Chapter 3

Danny rolled away in bed, hoping that turning away from the window might help him get to sleep. He pulled up the covers only for his eyes to pop open. He quickly kicked off the blankets in frustration, giving them a small fight as he flicked his feet away from them. He turned over to his back and laid in his pajamas as he heard Jazz and Jack come back inside. He couldn't make out what his father said but heard him quickly get shushed by Jazz.

Danny turned and looked at the clock on his nightstand, seeing it was fifteen minutes passed seven. Maddie had gone to bed an hour ago, getting Danny to promise he wouldn't stay up past seven so they could get up and moving by three to four in the morning. Danny did what he had promised to do, he knew he needed to drive tomorrow, but he and sleep were fighting like the Box Ghost. It was a fight he never wanted because the Box Ghost always tried to drag it out.

Danny looked up at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling, remembering when he was a kid they'd help him fall to sleep. Except the sun still hadn't gone down and the curtains didn't block out enough of the sunlight, so the stars had yet to glow.

Danny let out a low growl, swinging his feet off the bed as he rocked himself up so he sat at the edge of the mattress. He let the lights cover him and floated off the bed, flying through the wall to try and clear his mind. He realized as soon as his eyes traveled through the brick the biggest problem in his plan; night flights to help him sleep only worked if it was night. He flew up and started a short loop of the neighborhood, figuring he could give Amity Park one last look over before they headed out. From a hundred or so feet from the ground, everything looked peaceful. He worried when this would end and the truce would start to crack but for now, he'd take the strange peace.

Tucker's place caught his eye, getting Danny to fly down and land in the backyard. He let the lights change him back to Fenton only to be surprised to feel grass beneath his feet. He looked down at himself only to quickly remember he was still in his pajamas. He changed back just as the back door opened.

"Thought I saw you land," Angela Foley said, getting Danny's attention to the woman holding the back door open. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"You saw, didn't you?" Danny asked, feeling his face flush.

Angela nodded her head, moving to let Danny inside. "When are you going to get your own pair of pjs? Those were already showing your ankles."

Danny stepped into the kitchen, closing the door behind himself, and offered, "It's on the list for the new school year." He gave her a smile and added, "It'll be nice to get new ones instead of hand-me-downs."

"Tucker's in his room," Angela said as Danny walked passed her. "Tell him dinner's almost ready."

"Will do, Mrs. Foley," Danny promised as he rushed up the steps.

"Don't worry, he's supposed to be asleep, remember," Tucker was saying. "Not like he'd be surprised, anyway."

"Surprised about what?" Danny asked as he stopped in Tucker's doorway to find his best friend sitting in front of his computer. Danny stepped into the room to peak at who he was talking to as Sam's voice came from the speakers.

"Danny! What happened to going to bed by seven?"

"Couldn't get to sleep," Danny admitted with a shrug. Looking at Tucker he added, "Your mom says dinner's almost ready."

"You're still in your pajamas, aren't you?" Tucker asked, looking Danny over.

"Night flights normally help me get to sleep," Danny grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's just not night yet."

"Need to get you some black-out curtains," Sam said with a smile. "Perfect for creatures of the night."

Danny dropped his arms to his side, smiling at his girlfriend through the web camera.

"Hey, Lovebirds," Tucker called, looking between his two friends. "I'm still here."

An oven timer rang out from the kitchen, getting Danny to point out, "Dinner's ready."

Tucker let out a laugh, rolling his eyes as he pushed himself up, out of the computer chair. "Fine. Just turn it off once you're done," Tucker said.

"Thanks, man," Danny offered, taking the still warm seat. He looked back at Sam and asked, "So what wouldn't surprise me?"

"What, nothing," Sam started, pink filling in her cheeks. She looked at something that must be on the bed beside her laptop and continued. "It certainly wouldn't have anything to do with pets."

"You're getting toys for Elsbeth, aren't you?" Danny asked, a smile pulling on his lips at how cute she looked flustered.

"It's Eldeah," Sam quickly corrected. "And no?"

"When are you planning on getting her out?" Danny asked.

"Monday," Sam admitted, her shoulders slumping. "Just to see how well she handles it out here. She's been responsive to the little leash I've got her and she's already wearing her collar."

"How'd you even find a collar that small?"

"Eric, at the Skulk and Lurk, has a pet iguana he brings around with him," Sam explained. "He pointed me towards the reptile stuff."

"But Eldeah's neck's so small," Danny said, picturing the ghost cat-bee Sam had fallen in love with last month that was, at most, the size of a soft ball.

"You'd be surprised how small those collars get," Sam pointed out.

Danny smiled at the girl, admiring her love of animals as his mind started to think about their future again. His mind traveled back to their Floody Water trip, remembering about his kids. His and Sam's kids.

"Danny?" Sam asked, her voice pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," Danny tried, a part of him still unnerved.

"What is it?"

Danny looked away from the computer screen, noticing a blueprint of some device Tucker had printed up on his wall behind the monitor, as he tried to figure out how to ask the question unformed in his mind. "How much of our future have you gotten from Kale?" he settled with asking as he looked back at his girlfriend.

"Our?" Sam echoed, looking at something just below the laptop on her bed. She paused long enough for Danny to worry he shouldn't have asked the question before she admitted, "I mean, the only real interaction I've had with him is the two times he's thought I had the eye thing."

"Two times?" Danny checked. "Am I the only one who didn't know I time traveled before it happened?"

"You asked us not to tell you," Sam defended, looking him in the eye through the camera. "What is the eye he's looking for?"

"The eyes of Osten and Westen," Danny offered. "Mom looked them up, one lets the wearer read ghosts' thoughts and the other plants thoughts in ghosts' minds. Together you have total control."

"And I'm supposed to have one?" Sam asked, a hand going to her neck where her choker rested.

"Kale-" Danny stopped himself, unsure if he should tell her but didn't want to keep secrets from her. He found her eyes through the web camera and said, "Kale said my wife had the eye of Osten."

"So that's what you said," Sam realized, looking down below the camera as her hand fell to her lap. "So those kids he asked about? Your kids?"

"Our kids," Danny mumbled, looking down at the keyboard.

"What were their names again?"

Danny looked back at the monitor, sure now he could never forget the kids that had yet to be born. "Misty and Jackson."

Sam let out a snort before saying, "We're not even out of high school, we shouldn't be worrying about our unborn kids." She paused, looking at the screen just below the camera before adding, "I hope they got home like Tucker thinks."

"Me too." Danny looked down at his lap as he thought aloud, "I hope I'm a good dad to them."

"What makes you say that?" Sam asked. Not letting him respond she added, "You're caring, protective. You're good with kids, better than I am."

"How many superheroes do you know that have kids?" Danny retorted bluntly. Sam leaned back in surprise, but he still continued, "Their father's a freak and their own biology's a mess. I'm half ghost and I don't even know how messed up my own biology is – find that out this week – but they're born like this. Add on to it, how many times will I have to leave you with them because the town can't hold itself together for long enough to change a diaper?"

"Danny," Sam said, holding her hands up to stop him.

"And what if a ghost attacks while you're in the hospital?" Danny continued.

"Danny!"

Danny froze and looked at her, slowly realizing he had let himself worry too much aloud to her.

"We'll get through it," Sam tried. "You're not alone protecting this stupid town, and the tests you'll do at NASA will help us understand their biology better once they're born.

"You said Kale was from 2026, right?"

Danny nodded his head, knowing better than to open his mouth right now.

"And how old were they when you saw them?"

"Twelve or thirteen," Danny said, unsure.

"Then we've got seven years at least before they'll be born," Sam offered. "Could be longer since you don't remember when they were from. We'll be, what, 23?"

"A bit young," Danny mumbled as he remembered his own parents were in their late twenties when they had him and Jazz.

"My parents were both 21 when they had me," Sam offered. "But I'm just giving early possible dates. It could be that Kale knows them as toddlers or something. We don't know."

"We shouldn't know all that we do," Danny pointed out.

"Hey Danny," Angela said, getting Danny to look up at the woman standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. "I don't want you getting in trouble, but I think it's time you went home. I know you have a long drive tomorrow and you've gotta get up early."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry Mrs. Foley," Danny offered, rising from the chair. "I'll text you once we get there," he promised Sam as he took hold of the mouse.

"You better," Sam said threateningly as she smiled into the camera.