Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Paramount global.
Snowed
Chapter 7: From Christmas Stocking To Christmas Talking
Jack and Maddie were face to face with an angry Chief Boyle. That wasn't an unusual event, especially during this time of year.
However, this time was more intense than usual. They were still shaken from what happened earlier, but they tried their best to calm the angry policeman down.
"Chief Boyle... may I get you some hot cocoa?..." Maddie asked nervously, while the cop kept glaring at her.
"And wake up tomorrow with some infection? No thank you!..." He responded, since he recalled what happened the last time he did.
"I see that he's still bitter about the baseball game a decade ago..." Jack muttered, only to notice Boyle heard that.
"Yes, I am. No one forgets needing to be rushed to the emergency room after his son's Tee ball game!..."Chief Boyle snapped.
The only reason they both even interacted with each other back then was because both their sons were on the same Tee ball team when they were little.
"Uh...so...um...how is Josh now?..."Maddie asked nervously.
"Much better than your boy and girl are feeling right now, that's for sure..."Chief Boyle said, guilt slinging them.
"But enough about that, I see you that two were doing your other annual act of chaos... and we've gotten more than enough noise complaints and the mall declared you two are banned every December until you've done your 100 hours of community service!..."Chief Boyle said, looking irritated.
"Really?..." Jack asked, while Chief Boyle handed the two a ticket, along with another document.
"What is that?..."Maddie asked, getting a bad feeling about this.
"A court order from the city council. From now on... you two are forbidden to continue this nonsense or face a penalty!..." He shouted.
"But... this is how we celebrate the holidays!..." Jack went, but was met with the same looks that his son and neighbors had sent them earlier.
"And you think WE enjoy dealing with this?! Also, FIGHTING during Christmas is a pretty messed up way to celebrate, ya know!..." Boyle shouted.
Jack and Maddie both shared a look, realizing how much trouble they're in.
"Well... when you put it like that..." Maddie went.
"How else can a person put it?! Though, that son of yours said it better than anyone could!..."The cop said, having heard it and was going to break it up, before the kids left.
The Fenton parents felt a stab in their hearts at being reminded of that, while the cop showed them the document.
"Just know that if If I see you two harassing more mall Santas or causing a ruckus in public again... I'm arresting you on the spot! The only reason I went easy on you was because of your kids but this is your FINAL warning! One more act of chaos because one of you can't accept the idea of Santa and the other can't stop acting like a kid, and it's a jail cell waiting for the two of you, ya hear me!..." Boyle snapped before storming away.
Jack and Maddie groaned, feeling worse than before. Not only did their kids storm off in a huff, but now they have the threat of being arrested hanging on their heads now.
"First Halloween, now Christmas..." Jack muttered.
"Come on... let's clean this up..." Maddie said, not seeing any other choice here.
Once inside, the two stopped at the sight of something.
There was a note that said "For Jack and Maddie Fenton..."The note was on a large pile of coal that appeared out of nowhere.
"What that?! Where'd that come from, that wasn't here before?!..."Maddie exclaimed, while her husband came to his own conclusion.
"He does exist!..." Jack went happily.
"He does exist?!..." Maddie asked.
Then it hit them that they were given coal...and they knew what that meant.
"Oh..." They went, not proud of this.
They then realized that their house was now a mess...and that their kids still weren't coming back yet. This coal, plus Chief Boyle's threats and their children's words finally seemed to be sinking into their thick skulls...and they felt awful now.
"We really did it now..."Maddie said as they decide to get a broom, looking miserable as she did so.
Little did they know, a certain ghostly rocker was watching. She saw how stubborn the Fenton parents were being, even after Danny tore them apart verbally, and while she couldn't fight them due to the truce, she got creative and left a big pile of coal, which hopefully will serve as a wake up call.
"Merry Christmas, Baby-Pop... hope that this'll make you appreciate me when I take over the world and make you my king..." Ember said before leaving.
With that, Ember left, deciding her work was done as the parents groaned at needing to clean that pile too. The blue flame haired ghost rocker reminded herself to brag about this good deed she did for Danny right in Star's face, once she runs into her next time.
"I can't wait until Blondie learns I'm Baby pop's secret Santa..."An amused Ember said, just knowing that the looks on their faces will be priceless.
The diva soon left the area, while the Fenton parents were still reeling in everything that has happened over the last 15 minutes of their lives.
A shock to their systems upon realizing their tradition was hated by not only their children, but the entire town...something that finally seemed to sink in their minds.
Later
At Lake Eerie
Danielle and Wulf had both been enjoying a nice round of hot cocoa, as well as the warmth of sitting in front of the fire that Wulf had made.
"Ĉi tio malstreĉas..."Wulf said, saying "This is relaxing" in Esperanto as he took in a deep breath.
"You said it..."Danielle said, smiling as she drank some more.
Before they could get a refill, they suddenly heard the sound of some engine. One that is familiar to the little ghost girl.
"I know that sound..."She said as she ran to the window and looked outside.
She saw a familiar Specter Speeder landing a few feet away from her cabin, one that had two people she knew and cared for.
"DANNY! STAR!..."Dani exclaimed in joy as she phased outside and ran to them.
"Danielle..."Danny said, only to be tackled by the little ghost girl in a big hug and into a snow bank.
"Hi! Merry Christmas! What took you guys so long?!..."She said happily as she hugged him.
Seeing her genuine happiness, joy and cheerfulness, made Danny briefly forget his misery from earlier as he hugged her back.
"Merry Christmas, Dani!..."He said as he hugged her back.
Star and Jazz both saw this and smiled warmly. They both felt both their respective hearts melt at seeing such a sweet and tender moment between two young halfas.
"At least someone is able to be cheery on Christmas and mean it..."Star thought as she watched the hug.
"I haven't seen a smile like that from someone in our family during this Holiday for such a long time..."Jazz thought, until the hug stopped.
Soon, it was her turn.
"Merry Christmas, Danielle..."Jazz said as she hugged the little ghost girl.
"Merry Christmas, Jazz. Happy you came. I'm so glad that you came to visit me too..."Danielle said, hugging her back.
"Thanks, Dani..."Jazz said, happy to hear that.
"My turn! Merry Christmas!..."Star said, smiling at her. "So do I get a hug too, or are they just for family member?..."She asked playfully.
"Of course you do, you're particularly family already..."Dani said with a giggle.
Star giggled too as she hugged the ghost girl.
"Happy holidays..."Star said, sounding happy.
"Same to you, Star..."Danielle said, happy to see her old friend.
Wulf came out the cabin and saw them.
"Feliĉan Kristnaskon, Amikoj..."Wulf said, saying "Merry Christmas, Friends" in his native language and grinning his wolf teeth.
"Feliĉan Kristnaskon, Wulf..."Danny said in Esperanto, returning the kind greeting with his own.
"So, what brings you guys here?..."Danielle asked.
"What? You didn't actually think that we'd miss out on spending Christmas with you, did ya?..."Star asked, being rhetorical while she playfully tapped Danielle's nose.
"Not at all. There's no way that we were gonna miss spend your very first Christmas with you..."Danny said, smiling at his little cousin.
"So, did you get the presents and snacks we sent ya?..."Danny asked, and the little girl nodded.
"Uh-huh. They were all awesome...tasty too...almost as much as the Halloween candy I got a couple months ago..."Dani said, recalling all those sweets.
"Ŝi jam manĝis ĉiujn manĝetojn, kiujn vi ĉiuj sendis al ŝi antaŭ la tagmanĝo..."Wulf said in his native language, recalling all the gingerbread men and chocolate that the child ate.
"What did he say?..."Jazz asked, since her own Esperanto is rusty.
"He said that she already ate all the snacks we sent her before lunch time..."Danny said, while the little girl pouted.
"Not my fault those Christmas cookies, chocolates and treats were so good..."She said, making the teens chuckle at that.
"Well, I guess that it's a good thing we brought some more with us..."Star said, gesturing to a bag in her hand.
Danielle's smile brightened.
"I knew that I liked you for a reason..."She said, making the teenagers also chuckle at that.
"That and we saved your butt..." Star reminded, and the ghost girl nodded.
Danny saw Danielle's smile and he felt his mood lift further. He had an almost distant nostalgic look on his face.
"So happy...so carefree...so innocent. So free of what Mom and Dad do..."He thought, his mood feeling less lifted.
"I had almost forgotten what that looked or even felt like at this time of year..."He thought, as he had a very somber expression on his face but quickly shook it if in order not to ruin the fun that everyone was having right now.
He forced a smile on his face as he turned to his little cousin and their lycanthrope friend.
"Gotta act nice...for Dani's sake..." He thought.
He wanted to make sure that at least one of them was going to have wonderful Christmas and make joyful memories to look back on...for a change.
The ghost boy turned to his little cousin, smiling as he hid his issues.
"Well, come on. We still have a couple of hours to spend Christmas with my favorite little cousin and our friend/fugitive from ghost cops too..."Danny said in an overly optimistic way and did his best to sound like he meant it.
Jazz nodded and knew what he was up to. She understood what her younger brother was trying to do for Daniele. She felt both proud and sad for her brother's decision to make the best of things as they are.
Besides, Danielle is like the little sister she always wanted. As such, she decided to do the same.
"Yeah, that's right. This is actually our first Christmas together and I have been looking forward to spending more time with you for a long time..."She said in a very cheerful way, trying to cover her same issues and follow her brother's lead.
Star realized what they were doing, knowing why they sounded like that but can't say it yet.
"Yeah, let's do it. Let's make this Christmas one to remember..."Star said.
Danielle noticed that they seemed a little too chipper right now, but didn't comment.
"They seem a little too jolly right now...almost unrealistically...even for the holidays..."She thought as Danny continued trying to get into the holiday spirit.
She chose to play along for now then get to the bottom of it later.
"Come on. Let's go get some snacks...have some hot chocolate, then we can sing carols and play in the snow. I can even show you my ice powers you keep asking about..."Danny said, trying to play the role of a good surrogate big brother.
"That's a great idea, and I know a good Christmas movie for kids, that I am sure that you'll love Danielle. We can even roast some chestnuts and marshmallows... maybe even make s'mores too..."Star said, grinning like she's hiding something.
"Yeah, and I even brought a book with Christmas stories to read around the fire. It's a good one..."Jazz said.
Danielle nodded as they all went to her cabin, secretly as confused as she is suspicious. Still, she had never done any of the things they had suggested before, and decided to go along with their plans...so they all went to keep her company, to have the time of their lives and afterlives.
Still, she was still aware that the older teens were keeping something from her in the back of her mind, but still wanted to enjoy this heartwarming fun with them for as long as she can.
"I'm sure that it's not what I think it is..." She thought as they went inside.
Inside the cabin
Danielle and Wulf were both in the living room as their guests brought them snacks.
"Here you go, Danielle. I got you some candy canes and cookies, just for you..."Danny said as he handed her the plate.
"Thanks, Danny..."The little ghost girl said as she took one, though she was still wondering what was up with her cousin.
"Anytime..." He said.
"I'll start the movie..." Jazz went.
"Something is up…" Danielle thought.
They were all drinking cocoa as the Christmas movie was playing, all the while the ghost boy and his sister were doting on their little cousin.
"You feel comfy, Danielle?..."Danny asked, sitting close.
"You need an extra pillow, one of mine?..."Jazz asked as she offered her one.
"Uh, no thanks..."Danielle said as she felt they were trying too hard.
Danny's eyes darted away slightly.
"Okay, don't wanna get too comfy..."He said, wanting to distract her with many fun things they can all to together.
He made a big show of himself to make this first Christmas for Danielle the best yet. After all, he wanted one Fenton not to be ruined by his parents.
"Well, let's see what we can do..."He said, while the little ghost girl raised an eyebrow.
Star saw this and sighed in disappointment.
"He's trying too hard..."She thought.
She felt a little conflicted about this.
On one hand, they all wanted to spend a wonderful time spend Danielle and enjoy their first ever Christmas together. They wanted to have as much fun as possible together before this holiday is over. But on the another hand, they were trying to cover up their emotional exchange with their parents from earlier with a much more cheerful demeanor just to keep Danielle happy.
This left Star think about if this decision of theirs is right or not. For now though, she was going to play along until she was alone with her Danny-boo to see how he's proceeding things.
"Movie time..."She said, trying to be cheerful as the others nodded.
Jazz placed the film and soon they were all watching it together.
Later
After the movie, they all played outside in the show and Danny seemed a little TOO eager in showing Dani his ice powers and even made a snowman and snow fort for her.
After that, Star began roasting some chest nuts and also made some s'mores for the little ghost girl, while Jazz made some eggnog and served it.
"Have some peppermint eggnog..."Jazz said as she laid a tray on the coffee table.
The others all tried it.
"Ĉi tiu ovonogo ne estas tiel bongusta kiel mi imagis..."Wulf said in Esperanto as he reluctantly finished his eggnog.
"Really? Maybe you should've added more milk or peppermint to improve its taste..."Dani said, smiling.
Before they could go and try to improve Wulf's eggnog, Danny then had a suggestion.
"May as well see how else we can make this day better..."He said as he gestured to Danielle.
"Sure..."Star said as she gave some of the now roasted chest nuts to the others.
"I'll help..."Jazz said, getting a pitcher of milk for hot cocoa.
Danielle saw all of this and decided not to ask for some more, finding her family member's "enthusiasm" to be a little TOO much right now.
"Okay, this is too weird. Did something happen that I should know about?..."She thought as she wondered what they could be hiding from her, but this thought was pushed to the back of her mind when Danny brought up something to her attention.
Danny, not realizing that he was coming off as too strong right now, kept trying to dote on Danielle and keep her happy.
"So, Danielle...how are the treats? Need some more snacks? Here are some more cocoa with extra milk, chocolate, marshmallows and sugar...and I think we got some of those tasty Chocolate reindeer around here too. You like those, right? I can get some..."He said, smiling a little too forcefully as he wanted to spread as much Holiday joy for his little cousin...to an unnatural degree.
Dani blinked and Star cringed as she saw him coming off as too strong. Way, way too strong to be honest.
"You're both trying too hard..." Star whispered.
"Huh?..."Danny asked, while his little clone sighed and answered for him.
"She said you're both trying too hard..." Danielle answered.
"You can tell?..." Jazz asked.
The little ghost girl saw all of this and shook her head.
"Kind of obvious..."She said, making the siblings blink in surprise.
"It was?..." The Fenton siblings asked in unison.
"What happened? Does it have something to do with your parents' annual arguing over Santa?..."Danielle asked, causing everyone to become silent and stare in disbelief at her.
"H-How did you know about...th-that?..."Danny asked as he never talked to her about that.
Danielle groaned, knowing that she hit the nail on the head.
"You'd be surprised how much Vlad knew about your family...and how much he thought that your dad is an idiot for believing in Santa, saying he's too childish to have kids..."Danielle said as she rolled her eyes.
"That sounds like an awful thing Vlad would say...and yet, I'm not surprised he'd say that..." Jazz commented.
"Well, am I right?..." Danielle asked, while her cousin/brother looked shaken right now.
It concerned her.
"Danny?..."Danielle asked, while the other females looked concerned for him too.
The ghost boy looked troubled, as the negative feelings he had felt earlier and had been trying to ignore were coming back.
"I...I need to be alone for a moment..."Danny said as he went to a nearby empty room.
"Danny!..."Danielle said in worry as she feared she may have indirectly hurt him right now.
"I'll go talk to him..."Star said, knowing that he needs her right now.
She followed him upstairs to see what she could do. Danielle saw this and felt guilty after seeing her leave the room.
"I'm sorry, I didn't...I didn't want to hurt him..."She said, feeling bad.
Jazz sadly frowned, but she patted her head.
"Danielle, this is NOT your fault! It's our parents! They're both childish, Vlad just favors our mom!..."Jazz said bitterly, hating all of this.
"He's blind to a lot of things that don't suit his view of the world, whether it's having a daughter instead of a son or how Maddie Fenton isn't so perfect..."Danielle said, feeling sad while Wulf placed a paw on her shoulder in sympathy.
"I am sorry..."He said, feeling bad for his friend.
Jazz breathed out her nose in sadness.
"It's not your guys' fault. This was long before he got his powers..."She said, feeling miserable and pity for her brother.
However, she also knew that her brother needed a moment to himself right now.
"Let's give Danny a moment to himself. Star is with him and he's had a long day. Just let him have a moment alone with her..."Jazz said as she felt they needed some privacy right now.
Dani nodded, but still felt unhappy and Wulf felt bad for them too.
"Poor Danny..."He said, wishing that they could do more for their friend.
However, he wasn't sure how to fix this kind of mess. None of them did.
With Danny
The ghost boy had gone into one of the empty rooms in the cabin. Since Sam's family is well-off, the cabin had about 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms in it. He randomly entered the closest one and shut the door.
Once there, he sat on a nearby bed and the gloomy feelings that he tried to bury were back in full force.
"I thought that I could escape it..."He thought, burying his face in his hands as someone opened the door.
"Danny-Boo..."Star said as she followed him inside.
"Please not now, Starlight..."Danny said in a depressed way.
Star hated seeing him so miserable like this. It broke her heart and she closed the door before reaching him. She went to him, in an attempt to fix any of this.
"Shush...it's alright. It'll be okay..."She said in a gentle way as she tried to comfort him.
The ghost boy was still feeling emotional turmoil and dissatisfaction.
"I'm sorry..."He said in a low voice.
"Don't be, it's not your fault..." Star said, wishing that she could take all the bad feelings away.
Danny, in a fit of emotional turbulence, grabbed Star and kissed her. It almost felt forced, not the tender way he usually does it, which the blonde girl noticed.
Star blinked, but let him do it.
"Star..."He said as he kissed her again.
"Starlight..."He said, almost like he's tempting her to return the kiss.
However, Star noticed that the kissing seemed to be less about love and more about trying to distract himself from his pain.
"He's just doing it to hide the pain..."She thought as he continued, knowing this was not out of love.
"Danny..." She said, pulling away.
Danny realized the look in her eyes and felt worse now.
"Boo. I'm here and I want to do more than kiss..."She said as she hugged him, giving him some sense of warmth and comfort.
Danny hugged her back and started to tear up.
"I'm sorry, Starlight...but...it's...it's not fair, Star. It's not fair that I have to deal with this every year..."He said, feeling hurt as the pain came back to him.
"It's not..." She admitted, as he continued bearing his soul to her.
"I spend every year with this same stupid, pointless feud they do for fun. They can't see how every year it hurts us, and how much it made the holidays a nightmare. I just want it to stop! I don't care what ghost I have to fight to make it so, I just want it to stop!..."Danny said, trying hard not to break into tears.
"Shh shh shh..." She went to soothe him.
The two teens sat on the bed and remained still, as Star tried to calm her unhappy boyfriend down, he was still fighting back the tears.
"Shh...Boo...it's okay, you're okay..."She whispered, her arms still around him as she tried to sooth him.
Her boyfriend felt some level of relief as he hugged her back.
"I'm sorry... I don't mean to make this hard on you..."He said, hugging her back, while his girlfriend wanted to be clear on something.
"We've survived ghosts, monsters, and even would-be suitors trying to tear us apart. This is no where near as troubling..." She assured.
"It is?..."He asked, while his blonde girlfriend kept trying to wipe away his tears.
"Boo, I love you and I wanted nothing more than to make this a happy Christmas for you..."Star said, smiling.
"And you have...surprising at it is, this is probably my LEAST awful Holiday...and I'm still feeling as lousy as I did like the time our tree burnt down with all of our presents..."He said, frowning as he looked away.
He then tried to give her a smile.
"But at least I had some actual peace and fun before that, I owe all that to you..."He said, meaning it.
Star smiled a bit and held him tighter. She still recalled how unhappy he was earlier, and still wished that she could have prevented all of that trauma.
"I still should have tried harder to keep you from feeling this way right now. Maybe if I done something or not agree to that party, you wouldn't have had to see your parents-..."Star was cut off when he sent her a most serious look.
"Don't you dare blame yourself for that! None of that was your fault...if anything, you did more for me than I expected..."He admitted, still holding her in his arms.
Star smiled at that and pressed her forehead onto his.
"You're welcome..."She said.
"It was a better gift that anything I could've gotten..."Danny said, meaning it.
"See? And I promise to make this better next year. And I promise things will improve..."Star said, trying to be optimistic for him.
"There's gonna be a next year? After you saw all of that?..."He asked.
"Duh! Danny, I faced half of the most insane ghosts out there just for you. THIS is NOT gonna drive me away, so just forget about that!..."She said, being as serious as possible when she said that.
That made the ghost boy a little better.
"You saw how crazy my parents get this time of year, and you still haven't ran for the hills. I guess somebody does love me..."He said with a chuckle.
"You bet I do. And I promise that I'll find a way to make Christmas better for you in any way possible..."Star said, still holding onto him.
"You do? How?..."Danny asked, unsure why she'd be this optimistic.
Star then answered.
"Well, let's say hypothetically, someday, we get married and have kids of our own. I promise that I will make sure that they never feel as unhappy as you are right now, no matter what..."She said, sounding serious as she said this.
Danny was silent, but briefly snapped out of his stupor when he heard this. He blinked and blushed a bit at what she just said and how it started.
"Did... did you just say-..."He stammered, blushing at what she just suggested.
"Hypothetically. But even if that doesn't happen, I can assure you... when you have kids, I just know you'll never let them feel this way..." Star assured, knowing how sweet and determined her man is.
"Like how you were with Dani. Sure, you came off a little strong, but you did your best to make her happy for today and I admire that. I also don't blame you for being cranky last year, after all you've been through...I probably wouldn't have lasted as long as you did if I was in your shoes..."Star said, knowing that she wasn't always as kind as she is now.
She then touched Danny's cheek in a gentle manner as she kept speaking to him gently.
"I love you, Boo. I know that this time of the year is always tough on you...but you're trying, Danny. I know that you are and that's all anyone can expect...and I promise that I'll keep making this time of the year special for you...no matter what..."She promised.
Hearing that helped him feel better. He hugged her again and finally stopped crying.
"Thank you, Starlight..."He said, feeling warmth from both her and inside.
Star hugged him back as they stayed like this for a while, both silent as they held each other like this.
-To be continued-
Next time on Snowed
Dani's Advice
A/N(1): Special thanks to NeoMark, BeConfuzzled Writer and Jay The Average Fanboy for helping out with this chapter. You guys rock :)
A/N(2): Here are the translations to what Wulf was saying in Esperanto:
She already ate all the snacks you all sent her before lunch time./Ŝi jam manĝis ĉiujn manĝetojn, kiujn vi ĉiuj sendis al ŝi antaŭ la tagmanĝo.
This eggnog is not as tasty as I had imagined./Ĉi tiu ovonogo ne estas tiel bongusta kiel mi imagis.
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
Luiz4200: Yeah.
Il Professor Pablo Strawberry: Thank you :)
Phantom Fan 21: Yeah, I see their bond as more like siblings.
CZS4: Thank you :)
Invader Johnny: They tried. They did try.
RonaldM40196867:
1) No.
2) Yes, it is sad.
3) NeoMark suggested the character.
4) Sorry, no spoilers.
Danifan3000: I always hated that scene.
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) Yes, I do. I think that Danny is capable of bringing the best out of Star.
2) Well, I see that he'd definitely stop bullying Danny and probably start kissing up to his hero.
3) Not sure.
4) I think that Kitty is capable of redemption, depending on how she is written.
5) I like the last one.
Leonardo: Well, Snowed and Costumed aren't intentionally in any particular order, like many a Halloween and Christmas specials.
Guest: We shall see what happens.
After hearing how their kids feel about their Christmas fights I hope they hear how other people feel about their Christmas fights and realize how bad things are and try to make up for it.
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)