(SONG: "For The First Time" - The Little Mermaid, 2023) [Lyric change]

As Danny helped Beatrice walk down the street, her gaze fell upon all the buildings and sights to be seen. It was like she was looking at them through new eyes and in a way, she was. Her new HUMAN eyes.

BEATRICE: [In mind] Look at the sun and the sky and the street and the Zone behind me./Look at me, suddenly, I am right here and I'm free/don't mind me as I climb for the first time/jump for the first time/trying to stand but this gravity's pulling me down.

As they walked up the steps and into Danny's house, Danny set her by the fireplace, to warm up.

"Now, you stay here," He said. "I'm going to get my sister. She's better with women anyway."

BEATRICE: [In mind] Look, it's a fire, it's warm and it glows and it lights this chamber./Let me admire it, ow! Get too close and it bites/I came too close for the first time/burned for the first time./Everything's clearer and brighter and hotter/but now that I'm here like a ghost out of water/I'm trying to stand but this gravity's pulling me down.

After what felt like a long time, Danny returned with Jazz, a woman with long orange hair. The moment Jazz saw Beatrice, she quickly raced up to see if she was okay.

"What happened?" She asked Danny.

"I don't know," Danny said. "She said her parents abandoned her. But I think she was involved in a ghost attack."

"And you didn't…!" Before Jazz could finish that phrase, Danny made a cutting motion with his hand over his throat, meaning for her to keep that side of him quiet. Jazz huffed before gently helping Beatrice up from the stool.

"Well, come with me. We'll make sure you're safe."

As they climbed up the stairs, Beatrice noticed photos of Danny and Jazz as kids, as well as of their parents. But…their parents looked to have been ghost hunting.

BEATRICE: [In mind] Are we only prey for capture?/Is this life on land?/Well, you were lonely with that vulture./Come on, Beatrice/time to stand!

After a quick bath, with Jazz's guiding help, and a quick fluff and blow of Beatrice's long golden locks, Jazz helped her get dressed in something new. A black corset with a subtle green swirl pattern, black skinny jeans ripped at the knees, and black combat boots that seemed to be Beatrice's size. Though she still had to squeeze into them.

BEATRICE: [In mind] Squeeze in the shoes and this corset, it's tight/and the seams are busting./Some women choose this, I guess it's alright./Are my dreams adjusting?

"Hey, Danny! Come here!" Jazz called, making Beatrice perk up at the mention of Danny's name.

"Coming!" Danny called back, and she could hear Danny's steps, slow but sure, walking toward the room.

BEATRICE: [In mind] As I wait for the first time/here for the first time/now for the first time./He's coming through those doors/up the stairs/from the stone/from that moment./And he'll smile/like he knows/when I say…!

As Danny entered the room, Beatrice's voice never came out, silenced by the deal she made with Jada to be in the human world.

But that wasn't the issue right now. Danny just stared at what Beatrice was wearing, his heart hurting at the sight of them. "Jazz, why is she wearing Sam's clothes?" He asked.

"Danny, she wouldn't fit in my clothes; surprisingly enough, she's Sam's size!" Jazz exclaimed though she could see there was something wrong with Danny. "Danny,"

"I'm sorry," He stated, grinning at Beatrice. "You look nice." And then he turned and left.

"Danny, wait!" Jazz called, rushing after him, but not before saying sorry to Beatrice before leaving.

BEATRICE: [In mind] Realize the price that you paid with your voice as he turns from you./Those sacrifices you made were a choice that you can't undo./Lost for the first time/scared for the first time/gravity feels like the undertow pulling me down.

(End of the song)

"Alright!" Beatrice jumped at the sudden outburst behind her. She turned around and gave a look to Octavia who was sitting at the desk in the guest room they were in. Octavia looked at her confused before realizing she must have startled her. "Oh, sorry," She said. "But we're in a time crunch! We have to get you and Danny together somehow!" Beatrice sighed as she sat on the bed, playing with the faux leather jacket sitting here. She had taken it into her hands, checking it over.

"Bea, are you listening to me?" Octavia asked. "You need to get that kiss!"

Beatrice was, indeed, listening, but her mind was always somewhere else. She was going through the pockets of the jacket, before she pulled out a ring. A golden band with an aqua gem in the center. She checked it over, looking for something, when she saw the engraving on the inside of the band: Sam.

He must be looking for this, Beatrice thought before she threw on the jacket, surprised that it in fact fit her just right, and raced out of the room.

"Beatrice Shaggoth! UHG!" Octavia complained. "Someone really has to...well...no, she doesn't have a tail anymore!"


Beatrice walked down the hallway, looking for the correct room when she noticed a door, covered in space decals and stickers. She could only assume that had to have been his room. She went to knock on it when she paused, hearing Jazz's voice on the other side.

"Danny, it's just clothes! What's wrong with that girl wearing them?" Jazz asked, making Beatrice listen closely.

"Nothing's wrong with that!" Danny exclaimed. "It just, caught me off guard, okay? Can we drop this!?"

"No! We can't! You're still missing her, I can tell! And it's been two days since her funeral!" Beatrice perked up. This girl, Sam, passed away? Is that why he turned from her earlier?

"Try it being only a week since she was found dead, Jazz!" Danny yelled back. "Now, please! Just...leave me alone." Hearing Jazz's sigh in return and her soft footsteps getting louder as she walked to the door, Beatrice tried to go invisible, but...she realized she couldn't now. So, she moved out of the way of the door and leaned against the wall as Jazz walked out, closing his door behind her. She looked at Beatrice and smiled.

"Sorry. He's still in grieving mode," She said, making Beatrice nod like she understood. Jazz grinned at her. "You don't talk much, do you?" Beatrice touched her throat and shook her head. "Well, whatever happened, I hope you get your voice back soon." And with that, Jazz walked off back to her room.

Now was her chance.

Beatrice took a deep breath and went back to the task at hand. She knocked on his door and when he didn't respond, she let herself in quietly. His room was filled with space posters and stars, something that she, herself, liked. Outer space was an interest she didn't realize many kids her age would enjoy, and yet...here was Danny.

"I said leave me alone, J..." Danny turned from his desk, making Beatrice look at him with wonder. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were my sister." Beatrice grinned. "Trust me, I love her and she's coming from the right place, but...she gets a little too much sometimes."

I know the feeling, Beatrice thought before remembering why she was here. She walked up to Danny and pulled his hand up. She then placed the ring in his palm and he stared in shock. He looked it over, seeing that it still looked brand new. The gem was thoroughly cleaned and the band itself had no spots of age or like it was over-worn. It was spotless.

"Sam really kept it nice," Danny muttered before looking at Beatrice. "Where'd you find this?" Beatrice pointed to the pocket of the jacket, making him nod. "That was Sam's. I'm not surprised." Beatrice had questions about Sam and wished she could voice them. But not having a voice rendered her, for the lack of a better word, speechless. So, she looked around for a way to ask her questions when she noticed a pen and paper on his desk. She gestured to it, her way of asking if she could use it and he nodded, knowing she couldn't talk.

Beatrice took the pad and pen, and wrote out her first question. "Who is Sam?" Danny read it and sighed, gesturing to the photo on his desk.

"Sam is...was my girlfriend," Danny answered as Beatrice stared broken hearted. "She was killed last week in a ghost attack that...the ghost hero, couldn't prevent." Beatrice gave him a look and wrote the next statement rather than question.

"I know you're Phantom. You don't have to hide that from me."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Why am I not surprised you know?" Beatrice shrugged with a cute smile before continuing with the questions.

"Do you know the ghost who attacked her?" Danny took a breath, trying to ease his racing heart as he shook his head.

"No," He said. "I found her too late and whoever attacked her got away hours before."

"Did you love her?" Danny grinned, looking into Beatrice's eyes with wonder.

"I did," He said, sighing afterward. "But..." He paused, making Beatrice give him a gesture to continue. He looked at her again, seeing the genuine concern and curiosity behind her face. He could see a friendship blooming between them and for the first time in a while...he didn't want to push it away. So, with a deep breath, Danny spoke his story.

"Sam and I had a fight moments before she went missing," Danny admitted. "She kept saying an old enemy of mine had returned...and I didn't believe her." He paused as he watched Beatrice writing something down and then she showed him. The name he read sent chills down his spine, and it wasn't his ghost sense.

"Vlad Plasmius?" Was what she had written and all Danny could do was nod yes.

"He was banished to space after he tried to destroy it with a meteorite," Danny said. "And there's really no way for him to return. But, Sam was convinced he had found a way." Beatrice listened intently as she stared at him, sitting on the edge of his bed now. "It's one of the reasons why I'm so secluded now. I don't transform much anymore into Phantom."

'Why not!?' Beatrice said, though it was muted without a voice and she groaned internally in that memory. So she wrote that out and showed him. He shrugged as an answer.

"I guess since I couldn't save the one person I wanted to protect, I don't deserve to be known as a hero," Danny said, looking at the photo of him and Sam at last years Winter Formal, a celebration that happened after the disasteroid. Beatrice looked at that photo as well and grinned, seeing Danny's smiling face as he held Sam by the waist. She was smiling as well.

He really did love her, Beatrice thought, feeling a small ache in her chest. She wished she could have more than three days with him, maybe she'd be able to help him heal properly.

...

Or maybe she can within those three days.

She thought it over, thinking of how she could help him. She may have wanted him to fall in love with her those three days, but now...she wanted to help him move on. So she set the pad of paper down with the pen and stood up. She took his hand and led him out of his room and gestured toward the front door.

"You want to hang out?" He asked and she nodded. He chuckled, grinning at her eagerness to explore. "Then let's go."