Father's Day

Danielle stood in the middle of Walmart, staring at the card selection. Around her, kids and and adults alike were thumbing through the card stock, in search for the perfect Father's Day card.

Dani wasn't even sure if she should get a card. She assumed Danny was techniquely her father, since it was his DNA that created her, but she had never gone to school, so she wasn't too sure. But he was always there for her, and always helped when she asked. That's what dads do, right? They help their little girls?

"Can I help you, dear?"

Dani turned to face an elderly woman wearing a blue vest - a worker. Her grey hair framed her face, and her chocolate eyes smiled.

She almost told the kind lady no, but a kid around her age whizzed past, holding a card tightly in his hand. Dani sighed, and looked at the lady whose name tag read Margret.

"What's a father?" she asked. "Does he have to be the one who created you?"

Margret blinked but gave a warm smile. "Oh, honey, no," she said. "A father is there for you when you need him most."

Turning to goop? Dani had been pretty desperate then, and Danny was there for her.

"He protects you, and raises you," Margret continued.

Danny didn't exactly raise her, but he definitely put her on the right path. As for protection, he was the poster boy.

"I don't know if he thinks of me as his daughter," Dani admitted, staring glumly at the ground.

Margret kneeled down in front of the half ghost, and smiled warmly. "If you ask me, any man would be lucky to call you his daughter," she assured. "You seem like a very sweet and charming young lady. And by the way you keep eyeing the cards, I'd say you've already made your choice."

Dani searched the older woman's eyes, trying to determine if she was being truthful. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and took a step closer to the cards. Margret's hand landed on her shoulder, and Dani was thankful.

It's just a card, she told herself. It's just a card.

Margret helped her search, asking seemingly random questions, but with each answer a card was either picked up or sat down.

After fifteen minutes of searching, Dani was ready to give up and forget about it. Heaving a sigh, she decided the fortieth time was the charm. She closed her eyes and picked randomly.

"Oh, that's a nice choice," Margret told her. "You said his dream was to be an astronaut."

It was a cheesey card. Very cheesey. It could work, though. If Danny decided it was too weird, or he didn't feel the same, she could pretend it was joke. Except that kind of hurt to think about, so Dani pushed that thought out of her head.

She finally let a ghost of a smile grace her lips, and she nodded. Margret smiled as well.

"Is that all you wanted, sweetie?"

It was all Dani could afford, but she didn't say it. Besides, this was an experiment. She didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed.

"This is it," she assured, and followed Margret to the nearest register.

777

Dani flew through the sky, heading straight to Fenton Works. Father's Day was two days away, and she wanted to spend the rest of the evening with Danny today, and maybe, if he liked his card, the day tomorrow as well.

Two days. That's all she wanted.

When she passed over the park, three figures caught her attention. Skulker was fighting Danny and Valerie, and unfortunately, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter was winning.