"Wha-wha-what? What did you just say?" Danny stuttered nervously.

"I said I learned about you, son," Jack replied, just as nervous as the ghostly teen.

Danny just gaped at the ghost hunter, mind slowly processing that he did just hear those words come out of Jack Fenton's mouth. He was broken out of his shock when Jack shifted his weight uncomfortably and opened his mouth to say something. Without a second thought, the teen snapped his gaping mouth shut and flew off as fast as he could.

Jack slowly closed his mouth as he watched the wispy tail of Danny Phantom disappear. Was he wrong?

—

Jazz had been trying to figure out what had happened between Danny and their mom the past few days to no avail. Danny had been sour and tight-lipped, avoiding the other members of their household as much as possible. Avoiding his issues wouldn't make them go away, he needed to talk to someone, but he refused. She tried reaching out to Sam and Tucker, but they pulled the "friend code" again, even though Jazz was now part of Team Phantom. She hoped that at least meant he had confided some of his issues with them, although he was clearly still bothered by whatever happened.

Jazz had also tried talking to Maddie, but Maddie had only seen Jack for a minute, so she didn't have any more information to offer. Additionally, the reappearance of her husband had thrown her back into her normal inventor fervor. Try as she might, Jazz couldn't distract her mom from this new invention to use against Phantom. Maddie was so focused on getting her husband back that she rarely ate or slept, she just kept telling Jazz that "it would be alright", "don't worry, sweetie, I'll get him back from that ghostly fiend", or other "platitudes". Jazz couldn't even get Maddie to divulge what this new invention was, a sharp contrast from her blathering husband. Unfortunately, Jazz's scientific knowledge lay in other areas, so the few glimpses she caught of blueprints or work didn't allow her to discern anything about the new invention.

Between Danny's avoidance and Maddie's distraction, Jazz felt about ready to rip her hair out after a few days. She couldn't help solve the problem if she barely knew any of the facts. However, that all changed when she saw Phantom fly into the house with his eyes glistening.

Jazz quickly ran to his room, finding her little brother lying on his bed, the tears pooling in his eyes reflecting the acidic green glow of his irises.

"Danny?" She called cautiously.

He made a low noise but otherwise didn't acknowledge her presence. She crept into his room with trepidation.

"Danny?" she tried again, "What's wrong?"

She held her breath, hoping he would answer after days of shutting her out.

There was a quiet sniffle, then a mumbled, "He's back."

"What?"

"Dad's back and he knows I'm Phantom."

Jazz moved into the room and sat on the bed next to the prone form of her little brother. Her head was buzzing with questions, but she knew she would get more if she waited and let Danny speak on his own time. She didn't have to wait long.

"Mom was right, sort of. She did see Dad that night, but he was a ghost. I took him to the Ghost Zone and told him to stay there." At this, his face crumpled and silent tears rolled down his face, but he continued. "I thought it would be best for everyone. If they couldn't accept me, how would Mom accept him? But it hurt, so bad. Tucker and Sam said it was the right choice, but it just seems so cruel, keeping him away from you and Mom."

Jazz started to stroke his hair to help calm him, but she tucked some of the information away for later. Taking solace in her ministrations, Danny took a shuddering breath and pressed on, "And then—then he came back. I was so confused and frustrated, I didn't want to have to tell him to stay away again. But he started talking about hearing things and keeping his family safe, I thought a ghost was planning an attack on Amity or something. Then he called me son."

It was quiet for a moment until Jazz decided he needed some prodding. "What did you do?"

"What else? I flew away like the coward I am," Danny said derisively.

"You're not a coward, Danny," she tried to soothe.

"What else would you call someone who lies to their family for years and pushes their dead father away because they're too scared of what might happen?"

The tears were coming faster now, and his face was discolored from his anger. The redhead sighed before saying, "It's more complicated than that and you know it. While I don't like that you've kept this from me, I can't say that I fault your actions. Mom didn't realize Dad was a ghost because she only saw him for a few seconds, any longer and she would have realized the truth and tried to end him—permanently. You're not a coward, Danny. You're just a teenager struggling to hold the world on your shoulders."

I have no excuses other than writer's block is a bitch and life sucks. Anyways, update, yay! I, however, cannot promise another update any time soon. Sorry.