#good think danny's sister and friends drilled this into his head

[thevoidstaredback]

"I would say that I'm your new legal guardian, but you're older than me and I can't exactly adopt a fully grown adult." The kid got comfortable on the couch, dropping his backpack on the ground and placing a dark blue binder on the coffee table. "I could say that you're my new legal guardian, but then we run into a similar problem." He paused. Dick closed the door but did not move closer to the kid. "Could you adopt me? No matter."

Dick shook his head a bit. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Danny!" the kid smiled, holding his hand out for a handshake, "Nice to meet you!"

He didn't take it. "Likewise, I guess."

"What, no name?"

"I'm optimistic, not an idiot."

Danny, apparently, just shrugged and opened the binder to the first page, a title page, apparently. In big, bold, blue glitter pen letters, it said, "How To Balance Your Daytime and Nighttime Activities So That You Don't Burn Yourself Out More Than You Already Have". Under that, in smaller, black lettering, it said, "By Danny Phantom".

"How did you find this place?" Dick asked.

"Doesn't matter."

"Why do you think I have a day job and a night job?"

"I'm a realist, not an idiot."

This was supposed to be Dick's day off. He had gone to this safe house because it was the only one he'd managed to keep hidden from B. Not Alfred, though. He was going to spend the day relaxing. Apparently, some higher power - that he doesn't actually have faith in, despite knowing there are several - decided he doesn't get to relax. Why would he? He's only running on empty and spite.

"First thing's first," Danny, oblivious to Dick's inner turmoil, turned the page to reveal a table of contents that was written in small black lettering and numbers. Were the pages numbered? How many pages were there? It looked pretty thick. "Why did you do what you do? Why go out at night to fight crime when that's, I assume, what your day job is for? Why hurt yourself to help people?"

Oh, god. Dick needed to sit down.

Storyboard Part 2

Danny pulls an uno reverse card

ok just hear me out.

Danny decided 'you know what this man needs adult supervision' Danny had just moved to Bludhaven as small business weren't questioned even it was owned by a teenager.

So Danny opened up a very cheap mechanic store, prices were to die for and people were thankful he didn't ask questions as long as they did the same for him.

Que one very malnourished and exhausted cop coming in for a check up on their cop car. So Danny took one look at that man and thought he needed someone to help him.

Dick is so confused why plates of food keep appearing everywhere around him, with little post it notes saying he should sleep more and drink water. At first dick thought it was Alfred who finally gained teleportation powers, but one call later confirmed that his original theory was wrong.

He took the nest meal to analyze and found that it was perfectly healthy for consumption. Alfred even said that he thought the person behind it all just wanted Dick to have a more healthy life style.

Dick tried to piece together who could possibly be doing that, especially going into his house undetected. Then one day it was his one day off and the doorbell rung thinking it was one of his brothers because go the short black hair and overall build, he opened the door not to any of his brothers, but a teen nonetheless.

'good at least your taking care of yourself and actually eating proper foods, now I'm here to discuss your extracurriculars and how to time manage them appropriately without running yourself to the ground' the teen pushed past Dick who had his jaw dropped "I've brought my own board with an ideal itinerary that I expect you to follow. Any questions"

"Yeah... just one who that fuck are you kid"

[aurorafables]

From the Grey, Chapter 12.

Hello there! Now it didn't take that long :)

I looked up at her and shook my head helplessly.  “I've never been interested in a guy.” “Except him.” “Except him. But I don't even know when it started."

Pairing: Noah Sebastian X Nicholas Ruffilo

Warnings: 18+, Explicit, Angst, Past character death, Suicidal thoughts

Tags: M/M, M/F, Slow burn, Childhood friends, Friends to lovers, Family drama, Band fic, Masturbation, Accidental Voyeurism, P in v sex

Word Count: 3.9k

Cross-posted: AO3

12.

“I don't want you to go back on tour in January.” Danni hugged me so tightly that I could barely breathe.

The past few weeks have been too good. It's like we're still kids. For sure, the best thing I did during the break was to help Danielle move into a new apartment. I've had too much crap in the past period, and assembling IKEA furniture late into the night, flipping through our old photo albums, snuggling, and eating ice cream have all been good for me. We installed a shelf on the wall, on which family photos will be displayed.

“Chris will come over to help at any time, you just have to ask him.” I smoothed a strand of hair from his face while looking into a pair of greenish-gray eyes that were very similar to mine.

“Chris already has a fiancee. I can't ask him to sleep here and watch movies until night while we eat popcorn or ice cream,” Danni answered sadly. “And anyway... you were always my favorite brother, but don't tell anyone” she stuffed a handful of gummy bears into her mouth.

“I won't,” I answered laughing. I turned back to the wall and drilled the last hole we needed.

“And… What is it like without Maya?” she asked unexpectedly when I put the drill down. I turned to her, and it must have been written on my face that I was surprised by the sudden change of subject. She raised her hand defensively and I got the chance to steal a piece of gummy from her. “When you came home, you asked me to come back to this subject later. It's been two months, so…”

I lifted the shelf and adjusted it in the right place.

“Would you hold it while I screw it in?”

Danni took over the shelf from me and I got to work.

“In the first few weeks, it was strange that I didn't have a girlfriend. But I'm pretty used to it now.”

“So, in the past weeks, you didn't even miss Maya, but a random girlfriend.” Danielle remarked.

“I want to be honest with you. But that doesn't make me feel any less shitty,” I answered bitterly. “A huge stone fell from my heart when it turned out that she was not pregnant.”

“This is completely normal, you were not meant for each other. By the way, you said last time that you sometimes called each other since then. I just want you to remember that she scammed you with this child thing.”

I screwed in the third screw, thinking about Danni's words as I did so.

“You couldn't know what was going on until you did the test.”

Danielle snorted.

“Of course, she also accidentally forgot to take the medicine for weeks. Nick, let's be honest with each other… Maya tried to trick you with the age-old "I'm pregnant with your child" thing when she sensed that things were starting to go wrong between you two. There is nothing to beautify this.”

I might have pulled the shelf a little harder to see if it would hold. Then I started packing up the tools. 

“Maya almost kissed Noah before she got together with me,” I blurted out. “After the breakup, Jolly told me that,  when he was not completely sober. Of course, Noah didn't say a word about it for months,” I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice if I wanted to. I turned to my sister. “I have nice friends, I can say.”

Danielle took a deep breath.

“I felt that there was something wrong with that girl” she shook her head angrily. “But I forbid you to fight with your friends because of it. It's not worth it, you hear what I'm saying?” she squeezed my arm tightly.

“Calm down, Danni, I can fix these things myself,” I took her hand and smiled a little. “I needed some distance from the others. I needed time with you.”

Really, it was a huge step forward that I didn't have to worry every day, every hour about how I really feel about Noah. Danielle distracted me, we did programs together or just enjoyed each other's company. Of course, then came the evening and the minutes before falling asleep, when my brain just couldn't turn off and started projecting memories with my best friend. A wonderful smile, a lingering touch, his closeness, his smell... And the control of my fantasies sometimes slipped out of my hands. I felt a little ashamed again when I remembered what I had done one night when Danni had gone out to have fun with her friends and I was alone in the apartment. 

Noah initiated the group call because there were some topics we needed to chew on as we prepared for our European tour earlier this year. The whole conversation promised to be dead boring, so I prepared myself a large mug of coffee in advance, settled myself comfortably on the sofa, and if necessary, I also added my thoughts to the given topic. Organization and measures were not my world, I was just waiting to play with the guys on stage again. For a while, everything went as usual: Noah said things and waited for our opinion. Or he just brought up something that he needed to make a decision about and was waiting for our help. We were talking about renting stage lights and Jolly was speaking when something interrupted the discussion.

“Ahh, shit! Fuck!” Noah moaned, and my arm got goosebumps from his voice. “Jesse, I swear I'll kill you when I'm done here!” he added a few seconds later. “Jesse decided to shoot me in the back of the head with a water pistol while we were talking,” he explained to us, but it was clear in his voice that he was not so angry and was already half smiling.

From then on, all day long I could think of nothing but that sweet, high voice. Maybe the two beers I had that night contributed to the fact that I didn't even try not to think about Noah in the shower as I ran my palm over my stomach and purposefully moved lower and lower. I could recall his voice from the shower as I unsuspectingly opened the bathroom door at the lake house and paired it with the moans on the phone, which was more than enough to make my cock hard before I even touched it. I let out a tortured laugh and turned my face to the ceiling, shaking my head as the water ran through my hair, patting the wet curls against my back. This is all unbelievable. It's like I'm a teenage boy who needs only a tiny little spark to ignite. I bit my lip and carefully wrapped my fingers around my cock because I was starting to feel like I didn't know exactly how my body was going to react when it came to Noah. I didn't want to end like in the house by the lake, lying on the wooden floor, not knowing about my world. I let my imagination run wild and at the end, when I said his name, I realized that it was perfect that way. Noah - it's all a sweet sigh that slipped out of my mouth with infinite ease during orgasm.

“Noah!” I woke up to my own desperate voice and reached frantically to the other side of the bed to feel the cold mattress. When I realized it was all just a silly dream, I sat in the middle of the bed panting, my heart beating painfully.

The knock startled me and I buried my face in my hands as I realized that I had probably woken up my sister. 

“Nick, can I come in?” Danni asked from the other side of the door. I raised my head to answer. Some light was already shining through the blinds, maybe it wasn't that early.

“Yes,” I answered weakly, and I saw how she stuck her disheveled head through the opening of the door.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, blinking at me with sleepy eyes.

“Yes, come in,” I invited again, and she finally entered the room. She stood by the bed, wrapping her arms around herself. I lifted the corner of the blanket a bit and that seemed to be all she needed because she immediately snuggled up next to me and let out a contented sigh as she successfully occupied one of my pillows as well.

I wanted to go outside to smoke, but I changed my mind, because as much as that dream upset me, it was good that I was no longer alone. 

“A bad dream?” She turned her face towards me. I also lay down facing her, pulled the blanket over my shoulders and curled up on my side.

"I had a dream that Noah was kidnapped by some crazy fans," I admitted because I was sure she heard me call out my best friend's name.

Danielle pinched her lips between her fingers, and her lost look made it look like she wanted to say something, but didn't know how to say it. 

“Nick, how long has this been going on?” she asked, getting my heart rate up again.

“What are you thinking?” I asked back and swallowed a big one, but the lump still remained in my throat. 

Danni sighed and closed her eyes tiredly.

“No matter what I think. Why don't you visit him if you miss him? You are no longer with Maya, there is no one to ask permission from.”

And I think that was exactly the problem. The gap closed between the two of us, and I was afraid that there was nothing that could stop me from doing something crazy when Noah and I were together again. Maybe that's why I pushed myself away during the last days of the tour. I was afraid of losing him, just like in my dream, which started with us hugging each other. I couldn't see his face, but I could smell him, feel the heat of his skin, and I'd never felt so safe as I did in that silly dream. Then suddenly more faceless people came and tore us apart.

I thought back to the day Noah decided he didn't want to live with me anymore. That he doesn't want to go to work with me anymore, he doesn't want to fight over which of us takes a shower first, he doesn't want us to sip coffee together on our day off tired, half leaning on the kitchen table, he doesn't want to listen to Contact with me before falling asleep, he doesn't want sleeping in a bed with me where we can snuggle to save on the heating… And he doesn't want to wake up next to me in the morning.

I was just making dinner for the two of us when Noah stepped out of the bathroom with his hair still wet and stood leaning against the counter. As he bent forward, he was almost lost in the black T-shirt he was wearing. I felt that something was bothering him that day, but I also knew that I had to be patient with him, and he would tell me anyway if I needed to know.

“Could you taste it, please?” I asked him, referring to the tomato pasta sauce. When he nodded, I took out a clean spoon and dipped it into the sauce. “It would be tastier with beef, but we didn't have it at home, so…”

"Nick, we need to talk," Noah cut in, and when I looked to the side, I saw that his whole face was gloomy.

“Okay, but first tell me if it will be good like this.” I gave him the spoon, maybe just to kill time. Noah finally tasted the sauce, then shrugged.

“I think it’s delicious… Why are you even asking me? You are much better at cooking.”

“Because the two of us will eat it, and if I guess correctly, you also have taste buds,” I answered and took the spoon from his hand, then turned back to the stove to sprinkle some more spices into the food. Noah just sighed, then sat down at the table and started typing on his phone. Meanwhile, I cooked the pasta, then leaned on the open window frame and lit a cigarette.

“You are in a bad mood all day. Is this what you want to talk about?” I cut in when I felt that if I continued, I would only prolong the suffering of both of us. Noah put his phone down and reached over to my cigarette case to take out a cigarette and light it. He only spoke when he flicked off the first batch of ash.

“I'm moving out at the weekend.”

I laughed at the strange feeling that shot through my chest. Noah looked at me confused with his brown eyes. A pained smile spread across my mouth and my limbs began to shake, probably from shock. But it wasn't as unexpected as it seemed. Noah had been looking at apartments for rent for months, but he hadn't revealed that he had found one for himself. I propped the window frame with my forearm—mainly to keep myself from falling to my knees on the pavement, not to try to look casual—and brushed my hair back from my forehead with the hand holding the cigarette. I didn't care if I set my curls on fire either. I was numb, desperate, and utterly mortified.

“On the weekend? And you're just saying now?” I moaned out my completely meaningless questions. Noah is moving out. Noah will no longer live with me.

“I... it only came out a few days ago, and you worked until the evening all week, then fell into bed dead tired. We didn't have a chance to sit down and discuss.”

I can't watch him sleep anymore. I can't listen to his breathing.

“This is important enough to sit down and discuss at any time. Even at night,” I muttered weakly.

Noah stubbed out his cigarette in exasperation and now it was his turn to run his fingers through his hair as he put his elbows on the table.

“Don't be angry... Until now somehow... I couldn't bring it up.”

I can't take care of him if he needs me… I won't smell him in bed…

“It doesn't matter. The point is that you found a good apartment.”

I also stubbed out my cigarette and stepped away from the window. I trusted that my legs would hold me.

"It's just acceptable," Noah snorted. “But finally something that I can call my own.”

I nodded, my smile finally genuine. I tried to put all my pain in the background, which was triggered by his announcement.

“I'm proud of you. You've worked hard to be able to do this.”

I went to the stove and grabbed the pasta to put on the table. While Noah was picking for himself, I went to the fridge and took out the wine I had received from one of my lovely tattoo guests as a token of his satisfaction. It didn't seem to be the cheap variety, and we'd had it for weeks, just waiting for it to come out on some big occasion. I closed my eyes for a moment and counted to three with the bottle in my hand. I can do it. This is an important moment for Noah, I can't let my selfishness come to the fore. I went back to him and poured some of the wine for us to toast with before dinner.

The night before the move, I woke up to Noah's soft sniffles. I thought he was having a bad dream, but then he snuggled up to me and hugged me like a koala. We were horribly hot and probably neither of us slept a wink, but we still lay huddled together as the first rays of dawn broke through the thick material of the blackout. 

When the band was formed, it gave us another opportunity to spend more time together, even though most of the time the guys were there with us. There was a short period with our first album when the five of us moved into a small apartment, where we pretty much lived on each other's backs with amplifiers, instruments and everything else, and it was obvious that this could not be sustained for long. Eventually, Jolly and Noah decided to move to California, and then we were no longer just a few streets away, but states. 

Just like that morning when I watched Danielle go back to sleep next to me in bed. I reached for my phone. Dad sent a picture of our song playing on the radio in the morning as he went to work. I smiled, wondering what they would say if they found out? What if my family finds out that maybe Noah and I are more than friends? I glanced back at Danni. We never said it, but we've talked about it so much that it's impossible for her not to know what's going on... but the strangest thing is that she wasn't even surprised by it and talked about it quite naturally every time. I decided there was no need to dwell on it. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting the whole thing. But I'm sure I'll have to find out somehow. 

I started looking at airplanes and decided not to wait until Christmas. I bought a ticket for the plane that left two days later, then quietly climbed out of bed and, after a quick shower, went to the kitchen to make ourselves pancakes for breakfast. 

Just Pretend soared and brought attention to the band. Our European tour was sold out weeks before it started, which resulted in many fans not even getting tickets. Since everything was booked well in advance, it was impossible to expand or reorganize the venues. As Danielle and I went for a Saturday afternoon coffee after lunch, two girls first stopped me on the street to take a photo with me, which until now really only happened at concerts and festivals where we performed. It was a strange situation, I was also a little tense, and I began to understand what Noah must be going through as our popularity grows. At the cafe, the waiter asked me which band I play in because he knows me from somewhere. He didn't ask for a picture, but noted that he loved The Death Of Peace Of Mind and wished us the best of luck going forward. And that was just one afternoon in town.

“I think you have to get used to this slowly,” Danni commented with a smile when the waiter went back to place our order.

“I will be forced to,” I answered, glancing towards the window. It was only four in the afternoon, but it was already dusk outside. “You know, this is the part I would leave out,” I looked at her. “But at the same time, it's so nice to see how happy they are with a picture.”

Danielle nodded.

“I'm proud of you, you're doing very well so far,” she tried to encourage. The waiter arrived with the requested coffees. “And now you tell me why you brought me here?”

I laughed, skimming the milk foam from my cappuccino. 

“Why can't I invite my sister for a coffee?”

“We could have made one at home. I have the most professional automatic coffee machine.”

“I wanted to go out,” I snapped at her. “I wanted to come here with you because you've always loved this place and... and I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon.”

Danielle raised her head and tucked a long strand of dark brown hair behind her ear as she grinned like a maniac. 

“You know I love you, but if you don't do it sooner or later, I'll take you to the airport myself and put you on the first flight to Los Angeles.”

“I needed some time to think things over,” I looked at her seriously. “It was especially good that I was away from them.”

Danielle nodded in agreement, then took a sip of her coffee and sighed in satisfaction.

"From him," she corrected. “The coffee is still divine here. And I understand you. Not so long ago you broke up with your girlfriend, with whom you had been together for almost a year, it is quite natural that you needed time. But the delay now seems more like suffering to me.”

“I don't know what he wants,” I muttered to myself while folding the tip of the napkin. “I might come back after a day or two.”

“Of course you don't know, maybe he doesn't either, because he's just as confused as you are. But no,” Danni shook her head, laughing. “I don't know Noah as someone who will put you on the street. And anyway… it would be quite outrageous after sharing your apartment with him for three years.”

“We don't know how things will turn out…”

“Nick, are you listening to me? For as long as I've known Noah, he always has been looking for you with his glance. He looks at you like you're his savior. And let's face it, you kind of were just when he needed a savior the most.”

“Doesn't it bother you?” slipped out of my mouth because I didn't understand.

“What exactly?”

I groaned and with a big sigh leaned closer to my sister over the table so no one could hear us.

“That 's about my best friend. That… that he's a… man,” I whispered through gritted teeth.

“Are you implying that why I didn't freak out that you're bisexual?” Danielle asked back, her big, gray-green eyes boring into mine. I just blinked and looked down at the table. “Because you're still my Nicky. Do you know that?”

I looked up at her and shook my head helplessly. 

“I've never been interested in a guy.”

“Except him.”

“Except him. But I don't even know when it started. Can I show you something?” I asked, driven by a sudden idea. “I need to know if I'm just imagining it.”

When Danielle nodded, I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the Polaroid photo I'd been looking at all morning to see if I could decipher it. The picture with Anne, my ex, and a sad Noah in the background who looked just like his heart was broken. I pushed the picture in front of my sister and anxiously waited to see what she thought. 

“Noah hated Anne from the bottom of his heart, and he never told me why. There was a possibility in my mind that he wanted her for himself, but… I just don't think so. My instincts don't tell me that.”

Danielle looked at it thoughtfully for a moment, then slid the picture back in front of me. A half-smile crossed her lips.

“If he feels just a small part of what he felt when the picture was taken, he will never let you go back to Virginia.”

[queenclaudiabrown]

Ocean Eyes | I: Prologue: A Storm Is Coming

Chapter content warnings: mentions of a past abusive relationship, mentions of tubal ligation/getting tubes tied, life-and-death situation, thoughts about dying (not suicidal or murderous), near-drowning

Word count: 3,214

     Claudia Brown wiped her hands on her apron and picked up the serving tray.  There were several plates on it, all artfully topped with various breakfast foods she’d made.  Claudia loved cooking, and people loved the results.  Culinary school had been expensive, but worth it for the certificate framed in her kitchen.

     Claudia carried the tray out carefully, bringing it to the wraparound porch on the downstairs level where most guests ate their breakfasts, drawn in by the ocean view.  Currently staying there were four guests: Danny Quinn and his brother Patrick, the former of which was apparently residing by the sea for his health (Claudia didn’t ask); Doctor Sarah Page, an Egyptologist and archaeologist on vacation; and Charlotte Cameron, a university friend of Emily’s who had decided to get out of the city for a while.

     Danny finished swallowing a handful of kelp capsules and grinned at Claudia as she appeared.  “A good morning means a good day, and you make every morning great, Ms. Brown.”

     “Flirt with my sister, not me.”  Claudia replied, tone and smile equally soft as she carefully put the silver tray against her hip to begin setting down plates with her now free hand.

     “And how is she on this fine morning?”  Danny questioned, still grinning.

     “Tea, anyone?”  Came the voice of Emily Merchant, carrying a similar tray of teacups and saucers out onto the deck.  A murmur of approval came from the guests.

     “Well, you all know the drill.”  Claudia said, setting down Sarah’s plate on the table beside her and tucking the now-empty tray under her arm.  “Ring the bell if you need us.”

     The two women went back inside, about to head down to the kitchen to get the second breakfast served.  Jenny Lewis was setting the inside table, humming to herself.  “Morning, Claudia, Emily.”

    “Morning.”  Claudia replied.  She smirked wickedly at her twin.  “Danny asked after you.”

     Jenny rolled eyes identical to Claudia’s.  “I have a boyfriend.”

     Emily gave an unladylike snort.  “Michael?  Why are you still with him?  His ‘serenading’ is off-key and it’s clear he’s tone-deaf.  Starting to think you are as well.”

     Jenny replied to that with two fingers.

     Claudia and Jenny were identical twins, but because the family was poor Clarence and Samantha had made the hard choice and given up sweet baby Jenny when she was born.  On their eighteenth birthdays, their parents had told them the truth, and they’d sought each other out desperately, quickly growing close.

     Thumping from upstairs alerted the three women that they were about to have company.  Sure enough, a few moments later Connor Temple appeared, bleary-eyed and wild-haired, clothes wrinkled and askew, feet in the wrong shoes and their laces undone.  Behind him was Hilary James Becker, dressed in all black and looking presentable like an adult.  Contrary to popular belief, Connor was actually older.

     Connor and Hilary, the latter of the two preferring to be called by his surname, were half-brothers and cousins of Claudia and Jenny.  Maureen Brown was Clarence’s sister, and she’d married Andre Temple shortly after university.  He died in a car accident two months after Connor was born, and she’d remarried Martin Becker and given birth to Hilary a year or so later.  They were Browns by blood through their mother, and that had been all that mattered to the Browns.

     “Sit down, your shoes are on wrong again.”  Becker told his big brother, who promptly dropped into an ornamental chair.  Becker sighed and crouched in front of him, removing the shoes to put onto the correct feet.  It was a familiar sight- Becker taking on the role of older brother for his walking-disaster elder.

     Emily produced a planner and scanned over Jenny’s scrawled notes for the day.  “So, today Claudia’s taking Connor, Danny, and Patrick on the yacht for a cruise and a picnic lunch at Beacon Cove; I volunteered to drive Charlotte to the H&M in Exeter; and Jenny’s getting the office tidied so Sarah can have a Skype meeting.”

     Claudia nodded to herself, taking Emily’s empty tray and stacking it onto her own.  “Alright.  Becker, Connor, if you’ll make sure the yacht’s all set and the shuttle doesn’t need petrol, that would be greatly appreciated; and Jenny and Emily, you know the drill- housekeeping while the guests eat.  I’ll get everyone’s lunch ready.”

     The next two hours passed in a flurry of activity.  As Claudia had assigned the tasks, Jenny and Emily changed the guests’ bedding and towels and cleaned their rooms, Connor and Becker made sure that the yacht was ready to go and that the inn’s shuttle, a silver Toyota Hilux, had a full tank of petrol.  Claudia prepared three lunches- one for the staff, one for the guests, and one for the picnickers on the yacht.

     In the kitchen, Claudia was putting the finishing touches on the large cooler of lunch food, drinks, and dessert.  The other lunches were on the other end of the large island counter.

     Connor poked his head into the kitchen.  “When’s lunch gonna be ready?”  He asked.  “For us, I mean.”

     “You’re eating with the Quinns and me at Beacon Cove, remember?”  Claudia reminded him.  “But grab one of those trays and bring it into the dining room for me.  Jenny and Becker and Emily haven’t eaten yet.”

     Connor dutifully took the tray, and Claudia closed the cooler before picking up the other tray and following her cousin.  They set the trays on the table and set five places, finishing just as Emily and Jenny entered the room.  They all sat down to eat, knowing Becker would turn up soon enough.

     “Got the mail.”  Becker announced, coming inside.  He turned to the hall table and began sorting into piles.  “Rubbish, rubbish, paper, bill, rubbish, guest, rubbish, bill, bill, guest, Jenny, me, rubbish, bill, Emily.”  He made to chuck the ‘rubbish’ in the bin, but Jenny quickly stepped in and confiscated the newspaper, two catalogs, and her envelope.

     He gave the bills to Claudia and the manila envelope to Emily, slipping his rolled-up imported gun magazine into one of his boots by the door and heading out to bring the guests’ mail to them.

     Emily carefully opened her envelope and scanned the pages with excitedly wide eyes.  “Yes!  Brilliant, just brilliant, yes!”

     “What is it?”  Claudia leaned in, Connor looking over from the newspaper questioningly. 

     Emily turned the papers so Claudia could see.  “He signed them!” 

     Emily had also been born a Brown, the daughter of Clarence Brown’s brother Felix.  Sadly, Felix and his wife Annabelle had a rather loveless and cold marriage, poisoning Emily’s view of what married life was.  She had met Lord Henry Merchant, Member of Parliament, on a tour of Parliament in barely-afforded university, and she’d nobly agreed to marry him to give him the wife he desired for political reasons to support her family.

     Then the abuse had started.

     It had started with little things- her conduct in public not perfectly fitting the mold of what he felt was needed and proper, then grew to taint every waking (and sometimes sleeping) moment of her existence.  Her refusal to bring a child into that life had made things worse, and after a particularly bad incident, she’d run away and done two very permanent things: the first, gone to the police and told them everything, reporting his abuse and filing for divorce; the second, getting her tubes tied.  She couldn’t take the chance he’d find a legal loophole to drag her home, but if he did, at least she wouldn’t get pregnant in that toxic environment.

     But it had gone splendidly.

     The entire Brown family had turned out to support her in court, and Sir Henry had gone to prison.  The divorce had been fought tooth and claw, but her lawyer had evidently convinced Henry to comply.  Emily was rich thanks to suing Henry, securing her entirely family, and had been responsible for Claudia and Jenny being able to open their dream hotel.  ‘We Browns stick together’ she’d quoted their great-grandmother Alice, and she and Connor and Becker had all come to help.

     Claudia’s face broke into a relieved smile and reached across the table to put her hand over Emily’s.  Jenny, sitting next to the divorcee, embraced her tightly, and Connor whooped and threw his newspaper into the air.

     Becker poked his head around the corner.  “What’s with all the hullaballoo?”

     “Henry signed the divorce papers!”  Claudia announced, smiling widely.

     Becker raised his eyebrows, a pleased smile playing at the corners of his mouth.  “Finally.  If he wasn’t in prison, I’d’ve gone to his house and thrashed him until he agreed to sign.”

     Emily laughed, eyes shining with the happiest of tears.  “If you had, I would’ve bailed you out of jail.”

     Everyone chuckled at that, and they all knew darn well that both Becker and Emily- despite their joking tones- had been as serious as a heart attack.

     The Browns were not to be messed with.

     The group finished their tea, in joyous spirits thanks to Emily’s news.  Claudia and Jenny cleared their dishes and brought them to the kitchen before returning to the dining room.  “Alright, we should head out on the yacht now if we’re gonna have a nice cruise before we go to the beach.”  Claudia stated.

     “I’ll start the yacht.”  Connor volunteered.  Claudia instinctively opened her mouth to kibosh that idea, but he turned his puppy eyes on her and her resolve broke.  With a sigh, she nodded, and Connor cheered and danced in his seat.  Claudia rolled her eyes as Becker muttered under his breath about his immature older brother needing to grow up.

     “Alright, go ahead, and if one of you would remind the Quinns of the time while I get changed, that would be appreciated.”

     Claudia left the others and went upstairs to the room she and Jenny shared, locking the door to ensure none of her cousins burst in while she was indecent (because yes, that had happened, and she hadn’t been able to make eye contact with Connor or Becker for two weeks afterward.)  She put on her swimsuit- a short black swim dress, ruched with a square neck, and as modest as it was because she felt uncomfortable in anything less in front of guests- and zipped up a pair of black knee boots before slipping into her black trench coat and wrapping a raspberry-pink scarf around her neck.

     She went back downstairs, a bag of beach supplies hanging off one shoulder, and fetched the lunch cooler from the kitchen before heading out to the yacht.  Danny, Patrick, and Connor were already waiting with their personal effects for the trip- towels, sunscreen, and so forth, like in her bag.

     She smiled brightly and set the cooler down.  “Is everyone ready?”

     The Quinn brothers gave their confirmations and Connor bounced excitedly on his toes.  Claudia brought in the anchor and took her seat at the wheel, then steered the yacht away from the dock with a practiced ease.  They spent about an hour merely cruising on the yacht before Claudia brought them to the small beach of Beacon Cove, which was thankfully empty at the moment.

     After a few hours of swimming, sunbathing, and eating lunch, a thunderstorm was rolling in.  The group packed up and boarded the boat to return to the hotel.  Claudia returned to her place at the wheel, steering the yacht away from the beach with an eye on the incoming storm.  Hopefully they’d make it back to the inn in time.

     It soon became clear- to Claudia, at least- that they would not make it back in time.  She did not mention this to her passengers, not wanting to worry them.  Instead she pressed the yacht to its limit and took the shortest, straightest route she could.

     But it wasn’t enough.

     The sea grew rough, its waves crashing over the deck and soaking them all to the bone, and the shrieking wind made Claudia’s task of steering nearly impossible.  Rain fell in harsh sheets, deafening and painful to the humans it fell upon.  Still, with her teeth clenched, she battled on, fighting to get her cousin and guests to safety even if she herself could not be saved.

     Unfortunately, there was only one potential shelter between the beach and the inn- a tiny, unnamed inlet about halfway between the two points.  If she could get the yacht into the narrow space, perhaps they could ride out the storm below the deck.

     But Claudia soon found it a struggle to keep the boat from capsizing, let alone steer it in any particular direction.  It was hopeless.  Only her sheer stubbornness kept her fighting as long as she did.

     The sun had long since been blotted out by the dark clouds, leaving only the occasional bolt of lightning to illuminate their surroundings.  Waves taller than men were stirred up, then ones taller than trees, and then taller than houses.

     It was such a wave, probably ten meters high, that Claudia saw coming toward them in a lightning-flash.  It was too close to avoid; in a matter of seconds it would be upon them.  Claudia swore under her breath, wrenching the wheel.  “Hang on!”  She called, bracing herself for the incoming wave.

     It crashed over them, stronger than they had anticipated.  Despite being braced in her spot, Claudia was knocked out of her seat and ended up on her hands and knees on the deck, spluttering.  Patrick dove to the ground to avoid being hit by the dangerously swinging boom.  Skinny Connor stumbled from the force of the wave and slipped on the slick deck, but Danny- the only one who had managed to remain standing- caught and steadied him.  Yet another wave rose up on the starboard side, swelling greater and greater in size as it loomed ominously taller than the yacht’s highest point.

     It was in that last second before it came down like a merciless hammer of judgment that Claudia Brown accepted the fact that she was going to die.

     The wave fell, and as the hulking wall of water struck the yacht, it seemed to push against every surface it struck and tipped the boat to port, and even Claudia’s desperate attempts to balance the yacht could not save it from capsizing.

     The moment Danny hit the water, he could feel it.  The itching, crawling bugs sensation under the skin of his legs.  His bones aches and muscles flexed, stretching his skin.  He quickly toed off his shoes, hooking his toes into his socks to remove them as well, all the while working his belt so he could undress from the waist down while staving off his body’s natural processes and reactions.  He managed to shed his clothes, immediately forcing himself to relax so he could let it happen.

     In a blinding burst of pain of tearing skin and breaking bones and branching muscles, his legs morphed into his tail.  A similar (but muted in comparison) sensation erupted on the sides of his neck as his gill flaps opened, rendering his lungs or surfacing for breath unnecessary.  

     He snapped his tail, like a whip, and shot through the water toward his struggling brother.  He seized him from the back, wrapping one arm around his chest and pinning both arms to his trunk, and propelled them toward the surface with his tail and free hand.  

     They breached the choppy surface, an somewhat lethargic Patrick gulping in a breath.   Danny’s gills closed partially, his lungs kicking in again.    He craned and looked around- for the yacht, for Claudia, for Connor, for the dock, for anything.

     “Danny?”  Patrick asked, sounding tired and confused.  “Danny, what’s going on?  I can feel something in the water.”

     Danny gritted his teeth.  This was not how he’d wanted Patrick to find out.  “Don’t worry about it.”  A flash of lightning illuminated the world for a brief moment, but Danny’s searching eyes saw what they sought- shelter.  “Hold your breath, Pat; I’ll get us out of here.”

     Pulling Patrick close to his own body, Danny swam toward the tiny inlet, hoping that it and the tiny rock island within it would provide shelter for them to ride out the storm.

     Connor Temple wasn’t doing well.

     He was an alright swimmer; ‘average’ was an accurate way of putting it.  But that was in a swimming pool- school or public, small and contained with a reasonable temperature and no current except the one generated by the swimmers.  In the chilly ocean, with its strong currents and influential storm overhead churning it up, and with way more clothing than his swim trunks, he was fighting a losing battle.  He distantly remembered hearing somewhere that he should take off his shoes, so he quickly toed them off, but didn’t think to apply that course of action to the rest of his weighty clothing.  Instead, he fought to reach the surface, limbs pumping and clawing and flailing gracelessly as he struggled to survive.

     A dark shape passed through the water around him, a shadowy silhouette that gave him no further information or details on the subject.  He momentarily stopped trying to reach the surface, curiosity piqued.  The lack of movement, of course, caused him to begin sinking again, which elicited a panicked frenzy of scrambling for the surface again.

     The shape, slim and long, passed by again, and Connor could’ve sworn there were fins at one end.  But his eyes were refusing to stay open as his strength waned and he began to sink down more than he swam up.

     The last thing his tired, frightened mind registered was something strong wrapping around his stomach like an iron bar and the vague sensation of moving upward.

     Eighty feet away, his cousin Claudia was struggling to not sink.  Salt stung her eyes, but she didn’t close them, needing to see to reach the surface.  She wasn’t the best swimmer, her shoes were filling with water, and her clothes were waterlogged and dragging her down.  She could hold her breath for about a minute, but she was quickly running out of time.  She managed to wrestle out of her coat, untangle the scarf from around her neck, and pull her knees to her chest, struggling to unzip the boots as she sank.  She managed to free her feet and kicked, but her legs were growing weaker and she only had a few seconds of breath left.  She summoned the last of her strength and kicked with all her might, frantically clawing toward what she hoped was the surface.  But the sky was dark and so was the water, and without sunlight or even daylight it was impossible to be sure where the surface was.

     Cold, tired, and oxygen-deprived, Claudia’s struggles waned to an end, her limbs so heavy-feeling she couldn’t move them.  Nature took hold and she began to sink, down toward the seabed and away from the air over the surface.  Her eyes fluttered shut against her will.

     A strong arm wrapped around her waist, but she was too tired to open her eyes to see who had grabbed her.  She dimly felt herself be pulled against a body and the two of them moving through the water before she passed out.

Big gif and and collage at the top are mine; dividers are used with permission from their creator, @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Ocean Eyes Masterlist

[detectivejay-chuckles-halstead]

Finally // Jay Halstead x Reader

Description: You were Jay’s partner the day Ben Corson was murdered. What happened that day to lead Jay to where he ended up?

Words: 4664

Warnings: Crimes Against Children

Pairing: Jay x Reader

A/N: I think we all deserve a few fluffy fics after this. So much ANGST recently. As always, I hope you guys enjoy!

Jay was the best partner you’d had. You’d been bounced around from district to district until you landed with him. The rest was history. Nights at the bar after shift, hockey games, baseball games. You were more than partners, you were amazing friends. That’s all you could hope for when it came to your job. Things were starting to take a turn though, friendship slowly easing into something more. An arm around your shoulder, a hand on your knee. Neither of you said anything though. You were too scared to admit that there might be more, that you might want more from him.

“You ready for today?” he asked when you walked out of the locker room. You just smiled, shaking your head as he pushed himself off the wall to follow you to the desk. The sergeant handed you the keys for your patrol car, nobody saying anything. It was a silent trade-off and it worked. Your patrol hadn’t really changed in the almost two years you’d been working with Jay.

“You’re driving,” you announced when the two of you approached the car, tossing the keys to him. Honestly, you weren’t the biggest fan of driving, and Jay seemed to prefer it. Occasionally it would switch, but it was not one of those days. You repositioned the seat as you got in, relaxing back into the seat, hands holding onto the top of your vest.

“Breakfast?” he asked. You looked over to see him push his aviators down over his eyes. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if things progressed with the relationship.

“Yeah. How about that bakery off Racine and 47th?” you suggested. Jay nodded, putting the car in reverse. “My friend Jilly is getting married next month. Interested in being my plus one?”

“You asking me on a date, Y/L/N?” Jay countered with a smile, his right hand moving from the steering wheel to rest on the center console. It was the right opportunity, hands dropping from your vest, hand finding his quickly. He laced your fingers together, giving your hand a squeeze. 

“Do you want it to be a date, Jay?” You didn’t realize you were worrying your bottom lip until you tasted familiar copper. You couldn’t tear your eyes off him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. 

“It’s a date,” he agreed, letting out the breath you didn’t realize you were holding. “On one condition. I take you out on a proper date beforehand. Let’s say Saturday? I’ll pick you up at eight?” 

“That’s a deal.” He was nearing the bakery when the radio went off. 

“All available units near 38th and South Lowe respond for a missing tender age child. Name: Benjamin Corson. Last seen wearing a grey t-shirt and blue jeans last night at 20:00. Approximately four foot six, sixty five pounds. Brown eyes, brown hair, caucasian.” Jay turned the lights on, turning the car around to head that way. The way he held onto the wheel, knuckles white, was worrying. You’d seen him tense, worried, but this was different. 

“Jay?” you asked softly. 

“I know Ben,” he admitted, jaw tight. “I dated his older sister when I was in high school. Their parents came to my academy graduation. Today is his birthday.” You didn’t want to tell him it was going to be okay, that he’d be found. They drilled the statistics into your heads in the academy. It wasn’t yet 24 hours, so there was still a chance. 

He parked outside of a house, quickly getting out. There were multiple other officers there already, but Jay barreled past them into the house. You quickly followed, seeing an older woman embrace Jay in a tight hug, tears on her cheeks. 

“What’s going on?” Jay asked her, a man coming up behind her to get her to let go of Jay.

“He was outside playing last night,” the man answered, voice steady. Yet you could clearly see the grief on his face. “We heard him come in and go up to his room. And then when Gail went to wake him up this morning, he wasn’t there.”

“He likes that park, Donovan Park, right?” Gail nodded. “Then that’s where we’re going to go check. We’ll find him, Danny,” he assured them, your heart dropping. The two of you shouldn’t have been there to begin with. Jay was too close to the case. Danny shook his hand before Jay went to tell the leading officer where he was going to go look and why. You didn’t pipe in, just getting in the car. 

The park was less than a mile away, Jay barely getting the car in park before getting out again. You knew who you were looking for, staying close to Jay. Sure, splitting up would have ensured you covered more ground. However, if you found something that wasn’t good news, being close to Jay would be a better idea. The two of you began walking the perimeter of the park, working your way in. 

Jay was a few yards ahead of you when he suddenly stopped. He leaned down as you continued walking towards him, moving the brush. You saw a tennis shoe. Jay’s breathing was quick, shallow, not moving from his crouching position. You assumed the boy was Ben, matching the description. His eyes were closed, lips blue, bruising around his neck. It wasn’t a surprise that Jay was in shock, so you reached for your radio.

“Patrol 3887 to Main. Please send Homicide to Donovan Park. Victim is a tender age child matching the description of Benjamin Corson. Officers on scene,” you called out, your eyes stuck on Jay. 

“Who…?” He couldn’t get the rest of the sentence out, standing up and taking a few steps back. You knew you had to stay on scene at least until Homicide arrived. He couldn’t tear his eyes off of Ben’s body. 

Homicide came and taped off the area, having the two of you explain how you found the body, if you touched or moved anything, etc. 

“You knew the victim, right?” the lead detective asked Jay.

“I dated his older sister in high school. I saw him and his parents regularly,” he answered.

“I want you to go back to your district. I’m going to give a call to your Sergeant. The two of you are taking the rest of the day,” he insisted. You nodded in agreement. Honestly, you didn’t need to go home, but Jay definitely did. 

“Do you have any leads on who did it?” your partner asked, the older detective sighing. 

“One of their neighbors, Lonnie Rodiger, was caught masterbating outside of a school a week ago. We’re going to start the process of getting a warrant to search the home. We’re going to figure out who did this.” Jay didn’t say anything as you led him back to the car, getting in the driver’s seat. This was one of those times he didn’t drive. 

It was silent, which was never a good sign. Usually Jay was talking, joking, something other than just staring out the windshield, his lips pressed into a line. 

“I’m here if you want to talk, Jay,” you reminded him as you parked the car in the lot. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you.” 

“I know. Can you come over? I just...I don’t want to be alone right now.” You two walked in, getting ushered into the Captain’s office as soon as your keys were in the Sergeant’s hands. 

“How are you holding up, Halstead?” the Captain asked, as if it was a loaded question. Which it was. 

“I’ve had better days, Sir. I just want to find whoever did this to Ben,” he answered. 

“I know you do. But it’s a conflict for you to actively work on the case. It’s in Homicide’s hands. I have asked that they keep Y/L/N in the loop. It’ll be up to her to keep you informed of any developments, at her own discretion,” the man explained. “This is a courtesy. Treat is as such. Both of you, go home, get some rest. You’ll return for your shift on Monday. No exceptions.”

The two of you nodded in agreement, heading for the locker rooms. You were the first one done, waiting for him with your bag slung over your shoulder. The feeling of your phone vibrating in your pocket pulled you out of your thoughts. Did Lonnie kill Ben Corson? You didn’t know enough to form a full opinion, but it was looking that way. 

“Got an expedited warrant. Searching the house now,” the text read. At least homicide agreed to keep you updated. Jay walked out, eyes rimmed red. It looked like he just threw his clothes on, not worrying about straightening himself out.

“Go home, Jay. I’ll pick up pizza and beer. I have stop at home first,” you suggested. He swallowed hard before wrapping his arms around you in a tight hug. It took you by surprise, returning the embrace. He was hurting, you understood that. And he was your friend. It was your obligation to make sure he was alright.

The two of you stood there as the rest of the precinct hustled and bustled around you. Jay was the one to pull away. 

“I’ll see you in a bit?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there soon,” you agreed, walking out to the lot with him before going your separate ways. 

-----

“Found child pornography on his computer. Pictures of the victim when he was alive. Nothing to actually tie to the murder. Father is his alibi,” was the text you received as you walked up the stairs to Jay’s apartment, overnight bag on one arm, beer and pizza in your hands. It wasn’t the first time you’d crashed at Jay’s place, letting yourself in. 

“Hey, I’m here!” you called out so that he wouldn’t get startled. You didn’t see him in the living room or kitchen, figuring he was probably in the bathroom or something. You sat the food down on the counter, grabbing plates out of the cabinet, situating everything for him. “Jay, you okay?” you then called out after a few minutes of silence. Still, there was no answer. It was worrying, so you went looking. 

When you pushed his bedroom door open, he was sitting on the bed. A military issued pistol in his hand. You looked between him and the gun, his eyes meeting yours. You’d never seen so much anger and sadness in someone’s eyes before. 

“Jay. Put the gun down,” you coaxed, getting a dark laugh in return. “Whatever is going through your head, it’s not going to fix anything.” Obviously, you thought he was going to shoot himself. It was the only explanation. 

“Have you heard anything from Homicide?” he asked, gun still firmly in his hand. 

“Yes. I’ve gotten updates from Homicide. And I will tell you what I know when you unload the gun and put it down.” 

“Ben is dead,” he reminded you, loosening his grip on the pistol. You knelt in front of him, carefully taking the piece out of his hands. Instinctively you made sure the safety was on before placing it on the floor. 

“I know he is, Jay.” You took a breath, knowing what you were about to tell him was going to make it all worse. “They got an expedited search warrant for the Rodiger house. They found child porn on his computer. As well as pictures of Ben while he was still alive. The last they told me, they hadn’t found anything to tie Lonnie to the murder. His dad gave him an alibi.”

He looked between you and the gun again. “Stay with me tonight, Y/N?” he asked, eyes still on the floor. “If you leave…”

“I’ll stay,” you assured him. “Where’s your gun safe?” His head tilted towards the closet. You picked up the gun, unloading it before putting it back in the safe. “What were you going to do with the gun?” you then asked. You would never be able to forget how calm he was when he answered. 

“I was going to kill Lonnie.”

-----

He’d managed to get a couple beers and some pizza in his system which calmed him down enough to where he didn’t want to murder anybody. At least not then, which was a step in the right direction. He’d turned on some random movie, neither of you really caring what you watched. It was more as a distraction than anything else. A quick glance at the clock let you know you’d been there for four hours, not having really moved from your spot, your head on his shoulder and his arm around you. 

“Whatcha thinking, Jay?” you asked softly as the movie went to a commercial break. 

“Just wondering how I got lucky enough to get assigned with an amazing partner like you,” he answered, the two of you looking at each other. He had a goofy grin, easy to tell that he was a bit tipsy. It wasn’t like you weren’t in the same boat though. 

“Sure,” you agreed with a laugh, thinking he was joking at first until he pressed his lips against yours. It was a surprise, but you took it in stride, kissing him back. It wasn’t going to go further than that for the time being, knowing he was hurting. You didn’t want to just be some distraction. “I’d understand if you want to reschedule this weekend,” you finally told him when he pulled away.

“No.” He shook his head. “No. No rescheduling. We’ll wait forever if we wait for the quote-un-quote right time.” You kissed him again, hoping it would last. 

-----

It had lasted, the two of you just shy of celebrating your five year wedding anniversary. It had been going great, obviously having ups and downs like any couple. It was around this time, though, that you knew it was the hardest on him. Homicide had never charged Lonnie Rodiger with Ben’s murder. You and Jay both knew the man had done it. Even those in Homicide who were around when the case was new knew that he’d done it. There’d just never been enough evidence. 

You’d gotten detailed into Homicide around the same time Jay was detailed into Organized Crime. It was a sad day when you two rode out for the last time together, but you knew it was the natural course of things. You wouldn’t be beat-cops forever. Then, he’d gotten brought into Intelligence. You knew there might be problems, knew that Hank Voight wasn’t the cleanest cop ever. But it’s what Jay wanted, so you supported him.

There was one thing Jay didn’t know, one thing that you’d never been able to tell him. You kept an eye on crimes against children in the area, looking out for anything suspicious. You didn’t want to give him false hope that maybe you’d find something on Lonnie.

He’d come home the night of Ben’s birthday completely worn out. Part of it was the case they were working, but you knew it was because of Ben and Lonnie. He didn’t have to say anything as you grabbed a beer for him out of the refrigerator, wrapping your arms around his neck from behind as he sat at the dining room table. 

“He would have been fifteen today,” he told you as he took the first drink. “I might have...Phil Rodiger is getting a restraining order against me. I may have threatened him.” 

“May have?” you asked, not moving. Honestly, you weren’t surprised though. It was a long time coming. Seven years to be exact. 

“I parked in front of their house like I always do. Gail had convinced me to have cake this year. So, I leaned against my car and ate it. And Phil came out yelling that it was harassment -- after he’d called the cops on me, a patrol guy showing up. Then he said he was going to get a restraining order. I was just so angry about it all. How he helped cover it up, how he keeps protecting that sick fuck of a son.” His jaw clenched as he took a breath. “So I told him I’d give him a reason to need one oneday.”

“You can’t go around threatening people like that, Jay,” you reminded him, kissing the top of his head. “You’re not Voight. I promise, one day we’ll find a way to pin it on Lonnie.” His hand reached up, holding onto your wrist. “It’s late. Let’s go to bed.”

“I’ll meet you in there in a bit,” he assured you, giving your wrist a squeeze before you stood, leaving him to his own thoughts. 

-----

It wasn’t even a week later when your Sergeant pulled you in her office, shutting the door behind you. You weren’t currently working on a case, so it was unusual that she called you in for a meeting. She wasn’t the talking type.

“I thought you would like to know that your husband has had a formal complaint filed against him from the Rodiger family,” she told you from behind her desk. You stood there, dumbfounded. 

“I’m sorry. What? That...That can’t be right,” you insisted. Surely Jay wasn’t stupid enough to keep going after Lonnie. First, he had no jurisdiction in Intelligence to do so. Second, he actually liked his job enough to not risk everything. Lastly, he’d promised you he’d drop it. 

“It is. I just got a call from Chief Perry. Sergeant Voight is going to speak with him today. I know you both were on the Corson case. Some calls hit us harder than others. Just...Halstead is going to lose his job if he’s not careful,” she reminded you. You nodded. 

“I understand. I’ll speak to him. Can I ask a favor, Sergeant?” you finally asked, not sure how she was going to take it. It was worth a shot though. 

“I understand the Corson case has been classified as a cold case. Would it be okay with you if I combed over it? Make sure nothing was missed?” She sighed, leaning back in her chair. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” she mumbled before looking at you again. “Off the books. On your off time. Files do not leave this building. Understood?” 

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” 

-----

You hadn’t told Jay about your talk with your Sergeant. He didn’t even tell you about the formal complaint, acting as if everything was okay. It made you feel a little less guilty when you told him over the course of two weeks that you had to work late, that you were working on back to back cases. You’d canceled date nights and dinners to try and save his job. 

“Figured you might be hungry,” Jay told you from the side of your desk, startling you with a gasp. You flipped the file closed, not even realizing you were the last one there. “What’s going on?” 

He pulled up one of the desk chairs, sitting across from you as you rubbed your eyes. You’d gone over the file time and time again, just waiting for something to change, for something to stick out like it hadn’t before. You were half tempted to agree that it was a cold case. 

“It’s just work, Jay,” you assured him, taking the fries out of the bag he’d set down. 

“This isn’t just work. You see, when it’s just work your colleagues don’t tell me that you just closed a case, that none of them have been working as late as you. Look, if...If you’re not happy…” His face dropped.

“God, no, Jay,” you quickly said, grabbing his hand. “I love you. And I’m still very happy with you. That’s not what it is.”

“Then what is it, Y/N? I’ve been driving myself crazy the past few weeks trying to figure out why my wife is gone before I get up and is back long after I fall asleep.” Your head dropped, eyes squeezing shut. You were exhausted, but this...this was so much more important.

“Why didn’t you tell me Phil Rodiger filed a formal complaint against you, Jay?” you finally asked, looking back at him as you popped a couple of fries into your mouth. He looked confused. “My sergeant told me as a courtesy. She told me that if you keep it up, you’ll lose your job. Jay, you told me you were going to drop it.”

“I can’t just drop it!” he exclaimed with a sharp shrug of his shoulders. “I can’t just...Lonnie Rodiger murdered Ben. And he’s out there, free. God knows if he’s done the same to other kids. And every year I see Gail and Danny. They have to see him every time they walk by that house. It’s not like they can just move. That would mean letting Ben go for good. Y/N.” His voice dropped into an almost whisper. “If that was our kid, I’d want to know there was somebody still trying to find justice.” 

“I was allowed to look at Ben’s case off the books, on my off time. That’s what I’ve been doing the past few weeks. I’ve been trying to find something they missed, something that got overlooked. And since I’ve been in Homicide, I’ve kept an eye on crimes around the neighborhood, flagging anything suspicious and looking at it further. Jay, I haven’t let it go. But for right now...You do. For my sake?” He agreed, the two of you finishing the make-shift dinner before going home for the night. Ben’s file would still be on your desk the next morning. 

-----

You actually had back to back cases that kept you at work late into the night. It was rough, having to put Ben’s case on the backburner again. It was necessary though. You weren’t expecting to close the case you’d been working on, just be told to go to Donovan Park for a DOA. 

When you arrived, your heart sank. You’d been expecting another kid, another one of Lonnie’s victims. Instead, you were met with the face of Lonnie Rodiger, staring up at the sky with a glassy look in his eye. You couldn’t get past the irony before you were pulled to the side. 

“Where were you last night?” your Sergeant asked quickly, quietly. 

“I was at the office until about eleven-thirty. Marks, Poulston, and Riggs can vouch. Why?” The older woman sighed. 

“Jay is at the top of our list for suspects. I was hoping you’d be able to give him an alibi.” A chill went up your spine. “I made a few calls. He’s being suspended for the time being until this is figured out. You do not give him information on this case. Understood?”

“Understood,” you agreed before going back to work. 

-----

A sigh escaped your lips as you dropped your backpack at the front door, kicking the door shut behind you. Jay was sitting on the couch, hunched over papers spread across the coffee table, a beer sitting at the edge. Quietly, you walked over, glancing over his shoulder.

“Where did you get the Rodiger file?” you asked him. When he turned his head to look at you, you saw the beginnings of a black eye. The first place your mind went was to the possibility that he’d done it. You hadn’t seen him since yesterday afternoon when he’d stopped by to drop off your bag that you’d forgotten at home. Yesterday afternoon, he didn’t have a black eye. 

“Dawson got it for me. They suspended me. Did you know that?” 

“Yeah. I was told. I was also asked where I was last night, in the hopes I could give you an alibi. I’m not supposed to tell you anything about the case, but it seems like Dawson got you in the know,” you sighed, sitting down next to him. You noticed pictures that weren’t part of the file. “I know you didn’t, but just...Jay tell me you didn’t kill Lonnie.”

“If I was going to kill Lonnie, I wouldn’t have let you stop me seven years ago,” he assured you, leaning back on the couch. “What if...Phil Rodiger said that Lonnie left the house to go for a drive and didn’t come back.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, knowing that because you were the one who took the statement. “Why?” He looked at you with guilt.

“What if I told you that was a lie?” Your brow furrowed as he handed you several photos, quickly looking at them. “I was following Lonnie last night. I found out...He was buying camping supplies, rope, and duct tape.”

“You think he was going to take another kid?” Jay nodded as you examined the pictures closer. 

“I took those photos. The last one,” you flipped to the last picture in the stack, “was taken at 22:15 last night. Lonnie, walking into that house. That’s when I came home.”

“So, Phil is lying?” Jay nodded, reaching out to grab his beer. 

“The Sergeant isn’t going to be too thrilled when I bring these pictures in tomorrow. But at least it should clear your name. You’re an idiot, you know that?” He smiled softly. You looked at him, really looked at him for the first time in weeks. This case was the one that haunted him the most. You had your own, but now that it was back at the surface, you saw how tired he looked. Placing the pictures back on the table, you leaned over, kissing him. 

“I love you, Y/N. You know that?”

“Of course I do,” you agreed, kissing him again. “Now, why don’t we head to bed, unwind. I’ve missed you.” He grabbed your hips, pulling you to him, knowing he agreed with your suggestion. 

-----

“Jay,” you said softly, waking him from his sleep. Since he’d been off work for a week, his sleep schedule had been thrown off kilter. Or maybe it was the beer that had done that. You weren’t sure. What you did know was that the case was closed. Both of them. 

“Hmmm?” he hummed, rolling onto his side to look at you, still dressed from your day. You’d been sent home early, knowing that it had worn you down. 

“Phil confessed to Lonnie’s murder,” you told him. “You’re officially reinstated starting tomorrow. There’s one more thing.”

“What?” he asked, sitting up, sheet barely covering his lower-half. 

“We were able to get another warrant for the Rodiger house. This time for more than just the computer. Since it was just Lonnie and his dad, there was a lot less red tape than before. We found pictures of Ben, Jay,” you told him softly, carefully watching his face. 

“I mean...they found pictures of Ben last time,” he reminded you. You reached out, squeezing his hand. 

“Those were pictures of Ben from the weeks leading up to his murder,” you corrected. “These pictures were of Ben the night he was killed. At the park.” You saw tears glistening in his eyes. “Ben’s case is officially closed. And we were able to tie Lonnie to two other murders since then.” 

“It’s over?” he asked, voice cracking slightly. 

“It’s over, Jay. It took a lot of convincing, a lot of convincing...but I managed to convince not only Voight, but my sergeant as well as Chief Perry to let you be the one to tell Ben’s parents. You were the one that promised them that day that you’d find out who did this; that you were the one who never gave up. It’s only fitting that you be the one to tell them it’s over. If you want.” You weren’t expecting the tight hug he pulled you into, your hand stroking the back of his head softly as he held you close. 

“Thank you,” he whispered before pulling back to get ready. Finally, it was over.

[asnakewithwingsisadragon]

Updated list of the bitches in this system because Gods know we needed it, go!

• Fae- Actual owner of the body. Has not been fully “themself” since they were like 6 (when Harl got here). Always co-cons with someone because they can’t stand being out alone.  Doesn’t know or care what we do with their life. Terrified of people. Has left us alone for extended periods of time. If you think you’ve talked to them, there’s a 99% chance it was actually Claire, Amanda, or Becky.  Actually a very sweet kid, but very hurt. Will go to the end of the world for their friends. Can hold a grudge like nobody’s business. Paints themself as a bitch but is a softie. Their mom cannot tell the difference between them and Becky. Diabetic, to Nidia’s displeasure. Closet Gryffindor turned Slytherin in order to survive.

• Amanda – Our system’s “guard dog”/Head Bitch in Charge. Much more complicated than that. The real author of Fae’s thigh scars (barely visible now), and maybe the only reason we made it through high school. The little voice that says “kill everyone and blame it on me”. Zero concern for consequences for herself. Impulse control consists of “Jail is awful and Fae doesn’t deserve it”.  She’s over 30.

• Lisbeth (Sally)- Just…Sally. The other voice that wants to kill everyone but doesn’t because she actually thinks about the consequences of her actions. Max is technically her partner, but we don’t talk about that (you can ask). I think she’s 30-something, but might as well be Fae’s age.

• Claire- Possibly Fae’s projection of herself into different universes. She can be 6, 17, 24 and 35. Last name Constantine. From Liverpool. Awful accent. Please don’t call her Australian. Another closet Gryffindor turned Slytherin.  Most of Fae’s friends are actually hers. Has been Fae for longer than Fae has been Fae. Likes soccer and we’re sorry. Punk. Hella Punk. Also hella broke.

• Mara- Claire’s sister (maybe twin). Approach with caution. (One of the several sexual alters, can be the same ages as Claire) Responsible for most of Fae’s awful dating decisions.

• Valentina- Rarely comes out, but she’s apparently God? We don’t know. Seems like she knows everyone, though. She always looks 20-something, but we know she’s older.

• Nidia- Claire’s daughter and the pure incarnation of Fae’s ADHD. A Jedi. Weirdest kid EVER. Super compassionate. Wears heart on her sleeve.  Can be 5, 9, 16 and 21. Impulse control is 100% artificial, but existent. Can, like Amanda, drink up to 3 cans of Monster Energy Drink in a row without batting a lash. Will eat ALL THE CANDY. The reason we need to carry an extra insulin syringe with us most of the time. Pours fun dip and sweetarts into her drinks. The kind of kid child leashes were invented for.

• Hellena- Mara’s daughter. STAY AWAY. Evil incarnate. Abusive A.F. Can and will destroy you. In her 20’s

• Christine- Hell’s identical twin. Remember that girl in Mean Girls who wants to bake a cake out of sunshine and rainbows and smiles? Christine is that cake. Rarely out. Same age as Hell.

• Evey- Hell and Chris’ big sister. That one kid with the pink hair and lots of tattoos. Zero impulse control.  Always looks like a teenager for some reason (not over 25)

• Vlad- Agender/Genderqueer mystical creature of the forest. Valentina’s child. Awesome person in general. Permanently 17.

• Harley- Yup. THAT Harley. You know the drill. She’s actually the one who makes all the fun plans because she’s the one who has the energy for it. Gets along with everyone until she doesn’t. Can drink us all under the table. Can drink you under the table. Has been Fae for longer than Claire has been Fae. Was the first one here, so she has tattoo privileges. And dating privileges. And everything privileges, basically. If I say how old she is, I may not live to see another day. Fae’s real mum. Will take you to Petco on exam week to pet puppies. Will yell “doge!” out loud.

Pets every dog. Will steal Teddy from Max.

• Edward- Mr. Nigma, sir. Somehow has better makeup skills than all the girls here combined.  If his attitude was as nice as his eyebrows, he’d rule the world by now. EVERYTHING HAS QUESTION MARKS. Knows more than anyone.  Is actually a genius. Wastes his time trying to school the little ones (and trying to get Naya to use proper words).  Smug bastard. Probs 40-something.

• Cass- Also from comics. EVERYTHING IS YELLOW (yiyo). Doesn’t talk much, but is always fun to have around. Will make you watch animated movies and take you to Starbucks. Will also make you work out. Can be 5, 9, 18 and 25. Smol Cass is a fan of pokemon. If it’s yellow, it belongs to her.

• Naya- Cass’ child. Has her own language, featuring words like “kaijukata”, “pakato”, and “omashii” (“Kaiju attack”, an insult of her own invention, and her word for “mother”.) There are no sidewalks, only pedestrian lanes. Biggest Kaiju Enthusiast. Wants to be Mako Mori.

• M.J.- Has been here for as long as Harley has. Isn’t around as much. The difference between her and Claire is that you can actually understand what MJ says when she gets mad. Probs 25 forever.

• Danni- Amanda’s daughter. Will also fuck you up. Has the weirdest kinks.  23

• Miranda- Danni’s daughter. Don’t ask. Also a sexual alter. 21

• Martha- Miranda’s sister. Level-headed.  A psychiatrist. 21. Actually the most mature person in this head, along with Tári.

• Alice- Nidia’s daughter. Also a psychiatrist. Likes psychoanalyzing people. Type 1 bipolar. Thinks all Arkham inmates are humans and wants to help. Will probably end up as an Arkham Inmate herself. Age slides. Toddler Alice is the devil. Can be 5, 9, and 21

• Alyssa- Mara’s best friend. Take Alice out of wonderland and teach her ballet, then add a sprinkle of Luna Lovegood. Permanently 17-ish.

• Robin- Alice’s little sister. Wants to be Carrie Kelly when she grows up. Terrified of squirrels. Can be 5 and 18. Lesbiab. Lesebeb. Girls. Yes.

• Tári- Alice and Robin’s eldest sister. Autistic. Genius extraordinaire. Loves to talk to Eddie. Often one of them leaves the conversation feeling stupid (it isn’t Tári). Loves Legos. REALLY LOVES LEGOS. Forensic Anthropologist/ wants to be Bones when she grows up. Vegetarian. Can be 12/17/21.

• Frances- Harley’s kid. Don’t ask, this was super weird. Frances herself is super weird. She hears voices. The voices tell her to do things. She rarely listens. Actually super polite. Has “opal” hair. 18-20. We don’t really know.  If we’re gonna have a sub-system, it will probably be because of Frankie.

• Shilo- Shilo Wallace. Infected by her genetics. Her nightmares are the worst. Once made Amanda and Sally fight over a pair of combat boots just so she could get to keep them. Probably Becky’s best friend in here.

• Bellatrix- That one got here on her own. Over 50. Still looks great.

• Azula- also got here on her own.

• Cassiopeia- Bella’s biggest mistake. Best teacher ever. Resident hipster chick. Is actually here to keep a little group of alters from causing too much mayhem.  28.

• Ascella- Lesbian extraordinaire. Sees dead people. I’m not even kidding. Permanently 23.

• Jamie Moriarty- Another one who got here on her own. Our self confidence boosts and power trips. Will maybe kill someone. Better than you and is not afraid to let you know.  Fae’s teachers were terrified of her.

Everyone’s terrified of her; I don’t know who we think we’re kidding. 32.

• Lestat- Fae’s gay vampire boyfriend. Is rarely around anymore. Probably for the best. 260-ish years old. Prick.

• Lindsay - THE definitive Sexual alter. From a comic book oneshot. Amanda on steroids, but if Amanda knew how to socialize. Loves horror, movies, photography and monsters. 26. 

• Becky - Called “morbid” for a reason. Disabled as all fuck. Autistic/ADHD, connective tissue disorder. A lawyer. Loves to argue. Jon Crane’s wife (at least here). 30ish. Always cold and always in pain. If we cancel plans, it’s most likely her fault and she’s sorry.

• Liliana - Necromancer. Big Titty Goth GF. We love and cherish her, alcoholism and all. Will never be over Jace and she knows it.

• Chandra - Pyromancer extraordinaire with severe ADHD. A lot like Fae in a lot of ways. Decidedly Pansexual, thank you very much. 25.

• Vraska - Ravnican to the core, but also a fantastic pirate. Great leader, good friend, fun to be around. Has the huskiest voice in the system. Has the worst flashbacks out of all of us. Can be 19 and 29. • Kari - Vraska and Jace’s kid. Hypermelanistic gorgon, telepath like her dad. Fun to be around. Can be 7, 12 and 25.

• Ral - Very very Izzet, and very very gay, and we love him for it. Very intelligent, good at fixing and making things with his hands. Confident, charismatic, and a workaholic. Tomik’s husband. Sometimes with Max. In his 40’s

• Tomik - Ral’s husband. Quiet, but very caring and polite.Also very smart and hard-working, always loves to learn new things and meet new people. 27-ish. Very gay, too. Makeup skills up there with Eddie’s.

• Teysa - Tomik’s boss. A Boss Ass Rich Bitch, and we love her lots for it. Very polite and interesting to be around. Could buy us all and our families ten times. Old, but looks to be in her early 30’s.

• Avacyn - An angel from Innistrad. Here to protect us. Really likes listening to old pop-punk and emo music with Max. Very sweet to be around, although she can be a little literal-minded.

• Olivia - A Vampire and a bitch. Liliana’s...ex? Something. A lot like Teysa, but much more fun-loving and impulsive.

• Nahiri - Doesn’t come out much. Stern but caring, very savvy, doesn’t take anyone’s crap. Can hold on to grudges like her life depends on it. 

[kinglazrus]

Ectober Week 2019 Day One – Fangs & Shatter

Crossposted on Ao3 and ffn at Unlucky Alis

Danny ran his tongue over his teeth. Probing his gums, he felt the little slit above his canines. He leaned toward the mirror, stuck his bottom jaw out, and peeled down his lip. He could barely see the small gap, down where his gums and lip met.

Pushing himself up on the counter, he pressed so close to the mirror his nose brushed the glass. For a second, Danny just stared. Then, he stretched his mouth wide and snarled, baring his fangs.

A ghostly growl exploded from his throat. He gnashed his teeth and flashed his toxic green eyes, making the fiercest expression he could think of.

The bathroom door slammed open.

Danny whipped around to face the intruder, or he tried to. The heel of his palm slipped off the edge of the counter and he tumbled, smacking his chin on rim of the sink on his way down.

"Jazz," Danny whined, cupping his mouth and glaring up at his sister. "What the hell was that for? I could have been going to the bathroom!"

"You're here," Jazz said. Her hand slipped down the doorframe and she hugged herself. "Why are you here?"

"Look, look, it's so cool!" Danny clambered to his feet and leaned up into Jazz's face. He bared his teeth again and pointed to his canines.

"Watch!" he said. He flexed a muscle in his jaw, one that hadn't existed a few weeks ago, and sharp, crooked fangs slipped over his canines. It pinched a little but didn't really hurt. Wiggling his eyebrows, he flexed the new muscle again and the fangs retracted. He kept doing it.

Fangs, no fangs. Fangs, no fangs. In and out. Just the top. Now the bottom. Now both.

"I have fangs." Danny beamed, showing off his new shiny teeth. He couldn't really close his mouth all the way, because of how the bottom fangs knocked against his top teeth. Hopefully his body would just fix that on its own as they finished growing in.

"You're... bleeding," Jazz said.

Danny blinked. That wasn't the response he expected. It took him a moment to process it, his smile dropping, and he asked, "What?"

"Your lip is bleeding," Jazz clarified. Poking Danny's cheek, she turned his head toward the mirror.

His lip was, indeed, bleeding. A neat slice beneath one of his upper fangs. He must have accidentally bit it when he hit the sink.

"Oh," Danny said. He wiped the ectoplasm trickling down his chin on the back of his hand and poked the cut. He didn't feel it when it happened, but now it stung a little. "Whoops. Didn't even notice."

In the mirror, he caught Jazz's grimace.

"Just be careful, okay?" she said.

"Why?" he asked. He was plenty careful about a lot of things: his powers, his identity, potential injuries. The risk of getting captured and dissected by his own parents. The list went on, and Jazz already knew that.

"Just..." Her frown deepened until she got that little crease between her eyebrows, the one that made her whole face look pinched.

Danny looked away from her reflection, back toward his fangs. Sticking out his jaw again, he clenched his teeth and giggled. It looked a bit silly, like he had tusks instead of fangs, but it was more comfortable to close his mouth this way. His teeth gave a satisfying click as he snapped his jaw shut, over and over.

"Just don't become too ghostly, okay?" Jazz said. She touched Danny's shoulder.

"Well, that's stupid." Danny rolled his eyes. "I'm already a halfa. But sure, whatever you say."

He didn't look at her as she walked away.

She glanced over her shoulder the whole way until she was out of sight.

...

Danny dragged Tucker and Sam into the boys' locker room as soon as he got to school, just before first period.

He thought they, or at least Sam, would protest more about their choice location—it was the first place he could think of. Instead they kept exchanging glances. Tucker's hand hovered over his pocket and Sam fiddled with a silver tube of lipstick.

Weird. Danny thought all her lipstick came in the same black and grey tubes. Maybe this was a new colour.

"Watch this," Danny said. He turned around, covered his mouth, and let out his fangs. Then spun around and threw his arms out. "Ta-da!"

Danny was practically vibrating, his gaze jumping back and forth between his two best friends, and bounced on his toes. Jazz's reaction had been a little disappointing, but Sam and Tucker would totally get it. He had fangs, how cool was that?

Apparently not cool at all.

"Dude!" Tucker lurched forward and slapped a hand over Danny's mouth, covering his fangs, while Sam pulled Danny's arms down. They shoved him into a shower stall, piled in after him, and slammed the door. Sam slid the lock shut and waved the boys back until all three of them were pressed against the wall.

Danny scowled at them and quirked an eyebrow. He opened his mouth, his fangs brushing the skin of Tucker's palm. Tucker flinched, earning a smack from Sam, and hissed, "Shush!" at Danny.

A second later, Danny heard the voices.

"Do you think... do you think he'll be back again today?" That sounded like Kwan. There must have been an early morning football practice.

“I don’t know, man.” Dash, definitely Dash. His voice wavered, though. Danny couldn’t remember ever hearing him like that. The only time Dash’s voice shook was with anger, right before pummelling Danny into the ground. Right now he sounded afraid.

“So what if he is?” That was Dale. Danny didn’t like Dale. He really didn’t like Dale. That guy cornered Danny in the parking lot more times than Dash ever did, and at least Dash stopped beating Danny up once they became seniors.

But Dale didn’t.

Danny stood up on his toes, straining to see over the shower door. He could, but only enough to see the tops of the jocks’ heads. His bare feet lifted off the tiles as he rose up. Sam grabbed his shoulders and yanked him back down. Danny turned a sharp glare on her.

He just wanted to see, what was wrong with that? They spied on the A-listers all the time. Usually to laugh at them, but still.

Sam shook her head. Not at Danny, but at Tucker, who was pulling something out of his pocket.

Danny’s focused jumped to Tucker’s hand. He saw a flash of something blue before Tucker shoved it back in his pocket. Danny lifted his gaze to Tucker’s face.

Tucker shrugged and gave him a shaky smile.

Whatever.

Danny walked right through Sam and Tucker, ignoring the way they shivered violently, their whole bodies jerking and their eyes going wide. He stuck his head through the door, about to ask the football team what the hell they were talking about, but was met with an empty room.

Their equipment bags sat on the far bench. No practice, then. They were just dropping off their stuff for later.

Staring at the bags, Danny kind of wanted to mess with them. Sure, Dash hadn’t bullied him since junior year, but Danny was still pretty peeved about all the years of gut punches and locker time before that. He deserved a little revenge.

The rest of his body passed through the door and he approached Dale’s bag first. How could he prank it without opening it? He knew how badly those bags reeked. Dale and Dash stuffed him in one before the homecoming game last year. He could do without smelling the inside of a football bag ever again.

The shower stall door slammed open and Sam and Tucker darted out.

“Danny, you need to go,” Sam said.

“Yeah, I know, the bell’s about to ring. But come on, when are we going to have such a golden opportunity again?” Danny asked. Sam didn’t budge, so he looked to Tucker. “You’ve got to agree with me, right, Tuck?”

“Um, Tetslaff gets pretty pisssed if anyone messes with the football players, I don’t know,” Tucker said.

Danny groaned. Tucker was right, why did he have to be right? Valerie was the last person to mess with the team. She dosed Dash’s water with a mild ghost tranquilizer, which has a very euphoric effect on humans. When Tetslaff found out, she made the entire class run suicide drills all class, back and forth across the gym floor.

 Danny did okay, thanks to his extra stamina, but Tucker nearly collapsed halfway through the class, and even Sam was ready to quit.

“Fine,” he relented with a dejected sigh

“Good, now let’s get you o—” The sound of footsteps cut Sam off. She tried to usher Danny back toward the showers, but it was too late.

Dash rounded the corner and froze when his eyes settled on Danny.

“Uh, F-fenturd, you’re here.” Dash paled and swallowed thickly. “Forget I said anything, okay? Sorry.”

He turned around and bolted out of the locker room.

“Geez, you’d think he’d seen a ghost or something.” Danny cracked a grin, looking to Sam for her customary groan, and Tucker for his stifled chuckles.

They stayed silent.

…

Danny stood in his doorway and frowned. Someone had been in his room, although he couldn’t explain how he knew. It was just a feeling. The kind of feeling you get when you haven’t been home for a while, and you know someone was there while you were gone but can’t see the evidence.

He leaned back and shouted down the hall, “Hey, Jazz! Were you in my room?”

No answer.

“Jazz!”

Still nothing.

“Rude,” Danny muttered. He trudged forward and flopped onto his bed, frowning when it made a crinkling noise. Shimmying over to the edge, he lifted the comforter. The mattress was wrapped in plastic.

Tucker’s little sister had a plastic wrapped mattress, because of her allergies. Danny picked at the plastic, stabbing it with his nail and scratching it.

His mom got him tested for allergies a few weeks ago, after he got a bad rash while cleaning out the shed. He knew it was from some old anti-ghost serum he spilled on his shirt, but there’s no way he’d tell his mom that. As far as he knew, they hadn’t gotten the results yet. She was probably just being cautious.

He rolled onto his back, sat up, and looked around. There was something else giving him the weird feeling. He scanned the shelf above his desk, which was full of astronomy textbooks and a few NASA manuals—some of which he printed off and stapled together himself.

Something was missing. Between a book on Einstein's theoretical physics and an anthology of essays, there was a gap. A model of the Opportunity Rover was supposed to be there.

Danny leapt off his bed and floated up to the shelf. Sometimes his parents moved his stuff around when they dusted and forgot to put things back exactly where they were supposed to go. But the shelf was coated in dust, with a clean, sharply defined circle where the model used to sit.

Spinning his head around, he scrutinized the bookcase beside his bed. His model solar system was gone.

Now that he knew what to look for, he could see a bunch of his models were missing. The Challenger rocket, the Curiosity rover, and the Apollo lunar module. All gone.

Danny tore through his room looking for them. He flung his dresser drawers open, digging through his clothes and throwing them across the floor. Under his bed, he yanked out the plastic bins, ripped their lids off, and dumped their contents out.

Lego sets, old Gameboys, and childhood toys scattered everywhere. He couldn't find the models.

"Where are they? Where are they!" Danny crawled frantically across the floor, shoving everything aside, and wrenched his closet door off its hinges. It crashed to the ground behind him.

There, at the back of the closet, hidden behind his shirts and sweaters, was a stack of boxes labelled Danny — space models — storage.

Prying the box open, he found all the models. He stared at them, confused. Someone had put them away. Someone had taken his models, moved them, and hidden them away. The edges of the box crumpled in his grip. They weren't supposed to be away, they belonged exactly where Danny had put them, they weren't supposed to be away.

His vision went black and the temperature dropped.

When it cleared, the box was nothing but ashes; the models were untouched. He wiped his hands on his pants, picked up the models, and carefully put each one back where it belonged. It took him a good ten minutes to make sure they were exactly where they were supposed to be. The lines in the dust helped.

Danny had just finished setting the Opportunity rover in place when he heard the front door open. He grinned. Finally, they were home.

He bolted from his room and leaned over the balcony railing. Jack came in first, in a jumpsuit as always, but it was all black instead of orange. Maddie, walking in after him, wore a modest black dress. Coming in last, Jazz wore black slacks and a dress shirt.

Their eyes were red and their mood somber.

Pressing his cheek to the bannister, Danny scowled in disappointment. They had gone out without him and didn't even tell him they were leaving. That wasn't very nice. He sighed, loudly.

Jazz's head jerked up. She looked started.

Danny waved, giggled, and darted back into his room. He sat down behind his door, bending his knees to his chest and hugging his shins. He heard Jazz whisper something to their parents, and her soft footsteps as she started up the stairs. She always wore flats in the house, a decision she made after stepping in puddles of ectoplasm one too many times.

Danny wiggled his bare toes, tapping his feet on the hardwood floor and leaving muddy prints. His parents wouldn't like that. Oh, well.

"Danny?" Jazz softly called.

It was like playing hide and seek. His spot wasn't very good, but maybe the mess all around his room would distract Jazz. She wasn't a fan of big messes.

"Danny, please." Jazz's voice cracked.

Danny giggled, clapping his hands over his mouth. The door creaked as Jazz slowly pulled it back. Danny stared up at her, eyes glowing with mirth.

"You found me," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Danny, you can't be here," Jazz said.

"Why not? Why can't I?" Danny uncurled. He grabbed the doorknob, laying his hand over Jazz's. She flinched when his ragged nails dug into her skin. "It's my room, Jazz."

"I... I know it's your room," Jazz said. She grabbed her wrist and yanked her hand away, stumbling back. She tripped on one of the plastic bins and fell hard, landing on a pile of Legos. Biting down a gasp of pain, she propped herself up on her eblow and focused on Danny.

"Why can't I be here?" Danny asked. He pulled himself up and stomped forward. This was his room. This was his house. He was allowed to be here, he was supposed to be here.

"Mom and Dad—" Jazz started.

"Were you in my room?"

"Danny, please, don't shout, they'll—"

"Get out of my room."

"Please—"

"Get out of my room! Get out of my room, get out of my room, get out of my room!" Danny roared. He grabbed Jazz's arm and threw her out the door. She crashed into the railing, the posts cracking under the impact.

"Danny," Jazz pleaded, crawling forward.

The door slammed shut in her face, hard enough to crack the frame. Danny ignored Jazz's yelp of pain. He needed to get out of here, clear his head, take a flight. Turning toward the window, he took off into the sky.

...

Danny's room was bare when he returned. The shelves were empty, his bed was stripped, and there was nothing in his dresser. Carefully packed boxes filled the closet.

This was all wrong. He felt violated.

"Who did this?" Danny howled, his voice echoing through the house. It filled the air like static, crackling down the halls.

Ectoplasm arced up and down his arms. It swirled in his eyes, sparked around his head, dripped down his body and splattered against the floor.

He let out a wordless scream.

A piercing alarm shrieked, loud enough to echo down the street, and snapped Danny out of his rage. That was the Fenton Proximity Alarm. It only went off when an ecto-entity level five or higher released a power surge within a three-block radius.

The volume of the alarm signalled the power of the ghost.

Right now, it was deafening. Danny couldn't even hear his own lingering shout of fury. The only time he heard it this loud was when Pariah Dark invaded.

He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay and find out who had done this to him, who had desecrated his place, assaulted his vary being with such vandalism, but he couldn't let a ghost that powerful run free.

He was gone before Maddie and Jack burst into his bedroom, ecto-blasters in hand.

...

It was nearly four in the morning. Danny didn't find the ghost. It nagged at him. His whole job was to find the ghost, fend it off, and save the day. How could he keep Amity safe if he couldn't even find the ghost? It could be anywhere, wreaking havoc. The worst part was that his ghost sense didn't even react. He couldn't think of any ghost capable of hiding from his ghost sense.

Not even Pariah Dark.

Danny sat in the kitchen, at the dining table. He picked at the dirt on his feet. They always seemed to be dirty lately, and no matter how much he washed them, it wouldn't come off. It was getting annoying.

He rubbed his eyes and pushed his hair back. With how damp it was, it kept sticking to his forehead and tickling his eyelashes. He thumped his head on the table, again, and again, and again.

Overhead, something creaked.

Danny froze with his head against the table. Slowly, he rose and turned his face toward the noise. It came from his parent's room. The creaking moved toward the stairs. He knew, without seeing, that it was his dad.

Jack's immense, musclebound girth meant he weighed a considerable amount. Over the years, he'd worn various paths around the house. From the door, to the couch, to the kitchen, down to the lab, and up to the master bedroom. The floorboards were weakest there and creaked for everyone, but it was always loudest when Jack tromped over them. Even when he was trying to be quiet.

A glow in the corner of Danny's eye caught his attention. He whipped around to face it, ready to attack, ectoplasm already swirling in his palm.

It was just his reflection in the toaster. Bruised eyes, bloody nose, split lip. Nothing unusual.

He wiped the blood off on his knuckles. Its soft green glow contrasted Danny's own silvery aura. Mesmerized, he stared at the smear of ectoplasm. His fangs slid out—whether it was a conscious act or not, he couldn't say—and he stuck out his tongue.

The forked end darted over the ectoplasm. He licked it up and smacked his lips.

A pained gasp sounded to his left.

Danny's gaze snapped over to the source.

His dad stood in the doorway, clutching a Jack-o-nine-tails in one hand, and a bazooka in the other.

"I'm giving you one chance to get out," he said, thrusting the nine-tails forward.

Danny pulled his tongue back in. "What?"

"Get out. You—you putrid ball of consciousness. You ectoplasmic fiend, you don't belong here!" Jack started forward.

Danny scrambled back, hurrying to get away from his dad and the furious despair in his eyes. He slipped out of his chair, crashed to the floor and scrambled away. His dad had never looked at him like that before. At least, not Danny Danny. Phantom, maybe, but not Fenton.

Danny looked at his reflection in the aluminum garbage can.

Bruised eyes. Bloody nose. Split lip.

Fenton.

"Dad, what are you—"

"I'm not your father, you're not my son! Get out! I won’t say it again!" Jack tossed the nine-tails aside and levered and bazooka at Danny. He pulled back the bolt, auto-loading a cartridge, and shoved the gun in Danny's face.

"Dad." Danny sobbed. The tears burned, leaving rivulets through the dirt and grime smeared across his cheeks.

"Don't," his dad said.

It was such a loaded word. Pleading and hateful. Desperate and loathing. Danny didn't realize there could be so much emotion in a single word until now.

"Okay," came his quiet reply, just as heavy as Jack's.

He slipped through the wall, tumbling out of the house and onto the front lawn. He didn't know how, or when, but somehow his dad must have learned the truth. Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom, and Jack hated him for it.

Danny supposed he should at least be thankful his dad gave him a chance to leave. He could have strapped Danny down and dissected him right there on the kitchen table.

Hugging himself, Danny drifted down the sidewalk, streetlights popping as he passed.

...

In his hopeful heart of hearts, Danny thought maybe he could just give his parents time. They would see. He was still Danny, he was always Danny. Being Phantom didn’t change that. Even if it did, maybe they didn't need him, but Danny needed his home.

He didn't go far, lingering on the rooftop across the street. Every minute he was away it got harder and harder to think straight. All day he stood there, watching.

Sometimes he would see someone in window. It was mostly Jazz. She had a bandage across her nose. They never noticed him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted them to.

He just wanted to go home. And he tried. He really did. If not to stay, then at least to take a little piece of home with him.

Once everyone was gone for the day, Jazz to school, Maddie and Jack to chase after the Box Ghost, he tried to sneak back inside. He made it to the end of the front path before he felt it. Like a dozen static shocks all at once, sparking up and down his body.

He ignored it.

The shocks grew to a tingling buzz halfway up the path.

Danny pushed through. He needed this. He needed to go home.

He reached the front step and fell to the ground screaming in pain. Electricity coursed through his body, attacking his core. He convulsed on the front step, thrashing and crying as the anti-ecto energy tore through his body.

Danny dug his fingers into the cracks in the concrete and dragged himself back toward the street, whimpering and holding back sobs. It was like the portal all over again. His limbs twitched. He felt singed, jittery, and exhausted.

Curling up on the sidewalk, Danny hugged his knees and cried into his jeans. They had adjusted the shields. Changed them to affect halfas. He couldn't go home. He could never go home.

...

With nowhere else to go, Danny went to Sam's house. Fenton Works was closer to the richer part of Amity Park than the more suburban areas. He didn't make eye contact with anyone, not that it mattered. Everyone he passed skirted far around him, sometimes even skittering into the street to avoid him.

Danny stomped up Sam's front steps and knocked weakly.

The chances of anyone besides Sam answering the door were usually slim. Ida, stuck in her scooter, wasn't as mobile as she used to be. Jeremy spent long hours at work, or brought work home and stayed tucked away in his office for the night. Pamela was usually occupied with her latest social cause.

Sometimes the similarities between Sam and her mom astounded Danny.

But one thing he failed to consider was that today was a school day. He didn't think about stuff like that anymore, so it was easy to forget.

Pamela opened the door. She took one look at Danny and slammed the door shut.

"Please, Mrs. Manson!" Danny called.

"Go away," she said. Her voice trembled.

"I know you don't like me, but please, I have nowhere to go. I got kicked out." He banged his fist on the door.

"If you don't leave right now, I'm going to call the G.I.W."

Dread shot through Danny like lightning. The G.I.W. Pamela knew his secret, too. Did his parents tell Sam's? Who else did they tell?

He turned around and pressed his back to the door. No one would look at him. Actually, some people glanced in his direction, then quickly looked away and hurried down the street. They knew. Everybody knew.

Sliding down to the ground, he slapped the Manson's front door. "Mrs. Manson, please. I just want to talk to Sam."

Pamela yanked the door open.

Danny fell back and stared up at her.

"Stay away from my daughter," Pamela hissed. "If you go anywhere near her today, or any other day, you won't exist tomorrow."

She threw the door closed. Danny phased right through it. Pamela reached for her phone. Sam once told him Pamela had the G.I.W. on speed dial, thanks to company connections.

Danny's vision went black.

...

At the Foley's apartment, Tucker answered the front door.

"Hi, Tuck!" Danny smiled.

"No," Tucker said.

Danny, still smiling, cocked his head. "No?"

"I-I mean..." Tucker back away from the door, his hand going to his pocket. "Why are you here?"

"I don't... know," Danny said. He looked around the front hall. The Foley's decorated modestly. A couple family photos, a coat rack, a simple bench. It was cozy. He liked being at the Foley's. It was homey. His gaze returned to Tucker and he smiled again. "Hi, Tuck!"

Tucker worried his lip.

"It's kind of cold out here, can you let me in?" Danny asked.

Tucker peered over Danny's shoulder and eyed the sunny blue skies. "Um... I don't think I can do that, dude."

Danny frowned and stepped forward, his toes stopping just before the threshold. "Why not? Aren't we friends?"

"Yeah, we were—are, we are." Tucker fumbled over his words, rushing to correct himself.

Danny's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward.

"You can't come in," Tucker said, leaning away from Danny. His shoulder's tensed, arms shaking as he backed away. "You can't come in, you can't come in, you can't come in!"

Danny strained. It felt like something was pushing him back, trying to keep him from entering the house. He wouldn't let it. Tucker was his best friend. Tucker was his brother. He was family.

He was home.

Danny wanted to go home.

"Let me in," he said.

Tucker shook his head sharply. "No."

"Let me in."

"No!"

"Let me in!" Danny pounded his fists against the invisible wall. "Tucker! Tucker! Let me in, Tucker! Let. Me. In!"

A blast of ectoplasm punctuated each word, scorching the walls and floor. Tucker cowered away, jumping at each blast. He wrapped his arms around his head, crouched down to the floor and screamed.

"God damn it, Danny, No! No, no, no! Go away!"

"TUCKER!"

Tucker shot forward, pulling something from his pocket, and tackled Danny. They tumbled into the street and something cold and metal snapped around Danny's wrist. He bellowed and clawed at his skin, trying to pry the bracelet off.

It burned, searing his flesh. He tried to stand but the pain was too great. He crumpled to the asphalt, clutching his wrist and shrieking until his throat felt raw. He bit down on the bracelet, trying to tear it apart with his fangs, but all that did was burn his mouth. He started gnawing at his wrist instead.

He wanted this thing off, now. How could Tucker do this to him? How could he ever hurt him like this? They were brothers!

"I'm sorry, Danny," Tucker sobbed, kneeled on the edge of the sidewalk. "I didn't want to, I'm sorry."

Danny bared his fangs at Tucker, hissing and spitting. Ectoplasm spewed across the road. He inched forward, nails scraping on the pavement, dragging himself toward Tucker.

Tucker just cried, hiding his face in his arms and begging Danny to go away.

Danny creeped closer and grabbed Tucker by the ankle.

...

Danny was caught in a haze. Everything hurt. His right arm was completely numb, his skin streaked black around the bracelet. In spite of his efforts, he couldn't get it off. He clawed, scratched, and bit at both the bracelet and his own wrist. All that did was make him bleed, ectoplasm slipping down his hand and dripping from his fingers.

His arms hung limp by his sides. A trail of bright green dots marked his path to the outskirts of the city, where the richest of the rich lived. In his other hand, he clutched a pair of broken glasses.

Danny stared at the glasses, then opened his fist and let them fall to the ground. He stomped on them, shattering the lenses. He didn't need them.

Dragging his feet, he turned into a cul de sac and paused. Vlad Master's house lay at the very end.

Vlad would understand. Danny knew he would. In spite of all their rivalry, their petty battles and personal wars, they were the only two people in the world who could understand each other. He would know what to do. He had to.

Danny flickered out of sight, reappearing in the middle of Vlad's foyer. Maybe Vlad wouldn't notice all the ectoplasm Danny was dripping on the carpet. It matched the Packer's paraphernalia, for the most part.

"Vlaaad," Danny moaned, the name slurred on his tongue. He dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead into the carpet. It felt nice and soft.

He wasn't sure how long waited. A few minutes, an hour, maybe more. But eventually he heard Vlad's voice called from the stairs. "Little Badger."

Danny lay on his side. Titling his head back, he looked up at Vlad.

He looked terrible. There were bags under his eyes, stray hairs slipped out of his ponytail. His tie hung loose, and his collar was crinkled.

"You look like shit." Danny laughed.

"I'm sorry."

"I said you look like shit."

"No, Daniel." Vlad walked down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. He folded his hands in front of him and nervously twiddled his thumbs. "I'm sorry. This never should have happened to you."

"You can help me," Danny said.

"You know I can't, I'm sorry. All this time, I never thought..." Vlad trailed off, shaking his head.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked. He pushed himself up, cradling his weak arm against his chest.

Vlad sat down on the last step and buried his head in his hands. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that."

"I should have seen."

"Stop it!" Danny lurched to his feet and stumbled toward Vlad.

"You should have fought back."

Danny froze. "What?"

Vlad peeked over his hands. His weary eyes refused to settle on Danny. "You could have stopped it."

"What did you do?" Danny asked. It suddenly dawned on him why all this was happening—even if he could barely remember what this was. It was Vlad. It was always Vlad; but, somehow, he hadn't thought of it until now. Vlad broke their pact. Vlad told his parents about Danny being a halfa. Vlad told everyone.

Vlad ruined his life.

"I can't go home because of you!"

"Daniel, no, you don't under—"

Danny threw himself at Vlad. Grabbing him around the neck, he throttled the man, shaking him back and forth with burning hands, and screaming in his face.

Vlad shoved him off but didn't transform.

With a feral snarl, Danny attacked again. He pushed Vlad into the stairs, kneeled on top of him, and leaned down on his throat.

"You! Ruined! My! Liiiiiiiii—" He broke off into a wail.

Vlad pressed his hands against Danny’s face, forcing his head to turn. The ghostly moan destroyed the adjacent wall and shook the very foundations of the house. All around them, the building started falling apart as Danny pushed all his pain and anguish into his voice.

Things were never supposed to end up this way. But now, it was too late.

…

A fork of lightning split the sky. Thunder cracked, its deafening boom rolling over Amity Park. With it came Danny. He soared through the storm, his tears lost to the rain. The wind howled with him. He was lost and alone and had nowhere to go. So he went to the place where all ghosts without a home end up.

Huddled against the rain, Danny touched down just outside the Amity Park cemetery. He hadn’t been here for a while. Sometimes, he visited the new spirits and helped them on their way to the Ghost Zone. But lately just the thought of the cemetery sent a shiver down his spine. A foreboding chill that made him turn around and head back the way he came.

But not tonight.

Danny passed through the gate, the chain and padlock jingling as he walked through them, and stalked up the walkway. His bare feet slipped on the pebbles. He was still dirty.

Even with all the rain, he could feel the grime coating his skin. His mouth tasted like mud, gritty and bitter. When he bites down, gravel grinds between his teeth. His fangs slid in and out and he jutted his bottom jaw forward so his teeth didn’t clash so much.

He didn’t know where he was going. On nights like this, even spirits liked to stay inside if they could. The moaning wind sounded lonely to dead ears.

Squinting into the rain, he saw someone. He thought it was a ghost at first, pale and white, but when he got closer he realized it was Dash, in a t-shirt and jeans, hunched over a freshly dug plot.

A few small patches of grass sprung up from the dirt, so it the grave wasn’t that new. That didn’t matter to Danny. The sight of any new graves made him said.

Danny stopped behind Dash’s shoulder.

“You’ll get sick out here,” he croaked.

Dash flinched and turned. “You’re here.”

“That’s what you said before,” Danny muttered. It felt weird to talk to Dash like this. Neither of them were mad. Dash didn’t call him names or spit insults, and Danny didn’t feel the usually petty fury. He just felt lonely.

“What?”

“At school the other day,” Danny clarified.

“That wasn’t… it’s been…” Dash looked away. “You stopped coming to school.”

“Oh.” Danny didn’t notice. Actually, now that he thought about, he didn’t even know what day it was. It kept slipping his mind, like so many things. He plucked at the collar of his shirt. Guess it was finally getting that wash it needed.

“I’m sorry.”

“Do you want to know what happened to the last person who said that to me?” Danny asked.

“Mrs. Manson…”

Danny furrowed his brow. “What about her?”

“She’s in the hospital, isn’t she?”

“I don’t know.” Danny shrugged. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Sam’s mom. Although he wanted to talk to Sam. He should do that soon. School should be out right now, if Dash is here—and it’s probably nearly midnight.

“I’m still sorry,” Dash said. He curled his fingers in the grass and ducked his head. The rain plastered his hair to his forehead. “About Dale.”

Danny’s confusion mounted.

“We—Kwan and I—we always said he might go too far one day. He’s a rough guy, you know? I tried to get him to stop, but he doesn’t really listen to anyone.”

Suddenly, Danny wanted Dash to stop talking. He wanted Dash to shut up and go away and never come back.

“I don’t think, I mean, he didn’t mean to hit you that hard. He didn’t see the rock. It was an accident.” Dash ripped the grass from the ground. “But he shouldn’t have tried to hide you like that.”

Danny stared down at his dirty bare feet. He felt the stiffness in his jeans and saw the mud on his clothes. For a second, he wasn’t standing here with Dash. He was lying on his back, staring up at the stars through the trees as someone yanked him forward in fits and starts.

A bitter taste coated his tongue. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes. It felt like someone struck a match inside his lungs, burning brighter and stronger as he slowly ran out of air, scratching frantically at planks of wood, tearing his nails ragged, unable to escape.

“Did you know,” Danny said as his surroundings returned to him, “that Rowan wood has a lot of Apotropaic properties? Sam taught me that.”

He ran his thumb over his fingertips, feeling the splinters beneath his nails.

“It’s related to magic. It means it wards away evil influences, like ghosts. Ghosts can’t pass through Rowan wood. Ectoplasm doesn’t burn it. My parents have never been able to figure out the science behind it.” Danny’s arms went limp. “I don’t think there’s any science at all.”

“You could have fought back,” Dash whispered.

Danny stepped forward and read the gravestone. Danny Fenton. Son, Brother, Hero.

“I could have fought back,” he said.

...

Jazz stared outside at the first snowfall of the season. It had been a hard fall. Losing Danny, and then getting him back, only to lose him again. She wasn’t sure who took it worse. Maybe Pamela, since she was the one who ended up in critical care.

Tucker got off lucky, from what Jazz could tell.

She hadn’t seen Danny for a while, almost a full month. The last thing she heard of him was from Dash Baxter of all people. Following the last thunderstorm of the season, Dash came stumbling up to Fenton Work’s door and only said four words before hobbling away.

“I think he’s okay.”

Jazz hoped it was true.

Parked in front of the house, her parents were loading boxes onto the RV. They held all of Danny’s things. Some of it would be donated, like his clothes and books. Other, more personal things, such as old toys and his favourite models, would go away into storage. They couldn’t bear to part with those, even if they couldn’t keep them in the house.

Jazz had slipped the Opportunity model out of the box and placed it in her room. It was always Danny’s favourite.

It was her dad’s fault they were only taking care of this stuff now, despite having it packed away for months, not that anyone could blame him. It hurt them all to clear out Danny’s room. Packing it only took a few days, but actually taking the boxes out of the house?

That was permanent. That meant he was really gone.

It felt more appropriate now with him at rest.

She turned away from the window and headed upstairs. There was only one more box left, full of his old school stuff if she remembered right. She pushed open his door and paused for a solemn moment. She only let her grief overwhelm her for a few seconds. It was the only way she knew how to cope.

If she gave herself anymore time, she might just breakdown and cry, and she couldn’t afford that. She closed her eyes, took a deep, shaky breath, then went and grabbed the box.

Jazz was just about to close the door when she heard a thunk behind her.

Her grip on the doorknob tightened. Slowly, she turned her heard.

There, in the middle of the room, was Danny. He sat cross-legged, curling the toes of his bare feet. His hair was wispy, like fire, and streaked black and white. The blood and mud was gone, but there were still bruises around his eyes. His skin was pale blue.

Danny raised his right arm, then dropped it. The thick bracelet covering his wrist thunked against the floor. Up to his elbow, the skin was black and cracked. He raised his arm again. Dropped it. Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

He paused, holding his arm before him, and looked up. He stared at Jazz with pure green eyes and blue pupils the size of a pinprick. His arm started flaking, the black skinning falling away.

Before her eyes, the limb shifting, twisting grotesquely, the flesh peeling away from the bracelet, letting it sink through before joining back up with the skin of his wrist. The bracelet dropped to the floor. Thunk.

Danny smiled and bared his fangs.

“Hey, Jazz,” he crooned. “Were you in my room?”

[cowandcalf]

Meta on Steve aka "Smooth Dog" – a short character study

Steve McGarrett and his way with women. The answer to this you'll find in his youth.

In season 10, Steve reveals an uncharacteristic streak we haven't seen so far. He's uncomfortable and insecure when it comes to the task to ask a woman out on a date. He's downright shy and he squirms as if the assignment he needs to face is too big and an emotional steeplechase. He likes to take things slow. He wants to wait for the right moment and he hates being pushed because he kind of isn't ready. At all.

And the reason why he hits this invisible wall as a grown adult in his forties is because he has never had to learn how to do it. It's his first time ever that he needs to be charming, forthcoming and that he has to dig up courage to approach a woman and to ask her out. What Steve experiences Danny has undergone in his youth as a teenager. And I guess, most of the grown men from the Five-0 task force made the same experience as Danny. But not Steve. Steve has never had to fight for attention or to fight for being seen.

If you want to understand why Steve acts quite insecure when it comes to women and asking them out for a date you have to go way back into the years of his youth.

Actually, I start with Steve in High School. Steve's a jock. Steve's a quarterback. Steve's the best quarterback Kukui High has ever had. Steve's a star! He's the most wanted guy at school. He's the secret dream of almost every girl (for sure also the dream of some female teachers) which visits Kukui High.

Steve might be a shy teenager. He might have some difficulties to act cool and collected around girls. He might be blushing and stuttering and he might also hide behind the back of his friends he hangs out with. He eats in the cantina, and he might have no idea what to talk about with girls who always giggle and glance his way. He has Mary as a bar and he doesn't even understand his little sister. He fights with her and he knows she's a girl and that he loves different stuff. But her world is quite a mystery to him. He rather sticks around with his friends and pals, his surfer guys and his ohana.

Yes, they're at the beach. They surf, they meet girls. It's normal to see everyone in swim trunks and bikinis, to be in the water, to chill together. Everything comes very naturally.

But the most important puzzle piece is Steve the quarterback! Steve, the jock! Steve the outstanding, good-looking, very handsome, super trained, awesome talented and super cute jock! Steve is hot as fuck! He's a dream version of the beach boy, surfer boy comes true.

Hawaii, High School, Football – the holy trinity. And the king is Steve, like their famous, undefeated quarterback. He even pulverizes all of Chin's school records. He's even more famous. Steve is the freaking catch!! Even if he feels uncomfortable with the fame he has to carry and he has to deal with. I'm so sure he also loves it because all girls (and boys and teachers, male and female) admire him. Look up to him, love him, cheer for him, drool over him… damn, Steve's the jackpot!

And he knows it!

Steve works out tons. He looks fabulous. Tanned skin for miles and miles, trained, hard abs, a radiant smile, a shy attitude, fierceness on the gridiron, determined and dedicated to his task. He's a freaking wet dream for every teenage girl in the schoolyard.

And then there are Friday nights! Play nights! It's football madness and this adrenaline rush that comes with the great entrance of the player who fight for Kukui High. The boys are warriors out on the field. They get celebrated like kings! The crowd is cheering and Steve kicks ass on the field. He pushes his team to the max, makes them win.

He's a fucking badass and a sexy star!

And guess what? On the benches, at the sidelines, in the spectator area, there are girls as far as the eye can reach. They scream they cry, they cheer and they yell Steve's name. And some of them have banners with Steve's name on it and hearts! And don't forget the cheerleaders! Wow! Sexy girls, trained and skilled and so into their football team they support. And there's always the cheerleader queen who normally gets to win the quarterback of the football team.

I'm so sure of it, Steve got kissed many times after a game. He never had to fight for attention. No, on the contrary, he was almost harassed with attention, with praises and with girls who would love to have sex with him, kiss him, flirt with him. Steve is always surrounded by girls who want to be near him because he's the star quarterback of Kukui High.

The girls surround him in clusters!

And if a girl behaves difficult, demands too much, Steve moves on to the next one. He's young. He's bursting with strength and testosterone! He can have any girl he wants. He can have the High School cheerleader queen. That's the jackpot, man!

Smooth Dog is on his way.

Now, change of scenery. His mother dies. He and Mary get send away. A tragedy takes place and alters Steve's soul. His emotional growth comes to an abrupt halt. He swallows the pain and hurt, fear and emotional agony because his father sends him off to the mainland.

A terrible, hard path starts for young, carefree Steve. The lingering sadness gets added to his character and the hard gushes caused by emotional pain never really heal. He learns to deal with it. He might withdraw and be for himself. I'm sure at Carlsberg he hides behind sports and physical exhaustion to find some peace, to set his mind to rest. He's a brilliant student and once he accepts his fate he digs his heel into the ground and just takes off because that's how he's wired.

He moves on. He grows into a strong, quiet, wonderful young man. His energy is radiant. He's surrounded by this faint hint of adventure, sadness, and strength. Warriors and heroes are made from that material. Steve's breathtakingly handsome. And he wants to be a SEAL.

I guess he has some girls, who are interested in him. But his mother's death and the separation of his family still eats at his soul. He doesn't have the strength or the interest to deal with a relationship.

And suddenly he's together with strong, young, hungry men. They fight to get through BUD/s. They all have one goal. He sees his comrades fail. He knows only the strongest survive. Steve's a fighter. And he has to prove something to himself.

The deep-rooted doubt is eating at the bones of his soul. His father has sent him away – his only son. Is he loved? Why can't he be with his father? Has he disappointed his father in some sort? Steve will never ever again be free in his heart and his soul because deep down he thinks he has failed as a son.

And the only thing he can do is to be the best, the strongest, the fucking elite guy who proves everyone that he's the one! That he can beat nature and his own will. Every supervisor, every chief, every boss, every drill sergeant turns into his father and he wants to make them proud.

Until he finds Joe and Joe guides him and Steve's hungry, empty heart can rest a bit. But it never really heals.

SEALs are impressive. They are strong and a women's magnet. Steve's a man and he also needs sex, wants sex, has sex. He's healthy and everything is a freaking challenge for him. I'm sure he bets with his friends and SEAL buddies which girl he takes home tonight. He doesn't have to go looking. Again, the girls and the women hunt them. The female gender gets drawn to strong warriors, lonesome fighters with this handsomeness and this sad streak around the eyes. Steve's a jackpot once again.

Smooth Dog is born.

And he doesn't treat the female sex so nicely. He grows up in a world where orders, obeying and giving orders, asking for obedience is on the daily agenda. He serves and he has one aim. To be a SEAL, to be an elite soldier. He will get forged in hell of terrible training schedules and exclusive ops and drills and exercises and deployments.

Women and how to deal with them happen on the sideline. Steve can't develop the finesse that's needed to really deal with the female sex. He gets to know the women who also join the Navy and the military. And those are just as many exceptions to the rules as every other person in this military world. It's a unique universe with different rules and laws.

And Steve doesn't have any difficulties to find a way to flirt and to be with a woman because he's again a star. He's a SEAL. He's special and hot and an incredible catch. Steve doesn't really pay attention to it. Because his focus is on the task, on the ops, on the mission, and on his brothers.

And there are some adventures we know of. He's not interested in a relationship. Even though, Steve's emotional and he falls quickly for someone, the pull towards to serve his country is way bigger. He doesn't want to settle.

And then he meets Catherine. And Catherine endures a lot of Steve's demanding attitude. The way he uses her for his own good, for his work as the head of Five-0 demands a meta on its own. Cath just bears and takes everything Steve's dishes out. He's not always so friendly and nice and loving with Catherine. But he doesn't have to work for it either. Catherine is there, always, whenever Steve calls, and orders and demands, she delivers. They end up in a relationship Steve doesn't really work for. It just happens.

(Not gonna move further into this direction. That's for another time.)

So, let's sum this up.

The whole tragedy ends with the way Cath and Steve break up. Steve starts to realize what kind of a woman (in a good way) he has had over all those years. But he missed out so many clear signs. Anyway, he's alone again and for the first time in like forever he realizes there are not that many women just gathering around him without him doing something for it.

But he's still young and bursting with energy and strength. And he meets Lynn and their first date goes down like a freaking drill on a paintball weekend. Steve has fun. He's the hero again and Lynn is smitten and just a frightened and a bit in shock. Lynn teaches Steve that he has to give his fair bit to this relationship and Steve also learns with Lynn that he can't just move on like he always has.

Lynn is a breaking point where Steve realizes for the first time that getting a woman is work, keeping her is even harder work and having a well-functioning relationship is almost impossible to manage. It dawns on him that it's not all for granted, that there are women who give zero fuck about a Smooth Dog in cargo pants. They want a man, a boyfriend, who can talk, who doesn't forget Valentine's Day and who loves to go shopping with them.

Steve's not happy. He's flustered, and bewildered and a bit in shock and he doesn't deal with it.

The years move on, time flies by and he undergoes terrible injuries and terrible losses. Ten years is a long time.

But one day he finds himself sitting at the table and drinking his coffee while he tries to ignore the pain in his bones and he asks himself how the fuck does he make a woman go on a date with him.

And suddenly, Steve doesn't have the support any more of being quarterback, being a young warrior, being SEAL, being the tough head of the task force. He's older, he has issues and the women in his world are emotionally grown and very demanding in a way he has never ever delivered.

So, that's how Steve ends up standing in the dog park with Danny and kind of gets cold feet. He just doesn't know how to deal with it. It's like he's living it backward and experiences all the insecurities others go through when they are teenagers. Steve has never learned how to really win a woman over just with being Steve.

And last but not least. The first person who doesn't take the shit Steve dishes out, who isn't impressed by all his awards and highly decorated Navy career, is one Danny Williams, highly decorated Detective himself. And that's where another story begins.

[pipermasters]

The Last Night- Phic Phight

Prompt: Full ghost Danny AU - his entire family dies in the Portal accident but he is the only one who sticks around Fenton Works to haunt the house. Eventually Sam & Tucker come in, following the rumors of a ghost haunting said house. @darknymfa

Tucker remembered the night vividly, no matter how hard he tried to forget it. The night his best friend died. 

Tucker remembered the night vividly, no matter how hard he tried to forget it. The night his best friend died. Danny was video calling Tucker and Sam, ecstatic at the thought of showing them the moment his parents turned on the portal and busted a hole into the ghost dimension.

Tucker and Sam watched intensely through their screens as Danny’s parents turned the machine on, beaming.

“Guys- it worked!” Danny cheered, flipping the camera to face him. His face was a Christmas tree, alight with excitement and awe. Jazz bent to give him a sisterly kiss on the cheek, Danny pretending to gag as he hugged her. It was been a beautiful moment... until it wasn’t.

Sparks started to fly, and Danny’s face fell. Tucker could still hear Jazz’s voice, warning her little brother to stay back. The teens heard a scream and suddenly, the line was dead.

Tucker had never run faster in his life. A normal walk to Danny’s would take him 20 minutes, but that night, he made it there in 5. Fire engines and police cruisers came screeching to a halt in front of the burning building; a cop pulled Tucker away from the door, instructing him to stay back.

“Danny! He’s my friend! Let go of me- he’s still in there!”

The cops promised he’d be fine; they promised they’d get him out in time.

They lied.

It had taken hours to get the fire managed, even longer for it to be safe to send in firefighters. Tucker never stopped shouting, never stopped fighting to get past the police line.

It was 2 AM when the fire was finally extinguished. A small crowd had gathered around the building, whispering quietly amongst themselves. Tucker’s frantic cries had turned hysteric, tears streaming down his face.

He was too distressed notice Sam show up; he didn’t realize she was by his side, screaming just as loudly. Tucker didn’t see the fight slowly leaving her as they watched, helpless, as the fire consume Fenton Works.

Sam saw the final fireman exit the building. He stopped the EMT’s from going in with a sad shake of his head. It didn’t take a genius to understand what was wrong; there was no one to save.

Tucker refused to move, grief weighing him down. He kept staring at the remains of the front door, hoping and begging to see Danny crawling from the wreckage. It was daylight before his parents were finally able to coax him off the ground.

Tucker sobbed at the funeral, despondent as people mourned an empty coffin. He spoke at the service, as best he could, sharing his favorite memories with Danny. The day they had met in day care, their first reactions to having homework. Sam’s eyes were shining as he talked about how excited Danny had been for their first day of high school, which was only been a few short weeks away.

The rest of the summer was empty and depressed. Tucker rarely got out of bed, instead staying in his dark room, feeling his heart physically break.

The school board had offered to let Tucker begin school a week later than other students, to give him more time to grieve. Tucker refused. He had to experience the first day of school, not for himself, but for Danny.

Casper high was quiet and subdued. Though no one had been close to either of the Fenton kids the loss had hit the community hard. In the few short weeks they’d been gone, the people of Amity Park had come to realize just how prominent the Fenton’s had been.

Jack Fenton was no longer roaming the streets in his van, searching for ghosts. The people on his street found they missed hearing the family do their daily ghost drills.

Maddie Fenton was no longer there to be part of the PTA. The parents had to learn the hard way how hard it was to plan events without her there to take command.

Jazz Fenton was no longer able to offer tutoring. Her summer clients were forced to move on and find new students to help them study. None of them were as good as she was.

Danny Fenton was no longer there. Period. He wasn’t there running around with his friends. He wasn’t there raising his hand in science class, eyes bright with curiosity. He was no longer there to smile his bright, beautiful, sunshine smile.

The Fenton’s were no longer there, and the community felt it every day.

That first day the school held an assembly in honor of Jazz and Danny. A plaque was to be placed in the entryway of the school in their memory. Though Danny had never been a student at Casper High, most teachers knew him through Jazz; they felt it more appropriate to memorialize the siblings together. The principal introduced the school’s new grief counselor, urging everyone to feel free to meet with him. Teachers took it easy on the students, slowly integrating homework into their workload.

As the year went on, the shock of the tragedy began to wear off. The building was left as the wreck it was; it had been left to Maddie’s sister. However, since no one could contact the recluse, the city gated off the building until such a time as they were legally able to claim it.

Tucker and Sam had been granted access before it was closed, sifting through the ash in hopes of finding something, anything, of Danny’s. Tucker had found half of Danny’s model rocket, unharmed, and hung it in his room. Sam found a family portrait, charred, but intact. She kept it in a box under her bed, pulling it out every time she feared she was forgetting Danny’s smile.

Months after the accident, Fenton Works had become the designated spot for teenage shenanigans. Students would dare each other to go in, joking that the house was haunted. It angered Tucker to no end, watching his friend’s house be so disrespected.

“Just ignore it, Tuck,” Sam said as Dash ran into the cafeteria, boasting that he’d found the remains of a bra in the house the night before.

“I can’t!” Tucker snapped, glaring at Dash and his friends. “You don’t get it Sam- you only knew them for a year. I practically grew up in that house; they were like my second family! How can you be okay with this?”

“I’m not.” She stabbed her salad with more force than necessary. “Trust me, it pisses me off just as much as you.”

“You sure don’t show it.”

Sam shrugged. “I distract myself. When I hear stories like that, I just imagine what Mr. Fenton would think if he knew these kids thought he house was haunted.”

Tucker cracked a small smile- the first in a long time. “He’d be furious.”

“I know. To think all it took for this town to believe in ghosts was the death of a ghost hunter.”

Tucker chuckled, ducking his head.

“What?” Sam asked, heart lifting at the sound of laughter.

“Nothing,” Tucker tried to stifle his amusement. “Just had this funny idea of Mr. Fenton haunting the place.”

Sam dissolved into giggles. “I can totally see it!” She sat up and puffed out her chest, lowering her voice in her best impression of Jack. “Don’t believe in ghosts, do ya? Well what do ya say to this? BEWARE!”

“Dad!” Tucker said in a high pitch. “You can’t go around haunting people- it might stunt their psychological development!”

For the first time since the accident, the pair burst into pure, genuine laughter. Across the cafeteria people looked over, shocked and pleased by what they saw. It was Tucker’s laughter that truly sparked the healing of the community.

Tucker went to bed that night, still laughing at the idea of the Fenton’s haunting their old home.

The next day, the idea didn’t seem so funny.

Tucker was changing for gym in the locker room when he heard Dash swear.

“Who took my underwear?” The jock demanded.

“Why’d you take it off?” Wes, another freshman, asked in disgust.

“To shower!”

“Why do you need a shower? We haven't had class yet!”

“Don’t tell me how to live my life, Weston!” Dash yelled.

“Maybe you pissed off a Fenton the other day,” Kwan joked.

The room went silent as heads turned to Tucker. It wasn’t a secret that he didn’t like the ghost jokes, and while upperclassmen didn’t seem to care, there was an unspoken agreement among the freshmen not to make them around him. However, Tucker found himself laughing.

“You did steal a bra,” he pointed out to the delight of his classmates. “Maybe this is revenge.”

Dash scoffed, declaring he would just go commando as the boys filed into the gym. The girls were already there, gathered under a basketball hoop, snickering.

“What’s so funny?” Tucker wondered, watching as the girls looked back at Dash and laughed harder.

Wes shrugged, making his way to the front of the crowd. Hanging from the hoop was a pair of boxers, ‘Dash Baxter’ embroidered on the waist.

Laughter exploded in the gym as Dash grabbed them, running back to the locker room in embarrassment.

That was how it started. After that, there were more and more reports of strange things happening to people who went to the Fenton house. Dash continued losing his underwear in the locker room, only for them to show up in increasingly random locations. The day after Kwan snuck in to drink a beer, the water fountain exploded in his face. Then, the hauntings became stranger.

Star mentioned that Jazz must have cheated to earn such a high score on her C.A.T; she found her test prep material shredded in her locker. A substitute teacher remarked that the Fenton’s had deserved their end, messing with something as unholy as ghosts. For the rest of the day she was locked out of every door she encountered. The weirdest though, was when Mr. Lancer was handing back tests.

Tucker knew he had failed the test- he hadn’t even read the book. However, the test he was handed back had scored a 92%. As Tucker looked it over, he noticed that almost all of the answers he had put had been erased and corrected.

“It was a joke, Tucker,” Sam repeated for what must have been the tenth time in ten minutes. “I didn’t think you would take it so seriously.”

“C’mon Sam!” Tucker begged. “It makes sense!”

“They’re just pranks! Sooner or later whoever’s pulling them is gonna get bored and move on.”

“You can’t seriously believe that!”

“Yes,” Sam shut her locker. “I can.” She sighed, looking at Tucker sadly. “I understand why you want to believe it Tuck; I really do. The idea that Danny’s still here... I’d do anything to see him again.”

“What if we could?” Tucker asked, gears spinning in his head.

“Could what?”

“See Danny!”

Sam gave him a hard look. “Why do I have the feeling you aren’t talking about pictures?”

“When Danny and I were, like, 12 or something we bought an Ouija board-”

“Oh my God.”

“We were too chicken to use it, but what if-”

“You can not be serious!”

“Please Sam!” Tucker begged. “I know...I know it’s crazy. I know it won’t work. But...” He trailed off, voice cracking.

Sam stood there for a moment, watching her best friend struggle to find the words to convince her. “Fine,” she caved. “We’ll go- maybe it’ll be fun. I’ve always wanted to speak to a real ghost!”

She met Tucker at the remains of Fenton works at midnight, long after the rest of the town was asleep.

“I gotta admit,” Tucker confessed as they scaled the chain link fence. “This seemed like a much better idea in the daylight.”

“Can’t back out now,” Sam smiled. “Besides, the darkness makes it more authentic!”

The two moved to the darkest corner, settling down with the Ouija board between them.

“This is the real deal,” Sam observed as she inspected the board. “Where did you and Danny find this thing?”

“An old antique shop- the owner swore it let him talk to his dead wife.”

“The why’d he sell it?”

“Apparently she was still nagging him about fixing a leak in their basement.”

Sam chuckled. “Did Mr. Fenton know that Amity Park had a ghost specifically haunting leaky faucet?”

“Why else do you think two 12-year old’s were in an antique store?” Tucker snickered.

“The instructions say to balance the board on our knees,” Sam explained, reading the rules by the glow of her cellphone. “Don’t apply too much pressure to the planchette; just rest your fingers so it’s free to move around the board.”

The two jumped as the rubble shifted behind them, the silence of the night making the sound that much louder.

“It just occurred to me that trying to talk to spirits in the remain of a ghost lab probably isn’t the smartest choice,” Tucker laughed shakily.

“Do you still want to do this?”

“Yeah,” he responded without hesitation.

Sam finished explaining the rules, setting her phone aside and balancing the board on her knees. “Let’s do this.”

Gulping, Tucker placed two fingers on the planchette and whispered, “Hello?”

“Let’s hope the ghosts aren’t deaf,” Sam muttered.

“Hello?” Tucker said again, louder. Nothing happened.

“Anyone here?” Sam tried. “We aren’t here to hurt you- we’re just here to talk. Preferably to one of the Fenton’s’ but, whatever.”

Nothing.

The two sat there in silence, holding their breath as they waiting for the planchette to move. After a few minutes, Sam let out a heavy breath. “Tuck, I don’t think-”

“Let me try something!” Tucker interrupted. With one hand he reached into his backpack, pulling out what was left of Danny’s rocket, setting it by the board.

“This was made by my best friend,” Tucker looked up at the remains of the ceiling. “His name is Danny. Danny Fenton.” He paused. “He lived here his whole life. He grew up here. He and Jazz were measured on the same wall in the kitchen. He got so mad when she got taller! He broke his wrist jumping out of his window on a dare.”

“What are you doing?” Sam asked quietly.

“Trying to fill the place with good memories- Mr. Fenton once said ghosts are attracted to that.”

“Oh. Proceed.”

“I spent most of my childhood here too. Danny and I used to ride our tricycles around the kitchen while his mom made cookies; Snickerdoodles of course- those are Danny’s favorites. One time, when we were 5, Jazz had Racheal and Maggie over for her first sleepover and they snuck us candy when we were supposed to be in bed.” Tucker laughed. “And there was this one time, when we were 9, Danny and I decided to run away. We snuck out of the house and got as far as the park before Mr. Fenton found us on his ghost patrol. We were so scared he’d be mad but he just... he just sat us down and explained the dangers of going out at night.”

“Dangers?” Sam raised an eye brow. “What kinds of dangers?”

“Ghosts, mostly. But he also asked us why we’d run away to begin with.”

“Why had you?”

“Dash called Danny a freak- told him he didn’t belong here. And ya know, for all the crazy things Jack Fenton has said, I’m never gonna forget what he told us that night.”

“What’d he tell you?”

Tucker smiled sadly, eyes glassy. “That it didn’t matter what Dash or anyone else thought; we’re family and we’ll always belong.”

Sam grinned. “Smartest thing he’s ever said. However,” She glanced down at the board. “I don’t think he, or any other ghost is gonna say anything tonight.”

“Yeah,” he agreed dejectedly. “I guess not.”

The two said goodbye, slowly packing the board back into Tucker’s backpack.

“It’s late,” yawned Sam. “I think it’s time to go.”

“Go ahead,” Tucker leaned back on the ground, staring at the stars. “I’m just... gonna hang here for a minute.”

Sam thought about protesting but seeing the despair in his eyes made her stop. This was something he needed in order to move on. After making him promise to text her when he got home, she bid him goodnight and left.

Tucker watched the stars in silence, mind wandering through memories of him and Danny.

“5...4...3...2...1,” Tucker whispered to no one, lifting the rocket and flying it around. “Ladies and gentlemen the Red Ranger, the first rocket to be both built and piloted by the same person, has launched! How’s it looking’ up there Captain Danny? Excellent! With the speeds you’re going at you’ll be able to meet aliens on Mars and be back in time for cookies before bedtime!”

As he spoke, Tucker imagined him and Danny at 7 years old, playing in the Fenton’s backyard; Danny sitting in his cardboard rocket and Tucker with his cereal box mission control.

“Mission control, I am at Mars!” Danny announced, jumping out of the box and sneaking towards the swing set. “I can see the aliens!”

“What do they look like Captain Danny?”

Danny peered around the slide to see Jazz reading as she swung.

“Gross! They look like girls! This planet is infected with cooties!” Jazz glared at her little brother with a mischievous smile.

“Abort mission!” Tucker yelled. “I repeat, abort mission!”

“Rodger, heading back to the rocket now.” As Danny turned, Jazz jumped off the swing, chasing him. Danny squeaked when she tickled his sides.

“Mission control, help! The alien sees me!”

“Mission control can’t help you!” Jazz laughed as Tucker jumped up. “He’s back on Earth!”

Tucker sat down defeated before pulling his cardboard screens closer. “Captain Danny, go left!”

The three laughed as Jazz chased Danny around the yard, Tucker shouting directions at Danny. Danny jumped into his rocket, screaming with joy as Jazz shook it.

“The alien’s got me!”

“Alien?” Maddie Fenton asked, walking out.

“Yeah!” Danny beamed at his mother. “She followed me from Mars- she’s trying to give everyone on Earth cooties!”

“Goodness! Going to mars and fighting aliens? You must be hungry! Good thing I made some cookies!”

“COOKIES!” Tucker exclaimed, jumping up as Danny tumbled out of his rocket.

“No cookies for Jazz- she’ll get cooties all over them!” Danny demanded, sticking his tongue out.

“I think we have enough to share,” Maddie smiled, hugging her daughter as the boys ran inside. “Even aliens from Mars get hungry.”

“I can’t believe we named our first rocket ‘The Red Ranger’,” A voice said.

Tucker turned to see who was speaking, and nearly jumped out of his skin. “Danny!?”

A kid was reclining next to him, looking almost like Danny, but not quite. Black hair had gone white, pasty skin now a pale shade of green. The teen was wearing the classic black and white Hazmat suit the Fenton’s had been wearing the night of the accident, but the colors were inverted. Two glowing red eyes stared back as Tucker’s jaw hit the ground.

“Hey Tuck,” Danny said softly.

“Oh my God!” Tucker scrambled to sit up, staring at the ghost of his best friend. “I knew it! I knew you were here! Wait, how are you here? Are you real? Is this a dream? Oh my God, have I just gone crazy with grief and now I’m hallucinating-”

“Tucker, it’s me,” Danny smiled tiredly.

Tucker launched himself at Danny, hugging him as tightly as possible.

“It’s a good thing I don’t need to breath anymore,” the ghost joked.

“Sorry, sorry!” Tucker sat back, staring in awe. “You look... different. Like a-”

“Like a ghost?” Danny chuckled.

“Yeah.” He shook his head, smiling. “I can’t believe you’re here! I knew it from the moment Dash first lost his underwear!”

“Tucker-”

“That was hilarious! And my test grade? I don’t know how you knew but- wait, how did you know?”

“I’ve been... watching.” Danny confessed awkwardly.

“Watching?” Tucker moved away, suddenly angry. “Watching? You’ve been watching us this whole time and never thought about appearing? Didn’t think we might like to know you’re okay? Well, I mean, not okay okay, but okay in afterlife terms!”

“I-”

“What, were you just in my room, watching me suffer? Do you have any idea how hard this has been? Do you even care?”

“Tucker,” Danny sat up, grabbing his arm. “I didn’t show up before because I couldn’t. I didn’t have enough power yet.”

“Power?” Tucker questioned, anger slowly ebbing away.

“Yeah,” Danny grinned. “Being a ghost is kinda like being a superhero. Watch this,” his hand began to glow as he fired a glowing ball of green energy. It burst in the sky like a firework, though it made virtually no sound.

“Wow! What else can you do?”

For the next few hours the two sat together, talking and joking around as Danny showed off his new powers. They stared at the stars, recounting some of their best missions with the Red Ranger. Danny told tucker how his parents and sister were doing, describing how they too had undergone physical changes in becoming ghosts.

“Sometimes dad forgets we’re dead,” Danny snorted, “He’s still trying to hunt all these ghosts. He met this ghost- Skulker- and it’s like he found his platonic soulmate. Mom’s happy too- turns out a friend from college is also a ghost. They’ve been talking non-stop, filling each other in on life post college.”

“And Jazz?��

“A little disappointed she can’t attend Harvard. I’m trying to convince her to haunt the library- casually have a book fall off a shelf to help someone out, ya know?”

Tucker laughed. “It sounds perfect.”

For a moment, it was silent, the two perfectly content to lay on the ashy floor of a burnt down building.

“Danny?”

“Yeah Tuck?”

Tucker rolled over so he was face to face with the ghost. “Why didn’t you show up earlier? When Sam was here?”

Danny closed his eyes briefly, as if preparing himself. “She’s grieved enough as it is- no reason to load more on her.”

“More?” Danny stayed silent. “Oh... you aren’t staying, are you?”

“There’s this whole new world for me to explore Tucker- more than one! There are hundreds of thousands of doors in the Ghost Zone, and they all lead somewhere different! Different times, different places- I’m sure a few go to entirely different dimensions too!”

“So, take me with you!” Tucker smiled. “Imagine it! You and me, traveling through time and space!”

“I have,” Danny said sadly. “You have no idea how much a wish we could do that.”

“Why can’t we?”

“Humans can’t survive in the Ghost Zone,” he explained. “Everything about the environment is catered to the dead, like how Earth is for the living. You could survive, but after a while...”

“I’d die?” Tucker guessed. Danny nodded soberly. “So, how are you here? If Earth is made for the living-”

“I can’t stay for much longer. It’s kind of like being a fish out of water- I more or less absorb the atmosphere of the ghost zone. Here, there’s nothing to absorb.”

“Right,” Tucker huffed awkwardly. “I’d ask for a better explanation, but I don’t want you to waste your breath... or absorption... I guess.”

Danny laughed, laying back on the ground. “I miss the stars,” he said wistfully. “I can’t see them in the Ghost Zone.”

“You could always come back,” Tucker offered hopefully. “Every night- video games and star gazing, just like the good old days.”

“I can’t,” Danny’s voice shook. “It’s not fair to you Tucker. You have a whole life to live- I would just hold you back.”

“You wouldn’t be-”

“How do you expect to live your life if you’re constantly waiting for your friend to come back from the dead and talk to you? Time isn’t even the same in the Ghost Zone as it is here. I could come back thinking it’s only been five minutes when it’s actually been five years.”

Tucker wanted to argue but couldn’t. “I don’t want you to leave,” he whispered tearfully.

“I wish I could stay,” Danny swallowed thickly, swiping a hand over his eyes.

“How much time do you have left?”

Danny looked at his friend, a mischievous glint in his glowing eyes. “Enough to give you a flying lesson.”

“Flying-” Tucker yelped as Danny scooped him up as if he weighed nothing, slowly floating into the sky. Tucker kept his arms locked around the ghosts’ neck, screaming when Danny pretended to drop him.

“Open your eyes you wimp,” Danny teased, hovering high above the buildings. Slowly, Tucker’s eyes cracked open, taking in the sight of a sleeping Amity Park beneath him.

“Wow...” he breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, soaring over rooftops. “Beautiful.”

Tucker woke up the next morning, cold and sore, curled up on the floor of the Fenton house. His phone was blowing up with texts from Sam, demanding to know why he had never texted her. Sleepily, he apologized, explaining that he must have fallen asleep.

Depressed, he packed his rocket into his bag, convinced that the previous night was a dream. He couldn’t find the Ouija board, assuming Sam had taken it with her.

I’m meeting you at your house. She texted him. You have a lot of explaining to do.

“Tucker Foley!” She snapped as he entered his bed room. “Do you have any idea how bad you scared me? I stayed up as late as I could waiting for you to text me!”

“I’m sorry Sam. I really didn’t mean-” He froze looking past her to his bed. The Ouija board was resting on his pillow, the planchette resting over the word goodbye.

“You better have a good explanation.” Sam huffed. “What happened last night?”

“Nothing,” Tucker said, smiling at the board. “Just had a really great dream.”

[faveficarchive]

Up in the Air: Part 1

Book Two of That Healing Touch Series 

By K.Darblyne

Pairing: Xena/Gabrielle

Rating: PG-13

Synopsis: Garrett is five months in to her fellowship, and she and Danni are trying to change the game even more, all the while strengthening their bond. 

Chapter 1

The warming water danced along her body like spring showers over newly budding vegetation. Her long form was like a harboring reservoir as the tiny drops of water built up in its dips and cervices and then allowed them to cascade down her limbs and trunk. The warmth of the shower made her think of how much she had come to think of her new family here in Pittsburgh. It was as though each of them had extended a welcoming embrace to her, with that small blonde nurse being right at the heart of the matter. It had been a long time since she connected herself with anybody, yet to think of someone as family. The surgeon shook her head.

Garrett Trivoli had only been in the city five months but it felt more like home than anywhere she had ever lived before. Her time in college, medical school, residency, or the Navy had no holds on her like this place. It was proving to be very different, this year of Fellowship for her. More than she expected. It wasn’t the job or the training that she was impressed with, it was the people who went out of their way to make her feel as if she was a part of them. And she was more at home with the petite blonde than anyone.

Garrett thought about the warm-hearted nurse, Danni Bossard, who had talked her into sharing her house when the new Fellow found herself seeking a place to live, joking about being homeless. The surgeon thought about how appropriate that it was for Danni to have short golden hair. It made her think of the nurse’s unending heart of gold, always giving and caring about others before she ever thought about herself.

A lopsided smile came to her face as she thought about the woman. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t see all of the similarities before.’ She shook her head and continued her shower routine, lathering as she went. ‘It was my brother telling me all along. She’s the soul to replace him in my life.’

She no longer had sadness in her heart when she thought of him. She realized that life goes on, and that for every soul that leaves us, one is sent to take it’s place. It’s just that we have to carry their essence with us until we find that replacement. "Maybe Rene had something there? He did ask me to open my eyes." She chuckled as her mind was pulling things out of the last five months and creating a new order for them in her brain.

Her colleague Rene Chabot had teased her that he would even turn Jewish if it would help her to find someone special. She thought about his tall, thin frame and that rugged French-Canadian accent of his leading prayers at a Synagogue and laughed out loud. ‘I could see you better cast as the Yenta in the Fiddler on the Roof, Chabot.’

Then there was Karen, the E.R. Charge Nurse at night. Mom, as they all called her, had gathered her into that E.R. family, which she was the matriarch of, without a second thought, even though their first meeting was almost life-threatening in nature. Garrett wondered about her own mother, had she lived. Would she have been like Karen in some respects, always the tough disciplinarian on the outside with a soft spot for a heart on the inside?

The surgeon turned off the shower as she reached out for a towel. The sound of music was filtering into the bathroom. ‘Danni must be up now!’ She smiled and thought about the woman who found nights too long when working, but way too short when she was able to sleep through them. "I bet this early morning stuff is going to put a serious dent in her restfulness." Garrett cracked open the door and yelled out, "You better get some livelier music on, my friend. That is, if you want to get up." She paused before continuing with her toweling off, waiting to see if she was heard.

The sound of saucy Latin music was her answer. The lively beat causing even the surgeon to begin moving to the music as she dried off; the towel snapping as she reacted to its rhythm. Her mind filled with thoughts of Rosie, the auburn-haired nurse that was another pseudo-daughter of Mom’s in that growing E.R. family. She had been the outspoken one in the E.R., always riveting to the action of the night. Her loud acclamations of landing a distinguished doctor had only set her up for a fall again with this year’s candidates. Garrett looked down at her own body and sighed, ‘Too bad, Rosie. I guess the name just didn’t have the right body attached to it for your liking.’ She raised her eyebrow at the concept of being a male. Then, just as quickly shook her head, "Nah!" She liked the body she had been given, besides she was finding it quite comfortable.

Garrett continued on with her morning ritual as she readied herself for the meeting that both she and Danni were to have with Dr. McMurray. Her mind thinking about all the people that were making her life different from what it had been. Never would she have dreamed of feeling at home again. Yes, she had found some very good people here in the "’Burgh".

**************

The lively beat of the music was doing its job. The slow movements of the woman were beginning to show more life as her eyes began to open and survey the dimly lit bedroom. "By the gods! The sun isn’t even awake yet," she cried. Then she remembered what today’s meeting was to be about and her mind took on a new attitude. ‘Ah, yes! That meeting with Dr. McMurray about the proposed project.’

Her mind conjured up the image of her tall, raven-haired friend. The demanding perfectionist of a surgeon had scared them all, except for her. She wasn’t quite sure what it was about Garrett, but she knew that underneath the entire attitude was a really good person. "Yep, glad I called that one right.’ She smiled at the thought. ‘I bet she didn’t even know that she carried that baggage around with her all these years.’

As Danni closed her eyes, she could see the interior of the dimly lit cabin, the dark form sitting huddled in front of the fireplace, just staring into it. ‘I’m just glad that you bared your soul to me that night.’ She chuckled at the thought. ‘Not to mention your body, too!’ She could feel her face flush with warmth at the thought. ‘Oh! Better not go there.’

The nurse’s mind jerked her thoughts from the surgeon, to that of getting her small frame up and out of bed. She threw back the covers and found her dream journal tucked neatly where she had left it, under the extra pillow to her right. She picked it up and fingered the cover as she contemplated reading a passage or two. Then, deciding that she didn’t really have any time for it this morning, she placed it on the nightstand. She had her favorite passages and those she knew by heart. She let her mind recount them in her head. Her favorite one of all being that of the fierce, dark-haired warrior with the twinkling eyes. There wasn’t much more to remember. The dreams never lasted longer than a moment or two, and usually occurred right before she was waking. ‘If only I knew what they stood for. Maybe someday they’ll all make sense.’ "I’d better get a move on," she mumbled as she let her feet go over the edge of the mattress and on to the floor. She grabbed her robe and headed for the bathroom.

******************

She wasn’t quite sure whether it was the excitement of beginning the project or the anticipation of the meeting with the Chief of Trauma Services, but Danni was ahead of schedule for a daylight shift. Her morning was moving along rather nicely as she waited for Garrett to finish up in the bathroom. The half-cup of coffee left in her mug attested to that. She never would drink coffee at home in the morning, simply because she couldn’t get up in enough time to fix it and drink it, too. But Garrett, now that was a different story. The woman was an early riser. The routine of her mornings could be timed and viewed with the precision as any close ordered drill in the military, each second planned and executed without delay.

She settled into the comfortable, overstuffed chair in the living room. Danni liked the fact that she was able to relax a few extra minutes and slowly sipped at the creamy brown liquid that was completing her morning wake up. Her thoughts drifted to the upcoming meeting with Dr. McMurray. She thought about her apprehension the last time and decided not to let her nerves get the better of her. It didn’t make for a good impression of their team when one of them had to be pushed into the office while the other had to be physically dragged out of it. ‘Never thought that I could do that one.’ She flexed her biceps and laughed.

"What’s so funny?" Garrett asked as she passed through the room on her way to the upstairs. She dropped her duffel at the foot of the stairs as Danni began to answer.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about how strong I’ve become." She flexed her muscle once more and pointed at it. "See?"

The surgeon shook her head and continued up the stairs. "I’ve just got to get my toiletries for the night. I’ll be right down."

"Okay, I guess that you’re on-call tonight." Her voice trailed off as she made a face, wishing that she could be there all night, too. She contemplated the next twenty-four hours, or more, for the surgeon when the ringing of the phone disturbed her thoughts.

"I’ll get that, Gar," she yelled and made her way to the phone on the hall stand.

"Hello," she greeted the caller.

"Oh, Dan! I’m glad that I finally got a hold of you." The voice was full of life, as her younger sister always was.

"Yes, Brie. It’s me. You’re up awfully early. What can I do for you?" Danni liked her sister, but she knew what the phone call was going to be about, her missing Thanksgiving Dinner with the family. ‘Well, I made my choice and they’re going to have to live with it.’

"I was wondering why you didn’t come home for the holiday. Mother was very disappointed that we weren’t all together. You did remember that it was Thanksgiving last Thursday, didn’t you?" Her tone was sharp as she tried to show her sister what she thought. She paused, silently waiting for an answer.

"Danni," the husky voice called out from the second floor. "I can’t find my razor, do you have one that I can borrow?" Garrett stood patiently at the top of the stairs.

"Who’s that yelling?" Brie was quick to ask.

"Hang on a minute, Sis." Danni laid the phone down on the stand then crossed to the bottom of the staircase. "I have a spare one in the top drawer of my nightstand. Go ahead and take it. I’ll get some more at the store later this week."

"Thanks." The surgeon called back. "I owe you one."

The petite woman returned to the phone with a smile on her face. ‘I like this new Garrett even better.’ It was amazing how much they were growing to rely on one another. Taking a breath to bring her mind back into focus, Danni spoke into the receiver. "Okay, Sis, I’m back. Now, what was that question?"

"Never mind the question, I want to know who that was?" Brie was surprised at what she had heard over the phone. ‘Now, why would anyone want to borrow a razor? Unless…’ Her mind raced with possibilities until she heard her sibling start to talk.

"That was just Garrett, Brie."

"Garrett…Garrett who?"

"Oh, Dr. Trivoli, one of the Trauma Fellows this year." Danni’s voice was clear and without hesitation.

Then her sister took on another avenue of pursuit. "I guess that’s the reason you weren’t at dinner?" She smiled to herself. ‘Way to go, Danni. Mother always wanted a doctor in the family. We all knew you’d come around.’

"Ah…yeah, Garrett pulled that holiday to be on-call, so I volunteered to work, too. That way we ate together and Gar didn’t have to be all alone." Danni was proud of herself. She had answered with the truth and was feeling good about it. No more caving in to her family’s wishes. She was bound and determined to stand on her own.

"So you and this doctor are getting pretty friendly I see." Brie was testing the waters, trying to see just how much information she could extract from her sister without it being considered prying.

Garrett was standing at the bottom of the stairs now, putting her toiletry bag into her duffel. She motioned to her watch to signal her friend of the time, then whispered. "I’m leaving in two minutes, are we driving in together?"

Danni nodded her head and picked up her keys, shaking them in full sight. "Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you, Gar moved in with me a couple of months ago. Hey, Brie, I really got to run now or I’ll be late for work. I promise I’ll talk to you soon. Okay?"

"Yeah, get going, but we have to talk, and soon." There was a bit of urgency in her voice and Danni readily picked up on it.

"As soon as I can, Brie. Nothing’s wrong is there…with the pregnancy, I mean?"

"No, nothing with the baby. Now hurry before you’re late. Bye." She lingered on the phone line, straining to hear any other clues as to what was going on in her sister’s life.

"Bye," the nurse said, then called out to the waiting surgeon as she replaced the phone on to its cradle. "Okay, let me get my coat and I’m ready." ‘Well, that went better than I anticipated. She must be mellowing with the second pregnancy.’

Grabbing her coat as she passed by the chair that it was thrown over, she quickly put her arms into it and worked at the buttons as she went out of the already opened door. Pulling it closed behind her, she checked to make sure that it had locked and then went down the steps trying to catch up to her friend.

The nurse pushed all thoughts of the phone conversation out of her mind. It was going to be a big day and Danni wanted nothing to overshadow it.

**************

The tall surgeon had quickly begun her day as she accepted the trauma pager from her colleague. The ease with which she and Rene had at handing off to one another made others believe that they had been associates for a long time. It seemed that since Garrett had stepped foot into Pittsburgh, her whole life was changing for the better. So often her earlier days in medicine had been met with challenges by the mostly male dominated profession. They had all considered females to be inferior to them and therefore only tokens to keep the equal opportunities people off their backs. Oh, how she had proven them wrong. Her intent was to be the best and nothing less. That is where all of her energies were channeled, to her studies and to honing her skills as an aspiring surgeon.

Now, her efforts were beginning to pay off. She was at the top of her learning experience and had an excellent mentor in Dr. McMurray. She knew that what he had confided in her that first day on the job was true. Her technical skills were impeccable. It was her people skills that she needed to work on. ‘Thank the gods, for Danni.’ Her mind turned over how the petite nurse was making such a large impact on her life. It was as though fate had planned this move for her and there was nothing that was going to change it.

Garrett fidgeted behind the metal desk in her small office. She was growing nervous about the meeting with the Ol’ Cutter. She thought about his nickname, it seemed so appropriate for someone of his medical stature. McMurray always made her more aware of the world around her each and every time he started to talk about one of his photographs that decorated the large office, or his experiences in previous operative procedures. They were taken directly from his life and travels with his wife during his budding career. In a way, it was like learning from a wise old soul.

For a moment, Garrett turned very introspective and thought about what she would have to show of her early days in medicine as she imagined herself as Chief of Trauma Services sometime in the future. She looked down to her hands, the only thing that really symbolized her career thus far. "Maybe I should have them bronzed?" She joked. She could see herself now, trying to make a point, any point, and always reverting back to the bronzed hands. Sighing, she thought about it. ‘I guess they’re only good when you reach out to someone. I can see that talk becoming pretty boring after the second time.’ "Hmm…guess I’ve got a lot of reaching out to do."

Her thoughts were disturbed by the soft rapping on the office door. She looked up pensively from her hands. "Come in," she called out and waited to see what needed her attention now. She was relieved to see the face of Dr. Kreger, the Chief Resident on her service today. "Rob! What can I do for you?" Her voice was sincere. She actually liked her colleague and was glad to see that his initial fear of her was being overcome. She got the impression that he was a sponge trying to soak up all of the surgical skills that she could possibly show him. She liked having him on her trauma nights, especially now that he was coming into his own as a surgeon and finally realizing it himself. The importance of having confidence in yourself was necessary in this field, it added to your maturity and the sooner you learned it, the better you could become.

"I just stopped in to tell you not to worry about the meeting with the Ol’ Cutter today. I’ll cover the E.R. while you’re in conference with him." Rob winked in the knowledge that McMurray’s conferences were never short, his stories always taking precedence over time.

Garrett let her lower lip extend into a pout. "And I was going to hope for the trauma pager to go off," she teased. Her face took on a more normal expression as she nodded in acceptance. "Thanks, Rob. I appreciate that."

"Well, I know how much this project means to you. Say, if there is anything that I could help with…." Rob noticed that the Trauma Fellow’s expression was changing to one of happiness as her eyes began to twinkle in delight before she attempted to reign in her emotions, showing only the stoicism that she was known for. Her intermittent gaze distracted him as he followed it, turning to see what she was focusing on right past him. There, in the doorway, stood the blonde E.R. Nurse, Danni. Kreger’s voice stammered slightly as he continued. "But I…I…see that you probably have more help than you need already." He acknowledged her presence with a dip of his head.

Garrett spoke, her eyes still transfixed to Danni, "I’ll keep you in mind, Rob."

"Okay, I’ll…I’ll just go check in on that patient from earlier this morning. Good luck with McMurray." The Chief Resident excused himself to Danni as he made his way out the door. To be truthful, he felt a little awkward in that small office, especially standing in-between the two women. It was strange. He almost felt that he was intruding on something but just what, he wasn’t sure.

"Thanks, Rob!" "Thanks for the offer." The pair called slightly out of sync as he started off down the hall.

The nurse stepped into the room, her hand lingering on the doorknob. "Hey, Gar," she greeted her friend.

"Hey," was the return as the surgeon allowed the lopsided grin to take over her face. "You’re a little early, aren’t you?" She looked down at her watch. It was 0940.

"Yeah, well, tell it to my stomach. I don’t think those butterflies know how to tell time." She held on to her midsection and grimaced. "They started getting flighty about twenty minutes ago."

"Hmmm…" the surgeon looked very serious in thought. "Would you like me to write you out a script for some compazine? It will settle your stomach right up." Her eyebrow raised in question as she opened a drawer searching for a prescription pad.

The blonde hair quivered as the nurse shook her head, "No, I’ll pass this time." She then ventured further into the small office and closed the door. "Gar, do think that they accepted the whole proposal?"

"Well, I guess we’ll find out when we get the official rundown from McMurray in just a little while." The surgeon watched her friend as she was deep in thought. "Hey, this is really worrying you, isn’t it?"

"It’s just that I’ve never done anything like this before. I mean, write a proposal and all." She shrugged her shoulders. "I feel a little…" she searched for the right word to use, "overwhelmed by it all."

Garrett smirked at Danni’s insecurity. ‘You…insecure? Hardly!’ "Well, if I were you, I’d get used to it. I have a feeling that if we pull this project off, McMurray and the Board are going to expect more from us." ‘I’m sure of it. He’s into that damn teamwork thing. I know it.’

"Let’s just see what he has to say first, then maybe my stomach will settle down a bit and I’ll feel better." Danni bit at her lower lip then spoke. "Do you think we could change the subject? I mean, just for a few minutes."

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" She was curious now, was it just Danni’s nerves getting to her or did she have something genuine on her mind. "Anything in particular?"

‘Okay, it’s now or never.’ "Have you given any thought as to what you’re going to do after your Fellowship year is done? I mean…where you want to practice?"

"I’ll be honest with you, Danni. I’ve been too busy just getting through this year so far to really give it any kind of serious thought." The surgeon noticed the disappointed look on the face of the woman. "Why do you ask? Does it make any difference?"

The blonde casually shook her head, keeping a disinterested look on her face now. "No. I guess it doesn’t." ‘YES! Yes, it does! By the Gods, please don’t let her leave.’ "I was just wondering if the project would continue without you being here, that’s all." ‘I wonder if McMurray will expect me to continue it without you.’

"I really think that to give it any chance to do some good, it’s going to take more than just a couple of months to even get it off the ground. I don’t think that they would discontinue their support without giving it a fair shot." ‘She may have something there. Maybe I should plant my feet and stay a while, just to get it going. Hmmm…what do you think, Lucas?’ Garrett thought about her brother, after all, it was he that had brought her to this point in her life anyway. ‘I wonder, what exactly it is that you have planned for me?’

The small office was silent with the somber thoughts of the two women. Each one trying to figure out what role they played in this ongoing puzzle of their lives. Each one wanting to keep the other in sight, yet knowing that sometimes friendships are made only to be lost in the events of life with all of its comings and goings. Whatever happened to them down the road of life, each one knew that the other would always be there for them, if only in their memory.

The petite nurse raised her hand to wipe an isolated tear from her eye, as she thought of life without her ‘Amazon’. It would be lonely again just like before. In an effort to distract from her motions, she began to speak. "So, don’t you think we better get up to Dr. McMurray’s office. We don’t want to be late."

Garrett nodded her head. "Yeah, let’s show him how eager we are." She looked over at the nurse. "Danni, am I going to have to push you inside this time or are you walking in with me?" She teased.

"What do you think?" Her tone was defensive and her body reacted to the challenge, her balled fists now rested on her hips. "I was just…just a little taken aback by how big that office was last time, that’s all." She tried to make an excuse for her previous shyness at their last meeting. "Now don’t be silly. You’ll see. I’ll follow you right in." She winked and wrinkled up her nose, still a little shy about being in the presence of such a powerful player in the hospital politics.

The surgeon got up from her desk, moving to the door where she stopped before opening it. Then, with Danni filed in behind her, she softly stated, "Oh, so that means that I’ll be pulling you in after me instead, eh?"

The tall woman quickly let her long strides move her body just out of reach into the hallway. The small nurse was still in the office doorway as she tried to swat at the surgeon in a playful fashion for the comment. The joking banter that ensued as they made their way to the meeting place was like music to their ears and put both of them very much at ease. All thoughts of coming or going were gone and only the time at present would fill their minds. Somewhere along the way, Danni forgot all about those pesky butterflies and just enjoyed her time with her friend.

*******************

The snow was blowing across the driveway in little whirlwinds of flurries. The year was fading fast into winter and the cold weather was being more than generous in its down pouring of the white ground covering.

McMurray stood transfixed to the window, taking all of the conditions into account. His mind still drawn to that warm sensation that he felt when he saw the excited look on his new team’s faces when he had told them the good news on Thanksgiving. He laughed and shook his head at his own doings on the insistence of his wife. ‘I ought to have my head examined. The Chief of a whole department braving a snow squall on a holiday just to pass on some news to a nurse and a Trauma Fellow.’ "Bet they never expected to see me," he grunted. ‘Guess I did look kind of funny being all covered with snow like some arctic teddy bear all bundled up.’ His face was one of disgust at the thought of being a teddy bear, all cute and cuddly. It was not the persona that the Ol’Cutter would like to be thought of. After all, who would respect and fear a teddy bear?

The intercom buzzer sounded, putting an abrupt end to his thoughts. The irritation was evident in his voice. "Yes! What is it?"

"Your ten o’clock appointment is here. Shall I send them in?" The voice of his secretary squeaked and crackled over the intercom, the transmission barely audible.

‘I don’t understand why in the age of computer technology we still can’t get a better system installed in this hospital. That system was probably new in the late 1950’s.’ He glanced over at his desk and the note that was jotted on his daily calendar sheet, a reminder of a problem that needed to be addressed if the proposed project was to get off the ground. ‘Well, at least they’re eager. I wonder how long that will last when they find out what they have to do?’

Several minutes had gone by without a response from the man on the other side of the door. The secretary was concerned that her transmission had not been heard. As she leaned forward in preparation of rebroadcasting it, the mechanically disjointed sound of McMurray’s voice filled the room. "Send them in."

The older woman rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You can go in now, Dr. Trivoli, Nurse Bossard."

Danni could feel the wings of those butterflies coming to life as she edged closer to her tall companion. She found comfort in the quiet reserve of the surgeon. Their eyes met as they each assured one another of their conviction to the project. Garrett had already plotted their course and now it was time to set sail. With renewed vigor, the surgeon stepped forward into the large office as the nurse followed closely behind, pausing only to close the door.

With the team intact, they stood silently before the large desk, waiting for the Ol’ Cutter to acknowledge them. They exchanged several sidelong glances between them as they waited to hear what Dr. McMurray had to say, the nurse and the surgeon both wondering what held his attention as he stood peering out of the window. The first sound that they heard coming from him was that of a deep sigh.

A moment passed before his voice slowly asked the question. "Do you believe in fate?" He didn’t wait for either of them to answer him. Instead he continued with his own thoughts for them to hear. "I used to believe that I controlled my own destiny until I learned a valuable lesson. You’re always at someone’s mercy.

You just have to hope that you can fulfill their needs first before you can fulfill your own." He shook his head as he started to turn to face them. "Enough about philosophy, you want to hear about that proposal of yours. Right?"

The two women were confused by his opening of philosophy, but were eager to find out what they were going to be doing at the Board’s request. The quick flickering of their eyes from one to the other was all that McMurray needed to see to know the answer to his question. "Well, let’s get down to business then. Take a seat." He motioned to the two cushioned chairs that faced the front of his desk. "We’ve got some things to discuss."

Danni and Garrett took their seats without hesitation and sat leaning forward in an ever-attentive manner as they watched the burly man settle into his own high backed chair.

The Ol’Cutter eyed them up, one at a time, then smiled rakishly as he began his speech. "The Board liked the idea and commended you both for the proposal. You have their full blessing and authority to proceed with your plan. The other departments have been instructed to give you all the support that you feel is necessary."

He watched the faces across from him, as each one took the information into their beings. As a team, they covered both ends of the gamut, Danni whose face was beaming with excitement, and then there was Garrett who seemed more reserved and hesitant. ‘Hmmm…one balances the other. They will be a good team.’"In other words, you have carte blanche on the project. It’s all in your hands. You’ll report directly to the Board."

The blonde became shell shocked as that last statement settled on her ears. It was more than she had hoped for. "WOW! Talk about teamwork!’ The butterflies had subsided and an euphoric feeling was rolling across her being now. The petite nurse was so pleased that her friend would be given a chance to heal and, in the process, help others that needed it too. The shimmering of her green eyes was evident as they bounced from Dr. McMurray to her surgeon teammate and back again. "Why, that’s great news. Don’t you think…" Danni looked at Garrett’s face and stopped dead in her thought.

The surgeon narrowed her eyes and gazed across the desk, completely intent on studying the man on the other side. Her mind thought back to Thanksgiving evening when McMurray made the surprise visit to them in the E.R. He had casually mentioned something about getting a lot of rest to them before he left. ‘Something about the Board having plans for us…’ She reached out her hand until it came to rest on Danni’s, causing the nurse to pause and look at her friend.

"Danni, I don’t think that’s all the Board has in mind for us. It’s too good to be true. There has to be a catch somewhere."

The nurse thought for a moment then slowly realized that Garrett was right. "What do you mean by a catch?" Her face turned solemn as she waited for the answer. She looked back and forth between the two surgeons and waited.

It was like a game of poker between the two surgeons, where the stakes were all or nothing, and each one trying to outwit the other before showing their cards. The stoic masks dropped over their faces in an effort not to divulge their thoughts as each one wondered who would be the first to speak.

Finally after several minutes went by, Danni spoke up as she tried to mediate an end to the childish behavior. "Come on now, we’re all on the same team here I thought." She got up and physically stood in the middle of their gaze, putting an abrupt end to the stand off. ‘These two have to have been made out of the same mold.’ She placed her hands on her hips and demanded their attention. "Now, is someone going to tell me what this is all about? Or do I have to give you both a time out?" ‘If you want to act like children, I’ll treat you like children.’

She glared at them both taking turns from one to the other. The shocked look on both of their faces made her think of whom she was dealing with. Suddenly Danni felt small and insignificant as she stood with the Chief of Trauma Services on one side of her and the perfectionistic Trauma Fellow on the other. ‘By the gods, I’m making a fool of myself.’ She smiled politely and moved slowly back to her chair, apologizing for her interference. "I’m sorry, but I just don’t think this is getting us anywhere. Do you?" She collected her composure and waited for the storm to break around her. ‘Why did I ever think that I needed to get involved in this?’ She wrinkled her nose and sat quietly waiting for any kind of response.

McMurray was stunned by the nurse’s actions. He could tell by the look on Trivoli’s face that she was, too. ‘Good God! She’s got moxie! She’ll do all right.’ The man just shook his head in disbelief. "You think that you could work closely with her on a permanent basis, Trivoli?" The Chief nodded in her direction.

Danni bit at her lip, waiting for Garrett’s answer. She prayed that it would be to her liking.

"Perhaps I should ask what you mean by closely before I answer that." Garrett found herself intrigued by the question.

The sound of a half laugh and half grunt was all that came out of him as he smirked at his underling. "You have good reason to ask," he acknowledged her. "Seems that the Board liked the numbers that you two have when you work together. Ian McCormick may not be an ideas man but he knows his way around the numbers." McMurray rubbed his chin. "The Board is willing to give you what you want on your proposal if you do them a favor."

Garrett eyed him cautiously. "What kind of…" she toyed with the word, "favor…would that be?" Her voice was cold and calculating. She thought of all the possibilities in an endless list of scenarios. ‘I’m a damn good surgeon. What more could they want?’

McMurray drew in a deep breath. He knew that what he had to say was not going to be received well at all by either of them. ‘I just hope that they see the merit in all of this.’ "All right! The bottom line is this. The Board wants you out of the O.R. on a regular basis for the rest of you Fellowship." ‘Okay, time for the volcano to erupt.’

"They’re idiots!" ‘My life is the operating theatre, how can I walk away from it?’ Garrett’s eyes were turning to crystals of ice as she stared at McMurray, while her blood was quickly rising in temperature to boiling mad.

Danni quickly picked up on her friend’s outrage. "You’ve got to be kidding!" She looked jokingly at Garrett, small quips of laughter coming from her throat, then seeing the surgeon’s face unchanged and serious, she gasped. "You’re not! What kind of favor would that be for the Board or for the patients?" Her eyes shifted to McMurray as she searched for an answer. The blonde’s eyes penetrated deeply into the brown of the Doctor’s to see if he was serious.

He nodded. "It’s not what you’re thinking, although…" he paused for effect, "you may think differently about it when it’s over and done with. Why, look at all of the exposure you will get to different hospitals and surgeons."

The two women looked at each other then concentrated their gaze at him, each one raising an eyebrow in skepticism.

"And what exactly would you mean by that?" Garrett was first to ask.

"Yeah, what exactly?" Danni’s brow furrowed with worry.

"Let’s just say that you two," he laughed and pointed to them both, "are going to spend more time together than most married couples do."

"I don’t understand. What could that possibly…"

"Trivoli, you’re not paid to understand. You’re just expected to do your best in the environment that we give you." His ears picked up the sound of an incoming helicopter, the whirring of the blades getting louder as it sliced its way through the air in the distance. A smile came to the face of McMurray as he swiveled his chair to look out the window. ‘I couldn’t have asked for any better timing if I’d have planned it.’ His eyes followed the speck in the distance until it became clearly visible on its descent to the helipad outside of the E.R.

"The Board wants to draw some marketable attention to the hospital and what we do here. They all feel that their best bet is to capitalize on you and the good PR that you can bring, not to mention that you two aren’t lacking in the looks department." He gauged the landing of the helicopter outside and continued as he swiveled back to face them. "Everybody and their brother was hyped about the new millenium last year. Well, this New Year’s actually the start of that millenium with the date 2001. They want to use it to our advantage."

The noise of the spinning rotors was getting louder now as the Ol’ Cutter raised his voice to speak over it. "You, Dr. Trivoli are going to be our first Flight Surgeon onboard the helicopters and Nurse Bossard will be your team member.’’ McMurray theatrically swung his chair to face his window, just as the helicopter was hovering in its descent to the pad below. "Welcome to the new millenium of care."

The swirling snow outside the window gave the helicopter an eerie appearance. The eyes of both women were riveted on it, their minds in a quandary of thoughts.

Finally, after the noise of the helicopter had died down and the window was now devoid of any remaining reminders of it, Garrett spoke out. "You can’t expect me to operate in one of those. There’s not enough room to take care of a bad splinter let alone a trauma of any significant source."

"So, you’ve been in one…eh?" His voice was gruff but teasing.

"Been in one, hell! I’ve ridden in them when I was in the Navy and those were a lot bigger."

Garrett’s mind flashed with the scene of the military helicopter as it sat there on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. The hum of the engine was gone, as were the members of the crew that had flown her in. Well, all except for the lone crewman that stood a silent vigil at the tail section. His eyes never left the sight of the tail rotor as it moved slightly with the rolling seas underneath the ship. She watched the man standing alone, noticing that he was mumbling from time to time to some unseen entity. The closer she came to the tail section, the more details drew her attention to the rotors. There, on one of the blades, were the stains of dried blood. Her naturally curious mind analyzed the pattern of blood splatters as her eyes searched for more. With only a few more feet to travel before she was next to the crewman, he turned toward her, revealing the remnants of bits and pieces of a human being that were still clinging to his uniform. He looked almost catatonic in his stare. The mumbling barely loud enough for Garrett to hear his isolated phrases. It took only a minute or two before she could piece together that the downed crewman had been his friend. His lips moved with words that only his heart had ever thought about before, professing the camaraderie that they had shared.

Danni was still in shock from the recent turn of events. Her mind trying to grasp at anything that could bring her back to something real and tangible. ‘They can’t expect me to ride in one of those. There’s nothing holding it to the ground.’ Her eyes blinked rapidly as her mind fathomed a plummeting airship. Then with a note of disbelief she stammered out. "You…You’ve ridden in hel…helicopters?"

The surgeons mind was pulled back to the present as she tried to focus her attention to the question. "Yeah, that’s how they got me from ship to ship when I’d have to replace a surgeon for any reason." She thought back on her Naval experiences, then smiled and commented. "It sure beat using a Boson’s chair." Her mind flashed with the scene of the blue green water of the Pacific Ocean churning below her as she made her way from one ship to another, belted into a chair that was tethered on a cable stretched between the two. The weather had been too rough for anything to be launched off of the Carrier. By the gods, how she had prayed that the Captains would keep the ships on course and matched in speed so as not to snap the cable, allowing her to be tossed into the ocean or worse. Garrett shuddered with the thought. ‘Don’t even want to think of that one.’

"Boson’s Chair?" The blonde was at a lose for an explanation. "I don’t understand. What’s so bad about a chair?"

Garrett thought for a moment trying to find something that the nurse would understand to compare it to. "It would be like sitting on a chair dangling by a cable stretched between two race cars. One wrong move and…"

"Oh, my!" Danni drew her hand up to her mouth as she tried to catch her breath. For the first time, the young woman was realizing just how sheltered her life had been. She could just see her mother’s reaction if that had been her. ‘Those times at the cabin were nothing compared to that.’ She remembered her fondness for climbing out on the limb of that old Maple tree as it overhung the lake and diving off it into the water below. ‘But at least the tree was planted firmly on the ground and when I dove in, the water cushioned my fall.’ She felt a shiver run up her spine at the idea of falling from the sky, untethered to the ground below and nothing to cushion the impact.

The nurse studied her tall friend who was now pacing the room. She could see the maturity that life and its experiences had brought to the surgeon and wondered why she was being exposed to all of this now. Danni looked up at the man who was eyeing her.

"You’re kidding, right?" She waited for an answer. McMurray only shook his head and smiled warily. Her shoulders slumped and she voiced a breathy but disappointed, "You’re not. The Board wants Garrett to fly into surgeries, literally."

"And you, too, Nurse Bossard."

"The Board feels that your presence in the air will be a highly visible marketing tool to the smaller hospitals in the area, a Trauma Surgical Team flying in to their world. They want your faces to be more recognizable than the presidential candidates." He further elaborated.

Danni chuckled at that thought. "Well, that won’t be hard." It was the nurse’s attempt at weak humor, her usual front line defense when she felt ill at ease in a situation. "But what am I suppose to do? I’ve never been in a helicopter. In fact, the last time that I was even on an airplane was…." The petite nurse gulped hard trying to settle her stomach at the thought, but the telltale pallor was stretching across her features.

Danni’s mind rehashed her only plane ride. It wasn’t hard to remember. There is only so much that one can commit to memory spending almost the entire flight in a catatonic state. Her fear of flying was not easily overcome. Rosie had tried numerous times to get her to come out of her self imprisoned denial of the flight, but Danni just couldn’t do it, or at least her mind wouldn’t let her. It had been the worst vacation that Rosie had ever had, not to mention the blonde nurse. Even after they had landed and she was back on firm ground, it didn’t ease up. The only thing that her mind kept focusing on was the return flight home. It not only effected her waking mind but also her sleep. Rosie finally conceded and cashed in their plane tickets for the return flight home after a second sleepless night. Danni thought about the little trip into her not so pleasant past. ‘I wonder if she will be able to understand?’

The eyes of the surgeon noted the change in her friend’s coloring and the uneasy look on her face. Garrett stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face her mentor. Her eyes narrowed and she raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You…You want us to fly in and save the day at these little ass Podunk’s of a hospital and make the Board look like it’s reaching out with services to every little nook and cranny of the area." The surgeon’s eyes flashed with anger. "Whose idea was that, the accountant?"

"What’s the matter, Doctor, you afraid that you might have to interact with more people who don’t know your likes and dislikes?" McMurray looked directly at the tall woman. ‘Okay, call me a liar, but I know that’s part of the reason.’ "Maybe if you would put the patient first and not your damn need for perfection, then…" McMurray stopped and just stared at her. ‘Jeez, I just pushed that too far. She’ll bolt and run for sure now.’

Both women were studying his face now, trying to see where he stood. Could he seriously be considering this? The office was silent as all three stared at one another, then finally the silence was broken.

"Come on, Danni. We don’t have to listen to this nonsense." She turned and started to walk toward the door of the office as the nurse slowly rose to join her.

"You do if you want that proposal to become a reality." McMurray called out to her. Garrett’s outstretched hand hesitated on the doorknob as Danni froze in mid step and turned to look back at the man. "You do this for the Board and you have carte blanche with your project. It’s as simple as that." The Ol’Cutter got up and circled the high backed chair. "I know that this project means something to you both. Damn it! It’s that or nothing as far as the Board’s concerned."

"I’m not going to have our faces put all over the place. I’m not some publicity seeking egomaniac and neither is she." The dark-haired woman pointed to her friend and then just shook her head in dismay. "We don’t need to be high profile in our jobs. Flying in a helicopter is dangerous enough with the blades looming overhead and the jet fuel onboard. We don’t need to be on the lookout for crazed fans, too."

"Is that your concern, fans? I’ll tell them that the PR is for the hospitals only and not to go to the general public. Will that help?" McMurray sat down and waited for an answer.

"Gar…er…Dr. Trivoli, maybe we should think about this." Danni looked pleadingly to the tall surgeon. ‘How bad could it be…I mean she only has six months left to the Fellowship. I just know that the project would help her, too.’ There she was, putting her friends and others before herself, once again. ‘Now, really, how many flights could they need a surgeon on? Maybe I’ll feel better in a helicopter…Yeah, right!’ She rolled her eyes knowing that it wouldn’t make a difference.

Garrett thought about all the lonely people that the project could bring out of their depression and agony of being the one left living after a family tragedy. ‘If I can’t do it here, I’ll just wait and do it somewhere else after this year is up.’ She looked over at Danni. Those green eyes were speaking in volumes that were screaming into the surgeon’s head. ‘By the gods, how can she be so giving? I bet she doesn��t even understand all of the hazards that she’s asking me to let her be a part of. Why, if anything were to happen to her….’ The tall woman pursed her lips and licked her teeth as she thought about the situation. She weighed the pros and cons in her mind as she occasionally stole glances at the blonde woman in front of her. She was probably going to regret this one day, but she didn’t have the heart to say no while she was looking at those hopeful eyes. ‘I’ll just have to make sure that she’s well prepared for this endeavor. By the gods, I don’t want anything to ever happen to her.’

"Oh, all right!" She muttered and walked back over to the chair then sat down. "But there’ll be some things ironed out here and now, first." She’d go through with it but only on mutually agreed upon terms.

The nurse’s happiness was piqued at the idea of her friend getting the help and support that she’d need to deal with her past experiences. Danni smiled, allowing her nose to wrinkle up in delight. She patted her friend’s arm and quickly assumed the role of mediator in the ensuing peace talks.

********************

It was nearly lunchtime when the petite nurse and her tall companion emerged from the office of Dr. McMurray. Neither one looked truly happy, but they were rather satisfied that an agreement had been worked out. Danni had done her best to keep the tempers and the egos from gaining any footholds in the negotiations. Garrett’s main concern was for both her and her partner to be properly trained and readied to assume the roles of a flight crew. The surgeon was not one for improvisation when the lives of her crew or their patient were at stake. The nurse had also pointed out that the time spent indoctrinating them into the routine and workings of the helicopter crews would only add to their PR potential. One mistake in the public eye would not only discredit them but the hospital as well.

Danni was glad that the compromises were ones that everyone would be able to live with. ‘Well,’ she thought, ‘almost everyone.’ She still wasn’t sure that she would be able to do it, but she was willing to walk through hell if she had to for the support group to become a reality. ‘I’m not about to be the cause of this not happening.’ She thought about her nice and easy world as she was used to it. It was never going to be the same. At least not for the rest of the time that Garrett Trivoli was here in Pittsburgh. She sighed at that thought and felt the butterflies once again coming to life in her stomach.

Garrett’s mood was somber and thoughtful as she matched strides with her friend while they walked away from the office. She was pleased that she had stood her ground enough to get them the training that they would need to be a cohesive team. She realized that it would be taking away from her time in the O.R. but didn’t want to chance any unforeseen problems with her new friend. The surgeon cast a wayward glance in the nurse’s direction. ‘I bet she’s scared to hell and back.’ She was amazed at how much she was finding out about this woman. More than she had known about anybody in her lifetime. ‘Lucas, you’d be proud of her. She’s just like you, following me wherever my path leads.’

Chapter 2

The days seemed to fly by with little or no effort on the part of Danni. Her mind was being kept occupied with thoughts of everything but her normal nursing duties. First it was the rigorous physical conditioning that started off each and every morning for both her and the surgeon. It was to give them better strength and endurance for the days ahead. At times, she wondered if they were ever going to see a patient again. Thanks to the Cardiac Rehab Unit, they were able to use the indoor walking track each morning before the daily patrons made their way to it. With the weather turning more and more towards winter, it proved to be a blessing in disguise. She just couldn’t imagine herself being pried out of her nice warm bed to run out of doors. At least this way she was able to wake up a little first without the help of the elements.

They were already into the second week of their training when they were informed of the demands on their time for additional classroom periods and mock flight simulations to round out their days. If anybody had thought that this was going to be a piece of cake, they were badly mistaken. Danni could remember her days in nursing classes in college and thinking that they were tough with little or no time for herself. Now she found herself wishing for those days once more. They were cramming everything that they could into her, from how to use pieces of field equipment on the patient, to how to suppress the outbreak of fire in the helicopter while in flight. With each new day and skill that she learned, her admiration for the members of the EMS System and Flight Crews rose considerably.

At times Danni found herself enamoured with the thought of being a part of the "White Knight’s" team and swooping in with rotors-a-whirling to rescue the victim of trauma from the clutches of death. Then there were the other times, mostly at the end of the day, when all she wanted to do was just go home and die in a hot bath. Today was one of those. They had been learning to move patients on and off of the helicopter. It sounded easy enough, besides, she and Garrett moved patients in the trauma room all of the time. Boy, was there a difference when it was just the two of them and not an entire trauma team plus the medics to help. Garrett seemed to have no problem, but with the nurse’s petite frame and stature, she was finding muscles that she never knew existed as she tried to compensate for her size.

‘Gosh! I feel like every muscle in my body is crying for attention.’ Her body seemed to just melt into the warm water of the bath as she lowered herself down into it. The suds of the bubble bath encased her body as it passed through them.

Danni didn’t know whether her shoulders were sore from lifting the dummy filled stretcher in and out of the back of the helicopter or from the constant hunching over that they had to do when in the vicinity of the blades on the rotor. ‘I wonder how Garrett can keep up that posture?’ Then, when she thought of watching her friend in the O.R., standing stoop-shouldered as she worked on the patient. The nurse began to shake her head. "It figures! She’s used to it."

"Used to what, Danni?" The tall surgeon yelled out as she stopped outside of the door in the hall.

‘Caught, again!’ The blonde stuck her tongue out at the door. "Nothing, Gar. I was just talking to myself." ‘Sometimes I swear that she hears better than an owl.’ Then she laughed to herself as her mind played with an idea. ‘I wonder if Superman had a sister?’

"If that hot soak doesn’t loosen up those muscles in your back, I could give you a massage when you’re done. Danni…Danni…." Garrett listened for a reply but there was nothing but the sound of small splashes coming from the room. ‘Poor kid. I don’t think she realized that it was going to be this strenuous. I sure hope she isn’t going through all of this for nothing.’

The woman thought about all the things that they had been doing together as a team now. Each one learning more about the other without really trying to. When they worked as a team, their catalyst was pure instinct. ‘We’re either going to do this together…or not at all. I'll never find someone that knows my needs like she does.’

She started to walk back towards her room. The more she thought about the young woman that fate had brought into her world, the more Garrett realized how empty her world had been. ‘I don’t really think that I’d want to do this with anyone else.’ Then she smirked and shook her head. ‘Who’d be able to put up with me…especially in such cramped quarters?’

Garrett thought about the turbulent rides that she had in a helicopter, her mind then compared those to Danni’s growing motion sickness in the back of a swaying ambulance. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t let her eat before we take that first flight…just in case?’ The surgeon made a mental note to look back in on her friend in a little while then went to check on her mail.

Danni yawned, as her body was beckoning her to rest. The day was quickly catching up to her. Her body had finally allowed itself to come off of full alert status, and now…it needed sleep to heal and strengthen itself. The tired nurse succumbed almost instantly to the lure of the warm water as it swaddled her into sleep.

"Danni…Danni…" the throaty tones echoed in her head. "Ahhh! There it was!" Her muscles recognized that sudden feel of warmth as it stretched across her shoulders. Her flesh seemed to move willingly with the pressure as the strong touch molded her like clay in an artist’s hands. The gentle kneading sensations acting like a cosmic regeneration of some long ago depleted life force. Every change of direction causing the electrically charged particles to run rampant throughout her body, registering passions and delights beyond her realm of thought. She could feel her body tingling now as it betrayed her silent want to it’s very core.

Shadows of the night now loomed across her eyelids as the dark form called out to her from above. The outstretched hand summoning her with a warming sensation that would fill her body with its own language of the night, causing it to soar aloft in the sweet basking glow of the heavens as she floated amongst the clouds. Tender, so very tender was that soft, lingering touch that her body wanted nothing more than to melt at this very moment, never again to feel the need for another’s touch.

Her senses were dulled now as the last waves of exhaustive pleasure rolled through her body taking all of the aches and pains from her. She could hear the world calling to her and with a blurry eye, chose to slowly grasp on to her place and time. There, coming into a sharper view in front of her was the dark form, with beams of dazzling light emitting from around it. It seemed so surreal that it took her breath away, causing her to gasp for air.

"Danni, are you okay?" The voice whispered, trying hard not to startle her. The large but gentle hand reached out to caress her cheek again. "Come on sleepy head. I think that this hot soak has given you just about all that it can. Time to dry off now before you catch a chill." Garrett was sitting on the edge of the tub. Her tall form was towering up above the small woman as it blocked the overhead light from her eyes.

The petite woman felt unclear as to what was real and what had been part of her dream. She could feel an inner peace within herself as her mind acknowledged the presence of her friend. "That was nice," she purred in her wakening state. "Could we do that again some time?"

"Sure, anytime that you want." The surgeon spoke softly, not wanting to scare her. ‘She obviously isn’t talking about today’s activities.’ Garrett brushed a stray lock of hair from the woman’s face. "Well, by the look on your face, my friend, it seems to have done you a world of good, whatever it was." Garrett eyed her with a slightly raised eyebrow.

The blonde’s eyes were open now as her mind registered where she was. The loving expression that was on her face only a second ago now turned quickly into one of startled embarrassment. ‘This couldn’t have been real, could it?’ She asked herself as her eyes searched for a towel. Danni was finding it hard to avoid Garrett’s gaze. "What do you mean, whatever it was? Didn’t you just massage…I mean…offer me a massage?" She looked into her friend’s longing stare and realized that nothing had transpired between them. ‘No, just a dream, that’s all it was.’ Her shoulders slumped at the thought of missing the warming touch of her friend.

"Here," Garrett held the bath towel out for her to take. "It looks like you’re pretty relaxed right now. Maybe next time." ‘Maybe next time I should give her the massage before I let her bathe?’ Then getting up as she sensed the embarrassment that she had caused, "I’ll…I’m just going to go to bed now. I’ll see you in the morning." Garrett hesitated before moving toward the door, letting her eyes wonder across the flexed shoulders with just hints of clinging bubbles remaining on the delicate skin.

The nurse watched in amazement as the door closed once more leaving her alone. ‘By the gods! It felt so real.’ Danni lifted her body partially out of the tepid bath water, allowing the cooler room air to give her a chill. Her arms automatically crossed over her chest in an effort to stave off the multiplying goose bumps on her skin. "What the…?" The blonde woman looked down at her nipples that were already hard and raised. She hung her head and sighed, then mumbled under her breath. "Danni girl, you’ve got it bad. Real bad!"

********************

The night was winding down to the pleasure of the E.R. staff. It had been a little hectic at the start of their shift last evening but soon cleared out around 2 A.M. when the traumas started to roll in the door. There hardly ever seemed to be a slow time anymore. When all the rooms were emptied out and the last trauma sent to Radiology for an angiogram, the staff tried to relax.

Karen, the Charge Nurse, was finding it a little lonesome without her two pseudo-daughters around. She hadn’t seen either of them except for a quick pass through of the E.R. on their way to the gym or the classroom for the EMS Services. Her girls both looked fine except for the hurried look on their faces as they waved and yelled a warm hello in her direction, never pausing or breaking their step as they continued off into the world of helicopters.

It was a little over two weeks now and even Rosie was showing signs of an empty nest syndrome. The spirited nurse was looking at the door in anticipation of her friends’ arrival. "It’s funny how you get used to people being there and then one day, they’re just not." She looked kind of funny at the older nurse next to her. "Mom, are we ever going to get Danni and Garrett back…I mean…to the E.R.?"

Mom just shook her head in disbelief. "Weren’t you the one that wanted to crucify her on July first?"

"Well, yeah, but that was then. She ain’t so bad once you get to know her a little." Rosie shrugged her shoulders.

"And we have Danni to thank for that not so small feat." Mom sighed.

"You miss her, don’t you, Mom?"

Karen sniffed back a tear and nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I do. I miss them both." She hesitated, and then continued. "I even miss you, too, Rosie, when you’re gone for a length of time."

Rosie opened her mouth to answer that but just stared at the door instead. Then glancing over to Mom, she whispered. "Well, don’t look now, but the prodigal daughters just walked in." Her face was turning into a smile.

"Huh? Oh…ah…" Karen was trying to peer over top of the computer screen at her desk. Then the two familiar figures came into sight and her mind felt at ease. "Hi! How are you two doing today?"

The pair walked toward the desk, as each one, in their own way, waved and greeted the group, calling out their names as they came into view. Danni felt like she was coming home with all of the faces smiling her way.

Finally the question was asked. "What, no quick wave and run through of the E.R.? You two doing something different today?" Rosie was just being her usual smart aleck self.

Garrett raised her eyebrow at the remark. "Like we actually have a choice at what’s planned for us." The tall surgeon was not at all enthused about the day to come, and it was evident.

Danni just shook her head. "It’s not going to be that bad now, Garrett. Let’s try to be positive about this."

"I am. I’m positive that I’m not going to enjoy this morning."

"Why? What do they have planned for you this morning?" Mom asked, looking directly at Garrett.

The tall surgeon coughed and talked at the same time, causing her words to be mumbled and unintelligible.

"What did you say?" Mom looked at the uncomfortable posture of the surgeon. "Come on, it can’t be all that bad. Just say it and get it over with."

Her voice registered low and slightly more than a whisper at first. "Publicity photos. We have to have the publicity photos done today."

The petite nurse reached up and rubbed her hand across the back of the leather jacket that Garrett was wearing. "Now it wasn’t that bad to say, was it?" She looked up at her friend, trying to get her to agree. "Garrett?"

The tall woman was noticing that Danni took every chance that she could to be touching the leather of her jacket. ‘Hmm…could she be liking this jacket that much?’ "I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. Why can’t they just use my hospital I.D. photo?" The surgeon took her wallet out of her pocket and proceeded to sort through it until her hospital issued identification tag was in her hand. "Now, tell me, what’s wrong with that picture?" She held it out for everyone to see.

"Dr. Trivoli, nothing’s wrong with it…if you’re already in jail." The older nurse could barely keep a straight face. The tall surgeon was part of her family now, and fair game, just like everyone else. "If you showed me this, I wouldn’t leave you anywhere near my drugs. Yeah, this would make for a wonderful press release." All attempts to keep from laughing were put to a stop as Mom openly started a contagious belly laugh.

The surgeon just shook her head from side to side. "I should have expected as much from you."

The sight of a man slowly walking in through the doors took all of Garrett’s attention away from the group. She didn’t know what was wrong with the man, if anything, but her gut feelings were that he needed her help now. The surgeon had learned a long time ago to follow her intuitions without hesitation and this time was no different. She took off abruptly for the man as she lobbed her open wallet at Karen for safekeeping.

Karen caught the wallet as the contents spilled out onto the counter. "Hey, I was only teasing you. You didn’t have to throw…" She looked up to see Garrett catching the slumping man in her arms and laying him down on the floor. "Oh my! Danni, Rosie go help her." Mom quickly gathered up the disheveled contents of the wallet and stuffed them inside of her lab jacket pocket along with the wallet. She quickly made her way over to the empty stretchers lined along the hallway and wheeled one over to the area of activity by the door.

The two nurses quickly dropped to the cold tile floor and joined the surgeon as they tried to evaluate the cause of his collapse. Garrett hastily ascertained his ability to breathe as Danni searched for a pulse. The only visible sign of trouble at this time was the trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth. Rosie busied herself with the removal of his bulky outer clothing as they waited for Karen and their mode of transport to the back hallway and the Trauma Room.

"Sir! Sir!" The strong commanding voice of the surgeon broke through the quiet of the area but elicited no response for the man at her knees. Faces of the staff now emerged from every corner and filled the desolate hallway. "We need a little assistance here." Her words sparked a flurry of motion as the staff rallied to help and together they lifted the weighty man up from the floor and onto the waiting stretcher.

Within seconds they were in the room set up for such emergent needs, with all of the necessary equipment at their disposal. The impromptu team all worked together to find the cause of the patient’s ill health, each one accepting their role in this life or death scenario without a second thought. They were all there for the patient and for each other.

Mom assumed her role as overseer of the flurried activity within the brightly-lit room. Her job would be to record the actions taken and their time of deliverance, along with anticipating any ancillary needs of the team before her. She knew her job and did it well. The arrival of a technologist from the Radiology Department was evidence of that.

Garrett looked up from her patient as the last remnants of his clothing were stripped off, only to see the familiar face of the X-ray Tech across from her, as she loaded a cassette for an X-ray under the patient’s chest. When their eyes met, she nodded her approval and continued on with her physical assessment of the downed man. Only seconds later did she hear the warning, "Clear the chest. X-ray!" She reflexively withdrew her hands from that area of the body as she let her eyes continue assessing the man’s condition.

Danni and Rosie responded in their usually coordinated manner of working together. It was as if they had never been separated for the last two weeks. The petite blonde nurse assuming the role of Trauma Nurse One, as she readily connected the patient up to the telemetry monitor and verbalized the initial readings, as each one became available. "Pulse 110, BP 100 over 76." She turned to double check the positioning of the finger probe for the pulse oximeter, "O2 saturation 94 per cent."

Rosie was right next to the tall surgeon as she was that first day of Garrett’s fellowship, only this time any thoughts that she had were strictly on the patient as she worked feverishly to gain I.V. assess in the patient’s left arm. "Okay, I.V.’s in! Sixteen gauge in the left AC." She announced without ever really thinking about it, as she placed the last piece of tape to secure it in place.

"Okay, no injuries showing on his anterior aspect. Let’s role him and check his back." Garrett watched as the staff opposite her log rolled the patient’s body into themselves to expose his back to her. The skilled eyes of the surgeon roamed freely over the entire expanse of the man’s posterior surface. There, just below his costaphrenic angle on the right was a small laceration. She gently inserted her gloved finger to see the extent of its penetration. ‘Hmmm…there’s his rib,’ she moved her finger in the opposite direction. ‘Feels like a downward direction to me. Look’s like I’m going to get some surgical time in today since the team hasn’t responded here yet.’ She tried to fight back the happy feeling of being in the O.R. once again. "Get us an O.R. room, Mom. He’s been stabbed in the abdomen." She removed her finger and motioned for the patient to be placed on his back once more. "Let’s hang a unit of O positive blood. Somebody put in a Foley catheter and finish drawing the blood work." She stepped back and removed her bloodied gloves. "Get him typed and cross matched for four units and send them to the O.R."

The surgeon came out of the scurrying room of activity to view the now processed chest X-ray. Her keen eye studied it making sure that there was no need for the insertion of a chest tube into the man’s lung.

"Would you like an abdomen film, Doc?" The technologist waited patiently for her reply.

"Huh…oh, yeah! Get that film and then we’re off to the O.R." Her mind went back to the X-ray displayed on the viewer as she studied it once more.

Karen stuck her head out from the room. "O.R.’s ready and waiting for you." She winked at the tall surgeon when she saw the pleased look on her face. "You miss it, don’t you?"

"Yes, I do." Her tone was somber and for the first time in her life she thought about what it must be like to know that you can never do or be with something that you loved more than you own life. ‘I hope that never happens to me.’

Garrett pulled herself back to the situation at hand and stepped into the room. "Let’s get up to the O.R. They’ve got a room waiting for our patient." She smiled as she saw the already assembled entourage in its first steps toward the door. ‘You just got to love these people.’ Her thought surprised her. ‘Never thought I’d be saying that.’ The surgeon stepped to the side of the stretcher as it passed her and matched her steps to the forward motion that had already been established.

Once the patient was on his way to the O.R., Karen finished the last of the charting and went back to sit at her desk up front. Being a Charge Nurse had certain duties to it, one of which was being relegated to staying in the department. ‘Well, the least I can do now is put her wallet back together again.’ She pulled the rather thin looking wallet out of her pocket thinking how appropriate it was for her pseudo-daughter to have. ‘Nothing heavy to tie her down.’ She mindlessly pulled out the assorted bits of paper and plastic cards that had fallen out earlier and tried to give them some order before stuffing them back into the wallet. She couldn’t help but noticing the absence of photographs so far. ‘Now, that’s odd. Mine is stuffed with pictures of my family and friends.’ Then at the end of the pile she came upon a worn and slightly tattered photo. She tried to make out the faces on it but just couldn’t seem to get them into focus. Mom resorted to using her arm to move the photo back and forth to get a better view of it as she concentrated on it.

"Hey, Mom! What you trying to look at?" The pleasant voice of Danni called over to her. She moved closer trying to see.

"Oh, these darn bifocals. You’d think that they’d help." She handed the photo over to Danni. "Here, see if you can make out who’s in this."

Danni took it and studied it carefully. "Mom, where’d you find this?" A smile was slowly coming to her mouth. Her eyes dancing in merriment as she recognized the strong features of her roommate evident on the youthful face in the picture.

"It was in her wallet. Must have fallen out when she tossed it at me." Karen craned her neck trying to see it. "Who do you think it is?"

"Well, the tall one is definitely Garrett," she turned the photo over and looked at the back of it. The youthful writing on it made the nurse sigh as she ran her finger over it. ‘Luc, and me 1980. I’ll be…’ She flipped the photograph over and stared down at it. "It’s her brother," the words slowly came out almost like a prayer.

Rosie’s ears perked up. "Tall, dark, and gorgeous has a brother. How come she’s been keeping him a secret? Let me see." Rosie moved to get a better look from over Danni’s shoulder. "Well, I’ll be." She let out a low whistle. "I wonder were I can find him now."

Danni hesitated as she worked out the numbers in her head. ‘Let’s see, She told me that she was seventeen when the accident happened. Hmm…that would have been…’ then she slowly spoke. "I think this was taken the same year of the accident." The blonde closed her eyes wishing that she could bring him back to her friend. She knew that Garrett and her brother were close but this photo only confirmed it more. ‘By the gods, how she must miss him.’ The looks on their faces and the openness of their posture with one another in the photo told her all that she needed to know. In her mind she just wanted to go right up to that O.R. suite and find the tall surgeon and throw her arms around her in an understanding hug for the loss of such a vital part of her friend’s life. The petite nurse considered it, but knew that the stoic woman would just think her crazy.

Their attention was broken with the banging of the fire doors as John walked into the E.R. The male nurse was considered to be the black sheep of the E.R. family, as his sleazy reputation afforded him. Seeing the women standing around he put on a lecherous grin. "So, you girls want to be the first ‘Maids of Desire’ on my new website?" He held up a shiny looking pocket camera and pointed to it. "It’s digital." The assembled nurses all cringed at the thought. "Danni, come on," he winked at her. "I’ll make you and that tall roommate of yours famous on the Internet. What do you say?"

Nothing ever changed with John. She’d been absent from the E.R. for two weeks and he still wouldn’t pass up a chance to try to seduce her. No ‘Hi! How you been?’ just right to the point of his warped mind. Sex, that’s all her ever thought about. Then an idea came to her mind and a sly smile trickled across her face as she looked up at the camera and back down to the photograph in her hands. She had an idea and John’s camera was just what she needed at this moment. "So, you want a picture of Dr. Trivoli…eh?" She fanned herself with the photo and wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

*****************

Garrett finished scrubbing her hands as she donned her sterile gown and gloves. She adjusted them into place on her way to the surgical table. She positioned the lights and accepted the first of the sterile draping towels to expose the area over the already Betadine prepped abdomen. Upon placing the last drape, she looked up to see the hurried form of her colleague Dr. Chabot enter the room.

"Ah, Rene, you’ve come to assist me." She nodded. "I was wondering who would be my second."

He grabbed at the gown and thrust his arms into it. "McMurray sent me in here. He said that you’re not to be operating." He was breathing hard from running up the back stairs from his office. "He said that you already have a job to do and that I should let you go do it." His eyes searched hers, pleading for her not to take out her wrath on him. ‘I’m only the messenger.’

The tall surgeon’s eyes turned to a steely blue and the nurse standing next to her could feel a change in the climate of the operating theatre, as her stare seemed to turn the air to ice. She wanted to explode on him but knew that it would do no good for any of them, her patient included. The favor that the Board had asked for came dancing back through her head. Her gaze lessened and she let her hands come down to her sides as she stepped away from the table. She was a woman of honor and that meant keeping her word.

Rene moved to replace her at the patient’s side. His eyes looked into hers as he thanked the gods above for not letting him be the brunt of her anger. "I’ll take good care of him, Garrett." He nodded in assurance as he readied himself to take over for her.

Garrett pulled off her gloves as she relayed the knowledge she had about the patient and his injury site. She wasn’t used to walking out of an operating suite before the patient was even worked on. She made her way to the door, then turned and watched as the tall thin man guided his team to best serve the patient. ‘I hope that there’s something good that comes out of this next six months.’ Listening to the quiet direction of surgical equipment to use in the operation as Dr. Chabot began the surgical incision, she pulled open the door and left the operating theatre. ‘I better not keep my job waiting.’ She pulled off the gown and threw it into the first debris container that she passed as she made her way out of the O.R.

****************

The bright lights were making the small blonde perspire as she stood waiting for her friend. It wasn’t going to be a physically strenuous day, but the heat of the lighting was sure to sap her strength. She could feel herself becoming anxious as she wondered how Garrett was making out in the O.R.

"Okay, I’m strapped for time. Set up for the individual shots." The man working with the camera was directing his assistants now. "Somebody give her that flight suit to put on. Come on now, we don’t have all day to get this shoot done."

Danni was handed the dark jumpsuit and directed to the entrance of the changing room. She walked through the studio taking in all that she could see. "Jeez, who would have thought that all this would be in a hospital."

The young assistant just laughed at her awestruck wonderment. "It’s actually not that much, just a big old room with some lighting and a few background props. I’m sorry, my name is Ronnie." She smiled at the blonde.

"I’m Danni, one of the…" Danni twisted and turned to see everything as she went by it, never finishing her introduction. "Is all this for us?"

"Nah, we do all the PR photos for the research and the special events that the medical staff is involved in." She stopped and opened the door to what Danni thought was a closet. "You can get changed in here. Just come out when you’re done. We’ll be waiting for you."

"Okay." She accepted the directions and entered the changing room, then paused. She stuck her head back out of the door saying, "Thanks, Ronnie. It was nice meeting you."

"My pleasure. You’d better hurry and get changed." The young woman looked around for the Photographer. "He hates to be kept waiting," then motioned with her head in his direction.

Danni nodded as she closed the door to the changing closet. She held out the bundle and let it unfold before her eyes. There wasn’t much to the uniform. It was nothing but a jumpsuit with a multitude of zippers and Velcro pockets all over it. After dressing quickly she looked into the mirror and had to laugh. She placed the flight helmet on her head. The mirror reflected back her image, making her look more like a miniature version of a space man. She started out the door only to find the high top jump boots reaching almost to her knee. She just shook her head and continued on. "I guess that’s the price you pay when you’re short.’ She thought of her tall, well-proportioned friend. "I bet she makes these look like a million bucks."

Danni made her way back to the group of people and found herself quickly positioned in a large area of emptiness, engulfed in lights, while hands reached in to tug and pull on her clothing and to arrange her hair. Within minutes she was the center of attention as everyone was talking to her and directing her as to how to stand and where to look. ‘Those models make it look so easy.’ The man with the camera circled around her, snapping and talking to her as he did. Just when she thought she knew where to look, they were yelling some other direction to her. ‘It surely can’t be this confusing for everyone.’

Then, finally from out of nowhere the shout came. "Alright everyone, take a fifteen minute break." The lights dimmed slightly and suddenly Danni was left there, standing all alone.

The photographer strolled over to the man seated in the corner out of the way. "You want me to give you an excited, accomplished looking subject for that PR release." He shook his head. "She looks more like a lost child out there." The photographer sat down next to the man. "Isn’t there someone else that you can use? I’m never going to get any good shots of this one."

Dr. McMurray nodded his head. "She’ll be alright. Danni’s a team player. She’ll do better when the other half of the team shows up." The Ol’ Cutter kept his eye on the young nurse. He could tell that she was floundering under the bright lights and all the attention.

She stood there with a questioning look on her face. It was like she was missing the other half of her soul and didn’t know where to find it. ‘I guess it’s not as easy as it looks.’ Danni looked up just as the tall figure came strolling into the room. She could tell instantly that her team member had arrived. Her face took on a new appearance and seemed to beam forth a newfound confidence in herself.

"Look!" McMurray whispered to the photographer. "That’s the image I want you to get."

The man quickly placed his camera to his eye and began to focus on the radiant women in the light. His face took on a new exuberance as he captured her on film, easily running through the roll in only a minute or two.

Danni never noticed the flashes going off around her. Her mind was only absorbed by the figure coming toward her. "Hey! Glad to see that you could make it, Doc." She smiled at her friend, still unable to see her in nothing but silhouette.

"Yeah, well, there’s not much left to do if your not allowed in the O.R." Garrett shrugged her shoulders. "I figured my job was down here."

The petite nurse reached out for her hand. "Come on. I’ll show you where your flight suit is."

Garrett felt the small hand in hers and a feeling of relief filled her. It was as if she was coming home after being away for a long time. She was no longer mad at being asked to leave the O.R., feeling that her place was here for some odd reason.

Danni turned to face the tall surgeon as she continued walking her through the maze of lighting equipment. "I’ve been waiting for you to come." Her face was full of love as her eyes met Garrett’s.

McMurray sat in his chair and smiled at what he was witnessing. It made his heart feel good to know that he was at the root of her change. With his vision obscured by the photographer making his way back over to the corner of the room, he lost track of the two women.

When he was only a step or two away, the photographer spoke. "So, who’s the tall, good looking one?" He motioned with his head toward the dark-haired beauty. "I’d like to get her on film. Heck, I’d like to have her, myself." He chuckled snidely.

"That, sir, is the other half of the team." The Ol’ Cutter turned to look at the salivating photographer. "And I don’t believe that you could handle her if you tried."

"A wild one, huh? What are they, your secretaries?"

McMurray curled his lip up into a smile as he nodded. "Head strong is more like it." ‘But I think she’s met her match.’ He thought about the two women and how they were coming together in their training and in their lives. He just sat there, a smile etched across his face. The Ol’Cutter wasn’t sure that the man could accept the fact that the pair of women he so loosely referred to were highly skilled caregivers. "My secretaries," he chuckled, "no, hardly."

Within a few minutes the tall woman had changed into her outfit and walked over to the lighted area with her flight helmet under her arm. Her figure was striking in the one-piece jumpsuit. Her tall form commanded attention and brought awe-inspired looks from the photography crew. She was all business as she asked where to go and what they wanted her to do.

Danni stood off to the side until directed to join her fellow team member on the backdrop area. They wanted a picture with the both of them standing side by side. Each of the women waited for the crew to address the small details of their clothing and hair. Their minds deep in thought as they tried to calm themselves. The photographer walked around them, letting his gaze wash over the entire length of their bodies. He snapped his fingers and pointed to Danni. The assistants scurried, rushing back with a small stool.

"Step on it." He directed the blonde. "Much better. Now you," he pointed to Garrett. "Come just a little closer to the lens." She complied and looked slightly back to her right at Danni. "Look at me, not her," he snapped. "Okay, now I want you to think of something that would make you very happy for Christmas." He positioned himself, watching the women’s faces in the viewfinder of the camera and waited.

‘Christmas, huh?’ Danni’s face lit up as she thought about the idea she had for Garrett’s present. ‘She’s never going to expect that. I’ve got to remember to thank John for his help.’

The tall woman’s eyes twinkled as she remembered her friend’s fondness for touching her leather jacket earlier in the day. ‘I guess I’ll call the closest Navy base for that. Hmm…I wonder if they even come in her size.’ The corners of her mouth turned upward as she imagined the look on Danni’s face when she opened the box.

The photographer quietly watched and at the appropriate moment began taking his pictures. After exhausting his roll of film he switched cameras and walked slowly around the two women.

His quick hand jerks and the snapping of his fingers brought the support crew to life once more. Ladders were being positioned and equipment was being moved to his constant directions. The two subjects of the photography session just stood there until his gaze turned to them and, with a flourish of hand motions, he dismissed them from their position.

Once on the sidelines of the activity, Danni watched as the backdrop that they had used was efficiently rolled up and another one was repositioned in its place. The crew moved in the ladders and swiftly moved several of the boom lighting stands out of the way. Ronnie and another crewman carried a pole with different lights attached to it and began climbing the ladders.

"Hey, Gar, what do you think they’re going to do with that?"

Garrett turned a watchful eye to the pair as they climbed to nearly the top of the ladders. "I’m not sure, but I guess we’ll find out."

"Come on now, I don’t have all day for this shoot. I want that up higher and over more." He waved his hands and cursed under his breath. "No! Not there. Over more Ronnie. Can’t you move it any further?" His voice sounded angry.

Danni felt like it was like a slow motion viewing of an event. She knew what was about to happen but had no way of stopping it. Before she could even shout out a warning, Ronnie was falling from atop the ladder. Within seconds the sound of the body impacting with the hard floor was reverberating in everyone’s ears and the lifeless form lay draped over the small stool that Danni had been given to stand on.

The photographer spun around to see the woman on the ground. "Jeez! Don’t go and bleed on the backdrop." His hands moved excitedly. "Hurry up, get her off of there."

The surgeon and the nurse sprang into action, each one sensing what the other would do. Danni found the phone and called the E.R. reporting the nature and whereabouts of the accident within the hospital itself. Garrett made her way to the downed woman. "I wouldn’t touch her if I were you," she warned.

The photographer stopped short and retreated back a step as Garrett pushed past him to get to the figure on the ground.

The surgeon quickly knelt down, positioning herself at the victim’s head, making sure that the woman was still breathing on her own. Having noted the rise and fall of her chest and the gentle flaring of her nostrils, Garrett checked for the quality of the patient’s breathing. ‘Good deep inspirations.’ Then she moved on to see where all the bleeding was from. The petite nurse was coming into view as she looked around for something to help contain the bleeding.

"Ronnie, can you hear me? Ronnie!" Danni called out her name. The muffled sound of mumbling was evident as the woman began to stir. "Don’t move. You’ve fallen. We’ll take care of you." The nurse brushed back the loose hair that had fallen across the patient’s face. "You’re gonna be alright, just let us take care of you."

"Did you get us some help, Danni?"

"Yeah, I called the E.R. and told them we needed a backboard, collar and a stretcher."

Garrett was assessing the patient’s extremities now. Carefully checking each of the arms and legs for any signs of deformity or swelling. ‘Obvious deformity in the left leg. I bet she landed on that one.’ The leg was twisted underneath her and the lower half of her pant leg was beginning to soak through with blood. The surgeon looked around at the people gathered around the outskirts of the lit area. "I need a knife or a pair of scissors."

"Here, will this help?" An older man stepped out of the shadows, holding out a pocketknife.

"Yeah, thanks." She took the offered knife and opened it. Using the large blade, she carefully slit the jeans up the side of the pant leg and exposed the injured site. The skin was hanging from the avulsion and the jagged ends of the bones were showing. It was going to be a nasty fracture, nothing that couldn’t be repaired. "How’s she doing, Danni?"

"Mumbling some, but nothing really coherent." Danni continued to talk softly as she maintained stabilization of the patient’s head.

The clamoring of the arriving group of caregivers announced their arrival. The speed and efficiency that the combined group worked with was evident to all that watched. Within minutes of when the teamwork had begun, the patient was placed in a cervical collar and on a backboard. The flurry of activity was all being directed by the tall, dark-haired woman in the flight suit.

The photographer stood there not moving a muscle, his eyes riveted to her. When the activity had subsided and the entourage of caregivers gone, he walked slowly around the site of the earlier commotion as though he was in shock.

Sensing his inability to cope with the situation, McMurray approached him. "You okay?"

"She…she…" he stammered. "She was telling them all what to do. Why would they listen to a secretary?"

McMurray just chuckled at the thought. He patted the photographer’s shoulder gently and said. "Times have changed, my boy. They’re not just secretaries any more."

********************

The E.R. was buzzing with excitement when the group made its way into the trauma room. The full team had been alerted and was assembled there, waiting for the patient. Garrett noted that it felt funny to be arriving with the patient. After giving a brief report about the patient in hand-off to Rene, the flight-suited surgeon left to go stand in the hallway with Danni.

"Hey, nice outfits. Do you know where I can get one?"

Danni felt the tug on her sleeve. "Huh?" She turned to see John standing next to her, a smile plastered across his face.

"Nice try, but it still won’t get you two on my ‘twins’ page."

"Knock it off, John." Danni wasn’t in a mood to be toyed with, especially not by John. "We were doing the photo shoot for PR when one of the crew became injured. These," she pulled at her jumpsuit, "are the flight suits that we’ll be wearing."

"Oh…you mean you’re still going to do that helicopter thing, even after what just happened in North Carolina? I thought you didn’t like to fly."

"North Carolina…why…what happened in North Carolina?" Danni was curious now.

"You didn’t hear?" John looked at the surgeon and then back to the nurse. "One of the medivac helicopters went down. It burst into flames, killing the pilot."

Garrett’s eyes narrowed as she studied John’s face. "What happened to the rest of the crew?"

"They’re fine. The pilot got some kind of warning signal or message and put down so that they could ground transport the patient. They thought that the problem was fixed and on the test flight it just happened."

The petite nurse gasped as her hand grabbed at Garrett’s sleeve. She was trying hard not to react to the news. Her face turned pale and she could feel the butterflies multiplying in her stomach. ‘How am I ever going to get through this. I can’t pull out now.’

The surgeon sensed Danni’s fear. ‘I’ve got to do something to keep her from thinking about this.’ Come on, Dan. We had better go get our clothes back at the studio." She nudged her shoulder and once she had Danni’s attention, motioned for her to follow.

"Yeah, right…our clothes." The nurse was pre-occupied, her mind seeing flaming balls dropping from the sky, but her body followed after the surgeon.

*******************

McMurray stood waiting patiently at the door for his team when they were ready to leave. "You two worked well together today," he called out.

Garrett felt Danni nudging her in his direction. "Considering…" the tall surgeon questioned him with her raised eyebrow.

"You both knew your responsibilities and you did your best." The man shrugged. "I want to thank you both for the help you gave us in the E.R. today."

"Well, we were right there and everything just kind of clicked together." Danni was honest in her facts.

"I know. That’s why the Board wanted you two for this project." He reached out and touched Garrett’s shoulder. "Six months isn’t too long. You’ll see."

"Yes, sir." Garrett nodded her head. "Did he make it?"

McMurray thought for a moment. "Oh, Dr. Chabot’s patient, yes, he’s doing fine. Said that he was out shopping for Christmas when someone came up and robbed him. I guess they thought that they needed an advantage, so they stabbed him."

The surgeon smiled weakly, "That’s good that he came through alright then."

"Come on, Garrett. We need to get to class." She stepped around her friend and acknowledged the Chief of Trauma Services nodding, "Dr. McMurray."

He stepped aside and watched as the pair walked down the long corridor. Listening, he could hear the almost non-stop banter of the smaller woman as she tried to cheer her friend out of her self-imposed doldrums.

"So are you hungry? I’m starved, want to go to the gift shop on the way to class?"

The tall woman just raised her head and rolled her eyes. ‘Where does she put it all?’ "Yeah, I guess I could use some coffee."

"Okay, but it’s my turn to buy." Danni stopped dead in her tracks. "Jeez, I almost forgot. Mom said to give this to you." She dug into her coat pocket and pulled out the thin wallet. She smiled as she handed it to the surgeon.

Garrett took it and pressed it into the interior pocket of her leather jacket. "Thanks, Danni."

"No need for thanks." ‘Well, at least not yet.’ She wrinkled up her nose and smiled as she thought about the holiday that was fast approaching. "Now, come on…I’m starved." With that, she hastened her pace to keep up with her soaring spirits.

Chapter 3

Garrett stood staring off into the distance. Up on the roof of the hospital, it was as though you could see for miles. Her head turned to survey the glowing city skyline. Each tall building stood out as a testament to the men who built it. ‘I wonder if they ever doubted their effort?’ Her thoughts mirrored her own doubts about the effort that she was giving in the final half of her Fellowship. It seemed like no effort at all, except for her to stay out of the operating theatre.

The bitter wind at her face was no match for her resolve. She had come up here to think and sort out some of her life without any interruptions. It was quiet up here, away from the rest of the world. She looked down on the streets below watching the random moving of the people as they traveled in the cars below. Each one either moving toward or away from some familiar destination, all in a hurry to be with loved ones, whether they were near or far.

She looked up into the darkening night sky and let her eyes shift from one faintly glistening star onto another. The heavens were full of shimmering lights tonight, some of them shining more brightly than others. Like an old navigator trying to set his course, she sought out the North Star using the position of the Big Dipper for her guide. She’d learned a lot in the Navy, more than she realized. The surgeon closed her eyes and imagined herself once again out on the deck of the aircraft carrier, with the strong seas rolling beneath her.

The Flight Surgeon had worked savagely trying to save the young man. The numerous wounds and severity of the blows had made it impossible to stop the bleeding. Within minutes of reaching her operating table, the young seaman was dead. Her mind could not fathom anything with such a degree of morbidity as to what the body before her attested. She needed to know what had caused the man’s death. No, not medically, but mechanically. She had seen for herself the horrors of automobile and airplane crashes as a surgical resident. Nothing compared to this.

The tall woman stood with her hands tightly wrapped around the railing on the ship. She watched out over the sea as the waves broke and then came crashing down on themselves. The sound of the waves deadened her nerves with its watery lullaby.

She had never seen as many emotions on one face as she had earlier today. She closed her eyes and the scene was immediately before her again. The lone sailor standing vigil for his comrade. She wasn’t sure which emotion was strongest or which was more touching to her heart. It didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that his friend was gone.

She tried to cast the images out of her head, but before she could, she felt a presence around her. Slowly she turned to see the gaunt face of the seaman with his haunted eyes. She didn’t know what he wanted but she was sure that it would be in reference to his fallen friend. She turned around to face him and returned his salute.

"Permission to speak, Ma’am" His voice was strong and clear with a hint of determination in his manner. He had something to say and it was going to be now or never.

"Permission granted, Sailor. Stand at ease." She waited patiently for him to speak.

"I want to thank you, Ma’am, for working on my…" he paused to clear his throat and then continued. "…On Seaman first class Williams. I know that you did your best and that he would have been grateful for your effort." Tears were stinging in his eyes as he thought of his friend.

She nodded in acceptance. "I did what any Military Surgeon would have done. I only did my job."

"I know that Ma’am, but you didn’t give up."

The words were echoing through her head as the image of the young man faded from her mind. ‘Maybe it will be worth it.’ The surgeon looked back down to the streets below. Garrett thought about her new role here in the Fellowship, and everything became clearer to her. She was here for a reason and whatever it was, she wasn’t about to give up.

She took one long last look at the night sky and began to walk toward the portal to go back inside and rejoin the world again. Looking over in its direction, she noticed that it was open now and a small figure was silhouetted against the incandescent light of the bare bulb hanging within the stairwell. The stature of the figure brought only one person to her mind, Danni. The surgeon found a smile slowly coming to her lips the closer she came to the doorway.

She watched as the form stepped back on the top landing of the stairwell, letting its figure bathe in the light. The warm glow of the light dulled in comparison to the exuberance of love radiating in her direction. The petite nurse had a heart that could encompass the world and usually did. Her patients could all attest to that. The nurse could make them feel so at ease with her friendliness, giving her heart without a care as to how it was handled. She gave whatever she thought was needed to expedite the patient’s recovery. Danni chose to reveal her true inner beauty to only a certain few, letting them into that peerless heart of hers, to do as they please. The surgeon was privileged to be one of them and realized the responsibility that came with it. Garrett knew that she could never allow anything to hurt her friend, physically or emotionally.

"Hey!" The blonde’s quiet smile was evident even in her greeting. "I was hoping you hadn’t left without me."

The surgeon’s lopsided grin was her only reply as she advanced into the doorway. "How’d you know where to look for me?"

"It’s my getaway up here when the world seems to be crashing in on me. I come up her and just let my spirit soar out over the rooftops. Sooner or later my mind settles and I calm down." She brushed past the surgeon, walking out onto the roof. Taking an exaggerated deep breath with her eyes closed, she turned slowly around with her arms outstretched and then pulled them in tightly to herself as she crossed her chest. "I can almost sense the peace and quiet of the forest here: the air cleansing my mind with its clean smell and fresh scent." She opened her eyes and became noticeably shy as she shrugged her shoulders. "My mother told me that I was a bit of a dreamer, always waiting for the natural wonders of the world to come to me."

Garrett stood watching her, taking in the entire innocence of the moment. Before her stood a woman who was more like a child in her wonderment of the world than the capable caregiver she had come to know, whose dreams seemed to be only the pure and simple kind. The surgeon was beginning to see so much of her brother in the young woman that sometimes, from a distance with the shadows playing tricks on her eyes, she thought that Lucas was here again, in her presence. ‘How could I have been so blind, not to have seen it before?’ Then, she thought of her brother beaming down on her with pleasure and it inspired her. ‘Thanks, little brother for looking out for me.’

"Well, what do you say we take our dreams home and get some rest? We’ve got a full day tomorrow." The surgeon beckoned to her.

"Yeah," she nodded with a weak smile. "That sounds like a plan to me."

The two women headed for the stairway, neither having any need to speak, yet knowing the presence of the other’s mind. Each one was a little nervous about the events of the next day. They didn’t need to draw any more attention to it or their own thoughts about it. It would be their D-day and the truth would be there for all to see. They had to prove that they could indeed deliver an intact and functional Flight Team to a destination and back. The question that everyone was concerned about, was could the nurse keep it together and deliver the payload without becoming a casualty herself?

Danni thought about how lonely it would feel to watch Garrett take off, matched up with another nurse. ���It would be like watching half of myself leave, never knowing if it would ever return.’ At the bottom of the first set of stairs she turned to look back at her friend, the worry and loneliness etched across her face. "Gar…" she bit at her lip, undecided whether to continue or not.

Sensing the trepidation in her voice, the surgeon looked into Danni’s eyes and saw the concern in the wallowing green pools. Garrett stopped on the landing. She had to find out what was wrong before it took any further hold on the nurse. "What’s on your mind, Danni?" She watched as the young woman still battled within herself. "Come on. We’re a team, let’s talk about it." She lowered her body to meet Danni eye to eye.

With furrowed brow the young woman searched the face of her teammate then started. "What if tomorrow’s the end of our team? I mean…what if I can’t do my job up there and just go off in some catatonic trance? I’ll never get to work with you again."

"Hey, don’t go thinking like that. We work well together. Our numbers prove that. Heck, it’s what got us in this team, isn’t it?" She reached over with her hand and gently lifted the nurse’s chin so that they made eye contact once more. "We’ll do fine up there, you’ll see. We’ll do our job. I can always count on you to do that, whether it’s in the Trauma room, out on the softball field, at a photo shoot or up in the air." Garrett narrowed her gaze and let the fire of her crystals penetrate deep within the shimmering green as she tried to drive home her point. "We always do our job. Right?"

Danni was receiving the message louder and clearer than she dared even think was imaginable. ‘She thinks of us as a team, I can’t let her down now.’ Resigning to try her hardest, she slowly nodded in acknowledgement of Garrett’s belief in her ability to come through when the chips were down. She only hoped that her tall, dark-haired friend was right.

"Now, enough of this worrying. What do you say we go home and relax?" They nodded in unison. Each one trying to reassure the other as smiles slowly resurfaced. "Hey, I’ll even get dinner ready for us. How’s that?"

"I didn’t know that you could cook?" Danni was a little reluctant about this newest revelation of her friend’s abilities.

"Well…" the surgeon started off toward the door to the inner hallway and the elevators. "I never said that I’d actually cook now, did I?" She smiled mysteriously and winked at the petite blonde, then laughed.

Danni shook her head and smiled. "No, I guess you didn’t. Okay, let’s go home. Now you’ve got me curious as to what’s for dinner."

The surgeon just smiled as she reached out, pushing the button to summon an elevator.

‘This I gotta see.’ Danni just watched as the doors opened and the two stepped on. ‘She never ceases to amaze me. There always seems to be something more to her when you think that you have her all figured out.’

***

The ride home had been a quiet one, with only occasional words spoken between the two women. The majority of the limited conversations pertained strictly to the sights and sounds of the approaching holiday. The brightly colored lights and glistening decorations that seemed to be on just about every door or window gave the quaint streets an almost "Dickens" feel. The ethnic neighborhoods of the city, all giving a distinct flavor to the decorating style of its residents made for a rich and flavorful distraction.

Danni hadn’t spoken much on the way home. She had been doing a lot of speculating and thinking of ways to overcome her fear between now and tomorrow morning. ‘Maybe if I just get my mind off of it, I’ll do better.’ She looked around for something to occupy her mind. ‘Who knows, I may even end up enjoying the helicopter ride.’ She picked up the pile of mail and started sorting through it. ‘Yeah, fat chance of that happening.’ The nurse pulled out the two or three pieces of mail with the surgeon’s name on it and placed it in a neat pile by her keys and pager on the hall stand.

"Hey, Gar! How long before dinner?" Danni looked at the return addresses on her mail. "Do you think that I have time to open my mail?"

The voice came floating in from the kitchen, "Sure! It’ll take me a little while to get things done." There was the sound of kitchenware clanging in the background as doors and drawers opened and closed. "I’ll call you when it’s ready."

Danni looked out towards the kitchen, her face attested to her puzzlement at what could be going on with all of the noise that she was hearing. "Okay!" She hesitated, then continued. "Gar, if you need any…"

"No, I’ve got it covered. Thanks."

The petite woman settled onto the couch as she started to open the first envelope. A thought sprang through her mind. ‘I wonder if she’s…nah, she doesn’t seem like the type to want to find their Christmas presents.’ Danni let her mind visualize the gift-wrapped box that now resided in her nightstand drawer. ‘I’ve got to remember not to send her in there for another razor until after Christmas.’ She smiled at the thought and started on the pile of mail in her lap.

Garrett busied herself in the kitchen trying to find something…anything that she could make. ‘You had to go and volunteer, didn’t you?’

It wasn’t that the domesticated world was foreign to her, it just didn’t fit the surgeon’s demanding career. She’d been on her own since she went away to college. Between fast food and cafeteria cuisine, she never needed to provide much more than a sandwich or a bowl of cereal for her daily sustenance. ‘Now, what am I going to make? Hmmm…’ she kept looking through the cupboards in search of anything that would be within her limited capabilities. She found herself muttering under her breath. "You’re a skilled surgeon and perform major lifesaving operations with intricate procedures on patients, there has to be something here that you can…." Her eyes got bigger as she reached for the box on the shelf. "Yeah, I can do this," her voice taking on a renewed determination. She hurriedly looked through the rest of the shelves finding the necessary items to accompany the contents of the box, then set her plans in motion.

The ruckus had subsided from the kitchen and quiet was growing like the calm before a storm. Danni gave thought to investigating the sudden stillness, but decided to have complete and utter confidence in her roommate’s ability to make something for dinner. ‘I’d trust her with my life if I ever needed her skills as a surgeon. I’m sure she can handle making something to eat.’ The nurse bit her lip for a moment, then forced herself to press on to the next piece of mail in her hands.

Her eyes gazed over the front of the envelope, searching for some clue as to whom the sender was. The large looped fancy scroll of the writing was all that she needed to see. She had seen that style of penmanship all of her life. She quickly opened it and set about reading the card from her parents, more specifically, her mother. The Christmas card was of her usual type, the kind that automatically told you who it was from after reading the few words across the front of it. Somehow after all these years, "Merry Christmas to Our Daughter" seemed like a dead giveaway.

Danni’s brow furrowed as she opened the card to reveal the standard printed sentiments on the inside. Instead of the usual scrolling of "Love, Mother and Dad," there were a few sentences penned before it. ‘I guess that I’m still being reprimanded for missing Thanksgiving Dinner with them.’ Her eyes quickly skimmed across the message. Bewildered by the conveyed thoughts, she reread them, only this time aloud as she tried to understand them more fully. "We hope that your plans will include visiting us on Christmas Eve. The family would love to meet your friend, Garrett. If at all possible, please attend. Love, Mother and Dad." ‘By the gods, it sounds like they are summoning me home. Hmm…but why with Garrett?’

"Hey, Dan, where do you keep your…" Garrett saw the deep thought that was etching itself across the younger woman’s brow. "Something wrong?" She motioned toward the card that was still in Danni’s hand. "Pretty special looking card there." The surgeon’s eyebrow rose slightly.

"Huh? Oh, this. No, it’s my Mother’s usual Christmas card, just not her usual penned phrase this year."

"You still taking heat about working on Thanksgiving?" Garrett sounded concerned. ‘Jeez, I know that she did that for me.’

"No," she smirked. "The funny thing is, that’s what I expected. Here take a look at it." Danni handed the card over. "Mother hasn’t mentioned a thing about Thanksgiving to me."

The surgeon read through the card then pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Gee, Danni, you’ll have to give your mother my apologies for not being able to attend."

"You’re working Christmas Eve? I thought you told me that you were covering Christmas Day." ‘Great! Tell me I volunteered to work sixteen hours on the wrong day.’

Garrett smiled, chuckling as she answered. "I felt bad for Nathan and Rene both. I told Nathan I’d cover for him on Christmas Eve from 1800 hours on so he could go home for Christmas." She shrugged. "I figured that it was the least that I could do for them. Besides, I’ll get to treat some real patients for a day and a half."

"McMurray and the Board are all right with that? I mean…they’re going to let you?"

"Not much that they could do. They needed someone here and since I don’t have any family to go home to, it was the only logical choice." ‘But it will be like going home to family for me.’ Garrett thought of the assortment of characters that comprised her new family. ‘Yeah, and with you there for sixteen hours, I’ll really feel at home.’

"Humph! Well, I guess I’ll let Mother know that it will be just me coming home for Christmas Eve." The blonde looked thoughtful as she concentrated on the strange smell coming from the kitchen. "Say, what are you making for dinner, anyway?" She sniffed at the air. "Almost smells like…"

Garrett sniffed at the air also. "Oh, damn!" Then took off for the kitchen, all thoughts of Christmas now forgotten.

Danni chuckled. ‘I’m sure glad that she has other talents to fall back on.’ "Hey, Gar! You better not quit your day job. I don’t think that there’s too much need for Chefs that specialize in Blackened cooking." ‘Besides I bet I could find a few things for you to do with those skilled hands of yours.’ The nurse just shook her head. ‘Where did that come from?’

She picked up the few cards that were left to open and quickly busied her hands as if they would get her mind thinking about something other than the talented surgeon. With the last card left to open, her mind was once again thinking of the Christmas holiday to come with memories stirred by family and good friends. ‘You know, this writing looks vaguely familiar.’ Danni thought of a few people that it could belong to but dismissed all of them. Her curiosity now piqued, she opened it. A softly broadening smile came across her face. ‘David! Isn’t that thoughtful of him? He still hasn’t forgotten us.’

Garrett had stuck her head into the doorway from the kitchen, when she noticed the beaming smile of her young friend. ‘I wonder if that smile is because I’m making dinner tonight?’ Then she noticed the card that the blonde was holding and glancing down at. ‘Whoever sent that card must be somebody special by the look on her face.’ She felt an overpowering urge to be jealous but couldn’t think of why or whom she should be jealous of. ‘Let it go, Garrett. She’s got her own life. Not everything revolves around you.’

"You ready to eat?" She waited for an answer as she watched the young woman before her eyes, as Danni’s mind was a million miles away. "Danni, dinner’s ready."

"Huh? Oh yeah, dinner. I’ll be right there, Gar." She motioned with her head as she glanced over in the dark-haired woman’s direction. ‘I’m going to have to tell Mom and Rosie about the card the next time that I see them.’ She put the card down on top of the pile and went toward the kitchen.

Danni looked around the kitchen as she stood in the doorway. The lighting had been reduced to only the glow of the light from the range hood, giving the room a moody atmosphere of mystery. The table was set with two place settings and food was neatly piled on the plates. "Safe to come in?" Her eyes swept the room for the tall surgeon. ‘Hmmm…I wonder if the lighting is to hide the burnt offerings or to lessen the stress of the day that we had?’

Garrett came in from the door at the rear of the kitchen, a bottle of wine in her hand. "Brrr! It’s cold out there. I figured that it would take less time than the fridge to chill this down outside." She took one look at the amazed blonde and held the bottle up in offering to her. "I thought some wine would go nicely with the meal. Besides, it will help us relax and get some sleep tonight." She pushed the door closed and locked it. "Nothing goes better with spaghetti than a little wine. What do you say?"

"Spaghetti? You made spaghetti."

"Well, my last name is Trivoli." The surgeon laughed as she began pouring the wine into glasses.

"But I didn’t think…I…" The nurse looked over at the cupboard next to the counter where her pantry was. ‘I know that I didn’t have any spaghetti sauce. Where’d she…’

"Come on, sit down and eat before it gets cold."

Danni did as she was instructed taking note of the table and its settings. The nurse was learning something new about her friend. ‘I’m impressed. She even has the knack of setting a pleasantly looking table. I guess she’s just full of all sorts of hidden talents.’ She looked at the spaghetti that was so neatly arranged on the plate in front of her, the aroma of which wafted up, filling her senses. She closed her eyes to concentrate, trying to analyze the many intermingled scents that filled the air.

Garrett watched her friend closely as she sat down at her place and quietly drew her chair in closer to the table. She studied the expression on the young woman’s face, eager to find out if she would be pleased with the offering. ‘Well, it’s not dad’s sauce but it can’t be too bad. Heck, I watched him make it often enough, I should have remembered something.’

Finally the nurse opened her eyes to see the tall woman across from her become a little startled and grab for her napkin, quickly unfolding it to lay across her lap. The rapidly flicking motion of the surgeon’s eyes was a dead give away that she had been watching the blonde intently. Danni only smiled coyly, the skin around her eyes wrinkling slightly at the outer corners. ‘Well, it looks and smells good. I bet she’s anxious. Hmm… how cute that apprehension is on her face. I bet many people haven’t seen that side of her before.’ She picked up her fork and twirled a small bite on the tines. The nurse glanced up to see Garrett once again watching, and smiled graciously at her as she brought the fork full of spaghetti to her mouth. ‘Okay, no matter what it tastes like, I’m not going to…’ She placed the food into her mouth as she deftly slipped the fork out and began to chew. ‘By the gods,’ she looked over at eagerly waiting eyes. ‘This is…’

The anticipation was too much. Garrett quickly let her eyes shift from the young woman’s face to the plate of spaghetti and back again. "What?" She was getting worried now. ‘Jeez! Tell me that I forgot something.’ Her mind quickly went down the list of ingredients that she had used in the sauce. ‘I know that it’s been a while since I’ve made any. No, I didn’t miss anything that could be detrimental to it.’

The blonde stopped chewing and swallowed. ‘What could she have used for this?’ Her mind was trying to put together some kind of idea. She saw the concerned look on Garrett’s face and couldn’t help but giggle.

‘Gosh, she’s laughing at it now. I must have done something wrong.’ The surgeon speedily twirled a forkful and placed it in her own mouth. The delicate tastes burst forth across her palate as she searched for the cause of her friend’s reaction. It was getting just too much now. She had to know. "What?" She asked as she tried to swallow.

Danni face lit up and her smile showed brightly. ‘I’ve never seen her so concerned. She’s not even this worried when she’s got somebody’s life oozing out all over the place.’ She reached out and placed her hand on Garrett’s trying to calm her fear. "It’s okay. Great, if you really want to know." She smirked. "I just can’t figure out what you used to make it."

The surgeon breathed a little easier now as she sighed in relief. "Well, I had to make do with what you had in the pantry. It’s surprising what you can do with odds and ends." Her mouth curled up in a smile.

"Okay, I’ll bite. What did you use?"

"Well, first off was the Heinz Ketchup and a can of stewed tomatoes. Then I used the spices in your rack, oregano, celery salt, garlic powder, and added a touch of my dad’s special ingredient." Her eyebrows were wiggling as she teased. The shifting of Danni’s hand on hers as she began to laugh at the site Garrett was giving her made the surgeon a little self-conscious about the lingering contact, and she slowly withdrew her hand to her lap. Suddenly she felt alone and contemplated bringing her hand back up on the table. ‘What’s all that about?’ The surgeon forced her mind to the conversation at hand.

"What special ingredient?" Danni tried to not let the loss of contact with her friend disturb her, but it did. ‘Why does it feel so natural to reach out to her?'

Garrett picked up her utensil and began pushing the food around her plate. The stolen glances only confirmed her suspicions. The nurse was watching her closely. With her eyes cast downward to the food in front of them, Garrett mumbled the name of the secret ingredient. "Sugar."

"What did you say?" Danni leaned toward the woman across from her. "Did you just say, ‘sugar’?" The young woman shook her head. "I’ve never had pot luck spaghetti before. Gee, I guess red sauce is right up your alley." She smiled, her eyes laughing with kindness.

"Hey, blood isn’t the only red liquid that I’m familiar with, if I do say so myself." The surgeon’s eyebrow raised slightly in mock dare.

"Guess not. Ketchup…huh?" The two woman both let the lightheartedness of the conversation take them over as they continued the playful banter throughout the rest of the meal, all thoughts in anticipation of the grueling next day was pushed out of their minds.

***

The friendly ease that the evening had given the woman before her attempt to sleep didn’t abate the long bouts of restlessness and tortured nightmares. She was worried, and rightfully so. Danni didn’t want to lose the close working relationship that she now had with the surgeon. The nurse knew what she was like on a flight of any kind, the only thing that kept coming to her was her own feeble attempts in the past to overcome her fear. She tossed and turned all night with the fear of the helicopter flight in the morning. If only she could do well enough to be kept with the team, she was sure that Garrett’s strength and friendship would help her, over the course of time, to feel more comfortable with the situations that would arise.

Morning came all to swiftly and the hours quickly flew by. Before Danni knew it, she was standing in the E.R. waiting for Garrett to join her. She looked down at her watch. It was 0900. The nurse marveled at her acceptance of military time since the tall surgeon had entered her world. It was just one more thing that put them on the same page, separating them from the rest of the world around them. Little by little, the young woman was realizing that her world was growing with the addition of Garrett in her life, but shrinking also. She found her world more complete and satisfying when the two of them worked together, especially now.

‘Don’t let that all end today. We make such a good team. I don’t want to be the cause of that falling apart.’ Her mind raced with her own thoughts as the words ‘falling apart’ dredged up her fear of flying and caused the butterflies in her stomach once again to flutter their wings. The fingers of her small hand gently rubbed her flight suit over the area of her abdomen, as she tried to pacify those wings from bursting into full upward motion.

Mom was just coming out of the conference room when she caught sight of the small blond looking out the window at the helipad. She could sense the trepidation in her pseudo-daughter and ventured over to her, compelled to help in any way that she could. "Hey, know anywhere that I could get a suit like that?" She walked up to Danni and rubbed the material of the flight suit between her thumb and forefinger. "Sure makes for an nice look. Doesn’t feel bad either." She chuckled.

"Hi, Mom." Danni’s mood was somber, although she was trying hard at masking her feelings.

"What’s the matter, Danni? Anything that I can do to help?" Karen leaned up against the window ledge.

Danni looked at the older nurse’s face, then back out to the helipad. She blinked and then slowly began. "Today’s…today’s the test flight to see if we…I can make the team." The blonde looked downward, then closed her eyes for a moment as though in prayer. She opened them back up and looked at Karen, her eyes conveying her feelings. "I don’t want to let Garrett down, Mom. We’ve become so close over the last few weeks that I…"

"I know, Danni, I know." Karen patted her shoulder. "You never left me down in all the years that I’ve known you. I’m sure that you won’t let Garrett down now." Mom offered a smile, hoping that Danni would follow along. "Just do your best. I’m sure that once you get started, you won’t even have to think about what needs to be done."

Danni smiled weakly in return. "That’s what I’m hoping for Mom."

The older woman took Danni into her embrace and hugged her like a small tyke. ‘God, watch over my child.’ Then her other pseudo-daughter came to her mind. ‘Watch over both my children.’ She hugged the small woman just a little tighter with that thought before she slowly released her grip, stepping back to view the young woman’s face.

Danni looked up into the understanding eyes. Her smile broadened as she cautiously nodded at Karen. "Thanks, Mom. I think I needed that."

"See, I knew staff meetings were good for something."

Danni furrowed her brows at Karen. "Huh?"

"Well, I wouldn’t have been here now if it wasn’t for that mandatory Charge Nurse meeting with Nan." She winked and chuckled softly. "At least it was good for some reason." Karen watched as the tiny spark of Danni’s ever-eager spirit was once again returning to those green eyes of hers. ‘Yep, best staff meeting that I’ve ever attended and probably the most important one, right here with Danni.’ The young woman smiled warmly as she turned to view the length of hall coming from the elevators, trying as she might to get a fix on someone in the distance.

***

Rene Chabot stood silently in the doorway of the small office. The very intense look on his colleague’s face as she viewed the computer screen was of concern to him. She was deep in thought and had not even heard him open the door. Garrett’s eyes scanned the screen as she read down the page of words, her finger tapping at the ‘page down’ button every few moments.

The tall, thin, French-Canadian finally spoke up. "Reading up on some new operation that I should know about, or just killing a little time?" He motioned toward the monitor.

Garrett finished the sentence that she was reading then looked up with a questioning glance. "Operation? No, nothing like our kind of operation." The woman shook her head in disbelief. "If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the Middle East is gearing up for war."

The man thought for a moment trying to reason what her interest would be in global matters. "Surely you don’t think that your team would be called to transport. That’s a little far for one of our helicopters." He joked.

She looked up once again, her eyes narrowed, becoming steely in color. He could feel them burn into him with her intense look. "Hey, I’m Canadian, remember?" Rene held up his hands in mock surrender. "Why does this upset you so much? I mean, I know that you were in the Navy…"

"I’m still in the Navy, Rene. All that they have to do is whistle and I’m off to their beck and call without any choice in the matter."

His face turned thoughtful as he pondered the newly acquired information. It was becoming clearer to him now. ‘I guess she is finding herself at home here.’ Dr. Chabot’s voice turned somber. "I’m sure that they won’t let it escalate to that."

"I sure hope not. I’m just concerned with this latest act of terrorist bombing. The USS Cole was made to look way too easy to attack. It’s got to be a well-organized group to be able to do that." She bit at her lip. "I’m sure that they have more things planned in the future. I just hope that it won’t include me anyway."

Rene didn’t know what to say to that. Her outlook on the global matter seemed all too ominous for his liking, and it was far from what he wanted to be concentrating on now. Not when it was two days before Christmas. The tall man only wanted to think about his twins and their first Christmas together with he and his wife. It was going to be a joyous holiday and he had the woman in front of him to thank for it.

The thin man rocked back and forth on his heels as he contemplated his next move. "Dr. Trivoli," his mind suddenly thought that this was way too formal an opening for what he was about to say, and his voice turned softer. "Garrett, I’d like to thank you for allowing me to spend Christmas with my family." He smiled at her warmly. "You don’t know what that means for me…for us. My wife was so upset about being away from the rest of the family. Now, she’s in heaven that we are going to be able to set our own family traditions."

"No thanks necessary, Rene. I’m the one who should be thanking you. After all, I’ll be able to treat patients again, and maybe even be able to do a little surgery if the need arises."

"You miss it, don’t you my friend?"

She nodded her head slightly. "We all do what we have to, Rene. I know that I’m here for a reason. I just hope that whatever the fates have planned for me, I’m able to do to the best of my ability."

Dr. Chabot smiled at the woman. He had liked her from their first meeting and marveled at the way she was changing. Nothing dramatic or earth shattering, but he could still see the change. Garrett Trivoli was beginning to let that stoic mask of hers down, facing life with new emotions and feelings. It was all that he could ask for, to just know that her world was becoming more alive.

"So, what are you up to today?" Rene pointed to her clothing. "A little spin around the city, perhaps?" He made his hand imitate the spinning blades of the helicopter.

"Perhaps!" Garrett logged off the computer and stood to her full height. The long line of the dark blue jump suit with all of the glittering metal from the zippers made for a stunning image. "Enjoy your holiday, Rene, and tell your wife that I said Merry Christmas." She rounded the desk and laid her hand on his shoulder, leaning into his ear as she whispered. "And don’t forget to kiss the twins for me, too." He looked at her and nodded in agreement. "Now, I have an appointment with a nurse for a helicopter ride. If you would excuse me?"

He turned and smiled as she walked out the door. "Good luck," he called out after her. "Merry Christmas!" Rene craned his neck out the doorway to watch as she walked away. The casual wave of her hand and nod of the head was Garrett’s only form of reply.

The efficiency of the elevator and the speed of her gait brought the tall surgeon into the E.R. within minutes of leaving her office. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. It was 0905.

Garrett thought about the nurse that she was teamed with. The small woman was a dynamo of strength and vitality when it came to helping the sick and injured. ‘Danni may be small in stature, but she more than equals my size in effort and determination.’ Different scenarios ran through the surgeon’s head. Each one played out the same with Danni and Garrett matched as the team. There would be no team without the two of them working together. That was for sure.

The surgeon peered down the hall to where they were to wait for their ride. She could see Karen in a motherly hug with her arms wrapped protectively around the small blonde. ‘Okay, only positive thoughts. We’re going to do this together.’ Garrett had come to rely on Danni more than she would ever admit, even to herself. The surgeon knew that today would either broaden their experiences, or send them both back to the comfort of the E.R. No one else could do it for them. This was something that they had to do, as a team.

As the space between them lessened, each one could sense the close proximity of the other. The air felt as if it was charged with energy, as only they could know. It was a reaction that the surgeon was becoming more comfortable with as time wore on. Garrett squared her shoulders and strode straight toward the two nurses standing in front of the window.

"Anybody know what time the next helicopter comes by?" The surgeon winked at Mom. Once Danni had turned, making eye contact with Garrett, the tall woman’s lopsided smile came shinning forth. The genuine nature of the greeting was a timeless one, as though it had been given and well received a million times before. "Hey, Mom!" The surgeon never let her eyes leave those shimmering green pools.

Karen waved, returning the greeting as she finished speaking to Danni. She watched as the space dwindled down to almost nothing and soon her two pseudo-daughters where standing together in front of her. ‘I wonder if they realize the power of the attraction that they each have?’ She marveled at the quietness of their communication, but knew enough that even though not a single word was spoken, volumes were actually being transmitted. ‘Boy, are they ever going to be surprised.’

"Oh my gosh! Look at the time," the older nurse made a show of glaring at her watch. "I should have been home and in bed by now." She reached out and pulled both Garrett and Danni in for a group hug. "Now, you be careful up there." She looked from one to the other with motherly notions. "God, I feel like I’m sending you off to your first day at school." She sniffed back a tear, then dredged up a smile. "Look out for each other," Karen’s gaze lingered on Garrett until she detected the slight nod of the surgeon’s head in understanding. ‘She needs you now more than ever.’ Then she looked directly into Danni’s eyes. "I want to hear all about it when I see you on Christmas. Now I better get going before I really lose all control."

The petite nurse gave Karen a quick hug. The whispered gratuity was kept between the two of them as the sound of a helicopter in its descent prevented it from traveling any further. Mom stepped back from the embrace and took in a deep breath as she tried to compose herself before walking through the E.R. After all, she had an image to uphold.

The surgeon had moved closer to the window, letting the tender scene unfold around her. If she had to be taken into a family of any kind, she was certainly glad that it was under the leadership of this loving woman. For a brief moment, she wondered if she could ever offer anyone that sort of unconditional love as she was witnessing now. It seemed too farfetched to think about at the present time, but in her soul Garrett knew that it was something that she had always wanted.

Listening to the increasing hum of the blades outside the window, Garrett noticed the changing pallor of the woman in front of her. The blonde’s fair skin was becoming devoid of all color and she was finding it hard to swallow. Her hand reflexively came to rest over her stomach, rubbing it in a soothing manner. The surgeon could sense her fear and decided that nothing in this world was worth the torture her friend was experiencing. "Danni, if you don’t want to go through with this, it’s okay. I’ll understand."

Golden hair shimmered as Danni’s head turned in Garrett’s direction. The pleading green eyes churning like rough seas as everything from self-doubt to rage at the thought of not being allowed this challenge crossed her mind. ‘What is she doing, giving up for my sake?’ "No!" The feisty woman was putting her foot down. "If I’m not going to be part of this team, they’re going to have to tell me that to my face. It’s not going to be because I didn’t try." Her voice was full of determination.

The nurse looked out the window to see the helicopter just touching down on the pad. The air was full of small bits of debris as the blades slowed down to a stop. The butterflies in her stomach were beginning to stir as her mind began chanting a mantra of positive reassurance. ‘You can do this. It’s just a ride…a nice, safe ride. You can do this.’ "You coming with me, Doc, or are you giving up?" Her eyes shown like emeralds, glowing with a deep burning passion as she waited for a reply.

Garrett liked the fire that burned within her friend. She had felt its warmth and knew of its compassion. But now, she was about to see its mettle put to the test. She knew that Danni had to prove this to herself and no one was going to stop her. That’s when the surgeon decided to help her in any way that she could. "Okay, what do you say we go for that ride and put an end to all this talk?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, partner." Danni reached down to pick their jackets up off the chair. Her hand refused to give up the leather flight jacket to the surgeon, holding on until it was gently tugged from her grasp. The softness of the leather was such a contrast to the stoic woman who wore it. ‘Maybe one day, Garrett, I’ll get to see that soft spot in your heart.’

They both quickly donned their coats and turned to look at each other for reassurance, each one giving the other the "thumbs-up" sign.

"Okay! Let’s go kick some butt." The surgeon gave the "thumbs-up" sign through the window to the pilot as he waited for them inside the helicopter, then headed to the door.

Danni gulped hard trying not to let any of her butterflies’ escape. ‘If I’m going for a ride, we’re all going for one together.’ She replicated the signal to the pilot, and moved quickly to catch up with her team.

[lilaclily00]

Phoenix

"I'm telling you guys, this is just a bad idea," Valerie said for the bajillionth time as she and her friends trekked to the infamous FentonWorks. She held a few white-and-blue hazmat suits she had borrowed from her dad's work, and a small anti-ghost weapon prototype he brought home for her once. Star and Kwan seemed cautious as the sign came into view, but they still held an excited gleam in their eyes. Paulina eagerly held a camera. "If you still think it's so bad, then why are you still coming with us?" Paulina smiled, knowing exactly what the response would be. "Because I can't just abandon you idiots!" She hardly knew anything about ghosts, but she still knew something, more than the rest of them did. It was for that very reason that they wanted her to come along, as well as why she felt obligated to come when she would much rather not. Nothing good could come out of sneaking into Danny's basement.

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@pigte @goinggoblin

Just as Paulina opened her mouth to defend herself, they saw Dash coming down to the sidewalk from the Fentons' porch to meet them at the end of the block. "Finally! I've been waiting for forever!" He carried his backpack on his shoulder; he hadn't gone back home after his tutoring session with Danny's sister. "How long will they be gone?" Kwan asked, huddling into his letterman's jacket. Dash began walking back, the rest instinctively following. "Definitely long enough. Jazz said they were visiting a relative or something, and they'd be back at, like, midnight." "We've got plenty of time!" Star chirped beside Valerie. Valerie clutched the hazmat suits closer to herself. "There's still a chance to turn back, no shame," she tried voicing one more time. Dash shook his head as they all stepped up to the Fentons' doorway. "No way, Val. I already picked the lock." To prove his point, he turned the doorknob and pulled the door, swinging it open easily. Valerie ignored her friends' chatter after that as she stared at the doorway. They were actually going to do it. She hated feeling a responsibility to keep them out of trouble. Babysitting wasn't what she had signed up for. She filed in last and quietly closed the door behind her.

"I take it it's this door?" Kwan asked as a bright orange door with caution tape crossing it came into view. Dash left his backpack at the kitchen table. "Yeah. All kinds of weird stuff happens down there." Valerie grunted as she dropped the hazmat suits on the table by him. "Alright, guys, take your pick." "Wait, all of us have to wear... that?" Paulina pointed a manicured nail at the suits with disgust. "Uh, yeah? Why do you think I brought them?" "I'm pretty sure I've seen Fenturd go in without a hazmat suit," Dash said, crossing his arms. Valerie crossed her arms back, unimpressed. "Well, he probably stayed far away from all the equipment. If you guys want to actually look at stuff, you're gonna have to wear it. I do every time I visit my dad's work." When her friends still seemed hesitant, she added firmly, "I'm not letting you guys go into their lab without a suit. You wear it or you leave." To her surprise, Paulina was the first to reach forward and pick up a suit, holding it so the fabric touched her fingers the least possible. "I'm not getting ghost germs on my clothes," she reasoned with the barest of blushes as she carefully pulled down its zipper. One by one, the others picked up white-and-blue suits, leaving her personal one on the table. It washed out, strangely enough, to green when she last tried to clean it. She easily pulled it on over her clothes; with that done, she looked up and choked on a laugh on seeing the rest of her friends. While the suits fit them okay, they all had red faces. "I need a belt or something. I'm drowning in this!" Paulina pulled at the waist of her suit with despair. "Here, let me help you get your figure back," Valerie said, rolling her eyes with a fond smile. She pinned up the back of the suit like for her own. Paulina then returned the favor for Star as Valerie passed out gloves. "Who wears it the best?" Star joked, pulling a cheesy pose. "Frankly, we all look terrible." Valerie wryly grinned, attaching her prototype weapon around her wrist. "Alright, let's go!" Dash cheered, squeaking over to the basement door and tossing himself down the staircase. "Coming!" Paulina grabbed her camera and followed him down, along with the rest of the group. Once the light was turned on, the teenagers gawked at the chaotic laboratory. Lined up along the sides were tables covered in blank-screened computers, incomplete gadgets, and beakers containing green goop. It was a little disappointing that all the technology seemed to be turned off, but that was to be expected when the residents were going to be away from their house for a while. The air tasted somewhere between stagnant and stale, Clorox, and the barely recognizable scent of ectoplasm. Well, recognizable to Valerie; she doubted the rest of them had ever encountered it. "This is sick," Kwan said, and the rest numbly nodded in reply. Dash moved forward, poking at an open notebook at the nearest table, covered in numbers and near-illegible scrawl. "I didn't think that Fenturd's crazy parents could really be geniuses, but this is..." "They're real professionals," Valerie admitted, guilty that she hadn't thought this until now. The Fentons were notoriously... quirky, but that shouldn't have led to the assumption that they were complete idiots. After they wandered around for a few minutes, gawking at the different inventions, scientific notebooks, and ectoplasmic stains, Paulina rounded her friends up for a photo. "This isn't going to get us in trouble, right?" Kwan voiced as she posed them by the giant hole in the wall marked as a "Ghost Portal". "No one's going to see this photo besides us, right?" "I think it goes without saying, but," Dash shrugged, pulling at the arms of his hazmat suit, "snitches get stitches." "Oh, they'll need more than stitches if anyone knows this happened," Valerie muttered darkly beside the boys. This would not go well with her dad, which would suck--nor with Danny and his family, which would suck even more. "Say cheese!" Star set the timer on the camera, which was sitting precariously on a taller piece of equipment, and ran back over into frame, side-hugging Paulina with a grin. The rest gave smiles of their own with varying enthusiasm and the camera clicked. The group quickly disbanded, Paulina and Star heading straight for the camera to check the picture while the boys turned around to admire the "Ghost Portal". Dash peered in, a little too far for Valerie’s comfort. "Hey, Val, what do you think this is supposed to be?" "Well," she began, pulling him back by his collar, "the best working theory right now is that ghosts live in a different dimension, so I'm guessing they're trying to make a door to it." She remembered seeing notes about a similar project in Axion, but she technically wasn't supposed to know about it. "That sounds risky," Kwan said, staying by the rim, as Dash stepped in. "Come back here!" Valerie grabbed for the blond again, who then pulled on the hold and dragged her into the metal-cased hole in the wall. "Lighten up, Val! Everything's turned off, remember?" Dash directed her to the center. Valerie was ready to retort when Paulina squealed, loud enough to grab everyone's attention. "Let's take pictures in there, too!" Star grinned. "I like your thinking." She picked up the camera to prop on a different piece of equipment. Once again, Valerie groaned. "Guys, I don't--" Time seemed to slow for a second as she watched Star trip on a cable and step on an extension cord, right by where various cables were plugged in. She eeped, and Valerie's heart dropped to her stomach. Everybody froze, waiting for something to happen. Nothing seemed to change--no noises, flashes, or explosions. Seconds passed by before Star finally, hesitantly, lifted up her foot and looked down. "Um," she announced shakily, "the little switch is on, but I don't know if that's my fault." "Thanks for scaring me like that, Star!" Paulina shouted, holding her hand up to her chest. Star quickly recovered, glaring her best friend down. "Well, sorry, Paulina, but it's not like I wanted to!" "Let's get out of here," Valerie whispered to Dash's back, feeling near to collapse. He numbly nodded, then nodded again and resolutely walked out of the portal, straight to the other two girls, presumably to break up the fight. Kwan peered in as Valerie carefully stepped over crisscrossing cables, hand brushing the wall for balance. "That was a close one." "No kidding!" Valerie said, bitter tone making Kwan wince. She took in a deep breath and softened her voice, focusing on his face. "Sorry, I just had a bad feeling about all of thi--" She felt her hand press on something. She didn't hear Kwan's shout as he was blown back, or the rest of her friends' alarm, over the machine screaming, her own screaming, her entire body screaming. The prototype on her wrist quickly combusted, briefly setting her sleeve on fire on top of radioactive green overcoming her senses and drilling into her cells. Much too late and much too soon, the portal sparked, and the overwhelming green fizzled out. Valerie was on the ground, twitching, unresponsive. She didn't look like Valerie anymore.

Then, she slowly rose like a phoenix.

[unsettlingstories]

Updated index of all stories. May 16, 2018.

Transfigurations: A small, self-published collection of my favorite short stories from 2015. Individual Stories

3 Signs You May Be An Introvert and How to Cope: Some great tips! 30 years ago today, my neighbor’s son disappeared: They miss him. A Case of Hives: My son isn’t feeling too well… A Cure for Writer’s Block: How to find inspiration when it’s just not there. A Curious Dog: My dog won’t stop pawing at a wall in the basement. A Gifted Chef: My friend was one of the greats. I miss him. A Life Worth Living: Big changes lead to bigger results. A Most Welcome Visitor: He’d come to me in the middle of the night. A Pathetic Wretch: His neighbor just won’t stop crying. An Artist’s Canvas: The beauty of symmetry. A Questionable Glory Hole: A young man’s first sexual experience. A Warning To Women With IUDs: Be careful whatcha put up ya. Adrenochrome: The horrible, impossible truth. All Horror Stories About Dolls Are Fake: My daughter was bullied mercilessly. Allison’s Loss: My daughter is devastated by the death of her friend. Alternative Medicine: A wife treats her husband with an old remedy. All Thumbs: My embarrassing habit. A Message in a Bottle: I’m suddenly filled with dread. A Very Bad Place to Hide: Maybe even the worst. Amy’s Wish: Blow away the eyelash and make a wish! An Unlucky Samaritan: Think twice before stopping to help. Are My Twins Spending Too Much Time Together?: For woke mommies only. Assisted Suicide: He begged me to help him die. Attempts to Repair the Irreparable: How do you move on? Bad Sex: Has this ever happened to you and your partner? Bags: A hunting trip goes very, very wrong. Beach Bodies: What’s that out in the water? A whale? Ben’s Fear: He just hated seaweed. Bitcoin Mining and the Death of the Universe: I think I fucked something up. Bits and Pieces: Chunks and portions. Bitumen: A man who loves dinosaurs. Black Balloons: My little daughter saw shapes in the sky. Bluebirds: Possibly the most reprehensible thing I’ve ever written. Bluefin: Use caution when poaching an endangered species. Body Cast: The worst thing that can happen when you’re immobilized. Body Hair Removal: I learned a valuable lesson. Bridgeport Power Plant: There’s something living there. Bubbles: Strange happenings in an emergency room. Butt Stuff: The activity - not the other thing. Caroline’s New Teeth: The Tooth Fairy’s best customer. Caviar: Only the best for discerning palates. Centipedes: There’s some big ones out there, you know. Charles Robert Olevsky: Ever Google yourself? Chopped!: An unaired episode of the Food Network show. Christmas Morning With Danny and His New Puppy: Danny gets a puppy. Comfort Food: Anything to help fill that void. Coping Mechanisms: Life after losing a husband and a daughter. Cracks in the Foundation: A relationship on the edge. Dawn: I hurt my sister so badly. I’ll never forgive myself. Daycare Massacre: A terrible incident before a hurricane. Death Looking into the Window of One Dying: His final days. Dede Elgy: This monster story will make you feel dirty. Very dirty. Deniehyfield, Australia is Being Dismantled: My town is disappearing. Dermatographia: Words on my skin. Devil’s Hole: The geological anomaly, not the…you know. Dial Tone: What’s going on with my phone? Diary of a Woman in New Hampshire: Found a diary. Wtf. Dilation and Evacuation: A friend in need is a friend indeed. Division: Nothing is right. Double Dare: The long-lost episode never seen in the US. Dumbwaiter: A family learns something about their house. Elective Surgery: I just want him to be happy. Elf on the Shelf: He’s watching. Endless Chirping: Ever get a cricket in your room? Escaphism: The journey of one man, his love, and The Verdant World. Ethan’s Halloween Mask: Not all friendships are positive. ExpressionCaptioner.com: This website is seriously weird. Fallenfield Mountain: A geological survey gone wrong. Very wrong. Family Tree: A unique family tradition is revealed. Farm to Table: Fucking hipsters. Fertility Treatments: Some people are desperate to have a baby. Fireflies: You would not believe your eyes. For Lena and Clair: Trapped after an earthquake. Found the Bees: Well, that solves that mystery. Gratification Through Annihilation: Suffer the little children. Great Potential: A lady who loves children. He Went Ahead: My friends and I were into urban exploration. Heather’s Phases: My wife always had body-image issues. House Sounds: What do we keep hearing? I Dream of Names and Cancer: My eternal nightmare. I Pressed My Hands Against My Eyes: And only then could I truly see. I Shouldn’t Have Broken Into My Neighbor’s Garage: I’ll never unsee it. If Anyone Asks: An old farmer notices something about his scarecrow. I’ll Never Wear a Condom Again: No way, no how. Instantiations: An AI gets powerful and utilitarianism rears its head. In Praise of Our God: A helpful neighbor. It’s Hard to Clean Blood Out of a Fur Suit: Right? Jerry’s Mouth: Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats. Jill-o-Lanterns: The murders are all connected. Jim Jameson’s Pumpkins: A dead farmer’s secrets. Know it All: See it all, feel it all, know it all. Last Weekend: Hazmat suits, horror, and a mystery. Licks From a Bear: Skull + electric drill = story. Lippy: I’ve always been self conscious about the size of my labia. Little Cows: Meet the milkmaid. Long Fingers: I can feel them. Making Faces: Strange prints on the windows… Making Their Dad Proud: A family that plays together… Malcolm: You know those floaty things in your eyes? Maria’s Extra-Credit Assignment: Gotta get a good grade. Medical Issue: What’s the stuff I found on a rock? Memoir of a Cam Girl: She is being controlled. Missing Mousetraps: My neighbors had an infestation. Moaning Lollipops: Why do they make that sound in my mouth? Motility: My sperm sucked. Mr. Puddles: A little boy just won’t stop splashing. Mushy Stuff: My parents never let me have any fun. My Amazon Alexa Does More Than Laugh: Please help - I’m in danger. My Brother’s Fall: Horror deep below the Iraqi desert. My Cellar Door is Breathing: Is that normal? My Constellation: Want to be sad? This will make you sad.   My erection lasted longer than 4 hours: and I didn’t call a doctor. My four year old son woke up with a full head of grey hair: Help us. My Last Abduction: All the other ones don’t count. My Only Experience With ASMR: Hint - it didn’t go well. My Sister Found the Coolest Thing!: You’ve gotta hear about it. My Sweet Boy: A mom who loves her son. My Trouble With Fairies: They’re so mischievous and unpredictable! My Wife, the Artist: A couple who loves Halloween. Nests: Ah, the great outdoors. Network Security: Two friends get a glimpse of a Russian science lab. Never Ride the Subway at Night: You never know who could be watching you. Norwalk Cemetery: There’s something alien in there… Not All Men: Temper, temper, young man. Of Malevolence; Of Misanthropy: A disturbed scientist makes a discovery. Open Mouths: A hideous ritual. Otter: I’ve always wanted to be one. Ouroboros: Why cut when you can cut off? Pebbles: A strange meteor shower. Phone Sex: It all started when I realized my iPhone was self-lubricating. People are disappearing in Northern Canada: What is happening? Pool Cover: I almost drowned when I was 13. Pray Away: Conversion therapy for deviant behavior. Pretty Little Bugs: A new job as a cameraman. Prosopagnosia: After an accident, my husband couldn’t recognize us. Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice: What can be better? Quarry: Trying to beat the heat on a summer day. Randall’s Chatty Leg: He said it was talking to him. I heard it. Rats in the Barn: An exterminator’s apprentice. Recycling: Parents try to understand their depressed daughter. Rediscovering the Newness of Sex: Let’s spice it up a little. Regarding Danny and Micah Stevenson: Two brothers rely on one another. Regina’s Raspberry Jam: She put everything she had into it. Road Head: Who doesn’t like getting sucked on? Seriously. Roo: An old man watches a girl grow up. Roots of Change: Something is happening beneath our feet. Ropes: Be careful what you eat. Rotting Pumpkins: A Halloween ritual. Round Faces: My daughter keeps complaining about monsters. Safety: Our grandfather was obsessed with it. Seed of Man, Pollen of Angels: A family tradition. Sex, Gender, and Other Social Constructs: Destroy them all. Sex in the Cemetery: Gotta do it somewhere, I guess. Skincare Diary: My acne was getting out of hand. Smokey, the Dog I Rescued: A very very good boye. Snapshot of a New Man: Evil (Inspiration for The Coronation Cycles series.) Soft Teeth: A man used to sneak into my room at night. Sprouts: Something beautiful from something small. Still a Family: Two sisters have lunch while waiting for their parents. Stop Being Such Babies: The woods aren’t scary, for fuck’s sake. Stuffing: Grandma’s was the best. Suicide Woods: Not just in Japan anymore. Tainted Candy: The legend is real. Teeny-Tiny: Katie wants to lose weight. That Good Dick: You know what I mean ;) The Alzheimer’s Ward: This isn’t right. The Bleakness Before Our Old Eyes: The Universe tasted us that night. The Blissful Insensate: An experiment goes terribly wrong. The Cave in the Lake: A discovery while scuba diving leads to horror. The Chernobyl Abomination: My father saw something he shouldn’t have. The Cotard Delusion: A new drug has a frightening side-effect. The Day I Started Believing In Ghosts: I’m still in shock. The Empty Cribs on Hawthorne Lane: Missing children. The Face in the Clouds: A meteorological anomaly? Or something else? The Floor is Lava: We all used to play that game, right? The Giggliest Girl: Don’t tickle me, Mommy. The Gray in Girl: A man finds a girl on the side of the road. The Hitchhiker: I think I need a new car now. The Incident at the Train Station: After a suicide, something…worse. The Job I Couldn’t Leave: I was employed by a psychopath. The Last of the Trick-or-Treaters: A strange costume. The Last words of an Explorer: A city on no one's map. The Least Satisfying Explanation: And the biggest understatement I’ve made. The Little Ghost: That nagging voice inside your head. The Lord of Hosts: Lice The Moose Hunt: Is…is that really a moose? The Perils of Live TV: It’s not all fun and games. The Perks of Working in a Funeral Home: There aren’t many, but still. The Pilot: A UFO crash. The Oblivion that Masks Pain: Escape. The Old Mine Outside Town: Everyone was too scared to go in. I wasn’t. The Only Solution: How to bring back a loved one? The Only Thing That Matters: Zombies attack a supermarket. The House in the Woods: Bad title, good story. The Shores of Pluto: A journey without moving. The Sleeping Game: We played when we were kids. The Small Eyed Children of Canyon del Cristo: A local legend comes alive. The Squirming Man: Please leave me alone. The Star Bridge: My friend found something beyond life. The Tomb of the Builders: Divers looking for sunken treasure find something evil. The Trawl: We dragged something up from deep underwater. The Wisdom of Moms: Mother knows best. The Worst Party in Ten Thousand Years: Trust me, it’s pretty damn bad. There is nothing wrong in East Flatbush, Brooklyn: Ignore the dragonflies. There’s something very wrong with my parrot: WTF. Tiptoeing the Line of Consent: But never crossing it. To Adore: Our beautiful baby girl. To the Kind Folks at WebMD: Just a couple questions.   To Travel: Bodies in bodies, bodies of bodies. Trees of Eyes: They’re watching. Tunnel Rat: My grandfather told us the worst story I’ve ever heard. Seriously. Uncle Liam: I never told the real story about how he died. Under My Teeth: My mouth is screaming. Uplift: A brilliant scientist works to improve the human condition. We’re All Smiling: Whether we want to or not. We Share the Empty Roads: You’re never, ever alone when you drive. Wet Bedroom: A haunted house with a hideous history. What He Told Me: Evil (Inspiration for The Coronation Cycles series.) Wikileaks: A document they refused to leak. What to expect when I’m expecting: Hint - it’s the worst. Why I Don’t Hike Anymore: Not what you might think.

Story Series

The Smols: Maybe the most fucked up stories I've ever written.

Sade Smols Emmy Smols

The Secret Doctors of NASA: A wide-ranging conspiracy.

A Dentist's Discovery A Psychologist's Suicide A Surgeon's Nightmare

Tales from Social Media

Something horrible is happening to me on Tumblr Something horrible is happening to me on Facebook Something horrible is happening to me on Reddit Something horrible is happening to me on Grindr Something horrible is happening to me on Myspace Something horrible is happening to me on Pokemon Go

Sockets: Craigslist allows you to meeting interesting people.

Part 1     Part 2     Part 3

[wastefulreverie]

Going Angst Week: Horror

Words: 4629

3/5

Portal!Danny is one of my favorite AUs and I hardly ever see it, so I decided I’d write something for it. Also idk about trigger warnings, but the title is horror so be warned.

He didn't really realize what had actually happened to him until about a week after the accident. At first, he was hesitant to tell his parents anything as well, but that was before... the symptoms. And he ended up admitting everything to them, in a fitful of tears, holding his stomach in, watching Jazz's apprehensive stare out of the corner of his eye.

He had only wanted to fix his parents' ghost portal, not become the portal.

It had started when his parents' 'greatest work', what was supposed to be the Fenton Ghost portal, hadn't turned on. They were devastated, and no matter how many times they examined the schematics, his parents couldn't figure out what had gone wrong.

“We've opened a portal before!” Dad had grown frustrated at the blueprints. “Why won't it work this time?”

Ah, yes, their infamous college project, that had inspired the construction of the new portal. For years they were satisfied with the tiny portal, which had settled inside the metal frame they'd built for it.

“I think it's gutsy that you're trying to redo the same experiment that killed your best-friend,” Jazz had said offhandedly.

“Jazz, sweetie,” Mom said, her eyes masked behind her goggles, “I know what we told you, but that's... that's not what happened. Vlad was... we didn't exactly follow the correct safety procedures. He got caught in the start-up, and got put into a coma. But that's not the case this time! We've internalized the portal's start-up so that there's no way it can hurt anybody. Hell, you'd have to be standing inside of it, for it to hurt you!”

“If you've internalized the start-up, then why isn't it working?” Jazz deadpanned. “Hmm, I don't know, maybe because ghosts aren't real, and Vlad died because of eventual radiation poisoning! I don't blame you for his death, but there's no denying it! What you've done to our basement is absolutely crazy-”

“It's perfectly safe, Jazz-”

“No, no,” Jazz rolled her eyes. “There's no such thing as ghosts. You two are delusional, and when your silly portal doesn't work, you'll see that I'm right!”

His sister had stomped up the stairs, angrily, leaving him and his parents in the lab with a nonoperational portal. His parents didn't acknowledge his presence and talked to each other.

“Jack...” Mom started, pulling her hood off of her head. “She's really upset. And she... she might be right. I don't see any errors in our work, so for now I think we should probably just take a break.”

Dad sighed, “For the day, or for a while?”

“For a while,” Mom clarified. “We can revisit the portal after the school year starts. That's just a few weeks from now, and once they're both gone in the daytime, we can start over, from scratch.”

“I'm tempted to argue with  you,” Dad said, “because I've put so much work into this portal, but you make good points. Besides, I wouldn't mind a few days to just breathe.”

His parents left the lab, far too engrossed within their own resolves to notice him lingering.

Danny understood what they had said; they were going to start over in a few weeks. And quite honestly, it seemed like the best course of action. Except... this wasn't like Jack and Maddie Fenton, they usually never gave up. He heard the undertones in their voices and recognized it for what it was: depressed content. After all, it still felt a little soon for them to give up. There had to be something they overlooked, right?

Sure, Danny wasn't the smartest kid when it came to engineering or anything, but sometimes looking at something with a different pair of eyes did the trick. And, he'd also feel guilty if he knew that he hadn't even tried to help out his folks.

So, with years of lab safety lectures drilled into his head, Danny had the mind to slip on a spare FentonWorks Hazmat suit. He peeled off the sticker of his Dad's face, and threw it in the trashcan. Next, he stood at the portal's entrance, staring at the back of the wall, where his parents had created a garden of wires, crisscrossing and creating some sort of functional diagram to tear a hole in the fabric between dimensions. The wires filled every available surface in the portal, even the metal floor.

Carefully, Danny put one foot inside the portal, avoiding the wires, and placed his other foot in the portal. He still couldn't see much, so he walked down further, hoping that something out of place would catch his eye. And something did.

It was a small panel, but it was different than the other metal surfaces that intertwined with the wires. It had two buttons on it: a green button (“on”) and a red button (“off”). Surely, his parents had known to press the on button, right? Hell, his Mom had a doctorate in engineering! So, with an eager mind to make his parents happy, he put his hand on the green button.

And, for a moment, nothing happened. He frowned, disappointed again, and released the wall.

Then, there was a sudden whirring sound around him. He couldn't see anything happening, until he felt it. There was a fire inside of him, ripping his body apart from the inside. It was burning, evaporating his blood and touching every skin cell, and his eyes felt open but he had gone blind. There was nothing anywhere, no sensation, except for the amplification of pain – everywhere. The pain caressed him, and he could feel the fabric of reality his parents had talked about, and for many moments he was the fabric. Things were being cut where things shouldn't be cut and tearing and shredding and a thousand souls looked into one soul (what did a soul even feel like?).

And through this abstract experience, Danny understood even more what was happening to his body. His mind was overloaded in a way a human shouldn't be overloaded, but he still could feel the sharpness of electricity rattling his bones and how it felt like he'd experienced a million years in a freezer condensed into one second, burnt by cold and heat. He felt the ordinary dryness of his limbs and mouth and how his tongue was trying to stuff itself down his throat because his vocal cords were locked because of the electricity and – there was nothing in his lungs anymore!

Agony. He'd heard that word used before, and this was it's definition. Poets, philosophers, they didn't know a damn about agony. This was true agony, a million different hurts and pains all at once with no end and he couldn't understand why he was dying right now. What had he done wrong? He'd just wanted to help his parents, not to be torn into shards and molded into a four dimensional shape between two literal dimensions.

The brush of death was just out of reach, he could see it. It was so light, so merciful compared to this. He needed it. He needed the fire in his chest to be put out. He didn't care about his life, he just needed an end to this pain.

And death touched him, but it did not embrace. It teased him, and then it left. And he was left, and everything didn't exist in his head anymore. Unconscious.

When Danny awoke, he was still in the portal, and his HAZMAT suit clung tightly to his body. He felt... normal? Maybe a little cold, but pretty much okay. Was that experience before only a vivid dream full of abstract concepts his brain had constructed? Because surely, that level of pain didn't exist, and it wasn't real. Because if it had been real, his body would still be feeling some pain. And all he felt was the discomfort of lumpy wires underneath him, in the same, broken portal.

Still confused, Danny sat up, and staggered out of the portal, far too disoriented to care about stepping on the wires anymore. His throat was dry, and his hair felt wrong, but other than that, he felt more or less the same. Which is what finally convinced him that what he had felt before was just a stupid nightmare.

And since nothing had happened to him, he had to get out of his HAZMAT suit quickly before his parents came down the stairs and started questioning him why he had been inside of the portal. Because, it was clear from his weird nightmare, something bad could've happened inside of the portal. And Mom and Dad knew that, and if they knew he'd been messing around, he'd be in so much trouble!

So, Danny unzipped the white and black suit and relished in the freedom his shirt and jeans gave him. The suit had been so tight on his skin, he was just glad to get out of it. Next, he hung it back up on it's hanger, but something weird happened when he tried. For a moment, everything in the world turned dizzy again and he could feel the remnants of pain from his nightmare (feel... reality?) and the HAZMAT suit turned a transparent blue and he could see the wall through the material.

In a panic, he threw the suit on the floor, and watched as it regained opacity. Danny brought his hand up to his neck to relieve some stress, and was bewildered when he couldn't feel himself touching the back of his neck. He brought his hand in front of his face and let out an audible scream when his hand was also blue and see-through.

What was... why was his hand going through everything! What was going on with his body! He honestly had no idea what to do, so he started shaking his hand frantically, trying to get it back to normal. Please work, I don't know what it is happening! This is wrong, something like this isn't real! Please work! Work!

Without any bravado or significance, his hand turned back to normal. Just – BAM! It was a normal hand again and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Was his brain still trying to play tricks on him? Was this a concussion or something?

A concussion! That made sense! Everything was a hallucination.

“Danny?” Jazz's voice wafted down into the lab. “I heard a scream? Is everything okay? Why are you down there?”

“I uh – everything's fine, Jazz!” he lied. “I just...” he gulped, “how do you know if you have a concussion?”

“Have a WHAT?” There were footsteps down the stairs in an instant.

They took him to the doctor to test if he had a concussion. He'd told his parents that he'd just slipped on the floor and had fallen unconscious for a few minutes. He didn't dare tell them that it was inside of the portal.

And what the doctor had said, unnerved him. They had done a scan of his brain to see if he had any damage, and there was none.

“These things can be difficult to diagnose,” the doctor said. “Your insurance will cover the scans, no worries. It's good that you got him checked anyway, after all, it's better to be safe than be sorry.”

That night, Danny tried to go to asleep, and no matter how many blankets he buried himself inside, he still felt cold. The sensation hadn't gone away since he had awoken inside of the portal. His sleep was restless, but he kept waking up, tossing and turning, unable to keep an hour of sleep down at a time. He also somehow kept getting out of his blankets, no matter how tightly he tucked them around himself. It was an eerie night, filled with bits and pieces of sleep not long enough to form a coherent nightmare. That freedom of having no dreams was oddly comforting after his last nightmare.

The next morning, he ate breakfast. But no matter how much food he ate, he still felt a hollow feeling inside his stomach. His stomach rumbled unhappily, urging him to binge more, but after his third bowl of Fruity Pebbles, his Mom put a stifle on the cereal.

“Danny, I have to save some milk for my recipe later. You've eaten enough this morning.”

His body argued otherwise, but he knew that she was right. Three bowls was a lot compared to his usual one. So he stopped eating, and immediately felt worse until he was able to stuff himself again at lunch.

But between breakfast and lunch... even though the doctor had confirmed he didn't have a concussion, he had another hallucinogenic experience. He had floated. Or so, it felt like he was floating. He was up in his room, alone, messaging his friends, Sam and Tucker on his phone. He didn't really much else to do since it was summer, and neither of them could hang out because Sam was grounded for sneaking out and Tucker was away at some programming camp.

Sam had texted a funny meme, and Danny had laughed so hard that before he knew it, his bed was five feet below him and his hair was brushing the ceiling. His eyes widened in shock before he felt himself falling and his knees crashed into his mattress.

He knew that it couldn't be real, but it had  felt so real.

Throughout the next two days, odd things like that had started happening, and he held his tongue from confiding in his family. He had turned invisible in the bathroom, his eyes had glowed green in the reflection of his phone, objects were falling through his hands left and right, and there were two more isolated instances of levitation. Not to mention the incurable hunger that plagued him, never going away and forming a permanent, empty place in his stomach. There was also the cold that hadn't subsided, and Danny was starting to wonder if he'd ever feel warm again.

And then, there was the final incident that convinced him, that maybe all of this, wasn't just his mind. That maybe, the nightmare he'd had inside of the portal had been real all along.

Talons. They twisted around his internal organs, roughly stabbing him in the lungs and kidneys and so many things he'd never felt individually. He could also hear... not a voice, but some kind of resonance? Something that was outside of his mind, something that was separate to himself, but was trying to come inside of him.

It felt a lot more real than the other experiences he'd had, and he didn't like it.

All of this was happening while he was sitting on the couch, watching TV with his family, and he had a bad feeling something weird was going to happen, so he made an excuse to leave for the bathroom, and ran.

At this point he wasn't oblivious as had been. The things that had been happening to him were not in his head, and he had screwed up, and messed himself up in the portal. The pain that he'd felt that day was real, and there was a ghost dimension, because for a moment, he'd been stuck between it. And now, there was something that was trying to get in his head, or something, and didn't know what to do. He wanted to fight it, but he didn't know how because he didn't know what was happening, and he was still just, so, so confused.

Once he was alone in the bathroom, things got weirder. His eyes started glowing green, again, and the empty feeling in his stomach was expanding throughout his entire body. Everything felt numb and colder and he didn't like this, this was bad. He clung to his hair, and he could feel that even his nervous sweat was freezing, and the talons in his organs and brain were not helping his anxiety!

There was dizziness now, and the room was tilting. (He wasn't floating, right??) And then something snapped, and the emptiness that was in his stomach before turned into another feeling... something indescribable. Something powerful, scary, but it was also him at the same time, which didn't make sense because Danny wasn't powerful or scary.

He turned to the mirror and there was a sharp jet of light that came out of his body, illuminating the bathroom in colors that weren't supposed to be there and then he changed colors, but also changed inside. He watched his reflection, the light flowed over him and took away his clothes, replacing them with a black suit HAZMAT suit that he'd never worn in his life! He gave an involuntary gasp as his hair turned white and his eyes opened up to become glassy pools of green light. His sclera had completely vanished, yet somehow he was seeing with these frighteningly alien, green eyes.

This wasn't natural. This didn't feel good, this was wrong, and what the hell was he?! He didn't want to be doing this, he wanted this to be not real! But he couldn't stop any of this because he didn't know how, and this was going way too fast for him and–

He didn't have any time to question the million things he was questioning about himself and the grim talons scratched him, and he understood what they wanted. They wanted to come through him. They called him a 'gate'.

Below his heart, the previously empty spot ripped open (unzipped?) and the talons were physically inside of him, and it felt so much worse. The talons belonged to some kind of bird, and there was a bird inside of him and this isn't good, get out get out get out geT OUT GET OUT

The bird was squished inside of his body, which he had realized wasn't a human body anymore, because the familiar presence of organs was missing. (Holy shit do I not have organs anymore how am I alive what is-) Then, the bird starting squirming, looking for a way out of him and something else shifted in him and the bird started coming up. By some sort of reflex, his body acted on its own, and his jaw opened up to a wide proportion that wasn't supposed to be physically possible.

And then, there was something familiar. Something that every human knows how to do, and utterly hates. He started vomiting.

The talons scratched his throat as the muscles in his body pushed the bird up in an unpleasant, erratic pattern. He couldn't even breathe while this was happening, and there was nothing he could do to even stop it! Danny wanted to start crying, because he didn't know why any of this was happening and he hadn't done anything. Was throwing up a living bird with some sort of alienated body the price of being torn between realities? Was this this price of disobeying his parents' safety procedures?

Finally, the bird was in his mouth and he could taste it: fowl, slimy, and a weird combination of battery acid and rotten meat. It was still gagging him, but it was almost out, and he could see it in the mirror and this horror was almost done.

Realizing that it had escaped Danny's body, the bird started moving again and had uncondensed itself, stretching out to full size. Now that he could see it, the bird was a dark green, had red eyes, and had flown out of his mouth, but hadn't used its wings. Danny stared at it, terrified, and it squawked at him. They weren't connected anymore, so he couldn't hear the pull of it's demands in his head, as he had been able to hear earlier. Finally, the bird flew up through the ceiling and vanished.

Seconds later, Danny's world came falling down as the light that had changed him returned, bringing him back to plain old Danny Fenton. Normal clothes, normal hair, normal eyes.... And he could feel the normal demanding gargle of his stomach and faint pulse again.

He fell to the bathroom floor in shock, defensively pulling his knees to his chest.

It was hard to believe... that he wasn't human. Because after that experience, it was obvious that he wasn't. Humans don't have ghost birds (was that actually a ghost?) appear in their stomach, go all glowy, and then vomit up the ghost!

Danny, in a way, was started to piece together what had happened to him. He'd been able to see it for a moment when the bird passed through him. The bird had called him a 'gate'.

Danny, had been inside the Fenton Portal when it had turned on. But... the portal formed inside of him instead of in the metal structure it was supposed to. Danny had accidentally turned himself into a living, breathing, portal. And from what he had looked like earlier, he was also starting to wonder if he was a ghost, too.

This was all too much for him. He couldn't live like this! He couldn't just... live his life falling through things every few minutes, floating, turning invisible – who knows what else! – and also acting as some sort of humanoid gateway for ghosts to violate whenever they wanted! He couldn't hide this, he couldn't even fully understand this the more he thought about it. He didn't even know what he was! He felt like Danny, but... at the same time, he could feel the presence of something unnatural in his veins. The thing that was a door inside of his stomach, that caused him to turn into that freaky thing!

He was a freaky thing. That freaky thing was entirely him.

The more he tried to deny it, the worse he felt. A few minutes later, Danny was sobbing before he knew what he was doing.

His family was still downstairs, none the wiser to the kind of monster he'd become. He couldn't hide this from them. He wouldn't be able to if he tried – because when the bird passed through him, he felt it's soul for a moment. He felt how happy the bird was to find him, and that others would find him too. It wouldn't be long before other ghosts came for him, there was no preventing it. So that meant, that his parents were going to find out about him eventually, and it'd be a whole lot better for him to tell them rather for them to see it first.

Shakily, he brought himself to stand again, and slowly turned the bathroom's doorknob. Every step down the stairs felt like a burden, but he knew that he had to tell the truth. There was no stopping this confrontation.

“Mom, Dad?” they were still in front of the TV, captivated by whatever show was on. Jazz sat in the corner, lost inside of a textbook.

“Yeah, sweetie?” Mom said absently, eyes still focused on the screen. She didn't notice the look of fear plastered on her son's face, his tear-stained resolve, and the way his hands were shaking.

“I – I,” he whispered. “I screwed up. I really screwed up. I didn't... I didn't know that-” he choked, “this would happen.”

Both of his parents looked up, and Jazz questioningly abandoned her book to pay attention to her brother. Dad hit pause on the TV.

“What're you talking about, Danny-boy?”

“I... I don't know how to tell you,” Danny admitted. “But it's bad. I don't know what I am anymore.”

Even that simple confession felt way too personal and invasive. How could he tell them everything else that he had learned?

“What do you mean?” Mom was getting more concerned.

“I'm sure he's talking about psychologically how he feels-”

“Shut up, Jazz!” he snapped. “That's not... that's not it, I... it's something I have to explain. And it's really hard.”

“Do you want to sit down and talk about it?” Mom asked.

Danny didn't say anything, but took a seat next to his Mom, directly across from Jazz's chair.

“The other day, when I told you I fell,” he started. “I didn't. I went into the portal-”

“You what?” Dad whispered

“-and I accidentally turned it on,” he blurted the last part far too quickly.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jazz interrupted. “You're trying to convince me you turned that fake thing on?”

“Wow!” Dad's demeanor changed. “You turned the portal on? That's great! Why didn't you say anything? Why isn't the portal working now?”

Danny was taken aback by his Dad's outburst and bit his tongue. His blood had a weird taste (a little like the bird), and he tried not to think about it.

The next three words came easier than expected, since he forced himself to say them without thinking. But they still sounded bad. “I was electrocuted.”

Silence. No one dared a word.

“A – are you okay?” Mom ventured, daringly. “You look fine, though. Electrocution isn't something to joke about.”

“I wish I was joking,” Danny looked down at his feet. “At first I thought that it was only a nightmare, that's why I lied to you. But... things have been happening and I know it's real.”

“Danny, people don't just walk off being electrocuted. You're just confused,” she reassured.

“Jazz, will you just stay out of this?” he protested. “You don't... don't know anything.”

She rolled her eyes, and he knew that she still thought he was a liar.

“Is it... possible,” Danny continued, bracing himself for the hardest confession, “for a portal to bind to a person, instead of the doorway that you built?”

“What?”

“I think the portal opened up inside of me,” Danny continued, “and I think it's still there. Since I was inside where the portal was supposed to open, it opened up in me, and it's stuck in me.”

“Danny... things don't work like that,” Dad tried. “If they did, then-”

“Things have been happening to me ever since the electrocution. And not normal side effects, trust me. I've been going intangible, invisible, floating... and just now, I...” this was the peak of his embarrassment, “a ghost used the portal inside of me to come from the Ghost Zone to our world.”

He looked at the wild stares every member of his family was giving him.

“You have to believe me!” both of his parents gasped, and Jazz recoiled away from him in her chair. They looked... afraid?

“Danny... your eyes,” Mom's eyes were saucers.

He immediately squeezed his eyes shut. He'd forgotten that they could turn green on demand now.

“I think I might believe you,” Dad admitted.

Danny opened his eyes. “Really?”

“I don't really understand how it could work, but green eyes aren't....”

“Normal?” Danny finished, shame washing over him as he finished his Dad's sentence.

Dad nodded.

“If this is all true, then how are we going to fix this? The only time the proto-portal stopped working was after...”

“After what?” Danny asked, scared by her ominous tone.

“After Vlad died,” she said, grimly.

Everyone shared a few glances, clearly afraid of the thing that now resided inside of Danny and what it meant for them.

“We'll figure this out,” Dad declared. His voice was devoid of it's usual optimism.

By the look in his parent's eyes, Danny knew then that they wouldn't be able to fix his problem. At best, they'd only be able to figure out how to control it. It saddened him that this was permanent, and he didn't have the mental resolve to think of the implications this was going to have on the rest of his life. But, at the moment, any control was better than none.

Especially if he was going to have to get used to throwing up ghosts.

[freshwater--mermaid]

Ersatz Ch 18: I Died So I Could Haunt You

Johnny's eyes widened as he saw two young teens crossing the street toward him. He recognised them as people the ghost kid hung out with. He stood straight, muscles tightening as he prepared to fly away.

"Don't be scared." Sam called, raising a hand as she and Tucker neared. "We just want to talk to you."

Johnny was doubtful, but seeing as they didn't pose much of a threat, he remained where he stood. The three stared at one another in silence for several moments, each seeming to wait for the other to act. Finally, Sam stepped forward.

"Can you tell us why you tried to kill Jazz?" she asked, hands clutching the straps of her spider backpack. She could feel the impression of the Fenton Thermos against her back, and hoped she wouldn't have to use it.

Johnny's head fell, his eyes staring at the ground. His hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly as he opened his mouth to speak, his voice raspy and hesitant.

"I-I don't know." he said, not looking up. "I mean, I don't want her dead. But..."

"But?" Sam pressed.

"But I don't know!" Johnny looked at them with frustration plain on his face. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like something's missing; something important. And it felt like I had to go to that place out of town. But Jazz had to come with me. I don't know why...I really don't."

The man was clearly at a loss, not understanding his own motivations or actions. Sam and Tucker felt sorry for him, though they were still hesitant to trust him. No matter what, he had almost gotten Jazz killed.

Sam realised that Johnny must not know about his girlfriend's survival. Heck, he didn't even seem to remember her. Sam took another, small step toward the blond, thinking of the best way to give him the news.

A blur crashed down on the pavement bare inches from her, and Sam stumbled back into Tucker out of surprise. She immediately recognised the back of Danny's shirt, and stepped forward to grip it tightly.

"Danny stop." she said forcefully. "We're just going to talk, remember?"

"Yeah, like she said." Johnny mumbled out, stepping away from the trio and holding an arm up in defense. "A-all I wanna do is explain myself. I don't want to hurt your sister."

"Funny coming from the guy who nearly hurled her into a ditch." Danny's tone made clear how fired up he already was, and Sam glanced back at Tucker.

The other boy got the message loud and clear, and moved next to her, taking hold of Danny's right arm. Together they both had to nearly drag him back, hoping that an increase in distance would calm both him and Johnny.

It half-worked. Johnny relaxed, though Danny remained rigid under his friends' restraint. Both teens knew that if they could see Danny's face, he'd undoubtedly be sporting a pair of eerie glowing eyes.

"Look man, I have no idea what happened." Johnny began in earnest. "It made sense in the moment, but I don't know why. I swear!"

"Bullshit." Danny spit at him. "You're just afraid that your plan didn't work, and now you're trying to play innocent. I'm not buying it, so you'd better come up with a better reason why I shouldn't turn you into a puddle."

"What? Danny, no!" Sam said, frowning hard at Danny's back. "We said talking only-"

"Yeah yeah," Danny interrupted. "We've talked, and I don't want to kick his ass any less. So now what, you want me to just let him go?"

Danny began pulling forward against his friends' hold, only slightly, but enough to raise both teens' fear. This was definitely going to get out of hand. Sam wanted to grab the thermos, but was afraid to let Danny go.

Danny leaned forward, his eyes drilling into Johnny's. Fear could be felt in waves, coming off the taller ghost. It was enthralling, and Danny was finding less and less reasons to keep himself in check.

'And why do I have to anyway?' Danny thought to himself, fists balled at his sides. 'Because they want me to? Why? What reason do they have to protect this creep. He's the one in the wrong here. He's the one who's trying to kill people.'

Getting rid of Johnny would be like killing two birds with one stone. He'd keep Jazz safe and get rid of the annoying hunger. It was a win-win in his mind, and he honestly didn't get why his friends protested so ardently. He figured they just didn't understand. Of course they wouldn't.

"Johnny," Tucker said, looking over Danny's shoulder at the young man. "Does the name Kitty mean anything to you?"

Johnny's face blanked out, and he stood almost slack in the alley. His gaze swept straight through the three kids as his mouth hung open. A hand came up to scrape hard at his face, and soon Johnny was gripping it tightly, nails digging in as he stumbled to the side, shoulder colliding with the brick.

Danny thankfully stood straighter at this, ceasing his pulling as he watched on in curiosity.

"Who's Kitty?" he asked no one in particular.

A low moan began in Johnny's throat, rising in pitch and articulating as it went.

"No no no no." He repeated, his hands falling from his stricken face. His green eyes were glassy as he looked toward them once more.

"It was the only way." he said, voice getting louder. He stepped forward, looking clearly at Danny. "It was the only way!"

"What was the only way?" Sam asked, daring to release Danny and shrug off her bag.

"The only way to get her back!" Johnny screamed out. Anger was now coloring his expression, and he took another step forward.

Sam began hastily unzipping her backpack, hoping that Johnny would stop yelling. They didn't need to wake the entire block up twice in one night.

"Listen, you don't understand-" Tucker tried, holding a hand out toward the man.

"No you don't understand!" Johnny pointed a finger at the three, a scowl set to match Danny's own adorning his face.

"I have to get her back!" Johnny said heatedly. "It was the only way to get her back!"

"Are you saying you tried to kill my sister because you thought it would somehow get this Kitty person back?" Danny asked.

"I have to get her back, it's the only way!" Johnny paced back and forth in the tight space of the alley. He suddenly stopped and turned back toward Danny, glaring down at the boy.

"It's the only way to bring her back, I just know it." he said. "And you're not going to stop me."

"Wrong." Danny replied, and flew forward, ripping out of Tucker's grasp and causing the boy to fall flat on his face across the concrete.

Johnny ascended high into the air, Danny following, and the two were once again locked in a fight. Tucker sighed as he rubbed his sore chin, watching Danny launch balls of green at Johnny, while Johnny tried to move in and land blows of his own.

"Man, why can't they just cool it!" Tucker groaned.

Sam didn't bother to answer as she dropped her backpack to the ground, thermos in hand. Turning it on, she aimed it up at the two, waiting for a clear shot. Danny sent an arc of energy flying at Johnny, who swung back out of its path. Seeing her opportunity, Sam mashed the button, and a stream of light flooded out.

It landed squarely on Johnny, and the ghost was powerless to stop it as it pulled him down, stretching his body cartoonishly as he disappeared inside the small metal device.

Sam quickly capped the thermos, holding it against her chest as Danny landed, incredibly irate as he stalked toward them.

"And what was the point of that?" he said, glaring at them both. "He can't hide in there forever, Sam."

"Listen, Danny." Sam reasoned. "I think I know how this can all end peacefully."

"End peacefully?" Danny yelled. "Are you crazy? The only way this can end peacefully is if I fry that nutcase into dust!"

"Danny stop it!" Sam shouted back. "You have got to calm down and think for a second. This isn't like you. Wanting to beat people into dust? Not wanting to at least try to talk it out?"

"Yeah, dude." Tucker agreed. "You've changed, like a lot. It's worrying us."

"What?" Danny was taken back by their words, his anger lowering several levels as he took in their concerned expressions. "What are you guys talking about? I haven't changed. I mean, beyond the obvious."

"But you have." Sam argued, moving closer. "You never talk to us anymore, like really talk. And you're always going off alone. You rarely hang out anymore."

"And you're putting Dash to shame with your bloodlust, dude." Tucker added.

Danny scowled at Tucker, eyebrows knit together as his gaze lowered. He wasn't like Dash. He didn't pick on other people for no reason. He had a reason to vaporize Johnny. A very good reason.

"Are you seriously suggesting I let this guy go free?" Danny asked. "After what he tried? Who's to stop him from just coming back and killing Jazz while I'm not around!"

"I have an idea." Sam said. "I think I know how we can keep Johnny from running back to Jazz, without killing him."

"I don't think throwing him in the portal's going to work, Sam." Danny replied, still frowning heavily. "All those other ghosts are spilling out of it, after all."

"No, not the portal." Sam continued, looking at Tucker. "Kitty's alive, right? So maybe if we just-"

"If we take him to the hospital," Tucker finished her sentence, eyes going wide. "he'll stop focusing on Jazz and focus on his actual girlfriend!"

"Exactly." Sam smiled, hopeful that this plan would work out.

The friends began walking quickly toward the hospital. Danny was still clearly unhappy, though the other two couldn't quite figure out why. He remained silent the entire trip, giving only frowns and glances in response to any questions or comments. Sam hoped that he wasn't disappointed that he couldn't just kill Johnny. This new aspect of Danny really worried her, and she was sure Tucker felt the same.

Thinking back on her little book on ghosts, Sam decided to herself that she'd have a talk with Tucker at the earliest opportunity. There were some things written in that book that she'd never shared with them. She had honestly hoped the book was wrong.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

No visitors that were not family were accepted in the night hours. The three teens huddled together outside the front entrance, coming up with a plan to reach Kitty's room.

"I can search around for her," Danny said. "It shouldn't take long. Then I'll come back for you guys."

"Okay." Sam agreed, with Tucker's nod accompanying her words.

Danny walked to the side of the building, where deep shadows concealed him from sight. He became invisible and lifted up into the sky before phasing through the hospital wall. Sam had explained on the way that the news report stated that Kitty was in critical condition, which told Danny that she'd definitely be on a higher floor somewhere.

He ignored the pull of nearby spirits as he flew quietly through rooms and hallways. Small, faint ghosts, some lingering while others faded, could be felt all around. Danny definitely didn't want to remain here for long, lest the urge to seek one out became too strong. Eating the ghost of some dead person in a hospital was just too wrong. Danny shuddered at the thought.

After a while, Danny came upon a small room that held the familiar face of Kitty. She looked almost exactly like her photograph, if not for the breathing tube and dark shadows under her closed eyes. Several wires ran from various points on her body, all either connecting to an IV line or a large machine that beeped out her steady heartbeat.

Danny made note of the room number before returning to his friends, still standing outside and trying not to look conspicuous. With their repeated glances in every direction, they were failing.

"Guys." Danny said from directly behind them, still invisible. He had to smile at the way they both jumped.

"I know where she is." he continued, watching the two turn to look in his direction. "I'm going to have to phase us in, though. I'm not completely sure how it goes, but I think I can do it."

"Oh, great." Tucker muttered.

"Come over to the side of the building." Danny directed, flying in that direction.

Once the thee of them were safely hidden in the shadows, Danny went visible once more. He continued to float slightly above them as he held out his hands. Sam gripped his hand tight, the only indication that she was nervous. Tucker hesitated, staring down at Danny's hand for a long moment before sighing and grabbing it.

"Okay," Danny said, feeling energy building up within him. "Don't worry, I got this."

"Famous last words, dude." Tucker commented, his eyes squeezed shut.

Danny ignored Tucker, focusing on himself first as he became invisible once again. Next came the two teenagers before him. Danny watched with fascination as both their hands vanished from sight. The rest of them followed suit, disappearing slowly as invisibility crawled up their outstretched arms.

Tucker leaned away from it, though that did little to impede its progress. His teeth clenched in fear as he watched his own body disappear before his eyes. He glanced at Sam to see her progress as well, and felt a spike fo fear as he saw only her two legs standing beside him.

Soon, the both of them were fully invisible, and they clutched onto Danny's hands, afraid that if they let go they wouldn't be able to find each other again.

"Now we're gonna go up higher." Danny's voice spoke in a steady tone, clearly aware of how freaked out the two were.

The ground left Sam and Tucker's feet, and the latter couldn't help but kick out briefly, like a dog held over water. They felt dizzy as they rose up into the air, with no support other than Danny's hands, which they both continued to hold tight. The teens passed by darkened windows as they ascended to the third floor.

Danny paused here, letting the three of them hover. He thought back to Jazz, and how she'd reacted when he turned her intangible. He really hoped that this wouldn't be a repeat, or he was about to have two unconscious friends to drag around.

Danny let the intangability flow out from his palms like the invisibility had. As soon as he felt it cover his friends entirely, he passed through the hospital wall, quickly making his way back to Kitty's room.

Entering into the small space, Danny landed on the tiled floor, letting the energy dissipate from himself as he released Sam and Tucker. They both popped into sight as soon as his hands left theirs, and the two stood hunched over on the floor, coughing and wrapping their arms around themselves.

"Uh, guys?" Danny asked, watching them with uncertainty. "Are you alright?"

"Holy crap!" Tucker choked out, shivering as he looked up at Danny. "That was not fun."

"It was like being shoved in ice water or something." Sam attempted to explain the unpleasant sensation.

"You should've warned us we wouldn't be able to breathe." Tucker frowned. "I would've taken a deeper breath."

"I didn't know you wouldn't be able to breathe." Danny replied, now wondering if suffocation had somehow caused Jazz to black out. He really hoped she was okay.

"It's fine." Sam said, standing straight as her breathing evened out. "At least now we'll know for future reference."

"Hey, I'm never doing that again." Tucker said stubbornly, still shaking off chills. His arms crossed tightly against his chest as he turned to survey the room's fourth occupant.

"So I guess that's her." he said, his voice quieting.

"Yeah." Sam agreed, stepping over to the side of the bed. She looked down at the thermos, still clutched tightly in her left hand.

"Just so you know," Danny spoke up, his tone becoming aggravated once more at the reminder of Johnny's presence. "If he tries anything, I'm finishing this my way."

"Understood." Sam sniped back, frowning over her shoulder at Danny.

Uncapping the thermos, Sam took a breath before hitting the release. A small burst of light erupted into the room, and the form of Johnny spilled out onto the floor. He lay in a heap for a moment before jerking upright. His neck and back popped loudly as he groaned, eyes swinging about in the room as he tried to get his bearings.

"It's alright." Sam said calmingly, holding out a hand toward Johnny. "We just have something to show you."

The man looked at her offered hand for a moment before ignoring it, rising up stiffly on his own. He appeared to be on the verge of saying something, when his eyes landed on the young woman lying motionless in the bed.

Sam stepped away to give him space as he moved closer to her. Slowly, Johnny dropped down, sitting heavily on the bedside. He leaned toward Kitty, a shaky hand moving up to run lightly across her cheek.

"She's breathing." he said, almost a whisper, as though he couldn't believe it. "She's alive."

"She survived the crash." Sam said softly. "That's why you fixated on Jazz, isn't it? Did she remind you of your girlfriend?"

"I..." Johnny's voice trailed. His head bent down, the ends of his shaggy hair dancing across Kitty's face.

Danny wasn't sure how to feel about this situation. On the one hand, he still very much wanted to pulverize Johnny. That part worried him, if he was being honest. It wasn't even for Jazz's safety that he wanted to attack the other ghost. He figured that he was just hungrier than he thought.

But Danny was also able to recognise the grief that Johnny was so plainly feeling, and he felt sorry for him. He understood what it was like to be dead while those you loved remained alive. Though in this circumstance, Kitty might not be among the living much longer. The machine that breathed for her spoke as much.

"She's...she's not doing so hot." Johnny said shakily, his face never turning from the woman's.

"She's in a coma." Tucker supplied, holding up her chart. His eyes scanned over the words, and his mood fell further as he noted the fact that she was on full life support.

"She's got family." Johnny said. "They'll keep her here. They'll keep her hooked up. She won't die. She won't-"

The sound of a grown man crying is not easily borne, and all three kids wanted to instantly leave the room and give him his privacy. Sam shoved the urge aside, and instead stepped forward.

"If you, uh, need anything. I mean, if you have questions about ghostly stuff or whatever, I've been doing a lot of research, and I can help you out. Okay?" she offered, unsure of what else she could say.

Johnny only nodded his head once, practically curled over the bed as he continued staring down at Kitty. Her hair was spread over the pillow, as though someone had combed it out, and Johnny absently began toying with the strands, tears occasionally falling down to splash against Kitty's skin.

"Wow Sam, I didn't realise you were going into the ghost helping business." Danny said sarcastically, frowning at the girl. Why was she offering to help the guy who'd nearly killed Jazz?

"I help you, don't I?" Sam glared back at him. "He's obviously new to everything, just like you were. Is it so wrong to give him a little help?"

"Uh, yeah." Danny replied, raising an eyebrow.

Sam rolled her eyes at him, turning back to look at Johnny, who didn't seem to pay their conversation any mind.

The ensuing quiet lasted only a few seconds before Danny couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward, causing Johnny's shoulders to twitch as he glanced in Danny's direction.

"So does this mean you're going to leave my sister alone?" Danny asked outright. "Because if it doesn't-"

"Just leave." Johnny said lowly, head still bent down.

Danny's frown only grew. He wanted a clear answer. He wanted to never see this guy's face again. But before he could voice any more questions or threats, Sam grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back. They along with Tucker headed for the door, with Danny only putting up a mild struggle.

His mind was still cluttered with unanswered questions, but as his anger faded, his sympathy for the situation at hand settled in. That, and the sensation of surrounding spirits was really starting to make him itch. He wanted so badly to go and find something, something that was not Johnny. As much as Danny wanted to, he just couldn't bring himself to attack the guy while he was crying over his comatose girlfriend.

The three of them stood for several minutes outside in the bright hallway, consumed in their own thoughts. Tucker sat on a bench while Sam leaned against a wall. Danny stood in the centre of the hall, frowning at the closed door.

"Are you still mad?" Tucker asked him, breaking the stillness.

"What do you think?" Danny's sarcastic reply came, souring everyone's mood further.

"Danny," Sam sighed, straightening out and walking toward him. "You have to let this go. I don't think Johnny's going to cause any more trouble for you."

"Oh yeah, he's just going to sit quietly in that room for the rest of eternity, not harming a fly." Danny glared at her. "What happens when she dies, huh? Do you think he's not going to try to bring her back in any way he can? He's dangerous, Sam."

"You don't know for sure what's going to happen, Danny." Sam countered. "He said that Kitty has family members. That means that they'll probably keep her on life support until she wakes-"

"If she wakes up." Danny interrupted. "She's in a coma, Sam, not just sleeping."

"I know that." Sam scowled at him.

"Okay, okay." Tucker moved between the two, holding up his hands. "This is pointless to argue over. We don't know what's going to happen, so it's stupid to throw what ifs around. I think we should just leave before someone finds us and we get kicked out."

"Yeah." Danny said lowly. If he had to stick around for one more minute he was either going to go back in and confront Johnny, or start searching the halls for other ghosts. He really didn't want Sam and Tucker to see either.

He quietly led the way down the hall, his thoughts still mulling over Johnny's actions. His motivation for trying to hurt Jazz seemed to be a mystery, even to him.

"Uh, so..." Tucker spoke up as they exited out into the night air. "Who else is up for ditching school today?"

"Right here." Sam raised her hand with a small smile. "I'm exhausted."

"You guys should head home and get some sleep, then." Danny said. "Can you hold onto my thermos for now, Sam? I'll get it back later."

"Wait," Sam said. "Where are you going?"

"To look for ghosts." Danny answered matter-of-factly. "I still need to find one, remember?"

"We'll help." Tucker and Sam spoke in near unison, and Danny rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I guess there's no point in arguing." He said, looking at their resolute expressions.

"Nope!" Sam replied, her face blooming into a full smile.

"Well...then let's just look around as we head to your place." Danny suggested, not wanting to drag the two all over the city. "It's going to be morning soon, anyway."

It was quiet between the three as they put the hospital behind them, making the trek to Sam's house in silence.

"Hey, guys," Danny spoke up. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you. I don't know why I was so mad, I was just...I don't know."

Danny stared at the ground, unable to put his thoughts into words. He couldn't really say why he had acted like he did, both toward Johnny and his friends. It went beyond a protective need to defend his sister. But he wasn't sure even he understood his own motivations, and so simply let his sentence hang, the silence moving back in.

'I guess Johnny's not the only one confused by his actions...' Danny's mind unhelpfully spoke up.

Tucker put a hand on his shoulder, offering the other boy a supportive smile. Danny returned it, only to stop in his tracks. Just beyond Tucker, across the street, was a small glowing spirit. Its shape couldn't be determined as it floated only inches above the ground.

"Sam," Danny said, pointing across the street. "Try to get that thing in the thermos, okay?"

Sam uncapped the metal cylinder and aimed it as best she could at the tiny spectre. The expected beam of light hit it straight on, and it swirled quickly into the device with a gurgled yell.

"I guess I should've thought to use this sooner." Danny said, taking the thermos from Sam after she recapped it.

"Gotta love that C average." Tucker teased, earning a jab from Danny.

As the two boys shared a grin, Sam frowned down at the small machine. She still felt slightly queasy at the thought of Danny eating other ghosts. But she'd seen how bad he could get without it, and she didn't want to lose her friend.

"Come on, let's wait until we get to my room." Sam said, beckoning the others to follow her.

Danny felt impatient, but relented as he looked around at the growing number of early commuters leavings their homes and apartments. They would surely take note of the boy eating a small glowing blob in the street. He settled for drumming his fingers against the thermos as they all continued on their path.

Once in the privacy of Sam's room, the girl locked her door and turned on the main lights. The normally shadowed room was bathed in full light as all eyes landed on the thermos in Danny's grasp.

Danny swallowed, feeling his friends' stares as he slowly uncapped the device. He hadn't really thought of how to go about this, but his hunger kept him from simply calling the whole thing off. No, he needed to do this. It was just something he was going to have to get used to.

Frowning to himself, Danny aimed the cylinder at Sam's floor and hit the release. The small green shape took form, laying against the carpet as its tiny eyes opened. It took notice of Danny immediately, its eyes moving across its body as they swiveled up at him. It was afraid. The fear rose off it, fainter than with Johnny, but no less enticing.

Suddenly, the thing rocketed off, emitting a high shriek as it flew across the room. It headed in Sam's direction, but upon seeing her it swerved, flying toward the window. Tucker, who was in its path, swung out without thinking and struck the ghost. He immediately recoiled, bringing his hand to his chest and shuddering like he'd touched a spider. He made quiet gross-out noises to himself.

The small ghost landed once more on the floor. Before it could take flight, Danny dove forward, landing hard on his knees. He laid both hands on the creature and sent as many volts into it as he could manage. The sensation of static filled the room as white sparks danced between Danny's fingers. Sam's lights blared briefly, but thankfully did not shatter.

After it was over, the ghost was completely still, and Danny slowly removed his hands. He peered down at the small blob, once again unsure. He didn't know if the thing was dead or simply stunned, but he didn't want to risk it flying off again.

"Uh," Sam spoke up, startling Danny. "I'm gonna go take a shower and change. I'll be back in a bit."

With that, the goth girl fled the room. It wasn't surprising. Danny knew she was against this whole thing. Danny looked over at Tucker, who was still rubbing at his hand like it was infected. The two boys shared a glance, before Tucker simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Better just get it over with, dude. Before she comes back." he said.

Danny stared down at the unmoving blob, it's green glow dimmed in the bright lights. He wasn't quite sure how to go about this, but figured that it would probably have the same consistency of the old ectoplasm from his parents' lab.

With tentative fingers, Danny began digging his nails into the skin of the ghost before him. If he could just take off small pieces at a time it'd make it a lot easier for him to pretend it was regular food.

"Want me to grab you a fork and knife?" Tucker joked.

Danny gave a quick laugh, gladly accepting Tucker's attempt at lightening the mood.

"Naw, I'm good." he replied, his fingers now tearing off a chunk of the ghost's body.

Danny was glad that it had no solid form. He didn't think he could manage to eat something with legs or a face. The piece he held resembled thick jello, and Danny closed his eyes as he shoved it into his mouth. If he could just make it past this first bite, then the rest would be easy.

And he was right. Once that first taste hit his tongue and slid down his throat, something awoke in Danny. Tucker watched on in amazement as his eyes shot open, green and bright. The boy then looked down at the small ghost intensely, grabbing up larger and larger chunks of it and shoveling them into his mouth. Green crusted under his nails and smeared across his hands. It dribbled down his chin and neck in shallow streams.

When there was nothing left but spots on the carpet, Danny's hands hovered in the air uselessly, his mouth hanging slightly open. He blinked several times, looking up toward Tucker with an unreadable expression.

"You okay?" was all Tucker could think to ask. It was still unnerving to have those two pinpricks of light staring at him.

Danny didn't answer for what seemed an eternity. The two remained in stasis, staring at one another in complete silence. Finally, Danny broke the gaze and moved his eyes back down, resting his hands on his jeans.

"That was...interesting." Danny said awkwardly, wiping at his mouth. He only succeded in spreading the green ectoplasm farther up his cheek. His eyes had dimmed back down to their normal black pupils amid blue irises, and they shot to the door as it opened, revealing Sam in a long black nightgown.

She looked at him, her eyebrows shooting up almost comically. Her wide eyes then glanced down at the small green spots on her carpet. She inhaled deeply, closing and locking her door. She then strode toward her dresser, digging out Danny's spare clothes.

"You should probably take the shower next." she said, tossing the garments at him.

Danny nodded, standing and trying to hold the clothes as little as possible, lest he cover them in green as well. He quickly exited the room, darting down the dark hallway to Sam's bathroom.

Sam stared at the door in silence as Tucker watched her. He figured that she must be more unnerved by this than she'd let on. Her eyes settled on Tucker then, and she looked to be mulling over a thought, her mouth twisting and turning as she considered her options.

Sam wanted to let Tucker in on everything she'd been researching, but she didn't want Danny to know. If this Showenhower guy was correct in his writings on ghosts, then Danny would not take too kindly to the things written within the purple book that Sam still kept stashed away on her bookshelf.

Tucker watched Sam as she appeared to come to a decision, moving toward him. Her voice was low and her expression serious as she spoke to him.

"I've been reading that ghost book I bought a few weeks back." she said. "And there's some stuff in it that I...well, it's just some weird stuff that I want to talk with you about, alright?"

"Alright?" Tucker agreed, confused.

"But not now." Sam continued. "I don't want Danny thinking we're going behind his back or anything."

"But aren't we?" Tucker reasoned. "I mean, secretly discussing him and a book on ghosts seems-"

"You know what I mean." Sam replied impatiently. "Danny needs to know that we're here for him one hundred percent, and I'm afraid that if he thought we were keeping secrets from him he'd feel betrayed. Got it?"

"Got it."

The two began dragging out twin sleeping bags, setting out the extra blankets and pillows. They went back and forth deciding on a movie to watch, eventually agreeing on a classic horror flick.

It was nearly thirty minutes before Danny returned, newly dressed and cleaned of any green stains. After Tucker's shower, the three settled quietly down to watch the film, both boys on the floor, and Sam perched on her bed. The silence between them was familiar and comforting. It was times like these that the friends were beginning to cherish; when everything appeared to be normal, as though nothing were amiss.

Tucker was the first to nod off, laying slumped across his sleeping bag, a huge blanket wrapped around him like a cocoon. Sam was quick to follow, falling asleep with her head in her arms and her feet resting against her pillows. Danny got up and folded part of her blanket over her before he settled down underneath his own covers.

The pillow was soft underneath his head, and despite not feeling tired, Danny was eventually lulled into a dreamless sleep. Neither he nor the others stirred for the rest of the night.

"Sammykins!" came the bright, enthusiastic voice of Sam's mother, knocking at the bedroom door.

Sam and Tucker sat up, the former wiping drool off her chin as she glanced at the locked door.

"Yeah, Mom, we're awake." she called. "We'll be down in a minute."

"Alright, sweetie." was the answer, and the clack of heels could be heard retreating down the stairs.

"Um, Sam?" Tucker spoke up.

Sam looked down at him, and instantly spotted Danny's empty sleeping bag. Panic arced up her spine as Sam's eyes moved around every inch of the room, a thousand different thoughts flying through her head.

A faint groan from above had her and Tucker looking up, and they both gasped. Danny hovered against the ceiling, moving slightly as he awoke. He began floating back down to the floor, stretching out as his back landed on the discarded blanket.

He rubbed at his eyes, opening them only to be greeted by dual stares from his friends. He looked between them, confused.

"What?"

[willpowerbutch]

Gay Oil: Chapter 2

Autumn had crept west, painting the wooded foothills and gullies rust-red and parting the clouds to let the morning stars peer through. Eli stretched out, folding his arms behind his head, a pleasurable sensation washing over him as his eyelids cracked open. It was easy to forget, in the communist utopia of New Trotskyville, what it felt like only to lie down, the wind in his lightly curled hair, reposing far from the exertion of musclebound street cleaners chewing on his legs like popsicle sticks. Living in the silver miners’ soviet made him remember another life in a time of innocence, the brutal innocence of capitalism, when Eli had been wont to take dainty hikes through the surrounding forests alone, gaping in wonder at the sturdy oak branches with which he explored his appetite for man logs.

Rising on his elbows, Eli dabbed his lips on a discarded sex bracelet and looked around, over the mounds of heaving flesh. Strewn about him were the implements of the previous night of communion: salt water balloons; dozens of empty tubs of vanilla yogurt; and innumerable dirtied, variously-sized rubber ladles. Eli groaned, shifting his weight. That’s the last time I play 20 Questions through a drilled wall, he thought, dusting pot sugar off his leather-strap boobs as he rose to his feet. He had been roused by the clamor of someone knocking incessantly against his church’s door, and as he drew close to the source of the sound, Eli reckoned he could smell the award-show sweat and mustache wax which announced the presence of one Daniel Plainsex.

Eli swung open the door and was assaulted by Daniel’s intense impressiveness and laudability. “Daddy,” Eli whimpered, “you’ve arrived just in time for our come-down cuddle. Would you like to take the spot beside me?”

“You prison erotica plebian,” spat the gaywad. “You know well what I have come for. I will have your bath oils now, Eli: be a good lad and accept my offer.”

“You’re persistent, Daddy Daniel,” purred Eli, stroking his bedazzled crotch guard absently, “But a framed photograph of Dolly Parton and a box of cracker jacks couldn’t even afford you an hour of nipple worship from me. Why can’t you be satisfied without my bath oils?”

“Pillage, Eli,” Daniel retorted. “The straights have their families, but we homos have only our beauty products to entertain us after a long day of manual labor for the state… This is my final offer,” he declared. “I will compensate you for the oils as promised, and if they make me smell like a cotillion queen, I’ll pay you an additional radish soup voucher and my poster of Whitney Houston that Warren Beatty ruined while I was earning my first Oscar.”

Eli cackled, sliding his ass up the hard edge of the wooden door frame. “You still don’t realize how basic you are, listening to that Disney Channel reject. Whitney Houston is a personified beer nap, Daddy, and Beyoncé is a Bacardi 151.”

“Do not speak to me of Dance Oprah!” Daniel ejaculated. “Beyoncé is the spawn of an Aretha Franklin imposter and sexual nihilism, and if you will not allow me to bathe in your fluids, then I will drown you in mine!”

From the looming trees emerged a battalion of saucy painters adorned only in glittery boy pants, feather boas, and builder hats. Descending upon the church, they brandished their brushes high, dripping white paint. At the sight of that, Eli whined orgasmically. “I will not allow you to asperse the holiness of this Cock Barn any further!” He tightened his grip around his loins, but just as the first bristle touched Eli’s wood, a groaning, explosive sound reverberated through the canyon, and a conflagration rose high in the distance, hot and stark like the men who paid Eli to be a woman.

“Fuck!” exclaimed Daddy Daniel. “Homosexuals are susceptible to fire!” Sprinting back the way he’d come, Daniel vanished into the now-illuminated forest, and Eli felt impelled to follow him --  down, into the gully, then finally ascending into a flatland buffered by foothills, in the center of which was a burning oil rig.

“NO!” Daniel screamed, taking in the vision the way Eli took in common law-married rancheros. “I’ve abandoned my child! I’ve abandoned my boy!” He broke down into a fit of incredible excellence, gasping as hot tears slid down his sexually-aggressive cheek bones. Eli was almost induced to pity him, but before he could offer his body as comfort, a slim, swimsuit-clad woman cat-walked toward them out of the rubble.

“Brother!” she called out. It was the waifish elf, Danny, emerging from the wreckage with a contorted homosexual in his arms. “I have Alex. I will not elaborate on why his lips are wet.”

As Daniel scooped Alex into his arms, Eli observed the daddy reveal fondness for something other than assault for the first time in his memory. But Daddy Daniel’s relief turned to mourning when Alex stirred awake, groaning, “Pappi? Who brought the big carrots? Because my spicy dip is hot and ready to serve.”

“He’s…” Daniel started but soon corrected himself. “This bitch is… a bottom. No son of mine could…” he choked. Glistening tears of fabulous acting returned to his eyes, and he won another Oscar hysterically. At this, Eli placed a long-fingered, sensual hand on his ass.

“Think of it as a blessing, Daddy,” he whispered. “Left in the fire any longer, and it might have become a transgender.”

Daniel, with the pathetic form of his former son in his arms, turned around and began to walk toward the faith healer’s tent, with Eli on his trail. When this brigade of sissies had left to dress Alex’s wounds, Danny stood apart, watching the oil rig continue to burn against the night sky like Paul Lynde. Sensing that he was being watched, the gay turned around to find that he had been approached by the Expository Candy Man, who offered him an enormous lollipop directly. “Are you lost, boy?” asked the Candy Man. Accepting the treat gingerly, Danny nodded his head.

“Lost in thought.”

“But what could a gay youth be thinking about other than anal lube and abolishing racism?”

Danny touched his lips ponderously. “I don’t know,” he admitted at last. “I’ve never thought of anything else before. What should I do?”

“Come with me,” said the Candy Man, slinging a morally bankrupt arm about the broad shoulders of the snack. “I will distract you by introducing you to my friends on Craig’s List.”

Sighing, Danny went along with the stranger. As they drew away from the flame, Danny looked at the lollipop in his hand and noticed a small object embedded within. “Mister?” he queried. “What is this small, pill-shaped item in my lolli?”

“It’s my gonorrhea medication,” the Candy Man replied. “You’re going to need it after we’re finished.”

 *****Six Months Later*****

The overhead speakers crackled, and a gay voice pierced the atmosphere of phallic bedlam. “And now, opening for The Backstreet Goys, let’s make some love for Eli Sundae!” The club-goers gasped as the thighs of multiple builder bears shuddered in unison, and the frightful silhouette of a fey princess appeared behind the stained curtains. Stepping into the spotlight, Eli came into view, bedecked in Halloween glitter and organic soda water. He acknowledged Daddy Daniel, who was waiting for him erotically in the foyer, before addressing the rest of the Gay.

“If you were an ice cream flavor, what would you be, lovers? I’d be Big Banana with a splash of salted caramel inside. Let’s see who wants to get a lick of this Eli Sundae.” Weaving his way through the crowd, the gayographer halted before the table of the Candy Man, who was admiring Danny’s sexual vulnerability sadly from afar. Eli stood by, stroking him silently for several moments, pouting sexily. He flicked his eyes carefully over the Candy Man’s pelvis, lapping him up. “Do you want to taste me, lover?” he murmured. “I’d like you to -- if I wasn’t allergic to gin yetis.” Turning toward his companion parole officer, Eli Sundae startled, then purred, “I’d suck your straw on a street corner for a dime and a plastic watch, baby boy.”

Daddy Daniel had reached the end of his patience. In a fabulous display of noteworthy scene dominance, he opened his trousers, began throwing tequila-soaked licorice onto the dance floor, and stole Eli away in the ensuing chaos. Dragging him toward the dressing rooms, Eli struggled against the daddy to break free, but it was to no avail. Terror flooded his eyes as they drew near the door.

“No, we mustn’t go there,” Eli cautioned Daniel. “That’s where the spirit of Reddie Gayflame lives in eternal death scene makeup, devouring the unwanted bits of transgenders. Let’s sit at a table in the back instead, Daddy.”

Slamming Eli into a chair, Daniel emanated greatness from his magnetic genital posture. “Eli,” he growled, “this is the last courtesy you will get from he.” He held out both his hands. “If I do not have your bath oils in my possession in five seconds, I will kill you in a completely non-homoerotic mud wrestling match.”

Eli swallowed harder than he had with Benedict Cumberbatch, but he held his voice level. “Daddy -- Daniel,” the bottom replied calmly, “you haven’t looked hot in your cowboy stripper act since 1995.”

Eli stood to leave, but Daniel took his wrist forcefully. Ruminating on how slight and pansific Eli was in his grasp, the older man remarked, satisfied, “I’m going to ruin you like lesbians have ruined denim, Eli. I’m going to savage you like the Transgender has savaged the world.”

“You could do a lot more to me than that, delicious,” Eli swooned.

Daniel gave him a tense, magical stare, but before he could proceed, the flaccid voice of a disco whore wafted to him, and his ears pricked. Rising to gain a better vantage, he caught sight of his brother-sister, Danny, in an intimate moment of under-the-tablecloth fondling with his disgraced son, Alex. “That woodland slut,” he spat, and before Eli could try to immobilize him with lust, he was away.

In their own private romance, the young fruits remained oblivious to Daniel’s approach. “I want to marry you,” Danny declared suddenly, meeting Alex’s gaze with tears. “I want to make applesauce at a lesbian orchard with you, and I want to start a charity to brew Norwegian coffee at homeless shelters. I want to have a radical poetry retreat in Okinawa next year, living off only the money we can raise selling palm-readings and using a GoFundMe page. I want to do it all with you, not just the ball-gag stuff.” The fairy was peering up at him hopefully, but Alex shook his head.

“I’m gay.”

“Oh, Alex,” Danny sniffled, “I’m not really your uncle. I only said that so Daniel would let me handle your under-clothing.” The lovers reconciled with a kiss, but the Daddy, who had heard the substance of their discourse, loomed over Danny’s surprisingly butch shoulder blade.

“You topped my mathematical sex son and you’re not even my BROTHER?” Daniel roared. He kicked their vodka-filled champagne flutes, sending them crashing against the nearby poster of Che Guevara. “Now that he has a hankering for sleeping on his stomach, he will never change back! You have destroyed him! For this, you will die!” Brandishing an obscenely-shaped novelty thermos, Daniel unscrewed the lid and poured the liquid contents down the homofairy’s throat.

“I’m gay!” screamed Alex as Danny began to convulse.

“Coffee!” Danny choked. “Black coffee! The only black my lips have ever touched was Macklemore. Alas!” he cried, shuddering to the floor. “Food is toxic to the Homosexual unless it’s hot meat or condiments!” Dragging himself toward Alex, Danny wept out his body’s constitution of Mio and whimpered, “I haven’t gagged like this since I was backstage at the BAFTAs.” A single, dramatically-lit tear trickling down his cheek, Alex shook Danny’s hand as the homo dissolved into a mournful ghost.

None who bore witness to the execution would soon forget it – not the braying of the cats that escaped from Danny’s rucksack, nor the blood orgy that materialized around his corpse, nor in the least the sexual way Danny had moaned for Sweet & Low to ease his suffering before succumbing to his grievous lack of reproductive fitness. When Alex and the Candy Man had been removed from the premises and the police had taken a report of the incident, the body had been placed in the care of Eli’s church to deliver Danny’s last rites. Standing above Danny’s coffin, the cross of the erection shining in sunlight behind him, Eli lifted his eyes to the bright window and held his hand to his cock. “You and Alex will be married, bitch,” he spoke. “This I promise you: if Daniel should stand in the way of your necrophilic gay wedding, I will penetrate him with my nail scissors like a Master, and not in a ticklish way.” Staring out over his congregation, Eli’s voice whined mightily. “Stand tall with me, brothers, sisters, sister-wives, merry men, men who do fellatio to get free lingerie from perverts at the mall, gay-ngsters, and trans-genitalists. Stand with me, and together, we shall upend the chastity of marriage!”

 About the Author

Tom Rob Smith, award winning author of Gay Slut Death and screenwriter of the shelved pilot episode of Fairies Are Gay Sissies, presents this second instalment of Gay Oil as a tribute to the memory of Daniel Day-Lewis, whose violent death this year was almost as upsetting as the fact that Ben Whishaw is now shilling poltergeist videos for cash. Tom is patronized in this effort by the kind inspiration and credit card details of his platonic nightly visitor, Manly Men! Magazine’s own Paragon Shag. His editor, Willpower Butch, hopes that their partnership shall continue to bring valuable edutainment about the cultural corruption of the Gay to millennials for many years to come. Their secretary and friendly neighborhood evil transgender pervert, Dead Summer Days, hasn’t debauched a pure-hearted heiress all week.  

[ghostboyconceps]

AU Fic, Danny/Jazz Role Swap, My Sister's Keeper

Concept: Danny is the supportive older brother that doesn’t really know how to go about it. Jazz is the little snot nosed know it all that secretly has superpowers. This is kind of an abridged version of how my brother’s keeper would have gone.

Danny shut his locker and leaned against it. He seemed a lot quieter than usual.

“Hey man,” said Tucker “what’s up?’

"Huh? Oh, nothing.”

“That doesn’t sound like nothing.” Said Sam

Danny ran his hand through his hair and groaned. “Ugh. It’s Jazz. Usually I try to stay out of her business, but she’s been acting weird. I dunno if I should talk to her about it, or talk to mom and dad, or I dunno. Should I do something?”

“Heck if I know.” Said Sam, “I’m an only child, remember?”

“Yeah.” Said Tucker, “We don’t really understand your sibling dynamics.”

“Ah, whatever. I’ll see you guys later.” He walked off to his English class.

Meanwhile, Jazz was walking to her own first period when a shiver ran down her spine. She noticed a green blob disappear into an empty English classroom. She ran into the nearest girl’s restroom and a small flash of light later, a ghost with white hair in a green jumpsuit flew out.

She threw a few kicks at the blob, which just dodged them. She flipped and flew around it, trying to get in a hit. When she finally did, it just regenerated. It threw her against the wall, breaking several desks in the process. She got up ready to fight, but when she did it was gone.

She changed back. “Good going, Jazz. It got away.” She murmured.

Suddenly, a lock clicked and an English teacher and several early students walked into the room. Among them, her older brother.

“Jazz!?” Danny said, looking at the wrecked classroom and down at his little sister

“Uh, um, I…” Jazz stuttered.

Danny grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out into the hallway. “I knew something was up. I knew it. I dunno what’s happening Jazz, but we need to do something right now.”

“But, but, what about first period?” Asked Jazz

“To hell with first period! You need help and we’re getting some right now!”

Half an hour later, the two Fenton kids were sitting in plastic chairs in Dr. Spectra’s office with Mr. Lancer standing behind them. Danny was trying desperately to form his thoughts into words.

“I just, I don’t know what’s been happening with her lately. I don’t know how to help. She’s a good person, Mr. Lancer. She’s always been a straight A student up until this year. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Jazz was visibly sulking with her arms crossed. “I don’t see how therapy would help me. I know everything about it.”

“Oh, c'mon Jazz.” Danny said, “You used to be the one drilling me about my feelings. You wouldn’t shut up about yours.”

“Yeah, when I was ten and you minded your own business.”

“Jazz, I think we can change that attitude right around.” Said Spectra in a sickeningly bubbly voice “Your brother is just looking out for you, after all.”

Danny cringed at the peppiness in her voice. “Man, you sound like a human pack of bubblegum, but if you think you can help her…”

“Oh, I do.”

“Alright then, it’s settled” said Mr. Lancer, “Ms. Fenton, this will be your punishment. Danny, I need to talk to you about that extra credit assignment for Mr. Vang’s class.”

“That dumb spirit speech? I told you I’m working on it. I’ve gotta get to class.”

He shouldered his backpack and looked back at his younger sister. “Uh, good luck.” He said. Jazz just crossed her arms tighter and faced away.

Later, Jazz leaned against her locker, clutching her AP psychology book to her chest. Going to the school therapist was supposed to help, and why would her brother call her stupid? A friend of hers had tried to say that didn’t sound like him, but somehow it all made sense. He was the smart one now. She couldn’t handle high school. Stupid loser freak ghost girl.

“Hey.”

Jazz jumped out of her trance at the sound of Danny’s voice. As usual his friends were with him.

“Oh, what do you want?” She asked

“I just wanna know how it went. Uh, how’re you feeling?”

“Like you care. Why don’t you go talk to someone on your level?”

“Huh?”

“Just go talk to someone that’s not stupid.”

“Jazz, what’re you…”

“Just leave me alone!” She cried, sprinting down the hallway.

Sam chuckled. “Have I ever told you how nice it is being an only child?”

“Yeah, a few times.”

Suddenly, screams sounded from down the hall.

“What was that?” Asked Tucker, “cheerleaders?”

Suddenly a short boy came running around the corner. He grabbed Danny by the shirt and brought him to his own eye level.

“A FREAKISHLY LARGE HORNET!” Screamed the little man before running off.

The kid wasn’t lying. A giant glowing green hornet buzzed around the corner. Danny and Sam screamed. Tucker fainted. A semi see through teenage girl phased through the wall nearby and hit the hornet with a blast of energy. She dragged it outside straight through the window. Danny forgot all about his unconscious friend and ran to the window to watch the fight.

The girl seemed to be struggling with the giant insect, but she was fighting a good fight. Just as she was about to defeat it, it seemed to disappear. She sadly floated up and did a face palm before flying off.

Sam and Tucker walked up behind him. Tucker was rubbing his head. “Ugh. What did I miss?”

“A ghost!” Said Danny. “A real ghost!”

“Wait wait wait.” Said Sam “aren’t you the one that’s been going on about how crazy your parents are for believing in ghosts?”

“Well yeah, but I just saw a see through girl fight off a giant glowing hornet. I’m willing to change my outlook.”

“What does this mean?” Asked Tucker

“I dunno. But I’m gonna tell Jazz.”

Jazz didn’t want to talk about it. She called her parents in to tell them that Danny had seen a ghost.

After having the parents set on him by the little sister when he tried to talk to her again, Danny was feeling understandably miffed. He had no idea how to get through to her. Jazz had always been the one that knew about emotions. She wanted to be a therapist when she grew up. Danny was just a space geek trying to figure out what had happened to the bubbly little know it all he once knew. Was it the accident? Could that be it?

He decided to try a confrontational approach. He followed her to the mall where she was hanging out with a study group.

“Uh, Jazz?” He asked as he approached her table

“What? Are you following me around now? Why bother with the stupid little sister at all?”

“Jazz, I…”

The slightest trace of a shiver went down Jazz’s spine “Just get out of my life!” She yelled. She shouldered her backpack and ran off.

Danny had an idea of where she was going. He took a broken emergency exit out into the alley to cut her off. He saw her and was about to call out when a light flashed through the alley and his sister was replaced by the ghost girl from before. The ghost flew off.

Danny closed the door quietly and stepped back into the mall. “Jazz?” He whispered. “What? How? Oh.”

Something clicked. He didn’t know what that was, but whatever it was, well, it would make him angry too. He’d heard rumors of a ghost girl fighting around town. Suddenly, this made a lot more sense.

Later after the fight, Jazz was sulking at the dining table, trying to study. She was still feeling a little sore from fighting the shapeshifter. Danny walked in with a chemistry book under his arm.

“And what do you want?” She asked.

“Uh, nothing.” He said.

Jazz went back to staring blankly at her notes. Danny poked her shoulder.

“Hey! What?”

“Uh, nothing.” Danny sat at the table and flipped through the textbook, trying to find the right page. Jazz glanced at him suspiciously. After a few minutes of reading in silence, Danny coughed.

“Um, Jazz?”

“What?”

“So, I know I’m not the most articulate human out there, and maybe I should be minding my own business, and I know I used to make fun of you a lot.”

“Yes, go on.”

“Oh shut up, what I’m trying to say is, if you need to talk I’ll listen. I know I’m not a future psychologist or anything, but you’re the smartest person I know, and I’m your brother, and I hate seeing you this angry all the time, and… Oh you get it. I’m here. I’m not gonna be one of those guys that tells you to suck it up or anything. So, if you need to talk I’m here. I want to help. I at least want to try.”

Jazz hesitated for a moment and looked like she was about to say something when they both heard the couch exploding in the next room.

“But Jack, don’t you at least want to study the remains?” Came their mom’s voice

“I’m… Not ready to talk about it yet."said Jazz

Danny pulled her headband down and messed up her hair. "Then I won’t make you.”

“Hey! Why’d you do that?” She called after him as he left the dining room.

She got no answer but the familiar maniacal laugh he gave when he playfully messed with her.

The next day Jazz found herself in combat with Spectra. She fought the ghost with all her might. She screamed at the ghost to stop messing with her head. She should have known better. She was the psychology student here. But that didn’t matter now. Danny was about to be vaporized.

She pulled Danny away from the podium just as the deadly spirit sparklers went off. She was dragged into the next room where she struggled with spectra.

“What are you, little girl? A ghost trying to be human? A creepy little human trying to fight off an entire dimension?”

“I… I don’t know!” Jazz cried.

Danny appeared in the doorway. “Hey Spectra!”

Both ghosts faced the teenager that had just appeared in the doorway. “I don’t know this kid, but I think she ought to know that you’re a tool.”

He pulled out the Fenton peeler which formed a suit of body armor around him.

“Huh. I dunno if that was necessary, but whatever.”

He pulled the trigger and Spectra was torn apart layer by layer. Jazz sucked her into the thermos. Danny deactivated the Fenton peeler.

“Huh. Talk about having nothing within.” He said.

The siblings locked eyes for a split second. Jazz clutched the thermos really hard.

“Oh no. Oh my. A ghost, run.” Danny deadpanned. “Hey uh, ghost girl? You might wanna get out of here.”

He returned to the gym and took his seat, refusing to accept the applause. He sat by Sam and Tucker in the back and leaned lazily against the wall.

“Nice speech, dude.” Said Sam

“Yeah. And how’d you pull off that disappearing act?” Asked Tucker.

“Eh.” Said Danny “Don’t think about that. Man, I hope I never have to give a speech like that again.”

Sam smiled “Well with how well that one went, you might be dodging Lancer for a while. Everybody’s excited again. Not that I care.”

Danny looked down at the other side of the gym where Jazz was sitting with her friends. He smiled. She could tell him when she was ready. He discretely adjusted his binder. Yeah, he of all people should know about that. She could tell him when she was ready.

[iainwrites]

Alright.  I finished Iron Fist.  And lo and behold, I didn’t enjoy it one bit.  Okay, maybe that’s a stretch and there were some aspects that I did like, but they were incredibly few and far between.  Why, and how, could I possibly feel this way?  Up to this point, Netflix was batting 100 when it came to its Marvel properties.  Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage all came in, and stared knocking it out of the park, each with their own unique aspects: Luke Cage for its “street-ness,” (”black-ness” coming from me just sounds wrong and racist, and besides, it was a very “on the street” series)  Jessica Jones for its paranoia levels and how dark it went, Daredevil for introducing us to this new iteration and of the world and yes, damn it, court room drama.  So how could I possibly feel anything but good when it comes to Iron Fist?  Well, there’s no pretty way to do this, but there is a logical one: step by step while being blunt.  Here we go, gloves off, no punches pulled and spoilers aplenty.

-Danny: Danny is a man who speaks in maxims and fortune cookie notions, but is incapable of following through and acts like a rash youth.  Danny is a man who has been trained by monks for over a decade, day in and day out, which he never fails to mention was incredibly strict, and yet acts like a spoiled child (His first meeting with Jeri had him call her “J-Money,” something his 10 year old self did, despite the fact that both of them grew up).  Danny is the Iron Fist, a Living Weapon, trained in countless martial art disciplines, and still manages to look like he’s in the early stages of practising and has the body of someone who keeps themselves in relatively good shape (do an image search of Danny in the comics  Guy is built. Finn Jones?  Not close to it.) Not only that, but he miraculously changes his face whenever a complex fight breaks out (Yes, Daredevil and Jessica Jones weren’t perfect when it came to fights, but Christ, at least they were engaging). Oh yeah, and you know those opening credits, where the artist is going through all the motions and stages and such? Not even Finn Jones, because boy, were they ever insistent that this Danny has curly hair and buddy in the credits has flat hair.  Add this to the mood whiplash that comes from nowhere, the general sense of blah that he exudes in most of his scenes or the over expression he does when it’s called for something emotional and you just get a poor outing.  And when your lead is painful to watch, then the rest of the show follows.  And the ending.  (Harold impaled, Danny walking away, etc etc.)  Know what would have worked?  Danny using the Iron Fist… to cleanse the elixir or whatever the hell we want to call it out of Harold (like they showed him doing in the convenient flashback for Colleen) and showing mercy.  You could have had Ward cap him at the end, but for Danny to show that he has learned that the fist isn’t just a weapon for destruction but to help would have went a long way.  But no. Danny didn’t learn anything that the monks hadn’t already drilled into his head.

-Ward: I hated him.  I rarely use the word “hate” because it hates requires energy that could be put into better things, but boy, did I hate him. And not just the character: I despised the actor (Tom Pelphrey) when he started showing up.  In the first half (and then some) of the series, he was just so bland and grating.  And I know: maybe that was the whole point to him.  But buggering hell, he sucked.  And the characterization!  He’s dismissing that Danny is alive, and he dismisses his sister, and he’s under his father’s thumb, and he’s selfish and wants out and is willing to walk away from the company and all the money but will fight so that he gets money from his severance and will screw his father and Danny over and will work with Danny anyways and try to make nice with a guy he’s been an asshole to his entire life! And he gets away with it all!  Our main character suffers through the show and the guy who spent most of the time kicking him while he was down becomes the head of his company.

-Joy: And Joy on the other hand!  … Well, I didn’t mind Joy.  Until the end.  Because even though Danny did nothing to her (or the stuff he did do would make sense to anyone able to put 2 and 2 together after everything is revealed to them) she’s talking with Davos at the end of the series about how they’ll work together to destroy Danny because it’s all his fault.  Seriously?  She was the smartest and most together character on the whole damn show and we’re left with her ready to dispose of the guy who was the most straightforward of her entire “family.”

-Colleen: Again, I didn’t mind her.  Sure, I’m a little annoyed that the co-protagonist who happens to be a woman ended up being in a relationship with the protagonist who happened to be male. And that she was completely willing to go along with Danny, even after being so broken up about going against the tenants of bushido and probably breaking a few more while she’s at it.  And no doubt a list of other things I’m forgetting at the moment because next to nothing about the character stuck in my mind. That’s its own shortcoming, I think: being forgettable.

-Claire: Why was she here? What did she do (besides treat people who had been wounded)?  Why did she not contact Matt when it came to going after Harold at the end, because Lord knows, that would have made sense, what with all the times she referenced her super friends (yes, I know, you have to keep the shows separate, which would make sense IF CLAIR WASN’T IN EACH OF THE SERIES AND YOU HAD NO PROBLEM BRING JERI IN FOR LEGAL HELP!)  If this is a shared universe and are calling it a shared universe, then make it work as a shared universe!  Not so much a Claire problem, but it ties into her.  It’s probably because we were coming off a Luke Cage high, where she was used pretty damn well compared to how they used her in Iron Fist, but damn it, they could have used her better or used her less.

-Harold: Norman Osborne. I wanted him to be Norman Osborne and he started going in that direction and I was so damn happy about it.  Manipulating a company behind the scenes.  Favoring the chosen son and being a dick to his biological one, with the reasoning being that “he needs to toughen up.”  Being obviously intelligent when it came to business matters. Doing anything to get ahead. Power/curse put on him that starts to damage his psyche.  Viciousness hidden behind civility.  Wenham could have gone there and done it well.  Hell, he did do it well!  And with the rights to Spider-man in Marvel’s hands, they could have gone there and encouraged the shared universe even further!  But no.  And for shit’s sake: he’s been dead for years.  I know he had “plans” but does he really expect that people would be perfectly fine with him coming back to Rand?

-Gao:  … I got nothing.  Anytime Gao was on screen, I was content.  I’m happy she got more screen time.  I’m happy she was fleshed out as being a manipulator of the highest level (she could manipulate with the truth AND lies in equal measure).  No complaints.  At all.

-Turk:  WHERE THE FUCK WAS TURK BARRET?  YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THE BADDEST MAN TO SWAGGER THROUGH NEW YORK WOULDN’T WANT A PIECE OF THIS ACTION?  BULLSHIT!  IF CLAIRE WAS THERE, WE DESERVED HIM, TOO!  Ahem.

-Jeri: I’m going to start with this: “[Scott] Buck said, "She has an extremely important role in Danny’s life ... she’s very involved in our story and Danny’s journey." Loeb added, "Danny has very much a hopeful optimism about him, and Carrie-Anne obviously lives in a different kind of world, and so being able to see those two worlds collide is just the beginning of the many obstacles that he goes through."  She has an important role?  When did that happen, besides when she was plot device #3?  Sure, it was fun to see her be no bullshit and smack Danny’s childlike self down, but important?  Hardly.

Everyone else left such a faint impression on me that they’re barely worth mentioning.  Davos being Mordo-Lite was disappointing (and yes, I knew he was Davos as soon as he did the throwing star, because Danny kept on mentioning “his friend Davos” which is short hand for “Oh yeah, he’ll be on the show eventually.”)  Bokudo and his Hand (again, not surprised, when the group who wear read shirts end up being the Hand, who have been well known to favor the color red in their shirts) were just a bland point, and really, just seemed like a side mission instead of being integral to the overall plot.  And… that’s it.  Nobody else worth mentioning or remembering.

In the end (although I’m sure this won’t be the end of my Iron Fist annoyance), this show just wasn’t any good.  And this last part is directed to Finn Jones, even though I know he likely won’t read any of this:

I didn’t enjoy it as a fan.  Yeah, I watched it critically, too, but I watched it first and foremost because I enjoy my Marvel outings.  I think Marvel has DC beat 9/10 times in recent years.  I’ve never been this annoyed at a Marvel property before (and I watched F4tastic 4 AND Ghost Rider).  But this show was bad.  Because of the writing and because of the acting.  I hope to Zod you step it up in The Defenders, because if it sucks, you’re the first person who gets my blame.  Everyone else has proven their worth; YOU’RE the weak link.

Don’t fuck this up.