2/7/25: There's a time jump here.

We are coming down to the wire, ya'll. I can't tell you how many chapters are left, because I am not certain, but there's not many.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

–

Chapter 57: Vice Grip

–

Two months later…End of May.

The war that gripped Amity was slowly turning into a holocaust. The population was starving and Vlad, Danny and Skulker were doing their best to sneak food into the city to the people. Anyone who was human was considered 'other' and beaten on site. Many had been transferred to labor camps and were dying from malnutrition, sickness and fatigue by the droves.

The government had at least started supplying more troops and aircraft, but had so far still refused to commit fully to the fight.

Vlad, Jack and Dash were still trying valiantly to get citizens out, but it was becoming nearly impossible with the iron grip Mira had on the city.

Mark had never been found. It was assumed he was one of the many unidentifiable remains that had been recovered from City Hall.

As for Sam, she was sixteen weeks pregnant and just starting to show. The baby had survived and there had been no further incidents with it. Even the glow from its core was no longer visible on the ultrasound, but its heartbeat was strong.

Jazz was now 24 weeks pregnant and showing quite a bit. Both she and Tucker were ecstatic when they found out it was a girl this time. And they'd already picked a name: Jeannie. She would be Jeannie Lenae Foley.

Sam and Danny didn't know what the baby was that she was having, but they'd confirmed at least one thing: it wasn't normal. Now that it was growing it was clear it had extra appendages. From their location, it looked like possibly wings and a tail, which didn't surprise them considering it was conceived after Sam became half dragon ghost. But it was also still very tiny, at least half the size it should be.

This had made the couple curious and so they did genetic testing on their twins to find they were a quarter ghost. Again, it made sense since Danny was half ghost and Sam was human at their conception. A DNA test on the fetus confirmed what Vlad suspected: it was only a quarter human. For it to have more ghost-like features is something else that made sense.

The pair were still participating in battles, though Danny had been pushing more and more for Sam to stay behind. That wasn't going so well–it always served to piss her off. The ghost had gotten more than an earful on several occasions, but each time he still tried.

The twins were seven and a half months old now with blossoming personalities. They each had four teeth, could sit up and even crawl. Danny couldn't believe how amazing they were and spent every day in awe of them.

Se-ri was five months old and growing quickly. Sam loved her like she was her own and marveled at just how cute she was. It was clear to the goth, even this young, that Se-ri was going to be a very kind and mellow person. It made her miss Ki-oh.

Sam had just finished in the shower and got dressed. It was evening and about time to put the twins down for bed. As she exited the bathroom and entered the bedroom, she stilled, watching the scene with a small smile.

Danny was sitting on the floor with the twins, each baby sitting up and facing him. They were seemingly paying rapt attention while their father read them a bedtime book.

"Then one monkey sighs as she turns out the light. "I wish we could read this new ghost book tonight."," he read. ""Just look at that goblin and mean looking ghost! It's those shadowy bats that I like the most.""

Sam's gentle smile widened. Of course it had ghosts in it.

"One monkey starts hooting–an eerie ghost sound. And soon they're all wailing and jumping around! Then a dark, spooky shadow appears on the wall," Danny read as he tried to make a scary shadow puppet on the wall.

"But a knock on their door is what frightens them all!" He knocked on the wooden dresser next to him. ""It's the ghost!" They all scream. But then…Mama walks in! "What's all this racket, this chaos, this din?"" he said in a funny voice. Both babies giggled uncontrollably, and Sam found herself laughing along with them. There was just something about a baby laughing that was contagious.

Danny gasped loud. "The monkeys all gasp. "We thought YOU were the ghost! This book is so scary, we like it the most!" Mama raises an eyebrow. "What was it I said?"" he read in a booming, mock angry voice, over exaggerating his upset face and making his kids giggle again. "Lights out, sweet dreams, no more reading in bed!"" Aurora giggled so hard she fell over and simply kept laughing. The ghost chuckled and reached over, gently righting his daughter.

The goth walked in then, kneeling down and running her hand over Jackson's head. "They have no idea what you're saying," she chuckled.

"Nope, but they sure think it's funny anyway!" Danny replied with a grin.

Sam gave him a look that said she was mentally shaking her head. "Well, soak it up now, because when they're older you won't be so funny. You'll be 'cringe'."

He looked so excited. "Just think of all the dad jokes!"

"The poor things," she ribbed.

Danny finished reading the book while Sam got their nighttime stuff ready. Soon the twins were in bed and fast asleep, Sam gently kissing their foreheads. "It's so weird to think we're going to have a third one."

The ghost walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her front, settling his hands on the small swell of her stomach. "But also awesome," he added to her statement.

She smiled and turned around in his arms, settling her head against his chest, ear to his skin. He was wearing his flannel pajama pants, but no shirt, so she snuggled into his cool skin, head tucked up under the left side of his chin. Her eyes roamed over the side of his chest she could see before bringing her hand up and tracing the lines.

He'd gotten tired of staring at the scars in the mirror, so six weeks ago, after he had healed from the Apache wound and a new scar started to form, he decided to take the plunge and get tattoos. He had both his arms done in full sleeves. For those he'd decided to pay tribute to the Far Frozen and his ice powers by doing a decorative display of the runes and symbols Frostbite and his people used as their own language, coupled with traditional art designs they used. The runes looked a lot like Nordic/Viking runes, and when Sam asked about it, Frostbite simply grinned.

Then Danny got a huge dragon tattooed on him. It started on his back, the tail going down his spine and curling around his lower back. The body followed his spine up, wings sprouting from his shoulder blades and covering a huge portion of his back. It then shifted to his right side, the long neck coming up over his shoulder before the head ended on his right pec. The dragon's mouth was open, spewing flames across the other side of his chest. Its paws were clinging to his shoulder and made to look like they were gripping his skin and holding on. Sam believed it looked suspiciously like her but Danny refused to admit it.

It was…different, and they stood out strikingly against his pale ghostly skin, but Sam thought they were pretty cool.

"You don't worry about the baby?" she asked.

"Being different? No," he responded, his deep baritone soothing in her ear.

She blinked. "What about its power?"

He remained quiet for a moment before answering. "We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, all we can do is love and accept her."

Sam scrunched her brows together and pulled her head back to look at him in confusion. "Her?"

He shrugged. "I just have this feeling," he said. "And I keep seeing her name in my head."

She raised a brow. "Oh really? Naming the baby without me, huh?"

The ghost gave her a sheepish look. "I'm not naming her, I just see it. Like the word literally just pops into my head."

"I think you're crazy," she chuckled, pulling away and going to her side of the bed. "But what, pray tell, is this name that just comes to you?" she asked as she pulled back the covers and got in bed.

He went around to his side and did the same, settling into the soft sheets. "I don't want to say now; you said I'm crazy," he responded indignantly.

Sam sighed. "Just spit it out."

He gave her a look before giving up. "Wiley."

She tilted her head in thought. "I actually like that. But I'm still not convinced it's a girl."

He shrugged and pulled the covers up, scooting down so he could settle on his back with his head on his pillow. "Well, we'll find out in a few weeks."

She scooted down as well under the covers and then settled onto her side, right up against Danny, placing her head on his shoulder and putting her arm around his stomach. "You don't want to be surprised like we did with the twins?"

"I feel like we've had enough surprises with this baby," he countered.

"Fair enough."

–

The next day, Sam and Danny were finishing up an early dinner before it was time to head to base. Their mission today was to liberate one of the labor camps on the west side of the city. It had taken a lot of careful planning and spying to come up with a plan of action for this one. They wanted to be as stealthy as possible–getting in and getting out without alerting the enemy and provoking retaliation against those they planned to rescue.

Danny and Sam had picked a few select Marines for a special unit designated just for this. They'd tested all of them and then chose the ones who were the most quiet, stealthy, and clever and had the ability to think on their feet if a situation called for a sudden change of plans.

Sam took her plate to the sink to rinse and put in the dishwasher. She looked out towards the living room when she heard footsteps behind her and saw a very tired looking Jazz mope into the kitchen. "Didn't sleep?" the goth asked, knowing the woman had been trying to nap.

The redhead shook her head, rubbing an eye. "I'm not even that big but my back is killing me," she complained.

"Pregnancy is not for the weak," Sam said sympathetically, stowing her plate in the dishwasher.

"That's why I would never survive childbirth," Danny commented as he brought his plate over and handed it to Sam. He went back over to the table to watch as the twins finished their scrambled eggs. They'd had breakfast for dinner.

"Danny, you are many things, but weak isn't one of them," Jazz said as she opened the fridge and took out the bottle of orange juice.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, you're not weak. You're over protective, sometimes broody, a bit of a nerd, you tell really lame jokes–" she said, putting up a finger for each thing.

"Alright, alright, I get it," Danny said, cutting her off with a light glare.

Jazz chuckled, pouring herself some juice. "You really like to get on his nerves, don't you?"

The goth shrugged. "It's not me, it's Shade, and she's a bad influence."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You can't blame everything on Shade, Sam."

"I do what I want," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

He rolled his eyes again. "Pretty sure my eyes are going to get stuck from how many times you make me roll them."

"Ah, but I keep life interesting, don't I?" she countered, batting her eyes.

"You guys have that important mission tonight, right?" Jazz asked, changing the subject. She put the orange juice back in the fridge before picking her glass up and going over to the table. She sat down and reached over to boop her niece and nephew on their noses.

"We do. We've been training hard for it, too. I'm proud of the unit we put together," Danny answered, wiping Jackson's face.

Aurora smashed some of her eggs, picking them up and then smearing it in her hair as she giggled. The father sighed. "You can't get through even one meal without wearing your food."

"She's gonna keep us on our toes," Sam commented, going over to the table with a wet rag and wiping the eggs from her daughter's hair. Aurora screeched, using her little hands to try and wave off the wet rag.

Jazz chuckled. "For someone who hates that wet rag, she makes sure she needs scrubbed down with it a lot."

Danny felt her core call to him then, her little hands reaching for him to save her. "You can't 'call' me every time your mother has to wipe food off your head," he chided lightly.

She screeched again, a glare on her face as she continued to reach for him, even now that Sam was done wiping her head. He sighed again and picked her up, putting her in his lap. She cooed happily.

"You're gonna spoil her," Sam said with a smile. "And if you keep coming to her aid every time she calls you, she's going to keep doing it."

"I know, but I don't want her to think she can't call me," he said softly.

"Your hero complex will be the end of you," his sister joked.

"I don't have a hero complex," he protested weakly, practically mumbling.

"Right, and Shade isn't sarcastic," Sam said sarcastically. It earned her another glare.

Jazz raised a brow, setting her juice down. "Has someone not had coffee today?"

Her brother sighed, something he was doing a lot this morning. "I did. I just get antsy before these missions."

His sister looked him over before nodding. "You're afraid things will go sideways and you'll lose someone." It was a statement, not a question.

"I'm sick of losing people," he said softly but firmly.

Sam picked Jackson up and sat down at the table with him in her lap. "You haven't lost anyone since Beckett two months ago," she pointed out.

"No, but we've still lost Marines on missions I'm not a part of. And we're losing so many civilians…"

"You can't go on every single mission, Danny. And not being able to save everyone doesn't make you less of a hero," the goth replied adamantly. (1)

He didn't look convinced but he didn't argue further either. Instead, he checked his watch and his brows furrowed. "Are you about ready? We need to go in a minute."

Sam nodded. "Just need my trench coat and swords." She turned her gaze to Jazz. "You good with these two?"

"Yup!" the redhead replied.

"We're really sorry about the constant babysitting," her brother said with a guilty look.

Jazz waved him off. "Don't worry about it. I could never do what you guys are doing, especially pregnant," she pointedly looked at Sam who shrugged in response.

"Well, thank you, anyway," the goth said with a smile.

–

The pair were at the training grounds waiting for the rest of the team. They didn't wait long before Lt. Lorne, Sergeant Ume, and Sergeant McKay showed up. It was a small team designed to infiltrate with ease and silence. It made it easier for Danny and Sam to extend their invisibility to everyone and to keep tabs on who was where, though it did make getting people out a little slower. Danny also felt that too many people meant too many variables and failure points.

It was getting dark now and Sam was just thankful it was a warm night, even though there were dark clouds looming. Spring had been reluctant to release its grip this year, meaning the cooler temperatures had dominated the days and nights, but midnight would mark the beginning of June, so summer wasn't far. Though she wasn't looking forward to being heavily pregnant in the summer…again.

This wasn't their first mission like this, so the three Marines met them already outfitted and ready to go. They had also–reluctantly–gotten training on teleporting. Lt. Lorne maintained that humans weren't meant to do such things, but was a good sport about it, especially knowing that Danny had hand picked him for this special team. The camp they were liberating tonight was far enough they'd need to take it in two jumps for those who needed to breathe.

Danny and Sam's eyes glowed eerily in the dying light. "Are you all ready?" the ghost asked, looking between the men.

"Yes, sir!" Lt. Lorne responded.

"Good," Danny replied. "Form up."

Sergeant McKay, who was in the middle of the three, put a hand Lt. Lorne's and Sergeant Ume's shoulders, while Danny took Sam's hand and put his other on Sergeant Ume's shoulder. Sam put her free hand on Lorne's.

In a wink, they were gone, reappearing halfway across town. Danny kept them all invisible and his core dampened. He could hear the sounds of the humans catching their breaths as quietly as possible. No one complained.

After a minute he squeezed Sergeant Ume's shoulder and received a shrug in response–it was the okay to make the last jump, so they did.

The group appeared a little ways outside the perimeter of the camp. Darkness had now completely settled over the landscape, draping everything in long shadows. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The three Marines pulled down their night vision goggles so they could see, but Sam and Danny didn't need them with their enhanced vision. Though, Danny certainly had a handicap in the dark with only sight from one eye.

For now, they settled in an area out of sight and waited. There was still a lot of activity in camp as the exhausted and starving laborers made their way back to their assigned buildings for the night. It would be a while before the group would make their move, but it gave them time to observe and tally the patrols around the camp.

They waited in silence, using sign language they'd learned specifically for use during these stealth missions to communicate things they saw. Lt. Lorne tapped Danny's shoulder to get his attention, signing 'Two patrols, right side,' when the ghost looked over.

'One on the left,' Danny signed back.

'There's at least one further back between the two barracks buildings,' Sam added.

Sergeant McKay waved his hand to get their attention. 'I think all the civilians are in the barracks now.'

'Good,' Danny signed. 'We'll wait another hour for all the guards except the patrols to settle into bed.'

Time passed slowly as they kept an eye on the camp. The patrols were pretty predictable at least, and as the evening wore on, there were fewer.

'I'll be right back,' Danny signed before going invisible. He made a circuit around the camp to get a good lay of the land within the fences. Their spy's had been meticulous and he was pleased when the layout was exactly as they'd described–which was good considering they'd formed their plan based on it.

He flew back over to where the group was and landed softly, becoming visible again. 'We can go in a few minutes,' he signed, to which he received nods.

Once time was up, Danny nodded and indicated the rest to follow him. Lt. Ford followed first, followed by Sergeant Ume. They each kept a hand on the man in front so Danny could extend his invisibility to them. Then came Sergeant McKay and Sam, the goth keeping a hand on McKay to keep him invisible as well.

Danny and Sam phased them and the Marines through the fence, making their way as quietly as possible. There was a flash of light before thunder groaned, much closer than before. As the sky suddenly opened up, the pair kept the intangibility active. It wouldn't do for a patrol to see rain splattering on something invisible.

There were two large barracks buildings they needed to infiltrate. They headed for the closest one, skirting around a large box truck to avoid a patrol. Danny paused at the back of the truck, eyes peeled for any more enemies. When it was clear he moved, the others followed close behind.

They made it quickly and efficiently to the first barracks and phased in. Makeshift bunks lined the walls as far as they could see and it was crowded, some of the small beds holding two or more people. Danny made sure the only ones in the building were civilians before dropping invisibility.

The ground fanned out then, each going over and gently and quietly waking people. Other than whispering to convey what was happening, they kept the noise to a minimum. Despite the confusion among the civilians, most didn't really have the energy to protest or even care that they were being woken up, and so didn't shout in surprise.

Each person was directed to hold the hand of the one in front and told they may feel a little strange for a moment when they went invisible and intangible. Once everyone was lined up and touching, Danny grabbed the hand of the woman in front and carefully and gently guided her to the back of the building where they had come in. She was nervous as there wasn't a door there, but the ghost spoke soothingly to her, his low, deep voice comforting. Still, she hesitated for a moment when he disappeared through the wall.

Finally, she went through when she felt his gentle tugging on the other side and stepped through the wall, the line behind her following. They made their way slowly out of the camp where they grouped up a short distance away.

"Sergeant Ume will take you to a waiting Osprey to get you out of here. It's a long walk, but you can make it. Stay low and stay quiet," Danny directed in a whisper.

The eyes of the civilians were wide and terrified, but they nodded following Ume when he coaxed them along through the trees.

The rest of the group still had one barracks to go. They reentered the camp and made their way back towards the first barracks. The second was directly behind it. They paused as a patrol went by before starting again.

Just when Danny was thinking this mission was going a little too well, Lt. Lorne's hand slipped and he lost contact with Danny. Suddenly he and Sergeant Ume were visible and right in front of the patrol. The half ghost yelled at the intrusion before lifting his gun and aiming for Lorne.

Danny panicked, and grabbed the lieutenant, pulling the man to him and spun in front, his back to the half ghost. The enemy pulled the trigger and Danny gasped as the anti-ghost bullet pierced his back, but was stalled and did not go through.

"Danny!" Sam hissed, releasing an ecto-blast at the offending enemy, dropping him in one shot. She ran up to the ghost to find him grimacing in pain.

"Captain?" Lorne asked, his alarmed eyes wide. It was registering that the captain had just saved his life.

The ghost's breaths came quick and heavy. "Shit," he said, swaying a bit on his feet. Sam got to him and steadied him.

"Are you okay?" she asked frantically, looking him over like a mother hen.

His knees buckled and he went down, knees hitting the asphalt. The rain was pelting them now, water running down his face in rivulets and washing the flowing ecto-plasm down his back. "Anti-ghost bullet…stuck inside," he gasped. "Getting shocked."

Sam looked up at the shouts from further inside the camp. They'd been heard. "We need to move," she urged.

"It's resting…right against my core…can't really move," he said between gritted teeth.

"Shit," she cursed before flaring her own core.

Vlad appeared quickly. "What's wrong?" he asked, knowing they were supposed to be out on a mission. His eyes then landed on Danny.

"He's got an anti-ghost bullet stuck inside and it won't stop shocking him," the goth explained, worried. "Can you get him out of here?"

The billionaire nodded, brows furrowed in concern. "Daniel, you really must stop getting shot." He reached down to hold onto the young man to teleport him but Danny stopped him.

"What will you do?" he asked Sam.

She knelt, her serious eyes meeting his. "I'm going to finish what we came here to do."

"But they heard–"

"No buts," she chided before looking at Vlad. "Please, get him out of here."

Vlad nodded and Danny could only get out "Sam–" before they were gone.

–

2/9/25: It wasn't my intention to split this mission up, but it's likely to be a bit longer than expected and I didn't know when I'd be able to post. To try and keep up with the schedule, I split it.

(1): "And not being able to save everyone doesn't make you less of a hero" is a statement SamXDanny basically said in a review. Credit to her because I thought it the perfect thing for Sam to say to him.