A/N: Alright. Here we are, about to complete a new chapter! For one of our favorite stories, "For Better or Worse." ;)

So, here's the new chappie. :)

Chapter 9: In Working Progress

~Sam~

After Sam's flight had landed and she entered the world outside of the Las Vegas Airport, she glanced around. Everywhere, there were lights and sounds and exotic buildings. She'd seen the few casino buildings in the distance and the lights that paraded the streets. But along with a beautiful city comes its dark side. Prostitutes flooded the sidewalks, soliciting men, due to of course, as it was their job. Some of them were braless while others were wearing no panties, which of course left the third batch wearing only both garments.

Cecilia worked her way behind next to Sam from behind her. They had hitched the same flight, coincidentally at the same time. They had been in the same airport at the same time, but left towards the gate at different intervals. Somewhat crazy, if you thought about it.

"Okay," Cecilia finally said as they stood on the sidewalk, "we're here. Where do we head now?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged, "you're the one that had us come here."

"Right. Of course. Silly of me to ask you such things."

Cecilia hauled some of Sam's luggage more toward the edge of the street and hailed at taxi. One had finally stopped for them, and they climbed in after setting their luggage down in a position they thought would be comfortable for them.. The driver of the cab turned and looked at Cecilia, and then at Sam. He smiled when he seen what condition she was in..

"Is it your first?"

"Yes," Sam nodded with a smile.

"Congratulations ma'am."

"Thank you."

"Where to?" he turned to Cecilia.

"The condos down the strip."

"Very well," he turned back around With slight pressure upon the brake and a shift of his key, he drove off down the strip.

~Danny~

Danny looked out the window on the passenger side of his car, which Tucker had been driving. He watched as the rain fell softly, beating against the windshield in a steady rhythm. Tucker once in a while glanced at Danny to make sure he was alright. It was slightly awkward to sit in one place together and not say anything to each other. They were best friends, for crying out loud! Sure, they had their moments where they argued and nipped at each other, but they were alcohol buddies. They were more than just that and best friends however, they were "brothers." Heck, Tucker remembers when Danny, him, and Sam were all in the 2nd grade. Tucker had thrown up in Sam's lunchbox and when Danny found out, not only did he laugh his butt off, but he made fun of him for the longest time. But better still, Danny covered for him by saying he wasn't going to tell Sam what he did. That was when Tucker made the excuse of Ricky Marsh doing it. Sam had never known that was the case until 9th grade, when Danny had to face Poindexter, a ghost that had switched sides with Danny to take over his life while Danny had to take over his. What Danny didn't know, however, was the Poindexter was bullied beyond measure. Once Danny had finally worked his way back into his world, smashing the mirror was the only thing to keep him in his world forever.

Anyway, besides that, the trio had been through some rough times, but they've always managed to make it through. everything.

This wasn't really expected. Sam getting pregnant and having to go to Las Vegas, where she's going to have her baby in three months. It's going to be a five hour flight for Tucker, Danny, Danny's mother and father, and Jazz in order to get there.

What were they going to do?

"Danny dude… are you alright?"

"Yeah Tuck… I'm fine."

"Look," Tucker started, licking his lips as he turned on his turning signal to make a left, "I'm going to miss Sam too., but… we gotta understand that she's got a point. This is for her job. We can't stop her from doing something for her job."

"It's not about that Tuck," Danny snapped, "It's about her condition! I didn't mean to do that to Sam! She's going to hate me when she finds out…"

"She's not gonna find out!" Tucker yelled. "Alright? We'll be fine."

"Man… why did I do this to Sam? Why am I so dumb?"

"You're not dumb, dude. Okay? You just weren't thinking. You'll be fine, and so will she. You wanna go out for a couple of drinks before I take you home?"

"Uh… yeah, sure. Just watch me this time."

"Don't worry. I will."

Tucker continued driving off down the road.

~Sam~

"Okay," Cecilia said as she opened the door to Sam's suite, "this suite belongs to you."

"Where will you be staying?" Sam asked as she moved past her co-worker and set her bagsdown on the table.

"I'll be in the suite right next to yours."

Sam couldn't believe all of this was happening. Her life had flown by so fast, she couldn't keep up with herself. She can still remember waiting in the lunch line on her first day of high school! And before she knew Danny and Tucker went there, she was pretty much a loner. That was when, later that day, she saw them. She couldn't be any more astounded. Of course she did know that they were going to go there. That was the only close ranged high school in all of Amity Park… to them, at least.

And now look at her. She had two excellent jobs that paid her very good money. One of them, however, had caused her to go to extremes she never would have thought possible for her. She never thought she would have had to leave town just for a job that she had. She, to be completely honest, never thought she'd have this nice of a job. She wanted to stick with just being a teacher, but she figured to one half-time job and one full-time job would bring her in money she could never imagine. That's why she had a house two stories tall, but yet still takes up enough acres to cover half of a football field; because her jobs were so well paying. But better still, she missed Danny, Tucker, and their family already. Sam rarely ever talked to her parents after she went off to college, which isn't a good thing, but a benefit to everyone.

Her parents really stopped caring about her after she turned 18. Part of the reason was because her father no longer had to pay child support on her, so he could honestly care less about the things she did. Her mother was always so caught up in her own little world, not really acknowledging what Sam wanted and what she required (trying to make her wear floral printed dresses was a perfect example). But after Sam reached the legal adult age, it got pretty bad. Her mother stopped being a mother and started being a best friend, and that's just a little too awkward when coming from your parents. She tried to make up for all the lost time that she caused between her daughter and her. But Sam knew better. Sam knew that all of that was irreplaceable, regardless if she had tried or not.

Sam couldn't have been that sucky of a parent if she had tried.

"I'll be right next door if you need me," Cecilia interrupted her thoughts.

"Okay," Sam gave a nod. She watched as Cecilia took her bags and walked out of her room. Sam sat down on the only couch that was in the suite. She set her hands on her stomach and looked down, as if to talk to the little being inside.

"This is only temporary little guy, okay?"

A swift little kick had given her the cogitation that he understood what she said. He wasn't out of the womb and was already smart for his "age." This brought back a memory for Sam. As she closed her eyes and thought back to when she and Danny were at home, doing nothing in particular.

"Danny, what are you doing?" she yelled to the man, whom was in a different room than her.

"Making dinner. Is that a crime?" he asked slyly.

"No. I'm just used to being the only cook in the house.

By then, Spade was a mere puppy, capable of being lifted. Not so big as to not lift him at all, definitely. Sam was, at the time, four and a half to five months along. Already, her stomach had been forming by then. That was the first time Sam felt anything actually happen. She had gotten up and walked to the kitchen.

"Are you almost done, or do you need some help? You don't want to burn water again like you did last time."

"It isn't theoretically possible to burn water, smart-alic," Danny stuck his tongue out at her.

"Okay, 'over-boil' it,'" Sam put air quotes around 'over-boil'.

Then she felt a jolting kick in her stomach and stopped abruptly.

"Danny, come here for a second!" she said, holding her stomach.

"Why? What happened?" he looked at her with concerned eyes.

As he made his way over to her, in a rush, may I add, Sam took his hands and set them down on the spot where she thought she felt migration.

"Do you feel anything?" she asked him.

"No, not yet," he said..

"Just wait," she tempted and stood still.

After only a few moments, the baby kicked again. Danny looked at Sam and smiled. At his reaction, Sam laughed. This was the first time Sam's ever seen Danny this happy.

"He's… he's moving," he stammered.

Sam giggled. "Yeah…"

Sam was thoughts were intruded by a knock on the door. She got up and wobbled over to the door, opening it.

To no surprise, it was Cecilia again.

"One more thing," she added., "be to bed early. We got a big start tomorrow.."

Then, she turned and walked back to her room. Sam shut the door. Just as she did, her phone went of. She walked over to where it was lying and looked at the screen..

Danny.

Of course, she smirked.

She answered it. "Hello?"

"Sam?"

She sighed. "Hello, Danny."

"Hi. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just got to the hotel."

"Okay. Just want to make sure."

She heard music in the background… loud music. She found it pretty awkward so she couldn't help but acknowledge it.

"Where are you? I can hear music in the background."

"I'm at Lucky's Bar."

"The same place you tempted me to try Jack Daniels?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Just don't get drunk and do stupid things, okay? And make sure Tucker doesn't mess things up and gets himself in the predicament, okay? Someone has to be the designated driver for someone."

"Alright."

They were silent for a while, then Sam decided to break it.

"The baby misses you, Danny."

She could hear Danny laugh on the other end. "He doesn't even know me yet."

"He misses your touch," Sam corrected, "he misses you being around. He practically cringes at mine."

Upon listening to Sam, Danny sighed. "Listen Sam, I have something to say."

"Oh, okay. I'm listening. What is it?"

Danny took a deep breath. "You know how you said you didn't know who the father of your child was?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well… the truth is… I…"

"Danny!" Sam heard Tucker call his name through the speaker. "Come on, dude. I just ordered our drinks."

"Just wait, Tucker," she heard Danny respond.

"You want them stolen?"

Danny sighed. "Sam, I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Yeah… sure."

"I'll see you, okay? Take care of yourself and the baby. I love you."

"I love you too, Danny," she whispered.

"Bye, Sam."

"Bye."

Sam hung up and sniffed.

What was he going to say? Sam thought.

It had something to do with her baby's father. Did he find out who the guy was? Did he know who he was all this time, but didn't tell her to prevent hurting her? As Sam thought more and more, she feared the worse. What if… what if Danny was the father? She shook her head completely of this idea. No, no. Danny wouldn't do that to her. Danny loves her. He wouldn't violate her like that.

But what if he was drunk?

Intoxicated people usually don't think all that much. They clearly have no clue on what they are doing. What if this was all just one big lie? Sam, again, smacked the thought away.

Get it together, Sam. Danny loves you. He wouldn't violate you. He knows how to control himself over a buzz. He knows not to lie to you. Danny knows better, he knows.

But again, Sam had her second thoughts.

~Danny~

"Dude," Tucker started to Danny as Danny was drinking his forth round of Budweiser. Danny had already been messed up.

Damn… he thought, Sam told me not to get this drunk. I'm so screwed.

"What?" Danny asked Tucker, his words slurred.

"Check out the girl at the other end of the bar."

Danny, although knowing he shouldn't have, did anyway. He'd seen a blonde with green eyes and pale skin, dressed in a short black mini-skirt and a red and white striped tube-top. She had the body of a goddess, which didn't help Danny contain himself one bit. She was glancing over at Danny, biting her lip seductively.

Oh God, he thought. I would absolutely love to get some of that…

Danny mentally smacked himself.

STOP. Sam's pregnant; you're going to be a father! You have responsibility! Don't do this to Sam. This will be just another secret that will eat you alive.

He broke his stare from the woman and looked back at Tucker.

"Why the hell would you do that?" he growled at Tucker.

"Do what?" he asked after he set his Jack Daniels back down on the counter.

"Get me to look at her! She's trying to seduce me with her eyes! You know I love Sam, and I'm about to be a father. Not to mention what she would think of me… what my family would think of me!"

"Calm down, dude., I didn't say it for you. I said it because I was just saying how perfect she would be for me."

Danny looked at the woman again, still finding her looking at him, and then reverted his gaze back to Tucker.

"Well, obviously she has no interest in you. She's staring at me."

"Maybe she digs white guys with raven hair and blue eyes."

"Well I'm taken!"

"Come on, dude. You and Sam practically aren't dating anymore. She's gone for a year. You can't keep a long distance relationship."

"I'm not doing this to Sam. I refuse."

Tucker sighed.

"Besides," Danny continued. "What if she's a prostitute?"

"She doesn't look like one."

The woman suddenly got up and started over toward the two men.

"Uh oh. Here comes company."

Danny turned to see she was right next to him.

"Hey," the woman said to Danny.

"Hello ma'am," Danny responded. "Is there something I can help you with?"

She hummed in thought. "Nope. Just came over here to see what you big, tough men were drinking."

"Do you… um… do you drink Jack?" Tucker asked.

"Do I? Watch this."

She turned to the bartender, whom was all the way over by her previous seat. "Excuse me!"

The bartender walked over to her and responded.

"Can I get the strongest drink that you have?"

The bartender winked and after he left, the woman turned to her Danny and straddled his lap, her front side facing his, and clutched his shoulders., massaging them gently.

Upon seeing this, Tucker gave a low whistle.

"So," she started. "What's your name, handsome?"

Danny gulped, trying not to moan. "Danny."

"Nice," she said.. "I'm Alyson. But uh…"

She leaned in and whispered sexually in his ear. "Just call me Ally."

Danny could feel himself getting incredibly turned on by this unknown woman whom claimed herself as Ally.

Tucker cleared his throat and scooted away a little bit from the two.

"Um… I'm… I'm in a relationship." Danny stammered.

"Mhm," she mumbled as she slowly kissed his neck.

"And… I'm going to… I'm going to be a father."

"Congratulations," she mumbled., still seducing him sexually. She noticed a cherry sticking on top of someone's drink right next to them and used it to show Danny how sexy she could really be. She plucked them stem right off of the cherry and tossed it aside, sticking the stem in her mouth. As she chewed it gradually, Danny and Tucker leaned in in awe. After about 30-45 seconds, she took the stem out of her mouth and showed off the knot that was in it.

"Can your 'lover' do that?" she smirked.

Danny's erection had grown almost to his limit. He needed to get rid of this girl.

"Say," she started.. "I think we should go somewhere… a little private."

"Stop," Danny whispered. What the hell's it gonna take to get this woman away from me?

"Do you really want me to?" she purred.

"W-Well," Danny stuttered.

"I'm gonna leave you two alone," Tucker winked and left to flirt with a different girl.

Ally leaned in and kissed his lips. Danny was frightened at first, but his lust of guiltiness with Sam, combined with the lies, feelings, emotions, and alcohol in him, he began to lose constrain of himself. Danny fought into the kiss, gently but with an edge of roughness, the way he'd kiss Sam. Though he didn't put as much love into it. She moaned and whimpered, enjoying every ounce of affection he was throwing into his smooch. Ally's drink was completely forgotten.

"Come on," she persisted. "You should take me home."

Danny didn't object. He just got up from the chair, beckoning Tucker to come along with him, who was flirting with an African-American woman, and Danny got into his car in the backseat, along with Ally. Tucker came out of the bar seconds later, bringing along the woman he was flirting with.. She sat in the passenger's side, while Tucker took the wheel, which luckily was the case, since Tucker was the designated driver.

With that, he drove off toward Sam's house.

Once they got there, Danny and Ally got out and walked up to Sam's door. Tucker drove off, not in doubt to leave the two intoxicated adults by themselves. Once Danny had gotten the door open, Ally jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist, and he carried into the house while beginning to get kiss her. He shut the door behind him and held her all the way until they got to his living room. Spade was barking all the way through, but neither of them paid any mind to him. As he lay her down on Sam's couch, Ally began to unfasten his pants. He slipped off his shirt and discarded it to the side. His phone started vibrating, but since he had gotten himself well into the mood, he took it out of his back pocket, before Ally pulled down his pants, and tossed it on the side table. Little did he know, Sam was calling him…

Meanwhile

Sam lie in her bed, listening to the ring on the other end that indicated Danny's phone was on. She had been trying to get a hold of him because she needed to discuss the matter of what he was going to say about who the father of her child is.

"Come on, Danny. Pick up the phone." She mumbled.

"Hey, it's Danny. Leave a message-."

"Seriously?!" Sam scoffed.

She hung up and put her phone on the nightstand, crossing her arms in a huff. The TV in front of her was on, but she wasn't paying attention to it. She was more concerned as to why Danny wasn't answering. He always answered, especially when she called.

What is going on with you Danny?

A/N: Whaaaa! Yes, I am leaving you with a cliffhanger! The rest of Alyson and Danny's scene remains up to you guys. Did he stop himself? Did he not? Did Alyson get pregnant later on afterward? Did she leave the house fumed? Make up an ending to that scene in the reviews AFTER you answer the Question of the Chapter!

"If you could meet any famous celebrity that you wanted to, who would that celebrity be?"

As always, I answer this question with my own… Amy Lynn Hartzler A.K.A. Amy Lynn Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence. She's just… awesome. (:

If not her, then Milla Jovovich, the Resident Evil movie franchise main character.

Remember, more reviews, more cookies! :D

PleaseR&R,

Vivalandra : )