I, an artist, wrote something for the 13th Dannyversary, and by wrote something I mean I've had this sitting in my docs for half a year and decided it was time to finish it.

The alternate title is "Family Takes Four Thousand Words to Start a Conversation and They Don't Even Finish it by the end" but that's a little too long

Also there's some really vague and small headcanons thrown in here but just a heads up.

"Jack?"

The man in question hummed noncommittally at his wife, much more focused on the mess of wires and metal seated on the table beneath his hands.

"Jack."

His fingers slipped on the slick metal, the wires falling from his hands and connecting in a shower of sparks. Dropping his head into his hands, Jack groaned. Maddie shifted her frying pan between her hands, allowing her to reach over to her husband.

"Jack, honey, give it a rest. You need to take a break."

"But I've almost got it Mads. I just can't figure this wiring out." The man ran his hands through his messy hair, bringing them to a rest at the back of his neck.

"Take a break, Jack. Go… go get the kids up. I don't want them to miss breakfast." She reached for the device he was working on. "I'll see if I can't help you out, alright."

Jack reached up and attempted to rub the tiredness from his eyes. The legs of the chair scraped against the kitchen tile as he kicked himself out from under the table. "Yeah, yeah alright." He yawned. "I'll just… go get them."

He passed through the door to the kitchen, stopping to glance back at his wife, who was fiddling with the partially dismantled ghost tracker, before heading up the stairs.

Maddie had abandoned her cooking in an attempt to at least disable the invention before her children got downstairs. She grabbed her husband's tools and sat down in his chair, scooting it back under the table. She gazed at the complex machinery, examining the wires and plates of metal. She would have to do some rewiring and reprogramming, at best. At worst, they would have to dismantle the entire thing and start from scratch. Even then, that might not fix it. It would be easier if she could get what she needed directly, but that thought still made her uneasy. What she needed was a sample to allow the tracker to discriminate between two different types of ectosignatures, but she couldn't ask for that. Not from Danny.

Heavy footsteps heralded the return of her husband, presumably with the children. Maddie mentally swore, fingers shaking as she rushed to pull out the wires before -

"Ghost detected, fifteen feet to your right. Thank you for using the Fenton Finder." The machine's monotonous voice broke the silence.

"Mom?"

Maddie looked up, locking her eyes on her son. She didn't miss the way his gaze left her face and trailed down to the floor, or how his hand moved up to massage the back of his neck.

"Why do you… uh…" he loosely gestured to the device sitting on the table. "Have the ghost tracker out?"

Maddie looked back at the device between her hands. She could clearly identify the wire she needed to disable now that she was no longer rushing. How had she missed it before?

"Ghost detected, twelve feet to your right. Thank y-" Maddie cut off the machine with a swift flick of her wrist. The wire severed from its connection with a bright spark.

"M-mom?"

"Sorry, Danny." She glanced at her husband, who had entered the room behind the kids and taken a seat at the far end of the table. Jazz lingered between him and Danny, torn between sitting at the table and supporting her brother. "We were just trying to… modify it."

"Oh." Danny moved with his sister as she came behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders and guiding him to the table.

Maddie noticed with a sense of discomfort that he chose the chair furthest away from both her and Jack, right next to his sister. Although now she understood the action, it didn't hurt any less.

Maddie returned to the frying pan, using a spatula she had pulled from one of the drawers to scrape the nearly burnt eggs off the bottom and shift them over the fire. "I made pancakes and eggs for breakfast." She absently scraped the eggs onto a plate, waiting for a response. It didn't come.

She looked to Jazz. Her daughter's attention was on Danny, who sat hunched in his seat, head in his hands, and stared at the floor. From Jazz' concerned gaze to the occasional flick of Danny's eyes to her, they seemed to be having a silent conversation.

"Jazz? Danny?"

Danny immediately tensed. Even though his face was pointed down, Maddie could see his eyes widen as she called his name. Jazz reached out to him. "Danny. Hey, Danny, it's okay. She just wants to know what you want for breakfast."

Maddie felt horrible. Is this what they had done? Is this what their prejudice had done to their family? To their son? She glanced at Jack, who sat with his elbows planted solidly on the table and his head in his hands. He looked just as lost and broken as she felt.

"Yeah. Yeah, sorry, I-I just…" Danny stumbled for his words. "You just… startled me." Jazz didn't look convinced in the slightest. The way her eyebrows furrowed and the tightness with which she grasped his hand gave her away. Maddie wasn't sure she was convinced either. Something awful swirled in the pit of her stomach.

"Do you… want breakfast?" Maddie ventured carefully.

"Uh, y-yeah. Yeah, okay, I-" he cut off with a startled gasp. If Maddie hadn't been looking for it, she would have missed the trail of smoke that left his lips and dissipated into the air. She would have missed the way his hands tightened on the table, and the unearthly green that crept into the back of his eyes. "I have to go… to the, uh, bathroom."

He was halfway out of the kitchen before Jazz could stop him. "Danny wait!" He hesitated before turning back to look at her. Jazz gazed at him and moved her hands in the direction of their parents, who had both stopped what they were doing in favor of watching him.

His eyes didn't follow his sister's movements. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder worriedly, as if expecting something to pop up behind him.

"Danny-"

"I-I have to… go, Jazz." He glanced one more time at his parents before turning and dashing up the stairs. His retreat was followed by a flash of bright light that shone around the corner at the top of the stairwell.

Jazz turned to face her parents, who were still frozen, staring at the spot where Danny had been. "Aren't you going to help him?"

Maddie snapped out of it first. Something similar to worry came through in her voice. "Jazz, we… we just-"

"You aren't, are you?" Jazz cut her off, narrowing her eyes. "You can't just leave him to fight all by himself. Not now. Especially not now. Can't you understand what you're doing? Can't you see how much you're hurting him."

Maddie was caught off guard by her daughter's blatant admission of Danny's lie. Of course he wasn't in the bathroom. She didn't want to think about what he was really doing.

"We-we're trying, Jazz." It was Jack who spoke this time. His voice carried the same tone as his wife's. "But he-we… it's so hard to just, just change. Change everything. It-everything we know, everything we have ever known, about ghosts-"

"He's not just a ghost dad. That's your son out there! Fighting! To protect this town."

Jack flinched. He didn't want to think about what Danny was doing either. Didn't want to think about him getting blasted and thrown through concrete. Didn't want to think about… what he was. What they had done.

"Jazz, honey-"

Jazz whirled around and glared at her mother. "You don't get to 'Jazz honey' me. You don't understand what you're doing to him!" She stepped face to face with her mother, almost tall enough to glare down. "Haven't you noticed how withdrawn he's been, even more than normal?" You two found out Thursday night. Its Sunday. Have you even talked since then?"

"Jazz-"

"It's been three days! Have you even told him you love him since then?!"

Both parents inhaled sharply. Jazz frantically backpedaled. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I didn't mean it like that. It's just, you have to understand." Her gaze trailed off of her mother's face and she deflated, dropping into one of the abandoned kitchen chairs. "Please, I'm not asking you to change everything, but you have to give him something. Whatever else he may be, he's still Danny. I know he won't tell you - he won't tell me either - but he's terrified. He's been worrying over this for years. You have to show him you still care."

When neither parent responded, Jazz looked up. Maddie had her head in her hands, grasping at the strands of hair that fell in front of her face. Jazz could make out faint tracks of water down her cheeks. Jack stood behind her, attempting to ease the tension out of her shoulders. His eyes were locked on the table, carefully avoiding his daughter's gaze, but Jazz could still see the discomfort there.

Something outside crashed, followed by a scream. Both parents exchanged worried glances. Jazz jumped up from her chair, and was halfway to the front door when the kitchen wall exploded. Pieces of brick and plaster scattered everywhere. A figure flew through the wall with the debris and crashed into the kitchen table, landing in a crumpled heap on the other side of the room. Jazz froze.

A faint glow emanated from the figure on the floor, surrounded by pieces of the wall and table. Soot and pieces of plaster weighed down the usually vibrant white hair. One hand was curled tightly around his side, the other grasping one of the Fenton's thermoses.

"Oh my god! Danny!" Jazz rushed immediately to his side, brushing the debris out of his hair and sitting him up. "Danny!" She placed her hands on his shoulders and lightly shook him. "Danny wake up!" Unusually dull green eyes fluttered open, the boy struggling to focus on the face in front of him.

"Ugh… Jazz?"

"Danny, oh thank god!" Her hands were already flying over his form, searching for injury. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Danny felt something oddly cool run down his face. He swiped at his cheek, his hand coming away smeared with green. He stared at it, momentarily puzzled, before recognition crossed his face and he groaned, letting his head fall back against the cabinets.

"Danny, Danny come on, stay with me. Where are you hurt? Where's the ghost?"

The boy on the floor cracked his eyes open again, before smiling faintly and lifting the arm that held the thermos. He shook it lightly before setting it down on the ground beside him. "Got it."

"Danny?"

He froze, suddenly remembering the presence of the other two. They stood off to the side, shifting uncomfortably in the silence.

Danny pushed his back further into the cabinets. "Mo-Maddie, Jack. I - sorry, about… your wall." He eyed the gaping hole in the side of the house. "And the table." He found it odd when neither of them glanced at the crumbling brick at the hole. Instead, they carefully approached him.

"Danny." Maddie reached him first, kneeling beside him on the floor. Something cold seeped into her suit, and she looked down. It was ectoplasm; a glowing green pool was forming around the ghost on the floor. She followed the trail up his side, stopping at the hand that was clutched tightly around his abdomen. As she watched, more of it trickled out from under his hand and down his fingers. Something between guilt and pity flitted across her face. "You're hurt."

Danny shifted his grip, and all three caught sight of a deep gash that wound around his side, weeping the sickly fluid. "I'm fine." He had his eyes shut tight, breathing in short bursts. "It - it's nothing." He gripped his side even tighter.

Maddie reached out to move his hand away. As soon as she touched him he stiffened, eyes snapping wide open. Letting out a startled yelp, he scrambled away, hitting his back on the cabinets and managing to open the parts of the wound that had already started to heal. A hiss escaped his clenched teeth.

"Danny?" He shut his eyes tight again in pain. "You have to… I - I can't help you if you won't let me look at it." At this he glanced up, confusion swirling with the glow in his eyes. Maddie almost broke then and there, as understanding crashed into her. What Jazz had said moments before popped into her mind.

"I know he won't tell you - he won't tell me either - but he's terrified. He's been worrying over this for years. You have to show him you still care."

He was afraid of her - both of them. Terrified even. And he didn't feel safe enough to express that. Why would he? Even as she sat next to him - a ghost, as a ghost hunter, she had a suit entirely armed with plenty of dangerous weapons. She even had one clipped to her belt. It was a small pistol, not powerful enough to do any substantial damage but enough to stun some of the weaker ghosts.

As she watched, he would glance at it every few seconds. Her heart sank. Had she really neglected her children in favor of her work so much that one of them was terrified of her?

She reached down to her hip and unclipped the pistol from her belt, noting how Danny tensed and shifted away from her, his eyes wide with unease. Without hesitation, she placed the gun on top of the cabinets and pushed it against the wall, out of sight. She motioned for Jack to do the same with his weapons.

Danny's fear melted into stunned confusion. Why would they just disarm themselves? They were in the presence of a ghost, after all. Why put themselves at such a severe disadvantage.

"Danny."

His confused gaze shifted to his mother, and he flinched when he saw the pain there.

"I'm sorry. We're sorry. Please, let us help you."

Danny switched his attention to his father, who knelt next to Maddie. Jack nodded. "We don't want to hurt you, kiddo. Let us help."

Danny couldn't believe his ears. They were going to throw out decades of belief, just for him. They weren't pointing guns at him, or dragging him downstairs and tying him to their dissection table. They weren't hiding needles or scalpels behind their backs. They looked genuinely worried for him.

The cold biting into his glove brought him back; he was bleeding out on the floor. The wound on his cheek was still bleeding too, the cold spreading down his neck and into his suit. He could feel the cold in his legs, too, and realized with horror that the collection of ectoplasm below him was quickly growing.

"I - okay, yeah. Yeah I'm… kind of making a mess, huh." He tried for a smile. Jazz rolled her eyes from her place behind her parents, but the worry didn't disappear from her face.

"Okay Danny. I'm just taking off the top part of your suit so I can get a better look at your injuries, alright?" Maddie explained as she reached under his chin.

"Alright." He caught her eyes from under the mop of messy white hair as he tilted his head back, resting it against the cabinet again. Maddie smiled softly and reached out with her other hand to ruffle his hair. It was cold and soft under her hand, and when Danny relaxed into her hold, she was brought almost to tears.

Finding the zipper, she dragged it down his chest, pulling the suit away from his body and helping him remove his arm from the glove. Gesturing for her husband to do the same on the other side, she shifted the material and pulled it down around Danny's waist. Maddie inhaled sharply.

She hadn't been able to get a good look at his side while Danny was covering it, but now that the suit was off and his hand wasn't there…

It was a deep slice, almost down to the ribs, and still slowly leaking ectoplasm. The green pooled into the folds of his suit that had settled on the floor.

"Jazz, grab the first aid kit and prep the lab. Now."

Footsteps echoed down the basement stairs, followed by the opening of drawers and the sound of something being knocked over. Maddie reached her hand out to the ghost still on the floor, clutching his side again.

That same discomfort came back at the mention of the lab, and Danny eyed her warily. Had he misjudged? "The lab?"

"The… lab." Maddie faltered, suddenly realizing the implications of that simple request. The lab, where almost every single piece of ghost hunting equipment they had ever made was located. The lab, the place that she and Jack threatened to drag every ghost down to and proceed to tear them apart 'molecule by molecule,' Phantom in particular. The place that she was asking her son - very much a ghost - to willingly enter.

She shifted her position from kneeling to balancing on the balls of her feet. Reaching out, she swept a hand in front of Danny's face, carrying his disheveled hair out from in front of his eyes.

"Daniel James Fenton," she placed a hand on either side of his face and forced his attention on to her. "Danny, I…" she struggled to find her words. What could she possibly say that would carry across how sorry she was. What could she possibly say that could excuse her from years of this? "Danny, I - we, love you, no matter what. I'm so, so sorry that it's taken me this long to tell you that." She faltered tears forming at the corners of her eyes. They had a lot to fix. "What I have done, it's absolutely inexcusable. I can't possibly ask you to ignore that. But I also cannot have you bleeding out," she gestured to the hand that had instinctively returned to his side. "On our kitchen floor." She reached out to Danny again. "Please. Let us help you."

He didn't say anything, but he swiped at the mixture of ectoplasm and tears falling down his face before reaching out with his own hand and grasping hers.

Maddie pulled, hefting the ghost boy off the floor and into her arms. His head settled right on her shoulder, his cold forehead pressing into her neck. Jack positioned himself on the other side and, placing a steadying hand on his son's back, carefully led them down the stairs to the lab.

Danny gripped his mother's arm tightly as they struggled down the stairs. Maddie noticed that he was shaking, although she didn't know whether it was from shock or emotion.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Jack broke off and went to help Jazz in gathering the necessary medical equipment. Maddie half led half carried her son to one of the lab tables situated against the wall and carefully helped him up, making sure to avoid jostling the wound even more.

In the clearer light of the lab, it looked less threatening than she had originally thought. Although, as she examined the pieces of his suit that had already started to stitch themselves back together, she thought that maybe his healing had been working overtime. It was bleeding less now, the ectoplasm having slowed down to a trickle. Danny's knuckles were white as he tightly gripped the edge of the table, shuddering. As she examined the wound more closely, she noticed he was shaking even worse than before. His fingers trembled at their place curled around the table, and his breaths were harsh and uneven.

"Danny?" Maddie reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He shifted his weight, and one of his hands came up to cover his face. He was gasping now, sharp breaths that echoed off the walls of the lab. Something tinted a faint green ran down his face from under his fingers. Maddie tensed. Was he bleeding from somewhere she hadn't noticed? Had he hit his head? Was he-

Her thoughts cut off as he gasped again and she suddenly realized what it was. He was sobbing.

"Danny, hey, look at me." She moved the hand off of his face and tilted his chin up so that his eyes were level with hers. They were green and puffy, and he was still crying - tears tinted a faint green and hovering just barely off of his skin. Maddie dragged her fingers across his face right under his eyes, swiping the tears away. "What's wrong?"

He wouldn't look at her, instead leaning forward again and focusing on the floor below his feet. He placed his elbows on his knees and covered his face with shaking fingers.

"Danny, what's wrong?"

"You're helping me." He dropped his hands and looked up at her. His eyes were foggy but impossibly bright. Tears still rolled down his cheeks. "I'm a ghost, but…" He dragged his hands through his hair. "But you still care."

Maddie felt a pang of guilt deep in her gut. She really had screwed up. She reached out and ruffled his hair between her fingers. "Of course, Danny. Of course."

"But I-"

She cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. He glanced up at her under wild white hair, vaguely annoyed. "Shhh. We can talk later - we will talk later, but for now, my number one job is protecting you."

He pulled back and brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around them. Balling his fists, he scrubbed at the tears running down his face. His shoulders were shaking again. "Thank you, I mean - I - you have no idea, how much…"

Maddie broke. She reached out and swept him up into a hug, holding him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her back, fisted his hands into her jumpsuit, and sobbed into her shoulder. She held him there for a while, whispering comforting words and rocking him gently back and forth.

As Jack and Jazz returned from the other side of the room, they both almost dropped their equipment rushing to Danny's side.

"Oh my gosh, is he okay? What happened?" Jazz was frantic.

"Shhh." Maddie ran her fingers through his hair and rubbed circles into his back, pausing only to wipe the tears off of her own face. The glanced her husband and daughter with a small smile. "He'll be fine."

When his sobs had almost died down, Jack reached out and gave his son's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, kiddo, do you think you could sit up for us?"

Danny pulled away, wiping his face with his hands and smearing the tears across his cheeks. His face was flushed a bright green. "Y-yeah. Yeah, I got it." He shifted his weight, the table creaking at the sudden movement, and sat up straight. He pulled the suit, now sticky with ectoplasm, away from his side and looked at the wound. "I-I don't think it's bleeding anymore." He pressed a hand to his side, grimacing when it came away wet and green.

Jack placed his equipment down on the table and kneeled on the floor to get a better look at the wound. "Looks pretty nasty, Danny, but I don't think you'll need stitches. Just a little disinfectant and a tight wrap and you should be good to go." Jack grabbed the bottle of antiseptic and wetted a piece of gauze before handing the gauze to his wife. "You got it honey?"

Maddie smiled. "Of course." She turned to face her son. "Ready?"

Danny shrugged. "I… I guess." Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him and proceeded to wipe his side. The only response was him stiffening and the occasional sharp inhale.

After finishing with the antiseptic, Jack passed Maddie the gauze and bandages and helped her set them against their son's side. "We're gonna wrap it now kiddo," Jack started. "We're almost done."

Danny nodded. "I know, dad. And, uh… thanks, you guys. For helping."

"Of course, Danny."

The parents took turns wrapping the bandages tight around his midsection. Maddie tied them off after they were done.

"Danny, do you think you can stand?" His mother looked at him, seemingly prepared to carry him up the stairs if she needed.

Danny scooted to the edge of the table and lifted himself up onto his feet. He was stable for a few seconds before his knees buckled and he almost collapsed. Two pairs of hands had caught him, and they pulled them back to his feet.

Maddie chuckled. "I'll take that as a no."

Each parent draped one of his arms over their shoulders and helped him up the stairs, Jazz following closely behind. They skirted around the damage in the kitchen and headed up to the second floor towards Danny's room. They helped him onto his bed and sat down on either side of him.

Danny felt absolutely drained, and after a quick glance at both of his parents he allowed the ring to form around his waist. They watched, fascinated, as the transformation they had only ever seen once before turned ghost to human right before their eyes.

"Thanks, you guys. Really, I-"

"Danny," Maddie cut him off. "We'll talk later, but for now you need to rest."

"But-"

"But nothing young man." She reached out and swept his hair out of his face, locking eyes with him. "Go to sleep, Danny. Those bags under your eyes could handle an entire grocery trip by themselves."

"Hey!"

Maddie laughed, standing up and shaking her head. "Go to bed, Danny. We'll still be here when you wake up."

Sighing, Danny leaned back onto his bed, curling the sheets around his shoulders. "Promise?"

"I promise." Maddie smiled and grabbed her husband's hand, lifting him off the bed as well. "We'll be right downstairs if you need us, alright? Sleep tight, Danny."

They were halfway out the door when Danny called to them. "Mom? Dad?"

"Yes honey." Maddie turned around.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." She flicked off the light switch and gently closed the door behind her. Danny was snoring before it clicked shut.

Inspired by Cordria's 'Kitchen,' 'Paranormalizing' by Charmed-and-More, the first chapter of 'Sleepless Nights' by The Mishmosh Bird, the first chapter of 'I'll Be There' by SkedaddleDee, and of course 'Vulnerable' by Haikujitsu and Anneriawings