Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Note: I really shouldn't have to spell this out, but to more directly answer the review from "the gangsta of love" since I can't seem to get it removed, the reason I kept some of the early flirting between Danielle and Vlad is because I adapted it into only a harmless crush on Danielle's part with no deeper meaning. Kind of like when you have a crush on a famous actor/actress or a fictional character and are a bit star-struck by them at first. Basically, Dani's innocent crush on Vlad was left in to help shatter the illusion of Vlad being as cool and relatable of a person as she thought. From now on though their relationship is going to be totally platonic.

Also, on that note, haven't you heard of a daddy-daughter dance? That's a thing. Plus people can blush when they're embarrassed in general too, it's not always a romantic-subplot. So please, if you're going to review again, don't tell me how to write my fanfic. But if you genuinely don't like how I'm writing this feel free to go read something else. I'm just here to have fun and am doing my best to bring back a fanfic series I only deleted because of hurtful and thoughtless back-handed comments like that about how my stories made them "uncomfortable" despite always making it clear I DON'T condone such relationships in real life. Writing is suppose to be a safe outlet for exploring sensitive subjects because it doesn't have to reflect reality.

These characters aren't real and they will never BE real. As for the rest of you guys, sorry for the rant, but that review has been bugging me ever since I read it. I don't want to deal with this kind of crap again, I really don't, so please, if that answers your question, please back off. I don't want to get all worked up again over comments like that and give up this whole story revival attempt just when I was starting to enjoy the story again as a badger cereal version.

Chapter 6: Discernment

Danielle's POV

When Vlad came to check up on me later the next morning, he didn't mention what happened the last time we saw each other, but he looked worried when he saw the dark circles under my eyes. He brought some more food and medicine too, but I said I wasn't hungry so Vlad sighed and set it aside for me just like before. He didn't try sitting next to me though like before to watch me eat, in fact it looked like Vlad was contemplating on whether or not he should be giving me some space but then with his hand still resting on the doorknob after only opening the door halfway I looked up when he turned to me and said softly, "For what it's worth Danielle, I'm sorry for making you so uncomfortable by being so forthright with my deep adoration towards you as a father figure. I was caught up in the moment and I-"

"Don't," I snapped, rolling over so my back was turned to him, not wanting to hear Vlad make more excuses. "It doesn't matter. It's not like you meant it anyway..."

Oh shit. Why did I say that out loud...?! I realized too late and stiffened when I heard him close the door again and walk back over to me, before sitting on the edge of the large bed, but I was relieved that he at least kept SOME distance between us.

"Of course I meant it," Vlad explained mildly but it did nothing to calm my nerves. "I don't regret saying I love you, because I do care for you a great deal. My only regret is the poor timing of that declaration because you've been through quite a lot the past few days. And while genuine, my affection may be too hard for you to accept right away because of the mistakes I made.

"Right now, my only concern is helping you recover because while I'm not the root of the problem, I was the one who responsible your current illness. And for that I am truly sorry, little badger. I didn't plan for that to happen either...but I'm an opportunist by nature so I took advantage of the unfortunate situation. As I'm sure you do when you fight ghosts."

I shrugged and replied bitterly as I hide further under the blankets, "Yeah well what else is new? You're not the first person to think they can do whatever they want and try to control my life. My own parents want me to inherit Fenton Works since Jason is 'unsuited' for that kind of lifestyle. But I never asked for this! And even when I decided to start fighting ghosts on my own, I never expected to be turned into a damn freak to do it! I didn't have a choice."

I couldn't stop myself from saying those things because I was so angry, scared, and hurt that I didn't even think about what would happen if I pissed Vlad off. He said he didn't want to hurt me, but I knew anything could happen if he lost his temper. So I yelped in surprise when Vlad phased the blanket right off of me and his eyes flashed red as he abruptly lifted me up into a sitting position and forced me to face him. I could almost feel the anger curling off his skin like his ghostly aura and was about to instinctively transform when-

"Don't you DARE call yourself a freak!" Vlad bellowed, "You are absolutely perfect as you are and far more stable than I was when my DNA was altered, so be thankful for that. THEY'RE the ones who are the monstrosities, not you! Your parents are the ones who allowed their obsession with ghosts to ruin both our lives and I won't stand for it!"

After pausing to take a deep breath, he relaxed his grip slightly, but his voice was still harsh and he continued darkly, "I won't let them ruin yours too, do you hear me, Danielle? Never again. Even if I must take even more drastic measures to ensure that you are taken care of and kept far away from their foolishness, I will! Because they are the ones unworthy of you, not the other way around!"

I absolutely lost it after that.

Vlad made a huge mistake grabbing me so roughly so I shot an energy beam at his chest to blast him back then immediately transformed and phased through the roof to get as far away from him as I could. His little stunt there sent me into full fight or flight mode, or in this case both, so I blindly chose a direction to get the hell out of there. I wasn't sure where Amity Park was from there but if I could find a road, then I could borrow a map from somewhere and-!

Suddenly, I screamed in pain when something shocked me and sent me reeling in the opposite direction. Once I got my bearings again, I tentatively I reached out in the direction of the impact and recoiled when my hand was zapped by some sort of invisible barrier. No, it had to be a ghost shield! Unlike my parent's ghost shield, which could be seen for miles around thanks to its toxic green glow, this one was invisible which made sense since Vlad's filthy rich.

But that was bad news for me either way.

I had to get out of there before Vlad found me so I landed and changed back to get out of there that way, but while I wasn't zapped again, my eyes widened when I realized I couldn't get through in human form either! After that, I really started to panic and threw myself at the barrier several times in a row. And each time it hurt like hell.

"Come on! Come on you stupid ghost shield! Let me out!" I grunted before giving up and staring back at the castle. "Damn it!" I grunted, resisting the urge to kick it too because I hated the idea of going back inside, but maybe if I could find and deactivate the shield from there then-!

A few seconds later, Vlad reappeared in ghost form after teleporting above the castle to get a high vantage point of the whole area; it happened so fast my ghost sense didn't even have time to go off before my eyes locked onto him. And not knowing if he'd seen me yet or not I transformed back to ghost form again just in case it came to a fight but then...I suddenly felt lightheaded and stumbled a bit.

To make matters worse, I stumbled right into the shield and cried out in agony again, giving away my position. I sagged onto the ground, my whole arm shaking and numb from being electrocuted, and whimpered. God, I'm pathetic. I can't even make an escape attempt without screwing it up...

I was too busy fighting through the pain to notice Vlad approach me until he said in a stern but quiet tone, "Danielle, you need to calm down. I know I shouldn't have startled you like that but-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I practically shrieked, knowing no one would be able to hear me, but I was beyond terrified.

If he wanted to, Vlad could kill me right here and now and my parents would never find the body. Or maybe he'd try telling my parents I ran away from home to hide me somewhere else so I could never go home again. And the sad thing is, I know they'd believe him just as easily as before too...

They'd never believe me.

Just like they've...never believed.

Ever since I was born, I've been constantly surrounded by death, whether it was ghosts or the very real possibility of dying someday during a fight killed either by them or my own parents by mistake. That all seemed so distant before I met Vlad, and I thought I could handle it, but I was only fooling myself. I've always been trapped by one thing or another, the only difference is the shape of the 'cage.'

Once my arm stopped shaking, I grabbed my head, tangling my fingers in long strands of snow-white hair and screamed in frustration. I couldn't take it anymore! I was so fed up with everyone and their lies that they understand me at all! No one understands. I just wanted someone to listen to my problems, to help and support me without being treated like a child who doesn't know any better, and for a little while I thought Vlad could be that person...

After all, he had an accident similar to mine.

Even if we hadn't been turned into half-ghosts because of those accidents, it would have been nice to finally have someone to talk to about it that knows how reckless and stupid this ghost stuff really is and doesn't treat it all like a game like my parents do. I didn't even realize I was crying until Vlad wordlessly pulled me into his arms to cradle me as I sobbed and noticed my tears dampen his uniform while Vlad continued rocking me gently, hushing me.

I felt so broken, so defeated, and that scared me.

All those walls I've built to protect myself from the constant stress of fighting for my life and everyone else's to tough it out a little longer, they all crumbled to dust the moment I met him. It's all his fault because Vlad was just so easy to talk to compared to my parents when he wasn't acting all high and mighty. It felt natural to open up to him even when I didn't want to because it's been so long since anyone said they love me or told me they care about my health or mental well-being apart from Jason and my friends Sam and Trish.

As for Vlad, I should have pushed him away again, rejected his comfort, but I couldn't. I was so tired of feeling so unsure of myself, of fighting alone. So I didn't care anymore if I was being tricked. Just this once, I wanted someone to take care of me, to protect me when I needed it. But I was also terrified of losing myself; of losing sight of everything I believed in...

Not that it mattered anymore since everything I thought I knew turned out to be a lie. It was a lie that I wasn't alone, a lie that my parents would always be there for me, a lie that I could accomplish anything myself, and a lie that I...would ever be free to live my own life without someone trying to control me.

Vlad's POV

You idiot! You were supposed to win her over gradually, not spook the poor girl! Ugh! Now Danielle's certain to run away again the first chance she gets! I snarled, berating myself for letting my emotions get the better of me.

She's so strong-willed, and yet Danielle's obviously been as deeply wounded emotionally by her parents neglect and subsequent life and death struggles on a daily basis to the point where she had to fight simply for her own survival! I wanted so badly to banish all Danielle's fears of rejection, her doubts, and prove that I really do love her like a daughter. That was no lie. We might not be related by blood, but the ectoplasm in our veins more than makes up for that in my opinion.

And I certainly meant her no harm either.

Forcing myself to calm down, I pinched the bridge of my nose and exhaled a deep breath. I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on her. I doubt Danielle actually took the medicine after all since she appears to have this absurd fear that I intend to drug her again, meaning that she probably disposed of the pills some other way. I should have expected as much I suppose. She was still clearly in pain though despite her efforts to hide it from me because unlike her parents, I'm not blind.

Either way, I needed to get this under control before I made any other careless mistakes that negatively effected Danielle's health. With that in mind, I summoned those three bird-brains and ordered them to keep a close eye on Danielle without being spotted and they were to inform me immediately if she tried to escape. My ghost shield still needed a bit more work done on it before it could keep humans and ghosts out, so it wasn't fully functional yet. And up until now, there's been no need to keep any ghosts, half or not, contained.

That's why I was hoping -although again Danielle was putting herself through a lot of unnecessary pain- that her illness would prevent her from trying anything foolish. At least, not tonight. What would happen in the days to come was anyone's guess. But, the more important thing to remember is that Danielle was safe here with me and I would allow none of her enemies to interfere with her while she is in my care. But first, I had to show Danielle that I am not one of them myself.

Danielle's anxiety and uncertainty as it turns out ran much deeper than I could have possibly imagined. I clearly underestimated her and Danielle's resourcefulness when she legitimately believed her life was at risk. Because I must say Danielle's attack earlier packed quite the punch. Granted, I wasn't expecting it and failed to dodge in time, but that's besides the point. The point is that Danielle was like a wounded animal; she was scared, and thus dangerous and liable to lash out again, which I might add Danielle had more than once already at least verbally.

But I'm a patient man.

And despite my serious lapse in judgment when I scolded Danielle for belittling herself like that, I've been doing everything in my power to be exceedingly gentle and soft-spoken with her. I simply had to continue to do so to reduce the risk of scaring her off again. The last thing I wanted to do was cause any irreversible damage that would make it impossible to gain her trust. Danielle simply needed someone to listen and ease her troubled heart, especially since she saw so little worth in herself without her ghost powers...

And from the sound of it, though I could be wrong, Danielle probably felt inferior to me in that regard. She felt powerless, worthless, and unloved which couldn't be further from the truth. If only Danielle knew how mistaken she was because I saw unlimited potential before me. I wanted her all to myself whereas with Maddie, I'll admit it was more that I wanted the satisfaction of stealing her from Jack and proving I would have been the better husband and a better father to Danielle and her older brother Jason.

But after seeing Maddie again and realizing how much she's changed -and not for the better I might add- I knew that she was no longer the woman for me. And more importantly, as it turns out the kind of love I longed for more was that of a parent devoting themselves to their child. Because Danielle she needed me more that she realized, and deep down, she wanted what I have to give. Stability, protection, comfort, love, freedom, and most of all a sense of belonging and acceptance of all that she is as a human girl and half-ghost.

I made a grave mistake when I lost my temper earlier the moment Danielle called herself, and by some extension me as well, an abomination which is likely the result of how her parents portrayed all ghosts her entire life as monsters from a strange world. I wasn't offended in the least by her misunderstanding what ghosts are, especially since she was distressed by the current state of things, but I was not going to allow Danielle to degrade herself like that. Not when she's more precious to me than all the wealth of this world combined.

It was rather...unnerving to see that playing hero back in Amity Park was the only positive thing Danielle could think to do with her gifts to stop herself from feeling afraid of herself and her powers and find something good about these changes in her life. And it worked, for a time at least. So in truth, I don't think she's afraid of herself anymore, no, the real thing Danielle was afraid of were her parents and what they would do to her if they found out either by accident before she was ready like what happened in my lab, or by being too careless, which only added to the existing stress keeping her on alert and on edge at all times.

Danielle's parents hate ghosts yet were morbidly fascinated by them due to their unhealthy obsession on the subject, but I find it hard to believe that her brother would reject her so easily if he ever learned the truth. Jason seems very devoted to taking care of his sister from where I stand at least most of the time and he's more level-headed than his parents. Almost oppressively so, and that's why she couldn't find any stability at home because one part of her family kept constantly berating, punishing unjustly, and outright neglected her, and the other smothered her to the point where Danielle no longer felt like she could confide in him...

And that, only made her feel more isolated at home.

Things at school were hardly any better I suspect due to bullying thanks to her parents 'vocation' which labeled their family as rather...eccentric to put it nicely. Well, most of them anyway since Jason was somehow able to escape that ire. But poor Danielle wasn't so fortunate.

She had no way to defend herself against the slander and cruelty of her peers because Danielle likely refused to use her powers for 'evil' or 'selfish' reasons and she was afraid of proving her parents right about ghosts being nothing but vindictive creatures. And now that part of her is half-ghost, it made her feel as though she had to fight against that part of her 'nature' by acting like such a bothersome goody-goody which is absolutely ridiculous.

Danielle has always had a choice though, whether she realizes it or not. And while I chose to use my powers for selfish gain and revenge, Danielle could have just as easily chosen another path for herself that wasn't so self-destructive and dangerous. Still, perhaps Danielle's parents have been drilling ghost fighting into her head for so long she truly believes that fighting other ghosts is the only thing her powers were good for.

Now that, was something even I found frightening.

It felt like an eternity before Danielle finally snapped out of her hysteria and as expected she was exhausted from crying so she could barely support herself anymore. I was worried Danielle might get dehydrated as a result so I created a duplicate and instructed them to pour her a glass of cold water and bring it to us. Tea would have been better to help calm Danielle's nerves, but she was hardly in any state to move let alone hold a cup since her hands were shaking after I teleported us both back inside while she was otherwise indisposed to avoid any further problems with the ghost shield.

I didn't get the change to change the voltage settings before Danielle's little escape attempt to avoid causing any undo harm, but sadly, since the setting were too high when it struck her it may have left some burns so we'd need to tend to those in a moment. But first, I had to make sure Danielle was calm enough let me address these problems one at a time.

Accepting the glass of water from my duplicate, I reached up to take it then turned my head to ask, "Danielle? Listen to me, it's going to be alright...but you need to drink something to stay hydrated since you've been crying a great deal and your fever hasn't broken yet. Do you think you can drink this on your own...?"

Bewildered by my comment, Danielle blinked slowly, wiping her tears away and looking up at me. She jerked back though after seeing I was still in ghost form, likely associating this form with when I first attacked her the night before the reunion. So with a sigh I changed back to reassure her and felt the tension in Danielle's back and shoulders abate somewhat.

Danielle seemed unsure at first, still processing everything that just happened no doubt, but then she silently accepted the crystal glass I offered and tried to drink it slowly. I waited patiently for her to finish her drink when all of a sudden she lost all the strength in her hand and the glass slipped from her grasp, spilling the remaining water on the floor. Thankfully it didn't break thanks to the large wool rug at our feet but Danielle still stared at in in horror as if it had.

"I'm sorry...it slipped, it was an accident I swear!" Danielle apologized meekly in a very hoarse, tired voice from all that shouting and crying, her tone almost fearful as if she thought I was about to scold her for over something so trivial.

We really were going to have to do something about that terrible mindset. I didn't want Danielle to think I was going to reprimand her at every turn over every little thing like her parents. To prove this, I lifted the glass so it was sitting upright before my duplicate took it away and set it back on the dresser before fading and shook my head, smiling sadly.

"I know it was an accident, my dear. It's alright. A little spill like that is hardly worth fussing over." As I helped her to her feet again and Danielle noticed we had moved back inside without her knowledge, without missing a beat I bowed my head and continued. "Danielle, I owe you my sincerest apologies. It's just that I hated hearing you belittle yourself like that and lost control over my emotions. I never meant to frighten you, and I'm not angry with you. Nor was it my intention to make you feel trapped. You see I made some adjustments to my ghost shield in case of a...worse case scenario like this so you wouldn't get out and hurt yourself by mistake during another fit of delirium."

"Who cares...?" Danielle replied listlessly which only made me feel more concerned. "Everything I do is a mistake so what difference does it make? It's always the same. Nothing I do is ever going to be good enough..."

"On the contrary my dear," I smiled, resting a hand on her head. "You are a very clever, capable, and brave young woman with unimaginable promise that has been taken for granted for too long. I was very impressed you managed to get the jump on me earlier let along had the strength to transform and get as far as you did with a fever slowing you down. Furthermore-"

I was about to continue complimenting Danielle but I stopped when she suddenly hissed in pain and my gaze was immediately drawn to her hands, which were shaking quite badly. After that, as gently as I could manage I removed her white gloves since she was still in her ghost form and rolled up the sleeves to expose the burns scattered here and there and frowned. The anti-ghost shield was meant to detour any ghost foolish enough to approach it carelessly and while I normally didn't care if it inflicted pain on my ghostly trespassers, Danielle was hardly an enemy and I didn't want to cause her any more pain. I should have been more careful when I made the adjustments to keep her human half inside the confines of my castle too.

I heard Danielle's breath hitch as my fingers lightly brushed across the scorch marks, but even so, I looked her in the eye and said earnestly. "This won't happen again. I promise you that. I would never hurt you again on purpose, please believe me. I only want-"

I was about to say 'what's best for you' but decided against it and silently strode over to the restroom to retrieve a first aid kit from there. Every guest room in the castle was equipped with one in case of an emergency; well, all but one which is why I gave that guest room to Jack and Maddie during their visit in the first place. I did so specifically to lure Jack out since it did not have its own restroom attached unlike the rest of them.

My heart shattered when I heard Danielle mutter under her breath as I dressed the wounds on her hands, "...I wish I could believe you."

In response to her unspoken wish to be left alone, I urged Danielle to get some rest and left the room, guilt rearing its ugly head and making me realize it wasn't Danielle who made the mistake. It was me. At every turn I was pushing her further and further from me. But if I wanted her to remain part of my life, I had to fix this before it was too late. I had to prove to her she could trust me...

Even if it meant letting Danielle go back to those wretched parents of hers.