This'll take place somewhere in the later half of the first season, not sure exactly where.

^.^;

Open Wounds

Sam was pulled from her sleep for unknown reasons and opened her eyes to look into the darkness of her room, trying to determine what had woken her. Her foggy mind noticed a slight chill, though that could have been explained by the open window, she could hear a dripping noise as well, but again, it could be explained by the rain falling gently outside.

It wasn't until she caught the very distinct sound of breathing,that she sat up, now fully awake, as she searched the room for the intruder and was finally able to locate the position of the sound, as being something that was leaning against the wall, just under the aforementioned window.

She quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed the bat she kept next to her stand, as she reached out with her other hand to turn on the touch-activated lamp, which caused the trespasser to wince and turn away from the light, just as the weapon fell from her hand in shock.

"Danny?" She whispered, immediately recognizing his ghost form slouched against her wall, trying to keep himself from losing consciousness. "Oh my –" She didn't finish her words, as her eyes quickly took notice of the green substance pooling around him on the floor, which she immediately realized was blood.

Rushing to his side, she reached out to cup his face. "Danny, what happened, who did this to you?" She demanded, trying to get him to look at her, but his eyes were unfocused.

"Sam?" He responded with a slur, his mind clearly too clouded to really understand where he was, how he had gotten there or why he had come, "Sam it – hurts."

"Okay," She answered, struggling not to panic. True he'd been injured a couple times in the few months that he'd been Danny Phantom, but he usually healed so quickly and it had never been this bad.

Looking around in an attempt to figure out her next move, Sam's eyes eventually fell on the door to her bathroom and decided to roll with it. "Danny, I need you to stand up," She ordered gently, looking back at him, as she moved herself into a slight standing position, trying to help him do the same, but he didn't seem to understand the request.

"Tired," He muttered and she panicked again, quickly reaching down to slap his face, forcing him to pull away in discomfort and making her feel like she'd just kicked a puppy in a rainstorm, but at least it had worked to keep him conscious.

"You can't sleep," She ordered him, as she got under his arm and pulled him to his feet, as carefully as she could, remembering with a high level of relief, that he was considerably lighter in his ghost form. "Come on Danny, on your feet, work with me," She commanded as she led him to the bathroom, thankfully noticing that he was at least able to move his legs.

Once the door was open, she quickly reached out to flick the light switch, before rushing back to take hold of him with both hands again, trying to keep him from falling over. "We're almost there," She told him gently and continued to led him over to the bathtub.

"Hurts," He whispered again, squeezing his eyes shut in pain, which almost made her cry herself.

"I know," She said, trying to sooth him as much as she could, while carefully lowering him into the tub and reached over to turn on the hot water, before locating a towel to roil up and put behind his head.

Rushing to her sink next, she located a pair of scissors and the first-aid kit, she was now thankful to have thought ahead to buy, and moved to knell next to the tub, where she took a deep breath and lowered her eyes to study the wounds, which she had been trying to avoid looking at, until that point.

It seemed that whatever he had been dealing with out there, had been an energy-siphoner, for he displayed very clear burns on his arms and neck, which had burned straight through his suit to leave large, bruising handprints on his skin, something that was common after being touched by a ghost that had the nasty habit of stealing another's power and using it as their own.

This explained why he was unable to heal himself and likely why he was so tired, but, unfortunately, that wasn't all. It seemed the siphon-ghost, or maybe the siphon ghost's friend had been equipped with razor-sharp claws, for Danny was showing multiple places on his chest, back and limbs where the knives had cut into his skin to leave large bloody gashes in their wake.

On top of that, he had numerous bruises and didn't seem to be able to move his right arm. But as she continued to study him, trying to figure out where the most serious of the injuries lay, so that she could start there, she came upon a deep gash on his back which was not only bleeding with the usual green ectoplasm of his ghost body, but was starting to display the deep red of his human-side as well, proving that she had to do something quickly or he really was going to bleed to death.

So she quickly found herself cutting away his suit, so she could tend to the wounds. Allowing the warm water in the tub to, at the very least, provide him a little comfort, while she gently scrubbed at each of the injuries, insuring they were clean, before applying antiseptic cream and bandages.

However, just when she was starting to settle in a routine, his body suddenly went limp and she looked up in horror to find that he had lost consciousness. She immediately tried to wake him up again, but no matter what she did he wouldn't open his eyes, proving that it was likely the blood lose keeping him in the state.

For several, agonizing, minutes she feared the worst. Would he revert back to his human form? Or would his ghost half act as an immune system and force him to remain as a Danny Phantom, to keep him alive?

Eventually her panic dulled down again, as she realized he wasn't changing back, allowing her to sigh with relief and figured it was probably safe to let him rest. Considering that he didn't have a concussion, along with everything else, she hoped the sleep would do him some good, maybe help him regain his lost energy.

She continued to check on him every couple of minutes as she worked through the wounds, making sure that he was still breathing, which, thankfully, appeared to be one thing that remained stable. Even though she was more than positive some of claw marks on his back were deep enough to have punctured his lungs.

Of course, she had no idea if he even had lungs in his ghost form, as far as she knew, a ghost's body was made completely of ectoplasm, which she hoped was the case for half-ghosts as well.

Eventually able to calm her own nerves enough to settle back into her rhythm, she found herself taking several mental notes to find as many books on administering first-aid as she could. Heck, after this, she might even take a class.

She had no idea how long it had taken her to finally locate every injury and treat it to the best of her ability, but by the time she sat back on her heals and looked at the clock, it was nearly 3 in the morning.

After allowing herself a minute to take in a, well deserved, breath; she reached over to unplug the drain and allow the green and red colored liquid to flow out before filling the tub up again with new, warm water, as she located a cloth and some soap to gently clean his skin of the blood and dirt stains.

When she reached his face, she noticed he'd actually cried a little as well, which was completely understandable, considering how much pain he must have been in. However, as she wiped at his face with the warm watch-cloth, she couldn't help but smile as he unconsciously leaned into the touch, like some kind of puppy begging to be petted.

She wished she could take a picture of it, but, considering the circumstances, she figured it was better to just let the scene find eternity in her memory.

Once she was finished with the cleaning, she released the water again; then moved to get a towel and help him back out of the tub. However, this time around she didn't have any help, as even the movement itself wouldn't wake him. But she figured, considering what she'd have to do next, that was a welcome relief.

When she finally managed to carry him back to her bed, she maneuvered him so he was leaning his back against her, which allowed her check the more serious of his injuries once again, without fear that he was fall over.

She, thankfully, noticed that they were starting to heal, which was a good sign that he was regaining some of his lost energy and it was for this reason that she hadn't dared to stitch any of them, as she knew the thread would only get in the way. So instead, she went about wrapping several layers off bandages around his chest to insure the tape she had placed, would stay where it was supposed to be.

Once finished, she laid him down on the bed, so he was on his stomach and carefully put a pillow under his head, making sure that he could breathe properly, before heading back for the first-aid kit and started spreading some burn cream on his wrists and neck; then wrapped them as well.

Finally done with the injuries she could see, her attention was, unfortunately, drawn to his arm next. Gently sitting on the bed beside him, making sure she didn't rock the mattress too much, she carefully ran her hands over his shoulder, to find that something was indeed out of place.

Pulling back again when he winced, she proceeded to rush to get her laptop and quickly pulled up a browser window, where she typed in 'How to correct a dislocated shoulder?'

She found herself dreading the action more and more as she read through the list, as nearly every single sight she visited informed the person to see a doctor. But see eventually found what she needed on a 'living wild' sight and only cringed as it started informing her of what were the best pain remedies.

Quickly searching through her kit, she realized she only had a few of the less-effective ones and scoffed, before looking back at her friend, as he continued to sleep. She wondered for a moment if the healing would fix his arm as well, but almost immediately she shot that idea to pieces.

She didn't know enough about that phenomenon to know how it worked. What if it healed the wrong way? He might never be able to use his arm again. No – she had to do something about it, if for no other reason then to play it safe.

So, which this in mind, she quietly got to her feet again, making sure to cover Danny with a blanket, in an attempt to at least keep him comfortable while she was gone, before leaving her room to carefully sneak down the hall to her grandma's.

Probably the only person in her house that understood her, Sam truly hated to take something from the older woman, but this was an emergency and she would replace it. So with careful steps, she tip-toed to the wooden cabinet on the other side of the bed, where her grandma still sleep soundly, and opened one of the thing's doors, to gently slip a tiny bottle of pure Saké from it's place, among several other wines and alcohols.

Clutching the tiny bottle in her hand, she turned to look at her grandma again and carefully walked over to kiss her forehead and whispered a quite 'thank you', before heading for the kitchen, where she collected an ice pack and finally went back to her room.

Danny hadn't moved an inch in her absence, of which she was thankful, but he did appear to waking up, which was something she wasn't looking forward to. So she carefully went about sitting him up in the same position she had used before and carefully leaned his head back against her shoulder, so she could carefully pour the rice wine into his mouth.

Making sure not to give him too much at a time, or in such a way that he wouldn't unconsciously swallow it, she was able to empty the little bottle entirely before he opened his eyes to look at her.

"Sam?" He muttered questionably; clearly curious as to why his mouth tasted like alcohol and she smiled, before gently placing the bottle on her dresser.

"How are you feeling?" She asked kindly and he blinked at her owlishly for a moment.

"Kind a – dizzy," He admitted drunkenly, which forced her to swallow her laughter in an attempt to keep it serious.

"Are you in any pain?" She asked next and he shook his head, before leaning back against her and closed his eyes again, "Good," She whispered, then carefully moved him so he could lie back on the bed.

"When did I get here?" He slurred quietly, as she moved to get on his right side and gave his arm an experimental little pull, thankfully finding that he didn't even seem to notice.

"About 4 hours ago," She guessed calmly and moved to pull her laptop over again, where she started carefully going through the steps to relocate his shoulder.

"Did I fall sleep watching movies, again?" He asked next, as she gently took the weight of his arm and pulled it out as much as it would allow, earning a slight hiss from him in the process, but nothing too serious.

"Yeah," She lied; wanting to keep him blissfully unaware for as long as she could and continued to work through the pictures on her screen, until she eventually came to the part she was dreading. "Danny," She said kindly, as she looked over to find him using the finger of his other hand to trace circles in the air.

"Uh huh," He muttered childishly and she had to force down her smiles again, in an attempt to keep her mind on the task.

"When I tell you to, I need you to take a deep breath and hold it," She instructed, however, he immediately did so, which left her off guard, but as she looked down at his arm again, she figured she was about as ready as she was going to get and, at least this way, she wouldn't have an excuse to delay it.

So, with this thought in mind, she pushed her hand against his shoulder with as much force as she could muster, causing the bone to fall back into place with a sickening *pop* and Danny to let out a loud yelp of both surprise and pain, but, thankfully, he hadn't been aware of himself enough to truly feel the full extent of the agony.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," She chanted, as she held him down to insure he didn't move the arm and when he finally stopped moving again, she reached for the ice pack, to gently place it against his shoulder, causing him to sigh in obvious relief.

"Are you okay?" She asked after a few minutes and he opened his eyes to look up at her.

"I didn't fall asleep watching movies, did I?" He countered and she smiled.

"No," She explained kindly, "You were in a fight, you were hurt pretty bad."

"I don't – remember that," He reveled sluggishly, obviously still trying to focus through the alcohol-induced buzz he had going on.

"I didn't think you would," She stated, as she carefully rubbed his shoulder, in an attempt to provide a little comfort.

"I think I'm too young – to drink," He added next, causing her to smile again, figures that even when he was totally wasted, he'd worry about the rules – typical Danny.

"It's okay," She began calmly, "I won't tell anyone," She stated and he turned to smile back at her, as she carefully reached over to run her hand through his hair.

"You're really pretty," He suddenly informed her, making her start in shock, "You know everything I said – when I was under Ember's spell – it was all true."

"Danny, you're drunk," She told him gently, "Try not to say anything you're gonna regret."

"I could never regret that," He muttered, leaving her heart to beat a good ten times faster, as she heard a general amount of certainty in his voice; which was only there when he was in fact telling the truth.

How she wished she could have taken his words to heart and believe him with everything she was, but she couldn't. Not when he was so out of it, to the point that he likely wouldn't even remember what he had said, come morning. She couldn't do that, it would be the same as taking advantage of him and she simply wouldn't allow that.

"Okay," She agreed kindly, "We'll discus it more after you've gotten some sleep," She insisted and he nodded, before leaning into her touch again and she smiled as she continued to pet his hair and watch him rest.

…

"Well – isn't this precious?" A voice proclaimed with an obvious grin in it, causing Sam to open her eyes and nearly jump out of her skin as she realized she's curled up next to Danny's side like a cat, in full view of one Tucker Foley, who had seen fit to walk into her room unannounced.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, causing Danny to jump as well, as he come to, though he didn't have nearly the reaction that she had, for he just yawned and closed his eyes again, instead of panicking.

"Mrs. Fenton called me last night," Tucker informed her, his smile still not dropping, "Wanted to know where Danny was, I covered for him, but you wouldn't answer your phone," He added as his smirk grew even wider, "Now I see why."

"Shut it," She growled as she reached out to grab a pillow and threw it at his face so hard that he hit the floor a moment later, allowing her to look back at Danny and discover that he had finally returned to his human form and seemed to be generally content with life, which she hoped meant that he was no longer in pain.

Gently lifting his shirt, she discovered that the bandages were gone; leaving her to make out only the faintest marks on his skin from the injuries he had endured.

"Danny," She whispered kindly, carefully stirring him awake again, "I need you to go ghost," She explained and he to give her a questionable look, clearly not understanding why she would need such a thing, but he trusted her enough to not ask questions and carefully concentrated on the process.

He let out a wince when doing so and she cringed with sympathy, but, thankfully, that was as far as the pain went. However, she quickly realized that his suit had – grown back – leaving her to raise an eyebrow at the regenerating marital.

"Can you sit up," She asked and moved to help him as he did so and carefully reached over to touch the zipper, indicating what she wanted, without having to embarrass them both by explaining it. So with practiced ease he moved to slip out of the sleeves and allow her to check the bandages he wasn't aware had been there.

"Whoa – what happened to you?" Tucker asked in shock, as Sam went about carefully removing the medical tape, noting, to her relief, that the bruises and smaller cuts, that she had left uncovered, were all but gone. However, as she slowly unwrapped his torso, she realized that he was still covered in scar tissue.

His chest and back looked like he'd lost a fight with a whip and there were several areas where burns could still be seen, but, thankfully, everything was closed and un-irritated, meaning they hadn't received an infection and that they would likely disappear within the next few days.

"I, honestly, have no idea," Danny admitted simply, as she allowed Sam to tend to the scars and looked up at Tucker again, "All I remember is something with really – big – claws."

"He didn't look good, at all, last night," Sam muttered as she popped open a tube of numbing cream to spread it one some of the more painful looking spots on his back, neck and wrists, "But he seems to be doing a lot better now."

"Yeah well – that's not gonna save him from his parents," Tucker pointed out, leaving Danny to wince, "I covered for you last night, but they didn't sound too happy that you couldn't call them."

"Thanks Tuck," Danny stated genuinely, as Sam finished her work and he got up to slip his arms into his sleeves again, hissing painfully when he moved his right shoulder a bit too quickly. "I better go talk to 'em," He added miserably.

"You want us to go with you?" Tucker asked, seeing very clearly that his friend wasn't up to lying to his parents, in an attempt to keep up his secrete.

"No, I think I can –" Danny started to answer, as he jumped onto Sam's windowsill, only to tense up and gently lower himself back to the ground, obviously in a great deal of pain from the normally easy movement, causing both his friends to rush to his side and keep him from falling, "Then again, maybe I could use a little help," He admitted, leaving them to smile and nod in agreement.

"What are friends for?" Tucker announced as the ghost boy changed back to his human form again, before they headed out to face his fate.

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