Thanks to Lexosaurus, Anon, Lightning Streak, Trish, Yuno, CaptainMonochrome, Evie, and SilverMoonPhantom for your reviews on the last chapter! Sorry it's been so long since my last update, but I hope this chapter makes up for it! I worried a little at how I ended up choosing to portray the big reunion here, but I think at the end of the day I like the choice I made. Particularly since I personally have experience in what it's like to hate someone for so long them see them again years later.

By the time Jazz arrived, Valerie had already put away her newest weapon and dealt with her raging emotions.

She found herself surprised by her excitement when she heard the front door unlock and Jazz's voice calling out. "Hello? Danny? Valerie?"

Valerie rushed in from the kitchen, smile on her face. "Jazz." She greeted. The other girl returned the look before walking up to her and pulling her in for a tight hug.

"Look at you!" Jazz pulled away, holding her at arm's length. "You're gorgeous!"

Valerie laughed. "Speak for yourself."

Jazz looked fantastic. Her hair was as long and glossy as ever, and she was wearing a pair of glasses with blue frames that made her look intelligent and stylish. "How have you been?" She asked, tossing her bag onto the nearby recliner.

"Pretty good, actually. Danny has a lot to do with that though. I wasn't looking forward to moving back to Amity but he's made it bearable." Valerie walked over to where Jazz had set down her suitcase, lifting it up so she could bring it to her old room.

"I'm so glad to hear you two are getting along. He was so nervous when he found out Hayes was transferring you here." Jazz picked up her smaller toiletry bag and began leading the way upstairs.

Valerie blushed at Jazz's words. "He was?"

Jazz snorted as she opened the door to her room. "Oh yeah, and don't let him tell you otherwise." She sighed as she walked in, eyes shining with nostalgia.

"I didn't realize you two were so close now." Valerie set down the suitcase.

Jazz smiled. "It's really great, you know? It used to be so hard to get him to tell me anything. Now I'm the first person he calls. It's all I wanted for our relationship."

Valerie nodded. "I'm happy for you. I'll let you get settled. See you downstairs." She walked out of the room, already feeling much better. In that moment, she knew exactly why Danny had called Jazz to help them out.

Really, she wasn't much help out in the field. Her only instinct out there was protecting her brother, so despite the fact she was a pretty decent hunter, she often didn't pay any mind to plans or being wary of property damage.

Danny had to insist that she'd be more help from within the Fenton Lab over coms, alerting them of any weaknesses she could find on their opponent within the massive database they had been building over the years.

Her most critical role, however, was definitely her ability to instill a sense of calm and surety. Valerie lost track of the amount of times a hasty pep talk over the coms from Jazz has helped her out of a funk. With as big a sting as this weekend was sure to be, a calming presence would be a huge help.

Valerie flopped back onto the couch downstairs, pulling out her phone as she waited for the rest of the party to arrive. She just hoped Danny had actually told Sam and Tucker that she would be there. Then she dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.

Danny wasn't that big of an idiot.

"YOU REALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO WAIT UNTIL I WAS ALREADY HERE TO TELL ME THAT VALERIE MOVED BACK?!" Sam punctuated her furious words by smacking Danny with a small travel pillow every few words.

"Sam, I'm literally going to crash this car and kill all of us if you don't stop." Danny winced as the pillow smacked him again, and he visibly struggling with the instinct to shield his face instead of driving. The car swerved slightly from his lack of concentration.

"Um, not to try to butt in on your fight but I actually want to live," Tucker interjected from the back, where he held onto the seats with a white – knuckled grip.

"Sam, c'mon. Do you seriously still not like Valerie? Even though you haven't seen her in like, five years?" Danny attempted to reason with his friend, but Sam wasn't finished chewing him out just yet.

"I needed to mentally prepare for unknown levels of her superiority complex and now I won't even have anything witty to respond with when she starts boasting." Her tone was calm, but Danny could still sense a storm brewing.

"Are you really one to talk about a superiority complex?" Tucker mumbled from the backseat.

Sam heard. "Oh don't you start defending him blindly." Her gaze was hard as she turned to him.

"Sam," Danny interjected before Tucker could retort, "Valerie has changed a lot. Grown up. We all have." He gave her a sidelong look, eyes pleading and lips pouty. "Just give her a fair chance? I really think you guys might hit it off."

Sam frowned. "Does she know I'm coming?"

Danny nodded. "Honestly I thought she'd be the more volatile one about it."

"And she wasn't?" Sam raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Danny shook his head. "Not that I could tell. In fact, she seemed worried about how you would react to her."

Tucker snorted. "Valerie? Worried about what someone thinks of her? Are you sure she's not, like, possessed or something?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "From what I've noticed, she presents whatever you give her. So if you're standoffish…"

Sam sighed. "She'll be the same. I'm going to give this an honest chance for you Danny."

"That's all I ask," Danny said, already grinning.

Tucker hummed from the backseat. "So, now that that's out of the way," He leaned forward and angled his gaze towards Danny, "Is she still…" He made an hourglass curve with his hands.

Sam scoffed loudly. "Seriously Tucker," She shoved him playfully to the backseat, "What would your girlfriend think of you talking like that?"

"Hey, just because Abha is the love of my life doesn't mean I can't appreciate the aesthetics of other beautiful women. She even encourages it sometimes!"

"Isn't that because she's doing a study on men's brain chemistry?" Danny asked, glancing at Tucker in the rearview.

Tucker crossed his arms and leaned back. "The point is, I can love Abha and appreciate other girls just fine."

Sam rolled her eyes as Danny chuckled. He was glad that the years and distance hadn't affected their friendship or their dynamic much at all.

"And for the record Tuck," Danny said, eyes a little wistful, "Valerie is as gorgeous as ever."

Sam snorted at that, while Tucker let out a soft chuckle. "Sounds like he's under her spell again Sam." Tucker joked, nudging her. Danny's face flushed red.

"Chill out Tucker, it's not like that," Danny insisted.

Sam gave him a knowing look. "Whatever you say Danny, but if you're lying we'll know."

"You can't hide anything from us," Tucker sing-songed.

Danny cringed, knowing that his friends' words weren't a bluff. Still, he couldn't help the joy he felt, knowing they were all together again, even for this short time.

"Alright Tucker," Sam began, "We have way more important stuff to worry about. Like Hayes. What's going on?" She and Tucker both focused in, demeanor visibly changing.

Danny could only sigh. "It's a lot, and me and Val still aren't sure what's going on. We think he has some plans for this new ghost we haven't heard of."

Sam shrugged. "So? I mean, I know you aren't fond of him but he's not exactly a bad guy."

Danny nodded. "True. But there's… He went through a lot of trouble for this ghost. And kept a lot of secrets. Why?" He wished he knew the words to portray the unease that had settled over Valerie and himself recently.

The car was quiet for a moment as they pondered that. Tucker spoke up after a while. "Ok, I'll be the one to say it." He took a deep breath as if he was bracing himself for his next words. "Danny, you and Valerie have to be a couple of the most intense people I have ever met. Seriously. And I'm sorry, but maybe we're getting too old to believe everything is part of some larger conspiracy."

Sam bit her lip. "It's not that we don't believe you Danny. It's just that… I mean, we have a mission for this weekend. We have to round up these loose ghosts. Me and Tucker… we don't necessarily have the time to launch a full scale investigation that may or may not have any merit."

Danny was silent for a moment as he processed their words. He and Valerie had already been having doubts, but now, with an outside perspective, he wondered if they really had been wasting their time. "I'm sorry you guys." He shook his head. "I guess… I forgot you guys kind of got away from all this, you know? We have our mission for this weekend. Let's do it."

Sam and Tucker shared a look at his words, both unsure of what else to say.

They went with nothing.

Valerie had thought about her first words to Sam and Tucker a lot in the short time Danny was gone. She wondered if she should try to act as though their history was just that, or formally apologize for everything they never talked about.

In the end, Jazz sort of made the decision for them all.

The trio had barely stepped foot in the door when Jazz swooped in, grabbing Sam under one arm and Valerie under the other. "Alright, we're all here! I say we go out to dinner!"

Danny was too busy grinning at the sight of his sister to notice how stiff Valerie and Sam were under her grip. Valerie glanced past Jazz to Sam.

Valerie wasn't really sure what to expect when she saw her. She thought maybe she'd immediately feel disdain, fresh and intense as it was back in high school. Or maybe even jealousy. After all, she and Danny had really managed to build up their own dynamic in the short time she had been home, but his and Sam's relationship had time and hardship behind it that made it strong.

Neither of those feelings came to her though.

In fact, she felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Seeing Sam, as a grown woman, reminded her of the time that had passed. Reminded her how small their outlooks had been when they were young. The other woman was looking at her just as intensely, perhaps thinking the same thing.

"Atlas has a really good vegan menu." She offered, partially as a real suggestion and partially as a metaphorical olive branch.

Sam blinked at her for a moment before offering a small smile. "Yeah? I've never been." She took the offer of peace, then.

Valerie nodded, feeling light as she continued. "Yeah, it opened a couple years ago. I tried it with my dad when I came to visit." The short, but pleasant, conversation left her feeling a little warm from the inside.

Both girls looked out to see if anyone had any objections, and noticed for the first time that the entire group had been staring at them. Danny and Jazz looked thrilled, while Tucker did little to hide the surprise in his gaze. Valerie rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with you guys? We're grown women." She knew exactly why everyone was surprised. And as she caught Danny's gaze, she could tell exactly how much it meant to him that they were going to try.

Sam nodded. "Exactly. What were you expecting? A cat fight? Come on Valerie." She reached over, grabbing Valerie's hand and pulled her out from Jazz's hold. Valerie could almost imagine how this would have felt years ago. She thought of how she might have snatched her hand away, as a sign that friendship was far more hard won than agreeing on a dinner spot. Just the thought felt stupid to her now.

The women led the way out of the door, chatting casually as they went.

Tucker broke the silence between the other three with a snort. "What do you know? They do have at least one thing in common. They love proving us wrong."

Danny laughed at that before pulling Jazz in for a quick hug. "Sam and Val have a lot in common," He said as he separated from his sister, "Why do you think they hated each other so much?"

Tucker watched as the two women spoke to each other as if they had been long time friends. "So you really think them pretending like they actually like each other will be enough for them to get along?"

Danny shook his head, clapping Tucker on the shoulder. "Not at all, actually. But knowing them they'll take it so far that they'll end up talking more and realizing that they actually could be pretty good friends."

Jazz chuckled. "I told Danny this would happen. He just still doubts that I'm a genius for some reason." She grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder.

Tucker snorted. "I mean, of course you knew, you're a psychologist."

"Psychology definitely doesn't cover how being a super hero affects interpersonal relationships Tucker." She grabbed Danny's arm, pulling him down to her level and whispering in his ear. "We need to talk. Mom and Dad called yesterday." She was still smiling, but Danny could hear the tension in her voice. Something was wrong.

He watched as Tucker left them to go stand with the girls, joining their conversation. "A lot's been going on. Mom and Dad are overthinking things. I promise you that everything's under control."

Jazz squeezed his arm. "I thought we told each other things now Danny."

"We do Jazz," He put a hand over hers, "But there's nothing to tell. Mom and Dad are stressed, just like me and Val are. It's just because of our responsibilities and stuff, you know?"

Jazz frowned, letting go of her brother. "I'm going to trust you, Danny. Don't make that a decision I regret."

With that, she gave him one more intense look before slapping a smile on her face and rushing to catch up with the others. Danny sighed to himself before doing the same.

Danny had grown sort of accustomed to being alone, and though he was glad it wasn't the case so much anymore, he found himself escaping upon returning from dinner.

It had really gone better than he could have hoped; casual conversation and planning blending together in a way that was distinctly theirs. Even with the comforting familiarity, however, he could sense the tension between Sam and Valerie as they attempted to ignore the past. He noticed how Jazz would start to stare at him occasionally, face twisted with worry. He saw Tucker try to engage as he would've years ago, all while trying to be sneaky when he went check his phone for messages from his girlfriend or his job.

As sat on top of the roof of the lab, eyes tracing the constellations he could see, he wondered if he'd always mourn the past.

He heard the tell-tale sound of the roof access banging open. He didn't have to turn to recognize the sound of Sam's heavy boots hitting the metal as she walked towards him. She sat next to him, pulling her legs close and wrapping her arms around her knees. He watched as a chill ran up her spine.

He recognized the reaction of a human who encountered a ghostly presence. He wasn't sure if it was his human side or his ice core side that gave him a decent amount of control over whether not he had that effect. Still, he resisted the urge to reign his aura in. It could be draining to do, and he knew Sam wouldn't care either way.

"Are we going to piss around or do you wanna get right to the good stuff?" She asked, never turning to look at him.

He snorted, giving her a sidelong glance. "The way you said that… it's almost like I actually had a choice."

"Thanks, I've been working on that one for about twenty minutes. So… How is it?"

Danny shrugged. "It's Valerie. But… there's something so different."

"Mmm. Maturity suits her." Sam agreed.

"It suits us all, I think." He pulled gently at the locket around Sam's neck, flashing her a teasing smile. "What about you? How's everything going with Raina?"

She swatted at his hand, but the grin that spread across her face ruined the effect a little. "Don't you try and distract me, we're talking about you. And Raina is still the best girlfriend anyone could ask for."

Danny pulled away. "What else do you want to know? Me and Val are getting along better than ever."

"It's more than that though," Sam leaned back against her palms, "Throughout dinner, while we were talking strategy, you guys kept looking over at each other, doing little signals. I noticed. So did Jazz. I don't know what's been going on, and frankly, it might not really be any of my business. But, you know, I was curious."

Danny gave her a confused look. "Signals?"

Sam looked over at him to gauge his expression. When she saw how genuine his confusing was, she gave a long suffering sigh. "You are so dense sometimes. So you guys just learned how to read each other's minds and you haven't even noticed?"

"I wasn't 'reading her mind'. She and I just have the most complete idea of what's going on. It's just a different level of understanding is all."

Sam raised a brow. "Uh huh. What about this big secret you guys are holding on to? Is that what you and Jazz were talking about earlier?"

Danny stared at her in shock. "What?! Me and Val don't… What makes you think we have some secret?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Chill Danny, you've never been able to hide things from me. Every once in a while one of you would start telling us about what's been going on, then you'd get to some point in the story where you stop, look at each other, and jump to some other point."

Danny frowned. "Jeez, really?"

"Yeah, really. So what is it?" She glanced behind them to make sure no one was around before dropping her voice to a whisper. "Are you guys having sex?"

"What?! No!" Danny's eyes shot over to the roof access, as if he expected Valerie to appear and slap the blue out of his eyes for allowing such a thing to be insinuated.

Sam giggled at his reaction. "Relax, it was just a question. I just thought with all the goo goo eyes-"

"Goo goo eyes?" Danny asked, turning to look at her again. "I have not been giving Val the goo goo eyes."

Sam gave him a skeptical look. "Whatever you say. So if it's not a torrid affair…?"

"It's nothing, Sam." He fiddled with his fingers in his lap. "She and I… We've just hashed out a lot of our old worries and problems and stuff. The gaps that you're referring to are just omissions of long talks."

Sam pursed her lips. "I'm not sure if you're telling me the truth. Which is fine." She stood, dusting off the back of her pants. "I shouldn't expect for you to tell me literally everything anymore. But I do want to make sure that you guys aren't doing something stupid."

"Something stupid?"

"I don't know if you've noticed this Danny, but sometimes you two try to out noble each other. Like a game of who can be the most tragic hero. I just want you guys to be safe. Sacrifice isn't always the name of the game, you know?"

Sam had always been one of Danny's favorite sources of wisdom. He didn't always ask for her opinion, but she was never afraid to offer it, and she tended to care about his well-being a little more than he himself did. He gave her as reassuring of a smile as he could manage.

"We're fine, Sam. Like I said, we've worked through a lot. We're… really ok. Promise." This much was genuine. Although the weapon had sat on their minds heavily, he couldn't help but feel like this level of trust between them had moved their relationship forward.

At the end of the day, it gave them both a little peace of mind.

Sam stared at him for a little longer before nodding. "I believe you Danny. You're an adult. You both are. Just… Be careful. Adult or not, you're dealing with more than most people do." She tucked her hands in her pockets, looking back up at the stars as her settled his gaze on her face.

"Do you ever miss it?" He asked. "Dealing with all this?" He didn't ask if she missed him, or them together. Even so, it felt a little like he was.

Sam pursed her lips in thought. "Sometimes… I wonder what it would've been like to stay. To keep doing this stuff. But I don't miss the past. It can stay there, and I'll always cherish it, but I don't miss it." She looked down at him. "Do you wish you did anything differently?"

Just as Danny was about to answer, the duo heard the roof access open, and Valerie stuck her head out from below. "There you are Danny." She grinned as she met his gaze. His heart fluttered as he returned the look. She looked over to Sam, who watched them with amusement clear on her face. "Hey Sam, you mind if I steal him away for some flying?"

Sam shrugged. "Not at all. Have fun." She began walking away when Danny tapped her leg. She stopped and looked back at him.

"To answer your question: No. No I don't." His eyes trailed back over to Valerie, who had climbed onto the roof and begun checking over her board.

Sam followed his gaze. "I'm glad. I hope it all works out for you."

He looked up at her, grinning. "Yeah, me too."

And with that, the best friends separated.

Don't worry, there's more interaction with the newly reformed team on it's way. I can't wait to continue, as the climax and the end are my absolute favorite parts of this story. I have planned and scrapped so many concepts, and I really look forward to how everyone will react when we finally see everything come together! I also want to shoutout to all of my new story followers I've gained recently! That was definitely due to a very kind tumblr post by MYRIAMSAVINIART, who recommended my story to any GrayGhost lovers out there! If you don't know of them, they have some AMAZING GrayGhost art holy cow. Please go check them out! Anyway, I don't really know what kind of timeline I'm looking at as far as updating again, but I'm really hoping it won't be nearly as long. I hope you loved it and feel free to review!