Danny let out a yawn as sunlight filtered into his room. He was just glad that it was Sunday, meaning he could sleep in.
A small yawn caught his attention and he felt something snuggle his chest. Glancing down, Danny found Danielle sleeping peacefully. He smiled down at his daughter as the memories from yesterday came back.
He had found out he had a daughter, his parents had accepted him being a half-ghost, and they were able to fix what was wrong with Danielle.
At that thought, Danny clenched his fist. Apparently, according to the files, even if Danielle was able to reach a full year in stasis she still would have been instable and Vlad knew it. Vlad saw her as a failure simply because she ended up as a female and was going to dispose of her the moment he was able to create a perfect male clone.
Luckily, his parents were able to figure out what needed to be done to keep Danielle stable for good. His mom had quickly built a device (that his dad decided to call the Fenton Ecto-Dejecto) and they were able to use it to stabilize the little girl. Further tests confirmed this.
After getting a clean bill of health it was time for bed. After saying goodbye to Sam and Tucker, Danny had headed up to his room with a sleepy toddler in his arms.
Back in the present, Danny reached down and ran his hand through her hair. He would protect this little girl with every ounce of his being.
-:-
"Okay, Danielle. Repeat after me…"
"So wait, what exactly are you doing again, Danny?" asked Tucker in confusion. He and Sam had come over to see how the new father was doing. It was also just the teens in the house at the moment as Jack and Maddie had gone out to buy clothes and other things Danielle would need.
"I'm trying to teach Danielle new words as well as teach her to read," replied Danny, who was holding up handmade flash cards. "She might be three-years-old physically, but mentally she's like a baby."
"And we are trying to expand her mind!" stated Jazz as she walked into Danny's room with a stack of books.
Sam glanced at the books with a raised eyebrow. "Jazz, don't you have any books more suitable for Danielle?"
"What's wrong with these books?"
"They're textbooks, Jazz," replied Danny in a deadpan tone. "She's pretty much just a baby and not everyone can be a genius like you. She needs books for her skill level."
"But the whole purpose is to teach her to read! Think of how smart she'll be if she can learn how to read from these!" exclaimed Jazz with a smile.
Danny could feel his eye twitch while Danielle tried to get her Daddy's attention. "Jazz…I know a little puppy by the name of Cujo who would love to meet Bearbert Einstein."
A gasp escaped the older teen as she stared at her brother horrified. "You wouldn't!"
"Only if you get some actual children's books."
Jazz pouted, not liking how her very own brother was blackmailing her. She was just trying to help her cute little niece and this was the thanks she gets?
"Fine! I still think she should learn how to read from my books though."
The halfa was about to retort when a blue mist escaped his mouth. He let out a groan of annoyance. "Just great."
"Don't worry, Danny. We can watch over Danielle for a bit," said Sam, knowing that Danny would rather watch over his daughter than deal with the ghost.
"Thanks," replied Danny. "Going ghost!"
Transforming into his ghost form, Danny was about to fly off to go stop whatever ghost made their appearance when…
"Daddy, no go."
Turning back, Danny saw the sad look on Danielle's face as she reached out to him. It was clear that she didn't want him to leave. He gave her a reassuring smile before patting her on the head.
"Don't worry, Danielle. Daddy is just going to work for a bit. I'll be home soon. Remember to behave for your aunts and uncle, okay?"
He placed a quick kiss on her forehead before heading out. When he was gone, Danielle let out a few whimpers and tears built up in her eyes.
"Please don't cry, Danielle!" said Jazz, not wanting to see her cute little niece so sad.
"Y-Yeah! Your dad will be back before you know it!" added Tucker, trying to calm the toddler down.
It didn't work. The child let out a loud cry, causing the three teens to cover their ears. What happened next was something they weren't expecting at least for another few years. A ring appeared around Danielle and she transformed into a mini version of Danny's ghost half.
"Daddy!" cried the little ghostling as she phased through the wall and flew in the direction Danny went.
The teens stood there flabbergasted at the fact that they just lost a three-year-old. They quickly scrambled out of the room to give chase.
-:-
Danny searched for whatever ghost decided to show their face as he flew over Amity Park. He just wanted to find the ghost, stuff them in the Fenton Thermos, and go home and be with his daughter. The sound of a motorcycle then caught his ear. Looking towards where the sound came from he found that it was Johnny 13 and Kitty riding down the road. Danny actually let out a sigh of relief upon seeing them.
"This might actually be easy for once," said Danny to himself as he flew down to the ghost couple. "Sir, I'm going to need you to pull your vehicle over!"
"Get lost, Phantom!" yelled Johnny, glaring at the younger ghost.
"No can do, Johnny," replied Danny with a grin. "In fact, I have a proposition for you!"
The biker ghost looked confused at the word. "A what?"
Kitty just rolled her eyes before looking at Danny with interest. "What kind of deal, Danny?"
"Pull over so we can talk!"
The three made their way into the nearby park. Once there, Johnny parked his motorcycle and gave Danny a narrowed look.
"Talk, Phantom."
"I'll cut to the chase. If you two promise not to cause any trouble, like hurting people or destroying property because you two had an argument, I won't bother you whenever you're here in Amity on a date."
The ghost couple looked at Danny in confusion. Was he serious? Was he really going to leave them alone when they're on a date?
"What brought this on, Danny?" asked Kitty, curious.
"…I'm in the middle of something really important right now and it needs my attention. If it were any other ghost, I'd probably be fighting them right now. You two on the other hand, even though we don't always see eye to eye, I can at least talk to you and you'll listen for the most part," explained the halfa. "So since we both would rather be doing something else instead of fighting, how about it? Truce?"
Kitty gave off a beaming smile. "Truce!"
"Kitty! How do you know this isn't a trick?!" questioned Johnny, still not trusting Danny.
Kitty gave her man a pout. "Because you and I both know Danny isn't like that! He's a goody-goody, remember?"
Johnny stared at his girlfriend for a bit before letting out a groan and giving in. "Fine! But if Phantom tries anything I'm sicking Shadow on him."
Both Kitty and Danny rolled their eyes at the biker. Kitty then turned to Danny with a look of curiosity. "By the way, Danny. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is that important thing you mentioned?"
The white-haired teen became nervous. "W-Well…"
"Daddy!"
Kitty and Johnny watched as Danny tensed up and looked around frantically. They became even more surprised when a small blur crashed into Danny, almost knocking him over. Their eyes widened when they saw what the blur was.
"D-Danielle?! What are you doing here?!" questioned Danny, looking at the toddler in his arms with a frantic look.
"Want Daddy!"
The teen let out a sigh of exasperation. Why was Danielle here? Jazz, Sam, and Tucker were supposed to be watching her! Wait, she could transform already?! Things just couldn't be easy for Danny, could they?
The two Phantoms then jumped when a loud squeal sounded off. The next thing Danny knew was Danielle being snatched out of his arms.
"Eee, she's so cute!" exclaimed Kitty as she nuzzled the little one, causing said little one to let out some giggles. Danny and Johnny glanced at each other before looking back at Kitty fawning over Danielle. The happiness exuding from Kitty soon disappeared when she glared at Danny. "What did you do?!"
"Okay, what's with everyone thinking I knocked up some random girl?" questioned Danny, looking annoyed.
"Didn't you?" questioned Johnny. This earned him a glare from Danny.
"Then why is there a little girl who looks exactly like you and calling you "Daddy"?" demanded Kitty.
"…I'll tell you in a moment. First I need to make a call," said Danny as he took out his cellphone and typed in a number. After a few rings…
"H-Hey, Danny!"
"Hey, Tuck. I'm just calling to see how things are going," replied Danny. Kitty and Johnny were watching him from the sidelines.
"Things are going great! Never better!"
"And Danielle is behaving herself?" asked Danny. He could have sworn he heard the hushed voices of Sam and Jazz in the background.
"Y-Yeah! She's real well behaved!"
"So she didn't discover her ghost powers and she didn't fly away from you three in order to find me? Is that what you're telling me?"
"…"
Danny pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Tucker…you, Sam, and Jazz just head back home and if my parents are there, tell them I'm bringing some ghost guests over. They are NOT allowed to shoot them, understood?"
"R-Right! No problem! …Sorry, Danny."
Danny hung up the phone and walked over to Johnny and Kitty, taking Danielle from Kitty's arms. "Come on, you two."
"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Johnny. "You want us to go to your house?! Your parents are ghost hunters, remember!"
"And they know my secret now," explained Danny, adjusting Danielle in his arms. "As long as you're with me, they won't hurt you."
"…And you'll really tell us why you have a daughter now?" asked Kitty, glancing at the ghostling.
"I said I would, didn't I? Now let's go."
With that, Danny flew off with Johnny and Kitty following close behind.
-:-
After learning Danny's secret, Jack and Maddie had reassessed how they should go about their research on ghosts. Knowing that their son, and granddaughter for that matter, was half-ghost it now felt wrong to want to capture and possibly dissect other ghosts for their research. The Fenton parents had come to an agreement to study ghosts through observation more than anything.
Don't get them wrong, though. They wouldn't stop building various ghost hunting gadgets. This was mainly because Vlad was still out there and they were not going to be defenseless should he come around. There was also the chance that there were other evil ghosts, like that hunter ghost Danny had told them about.
That being said, the Fenton parents were still surprised when they heard that their son would be bringing home some ghosts after they learned that Danielle had "run away" from home. Oh they were going to have a talk with Jazz over that.
When Danny and his guests arrived, Jack and Maddie had to fight their usual instincts to pull out their weapons. From what Maddie could see, Jazz was also trying to fight the urge to blast them if the glare she was giving them was any indication. The Fenton parents took note that the male ghost looked nervous to be there, while the female looked curious.
"You know, actually getting the chance to look around, you have a very nice home, Danny."
"Thanks, Kitty."
Maddie raised an eyebrow at the interaction between her son and this ghost. She didn't doubt her son when he said he was bringing some ghosts over, but to see how friendly they were to each other…maybe there really was more to ghosts than she originally thought.
It was then that Jazz's patience wore itself thin. "Danny! Why are they even here?!"
Her younger brother gave her a blank look before responding. "Well, since they were there when Danielle found me, you know, after flying away from one of the people who were supposed to be watching her (Jazz flinched at this) and I once again get accused of getting a girl pregnant, I figured it would be best to tell them where Danielle really came from."
"What?! You're really going to trust them with that?!" questioned Jazz, giving Johnny and Kitty a distrustful look. Kitty glared right back at elder Fenton child.
"Compared to most of the other ghosts I know, yes, I trust them…well, mostly Kitty anyway."
"Hey!" cried out Johnny, while Kitty's glare turned into a beaming smile.
"The point is, I know they won't hurt Danielle," said Danny.
"How can you even be sure?" questioned Jazz, glaring at Kitty.
The biker chick glared right back. "For your information, we're ghosts, not monsters. Only the lowest of the low would go after a toddler for any reason. So don't lump us in with those types of idiots."
"And Plasmius is the biggest one of them all," added Danny, earning curious looks from the ghost couple. The halfa left the room, but soon came back with the file and handed it to Kitty. "That's where Danielle came from."
Kitty opened the file and the ghost couple read it, their eyes widening as they did so. Right when they finished reading it was when Kitty snatched Danielle out of Danny's arms and held her close.
"You poor little thing!" exclaimed the green-haired girl as she nuzzled the ghostling. "Don't worry. Your Aunt Kitty is going to make sure that mean old fruit loop never hurts you!"
Danny could only chuckle as he watched Kitty dote on his giggling daughter. Jazz on the other hand bristled at the idea that this…ghost was trying to usurp her roll as favorite aunt! She turned to her parents to have them put a stop to this, but was shocked to find them smiling at the scene.
Johnny was looking at his girlfriend with a frown. "Kitty, let's be serious here. There's no way you could take on Plasmius."
"Sure I can. All I have to do is banish him," replied Kitty. "You of all people should know about that, Johnny."
The humans all raised an eyebrow at the mention of banishment.
"Banishment?" questioned Sam.
"Yup! If I wanted to I can banish someone just by blowing a kiss. Although it only works on men," explained Kitty. All of the males shuddered at the thought.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side," said Danny, giving off another shudder.
Kitty could only giggle. "I wouldn't worry too much about that, Danny. Unlike most ghosts, I don't really have a problem with you."
"Which brings up the next question, Danny," said Sam, butting in. "What's going to happen if one of the ghosts that do hate you find out about Danielle and none of us are around to keep her safe?"
To her surprise, Danny grinned. The halfa phased through the floor into the basement, confusing everyone. The next thing they heard was a sharp whistle followed by…barking? Sam and Tucker tensed up at the sound.
'He wouldn't!' thought the two teens.
Danny soon returned, followed by a small, green, panting fuzzball with a spiked collar.
"Puppy!" exclaimed Danielle, reaching for the dog. Kitty set her down, allowing the toddler to make her way over to the puppy.
The happy puppy looked at the oncoming child, wondering why she looked like his master.
"Cujo," said Danny, getting the canine's attention. "This is Danielle, my daughter. I need your help looking after her and keeping her safe. Can you do that for me, boy?"
"Arf!" replied Cujo, giving Danielle a few licks and making her giggle.
"Danny-boy, I know this is a ghost dog, but are you sure he can help protect Danielle?" asked Jack, looking at Cujo with interest.
Danny grinned once more. "Cujo, get big."
"Arf!"
In an instant, the small puppy was replaced with a dog the size of a truck. Those who hadn't met Cujo before stared up in amazement.
"WOOF!"
"Holy shit!" exclaimed Johnny, earning a punch to the ribs from Kitty. "Ow! What the hell, Kitten?!"
She punched him again as she glared at him. "Don't swear in front of the baby, Johnny!"
The biker ghost looked around to see that he was getting disapproving looks from the women and Danny. "S-Sorry. Won't happen again."
"It better not," grumbled out Danny as Cujo reverted back to his small size and started playing with Danielle. "Anyway, with Cujo here Danielle should be extra safe from my enemies."
"Danny, you do know owning a dog is a lot of responsibility, right?" questioned Maddie. "Your father and I agreed to help you with Danielle, but…"
"I know, Mom, but Cujo is well trained already and with him being a ghost he doesn't need as much as a dog that is alive," explained Danny as he scratched Cujo's head, causing the puppy's tail to wag in happiness. "I can handle this, Mom."
Maddie let out a sigh. First a daughter comes into his life and now he takes in a ghost dog? She really hoped Danny didn't burn himself out over all of this responsibility.
CHAPTER END
-:-
Looks like Danny will have a bit more extra help in raising Danielle. Of course Jazz doesn't seem to like the idea of Kitty's self-proclamation of being the little halfa's aunt.