A/N: I wrote this story on the premise that being half-ghost would grant immortality. I hope it at least makes sense for something I scribbled down in half an hour by the light of the TV with no contact lenses in. Oh, and, as an aside, one might take this as quasi-slash, if one were so inclined.

Time is a strange thing; it is both my ally and my enemy. It has brought me to the edge of madness more than once; it has also destroyed my old enemies for me.

All but one, that is.

That one has occupied my thoughts for so long now. That one...the one now known simply as the Protector, although I remember a different name for him.

I have been watching Daniel for a long time, now. Long enough for him to grow into his powers, long enough for him to become a man in both body and mind. I do not know the source of this interest...or should I term it obsession? If it be obsession, then...

No.

I have seen him lose his family and friends to my ally/enemy time. No mortal lasts forever, after all. And his friends are long dead, too. I do not doubt that he tries to block his old life out of his mind, if only for his sanity's sake.

I myself never truly had any friends, and my family was long dead when I was cursed with this life everlasting. But when Maddie died...

When she died, I tried to rid myself of this existence; I tried then, and many times since, but it has never worked. How do you kill a man who's half-dead already?

I remember that old demon, the old darkness in my heart and in my head, that voice which faded when she died. I still wonder at the connection sometimes...

Ah, and there's the boy now, flying through the night sky. He and I have both aged past the need for rest, though we still look the same as in years past. Part and parcel of the ghostly blood that flows through our veins.

I should call Daniel a man, truly I should. He earned his manhood long ago; perhaps he is a better man than I.

I launch myself into the sky, following him in the thick dark. Of course he knows I'm here, but he does not know who I am; his ghost-sense doesn't work that way.

Is it the set of his shoulders, perhaps, that tells me the passage of time does not weigh as heavily on his shoulders as it does mine? Perhaps this is because he has a purpose, though I know he has given up on friendships with mortals, as have I. He flies slowly in the star- and satellite-speckled sky, in the manner of a walking mortal ruminating.

Perhaps it is time I show myself at last.

"Daniel!" I call above the wind. I long ago found a way to use my powers to amplify my voice without deafening, and there is still a certain amount of pride in that accomplishment.

He turns swiftly, with the reflexes of a man who has seen combat - which he has - and his green eyes widen.

"You!" he cries, his voice accusatory. "What do you want this time, Plasmius? What are you trying to destroy?"

I hold up my hands, shaking my head. "I don't want anything, Daniel."

"Then why are you following me?"

Ah, must I always have an evil plan? That is something I outgrew a number of years ago. And that is not my motive here. "I...it is a terribly lonely thing, is it not, to live forever?"

He knows it. I can see it in his eyes before he even nods. "What are you getting at?"

I sigh. "I only want a friend, Daniel. We are immortal; all we really have that will last is one another."

The suspicion begins to melt from his eyes, though I can tell he remains cautious. "A friend?"

"I have not had a friend in a long time; and neither have you. And I would be honoured to call you my friend." That statement, if nothing else, tell the both of us how much I've changed...and I know he's changed as well.

"I guess we can talk," he says slowly. "It does get lonely."

"Thank you, Daniel."

It's a start, I think as we shake hands.

And perhaps this start will help us both wash away the bitter taste of immortality.