from her appointment, anger and hurt rolling off of her in waves. Her eyes had been red and glassy, makeup smudged. When they eventually silently fell into bed, she had wordlessly pressed into him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her until they both fell asleep. If he had heard her quietly sniffle, he said nothing, granting her privacy.

Sam was proud and tough, it just wasn't in her nature to share her feelings and openly weep. Danny also had the sneaking suspicion that whatever had happened in therapy had to do with him in some way, and he knew that if that were the case then Sam definitely wouldn't tell him what happened. It killed him to see her so obviously upset, but it would do no good to pry. Sam wouldn't risk making him guilty if she thought that he would blame himself for whatever had gone down. But Danny also hated this uncertainty, hated his inadequacy in comforting her. Being on his own with only ghosts for company had really damaged his emotional intelligence. He didn't remember ever being particularly great at reading people really, especially girls.

Danny sighed, slipping into the pants and wincing at their uncomfortable stiffness. He hadn't worn anything other than sweats and jeans for years, formal clothes like these felt so restricting. He pulled out the rolled up pair of dress socks inside the shoes, smiling softly when he saw that they had little cartoon ghosts on them. Cute.

A knock thundered at the door and his smile quickly fell.

"Danny!" Sam called from the kitchen. He groaned, quickly stepping into the socks and shoes. He was still fumbling with his tie as he walked out of the bedroom. "Get the door please!" she asked, arms full of the steaming dish. It smelled wonderful, despite his skepticism at the cheese not being real cheese, and the meat not actually being meat.

"Okay." He said, still messing with the stupid tie. He gave Sam a quick peck on the forehead as he passed her. "It smells awesome." She gave him a relieved smile, nodding to the door.

"Let her in before she breaks our door in." Sam said. Danny rolled his eyes, breaking away and leaving the kitchen. He unlocked the front door, swinging it open to see Aubrey standing with a bottle of red wine and a large loaf of sourdough bread.

"Well, about time. What, were y'all making out or something?" She said with her slight southern drawl.

"Hi, Aubrey." Danny said, already tired. It was gonna be a long night. He stepped aside and she swept past him, looking around as if she had never been here before.

"Oh Sammy, the whole apartment smells so delicious!" She said, watching as Sam carefully set the lasagna on the dining room table. Danny and Sam never ate there, they only ever ate on the couch or at the kitchen island. "You really didn't have to do all this." Aubrey added, adding her wine and bread to the table. Danny closed the door, retrieving the salad bowl while Aubrey and Sam set up the glasses and silverware.

"Oh, it was really no hassle!" Sam said, waving a hand dismissively. That was a huge lie. Danny smirked to himself in the kitchen, thinking that might as well had come straight out of Pamela's mouth. For as much as Sam liked to bitch and moan about her mom, she did have a lot in common with her. Stubbornness, for one.

"Danny, don't just hover like a bat in the kitchen, come on in!" Aubrey called, motioning for him to join. Danny walked over, setting the salad on the table and settling into his chair, across from Sam. He would let the girls sit together so they could talk, and so that he didn't have to be right next to Aubrey. Really, she was friendly, but in a way that freaked him out. Sam met his eyes, tilting her head to Aubrey.

"How are you?" He asked, the words coming out with some difficulty. Aubrey grinned, immediately pleased that he was actually speaking. She sat in her own chair, leaning towards him.

"Pretty great actually, I've been buried in auditions lately, but I think I'm gonna get some calls for some."

"Auditions for…?" Danny asked, glancing at Sam for approval. She nodded reassuringly.

"A few commercials, a play at the community theater, I've got one for a TV show coming up, but just a really small role on a crime procedural. You know, typical working actress stuff. Gotta start somewhere, right?" She said cheerfully.

"Right." He agreed, not knowing a thing about acting as a profession. Aubrey liked to talk though, maybe dinner wouldn't be too bad. She could fill the silence with all the details of her life.

"How about you?" Aubrey asked as Sam began to cut into the lasagna. Or maybe not.

"Um…" Danny faltered, immediately off balance. Shit, he hadn't thought this far ahead. 'You know, just doing ghost things!' He thought to himself.

"Danny is starting his new job with Frank tomorrow." Sam cut in helpfully. She passed a plate to Aubrey, who immediately cut herself a piece of bread.

"Oh, that's exciting!" Aubrey said, moving on to the wine bottle. Danny watched in fear as she popped the cork right out, with little effort and practiced finesse. She poured a heaping glass full for him first, then Sam, before filling her own glass. "What drew you to construction?" She asked. Oh how he wished that wine could get him drunk.

"I uh, like working with my hands?" He said, wincing as he realized it came out as more of a question. Aubrey nodded.

"Cool!" She said. If she thought that was obviously a lie, she didn't show it. 'Professional actress', Danny thought grimly. He spooned a portion of salad onto his plate, alongside the heaping slice of lasagna Sam had given him. His stomach growled as he tore off a piece of bread for himself, wishing they could just eat in silence. "Big appetite, huh?" Aubrey remarked with a sly grin.

"Gotta fuel up for the big day tomorrow." Danny joked nervously, feeling a bit queasy now. She just got here.

"Should you drink if you're gonna get up early?" Aubrey asked, suddenly concerned. "I didn't mean to be rude! I keep odd hours, I didn't even think."

"Uh, it's fine." Danny said, not wanting to turn the wine down after she had already poured him a glass. "I'm a heavyweight." He added. That seemed to be the right answer, Aubrey grinned.

"Good." She said, pleased. "Well, I know I'm a motor-mouth, I'll shut up now so we can dig in."

Danny picked up his fork, unsure if he was being tested in some way. It felt like it, with the curious glint in Aubrey's eyes. He took a bite of the vegan lasagna, immediately impressed with how close it tasted to the real thing.

"Oh wow." He said, swallowing. "It's really good. I wouldn't be able to tell that it was vegan if you hadn't told me." Danny quickly took another bite, mentally telling himself to not scarf the whole plate down too fast in front of Aubrey.

"Thank you!" Sam beamed. She seemed to already be in a much better mood, so Danny chided himself for being so hesitant about this whole thing. Clearly Aubrey made her really happy, so he shouldn't be such a downer about getting to know her. "I tried making it once back in the dorm kitchen, but it didn't turn out right. I was determined this time."

"It's really yummy, Sammy." Aubrey complimented. "Lasagna is the thing I miss the most from before I went vegan." Danny nodded, taking another bite. He could get through this night, he decided.

Dinner was over sooner than he expected and dessert was brought out, a delicious "cheesecake" that Sam informed him was made with coconut yogurt. The girls were two glasses of wine in, and he knew the personal questions would soon be back with a vengeance.

"So Danny, what's your sign?" Aubrey asked, cheeks flushed from the wine. There it was.

"What sign?" He asked, perplexed.

"Zodiac sign." Aubrey supplied. "You know, like I'm a Sagittarius, Sam is an Aquarius…"

"Oh, um. I don't know." He answered. Danny thought about it, had he ever looked this up before? He loved astronomy and all, but he had never been into mystical stuff like astrology. He knew more about the actual constellations and planets themselves than whatever they supposedly said about your personality.

"What's your birthday?" Aubrey asked patiently. Danny hesitated, thinking that there were technically two answers to that question.

"February 25th." He supplied, knowing that Aubrey couldn't possibly be asking about the day his second life began. Aubrey didn't seem to notice the hesitation, but he saw Sam give him a funny look out of the corner of his eye.

"Ooh, Pisces. I should have known." Aubrey replied. Danny didn't even want to think about what that possibly meant. "Sam is such an Aquarius, it's not even funny. If there was ever proof that astrology was accurate, it's her."

Sam rolled her eyes. Danny glanced at her, before turning back to Aubrey, who was pouring a third glass.

"How so?" He asked. Aubrey's eyes lit up, seemingly delighted that he was indulging the astrology talk.

"Oh my God, she's idealistic, creative, independent, intelligent, she's interested in humanitarian causes." Aubrey replied, ticking off her fingers as she listed the traits. "Stubborn and assertive, confident, I could keep going." She declared. Danny found himself grinning.

"Yeah, sounds like her." He conceded. Sam stuck her tongue out at him.

"Why don't you tell him what Pisces are like, hm?" Sam asked. Aubrey nodded furiously, holding out the wine bottle for him.

"No thanks, I'm good with one." He declined politely. It's not like the wine would do anything for him anyway, better to just let the girls enjoy it. He didn't really care for its strong flavor.

"Well, okay. Pisces are known as the dreamers of the zodiac." Aubrey began, redirecting the wine bottle to refill Sam's glass. "They're artistic and spiritual, creative and empathetic."

"Uh-huh." Danny said, not really agreeing with that assessment. He didn't have an artistic bone in his body. Sam or even Tucker were much better at stuff like writing and drawing.

"But-" Aubrey continued, "they can also be incredibly morose and pessimistic, because they're so sensitive. A lot of troubled celebrities have been Pisces, like Kurt Cobain."

'Great,' Danny thought glumly. 'I'm "troubled".'

"And they're represented by-"

"Two fishes." Danny replied immediately. He knew his constellations just fine.

"Oh? How'd you know?" Aubrey asked, eyes wide.

"I really like space." Danny answered, wondering if that sounded lame. "I um, I used to think I'd grow up to be an astronaut." He found himself surprised by how easily he was offering up this information. What had Aubrey slipped into his wine to get his guard down?

"See? Dreamy!" Aubrey declared with a big grin. Sam tipped her glass forward, her face now pink as well.

"That's Danny for you." She agreed. "Head always in the clouds."

"I'm not really artistic or anything like that though." He replied sheepishly. "I couldn't draw a stick figure to save my life."

"Nonsense!" Sam cried out. "Aubrey, you should see his sketches. He used to design and build model rockets, really complicated ones."

"That's different." He protested weakly. "That's more like diagrams and stuff, not really artsy at all." Sam leaned closer to Aubrey.

"And he can sing, but he'd never admit it." She whispered conspiratorially, but loud enough for Danny to clearly hear.

'Traitor'. Danny thought.

"Oh, really?" Aubrey said, eyeing Danny with a newfound curiosity. He felt himself blushing furiously, matching their alcohol-flushed faces.

"No, no, really not at all." He insisted, glaring daggers at Sam.

"I love musicals." Aubrey forged ahead. "I auditioned for every single one we ever had at my school, did you ever think about doing something like that?"

"Nope!" Danny said. "I promise, she's lying to you. I don't sing, mirrors would break and kids would cry if I did." He was silently begging them to drop this, before Aubrey tried to rope him into something as painful as karaoke.

"If you say so…" Aubrey relented, not looking convinced. She glanced between him and Sam. "It seems like you too have known each other a long time. How'd you meet?"

"Summer camp." Sam replied at the exact same time Danny said,

"Um, the mall?"

"Summer camp, then we hung out later at the mall." Sam corrected breezily, with a shaky laugh. "Both of our high schools went to the same summer camp, up in Albany." Danny was impressed with her recovery, thinking she was a much better liar than him.

"So you're from New York too?" Aubrey said, eyes narrowing. "Sam has been so tight-lipped about you, I could never get her to give me a straight answer about how y'all met." Oh man, she was good. She had gotten Sam tipsy and him somewhat relaxed, just in time to start digging for some real information.

"Yeah, New York." Danny confirmed uneasily, looking to Sam for approval. "Big Apple, and all that." He had never even been to New York. He had hardly ever left the Midwest until moving out here with Sam. He tried to wrack his brain for information about the state, but all he could think of was the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and stereotypical accents crying out "Hey, I'm walkin' here!" Where the fuck was Albany?!

"Hm." Aubrey said, trailing a hot-pink nail along the rim of her wine glass. "What brought you all the way out here to California?"

"I needed a change of scenery." Danny said dryly. "What about you?" he asked, somewhat more accusatory than he intended.

"Oh you know, the typical acting pipe dream. I got accepted to Stanford and I figured once I was out here in the state, the move to LA would be easier after I was done with school. It hasn't happened yet, obviously. I want some more credentials before I make the move." She answered amicably, not perturbed by his rudeness. God, she was so nice. It was starting to bum him out to be so obviously lying to her face.

"And I'm absolutely positive that will happen soon!" Sam jumped in, desperately trying to move the conversation away from their history together. "You're such a talented actress, really." She said sincerely. Aubrey smiled, removing her hand off her glass. She leaned across the table, gently placing it on top of Danny's own hands. If she was surprised by how cold they were, she didn't show it.

"I get it." She said kindly. "I won't pry anymore. You can tell me more when you're ready, okay?" She added, staring into his eyes. "Sam is my best friend, and I trust her judgment completely. But I needed to see it for myself. You're a good guy, Danny." Aubrey turned to Sam then, still touching Danny's hand. "He's a keeper." She said, with a wink.

Danny was stunned by the display, how confident and assured she was. And how trusting. What had he done to deserve this assessment? She obviously knew he was hiding something and they hardly knew each other any better than they had only hours ago.

"Thank you." Sam responded softly, eyes shining. Danny's own voice failed him.

"Of course." Aubrey said, pulling her hand back into her lap. She glanced at her watch. "Well, time has flown by so fast. I'd hate to keep you up before your first day of work." She said to Danny.

Sam stood up and Aubrey followed suit, pushing her chair back and collecting the now empty wine bottle.

"Thank you for coming." Sam said, hugging her.

"Thank you for inviting me!" Aubrey laughed. She looked at Danny, where he was still frozen in his chair. "I can't wait for the next dinner. See you later, Danny!" Before he could react, she walked over and hugged him. She pulled away and he awkwardly stood up, finally able to move. It would be the polite thing to lead her out, right?

"Uh yeah, until next time." He found himself saying. "I'll walk you out." He offered.

"Sure thing." Aubrey followed behind him, moving aside so he could open the front door. "Wow, you're very tall!" She noted, shuffling out into the hall. "I never noticed."

"I hunch." Danny supplied helpfully, unsure of how else to respond to that. Sam peered around his body, waving at her friend.

"Goodbye!" She called out. "It was great seeing you." Aubrey waved back with a big smile, taking the smell of wine and her strawberry-scented perfume with her as she disappeared down the hall.

"Well, that went really well." Sam said as Danny closed the front door.

"Mmm." He hummed in agreement, not really sure of what to make of the night yet. "She's uh, very friendly."

"Yeah, that's the thing about Aubrey." Sam said. "She decides that you're friends, not the other way around." She smiled at Danny. "It's too late to change course now, she likes you." Danny didn't know if that was comforting or terrifying.

"She kinda reminds me of Jazz a bit." He said wistfully, surprised as he made the connection. Her cheerfulness and warmth, even her gingery hair and willowy build was so Jazz-like. Sam wrapped an arm around him.

"Hey, you did really well tonight." She complimented. "Thank you for indulging me."

"Yeah, of course." He said, facing her. "She obviously makes you happy."

"That's what she said about you the other day." Sam said. She looked at him, a question forming in her eyes.

"Hey, why did you hesitate before?" she asked curiously.

"Hm?" Danny said, not knowing what she was referring to.

"When Aubrey asked what your birthday was?" She clarified. Oh, that. Danny shrugged, suddenly self-conscious.

"It's nothing, really." He said quietly.

"Danny." Sam chided. He sighed.

"I don't know, it's stupid. She asked and for some reason the first thing I thought was 'which one'?" Danny looked at Sam, unsure of how to explain.

"Which...birthday?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. He nodded.

"Well, you know. Danny the human died and then this life began. Two lives, and two deaths, eventually." He said, hoping he didn't come across as crazy. Or worse, that the description wasn't as creepy as it sounded in his own head. Sam studied him, mulling it over.

"That's kinda beautiful." She finally said. "Very poetic, Piscean even."

"Really?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Sam said. "I think it is."

"Really? because I worried that would sound weird, I don't know..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt uncomfortably vulnerable talking about these kinds of things still.

Sam grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it.

"Of course not!" She reassured. "It makes perfect sense to see it like that, you don't need to explain." A thought seemed to suddenly occur to her. "The Amity Park Disaster, your accident…that was September 27th."

"What sign is that?" He asked, wondering if that held any significance. It was a long ways off from his actual birthday, so it must have been totally different.

Sam sucked in a breath.

"Libra, the scales." She answered. "The sign of balance and harmony."

"Oh." He said simply, considering that. Was that comforting? Or a sick cosmic joke? Or was it just a coincidence that he should be reborn under Libra, as some sort of ghost-human hybrid? A balancing act of life and death, scales perfectly even, never tipping closer to one or the other. "Do you believe in that sort of thing, like seriously?" He asked. Sam shrugged.

"Not like Aubrey, but there's probably something to it. Hey, if ghosts are real, right?" She offered.

"Maybe." He said noncommittally. "So did I really do good tonight, or are you just being nice?" He asked, changing the subject. Sam smirked, hooking his tie with her finger.

"Besides having this untied all night? You were perfect." Danny looked down in horror to see that his tie was in fact, untied. He had never actually gotten the stupid thing knotted correctly.

"Oh man, that's embarrassing." He remarked. Sam shrugged playfully.

"You can get it right next time." She suggested. Danny chuckled, running his hair through his hair.

"Yeah I guess." Sam squeezed his arm and turned to start the process of cleaning the kitchen up. Her words dawned on him just a moment too late. "Wait! Next time?!"

AN: Sorry for the delay guys, I started a new job in November and I've been so busy! Happy Holidays, hopefully I get the next chapter up during break :)