Chapter 21

Danny sighed in exhaustion as he entered his house. He tossed his key onto the small table in the hallway, not caring that they slid across the smooth surface and dropped to the floor. When he wandered into the kitchen, he found Xander already preparing dinner.

"What a long day!" Danny gave a tired sigh as he collapsed into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "Where's your brother?"

"In his room, on the phone," Xander answered in a distracted tone, causing his father to frown.

"And Dash?" Danny asked as he stood and walked toward his son.

"Not home yet."

Danny watched the boy carefully. Xander appeared to be on autopilot, his movements mechanic and his voice monotonous like his mind was somewhere else completely. This made Danny worry even more about his son. He noticed Xander lowering the knife at a wrong angle and quickly grabbed the boy's hand. But he was too late, and the blade had nicked Xander's wrist. The boy stared at the blood spilling onto the counter, seeming confused by it.

"Xander!" Danny shouted, shaking his son and snapping him out of the trance. The knife clattered as it hit the floor. Xander held his wrist, wincing in pain. "What were you thinking?" Danny demanded. He dragged his son toward the kitchen table before seeking out the first aid kit. "I don't want to hear anymore lies. What is bothering you?"

"Nothing," Xander muttered, releasing his hold on his wrist so that his father could tend to the injury.

"It's not nothing! Nothing wouldn't have you so distracted that you cut yourself with a knife." Danny noticed the scared look enter Xander's eyes, and he took a moment to calm himself. "In all the years you've been cooking, not once did you ever cut yourself. If you're that distracted, then there must be something that's really bothering you. I'm worried, and I don't want to see you hurt yourself again. Please tell me what's wrong."

"I – I can't." Xander lowered his head, unable to meet his father's gaze. "I promised not to tell anyone."

"I'm not anyone. I'm your father. I have a right to know what's bothering you."

"You're not really my father," Xander grumbled.

Danny stared at the boy in shock. His body felt like it had been frozen to the core with that statement. The freshly bandaged wrist slipped through his hands as his mouth hung open. He never thought he would ever hear either of his sons say those words.

"I didn't-" Xander started saying, lifting his gaze. "Dad?" He glanced around the room but couldn't see the man crouched down before him. "Where did you go, Dad?" Xander sounded panicked. When the front door opened, he leaped out of his chair and ran to the front hall.

Danny remained in the kitchen, wondering why his powers were acting up. Xander skidded to a stop in the front hall when he noticed it was only Dash at the door. He frowned, turning away sadly.

"Thanks for the warm welcome," Dash said as he hung his coat up on a hook. "What's wrong with you?"

With a shameful look, Xander turned to face his father. "I – I said something mean, and Dad suddenly disappeared," he mumbled with a shuffle of his feet.

"Xan, why don't you go upstairs?" Danny's voice drifted into the room. "I need to speak with Dash."

The chef ruffled his son's hair as he walked toward the kitchen. "What's up, Dan-" he paused, glancing around the empty kitchen. "Where are you?"

"Right in front of you." Danny placed a hand against his lover's cheek, causing the man to flinch at the coldness.

"Okay, Danny. You can stop with the invisibility now." Dash hated when his lover used that ability.

"I wish I could," Danny said with a sigh. "I've been trying to, but I just won't become visible again." He frowned despite knowing the other man couldn't see it.

"That's weird. What happened to cause that?" Dash stared in front of him, hoping that was where the half-ghost was.

"I don't know. I was talking to Xander, trying to figure out was wrong. I mean, he cut himself while cooking dinner! He's never done that before. So I told him that as his father, I had the right to know what was wrong with him." Danny fell silent, wishing he could erase the next part from his memory.

"Go on." Dash prodded him.

"Then… Xander said that… I'm… not really his father. Then poof! I'm invisible and can't turn back."

"He actually said that?" Dash looked stunned, finding it hard to believe Xander would say something like that.

Danny nodded, and then remembering the other man couldn't see him, said, "Yes."

"I didn't mean it," whispered someone from the doorway. The two men turned to see Xander standing there. "I didn't mean to say it. I just wanted you to stop asking about what was wrong." Tears started falling down the boy's cheeks. "You're the best parents in the world. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my fathers."

"Oh, Xander!" Danny rushed over to the young boy and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I shouldn't have pried into your life like that. I was worried about you though. I don't want to see you accidentally hurt yourself again."

Dash stood back, letting his lover deal with the situation. A smile tugged at his lips when he noticed Danny become visible again. I guess hearing "you're not my father" come from Xander caused him to lose control of his powers, he thought, knowing that much of a shock that must have been for Danny. A frown settled onto his face. That was not a good sign.

"I promised Elden I wouldn't tell anyone," Xander said, drawing Dash's attention back to the situation at hand.

"And you didn't want to betray you friend's trust. I can understand that, but," Danny frowned, looking down at his son's injured wrist.

Before either father or son could continue the circling argument, the doorbell rang. "I'll get that," Dash announced, already halfway out the kitchen door. Danny and Xander followed quickly behind him. But Lex beat them all to answering the door.

"Elden!" Lex shouted, surprised to see the boy on their doorstep. His brother pushed him aside to see his boyfriend.

"Elden," Xander whispered, staring sadly at the other boy. Without warning, Elden threw himself at the younger twin as his sobs grew loud enough for them all to hear. "What – Did something happen?" Xander asked as fear raced through his mind. Jessica said something bad might happened, but he hoped she could contact her father before that happened.

"My father – He-" Elden cut himself off, trying to hold in another sob as he squeezed his arms tighter around the other boy. Xander felt his sense of dread grow even stronger.

"Xander, what's going on?" Danny asked.

Xander held his boyfriend closer, biting his tongue to keep from answering. Elden pulled out of Xander's hold and raised his head to look at his boyfriend's parents.

"Shit! Who the fuck gave you that shiner?" Lex shouted upon seeing the black eye.

"Language!" his parents snapped in unison, causing Lex to grumble as he glared at nothing in particular.

"Who gave you that black eye, Elden?" Dash asked. Both he and Danny took note of the way Xander caringly touched Elden's face tracing the outline of the bruise.

Elden lowered his gaze. "My father," he replied in a very soft murmur. "He – He," he hesitated, and Xander squeezed his shoulder to encourage him to continue. "He raped me. Earlier today, my cousin's family came over to tell him that they plan to fight him in court to take me away from him. After they left, my father started beating on me. I – I hit him in the head with a lamp and then ran until I got here."

Xander stared at his shaking boyfriend as tears gathered in his eyes. "You can't stay with that man anymore."

"I know," Elden whispered, holding Xander close again. "I should have listened to you."

"I hate bastards like him," Dash growled with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Danny reached over and took hold of his lover's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Xan, why don't you take Elden into the kitchen, put something on that eye? Lex, you go too." He watched the three boys leave the front hall before turning back to his lover. "He'll probably come looking for Elden."

"I would love to give that man a piece of my mind, but he's not worth the effort." Dash removed his hand from Danny's hold and ran it through his lover's hair. "How did the information gathering go?" he asked after a long pause.

Danny heaved a sigh, resting his head on the man's shoulder. "Not very good. Can you believe my parents wouldn't let me go myself? It's like they think I'm still fourteen and don't know how to take care of myself!"

Dash released a laugh at that. "So you didn't get any information?"

"Vlad did the researching." Danny frowned when he mentioned his godfather's name. "He wasn't able to find out much though. It seems your father is very good at keeping secrets. The only thing Vlad could find out is your father's location."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go kick his ass!" Dash headed for the front door.

"You can't just rush into it like that!" Danny followed his lover. "We should at least think strategies first. And be well-rested for the fight."

Dash turned to face the man when a sudden knock at the door interrupted him. He opened the door to find an unfamiliar man in a disheveled suit on the other side.

"Can we help you?" Dash asked, not in the mood to deal with visitors.

The man glanced between the two lovers, and a frown settled onto his face. "My name is Henry Reed. I came here looking for my son, Elden," he explained.

"Sorry. He isn't here. Our sons aren't allowed to have company over this late on a school night," Danny told the man, reaching over to shut the door.

"Oh," Mr. Reed said as his nose wrinkled in an expression of disgust. "You're that kind of people."

"And just what do you mean by that kind of people?" Danny demanded, glaring at the man as his eyes flashed green briefly. Dash sighed, understanding why his lover would get upset, but he didn't want to start a pointless fight when they had a more important battle to attend.

"I mean that you're filthy gays," Mr. Reed retorted, holding his head up high in a show of superiority. "You're kind shouldn't be allowed to adopt children."

"We're better parents then you. Now get the fuck away from our house!" Danny shouted, receiving a pinch in the back from Dash for using a swear word.

"I know my son is here," Mr. Reed stated. "You'll return him to me now before you infect him with your gayness."

"Infect him!" Danny growled. "You're worried about us turning your son gay? Being gay isn't some disease you catch from another homosexual. It isn't our fault if Elden is attracted to other boys."

"Look, Mr. Reed," Dash said as he covered his lover's mouth to stop Danny from continuing his rant. "We could argue until the sun comes up, and it will have gotten us nowhere. I suggest you leave now."

"If you don't hand my son over right this minute, I'll have you arrested for kidnapping."

"And we'll be more than happy to tell the police about how you beat and rape your son." Dash smirked as the man fumed. "I'm sure they would just love to hear the story directly from Elden. He could tell them in detail how you raped him, how you beat him after finding out his aunt and uncle are going to take him away from you, and how he ran to our home to escape your wrath."

"This isn't over," Mr. Reed warned before turning on his heel and leaving.

Dash sighed as he closed the door. "You win. We'll wait until the morning to fight my father." He ignored the little grin on his lover's face as they headed toward the kitchen. "But you do realize the boys don't have school tomorrow, right?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't catch that." Danny laughed to hide his embarrassment.