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Sam doesn’t remember the last time she was warm.
When the accident first happened, Danny’s body temperature wasn’t something very noticeable to her. Maybe it was because his powers weren’t as strong in the beginning. Sometimes she’d get some goosebumps standing next to him, but it never really correlated in her mind.
Tucker was the first one who actually connected the dots for her.
The trio were having one of their commonplace movie nights at Sam’s house. While grabbing her popcorn, she was about to plop herself in her usual seat, when Tucker stops her.
“Hey guys, uh I think we gotta change the seating order. Because Danny, I love you bro but I’m freezing every time I sit next to you and I need to drink my slushie in peace.”
Sam blinked, finally understanding what Tucker meant. “Oh, then I’ll just be in the middle.”
Danny just laughed a little and went to sit on Sam’s left, and Tucker on her right. As the two began to discuss what pizza they should order, Sam became hyperaware of the temperature differences on her two sides.
Sam realized she didn’t really mind it. Tucker was a radiator on his own, plus with Danny’s lower body temperature, she felt like she was a perfect equilibrium with her two favorite people in the universe.
When a ghost was nearby and Danny’s mouth would fill with mist, she’d feel a cool draft in her face.
When he’d suddenly transform next to them, her whole body would break out into goosebumps and the tip of her nose would be colder. She honestly didn’t mind. It was just a part of him. She accepted it like Tucker’s shampoo scent, or they accepted her surprisingly dainty sneezes.
The summers were when Sam was clingiest to Danny. The heat was unbearable, and Danny was a walking freezer, it was wonderful. He would complain that she’d warm him up too much but he never pushed her away. He’d just let her press her arm against his until Tucker would return with popsicles in his hands. Those were the best summers.
Soon enough, their adventures got bigger. They began to have adventures in the Ghost Zone. Learning more about Danny’s abilities in the Far Frozen. More cold.
At one point Sam went back in time and rewrote their history.
She knows that Danny doesn’t remember that event. No one does, besides Desiree and herself; there’s a mutual understanding of their shared secret together and don’t talk about it.
That brief time felt strange. To return to a time when the only thing they worried about was next week’s homework and Dash was their ultimate enemy. Danny looked livelier; his skin was darker than what she was used to. His eyes were plain blue, and his shoulders were more hunched. Less self-assured.
She had nearly forgotten how it felt to stand next to Danny and feel warmth radiating off of him. It felt…wrong.
As the day wore on, Sam realized just how integral becoming Phantom was to Danny, and how much it ultimately strengthened his relationship with her and Tucker. There was a strange distance she felt when she hung out with them. It felt horrible.
Once Sam realized her mistake, she did everything she could to undo her wish. Thankfully she succeeded and things returned to her strange brand of normal.
Time went on, and their trio remained as strong as ever. Beyond high school, throughout college and their first steps into adulthood and after. Danny, Tucker, and Sam would remain as close and inseparable as they were as kids.
Of course, life (and death) had a fun way of coming into their lives and would intervene, yet they worked through it all together. Several more adventures would come, and time would soon pass quickly.
Sam didn’t like the care home. It was too warm. After a lifetime surrounded by a nice chill that never left her bones, the quiet humming of the vents pouring out warm air as she sleeps in thick sheets felt suffocating. The nurses were constantly urging her to layer up and wear more sweaters in the wintertime.
Most of the nurses here are young. Much too young to remember a time when the town was never warm. Where rooms would suddenly become unbearably freezing, and strange winds would come in. Sam can’t really blame them for thinking that she’s weak enough that a little chill will take her out.
Samantha Manson spends her last day alive calmly looking over some old photos, texting Tucker as he’s out of town visiting some relatives while eating a cauliflower sandwich for lunch. She quickly passes away as she lies down to take a mid-afternoon nap.
She dies in the middle of summer, the bright sun shining in her room through the curtains.
Sam wakes up.
The first thing she recognizes is that the ceiling is black, with a beautiful gothic chandelier hanging above her. As she sits up, she notices she is in a comfortable bedspread that’s to her liking. The design of the entire bedroom is all to her taste. The window in her room shows that it’s dark outside, with brilliant stars illuminating and spattering across the sky. It feels familiar despite her knowing that she’s never been in a space like this before. Sam is quick to get out of her bed.
She leaves her well-furnished bedroom and, goes down cold empty hallways. Somehow, she knows exactly where she's supposed to go.
She reached the end of a corridor and stands in front of two elaborate and intricately carved doors. There are runes etched into it that she recalls learning at one point. Back then, it seemed impossible to remember what each of these symbols meant, yet now she reads through it intuitively as if it were English or Hebrew. Peace. Strength. Justice. Protection. Sam opens one of the doors and enters.
This space is different than the rest, the temperature it at the lowest it’s ever been. Yet, the cold doesn’t affect her.
There’s a throne here. At the top of the throne sits a ghost. With white hair, green eyes, and a familiar grin that she’s known for ages.
He walks down the steps from his throne and takes his hand in hers. His hands are freezing, yet she doesn’t shiver.
“Hey Sam,” he says,
“Welcome home”.