~Chapter 41~

"Woah!" a certain ghost biker shouted as he barely dodged a furious green ball of energy.

Johnny's bike, however, didn't escape the next one that came hurling his way. The back wheel was struck squarely in its middle and dragged a short way on the ground before swerving the entire motorcycle, tipping it and throwing Johnny off. He only had his shadow and it wasn't anywhere near enough to stop-

"PHANTOM, WAIT!" he cried.

Unfortunately for him, his calls were ignored and he was delivered an uppercut so powerful it sent him a good five feet in the air. He spat out two teeth and tried again.

"I only came-"

Danny balled his hands into fists and punched Johnny through an entire building, following him even through the rubble that broke apart and fell.

The biker propped himself up on one elbow and held a hand out, as though that would protect him.

"I swear, I didn't come by t-"

The halfa grabbed his the collar of his jacket and forcefully pressed him against the next building, the brick wall already beginning to crack from the amount of pressure being put on it.

Eyes glowing, Danny decided to show a little mercy and asked, "What are you doing here, 13? Did I not make it clear enough that I didn't want anybody near here? Because if I didn't I can certainly clarify for you."

"N-No!" he yelped. "I just want to ask a question but I couldn't find you anywhere else!"

"A question?"

"Yes! I swear, I only wanted to talk!"

He pressed Johnny further into the building, causing more cracks to form in the wall. "What kind of question?"

"J-Just set me down, man! I don't want any trouble!"

"What's your precious question?" the halfa asked as he released Johnny.

The ghost slid down the wall and held and arm that appeared to have been injured somewhere along the one-sided fight. He hadn't done anything.

And Danny knew that. These ghosts, though... These ghosts needed to learn their lesson about coming near the twins. Most of them wouldn't even think about looking at them anymore. Whenever one thought he or she was brave enough, they turned out to prove themselves foolish and stupid. Word had to have reached far and wide in the ghost zone that these two particular kids were completely off-limits. They knew he would come and if he sensed them anywhere near the twins, he would become their worst nightmare in a split second. Seeing him so ruthless made them rethink their decisions to get in his bingo book.

"There are rumors going around about those kids," Johnny said. "Everyone sees it. You normally fight us and actually have mercy. But when it comes down to those kids, you change. You normally chase us away or suck us into that thermos during a regular fight, but you won't do that in fights like these. Even if we're not doing anything, if we're around those two little kids, you'll destroy us if we don't run. In fact, the only way to avoid that is to stay away from them."

"That's right," he said bluntly. "Now I suggest you get to the point before my patience runs out."

"My point is, you act like those kids are your life source. Why is it just them? You don't act this way around other kids," Johnny finished.

Danny simply stared and crossed his arms. He couldn't lie his way out of that one being as every last bit of it was true. He did act differently around the twins, but that was the extent of everyone's knowledge. They didn't know the twins were his. They didn't know Sam was pregnant again; though to be fair he'd protected her about as much as he protected the twins. They were too focused on him to see her swollen belly. (A/N: I didn't quite know how to build up to this time skip but this chapter takes place almost four months later, which means Sam is now six months pregnant.)

"I'm starting to think they're your kids. I mean, you're young, but it's possible," Johnny said.

"I am young. It is possible. But do they look half ghost to you?" he replied. "You've seen them before: brown hair, hazel eyes... Do I have brown hair? Hazel eyes?"

"It doesn't always matter what you look like. It could depend on their mother or some other relative," the biker countered. "They might not even have ghost powers."

"Listen, 13," Danny growled, "I'll gladly lay my life on the line for these kids! Make sure everyone else knows that! Now my patience is thinning, get out of here unless you want to end up on death's doorstep again!"

Johnny didn't even go for his bike; he just ran, happy to still be here.

Danny didn't follow and only stood there in thought. If Johnny knew, Kitty knew. If Kitty knew, Spectra and Ember were also likely to know. The rumor was there, as Johnny told him, but how? Well...come to think of it, he spent so much time with the twins and he really did protect them at any and all costs. Unlike most battles, where he was sure his kids were well out of harm's way, he wouldn't try to obliterate them. But near his family, he put his entire being into those battles. He became merciless, ruthless, and unforgiving. None of the ghosts ever got away unscathed. Many of them had the scars to prove it. None of them fought back, they only fled.

That said, the rumor of the twins being his kids would spread easily, far and wide. Vlad, by now, would've probably heard these rumors. Although Danny had never confirmed it, he was sure his constant avoidance on the matter answered Johnny's question. But now that they knew for sure, they knew why they shouldn't be stupid enough to come near his kids, his unborn child, and his soon-to-be wife...though the last two were a package deal since Sam was the one carrying that child.

Wait... The baby! Sam's appointment!

He rushed back to his house and phased through the wall to his room, transforming back to his human self and watching as Sam was just pulling on a new shirt. It was a larger size than the old maternity shirts.

"I'm so fat now..." she grumbled to him as she tugged on the hem to help smooth it out.

"You're pregnant, not fat. Huge difference," he said.

"I'm fat," she flatly replied.

"Well I think you look great."

"I swear, you're such a liar!" she huffed. "I can barely see my toes anymore, I can't get my shoes on, and I need help getting up after I sit down!"

"It won't be much longer, Sam," he reminded her.

"Yeah? Well when your gut is used as a punching bag, then tell me that," she countered.

He wrapped his arms around her, smiling as he felt the baby squirm around. "The baby's healthy and growing."

"I know that. It wakes me up in the middle of the night to tell me that," she mumbled. "If today wasn't a special day, I'd be so mad at you right now..."

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hand over her stomach, trying to keeping up with the baby's movements. She always went back and forth between fat and pregnant, ever since she got a baby bump. But because of the way her stomach looked, it was easy to see that she was pregnant, not fat. It made no difference to her and she added her steadily increasing weight to the equation, coming to the conclusion that she was both pregnant and fat. He didn't see it that way. Nobody else saw it that way. In fact, everyone tried to convince her that she didn't look fat, but she refused to listen. Occasionally she blamed him for her weight, but that was only when she was moody enough.

His mom said it was normal and that she did the same thing to Jack when she was pregnant.

But today was too special and hormones or not, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. Today was the day they would finally be able to pick out a name for the baby. Today was the day they found out whether it was a boy or girl. It wasn't twins, which came as a huge relief to them both, but no matter the gender, this baby would have to be carefully monitored. If it had any of Danny's powers, disaster could fall.

"Your parents are busy. Tucker said he would watch the twins," she said as she pushed his hands off and tried to position her shirt in a way that wouldn't make her look as 'fat'.

Suddenly she threw her hands up in the air. "It's useless! Every single shirt is too tight!"

He sighed and took her hand, leading her to the car. The goth stayed hellbent on viewing herself as fat throughout the entire car ride, getting more and more frustrated with her shirt as time went on. It was a mood swing coupled with what he counted off as another symptom of pregnancy-one that she'd only shown very late into her first pregnancy-and a 'tight' maternity shirt. In reality it wasn't tight at all, but she didn't see it that way. And she wouldn't until her stomach completely flattened a few weeks after she gave birth. Until then, the shirt was tight and she was fat. Because obviously pregnancy had absolutely nothing to do with this.

He parked the car and prepared for that thirty-minute wait that always seemed to come with these appointments. Listening to Sam complain about her shirt, weight, and belly had taken away most of the excitement. He couldn't help but smile at the memory of her first ultrasound when she was pregnant with the twins. She hadn't been complaining about anything she was complaining about now, so the happiness never faded and his excitement only grew. He never did show it, but the thought of twins was definitely an experience.

It wasn't twins this time, it was one baby, and probably the biggest difference was that Sam wasn't held back by her past anymore, leaving plenty of time to spend focusing on girly things that she would normally never care too much about. If she wasn't pregnant, she wouldn't be saying anything about gaining a few pounds. Tight clothes? Not much of a problem unless they were really tight. In fact, the only problem she ever had with her clothes was making sure the sleeves were long enough to hide her scars. She went to such great lengths to hide those scars that nobody, aside from himself of course, had ever seen them.

Now her constant frustration with herself was getting on his nerves and the excitement would only return once they actually got in the room. But for now he waited with her as she continued to fiddle around with her shirt.

He'd never told her that she was aggravating him by looking at herself like she was, or complaining about her weight all the time, but only because his mother told him this was normal. There wasn't anything he could do about 'normal' things during pregnancy, so he just dealt with it the way he dealt with her moodiness...go along with it, agree on a positive and disagree on a negative. That much wasn't anyone's advice but it worked wonders and cut the stress down to half of what it would be. He could only keep telling himself that once the baby was born, it would be all over. Her mood swings would go away, she would stop picking at him over every little thing he did, and she would stop pointing out how large her stomach was. Yes, it was large, and yes, it would get even larger! It didn't mean she was fat though! And that extra weight belonged to the baby! That was why the scale mistreated her!

Just more proof of how much he was dealing with... And her complaints weren't the worst part of it. Thanks to her mood swings, affection lasted all of five minutes before vanishing into thin air. Irritability took over and even the twins frustrated her. And according to Sam, he stressed her out far more than anyone else. Whether that was true or not, he didn't know, but his father told him that although Sam gave a whole new meaning to mood swings, everything she was doing was completely normal. Knowing that made all the crap she threw at him for the past six months bearable.

He felt horrible for saying that about Sam, but he had to face facts...when he had his head bit off every time she found one of his shoes untied, that was considered crap. And it wasn't just shoes! No, there were so many other things that could press her buttons. If she had the slightest tangle in her hair, it was the end of the world. He spent too much time fighting a ghost, he had to face the music. Paulina was so much as mentioned... He shuddered.

He tried to get out of it all. He loved her but there were times he just wanted to get loose. It was like she was putting a leash on him. She scolded him constantly and without his parents there to keep reminding him it was normal and would be over soon enough, he would go crazy! She was trying to drive him up the wall!

"You look fine," he repeated as she continued to berate the God-awful maternity shirt.

"Your gut is not expanding!" she hissed. "You have no idea what this is like for me!"

And she had no idea what this was like for him.

"And let me guess, that shirt will trigger Armageddon?" he drawled.

"Armageddon for my brain!"

"It's fine, Sam," he sighed.

"God I have to pee..." she growled to herself.

At least the shirt was off the hook now...

"You know what they said about that," he reminded her. "Can't go until after the ultrasound."

"Then they better hurry!"

He ran a hand through his hair. Just go with it...that was what he'd learned to do. Didn't always work, but it was the only shot he had at times like these.

"Samantha Manson," the lady at the counter called out.

FINALLY.

He followed Sam through the hall and into the room they were guided to. It was just as small as with the twins but thankfully, had enough room for him to be in there. The excitement was, at last, coming back. Sam's complaints were forgotten...for the moment.

The technician pulled Sam's shirt up, which was a nice way of rubbing salt on the wound considering how long he'd had to endure her hating that shirt, and as she did with all her ultrasounds, squirted cold blue gel onto Sam's stomach.

Danny didn't pay much more attention to anything else when the screen in the top corner of the room flickered to life. As usual, there was no immediate movement. To anyone who didn't know what was going on, it would cause mental panic, but in actuality she was only looking for the baby. He didn't understand why it always took a whole minute to look around inside such a confined space, over half of it taken up by the baby.

But finally, the lump that kicked the screen. Nicely done, too. It knocked the technician off for a bit but she quickly found it again. Unfortunately, not nice enough.

Danny smiled at the thought that the baby could turn out to be just as stubborn as he was, as long as he or she didn't hurt themselves. If it was a boy it could turn out to be a mini Danny, hopefully without the puniness he used to have. And if it was a girl, he hoped dearly that she wouldn't become another Sam. He already had two and two was more than enough. Hopefully, either gender, it would eat meat and not go on a vegan diet.

"Well, I can't say this is an easy baby..." the technician mumbled. "It keeps turning around."

This had to be the most amusing ultrasound ever. Even unborn this little one was showing its clear disposition. It was being defiant, just like Sam... Another miniature Sam! Please no! No! Not another one!

It turned again.

Aw... It was so cute though... Adorable lil' baby...

Finally, it stopped, and the technician took the chance to pinpoint it.

"Baby girl!" she declared after a short moment.

"A very energetic baby girl," Sam added.

He tried to look calm, but the smile on his face was proof enough that he was ready to jump ten feet in the air. And he could, if he wanted. And he did want to so, so bad. He would have to wait until he was outside to suffocate Sam with the same bear hug he used on her when he found out the genders of the twins. He knew she was expecting that; she was eying him very carefully, waiting for him to do something most guys wouldn't do.

"Well, congratulations, you two," she said, her voice soft and cheerful.

She handed Sam a hand towel and the goth didn't hesitate to wipe off the blueish goop.

"Sam!" he cried. "We need to think of n-"

"No, we need to let me use the bathroom!" she retorted.

The technician stood up and moved clear out of the way, leaving an open path for her.

"Mood swings?" she asked.

He nodded. "Worst I've ever seen."

She just laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Hang in there."

"Trying," he said as he left, 'following' Sam.

Danny burst through the door, throwing his fists up in the air.

"IT'S A GIRL!" he squealed. "IT'S A BABY GIRL!"

Tucker sighed as he got up from playing a puzzle with the twins.

"And you'll be this hyper for how long before it doubles in a few months?" he deadpanned.

He smirked in response. "Hey, you'll get to be an uncle all over again."

Sam pushed her way through the door and flopped onto the couch. Danny's parents and Jazz were out so she was outnumbered by the boys. Junior was fine since he was three. Plus it probably helped that he was her own child, but Danny and Tucker? Augh. BOYS. And Danny, he was so childish! He was like a third kid when he got like this! All he did after an ultrasound was brag about the baby to Tucker, Jazz, Maddie, and Jack. It could last for hours depending on how excited he got, and this time they just found out they were having a girl. It was cute to everyone who didn't have to deal with it. On top of that his excitement was exhausting. With someone else watching the twins, she was free to take naps, but that was hard to do when a baby was up and about inside her.

Besides...they'd already made a list of names. Danny would most likely go through a thousand girl names until he settled back on the list. They were both leaning towards a mere four names but had yet to decide on just one. Tucker had been asked to help with it but he was also being tugged around. Jazz was the same way. His parents? They went way past the list, suggesting a hundred more names. Cole had helped pick out the third and fourth names but couldn't decide which he liked best. For now it was a standstill; nobody knew what they wanted.

"Hey, guys?" Tucker said, taking the opportunity to break Danny's gloating.

He'd done the same thing with the twins, too. And once it was nearing her due date, he went into overdrive. He took so much pride in his family and that was what made him a wonderful father...but...he could stand to be a little less irritating when it came to things like this.

"Hm?" she mumbled into a couch cushion, listening less to Tucker and more to the sound of the twins putting together their puzzle. It was almost funny, how fascinated they were.

"So...I know Danny beats the undead crap-"

"TUCKER!" she hissed, pointing to the twins. "We have little tape recorders here!"

"Right. Sorry. Danny doesn't like it when meanies come anywhere near those kids, but Johnny 13 came by earlier while you two were gone asking me a bunch of questions. He asked if they were Danny's kids and if that was why he was so protective of them. He also said he has no intention of hurting them. He asked me to tell you that he and Kitty think they're cute and just want to see them."

She heard Danny growl but didn't blame him; she had a snarl on her face as well.

"What did you tell him?" she muttered through the fabric of the cushion.

"He didn't come in the house and I had my Fenton wrist ray on, so he didn't see the kids, but I told him to talk to Danny about that. I also wished him good luck because with all these other ghosts around..." The geek hesitated for a moment. "M-Maybe it's better if we have another ally. Johnny and Kitty aren't bad choices. They can keep us updated on ghost activity, and they can help protect the twins."

Danny snorted. "Protect the twins?! I can do half of what they can do tenfold!"

She didn't need to see it to know Tucker was preparing to defend himself.

"No, no! I'm not saying you can't protect them, we all know you can and you've done an excellent job of it. But if something happens where no one can be there, we could really use all the help we can get. The more people we have on our side, the less chances of the kids getting into trouble. Plus, most of these ghosts are scared stiff of you. It makes sense that they would want to get on your good side, right? And what better way to do that than helping you with your kids?" he explained.

"I don't care! They're scared of me for a reason and I intend to keep it that way!"

"I'm just saying you might want to consider his offer. He came alone, completely unarmed, didn't even have his shadow with him. He did know you weren't home though, and that's why he came when he did. Just think about this for a minute before you go have a coronary, okay?"

"No! It's your turn to think!" he returned. "If I'm letting ghosts near my kids willy-nilly, Vlad will catch wind of it and he'll do something about it."

"And you'll have a lot of other allies to help you. You know Vlad's a handful, even for you! And now you're about have a third baby, don't you think you need all the help you can get? If this one had ghost powers, you're the only one who can train her. It took you forever just to get a grip on your own powers, so how long do you think it'll take to help your daughter get a grip on hers? While you're training her to control powers that might make people think of her as a freak, you could have a lot of others willing to help protect the twins. All they'll want in return is mercy. Do you understand now? If they lay a finger on any of your kids, they'll be pulverized. Does that sound like something they'd want?"

"I am not-!"

"Think about it!" the goth groaned. "Tucker's right. It's getting hard for me, okay? Especially with me being pregnant, I mean... I am waddling now! I'm like a freaking penguin! My ankles get swollen, my weight has skyrocketed, and I'm already exhausted from pregnancy alone, then I need to keep up with Lilith and Junior. I'm open to Tucker's idea, I think we need to take up Johnny's offer. Help would be lovely right now."

"How can we trust him?" Danny countered. "How do I know he won't hurt the twins?"

"It's not just you, Danny! Tucker is right! You're not here all the time! Your parents go after Casper High's new ghost mascot all the time now, Jazz is busy in college, and Tucker's got his own job! I'm left alone with the twins all day! I can't simply go get a bazooka from the lab, you know!" She sat up and sighed. "I'm six months pregnant, Danny, I can't do the things I used to... And when I'm heavily pregnant, like eight or nine months, how can you trust me to fight off any ghosts?"

He frowned.

"I won't be able to," she finished. "My weight would slow me down too much."

"But Johnny and Kitty can," Tucker added. "Kitty's light and agile. Johnny's street savvy and has a shadow that can break pretty much anything. Plus, Kitty's a girl, she can relate to Sam a lot more than we can."

This time he bit his lip. It wasn't what Tucker said that got to him, it was what Sam said. She had just as much say in this as he did, probably even more. She was pregnant and sometimes she was left alone for a long time. She could still care for the twins, that wasn't a problem, but if a ghost came into the picture and he wasn't there in time... He would be devastated if anything happened to Sam and the twins. It was the last thing he wanted.

At the same time, Johnny and Kitty were ghosts he'd fought time and time again. They were so stupid, coming near the twins all those times... Or...were they doing it for a different reason...? If what Johnny told Tucker was true, then they weren't looking to hurt the twins. But he never gave them the chance to explain anything because when his kids were involved, he shot first and asked questions never.

"I'll talk to them..." the halfa decided. "But if either of them gives me one reason to think they might hurt the twins, they're dea-"

"Tape recorders!" Sam shouted, cutting him off.

He took a breath and corrected, "They're going away."

A/N

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :D Now, I know I said April birthdays in the last chapter, but I only said that because it was the end of March and I didn't figure anyone had any March birthdays. But today is TripleAAA1183's birthday! I made this chapter over 5,000 words long. Hope you enjoyed it!

Baby name poll? Closed. I already know the name, and believe me, one of the girls names has won by a LOT. Works out in my favor because I was really wanting that name anyway. :) Oh, and I have a question for you all. Did any of you vote for Jade/Hazel (which had been tied for most of the voting period) because of Danny's "girly green" eyes? :P And if so, did you think I wouldn't catch on to that? Oh, and Seth was the most popular boy name. :3 But the previous poll, the one that revealed the gender, said that the baby was to be a girl. You guys were trying to kill Danny. I know you were.

Review quota is five hundred sixty-one (561).

REALLY hoping that's not too much to ask here... :S Lately the reviews have dropped dramatically, from approx. 15 rpc to 7 rpc. :'( Drive to write is also starting to drop, which was the reason I started doing quotas in the first place.

Reply time!

darkangeloflove15- It's not the first time Tucker's been a moron. And he HAS ruined moments in the show, too, not just this story. :P

princessbinas- Ah. Legend of Korra. I've never seen it and from what I've heard about it, I don't plan to. My favorite pairing is DXS hands down. ^o^ And I have an autograph from Grey Delisle (voice actress of Sam) that says that too! Says I'm "the ultimate DXS shipper".

jim89- Cole will gradually be explained. If you've read The Danny Plan, he's not at all unlike Jesse (except he's Sam's cousin, not her friend). Paulina will also make a reappearance, but for now she and the rest of the Mosquitoes have been cast aside. Ah. I see you've read Reflections. XD Valerie is considered an enemy by Sam because she still hunts Danny Phantom. But don't worry, every main character in the show will appear in the story at one point or another. ;) Even Clockwork. Got a very special role for him.

Chloee0x0- Then expect the next update to come April 23rd. :D

ShadowDragon357- The episode with Elliot is called Double Cross My Heart, and yes, it did happen. Every single DP episode (excluding Phantom Planet) has happened, which is one reason everyone was a year older in FWB.

sammansonrepilica- I'm on the same boat as you. XD DXS prevails FOREVER! If I broke them up my fingers would pop off and run away on me. They don't like it when DXS is disturbed... O_O

Favorite Daughter Of Hades- :) Hope you liked this update!

SuperGeorgia- Really? I don't think I did. I mean, I showed physical detail, but I just showed you the tip of the ice burg. I wanted to get deeper into her psyche. I liked that too. Sorry, but they don't count. For one, I can't write 3,000+ wpc every single day; secondly, unless they review I can't do anything. I'm trying to write much longer chapters for peoples' birthdays. :/ So far I have one person down, one more to go. They're timed just right, too. April 9th and April 23rd. That's 14 days apart, giving me plenty of time to write out TWO more chapters for FWG and maybe some extra time for TBWtR and Whatshisface. So I'm sorry but they don't count.