Summary: Some family you're born with, some you choose, and some find their way to you under the strangest of circumstances.
Characters: Danny, Jack, Maddie, Jazz, Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Dani(Elle), Vlad, Dan
Prompt: Family

Day Twenty-Three

"Now, who is that again?"

Danny looked up from putting the final touches on the cake to sigh at his father. "That's Dan. You've met him before." And boy, was he ever terrified the first time the two of them met! Danny wasn't sure if Dan could keep his big mouth shut around his parents, and he kept fearing that his evil future would spill the beans about what they both were. Luckily, Dan somehow managed to stay quiet, finding subtler ways to tease Danny right under his parents' noses.

"And how does he fit into all this again?"

"He's Elle's cousin."

Jack's brow drew together. "And Elle is?"

"Valerie's girlfriend." Sometimes, Danny really started to worry that his father's memory was going. Either that, or Jack was testing him, hoping to catch a slip up so that he could cry ghost and whip out his latest invention. Ghost activity had toned down a great deal since his high school days, leaving his parents little to do when there wasn't a new ghost attacking every week.

"But didn't she date you before?"

Danny rolled his eyes at his father's questions. "Yes, but that was ages ago. Now we're just good friends." His blue gaze drifted across the room to where he spotted Valerie with the other women present, including his mother and sister. They were all huddled around the three year old, gushing over how cute the birthday boy was. Sam was the only one to notice his gaze, and when she did, she smiled at him.

Dan, meanwhile, was sitting on the couch looking bored out of his mind with his arms thrown over the back and his head leaned over it as he stared at the ceiling. In his human guise, he looked like a regular, buff twenty-four year old man, instead of the homicidal ghost that practically destroyed the world in his own timeline. Tucker sat as far away from Dan as the couch would allow while he nervously twisted the plastic cup in his hands. Even though Dan had showed that he wasn't about to go around killing them all, Tucker still didn't trust the evil future of his best friend. Danny still kept a close watch on Dan, just in case, but the once evil ghost seemed to have changed since his last defeat. And Dan would be crazy to start any trouble with three half ghosts, three professional ghost hunters, and three very capable non-professional ghost hunters in the house at that very moment.

"You're not pestering the poor boy again, are you, Jack?" Vlad questioned with a tired sigh as he joined Danny and his father at the table.

"I just don't trust that man," Jack answered, folding his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the ghost in disguise.

Danny shared a glance with Vlad, who wore a smirk at Jack's response. "All right. The cake is ready," Danny announced after lighting the three candles upon the cake. He smiled as the family circled around the table, Sam coming to stand next to him as she held their son Lex in her arms. His whole extended family with friends and enemies that he never would have imagined would be standing there with him as he celebrated his son's third birthday. It was strange, thinking back on everything, how old hatreds and bitter rivalries could turn into such strong alliances and forge such an unbreakable familial bond among them. But Danny wouldn't change anything that happened in the past because he loved the family he had right now.

Just Will: I do love owls. XD;;; It just would seem weird for Danny to have a pet owl for no reason. A ghost dog at least seems fitting. XD;; I think it's one of the things that disappointed me the most about season 3. =| Besides a lot of not so great episodes. Valerie basically disappeared for the entire season except that one episode, and then we never get to see what she does after learning about Vlad. It felt like such a let down that they didn't do more with her in season 3. =(

midnight: Haha, but it's still surprising that no one in the series figured it out. XD;;; Hm~ But why would Vlad want to do that? *strokes chin in thought* In this idea, Phantom and Fenton are two separate people. I'm still in debate if Vlad will remain a half ghost for it, or if Masters and Plasmius are also separated.