I really wanted to make Clockwork say 'SCREW THE RULES!' last chapter.

Danny: That wouldn't make sense. That's from another series completely.

Clockwork: Although the readers would get the joke, it would turn this into a parody fic, or something.

Ah, really? Shoot, and here I thought it'd be funny.

Ah well. Here comes the interesting chapter. Everyone get ready!

CHAPTAH!

STARTO!


Danny sighed, pulling his robe tighter around his body. It was a special, silk-like substance, made by Reki especially for him. The robe would help to 'filter' his core powers so that the random fluxes of ice and heat would not harm the child. The robe itself was white, with white fur around the collar, cuffs, and around the bottom. Though it weighed less than a tissue, it was immensely warm, and cool, alternating between each when his cores flared up.

He pulled a small amount of hair in his face and sighed; his hair was really shaggy now, and kinda reminded him of his evil self. He didn't want to tie it back though; that would be far too much like Dan. The halfa's eyes drifted to where the canister sat. He had tried, secretively, to talk to Dan, but the alternate evil version of himself never answered. He had debated on asking Clockwork, but after the first week of living with Clockwork, he decided it might not be the best after all. The Time Keeper had created several 'fail-safe' measures, which consisted of child-proof locks, padded furniture in the rooms, and the Gears in his viewing room were to slow to a non-lethal speed when a form got too close. To say the ghost had gone manic was an understatement, but something it was kind of sweet, at least to Danny. Reki had taken one look at the room, called Clockwork 'nutty than a squirrel's lunch box' and hid away in the library.

After they had all calmed down, Reki created a line to the Human World, and when Danny answered it, the person on the other side was his mother. That had been an awkward conversation, resulting in him breaking down and telling her everything - the GiW, the tests, the experiment, him and Clockwork, everything. She had remained silent on the other end for the longest time, before she sighed. She told Danny she was so upset that he'd gone through that, without telling her anything, and the next time she saw a GiW she was going to blast them in the arse. She then said she'd cover for him, as long as he needed, but when the baby was born, she demanded pictures and a visit. She told him that if he felt it was getting to be too much, she was always there to listen to him. Danny smiled at the memory. Mothers always knew how to handle children, and she told him it would be no different for him when he confided that fear; what if he didn't know how to take care of his own child?

"All a mother has to do is listen. Even as babies, children know how to tell their mothers what they need." She had said, telling him about when he had been stung by a hornet, and was crying too hard for anyone to figure out why. Maddie had pulled him into her lap, and waited until Danny had calmed down to show her the stinger embedded in his palm. She pulled it out with tweezers, and made sure to keep him indoors for a while.

Danny was slightly reassured by her words; even if he couldn't figure out what his child needed, he'd just listen until he did know.

Of course, mentioning pictures also made him realize that he needed to think of a name; he couldn't just keep calling it 'child'. He had gone to the library, and proceeded to watch Reki attempt to sort through the section of books about the ocean, without falling from the ladders that she swore were trying to kill her.

"They move on me, I swear!"

Danny barely held his snort in as Reki flailed on the wooden steps, and glanced back at the canister next to him once more. After debating about that, he had taken the thermos and had developed the habit of carrying it around. If Dan was ever awake, he did not speak to Danny, but somehow, the halfa could feel Dan's presence inside, like the feeling that the evil specter was somehow watching him from inside the thermos. Clockwork had seen Danny holding the thermos on the fourth day, and had given him only that mysterious smile he was famous for.


It was now December 24th, and both Danny and Reki were currently in the library, both reading books. Reki was hanging by her legs upside from the ladder used to get higher-up books, and Danny was currently lost in Beowulf.

"Hey, check this out." Reki had managed to scuttle downwards without falling. She had a psychology book in her hands. "In the infant stage of life, babies have been recorded to respond to their mother's voice as soon as their ears are fully developed. Their mother's voice is the first true sound a baby records in its mind."

"Huh." Danny said, glancing down at his stomach. Thanks to Clockwork heavily monitoring his diet, Danny had recovered his health, and filled out in his arms and legs to the point he simply looked a little pudgy. He wore the robe to further hide his stomach, should anyone come round and find out. Danny wondered when his child would start responding to him. Would it kick, like a human baby? Would it move around, trying to gain its bearings? Would he be able to stand it? That was actually a tough question. While Danny was content now with the fact that he was going to have a child, he wondered if when he felt it move, what his reaction would be. Hopefully he wouldn't be freaked out.

"Also, the mother's voice is the first thing a baby imprints on, while the second is her face after birth." Danny blinked. He wondered if his baby would be afraid of him being half-ghost, half-human. Afterall, the town's people had flipped the lid when they first saw him flying around. He then mentally face-palmed; why would his child have any opinion of him other than 'mommy'?

Without warning, the canister began to rattle, but to Reki's surprise, Dan was silent. Danny acted without thought; he swept the thermos into his hands and held it close.

"Dan! Stop it!"

To the shock of them both, the canister did just that: stopped. Both witchling and halfa continued to stare for nearly five minutes, before Reki spoke. "What the unholy sprock?"

Danny held the canister close, trying to feel Dan's presence, but finding no response when he prodded with his energy.

"Reki? Daniel?" Both looked up as Clockwork entered the room. "Ah, here you are. I've been looking for you."

Reki scuttled back up the ladder and hung by her legs once more. "Well, we're here, Master. Whatcha need?" Danny snickered at her lazy response and turned a smile to Clockwork, who mirrored him.

"Well, I am fully aware that you two have not left the castle since Danny came here to stay." He turned his eyes to Reki with a mischievous smirk. "Though you are aware, Reki, that you can come and go as you please?"

She waved her hand carelessly. "And leave Danny to your mercy? As if."

Instead of sighing in exasperation, Clockwork only seemed to smile wider. It put Danny on edge, a little. "Well, I know of the Annual Truce Party held to all ghosts in the Ghost Zone. And..." He waited until both had their full attention on him. "I've decided to open the castle as the location for this year's party, in celebration."

There was a moment of stunned silence, before Reki took to the air with a shriek of joy, and Danny launched himself at Clockwork, locking his arms around the ghost's neck in a hug.

"Thank you." He uttered, before kissing Clockwork on the cheek.

There was a shocked silence, before Reki suddenly gave a rather perverted whoop. "Gettin' saucy in the library!" Danny blushed and backed away, glaring at the witchling who spun madly in the air laughing. Clockwork, meanwhile, was holding his cheek where Danny's lips had pressed down, feeling the skin there a tad warmer than usual. He then looked up to see Danny chasing Reki on foot with a regular broom, trying to whack her out of the air.

'How interesting...' He thought. He'd never felt a reaction like that before. Then again, he'd never really had anyone around before, had he? He blinked, then realized he was just a bit light-headed, and took off his glove to feel his cheek. He was positively burning. He made a confused expression. 'Is this a reaction from Daniel?' He thought, watching as both Reki and Danny played.

Well, if it was, it was decidedly a nice reaction.

A few hours later found Danny in the bedroom Clockwork had prepared for him. The bed mattress was made of something wonderfully soft, and was kind on his back. The sheets were dark blue, with the pillows being green, and there was a large mirror on one side of the room. He settled the thermos into one of the pillows, which already had an indention from bearing the weight of the container, and went to the nightstand. He sat down and began to brush his hair, which was now cut in a feathery style he'd seen once back in the Human World. Reki was really good with hair, but when she offered to dye it blue he'd refused. He sat there for a few moments, brushing and humming a song softly, when the thermos began to rattle again, this time accompanied by a hissing noise, which, if he concentrated hard enough, Danny could make out some words that weren't worth repeating. He stood and walked over to the canister, and touched it without picking it up.

"Dan Phantom, you stop that right now! You are NOT going to throw a temper tantrum! How old are you again?" He snapped, feeling a little embarrassed that he was scolding his adult self. Once again, to his shock, the rattling died down, and he heard a small dark grumble. "Good. Now, if you behave, I might convince Clockwork to stop shaking you." If Dan had heard him, the specter didn't reply, which frustrated Danny for some reason. He sighed and went back to brushing his hair. After a few moments he stopped and went to the bathroom, brushing his teeth before washing his face vigorously. Just because he was yet to be hit by the horrible 'acne problem' that most teenagers had to go through, it didn't mean he wasn't at risk. He was just lucky Sam had balanced out his diet with her organically grown produce.

After he finished, Danny climbed into bed, careful not to disturb the thermos, and snuggled down into the thick comforter. He sighed, smiling as he thought about the party, and before he knew it he was dreaming of lights and food and laughter.


"HEY! Ghost kid!" Danny looked up to see Ember dragging an uncomfortable-looking Skulker over to where the halfa was curled up, on one of the couches Clockwork had put in the main room. He was sipping a cup of cider, brought by Reki from the Human World, because Clockwork had been adament about Danny having unhealthy drink or food.

"Hey Ember, Skulker." He stretched slightly, clinking his glass edge against both of theirs. "How are you two? Enjoying the party?"

"As well as we can." Ember said, taking a gulp of her drink. Her hair burned brightly, even with the numerous lights strung around the room. "Your witchy friend is pretty good with the tunes." The rockstar said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder. Reki was control several different keyboards, all set to different sounds, and she was making essentially techno remixes of various holiday and dance songs. She was currently arguing with Technus, who wanted to see how well he could influence her control over his.

"By the way, I heard a rumor." Ember said, before pointing to him. "That you're knocked up?"

It went silent in the room. Reki had let go of the keyboards, the music freezing with a scratching noise. Danny had been afraid of this. Ember wasn't the type to be subtle. Slowly, he set down his glass and stood, his stomach bulging outward. He hung his head, his face burning, when suddenly something hard rammed into his side, squeezing the life out of him.

"CONGRATS, BABY-MOMMA!" Ember cheered, hugging him tighter. After recovering from the initial shock, Danny was confused. "It's rare that a baby is born in the Ghost Zone, so when it happens, it's a big event." She explained. "And..." She squeezed him harder. "I better be an Auntie, got it?" Danny tried not to laugh as he nodded, and Ember finally released him. She then knelt down with Danny's left hand in hers, and what looked like a rune circle appeared under their feet.

"I, Ember Mclain, solemnly vow to see the successful birth of the child of Daniel Phantom. I pledge to use my afterlife to protect both mother and child. I shall not allow any harm to come to them." The glow faded, and with it a small amount of weight on Danny's shoulders vanished as well. He had been fretting over the reactions of the ghosts, and whether they'd still be enemies. But Ember's vow was a relief to the halfa.

To his surprise, after Ember stepped back, Skulker repeated the vow, and Danny found out his name was Richard Skulker. Then, both Johnny 13 and Kitty pledged the vow, followed by Technuc (Nicolai), Nocturne and Vortex who were in their human forms again. Even UnderGrowth pledged the vow, though he did not touch Danny to do so. Which was fine with the halfa, as the plant ghost might've accidentally jabbed him with one of the numerous thorns covering his body.

"HEY! Isn't this a party? Quit being all solemn-y and dance!" Reki shouted after the Box Ghost and LunchLady finished their vows, making the room quiver with laughter. The witchling then tuned in to what sounded like a mash-up between All I Want For Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, and Silver Bells. Danny shrieked as he was suddenly spun around and dipped low. It was Technus, who gave him a toothy grin. Danny glared half-heartedly and smacked the genius on the shoulder, only making Technus laugh and pull him up. Over the next three songs, which were fast-paced and manic, the halfa danced with Technus, Kitty, Ember, Vortex (who spun him rapidly enough that Danny fell into the weather ghosts' arms), and surprisingly enough, Skulker. (Who knew that, for a robot, he had such good reflexes?)

Suddenly, the music slowed down, and Danny heard a soft crooning coming through.

'I'm in heaven when you kiss me, show me how you miss me

Take me with you, back to wonderland'

Clockwork was by his side, gently taking hold of Danny's hands, and then they were twirling slowly, waltzing across the floor which was suddenly devoid of dancers. After looking around, Danny realized the ghosts were letting the couple have this dance to themselves, and after Reki gave them a thumbs up, Danny turned back to the Time Keeper with a smile. They twirled and looped, spun and stepped, not fast like Technus had done, but something shy and new and slow. Danny smiled as Clockwork spun him by the hand and the halfa gave a graceful pose, one leg crossed behind the other and held up a bit.

'One touch from you, I'm on fire

Your touch is all I desire

One look and you take me higher.'

Danny slid his feet across the floor, matching Clockwork's stride. It was then that he noticed that Clockwork actually had legs. He had on a pair of pants the same shade as his tunic, and black boots with watches clamped around his ankles and his calves. He moved gracefully, as though he were floating, and Danny felt his face turn pink as Clockwork gave him smile that made the halfa feel butterflies in his stomach.

'You know that I'm hypnotized

Each time I look in your eyes

You know I couldn't disguise

And I couldn't resist

Every time that we kiss.'

The song was coming to an end, and now they were swaying back and forth, Clockwork holding his mate close. Danny was resting his cheek against the ghosts' shoulder, smelling that ever-familiar scent of lavender and rain. They pulled away and stared at each other with smiles. They began to lean in as the song drew to a close.

'You know that I'm hypnotized, each time I look in your eyes

You know I couldn't disguise, and I just can't resist,

Everytime that we-'

Without warning, Danny's body jolted, and he backed away from Clockwork just as their lips were to meet. Reki was shocked by the event, and the music once again screeched to a halt. The ghosts began murmuring in confusion and concern. At first thinking he'd done something, Clockwork watched as Danny began looking around with a fearful gaze, shivering like mad.

"Daniel-" Clockwork started, reaching for the boy, when a very loud BANG! made everyone look to the doors. Walker stood beside two Observants, a dozen guards behind them. The Observants were giving Clockwork stares of disgust and rage, and Danny pressed up against the Time Keeper fearfully.

Walker grinned that sneering grin that every ghost hated. "Party's over."


READ AND REVIEW! Ah? I ruined the party? Walker is breaking Truce? What just happened? Haha, you'll have to find out next time! Suckers!

The song I used for Danny and Clockwork's dance is I'm In Heaven When You Kiss Me by ATC. Very nice, mellow song, and I thought it fit.