A/N: How ya'll doing? Please be easy on me guys, I'm trying my best to not do school work right now. I'm trying to stay sane during this quarantine deal that's going on. Tell me what ya'll think! The angst is here and the angst is only going to keep going. I love that genre. Don't hate me.

Cover photo is credited to: krossan/art/Parody-491438884

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Chapter 1:

Jack watched as Maddie packed up the last of the boxes. She directed the moving people on which boxes to take first. He stood silently in the back of the living room where the barren couch was. The decorative pillows were all hers, except for a pillow that he was embroidering himself. That was the only pillow left on the couch. "Madds…" He trailed out, trying to get her to look at him.

She ignored him and did one last scan around the room, not even looking in his direction. If she did happen to look at him, then she looked right through him instead. Hastily she walked into the kitchen and opened up the cupboards quickly. Not even a hint of glassware was left – after all, most of it she had picked out. The kitchen was another area that was quite spacious, except for the appliances that she didn't want to take with her.

The fridge, the stove, and the microwave were all left behind. Maddie walked out of the kitchen and back to the living room. She bent down and wrote on the cardboard box in front of her. Jack was looking at her with half-lidded eyes – still not believing that this entire thing was happening.

Jazz walked down the stairs with the last box from her room. Danny walked down after her with a frown on his face. Her brother always walked quietly, but lately it felt as though he wasn't even walking on the ground at all – she could never hear his footsteps anymore. "So much for mom and dad not getting a divorce…" He commented lightly, although it was meant to come out as a joking tone, Jazz stilled at his words.

"I was wrong," Jazz commented very quietly that Danny had to strain to hear it, even with his enhanced senses. Her hair had fallen in front of her face, and she descended the last step slowly. She walked over to the open front door where the rest of the boxes were piled up. Danny slowly stepped down the last stair and let out a small exhale. "I never thought that they would…" She trailed, closing her eyes in disbelief, but also to stop the tears from leaking. She turned to her younger brother and opened them up.

He could see that this was killing her.

Her eyes were still watery.

It was killing him, too – but he needed to stay strong. Inside, his obsession for protecting his family was crumbling. He couldn't protect a family that was splitting up. "Yeah, I know," he commented and crossed his arms. Jazz noticed how he trembled slightly – and she understood that he was hurting as well.

"If only dad had found that present…"

"Or if I could have gotten it faster…" Danny snarled quietly. He remembered that he had been about two hours late with the present delivery, and by that time his aunt had already convinced his mom that she didn't need his dad. It was too late, and he had so many regrets. If he had been smarter in Walker's prison and acted more quickly, then maybe his parents wouldn't be getting a divorce.

Once again it showed that he didn't know anything about his ghost powers.

Some hero he was…

"Danny…" Jazz walked over to her brother and pulled him into a hug. "It's not your fault." He wanted to open his mouth and tell her that it was – that he could have prevented all of this. But, he stayed quiet and returned the hug hesitantly. "I'm not sure when we will see each other again, little brother."

"Jazz," Maddie said, walking into the entranceway of the house form the living room. Jack was keeping his distance and hadn't said anything more to the woman. Jazz pulled away from her brother and looked up at her mom and nodded once. "Danny," his mother walked over to him and rubbed the side of his face lovingly with her thumb. "Are you sure you don't want to come with your mother?"

This wasn't the first time that she had done this – she tried to convince him to change his mind multiple times before the divorce had been finalized. "I have to stay here and look after dad," he answered, and Maddie's eyes became distant. She pulled away from him and took a few steps back. "I'll visit you when you find a place and settle down, mom."

"I would like that, Danny," his mom responded with a warm smile. She then turned to Jack and looked at him coldly. The man looked down at the ground in remorse. "Take care of him," she said, and after taking a couple of steps near the front door, she glared back at him. "At least remember to do that," she spat out. She picked up her purse from the side table by the door and walked out the door.

She abandoned the house that she had lived in for almost twenty years.

She didn't look back.

Jazz walked over to her father and gave him a hug. As if waking up from a dream, he returned the hug with a thin smile. "Bye Jazzy-pants," they pulled away and she turned towards the door. This was hard – she would always wake up with her father greeting her a good morning. Tomorrow when she woke up, it would just be her and her mother.

"Bye, dad. I'll call you when I have the time," she walked over to the front door and looked back at her brother. "Bye, Danny," she waved at her brother. He waved back, and watched the moving people take the last box. The men closed the door behind them, and with that his mother and sister had moved out of the house. It was silent, and Danny felt the atmosphere become heavy.

Danny spared a glance over towards his father to find tears falling down his cheeks. His large arm was covering his face as he silently wept. Not being able to keep standing up, he fell to the ground, which caused Danny to run over to his father who was in distress. "Dad!" He yelled, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dad, it's going to be okay."

"I'm such a screw up!" Jack looked up at his son. The teen stilled at that, and felt his guilt return ten-fold. "If I had never lost that gift! If-If she had seen that I…!" His voice broke as he looked down at the ground and continued to sob. Danny continued to stand but then he, too, dropped to the ground.

It was his fault – he had accidentally bumped the present into the ghost zone. He hadn't been fast enough to get it back, and now…

Danny shook as well, but this time with fear and anxiety. There was a ton of regret that he was experiencing. For a split second he lost control of his ghost powers, and he could feel his body become weightless.

He unwillingly fell through the floor.

When he emerged in the lab, he slammed his back hard against a table that was positioned in the middle of the room. He let out a groan and then rolled off the table. His ribs were bruised, but the hurt that he was experiencing didn't compare to what his father was currently dealing with. He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth to prevent himself from letting out another groan.

Out of all the times for his powers to act up – now was not a great time.

Maybe his dad didn't notice he was gone?

"Danny?!" Jack asked, as the teen could hear his father thumping around upstairs. Danny's eyes widened, and he felt his heart leap up into his throat. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain this one – how could he?

Yeah, dad, when you weren't looking I phased through the floor into the basement because I'm half ghost and can't control my powers all the way…

Danny rolled his eyes, he was there that explanation would go over spectacularly well.

"Danny-boy?!" Jack's tone was scared, and Danny felt terrible. His father couldn't handle another person leaving him. The man's mental state was beyond fragile. The teen was wondering if his father could even handle the truth that half-ghosts exist right now. "Where are you, son?" His booming voice came as he opened up the basement door and turned on the lights.

Danny still was having a hard time trying to come up with an excuse that would work. He blinked his eyes and started to hyperventilate. He wasn't coming up with anything! He looked around as he heard his father come down the stairs with heavy footsteps.

When he met eye contact with his father, who looked beyond confused on what had happened, he opened his mouth to hopefully come up with a lie. He had gotten very good at coming up with excuses, but for some reason…

"I'm a half-ghost," Danny sputtered out just as Jack stepped off the last step. His father looked at him with wide eyes, and Danny also had wide eyes. He had no idea why he just said the truth so candidly. The teen looked up to gauge his father's reaction, and it almost seemed as if the man couldn't handle what was happening. He gripped the railing of the stairs before he fell again from overwhelming emotions.

Danny scratched his head. "Dad?" He whispered, and Jack seemed to return back to reality and look at his son for the first time. "Uh…" Danny trailed out, taking a cautious step forward. "Uh, yeah, what do you…" He cleared his throat. His father was silent during this entire one-sided conversation.

Danny was having a hard time on what to do – should he run for the hills, or would his father accept him?

Jack brought a hand to his face and started to laugh. "This is why our inventions keyed onto you…" He trailed quietly, and then he started to chuckle. "Why?"

"Why…?" Danny trailed nervously, not sure on where he was going.

Jack stood up and walked to his son. "Why didn't you tell us – me – sooner?" He grabbed the teen and embraced him tightly. Danny's eyes widened, he was not expecting this type of reaction. He imagined that his father would take some time to adjust to everything.

Especially when his mom and sister moved out.

About thirty minutes ago.

Then having the 'your son is a half ghost' being dropped on him on the same day…

"You must have felt alone, Danny-o. We…" Jack stated again and then shook his head. "No, I…I was hunting you. I didn't know. I wanted to…" He struggled to say the words and then pulled away from his son. "My god I wanted to dissect you and study you…I…" He let out a shaky breath. "I'm a terrible father," he avoided eye contact with his son. He was too ashamed of his past actions to even look at the teen's face. He shook his head, "You should have went with your mother."

"Dad!" Danny yelled, causing his dad to look at him suddenly. "That's not true and you know it. You aren't a terrible father…" The teen then rubbed the back of his neck. "Besides, you and mom both wanted to do that," he joked lightly.

Jack stared at him with a look of torment in his eyes. His father was mentally kicking himself that he tried to hurt his son. "I pointed a gun at you. I pointed a gun at my own son!" He looked away and gripped the steel table in the middle of the room harshly. His knuckles turned white as he struggled to not break down right then and there. "That's not father of the year." Danny placed his hand on his father's arm. "I wouldn't have trusted me. I would have…would have hated my father."

"I don't hate you, dad. I forgive you," Danny smiled at him, causing his father to smile slowly back at him. Jack backed away from the table, and Danny placed his arms by his sides. "But uh, little secret, I can't control my powers all the time."

"Is that why you fell through the floor?" Jack asked and then let out a gasp. "Danny, your back-!" He turned his son around and lifted up his shirt so he could make sure he wasn't hurt. There was a slight discoloration of where he hand landed, but it was slowly returning back to its normal color. "That…You…" He took a step back. "Impossible…"

Danny turned around to face his dad while pulling his shirt down. "I heal really quickly…" He trailed, and then rose an eyebrow in confusion. "I think?" He let out a shrug. "I'm still getting a handle on this half-ghost stuff. I don't have a lot to go on."

Jack was stunned. "How…How often do you get hurt?"

"Uh…" Danny trailed, and thought for a few seconds on what to say. He shouldn't tell his father that he basically knows how to do first aid to fix his injuries. He definitely shouldn't tell him that every time he goes out to fight he gets a nasty gash that leaves a faint scar after it heals. "Not often," he lied, waving off the question with his hand.

His father looked at him, as if sensing the lie. "Danny…I can tell that you want to protect Amity Park, and that even if I tell you not to, you will still fight ghosts." He walked around the lab and then began to start cleaning up the spare parts and putting them in buckets. "The only way that I can protect you is by helping you."

"Dad-!"

"This isn't negotiable," Jack reprimanded, causing Danny to shrink back. "I'm going to start studying ghosts and not hunting them. I need to make sure that you will be safe the only way that I know how…" He turned around and smiled at his son warmly. "I'm going to help you."

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that!" Danny grinned. "Welcome to Team Phantom, dad!"

Jack frowned. "Isn't it Team Invisobil?"

"It's definitely not – I'm hoping that Phantom will stick eventually," Danny let out a small shiver at the name. Jack let out a booming laugh, and for a second it almost seemed like the divorce didn't happen, and that his father was back to normal.

"Alright, son, show me what you can do!" Jack said, taking out a chair from a nearby desk and sitting on it. He crossed his arms, and Danny looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "We need to have a starting point to focus on and to train. The better you are at your powers, the less that I need to worry!" He grinned and leaned forward.

Danny smiled with determination and let the white rings appear.

His father was in awe the whole time and could barely contain his excitement.

It seemed that now that his father learned about his secret, he wasn't thinking about the divorce any longer. Danny couldn't help but think how great of an idea it had been to tell his dad his secret, even if it wasn't planned at all.

Things could only go uphill from here.

To be continued…