Chapter Ten

Present Day

Sam was sitting in front of the fire, holding a cup of hot tea while she waited for something to happen. Something had to happen. It was past nine and the sky was dark. She was exhausted, but she wouldn't go to sleep before she had an answer from Danny… she couldn't close her eyes without seeing his hurt face when she told him her secret.

She had screwed up badly. She wasn't expecting him to forgive her, but she hoped he wouldn't go away without saying goodbye. She didn't deserve him to be that considerate.

The fire was dying down and she didn't have the strength to go stand up and put more wood in it. She slowly lay down, feeling her head hurt like it was smashed against the wall, and placed the cup by her side. She closed her eyes and wished she'd never open them again.

The clock counted three hours since she had moved. The door creaked open and a very pale Danny stepped inside.

He looked at the girl laying on the floor and smiled slightly, shaking his head. She used to do that when they were younger, she used to sleep next to the fire. He leaned closer and saw her sad face; she looked like she was having a nightmare.

On the fluffy Persian carpet was a warm place to stay, so Danny didn't mind waking her up, instead, he lay down behind her and put an arm around her waist, bringing her closer gently.

He couldn't be mad at her. He couldn't be angry when he knew she only had good intentions. He still had to hear what she had to say before making any decision that he could regret for the rest of his life.

While he was laying there, holding the girl that has shared a whole life with him (a life that seemed so distant now), he finally put himself on her place, in her shoes, and wondered how she could have been so brave, how much she had faced to raise his child.

He buried his nose in her hair, taking in the perfume he loved so much. How did she wake up in the morning? How could she even breathe again after what happened? She was the strongest person he had ever met.

Sam moved slightly in his arms causing him to hold his breath as if it would wake her up, but he was too late, she noticed someone was cuddling with her. He heard a sigh, a relieved sigh and she put her hand over his. He slowly intertwined their fingers to show her he was awake.

"You came back." He heard her say in a shaky voice.

"I said I wouldn't leave you." He whispered on her ear, noticing that he made her shiver slightly.

"You can't be real." She whispered back. "You must hate me now, not be nice to me."

"I can't hate you, even if I try to."

"You deserve a lot of answers." She tried to change the subject, showing him that she was very awake now.

"We don't have to talk about this now, though I'd like to have some questions answered." He said, seriously, helping her to move around. They were lying facing each other now.

"You can ask whatever you want." She said, holding her tears that once again tried to humiliate her by falling in front of Danny.

"Okay…" He sighed, feeling like he was going to hurt her even further. "I want to know why you didn't tell me in the first place."

"I was scared…" She started, "You didn't remember any of it… you had clear in your head that you always were faithful to Valerie."

"Was it in the night of the audition?" Danny stroked her cheek, gently.

"Yes… I wouldn't have remembered it, too if I hadn't waken up and seen it." She blushed. "Anyway, I was going to tell you that day when I stopped by your house before going away."

"I was blind… Valerie blinded me." He whispered. "I know how lonely you were."

"It's not about loneliness, Danny," She said. "I was the third wheel; I didn't want to bother you. Anyway, when I saw you there with Valerie I noticed that I had no right to take that happiness away from you, even because what we did was an accident, we were drunk."

"It was my responsibility as much it was yours." Danny insisted.

"If I had told you right there that I was pregnant with your baby, would you have believed me?" Sam asked, seriously. "You knew I hated Valerie, you knew I was jealous."

"Good point… I wouldn't have believed it, even because I still don't remember sleeping with you."

"I thought you'd marry Valerie." She sobbed, "I never thought you'd come after me. If I hadn't been so selfish you'd have met Allan."

"I understand that you just wanted to protect him." Danny rested his chin on top of her head. "Besides, your father was pretty harsh on you. There was no way you could have stayed in Amity and forbid him to see his grandson."

"I'm a horrible person. I took your baby away from you."

"I'm the one to blame." Danny said, kissing her head. "But it doesn't matter now; we can't undo what is done."

"I wanted to go back to Amity Park when he was bigger, I mean, around five or six years of age and tell you the whole story, but it had a stupid, tragic end. He was becoming so like you…"

"I saw that he had my nose and mouth." Danny smiled slightly.

"He had your temper, too." She smiled, too. "I was hoping that if you saw him there would be no way you could deny he was your son and that you'd forgive me and we would still be friend while you lived your happy life with Valerie." She sat up. "We'd have a child to bind us together. In a way, it was going to be a happy ending for all of us."

"Listen, I know losing Allan was terrible, but you have to stop blaming yourself. We can still have a happy ending." Danny said, smiling. He had to be the stronger one.

"I don't know if I can move on, Danny… it hurts so much."

"Shhh… you can and you will move on. I'm here to help you." He said, holding her comfortably, watching as she nestled in his arms and slowly lose battle to sleep.

"Danny…" She whispered.

"Yeah…?"

"I have always loved you."

One Year Ago

"Mommy?" Allan asked. He was holding Sam's hand as they walked home from school.

"Yes?" Sam asked, looking down to her son who adorably looked like he was too small for his backpack.

"Mrs. Judith asked us to draw our father's job." Allan said.

Sam eyed him, worriedly, hoping that he wouldn't ask what she thought he would.

"I didn't know what to draw and she told me I could draw yours instead." He said, showing her a paper with a colorful draw which was pretty hard for Sam to understand.

"That's beautiful, darling, thank you." She said, making Allan blush proudly.

"Mommy… do I have a dad?" Allan asked her. "Mike said that children with no father are born from eggs."

"You didn't come from an egg." She laughed, making Allan laugh, too. "And you have a very handsome dad who is just like you."

"Where is he?"

"He's a superhero." Sam said. "He's saving the world right now; he's just like Superman, Batman and all those characters you like."

"Really? He's saving the world?" Allan's eyes lightened up, almost sparkling. "Does he wear a blue uniform?"

"No, he wears a black and white uniform." Sam explained. "And he fights ghosts."

"Wow!"

"He flies, he turns invisible, he can walk through brick walls and he can shoot a ghost ray out of his hand."

"Since he's busy you're the one to take care of you, right?"

"Yeah, he told me you'd protect me so I shouldn't worry because you're a hero, too." Sam smiled. They had arrived at their apartment and Allan immediately ran to his room to draw his father's job.

Much later, when Sam called him to dinner, he showed her a drawing of his father (that looked much like a potato with arms and legs) with a black and white uniform, white hair and a smile.

"That's exactly like him." She said and Allan put the drawing on his books so he could show his teacher the next day.

Sam, with a heavy heart to see her child grow up without a father figure, thought that maybe it was better to call Danny and ask him to come over.

She reached the phone and dialed his number, but somehow she couldn't talk to him, before anyone answered it, she hung up, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She needed more time before telling Danny the truth. Every time she pictured him she saw that moment when he had chosen Valerie.

Six Months Later

"I am a gifted person. I lived a whole new life for five years. I've been through the darkest hell and the brightest heaven. Yesterday I was a selfish sixteen years old who complained about being lonely when my best friends got girlfriends and today I'm a woman at my twenty two years old who knows loneliness better than people twice my age.

I've chosen the wrong path and did a lot of things I'm not proud of, but I would never wish I hadn't done them because my mistakes taught me how to do things right.

When I think of Danny I see the form of my guardian angel. He brought me back to life, blowing air into my body and slowly teaching me how to breathe again. Even if dedicate the rest of my life to him - the father of my child – I know I'll never pay my debt. I was torn and he picked me up.

The only thing he asked me was for me to not give up living. He asked to have his best friend back and I decided that he deserve so much more.

I finally listened to my heart and I chose to walk by his side.

I moved back to Amity Park. Danny and I share a big apartment near his parent's house. He accepts my decision of not getting married (I still fight the system), it's not a silly ring that keep us together, but our hearts.

It feels like I've lived a whole life before, a life that's not connected to the peaceful and fulfilling life I'm leaving with him. I know I'll never forget Allan; I could never close my eyes and not see his smiling face. I wish I could see him again. He'll lie under the cherry tree forever; the most beautiful spot in Canada was my goodbye gift to him.

I'm going to treasure these five years of bittersweet interlude like the most precious time of my life."

"Are you done writing?" Danny asked Sam, who had just published her thoughts on her private blog for the first time in years.

"Yes, I am." She smiled at him as he entered her office. "I wanted to write a bit before going home; I didn't know you would come pick me up." She smiled, shutting down the computed and leaning forward to kiss him on the lips.

"Nick arrived early in the observatory and told me I could go home, so I decided to stop by." He gave her another kiss before helping her grab her purse and other bags. "Have you gone shopping during lunch?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'll show you what I bought when we are home." She smiled mysteriously, grabbing his hand and walking side by side

"Tucker called me and said that his six months anniversary is coming up and that he'd like for us to go over his place and hang out." Danny said, placing a hand on her waist as they walked through the streets.

"Is he going to throw a party every month?" Sam asked, laughing at how ridiculously in love Tucker sounded.

"I know, but I was thinking of maybe throwing a party for ourselves, what you say?" He asked, suggestively.

"As long as you don't make me bake a cake for the guests, I won't mind." She replied, innocently, as if she hadn't caught the drift that he meant a private party.

Danny laughed and didn't say anything. They arrived at their apartment and he opened the door for her, letting her step inside first. She put her bags on the sofa and started taking off her shoes, giving him a nice view of her backside.

"So," He started, closing the door and walking to her, kissing her lightly on the lips, as he drew her closer to him, until both fell on the sofa. "Are going to show me what you bought?" He pulled her down with him, making her sit on his lap. He loved when she sat on him like that.

He reached out a hand and touched her hair, bringing her lips down to meet his in a passionate kiss.

"I'm going to give you a gift." She said against his lips.

"Now?" He asked, confused, breaking the kiss. She grinned at him and reached for the shopping back, not moving from her comfortable seat.

"Close your eyes." She whispered and Danny closed them obediently. He heard noises of plastic bags, of her fingernails scratching a box and noises of thin paper. "You can open them now."

Danny opened his eyes and saw her naughty ones; she was biting her lower lip while holding a pair of tiny blue shoes. Danny stared at them in confusion, not understanding what that was meant to be. Sam watched his face in amazement. He had to figure it out sooner or later. Deciding that patience was not a virtue, she leaned closer to him whispering in his ear.

"It's our second chance." She kissed him lightly. "We're going to have a baby."

The End

I love happy endings.

My new fanfic is up already, it's called 'Pretend You Love Me' . Check it out.

Thanks for reading!