~Chapter 35~

The rest of the day at school wasn't so bad. Due to a ghost-free night and eventless patrol on the same night, he actually managed to get in time for both his family and his homework. Mr. Lancer, gotta love that he refused to cut any slack...

No one at school, save for Tucker, knew about Sam's new pregnancy and thanks to how soon it was until the school year was over, they would never know. Well, that is, not unless someone went to the same college. In that case, they'd probably know. But the halfa actually planned to take a year off and now he had two reasons to do so. For one, he didn't want to delve straight into college if he wasn't ready for it, plus it would be better from a financial aspect if he could start raising money before going to college. Two was that he couldn't miss the baby's birth and considering that Jazz's high school teacher wouldn't budge on the idea of letting her go even on such a special occasion, he wasn't anywhere near willing to take the same chance facing a college professor. No, absolutely not. Besides, he would still see his family every day; he would be living with his parents and attend a nearby college. No way was he trading in his family for something lesser, like a school.

It was actually his future job that worried him. How many other employees for any job had to sneak off with the excuse to use the bathroom only to come back exhausted and beaten twenty minutes later? It would look more like he he had an all out brawl with a feral gorilla. Or perhaps an all out brawl with a magical battle suit that came to life through the wand of a fairy godmother. Yes, that made perfect sense now didn't it?

He would have no way out of that unless his boss discovered his secret and took pity on him.

He sighed. Had to be about the thousandth time that day he'd sighed.

But today was Wednesday and Sam's parents still hadn't called him, texted, him, emailed him, nothing... He'd sent the letter/picture Monday. Tomorrow was Thursday. So if the answer was yes, then tomorrow during his lunch break would be when Sam finally met back up with her parents after three long years.

He stretched and went to his room to check his phone. Tucker usually left him a voicemail or text whenever there was a ghost around. But now Tucker always carried around a Fenton wrist ray and a Fenton thermos. Something told him the geek would be fine, especially since he'd become more skilled in the art of ghost-fighting. Three years could change a person, physically and mentally. Tucker now had the maturity of an uncle without kids or a wife. Basically, he'd barely changed over the years. But he did change in the sense that he was being forced to take on more ghosts when Danny Phantom began lacking the presence he used to have. The city had been startled about that for some time now. Where did Phantom go? Did something happen to him? Was he captured by another ghost?

How about...did he have kids, a future wife, school, ghosts, and everyday teenage drama?

So yes, Tucker was the one who took on more of that sort of responsibility. It gave Danny time to study and sleep. Patrolling was Tucker's break; that job was reserved for Danny no matter what. This was actually at Danny's insistence, having felt the need to reward Tucker with rest since he couldn't always be there during battles.

So now Tucker would leave messages and if Danny came, he came, if he didn't, he didn't.

There were no messages from Tucker and, unfortunately, no messages from the Mansons. Of course they wouldn't have contacted him. They'd kicked their own daughter out of the house when she was fifteen, pregnant, and unable to defend herself. They'd turned their backs to her and apparently, their grandchildren. God forbid something as horrible as Sam's pregnancy, leaving aside the events that got her pregnant to begin with, would tarnish their perfect social reputation. Well what if the entire world suddenly knew about all this? What would happen to their precious reputation then?

Another thought immediately entered his head. Publicity. The Mansons weren't afraid to go pubic with anything that might bring them more attention to their absolute 'perfections'. Well now they would find out what really happened that night they kicked her out, who the real father was, and why he'd been covering it up this whole time.

And if push came to shove, he would reveal a little secret of his own and show them who was utterly disgusted by their past actions and, if they refused to see their daughter, their recent actions. Maybe that would change their mind. Maybe they would see who had been taking care of Sam and the twins all this time. And the best part about Danny Phantom was that they had no proof of his human identity. They wouldn't even have proof that he was half human unless the Guys In White confirmed it. But he highly doubted that, especially given the little information they had to go on, the government would be willing to let that kind of thing slip. Hopefully, though, push wouldn't come to shove and it would run as smoothly as a Manson reunion could get.

Well, that is if th-

His phone rang abruptly, causing him to jump and jolting him from his thoughts. He took a mental note: during times like this, stop thinking so deeply.

He sighed in annoyance and checked the number. Unknown.

He never actually bothered to so much as ask Sam about her parents' cells numbers. He always called her on either her home phone or her cell phone. There was a chance... But he really shouldn't get his hopes too high. These were the Mansons and...well...bad things were known to happen with them. This was more likely to be an advertisement if anything.

He answered it nonetheless just in case it really was her parents.

He phased into the backyard before saying, "Hello?"

There was a sound on the other end, like someone taking a deep breath. Upon hearing that, he did the same. Whoever it was clearly had their nerves wracking, probably just as much as he did.

"I... We..." Another deep breath. "We're looking to talk to Daniel Fenton."

Her parents?! It was them! Oh geez, and on such short notice but...! It was for Sam. It was all for Sam. "This is he."

"Your voice sure has changed," a male voice pointed out. Jeremy.

"So to what do I owe this special call?" He tried to keep the seething anger from his voice but he was sure there was some strain on it.

A breath was sharply inhaled. "We got the picture."

"Did you read the back?" He was so tempted to add, 'Or did you toss it out?' but kept reminding himself that if he ticked off her parents now, there was every chance they would turn him down.

"Every word. You said the park, right? Tomorrow at noon?"

The halfa nodded but remembered that this was over the phone and they couldn't see him. "Around noon. I can't guarantee it'll be an exact time. We can try to get the twins to take a nap but sometimes they don't. If that happens my parents will watch them."

"Yes, the twins... You said you wanted to tell us something about them?"

He took a breath to calm himself. It wasn't necessarily what they said, since they were taking any kind of interest, but just talking to them, just hearing their awful voices... Tomorrow would be hard if they reached an agreement on it.

"Yeah," he replied. "But definitely not over the phone. Keep in mind that no matter what, this is strictly about the twins. This won't be about you or me, but the twins. Sam actually plays a big part in it but that's why I wanted you to promise not to see her any differently...unless it's for the better."

"We read the note, Daniel; we're very aware of that promise and if the 'news' is as big as you claim, then we'll try to keep that promise. For better or worse depends on what this discussion is about."

"I won't be bringing the twins if you agree to meet Sam and me at the park. Like I said, nap time. Very important. And if you want to meet-" He felt like saying, '-your own grandchildren that you've never bothered with before-' but kept it in his head. "-them, then you'll have to come over to our house. When I say 'our', I mean Sam's house too. She's been living here ever since-" '-three years ago when you threw her away-' "-she was fifteen."

"She must not have been very comfortable..." her father muttered under his breath.

Danny felt his face boil and swore that if another spout like that came out of that man's mouth, his sweat would turn into lava.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, she's been living here, so have the twins. Again, if you want to meet them, you know where to find them. Oh, and one more thing...Sam's turned out to be an amazing mother."

"Now, about the park..." Jeremy started.

"Like I said, tomorrow at around noon. Will that work?"

"It will, but if the news is so big, why talk about it in a public area?" the man asked.

"Because no one there pays attention to anyone sitting at a picnic table and because any thick silences will be drowned out by the park noises."

There was an understanding grunt on the other end and Danny took a breath. At least he knew for sure that they would be meeting up tomorrow at the time perfectly fitting for his schedule. Lunch break, twins' nap time, and Sam's break. Except this time, Danny would be skipping lunch and forcing Sam to eat an early one. Hopefully the conversation wouldn't take too long but just in case it did, he'd already told Tucker to tell Mr. Lancer that something had come up and he had to tend to it. Lancer had been holding up his end about letting 'fatherly behavior' slide. Well this was just... It was that and more... Surely his teacher would let that slide. He'd told Tucker that if Lancer demanded to know what was wrong, to tell him in private about the meeting with Sam's parents, but to give away as little information as possible, just enough to get by.

"We already know how children act so we can be patient. Take as long as you need to meet with us at the park. And even though you said it in your note, bring Samantha. If she played such a big part in this, we'd like to talk to her as well."

"Okay. I have to go now, but I'm glad you agreed to meet up."

He ended the call before he had to hear one more word from that man. Three years... Three years and this was all they could say... It couldn't be considered rude at this point, it went far beyond. There were no apologies in any of it. They didn't even ask if Sam was okay. That should've been the first thing to come out of their mouth. And what about the twins? They certainly didn't seem too eager to talk much about them, so why in the world would they even agree to discuss them?

He didn't know whether to be grateful that he'd finally managed to set this up or furious at her parents' attitude towards everything he just said. He didn't know whether he wanted to shake their hands or strangle them. They were lucky he wasn't a villain... They were so lucky he was Danny Phantom otherwise they would've been dead three years ago.

Which actually brought him to wonder why he hadn't heard any other noises in the background that would've indicated Pamela in the house. He also didn't hear her voice over the phone... He wondered if something happened to her, and what it might've been.

No. No, that was just his hero side taking over. He was being paranoid. Sam's mother was fine, otherwise Jeremy would've been a little more distressed.

He couldn't bear to think any more about it. What with Sam's parents, their unbelievable attitude...and...just... Ugh. Why couldn't things have been different? If he could he'd transfer Sam to an alternate reality where she still had everything. She would still be loved by her parents, the twins would be his biologically, and that rapist would never have been born. Everything would remain as it was, but with a few changes. Even if it meant he and Sam wouldn't be together...

But what was, was. There was nothing he could do to change it and there was no alternate reality Sam could go to. He doubted she would even want to go to an alternate reality. He knew she loved her life as it was, save for a few things.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, fighting back the urge to massage his temples. In spite of the fact that he was out of anyone's view, he wouldn't be showing that kind of behavior even to himself. He could sigh, sure, but going so far as to rub his temples? Yes, her parents had already given him a migraine, but for everyone else's sake...especially Sam's...he would just act normally. So then tomorrow it was. He hoped Sam would have a good rest tonight because tomorrow... Well...he didn't know how tomorrow would go. He could only hope it went okay-ish, at the least.

He took a deep breath. There was no going back now. He honestly didn't know if it was the best idea to be doing this behind Sam's back but even if it blew up in his face it would be worth it. Hopefully.

He smiled in disbelief. He was such an idiot. This wasn't a clueless action, this was pure stupidity. Tucker had been so right... He could've called the whole thing off instead of reaching that final agreement. What if this really did end up hurting Sam worse? What if she was finally starting to get over her parents? And then here he was, setting up an entire little operation behind her back. She hated lies. She trusted him.

He put a hand to his forehead and took another breath. She loved him. She gave him her life, her kids, her love, and her trust. Did he seriously just agree to throw all that away? If her parents wouldn't hurt her, he would. And if this situation took a turn for the worst... It was so possible for her to hate his existence if everything went wrong. And with his luck, something always went wrong. For a moment he thought about using a reverse-psychology jinx to ensure everything went smoothly. Then he second guessed it and waved off the idea. Better not to place any kind of jinx on it. But then he would be risking it all... Why? Why had he been so willing to risk everything he had just so he could lay down a line for the slim possibility of Sam's parents being able to re-love her or something? Or at least establish a relationship. It made so much sense but now it didn't make any. What kind of moron would do anything like this?

But he couldn't tell Sam even though she would want to know. She deserved to know. This was her family. And he was keeping everything from her. He hadn't let on to a single thing but he still felt like he was lying through his teeth every time he opened his mouth to talk to her. Part of him was hoping Tucker would come right out and say it, tell her everything. But the logical part criticized himself and scolded him, as if saying he was completely ignoring the truth. Well he was, actually. He hadn't just been ignoring the truth, he'd been denying it as well. He didn't want to believe this could go horribly wrong.

But the truth that he did stick to and that he did know was that Sam needed some form of communication between her parents, if only for one day. But was it really his job to provide it?

His disbelieving smile dropped and the hand on his forehead now ran itself through his raven locks.

A/N

Before I say anything in this A/N, I REALLY would encourage you to watch an anime called Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. Why? Because I'm hoping one of you is like me, wanting to make youtube videos. I'm trying to find episodes WITHOUT the subtexts and credits but I'm failing horribly. Praying someone will come along and tell me which site. Torrents welcome! AND IT HAS TO BE FREE AND WITHOUT REGISTRATION OR SOME KIND OF DOWNLOAD THINGY THAT YOU NEED TO INSTALL. Because every time I install those stupid download things, I'll go back to the same site in hopes that it'll let me download something, and then it winds up redirecting me to the download link of the download program I just installed. SO NO PROGRAM INSTALLATION!

Well, what'd you think? You like it? Hate it? Does it rock? Suck? Either way, here it is. This IS a filler chapter, but I feel like it kind of needed to be put in here just because everyone seems to think Danny is so hellbent on the idea and never thought much of it, when in reality it was slowly eating at him.

Well now! Now her parents have agreed on a meeting, KNOWING that Sam doesn't know about this yet, and it's happening tomorrow. Hmmm... Most of you have suspected that they would say yes, and you were right, BUT what do you think they'll do now? They clearly weren't too keen on meeting the twins, so that should give you some hint. They said yes knowing Sam would be coming, so do you think there's an ulterior motive behind their decision? My my, so many unanswered questions... Let's see how things go.

JUDGE ME LATER.

New quota is four hundred ninety-seven (497).

Replies:

ShadowDragon357- lol And let's not forget poor "meatless" Danny. He'll hate that so much... :3

princessbinas- XD I never said you guessed right. Heck until this whole poll thing tides over, I don't know the traits of the new baby/babies.

HeroAce- Oh yes he is! :D And yeah...I realized that thing with the photo but I'm just like, whatever. People get the gist, they know what it means. lol And you know what's funny? He seems to be forgetting Sam's pregnancy hormones. XD Well, now! You're the first person ever to think about them. To reward you, yes, I was gonna bring them back in but more as side characters since they're OCs and not many people like OCs. Although I've managed to bring in plenty and no one's minded so far. :P

Soofi Mtz- We'll see how that goes, huh? ;) For all you know, you could be right.

ChristinCC- :D Thanks! I was hoping that would reignite a little interest in the story. I felt like it needed something new, a little twist in it.

Mirlyinda- Well here they are! And thanks! :D

Mata Nui- XD Oh wow, I swear I have some of the most violent readers on all of fanfiction! Please give him a good tombstone. ;) He had good intentions.

LittleBoomBoom- XD Oh, sure, 'cause nothing EVER blows up in his face, right?

sammansonrepilica- No, you're fine, and don't feel uncomfortable asking anything about the story. If you're curious about something then hey, just go for it. I'm the furthest thing from judgmental. Anyway, to answer you, yes, they still "do it". Danny's not uncomfortable with it anymore so he has no more inhibitions.

Guest- o.o WOAH. All these chapters in TWO DAYS?! I take it you're a binge reader.

AJ- It's fine. And unless I die or become paralyzed (or something like that, you get the point), I'm keeping up on this story. I'll only stop when it's complete, just as I did in Flowers Will Bloom.

SuperGeorgia- Dang, three days? And I know you read Flowers Will Bloom because I saw your review, so just...whew. Doesn't that chalk up to 67 chapters TOTAL, each with about 3,000 wpc? I just don't know how you could do that... o.o And don't put off your homework just because of me! Er, this story. Sometimes I take a little longer to update than I'd like so trust me, you always have time.

THANK YOU to all who have sat there and put up with me! :D Every last one of you ROCKS!

***Also, I had taken down the original Flowers Will Bloom in hopes that the rewritten version would gain more attention (which it has), but I've recently decided to put it back up. If you had FWB faved or followed, you'll need to re-fave and/or re-follow.