The first visitors were Jack and Maddie. Danny was surprised that they were not bristling with anti-ghost technology as usual. He supposed that after Maddie's own experience with having children, she had enough foresight to prevent Jack from sneaking any large weapons into the hospital room. He also supposed that it was this factor that prevented them from making a grand, gun-toting entrance as was typical of them. They came into the room quietly and congratulated Sam and Danny.
"Oh, we're so proud of you both!" Maddie said.
"Yeah, but enough congratulations, I wanna see my grandson!" Jack interrupted. Sam held up the sleeping baby so that they could see.
"He's so adorable! He looks just like Danny did when he was a newborn!" Danny blushed at the comment by his mother.
"And he has the Fenton fighting spirit!" Jack proclaimed.
"How can you tell?" Danny asked. Jack puffed out his chest.
"It's obvious just by looking at him. This one's a fighter, all right."
"He said the same thing about both you and Jazz," Maddie whispered.
"And he was right, wasn't he?" Sam returned.
"Well, I, uh…hey Jack, do you want a cookie?" She tossed a chocolate-chip cookie into the air and Jack caught it in his mouth.
"mmm…chocolate chip, my favorite!"
"So are you three going to continue to live in that apartment of yours?"
"For now, yes. But we're not sure how long we'll be able to," Sam replied.
"You know that you can stay at FentonWorks for as long as you need to."
"Thanks for the offer, really. But we can always ask my parents to buy us a house if need be; we don't want to be a burden on you both."
"Oh, it's no burden, sweetie! Besides, you don't want to end up owing your parents for the house because frankly, knowing them, they'll use that against you to get anything they want from you." Sam laughed at that.
"Yeah, you're probably right. But also, I don't know if it's safe to keep a newborn at FentonWorks while you and Jack are testing your latest anti-ghost technology."
"Don't worry about that!" Jack said. "Our technology only hurts ghosts. Humans won't be affected by it."
"I'm not saying that Harry will be hurt by any of your weapons. I'm just saying that it can get really loud while you're testing them, and he won't be able to get any sleep."
"Hmm, you do have a point there. There have been a lot of explosions lately." Maddie gave Jack a death glare.
"What?" he asked. "Blow up the lab and most of the first floor one time, and you just can't let it go, can you?" She continued to glare at him. "Okay, two times."
"Try ten times, Jack."
"Okay, okay, so I caused a lot of explosions. I hate to say it, but maybe you should let Sam's parents buy you a house."
"Not just yet," Danny piped up. "That may be our only other option for now, but we should try and live in our apartment for as long as we can before turning to Mr. and Mrs. Manson."
"Oh, that reminds me, there's something I should tell you about them," Sam whispered something into Maddie's ear.
"Really? They want to go through with it? Well, we'll be there, all right."
"What is it, Maddie?" Jack asked.
"Nothing, dear. The Mansons are just having a little party seven days from now and Sam wanted to know if we'd be there."
"That depends. Will there be food?"
"Of course there'll be food, Mr. Fenton. Don't you worry about that," Sam said.
"Then you can count on Jack Fenton being there!"
"Do you know who Harry's godparents are going to be yet?" Maddie asked.
"We're thinking of naming Tucker his godfather."
"That makes sense. The three of you were thick as thieves back when you were children."
"Yeah, just like me and Vladdie! That's why I made him yours and Jazzie's godfather!"
"WHAT! Vlad's my godfather? Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"You never asked."
"True." Harry opened his eyes and gurgled happily again. The four adults in the room immediately turned their attention to him.
"Look at his eyes! They're like both of your eyes put together!" Maddie exclaimed. The baby reached out a pudgy hand and tugged on the glove of Jack's HAZMAT suit. He pulled it off and waved it around.
"See?" Jack shouted. "This one's got the Fenton fighting sprit in him! He'll be a professional ghost hunter when he grows up, just like his grandpa, you wait and see!" Unfortunately, the man's booming voice scared Harry and caused him to start crying. Sam soothed the baby as she rocked him back and forth in her arms, and eventually calmed him down. The newborn finally settled down and drifted back to sleep.
"You see, Jack?" Maddie accused angrily. "That's why they can't live at FentonWorks with us. That's why they'll have to turn to Sam's parents. By the way, Sam, are your parents coming to visit anytime soon?" Sam checked the clock on Danny's phone that had been left on the bedside table. It was early evening.
"Yeah, they should be here pretty soon."
"We should go, then. We don't want to get in the way of their happiness."
"No, don't go! You don't have to if you don't want to!" Sam argued, not wanting to have to be left alone with her parents.
"Sorry, Sam. It's a grandparent's prerogative to see their newborn grandchild without any interference. I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of that, even if it is your parents."
"So we'll see you next week, then?" Danny asked.
"Yup. See you in a week." Danny's parents left the room and Danny sat back down in the chair next to Sam's bed.
"I hate having to rely on your parents, but I guess we have no choice."
"Don't worry, Danny. We'll try and make it work in our apartment for as long as possible. Besides, nobody said that we can't just take out a mortgage and get a house on our own."
"Actually, someone did. My dad and I were talking about this on the way to Vlad's wedding a few months ago. He mentioned that shopping for a house is difficult enough without a young child tagging along. Buying a house while trying to fit in work and caring for Harry will be almost impossible."
"Wow, I haven't even thought about work! Do you think that I should go back or stay home with Harry?"
"That's your choice. I do know that you have about a month before you have to go back, if you so choose. But I should probably remind you that before Harry was born, you were really worried that he would cause you to become a stay-at-home mom."
"I remember that." She looked down at her sleeping son for what seemed like an eternity. "But that was then. Now I'm having second thoughts. I can't just leave an angel like him at home all day, and it's not like I can bring him to work with me."
"Sam, think about what you're doing. Before you decide to give up your job for good, make sure that it's really what you want to do. You know that I'll quit to stay home and take care of Harry so that you still have your independence. I don't want you to bind yourself to him without being absolutely sure that you're ready to."
"Thanks, Danny. That means so much to me; I know how much you love your job at Axion. But I've made my decision. I'm going to quit my job and stay at home to raise our child-"
"I'm really proud of you, Sammy. That's real mature of you."
"-But try and get me to go to a PTA meeting and I'll tear your head off with a rusty spoon." Danny laughed.
"That's what I love about you, Sammy. So spunky." It was at that moment that Sam's parents entered the room. The spotted the baby and immediately hovered over him and Sam, pushing Danny aside.
"Aww, he's so cute!" Sam's mother cooed. Harry's face twitched, as though he was having a bad dream.
"Would you look at that? Our first grandchild. This is one of the happiest moments of our lives." Her father said. Harry's face twitched again. Sam's father pulled out a camera and shoved it into Danny's hands. "Take a picture of us, would you?" he demanded. He and Sam's mother each leaned in on an opposite side of Sam's bed. Danny got the camera in a good position and snapped the photo. The camera was a Polaroid, and so they only had to wait a couple of minutes for the picture to develop. Danny took one look at the picture and began laughing hysterically. Sam, wondering what was going on, grabbed the picture from out of his hands and looked at it. She also immediately began laughing. In the picture, Harry's face was contorted in mid-twitch. Sam's parents either didn't notice or didn't care.
Sam's father tried to get the baby to open his eyes by tickling the bottom of his chin. Harry did open his eyes-and began bawling. Sam tried to calm him down, but he just wouldn't stop crying. His screams became louder and louder.
"Maybe we should just go," Sam's mother shouted over the sounds of Harry's sobs.
"That would be nice," Danny muttered under his breath.
"We'll see you three in a week!" Sam's father said, and the two immediately left and closed the door behind them. As soon as the door closed, Harry stopped crying and began laughing. Sam and Danny stared at each other for a good minute or so and then laughed as well.
"Looks like we've got a real trickster on our hands," Sam said in-between gasps for breath.
"Yeah, we'll have to watch out for that," said Danny as he picked himself up off the floor; he had fallen down, he was laughing so hard.
"He seems to be able to read people pretty well, though," Sam noted.
"Yeah, I'll say."
The following evening brought Valerie, who dragged Tucker into the room. Apparently, they had both gotten off of school and work for the rest of the week, but he hadn't wanted to visit just yet because it involved going to a hospital. It had taken quite a few threats on Valerie's part to finally get him to come and visit, but upon seeing Harry, he was glad that he had come. "Hey, there's my little godson. Say hello to your Uncle Tucker!" he paused, and then spontaneously broke out laughing.
"What's up, Tuck?" Danny asked.
"Uncle...Tucker!" he managed to get out in-between bouts of laughter.
"So, what about it?"
"It sounds…just like…that old song…you know, the one that goes-"
"Okay," Sam interrupted. "We don't need that kind of language with a child present."
"Earmuffs?" Tucker suggested.
"You're hilarious."
"What color are his eyes?"
"They're blue, like Danny's, and they're speckled with purple, like mine."
"That's so cool! Maybe he'll wake up and we can see for ourselves!"
"Don't force him," Danny warned. "After all, he's got the Fenton fighting spirit, as Sam's dad found out yesterday."
"Why, what happened?"
"Oh, that's right, we never told you! Well, yesterday both my parents and Sam's parents came to visit, but at different times. When my parents came, Harry was all happy and excited. He took my dad's HAZMAT glove off and started playing with it, and my dad claimed that he had the Fenton fighting spirit. After they left, Sam's parents came to look at Harry but he had gone back to sleep by then. And it was the funniest thing; every time they came close his face would do this weird twitch-thing, as though he knew who was there. Sam's dad wanted me to take a picture of the two of them with Sam and the baby, and when it came out, it showed Harry's face in mid-twitch. Sam and I cracked up, but I guess her parents just didn't notice."
"What's that got to do with a fighting spirit, though?"
"I'm getting to that. After we took the picture, Sam's dad tried to tickle Harry so that he'd wake up, and Harry started bawling. I mean, really, really, loudly. And he wouldn't calm down. He had cried once when my parents were here, but Sam was able to calm him down after something like five seconds. But this time he just got louder and louder. Sam's parents got so scared that they practically ran out the door, and the second they left, Harry stopped crying and started laughing. It was as though he had set the whole thing up just to scare her parents away. It was hilarious!"
"Yep, this kid's got 'Fenton' written all over him." Tucker said.
"Speaking of which," Valerie interrupted, "Is he, you know, half ghost also?" Tucker and Sam each shot her mean looks, but Danny simply explained the situation to her.
"Yeah, we think he is. A couple of days ago a nurse came in and asked me to have a look at Harry's blood sample because there was some sort of anomaly that was stumping all of the hematologists. I had a look in the microscope, and his DNA looked just like mine, not just half of mine. I think that he's fully a halfa, not just half of a halfa, if that even makes sense."
"Bloody massacre of the English language aside, I get what you're trying to say," Valerie responded. "So are we invited to this party the Mansons are having?"
"Tucker has to come, but you're welcome to if you'd like."
"Why does he have to be there?"
"In order for him to be Harry's legal godfather, he has to hold him during the ceremony." Sam answered.
"Ceremony? I didn't know that there was a ceremony attached! What kind of ceremony is it gonna be?"
"You mean Tucker never told you? I think we'll leave him to do it, then." Valerie turned to the chocolate-skinned man.
"What kind of ceremony are we talking about here?"
"Well, there's gonna be this guy, right? And he has to…well….he's gonna take a…and, well…" he began to blather nonsensically and gesticulate wildly before he finally calmed down. "Ugh, I can't bring myself to describe it. It's going to be a circumcision."
"Oh, why didn't you just say so?"
"Because all of the guys I spoke to about it kind of have a soft spot where that's concerned."
"And who did you ask about it?"
"Oh, a couple of my frat-buddies." They all stared quietly at Harry silently for a minute. Suddenly, the baby woke up with a soft yawn.
"Aww, he's so adorable," Valerie exclaimed.
"And you're right about the eyes-ice-blue like Danny's speckled with purple like Sam's." said Tucker.
"Actually, it's more of an amethyst," Valerie corrected.
Once again, Harry playfully reached out one of his pudgy little hands. This time, though, he grabbed Tucker's glasses. "Hey, I need those," the techno-geek said as he cast his hands around, blindly searching for the spectacles.
"You should've gotten contacts," Sam admonished. "But look, I think that he's feeling generous today." It was true; Harry was holding the glasses back out to Tucker. The man gratefully took his glasses back and gave his godson a high-five.
"He's not as evil as his mother," he noted.
"You know I can still kill you in about a thousand different ways two days after having given birth, right?" Sam casually asked him.
"I'll shut up now."
"That's what I thought you said."
"When are you two going to settle down?" Danny suddenly asked.
"What are you talking about, Danny?" Tucker responded.
"You and Valerie. When are you guys going to get married and raise a family of your own?"
"Not everyone knew that they were in love by the age of five like you two, Danny. The rest of us can't exactly plot out the rest of our lives that easily."
"I realize that, but at the same time I can tell that you two are going to have a future together."
"He's right," Sam said. "It may not be as obvious as it was with Danny and I back in high school, but anyone can tell that you two were made for each other."
"Well, I didn't plan on having kids until after graduate school, but I guess we could get married before then," Tucker said. "Fine." He got down on one knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket. "Valerie Grey, will you marry me?" Valerie looked taken aback by his abruptness. Not the question itself, merely the manner in which it had been thrust upon her.
"Sure I'll marry you, Tucker." She pulled him into an upright position and into a kiss. Harry happily clapped his hands together while Danny and Sam exchanged dark looks.
"See, even our godson approves of us. What's with you two?" Tucker asked, noting the looks on his best friends' faces.
"What, you thought we were the only ones people were betting on?"
"I'm not following you."
"Ever since Valerie agreed to take you to the dance back in ninth grade there's been a betting pool that you two would get together. And we've had a decent amount of cash invested in that pool."
"How much cash are we talking here?"
"Enough to sent little Harry here to college."
"No way!"
"Way."
"How could you two do this to us?"
"Oh, come on, it's not like you and everyone else we know wasn't doing the same exact thing to us!"
"That's true. How long have you been betting again?"
"About nine years now."
"Whoa…"
"Wait a minute," Valerie interrupted. "Why were you carrying that ring around in your pocket?" Tucker shrugged.
"You never know when the perfect opportunity might present itself." Valerie laughed.
"I guess so. After all, here we are, sitting in a hospital room visiting Danny, Sam, and their first child. How much more of a random situation to propose could we have found ourselves in?"
"We could have been fighting a technology-manipulating ghost that had taken over your dad's super satellite while in geosynchronus orbit."
"Also true." She turned to Danny. "I'm glad that we're not fighting like that anymore."
"Me too," he responded. "But from what I've heard, you haven't totally given up ghost hunting. Tucker tells me that Nasty Burger inc. has found a niche for your particular field of expertise."
"Yeah, finally Plasmius weapons are being put to some good use."
"You can say that again."
"And don't think that I'm not gonna forget this either," the ghost hunter said, turning back to her fiancée. "You do realize that you're never going to live down the fact that you proposed to me in a hospital." Tucker shrugged.
"At least I'm not the patient this time around."
"You mean the last time you proposed to me you were a patient here?"
"You know what I'm trying to say."
"Yeah, I just love messing with you." She ruffled his beret.
"C'mon, we should probably finish unpacking back at the hotel." He took her hand and began leading her out of the room. "We'll see you guys later, okay?"
"K, see you later." A couple of minutes after they left, a nurse came and informed them that she had to take Harry back to his bed. The couple reluctantly gave up their newborn son and turned to face each other.
"I never really got a chance to tell you," Danny began, "how proud I am that you decided to give up your job just to be with Harry."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm placing blame on the excess estrogen."
"No, really. I think that we're both becoming a little more mature."
"Unfortunately. Although I have to admit we were acting like overly hormonal teenagers before Harry was born. Not a good environment to raise a child in." She paused for a minute. "Is this what you were talking about that night in the GAV? About that spark between us not dimming, just changing, and us changing with it?"
"Sort of." He stopped to give her a soft kiss on the lips. "But some aspects of our relationship will never change." She wrapped an arm behind his head and tangled her fingers in his messy hair, pulling his head close to her own.
"You got that right, hero," she said before pulling her Danny into a longer, more passionate kiss.
SAVE DANNY PHANTOM!