A/N: I don't particularly like this chapter. . and it was suckish to write. Reviews equal chapters, mmkay? Tell me what you think of it. :

Chapter 9: I Won't Leave You

"There is love, of course. Then there's life, it's enemy." -- Jean Anouilh

It was while we were watching Haley's comet when I found out. We were sitting on the blanket on top of my roof. I didn't want to invite others, but you did anyway. Valerie and Jazz were there. Danny, too... But he was busy with Valerie... And Jazz wasn't even paying attention. She was studying for her exam.

It may as well have been just you and I. You were wearing a sweater, while I sat there in my normal attire. How stupid that was. I was freezing. You were concerned, so you gave me your sweater.

Then I spotted them. You didn't think I'd notice, did you? I'm not that stupid. I asked you, in shock, what happened. Your response? You fell in a thorn bush. Tucker, I knew you were lying. Of course I'd know.

So I slapped you, so hard and viciously that Jazz, Danny, and Valerie all stared at us in amazment. I remember leaving the roof, and running into the house before the comet even came.

I heard you and Danny fighting outside. You were telling him how you were the only one who needed to talk to me, while he didn't believe you and wanted to talk to me himself. Luckily for you, Danny left to take care of business.

You told me it was your escape. People teased you, your dad just stopped caring after your mom died eleven months ago, the girl you loved never even looked twice at you, and nobody ever even took the chance to get to know the real Tucker Foley. I told you that there were other ways to escape... I was able to find them.

I was crying into your shoulder, soaking your shirt, but you didn't care. You stood there, holding me, whispering apologies into my ear.

I should have told someone. It didn't matter who, someone would have helped us. Why didn't I say something? Why did I keep my big mouth shut when we needed it most? I had the chance to save you, Tucker, but I didn't.

So I am sorry. From the bottom of my heart to the ends of the Earth, I am truly sincerely sorry.

Don't leave me, grampa. Don't leave me.

Flower Bud... Now... Why would I do that?

I'm a murderer... I commited a crime...

I don't love you any less. You'll get through this. Don't give up, and face the problem head on... Show no fear.

Haha, damn straight I won't show fear.

That's the Flower Bud I know...

"I remember when you were eleven," Jessie starts as I open the oven. Her daughter is outside with Jeffy, while I prepare for another visit from Danny. I don't know what he thinks of what I told him last week, but I hope it didn't hurt him... "It was your birthday party. Your mom had set the pizza down on the table, and you freaked out when you saw it was pepperoni. You started screaming about how no one respects animals anymore, and Ida was on your side the entire time." she was laughing by now, and I couldn't help but grin a little.

"I got in a lot of trouble for that," I told her, taking out a batch of sugar cookies and setting them on the stove. "I wasn't allowed a bit of pizza for two months!" A frown suddenly appeared on my face, as I remembered one other minor detail. "It was two weeks after... Grandpa died.." I looked at my aunt, who had stopped stirring and was staring at the drink blankly. "He didn't eat meat either..."

"Is that why...?" asked Jessie, finally meeting my eyes.

I nodded, a blank look in my eyes. I turned back to the cookies, ready to decorate them. "Why'd you let him die?" I asked suddenly, catching her off gaurd.

Jessie sighed, shaking her head, as she continued to stir, "Sam, the doctor said there was a fifteen percent chance that he'd wake up--"

"You should have waited," I growled nastily, "No matter how long it took, even if it never happened, you should have still waited. Even if there was almost no chance..."

"I'm sorry..." her voice is so soft, so distant. I can never forgive her or grandma, though, ever. Even if he still wasn't awake, I would have still gone every day just to talk to him. "Will you bring Jeffy and Mariah some lemonade, Sam?"

She hands me two glasses, and I take them silently and practically bolt out the door to get away from her.

And then I spot Danny, walking across the grass. A smile graces my face from ear to ear, and I quickly hand the two glasses to Jeffy and Mariah. Then, I sprint off towards my friend, until I see someone in my line of vision. I stop abruptly, taking a step back. "... W-what?" I can't find the right words, so this is all that comes out of my mouth.

Valerie Grey is standing there, arms crossed, her eyes narrowed in a murderous look. "Sam." she greets. She does not sound friendly. "Guess who brought me?"

"W-who?" I manage to stutter. I don't want to talk to Valerie, at all.

She smirks, "Your new prosecutor, Diana Foley. The aunt of the man you murdered." she says the last sentence with so much hate it's amazing she didn't shout it.

I cough nervously, and mutter, "Where is she?"

"She's doing paper work in her car right now. I'm with Danny too, but obviously you noticed that," she brushes a few strands of hair out of her face, before saying, "Sam, I wanted to talk to you..."

From the corner of my eye I see Diana coming towards us. I open my mouth to respond, when I feel a hand on my shoulder. "May we help you, Miss Foley?"

I glance at Jessie, before turning back to Valerie. Diana is now by her side. I study her for a moment. She looks nothing like Tucker. Her eyes are deep blue, probably contacts. Her make up makes one wonder what she really looks like. Her hair is in a cornrose, and tied back in a ponytail. She is much taller than Jessie, and thin. Very thin. She is wearing the most horrible pink blouse, that should have less of a low cut V-neck. Her skirt matches well with the disgusting top she's wearing.

"Hello, Samantha. Jessica," Diana greeted, with a smirk. I wonder what her smirk is for. "As young Valerie here may have told you, I have been appointed prosecutor in your case. The judge found out about the Admiral and your grandmother."

Confused, I asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Admiral Tanner and your grandmother Ida," Diana comfirmed, arms crossed. "Admiral had a little thing for her. You didn't know?" she chuckled softly, shaking her head. How I wanted to slap the smirk off her face at that moment. Of course I knew. What'd she think of me, an idiot? "Seems you and your grandma don't like to play by the rules."

"What do you want?" I asked harshly, already annoyed with the woman before me.

"Oh, I just have a few questions," she replies, hands now on her hips.

I blink, staring at her for a moment. I mimic her gesture, eyebrows raised, and say, "First tell me, why'd you bring Danny with you?"

"Oh, that charming little boy?" Diana asked. "He's so sweet. It's nothing you need to know about, but he just gave me some information. You know, about your more... Private life..."

I stare at her in shock. I'm ready to blow, to go off on her. It's a miracle I was able to keep cool. "Why were you asking him about my private life? It's none of your business."

"Oh, I think it is," Diana replied cooly. "You're going to court, now, Sam. It's necessary that we know as much as possible. Now, onto the questions..."

"Why did you kill him?!" Valerie butt in suddenly. I shift my gaze to her. Why was she here, anyway? Did Danny bring her along when Diana gave him a ride here? "Were you angry at him for something? Did you even stop to think about what affect you were having on others? Did you even stop to think that you were killing one of your best friends?!"

I wasn't expecting her to be so straight forward. Before I can even answer, though, Jessie steps in. "Stay away from my client, Foley, and keep Gray away too." she says harshly. "When you get a decent top and find out how real prosecutors are to act, I will allow you to speak with her."

Diana looks genuinely insulted, I have to keep myself from laughing. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Valerie looks embarrased, like it was her fault that Jessie insulted Diana. Finally, Diana speaks, "Fine, but I'm not finished here."

"Oh, I think you are," Jessie says, smirking, as I watch my aunt defend me. Diana turns on her heel and storms away. Valerie looks from Diana, to me, before following suit.

I finally look at Danny. He stares at me with the guiltiest look I have ever seen. He takes a step towards me, while I take a step back. I don't even hide my eyes as I shake my head slowly at him.

Was this his way of getting back at me for killing his best friend? Letting Valerie destroy me from the inside? Reminding me of what I already knew?

Danny swallows. His voice is soft, as he says quietly, "Sam, I'm... She said it was just to help..."

"Don't," I mutter, holding up a hand. I don't need to hear his apologies, because I don't want to hear his voice. I touch my cheek softly, to find that it's dry. That's strange. I could have sworn I was crying.

--

She clicked her black flip flops together gently while staring at the ground. She shook her head slowly, and said, "I don't understand how she found out."

Sam looked up, and as Danny watched her, all he could concentrate on was how her jet black hair brushed over her bare shoulder. Jessica shook her head, and muttered, "How? What went wrong?" she grit her teeth, and slammed her fist on the counter, a sudden violent act that made both Danny and Sam jump. "Damn it! I can't believe she got Admiral Tanner taken off the case!"

"It's just a small dent," said Danny quickly, hoping to help. "Sam will still win." he offered the goth a smile. She glances at him, her look so dirty he almost recoils in fear. She suddenly holds up her middle finger, a gesture that both shocked and hurt him.

Jessica seemed to have not noticed. She clenched her fists, and growled, "She thinks she can do whatever she wants... She is going down."

Sam looks from Danny, to Jessica, her expression blank. She clears her throat, and says, "Jessie..."

Jessica looks at her niece, and asks, "What?"

"I'm not all concerned with Diana... But Valerie..." at saying her name, Sam looked at Danny. Unsure of whether to look at her or not, the ghost hybrid looks down at his shoes. " If Valerie is on her side... I'm sure as hell not about lose to that bitch."

Danny's head snapped up when hearing Sam say that with such passion and hate. "I'm ready to talk." she says steadily.

At this, Jessica smiled a genuine smile. "There you go."

--

"Did you tell her?" he asks as she exits the house. Sam raises her eyebrows, as if to question why he was speaking to her. Instead of talking, she moved wordlessly towards Jeffy, who was swinging on the swingset.

"Sam, wait," Danny said, holding out a hand. He grabbed her shoulder, and she suddenly tensed up. It was then Danny realized he had prepared nothing. Carefully, he said, "... I know that it was bad to let Valerie come along... And to tell Diana where you were... But I swear, Valerie told me that Diana just wanted to help."

"Help with what? My mental condition?" Sam scoffed, shrugging Danny's hand off. "Get the hell away from me, Danny. I'm not in the mood."

"Please, please don't..." Danny begged, his voice trailing off. He couldn't stand Sam being mad at him, it killed him inside. The gothic girl pauses, her body motionless, as if she was thinking. Her messy black hair fell over her eyes, as they stared blankly at the ground.

"How long?" she asked softly.

Danny looked at her in confusion. "How long? What do you mean?"

"Until you start hanging out with Valerie again..." Sam was beginning to tear up, but stopped herself. She couldn't cry over something as trivial as this. "You've been dedicating yourself to me... And I'm wondering how long it will be until you start taking off to be with the girl you love..."

She turned to him slightly, and found that his face was filled with shame. "I don't have Tucker to be with this time," she told him. "I can handle it, I know I can... I just want to know when so I won't be as hurt when you do."

Danny frowned, and said, "Sam, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings when I did any of that... I didn't know, but I don't get why..."

"I thought it was obvious." Sam muttered, so softly it was almost a whisper.

Neither had to say or ask anything. Danny understood, right then and there. Part of him understood for the longest time, but finally fully realizing it... He couldn't help but smile, but it quickly faded when seeing Sam begin to cry.

He put his hand on her shoulder, and asked, "Please, I want the truth," he didn't hesitate when asking, "If you didn't care so much about me... If you didn't feel the way you did, would you leave me?"

Sam was silent for a moment. She replied honestly, "In a heartbeat."

"But you do love me," Danny said, hoping to confirm what he thought true.

A small smile spread across her face, as she looked down at the ground and muttered, "I do."

It was her confession, her moment of weakness... But this time, Danny was the one who felt vulnerable.

--

"What do you think it'll be like?"

I blinked twice, turning away from the window and towards my cousin, and asked, "What?"

"You know," Mariah said with a shrug, as she rested against the kitchen counter. "When you die, what do you think Heaven will be like?"

This was an unexpected question. I grinned, shaking my head, "What does it matter to me? I'm not going there..." Then again, when one is already dying, it's not suicide... Right?

"Well," Mariah continued, while sticking a straw into her juice pouch. "I think Heaven comes in different ways to everyone. Like you, it'll probably have no meat at all, with a pure environment... Stuff like that. Maybe even a temporary Danny, until the real one arrives."

"You're probably right," I tell her, and it makes her smile. "Except about the Danny part."

Mariah raises an eyebrow, "You don't love Danny?"

"I do, very much..." I correct her, "But Danny's Heaven doesn't include me."

After taking a sip from her juice pouch, my cousin asks, "How do you know?"

"If you were me," I said softly, tracing a finger over the counter, "You would know..." I looked out the window, trying to imagine him flying by the window. "I'm still working on it." I finish, leaving no more room for questions.

A/N: Um... Review? D