Hello there! Welcome to the next chapter! Sorry for the delay in updating, but between surgery and writer's block, I finally finished writing this part today. Enjoy!

Thanks to my reviewers since my last update- serena4ever2006; Sara-540; Raven of the Night676; horseluver101; Nyx - Night Goddess; RobinStarfire; Andrew Laplante; and phantomshadowdragon (for two reviews).

Disclaimer: I do not own the Danny Phantom series, in whole or in part.

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Vlad laughed mockingly. "Ah, Daniel, just in time to see your wife and unborn child one last time before the hands of fate change things forever." Danny took off towards him and punched him, sending him right through the wall. Vlad had as much fatuity as he did strength, meaning that Danny often succeeded in delivering the first blow.

Danny followed his nemesis, and they began to do their dance of death, both knowing that it was now or never. Normally Danny was more than happy to send Vlad back to the Ghost Zone and let Walker deal with him for awhile. But things were different now. Vlad knew something about Sam and the baby she carried, something that, as far as Danny could tell, threatened both of their lives. And Vlad made a mockery of it all, and Danny refused to take that.

Vlad and Danny both floated just outside the window, as Sam watched in horror. Vlad shot ectoplasm at Danny, who promptly formed a glowing spherical shield around himself. Danny turned off the shield and fired a return volley at Vlad, who went intangible. The blast hit a building across the street, splattering into a pile of green goop on the bricks.

"Daniel, you fool, you're so predictable. Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily? You're just as dumb as your idiot father. Apparently the mutant apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

Danny had had enough. Their battles were almost always the same, and he wasn't about to waste time on another repeat performance. He drew a deep breath, allowing his power to well up inside of him. He flew back against the hospital wall and gripped the window sill for leverage, then closed his eyes and let the power flow from him.

The ultrasonic waves burst free from his now open mouth, like shockwaves from an earthquake. Vlad was again caught by surprise. Despite all his powers, he lacked the one ability that Danny had earned after a journey through time to save the future- the ghostly wail.

The waves overwhelmed Vlad and threw him against a building. The impact made his head snap back, and Danny cringed as he heard it hit the bricks. Vlad, still dazed, suddenly turned human. As the acceleration from the gravity that was now affecting him increased, he fell several stories.

A stunned Danny watched him fall. Hearing Sam's screams of terror, his hatred passed into concern, as well as knowledge that he could not let another human being die like that. Danny flew down quickly and caught Vlad just before he hit the ground, setting him on his feet.

"Daniel, you... you saved me... but why?" Vlad stuttered.

"Because I wasn't going to let you die in front of my wife. But don't you dare think for a second that I won't come after you if you get near her or our child again. I'm warning you, stay away. Next time, I won't be so nice."

Regaining his composure and turning ghost, Vlad floated there momentarily, looking up at Sam's window. Without a word, he flew away.

Danny watched him leave before floating back up to Sam's room, to discover that several medical personnel had rushed into the room upon hearing her shrieks and were in the process of checking on her. Everyone noticed the temperature drop and turned to see Danny.

"What happened Mr. Fenton?" Dr. Williams asked.

"Vlad Plasmius was here. I came back with my dinner and found him floating above my wife's bed, saying something about sharing his fate. He's gone now, but I'm really worried. Knowing him, he'll be back. And besides that, I have no idea what he was talking about with the whole fate thing."

"It's the baby," Sam spoke up. "The baby is doing something to me."

"What do you mean, Sam?" Danny inquired, his ice-blue eyes meeting with Sam's violet orbs.

"I... Right before Vlad showed up... I saw my breath. I have a ghost sense, Danny."

Danny hurried to Sam's side. "No, it can't be. The ecto-acne, the ghost sense. It must mean..."

"Yes, Danny, it must," Sam agreed. "I'm becoming a halfa."

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Danny stayed up with Sam all night, watching for signs of ghost powers. There were a couple times when she went intangible and started to sink into the bed, only to be caught by him before she got stuck. Come the next morning, it was quite evident that she had indeed suffered the same fate as Vlad- she'd become a human-ghost hybrid due to the ecto-acne. Even so, the doctors saw no reason to keep her hospitalized any longer than necessary. Once they completed the amniocentesis, confirming that the baby had indeed gone through the genetic mutation that would make it part-ghost, they released Sam.

Danny drove himself and his wife home, ensuring she was comfortable before calling both their sets of parents, Tucker, and Jazz and telling them to come over immediately for an emergency meeting. Once everyone arrived, Danny and Sam began to tell them all the events that had transpired during her stay in the hospital.

Their guests fretted upon learning that Sam had become a halfa, like Danny, and that the baby would most likely become one as well. The doctors had figured that now that the baby technically was developed enough to survive outside the womb, the ectoplasm in its body somehow caused Sam to become re-infected with the ecto-acne that should have been cured years ago. No one was quite sure exactly how ghostly the baby would be, but now that both parents were half-ghosts, mathematical logic pointed to the baby being half-ghost as well. All that was left was to await the birth of the baby and watch its maturation to see when it would acquire its powers.

But with that three months away, the focus would be on Danny training Sam, teaching her how to use her newly-gained ghost powers while protecting her and their child. And the couple and their loved ones quickly agreed that everyone would be instrumental in ensuring that protecting the baby would be the first priority, meaning that her training would stop at any time it appeared to threaten the baby's well-being.

Once the meeting ended, Danny and Sam invited everyone to stay for dinner. Sam, much to everyone's surprise, had resolved to lay off her ultra-recyclo vegetarian diet after her first trimester for the sake of the baby. She knew that she could find healthy alternatives for herself, but what only she and Danny knew was that she had actually started craving meat for the first time in years. Truth be told, stranger things have happened, but that was more than enough surprise for the young couple at the time.

After dinner, everyone went home, leaving Danny and Sam to their own designs. Sam stretched out on the couch, and Danny massaged her swollen ankles.

"So when's my training going to start?" she murmured, leaning back and closing her eyes.

"Tomorrow."

"But it's only 7:00"

"I know," Danny whispered, a look in his eyes.

Sam returned Danny's stare, prompting him to jump up and help her up the stairs to their room. "How about you teach me how to go intangible now," she said with a sly grin. "Willingly, that is."

"Okay, well, you just concentrate really hard, and you draw the power from within yourself. Like this." Danny squeezed his eyes shut, and in just a few seconds managed to phase off his clothing. He watched eagerly as his wife tried to imitate what he did, happy that she was successful. And nude.

Sam stood there and shivered slightly, partly because of the temperature drop from the short time it took to phase off their clothing, but mostly from the anticipation of being intimate with her husband. The pregnancy hormones had awakened her sensuality, and although she and Danny had worried initially about hurting the baby, both had since learned to enjoy certain hormonal spikes very much.

"Are you cold, my love?" Danny asked, admiring her happily.

"Not really," she grinned. "And even if I was, the body heat we're going to generate will quickly take care of that."

Danny helped his wife into the bed, crawling in next to her. He sat up against the headboard, and she climbed into his lap, straddling him. He secured his arms around her waist, with hers resting around his neck. They quickly found their rhythm, easily warding away the chill of the Winter air that had leaked into the room gradually throughout the day.

As the couple made love, they didn't break their gaze the entire time. Both delighted in seeing the looks that crossed each other's faces as they tumbled over the edge nearly simultaneously. Sam collapsed against Danny, laying her head on his shoulder. Their heavy breathing subsiding, they held each other for a few minutes before Danny carefully removed himself from Sam, helping her lay on her back and sliding down onto his side, facing her and pulling the bedding over them.

"You're so amazing," he whispered, lovingly stroking her soft hair.

"So are you. No wonder we made our baby so quickly," Sam whispered back, turning her head to smile lovingly at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The couple cuddled for awhile longer before picking up where they left off. They made love long into the night, pushing the events of the last two days to the backs of their minds and finally slipping into an extremely restful slumber.

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Sam awoke late the next morning, stretching her arms above her head. She looked over at Danny, still asleep on his side, his arm over her waist and his grin stretching from ear-to-ear. Feeling the baby kick, she moved his hand to her belly.

"Good morning, sleepy head," she whispered lovingly as his eyes opened.

"Good morning," he whispered back, still smiling as he, too, felt the baby kick. He removed his arm from her, and sat up. He then kissed her belly, before kissing her lips. "Did you sleep well?"

"How could I not?" she said with a toothy grin. "Last night was amazing."

"Tell me about it. You sure kept me busy," Danny chuckled.

"Oh, look who's talking!" Sam teased.

Danny moved closer and began to kiss Sam's neck.

"Not now," she giggled. "You have to go to work."

"So?"

"So you need to get up."

"Oh, boo," Danny said, pouting.

"Oh, a half-ghost saying boo, how ironic," Sam said with a chuckle, nudging Danny away. "Come on, lazy bones."

"Okay, okay," Danny grumbled, finally getting out of bed. Unable to resist, Sam reached over and pinched his rear.

"Hey!" Danny jumped, turning around. "Now I get a free shot."

He walked to the other side of the bed and kneeled next to his wife, looking at her hungrily. His grin widening, he reached out... and began to rub her swollen legs.

Sam smiled lovingly at him. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she'd expected something different, but now she was clearly enjoying his taking care of her.

"How do you like your surprise?" he asked.

"I love it, Danny. Thank you so much."

Danny moved down to Sam's feet, massaging them carefully. After he finished, he bent over her face and gave her a soft kiss, before heading to the bathroom to shower.

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Danny opened the front door, greeting his mom and sister and letting them inside. They would stay with Sam for the day to watch over and help her. Sam insisted that she could take care of herself, but after what happened with Vlad at the hospital, Danny would have none of it.

Sam suddenly flew down the stairs. It didn't cease to amaze Danny that she managed to do so many things already without him teaching her. Then again, no one taught him how...

"Good morning, sweetie. How are you feeling?" Maddie asked Sam.

"Just fine, Mrs. Fenton."

"Glad to hear that," Maddie answered, with Jazz nodding in agreement.

Sam went human and stretched out on the couch, still worn out from the last couple of days, particularly the night before.

"Do you need anything before I go?" Danny inquired.

"No, I'm alright."

"Okay, Sammy." Danny leaned over Sam and kissed her belly, then her lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye, Danny. Have a great day."

"Thanks, Sam, I'll call to check on you later, okay beautiful?"

"Okay, see you later."

Sam watched as her husband went into the garage. A moment later, she could hear his car backing into the street, and the garage door closing. She glanced out the window as he honked and drove off. Just as she looked away, she could feel herself sinking into the couch, only to be caught by Maddie and Jazz.

"This is going to be a long day," she sighed.

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