8/15/2024: While this says I started the day after I finished the last one, I technically started it earlier. I had some parts of this written days ago.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, but I did get a new gecko!

–

Chapter 24: Souls

–

To say that the news that they'd been found went bad was…a major understatement. His parents, while alarmed and upset, still didn't fully grasp what it meant.

But Sam had seen the videos; she knew exactly what it meant.

Danny was a little disturbed at how quiet she'd become. The goth showed no emotion; her face did not reveal her inner thoughts. She seemed to withdraw from the entire conversation, simply staring at the ground.

The hybrid participated in the conversation, but kept glancing at her, his frown getting more and more pronounced the longer she sat there.

The conversation dragged on for a while, evening turning into night. Suddenly, Sam stood, and without saying a word, simply went up the stairs, DJ loyally following. Danny watched her go, brows furrowed in concern.

"Is she okay?" Maddie asked, her look mirroring her son's.

"I don't think so," Danny answered. "I thought she'd be angry. I'm not sure what to make of this."

"I think she's scared," Jazz chimed in gently. "We all are, but she hasn't really shown it until now."

Tucker grabbed his wife's hand. "She's always been the strongest among us."

Jack nodded. "And she never accepted support, either."

"Go to her," Maddie said, reaching over and squeezing her son's arm. "She may need you."

The hybrid nodded and stood, heading up the stairs and towards his room.

Danny paused outside his bedroom door as his sensitive ears picked up sound from inside his room. He cocked his head in confusion, but as he listened longer, he realized exactly what that sound was.

The halfa went intangible and walked through his door. With his enhanced vision he could see Sam sitting on her side of the bed, legs over the side. She had her arms wrapped around her stomach and was crying softly. DJ was at her feet, quietly whining.

The sight made him stall. Here was the goth he knew to always be steadfastly strong sobbing quietly to herself in the middle of the night. Jazz was right.

He suddenly felt selfish.

Everyone, including him, had been focusing on his needs, on his recovery, on his emotions. But no one noticed when someone else among them was hurting until it could no longer be ignored. How long had she been hurting? Danny's heart clenched at the thought. He should've noticed long before now, especially having spent so much time with her in recent weeks. They used to be so in tune with each other, and while he felt like they were slowly regaining that, it was obvious a lot of that connection was still missing.

He'd failed her.

She felt the bed shift and knew Danny was with her. He came up behind her, settling himself so he was sitting directly behind her, his long legs on either side of hers. He pulled her so her back was against his firm chest, and enveloped her in his arms, face resting in the crook of her neck.

He breathed in her scent–a mix of lavender and rain–not saying a word. She closed her eyes, focusing on his warmth and the steady beat of his heart against her back.

Sam probably should have been embarrassed that he'd found her this way, but she couldn't bring herself to care. He'd broken in front of her, why couldn't she do the same?

After several minutes her breaths matched his. He placed feather-like kisses on her neck before placing his chin on the top of her head. "You've spent so long being strong that no one ever believed it could be otherwise," he said, his deep voice vibrating against her back.

She smiled lightly, but without mirth. "One can't be strong all the time," she replied, voice hoarse.

"No," he responded. "And the strongest people often harbor the biggest hurts." Danny pulled back a little, bringing his head around to the side. With a gentle hand, he cupped her cheek and turned her head towards him a little so he could try and catch her eyes. "You told me that I didn't have to do this alone, so why do I feel like that's exactly what you're trying to do?"

She shook her head, the slightest of movement. "I'm not trying to do this alone."

He raised a brow. "Isn't that why you're hiding in here?"

She blinked, a last stray tear making its way down her cheek. He gently wiped it away. "I'm not hiding," she said matter-of-factly. "I can't hide from you in your own room. I knew I just had to wait."

He watched her, touched at her words. Despite the fact that he was broken himself, she trusted him to help put the pieces of her back together.

Sapphire eyes bore into amethyst, two souls connecting. Suddenly, it was as if all walls had come down, all distance forgotten; hearts almost mended. That closeness, that bond, suddenly roared to life as his soul crashed into hers.

She turned to him more fully, her lips meeting his. Though there was a sort of desperation in her being to completely surrender to the passion, she kept the kiss slow, allowing him to meet her movements.

They'd been intimate quite a few times by now, but both instinctively knew this time would be different. This time they would actually make love, all barriers–both physical and mental–left behind.

Danny shifted forward, standing them both up, only now breaking the kiss. He gingerly picked her up and placed her on the bed, settling himself over her, his lower half between her legs. His gaze switched between hers before he went back in for a fiery kiss, right hand coming up to her neck and cradling her head. Sam wrapped her arms around him, sighing into the kiss.

Both lost themselves in each other for the rest of the night.

–

Day broke and the gentle rays of the morning sun beckoned Sam awake, the golden dapples decorating the blanket like warm lights. The goth slowly became aware of her surroundings, not really caring at all for truly waking up. So, she stayed in that peaceful lull between sleep and wakefulness for just a little longer.

All too soon, the light from the sun got brighter, causing Sam to scrunch her eyes in annoyance. When she finally opened them, she was greeted by the sight of warm, milky skin, a thin carpet of chest hair, and several glaring scars criss-crossing the otherwise perfect surface.

A cursory glance told her he wasn't awake yet, his breathing pattern all but confirming it.

The memories of the night flooded back and she felt that she should be blushing, but she didn't. Her shyness, her nervousness, was completely gone, now filled with a wholeness–a completeness–that she'd been missing since he was abducted. The level of intimacy they shared last night was far more than physical; she felt it in the depths of her soul.

As the memories faded from her mind, her eyes focused on his chest, her gaze following the outline of his scars. She knew how he'd gotten those particular scars–she'd seen the video–but they had never really talked about it before. Now that she'd seen all of him, she'd seen all his physical scars, and she understood why he'd tried to hide them.

Sam knew he was self-conscious about how they looked, but she didn't care about that. What really bothered her was the fact that he had them at all. It was a roadmap of the horror's he'd endured.

She tentatively reached out and traced one with the tip of her finger. It was an older scar, so instead of being puffy and white, the scar was closer to the color of his skin and slightly textured. Without thinking, she moved forward and placed a gentle, feather-like kiss on it.

She felt him move under her lips, then heard his light chuckle. She pulled back to see him staring down at her with his signature lopsided grin. "That tickles, you know."

She smiled back. "Oh really?" He knew he'd made a mistake in telling her when her hands started attacking his sides.

He practically squealed, a sound that made Sam laugh. She wasn't able to tickle him for long, however, as he was far stronger. His hands grabbed her wrists, pulling them up and over her head, simultaneously rolling her on her back and settling on top of her.

"Oh my Lord…" she breathed, cheeks tinged pink.

Danny grinned wickedly, eyebrows wagging.

Then there was a knock at the door, causing DJ to wake and woof once at the noise. "Breakfast is ready guys!" Jazz's cheery voice came through the door.

"Okay!" Sam responded, laughing at the crestfallen look on Danny's face.

The hybrid groaned and then plopped his head down on her chest, face smushed between her breasts.

The goth rolled her eyes. "You just wanted an excuse to do that." She felt him smile against her skin. "Okay, get off me. You know if we don't show up soon, she'll just come right through the door."

Danny groaned again before placing a quick kiss on her skin and finally releasing her. "Meddlesome sister," he griped.

The pair got up and got dressed, each taking their turns in the bathroom, except to both brush their teeth, which Sam was sorely regretting allowing as the hybrid kept tickling her. He finally stopped when she clocked him with her hairbrush, the man feigning a hurt look.

"Overgrown child," she huffed, but with mirth.

They went downstairs hand in hand, DJ padding behind them, not even registering the relieved looks on everyone's faces that Sam seemed okay. The goth opened the back door in the kitchen, letting DJ out in the backyard to pee.

They sat at the table, Maddie and Jack at each end, with Danny and Sam on one side, and Jazz and Tucker on the other. They started serving themselves an assortment of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, sausage and pancakes while enjoying good conversation.

"Wait, Dad didn't make this, did he?" Danny asked, face suddenly pale.

"Nope!" Jack answered. "Your mother did, so nothing should bite."

"Oh, good," the hybrid said, satisfied, and dug in.

"Meat!" Tucker drooled as he grabbed bacon and sausage, thrilled to see Maddie had made extra. Jazz rolled her eyes but had an affectionate smile on her lips.

Sam swatted at Danny. "Hey, save some eggs for me! I don't eat meat, remember?"

The halfa responded by playfully moving the plate of eggs out of her reach, which earned him a swift kick in the shin. He grunted and placed the plate back down, reaching to rub his leg. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I told you to watch your shins!" Tucker wagged his finger.

Jack piled four pancakes onto his plate, looking sheepish when his wife reminded him to save some for everyone else.

Jazz and Tucker started fighting over the butter for their toast.

Sam reached over with her fork and stole some eggs from Danny's plate. "Hey!"

"You should've left me more eggs!"

As Maddie watched the scene unfold before her, she felt she would burst from joy. She finally had her baby back. At one point, she thought she'd never see a moment like this again. The only one missing was Chase.

"Mom? You okay?" Danny, her ever vigilant son, of course had noticed her tears first.

The redhead sniffed before nodding and wiping her cheeks. "Yes, sweetie. I'm just so happy."

–

After breakfast and cleanup, the group were in the living room, furniture again shoved to the side for training, DJ once again asleep on the couch.

For now, Danny was having them go through the parry's and hits he'd already taught them, allowing Maddie to add in her own expertise from karate. Jazz and Tucker were paired off, with Sam squaring off with Jack this time, Maddie giving pointers to each pair.

The hybrid was supervising the exercise, paying attention to each person's form and to the advice his mother was giving. So far, he was quite impressed with her knowledge. Despite her reservations on using the style for offense, she had good insight on different ways they could follow up a parry with a good hit. He actually smirked when she showed Sam how to throw a good throat punch, but was a little nervous at just how much his girlfriend seemed to like that move.

That thought made him pause. Girlfriend? Well, they hadn't exactly put a label on it yet, nor actually called each other boyfriend or girlfriend, but he supposed that's exactly what they were.

Focusing back on the drill, he made mental notes of where each person needed improvement, and where they were excelling at. So far, other than his mother, Sam had improved the most. She was taking to it like a natural and he felt pride well up in his chest.

Jazz was next. She was quite petite, so that was definitely something against her, and she wasn't as strong as Sam, but she was not only a quick study, but just quick in general. Her poor husband couldn't seem to parry any of her hits and was going to be covered in multiple bruises.

To Danny's surprise, Jack was next. He was large and slower than the others, but he had strength behind him. He pulled his punches before he actually hit Sam, but Danny could tell his father could easily throw a knock-out punch.

Then there was Tucker. He was at a disadvantage currently due to his ankle, but the poor guy was just all around uncoordinated. There was a reason he was the hacker when it came to ghost fights. Unfortunately, you couldn't really hack your way out of a fist fight with a human. Danny was quite worried.

He let the exercise continue for a few minutes longer before he interrupted. "Okay, let's pause for a second."

The group stopped and lent their attention to the half ghost.

"Most of you are really doing well. Mom, your advice is spot on." His mother blushed at his praise. He sighed. "I hate to say it but, Tuck, you're not doing so well."

The dark-skinned man groaned. "I knew it. I'm a lost cause."

Danny chuckled. "You aren't a lost cause. You're just uncoordinated. It means you need more practice than the others to help you gain some balance. Mom, you pair off with Tucker and do some one-on-one teaching. Karate is fantastic for balance."

Maddie smiled and nodded, waving Tucker over to the side so they could start their lesson.

"I want to test the rest of you myself, one-on-one. But… we're going to make it interesting," he said before the white rings appeared at his waist. With a flourish, they traveled up and down, leaving a ghost in their wake before winking out.

Jack and Maddie stared in awe. It was the first time they'd ever actually seen the transformation. "That was cool!" Jack said, a large grin on his face.

Jazz raised a brow. "Why are you Phantom though?"

He smirked. "I'm stronger than you in my human form. But I'm even stronger in ghost form. If you can beat my ghost form, you can beat the special ops men she sends our way."

His sister looked nervous. "I can't beat you."

"You beat that man yesterday and he never even saw you."

She blushed. "Well yeah, but I tased him. You want me to tase you?"

Her brother shrugged. "If that's what it takes. It's not all about strength, it's also about ingenuity and cleverness. You have the ability to out think any of them. Use that."

"I can't just tase you," she said incredulously.

Danny sighed. "I mean, you can try. But it's barely a tickle, especially compared to the collar."

"What collar?" Jack asked.

"Uhh…" Jazz was unsure if she should say anything.

Danny bit his lip, cursing his slip up, but conceded that some things were just going to be revealed. "They used a collar to control me. It shocked me whenever I did something they didn't approve of."

Jack looked shocked, but Maddie was furious. "How dare they do that to my son! Just let them show up here, I'll kick their asses!"

Her son, completely taken aback at his mother's outburst, couldn't help the laugh that escaped. Maddie looked at him like he'd grown a second head, but the hybrid couldn't help it. "I'm sorry, that was just too awesome," he said when finally done laughing.

After that, Maddie and Tucker started their own training session, and Danny decided to square off with his father first, as he needed the most work of the three.

As expected, Jack couldn't land a single hit. He was too slow against his more agile son. He did, however, successfully block several punches, which Danny praised him for.

They finished their spar, Danny patting his disappointed father on the shoulder. "It's what I expected, honestly. You're strong as heck, but you'll be slower than the smaller opponents. You did great blocking though. We just need to figure out how to harness your strength in a way that works to your advantage."

Next he went against Jazz. She was smaller, more nimble. She did have a hard time blocking Danny's attacks, but several of her own came close to landing. She definitely had speed.

Danny grinned at her when they were done. "What you lack in strength, you make up for in speed. You don't necessarily need strength to beat someone, you can use your speed and land strategic hits that incapacitate."

"Guess I didn't need to worry about tasing you," she said, slightly out of breath.

Lastly, he went against Sam. "Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're my girlfriend."

True to form, Sam didn't even miss a beat with the title. Instead, she struck out, something the hybrid did not expect at all. He barely ducked in time, her fist sailing directly over his head.

That left her open though, and Danny took advantage, striking at her side. He was surprised again when she twisted away and blocked it.

The pair started exchanging blows and parry's, Sam actually keeping up with the quick halfa. The show they put on even made Maddie and Tucker stop their lesson to gawk at the display.

She had obviously been paying attention and even practicing. She was almost enough to keep Danny on his toes.

Eventually she started to get frustrated. He knew all the moves he'd taught them. But…he did say to think outside the box.

She feigned a hit which caused Danny to block in a way that left his lower half open. Without hesitation, she kicked.

Danny yelped, falling to the floor, hands over himself.

"I win!" said Sam triumphantly.

Danny rolled to his side, breathing hard. "What…the hell…"

The goth shrugged, hands on her hips. "You said to play dirty if we had to."

"That's…not gonna…work…they don't…feel pain…"

The goth gave him a sheepish smile. "Oh, right."

"I think…that's enough…for tonight…"

–

Over the next week, the group spent every day sparring with each other and practicing everything Danny and Maddie had taught them. The hybrid was very pleased with how far they'd come, but was still apprehensive.

He knew their attackers could bring weapons, and, if that happened, it would likely mean he was fighting alone. His family and friends didn't have ghost powers to phase through bullets, or supernatural speed to dodge them.

They had set up a cabinet in the kitchen with various blunt weapons, including bats, broken broom sticks, and basically whatever they could find around the house that could be used to knock someone out. Maddie also placed a single gun in there, the only one they owned; a gift she had received years ago from her sister for self protection.

As the days passed, Danny got more tense. He knew the Headmaster knew he was here, so why hadn't she come for him yet? The waiting was wearing on his nerves and he was starting to feel jittery.

At least he had his family and Sam. He'd begun to actually discuss things with them, trying not to bottle it all up. It had helped immensely, and served to strengthen his want for a future with them.

It also served to deepen his fear, and that was unsettling him.

He could only hope they were all prepared for when she came.

–

8/15/2024: Oh look! I finished the same day! I had SOME written, but not much; only the first section. SamXDanny's reviews gave me wings for this one!

Apologies for the shortness. However, I have the next chapter almost completely written. It is an event I've had written for several weeks already, and while not entirely finished, it's already 10 pages long. I also want the event in one chapter, so I need to cut it here.

I also wanted at least one chapter where they could all kind of just enjoy stuff and have a little fun.