Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. I only own Amaya!


Chapter One

...

Sam didn't care for children.

In her opinion, they were nothing but tiny nuisances. All they did was run around, throw tantrums, and obnoxiously kick the back of someone's seat on an airplane. Not all of them were like that, but the ones she unfortunately encountered were exactly like that.

She felt that way from the time she was fourteen all the way up to her current age, which was now three months shy of twenty-nine. Life for her was going pretty well: she was married to her high school sweetheart, she was financially stable, and she was in a great state of mind.

She just didn't want any children.

However, that wasn't the case for her husband, Danny. He wanted a child; a son, to be exact. Though he never pressured her into having a baby or even touched on the subject that much, it was clear to her just how badly he wanted one.

Whenever they went to the store and passed through the baby section to get to another aisle, he was always more attentive to the items on the shelves than usual. He was also like that whenever he saw a couple and their child passing them by, so that's when Sam knew for sure that he was ready for one.

It probably didn't help that Jazz had a child of her own. She had a seven-year-old daughter named Amaya. She was a single mom, so whenever Jack and Maddie weren't able to look after Amaya, Danny often went over to babysit her. Since Sam was usually busy while that happened, she never saw much of the girl.

She knew that Danny absolutely adored her, though. He brought her up almost all the time and genuinely seemed happy around her. He was a great uncle, and Sam knew that if, by chance, they ever had a child, he'd be a fantastic father as well.

"I brought us something to eat," she announced, carrying a bowl of grapes outside to him. Since it was a warm and peaceful evening, they both had decided to lounge on a hammock that they kept in the backyard of their house.

As she climbed into the hammock with him, he studied the grapes inside of the bowl with a grimace. "Something to eat means actual food, like a steak or a hamburger. I prefer those over grapes." He then smiled at her to show that he was just kidding. "I appreciate the offer, though."

"Hey, since we're discussing dining choices, why don't you bite me?" she countered, smirking. He chuckled from his stretched out position and watched as she struggled to settle into the hammock whilst holding onto the bowl of grapes.

"Need some help?" When she didn't answer him and continued struggling, he rolled his eyes and took the bowl from her. "Here. Just lay down," he instructed, to which she complied. She scooted forward a bit and lay her head down on his chest, sighing with contentment.

Well, she was content until he propped the bowl on top of her head as a joke.

"Oh, ha-ha, Fenton. Move the bowl," she demanded, a hint of playfulness bleeding into her tone. She heard him laugh once again before he moved the bowl to the side and draped his arm around her.

For a seemingly long and silent minute, they rocked together in the hammock, enjoying each other's presence while eating some of the grapes. Then, Danny slid his fingernails into Sam's hair and started massaging her head, something he only did when he wanted to talk to her about something.

She instantly frowned and sat upright, staring at him with penetrating eyes. "All right, what is it?"

He snorted and spread his arms outward, something he also had a habit of doing whenever he was about to lie. "What do you mean?" he asked defensively. "I was just giving you a head massage."

Sam shook her head at him. "Danny, the last time I got a head massage from you, you adopted a dog behind my back that ended up running away." When his lips pursed, she nudged him gently. "Just tell me whatever you have to tell me. I'm sure it can't be that bad."

Slowly, he leaned forward into an upright position, exhaling softly once he did so. "Okay." He gingerly grabbed her hands and looked up at her, his striking blue eyes drilling into her curious ones. "Jazz is going on a business trip."

She waited and waited for him to drop some sort of ball on her, but that seemed to be all that he planned on saying. "That's it?" she asked, her right eyebrow peaking slightly. "What's so bad about that? Do you not want her to go or something?"

He pressed his lips together and averted his gaze for a moment. "Actually, I do, but I don't think you'll want her to go." She was perplexed by that, but before she could question him, he continued. "My parents are on a cruise, so they can't watch Amaya, and since she can't tag along with Jazz..."

He trailed off then, leaving her to figure out the rest of the sentence on her own. Her expression was blank as she stared at him because she didn't fully comprehend what he was telling her, but once she did, her eyes widened. "No way. You're kidding."

His shoulders rose slightly. "I'm not."

"Danny, you know how I feel about kids," she reminded him, pulling her hands out of his grasp. "How come you didn't consult with me about this first?"

"Because I knew you were going to react like this, and she's not just some kid, Sam. She's my niece." He clasped his hands together and tapped his fingertips to his lips. "She's your niece, too, even if it's by marriage."

Sam didn't want to argue with him because she knew it would be pointless to do so. Amaya was his favorite— well, only niece, so if Jazz needed him to babysit her for however long, then he was going to drop whatever he was doing and jump right on that.

Because Sam knew that, she sighed in defeat and shuffled a hand through her hair. "How long is Jazz going to be gone?" she inquired.

Danny paused for a moment before shrugging. "How should I know? I've never been on a business trip. It could be weeks, months, I don't know." Upon seeing her expression shift to that of horror, he rolled his eyes. "You don't have to babysit her, then. I'll just do it since you clearly don't respect my sister or her child."

That struck a chord of guilt within her, so when he started to scramble out of the hammock, she firmly gripped his arm to stop him. "Wait, Danny." He stopped moving, but his gaze drifted away from her. "Of course I love and respect Jazz and her child. They're my family. I'm just really not good with kids and you know that."

"But you won't even give her a chance. You rejected the idea of babysitting her before I even finished bringing up the subject."

She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in mild annoyance. "Okay, okay. Let's not argue about this. Let's just backpedal a little." She looked up at him again and took his hands in hers. "So, Jazz is going on a business trip and nobody else can watch Amaya, correct?"

Danny nodded. "My parents are on a cruise, so obviously I'm the next best choice. She'll be staying here until Jazz gets back," he informed her. "It's official, so I want you to at least try with her. I know you aren't particularly fond of children, but Amaya's our family. Plus, she's a sweet girl."

"Is she?" Sam asked, though she wouldn't be surprised if that was true. Jazz was always a mature and nice person, so Sam somewhat expected that her daughter had been raised like that, too.

"Yes, she is." Danny gingerly squeezed her hand. "Give her a chance first before you turn her away."

Jazz had done a lot for her in the past and they were pretty good friends, so it wasn't like she had any other choice but to agree. Plus, she at least wanted to see how things were going to play out. "Okay," she gave in, "let's do it."

"Really?" Danny seemed both surprised and taken aback. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "How bad could it be?"


Sam exhaled softly and moved her free hand to her hip. A broom was occupying her other hand because she had just finished cleaning her house from top to bottom.

Jazz was going to be popping up in a few minutes to drop off Amaya, so she wanted the house to be in tip-top shape before that happened. Danny was downstairs, straightening up the living room a bit more whilst keeping an eye out for them.

She was just in the middle of fixing up their bed when she heard him shout, "They're here!" to her. She froze for a moment before quickly adjusting the sheets on the bed and then striding towards the front door. She was a little nervous and reluctant, but she was ready.

Once she reached the front door, the first person who caught her eye was Amaya. The girl looked exactly like her mother: same facial features, same eye color, and same hair color. She wore a cute little sundress along with a headband to match. Overall, she was a spitting image of Jazz.

The only trait of her mother's that she didn't seem to possess was the outgoing one. As soon as she spotted Sam, she ducked behind Jazz, occasionally peeking past her legs to stare at her. Danny noticed this and chuckled, resting his arm on Amaya's back.

"Don't be shy, Amaya. You already know aunt Sam, right?" he asked her. She didn't say anything and just continued staring at Sam, prompting Jazz to intervene.

"Of course she does!" She knelt down in front of Amaya and playfully ruffled her hair. "Aunt Sam is the best aunt ever, and you're going to have so much fun with her and uncle Danny, aren't you?"

Just like before, Amaya was mute. Jazz's smile faltered and she simply patted her daughter's shoulder before standing up straight again. After that, though, that's when the little girl decided to speak up. "Mommy, I want to color."

A bright smile graced Jazz's features once again and she motioned towards Sam. "Well, your aunt can take you upstairs to color while me and uncle Danny go get your bags from the car! Wouldn't you like that, Sam?"

"Not really," Sam automatically replied, but once she noticed the glare that Danny was flashing her, she instantly backpedaled. "I'm totally kidding. I'd love to do that." She then forced a smile onto her face. "Come on, Amaya."

"No!" Amaya snapped, crossing her arms defiantly and turning towards Jazz. "I don't like her, mommy. I want to go with uncle Danny!"

Sam shrugged and glanced over at Danny. "Hey, at least I tried." She wasn't about to compete with him for a child's attention, so if he was who she wanted to hang around, then what was, was.

Jazz groaned with exasperation and slid her slender fingers through her hair. "Fine, fine. Your aunt will come with me outside instead while you and your uncle go upstairs to color," she negotiated. Amaya seemed pleased with this, as she grinned and nodded vigorously.

Once they left, Jazz swiveled around to face Sam with an apologetic look etched on her face. "I am so sorry about that," she apologized. "I promise she isn't usually like that. It'll just take her awhile to get used to you, and—"

"It's fine, Jazz," Sam interjected, smiling gently in hopes of reassuring the woman. "Don't worry about it. I may not understand kids, but I totally get that."

Jazz's features brightened and she sighed in relief. "Okay, good. So, let me run a few things by you before I leave." She spun over her shoulder and made a beeline for the front door with Sam briskly following behind to catch up. "Are you going to be able to keep up?"

Sam's lower lip puffed outward and she shrugged, shifting to the side to avoid stepping on a rock. "Um, sure? Go right ahead."

Jazz stuck her hand into her back pocket and fished out a folded sheet of paper. She unfolded it and squinted at it, preparing to read what was written on it. "Okay, so, dinner is usually at seven o'clock, bath time is at seven-thirty, and bedtime is at eight. She—"

"What if she doesn't want to go to bed?" Sam inquired, throwing open the trunk of the car once they reached it. Jazz was caught off guard by the interruption, but she quickly recovered and dismissively flicked her hand through the air.

"She will. She knows the routine, but if she's being defiant with it, then Danny already knows what to do," she answered. "As I was saying, for activities, she pretty much likes to do anything, but the main things are coloring and playing with her toys. Do not let her sit in front of the television for too long. Trust me, she'll try to persuade you."

Sam grabbed the first two bags she saw and slung them over her shoulders. "All right. I understand."

Jazz continued to drone on about the rules and expectations while they finished up their task, but Sam tuned her out about halfway through. She figured that she should at least put in some effort with Amaya since she was now roped into babysitting her for however long.

But what if she couldn't even do a decent job at it?