Catalyst: A Story about Change

Author's Note: Okay, before I start this chapter, I just wanted to call you guys out who have reviewd my fanfiction! It really bolsters me up, and has kept me writing! Thank you guys soooo much! (The order is completely arbirtrary, by the way.)

Leppers, Liece18, Cassie, Lyoko's Princes,

lub2bamom, Galateagirl, Raven of the Night676,

Celestial Moonshine, FentonPhantom :),

The Raven of the Night, Divine-Red-Crayon,

Cassidy, Emma, Annabelle Carter,

Twistes Rain, Me The Anon One.

I love talking about Danny Phantom nearly as much as I like writing it (and reading it, though I haven't done much of that lately :) so when you guys actually comment, and start up a dialogue with me, all I can say is...woot! You guys rock!

lol...Sorry for the long author's note, on to the story. :)

Chapter 10: Idaho

October 1st

Sam wrestled with her purse, attempting to extract her apartment key with her hands already full. Nathaniel was in one arm, and shopping bags were in the other. Giving up, she leaned down and put the bags down temporarily to rifle through her purse more effectively.

One thing was for sure; all this lifting was toning up her arms. Ah, success! She finally got the door open, having found the key wedged at the bottom of her purse. It had fallen out of the side compartment she usually kept it in, apparently. Blowing some hair out of her face and grabbing up the bags, she pushed her way inside and kicked the door closed behind her.

She was so tired! But at least she'd gotten some important things done. Sam now owned a book on what to feed infants. Plus she'd gotten the perfect tool for freeing up her hands. Since Nathaniel had to be with or near her at all times, she'd been looking for some sort of carrying device for him.

Today she'd found one. It clipped around her waste and her shoulders, and could be adjusted for use on her back, like a backpack, or in the front. She figured the front was safer, if a bit more cumbersome, but that way he'd be in her line of sight and she'd know immediately if he transformed.

Luckily it was getting into winter, so bundling Nathaniel up in mittens and a hood (that could be pulled very far down in case of emergencies) wasn't out of the ordinary.

After making it inside, she dropped the bags and, fishing out the baby carrier, headed for the bedroom with Nathaniel in tow. She'd get it adjusted just right after a quick nap. The baby was sleeping, so this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. If there was one thing she'd learned this past week, it was that her daily routine depended on Nathaniel's sleeping patterns.

The truth was she hadn't gotten more than two hours of solid sleep at any given time, and since Nathaniel's days and nights were mixed up, hers were going that direction too. She ate whenever she had time, which unfortunately wasn't ever long enough for her to cook a decent meal. As such she'd given in and bought some quick fix stuff earlier in the week.

Sam sat down on the bed, and fell back in slow motion, not wanting to jostle Nathaniel. She was utterly drained of energy, and couldn't pretend that the stress wasn't starting to get to her a little. Things wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the sleep issue, really. If she could just get a solid night, just once a week, even, things would be okay. Tonight, for instance.

Sam drifted off, knowing she'd most likely be woken within the hour.

October 8th

Two weeks. She hadn't gotten a decent night's rest in two weeks. She hadn't gotten two straight hours in two weeks.

Soft music played from Sam's laptop, which sat only a few feet away at the moment. She was sitting up in bed nursing Nathaniel, and it was three in the morning. She'd had the laptop for a long time, but the speaker (only one) was something she'd gotten the week before at Goodwill. She'd really needed something, some sort of entertainment for around the house, since now that was where she had to stay most of the time.

She found her taste in music was changing fast, and that she was beginning to understand why some genres even existed. Teenage angst wasn't something a single mother needed to deal with, after all. Plus it might upset the baby, and she was discovering that she'd go to extreme lengths to avoid that.

There was nothing wrong with him, of course. It was just that if she could persuade Nathaniel to sleep or at least doze for a few more minutes here and there, that resulted in a little more time to herself. And she needed that time more than she needed soothing music.

But the music did help. It filled up the silence, which almost had a presence of its own sometimes. The silence encouraged her mind to wander, her imagination to wake up, and she didn't like where her thoughts would go sometimes. Also, the feeling of being watched would come occasionally, and it was always stronger without some noise or activity to distract her.

Unfortunately, taking care of Nathaniel's basic needs had slowly become habit, and at this point she could go on autopilot half the time. If only she wasn't so tired, she could do interesting little things part of the time, like read a good book. But that took energy and concentration, and she didn't have any left to spare.

And she didn't want her thoughts to wander, damn it! She'd had control over where her mind went for months now, and had been doing just fine because of that. But without the sleep, her mental guard was down, and that control was slipping fast.

Thoughts she'd been holding back were surfacing at odd moments, and her dreams were starting to get frightening. Also, she was beginning to feel genuinely lonely. She missed her friends, she missed her family. She missed Danny.

Sam tasted salt as the tears began rolling down her cheeks, and realized she was…crying. And once she started, she found it hard to stop, and poor Nathaniel could tell something was wrong. Before she knew it her chest was heaving, and she found it hard to stifle the sobs.

She missed them! She wanted her mother. She wanted to curl up in her arms and be a little kid again, and to hear her say everything was okay, it was okay she'd had a baby, it was okay she'd been gone for over half a year. She wanted to hear that she was loved no matter what.

She wanted someone she could trust to look after Nathaniel while she took a long nap, and for someone to hold her while she slept. She didn't want to worry about how she was going to support herself when she ran out of money!

She was pacing the room, crying openly now, and Nathaniel was crying quietly with her. She looked down at him, feeling miserable, and saw his worried, helpless expression. She could almost hear his thoughts. What's wrong, what's wrong?

Stifling another sob, she tried desperately to get herself under control. She couldn't do this to him; she couldn't do this to him! It wasn't just herself she was looking out for anymore. It was her and Nathaniel. She had to be stronger than before, not weaker!

She tried her best to comfort Nathaniel, a wobble still in her voice. But the thought welled up in her that she needed comforting; she needed reassuring. Yet that was almost immediately followed by another thought that here and now, she was the grownup, and there was no one else to do this for her. Suck it up, Sam, you can deal with this!

She sat down at the bed, Nathaniel in her lap, and concentrated on getting herself really under control. She could do this. She had to do this. And she'd made Nathaniel cry by getting upset like that, when the only real problem was a little lack of sleep. Ha! Sleep was for weaklings! Sam laughed suddenly at her own thoughts, voice still a little wobbly. The mood had passed, at least, even if it was replaced by that silly, giddy state she sometimes got into when very, very tired.

She stood back up, letting out a whoosh of air in the process, and then made her way to the kitchen, cooing to Nathaniel on the way. She'd probably cried half a glass of water just then.

October 15th

Sam sat at her dining room table (well…her dining area table, anyway), chin propped up on the palm of one hand, staring into space. There had to be a way to deal with this. She just wasn't seeing it.

Things couldn't continue as they were going. She just couldn't keep Nathaniel with her 24/7! It was driving her slowly crazy.

She was starting to have waking dreams, which only happened when a person's brain forced them in the REM state due to a severe lack of sleep. The other night she'd nearly had a heart attack when she'd seen her mother standing behind her in the bathroom mirror. It had been her imagination, but for a split second it was all too real.

And taking showers was a nightmare, or cooking any sort of food. Her days and nights were spent juggling Nathaniel from one arm to another, which couldn't be fun for him any more than it was for her. She only put him down for any length of time were when she was showering (which was why it was such a nightmare), and even then he was only a few feet away.

The problem was that she had to maintain that physical contact. If he were to go intangible when she wasn't touching him, there would be nothing she could do. If she was touching him, at least there would be a good chance that she'd change with him, and be able to keep him with her. As such, she timed her showers for when he was sleeping soundly, knowing that it was unlikely for Danny to change over in his sleep, and hoping the same would be true for Nathaniel.

Sam put her head down on the table, mind muddled. She was utterly fatigued, and really wanted to crawl into bed. But this was as clear a head as she was likely to have anytime soon if she didn't come up with a solution to this problem.

So…what could she do? When a ghost turned intangible, there was nothing you could do to catch them unless you brought out the heavy artillery, like the Fenton thermos. And that was absolutely out of the question, unless she wanted to go down in history as the worst mother ever. The only other ghost related thing she had was a stunner, which was also not an option. She drummed her fingers, her whole arm feeling brittle and achy, her mind wandering.

As such, she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on the door, and came dangerously close to smacking her forehead on the table. She looked up groggily. What…?

Only one person had knocked since she'd moved in, and that was because they were at the wrong apartment. She didn't get mail, and she never had anything delivered. Standing up, Nathaniel on her hip (he was patting her breastbone happily) she checked herself over. Well…she looked like a single mother. And her hair had grown out a little since the last time she'd dyed it, showing the black roots, since she simply hadn't had time to bother with her appearance after the birth. She headed towards the door, patting herself one more time to make sure her front was buttoned up. She frowned to herself as she took a peak in the eyehole. It was probably just someone at the wrong door agai…

Sam froze in shock, her mouth stuck in a silent 'oh' shape. No. No, no! This couldn't be happening! How, when…?

Vlad Masters, Danny's arch enemy…Vlad the billionaire, Vlad the halfa, was standing at her front door. He appeared to be waiting patiently, a pleasant expression on his face. Sam was still frozen, her mind attempting to go into denial. Somewhere the puzzle pieces were clicking into places, however. The feeling of being watched…the free hospital bill…the doctor…these things weren't unrelated…

After a moment he knocked again, a little louder. Sam was jolted out of her daze, and started thinking fast. Thankfully the fog in her mind from a minute ago was being burned away by an adrenaline surge. She didn't move for a moment more, thinking things through. It was no coincidence he was here, and if she didn't let him in there was nothing stopping him from just phasing through the door. And he probably would. Better to have him where she could see him, at least.

She headed back to the bedroom, throwing a "Just a minute!" over her shoulder. She needed to get something.

A minute later she was back, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. Nathaniel, meanwhile, looked rather excited by the whole thing. He knew something was up, even as young as he was.

She opened the door and stepped back with it, looking silently out at her smartly dressed visitor. He had something tucked under his left arm.

Vlad smiled at her. "Samantha! How have you been?" When she didn't respond he forged on. "I…expect this comes as some surprise. May I come in?" He added.

She pursed her lips, and answered quietly. She actually hadn't talked full out in days, and so her voice was a little weak. "What are you, a vampire?" Well, he looked like one half the time, after all, and he was waiting for permission to enter. She sighed when he gave her a look. "Come in." It's not like I could stop you.

As he entered she brought the hand hidden behind the door out, and an instant later there was a scorching sound and a bright glow of energy as she touched the Plasmius Maximus to Vlad. He jerked back about a foot, looking frazzled, and she let herself smirk. She'd succeeded in catching him completely by surprise, knowing that he'd go intangible the moment he saw the device in her hand, and couldn't help feeling somewhat proud about it.

He pulled down his coat and straightened back up, looking affronted. "Really, really, there was hardly any need for that. What do you think I'm going to do, attack you?" She let the smirk drop, to be replaced by a calculating expression. A strange moment passed in which something embarrassing seemed to occur to Vlad, and he looked away. She continued to watch him stoically, wondering what was going through his mind.

She decided to break the ice. "I just wanted to put us on a slightly more level playing ground." She swallowed, realizing just how nervous she was. "Come all the way in, I'm not going to have a conversation at the front door." He moved further in, a tad more warily this time, and she closed the door.

"I have two chairs at the dining room table, come on." She led him through the living room and over to the dining area, which was simply designated by a shift from carpet to tile. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was amazed at how calmly she was acting. But then, she was so very, very tired.

She found she wanted to put off whatever conversation Vlad had in mind. "Would you…like something to drink?" She hefted Nathaniel up a little and waited for an answer.

A feeling of looking down on things from a distance was starting to overtake Sam. This had to be a dream; it was just too surreal. She'd just invited Vlad into her apartment, and was offering him a drink! But what else could she do, attack him with a blunt object?

He was still standing, hands on the back of his chair. "Thank you, no. Please, sit down yourself." He waited until she was seated before joining her, a true gentleman. Sam snorted mentally.

She supposed it was time to cut to the chase. "How long have you been watching me?"

Vlad shrugged his shoulders, looking innocent in an entirely unconvincing way. "I haven't been watching you, per se."

"Okay…how long have you known where I was?" Something occurred to her, and she added in a voice that betrayed her worry, "And have you told anyone?"

An almost genuine look of concern flitted across his face, and he glanced down at Nathaniel for a moment before responding. "No. My dear, dear Samantha. Of course not. And to answer you first question, I never lost track of you."

They held eyes for a moment, and then she let out a small gasp as she understood. Of course! How stupid!

He smiled slightly when he was sure she'd figured it out. "Yes, I suppose it was worth getting stunned by the Plasmius Maximus since it's proven so useful to me over the months."

Sam felt her jaw clench and narrowed her eyes, feeling somehow betrayed and more than a little angry. "What do you want, Vlad? Why are you here?" She unconsciously hugged Nathaniel to her, terrified that she already knew the answer.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed. Vlad leaned back in the chair, face softening considerably. He laid his hands on the table, as if showing his cards, and sighed. "I…have been watching you enough to know how hard these past months have been on you, Samantha. I want to help." He waited for her response, a look of compassion on his face. That expression, however genuine it seemed, was alien to her when associated with Vlad. The feeling of being in the Twilight Zone returned stronger than before.

She looked away, trying to think things through. The last time she had taken something from him, he'd betrayed her trust by tracking where she went. And then there were all the other things he'd done over the years. Did he really think she would trust him?

She needed to do some digging, and find out why he was really here. Did he know that Nathaniel was half ghost? He had to if her growing suspicion about Dr. Evans was right. Besides, she'd had the distinct feeling of being watched over the last weeks, and she was pretty sure she knew why.

But how to get him to admit it? Maybe being blunt was best, in the hopes that her hunch about the doctor was right? She tried to keep her face unreadable as she turned to answer him, even though her stomach was roiling with fear.

"You haven't been threatening any hapless doctors lately, by chance?"

He smirked at her. "Very good, Samantha. I haven't harmed anyone, however. Just a few warnings here and there."

"As Vlad Plasmius, no doubt." Poor Dr. Evans. No wonder he'd been so happy to see her go.

He gave her a somber look for a moment, followed by a brief smile. "Coercion is nearly as good, and sometimes better, you know. He's been paid for his troubles."

Her eyebrows drew together as this sank in, and she broke his gaze. She suddenly didn't want to think about the doctor anymore. "What else have you done?"

"I took care of your hospital bills. That bit about a grant was just a fabrication." She'd thought so. "I may have…helped you to acquire the money for this apartment."

She looked up, momentarily stunned. "You rigged the lottery?" She huffed at the laugh in his eyes, and looked away again. She should've guessed. What were the chances?

Feeling more confident about her position, if no less threatened, she locked eyes with him and proceeded to bore holes into his forehead. "I know why you're really here, Vlad. I'm not stupid." But she wasn't willing to say it out loud either.

This time he dropped his gaze, and looked down at Nathaniel. He smiled at him, trying, and failing in her mind, to look un-intimidating. "You're very intelligent, as I told you before, Samantha. So I won't insult you. I admit that Nathaniel intrigues me. I…hadn't thought it was possible for a ghost and a human to have a child together, you see." He looked up in time to see her gasp, and watched her carefully.

Sam's thoughts were sent roiling, and she suddenly felt completely out classed. She also felt strangely violated. How much did he know? He'd obviously done research, if he knew it wasn't Danny's. Her Danny's. But he couldn't know the exact circumstances, there was no way…

She calmed down a little, trying to wipe the look of shock off her face. How dare he come in here fishing for information like this! It wasn't any of his business! Her life wasn't any of his business!

She stood up, voice ringing out. "My son isn't an experiment, Vlad, he's a human being! And if you ever try to take him from me…"

He interrupted her, looking flabbergasted, hands up in the air. "Please, no, why would I want to do that, woman?" That stopped her dead. Woman? "Do you really think I want to have a squalling brat on my hands? Can you really imagine Vlad Masters changing a dirty diaper, my dear?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "No, but I can imagine one of your servants doing it for you, Vlad. And don't call me woman."

He paused, a little surprised, and raised his eyebrows at her. "You have a one month old baby. Clearly you are." He smiled, and she was amazed and more than a little embarrassed when a tiny blush crept across her cheeks.

"That's not the point. And don't call me 'my dear' either." She scowled down at him.

His smiled softened, and he leaned back again, putting his hands on his knees. "Please sit back down. I didn't mean to upset you." He waited for her to sit, and then went on, speaking quietly. "Of course Nathaniel is a human being. I of all people should understand this, being a halfa myself. There are simply so few others like me that I can't help but be interested in him." His brows knitted together. "It isn't malicious, however. There are no tricks up my sleeve, Samantha. I simply want to make sure you have all the tools you need to take proper care of a half ghost child." He held her eyes for a moment, and then almost meekly looked down at the table.

She wished she could trust that sincere look in his eyes, but this man was a master at lying with a straight face. He'd done it time and again, and she was beyond being fooled by it anymore.

"What tools would those be?" She looked on warily as he stood up from the table, retrieving the thing he'd been carrying earlier from the floor. It was roughly shaped like a closed laptop, though nearly two times larger.

"I'll show you." She got up and followed him slowly as he eagerly trotted into the living room, and for a strange moment she was reminded of Jack showing off one of his new inventions.

Vlad placed the box on the ground, looking to see how it was pointed, then pressed down at two different places on the top. Immediately it extended to each side perhaps two feet either direction, and then unfolded forward away from Vlad, making a flat square on the floor about four feet in diameter. A moment later the edges, which were ridged, extended upwards about two or three feet, forming an open box. Lastly, one of the top edges continued extending on one side, creating what was clearly a flat roof you could close over the top if you wanted. The entire thing was made of a dull metallic looking material, and it was so thin she could actually see through the walls somewhat.

He came to stand next to her and crossed his arms, looking at it. "Want to guess what it is?"

Feeling comically morbid, she answered. "I don't know, some kind of gigantic roach trap?" Vlad gave her an irritated look, and she couldn't blame him. The joke reeked, like a gigantic dead roach.

She couldn't stop herself from snorting. Ugh. She needed sleep. She'd laugh at anything when she was dead tired.

Sam looked up to see the icy stare of Oscar the Grouch turned evil. She raised her eyebrows and smirked. Some people needed a sense of humor around here.

"So…what is it? Something practical, I assume?"

He pursed his lips, dropping the glare of death and looking back at the box. "Yes, very practical. It's a play pen, or a crib, either one."

"Well, gee, thanks Vlad," she grumped, "that's just exactly…"

"For halfas." She stopped. Oh. Duh.

"So if he transforms…?"

His smirk returned. "Yes. It will hold him, though you might want to add a few blankets and such for comfort, of course. And it isn't air tight with the roof on, in case you were worried." Actually, it hadn't occurred to her as of yet, but then she hadn't sat around designing and building the thing.

She pursed her lips. "So…what else does it do? Fly off to your mansion in the middle of the night?" She turned and started back to the kitchen table, knees already aching. She wasn't about to admit this was actually exactly what she needed. Besides, it probably would float away while she was sleeping…

She felt a hand on her arm and stopped, looking at it. Eyes narrowing, she looked up at Vlad next, and shrugged off his hand.

He was looking at her beseechingly. "What do I have to do to convince you I'm just trying to help?"

"What haven't you done not to convince me? The truth is I can't trust you farther than I can throw you, and I'm very worn out right now, so that would probably be about a foot."

He rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms. "I've spent a lot of time and money making your life easier, Samantha. It's true I didn't want you to know I knew. Call it a habit, if you will, but you must admit I had my reasons. I wanted to watch over you, and if you had caught on to the fact that I was tracking you with the ghost hunting equipment, you might've done something drastic like gotten yourself good and truly lost. And where would you be right now?" He frowned at her. "You have to admit I've made your life quite a lot easier."

She frowned back. She didn't care about that! He could've blown a million dollars on her for all she cared, since everything he did was ultimately self serving. If there wasn't anything in it for him, he wouldn't have lifted a finger, and she knew it. She wasn't about to feel grateful for that kind of help.

"Then why show yourself now, if you've already made my life so much easier? Wouldn't it be preferable if I never found out about all this?"

"I could hardly leave you a gift designed specifically for halfas without giving myself away, and you're clearly in need of it." He looked her up and down quickly, and then glanced around the apartment as he continued to speak. "You look dead on your feet, and this place is hardly being what I'd call maintained."

There was a pause in which she glowered at him, and he added, almost as an afterthought, "My hand was forced, you see."

They locked eyes for a moment before she turned toward the dining room once again.

She heard Vlad's voice behind her, sounding surprised and somewhat annoyed. "Where are you going?"

She didn't bother to look back. "You're right, I'm tired." She slumped into a chair, and turned to face him, not really comfortable having him behind her.

He looked at her for a moment, and then turned to drag the playpen over to her. Stubborn! "Alright, I'll just bring it to you, then." It appeared to be very light, since he only needed one hand to pull it over, and she couldn't help thinking that was a definite plus. Not that she was going to use it.

"Now, if you want to close it up, just press down hard on these two buttons." She noticed two lighter grey squares near the top of the box, separated by a couple of feet. "If something is still inside, it won't close properly. A sort of fail safe should you accidentally trigger it somehow. Not that you will."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I would have demonstrated its usefulness by showing I couldn't phase through it, but since you zapped me back there…" He paused. Was he actually waiting for an apology? She tried to stifle a yawn, and failed.

"So…I'm still waiting for the switch that makes it fly away." She moved around a bit on the chair, trying to get more comfortable, and waited for him to get angry.

It didn't come. Instead, he just leaned down and placed his hands on two buttons visible on one side of the pen-turned-oversized-laptop. "Now, when you open it, my dear, make sure these buttons are facing you, otherwise it will attempt to open underneath you." He pressed the buttons again, and it once again sprang up into a box. It only took a few moments to open and close, really.

"So, what are you calling it? The Plasmius Playpen?" Why was she trying to aggravate him? She must be out of her mind! But then she knew he wasn't really here "just to help" and something about his manipulative nature was really ticking her off.

Vlad gave her a dole look. "Very quaint, my dear. You may call it whatever you like." He closed it up once again, picked it up, and put it on the table next to her. Suddenly she felt closed in, with him standing so near while she sat, and she realized she was on the verge of losing her temper with him. Cut the crap, you manipulative…

"Beeemmeee…aaah." They both looked down at Nathaniel, who was looking up at Sam, eyes wide. She knew that look. He was going to start crying pretty fast if he didn't get fed. Suddenly her anger at Vlad fell by the wayside, and almost by habit she started unbuttoning her shirt. She froze suddenly, coming to her senses.

She looked up into Vlad's wide eyes, who coughed, and turned away hurriedly. "I'll just be over here." She didn't miss the fact that his cheeks were tinged pink. Now there was an unusual sight.

Sam would've laughed if she wasn't somewhat embarrassed too. At the same time, it was a perfectly natural function, and she also felt somewhat offended that she even felt embarrassed. This was nothing to be ashamed of!

As she got Nathaniel going, she called across the room to Vlad, feeling indignant. "It's just breastfeeding, you know!" She frowned at his turned back. "And it's not like you haven't been watching me!"

He half turned. "Not this I haven't!" Ha! A confession! She could see he was flustered by what he'd said as he turned back around and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

She snorted. "You twisted man. You came in here just when you thought I couldn't refuse you little gift, didn't you? You say I'm so smart, but obviously you really think I'm an idiot!" She saw his back stiffen slightly, and she continued. "You've probably been floating around here, watching me fall apart, watching me struggle, and calculating, like you always do, when I would be just begging to use your stupid playpen! And then you expect me to be grateful for all the wonderful help you've given me, you egotistical, manipula…"

Vlad interrupted her, stalking over to her quickly, and she sat up, every muscle tense. "Fine! There's no need to shout insults at me! I will be absolutely truthful with you! It is in my nature to be cautious, and to make things easier for me. As such, I've waited until I thought you wouldn't refuse my help. But think! What else was I supposed to do, come to you earlier, when you still thought you could handle not sleeping, when you'd yell me out the door and refuse to even speak with me?" She took a breath to answer and was cut off. "Don't deny it! If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you're very strong willed! You would've probably packed up and left if I'd come to you sooner!"

Sam stood up to face him, tears in her eyes. She'd been getting slowly angrier, but now she was steaming from the ears. "I may still, and that doesn't change the fact that all you're really after is my baby!" Her voice broke a little, and Nathaniel, his meal completely disrupted, started howling loudly.

She turned away suddenly, tears making a line down her face, and tried to calm down Nathaniel. She felt raw, and very exposed. Well hell, she was exposed.

"I thought you were going to stay across the room, you idiot." Her voice sounded hoarse. She could hear him move, and was surprised when he sat down at the table with her, mostly turned away from her. He didn't answer.

A few minutes passed while she got Nathaniel comfortable again, and fed. It gave them both a chance to calm down, and her a chance to surreptitiously clean her face up, though she couldn't hide the sniffling noises she made. Her sense of humor almost returned when she noticed how red Vlad's face had briefly turned. Apparently he was decent enough to be embarrassed, at least.

As usual, Nathaniel was ready for a nap after his meal, so she settled him down, his head on her shoulder, wishing she could go take a nap herself. She sighed, and gave herself a quick once over.

"I'm done, you can turn around if you like." Sam was strangely calm now, though a pain had formed deep down in her belly. His presence, his knowledge of Nathaniel was terrifying to her.

Vlad looked over cautiously, and as with most men, his eyes were drawn briefly down, and then back up again. So predictable. Though she supposed she couldn't blame him under the circumstances. Sam sighed, and decided he'd never speak again if she didn't say something.

"I think you've been lying and manipulative so long, you probably don't know how not to be, Vlad. Don't answer, just let me finish," she added quickly. He wanted to interrupt, but now that she had started, she was going to finish! "The thing is, I know more about you than most of the people you deal with probably do. I know you're half ghost, you're obsessed with Maddie Fenton, and that you want Danny for a son. I know what your motivations are, at least to some extent. This means I can guess what you're doing here, and if you really expect me to be overjoyed at that, you're just crazy, Vlad."

He didn't respond for several moments, face tight. Finally he leaned back, relaxing a little, and put his hands on the table again. He met her eyes. "It's almost refreshing in a way, talking to you. It may seem strange, but sometimes I truly crave simply…dropping the game of chess, so to speak. Being straight forward. And you know, I am straight forward about some things, Samantha. Daniel knows what I want from him. So does Maddie. And you and your friends know that I'll try to manipulate things in my favor, so from that perspective, I'm hardly doing anything you weren't prepared for on some level."

Sam closed her eyes, and played with Nathaniel's hair. "That's twisted reasoning and you know it." She paused, waiting for him to answer, and when he didn't she went on. "I. Love. Nathaniel. Do you understand that? He is my child. Then you come here, obsessed with having a half ghost son, and you don't expect me to get upset?"

"What makes you think I'm not still focused on Daniel?" He went on, looking up at the ceiling. "Who, I might add, has developed a similarly secretive way of dealing with people. That's simply part of being half ghost, as you well know." She felt her throat tighten at the mention of Danny, a pang of worry and loneliness welling up.

"H-how is he?" Sam couldn't stop the words; they'd just popped out. But she couldn't take them back now, and so repeated the question more firmly. "Danny. How's he doing? I know you watch him."

Vlad was strangely quiet, and she could almost hear the gears shifting in his head. Anything he said would be completely twisted, so why had she even asked him? She was suddenly terrified at what he might tell her.

"Never mind! Never mind. You won't tell me the truth anyway." Sam looked away, feeling heartbroken and trying to hide it. She shouldn't have brought him up like that.

She looked up when she felt Vlad's eyes on her, and wished she hadn't. Don't look at me like that! She didn't want see that look of sympathy, of empathetic understanding. It made her want to cry. This was Vlad! She did not need his comfort!

"You're such a strong person, Samantha. You really are. I can't imagine what this had been like for you. And everything you've done has been to protect Daniel from…from finding out." He seemed unsure how to word that, and looked at her, seemingly waiting for something.

"It's not his." Again, she couldn't stop the words. She had to protect him, it was true. She had to protect his honor. "We didn't have that kind of relationship."

He titled his head a little to the side. "It isn't his, and yet it is at the same time. Isn't that right?" There was a strange look in his eyes, like he wanted something from her but was afraid to make her angry.

She kept quiet, not knowing what to say, and not wanting to say anything.

"You were attacked, weren't you, Samantha." It was a statement more than a question. She looked down, something twisting inside her, and suddenly felt ashamed. Anger followed quickly after. How…how dare he try to talk to her about that!

"Listen, Danny has nothing to do with Nathaniel, and that's all you need to know!" Sam checked herself, looking down at said person, remembering he was sound asleep at present.

Vlad noted her unwillingness to wake the baby, and took advantage of it. "I know he is Daniel's double, Samantha. Except older, and pure ghost, I believe." He paused for a moment, then added, "Who is he? I'll tell you what I know about him if you'll do the same."

She stared at him. What did he know? Did Vlad know where the…the other Danny was right now? It had never made sense to her, how he'd just disappeared, instead of attacking Danny, though she'd speculated…

Sam realized she couldn't pass this by. "Why don't you tell me what you think you know, and I might answer a few questions." Two could play at this game.

Vlad pursed his lips. "You've taken the words right out of my mouth, unfortunately." He shrugged his shoulders. "Well…I'll tell you what I know about his current whereabouts if you tell me who he is?"

Sam's eyes widened. So he did know where he was? What exactly should she tell him, though? Ah. She had it. "He's from…"

She stopped, staring at him hard. Something wasn't right…about his wording. Suddenly she glared daggers, figuring it out. "How do I know you know anything about where he is right now? You didn't say you'd tell me where he was, only that you'd tell me what you knew about where he was, which could be nothing. Sorry, nice try but no cigar."

Vlad got angry, which just proved she'd guessed right. "Why, you impertinent little…wench!" He glowered at her, his ace up the sleeve practically useless. Sam heard him mutter something that sounded like "butter biscuits" under his breath.

"If you hadn't blown up like that, you still might…have convinced me you had something, you know." She smirked, entirely too happy at outwitting the man.

"You don't know what I know." They stared at each other for a moment, and Vlad finally added, "Though I concede that I don't know where he is at present. That doesn't mean I don't have information you might find valuable."

Sam took a big breath and let it out in a long sigh. "Which one of us is more trustworthy, Vlad?" She paused for a second, then went on. "Look…I'll promise to tell you something about him if you tell me what you know. Otherwise, I'm not telling you anything, because I obviously can't trust you to hold up your end of the deal. So…take it, or leave it."

Vlad stared at her for a moment, looking aggravated. Would he think it was worth the trade? Apparently yes. "Alright Samantha. I'll tell you what I know. I have your promise that you will tell me who he is?"

"I'll tell you…some things about him. I'm not promising a two hour discourse on the guy, though."

Vlad didn't look very happy at that, but must've known he wasn't going to get a better deal. "Indeed. Alright, then, this is something you probably didn't know. Right after he presumably attacked you…" He paused. "Around the 17th or 18th of December, correct?"

Sam nodded silently, a heavy weight settling in her stomach, throat suddenly too tight to speak. She looked at the table, unblinking, incapable at that moment of looking Vlad in the eyes. The fact that he knew…the fact that anyone knew was horrible somehow.

He continued, ignoring her behavior completely. "Alright. As I was saying, after that, he went over to Daniel's home and confronted him."

The color slowly drained from Sam's face. He…confronted Danny? He talked…to Danny? She stared at Vlad, speechless. Danny had never said anything about it, not for three months! Why…? Had he known? No, she would've been able to tell, there was no way he knew…

"Surprised? All they did was talk for a while, nothing more. You weren't mentioned, at least directly, by the way." Relief flowed through Sam at those words, and she found herself questioning him anxiously.

"What did they talk about? Why didn't they fight? Where did he go after that? Danny never mentioned this at all…" Suddenly she was suspicious again. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

"How do you think I found out about this ghost in the first place? I have a hidden video camera in Jack's lab, which was where they met. The entire conversation is on tape. I didn't know what to think until I put two and two together concerning you. And I might add that I'm being completely honest. It's refreshing," he added. Sam looked at him strangely, but couldn't deny that Vlad did have an unusually bright, almost eager look in his eyes.

"Okay. So tell me…what they talked about."

"Well, he was angry about being trapped in a Fenton thermos for two years, apparently. He seemed very depressed, and he frightened Daniel quite a bit. He threatened to tell him about you, but didn't. He also threatened to kill Daniel, saying he'd…done it before." He watched her closely at that. He'd done it before…that made sense. He'd killed his human half, or at least that's what he'd probably done, according to what Vlad from the future had told Danny…

Sam looked away from Vlad, feeling suddenly weirded out. Vlad from the future, who'd…no longer had his ghost half because it had merged with Danny's. Somehow she'd forgotten that. Did that mean…? She shuddered, and stopped that train of thought dead. She wasn't going there, especially with Vlad sitting just across from her.

"Did they talk about anything else?"

"Not really. Although there was something else he said that struck me as strange…or more specifically, something Daniel said. The ghost had insulted him, you see, and in response, Daniel taunted him by saying he was merely insulting himself. Strange, don't you think?" Vlad was focused on her like a hawk, watching for her reaction.

But it wasn't his turn yet; he could wait for answers. "Interesting…so what happened after that? They didn't fight, you said."

Vlad crossed his arms. "No. My camera malfunctioned, it seems. One moment they were about to spring at each other, the next Daniel was across the room and the ghost was gone. He didn't look like he'd been in a fight, however. And…my camera didn't register any time passing. That's what is truly peculiar, actually."

Sam relaxed a little. So…Clockwork had intervened. That had to be it. So did that mean he was locked up again? She felt strange, thinking of him locked in a thermos again. Not that he'd necessarily stay there. If he'd broken out once, he could do it again…

"I believe I've earned the right to ask a few questions myself. Are we agreed?" Sam looked up, realizing she'd gone into her own little world for a bit, and nodded.

"First and foremost, what is he?"

"He's…from the future. An alternate future. But he isn't Danny."

"Then why does he look so much like him? And when he said he'd killed Daniel, was it something he'd done in that future…?"

Sam looked down at the ground, speaking slowly. Telling him this shouldn't hurt anything, right? "He…a horrible accident happened, and Danny was split in two, one human and one ghost. Kind of like Jekyll and Hyde, but in two bodies. And…the ghost killed the human. What's left really isn't Danny. He's something much more evil than Danny could ever be." It wasn't quite the truth, but it would do. She looked up, and was surprised to see that Vlad looked more than a little disturbed. He wiped the look off his face quickly, however, obviously not distressed enough to stop asking questions.

"How did he get here, in this time?" Hmm. Sam wasn't sure she was willing to tell him about Clockwork. That could be really dangerous, couldn't it?

"Time travel, I guess." She smirked at the look Vlad gave her. "I don't know. In fact, since he's a pure ghost, he could be from the year 3000 for all I know. Maybe he came back here when people finally invented time travel?" Vlad didn't look convinced. Being so good at lying himself, he was probably a master at seeing through other people's lies. It didn't matter, though, because there was nothing he could do about it.

He moved on. "Why doesn't he look more like Daniel's ghost half? Why the flaming hair, blue skin, etcetera?"

"I have no clue. Fashion statement?" She really didn't have a clue about the flaming hair, at least. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sam acknowledged that she was quite proud of herself right now. She was calm, composed. She could handle this topic. It wasn't freaking her out, it wasn't freaking her out…

"Why do I have the feeling you're not telling me everything you know?" She looked up into Vlad's grumpy face.

"Well…you can't hold all the cards all the time, can you?" Sam couldn't quite bring herself to say she was telling him the absolute truth with a straight face, so didn't even try. A few moments passed in silence, both of them thinking their own thoughts.

Vlad started foraging in his breast pocket after a bit (he was wearing a suit) and brought out a folded piece of paper. "This has all of my telephone numbers, Samantha. I know you don't like me, and don't trust me and so on and so forth, but you may need me at some point. I am a halfa, and can help with Nathaniel should he turn ghost. I also have ghost locaters, and can build other things to make your life a little easier. Don't hesitate to call if you need something, even money." He leaned over and put the paper down on the table next to the folded playpen.

They locked eyes as he leaned back again, and had a brief battle of the wills. I know what you're after, you fake. You want Nathaniel. But she knew arguing and accusing wouldn't lead anywhere, and looked away, letting out a tiny sigh.

Vlad stood up. "Well, Samantha, it's been a pleasure speaking with you. And again, if you need my help, call me. If the Wisconsin number doesn't work, try the other locations, and my cell as a last resort. I prefer avoiding cell phones since assuring privacy is practically impossible. I also must ask that you never call me Plasmius, or mention ghosts directly over any phone. But then, I'm certain you understand how valuable one's privacy is." Vlad paused, and laid his hand lightly on her shoulder. Sam looked up at him as he did so, dragging her gaze away from the table, and that seemed to be what he wanted.

"I can't make you trust me, Samantha, but I am a valuable resource to you, and you should think of me as such. Don't put yourself through unnecessary hardship if it can be easily avoided. That is all I ask." I wish. He dropped his hand, and glanced down at Nathaniel one more time, smiling a little. Then he straightened up, growing serious, and seemed to concentrate on something. A frown passed over his features.

"Not yet two hours, I see. Ah well. The front door will suffice." He turned and began the short walk across the living room, moving briskly.

Sam stood slowly as he went, watching and wondering if there was anything she should say or ask before he left, but her mind was growing muddled once again.

Vlad paused with his hand on the door knob, and turned back to face her. "Good bye, Samantha."

"Bye, Vlad." He was out the door a moment later. Her mind felt slightly numb, and she realized the adrenaline rush had left her a while ago. She'd probably crash in a few more minutes, if Nathaniel gave her the chance.

She had a lot to think about, but was too brain dead at present to really do so. Also, Vlad had just left, and that made her feel much safer even if it was completely unwarranted. At least she didn't feel like she was being watched at the moment. But still, a whole new worry had just been added to her list, and it was one of the biggest and most dangerous of them all.

And the jerk still called her Samantha, the…jerk. She shuffled her way towards the bed, half asleep already. She still wasn't sure she was going to use that playpen either. She probably couldn't throw it very far, which was a…bad sign, for some reason…

Sam was out like a light only moments after settling down on her bed. Before dropping completely asleep, however, she knew that in less than twenty minutes, Nathaniel would wake her with a dirty diaper. He was predictable like that.

Author's Note Number Two: Woohoo, two of my favorite characters interacting! Anyway, let me know if you think things are out of character, or what have you. And just a warning, things are about to get a tad bumpy for Sam (as if I haven't been mean enough already!)