Chapter Five

"Danny." Sam shook him awake in the middle of the night. They were back in their neighborhood and Danny had slept in her couch that day. Too tired to return to his own house after some spaghetti alla carbonara Sam had prepared for dinner. "Danny!"

"What?" He sat up suddenly, gripping her at her shoulders. "Are you okay? How are you feeling? Is it time already?"

"No, Danny." She laughed amusedly. "Babies don't be born at the sixth month. You can calm down."

"What is it, then?" He scratched his head, confused.

"I actually feel a little bad for asking you this..." She said, her cheeks becoming pink.

"Hey, you can count on me for everything, even at..." He checked his watch "At three am."

"I had a sudden urge for... lobster Caesar salad."

"What?!" Danny literally jumped off his seat. "You're going to the hospital, you're delirious."

"The poor animal... and I'm dying to try it." She sighed, looking very ashamed of her sudden urge. "I tried to surpass it for hours now, I couldn't get any sleep. I can't stop thinking about it. I spent so many years fighting for animals rights and here I am, dying to try meat!"

"Okay, what if I buy the dish and you just try it. If you don't feel like eating it, that's okay. I can buy one that's all chopped up so you won't have to look at its face." He offered, standing up and putting on his jeans that he had thrown on the floor a few minutes after he had fallen asleep. Sam grimaced at the word 'chopped', but she nodded anyway. She was dying for a bite. "Go lay down, I'll be right back."

He transformed in his ghost half and flew out of Sam's house wondering how in the world he'd get a lobster at three am. Some delivery services were open twenty four hours, but he had never heard of sea food restaurant opened all that time... maybe there was one by the shore?

He flew across the whole city in less than twenty minutes and started looking for an open restaurant. He had to find one, or else he'd have to cook the dish to Sam and the last thing he wanted was to put a live lobster in boiling water and see it die a slow and painful death.

At 5am, Sam was fast asleep in the couch, her nose buried on the pillow she had lent Danny and it smelled deliciously like his hair. One hand was absently stroking her stomach and she had a gentle smile on her lips. Danny flew back inside her living room and saw her lying there like that. He was a mess. With just two hours of sleep, he looked ready to pass out.

"Sammy..." He called her and she was up one second later.

"Go got it?!" She squealed happily, maybe too happy for a vegetarian.

"Yeah." He rubbed his eyes and gave her the plastic bag he had brought the dish in. "Dig in." He said, lying down on the couch she had just gotten up from.

"Thank you so much." She said, kissing him in the forehead. He smiled, but he was already half asleep. Then she walked to the kitchen and opened the small bag and found the dish she had waited for the whole night.

Indeed, it looked delicious and she tried to not think about how it was made. She grabbed a fork and put a piece of meat in her mouth. She chewed for a few seconds, but the taste of the poor animal in her mouth suddenly became very disgusting. How could she eat a poor animal?

Danny was almost in deep sleep when he heard Sam vomiting in the bathroom. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He knew it would happen, but at least now she wouldn't have any urges for meat in a long time, aside that, he couldn't say no to anything she asked him. It was pathetic, but she held him in her hands.

He had just six hours of sleep, but it was quite pleasant. He had dreamed about a girl in his kitchen, he couldn't exactly see her face, but she felt familiar and she was really hot. He dreamed he had almost attacked her and they've done it like rabbits in his kitchen table. To his surprise by the end of the dream, she kissed him and when he opened his eyes to see her face, he saw Sam. But instead of being shocked, it was a pleasant surprise.

Hours later when Danny woke up he found Sam's house empty. He went to the kitchen to get something to eat and found the dish on the table. She had eaten the salad, but left the lobster. He chuckled and shook his head. He ate the lobster she had left and did the dishes.

He found her in his house, gardening some flower beds he didn't even remember he had. So, was she making his house an extension of hers? In the spring, when the flowers bloomed it was going to be a girly house!

She was sitting in a small chair, wearing a big hat to protect her pale skin from sunburn and she looked lovely in her winter dress. Good thing it didn't snow that year or she'd be all sad because her beautiful plants were frozen.

She was taking care of the plants even though there wasn't a single flower. The weeds were rare, but there she was, taking care of them even though there were still two months of winter ahead and the flowers wouldn't bloom for a while.

"I ate the lobster." Danny surprised her, taking her hat off playfully.

"I thought you would. In the end, I couldn't swallow it." She sighed and turned around to face him. "I'm sorry for making you go out and get it."

"That's alright. It's not like I wasn't expecting something like that to happen anyway." He joked. "Have you eaten?"

"I've had breakfast a few hours ago." She answered.

"Well, then c'mon I think I have your favorite tea in the kitchen." He said, taking her hand to help her stand up. Her belly started becoming inconvenient most of the times. It was giving her a killing backache. "What do you want for lunch?" He asked. "I feel like cooking today."

"Hamburger. Soy meat." She answered quickly and followed him to his kitchen to help him around.

Surprisingly enough, she found he had done the groceries, after who-knows-how-long eating pizza and Chinese food and whatever else saved him the trouble of cooking.

"You know... I have something to tell you." Danny said, getting what he needed in the fridge, after giving her a cup of tea and commanding her to sit down. She sat on the table; placing her feet on a chair before her while she waited for him to continue. "This is quite embarrassing, but..." He turned around and saw where she was sitting. He blushed, remembering his dream and quickly turned his back to her again. He couldn't see her like that, damn it. Why the hell did she decide to sit there?

"Hey, you can tell me everything." Sam said, seeing his hesitation.

"... I've been dreaming about this faceless girl. Remember that day we made up?" He didn't wait for her answer and continued. "That dream is sort of haunting me and… when I try to look at her I see you." If he had turned around at that moment he'd have seen Sam going stiff and pale. "This is very awkward, but… I'm crazy about you."

"What?" She asked, surprised, letting the empty cup fall on the floor in pieces. "Shit." She cursed quietly, and then she jumped off the table and bent down to pick up the broken glass.

"You're not bending down with that belly! Sit." Danny said, and then he picked the glasses up quickly, before Sam had a chance to protest. "I mean it Sam; somehow, I think I'm growing to like you more than I always have had."

"You're just confused because I'm pregnant." She said quickly. "And since you're taking care of me and the baby, that's normal for you to feel like you care even more. We're acting like a family so..."

"No, that's not it." Danny said, standing up again, and throwing the broken glass on the trash, then he walked to her and framed her face with his hands. "I really feel something for you, I'm not mistaken." He looked from her eyes to her mouth. "I've been dying to kiss you again."

"You don't know what you're saying." She whispered quietly. "Even Tucker got confused at that time when we had to play parents to that flour sack. It felt so natural that he even kissed me and..."

"Tucker kissed you?" Danny let go of her, bewildered.

"Yes, once, but it was a spur of the moment, just like you now." Sam said, trying to show him a reasonable explanation. The last thing she wanted was for Danny to start loving her now when she was keeping a huge secret from him. If he ever found out he'd hate her, feel betrayed and probably never going to speak to her again.

"I'm not just feeling happy and comfortable near you." Danny explained. "I've been driving myself crazy wanting to kiss you, to love you!" He couldn't understand why she was fighting it so hard. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. Was she scared of his love? "Why do you think I didn't mind telling everybody I'm the father of your child? That's because I really want to be!"

"Danny," She breathed impatiently. "I love you with all my heart, but I'm not going through this with you now."

"Why not?" He insisted, grabbing her by her arms. "Wouldn't it be better if we got together before the baby was born?"

"No, I don't want it." She said it, even though those words broke her heart more than it broke his. "Not now."

"Would you rather wait until after the birth then?" He asked, seeing a tiny hope in her words.

"Yes." She said quietly. When the baby was born everything would come clear. If he looked like Danny she wouldn't be able to hide her secret anymore and if the baby looked like her, and then there would be no need telling him.

"All right." He sighed. "I'll wait."

oOoOoOoOoOo

The seventh month had been hell for Sam and it was the month Danny was torn between amusement and pain, because as cute as it was to watch her devour everything in their fridges (yes, she would eat hers then his!) she'd have more and more urges to eat the most disgusting things. But she didn't ask for meat again. She was seven months and a half and she was feeling fat.

Slowly he worked on her modesty. She had allowed him to see her in panties and bra once, but never again after that. So, once when they were lying in her bed, watching the TV in her room while eating popcorn, he asked her lift her shirt so he could see her belly. She blushed at his request, but lifted it up, revealing his her stomach to him. He had leaned over her and placed little kisses on her belly for more than ten minutes before Sam stopped him, saying the popcorn was over.

When he stood up to get more popcorn, a little sad that she had stopped his kisses without a second thought, he heard her take a shark intake of breath. He was immediately by her side, taking her hand in his.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, maybe it's one of the things the doctor said would happen." She said in a shaky voice.

"I didn't hear the doctor say anything about you feeling pain." Danny said quickly, standing up.

"He said it last time I went there, you weren't with me." She smiled at him. "And I'm not in pain; I'm just surprised, because it felt like the baby was pushing."

"Pushing?" Poor Danny was about to have a heart attack. "Is it time?!"

"No, it's not." Sam laughed. "Don't worry, he's just moving around. He got me by surprise, that's all."

"Are you sure it's just that?" He had to make sure and she nodded, smiling up to him like a little girl, washing all his worries away. "Okay, I'll get some more popcorn. Stop the movie, please."

As soon as he left, Sam stood up, grimacing from pain and went to the bathroom. Her back was killing her and her head was aching badly. Also, she was feeling wet. She cursed Danny and his kisses for it, but she couldn't complain. He had been sweetly innocent back there. She was the perverted one.

She put her panties down to change them, not even looking down, staring at herself in the mirror. She was so fat. The baby must weight less than two pounds at the moment and she had gained six pounds in the last months! It was going to be hell to lose it all over again.

She frowned when she bent down to pick up her discarded panties. Her legs buckled as she panicked. There was blood. A lot of it. She must have sat there for whole two minutes, without a blink before she gathered her strength and screamed as loud as she could.

"DANNY!"

When he heard her, his body froze and along the way, the whole kitchen became ice. He had never lost control over his ice powers after he mastered them, no matter how surprised he was. He felt his knees tremble and went ghost, flying straight to the bedroom and finding it empty. His heart raced when he looked inside the bathroom and he found Sam sitting there in a puddle of her own blood.

"It's not supposed to happen." She managed to say between sobs. "I don't want to lose him."

It was hard to describe who was more desperate there. Danny, still in his ghost form quickly picked her up, feeling as her blood soaked his uniform, and flew straight to the hospital.

He must have flown faster than 300mph because it barely took five minutes to reach the hospital entrance. He didn't care if people were around. He couldn't even think straight. He transformed back in his human form before carrying her inside, screaming for help.

Sam thought she was ready for labor, but the pain that shot through her body put her in pure agony. Sweat soaked her hair and clothes and she couldn't say a single word because the pain was so strong she could barely think, much less speak.

Nurses came out from everywhere, surrounding and her laying her down in a stretcher, sliding her through corridors to somewhere that smelled horribly. She didn't think the pain would come in spasms. Damn it only felt worse!

"What's going on?" She shouted hysterically at the doctor as soon as he entered the room.

Danny looked about to have a nervous breakdown. He was pale and kept walking around the room, in panic as he saw Sam screaming in pain. He could fight ghosts and any kind of monster, but he wasn't ready to see Sam through so much pain. There was nothing he could do to help her! He felt weak and impotent!

"You're in early labor." The doctor explained, trying to calm her down. "Everything is going to be all right, you must try to relax for now."

Danny needed air. He was going out of the room when two nurses came inside in a rush, bringing with them several needles and IVs. Was she going to need those? He asked himself. The nurse stitched a needle on Sam's arm and he closed his eyes as blood came out of her arms as well. If Sam didn't calm down, she was going to hurt herself even further.

"We're feeding you a painkiller now, Miss Manson." The doctor said, looking at the nurse's work. "You'll feel sleepy and I want you to relax."

"Hey, Sam, it's okay, I'm here." Danny finally worked his courage to speak. Sam looked at him for the first time since the commotion started. She didn't smile because of the pain and her heavy breathing, but he could see in her eyes how grateful she was that he was there by her side.

"It's a breech birth." The doctor said seriously to a nurse. "We're going to need the equipment for a last minute cesarean in case she can't get through the labor." The doctor's words worried Danny even though he didn't understand fully what they were talking about.

"Are you going to stay, Mr.?" A nurse asked him and he nodded, without tearing his eyes from Sam's. "Then you'll have to change your clothes."

Sam eyes were closing and her grip on his hand relaxed a little. He gently kissed her forehead and followed the nurse. She gave him shirt and pants; all sterilized and allowed him to return to Sam's side. When he got back there she was fast asleep.

"It would be better if she sleeps a little before the pain gets worse." The nurse explained. "Is it your first baby?" She asked, trying to calm Danny down enough for him to sit by Sam's side and relax.

"Yes." He whispered. His first baby. It was the first of several more. He wanted to have several babies with Sam. Was she willing to go through all that pain again for his children?

"Then she will need your support when the time comes." The nurse explained. "She will be the one screaming and panicking, not you. You need to be strong for her. Show her everything is okay and encourage her even further."

"I'll try." Danny replied, feeling himself relax. "But she's so early. Is everything all right with the baby?"

"We have a neonatal intensive care unit here." The woman smiled at him. "It's the safest place to deliver an early child." But what she said only made Danny fear the worse. She left him alone moments later, saying she'd be back in twenty minutes to check on Sam. He reached for his pocket and got his cell phone, dialing his home in Amity Park.

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Hello, Danny." His mother sounded excited to hear him. "You sound a little distressed, dear."

"Sam's in labor, mom." He said in a low voice to not wake Sam up. "We're in the hospital right now."

"Oh my, she's early!" Maddie said worriedly. "Is she all right?"

"She's asleep." Danny sighed. "I'm scared."

"Don't be honey, everything will be fine. She's strong and your child is strong, too." Maddie said in a soothing voice. "Your father is out with Jazz. I'll call them and we'll fly there as soon as possible, okay, honey?"

"Thanks mom." Danny said, "And mom?"

"Yes?"

"Can you please tell the news to the Manson's? I don't want to talk to them." Danny was still angry about Christmas; he couldn't believe how insensitive they had been.

"Of course."

"Mom?" Danny asked quietly after a long silent pause. "Does it hurt too much? The labor I mean. It barely started and Sam's been screaming so horribly..."

"I'm not going to lie to you, honey, it does hurt and she'll do a lot more than screaming and that's why she needs you by her side."

"I'm just worried because they said something about a breech baby. Do you know what that means?"

"Oh dear. Did they say that? Are you sure?" Maddie was much more agitated now and Danny started feeling panic all over again. Nothing agitated his mother like that.

"What does it mean?" He insisted and he heard Maddie take a deep breath in the other side of the line.

"It means it's a complicated birth, sweetie." She said, trying to sound as soft as possible. "Complicated for both Sam and the baby."

"They can die, is that it?" Danny asked, feeling nauseous. It couldn't be. Sam's life was at risk and he couldn't do anything about it. Maddie didn't answer him and so he continued. "Just, fly in as soon as you can, okay?" And then he hung up with tears pooling out of his eyes.

He couldn't lose her.

"Did I do something wrong, Sam?" He whispered quietly on her ear, brushing her hair off her forehead. "Is it my fault, somehow?" He looked at her lower waist and found blood there. Hadn't they done anything to stop the bleeding?

As if listening to him, Sam woke up, but before she could say anything, she screamed in pain, feeling the urge to push down already. Were the contractions that hurt like that? Danny wondered. He held her hand and she squeezed him so painfully that he thought she had broken some of his knuckles.

A new nurse entered the room and checked between Sam's legs. Danny looked away; he didn't want to see that. Childbirth was so gross.

"Sweetie, you're not dilating." The nurse said. "How long have you been here?"

"More than an hour." Danny answered for Sam.

"I must warn the doctor immediately." She said, before running off.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked, tears spilling down her eyes like a fountain. He hated it how pale she was becoming. "I don't get a thing of what they say."

"I don't know either, Sam." Danny answered her with a heavy heart. He didn't care of what she had said about waiting, he just had to kiss her, scared that he'd never get another chance. To his surprise she kissed him back, fervently, as if she was trying to take all her pain and frustration out in that kiss.

"I'm telling you doctor, not even an inch. At this rate she'll spend more than ten hours having contractions." The nurse from before returned, bringing the doctor with her.

Danny broke the kiss to pay attention to what they were saying. The doctor checked Sam in between her legs himself and Danny felt an urge to take him out of there.

"We don't have time to wait for the dilation." He said, standing up straight again. "We need to take the baby out now. She's lost too much blood and it'll take too long to turn the baby around in position." Two more nurses entered the room and the doctor quickly exited telling them to get Sam ready for a cesarean.

"I don't want a cesarean." Sam shouted at the nurse who was sticking morphine in the IV on her arm. "I want to deliver my baby naturally."

"I'm sorry, dear, but we don't have a choice." The nurse answered. "It will be less painful this way. Now I'll put you to sleep."

"Can't she stay awake to see the baby?" Danny asked, still gripping Sam's hand as she once again got hysterical about her condition.

"I'm afraid not." The nurse, sighed as she injected the morphine.

"Danny, hold him for me, please?" She said quietly as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Danny panicked, thinking that it could be the last time he had seen her beautiful eyes open.

"I will." He kissed her softly again and again until she stopped responding. He turned to the nurses, who were working on Sam's body, getting her ready for the surgery.

"Are you going to stay, Mr.?" One of them asked. "If you can't stand it, we can have someone to film it for you."

"Yes." He answered quickly. "I'm going to stay and hold him just like she asked me."

"Very well. Please, don't intervene. Don't distract the doctors and wear these." She placed a mask and a hat in his hands.

The next hours felt like a nightmare. His vision was foggy and there was too much blood everywhere he looked.

Sam's blood.

I know you want to kill me now but remember that if you do you won't know what happens! Muahahaha!!! Anyway, here are the replies for who reviewed last chapter.

Meow – I'm sorry I took so long! But you know I still want that cake. Lol. You reviewed three times! OMG I'm so sorry to make you wait so much!

Tech-Man – There you go! The next chapter will come out sooner than this one did so it!

Dea-Jasmine-Gemini – When Danny's going to find out? Well… I can't answer that. The baby may not even survive so there won't be a need to tell him, right? Or maybe the baby will be born looking like him and he'll figure it out. Who knows? Lol. Find the answers in the next chapter!

Summers Rage – Cuz he was really drunk! Seriously, have you ever drink so much you couldn't remember getting in the bed? Well… ahem… I have and… well, the memory really goes blank, you start remembering slowly, having flashes of what happened, but sometimes it looks like a dream.

Foorley – Yeah, in a way Danny remembers. A blank memory is really confusing so he thinks it's a dream, but now it's fusing up with reality. Maybe he will find out.

Kats02980416 – Well, I've never thought about building up a connection between Danny and Sam and their baby with Danny's ghost powers. It would be natural for the baby to develop powers, that is if the baby survives, but I never really thought he would feel something while the baby wasn't born. I mean, the baby barely developed a body, but the ghost powers are already there? Lol. Anyway Sam can't really tell him because he practically raped her, she's not ready to tell him what he did just yet. And the Mansons are snobbish, but… I still think they have a heart, so there's hope for them! Thanks for reviewing I love getting such long reviews!

'rEd RoSe-StArFiRe-RoSeFiRe' – And I hope you will find this chapter even better!

cutereviewgirl – Well, yeah you're right, the story is ending, but Danny didn't propose to Sam in the last chapter. He just offered himself to be the father of her child, help her raise the kid, nothing else. Now in this chapter here he poured some of his feelings out, didn't he? Lol. Anyway, thanks for reviewing again! You rock girl!

romancerox – Yeah, it's a bit complicated, isn't it? But things will solve soon.

SquirrelGal – Lol, I think Danny wouldn't take it well even if Sam told him from the start considering the way the child was conceived. Now that she waited for so long things got a little worse and it getting more complicated to tell him the truth. She's scared to lose him and end up alone with a baby even though she plays the tough girl who wants to be a single mother.

Chaos Dragon – I'm so glad you like it! I've updated Redemption as well so I hope you made you happy twice this week! Thank you so much for your compliments! You're the best:-)

Maguffin2 – I hope you still like it! Even with the torture of a cliffhanger. Lol.

Someone Somewhere – I'm glad you like it!

ADarkNightsObsession – Yes I'm still breathing, let's just say I had too much fun out of the comp in the last days. Lol. I'm sorry to make you wait so much. It won't happen again (at least not in this story, Redemption will come out a little slower).