Her brother continued to be an enigma.
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a clunky reference to last year's history exam. She'd gotten an A+. She'd tried to help Danny study. He'd turned her down, of course.
Not "of course". That was expecting the worst. The fact that he had (since she realized he was Phantom and may need help maintaining his grades) turned down 89 separate offers for help didn't mean he wouldn't accept it next time. A shortcoming of hers- Rather, a pattern of behavior she had that she was aware of and working to improve, was moving from small suggestions that she was available for assistance whenever he needed it, towards being what could be considered... Overbearing. Depending on her own anxiety.
It wasn't a helpful behavior. It was rooted in a place of kindness, of course; Danny appeared to place great value on using his time in service of others, so in theory, he should respond well to acts of service in others. Helpful people react positively to helpful people, in other words. But there were boundaries, and perhaps crossing those did more damage than she was aware. It made sense, in a way, that he would try to keep her at a distance. He hadn't known for months that she had known his secret. In reality, she had known he was Danny Phantom longer than she hadn't, if her theory as to the origin of his condition was accurate, ie. the portal incident.
But there was no way to know for certain. He hadn't brought it up. It wasn't as though she felt betrayed, he had every right to keep his own secrets, and she certainly wouldn't have been the one to press the issue.
...Would he have ever told her? Or was this always going to require some kind of catastrophe?
No, no, not a helpful thought. Hypothetical scenarios were a destructive form of unreality, especially when they were focused on the behavior of others rather than the self. The fact was, he had trusted her enough to bring her into his confidence in a time of need, and she was going to do her utmost to help him now that he was letting her. 90th time's the charm, as her father might say.
Jazz chuckled slightly at the thought and finally dropped the textbook she'd been unsuccessfully reading onto her bedside table. When she sat up on the edge of the bed she was hit with a sudden head rush and almost decided to just lie back down for a while longer. After Danny had left the previous night, she'd slept relatively little. The bottle of Zaleplon on her desk had tempted her briefly around 2 am, but drowsiness was a risk she couldn't afford right now. What if, what if, what if.
This really would be a lot easier if Danny would tell their parents.
Again, it was his secret to tell, but this could be all over in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks. Perhaps there was value in making their parents like Phantom as a person before they knew it was Danny, but he seemed to be chronically underestimating how accepting people would be of his... Full identity? (Perhaps that was the best way to describe it. Note to self, research preferred terminology for other teenage identity issues.)
She heard raised voices from the kitchen and sighed, slowly getting to her feet. The other distinct possibility is that Danny was using control over the knowledge of his identity to feel in control of his situation. She could hardly speculate, or perhaps she could only speculate, exactly how taxing his dual life really must be for him. Information control might be his way of achieving some degree of psychological safety when physical safety wasn't a given.
And people who felt suddenly out of control tended to lash out.
The words were perfectly clear as soon as she was in the hallway.
"—can't believe I said it, it's a ridiculous notion on the face of it!"
"It's not the worst idea you've ever had baby, I dunno what the issue is."
Jazz tip-toed across the hall and opened Danny's door just a crack. His bed was already empty. He must be downstairs. She shut it as silently as she could, and made her way to the railing overlooking the living room cautiously.
"The issue is that Phantom acts too human. It's impossible to be objective! He's one of the most powerful ghosts we've recorded and all he has to do is look frightened and the only thing I can see is..." Her mom paused for a moment. Another, more important note to self; find out what frightened Danny. Hopefully, it was nothing... Immediately threatening.
"Is what?" Dad was quiet, a tone of voice he rarely used in front of his children. When they argued in front of her and Danny, he was usually all bluster and ridiculous ideas. Sometimes it was hard to tell how much he genuinely believed and how much was meant to be a joke for their benefit. This was different; Jazz leaned over the railing a bit to hear them better.
"...all I can see is a teenager. And it's dangerous, Jack, you know that as well as I do. He could level the city if he felt like it."
"But he hasn't, Mads. That's what makes it a good idea. It's safer for everyone."
"Jack, you cannot honestly be telling me that you think Phantom's presence in our children's' lives could be construed as positive, can you?"
"Well, you said it yourself. Maybe having friends is stabilizing him. Think about it this way; out of all the times he's been spotted around people, how many do we know were negative?"
"Just the two, but—"
"Just hear me out here, that's only two out of a few dozen files, right? I've been thinking for a while that those might be anomalies, with an external cause, and—"
"You can't be serious. It's a ghost, Jack, their baseline is death and destruction. How could it be otherwise?" Oh, if only she knew. Did she talk like this around Danny...? Actually, silly question. She definitely talked like that around Danny. Jazz frowned at the thought. It couldn't be good for his self-confidence.
Her dad had other ideas, anyway. "Maybe that cause was social! He fought with his friends. Fell out with them. Something like that. It's only a theory at this point, but my gut tells me that trying to take away his social network will do more harm than good, especially after how testy he got when I started asking him about it."
"I just... Can't conceive of any day where I would feel secure letting our children around that... That..."
"Mads, I don't think we've always got a choice. They're teenagers now. We've got to let them make their own decisions sometimes, don't we?"
They were both quiet for a while after that. Jazz made a point of stepping back to her bedroom door, and opening and closing it a little more loudly. She walked down the stairs like she was still half-asleep and affected a yawn as she reached the kitchen. It reeked of strong coffee. "Morning mom, morning dad."
They were both standing awkwardly near the sink.
"...busy morning?"
"We've been keeping... Occupied, yes," her mother said carefully.
Jazz tried to chuckle lightly. "Right, of course, chasing ghosts. I understand."
Mom and dad exchanged glances, which she pretended not to notice as she poured a bowl of cereal. Wordlessly, she sat back down at the table, and both her parents eventually drifted to it as well, not wanting to hover. There were already two plates of half-finished toast and congealing eggs; presumably, they'd started arguing over breakfast.
A thought struck her. She should really check in on Danny, and make sure he ate something down there. "That reminds me, are you guys still thinking about us taking that uh, big road trip next week?"
Blank looks in response. They'd definitely forgotten.
Dad recovered first. "Oh! Right. The road trip. Sorry Jazzypants, we've been so caught up in—"
"You aren't thinking about canceling it, are you? Um... Danny and I have been really looking forward to it."
He looked at mom deferentially. "Jazz, sweetie..."
"Come on, mom, we've only got so many summers to do trips like this!" Under any other circumstances, Jazz would have felt bad about digging into her mother's insecurities about her children growing up too fast. This was an exceptional case. "It would really mean a lot to both of us if we could spend time with you."
"Honey..." Mom bit her lip. Maybe just a bit further.
"Please? The ghosts will be here when you get back."
"Oh, fine." Mom actually smiled as she said it. "There's just one thing we need to do first—"
"Yes! And that's buy camping supplies! There's that tent sale on at RV Equipment Inc., right? And I think it ends today. Oh look at the time, the mall even just opened! I guess you'd better get going right away, huh? ...And maybe not be back for, say, two hours?"
"...of course, sweetie." The smile was a bit strained and she was getting a weird look from dad, but they didn't argue.
Jazz was beaming. Mission accomplished.
"—change your mind, it's on the table."
"I mean, I'll definitely take the coffee. Did you add milk?"
"As if I'd forget that a second time."
"Hey, I already apologized for the pillow incident! And it was like 6 in the morning, I'm pretty much awake now."
"Good, it's almost noon. Are you sure you don't want the sandwich?"
"Nah, I'm good. I've been skipping lunches anyway."
"What? Didn't you tell them that you need to eat?!"
"No, but I don't get that hungry spending all day like this. It's a ghost thing I guess."
"Huh. Neat."
"...I still can't get over how ok with all of this you are."
"Hey, I've had plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that this might happen someday. It's turned out a little bit different from the actual plan I drew up, but—"
"Wait, you've planned for this?"
"Did you not? ...Nevermind, I forgot who I'm talking to. Yes, I put together a couple of contingency plans in the last few months. I thought it would be best to be prepared in case mom and dad were a bit less understanding."
"Ok, wow. Now I've gotta know, what's the craziest thing you planned for?"
"They're not 'crazy', they're prudent. When I realized Amity Park's best ghost hunters might actually catch Danny Phantom one day, I knew I should plan for anything. And given the circumstances..."
"Point taken. So in your highly professional opinion, what was the least likely thing you planned for?"
"...ok, so, if they took you in the Fenton Blimp— Hey, don't make that face, I'm serious! What if they tried to... I don't know what I thought they would do, but what if they wanted to get away from Amity Park and still have access to lab equipment? They'd take the blimp."
"Thanks for thinking of me, I guess. Even if that would literally never happen in a million years."
"Happy to help. Somebody's got to do the planning around here, right?"
"..."
"..."
"...since Spectra, huh?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, her creepy little... The name started with a 'B', was it 'Butler Ghost'? When we were attacked at the pharmacy that time, remember you tried shoving me at your friends as a distraction?"
"Listen, I was under a lot of pressure that week."
"Hey, I'm not complaining. You beat them in the end, right? But I saw you in the alley right before you fought off the Butler Ghost."
"And, what, your first response was to trust Danny Phantom?"
"My first response was to trust my brother. And Sam and Tucker have good judgment too, they would have told me if something was wrong with you."
"I thought you seemed a little, uh. Non-terrified, when you ran away from me later."
"Really? I thought I was a pretty good actor."
"...seriously?"
"Hey, you didn't figure out that I knew, did you? I even managed to keep mom and dad off your case. For the most part, anyway. But aside from the one slip-up with the Fenton Ghost Weasel, I kept a pretty tight lid on it ever since Spirit Week!"
"That's the thing! Spirit Week, that was in like, November. So you seriously knew about me almost the whole time?"
"I figured you'd talk when you were ready. That's still an open offer, by the way. You can talk to me about anything."
"Time and a place, Jazz."
"Right, I guess. ...But I worry you might be bottling up a lot of stress, with all the ghost fights on top of—"
"Are you kidding? Misplaced aggression is 90% of how I get through those fights."
"I'm being serious."
"You're always being serious. That's your problem."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We're teenagers! Even if you're 16 and 'practically an adult' or whatever. Don't you ever want to act like a kid again? What with this rush to be all mature and stuff? Eventually, you're gonna actually be an adult, and then..."
"...and then?"
"Don't you ever worry about college? And getting a job?"
"All the time. You don't think I study for fun, do you?"
"Come on, we both know you can get into any school you want. I'm surprised they haven't started sending out recruiters. But once you're there, you're an adult for real. You'll have responsibilities and stuff. You won't be able to, I dunno, hang out or go to a movie with friends, because you'll have to deal with... Everything. Taxes and junk I guess."
"'Taxes and junk'?"
"Whatever, I don't know what adults do all day."
"I don't feel like we're really talking about me going to college here."
"Huh?"
"I'm just saying. I'm not the only one who can't goof around all day, am I?"
"But with me it's different. I'm the only one who can protect Amity Park, I have to do what I do. If I don't, people could actually... Get hurt."
"I'm the only one who can live my life, too. That's literally what life is. We've all got people who count on us. We all have struggles. Maybe they're not all the same, but maybe they're not all different, right?"
"...how do you make everything sound deep?"
"It's an older sibling skill."
"That's not a thing..."
"Pfft, ok, maybe not. But my point stands. Even if I'm not going through, uh, exactly what you're going through, you really can always talk to me about it. I don't mind listening. I even promise I won't try to solve all your problems."
"...ok, fine. Maybe. But on one condition."
"What's that?"
"Can you try to open up with me too? I don't always need a psychologist. Sometimes I just need a... Hey, is that thing running?"
"Wait, is it? Oh shoot, I clipped it with the plate—"
"Jazz, shut it off!"
"Which button turns it off?"
"Has it seriously been recording this whole time?"
"Dang it, which one is rewind?!"
"We can figure that out in a second, just stop it first!"
"...Danny, do you hear the RV?"
"Oh f—"
The tent sale at RVEI had ended the previous week, and they had to pay $5 for parking at the upmarket mall downtown. Overall, Maddie's mood was soured toward camping by the time they had returned, but helpfully Jack had offered to organize all their camping supplies in the shed.
It gave her time to think.
She made a beeline for the lab instead.
There was a time for thought, and there was a time for action. She knew that. She and Jack exerted moderating influences on each other, Jack's drive to act counterbalancing her need/desire for planning. Perhaps it's useful to have somebody willing to shout "banzai" and smack the 'On' button, or you'll just build and tweak forever, without actually accomplishing anything.
Not that they were caricatures. Jack had proved as much lately, becoming more thoughtful about their approach, the exact opposite of the guns-blazing attitude he'd held toward their subject for most of the time they'd been observing him. But without his influence as a moderator, they'd spent 3 days politely talking to a ghost, and what had they learned? This had to stop, and apparently, it was going to fall on her to do that. She was going to go down there and tell Phantom—
Jazz was downstairs.
Maddie stopped abruptly on the landing. Jazz was walking between a lab bench and the containment unit holding a plate. Seeing Maddie enter, she stopped abruptly, the plate sliding out of her hand and landing on the floor in a clash of shattering ceramic, sending what looked for all the world like a corned beef sandwich tumbling into its component pieces across the tile.
"We're back—"
"NOTHING."
Maddie frowned and Jazz blushed heavily. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Phantom float to the far end of the containment unit, looking between the two of them. They were clearly up to more than 'Nothing'. She sighed.
"Jasmine Fenton, what are you doing down in the lab? You know it's not safe down here."
Annoyingly, Jazz looked toward Phantom before replying. His slight shrugging gesture wasn't lost on her.
"I um... I wanted to talk to Phantom about his... Psychological welfare."
That made logical sense. Jazz had always taken more of an interest in (what she termed) exopsychology than any other aspect of their ghost research. Of course, she wouldn't pass up a chance to actually evaluate Phantom given the circumstances.
But she also wasn't one to hesitate when talking about her areas of interest.
"I see. And the plate...?"
"Oh, that, I brought lunch for Phantom. I wasn't sure if ghosts ate or not." A chuckle. A little too short, a little too high pitched.
"Of course. I'll clean this up sweetie, why don't you head upstairs?"
One more glance at Phantom. Their eyes met for a moment. What were they communicating in that look? And then they looked back at her. "Sure thing mom, sorry about the mess." Ten steps to the top. She'd taken the stairs two at a time.
Maddie busied herself cleaning up the mess, emptying the dustpan into the container for organic waste by her lab bench. The tape in the machine was getting low. Odd.
In the containment unit, Phantom was still pressed into a corner. It– He hadn't said a word since she'd entered the basement.
And he was holding another cup of coffee.
"...I hope you keep in mind what we talked about, Phantom."
"...What's that?"
Maddie set the broom and dustpan down, leveling a gaze at him. He shrank back further into the corner.
"Trust is a two-way street."
Author's Note: It's been a while. I've been quite busy with The Dead of Winter, which is a horror story wholly unrelated to The Phantom Report. Which means I can deal with writer's block on the former by working on the latter! Eight days of that later, hey, presto, an update.
Shout-out to the Guest reviewer who liked the Jazz & Danny content. Here's more of that.