Danny tugged at the uncomfortable collar of the shop's uniform before he grabbed another stuffed animal from the box and put it on the shelf he was currently restocking. Half an hour left before quitting time and he was free from the hustle and bustle of Christmas shoppers. He hated working around Christmas, all the shoppers were rushing too much to grab their presents to be polite, the workdays were long and tiring and Danny couldn't stand the incessant Christmas songs playing on the speakers all the time. If he heard "Last Christmas" by Wham! again he was going to scream. But shops would employ extra staff over the holidays to help ease the strain on their year-round employees. So, while he would have preferred to skip the next week of working, Danny knew he had to stick it out. He needed the cash.
He pulled another toy out of the box and shoved it on the shelf tiredly. At least the ghost attacks were winding down before the Christmas Truce came into effect. Most ghosts avoided fighting and making new grudges or enemies around this time of year to ensure they didn't break the truce. It made this time of year Danny's most reliable time for being able to keep his job and work long shifts, picking up plenty of overtime to help him sustain himself through the year when he invariably got fired and was out of work for a few weeks at a time. His parents refused to take rent off their son, not when they knew how little his savings were. But he did try to at least help with the food bills. He hated that he was back living with his parents again, especially since he had been there for a few years with no sign of being able to change that fact.
"Hurry up James, I want those shelves full before you leave!" his boss shouted across the shop. Danny rolled his eyes. His boss, he hadn't bothered to learn their name, kept getting him and another new employee confused. He wouldn't mind except James was a teenager with blonde hair while Danny was in his early thirties.
"They will be sir," Danny called back as he grabbed another toy and worked a little faster while his boss watched. Once he no longer felt the grumpy man's eyes on him, he slowed back to his casual pace.
"You know if you tried a little harder you might be able to stay on after the Christmas rush," a woman remarked. Danny turned to the female voice and spotted a brunette stocking a shelf behind him with small model trains.
"Oh yeah, I would love to hear him shouting at me for longer," Danny grumbled sarcastically.
"Hey, when you need a job, you can't pick and choose your boss," the woman pointed out. Cindy was Danny's buddy to help him learn the job and who he could ask questions if he had any. Unlike many people though, Danny had worked in numerous shops before and had learnt the generic system of how things worked already. Instead of training him, Cindy had used the time to befriend him instead, and he her. Cindy was about his age, married with two young girls around Melinoe's age. In return, Danny had regaled her with the sorry state of his life.
"I don't really expect to make it in this job to the end of January Cindy," Danny admitted with a shrug as he turned back to the shelves he was filling, grabbing yet another toy.
"Not with that attitude. If you want to stay employed you've gotta try at least Danny," Cindy retorted.
"You don't know my track record," Danny muttered before gasping as a blast of cold air escaped his mouth.
"Crud," he hissed to himself.
"Does that mean you have to accept it?" Cindy challenged, continuing the conversation obliviously. Danny sighed before shoving another few toys onto the shelf in one go, noticing that there was only a handful of toys left in the box.
"Cindy, could you finish this box for me? I gotta go to the bathroom," Danny requested hopefully. Cindy frowned.
"It's only twenty minutes left until the end of our shift. Can you not hold it?" Cindy pointed out. Danny glanced towards his boss who was busy reprimanding a tired employee in a different aisle.
"I've been holding it for a while now. Please Cindy, I'll be quick," Danny pressed, aware of how far a ghost could travel in the time it was taking to slip away. Cindy frowned at him before turning back to her own shelf to fill.
"Are you going to come back this time?" she asked. Danny flinched before nodding.
"Yes," he confirmed, hoping he was telling the truth.
"Alright. Go. But make it quick. I swear my daughters have a bigger bladder than you," Cindy grumbled. Danny flashed the woman a grateful smile before he ducked behind the shelves and scurried to the door in the back of the shop to the staff storeroom and bathroom.
He darted into the bathroom. He didn't bother to lock the door. He wasn't sure how long he would take and didn't want to prevent a needy employee using the facility. He glanced at his reflection in the grimy mirror behind the cracked sink. He was a sorry sight in his rumpled colourful uniform, crooked misspelled name tag and the ratty old Santa hat on his head. As he watched a bright band of light appeared around his middle and separated to reveal the black and white jumpsuit of his ghost form. He sighed as the band crossed his vision and Danny was left gazing at his sad green neon eyes. He wasn't happy with his life. He hadn't been for years, but it was a necessary evil for now.
He turned himself invisible and intangible and sped out of the building and into the wintery clear night outside. He turned in a slow circle before he spotted a speeding blur of a glowing ghost darting through a street a few blocks away. He zoomed after the ghost and soon caught up to them outside a cluster of tall apartment blocks. As Amity Park grew using the increased tourism created by the ghosts and the town's well-earned claim of being the most haunted town in America, if not the world, new businesses had formed, and the growing population needed more homes. The town council had resolved the growing issue by building a few apartment block complexes, scattered around the town. They were unsightly to the long-term residents, but they had solved the problem with cheap accommodation. Danny himself had even lived in them for a time before getting evicted. The ghost turned to Danny unexpectedly.
"I'm not looking for trouble," the ghost informed him with a scowl. Danny frowned at the ghost. The ghost had been a middle-aged man before he died. He was overweight with greasy grey hair plastering his light blue skin.
"Then you should know better than visiting Amity Park," Danny retorted.
"I used to live here Phantom. It's almost Christmas and I wanted to check on my girl," the ghost added. Danny frowned before sighing.
"Okay, but don't do anything else, got it," Danny relented. Not all ghosts were evil. Danny knew that much, and it seemed that this was a newly formed ghost checking on living family.
The ghost disappeared into an apartment halfway up the towering building and Danny turned to leave, knowing he could still make it back to his job before he was missed if he was quick. Suddenly there was a terrified shriek and the window the ghost disappeared into was broken by a lamp being thrown out of it. Danny gasped in alarm and darted into the apartment. Inside, the ghost was looming over a younger man with a bloody gash on his forehead. In a corner a whimpering woman cowered holding a toddler to herself protectively.
"She's my girl," the ghost snarled, his red eyes flashing dangerously. Danny scowled at the ghost and fired a low powered ghost ray at the glowing man to get his attention.
"This is checking?" Danny commented with an unhappy raised eyebrow.
"This vermin was sniffing around here before I died. And now I'm in the ground, he's moving in on her," the ghost growled. Danny frowned, turning to the woman behind him.
"Miss, do you know this ghost?" Danny asked, hoping to defuse the situation by the woman explaining an unbiased point of view.
"He was my boyfriend. He-he hit me. M-Mike was trying to help me g-get away when E-Ed got alcohol poisoning," the woman explained through frightened tears. Danny's eyes widened a moment before narrowing angrily at the ghost.
"That true?" Danny gritted out.
"She's my girl. I can do what I want with her," the ghost snarled.
"Not while I'm here," Danny corrected and lunged at the ghost, phasing them both through the floor and down to the basement. The ghost grunted in pain when they finally slammed into solid concrete. Danny backed away from the dazed ghost, Ed, ready to fight.
"Get out of my way Phantom! That scum has my girl and my kid," Ed hissed.
"Not a chance. You are not gonna haunt them," Danny refused. Ed's red eyes pulsed before firing a dark red blast at Danny. Danny dodged the blast before he was thrown forward by an explosion. Danny gasped in alarm. The apartments were built quickly and cheaply, utilising gas for electricity. Ed's ghost ray had hit one of the large tanks underneath the building, setting it on fire. Ed blinked in surprise before grinning and fired another ghost ray at another tank and setting it on fire as well.
"If I can't have her, no one can," Ed muttered before phasing out of the wall.
Danny ignored the ghost, letting him escape as he tapped into his ice powers. His green eyes shone bright blue. He poured as much cold energy into his hands, aiming it towards the first tank before being thrown back again by another explosion. Danny panted in the choking heat and saw that a third tank had caught fire and the flames would soon reach a fourth. Danny gulped before shaking his head. He couldn't save the building. But he could help the people living here evacuate. Despite the raging thoughts in his mind, thundering of his heart in his chest and the angry crackling of the building inferno, Danny heard a soft yelp. He glanced upward before darting towards the sound. If he left before helping the source of that sound, the source wouldn't survive. He gasped when he spotted a fully grown dog against a wall, fur singed and a bloody wound on its head. He sped over but as he drew close, he saw that the dog was dead. But movement caught his attention and he saw three huddled forms behind the dog. Three puppies cowering in fear from the flames and him. His green eyes softened in sorrow. The dog must have been the puppies' mother and was killed by the first explosion caused by the ghost fight. He held out a hand to the dogs but the nearest one snapped at him. Danny smirked sadly at the dog, knowing he didn't have time to coax the puppies gently if he wanted to save the building full of people.
He turned himself human and knelt beside the mother dog. He scooped her up into his arms and the puppies ran to him. Carefully, he managed to pick each puppy up without them biting him and put them on the mother's still stomach. He then turned himself into his ghost form and phased them all out of the basement and set the dead dog and puppies in an alleyway nearby. He didn't know if the puppies would stay put, but he hoped they would. Once he was sure that the puppies were okay, he flew back to the apartment block. The flames had grown and were licking the first floor now. He scowled and charged headfirst into a window, not bothering to turn intangible.
"Is there anyone there!?" he shouted, straining his ears for the slightest sound. He heard a strangled yell and he phased through the walls to the sound, finding an elderly man huddled in a corner. Danny grabbed the man by the armpits and pulled him out to the lawn surrounding the building before darting back inside.
Once Danny had cleared the first few floors, he made ice slides at higher windows for people to escape through. The other apartment blocks evacuated as the flames stretched out and threatened to touch those buildings as well. The fire brigade was called, and Danny paused long enough in his frantic rescue attempts to inform the fire fighters that the fire was caused by gas tanks in the basement catching fire in a ghost fight. While the fire fighters fought to quench the flames, Danny resumed to systematically fly though each floor, shouting directions to his ice slides or for people to call for him if they needed help. Two hours later, the entire building was evacuated, with only two fatalities on the first floor.
Danny leant against one of the fire engines, panting for breath when the woman Ed was after ran over to him.
"Was this Ed?" she asked. Danny hesitated a moment before nodding.
"'Fraid so. I think it was an accident at first though. But he caused the fire," Danny confirmed. The woman buried her face in her hands.
"I thought I was free! He's dead!" she sobbed. Danny frowned sympathetically at her before pulling her into a comforting hug.
"I'm sorry this happened to you. But maybe it's a good idea for you to get out of town. Ghosts portals congregate in Amity Park. If you move away, Ed might never be able to find you again," Danny suggested.
"But what if he does!? He tried to murder Mike. He almost got us all killed!" the woman wailed. Danny bit his lip before sighing.
"Listen, move to a nearby town, don't tell me which you have in mind. Take Fentonworks' number with you. I know Fentonworks doesn't have a good track record, but I do hear a lot that happens there. If I hear that Ed came after you again, I'll come to you and help as quickly as I can. Ask for Danny and tell the Fentons to remember the Christmas fire and where you are when you call. Your message will get to me," Danny instructed. He knew he was risking his secret, but this woman was in danger and terrified, he couldn't just abandon her. The woman looked up from her hands with wide watery eyes before nodding.
"Thank you," she whispered. Danny smiled at her.
"You should go find Mike and your kid. I doubt Ed will be back for a while, he thought you'd be in that fire," Danny muttered and the woman whispered another grateful thank you before running off into the crowds to a shaking Mike holding a toddler who was clutching his neck.
Danny glanced around himself before nodding to himself. His work here was done. He floated up into the air and turned invisible, flying back to where he left the puppies with their dead mother. As he had hoped, the puppies had stayed with their mother. He landed a short distance away, turned himself visible and back into his human form. He edged closer to the puppies and knelt down beside their dead mother. He didn't try to pick them up again, instead he knelt there considering what he should do, allowing the puppies to get used to his presence. He felt responsible for their predicament. He had phased Ed down to the basement where their fight endangered the canine family. Without their mother, the puppies would need someone to take them in. Danny brushed a hand through the mother's clumping fur around her neck. No collar. He figured as much. This was a family of strays. No owner to take the puppies in.
Gradually one of the puppies crept closer to him and sniffed his knee. He didn't move and before long the three puppies had ventured closer to him. He slowly put a hand down and one of the puppies sniffed it before giving him a tentative lick. He smiled gently and brushed his hand on the side of its head. The puppy hesitated before leaning into his touch. He stroked the tiny puppy again and the puppy edged closer and nuzzled into his leg. The puppies were getting cold. Without shelter or their mother, they wouldn't last long out in the wintery night air. Danny scanned the alleyway and spotted a mouldy cardboard box propped against a dumpster. He left the puppies, ignoring the one he seemed to have befriended stumbling after him. He grabbed the box and brought it back to the dogs. He picked up each of the dogs and put them gently into the box before hugging the box close to himself and walking down the street, leaving their dead mother in the alleyway.
A distant clock chimed the hour and Danny flinched when he realised that it was one at night. He missed his clock out time. He could go back but that would look worse than if Danny just told his boss that he forgot to clock out the night before. He also recalled his promise to Cindy, which he had broken. He sighed, his hot breath clouding over the puppies swaying uncertainly in the box. He didn't know what to do with these three puppies, but he knew he couldn't keep them. He could hardly support himself, let alone three dogs. Besides, he was living with his parents, and if they wouldn't let him have one dog when he was a kid, there was no way they'd let him have three now. He had to find them a home.
By the time he had reached Fentonworks, he had decided to offer Cindy the first chance to have the puppies, maybe it would make up for the fact that he let her down. He spotted the dark windows and knew it would be safe to phase up to his bedroom. He was glad as he knew he stunk of smoke and had ash on his face. The room hadn't changed much since he was a teenager. Blue walls, worn rug, clothes strewn in the general direction of the closet or the wash basket, his desk cluttered with old newspapers and his old computer. He knelt on the floor and considered the shivering puppies. He sighed before pulling his pillows and blankets onto the floor and let the puppies snuggle in with him as he settled down for the night.
That morning, he brought the puppies with him in a sturdier box he pillaged from his parent's lab as he walked to Cindy's house. He balanced the box of puppies in one hand and knocked on her red wooden door beneath a glittering Christmas wreath. Cindy opened the door cheerily before frowning at Danny.
"You never came back last night," she reminded him haughtily.
"I'm sorry Cindy. You didn't get in trouble, right?" Danny offered.
"Nah, the big guy didn't care who stacked your shelves as long as they got done. But he wasn't happy that you ducked off early," Cindy admitted. Danny nodded in understanding.
"I'm really sorry though Cindy. I meant to come back, honest. But um, when I finished in the bathroom, it was already past our quitting time and I figured you'd already have left. So, I went home. But… on my way I found these guys," Danny resumed before gently tilting the box of puppies to allow Cindy to see the little dogs. Cindy's eyes widened in surprise. She cooed at them and picked up one and cuddled it close to her.
"They're adorable. Where did you find them? Maybe they got loose, and their owners are looking for them," Cindy asked, scratching under the chin of the puppy in her arms. Danny smirked at the sight before shaking his head.
"I found them with their mother. She was dead Cindy. I think she got hit by a car," Danny half-lied.
"The poor things," Cindy gasped, turning to the puppy in her arms.
"I thought you might want to adopt them," Danny admitted. Cindy blinked before biting her lip.
"Danny, you know I love dogs but I dunno if I can take all three in," Cindy muttered.
"I know but if you could even take one or two of them it would really help me out. I haven't told my parents that I'm harbouring a litter of puppies in my room. But I'll have to tell them if I can't figure something out for them before work later," Danny assured. Cindy glanced down at the puppy in her arms before smiling warmly at it. Danny could tell the woman loved the puppy.
"Alright. I'll take this one in. But I can't help you with the other two. Whatever you figure out though Danny, make sure whoever takes them knows they gotta look after the puppies for their lives, not until next year. They're such cuties, it would be a shame if someone took them in only to get rid of them," Cindy decided. Danny nodded in understanding before the co-workers said their goodbyes and Danny walked back to Fentonworks.
He sighed to himself as he walked. One of the puppies popped up and licked his chin. He smirked at the puppy. The male puppy had taken a shine to him and he had to admit that he was becoming attached to the little guy. But he knew that it wasn't fair to the puppy or his parents if he decided to keep him. He struggled to open the front door to Fentonworks and slammed the door shut behind him with a kick.
"That you Danny?" his mother, Madeline Fenton called.
"Yeah mom," Danny confirmed. His mother stepped out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a tea towel with a smile before frowning at the box in his hands. He grinned at her nervously.
"Why are you walking around with that box?" his mother asked. In answer to her question the male puppy popped his head up before spotting the confused woman and dropping nervously back into the box.
"Um, surprise?" Danny offered with a nervous chuckle. His mother scowled at him.
"You are not having a dog Danny. I have no idea where you got that puppy, but you might as well take it back," his mother decided. Danny slumped.
"I know I can't keep them mom. But I can't take them back. They're strays and their mom is dead," Danny explained.
"They?" Maddie repeated.
"It was a litter of three. I've homed one already," Danny admitted.
Maddie frowned at him before crossing the living room to peer into the box, spotting two tiny puppies huddled together. She sighed in defeat.
"Alright. You can keep them here until you find them a new home. But if you haven't found anywhere before the new year, you'll have to take them to a shelter," Maddie relented. Danny grinned in relief.
"Deal. Any ideas?" Danny agreed. Maddie hummed to herself before nodding.
"Actually, I do. I doubt she'd want two, but Mrs Peters down the road recently lost her dog. Maybe she'd be willing to take in one of the puppies. And if she doesn't maybe her son will," Maddie suggested.
"Perfect, I'll ask her now," Danny decided.
"Don't forget that you have work in an hour!" Maddie called after him.
"I know," Danny assured before he disappeared out the door and walked a few blocks down the road to Mrs Peters' home. She was an elderly woman who Maddie had befriend a couple of years ago when Mr Peters died. Danny had never warmed to the woman as Mrs Peters thought him to be a hooligan, despite being fairly good friends with Ida Manson, Sam's grandmother, who had had a good opinion of him. However, the kindly woman died while Sam was in college.
Danny knocked on the door and fixed a hopeful smile on his face. The door opened slowly, and the withered woman peered distrustfully at him.
"Hello. What do you want?" she croaked.
"Actually, I'm hoping that I can give you something you want," Danny began and tilted the box to show the two puppies inside. The elderly woman blinked before shaking her head.
"No. I don't want another dog. I won't replace Timmy," the woman refused. Danny's smile fell.
"Would your son like one then? They need a home Mrs Peters," Danny suggested.
"With a new baby? No, adding a puppy to that will not end well for anyone. While I sympathise with the little things, I can't help them," Mrs Peters replied. Danny deflated. Mrs Peters frowned at him before sighing.
"Let me ask around. I might be able to find someone who can take them," she offered.
"Please. I dunno what to do with them. I've managed to home one but I dunno who else to ask," Danny confessed. Mrs Peters hummed in understanding before concluding the visit and closed her door.
Over the next few days, Danny pestered all his co-workers trying to find a new home for the puppies and eventually one agreed to take one in for their kids. But that still left one puppy in Danny's care, the little male puppy who warmed to the halfa. It was a couple of days before Christmas, while at work, when Danny spotted Sam and her daughter walking through the mall. Danny's eyes widened in alarm as he scrambled to hide himself among the shelves when he saw them enter the toy shop. Mentally he berated himself for applying to work in a toy shop when there was a chance of meeting with Melinoe. He hadn't been careful enough.
"Look at this dog mommy," Danny heard Melinoe call, picking up a stuffed dog. Sam smiled at the girl before crouching down and taking the toy, turning it over in her hands.
"You really like this one?" Sam asked.
"Sure do. It'll be like having a puppy of my own," Melinoe confirmed hopefully. Sam chuckled.
"Alright then, I'll put it on Santa's list," Sam replied as she returned the toy to the shelf and pulled her daughter through the shelves to look for a gift to give her secret Santa at school. Danny peered around the shelf and spotted the stuffed dog Melinoe had picked out. It was a panting brown dog with bulging cartoon eyes. Danny grinned as he knew exactly where the last puppy could go.
"You look like some kind of creep," Cindy commented as she found him hiding behind the shelf. Danny jolted in surprise before turning to her, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Er, just thought I saw someone I owed some money. Didn't want to make a scene at work," Danny lied. Cindy shrugged.
"Okay, but if you're gonna hide, maybe not do it in a toy shop with kids running around," Cindy suggested. Danny chuckled nervously and nodded.
"I'll keep that in mind," he muttered.
"Going to the Christmas party tonight?" Cindy asked, ignoring a flustered woman calling to her.
"Probably not. You?" Danny admitted.
"I've got two kids and a puppy to watch. My husband is going out tonight," Cindy replied with a shrug.
"Excuse me!" the woman growled impatiently.
"Not gonna go over there?" Danny prompted, glancing meaningfully over Cindy's shoulder to the disgruntled customer.
"Nope. She's been annoying me for the last ten minutes. Find this. Where's that. Do you have something else? I'm sick of it," Cindy grumbled.
"She's not gonna let up though," Danny remarked realistically.
"Then you go. You owe me a few favours. Call us even," Cindy retorted before she trudged away. Danny rolled his eyes at his co-worker before walking over to the woman.
"Can I help you Ma'am?" Danny asked politely.
"Do you have this in purple?" the woman demanded, flinging a toy pink unicorn at him. Danny took the toy and turned it over before humming thoughtfully.
"I can double check in the back but I'm pretty sure we sold out of that colour last week," Danny lied.
"Oh, what about this? Do you have this in purple?" the woman requested, grabbing a different toy. Danny sighed, suddenly understanding what Cindy meant before he offered to check the shop inventory for any purple toys.
It was early on Christmas morning. Danny glanced at the puppy wrapped in an old blanket Maddie found for the dog with an old teddy bear Jazz never cared for that Danny pulled out of a box in the ops centre beside him in a cardboard box. He had lied to his parents the night before and told them he found the dog a home before hiding the puppy in his room for one last night. He flew invisibly above Amity Park, finding Sam's house easily. He phased inside and into the living room where a large tree covered in decorations surrounded by wrapped presents stood. Danny set the box down and smiled sadly at the puppy in the box, he'd miss the puppy. He plucked the dog out and gave him one last hug.
"Sorry I couldn't keep you, but I know Mel will adore you. You'll be okay here," Danny whispered before setting the puppy back down into the box and picked up the plastic bag he had brought with him. He heard the puppy scrabble around in the box, trying to jump out and run after Danny when the halfa phased out of the living room and into the kitchen, he put the bag containing a bag of puppy food, a cheap blue collar and lead and a couple of bowls for the dog on the breakfast table.
He froze in fear when the puppy yipped loudly in frustration. He turned invisible when thundering feet clattered down the stairs. Danny phased back into the living room where he spotted Melinoe charge into the room with a broad grin.
"Mel, slow down. The presents aren't going anywhere," Sam called with a yawn.
"A puppy!" Melinoe squealed, falling down beside the cardboard box where the puppy cowered inside. Danny smiled warmly at the sight. Sam stepped into the room and blinked in confusion when she saw her daughter clutching a struggling puppy to herself with a massive grin.
"How did that get there?" Sam whispered to herself, perching on the couch to watch her daughter fawn over the brown puppy.
"I love her mommy. Thank you so much. I promise I'll look after her!" Melinoe exclaimed. Sam smiled uncertainly and nodded.
"You better. Puppies are a lot of work. You've gotta train it, play with it, walk it, even when it's raining or you're tired," Sam replied. The puppy jumped out of Melinoe's arms and hid among the presents under the tree.
"Aw! Come back girl," Melinoe moaned and proceeded to crawl under the tree after the dog. Sam frowned in confusion before she sighed in exasperation when she heard her daughter hit her head on the lower tree branches.
"Come out of there Mel. Let the dog come to you. I'll go find some food for it," Sam advised before getting to her feet.
Danny phased into the kitchen and made himself visible, grinning nervously at the kitchen doorway when Sam appeared. Sam's eyes widened in surprise and she hastily shut the door behind her.
"Danny? What are you doing here? Did you….?" Sam trailed off hopefully. Danny sighed and shook his head.
"No. Not yet," Danny admitted.
"Oh," Sam breathed in disappointment.
"Does Mel like the puppy?" Danny asked, grinning anxiously when Sam turned to him.
"You got her the dog," Sam realised.
"He needed a home. I remembered how much Mel wanted a dog last year, so I figured she'd make a good dog owner. You don't mind, do you?" Danny confirmed.
"Well, it's a bit late if I do mind isn't it? I can hardly take the dog off her now," Sam sighed in defeat. Danny rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry Sam. I guess I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to be able to do something for her once," Danny muttered. Sam nodded in understanding.
"It's okay Danny. Just a bit of a surprise. The dog, it is safe right?" Sam ventured, crossing the room to stand opposite him.
"Yeah. He wouldn't hurt a fly. I've been looking after him for about a week now. He's pretty shy though so it might take a little while for him to warm to Mel," Danny assured.
"It's a boy?" Sam remarked. Danny nodded.
"I bought him a collar and there's some food I've had him on in that bag. And a couple of bowls. He loves chicken and he's got this weird thing for fudge. I think my dad got him into it," Danny explained, pulling the plastic bag to himself and pulling out the food and bowls.
"Your dad? Does he know you gave the dog to Mel?" Sam asked worriedly.
"No. I came here invisibly, and I told my parents I found him a home with a co-worker. No one should be able to link that dog to me," Danny replied. Sam nodded before pulling Danny into a hug.
"How are you doing anyway?" Sam inquired with a small smile.
"I've got a job for now. I'm doing okay. You and Mel?" Danny returned.
"Yeah. We're doing fine," Sam confirmed.
"Mommy? She won't come out!" Melinoe shouted. Sam glanced to the door before turning back to Danny.
"Happy Christmas Sam," Danny muttered.
"Happy Christmas Danny," Sam murmured sadly as he turned invisible and she returned to the living room with a pack of chicken from the fridge.
Danny watched invisibly from the far corner of the living room. Sam knelt down beside Melinoe and handed her some chicken.
"He likes chicken. If you give him some, maybe he'll come out," Sam muttered.
"He?" Melinoe repeated.
"Yes, Mel. It's a boy," Sam confirmed with a laugh. Melinoe crawled under the tree and offered the chicken to the puppy. The puppy sniffed the proffered meat before taking it gingerly. Melinoe gasped and held out a hand from under the tree to her mother. Sam rolled her eyes and handed another piece of chicken to the girl.
"Any ideas on what you want to call him?" Sam called.
"I dunno. I thought he was a girl," Melinoe's muffled reply came from the tree before a hand suddenly appeared for more chicken.
"We need to at least think of something. We can't just call him the puppy," Sam pressed causing a lingering Danny to muffle a laugh. He had been calling the puppy just that for a week, despite his father trying to name the dog.
"I dunno. He looks rusty," Melinoe complained before her hand reappeared.
"Well, why don't we call him Rusty?" Sam suggested as she handed another chicken piece to her. Melinoe shrieked.
"Mommy! He licked me!" Melinoe squealed.
"That's good Mel. Maybe we can open the other presents and leave Rusty alone for a little while," Sam commented, causing Melinoe to moan in disappointment but she pulled herself out from under the tree obediently. Danny sighed as he phased out of the house and returned to Fentonworks.
So, this chapter was why I clarified the month in the previous special chapter with Sam. This is the following year but Melinoe has already celebrated her ninth birthday. So, it's 13 months since Danny last saw Melinoe.
But this is why Rusty is so friendly with Danny. Danny looked after the dog as well as saved him before Melinoe got the dog as a Christmas present.
Until the next chapter.