Chapter 27

Danny chewed on his lower lip as he peeked through the doorway into the front room. Mr. Masters and Phantom sat on the couch while Phantom flipped through the photo album. Danny didn't know how things were going as so far both ghosts remained silent. He worried. Everything was calm for the moment, but he could see that Phantom didn't quite trust the ghost claiming to be his father. He fidgeted, waiting to see if another explosion would occur.

"Danny," his mother said sternly, and Danny tensed, "you should leave them alone. Give them some space to work this out."

Danny turned a frown onto his mother, who was busy working making dinner for everyone. His father sat at the kitchen table, fiddling with something that he brought up from the laboratory. "I know," Danny said with a sigh as he turned his gaze back to the front room. "I just don't want this to go badly." He rubbed a hand against his left cheek as if he could still feel the frost swirled over his flesh.

"I think I remember this," Phantom mumbled, pointing to a picture in the photo album.

Mr. Masters leaned over to see which one Phantom meant. "Ah, right. I got you that ghost pony for your tenth birthday. You really loved her. You named her Frost Steed."

"Frost Steed?" Phantom snorted. "What a lame name." He paused, lifting his head with a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "I... would come up with a lame name like that though, wouldn't I?"

Mr. Masters shrugged. "You were ten and very insistent, not to mention stubborn, about the name. You had a lot of fun riding her around the Ghost Zone."

Phantom blinked a few times before he turned his confused gaze to Mr. Masters. "I had been to the Ghost Zone before? I didn't remember it until Spectra took me there to save me from the Guys in White."

"Well, you did forget about everything prior to waking up in my lab after I tried to stabilize you. I'm not surprised that you wouldn't remember your previous trips into the Ghost Zone or that the Ghost Zone even existed. But I'm glad you encountered other ghosts that looked out for you." Mr. Masters stared at the ghost sitting beside him. "I don't expect things to magically fix themselves here. I don't expect you to look at some photographs and suddenly remember everything and have everything be the way it was. I don't expect you to suddenly look at me like your father again. Maybe you will never regain your memories. But maybe you will at least give us a chance to make new memories."

"It's weird." Phantom reached up and rubbed at his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I remember some of this stuff. But it's all fragmented and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And a lot of the pictures, I can't remember anything about them."

Mr. Masters reached over and rested a hand on Phantom's shoulder. "Don't force it. You don't have to force yourself to remember anything. The only thing that can help is time and letting the memories surface on their own."

Phantom nodded, dropping his gaze back to the photo album as his hand ran over the pictures. "Can I keep this? You know, just for a while. Maybe it'll help. Maybe I should take up Spectra's offer and talk with her. She could maybe help to unlock my memories."

"Keep it for as long as you like. And if you need a place to stay," Mr. Masters dropped his hand away from Phantom's shoulder, "but I suppose if you've been living on your own for a year, you probably have a place of your own by now."

Phantom frowned as he glanced toward the other ghost. "After Spectra brought me into the Ghost Zone, I picked up a few things from other ghosts and started creating a lair of my own. Maybe," he shrugged, "I could show it to you later."

"I would like that very much." Mr. Masters smiled warmly at his son.

Danny had to smile as he turned away from the front room. Maybe things weren't completely fixed between the two ghosts, but at least they were beginning to mend things between them. He walked over to join his father at the table. "So," Danny said, watching as his father screwed another piece into place, "I was thinking since you and Mom like inventing things-"

"Sure do!" His father grinned widely and held up the device in his hand, which didn't look like much of anything so far. "Just give me a few hours, and I should have something ready so you and Phantom can keep in touch. But," he gave his son a stern stare, "this isn't an excuse for the two of you to do nothing but chat with each other all day long."

"I know that, Dad." But Danny couldn't help the small blush that crossed his cheeks. If they could call each other up, it would be tempting to at least talk with Phantom at night, if only to say good night and make sure he hadn't gotten into any serious trouble during the day. Remembering the night Phantom turned up at his house bleeding and badly wounded still made Danny's chest hurt, and he hated that the image remained burned into his memory. "But that wasn't what I was going to talk about. I was thinking. Since it'll take forever for me to save up money for a car or something, maybe we could build something together. It would be a fun project to do on the side." He gave his father a hopeful look.

His father's dark blue eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh! I have some great ideas! How do you feel about flame-"

"Jack," his mother stopped him, twisting around to give him a deadly glare. "You are not outfitting our son's car, or anything else, with dangerous weapons. You will build something sensible."

His father leaned over and whispered quietly, "We can add a few special features if you like." He placed a finger to his grinning lips and winked.

Danny doubted he would need any of his father's "special features," but he was glad that his father was excited about building something for him. He glanced toward his mother, who stood at the stove, stirring the sauce for the spaghetti. She picked up a spoon and dipped it into the sauce then brought it up, blew on it, and tasted it. With a nod, she set the spoon aside on the counter.

"If Phantom and Mr. Masters are staying for dinner, what are they going to eat?" Danny asked curiously with a lift of his eyebrows. "Can ghosts even eat real food?"

His mother paused then turned her gaze onto him. "You know, I hadn't thought about that," she admitted and frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose we could see if there are any suitable samples of ectoplasm for them in the lab. Or I suppose they could always take a trip into the Ghost Zone and see if they can round up something to eat then return and join us."

"Even if we have nothing to eat, we'd be happy to join you for dinner," Mr. Masters announced from the doorway where he and Phantom stood.

"It's still so strange to see you like that," his mother admitted, for Mr. Masters remained in his ghostly appearance.

"Would you prefer this instead?" Mr. Masters returned to his human appearance in a dark flash. He reached up and smoothed his silver hair then straightened his suit.

"Vladdie!" His father got up, walking over to the older ghost and patting him the back. Mr. Masters didn't look too pleased with the jostling, but he kept his mouth shut about it. "We should exchange notes sometime. It'll be like the old days. Back in college. Late nights tinkering with new inventions. It'll be great!"

"Yes, just like the old days," Mr. Masters agreed and winced as his old college friend squeezed an arm around his shoulders, squashing him into the larger man's side.

When the doorbell rang, Danny popped up from his seat. "I'll get it!" He exited the kitchen, heading for the front door as Phantom walked with him.

"Are you certain that everything is okay between us?" Phantom questioned quietly with worry still in his green eyes.

Smiling, Danny reached over to take the ghost's hand, giving it a squeeze. "It's okay. Really. It was only an accident. I know you never would have done something to hurt me if you were in your right mind. I'm just glad you're working out things with your father."

"It's still strange to think that I have a father," Phantom admitted as they neared the front door.

"And now that you have him again, you should try your best to reconnect with him." Danny opened the front door and was nearly tackled to the ground by his two friends as soon as they saw him.

"What happened?" Sam questioned, panic and worry in her voice.

"Yeah, man!" Tucker said as they almost choked the life out of him with their tight embraces. "We were worried when you didn't turn up for school today. The teachers would only tell us that you were under the weather."

"Ah, yeah," Danny said awkwardly, and after a moment, his friends finally released him and stepped back. "Well, lots of stuff happened after we left the Nasty Burger." He closed the door after them then led them into the front room. Before he could sit down, Phantom's arms wrapped around him from behind, and the ghost held him tightly.

"That's just another reason for us to have a way to contact each other," Phantom said, wearing a concerned frown. "If you had called me right away, I would have come to help you."

"Wait. So what exactly happened?" Sam questioned with her brow knitting.

"Oh! Your friends are here. Will they be staying for dinner?" his mother asked after glancing into the front room.

"We're having spaghetti," Danny told his friends. "You really don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"Does the sauce have meat in it?" Sam asked his mother.

"It does." His mother winced, recalling that Sam didn't eat any meat. "But I can make something vegetarian for you."

"I can help if you like," Sam offered. "But first I want to hear about what happened last night."

"Well, quick version is that Johnny and Kitty were attacked by the Guys in White. I played decoy so they could get away, but I suffered some injuries so I spent the day recovering." Danny realized that was a very short and edited version of what happened, but he didn't feel like going into full detail about the whole incident.

"Next time you want to play hero, Danny," Sam said with a firm glare, "you call me and Tuck. We could have helped."

"I'll remember that for next time." Danny chuckled. "Okay. But let's go to the kitchen. I think dinner's nearly ready, and I'm starving." He had a brief lunch with his parents while Phantom and Mr. Masters looked at the photo album together, but that was hours ago and his hunger had returned. His friends and Phantom followed him into the kitchen where the aroma of the spaghetti sauce made Danny's mouth water with anticipation of dinner.

"Are we really doing this again?" Phantom asked, folding his arms as he floated before the ghost that looked like some crazy robot with a flaming green Mohawk. "Haven't I beaten you enough times already?" Several months had passed since he discovered his ice powers, which after gaining some control became rather useful. He smirked as the ghost struggled to break free of the ice encasing his body below the neck.

"I am Skulker!" shouted the ghost in a rage. He was the same ghost that attacked when Phantom and Danny had their date on the hill in the park with the tree, which was reduced to ashes during that attack. Neither Danny nor Phantom could forget him after that night, but with some training from Mr. Masters, Phantom got stronger, better able to combat against the explosive attacks of the robotic ghost. "The Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. I will not fail to collect my prey!"

Phantom tilted his head, scratching at the side with confusion. "Uh, why hunt me? I still haven't figured that out."

"I only go after what is unique. What's more unique than an artificially created ghost?" The ice cracked, and Skulker threw up his arms as the ice shattered, sending out pellets of ice flying through the air.

Phantom immediately shifted to intangible, and the ice passed right through him. Skulker shot toward him, but Phantom dodged out of the way, ducking under his punch. "Hey," Phantom said, touching a hand to his ear, "you about ready there?"

"Yeah," Danny said as he closed one eye and stared through the scope, locking onto the robotic ghost's location. "Just get clear of the area. I don't want to hit you too."

"Roger." Phantom swerved, but in his distraction, he allowed Skulker to get too close to him. The fist just barely reached to his abdomen with a small sliver of a space between fist and gut. Then Skulker's metal fist fired from his arm. It slammed into Phantom, forcing out a grunt as the ghost plummeted toward the street below them.

Danny gritted his teeth, anger flaring through him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and breathed in deeply. After a slow exhale, he opened his eyes and focused on his task. The hunter was laughing at his success on landing the hit on Phantom, but that was just as well in Danny's opinion. He lined up the crosshairs with the ghost then squeezed the trigger. The recoil no longer caught him by surprise like it did the first time his parents tried to show him how to fire the rifle. His first attempts were terrible, sloppy, barely even came close to hitting the target. Now he was an excellent marksman, which made his parents proud.

The shot hit Skulker in the chest, just where Danny aimed, and the disc stuck to his metal chest. The ghost tugged at it, trying to rip it free, but a burst of electricity exploded from the disc. The hunter's robotic suit seized up, losing the ability to maintain flight, and fell like a rock toward the street.

Danny got up from where he lay, slinging his rifle onto his back, then he raced toward the fire escape on the building. He scrambled down the metal ladder quickly, reaching the ground in a matter of minutes. By the time he jogged into the middle of the street, Phantom already had the Thermos that his father helped Danny's parents perfect in his hands and aimed at the hunter. Danny slowed, catching his breath, as he walked over to stand next to his boyfriend.

"I forgot to introduce you to my partner, didn't I?" Phantom's mouth quirked into a small smirk. "Well, whatever. Have fun being cramped in a small space for a few hours." He pressed the button, and a stream of white light shot from the end. Skulker shouted in frustration, unable to get his suit working again before he was sucked into the Thermos. Phantom slapped the cap onto it afterward with a satisfied smile. "Good shot," he said, turning his attention onto Danny.

"It was nothing." Danny shrugged with a small blush, but he frowned as he dropped his gaze to Phantom stomach where there was some evidence of the rocket powered fist scorching his clothing. "Sorry I didn't act quickly enough."

Phantom shook his head as he attached the Thermos to his waist. "It wasn't anything serious. And I allowed myself to be distracted." He stepped in closer, cupping Danny's face. "I was worried about this arrangement when you suggested it." He frowned, his thumb brushing over his boyfriend's left cheek, and Danny shivered as light pattern of frost appeared briefly upon his face. "But I'm glad. I couldn't ask for a better partner to watch my back."

Danny tilted his head forward, pressing their foreheads together. "I'm just happy I can help you fight against troublesome ghosts."

"Thank you," Phantom said softly before he leaned forward and captured Danny's mouth in a gentle kiss. "For everything. I don't know where I would be right now without you. I'm lucky to have met you." His memories were still a scattered mess of fragments, but he was learning to deal with them when new ones surfaced. His relationship with Mr. Masters - it was still weird for Danny to think of calling him Vlad - was improving each day.

Danny blushed as his head shook. "I should be the one saying I'm lucky. I couldn't have dreamed of having such an amazing boyfriend." He wrapped his arms around Phantom's neck, drawing the ghost closer as he pressed their mouths together in a deeper kiss. Despite all the craziness that came with helping a superhero boyfriend fight criminals and violent ghosts, Danny couldn't be happier with his life. "Come on," he said, taking hold of Phantom's hand. "Let's go home."

Author's Note: Thanks everyone for reading the story! =D I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks everyone that encouraged me to take a few drabbles and turn them into something more.

Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan: Frost pattern~ I bet Phantom can do some pretty awesome things with his ice abilities.

TearsDrippingDown: Yay! 8D He looked at the photo album! Not all of it was familiar to him, but at least some of them sparked some memory in him.

HawkeyeLover: XD Thanks! Well, with the way he pretty much devolves to a 14 year old whenever he and Danny fight in canon, it felt right. XD;;

i kissed danny and he liked it: Oh no! D: Why is Vlad confusing you?

Some Weird Chick: Vlad has such a tragic life. D8 At least in this universe, he was able to gain some happiness. Things may not be as they were before between him and Phantom, but at least they are starting to reconnect and find their way back to being father and son. 8D;; Oh no! Don't throw your computer! D:

midnight: Yay for things getting sorted out! 8D

Hoytti: Danny needs to stop getting hurt! D8 But he's such a self sacrificing hero that he'll put himself in harm's way if it means protecting people, and ghosts.

Kurami Smile Slayer: I must say I was really tempted to let the frost pattern stay. XD;; Though maybe in a way it did? *makes mysterious noises* Maybe not visibly, but perhaps it reacts to Phantom's ice core/touch?! Who knows~ Haha, I think Phantom and Danny's dates now include kicking ghost butt together. XD;;

blackywinks66: Why thank you! =) I hope you enjoyed the ending as well!