Doctor Dash

Chapter 8

Dan almost regretted agreeing to a night out with Elle and Valerie. Watching Danny have a heart attack with his old bully Dash in the house was bound to be hours of amusement for him. Even more amusing if he added his own annoying contributions to provoke a reaction out of the younger half of his makeup. Dan crammed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket as he followed the two women down the street. He still hated having to put on the human disguise whenever he left the house, and wasn't flying off to beat the snot out of some idiot ghost that thought it could threaten the human world.

Before, many years ago, Dan probably wouldn't have cared a whole lot about the activities of other ghosts in the human world. In fact, he would be the one causing most of the destruction. His down fall was when Danny teamed up with Elle, Valerie,and Vlad to fight against him when he escaped from the Thermos. He never would have imagined the team up. While he was trapped inside the Thermos, he obviously couldn't have learned about Danny forming some sort of truce with Valerie and Vlad. In his timeline, Elle never came into existence. Clockwork would never warn him of the combination that would leave him broken on the ground, barely clinging to his afterlife.

But Danny hadn't changed. He still believed in giving people second chances, even someone as twisted up inside as Dan. Whatever Danny saw in him, Dan couldn't see himself. He thought Danny a fool for even allowing him to continue existing in this timeline. The surprising change in him came when Danny introduced him to Lex for the first time. The child was barely a year and a half at the time, but when Lex slapped his little hands against Dan's cheeks and laughed, the broken ghost felt something that he hadn't in a long time. He didn't even think he could feel that way again until those bright blue eyes gazed up at him with no hint of malice and hatred. Lex was too young to even understand those kinds of feelings, but having someone look at him and not see him as a monster right off the bat was something that Dan couldn't even think to describe in words. Despite Danny and Sam's misgivings about allowing him around their son, Dan formed a protective bond toward Lex. He wanted to keep Lex safe from all threats, and should anyone attempt to harm a single hair upon his head, Dan would blast them so hard that they would be found floating thousands of light years beyond their solar system.

"This place looks good," Elle suggested as she stopped before a bar and grill. Her hand remained tightly clasped with Valerie's hand, and while several people they passed looked at the pair of women and sneered at them, neither of them gave those people much noticed.

Dan smirked to himself at that fact. Elle and Valerie were no pushovers when it came to people trying to harass them for one reason or another. Elle was a fairly decent fighter to begin with, but she became even stronger when she started training karate with Valerie. Dan turned his gaze up to the sign displayed over the door of the place reading: Bob's Bar and Grill. He snorted at the name, but it at least didn't look like some overly priced fancy place. He rolled dark blue eyes at that thought, since Valerie and Elle didn't care about going to ritzy places. It didn't matter much to him since he didn't need to eat like humans being that he was fully a ghost.

Dan followed the women into the bar and grill. A cutesy blonde woman greeted them with a fake smile, probably the same one she used for everyone that stepped into the place. The white buttoned up shirt she wore looked a few sizes too small with the way it hugged around her body and displayed her generous chest size. After grabbing a few menus, she led them to a table toward the back nearest the restrooms. There was a surprising amount of customers filling the bar and grill, many single patrons sitting at the bar. Music played in the background, noticeable but not so loud that it would drown out the conversations taking place at every table.

Elle and Valerie sat beside each other with their backs to the bar. Sighing, Dan dropped into one of two remaining chairs. He accepted the menu the woman handed him, ignoring the obvious flirty smile she gave him. As soon as she walked away, Dan dumped the menu in front of the empty seat, having no need for it.