Sergeant Phantom

Chapter Four

Courtroom

"In the courtroom, it's where a lawyer really becomes an actor. There's a very fine line between delivering a monologue in a play and delivering a monologue to a jury. I've always felt that way-I've been in a lot of courtrooms. The best lawyers are really theatrical."

~Woody Harrelson~

"Money will determine whether the accused goes to prison or walks out of the courtroom a free man."

~Johnnie Cochran~

Courtroom 0900 Hours

"Your Honor, Masters is only looking out for the young teenager," Roy began only for an objection from Davidson.

"I'm sorry, but Danny has filed charges against Masters for abuse. He stated that to you this morning and that was the reason he ran. To get away from the billionaire, and then he's saying that he was only looking out for Danny?" Davidson stated glaring at the other lawyer. He was trying to figure out where he was taking this. Danny had given him the papers, and he looked them over. It was perfect, and Masters had nothing anymore to tear the boy away from his family.

"And Masters filed sue against Maddie for abuse against her son which is how he gained custody. What if the child is just a little confused on who really was hurting him?" Roy asked looking at the judge who remembered the young man that came in with the NCIS agents. "He's not right in his mind to make that kind of decision. He's just a kid."

"Maddie's not trying to fight for the custody. Staff Sergeant Jason Fenton, Danny's uncle and Jack's brother, is," Davidson explained looking at the judge. "He's family and has more right to them than Masters does. Even in Mr. Fenton's will where he stated that if something were to happen to him and his wife, his children would go to him, there was nothing about Masters in there. Danny's not just any kid either; he's knows what went on. You talked to him, your honor, and you know that he's more mature than most of us."

"Masters is Jack's best friend, and Danny has been with him more times. Danny knows Masters better than his own uncle. Besides the sergeant won't keep Danny safe from his mother," Roy stated realizing that this was now a losing case. With the will revealed, there was nothing more that he could do, but maybe he could use Maddie against them. He doubted it would work though. Danny was going to the sergeant whether Masters liked it or not, and with the judge not taking bribes, then he was stuck letting Danny go. He couldn't think of another card to play at the moment. He was going to say something about the sergeant going off overseas and leaving Danny alone most of the time with his mother, but he knew that would make him look like he was grasping at straws. He was a previous marine and that would be wrong to use that as an excuse. Marines are always supposed to stick together no matter what.

"Sergeant Fenton is his brother," the judge stated glaring at the billionaire. He could tell that he was steaming at not getting his hands on the young teenager which showed that he was more than likely hurting the teen. Masters just wanted the teen to suffer, and the judge seen that. He had a feeling when he first got the case that Masters used his money to convince the courts in Amity to give the boy to him. They never looked at the will because Masters was afraid that it would give Danny to someone else if Maddie was out of the picture. "At this moment any charges against Maddie Fenton are to be dropped. The restraining order is null, and Daniel will be going home with his uncle tonight. Gentlemen, taking a boy, who lost half his family away from what is left, is just wrong. Mr. Masters, you will be awaiting trial without bail for abuse, assault, and bribery. I will be contacting some courts in the Amity area where several people are going to be in some trouble for letting you get away with this. I hope you all have a wonderful day," the judge smiled slamming the gavel on the sound board. The bailiff took out his cuffs and arrested Masters while everyone stood waiting for the judge to leave the room. Both lawyers were surprised by the sudden change. Everyone turned to Danny hoping for something. He smiled.

"Me and him had a really nice talk," Danny answered the unasked questioned with a shy smile. Gibbs shook his head, glad that the hybrid was able to convince the judge. "However, I didn't know about the bribe, that was a surprise for me."

"You weren't kidding about setting the entire case up then," Davidson stated with a smile. Danny grinned.

"I told him I would prefer my mother, but he said something about Masters ruining that already, and in order for that to happen, it would take a lot of time. He could nullify the restraining order and then I could at least see her when I wanted. So I agreed, and he said that an officer will be coming a few times a week to make sure that I'm okay for the next three weeks and then once a week until my probation is over." Maddie's eyes grew wide.

"You…" she stuttered not knowing what to say.

"It's for running away and causing a panic. They said once it's over it'll go away," Danny smiled as Sam tackled him in a hug. "However, I won't be going back to Amity for a while."

"I'm selling the house," Maddie stated sadly. "Too many memories. We're going to be living with Jason until I can get back on my feet, but even then, I might stay so I can be with you though."

"Wait, what about me?" Sam asked looking at her boyfriend and best friend.

"What happened to Tucker?" Danny asked wondering if he could pull some strings.

"We got in a fight. Then his family moved somewhere around here. I was too out of it to care anymore," Sam answered feeling ashamed. She didn't deserve such a great guy like Danny, but she wasn't going to give up what she had. He was too special for anyone else to have. She didn't want anyone treating him badly, and to make sure that doesn't happened, she planned on staying with him and protecting him.

"I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind you here either. Knowing your parents, they probably won't notice if you call them every so often. And now I have to find Tucker," Danny smiled as he looked at his mom. "Shouldn't be hard. Maybe we can find a way to get into the same school?"

"You'll have to find him first," Maddie smiled bringing her son into a hug. She was so happy that she was able to at least be with him. Danny wrapped his arms around her as well.

"We still have a case to finish," Gibbs informed wanting to see if they could try to figure out what happened during the robberies. "We have unanswered questions, and then we also have evidence to get so we can arrest Ms. Marshal for the murder of her husband."

"Well, I got nothing," Danny smiled as Sam intertwined her fingers into his. He looked at her with a small smile wishing that he could kiss her soft lips, but he planned on making sure that she was safe and out of whatever mess she had gotten into before he did anything. He didn't want her to think that this was okay, and he planned on helping her out of it.

Districts Schools 1500 Hours

"Loser!" a jock yelled as Tucker walked away from the school. It had been three very long weeks, and no one wanted to even be near him since he came from Amity Park. They all thought that everyone from there were loons since they believed in ghosts.

"Don't let him get you down, Dude, you still got me," a voice stated behind him with a mischievous smile. Tucker stopped in his tracks knowing that it belonged to his long lost best friend.

"Danny?" Tucker questioned cautiously slightly afraid that he was losing his mind. He turned around and met the blue eyes of his best friend. "You're alive?"

"I'm standing beside you on the street while Sam's driver is trying to figure out where to park the limo without making it obvious," Danny explained with a smile. "Upside to ghost powers, I don't have to wait for the car to stop to get out."

"Wait, Sam's here," Tucker whispered. They had gotten into a huge fight before he decided to ask if his dad still had that offer in DC. He did, and they left Amity. Sam had said something about a party, and he was tempted to go until he smelled the pot on her clothes. He knew Danny's disappearance affected her deeply, but he never seen her as one to go so low. "I doubt she'll want to see me then."

"Right now, she's complaining about everything, but once she gets everything out of her system, she'll be back to the old Sam," Danny smiled. Tucker looked up and noticed that Danny seemed to be more relaxed and happy.

"What happened to you?" Tucker asked. He knew that Danny ran because of what Masters had done, but he didn't know what would cause his friend to suddenly show up again.

"Got shot, got help, and then got Masters thrown in jail," Danny quipped with a grin. "Sadly, that's about everything that happened in short version."

"Long version?" Tucker asked knowing that would probably make more sense.

"Later, right now though I was trying to figure out what school you went to. My uncle wanted me to check out the closer schools to see which one I would prefer, and I was trying to find out where you were."

"Wait, you're actually going back into the system. You're no longer considered missing?" Tucker asked not believing it. Danny was back.

"Yeah, I'm in some trouble for running away, but I'm only on probation for a couple months. Then it's getting wiped off my record since the reason was for something that should have been prevented in the first place back in Amity," Danny explained sadly. "My mom doesn't have custody of me still, but my uncle does, and he took her in as well. I guess we're all leaving Amity for good."

"What about Phantom?" Tucker asked knowing that was one of the biggest issues that will happen.

"He's still a hero, only now he's in DC helping out NCIS," Danny grinned. "Guys in White got in some trouble since they had taken a lot of funds from Masters. They'll be off my back for a while. Gibbs made sure of that now that if I'm needed by NCIS, I don't have to worry about getting caught by anyone else. If anyone threats or tries to hurt Phantom anymore, they'll get in some big trouble."

"You realize my parents are probably going to be here at any moment to pick me up, right?" Tucker asked with a smile after seeing their car drive by. "They'll be happy to know that you are okay."

"Tuck, unlike Sam's parents, yours actually like me," Danny smiled. "I'm sure they'll be elated."

"You use bigger words," Tucker grinned as Sam ran up behind him and gave him a huge hug.

"TUCKER!" she grinned as he tried to breath.

"Like I said, she's still really weird," Danny smiled as she pulled him into the hug as well. Tucker grinned as the three reunited together.

"Tucker?" someone asked looking at him. Tucker peeked up over Sam's head to see his mother walking over to him. "Is that Danny?"

"Yea, he's back!" Tucker exclaimed pulling out of the hug so his mother could see his friend.

"Oh my," she whispered walking up next to him. He was thin, but he seemed genuinely happy. She couldn't resist and gave him a huge hug glad that he was okay. "We all missed you so much. Especially your mother, I'm sure she would love to see you again."

"She has. Right now she's in Amity getting everything from FentonWorks," Danny explained hugging her back. "We're moving here with my uncle."

"I thought she wasn't allowed to be near you?" the mother questioned knowing that Maddie had a restraining order against her from Vlad. She worked in the legal department there and knew what had gone on in the case. There were a lot of suspicious findings, but no one pointed them out until Danny disappeared.

"She wasn't until yesterday when my uncle went to court for custody of me. He started before I was put into the system, but in order for my voice to be heard, I had to go in. I'm on probation for a couple months, but otherwise, everything going to be fine. I was trying to find Tucker and try to get into the same school as him," Danny explained to her with a smile. She patted his head.

"Well, that would mean he'll stop his asking to be home schooled," she looked pointing at him. "We were going to enroll him like that so he wouldn't have to worry about the others making fun of him."

"They'll probably make fun of us all," Sam stated looking at the ground. Danny sighed slightly annoyed with her up and down mood swings.

"Ignore her for right now," Danny smiled. "She's just getting out of a hole she dug." Sam punched his arm. "Ow, see, she's getting back to her old self." They started laughing.

"So what are you doing later?" Tucker's mom asked wondering if she could take him to see a movie or something together.

"I have a curfew," Danny stated looking at her sadly. "I can't go anywhere after nine unless there is an emergency."

"I'm not use to you being in this kind of trouble," she stated hesitantly knowing that he was only in trouble for running. "Why did you run in the first place?"

"That's long story," Danny whispered looking at the ground. "Let's just say that Masters is going to jail for a long time for abuse."

"That actually doesn't surprise me," she stated giving him another hug. "Well, Tucker, you want to stay with him and Sam for the night? It's a weekend, so you can."

"Really?" Tucker asked grinning. "I…I guess so. The trio is back, baby."

"You're still weird," Danny smiled knowing that he would have said Team Phantom if his mother wasn't there. Tucker looked at him before gently punching his shoulder.

"Says you," he grinned.

"Says everyone," Danny smiled back making the rest laugh. The mother shook her head and headed back to her car.

"I'll tell your father, and we'll see you tomorrow, Sweetie!" she called getting a groan from her son at being called 'Sweetie'.

"Man, why does she have to do that?" Tucker groaned as he followed Danny and Sam down the street.

"I told the driver to meet us at that restaurant that was a couple blocks over," Sam stated. "So we can walk some."

"Fine by me," Danny smiled as Sam laid her head on his shoulder and Tucker walked on the other side.

"So what all really happened?" Tucker asked as Danny smiled. He began his story as they got off school grounds.

NCIS Headquarters 1500 Hours

"Why am I here?" Ms. Marshall asked. She was beginning to worry that they had something on her. She knew she covered her tracks very well, but she was still worried about something maybe coming up. Gibbs opened the file that was in front of him.

"You and Ginger robbed a store," he stated pulling a picture out of the file and showing it to her. "You killed Ginger because you thought he was going to turn you in, and then dumped his body in the river hoping that no one would be able to find him."

"That's not true," she growled knowing that they were actually right. She realized she was caught, but they had yet to show any evidence. It was all speculation, and she wasn't about to confess.

"Then you dressed as Ginger and killed your husband when he figured it out that you had slept with Ginger," Gibbs continued ignoring her outburst. "You dressed similar to Ginger and went out in the park and stabbed him."

"I didn't shoot my husband," she growled. Gibbs grinned.

"I didn't say anything about him shot," Gibbs stated standing up. "You have the right to remain silent…"

"Better than my idea," Phantom whispered scaring DiNozzo.

"What the…?" he stuttered looking at the hybrid who was grinning ear to ear. Ziva laughed at his face.

"I'm surprised she didn't catch that," Phantom mumbled. "Will she get in trouble for shooting me?"

"She could call as crazy if she wants to say something about it," Ziva mused. "You're in the system, so we would be able to find you easily if she does."

"See Phantom's useful here as well," the ghost grinned. "I should probably go; I don't want to get into more trouble."

"If you do make it late, we'll say you were here since you are," Tony put in. "They won't care since you are technically talking and helping with a case. Just be careful."

"I will," Phantom smiled disappearing again. Abby ran in the room.

"I missed him didn't I?" she asked as Tony and Ziva smiled.

"Yeah, but he'll probably come back," Tony whispered. "He said that if we ever needed help to go ahead and ask him."

"Awesome," Abby exclaimed running back down the hall shouting random things out.

"I worry about her," Tony stated looking at Ziva.

"Me too," she smiled as they walked out of the room.

Fenton Residence 1900 Hours

"Where is Danny now?" the officer asked wanting Danny to be home before he left. It may have been his first night, and his curfew wasn't until nine, but he didn't want to leave until the kid was home and under lock and key. Maddie looked up at the clock that was ringing seven o'clock.

"He's helping a couple of my friends in NCIS," Jason answered. The cop shook his head.

"He has two hours to get here," the officer stated sitting down at the table. Suddenly the door opened as Danny walked in reading a file. "Well, I guess I can go now." Danny looked up surprised at the sudden exclamation.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked hoping that the officer wasn't going to arrest him. He was on time for once in his life, even early, and he was pretty proud of that.

"No, we were just waiting for you to get here," the officer answered as he grabbed his coat. "You have to remember that you have to be home by nine, and if you're not, you will be put on house arrest for the remainder of your sentence." Danny blinked and nodded knowing that the officer probably didn't care about the reasons behind him being in trouble. The officer left without another word making Danny feel small.

"Well, dinner's ready," Maddie whispered knowing that Danny probably felt like crap already for putting them thought this and he really didn't need anyone else reminding him of that. "Danny, sweetie, its okay."

"No, it's not. None of this should have happened," Danny sighed as he walked into the kitchen. Jason stopped Maddie from following.

"Let me," he whispered as he entered the kitchen Danny was sitting at the table with his head gently laying in his arms. "Danny, I know how you feel. You don't want anyone else suffering from a mistake that you couldn't stop, but honestly, what you did probably saved not just your life, but your mother's as well."

"How? I ran because I couldn't keep up the fake life the Masters forced me into," Danny mumbled slowly sitting up.

"He wasn't going to let her see you again, and you know that," Jason commented knowing that Masters just wanted the control over the hybrid. "He wasn't going to let you go back to your mother's arms just because you broke. He was going to push you into something so much worse."

"What if I was with my sister and dad when the car crashed? I could have saved them then," Danny muttered knowing that he could have been with them. He had the chance, but he was so tired and he just wanted to stay home and sleep. Jason sighed remembering that Danny could have saved them with his powers.

"So, it happened, and there's nothing we can do. However, we can change what happens in the future," Jason smiled putting a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder. "You're here with your mom and me. Now all that's left is to finish what is needed. You can't change what's happened. Maddie will be going back to Amity tomorrow again to pick up some of the bigger items, and I have the house on the base for us to go to after we get everything settled and you can go to any of the northern schools."

"Tucker is going to Districts Schools," Danny informed looking at his uncle. "Is that one of them?"

"It's not military, but I think I can pull some strings," Jason smiled. "Are they coming over?"

"Sam is talking to her parents about going to the school, and Tucker is with her. They will be heading here. They wanted me to be with them, but I told them that I wanted to talk to NCIS and then I had to be home by nine. So they said that they'll meet here. They're not sure when though," Danny explained looking at his uncle.

"That's fine, but you're not allowed to be out of house after nine, and then you can't leave until nine in the morning unless it's directly to school," Jason warned. Danny blinked.

"I thought it wasn't until seven in the morning," Danny stated looking at Jason with a curious expression. Jason smiled.

"That's my rule. I kept the normal curfew, and I was going to make it eight, but we'll see how this goes," Jason explained sitting next to the hybrid. "If there is ghost trouble, tell me. I don't care if you tell your mother, but I have to know where you are at all times since I am your legal guardian."

"I can try," Danny whispered looking at the ground. "At times it's hard though. Sometimes I'm fighting and don't realize where I end up until after the ghost is taken care of."

"Well, when there is an officer here to see what all has been going on, I would be careful. They never tell us what days of the week they show up," Jason warned. "I don't want you getting into farther trouble."

"Thanks, and I'll try my best," Danny promised hugging his uncle. There was suddenly a knock on the door and then the sound of running feet.

"DANNY," Sam exclaimed jumping on him as soon as he let go of his uncle. Jason laughed as he fell to the ground. "My parents said I could as long as I quit the drugs and everything! And since I was already doing that, I can stay!"

"Sam, that's wonderful, now can you get off me before I stop breathing," Danny gasped trying to get up. Sam grinned guilty and got up. Tucker walked in after taking a picture from the door.

"You guys are so cute together," Tucker grinned as Jason nodded to Danny and left. Danny got up.

"You do remember that me and Sam are still together and that your blackmail won't really work?" Danny questioned narrowing his eyes at his best friend.

"Yeah, but it's also very fun," Tucker grinned so glad that he could so easily fall back into the friendship. It may have been hard without Danny, but Danny played peacekeeper with him and Sam. Without Danny, their friendship fell apart, but with him, everything stayed the same. It was like going back into old times. "When do you start school back up?"

"Monday," Danny answered making Sam frown.

"I start Friday, why is yours later? You enrolled before I did," Sam questioned upset that she was starting before Danny.

"Because I'm in enough trouble and the school is looking though everything and giving all the teachers updates on my behavior before I can go," Danny answered looking down. "I just really hope that ghosts will lay low until all this is over. Mom is shutting down the portal, but there are still Plasmius's portals and then the natural ones."

"We'll get thought it like we do everything else," Sam grinned throwing her arms around both Danny and Tucker.

"How? Go with it until we come to another problem and then try to figure out how to pass it?" Tucker asked sarcastically. Sam kicked his shin and he went down.

"We have to be happy," she exclaimed with a twitching eye causing Danny to slightly worry about his girlfriend.

"Well, we also have to figure out how to put the ghosts back in the Ghost Zone after we catch them," Danny explained hoping that Sam would knock herself out of it. Sam looked at him.

"Well, maybe we can find one of Plasmius's portals and take it over, then we wouldn't have to worry about it," she guessed shrugging her shoulders as Tucker stood back rubbing his injured leg and pride.

"Well, he had a place here that might have a portal," Tucker stated. "While Sam was talking to her parents, I was researching everything in Vlad's computer. I've gotten a lot better at hiding my tracks, and I figured out that he had a place here. He was probably operating out of it when he figured out that you were here."

"That's weird," Danny mumbled and started pacing which confused the other two friends.

"Uh, since when did you start pacing?" Sam asked knowing that Danny hated it since it took work that he normally didn't want to do. Danny stopped and looked at her.

"I don't know," he muttered and resumed his pacing causing the two to laugh.

Fenton Residence 0900 Hours

"Daniel Fenton," Maddie called with slightly anger in her voice. Danny blinked his eyes open and looked at his mom who was glaring at him.

"What?" he asked wondering what had happened.

"What is this?" she questioned throwing a notebook at him. It was the one that they were using yesterday to figure out how to go about to continue ghost hunting if they ever find anymore.

"Brainstorming," he answered yawning making her sit next to him. She gently put her hand to his face.

"I don't want you to ghost hunt anymore. It's dangerous," Maddie pleaded making Danny's eyes fly open.

"Mom, it's part of who I am," Danny stated looking at her seriously. "I can't stop. It's who I am."

"You're a teenager; you don't know who you are yet," Maddie stated quietly hoping that her son would see that. Danny looked away.

"Most teenagers don't know the things I do or have done the things I have. Mom, I know who I am, and what my job is," Danny explained looking at her. "I may still be a teenager psychically, but mentally, I'm a soldier coming home from a war that's still being fought. I'm always going to go back to it. That's something I can't give up, it's part of what and who I am."

"Danny, I don't want to lose you too," Maddie pleaded pulling him into a hug. She didn't want to go back to Amity and get everything; all she wanted was to stay with her son.

"Mom, you won't, I'm good at what I do, and since the portal is disabled, I'll have a break before ghosts find another way to come here and annoy me," Danny comforted hugging her back. "Don't worry. I can handle it."

"I'm always going to worry," Maddie stated pulling away enough to look at his face. His blue eyes shone the determination and the power of Phantom while his smile comforted her into knowing that he was always going to be there.

"I know, but just know that I'll always come back," Danny promised lighting his hand up in blue and creating a small ice crystal. It sparkled in the morning sun. "No matter what happens."

"I love you so much," Maddie cried wrapping her arms around him. Danny hugged her back.

"I love you too," he replied knowing that no matter what happened, they would always have each other.

Danny: She doesn't own anything, and if you have a problem, deal with it

Me: I don't like the ending, but I might add an epilogue later...it depends...I'm really stressed right now.

Danny: But happy ending...If there's anything she missed, put it in a review and she'll make sure to answer it in the epilogue or in a PM...depending on what it is...

Me: I hope you enjoyed this story though. It was fun to write!