Sweetest Gifts

A fan fiction by Kate-chan 91

Disclaimer: If I have to type that one more time...

Kate-chan 91's tidbits (A/N): Alright, y'all- you can call off the search party: I'm finally back after over a month of not updating. I know y'all- the three of you- that are reading this must be thinking I have not been updating due to a lack of interest, but the real reason is much, much more boring: being very busy with projects, make-up work, and normal homework. Also, I've been actually typing up and deleting bits and pieces of this fanfic for pacing, personal displeasement with particular parts and sudden mind changes, so this is actually the sixth version of this chapter. Once again, I apologize for keeping all the five of y'all waiting and I'll try to update on a sooner date next time.

(Throws toast to reviewers)

Enjoy!

Chapter Four: Where is Our Daughter?

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"Have you found any trace of her yet?"

"Not yet! Are my parents still out of the house?"

"Yes- Maddie and Jack just radioed in from Maple Street and told me that both the police and them are coming in for a further investigation though."

"Damn! Sam, can you stall them for a second or two when they get there?" Danny asked his wife as he flew through the Ghost Zone.

"I guess I can... just try to find Winnie!" Sam told Danny via the Fenton Phones when the front door opened; Jack, Maddie, a police dog, a police officer and a woman wearing a drab, brown overcoat came into the living room, where Sam happened to be in.

Physically, both the police officer and the woman had clearly seen better days. Except for the occasional wisp of grey hair, the man was bald. In addition, the woman once had curly dark brown hair (that matched her eyes); it had since been replaced by a mop of cotton white hair. She also happened to be a detective that took some pride into her work and was more than glad to flash her badge just to impress detective show brainwashed citizens.

And she was flashing that very badge at Sam just before she questioned her. After doing this, she said, "Missus Fenton, I am Detective Mary-Lynn Keith, this is my partner, Officer Herb Broussard, and we're here to ask you some questions about your daughter."

Broussard and Keith sat down on the couch. Broussard took out an old tape recorder, popped in a blank tape, and pressed 'play'.

"Now… what was the last time you saw your daughter?" Keith started the interrogation with.

"Around six P.M., right before Danny and I left for our high school reunion."

"Danny? Who's Danny?"

"My husband…"

"Your husband? Well then, where's Danny, then? By the All Information Act of 2013, a FEDERAL law, mind you, we need your husband with you as he was around the girl prior to her disappearance."

Uh-oh, I knew she was going to say that…Sam thought as she tried to think of a good excuse; "In the bathroom!" was the first thing that came out of her mouth, and she heard Keith groan as she continued the interrogation.

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Meanwhile, Danny, who was riding in the specter speeder, was waiting for the any sign of his soon to be eldest daughter, be it a scream or a somewhat mechanical voice chirping, "Real world item detected!" as the radar showed her location. He grew more and more impatient as time slowly passed on, and he started wondering whether Winnie was anywhere in the Ghost Zone. Suddenly, he remembered another possible location…

"Plasmius…" He muttered. "How can I be so stupid? It has to be him- if he can't get my mom or me… he's gonna want to get the next big thing- her granddaughter!"

And off he went, speeding towards the location he thought the only other half ghost, half human hybrid's portal was located.

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A couple of misses later, Danny had a hit and arrived in Wisconsin. Shortly after two white rings of light changed him back into Danny Fenton (just in case Winnie came across him, as she had never seen him in his ghost form), he silently tippy-toed towards Vlad's study at an agonizingly silent pace. It was while doing this that he came across of all things… giggling. Giggling that could only come from a five-year-old girl, like…

Winnie! Danny thought as he came even closer to the study. When he came towards the secret entrance to the study, he became invisible and popped his head through the entrance around to inspect the scene (hopefully) without anyone noticing.

That, as it turned out, was a huge mistake as Danny witnessed a very creepy sight- Winnie having what seemed to be a little tea party with… Vlad Masters. Ah yes, Vlad Masters, the creepy, Green Bay Packers and Maddie Fenton fanatic billionaire that also happened to be Vlad Plasmius, Danny's archenemy and the only other half ghost, half human hybrid in existence. The very idea of him having tea with a little Kindergartener, especially his own daughter, made Danny's blood run cold.

While he barely managed fighting the resist to hit his head against the wall in hopes of learning this was in reality a dream, he did throw his head back, become visible and move frantically (therefore accidentally hitting the switch that activated the entrance). When the entrance opened to where the duo could see him, they stared at him as he looked at them and then resumed to scream, "WHAT the fuck is going on here?"

The man and the child turned around and looked at him. Silence abounded for a moment.

Vlad broke the brief silence with, "Now, Daniel, is that any kind of language to use in front of a child, let alone your own daughter?"

Winnie, however, ignored her father's profanity. "DADDY!" she yelled as she ran towards her father. She hugged his legs afterwards as this was the highest she could reach. "You're here just in time to have tea with me and your big brother!"

"Big brother?" Danny squeaked.

"Uncle Vladdie told me what an uncle was!" Winnie said.

"It's great that you've learned something, Sweetie, but I need an explanation over how you got here, young lady."

"Why?"

"Your mom, grandparents and I have been going crazy over wondering where you've been for the last couple of hours!"

"Oh, that's easy, Daddy! I just went downstairs for a glass of water and I saw the basement door and I went in to see it again. I then saw this red button that Grandpa showed me earlier and I pushed it. Then this big door opened and this green octopus thingy grabbed me and pulled me into the other side. As it was making me choke, I saw a vampire like ghost come in from behind it and I fainted. When I woke up, I saw Uncle Vladdie. We talked. That's all." Winnie explained.

"Okay then… but before we, um, go, I have talk with my "big brother"…" Danny said as he pointed at Vlad. Then he looked down Winnie and whispered, "We're going to have a grown up talk, Sweetie- stay outside and don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Do I have to?"

"Winona Donata-Edith Fenton…"

Uh-oh, full name! The Kindergarten thought as she looked at the face of defeat."Okay, Daddy…" She said as she walked outside with a disappointing look on her face; she hated waiting.

As soon as Danny did his best to lock the door, he walked towards Vlad and said, "What are you pulling this time, Plasmius? There is no way that Winnie could come up with an alibi like that on her own!"

"Believe it or not, the girl is actually telling the truth," Vlad informed Danny. "I was just minding my own business in the Ghost Zone when I came across an ectopus that had wrapped its tentacles around a small child, which turned out to be little Winnie. Normally I wouldn't help save a child's life, but… when I saw her eye color change from blue to bright green and hair change from black to white before she became unconscious, I realized I came across your daughter, the only quarter ghost child in existence. So, to make a long story short, I saved Winnie from a possible death and let her recover here in my mansion."

"Hmm… Anything else you want to say before Winnie and I get our asses out here and back to my parents' house?"

"Well, there is one thing… why didn't her parents or grandparents accompany her as she went back up to bed after getting some water?"

"Okay- My wife and I were at a high school reunion and my parents… I think they were watching TV after they tucked her to bed…" Suddenly, Danny remembered something, and he slowly said "Oh, fuck…"

"What?" Vlad said with a raised eyebrow and a smile ever so creeping up.

"They… didn't check on her afterwards. Heck, they even told me that my dad told my mom that Winnie would be fine until I got home…"

"I knew it; your idiot father has once again goofed up and endangered him and everyone else around him..."

"And just what are you getting from this?" Danny asked.

"Winnie almost died because of two factors: one being Jack, the other one being you, Daniel." Vlad replied as he pointed at the younger half ghost, half human hybrid.

"How do I fit into this?"

"She didn't know a thing about her ghost powers, which should be inevitable with a half ghost father…"

"In case you want to know, she didn't show any signs that she had them, dumbass, so it's not like it's my fault for that!"

"Well, she seemed to show signs that her powers kicked in tonight!" Vlad told Danny. "What are you going to do when she realizes she has them, keep her in the dark?"

"No- I'll explain everything to her then!" Danny snapped back.

"What if an explanation won't be able to cut it by then, especially if she just suddenly starts showing them off in public grounds?"

"As in…?"

"Schools, parks, places like that…"

"Look, I'll try to take care of that before it even happens, okay?" Danny said as he was getting more and more annoyed with every question.

"The point is, she's going to need practice using those powers in order to really benefit from using them… How about you leave her with me for a while so I can monitor and help her with any problems as you're not doing it?"

I knew it! Danny thought before yelling, "ABSOLUTELY-"

"Absolutely? Why, thank you for understanding your situation, Daniel!" Vlad said as he walked towards the door. As he was about to turn the doorknob, however, Danny grabbed his arm by the wrist.

"Hey, I didn't say anything about understanding anything, bastard!" He yelled as he tried to pry Vlad's hand off the doorknob.

"Now, Daniel, you shouldn't be turning down an offer you just agreed to!" Vlad retorted as Danny struggled to remove his right hand from the doorknob.

"I DIDN'T AGREE TO ANYTHING!" Danny yelled as he finally (and barely) managed to pry the hand off the doorknob. As he took a breath and attempted to block the door with himself, he continued with, "You are not, and I repeat not going to have Winnie, and if you're going to even try to get her…" Before he continued, two rings of bright light surrounded his waist and flew in opposite directions, changing his clothing, eye and hair color. Once he became his alter ego Danny Phantom, he finished with, "…You're going to have to get through me first."

End of Chapter Four

A/N: (Looks at the chickens that kill people that write cliffhangers) Oh, fudge...

Anyway, DETECTIVE KEITH HAS MADE A CAMEO:-) For those wondering why I said that, she was an original character of mine in my first Danny Phantom fanfic, Playing with the Dead (it was an AU). Besides the fact that she's almost 60, alive and Broussard works alongside her, she's virtually the same character, which is good for me because she's one of my favorite OC's.

Before going, I would like to announce two things: not only is this (as of now) the longest thing I've ever written at well over 2,000 words, I will also try to update more often, especially since I'm going to be off for Spring Break next week! Until I update again, have a great day!

Ja Ne!

Kate-chan 91