~Chapter 40~
"You son of gun..." Tucker said as Danny sat down at their usual lunch table. "I can't believe you went straight from fighting worse than you've ever fought before to make-up sex. You're probably the only guy who would get away with that."
Danny shrugged. "She said I was right to do what I did, even the screaming part of it."
"She's pregnant. That might've been a mood swing."
"Nope. That was real. When Sam has a mood swing, she's fickle. She wasn't fickle yesterday, so it was real," he explained.
"Just don't screw up again today. I don't get to see Sam every day like you do and it would be nice if she could visit."
Danny opened his mouth to reply, but a person he recognized as Sam's cousin came to sit down with them.
"Hey," he greeted. "Did I just hear you guys say Sam is pregnant?"
Danny turned diagonally to face him. "I don't think I ever caught your name."
He grinned. "Sorry. We didn't get much of a chance to talk yesterday. I'm Cole."
The halfa held a hand out to shake his hand. "I'm-"
"Danny," Cole finished for him. "I've heard quite a bit about you from Sam."
"What...what did she say about me?" he asked.
Cole shrugged and answered, "She said you were overprotective and went into great detail about what you would do if you saw a roach in the house. She also said she and you had twins, which came as a huge shock. She also told me you two were getting married. Another big shock. And now I heard she's pregnant again."
"Yeah, she is."
"Is that why she snapped at you yesterday?"
Danny shook his head and replied, "No, that's not it. You probably overheard this when we were fighting, but Sam's parents kicked her out when they learned she was pregnant. That was three years ago. Her first pregnancy was nothing but a miserable mess. So many things could've been avoided if she had her parents there beside her... I knew how she felt about it so I set up a meeting with her dad behind her back and made her talk things out with him. It backfired severely and she gave me the cold shoulder for four days straight because of it. Finally, I got jealous and it annoyed Sam. That was when she snapped."
"What about the rest of the story? At first it wasn't too bad but then you just kind of...blew up. Except you weren't talking about this meeting, you said something about her getting in trouble. I'm kind of confused now."
The halfa scratched the back of his neck and said, "Well, it's a long story, but Sam did some pretty stupid things while she was pregnant. Don't tell Sam I said that. It put both her and the twins in danger. What you heard me going on about was just that. All of those stupid things were things I tried to help her through. Back then she didn't give too much thought into doing something before doing it anyway and she gave no thought to the consequences of her actions. I tried my best, I really did, but unfortunately the damage is done and I can't undo any of that. She didn't care that I was trying to help her and at one point she convinced herself that I wanted her to be even more depressed than she already was. I did everything I could to help her through everything she did but she just didn't see that."
"What about when you said that thing about 'leave her where she was'?"
"Oh, that. Well, like I said, Sam's parents kicked her out. I was the one who took her in and we've been living together ever since. But she was also depressed, and I didn't want her to stay depressed. I could've left her where she was, all alone to suffer, but I didn't. It paid off in the long run."
Cole sat back and sighed.
It was only then that Danny looked behind him and noticed all the angry scowls pointed directly at himself. Clearly yesterday didn't sit very well with them and despite the fact that they made Sam's school life completely miserable, they now hated him for making her cry. He wanted to return their expressions but it was hard to do that when the major difference between his actions and theirs was that she was his fiance. He was sure someone over there had caught onto that by now because of the ring, but that just made this situation all the worse for him. They also thought Sam was still upset with him. They didn't have any right to be fuming at him but somehow it seemed like they did. And apparently they thought they did. To be fair, though, most of those students weren't there when Sam was still in school. They didn't know much about what happened, so of course they figured they had the right to be mad.
Come to think of it, since they had nothing to do with Sam's misery, and since they didn't contribute at all to her depression, they did sort of have that right. They probably thought he was the only one in the wrong here even if his intentions were good. The students in his grade, now they were another story entirely. They were probably what pushed Sam over the edge to the point of cutting. Their words and actions weighed heavily on her and as if she didn't have enough burdens to carry, they added their crap onto all of it. They were the students that needed to drop their scowls and realize what they did before judging him.
It seemed a bit unjust to him that they would sit there staring in anger and disappointment, yet they never really cared about Sam to begin with. Tucker was allowed to do that, and he made sure to remind Danny of it. But these guys...they had zero interest before. Why was it that now was so different? The rest of yesterday and today, they were determined to make him feel like a jerk. They were failing since yesterday had turned out for the best, but they didn't know that and even now kept trying. It wasn't like he hadn't already gone through the 'I-feel-like-I-ripped-her-heart-out' stage. But in the end he really had done the right thing and Sam finally realized it, despite him beginning to doubt himself.
"Seriously, what gives them the right to be mad at me?" he snorted.
The statement was meant to be more for Tucker, but Cole was the one who answered in his place. "Probably because you sent Sam packing in tears."
Tucker threw in his own two cents with, "No, Danny's right. They were all awful to Sam when she was pregnant the first time. Her life was hard enough as it was, but then they made things ten times worse and laughed at it. What Danny did has nothing on what they did."
"One of the things they did was give her alcohol knowing she was pregnant," Danny added. "I wouldn't be surprised if they're the reason she did most of those stupid things I was talking about earlier."
"What all did they do?" Cole asked.
Now glaring back at them, he answered, "Notes, rumors, harsh comments, smug looks... The list just goes on and on, it's ridiculous and heartbreaking at the same time."
"Yeah," Tucker added. "Some people kept saying she cheated on Danny even though they weren't even dating at the time!"
For a moment it was silent and neither of the two really knew why. It was Danny that realized Tucker's mistake and was quick to kick him in the shin, which also proved that Sam was starting to rub off on him.
"What is the matter with you?!" he hissed.
"I'm sorry!" Tucker mouthed back.
"Wait, wait... If Sam was pregnant and you two weren't dating, then what exactly happened?" Cole asked.
He looked up for a second, fumbling around for the right excuse, or any excuse so long as it was even remotely believable.
"D-Drunk. Sam and I went to a party and we decided to try some alcohol, you know just to see what it tasted like, and we thought it was good, so we kept drinking until we were both way too drunk to tell what was what, and uh, we ended up...you know...doing the deed, and Sam got pregnant from it, actually, so that's how everything turned out and all," he lied.
Cole just sighed and turned to Tucker. "What really happened?"
Unlike Danny's, Tucker's reply was almost immediate. "Friends with benefits. Danny was stupid and didn't use protection."
As much as he wanted to punch Tucker for calling him stupid and as much as he wanted to blush at the thought of being a beneficial friend, he couldn't help but feel grateful that the answer sounded a hundred times better than his own.
"Sam's strongly against premarital sex. She always has been, and she's too stubborn to change her mind about that. She would probably kick Danny between the legs just for suggesting the idea," her cousin said. "Can anyone please tell me the truth? She's my cousin, not some random stranger."
Crap. And what he said was completely true... Sam would not like the idea of friends with benefits and she would not hesitate to show him that. And she was his family...but...
"Look, I'll be honest with you. Spiked drink," Tucker said, apparently not willing to give in yet.
"Doesn't party."
"Love. Powerful love."
"Against premarital sex."
"Look," Danny interjected. "We can't tell you. We promised Sam we wouldn't tell anyone without her permission. I know you're her family but I've already betrayed her trust once with that meeting, I'm not about to do it again."
"Are you the real father of the twins?" he asked, seeming to completely ignore what the halfa said.
Danny couldn't really say anything to answer or sidestep that question. Saying yes would require a followup explanation, which he didn't have. All his excuses had been used up and Tucker had taken the rest of the ideas. Saying no would result in growing suspicion on Cole's part and eventually he would start coming to conclusions. He was a member of Sam's family and knew Sam pretty well, so he would know that Sam wouldn't cheat on anyone. He also already knew that she wasn't dating anyone at the time she got pregnant. Staying silent like this was giving him all the answer he needed anyway.
"You're not, are you?" he continued.
He surrendered, knowing that Cole knew the answer anyway, and shook his head. "No. I'm not. I love the twins though. I think of them as my own. Sam got their last names changed to mine. On their birth certificates it says I'm the father. Legally they're mine, but in reality they're adopted. I may not share the same blood, but I'm the one they'll grow to see as their father and that's what counts."
"It's true," Tucker added. "He really does treat the twins like they're his own. He's wanted to help raise them since before they were even born and he was so excited about them that Sam named the boy after him. You can ask Sam if you don't believe us, he really does love those kids. And me too. I'm their charming, handsome, and charismatic Uncle Tucker."
Cole took a deep breath. "I do have one guess at what happened. I really hope I'm wrong about this, but...was she violated?"
This time both the boys look edgy and nervous. Neither one of them talked. They were both at a loss for words, especially since this was the first time anyone had guessed correctly. Danny's family loved her like a daughter but even they, unfortunately, guessed horribly wrong and said things he was sure they wished they hadn't. Sam's own father didn't have much of a reaction to that news.
"Violated as in raped?" Tucker asked, his tone not very convincing that it was a real question. What exactly did he hope to accomplish by asking that anyway? Cole's question was pretty clear as it was, he didn't need to repeat it.
"Tucker!" Danny growled, kicking his shin again.
This time he flinched and held his leg. "Look, we kept our promise, okay? If he figured it out on his own that's not our fault. We didn't tell him. We also have no more lies to cover this up. Face it, Danny, we came to a dead end."
Then, turning to Cole, he continued, "Yes, she was, but no one in the school knows that. At first Danny just said he was the father to protect her and keep her secret, but it didn't take long before he wanted to be a real dad. As far as everyone at school knows, he's the real dad. And Sam wanted it to stay that way, so we promised her we wouldn't tell anyone. We've been keeping this a secret ever since we first found out."
"God, I wish I c-"
"You wish you could've been there to stop it," Danny interrupted. "That's what we said too."
Cole should just be glad he didn't find out the way he had. At least Cole wasn't the one who went to check on Sam thinking she was sick because she kept missing school only to have her cry into his shirt as she explained every last detail of what happened. Then he realized there was nothing he could do that could take that pain away. Tucker knew how bad it had to feel, or at least got an idea of it. He'd seen Danny grow more and more protective of Sam as time went on. It made perfect sense that he would be so protective. Now there were children involved so that increased it but that was to be expected right? The girl he loved was raped, nearly had her throat slit, and raped again. Add to all that the students at Casper High and her parents kicking her out, and yes, you had a very depressed girl.
But Cole could never begin to imagine how much that hurt, to know he was helpless to take some of that off her. He tried and tried but even in the end, he only managed to distract her long enough for her to get rid of it herself. She shouldn't have had to feel like she was suffering alone. He was there beside her through it all, suffering in a different kind of way.
He wasn't even aware that Sam had come to visit and to his relief, was completely ignoring all the looks cast at her. Unlike with him, the looks at her were of sorrow and pity. As if Sam liked to be pitied...
She sat across from Cole, right next to Danny. It was another relief to the halfa to know that her forgiveness had lasted through the night and all the way to this point. And- Crap if she found out Cole knew her secret she would think it was his fault and...! If anything this was Tucker's fault for letting her cousin know they weren't dating at the time she got pregnant!
He could only hope Cole wouldn't say anything...
She kissed him, making sure it lingered so everyone else would know to shut up and leave him alone. He wrapped an arm around her waist, giving them the same message.
She parted and whispered, "Are they mad at you for yesterday?"
"They've been mad at me since yesterday," he murmured back.
"I'm the only one allowed to be mad at you."
"Thank you so much for that, dove," he said sarcastically. "I really appreciate that."
She shrugged and turned to her cousin. "Sorry about yesterday. Tensions were already running high between me and Danny, and things just got out of hand."
It was Cole's turn to shrug. "It escalated pretty fast, I'll say that much. But don't worry about it. My girlfriend and I recently had a fight. Some girl keeps flirting with me and she hates that, so when I tried talking to the girl saying I had a girlfriend and wasn't interested, she got the wrong idea and just...boom, blew up at me. We made up, but for some reason I was the one who had to apologize."
"That's just stupid," she said.
This coming from the girl who got jealous whenever Paulina came up to Danny... It was so obvious that he didn't feel her grab his shirt and look around him to glare daggers at Paulina. Yes, she was a horrible person, but her beauty was only skin deep. Even when Sam had confronted him about it...even when Sam had asked him directly if he still thought Paulina was attractive...he told her his thoughts on the matter. She still got jealous. He didn't know whether he was supposed to find that cute or tiresome. Either way he felt like the victim in all that.
"She's not always like that. It's just that one particular girl," he said.
Wow was this a similar situation... Hard to believe his Sam and Cole's girlfriend had that in common. It made him wonder if jealousy ran rampant in all girls.
"Glad I'm not like that," she said.
He rolled his eyes.
"So from that kiss I'm assuming you guys made up?" Cole said, probably about as much a question as it was a statement.
Before either of them could answer, Tucker decided to jump in.
"Oh they made up all right," he replied. "They made up real good."
For a third time, Danny kicked his shin. "Really?!" he hissed.
Despite the pain, he smirked. The real translation of that text Danny sent him? 'Shut up so Sam and I can have sex.' Payback for that. He already knew they had sex but it wasn't like he wanted to be texting them in the middle of it! Why couldn't Danny have simply let him be blissfully unaware of what happened? He could've ignored the text entirely but no, of course not. Instead he got too relieved about being forgiven that he preferred to send one heck of an awkward reply. Or hey, he could've left it at part one, where he 'accepted his punishment'. Nope, he just had to go in and add that second 'do not disturb' as part two.
Cole ran and hand through his hair and let out a breath. "I didn't really need to know that."
Tucker cast a gloating look at Danny, one that said 'checkmate'. It was like he had been saving that for the perfect time, and what better time than this? Or for Danny and Sam, what worse time than this?
Surprisingly Sam didn't get angry at him. She did give him a short stare, but it was emotionless.
"So, Sam..." Cole started. He hesitated at his next words and during that time of silence, both the boys froze in dread of what he was sure to say next. "Do you know who the real father of the twins is?"
Tucker's gloat turned into nervousness and he looked at Danny, who was still frozen stiff.
"Danny," she answered flatly, as if she didn't know what Cole was hinting at.
"No, I mean the biological father," he clarified. "I already know Danny just said he was the real father to keep your secret and I can respect what he did. I j-"
Sam quickly elbowed Danny in the ribcage and gave him a cold glare.
In turn he pointed towards Tucker. "His fault. I had nothing to do with it."
"What?! No! I didn't do anything, Danny did! He's the one who blew up yesterday!" the geek argued.
"No, seriously, he made Cole suspicious!"
"Yeah, but on accident!"
"He's the one who told him I'm not the father!"
"Cole figured it out himself!"
"Because of Tucker's lame excuses!"
"I tried! I swear, I tried to cover it up!"
"I didn't have that many excuses though! I just said we got drunk!"
"And I said you two were friends with benefits! I gave a better reason than Danny did!"
Sam immediately put up her arms in an X, signaling a time-out, and turned to face Tucker, leaving Danny breathing a sigh of pure relief. He'd just gotten out of trouble, he wasn't about to get back in it.
"You said we were friends with benefits?" she growled. "I would've murdered Danny if he even thought of that!"
Good thing he didn't.
"I-I told you, I was only trying to help," he squeaked.
"Alright, Cole," she demanded, turning back to Cole. "What do you know?"
"In a nutshell, I know that you were violated and got pregnant because of it," he answered. "I was just wondering...are you okay after an ordeal like that?"
Seriously? Again? Why did it seem like everyone was so stupid? It had been a long time though... It had been a long time since she last talked about it, setting aside her dad. Cole was also very observant, which made him capable of figuring things out quickly. He listened, watched, and waited...all while having the patience of a saint. It wasn't that surprising that Cole figured this out on his own. He really only needed a hint or two and from there would ask many questions. Even if those questions were met with silence, he would know the answer. He could also tell a lie when it was thrown at him.
But still, he never really asked stupid questions or questions that had the obvious answer. She herself didn't know if, at this point in time, she could be qualified as 'okay' with it. Therefore his question actually didn't have a very obvious answer; on the flipside, it didn't have a vague one either. Back when she was pregnant with the twins, she was disgusted and was not, by any means, 'okay'. Back then she didn't care much for the twins, made horrible decisions, and constantly failed at moving forward in life. So there were some more events that smothered her, each one just another item on that list. So no, back then she wasn't okay. Even after the twins were born, she wasn't okay.
Come to think of it, even now, she wasn't exactly 'okay' with what happened. She preferred not to think about it but when she did, she began to feel herself drawing back, like she was inwardly trying to avoid the topic altogether but couldn't because it was real. It wasn't a dream or illusion, it actually happened. Despite how much better her life turned out to be, and despite the known fact that it was a blessing in disguise, she tried not to think about it for a reason. One of them, perhaps, was that she didn't want to go back to seeing the twins as adopted by Danny. She liked seeing Danny as the real father because he treated them no differently than he would treat this baby, as he had continuously proved and would continue to prove. Her life had ten times more meaning to it than it did before.
It was just that the inhibition she'd been trying to get rid of wouldn't go away. She needed Danny's safety at night or she would have nightmares. In those nightmares she basically went through the same thing. When she woke up Danny would wake with her and immediately try to calm her down. She still had a fear of the darkness because of what happened and she was a goth. She used to love the dark, night, and shadows. Now they seemed so threatening though. It was further proof that the trauma remained even to this day, three years since her rape.
The ordeal Cole was talking about had been just like her cutting spell. She had healed from it, but the scars were still there. She could hide them but they didn't simply disappear. No matter how hard she tried to forget what happened, she couldn't; especially not when people were finding out left and right. They asked the same questions each time, all of which had the same answers. But Cole's question, just because it came from him, made her think. If she was completely honest with herself, was she really okay?
If she had the chance to change what happened, she wouldn't change a thing. As much as she hated it, if she wasn't raped, the twins wouldn't be here and neither would this baby. She and Danny might not be together because in a rather odd twist of fate, that torture was what acted as the foundation for their relationship. It was literally what brought them together.
"Sam," Cole's voice said, bringing her out of her thoughts. "It's fine if you're not. I wouldn't expect you to be okay, no matter how much time passes."
"I'm okay," she replied.
She could say it all she wanted but every time she looked back at that incident, there was doubt and insecurity welling inside. Danny helped so much to help her contain that without letting it build up, but it was still there. A lot of things were still there that Danny didn't even know about. It wasn't because she didn't trust him, it was because she didn't know how to tell him. One day she would, if she could ever figure out how to, but for now he wouldn't know. And maybe it was for the better that he didn't. He was very sensitive when it came down to her or the twins. He would do anything for his family, so knowing he'd overlooked something even after all this time would kill him.
A/N
BEFORE ALL ELSE! Your time on the poll now is nearly GONE. After this chapter, the name of the baby/babies will be revealed and the poll will be closed. Unlike with all my other polls, this one is by far the shortest-lived one yet. That said, if you haven't cast your vote, then you have ONE LAST CHANCE.
Wow. Bad place to stop... :/ Cole has a reason for coming to Amity Park and if any of you are wondering, YES part of it is because he wants to see Sam. NO, he didn't know what happened because he wasn't even there. And now the fella finds out (or technically, thanks to Tucker, figures it out), so will he treat Sam any differently? Will he pity her and tiptoe around her? Try to be extra careful not to upset her?
I also thought this would be a good chapter because even I got the feeling that Sam still had a piece of her that couldn't get over the rape. I just thought this would be one way to dive into new depths about that because I know I haven't explained her emotions very well lately, especially those concerning being raped. I did a poor job of detailing what Sam was feeling when she confessed everything to her dad and that was just pathetic on my part.
Most of this was dialogue, but I wanted Cole to know everything (vaguely on some things, which is why he has no idea about what 'stupid things' Sam did while she was pregnant). I also wanted another ally for Sam, Danny, and Tucker in terms of school life.
This chapter was over 5,000 words long. Therefore, I'd really like to have a quota for this chapter: randomly selected (from a range, of course), it's five hundred fifty-two (552).
As always, replies:
princessbinas- lol I like Kagome's grandpa but I like Danny's reaction to pretty much everything his parents do better. I bash pairings more than I do characters. I could go on and on about the pairings but it's easier just to say, I prefer canon. A LOT.
jim89- Emotional enema... Okay then... Interesting analogy... It was what the relationship needed, which is one reason I put it in there. No, Sam acting nice will not earn Danny any brownie points with the rest of the school. As you can see. XD As for Sam's cousin, he's a pretty analytical guy (in case you can't tell from this chapter). He waits until he can understand the situation before judging or accusing anyone. And lastly, Dani and Valerie. They aren't shown much in the show itself, especially not Dani, who was only shown twice, so I don't plan on making them play an important role. I do plan on putting them in the story though. Just...not now. ;)
darkangeloflove15- Glad to hear that! I tried hard on that chapter. o_o
beautifullove521- Thanks! And updated! ;D
puppets4ever- Well, I tend to do better on the emotional detail. :P I use emotional detail to make up for the lack of physical detail. It seems to work just fine, so I stick to it. To be honest with you, I hated the swearing myself. I never swear and I don't even like to read swearing, but I wanted to use strong language to stress how Danny felt a little more. Awww, really? :D Updated!
Favorite Daughter of Hades- You'll see. :) Part of it was just because he wanted to see his cousin.
ChaosShadow12- Thank you, but I had a lot of help on the poem. Yes, it was long, but that there was Danny's proposal poem. Poor guy wanted to get it right. lol Did you really do what Sam did?
SuperGeorgia- He was, and that was what Sam finally came to realize. Thank you! And no, he is definitely not. XP And I hope you thought about poor Tucker with that message, because I don't think anyone would've taken very kindly to reading that on their phone.
Hey, little announcement sort of thing here. If any of you have a birthday in April, I will try to update on your birthday! ;D No making these things up though. I can't update every single day, I need time to write out these chapters. So anyone who has an April birthday, tell me! :)