Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

Cheerful laughter filled the air as two people were chasing each other in the middle of a field. One was a little boy of the tender age of six. His hair was as black as the night sky, his blue eyes were like sparkling stars, and his face was round and very healthy. Behind him was a woman, her chestnut hair reaching her shoulder, flying freely with the wind. Her eyes were the deepest shade of turquoise that was so beautiful, one would gaze at it, completely forgetting where they were, and just stand there, dazzled by its brilliance.

The young boy and the woman were having a great time. There was no stopping this bubbly feeling. No barriers, no walls, no limitations to this special moment. That was until the young boy stopped suddenly and gazed far away. He walked away slowly, with the woman eyeing him curiously. The young boy sat down at the edge of the cliff, eyes full of amazement as the sun sunk towards the west, with birds flying in a V-formation, and below was their town and its people, now like small ants in a large maze from the view he was enjoying.

The woman smiled, understanding how young ones felt at the little things like these, and quietly sat down beside him. The boy never bothered to look up as the woman wrapped him in a tight embrace. She began to hum a little tune as she massaged his back. After a while, the boy broke the silence. "Have you ever wondered, you know, what it was like?" he asked.

The woman, still not releasing him from her hug, asked, "Wondered what, dear?"

The boy looked towards his confused mother, and shrugged and said, "To fly?"

The woman remained silent. She didn't even think about it, not even once. Her life was filled with only facts, studies and reality. Her life was never tainted with such impossible things, not until now.

"I'm guessing, it will be the most wonderful thing to experience," she whispered, almost half-heartedly.

The boy stared into her eyes, as if trying to read what she was feeling right now. He moved closer, returning a hug to his mother. He buried his face in her arms, and said, so quietly that she could barely hear, "If I could fly, mommy, I would take you with me. Will it be ok with you?"

His mother stroked his soft fluffy raven hair as she watched the day slowly turning into night. She smiled, the kind smile that made the boy hug her tighter. She said, "That would be very sweet for you to do that. Very very sweet..."

What happened to those days?

Those very words drifted into the mind of Maddie Fenton as she stared reminiscently at the picture on her hands. Those were the days when Danny was so open to her... and so close. How she wished that Danny was a child again, not a teenager who kept secrets from her, not one who hid away all his fears that they would all soon regret, not one to fall under pressure.

Maddie shook her head. No, she thought, he's just growing up. Somehow, she didn't want to accept that. There were times when Danny would just stare blankly at everyone in the kitchen. She noticed that there was some sort of longing in his eyes. As if he was trying to say something but he couldn't. What was it?

Maddie placed the picture back on the shelf, along with the rest of the memories that were long gone. She looked up at all of them and sighed. So much had changed over the past two years. He barely talked to anyone, besides his friends and his sister. His grades were slipping and she always heard him stay up late into the night. He always came after his curfew, and when she scolded him, he would try his best to cover his wounds but she could still see them. Large cuts, bruises, scars and sometimes the occasional burnt marks. Whenever she would inquire him on his whereabouts, he would avoid her concerned face, mumbling that he was with his friends. She doubted that.

"Um, mom?"

Maddie turned around, only to look directly into the sky blue eyes of her son. He suddenly stared onto the ground, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. His mouth opening and closing, as though trying to speak.

"What is it?" she asked, the concerned mother came closer to him. Danny backed away a bit, as if trying to avoid her as much as possible. Maddie noticed the small gesture but didn't say a thing.

"I, er, I mean, Phantom is calling you right now. He, erm, really believes it's important," Danny said, his voice shaking.

"Oh," Maddie said, disappointed. She hoped that her son would ask her for some advice or some comfort, but when was the last time it happened?

"Just... tell him I'll meet with him later."

Five months ago, the ghost boy and Fentons agreed that they would set aside their difference and help one another when needed. Having Phantom as an alley was really great. He was growing more powerful with each passing day that no one knew when the growth would just stop. In fact, he was so helpful that Maddie had even forgotten the grudge that she kept locked up inside a long time ago. Phantom was always there. He could easily be trusted once you had gotten to know him.

"By the way mom, it's on top of the cliff. He wants it to be very private," Danny said.

"Ok, dear," was her reply but Danny wasn't able to hear that. He was already gone by the time Maddie looked around. She sighed once more as she began looking for the keys of the Fenton RV.

As she did, she began to think about the relationship between her son and Phantom. Ever since the truce, Danny had been relaying messages between Phantom and the Fentons. She somehow only noticed now that Danny was the first one to believe in Phantom. Before, he would always talk about Phantom being innocent, even if he captured and held the mayor as hostage. A few months after that incident, Phantom explained on how he was framed by another ghost. How did Danny even know that? Maddie would have to ask Danny another time, if she would ever find the time.

Maddie parked the RV at the bottom of the cliff. She prefered to climb up instead of driving all the way to the top because it reminded her when she and Danny came here. It was a very funny coincidence that Phantom wanted to chat all the way up there. After twenty minutes of hiking, she saw Phantom, sitting at the edge of the cliff. He didn't bother to look up as Maddie sat down beside him. It felt strange. Maddie realized this was the first time she saw Phantom up close. She couldn't help but stare at his electric green eyes that was sparked with so much life, unlike the other ghost she had met before. His smooth but messy snow white hair was like the finest silk, it was somehow tempting to stroke it. His skin was so pale, but still so human-like. His spandex looked worn out, probably from fighting ghosts nearly everyday. He was also extremely thin but a few muscles were formed at certain parts of his body. Maddie merely chuckled. His features reminded her so much of her own son.

Phantom turned towards her as he raised his eyebrows curiously. "What's so funny?" he asked.

Maddie just shook her head. "You just remind me of someone."

"Really? Thats... nice."

Maddie looked at Phantom. She suddenly remembered why she was here in the first place.

"Why did you call me here? Is it an emergency?"

"No," Phantom said, suddenly nervous. His grip on the ground became tighter as some blades of grass was stuck in between his fingers. He took in deep breaths (When did ghost breathe? Maddie thought) and his muscles tensed. He was frozen in place like a statue, lost for words.

"Y-You remind me so much about , um, my mom" Phantom finally said. "When I was alive, y-, I mean, she took me here."

"Oh." Maddie was filled with pity for the ghost boy. It must had been painful of him to lose his mother when he died.

"She's, um, still alive until now," Phantom said, tugging on the grass, one blade at a time.

"Is that why you protect the town?"

Phantom avoided her gaze as he now fumbled nervously with his fingers.

"Yeah, something like that. My friends, too."

Maddie's expression saddened. Was it that painful to part with life? Was his family and friends his obsession? In her studies, a ghost's obsession was the very basis of their power. So if Phantom was obsessed with protecting, is that why he's growing more powerful, to the point that he could stop even the worst of ghosts?

"Phantom, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be," he smiled sadly as he said that. "The reason why I called you is that I came here to fulfill a promise."

Maddie looked up at him curiously as he stood up. A promise?

"I once told my mom that if I could fly, I would take her with me," he said as he stuck out his hands towards her. Maddie just looked at his gloved hands and hesitantly took it. She ignored the shiver that ran through her spinal cord as she stood up.

"Shouldn't you look for your real mom?"

Phantom just wrapped his arm around her. He had a real grin on his face. "She doesn't recognize me. You'll see. I'll take you to the place where she lives."

Before she even argued, Phantom immediately took off. He was screaming in joy, as Maddie screamed in fear. She clung onto him as tight as she could, too afraid to even let go. Phantom looked down at her and smiled sympathetically as he flew higher and tightened his grip around her. Maddie hesitantly opened one of her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She may had rode the Specter Speeder and the Fenton OP center but this was completely different. There were no windows to look out at, the cold wind brushed against her face, the birds were flying with them and clouds so close, she could actually reach out and touch them. A few moments after realizing where she was, a small smile crept upon her face, tears formed on the sides of her eyes. The wish that her son wanted for her, it was coming true. She looked up at Phantom, whose face was held up high among the sky, confident and excited at the same time. She felt a huge tug in her chest. She smiled sadly. Maddie was not Phantom's mother. It should have been his real mother, not her. She then thought of Danny, who was the one who told her that he will be the one to take her. This was all wrong.

Phantom looked down at Maddie, who was wiping away the tears that were leaking from her eyes. He couldn't bear to watch it any longer. He began to lower down onto the Fenton Works.

Maddie noticed their descent as Phantom slowed down. As they landed, she took a few dizzy steps and sat down at the edge of Fenton Works. Phantom just sat on the spot were they landed and looked pitifully at Maddie.

"I-I-I'm so sorry mom, I didn't know what I was thinking," Phantom sighed.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Maddie whispered. "I was just thinking about my own son. Please, don't call me mom. I'm not your real mother. You should go to her. I'm sure that she misses you a lot."

"Oh, she does."

Maddie began to look up at Phantom. His eyes were dull green as trickles of tears were falling from it.

"There were times when I was a total jerk. When she would want to talk to me, I would push her far away as possible. When I'm hurt, I lie because I want to protect her. When I'm down, I pretend everything is alright and tell her I'm fine, without her knowing the guilt is ripping me inside-out... Mom..."

Maddie watched as Phantom stood up moved towards her. A bright light appeared from around his waist and seperated into two rings, travelling into opposite directions. It slowly revealed a white shirt with red oval across his chest, old, worn-out jeans, and bright red sneakers instead of his black jumpsuit, and the white gloves and boots that he wore all the time. Phantom's pale skin was replaced with a healthier one and his silky white hair turned into the raven hair that she had come to love so much. He closed his green eyes and hugged Maddie tightly. Tears were flowing freely as he looked at her deep turquoise eyes to show his sky blue ones.

"... I'm sorry. I love you, Mom. I love you so much."

Maddie looked at him in shock. It was her son. HER SON. He was the one protecting the town from the begining! He was the one who defeated all those powerful ghosts! He was the one who went head-on in a battle, not caring how much it would hurt! He was powerful! He was half-dead! He's Phantom...

"Danny..."

Maddie hugged him back, and comforted her son as Danny laid down on her knees. He looked so tired. He was probably half-asleep by now. They would talk about the matter later, all he had been through, what kind of ghosts he fought and all the powers he had procured. But... That wasn't very important now.

She watched as the sky turned dark, remembering how it was like before. Maddie just smiled.

"Flying with you," Maddie said as she stroked his soft hair," was the most wonderful thing you have ever done for me. Thank you, Danny and I love you, more than you would ever know."

Happy Belated Mother's Day! Dedicated to my mom. Yeah, the things Danny said before he transformed made me feel guilty and I cried while writing this. TTwTT

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