A/N: And now for the bold and hillarious thermos scene! I don't really like his dream at the beginning. Anyone have any ideas for a different one?

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Danny saw the beam coming right at him, but he couldn't dodge it. The blast hit him hard in the chest, and he was thrown out of the shield protecting them from the ghost zone around the town. He was falling, spinning in the ghost zone surrounded by enemies, but he was too weak to fight them off. He closed his eyes, willing defeat to come soon.

He sat up straight then gripped his chest, groaning. "Ow," he muttered then stood.

His boots, shirt, and jacket were over on a chair. He recognized the room he was in as one of the many guest rooms in Sam's house. There was a white bandage wrapped around his chest; he'd been hit pretty hard.

He pulled his shirt back on and slipped on his boots before putting his jacket on over everything. He glanced at a mirror on his way out; he didn't even look like himself anymore.

The place was quiet and looked empty; he guessed Sam's parents had probably escaped as quickly as they could, but Sam would never leave. This was her home now, and she had always helped Danny defend it. The familiar pang of guilt spiked through him as he walked outside.

"Are you going to disappear again?"

He turned. Sam was sitting on a porch swing nearby with her knees pulled up to her chest. (She's wearing jeans. There's no way you could do that in the skirt she wears while still being modest. After all, at this part in the story Danny's still just her best friend.) Her eyes were red and puffy, which shocked Danny. Sam wasn't one to cry, and she'd even stopped herself from crying in the box ghost's lair. He answered her question with a simple shake of his head, unable to speak. She stood and hugged him, which he returned in surprise.

"I really missed you," she whispered, her eyes closed and her head resting on his shoulder.

"I missed you too." He could feel his ears reddening.

"I'm glad your back, Danny."

He grinned, and he was glad she couldn't see it. "Me too."

"So, are you staying for good now or what?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, I owe you guys that much," Danny replied.

Sam was setting drinks on the table between them. (I know with all that danger around them they still have time for a nice little drink and chat with friends. :D) "Maybe when you're feeling better we can take you to see your family."

"But what about—" Tucker stopped talking when Sam stomped hard on his foot. "Ow! Uh, yeah, maybe."

"What aren't you guys telling me?" Danny took a sip from his soda, looking between his friends curiously.

"We'll tell you later," Sam lied.

"Hey, you didn't turn ghost not even once last night," Tucker said. "How'd you do that?"

Danny shrugged. "Practice. What do you think I did during those six years?"

"I can think of a few things I would do." Tucker leaned on his hand, a dreamy look in his eyes. "Imagine the rest of your teen life without your parents."

Sam "accidentally" hit Tucker in the head with a plate. "Oops." She was thinking of quite a few things she was sure Tucker would've liked to do. She only hoped Danny hadn't. (Yes, nasty minds. I'll just let you guys run wild with that.)

"I'm sorry to interrupt your adorable little chit chat here, but we've got bigger problems," Vlad called as he flew by.

Danny rolled his eyes. "I can't leave them by themselves for even a second." He stood warily, still sore from his earlier fight, and grabbed a Fenton Thermos.

"We'll come with you." Sam stood, pulling Tucker up by the back of his shirt. "You'll need our help."

The three of them followed the ghosts to an area with skeleton ghosts. They managed to get most of them, but the lone survivor was stubborn. Danny opened the thermos, but nothing happened.

"Not again!" he groaned, shaking it before turning it to face him. It snapped on just then, and he was sucked inside.

Sam and Tucker stared as the thermos clattered to the floor. The skeletal survivor cackled in glee then stopped as the thermos returned to life, and Danny was released.

"That was really stupid," he said before throwing an ectoplasmic bomb at the skeleton. "Should've thought of that earlier." The skeleton was blown to pieces.

"I've never seen you end up in your own thermos before," Sam said. Tucker was rolling on the floor laughing.

"Yeah, I've done that a couple of times now." Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "That thing is not a fun place to be in."

"Danny!" He was suddenly thrown forward, nearly landing on Sam, as someone ran into the back of him, hugging him tightly.

"Ow," he grunted.

"Hey, Jazz, we found your brother for you," Sam said absolutely unnecessarily.

"Where have you been?" Jazz demanded, hugging her brother all the more tightly.

"In the last few days? Sam's house, the Box Ghost's Lair, and inside a Fenton Thermos. Get off of me!" he muttered.

Jazz released him, and Sam helped him up. "He got a little kicked around by the Fright Knight," Sam explained.

Danny didn't even want to know how Jazz knew he had ghost powers.

"I had to tell Mom about your powers," Jazz said. "It made her feel a little better knowing you had a way to protect yourself where ever you went."

"So I guess I should go and explain myself."

"Before she makes you full ghost? Yeah."

"Okay, I'll meet you there." Danny turned ghost and flew away.

"Thanks for offering to take me too!" Jazz yelled before stomping off.

A/N: Ah, yes the wonders of sibling-hood. I myself have a younger sister and a little "brother". He's actually our 2 year old boxer puppy, but he's the only brother I'm going to get so… But he's cute.