Chapter 36
Desiree entered the laboratory in the basement of Danny's house, but she came to an immediate halt when she found someone else already there. "Vlad?" she questioned as she floated over to the half ghost, wondering what he was doing at Danny's house, though it wasn't that unusual, not since he was defeated and began to change his ways.
Vlad was actually a halfway decent man after he put aside all his scheming, like many of the ghosts that came to befriend Danny, and he seemed to care a great deal about Danny and his son. She could see some of Dan in him when she thought about Vlad's relationship with the other two half ghosts. Vlad wanted to remain as a part of their lives, and for that, he tried to be a better man. Giving it some serious thought, she realized Danny seemed to have that effect on people, or ghosts. Once he got them to open up enough to talk with him, they began to change and develop into better people.
"What are you doing here?" Desiree frowned at him when she noticed the troubled expression creasing his face. The man didn't often wear that kind of expression unless something was wrong, and that tended to mean something bad. She worried her lower lip, hoping nothing serious had happened to Danny. The poor man already had enough grief in his life.
Vlad blinked his dark blue eyes as he turned his head to stared at her, like he only just realized her presence. "That was Daniel's friend." His mouth thinned, the gears turning in his head. "Dash Baxter, I believe his name was." He held a cordless phone in his hand, which squeezed tightly around the object. "It seems that Daniel and Lex have caught a bit of a sore throat, and Dash has decided to keep them at his home to care for them."
"Well, that doesn't sound too bad." Desiree frowned as she watched the half ghost, feeling a coil of doubt twisting inside her. Vlad didn't look all that convinced that everything was all right. "I don't know a lot about human illnesses, but a sore throat isn't anything serious. Right?"
"No," Vlad agreed. "But it might not be as simple as that. Being half ghost, of course, doesn't make us immune to human disease. But it does make us susceptible to ghost illnesses as well as human ones. If Daniel and Lex are sick with some sort of ghost bug, imagine what sort of slip ups that could cause. And in front of someone who doesn't already know about Daniel?" He shook his head, clearly worried about Daniel's safety.
"What are you going to do?" Desiree's brow furrowed with some concern. When he got scheming, Vlad could become rather dangerous.
"I may not be a doctor, but I do know a bit about ghost illnesses. I," Vlad's mouth pursed, "have unfortunately experienced some of them myself. I would know much better how to handle them than a human doctor. I should be the one to look after them, if for no other reason than to make sure Daniel's secret isn't discovered."
"Not very trusting of this human, are you?" Desiree allowed half a smirk slip onto her face as she placed her hands on her hips. The blue wisp of her tail flicked back and forth while she floated in the air.
Vlad cocked an eyebrow at her. "And you trust him? A man?"
Frowning, Desiree folded her arms as she turned her head away. "I hardly know him enough to develop any sense of trust in him."
"And I don't know him at all." Vlad turned and led the way up the stairs into the kitchen where he placed the cordless phone back on its holder. "So you'll have to forgive me if I feel more than a little concerned about him possibly discovering anything about half ghosts existing. Perhaps he's a trustworthy person who will keep the secret until his dying breath, but I don't know him well enough to have such faith in him."
Desiree sighed as she switched to her human appearance before leaving the laboratory. Trust could be a difficult thing, especially for someone like her who had her trust in people, specifically men, greatly shaken throughout her life. "So you plan on heading over to this man's house and dragging Danny back here?"
"Not necessarily," Vlad answered smoothly. "If Daniel and Lex merely have a sore throat, then leaving them with this man might not be a bad idea. But if their illness is ghost related, I'll have to convince Daniel that it's in his best interest to return home and let me take care of them, which I imagine won't be too difficult if he's hoping to keep Dash from learning the truth about him and his son."
Desiree nodded as she pulled her hair up, tying most of it back into a high ponytail. A lock remained loose, falling down to obscure one of her brown eyes. "I suppose that makes the most sense. Danny certainly wouldn't want to risk his secret."
"And I should head over there now before any slip ups can occur." Vlad glanced her way then walked over to her. Desiree blinked in surprise when he reached out to her. "That's a rather lovely pendant." He picked up the diamond studded butterfly pendant, holding closer to him for a better look.
Desiree dropped her confused gaze to the pendant. "Oh no!" She brought a hand to her mouth in startling horror. "I forgot to take that off the other day. It belongs to a friend."
"Well," Vlad released his hold on the pendant, letting it fall back to rest upon the ghost's chest, "you should be sure to return it and explain it was an accident. Trust me when I say innocent accidents can destroy a friendship if you're not careful." He patted her on the shoulder before he headed toward the front door.
Desiree stared after him. The Ghost Zone could sometimes act like a giant center for gossip, so it wasn't all that surprising to hear word about other ghosts, even half ghosts. It was how Danny became such a big name there as news of his deeds fighting ghosts spread like wildfire. Desiree didn't know every little detail about what happened with Vlad, but she did hear about his plots against Danny's family, scheming to kill Danny's father and win over his mother. He had used multiple ghosts on many occasions in his plans, and none of the ghosts thought it necessary to remain quiet to other residents of the Ghost Zone. Vlad was friends with Danny's parents before something happened that broke that friendship.
Desiree reached up to close her hand around the butterfly pendant. Vlad was actually trying to help her by offering her that small warning. She certainly didn't want to lose Paulina as a friend over something as silly as her forgetting to take off the necklace before she left the woman's apartment. It slipped her mind that she was even wearing it until Vlad noticed it.
Leaving the house, Desiree hurriedly flew toward Paulina's apartment. Maybe she could simply sneak into the apartment and put the necklace back before the woman even realized that it was missing. When she reached the building, she turned intangible and phased through the wall into the bedroom. It was empty, thankfully, and she floated over to the dresser where a jewelry box sat. She reached behind her and undid the hook on the necklace then placed it into the box.
"Oh, sure. The bathroom's right through my bedroom," Paulina said, and Desiree froze when she heard the woman's voice. It was still early in the morning, but Paulina's modeling schedule sometimes allowed her some free mornings.
"I'll just be a minute," Steven said, stepping into the bedroom.
Desiree was never more thankful for the ability to turn invisible than right at that moment as she watched the man close the door. What was Steven even doing over at Paulina's apartment this early in the morning? Perhaps that really wasn't any of her business, if Paulina didn't want to tell her about the early morning date. Was it even a date? And there was that annoying wash of jealousy. She was happy for her friend meeting a nice guy that was treating her well, but Desiree wished for that too.
"All right," Steven said in a quiet voice as his blue eyes darted around the room. "I know you're in here, ghost, so you might as well drop the invisibility act and come with me quietly. I don't want to cause any trouble for the woman that lives here. Definitely don't want to trash her place. So let's do this the easy way." He adjusted something on his wrist that looked like a watch, and a small ecto ray gun sprung from it.
Desiree's eyes widened at the sight of it, recognizing it immediately as a weapon designed by the Guys in White. "I knew it!" she exclaimed, though it was actually Ember that was the one suspicious of him. Then she gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth when she realized her error.
"Aha!" Steven directed his weapon at her and fired it.
Desiree ducked out of the way to avoid being hit. The blast struck the wall, leaving a blackened scorched mark on the white paint. She should have listened to Ember when the singer was suspicious of the man! But she wanted to believe Paulina finally found a decent man. "You!" she shouted, zooming forward to grab hold of the man and ram him into the wall near the door. "Leave Paulina alone." Her voice held a dangerous note to it as her red eyes glared darkly at the man. "If you hurt her-"
"What's going on?" Paulina questioned as she threw the door open. When she looked at them, Desiree holding the man pinned to the wall and Steven with his ecto ray gun pointed at the ghost, Paulina's mouth dropped open, and she blinked, stunned by the sight that greeted her.
"I can explain," Steven said with a wincing smile.
Her mouth snapped shut and pursed in a tight line as Paulina folded her arms and stared at them with annoyance in her emerald eyes. "Oh, you will both be explaining things. And by things, I mean everything." Her gaze darkened unhappily, and Desiree had a sinking feeling about this whole encounter. "First off, let him go," Paulina ordered, snapping her glare onto the ghost until she released her hold on the man. "And you," she pointed a finger at Steven, who actually paled a few shades, "put that damn weapon away before you hurt someone."
"There's really a perfectly good explanation for all of this." Steven gulped as he stowed away the weapon, returning it to its innocent looking watch appearance.
"I certainly hope there is." Paulina walked over to her bed and sat down at the foot of it with her arms folded and legs crossed. She glanced between them, determining which of them she wished to question first. "Are you even a banker?"
"Uh, no," Steven answered, bowing his head as he rubbed at his neck. "That was just a cover because I'm not supposed to reveal my real occupation as an agent for the Guys in White. But that was the only thing I lied about." His head snapped up with an earnest look in his blue eyes. "My name really is Steven Beland. I love classical music. I do paint on the weekends. And I love visiting art museums. The only thing I've ever lied to you about was my job."
"It was still a lie." Paulina narrowed her eyes, very much unhappy with that fact. When Paulina turned to her next, Desiree felt cold inside with worry. "Are you about to tell me the same thing? You only lied about the fact that you're not even alive?"
"I didn't mean to lie." Desiree hugged her arms around her body as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "The whole reason I appeared human was because Dan and I were looking for a birthday gift for Lex, and well, you can imagine how that would have gone if I went around as a ghost. So any time I need to do something in the human world, I put on this appearance." She shifted into her human disguise, causing the man near her to jerk back a step in surprise.
"And after that?" Paulina demanded. Her expression was furious as her hands gripped her arms tightly. She wasn't outwardly expressing any sort of freak out by discovering the woman she befriended was a ghost, but Desiree could imagine the chaos of thoughts running rampant in the woman's mind. "Did you ever consider just telling me the truth about who - what you are? Or did you hope you could get away with never telling me anything about the real you?"
"I-" Desiree winced because she didn't, in fact, plan on ever telling Paulina the truth. "I should have. I realize that now." Looking into the fury of Paulina's eyes was all Desiree needed to know what a mistake it was to stay silent about whom she really was. "But I was scared. I really liked hanging out with you that first night, and I've enjoyed talking with you and getting to know you. I have other friends who are ghosts, but it's not the same. Ember has a guy in her life."
"Wait." Paulina held up a hand. "Ember is a ghost? No, wait! Ember has a boyfriend?" She gaped, absolutely flabbergasted by that news.
Desiree tried not to smile at that reaction. "Yes to both. Even more surprising is that they have a child together."
"What?" Paulina shouted, eyes growing wide. "No." She shook her head. "That can wait. I'm definitely asking more about that later though." She pointed at Desiree with a determined look in her eyes. "Go on with what you were saying."
Desiree had to take a moment to gather up her thoughts again. "Right. Ember has a guy in her life, and even though I really enjoy being her friend, she just doesn't understand what it's like for me. I know she's had her own share of bad luck with men, but now she has someone. And I see them being this happy little family, and I get jealous, wanting that for myself."
"How does a ghost have a baby?" Steven asked, brow pinching as he stared warily at the ghost beside him.
"Like I'm going to tell one of the Goons in White," Desiree replied with a snort. "The point I was trying to make is that I liked being able to talk with you about that kind of stuff. It's weird with Ember, but you get where I'm coming from with the whole wanting a guy that likes me for me and is going to treat me nicely. And I was scared if you knew I was ghost, you would be scared of me and wouldn't want anything more to do with me."
"Finding out you're a ghost is," Paulina laughed a bit forcibly, "a little freaky. But hello!" She waved a hand. "I'm from Amity Park. That's, like, ghost capital of the world. If this was back when I was fourteen, I'd have gone running out of the apartment screaming for help. But it's not. I've grown up a lot since then. I know there are evil ghosts in the world, but I also know there are good ones, like Phantom. And I've really enjoyed our time together too. I'm more angry at you for lying about all of this than I'm scared over you being a ghost. I just - I hate that neither of you were being honest with me. I'm feel very hurt and betrayed right now."
"I'm really sorry!" Desiree glanced at Steven, who stared right back at her, surprised by the fact that they spoke at the same time.
Paulina stood up and stepped toward them. She lifted a hand then jabbed a finger into Steven's chest. "I understand that the Guys in White are a government funded organization that deals with ghosts. But if you hurt Desiree, I will hurt you right back. She is off limits." She started to turn then twisted back around to him. "Same goes for Ember, her family, and Phantom." Her emerald eyes narrowed for a fraction then she turned toward Desiree. "I'm very angry with this whole lying thing." She folded her arms. "And it's going to take me a while to adjust to this whole I'm friends with a ghost thing, so you're going to have to be patient with me. I want to believe in second chances. So if you can both promise to be honest with me from now on, I won't cut you both out of my life right this instant."
"I swear I won't lie anymore," Desiree promised, not wanting to lose her friendship with the woman.
Steven took Paulina's hand. "I'm very sorry for my betrayal. My feelings for you were honest though, and if you'll allow it, I'd like to try again with you, now that you know my real profession."
Paulina rubbed at her forehead. "This sure has been an eventful morning." She glanced at Desiree as a curious frown slipped onto her face. "But why are you here anyway?"
Desiree blinked, the whole reason for coming over a blank in her mind after everything that just happened. "Oh! The other day when I left, I accidentally walked out with your necklace still on. I totally forgot that I was wearing it after I changed out of the wedding dress. I just wanted to put it back." She lowered her gaze, feeling rather embarrassed. "I didn't want you to think I was some sort of thief."
"Was that all?" Paulina laughed, surprising the ghost. "If you had just come over and explained that, I probably would have just said you could keep it." She smiled, and Desiree couldn't get over the shock of it. "The necklace looked really good on you."
"So about this whole ghost reproduction thing," Steven started with curiosity in his eyes.
"No way!" Desiree shook her head. "I'm not telling you anything about trade ghost secrets."
"But do you have pictures of the little one?" Paulina asked, equally curious. "Oh! And I want to see this guy that Ember's dating."
Desiree laughed. "I might be able to convince them to come for a visit. If," she glared at Steven, "you can promise me no Goons will come to ambush us all." Steven held up his hands in defeat. When she glanced at the other woman and saw the anger melting away from Paulina, Desiree relaxed, thinking next time she saw Vlad she would have to thank the half ghost for the advice on being honest with her friend.
Author's Note: Reposted the last chapter with some edits to fix my errors with the whole diagnosis bit. I apologize for that!
jeanette9a: Dash can't keep trying to tell himself that he's just seeing things. XD;;;
PhantomD: People sneeze. The room gets cold. Lex's hair changes color. Sounds normal. XD Dash is definitely thinking something's weird here.
The-Amazing-Gracie: Dash can only deny it for so long before he has to start asking questions. XD;;
Tsuki Silverbane: Right? D8 Danny stop ignoring you're own health!
NikaStarlight: Thanks! =) I'm glad you liked it!
Clockwork's Apprentice: It's slowly getting there. XD They might try to deny it at first though. XD;;
Snowleopard0: D: Oh no! You didn't have your phone? I'm glad you were able to catch up though.
Ilys47: You could probably still sign up if you're interested. I'm not sure there's an actual cut off date for joining. XD;;
YoDog41: Poor babies~ =( But Doctor Dash is in to take good care of them. 8)
Hoytti: He's, like, right on the cusp of figuring things out. XD
YAJJ: Hm, I hadn't actually thought about bringing in Clockwork. *taps chin and wonders how he could be brought in*
Stranger: I tend to do a lot of strange pairings. XD;; I'm glad you are enjoying the story. =)
MsFrizzle: It's been, hm, near around 20 years since the last time I dealt with strep throat. About all I really remember is: my throat hurt, went to doctor's, was told it was strep, and given prescription for medicine. orz Danny actually didn't notice that any slip ups were going on. XD;; He didn't notice any drop in temperature himself, and he was looking away when Lex's hair changed color for a brief second. But yeah, he is a little nervous that something might happen that Dash notices.
HoboGloves1004: Dash is all suspicious glares, and Kwan's just like "Nope, nothing suspicious going on here. *twiddles thumbs and won't meet his friend's gaze*" XD And Dash is just like "Kwan, you suck at lying."
Willy Pedant: My apologies for that! =( I made some changes and hopefully it reads better now.
midnight: Strep sucks~ D8 I always hated it when I had it.
Just Will: Haha, yeah. XD That would have been way too embarrassing to admit. And that pretty accurately describes Kwan right now. She might try just out of spite against her husband. =( She seems like the witch of a woman to do something like that. Which would really hurt Jeremy's development a lot being stuck in that sort of toxic environment. Poor Danny. He got all flustered and panicky. D: Danny really has that problem of putting everyone else's needs before his own. I wouldn't say one hundred percent of the time, but definitely the large majority of the time. I honestly don't know about the prescription pad thing. I kind of feel like they might keep a few slips handy for emergency situations? Haha. Dash wakes up in the middle of the night thinking "Why does it feel like it could be snowing outside?" Then he looks around the room and his eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets because "Why the heck is it snowing in my bedroom!?" XD;;