The first thing Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom, half-ghost super hero, did after saving the entire planet was sleep.
The snowy bank where he had shared his secret with the world was a flurry of activity immediately following his reveal. His parents hugged him, world leaders shook his hand, and the few journalists who had dared the trek to the Arctic shouted questions to his retreating figure, as his friends and family sheltered him back to the base.
Once inside, the team from Amity Park gathered their belongings and boarded a private jet, which, they were informed, the President of the United States had personally sent to bring them home.
It was in the plush reclining seat of the jet that Danny first drifted off, his head dropping onto the shoulder of Sam, who occupied the seat next to him and was soon fast asleep as well.
Tucker elbowed Jazz with a smirk and a nod in their direction. "Aw," Jazz cooed, but also snickered, sharing a knowing look with Tuck.
At the jet's final stop for re-fueling, Maddie grew worried about her son and shared her concern with her husband. "Danny's been asleep for this entire trip. Are we sure he's okay?"
Overhearing this, Jazz decided to cut in from her seat behind her parents. "Mom, think back to how involved Danny Phantom was in the planning and orchestrating of what we just did. Now remember that that's this Danny. Our Danny. The kid probably hasn't slept in over 48 hours." She gave a casual shrug before returning to idly flipping through a magazine. "He'll bounce back. He always does."
Maddie accepted this response, but continued to ponder what it meant beyond the scope of today. There had been a change in Danny a little less than two years ago, she and Jack had both noticed. At the time, it seemed like normal teenager stuff. Now she realized it must have been more than that… so much more.
Danny stretched, enjoying the feeling of his limbs sliding through the cozy sheets and blankets. Nothing beats waking up in your own bed. He blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the daylight that filled his bedroom. He wondered what time it was. And with that simple thought, his mind proceeded to recall all of the events from the past couple days.
They had done it. They had saved the world. He was being called a hero. He had told the entire world his secret. Everyone knew. Including his parents.
And he had barely said a word to them since.
With a twinge of guilt, he recalled sleeping through the entire flight out of the Arctic. The car ride from the airport to Fenton Works was also a blur. They had arrived back at Amity Park in the middle of the night so it wasn't so strange that he had gone straight to bed when they got home… right?
With a groan that was more self-indulgent than due to any actual stress or pain, Danny rose from his bed and began searching for clean clothes. It was after a whiff from a shirt that definitely did not pass the sniff test that he became aware of the distinctly sweet smell in the air.
The scent was so alluring that he forgot about his mission to change out of the undershirt and pajama pants he had worn to bed and followed his nose out of his room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.
His mom had her back to him from where she stood at the stove with a spatula. Jazz sat at the table, her nose buried in the day's paper.
"Here Mads, let me help you with those." His father said, offering her a plate.
No one had noticed him yet. He may have waited a bit longer to make his presence known – given himself a quick pep talk, savored this last moment of artificial normalcy – were it not for the surprising revelation that the source of the smell was his mother cooking breakfast.
"You're making pancakes?"
The scene in the kitchen seemed to freeze as three pairs of eyes landed on pajama-clad Danny, standing in the doorway.
"Son! You're up!" Jack's bellow broke the silence.
Danny smiled and made his way towards the fridge. "Yeah, uh, thanks for letting me sleep," he said as he poured himself a glass of milk.
Jazz peered at him over her newspaper. "I told them you had some catching up to do in that department." She paused before adding, "And then I explained how the extra ten hours was just sheer laziness."
Danny took a seat at the table next to his sister, who was giggling at her own joke, and gave her a smirk. He had his retort. It was on the tip of his tongue. Yet, he found he could not bring himself to say it, settling for a non-committal grunt instead.
It was as if he and his family were existing inside a bubble – a bubble that would burst as soon as someone acknowledged their new reality, allowing it to come surging in, filling the space around them, and insisting on being addressed. Then, truly there would be no going back to the way things were. Change is scary like that for a family.
"Did you go out patrolling last night?" Jazz, of course, laughs in the face of psychological dangers.
Danny practically choked on his milk. "Uh," he sputtered, with a nervous glance towards his parents, "no."
If they had heard what their daughter asked, or understood what it meant, Jack and Maddie did a good job of remaining casual about it as they approached the table with plates of steaming hot breakfast food.
"Wow, eggs and bacon too?" Danny quirked an eyebrow.
"We're very proud of you." Maddie smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the temple before sitting down.
Danny returned the smile, but it quickly faded as he took in his mother's face. She did not face him, her eyes were cast downward, and the smile she had flashed him moments ago had been replaced by a tight line.
Danny felt his stomach lurch as he was hit with the sudden realization that, despite the fact that his parents had already found out his secret and accepted him once before, it was possible that was not the case this time around. When Freakshow kidnapped them, they had thought they lost him for a moment and maybe they had felt guilty. He hadn't really given it time to sink in before he wiped their memories. Now they had time to think about it, digest it, analyze it. Could they really be okay with their son being part ghost? Part putrid ectoplasmic scum. The sort of creature they had spent the majority of their lives trying to eradicate.
"Danny?" His father's deep voice, layered with concern, shook him from his reverie. "Aren't you hungry?"
Everyone else in the family had begun helping themselves to the uncommonly good meal before them. Danny watched a stream of syrup slip slowly across the sloping stack of pancakes on his dad's plate.
He had saved the world. When he woke up this morning, for the first time in over a year, he did not feel the crushing burden of living a double life. To know that he wouldn't have to lie today, or risk getting in trouble, or pretend to be only half of who he was, had felt amazing.
The air in the kitchen felt heavy as the options to either continue tiptoeing around his revealed secret or dive in to his newly exposed life head first weighed on his shoulders.
"Yeah, it's just," he paused, and then with a deep breath, took the plunge.
"I'm half-ghost."
Forks stopped halfway to mouths and three pairs of eyes blinked at him.
Feeling awkward, Danny shrugged and picked up his own fork. "It just seemed like it needed to be said."
Food was the last thing on his mind, but he cut into his pancakes and put a bite into his mouth anyways. He felt the seconds tick by in silence.
His parents were sharing a look, but Danny kept his focus on his plate. The food went down his throat easy enough, but remained as lumps in his stomach.
Great, the first homemade breakfast his mom had made in years and he couldn't even enjoy it. The room felt like a vacuum sealed off from the fresh air. His statement hadn't quite popped it. More pressure would need to be applied.
"So do you guys have like questions or something?" he asked without looking up.
Jack started to say something, but his wife silenced him with a look.
"Danny," Maddie began quietly, her voice uncharacteristically soft. She had put down her utensils and seemed to be waiting for him to acknowledge her.
With a tightening of his gut, Danny flicked his gaze to his mother. His expression softened when he saw her face contorted in pain, rather than anger.
"Mom?" He kept his voice low as well.
"Your father and I are so sorry. We just…" she paused and seemed to be choking back a sob, "I don't even know how we can begin to apologize for what we must have put you through." A few tears fell as the fearless Maddie Fenton, scientific genius and ninth degree black belt, slowly broke down.
"Mom, hey!" Danny was instantly up and at his mother's side. Having never seen her this upset before, he hesitated, unsure of what to do.
"I hunted you, shot at you," she murmured, unable to stop the moisture gathering on her cheeks.
"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know."
"I should have known," she sniffed. "I'm your mother, it's my job to know these things."
"Mom." Danny knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't know because I didn't want you to know. That's on me. It was my choice. You guys didn't do anything wrong."
Maddie met her son's worried gaze.
"And I'm sorry too," he added, "for all the lying and sneaking around. I should have trusted you sooner."
"We never really gave you a reason to." Maddie reached out and touched her son's face. "You must have been so scared…"
They were sharing a warm look, but Danny had to chuckle. "Superheroes don't get scared, Mom."
Maddie laughed as well and moved away to dry her eyes. "Right and I suppose they don't need any help from their mothers."
Danny stood to return to his seat, but paused to give his mom a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I wouldn't go that far," he replied as he sat. "There have actually been plenty of times when you've helped me out whether you knew it or not. Dad too."
He smiled across the table at his father, who had been waiting patiently while mother and son had their moment.
Jack turned to his wife. "Does this mean I can ask the questions now?"
Maddie sighed at her husband's childish display of eagerness, but relented. "If it's alright with Danny."
Danny grinned. "Sure, ask away."
"What's the biggest baddie you ever fought? No wait, first, what powers do you have? And what's your favorite? Oh and the Ghost Zone! You gotta tell me what it's like in there!" Jack's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Danny felt lighter as the air around them seemed to shift, settling around the newness of their conversation.
"Sorry, that's a lot of questions," his dad said sheepishly.
Danny laughed again. "It's ok. Let's see," he leaned back in his chair, "in order… probably the Ghost King, but Vlad and I had the biggest rivalry. I have all the standard powers of a ghost – flight, intangibility, invisibility – plus a few extras that are sort of unique to me. But my favorite… hmm… that's tough. No one's ever asked me that before."
Everyone had relaxed and resumed eating. Jack nodded between mouthfuls of pancakes as he took in Danny's responses.
"How often do ghosts attack?" That question came from his mom.
"Pretty regularly," Danny paused to enjoy a bite of his own breakfast now that his stomach had settled. "I'm surprised I've been able to get through this much of breakfast." He snickered to show he was exaggerating. Slightly.
"I've got a question," Jazz said.
Danny raised an eyebrow at his sister. "You've known for months. What haven't you asked me?"
Jazz smirked. "What happened between you and Sam while we were in the Arctic?"
For the second time that morning, his sister caused him to stammer. "Uh, I don't know what you mean." Unfortunately, he couldn't control the blush creeping over his face.
"Oh yes you do! You're turning red! Something happened. I know it." The redhead crossed her arms defiantly.
"Jasmine, leave your brother alone," Maddie cut in. "If he doesn't want to tell us, he doesn't have to."
Jazz continued looking smug. "Sure he can save the planet, but he can't admit he likes a girl." She sniggered into her cup of juice as she went to take a sip.
Reacting quickly, Danny reached over and gently tapped the bottom of her cup, causing bright red juice to spill into his sister's face and dribble down her chin.
"Oh real mature, Danny," Jazz said, wiping her mouth and face.
"Now whose face is red?" he teased.
Jazz glared at her brother, but then looked down at her near-empty cup. With a mischievous grin, she moved to toss the rest of its contents into his face.
Danny threw his hand up to block the attack. As the cold liquid met his hand, he allowed just enough ghost energy out to freeze it. The splatter of juice was now a solid red disc in his hand, not a drop on him.
Jazz pouted while the rest of the table stared in awe.
"Huh, I guess I'd have to go with my freezing ability for favorite power." Danny examined his creation and gave it a lick. "Comes in handy sometimes."
Jack's shock wore off first and he roared with laughter. "How about that, Mads?"
"Amazing," his mother agreed, with a few small claps.
Danny shot his sister a self-satisfied grin.
She scowled. "Don't make me get the thermos."
The two locked eyes, but their glares quickly softened and they both laughed.
"It's good to see you being yourself, little brother."
Danny smiled. "Thanks." He glanced around the table. His parents beamed back at him.
"Feels good."
He really meant it. In that moment, life was good. Different, but good. Change is scary, but it can also be good.