Chapter 19:

Sam POV-

I sighed as my two oldest future kids came and crowded next to me on the bench at the far end of the lab. The reason I had known they were there, was because, when you deal with Danny silently phasing in and out of places all the time, the slightest scuff of someone's sneaker on the linoleum floor, is a good give away that someone is spying.

Both Wren and Jackson, were obviously tired as the two of them struggled to stay awake, as we waited anxiously, watching the swirling green of the portal.

It was still so surreal to me, and I found it hard to believe that we had only figured everything out this afternoon.

Thinking of one day marrying Danny and having three kids was, a weird thought at fourteen, and weirder still: one of our children is technically older than we are now, and the other is our same age.

I can't say I'm totally surprised, I guess. Everyone has been predicting the two of us getting together for years now; I just can't believe it took meeting our future kids to actually do it.

I thought back to what Wren had said earlier about my parents. Sure, I was a little disappointed that I would no longer have a relationship with my parents (not that I really had one anyway) and that they had no relationship with their grandchildren, but I cannot say I was surprised.

My parents had always made it obvious to me their disapproval of Danny, but, I had kind of been hoping that that disapproval did not extend to our children. Apparently not, considering that they leave Amity Park, their only daughter, and their only grandchildren, the second things turn rough.

Jackson laid his head, on my shoulder, his eyes now completely closed. I'm usually not a touchy-feely person, and maybe it's the maternal instincts kicking in, but I put my arm around his shoulder, rubbing his arm.

'He really looks like Danny when he's asleep,' I mused, pushing a strand of hair off of his face.

Although Wren, who was seated on my other side, desperately trying not to fall asleep as her eyelids repeatedly threatened to close, definitely acts a lot more like Danny. From what I have been able to tell so far, Wren is the impulsive one. She was, undoubtedly, the one who convinced Jackson to follow her down here (either that or he followed her because he didn't want her to get in trouble). Either way, that tendency definitely reminded me a lot of Danny. She also inherited his blue eyes, which flittered around the room from the door, to the portal, before finally resting on me with an anxious smile.

"Hey," I told her soothingly, sensing her tension, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He always is."

That didn't calm her down very much, which, I guess I can understand considering I was feeling the same current of anxiety rushing through me. I just knew how to hide it better.

I looked at the digital clock that hung on the wall.

It was 1:30, which meant that Danny had left about 45 minutes ago.

'He'll be back soon…' I convinced myself, 'Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get some sleep…' but right after I had thought this, the Fenton Phones made a beeping sound.

I immediately pressed the talk button, assuming that something must have gone wrong for Danny to be calling me so early.

"Hey Sam, you there?" I heard him ask.

"Yeah Danny, I'm here, is everything okay?" I answered quickly. Wren was now completely alert and anxiously focused on my conversation, while Jackson was just groggily beginning to wake up because I had stirred him when I had moved to answer the Fenton Phones.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Wren and Jackson are there with you aren't they?" I breathed a sigh of relief, before taking a second to wonder why Danny was asking for Wren and Jackson, and another second to be slightly impressed that he had already inferred that they were there with me. Wren had a mixture of intrigue, confusion, and 'kid with hand in the cookie jar' guilt on her face.

"Yeah, why?" I answered.

"Put them on, I have someone who wants to talk to them," I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. Jackson was now more aware, and confused, as I put the Fenton Phone between them.

"Hello?" They both questioned to the unknown person on the other end of the conversation.

"Hey guys," it took me only a second to recognize the voice as what I would expect to be Danny's older voice, the smirk just as prevalent in his remark at it had been in Danny's. His voice was a lot deeper, but still retained certain Danny-ish qualities to it. And honestly, it was kind of sexy. It sent chills down my spine.

"Dad?!" Wren asked at the same time Jackson asked, "Dad is that you?!"

"Yeah guys it's me," he replied with a chuckle.

"Oh my gosh, Dad I miss you so much!" Wren exclaimed.

"What are you talking about? You've seen me every day," he replied and I could tell he was joking.

"Oh…yeah… no offence," Wren smiled sheepishly directing her response at my Danny.

"Yeah, yeah, I see how it is," Danny replied feigning being offended.

"Well—Wren—you certainly did a great job of keeping the secret. What have I told you about the delicate balance of the time stream," older Danny scolded playfully. Even though I could tell he was joking, Wren seemed troubled at the fact that she hadn't been able to follow his orders to her.

"It wasn't…all my fault…" she managed to squeak out.

"Yeah, I know. Your mom is pretty good at figuring things out," he replied, that one was directed towards me and I couldn't help but laugh. Wren and Jackson laughed too, relieved that he wasn't actually upset with them.

"Is everyone okay?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah, everyone's fine," he sighed, and my breath caught in my throat. There is almost no one who knows Danny better than me, and that, was a lie. Thankfully, neither of the kids seemed to notice, but it left me to wonder who had been injured or maybe even killed.

"Why didn't you ever tell us about you?" Jackson wondered with a bit of an accusatory edge to his question.

"I wanted to, Buddy…but…I figured you'd be safer if you couldn't be used in the wrong hands…I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way," he answered and I could tell by his tone of voice that he was genuinely guilty for keeping Wren and Jackson in the dark for so long.

"So when we're trained can we come fight the war with you?" Wren suggested excitedly. I sighed, already knowing how that question would be answered.

"What? No. It's too dangerous," he replied with finality.

"But—" Wren argued, sticking out her bottom lip, which was probably a kind of habit for getting what she wants.

"Not another word on the subject, young lady. I just called to tell you both that your mother and I love you. Tell Eli too, okay," he told her.

Wren sighed, obviously disappointed, yes, she is most definitely Danny's daughter.

"Okay, love you too," Jackson and Wren responded together.

"I'll be with you guys again soon," he promised hopefully.

"Okay, bye dad," they stated before the conversation was ended. They were both silent for a few minutes, mulling over their conversation with their dad.

"What's the point of even letting us be trained if he won't let us do anything to help!?" Wren exclaimed throwing her hands up in frustration before plopping back down on the bench.

I didn't have an answer for that, other than, obviously, they don't want either of them to get hurt.

Even Jackson seemed a little bummed as he slumped back on the bench before resuming sleeping once again.

"Wren," I told her, "Why don't you get some sleep," I told her, "You have a big day tomorrow. And I'll let you know if anything else happens, okay?"

She nodded, and leaned her head on my shoulder too, easily drifting off to sleep. I glanced at the portal.

'Now, I guess, all I have to do is wait for Danny to come back,' I thought.