~Chapter 30~
"Sam," he said, looking her in the eye. "I promise I'll be the best I can for you, the twins, and..."
He tenderly put a hand on her stomach. Sam looked confused for a moment and honestly, he wanted to smile at that. He had been discussing two things with his mother down in the lab...the baby and proposing to Sam. He felt inclined to tell his mom about marrying Sam simply because she was his mother; of course she would want to know things like this.
When they were talking about the baby, however, things became all the more serious. His mother mentioned something about a downside to keeping it. She said it would be even more work and that taking care of twins had proven to be stressful at times. Another baby, and a newborn at that, would be all the harder to handle. She said she would help out when needed but that just like with the twins, he and Sam would be the parents. It almost steered him away from the idea.
And then they talked about the brighter side... He hardly remembered any of what she said, but he knew she'd said something that really got his imagination going. He imagined having another baby and being tired, but happy to have another child to hold in his arms when he got home...after the twins were done attacking him. Then in the later years, the baby would be running around and he would have another chance to play horsey and give piggyback rides. The twins were growing older, as much as he hated that fact, and they would be calling him 'Dad' before he even knew it. He would have another three years of 'Daddy' with another baby.
His numbness finally went away as his mom continued talking and he realized that being a dad all over again was even in his notebook of the life he wanted with Sam. Even now it was setting in that he really did want another baby. Wasn't expecting one this soon, obviously, but there was a little miracle inside Sam that he wasn't willing to turn down.
"If it's a girl, you think we could name her Vanessa? I always did like that name," he said, looking down at her stomach and trying to imagine the baby as a tiny bean, just the way the twins would've looked had Sam actually gotten an ultrasound in her early months.
She smiled. "Maybe. Do you want the baby or is that just a name you're thinking of?"
His turn to smile. "Sam, I'm about to be a dad all over again. Do you remember my creepy notebook?"
"The one full of poorly drawn stick people?" she teased.
"Yeah, the one that you just insulted. Don't you remember the drawing of me passing out on the hospital floor while you're in bed holding a baby? And you were laughing at me? Another baby was what I wanted. It just... It took me awhile to see that; I wasn't expecting that kind of news when you told me."
The goth bit her lip and asked, "And if it turns out to be twins again?"
He gave a small chuckle and replied, "Sam, I was fifteen, I wasn't even their dad, and we were both going through a pretty rough time when I found out you were going to have twins. And I told you I wanted to help you raise them. I was fifteen but I loved you all so much that I wanted to be the father. I would be lying through my teeth if I said I didn't want another baby, twins or not."
He quickly pulled out his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. A proposal was supposed to be formal in most cases but he decided that it would be casual so she wouldn't suspect anything. And lucky for him, the plan worked. She didn't grow suspicious and the poem gave him plenty of time to get ready. And to fail at attempting to calm down, if only a little bit.
He opened his wallet and pictures came cascading out in a small, plastic album.
"You know, even before the twins were born, you gave me something so amazing, Sam." He handed his wallet to her so she could see the pictures. "You gave me the perfect life. I have two beautiful children and another on the way. I have a sister and parents who adore them. And I have a fiance who gave me all that. I don't think you realize how happy I am. I'm not saying it's a smooth road; it does get a little bumpy sometimes. But then I just think back to being able to play with the twins and hold you every night and I can't even describe the feelings I get from that. I'm the luckiest guy...and ghost...in the world." He gently kissed her. "And without you that just wouldn't be possible. I know it's been rough but...thank you so much, Sam."
She smiled. "You really love having a family, don't you?"
"I couldn't ask for a better life than the one I have now," he replied.
She laughed. "I never thought I would be getting engaged to my best friend. And I certainly never thought I would be having his baby."
"Neither did I but I'm pretty sure I would've been fine with it four years ago."
"A baby, Danny? You would've been fine knowing that at fourteen?"
"Most likely. Maybe. Hopefully. You let me know when it starts kicking, okay? I'm already looking forward to feeling little bumps on your belly."
She laughed and swatted at his shoulder.
"What? It's the truth," he said. "I don't get to feel it like you do."
She rolled her eyes in response. "Trust me, you don't want to. Having a baby punch your guts isn't as magical as you might think."
"Well that just means it loves you," he laughed out. "You're loveable!"
"Doesn't the new daddy have school?"
He held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay, just let me rock the newest Fenton first."
He cleared up her confused look by scooping her up and rocking her side to side. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Do I need to sing a lullaby before I go off all on my own to the cold learning dungeon?" he asked, letting a goofy smile play on his lips.
She pecked him. "No, now get outta here, you."
"Ain't that mean. I'm not going just yet, though," he replied, a small hint of defiance in his voice.
"Why's that?"
He gave her a quick kiss and answered, "I gave you that ring for a reason."
At first she had no idea what he was talking about, but when he raised an eyebrow, it hit her that he wanted to show off his new fiance to his parents.
"Now come, my dear!" he said in a British accent. "We have things to be done!"
A/N
DON'T KILL ME!
Okay, I know this is short, I really do. :( And I'm so sorry about that! I got stuck in a horrible rut and I started to panic (whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you) when I realized just how long I kept you waiting. Then I saw how many words were in this chapter and I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm so sorry for the short chapter but I had to update! You have no clue how guilty I feel... D:
I will start trying to make it up to you by posting a poll and letting you decide which gender(s) the bab(y/ies) is/are. I had everything set down but after this I think you deserve to decide for yourselves. :)
No review quota (gave you guys crap with the wait as it is...), but definitely well-earned replies:
Alisi Thorndyke- :D Of course you did! And yeah, I figured it was time Jack knew. I mean, he was left out of the loop for a LONG time. :P
NoOne's Twilight- Thanks! :) And make sure to not kill me over the wait...
princessbinas- Thank you, and I do. :) It wasn't a seizure, it was just a really bad, random headache. Probably light-related.
ChristinCC- Haha thanks! And thanks again! It wasn't a seizure after all.
HeroAce- XD Yes! Danny finally had the courage! (the force was with him)
ShadowDragon357- I'm fully aware that teen pregnancy is often over-romanticized but before making her pregnant I took into consideration both their personalities and how much they've matured since the twins came along. We all know Sam didn't want them for the longest of times but loved them to death when they were born, which means she knows she'll love this baby just as much and wouldn't be able to part from it. Danny loved the twins before Sam did and wanted to help her raise them should she choose to keep them. He realized how amazing it felt to be a dad despite the twins not even being his. He looks at the twins and sees his kids, not a pair of children unrelated by blood; he doesn't care about that. He even wanted a baby in the future (which I could just see him doing anyway), meaning that he wanted to have another child and wanted to be a father again. He's grown a LOT, as we all can clearly see, and has matured (thanks to Lilith and Junior) into a family man. He loves kids and now he realizes that he's wanted another one anyway, now here's another one and he doesn't want to make the mistake of turning down an opportunity to be a dad again. Plus, I'm VERY strongly against abortion and both Sam and Danny, in the show, would seem to be against it as well (especially Sam, considering she doesn't agree with hurting an animal, let alone killing a human). So there will never be any terminations in this story. EVER.
sammansonrepilica- Aw, you knew? Well that sucks for me. -_- Darn it.
Samtastic V2.0- It's fine. You're not the only one who gets a little passionate about my stories. :P I never thought people would like any of my works so much... Your rough review actually made me happy to know you cared so much. And I actually did just go see my neurologist recently. I'm seizure-free!
Life Of Red- They say it's cheesy, so be it! :D I happen to like cheesy; makes me blush. But it wasn't all me. I got help from 4 other authors and my teacher.
AJ- I know but I just feel obliged to reply since I've been doing it all this time. :P Besides, some people read their replies.
TheNinjaKitty13- *gasps* YAY A COOKIE! I'm the happiest author in the world... :'D
Lucifers. Angel. 93- Well, he was wanting to marry her for some time and now that he's got a baby on the way, it's the right thing to do. Plus he has another reason that kind of pushed him over the edge.
Mata Nui- X) Trust me, all this will fall into place quite nicely, especially in their teen years but it'll take me forever to reach it at the pace I'm going... -_- The twins are still three and now I have a pregnancy period to wait through.
nat- Welp. She slapped him last chapter to stop him from hyperventilating.
Favorite Daughter Of Hades- XD
LittleBoomBoom- XD Awwww! I kept smiling the whole time I was writing it! Poor nervous Danny... He was trying to get it right.
shadowstar1999- :D Yep! Lilith, Junior...and um... :/ Uh... Well, the poll will decide the gender(s)...
Inuyuke- I'm officially seizure-free! :D Still gotta go back every year but seizure-free!
PlasticPencils- ...You make a great point with the wedding dress... I didn't think about that...
TripleAAA1183- I think I PMed you that answer.
Life- :P It's miss or ma'am. But thank you so much! :D
Looka'sMagicHell- He had every reason to, so hey, he went for it. XD
Remember the poll! And I'll be harassing you until the poll goes down. So get your vote in while you can, that way my harassment isn't directed at you. :P