Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I only own my OC. All rights go to their respective owners. :)

Vlad Masters.

The man who had everything. Well, almost everything. He had the fame, the fortune, but he was still missing what he desperately longed for; the love of his life.

Maddie.

Just the mere thought of her name made his heart ache as he longed to kiss her tender yet plump red lips. He yearned to hold her in his arms late at night as he watched her sleep peacefully. He wished to cuddle with her by the fireplace on a cold winter night as they whispered sweet nothings to each other. He dreamt that they would wed and have beautiful children together.

He sighed in despair as the crackling fire in front of him brought him out of his thoughts, reminding him that he didn't have what he truly wanted. Bringing the porcelain cup to his lips, he sipped his tea as the constant thought of her continued to torment him.

As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew, deep down, he was lonely. It felt like a hole dug into his heart and couldn't be filled until someone that he loved would love him back. But no one loved him and the only person he loved married an idiotic man.

He sighed again and set his tea down on the end table next to him then shut his novel, not in the mood to read any longer. He stood and trudged over to his bookcase, his footsteps heavy and loud. Placing his novel back on the shelf, he glanced at the clock above his fireplace, noting it was five minutes till one in the morning. He frowned, disappointed that he allowed himself to sulk over Maddie instead of watching the time, again.

He glanced at the fireplace once before grabbing the fire poker next to it and moving the charred wood away from the burning flames to reduce the fire. He then put the poker back once the wood was taken care of and left the room, knowing full well that his maid would take care of putting it out completely once she saw him exiting the library. His assumption was proven right when he walked out the door and took a few steps forward before glancing over his shoulder to see his maid entering into the room.

As he walked down the desolate hallways, he couldn't help but think of what he could do to earn his true love's heart. He could try to woo her by tricking her into coming to his home. But how would he do that? Last time he tried to contact her, he found out she had a daughter.

He scoffed in annoyance and entered his bedroom, causing the lights to automatically turn on. He closed his door and walked over to his closet to change into a pair of pajamas. Once clothed in a pair of red silk pajamas, he walked over to his bed, tossing his uniform he wore earlier that day into the hamper for the maid, then climbed into it. He placed the comforter over himself and readjusted his pillow to make it more fluffier before lying down.

As he lay, his thoughts turned back to Maddie. There had to be some way to get her to come back to him but what was it? Maybe he should take drastic measures and kidnap her; she'd soon learn to love him after the amount of time they would spend together. He shook his head in disgust; that was too far.

What else could he do? Should he try to attempt to kill Jack? No, he wasn't as powerful of a ghost as he'd hoped to be yet.

Then what?! Do something Maddie liked to impress her? His eyes widened; that was it! He would impress her!

He then frowned; what could he do to do that? Try his hand at Ghost Hunting and show off his equipment to her? He scoffed again; she wouldn't be impressed by what he had; she would be impressed based on what he did.

He sighed and turned on his side. There was nothing he could do to impress her! He wasn't what she wanted in looks, personality, or intellect; she wanted an fool, like Jack! Did he have to become like Jack in order to win the heart of his true love? He scowled at the thought; he would never do something like that.

So what did he have to do?! Go ghost hunting?! Raise children?!

He gasped and sat up, that idea flowing through his mind. A child; Maddie adored children. He grinned as a plan formed in his mind; he would adopt a child as soon as possible and call her, begging for her to come and help him raise it. He could play as a dumb parent and not understand how to take care of a child, so his love could come and help him.

He sighed in content; the idea was perfect. Maddie would fall in love with him once she saw him attempt to raise his child.

He laid back down, getting comfortable, before closing his eyes and letting himself succumb to sleep.

Who knew adopting a child was so difficult? Well, legally adopting one was. He had to pull a few strings, make several bribes, and give half of his fortune up just to adopt one within a week.

He stood close to the window as he gazed out of it and waited for the social worker to bring him the two year old baby boy he wanted. Considering that Maddie always cooed at little boys more than girls, he figured adopting a boy would convince her to come rushing over to aid him in raising the little monster.

He straightened up as soon as he spotted an unfamiliar dark gray minivan pulling up to his porch. He readjusted the bow tie on his suit and casually strolled over to his front door. He paced in front of it, waiting for the doorbell to ring.

A few stressful moments later, the doorbell rang, causing him to anxiously walk towards the door. He opened it with ease and smiled a fake smile he perfected after so many years of trying to gain fortune and fame. "Hello," he greeted.

The social worker, a woman with short brown hair, pushed her glasses up as she glanced up at him. She gave a smile back, trying to show she was pleased to be there, but he could tell by the look in her eyes she'd rather be resting. "Hello," she greeted back then tilted her head slightly as she raised a curious brow, "are you Mr. Masters?"

"Yes." He held out his hand for her to shake, which she took as a show of respect. "I'm Vlad Masters. And you are?"

"Tiffany Smith, but you may call me Ms. Smith." She shook hands with him before retracting hers and gesturing to her side. "Well, I wish you the best of luck and wanted to thank you for adopting this precious child."

He smiled wider and glanced down, his expression of happiness immediately crumbling when he saw the small car seat with a pink blanket covering it next to the woman. There had to be some mistake; he knew that car seat was too small for a two year old boy. He cleared his throat, earning her attention from the car seat to him. "I'm afraid there's been a mistake." He pointed down at the seat. "I didn't adopt a baby."

Ms. Smith scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Are you sure? In the papers it specifically said that you were adopting a newborn baby."

He pursed his lips as he tried to restrain himself from yelling at her. "Then someone made a mistake because I did not adopt a baby. I wanted a toddler."

She rubbed the back of her neck nervously as she pursed her lips and glanced at the car seat. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Masters."

"It's alright." He clasped his hands behind his back. "Human error is common."

She nodded once before bending over and picking up the car seat then glanced back up at him. "If it's alright with you, may I leave her inside to cool down while I make some phone calls to determine what to do with her?"

He hummed before sighing and stepping aside, knowing that allowing her entrance would show a good sign of character and help him with keeping a good reputation. She smiled gratefully and strolled in, her heels clicking against the marble floors beneath them, before setting the seat down. She then straightened her posture and walked out the front door. "I'll be right back."

He nodded once then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose once she was out of earshot. He'd probably have to wait another week until he received the child he illegally adopted. Why didn't anyone do anything right?

The sound of a baby's cry forced him to snap his attention toward the seat, his eyes trained on it. He scowled; why did that witless woman have to leave the newborn alone with him? He didn't know how to make a baby stop crying!

He then straightened his suit and turned his back to her. Maybe if he ignored her, she might settle down and fall asleep. A few moments passed before the baby did stop, and he sighed in relief.

Seconds later, a loud noise erupted from the second floor. "Sorry!" his maid exclaimed, "I dropped the vacuum!"

He face-palmed and sighed in frustration when the baby started crying again but more hysterically. "Oh come on!" he exclaimed before turning around to face her. The maid just had to scare the baby!

He had to make her stop crying; he wasn't sure how to do that but he had to try something. He stormed over to the car seat, crouched down, and lifted up the pink blanket covering the baby. He glanced inside, hoping to somehow calm her down by allowing light into her vision. He watched as she opened her mouth to scream once more before closing it and panting deeply as she opened her dark blue eyes, squinting at the blinding light.

Her tongue licked her bottom lip as her eyes readjusted before wandering them from the left to right before setting her eyes on him. He scrunched his eyebrows at her as she took deep breaths and blinked at him before letting out another scream. He sighed and gently reached into her carrier, sliding his hand under her bottom and the other under her neck and head then lifted her up out of the seat, cradling her to his chest. Carefully, he stood up and repositioned her as he slowly slid his hand holding her neck and head toward her back as her head tucked against the crook of his arm.

Gently, he rocked her, hoping to calm down her deafening cries. "It's alright," he soothed, his tone soft yet bitter, "Ms. Smith will be back soon."

Despite his attempts at making the crying stop, she flailed her arms and kicked her legs, causing him to groan in frustration and stop rocking her. "What will it take?" He swayed her from side-to-side, being gentle and moving at a slow pace. "Why won't you stop crying?"

"She's probably hungry."

He looked over to his right to see the social worker standing in the doorway with her arms folded against her chest and her legs crossed. Quickly, she rummaged through her bag while walking over to him and pulled out a baby bottle. "Unless, of course, she has a dirty diaper. Do you smell anything foul, Mr. Masters?"

He scrunched his eyebrows in disgust as his mouth gaped open. "What makes you believe I would check to see if she has a dirty diaper?!"

She smiled softly. "You can usually smell it while holding her. Do you smell anything?"

Reluctantly, he sniffed the air and shook his head, discovering nothing foul flying up into his nostrils. "No, nothing foul."

She nodded once then took out a tub of formula and smiled sheepishly. "May I use your stove to make fresh formula for the baby?"

First, she brings him the wrong child, leaves him alone with the baby to make a few phone calls concerning his adopted child, and now wants to use his kitchen?! What's next?! She'll ask if the baby can sleep at his home for the night?!

However, knowing Maddie wouldn't approve of him denying her access to feed the baby, he nodded and led the way towards his kitchen. They both walked in, the baby still crying against his chest, and Ms. Smith walked over to the stove before searching the cabinets for a pot.

While she was searching, he sat down in a chair and continued swaying the baby while humming, remembering that some parents could hum or sing to their babies to soothe them. The baby's cries calmed down a bit, but she continued screaming, and he started humming a little louder, hoping that would soothe her.

When the sound of water running reached his ears, he turned to look over at the social worker to see her pouring water from the faucet then hurry over to the stove and start the process of boiling the water. He glanced down at the baby, watching and listening as her cries lessened to panting. Making sure she was secure in his one arm, he carefully lifted his free hand and brushed his thumb against her cheek, feeling the soft and smooth skin press against it.

Once the water was boiling, Ms. Smith turned off the stove and carefully picked up the pot then poured the water into the baby bottle, spilling a few drops on the counter and asked, "So what made you consider adopting, Mr. Masters?"

"Oh, well, I just wanted to learn what it was like to be a father," he lied, smiling at her, "but I also wanted someone to inherit my wealth and estate after I died and what better way to do that than to adopt?"

She shrugged and placed the bottle in the freezer to speed up the bottle-making process. "Have you ever considered marriage?"

His smile faltered a bit at the mere mention of 'marriage' as it reminded him of how Jack stole the love of his life, but he recomposed himself and sat up straighter. "Yes, I have." He stroked the baby's cheek once more to keep him from yelling at the irritating woman. "Unfortunately, it didn't work out; another man stole her from me."

She frowned sympathetically as her eyebrows scrunched together. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Masters. I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's alright." He gently grabbed a hold of the baby's fist and allowed her to wrap her fingers around his finger. "It's all in the past now."

She smiled softly and waited a few minutes before taking the bottle out of the fridge and placing it on the counter. He watched as she spooned some of the formula into the bottle then screwed on the cap before shaking it gently, forcing the formula and water to mix. She then tilted the bottle and dripped some of the formula on her wrist, smiled in satisfaction, then walked over to him and held it out to him.

He glanced down at the baby, pursing his lips, before looking up at her. "I apologize, but I don't know how to feed a baby."

An amused smile adorned her lips. "Well, Mr. Masters, if you're wanting to adopt a two year old, you're going to have to learn how to feed them."

"Yes, but wouldn't the child be able to hold the bottle on it's own at that age?" He knew he was right; toddlers were able to make use of their limbs around the age of one so why would he have to feed them if they could do it themselves?

She shrugged. "Yes, they can, but it's best to learn." She chuckled softly. "If you keep your two year old though, and they grow older, you may be feeding your own grandchildren one day."

He sighed and took the bottle from her; even though he was only using the toddler to bring Maddie to him, the boy was going to get older later on and have grandchildren; they would probably visit him often just because of the size of the house, and because of Maddie's persistence for them to stop by. "How do I do this then?"

She pulled out a chair in front of him, crowding his leg room, and sat down then placed her hand gently over his. "It's simple, Mr. Masters. It looks like you have her at an appropriate semi-sitting position already so now you'll want to lower the bottle and make sure the nipple of it slides into her mouth."

"Alright." Gently, he lowered the bottle, with Ms. Smith helping him keep it at the right angle; not too high and not too low so that there was formula continuously flowing into the baby's mouth. However, she did instruct him that he needed to lower the bottle during feeding to prevent too much formula from overwhelming her; it also helped her pace her feeding pattern.

The newborn opened her mouth to allow the bottle entrance and sucked on the end of it, drinking the formula given to her. Involuntarily, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lip as he watched her drink the formula he was feeding her. She was accepting what he gave her and that caused his heartstrings to tug softly as a small smile of happiness involuntarily sneaked onto his lips. Her adorable cheeks puffed out for a quick second before sucking back in as she drank. She then reached up and held onto the bottle, as if trying to keep it in place.

"Well, would you look at that?" Ms. Smith gently rubbed the baby's head. "She seems to like you."

"She likes the bottle," he corrected, "she likes the formula."

Ms. Smith hummed. "No, she likes you. Just look at how relaxed she is in your arms."

He smiled a little wider at that, especially when he noticed how she closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. Ms. Smith was right; the baby felt relaxed, maybe even safe, in his arms. He always wanted someone to love him or accept him, and she did; that caused a feeling of adoration and love for the child; a feeling he didn't think he would feel for anyone else except Maddie.

"Well, it looks like she's finished." Ms. Smith stood up and straightened her skirt then pushed the chair in under the table. "I'll be taking her back to the Orphanage."

"That won't be necessary, Ms. Smith." Vlad placed the empty bottle on the table and stood up with the baby snuggled in his arms. "I believe I just reconsidered my decision on adopting her."

He originally designed one of the guest bedrooms to be most suitable for a boy, but now that he adopted a baby girl, he had to remodel the entire bedroom. With the large sum of money he paid the designers, the job was done in about a few days.

He stepped into the room, his little girl snuggled in his arms, and smiled in satisfaction at the finished look. The walls were painted light pink, the floors were covered in the softest white carpet he could find, and the windows were sanded down and repainted white instead of the gloomy black he originally had painted them as. The pretty pink crib was placed at the far side of the room, underneath the curtained windows, and next to the diaper changing station, which he hoped the experience of using it wouldn't be as disgusting as he heard it was. There was also a small kitchen on the far left to keep bottles refrigerated and close by, so he didn't have to walk all the way down the stairs just to make a bottle. A TV with movies for children was on the right as well as a tiny baby bouncer and swing in front of it. A rocking chair stood in the corner of the far side of the room, next to her crib, to help put her back to sleep in case she woke up in the middle of the night and needed to be fed. A dresser stood below the TV that held extra supplies and clothes she might need. Then, of course, he bought various types of dolls, doll houses, clothes, and toys for her; he wasn't spoiling her too much, right?

He walked over to the crib before gently lowering her into it, watching in awe as she sucked on her pacifier he bought for her. He chuckled softly to himself and took out the list of instructions the social worker gave him before handing her over. She was very specific on what he needed to do to take care of his daughter, which he was grateful for but believed he wouldn't need the instructions once Maddie came over to help.

He pushed the list back in his pocket, not caring if it crumpled. "You are going to bring me such joy, Elizabeth," he whispered to the newborn, "you're going to bring the love of my life back to me, and we can be the perfect family daddy has always wanted."

The newborn blinked her eyes at him, not understanding what he meant, as she sucked on her pacifier. "Aw," he cooed and reached down to rub her tummy, feeling the hard plastic jewels of her dress rub against the palm of his hands, "you'll understand when you see your new mommy, sweetheart. I promise."

Author's note: Hey, beautiful people! I really hope you liked the first chapter. The second chapter will be up soon! What do you think will happen next? Do you think Vlad would make a good father? Please leave a review! Construction criticism is welcome and appreciated! :D

Fun fact: Originally, I wanted the baby's name to be "Jessica" so her nickname would be "Jess" later on.