Silent…

He had been silent for two weeks now.

He didn't seem to be in any physical pain, he just couldn't talk. The doctor had been to see him three times in that fortnight and every time he'd concluded that Danny had contracted Tonsillitis.

Sam and Tucker knew better. Well, Sam did anyway; Tucker's theory involved a lot of perverted ideas about what she and Danny got up to while he wasn't around.

As cool as Danny's Ghostly Wail is, he probably shouldn't have used it more than four times in one sitting. It did get the job done, there was no questioning that, but after such an ear-shattering fight, Ember may never hear again… and Danny may never speak again.

When Dr. Tori had visited last, he told Maddie and Jack that Danny should stay home for a while, and if his speech still wasn't back by the end of week four, he'd have to get his tonsils surgically removed. Due to the bad hospital experience he went through when Spectra infected the student body with a ghost virus, Danny had a silent freak out at the idea, shaking his head and throwing a toddler-like temper tantrum.

That's why they called Sam over. As a child, the Goth girl was plagued by Tonsillitis on five, six or even seven separate occasions a year. Despite that, she still had her tonsils; by the time she got to third grade – ironically enough, the age she met Danny and Tucker – her throat infections had ceased. To this day she was teased by Tucker that 'the power of love' cured it and for every time he said it, she would give him a well-deserved punch to the arm.

"Thanks again Sam, we hope your parents don't mind," Maddie said. "I know they don't really think much of us Fenton's."

"Don't worry; my parents are freaked out by anything they don't truly understand and that includes me." She smirked. "Besides, it'll be nice to get away from them for the weekend."

"If there are any ghost attacks, you know where the weapons are," Jack reminded, shifting his gaze between Sam and a list of things he had to double check. "Mind you, the genetic lock on the portal is busted so the darn thing won't open anyway! Ha!"

"Well dear, he's upstairs asleep at the moment, the medicine is in the fridge and if he feels better he can have some ice cream but make sure he gets his rest."

"You make him sound like a baby," Sam giggled.

"He'll always be my baby, no matter how old he is." She smiled that maternal grin and picked up her suitcase. "We'll be back by Sunday afternoon so make yourself comfortable. Jazz said you can stay in her room while she's at her little slumber party. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah, I'll be OK," She nodded assuredly. "I promise I'll take good care of Danny."

"Thank you dear. We best be on our way, come on Jack,"

"Can we stop for ice cream?" A huge pleading smile crossed his face.

"We haven't even got off the drive yet!"

"But Danny gets to have ice cream," He wined.

"Oh my goodness…" Maddie shook her head and sighed. "See you later Sam."

"Bye guys, have fun!" She watched Jack fumble with some items in the back of the Fenton RV. Then he slammed the tailgate shut and got into the driver's seat. With a honk of the horn and a major rev of the engine, Danny's parents sped away to whatever convention, outing or exorcism they'd been invited to.

She closed the front door and sighed. So, here she was, for two whole days; all alone – in the Fenton Household - with a poorly Danny. No Tucker, no Jazz, no ghosts. Just Danny and Sam. Oh dear God what had she gotten herself into? She had never babysat before, but hey, it's just Danny, right? Nothing wrong or nerve racking about 48 hours of quality time with a lifelong crush who was dependant on you to take care of them, right?

Who are you trying to kid?

If she looked at this logically before she agreed to it, she would've had a chance to back out. She'd stayed here many times in the past, but she'd never been this nervous. Her heart was pounding like a giant Mardi Gras drum. Rooting through her black duffle bag, she pulled out her iPod and put it on random. She opened the refrigerator door and found the bottle of Spectracef that Maddie had mentioned. When she took the lid off, the intoxicating stank of chemicals immediately returned her to the days of her own regular fights with tonsillitis.

Though technically, what Danny had wasn't like human throat infections, it was no doubt a spectral illness that only affected half or full ghosts. Her first thought was to check on Danny. She left the medication on the counter, switched off her MP3 player and started quietly up the stairs. Her hand twisted the doorknob ever so slowly and she began to push the door open, but stopped a few seconds later.

Oh God, what if he's in his boxers?

Deep down, she'd like to see him in his underwear, she imagined he had a well defined abdomen and firm, yet smooth, muscles rippling across his chest and arms; it wasn't beyond reason when you stop to consider the kind of workout he got from being a big time Halfa, defending Amity Park on a regular basis. She reached up to feel her burning cheeks. Oh the perversion! She'd been hanging around Tucker a little too much.

Just go in already! What's the worst that happens if he is just in his undies? Twenty bucks says you jump his bones and even then the only bad part is that you wont be able to hear his long, drawn out moan when you-

Sam hit herself in the head to cleanse her mind of the bad thoughts. She took a deep breath and, with her eyes shielded, opened the door. She moved her hand to see… Danny in a black t-shirt and blue sweat pants. Damn, just when she was getting all excited too. He was facing the other way so she couldn't see if he was awake or not. Slowly approaching the bed, Sam peered over him. His eyes snapped open and with lightening speed threw his arms around her neck.

"Ah!" She nearly jumped out of her skin and fell on her butt trying to break away. "Danny you scared the Helloutta me!"

He tried to laugh, but since his voice had been lost, it looked as though someone put him on mute. His mouth was wide with amusement and his shoulders were moving with the rhythm of his body.

"OK Mister, very funny, but bear in mind I'm looking after you for the next two days and since you can't speak, my word is law." She smirked at him.

He instantly stopped his silent laughter and waved his arms around in protest. He stood on the bed and leapt up and down, still with arms flailing.

"Just for that, you don't get any ice cream." Sam turned and left the room. Danny followed her.

His noiseless protest continued as he proceeded to follow her down the stairs. She could hear his footsteps matching the pace of her own, and his oversized shirt rustling, but still no sound came from his mouth. She whipped round at such a speed that he almost fell over. Her face was so close to his, and she could see his cheeks change to a luscious pink, at the same time, she felt her own singe with redness. Her violet eyes cut deeply into his bright cerulean ones.

"You shouldn't be walking around Danny, you should be in bed." That came out all wrong and they both knew how naughty it sounded.

"If you promise to behave, I'll let you stay up late." She fingered the neckline of his shirt and stared straight into his eyes. He gulped nervously; clearly, she was way too close for comfort. "Promise?"

She held out her hand, pinkie finger outstretched and her face maintained a calm, yet strong expression – regardless of how much her chest was being crushed from the inside by her rapid and ecstatic heart beating. He smiled and hooked his little finger around hers, and they shook on it. Sam gestured to the table in the kitchen. Danny obediently walked in and sat down. He looked around the work tops for no particular reason, unless it was to avoid direct eye contact with her, and gently kicked his legs back and forth.

"OK Dan, take this," The thick crimson liquid sat in a teaspoon which Sam held near his mouth.

He turned his nose up at it.

"Don't be stubborn with me, just take it, it'll make your voice come back,"

He stuck out his tongue, crossed his arms and looked away.

"If you're going to act like a baby Danny, I'll treat you like one!" She cautioned.

An 'I-don't-think-you've-got-the-guts' kind of sneer glared at her from beneath his oceanic eyes.

If you weren't so irresistibly cute, Daniel, I'd get you for this… She thought to herself. "So we're playing that game are we? Fine!"

She playfully stormed out of the room and Danny felt kinda bad… until she came back ten minutes later. Her hair was up in a full ponytail which bobbed when she moved; she'd changed out of her classic black tank top and skirt, and into a lilac slouch top and much-shorter-than-usual denim shorts. Basically, she looked like a normal teenaged babysitter. Danny, even if he could talk, didn't know what to say. He just sort of sat there with a stunned look on his face.

"Aw, aren't you the cutest widdle thing?" She cooed, pinching his cheek softly. "Don't worry lil baby, your mommy's gone out for a while but I'm here to take care of you!"

This was just plain weird. Sam sat down in the chair next to him and held the spoon up at him again with a strangely beaming face.

"C'mon baby, open up,"

He refused once more.

"Now, now, I know this stuff looks yucky but if you don't take it you won't get better," She said, her eyes pleading with him. And he almost broke down. Almost…

Instead he decided to play along. He pulled a grossed out face and slammed his fists on the table, trying to stare her down.

"Pwease Dan-Dan, will you do it for me?"

Oooh… What a low blow. How could he say no to that? He turned pink at the rather strange pet name she used but still no dice; Danny may have been literally speechless but he was going to take part in this charade just as long as she wanted it to continue.

"I'll just have to take it myself to show you it's not bad, won't I?"

For Sam, it was not a big deal, she was used to the taste of throat medicine, her early childhood pretty much revolved around it. But she was going to have a little bit of fun with this. She'd seen Chocolat and School for Seduction at least 50 times in the past two months alone and Goth be damned if she didn't learn something from them. Sam poured a little bit more of the solution on the spoon, to the point where it was overflowing slightly and running down the handle and onto her fingers.

Danny watched intently as she put it in her mouth and her eyes fluttered closed. She twisted it slowly in her mouth and almost savoured the potent medicinal taste. It had been a long time since she'd had a sample of this stuff. Her lips tingled as the head of the spoon left her taste buds. She gradually licked the handle and her index finger, both of which were lightly coated with the dark red goo she'd just ingested. She then refilled it and offered it to Danny.

"See? Nothing bad happened to me. Now it's your turn…"

Here she noticed the expression on his face. His pupils had dilated until naught but a thin strip of electric blue surrounded it and his jaw had dropped considerably. She giggled.

"D'aww, poor baby, come here."

Sam put the prescription down and grabbed Danny's hand. With one yank of her arm, she pulled him forward until he was now sitting in her lap, facing her with wide, nervous eyes and a beacon red face. One hand supported his back – perhaps a little too close to his butt – and the other was armed with the antitoxin-filled spoon.

"Be a good widdle baby and take your medicine."

Since his mouth was still open, owing to the bizarre display she had just put on, Sam took the opportunity to force feed him. She nudged his jaw closed and smiled.

"Now swallow it…" She nodded encouragingly.

Danny tried, but he couldn't, he was still stunned. Maybe because he was sitting in her lap, in his sleepwear, with her lips so close to his or that her soft fingers were touching the underside of his chin, maybe it was just the fact that Sam had been acting really, really strangely ever since she got here, and in his recent illness he had no way of telling her that her current behaviour was so outlandish.

He froze up when he felt Sam's right hand stroking his neck, trying to get him to swallow that foul tasting brew. He could feel his face getting hot, a drop of sweat rolled down his cheek as his throat muscles relaxed and the spoonful of whatever-it-was slithered into his stomach.

"That's a good boy!" She ruffled his hair. "Who wants ice cream?"

Danny clapped his hands and jumped up, running around the kitchen happily and playing up to his role of the 'baby'. Sam just had to laugh - he was so cute when he acted like a child! And this role-play thing was a lot of fun, if a bit depraved, but she was glad no one else was around to see it; she preferred that these moments shared with him stayed private. She had to admit, she was very nervous about this whole 'taking care of Danny' thing to start.

It sounds like you're trying to get in his pants…

That damned voice in her head, why did it have to say things like that?

She really missed hearing Danny's voice. This tonsillitis thing bothered her to no end; if he never spoke again she'd probably start crying and never ever stop. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other like some kind of hyperactive jack rabbit, and all the worry faded away when she saw that adorable face of his. He clutched her hand and dragged her over to the fridge-freezer, still acting the baby as he rolled onto the floor and sat cross-legged. He looked up at her with innocent eyes.

"Does my widdle Dan-Dan want Cookies 'N Cream?" Sam took out a small tub of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, holding it just beyond his reach.

He really does look like a baby with his arms up like that, kinda like he wants a hug or something…

His face lit up with happiness and he stretched up as much as he could without actually getting onto his feet. She giggled again. She scooped the dessert into a medium-sized bowl and searched the cupboard for some ice cream sauce. Danny poked her ankle and pointed to the top left one on the other side of the fridge.

"Thanks Danny,"

While Sam was getting the sauce, he got up and rummaged through the kitchen drawers to find his favourite spoon – the big one that came to a dull point. He put the handle end in his mouth and returned to his previous place.

"No, Dan-Dan," Sam shook her head and sat in front of him with the bowl in her hands. "You're a baby remember? I have to feed you because you're too immature to use a spoon."

She tried to take the utensil from his mouth, but he moved before she could get it. A cheeky grin spread from ear to ear when she tried – and failed – three more times. He knew that although she was faster than him, he had the advantage of ghost powers. Danny made a run for it and bounded into the living room. Sam left the ice cream bowl on the kitchen tiles and chased after him, but she was too late.

He had turned invisible.

How can he be so energetic when he's supposed to be ill?

She knew catching him would be difficult, blast those powers of his, they were the one thing that kept her from being totally victorious over him. And without his voice to give away his position, it only made this game of spectral hide and seek that much harder for her. Sometimes she could sense him with that supposed 'psychic connection' they had, but right now, her best bet was the menagerie of weapons in the basement. She doubled back on herself and headed downstairs.

Danny, on the other hand, was actually hiding upstairs. He'd taken the elixir with him. That stuff was positively nasty, and Sam had tricked him into eating it. He sneered at the disgusting medicine and went to throw it out the window – he was never going to taste that awful crap again as long as he drew breath – but when he stood by the gaping hole that allowed a fresh breeze to stroke his skin, he was reminded of what she was doing for him.

One month prior, he, Tucker and Sam had been invited to an all school party. That party was tonight. Everyone in the entire student body of Casper High was going. But then Danny got ill a couple of weeks ago. His parents and his sister already had plans; plans they couldn't cancel. Tucker wasn't responsible enough to keep an eye on Danny, so he was off the hook.

That left Sam.

Sam was spending her weekend looking after him when she knew damn well she didn't have to – not that she'd be caught dead at one of those summertime do's anyway. He'd almost forgotten about that when his mom called her, he was just really excited to be alone, all alone, with Sam for the entire weekend.

He smiled. The contents of that glass bottle that Dr. Tori left behind may have scarred his tongue forever with a rank, bittersweet tint, but now every time he looked at it, the only thing he would see is the dedication in Sam's pretty lilac eyes. He honestly appreciated that she'd sacrificed her free time to make sure he was OK; the joke about him being a baby was fun and he liked the nickname she'd given him. It also gave him reassurance that Sam could be the maternal type.

Perhaps feeling a bit guilty, he decided to go back downstairs and get some dessert. They could watch movies and play video games and make a proper slumber party out of the next two days - regardless of whatever ailment he had. Danny sprinted out of his bedroom and down the staircase, headed for the kitchen. He was so happy and carefree and-

SPLAT

"Danny?" Sam heard someone fall over and crash into a plastic object.

She ran out of the basement and into the kitchen and tried her best not to laugh at what she saw. There on the kitchen floor, dizzy and covered in Ben and Jerry's ice cream with an orange bowl on his head, was Danny. Just when he was acting more like his true fourteen year-old self, he tripped over his own feet, straight into the after dinner treat she'd foolishly forgot to move. He looked even more like a baby now than he did before. A light hearted snigger broke free of her lips. He opened his arms to her like he had earlier as he sat looking so helpless on the floor.

"Aww Dan-Dan, I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" She said.

He smiled sheepishly as she moved the bowl. The sweet stuff was all over the place; in his hair, on his clothes, she was pretty sure some of it had gone down the inside of his shirt.

"You know what this means don't you?"

He shook his head.

"I'll have to give you a bath,"

A saucy grin made Danny's eyes almost bulge straight out of his head. Once again, his face turned thirty shades of scarlet. Sam? Give him a bath? Oh man, he'd really stepped in it this time. How the hell was he meant to get out of this one? God, he really wasn't ready for this. He seriously wasn't, but it's like she said, her word was law since he still had no voice. He knew she wouldn't push her luck and she was just as pure as he was, but still…

Sam assisted him in standing and leisurely led him back up the stairs. He never really noticed before, but she had very swingy hips. They swayed ever so subtly in front of him; it was like dangling a steak above a hungry tiger who in turn would growl and paw at the meat, desperately wanting to devour it.

"I'll get the bath water running. Yougo and get out of those clothes, Mister."

Suddenly Danny felt like the T bone being thrown to a man-eating vixen. Except this vixen had livid raven hair and fiery amethyst eyes and seemed determined to get his clothes off. The confusion was certainly not going anywhere anytime soon. He and Sam were meant to be just friends. This was supposed to be so simple, but that simplicity got thrown away not long after the start of High school. He heard the tap water echo from the bathroom and he started to sweat again, anxiety controlled his system. He sat on the edge of his bed, cold and rather sticky. Melted ice cream dripped down his face and his neck.

"Do you like me fussing over you or what?"

Danny glanced up at Sam leaning against the doorframe. He smiled.

"Can you undress yourself Danny, or would you like me to do it for you?"

He instantly stared at her, sincere distress easily read in his eyes. She couldn't help but let a big beaming grin cross her face. As if she knew exactly what he was thinking. What, did he honestly think she was gonna get in the bath with him or something? Is that what he wanted? Sure, maybe in one of her dirtiest dreams she could do that, it would be one of those private, sensual moments that couples have, but in reality, they weren't a couple, and as much as she longed to be romantically involved with Danny, she would have to wait until he was ready.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm not gonna rape you or anything," She jested. "I'm just here to take care of you while your parents are gone, and I won't let you to bed all gooey."

Why did she have to say things in that way? She always made it sound so perverted and wrong, even if what she was saying was perfectly innocent. His face would soon be stuck with a permanent blush if he went outside and the wind changed direction. He'd blushed so much today his cheeks were going to explode. Sam bent down to look him square in the face.

"Is lil Dan-Dan gonna be a good boy and get cleaned up?"

He nodded. She moved towards him and gently, so gently that she could barely taste the sweetness, pressed her lips to his. She held the virtuous kiss for only a few seconds, and as she got up to leave, licked her lips of the ice cream transferred from him. With quivering blue orbs, he watched her exit his bedroom. He heard the tap water come to an immediate stop, followed by her graceful footsteps as she returned to the living room.

"I'll check on you in thirty minutes, and you better be in that tub young man!" Her jovial tone called out…

The second installment should be up soon!

Forgive me if it's a bit weird, although, considering the other fanfics I've written you should all be used to that by now XD

SS2K4