"NO!!"

"Get the hell away from her!"

"Jack! HELP!"

"You won't escape me again!..."

All was quiet in the Fenton household as Jack ascended the stairs. It had been this way for almost a week now. Ever since the ... incident, Maddie had barely spoken to anyone; not even to him, or to their two-year-old daughter, Jasmine. He understood why she was upset, though; such an experience could be incredibly traumatizing. He just wished she would let him be there for her. That was what one was supposed to do for their spouse, right?

As he walked down the hall, he poked his nose into Jasmine's room. The little red-head was sound asleep, her head buried underneath the pillow and her arms wrapped tightly around her teddy, Bearbert Einstein. Jack smiled. He adored Jasmine, possibly more than he loved his career in ghost-hunting; she was becoming more and more like a miniature of her mother every day.

That thought only reminded him. It reminded him of Maddie's behavior over the past few days, and the reason she had begun acting in such manner. He didn't want to bring it up and make her uncomfortable, but it pained him to see her so clearly suffering.

"Ah, to heck with awkwardness," he finally declared to himself, as he shut the door to his daughter's bedroom. "She's going to need to talk about it sooner or later."

His mind made up, he entered their room, as quietly as a man of his size could, so as not to wake his wife if she was still sleeping.

"Maddie?" he whispered.

"Oh," a voice answered. Jack looked around. Maddie was sitting on the far side of their bed, facing away from him. "Hi, sweetie." The bubbliness that was normally in her tone at any time of day or night was gone. "I didn't hear you coming upstairs." She hadn't even turned around.

"Maddie," he began, as he walked over to sit beside her. "I, er... I wanted to talk to you."

She simply looked up, without a word. She had the look of one who hadn't slept in days.

"About, well, about... about what happened." He stammered.

There was still a dead look in her eyes. He took her silence as an invitation to continue.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you sooner, but it wasn't your fault. None of it was, and you know that."

Maddie sighed. After a moment's pause, she answered, "I know."

"And you know I'm here if you need to talk to someone about it, baby." It could have been his eyes playing tricks on him in the dim light, but he could have sworn she flinched when he called her "baby."

"I know," she repeated, her face growing sadder as she looked away.

Jack was confused. Normally when she was upset and he said something to the effect of "I'm here for you", she'd perk up, if only a little. Tonight, it was having the reverse effect.

"Maddie, is there something you're not telling me?"

She looked back at him, this time with eyes brimming with tears.

"Jack, I..." She threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.

"What's the matter?" he asked, gently embracing her.

"Jack, I'm pregnant. That g-ghost that attacked m-me is the f-father."

Jack's eyes widened in horror. His wife pregnant by a ghost?

"Maddie, are... Are you sure? That he's- That thing is- A ghost is-"

"What other exp-p-planation is there?" she managed through her sobs.

Jack fell silent, simply allowing her to cry onto his shoulders. It was strange, indeed, but she was right. They hadn't done it in several weeks, having been too exhausted from their work as ghost hunters to do much else but sleep at night. There wasn't anything else that made sense. Not that he could tell, anyway.

"There, there," he whispered, as she began to calm down. "Everything will be alright."

"B-but what about the baby?" she pleaded. "What are we going to d-do?"

At this, he was stumped. He thought for a moment, and finally answered, "He or she is as good as my own."

"B-b-but, what if... if... it's a ghost itself?" Maddie stammered. "Or if there's something else horribly wrong with it?"

"Maddie, he or she could be born with two heads, three legs, and a tail for all I care." Jack looked her dead in the eyes. "I don't care who his or her father is, or what he or she is. He or she will still be a part of the Fenton family. Besides, Jasmine would probably enjoy having a younger sibling."

Jack felt his heart fail a moment when Maddie looked away uncertainly. "None of this is your fault, Maddie, you know that. And it's not the baby's fault, either. I don't want you to think of him or her that way."

"I know," Maddie answered. "But it's just all hitting me so fast. I'm scared, Jack."

"Me, too, sweetie." Jack pulled her into another embrace. "But we'll figure something out."