Saw a rocket

Rating: K+

Pairing: None

Ages: TBA

Summary: Our friendly or not so friendly neighborhood genie overhears Jack Fenton wish for a chance to bond with his son just like they used to when he was younger. Desiree loves wishes that are so very open to interpretation.

Notes/Warnings: A child gets slapped near the end of the oneshot, so beware of that.


Jack Fenton was a smart man and an oblivious man, he was a loud man and a gentle man, he was a fierce man and a loving man. If anything there's an argument to be made that he is just as much of an enigma as his son in some ways. People tended to underestimate him and Danny in many ways, including but not limited to smarts, talent, bravery and compassion.

At the moment, Jack Fenton was distracted. Though he wasn't as pushy as his wife could be when trying to force their children to spend quality time with him, he did like to spend time with them. In fact, he actually desired time with them even more than inventing or fudge, but he forwent his desires for them. He knew it could be lame or boring to spend time with a parent; he understood.

Slowly, he put down the device he'd been cleaning, having been wiping away at the green goop and ectoplasm that coated the smooth metal. He let out a large sigh, glancing over at a picture he kept pinned to his workstation in the lab. It showed his family, from two years ago, all bunched together, smiling happily. Danny's smile was the brightest of all.

"I wonder why you don't smile as often as you used to, Danno." Jack hummed a bit to himself and spared a glance at the clock near the entrance to the lab. It read nine forty five. Only fifteen minutes had passed since Maddie had gone out with Mrs. Foley to shop and run several errands she'd been putting off. His wonderful wife wouldn't be back for at least another couple hours. Looking back at the picture before him, he smiled sadly. "I wish Danny and I could bond like we used to."

The ghost hunter never noticed the head of long silky black hair peek into the lab from the swirling ghost portal. "You're heart's desire is my command…"

Moments later, Jack looked up at the small TV that played the news in the lab. The ghost boy had been spotted fighting a ghost in the park. He grabbed up some gear and ran out, stuffing a piece of fudge in his maw before he left.

zz

"Here kitty kitty. Come on, be a good cat… Ouch!" Danny yelped jumping backwards and floating away from the large blue monster feline. A couple of small lines of green welled up on Danny's cheek after he'd dodged a swipe of the claws meant to take his head off his shoulders. "Geez, maybe I need a squirt bottle or something, catnip? Cujo?" Danny asked dodging again when the cat dove at him. "Then again, Wulf and you don't really get along." The monster whipped back around to face Danny and hissed. "Have you thought about going to visit Vlad? He could always use another cat." Danny pulled his arm back and and then let loose with a ghost ray, sending the cat flying backwards, tumbling through the brush and out of view. "Whelp… nah I've got nothing clever left." He checked around his waist and grumbled, realizing he'd lost his thermos somewhere along the way. "I wish Tucker wasn't sick and Sam wasn't out of town… even Jazz is at some advanced scholars thing for the weekend… It's not really Team Phantom without them."

Danny started to move again when pain shot through his entire body. A cry of surprise and fear tore itself from the young halfa's throat as he tumbled towards the earth and fell into a bush.

A rustling from another row of bushes started up and the blue monster cat rushed out of the leaf cover. It rose its head up and sniffed about before turning and bolting away.

Several minutes later, Jack Fenton himself jumped out into the park area, guns drawn.

"Bonzai!"

"A ghost is directly ahead, you would have to be a moron to not notice the ghost directly ahead. Like seriously, right in that bush. Someone please dismantle me."

Jack blinked at his Ghost Finder and shook it slightly before scratching his head. He froze when he heard a sniff and a whimper. Pocketing the Finder and pulling out the Fenton Bazooka, Jack inched closer to the bush. Then he attacked.

"Get ready to eat Fenton Bazooka, ghost!" Jack crowed, before suddenly finding himself aiming at a small form. Big green glowing eyes blinked away crystalline droplets; he had the snow white hair, the jumpsuit and everything. Why on earth was Danny Phantom so small? "Ghost boy?"

Danny glanced up and froze, just now having noticed the new person. He struggled to his feet and then rushed over and held the man's leg. "That blue monster almost got me! It was a ghost!"

Jack blinked in confusion. Phantom was the size of a three year old and was acting like one. What in the world had happened? It was probably a trick. Jack grit his teeth and shook his leg, dislodging the tiny spirit before whipping out a smaller ecto-gun. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, Phantom, but it won't work on me." His finger hovered over the trigger as Phantom's teary eyes- wait, teary?

"Daddy?" The little ghost whispered in a hushed voice, as if his heart was being utterly crushed. At both the ghost calling him daddy and hearing the tone of his voice, Jack's resolve waned a bit.

"Don't call me that."

"But-" Phantom started, seemingly getting upset and confused. Tears still gathered near the corners of his eyes and his little nose was flaring and his cheeks were reddening. It was just, so real.

"Ghosts can't cry…" Jack murmured in utter confusion.

"Daddy please! I wanna go home." Danny's tiny fists curled around some of the tough fabric of the hazmat suit near his waist. More tears streamed across his cheeks. Jack flinched when the boy dropped to his butt and started to cry harder. "Why does nobody like me? I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"

Jack lowered his gun, knowing that if Maddie were here she would be chastising him for lowering his guard at all. Something was tugging at his heart though. He and Maddie had always theorized that Ghosts were very one-dimensional with their displayed behaviors and obsessions, making it appear as though they didn't truly feel pain or have complex emotions. They were like a moving photograph, showing what they were, but ultimately inanimate. Ectoplasm was just the medium that moved the pictures. But with Phantom, unlike the other ghosts, since they never seemed to stay around often for one reason or another, they'd gotten the chance to actually see Phantom showing different emotions. Either Phantom's personality and obsession were stronger than most ghosts and thus gave him a larger repertoire of emotional pallets to choose from, or their hypothesizes were founded on incomplete data.

It just seemed so real, too real. Jack let out a sigh as the little ghost continued to cry. It was also quite strange that Phantom was suddenly a toddler. That didn't make any sense at all. Ghosts changing ages only happened under certain circumstances and didn't just happen randomly or for no reason. Had another ghost done this to him?

"Hey…"

Phantom started to calm a bit and blinked back tears. Jack lumbered over and after pausing one last time to consider what he was doing, he kneeled. Perhaps he'll end up killing me, but at least I'll have the satisfaction of knowing I died showing compassion. He reached out and pulled the little ghost to his chest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, Phantom."

The ghost looked up and blinked before a happy smile came to his face, revealing dimples. "It's okay. I love you, daddy." He then spread his arms out and engulfed as much of the orange suited man as his tiny arm-span could manage.

Jack sucked in a breath against his will. The little ghost stilled and Jack could hear nothing except the quiet sounds of the boy's slow breaths every couple minutes or so… Wait! Breaths!? Jack hurriedly looked down in complete confusion to feel the ghost's chest moving against his own. "Phantom?"

"You're really warm, daddy. Can we go home now?" He directed his tanned face upwards again. "I'm hungry."

WHAT!?

Jack tried to calm his beating heart. None of this made sense, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized neither he or Maddie had never actually been this close to the Ghost boy before. Perhaps this strange morning could prove to be productive after all. Jack tried to give a smile and to anyone other than a toddler, they would've noticed how fake it was and how uncomfortable Jack seemed. "Alright, let's go." Placing a strong arm under Phantom's rear, he lifted Danny up and held the Bazooka over his back.

"You're really strong, daddy. I can lift a bus though! I'm stronger than you!" Phantom cried happily and then let out a small peal of laughter, showing his obvious delight at this knowledge.

Jack blinked and hummed. "Is that so?"

"Yeah-huh. They called me a hero and everything. I'ma superhero, daddy!"

"Like Superman?"

"Yeah! I even save good people and fight bad guys too!"

As Jack walked and listened to Phantom talk on and on about his adventures, yeti friends, and a particularly excitable puppy named Cujo, he had to fight against an unconscious smile trying to form on his face.

What Jack didn't notice was the two beady green eyes watching him from the undergrowth or the muffled sounds of the Ghost Finder cussing him out from one of his many hazmat suit pockets.

zz

WHAM!

Jack had to kick open the door when he got to the house and walked inside before placing Phantom carefully on the couch and stowing away the Bazooka. He turned around and saw that Phantom was gone. "Sufferin' Spooks!" He then heard a crash coming from the kitchen and stampeded into the room, only to find Phantom blushing, looking a bit ashamed, and surrounded by pieces of Maddie's, now broken, cookie jar. "What happened?"

Phantom's eyes dilated as he looked up and he bit his lip. "I was twying to get a cookie and my hand got stuck."

Jack raised an eyebrow and looked up to the ledge the jar had been resting and then all the way back down the ghost; he noticed the boy's wrist was literally encircled by a piece of the jar as if he'd been busy phasing his hand through and was interrupted.

The boy's gaze followed Jack's and he made a tiny noise of surprise, finally noticing the abnormality and let the piece clatter to the ground, making another awkward noise.

"You should've asked me for help," Jack said suddenly, not even noticing himself slip into "Father" Jack Fenton instead of "ghost hunter" Jack Fenton.

Phantom's eyes locked with Jack's and he nodded. "Yeah… I'm sorry."

Jack let out a sigh before a gurgling noise sounded through the kitchen. The patriarch looked around in confusion before glancing back at Danny. He also noticed the green blush covering his cheeks, neck and ears. It was his stomach. "You… you really do eat."

Phantom looked up and giggled. "Yep! Can I has a PB&J with raisins? I want some milk, too!" The boy flushed again and and nudged his booted toe against the ground. "Pwease?"

Jack blinked and nodded before silently turning around and beginning to gather the items required to make Phantom's lunch. He had to beat back the wild ghost hot dogs when he reached too close to their territory in the cold cuts section of the freezer and he heard Phantom giggle wildly at his troubles. Little ghost brat. Jack wasn't sure what to feel about this whole thing and he had no idea what was going on. Maybe when Maddie gets home, she can help me figure this out. For now, keep the little ghost busy. He turned back around with lunch in hand, wearing a plastered on smile, only to nearly spill the sandwich and milk all over the floor.

Phantom was sitting at Danny's seat at the table, swinging his black and white legs back and forth. It was eery and bothered the man greatly. Seeing the phantom in a location Jack had seen his son a hundred times was disturbing. They looked so… alike. Even now as he thought about it, Phantom had asked for his sandwich to include raisins. That was something Danny used to always ask for and even to this day, Maddie would make it that way if he was having peanut butter and jelly and actually bringing lunch from home that day. Phantom keeps… calling me daddy. Maybe Phantom and Danny are somehow connected? Was Phantom a shape-shifter and took on Danny's appearance? He did steal his face that one time.

"Daddy?"

Jack flinched, the boy's voice knocking him out of his thoughts. He numbly walked over and placed the plate and glass in front of the specter. "Eat up."

Phantom did just that, eating the sandwich happily, even making little humming noises in pleasure.

Jack sat down as well, watching the whole thing, giving himself a headache from switching back and forth between being fatherly and a scientist in his head. He couldn't quite grasp the idea that he was watching what was both a cute looking toddler and adversely his most hated enemy eating and giggling at his troubled face, at his table, in his house.

Finally, Phantom finished his milk with a customary sigh. "That was yummy!"

A smile zipped onto his face before Jack's brain could stop it from happening. "I'm glad."

"Can we play a game?"

Jack blinked. "A game?" Ghosts don't play games. They don't do random things that don't serve to further their obsessions.

"Please, daddy!?" Phantom had floated out of the chair and was hugging the side of Jack's upper arm with his arms and legs. "I wanna play hide and seek!"

Jack's eyes widened, realizing a second too late what that would entail, seeing as Phantom was a ghost, as one could recall. "Wait!"

"You're it, no peeking!" Phantom then vanished.

"Mother of mousse!" Jack cried out. "Aw, Fudge!" He whipped his head to the right and left several times, not seeing hide nor hair of the little devilish child. In the quiet, he heard a muffled voice and remembered the Ghost Finder. He reached out and unzipped the pocket near his rear.

"There is a ghost a few meters in that direction. By the way, I hate you."

Jack blinked and then looked over in the direction where the radar was picking up activity. Jack stomped forward and found himself descending into the lab. He heard a giggle and the Ghost Finder beeped again to begin talking.

"That's cheading!"

"There is a ghost five feet in front of you. Right by that locker. Seriously, please don't screw this up." Jack moved forwards and something smacked into the locker, revealing a tiny Phantom coming out of invisibly. The door to the locker opened and some clothes fell out.

"Ooops." Phantom winced. "Sorry, daddy."

Jack chuckled at Phantom's worried face before walking over and beginning to put away the clothes. Most of them were hazmat suits, nothing special. The very last one however, gave him pause. It was one of the protective suits he and Maddie had made. It was white with black material coating the boots, hands, waist, and around the neckline. He saw movement from the corner of his eyes and looked at Phantom.

"Are you okay, daddie? I'm sorry about da cwothes."

Jack swallowed, beginning to wonder why Danny Phantom's suit looked so much like an inverse of his son's hazmat suit. "I…"

"Daddy?"

Jack shook his head harshly and shoved the suit back into the locker before shutting the door. "I'm fine, Danny." He shook his head again. Even if Phantom's first name was the same as his son's, he'd refused, for a long time, to call Phantom, Danny. Why was he accidentally doing it now?

Phantom gave a happy grin and then a pout. "You cheaded."

Jack blinked at the tiny ghost who was giving him a look of irritation, but even with the ghost's eyes glowing ominously, he couldn't find in himself the energy to be worried about such a response while staring at those puffed out cheeks. "Well, I can't find someone who's invisible, now can I? Who's the cheater then?"

At that, Phantom froze and blinked. "I…" Tears once more started to form in the specter's eyes. He grabbed his little face as green flushed his cheeks again. "I'm sorry! I'm nowt a cheader, daddy! I'm nowt! I won't do it again!" He rushed at the large man and engulfed him in another hug.

Jack let out a sigh, feeling his emotional and logical parts of his mind no longer merely wrestling but now doing some weird game of preverbal Twister. Ghosts can't behave this way, according to our theories and data. Phantom is supposed to be dangerous. Ghosts can't change age for no good reason. Is Phantom somehow connected to my son? Jack hummed and lifted the ghost up, before starting to rock him gently. "Hey, it's alright. Just think about how the other person feels next time, okay?"

Phantom sniffed. "Nowt fair. You don't do dat when you play with the guns."

Jack stiffened and got slightly angry. The ghost was just trying to get him to stop hunting them. "I use the guns to protect my family!" He pulled away, holding Phantom at an arms length. "And no lousy ghost trick is going to stop me from protecting my family!"

Phantom's reddened and teary eyes squinted slightly, as even more tears gathered. He hiccuped. "I'm nowt parwt of your family?" Pain laced his words as his body started to tremble. Of course, his words left Jack slack-jawed. Phantom thinks he's part of our family? It makes since seeing as he's almost called us mom and dad before, even as a teenager. "Daddy?"

Jack opened his mouth to speak, when he heard the front door open.

"Jack?"

"Mommy?" Phantom whispered. He phased out of Jack's grip and flew up the stairs. "Moooommie! Daddy said I'm nowt in the family!"

Jack gasped and bolted up stairs to see Maddie frozen in place, a tiny Phantom wrapped around her leg.

"Don't move, Jack. I've got a wrist-ray on me…" Maddie murmured.

Phantom looked up and blinked his teary eyes at Maddie.

"Mads, wait." Jack hoped she'd listen.

His beautiful wife looked at him, perplexed. "What?"

"We need to talk. I've had him here for a few hours and there are some strange behaviors he's been showing. I fed him a meal, he wanted to play a game, he keeps calling me daddy…"

Maddie pursed her lips and frowned down at the little ectoplasmic manifestation. "He ate?"

Phantom smiled brightly. "Yep! I ate every bite, just like you tell me to, mommie!"

Maddie didn't even flinch at being called mommy. She glanced up at Jack. "Is there a particular reason his visible age has decreased?"

"Not that I know of. I went to fight Phantom and another ghost in the park and when I got there, the other ghost was gone and Phantom was tiny and calling me dad."

Maddie hummed slightly before haltingly and hesitantly, she leaned down to scoop Phantom up.

"I love you, mommie. I love daddy too, even if you don't love me." Phantom swung his little legs a bit, bumping them softly against Maddie's stomach, where they rested.

"How strange…" Maddie murmured.

"What do you think we should do, Mads?" Jack asked, taking a few steps closer.

Maddie paused for a minute before speaking. "I think we should do a few non-invasive tests first. Then if everything checks out, we can try to help him pass on. I'm theorizing this has something to do with his obsession and he's getting nearer his window to find peace."

"So like, go into the white light?" Jack asked.

"No. I've told you before, the emotional energy that was trapped simply disperses. Going into a white light would imply that ghosts have souls." Maddie stated simply, starting to head towards the lab. "Positive emotions near this time of neutralization will help cancel out the negative emotions he's harbored. He wasn't this weak, before."

Jack frowned slightly as his wife disappeared into the lab. Jack wasn't sure what he believed anymore.

zz

"This better be good." Vlad looked up from his paperwork with a scowl. There were several stacks of papers all around the man's desk, almost making a wall between him and the full-ghost in the room. Vlad hated dealing with paperwork, but his pride wouldn't allow him to resign from office, after having gained the upper hand against Daniel. That, and he enjoyed controlling people.

"Um well, something's happened to the whelp," Skulker started and paused for a second, mesmerized by the strange flicker of emotion in Vlad's blue orbs before the elder halfa spoke.

"Well what is it?"

"He's somehow been turned into a three year old."

The was silence that ruled the room until Vlad muscled his way back in. "A three year old?" He leaned back in his chair and hummed. "Must be Desiree's doing or perhaps the Ghostwriter, but he's in prison." Vlad rose and paced a couple times, forgetting his paperwork all together.

"The Fentons have him at present, though he hasn't transformed into his human self, so they are unaware that they have their son with them," Skulker explained, watching as a strange and somewhat creepy smile stretched across Vlad's face.

"Oh really? They haven't figured it out, hm?" Vlad asked somewhat rhetorically. "This may be my only chance…" He murmured to himself and Skulker wasn't sure if that was supposed to have been a private thought.

"That's all. I just thought you would be interested. I don't really think having a ghost's head on my wall that looks so young will better my reputation in the slightest. As long as the ghost child is tiny, I have no interest in hunting him."

Vlad flicked his eyes up. "You're expecting a reward for passing along knowledge I would've found out in time?"

Skulker shrugged, figuring this would happen. "I just thought you would be grateful for the heads-up. I also could've destroyed him instead, so there's that."

Vlad growled dangerously and Skulker was tempted to bolt, but maybe if he waited just a bit longer and stood his ground…

"Fine." Vlad turned around and pulled a stack of bills from a drawer. They were sent at Skulker with a bit of telekinesis.

"Happy to be of assistance," Skulker purred.

"Whatever, get out of my sight."

"A pleasure," Skulker grumbled back and then flew off.

Vlad hummed now that he was alone. "Now he won't even have the coordination or means to escape me. Children are so malleable too…" He then transformed and wrapped his cape around himself to teleport. "Let's go visit the little badger."

zz

"This analyzer is busted, Jack."

Jack paused from minding the little Phantom, when he heard his wife's voice. "Whadya mean, sweet cakes?"

"I tried to look at his ectoplasm to see if there were any abnormalities causing his age to lessen, but the machine just gave me a bunch of useless numbers and materials. For instance, it said that his ectoplasm has nucleotides in it and carbon-based materials as well as several other things found in living organisms."

Jack slowed his movements a bit and looked at Phantom, who was starting to get sleepy. His little head would bob every so often. "He's sleepy, but he hasn't shown any signs of needing to go to the bathroom…" Jack murmured, purely as a reflex after having been a father to two children.

"Jack, honey, Phantom's a ghost, he doesn't need to sleep or remove wastes."

Jack shook his head. "Right, right, my bad." Inside he was thinking though. What if ghosts don't remove wastes because the ectoplasm burns everything up? It would be a much more efficient system. They would use every part of the things they ate. Sleep? I don't know, maybe their core needs time to stop and absorb extra energy from their surroundings. Ghosts are durable and don't need rest really, but they do have their limits at some point, right?

"Jack?"

"Hm? Yeah?" Jack asked, realizing his wife was trying to get his attention.

She smiled. "I don't know what's going on, but I guess the only thing we can do is put him in the neutralizer and go along with his fantasy until he destabilizes."

Jack nodded, but then froze, thinking about what was happening. Phantom would be gone, forever. They would be pleasing his obsession, but ultimately watching him as his structure and body dissipated or melted. Suddenly, Jack felt a bit sick. "Hey Mads?"

"Mhm?"

"Maybe I should spend some more time with him, maybe get him to sleep before we put him in there. The more his obsession is pleased the less likely it'll be that he'll become upset or enraged. We would like this to be as peaceful as possible, right?"

Maddie looked at him oddly for a moment before nodding. "Of course."

Jack smiled and scooped Phantom up before trotting up the stairs. He felt his heart clench when his wife spoke again.

"But don't forget he's just a ghost, sweetie. I don't want you to get too attached to it." There was a pause. "We don't want a repeat of Mr. lightbulb, right?"

Jack paused for a moment himself, trying to control his emotions and thoughts enough to speak normally. "Righto!" The smile he forced out to accompany that declaration fell flat seconds after use.

The man practically ran out of the lab and upstairs at that point, finding himself in, surprise, surprise, Danny's room. He stepped heavily over to his son's bed and rested the tiny ghost there. Phantom blinked up at him with a half-lidded gaze.

Maybe he was just getting attached to an inanimate object. Jack Fenton didn't deny he had a big heart and could give sentimental life to almost anything without much effort. Mr. lightbulb, the dead lightbulb that had been the major player in his first invention, still was at his lab station to this very day. When the two scientists had first moved to Amity Park, before even Jazz had been born, Maddie had tried to throw the bulb away, wondering how a dead bulb had found its way into their things. Jack of course had stopped her and they had gotten into their first minor spat as a newlywed couple. Ultimately, they'd easily forgiven each other and even Maddie came to understand why Jack had held onto the thing. She did however insist that he replace the filament and gases himself in the bulb as to make sure the bulb could still work and earned its keep.

Then again, something just didn't add up. Phantom… it was just a trap, just a trap, a trickGhosts couldn't have feelingscould they? Do they have souls, thoughts, needs? No. Jack shook his head violently. Ghosts don't have any of those things. Don't fall for it, Fenton. Jack glanced back down at Phantom, who gave a tired smile and then a small yawn came from his mouth, a tiny and delicate sound came with it.

But what if they do? At that very moment, Jack came to the realization that he couldn't go through with it. Maybe ghosts didn't feel or have needs or have souls and were just manifestations of ectoplasm, but Jack Fenton couldn't destroy something without having some proof of knowing he wasn't destroying some sentient being. He couldn't live with himself not being sure.

"I'm sorry Mads…"

Phantom hummed. "Daddy?"

Jack locked eyes with the ghost, happy to have a distraction. "What?"

Phantom relaxed his muscles and Jack watched the three year old's arms and legs fan out across the massive bed. "Can you sing that song to me. I can't get sleepy." He reached up with one hand to stifle another yawn.

Jack was really confused now. He didn't know what song Phantom wanted since he wasn't his father. "What song? Can you give me a hint?"

"Silly, daddy." Phantom giggled. A moment passed as the boy furrowed his brow, then opened his mouth. "Saw a wocket, saw a wocket, saw a wocket just now. Just now I saw a wocket- and it showt up to the starrs."

Jack's mouth had fallen open in slight shock, as memories from his son's childhood flashed through his mind like he was about to die. A rapid fire of late nights, stories, rockets, stargazing, songs, and nursery rhymes formed a storm in his mind. He just didn't understand…

Phantom furrowed his brows. "I can't member the rest like you…" Phantom was about to open his mouth again, but instead of words, only a burst of blue mist streamed out. His little body shuttered violently.

Jack stared at Phantom in confusion as the child's eyes dilated. Green eyes looked up and locked onto the larger man's face. "Ghost…" the child whispered.

That was a second before Jack felt himself being tossed like a rag doll across the room and into Danny's dresser. Clothes and other items from the top rained down on him and he looked up at an ear-piercing scream of terror.

"DADDY!"

Jack watched as none other than the Wisconsin ghost, nabbed the child by the back of his jumpsuit and hoisted him to eye-level. "Well, you've sure found yourself in quite the pickle, haven't you, Daniel?"

Phantom squirmed, panic obvious on his features. "Let me go! Let me go!" He wrenched sideways to look at Jack pleadingly. "DADDY HELP ME!"

Jack was still frozen in a stupor, confused by what he was witnessing as well as disoriented from being thrown into a dresser. He wondered briefly if his wife would be thundering up the steps soon with ghost hunting gear.

"Oh please, as if he cares," Vlad hissed, drawing the ghost closer to his blue face. If possible, Phantom's green irises grew thinner as his pupils grew to incredible sizes. Tears freely streamed down his face now. He started to cry loudly, no longer able to form coherent sentences. "I will take much better care of you than they ever could."

The Wisconsin ghost then tucked the little Phantom under his arm like a football, not even minding as Danny's little booted feet beat at him and his arms strained to pull him out of the man's hold. The larger ghost looked up and locked eyes with Jack. Something passed between them at that moment, the elder Fenton wasn't sure what, but the older ghost knew something he didn't and was taking great pleasure in the whole scenario.

Was he right? Could ghosts have feelings and something more complex was happening right this moment? For the moment, Jack was going to go with yes, because no inanimate object could give him the same shit-eating grin that the Wisconsin ghost was, showing off his fangs, sick delight dancing in his eyes.

"Toodles." Then the older ghost flew through the roof, Phantom wailing in fear the whole way.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Jack leapt to his feet in blind panic, just as his wife forced the door open, pushing the shelves, that had been blocking her entrance, out of the way. Had she been screaming his name this whole time?

"Jack! Jack sweetie, what happened? Are you okay?" Maddie babbled, obviously having been worried by his lack of response this whole time.

Jack took a deep breath and calmed himself. He had to be level headed right now. "Yes, sorry sweet'ums." He grabbed at the Bazooka she'd handed him.

"Did Phantom attack you?"

Jack thought back to Phantom's terrified face and cringed. "No. The Wisconsin ghost came out of nowhere and took him away."

"Took him away?" Maddie hummed.

"We need to help free Phantom-" Jack started, only for Maddie to interrupt him.

"Of course. We can't let that other ghost keep Phantom from passing peacefully. For all we know, having Phantom could make the Wisconsin ghost more powerful, depending on his obsession."

Suddenly Jack became sick, thinking back to some of their earlier theories in their career about parasite ghosts that fed off the live force of others and various other terrible ideas that could have totally different weight to them if ghosts were actually sentient like he was beginning to believe.

He nearly ran over his wife on the way out of the house.

zz

Vlad howled in rage when Danny managed to bite his arm. People had started to watch as Plasmius was forced to land in the park to rearrange his cargo.

"Little brat!"

"Let me go!" Phantom cried out, wiggling as hard as possible. "Daddy's going to hurt you bad!"

Vlad felt an evil sneer form on his face. "I don't think so. Your daddy isn't coming for you! You might as well get used to calling me father, because you're mine now!"

"No!" Phantom snapped squirming even harder. He looked out at his surroundings, noticing the people watching from afar. He reached out a hand. "Help! Pleeeaze!"

Vlad growled in anger as a few people, probably some of the few that did think Daniel was a hero, glanced at each other in worry and confusion. They seemed to figure out that Daniel was the same ghost they knew, but they weren't sure why he was younger and even though they were grateful, Vlad at least knew none of them cared enough to come to Daniel's rescue, but just to be safe…

"Do you honestly think they'd help you? Even if they did, I would destroy them with a well placed blast!" Vlad cried out angrily and shook the boy. "So stop your caterwauling and fighting! It won't do you any good!"

Phantom merely started crying again, his wails starting to get louder as a few people had to cover their ears. Vlad winced in pain and, not really thinking much, pulled back and slapped Daniel clean across the face. He grew completely silent and Vlad could finally feel deep seated fear settle into Daniel's core. Now he would be much more complacent.

"Finally, blissful silence…"

Phantom only let out a tiny whimper, afraid to do anything more.

Vlad didn't notice how many people were suddenly very disturbed by what they were watching.

"Stop right there, you manifestation of ectoplasmic material and post-human subconsciousness!"

Vlad perked up in time to notice Maddie and Jack jump onto the scene. He snarled slightly in aggravation. Jack was more preoccupied by Phantom's face and the dark bruise forming on his left cheek. Ghosts can't bruise either…

"What on earth are you doing here?" Vlad growled.

"Phantom is about ready to let go of his obsession and we're not letting you stop him from dispersing, ghost!" Maddie declared boldly.

Jack saw it again, a twinkle in the ghost's eye as if he thought they were just precious for even trying to understand what was going on.

"Oh? I thought Desiree had simply worked her magic. She tends to do those kind of things." Vlad hummed, moving Phantom under his right arm. The tiny ghost stayed eerily quiet, though his eyes stayed wide.

"Put him down."

Everyone was slightly confused by the fierceness in Jack's voice.

Vlad rose a brow. "Or what?" He grinned and swung Phantom around to hold him in front of his body. "Go ahead. You could get us both in one shot!" Phantom's eyes widened even more and he froze like a startled animal.

Now it was even playing to their own desires. It's conscious enough of itself and other beings to know that it can get a rise out of us. It would gain nothing from us if we actually fired and destroyed them both. It's enjoying this, finding humor in it. This isn't practiced or simple, this is complex and calculated. Jack growled lowly. How long have we been ignoring this kind of stuff by writing it off?

"I said, let him go, ghost."

Vlad frowned and then a grin sported on his face. "You know what they say, finders keepers. Losers…" The ghost's face turned dangerous and dark. "Die." A wave of pink ectoplasm streamed towards Jack and the large man dove out of the way, rolling to his feet afterwards.

"No!" Phantom cried out and struggled. "Don't hwurt them! Don't hwurt them!"

Vlad hissed. "I thought I told you to be quiet, Daniel." Phantom froze at the man's voice and whimpered. Vlad then turned and looked at Maddie with a fond smile. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt… my dear." Before Maddie could even gasp, a duplicate just appeared from nowhere and grabbed her. She found herself plastered to a tree with ectoplasmic binds. "Now stay right here while I handle things…"

Phantom was eyeing her worriedly and for a second she had a brief memory of her and Danny spending time in Colorado speed through her mind. It was gone seconds later when Vlad fired again at her husband. "Jack!"

Jack of course was dodging and running about, trying to avoid the attacks and blasts as Vlad kept adding a new duplicate every couple of seconds. He was getting pleasure from watching the large man try to compensate against the rapidly increasing number of enemies. This was his chance to kill Jack Fenton, in front of everyone. He turned, plastering Daniel to a nearby tree before beginning to march slowly towards his once college friend.

"Jack look out!" Maddie yelled, terrified for her husband's safety. She hardly noticed Phantom struggling to her left.

"So the big idiot thinks he can save the day, hm?" Vlad taunted as he moved ever closer, watching his shadow clones cackle and toy with Jack.

"We'll see what you say once you're safely in a Fenton Thermos, ghost freak!" Jack bellowed.

"Oh really?" Vlad crooned before he rushed forward, cape billowing behind him.

The two men ended up on the ground, Jack crushed under Vlad's superior strength. The ghost's red eyes were bright as blood and Jack could see the shine on the ghost's fangs as though saliva still coated them. Strayed black hairs tried to come away from the horned hairstyle he wore. He leaned in closer. "I've been waiting for a long time for this… Fenton."

Jack's eyes dilated in fear, though his face was still set in determination. "What are you talking about?"

"Finally I can have my revenge. I'll take the boy and your lovely wife, just like it was meant to be," The ghost hissed and Jack felt himself grow furious. "Hey now, don't get mad chum… I'm only taking compensation for your actions, so… no harm no foul, right?"

Jack froze. "Sorry about that Vladdie, I didn't know germs bothered you that much. It's just a little backwash." "Whatever, just… ugh… don't do it again." "Okay, sorry. No harm no foul, right?" He even moved from Wisconsin to Amity… The ecto-acne did something to him… and what does that mean about the little shock Danny got from the portal-? He felt his entire world fall apart. A dark shadow found itself on Jack's face. "So Desiree, huh?"

"Yes, she must've overheard something and changed the boy's age. How fortunate for me."

Jack grit his teeth. He was going to die and this creep was going to hurt Maddie and-

"Leab him awone!"

Jack turned his head sideways and Vlad's head shot up to look at a tiny Phantom, giving the blue ghost the darkest look Jack had ever seen on a child's face. The bruise was already starting to fade away.

"Oh, and what are you going to do, little badger?" Vlad asked, clenching one fist. "I thought I told you to stay still and quiet."

Phantom's face faltered slightly when he eyed Vlad's hand, but his face turned dangerous again after a moment, even if his voice wavered. "Ya-yaore nowt the boss of me!"

Vlad growled, infuriated that, even at three, the little brat had the audacity and stupidity to disobey him. He locked eyes with Jack. "Like father like son, though I plan to fix that soon enough." Jack knew that the man wouldn't be so lenient with what he was saying if he didn't think Jack would be taking it to the grave. Right before the pink energy could leave it's owner's hand, a white and black blur slammed into the older ghost and forced him clean off of Jack.

Jack jumped up and saw a blast fly past him, barely missing the ghosts; he turned to see his wife running towards him after freeing herself. She aimed carefully and fired at the Wisconsin ghost again. This time her aim was true and the ghost howled in rage and pain, due to the new burn on his back. In a panic, he shot into the sky, now that both hunters had their weapons drawn and Daniel was aiming both fists at him, ectoblasts ready for use. He'd learned how to use some of his other powers again.

"Rotten little brat! You foolish child! You're not worth the effort! I'll leave you to the ghost hunters then! At the very least you'll be out of my hair." Vlad then narrowed his eyes at Jack and again something passed between them, but this time it was something more akin to a threat before he vanished in a flash of pink smoke.

"Mommie, Daddy, are you okay?" Phantom asked, trotting over.

Before Maddie could open her mouth, Jack gave a borderline watery smile and leaned down to scoop Phantom up. "Yeah. We're fine, Danno…" Jack whispered the nickname at the end and he felt Phant-Danny, grip his orange jumpsuit tighter and let out a relaxed sigh.

"We need to get home, Jack. Phantom could be ready at any time. I need to go out to get some extra chemicals. The neutralizer needs them. Think you could watch him for a while without me again?" Maddie asked with a smile on her face.

Jack felt himself grip Danny closer to him, at the mention of the terrible machine, but he smiled and nodded to his wife. He needed some time alone any ways. "You got it Mads."

zz

He watched quietly and somewhat numbly as the little ghost finally fell asleep on the couch, leaning against him. As soon as his eyes had completely closed, two bright rings had formed at his waist and changed him into a tiny little Danny Fenton. He even somehow wore some of his old clothes.

He saw the damp dots on the couch before he noticed he was crying. Then he sobbed and pulled Danny into his chest, feeling his tiny heartbeat. The boy cracked open a blurry eye and then the other.

"Don't cwry, daddy."

This of course only made Jack feel worse.

"I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Danny let out a sigh. "I want to make you happie, daddy."

A certain genie ghost, peeking out from the lab, waved her hand. "So you have wished it, so it shall be." She whispered her chant and then vanished, flying through the roof. She was gone so quick, Danny's ghost sense didn't get the chance to activate.

Jack watched in shock as Danny slowly started to grow in size, resuming his original age and clothes. His youngest teenager snored softly as his head rested on Jack's shoulder.

"Oh Danny boy, I love you so much…" Jack pulled his large hand through Danny's hair as the boy continued to sleep. "You deserve a good sleep. You've done such a good job of keeping us all safe." Jack nodded to himself. "And we won't be having anymore visits from college friends anytime soon, promise."

After a few moments of blissful and peaceful silence, Jack started to hum a specific song. He would put off figuring out how to explain everything to Maddie, for later.

"Saw a rocket, saw a rocket,

Saw a rocket just now.

Just now I saw a rocket

And it shot up to the stars.

Watched it climb, watched it climb,

Watched it climb just now.

Just now I watched it climb

On it's mission to Mars."

Both Fenton men fell asleep with smiles on their faces.


Phew, that turned into a longer oneshot than I thought it would be. I don't really have a reason for why Desiree was a low-key helper in this story, but eh, whatever.

Also, the nursery rhyme, song, thing belongs to Jean Warren, not me. I just looked up nursery rhymes and songs about space and found it somewhere on the internet.

So there's my Jack and Danny bonding story.