Notes:
Title of chapter by beta. (Still the-oaken-muse on tumblr or The_Oaken_Muse on AO3).
Jack, Maddie, and Dani had just finished filling out paperwork in Lancer's office when, as was quickly becoming their usual, a ghost appeared. The Fentons leapt into action, joining up with Phantom and the Red Huntress, who had also detected the unwanted guest on the premises. If there just so happened to be two Phantoms in that fight, the students of Casper High were none the wiser.
After the ghost was taken care of and the Fenton family was back in Mr. Lancer's office, Dani suggested that she should also be included in the time management plan for Danny. She would need one similar to his, if not the same, when she started studying there next year since she was a Phantom as well. Her parents and Mr. Lancer agreed.
After a few days, they fell into a sort of rhythm. Dani and her parents took the day shift, while the others were in school, with Danny helping them out on the more difficult ones. The original Team Phantom took the afternoons. At night they alternated turns, so if someone patrolled a night, they had the next night off.
It had barely been more than a week of the routine and the new members of their team were already starting to realise just how much work really went into ghost hunting. It really did help, spreading the load evenly like that, but even with everyone pitching in, Danny was still exhausted. It turned out that leading multiple teams meant you had to do a lot of running around. Everyone agreed that a real break was what he needed.
"You need a break? That's easy, you should try travel!" said Dani as she popped a chip into her mouth. Sam and Valerie nodded in agreement.
The teens were chilling in the Fenton's living room after school. They were all there, well, almost all –Tucker couldn't hang out because he was busy with Mayor Business™. Sam and Valerie were on the couch, with Dani sitting cross-legged on the floor next to them and Jazz was curled up in the armchair reading a book.
Danny paced from one side of the room to the other, unable to sit still. "As much as I like the sound of that, I can't. I thought you guys of all people would understand… I can't just leave, Amity Park isn't going to defend itself!"
"Danny, I love you and all, but all this pacing is starting to make me dizzy." Sam patted the empty seat next to her, an unspoken invitation.
Danny paused in his steps, taking in the worried faces of his loved ones before sitting down on the edge of the cushion. His foot bounced nervously, his body a coiled spring.
Sam sighed before continuing. "What if, I don't know... Valerie here could," Sam gestured to the girl next to her, "protect it for a while… Your parents could even close the portal, you know, temporarily…" she suggested gently. They had talked about this before, about Danny taking a break. Maybe this time he would listen.
"I don't know Sam… Not that it wouldn't be nice– I mean, it sounds so easy when you put it like that." said Danny, rubbing the back of his neck. And it wasn't like he didn't want to take a vacation, he just wasn't sure if he knew how to anymore. Any other time that they went on holidays, it was to places nearby or the portal was locked, or both. He was always on call, Amity Park was never without a protector.
"Hey, I would be down for that," Valerie chimed in. "And if your parents closed the portal while you're away, it wouldn't even be that bad." After all, she knew she could take care of the ghosts that used natural portals or found other ways to escape the Ghost Zone and torment the people of Amity Park.
"No, I guess it wouldn't be too bad… And we have done that in the past… but…" Danny's mind drifted back to the last time the portal was closed for a longer period. The GIW had almost managed to destroy the Ghost Zone, he couldn't let something like that happen again.
"No 'buts,' Mister, you need a real break. No fights. That means no ghosts." Sam crossed her arms with a stubborn look. "No portal, no ghosts. It's that simple." She remembered the last time they locked the portal, everything had turned out alright then. It had been nice and peaceful, no ghosts at all! Or almost no ghosts, she couldn't quite recall the specifics at that moment, but everything had turned out okay in the end.
Just as Danny was about to retort, Maddie walked into the living room. "Hey kids, what are you talking about in here?" she asked playfully.
In her hands was a plate of freshly baked cookies, still hot from the oven. The kids had been meeting up at their house more and more lately, and while the Nasty Burger would always be their favourite hangout, it was easier for them to talk about ghosts more openly here. Maddie loved having them around, and she always tried to keep their favourite snacks on hand.
She offered the plate to Valerie first.
"Oh, thanks Mrs. Fenton!" she said after taking one. Valerie had quickly learned to love Maddie's homemade cookies.
"Thanks, Mom!" Danny and Jazz said at the same time, both reaching for the same cookie. Danny glared at his sister while she just rolled her eyes and then they each grabbed a different one.
When it was Sam's turn to take one, she simply shook her head with a polite, "No, thank you." She wasn't sure if this batch was vegan or not.
Mrs. Fenton seemed to realise her mistake and drew back the plate, winking at Sam, "Don't worry, dear, I have some special ones for you in the kitchen. I'll bring them out in a moment." Lastly, she offered the plate to Dani before setting it on the coffee table.
"Thanks, Maddie!" said Dani, biting into the cookie. "Well… we were talking about closing the portal while Danny is away."
"What?" Maddie's step faltered briefly as she walked back to the kitchen to grab the second batch of cookies. "And where exactly is Danny going?" she asked, offering one to Sam. She was getting better at those vegan recipes, if she did say so herself.
Sam accepted the cookie with a smile this time.
"We're trying to tell him that he needs a real vacation. He needs to travel, to get away from Amity Park this summer..." Valerie was the one to answer.
"Oh..." said Maddie with dawning realisation, then, more dreamily, "A real break… that would be nice." She put the plate of vegan cookies down next to the first one.
"Yeah, a real break," Jazz finally spoke. She turned to address her brother and sister, "Now that everyone here knows about you two, and Valerie here is more than capable of stopping all kinds of ghosts, even you…"
"Hey!" protested Danny, raising his hands in mock offence.
"No, no, she's right. I've kicked your scrawny ghost butt plenty of times," said Valerie, with a teasing grin.
"Oooh! Now that's something I have got to see!" Dani joined in the ribbing.
Jazz cleared her throat, "As I was saying little brother… You know what I mean. She's good, very good, maybe even the best on our team. She certainly gives you a run for your money."
"Yeah, okay…" said Danny. He was still insecure about it, but Jazz had a point.
"Listen, this whole year has been one thing after another, right?" she asked.
Everyone nodded.
"So, everyone is exhausted, right?"
Again everyone nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
"And you know that breaks are supposedly for breaks, right?" asked Jazz one more time, getting a last round of nods.
"Tell that to the ghosts," Danny huffed. A real break was nice in theory, but it was easier said than done when you had the restless dead attacking the city every day.
"And that's why I'm here, dummy," said Valerie, teasing just a bit. "You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know."
"Me too!" said Dani, grinning "That's why I said travel, and far away, and I mean it! Far, far, far away… So far that none of the ghosts will be able to bother you."
"Definitely!" Jazz agreed. "It has to be far enough that you wouldn't even try to fly yourself back here." She knew full well that her brother would try something like that if they let him.
"How far does that need to be?" Maddie wondered aloud. She knew that her son was strong, but just how strong was he? What kind of flight range did he have? How was his stamina? Her scientific mind whirled with questions.
"Well," said Sam, almost without thinking, "once we travelled across the whole country in three days–"
"You did what?" Maddie cried, cutting off Sam. She doesn't remember Phantom or any of them travelling that far.
"I mean, I've travelled all over the country, too… but it took me a lot longer than that. You know, stopping here and there… but… meh." Dani shrugged. When she told them that she had been places, she meant it.
Maddie looked at her youngest with new eyes. The United States was a big place, to think that Dani had been out there all alone… If they had known, they would have taken her in a long time ago.
"We had transportation," Sam explained, breaking Maddie out of her musings. "It wasn't just Danny flying us. And it was an emergency." She had forgotten that nobody actually knew about that, since Danny used the Reality Gauntlet to make it so nobody but the three of them remembered it.
"Then we should probably try going even further, visit someplace outside the country… like Europe or South America… although it's getting cold down there now, so it wouldn't be as much of a summer vacation…" mused Jazz, thinking of different options. While the northern hemisphere was getting hotter, the southern half of the planet was gearing up for winter. She supposed it might be a nice escape from the sweltering heat though.
"Europe could be nice… We could finally go to Paris… " said Maddie, considering the possibilities and letting herself become cautiously excited over what she thought was an old, dead dream of her high school self. She also conveniently forgot about the apparent cross-country trip her son and his friends had been on.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Danny put his hands up as if to ward off this topic of conversation. "Are you guys for real?" Everyone seemed to be on board with just leaving the country, and Amity Park, unprotected. This was getting out of control.
"Well, yeah, of course we are!" Valerie said. "It's not just your sister who's worried about you, we are too. We're your friends, Danny, we care about you. And even with us helping you, you still look like you're about to pass out all the time. You need a break, a real one. I have to agree with Dani, travel would be good for you. Paris, like your mom suggested, should be lovely right now, and it's nice and far."
Valerie smiled. She could very easily imagine how beautiful Europe would be this time of year. There was once a time in her life when she could have easily taken a trip there, back before her dad lost his job. A few months ago she would have blamed her turn of fate on the ghost boy, but now that she had learned the whole truth, including about Cujo… Well she blamed her dad's company for that. Why they would just "get rid of" the dogs like that, is a mystery and cruelty.
"You know what, Paris sounds perfect! I could probably pay for everyone to go on the trip, even you Val," Sam offered. The two girls hadn't always gotten along, but since Valerie had officially joined the team, Sam had been putting in the effort to make her feel included.
"What?" Danny's voice had an edge of panic to it as he looked between everyone in the room. They all seemed to be seriously considering this trip, and not only that, they looked happy about it.
"Or not..." said Sam, remembering how her boyfriend could be sometimes.
"Better not, or Mr. I-won't-leave-Amity-if-it-isn't-protected here will never relax," said Valerie pointing her thumb at Danny. As much as she appreciated the offer, she couldn't accept it. A trip like that would be expensive, and she wasn't going to let Sam pay for everything, as nice as that sounded.
"You're no fun, Danny!" Dani pouted. "How about this: you relax, I stay." She put a hand to her chest, proudly. After all, she was a Phantom, too.
"What? No! You're family, Dani! You should come too! We- we only just found you…" he ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up wildly. Then, unable to sit still any longer, he abruptly stood and resumed his pacing.
"I know, I know," Dani replied, trying to calm her brother. "But, look, I've had plenty of travelling lately, I wouldn't mind being a bit of a homebody for once. And, no offence, but I could use a break from you guys. Don't get me wrong! I love you and all, but this family is kinda overwhelming, especially when you're used to being on your own."
"Danny darling, you're pacing again," Maddie pointed out gently. "It's very sweet that you want your little sister to go with you, and that you trust Valerie to protect Amity Park while you're gone, but I was about to suggest that you kids go and your father and I stay behind instead. Even with the portal closed, which yes, is a good idea, someone should stay, you know, to monitor it… make sure the Ecto-Filtrator is still good…"
"I can monitor the portal!" Dani excitedly cut in. "It can't be that different from Vlad's, right? And it was one of my chores to change the Ecto-Filtrator. After his first portal blew up his mansion, he was really paranoid about that sort of thing, so he made sure I knew how to do it! You and Jack should get to go, you were just talking about how you've always wanted to go to Paris, and you guys have been working really hard! You deserve a vacation."
"Then it's decided," Jazz clapped her hands authoritatively. "Valerie and Dani will stay behind to keep an eye on Amity Park and the portal, and the rest of us will take a much needed vacation. Now, I'm going to go find Dad and let him know the plan." Jazz left her book on the side table, her reading had been non-existent since the casual planning started- well, not that casual. Everyone needed a break, including her. She headed for the lab in search of Jack, muttering to herself about passports.
"Great idea sweetheart!" Maddie called after her. "Tell your father that if he doesn't come up here to finish discussing this together, he won't get any cookies!"
"Okay, Mom!" Jazz shouted back and kept going down the stairs.
In a quieter voice, Maddie addressed the rest of the kids, "I'm going to go grab my laptop from upstairs so we can start checking everything that we need..."
Just like that, Danny, Dani, Sam and Valerie were left alone in the living room.
Danny finally stopped pacing, sighed, and sat back down next to Sam. The girls exchanged relieved looks, it seemed like Danny had finally accepted the possibility of travelling for real.
"He wouldn't get any cookies?" Valerie asked softly. She looked down at the plate. Surely Mrs. Fenton didn't think they would eat all these before Mr. Fenton could get any, right?
"It'll help get his attention..." Danny explained, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously. Sam nodded along, after all she had known the family for many years and was well aware that sweets were the best way to get through to the man.
"Ah!" said Valerie, an understanding smile lit up her face. She had seen Mr. Fenton working while eating before, and at that time he had been helping build a very important machine that saved the world.
"Any snack works, but fudge is his favourite..." Dani added, feeling embarrassed as well. She wished Jazz was there too. It wasn't fair that she got to miss out on the kind of quality sibling bonding that happened over being embarrassed by their parents.
"I've had your mom's fudge, I can see why it's his favourite!" Valerie giggled. "Okay, while we wait for the others to get back, I'm gonna call my dad and let him know that we'll be having Dani over for a while." That could be a good option to help out. She picked up her cell phone and began to dial.
"But I can stay here..." Dani tried to protest. She had just started thinking of her room as her room, instead of the guest room. She had finally gotten used to living there and thinking of FentonWorks as her home. She was also used to being on her own, fending for herself, staying where it is home shouldn't be that much of a problem by comparison.
"Normally, yes, but with the FBI and CPS on the Fenton's case… I don't think that's a good idea..." said Sam delicately, knowing that it's a sensitive topic, especially for Danny.
Danny made a thoughtful face, looking a bit disappointed with himself, but didn't comment. That interview with both representatives defending his parents was a wild time.
"Oh right, you guys told me about that… " said Dani, remembering the explanation the Fentons had given her not that long ago. They had gone over the whole interview with her, from start to finish, it had played a major role in Vlad's sentencing.
Meanwhile, Valerie was remembering a similar, though less detailed, explanation. She set her phone back down, realising she'd gotten ahead of herself. Even though her suggestion wasn't a bad idea, they should decide what to do first, as a group.
"All right, we're here!" said Jazz. Everyone turned their attention to the doorway as she walked in with Jack not far behind.
"Same here," said Maddie, laptop in hand. "I almost couldn't find it! It was under a pile of laundry for some reason." She shrugged.
Jack sent her a guilty look, then, noticing the plates of cookies, made a beeline for the coffee table. "So, kids, Jazzy–pants here has been telling me that you're planning a little trip!" He picked up one of the vegan cookies and took a bite, making a face when he tasted it.
"Here, dear," said Maddie, giving him the tray of regular cookies. "Actually honey, it's more like a proper holiday. You know, we haven't had one in a very loooong time." She opened up the laptop and turned it on.
"Mr. Fenton, Danny needs a vacation, a real one, all of you do. When was the last time you had one, a real–real one?" asked Sam, crossing her arms and fixing the man with a stern glare. She knew very well that the last proper holiday was supposed to be the trip that didn't happen, the one that they cancelled at the last minute.
"Well… we went camping, and me and Danno went on that fishing trip and, uh… Hey Mads, where did you and Danny go that last time? Or was it the time before that one…" Jack muttered as he drummed his fingers against his chin. He was beginning to confuse himself.
"Jack, those trips were more like short bonding time with the kids, not a real family vacation. And in those cases it was just me or you with one of the kids… well, except that time we went camping… and that was…" Maddie looked at Danny, asking silent permission to talk about it. She knew that hadn't been their best moment as parents, the way they hadn't believed in Danny. In the end it was just a ghost problem, a ghost that only kids could see. That fact had been hard to learn and accept.
Danny sighed, "Don't remind me, please. Even Jazz thought I was crazy." He ran a hand down his face.
"In my defence, I didn't even know he existed, let alone the fact that we wouldn't be able to see him!" said Jazz, trying to defend herself again after all these months.
"Well, maybe if you'd acted your age…" Danny crossed his arms and sent Jazz a bit of a mean glare.
"Danny… It's alright now. Let it go," said Sam. She quickly grabbed Danny's hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to stop the argument before it could really get going.
Valerie was the one to break the awkward silence, "All right, so… back to planning?" she asked. She didn't know the full story, but she could tell that it was getting personal, and fast.
"Oh yeah!" said Jack enthusiastically. He turned to the others with a huge grin, "So, Paris you said?"
"Well, yes honey, I mean… I've always wanted to go there… and it's too far away for Danny to try to fly back. You know how he is." Maddie explained.
"You could fly here from France?!" Jack asked, excitedly. He never thought that would be possible even for Danny. He was about to ask a million questions when Maddie cut in.
"Jack, dear… the idea is for him not to do that. It's supposed to be a time for us to relax," she said.
"Well…" said Danny after a couple of seconds of silence, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Don't encourage him, Danny," Jazz scolded. "You know he won't stop if you get him going." She knew well enough how that would go and then they'd never get this vacation planned. Boys. If it weren't for her and her mom, they'd never get anything done.
"I'm not! I'm just saying… I don't know… maybe?" He shrugged. They hadn't tested his abilities in a very long time and he'd gotten stronger since then, so it could be possible, but he didn't have a good answer for his dad.
"Look, I wanna know how strong I am just as bad as you do," Dani piped up, "and there will be plenty of time for that later, but you're so worn out that any tests you guys run won't really be accurate anyway, you know? And we've got more important things to think about right now, like figuring out where I'm staying," she said pointedly.
"Well, I know that my dad won't mind at all if Dani stays with us while you're gone," Valerie said. She pulled out her phone to check her messages. "But I should probably wait to call and let him know until after you guys know for sure when you are going… and all that." She put her phone back into her pocket.
"If you won't let me pay for the trip, at least let me pay for your hotel," Sam blurted out. She put her hand up to stop Danny, "And before you say anything, I could even go with you if I paid for it. My parents wouldn't mind. They're always trying to get me to go on fancy rich people trips to Europe anyway. I already have a passport, and it won't be hard to get the rest of the paperwork taken care of. I have it covered. It would be just like the last vacation when I got to travel with you guys… Although, that never really happened did it? Sometimes I really hate that we used that 'reset button'…" She sighed. Yet another reason for them to take this trip, Danny needed to have a real break, he deserved it. If that meant using a good portion of her family money, so be it. It wasn't like they couldn't afford it.
"What? Do I want to know?" asked Valerie, confused by Sam's statement. She didn't remember hearing about a trip that never happened. If they had mentioned it before, she had definitely forgotten.
"No, you don't. Trust me…" said Jazz. She waved her hand, "Alternate reality. You'll just get a headache." She had learned what happened and it still confused her. She didn't know which deadly situation –specifically for her family– was the worst. Maybe it was the one where they all died, although she could swear that the other one with reality changing couldn't be much better.
"Sam, sweety, you don't have to do that! We're more than capable of paying for the trip ourselves," Maddie said, trying to steer the conversation back to planning. They were so easily sidetracked… "but thank you for offering."
"Oh, it's really no trouble at all, Mrs. Fenton! And I want to do everything I can to help Danny," she replied with a smile.
Maddie paused to consider Sam's offer, she knew how determined the girl could be when it came to doing what she thought was right. They would probably end up allowing the hotel payment just because this seemed like something she was very passionate about and probably wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.
"Are you sure your parents would be okay with that?" Jazz asked pointedly. She knew that Sam held a certain amount of disdain for her family's wealth, and had a bit of a personal vendetta with her parents.
"I'm sure," said Sam. "This is one thing they'll agree to no problem. Well... I might have to dress up and take some pictures for the family social media while we're there, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
"We could take some pictures together," said Danny, suddenly warming up to the idea of travelling. "Paris is called the City of Love, after all."
Jazz cleared her throat, getting them back on track. "So... Mom. Have you looked up plane tickets to Paris yet?" she asked, gesturing to the laptop.
"You guys will probably need to fly out of Chicago," said Valerie. That's what she'd always had to do since the Amity Park airport only handled domestic flights.
"She's right, you know," confirmed Sam.
"So, we'll need to fly out of Amity and then take a connecting flight to Paris…" mused Jazz, thinking aloud.
"That's what the online booking system says," announced Maddie, reading her findings from the laptop. There wasn't even an option for a direct flight from Amity to Paris, all the options include travelling to the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago first, as that was the closest international airport.
"Wait… is everyone here going?" Jack asked, completely lost. He understood that they all needed a break, but nothing else other than the possibility of his whole family going to Paris–probably a sign that he needed a break, too.
"No, honey," Maddie replied gently. "Dani is staying behind with Valerie to keep an eye on Amity Park and the portal, even though we're going to be closing it while we're gone. Danny has made it very clear that he wouldn't be able to really relax if we left the city completely unprotected."
"Oh, right… that makes sense… I think…" said Jack, processing the information. He was a bit unsure about just the four of them going, but looking around, everyone else seemed to be in agreement. He hoped it all worked out for the best.
"We'll need to round up everyone's passports…" Maddie said absentmindedly as she continued researching for their trip, then she realised something. "Oh, I suppose it's good that Dani volunteered to stay, her passport hasn't even come in yet."
Danny was feeling a bit more confident about travelling, but he was still worried about Dani. He turned to Valerie, "Are you sure it's alright for Dani to stay at your house?" he asked. He knew it would be okay with Valerie, but what about Valerie's dad?
"Don't worry! My dad won't mind at all! Actually, he would probably be thrilled to know I'm bringing friends over, you know? Or just a friend…" Valerie said with a bit of a bittersweet smile. After she had been kicked out of the A-listers, she had thought she'd never have friends again. She shook herself out of her thoughts and winked at Danny, "Also, you know, he knows."
"And not only about Danny," said Jazz, "but about yourself as well. And that's saying something. Nobody knows about you. Well, other than us, of course!"
"But he doesn't know about me," said Dani. How would they explain the fact that she is also a halfa, and not just any halfa, but Danny's clone. Although, it wasn't like anyone was going to say that detail, right?
"Don't worry, Dani, Valerie's dad should be all right. He knows about Danny because he was there helping with the machine in Antarctica," Sam explained what Valerie had implied. She knew that Dani didn't know exactly how many people, or who, were in the know about Danny's secret. They weren't thrilled that a bunch of people knew, but it was in the past now.
"Exactly!" said Valerie. "My dad's seen some pretty crazy stuff. I mean, he's been dealing with my ghost hunting for a while now… It takes a lot to faze him, you'll be fine."
"So," said Maddie with a single clap of her hands, bringing the attention of the kids back to planning, "considering that you kids are going to be on summer vacation in about a week, we should get our tickets for next Monday… That will give us the weekend to pack." She typed in the new travel date. It also helped that flights were cheaper during the week. They had been saving money up for a big trip like this for years, but the less they had to spend on plane tickets, the more they could do once they got to Paris.
"Oh, that's a brilliant idea, Mads!" said Jack, looking over her shoulder so he could see the laptop screen.
"But we still don't know if Valerie's dad would be all right with Dani staying with them… And Dani is family too…" Danny tried one more time; it was a weak argument, even to his own ears. Family was important, but sadly without a passport Dani wouldn't be able to travel anyway. He was going to miss her a lot, a fact he would be keeping to himself, otherwise his sisters would tease him endlessly.
"Oh, Danny-boy, it's all right, your mother and I will call him afterwards, but your mom here is finding good offers to go to Paris right now. Although I don't get why it has to be with a connection..." Jack wondered aloud looking between Danny and the laptop screen, taking a bite out of another cookie. He hadn't been paying much attention during that part of the conversation.
Maddie sighed, "Jack, dear, you know Amity Park doesn't have an international terminal," she reminded him, "and please don't get crumbs on the keyboard."
"Yeah, Mr. Fenton, the closest international airport is O'Hare in Chicago," Sam picked up the explanation. "Did you know that it sees more international flights than any other airport not on the East or West Coast?"
"How do you know that?" asked Valerie, raising an eyebrow.
"Probably because her parents like to travel a lot, and maybe they mentioned it before..." Danny trailed off, worried that it would sound like he was bragging about Sam's family. He knew Valerie wasn't as well off as she used to be, and he didn't want to sound rude.
"It's true," Sam confirmed with a shrug, "and little pamphlets full of fun facts are better company than my parents when their flight's been delayed."
"Oh… " said Valerie. Even though she had just offered to pay for the Fenton's hotel a few minutes ago, it was so easy to forget that Sam actually had money, or, well, her family did. She never acted rich, and it was hard to tell from looking at her, what with the whole punk goth thing she had going on. Valerie wouldn't judge her for being rich anyway, but still.
"All right!" exclaimed Maddie, drawing the kids' attention away from their fun facts about travelling. "I think I found something! There's a flight from Amity Park to Chicago at 6:00am Monday morning, then a connecting flight at 8:00am that will take us to Paris!"
"That sounds perfect!" Sam commented. In the past, before they had finished the Amity Park Airport, it had been a bus trip to Chicago, and a much earlier morning.
"Doesn't it?" Maddie said, very pleased with herself. She continued reading the travel details to the others, "The flight from here to Chicago is about a half hour in the air, so even if we have a delay, that gives us plenty of time to get from one gate to the other once we land at O'Hare… And then it's another eight hours to Paris… Which means we'll get there around 11:00 pm Central European Time!
"Wait," Danny said excitedly, "I could fly us to Chicago!" He knew that it would be so much easier and faster, and then they wouldn't have to worry about their plane being delayed.
"No!" Jazz cried, a bit louder than necessary. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Danny, the whole point of this trip is for you to have a break. Doing crazy things like flying a family of four across the state is not taking a break. So please, give the powers a rest, okay?" She looked at him with pleading eyes.
"I hate to agree with Jazz," Sam ignored the other girl's shout of indignation, "but, Danny, you have been doing a lot lately, even now that you have help." She squeezed his hand a bit and gave him a worried smile.
"Yep!" said Dani, dramatically draping herself over his shoulders. "You're like, the king of micromanaging, bro. You need to learn to take a chill pill." She hid her worry behind a mask of teasing. She had been standing for a little while now, but she didn't think Danny had seen her until she laid herself on him.
"Et tu, Dani?" Danny asked in mock offence. She'd only been living with them for a short time, and she was already on his back as much as Jazz, and even more literally.
"Oh, wow..." Valerie murmured. She understood that he was worried about Dani, but she seemed happy. Valerie wasn't really sure what was bothering him so much.
"Oh, c'mon Danny, don't be like that! We're not ganging up on you just because we feel like it, you really do need a break. You know Dani can take care of herself, and she's learned a lot about taking care of others from watching you. You've done so much for her, and for everyone here," Sam gave his hand another squeeze, "let us do this for you." She knew that Danny needed a bit of a push to let go of the extra worry.
"She's right, you know," said Jazz, giving him a small smile.
"Yeah, Danny, I know I'll be alright, and I'm super excited to show you just how much I've learned! Mom and Dad will call Mr. Gray—"
Dani was interrupted by Maddie and Jack gasping loudly.
"What? What did I say?" she asked, confused at their reaction.
"You called them 'Mom and Dad'… without even thinking about it..." Jazz said proudly. Dani didn't usually call them that, but when she did, she had to make an effort at it.
"Oh… yeah I guess I did!" Dani said and smiled a big smile. She hadn't even noticed, but at some point she'd stopped thinking of them as 'Jack and Maddie' and started thinking of them as her parents. The Fentons had shown her what family really means, and that was so special to her.
Danny finally smiled too, "All right, I guess we're going to Paris! Mom, Dad call Mr. Gray now please..." That way the last of his worries would finally disappear.
"With pleasure," Maddie wiped away a happy tear, "but we should finish booking our flights at least before we talk with him." She turned her attention back to the laptop.
"Good idea Mads!" added Jack, wiping away a tear of his own and looking at the laptop screen, too.
"If you find a good offer, take it before it changes. My parents complain about that all the time; you'll never find the same offer twice, but might find a similar one if you're lucky. Not that they need it anyway, but you know how they are…" Sam rolled her eyes with a shrug.
"Mmmmm… true," Maddie hummed, keeping her eyes fixed on the screen. "We should have searched on incognito, at least we could have compared prices better…" She knew what Sam was referring to, the theory that airlines use cookies to track which flights you look for, increasing their prices.
"But what we have here seems like a reasonable price, right?" asked Jack, pointing out the details of the flight on the screen.
"No to interrupt or anything," Valerie cut in, "but do you guys have any idea how long you'll be gone?" She had texted her dad while the Fentons were focused on the travel details. He didn't have a problem with Dani staying with them, but wanted to know how long they would be looking after her.
"I thought you said it would be alright!" Danny cried out, his anxiety spiking again.
"It is, but it would still be nice to know ahead of time," Valerie snapped. She could tell by his tone that he was worrying again, but he was really starting to test her patience.
"Oh, right… sorry." Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"It's alright," Valerie sighed, she felt a bit bad for letting her temper get the better of her.
"I'm so sorry, Valerie, we completely forgot about that!" Maddie gave her an apologetic look. "Well, we're leaving next Monday, and we'll want to have at least a week there…"
Danny blinked at that information. "You haven't decided how long we'll be gone yet?" he asked incredulously.
"Well, we have a couple of tabs open to compare prices for that…" Maddie said, Jack nodding along, "and it looks like it would be worth it to take two weeks." After all it seemed like there wasn't that much of a difference between some of the prices, and it looked like round trip tickets were slightly better than one way.
"Oh… yeah, that sounds okay…" said Danny. At least two weeks didn't sound that bad, even though he didn't know what he was supposed to do for that long, not yet at least.
"Then that's the plan!" Maddie nodded decisively and clicked 'confirm' to purchase four round trip tickets.
"We'll be getting back to Amity Park late on a Friday night, two weeks into your summer break," Jack informed the kids. That is, if he was reading along right.
"Great, now we have an answer for Valerie's Dad!" Jazz said with a smile. She knew that taking a two week trip to Europe wouldn't leave her with much time to finish getting ready for university, but it was going to be worth it.
"Yeah, that works!" said Valerie, typing up a text to her father with the more detailed plan.
And just like that, Maddie and Jack booked their flights from Amity to Chicago, and from there to Paris, France. The Fenton family was going on an adventure, and they couldn't be more excited. Before they could celebrate, however, they needed to talk with Valerie's father, after all, they needed to finish sorting out Dani's stay.
Thankfully, Mr. Gray was pleased to have her over, Danny had done so much to help their family in the past, and he was more than happy to return the favour. Although he insisted that wasn't the only reason that he accepted, he was also very proud of his daughter for making a new friend. It was just like Valerie had said it would be.
With all the big things sorted out, everyone started to go their separate ways. Jazz returned to her book after helping Maddie find their passports. Valerie announced that it was about time for her to head home, it was getting late, and she would need to rest up for the coming days. She gave a final wave to Dani at the door, she would be keeping a close eye on the girl, even if she thought she was too old for it. And finally, Dani was left to her imagination, already fantasising about taking care of the house and fighting the ghosts that, if any, came with a closed portal.
Sam gently reminded Danny that they had homework, forgotten in favour of planning an international trip, and the two of them decided to go up to his room to work on it. She took his hand as they climbed the stairs, giving him a warm smile. She was so glad that he had finally relaxed and warmed up to the whole travel idea.
Jack and Maddie began looking for hotels that were in their budget, but paused their search to cook dinner.
That night, after the meal, Sam was invited to stay over – it wouldn't be the first time either, even though those old times were with Tucker in the room too and they had all been just friends. Sam did accept the offer of course, after all sleeping there wasn't new for her, and she always loved to just enjoy spending extra time with Danny.
To be continued
:D :D