So I decided to just re-post everything because I want to start making weekly updates. Last time I posted everything in 1 week, and it became tedious to read for some people.

So.. Enjoy! and review please!

In which Jack gets a bit smarter. :D

Chapter 2 ( Jack POV) : Doubt Truth to be a Liar

It is a wise father that knows his child -Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice

Vlad wasn't supposed to find out. He was never supposed to know that Danny was his son, and not mine. That was what Maddie wanted. But Vladdie had always been a smart one, hadn't he?

Six months after Danny's birth, he visited us. He was suspicious then, but didn't say anything. All he had asked was why there was a ghost shield around the crib. I tried to give him the excuse I'd given Maddie- that Amity Park was haunted so it was better to keep him safe-but I could see that Vlad hadn't bought it. Still, he hadn't questioned me further, not yet.

I often wondered what would have happened if he had. Perhaps he would have killed me and taken Danny away right then.

The real reason I put up that ghost shield wasn't the one I told my wife - it was because of what that nurse had said at the hospital.

A nurse walked up to me nervously. Her eyes darted from left to right and her uniform skirt was wrinkled in her clenched fists.

"A-are you Mr Fenton?" she stuttered. "There might be a slight problem." I took in her ragged appearance and assumed the worst.

"Which one?" I demanded. The girl looked confused for a moment, before comprehension dawned.

"Oh, it's not like that- I didn't mean- They're both fine, Mr. Fenton!"

I sagged in relief.

"It's just..." she twisted her uniform in her hands. "I heard that you were a ghost hunter."

I nearly groaned. It was always nice to have a fan, but this was not the time for that. "I am. What of it?"

"I've always believed in the supernatural, and..." She took a deep breath. "When your son was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. We couldn't cut it without hurting him-so we were at a loss. Just when he started to turn blue, the weirdest thing happened. His neck passed through the cord-like it wasn't even there. I-I thought that it might be a ghost, turning him intangible-but none of the others believe me."

Terror coursed through me. Was there a ghost in the birthing room? Was it after my newborn son already? And Maddie! She wouldn't be in any condition to defend herself! "Can I see them?

The nurse looked startled. "Yes, of course. Ah, I was supposed to tell you that in the first place. I'm sorry, I got carried away-"

I was already running to Maddie's room.

Unfortunately, it hadn't stopped there. Strange things happened around Danny. He dropped things a lot, he always managed to escape from his crib, and one time when I left him to get a quick snack, I returned to find his new teddy bear in ashes and Danny bawling his eyes out. I've never told Maddie about that last incident. Sometimes I think I should have. But another part of me knows that it wouldn't have made a difference.

Because Vlad found out.

"Jack, why do you have a ghost shield in your son's nursery?" Vlad looked somewhere between puzzled, angry, and worried. I didn't understand any of that, but I was too concerned by coming up with an answer to think about it too much.

"Well, you know how it is in Amity Park," I replied. "Ghosts everywhere! As qualified ghost hunters, Maddie and me want to make sure that Danny's safe."

Vlad looked at me oddly. "When have there ever been any ghost sightings in Amity Park?"

"Eh?" It was a stupid reply, and now my friend definitely knew something was up. But I couldn't stop turning his words over in my head. When have there been any ghosts here? Our sensors always picked up a strain of ghost activity in the area, but we've never seen one, come to think of it. The sensors kept going off...whenever they were around Danny.

He narrowed his eyes. I felt my heart thumping erratically against my ribcage. If he knew something was up-if he knew Danny was his son-

But all he said was, "Be careful, alright?"

It hadn't occurred to me until later that there was no way Vlad could have known from that conversation alone. He might have suspected I was lying about something, though not about Danny's parentage.

After he'd left, I called him to ask what he'd meant with that last statement. He told me to make sure that the technology I was using around Danny was no longer in an experimental phase and that under no circumstances was I to build a ghost portal any place where Danny or Jazz could reach it.

Now that I look back on it, I should have questioned him further. Asked him why he was so worried about ghost portals.

But I didn't. Because I didn't know anything then... Not until Danny's second birthday.

Maddie was anxious. Oh, she smiled and laughed and put on a show, but after years of knowing her I could see the little tics. The slight twitch in her jaw, the way her hand continuously strayed to her shoulder holster where her ectogun would be. Maddie was nervous, and I knew it.

"Couldn't we have brought at least one weapon?" she snapped after the thirteenth time her hand reached for a gun that wasn't there.

"It was your idea not to," I reminded her. "You said that Danny needs a-"

"-a normal, ghost-free environment for his birthday." Maddie recited. "And he does! It isn't good for a little boy to spend that much time around spectral activity! It's just that I wish we could protect him from them."

I refrained from mentioning that that was her idea too. "I'm sure he'll be fine." I consoled, inconspicuously hiding my own ectogun. My wife may want a weapon now, but I learned my lesson after she changed her mind the last three times and confiscated the ones I'd brought.

"Give it back!"

I looked to my son, frowning at the sight before me. One of the children, a blond named Dash Baxter if I'm not mistaken, had taken Danny's present (the blue box from Jazz.) He was holding it out of Danny's reach. Maddie moved towards them, but I grabbed her arm. She looked at me questioningly and I shook my head. Even if he was young, a man should still fight his own battles.

As I watched them, I started to realize that something wasn't right. Danny was getting angry, but it looked as though he was growing paler instead of an angry red- he was almost glowing white. Then he opened his mouth and screamed, shattering every glass surface in the room.

At the same moment, a trio of vulture ghosts swooped in, destroying everything in sight. I shouted, pulling out my ectogun and starting to aim, but before I could fire, Maddie grabbed the gun from me and fired two shots that hit spot-on. I relinquished my hold, figuring that my wife was a better shot than I was anyway. I searched for the kids, hoping to shelter them from falling debris.

I quickly found them huddled together in the corner, Jazz doing her best to shield the smaller boy. Danny was sobbing, his sister trying desperately to comfort him despite the tears tracking down her own cheeks. I glanced behind me, seeing that Maddie was keeping two of the vultures busy. I felt a proud of my wife. Only she could be that amazing, that good...

"LET HIM GO!"

I remembered that there were THREE vultures. Whipping my head around to the children, I nearly felt my heart stop. Jazz was holding on to Danny's ankles, sobbing hysterically, while Danny... Danny was dangling in the claws of the last vulture.

Cursing myself for being so careless, I doubled my speed. No ghost was going to harm my children!

Then it happened.

I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been desperately watching the events. Danny twisted in the vulture's grip, angling his face upwards to look it in the eye. In that moment his fear was gone, replaced by pure unadulterated in slow motion, I saw his hand form a pudgy fist, racing to the vulture's beak. A split second before it impacted, a bright glow of ectoplasm surrounded him, concentrating on his hand. His eyes flashed toxic green.

Then POW! the specter was down. It sailed over my head, crashing into its two comrades (who were already hanging by a thread of ectogoo! That's my Maddie!).

Although it had just been defeated, the ghost looked strangely satisfied. It grinned feral smile. "We got what the boss wanted-let's go."

Before Maddie or I could do anything, the specters had vanished.

Maddie started fussing about the children, but I was hardly paying attention. My eyes were locked on the sobbing boy who was not my son, wondering just what on earth was wrong with him.

I couldn't forget that day, nor could I figure it out. It hung around in my mind for the longest time, turning over solutions and answers that never fit quite right.

The questions started with Danny's scream. Maddie had assumed that the ghosts had broken the glass, but I'd been watching him. Glass exploded inwards before the specters had arrived, right after Danny had yelled at the Baxter boy.

It was an unsolvable puzzle, so I left it as it was and turned to the next problem.

Danny's attack on the vulture. It's possible that I'd imagined the whole thing. Danny could have looked like he was glowing because he was so near to the ghost's ectoplasmic radiation. But that didn't explain why the specter was knocked backwards.

For many a night, I resisted the urge to punch my pillows in frustration of unanswered questions, knowing it would wake my slumbering wife. I hadn't told Maddie any of this. I should have, but I didn't.

The true reason, I suppose, was that I was afraid. Afraid that Maddie would get mad at me, that she would defend the boy...and make me hate him.

I loved Danny, maybe not as much as my wife did, but I loved him, truly. But he wasn't my son, and there was always some part of me, no matter how small, that hated him for existing. If Maddie took his side, as I knew she would, that hatred could bubble to the surface, and I didn't want that. God, I didn't want to hate the boy.

Perhaps I should have sucked it up and told her then. If I had, things would be different. I wouldn't have to lie to her about her son, and I wouldn't have to lie to her about his father.

A few weeks after Danny's disasterous birthday, Vlad came to me with knowledge that I knew wouldn't be able to escape him forever.

"Jack, is Daniel my son?" Dark blue eyes bore into me, glaring at me with accusation.

I sucked in a breath. Straight to the point, huh? That was Vladdie, alright. Still, I played dumb for Maddie's sake. "What do you mean, V-man?"

"Jack." My old college friend's expression morphed into one I was all too familiar with. It was the face that he wore when he wanted something out of someone, and wouldn't stop until he got it.

It wasn't very long before I was fessing up.

"It's true, Vladdie." I said, not meeting his eyes. "But Maddie and I have decided to raise him-keep him as our own."

"That isn't your decision to make."

"It's Maddie's decision," I met his steely eyes unwaveringly.

What followed next was a blur of lawsuits, courts, and lawyers. I knew we would lose. Vlad had the best people in the business, the best words to use to sway the judge, the best weapons of choice he needed to win.

But there was one thing Vlad didn't have, and that was Maddie's consent to give Danny up.

Other people in his position would have thought that they'd be able to wear her down, but Vlad knew Maddie's stubborn spirit almost as well as I did. So he used a different strategy. He used me.

On the day before we were called to court, my best friend told me a secret that I never wanted to hear.

"I need to speak with you, Jack."

What choice did I have? So I followed the man out the door, patting my wife's shoulder as I passed. I tried to ignore the glare she was sending Vlad's way, which suggested that she very much wanted to kill him.

When had our friendship become such a mess? I tried to catch Vlad's eye as he lead us to wherever, but he kept staying ahead of me, refusing to even glance my way.

Once we'd reached our destination, Vlad finally turned to me. I was taken aback by the look in his eyes-it was pure anger and hatred.

"What I am about to tell you must be held in the strictest confidence," he said. His voice was flat, like this was just another business meeting. But the fire in his eyes betrayed him. "The only reason I'm telling you is because you're the only one who can convince Maddie to give up Daniel."

I remained quiet, and he aimed his gaze upwards, looking thoughtful. After a short period of silence, he said almost casually, "I know what happened on Daniel's birthday."

I looked at him sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Jack." he said irritably, the first signs of frustration showing in his voice. "You saw something, didn't you? Daniel did something, something abnormal, and you've been turning it around in that pea-sized brain of yours trying to figure out how he did it."

The look on my face was answer enough. He nodded. "His...powers, you may call them, are hereditary." Then he raised his hand, palm up, and held it to my eye-level. Even as I watched, a collection of energy formed a concentrated ball of substance in his hand that was all-too-familiar. I stared at the ectoplasm, red reflecting off Vlad's irises.

"That's ectoplasm...But how... Vladimir, you..." My tongue felt dry in my mouth as I looked at my best friend. Ice shot down my veins, freezing me to the spot. Immediately I could see what I had been trying desperately to ignore; the odd little happenings in Danny's life, the acid green glow in his eyes whenever he got angry, the way the ghost sensors came on whenever he was near.

I was suddenly oh so close to the truth, but I clung to my denial. "That's impossible," I shook my head. "You and Danny are both human. This-this is just a hallucination. I'll wake up any moment now."

Vlad smiled wryly. "I'm afraid not, Jack. This is all very much real."

"But...how?" I croaked in a hoarse whisper.

"How?" Vlad was suddenly angry. He hurled the ectoplasm blast at me, missing my head by an inch. "How, you ask? You were the one that turned me into this, Jack! Try to remember- what happened on that day we built the portal?"

I looked at the burn mark the blast had left, recounting my steps leading up to the accident. Maddie and I were standing next to each other, bent over the filter. She asked me to grab the ecto-purifier, and I did, pouring it into the tube... Except it wasn't ecto-purifier. I realized my mistake too late when I turned the can over, confirming that it wasn't a titanium can, but some form of soda. I looked up just as Vlad was leaning down to look at the portal.

I turned to my friend in horror, wrenched out of my memories by the horrible realization. "No."

Vlad met my gaze steadily, simmering hatred burning beneath blue irises. "On the day of the accident, I began to change. I could form ectoplasm out of thin air. I could fly. I could do things you couldn't even dream of."

I shook my head, transfixed on his words in morbid curiosity. I didn't want him to say more, but at the same time I wanted to know.

"On the day of the accident," he repeated. "I gained ghost powers. All thanks to you."

It somehow didn't occur to me until that moment. To gain ghost powers, one would have to be... Suddenly, I didn't want to hear what Vlad would say next.

"On that day, you killed me, Jack."

I stared at him, thunderstruck.

He looked at me icily. "Cat got your tongue?"

I wanted to say a lot of things. 'I'm sorry', for instance. But how could you apologize for murder?

I managed to form one word. "Danny..."

"Daniel, it seems, has inherited a part of my ghostly abilities. You and Maddie, with your weapons meant to kill ghosts, are incapable of raising him." Vlad's eyes softened. "I can help him, Jack. I can help him control his powers, so he doesn't harm himself. Or anyone else. As much as I love Maddie, she can't care for him. It has to be me."

Against my better judgement, I found myself nodding. Vlad grasped my hand and shook it.

"Oh, and make sure no one hears of this," He smiled, bitterly and humorlessly. "For old time's sake."

Eh.. R&R? :D