Author's note: I wrote out this exact scenario in a different fanfic from Maddie's first person perspective. But, Danny being my favorite character, I felt inspired to rewrite it from his perspective in the third person and upload it as a separate fic. But I feel so vulnerable. :/ What is it about writing angst that makes me feel this way? I guess because I internalize so much of it.

If you're already familiar with my writing and the title and summary has you wondering if this is in any way related to my other fic "Disparaged," the answer is yes! Both fanfics exist as separate entries in this Danny/Maddie world I've created. To further clarify, "Disparaged" (as a one-shot) and "Objectified" work together as part of the same story leading to one finale.

Quick update: COVER ART DRAWN BY MonsterousThings AND I JUST CAN'T EVEN BE HAPPIER. :DDDDDD

Objectified

All I am is entertainment

"What have you been learning in school lately?"

Danny wasn't sure how to answer this question, not now. "Um…you mean, like, specifics? Or just in general?"

He looked down at the omelet his mother had made for him. He wasn't even sure if he should eat it or not. He certainly didn't have the appetite for it.

"You're taking physics this year, right? How do you like it?"

Maddie sat across from him wearing a motherly smile. She took a bite of her own omelet. Danny opted to follow her lead and take bites whenever she did.

"I don't have the same love for science that you do," said Danny. He placed a bite in his mouth but barely tasted it as he forced himself to swallow it. "I mean, I like astronomy, but that's it."

"You know you have to know physics to be an astronomer, right?"

"I know."

"Do you still want to be an astronaut?" Her smile changed a little, almost looked teasing. "That's been your dream since you were little."

Why was she asking him about this? He knew this wasn't what she really wanted to talk about. She had discovered his secret mere hours ago, had seen him enter his room in ghost form and transform back into his human form. She had been so upset that he had kept it secret from her for over a year that she had yelled at him until her voice was hoarse.

And now, she was speaking to him as if it had all just been a hallucination.

"Of course," he said, taking a bite as she did. "I could never give up that dream. The stars are my passion."

Maddie's eyes glimmered. "You've always been passionate about what you love. You get that from me."

Danny smiled weakly and looked back down at his plate.

The rising sun was lighting the kitchen. He was still wearing the same clothes he wore the day before, had not bothered changing at all for bed after she had caught him coming back into his room in the middle of the night following his usual ghost patrol. He was beyond exhausted, was unable to sleep even when she finally stopped yelling at him and had left his room for a couple hours.

Still dressed in the exact same jumpsuit she had worn the day before, Danny could see that his mother was just as tired as he was even behind her tender smile.

"How are things with Tucker and Sam?"

Her questions were so mundane, so trivial. What was she really thinking? What did she really want to ask him? He could tell she was trying to keep things light, especially after the way she had apologized for yelling at him. She had insisted he stay home from school so that they could "talk." But then when would she ask him the questions that were really on her mind?

And usually when she kept him home from school, it meant that he was sick. Did she think he was sick?

Well, maybe he was. His stomach was certainly twisting and knotting enough. This ordinary table conversation was just far too unnerving at the moment.

What was going to happen after this? He knew his mother, a scientist, a researcher. She would not just let this go, would not just let him be.

He knew she would want to figure out exactly what he was.

"Fine," said Danny simply. "I mean, we're still friends."

"What are their dreams for the future?"

He tried his best to answer his mother's questions, but it was difficult to engage, not when he felt so uneasy, not when this scenario seemed so surreal. He had difficulty giving more than one- or two-word answers which ended up resulting in many lulls, silences that were so uncomfortable that Danny couldn't even meet her gaze until she asked him a new question.

What now? he asked her not too long ago. She had been sitting alone in the kitchen when he finally came down from his room.

He wanted to ask it again. What now? What was really going to happen from here now that she knew he was half-ghost?

When they finished eating, Maddie ignored the dishes, didn't load them or at least rinse them like she usually did. She just left them in the sink. Danny took note of this and wondered what it could possibly mean. Was she too tired? Not in the mood?

Perhaps it just meant that this was not at all a normal morning.

Upstairs, they went to their separate rooms to shower and change into new clothes. The hot water felt so good, but Danny could not fully enjoy it, not when he knew he'd shortly have to be with her again, not when he knew she'd eventually initiate the real conversation she wanted to have with him about his ghost powers.

What was this he was feeling? Fear? Dread? She had been hunting him for so long, had explicitly stated in front of him exactly what she wanted to do to him, all of the experiments she wanted to conduct on him and the procedures she wanted to put him through.

But maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She wasn't angry anymore, and maybe things would be better now that she knew. He wouldn't have to hide from her, wouldn't have to be afraid of her anymore.

Because she wouldn't hurt him now that she knew who he really was.

He wanted to believe that.

Refreshed, Danny breathed for a couple moments before finally leaving his room and entering the hall where Maddie was already waiting for him. He smiled at her, but she didn't return it. In fact, her eyes didn't meet his at all. They roamed over his face and traveled down lower. Danny chewed the inside of his cheek, uncomfortable with this silent inspection. What about him was she studying?

She approached him and placed her hands on either side of his face. He briefly recalled what it was like to have to look up at her, but now he was her height, and he knew he was rapidly getting taller. In her embrace now, Danny gazed straight ahead at her with uncertainty.

"You've become so handsome, Danny. You know that?"

He could feel himself blushing. He laughed in an attempt to deflect his embarrassment. "That's nice. My mom thinks I'm cute."

Maddie put an arm around him and started leading him downstairs. "I'm sure you're a big hit with all the girls at school."

Oh, sure. They were all just lined up for him. Danny smirked to himself as he thought about his various dating experiences and his many rejected date requests. "Not at all."

"I don't believe that. Not with the way you look! You're a regular heart throb."

Danny rolled his eyes with amusement. She had no idea just how socially awkward and tongue-tied and clumsy he became around pretty girls.

"You haven't been on any dates in a while," she observed.

Danny shrugged. "That's because…" He stopped himself. He wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about his love life with her just yet. He hadn't had this kind of conversation with her in a long time, hadn't spoken about this sort of thing with her since beginning high school.

Right now, especially after what had happened only a couple hours earlier, it just seemed like too much.

"It's Sam, isn't it?" Maddie asked with a knowing smile.

"No!" said Danny quickly. Too quickly. Was it that obvious? He turned red again.

Maddie laughed. "You've had a crush on her forever. No need to hide it."

Danny shook his head as he tried to reply. Sure, he liked Sam. He really liked her. She was his best friend, and she understood him, was always there for him when he needed her. And she was certainly very pretty. Way too pretty. There were times when he couldn't stop looking at her. But he couldn't find the nerve to ask her out because someone like her deserved better and she was always berating him for developing silly crushes on so many girls so surely she would just think his crush on her was silly, too.

Wait…why were they in the basement now?

Danny looked around in tense alarm. He had been so distracted by their conversation that he hadn't realized that Maddie had been leading him to their basement lab. Maddie was gazing at the ghost portal with distant eyes.

"What are we doing here?" Danny asked uneasily. He knew there was only one thing that Maddie ever did in this room.

Maddie smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, as if she was trying to comfort him. "Danny, sweetheart, I want to run some tests on you."

Danny stepped back so that she was no longer touching him. He had no words, no reply. He could only stare at her in disbelief.

"It's okay, Danny. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just concerned." Maddie began looking through cabinets and drawers. She pulled out various tools and equipment, beakers and flasks and tubes and vials and electrodes and syringes and needles—

"Concerned about what?" he asked, trying his hardest to conceal his panic.

"I want to make sure that you're really okay," said Maddie as she surveyed her supplies. "I want to make sure that whatever is inside you, whatever has changed your DNA, isn't dangerous."

Was that really all she wanted? "I'm fine, really," he said in a desperate attempt to change her mind.

"Do you know that for sure?"

He stared at her in silence as she continued to gather her equipment. He knew that there was no way he could possibly change her mind, not when she was set on conducting a scientific study.

A study on him, the ghost she had been pursuing for so long.

"Sit here." Maddie pulled up a chair and patted the top of it a couple times.

Danny didn't move.

"Danny, it's okay. It'll just be a few tests. Come on." Maddie patted the chair again, more insistently.

Danny could no longer meet her gaze as dread coursed through him.

But she was his mother, and she knew who he was now. Perhaps she really was just worried about him. Perhaps it would actually be a good thing to have some tests run on him, especially since he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to get a physical from a doctor again without raising suspicion. She would be able to figure out if there was anything he should be concerned about.

He slowly moved to the chair and sat down. He leaned over and clasped his hands between his knees as he waited for his mother to begin whatever she planned on doing with him—

—to him?

(The End! :D )

(jk stay tuned for moar. Or if you're not interested in what happens next, thanks for reading this much, at least! Or thank you for scrolling to the bottom of the page if you didn't actually read. ^^)