Hello, everyone. So. I haven't been updating my fics on here because of reasons (they're lame reasons, don't worry about it) for the past six months, but I'm going to try and catch up with everything. I won't be able to do it all at once, but I'll be doing my best. To see all the chapters I've added to multichapter fics, just keep going until you don't see this message at the top of the chapter anymore. Sorry about this!

.

Damon closed his eyes and walked back to the door, briefly leaning his head against it. He started cursing in his head.

He knew they were kids. He knew it. They didn't have the discretion or the experience they would when they were older. He shouldn't get mad.

But they made it so hard to avoid knowing things.

Valerie wouldn't stop. Damon knew that. And if his own daughter wouldn't stop when he asked, how could he possibly get Danny, a child who wasn't his, a child he barely knew, to stop? There was nothing. Anything he could do would put both of them in danger, and who knew how Danny would react to Damon knowing his secret.

Lord knew that Valerie hadn't reacted well, and history showed that white boys didn't always act rationally when they were threatened. Sure, Danny was a good kid, he had the whole hero thing going on, risking his life regularly, and Damon didn't think he was like that, but still... The stakes were too high.

More than that, the best protection Damon could give Danny, could give Valerie, was to know nothing. Nothing about Danny. Nothing about Phantom. Nothing about how he and Valerie were apparently working together, now, even if they weren't public about it. If he didn't know anything, he couldn't tell anything to the GIW when they came snooping. And they would come snooping.

Law enforcement always came snooping. The more corrupt they were, the more they did it.

The GIW were very corrupt.

Damon opened the door and stepped back out into the hallway before closing it softly behind him. He walked down the hallway a few steps, then took a moment to mourn his relationship with his neighbors, such as it was.

He stomped down the hall, as loud as he could, and went through the motions of unlocking the door, dropping his keys twice. Those kids had better appreciate this, someday. Damon wasn't this clumsy when he was drunk.

By the time Damon slammed the door open, wincing at the dent he'd leave in the wall if he kept this up, the couch was clear, the TV was off, and the door to Valerie's room was open. She was curled up under her covers, her breathing far too fast for sleep. Danny was, of course, nowhere to be seen.

Damon sighed and walked over to the side of Valerie's bed, avoiding the ghost hunting paraphernalia and teenage detritus scattered on the floor.

"Goodnight, sweetpea," he said, kissing her hair gently.

He straightened up and yawned. He was getting too old and tired for this sort of stuff.