Chapter 16:
Sam POV-
The next morning, Danny and I were woken up by the shrill ring of my cellphone.
"Hello?" I muttered groggily into the receiver, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and siting up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Next to me, Danny groaned, rolling over and putting a pillow over his head.
"Yes, is this Samantha Manson?" a woman's voice asked. I noted that she used my full name, but frankly, I am too tired to correct her.
"Yes," I replied hesitantly.
"Well, I'm sorry to wake you this early, but your blood tests came back," she said. Ah, the pregnancy clinic.
"And?" I wondered, knowing that there was more.
"Um…well, we found some…abnormalities in your blood. We would like you to come in early just so we can run a few more…diagnostic tests and make sure that your babies are not at risk," the woman said.
'Well, shit,' I thought, knowing exactly what they probably had found. By now, Danny was up, having heard the whole conversation with his enhanced hearing and studying me.
"Okay, when?" I asked, remaining calm.
"Um…the best time would be in half an hour, before our office opens, if that's alright," the woman told me. I knew we would be missing most of first period, but that was okay.
"Okay, we'll be there soon, thank you," I replied hanging up and looking at Danny, gauging his reaction.
"You can't possibly be serious?" he asked.
"I am serious. We have to go. Do you honestly think that any other OB-GYN wouldn't find the same thing in a blood test?" I asked him.
"Okay, but how are we going to explain it?" he questioned.
"Don't worry," I grinned at him, "I have a plan. Just get ready, we have to be there soon."
He nodded, obeying and grabbing some clothes from his closet. As usual, I went into the bathroom, quickly got dressed, and, deciding that I didn't feel like messing with my hair, I pulled it into a loose ponytail, applying some makeup and leaving the bathroom.
When I arrived downstairs, I saw Danny already arguing with Jazz.
"Come on, please?" he begged, "You know I wouldn't be asking you if I had any other choice."
"Alright, fine Danny. But after this you two are going to have to figure something else out! I can't always be giving you my car," she exclaimed, reluctantly handing him the keys.
He looked up at me, "Ready to go?"
I grabbed a cereal bar from the pantry and followed him out. And, after hitting no traffic, twenty minutes later, we arrived at the doctor's office.
As promised, we were the only people there, except for a few office girls who gave us suspicious looks.
"Oh, there you are," our doctor greeted us, "So, if you'll follow me, I'll show you what I mean."
She lead us, passed the examining rooms and into the back lab of the office.
"So here," she said, holding up a vile of red liquid, "is an average blood sample. And here," she said, pulling out another, however visibly different, vile, "Is yours." My blood sample was red, but a darker red, and also swirling with streaks of surprise, surprise, neon green ectoplasm. And, it was also faintly glowing.
Well, there was no way we would be talking our way out of that one, and judging by the look on the doctor's face, she did not want to hear our half-assed excuses.
"I have been an OB-GYN for 23 years, and never, not even in school, did I see something like this. However, my real concern is for your babies. Judging by the way this blood reacts with normal blood, I fear that they may be in danger," she said, but, obviously, that wasn't her real concern just by the way she looked at Danny and I.
"I wouldn't worry about that," I said matter-of-factly. The doctor almost seemed, taken aback.
"And you're sure of this?" the doctor arched an eyebrow.
"Positive," Danny replied. She studied him closely.
"Okay, well…if you wouldn't mind, I would like to run a few more tests—" the doctor started but I cut her off.
"Actually, I kind of do mind. I'm sorry," I told her.
"But this is a scientific breakthrough! Something that may have never been seen in a human being before!" the doctor protested.
"Yeah, that's another thing. We're going to need you to keep this 'scientific breakthrough' to yourself," I said, seriously.
"But—" the doctor tried to protest again.
"I'm sorry, but we can't let this get out or you could be solely responsible for putting our family in danger," I added.
The doctor was silent. Okay, so guilt wasn't working.
"And, if safety of our children is not enough of an incentive. I am also willing to write you a check for $25,000 right now, if you don't say anything, and immediately dispose of any and all of my blood samples after my pregnancy is over," I told her, without faltering. Again, the doctor seemed taken aback, but still she said nothing, staring at us, but I could tell that her resolve was beginning to crumble.
"$50,000 is my final offer, or you will never see any of those samples again, and we are switching to a different doctor," I decided, leaving my final offer hanging. Even though she would have to destroy the blood anyway, I knew she would not want to risk someone else taking credit for her discovery, and I knew she would not want to miss out on the observations that she would get throughout the rest of my pregnancy and after my kids are born . Plus, fifty thousand dollars was a lot of money to pass up.
"Deal," the doctor said finally, and we shook hands on it. I pulled my checkbook out of my purse and immediately scribbled down a check for fifty thousand dollars.
"How do I know that this check will work if I take it to the bank?" she asked suspiciously.
"If that check bounces, you can publish and research whatever you want," I told her, confidently.
"And if I cash the check and publish my discovery anyway," she questioned. Danny growled angrily.
"Well, if you do that. I can promise you we know some people who can make your life hell. Not to mention, I will personally make sure that you spend the rest of your life in jail," I smirked and the doctor visibly paled.
"I'll give you this," I conceded, "In ten years, you can publish what you found, provided that you eliminate our names from anything you write, and, provided that the blood sample still gets destroyed at the end of my pregnancy."
"Fine," the doctor agreed, not that she had much of a choice. This was another reason that choosing a doctor outside of Amity Park was a good idea. The further from Amity Park you get, the less people seem to know about ghosts. So, while our doctor probably knew of Danny Phantom, I'm sure she does not know of the whole 'Phantom buying pregnancy tests' thing, and, more than likely, she would not jump to ghosts as her immediate guess, so, thankfully that would mean that Danny's secret would remain safe.
"Good," I smirked, "Now that that is taken care of, we must be going." I turned, pausing in the doorway, and turning back to the doctor, "Remember, if you betray us. We will know, your research will be gone, and you will be ruined and in jail for the rest of your life."
And, with that, we left, avoiding the stares of the office girls all the way out of the building.
"Geesh, now I understand how Tucker hate's doctors' offices," Danny muttered.
"Ugh! I know! Can you believe the nerve of that woman?!" I exclaimed, clenching my fists.
"Yeah, but you handled it well. You should be a lawyer," Danny grinned.
"Hmm…you think?" I mused thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I can see it now, Sam Fenton Attorney at Law," he laughed.
"Sam Fenton?" I questioned, I was teasing (kind of) but the look of stunned realization on his face when he had recognized what he said was hilarious.
"Um…well…um…" he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing profusely.
I grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze and snapping him out of his embarrassment. He looked at me, and I gave him a smile. I'm not quite sure what he took that to mean, I'm not sure what I took that to mean, but he beamed happily.
We sat down in the car and I sighed, although I had not meant to.
"What's wrong?" he questioned instantly.
"It's just that, well, I'm not sure I can actually become a lawyer, or anything, at least not now. Think about it Danny, we're going to have two little babies at home, it would be a lot of work for either of us to go to school and take care of them. Plus, assuming I do become a lawyer, I got pregnant at sixteen! How is that going to look if I try to get hired by anyone?!" I told him.
"Listen Sam, I'm not saying it wouldn't be hard. But I know you, and I know how smart and dedicated you are, so whether you want to become a lawyer or not, I have faith that you can do it. And, if you need me to be the stay-at-home dad, I will be. You know I'm not much for school anyway so I wasn't planning on going to college. I was actually thinking of opening my own business, and, you know what? That gives us a place to take the kids during the day. But also, we have my sister and parents as a support system, too. And you think no one will hire you? I think that they would have to be an idiot not to want someone as intelligent, clever, and beautiful as you. But, assuming that that does happen, I've never known you to back down from a challenge. Knowing you, you would open your own firm, your own family lawyer firm, and it would work, you know why? Because you are a great, trustworthy person, and people, especially people who are in the same position we are in now would come to you because they would know that you have a personal connection to their case. But, anyway, Sam, I don't want you to ever think you can't do anything, you are the most capable person I know, and I know you will make it in anything you set your mind to," Danny exhaled deeply after that long speech.
I was silent at first, taking in everything he had just said. And, I don't know if it is my hormones or maybe just the fact that Danny has such unbridled faith in me, but tears began to prick at the edge of my eyes. I hadn't noticed, but we had pulled up to the school. He looked at me, and concern clouded his face when he saw the tears.
"Sam, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset! I just—" I put my finger to his lips to make him stop apologizing, and then I smiled at him as one tear ran down my face.
"Don't be sorry," I said, "You have put more faith into me than anyone ever has. Thank you."
He smiled at me, wrapping his arms around me.
"I'm sorry that you have had to go so long without knowing how wonderful you are," he muttered quietly, only making a new tear stream down my face. H rubbed my back up and down, gently rhythmically, for a few minutes, until my eyes were dry, then he pulled back, looking at me.
He put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking lot.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
"I think you need a milkshake," he smiled and pulled into the Nasty Burger.