Disclaimer: I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-

Day 10: Water


This poor woman needed a raise. So, so badly.

Vlad stared at the duo of agents rushing for them. Ohmer already had her hands up, telling them to stop.

Ohmer nodded, lightly motioning for them to go and turning to finally deal with the, arguably, most annoying threat. She already had a hand up telling them to stop.

"Absolutely not!" she scowled. "We have yet to dismiss him! He's not going anywhere until he is dismissed!"

Agent K continued walking, until he stood nearly nose to nose with her. She did not budge. He tried to walk around her, only for her to scoot in his way. He glared at her.

"He destroyed an entire hospital!" Agent K argued. He tried to push her arm away, only for the door to open, just enough for Dr. Carrington to slip outside. With the appearance of the second woman, Agent K took a half step back, though he continued to glare.

Dr. Carrington spoke something privately to Ohmer, something that Maddie nor Jack could hear, but it caused Ohmer to look concerned. She nodded her head slightly, and she whispered something back.

"By my order, step aside," Agent K threatened. Dr. Carrington frowned at him.

"He is the victim of an attack!" Dr. Carrington argued back. "He may need another surgery, and you cannot take him until I discharge him."

"She's right," Maddie spoke up. She stepped forward, causing the agents to back up a little. Jack also came a bit closer. "Phantom got badly hurt. Just in general but also protecting Jack."

"Phantom will not be discharged until he's in good enough physical condition, and it will be to my care," Vlad chimed in.

Ohmer rubbed her eyes. Dr. Carrington again whispered something to her, and they had a silent conversation. Agent G pulled Agent K away from the group to have their own conversation. Vlad turned his back on them all, speaking quietly with his lawyers. Jack and Maddie glanced at each other.

"Out of the two, Vlad's gotta be the better option," Maddie spoke quietly, the two deciding to indulge in their own quiet exchange. "Maybe you should pull him aside and talk to him about it." Jack shook his head no.

"Vlad's been claiming that Danny's his though," Jack protested. Maddie sniffled a bit, and she wiped her eye to avoid tearing up in front of the others.

"I know, I know," she replied, her voice choking up a bit. She cleared her throat to collect herself. "But at least Vlad won't dissect Danny." Jack's stomach churned a bit.

"Alright," Agent K finally spoke up. Everybody turned to look at him. "We're getting our paperwork to have it stated plain and clear that this hospital must allow the Guys in White to have 24/7 surveillance and supervision of Phantom. He's a ghost magnet and a menace that obviously needs to be kept under constant close watch." Ohmer pressed her lips together thinly.

"That's fair, long as you have the proper permissions and warrants," she said lightly. Jack glanced at Maddie.

"Until then, FentonWorks would happily supervise and keep track of Phantom until you're able to," Jack told them. Agent K gave an annoyed hum.

"How come you can be here and not us?" he questioned. Jack froze. He didn't have a good answer.

"I think that's fair," Dr. Carrington spoke for him. "Mainly because Mrs. Fenton has been very critical towards the healing process. We need their ectobiology expertise. The quicker he heals, the quicker he's able to be discharged."

"Yes, in fact, I have some more medicine for him that'll help speed up the process," Maddie agreed. She reached into her belt, pulling out the now familiar tubing of Danny's "greenbull". Dr. Carrington lit up.

"That's wonderful, may I have that?" she requested. Maddie offered it to her, and the doctor accepted it.

Agent K made a few grumbled noises. He turned to his partner, gesturing to the various doctors, nurses and custodians swarming the halls, tending to patients and beginning to clean up from the incident.

"Rookie, go get some witness statements. We'll need them for our warrants. I'm going to gather some evidence," Agent K told the younger. He nodded, and they separated and walked away.

"I want to see my son. Did you give him my letter?" he asked. Ohmer nodded. "What did he say? How did he react?" Ohmer winced slightly.

"He promptly burned it and wrote some very vulgar things on his whiteboard."

Vlad frowned.

"Mrs. Ohmer, Dr. Carrington," one of Vlad's lawyers spoke. "I understand that we don't have the particular evidence right now, but our client would still appreciate a few minutes with his son."

Ohmer thought for a moment, hesitating as she gave a nod.

"I think that would be fine," she agreed. Vlad perked up. "But I would like your lawyers and I both to be present, just for safety and legal reasons. And please give us a few moments to make sure he's stable."

"Of course, of course," Vlad replied. "Please, take all the time you need to make sure he's okay."

Ohmer just nodded shortly, and she opened the door back up for the doctor, and they slipped inside. Barely a second later, the door's lock clicked shut, and the Fentons were left standing silently with Vlad and his lawyers. Jack stared at his "best friend", noticing that Vlad seemed to almost make it a point to not look at them. Instead he lightly paced the hallway, staring at his watch and the door to Danny's room. Jack couldn't do this.

"I'm going to go get some water," Jack announced. Maddie lightly nodded at him, and she watched him slip away and down the hall. Vlad paid no mind, keeping his attention on the door.

Soon enough, the door reopened, and both women slipped out.

"He's stable enough for now," the doctor informed them. She turned to Maddie. "I need to check on my other patients, but after that, would you be willing to help me do another x-ray and examine? From a visual check, he seems fine, but I want to check more deeply to make sure the wires didn't move."

"Of course. I'll probably go home and get more supplies, but as soon as I'm back I'd be happy to assist however I can," Maddie assured her. Dr. Carrington smiled, and she excused herself.

"So, please, come on in," Ohmer gestured to the door for Vlad.

"Thank you," Vlad smiled at her, and he stepped inside, followed by just one of his lawyers, and then Ohmer.

"Danny, you have a visitor," Ohmer spoke. Danny glanced up from his doodling on his whiteboard. He was lying in bed, still in his jumpsuit though he had his gloves off to accommodate an IV that was stick in the back of his left hand. He blinked in surprise upon seeing Vlad.

"Hello, Daniel," Vlad spoke to Danny. The teenager glared at him. "How are you doing, my boy?"

If Danny's looks could kill, Vlad would have already been cremated. He accompanied this look with a double middle fingers up. Vlad frowned.

"Sometimes he gets a little agitated when he's been forced on bedrest," Vlad told Ohmer. A box of tissues hit square in the face. He scowled, grabbing the box and clutching it tightly in his hands.

"Seems more than just a bit agitated," she lightly joked.

Vlad forced a chuckle, and Ohmer couldn't hold back an amused snort. Even Vlad's lawyer had to bite his lip to prevent a laugh escaping. "Oh you know. Teenagers."

A green dry erase marker nailed Vlad's shoulder. Ohmer glanced over to see Phantom chucking another marker, the black one, at Vlad. This time, the man caught it.

"Daniel!" Vlad yelled. Phantom narrowed his eyes at him, and his eyes glowed fiercely. "Stop that this instant."

"Never had my teenager do that," Ohmer commented.

"I've got six," the lawyer finally spoke up. "They'll definitely do that sometimes."

An angered shrieking noise came from Phantom, another middle finger as he chucked the purple marker at him. Vlad dodged it.

"I mean, you have a daughter, a son is very different," Vlad tried to explain, only to be cut off by the red marker hitting him in the face.

Ohmer glanced at Phantom. The teenager was dark green in the face with anger, sweating slightly. Now completely out of markers, Phantom was trying to desperately pry off his boot. So much for a "family reunion".

"Danny, please behave," Ohmer told him.

The glow disappeared, and he blinked at her. He let go of his foot, grabbing his whiteboard. She bent down to pick up one of the markers from the ground, walking up to him and holding it up. He smiled, accepting it, and he began to furiously write. He soon flipped it over to show his visitors.

Get the hell out of here you fruitloop, I'm not your son and you're just a crazed lonely old man who needs a cat and a therapist. I hate you. Leave me alone. You can't buy or blackmail me.

Ohmer raised an eyebrow at Vlad. He rolled his eyes.

"Daniel, why must you be so dramatic," he questioned. "I know you're still upset about your mother, and I understand we've had bad blood, but you surely know that you will always be my child, and I love you."

Phantom scowled, and he began to hold up his whiteboard, as if to throw it. Ohmer grabbed it before it could be turned into a giant frisbee.

"Maybe just post a major accident isn't a good time for visits," Ohmer lightly suggested. Vlad lightly frowned.

"Perhaps. He might be suffering from a head injury that's making him extra moody," he proposed. Ohmer looked skeptical, but she nodded anyway. Vlad stepped forward, pulling a business card from his inner suit pocket to hand to Phantom. The teenager refused to accept it, and Vlad was forced to put it on the bedside. "Daniel, when you are able, have the nice lawyer call me so we can talk, or so that I can come here and talk to you." More middle fingers. Vlad sighed, and he turned to Ohmer. "Do you think it's possible for me to have another visit later? When he's in a more stable mood? One that doesn't involving throwing things at me?"

"I'm sure we can," Ohmer agreed. "We'll work something out."

Vlad turned to his lawyer, and he motioned for him to go ahead and exit the room. The lawyer did just so, opening the door for Vlad and Ohmer. Waiting outside was Jack, standing alone in the hall and sipping a bottle of water. He immediately capped his drink upon seeing them.

"Maddie went home to make more of the ecto-medicine," he told Ohmer.

"Awesome. So, I think we're done here?" Ohmer looked to Vlad for confirmation. He half-shrugged.

"For now," he replied. "I absolutely wish to visit later today."

"For now, we're done here, so please feel free to go inside and supervise him until we get everything sorted out," Ohmer motioned to the door. "If you need me, of course just come to my office, but I have a lot of paperwork to do after today." The lawyer already looked exhausted, and Jack didn't blame her.

"I'll hold down the fort," he promised her. She smiled.

"Thank you. Now, Mr. Masters, did you need me for anything else?" she questioned.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you a bit more about the situation, may we speak privately?" Vlad requested.

"Of course, of course. Just come with me to my office," she said, and the lawyers and Vlad walked off together, lightly chatting.

Jack opened the door to Danny's room. His soon glanced up at him, initially irritated but it quickly vanished as he beamed at him. Jack smiled back, and he took a step forward, only to pause as his foot hit something. He looked down, and he saw all the markers littering the floor.

"What happened, Danny-boy?" he asked, bending over to collect the markers, as well as a box of issues. He picked them up, setting the tissue box on the bedside table and the markers next to Danny. He glanced over to see what Danny had written and was showing him.

Threw them at Vlad. Hate that guy.

Jack's heart twisted a bit. He pulled a chair up next to Danny.

"Why don't you like him?" he asked.

Danny bowed his head, avoiding looking at his dad. He put his marker down among the others, and he took his time picking a new color. Once selected, he still fiddled with it between his fingers, popping the lid off and clicking it back shut. Danny finally put his marker to the whiteboard, but Jack interrupted him before he could move it.

"Vlad's also half ghost, isn't he?" he asked. Danny's guilty look was all the confirmation he needed.

No wonder Vlad and him were so estranged for so long. Vlad must have thought Jack hated him for being half ghost. It had to be why Vlad was trying to take Danny. Vlad probably didn't think Danny was safe with him and Maddie.

Danny began to write, only for Jack to reach out to lightly touch his arm.

"Please, not now," Jack requested. Danny stared at him curiously. "We'll discuss it later."

Danny just nodded, and he leaned back in his bed, giving a soft sigh. He looked around the room before his eyes fell on Jack's water bottle. He gestured to it, looking up at his dad.

"Do you want some?" Jack asked. Danny eagerly nodded. "Can you drink it?" Danny gave a thumb's up. Jack handed the water bottle over.

Danny carefully uncapped it and pressed it to his lips, and slowly, he was able to drink it. Jack watched him. He couldn't help but remember having to slowly, little by little, giving him sips of water only a day ago. It already felt like years ago. So much happened in so little time...it was already beginning to blend into an odd blur.

And Jack couldn't help but stare at Danny. Never in his life did Jack think he'd be grateful to see his son able to drink water on his own, even if it was slowly and carefully to avoid spilling. To hear Danny's loud gulps as he carefully had to adapt how he drank was like music compared to hearing his jaw bones grinding and cracking with every movement. Danny being so alert instead of so exhausted.

Jack jumped when he felt Danny grab his arm, giving it a light squeeze. He must have zoned out a bit. Danny was smiling apologetically at him, handing him an empty water bottle. Jack smiled back, accepting the bottle. He took Danny's hand and lightly squeezed it as he stood up.

"It's okay," he assured him.

He moved to toss the water bottle into a trash can nearby. Before he sat down, he gave Danny a kiss on the forehead. Danny gave a half smile, picking up two markers. He offered the green one to Jack, which he accepted. Danny began to draw out the beginnings of a hangman game, including a word he seemingly already picked, and the two began to quietly play together.

Sure, this wasn't the weekend he had in mind, but then again, it was a weekend in Amity Park: anything goes.