This was meant to be R&R. Then Chaos Dragon thought it would be funny to abandon me after round one. Credit of the title, however, goes to her.

Stumped

If there was one advantage to being knocked unconscious time and time again, it was that experience had allowed Danny some measure of control preventing himself from reverting back to human. Rational thoughts, Danny told himself, as the blackness that surrounded him gained some measure of focus, that's a good sign.

He sensed the presence of a small figure hovering anxiously over his form, more out of instinct and familiarity than a true function of the senses as his body began the all too familiar process of regaining conciousness.

"Danny?" Sam's voice was gentle, despite being fraught with fear. "Can you hear me?"

He groaned in reply, struggling to form words with his mouth. Speaking really shouldn't be this difficult. Where was he? Danny's brow would have furrowed, except he couldn't quite bring the muscles in his forehead to work with him. What had happend? How long had he been out cold?

His abrupt recall doused the last vestiges of langour from his being.

"Vlad," he croaked, forcing his eyelids open. "Where's that son of a bitch?"

"Gone," she replied softly. "He was so sure that he'd gotten you," she scrubbed a stray tear from her cheek. "But I knew better, she continued, striving to keep her voice light. "I knew that you had to come back for me."

"Did he touch you, Sam?" he demanded fiercely, fighting to sit up as she struggled to stop him.

"You're in no position to get worked up, much less move," the Goth protested. "You're in shock from bloodloss."

"I'm fine," he grunted irritably.

Sam's frantic warnings were ignored as the halfa heaved himself upright through sheer force of willpower. He would be the first to admit that his limbs weren't working half as well as he could've hoped, but Sam had to be overreacting. After all, how injured could he possibly be? He wasn't even in any pain.

The sight to which he sat up to froze the very blood in his veins.

"Sammy?" a foreign note of fear and hysteria entered his voice as he questioned his girlfriend, "where're my legs?"