It's 3am, do you know where your son is?
A fic featuring the ultimate mom, Maddie Fenton. Enjoy!
Maddie sighed, took another sip of coffee, and glanced at the clock. 3:24am. The coffee wasn't the only thing keeping her awake. There was also the worry. The aching fearful worry that comes by not knowing where your child is in the wee hours of the morning. It was like some anti-drugs commercial come to life. She drummed her fingers on the table and took another sip. His curfew had been 10pm. She had stopped trying to call him at 12:35am, when the characteristic voicemail message, Hi it's Danny, if you're not a ghost, then leave a message! was replaced by a warning that the inbox was full. The first time she had heard the message, she chuckled. By the fifth time, it only made her mad. Now, she'd give anything to hear it again, some evidence of his voice, some sign that he was...okay.
Maddie took another sip of coffee.
None of her text messages had been answered either. Weren't teenagers supposed to be glued to their phones 24/7? Hadn't he once accused her of being unprepared by not having a cell phone? Yet he refused to answer. Or couldn't answer. No, she shouldn't, couldn't think like that. This wasn't the first time he had missed curfew. And he had always came home.
Another sip. 3:27am.
She had called Sam, and was told that her son was with Tucker. She had called Tucker and was told that her son was with Sam. She knew calling their parents wouldn't help, it would only add to the collective worry. Yes, if Sam and Tucker were lying, then their parents would be of no help. So she had decided to wait. Wait for him to finally come home.
Another glance at the clock. 3:29am.
Maddie usually didn't hear when Danny came home in the evenings. Her earplugs to block out her husband's snoring were the complete-noise-blocking kind. They had to be if she wanted any sleep next to that man and his powerful lungs. But Jack had taken Jazz to visit colleges this week, so Maddie had lent her earplugs to her grateful daughter. Without the noise filters, Maddie had been more tuned to the sounds of the night. Including the sound of her son arriving home well-past curfew. But never this late. Maddie hadn't called her husband yet, she didn't want to worry him. Any minute now, her Danny would walk through the doorway with a perfectly valid excuse. Yep, any minute now.
Maddie took another sip of coffee. 3:33am.
She glanced back at the door. Still no Danny. She strained her ears, vainly hoping that, if she tried hard enough, maybe she could hear a jiggling of the doorknob, or even a padding of feet coming up the drive.
Nothing. Nothing but the soft click of the wall clock, counting the seconds one by one.
Tick-tock-tick-tock. 3:34am.
Tick-tock-tick-tock. 3:35am.
Tick-tock-tick-BANG!
Maddie jolted up, knocking her chair over and spilling her coffee. She placed a hand over her racing heart as her mind tried to place the unexpected sound. She whipped her head around at the sound of more banging and clanging. It seemed to be close, seemed to be coming from below her? The lab!
She ran to the doorway, pulled at the handle, and fell backwards as the door refused to budge. It was locked. How could someone be in the lab if it was locked? How could someone be in there at all without her noticing? The banging continued and she could make out mumbled voices. She ran back to the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets, her hand searching for the extra lab key she had hidden there. It was the one she could use when Jack lost the other one.
Finding it, Maddie rushed back to the door and fiddled with the key, finally wrenching open the door and bounding down the stairs.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Maddie gasped. the lab was a wreck. Broken weapons. scattered papers, and green ectoplasmic goo plastered over almost everything. In the middle of the disaster zone was the ghost-boy, that Inviso-Bill or Danny Phantom or whatever he called himself. He was bent over, panting heavily with hands on his knees. Amidst the chaos, he didn't seem to have noticed her arrival on the scene. The boy then reached over and hit a button on one of the consoles.
"And stay in there this time, you creep," he shouted to know one in particular as the doors to the ghost portal shut. Maddie continued to gape at the scene, worry about her son replaced by curiosity and a bit of anger regarding what the hell had just transpired in her laboratory. Before she could speak up to let loose her anger, she was stymied by the next thing the ghost said.
"Argh, I hope that didn't wake up mom. I'm going to be in so much trouble if she knows I missed curfew," Phantom exclaimed, cringing as he glanced around the room. He glanced at the lab's wall clock. "Dammit, 3:42am. I'm so grounded."
Maddie watched as his eyes wandered from wall to wall, his shoulders sagging as he continued to look around. "Mom is gonna be so pissed about this mess, it'll take forever to clean, stupid ghosts ruining my life, I - shit." he stopped his mumbled rant when his eyes finally landed on the woman. Maddie narrowed her eyes at the ghost.
"Care to explain?" she spat, hoping her venomous tone belied that fact that she was more than a little afraid of dealing with the ghost when her weapons supply appeared to be either broken or covered in goo. "And watch your language young man."
Phantom seemed taken aback by that last remark, then winced. "I, uh, well see, I know this looks bad, but I was fighting this ghost and he's the one who destroyed the lab, not me. Well, I mean I did a little bit, but that was only to catch him and send him back to the ghost zone, and I'm sorry, and I'll clean it up, I promise!" he explained so fast that Maddie barely caught it all. Maddie just continued to stare, trying to process the whole situation. There was a ghost, no multiple ghosts, in her house, in her lab for pete's sake! And he had mentioned his mom. Did he really have a mom and a curfew? Was he some woman's son? Some ghost's son?
And what about her own son? She stole a quick glance at the clock before returning her gaze to the ghost. 3:45am.
Had Danny perhaps snuck in while she was down here? Part of her was desperate to run upstairs to his room, in the hope that he'd be there, already fast asleep, safe and sound. But she didn't move. Mother and ghost continued to stare at eachother.
Tick-tock-tick-tock.
It was Phantom who broke the silence. "Um, you're not going to waste me right? I mean, you haven't shot at me yet so…" he trailed off.
Tick-tock-tick-tock.
"So, I'm just gonna leave now, if that's okay. I mean unless you want me to clean up now, cuz I can do that, but I'm sort of tired and I'd rather just do it in the morning. If, you know, that's alright by you? You know, if you promise not to 'rip me apart molecule by molecule'," he said, using air-quotes for the last phrase.
Maddie didn't reply, just continued to stare at the ghost.
"Ooookay, so I'm going to take that as a 'sure, go ahead, see you tomorrow.'" And he took off, flying through the ceiling.
Maddie sighed and took another look at the clock. 3:49am.
This night had gotten strange. And there was no way she was letting Jack know that she had just let the ghost-boy wreck their lab and get away with it. It was a good thing Jack and Jazz still had a few more days planned for their trip. Maybe the ghost really would show up tomorrow to clean the lab and she didn't need Jack to make a bigger mess of things. Although why an evil ghost would even offer at all was beyond her. She sighed again, too tired to think about ghost-boys and too worried about her own missing boy. So sh switched off the light, and trudged back up the stairs.
She reached the kitchen, sat back down and took another sip of her now lukewarm coffee. How much longer would she have to wait for - crash. Maddie jolted upright. More ghosts? No, the noises seemed to be coming from upstairs this time. Danny!
Maddie rushed towards the stairs, taking two at a time until she reached her son's room. The banging and rustling was definitely coming from inside. Resisting the urge to thrust the door open, she opted for a knock instead.
"Danny, sweetie, is that you?"
The rustling stopped and she heard his footsteps come closer. Then the door opened and there stood her boy, looking sheepish. Her precious, blue-eyed, raven-haired, in a world of trouble, grounded for the next month, baby boy.
"Mom, I mrghm," Danny's words were muffled as his mother pulled him into a tight embrace, squeeszing him hard. After a full minute, Danny finally wiggled free and gasped for air. "Geez mom, you nearly strangled me! Is everything alright?" He looked at her, his concerned face matching her own.
Maddie sighed once more. It was late, there wasn't any point in pushing the issue, not when her snore-free bed was calling. "I'm just so glad you're safe. Late and in sooo much trouble," she gently slapped him on the back of his head, "but safe." She gave him a reassuring smile.
At her change in demeanor, Danny grinned. "How much trouble are we talking about exactly?"
Maddie thought for a moment then smirked, "For starters, tomorrow you're helping an evil ghost clean the lab. We'll figure out the rest in the morning. G'night Danny!" Ignoring the stunned expression on his face, she turned and headed towards her bedroom. After the night she'd had, Maddie eager to let her exhaustion take over. Now that she knew her son was safe of course.
Right before slipping into blissful sleep, she stole a final glance at the digital clock at her bedside. 3:59am. She smiled. Maybe a 4am curfew wasn't a bad idea.
A/N - I bet you thought this was going to be a revelation fic! Well, I originally intended for that to be the case, but I liked how this turned out instead. Maybe I'll write another version with the revelation. Instead think of this as a little Maddie angst, because goodness knows there's enough Danny angst out there.
If you enjoyed the story, let me know, Ciao!
