Pocket Watch
He's Very Much Like You
Remembrance is a Keepsake
Fate refused to be any kinder to Vlad. Aside from having to wear his father's clothing (neither stocky Hank's nor shorter Kevin's fitted him) until his own washed and dried off. He was also forced to stay in the Masters' Farm for the duration of three days upon Danny resting in Vlad's old room, empty since he's departure some twenty plus years ago. Soaked from the drizzling rain, Danny obviously succumb to illness and developed a cold that gradually evolved into a small fever, one plenty of rest, love, and soup managed to fix. So it was out of concern that Vlad stayed and constantly monitored Danny's activities to which little actually happened. Majority of the time, the boy lied in bed sleeping, occasionally mumbling something about a "big ghost". Vlad never made much of it, assuming it to be a past foe he could have bested.
However, gazing into his old childhood room didn't help ease any discomfort he felt at that current moment. The very rectangular nature of the room felt like the wooden walls were closing in on him, begging him to stay put for once. Indeed, as much as he once treasured this room as a sort of safe haven whenever his father didn't barge in, he would never stay in it for too long, just to escape his father's wrath as much as possible.
Right of his bed (which still held the indigo drenched blanket and feather stuffed pillows, although for Danny, Abe gave him a couple more of the former to keep warm) stood his rickety chair, one of it's leg shorter then the other which always caused annoying back and forth movement whenever he sat on it. The desk next to said chair where he'd spend time doing either homework, drawing pictures of whatever imaginations he held at that time (space cowboys), or even write stories based on said imaginations. The desk now surrender to dust and emptiness with the only item on top being his old white lamp decorated with cows and picket fences, and a couple of pictures of him as a child, one of him alone at around the age of 12 and another with friends. Vlad noticed his third picture vanished: a picture of himself as a boy and his mother, no doubt possibly taken away from his father once he left. How annoying.
He had his own bathroom and closet, the latter empty due to him taking all his clothes the moment he left for college, a television set with rabbit ear antennas, and in a small fit of irony, a bookshelf next to the TV, half of which contained old comic books of his youth (he had a particular fondness for Batman). A chest stood besides his bed, still filled with old toys and action figures he's acquired, most of which being Star Wars which he remembered as a teenager of being quite the fanatic for it. Eyeing his ceiling, he noticed his airplane models still graced above, tied to a string, forever hovering in mid-air from support. There stood a drawer next to the closet where addition clothes and undergarments went, also empty. More photos graced on top of it, but again the lack of any of his mother irritated him.
Vlad's only been to Danny's room at least once or twice over the years and never thought much of it other then it being a typical room for any growing teenage boy (although at one point, he hacked into Danny's computer for advantage purposes), but now, looking back at his own room, the discomfort washed away and he remembered how much of a boy he once was. Despite his father issue, Vlad had a fondness for his farm and loved everything about it. He loved getting up at the crack of dawn and working, never once bored since he always had something to do. He loved the smell of grass after a hard night of rain, he loved eyeing the picture perfect evening sky after a glorious sunset when the stars would come out afterwards, he loved running in Olympic speeds around the vast fields, he loved taking naps atop the hills nearby.
He's favorite parts of the job involved the many animals; the horses, the cows, the chickens, and his two dogs. Time passing caused most of the animals he knew and loved to have passed on, fortunately carried on by their offspring, but he noticed a grave lack of them, mostly notably the cows (seeing as his family worked as daily farmers) and that the farm in general lost that sense of springy and optimistic world he once saw it to be.
The entire Masters' land waved an air of depression: the house he grew up didn't seem to garner much care over the years as such areas seem more dilapidated then others: broken window panes, dusts and spider webs in all four corners of the house, the rain gutter caked with dead leaves, woods covered in dirt, paint peeling off, a far cry from the farm his father paid so close attention to, now he didn't seem to care. It's like he stopped caring or is just doing a poor job caring for it. He possessed an angry side which often clouded his judgment, but Vlad never knew Abraham Masters to be anything but concern over his family's farm.
And that hat, that black cowboy hat, his hat. It sat there ideally by on his rickety chair as if teasing him. Does it still fit him? He received that hat upon his tenth birthday, too big for him to fit then, but he wore it with a ounce of pride either way. Slowly taking the headwear, he gracefully put it on his head and eyed the mirror located right across from his room from out the doorway. Well, it fit him now, even matching his black slacks and dress shirt.
"…Mom?"
Vlad, lost in memory quickly snapped and turned around upon hearing Danny's voice. He almost forgot about him.
"Daniel?"
Struggling under the amount of blankets, Danny stuck his head out, his entire face beet red from the overbearing heat, dressed in gray shirts and pants from Kevin's closet of clothes and even then it didn't quite fit him due to his general lanky figure.
"Geez, I'm not THAT sick, am I?"
"Oh, Daniel." Vlad kneel down and placed a hand on his forehead, "Hmm, your temperature seems to have dropped. That's good. How are you feeling though?"
"Groggy…and I feel like I have to throw up." Danny mumbled to which Vlad quickly backed off upon hearing the words "throw up". His shirt already suffered faded brown spots from falling into mud a few days ago even after numerous attempts to wash it off, he certainly didn't need mixed regurgitated foods in the mix.
"…I said FEEL, not actually going to." Danny sighed, "…Are you wearing my hat?" Vlad eyed, confused until he realized the boy eyeing the cowboy hat, so he quickly took it off.
"It's not your hat, it's mine's rightfully." Vlad quickly corrected. Despite leaving it behind years back, he felt the need to reassure some pride in himself, damned if he thinks Danny could outtalk him.
"Ahh, now that's the Vlad I know and loathe." Danny joked, "Who's room is this?"
"Father never showed you?"
"No." He shook his head.
"…It's mine's."
"Really? I never would have guessed." Danny chuckled, "It looks too much fun to be your room."
"Keep in mind I once was your age, Daniel."
"Now there's a shocker."
"You're not helping the both of us." Vlad sternly snapped.
"Sorry." Danny nodded, "…It looks like a great room. I suppose if I lived as a teenager during like the 70's, I'd have loved this room, too. I mean…you got airplane models, a TV, I see a couple of action figures…Stars Wars fan, are you?"
"What I liked as a child is none of your concern." Vlad stated, "What's more important is your recovery."
Danny only made a lazy nod until--
"…Oh, where's my pants? The list!"
"Your pants was in the wash, it's dry now, I suppose. No one's checked it yet."
"What--no! The list!" Danny quickly leaped out of bed, ready to dash to the laundry room (despite not knowing where it was) until Vlad produced a folded piece of paper out of his pocket.
"You mean this? Found it before we washed your pants. Always good to check if you have anything in your pocket before washing."
Danny took a big sigh of relief. Vlad casually placed the paper on Danny's hand and gave off a smirk which in Danny's head indicated Vlad generally possessed something up his sleeve.
"…Did you read this?" Kind of a rhetorical question, but to Danny's surprise, Vlad shook his head.
"No." Danny however gave off a mixed feeling with that answer and merely sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the loose leaf.
"Although if I may ask…what the hell is it?"
"…A list…I made when I was little and continued on through now." Danny said as he unfolded it once more, "A list of things to do before I die."
"Oh…I see." A disappointed look graced Vlad's face. To create and actively finish a list of things to do before he departed not only filled him with a sense of sorrow, but discouragement when Danny didn't even attempt to put forth faith in a possible cure for his ailment. Curiously, Danny grasp onto his supposed death very fast and most of his anger directed primary to Vlad's mistreatment of him. That however didn't stop Vlad from pondering if death remained too sensitive of a subject to discuss with Danny, an issue he hoped to one day sort it out with him, to see how Danny truly felt and see if the emotions he currently possessed merely served as a mask hiding his actual identity.
"That said, I got long ways to go, so I have to get started on it as soon as I can." Danny pointed out.
"Can I see the list?"
"…No." Danny shook his head, "I…I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"…Because…" Eyeing Vlad remained Danny of all the previous arguments. If he hid his desires to help Vlad and his family, would it only further anger him or only if he told? Contemplating over this issue for a bit, Danny afterwards gave off of a forthright sigh and slowly handed the list over to him, knowing in the end, the more he trusted Vlad, the more Vlad would trust him.
And so Vlad read it over, some of which indeed, came from the imagination of a child: "Eat a worm" crossed out) , "find buried treasure, "peek under girl's dress (also crossed out)."
"E-Excuse me?" Vlad smirked.
"I wrote that one when I was nine and curious, okay!" Danny blushed madly, "That said, when I did that, she never forgave me and still doesn't like to talk to me to this day." Vlad's face beamed with smugness as he continued reading the list, some of which seemed very impossible to achieve at this time ("be an astronaut", "ride on a hot air balloon") while others served to be a bit easier to retain ("Ride a motorcycle", "plant a tree", "get a dog").
"I've always wanted a dog, but my parents never let me got one." Danny said, "I suppose the closest I've ever come was that ghost dog. I nicknamed him Cujo and he generally goes by that name whenever fate shines down on me and the two of us reunite somehow or another."
Such an amusing list and all the more fitting over Danny's growing personality over the years as a child to teenager, however Vlad's general amused mannerism shifted 180 degrees when he spotted the last one written: "Reunite the Masters' Family". With that read, he slowly gazed at Danny who immediately knew what he read, so he gave off a pathetic innocent smile.
Again Danny gave off a surprised notion when Vlad didn't scream at him, merely saying, "You're asking for the impossible." Then he handed the list back and stood up.
"Nothing's impossible, Vlad." Danny softly said, "Men was never meant to fly, but look at us."
"…My relationship with this farm…and my father died years ago." He walked off after.
…………………
The Same
"The only way to get your strength back is to work." Abe immediately declared on the fourth day, the day Danny finally leaped out of bed. After one hearty breakfast, Abe again gave Danny appropriate farm clothes to don to get "his strength" back. Naturally Vlad gave off an annoyed look upon seeing him in dirty jeans, plaid shirt, and his old hat.
"Daniel, you are aware you live with me in a giant manor." Vlad said, "And you are also aware we have to GO BACK there."
"In a minute, I'm getting my strength back." Danny half teased, "I'm just helping--ahaha--dear ol' grandpa with work. I'll be done by sundown."
"S-Sundown?" Vlad gritted his teeth.
"If you don't want to stay, then go and pick me up later." Danny suggested, then he left for his first set of chores.
Vlad, perhaps out of a mixed stubborn desire and general concern for Danny stayed, but mostly in the background, refusing to partake in work ("I'm not a farmer!") and only eyeing Danny from a distance, arms crossed, shoulders up, and lips pouty. Further adding insult to injury, seeing Danny interact so comfortably with Abe and the man treating his "grandson" so warmly made Vlad's face red with jealously, bitter how the two got along so brilliantly when he never got along with neither: Either as a son or a father. It pain him the most whenever Danny affectionately called Abe his "grandfather" when he never heard a lick of Danny ever calling him "father" out of sincerity. What a heavy irony Vlad bestowed upon himself that he once vowed to be a better father should the opportunity ever arise then his old paternal figure yet he so far failed to achieve such a goal while Abe seem to have learned some sense of a lesson as evident with Danny, treating him so warmly as oppose to the more colder inclusion he did towards him.
Besides that, Vlad generally observed how Danny worked the farm life. The boy surprisingly adapted well and seem to really enjoy his stay. Ho resilient children can be. He, like Vlad in his youth seem to favor spending the most time with animals. The horses, the cows, and chickens, they all favor the boy almost in the same manner as they did Vlad. Seeing him caused several déjà vu moments.
Sunset approached and Vlad witness Danny's latest struggle: Lila. Again Abe used all his power to get Danny to succeed in riding the horse, but every time he always fell. A frustrated Abe walked away when Hank called him to answer an important phone call, relieve not to hear Danny let off a stream of curses for every failed attempt, leaving Vlad behind wooden fences eyeing the huge grassy field. There Danny again tried in vain to get on top of his horse and stay still for more then ten minutes. Vlad at this point left the fence and headed towards the horse stable. After numerous attempts, Danny let off a frustrated sigh and decided to give in for the night until Vlad stepped in, carrying a black horse.
"Vlad?"
"Get up." He ordered. Danny however just gave off a confused, startled stare, "Come on, boy, I don't have all day. I want this done before the first star peeps it's way from the sky, now get on the damn horse."
Danny made a slow nod and using all his strength, manage to get on top, then waited until Vlad did the same which he did with little relative ease.
"The problem with you and the horse is the lack of a relationship the two of you have." Vlad started.
"Hey! I have plenty good relationship! I fed her, nuzzled her, groomed her and all that stuff." Danny cried out.
"I meant riding wise. You need to show the horse you're the boss." Vlad said, "Father's always been a crappy teacher when it comes to teaching riding lessons since not a lot of people can get it the first few times, so it frustrates him and causes him to scream his ass off a lot."
"Tell me about it."
"I had to teach myself as a result." Vlad continued, "Alright, we're getting the horse to walk first. Follow my lead and this time, don't screw up."
Befuddled, baffled, those seem to be the words adequately describing Danny's current thoughts during that time. Vlad, Mr. Rich Man of the Year, known to the public as some well to do tycoon who would have little to do with people like this, is now riding on a horse and gesturing Danny to follow in his footstep. Never in Danny's life could he see Vlad in the same light he saw now. Everything about him turned completely different, different to the point where he felt so…simple.
Walking on Lila soon turned into running as Danny spent more then his initial ten minutes without falling off, getting the hang of horseback riding, surprised at what an effective teacher Vlad was. In just half an hour's time, Danny laughed at his success and Vlad, for the first time since he stumbled into his old home laughed along with him, even giving off an affectionate pat on the back, one which Danny didn't mind, surprisingly. The animosity between the two seem to wipe clean, if not for just this day as the two eyed each other with some newfound respect for one another. Danny didn't see a cruel manipulative business man and Vlad didn't see a teenage boy whom he could exploit to his side. In essence, this felt like an honest to goodness father/son moment.
Upon seeing his own father Abe watching upon his return, it dawned on Vlad how much he and Danny shared the same similarities and not just similarities on their current personalities and half ghost, but how much the boy served as a living incarnation of Vlad's youth. He realized then he didn't love Danny just because he could blast the same ecto ray out of his hands or that he came out of Maddie, he loved Danny for just Danny, and that put a sincere smile on his face.
……………………
How He Really Feels
"Here." He gently placed the pocket watch next to Vlad on the kitchen table.
"…You're giving it back to me?" Vlad pointed to himself with raised eyebrows. Some hour or so passed since the successful horse riding lessons. Danny decided to head home, skipping dinner, if not to cater towards Vlad's side for the recent event they spent together, a token of his appreciation, one could say. However, when the two reached his still fancy black convertible, a drowsy Abraham asked for Vlad to step inside for a brief moment. Due to his rather less then hostile tone of voice, Vlad entered, but with caution into the kitchen where the pocket watch now stood right next to him.
"I'm not giving it back to you, I'm spiritually giving it to Daniel."
"Excuse me?"
"…There's a lot of things I wanna yell at you about right now." Abe started, "I think you're an ignorant son, you just don't see it--"
"I am NOT ignorant. You're just a terrible father!" Vlad raised his voice.
"--However, Daniel is my grandson and as such, he's entitled to take part in our family tradition." Abe continued.
"…You're asking me to hand down the pocket watch…to him?"
Abe casually nodded.
"I…I don't know if I can do that."
"Why not?"
"I…"
"You love him, don't you?"
"What?"
"Don't you?"
Vlad's head retorted back. Normally, such a question asked would usually cause him to curl his lips into a devious smile as he lowered his eyebrows to form his familiar grin as he answered with a malicious "yes", but now he gave off a more honest, serene appearance, if not a bit offended Abe would ask him such a daring question now that his love for Danny reached new boundaries, one Vlad even from two short years back would never have thought such a feeling.
"Of course I do! What kind of a stupid question is that?"
"Then why won't you give him the watch? This means a lot to me, our family, and apparently it must mean on some level to you, otherwise…why would you still have it?"
"I'm keeping it as a reminder, old man." Vlad answered, arms now crossed over his chest, "The watch means nothing more to me then to help me realize that it once belonged to the man who ruined whatever crappy childhood I had!"
"Oh, now you're making shit up!"
"I don't have to sit here and take this kind of abuse, not anymore anyways!" Vlad screeched, "Daniel doesn't need to get involved any more then he already is! I'm already irritated he discover this godforsaken place!"
"Godforsaken? Just a couple of hours ago, you were having a ball!"
"I was teaching him how to properly ride a horse because you've always been a blatantly terrible instructor!"
"That's it then, you don't give a shit about our tradition." Abe shook his head, "Why the hell does this thing still exist? Why isn't it rotting in some pawn shop held by someone who isn't related to us? Or broken into little pieces? Why the HELL do you have this watch STILL if you don't care jack for the damn thing?"
"I already explained to you--"
"No, no you didn't."
"Fine, let's go with that! I don't care!"
"I suppose you won't care that our farm is in critical stage as well."
"Obviously!" As if the rundown house wasn't enough of a sight to behold in the grand scale of battered habitats.
"I meant this farm is in danger of being annihilated!"
"…What?"
"Yeah, you heard me. This farm, this farm that's been in our family for hundreds of years is about to get crushed to make room for some big company or…or something by some big shot who wants this land for their own damn reason!"
For a moment, it seemed Vlad staggered over this massive bombshell of a news. His level of sentimentally raised considerably that not even the most advanced maneuver of his face could hide the drooping eyebrows and half open mouth. However, such an appearance came rather quick as upon seeing Abe give off a shocked expression towards his expression, quickly mask it to his original, callous figure.
"I…I'm going now."
"That's it, run out. It's what you've always been doing. Run, run like the spoiled bastard that you are. Go on, screw your family even further." The glove's came off and Vlad let it rip.
"Screw? SCREW? That's ALL you've been doing for the majority of MY youth, screwing me around!" Vlad slammed his fist, "You're the reason why mother's not around anymore! YOU! You're the reason why I ran away from this place, hoping to never set foot in it!"
"This place is your home!"
"This place is a rat shit! This place is just memories, memories I've spent the last twenty or so years trying to wash it ALL down, until Daniel came and brought all back up to me!"
"DON'T blame Daniel in all this!"
"Don't you DARE start treating him like he's YOUR kid!"
"Better me then you! Hiding away the Masters' family farm and traditions away from that kid, spoiling him with your money, you're the worst father alive!"
"Now I'm GLAD this dump is getting bulldozed by that company! If I ever find out who the hell is in charge of that, I might be kind enough to donate some of my money towards them! I'm sure a random nuclear power plant or another building would make this place more lively then whatever crap you have NOW!"
"Vlad--"
"NO! NO, father! DON'T. Don't you DARE try and reason with me, you've lost that right YEARS ago!" The next words he spouted came out without a thought that shocked both of them and those nearby, "…I. HATE. YOU!"
Vlad, huffy, grabbed the watch and bolted out the doorway.
……………
Upon seeing him haphazardly walk over to the convertible while mumbling the word "father" mixed with enough profanity to fill a sailor's mouth, Danny quickly eyed the other direction and kept his mouth shut. He didn't question nor guess what could have happened, the kid already knew, so he just shook his head and quietly muttered to himself, "This is going to take some time…something I can't afford." After he mumbled that, he mentally slapped himself for thinking so negatively.
He had so much to do, so much to accomplish, so many ghosts to speak. Ghosts. That giant invisible one. What on earth was that thing? What's it's purpose? What's it's goal? Too tired to think from work and horse riding lessons, Danny made a mental note to pass this information to Vlad as soon as possible. He just wanted to know more about this mysterious entity some more.
Eyeing the sleeping Danny, Vlad smiled until his lips drooped. Despite the heated rivalry they previously shared, how would Vlad react if Danny ever came up to him and cried out, whether it be sincerity or out of pure rage that he hated him?
To Be Continued…
…………………
Author's Note: I call this my writer's block chapter. I can't remember if Danny ever said he hated Vlad in front of him in the TV show (this is out of memory), but I'm sure he hasn't. I don't think I added that at all in this fanfic either (how sad, I can't remember some parts of my own fic, but hey, I have a crappy memory), so...yeah.