"Dad, you know I don't like being near the lab while you're experimenting," Danny said nervously, eyes darting around.
"It'll only take a second," his father said brushing him off.
Maddie gave her son a reassuring smile. "It won't hurt you sweetie," she told him.
"Okay Danny, come watch," Jack called. Apprehensively, Danny came over, still looking jittery. "So a while back, I was working on something called the Ecto-Dejecto - a no-go serum that makes ghost powers fade away like a raisin in the sun." Danny stiffened, looking to his Mom for assistance. She merely smiled at him. "But I couldn't get the formula right." He moved the needle toward a small ghost in the container, suddenly looking up at his son. "Do you trust me?"
Danny stared at the resolved eyes of his father before nodding, swallowing nervously as he watched the dish.
Jack injected the substance in the ghost, it shrivelled up for a second before the ghost started to grow large. "Maddie - containment, Danny - mind helping me out?"
Danny transformed wordlessly, picking up the raging, much larger ghost from jumping toward his Dad and throwing it in the large containment container in the middle of the lab. It was full. Realizing it would bust open at any point, he froze the door solid, trapping the ghosts for a little while longer. He turned to his father irately, watching as the man grinned from ear to ear. "So it's the opposite?"
"Darn right it's the opposite!" Jack replied, punching the air in triumph. "And it's worked like this for a long as I can remember. You think it'd help?"
Danny let go of his ghost half with a confused frown. "Help with what? Making the ghosts harder to fight right away?"
Maddie chuckled softly. "No sweetie, he meant help Danielle."
Danny stopped, looking between his parents with wide eyes. "You want to help Danielle?" he asked bewildered.
Jack huffed exasperatedly. "Of course we do; we haven't forgotten what she did last summer. She's a Fenton too."
Danny broke out in a smile. "Yeah, I think it might." He gave his father a hug. "Thanks Dad."
Maddie watched them with affectionate eyes. "Now all you need to do is find her," she said. Danny turned to her as he released his father. "So then she can live here."
She wasn't prepared for how quickly he moved toward, nor the ferocity of his hug. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion.
She smiled into his hair. "You said she deserved to have a normal life," she told him softly. "Now she can have one - if she wants to that is." She turned to the clock with a small frown. "You wanted to take patrol tonight, still up for it?"
Danny broke away, rubbing his face. "Yeah," he said with a grin. "Can't wait to tell Sam and Tucker too!"
Both parents watched him transform a second time, flying upward and out of the lab. Maddie gave her husband a kiss on the cheek. "Nice job," she praised. "Two skeletons down -"
"About a hundred to go," Jack finished. "Eventually, he'll open up to us. I think this is a good start."
Maddie smiled. "Me too."
I originally thought of 11 of these little drabbles so for now these will be marked as "complete." Will I continue them? Probably - there's so many things to play around with here! Do I have a timeline? Absolutely not. Feel free to suggest a scene for me to try writing and I'll get to it when I can!
Thanks for all the favourites, follows and reviews for this story! Truly means a lot! I'm a bit behind on replying to reviews, but know they're coming!
If your want to read more in this universe, I'd suggest Making the Grade (complete) or Out of Time (in progress). Otherwise - see you in another one!
MATW