"Wait, you're actually helping the Box Ghost?" Tucker asked incredulously.

"Yep," he replied drolly as he scrolled through jobs on his computer.

"I know Sam said you should do more charity work but I don't think she meant this."

"Well Sam is out of the country on a mandatory college tour somewhere in England until next week, so what she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Tucker chuckled over the video chat, waving his PDA into the screen. "Oh - she already knows my friend."

"I hate you."

"Nah, you love me. Expect her opinion when she wakes up."

"Okay, but seriously, how did I even get into this?"

"He asked you for help," Tucker replied simply, frowning slightly. "You wouldn't have refused."

"I mean - he asked Mr. Lancer for a job Tucker. Could you imagine?"

"I can - when you got Boxy out of there, Mr. Lancer told us he'd make an excellent Ghost Studies teacher."

"No."

"Yeah. Though he'd probably ask Phantom over the Box Ghost; no one would take the poor guy seriously."

Danny groaned, spinning in his chair with his head thrown back. "I'm not graduating just to go back to high school."

"Then find the Box Ghost a job fast. Imagine - calling him sir."

"Right." Danny scrolled down the list of classifieds. "I mean - he's a ghost. Who would want to hire a ghost?"

"Says the half-ghost who will one day work with ghost hunters."

"Shut it."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Back here in the land of mere mortals, we need a whole lot of stuff to get a job. He can't just work anywhere. Especially without a killer reference."

Danny groaned. "I forgot about references. Do we know any adults who'd vouch for the guy?"

Tucker chuckled. "Want to ask the ghost hunter parents or your arch-enemy? Better yet! Ask Mr. Lancer… the guy he just asked for a job."

"Not helping Tuck."

"Was I supposed to? He asked you for help."

Danny stilled, recognizing something from his encounter with the boxed spectre. "Technically… he asked Phantom for help." A slow, deliberate smile cross his face as he looked at the screen.

Tucker gave him a shit-eating grin. "You're not."

"Oh," Danny mused. "I am."

:-=-:

Danny floated impatiently above the low rise building, frowning as he waited.

"Beware!"

Danny sighed as the Box Ghost appeared before him. "You're late." The ghost in question blinked. With another sigh he held up the resume that the ghost left with him. "Here, I made a few changes."

The Box Ghost brought his resume closer, scrunching his face at the chicken scratch before him. "It says I need more experience."

"Well yeah," Danny replied with a roll of his eyes. "'Haunting the Post Office' is not considered to be 'employment' to anyone. Do you have any other working experience that you were paid for?"

"Uh…" the Box Ghost trailed off with a frown.

Danny sighed tiredly. "I figured much," he said, beckoning the ghost forward. "Come on, let's fly and talk; I want to patrol the town." Both ghosts took off at a comfortable speed, the younger leading the older into the town. "So if you don't have any experience, you need to look for entry positions which are pretty easy to find in Amity. The problem is that you're a ghost."

"That'll be a problem?"

"Well yeah," Danny replied with quirk of his eyebrow. "You don't have a social insurance number and you're a menace to everything that's a cube." He chuckled to himself. "And ghosts aren't super popular amongst humans."

"You are," Box Ghost retorted.

Danny made a face. "Yeah, but not with all humans - remember I'm still half human too. Either they love me or love the idea of dissecting me." He shook his head. "So we need to find you a place where they don't care about any of that. Is there anywhere that you really want to work?" He glanced back at the Box Ghost questioningly, anticipating only one answer.

The Box Ghost didn't disappoint. "Boxes are a must."

Danny faltered in the air. "Of course." He sighed, slowing down. "We'd have to prep you for interviews too. Don't want people to think my reference skills suck." He flew a little ahead before realizing the Box Ghost wasn't following. Confused, Danny turned to see the Box Ghost staring at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"Why are you helping me?" The Box Ghost asked curiously. "We've been enemies for years."

Danny rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah… well…" he stammered, eyes darting in either direction. "I figured you weren't all bad if you wanted to be a good Dad. And… I dunno…" He shrugged, giving the Box Ghost a lop-sided smile. "You seemed like you needed my help."

The Box Ghost stared at him for a few moments, silent except for the wind around them. Finally, he smiled back. "Thanks kid."

Danny rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Don't thank me yet - we still need to get you hired." Green eyes surveyed the town, landing at the docks. He smiled, gesturing in that direction with his thumb. "How are you with water?"

:-=-:

"Ern! Yo Ernie!"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ernesto sighed heavily. "What now Carl? We got deadlines to meet." Brown eyes glared toward the lanky late twenty year - or was he mid-thirties now?- old before him.

Carl grinned wildly, brown eyes sparkling with mischief as he bounced in the doorway. "You are never gonna guess who's here to see you."

The older man frowned, stifling a few groans as he straightened himself up from the latest Sayonara Pussycat shipment of compact mirrors. "If it's the city again, tell him we sent the correct paperwork last month and the output tax is too high." He turned to leave when Carl started to speak again.

"It's not Masters."

That got his attention. "Who then? Nobody comes 'round here unless they're dead. Literally."

Carl's grin grew wider. "Well…" he drawled, putting his hands in his sweatpants and gave him a suggesting look.

Ernie sighed again. "Spit it out - you look like you're about to prank your gym teacher."

"It's Phantom. He wants a job."

Their eyes met, Ernie staring at the man like he had grown a second head. "Run that past me again?"

"Phantom's in your office and wants a job."

Dusting off his overalls, Ernie pointed his finger accusingly at Carl. "If this is one of your jokes kid, I'll make you regret it." He trudged up the wooden stairs begrudgingly, grumbling under his breath at his joints protesting against the movements. I'm getting too old for this shit. He reached the small office, eying it with disdain as the sky darkened overhead. Not like they'd switch any of us rejects to the day shift. Fiddling with his keys, Ernie opened the door and stopped dead in the doorway.

Phantom floated anxiously in the office; the tall ghost looked very uncomfortable. White hair was completely unruly, green eyes other-worldly and yet something about him seemed new and old at the same time.

Ernie had never liked ghosts; his family only dealt with the afterlife through their ofrenda. Living in Amity Park meant that he had to get used to them - especially when the specters made the docks their fighting grounds. Didn't help that they were more active at night too; he had to implement ghost drills to protect his workers.

"Phantom," Ernie replied gruffly, making the ghost shift in surprise. "Hear you want a job?"

The ghost boy rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Actually sir," he started. "I'm only his reference." Phantom made a face. "More like his agent really?"

Ernie chuckled. "First job?" he supplied, walking over to his desk and leaned at the front. The ghost frowned, drifting downward towards the floor as if he realized the power difference. "Look kid, I'm not sure what ghosts do in their spare time, but we don't just hire anybody. There's an interview and a trial period and -"

"I know, I know," Phantom replied hurriedly, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean to imply that you should hire him right away- Ancients know I wouldn't - but I was… I was hoping to plead his case if there was an opening."

Ernie frowned, surveying the glowing teen in front of him. "I have a few openings, but only the graveyard shift."

Phantom blinked. "Graveyard?" he asked in confusion.

Ernie cringed. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend."

"You didn't. Just don't know what that meant."

Ernie blinked, fighting back a groan and a bark of laughter. "Nights, kid. 7pm-6am. Some days. Some weekends. Basically, all the shifts no one ever wants to do because of the ghost attacks."

Phantom winced. "Sorry."

Ernie shrugged. "It's fine - we get what we get. So who's this friend?"

Phantom rubbed his right arm, looking away. "See, the thing is… he may not have a social insurance number?"

Ernie fought the urge to roll his eyes. "So cash then."

Phantom fidgeted. "Honestly, I don't know. All I know he wanted to be a good dad."

Ernie nodded in affirmation. "A good goal. Sending it back home then?"

"I guess?"

"How're they with ghosts?"

Surprisingly the boy chuckled. "He's fine with ghosts, it's the ghosts that aren't fine with him."

Ernie gave him a suspicious look before he sighed, finally heading to his creaky chair behind the desk. He leaned back, surveying the boy curiously. "This friend have a name?"

Phantom's shoulders went to his ears before he replied in a small voice. "The Box Ghost?"

Ernie jerked in his chair, sitting upright and stared at the kid incredulously. "The one that yells 'beware' everywhere?"

"Yep."

"What in God's name makes him want to work here?"

Phantom's eyebrow twitched upward and his usual sarcastic demeanor washed over him. "Warehouse… Boxes… not far of a stretch really." He cringed and hastily added a "Sir," to the end of his sentence.

Ernie looked the ghost over, watching the boy fidget as he stared back. "Don't you fight him a lot?"

Phantom crossed his arms with a roll of the eyes. "Yeah, but it's more for misplaced aggression really. Box Ghost isn't a threat. Besides, he seems to help with the ghost problem. He annoys them too." He glanced away out the window, starting to hover unconsciously a few inches. "I mean, I understand if you don't want to hire him. He's a ghost and the most annoying one to boot. But… I dunno. He really wants to try for Box Lunch and I think it's nice."

Ernie looked up and muttered a few words in Spanish under his breath. He looked over the docket and sighed deeply. "Tell him he starts tomorrow."

Phantom's aura lit up as he whipped his head back. "Seriously?" he asked hopefully.

"Seriously," Ernie replied. He pointed at the boy with narrowed eyes. "But you're responsible for him. Any trouble and he's out. Got it?"

Phantom nodded readily. "Thank you Sir!"

Ernie chuckled. "It's Ernesto," he said, standing up and holding his hand out to shake Phantom's. "Ernesto Montez. You can call me Ernie."

Phantom scrambled over, a big smile on his face as he shook Ernie's hand. "Danny Phantom."