Hey, beautiful people! I'm sorry for the long wait for this update; I didn't like how I was writing this chapter before, so I scrapped the original idea and came up with this. Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I only own my OC. All rights go to their respective owners.
Fear.
Failure.
Hopeless.
That was all Vlad felt as he watched the tornado reach his front door. He fell on his knees and clutched onto his head as he closed his eyes, not wanting to watch as it destroyed his home and took his daughter from him. "No," he muttered. He knew he wouldn't make it in time so why bother trying?
His plan of using her as bait to lure Maddie to come to him failed. But he wasn't sure if that's what he truly cared about at the moment. He was losing his child to something he couldn't fight. She would die right as she was sucked into the tornado and thrown. Or she would be shown mercy and die from flying debris inside the tornado before she hit the ground. He hoped it was the latter; he hoped she wouldn't suffer.
How could this happen? Why didn't he check the weather report earlier to make sure none of this would happen? How could he be so careless? He lived in Wisconsin for goodness sake! Tornado's form there! How could he be so stupid?!
He growled, feeling a sense of rage so overwhelming that it forced him to glare at the spinning natural disaster in front of him. It was trying to take everything from him! Everything he worked hard to get would be seen as a waste of time now! He stood up, wishing with all intent he could unravel the beast and destroy it.
He sighed in despair and held his head as he closed his eyes, feeling his rage slowly dissipate; but he couldn't unravel it. If he tried, it would suck him in and either kill him right away or throw him then the impact of the ground would break his spine. He slumped his shoulders; why couldn't he be more powerful and stronger than a tornado?
He perked his ears up when the sound of loud swirling reached his ears and gasped as his eyes widened when he found himself on the second floor of his home! "What?" he asked aloud, confused and in shock that he was standing on his marble floors. How did he get there? He didn't fly over and couldn't teleport so what-? He smirked at the thought of the word 'teleport'; teleportation was the only logical answer to how he got there. It was another ghost power that that buffoon Jack Fenton unwittingly gave him.
His smirk then vanished, and he ducked when the tornado burst through the front of his home, tearing it apart. He covered his head, preparing himself for any falling debris but then gasped when he heard the cries of his one month old over the roaring winds. "Elizabeth!"
Unsure if he could teleport on command yet, he flew over to her room, using all of his strength to push himself away from the strong winds that were trying to pull him into the spinning natural disaster. "No!" He shut his eyes tightly and pushed, feeling his energy drain with the amount of strain he was putting on himself. His daughter's screams became much more frantic as the loud winds increased in volume. "I'm coming, Elizabeth!"
With one final push, he released himself from the tight grasp the winds had on him and flew rapidly over to his daughter's room, barely dodging the hurtling vase that came straight at him. He phased through her door, not wanting to waste another second, then flew over to the crib but gasped in alarm when he saw it empty. "Elizabeth?! Elizabeth!" he called, hoping she'd cry out for him.
"Mr. Masters?!"
He powered up his pink ghost ray and glared as he whirled around to be faced with Elizabeth's closet door opening, revealing a distressed Mrs. Jones holding his child. She screamed shortly in shock when she registered him as someone else and took a few steps back into the closet while clutching Elizabeth tighter.
He powered down and held out his hands as a calming gesture. "Mrs. Jones, it's me! Vlad Masters!"
"Stay away from us, demon!" she exclaimed as she glared at him.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting that kind of response from the sweet old lady. "First of all, I'm a ghost; not a demon. Secondly, it really is me! I would show you, but we don't have enough time right now!"
He flew a little closer to her, but she backed up in response. "Stay back!" she yelled.
He rolled his eyes in annoyance and sighed in frustration. "Mrs. Jones, there is a ginormous tornado on it's way over here! Please be reasonable and let me fly you both to safety!"
She shook her head and stepped more into the closest but screamed as soon as the wall to Elizabeth's room blew out, letting the roaring winds of the tornado in. Vlad narrowed his eyes and grunted when the winds began pulling him closer to the tornado again. He glanced up to see Mrs. Jones clutching onto the door of the closet with the screaming child in her arms.
Using all the strength he could muster, he flew over to them and turned intangible when he grasped onto Elizabeth then pulled her out of Mrs. Jones' death grip. He turned off his intangibility and readjusted his hold on her to secure her in one arm then turned to grab the nanny as well but grunted when the crib slammed into him, knocking him over as it flew up to the tornado. He landed on his back then watched as the door hinges to the closet tore off. He and Mrs. Jones shared a fearful glance before the door broke off completely, taking her into the swirling winds. He gaped in shock as he watched her body disappear the farther she went into the dark tornado and listened as her screams died down until just the sound of the winds were all he heard.
When the winds started to pull him and Elizabeth both towards the tornado, he snapped out of his shocked state and phased through the floor beneath them then flew down until he phased through the first floor too, entering his basement he used to keep storage. He landed on the cemented floor and clutched onto his daughter, hearing her cry louder in response, as he bent over, shielding her from any falling debris above them as he waited for the nightmare to end.
Silence.
That was the first thing Vlad noticed after what felt like hours of listening to the thunderous noises coming from above.
He peeked an eye open, first seeing his daughter whimpering in his arms as she stared fearfully up at him. He frowned; he must have scared her. She had never seen his ghost form before so no doubt she was afraid of him. Of course, she could have been afraid of the tornado. "It's alright," he whispered, loosening his tightened hold on her, "you're safe with me, sweetheart."
He glanced up at the ceiling when he heard footsteps walking on the floor above them. He narrowed his eyes and flew up to the ceiling before peeking his head through it, widening his eyes when he saw that most of his house was gone. All that was left were a few walls that looked as if they could topple over at any moment. He then glared as soon as he spotted someone's back to him as they held a cellphone up to their ear.
"Come on. Pick up!" the intruder exclaimed.
He widened his eyes at the realization of who the intruder was; it was Mr. Martinez, his chef. He phased through the floor completely before landing on the crushed marble beneath him, it causing a crunching sound, then changed into his human form. "Mr. Martinez?" he asked, startling him.
Mr. Martinez whirled around, eyes widening when he spotted him. He grinned and ran over to him before engulfing him and Elizabeth into a tightened hug, catching them both off-guard. "Mr. Masters, I'm relieved to see you're alright!" He then pulled away, looking worriedly at him before placing a gentle hand on the child's forehead. "You are both alright, right?"
"Yes, we're fine." He took a step away from the worried chef then looked down, frowning. "But I'm afraid the nanny I hired isn't; she was carried away by the tornado."
Mr. Martinez frowned in sympathy as his eyes saddened. "I'm sorry, Mr. Masters. She was a good person."
"Yes, she was." He brushed his daughter's cheek with his thumb. "She was good to Elizabeth."
His chef placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Losing someone is always hard, Mr. Masters, but as long as you keep them at heart, they will always be with you."
He didn't really care about Mrs. Jones all that much but her death was the first death he witnessed; it frightened him, especially when he couldn't save her. He felt disappointed and depressed that he couldn't save her in time. He should have been able to save her; he was half-ghost, after all. He glanced up at Mr. Martinez. "Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Martinez." He smiled gently. "I appreciate them."
Mr. Martinez smiled back before taking his hand back and placing both on his hips. "Do you have anywhere to go?" He gestured to the piles of rubble around them. "Because you're going to have to rebuild, and I'm sure that will take time."
He sighed in despair. "Unfortunately not. I'm afraid I have no family or friends left that would willingly take me in."
He hummed and rubbed the bristles on his chin then opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, then rubbed the back of his neck. "You could stay with me."
Vlad's eyes widened instantly then he blinked a few times as he tried to decipher if what he heard was actually true. "I'm sorry. Are you offering Elizabeth and I to stay at your home?"
"Why yes." He smiled nervously. "It's the least I can do after what you and your daughter experienced."
He blinked a few times in surprise but saw by the look in his employee's eyes, he didn't want him to stay with him. "Why that's very generous of you, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline." He straightened up. "I'll find a hotel for us to stay in until our house is rebuilt."
He shrugged and sighed, it almost sounding like a sigh of relief. "If you insist, Mr. Masters."
Vlad was surprised he had to drive almost to the border of Wisconsin in order to find a hotel to sleep in; apparently, nearly four thousand people lost their homes and had to rent out a hotel room for the night until they could rebuild too. He was lucky though; once he explained his situation to the receptionist and manager, he was given a discount for staying there.
He exited the elevator, balancing his daughter in one arm, and walked over to their room then pulled out the key-card the receptionist gave him before telling him what room they were staying in. He slid the card through the electronic lock, it allowing him entrance once it flashed a green light at him. He turned the handle and pushed open the door, revealing a very nice and spacious hotel room. He smiled in satisfaction then pulled out the key card and closed and locked the door behind him.
"What do you think, Elizabeth?" he asked, setting the key card on the small end table by the front door. "Do you think we could stay here for a while?"
She cooed up at him, making him smile softly, then pulled a spare blanket off the bed and flattened it down on the floor before setting her down on top of it. He tapped her nose, making her smile as she cooed louder in amusement, then walked over to the telephone next to his bed. He sat down on it and picked up the receiver then dialed a few numbers, wanting to make an arrangement with a construction crew that would build his home as quick as possible.
Luckily, after the fourth call, he was able to find someone who was happy to help with rebuilding, but it would take a month, possibly a little over that. When he was presented with the price Vlad was willing to pay though, he assured him the rebuilding would be done in less than a month. He then called the nearest store that would bring him a fresh set of clothes and Elizabeth diapers, clothing, wipes, baby powder, baby bottles, soap, and baby formula; they would personally deliver the items in less than thirty minutes as long as he paid more than usual. He smirked and hung up the phone, amused that it was easy to get someone to do whatever you wanted as long as money was waved in their direction.
He put down the receiver, relieved that that was over with and could now concentrate on taking care of Elizabeth. He stood up and walked over to where he set her down then picked her up, feeling dirt on her clothes. He hummed and rubbed the top of her head, feeling a little dust. "Looks like someone needs a bath," he mused then set her down on the bed, making sure she was secure, and unbuttoned her dress to take it off. Once that was removed, he figured he'd wait until the delivery man showed up with his purchased items before he gave her a bath.
Twenty minutes passed before a knock sounded at his door, and he opened it to reveal to a thin teenage boy carrying three shopping bags. He took the bags from the boy, briefly voicing his thanks, and tipped him a thirty before shutting the door and taking out his items. He first unbuttoned his suit, it covered in dust and dirt from the tornado, then took off the shirt but kept his pants on, deciding it would be best to be shirtless while he bathed a squirming baby.
He opened the package of diapers, took one out, and grabbed a random blue onesie from one of the bags. He set those down on the bed next to Elizabeth then grabbed a clean towel and washcloth from the bathroom and set those on the counter next to the sink. He opened the bottle of baby soap and set it down by the sink. He then turned on the faucet, checking the water temperature and letting it fill halfway.
Once satisfied it wasn't too hot or too cold, he turned off the faucet and strolled back over to Elizabeth. He took off her diaper and threw it away before carrying her over to the sink. He set her down gently, feet first, as he supported her head and neck, not wanting her to fall in. He used his free hand to scoop water over her, making her open her mouth in surprise as she squirmed. "Ah ah ah." He grabbed the washcloth and dipped it in the water before rubbing her face gently, wetting it. "It's not time to get out."
She cooed and blinked a few times when he started rubbing a little soap on her head, making sure to scrub the little black hairs beginning to grow out and washing out the excess dust stuck to them, then rubbed more soap on the rest of her body, even washing behind her ears with the washcloth. She hit the water beneath her, splashing him. He looked down at the few drops of water splattered on his torso and tsked as a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Now that wasn't very nice, Elizabeth." He then scooped more water up in his hand, being careful not to pour any into her eyes, as he rinsed the suds off her head then the rest of her body. He picked her up out of the sink and gently laid her on the towel then dried her off, being gentle as she squirmed on the counter.
Once she was dried off, he picked her up with the towel still wrapped around her and emptied the sink then walked over to the bed to lay her down on it. He opened the clean diaper and lifted up her legs as he placed it underneath her. He then grabbed the baby powder and shook it above her bottom, it sprinkling on. He then set her legs down and pulled the front of the diaper up to her tummy and fastened it on. Once he was sure the diaper wasn't on too tight, he dressed her in her onesie, her squirming in it as he buttoned it up.
He smirked in amusement and set her down on her stomach on the ground, laying her on the blanket she used before. He grabbed the damp towel and placed it on the bathroom counter before stepping into the shower himself, leaving the door open to listen to Elizabeth.
Once he finished scrubbing all the dirt and particles of debris out of his gray hair and rinsing down his body, he changed into his ghost form and repeated the process; it was one of the downsides to being a ghost.
Once finished, he changed back into human form and turned off the shower then stepped out. He wrapped one of the robes the hotel supplied guests with and checked on Elizabeth. She cooed when she saw him, and he turned her over on her back, believing she had enough tummy time for the day. He then walked over to the shopping bags and took out a pair of checkered blue and black pajamas. He rolled his eyes in annoyance at having to wear the most ridiculous patterned clothes he'd ever seen, mentally making a note he would go shopping tomorrow with Elizabeth to find better clothes, and changed into them in the bathroom.
As soon as he finished, he glanced at Elizabeth to make sure she was fine before preparing her bottle. He hummed while the water boiled and placed five bottles on the counter; one before bed, possibly three at night, and one for breakfast in the morning. Once the water boiled, he let it cool before pouring it in the bottles and spooning formula into each of them. He screwed on all the caps and shook them then set four of them in the fridge. He picked up the last one he made then set it on the nightstand next to the bed before walking over to pick up Elizabeth. He sat down and let her drink from the bottle, her lips eagerly sucking on the nipple of it. He smiled softly at her and waited for her to finish drinking before laying her down on the bed.
He turned off the lamplight on the nightstand and glanced at her once more before picking up the receiver; he had to make one more call. He lifted it up to his ear and dialed the only number he willingly took to heart and listened with great anticipation as it rang.
He tapped his fingers on his knee, anxiously waiting for the click to sound, then widened his eyes when he heard it. "Hello?" a tired, yet pleasant, voice answered over the other line, making him feel almost guilty for waking her.
"Maddie, my dear, hello," he greeted back, pulling at the collar on his shirt as he felt it tighten around his neck.
A few moments of silence went by until he heard the sound of her shifting. "Vlad?"
He smiled in relief; she remembered him. "Good evening, Maddie. I'm sorry if I woke you."
"No, no, I was already awake." He listened when he heard more shifting. "At midnight."
He winced; he should have remembered to check the time before he called. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize how late it was."
"It's alright." She yawned, making him smile as a loving sigh escaped his lips. "It's been a long time."
"Yes, two years seems like forever, doesn't it?"
"Yes." He listened when he heard a click, making him wonder if she hung up on him or if he hung up on her on accident. "How are you?"
He sighed in relief; perhaps the click was her turning on a lamp. "I'm well, Maddie." He widened his eyes when he heard his daughter's coo, reminding him of his reasoning for adopting her. He straightened up before clearing his throat. "Actually, Maddie, I'm not well."
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
He smiled lovingly, happy that she was concerned. "Well, yes. You see, I adopted."
A few more moments of silence went by over the other line, making him wonder if his plan wasn't going to work. "You adopted? As in, a child?"
"A baby actually." He turned around and sat against the headboard of the bed as he rubbed Elizabeth's tummy. "Her name's Elizabeth."
"Oh, well, Vlad, that's wonderful. How old is she?"
"A month old."
"Then what's wrong? Is she sick?"
"No, I just don't believe I know what I'm doing." He brushed his fingers across her smooth cheek, making her smile. "I feel like I can't take care of her on my own, Maddie."
"Oh." He heard shifting on the other line then a bed creak. "I'm sure you're doing the best you can."
"No, I'm not. Every time she's in my arms, she cries." He knew lying was wrong, but he had to convince her somehow to come help him.
She chuckled, confusing him. "Jasmine was the same way with Jack."
He raised a confused eyebrow. "Jasmine?"
"Yes, my daughter."
He frowned at her sentence, remembering the disappointment he felt when she first told him she had Jasmine. "Oh, right. I completely forgot about her; how is she by the way?"
"Good. She learned to walk a few months ago."
"Oh that is splendid news, Maddie." He could care less; all he cared about was Maddie coming to his 'rescue' with taking care of Elizabeth. "Listen, about Elizabeth-"
"Vlad, she just needs time to get used to you," she interrupted, and he listened as a door closed on the other line. "Babies that are adopted take much longer than regular babies do to get used to their parents just 'cause the adoptive parents are strangers to them."
He blinked once in surprise; he couldn't believe she knew that. "Maddie, I-."
"Vlad, I would really love to stay and chat more, but I have to go; Daniel won't stop pushing on my bladder."
"Daniel?" He narrowed his eyes in confusion before widening them in realization. "You're pregnant?!"
"Yes, he's my second."
"H-How long have you been-?"
"Seven months." He heard her shift again. "Now, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll call you when I can, alright?"
"Um, but do you even have my number?"
"I'm sure Jack has it in his contacts on his phone. I'll just get it from him."
He frowned, feeling his heart wrench with pain that she didn't bother to keep his number in her phone after so long. "A-Alright." He pulled on his shirt collar again. "I'll talk to you soon then."
"Goodnight, Vlad."
"Goodnight, Mad-" He listened as the continuous hum from the other line sounded in his ear, making him realize she hung up on him.
He sighed and set down the receiver before lifting Elizabeth up then placing her under the covers, making sure the comforter didn't cover her head. He then laid down next to her and readjusted his pillow before gently laying his arm around her, not wanting her to fall off the bed. He kissed her forehead gently and hummed softly as he waited to hear her snore before letting himself succumb to sleep.
Author's note: Hey, beautiful people! What did you think? What do you think Vlad will do now that he found out Maddie was pregnant? Please feel free to leave a review! Constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated! :D
Fun Fact: Elizabeth usually calms down and falls asleep after she is sung or hummed to. :)
Review Time!
Hey, beautiful Luna Latanya! Thank you for your review! And thank you for letting me use your idea of cosleeping too! I love it! I wanted to incorporate it towards the end of this chapter and possibly more in the future. Have a great day! Thank you again, beautiful reviewer. :)
