Sorry for the break. I wanted to take some time to do an editing for a project for a friend.

Chapter 18

The next morning, Danny warily made his way to breakfast. Vlad greeted him and showed him to a dining room where a buffet was waiting. According to the older man, his parents had already eaten and were now in the lab doing research.

After grabbing a plate, he decided he would ask about how he knew he snuck out when something about the décor caught his attention. Banners of green and gold hung from the ceiling. He vaguely remembered the Vlad mentioning his love of the team the Green Bay Packers and how he tended to decorate using the team's colors, but it bothered Danny. Something about those colors unnerved him.

His plate slipped from his fingers as unwanted memories surfaced. Plasmius' castle had similar decorations. Even Vlad's dining room seemed to have a similar architecture and size as the other one.

"Daniel, what's wrong?" Was that Plasmius? It sounded like him. What was he going to do to avoid him this time?

A hand touched his shoulder, and Danny slapped it away and moved so his back was against the wall. Breathing heavily, he watched Vlad glance back and forth between him, the fallen plate, and the room. His brows were furrowed in confusion.

Chills ran down his spine. Why did he keep associating the two? Was Plasmius really that similar to Vlad? Did it have something to do with the ghostly chills Vlad now seemed to induce in him?

Vlad's eyes narrowed as he tried calling to him again. His voice still seemed to hold concern, but his stiff posture continued to set off alarms in Danny's mind. Something was wrong with the situation, and he needed to escape.

After stammering some lame excuse, Danny ran from the room. As he ran to his room to grab his things, he tried texting Sam to let her know he was on the way.

xxxxxx

"So, why exactly did you decided I needed to be visited at such an ungodly time on my day off?" Sam demanded of Danny. He arrived before she finished getting ready and had patiently waited for her on her bed until she determined she was decent. They had Monday and Tuesday off due to some "in-service" something or other for the school faculty.

He rolled his eyes at her. "I don't think ten thirty is 'ungodly,' Sam." When she glared at him, he raised his hands in defense. "I'm sorry, alright? I… I think I had a panic attack? For a moment, I thought Plasmius managed to take me back to his palace."

Whatever lingering anger dissipated as she crossed the room and sat next to him. After a moment, she pulled him into a hug and just held him. Danny didn't speak; he just rested his head on her shoulder and returned the hug.

She couldn't be angry at him for this, and in honesty, it surprised her he hadn't cracked earlier. Most of the people their age ostracized him because they found him unsettling, and the braver ones teased and mocked him due to a combination of that and his parents, so Danny made it a point to try to keep up appearances when stress or anxiety got to him. While she didn't necessarily agree with it, she at least made sure he knew he could open up to her when he needed it. Sometimes men needed a good cry too.

When she felt a couple tears hit her shoulder, she just rubbed his back and let him get it out of his system. His skin held an unusual chill, as if he'd just been outside. She brushed it off as an oddity of his situation. Instead, she preoccupied herself with his scent. Whatever he used as a wash smelled like the air the night before a frost, and she appreciated the change. When he settled down some, she brought it up, much to his confusion.

"Sam, I don't know what you're talking about. I fell asleep after I got back last night and was planning on a shower after breakfast, but you saw how that turned out," he explained as he pulled back so he could look at her.

She gasped as there were a couple unusual changes to his features. His eyes were now glowing a dull green, and the few remaining damp spots held a luminescent sheen. "I guess your tears glow now."

He just swore and wiped at his face. His eyes faded back to their normal color.

Once he finished, she took his hand and smiled. "Hey, it's okay. I don't care, and I know Tucker doesn't either. Both of us are here for you. We'll figure things out the best we can, alright?"

His eyes softened as he placed his free hand on hers. "If it's okay with you, how about we go to that restaurant? My treat. I think we both need a distraction." He then glanced down at himself before giving her a crooked smile, "Well, after I take a shower. I did get my ass handed to me last night, after all."

"Did you seriously just make fun of yourself just to purposely ruin the moment?" She removed her hand from his before playfully pushing him off the bed. "Fine, go get your shower."

…..

Although they settled on a lunch date, Sam thought it actually went well. Danny kept his promise and took her to the new vegan restaurant near the mall. Although he didn't tend to like meat alternatives, he did try for her. He seemed to really enjoy the rosemary infused pasta he got, but he openly squirmed when Sam offered to let him try her tofu dish. He apologized and said the smell seemed to bother him. Although it was odd since she'd eaten similar dishes around him before without him reacting like that, she just shrugged it off. It wasn't until later that she realized she tasted sage in the dish.

Was it possible the herb bothered him? If she thought about it, sage was often used as a banishment herb for spirits, and Danny was kind of a spirit now. That was a bit of a concern. What if he accidentally ate or brushed against a plant that could do damage to him? Maybe he could subconsciously tell which plants were an issue?

Well, gardening and plants were her forte after all. She could do some research regarding which plants might harm him, and once she had a list, they could, hopefully, safely test them out.

When she brought up her theory to Danny, he hummed thoughtfully as he considered it while they walked to the mall. "With everything else, I wouldn't be too surprised. Now that I think about it, my tastes have changed some."

"I've noticed you've gotten more adventurous with food," she joked, remembering one of the recent milkshake concoctions he and Tucker made.

He wouldn't look at her when he answered. "Yeah…"

She wondered what that meant and gently prodded for more information. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Food just tastes kinda bland," he reluctantly explained. "The stronger the flavor, the more I seem to be able to taste it. That dish I had today was one of the first things that kinda tasted normal in a while."

"That's interesting, but I'm glad things were normal for a little. I'll do some digging for you to see what foods might seem more appealing to a ghost. Wow, that's not something I ever thought I would say."

Danny rubbed his neck as he thanked her. "I really do appreciate it, but you really don't have to."

"But I want to do this," she insisted as they entered the mall. Before he could say anything else, she grabbed his hand and led him towards 'Skulk and Lurk Books.' "Something tells me the universe is going to keep throwing crap your way, so let me help with the little things."

A few minutes later, they entered her favorite book store. Danny awkwardly stood near the counter as she explained to the shopkeeper what she wanted. After double checking something on his computer screen, the shopkeeper led her to section that mostly involved spell books.

When she raised an eyebrow, the shopkeeper smiled. "This will probably be your best bet. Some of the books explain why plants are chosen over others."

She thanked the man and enlisted Danny's help in sifting through the different books. After about fifteen minutes, Sam found one she deemed appropriate. Not only did it directly talk about different plants and their uses, there seemed to be a few protective spells. If they worked, maybe they could help her protect her loved ones, and if they didn't work, at least she'd be able to help Danny.

After purchasing it, she hummed happily as she and Danny left the store. She then decided to take a peek into one of her favorite clothing stores. While browsing, Danny innocently presented her with a small box that held a pair of bat shaped earrings she ogled when they entered the store. In his hand, she could see the tip of a receipt. Touched by gesture, she took it and promised she'd put them on as soon as they left the store.

"So…" she started once they exited the store, and her new earrings were in their place, "are we official now?"

"That's up to you," he told her as he gestured to a coffee shop. "I mean, with everything going on right now and how I seem to be attracting everything supernatural and dangerous right now, I don't want to accidently be the reason why you get hurt. But, I know it's not my place to make that decision for you, so it's your call."

She kissed him on the cheek. When he stared as he gently touched the area, she beamed at him. "Thank you. I know you're worried and have every reason to be, but we don't have to rush things. Let's just take it day by day for now, and if things start getting really crazy again, we can put things on hold."

His eyebrows almost disappeared into his bangs. "And having a murderous paranormal creature on the loose isn't crazy?"

"It's not as crazy as being spirited away into a parallel dimension."

xxxx

Although the morning started off terribly, but the evening, Danny decided it had overall been a good day. Sam seemed content at his side. A warm feeling floated around his chest, though he wasn't certain if those were good feelings or something in his core. Frostbite did mention in passing while they were traveling to Clockwork's place about feelings and it could affect his core, but there was too much else going on at the time.

Since the sun was starting to set, he decided it would be a good idea to walk Sam home. That thing and Plasmius were both on the loose, and he didn't think Sam's parents would be too thrilled with him if she returned home when it was completely dark. Although, if he was honest, her parents weren't thrilled with him in general.

A few blocks away from Sam's home, a cold chill ran up his back forcing him to stop in his tracks. As his breath misted, Sam tried to ask him what was wrong. It didn't feel the same as Plasmius or the thing, but it didn't mean whatever he sensed wasn't equally as dangerous.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!" something shouted from his left. Both he and Sam turned just in time to watch a translucent blue blur race by them. "I WILL NOT BE TRAPPED BY YOUR CYLINDRICAL CONTAINER!"

Dumbfounded, Danny just stood there processing what just happened. Seconds later, his parents drove by in the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle. His dad was driving while his mother hung out one of the windows holding something that looked like a soup thermos.

"We should follow them"

"Huh?" He glanced over at Sam, who seemed to be almost vibrating with excitement. "Why?"

"Don't you want to know what that was?"

"I'm assuming the Box Ghost."

She rolled her eyes before grabbing his arm and marching forwards. "Come on! I want to see what happens!"

"Okay, but if we find ourselves in the world of the dead again, I blame you."

After a few blocks, they found Danny's parents outside of their vehicle in a stalemate with what was obviously a ghost. The self-proclaimed Box Ghost looked fairly human, save for his bluish color tones. His outfit reminded Danny of old warehouse or factory workers.

"Mads, do you have the Fenton Thermos working yet?" Danny's dad called out as he levied what appeared to be a bazooka at the ghost.

His mother fiddled with the device. "Not yet. I know our calculations are right, but I can't figure out why the power source keeps failing."

The Box Ghost laughed at them. What appeared to be fifty or more cardboard boxes floated behind him. "I AM THE BOX GHOST! I HAVE POWER OVER ALL CONTAINERS CARDBOARD AND SQUARE! PUNY HUMANS, TREMBLE BEFORE ME! BEWARE!"

The absurdity of the situation ended up being too much for Danny. He snorted before remarking, "And what's the worst you can do? Give me a paper cut?"

Silence filled the area as everyone stared at him. Then, chaos erupted. His parents were screaming. The ghost yelled something about punishment. The boxes flew towards him. Sam tugged on his arm. The next thing he knew, Sam shoved the thermos his mother had into his hands.

On a whim, he held the strange metal thermos towards the ghost, expecting nothing to happen. However, a beam of blue light erupted from it and hit the ghost. Seconds later, in a Ghost Busters-like scene, the ghost was sucked into the thermos.

Dumbfound at the result and how the cardboard boxes just fell to the ground once the ghost disappeared, he looked around for some sort of explanation.

"Good going, Danny!" his dad called as he and his mother raced over. "Knew you had it in you!"

"Young man, what in the world were you doing here?" his mother demanded as she took the thermos from him. After a moment of examining it, she muttered, "Huh? It's showing full functionality now. We couldn't get it to work no matter what we did."

Sam answered for him. "We happened to see both you and the 'Box Ghost'," she mimicked its way of speaking, making him chuckle, "fly past, and I wanted to see what would happen. I wasn't expecting this one to decide to be funny at the worst possible moment."

"Seriously? He was trying to fight with cardboard boxes. There's no way I can consider something like that a threat." When his mother scowled at him, he changed tactics. "Anyways, how did all this happen, and what exactly is that thermos?"

"It's the Fenton Thermos, patent pending!" his dad proudly announced. "We created it as a containment device so we can capture ghosts and other paranormal creatures until we can find a way to either destroy the dangerous ones or find a way to prevent the natural gateways from opening."

"Does that include the portal in the basement?"

"It's currently off-line. As much as we want to continue studying it, we don't want another one of those things using it as a tunnel into the house." His mother pulled the hood on her hazmat suit off and fluffed her hair. "As for what happened, we were trying to update one of our scanners when we got a larger than average blip so we went to investigate. We found the ghost, shot at it with some of our prototypes, and it ran."

"I can't wait to study it!"

"Study it how, Mr. Fenton?" Sam asked. There seemed to be an edge to her voice. If Danny had to guess, her activism somehow got activated, but he wasn't sure why.

"Right now? We don't really have the equipment to do much else other than scan its energy levels and get a base reading on its components. I'd like to get a sample of its ectoplasm, but we don't currently have a containment system appropriate for that. This will also give us an idea of what the thermos can and can't handle."

Oh, that's what it was. Sam wanted to make sure the studies weren't inhuman. It made sense. The ghosts they'd previous encountered were definitely sentient, but not necessarily rationale.

"Anyways, Sam, you probably want to head home. It's getting pretty late." His mother mentioned as his dad headed back to the Ghost Assault Vehicle. "I'll see you back at Vlad's, Danny. Please make sure you check in with him. He said you had a panic attack this morning and is worried about you."

"Sure thing…" He really tried to stop himself from grimacing.

When his parents were out of earshot, Sam irritably told him to make sure nothing too horrid happened to that ghost. While he seemed like an annoyance and possibly evil, first impressions were often wrong. He promised he'd keep an eye on things as they restarted their journey to Sam's house.

The frosty scent – well, winter and frost/ice are associated with death, and since Danny is still alive and not rotting, frosty scent works.

Rosemary is said to have the ability to ward off evil spirits, but is also used in some funerals and war commemorations as a symbol for remembrance. Due to Danny's ghostliness and decisive not evilness, I decided he would be attracted to the plant.

Sage, on the other hand, is used in banishment rituals for the good and the bad. So, he's more wary of it. Interestingly, I've heard it's possible to accidentally trap spirits if smudging is incorrectly done.