It was a strange light to work by, the portal. It flickered and swirled, dancing like a fire's glow, giving off an eerie green. Even with the lights on, it still cast its own shadows.

Maddie looked at the defibrillator still lying on the ground, and took a deep breath. She clenched the flask in her hand, stepped past it, and stuck her hand into the portal. It felt cold - not freezing, but it seemed to go right through her glove. She moved it in a scooping motion, and it felt like running her fingers against the flow of a river; maybe she was imagining it, but it was almost like a thousand little hands were gripping at her, pulling at her, pulling her in-

Then she jerked it out, and there was nothing. The flask in her hands was now filled with glowing ectoplasm, and Maddie felt a shiver go down his spine as she looked at it.

Just in this flask was more ectoplasm than they'd synthesised in their whole careers. And it was completely pure… with the portal right in their basement, she couldn't imagine the kinds of discoveries that were right at their fingertips. This was the kind of invention that propelled fields of research decades into the future, that would finally legitimise the fringe research they'd spent their lives on - it was their crowning achievement, and she should be so excited.

Maddie sighed as she capped the flask. She really should be. For so long she'd dreamed of making this portal a reality… but now that it was here, just looking at it made her feel sick to her stomach.

Made her think of her baby boy lying still on the ground.

Made her think of the moment she realised she couldn't feel his pulse, the shot of terror that went through her like a knife.

Made her think of the terror that lingered after the relief, of sitting and staring at him as he ate his dinner, squeezing his shoulders, trying to convince herself it couldn't be true, he couldn't be a-

The door burst open, and Maddie jumped out of her skin. The flask slipped out of her hands and shattered on the ground, and she turned around to see-

"Hey, honey!" Jack gave her a grin from behind a stack of boxes that wobbled as he carried them down the stairs. Maddie blinked, and then frowned.

"Are those boxes from the shed? Jack, they can't stay here."

"They're not staying here, they're gonna be part of my newest invention!" He dropped them on the floor, and they collapsed into a messy pile. "I call it the Fenton Sitter! It's gonna be made with anti-ghost metal so there's no way Danny can phase through it! Pretty genius, eh?"

"Huh." Maddie gave a slight smile. "That's sweet of you, Jack. I'm sure Danny will appreciate that." She watched him start to pick through the boxes, and her smile faded. "But, uh, anti-ghost?"

"Yeah! Oh hey, here's some!" He pulled a beaten-up half-cylinder of metal out of the pile; it was clearly from an old blaster. "Hmm, maybe this can be part of the legs - what do you think, Mads? Maddie?"

Maddie didn't respond. She could feel her throat getting tighter; her eyes were getting a blurry so she took her goggles off, but when she tried to wipe them away the floodgates just opened and she found herself sobbing into her hands.

"What are you- whoa, Maddie!" Jack was by her side in a second. "What's wrong, honey? Are you hurt? Was it a ghost? Where's the ghost!"

"No, no, I-I'm…" Maddie tried to get ahold of herself. "I-I'm fine, Jack, I… it's just, it's Danny! What did we do to him?" She felt Jack wrap her in a hug, and squeezed back. "He… h-he wasn't breathing, Jack. I couldn't f-feel h-hi-is heart, I…"

She couldn't bear to speak anymore; hearing herself say it out loud made it feel so real, so horrifying. Jack seemed at a loss too; he squeezed her shoulders, and tried to speak.

"Danny's okay," he said, and then tried for a grin. "He's okay, he got up! He's a tough kid; five minutes after that scare and he was eating pancakes and chatting with his friends like nothing even happened!"

"And phasing through the floor!"

"And phasing- yeah, and that, but it'll probably go away! And hey," He gestured at the pile of scrap. "Even if it doesn't, I'll ghost-proof the whole house for him if I gotta! Maybe I could invent some kind of anti-phasing finish to put on the floor; yeah, if we get some ectoplasm and-"

Maddie pulled away. "But that's just it, Jack! Ghost-proof the whole house - ghost-proof! Don't you hear yourself?"

"What do you-"

"What if we turned him into a ghost!"

Jack blinked at that. Maddie gave a hard swallow, and looked away, looked to the portal. Its eerie buzz was the only sound to be heard.

"He couldn't have survived," she said, so quietly. "Not if he was inside when it activated. And I know, I know he wasn't breathing when he came out… I-I think it's true. What are we going to do, Jack? What are we going to tell him?"

Jack just stood there; she glanced back at him, and he gave the sort of helpless smile he did when he couldn't even begin to answer her questions. She sighed, and looked down at the shattered glass at her feet.

"Maybe we need to do more tests." She said, distantly. "We need to be sure before we tell him. I'll get some more ectoplasm."

"That, uh, sounds like a good idea, Mads!" He gave her an encouraging grin. "And I'd better get to work on the Fenton Sitter! Ghost or not, he's gonna need that for breakfast tomorrow!"

He gave her one last, almost nervous, squeeze, and then went back to sorting through the boxes. Maddie grimaced at the broken glass at her feet; she stepped around it, made her way back to the counter, and picked up another beaker.

"Got another one!" Jack pulled a sheet of metal and tossed it to the side; he didn't seem to notice how loud it slammed onto the floor. "Hmm, I gotta cut that one to size. Hey honey, where'd we put the Fenton Angle Grinder?"

"I think I had it upstairs." Maddie stepped up to the portal. "Just give me a moment, and I'll look for it."

She started for a moment at the swirling green of the portal, and then dipped her hand in again. The odd chill still sent a shiver up her spine, but it wasn't so bad now that she knew it was coming. She didn't quite know how long to hold it in there, so she stood there for a moment, her hand tracing a slow arc up and down, her mind wandering to tomorrow, to what she was going to say to Danny…

And then a cold hand clamped around her wrist and snapped her back to reality. Maddie gasped and pulled away, but it was strong.

"Jack!"

"Maddie?" He saw her struggling with the portal and ran to her. "I'm coming, Maddie!"

She felt him wrap his arms around her waist and pull; she pulled too, and inch by inch, her hand started to come back out of the portal. After a moment, whatever was on the other side seemed to give up the fight, and they stumbled backwards.

The thing that had grabbed her - it hadn't let go. Cringing at the vice-like grip on her wrist, Maddie looked down to see what it was.

It was… it was a ghost, no question. It was glowing, skeletal, the same toxic green as the portal, and when it raised its eyes to meet hers, they were a deep, blood red. She had her blaster out and pointed right at its skull - she could hear Jack's whirring to life behind her - but just as she prepared to take a shot… something stayed her hand. Her mind was flashing back to last night, to Danny's friends jumping in front of her gun, telling her wait, don't shoot, it's…

"Let go of my wife, you putrid ectoplasmic ghost!" Jack shot at it, and it tumbled across the lab and lay there smoking. Maddie looked back at him with wide eyes, and saw him patting his blaster. "Hah, these babies actually work! You okay, honey?"

The ghost let out a low hiss, and Maddie steeled herself; the moment was gone. "The thermos, Jack! On the table!"

"Thermos?"

"The one that traps ghosts!" She shot at it as it rose to its feet; it dodged this one, and then flickered out of existence. "Dammit, it's gone invisible! Put on your goggles, I need you to-"

And then she felt it like a breath on the back of her neck; a coldness behind her, then inside her. She gasped as it spread through her body - it was like her blood was turning to ice, her muscles freezing up… and a dark, furious presence was pressing in on her mind.

"I don't see him, Mads! Cover my back!"

Jack was right there. Maddie opened her mouth, but she couldn't take a breath, she couldn't even get a whisper out. Her arm was jerking up; she saw her blaster take shaky aim at her husband, and knew in an instant what it was trying to make her do. She saw that, and a white-hot anger lit itself inside her. If this ghost wanted her to hurt her family, it was going to have to get through her first!

She wrenched her arm down and fought with the ghost. Pain lanced up her shoulder, and she tried to press it down with her other hand. Bit by bit her arm was coming up again, but she managed to let go of the blaster; it clattered to the ground, and she could feel the ghost's rage pressing in on her vision. Everything went double, and she dropped to her knees.

"...okay, Maddie? Maddie!"

But just when she thought it wasn't ever going to leave, it slipped away, leaving her to drop like a puppet with its strings cut. She collapsed into Jack's arms, and saw from the corner of her eye as it disappeared through the ceiling.

"Maddie!" Jack shook her. "Hey, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Overshadowed…" Maddie managed, still breathless. "Jack… can't, can't let it go into town… the ghost tracker!"

"Ghost tracker?" He helped her up. "I don't remember making a ghost tracker - that'd be a good idea, though-"

"I was working on a prototype, it's, it's upstairs!" She stumbled to her feet, drew another blaster, and motioned for him to follow. "Come on!"

The first steps were a struggle, but her strength was coming back quickly. She dashed into the living room and grabbed a device from the coffee table; turning it on, she tapped impatiently on the side of the display, hoping, praying for it to work…

Jack picked something up from the table. "Hey, there's the Fenton Angle Grinder!"

"There!" Maddie pointed at a blip on the scanner. "It's still in the house, it's - upstairs, the kids! Come on, Jack!"

Jack barrelled up the stairs and Maddie followed close behind, her eyes fixed on the scanner. It seemed like the dot was moving, coming their way; she tapped Jack on the shoulder, but he was already firing.

"Eat this, ecto-" Jack froze. "Oh, Danny! Scared me there, son!"

Danny was standing in a ring of blaster fire, eyes as wide as dinner plates. "I scared you?! What the heck, Dad!"

"Sorry, we're just hot on the trail of a ghost, a real ghost!" Jack grinned at Maddie. "Lucky your mother made something to track 'em down wherever they try and hide - what does it say, honey?"

The dot was right in front of them, unmoving. Maddie looked up at her son, and saw him stiffen. He could tell, couldn't he? They both knew exactly what the scanner showed - and what it meant.

"Um," Maddie said, and her voice was so much quieter than than she was expecting. "I think, I think we need to go into town. It's not here."

"We got a runner!" Jack pushed past her. "I'll load up the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle! We're going on a ghost hunt!"

And Maddie was alone with her son, who was picking some drywall out of his pyjamas. She didn't know what to say; he seemed to notice, and looked up with guarded eyes.

"What?"

"Uh… nothing, sweetie." Maddie tried for a smile. "We'll try to be back by morning, okay? Love you."

"Yeah, yeah, love you too…"

Maddie turned to leave, but she paused, and went back for a hug. But her arms closed on air; they passed right through Danny, and for a moment she felt the same coldness as the ghost in the basement; they both recoiled from each other, and she found herself speechless again.

"I…" She started. "Danny, I-"

"Uh, weren't you going somewhere?" Danny hugged his arms to himself. "Have, um, fun with that, I'm going to bed! Night Mom!"

And he was gone; he almost seemed to vanish as he got to his door. Maddie took a half step forwards, and then she heard Jack's voice from the front door.

"We're ready to go, Mads!"

"I'm…" Maddie stepped back. "I'm coming!

She made her way downstairs. That ghost from the basement… they really needed to find it before anyone else got hurt. Find a ghost, stop a ghost - that was simple. That was what she'd spent her life preparing for.

But once that was done… well, she'd have to figure out what to say to the ghost living in her house. And that was so much more complicated.

"They're really not back yet, huh."

Danny looked up from his cereal to see Jazz drumming her fingers on the table. "I told you," he said, taking a bite. "'Ey wen' cho hun' ghos's."

"Eww, Danny, chew your food first!"

"I am!"

"No, like - you know what I mean!" She noticed his smug smile, and rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha ha, very funny."

Danny swallowed. "Thank you, I try. Now will you sit down? It's fine, it's not like they haven't been gone before."

"I'm not worried, Danny." She crossed her arms. "I know they're fine, but what about you?"

"What about me?"

"The day after your accident, and they're off on another stupid ghost hunt? They should be here to support you, Danny!"

"Support me?" He snorted. "Yeah, uh, honestly, I'm glad they're off doing something else. Knowing them, it'd probably be doing their own brand of 'supporting' me, like making me drink ectoplasm, or spinning me around in that stupid - agh!"

Danny's spoon phased out of his hand again; a second later he dropped through his chair and landed on the ground. Jazz was at his side in an instant.

"Danny!" She tried to help him up, but gasped when her hands went through. "Oh my gosh, are you-"

"I'm fine! I'm fine, I'm just so done with things going through me!" He looked up, and glared at her wide eyes. "And will you stop staring at me like I'm a freak? You and mom, you're not helping!"

She flinched away, and he felt a bit of a pang at that. "Oh, sorry! Sorry, Danny."

"No, I just…" he grimaced. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. This is just… really annoying."

"No kidding." His hand stopped shimmering, and she offered hers. He hesitated before letting her pull him up. "You wanna talk about it?"

He shrugged. "I mean, we talked last night, right? I don't know what more there is to say."

She sat down, and gave him a sad smile when he stayed standing. "I guess not. You, uh, wanna watch a movie or something?"

"You? Watch a movie?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't have extra credit to do or something?"

"Who says I can't multitask?" She ruffled his hair and snorted as he waved her away. "I'll see what we got. You finish your breakfast, okay?"

"Whatever you say, mom!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

She wandered away, leaving Danny to grin and pick up his spoon. He tested its weight for a second, and then took a spoonful and carefully drew it up to his mouth; just before he took a bite, it slipped out of his hands again and spilled milk all down his front.

"Of course." His eyebrows drooped, and he tried wiping it away. Then he started sinking through the floor again. "Oh, for-! Are you kidding me?"

"Danny?"

"I'm fine!" He called out, spreading his hands out like he was sinking in quicksand. That seemed to help a bit - now he was just stuck half way through the floor.

"Yeah, so much better," he muttered. "Never thought I'd miss the ground not being optional."

At that moment, he heard something - it sounded like his ringtone, but it was muffled? Then it buzzed in his pocket, and he realised yes, that was his phone. He stayed there for a second, unsure of what to do, then he phased his hand through the floor and started digging in his pockets. Of all things to work that day, he was able to bring it back up and set it down on the floor in front of him.

It was Tucker. Danny paused, shrugged, and then answered it.

"Danny!" Tucker's face appeared in the narrow screen; Sam was trying to get a look in too. "So good to see you, man! Are you okay? Did you get our messages?"

"And are you on the floor?"

"It's… don't worry about it." Danny frowned. "Messages?"

"Yeah, dude, have you looked at AOL?" Tucker exchanged a worried look with Sam. "We've been trying to reach you since we got home, but you weren't responding…"

"Oh." Danny felt his stomach sink. "Sorry guys, I didn't go on my computer at all last night. I didn't mean to worry you - I'm fine, really!"

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Danny looked up as Jazz came in the room; she blinked, and he shook his head at her. "Really, guys, you don't need to worry about me. So, um, what are you up to today?"

Sam gave him a look for a little longer before she replied. "Well, not much, I'm just at Tucker's."

"Yeah, we were gonna watch a movie later, if you wanted to come? Or, uh, are you grounded from messing around in your folks' lab?"

Danny glanced up at Jazz, who was shaking her head no. "I'm not grounded!" He said, and gave a dry grin. "In more ways than one… uh, anyway, I can totally come over! Give me fifteen minutes?"

"Oh, nice, dude! We'll see you soon!"

"Yeah, I'll see you!" He hung up, and looked to Jazz, who had her hands on her hips. "What?"

"This is a bad idea, Danny."

"Why? It's the weekend, I'm not grounded, I can go see my friends. What's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" She watched him struggle to get out of the floor. "Well for one, I don't know how you're planning to walk there."

"Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in."

Jazz sighed, and offered her hand. "I'm just saying, it's only been a day since the accident. I think you should take it easy."

"And I am taking it easy!" He managed to get to his feet, and crossed his arms. "I'm going to see my friends, how is that not taking it easy?"

"It's just…" she hesitated, then rolled her eyes. "Nevermind. Fine, you can go."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She grabbed a set of keys from the counter. "But if I can't talk you out of a dumb idea, at least let me drive you to Tucker's."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Uh, okay? Sure, thanks."

They walked out to the car together.