A/N: Well, is it that time already for another story? Wow! And I hope you were able to peek at my past stories. Maybe you should give them a looksey, especially "His Own Worst Enemy" and "Shadow of a Doubt". They are WAY too complicated to explain here, and tie in most closely with this story. Also, since all my stories tie into each other over all, it wouldn't hurt for you to read "Bewerewulfed", too….Heck, just look at them all! But, if you don't want to, that's OK, but you may be lost by some of the allusions to those stories in THIS story if you haven't read the others (like Danny has wulf claws now and Sam and Danny have telepathic powers). So, if you do get confused, don't fret. Just pretend you read those other stories and accept any 'fact' you don't know about as 'true' and you'll be fine!

Now about THIS story…It's another try with romance for me. I'm still not great with it, but I do want to improve my writing, so I'm going to try anyway…Guess I'm braver than I thought! Also, I thought Jazz said it best, and I quote her with my own little tweaking: (taken from "Maternal Instinct") "Look, I figure I owe it to myself to experience all this serious romance stuff one time, so I can decide whether to hate or love it in a more informed content." So, y'all need to decide for yourselves. But don't worry. There will be a little humor and action in it (I can't help myself), but, overall, it will be more about the serious side of relationships. But it will definitely be in good taste—which is true romance, IMO.

Also, this is sorta a sequel to "Shadow of a Doubt", but not really. It may seem that way, but really, all stories that build upon past ones could be considered 'sequels', but I rather think of them as 'continuals' instead. Others call it a serial. Well, whatever, to-MAY-toe, to-MAH-toe! As long as we all have fun, right? But, please, do try to be fair to this story if you've read my other ones. Comparing this story to my other ones is like the old cliché of comparing apples to oranges…..

Now one more thing before we dive in…I would like to thank my good friend, Angelus-alvus, for giving me the 'green light' for the summary; and I thank Aaron12 and pearl84 for their immense and priceless betaing help.

Now, on with the story. I dedicate this entire story and this chapter to my good friend, Nicktendo Squad, who happens to be celebrating her birthday today, and who happens to LOVE romance stories!!! YAY!!! Happy Birthday, my friend!!

OH, and remember that I do NOT own any character except the four OCs in here, and will mantra that "IDNOAC" (I do not own any characters) from now on at the beginning of each chapter.…….Now, here is Chapter 1. Enjoy!!!

TrueHeart

(A Yank on the Old Heartstrings)

Chapter 1—Our Two Human Couples

The soft moonlight reflected off his green eyes, giving them a slightly grayish tint. But they still sparkled nevertheless and she still thought they were handsome no matter the color. The soft whispers of the wind caressed her thoughts and matched his calm breathing.

Sam let her mind drift a little and relaxed under the wind's balmy blanket as it enveloped Danny and her, hovering together high up in the quiet sky. It would grow colder soon, she knew, and that would mean that they would have to go in. But feeling his strong, warm arms around her calmed her beyond words; and it was one of those rare moments when Sam believed that everything was truly right with the world. If this wasn't heaven, she didn't know what could be.

Blissful, her eyes closed and their lips softly met.

At that moment, she was traveling through space without the need for oxygen and seeing the bright gems of the heavens winking at her. Suddenly, she had landed on a beautiful alien world, whole universes away from where they had been just seconds ago. She knew they were all alone there, strolling down an alien pathway that led to a secluded yet exotic garden. This felt like heaven, too. But then, any place where she had the chance to be close to Danny felt that way.

"Nice choice of location," she whispered as they momentarily parted.

"Hey!" Danny suddenly objected as he realized Sam had just read his mind again, and had 'seen' what he was imagining. But then he chuckled right away to assure her he wasn't mad. "OK, so now you know one of the places I would most want to be with you! Are you sure having this telepathic thing isn't a dangerous thing after all? I might have been thinking about something totally different!"

"Like what?" she teased, playing with the back of his head with both of her hands.

"Oh, I don't know, like thinking about all the chores I need to do when I get home."

"Oh gee, I'm not boring you, am I?!" she feigned in irritation while sliding her hands down and playfully shoving him away. Still, she took care not to shove so hard that he would lose his grip on her.

"Why don't you try again and find out," Danny responded with a warm smile as he leaned in and kissed her again.

Again, he saw Sam in his mind; but this time, he was purposefully concentrating and changing the stream of his thoughts. Suddenly, he was blending into a scene with a crystal clear lagoon catching a waterfall as it sang its sweet song to the rocks below. Trees and all kinds of shrubbery reached out to engulf the entire small area, shielding its soft, white beach with their outstretched swaying arms, keeping the beach hidden by all except for the warm sun. He knew this is where she would most want to be with him. Just then, he mentally winked at her, extending the mop and bucket in his hands towards her as he did.

Instantly, she pulled away. "OK, OK! I get it!" Sam conceded, "Reading minds, good. Reading minds without permission, bad."

"So, do you think we should ask Spirto about how to block each other's thoughts perfectly?" Danny teased.

"Naw. I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, we know that strong emotions can block the connection," Sam replied, "Besides, we both still haven't gotten our feet too wet with it and it still doesn't work perfectly yet."

Danny knew his girlfriend was right. And, furthermore, they both knew that they had to be thinking about the other at the same time. Or at least have an open mind to it.

"Still, I just hope it does work if there's an emergency," Sam added, bringing Danny out of thought.

"Well, at least it'll be better than that lame 'code word'!" Danny said jokingly, drawing a smirk from Sam.

"Excuse me? 'Lame'? Do I have to remind you that I wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for that word? And I kind of like being here right now. Especially on a night like this," she argued lightly, following up with a light peck. "But I get what you're saying. It's too easy for us to go diving into each others' heads. But you know I wouldn't do that for no reason, right?"

"Just as long as you remember that. The last thing I need is you catching a stray thought like oh, say...that I'd rather play video games than be here," Danny teased.

"Nice!" Sam responded with another playful shove. But this time, she accidentally pushed harder than they both thought and she yelped when he lost his grip of her momentarily. Luckily, Danny was quick to react as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him.

"Let's not do that again anytime soon, OK?" he suggested.

"Works for me," Sam replied, her heart still racing as she clung to him tightly. But a few well placed kisses on her cheek from Danny quickly began to calm her down. She turned and softly kissed him again before pulling back and looking into his eyes with a warm smile.

As Danny smiled back at her, Sam didn't need to be able to read his mind to tell that in spite of his previous joke, he'd rather be here with her than anywhere else. But soon, it was time for them to go and they both knew it.

As they flew back toward her home, Sam sighed at the memory of their last adventure. It had only been about a month since she had acquired this special telepathic link with her boyfriend. Clockwork said she always had the ability, and now that she thought about it, he had been right. But then, she didn't realize how it had helped her so much since the Spectre event. It now kept any arguments between Danny and her on a more even keel. And she was finding it easier to express herself nowadays.

She was quite content in her—and Danny's—decision that this special gift between them was not to be abused--not that she ever had. The only time she used it without his direct consent was when she felt it was important to do so, or if she really had no idea what he meant during an argument…

She then mentally sighed as her thoughts drifted to something else, or more precisely, someone else. She thought she would miss Libro —the book Clockwork had given her just before the Poisoned Ghost War—more than she had. But with this new bond between her and Danny, she hadn't needed her special friend. She felt a sudden twinge of guilt about that, but underneath, she knew that Libro would understand. She chuckled a bit. She meant Ombre, but she still liked calling him 'Libro'...Besides, she knew that he didn't mind her—or Danny and Tucker--calling him that, either.

So, it didn't matter. They would always be friends, even though right now, Libro was still recuperating at Clockwork's. The injury he had received from Jiva was so severe that only Clockwork could heal him. She—and Danny and Tucker, of course--had visited him a lot since the Spectre adventure, as Danny would always take them whenever he visited Clockwork.

Still, if it weren't for Libro, she would have never learned how to work through her feelings and open herself up to her friends more. Of course, she was still working hard on achieving this day-by-day, since it wasn't easy for her. But she had learned a valuable lesson, and now knew she was strong enough to grow beyond her weakness. Yes, Libro had done a lot for her… and so had her boyfriend.

And now that she had her telepathic powers, it opened the possibility of getting even closer to Danny than she was before. She had to smile at that. Nothing was impossible any more.

Danny was also pleased with this new bond between them. Even though he finally realized how special their relationship was after the 'disasteroid' incident, he never dreamed it could be better. Knowing he could depend on Sam's understanding really was a confidence booster and even though he always felt he could say just about anything to her before, he knew that now they would not always need words to understand each other…

Finally, they had reached Sam's home. A quick goodnight kiss later and Sam walked back into her house, with Danny flying off a moment later. They still might not have been able to say it out loud all the time yet, but one thing they both knew with absolute certainty…they were definitely falling more deeply in love with each passing day.

However, they were both so lost in their own feelings as they parted company that neither one of them noticed a pair of eyes gazing at them through the darkness of a nearby alley…

Tucker waited at their usual rendezvous point. Valerie was late—again. Of course, he knew why, but this time he was finding himself strangely irritated, which surprised him a little. He could feel that something was different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Looking up at the moon and stars, he searched for her high and low, but the sky was still empty of any trace of her coming. And for a moment, he wondered if he should wait a little longer, or go home.

He knew that she had "extra work" to attend to, and even though she had never explained exactly what that was; he knew it meant that she was ghost-hunting. But he was beginning to wonder if their relationship had reached the point where she should trust him more. At least, that was what he was beginning to feel. But thinking like that, it made him wonder if he really trusted her as much as he should. And that just made him feel wrong inside.

Finally, he could hear the familiar sound of her hover board approaching and he turned away, pretending like he always did that he never noticed it, or that she was changing out of her 'Red Huntress' outfit. And a moment later she was running up to him, all out of breath—as usual.

"I'm sorry, Tucker," she said, trying to catch her breath.

Of course, Tucker knew this 'one-act' play of theirs as if they had been rehearsing for years, so he already knew what his "next line" was supposed to be.

"That's OK, Val. Did you get your 'extra work' done?"

And then, of course, she would say, "Yeah, but, boy, am I beat! Mind if we just unwind a little tonight? I don't feel like doing anything but just being with you!"

And then he would say, "Sure." And then they would sit quietly in the park and she would fall asleep on the bench…..

………………

Of course, this wouldn't happen on all their dates, but it did occur during enough of them for Tucker to know the routine. Still, it usually didn't bother him too much. After all, they hadn't been dating all that long, not even a year. But did that really count as a year when their dates had been so sporadic? Between both of their separate ghost-hunting adventures, they really hadn't the time for steady dating, and neither of them wanted to feel particularly committed to anyone right now because they both had their "extra work".

Still, the times they did connect enough to really call it a 'date' were exciting. They discovered during those times that both of them had more things in common than the other thought. Besides having a secret, of course, they both liked history, especially family history; both loved technology and often times traded ideas--even if Valerie didn't tell Tucker that her ideas came from all the options on her battle suit, or what she had modified on the suit herself. And both of them liked all the crazy rides at the pier or any other carnival place that would roll into town every once in a while. They were slowly discovering each other, even if it had to be in bits and pieces.

Even their serious conversations, which were really, again, sporadic, were enthralling. Valerie was very passionate about her views and Tucker was only the second boy she had dated that had been such a willing listener. Most of the other boys had been turned off by how strong she came across. But Tucker recognized the intelligence beneath the passion, and acted accordingly.

Even when he disagreed with her, his answers never riled her up any more than she had been at the start. He was a calming force to her and helped her when all her pent-up frustrations---which were many—got the best of her. She even liked the fact that he didn't seem to mind it when she kidded him about his 'nerdiness'; because through it all she hadn't realize that she appreciated his intelligence as well. And his patience with her.

She then smiled, thinking of two other pluses her boyfriend had: he sure was cute and funny. How did she not notice him before in school? He seemed so much older this year. Not the goofball who went gaga over her and every other girl in the school not too long ago.

He had changed; but, of course, she couldn't possibly have known that it was due to all he had experienced within the past year…

The Spectre mystery was just the most recent event. Tucker and his friends had been through even more before then. That would have been the Poisoned Ghost War, which ended with the time rift that occurred after Danny had fought with his future alternate self over Clockwork's staff. And it further resulted in big changes for the trio. While mentally they were sixteen-and-a-half-year-old juniors now --since their minds had not been affected by the time rift-- the current timeline insisted they were still sophomores, and would not be physically turning sixteen until this summer.

And so, Valerie was right in a way. Tucker had changed because he was older. And he had changed for the better, or so Valerie noticed. She liked this 'new' Tucker.

Tucker, on the other hand, enjoyed Valerie's vivacity. Not that he needed more excitement. Being with Danny and Sam and going on all those adventures with them, of course, trumped anything else as far as excitement went. But this, of course, was far different.

He started out wanting to keep Valerie from becoming like her bitter future self. He had really felt sorry for her, and was willing to put up with all her rants because of it. But as she began to feel more at ease with him, and was even surprised that she hadn't driven him away with her strong personality or her erratic schedule, she let some of her softer side eke out. And, man, did Tucker like that 'softer side'! He always thought she was hot, but when that was paired with a side he could actually reach and even relate to, she was even more captivating to him.....

…………………….

So, their 'one-act play' would have to go on until they thought it was time for a change. And for the time being, Tucker was fine with that. Little did he realize, however, that Valerie was about to drastically re-write the script….

"That's OK, Val," he stated as usual, "Did you get your 'extra work' done?"

She sat down on their park bench and replied, "Yeah, but, you know, I've been thinking. You never complain when I see you after a particularly rough time with all that 'extra work' I have to do. How about I make it up to you for all those times I was too tired to do anything?"

"Uh, that's all right, Valerie. I understand," he answered after he, too, sat down. "I don't mind that we 'don't do anything' on those days. All the other times make up for it."

She smiled, but was not satisfied by his answer. It was nice that he was offering her an out, but she knew deep down that it was one she didn't really deserve.

"Aw, c'mon, Tucker. Don't tell me that it's not irritating to have me coming late all the time and then fall asleep on you!"

"Well, yeah, now that you mention it, I was kinda irritated this time!" He paused, surprised by his answer. He suddenly knew why he was irritated. His feelings for her were changing. He no longer felt sorry for her like he had done in the beginning. Now, he wanted to see more of her, but still couldn't because of her 'extra work'. And, of course, because of his own 'extra work' with Danny and Sam. But he didn't want to get into that. Not now. So instead, he followed up with a light-hearted smirk, which he hoped would be enough to hide his true feelings.

"But, I'm not that irritated," he added quickly, "Like I said, I understand. After all, I know I can get irritating when I go on and on about video games."

"Well…I'll go with you on that one!" she teased back. "But I want to do something special anyhow! You know that my birthday's coming up!"

Responding immediately, Tucker whipped out his PDA and started pressing buttons.

Valerie immediately rolled her eyes in amusement. "Do you really need that thing to remember that my birthday is two weeks from Friday?" she teased, causing Tucker to respond with a shy look.

"No, of course, I don't! But you know how much I think of this PDA as my 'third arm'!" he answered, drawing a laugh out of Valerie.

"OK, fine," she conceded with a warm smile, "But you'd better be ready for a surprise at my party!"

"Uh, shouldn't that be the other way around? Aren't surprise parties supposed to be for the birthday person?"

"Yeah, but this time it's my surprise to you!" she replied, "But it's not JUST for you! I'm just going to invite you and Danny, and even Sam! After all, I know they are like your 'fourth and fifth arms'! And I really don't have any other friends anymore, ever since, well, you know."

Tucker secretly cringed. That was still a sore point with her. Danny Phantom.

She laughed with embarrassment as she continued to talk about his friends. "I have to admit that I had some problems with them in the beginning, but I had no right to hold it over you in the end. I guess I was a little jealous, since they've been your best friends forever. That you're all always there for each other, but you're still so laid back together. It's kinda strange nowadays, but, really, I think you're very lucky to have them."

"Well, you're right about that," Tucker agreed with a smile and a shrug, "They are the best! I'm just glad you're beginning to see that!"

"And you know what I think about Danny and that it's not a problem, either," Valerie added, "Especially since he's so obviously into Sam. Not that that's a surprise, either. I guess I always knew they were perfect for each other."

Tucker smiled. Valerie didn't know the half of it now that Danny and Sam had telepathic powers! But he was surprised how relieved he was that she said that. He never thought it was a problem, but he was still glad he heard it from her for the first time.

"Yeah, I always thought that they were perfect for each other, too," he replied, but suddenly, he paused. Were he and Valerie 'perfect' for each other as well? Too skittish to speak, he absent-mindedly—and nervously-- starting to punch on his PDA. But just then, he heard Valerie let out a deep yawn.

"Boy, all of the sudden I'm beat!" she groaned slightly, "You know, it sure is good to unwind with you!"

"Uh, sure, Val--.." he began, looking up from his PDA at her. But then he stopped and smirked weakly.

She had fallen asleep.