A/N: holy… O.o I just put the first chapter up and within two hours I've had 3 reviews! Thank you to Allie Phantom, dessyweird51 and at-a-glance for reviewing! Edit: Also thanks to Misstress of Darkness, PotterPhan21, Fantomgirl 1 on 1, Mysterious-Phantom, katiesparks and shadowspinner1! This chapter's soundtrack song is "The Universe & U" by KT Tunstall.
When Sam was alive she had made Danny and the rest of his family, most of whom had known for a while, not to mention about Danny being half-ghost to Alex at all. Sam hadn't wanted any latent ghost powers Alex had to be encouraged.
"Because," she had said, "I don't want our daughter in that kind of danger if she doesn't have to be." Danny hadn't really agreed but, as was often easier with the fiery-natured Sam, agreeing was easier.
Danny had spend days trying to remember every piece of guidance and rules that Sam had ever told him about Alex, after all, he would need to manage on his own now. But today was the day of the funeral and he needed to be composed and together, for everyone's sake, for Sam's sake and for Alex's sake.
As Danny walked up to the podium with Alex balanced on one hip and held firmly to his side he wondered how his life had came to be like this. Tucker, one of their oldest friends hadn't been around for ages, not since the incident where he proposed to Sam just after Danny had. Sam had rejected him of course, as kindly as possible though. But that had driven Tucker to try and 're-create' Danny's accident and presumably make himself equal or superior to Danny and so win Sam from him. The 're-creation' didn't go so well, for all his technological knowledge Tucker's machine had exploded, loosing him his right eye and what precious little sanity he had left at that point. He managed to become half-ghost though.
When he came round in hospital weeks later Sam and Danny had been waiting for him and preying to any god they could remember the name of for him to get better. When he did come round he proposed again to Sam, who again rejected him, he had then run off and swore revenge on Danny. They hadn't seen him since.
Until now that was, just as Danny was about to speak he saw Tucker walk into the room and sit down. Danny decided for Sam's sake to ignore this intrusion and began his speech with the slideshow of Sam going on behind him.
"Sam was a special person to many people, a friend, a daughter, a helper, a wife and a mother. Sam always knew what was right and stood up for it, she was never afraid to make her voice heard, a trait I can only hope our daughter Alex has inherited."
A ripple of humorless polite laughter ran through the room at this.
"She changed the lives of all those who met her, the sheer number of people in this room is testament to that." Danny paused before going on.
"Once a rebellious teenager, but then a beautiful, intelligent and rebellious adult." More polite laughter.
"Sam may have gone but she left us with a new life, she left us Alex. And as she grows up in this world without the Sam that we knew and that we loved, we must all keep her memory alive and be grateful for the things that we still have." Danny said hugging Alex closer to him; there were a few sniffles around the room at this.
Danny looked at his daughter who was fixedly staring at a point between the stage and the seats, her eyes glowed.
"Would you like to say something for your mum Alex?" Danny asked, there was a pause before Alex nodded. Danny put her in front of the microphone and stepped back, she was fixedly staring at the same point.
"I know you all miss my mum, but, you shouldn't, she's right here now. She's crying because she's happy and..." Alex paused, her eyes looking off to her side; she turned her head and whispered to thin air before turning back to the microphone.
"She's happy because everyone she loves is here and she couldn't wish for a more beautiful way to say goodbye." Alex said before returning to here seat. Danny and the rest of the audience blinked in a stunned manner before starting to clap uncertainly.
Later Alex walked up to Jazz and tugged on her skirt. Jazz crouched down to eye level like all patronizing people dealing with children do.
"Aunty Jazz, Mum wanted me to tell you something." Alex said.
"Oh?" Jazz asked patiently in her psychiatrist mode.
"She says first of all to stop shrinking me." Alex began.
"Your mother used to say that to me all the time." Jazz smiled.
"She's saying it to you now." Alex said insistently, Jazz's face became worried. "She says that money she owed you for those classes are on a green cheque in the post, it should have arrived by now." Alex repeated.
"I... I got a cheque from Sam this morning, it... it was green." Jazz murmured.
"Ok, that's alright then, I've got to go tell other people things for mum now." Alex said happily before turning to walk off. Jazz caught Alex's arm.
"Can you see your mother sweetie?" Jazz asked seriously.
"Yes, and she says not to worry, I'm only going to talk to people who know about Dad. Whatever that means." Alex shrugged. Jazz blinked, Alex couldn't possibly know about Danny being half ghost, no-one had told her. On Sam's orders no less, yes she still knew that there was something about her father that a select group of people knew but she didn't. There was only one explanation.
"Maybe you'd better not tell them anyway, it might upset some people. After all, how important could it be?" Jazz smiled concealing the terror that lay beneath.
"Ok... I suppose so... I guess great-uncle Allan can wait a week to see mum can't he?" Alex said before walking off leaving Jazz looking at her uncle Allan in terror.
Alex was walking through the crowds of people at the wake on the way to her father when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"Who are you?" She asked bluntly looking up at the man in front of her. He was tall, dark-skinned and his right eye was completely white.
"My my," he said gently as he knelt down to look at her.
"You do look so much like your mother, your face, your hair, so much like her..." The man said wistfully as his hand tightly held Alex's jaw and turned her face this way and that. Suddenly his face hardened,
"But not your eyes, they are your fathers." He said almost spitting the word.
"To look so much like your mother yet to be a corruption of her beauty is such a crime, the world would be a much better place if you removed..." he said menacingly. At that moment Danny rushed over and swept Alex up in his arms protectively before turning to glare at the man.
"You're not welcome here Tucker, stay the hell away from my daughter." Danny growled at him.
"I have every right to be here." Tucker responded coldly, still fixing Alex with a penetrating stare.
"No you don't, I would have let you stay for old time's sake, but here you are terrorizing my daughter, Sam's daughter!" Danny hissed.
"Stop it both of you." Alex said in a voice not her own. Danny and Tucker both looked at Alex, her eyes were purple like Sam's...
"I don't want you here Tucker, go home." Alex said in the same voice.
"SAM!" Tucker screamed grabbing Alex from the stunned Danny and shaking her, "Speak to me Sam!" he screamed, but Alex's eyes were returning to normal as Danny snatched her back.
Tucker was about to grab Alex from Danny again when he heard the cracking of knuckles behind him, the towering figure of Jack Fenton loomed over him looking incredibly angry.
"Eep." Tucker stated.
"Indeed." Jack agreed before advancing on him.
