Chapter V : Surrogates

When Jazz, Sam, and Tucker arrived back at the Fenton's portal, Jazz's parents were standing there, arms crossed and looks of an emotion worse than anger on their faces. They had the parental look between disappointment, disbelief, and anger.

"Jasmine Fenton! Where on earth have you been? The school called and said not one of you have been in school, Danny too. Where have you three been? And where is Danny?" Maddie demanded, stalking up to her daughter and sizing her up, showing her dominant position in the situation. She couldn't lie.

Jazz bit her lip and glanced at Sam and Tucker. They were both sweating with fear and nervousness. Dora said to tell them Danny was staying at Vlad's, but Maddie would be able to see through that. She would question why Danny didn't tell them, especially since Vlad lived in Wisconsin. There were so many flaws in that plan.

"Danny is with Vlad," Jazz started, not giving any other details until her mother asked for them. It was safe, in case any of them added extra detail to ruin their lie or something slipped about Danny not being normal.

Maddie narrowed her eyes. "Why is he with Vlad? Why didn't either of them call us?" she questioned, hands on her hips.

"It's a… an internship thing. Last minute decision. He had to leave immediately. They've been occupied with business to chat, even with us," Jazz said, trying to act as casual as she could under her parents intimidating glares.

"And where have you three been if Danny's on an internship?" Jack asked, doing very well at the strict parent look and act.

The three shared another look, silently arguing about who was going to improvise and answer them. Jazz had answered most of their questions, so it was between the two other teens.

"We were at my house," Sam immediately piped, gaining their attention. "Tucker and I had an assignment and were struggling so we asked for Jazz's help. They were spending the night and we forgot to call the parents to tell them. It was a big, complicated project to do."

Maddie and Jack narrowed their eyes deeper in suspicion, but otherwise took it, convinced of their excuses. The three released a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from their brows.

"Well, if Danny's on this internship, I should call him up, see how he's doing and remind him to plan ahead," Maddie idly commented, going over to the phone and dialing a number.

The teens tensed slightly, nervous that the female ghost hunter would call Danny's personal phone, which was currently upstairs in his room, untouched since he disappeared. They hadn't seen which number Maddie dialed, but they hoped with all their might that it was Vlad's number, not Danny's.

"Oh. Good morning, Vlad." The three released another held in breath. "Uh, well, actually, Jazz told me that Danny was doing an internship program with you, but it was so sudden that we didn't get to say goodbye… Oh, I see, okay… Does he have everything he needs-? Really?… Alright, I suppose. Do you know how long the internship will last? Danny needs to come home at some point… That long? Are you sure?… Okay, well, can I talk to him? The last time I talked to him, we got into a huge argument and I didn't get to apologize- He can't? Why not?… I do suppose it's a Saturday, and early in the morning for that matter… Alright, I'll call later. Just take good care of him. If anything happened to him, I… I don't know what I would do… Thank you, Vlad."

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz's face fell at the mention of taking care of Danny. As much as they loathed him, Vlad was the one who would keep Danny alive and take extra good care of his godson. By the look in Dora's eyes and the reassurances from Danny, it seemed that Vlad didn't have an evil scheme up his sleeve or take the upper hand and brainwash Danny. He was acting like a genuine guardian and keeping Danny healthy.

Maddie had placed her trust in the right man unknowingly.

Maddie turned to Jack a bit crestfallen. "Vlad said he was sleeping and worked all night long, so he's letting him sleep in. I suppose we'll talk to him later," she relayed the messages back to her husband and the teenagers.

Jack placed a meaty hand on his wife's shoulder lovingly. "Hey, Maddie. It's okay, it means he's working hard and trying to improve instead of slacking more. See this as an opportunity for him. Vladdie will push him, but it'll be good for him," he reassured gently. "Now, why don't we test this new baby out and get some fudge?" he inquired, pointing to their latest weapon, which none of the teens wanted to know what it did, excitedly.

Maddie smiled and nodded. "Alright." She turned her attention back onto the three, who stood rod stiff when she looked at them. "You three are off the hook this time, but next time, don't let it happen," she warned, before turning and walking behind Jack up the stairs.

As soon as the door closed, Jazz fell to her knees and Sam leaned against the desk while Tucker took his hat off and fanned himself.

"That was really stressful," the male huffed.

"And close," Sam growled, digging her black painted nail into the metal table. "We almost got Danny caught."

"But you had a good save, Jazz," Tucker commented to the panting redhead.

Jazz looked up and smiled weakly. "It just came to me." She frowned. "But Sam is right. We almost got caught. What are we supposed to do when teachers ask? When others ask where Danny Fenton is?"

"No," Sam sneered, pushing herself away from the desk and crossing her arms. "They won't ask where Danny Fenton is. They'll ask where Danny Phantom is. What are we supposed to do about ghost hunting? Your parents won't be able to handle them and there's no one else around."

Jazz and Tucker thought for a moment, before the latter spoke up, "Well, I guess we'll have to do it for him."

"Not needed," a voice called from the open Ghost Portal. Their eyes widened at the sight of Skulker slightly beaten in the doorway.

"What the hell do you want?" Sam seethed, pointing a weapon at the ghost, as Tucker and Jazz did the same.

Skulker begrudgingly put his hands up with an unimpressed look. "Listen, I'm here to tell the Ghost Child's accomplices that they need not worry about ghosts. There's been a… deal and none of the ghosts are allowed to enter the human realm in order to destroy the Ghost Child's territory," he explained.

"If it's Danny's territory, how come you guys always attack anyways?" Tucker inquired.

Skulker dropped his hands in irritation. "Just because it's his haunt doesn't mean we can't attack him or anything," he deadpanned, clearly annoyed that he had to come to the human realm and tell them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to do." With that the hunter left without shooting one single gun off, which didn't happen for them so the event was odd to them.

They relaxed and glanced at each other. "No more ghosts?" Tucker said plainly, not directing it to anyone in particular.

"Nope."

Silence.

"So what do we do now?"

Before the call… And attempted kidnapping...

Despite what his mentality said, Danny always loved the stars. He adored them with all his heart and could name every constellations you gave him. He could point out planets and stars that were dying. He would always want to be an astronaut, even if the dream had died not long after becoming a half ghost. With the town's constant haunts, he couldn't drop that and go do what he wanted. With his parents being incompetent, they needed someone useful to protect the town. Danny had come to terms with it.

But by the heavens, he could watch those little lights twinkle in the sky all night long.

Vlad decided to do something he wouldn't have expected himself to do, let alone Danny.

After the maids had left for the night, an hour after settling the boy for bed, the rich man peeked inside the room. To his surprise, the child was still awake, sitting in the crib and staring out the window. A giggle escaped his lips, he must've thought of something funny from being a teen, because afterwards, his shoulders slumped glumly.

Vlad entered the room quietly as possible and approached the crib, reaching down and picking the child up under his arms. Danny tensed for a moment, but when he turned to see a sliver of grey hair, he relaxed and grew confused. Vlad didn't walk back out of the room. He transformed into his alter ego and flew gracefully through the ceiling, making the child in his arms more curious and concerned, but once the rich man sat down on the slightly slanted roof and transformed back into Masters, Danny was only wondering what he was doing.

Vlad seemed to read it on his face, which had turned into an open book since Danny was changed, whereas when he was a teenager, sometimes it was very hard to tell what he was thinking. At the moment, however, it was like everything could be seen.

"I notice things, Daniel, despite you thinking I may not, but I see most. Like you looking at the stars every night instead of sleeping." The dark haired boy winced slightly at the accusation, which was true. He was cranky lately, not a lot, but enough to be noticed, and napped longer than normal. "Despite my windows being over eight feet tall, looking through them to see the stars is a challenge. I thought you might enjoy the view in a better spot," Vlad explained gently, turning the blue eyed baby around, back to chest as he leaned back against the roof.

Immediately, Danny was immersed in the view, eyes widened to the size of saucers as the stars glistened in his eyes. He tilted his head back and leaned forward, Vlad's hand keeping him from falling. Even with his ghost powers, Danny was too oblivious to realize.

Vlad didn't mind spending the half hour to an hour outside stargazing, and he was grateful the girls had dressed Daniel in a warm outfit for bed. Despite having ice as his core, Daniel was susceptible to illnesses, he was just less likely to contract them. Anyways, the time outside gave Vlad a break from his piles of files and work he needed to do. One night of work wouldn't have caught him up, and it didn't. He was still behind, but his head was pounding and he wanted some sleep.

Danny's voice caught the rich man's attention. Danny had a good vocabulary, but the names of the stars and constellations didn't roll off his little tongue easily. So when he pointed to a place in the sky, the only comprehensible words he made were "Look!" and "I like it." The in between words were gibberish, but Vlad was entertained and paid extra attention to the way Danny spoke about the night skies. He knew so much about the vast void, whereas Vlad could care less about what was out there, but Danny made it seem so interesting.

Eventually, the dark haired baby leaned back and snuggled into his godfather's chest, turning on his side, but still peeking up at the stars. Beyond shocked, Vlad hesitated before placing a hand over the child's back and holding him close. It felt… different holding the halfa toddler in his arms like that. It was secure and warm, knowing that the child was away from harm. It was weird.

A half hour later, several more gibberish words from the child, Danny was peacefully sleeping against his once archenemy. Vlad carefully flew through ceilings before arriving at the nursery and laying Danny inside slowly. He watched the boy for a moment, cobalt eyes examining the small body of someone he loved dearly, yet the only reason why he was here was because of his stupid wish.

However, the two wouldn't have gotten so close without the wish.

Vlad placed the phone back on its cradle, huffing a sigh of relief and guilt. He hated lying to Maddie, especially when it revolved around her son. She loved him so much that she would die for him. He was her only son. She was worried, but this was critical. She couldn't know something like this without revealing his powers and Vlad knew neither of them wanted the Fenton parents to be aware of their abilities.

Still, that didn't plug the small hole in Vlad's chest as he walked down the hall to the nursery. He would tell Daniel of course. It was his family after all and he was forced to live without them until he was his normal self. Plus with all that Danny had gone through because of Vlad, the rich man owed him by keeping no secrets.

"Ha!"

Vlad raised a brow and quickly entered the child's room. He searched around the half darkened room and found the boy at the foot of his crib on his back and his legs laying on the crib's side. His fluffy black hair whipped around his face as he turned to the newcomer. Pale cheeks brightened pink in embarrassment.

Vlad gave an amused smile, crossing his arms and cocking a hip. "Now, Daniel, what on Earth are you doing?" he inquired playfully.

The child simply shrugged from his spot and did a back somersault until he sat on his bum. He blinked and looked up at the rich man with a small head tilt. Vlad was certainly entertained by his odd actions.

"Such an active one, you are," Vlad murmured under his breath as he picked Danny up and set him on his hip. "Hungry, little badger?"

The little boy simply shrugged again. It seemed the boy wasn't all there that morning, seeming to be lost in his thoughts. But what could he be thinking about in that brain of his? Vlad wasn't overly concerned, but worry still nagged at the back of his mind.

He traveled down the stairs and towards the kitchen with the little boy, gathering food for a morning meal and placing them on the counter. He may have the girls make him meals most mornings, but that didn't mean he was ignorant in cooking. He knew how to make a few good meals.

He slid Daniel into the highchair and shuffled around the kitchen for equipment to make the meal of the morning. He flipped on the television for the child off to the side, glancing over to see his head tilted, monkey squished in his chubby arms, and eyes focused on the television. The television showed some cartoon with a tubby boy and female characters named after gems. Vlad didn't understand it, but Daniel certainly seemed entertained by it.

It took him fifteen minutes to make himself an omelet and blueberry oatmeal for the child in his care. Vlad pulled over a chair from the counter and sat it beside the highchair. He placed his food on the counter and the small bowl of oatmeal in front of Danny with a baby spoon that was navy blue with cliche stars dotted all around it.

Danny didn't seem too amused as he picked up the utensil, taking his focus off the television for a moment, and glaring at the object. Vlad took notice as he began cutting into his breakfast, sneaking looks towards the unmoving child.

"Really, Daniel?" he deadpanned. "What's wrong now? Refuse to use a spoon that actually fits in your mouth and doesn't break your teeth?"

Those gleaming blue eyes looked over to his godfather. He shook his head and, with small amount of difficulty due to lack of coordination, started eating his oatmeal. Vlad lifted an eyebrow in confusion, slowly eating his food as he watched his godson put his focus between his own food and the show.

Danny had been acting off all morning and Vlad couldn't understand why. It wasn't normal behavior, but it wasn't super abnormal. It certainly wasn't expected. The toddler had been perfectly normal when the rich man took him outside to see the stars before he dove into his work, but now, he was acting strange.

He would have to ask Dora if anything had happened while he had been working.

After breakfast, which ended up with Danny spilling oatmeal all over his pajamas after his muscles spasmed, Vlad carried the messy child to the baths. Danny was a bit reluctant, squirming out of Vlad's arms and dodging the man's attempts to undress him, like any other child. Vlad's patience wasn't very high to begin with, seeing as he stayed up all night to catch up on work, but, unlike how he usually handled situations that made him angry, he settled back onto his heels and rubbed his face tiredly.

It clearly made Danny worried. He slowly approached the man and put a tiny hand on his arm. Vlad peeked an eye out at the child. His head was tilted and his lips were dipped into a frown.

"No s'eep?"

He could only give a weak chuckle in response to the boy. "No, Daniel. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I had a lot of work to finish up. Otherwise, my company would suffer."

Danny suddenly had an epiphany. Vlad had been perfectly fine, a bit insane however, before he had been changed into a child and put in his care. Vlad had everything in his life sorted and planned out, organized perfectly. Now, it was all ruined as he was forced to care for a helpless, half-human, and his entire schedule was off its normal routine. Vlad's emotions were pushed and pulled. He was the iceman, but then he was suddenly a caring parental figure. Hated, then loved again.

It had been all Danny's fault. He had wished it. He had said those words. Now Vlad was being punished for his mistakes. Albeit, Vlad probably wanted this in a way, but not to the point where he was staying up for over 24 hours and still caring for a child. If Danny hadn't said those words, Vlad wouldn't be insanely stressed out.

Despite having been mortal enemies at one point, and clearly that was out the window, Danny did the one thing he knew to do when he couldn't control a situation, but could make someone infinitely better.

Comply with them.

So Danny stood back and his small fingers grabbed at the zipper of his pajamas, beginning to pull it down to reveal with underweight, pale torso.

Vlad looked up at the sound of a zipper and saw the boy trying to remove his oatmeal covered clothing, with no success. He couldn't help the amused chuckle in his throat as he moved to help Daniel. He pouted lightly, before allowing the rich man to remove the fabric from his body, along with his diaper.

"I know this isn't ideal, Daniel-" Nothing was ideal about the situation anymore, Danny thought as he was placed in the warm bath water, "-but I do appreciate the concern."

His pudgy cheeks brightened a rose red as he shyly looked away to a stray rubber duck floating on the water. He grumbled incoherent words underneath his breath, as his caretaker began to wash his jet black hair. He got quickly bored of the duck and bubbles, waiting patiently for Vlad to wash his hair and body of the oatmeal.

Lost in thoughts, he didn't notice that Vlad had been done with his hair and instead was doing something unexpected of the suit-wearing, no-nonsense man. The toddler was shocked out of his thoughts by something poking his nose. He flinched and looked around, noticing Vlad's large smile that looked like it was hurting his cheeks. Danny was confused, then saw the bubbles on the old man's hands. He ducked his head and felt his hair, smiling when he felt the shape of a unicorn horn.

"I do think it suits you well," Vlad commented, struggling not to laugh.

Danny picked up some bubbles and put them between his nose and lips, puckering his upper lip to keep them there. He earned more snorts of laughter from his godfather.

"Alright, alright. I think that's enough, before some gets in your eyes and we know that won't be fun," Vlad said, taking the cup he used to rinse out the shampoo and conditioner and washing off the bubbles. He released the drain and picked the toddler up from the bathtub with a towel, cocooning him. He carried him back into the nursery and walked into the closet, deciding on what he should dress the tiny child in.

Vlad grabbed black sweatpants and a blue shirt that said some dumb dinosaur pun on it that he didn't care for. He walked back into the room, setting the dripping child on his feet and gently drying him off. As he was putting a diaper back on him, Vlad realized how quiet Danny was. Not a noise from him - he could barely hear him breathing. It was a bit concerning.

Definitely strange.

Once Danny was dressed, Vlad remembered that he had to get himself ready too. He hadn't done so between work and taking care of the toddler.

"Will you be alright if I leave you in here until I'm finished getting ready?" he inquired, looking serious.

Danny moved his head up and down, his damp hair flying all over the place. Vlad wasn't convinced, but sighed and left the child to his own. He was mentally a teenager and knew the risks of doing something stupid. He wouldn't do it.

And when Vlad returned twenty minutes later, drying his own hair with a towel, Daniel was sitting on the ground, hunched over dozens of pieces of paper with crayons strewn haphazardly around the carpet.

He supposed the situation wasn't as bad as they thought.

I'm terrible I know. I didn't realize how long ago I updated this.

So terribly sorry. I didn't mean to. I got caught up in my own life and stuff. But I am not done with any of my stories. I am working tooth and nail to balance the two, along with my life and my other unpublished stories.

So here's some fluff between Danny and Vlad - because I love the father/son dynamic that could've happened between them if Vlad wasn't a pompous asshole.

I did not read this over. There will be mistakes and I will fix them later.

REVIEW :)

Arigato

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