Chapter 19

The silence was getting to Danny. Jack sat at the desk working on a paper while Vlad sat on the couch reading. Climbing off the bed, Danny walked to the couch and plopped down next to Vlad.

"What are you reading?" Danny asked. He rested his head on Vlad's shoulder and tried to read the page the book was opened to.

"Beowulf." Vlad flipped the page.

"Is it any good?" Danny grabbed the side of the book nearest him and pulled it closer so that he had a better view of words on the page.

"It's required reading." Vlad yanked the book out of his hold. When Danny looked up at him in confusion, Vlad added, "I need to get this read today and write a report on it."

"Oh," Danny said lamely as he sat back. Is Vlad annoyed with me? he wondered, feeling hurt. "Maybe I should make a food run."

When Danny stood, Vlad closed his book as he sighed. "Danny, I wasn't trying to push you away. It's just that my education is my first priority at the moment."

Danny shrugged and put on a smile. "I was only thinking that you guys would be getting hungry now. I know I am."

"Oh, yes, food please!" begged Jack as he turned around in his seat. "And please let me go with you! I can't stand sitting here for another moment without a break."

"Oh, fine," Vlad said with an exasperated sigh. "We'll go out for some food. But not for too long." He narrowed his eyes at Jack in a threatening manner. "You still have a long way to go before that paper's finished. And I'm reading over it to catch all your errors."

Danny tried not to laugh at his father's gulp. He knew his father made lots of errors with calculations, and he didn't doubt that he would make errors while writing papers too. "You don't have to come along if you need to get that book done," he told Vlad.

"A little break won't hurt." Vlad stood and stretched a little. "And I think I could really use one as well." He approached Danny and dropped a quick kiss upon Danny's lips before he walked toward the door.

The kiss left Danny with a pleasant tingling feeling. He almost skipped after Vlad out the door until a large hand dropped onto his shoulder. Gasping, Danny put a hand to his chest as his heart beat quickly. He forgot his father was still there.

"I'm glad you dropped into our lives," Jack whispered. "I always hoped that Vlad would find someone. I'm glad it's a good person like you." He ruffled Danny's hair before walking out the door.

Danny stared at the doorway as a frown settled on his face. How would you feel if you knew I was your son and that I am attracted to the man who has tried to kill you on multiple occasions? He doubted his father would still be so glad about his relationship with Vlad. He left the room, closing the door behind him. If he went back to his present time, wouldn't it destroy their relationship? Danny's heart hurt at that thought.

"Something wrong?" Vlad asked, falling back to walk beside Danny while Jack led the way.

"It's nothing," replied Danny. He grinned when he caught Vlad's worried gaze. "Don't worry about it." He gave Vlad a peck on the cheek before skipping ahead to walk with Jack. "Where should we go for dinner?"

"I want Chinese," Jack said. He glanced over his shoulder. "Is that okay with you?"

Danny could see the worried look still on Vlad's face, but a nod and a shrug confirmed that Vlad was okay with the suggestion. Vlad came to walk along side them and draped an arm over Danny's shoulder. They walked in that manner to the Chinese restaurant that Jack liked best.

As they turned down the street, a scream rang through the air. Danny spun around, his ghost sense going off. Before he could react, an ecto blast hit him square in the chest, sending him flying back. He slammed into a street lamp and collapsed to the ground.

"Danny!" Vlad shouted, rushing to the fallen man.

"It's a ghost," Jack whispered in awe as he stared up at the midget of a ghost floating in the air.

"Are you all right?" Vlad asked, more concerned with Danny's physical condition than the ghost.

"I'm fine." Danny let Vlad help him to his feet. He glanced up at the ghost, and his eyes narrowed. Why did Youngblood have to reappear now of all times? He couldn't transform in front of Vlad and his father. The people fleeing in terror probably wouldn't notice him slip off behind something and transform, but Vlad and Jack would, especially Vlad who supported him. He forgot how much it hurt to be thrown into something by an ecto blast while in his human form.

"Looks like I'm getting better at my control," Youngblood announced as he grinned at Danny.

Next time I see him, I'm going to hurt him, Danny thought, glaring at the ghost. A lot!

"Vlad, we should go," Jack whispered to them. Danny hadn't even noticed when his father joined them. "We have nothing to defend ourselves with."

"Look out!" Danny shouted as he shoved Vlad aside. Youngblood's ecto blast slammed into Danny's side, knocking him to the ground again. Great! Just great! I can't stop him without transforming, he growled at himself, wincing at the pain surging through his body.

Jack grabbed Danny and hoisted him over his shoulder as he followed after Vlad down the street.

"Come on!" shouted Youngblood, his laughter trailing after them. "I just want to have a little fun with you."

"Put me down," Danny ordered, the desire to pummel the ghost raging inside him.

"You're hurt," Jack said. "And – Maddie, that's not completely operational yet!"

Danny twisted in his father's hold to see what was going on. He spotted his mother carrying some kind of bazooka with her. "How did you know to bring that?" he wondered out loud.

"I heard someone cry ghost," explained Maddie. "I grabbed the nearest weapon and came in search of it."

Jack dumped Danny in Vlad's arms. "You take him to get his wounds bandaged. Maddie and I can deal with the ghost."

"But I-" Danny started only to have Vlad cut him off.

"Don't bother," Vlad said, supporting Danny as they walked back to campus. "Once Jack gets in that mode, there's really no reasoning with him. The ghost hurt someone he cares about." He smiled at Danny. "Jack isn't so forgiving to those who attack his friends."

"I know," mumbled Danny, remembering when his father first made him proud to be his son. Though I never would have seen that side of him if Vlad hadn't attacked and tried to steal our Portal, he thought as he frowned. He's not that man yet, he told himself firmly when the first hint of doubt about their relationship poked at his mind.

"How would you know?" Vlad asked in mild confusion as they neared their dorm.

"Oh, I, um," Danny said, stumbling for an explanation. "I guessed? He seemed like the kind of guy who would be protective of his friends."

Vlad thought it over before he nodded in understanding. "I suppose you're right. He does kind of give off that vibe."

"I can walk fine on my own," Danny offered, pulling away from Vlad. The blasts hurt more than they would have if he was in ghost form, but he could manage walking without help, even if he did enjoy the excuse to press up against Vlad. "I'm surprised you didn't want to stay and help capture the ghost," he commented, in what he hoped was nonchalant manner, as they walked up to their floor.

"As interested as I am in learning more about ghosts, there are some things that are more important," Vlad explained. He took Danny's hand and gave it a squeeze.

Danny fought to force down the heat rising to his cheeks. "I told you I was fine. It didn't really hurt that much."

Vlad stopped before their door and turned on Danny. "That ghost hit you with two ecto blasts, and you were thrown into the lamp post. You are not fine." He opened the door and dragged Danny inside. "I'll never understand what goes on in that head of yours," he muttered as he sat Danny down on his bed. "You have no idea how badly those blasts could have hurt you."

You have no idea what I already know about ghosts, Danny thought, suddenly wanting to yell the truth in Vlad's face.

"I should have been the one to push you out of the way," Vlad continued as he yanked Danny's shirt up and over his head so that he could examine the spots where Danny had been hit.

"I'm not some damsel in distress," snapped Danny. "I don't need to be rescued, and I'm not some fragile little thing that you need to protect from breaking."

"I didn't mean it like that." Vlad sighed, resting his hands on Danny's shoulders. "I just - I don't want to see you getting hurt." He dropped his gaze to look over Danny's wounds.

"I've had more than my share of run ins with vengeful spirits," admitted Danny as he wrapped his arms around Vlad's neck. "Their blasts may sting, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"You've met ghosts before?" Vlad's brows shot up to his hairline in surprise.

Danny knew he was treading into a dangerous topic. At any point, he could let his secret slip, but he didn't care. He wanted to impress Vlad with his knowledge. "I have," he answered, pulling Vlad down on top of him as he lay back on the bed. "But we can talk about that another time." He leaned his head up to kiss him, but Vlad held him down.

"I don't want to talk about it another time," said Vlad in a serious tone. "I want to discuss it now. I want to know what you're hiding from me."

Crap! I just had to open my big mouth, Danny shouted, mentally smacking his forehead. What could he say that wouldn't damage the future? Did he really care about that anymore? But if he damaged the future, he could wipe out his own existence. He looked up at Vlad, who waited with an expectant look in his eyes. He had to say something.

"Well, you see," Danny said, stalling as he formed some excuse in his mind. "My parents, they're kind of the crazies of our little town. They have this whole obsession with ghosts. So I've kind of been dragged into their work more times than I can count."

Vlad thought over what Danny told him. "That's interesting. But that does explain why you didn't think Jack and I were strange with our ghost research and why you were so interested in knowing about our Proto Portal. Why didn't you just say so before?"

"I," Danny mumbled, racking his brain for another excuse. "I just don't like talking about my family much." It sounded lame in his head and worse when he said it out loud. Vlad wouldn't believe that, would he?

"What happened between you and your family?" Vlad stroked Danny's cheek.

Danny could see concern enter Vlad's eyes again. "It's nothing I want to talk about." He pulled Vlad's head down, hoping to distract him with a kiss. However, the door banged open a second before their lips could meet.

"This isn't going to happen every time I enter the room, is it?" Jack asked as he shut the door behind him.

Vlad sighed as he climbed off Danny. "Did you get the ghost?" he asked, watching Jack plop into the desk chair.

"No," Jack grumbled. "It got away, and the weapon malfunctioned. We'll have to work on fixing it."

"And there goes another opportunity to learn more on ghosts," Vlad said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Maddie went back to work on the bazooka, but she told me to come back here and work on my paper," Jack said. His eyes narrowed a little. "Since someone told her I was behind on it."

"You listen to her more than you ever listen to me," Vlad responded with a tiny smirk as he snatched his book from where it rested on the table. He returned to the bed and sat down next to Danny. "I'm surprised she didn't come over here as well to make sure you work on it." He helped Danny sit up, and Danny leaned against him as Vlad opened his book to read again.