Taking Over Me

Summary: With Sam gone, Danny has enough to deal with. At the same time he runs into the first ghost he can't beat, and that's Danny Phantom.

Rating: PG-13 for mature themes and language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Butch Hartman does. I do not own Taking Over Me, Evanescence does.

Epilogue

You're taking over me.

Sam watched Tammy and Everett walk two elderly grandparents over to the car. She wondered briefly which was worse, the way she had lost Jacob or the way they lost Ryan. They had memories, photos, and stories. Sam had nothing. The freezing January wind pulling at her black coat. Blake clung to her legs, cheek resting against her hip. She kept running her finger through his wind-tangled hair. He was scared stiff. He still didn't completely understand the concept that Ryan wasn't coming back. She couldn't say she blamed him, in twenty-four hours his little life had been torn to shreds. Suddenly he could see that life wasn't as safe as everyone promised it was. Sam knew the feeling.

The funeral was long over, the good-byes had been said. Yet, Sam didn't have the heart to tear the four-year-old away. Blake took two steps closer to the hole that the casket lay in. Sam stayed right with, gripping his shoulder. She was terrified he would try something to bring his brother back something that in his small pre-school mind would make perfect sense. Sam picked up the four-year-old awkwardly. He dropped his frozen cheek against her shoulder. "I miss Ryan," he whispered, as it would be like some movie where suddenly the little child says they miss someone and that person would magically appear and break into song.

Her throat closed. This wasn't a movie, and Ryan was never coming back. If only there was some gentle way to put that. "We all miss him, Blake." The silence seemed to envelop the two children. Sam put her cheek against his soft hair. It was cold but so was everything. Sam shuddered remembering the feeling of the cold, loose dirt in her fingers before she threw it onto the coffin. She suppressed it immediately, setting Blake back down.

Sam suddenly heard a footfall on the snow behind her and whirled in place. There was nothing. Sam tucked her hair behind her ear, though the frozen wind instantly pulled pieces loose again. She knew she hadn't imagined it. She scanned the small church cemetery again. Nothing. She glance back toward Blake.

I'm sorry, echoed hauntingly through her mind. And it was in her mind, as if someone had spoken directly to her mentally. Violet eyes widened.

"Danny?" she breathed.

Silence returned. Maybe it was all catching up with her and she was finally losing her mind. I don't expect you to forgive me, the familiar voice whispered.

Blake's head came up at the name. "Sam?"

She squeezed the little boy's shoulder for reassurance. "I'll be right back," she said softly.

Sam made it two steps before he latched onto her waist. "Don't leave me!" The loud cry echoed around the snow-covered trees surrounding the cemetery. The sixteen-year-old hit her knees and held him tight, brushing away tears with her thumb. The frightened child wrapped his arms around her neck, pressing himself close to her.

"Shh…Blake, it's okay." But everything wasn't okay. Even as a small child, he would be able to tell that. Sam bit her lip the events of the last week washing over her. How could a life fall apart that quickly? A dark object streaked quickly across the sky, heading north. She instantly knew what it was. He promised he'd be there for her. He promised they'd make it through this. Not only had it not gotten better, Danny was the one responsible for making it worse. She glared off at the fading figure. "Murderer," she breathed to herself.

I want to thank everybody for sticking with me through this book, even though it took forever compared to the first two. You guys have been super! Special Reviewing thanks to: Pandemonium Fox, Samster the Hamster, MayB, The Good Girl, Storm Sword, Chibi Mellenia Phantom, Mrs. Granger-Weasley, Medisti, Dragonslayer527, AlwaysImpatient, Sakura Scout, Hwoarangsguardie, getfuzzyfan04, RavenForever, autumngold x2, Janus-Wolf x2, Moody Maud, Danielle Phantom, and Cooperstar and Blink x2. Yay for you all!

Keep an eye open for My Immortal!

.Danni-2005.