A/N: Man oh man friends, time flies! Life took over and I just didn't publish anything, despite having 5ish chapters ready. I am so sorry. But maybe this one will make up for it?

"Sam?"

Maddie answered the door to see Sam and her grandmother on the other side. She had not been expecting to see their intern again so soon.

"We don't really have anything for you to do today…" she said awkwardly, looking between the two ladies. "But it doesn't seem like you came to work?"

Seeing the confused look on Maddie's face, Sam quickly stepped forward.

"Sorry for coming so unexpected Mrs. Fenton, but we need your help."

"We?" Maddie asked, looking at Sarah.

"Oh, yea, sorry, this is my grandma, Sarah," Sam added, remembering that they hadn't met before.

A look of relief swept over Maddie's face as she gave a soft smile.

"Oh, of course! I should have known. She has your eyes! Come in, come in!" She gestured as the two women followed her in, not noticing the soft breeze that trailed behind.

When they had finally decided to visit the Fentons, Danny knew it wasn't the best idea to just show up on their doorstep. They had been searching for him for years, and he didn't want to shock anyone. But given that he was currently in a state of flux (could he even call it that?), he wasn't sure what else to do.

"Danny, there has got to be a way for you to revert back!" Sam exclaimed, finding it hard to believe she was even saying those words.

"I'm trying Sam, believe me, but so far I've got nothing." He sighed, frustrated with himself and his stupid black hair.

"Do any of your ghost abilities work?" Sarah asked, also finding her words unbelievable.

Danny turned to her and concentrated hard, trying to make his hands glow green with energy. Nothing.

He tried float up off the floor. Nothing.

He tried to phase through his bed. Nothing.

He tried to go invisible. BINGO! It worked; Sam and Sarah both began looking around the room for him.

"Danny!?"

He concentrated again and found himself switching back to normal.

"Well, at least one ability works…" Sam said, "And it's the one we need most."

"Yea, but it hurt my head to do it," Danny added with a bit of frustration in his voice.

"Well, I don't want you to hurt yourself, but do you think you can stay invisible long enough for us to talk to the Fentons and clear the air?"

"Or I could just wait somewhere and come in later…" Danny mumbled, not wanting to harm himself more.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to want to hear what they have to say…" Sam said, although she knew it wasn't the safest idea.

They all looked at each other, knowing that was really the only decent solution.

Danny finally nodded as the group turned to leave the room. It wasn't until after both ladies had left that Danny turned around and grabbed the forgotten amulet off the floor.

"You may be of some use to me yet," he said as he pocketed it once again.

"So what brings you here today?" Maddie asked, setting a tray of warm cookies on the table in front of them.

Maddie had retrieved Jack, and they were both sitting in chairs across from Sam and her grandmother on the couch. Sam looked hesitantly at the cookies, remembering the mess she had seen in the basement.

Noticing her hesitation, Jack chimed in, "Oh, don't worry! Maddie makes the best cookies, and not a trace of ectoplasm!" With that he grabbed five for himself.

Sarah smiled and took one herself before beginning the conversation.

"Well, I'm not sure if you saw the TV a few weeks back, but I'm sure by now you know that ghosts are starting to attack the city. It seems that Sam has been getting a bit of attention from them," Sarah said, not missing a beat.

Maddie looked at Jack, who raised an eyebrow, slowing down his chewing.

"Sam, if anything you've been doing with us is putting you in any real danger, we might have to end your time here," Maddie said simply.

'Not what I was hoping for,' Sam thought, trying to come up with a good excuse to continue the conversation.

'I was having ghost problems long before I met you guys.'

"That has nothing to do with it. I promise it has been nothing but fun helping you! It's just that all this information I've found out while working here has me wondering why they're coming back now."

'Good save!'

Jack smiled, actually knowing the answer to something this time.

"Well Sammy, we don't doubt that the opening of our portal has to do with most of it. After all, if you had a chance to explore a new world, wouldn't you?"

"Yes but…" Sam began.

But Jack kept on talking, so engrossed in the topic, he didn't realize how much information he could be giving up.

"But we're pretty sure that's not the only reason they're coming through. You see, we think someone is sending them to follow a trail, after someone or something specific. Trying to get that something to…"

Before he could finish, Maddie had stomped on his foot, giving him a glare.

"Jack…. Perhaps you should watch what you say," she mumbled with frustration.

Jack blushed as he looked at his wife. "Sorry Mads, you know how much I like to ramble about ghosts."

"Yes dear, but sometimes information needs to stay between us," she responded through gritted teeth.

"But Maddie, they need help. If we can't answer their questions, what good are we?"

'Someone is sending them? Could it be? Do they KNOW? I've dug pretty far into their computer and never even saw mention of Clockwork'

But before she could continue her thoughts, Sarah let out a small cough to remind the couple they had company, and Sam that there was important information to be heard.

Maddie turned to Sam, a small smile on her face.

"Sorry dear, but it's just that we've been studying these ghosts for so long, and have such a personal connection, you need to understand how hard it is for us to share these things. Even when the press wanted to report on our portal, it took a lot of convincing."

She put her arms across her chest to imply that she was done discussing this topic and ready to move on, but Sam wouldn't have it.

"I understand Maddie, but I think we could help each other here. I may have some… information… you could need," Sam continued, picking her words carefully, trying not to let on that she knew more than she should.

At that, Jack's eyes got bigger in anticipation of what Sam might say next.

Pushing her thoughts on Clockwork aside, she decided to start with a safe question.

"You've seen the one they call Phantom?" Sam said hesitantly, glancing at her grandmother, who gave an approving smile to continue.

Jack, who was already listening intently, perked up even more at this. "Well of course! He's all over the place, saving people!"

'Saving me…'

"We've been trying to get a closer look at him since he first appeared," Maddie added, a bit less excited than her husband, "but the best we've gotten is from the blurry TV photos. He seems to be hiding somewhere when he's not in action."

'I may know of a place.'

Sam's thoughts were starting to distract her. She knew what her mission had been, but now that the Fentons had gotten onto the subject, she wanted nothing more than keep Danny to herself.

'Selfish, selfish, selfish!'

"Sam!?"

Her grandmother's voice brought her back.

"Honey, they asked you a question…" Sarah said with a worried tone.

"Oh sorry, lost in thought… say that again?"

"What do you know about Phantom?" Jack asked.

Sam gulped, knowing it was now or never.

"Well, he saved me once…"

Despite the conversation slowly moving in the right direction, Danny couldn't stand it much longer: his head was starting to hurt. He'd known the risks when he volunteered to stay invisible and listen to the stories, but he hadn't expected that he would be in this much pain. Another few minutes and he was likely to blow his cover.

Looking around, he quickly found a doorway and wandered over. Making sure no one could see him, he made himself visible, all pain slowly leaving his head.

'Phew. That was close. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold onto this. I really hope we get some actual answers soon.'

He saw a small reflection of blue in a nearby table and knew that his eyes must have changed to match his humanly black hair. Worry rose in his stomach as he thought about the repercussions - . if he went invisible again, how long would he have before he would have to keep running to the other room?

'What's the point of me being in there if I have to keep running off!'

As if answering his question, his back pocket started to feel warm. Hesitant, he reached in and retrieved the medallion he had grabbed on his way out. It was glowing green again, and unlike last time, touching it with his hand sent a small shock through Danny's body.

A shock small enough to make him take a step back, his hands catching the metal table before he could fall.

Hoping no one had heard, he lifted himself up, medallion still in hand, but not without spotting his reflection in the shiny table. White hair, green eyes. Back to being a ghost then.

"You remember the incident at school? With all the meat?" Sam asked the Fentons.

"The first ghost to appear since Phantom, how couldn't we? We're just sad we didn't get the chance to beat Phantom to the punch and tear her apart molecule by molecule!" Jack said, his voice booming again.

Sam winced at this, she'd almost forgotten that part of the Fentons' job was to examine ghosts.

'If they so much as lay a finger on Danny I'll…'

Maddie saw Sam's wince and stepped in again.

"Sorry dear, we didn't mean to frighten you. Please, continue."

Sam sighed and slumped a bit before adding to her story.

"Well, remember the girl he saved? The one on the news? That was me…"

Jack and Maddie turned to each other, then back to the ladies across the table.

"I knew you looked familiar that day! Why didn't you tell us you'd met Phantom? We've been trying to examine him for weeks!"

"Jack, Maddie, it's not that easy to just tell someone you were saved by a ghost. Especially ghost hunters," Sam said rather defensively, looking again at her grandmother, who hadn't said a word this whole time.

With a puzzled look, Maddie began to say something in defense, but was interrupted.

"I think what my granddaughter means to say is that she barely knew you and didn't want you both jumping to the wrong conclusions, " Sarah said, a small quiver in her voice.

"Grandma's right. If I had told you from the start, my time here would have been about nothing more than you prying me for info. I really have enjoyed working with you, and I really am interested in learning from you. How could I do that if you only wanted information about Phantom?"

'Even though that's all I wanted…'

It seemed the Fentons couldn't speak; Sarah and Sam had taken the words right out of their mouths.

Sam was about to add to the conversation when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She tried to restrain a shriek.

"Shhhh Sam, it's just me," Danny whispered. "You need to make an excuse to go to the bathroom, right now!"

Sam had almost forgotten that Danny had been listening the whole time - he really was good at being invisible and silent.

Forgetting what she had planned to say, Sam instead got up. "I'm sorry, this is just really hard for me. I need a moment. Please, can I just use the bathroom?"

Still trying to figure out what was happening, Maddie motioned to the hallway.

After closing the door, Sam turned with gritted teeth.

"Ok Danny, what is going on?!"

Sam let out a small yip as he reappeared next to her in all of his ghostly glory.

"Danny!" she whispered loudly as not to be heard. "You're back!?"

"Well that's one way to put it." He sighed, moving further into the room. Sam followed so they could speak louder.

"But how?" she asked, examining him up and down once again, only now noticing the amulet around his neck.

Danny extended his hand and held it out, implying it was the cause of his return to his ghost form.

"That necklace? The one from the dragon?"

"I guess so yeah. Somehow it's feeding me energy, making me feel like a ghost again."

A smile slowly formed on Sam's face.

"This is great! Now we don't have to confess to the Fentons. Or worry about your powers acting up!" Sam said happily. "We can go back to the way things were!"

"Sam, stop. Listen. This… thing… it may be working now but who's to say it will continue? I can already feel my body pulling me back to humanity. I get the feeling this is a temporary fix."

Sam drooped, the hope she had briefly had gone.

"It's just, what the Fentons could do to you scares me. I've seen their lab and I know they're scientists, but the mention of tearing apart ghosts molecule by molecule has me worried."

Danny got closer to Sam, putting his gloved hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"I know. But you and me both know it's the only way. Plus, they've been searching for me their entire lives. They have photos on their computer of me, my sister, my parents. They have samples all over of what they think are clues to my disappearance. We can't let them keep guessing anymore."

He did make a good point, and as much as Sam wanted to argue, he was right. The Fentons, especially Jack, had been searching for a long time to find the ghost in front of her now. But something started to nag at Sam as he said those things.

"Wait, Danny? I never told you they had photos on their computer. Did you…?"

Despite being a ghost, Danny let a small blush form on his face.

"Of course! The night you left all that DNA in the lab! You saw those photos too?"

He nodded.

"You're not the only one researching the Fentons you know. Plus, it's pretty easy to sneak in when you're a ghost."

Sam smiled and looked at him again.

"Well what do you say? I think the sneaking is done. Ready to meet your family?"

Sarah knew Sam had other reasons for heading to the bathroom; she had felt a slight breeze as Sam walked away. But now she was alone with the Fentons, something she had never expected to happen.

She had to admit, it felt weird being face to face with the son of an old friend, yet feeling as though she didn't know him at all.

'I'm sorry I didn't come around sooner, I really should have when I moved back, Jack. I feel as though this is partially my fault…'

As if sensing Sarah's tension, Maddie found herself speaking up.

"Sarah, is it? You look familiar too. Have we met?"

Sarah didn't have an answer to that. Technically, they hadn't. But she was sure that in their research there were photos or some mention of her.

"It's… complicated…" Sarah sighed, trying to find the right words.

The couple turned to each other again, puzzled.

'Ok Sarah, just tell them. It's what you came for right?'

She let out a long breath before finally, "Jack, Maddie? I don't think I ever properly introduced myself. My name is Sarah Manson. I'm Sam's grandmother, yes, but I also used to know your mom. And your uncle."

"So YOU'RE the one in the photos. The childhood friend? Why didn't Mom ever mention you?" Jack asked, still stunned.

They were still in the living room, having spent the last few minutes allowing Sarah to fill them in on her past and the relationship she had with the family.

"Probably for the same reasons I never came around. We were trying to distance ourselves from the past, hoping it would all just go away," Sarah explained, a bit of sorrow in her voice.

Seeing the confusion on her husband's face, Maddie added, "Jack, you've got to remember how much your mom kept from you. For the longest time, you weren't even allowed in that basement." She put a hand on his shoulder as she said this.

He looked from Sarah to Maddie, still showing some disappointment. "I know Mads, but Mom loved talking about her childhood. I just can't believe she'd omit such an important part of it."

"Remember too, Jack, that it was me who ran away after her brother died. Me who let her get the way she got. As much as losing him broke her, I bet I broke her just as much for leaving," Sarah explained, sympathy in her voice.

Jack turned back to Sarah, a a scowl forming on his face.

"My mom didn't say much before she left this research to me, but the one thing she DID say was how broken she was when her brother died. And how alone she was."

His voice had a bit of anger in it this time, as if he was blaming Sarah for the pain his mother had endured.

"Jack, I'll have you know that I was just as broken as your Mom when he died, if not more so. He was my best friend and the love of my life, and walking across that graduation stage without him was the hardest thing I ever had to do. You have to understand, I needed to get away, escape, clear my head."

Sarah was annoyed now. She had known that facing the Fentons after all of this would be hard, but she had always thought they would show a bit more sympathy.

'Sam, get out of the bathroom and back me up here!'

"Oh I understand loud and clear! But for fifty years!? We've been trying to figure out all those old photos, the old stories, and the answer has lived across town!"

Maddie could tell her husband was about to lose it, and she didn't blame him. He was frustrated with the situation and just wanted answers. But she also knew that Sarah was not the proper one to provide them. While she did know his mom and uncle, she didn't know the kind of research that had been going on since she walked away.

Before Jack or Sarah could say anything else, she knew she needed to step in. Squeezing his shoulder, she said the only thing she could think of.

"Well, clearly the past has caught up to us." She paused, then added, "But why now?"

"I think I can answer that."

The whole group in the living room turned to the sound of a male voice coming from the hallway.

Danny watched as Jack and Maddie Fenton's eyes got wide before he stepped into the room, Sam following silently.

A/N: And there you have it. It took 20 chapters, but they have finally come face to face. What happens next? I guess we'll find out soon!

~Lisa