"What? Your parents?"

Paulina jumped. "But-" She glanced down at herself. "I'm not ready! I'm wearing your shirt and I spent the night! They're gonna get the wrong idea!"

Danny bit his lip. "Paulina-"

"Hush." She raised a finger and flashed it in his direction, silencing him immediately. She glanced down at the oversized shirt.

Her palm hovered over her solar plexus. "Encoge."

The shirt quickly began to tighten, growing smaller, until it hugged every curve of the Latina's body.

The change happened within seconds before Danny's very eyes.

He blinked at her, curious. "Did you just shrink my shirt?"

Paulina peered up at him and flashed him an impish smile.

Before either could say anything else, the parents appeared at the entrance of the kitchen.

Behind them trailed Jazz whose eyes flickered to Danny.

Maddie opened her arms, invitingly.

"You must be Paulina."

She scooped the girl into a gentle embrace that left her heart swirling with relief.

A hug.

That was definitely a good sign.

"Paulina!" Jack boomed, surprising her in the process. He scooped her up into a brief, bone-crushing hug before stepping back and giving her an appreciative look. "You must be my son's girl." He turned and spoke to the boy in question. "You're right, son. She is beautiful."

The man's smile widened as he looked back at the Latina. "Danny has been talking about you non-stop."

"Oh, has he?" Paulina peered back at her blushing boyfriend. She beamed at him, and he smiled shyly.

"Of course he has! And I can definitely see why." Jack paused and peered past Paulina, gaze landing on the meals she'd prepared. "Is that food?"

"Um, yes." It was Paulina's turn to blush. "I, uh, made some food for Danny, but there's more than enough for everyone, if you guys want."

"My goodness!" Maddie breathed, surveying the food. "It smells delicious!"

"She's a chef?" Jack laughed. "This is fantastic!"

The man eagerly rubbed his palms together and licked his lips hungrily. "I, for one, am starving."

Paulina automatically walked into the kitchen.

Now was her chance to make an impression, and she'd always been quite proud of her culinary skills and was eager to show them off.

She began by doing as all the women in her family customarily did: setting the table and then serving the food.

She politely but stubbornly refused Jazz and Maddie's attempts to assist.

Once she joined them at the dinner table, the conversation began.

Jack, between enormous mouthfuls, started off by complimenting her on her "excellent cooking skills."

Jazz agreed, which led Maddie to ask her how she had developed her incredible skills.

"Well," she began, "my father sent me back to Guatemala when I was fourteen, so that I could meet my mother's side of the family. I had been acting out at school and becoming disrespectful, and he figured some time in my home country would do me well. My mother's side of the family is very traditional. They believe a woman must learn household duties so that she may provide for any future husband. They made me do all these chores around the house and around my uncle's farm. As for the cooking—well, my aunt Beatrice taught me everything I know."

Maddie laughed. "I can't cook to save my life. This family is the furthest thing from traditional."

"Of course!" Jack laughed. "Normalcy is overrated. I mean, would any other family come home to dine with a beautiful young lady right after coming from a Tower Powers factory?"

"Tower Powers?" Paulina queried. "What's that?"

"It's a place where they sell all these different parts for a variety of machinery," Maddie explicated.

Jack's voice took on a tone of reverence, his eyes revealing adoration. "It's the store containing gadgets and machine parts of every engineer's dream."

"And this dream includes the study and eventual eradication of ghost species from our world," Maddie added.

"In fact, now would be a great time to show you our latest invention!" Jack's eyes met and Paulina was struck with a blow of enthusiasm that almost felt painful.

She winced and retracted her gaze.

"Uh, I don't think it's a good idea to bring your inventions out when we have guests." Jazz's tone implied vexation, but her eyes betrayed her uneasiness and a twinge of fear.

Jack took off, completely ignorant of Jazz's words.

"Nonsense," Maddie chuckled. "If she wants to be a part of this family, she might as well know what it's like to experience a normal day in the Fenton household."

The large Fenton man returned from the basement with a small gadget cupped between his two hands.

It was a metal box with a dial on one of its faces and what looked like a miniature radio tower erecting upward from its top face.

A quick look at Danny revealed a double of his sister's emotions. "What-" he hesitated. "What does it do?"

"This-" Jack tapped the little ball at the top part of the antenna. "Is supposed to injure any and all ghosts in the vicinity. Hopefully, it has enough anti-ghost energy for them to disintegrate temporarily. Or, at least, that's the plan." His blue eyes twinkled with pride. "This baby is already ready to go."

"But-" Maddie cut in. "We're still working on it. When we were at Tower Powers, we bought this device that is supposed to amplify the power, strengthening the signal so that it covers a wider area."

She chuckled. "Oh, kids. No need to be frightened. It only works on ghosts. It's perfectly harmless for humans."

Jack nodded. "Exactly. Now all we need to do is plug in the battery right here-"

"You mean, right now?" Danny swallowed, his face paling.

"As soon as possible." Maddie announced, cheerily.

"That's amazing!" Paulina chirped.

Danny and Jazz flashed her mirrored looks of incredulity and horror.

Paulina reached out for the device. "It's so-"

Her finger landed on the red ball that stood at the top of the device's tower.

Everything happened too quickly for anyone else to react.

Power exploded from Paulina's core and quickly transferred into the tip of her finger.

She reached into herself and summoned the destructive power that came easily with her fire element.

She jumped, yanking her hand back as sparks flew around the antenna, the sparks disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.

A loud 'whir' emanated from the device.

Paulina reflexively reached out and captured Danny's hand in hers.

The people present held their breaths until the strange sounds ceased.

A final popping sound caused them to flinch back.

Paulina feigned shock, hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, my god! Is that supposed to happen?"

Danny met Paulina's gaze. Surprise and question flew from his eyes.

Jazz was the first to speak. She turned a vexed gaze at Maddie. "Mom. You said it was safe."

"It is! It was working fine." She blinked at the device as Jack hesitantly picked it up. "We tried it yesterday while you guys were out. It was working just fine."

Jack flipped the contraption upside down and unscrewed an almost imperceptible lid at the bottom with a tool he pulled out from his belt.

Smoke poured out from within the contraption the moment he removed the lid.

He peered into it. "Looks like this thing overheated. Almost all of the parts charred. They probably exploded or caught fire or something."

He paused, carefully studying the complex parts of the machine. "One of the parts must've been rusty," Jack deduced.

Maddie took the object from Jack's hands and inspected it. "Impossible. Even if it was, the device was off. You hadn't even put the battery in it. Nothing should've happened if it wasn't running. Besides, why didn't this happen yesterday when we first tried turning it on?"

"Well, Mads." Jack shrugged. "We shoulda known this would happen. A lot of our gadgets are unstable anyways."

"Hm," Maddie furrowed her brows, doubtful.

"Strange, isn't it?" Jazz met Paulina's eyes.

Gratefulness mingled with mirth ebbed from her bright eyes.

The shadow of an esoteric smile lit her face.

"Strange, indeed." Paulina failed to suppress her own smile.

Paulina's attention instinctively shifted to Maddie whose gaze snapped from Jazz to Paulina.

The woman's eyes narrowed. Cynicism and suspicion shot at Paulina who swallowed with sudden trepidation.

Gentle fingers squeezing Paulina's hand pulled her attention back to Danny. He seemed relieved and immensely grateful.

"I'm sorry that happened," Danny diverted his focus back onto his father.

"No problem, kiddo. Things can be remade, repaired, and enhanced."

"Paulina and I are gonna go for a walk," Danny announced, forcing back a frown.

"Alright," Jack waved them off with a smile. "We'll be down in the lab. Call if you need anything."

"Will do." Danny grinned then turned to Paulina. "I'ma go get my phone. Wait here."

"In that case, I'm going, too." Jazz announced. "I'm gonna go call Melanie and see if she wants to hang out."

The siblings disappeared upstairs.

Paulina smiled tenderly as Danny trotted away.

His smile still left a warm feeling buzzing through her.

Because of the buzz Danny left behind, it took a few moments before she sensed the eyes boring into her.

Paulina turned and her gaze captured Maddie's scrutiny.

Despite her conversational attitude, the woman's deep indigo irises swirled with accusation. "Don't you think it's strange how the box combusted so spontaneously?"

"I guess it is kinda strange," Paulina chuckled, nervously.

"Strange how it happened right when it touched your fingers," Maddie countered.

"Mom," Jazz emerged from behind, startling Paulina. "That is why they call it spontaneous combustion. You make it sound like she ruined your device with just a touch of her finger." Jazz's laughter sounded incredibly genuine. "Which wouldn't make any sense because she's clearly not a ghost and has no ghost powers."

"Who's not a ghost?" Danny poked his head into the kitchen, flashing quizzical looks between Maddie and Paulina.

"Oh, children," Maddie chuckled. "You know sometimes those ridiculous ghost theories really get to me. Anyways, I certainly do not think Paulina's a ghost. She's much too tangible."

Maddie smiled and placed a hand Paulina's shoulder, as if to make a point.

"You kids go have fun."

"Will do, Mrs. Fenton," Paulina smiled, though she was desperate to escape the woman's perlustrating eyes.

She moved away from Maddie's touch and backed into another body.

Paulina turned around and peered up into Danny's concerned gaze.

He offered her his favorite navy blue jacket, which she gratefully accepted.

He slipped it on for her then led her away.

The Fenton siblings walked on either side of her. Danny wound his arm around her shoulders, and Jazz placed a hand on the small of her back.

The pair guided her away from Maddie's intense glower.

Neither spoke until they were out the door.

"She's still suspicious. I don't know what she thinks, but she..." Paulina shifted.

Her palms rubbed across her skin in an attempt to stifle the fresh goosebumps.

"We know," Danny interceded.

Jazz nodded. "Once my mom sets her mind on something, she tends not to let it go."

"She's usually got good reason to, too."

"Mom was right, though," Jazz added. "If you wanna be a part of this family, you're gonna have to get used to what we like to call 'normal.'" She placed air quotations over the word normal.

Danny chuckled. "And that includes keeping secrets from my parents and escaping near death experiences."

"Escaping near death experiences is usually my brother's thing since he's the one with ghost powers and constantly surrounded by anti-ghost technology."

Danny chuckled, though Paulina could detect a hint of sadness lurking in his bright eyes.

She wrapped her fingers around his and gave him a gentle squeeze,

"I'll leave you two alone then," Jazz smiled, climbing into a light blue Honda. She waved before entering. "Later, guys."

Paulina watched as Jazz drove off, finally leaving the couple alone.

When she turned back to Danny, he was ready with a kiss.

He placed a hand on her cheek, capturing her lips with his, never giving her a chance to speak.

Everyplace their skin touched seemed to crackle with electricity.

Paulina wrapped her arms around him, and they pulled each other closer.

As usual, he vanquished every thought from her constant mind, momentarily erasing all her worries.

An increasingly familiar sense of elation accompanied his small smiles. The electric sparks ignited by his simple touches and the incredible fire that excited her with every kiss sent her heart galloping at improbable speeds.

She could describe their kisses as pure bliss.

Breathtaking.

He pulled back and tugged her around the corner to a secluded place between his house and his neighbor's house, away from any possible audience.

He took her into his arms, his transformative rings sweeping across his body.

He pulled away from the earth and lifted the pair to the sky.

Paulina settled comfortably in his arms, perfectly at peace as they floated above the sky.

The city was a beautiful sight from above and made things seem a lot smaller than they actually were.

The wind whipped through her hair and a fluttering at her stomach caused her to giggle excitedly.

She hugged Danny closer and peered up at him.

His lips were tugged up in his permanent smile and his white locks danced along with the wind.

He was so kind, gentle, carefree.

And looking at him now—several feet up in the air, whipping across the city at an incredible speed—made her realize just how unbelievably amazing he was.

A hero, a guardian, and a savior who used his abilities for the benefit of others while still effortlessly maintaining a down-to-earth personality.

The flight was, much to Paulina's disappointment, short-lived.

They began to descend, though they were still several blocks away from Paulina's house.

She imagined he wanted to take a stroll with her, and that caused her to appreciate his romantic nature.

There were so many things she loved about him.

In fact, she loved all of him, even the not-so-good parts she was only just beginning to discover.

Paulina blinked as Danny gently lowered her to the ground.

'I love him,' Paulina thought, though the simple statement itself confounded her.

Could it be possible? After such little time with him, was it possible to love him?

She pulled back from him and stepped back, staring up at him with an expression of disbelief.

"What is it?" Danny queried, perplexed by her dispelling reaction.

Love.

The word rolled around in her head.

Love was complicated, painful. It always led to heartbreak and devastation, especially for someone who loved as passionately as Paulina.

"Paulina, are you okay?" Danny reached out to touch her shoulder, but she pulled back, stopping him from touching her.

Their eyes met and, to her horror, she found a reciprocation of those feelings in his eyes.

A vibration from her pocket diverted her attention.

She searched the jacket Danny had given her until she found the iPhone.

The message appeared on the front screen, though Paulina didn't unlock it.

"Emailed info on Hunter. Still think u should tell Paulina."

The text message was from Sam.

"What is this?" Paulina demanded, pointing the phone at Danny so that he could read the message.

"I-" Danny paused, silently skimming over the words. His face flushed.

She didn't need her Sight to see something was up.

He tried again. "I-"

"What does she mean by 'I still think we should tell Paulina'?"

Danny bit his lip, sheepish. "It's nothing-"

"Lie." Paulina snapped. "Tell me the truth. You know I can See if you're lying."'

Danny paused, hesitant. "I...I looked into your kidnapping. I asked Sam to gather more information." He paused. "I planned on telling you, but I wanted to wait."

"Wait for what? Wait until I find out on my own?" She hissed. The vexation lit her eyes.

Danny seemed frantic. "No! Of course n-"

She felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. Danny nearly lost his footing but quickly regained his balance, though he had to widen his stance to remain upright.

"So why the fuck didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because-"

"Because what?" She practically shouted.

Danny's eyes radiated something akin to sadness. "I was just trying to protect you."

"What the hell from?" She paused. "And what else aren't you telling me?"

"There isn't anything else," Danny protested, weakly.

Lie.

"How dare you," Paulina bit back.

Danny winced. "It's not what you-"

"Leave."

"But-"

"Go away."

"But I-"

"Leave!" She shouted, shaking with anger.

There was a shattering noise that accompanied the words hurled from her mouth.

Light bulbs from every street lamp spontaneously exploded, beginning with those nearest her.

The chain reaction continued down the block.

Paulina turned away from him and squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out his baby blue eyes from her view. His emotions were too overwhelming, too frank despite their dishonesty, and one look into them would crumble her adamancy, melt away her fury.

Instead, she pictured her room with its pink walls, family photos, and white furniture.

"If you would just-" Danny's voice reached her ears.

Paulina didn't wait to here what he had left to say.

"Transporte!"

There was free-fall, a whipping wind, pressure in her ears, and the familiar sense of weightlessness.

When she opened her eyes, she was in her room.

The familiar ticking sound of her clock was the only sound present.

The house's unusual silence told her that there was no one else home, leaving Paulina to feel utterly alone.

She crawled into her bed, hugging her pillow.

The anger had quickly dissipated, and she was left with nothing but a gnawing fear.

A/N: I apologize for the incredibly long wait, but I was struggling a lot with this chapter.

I'm still not quite satisfied with the result, but it'll have to do for now and editing will have to wait 'til later.

At least this way I've gotten it out of the way and can readily move on to the next.

Review if there are any readers left?