It's the first day of 2nd grade. Little Jazz Fenton woke up early. Too early, she knows. But she also knows her parents won't wake them up themselves. Or notice that her and Danny are gone. They're down in the lab. She knows they spend more time down there then with her and Danny. But that's ok. She's a big girl, turning 8 in just a month. So she gets out of her tiny little turquoise bed, making sure to set Bearbert Einstein, her favorite bear, down on the floor for just a second as she makes her bed.

Danny got it for her, won it at a school fair that Jazz's school held just 3 months ago. He was so happy to give away his prize to her, and she hugged him tight and almost cried when he told her that this was her Christmas gift from him. They both knew that their parents would fight on that holiday so Danny hated it. But he got this for her anyway; he was just sweet like that.

Finished making her bed and fluffing her neat, white pillows, she set Bearbert on the center of her bed. She grabbed the worn out turquoise ribbon she always put in her hair, another gift from Danny, and tied up her hair with a neat, little bow. Today she would pack her and Danny's lunches for school. Danny was still tiny. Too small to reach the fridge where Jazz kept the turkey she bought. Too small to reach the bread box where she kept the bread she bought. And he didn't know where she kept the juice boxes and snacks she bought (in her dresser so Danny couldn't eat all of them at night when he was hungry).

Their parents bought them their own lunch boxes with their names on them when Jazz was in kindergarten and Danny was in preschool. Not that they ever packed anything in them, but it was a nice birthday gift. Even if it was 3 weeks late.

They were working, Jazz knew that. But Danny was upset that Dad forgot his birthday again. He cried and it broke Jazz's heart, but Dad just scruffed his head and told Danny some lame excuse about being busy adults. Danny cried really hard and spent the night in Jazz's bed while she read him his favorite storybook to help him sleep.

Remembering that while making lunches always made Jazz sad. It's good that Danny didn't mind eating the same thing for lunch every day. Jazz promised herself that when she got older like their teacher, Mrs. Lianna, she would take Danny away like in fairy tales and give him all the food he wanted like in her favorite movie, Beauty and the Beast. She liked Belle a lot. She was really pretty and liked reading like Jazz did. She imagined the part where lots and lots of food was brought out to Belle but instead it was Danny and her.

Finishing making the sandwiches, she put them in little baggies and set them in Danny and her lunch boxes. She quietly walked back into her room and opened the bottom drawer where she kept Danny's lunch-time snacks. She thought that today he would get something special for his first day of kindergarten: not only a juice box but also a bag of his favorite chips.

No one knew where she got the money for the food. Some of the other first graders thought she stole it from strangers. Some meaner kids laughed at her and called her a street beggar. But Jazz had, in reality, taken it from the jar of money her parents kept as savings for building something they called a "ghost portal". She didn't want to steal, but she also didn't want to see her little brother go hungry like she did every night. So she chose the former every time.

Danny's first day of middle school Jazz made sure to pack him a special lunch. His favorite candy bar was a must have. A space themed candy called "Out of this world". She couldn't remember if he liked space before he liked the candy or if it was the other way around.

Today she'd walk him to school. She had been wanting to since elementary school but getting Danny up early enough to not be late wasn't something she was willing to do. He had a lot of trouble sleeping. Letting him sleep for an extra hour was the least she could do for her tired little brother.

After middle school came high school. Classes that Jazz loved and was good at. Classes that Danny hated because they were harder for him. He always thought he was dumb. She knew he wasn't dumb, but she once read a psychology book from the school library that said kids who go without praise from their parents end up with self-esteem issues. She made sure to give him all the praise she could. He said she was being overprotective and overbearing, but she knew he secretly enjoyed it.

Danny and her still have packed lunches every day. Even years later, when they both got to high school, she still makes them. Even on days that Danny forgets his or manages to lose it, Sam gives him some fruit from her garden or Tucker shares his homemade wings that he and his mom spent all night making. It's no wonder they're so close; They share everything. Good for them. Now that Jazz is getting ready for college, she worries about Danny. She can't always be there for him.

Jazz refuses to eat school lunches. She says they're unhealthy and "not good for growing minds" but that's not the reason. it never was. Their parents never paid the fee so they never got school lunches in the first place. It's just easier to lie so they won't ask why she's been doing this for 10 years.

Once, she told her counselor that she walked down to the store and bought their food when she was young because her parents hardly ever went shopping. She said that the walk was really long and she got tired, but seeing Danny so happy to get food made her happy too. He couldn't come with, he was too little to walk for long periods of time.

The counselor frowned at that, clearly upset. He told her that that kind of thing wasn't normal. He asked if her home life was ok. "Of course it is! I love Danny and our parents have never hurt us" she told him. it wasn't a lie; their parents have never laid a hand on Danny or her. But that also means that she didn't get normal kid things like pats on the back for a job well done or praise for getting good grades. It doesn't matter. Jazz made sure that Danny got those things.

When he came home from middle school with a bruise from the new kid, Dash, she grabbed an ice pack, sat him down on the couch, and talked with him while he held it up to his cheek.

When he came home with a bad grade on his first Algebra test, she took him up to her room and calmly explained everything he was having trouble with. No anger, no judgement. Just like how a parent should act.

And when he came home hungry with tear-stained cheeks because Dash stole his lunch and beat him up again, she just smiled, hugged him tight, and told him that he could always count on her to be there for him. She couldn't bring herself to lie and say everything was going to be alright. But she made sure to give him a big dinner that night. She ordered pizza, the biggest she could afford. They ended up getting take-out a lot because Jazz has to do homework and can't always make dinner.

Jack and Maddie spend days at a time down in the lab. Sometimes they come upstairs and say hello. They don't stay long though. They just grab whatever they need. Snacks, water, anything really, and go back downstairs.

Ever since the beginning of high school Danny has been scared of going down there. And he's been coming home with injuries galore. Jazz can't figure out why. She tried consulting her psychology books but they just said that his fear could be a sign of PTSD - being scared of certain locations - or having a phobia. But that didn't make sense. He hardly goes down there and Jack and Maddie have never hurt them.

And Danny's never been a fighter. He never hit Dash back even when Dash called Jazz and Danny a "family of freaks". So the injuries never made sense. The phobia of the lab never made sense.

Or at least...it didn't make sense until she saw it.

Danny was upset. She may have followed him and his friends to the local fast food restaurant and may have been just a bit overbearing lately but that was no reason to storm out like he did.

Like a good sister should, she followed him out the back door, hoping to reason with him and calm him down. Maybe offer to talk it out like they usually did when they had their spats.

But just after she opened the door she saw him. Phantom.

She saw Danny turn into Phantom.

And everything suddenly made sense. The fear of the lab - their parents were ghost hunters. The bruises and broken bones that she only now realized had healed abnormally quickly - He was a ghost.

Oh god her brother was dead. He flew away before she could even say anything to him, off to fight a ghost, she assumed.

"Danny..?" she whispered to herself.

But Sam and Tucker came out shortly after and made up some excuse about ghosts not being real. She, in turn, said something lame like "My dad's obsession must be rubbing off on me!" and then excused herself to go work on her speech. She heard them sigh in relief just after she had left through the door.

The walk home was...not fun. She kept worrying about Danny. The initial anger had passed rather quickly. He could tell her when he was ready. But that he was out there getting hurt? Being thrown through buildings and being shot at? That got to her.

She shook her head. No, he was a young adult just like her; he could make his own decisions, even if she didn't like him being hurt like that.

So she kept on doing the same thing like she had seen nothing; she helped him study, kept him safe, and always, always made their lunches.