Ember woke up feeling moderately better than last night, looking at her left she saw her guitar still in the corner by the door. Deciding that she had spent enough time in an unfamiliar bed she sat up, clutching her side as she did, partly so as to not rip out the stitches and partly because of a dull pain that was pressing on her side.
Taking a moment to get the wind back in her lungs she drapes the blanket over her shoulders, she slowly stood up and took a few steps before collapsing onto her knees as a sharp pain knocks the wind out of her lungs again. After a moment Danny walks into the room, seeing ember collapsed on the floor he rushes to her side "ember are you alright" he says wrapping an arm around her back holding her under her armpit, slowly lifting her to her unsteady feet.
Ember looks down and says "I didn't ask for your help" slightly embarrassed that she needed his assistance.
Danny smiles slightly as he reaches down and scoops her legs from underneath her, despite her protests to put her down he just walks out the door and down a hallway on their left, after a moment she stops protesting and with a sigh wraps her arms around his neck, leaving her head resting on his shoulder closing her eyes slightly.
Danny felt embers weight shift in his arms, so he looks down, as he does he feels the warm flames of here hair licking delicately at his cheek as she relaxes in to his arms. Danny reaches the end of the hallway he passes through a large archway leading into a large foyer,
Well Daniel, how is your little girlfriend fairing this morning, Danny heard a voice say from his left. Looking to the direction of the voice he saw his surrogate father figure, Vlad masters. Danny used to resent Vlad but over the last year they had grown closer, especially after his break up with Sam. Vlad had reached out to offer the boy the guidance he sorely needed and could never receive from his ignorant and negligent parents. Vlad had not officially adopted Danny but he might as well have for the amount of time he spent at his house.
What made both Danny and Vlad's life so easy is just how stupid Danny's parents, not noticing how often the boy simply wasn't present.
Danny turned and shot a halfhearted glare that looked more like a pout and huffed "not my girlfriend" before looking back to the now sleeping girl in his arms.
Vlad sighed contentedly at the sight of the boy cradling the girl reminding him of better times in his life, times before the accident in his college days, when he believed in such things as love and goodness, before jack Fenton. But as he looked at the boy before him, he couldn't help but silently thank the man, for as much as he had taken from him, the years of he spent on revenge, the love of his life. Despite all that he had given him one thing, even if unintentionally, he had given him a son, he had given him a reason to live.
He walks over putting a hand on the boy's shoulder "Daniel, if there's one thing I've learned from my many years it's that you can't live your life cold and closed off"
Danny lolled his head to the said "saying pot meet kettle, kettle meet pot"
Vlad replied "Daniel, when you met me I was one of the most jaded people one could meet, but that changed, and do you know why?"
"Because you got a cat and mellowed with age?" Danny suggested
Vlad lets out a throaty laugh placing his hands on his stomach and rolls his head back slightly closing his eyes. After a moment he manages to stop his fit of laughter and says "no Daniel, while I may have mellowed with age I and I do so enjoy the company of my dear cat, the one who taught me that life cannot be lived bitter and alone, was you"
Danny raised his eyebrow at this statement "me" Danny asks "what did I do"
"You Daniel" Vlad answers "taught me this, I'm not exactly sure when it came to me but over the years when we went from enemies to the way things are now I learned what my life was missing, for all my success and wealth, I needed something else do you know what that was Daniel"
"A sense of humor? A therapist? A few good knocks to the head? Stop me when I'm getting close" Danny replies
With a sigh Vlad says "what I always needed was a family, and I have found that in you, we are so similar you and I, I think of you as a son whether you know that or not, I have for a long time, even if you don't see me as a father I just want you to know how I feel"
Vlad continues walking out of the foyer when he hears Danny speak up "hey, Vlad" he says meekly
Vlad stops and turns to face the boy "yes Daniel?""
"I just wanted to say thanks, for everything" Danny turns away and walks with ember in his arms as Vlad watches. After a moment Danny stops at the top of the stairs and right before he leaves he says "I really appreciate it…. Dad" and with that Danny is gone
Vlad is left in the foyer a smile plastered over his face as he stands there still getting used to the term. Dad, dad, Vlad had thought of him as a son, but to have the same feelings returned, well he had never thought it possible. With the new found knowledge still flying around in his brain he continues out of the foyer, anyone who saw Vlad that day would have sworn that for some inane reason, billionaire Vlad masters, mayor of amity park, had an extra spring in his step.