Hey everyone! Sorry this update took quite some time, I'm getting married! What?! I can hardly believe it myself. Anywho busy with wedding stuff and life. But I'll try to keep up with this. Reviews are a good reminder. ;] This chapter's a little short, but enjoy nonetheless!

CHAPTER 8

Sam sighed as she pulled up to her apartment with her 'new' car. It was hardly new. After their chat at the Fenton abode, they drove down to the police yard. Valerie had let her borrow one of the confiscated cars for her temporary stay in Amity. Good thing she had decided to leave all the food and such in the apartment and let Tucker deal with it all. Now all she had to do was unpack.

Joy.

Sam sighed and went straight to work. A couple of hours later she was done, and she was hungry. She went downstairs and rummaged through the fridge. She pulled out the leftover soup she had made a few days ago for dinner and heated it up. She took a bowl of it out to her living room, plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on.

As she ate, she decided to watch the news. She was a little surprised and at the same time not surprised to see that the car rental place was on the news. The TV reporter, Lance Thunder, had said that as far as the authorities could tell it was an 'unprovoked attack'. Sam knew for a fact, Valerie was choosing to remain silent about her involvement and Sam was very grateful for it. She was a little startled she hadn't noticed how much ghosts had affected this town. They were everywhere. The news was on what the ghosts had stolen last night, who had survived an attack, what they were planning and whatnot. They even had ghost weather! Sam knew she was a stubborn woman when she wanted to be, but refusing to see such glaring obviousness was bordering on idiocy.

Sam was ashamed she had been so blind, but in her own defense ghosts were something that most people grow up with believing are fake. Simply stories parents tell kids to keep them in line or share with friends to get a scared reaction out of them. Now they were real and interfering in her life and preventing her freedom to leave.

She watched TV for another hour bored, but not really knowing what else to do before another story came on. Lance Thunder was once again covering it, and this one was on Mikey. This reminded Sam that she wasn't leaving anymore. She could go see Mikey at the hospital and make sure he was okay with her own eyes and ears. Not needing any more incentive, she quickly jumped up off the couch, turned the TV off, placed her bowl in the kitchen, and headed out.

Sam grimaced as she got into the car she was given to use, the beater car she was given to use, and headed towards the hospital. Once she got into the vehicle, she instantly felt cold. She turned the heat on full blast but remained cold all the way there. When she got out of her car in the hospital parking lot, she started to warm up a little as the sun shone down, but it was still a bit chilly.

Sam headed into the hospital lobby and walked up to the counter. "Can you tell me what room Mikey Newton is in, please?" She asked the receptionist.

"Name and relation please?" She replied, rolling to her computer.

"Samantha Manson. I'm a friend of his."

The receptionist nodded and handed her a small scrap of paper. "Building C Room 21A." Sam nodded, thanked her and headed out.

After getting lost once she found her way to his room and knocked gently on his door and stepped in. "Hello?" She called softly, "Mikey? It's Sam."

"Oh Sam, please come in." She heard a feminine voice say.

Sam stepped more inside the room and was greeted with Mikey lying in a hospital bed with a small redheaded woman sitting next to him. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but I just wanted to check to see you how you were doing." Sam said with a small smile walking up to Mikey.

Mikey smiled at her, "No don't worry about it. You're welcome here."

The woman nodded, "Yes you are." She stood and held out her hand, "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Felicia Newton, Mikey's wife."

Sam smiled at her and shook her head, "It's nice to finally meet you as well, Mrs. Newton."

"Oh please, just call me Felicia."

Sam nodded then turned to Mikey, "How are you feeling? I heard about what happened."

Mikey's smile fell slightly, "I'm fine, but I am more worried about you. It's dangerous. Have you been to see the Fenton's yet?"

Sam nodded, "Yes they've been very helpful and very kind."

Both Newtons nodded, "Yes they are good people." Felicia agreed. "You really should head out of town Sam. Mikey told me what happened. It's not safe for you here."

"I'm aware." Sam said bitterly.

At once both Newtons were alerted, "Did something happen?" Mikey asked worriedly.

"Are you alright?" Felicia added.

Sam looked at them a little startled at their concern. Sure, she had known Mikey for a while, but Felicia, she had just met. She supposed this just proved that they're good people. "Yes, I'm fine and no nothing happened." She lied. These people had already suffered because of her and if the shelf had fallen a little bit differently Mikey would have lost his life. She didn't want them to suffer anymore because of her.

"Are you sure?" Mikey asked eyeing her.

Sam nodded, "Yes, I'm sure."

Mikey nodded as well before readjusting as a thought occurred to him, "Were you ever able to call my buddy-"

Sam nodded, "Yes, I did. He said he'll send them down. They should be here in a few days."

Mikey nodded, "Good I'm glad something turned out right yesterday." He chuckled.

Sam forced a smile. She did not share his sentiments about the chuckle. "Well, I better get going, but I'm glad you're going to be okay." Mikey nodded as she shook hands with both Newtons before heading out. "I'll see you later."

"It was nice meeting you, Sam." Felicia said walking her to the door.

"You too."

"Bye Sam!" Mikey called and Sam waved once more before closing the door behind her.

Sam sighed as she walked down the parking lot towards her car, the continual cold feeling becoming stronger once she was in her car again and drove back to her place. She entered her apartment and went straight upstairs to change into dark grey sweats and a green tank. Grabbing her laptop, she hopped onto her bed and started typing up the first of her report on the town. She wasn't really sure where she was going to go with it; after all typing 'Ghosts are the problem and they are slowly taking over' wouldn't exactly get her far.

It was another hour, the clock reading 5:32 PM when she felt herself in need of a stretch. As her arms came over her head, she heard a voice speak, "Why did you go see that human if he already has a female?"

Sam let out a shriek and jumped so high in the air she fell off her bed and tangled herself up in her bed sheets onto the floor. She fumbled around trying to get them off and by the time she finally did her hair was a mess and she was now staring at a very startled looking Phantom. "Wow." He said, "Are you always that graceful?"

Sam stared at him in shock for a second, amazed that he was actually here, before her brain caught up. He was here in her apartment! Phantom was here in her apartment! She had a moment where fear gripped her heart as she realized she was alone with him and no way to defend herself. But then she realized she was through being afraid. She was done with fear. She was mad and he had just insulted her. "Hey!" She snapped angrily, "It's not my fault you decided to scare the crap out of me! And how the hell did you get in here!? And what makes you think you're allowed to be here!? Not to mention what do you mean 'why'd I go visit Mikey'?! He's my friend! I was worried about him! After what you did to him!" Somehow, she had ended up on her feet glaring at him and about ready to slap him.

Phantom stared at her then his irritating smirk formed on his face, "Are you always such a nag?" He asked cheekily.

"What!?" She shrieked.

"Besides, you didn't answer my question." He went on ignoring her. "Why did you see that human?"

Sam huffed and threw her hands into the air, "I told you; he's my friend I was worried about him and wanted to make sure he was okay! Now get out!"

Phantom made a non-committal sound and floated into the air onto his back and allowed his body to move around the room closer to the foot of her bed. "Why is it so important for you to 'make sure he was okay'?" He asked ignoring her demand once more. "What did you have to gain from that?"

Sam glowered at him, "Get out!"

He looked right at her. "No."

Sam made a sound of frustration and grabbed fist-fulls of her hair, "Please get out?" She tired.

"No."

Sam forced herself to breathe through her nose as she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. It wasn't working so well, but she tried anyway. "If I answer, will you leave?"

Phantom rolled over and feigned looking like he was thinking very hard before he floated onto his back again with his hands resting behind his head and chose to stay right where he was. "No. Tell me anyway."

Sam continued to glare at him as she gathered up her sheets and made her bed again, "I didn't get anything out of it besides some peace of mind. When you have friends, you care about them, and you don't want them to be hurt. When they do get hurt you feel sympathy for them and want them to get better. Now will you please leave!?" She snapped going around him, all the way around him, to her large floor-length window in her room and pushing it open. She knew he didn't need a window open to get in or out, but it helped to make her point.

He rolled over and looked at her confused, "Why show sympathy? It's only allowing others to see weakness."

"It's the human thing to do." She growled. "And sympathy isn't weakness if you allow it to give you strength."

Phantom looked thoughtful for a moment, "True." He conceded. Then added with a condescending smirk, "Which is why humans are so pathetically weak." He said obviously thinking he had gotten her.

Sam however was quicker as she crossed her arms, "And yet here you are. With a human."

That had gotten to him. She could see his bravado falter some and his face twitch the tiniest amount. She opened her mouth to say more when he was suddenly in front of her so fast, she hadn't even seen him move. He had her pined up against the wall, one of his hands next to her head and the other down at his side. Sam stared into his angry green eyes thinking that maybe she had gone too far, and he was finally going to kill her.

Her heart sped up as fear came to her once again, but she had told herself she wasn't going to give in anymore. So, with whatever was left of her stupid, stupid courage she decided to glare back at him.

He faltered, but only in his eyes. His posture was still rigid, and he didn't move an inch, but she saw the smallest shift in his eyes showing her he was confused. However, they quickly turned back to anger, and he leaned even closer to her. Sam unconsciously leaned back further into the wall, and they stayed like that for a few more moments before he just disappeared.

Sam stayed where she was for a few more minutes just to make sure he was really gone before turning around and shutting the window. She headed back to her bed, but looking around the room she realized she probably wasn't going to get any sleep knowing that he had been in here. Sighing she grabbed her pillow a few blankets and decided to sleep on the couch.