"Whew," he sighed as he changed back to his human form. He had been fighting ghosts all day with the help of his family. He knew his daughter could take care of herself, but they had separated earlier that day in order to fight more ghosts at the same time. But that had been 5 hours ago. The sun was beginning to set, so he couldn't help being worried. He ran across the street and up the stairs of his childhood home. He didn't bother opening the door. Instead he phased through, the sweet and familiar sent of cookies greeting him. He immediately turned left and went into the kitchen. At the table sat Tucker, Jazz, and Jack. His mother was taking the cookies out of the oven. He smiled for a moment, and then realized who was missing.

"Where's Sage" he asked, slightly frantic. Was she still out fighting?

Everyone looked up, startled by his sudden appearance.

Jazz smiled at him and pointed into the living room. He turned and looked through the door. His eyes landed on Sage sleeping on the couch. She looked so peaceful his heart almost melted. She looked so much like Sam he could hardly stand it. Her eyes and hair were the most gorgeous things he's ever seen. He turned around to his parents.

"Can I put Sage in my old bedroom?"

Maddie smiled warmly. "Danny you didn't have to ask. We tried to get her to go up there a few minutes ago but she wanted to wait for you."

Danny couldn't help but grin as he walked back into the living room. He gently picked her up and cradled her in his arms as he walked up the stairs. She's as stubborn as Sam, he thought with a smile. When he reached the landing she sighed in her sleep and nestled her head against his chest. He quietly opened the door to his old room and gasped. Everything was exactly as he had left it. The closet door was still open, his clothes scattered the floor, even his unfinished homework stayed where he had left it. The only difference was that the place had been dusted. He walked over and laid Sage on his bed. As he pulled up the covers, he gently kissed her on the forehead. Then he quietly whispered to her something he hadn't said since she was eight.

"Out of all the little girls in the world, if I had to pick just one, it would be you." He walked to the door and just before he closed it, he turned back and whispered "I love you." He began to close the door slowly, but right before he shut it entirely, he heard a faint reply.

"Daddy, love you more."

------

He walked back downstairs and found everyone where he left them. When he walked in everyone looked up again.

"What" he asked innocently.

"Nothing" Jazz said. "I think were all still trying to get a hold of the idea that your actually here with us."

"Oh" he said as he took a seat at the table.

"She reminds me so much of Sam, you know" Tucker said.

"Yeah" Danny said with a smile. "Same attitude, same beliefs, and same eating habits."

"She's a vegetarian too?" asked Jack.

"Yep, and she's proud of it."

"How old is she?" Maddie asked as she set a plate of cookies on the table. "She looks 17."

"She's 16. She turns 17 on October 31"

"Awesome" said Tucker as he grabbed a cookie.

"So how long has this been going on?" asked Danny.

"What, the fighting? It started about three years ago, but at the beginning it wasn't nearly as bad," Jazz said as she stirred the cup of tea she was drinking. "We were keeping a close watch on Vlad, waiting for him to attack, but he never did. Then one day ghosts started to pour out of the ghost zone and we couldn't stop it. Goodness knows we tried, and a lot of people were killed before we could destroy them all. The day after we held an emergency town meeting to expose Vlad for what he really was, because we knew that somehow he was behind this. But the townspeople only scorned and laughed at us. And that's when Vlad decided to grace us with his presence. He strode in like he was king of the world and basically shot us down. After that meeting we had people ride by the house almost every night and thro rocks or bricks at the windows. That's when Mom and Dad built a 'human' shield. The only one of its kind, it could deflect all things human. People finally got the message and stopped trying, but we were the laughing stock of the town after that. But that didn't stop us. We continued to try to tell people, and some believed us. But most didn't. The people that did believe joined us, but Vlad did everything in his power to stop us. When he didn't succeed, I guess he felt we were a threat because a few days later he launched his biggest attack, the one were fighting now," Jazz hadn't looked up since she started explaining, and when she did she saw Danny staring blankly at the wall.

"Danny?", she asked cautiously.

"I loath that man. He caused so much pain, so much suffering I could just-", he stopped and put his head in his hands. "What have I done?", he whispered.

"Done? Danny you've done nothing wrong," Maddie said desperately. "What in the world gave you that idea?"

"Because I ran away from my problems when you needed me the most. If I had been here then maybe I could've helped save all those people who died…"

"Danny, now stop it," Maddie said sharply. "What's done is done, and I doubt you could've helped us if you had been here. But you're here now, and that's what counts. So stop moping and give us that big, goofy grin you used to wear so often."

Danny lifted his head up and looked to every one of his family members. Jazz, the best big sister anyone could ask for. Tucker, the clumsy, almost brother who was fearless when it came to women. Maddie, the one ho always knew what to say to make you feel better and was an expert on creating weapons to protect their family. And Jack, the big guy who could make a mess of things in an instant but would always try to fix things. So he smiled.

"Thanks guys, Sam would be proud."

"She is proud," Tucker said truthfully. "Cant you feel her. Right here," he put his hand to his heart and smiled.

"And she's right upstairs," Danny whispered.

"That she is," said Maddie. "And speaking of that, we should be doing the same thing."

Jack let out a big yawn and everyone agreed. Right before they departed, though, Danny raised his glass of milk and said, "I think we should have a toast."

"To whom, Danny?", Jack asked.

"To all who gave and lost their lives in this fight, this is for you," everyone raised their glasses and gently knocked them together. Then they said good night and parted ways.

If I needed you,

Would you come to me?

Would you come to me?

And ease my pain.

"Mom!", she cried as she bolted upright. The only reply she got was silence. She looked around the dark room and realized it had all been a dream. A horrible, teasing, yet wonderful dream. She had been in her room, lying on her stomach as her mom scratched her back and lulled her to sleep. Sam had sung that to her every night before she died to help her sleep. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she tried not to let herself cry. She looked around the strange room. She threw the covers off and stood up. Clothes were strewn all over the floor.

Jeez, whoever's room this is, they were a total slob, she thought. She picked up a shirt nearest her. It was white with a red circle in the middle and red strips at the sleeves. This looks familiar, she thought, but why? She noticed several papers on the desk across the room. As she walked over to them, careful to not trip, she quickly realized where she was as she read the name on the papers.

"No way," she breathed as she looked around. "This is dad's old room." More tears formed in her eyes when she realized that her mom had been in the same place as she was right now. She could be standing in the footsteps of her. Suddenly she realized she hadn't seen her father before she fell asleep. She quietly opened the door, not wanting to wake anyone else up. She crept onto the landing and saw two rooms. She opened the door as silently as she could and saw Jazz lying in her bed. The second held her grandparents. She walked down the stairs to find Tucker sprawled out on the couch. His mouth was hanging open and a bit of drool was making its way down his chin. She laughed silently, and then she noticed the empty sleeping bag on the floor. She looked around, puzzled. She could see that he wasn't in the kitchen, and the living room was the only other room down there. She scanned the room once more to make sure she hadn't missed anything, and there it was. Standing so dark and lonely in the corner was a door. Curious, she walked over to it and turned the knob. Darkness greeted her first, and then a flight of stairs came into view as her eyes adjusted. She could see a faint glow of light illuminating the landing as she slowly descended to the bottom. As she stepped into the big room, she gasped. What looked like motor parts littered the floor, unfinished projects filled the tables, and what amazed her most was the swirling green vortex at the end of the room. Her eyes widened as she got closer.

"What in the world?", she whispered.

"Pretty amazing isn't it?"

"Yeah," she was used to him sneaking up on her, so she wasn't surprised when she turned to see her father walk up and stand beside her.

"What is it?", she asked.

"This," he breathed, "is the thing that gave me my ghost powers."

"What?" Sage gasped

"Yeah, I know, it's kind of hard for me to believe too, but this is it."

"H-how?" She tripped over her words a bit. "I mean…how?"

Danny chuckled a bit at her amazement. "Well, to be totally honest, I wasn't the one who convinced me to go into this thing in the first place. I'll give you one guess to who it was."

Sage smiled confidently. "Mom."

"Mom," Danny smiled at the memory. "When my parents first built this thing she and I were fourteen. We had just gotten home from school and we were bored. Tucker was there too, and he and Sam wanted to see the portal. Mom and Dad weren't home, so I reluctantly said alright. I had no idea what this thing could do, and I really didn't want to know. I can remember exactly what she said to get me in the portal. She said 'Come on Danny, a Ghost Zone. Aren't you curious? You gotta check it out' and so I did. But I have to point out that I was very clumsy back then-"

She had to laugh. "Was? You still are now!"

He gave her a playful push. "Aw, hush up and let me have my moment."

She laughed again but let him continue.

"Anyways, I put on a jumpsuit and walked inside, but I accidentally tripped on a bunch of loose wires. When I did I reached my hand out to try to steady myself, but I ended up pressing the 'On' button. Next thing I knew I was zapped with the energy from the portal. God, I don't think I've ever felt so much pain before, but thankfully it only lasted about 10 seconds," he winced a little at the memory. "Unfortunately, those 10 seconds felt like forever to me. I blacked out before it stopped, and when I woke up I saw you mom and Tucker leaning over me. They looked terrified. I can't really blame them though, because that was the first time I had gone into 'ghost mode'. They actually thought I was dead. And to be honest I did to until I changed back. So yeah, that was the beginning of it all. If it wasn't for your mom and Tuck, I think I would've los it."

"So, you're- our- ghost powers were a result of something mom convinced you to do?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

She through a fist up into the air as she yelled, "All right Mom!"

Danny laughed. "Yeah, go Sam!" he mimicked his daughter's movements. She smiled at the way she did the time she defeated her first ghost. It made him grin even more. She turned back to the portal.

"Hey Dad?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think Moms out there? In the Ghost zone, I mean?"

He thought for a moment. "You know, I have often wondered that myself. And to be honest, I don't think she is. I think she moved on to where she can watch over us until it's our time to be with her again. But wherever she is now, I know she's proud of you." Danny reached out his arm and Pulled Sage closer to him. They stood there for a moment, arms around each other, basking in the glow of the portal.

"Hey Dad."

"Yeah?"

"She's proud of you too."

He smiled, remembering the time she actually said that too him. Sage sounded so much like her.

"Thanks, Sage."