Melinoe stared at the lightening ceiling. Her sleep had been interrupted by numerous half-remembered nightmares involving her mother and ghosts. She sighed while listening for any sign of other house occupants moving around to signal that it was okay for her to get up. She jumped in surprise when her phone erupted with her alarm for school. She grabbed it from the covers beside her and turned it off before sitting up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Her body was exhausted from the lack of sleep, but her mind was spinning, thoughts crashing around her head about her mother, the mystery of Danny and why Phantom hadn't come back yet. She threw the cosy covers off herself and made her way to the bathroom before returning to the spare room to get ready for the day, hoping that the day would bring better news than the last.
While she was getting ready, she heard someone go into the bathroom and a few minutes later someone else head downstairs. Melinoe smiled in relief. She was sick of waiting for an acceptable hour of the morning to arrive. She followed the person downstairs and heard voices in the kitchen. She entered the room and was suddenly lunged on by her dog, licking every inch of her he could reach and jumping up for cuddles. Melinoe laughed at him as she tried to calm him down. She looked up where she saw Jazz smirking to herself as she prepared a coffee pot and some breakfast for the household. Danny was relaxing in a kitchen chair chuckling at the dog and girl.
"I took him for a quick walk around the block already for his business," Danny informed the teen when the dog finally settled down. Melinoe blinked in surprise before smiling in thanks.
"Did he behave for you? He has this thing for getting tangled around posts and trees," Melinoe asked.
"He may have gotten tangled once or twice, but he was fine," Danny assured with a smirk as Rusty sat beside Melinoe, tongue lolling happily to one side.
"Mel, do you want eggs and bacon for breakfast? I'm making some for Danny and Richard," Jazz called from the stove.
"Please," Melinoe replied. Danny got up without prompting and set the table for the four of them, Melinoe offered to help but Danny waved for her to stay put. Richard marched into the kitchen moments before Jazz served breakfast to the three sitting at the table before she pulled some fruit out of the fruit bowl and made herself a fruit salad for breakfast. She sat down at the table moments later and Melinoe frowned in confusion, knowing that Jazz ate meat.
"Since getting pregnant, all that greasy food doesn't agree with me," Jazz admitted, noticing Melinoe's unspoken question.
"Mel, do you want a lift to school?" Richard offered a few minutes later. Melinoe paused mid-bite before turning to the man.
"You do go to school, right?" Richard remarked with a frown.
"Yeah, I go to Casper High but… I hadn't actually thought about going," Melinoe muttered, glancing at Danny who was frowning in thought.
"The school has ghost alarms but… I don't think it has defences. One day can't hurt. She can stay with Tucker for the day. He has enough tech in his house to protect her," Danny commented thoughtfully.
"Danny, you should know more than anyone that school is important," Richard pointed out.
"Believe me Richard, I know school is important. But so is Mel's safety. I think she can lose one day in this situation. Her mom is missing, and a ghost might be after her. Hopefully, Sam will be found, and the ghost dealt with by Monday," Danny retorted.
"Why can't you protect me?" Melinoe interjected before Richard could argue further. Danny turned to her in surprise.
"Tucker called you to help him protect me. But you didn't say anything about you protecting me today," Melinoe elaborated, not mentioning that she knew the man didn't have anything else to do that day like work. Danny nodded.
"I'm planning to go to Fentonworks and look further into Sam's disappearance," Danny replied.
"I think it's wise to involve your parents Danny. They are at least experienced," Richard praised approvingly, missing the shared glance between Danny and Jazz.
"Anyway, since I'm going to be looking into the ghost, you need to stay with Tucker," Danny concluded.
"Unless I came with you," Melinoe argued.
"Bad idea Mel," Danny instantly retorted.
"Why!?" Melinoe pressed with a scowl.
"If the ghost is after you, you investigating is exactly what it wants. We need to put some distance between you and the ghost," Danny answered.
"But we don't even know that this ghost is after me," Melinoe complained.
"Trust me Mel, it's better you stay out of this," Danny decided.
"It's my mom that ghost took!" Melinoe growled.
"I know that Mel. Which is why I understand that you're upset and want to help. But we need to think about this carefully. The ghost has your mom, they have the power. So, we need to figure out what they want with Sam and try to rescue her without putting anyone else, like you, in danger," Danny retorted with a frown.
"How come you get to make that decision?" Melinoe challenged.
"Because Tucker asked me to," Danny answered. Melinoe scowled at him before slumping in her seat in defeat.
"I can give you two a lift to Tucker's," Jazz offered. Danny shook his head.
"I don't want to drag you into this anymore than I already have. We can walk. It'll wear out Rusty," Danny decided.
"Okay, just let me know later if you two will be back for dinner or if you're eating with Tucker," Jazz requested. Danny said that he would and before long, Richard left the house for his car and Danny, Melinoe and Rusty walked down the street.
"Jazz seems nice," Melinoe mumbled, deciding to put aside their disagreement over breakfast. Danny smirked and nodded.
"She is. She'll be a great mom," Danny agreed.
"What does she and Richard do for a living?" Melinoe wondered. Danny glanced at her with a confused frown.
"Why didn't you ask them?" he replied.
"Didn't see the right opportunity," Melinoe answered with a shrug. Danny nodded in understanding.
"Richard's a lawyer. He works in a firm in Amity Park, one of the bigger ones, but while they're based in Amity Park, they do branch out to other nearby towns. Jazz is a psychologist. She's been working in the mental health department of Amity Park General Hospital since she moved back here after marrying Richard and settling down with him. But I know she wants to set up her own practice," Danny explained.
"She's a shrink?" Melinoe remarked in surprise.
"Mmhm. She's good at it too. She's had tons of practice over the years with my friends and family, but especially me. She's like my personal shrink," Danny confirmed with a chuckle. Melinoe smirked uncertainly, sensing that despite Danny's joking tone, the comment was more real than he wanted to admit.
Unexpectedly Danny turned down a dark alleyway. Melinoe hovered uncertainly at the alleyway opening and Danny soon realised that the teen hadn't followed and had stopped her dog following him also.
"What's wrong?" he called to her.
"It's just… are you sure it's a good idea to go down that alleyway?" Melinoe muttered, self-consciously glancing around herself. Danny smirked.
"We'll be fine. If anything happens, I'll be here to protect you," Danny assured.
"What if you can't?" Melinoe retorted realistically. Danny chuckled as he walked back towards her.
"I'm the son of two of the most paranoid ghost hunters I've ever seen, and I've met quite a few. My mom's a ninth-degree black belt and taught me some moves. I can defend myself Mel. You're safe with me," Danny revealed. Melinoe chewed her lip before nodding gradually and followed Danny into the alleyway.
"Although I wouldn't recommend that you use this short cut without me or some kind of protection," Danny added thoughtfully. Melinoe nodded in agreement.
"What are your parents like?" Melinoe wondered. She had heard plenty of stories of Madeline and Jack Fenton. Not many of them were complimentary of the aging couple. Danny blew out a long breath before rubbing the back of his neck.
"My parents… jeez how to describe them without making them sound crazy," Danny muttered to himself, making Melinoe stifle a laugh.
"Well, my mom… she's really smart. She invents most of what my parents make. She's tough too. I've seen her take down a small army of ghosts with nothing but a Fenton staff, which is basically an anti-ghost stick. She's the more… focused of my parents, driven to achieve any goals they set their minds to. My dad, well you wouldn't know it, but he's smart too. He comes up with a lot of the concepts behind my parents' inventions and he has a way with machinery. He taught me how to do general DIY around a house. Although I think he did it so he could off load those jobs on me when I was younger. He's not the best fighter but he's unbelievable when he's on defence in a fight," Danny described.
"But what were they like as parents?" Melinoe pressed, intrigued by such a different point of view than she'd ever heard before. Danny hummed reluctantly.
"Honestly… they could be forgetful. They can get a little… obsessed with their work. Jazz raised me more than they did. Not that they weren't great parents, but they weren't really present in my life, especially when I got a bit older. But I know they love me and Jazz. When it counts, they're there for us," Danny admitted. Melinoe nodded before frowning to herself.
"At least they're around though," she mumbled to herself. Danny glanced at her.
"I haven't heard anything about a dad from you," Danny mentioned carefully. Melinoe shook her head.
"I don't even know who my dad is. My mom won't tell me for some reason, she keeps saying she'll tell me when I'm older but… I dunno how much older I have to be before she can tell me. My grandparents don't know. Tucker doesn't know. It's like he never existed," Melinoe sighed sadly.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Danny offered. Melinoe flashed him a small smile.
"Thanks. I just want to know why he didn't stick around. Why he didn't bother to get to know me, even if it was only a little," Melinoe confessed.
"Maybe he didn't know about you. Maybe your mom and him only had a quick fling and he was gone before Sam even knew about you," Danny suggested.
"Maybe. But I get the feeling that my parents had more than a few dates," Melinoe revealed.
"How come?" Danny prompted.
"It's just little comments she's let slip over the years. Like comparing me to him. Or how I look like him sometimes. Usually it's when she thinks I'm asleep or not listening, but she knew him really well," Melinoe explained. Danny frowned to himself and they fell silent.
A few minutes later, Melinoe plucked up the courage to break the silence that had fallen over them.
"Do you know who my dad is?" Melinoe ventured, glancing hopefully at Danny. Danny scowled to himself.
"Why would you think that I'd know?" Danny asked.
"I know you and my mom dated for a while. I wondered if you knew who my mom was with when she got pregnant with me," Melinoe admitted. Danny chewed his lip deep in thought. They kept walking but Melinoe waited anxiously for Danny's answer. However, as his silence stretched from seconds to minutes, Melinoe feared she wouldn't get an answer.
"When your mother and I split up, we didn't talk for a long time. The next time I saw her actually was after she had had you. I can't give you the answer you want," Danny finally replied. Melinoe deflated in disappointment.
"I'm sorry Mel," Danny added sincerely. Melinoe shook her head, swallowing down her disappointed tears. She had thought she might finally learn the truth, or at least a piece of it. But another dead end.
"Who told you about me and Sam?" Danny asked gently.
"Richard mentioned it and when I asked, Jazz told me a bit about what happened. What did happen between you?" Melinoe answered despondently. Danny sighed and shook his head.
"Let's not get into that now. It's in the past and we have more important things to worry about," Danny replied. Melinoe frowned at him before noticing the pain in his eyes at whatever memories he was remembering. She nodded in agreement, deciding to take pity on the man and not push further.
Before long Tucker's house came into view and Danny knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Holly whose welcoming smile was instantly replaced with a scowl.
"Oh, it's you," Holly grumbled.
"Good morning Holly. Nice to see you too," Danny retorted.
"Tucker's busy," Holly informed him.
"I'm not staying Holly. Just dropping off Mel and Rusty. Can you at least pass on a message if you don't want to let me past the front doorstep?" Danny requested. Holly huffed a loud sigh before lazily waving her hand in permission.
"Tell Tucker that I need him to watch out for Mel while I go to Fentonworks to investigate the ghost behind taking Sam," Danny instructed.
"Fine," Holly concluded. Danny rolled his eyes and turned to Melinoe.
"I'll be back later, hopefully with news. Just stay here and listen to Tucker. You should be safe enough here," Danny told her. Melinoe nodded obediently and brushed past Holly into the house.
"Good luck Danny," Melinoe called over her shoulder before Holly snapped the door shut.
"We've already eaten so I hope that loser fed you," Holly commented. Melinoe frowned at the woman before nodding.
"Danny's sister cooked me some breakfast," Melinoe confirmed. Holly gave a curt nod before heading into the open plan living room/kitchen and dropping into a seat on the couch, watching a day-time chat show. Melinoe wrinkled her nose at the show before heading towards Tucker's workshop in the basement.
"He's stuck in his work by the way. He probably won't even notice you," Holly warned before she turned up the volume on the television. Melinoe ignored the woman and navigated the stairs carefully, Rusty ambling along behind her. Melinoe squeaked in surprise when an alarm went off somewhere in the mounds of half-finished projects. Tucker spun around on his stool, holding up an ecto-blaster. Melinoe raised her hands in surrender with a nervous grin. Tucker pulled off his googles and blinked at her in surprise before dropping the gun on the bench beside him.
"Mel? I thought you were with Danny," Tucker remarked with a confused frown.
"Holly is meant to pass on a message but she's busy watching air-heads talk about makeup or whatever," Melinoe retorted. Tucker snorted in amusement.
"You sound so much like Sam when you say stuff like that," Tucker chuckled. Melinoe grinned at him as she stepped down the last few stairs.
"Danny wants me to stay here with you while he goes to Fentonworks to look into my mom's disappearance," Melinoe recounted. Tucker nodded in understanding before jumping in fright when the alarm screamed again. He growled under his breath before diving among his projects and turned off the offending device.
"I think you need to go back to the drawing board on that one," Melinoe commented.
"It's a work in progress. Can't go back until I actually finish it. I'll fix it, don't worry. I always do," Tucker replied with a smirk. Melinoe ventured further into the workspace while Tucker returned to tinkering on the project he was working on when she interrupted him.
Melinoe reached out a hand to touch an intriguing box humming benignly on a bench.
"Mel! Don't touch that. It er can't regulate electricity properly yet. Might shock you," Tucker called. Melinoe jumped back in surprise, not realising that Tucker had been watching her. Melinoe flashed him an apologetic smile before making her way to a spare stool beside Tucker that was covered in papers.
"Can I move these?" she asked, poised to scoop up the mound of documents. Tucker gave her a distracted grunt of permission as he used a delicate screwdriver to tweak the inner workings of a chunky wristband he was working on.
"What are you making?" Melinoe asked, dropping the pile of paper neatly onto the floor beside Tucker's main work bench.
"Personalised shield but it's supposed to be a miniature blaster too. Nothing too powerful since it's meant to be available for the average joe, but strong enough to put off an attacking ghost. The shield is meant to activate when it senses ectoplasm nearby, but I can't get the sensor to work properly yet," Tucker answered before slamming down his screwdriver and grabbing a pair of tweezers instead.
Melinoe perched on the stool and watched the man work in silence for a few minutes. She yawned in boredom and sighed, propping her head in her hand and rested her elbow on Tucker's desk.
"Sorry Mel. I know it's gonna be a boring day for you just watching me," Tucker offered when he noticed her yawn again.
"It's okay. I know why I've gotta be here. Just wish I could help," Melinoe mumbled, Tucker tensed for a few moments, glancing at a nearby device before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Why do you that every time I say the word wish?" Melinoe asked, scowling in confusion.
"There's a wishing ghost that likes to take advantage of people saying stuff like that. Except she doesn't grant your wish the way you meant for it," Tucker admitted. Melinoe blinked in surprise before nodding in understanding.
"So that device lets you know if a ghost is near?" Melinoe pointed out.
"It should. Some ghosts can hide themselves from sensors but not many," Tucker confirmed.
Melinoe struggled to find another topic when a lengthy silence threatened.
"I guess Holly isn't interested in this stuff," Melinoe commented. Tucker sighed and shook his head.
"No. Not really. She's not really into tech to be honest. She's a salesperson. Once she knows how to sell the tech, she doesn't really want to know more," Tucker replied.
"I thought you met at an inventor's convention thing," Melinoe recalled with a frown.
"Yeah we did. Holly was there to scout out the next big thing for her marketing company to invest in. She actually found the whole thing boring, until I turned up that is," Tucker clarified with a smirk. Melinoe smiled uncertainly but didn't voice her thoughts further. She and her mother weren't convinced that Holly even liked Tucker. She belittled his friends, took no interest in his work and often insisted on expensive dates for him to take her on. Her mother had remarked once that Tucker was in love, not with Holly but with the idea of having such a beautiful woman on his arm.
"Is she sticking around all day then?" Melinoe asked, hoping that Tucker would assure her that his girlfriend wouldn't. There was only so much of Holly that Melinoe could stand.
"She mentioned something about hitting the shops after lunch," Tucker mentioned before he growled in frustration and dropped the tweezers on the desk and grabbed another tool.
"Great," Melinoe grumbled.
So, more waiting for Melinoe. Hopefully, someone will have some news for her soon.
So, we're due another special chapter. Any guesses on who's perspective it'll be from?
Until the next chapter.