Say Uncle - A Danny Phantom-verse Fic

Roz had to all but be dragged away from her laptop when it came time for dinner. She was anxiously awaiting her reply from Danny. She wasn’t sure what his answer would be, but she was sure he would be able to help her.

At the same time she was also happy that Danny had yet to email her back. She was somewhat afraid of what his answer would be. Their family, and Vlad, dabbled in strange business.

Ever since Roz found out about her brother’s accident lending him his ghost powers, she had seen many things. At first they scared her. The ghosts she had encountered were not at all how she had pictured ghosts. They came in all shapes, sizes, and attitudes.

They were just bothersome to her now. She had to constantly worry about her brother getting hurt, since he was apparently a ghost magnet. The ghost hunting business her parents were in was also embarrassing. At least Vlad only concerned himself with research.

“Roslynne,” Vlad said almost too loudly.

She shook her head slightly. She kept having her own internal search for her dream visitor. Her eyes refocused as she turned to Vlad. “Hmm?”

“Making sure you’re still here with me. You haven’t moved or said a word since you sat down.”

“Oh…” she trailed off.

Every time she considered giving Vlad some slight insight on what was bothering her, she was interrupted or her nerves got the better of her. She finally decided to share a little to humor him. He did seem genuinely worried.

“I keep thinking about the dream I had last night. It was…very personal, and kind of scary. It wasn’t a person, but it seemed very real.”

Vlad’s face went blank as he stared at her.

“I’m sorry, Roslynne,” he replied, sounding as though he was choosing his words carefully. “Here,” he said as he lifted the bottle of wine that was sitting near him on the table,” drink a little of this. It will calm your nerves and help you sleep better.”

“I’m not old enough. You know that.”

“Only a few months shy,” Vlad pointed out as he poured her a glass. “I seriously doubt it will make much difference.”

Roz halfheartedly took the glass from his hands.

“Well, if you think it will help. I do want to sleep well tonight.”

Several glasses later…

“Why didn’t you ever get married, Vlad? You can have any woman you want.”

Roz barely managed to sit up. She was awkwardly slumped on the sofa next to the fireplace. Her glass was still clutched in her hand.

Vlad smiled as he took a sip. “It’s complicated, Roslynne.”

“I don’t see how,” Roz mumbled. “You have all the money in the world and eyes seductive enough to make a woman forget about it. You can’t tell me don’t get passes all the time.”

Vlad looked at her from the corner of his eyes. She smiled back at him.

“I think you’ve had enough,” he told her as he took the glass from her. “Far more than enough.”

Roz’s hand fell straight to her lap in defeat. “Maybe you’re right,” she half-slurred as her eyes closed and head slumped to Vlad’s shoulder. she wrapped her arms around one of his. “You’re too sweet to be alone.”

Vlad started to speak but didn’t. He knew the alcohol was talking for her. He didn’t trust himself to reply to the comment, either.

“Would you like to go to bed, Roslynne?”

When she confirmed, Vlad helped her shaky body stand. He gently wrapped an arm around her to steady her as she walked, especially up the stairs to her room. He almost picked her up to carry her the rest of the way.

“You’re going to feel terrible in the morning, but you should sleep very well,” he told her as he guided her to bed.

Roz’s only reply was a slight groan as she blacked out.

Sighing, Vlad slipped off her shoes before raising her legs onto the bed. He watched her steady breathing for a moment. He clenched and unclenched his hands in silent debate a few times before finally leaving the room.