Author's Note:

Hi, everyone! I hope you're enjoying this story and having a good time! :) So I wanted to clear that if you find Vlad less intimidating and malicious than in the original Danny Phantom series... Just wait for it. And also I must clear that this is AU, that is Alternate Universe, so some major events will be changed a little. I can assure you of flashbacks, so these changes will not be confusing for you (also I love to write flashbacks).

Also in this story Danny was 13 when he got his powers and C.A.T. here is an exam for graduating from the middle school (I just wanted to make Danny a little bit younger). Also he is still developing his basic powers, but something tells me very soon we will see more of it .

Please, visit my blog on tumblr, where you can find my drawings and arts, of, course, including Danny Phantom:

blog/aleks-norward

Also, please review, if you want, and have a good day!

Thanks for your attention, now on with the story! :)

Couple of days passed with Vlad often being in Danny's ward. He was always absent in the morning and appeared around two p.m. with some small treat for the boy. For example today, on his ward's last day at the hospital, he came with a brown recyclable package full of oranges.

When Vlad entered, he found Daniel sitting in his bed, looking outside of the window. His posture was hunched, glance sad and eyes a little puffy. Apparently there were tears not long ago. It was totally understandable. Vlad himself had no time to grieve, busy with arrangements for tomorrow's funeral ceremony and then the wake in Fenton's house, but was relieved that the boy had. Vlad will have his time tomorrow. Now Daniel was his main concern.

"Hello, my boy", he said, but Danny didn't budge. "How was your day?"

Once again, no response. Danny talks very little now. Vlad presumed it was because of the approach of the funeral. It made all of his tragedy less surreal.

Danny heard as Vlad sighed and put the package with fruits on the small table near the bed. There were footsteps of the man's expensive dress shoes and then he appeared at Danny's left.

"I've got something for you, Little Badger", Vlad tried again. He held one of his hands forward, and there was some high black package in it. Curiosity took over Daniel, to Vlad's relief, and he turned his head slightly to the left to see the mysterious package more clearly.

He was disappointed. It was just a dress package for a suit. Danny nodded at it, silently asking.

"This is your suit for the funeral, my boy", Danny's face scrunched in pain, and he turned away. "I know you don't really favor such clothes, but you should look nice for such an occasion, even if it is such a sad one."

But Danny only brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them close with his hands. Vlad put the dress package neatly upon a chair's back and approached the boy. He lightly put his hand on his shoulder, but saw a small flinch coming from the child.

"Daniel", he sighed, "it is important to look nice tomorrow. This way we express our respect for the ones we say goodbye to."

"It is not the suit", mumbled Danny and if not for Vlad's enhanced hearing, he wouldn't even hear him.

"What was that, my boy?"

"I… I said the suit wasn't a problem", he mumbled again. "It's… just the funeral."

Vlad nodded.

"I see." Danny still didn't look at him, and though Vlad totally understood his charge's state, he was afraid that Daniel might drown himself in his depression.

"I know it will be hard, Little Badger. But though pain never completely goes away… it will dull in time. Believe me, I know this is hard to grasp, but… All will get better. I can promise you that."

"No", the boy suddenly said. "No, you can't. Not really."

As if to prove his point of ending the conversation, Daniel got under his blanket. Vlad let a sigh out.

"It would be really nice, if you tried it on, at least, before tomorrow. I hope it won't be too big, since you… weren't really well lately."

But there was no reply. Vlad tried again.

"I need to meet your doctor to talk about needed medication for you. But I will be back soon to have supper with you, like we got used to. Is it okay with you?

Daniel still stayed silent. With a sad sigh, Vlad left the ward.

For his own relief, when he got back with two plates of fish and rice, he found the suit laying neatly upon the chair's back without its package. The sight told him that Danny tried the suit on, despite him still being in the bed under the blanket.

Dinner went in silence. Vlad didn't even try to talk something out of the boy. He understood that now Daniel was in his own world. Because Vlad himself was in thought. The only thing he said that night before retiring was:

"We will be leaving at ten thirty, Daniel. I will be here by ten."

Danny said nothing, but Vlad knew that he heard him.

At ten in the morning Vlad had already signed out of the hotel and was standing outside his charge's ward door. Dressed in his finest black suit, Vlad entered the room to find nobody there. The suit he prepared for Daniel vanished from the back of the chair.

"Must be already preparing", Vlad thought.

He came to the bathroom door and gently knocked.

"Daniel, my boy, are you in there?"

There was no verbal reply, but Vlad could hear some shifting behind the door.

"I hear you are. Well, Little Badger, I'm waiting for you out here."

It wasn't really long before the door cracked open and revealed young Daniel. He was all dressed up and ready. His head was lowered, shoulders hunched, eyes staring at the floor. Vlad noted to himself that when the boy wanted he could look really presentable. But something wasn't quite right with the boy's look. After some inspection, Vlad found out what it was — the boy's tie was made really… createful. It wasn't that much repulsive for the man's taste, but not proper enough.

Vlad got the idea that apparently Jack hadn't taught his son to tie a tie duly. It was his mistake to correct.

"Good morning, Daniel", Vlad said softly, afraid to scare the boy off. Danny nodded his head as a sign of recognition. Vlad sighed and bent over to the boy with the hand extended towards his neck. "Let me fix this for you."

Suddenly with a wince Danny backed away from Vlad. He looked into the man's eyes to find they were surprised.

"Little Badger, you do know I won't harm you, don't you?" asked Vlad worriedly.

Danny hesitated.

"Y-yeah, I… I know." He suspiciously glanced at Vlad's extended hand.

"I just wanted to help you with your tie…"

"I… I-I don't need… help", Danny said softly. "It's okay. This is by design."

"Little Badger", Vlad sighed. "There is nothing shameful in admitting that you have no idea how to properly tie a tie. Today's ceremony is not a place for experimentation, really."

"It is not. It's…" Danny hung his head again. "It's for my dad." He whispered. "It was he who taught me to do a tie like this. When I was little I found it really funny and great. I thought… I thought this way I could respect his memory… of us back then."

Vlad's heart hurt from hearing Danny's voice so tiny. The man tilted the boy's chin up with a finger. When their eyes met, Vlad smiled at him fondly.

"You know, I think your tie actually looks great, Little Badger. You did a great job. Your father will be really proud of you, I have no doubt."

Danny nodded slightly, and the ghost of a smile could be seen on his face. It was enough for Vlad's own pain to dull a little for now.

They still had a little time before their car showed up. Vlad plucked a boutonnière into Danny's suit pocket, explaining it as one more gesture of respect for the deceased and helped Danny with his cufflinks. During this time Vlad found himself adjusting his own in nervousness a couple of times.

Finally, he received a message from his driver and with a hand on the boy's shoulder, he led him out of the hospital.

It was a really nice day in Amity Park. The sky was clear and navy blue, the sun was shining and its beams were warm and welcoming. The grass and the leaves on the trees shimmered in different shades of green beautifully. And the black shiny car parked in front of the hospital with a driver standing in front of it, dressed in all black, was such a contrast to the peaceful view around that it made Danny's mood drop even lower.

The hand on his shoulder squeezed reassuringly and led him towards the car. Danny heard Vlad introducing him to the driver, but the boy didn't really pay attention for more than extruding a dull, automatic "Greetings, sir" out of himself. Vlad didn't pressure him further and just let him get in the car.

The journey to the Amity Park Graveyard went in a daze. On the way Danny caught a glimpse of a church that his family and he went to sometimes, and his heart was squeezed with pain.

"No tears", he thought to himself. "No tears, Fenton. Be strong."

Danny knew that he would break. Vlad knew that too. He guessed everybody knew that either. But Danny was determined to last as long as he could. Nothing less. For his family.

He shuddered, when the door from his side was suddenly opened. Danny really didn't notice that they had stopped. He looked up at the driver with scare in his eyes. It was a tall slim man with light brown hair and kind brown eyes. Dressed in black fancy uniform, he sadly looked down at the boy.

"We're here, young sir", he said. "I'm afraid it's time to go."

His tone was sympathetic and though Danny hated when people pitied him, now he was grateful for the offered niceties, even if it was just this man's work to be polite and pleasant.

"Yeah… Thank you, sir", he murmured, doubting he was heard, but the driver nodded in recognition.

Danny got out of the car and went with Vlad ahead the stony path. Danny always hated graveyards. Here gravestones were everywhere and this coldness coming from them always creeped him out. He never wanted to think about death. His mother always said such thoughts only caused a depressive mood and bad dreams. It was really strange to hear such things from the devoted ghost-hunter, and, moreover, after the accident with the portal Danny couldn't not think about death. He was from then on half-dead, after all.

But he never thought that he would have to face up death again so soon.

They proceeded ahead and very soon Danny caught the eye of something big and white. Very soon he understood that there were three beautiful caskets. They were generously decorated with dozens of white, red and light pink flowers. It was obvious that Vlad spared no expense. The caskets were closed and Danny had a hunch why… The Nasty Burger explosion disfigured the bodies of his family a great deal. But that didn't mean that Danny didn't want to see all of them one last time.

"Why are they closed?" Danny asked, his voice laсed with tears. But he held them back.

"Little Badger, I thought it was oblivious", answered Vlad, but there was no smugness in his voice, only pain.

"It is. But I want to see them. Just one last time."

Vlad sighed hard. Danny understood why. How will he explain to the heartbroken boy that he can't see his family for the last time in his life? But Danny wanted to see them so much… Although he knew that it'd make things even worse.

Danny knew that he would be refused his plea. But suddenly the gentle hand pushed him forward.

"One glimpse, Little Badger", Vlad whispered to him. "Only one, okay?"

It wasn't something Danny expected. He looked at Vlad, his godfather, with big eyes, full of gratefulness.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Vlad nodded and made a gesture for the graveyard's workers to lift the lids up carefully. They did as they were told.

Danny stepped ahead. His heart was bumping nervously within his chest. He was really scared of what he would see, but he knew that he had to do it.

He came to the first one, Vlad right behind his back. Danny glanced inside the coffin, and his breath caught up in the throat. It was terrifying. This one was of his father. But before he could really recover from his shock, the casket's lid was placed back in place quickly. Danny looked up at the cemetery workers.

"B-but…"

"We agreed only on one glimpse, Daniel", told him Vlad softly. "Do you still want to continue, my boy?"

Danny swiftly nodded his head to not let Vlad take advantage of his hesitation. He heard the man sigh again.

"Alright."

The second coffin was the exact replica of the previous, and Danny found himself really grateful that Vlad was so generous even to his father, though, no doubt wanted to leave him without a last box at all.

When Danny saw Jazz's uglified face, he could feel the tears well up in his eyes with such a force he was barely holding them back. His sister, his clever beautiful sister… was gone.

But like the first time the lid hid his sibling's image too hastily from his sight.

"The last one, Little Badger", said Vlad's voice over his head, and Danny could hear grief in man's voice, though an untrained ear wouldn't even think there were emotions there.

Danny knew that the next one would be the hardest one for them both.

The sight of his mother was maybe the most pleasant of the three of his passed relatives due to the thorough work on her face. The lid wasn't placed back this fast, so Danny could see that his mother wore a gorgeous red dress and her face was so peaceful you could think she was just sleeping. But the fact was… she will never wake up from this sleep.

That was when all of Danny's defense broke down. Tears ran down his cheeks freely and sobs escaped his throat. Vlad gasped and ordered the workers to place back the lid. In no time Maddie Fenton was hidden from her son's painfilled eyes.

The knees became weak under Danny's weight, but before he could fall strong arms wrapped around him.

"It's alright, Daniel, it's alright", Vlad whispered in his ear. "They are in a better place now, calm down."

But Danny couldn't. He broke. He felt his chest burning in pain and sorrow and at the same time it was like nothing was left of him. Right now the only thing Danny craved was to be with them, with his family, even if for that he needed to be buried alive. But Vlad's arms were so strong he had no chance to get out of their hold.

It seems like a lot of time had passed before Danny pulled himself together. And right on time people started to arrive at the cemetery. They all came to say their goodbyes to the Fentons.

All the service long Danny just brokenly stared at the coffins. Vlad's hand securely supported him by the shoulders. Danny didn't hear anything and likely didn't see a thing either. He was once more caught up in his own world. In the world where Jazz always was there to keep him out of trouble and analyze him like a psychologist she wanted to be to help him through his hard times. In the world where his father so loved to take him in and out of school, teach him how to work with ghost-hunting equipment and give him the largest of smiles no matter what he said or how bad he performed at school. In the world… where his mother and he shared a can of their favorite cola, where they together made experiments on his chemistry table for kids, where she would always call him her baby boy and "sweetie". In the world where his friends were always happy, where they played and fooled around all day long and had the brightest of futures ahead of them. In the world Danny had forever lost.

Then, after so long, the caskets were slowly put in their holes to be buried under the thick layer of mud and earth. The priest pronounced his last prayer and then the flowers, one after another, started to fall onto each coffin. And Danny's flowers were the first ones.

"Goodbye, Mom, Dad, Jazz", he thought with tears in his eyes. "I hope you are in peace now. I… I am sorry that that happened. I wish I could be with you. But I'm not. I'm sorry. So, so sorry. Rest in piece. I… I love you."

Vlad made the same ritual as Danny had and together they went back to their spot. Just when all the flowers were left in the graves and the cemetery workers started to bury the holes, something warm touched Danny's cheek and he gasped and raised his head. Nobody was in front of him. But the feeling didn't go away. Somehow a voice, oh so familiar voice, rang in his head quietly.

"It was not your fault, sweetie. You are not guilty of this. We love you, my baby boy."

And then the warm ghost of a touch disappeared as did the voice. Danny's defense broke down once more, but he tried to cry silently.

Danny sat silently in the kitchen table with a plate full of food in front of him, but he never even touched it. Vlad was at the door greeting the guests and accepting their condolences. Danny guessed he should have been doing it right now, but he chose to do what Vlad told him to and it was to go eat the food he served for him. Danny couldn't talk to people here. He was so disgusted by most of them. When his parents were alive, they always humiliated them and laughed at them as town's weirdos. It didn't really get better even after the numerous invasions of ghosts in Amity Park. Maybe it even got worse, because now everybody in town believed in ghosts and, of course, blamed their existence on his parents. So many fake smiles, so many bad foolish words, so much pain on his parents' faces. Danny wasn't ready to forgive his family's offenders and now had no idea why he even tried to save their lives as Danny Phantom. Maybe Vlad was right from the very start. Maybe his heroics were really foolish and stupid.

Leaning back in his chair, Danny sighed and looked pitifully at his plate. He had no doubt that the food was great. He heard some guests comment well on it. But Danny didn't want to eat. He doubted he even would for some time. He hoped it was a normal reaction. From now on he wouldn't want to let down even Vlad.

Suddenly he froze. Since exactly when did Danny care about what Vlad thought of him? Didn't he always ignore the man's wishes? Could it be that now, when he was left with nobody by his side, he succumbed to the company of the only person who was there for him? Especially if it was his ex-arch-nemesis? Did he forgive everything that quickly? Did losing everybody he ever loved was enough for his moral code to shut down?

Or was it now even related to his morals anymore or his and Vlad's traumatic relationship in the past? Was Danny really ready to refuse the help of the person, who even overstepped his own hatred for Danny's dad and organized him the same expensive and pretty casket as for the woman he loved, just because in the past they didn't exactly reach an agreement?

All of a sudden, a familiar girlish quiet laugh reached his ears. Right after it came a more harsh and boyish one. He couldn't help but recognize it. That was the sound that previewed him being thrown in his own school locker, or being hit in a face, or getting smashed face first into the trash container. And other three voices that he now also recognized were often the ones which laughed after Danny got over his misery.

Standing from the table Danny looked into the living room. There, near his mom's favorite sideboard, stood four teenagers, his classmates from Casper High, known as A-listers or a local elite. They were all dressed properly in black, but everyone could see that they weren't really disturbed by the gloomy atmosphere of the wake. It looked like they were having fun here.

"What are they talking about?" Thought Danny and pricked his ears up.

"Yeah, this place is a total dump", said Paulina in an accusing tone, looking around in disgust. "It is a miracle they didn't die earlier. This laystall must be corrupted with mice!"

"Yeah, no surprise Jazz tried to get out of here as soon as possible", agreed Dash. "Her parents were freaks, brother's a geek and a loser. Really, from all who died in that explosion only Jazz deserved to live."

"She was such an annoying geek", Star intercepted. "Even worse than those pathetic dweebs Manson and Foley."

"At least Jazz was pretty and clever. If you ask me, I think Fentonio should have died. He's now getting a billionaire uncle for being a disappointment and a loser! How is that fair?"

"What do you think, Kwan?" Asked Star.

Kwan hesitated.

"Um… This billionaire who was beside Fenton at the funeral looked really weird when the priest talked about . I think I saw him even shed a tear silently back there."

"No way!"

"Do you know what that means?" Inquired Paulina slyly.

"What?" Kwan got confused.

"Easy", laughed Dash dirtily. "I think Fentonio's mother just hooked up with that money bag. Why else would he organize such a ceremony for such freaks as the Fentons?"

"Well, if you think of it, now it is clear where these psychos got money for their crazy inventions", nodded Paulina. "And if you look closely it seems Masters favors Danny. Could it be that their hook up had a result?" She smirked.

Dash laughed openly.

"You're kidding, right? Fenton is Masters' brat? He's too lame to be one. If you ask me again, he's just a charity case and when all this "tragedy" subsides, he's out of Masters' door and into some dumb orphanage, to be just with freaks like…"

He fell silent at once when saw who was listening. Danny didn't really notice when he got out of the kitchen and into the living room, coming to the bullies. He was just standing in front of them furious with his hands balled out in fists and teeth gritted with rage.

"How dare you?" He pressed out of himself in such a low, quiet and menacing voice that even got Dash to shiver. "You insufferable idiots! You dare to come into my home on such a day and ridicule and humiliate my family with your dirty talks!" Danny's only desire was to beat all of these morons into mud for disrespecting the memory of his parents and friends. But he knew that doing such a thing would be dishonorable to his family on its own, so he rigged his nails into the skin of his palms and growled threatingly. "Get. Out."

But these idiots didn't move, staring at him with nothing more than skepticism. They weren't even sorry for their vile words!

"I SAID GET OUT!"

With the loud sound of his voice, the glass of goblets in A-listers hands broke, cutting their skin. The lights in the room flickered frighteningly in green color and everybody noticed it. With loud screens of "GHOSTS!" the A-listers ran out of the house, no trace of them but a broken glass on the floor.

The moment they were gone, the lights came back to normal, but guests stared at the lamps for a little while before returning to their own business. And only Vlad's focus was solely on Danny.

The servant, hired by Vlad, hastily approached and got care of the broken goblets at the boy's feet. Danny, on the other hand, after telling the servant a soft "Thank you", got back into the kitchen and from there down to the lab. There he was going to sit this awful event out, sipping in his rage and fury and finding comfort in a messy interior of his parents' favourite room in the house.

Vlad sighed as he watched Daniel retreating to the basement. The boy was right in his actions towards those insolent idiotic teenagers, but his anger got the best of him. One more push and all the lamps in the house could've just blown up. It was a wonder nobody saw Daniel's eyes gleaming neon-green. The boy didn't know his real power. It was Vlad's concern to teach him to control it. And from now on it was a matter of safety not only of him and other humans, but also ghosts.

" ", Vlad's head turned to the dark-skinned couple who he remembered as the Foleys. "Good day", continued . "Please, accept our condolences."

"No matter what others said about them, the Fentons were great people", nodded . "And Danny is a really nice boy."

"Thank you for your words", nodded Vlad politely. "You also accept my sincere condolences for your son. I know he and Daniel were best of friends."

This got tears out of . Her husband with a sad expression patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"Tucker and Danny met in kindergarten and had been best friends since then." He said.

"Danny often stayed overnight in our house and Tucker did the same thing here. They… so loved those dinosaur-shaped cookies of mine when they were little", cried . "Excuse me… It's just…"

"No need for apologizing, , I know what you're talking about", said Vlad softly. "Maddie and Jack were my best friends since college and their children I even considered as my own. When I discovered their death… Why wouldn't you come in?"

"Thank you for your invitation, , but I think we really should go", said . "I'm afraid we are leaving the town for some time. The Mansons won't give us a moment of peace."

"We… we think you should know that the Mansons blame Danny for Tucker and Sam's deaths", nodded . "They never liked him because of his parents, though they never gave any time ot thought to get to know him or Maddie and Jack."

The Mansons… The family of that annoying girl who Daniel fancied. Well, Maddie told Vlad about how pretentious Samantha's parents were. Maybe it would be better if Daniel didn't meet them anymore.

"Thank you for your warning. I see it's very serious. I will see to it so Daniel won't meet them."

"Yes, it's a good idea", agreed . "But, please, before we retreat, would you mind filling us in on your plans for Danny? We're not indifferent to his fate, you know."

"Of course, it's understandable. As you might already know, I adopted Daniel. Tomorrow we will leave for Wisconsin to live there from now on. I really think the change of scenery and the clean slate will be beneficial to his psychological recovery."

"Yes, maybe you're right", nodded . "Well… It's time for us to go. Please, tell Danny we sent him our best regards. And… if he wants to come visit Tucker's grave, here we wrote this", she gave Vlad a small piece of paper with an address. "And just so you know, Sam lies not far away from him. Just… Don't let the Mansons know we told you that. We wouldn't want you or ourselves to have problems with such a scandalous couple."

"Yes. Thank you very much. Daniel will greatly appreciate it."

With that the Foleys went away and Vlad was left with a feeling that tomorrow he and Daniel would be visiting another graveyard.

Finally the wake was over and the servants were cleaning the living room up. Danny was still sitting in the basement, wrapped in memories of his happy childhood, when Vlad came down.

"Everything's over, my boy", he said softly. "All the guests are gone. You can come upstairs again if you want."

But Danny shook his head.

"I'm not really done here", he nodded at the messed up table in the corner. "Dad asked me to clean that up just the night before the C.A.T. I remembered just now."

Before Vlad could object, Danny stood up from his chair, went to the messy table and started the cleaning with the prepared nearby bottle of the "Fenton's ghostly cleaner for the surfaces". Vlad sighed tiredly at the stubbornness of the boy.

"What will be with my home?" Danny asked carefully.

Vlad was a little surprised.

"Whatever do you mean, dear boy?"

"I asked what would become of my home!" Danny repeated, more annoyed. "I'm not an adult, I don't think I can inherit this house or pay for it. So what will happen to it?"

Vlad approached the boy, trying to keep calm. He was really tired of today.

"Little Badger, your parents purchased this house and this land, it all is totally yours. When you become of age, you will be the only master of this house. Until that time I will be preserving this residence for you."

"So…", Danny's brows furrowed, "you really mean this? This house is… mine?"

"Will be yours in four years, Little Badger", corrected Vlad gently. "But I won't ever sell your home or rent it out, you can be sure of it. I will see to it so that it awaits for its only true master, you, Daniel."

Danny looked at Vlad with appreciation. He was so afraid this day was the last time he ever stepped over the threshold of this house. And now he knew for sure that he would be welcomed in these walls someday again.

"Thank you, Uncle Vlad."

The man smiled warmly at him.

"You're very welcome, Little Badger."

Danny finished his cleaning in a couple of minutes and just then realised that it was already evening. He was really out of it for the past few hours, apparently.

"Well… when do we leave?" he asked meekly. He didn't want Vlad to think he was eager to come live with him, because in reality, despite the man's reassurances and promises of a good life, Danny was terrified. Vlad was a very possessive man who liked it when everything was his way. And something told Danny, obviously his past experience with his long lost and newly found godfather, that in Danny's case he would also do everything as he saw fit, ignoring Danny's own piece of mind.

"I thought about staying a night here", answered Vlad. "I thought maybe you would appreciate it", Danny nodded with a small smile. "By the way, the Foleys came by", at once Danny stiffened. "They were really worried about your future and said nothing but good words about you, Little Badger. And they thought you would want to visit their son's grave."

Vlad got a note with the address out of his inner pocket, and Danny eagerly tore it out of Vlad's hand.

"They gave me permission to visit Tucker?!" He asked incredulously, looking through the note.

"Of course, they did, why wouldn't they?"

"Well…" Danny hung his head. "After all, it is my fault that Tucker is… gone."

"Daniel!" yelled Vlad in anger and that made Danny jump in fear. "I thought we've already talked about this!"

"W-we did, but…"

"No buts, young man! You stop thinking like that right now, understand?" Danny flinched at Vlad's tone and backed away. The man sighed, seeing the boy's reaction, and continued gentler. "Daniel, you must understand that everything that happened wasn't your fault. You do know that not only your family, friends and teacher died that day, don't you?"

Danny froze and then, after a second of thought, shook his head surprised.

"The A-listers said something like that, I guess."

"The A-listers?" Vlad raised a brow.

"Yeah, those morons from my class that I kicked out today", Vlad nodded in understanding. "But no, actually… I didn't think about it."

"Then I will tell you the details, so you can see the truth for yourself."

"Vlad, there is no need…"

"The police investigation showed that the explosion was caused by the negligence of the Nasty Burger staff, who didn't notice that a really dangerous flammable sauce was left unattended and in hazardous closeness to the fire. My personal investigation proved it. So the only ones who must be blamed are now deceased workers of that fast-food restaurant and their employers for bad choice of staff and more importantly the use of dangerous flavoring. In that accident a big number of people were killed. I still don't understand why it was so vital for your teacher, , to bring you and your family exactly to Nasty Burger to discuss your test, but if he were qualified enough he would carry it out in his office like any other normal teacher would, and in that case you, your friends and family wouldn't even go near the Nasty Burger at that hour of the day. Do these facts make enough of a point for you to stop blaming yourself?"

Danny didn't reply. He understood it all. But somehow even after all of the truth being served to him on a silver platter some very strong guilt continued nabbing on to his heart.

"Alright", Vlad sighed hard. He'd been doing that too often now. "I see all of that will need some time to settle down in your mind. Now, I presume you are, just as I am, extremely exhausted. I would say it is time to retire for bed. In the morning I will help you pack your most needed and precious things, you really can exclude the clothes, and then we will leave to visit your both friends' places of peace. After that we're leaving for Wisconsin.

"You know where Sam's grave is?" asked Danny hopefully.

"Yes, let's suppose that I do. But we will need to try and keep it a secret from the Mansons, so it is in our best interests to go there as early as possible."

"Yes", Danny nodded. He knew that the Mansons hated him with all their hearts. "Of course."

"Splendid. Now let's go upstairs. I think I heard the cleaners are done now with their work."

With that they left the lab.

As soon as Vlad left Danny to his own devices in his room, Danny understood he would have a hard time trying to sleep. After changing into his pajamas he started packing. The most precious things went into his duffel bag. The photo albums were first. Then the CD's, some books, DVD's with family videos, his favourite toys — simply everything that held memories of him with his family and friends.

In two hours he was finished with packing and was now lying in his bed, desperate to find peace. But he couldn't sleep. He felt so alone, so hollow from not hearing his Dad's horrible snore from the room down the hall, from not seeing Jazz's face looking into his room to get sure that he got in bed on time and had enough sleep in the morning, from not feeling his Mom's kiss on his forehead that she always gave him when thought he was asleep and hearing her hushed "Good night, Danny", which always gave him the idea that she didn't get over the fact that he grew out of that… Now Danny would give anything in exchange for all these annoying evening rituals and habits. Because now he will never experience them again.

This time tears didn't come. It seemed, all of them were already spilled. Now it was only a harsh pain in his chest and throat, which didn't let him sleep.

In some time Danny understood that he couldn't remain in his bed anymore. He got out of it and went out of his room. Legs led him into his sister's bedroom. There was all as Danny remembered from the last time he was let into it — pink, organized and candy like. He could imagine Jazz sitting at her desk at an ungodly hour, overwhelmed with her homework and extracurricular activities. He came closer to her bed and got a seat on it unsurely. When they were younger, Jazz would always let Danny spend the night in her room in the sleeping bag on the floor if he were scared. She was always there for him, always ready to reassure him of the brightest of futures ahead… Sometimes Danny thought what would become of him if there were no constant cheer of his sister. He guessed that now, unfortunately, he would find out.

But even here he didn't feel at peace. Something in here wasn't really right and Danny didn't know what exactly. Sitting up, he left Jazz's room and quietly passed a guest room, heading to the end of the hall. There was that door that was his safe haven in his early childhood.

His parents' bedroom.

Danny touched the door handle and turned it. The door opened silently and revealed a room with blue-grey walls and a two poster bed. Quietly Danny approached the bed and sat on it. Then he lay down slowly and got under the covers. A strange feeling got to his nerves. The bedsheets… they still smelled like his parents! The smell was so strong it was like they never went away, like they were right there, enveloping him in their hugs and telling him that everything would be alright, that he would be happy again someday.

Danny didn't notice when the sobs found their way out of his throat and didn't notice how fast he fell asleep in this room. He just knew that here he felt much better, much more loved, much safer. And sure as a morning light he didn't notice a sad face of his godfather, who peered in through the slit of the door with worry and then went back to the guest room.