A/N: heehee...if you were in my hometown during the weeks before and after the start of summer vacation, you'd be sorry. one day it was 44 Celsius in my science classroom! We had to move to one of the empty classrooms on the first floor. after all, we couldn't get any work done while fighting over which side of the room gets the fan. (though it didn't matter to me, seeing as I was in the middle. everyone crowded around the fan anyway, so unless you were in the first or second row you don't feel a thing.) oh well, it's cooled down now, but you don't want to hear about the weather! get reading! by the way, this chapter has a serious creepiness warning on it, even i'm creeped out by it, and i'm writing it!
Chapter 6 - A Nice Family Vacation
Brian sighed happily as he put the cap on the last ghost to show up that night. So what if he had a deep gash in his side, his healing powers would take care of it momentarily. He felt, rather than saw, Lea land beside him. Her wrist had healed nicely after that incident a few days ago, and they had been hunting ghosts at night together with Leo ever since. It was too hot to do so in the daytime, because they were in the middle of a murderous heat wave.
"Will -huff- you guys -huff- wait up -huff- next time! I -huff- don't have a fancy scooter -huff- and I can't fly -huff- so would you mind -huff- waiting!"
Leo was just complaining because the cheetah ghost they had just caught gave them a bit of a chase. Lea rolled her eyes and took off her mask. It may be nighttime, but it was still hot.
"Why don't you make yourself something to fly on, then!" Lea told him.
"Must I remind you that I'm afraid of heights?" he bit back. They were all a bit sleep deprived, staying up until 3am every night. And then they had to worry about sneaking back in! It actually wasn't that hard. Brian just phased in and out of his window, and Lea used her balcony. But Leo insisted on getting in through the ground floor somehow (namely the front door), and has almost gotten caught by his mother several times because of it.
"Guys, if you keep arguing like this, how are you going to manage without me?" Brian asked.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine. You just go and say hi to Jaimie for me, okay?" Lea told him, referring to his youngest cousin.
"Yeah, go off to your Aunt and leave us here to deal with the thousands of ghosts." Leo clapped him on the shoulder.
"Oh come on. The portal will be closed while he's gone, we'll probably only have the odd ghost." Lea argued.
"That's the odd ghost too many! And are you sure you shouldn't get that looked at, Brian?" Leo suddenly peered at his best friend's injury.
"It'll be gone by sunrise." Brian couldn't really say morning, because it was 2am.
"Call us if anything happens!" Lea shouted to him later as the twins sneaked back inside.
-Flashback to that morning-
Brian woke up and groaned in annoyance. He had phased through the light blanket for summers again! He got up anyway, and took a quick shower before going downstairs for breakfast. He came down to hear a phone conversation between grandma and someone else.
"...yes, that'll be lovely. I'm sure he'll love to come, we all will! Only Jaimie? That's too bad, I've missed Steven, Molly, David, and Ron. Yes, we'll leave first thing tomorrow, the sooner we get farther north the better! The heat's unbearable here. Alright, see you tomorrow. Bye honey." Maddie hung up the phone.
"Who was that?" Brian asked, wanting to know what he had been signed up for.
"That was your Aunt Jazz. She's invited us all up to the cabin tomorrow, isn't that nice of her?" Maddie passed him the milk, which he poured on his until then dry cereal.
"What?! Oh, please don't make me go, please."
'Why not? They have a river up there, you'll be able to swim and cool off. Steven and Molly are off at some convention, David's at camp, and Ron will be visiting with a friend for a few days. It'll be just you and Jaimie."
"And there's even a circus in town! I'll bet that they have cotton candy!" Jack put in.
Of course, Maddie had been referring to Jazz's four kids, Molly, David, Ron, and Jaimie. Molly was the oldest, already scouting out colleges, David was 16, and Ron was a few years younger than Brian. Jaimie was five, and simply adored Brian, and he adored her as well. Be it a bedtime story, a piggyback ride, whatever, all Jaimie had to do was ask Brian. Jazz had met Steven in her first year of college, and they fell in love immediately. Jazz ran a home business - phsyciatric advice over the Internet.
"But Aunt Jazz looks at me strange! It's as if I'm going to explode any minute and she's just wondering when!" Brian argued.
"Oh I'm sure your imagining things dear. Now go up and pack, we'll be there for three days, and we're leaving tomorrow morning, first thing! It's a three hour drive, you know."
Even better. Three hours of his grandfather's driving.
-End flashback-
So that's how Brian found himself in the slightly rusted Fenton RV, and he would be asleep, if not for his grandfather's driving habits and worrying about crashing every second. Brian thought he did eventually fall asleep, because one second he was wondering when Gramps would get a speeding ticket, and the next he was gazing out the window into his Aunt's cabin.
It was a very nice place. The house sat in the middle of a clearing, with about 15m on each side of the house before the trees started back up again. Behind the house, just past a thin layer of trees, a pleasant river gurgled. After a ten minute's walk down a nearby path, and you come to a town, where the circus was being held. The cabin itself had a peaceful atmosphere, even though it was nothing like that when it was full. It had five bedrooms - one for Jazz and Steven, and then one for each of the kids. Brian, Maddie and Jack usually visited once or twice a year.
Brian wearily stepped out of the car, and dragged his small suitcase out with him. Just as he stood up straight, case on the ground-
"Bwian!"
The five year old barrelled into him, but he didn't mind, because it was his adorable cousin. She had Jazz's red hair, yet had ice blue eyes like Brian's and, from what he had heard, Danny's. A smattering of freckles crossed her face, and looked every bit the excited child. Brian knelt down to be eye-level with her.
"Hey squirt! How's my favourite cousin?"
"I'm your fav-o-wit cousin, Bwian?" she asked, eyes wide. Jaimie had a little difficulty pronouncing things, but her teacher said she should grow out of it.
"Yeah, but it's a secret, okay? Don't tell anyone." Brian put his finger to his lips and smiled as she giggled and nodded. Then she ran over to his suitcase and tried to pull. Brian laughed.
"Come on Bwian! I wanna go swimming!" she ordered, still vainly trying to pull Brian's suitcase into the house. With her still hanging onto the handle, he easily lifted it up and she shrieked in surprise. Nonchalantly swinging his suitcase onto his back (but making sure she was on the outside) Brian walked up the steps to his Aunt's house, where she, Maddie, and Jack were waiting. Of course, he wouldn't have had a chance of carrying both of them in one arm last year, but that's what ghost hunting every night does to you.
"Hi Brian." Jazz greeted, giving a hug in the process.
"Hi Aunt Jazz. Listen, have you seen Jaimie around anywhere? She was right here a minute ago..." giggling interrupted him.
"I'm back here Bwian!"
Brian pretended to look around in surprise. Turning around completely, showing the rest of the family that Jaimie was hanging firmly onto the suitcase at the back, (sending them all in chuckles), he said, "Where? I don't see you."
"Back here silly! You lifted me up, renenber?" Jazz stopped laughing.
Startling her, Brian brought the suitcase forward, still in one arm, with Jaimie still hanging on to it.
"That's enough. She'll be too hyper to eat lunch if you keep this up." Jazz told him, not meaning to sound strict, but half in her own world of thought.
Brian sighed, but knew she was right. He put his suitcase, and Jaimie, on the ground and knelt down again. "Your mom says we have to stop playing. So go get ready for lunch, okay squirt?" still giggling, she nodded and ran off.
"Are we going to the circus after lunch?" Jack asked excitedly, practically mirroring Jaimie's attitude.
"Yes, dad, but your not having any cotton candy-" Jazz started.
"Until you've had a good lunch." Maddie finished. The two women promptly burst out laughing, and went inside to the kitchen, Jack following meekly behind them. That left Brian with the three suitcases. Struggling a bit, he picked up his parents' suitcases, though grandpa's suitcase seemed to be mostly machinery.
"Aunt Jazz, what are the sleeping arrangements?" he called out.
"Mom and Dad are in Molly's room, and you're in Ron's. David's is being painted." Jazz called back out. Brian deposited the suitcases in the proper rooms, and collected Jaimie from the bathroom (washing her hands) and the two went downstairs to the kitchen. Through the meal, Brian caught Jazz giving him that strange stare twice, but decided to ignore it.
After lunch, the five of them walked down the path to the circus, with Jaimie hitching a ride on Brian's back, piggyback style. Not only did this make Jaimie happy, but it caused the teenage female population of the town to appreciate Brian's excellence with kids. They entered the tent, and got Jack and Jaimie some cotton candy (with Jack's being twice the size of Jaimie's). After that, the quintet quickly found their seats, around the middle.
The performances mainly consisted of animals, like people standing on horses, and some kids from the audience (Jaimie included, much to her delight) got the chance to ride on an elephant. One performance that none of them liked, was when a bunch of clowns came into the audience and honked horns in people's faces. Brian overheard Jack asking Maddie if he could use his ecto-gun on one of the clowns, because they may be possessed by ghosts. Brian was inclined to agree with his grandpa on this one.
Afterwards, there were a few games for people to play at, and Jaimie had Brian win her a large stuffed clown, by taking a water gun and shooting the targets. It was a bit like his ecto-blasts, which made his aim not bad at all. It did take some work, but Brian didn't mind, he just smiled at the girls that went 'aw' when they passed.
But on the path back home, when the sun was setting, Jack offered to hold a tired Jaimie, and hoisted her up on his shoulders. Brian was grateful, as his back was quite sore. No amount of ghost hunting will prepare you for a squirming-in-excitement five year old on your back for the majority of the day.
After Jazz had tucked Jaimie in, she came back downstairs and the four of them talked for a bit.
"Oh, Brian, I've been meaning to ask, are you as clueless as Danny was, or have you finally asked Lea out?" Jazz teased, grinning when a tinge of red appeared on Brian's cheeks.
"I'm not clueless!" Brian shouted
"He's completely clueless." Maddie told her, and the two women giggled.
"And I'm not interested in Lea in that way!"
"They're dancing around each other like Danny and Sam used to." Maddie and Jazz started laughing.
Brian flushed and all of a sudden felt himself sinking into the sofa. Panicking, he barely managed to get back to normal before Jazz looked up, and looked at him strangely for a moment. But they were soon quite distracted. And lucky for Brian, too, seeing as his ghost sense just went off. But even he was more focused on other matters. Jaimie's piercing scream echoed through the house.
For a second, they were all too stunned to move. Then, with Jazz in the lead and Brian in the back, they all stampeded up the stairs to Jaimie's room. Throwing the door open, they saw Jaimie clutching her blankets in fear and shaking, staring at the door to her closet, which was ajar.
Jazz quickly took her daughter in her arms. "What's the matter sweetie? Did you have a bad dream?"
"Mommy! It was tewible...I-I woke up thirsty and was gonna get up, but i-it grabbed my weg and stawted to pull me to the closet, which was gwowing. I scweamed and it let go an' ran 'way into the closet." Jaimie explained, crying a little, and clutching to her mother for dear life.
Brian turned to the closet. With Jaimie's screams of caution ("Be careful Bwian!")ringing in his ears, he opened the closet door. All that was there were clothes and the stuffed clown Brian had won for Jaimie. But she just burrowed deeper into her mother's embrace when she saw the clown.
Noticing this, Jazz gave her own parents a she's-just-had-a-bad-dream-that's-all look. "You want to come in with me tonight sweetie? The bad dreams will go away."
"It wasn't a dream!" Jaimie yelled, before realising she had pronounced dream right.
"Come on honey, let's go to bed." Jazz stood and lifted Jaimie with her.
Maddie sighed. "Well, we might as well go to bed now, too."
So, with limited grumbling, they all went to bed. But that doesn't necessarily mean they slept - no, Brian was having trouble sleeping, not only because there was a ghost in the area, but because he was used to getting to sleep at 2 or 3 am. Not 9 pm.
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The next day, Brian woke up shivering at the crack of dawn. The familiar blue mist rose from his mouth, and he heard Jaimie scream. He heard his parents jump out of bed in the next room, and knew then that he couldn't transform. So instead he jumped out of bed and followed his parents to Jazz's room instead.
Jaimie was crying in Jazz's shoulder when they arrived. Jaimie told them it was the same as last night, only this time the clown told her that nobody could help her because nobody believes her.
Later on, before lunch, when Jaimie was dragging Brian and her mother out to the river to play, she took Brian aside for a moment.
"You beweeve me, don't you Bwian?" she asked, pulling him down to eye level with her. Brian smiled.
"Yeah, I believe you. And don't worry, I'll protect you. Just whatever you do, don't go with the clown. Okay?" he told her, and she smiled and hugged him. Then she went off with her mom, armed with floaties. Brian shook his head in amusement and changed to swimming trunks to go join them.
"Brian, is that a scar?" Jazz asked him as they played in the shallow water with Jaimie
He froze and looked down at the place on his ribs where the cheetah had clawed him the other day. Sure enough, there were thick white lines running where the injury had been. Aw crap.
"Oh, uh, that was a while ago. Just a friend's cat that didn't really like me." he lied, but it was flimsy. She nodded but gave him a look that said plainly 'yeah right'.
"You know, your dad was quite the ghost hunter at your age." Jazz said nonchalantly, as Jaimie splashed around nearby.
"Really?" Brian asked cautiously.
"Yes. But his methods were unorthodox, at least according to mom and dad. That's why he did it in secret. I probably wouldn't even know if it weren't for the fact that I caught him at it. We sorted some things out, and eventually I started covering for him whenever he had to uh, 'leave unexpectedly.'"
"Is that right?" So, his dad had other human allies than Mr. Foley.
"Yeah. I was also able to help get him away from some of dad's inventions. They all seem to malfunction, and eventually target, around him. Strange, isn't it?"
"Well, I'm sure that if, by some strange coincidence, I were in his position, I would appreciate it." Brian realised what she was trying to say - she just couldn't say it right out, what with Jaimie now looking at them strangely.
"I would do it for either of you." ended the conversation, a new understanding between Brian and his Aunt. Brian decided to end the silence by splashing Jaimie, which ended up in an all-out splash war - Jazz and Brian versus Jaimie.
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"So, how did you figure it out?" Brian asked her. Jaimie had fallen asleep soon after coming in, so Brian had taken her to her room and tucked her in. Jack and Maddie were in the town, buying souvenirs, so it was just them.
"Well, we had always suspected that you might have the same abilities as Danny. And then, you were acting different this summer. You were able to lift Jaimie and your luggage in one hand easily by the looks of it, yet mom never mentioned you working out at all. And mom mentioned you seeming distracted during your last bit of classes, but don't worry - she just thought it was the pressure of the first year ending. Also, I managed to catch a glimpse of you making yourself tangible while mom and I were teasing you. But the scar gave it away. No ordinary house cat could've done that. What kind of cat did that anyway?" Jazz explained, taking a sip of her orange juice.
"Cheetah." Brian answered simply.
Jazz nodded. "So you got stuck with PhasoBill, huh? Well, at least they're following a pattern. Danny got stuck with InvisoBill." Brian groaned in dismay.
"Let's not get onto that subject. It's just a little less stupid than calling the Box Ghost something insane like Crate Creep..." Jazz frowned at him and was about to comment when Jaimie's scream vibrated through the house. At the same time, Brian shivered and the usual blue mist escaped from his mouth.
Without a word, Brian and Jazz ran up the stairs (with Jazz a little behind) to find Jaimie under her blankets, her closet open. The stuffed clown was staring ahead, a large smile on it's face. Both of them headed over to Jaimie. Since she couldn't see them, she shrieked when two unidentified people sat on the edge of her bed.
"It's okay sweetie, it's mommy and Brian. Did you have another bad dream?" Jazz asked, and Jaimie's head poked out from under the covers. But she didn't leave them, and she took a cautious look at the clown.
Brian, noticing this, said "How about I get rid of the doll? Would that make you feel better?" when Jaimie nodded meekly, he got up. But Jaimie grabbed his arm.
"You still beweeve me, don't you Bwian?" she asked quietly. He smiled at her and ruffled her hair a bit.
"Yeah, I still believe you squirt, don't worry." he said, and went over to the closet.
He had to admit, as he picked up the clown, he was pretty creepy. The thing seemed almost to stare at him as he was carried down to the garbage cans outside the back kitchen door.
The reason he believed Jaimie was simple. Every time Jaimie had screamed, his ghost sense went off at the same time. Jaimie was usually groggy for a few seconds right after she woke up, and probably wouldn't notice anything. Therefore, every time she had screamed, she must've been awake. And it might be possessing the clown doll if it was too weak to keep a solid form. By 'it' of course, he meant whatever ghost was setting his ghost sense off.
He stayed outside for a few minutes, just to appreciate the scenery, but was brought back into the kitchen by yelling.
"No dad, I will not have one in the house!" Jazz's voice echoed through the house. Brian found Jaimie sitting quietly (which was strange for her) at the kitchen table, a glass of milk in front of her. Maddie was eating a sandwich across from her, and Jazz and Jack were standing at opposite ends of the table.
"But if it really is a ghost, then what better than the Fenton Search and Destroy! No ghost has a chance against it!" Jack argued. Gulping, Brian looked to his grandmother for an explanation.
"We just got in. Jazz mentioned that Jaimie had another nightmare, and was worried ghosts might have something to do with it. So Jack suggested several ghost hunting devices, but Jazz doesn't want them. It quickly escalated to this." Maddie caught him up to recent events, while taking a bite of her sandwich.
"But what if one of the devices malfunctions, and hurts Jaimie! I'm telling you dad, if I find any ghost hunting equipment in this house, I'll know who to come to." Jazz then stomped out of the kitchen. Brian sighed and silently thanked her, before sitting down next to Jaimie. Without any prompting, she started talking to him in a low voice, almost as if she were trying to hide it from the adults.
"He said that I can't escape him. He said that he'll fowwow me. He said tha-that if I told anywon he'd," Brian bent forward to hear it, "he'd kill me."
He hugged her. Maddie looked at them curiously, but Brian ignored it. "Don't worry. I'll protect you. Just stay with me, okay squirt? We'll even have a little sleepover in my room tonight." he finally got her to smile. Jazz walked back in, a worried expression on her face
"Mom, Dad, we have trouble. The kids in town...they've started disappearing. They've asked all the adults to start searching. Brian, please stay here with Jaimie," Brian nodded, easily getting the hidden message. She wanted him to protect her youngest daughter. "Every child under 8 is missing. We're having a quick meeting in the town hall to assign search parties. Let's go."
Jaimie grabbed Brian's hand as they went to say bye. Jazz hugged her, then Brian, whispering "Please look after her. My cell phone number is on the fridge if you need me."
He whispered back, "I won't let her out of my sight." and with that they were gone. Jaimie looked at him curiously.
"What do we do now Bwian?" she asked, still gripping his hand.
"Well, what do you want to do?"
"Movie! I wanna watch a movie!" she told him, let go of his hand and ran into the living room, Brian on her heels. By some strange coincidence, they ended up watching the remake of Casper the Friendly Ghost. Brian made a mental note to make his grandparents watch this movie.
"Do you beweeve in nice ghosts, Bwian?" she asked him when the movie was done and she was fishing around for another.
"Yep. In fact, I know a very friendly ghost that will come if we get any trouble while the grown-ups are out." Brian inwardly grinned at the look of amazement on her face.
"Weally? What's his name?"
"Uh...actually, it's Brian Phantom."
"Oh, so your the ghost." Brian was too stunned so he just nodded. Luckily, her five year old mind didn't need any explanations.
"Yeah, but it's a secret, okay? Don't tell anyone." He put his finger to his lips just like he did before, and she smiled and signalled back.
After that, they watched Sleeping Beauty. Jaimie thought he was actually into it, but he just wanted to see the Aragon look-a-like get killed at the end.
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Brian and Jaimie spent the day together, watching movies, swimming, playing games, and Brian ordering take-out because he didn't want to burn the house down. But it was getting late, at least for Jaimie anyway, and the sun had already gone down. Jazz had called to tell him that the search would likely go on all night and into the morning, but not to worry about them. With that, though, she had called a total of twelve times, the other eleven to check up on Jaimie. Talk about a worrywart.
Brian was just reading a story to her, when she fell asleep. Smiling and tucking her in, he sat in the chair and waited. He had no intention of going to sleep tonight, but rather staying up to watch over her. The phone, which he had been expecting to go off at any minute, rung and he quickly answered it.
"Yes Aunt Jazz, we're both here. She's sleeping at the moment. Yes, I'm right here with her. No, she's still sound asleep. Don't worry, I'm going to stay up tonight and watch over her. Yes, I'll be fine, I usually get to sleep at 3 am anyway. I've had extra last night, so I should be able to stay up easily. Aunt Jazz, your calling every half hour anyway. If we don't answer one time, then you'll know we're in trouble. All right, talk to you in half an hour. Bye."
Brian put down his hand-held video game and looked at the clock, many of Jazz's calls later. 1:39. He hated having to leave Jaimie alone, but he really had to go to the bathroom. Oh well, he wouldn't be but a minute.
But, much to his horror, when he got back to Jaimie's room, the door (which he had closed) was open. Jaimie was awake, and staring, to terrified to scream, at the clown doll that sat in Brian's chair in her room. The clown grinned, showing pointed teeth, and slowly turned to face him.
"Huh-huh. So, your the oldest believer. Much to bad, much too bad. I was hoping to get the last child without any resistance. She has already proved to be quite loud as it is...oh well, I'll just dispose of both of you. Heehee." the clown then shot an ectoblast, much to Brian's surprise, out of it's nose. Brian threw a shield up in front of Jaimie and himself, and transformed while he was at it. The blast hit the shield harmlessly.
"Oh, so your the new halfa? Hahaha. Looks like we'll have a little fun. Run while you still can, Ghost Boy, for I am far to powerful for you. I have the fear of fifty kids on my side, and fear is the most powerful emotion!" the ghost bragged, but then the clown slumped down, motionless. Instead, another clown materialised, taller than the last one and with red eyes. He was wearing a blue and yellow polka dotted baggy jumpsuit, with white gloves and an evil grin.
Frowning, Brian fired an ectoblast at him, but he dodged and a burn mark appeared in Jaimie's closet door. Laughing, the ghost flew through the roof. Quickly turning to Jaimie, Brian knelt down so he was eye level with his cousin.
"I want you to stay here squirt. And remember, do not go with the clown. No matter what happens, don't go with him. And be brave, Jaimie. Don't be afraid, or he wins. Can you do that for me?" he asked her, holding her at arms length.
"Yes." Jaimie nodded, having never seen her cousin this serious before. He smiled and pulled her into a hug, and then grabbed something he had placed on her dresser earlier, before he went after the clown.
He was hovering near the trees surrounding the house.
"So, what's your name, big nose?" Brian asked, while dodging a rather large polka-dotted ball.
"Why, that would be Bojo, heehee! And after I dispose of you, no one will be able to oppose me! Adults and most teenagers find it physically impossible to believe that a clown can cause this much fear and destruction! They all believe that clowns are all cheerful and the funniest creatures on earth!" Bojo grinned maliciously and took out a long, thin, red, knife.
"Well, you see, that was true, but I think you've set a world record for evilest clown. Let's call Guinness!" Brian suggested jokingly, while charging up his hand and punching Bojo in the nose. Which honked. Then, it gave him an electric shock.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Brian said after he was released, turning intangible for the knife to pass through.
"Heehee. 'Fraid not, I haven't kidded anyone since I was boo'ed off the stage all those years ago! I lost my job and got drunk. Then, a car plowed into me! I promised I would get those kids back...and now I have! The people with the missing kids are the generation that killed me! Hahaaa!" Bojo appeared to be insane. He turned and fled towards the town. Chasing after him, and throwing the odd ectoblast, Brian struggled to keep up. It was like the closer he got to town, the better he became. And then it came to him.
'I have the fear of fifty kids on my side, and fear is the most powerful emotion!' of course! The kids must be in town somewhere, scared, and the closer Bojo got to them the stronger he got. So, to get him away from them, Brian tried something childish.
"Hey Bojerk! Catch me if you can, peabrain!" Brian turned and sped in the other way. He looked over his shoulder to see Bojo charging up an ecto blast, but chasing after him, and Brian dodged the hit. They quickly passed Jazz's house, though Bojo didn't seem to pick up any extra power. That meant that Jaimie wasn't afraid anymore.
The farther Brian led him, the weaker Bojo became. But he was too blinded by the chance to outlet all his anger that he kept going, for kilometers and kilometers. Soon, Bojo could barely keep himself in the air. In one last pathetic effort, he threw the knife and gave Brian a scrape. Oh wow.
As Bojo stood hunched over, trying to recover his strength, Brian had no trouble taking out the Pen and capturing him.
Sighing, he sped back to the house (which took a few minutes) and entered Jaimie's room to find it empty. The phone was also gone. He heard talking from downstairs, so he transformed back and headed down. Jaimie was on the phone, talking to Jazz by the sounds of it.
"Yeah mommy, I'm fine. Bwian helped me! Yeah, he got rid of the clown. Oh here he is, do you wanna talk to him? Ok. Love you too mommy, bye." Jaimie passed the phone to him and he sat down on the steps with her beside him.
"Hi Aunt Jazz. Yes, I'm fine, just a little scrape is all. Oh, and you might want to check the town for the kids, maybe the circus tent or something. It was a clown ghost, after all. Alright, I'll see you in the morning. Actually, I plan to sleep right now, but...if gram or gramps asks, tell them I fought it off with one of the ecto-guns gramps smuggled in his suitcase. Yes, he did. I took the luggage up, remember? Alright, you go kill him. Bye." Brian yawned as he turned the phone off. Jaimie also yawned, and leaned up against him.
"I'm proud of you squirt. The clown was getting power from fear, and with you not being afraid helped me a lot. You did good." she just barely had the energy to nod. She was about to fall asleep, when Brian took her up to her room and tucked her in.
"Love you Bwian." she yawned, and the cute five year old burrowed into her covers.
Kissing her on the forehead, he said, "I love you too, squirt." and went off to his own room.
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The next morning arrived all too soon. The kids had all been found, and were back with their families. They had, indeed, been found in the circus tent. The circus owners were denying any involvement, saying that no one had been in the tent that night. Maddie and Jack had told Brian repeatedly that they were proud of him, though Jack got quite a yelling at for smuggling ecto-guns to the vacation. They were just sitting down to lunch when Jack himself brought up a very taboo subject.
"So, we have one day of vacation left. Who wants to go to the circus?"
Jazz, Maddie, Brian, and Jaimie all exchanged glances.
"You want to go swimming, squirt?" Brian asked, getting up quickly.
"Sure." Jaimie agreed instantly.
"I think I'll join you guys." Jazz told them.
"I've been meaning to get some swimming in." Maddie added, and they all left the room, leaving Jack with his pile of finished pancakes and an empty room.
"Was it something I said?" Jack asked that empty room. However, as usual, he got no response.