Vlad tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the fax machine to spit out the last few pages. He wanted to get this done and go to bed. It was late-after midnight-and since they'd gotten rid of the crib, Danny had been waking him up shortly after sunrise.

Uttering a soft "Finally" when the fax finally groaned and quieted, Vlad swept up the pages he had faxed over from the Amity Park police station. The search for Daniel Fenton was still ongoing, even four years after he vanished. Vlad sat down in his chair to begin reading the report, keeping his eye peeled for any incriminating information.

No serious leads had been found, which Vlad thought he should be grateful for. The Fentons had no real enemies; besides him, of course; and were not extremely wealthy. There were few people who would bother to try and abduct someone like Danny, so naturally, the list of possible kidnappers had gone from consisting of a few homeless men living around Amity Park and some 'rival' ghost hunters to no one.

Not that Vlad himself was at risk of becoming a suspect. Danny's birth certificate would hold up through the most rigorous scrutiny, and if Vlad tried his hardest to forget where Danny actually came from, he could even convince himself there was a resemblance between the two. Vlad had possessed black hair before the ecto-acne disaster, and even had blue eyes, albeit much darker than Danny's bright cyan ones. He could be Danny's father.

Vlad raise his eyebrows as he came across the transcripts of yet another interview with the Fentons. He scoffed at Jack's insistence that ghosts had kidnapped his son, which had been his theory since the day Daniel had disappeared. From the various articles and police reports he had put together, it seemed Jack was convinced this had been the case. He continued to laugh and internally mock Jack throughout his interview, but his pleasant mood soon turned somber as he began to read Maddie's interview.

Sometimes, part of him wanted to take Danny and fly over to Amity Park. He wanted to knock on the door to FentonWorks and tell Maddie that her son was fine, that Vlad was taking great care of him.

But every time he entertained the idea of telling Maddie the truth, he reminded himself that he had worked too hard to create this life for himself, this life with Danny, to bring it all crashing down.

"Daddy?"

Vlad quickly covered the police report with a book that had been lying on his desk, blood flowing to his cheeks as he remembered that Danny couldn't read and would have had no idea what it was anyway. He turned to face the doorway where Danny was standing, dragging his favorite purple blanket, and rubbing his eye.

"What is it, Little Badger?" Vlad asked softly. "It's late. You should be in bed."

Danny gave a small cough and Vlad frowned. Danny was small and underweight for a four-year-old, and even though the doctor told him that Danny was just naturally small and was perfectly healthy, Vlad still worried constantly.

"I had a nightmare. I'm too scared to sleep." Danny said, blinking a few times as his eyes adjusted to the bright light in Vlad's study. Vlad got up, crossing the room to where Danny was standing.

"You don't have a fever…" Vlad remarked as he knelt down and pressed the back of his hands to Danny's forehead.

"I don't feel sick. I just had a scary dream."

"Yes, but sometimes when you start to get sick you get really bad nightmares." Vlad pressed his lips to Danny's forehead and patted him on the shoulder. "Go climb into my bed. I'll be done with my work in a few minutes. I won't let any monsters get you."

Danny smiled, but began to yawn. "Thanks, Daddy." With that, he turned around and walked away, making his way to Vlad's room.

Vlad felt his fatigue catch up to him as he neatly tucked the police report into the same folder as all the other ones just like it, placing it in the only drawer in his desk that locked. With that done, Vlad quickly went to his room, where Danny was already laying, snuggled under the covers.

"There now, Little Badger. No monsters when I'm around." Vlad said as he slipped under the covers. Danny instinctively scooted closer, snuggling up against his father. Vlad wrapped his arm around the small boy, pulling him to his chest. "Wanna tell me what that nightmare was about?"

Danny yawned, opening his bright blue eyes to look up at Vlad's. "I was with Mommy."

"Oh?" Vlad tried to hide his alarm. "What did she look like in your dream?"

"I don't remember." Danny said as he rubbed his eye with his fist. "But I knew she was Mommy." Vlad's heartbeat slowed instantly, and he relaxed. It was common for young children such as Danny to pine for absent parents. He read that somewhere.

"We were together playing by the lake." Danny went on, oblivious to Vlad's internal argument. "But not the one by the house in Colorado. Another one."

"There are a lot of lakes, Daniel."

Danny's eyes lit up with childish excitement. "How many?"

"Well, I-" Vlad scrambled to find some sort of figure in his head, but he simply couldn't come up with a number. "I don't remember." Danny's face fell, and Vlad felt a pang of guilt. "But you know, there's a state that claims it has more than ten thousand lakes."

"Ten thousand?" Danny repeated, excitement creeping back into his voice.

"Yep. It's called Minnesota. Tell you what, someday I promise to take you to see all those lakes."

"If I see one every day, how old would I be when I was done?"

"An old, old man." Vlad chuckled.

"Like you?"
"Now, that's not very nice. I'm not that old."

"You got white hair."

Vlad laughed. "True. But tell me, Little Badger. Why was your dream so scary?"

Danny fidgeted, biting his lip in an attempt to remember. "There was a vampire. A big, mean vampire with red eyes and a cape, and he came and took me away from Mommy."

"Mmmm…" Vlad hugged Danny tighter, nuzzling his dark hair. He didn't move for a minute; drinking up the moment.

"You don't have to worry, Daniel. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"I know, Daddy." Danny broke away, bringing a hand up to his eye. "Daddy?"

"Yes, Little Badger?"

"Can you tell me about Mommy?"

Vlad propped his head up on his hand, his other hand tracing circles on Danny's shoulder. "She was a very, very beautiful woman." He said, a smile appearing on his face. Danny smiled as well; looking up at Vlad in adoration. "And smart, too. She majored in microbiology and biochemistry when we were in college."

"What's biool…Biall…" Danny stuttered. Vlad pressed a finger to his lips to quiet him.

"Biology. And chemistry. Oh, wait until you can study science. You'll love it."

Danny smiled. "Will Mommy be proud of me if I do good?"

"If she were here, she would be the proudest mother in the world."

"Good." Danny laid his head down on Vlad's outstretched arm and yawned. "Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, Little Badger." Vlad quickly kissed Danny's forehead, settling himself back down on the mattress. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

"The Fentons are working on opening up their own portal."

Vlad spat out a mouthful of coffee, grabbing a napkin to wipe his face. "What did you say?"

Skulker looked unamused. "I said," he repeated impatiently, "The Fentons are working on their own portal. It'll be quite a while before they make any sort of progress, but-" Skulker shrugged. "If they do manage to open one-"

" Which they won't." Vlad said as he got up from his chair and began to pace around the room. "I mean, really…Jack Fenton is an idiot. It'll be a miracle if he manages not to kill his family…"

"You mean, what's left of his family?" Ember remarked, swinging her boots on top of the table. "You know, after you did your little purge or whatever?"

"No one asked for your opinion, Ember." Vlad snapped. "I didn't even invite you!"

Ember sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'm just wondering what the big deal is. I mean, so what if they Fentons are opening up their own portal?" She folded her arms in the back of her head, leaning back in the chair. "I mean, what's gonna happen? Do you think Jack Fenton is going to single-handedly destroy all your plans? That's bogus, man."

"I don't have to explain it to you, Ember!" Vlad yelled, making a fist at the teen.

Skulker scratched his head, looking perplexed. "Um, really, Ember's right. The Fenton's opening up their own portal is not really a threat to our operation."

"Oh, posh! You're just agreeing with her because she's your girlfriend."

"No, I'm agreeing with her because she's right." Skulker frowned. "Though she's usually not when it comes to this kind of stuff. I don't date her for her mind."

"No, just because I'm so shagadelic."

Both Vlad and Skulker whipped their heads around to stare at her. "What?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Nothin'. I'm just sayin', Mr. Silver Bullet. Maybe you should just chill."

"I know that one, and you're wrong!" Vlad yelled, pointing his finger at Ember. "And I will certainly not 'chill', especially in a situation such as this!"

"And…what kind of situation is this?" Skulker asked, confused. "Sir, with all due respect…this just isn't that big of a deal."

"Yeah, don't have a cow, man."

"If it's just not a big deal," Vlad hissed, "why did you bother coming here to tell me this?"

Danny jumped from the love seat to a brown armchair, his stubby arms wrapped around his favorite stuffed monkey.

"Be careful, Gordo!" He said as they narrowly avoided falling backwards. "That lava will burn us both up until there's nuthin left!" He put Gordo on his back, then turned to stare at the distance that separated him from the couch. "This is it, Gordo. That's the Pit of Doom right there." He reached up to pat Gordo's furry head. "If I don't make it, tell Daddy I love him!"

With that, he jumped off the chair and missed the couch by a good three feet, his fall cushioned by the stuffed animal on his back.

"Noooooooo!" Danny yelled as he reached up to the ceiling, writhing as if he had really fallen into a pit of lava. He pried Gordo off his back, moving to lay beside the monkey. "This is it, buddy! Say goodbye!"

Suddenly, Danny burst into a stream of giggles that didn't stop for a good two minutes. Exhausted, he stared at the ceiling, resting his head on Gordo's chest.

"Daddy will be mad I was playing with lava." He mused, letting his arms flop to the side. "He said it was dangerous. He said I could fall and hit my head." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I bet Mommy would let me play with lava. She would know I was being extra careful."

He sighed, turning his head to the side and looking out the window, up at the sunny sky. "I asked Daddy where Mommy went, but he said she just couldn't be with me anymore. I don't know what that means." Danny turned over on his side, propping his head up on his hand and talking to Gordo as if he could actually hear him. "Why couldn't she just try really really hard to stay here?"

"Danny?"

Danny jumped up, pulling himself and Gordo onto the couch. "Yeah, Daddy?"

Vlad pushed open the door to the living room, looking relieved when he spotted Danny on the couch.

"There you are, Little Badger. What are you doing in here?"

"Just playing with Gordo." Danny said, gesturing to Gordo like Vlad should have already known. "Was Ember here?"

"Yes, but she had to leave. Were you jumping around on the furniture?"

"No." Danny turned away to hide the grin that appeared on his face.

"You liar." Vlad reached over and began to tickle Danny, who laughed and flopped over. "Haven't I told you that you could get hurt?"

"But I had Gordo with me, so I was safe!" Danny protested, sitting up and hugging his favorite stuffed animal.

"Mmm…" Vlad turned to face the window, staring out of it intently. "Danny, remember what I told you about Minnesota? How it has ten thousand lakes?"

"Yeah. You promised you'd take me to see some of them."

Vlad smiled, turning to face Danny on the couch. "Well, what do you think about moving to Minnesota?"

Danny tilted his head, looking confused. "But we already live here."

"Oh, we would still keep the mansion, and the one in Colorado." Vlad waved his hand, like it was no concern of his. "But we would live in a new house in Minnesota most of the time. You'd go to school there. I'd go to work there. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"I guess…" Danny said, then raised his hand to cover a yawn.

"Oh, sugar cookies." Vlad swiftly stood up. "It's your naptime, isn't it? Well, come on now. Time for your nap."

Danny only nodded, grabbing Gordo as he followed his father out of the living room. It wasn't until they had gone down the hallway and were ascending the stairs that Danny finally spoke up again.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

Danny stifled another yawn, holding Gordo close. "Where in Minnesota are we moving to?"

Vlad stopped on the staircase, turning around to smile down at the young boy. "A place called Amity Park. Trust me, Little Badger. You'll love it."

Jazz sighed as she heard her parents fight downstairs. It was something to do with some stick, a stick from a box Mommy had brought home one day from the grocery store. It seemed like their only purpose was to pee on them, so Jazz didn't really see the point of them. But her parents always watched that stupid little stick to see what color it changed into. Jazz didn't understand what was so important about the color of the stick her Mommy peed on; it was all too complicated for a six year old. She tiptoed to her doorway, opening the door just a crack.

"You know, Jack, if you had just locked the front door like any responsible person-"

"Excuse me? How is this my fault? If it was a ghost, a lock wouldn't have stopped them! This isn't my fault!"

Jazz slipped out of her room, trying to block out the sounds of the fight. They were arguing about Daniel again. Lately it seemed like that was all they ever did.

Quietly, she turned the doorknob to the room at the end of the hallway, the door that still had the DANNY sign taped over the wood, and entered her absent brother's room.

Even though four years had passed since her little brother had disappeared, her parents had refused to change anything about his nursery. The blue walls were fading from the sunlight, and the crib was still set up on the opposite wall, as if waiting for it's occupant to return any moment.

Jazz knelt down on the floor, like she had done so many times. The sound of her parents fighting faded away. "Hey, Danny, it's me. Jasmine. You know, your big sister." She sighed, her eyelids feeling impossibly heavy. "Mom and Dad are fighting again. About you. They really don't fight about anything else. I mean, sometimes Mom starts yelling at Dad for forgetting to install some filter on the new ghost portal they're making, or Dad will get mad at Mom if she accidentally burns dinner, but they always are fighting about you in the end."

Closing her eyes for a second, Jazz tried to remember all she could about her little brother. It wasn't much. Danny was just a bundle of cloth in her mother's arms, a bundle of cloth that screamed and needed to be changed and fed.

What Jazz remembered was the aftermath. Waking up to the sound of her mother's hysterics, watching her father tear the house apart looking for some place a baby could be hiding. Listening to the police officers monotone voices as they talked to her parents, offered her some candy. Jazz brought a hand to her face as she realized she was crying.

"I-I never really told you about this, Danny, but I think I should tell you now." She choked back a sob, but it came out anyway. "Mom and Dad totally changed when you left. Mom stopped getting up and doing things. She just slept all day and cried." This time she didn't bother trying to hide the sob that came up from the back of her throat.

"Daddy was worse. A while after you left, Daddy went down to the lab and destroyed all his weapons. It was the loudest noise I've ever heard. He took a hammer and hit a bunch of things until they broke, but then he got an axe and started smashing them. And I was so scared, because Daddy was ruining his stuff and Mommy wouldn't get out of bed." The tears were now flowing freely down Jazz's face, and she made no move to brush them away. "I started crying, and Daddy came over and held me and he was crying too, he told me he was sorry and he just loved both of us so much."

Jazz doubled over, clutching her stomach as she sobbed. Downstairs, she could faintly hear her mother yelling something as a door slammed, then everything was quiet. Jazz looked up at the empty crib, the sun shining though the bars.

"Why did you leave us, Danny? We love you so much. Why won't you just come back?"

So I fail at writing 'Baby Danny!' and Vlad. Sorry. I hate small children, regardless of how clean and well-behaved some of them can be. (Such as Danny here.) So four-year-old Danny is a fail. Don't worry, in the next chapter we skip ahead to normal time. Er, um, 2005.

I know Vlad is an evil mastermind and has tried to kill Danny several times, but we've already established that he has mental issues. I mean, the guy tries to CLONE the poor kid. But I think, fruitloopiness aside, he would truly love Danny if he saw him as anything other than a pawn in his great and fabulous chess game.

For those who don't know, (or have never cared) Amity Park is supposedly located in Minnesota. Except it never snows in the show, so it apparently only takes place during about three weeks of the school year. I live in Minnesota, so I have no clue what kind of Minnesota they're actually in.

And I totally loved writing the scene with Skulker and Ember. I want to bring those two back and have some more playful banter between the two. Skulker is just badass, and I love writing Ember's 70's lingo. (According to Nick, she lived and died in the 70's. Which is why she calls Vlad a Silver Bullet.) For those not up on 70's talk, a Silver Bullet is a name for a male virgin…haha, Vlad. I normally would have left it open to whatever you guys wanted to say it means, but I googled it to see what you would get…I was not refering to a vibrator. Which is actually what you get if you google 'Silver Bullet.' I suffer for fanfiction. I am now scarred for life.

Oh, last thing. But Gordo is the name of one of the more famous chimps who traveled in space. I thought it would tie in nicely with the fact Danny wants to be an astronaut.

Ok, review pretty please! And while I do appreciate the plethora of reviews simply asking for 'more,' I never intended to leave you guys. You don't have to beg for more, I will write it because I like writing it. And now I get to write teenage Danny, and that makes me very happy!

-Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis the Third. According to my twin and step brothers.