Fenton blinked awake to find Phantom floating in the dark above their desk chair again. The ghost was carefully studying him.

Still lying down, the human half-smiled. "Were you watching me sleep again?" Phantom's eyes met his.

The ghost blushed, face turning green (that was so weird). "Sorry." He whispered. "I guess I'm being kinda creepy."

"Nah." Fenton dismissed the statement. "It's fine."

Phantom frowned, wringing his hands. "It's just so….weird seeing you like this." Fenton furrowed his brow in confusion, provoking the ghost to clarify. "From…the outside." He added meekly.

Tilting his head, Fenton's eyes slowly traveled up and down Phantom's body. Taking in the green eyes and white hair he remembered seeing in the mirror, the jumpsuit like the one he put on before going into the portal but with inverted colors. The surrealness of the statement mystified him. "I think…..I think I get what you mean. This is weird, seeing you not just in a mirror." He sighed. "But it's kinda cool though. I mean no one ever gets to see what they really look like, live and in person." He shrugged. "So I guess just enjoy it while you can."

With that, Fenton intended to settle back into his covers again, until he realized he had to pee. Groaning he sat up. "I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back."

With a nod from the ghost, the human stood up and walked to the bathroom at the end of the lite hallway. After doing his business, he returned to find a note on his door. Fenton raised an eyebrow and skimmed the paper, apparently a note from his parents.

Still holding the note, he turned the hallway light off. "Why do they always have to leave that stupid light on?" He grumbled. "It always shines right into my room."

With a sigh, Fenton closed the door and made his way back to the bed. Then he addressed the ghost who was still floating where he left him. "So apparently we have the house to ourselves. Jazz is staying at a friend's house so they can carpool to the SAT tomorrow. And Mom and Dad went ghost hunting, said they'd be back by 3." He glanced at the clock. "It's midnight now and I'm not that tired. So do you want to….." He trailed off, finally taking in Phantom's serious expression and his silence. Fenton frowned. "Something's bothering you."

Phantom's eyes widened at the statement. He gaped. "No. It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

The human raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Everything will be okay. You can just go back to sleep." Phantom tried to brush him off.

Fenton huffed. "I'm definitely not going to be able to sleep now so let's just talk about it."

Actually coming down to sit in the chair, Phantom shook his head. "I...I don't...we shouldn't. It's not a good idea..." He bit his lip, lingering in silence for a long pause. Then the ghost sighed and his voice turned down into a barely audible whisper. "I don't want to re-fuse."

Fenton's eyes widened. "You mean like not right now? Cause we don't have to do it right now."

"No." Phantom shook his head more forcefully. "I don't want to re-fuse...at all." Fenton's expression turned hurt. Phantom...Phantom couldn't actually mean that, could he? At the distressed expression, Phantom's speech quickened. "I mean, I'm not going to run off or disappear on you. I promise I'll stay by your side. And we can still hang out together, with Sam and Tucker. We can play video games and stargaze and do a bunch of the other stuff we like. And...and we'll figure out how to...exist like we are now. How to be friends or family or whatever we are now. And….and you can have your normal life, like you're supposed too, like you want."

The speech slowed to a stop, with Fenton still gaping. Finally, after a small eternity he spoke. "I'm sorry. You don't….you don't want to re-fuse?"

The ghost nodded, looking down to avoid his human's eyes.

"How can you NOT want to? You….you can't be okay with just being like….this for the rest of….how ever long?!" Fenton gripped his hair.

"No. I don't like it but….. It's just not a good idea."

"How is re-fusing, us going back to the way we're supposed to be, not a good idea?!"

"It's just….you...you won't understand." Phantom wrung his hands.

At that Fenton practically leapt out of the bed. He stopped, not a foot from the ghost and leaned down slightly so the two were face to face. "What do you mean I won't understand?"

At the sudden closeness, Phantom leaned back, then flickered intangible. "You...you just won't."

At the ghost's reaction, Fenton stepped back. He could feel himself getting tense, getting angry but that wasn't going to work here. He took a deep breath, his expression softening. "Phantom. Danny." Slowly the ghost met the human's eyes, returning to tangibility. Fenton offered his hand. "Just...just sit with me and talk. Please. Can you do that?"

Uncertainly, Phantom took the hand. A small spike of sadness and fear came through the contact before the ghost clamped down on the emotions. The two walked to the bed. Fenton took a seat cross-legged across from Phantom who did the same. Phantom pulled his hand out of the human's, planting his hands in his lap.

Fenton sighed and then finally spoke. "Can you explain it to me?"

"What?" Looking up, Phantom tilted his head.

"Whatever I'm not getting, not understanding. Clearly you're seeing something that I'm not for some reason. So please explain it to me?"

The ghost shook his head, biting his lip.

"Danny, please. I want to understand." The human's face softened. "You don't have to be afraid to tell me."

"You'll….you'll react badly."

"No, I won't. I promise I'll understand and I won't get mad. How could I? I'm literally you. We're the same person."

Sighing, Phantom fixed his eyes on his lap. "But we're not." He whispered.

Fenton's eyes widened and he tried not to groan. "Please, not again. I thought we were passed this."

Phantom clenched and unclenched his hands nervously. "We are, it's just….." He blew out a breath. "You're human and I'm…..not. You're normal, like we're supposed to be. But I'm….a ghost."

"Okay…..?" With one raised eyebrow, Fenton frowned. "But we're still on the same page though. We're both Danny."

"Yes we are." The ghost agreed flatly. " But are you listening to me? I'm a ghost."

Fenton sighed, struggling to remain patient. "Phantom. I get that, I do. But what does it have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything." Phantom answered as if it was the most obvious thing.

The human felt his own frustration rising. "But how? You're still not making any sense."

"How am I not making sense? I am a ghost. Literally. With all the glowing, floating, turning invisible….stuff. And I don't just look like a ghost. I AM a ghost." He carefully emphasized the words.

Fenton gripped his hair. "Okay! But why do you not want to re-fuse?"

"I'm dead." Phantom's (forced) calmness contrasted sharply with the weight of the statement as Fenton felt his heart stop. The ghost's mouth snapped shut and he curled in on himself, as if trying to look smaller.

After a few moments, Phantom finally spoke. His eyes fixed on his lap, his voice whispered. "That's what has to happen for you to be a ghost. You have to die. I'm...I'm the part of us….." He finally looked at his human. "The part of YOU that died in the portal."

He gaped, taking in his ghost's word but not processing. "So…..that's….ummm."

Phantom interrupted before Fenton could ever hope to respond. "Do you get why we can't re-fuse now? I'm just like….this and there's no way to fix it or make it better." He shook his head and then fixed earnest green eyes on Fenton. "But you're still human. You can still be safe and normal, just….without me."

The human's stomach fell at that. It felt too much like a rejection. "You...you can't mean that."

"I'm sorry." Phantom bit his lip. "But it's true. You'd be better off without me."

The human's lip quivered. "No. Phantom. Please." He pleaded, slight panic in his tone.

Eyes widening, the ghost put his hands forward placatingly. "Hey. It's okay. I promise I won't leave you. I just...just want you to be happy and safe."

Panic rising, Fenton held out his arms. "How am I supposed to be happy like this?! Without you?!"

"You don't need me." Phantom stated, voice deceptively calm.

"Yes I do."

"No. You don't." Just a tinge of frustration entered Phantom's voice.

"Yes I do. You're literally me!" Fenton pleaded. How could Phantom be saying this?

"I know that!" The ghost's fists balled ever so slightly.

At the affirmation, Fenton's jaw fell. His own annoyance flared "Then why are you still denying me?! I need you."

"Stop saying that, please." Phantom's voice shook slightly.

The plea for silence pricked Fenton's heart painfully. But he pressed on. "You're my ghost, my other half."

"Danny please." The other closed his eyes, as if it would prevent him from hearing the truth.

But if he could just get his other half to listen… "We are literally two halves of one whole."

"Fenton stop."

"NO!" Something in the human Danny snapped. "I'm half a person without you! How are I supposed to be happy without the other half of my soul?!"

"You don't actually want me!" And just like that, the previous fire in Fenton died as his blood turned cold. In a flash, Phantom rose off of the bed and bared his teeth. "You just want to feel whole!" The ghost's aura brightened as the temperature suddenly dropped. The room crackled with ghostly energy, stealing the human's breath. "I remember what we thought about our powers before the ghost catcher. I'm a sickness, a disease. Some...some foreign thing that's been haunting you."

"No that's not… " Fenton tried to deny but Phantom interrupted.

"Yes it is! Don't you remember why we did this to ourselves?! You were scared and I get that. But you didn't even try to understand. You just wanted to...to get RID of me!" Phantom shook with pained anger, tears started to collecting in the corner of his eyes.

Something like guilt swirled in the human's heart. "No I didn't." He whispered.

"Yes you did!" Phantom practically screamed, a few tears falling. "You threw me away, Danny. And didn't even realize it, for days!"

"You didn't either." The human argued though the word felt hollow and passionless. "And why...why are you just directing this at me? We both decided to get rid of our ghost…..powers." Eyes suddenly widening, human Danny cut himself off. He….he couldn't….he didn't….

Phantom's biting words cut through the rising dread. "I am the ghost powers." Though the ghost glared, his voice shook.

With that, Fenton curled in on himself and stared down, unable to meet ghost Danny's eyes. Above him, Phantom suddenly plopped down on the bed. When the ghost spoke, his pained voice was quiet. "It's not the ghost part of us that didn't want to be a ghost."

It was me. Fenton wanted to say but the words died in his throat.

"If we re-fuse, we'll be right back where we started. With all that confusion, fear, disgust, and self hatred. With the unstable powers. I don't want to live stewing in that. I don't want you to live with that." The ghost shifted awkwardly, shaking the bed. "And how long...how long until it's too much and I get thrown away again?"

Feeling another stab to the heart, Fenton looked up. Then Phantom continued and his human's heart broke.

"Or worse. You get Mom and Dad to find a way to get rid of me more permanently. More completely." He wrung his hands, looking down. "That would probably kill you too but desperation makes people do stupid things."

A glowing tear fell on the bed and Fenton reached forward. "Danny." He whispered.

"Stop. Please." Phantom's voice broke.

"But-" The other boy's own eyes started filling with tears.

"Stop! Can't you see I'm trying to protect you?" His other half's lip quivered. "You don't want me. You CAN'T want me. So just stop."

"Phantom. Please….this….we should…" Pale, ungloved hands reached again, grabbing the ghost's arms.

Phantom wrenched himself out of the hold, as the human let out a startled yelp at sudden, physical pain from the glacial contact. But it only registered for a second. Instead he stared at the distraught ghost. "Just stop! Stop trying to comfort me!" The dripping tears turned into a stream. "I'm scum. A dirty, good-for-nothing ghost. I'm a freaking disease! I deserve to be hated so stop acting like you don't!"

Now weeping, Phantom collapsed on his side of the bed, as far as he could get from his other half. Crystal tears froze on his face before melting as soon as they fell to the bed. Tears blurring his own vision, human Danny looked dumb-struck between his other self and his own cold-burned hands. He wanted to reach out, to comfort. But….

His heart clenched. He felt so helpless, so guilty.

Legs shaking he rose from the bed and stumbled towards the door. As he opened and walked through it, the volume of the sobs from the bed increased. The door closed and his heart shattered.

Barely able to see through his tears, Fenton stumbled down the dark hallway and into the bathroom. After closing the door, he slid down the wall and hunched on the floor. There he finally let out a sob. What….why? None of this….none of this made sense! How did he… how could he….Phantom….his ghost.

So much, so much had happened since the ghost catcher and then this. He couldn't…..he didn't understand. Except….except he did. He did. This made too much sense. It meant he was a horrible, awful person. His stomach flopped with guilt, the heavy emotion crushing him like many boulders. Like he was underground, surrounded by darkness and oppressive suffocating weight. He took a struggling breath, feeling completely helpless. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to do?! What could he do? Nothing Nothing. He was helpless, hopeless, so guilty.

Tears poured down his face as his body shook with sobs. Unable to stay sitting, Fenton collapsed onto his side on the floor. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be. No. It wasn't no way. His mind felt fuzzy with sudden exhaustion, the outside world seeming far away. Maybe this was a dream. Yeah, all this since the stupid accident had to be a dream, since there was no way this was his life.

He rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in the rug. More tears streamed as his nose stopped up. The stupid portal, the ghost powers, the ghost weeping on his bed. None of that could be real. He had to be dreaming. It was the only explanation. Because it couldn't be real. Or you can't handle that it's real. A small dark part of him whispered.

He silently screamed. No No. This was just a dream and he just needed to wake up and everything would be okay again. Chest heaving with another sob, the boy rubbed his face against the rug again. The rug that wasn't here, right? His head felt heavy, his mind fuzzy with thoughtless sorrow. He wept, drowning in everything until he drifted off.

Sometime later, Fenton groggily returned to awareness. His face was on something fuzzy? He opened blurry eyes. This wasn't his pillow. And was he on the floor? He blinked in the darkness and his heart fell, realizing where he was. He was still on the stupid floor of the stupid bathroom. The boy sniffled. He needed to get up.

Trying to get up off the floor, the human pushed his palms against the floor only to bite back a scream of pain. Shaking hands returning to his field of vision, his eyes widened at the red, blistered flesh. A cold burn from touching Phantom. Meaning….

Oh shit, oh shit. No No No NO This was real. This was real. The portal, the powers, Phantom. His ghost, HIS ghost was real. Phantom was real and weeping on the bed because Fenton had….he had….. The boy could hardly bear the thoughts. That he had messed up everything! Everything! He was such a screw up. And everything was shit, and it was his fault. What am he going to do? He cried harder.

But….but his hands hurt so much, distracting him from the self-deprecating thoughts. He fixed his gaze on the blistered hands and struggled to sit up. With some grunts and hisses of pain, he managed a sitting position. The boy hunched over, snot threatening to drip down his face. Why did his hands hurt?! Why did everything hurt? Why was any of this happening?

He hissed at the burns. Phantom, his ghost had hurt him by accident, burning him as his powers lashed out in emotional turmoil. And….and he had hurt Phantom too. Except that was on purpose, a small vile part of his mind accused. No, no. It wasn't. It wasn't. How was he supposed to know this would happen if he tried to get rid of his powers?! He couldn't have known. He didn't know.

Except….did that matter, that he hadn't known? What Phantom said he thought of his powers was true. He'd been terrified and disgusted by the 'infection' trying to overtake him. He hadn't even tried to understand. He was too absorbed in, held hostage by his darker emotions. So he decided to treat his ghostliness as a foriegn thing, something easy to fear…..or even hate. He was such a horrible person.

Danny, the human, shivered at that thought, trying to push it away. But Phantom's green eyes haunted him. First accusing and angry…..then broken and tortured. Eyes that, though a different color, were the same shape as his. It hurt to be yelled at and accused by his own voice. To have the truth expounded so forcefully by someone with his face.

But….that wasn't it, not really. Phantom's eyes, Phantom's voice, Phantom's face weren't HIS. They didn't belong to the person thinking this thought as if the appearance was borrowed or even shared. They were really, truly, completely Phantom's eyes, voice, and face.

The realization brought no joy, no relief. Putting his head down, he wept.

Then something green flashed in the mirror above the sink, just in the periphery of his vision. The boy sat up quickly. Had….was Phantom….had his ghost self come back to talk to him? Shakily, Fenton stood up. Only to meet his own glowing green eyes in the mirror. Phantom's eyes. The human closed his eyes, blocking the view.

Fenton sighed. Those were Phantom's eyes in the mirror but what was Phantom other than a name, an alias? Something his ghost self decided to call himself when he'd been confused, terrified, and in pain. Something meant to make everything a little more bearable. Those green eyes were just Danny's eyes. And he, Fenton, was Danny. Phantom, the ghost in the bedroom, was Danny. And the two of them, Fenton and Phantom together, were the two parts who made up the whole, complete, real Danny.

Fenton had said and thought all of this before, when he and Phantom first talked in their bedroom and even earlier that very night. But he didn't really understand it until right then. And understanding hurt because it meant all of what his other self said was true. He'd feared, hated, and disowned a part of himself. He'd allowed himself to be violated, to be ripped apart. No, not allowed. He'd done it on purpose. Danny deliberately had thrown himself away.

No wonder his ghost self was in such pain. All of those feelings directed at him and his other half hadn't even apologized.

Finally Danny Fenton opened his eyes. He frowned, feeling slightly sad that the glow had receded. But that connection to his ghost self still burned strong. Phantom was still crying on the bed but he had been crying long enough. The two of them needed to talk. But would Phantom listen? And if he did, could he forgive himself?

Sighing Fenton looked down at his hands….which weren't hurting anymore. His eyes widened. Though pale, raised scars remained, the blisters were gone. Phantom had inadvertently hurt him but the wound had healed. And over time, even if the scars never faded, Danny would forgive and forget that he ever hurt himself. His lip turned up, even so slightly, feeling something like... hope.

Wiping his face, the human steeled his courage and then turned away from the sink. He closed the door to the bathroom. It was time to have this conversation with Phantom. Fenton wouldn't allow the problem to fester anymore than it had. They would heal the rift between him and his ghost self. It was time to make things right.

Fenton stood in the doorway to his bedroom for several moments, watching the lump in his bed. While he had been in the bathroom, Phantom had huddled under the covers, facing away from the door. Had he fallen asleep too? The human sighed. Even if he had, it was time.

Quietly, Fenton closed the door and walked around the bed. The ghost remained motionless until the other Danny sat down. Eyes popping open, Phantom reflexively turned intangible, causing the covers to fall through him. Then he flickered invisible.

The human tried to produce a comforting smile but didn't comment on the invisibility. Instead he focused on where he knew the ghost's eyes were. "I'm sorry." When no response came, he continued. "You were right about everything you said. I was afraid and disgusted so I did….I did try to get rid of you." His voice cracked. "I messed up, a lot without realizing it. I hurt you a lot and I….I understand why you're angry at me."

Phantom shimmered into visibility. He looked down, avoiding the human's eyes. "I get it….and I'm not really angry with you."

"But you're in pain. And I...I did that. I'm so sorry." He wrung his hands, voice shaking. "And….I don't hate you."

The ghost raised an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"No." He said with certainty. "I was scared earlier, terrified even. But I don't think I ever hated you. And I definitely couldn't now."

"Why?" Phantom's eyes shimmered with renewed tears. "Why don't you hate me?"

Fenton trailed off into silence, not finding the words to voice his thoughts. Finally taking a deep breath, he laid down on the bed facing Phantom.

"What are you doing?" The ghost whispered, eyes widening.

"I have more to say. I need to know that you understand what I have to tell you."

Phantom searched his face. Finally his expression softened. "Okay."

"Do you remember earlier, when you said it was weird seeing me like this, from the outside?"

The ghost's lip trembled. "I guess seeing me is weird too…."

Fenton cut him off. "It's not about that. It is kinda weird but it showed me something important."

"What?" Phantom's brow furrowed.

"Danny." Fenton breathed. "You're just me. You're not some monster, curse, or disease." He chuckled, kindly. "You're just me." The confusion on his other self's face slowly faded as he explained. "I've thought and said it before but I didn't really understand until just now. But when I see you, I just see me." His eyes soften. "You're just the part of me that's a ghost. And throwing you, that part of me, away was a mistake."

"Really?" Phantom asked, hope mixed with skepticism.

"Yes. We….I was scared before and refused to even try to understand you. But….I'm not scared now. And I want to understand." Fenton sighed. "I know it will be hard. You….being a ghost…. is new. And there's probably so many things, so many changes, we've not seen, not even considered yet. So I know things will still be difficult and scary at times at least." As his ghost half's expression fell, the heaviness of the statement dawned on the other Danny. Offering a comforting smile, he added. "But I don't want to be afraid anymore. I want to try. To be the person we're supposed to be. Together."

"Really because…..you don't have to….we don't…." The ghost trailed off, mesmerizing eyes staring into Fenton's.

The human stared back without hesitation and again was struck by the impossibleness of the situation. To see this new part of himself like this. This part of himself that he rejected. But now this part of his soul was bared so openly, with thoughts and feelings about that rejection and a voice to speak to him.

A thousand questions and statements and emotions swam in Fenton's head but one rose to the surface. Closing his eyes, the human gently rolled his head forward so his forehead rested on his ghost's.

"I want you." Danny's human half whispered.

His ghost half voiced no reply but feelings drifted through the contact. Acceptance and contentment, 'I believe you' but without words.

Human Danny continued. "I want to understand YOU. To know YOU. To learn how to be US, with you." He wasn't sure whether the words were spoken aloud or in his head.

Thank you. His ghost offered clear gratitude and the other boy's heart sang for joy. An image came to the human's mind.

A grinning Phantom twirling in the sky. Whopping with joy, he dives.

The human grinned in kind at the vision from his ghost. He was not certain how but he knew, the figure wasn't his ghost half alone, but both of them. The whole, complete Danny who was both human and ghost. The human half sent an image.

Himself, in human form, sneaking up on Sam and Tucker invisibly. He taps them, suddening turning visible with a shout. "BOO!" Tucker screams and Sam hits him playfully.

The two identical voices laughed. Then another image.

Phantom, eating a sandwich and smiling in obvious pleasure at the taste.

The human half can feel the ghost half smile brighter as the images come faster.

Fenton, It's raining outside. He turns intangible and the water just falls through him.

Phantom, asleep in a tree, his ghostly tail curls around the branch.

Fenton, playfully throwing a ball of green ectoenergy up and down.

Dozens of images of life as a ghost and a human. And of something in between. The ghostly in the human and the human in the ghostly. The human Danny couldn't tell the origin, if they were from him or the other Danny. But it did matter. It. Didn't. Matter. His soul sang, magnetized to its other half. His head felt fuzzy, his body tingly.

Phantom, floating in front of the portal.

Fenton, eating dinner with Mom, Dad, and Jazz.

Phantom sitting on the roof, watching the stars.

Fenton, laughing at the lunch table, with Sam and Tucker.

His smile widened, his own ghostly chill comfortably bathing his human body. The physical contact of the black-haired head and white-haired head both were magnifying and decreasing. Eyes still closed, he felt his ghost self inch closer but the bed didn't shift.

Burger and fries at the Nasty Burger

Curiously watching a blob-like ghost in the park

Winning the next level of Doomed

Venturing through the portal, not to escape, but to explore.

In a space suit, setting feet on Mars.

Floating in space, bare and glowing like one of the stars

His heart beat and his blood rushed through his veins. His core pulsed and his energy sparked.

Family, Friends, Laughter, Hopes, Dreams, Love

Peace, Completeness, Wholeness, Unity

But…..

Sadness, Fear, Doubt, Pain

Mom and Dad catching him in ghost form. They shoot him and lock him in a cage. "It's me! It's Danny. Please. You have to believe me!" He tried to turn back. Why can't he turn back?!

With a gasp, both Danny's jolted away from each other. Blinking, the human Danny's vision struggled to clear. Why couldn't he see his other self? Then the boy realized nothing was wrong with his vision. The ghost appeared translucent and mist-like, his head drooping sadly. The human's eyes trailed the insubstantial figure, noting how their galaxy-patterned bed sheets were visible through the body. Fenton's eyes slowly widened as he took in the ghost's tail. Then the human's eyes popped open as his glaze covered the end of the appendage. It was phased into the human half's abdomen, the mistiness of the ghost's form distorting the human's view of his legs so he couldn't tell where one body began and the other ended.

"Did we….were we just….?" Human Danny whispered.

Staring in awe, his gaze flickered between his own stomach where he and his other half had drawn together and to the face of his ghost. The human then shivered, more feeling than seeing Phantom draw away from him. His misty form condensed as his tail reformed and then split into legs. He floated off the bed and into a sitting position above it.

Shoulders shaking, Phantom finally looked at him. His voice broke. "I thought you wanted to re-fuse."

The human frowned, slowly sitting up. He had…..and they had been doing that, becoming one but stopped. Why? Then he remembered. That fear, Mom and Dad capturing them, hurting them. And it pricked his heart. Somehow Fenton knew he had been the one to offer up that nightmare.

Phantom eyed the door as if planning to bolt. In a moment, this brought Fenton's attention back to him. With hardly a thought, the human leapt forward and clung to his other half. He buried his face in the other's shoulder. The ghost gently pushed him away.

"I thought…..you said you wanted me. But you pushed me away." The tone wasn't angry but broken, profoundly hurt.

Fenton's own expression reflected Phantom. After being so close, every emotional injury hurt double, from both ends. But the human pushed away the pain. He put a hand on his other half's shoulder.

"I do. I promise I do. But….." He bit his lip. "What about Mom and Dad?"

His other half's eyes widened, voice trembling with fear. "If we merge and they find out….."

"We'll have to hide it from them." The human frowned, hating that option. He imagined going back to before the ghost catcher, being afraid of Mom and Dad's weapons, cringing as they talked about experimenting on ghosts. He remembered being Phantom as Mom and Dad chased and shot him. He imagined them capturing him in ghost form and locking him in a cage. Fenton shook his head. "No. no. We can't. No"

For a split second, Phantom's eyes flashed with hurt; Fenton felt his doubt as the ghost thought he was refusing to merge again. But then he understood. "We can't live like that, with Mom and Dad hating us."

Fenton shook his head. There was no solution. Except…..Mom and Dad loved their son. And they had believed him about his ghost powers the first time so….

"What if we told them before we merged?" Fenton asked.

Phantom floated back, startled. "What?!"

"If we don't then, we'll have to hide after. They could hurt us without even realizing."

"So you want to tell them when we're separated so they can hurt me now instead!?" Phantom sneered, a mixture of hurt and reigniting anger.

Fenton's jaw dropped. Did his other half still think so little of him? "No! Course not. I won't let them hurt you." Phantom's offended expression vanished, though he remained tense. "I won't let them hurt you. But if we tell them who you are now….."

"They won't believe us." Phantom frowned, shaking his head.

"We'll make them see." Fenton argued. "We need to come clean now. If we don't everything will build and when they do find out, they'll either hurt us badly or our relationship will be ruined. But we can make them understand now."

The ghost bit his lip. "How?" With wide green eyes, the ghost pleaded, his tone somewhere between hope and scepticism.

"We'll get Sam and Tucker to vouch for us. And we'll tell them everything. We'll make them see. They'll….they'll believe me." They have to. Fenton swallowed.

Phantom scrutinized him for a moment. Then his expression softened. "I trust you. We'll call Sam and Tucker….and talk to Mom and Dad in the morning."

Just then, both boys turned their heads towards the window at the roar of an engine. The Fenton RV pulled into the drive away. "Speak of the devil." Phantom quipped, joylessly

The human rolled his eyes. "Mom and Dad are home, I guess. You should probably get going though. We'll plan in the morning. Okay?"

"Yeah" The ghost's shoulders fell.

Expression softened, his human stood up. "Hey Danny." He crossed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Phantom.

"What are you doing?" Phantom asked with no bite.

The human offered a slightly playful smile. "I think Jazz would say, I'm embracing a new side of myself."

"You're a dork." Phantom quipped flatly.

"WE'RE a dork." Fenton chuckled.

"Yeah" Phantom's voice softened as he returned the hug. "I guess we are."

With a soft wave of fondness (Fenton couldn't tell if it was his or his ghost's, not that it really mattered), Phantom let go. Turning invisible, he phased through the ceiling.