Baby Of Mine
Maddie was right on the tail of the infamous ghost boy, Danny Phantom. The boy was fast, she'd give him that much. But there was no way Maddie would let him go now; this could be her only chance to grab him. No offense to her husband, but it was easier to keep out of sight for small, agile Maddie than for butch Jack. Jack was at home, as Maddie had asked, creating a new invention for them to use against the many ghosts that plague Amity Park, the small town where the Fenton hunters lived.
She quickly turned around the corner, gaining on her enemy. The boy suddenly slowed down and Maddie stopped suddenly. The white-haired teen's head whipped around, as if he was looking for something. Maddie went farther into her corner, hoping that he couldn't see her. He must've sensed nothing wrong because he went on further into the building that she followed him to. She started to follow him again until she saw him stop dead and gasp. She looked to where he was staring at and she saw a large ghost in a white pinstriped suit.
"Walker!" Phantom said with loathing, his green eyes narrowing.
"Hello halfa," The ghost, named Walker, said. Maddie squinted her eyes, wondering what a 'halfa' was. Phantom growled and went to attack the prison warden when Walker snapped and three ghosts tried to grab Phantom. The boy dodged the first two goons and punched the third. Walker hissed and snapped his fingers again. A big ghost came up behind Phantom and grabbed him. He placed a cloth over his mouth and Phantom breathed the gas in. Maddie shook her head in shock. Ghosts can't breathe, she thought. The boy struggled to keep himself from going under the anesthetic powers of the gas put over his lips. Walker chuckled as he saw the boy struggle. He then saw Maddie looking out from behind a turn. Walker snapped his fingers and pointed his head toward Maddie's hiding spot. She gasped when two ghosts grabbed her and pulled her to Walker.
"Well, what do have here? One of the Fenton hunters after this menace here no doubt." He said motioning to the drowsy Phantom being held captive. Walker looked over her. "Well, I do believe I have some use for you. Knock her out." He said to one of the brutish ghosts. A cloth went over face and she breathed in. She started to feel drowsy and her world started to go black.
Before she blacked out, she heard a slightly familiar 'mom!'
Maddie woke up what felt like hours later to look out at bars. She looked around and saw that she was in a prison cell. She then turned her head and heard a voice in the cell next to him.
"You idiot, how could you let her get into this mess? Why do I have to be their main target? They wouldn't get hurt if they just stayed out of my way" She heard her cell mate mutter to his or herself. For the sound of it, the voice was slightly pre-pubescent. Like a young boy's. She was too groggy to identify the voice but, it sounded like Danny Phantom.
"Phantom, is that you?" She asked wearily. The boy gasped and went to the corner of the cell to see Maddie's face next to it.
"Mo-Maddie, are you okay?" He asked, concern shining in his clear green eyes. She nodded, now feeling the pain in her head.
"Oww. Where am I?" She asked the teen ghost.
"Walker's prison cell in the ghost zone." He answered simply.
"The ghost zone!" She asked. Phantom nodded. Maddie sighed and let a tear fall down her face. Phantom caught this and looked guilty.
"Are you okay?" He asked again. She looked up at him with pure rage.
"If you ever stopped terrorizing the town, then I wouldn't be here." She said angrily.
His short temper running out, Phantom retorted, "Well, if you stopped chasing me and started spending more time with your family then you wouldn't be stuck here with me then would you?"
This made Maddie a little guilty also. Phantom had a point. She was constantly running out the door to chase the teen ghost, she felt that she lost connection with her children. Jazz thought she was nuts and Danny, well...there was no information on Danny because he never spoke to her anymore. And when she tried to talk to him he ran off to somewhere else.
Phantom felt the cold air about them at their eerie silence. He felt guilt that he made his mother upset, all because his temper was running low.
"Maddie, I'm sorry. I just...I feel really bad that I got you stuck here. I know how much you're family loves you." Phantom said.
"How? How do you know?" Maddie asked looking up at him again.
"Trust me. I do."
"That's one of the things that annoy me about you." She started. "You always say 'trust me' but how can we when we don't even know you. Another thing, what is a 'halfa'?" She asked. Phantom looked surprised.
"What?" He asked.
"You heard me." Maddie said, crossing her arms to await his answer.
"Well, a halfa is a...um...well its..." He started trying to get the words right in his head.
"Go on, we have all the time in the world." She said.
"Well, it’s a ghost who isn't...quite all ghost." Phantom said.
"So what does that mean?" Maddie asked, her impatience with this ghost rising.
"Well, it means that the ghost in question is a half ghost..." This part he said so that it was barely audible. "Half human hybrid."
Maddie was in shock. Half ghost half human. Half dead and half alive at the same time.
"Are you lying to me?" She asked suspiciously.
"Would I lie to you about what I am?" Phantom challenged.
"I suppose not." Maddie said after a few seconds of silence. "Then if you're half human, what is your human name?"
Phantom's face paled with fear. Maddie noted this.
"What are you afraid of?" She asked. Phantom's head shot up ad he walked back to a different part of the cell.
"Nothing..." He said, not at all confident in himself. "Let's just drop this, okay? Good." He said, not waiting for Maddie's answer.
"Okay." She said silently. She sat back on the wall and wondered if she would ever see her family again. She sighed softly so her next door neighbor didn't hear her. She buried her face in her arms and sighed again. Then she heard soft singing coming from Phantom's cell. She looked up at how nice it sounded. She crawled over to the corner of the cell that connected the two and looked into it. Phantom was sitting on the opposite side of the wall holding his knees and looking to the ceiling.
Baby mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head close to my heartNever to part, baby of mine
All of those people who scold you
What they'd give just for
The right to hold you
Baby of mine
Phantom finished his ballad with a tear that ran down his face. Maddie was crying too. That was her Danny's lullaby. She had sang that song since he was a baby. Nowadays she didn't sing it to him because of her busy schedule. That and she thought he would feel like a baby if she sang it to him as a teenager. She looked at the teen and saw a little of Danny in him. Then as realization hit her, she backed into the wall and covered her mouth. That was Danny. Her son. Her innocent son was the ghost boy she hated and despised.
Phantom heard her heavy breathing and came to investigate. "Maddie?" He asked.
"You can call me mom, Danny." She said coming over and standing in the corner.
"You know?" Danny asked.
"I figured it our. You're a really good singer."
"Thanks. Are you angry with me?"
"No, I am disappointed that you kept it a secret from me, but then again, I would have to if I was in your position."
"I was afraid."
"I understand sweetie...believe me, I understand." The two smiled at each other.
"Do you know how to get out of here Danny?" Maddie asked. Danny shook his head and looked around. The two head a growling sound and alarms went off. Their cell doors opened and the two ran out. A large animal ghost came running toward them.
"Wulf!" Danny exclaimed.
"Friend! Get out here!" He said to Danny pulling open a way into the ghost zone for them to escape into. Danny smiled and picked up his mother and flew out. Maddie screamed as Danny said, "Thanks Wulf!"
"Bye friend!" He called back going into the prison to fight more guards.
Maddie and Danny flew around the ghost zone for a while. Maddie got drowsy and fell asleep in her son's arms. Danny looked at her and smiled, figuring out what he had to do. He flew toward a door with a clock on it. He opened and went inside.
Clockwork saw the boy's arrival and went to meet him. Danny came into Clockwork's lair and smiled at the master of time.
"Put her over there Danny." The infant Clockwork said, pointing his staff toward the table. Danny put his mother on the table and turned to Clockwork, who was now a adult.
"Clockwork, can you please change time for me?"
"Danny..." Clockwork said sighing.
"Just the past hour and a half, before I went to find Walker. Make something happen so that my mom doesn't follow me and try to hunt me. Please."
"Danny, you don't want your mom to find out your secret?" Clockwork asked, in his old man form. "You know with her advanced weaponry she could help you."
"No she won't and you know that. I would be afraid for her safety and she would be afraid for me and I don't want that. It's better if she just forgot who I was. Who I really am." Danny said.
"I thought I told you I wouldn't allow you to change the past anymore unless the safety of your life and/or afterlife were at stake." He said, changing into the infant again.
"I know but... I just want everything to be okay. I'm not ready to tell both my parents. Please Clockwork." Danny pleaded.
"Danny..." Clockwork as an adult said looking into Danny's green eyes, trying to say no. He sighed and turned into an old man. "Fine, I'll change it. your mom will chase another ghost and will have to get a refill for her ecto-bazooka to chase you and that should give you enough time to beat Walker. With a little help from me." He said going to his time portal. "Are you sure about this Daniel?" Clockwork asked. Danny looked at his mom again. He used his proper name, he knew that it was serious.
"Yes. Change time Clockwork." Clockwork nodded and changed into a infant again and rewound time.
Maddie came back from chasing a snake ghost late in the evening. She walked into her son's room to find him asleep. She walked over to her youngest child, secretly wanting to know what secrets he's keeping from her. She smiled as he sniffled in his sleep, just like he did as a baby. She kissed his forehead and sang softly in his ear.
"You're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine."
"I love you Danny." She then got up from his bed and left the room, sparing one glance to the teenager under his covers. She smiled again and closed the door. Danny opened one baby blue eye and smiled. He whispered, "I love you mom." And soon fell back to sleep.
Clockwork looked into the halfa's window and smiled. He then closed the window and let the teenage superhero sleep peacefully, the proceeded on his way into the clear, starry sky.
From your head to your toes
You're not much, goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine
Little one when you play
Don't you mind what they say
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear, baby of mine
If they knew sweet little you
They'd end up loving you too
All those same people who scold you
What they'd give just for
The right to hold you
From your head to your toes
You're not much, goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine
She quickly turned around the corner, gaining on her enemy. The boy suddenly slowed down and Maddie stopped suddenly. The white-haired teen's head whipped around, as if he was looking for something. Maddie went farther into her corner, hoping that he couldn't see her. He must've sensed nothing wrong because he went on further into the building that she followed him to. She started to follow him again until she saw him stop dead and gasp. She looked to where he was staring at and she saw a large ghost in a white pinstriped suit.
"Walker!" Phantom said with loathing, his green eyes narrowing.
"Hello halfa," The ghost, named Walker, said. Maddie squinted her eyes, wondering what a 'halfa' was. Phantom growled and went to attack the prison warden when Walker snapped and three ghosts tried to grab Phantom. The boy dodged the first two goons and punched the third. Walker hissed and snapped his fingers again. A big ghost came up behind Phantom and grabbed him. He placed a cloth over his mouth and Phantom breathed the gas in. Maddie shook her head in shock. Ghosts can't breathe, she thought. The boy struggled to keep himself from going under the anesthetic powers of the gas put over his lips. Walker chuckled as he saw the boy struggle. He then saw Maddie looking out from behind a turn. Walker snapped his fingers and pointed his head toward Maddie's hiding spot. She gasped when two ghosts grabbed her and pulled her to Walker.
"Well, what do have here? One of the Fenton hunters after this menace here no doubt." He said motioning to the drowsy Phantom being held captive. Walker looked over her. "Well, I do believe I have some use for you. Knock her out." He said to one of the brutish ghosts. A cloth went over face and she breathed in. She started to feel drowsy and her world started to go black.
Before she blacked out, she heard a slightly familiar 'mom!'
Maddie woke up what felt like hours later to look out at bars. She looked around and saw that she was in a prison cell. She then turned her head and heard a voice in the cell next to him.
"You idiot, how could you let her get into this mess? Why do I have to be their main target? They wouldn't get hurt if they just stayed out of my way" She heard her cell mate mutter to his or herself. For the sound of it, the voice was slightly pre-pubescent. Like a young boy's. She was too groggy to identify the voice but, it sounded like Danny Phantom.
"Phantom, is that you?" She asked wearily. The boy gasped and went to the corner of the cell to see Maddie's face next to it.
"Mo-Maddie, are you okay?" He asked, concern shining in his clear green eyes. She nodded, now feeling the pain in her head.
"Oww. Where am I?" She asked the teen ghost.
"Walker's prison cell in the ghost zone." He answered simply.
"The ghost zone!" She asked. Phantom nodded. Maddie sighed and let a tear fall down her face. Phantom caught this and looked guilty.
"Are you okay?" He asked again. She looked up at him with pure rage.
"If you ever stopped terrorizing the town, then I wouldn't be here." She said angrily.
His short temper running out, Phantom retorted, "Well, if you stopped chasing me and started spending more time with your family then you wouldn't be stuck here with me then would you?"
This made Maddie a little guilty also. Phantom had a point. She was constantly running out the door to chase the teen ghost, she felt that she lost connection with her children. Jazz thought she was nuts and Danny, well...there was no information on Danny because he never spoke to her anymore. And when she tried to talk to him he ran off to somewhere else.
Phantom felt the cold air about them at their eerie silence. He felt guilt that he made his mother upset, all because his temper was running low.
"Maddie, I'm sorry. I just...I feel really bad that I got you stuck here. I know how much you're family loves you." Phantom said.
"How? How do you know?" Maddie asked looking up at him again.
"Trust me. I do."
"That's one of the things that annoy me about you." She started. "You always say 'trust me' but how can we when we don't even know you. Another thing, what is a 'halfa'?" She asked. Phantom looked surprised.
"What?" He asked.
"You heard me." Maddie said, crossing her arms to await his answer.
"Well, a halfa is a...um...well its..." He started trying to get the words right in his head.
"Go on, we have all the time in the world." She said.
"Well, it’s a ghost who isn't...quite all ghost." Phantom said.
"So what does that mean?" Maddie asked, her impatience with this ghost rising.
"Well, it means that the ghost in question is a half ghost..." This part he said so that it was barely audible. "Half human hybrid."
Maddie was in shock. Half ghost half human. Half dead and half alive at the same time.
"Are you lying to me?" She asked suspiciously.
"Would I lie to you about what I am?" Phantom challenged.
"I suppose not." Maddie said after a few seconds of silence. "Then if you're half human, what is your human name?"
Phantom's face paled with fear. Maddie noted this.
"What are you afraid of?" She asked. Phantom's head shot up ad he walked back to a different part of the cell.
"Nothing..." He said, not at all confident in himself. "Let's just drop this, okay? Good." He said, not waiting for Maddie's answer.
"Okay." She said silently. She sat back on the wall and wondered if she would ever see her family again. She sighed softly so her next door neighbor didn't hear her. She buried her face in her arms and sighed again. Then she heard soft singing coming from Phantom's cell. She looked up at how nice it sounded. She crawled over to the corner of the cell that connected the two and looked into it. Phantom was sitting on the opposite side of the wall holding his knees and looking to the ceiling.
Baby mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head close to my heartNever to part, baby of mine
All of those people who scold you
What they'd give just for
The right to hold you
Baby of mine
Phantom finished his ballad with a tear that ran down his face. Maddie was crying too. That was her Danny's lullaby. She had sang that song since he was a baby. Nowadays she didn't sing it to him because of her busy schedule. That and she thought he would feel like a baby if she sang it to him as a teenager. She looked at the teen and saw a little of Danny in him. Then as realization hit her, she backed into the wall and covered her mouth. That was Danny. Her son. Her innocent son was the ghost boy she hated and despised.
Phantom heard her heavy breathing and came to investigate. "Maddie?" He asked.
"You can call me mom, Danny." She said coming over and standing in the corner.
"You know?" Danny asked.
"I figured it our. You're a really good singer."
"Thanks. Are you angry with me?"
"No, I am disappointed that you kept it a secret from me, but then again, I would have to if I was in your position."
"I was afraid."
"I understand sweetie...believe me, I understand." The two smiled at each other.
"Do you know how to get out of here Danny?" Maddie asked. Danny shook his head and looked around. The two head a growling sound and alarms went off. Their cell doors opened and the two ran out. A large animal ghost came running toward them.
"Wulf!" Danny exclaimed.
"Friend! Get out here!" He said to Danny pulling open a way into the ghost zone for them to escape into. Danny smiled and picked up his mother and flew out. Maddie screamed as Danny said, "Thanks Wulf!"
"Bye friend!" He called back going into the prison to fight more guards.
Maddie and Danny flew around the ghost zone for a while. Maddie got drowsy and fell asleep in her son's arms. Danny looked at her and smiled, figuring out what he had to do. He flew toward a door with a clock on it. He opened and went inside.
Clockwork saw the boy's arrival and went to meet him. Danny came into Clockwork's lair and smiled at the master of time.
"Put her over there Danny." The infant Clockwork said, pointing his staff toward the table. Danny put his mother on the table and turned to Clockwork, who was now a adult.
"Clockwork, can you please change time for me?"
"Danny..." Clockwork said sighing.
"Just the past hour and a half, before I went to find Walker. Make something happen so that my mom doesn't follow me and try to hunt me. Please."
"Danny, you don't want your mom to find out your secret?" Clockwork asked, in his old man form. "You know with her advanced weaponry she could help you."
"No she won't and you know that. I would be afraid for her safety and she would be afraid for me and I don't want that. It's better if she just forgot who I was. Who I really am." Danny said.
"I thought I told you I wouldn't allow you to change the past anymore unless the safety of your life and/or afterlife were at stake." He said, changing into the infant again.
"I know but... I just want everything to be okay. I'm not ready to tell both my parents. Please Clockwork." Danny pleaded.
"Danny..." Clockwork as an adult said looking into Danny's green eyes, trying to say no. He sighed and turned into an old man. "Fine, I'll change it. your mom will chase another ghost and will have to get a refill for her ecto-bazooka to chase you and that should give you enough time to beat Walker. With a little help from me." He said going to his time portal. "Are you sure about this Daniel?" Clockwork asked. Danny looked at his mom again. He used his proper name, he knew that it was serious.
"Yes. Change time Clockwork." Clockwork nodded and changed into a infant again and rewound time.
Maddie came back from chasing a snake ghost late in the evening. She walked into her son's room to find him asleep. She walked over to her youngest child, secretly wanting to know what secrets he's keeping from her. She smiled as he sniffled in his sleep, just like he did as a baby. She kissed his forehead and sang softly in his ear.
"You're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine."
"I love you Danny." She then got up from his bed and left the room, sparing one glance to the teenager under his covers. She smiled again and closed the door. Danny opened one baby blue eye and smiled. He whispered, "I love you mom." And soon fell back to sleep.
Clockwork looked into the halfa's window and smiled. He then closed the window and let the teenage superhero sleep peacefully, the proceeded on his way into the clear, starry sky.
From your head to your toes
You're not much, goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine
Little one when you play
Don't you mind what they say
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear, baby of mine
If they knew sweet little you
They'd end up loving you too
All those same people who scold you
What they'd give just for
The right to hold you
From your head to your toes
You're not much, goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be, baby of mine