Sam swung along the monkey bars feeling as free as if she was allowed to take off her socks in front of her mother. Danny wasn't far behind, a bag of necessary items slung over his back and a lopsided grin pointed at her. Tucker had lagged behind the other two until he saw that no one was able to see them. After that he had torn up to the tower in the play ground equipment.

After fighting ghosts nearly every spare second, Danny had thought that they should all use some rest. Somehow, he had weaseled three of the "out-of-time" amulets from Clockwork and gotten them back through the Fenton portal without anyone seeing. The only condition from Clockwork was that Danny had to have them back by that night. And seeing as how they were using them for a break, he had just sighed and told Danny, "Only for you, Danny. Even heroes need rest sometimes."

So, here they all were, at the Casper Elementary playground. With Tucker shouting and animatedly pretending he was a pirate, and Danny unloading the sack of things essential for this type of play day, Sam could only breath in the still air and thank God for her friends. And with time frozen, they were almost assured of being totally uninterrupted.

She ran up to the place Tucker had deemed the "bow" of his imaginary boat. A giggle escaped her violet-glossed lips as she was dubbed 'the Doom Bringer.' Danny tossed her a toy sword.

He held up his own and cocked an eyebrow. "You, my dear little Doom Bringer, are not up to my level of expertise. I happen to be quite good at bringing doom. Would you like to see an example?" He tossed his bright blue eyes at Tucker's turned back and pushed him over.

Tucker complained loudly as he hastily jumped back aboard. "Hey, I'm the captain here! Captain Tucker Foley." He sniffed. "And now, Danny, you have been demoted to the deckhand."

As Danny pretended to stagger back under such a blow to his moral, Sam jousted him from the back. She pulled his ear to her lips and said, "Hey that demotes you from any kind of doom bringer, eh? I guess I'm the only one!"

They all bantered back and forth for a while, good naturedly fighting, until Tucker threw up his hands. "Alright, this pirate is hungry. You guys want to take a break?"

Danny shrugged. "I guess. I just need to get going to take these back to Clockwork pretty soon though, remember."

Sam instantly felt a little awkward now that they were themselves again. She wasn't quite sure why, but switching back to someone she had to take responsibility for wasn't a happy thing. Being the Doom Bringer was comforting since there was absolutely no standard of conduct she had to live up to, and nothing she did would never become a liability.

Unexpectedly, she felt Danny's hand encircle hers. Sam looked up at his face, his eyes knowing and honest. "Sam," he whispered, "I-"

"Hey guys! Are you coming?" Tucker's voice carried from where the bag held their lunch.

Confused, Sam watched Danny as he let out a slow huff of air. He grinned again, though. "I guess we should go and help Tucker figure out lunch."

She giggled. "Yeah. With all that technology, I must admit that he is pretty dense about the obvious sometimes."

And as if to prove her point, "Guys! What am I supposed to do?"

Danny led her gently down to the lunch bag by the hand. Sam wouldn't have admitted this, but she was secretly glad that he didn't let go. It made her feel a lot more secure. Even when Tucker eyed the clasped hands and laughed at them, (with Sam thinking, "How mature!"), Danny just chuckled and gave it a squeeze.

Tucker sighed when they were done eating. "Well guys, I better get back to reality." He slipped off the amulet and froze in place. Danny stood and helped Sam to her feet, not letting go of her left hand. "Come on," he said, almost shyly, "let's go for a walk."

It was strange to walk past frozen people, Sam decided. Thinking about the whole "outside of time" concept was too much for her brain right then, though. So she dumped that and focused on Danny's protectively tender hand encasing hers in pure safety. He finally spoke once they were on top of Fenton Works, looking out over the city.

"Sam, when we graduate next week, everything is going to change, isn't it? I really hate that feeling."

She nodded gravely. "I do too. But some things will never change. Like…" she searched her mind for something set in stone.

"Like your army boots?"

A shy smile fluttered over her lips. She knew Danny well enough and took that as a compliment. "Yeah, like that. And Tucker being a nerd. And you being a half ghost. And, well, you get the picture."

He nodded. "And I'm glad we're going to the same place for the first year at least." He glanced over at her. "Sam, I know I've never given you any commitment, but – "

She instantly removed her hand. " – Hey, no worries, Danny. I don't want to go out either."

Danny patiently reached for her hand again. "That's not what I meant. And I do." He crouched in front of her and took her other hand too. "Sam, you are the only girl that has made me go nuts inside. You challenge me to try new things, and you have always been yourself, and only yourself to me. I never feel like I have to impress you. But all the same, I want to."

He took a deep, calming breath. "You're the most beautiful person I've even known in my entire life. I can't imagine having another friend be as good as you." He paused, and Sam could see he wanted to say more. She, however, was too melted to get her tongue to work. Finally he said, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

You must understand how important this was. Some couples get together and break up within a week. Danny knew that Sam wouldn't settle for anything less then what she deemed the best, though. He had been way too chicken in the past to ask her, and he had known he couldn't just ask her for a one-date thing. That would hardly been any different then what they already did. And if Tucker had tagged along, it definitely wouldn't have been.

So finally he asked her. The commitment he was offering, Sam knew, was pretty intense. Little bubbles of happiness came bursting out her laugh and she pulledDanny to his feet. "Yes." She said, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

And for that she was rewarded with a slow, shy, white grin from her favorite ghost (or half of one, at least). With that he wrapped his arms around her slowly and almost reverently. "Sam, I love you." He said, his breath tickling her cheek. She giggled. "I love you too, Danny."

His face got that impish grin on it. "Will you always be mine?"

"Only until the day I die."

"After that will you be a ghost so I can fall in love with you again?"

"Only if you want to."

Danny laughed. It was a slow, contented, purely happy laugh. "Do you want me to show you how much I'd want to?" Sam could only nod halfway before their lips were introduced in a tender kiss.