Face to Face

by Dp-Marvel94

When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of his ghostliness, not to wake up to his parents saying he'd been overshadowed. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was 'possessing' Danny remember a life that wasn't his? Most of all, why do both feel that something vital is missing,in their very soul?

46. Chapter 46

Note: Chapter 46! I'm definitely excited for this one. It may or may not be the last update before April? It depends on whether or not I finish chapter 47 before Phic Phight starts. We'll all have to see what happens. But if I don't finish, enjoy the last update of Face to Face for a while. Since I'm also planning on doing Invisobang again this year. I promise I'll try not to write a whole 76K novel this time. XD

On another note, I'm thinking of getting art commissioned for this story, to celebrate it drawing to a close (we've still got 5-6 chapters, don't worry). I'm really hoping to work with someone who's been reading this story. So if you know anyone who's taking commissions or if you yourself are, feel free to let me know.

Happy reading!

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Out of the memory, back in the bedroom, both Dannys were crying with arms still wrapped around each other in a side hug. It wasn't loud and hysterical like it had been right after the accident. Not hiccuping sobs but slow and soft whimpers. Big, rolling tears on wet faces. Breath came easily, calm and steady, noses barely starting to stuff up.

And yet… Phantom still struggled for words. "It felt… it felt like a cruel joke." He sucked in a breath. "Being so… so excited and curious about ghosts and the portal and what could be on the other side, but then I went in and… this happened." He motioned to himself with his free hand. "I…I got turned into a ghost. I…I died and it… it hurt so much." The ghost trembled, words cutting off with a whine.

Fenton hummed in understanding. Becoming a ghost, dying- they'd already been through that plenty. But… the pain? "It was… awful." He raised his left hand, examining the nearly invisible scar. "I didn't… I didn't think someone could hurt like that. It was… I thought I was a goner. That I'd just disappear. It'd be… be dead, really dead. Just gone. And Mom and Dad would…" He sucked in a breath, a horrifying thought flashing in his mind. His mother, finding his… his corpse on the basement floor, smoking in front of the portal. Something… familiar rang in the imagining but the human shook it away. " I… walked out somehow, though."

"But as a ghost. A ghost." Phantom shivered. "Somehow… somehow that was worse than just… being gone." The echo of repented self-hatred brushed his consciousness. "Such a slap in the face, finding out ghosts were real like this. By being one. It was like… like I was cursed. Like-" He cut himself off, sucking in a breath.

Furrowing his brow, Fenton turned his head to look. "What is it?"

His other half bit his lip. "It's like…." A long heavy pause. Another breath. "It's like something was calling me."

The human blinked, paling. "Yes. I remember that. I remember… I didn't go down just because I was curious. I mean… Mom did ask me to turn off the light too. But… there was this… buzzing… in my head? I thought… I kept thinking I saw… something, this…"

"Neon green light." Phantom whispered. "It was like… just a hint, a glimpse of something… ghostly. And… that sound, the whispers…."

Fenton's eyes widened, pieces sliding into place. "Like the portal's song. The portal was… was… calling to me."

Phantom looked just as surprised. "But… that was before. We're the one that opened the portal."

"Well… maybe… maybe…" Human Danny opened and closed one fist, thinking. "Mom and Dad turning the machine on half-opened it? Or made it more likely to open a portal? Like the barrier was… thinner? Like at the witching hour or in Sidney's locker. That portal's not always opened but it can be if the conditions are right. Maybe… the song was leaking through so we heard it and we were already curious. So well… we pressed the button and… you know."

"But Fenton, we weren't half ghost then." Ghost Danny said, a shake in his voice. "We were just human and… and…." He shied away, pulling his knees to his chest. He moved the arm that had been around his human self and wrapped both around his legs. "Mom and Dad and Jazz can't hear it. Normal humans can't hear it. And… earlier you said that it sounds… ominous. Like… it's scary to our human half, like it's trying to drive you away. So…so how?"

"Phantom… I… I don't know." The human stuttered, wide eyes starting to water.

"And Mom and Dad were down there for hours that day. Jazz was in the house too. Why… why didn't they hear anything?" His words quickened with something that might have been panic. "Why didn't any of them investigate? Figure it out? Why were we hearing it? Why…why us?" His voice lowered, almost whispering. "Why me?"

Fenton said nothing for a long moment. Why me? The words rang in his head, a question he'd asked himself before. Why had all this happened to him? The terror at seeing his own ghostly face in the mirror. Lying to his friends and family, to himself. Being literally split in half. Heart-breaking grief, thinking he'd really died. Denial, denial of his very personhood; he was just an imposter, just a tricky, deceptive, confused ghost. A hole, a gaping hole in his very soul and not knowing, having no idea why he felt so wrong. Being chased and shot by his parents. Being rejected by himself two times over; Phantom didn't want to refuse and Fenton… Fenton was scared of his own ghost half. All those cruel words, every fearful, belittling thing their parents had said about ghosts.

All that pain, that fear, that stress. None of that…. None of that would have happened if he hadn't gone inside the portal.

His ghost finally spoke. "Was this always gonna happen, no matter what? If something…" His voice shook with a sob. "something… was calling us. And just us. Just me. Just… then… did we even have a choice? Was this just… fate or destiny or something? Could…could we have stopped it? Could we have done… something… something different? Or…" Tears dripped down his face. "Why did… why did we have to get hurt? Why did…did this have to happen?"

Fenton trembled, mind racing. "I don't… I don't know."

Why him? Why? He was crying as well, hugging Phantom tightly. His thoughts rang with the same questions, the same pains. And… and the human was cursing himself. Because… because he was passed this, damnit! Yes, he hated all the pain and suffering he'd gone through. All of It, the portal and the accident, the ghost catcher and the split, was horrible. It was awful but… he thought he'd accepted reality. Yes, all this painful stuff had happened but it was in the past. There was nothing to do about it so he just had to live with it. Besides…. All this pain had given him his powers, his ghost half, Phantom. It gave him Phantom. The ghost catcher let him get to know this new part of himself. And he loved that. He loved flying and learning about his powers and the ghost zone. He loved meeting Sidney and getting to banter with Phantom, with himself. It wasn't… it wasn't all bad.

But… but… was it really worth it? Was this worth the pain? His world was turning on its head again. Because the portal might not have been an accident. It wasn't all his own stupidity to blame, his own carelessness. But something might have drawn him there. And he didn't know. He didn't know what this all meant. But it hurt so much, all these questions, these same what ifs ringing in his heart. It hurt, that ache in his soul, the gaping hole screaming in pain.

So the boys cried, mourning again, caught in this spiral. Fenton and Phantom hugged each other, each trying to take comfort in the other half of himself. They cried in sync, every sob, every gasp, every breath taken as one. And if the embrace had been with anyone else, it would have been comforting, cathartic. Yet… despite the two bodies, Danny was still alone, only hugging himself.

That was… until the door gently slide open and a soft voice asked. "Danny?"

Neither responded to their name, barely making out their sister's long red hair through the tears. Fenton closed his eyes, looking down shamefully. Then… the bed creaked. Jazz wrapped her arms around him and Phantom.

"Hey. It's okay. You're okay." The girl muttered, rubbing both's backs.

With the comfort, Fenton slowly calmed down. His breathing slowed, tears drying. Jazz just held both of him, saying nothing. The human's pounding heart slowed and the ghost's core sped up, both barely a beat away from being in sync. Their sister stroked both boys' backs, hands moving up and down soothingly. Finally, finally, after almost five minutes, the Dannys quieted.

Silence. A few breaths. A pause. The group hug gently pulled apart and Jazz asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Neither Danny even thought. The words poured out. About the accident. The pain. The new questions.

"Something… something was calling me….."

"I thought I was over this…"

"But… what if I hadn't listened? What if… I hadn't even gone down there?"

The pair barely kept track of the words, and yet Jazz seemed to follow.

Phantom shook his head, wrapping arms around his own chest. "I don't… I don't even know if this destiny stuff is real. I mean…. I didn't used to believe in stuff like that. But… I don't know… ghosts exist. The ghost zone is real and it's crazy. So much insane stuff's happened. So… so anything's possible, right?"

"Right?" The human waved a hand. "And… and If this destiny stuff is real. If the accident wasn't actually an accident, then… did this happen for a reason? Why… why was it me and not someone else? And…" He shivered. "It… the accident killed me. I… I died and… if something or someone made that happen…. I went through all this… all this horrible shit and-"

"Danny." Jazz's hands were on Fenton's shoulders. "Take a breath, okay?"

The boy's mouth snapped shut. He sucked in a breath through his nose.

"Let's take a step back. You think that there was something… supernatural going on before your accident. Something that led you there. But you don't know that for sure." She emphasized the last part.

"Jazz. I'm sure that something was happening." Phantom insisted.

The girl's eyes shifted to him. "Alright. But, even if you're sure something happened, you don't know what it was. And you may never know. There might not even be a way to figure it out."

The ghost bit his lip. "We… we could try. We could investigate. There's gotta be answers somewhere? There's that library Sidney told me about. Maybe we could find something there?"

Jazz frowned, worry flickering across her face. After a thoughtful pause… "If you really think there's something to this, we can look into it. But…" One hand lifted off of Fenton's shoulder, moving to Phantom. "We have bigger problems to deal with right now. Like getting you back to being one Danny."

The Dannys looked at each other, faces darkening with identical guilt. "Yeah. Yeah, that's true but…" Both said at the same time.

"I want to know." Fenton pleaded.

"No, I… I need to know." Phantom argued.

"Do you though?" Jazz raised a brow. "If you got an answer, would it change anything?"

"Yes." The ghost boy frowned.

"Would it really though?" The red-head implored. "It wouldn't change what happened. You still went into the portal because you were curious. No one forced you to do that, even if there was an outside influence. You still made that decision. And you still choose how you'd respond after."

The words dug into Fenton's heart. "Uhh. Yeah, that's right." He looked down shamefully.

"And it doesn't change your current situation. You're still split and we're still trying to figure out how to fix that."

"Yeah." Phantom agreed, sadly.

"So you see what I'm saying? Knowing won't change anything. And sitting here and wondering about it… that'll just drive you crazy."

"But…" The human Danny bit his lip. "I still want to know."

Jazz reached forward, squeezing his hand. "I get that. I do. And if you really think there's something here, we can talk to Mom and Dad and investigate."

Both Dannys perked up, nodding enthusiastically.

"But." Jazz interrupted before they could speak, holding a finger up. "After we get you back in one body . And…" Her expression softened. "With the understanding that there might not be an answer to find. And if there is one… it might not be the one you want."

Phantom stiffened, looking up and meeting her eyes. "Jazz. I…" He opened and closed his mouth, struggling for words. But there were none. Both of him knew there was no refuting what their sister was saying. Still… both boys' shoulders slumped.

Jazz continued softly. "I know. I know that sucks but it's true. If you go into this with that attitude, thinking that you need to know because it will be some earth-shattering revelation that will make all this pain worth it, and it's not the answer you're looking for, you'll be devastated."

"But… I won't… I wouldn't be that upset. I mean… It'll be what it is and I'll be fine…." Fenton argued, grasping at increasingly slippy straws. Then his words trailed off as he realized the lie on his tongue. But he continued, cringing as he still tried to justify his denial. "But… I mean… if this did happen for a reason, if I do have some destiny, then don't I need to know? I mean… this could change-"

"Danny, this doesn't change anything." The girl narrowed her eyes, counting off on her fingers. "It doesn't change what happened. It doesn't change your current situation. And it in no way erases the immense progress you've made in the last few weeks. I know this feels like world shattering information, like everything's different…. but it's not. I promise you it's not."

"Because, no matter what else was going on, I made a choice." Ghost Danny offered, only a slight question in his voice. "I went in there because I was curious. There's no changing what happened." Yes. Yes. That was true. Fenton agreed. But… "So there's no point wondering about it. But…"

"It's hard to stop worrying." Jazz supplied, understanding.

"Yeah." Phantom said mildly.

"Yeah." The human agreed. His sister was right. Despite what his heart was still screaming, this didn't necessarily change everything. In fact, it might not change anything at all. "You're right. Like you said, the accident and split still happened. Maybe something brought us there. Or maybe it was just random, just happened because of my own actions. Either way… we probably wouldn't know for a long time. So…" He took a breath. "We'll try to stop worrying about it."

His sister's face softened as she offered a comforting smile. "And no matter what we find out or don't find out, you'll be alright. Everyone loves you so much and we're all here for you. Okay? So you don't need to keep stressing yourself out."

Fenton looked to his ghost half. The other boy was still biting his lip, an unsure expression on his face. And…. the human knew what that was; he felt it too. He wanted to believe that. He wanted to stop worrying about all this but… there was more.

Jazz must have read something else in his expression as well. "What is it?"

Phantom's shoulders rose, tense. "It's just… all of this is a lot. Talking about the accident and wondering if it wasn't really an accident… and…. Everything else that's happened. It's…. I've been through so much bad stuff. Like…. being split… not… not feeling like a whole person, Because… because I'm not…. it hurts. It hurts so much." He shivered. "The accident, dying was… was bad, really bad. It… it shouldn't have happened. I'm…I'm 14. I'm a freaking kid. Kids aren't supposed to die." His voice lowered, pained. "I wasn't… wasn't supposed to die like this."

There was a long, heavy moment of silence. Phantom's head hung down, a grieved expression on his face. Jazz bore the same look. And Fenton…. His heart hurt. Because that was true. All those bad things had happened to him. It wasn't fair, there was no excusing it, not changing it and yet….

"I hate that any of this happened. But…" Phantom finally looked up, taking a breath. "Good stuff came out of it. I was really curious and excited to see what's on the other side of the portal and now I get to find out personally. I've seen it. I've met another ghost and I'm finding out what it's like to be one myself. And… that's not… that's not all bad, right?" He looked at Fenton.

The human nodded eagerly, feeling the corner of his lip turn up. "No, there's some really awesome stuff about being a ghost. Flying's incredible. And seeing the night sky like we can, with all those colors…." He sighed, some of that enthusiasm waning. "It's just… all this horrible stuff happened. And this good stuff too. And we… I don't know how to feel about it."

Jazz's brow furrowed, expression just as conflicted as his own. "I don't know either, Danny. I don't know." She sighed. "I do know… I hate that you had to go through all this too. You didn't deserve it and it wasn't fair. No one likes going through pain. Suffering in and of itself isn't good but… you're right. Good things can come out of it. Life is strange like that. But I'm proud of how you've handled all this." Her voice rang out, loving and genuine.

Fenton slowly smiled at the words. "Really? You're proud of me?"

"Yes. You've grown so much." Jazz vowed. "I know this has been so hard. But you've clearly learned a lot." She looked between the two versions of her brother. "I remember how awkward things were between you just a few weeks ago. But you're accepting yourself and…" The corner of her lip turned up. "You're happier. I've noticed how much you've loved bantering with yourself."

"Yeah." Phantom agreed. "Being split has sucked but… I like that part." His grieved expression finally melted away, into an appreciative smile. "Fenton does always laugh at my puns."

The human rolled his eyes, his face slowly mirroring Phantom's. "I mean… who else is gonna appreciate that sense of humor? Other me's a pun master." Fenton said, with more than a hint of affection. Then…. The boy sighed, more serious. "Still… it's hard. All this bad stuff and good stuff coming from the same thing. It's just…" He ran a hand through his hair, eyes big and earnest. "Phantom asked me, right after we told Mom and Dad, if I regret going in the portal. And… I still don't know. I wouldn't…" He clenched his jaw, pained at the thought. "I wouldn't want to die again. But I wouldn't want to lose my powers either. Something horrible brought me something really good. So…." He breathed out, soft gaze fixing on Phantom before turning back to Jazz. "How do I make sense of that?"

"Maybe… " Jazz's flickered from one face to other. She reached out to take one of Fenton's and one of Phantom's hands, squeezing. "you don't need to."

The human boy blinked. "What?"

"Maybe you don't need to make sense of this." She continued, softly, so gently. "It's okay if you don't know. This is so complicated. And maybe you can't simplify it into good or bad. And you don't need to. Just… take the good and bad together."

Something in both Dannys' heart and core stirred at the words. Something inside untensed, loosened even, at the revelation. Could they… could they do that? Just… stop trying to make everything fit together, just stop trying to make everything make sense. Both pairs of eyes started watering and both bodies leaned forward at the same time as Jazz. Again, the girl wrapped both of her brother up in a hug.

"Really?" Phantom whispered.

Jazz nodded, her hair brushing Fenton's face with the movement. "Yes. You don't have to have an answer, okay? You don't have to make everything make sense. Just take things as they are."

Human Danny relaxed at the words, a burden lifted off of him with the new perspective. He breathed. "So… all that good and bad stuff…"

His sister tightened her hold. "I heard someone say once. 'Every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things either or make them unimportant.' Horrible things did happen to you, Danny. But there's been really great things too. So… don't get so lost in the bad that you stop seeing the good."

Neither boy responded, just taking in the words, the truth. The truth. Because it was the truth. He'd see it, the good coming from the bad. The struggle, the injustice, the pain was still there but… it didn't outshine what he'd gained.

The two Dannys pulled away. "Sam and Tuck said something like that to me, when we hung out before telling Mom and Dad." Phantom added thoughtfully. "What happened to me was bad, really bad. Horrible actually. And that mattered; we don't need to ignore or discount that. But… I'm still here and I'm still me, even if I'm different."

He was different, Fenton agreed. He was and…. The memory of that night blossomed in his mind. "Being half ghost has changed me. But…" Tucker's words rang in his head. "That's life. Things that happen change you, but you get to choose if it changes you in a good way or a bad way."

"I hope it's mostly been in good ways." The ghost mused, earnest with just a hint of uncertainty.

"Yes, it has." His sister reassured. "I've seen how much you've grown. Comparing where you started, when you told Mom and Dad about your powers before the ghost catcher to now…" She shook her head, her own eyes watering in emotion. "You're so much more confident, more comfortable with yourself. And this, being so open about what you're thinking and feeling, trusting me like this…." She smiled lovingly. "I am so honored and I'm so proud of you." She repeated the same words she said earlier.

The human boy and ghost looked at each other for a moment, each considering the words. Those words, said so lovingly, so affectionately….. The corner of both mouths turned up, comforted. Jazz really… she really did believe in them. It felt so nice for someone to be proud of him. And… there was some truth to her words. The sight of his ghostly face in the mirror wasn't scary anymore. For the most part, the powers weren't terrifying and uncontrollable but actually pretty cool. And they had talked more openly about secrets, pains, and struggles with loved ones in the past few weeks. But….

"You've come so far with accepting yourself." Jazz continued. "And with trusting us with what's going on. Me, your friends, Mom and Dad… we're all so proud of you."

Fenton's heart clenched at the last part, the happy, assured attitude draining. Mom and Dad….

The human boy bit his lip. "Do you really think Mom and Dad are proud of me?"

His sister's smile suddenly twitched into a frown. "Yes, of course. Why would you ask that?"

Phantom looked down. "There's… still a lot we haven't told them."

"Like what?" Jazz asked.

The words weren't said severally, but gently, kindly. Still… Fenton fought not to curl in on himself as his guilt flared.

"Personal stuff." His ghost muttered. "Like… how I used to be so sure that they were right. That… there really was something wrong with me. That I was… was a monster."

A dozen now-forsaken thoughts sprung up in Fenton's mind. He'd been so afraid of his powers, so scared of the 'symptoms' overtaking him. He'd been so terrified, so disgusted with the idea of himself as a ghost that…

"I thought I was an imposter." His ghost half finished the thought. "Right after the ghost catcher. I thought… Fenton was the real Danny and I was just a fake, some… some confused ghost. Because… there was… there was no way I was their son. Not when… when they still had a normal, human son. I was just… some monster. "

Fenton didn't say anything, just wrapping an arm around his other half in solidarity. The ghost sniffled, tears welling in his eyes again. A heavy pause fell over the room.

Then finally, Jazz spoke. "Danny… Phantom you really… you really thought you were an imposter, that you weren't Danny?"

Both boys looked up, taking in her face. The red-head's eyes were wide. Surprise, devastation, and… just a hint of realization flashed over her face. Both Dannys nodded.

"I am so sorry." Jazz vowed. "I am so sorry something made you think that. And…" Her expression hardened, anger flickering across her face. "Mom told you that, tried to convince you, even after you told our parents who you are."

"That's why we hadn't told them about that." Phantom's shoulders fell. "We haven't really told them much about what happened between going through the ghost catcher and when I finally talked to them."

Fenton nodded, studying Jazz again. Her brow furrowed, lips pursed. And the boy half expected her to push, to ask why he hadn't told them, to demand he talk to them but…

"I think I understand why you didn't tell them everything at first." She blew out a breath, face softening. "But… do you want to tell them now?"

There was no demand, no persuasion, no pressure. Just a simple question.

"We should tell them." Fenton bit his lip. "But… I don't know."

Phantom ran a hand through his hair. "They've gotten so much better. But…. I don't know if we can trust them with this yet. I mean… what are they…. What are they going to think? Things are finally good with them. And I don't… don't want to ruin it with this. What if they can't handle it?"

Both Dannys hated the words coming out of their mouth. This same old song and dance. Trust and vulnerability argued to be heard. Mom and Dad accepted his ghost half; they'd seen it in a dozen different ways in the past week. But…old hurts and fears flared. A week… a week wasn't really that long. And this secret, this hurt could drive a wedge. Everyone had been so happy lately and bringing this up would… it would just drudge up bad feelings. He didn't want his parents to be upset but…

"Danny…" Jazz drew him out of his thoughts. "Don't worry about whether or not Mom and Dad can handle it. The question is, are you ready to trust them with this?"

"Yes… No. I don't know." Fenton shook his head.

His mind whirled, pulled in two directions. He should tell them. He needed to tell them. And yet… fear. Bringing up… bringing up those feelings in front of Jazz was hard enough.

"I don't… I don't wanna tell them." Phantom fixed his eyes down.

"Danny…" Their sister started.

"I'm not ready." The ghost's shoulders rose. "I'm not… I'm not ready to bring all that up again." His voice didn't wave, more certain than Fenton's response had been.

Jazz didn't say anything for a moment, frown deepening. Then she sighed. "If you don't feel ready, then I guess you don't need to talk to them about this right now."

Both Dannys suddenly looked up, surprised. "Really? I figured you'd-"

She cut the human boy off, eyes narrowing. "But you can't put it off indefinitely. You'll have to talk to them at some point."

"Do we really have to though?" Phantom whined slightly. "I mean… do they really need to know…"

The red-head crossed her arms. "You've talked about this with me multiple times. Yes, the imposter bit is new information. But clearly you internalized a lot of their harmful, biased opinions about ghosts, hence why you were so terrified of your powers and thought you were a monster. Clearly, this has really bothered you. And you wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't important to you."

Fenton's shoulders fell. Well…. There was no argument there. "Okay, you got me there. It does… it does really bother me but… what exactly am I supposed to say?" He shrugged, shoulders lifting in question. "Hey Mom and Dad, you know that awful stuff you taught me about ghosts growing up? Well, it really f-ed me up."

"Enough that I literally didn't think I was a real person for almost an entire week." Phantom added pointedly.

"It's a start." Jazz sighed, shaking her head. "Maybe not so pointed though." She raised a brow, giving him a serious look. "Starting with an accusatory tone is likely to provoke a defensive response. But you have the general idea." Her expression then softened. "Danny, I know you don't want to talk to them and you don't feel ready. But you'll have to at some point. And it's better to try to plan, and go into the situation knowing that you're going to have that conversation, than to just blurt it out. So plan how you'll do this, okay?"

For several heartbeats, both Dannys just sat there with their arms crossed. Fenton almost scowled, tempted to argue. Earlier, he would have refused to listen. Talking to his parents about this emotional stuff willingly? Just saying it, not because he was pressured or feeling upset, but because he just chose to? No thank you. And yet…

The last time he'd just blurted it out and blown up…. The memory flashed in Fenton's mind, making him shiver. Mom's snarling face, eyes burning with anger. 'You're supposed to be human!' The air sucked out of Phantom's lungs. 'I was right. You're not sorry. You'll never really love a ghost.' Turning tail and fleeing.

They'd just flown away then, just fled, convinced that Mom still hated Phantom. But… they'd been wrong. They'd been wrong. Mom had run into the Ghost Zone to find him. She'd apologized. She was trying so hard to make it up to them, to be not just comfortable with but to completely love and accept his ghostliness.

And after the game night, when she'd said good night to them… Mom had tried to ask about him and Phantom. His parents had asked about the accident too. They wanted to know. They wanted to help him, to share that pain. And yet… there was still this barrier between them. Danny himself was still putting up that wall.

Heart and core clenching guilty, both ghost and human sighed, answering in sync. "We'll think about it."

Jazz frowned, eyes narrowing slightly. "No, don't just think about it. Do it." She pointed a finger at them. "I'd hate to do it but If you won't talk to them sooner rather than later, I will poke. I'm not letting you get out of this conversation."

The ghost boy put up his hands. "Jeez, Jazz. Give us a few days before you throw me under the bus."

"Hey." The girl pointed. "The last time you asked for space and I gave it to you, you got into a huge fight with Mom and ran off to another dimension. I'll only poke if you don't talk to them." The girl huffed. "And it would be for your own good." Her eyes softened. "I don't want you tearing yourself up because of this and I really think talking to Mom and Dad would help you."

"You're probably right." Fenton muttered, not happy with admitting that his sister was correct in this aspect. "We do need to talk to them and it… might… help."

Phantom sighed. "So we'll figure out how to have that conversation."

"Good." The red-head nodded. "And I will hold you to that."

"Of course you will." Fenton rolled his eyes.

"Hey." Jazz's expression softened. "I'm so insistent because I care about you. You know that, right?"

With that, the grumpy attitude dissolved. "Yeah, we know." Both said in unison.

"And if you need to talk about everything some more, I'm here, okay?" She reached out, placing a hand on each boy's arm and squeezing.

"Okay." Phantom nodded. "We're good for now but we'll let you know." The words were authentic, reflecting the gratitude in his core. "Thanks for always listening and…" The tears had long since stopped, but he wiped the remnants from his face. "Dealing with me."

Fenton offered their sister a smile as well. "Yeah, thanks Jazz." The human's cheeks reddened with a blush. "Sorry for getting all cry-y on you."

"No, it's okay. I get it. Realizing what you did was a lot. You have every right to get upset." Her eyes shone proudly. "Thank you for sharing that with me. And I'm really proud of you for talking about the accident." Again, she reached forward, hugging both versions of her brother. "I love you so much, Danny."

The Dannys returned the sentiment. "I love you too, Jazz."

They lingered in the hug for a few moments before Jazz pulled away. "If you don't need me for anything else, I'll let you go to bed."

"We're good." Fenton answered. At the same time, his ghost half nodded, agreeing.

Jazz stood and Phantom floated off the bed, starting to prepare himself for the night. The red-head walked to the door and reached to open it but…

"Jazz?" Fenton asked.

"Yes?" She turned to face him.

"Did you seriously use a Doctor Who quote on me?" One eyebrow raised, lips parting in a subdued smile.

The corner of Jazz's lips turned up as well, eyes sparking playfully. "It's a good quote."

Phantom shook his head, chuckling. "From Vincent and the Doctor? Your favorite episode, right?"

Their sister nodded, looking pleased. "That's the one. I can't believe you remembered that was my favorite."

The ghost shrugged. "It's a really good episode. Not as good as The Unquiet Dead though." He grinned.

Jazz shook her head. "Of all the episodes… I will never understand, why that one?"

Fenton held out his fingers, as if to start counting. "Well first, it's from the first season of the new series, and you never skip Nine. Second-"

"Don't you start." The girl rolled her eyes. "We both need to sleep."

Phantom's eyes flashed, a mischievous look covering his face. "Well actually-"

"No." Jazz pointed a finger at him. "I'm going to bed." She opened the door and…

"Actually… it was a really good quote." The ghost boy interrupted, the playful look replaced with something grateful. "Really relevant. So… thanks again, Jazz."

"Anytime." The red-head smiled. "Anytime. Good night, little brother."

"Good night." Both Dannys chorused.

With that, Jazz closed the door and soon after, Fenton fell asleep.