-Daphne
She ran her hands under the hot water of the kitchen sink,scraping the purple paint out from underneath her fingers. It was her turn to cook and paint chips weren't a part of anyone's balanced diet, even if they were a part of her day's work as an artist.
"Mom!"
Sam rolled her eyes heavenward, why couldn't her son ever greet her without yelling?
"Yes, sweetie?"
The boy, not quite nine years old and still a little small for his age,climbed up onto a stool by the kitchen counter.
"I finished my homework."
"Already?" Sam checked the blue eyes staring up at her to see if they were honest.
"Uh-huh. I started right after school. I only had math so I finished fast."
"You finished 'quickly'," she found herself correcting the boy as she pulled vegetables out of the refrigerator.
"Right." He watched as his mother moved around the kitchen chopping and humming to herself. It was a melody he'd heard since he was a little boy and it made him feel warm inside, despite the fact that the woman humming it was a far cry from musically gifted. "What's for dinner?" He asked curiously as he lay his head in his hands.
"Salad, couscous, and humus."
The boy stuck out his tongue. "Yuck. Humus. Can we have hamburgers instead?" His round face was filled with hope.
"You can have hamburgers when your father cooks. You know that."
"Yeah," he sighed.
She glanced sideways at her son, who appeared to have gone through some sort of major defeat at this news. "How about tortellini, instead?"
"Yes!" His face lit up at the idea of cheese filled pasta.
"You still have to eat some salad, though, dear."
He nodded, his black hair shaking wildly as he did so. "I will!" There was a momentary silence from the boy, while his mother filled a pot with water and set it to boil.
"So," he finally said.
"So," Sam replied.
"Mother."
"Benjamin." This was a game they played when he wanted something. He pretended to act overly formal and grown up. She responded in kind.
"My homework is done."
"So you said."
"So, I have nothing to do tonight."
"Your mother thinks something can be devised, young Benjamin Fenton."
The boy tried to hold back a giggle. Giggling wouldn't have been keeping with the fake seriousness. Sam was doing the same, a smile twitched on her lips, however. Her son slid off of his stool a white light flashing across his body as he did so.
The boy floated over to his mother, his hair now a glowing white, his skin translucent and pale, his green glowing eyes looking at her playfully. The woman stopped chopping and raised an eyebrow at this performance.
"I had an idea."
"You had an idea?"
"I was thinking maybe..."
"Maybe what?"
The ghost boy floated up until he was face to face with his mother. He placed his small hands on her shoulders and fixed her directly in the eyes. Sam, couldn't help but be amused at how serious he looked, but repressed another smile for his sake.
"I want to go flying."
Ben had recently begun levitating and floating with more control and agility. As a result Danny had begun to take him for flying lessons. It amused and intrigued Sam to watch her son gain abilities, one after the other, taking them on as a part of growing up, rather than dealing with their sudden appearance, as her husband had.
"Well," she said, brushing the white hair away from his cool face, "you'll have to wait until after dark. And you'll have to ask your father if he'll take you."
"Really?" A smile broke out across his face and his ghostly tail twitched madly with excitement.
"It's fine with me."
"Yessss!" His arms shot up in triumph and he drifted across the kitchen away from her.
At that moment another figure drifted up from the floor and solidified behind Sam. It then opened the refrigerator and leaned on the door, staring at the contents.
"Danny!"
"Hey, honey." He kissed his wife on the check and turned his attention back to the fridge.
"You know you're supposed to use the stairs." She gestured towards their son floating at the opposite end of the room. Making up rules of etiquette for ghost children wasn't exactly easy, but they had figured it was probably a good idea. It didn't help, however, if the ghost parent was always breaking them.
"Sorry." Danny grimaced, pulling a drink out of the refrigerator and shutting the door.
"Hey, Dad!"
In a moment there was a very, very energetic young ghost staring him in the face. Danny let his blue eyes blink in response.
"Yeah?"
"I finished all my homework and Mom said it was okay to go flying tonight if you would take me, so will you take me, please, please. I really did get all my homework done, it was just math." It all came out in a stream of excited words tumbling out of the little boy's mouth.
"I think," he said, grinning at his son, "that we can do that."
"Woo " The boy's arms shot above his head in a repeat performance of his last victory. This time, however, when he flew across the room he spun slightly and began to wobble. Within seconds it was obvious that he didn't have total control over himself and in all likelihood he would crash into something unpleasant, like the china cabinet.
"Ben!" A flash of white appeared as Danny instinctively changed forms, while throwing himself at the boy. He managed to catch the child and stop both of their bodies in mid-air before anything was able to collide. Sam's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes opened wide in the moment it took for the entire event to occur.
"It's okay," the older ghost said to the frightened child ghost in his arms, "no harm done." He ruffled the child's hair. "You really do need practice," he said laughing lightly. Ben looked up at his father and, realizing he was not only all right but that he wasn't in trouble, began giggling in response.
Sam watched the two phantoms, floating and laughing in front of her. These were the most important men in her life, a pair of silly giggling ghosts. They were odd and as long as she loved them her life would never be less than strange. But they were hers and that was all that mattered.
"Mom?" The little boy flew out of his father's arms and landed in front of his mother, changing back into the boy with his father's eyes and his mother's mouth. "You'll come watch won't you?"
"Of course," she smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."