1: This will be a weekly series. Some parts will be short, some will be long, but always, ALWAYS updated on Friday, even if it's with nothing more than a one-page vignette.
2: This is an open-ended project, which means I have no idea how long it will ultimately become. It could go on for quite some time.
3: Reviews are always welcome, constructive or otherwise. Just because I don't respond to it all doesn't mean it's not greatly appreciated. I just have a fear of social interaction that keeps me from communicating directly with a lot of people.
And so, without further ado...
Haunted Legacies Episode 01: Hope
The sound of locker doors slamming open and closed was accompanied by the murmurs and mumbles of the girls getting dressed in their shorts and tank tops for the afternoon's P.E. class. The atmosphere was amiable and friendly as they chatted among themselves about test scores or various gossip that was circulating around the school. Sam had long since trained herself to tune it out, so she didn't worry about it until she heard a couple of particular voices from the other side of her locker.
"Oh my gosh! You're not going to believe what I just heard!" A voice exclaimed in excitement. It sounded like Star, one of the girls who followed Paulina around obsessively like her life depended on it.
"Was it something about Dash?" One of the other girls chimed in with a pathetically wistful sigh. "Tell me he's confessed his love for me at last!"
"No, even better. You all know Jazz Fenton, right?" Star asked. Sam looked up from her locker, listening intently now.
"Who doesn't?" Paulina's sharp voice scoffed. "She's only the SECOND most popular girl in school."
"Hasn't been in class lately, though." Another girl commented.
"Right, she's been gone for the last two months. I just heard someone saw her down at the store the other day. And she's pregnant!" Star's voice cracked in excitement. Her revelation was met with gasps of shock and surprise from the other girls.
"You're kidding!" Paulina let out an incredulous laugh. "Miss Goody-Two-Shoes-Smarty-Pants Fenton got herself knocked up? Guess with all those books she buries herself in she's never bothered to pick up one about Sex Ed." The girls all burst into uproarious laughs and giggles.
"I wonder who the father is." One of the girls asked.
"I bet it's Mr. Lancer." Star suggested with a laugh. The other girls all "ewe"'ed in unison, then started laughing even louder than before. "The girl really does LOVE her education."
"Yeah, she's REAL educated now." Paulina cackled.
The laughter died down a bit when the sound of a whistle echoed through the locker room, signaling that it was almost time for class to begin. The other girls all began filing out of the locker room, and as the voices on the other side of the lockers faded into the distance Sam shook her head, realizing she hadn't moved since their conversation began. Looking down at her hands, Sam discovered one of her test papers so crushed in her palms that it would take a week of pressing to flatten it out again.
Sam tossed the paper into the locker and finished pulling on her shorts and tank top so she could jog out into the gymnasium to join the other girls in the class. As she moved up to join the crowd she spotted Paulina and her cronies standing off to one side, still snickering amongst themselves while their P.E. teacher ran through a list of the day's activities.
Sam ignored him, glaring at Paulina and her lackeys. It had been almost nine months to the day since the Reaper had left and the Ghost Zone vanished with him. It was also nine months since Jazz had gotten pregnant Nobody knew it was Vlad's, of course. That was a secret shared only by herself, Danny, and Jazz. Jazz wouldn't even let anyone know that it wasn't her decision to have sex. She was under Vlad's control, and in no position to say no. But instead she let these gossiping harpies run their mouths. If they went through what Jazz had gone through they would probably be huddled in bed crying for mommy.
"Samantha Manson!" Sam was snapped back to attention by her P.E. teacher standing over her. "Am I boring you, Miss Manson?"
"No, sir." Sam shook her head.
"Then please take your place with the rest of the class on the Dodgeball Court." The teacher gestured to the middle of the gym where the other girls were waiting. "Blue team, if you would." Sam nodded and jogged over to join her teammates, taking a position near the front. "Begin."
Sam thought she was fairly good at sports thanks to her vegetarian diet. She had energy to spare and made sure she got more than enough exercise in a normal day to keep that energy level high. The fact that she was so thin made her a very narrow target, which also came in handy in a game like this. She dodged the balls like a pro, though she didn't bother to catch any or throw them back until she caught sight of Paulina when the crowds began to thin.
Sam danced around the balls flying around her, then zeroed in on one and jumped into its way, grabbing it in both arms against her stomach. The blow of the whistle sent its thrower trudging off of the field, while Sam held the ball up in both hands, narrowing her eyes in concentration. In a moment she tossed the ball into the air with one hand and brought back one leg to kick the ball across the line as hard as she could.
Paulina's shriek of surprise right before the ball slammed into her face sent her teammates scrambling out of the way in a panic. The ball rebounded off of her so hard it nearly touched the ceiling before coming back down to bounce away across the floor, forgotten.
"Are you alright!?" Their P.E. coach rushed up to check on her, kneeling down on the floor. Paulina was lying flat on her back, clutching her nose with both hands and kicking at the polished gymnasium floor as if she was choking to death.
Sam jogged over to them, but stopped when she noticed Paulina glaring at her over the fingers that covered her nose and mouth. "Oops." Sam said with a smirk and not much enthusiasm. Her smirk faded when the coach gestured for Star to carry Paulina to the nurse's office while he stood and turned to face Sam with a stern glare. "I said oops." Sam smiled nervously.
"Principal's office, Miss Manson." The coach told her.
Sam sighed and turned to leave. "Yeah, yeah, I know the way." Sam waved him off as she left through the gymnasium's double-doors. She'd walked this path frequently the last few weeks. She hated listening to these harpies laughing at Jazz and mocking her as word of her pregnancy spread. She didn't believe for a second any of them were pure virgin flowers anyway; especially little miss popularity, Paulina.
She walked into the principal's office to find her sitting behind her desk, clicking through something on the computer monitor in front of her. She looked up when Sam entered, peering at her over the rim of her glasses. With a sigh she gestured to the seat in front of the desk, which Sam obediently took.
"This is starting to become a problem." The principal told her simply.
"I'm not the one with the problem." Sam retorted. "Maybe if everyone else wasn't so immature, they wouldn't piss me off so much."
"What did you do this time?" The Principal asked.
"Dodgeball to the face. You should've seen it; the ball nearly ricocheted into the ceiling. It was sooo cool!"
"Enough." The principal removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes wearily with one hand. "This can't continue Sam. I know you think you're defending Jasmine, but you're only making trouble for yourself."
"Maybe if you policy-makers would make a policy that doesn't allow the chattering harpies to spout their ignorance, I wouldn't have to take matters into my own hands."
"Talking doesn't hurt you or Jasmine." The Principal told her for the eighteenth time.
"They're saying she's a slut!" Sam leaned forward and clamped her hands onto the front of the desk. "That she's been sleeping around! And it's not true! It's defamation of character and I want justice!"
"What is the truth, Samantha?" The Principal asked smoothly. Sam balked at that, biting her lip. "Because nobody seems to be able to give a clear answer about who the child's father is or how it came to be. Already several boys around school are claiming they could be the child's father."
"What!? Who!?" Sam demanded angrily.
"That's not important. I want to help you, but we need the facts before that can happen." The Principal slipped her glasses back onto her nose, staring at Sam sternly. "Now I'll ask nicely. Do you have anything to tell me, Miss Manson?"
Sam stared at her for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest and sank back into her seat. "No, sir."
"Then I'm afraid we're going to have to start taking this seriously." The Principal stood up and pulled a sheet of paper off of her desk. She strode around the desk to hold it out to Sam, who took it without looking at her. "You're being suspended for the time being, until we can arrange a meeting with your parents to discuss what to do about this." Sam groaned and rolled her eyes. "If you won't cooperate with us, we'll have to find some way to get through to you."
"Fantastic." Sam stood and turned to leave, crumbling the paper up in one fist and shoving it into a hidden pocket in her skirt. She left without another word, closing the office door behind her harshly before turning to get her things out of her locker, then make her way to the exit. It was a nice day outside, she supposed. She'd begun to notice things like that ever since the Reaper incident. She'd noticed many things since then that she never gave thought to before.
Her parents were going to go psycho when they learned she'd been suspended from school. She wanted to delay that moment for as long as possible, and her parents wouldn't expect her home yet. So she turned away from her house and made her way down the sidewalk toward the massive Fenton Works building where Danny lived with his family. She approached the door and pushed it open nonchalantly. She didn't officially live here, but with all the time she spent here she might as well be a Fenton. She spent as little time at home as possible, especially since her school troubles had started.
The living room was quiet, but she could hear the sound of pen on paper in the kitchen, accompanied by a focused mumbling sound. Sam closed the front door securely behind her and moved into the kitchen, where she found Jazz scribbling notes on a pile of papers in front of her. They were full of math problems and essays of varying lengths, part of the 'mental exercise' she used to keep her mind sharp while out of school.
"You know, most people would just take the vacation." Sam quipped with a half-smile for the hundredth time. Jazz looked up from the table, then down at her watch.
"You're out of school early again." Jazz looked over at her. "Got sent home?"
"Oh no, it's better this time. I got suspended." Sam dropped her book bag on the seat at the head of the table and plopped down beside Jazz.
"Sam..." Jazz sighed in exasperation.
"Why won't you just tell people you were... were... abused?" Sam knew Jazz hated using the R word to describe what happened, though they both knew it was accurate.
"If I did that, then they would expect me to say who did it. If I told them that, they would ask how it happened, and that would lead to even more uncomfortable questions that it's just better not to answer." Jazz replied calmly.
"But they think you've been sleeping around. There are boys claiming they've slept with you."
"So?" Jazz shrugged. "When I get back I'll set the record straight, and if they don't believe me, they're only deluding themselves. They're just displaying their ignorance for the world to see, it doesn't effect me."
"It's just not fair." Sam shook her head.
"If the world was fair I wouldn't have gained 30 pounds over the last nine months." Jazz smirked and leaned back in her chair. "Come on, I think we could both use a pick-me-up. My mom just picked up a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean 2."
"Sure." Sam nodded and stood from her seat, waiting patiently while Jazz stood with some difficulty. Her bulging belly made it more difficult than she was used to, and when she finally did stand up she had to lean back to counterbalance the added weight.
"I swear this kid is going to hit puberty before she decides to come out." Jazz huffed irritably, pushing her chair back under the table.
"Hey, it's almost over. Could be any day now." Sam reminded her.
"How come you didn't get pregnant? I know you and Danny did it too. Probably have since then." Jazz asked.
"Yeah we did, got lucky I guess, and no we haven't." Sam smirked. "It was a heat of the moment thing. We thought Danny was going to die the next day. You know I love him and all, but that is a big risk I can't really afford to take so young."
"Wow. Good for you." Jazz smiled. "Happy to see I managed to hammer some sense into you guys after the first time." Jazz turned to haul her belly into the living room, where she moved up to pop the DVD into the player before letting herself fall back onto the thickly cushioned sofa. "Could you get me a drink, please?"
"Sure." Sam nodded and went into the kitchen to grab a couple of sodas. She handed Jazz one upon her return and plopped down on the other side of the couch with the second, leaning against the armrest and popping it open comfortably. They watched the opening titles roll before Sam grinned evilly and spoke again. "Doesn't mean we haven't messed around a couple times a day."
Jazz nearly spit out her soda in surprise, reaching up to put a hand over her mouth while Sam started laughing. "Oh, you are so evil." Jazz accused. "You were just waiting for me to take a drink, weren't you?"
"Me? Oh goodness no." Sam cackled.
"Are you serious though?" Jazz asked. Sam nodded. "I'm kind of shocked. Usually after nine months the 'fiery passion' phase of the relationship ends and the 'friendly cool down' phase is well underway."
"What can I say? He still know how to-" Sam began.
"Stop right there. I want to hear nothing. Just don't take any big risks and you can do whatever it is you guys do. Now silence please. Captain Jack Sparrow is talking." Jazz said. Sam snickered, but fell silent and turned to watch the movie with only mild interest.
It was another hour before the front door opened behind them and Daniel Fenton entered the building, lugging his backpack over one shoulder. He didn't look too happy to see Sam already there.
"Sent home again." Danny stated.
"Better. Suspended. And you can save the speeches, Jazz got to me first." Sam stood up from the couch and went to greet him with a warm hug. "I assume there are many rumors flying around school."
"Everything from kicking a dodge ball the speed of light to firing a cannonball out of your arm. That must have been some impact. Paulina never showed up for her last class." Danny said.
"The ricochet almost hit the ceiling." Sam replied innocently.
"Sam..." Danny sighed.
"I told you to save the speeches. Jazz is better at them anyway." Sam flicked him in the nose and looked over at the clock hanging on the nearby wall. "Well, my mom will be expecting me home soon. If I don't get back that'll be another strike against me. I think they're already on the verge of shipping me off to boot camp or something."
"Want me to walk you home?" Danny offered.
"Probably not a good idea. If my parents see me with you they might try to blame you for corrupting me." Sam smirked. "I'll call you later, let you know what year they'll let me out of whatever hole they bury me in."
"Well, don't let them bury you too deep. I prefer to see you in the sunlight at least once in a while." Danny smiled.
"And you're worth coming into the sunlight for." Sam leaned in to kiss him lightly on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him a couple more times before pulling back and letting her arms fall from around his neck. "I'll see you soon. Count on it." Sam pulled away from him with a wink and whirled in a slight circle before walking out of the house, turning to head down the sidewalk toward her mansion.
The damage to her old house had been so extensive they'd had to simply remove the rubble and build a brand new one. Crews had worked around the clock for three months to get it finished, and Sam hated it. It was so tacky compared to the rest of the houses on the block. She preferred to keep a low profile, but it was difficult when she was living in a miniature castle, complete with watchtowers stationed in each yard.
She approached the large wooden doors on the front of the building and pushed them open, stepping inside the warmly decorated living room that smelled and sounded like the gently babbling brook that flowed into the room from the second floor and down into the ground. It was a soothing sound, but it couldn't possibly hope to soothe Sam with her mother standing in the middle of the living room, red-faced and furious beyond belief.
"Phone call?" Sam asked.
"Phone call." Her mother nodded. "Where have you been? You were dismissed from class almost two hours ago."
"I've been talking with Jazz." Sam replied truthfully.
"That Fenton girl? The one who got herself knocked up? Yeah, a real good influence SHE'LL be." Her mother shook her head. Sam narrowed her eyes in anger, but bit her tongue to keep from lashing back. "Honestly, that entire family is nothing but trouble. We've tolerated you hanging out with them up until now out of respect, but it may be time we put our foot down."
"And do what? Keep me from seeing any of them?" Sam demanded.
"Precisely. You only started causing this trouble since you hooked up with that Fenton boy and that Fenton girl started sleeping around. I'm putting my foot down right now. You are never to see them again."
"That is not happening." Sam retorted.
"As long as you live in this house, it is happening. It's for your own good." Her mother explained. Sam huffed and rolled her eyes, walking past her mother to head into the kitchen. "Where are you going?"
"I'm calling Danny." Sam plucked the telephone headset from the wall, speaking into the speaker in front of her lips. "Danny Fenton." She heard the familiar dial tone echo through the speakers.
"Hey, put that away this instant." Her mother tried to pluck the headset off her head, but Sam dodged under her arms and grabbed the headset in both hands, moving quickly through the kitchen away from her mother. "I said give it here!" Her mother grabbed again, this time managing to grab the microphone.
"Let go!" Sam shouted back angrily, her grip tightening on the headset while her mother tried to pull it away. "I MEAN it! Let go!"
"Give me the phone, Sam!" Her mother shouted back, yanking the headset hard enough to pull Sam's entire body sideways towards her. Sam tried to jerk away from her, dislodging the headset from her head though they were both still gripping it in a furious tug of war. "You don't need such bad influences in your life! You need to be a good, kind girl with traditional values!"
"I value Danny and Jazz, because they're better friends to me than you've ever been!" Sam growled loudly, yanking the headset away from her mother, though this only pulled her mother into her side, still gripping it tightly.
"I'm not your friend! I'm your mother! Your welfare comes before your opinion of me!" Her mother yanked on the headset, this time pulling Sam shoulder-first into her.
"You don't know what's best for me! You just want me to be like you!" Sam rammed her shoulder into her mother's side, grunting and pushing her up against the wall. Her mother, much to her surprise, began to push back, pushing Sam's back up against the massive table in the middle of the kitchen. Sam growled in anger and shoved back, kicking off of the table until her body weight shoved them both down to the kitchen floor.
The telephone headset clattered to the floor beside them, forgotten as they gripped and pulled at each other on the floor, trying to yank on clothing, hair, body parts, anything they could get their hands on. They rolled across the floor, each trying to pin the other as their fingernails began to dig scratches into each others' skin.
Suddenly the sound of the front door bursting open echoed through the house, and in no time Danny and Jack Fenton were in the kitchen, each trying to pull the two women away from each other.
"Sam, chill out! Sam!" Danny grabbed Sam around the shoulders from behind, struggling to hold onto her while she lashed out with her legs.
"Let go of me Danny! I mean it! Let go!" Sam shouted.
"What are you Fentons doing here?" Sam's mother demanded, panting and struggling against Jack's grip only until she realized the massive man had more than just jellyrolls hidden on his frame. "This doesn't concern any of you, get out of my house this instant!"
"Not our business? We come in here and find you fighting with your daughter and it's not our business?" Maddie entered the fray now that the two combatants were separated, standing between them and facing Mrs. Manson. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"You're not one to talk! With that hooligan of a son and tramp of a daughter, it's a wonder the state lets you keep your kids!" Mrs. Manson shouted back angrily.
"Why I never!" Maddie exclaimed in shock. "How dare you accuse Jasmine of-"
"It's as plain as day! Just look at her! You don't get like that by being innocent!" Mrs. Manson replied. Jack began to yell objections, and even Danny got into the fray. It was a tangled mess of yells and accusations, threats of calling Child Protective Services and even a few threats of physical bodily harm all lost in the sea of angry screams and yells. Nobody noticed when Jazz made her way into the room, leaning against the doorframe and holding the bulge in her stomach with both hands.
"Mom." Jazz moved up to them slowly, pulling on the sleeve of her mother's jumpsuit with a worried look on her face. "I... I think my water just broke."
All the yells stopped at once and every head in the room whipped in her direction. There was a brief pause where everyone cast glances at everyone else, then the room exploded into motion again, this time with everyone trying to herd Jazz outside and into the Fenton RV while Maddie shouted above the commotion to give commands to those gathered there.
"Jack, hurry home and get the video camera! No, our home is in the other direction! Pamela! Find the shortest route to the Amity Park Hospital! Danny, Sam, get Jazz into the RV on the double! Jazz, keep breathing!"
"Um... will do." Jazz blinked. Then grunted and almost fell before Danny and Sam each caught one of her arms. "Aaaugh! Ooh..."
"Relax Jazz, you're going to be okay." Danny told her as he and Sam climbed into the back of the Fenton RV, sitting on either side of her on the bench.
"Remember those classes you went to. Deep breaths. In your nose, out your mouth, in, out." Sam said firmly, breathing with Jazz deeply in through her nose and out through her mouth. They heard the front doors of the RV slam open and shut in an instant before the engine roared to life. "In, out, and hold on!" Sam grabbed into Jazz, trying to hold her in place as the Fenton RV rocketed down the street. Danny grabbed the other side, struggling to get their seat belts in place despite the erratic movements.
The RV swayed this way and that, weaving through the streets of Amity Park while Danny, Sam and Jazz held on with all their might in the back seat. Jazz was also holding on to something else at the moment, her face growing more pained with each passing second as her breath deepened. Sam and Danny held her arms tightly for support, until at last the RV screeched to a stop while the hospital sign was visible through the windows.
The back door of the RV swung open and Maddie and Sam's mom Pamela swept into the RV, sweeping Jazz out of her seat and hauling her toward the hospital while Sam and Danny rushed to keep up with them. They followed the women only as far as the hotel lobby, where several nurses met them and turned to lead them into one of the back rooms in a hurry. It was only a few moments later that Jack rushed past them with a video camera clutched in one beefy hand, vanishing into the back.
Sam and Danny remained in the lobby, left behind by the furious whirlwind that had robbed them of their thoughts up until now. Their hands found each other and clasped for mutual comfort as they moved to sit down on some of the chairs set against the wall. Danny looked worried out of his mind, the fingers of his free hand tapping relentlessly against his knee while his eyes darted around the lobby at the slightest movement.
"You okay, Danny?" Sam asked softly. "You know Jazz will be fine."
"I'm fine. I know she'll be okay." Danny looked back with a slight smile. "Question is, are YOU okay? What happened back there?"
"It seems so stupid now." Sam admitted. "We got into that same old argument we have every so often. She tries to control something about me, I tell her to go away. I guess it just... got out of hand this time." Sam tried to look away from him, to conceal the scratches from her mother's fingernails. But Danny reached over with one hand and swept her hair out of the way, revealing them to him.
"Jazz could hear the yelling over the phone. That was why we came over." Danny told her.
"Sorry." Sam shook her head. "I just couldn't believe she of all people would accuse Jazz of being... well, you know. Jazz has been through so much, and I'm tired of people accusing her of being this horrible irresponsible person. Any lesser person probably would have gotten an abortion and pretended it never happened. Not Jazz. She had the strength to tell her parents she was pregnant, and carry it all the way through, knowing what people would start to think of her."
"She is a heck of a girl." Danny agreed with a nod and leaned back in his seat. "But you're avoiding the issue, Sam." Sam didn't look at him. "Has this happened before?"
"No, never." Sam shook her head. "I know you're probably thinking my mom's some horrible child-abuser now, but she's not. She's never hit me, she never even raises her voice." Sam stared down at the floor, her hands hanging limply from her lap. "She never does anything to hurt me." She raised one hand to her cheek, wincing as her finger touched a fresh scratch.
"Because I love you, Sam." Sam looked up in surprise when she heard her mother's voice. She was standing in front of her, a warm smile on her face and a tear running down her cheek. "I'm so sorry for what happened... you're right, it was such a stupid thing to let get as far as it did." She walked over and took a seat beside Sam, reaching out to clasp one of Sam's hands between both of hers. "I want you to be safe and happy... which is why I try to protect you from your own mistakes."
"It's not a mistake mom... I love Danny. That's no mistake and I'm not being stupid about some dumb puppy love. And Jazz... she's not what everyone thinks she is. She's a good person, and braver than I could ever be."
"And their parents?" Her mom asked with a slight smile.
"Crazy, but they mean well." Sam chuckled slightly through the tears that had begun to run down her cheeks. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand while her mother wiped hers with a tissue from her purse. "I know you want me to be happy... but I can't be happy pretending to be YOU. Because I'm not, and I can't ever be. Please, please understand that."
"I know, sweetie." Pamela reached out to wrap Sam up in a tight hug. For the first time since she could remember, Sam returned it just as tightly. "But I just..." She sighed and looked at Danny for a moment before speaking again. "It doesn't seem like you need me."
"I do need you." Sam smiled slightly. "You pay for everything, after all." They both chuckled and pulled away from each other, each trying to wipe their eyes clear before the other could see them. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before Sam took a deep breath. "So... how was Jazz when you left her? Is everything going to be okay?"
"They're in the delivery room right now." Sam's mother nodded, composing herself after their unusually touching mother/daughter moment. "But it sounded like there weren't any complications. They should be fine, we just have to wait for it to happen."
And so, Pam, Sam and Danny waited in the lobby for news of Jazz's impending birth. It had been a torturous nine months, but the five hours they waited there in the hospital seats might as well have been several years by comparison. Sam knew Danny was worried despite his nonchalant demeanor, thanks to the fact that his hand kept Sam's locked in a death-grip nearly the entire time. Her mother remained calm though, which kept the two youngsters calm. They'd never been through this before, but she was a parent. If she was calm, there was no reason for them to worry. They waited in tense silence until at last, Jack Fenton emerged from the hallway with a broad grin on his face.
"And we have a girl!" Jack announced as if he was introducing the president of the United States. Danny let out a long sigh while Pam stood more calmly. Sam took Danny's hand and gently patted the back of it with a reassuring smile, which he returned.
"Is it okay to go see them?" Sam's mother asked.
"Is it okay? You'd better come. She's really something to see." Jack had a broad, proud grin on his face. Pam looked back at the two teenagers, who stood up from the seats to follow her and Jack back into the long hallway and down several connecting corridors. They came to a stop outside of a room labeled 'Recovery Room 6', where Jack gripped the door and gestured for the others to keep quiet as he slowly pushed it open.
Jazz looked over at the door from the thin hospital bed in the middle of the room. She looked tired and worn, but there was a gentle smile on her face. In the crook of her arm, resting against her chest, was a tiny bundle of blankets with a baby's head poking out of the top. It was a pudgy little thing, like babies tended to be, but that didn't stop a smile from creeping across Sam's face when she saw it.
"Awww." Sam aww'ed as the four of them approached the bed. Maddie was sitting in a chair on the other side of Jazz, watching with a tender gaze. "She's so small." Sam gently poked a finger into the bundle of blankets.
"I just realized something." Danny said. "I don't think you ever decided on a name, Jazz. Kind of something you can't put off now that she's here." He smiled humorously.
"Hope." Jazz replied instantly. Everyone looked at her in surprise. "I'm going to name her Hope."
"Hope?" Maddie asked in surprise.
"I think it's perfect." Sam smiled slightly.
"Yeah." Danny rested a hand on his sister's shoulder, looking down at the small bundle in her arms. "Let's just make sure we keep Hope alive." He chuckled. Jazz looked up at him with a smile, then back down at the bundle that lay in her arms.
"I'm sorry to interrupt." A voice said from the door. Sam and the others looked back to see the doctor standing in the doorway. "But both the mother and the child need their rest. They'll be able to come home in the morning, I promise."
Danny looked down at Jazz, squeezing her shoulder once before stepping away from her. "We'll be here bright and early."
"Okay." Jazz smiled, then gently took her daughter's hand in two fingers and waved it at the door. "Say goodbye, Hope. We'll see them some more tomorrow."
Sam waved and turned to follow the others as they said their cheerful goodbyes, leaving the new mother alone in the room with her daughter. Sam and her mom followed the Fentons out to the parking lot, where they stopped in front of the Fenton RV.
"Do you want a ride home? We came in kind of a rush." Maddie offered.
"No, thank you. I think it's a nice evening to walk." Sam's mom replied. Sam looked at her in surprise. She was used to being driven places, the only time she walked was when she had to get something from the fridge, and even then she preferred to make Sam do it.
"Well, okay. Be careful on the way home." Maddie smiled, the earlier disputes and arguments apparently forgotten in the rush and jubilation of Hope's birth. Sam and Pam waved while the Fentons climbed into their RV and took off down the street, leaving the two Manson women standing alone in the parking lot. The sun was almost gone by now, but it looked like it was going to be a bright moon tonight.
"Well, come on Sam. Let's go home." Pam smiled and turned to walk down the sidewalk. Sam nodded and rushed to catch up with her, then slowed to pace her as they walked down the sidewalk toward their house. They walked on in silence for a little while until the sun had gone beyond the horizon and its golden red remains shone on the moon high overhead.
"It's a beautiful evening, isn't it?" Pam asked at last.
"Yeah, it is." Sam looked up at the golden moon overhead. "Mom?" Her mother looked over at her curiously. "I'm sorry for attacking you."
"Apology accepted." Her mother nodded. "Though I'm not the only one you should apologize to, judging from that phone call I received earlier."
"She knew the risks in Dodgeball." Sam muttered under her breath. When she noticed her mom's glare she raised her hands. "Okay, I'll try to talk to her soon."
"Good. Behave yourself with your classmates and everyone else." Pam said.
"I'll do my best." Sam smirked. "And in return, maybe you could just let me lead my own life from now on."
"Sam..." Pam sighed. "I just don't want to see you hurt yourself."
"And why are you so sure I will?" Sam demanded.
"Because I know I did when I was your age." Pam replied. Sam blinked and turned to stare at her in surprise. "He said all the right words, he did all the right things. And in the end, I was the one who got pregnant."
"What are you saying, mom?" Sam's voice shivered slightly. "I was an accident?"
"Not you, sweetie." Pam smiled back sadly. "Every girl in that position has a choice... and I made the wrong one." She looked away from Sam, up at the pale moon that shone down on them. "I sometimes wonder what your older brother would have been like..." She shook her head.
"Older... brother." Sam turned to face forward, unsure how to take this new information. Her mom was always trying to get her to be all pretty and happy and responsible. She'd never known what her mom was like when she was younger. "You mean..."
"Uh-huh." Pam nodded.
"I never knew." Sam put a hand to her head.
"If I had the choice to make again, I would have gone through with it and kept him as my son. But I guess I just wasn't as strong as some girls." She looked down at Sam. "I guess it's been so long I forgot what it's like to be young. But Jasmine... to go through it at her young age willingly and be so calm is remarkable."
"She's a remarkable girl." Sam agreed with a nod. "And a good role model."
Pam chuckled. "Yes, I'd have to agree." They lapsed into silence for a little longer, until their mansion came into view in the distance.
"Well. Mother/daughter bonding moment. I never knew those things were real." Sam said with a smile. Her mother laughed.
"Maybe when we get home we can bond further over some ointment." Pam looked down at one of the deeper gashes Sam's nails had left on her arm.
Sam laughed and leaned against her mother's side, one arm slipping around her waist while her head rested against her shoulder. "It's a deal."
TO BE CONTINUED