Happy holidays, readers! I hope this holiday season brings you lots of joy. Here's a little Christmas gift from me to you :-)

xxxxxx

That night, a gargling sound, followed by a spit came from behind younger Sam's bathroom door. When the door opened, Sam walked out into her room, barefoot and in her black pajama set.

Before she headed for her bed, she picked up her cellphone on her desk and turned it on. She swiped the screen a couple of times.

"No missed calls," she said with a frustrated grunt. "Where are Danny and Tucker?"

Sam gasped at the sudden freezing sensation on her bare arms. The chill slowly traveled up and down her arms, making her skin breakout into goosebumps.

"D-Danny?" she whimpered.

He materialized behind her, his hands on her arms.

"Hey," he whispered into her ear before giving it a kiss.

She twisted out of his embrace. "What happened? I was waiting for you to call or text as soon as you got back from the future!"

"Yeah, well, we were there for a while, and then when we got back, Satya was haunting a movie theater and…yeah, it's been a long day for me."

She pulled out her desk chair and sat down. "So? What happened?"

He grinned from ear to ear. "Sam, it was the probably the most awesome thing I have ever seen in my entire life! The future, I mean, wow, it was so—"

Sam put a hand up. "Nope! I don't want to know the details about the future. I'm waiting to be surprised. Just tell me where Vanessa so badly wanted to take you guys."

"Um, then I don't want to give away too much about where she took us…basically, we saw Tara and my older self doing some ghost training."

"Really?"

"She has fire powers, Sam."

"What did I just say about telling me the—wait, fire?"

"Yeah. Real, burning, orange-and-blue fire. She has that, as well as my ice powers."

"Wow, that's pretty amazing."

Danny leaned on her desk. "Yeah, pretty amazing alright…"

"Hey," Sam said, cocking an eyebrow. "You okay?"

"I'm okay."

"Uh, no you're not."

Danny sighed. "You're right, it's just…well, she's stronger and more powerful than me…I don't know how I'm going to help her when I'm older when I only have, like, half of her powers! How will I know what to do?"

Sam stood up from the chair and reached for his hands.

"Hey," she said, interlacing her fingers with his. "Stop worrying like a parent. You're not there yet. We'll deal with these things as they come, you know? Together."

"You're right, again…heh, sounds like you're warming up to the idea of marrying me," he said with a blush.

Sam looked down at the ground, smiling. "Yeah, well…I did tell you once I couldn't imagine my life without you, didn't I?"

Danny grinned and leaned in for a kiss.

xxxxxx

That same night, future Sam, in her gothic nightgown, stood in front of her dresser. She pushed her long hair behind her ears and, with a delicate touch, removed her stud earrings, three on each earlobe.

As she put them back in their jewelry box on top of the dresser, another little box caught her eye. She reached for the black, heart-shaped box at the corner and opened it.

A soft smile grew on her face as she looked at the class ring she wore everyday in high school, along with her amethyst engagement ring.

Suddenly, someone hugged her from behind.

"Boo."

"Danny! Jeez, you scared me!"

"I tucked Megan in, and Tara was already asleep by the time I checked on her."

"Oh, good."

She spun around in her husband's embrace and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"So you still love me, huh?" he said.

Sam rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his chest. "Just because I'm upset doesn't mean I've stopped loving you."

Danny chuckled. "I know. Hey, I've got something for you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Come here."

He pulled her to the edge of the bed and sat her down with him.

"Do you remember," he said, "that trip to Seattle we took together in college?"

"Sure I do. That was when you talked me out of getting that tattoo. You were right in the end—if I had it now, I would've regretted it."

He smiled. "Well, remember when we passed that jewelry store that had that heart-shaped black diamond necklace at the window?"

"…Oh right, the Victorian choker! I remember! Gosh, I remember it being ridiculously expensive though. I mean, I guess that makes sense for a black diamond."

A shocked gasp escaped her lips.

"Danny, don't tell me you took the time machine…"

He held up a hand. "Don't worry, I didn't."

"Oh, phew. Good."

"But I did get a replica."

Out of his sweatpant pocket, Danny pulled out a velvet choker with a large, heart-shaped, smoky-black stone hanging off of it.

"Danny…how…"

He moved on the bed until he was right behind her, and Sam lifted her hair up.

"This was why Clockwork wanted me to come over today," he said as he hooked the choker around her neck. "This necklace actually serves a purpose."

"A purpose? What do you mean?"

Danny moved back to the edge of the bed. "Clockwork had been working on this type of technology for a while now. The technology's in this fake black diamond. Apparently, the pendant seals the wearer's present.

"So, say, somehow, my past self dies. I'll disappear because…well, my past self would've never grown up to become me now. Tara and Megan would disappear because half of their genes come from me. Our present would shake, and the world as we know it would change completely. But you would remember us, this reality. Your state of being would not change. You would not be affected by the world changing…and that includes our baby inside of you."

"Amazing…"

"…Unfortunately, the pendant can save both you and the baby until he or she is born. It only protects the wearer."

"So the baby will disappear?"

"Because the baby has left your body, yes."

"No, that's not going to happen."

She reached for both his hands and squeezed them.

"Do you hear me, Danny? None of that is going to happen. Nobody is going to find Tara and Megan in the past. We're going to be safe. All of us."

"Well, just in case, I'd feel a lot better if you wear that necklace 24/7," he said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"What about you and the girls?"

"I've asked Clockwork to work on mine next. With us secured, the girls are safe. Then, as backup, he'll work on theirs."

"Hang on, but if my past self dies…"

"Doesn't matter, you'll still stay."

"This is unbelievable…wait, so mine looks like the necklace we saw when we were dating because…"

He grinned. "I just asked him to cut the pendant into a heart, then I bought the choker separately."

"You really are a hopeless romantic."

She kissed the tip of his nose, then rested her forehead on his. Danny let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

"We're going to get through this," she whispered. "We are."

xxxxxx

...now if you lovely readers want, I can write a little side story about younger Danny and Sam that night ;-) I can tell you right now no sex happens, but, you know, it's still sexy hah Just let me know via PM or in your review!