Author's Note: I took entirely too long to write this chapter and there is no excuse.

(after being) Condemned

Lunch hour at Casper High. Danny sat across from Sam and Tucker outside in the warm spring air amidst a scattering of new flowers sprouting in the grass around them. He stared blankly at the meal he had purchased from the cafeteria. He wouldn't have purchased anything at all if it weren't for his friends being right there with him.

But he knew he had to eat. He hadn't eaten much at breakfast. He needed calories so he'd have energy to fight ghosts.

And energy to talk to his dad later.

And his mom, too. Of course. Not just his dad.

"Hey, so, Danny." Tucker rapped his knuckles on the table. "We need to talk about last night."

Danny lowered the burger in his hands. He suppressed a glare. No, we don't, he wanted to say.

"I didn't see your text until this morning, but I'm of course happy to cover for you," said Tucker. "But what exactly am I covering for?"

"Yeah, what happened?" asked Sam.

Danny's muscles relaxed. Right. He had called on Tucker to pretend he was with him and not trapped in an alley by someone too familiar who hated him and wanted to kill him—

He really needed to stop that. His dad did not want to kill him.

Danny set down his burger on his tray. "I was out on patrol last night past curfew, and my parents noticed I was gone. I don't know, I guess my mom decided to check on me for some reason. But anyway, I just needed to give them some sort of excuse for where I was." He guiltily looked down at his lunch, a lunch he still didn't want to eat. Maybe he could give it to Tucker as compensation. "I'm really sorry I couldn't wait for you to reply, but I really needed to tell them something."

"It's cool," said Tucker, "but, ah... What do we want to say we were doing, then?"

"Just...playing a new game you got or something. You know, on that new VR system of yours."

"Okay, but do you think that will convince them?"

Danny frowned.

"I mean, do you think they'd believe you'd sneak out just to play a game?"

Danny took a sip of water to stall for time as he thought. "Well... I mean... I'll just say we were texting late last night and...you were telling me how awesome the game was and...I just wanted to check it out for an hour and that I didn't think they'd notice I was gone." He didn't dare look up to see the expressions on his friends' faces, especially not Sam's. He didn't want to risk any visible affirmation of how stupid he was sure this idea sounded.

Both of his friends were quiet for a moment.

"Okay," said Sam at last, "but what if they ask to see your phone? To check that you were actually texting about it? They won't find anything."

"Well, maybe we could say that we planned Danny to sneak out earlier at school yesterday?" offered Tucker.

"Yeah, but Danny's never done anything like that before. I mean, as far as they know. Certainly not for a game."

"Mmm...then maybe we could just say he...decided to come over on his own? He just surprised me with a visit?"

"But for what reason? It's gotta be something his parents will buy. Something personal, maybe?"

"But then they're going to want to know what that personal reason was."

"Well, he doesn't have to say what it was." Sam haughtily lifted her chin. "He has a right to his privacy."

Danny groaned and put a hand to his head. "You're right. This is stupid. They'll never buy it. But I just—I just needed—I had to think of something—"

"Chill, dude, it's okay." Tucker held up a reassuring hand. "We'll make this work." He shot a smirk at their goth friend. "It just might have been more convincing to say you snuck out to see, you know, Sam."

Danny blushed and kept his gaze down. "Well, I—I didn't want them to think—that Sam and I—I mean, Sam and I, we're not—" He looked up apprehensively. "Do you really think they won't buy that I was with you?"

Tucker shrugged. "It's too late to change it now. Like I said, we'll make it work."

"Just say you had a really bad day at school and needed a little bromance time," said Sam cheekily.

Danny gave her a weak smile in return. "Is it okay if I don't use that word?"

"It might be more convincing if you use it."

Danny exhaled in soft amusement before turning back to his tech friend. "Okay, well...just thanks, Tuck. I'm sorry to drag you into this, but thanks for letting me. I owe you one."

"Nah. It's no problem at all." Tucker glanced at Sam before looking back at him. "We're all in this together."

The corners of Danny's mouth twitched but could not form a genuine smile. Such loyalty, loyalty he so often had to take advantage of. He hated that his friends had to suffer with him. And they were so willing, too.

He didn't deserve them.

"Thanks," he finally managed to get out through a plastered smile.

Sam and Tucker smiled back at him. Pleasant and friendly and…

...expectant?

Danny curiously eyed them. They seemed to be waiting for something.

"So, Danny, um…" Sam bit the inside of her violet-stained lip. "Did anything else happen last night?"

"Yeah," chimed in Tucker. "Anything at all?"

Danny looked at Sam hard, then Tucker.

"No," he said with low tone.

Sam and Tucker stared back at him for a moment before looking at each other. Danny quietly watched the wordless debate between them.

"Danny." Sam clasped her hands. "Jazz e-mailed us."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Of course she did. That's what she does."

He irritably glared at them. Sam and Tucker exchanged glances again, hesitantly this time.

"Danny, can we talk about it?" asked Sam.

"I don't want to."

"But—"

"I don't know what Jazz told you, but she wasn't there. She doesn't know what happened."

"And that's why we want to hear it from you," insisted Sam. "Please talk to us about it."

"It was nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing."

"I told you, Jazz doesn't know anything."

"Just... Danny, did it really happen?" asked Tucker. "You and your dad, I mean?"

Danny shrugged. "Not the first time my dad's caught me like that."

"Yeah, true, but you've never…" Tucker cleared his throat. "Um—"

Danny glowered darkly at him. Tucker leaned back and said nothing more.

"You've never reacted that way before," said Sam. "I mean, from what Jazz said—"

"What? What did Jazz say?" asked Danny testily.

Sam pensively looked down at her vegan lunch before raising her eyes again. "She...made it sound like you didn't take it very well."

Anger and betrayal vied for space in his head. "I was just tired," he said as calmly as he could. "I overreacted. It was stupid."

"Danny—"

"No. I can't believe Jazz e-mailed you. Why would she do that?"

"Because it's something we should know," said Sam. "We're a team, and anything that involves your ghost side is something we need to know so we can help you."

"It wasn't her place to tell you. She should've let me tell you."

"But you weren't going to, were you?"

Danny didn't reply.

"She knew you wouldn't. That's why she told us." Sam studied him with a disapproving frown. "And she was right. You were going to keep it from us, weren't you?"

"So what if I was? Weren't you the one saying I have a right to my privacy?"

Sam blinked and mutely sat back.

"It's not something you needed to know," asserted Danny.

"But Danny, you're our friend, and we care about you," pleaded Sam. "We want to help you through this. How can we help you if you don't confide in us something as important as what happened last night?"

"There's nothing to help me through," snapped Danny. "I'm fine. I admit I was a little shaken, but I'm fine now."

"Danny, it's okay," said Tucker. "I mean, it was your own dad. That had to have been rough."

"No. It was nothing. Seriously, I just overreacted. I've been through way worse." Danny looked down at his arms resting against the edge of the table. Why were they trembling so much? "He didn't know it was me. He just really hates Phantom. And honestly, who doesn't in this town?"

"Lots of people like Phantom," assured Tucker.

Danny kept his gaze down for a couple beats. "Yeah, well, not my dad," he grumbled. "But that's nothing new."

Sam and Tucker stared at him with small pouts. Danny didn't look up.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," he said firmly.

His friends remained quiet, and in their sustained uncomfortable silence, shame over his behavior and lack of gratitude for their support built and burrowed deep in his empty stomach.

He picked up his burger, wondering if maybe this time, for once, food could replace the bad feeling instead of aggravating it.

"Tuck, really, thank you." Danny couldn't bring himself to look at his tech friend, but he tried to sound sincere. "For helping me out."

Tucker smiled and nodded. "Never a problem."

His friends attempted to engage him in more pleasant conversation, trivial matters, amusing small-talk.

Good, yes. Another incident done and over, another end met.

...

His nerves were buzzing. His hands were shaking.

Jack fumbled with an installment on his latest project. It was loose. It wasn't staying in place. Had he measured this out wrong again?

He kept having to start over, remember again what it was exactly he was trying to calculate or fit together or weld every few minutes. His focus kept shifting to other thoughts, to memories.

Maddie was still upset with him. So obviously. She was being civil with him now, sure, but she was definitely mostly ignoring him, hadn't given him one smile at all that entire morning, not even when he tried smiling at her first. The way she worked behind him now, her back turned completely to him, the sounds of her labor, nothing about it was normal.

And all over a ghost.

No, not a ghost. Him.

He didn't even want to think the punk's name.

Why did Danny have to sneak out? Why did Maddie have to notice? Why did Maddie have to insist they actually go out and look for him?

Last night was Danny's fault. Maddie's coldness toward him now was Danny's fault.

Damn it, why couldn't Danny be more like Jazz? Jazz would never do such a thing to him.

He gritted his teeth and pressed his current project into the counter. No way he was going to go easy on Danny for this one. Maddie always insisted on coddling him because he was just so fragile and sensitive and oh Jack don't be so hard on him he's trying his best.

No way he was going to let Maddie talk him into giving their son any less than what he deserved this time.

His stomach growled loudly. What time was it? How long had he and Maddie been working down here? He definitely needed a break. Not that he had accomplished much so far. He couldn't even affix this stupid installment.

Danny's fault.

His stomach growled again. Should he just leave the lab? Should he try to invite Maddie to join him? Would she even want to?

He leaned over the counter, rehearsing in his head what he would say to her. He then turned around. "Hey, Maddie—"

He stopped. Maddie was gone. When had she left? Why hadn't he noticed sooner that the sound of her working behind him had disappeared?

He climbed the stairs out of the basement to find Maddie on the living room sofa, jumpsuit hood down, arms folded, one shapely leg crossed over the other, small feminine foot bouncing up and down along to what seemed to be deep contemplation. She appeared to not notice him at all as she stared straight ahead, eyes glazed and narrowed.

What was she thinking about?

Or was it a who?

Better not be him.

Not that he'd be able to blame her. Jack was thinking about that scrawny little jackass, too.

"Maddie?" he asked tentatively.

Maddie turned her head toward him. "Oh, hey. Are you done for now?"

"Yeah. For now."

"Can we talk about Danny, then?"

Oh. Danny. The other him.

"I just don't know what to make of him sneaking out." Maddie looked forward again with a puzzled frown.

Jack joined her on the sofa but kept a discreet distance, her closed-off body language not inviting him to come any closer. He had no idea what to make of their son's actions the night before either, but he did know that it was the reason he couldn't place an arm around his wife right now.

"So... Do you want to talk about what we're going to do about it?" asked Jack.

"Eventually. But I'm really more concerned about why he snuck out. It's not like him to rebel or disregard our rules. I mean, right? Is something more serious going on with him?"

"I don't know. I mean, there's always a first time for everything."

"Are you saying you think he could do this again? Or more often?"

"Well, yeah, if he did it once, why wouldn't he maybe do it again?"

"That's why I really want to hear more of what he was doing last night, why he felt it was so important to see Tucker right then and not wait until school. We definitely need to sit down with him and have a serious talk about it."

Yes. Danny's excuse. His claim that he was with Tucker.

Jack's focus blurred, hardened.

Indeed, why couldn't he have just waited until school the next morning? What could have possibly been so important that he had to leave after curfew had already passed?

He and Maddie should not have been out last night. They should've been together in their bed, not arguing and fighting in the streets.

And did Danny really expect them to believe he had gone out just to see Tucker? Jack hated that they hadn't forced him to speak more the night before, that Maddie had allowed him to go to bed. He had the entire night to concoct an excuse and now the entire school day to further fabricate it.

He definitely planned on conducting an aggressive cross-examination when Danny came home.

"But regardless, we still have to punish him," sighed Maddie. "Some sort of consequence to deter him from sneaking out again. I mean, what if something had happened to him on his way home? Ghosts really do roam this city at night."

She turned her head to Jack, her eyes reflecting a grudge. Jack knew exactly what she was thinking about, what ghosts or rather ghost she was referring to.

Jack said nothing. He wasn't about to start up this fight again. And he definitely didn't want to even mention him.

"I need to call Angela," muttered Maddie as she pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her contacts.

Jack hummed a low scoff.

Maddie looked up at him. "What?"

"I just find Danny's excuse odd. Why would he sneak out to see Tucker?"

"Well, yeah, that's why we need to sit down with him and—"

"No, I mean, why Tucker?"

Maddie cocked her head.

"Certainly not something I would've snuck out for." Jack shrugged. "And I did my share of sneaking out back in high school."

Maddie smirked at him. "Oh, so Danny got this from you, huh?"

"There's no way he could've gotten it from me. I only snuck out to see girls."

Maddie chuckled and leaned her body toward him. "Well, I don't think Danny is as promiscuous as you."

She moved in closer, trailed her fingers down his arm. Her touch jolted his skin through the material of his jumpsuit, ignited his scurrying nerves, made his lips spread with bliss.

He leaned toward her as well and placed his hand over hers. "Are you still mad at me, Maddie?"

Maddie allowed him to caress the back of her gloved hand but otherwise did not move. "I just don't understand why you lied to me," she said quietly. "You found Phantom. He was right there. But not only did you not capture him, you didn't even tell me you found him. You deliberately lied to me and said you hadn't found him at all."

She didn't meet his gaze, continued to stay still with her hand against him. Jack resisted the urge to put his arm around her and pull her in close, afraid to push his luck too soon.

"I'm sorry," he said solemnly. "I told you I hadn't found him yet because I wasn't ready for you to join me. I just wanted to talk to Phantom on my own first."

"Talk to him about what?"

"Just...his motives, what he's doing in our town, why we never had a ghost problem before he appeared."

"But we could've made him talk about all that in captivity."

Jack hesitated. He was lying to her again. But he couldn't tell her the truth. He could never reveal that he simply didn't want her anywhere near that ghost.

"I know," he finally said, "but at the time, I just wanted to talk to him on my own." He slowly moved his other hand close to her leg, rested a palm on her thigh when she did not shy away. "But I should've told you. You're right. That was wrong of me. I won't do it again."

More lies.

But to his relief, she smiled and moved her mouth close to his. He met her with smooth reflexes, parted flesh warm and soft, drew her in, let her pull at him.

His mind was melting, floating, clearing.

Maddie broke away from the kiss with a tiny smacking noise. She gazed at him dreamily. Jack ran a hand up her thigh toward her hips, put his other hand in her hair to bring her mouth back to his.

"Mmm, Jack, I need to call Angela." Maddie leaned away from him.

"Aw, but Mads…"

"I know, I know. But we need to be parents now, okay?"

Jack playfully pouted. Danny. Of course. Their son probably should come first.

Maddie pecked his lips with hers. "Later."

Jack brightened, his thoughts already alight with possible scenarios and locations and positions—

His stomach growled an angry reminder. He met Maddie's amused smile with a sheepish one. "I'll go make us lunch, then. Let me know how it goes."

He lugged himself off the sofa and walked to the kitchen, going over meal choices in his head based on what he knew they had in the fridge and freezer and pantry. Pizza and burritos and wings and chips and FUDGE of course fudge no wait Maddie wanted him to eat healthier okay so maybe salad or egg salad with lots of mustard and ranch dressing and mayonnaise oh right no that's not healthy just eggs then or maybe cold cuts or wait the Fenton Panini Maker he hadn't used that in a while he should use that he should make panini sandwiches that sounded awesome and then maybe a little fudge afterwards.

He gathered what he needed while listening to Maddie's side of the conversation with Tucker's mother back in the living room. Greeting, a bit of small talk. Stalling for just a moment before breaking the uncomfortable news. Bread, turkey, tomatoes, cheese, lots of cheese. How are things, how is life? Sourdough or ciabatta or multigrain? Oh, he needed to add greens, too. Spinach leaves, perhaps? Angela, listen, I called you for a more specific reason. It's about Danny. Provolone or mozzarella? Why not both? Danny broke curfew last night and didn't get home until well past one in the morning. He said he was with your son. Do you know anything about that?

He placed the assembled sandwiches in the panini maker and pressed down. No response, no hiss of heat being applied. Oh, he forgot to plug it in. There. Now to grill the perfect sandwiches.

In the living room, Maddie continued her phone conversation about Danny. Danny. He had been really angry with Danny not that long ago. But Danny was just being a typical teen. Totally normal for a teen to sneak out. Even he had his rebellious bouts in his high school days, and Danny was his son.

Sizzling, smoking, starving. He placed the finished sandwiches on plates and resisted devouring his right then. He had to wait for Maddie.

She appeared in the kitchen at last. Jack beamed at her. "How'd it go?"

"Angela says she'll talk to Tucker, but she's reluctant to believe that Danny was with him last night." Maddie leaned against a wall forlornly. "She says she can't imagine Tucker sneaking out himself to see him."

"Danny said he was at their house, didn't he?"

"I think he did, but Angela says she definitely didn't hear him in the house. And she insists she's a really light sleeper."

"So... What are you thinking?"

Maddie held up her hands. "I don't know. I mean, I don't think Danny would lie about where he was...unless he was trying to hide something. But that doesn't seem like him either. But then I never would've thought he'd sneak out in the first place, so—" She sighed in frustration.

"Hey, now." Jack guided her to the kitchen table and set a sandwich before her. "Let's not jump to conclusions. We should let Danny explain his side more first." He glanced at the chair Danny had sat in just a few hours ago at breakfast. He remembered how irritated he had been with his son that morning, but now the desire to discredit his story was gone. "He's a good kid. He always has been."

"It's just... I mean, the way he acted last night. And this morning, too." Maddie picked up her sandwich but did not take a bite. "Something about this just doesn't feel right."

"We know our son," said Jack firmly. "We just need to give him a chance to defend himself."

"Do we really know him?"

Jack reached over and touched her arm. "Of course we do. And you'll see when we talk to him later that he's fine. He just had a rebellious moment. Even if he is lying about being with Tucker, I'm sure it wasn't to hide anything illegal or dangerous. Maybe he was actually with Sam and he just doesn't want us to know he's involved with her."

Maddie smiled knowingly. "That would make sense. He's had a crush on her for so long."

Jack moved his chair in closer to her. Maddie took a bite of her sandwich and hummed approval as she chewed. Auburn hair catching the light, creamy lips pressing and rubbing against each other, cheeks filled with food he had prepared just for her. So beautiful.

They could deal with their son later. Maddie wasn't angry with him anymore. Everything was fine now.