Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I doubt I ever will, but while I don't, all the credit goes to Butch Hartman.
Author's Note: This is another challenge 5-senses (underscore, not dash, but since fanfiction seems to not recognize underscores, I have to make due) on LiveJournal. Instead of the traditional five senses, I chose the second list, which is comprised of: thought, movement, love, laughter, and memory. I'm actually going for a plot this time, so be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
I'm sorry that this took so long, but... better late than never, right?
Preface: Even though I had originally intended on using another plot-line for this challenge, a better (and more interesting) plot bunny bit me in the ass. I haven't accumulated anything with a real plot in ages, and I'm attempting to map this out in entirety. In order to fully understand what's going on, you need to understand that the first four chapters go in chronological order, going by holidays. The final, and most important, chapter to the five-chapter series, goes back in time to the night before what happened in the first chapter. It's all within the same year (as you'll be able to grasp soon), except for the last chapter, which skips back a day into the year previous.
So, the dates will be arranged like this: January 1st (New Year's Day), February 14th (Valentine's Day), April 1st (April Fool's Day), December 25th (Christmas), December 31st (New Year's Eve).
This is the final chapter is chronological order. Next and finally, we'll be seeing what happened that fateful night, back on December 31st that brought them to this very point.
Enjoy reading this and please review to tell me what you think! Reviews mean a lot more than you'd imagine.
Trial and Error
04: Memory
Theme: 05. Memory
November 2, 2008
It was already Christmas.
So much had happened in a short amount of time. There was a whirlwind of events that passed by her vision, all types of things that she had never imagined would happen to her in the first place, much less happening to her in the span of single year.
She didn't know if she was ever going to be a mother, and yet... she was graced with child. Even though she wouldn't readily admit it, she was one of those mothers that fawned over every little thing her child did. Every smile, every moment, every moment that looked like a smile. Anything and everything, and Danny was exactly the same way. When she thought that she would hate this child for slowing her life down, for pulling her opportunities away from her... the first glimpse into her child's baby blue eyes reversed all morose ways of thinking that had plagued her during her pregnancy.
"You're what?" Mrs. Manson screamed, clutching at the yellow fabric of her dress. "Please tell me that I'm hallucinating my worst nightmare!" she hissed, dropping her voice to a low hiss.
The words were hard enough to say, even with Danny gripping her hand (or was she gripping his that tightly?) to provide moral support and comfort. Those words that she had dreaded telling her parents for exactly this reason had to be said, had to be uttered, in order for her to admit to herself that she was, in fact, pregnant with Danny's child. The same boy who had repeated restraining orders put on him by the very people they were confronting.
It was May.
She was beginning to show, past the point where she could be able to hide it.
"You can't honestly think you're going to keep the child, can you?" her mother continued haughtily, seemingly unaware of the look of horror on her daughter's face. Eying her up and down, taking in the 'damage', she frowned. "Samantha, you're nineteen years old, you have a wonderful life ahead of you if you just look past this little snag. Don't make the same mistake I did!"
"...mistake?" she dead-panned. "Oh, no, we're getting out of here," Sam growled, gathering her things. The need to get out of there was much higher than before. She was going to put up with her mother, put up with her down-talk and ignorance to love, but oh no, she had to pull that card and insult her so thoroughly. "I can't live in a house like this–"
"Who said you were going to be able to stay in this house if you kept that child?" he father said cooly, particularly glaring at Danny. He figured it was Danny's fault above all. His daughter (in his eyes), albeit very radical, would never bring this on herself.
"Excuse me? You're kicking me out?" Sam breathed, her eyes widening. "I don't get the chance to walk out on my own, but you get to kick me out?" she asked incredulously, her tone rising with each question. "Fine. I don't need your help," she huffed, standing. She tugged Danny up with her, glaring at her mother, then her father. "You'll never see any child of mine, and that's a promise I intend to keep. You can't just accept the fact that I'm happy and in love and pregnant–"
"At nineteen, Sam! What do you think the neighbors will think? Our friends? Our clients? Your parents," Pam looked directly at Danny, now, with the utmost disapproval. "Though, with those scatterbrained half-wits I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't welcome you and that bastard child with open arms."
"Fuck this," Sam grumbled, starting to walk, to leave, but was halted by Danny not moving an inch from where he stood. She blinked at him with confusion, wondering why he would possibly want to stay and continue fighting.
"I'd like to know one single thing my parents have done to you," he said lowly, his voice slightly dangerous. "I'd like to know one way that they disrespected you or your daughter in any way."
Neither parent spoke.
"That's what I thought," he said with a frown, turning to leave with Sam. "They show her more love and affection than you ever have."
As they reached the door, Sam turned, saying, "I'll get my belongings on my own time. Don't worry about them, though I believe you won't have any problem with that." For once, she didn't feel any hint of guilt–she was justified in her actions. So what if she was young? She was one of the most independent and level-headed people she knew. She would be perfectly fine without them holding her back.
The next morning, when they went into Sam's old room in order to put her possessions into boxes, the room was bare–Danny had come in the middle of the night to take what mattered.
They attempted to call her, make any sort of contact with her, but she never picked up the phone. She never answered the door, either, when they had found where she had moved.
She didn't think she would've been kicked out of her own house (she never believed that she could ever go that far with her radical protests), but she was. She was still a teenager on the cusp of adulthood, after all; Sam was just being thrust into that world a little too soon for his liking.
She thought that she was going to complete college in one grand swoop, get a job at a local publishing house, and be comfy for the rest of her life, thinking that maybe–possibly–one of those days down the road she would start a family with the man she loved. No, that happened sooner rather than later, cutting into her valuable college years that she would never get back.
Now, that special time of year was upon them again: the holiday season. Snow was falling consistently onto the pavement, effectively screwing up plans and cancelling school for all that cared. Everyone had been bitten by the festive bug, going shopping to buy the perfect presents for family and friends. Even Sam, who really felt like she shouldn't be celebrating Christmas, but her extended family felt the need to include her–and, ultimately, she couldn't refuse the opportunity for Emily to have her first traditional Christmas with her father's side of the family. Granted, Emily was only three months old and wouldn't be able to remember, but still. Sam would only admit to herself, on the one hand, that she enjoyed spending time there (no matter how many times she would roll her eyes and groan softly whenever Danny sent a sympathetic look her way).
In regards to her personality, Sam had remained as close to her true self as she possibly could. Her Goth persona had flown out the window over the months of her pregnancy (Maternity Goth clothes? Not so much.), though she still dressed in dark colors, opting for jeans and a pair of Converse instead of her boots (which killed her feet, making her cringe at the sight of them; she was greatly torn over that fact). She dressed Emily in darker clothes, too, though kept some pastels in there to prove that she wasn't trying to shape her child into what she wanted her to be. She would not be that type of mother. No way in hell.
Danny, ever the doting boyfriend with her best interests at heart, barely left her side–that she was immensely grateful for. He matured even more so than he already was, and that impressed her more than words could ever say. He was now twenty, she nineteen; despite their youth, they managed to take everything in stride.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Maddie asked from her position on the couch, having sat down on it without even thinking as the news sank in. Jack was sitting next to her, holding her hand for support.
The guilt that wasn't there for her own parents was there for his without a doubt; they were more her real parents than her actual parents ever were and probably would ever be. They were more caring, more attentive, knew what to say to make her not feel worthless... and, somehow, she felt like she, personally, was letting them down after all they had done for her.
Danny nodded. "Yeah, we're serious. I know," he began, looking down at the ground from where he was sitting across the room, "this isn't the ideal time, and I know we're not married yet, but... you know how much I love her, mom." He spoke as if she wasn't there in the flesh listening to every word he was saying, but it touched her nonetheless to hear the words she already knew. "And you know that I will do everything in my power to make sure she and the baby are happy."
"Of course you will!" Jack said, now wrapping his arm around his wife.
"Oh, sweetie, I know that," Maddie said, watching her son with an odd sense of pride swelling within her. "I'm just a little disappointed that you weren't more careful, that's all. However," she said, nodding, "what's done is done, and this baby is going to be the most loved baby in all of Amity Park." She smiled at her son and then at Sam, who was nervously sitting next to Danny. "You are such a brave and strong girl, Sam," she said, her smile very warm. "Despite everything, you still manage to keep a level head. I just wanted you to know that. What are you planning on doing now?"
"I..." she looked at Danny before looking back at his mom, "don't... really know. Right now a good portion of my belongings are up in Danny's room after he took them from my house. I was figuring I could use whatever money I have to put into an apartment or something until the baby comes."
"Nonsense! You'll stay here with us until you can get back on your feet and I won't take 'no' for an answer," Maddie nodded as if her decision was final. "I understand what it feels like to be in love... so don't worry about us misunderstanding you."
She was so amazed and moved at the same time that his parents offered up their home to her without a second thought. She thought there would be more yelling, more unhappiness...
"How far along are you?" Maddie asked, curiosity clear in her eyes.
"I... around five months, I think?" she said, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling as she counted backwards. Nodding, she said, "Five."
"So far along already! Have you been eating right?"
"Mom, you know she has been," Danny chuckled. He was still amazed that she managed to keep up her Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarianism through the pregnancy.
Maddie nodded with a smile, about to speak but cut off by her husband, "Does anyone else know? Tucker? Jazz? Your parents?"
Her expression darkened a bit as she frowned. "My parents know, yes, and they're..." she trailed off, not really wanting to dampen her mood. "Tucker and Jazz know. Tucker was mostly shocked and Jazz claimed the 'I already knew' approach."
"What did your parents say?"
"I was kicked out, effective immediately," she replied concisely, letting out a heave of a sigh. "So, thank you, very much... you have no idea how much this means to me."
Bringing herself back into the present, out of the musings of herself and her past year, she watched the scene in front of her. Danny was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Emily propped up carefully against him so that she wouldn't fall. He held a small but very brightly colored box in front of her, speaking in baby talk to amuse her. Tucker was lying on his stomach, holding up a piece of garland and waving it around, grinning as the baby's eyes followed it slowly.
Sam smiled at her two best friends, still not used to seeing them act so happily and easily around Emily. Though... Emily was already a little flirt, and at such a young age.
Danny's parents were in the kitchen, presumably getting dinner together. Maddie, Mom as she had insisted to Sam, was probably cooking. Jack, Dad as she had been told time and time again, was probably eating everything the second it was done–hence why Mrs. Fenton made a little extra at all times to factor in her husband. Jazz was sifting through the presents that had yet to be opened, rolling her eyes at the antics of the two males but smiling nonetheless. She had come to visit, along with Tucker (whom she was still dating, though now everyone knew about it due to Danny's large mouth and an argument a few months back), for the holiday. Presents and free food? Tucker had no choice but to follow like a leashed puppy.
Her eyes scanned the spacious apartment, finding it surreal that it was hers, theirs. It wasn't that the Fentons weren't hospitable people, it was just... extremely hard to live under the watchful eye of loving–maybe too loving?–individuals who watched your every step before you even made it. Being pregnant put her into another category entirely, one in that she was either a delicate, porcelain doll or had the ability to shatter into a million pieces if she made a wrong move. Basically, it was the same category twice, and that alone drove her insane.
They had moved in the day before, boxes littering each and every room. Despite the clutter, it was still owned by them, equally paid for by them... and they would bring their child up in this very home until they decided it deemed worthy of them to own a house. However, for now, this apartment, that was located about twenty minutes away from both of their childhood homes, would suffice very nicely. It was big, but not large enough to hear an echo in every room–a problem Danny had with the rooms of her childhood home ever since she could remember.
Although it had been humorous to watch Danny struggle with boxes (after insisting that she couldn't lift anything heavy), she figured it would save him a little grief if she explored their home a little more by herself.
With a hand on her large, swollen abdomen, she walked from room to room, sitting in certain places before getting up and moving again–she felt like testing things out. The size of her stomach had been bothering her for months now, but it was getting worse and worse in her mind... being an average, thin female her entire life, she doubted she would ever be ready to truly get used to pregnancy. The mood swings, the cravings... she was a hair's fraction away from breaking her six-year streak of not eating meat (like she'd tell anyone, either–Tucker would never let her hear the end of it).
Despite the feeling of contentment of having her own home with Danny, she felt sad at the fact that she would have to take off at least a year before heading back to college. She urged Danny to continue his education, and hoped that she would be able to take on night classes when she felt up to it–they could trade off shifts with their soon-to-be-born baby girl.
Girl.
At her last doctor's appointment, after much argument whether or not to find out the sex of their child, Sam caved. She had gone back, claiming to have forgotten something, and pulled the nurse aside.
The look on Danny's face when she told him was absolutely worth caving for, anyways.
The rest of her life was proceeding smoothly, all things considered (which included her huge stomach, the lack of ability to fit into her old clothing, etcetera). Her parents, always a subject that could dampen her mood, were attempting to send her "hush money" in order for her to not make any public announcement of her pregnancy or the child's birth. With the money, she had received a letter from her mother... a letter that sounded unlike her, but she could sense the sincerity behind it.
She blamed it on the hormones and the other heart beating inside of her that contributed to giving her own mother a second chance.
She had no clue what she was going to do about it, but... she figured things would work out for the best in the end.
She took their money, sure, but she put it towards the baby's nursery, something that was coming together... pretty nicely. They had painted each of the rooms before moving in, and the baby's room was a nice, light lavender hue–nothing would ever be pink if Sam had anything to say about it.
"Sam? You all right?" Danny asked, peeking his head into the livingroom to see why she was so quiet. "You've been staring off into space for a while now."
"What?" she snapped out of her thoughts, jerking her head in the direction of his voice. "Sorry, I was just thinking. When you can't get up and move around as quickly, you just tend to sit and ponder."
"Apparently," he said, walking over to the couch and down sitting next to her.
"And to answer your previous question: I'm fine, just... thinking about... how things are going," she said, leaning against him, placing her head on his shoulder.
He shifted to wrap his arm around her shoulders so they could be more comfortable. "This is all ours," he said, in somewhat of a childish awe, so thrilled to finally be on his own and away from his hectic home. "Can you believe it?"
"It's so hard to imagine, but I can believe it, now," she replied. "I think we got out of your house just in time. I swear your mother was going to start baby-proofing your house if we stayed there another minute."
"Aw," he responded, waving the hand of the arm around her neck in dismissal, "you know she's just looking out for you, as am I. She was just excited about having a baby around the house again."
"Don't I know it," she responded. "Every second she got the chance to she whipped out your old baby pictures, taking my state into mind and how fast I can't move anymore to get out of a room."
He chuckled, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Soon everything will die down."
"The calm before the storm, you mean." She turned her head, raising an eyebrow at him. "Once we unpack, the baby is going to make her appearance and we won't be able to sleep. Again."
"Was this one of the things you were thinking about?" he asked with a smile.
"Possibly," she admitted, though continued, "but don't tell me you haven't thought about how little sleep you're going to be getting in the upcoming months. How many diapers we're going to have to change, things to clean, things to baby proof, things to hide... we need to get a move on with those things!"
"Whoa, whoa," he said, sensing her sudden need to unpack everything at that very moment and then store it away. "Just take a breather and everything will be settled. Tucker and Jazz are going to come by tomorrow to help us unpack and get everything put into place. Don't worry. As for the other things, you can't really get a running start on changing the diapers of a baby that hasn't even been born yet."
She chose to ignore his last statement. "Tucker? Oh, now I'm worrying," she said, giving him a gentle nudge to the ribs. "Jazz will even him out, though."
"Exactly."
"She smiled again!" Danny grinned, kissing the top of Emily's head. "I did it!"
"No, I did it!" Tucker argued, frowning. Speaking to Emily, he said, "Tell Uncle Tucker he made you smile."
"Tucker, she can't talk yet," Danny frowned, hoisting Emily up a bit to cuddle her. "But when she does she's going to tell her favoritest Daddy in the whole wide world that it was her that made her smile!" he cooed, nuzzling noses with his daughter.
"You guys are ridiculous, you know that?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at both of them. "I can give you the real reason why she probably smiled or should I just leave it up to your delusion that you did that?"
"Let him dream," Danny grinned at him, shooting Tucker a mock-dirty look.
Tucker laughed, rolling his own eyes. "Wait until she can talk. Just wait."
"You're going to be waiting a while," Sam sing-songed, swooping down to pick the child up from Danny's arms. "And if Daddy and Uncle Tucker make you be their personal parrot they're each going to get a swift kick in the ass," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, caressing Emily's cheek with her index finger.
"You guys are ridiculous," Jazz added, making her presence known once again to her boyfriend and brother. "She's going to have psychological problems by the time she'll be able to walk if you guys keep smothering her like that."
"I'm not smothering her! I'm loving her!"
"Sure you are, tough guy," she laughed, tossing a piece of tinsel at Tucker, who chucked one back at her, beginning what was going to be a messy fight.
"Hey, Danny?" she asked, sitting at the computer, absentmindedly scrolling down the page, her eyes scanning.
From the other room, she heard a distant response of, "Yeah?"
"What would you want to name little Boo?" she asked, referring to the title they had lovingly given their unborn daughter since they had been fruitless in their efforts to land on one name that was desirable to the both of them.
At this question, he decided to come into the room rather than yell back to her. "We're onto this again? I thought we decided on just let you decide when the time comes to name Boo?"
"Well, I don't want to wait and have no names picked out before Boo's born," she said, continuing to scroll down the page. "What do you think of Absinthe?"
"Do you really think it's wise to name our daughter after alcohol that's illegal in the United States? Plus, if we were going to name Boo after alcohol, don't you think we should pay homage to either Vodka or Tequila, which brought us Boo in the first place?"
"Blah," she responded, scrolling down to find another name.
"What about Stephanie?" he asked.
"Too common."
"Fine. When we name our daughter something completely plain and ordinary, I'm going to come back to this conversation and laugh."
"You do that," she responded absentmindedly, reading down the never-ending list of names. "Oh! What about Atropine?"
"Isn't that a type of poison?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"How do you know these things?"
"What are you looking on, Gothic baby-names-r-us? Let me see–" he tried to move to see over her shoulder, but she pushed the rolled the computer chair back to ward him off.
"No!" She paused. "Maybe. Just let me look, dammit."
"Fine, fine. What about Emily?"
"Emily? That's... common. I like it, though," she gave in, still looking down the page. "Oh, how about Clove?"
"Didn't you smoke those for like a month non-stop?"
"Oh, shut up."
"Aw, how about Lilith? I used to be obsessed with that name when I was fourteen," she said, grinning at him.
"No."
"What? It's pretty!" she tried to reason, furrowing her eyebrows at him.
"Pretty no," he replied, stressing the 'no' with attitude.
"Ass."
"What?" he asked, shocked that she would be pissed about that name. "I don't know, but I don't want Boo to be named that."
"Fine. Melanthe?"
"Eh."
"Court–"
"Don't even finish that word," she said, rolling her eyes at the computer screen. "Do you honestly think I'd let you name Boo Courtney? Do you know me?"
He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Of course I do, I'm just seeing how many names I can say will upset you," he responded with a grin before kissing her cheek. He was instantly swatted away when he began to laugh in her ear.
"We'll wait until she's born," she sighed.
"Back to square one!"
"When she can talk," Danny said in a low voice, getting up so the bickering couple next to them wouldn't be able to hear him too well, "we can tell her that her middle name is Tequila, right? Please?"
"See if you get any more children in the future," she scoffed, giving him a mock-glare before smiling at him. "That would be kind of funny, though."
He wrapped his arm around her as he looked down at their beautiful daughter. "We make fine looking children."
She rolled her eyes, smiling warmly down at Emily, who was looking up at them with wide blue eyes. She had to agree, and he knew she did, even when she said nothing at all.
September twelfth, 2008.
No matter how hard she pushed when she was told to, Boo would not come out. Twenty hours into labor, and she was going to throw in the towel. She had been the oh-so-wise one who opted for a natural childbirth, and she could not hate herself more for wanting that option. She wanted the drugs and she wanted them now. Despite this, they wouldn't budge in their stance of not giving her anything.
She hated everything at that precise moment.
"I blame you for this!" she huffed at Danny when he came into the room with a cup of ice for her. He made sure to stay by her head and nowhere near the action; he didn't want to scar himself for life. "If it wasn't for you I would be studying for some exam right now! I wouldn't be here trying to push a watermelon–" she stopped mid-sentence as a piece of ice was pushed into her mouth. "Danny!"
"Excuse me if I don't want that mental image," he responded, placing the cup down before pushing her sweat-matted hair from her forehead. "Just keep breathing."
"I won't stop breathing," she growled back, glaring at him. "I'm not done yelling at–" her eyes squeezed shut as another contraction hit. His hand was in hers without a second to spare, though he regretted that the instant he felt his bones groan in pain at her grip.
"Com on, Sam, push! You can do it!" he coached, hoping that she wouldn't be in extreme pain for much longer.
"I... am... trying," she bit out, pushing with as much strength as she possibly could, hoping to any and every god that Boo would make herself known to the world before she would have to reach in there herself and pull her out.
She was planning on taking drastic measures if this child was going to be as stubborn as both her and Danny combined.
"The baby's crowning!"
"What?" Sam asked, eyes widening, shocked that her internal threats actually made a difference. "Really?" she asked before groaning and trying to push again, her body not willing to keep the same pace as her mind.
Danny grinned, pushing her hair our of her face again. "Only a little longer!" he said, holding onto her hand. "Push!" He was thrilled, excited, to see that things were finally moving along for Sam; it almost physically hurt him to see her in this much pain over something he was predominantly responsible for.
"One last time for me, Ms. Manson!"
"Damn... it... all... to..." she bit out, pushing for the final time, only relaxing when she heard the loudest cry of any baby she had heard in her lifetime. Of course, her child would have a set of iron lungs on her.
She was wiped, so exhausted, after being up for so long and having to deal with her boyfriend bumbling at every move, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Boo was here now, and that's all that mattered to her.
After she and the baby had been cleaned up, the doctor wrapped Boo in a blanket and handed her to Sam. Sam cradled the small, fussy child in her arms, watching her in awe.
The instant Sam spoke, the little girl stopped her fussing immediately, her blue eyes wide. "So you're the little one I've been waiting for..." she said softly, trailing a finger along her cheek, reveling in the feel of her soft skin. She peeked under the small hat that had been placed upon her head to see a small tuft of black hair. Smiling, she chanced a look up at Danny, she seeing that his eyes were trained on the little bundle wrapped up in her arms.
Looking back at Boo, she realized that she had no clue what to call her, no clue how she would even reference...
"What are you going to name her?" the doctor asked, clip board at the ready to jot down the information.
"We're going to name her... Emily."
"Emily," Danny said softly, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder as he continued to watch their child.
"Better than Boo, huh?" Sam asked breathlessly, still trying to calm her breathing after that seemingly endless marathon which took a toll on her body.
"Better than Atropine or whatever the hell else you were trying to name her," Danny joked, expecting to be smacked but she just rolled her eyes, too thrilled to let that get to her when she had Emily in her arms.
Their little family, as impromptu as it was, was exactly the way she wanted it, and that wouldn't change. Until they decided to expand the Fenton clan just a little bit.
The only change Danny had up his sleeve (literally) was the small little velvet box with a certain diamond ring inside.
In life, one must go through many trials and errors to hit that sweet spot of life where they feel like they belong in their own skin. For Danny and Sam, it took a little more pushing than necessary, but neither would regret that fateful New Year's Eve almost one full year ago.
In the span of a year, what do you think could ever happen to you?