~Chapter 5~

Three weeks later, after Danny had gotten home from school, Sam picked up Lilith and noticed something different about her. She had been playing with her brother and accidentally rolled over on him. She got stuck and her victim couldn't move. The day she was born, she had only a few tiny strands of hair. Now her hair was growing thicker and longer. And now it had color. It was somewhat faint, but she had brown hair. Not red, not black, not blonde. Brown. And by the looks of it, it would be a dark brown color. No one in her family had dark brown hair. No one in Danny's family had dark brown hair.

She pointed it out to Danny after everyone went to sleep for the night, including the twins. She explained that Lilith's hair would darken as she grew older, and once people noticed her hair was brown instead of black, they would have questions that were bound to be asked sooner or later.

"I was afraid this might happen," Danny murmured, just loudly enough for Sam to hear it.

She bit her lip.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

She ran her hands through her hair. Genetics...they sucked. Not Lilith, of course, she didn't suck! It was just...brown hair was one thing. Light brown hair, even that could be passed off. But dark brown? There was no way to explain that without telling the truth. And even though Danny thought of the twins as his own, the rest of his family might not think that way. Knowing the truth could really let them down. Jazz was happy being an aunt, and her parents were equally happy being grandparents. So finding out that twins weren't actually Danny's could be a crushing blow. And worse, how would they feel about being lied to? And it wasn't a little white lie, it was a huge lie.

"I don't know," she answered.

Danny took a deep breath and said, "There's always one option..."

Sam sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands, to relieve the stress if nothing else. "Danny, I don't know if I can-"

"Please," he interrupted. "This has been going on for a long time, we both know that. Now one of the twins has a dead giveaway and soon the other will, too. I know it's hard on you, Sam. If you can't tell anyone, then I can do it for you."

"Do you really think I haven't thought about that? What would your family say if they found out those children were made by a random guy who, by the way, I never wanted to have sex with?"

"Look, Sam, it's not sex, first of all, and second of all, I don't think they would care where the twins came from. You're still their mother, that's all that matters," he replied.

"How can you know for sure? And what about Jazz? I don't want her explaining to me what I did wrong or why all this happened. I don't even want to know why anymore! And I for one think she would care that the twins came out of rape!"

Danny didn't what else to say. Ever since the day of her first rape, Sam never even said the word anymore. Even he had to admit that the lie was too big for him to tell whether his family would be okay with it. And everyone had finally adjusted to having babies in the house. Not that he didn't know his family, but now he was starting to question their reaction to news like this. None of them had ever been put in a situation remotely similar to this. He himself had been so shocked that it was almost overwhelming. The only reason it had been different with him was because he didn't know Sam was pregnant. For his family, however, it would be completely different. The twins had already been born, and now they genuinely thought they were the biological grandparents. Would finding out the truth really change the way they felt about all this?

He remembered when Sam told him she'd been raped. She called herself disgusting. She figured he would think she was disgusting. But it wasn't her fault. She did the right thing by not having an abortion, but now the twins were going to give away the one thing she'd worked so hard to protect all this time. There was nothing they could do about it.

"You should think about telling them. You've been hiding this from everyone, and now it's time to stop. Either you tell them, or Lilith here will tell them." He gestured toward the sleeping baby. "Or you can let me do it for you."

"But I thought you wanted everyone to think you were the real dad," she said.

"I do, but things change. As much as I would like everyone to think I'm their real dad, someone's bound to find out the truth. Would you rather them keep asking you who the father is, or would you rather tell them so they don't ask that?"

The goth sighed. "How long until they notice her hair?"

"Are you kidding? My mom's all over those two, she's bound to notice sooner or later."

"So basically, it's only a matter of time," she muttered.

"Exactly, so you need to choose fast."

"What do you think they would do if they figured it out on their own?" she asked.

"Honestly, I think they would be really mad at us for lying to them," he replied. "That's why I think it's better if someone tells them now, before they have a chance to figure it out."

She looked away, not sure she was able to bear looking him in the eye and knowing he was right. It could wait until tomorrow for sure, but it would have to be settled immediately if Danny's parents or sister started to question Lilith's hair color. Maddie, having been a mother of two for years, knew the baby's hair would darken. She would know it would turn out to be a dark brown color and she would wonder why. The only dark hair this family had was black. If Lilith's hair was black, her brother's would be black as well. It meant there would be no questioning whatsoever about the real parents since both Danny's and Sam's hair was black.

And even if she told them before they figured it out, how would she tell them? It would have to be put delicately, that was for sure... But depending on how she told them, it could either tick them off or make them cry. Their reactions were what worried her most. Her own parents had thrown her out and she hadn't heard from them since. Danny's parents were very understanding but they were also living a lie, thinking the twins were related to them. In truth his family had nothing to do with the twins...and it could crush them if they knew that.

But no matter the reaction, Danny was right. This secret would be exposed sooner or later, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She couldn't hide this much longer. In fact, she was already tired of hiding it. The twins' origins were of a man she didn't even know. And because he'd knocked her out after her second rape, she couldn't remember what he looked like. What would everyone else think of that? What would they think of her? Most importantly...what would they think of the twins?

What if the news came out wrong? What if they misinterpreted something she said? She didn't want to be thought of as a slut, not again! Nobody could tease her about having premarital sex-and some students had even spread rumors that she'd cheated on Danny-because she was tucked away safely inside the Fentons' house. But what if that would all change when and if she told them? What if something went wrong and this house became a prison? No, no! She couldn't go through all that again! And Danny wouldn't be able to help her if that happened. Maybe she wouldn't be kicked out again but everyone's view of her would change forever. She didn't want to be seen as the girl who bore two children out of rape. Kids weren't meant to be made from hatred, they were meant to be made from love. And if anyone found out, Sam and her children would never be seen the same way. What if Danny's family stopped loving them because of what really happened?

"Sam?" Danny's voice slowly brought her from her worries. "Sam, is everything okay?"

She nodded. The nightmares would come back tonight, and probably the next night. And probably the night after that, and the night after that... It could go on that cycle for months before they finally stopped again.

Dreading the images that would be conjured in her sleep, she got into bed, pulled up the covers, and told Danny to get into bed with her. She was tired and emotionally exhausted. She wouldn't...no...she couldn't tell his family tonight. Her body was tired, her mind wanted to shut down for the night, and top of everything else, she didn't want to risk waking the twins up. Sleep had become the most precious thing in the world after she'd had them.

The bed shook as Danny tried to get comfortable. She knew what he was thinking. He was wondering why she couldn't go ahead and get it all over with. He wouldn't understand... But...he was absolutely right. They both knew he was right.

Soon enough the truth would squirm its way out into the world. From there it would all go downhill. And putting it off just wasn't a good idea. Sam would have no choice but to tell them tomorrow.

A/N

So...how'd you like it? I almost forgot about the twins' hair! I guess I'll just blame their slow hair growth on being born prematurely. :/ I dunno. Well, it is what it is, so I hope you like it anyway.

Now, before I even give you the review quota OR the review replies, I NEED you to help me write the next chapter! I'm stuck between some ideas (they may appear in the next chapter or they may appear later in the story):

1. Sam meets her parents but doesn't tell them what happened.

2. Sam meets her parents and tells them everything.

3. Sam doesn't meet her parents.

4. Sam doesn't meet her parents but tells them what happened through a different means of communication.

PLEASE, for the sake of this story if nothing else, pick a number and put that number in a review. The number that receives the most votes will be the one I use. But choose carefully! Think about what'll happen if your number is picked. On some of these, the twins could be taken away. Each one has a different possibility and all of them have future impacts that will influence the rest of the story.

Now that that's out of the way, I'll update again when I get eighty-one (81) reviews. It's only six more, I doubt it'll be too much. Hopefully, considering I've lost so many readers.

And finally, your review replies:

Inuyuke- First of all, thanks for not giving up on me. :) You're one of my most loyal reviewers and I'm always happy to read your reviews, even if you don't believe me. Sorry if the wait felt too long, I went as fast as I could.

BooksAreMyVideogames- Wow! :D Thanks!

puppets4ever- You're welcome. :) I've actually been meaning to continue this for a long time, but I don't know what happened...

Sammi- I made a promise to finish this story. I intend to keep it. ;)

TheNinjaKitty13- Thank you. :) You tell me. Will she?

Looka'sMagicHell- Danny is my favorite male character in the entire cartoon world, and Mabel of Gravity Falls is my favorite female character. Yeah, she didn't go to her parents, but I leave it up to you to decide the "yet" part.

ChristinCC- Uh-oh! ;D Maybe you hear wedding bells, maybe you don't. I ain't givin' nuthin' away.

Favorite Daughter Of Hades- Thank you. I'm letting you guys decide for me. Not because I'm too lazy, but because I'm SERIOUSLY stuck on this and I want to please at least most of you.

epic mabel- lol Thanks, I'm honored. :)

PlasticPencils- ... *gulp* o.o It...It's on the top...I swear!

HandmadeVeggies- Well thank you. :) I'll continue this story, I promise.

Hazel Blue Mystery- Well, don't speak too soon. He might break his promise because he can't take it anymore, or maybe he'll be put in a position where he has to break his promise. You never know.

Animalistic Ballistic- Ah-ah-ah! I can't tell you. :P No spoilers.

Codiak- Um...I...don't even know how to respond to that...

In case anyone missed it, I need you to scroll back up and pick the idea you like most. Post the number corresponding to that idea in a review. When I check my reviews later, I'll tally the votes and use the idea that gets the most votes.