Danny had only waited for about ten minutes before his parents entered the basement, no longer in their formal outfits from before. Now they were clad in the hazmat suits that they practically lived and breathed in, to the point where Danny was surprised that they actually didn't sleep in them as well. He sat down on the edge of a metal table while Maddie and Jack walked over to the table parallel to it. They reached for a tube filled with a dull orange liquid before sticking a needle into it. Great, a shot, Danny thought to himself. It wasn't that he was afraid of needles, it was the worry that too many needle pricks in the wrong places would get people thinking the wrong idea of him.

"What's this supposed to do?" He asked them as Maddie walked over to him, needle in hand.

"To put it simply, it's something to try to flush the ectoplasm out of your system... if our calculations are correct." Danny tried not to scoff at her answer; they've been saying that for a while now.

"What are the symptoms?" He inquired, knowing that most of these experimental antidotes usually had a few, and the guilty look she gave him told him it wouldn't be good.

"Flu-like symptoms," she answered reluctantly, causing Danny to sigh, but at the same time, a blue mist escaped from his mouth. He learned a long time ago that this was something that only happened when another ghost was around, hence why he referred to it as his ghost sense.

"A ghost is nearby. I can take care of it," he said as he rose from the table, but Maddie put an arm out to stop him from moving any further.

"Stop trying to fight ghosts, Danny," she told him, like many times before. "Your father and I will handle it like we always do. You could get hurt," Danny tried not to roll his eyes at her response. They weren't aware of it, but sometimes he'd sneak out if he detected any ghosts. The only ones who knew about it were Tucker and Jazz; the only people he trusted with his emotions and thoughts. It wasn't too often, but if he had these powers he thought he'd might as well use them. Even if he did get hurt, he learned over the years that he healed faster than the average human. He'd rather have himself get hurt over his parents any day.

"Just stay here, son. We'll be back," Jack told him as Maddie placed the needle down onto the lab table. Without another word, they both ran out of the basement, leaving Danny to himself. He sighed to himself before checking the time on his phone and immediately went to the video chat app. As he made his way up to his room, he decided to call Jazz since it wasn't too late. He sat down at his computer desk and only waited a few moments before she answered on her laptop.

"How bored are you right now that you're calling me?" She asked jokingly right away, causing him to snort.

"What if I missed you?"

"Not probable," she countered, causing him to laugh.

"You know, sometimes you make it hard to miss you. You're pretty annoying." He expected her to get mad at the jab, but she just smirked.

"Ditto," she stated, "so what's up?"

"Just the same old shit."

"Are Mom and Dad still out?"

"They came home to try to give me a new treatment, but a ghost interrupted, and I'm glad," he sighed and rested his arms down on the desk, "I'm getting really tired of it. All they do is make me sick."

"Well, you know my standpoint on it. There's no use trying to fix something that isn't broken," she said, causing Danny to raise his eyebrows.

"Something that isn't broken? What's going on with me isn't normal,"

"It's definitely not normal, but it's also not hurting you in any way. If anything, you have an advantage over everybody else!" Danny looked down, and Jazz could sense his confusion. Their parents seemed to only see the bad side of his powers, but there were plenty good about them as well. "Come on. Don't pretend like a part of you doesn't think your powers are cool," she said with a crooked smile which Danny returned.

"They can be pretty cool," he admitted, but his face twisted in distraught, "but face it, Jazz. I'll never be accepted by society like this."

"You could always be the one to change that," she said softly, but it was clear he was unsure of himself. Not wanting to make the mood any darker, she decided to change the subject. "So, what else is going on?" She questioned, and Danny paused for a moment to reflect back on the last few weeks.

"Nothing really," he answered with a shrug.

"How's Tucker?"

"He's fine. I'll see him tomorrow and Monday,"

"What have you guys been up to? Anything new?" She continued to ask, causing Danny to roll his eyes.

"There's never anything new. All I do is workout, play video games, hang out with Tucker and read," he answered, leaning back in his chair.

"Well, I heard about Mom and Dad hiring a housekeeper. Do we trust her? To not take anything, I mean," Danny found himself scoffing in exasperation at the question.

"No way! Her family's loaded. She has no reason to take anything. And even if her family didn't have money, she's not the type of person to steal,"

"And how would you know?" Jazz asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I've kind of been talking to her," he admitted almost guiltily, knowing it broke the rules, and Jazz was fully aware of it as well. She only sighed and gave him a disapproving look.

"I'm assuming Mom and Dad have no idea,"

"No, and please don't say anything to them," he pleaded to her, "She's really cool and actually cares about me. Do you remember Sam Manson?" Jazz suddenly looked surprised, as if she didn't expect her out of all people to be hired by her parents.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she was in Tucker's grade. I didn't really talk to her in high school, but it's clear from her activism that she's always trying to do the right thing," Danny scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Like protesting? About what?"

"Animal rights, women's rights, equality, you name it," she said with a wave of her hand.

"So, you won't tell Mom and Dad?" She gave him a strange look before grabbing a hair tie off screen to put her hair in a ponytail.

"You're an adult, Danny. You do what you want. I don't want to keep you from your future girlfriend,"

"What? No! She's just a friend," he defended.

"Uh-huh, that's what you said about Valerie after Mom pulled you out of high school. Next thing I know you're sneaking out to see her. I didn't tell back then and I won't tell now."

"I'm not sneaking out to see her," he said matter of factly.

"Yet," she added, causing him to scoff.

"Cut it out, okay?"

"Just use protection," he put his hands over his ears as if the words physically hurt them.

"Jesus, Jazz! This is what I mean. This is why it's hard to miss you!" He exclaimed, but she only laughed in response.

"You can't wait for me to get back,"

"On the contrary," he replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Maybe I can help you ghost fight once in a while when I come home for the holidays," she added, but Danny shook his head.

"Mom and Dad can never know about that. If I start bringing you it's going to be way harder to hide,"

"We'll think of something," she said, waving a hand in dismissal. Danny was about to protest, but he could hear a commotion from downstairs followed by Maddie calling his name. He sighed and slumped his shoulders, giving Jazz a defeated look.

"I have to go back down to the basement," he told her, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She knew the last thing he wanted was pity, but she just felt bad knowing he was struggling, especially without her there to comfort him.

"You can call me back tomorrow," she said, wanting him to have something to look forward to. He only gave her a forced smile as he stood up.

"I will. Talk to you then." He closed out the call and left his phone face down on his desk before turning to leave his room. These experimental treatments either didn't affect him at all or affected him so much that it started to damage him. He trusted his parents and knew they were doing their best, but sometimes he really considered stopping treatment altogether. There were only so many chances he could give before getting sick of all the failed attempts. His patience was wearing thin and it was only a matter of time before he broke away from all of it.


Sorry for such a long wait D: Like I said before, I don't have anything planned, so I'm writing this as I go along. Thank all of you for your continued interest in this story, though :D

Time for review replies :P

Musiclover435: Yes, Tucker does know about his ghost half. I think it's the first chapter where Maddie says that Tucker was there when the accident happened :)

Invader Johnny: Exactlyyy ;D

Fan12: LMAO yes

Guest: I know T.T

Guest: Thank you :)

Chloee0x0: Yessss! XD

MidnightWriter44678: Thank you so much!

wiseguy2415: I'm not sure if I explain this in future chapters since I have none planned, so I'll answer the question here. Danny wouldn't open the door at first because, if you think about it, his emotions can end up controlling his powers. When he's angry his eyes glow green, when he's nervous he slips in and out of intangibility unwillingly. He wanted to make sure he was able to talk to Sam without exposing his powers yet in any way. That was kind of a long explanation for such a simple question XD

Guest: Thank you :)

sammansonrepilica: I know they're so adorable and I obviously love writing them together. Thanks :D