A/N: A very late Christmas gift to the wonderful itsthephantomx. Sorry this took so long to get out. ^^" Hehe…

Anyways, this is my first story in the DP category, so I apologize in advanced if any of the characters seem odd. Enjoy!

A loud explosion tore through the air. The ground trembled and buildings shook uncontrollably, some breaking away from their firm foundations entirely. The sound was felt reverberating in one's chest, striking fear deeper into their hearts. Women screamed for their children's safety and their own, watching as those around them were killed without mercy. Debris flew in every direction, crushing the people unfortunate enough to be in its destructive path. It was a truly devastating scene to behold.

"Wow Sam," Danny exclaimed to the goth girl beside him, raising his voice in order to be clearly heard over the movie's intense explosions, "You were right. The new sound system you had installed really makes it feel like you're right there in all the action."

"No kidding," Tucker proclaimed on the floor, propped up against the couch with large pillows. He took a large, messy bite out of his barbecue sandwich. "This is better than going to the movies!" he muffled through the mouthful of food.

Sam smiled smugly in satisfaction at her friends' responses and snuggled deeper into the blanket Danny was sharing with her. The two were sitting together on the plush couch, shoulders touching as they leaned into each other. Tucker commented earlier about how they were positioned, stating how they were lovebirds as usual. He was promptly silenced when Sam had chucked a lamp at his head. He let the matter slide after that little incident since he rather enjoyed his life.

The trio continued to watch the movie, occasionally exchanging comments. It was nice to spend time together and relax for once without having to worry about school or ghost attacks, at least for the moment. Their winter break had started a couple days ago, so they were spending their time goofing off as much as possible until they had to regrettably go back to the retched prison called school. There were less ghost attacks occurring as well. Many of the usual specters were easing their attacks for the upcoming Christmas truce, leaving only a few ghosts to occasionally show. The ones that did were beaten with ease, making it much easier on Danny.

A lean, strong arm wrapped around Sam's shoulders. In any normal situation, she would have pushed the arm off in embarrassment and to keep her gothic image intact. But since no one could see, besides Tucker, she gladly eased into his warm, comforting embrace.

As she was getting comfortable, Sam felt the boy beside her suddenly stiffen. She looked over at him just in time to see the wisp of blue air escape from his lips. He sighed in frustration at the prospect of having to leave his friends in order to go fight a ghost.

Reaching for the remote, Sam paused the movie and turned back to Danny, a concerned look adorning her typically dark features. "Do you want us to come with you?" she asked.

"Yeah dude. We'll come and kick some ghost butt with you if you want." Tucker supplied, elbow resting on the edge of the couch.

"Nah, I'll be fine." Danny said with a wave on his hand. He got up from the couch and two twin white rings transformed him into Phantom. His feet levitated a couple inches away from the lush carpet. "Besides," he continued with a slight echo to his voice, "Most of the ghosts that have been showing up lately have been nearly as easy as the Box Ghost, so I shouldn't be too long."

The white-haired teen floated towards the ceiling. "Go ahead and play the movie. I've already seen it, like, a dozen times and I'll be back soon anyways." With that, he phased through the ceiling, leaving his two friends in the dark lighting of the room.

Tucker jumped up and plopped down on the open spot of the couch, a crooked grin on his face. He urged Sam to continue the movie, to which she did with a slight smile. Neither had even an ounce of doubt about their friend's abilities. He had done this kind of thing a thousand times without their help, so they were not worried. It was no big deal at this point in the game.

Minutes had passed without any sign of Danny. Still, they were not distressed. It was by the time that they had finished the movie an hour later that worry began to eat away at their insides. Danny's fights rarely lasted this long without him at least calling for help, but neither of their phones had made a sound. Both remained as silent as a graveyard.

Another hour had passed and nothing had changed. The two were really beginning to worry about their friend. They did not wish to jump to conclusions as of yet though, so they continued to wait it out, having faith that Danny could handle whatever he was dealing with.

By the time eleven o'clock rolled around, over four hours after Danny had left, Tucker had to regrettably leave Sam's side in order to get home before his curfew or else face the wrath of his parents. He left her with soothing words, assuring her that their ghost-fighting friend would be fine. If they did not hear from him in the morning, then they would go looking for him. His consoling words did little good. Although Sam did not portray it, she was in utter turmoil inside. She kept going over different scenarios for what might have become of Danny, many of them drastic and gruesome. He could be horribly injured, passed out in an alley and not be able to contact them for help. Or he could have been kidnapped and dragged into the ghost zone by one of his many enemies. His parents could have captured him too, locking him in their basement strapped to one of those medieval experimentation tables. The list went on.

She needed to stop these atrocious thoughts. She was probably throwing things way out of proportion anyways. Danny knew what he was doing. She had to have faith in him. He could be facing more than one ghost or one that was particularly difficult to defeat. There was no way for her to know

But that was why she was so worried. She had absolutely no way to know. She had no control over the situation like she usually always did. No way to know Danny's condition, where he was, what he was doing. Nothing. That alone burned a deep hole into the center of her being.

Deciding she needed something to distract her, Sam made her way upstairs to her room. She logged onto her computer and messaged Tucker on the situation, reading the current news for any sign of Danny in between posts.

Eventually, Sam gave up at her computer around two in the morning and crawled into bed, hoping against the odds that everything would turn out fine in the morning. Sleep did not come easily to the goth. She tossed in her bed, unable to rest. After an eternity, she finally fell asleep as her body fell into slumber. She slipped away into the cold, dark recesses of her mind, thoughts running rampant and free, uncontrollable in this dream-like world.

A loud thump jerked Sam out of her slumber. She blearily looked around her room for the source of the noise, blurry vision not helping in her hazy search. At the sound of a strangled groan to the side, her eyes snapped over to a dark, glowing lump on her floor.

She quickly reached over to her lamp and switched it on, illuminating the room in bright light. At first, she had to squint from the light assaulting her sleep ridden eyes, but as they adjusted she was able to see what had landed in her room. A gasp escaped from her mouth at what she saw.

Danny. He laid on her floor in a pile of limbs, face contorted in pain. There was a trail of crimson and green drops of blood coming from where he must have phased through the wall before collapsing.

In a flash, Sam tore off the covers and was on her hands and knees by the white-haired teen. She reached under her bed and pulled out a first aid kit. Tucker and she had one hidden somewhere in their rooms for instances such as this where Danny needed help. On more than one occasion, he did not have enough strength after a taxing ghost fight, so he would come to their houses – which ever was closer – to get patched up.

"Danny. Danny, can you hear me?" Sam asked as she reached over to his shoulder and gently turned him onto his back in order to get a better view of his injuries. On the right side of his head just above his temple was a large gash, the main source of the blood. He also had several other cuts and bruises decorating his lean figure, one in particular on his side near his hip was worse than the others.

Sam went straight to work. Not missing a beat, she pulled out the necessary wraps and antiseptic in order to treat the wounds. With gentle hands, she began to clean Danny's injuries. He only continued to grimace in his comatose state. It was only when she began to work on the injury on his head that he made a movement.

At the touch of the antiseptic to his exposed flesh, a sharp hiss traveled from his throat. He pried his eyes open and blearily looked at Sam hovering above him. His face broke out into a ridiculously goofy grin.

"Hey Sam," he drawled with a slight slur to his speech, "I got all… da ghosts. He gave a light chuckle which turned into a small coughing fit.

Sam stared at her ghostly friend for a moment, concerned about his unusual behavior. "What ghosts were you fighting? It look way longer than it should have for you to beat them."

His brow creased in concentration as she spoke. After she had finished speaking, it took him a few seconds to fully comprehend what she had said before he responded. "Oh, it was nothin' much. Justa couple of cat… things. I think they were panthers, maybe foxes or somethin'. I had ta chase 'em around town fer a while 'til they took da chase down inta the sewers. I had ta chase 'em around fer awhile before I could catch 'em all." He chuckled, "They did manage ta knock me around pretty good an' I think I got hit on da head hard…"

His words were becoming increasingly slurred and incoherent as he spoke. Sam continually dabbed and bandaged his wounds as he spoke, cleaning the mixture of blood and ectoplasm off his pale skin, a sickening reminder of Christmas that was right around the corner. She started to cover his head in gauze and wrap, twisting the material around his head carefully.

"I think you might have a concussion Danny," she started as she finished wrapping. "I don't think you should fly home in this condition. You can sleep in my bed and sneak out in the morning when you're healed." This type of procedure was typical for her now. She was used to sleeping on the floor whenever Danny had to stay over. She would gladly give up her comfort for her friend's health.

"Nah Sam, 't's okay. 'm fine. 'sides, I don't wanna get any blood on yer bed," Danny responded weakly, his eyelids drooping his exhaustion. Normally, it would be dangerous to allow a concussed person to fall asleep, but because of his ghost healing, Danny was exempted from the typical norm.

"Like hell you will," Sam replied as she crossed her arms across her chest in a defiant manner, "You're staying here even if I have to force you." Which wouldn't be too hard in his state. Sam mused.

Danny laughed at her actions and started to sit up. Unexpectedly, the white rings appeared around his waist and transformed him back into his human form. He fell back down with a grunt that quickly turned into a twisted giggle.

"Oops, I fell," he said in between chuckles.

With a roll of her eyes, Sam got down to help the hysteric boy up by the arms. She managed to get him onto her bed with little difficulty and huffed at the accomplishment.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get some blankets to lay on," Sam said as she headed for the door.

"Wait!" came Danny's distressed cry. Sam turned back around to see him trying to sit up with a panicked expression. "Please… sleep up here with me?"

"B-but I…" Sam began, cheeks flushing red. She was about to say no, that she would be fine on the floor, but Danny's puppy dog eyes stopped her. With a frustrated sigh, she gave in and crawled into the bed beside the loopy teen, turning off the light beside the bed before she slid under the covers.

Immediately, he wrapped his arms around her slim frame, causing her cheeks to blush a brighter shade of crimson.

"Thanks," he whispered in her ear. With a soft sigh he added, "Goodnight Sammy."

"I… y-yeah," she said before she noticed that Danny had already passed out cold. Leaning into his embrace, she let a small smile grace her lips. "I hope you remember this when you wake up."

Please leave a review to feed to author about how I did. I really want to know what I can improve on for when I write more DP stuff.