Chapter 5

After putting her notebook back at her desk, Maddie walked back upstairs. It just felt wrong to stay there watching the ghost cry. She would give him some time to calm down, and give herself some time to think about everything, and then return with more questions.

Maddie entered the kitchen; she might as well get some coffee and food while her waited. She walked over to the coffee maker. After scoping grounds into the filter and adding water, she set the machine to drip. She then opened the cabinet and grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl. After getting milk from the fridge, Maddie poured cereal and then milk into the bowl. The coffee maker then beeped and she grabbed a mug, the Number One Mom mug Danny had gotten her for Mother's day a few years ago, and poured the coffee. She took a seat at the table with her black coffee and cereal.

Frowning into her bowl, Maddie picked at her food. Her heart clinched with guilt. She had messed up horribly, berating Phantom like that. She had been down right cruel, calling him a disgusting copy and claiming he was faking his emotions. Phantom was right. Even though he was a ghost, treating him as less than human was wrong. She may have studied ghosts for years but that did not mean she should claim to know everything about ghosts and she should definitely not claim to know what existence was like for Phantom. She did not know if he really did not have an obsession or was in denial and did not know what it was. She did not know whether or not his memories and emotions were real or an imitation. No matter the truth, these issues did not matter right now. Phantom thought he was protecting his home, the town he grew up in. The emotions and memories he had felt real to him and he completely believed they were real, even if Maddie questioned them.

Maddie sighed and took a sip of her coffee, frowning at the bitterness. She stirred in some sugar and milk and took another sip.

"Much better" Maddie mused.

Maddie thought more about Phantom's behavior. He was definitely different than other ghosts. All the other human-like ghosts she and Jack had captured had been much more aggressive. They always tried to escape immediately and ranted about their powers and obsessions. Like that box obsessed specter, the Box Ghost, he had yelled about how he could not be kept in a cubed container and how she would face his cardboard doom. Phantom had acted nothing like this. He never tried to escape and never ranted about wanting to take over the world or anything ludicrous. He had been for the most part rational. And hadn't he told her son he was going to be honest? Despite his ghostly appearance, he had not acted like a manipulative ghost. She still did not know what to think about his resemblance to her son. He did not use the resemblance to outright manipulate her as she expected. On the contrary, the similarity somehow made him seen more real. He perfectly acted and talked like a teenager, like a child. Did that mean that he actually thought like a child?

Maddie's jaw dropped. For all intents and purposes, he was a child. Treating Phantom like a malicious ghost set on tricking and manipulating her wouldn't work because he was not one. He was a child, a child who thought he was doing the right thing but had no adult support and as such had made mistakes. Right then Maddie decided she would try a different approach. She knew how she would get information about her son's relationship with Phantom and even how she could help the ghost.

Maddie finished her coffee and her cereal. She looked at the clock; she had come up stairs about 30 minutes ago and it was 10 am now. Maddie bit her lip. She wanted to give Phantom a little more time before she talked to him again. Moving to the bookshelf in the living room, Maddie choose a book. She might as well catch up on some reading.

About an hour later, Maddie headed downstairs again. Phantom remained laying on the cot, facing the portal. After grabbing her notebook again, Maddie walked back to her chair in front of the ghost. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping again. Maddie sat down, observing him and thinking about how she would approach the upcoming conversation.

"Will you stop staring at me?" Phantom's voice was biting. He slowly opened his eyes and glared at her. "If you're going to insult me, I don't want to talk to you."

Maddie shallowed, guilt flaring in her gut. Her eyes flicked to the ghost's face. There were tear tracks on his cheeks. Phantom sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve. At seeing ectoplasmic snot transferred to the clothing, Maddie frowned. She put her notebook down on the floor, stood up, and retrieved a box of tissues from her desk. Looking at the ghost with soft eyes, Maddie opened the door to the unit. At hearing the door open, the ghost turned over to face Maddie and the door. She placed the box inside and closed the door. Sitting up slowly, Phantom tilted his head in confusion.

With a quiet voice, Maddie gestured to the box. "To clean your face."

Phantom stood up, grabbed the box, and returned to the cot. Eyes narrowed in suspicion, the ghost studied the box. He pulled out a tissue, and seeing it appeared to be harmless, he wiped his face and blew his nose. He then balled up the used tissue and dropped it on the floor. The ghost continued to look suspicious, but less stern than before.

Quietly, Maddie addressed him. "I owe you an apology."

Phantom's glare softened, the tension in his eyebrows decreasing. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I said many cruel things to you earlier and you are right. It was wrong for me to assume I know about your emotions and memories better than you do. I have made assumptions and need to do a better job of listening and trying to believe you."

Phantom wrapped his arms around himself. He looked to the floor, his posture full of tension. "You really mean that?"

Maddie continued. "I can see that you are different from other ghosts and it is not unreasonable to believe that you are authentic in your motivations. You really do just want to protect Amity Park, don't you?"

Phantom's eyes meet hers. For several moments, he searched her face, probably trying to determine if she was sincere. Phantom's eyes softened and the tension in his shoulders fell. With a tinge of hope, he asked. "You really believe me?"

Deciding to be honest, Maddie reassured him. "Yes. While I still do not trust you completely, I do believe you. I think that you are a kid who yes has made mistakes but is trying to do what is right."

Hope remained in the ghost's eyes. "Thank you. That means a lot to me. I hope I can earn your trust."

Maddie's eyebrows raised, as she remembered her son making a similar statement last night. Putting that thought away, she continued. "We had a rough start. How about we start again?"

"Okay, I would like that." The ghost floated to his feet and moved closer to her. Sticking his hand out, as if asking for a handshake, Phantom smiled. "Hi, my name is Danny Phantom. It's nice to meet you."

Maddie's eyes widened in shock, both at the introduction and the first part of his name. She had forgotten about that. While almost everyone just called the ghost Phantom, when he had first publicly announced his name, he had included a first name, Danny. It was the same first name as her son as well. There must be some significance there. Maddie then looked to the ghost's hand and her eyebrows narrowed. The ghost also looked at his hand and then at the glass in between them. He gave her a sheepish grin and then the hand moved to rub the back of his neck. The ghost then chuckled, realizing his mistake.

Maddie could not help but laugh at the behavior. "Nice to meet you, Danny Phantom. My name is Maddie Fenton." She continued, taking a serious yet pleasant tone. "I would like to talk to you about your work defending Amity Park and my son's role in that."

The ghost floated back, posture relaxed. He shifted until he appeared to be sitting cross legged in the air, with his face at her eye level. "What do you want to know?"

"You told me earlier about how you and Danny meet and started working together. I would like to know more about what each of you contribute to this partnership."

The ghost's right hand rubbed the back of his neck again. "Well ummm. There's a lot actually. It's kind of complicated. I'm not sure I can explain it."

Maddie frowned at this. Was there relationship really so complicated that the ghost could not explain it? "Start simple. Earlier you said Danny was good with an ectogun. I imagine he supplies thoses."

"Yeah, that and other equipment sometimes. Like the Fenton phones. We use them to communicate sometimes." Maddie nodded; that made sense. Some of their inventions had mysteriously gone missing in the past. Phantom continued. "He also helps me empty the thermos into the ghost zone."

"So that's what you do with the ghosts you capture." Maddie replied, a look of understanding on her face. "So Danny supplies you with equipment, access to the portal, and information about our inventions as well, since you clearly know how to use some of them."

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Phantom nodded and shrugged.

"Then why do you overshadow him?"

"What?" Phantom's face flashed with fear. He floated further away from her.

Voice remaining calm, Maddie explained. "While I am still upset about that, I am not that angry at you anymore. I just want to understand. You can get the information and supplies you need without overshadowing my son."

"You see… I…We… Umm." Phantom stuttered.

"Phantom, just tell me I promise I will not hurt you. I just need to understand."

Phantom's eyes flicked from her to the floor. "Umm… It was an accident."

Maddie frowned and crossed her arms. "You overshadowing my son was an accident."

Voice slightly panicked, Phantom rambled. "No! Yes! Kinda….. The first time I didn't mean to. My powers were new and I accidently walked into someone while intangible and kinda… took over their body. From there, I quickly learned it was useful for getting out of sticky situations."

"So you took to overshadowing my son to 'get out of sticky situations'?" Maddie replied with disproval.

The ghost blushed green. "Yeah? He agreed to it and it helps me hide from ghost hunters."

Hide from ghost hunters? A realization struck Maddie. "That's how you disappear from our radars! Somehow, overshadowing a human hides your signature. That's what let you get past our shields too, isn't it?"

The ghost nodded, still refusing to meet her eyes. "Yeah, it lets me suppress my signature."

How exactly did that work? She had never observed a phenomenon like this before. And what was it doing to her son? Did that explain why their ghost hunting equipment went off around Danny? Maddie decided to put that on hold for the time being. "How long have you been overshadowing Danny and how often?"

"Umm…since a few months after I came through the portal. I only do it every some often, whenever I really need to hide from ghost hunters or am really weak from a fight." Phantom responded defensively.

"So what about last night?"

Phantom bit his lip. He rubbed the back of his neck. "We wanted to go flying."

Incredulously, Maddie inquired "Really?"

Sounding a little sad, Phantom explained. "Yeah. Danny has been really stressed and upset about having to go to summer school. It's a lot of work and he's disappointed that he did badly enough in classes to have to be here. So I wanted to take him flying. We always find it really relaxing and we were going to go the park and star gaze some too. But that stupid ghost snake showed up and ruined everything." At the end, the ghost's voice tinged with annoyance.

Part of Maddie was hurt; she wished Danny had talked to her if he was upset. She would have happily taken him star gazing to cheer him up. Part of her also understood though; Danny had wanted to spend time with a friend, a friend he knew she did not approve of. From the interactions between the two earlier and his sincerity now, Maddie knew Phantom really did wanted to cheer up and comfort his friend. "You really care about my son, don't you?"

Phantom looked shocked at the question. "Of course I do."

Maddie nodded relieved at his answer. "Then you understand why I need to ask you to no longer involve my son in your ghost hunting."

Phantom's jaw dropped. "What"

Gently explaining, Maddie continued. "Phantom, ghost hunting is dangerous. People can get hurt. My son could get hurt. You don't want him to get hurt, right"

Putting his arms up, Phantom's voice rose. "Of course not! I never want anyone to get hurt!"

Voice stern but calm, Maddie crossed her arms. "Then you can't keep dragging him into this."

Phantom's face fell. "That's not just my decision though."

"Danny is a child. As his mother, I can forbid him from hunting with you but if you still seek out his help, he will try to help you not matter what I say. To keep him safe, you need to keep him out of this."

Phantom's eyes widened. He argued, now with a hint of desperation in his tone. "But…but… I can't do this by myself! I need his help!"

Maddie shouted. "No you don't!" She then snapped her mouth. Clearly Danny was important to Phantom. To get him to leave her son out of this, she needed to give him an incentive. Maddie sighed. She hoped she would not regret this. "Look. I'm not saying you can't still be friends. But you can't overshadow him and you can't take him hunting with you. If you need hunting supplies or access to the portal, Jack and I can work something out."

Phantom's eyes widened in excitement. "Really!"

"Yes. I'll have to discuss it with my husband but was can start with a ceasefire and then may be work together on a trial basis. But you have to promise to not hunt ghost with my son behind my back."

At this Phantom's posture deflated. Looking at the floor, he quietly replied. "I can't do that."

Trying to push down her frustration, Maddie pleaded. "Look, I'm just trying to keep my son safe. I thought you would understand that. Earlier you said you had friends and family you wanted to keep safe. I am just trying to do that same thing. If you care about Danny at all, you will stop involving him in this."

"I can't!"

"Yes you can!" Maddie snapped back.

Phantom grabbed his hair with his hand. His voice filled with panic. "No. You're not listening. I can't. I literally can't."

"Can't?! What do you mean you can't?"

"Danny is involved in this whether you want him to be or not. We need each other. He just as much Danny Phantom as I am." Phantom replied with eyes pleading.

Frustration flared in Maddie. The ghost was not making any sense. What did that even mean?! Maddie's blood ran cold. Maybe earlier she had been right about their resemblance and what it meant. Phantom may not shapeshifting maliciously but this mimicry may have a much worse effect.

"You're connected to him. Aren't you?"

"No! I mean yes! Kinda. It's complicated."

Panic flared in Maddie's gut. This was bad, really bad. She had no idea what this connection even entailed, let alone what it was doing to her son. "I wanted to trust you! To help you! But you've been using my son! You've put him in danger! You're the reason he's always hurt and tired!"

"What! No. It's not like that! I'm not hurting him!"

Maddie's hands balled into fists. "Liar!"

"Why would I lie about this?! I've spent this whole time trying to get you to trust me! I don't want to hurt you son! I thought you knew that!"

Maddie opened her mouth, to continue berating the ghost but then heard feet pounding upstairs. Danny slammed the door open and ran down the stairs.

He stopped beside his mother and put his hand on her shoulder. "I heard shouting. Are you two okay?" Danny looked into the unit at the extremely relieved Phantom.

Maddie glared daggers at Danny. She was both angry at the ghost because of his connection to her son and at Danny of interrupting. "Did you know about this?"

Danny looked at her in confusion. "What?"

Pointing at Phantom, Maddie berated. "According to him, there's some type of connection between you two. Did you know about this?"

"Yeah. I know." Danny responded flippantly.

"You knew and didn't tell me!"

"Mom, we should go talk about this upstairs."

"No I want answers from Phantom. Now!"

Tugging her hand, Danny pleaded. "Please Mom. I can explain. I don't want you to do or say something you'll regret."

Maddie stopped and looked at her son, observing the tension in his face and worry in his eyes. She guessed he was worried about her doing something to hurt Phantom. She then looked at Phantom, the ghost her son was trying to defend, from her. How did this even happen? How did her son come to trust a ghost more than her? Maddie took a deep breath. Whatever he had to say, she would hear him out.

"Alright. Let's talk." Maddie turned to Phantom, who was still floating nervously in front of her. "This is not over. Depending on how this conversation goes, we'll talk later or I will be shooting you."

Phantom gulped eyes wide with fear. He quietly responded. "Yes Ma'am."

At this Danny shouted, sounding highly offended. "Mom! Stop! You're scaring him!" Danny then moved to stand in between her and the ghost. He smiled tenderly at the ghost. "Hey, it'll be okay. I won't let her hurt you. I'll get her to understand."

The ghost nodded, his eyes stilled fixed on the floor and posture tense.

At the lack of verbal response, Danny calmly pleaded. "Phantom, Look at me." The ghost continued to study the floor, so Danny continued. "Phantom…. Phantom. Hey, Look at me." Danny's voice then lower into a whisper, barely audible to Maddie. "Danny." At this the ghost's eyes neon green eyes meet her son's icy blue ones. Her Danny put his palm on the glass and the ghost then placed his hand across from Danny's on the other side of the glass. The hand's perfectly reflected each other. Her Danny continued. "We are going to get out of this one. Okay. We've got this."

At that proclamation, no that promise, Phantom nodded his head more vigorously. His eyes also filled with tenderness and his lips turned up into a sad smile. "I know."

The two stood (and floated) there for a few moments. Then after taking a deep breath, her son turned to face her. Flatly he stated. "We can go now." He began treading up the stairs.

Maddie looked at the still nervous but not as scared ghost, and then turned to follow her son.