Danny lays on the couch in the dark. It's pitch black in the 'living room' of Jack and Vlad's dorm. It would be dead silent, too, if Jack weren't asleep and snoring up a storm.
Jack and Vlad had gone to bed hours ago. Danny had laid down not long after that and tried to fall asleep but…he just couldn't shut off his brain. He's spent his time in the dark trying to figure out how to prevent the accident from happening.
How to stop everything from going wrong like it had in his timeline.
He's spent quite some time trying to think about how to do it. He's narrowed it down to two options.
His first option would be to sabotage the proto-portal. However, that would also prevent his parents from getting their doctorate and moving on to become inventors. He would end up stopping them from achieving their dreams.
His other option – the option he really doesn't want to go through with – would be to warn them all about not using the proto-portal. He could 'learn' about the portal and warn them to be more careful. Make sure they don't dive in overeager and ruin everything they have going. Or sneak in and install a failsafe in the proto-portal to stop it from misfiring. Stop Jack from testing it before it's ready. But if he messes up and ruins the portal, they could still lose their shot at their doctorate.
He rolls over so he's facing the couch instead of the ceiling.
It's stiff and uncomfortable and he has a hard time getting comfortable. But it's better than the ground or a metal bench like the last three nights.
Danny doesn't know how he got lucky enough to find someone to take him in. He doesn't know why it had to be his not-father. It was intensely ironic.
Did Clockwork have something to do with this turn of events? But why would he help Danny now? The last he saw of Clockwork, the Time Keeper has been in pain and…quite rattled by the split.
Aside from that, Danny's a paradox now and Clockwork's job is to eradicate anomalies. Is he special? Is Clockwork delirious with pain?
Would Clockwork change his mind? Would he eradicate Danny like he'd eradicated Dan?
Fear coils through Danny's gut. He knows Clockwork is infallible and incredibly powerful. If Clockwork were to decide Danny was a nuisance…well, Danny wouldn't stand a chance.
Danny feels so unsure of the future. Or if he even has one. He's never felt so unsure of everything. Before the accident at the GiW headquarters he'd know exactly what he wanted to do. And now…now he had no idea what he is going to do with himself.
There are the obvious things. Get a job. Make some money. Get a place for himself.
Once he no longer has to mooch off of two strangers – who are college students – he can figure everything else out. But he needs money to do that. And he needs a job to get money.
His mind so helpfully offers up prostitution.
Danny shakes his head as he turns again so this time he's facing away from the back of the couch. While he enjoys sex, he doesn't think he could charge people money for it.
He pulls the thick comforter around himself tighter. Despite being mostly covered…he still feels exposed. It's a childish though…but….he can't help it. He'd in a foreign place with strangers in the next room. He doesn't feel safe, despite knowing his father is a good man who would never hurt anyone.
Danny sighs heavily and shuffles a bit on the couch. He stretches his legs out so they hang off the edge of the couch. He wonders what he could do to earn money for himself. He's a decent mechanic but he has no degrees – at least in this universe – that he can provide as proof.
He has no I.D. No birth certificate. No high school diploma or college degrees. Not even a G.E.D.
Because he doesn't belong here.
This isn't his world. This isn't his time.
He doesn't belong here.
Tears gather in Danny's eyes. He takes a deep breath and tries to stop himself from crying. He tells himself that he's being silly. That he should have gotten all of this out of his system by now.
Except he hasn't.
It's only been three days.
He doesn't know if he'll ever get over this.
Danny thinks of Jazz and his parents. How they must be freaking out because he never came home. Jazz had been visiting when he'd disappeared. He hopes to god that they're not fighting or blaming each other.
Which leads him to think of Sam and Tucker. He hadn't talked to them in over a week. Sam had been out of town on a trip with her parents. Tucker was out of state and attending summer classes at ITT. Had someone contacted them? Do they know he's gone and never coming back?
Danielle and Valerie had been in town that week and he'd promised to hang out with them some time. Would they notice he's gone? Would they even care? Would they mourn?
Would any of the ghosts he'd made peace with care or miss him? Skulker. Ember. Johnny and Kitty. Would any of them care? Or would they just wreak havoc?
It would be so much easier to think about if everyone he knew was dead. No. They're all alive and well and – hopefully – missing him and Danny just can't see them. He's trapped in a world that isn't his with no one he knows and no one to help him.
A choked noise makes its way out of Danny's throat and he covers his mouth with the blanket. The tears welling in his eyes fall down his face. The cold pulsing from his core freezes his tears before they can fall far.
He can't stop himself from crying and keep the cold from pushing out of his core at the same time. He could let himself cry and keep the cold in, hoping the sound of Jack's heavy snoring drowns it out a bit. Or he can keep back his sobs and freeze half the building, killing any human caught in the radius including Jack and Vlad.
He can't risk hurting anyone – it's not in him to do so – so really his only option is to cry like a baby and hold his core together. He clenches his eyes shut and tries to focus on keeping his core under control.
It's a lot like trying to keep your heartbeat normal while crying.
He curls up into a ball as a sob rips its way through his throat. Images of his family flash in front of his mind's eye. Are they okay? Have they even noticed he's gone? Do they care?
A dark voice in the back of his mind tells him that they noticed and are happy to finally be rid of him. Of course they'd be happy. He's not there to attract ghosts. He's not there to enforce his stupid morality on everyone. His parents finally have their house to themselves. Jazz doesn't have to listen to him worrying over his place in the world. Sam doesn't have to follow him around and hunt ghosts.
Danny hears movement in the room behind him. Jack's snoring doesn't stop and other than that it all goes silent. Danny realizes Vlad probably moved in his sleep. Or he's awake and can hear Danny breaking down.
Either way, no one comes into the living room to confront him so Danny considers that a victory.
After – what feels like – hours, Danny calms enough that the tears stop. He reluctantly stops holding in his core, like a child clings to their favorite stuffed animal. The temperature of the room has probably dropped a few degrees since he'd started crying, but there isnt anything he can do about that. He registers the temperature change but he doesn't feel it like others do. Hasn't since his ice powers manifested.
Danny rubs his eyes dry and rolls to face the cough again with his legs pulled up to his chest. He wraps his arms around his torso and closes his eyes.
Danny wonders if he's going to sleep at all tonight.