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jamiethebee · 7 months ago

Text

Harvest

My piece for ecto-implosion 2024!

I was partnered up with @tsubaki94 who did three whole lovely artworks, so go check them out here! (x)

(The AO3 Link (X) : broken up into smaller chapters rather than this one big guy)

25,252 words

Danny rubbed his foot around in the dirt, watching the small dust cloud billow up and hang there.

“Well come on, I’ll show you where you’re staying for the next few months.” Alicia turned around and started walking off.

“Wait!” Danny bent to pick up his bags and rushed to catch up to his aunt, “I thought that you lived in the cabin?” He looked over at the cabin he spotted through the trees.

Alicia glanced back at Danny. She sighed, “I do. You don’t.”

Danny frowned. “I won’t? Then where will I be staying?”

Side stepping a bush, Alicia grumbled, “you’ll see.”

They moved through the brush, dodging branches and stepping around roots and detritus on the ground. It was hot and humid and Danny was starting to feel sticky, carrying his bags with him through it all. The birds around them quieted as they approached and then started up again once they left. A gentle slope turned into a steeper incline and Danny quietly wondered how much longer they were going to take. He really hoped Alicia wasn’t just taking him in a circle in some sadistic test to see how long he’d last before complaining. Or murder him. It wasn’t likely, but Danny didn’t know his grumpy aunt well enough to rule it out either. Probably not though. Maybe.

As they made their way up, Danny smelled a change in the air. He arched his neck around Alicia to try to see what the cause was, but quickly moved his head back and away from a sudden branch flying in his face. Just as Danny was weighing the benefits of asking for a break, the ground leveled out, and Danny got his first glimpse of the farm.

Golden strands of wheat waved in the slight breeze, stretching farther than Danny thought he’d see. In the distance, taller stalks formed a different swath. Alicia stepped out of the trees and onto a path that edged the fields. Following Alicia, Danny realized the smell had gotten stronger. “Huh,” Danny thought. He leaned over, closer to the stalks. Yep, the fields were definitely the source of the smell. Turning back to Alicia, he looked down the path and stepped next to his aunt to walk side by side. They seemed to be close to the edge and Danny could see a couple of structures in the distance.

“These are the wheat fields,” Alicia said. “My farm grows two kinds, spring and winter wheat. This here is the spring wheat; it’ll be part of what you’ll be helping to take care of on the farm.”

“Oh. What else will I be doing?”

Alicia looked down at him, “We’ll see.”

Danny winced and looked ahead again. “Am I staying in one of those cabins ahead of us?”

Alicia huffed, “Sure will. I’ve got a farmhand that helps out - sometimes stays in one of the cabins, sometimes travels back and forth from here to town. You’ll be meeting him later.”

“I didn’t realize there would be anyone else here.”

“Well sure, ya think I can take care of a farm like this all by myself? It’s a lot of work. Course, if one of my hands didn’t leave me in the middle of the season, I wouldn’t have let Maddie send you here at all.” Alicia looked down at him, “My farm’s no place to goof around. We all have jobs around here and we all have to do them.” She leveled a sharp look at Danny, “Understand? Just because you’re my sister’s kid doesn’t mean you aren’t responsible for pulling your own weight.”

Danny looked away, “Yeah. I get it. Don’t worry, Mom already told me.” More like lectured me to behave, Danny thought.

Alicia huffed. “Well, just keep that in mind.” They walked the rest of the way down the path in silence.

As they neared the first cabin they could hear a bark, “That’s Skip. He usually follows me around or hangs around the animals. Good for keeping most unwelcome visitors away.”

Danny looked out and around excitedly, “you have a dog?”

Climbing up the cabin steps to pull open the door, Alicia said “yeah, but he’s a working dog, so don’t go bothering him.”

Once Danny stepped in, Alicia followed, closing the door behind him. Sunlight streamed in through high set windows, illuminating the space. At one end there was a bed on a simple frame, a dresser next to it, and enough space for a chair and small table.

“This is where you’ll be staying. Got the place to yourself, though there isn’t much to begin with. The toilet is the outhouse in between these two cabins, unless you really want to head down to bother me for mine.”

Danny gulped, feeling a little intimated. “Got it – outhouse.”

“Yeah well, I’ll leave you to get settled in here and then I’ll come grab you for dinner. Most meals will be down in my cabin, since it has the kitchen. That said, you can bring food up here, but I don’t recommend it. Racoons and the like will try to break in if they smell it up here.”

Danny nodded, looking around. “Anything else?”

“You’d be best to wear boots if you’ve got them starting tomorrow, but for now? Make sure the cabin door latches correctly when you leave or it’ll swing open. That’s a great way to invite little rodents to make their home in here or to take a shit on the floor at the least.” Alicia looked over the cabin once, “Fer now, settle in and I’ll come get you when it’s time.” Alicia opened the cabin door and left Danny alone with his thoughts.

Stepping over to the bed, he set his suitcases down and sat between them. The bed let out a soft wheeze, but otherwise stayed firm. It was more of a cot than a proper mattress, but that didn’t faze Danny. He was looking to get shipped back to Amity Park as soon as he could anyway. Dust motes danced around him. The cabin was quite small. But at least Danny didn’t see any spiderwebs or droppings. ‘Small mercies’ Danny thought. Pulling out the older PDA gifted to him by Tucker, Danny tried to see if he could pick up a signal to send back to his friends. Waving his arm in the air didn’t do much. No signal. Sighing, Danny put the PDA down behind the suitcases and leaned back on his hands.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he could smell the dust in the air, hear the rustling of leaves on the trees, and the faint sounds of animals. He didn’t know why his parents thought he needed to get away from Amity Park for the second half of the summer, but Danny was annoyed. He spent the first half of the summer trapped in summer school, and no sooner did he have the freedom to spend time with Tucker and Sam, than his parents and Jazz decided to send him off. Between more ghosts showing up and causing problems, and his parents paying more attention to him now that Jazz was off at college, Danny had felt like he hadn’t had a moment to himself during the school year. Any extra time he used to have was taken up by his parents dragging him into the GAV to hunt down ghosts and talk about what he planned to do after high school. Danny had been looking forward to vegging out on the couch and running around the mall with Sam and Tucker instead of what? Shoveling dirt? Or watering plants? Or whatever. Danny wasn’t sure what would be expected from him this summer, but his mom made it clear that he was supposed to help his aunt with minimal complaint. Danny let his arms give out so he could fall back onto the bed.

He didn’t know what to expect here, but he knew that back in Amity the ghosts would be having a great time wreaking havoc with one less capable ghost hunter there to kick them back into the Ghost Zone. At least Valerie had enough of a truce with Phantom now to be convinced to empty the ghosts back into the portal instead of handing them over to be subjected to the latest experiment his parents cooked up. Danny closed his eyes. Even thinking about what he would be returning to at the end of summer back in Amity Park was enough to exhaust him and before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep.

A short rap on the door woke Danny up, and he got up, threw a glance at his still unopened suitcases, and walked to the cabin door, pulling it open. “Oh,” Danny said. It wasn’t Alicia at the door like he was expecting.

“Hey, you must Alicia’s nephew?” the mystery man asked.

“Uuuh yeah,” Danny rubbed the back of his neck trying to work out the crick that he put there by falling asleep cockeyed on the bed. “And you are- ?”

The man laughed, “Aaah, figures that Alicia wouldn’t have told ya. I’m here to take you to dinner, I’ll tell ya about myself on the way.”

Danny eyed the man, dressed in a button down shirt, blue jeans, boots, and a hat - he certainly looked like he worked on a farm. Stepping out of the cabin, and making sure that the latch took, Danny walked after the guy as he led Danny to a dirt path off to the side of the cabins. “I’m Will, no it ain’t short for nuthin. Down this path,” he gestured, “takes you straight to tha boss’ place – and coincidentally dinner.” Will let out a barking laugh and continued. “I’ve been working here for a few years now. Actually, for most of my life. Worked here during the summers in between school for Tish and Dick back when they ran the place. Later, when I realized city life didn’t agree with me, I came back and started working here full-time. Alicia took over when they passed and she’s a bit gruff, but just as smart as her ma in running the place.”

“Oh, last time I was here, Alicia mentioned the women in the family being smart,” Danny said offhandedly as he looked around the woods.

Will hummed, “darn right they are, never met a smarter bunch. The town was real glad when Alicia moved back, and I think they’re still a bit sad her sister – yer ma – never came back.” Danny could feel Will’s gaze on him, “when were ya here last, by the way?”

“Uh,” Danny said, looking over at Will, “uuh must’ve been a year and half ago? Roughly? It was only a short trip. My mom came down for Aunt Alicia’s divorce party and my sister and I dropped in to make sure my dad had my mom’s anniversary present. That’s a bit of a long story, but we were only here for a day.”

“Aaah,” said Will, “makes sense. I usually take a trip to the next town over to see my brother’s kids around that time. Wouldn’t have seen ya and Alicia ain’t a big blabber if it’s not about the farm.”

Danny didn’t have much to say to that, so he looked ahead to the path, which had started curving away. Coming around the bend, Danny could see Alicia’s cabin through the trees and realized that Alicia could have chosen to take this path up when Danny was carrying his suitcases. His mood soured as they kept walking. Getting to the end of the path, and out of the trees, Danny noticed a small building behind the cabin. Maybe he could ask Alicia what it was for?

Will walked up to the cabin door and knocked, before opening and sticking his head in, “Heya Boss, got the kid. Anythin’ ya need help with?”

“You two better wash your hands ‘fore ya even think about touching food.” Without turning around, she kept stirring the pot on the stove.

“Yes ma’am,” Will said, before turning around to Danny behind him, “Follow me.” And he walked into the cabin, heading around a wall to another door inside.

Danny glanced around the cabin as he stepped in. Nothing much had changed since the last time he was here. He heard water running and looked back around to Will, who was washing his hands in the small bathroom sink. Waiting for his turn, he looked around. There was a picture or two on a table along with a radio, a small couch and chair, and a little fireplace. But no TV. Danny frowned, resigning himself to a very boring summer.

“Alrighty,” Will said, hanging up the towel, “your turn kid,” and he walked off around the corner to the kitchen.

Danny stepped in, noting the indoor toilet and shower that wasn’t in his cabin, and washed his hands. By the time he got back out, Alicia and Will were outside setting down the final dishes on the wooden picnic table.

“Ah there you are Danny, we’ve got everything out here, come join us,” Alicia called him over.

Jumping down the stairs, Danny walked over to the table and took a seat next to Will. Alicia may be his aunt, but he felt more comfortable with Will from the short walk over than he did with her. A stack of bowls, a pot, and some bread on a plate got his attention.

Watching Alicia and Will grab bowls and dish out stew, Danny grabbed the last bowl and did so himself once the ladle was free. Grabbing a piece of bread, he started dunking it in. Watching Alicia and Will eat, he took a bite. Danny made a surprised noise.

Alicia looked over to him, “Surprised?”

Danny nodded and swallowed his bite, “a lot better than I was expecting.”

Alicia laughed, “I’ll take it that my sister still ain’t much of a cook if you think that.”

Danny sheepishly laughed, “Mom’s cooking is alright.” How could Danny explain that most of the stuff in their fridge sat next to ectoplasm and that no matter how well the containers were sealed, most of the time, the food tasted slightly off from spending time in there? He elected to stay silent.

Alicia hummed in response as she ate another bite of stew. The rest of dinner passed quietly, and soon the sounds of bowls being scrapped clean echoed in the little clearing.

Alicia leaned back, waiting for Danny to finish. Will took out a little pipe, tapping down the tobacco and lighting it. Danny wrinkled his nose at the smell as he finished his bowl and straightened. “That was really good Aunt Alicia,” Danny said.

Alicia grinned, sharp and wide, “glad you thought so. Will, you can head back up, Danny here is going to help me with the dishes tonight.”

“Are ya sure?” Will asked.

“Yea, we’ve got some things to talk about anyway,” Alicia narrowed her eyes at her nephew.

Danny felt a chill run down his spine, unrelated to the waning light.

“Alright,” Will said, standing, “I guess I’ll be going then. Night Alicia, night Danny.”

“Night Will,” Alicia said.

“Goodnight Will,” Danny called out as Will walked back to the path they came down.

“Well,” Alicia started, “Grab the dishes and follow me in.” She stood up and grabbed the pot, heading back to her cabin.

Danny stood up, piled the bowls and spoons together in a neat pile, and walked in after Alicia.

“There ain’t no dishwasher in this old cabin, so we’ll be doing everything by hand.” Alicia plugged half the sink and started the tap. “I’ll let you rinse and dry the dishes.” Danny set the bowls off to the side of the sink and walked around her.

After filling up the sink sides, Alicia took the pan and started soaping it up. “So, Danny,” Alicia started. “Um, well, Maddie,” she cleared her throat. “Yer ma seemed worried about you. Anything I should know about? Since you’ll be working on my farm and all.”

Danny shoulders inched towards his ears. “No, nothing. I didn’t need to get out of Amity.” He scowled at the pot Alicia was cleaning.

“Hmmm,” Alicia replied, methodically working around the inside. “I never knew my sister to be a worrier, but I won’t pry. So long as you don’t bring any strangers or trouble around it’s not really my business.”

Danny’s shoulders relaxed some as he took the pot from Alicia and rinsed it off before setting it in the dish rack to start drip drying. The rest of the dishes passed quickly in the silence and as Danny was drying the last bowl, Alicia walked off around the corner.

Danny closed the last cupboard as Alicia came back around with a large fabric bag. “I don’t want to keep you up for much longer, but we’ve got some housekeeping to deal with first.” She held out the bag towards Danny. He took it. “First off, my cabin has the only shower. The only rules are to not use it when I’m sleeping and to clean up after yourself. I mean pick up your towels and hang them to dry over your cabin porch railing. I’ve got a standing unit in the back.” At Danny’s scrunched eyebrows, she sighed. “A washing machine,” she strode to the cabin door. Heading down the steps, she called back, “You saw the structure behind the cabin?”

“Uuuh, yeah,” Danny said, walking behind her.

“Well, the machine’s in there. We don’t got a dryer, instead,” Alicia pointed up at a line stretching from her cabin to a tree. “There’s a bag inside with clothespins. You’ll hang up your clothes after the washer gets done. I recommend getting up in the mornings and starting them so that they have the whole day to dry on the line. But that’s just me.” Turning back around she said, “well, I think that’s most everything. I’ve got a bell I’ll ring to let y’all know when food’s ready. I expect you to finish whatever you’re up to and to get down here when you hear that bell. Either you’re on time or you don’t eat. There’s too much to do around here to wait around.” She looked down at him as the sun finished setting, the orange glow around them the last remnant of the day. Her face softened some, “before I send you back to get some sleep, any questions?”

Danny shook his head, “Naw, laundry out back, shower inside, don’t bother you with either. I think I’ve got it all.”

“Good.” Alicia and Danny stood there for a moment. “Well,” Alicia cleared her throat, “I’ll uh, see you tomorrow mornin then. Night kid,” and turned to walk back to her cabin.

Danny stood there for a moment before sighing and making his way back to the path.

_______

Danny woke up to knocking on the door and sunlight on his face.

Knock knock knock echoed through the cabin and Danny squished his eyelids together even tighter. “Come on, get up boy, you don’t have time to lay around.”

Danny turned his head into his pillow and groaned. He spent long enough last night putting away his clothes and getting used to the small cabin that he fell asleep at a time that, had he been back in Amity, would have been early and yet here was late, based on how groggy he felt. Unrested.

Knock knock bang, “don’t think I won’t come in there kid,” Alicia warned.

Danny let out another groan before turning his head and calling out, “Alright, I’ll be out in a minute.”

Something that sounded like “too long” came from the door before footsteps started walking down the cabin steps. Quickly getting ready – jeans, shirt, and unfortunately, FentonWorks patented hazmat boots, Danny pushed open the door, hopping a little to finish getting the second boot on. He jumped down the stairs, making his way to Aunt Alicia, who was leaning against a tree.

“Well, 56 seconds ain’t bad kid, but come on. You’re following me around for the day.” She pushed off and started walking, “I assume you don’t have any experience working a farm?”

Danny shook his head, “no ma’am.”

Alicia snorted, “none of that ma’am business, call me Alice.”

“I thought your name was Alicia though?”

Opening a little gate, Alicia whistled and then beckoned Danny through before latching it, “Sure is, but yer ma and me had our Grandma Alicia, so family started calling me by Alice.” Walking off to a small building further back, she continued, “But enough of that, we’ve got a long day. You can ask if you have questions, but do your best to pay attention.” With that, she opened the door to a cacophony of clucking that quickly died down. Danny stepped in after her, and as his eyes adjusted he saw the inside of a coop. Two rows of chicken nests on either wall, with hens either standing around Alicia or sitting. Once they spied Danny hiding behind her though, they started squawking again and rushed forward, wings flapping and feathers fluffed. Danny started backing away before a hand pushed on his back and a bucket was shoved into his chest. Quickly grabbing it, Danny looked down at a bunch of seed and –

“OW!” Danny yelped as he started hopping from one foot to another, hens trying to peck away at the new intruder.

“Walk out, they’re just not used to you is all,” and Alicia shooed him out of the coop.

‘Fuck’ Danny frowned, not quite running away from the coop and wishing he could’ve used his intangibility to get away from the chickens. Alicia laughed at him as the hens kept pace around Danny’s ankles, lunging forward to peck at him. “How do I get them to stop?” Danny yelled.

“Jump the fence!”

Danny ran back to the gate and hopped over it with a little help from his ghost side to land a few steps away from the chickens.

Bwaack Squak Sqwauk!!

Danny looked up at Alicia who offered an unapologetic, “Sorry. I forgot.”

Squinting at the slightly amused look on his aunt’s face, Danny scowled, “Did you do that on purpose?”

“No idea what ya mean kid. Anyway, for now you can toss some feed in, but otherwise wait out there. I’ll explain what I did when I get back out to you.” Alicia grabbed a basket hanging outside the coop door and walked back inside.

Danny glared down at the chickens who were still protesting his presence. “What.”

“Squuuuawk!” was the response back.

Danny sighed and looked down at the bucket in his hands. It had some seeds and other things mixed in. Looking back up at the chickens staring at him, Danny slowly raised a hand, “I’m going to throw some seeds in. Please don’t scream at me for it,” and he reached a hand in. No sooner did Danny close his hand around some feed, then one of the hens decided to start flapping its wings again to cause a fuss. Danny jumped and glared at the chicken. Out of spite, Danny reached back in and with a handful of feed, overhand chucked it into the coop yard. Sticking his tongue out at the chickens that refused to let him out of their sight, Danny took another step back. He couldn’t wait till his parents’ summer banishment was over and he could go back to Amity Park.

Alicia stepped out of the coop with the basket and walked over to a trough sitting in the yard. After looking down, she gave a quick nod, and then started heading to the gate. Where the chickens were still standing. Glaring at Danny.

“Uuuh,” Danny said, “Do you have a plan on getting close enough to take this bucket back?”

“Sure do,” Alicia said, coming up to the gate, “step closer and hand it over.”

Eyes never leaving the chickens, Danny inched his way closer to Alicia and when he was close enough, thrust out the bucket towards her. “Do they hate everyone?” He asked.

Alicia took the bucket, “Nope. Not me,” and laughing, walked back to the coop.

“Great, real reassuring,” Danny grumbled to her back.

Once Alicia finished up inside the coop, and with a basket of eggs in hand, she walked back out of the enclosure to Danny. “Noticed how I whistled before?” Danny nodded. “I was warning the chickens that I was coming in. It’s how I let them know it’s me and not a stranger.” She grinned. “Not that it helped you any.”

Danny looking away, glaring.

Alicia paused for a moment, “Well, no matter.” She started walking to another log structure. “I want you to figure out what signal you’re gonna give the chickens and start visiting them in the mornings. Just so they get used to you. We don’t want to upset them too much, so they need to start recognizing you.” Walking up to the much larger barn, she opened the doors. Danny was hit with the smell of animals and he scrunched up his nose, coughing.

Alice looked back at him and laughed, “Well, you’ll get used to the smell soon enough. Anyway, this is where we’ve got the rest of the animals. Some pigs, cows, sheep - used to have a horse, but once we switched to using the tractor and truck full time, and old age killed her off, it didn’t make sense to get another. But that was a number of years ago at this point. I think ya mom and me were still kids then.”

Danny’s eyes finished adjusting to the inside and he saw the animals in their stalls. The cows looked over at him, but it was one brave pig that snuffled up to Danny. “Oh,” Danny said, crouching down. “Cute.” Reaching out a hand, Danny tried to pet the pig, which quickly moved away and waddled back to its stall area.

Danny caught Alicia’s smile as he stood back up. “Pat’s rather friendly, but I wouldn’t recommend getting too attached.” She gestured over to the far wall, “I usually open up the barn during the day, let the animals wander around. Before that though,” she bent down to grab a stool. “There’s some tasks to get done.”

Alicia made her way to one of the cows and picked up a stool and a steel bucket hanging up on the post. She turned back around to Danny, “Yer gonna learn how to milk the cows here. We usually fill up the pail and then transfer them to bottles. We get too much milk to use ourselves, so neighbors will come and pick up some bottles from time to time.” She set the stool down with the pail on top, then moved to the larger cow. Going around to the back of the stall, she unlooped a short rope and tied it around the cow’s neck. “This old gal here is Gully.” Alice jerked her chin to other stall, “and our younger one is Lass.” Alicia walked back out of the stall to move the stool and bucket closer.

“What’s the rope for Aunt Alice?” Danny asked.

“Oh,” Alice said, setting down the stool and pail at Gully’s side. Sitting down, she said, “just to keep her in place. Gully doesn’t move as much as Lass will, but she’s used to the rope. Either way, it lets her know it’s her turn. Here,” Alice beckoned Danny over. "Now here’s how you milk a cow.”

After the early morning of getting food to the animals, collecting the eggs, and milking the cows, Alice led Danny back down to her cabin. Going inside for a minute, Alice came out with a cup of water for Danny. “I’m gonna check on the oatmeal and cook up a few eggs for us. I want you to walk around the woods down here while I finish up breakfast.”

“Alright,” Danny said. “And uuuh, I’ll hear the bell when it’s time to come back?”

Alice chuckled, “Ha - yeah, you’ll hear it. Remember – don’t dawdle when you hear it, come straight back.”

Danny downed the cup of water in one go and nodded, setting down the now empty glass on the table. “Will do.” Danny started walking off and he heard the creak of the cabin door. Just as he was about to exit the clearing, Alicia yelled back, “And don’t step on my rhubarb!”

Danny walked around a bush, ducking underneath a tree limb, “Ok!” and almost ran into a large leafed plant. He tilted his head. Squinted.

‘I don’t actually know what rhubarb looks like,’ he thought. Danny shrugged and moved around it anyway. Walking further into the woods he felt the temperature drop some as shade took over. Standing still, Danny realized how quiet it was. No cars, no honking, no rushing of traffic in the distance. Instead, there was the rustle of leaves and the occasional bird call. He breathed in and out. Quiet, and it smelled like the earth. He looked around. A chipmunk scampered up a far off tree. Danny started picking his way through the bushes, tree roots, and other obstacles as he walked further in.

Danny looked back, and not seeing anyone, did his best to walk in a circle with Alicia’s cabin in the center. He almost tripped a few times, before remembering that he could use his intangibility to easily get through the plants without crushing any. ‘Problem solved. I can’t step on anything if I do this.’ Without having to pick his way in between and around foliage, Danny’s pace picked up as he walked the area. Coming up to what he assumed was near the back side of the cabin, Danny heard a sharp piercing bell echo around. Danny jumped. It was much louder than he thought it would be, especially through the trees. He started walking back, and spied Will coming in and out of view. Danny had gone farther than he thought and hurried up. Just before he popped out of the trees, he dropped his intangibility and walked out behind Will onto the dirt path. “Hey Will!” Danny greeted.

Will whipped his head around, “Oh! Geee-zuuus kid. Where’d you come from?”

Danny came up alongside Will, “the woods. Alice showed me around the animals this morning, then had me walk around for a bit.”

Will nodded. “Makes sense. You see her rhubarb patch?”

Danny grimaced, “Uuuh maybe?”

“You don’t know what they look like, do ya?”

Danny shook his head, “Not really.” After a moment of hesitation, Danny asked, “what do they look like?”

“Oh well, you’ll know it when you see it. Got these big leafs on them. Actually, she’s started a new patch of them in her actual garden. Not hard to spot, there’s about 6 of them? Started a year or two back to grow them in a different spot. Real finicky things, they don’t like it down here, but I suppose Alicia likes ‘em well enough that she takes the time to baby the things. Me personally, I don’t like ‘em all that much, wouldn’t bother putting in tha’ much effort.” Popping out of the trees, Will waved over to Alicia, getting her attention to let them know they had arrived.

Alicia looked over, “Good – kid came back with ya. I’ll finish hanging this line and then I’ll get food out.” She turned back to the laundry.

Will nodded, “understood ma’am.” He looked over and down at Danny, “We best wash our hands and start setting out dishes then.”

Getting the table set up with a small plate, bowl, and spoon for each of them, Danny grabbed the pot of oatmeal, while Will grabbed the scrambled eggs. They got them set down in time for Alicia to round the corner from the back. “Aah, thank you kindly boys. Wasn’t expecting ya both to set up, but I’m grateful.” Sitting down, she started dishing out a ladle of oatmeal for everyone and Will pushed off some eggs on each plate. Danny waited a moment for Will and Alicia to settle down and then started eating.

After breakfast, Alice once again shooed Will off to work and had Danny help her wash and put away the dishes. Putting the towel back on the oven handle, Alice turned to her nephew. “Well. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.” She glanced around. “Ya bring a water bottle with ya or anything?”

Danny furrowed his eyebrows, “Uh no.” He flushed, “I forgot to grab one when packing.”

Alicia huffed, bending down to open a lower cabinet, and rummaged around before pulling out a spare canteen. Standing up, she unscrewed the lid and looked down into it with one eye closed. “Don’t think there’s dust or nothing in there. Should work fine for ya.” She passed it off to Danny and started walking out the door. “Get it filled and I’ll see ya outside. If you need to pee, now’s the time to do it.” She walked out and left Danny in the cabin. Looking around, he didn’t see anywhere other than the sink to fill up the water. Shrugging, he got it filled up from the sink, then quickly went to the bathroom. Looping the water bottle strap around himself, he left the cabin. Making sure to latch it closed, he walked towards Alicia who had put on a wide brimmed hat and they started up the slope together.

“Soooo,” Danny said. “What’re we doing today?”

Alicia chuckled, “you’ll see. I always found it easier myself to see what someone was talking about than to just listen to someone blabber on.”

They headed back up to the animals. Walking towards the barn, Danny squinted his eyes at the change in light as they reentered. He put a hand to his mouth in an attempt to stifle a cough. Alice looked over at him, eyes crinkling. “First order of business, mucking out the stalls. I’ll do the first one, then you’ll take over, so make sure you’re watching closely.” Danny wrinkled his nose as he took his hand away and watched Alicia roll up a wheel barrow from the side. She picked up a pitchfork, and as she speared the poop, started talking.

“You’re probably familiar with the poop part of this. You want to get out all the large patties, and then go back and clean up the pissed sections.” Alicia grunted as she lifted a large chunk into the wheelbarrow. “It ain’t tricky, but sometimes the animals like to cover the patches, so you gotta make sure that you get all the spots. We want them to have clean stalls when we bring them back in this evening. Specially the cows, don’t want them to get infections or nothing.” Alicia looked over at Danny who was looking up into the loft.

“Hey!” she called, and Danny dropped his head down to look at her. “You got that?”

“Yes, Aunt Alice,” Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

Alicia narrowed her eyes at him, then continued mucking out the stall. When she finished, she handed the necessary tools over. “Your turn kid.”

Danny flushed as he grabbed at the pitchfork, “Uh yes.” He looked around before facing his aunt. “What am I doing?”

Alicia stared him down. “The next stall, boy. Get to it.”

Danny gulped and walked to the stall next to the one Alice finished. “So I just-“ and he mimed stabbing a poop patty.

Alicia raised an eyebrow and stared Danny down.

Turning back around, he prodded the pile. Standing there a moment, he shifted his stance and jerked the tines into the pile. He wiggled it in a little further. Glancing over at the wheelbarrow, he started to crouch a little, bracing against his leg, and tried to leverage the pile up. The pitchfork shook a little and Danny shifted a foot back to steady himself. He shuffled around and clumsily wiggleded the poop off and into the wheelbarrow. He looked up at Alicia. Alicia looked back into the stall then back at Danny. Figuring that was as good of a “go ahead” as he was going to get, he turned back into the stall and continued. Alicia came to stand by the stall entrance and give the occasional tip as Danny rooted around looking around for spots to clean up. Danny groaned as he finished the last spot. Rubbing his arm, he turned toward Alicia.

As he opened his mouth, Alicia cut him off, “On to the next.”

Danny shut his mouth, glowering a little, and stepped over to the next stall in line. By the time he finished with that one, Alicia had come back with additional stall bedding, spreading it out and filling in the bare spots. Danny leaned against the stall divider and opened up his bottle, taking a gulp of water. It dribbled down his chin and he wiped it off. He hung his arms over the divider as he watched Alicia. Her movements were smooth and practiced, and she was methodical, poking around and moving material, building it up in spots and thinning it out in others. Alicia stepped back, shovel planted by her side. She glanced over at Danny, not surprised to see him watching.

“Any questions?”

Danny shook his head.

“No? Well, I’ll leave you to the rest then,” and grinned at him, before leaning the shovel to the side and walking out of the barn.

Danny sighed and dropped his head for a moment. It wasn’t hard to get the gist of what he had to do, but all of them? It felt like he spent an hour just cleaning out the two he did already. Not looking forward to the rest of the day, Danny pushed off the wall to continue.

At some point, Danny noticed something watching him from the barn door. His shoulders tensed as he turned around. The shape was grounded, solid in a way that most ghosts couldn’t replicate, and Danny felt his shoulders relax some. Squinting against the bright light pouring in, he made out a fuzziness to whatever it was. As his eyes adjusted enough to see more, Danny smiled. It was a large dog, light in color except for the face and ears where the fur darkened. Just as he was about to take a step to walk over, a low bark echoed throughout the barn. Danny stopped. The dog stood up but otherwise didn’t move, keeping eyes on him.

“Hey,” Danny said. “Aunt Alice said your name was Skip?”

The dog lowered its head down, staring down Danny.

Hearing footsteps coming from outside, Danny looked up. Alice came to the entrance by Skip’s side. “Sit,” she said. Turning to Danny, “can you turn away from Skip a little?”

Crouching down, she talked to Skip for a moment, before standing up and walking towards Danny. “Alright, this is Danny.” Coming to a stop near Danny, she clapped a hand on his shoulder. “He’s going to be staying with us a while Skip.”

Skip stood up, turned away, and walked off. Alice faced Danny. “Well, that was Skip. He isn’t the most friendly to strangers, but he’ll get used to you being around eventually. Not that he hangs around us all that often. Skip spends a lot of time with the chickens, sometimes the cows or pigs depending. And you,” Alicia shook a finger at him, “will be out with the crops. Shouldn’t run into any problems with Skip, just don’t startle him.”

Danny’s face fell, “Got it.”

Alice looked around. “So, you about finished in here?”

Danny ducked his head, “eeh about that.”

Alicia sighed, “Ok. Well, once you get done with this, come find me. I’ll be around, but if you can’t find me, just give a shout.” She walked back out of the barn.

Danny sighed, hopes of having a dog crushed once again, and got back to work.

_____

Putting the tools back where Alicia grabbed them from, Danny walked out of the barn. Stepping out of the shade, his hand flew up to shade his eyes from the sudden sun. Glancing around, he didn’t see Alicia. The woods on one side, chicken area in front, barn behind, and fields on his left. Danny’s arms were aching, and he turned toward the woods.

Walking through them for a while, Danny found a downed tree and sat down on it. Head turned up to the dappled sunlight, arms stretched back, legs thrown out in front of him, he breathed deeply. He slowly built up energy in his chest, before directing the collected ectoplasm out from his fingers, through the log, and into the surrounding area. Nothing ectoplasmic echoed back through the connection and Danny slowed pulled it back, collecting and dispersing it back into himself. Once confirming there were no ghosts out there, he fully settled his weight down onto his hands.

He ignored the guilt building a home in his stomach and stayed for a few minutes, letting the sun soak into his being. Danny was starting to get warm, bordering on hot - a foreign feeling ever since his ice core fully formed. His eyelids fluttered closed and a soft breeze blew through, taking the edge of the heat off. Danny could feel his heart slowing, mind growing fuzzy, and then he toppled back off the log. His back hit the ground and the air escaped his lungs. Wheezing softly, he stayed there for a moment. Gathering breath back in his lungs, he tried to roll himself over. Picking himself up, Danny did his best to brush the dirt and leaves off his backside. Turning his attention back where he came from, he stomped his way to the farm.

Coming back up to the path around the farm, Danny spied Alicia coming up to the barn. He started jogging faster before deciding to turn invisible and fly into the barn. Setting down in a shaded corner, Danny turned visible and walked to the open doors. Looking around behind him, he double checked that everything looked alright and walked out.

Alicia was almost to the barn doors, looking back at the chickens, when Danny popped out. “Hey!” Danny called. Alicia turned around to look at Danny before sending one last glance back. Waiting for Alicia to get to the barn, Danny rocked back and forth on his heels. His arms didn’t ache as much as when he first finished, but he could still feel the shaky weakness in them. Danny flashed a smile at her as she got to him.

“So, how are you feeling? Up to walking through the fields with me?”

Danny grimaced before he could stop himself.

Alicia looked at him, “I’ll take that as a yes.” She started walking away.

“Uh.” Danny started. Alicia stopped. “I – uh – what do I do with the, uuh, poop. In the wheelbarrow?”

Alicia sighed before changing directions, walking back up and into the barn. “I’ll show ya. You’re gonna dump it in a pile out back. We let it sit and age a while before using it. Not the most glamorous, but it does the job.”

Danny followed her in and took up the handles on the wheelbarrow. Alicia led him out back, through the gated fence, and to a pile of poop. Danny wrinkled his nose. It didn’t smell as bad as he thought, but it wasn’t pleasant either. He watched Alicia pick up a shovel that was leaning against a tree nearby, and she scooped the poop out of the small wheelbarrow and onto the pile. In a minute she was done and set the shovel back down.

“As I said, not hard. Get that wheelbarrow back where I grabbed it from this morning and catch up to me. We’ve got a lot to do today.”

Danny hurried to comply and jogged to get back to Alicia who was halfway to the fields.

“Sooo,” Danny stretched out the syllable, “what’re we doing anyways? Like the plants are all planted and stuff, right?”

Alicia scoffed at him and continued walking out to the fields. Coming up to a large field of corn, she sharply turned left and kept walking alongside it.

Danny hopped a little on one leg to change direction and catch up. After a few minutes of following Alicia and looking around the area – primarily at the woods in the distance, watching a bird fly up and overhead, and trying to find some shapes in the clouds – Danny sighed. He looked over at Alicia. Tried to find another bird to watch. Looked back down. Then further down at his feet. Kicked a stray rock, causing a small dust cloud to rise up. Alicia huffed. Danny paused for a moment. Started swinging his arms back and forth. Stopped. Started humming. Stopped. Shifted his weight on every step so he bobbed and swayed along more than walked. Stopped that. Looked back up at the clouds. He could feel the sun warming the back of his neck as they went.

Alicia glanced over at him, causing Danny’s extraneous movements to still. His shoulders lifted and he ducked his head down. After another moment Alicia put her hands in her pockets. Sighed. “If Will wasn’t using the tractor to go around the farm today I would’ve taken you around in it.” She leaned over to examine some of the corn stalks they passed by. Straightening back up Alicia said to Danny, “There’s still a lot to do on the farm. We may not be primarily livestock, but crops also require a fair bit of work. We have to make sure they’re getting enough water, fertilize from time to time, spray for bugs and other diseases, weeding of course, making sure we don’t see signs of problems on the plants themselves, taking care of tractor maintenance – among other daily tasks. You’ll be out in the fields mostly. I’ll show you what needs done these first few days and then you’ll be sent off to do those tasks. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know what to focus on, but,” Alicia shrugged, “a lot of it comes down to watching and learning the first few days.”

“Oh.” Danny said. “Uh, so what kinds of plants do you grow here?” He scratched his warm neck.

Alice lifted up her hat before setting it back down, “Well, we’re a bit unusual – mostly growing feed for the livestock farms around here. Remember when you and Jazz jumped into town last year from Air Grits?”

Danny nodded, “Yeah, that was weird; drove in this time though.”

Alice lifted her eyebrows for a moment, “Yep. Bit of a hassle to drive into town though?”

Danny looked away, “Uuuh yea, the roads were kind of bumpy?”

Letting out a loud barking laugh, Alice said, “That’s one way to put it. The road up here has a lot of sections through the woods too. People here don’t drive from town to town all that often. Makes us pretty secluded, and since there's not a lot of traffic it doesn’t make much sense to put money aside to pave a more direct route in. Easier to just jump in from a plane for the most part. Unless you live close that is.”

“I guess. But what does that have to do with your farm?” Danny wrinkled his noise as a breeze briefly brought the smell of manure his way.

“Mmm,” Alicia started. “Well, animals need a lot of food, and the harder it is to get it brought in, the more expensive it is. Growing up, your ma and me saw how the farmers struggled with the prices. When I grew up, I decided to shift the family farm to silage to help with the demand. You won’t see a lot of farms like mine, most of the food is grown outside of our region here or in other states entirely.” She paused. “It’s also a hell of a lot more trouble to get it to all work out if I’m honest. There’s a reason crops aren’t grown in these parts.”

Danny nodded, looking back at the trees they passed by.

“To answer your original question, we got a field we plant cover crops in. Depending on what we’ve got, I’ll send the cows and pigs out there during the days. You won’t spend a lot of time there. Then we’ve got this corn that we’re passing. Unlike the corn we eat, this gets left to dry out after it gets done growing.”

Danny looked over the field, eyebrows pinched together. “Corn?”

“Yessir, this is a corn field we’re walking by. I guess for a city boy like you, it’ll be easier to tell in a few weeks. These here are still growing their ears. We’ve got some fields we planted earlier – they got their ears and silk already. You’ll see them tomorrow probably.”

“Why?” Danny interjected, “Why did you plant them like that?”

“Well,” Alice starts, “Oh, we’re coming up to the wheat here,” and pointed forward to the next field. “We stagger our fields like that, so we stagger what time they’re ready to harvest. It doesn’t make sense to flood the ranchers around here with a bunch of feed all at once, or to hafta store a bunch of it. Arkansas up here in the north is a little interesting. I started doing that a couple years back, and it’s been alright. More work on my and Will’s end, but,” Alice shrugged.

Danny looked up at her, then tried standing on his tip toes as he walked. He couldn’t see past the tops of the corn stalks and stumbled over an uneven patch on the ground. Righting himself, he glanced back up at his aunt. “So you’ve got corn and wheat, anything else?”

Alice looked down at him briefly, “Sometimes we’ll do soybeans, sometimes sorghum. Depends. Nothing you’ll have to worry about either way. I think we’ll keep ya working on the wheat and corn this summer.” Alicia looked at him from the corner of her eye. “Speaking of, you drive yet?”

Danny choked on some spit, “Sorry?” He cleared his throat, “I’m still a few months shy of being able to get my permit. Eeeer,” Danny looked up her, “Why?”

“Aaah,” Alice said. More to herself than Danny, she muttered, “No matter, I’ll have to teach ya regardless.” She looked off in the distance before turning back to Danny. “Today, we’re going to go around the farm. I’ll show ya where are the different sections are and how they’re organized.”

Danny squirmed, “You don’t have to do that Aunt Alicia, I could walk around by myself. I don’t want to take you away from your work.”

Alicia narrowed her eyes at him. “You won’t be. I’ve got stuff to do out in the fields anyway.”

Deflating a little under her gaze he nodded, “Okay.”

Walking out to edge of the farm, Alicia took Danny through a section of wheat, pointing out things to watch out for, checking moisture levels, and more. Danny did his best to pay attention, but kept getting distracted by the wind brushing through the wheat. The plants would bend and rub against one another, creating a raspy sound, like someone walking around. After a sudden gust that caused Danny to jump, Alicia looked up at him. She waited for Danny to settle again, then went back to what she was doing. He could feel his shoulders tense and looked around the tops of the wheat to make sure that there really wasn’t anyone around. Danny moved to crouch down next to his aunt. He started to lean off to one side, unbalanced on the ground, and it was only when he put out a hand to brace himself did Danny notice that his hands were balled into fists. He slowly unclenched his left hand, the tension dissipating as he flexed it. Turning back to Alicia, he noticed she had turned to look at him. Danny looked back at her. She raised an eyebrow.

At Danny’s clueless face, she rolled her eyes. “Look over at the roots by you – do you see anything out of the ordinary?”

Danny ears flushed pink as he turned his head to look around him.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly, with Alice pulling snack bars from her overall pockets as a short break while they walked through more sections. As they exited a corn field, Danny heard a rumbling in the distance. After a minute or two of walking down the wider path, Alicia angled her head back, listening to something. “Seems Will is driving the tractor back. If he crosses near us, and has the cart hitched up, we can get a ride back.”

Danny desperately hoped that he would see Will. He might have the occasional ghost fight and Sam as a friend, but he wasn’t fit. After a day walking around, crouching and standing, his legs were tired, feet aching, and even his arms felt heavy. Danny couldn’t wait to get back to his cabin and fall face first onto his bed asleep. His stomach grumbled out. Actually, dinner first, then sleep. Hearing a change in the tractor rumble, Danny looked behind him and saw the tractor turn down their row. Danny waved at Will, and Alicia turned around. Ushering Danny to the side of the path, they let Will come to a stop, before closing the distance.

Grinning over at them, Will opened the door and told Danny, “You look dead on ya feet, kid. Ready to get back?”

“Yes please,” Danny begged.

“Alright, then climb in.” Will closed the door.

Danny gave a little wave and followed Alicia to the back, climbing up into the cart hitched up.

As Will got closer to the upper cabins, he let Alicia and Danny off before he went off to park the tractor and finish up some tasks.

“Well,” Alicia said, stretching out her back, “I’ve got some stuff to get in order before dinner. If you want to call home, I’ve got a landline down in my house. There’s not enough time to take a nap or anything, not that I’d recommend it anyway. Or you could always take another look in the barn, see if there’s anything to muck out before the animals bed down for the night.

“Ok,” Danny said. Alicia quickly turned and made her way down to the lower area. Danny stood there for a minute, looking off into the woods, before making his way behind his cabin to the freestanding outhouse.

After, he ambled to his cabin. Throwing open the door, he walked over to his bed. He flopped down on top of it, a leg and arm hanging over the edge. Danny wasn’t sure how much time he actually had before dinner, but he just wanted to be horizontal for a while. His body settled down, weighing into the mattress as he tried to stop thinking. After a while, his face got tired of being smashed into the sheets and Danny turned his head to the side, examining the little cabin. The sunlight coming in through the windows was yellow orange and muted. He watched the dust motes dance down the shaft of light before they disappeared into the shadows by his face. Feeling his body relax further, his turned his attention to his wide open door. The sounds of the woods filtered in, quiet, through it. He heard a deep bark come from Skip from somewhere. The sounds of a fly buzzing around his doorframe before flying off. Birds called back and forth. Danny sighed and felt his eyelids slide shut. He couldn’t wait to start counting down the days until he returned to Amity Park.

When Danny could feel his heart slowing down, he quickly opened his eyes and pushed himself up. The sudden shift started his heart beating rapidly. Despite wanting to sleep so badly after this day, Danny did not want to miss dinner and he had a sinking feeling that his aunt would not be happy if he didn’t show up. Not knowing how much time passed, he got up and left his cabin, making sure the latch clicked shut before he walked down to Alicia’s cabin. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands, he made his way down the slope. He didn’t call last night, despite promising his family he would. Danny was relatively assured that his mom would’ve called Alice anyway. More than that, Danny wanted to check in with Sam and Tucker. As enthusiastic as his parents could be about chasing down ghosts, they were hardly reliable when it came to dealing with the ghosts in town.

He heard a steady clacking as he approached Alice’s door, and opening it, he found her in the kitchen cutting up ingredients.

Danny looked around, then cleared his throat. After a moment, Alice turned around to face Danny. “What’s up?”

“Uuh, I’d like to use the phone. If there’s still time before dinner?”

Alice gave one short nod then gestured, curving her hand around to point. “Phone is on the other side of this wall, it’s a mounted one. You can pull up a chair if you want. I reckon you have enough time for a call.”

“Or two, if you’ve got a special someone,” she tacked on, laughing when Danny spluttered half formed words at her. “Aah just kidding kid,” Alice said as she turned back around.

Danny let out a wheezy, “thanks,” before walking to the other side of the wall. He found the aged yellow phone on the other side easily enough. Pausing in front of it, he took a deep breath, before lifting up his hand to the receiver. His hand rested there for a moment before he tightened his fingers and pulled the phone off, dialing the FentonWorks business number with his other hand. Bringing the phone up to his ear, he shifted his weight, an arm coming around to wrap around himself.

Briing brriiiing.

….

Briing Brriiing.

….

Bri – “Hello?” A female voice answered. “You’ve reached the FentonWorks business. If it’s about ghosts or specters, we’re here to help. What can we do for you today?”

Danny let out a breath at his mom’s practiced spiel. “Hey, Mom.”

A gasp crackled through the landline, “Oh Danny!” she said in surprise. “Oh, honey, why didn’t you call the house number?”

Danny looked up at a corner of the cabin. “They all end up at the same place though?”

“Honey, but it’s different phones that ring – you know that. And I’m not sure your father deleted off old voicemails from this number, so if we weren’t here to catch your phone call you wouldn’t have been able to leave a message!”

“That’s what I was hoping for,” Danny mumbled under his breath.

“What was that? Danny, you have to –“

“IS THAT OUR DANNY BOY?! HOW IS HE? ENJOYING LIFE WITH YOUR OLD BAT OF AN SISTER?” Jack’s booming voice cut through, clear enough to understand even as it crackled the closer he got to the phone.

Danny heard a rustling and a light smack on the other side. “Jack darling, my sister is not an old bat,” she admonished. “But yes, it’s Danny.” A pause. “Danny can you hold on a moment? I’m going to put you on speaker.”

Danny’s hand crept up to the coiled cord connecting the phone to the base.

A couple of clicks, then – “Oh Danny, can you hear us?”

And a competing “Still there Danny?” coming through at the same time.

Danny winced as the phone screeched. “Yeah,” his fingers twisted around the cord, “I’m still here.”

“Oh wonderful,” his mom said, “how are you settling in?”

“Meet any farm animals yet?” his dad asked. A breath, then an excited “Meet any country ghosts?”

Danny sighed, his fingers twisting up more in the cord. “I’m doing fine. Aunt Alice explained where everything is, and I pretty much fell asleep after moving my clothes out of the suitcase. Sorry I didn’t end up calling you last night.”

“That’s fine sweetie, your aunt gave us a short call last night to let us know you made it there alright.”

Danny hummed, hunch confirmed. Hearing his dad take a breath in, Danny quickly tacked on, “and I haven’t seen any ghosts, Dad. Met some cows, pigs, chickens, and the farm dog though.”

“And how is Skip doing?” Maddie asked.

Danny’s face scrunched up, “Fine? I guess? He didn’t like that I showed up today, just kind of stared at me for a bit before walking off.”

Maddie laughed. “That sounds like him. He’s nice enough when he warms up to you. But no, he isn’t too fond of strangers. Just give it time Danny.”

Danny huffed.

“Yes, yes, but I think he’ll be back before then Maddie,” Jack replied.

“Oh, you’re absolutely right dear. How are –“ Danny heard distant footsteps.

“Is that Danny?” his sister’s voice called out in the distance, a whisper coming through the phone.

“YES, COME HERE JAZZ, SAY HI!” his dad yelled.

Danny untwisted his fingers from the cord before starting to wrap them up again. “Hi Jazz,” he said.

“Oooh! Hi Danny! How are you doing!?”

“Alright,” he said. “Aunt Alice was finishing dinner. I just wanted to check in with you guys before then.”

“Ok Danny. Well, thank you for that. We don’t want to keep you too long then.” Jazz’s voice turned sharp, “Do we?”

“No! No, we don’t Jazzy pants! Don’t forget to call later! We miss you Danny boy! Don’t work yourself too hard, but make sure you listen to your ba-“ Jack cleared his throat, “your aunt.”

“I suppose we should let you go then Danny. Thank you for calling us. As nice as it was to know you were there safe, it’s even better hearing your voice. We miss you sweetie, love you!” Maddie said.

A twin chorus of “Love you”s sounded off after her.

“Love you guys,” Danny said. He clicked the phone back on. Sighing, he pulled it back off after a minute. Dialing a different number, he waited for the signal to connect. Danny started counting, but before he could reach five, he heard it connect.

“Sam?” Danny said.

A gasp, “Danny? Oh, I didn’t know you’d be able to call so soon!”

Danny smiled. He heard a small voice come through, “Is that Danny?” After a moment, a much louder, “Hey dude! How are you? Is it smelly there? Did you get a signal with my Charlotte?”

“Hey Tucker, Sam. Uuh, no Tucker, your PDA didn’t connect to anything. Other than that, it’s fine. I was outside, like, all day today. My legs feely like jelly,” he grouched.

Sam clicked her tongue, “This is why you, and Tucker, should join me when I exercise!”

“You can NOT convince me to join your exercise regime,” Tucker said.

“One day,” Sam vowed, “one day you’ll join me, Tucker Foley.”

Danny laughed. “Alright, I’m glad I reached both of you. I’ve got some questions about our,” Danny paused for a moment, “city guests?”

“Guests?” Tucker said. “What do you – oof.”

“Ghosts, Tucker, keep up,” Sam hissed.

“Got it, there was no need to elbow me though.”

Danny could imagine Tucker melodramatically massaging his side as Sam rolled her eyes at him. “So?” he prompted. “Anything to worry about?”

Tucker sighed, “dude it’s been dead around here, Poindexter was walking around campus yesterday, the Box Ghost was seen flying around the warehouses, and then today Vaaaal – the Red Huntress was chasing Skulker.”

“Skulker?” Danny snapped.

“Yeah, no need to get your pants twisted Danny,” Sam said, “it was Skulker out of his suit of all things. No clue why he was wandering around like that.”

“It was weird seeing his naked, blobby ass Danny!”

“Eeeew, Tucker!”

“What?”

“Gross! Anyway, Danny, despite having so many sightings the past few days, there haven’t been many problems. Even your parents have kept the GAV destruction to a minimum. Your dad only dented a stop sign pole and your mom only scorched some leaves while blasting at the Box Ghost.”

“Huh,” Danny said, “that’s good. I guess?”

“Relax, dude, if any problems pop up, Sam and me have got this. Along with Valerie. We won’t let anything too bad happen. And hey! If all else fails, then your parents are always around.”

Danny snorted, “thanks, I feel so much better now.”

Sam sighed, “seriously though Danny, take it easy. You are nowhere near Amity right now, so it’s no use worrying about it. We have it covered and before you know it, you’ll be back.”

“Yeah, alright,” Danny said, fingers twisting in the cord again. “Okay. That’s – thanks for letting me know.”

“Are you okay?” Tucker asked.

Danny sighed into the receiver. “Yeah.” Silence stretched out between the two sides of the call. Danny heard Alicia shuffle out of the cabin and down the steps.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Danny said. “I’m just. UUuugh. I don’t understand why my parents thought I needed to get away from Amity Park. And my sister didn’t help, butting in with all these psychology studies about stressed teenagers, and environments, and whatnot. Can you believe that fink convinced my parents to send me away for basically my entire break!?! I already missed half of summer being in school, and now I’m out in the middle of nowhere? It’s stupid. I don’t even know why they thought the ghosts attacks were putting me on edge in the first place! I don’t even stick around for the ghost fights as Fenton because I’m so busy running off to fight them myself,” Danny hissed. He heard a stair creak. He sighed, letting the tension bleed out of him. “Anyway, how are you guys? Enjoying your summer?”

Sam and Tucker started talking about how excited they were for a new movie that was coming out next week and Danny smiled softly, listening to their back and forth. Hearing someone clear their throat behind him, he turned around, and lowered the phone away from his ear.

“Dinner’s gonna be done soon kiddo,” Alice said.

“Thanks,” Danny mouthed.

Finding a short break in the conversation, Danny interrupted whatever retort was coming next, “Hey, guys. I’m glad I could catch both of you, but I got to go. I’ll talk to you both later?” He untangled his fingers from the cord.

“Oh,” Sam said, “Yes, of course. Bye Danny!”

“Bye! Talk to you later!” Tucker said.

“Bye.” Danny clicked the phone back in place.

Collecting himself, Danny breathed out, plastered a neutral expression onto his face, and turned around to walk outside for dinner.

_______

Danny was in his bed. He was exhausted. His arms ached, his feet were sore, and his eyes were tired.

He rolled over. It was dark, likely the middle of the night, and he was groggy, limbs still heavy and heart slow from sleep. So why was he awake? He heard a far off call coming from the direction of the woods. ‘Probably a wolf’, he thought. Closing his eyes, Danny settled back down. Or tried to. His skin itched and Danny twisted around to rest on his other side. Scrunched together his eyelids. Moved his feet around. Sighed, then pushed himself up. Slipping on his boots, he opened up the cabin door and stepped outside.

Looking around, Danny didn’t see anything concerning. He stepped down and walked around the cabin, looking at the sky and the darkness in between the trees. Danny walked back in the cabin, pulling the door till he heard the latch click, then walked to his bed. Sitting down he took a deep breath, held it, and his eyes glowed green in the dark as he released the breath. Ecto pooled beneath his feet and he pushed it through the ground. He stretched out his consciousness with the ecto, making sure that there was nothing unexpected in the area. The only thing he sensed was a small pool of ectoplasm in the ground, far enough down that it was probably undisturbed by anyone for hundreds of years. Breathing in, he called his ecto back. Breathed in, then out. Followed the path of his breath through his body as it traveled. In through the nose, down to his lungs, inflating, then back up and out. Once he felt sufficiently centered in his body again, Danny kicked off his boots and laid back down. Sleep claimed him quickly once more.

Sun hitting Danny’s face woke him up. Throwing an arm over his eyes, Danny groaned. He still felt sore from the day before, tired from the ghosts fights prior to coming to his aunt’s, and annoyed from being sent in the first place. In short, Danny was grumpy. The sharp rap on his door a couple minutes later did not help.

“Up and at ‘em Danny.”

“I’m up!” he called back.

Hearing footsteps recede, Danny groaned. Loudly. Maybe he could convince his parents to pick him up? Call this summer trip short? Danny started plotting ways to get back home, with his parents’ permission, as he followed Alicia back to the chickens, then off to the barn.

Neither spoke to one another, Danny doing his best to help Alice. Before long, she had him mucking out the stalls again as she walked off to attend to other chores. As Alice said, it wasn’t tricky and the repetition had Danny zoning out, daydreaming about being back in Amity.

A short step back, and Danny tripped over a trough. Hitting the ground hard, he felt something squish against his backside. Danny sighed. He closed his eyes, gathered some motivation, then swung his legs over the trough and fully onto the ground. Standing up, he twisted around to see the cow pie he landed in. Wrinkling his nose, Danny pushed intangibility through his body to get the crap to drop off his butt and walked out of the way before releasing it. He stood there, feeling the warmth of the sun heating up the open doorway, and looked at the two stalls left to do. Danny was just about to turn around and walk off for a little break, when his mom’s chiding voice echoed through his head. Turning back around, he went to finish the job before the food bell rang out.

Later that day, the walkie that Alice had given Danny earlier that day crackled to life. “DANNY! Get the first aid kit from the barn and get out to the field Will was working in. Now.”

Click.

Danny, who had been lounging by the storage barn, darted inside to grab the kit that hung up there, and ran back out. He activated his flight so he lifted just above the ground, and flew most of the distance to the field. When he was close, he dropped back down and ran the rest of the way.

“Mmmm fine,” Will slurred out.

“Will Archibald Jacobson don’t you dare,” Danny heard Alice hiss out.

He darted around a row to see Will by the woodchipper, Alice holding his arm above his head. “What happened?” Danny yelled, dashing the last few yards to them.

Will’s arm was wrapped in his overshirt, blood soaking into the fabric. He had blood on his tank shirt and his pants. Blood dripped down to his neck. His face had an out of focus expression.

Danny set down the first aid kit.

Flipping it open, Alice responded, “darn idiot got distracted and forgot about the woodchipper next to him.”

“Hey!” Will protested. “Kid, don’t listen to her, I was… safe, prom’se! Jus’ go’ startled by this green thing – glowing like the sun – ‘n tripped ‘n fell is all.”

“Danny, press here,” Alice instructed, ignoring Will’s slurred explanation.

Danny helped Alice wrap up Will’s arm tight. Hauling him to his feet, Alice turned around. “Danny, I’m going to take him into town. I’m not sure how deep that cut went, but,” she trailed off, looking at the dopey look on Will’s face.

“Got it, what do you want me to do?”

Hoisting a shoulder over her own, Alice grunted, “help me get him there.”

Danny darted under Will’s other side to support him, and they started to walk him back. Will protested the whole way, claiming that he was fit as a fiddle and definitely didn’t need to walk into town and that they should check out ‘the weird creature in the woods, big, green, and glowing, can’t miss it’. Danny extended some of his flight powers to Will, lightening the load on him and Alice. They walked Will past Alice’s cabin, through a short stretch of woods, and into town. Will finally quieted down, grumbling instead of loudly complaining, and they made it into the small clinic.

“Patty!” Alice called out.

A middle aged woman came out from the back door, “what’s – oh, get him into the back room.” She propped the door open, and let them pass her, pointing them to one of the two examination rooms. Shooing Alice and Danny back out once they set him down, Patty got to work.

Walking back out to waiting room, Danny felt sick to his stomach. He was supposed to have gone to help Will out that afternoon, but decided to take his time and took a break near the chickens instead. “Is he going to be ok, Aunt Alice?”

“Probably,” Alice said, but the furrows between her eyebrows told a different story. “Well, nothing much to do in the meantime. You been through town yet?”

Danny blinked at the sudden shift, “uh, no, not yet.”

“Then I’ll show you around real quick while we’re here, make the most of this.”

Alice took Danny around, which consisted of walking him up and down Mainline and Riverway, the two major streets of the small town. There were only a handful of shops, the clinic, and a gas station.

“That’s it?” Danny asked as they walked back to the clinic.

“Yep,” Alice popped the p.

“It’s…. tiny.”

Sighing, Alice said, “well yea, most folks around here stay on the farms. You have a few homes down here near town, but most people prefer to move down to the bigger town about 50 miles from here.”

Stepping into the clinic, Danny now noticed the chime that signaled their entrance. They settled down in two of the three seats in the front area.

A few minutes later, Patty walked back out. “Well, Will should be fine. It’ll take a while for his arm to heal up, but he’s still got movement and feeling, so I don’t think he’s got any nerve damage.” She smiled at them. “Lucky, though, that he didn’t lose too much blood. I got him a snack and had him lay down in the meantime. What’d he even do? He had fat hanging out of the wound and everything.”

“Fool got distracted and the wood chipper was nearby,” Alice grumbled.

“He tripped into it,” Danny added.

“Hmm, well alright. You guys gonna take him back up to the farm?” Patty asked.

Alice uncrossed her arms, placing her hands on her knees. “Suppose so. His family’s too far away to call to get him today. I’ll see if they’ll come pick him up tomorrow.” She sighed, running a hand through her mullet. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, so they probably will.”

“Definitely lucked out then,” Patty said. She walked back to check on Will.

Waiting for the “all clear” to take Will back up, Danny stewed in his thoughts. He hadn’t exactly done anything outright wrong, but Danny knew that if he had taken his job more seriously, he would’ve been with Will and maybe he wouldn’t have gotten hurt or as badly or –

“Stop thinkin’ so loud.”

Danny jumped. The swirl of his thoughts coming to a halt.

“I’m sorry,” Danny whispered.

“What for?”

“I –“ Danny paused. “I –“

“Danny,” Alice cut in. “It ain’t your fault.”

“But –“

“Nope. Whatever ya think ya did or didn’t do, it’s not your fault.” Alice side eyed his hunched, guilty looking form. “Stuff like this happens – whether or not anyone else is around. So don’t worry too much.”

Danny dropped his head down.

The silence stretched between them. Alice looked out the window, and Danny made a promise to himself to take this summer more seriously.

__________

The next morning, Danny waved Will and his family off as they left down the back road. He’d be gone for the next couple of weeks to keep him away from the temptation of working. Knowing they’d have to pick up the slack, Danny and Alice hurried back to work.

_________

A week later, Danny was settling into a routine, getting comfortable around the farm. He was getting quicker at mucking out the stalls, and as such, he had some time to do some laundry. Taking the path down to Alice’s cabin, he passed under one of the open cabin windows.

“-addie.”

Danny stopped. Was Alicia talking to his mom?

“Danny?” Alicia asked.

Oh, they were talking about him. He stood there, holding his bag of laundry, curious about what his aunt would say.

“No, he’s doing good work around the farm.”

Danny shuffled a foot around, making circles in the dirt as he listened in.

“Yeah Madds, I can see why you’re so fond of him.” Alicia laughed in response to something Maddie said. “That he is, you raised a good boy.”

Danny’s eyes widened. Bugs buzzed around in the grass around him.

“Mmmm. If he didn’t have school to get back to, I wouldn’t mind keeping him around,” Danny overheard. Eyes widening, he decided to quickly walk off to the laundry.

He hadn’t realized that his aunt liked him that much. Even more surprising that she’d want to keep him on. Danny remembered the start of summer school when his teacher all but groaned at him walking in. Danny had just failed the second half of their class not 2 weeks before. Due to the sudden ghost appearances, Danny hadn’t been the most reliable in the last few years. But for someone to recognize his work? And be satisfied with it? Danny felt a warm feeling start in his chest. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay for the rest of the summer.

______

A couple weeks passed from that phone conversation, with Will coming back and slowly starting to pick up more work again.

Danny had, for the first time since he arrived on the farm, a short work day. By the time lunch came around, Danny had finished his list of chores. After getting the confirmation from Alice, he had the whole afternoon to himself.

He walked around the farm, ending up at one of the wheat fields. Will and Alice were focused on the corn fields for the day and wouldn’t be out this way until later. Standing there amidst the softly swaying strands, Danny watched the sky. The breeze in the air that moved the wheat also pushed the clouds around high above. He decided to take a seat between the golden rows, laying on his back, arm flung behind his head. Staring up at the clouds, he watched them flow across the sky, shifting forms as they traveled. The sun-warmed dirt below him felt like a warm blanket on his back. This close to the ground, it smelled sweet, a little moist and earthy. Danny pulled his cap lower over his face as the warmth settled into his bones. Soon enough, he was lulled off to sleep.

By the time he woke up, the sun had dipped lower in the sky. Sitting up, Danny didn’t hear anyone around and got up. As he walked out of the field, Danny raised his eyes, jumping a little at Skip sitting down and watching him from a distance. Danny paused midstep. When Skip didn’t make a move, Danny finished walking out of the wheat and onto the dirt path. They stared at one another for a moment. Out of view, one of the pigs grunted. Skip blinked, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth, before he got up to walk to the pig. Danny watched his tail wag as he left. He chuckled softly as he headed off to Alice’s cabin.

After dinner, he stuck around, playing a card game with Alice, Will, and Jasper. Every so often one of the townspeople stopped by to get Alice’s opinion about something or another and stayed for a meal. When Jasper lost the third game in a row, he called it quits and headed out for the night. Will, Alicia, and Danny played a few more rounds themselves, Will and Danny winning a round each, with the rest of the wins going to Alice. By the time they said their goodnights, the moon was rising. The sky had darkened considerably and the stars were twinkling to life above them.

“Oh.” Danny breathed, stopping on the cabin porch.

Will looked back, “Danny?”

“The sky. I –“ he paused. “I’ve been falling asleep so quickly I haven’t had time to really see it.”

“Oh, that all? It’s pretty neat I guess… Well, I’ll head up then, see ya later Danny.”

Eyes never leaving the sky, “Night Will. See ya tomorrow.” He walked down to sit at the table.

The door creaked open, “Oh. Danny? Is that you still down here?”

Danny, from the picnic table, confirmed, “Yeah.”

“Huh, I thought you and Will left a while ago.”

“Hmmhmm. Will did, headed up already.”

“Ooook. Well, you need anything?”

“Nope.”

“Alright,” Alice stepped down, walking up to the table. “Well, it’s getting late. Now, I’m not your mom, but maybe consider heading up yourself soon.”

“Ok. Yeah, you’re right.”

“… Ya really like those stars huh?”

Danny finally looked down, “Yeah.” He grinned, “you can’t see the stars like this in Amity. I mean, you can, it’s not the worst, but it’s just so clear out here!”

Alice chucked, “Sure is. Sometimes I forget how nice it is.”

“If I lived out here, I would never take it for granted. I bet it’s so easy to track the constellations and star movements,” Danny’s eyes lit up with the possibilities.

“Don’t know much about the stars myself but,” she shrugged, “I guess it wouldn’t be hard to, no.”

Taking one last look up at the stars, Danny got up, said goodnight to his aunt, and headed up to get ready for bed.

_______

“And Danny? Come into my cabin for a moment, your job today is going to be a little different.”

Will frowned, “Aaah man, Danny gets to do that?”

“Do what?” Danny asked.

Alicia grinned. “Blackberry picking.”

“Yeah, and it’s the best job of the summer,” Will grumbled. “You better enjoy it kid.” He stood up. “Well, I’ll see you two later,” and he walked up the slope to get back to work.

“Bye,” Danny called. Turning to Alicia, “So what does berry picking mean I’m doing, exactly?” He looked around, “I haven’t noticed any berries around here.”

Alice laughed, “no you won’t. Come inside, I have to show you where you’re going.”

Danny furrowed his eyebrows but followed her into the cabin where some maps of the farm and surrounding area and a large basket sat on the table.

Alice picked up the first map, took a look, then rifled through the pile to find one that had a large circle on it. “Ah, here it is,” she placed it on top of the pile and pointed to the circled area. “This is where you’re headed today.”

Danny leaned in to look over the map. “That looks like it’s in the woods?”

“Yep,” Alicia said, “you’re going to be taking a little walk today. I’ve got your lunch packed up, all you have to do is fill your canteen, and then head out for the day.”

Danny frowned. “And how am I supposed to find them?”

Alice rolled her eyes, “They aren’t hard to spot. Here,” she pointed to a different area of the map, “we are. You’re going to head this direction,” she moved her finger up, around a small lake, and to the circle. “It’s pretty easy walking. The pond will keep you on track, though it’s more like a glorified puddle, but whatever. You’ll hear the stream feeding into it, so if you do get lost, just hush up and listen. You’ll pick the berries, put them in this basket, and when it’s full, you’ll head back. I scoped out the area last year and this was a fairly big thicket, so even if the animals have gotten to it there should still be plenty left for you.” She looked up at Danny. “Got it?”

Danny worried his lip. “I guess?” He hadn’t really explored the surrounding area, but figured if he needed to, he could just fly up and look for the way back easily enough.

“Good. Well, get your basket and water and get going. I’ve got work to get to. See you for dinner kid,” and Alicia walked out the door.

Danny took another look at the map, doing his best to memorize the path. He sighed, picking up the basket, stopping by his cabin quickly to grab his water bottle, and started off to the trees.

Walking into the woods, Danny noticed a strap on the basket and quickly put it over his shoulder. The basket bobbed against his butt as he walked, but it was better than having to carry it the whole way. As Danny got further in, the undergrowth increased. Danny activated his intangibility and walked right through. The sun was bouncing through the leaves, casting spots of shadow and light. He heard the birds sitting overhead in the treetops and a beetle buzzed past Danny’s ear. He made his way to the small lake.

As he got closer, he heard a soft bubbling sound that soon turned into a whoosh. Then the smell of the dirt changed – rich and a little heavy on the tongue. Danny walked through a bush and saw the puddle. If he wasn’t intangible, he would’ve gotten his boots wet.

Huh, Danny thought. It really is small.

The pond was only a couple of yards across and looked shallow.

Danny looked to his left and saw the stream that fed into it. Looking around the edge, he couldn’t find where the pond emptied. Danny stayed there for moment, comparing what he was seeing to his memory of the map. Once he felt confident in his orientation, he floated up and drifted across the pond. Setting himself down on the other side, he double checked his intangibility was still activated and started walking again. True to Alice’s word, the walk itself was easy, and Danny took the opportunity to look around at the woods. He spotted a deer in the distance at one point, and what looked like owl nests in some of the branches.

As he walked through a particularly dense area of bushes, he noticed some mist by a tree some distance away. Danny squinted at it. It was too warm in the day for there to be mist and, he looked around, it didn’t look like there was any water for it to come from either. As he started to walk to it, Danny realized that he hadn’t heard any birds in a while. Getting closer, he saw some wispy tendrils float out from the densest part of the mist. He tilted his head. Let some ectoplasm leak into his eyes. The mist suddenly contracted and came together to form a vague squirrel shape. Danny stopped. Followed the smallest tendril down to the earth. A squirrel, blood leaking out from a wound on its leg, was connected to it. Danny looked back up. The ghost followed the motion and looked at Danny. Danny looked back. Blinked. And stepped forward, holding out a hand. The squirrel ghost drifted forward and right before it made contact with Danny, turned to look back at its mortal body.

Danny held his breath as he watched one of the ears tufts twitch. The squirrel turned back around and jumped forward to touch Danny’s palm. As it nestled into his hand, its soft, transparent body started to disperse again. Danny reached for his core and pushed the ectoplasm circulating in his body to his hand. His palm started glowing green before some ectoplasm coated his palm. The squirrel started condensing again, pulsing as it made contact. The ectoplasm flowed off Danny to mix in with the translucent body. The ectoplasm swirled around like bubbles in soda before losing shape and being absorbed. The squirrel’s ghost glowed bright and Danny looked away, closing his eyes.

When he no longer saw the light through his eyelids, Danny cracked open one eye, and confirming the bright light was gone, fully opened both eyes. What was once a misty looking squirrel ghost was now a small green blob. As it rotated around, eyes came into view, and opening up, looked at Danny, letting out a small chirrup in greeting. Danny smiled a little. It was cute, if a bit sad knowing where this little blob came from. Danny looked back at the corpse. Then up to the blob. The wispy tendril no longer connecting the two. Danny let his hand drop and the blob stayed floating. Floated closer to Danny’s face. He could feel his eyes flash green. The blob ghost let out another little chirp and flew around Danny head before settling down on his shoulder, nuzzling up into his chin. Danny laughed at the ticklish sensation and then turned around to continue to the blackberry bushes.

As Danny got to the blackberries, he reached up a hand to the blob ghost. Gently scooping it into his hand, Danny lifted it up and onto the top of one of the bushes. Looking around and not seeing any animals, Danny focused on the bushes. There were a lot of them, and it seemed like the bushes had plenty of berries. Danny could make out at least 5 bushes growing into each other, and possibly more around some trees. He knelt down and picked a blackberry, tossing it into his mouth. As the berry burst open, juices sprayed Danny’s mouth, and he stifled a cough. He ate it quickly and indulged in a quick cough. Even though it was smaller than the ones they bought from the store, it was noticeably sweeter. Danny smiled and swung his basket off his shoulder. He started carefully plucking berries off, and every time he accidentally squished one, he popped it in his mouth instead of the basket.

At some point the little blob ghost woke up and started darting between the leaves of the berry bushes, occasionally trying to eat one. Danny laughed at its antics, making a little ball of ectoplasm form, and tossed it for the blob to chase.

By the time the sun started its afternoon descent, Danny had his basket filled and a happy blob ghost nestled on top of the berries. Over the course of the afternoon, its green color had started disappearing and now it was more wisp than blob again. Danny frowned briefly and started off to the farm.

As Danny got near to the edge of the woods, the little ghost had lost all its color and was now back to a translucent wisp. Before he could give it more ecto, he heard a shout and ran out of the trees. Aunt Alice had dropped a screwdriver on the ground and when she stood back up from grabbing it, she spotted Danny. She waved, walking over to him.

“Hey Danny, how was –“ the little ghost darted out from behind Danny’s back, coming to face to face with Alicia. She frowned. “how was the trip?”

He pulled the basket forward, “good, there were plenty of blackberries.”

“Aaah good. Any trouble finding them?” She eyed the ghost out of the corner of her eye.

“Nope,” Danny paused, and taking a chance, said, “I found this little guy on the way though.”

“Oh?” Alice raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck. “You can see it, right?”

Alice’s frown lightened. “Yes.” Sounding choked up, she cleared her throat. “Yes, I can. I didn’t realize - well, nevermind.” She looked at the ghost, nuzzling into Danny’s hair, mussing it up. “I don’t know why it’s acting so friendly, but you best not encourage it. The less attention you give it, the sooner it’ll pass on.”

Danny’s ears flushed red, “pass on?” he asked.

“Chiiiirup?” said the wispy ghost.

Alice leveled a glare at it. “Absolutely not.”

Danny’s mouth fell open. “Wait. What? Can you understand it?”

“Sure can. Ever since I was little,” Alice answered.

“Does Mom know you can see them? And understand them?”

Alice squinted at him, “Sure does, was the first person I told as a kid. Real supportive of it all.”

Danny stood there for a moment. “Mom knows? And she didn’t have you help her with the – the ghost stuff?”

“Nope. I was the reason she got into ghosts in the first place, but,” Alice shrugged. “I didn’t want anything to do with them. After I got back from the big city, I just wanted to live a quiet life and Maddie respected that.”

“Oh.” Danny looked between the ghost now on his arm and Alice. “Really?”

“Yep.”

The ghost floated between the two, circling Alice once before resting back on Danny.

“Well, looks like we should go deal with those blackberries.”

As Danny and Alice finished sorting the blackberries into different containers, Will walked up to them. “Hey! Oh, Danny’s back already?”

Alicia snorted at him, “Don’t act surprised.”

Will held up his hands, “Aaah you got me. I saw you two meet up earlier.” He quickly reached down to pop one in his mouth.

Alicia smacked his shoulder. The ghost flew up and chittered angrily in his face.

Will smiled, showing off his berry splattered teeth, completely unrepentant. Chuckling, he walked off.

Danny looked at the ghost, now flying over the piles of blackberries, and then up at Alice. “Will didn’t react at all.”

Alice grunted, “Hmm.”

“Are we the only ones who can see this little guy?”

“Far as I can tell, kid.”

“Oh.” Danny looked off into the tree line. “Aunt Alice, what did you mean when you said it’d pass on?”

“Well, exactly what I said. Little bugger died, and whatever was left will pass on to whatever’s next. Why? What’d you think I meant?”

Danny shrugged. “I guess I’m just not used to ghosts passing on? Most of the ones I meet stick around and cause trouble.”

“Ah. Madds has mentioned something like that. Have they caused you any trouble?” Alice probed.

Danny grimaced. “I guess you could say that. A lot of ghosts cause trouble around the high school.”

Alice nodded, “I can see how that’d be distracting.” Alice watched a bee buzz around the table. The wispy ghost chased after it.

“Yeah, most of them like to cause problems on purpose, but sometimes there’s the little blobs that hang around and they’re kind of cute, like a stray cat. They do make it hard to concentrate if it’s dark though.”

“What do ya mean?”

Danny looked back at his aunt. “Cause, they, you know, glow green?”

“Green? Huh. None of the ghosts round here glow green. I guess Will did mention something similar. And I remember Maddie showing me a vial of glowing green stuff once. Made me feel kind of sick.”

“Oh, that vial was probably ectoplasm,” Danny said.

“Ec-toe-plasm?” Alice sounded out.

“Yeah,” Danny said. “It’s the glowing green stuff that ghosts are made up of.”

“Really?” Alice sounded unimpressed.

“Hmmhmm,” Danny hummed. “You can kind of see their insides if they get hit with an ectoblast. It’s all gooey looking, like a really thick liquid. Their bodies kind of flow back in to fill the hole.”

Alice shook her head. “I don’t know about all that. All the ghosts I’ve seen are just misty lookin’ and real hard to see if the sun shines through them. Well, that’s only if I catch them. As I said, they don’t usually stick around too long.”

“Interesting.”

Alice shrugged, “I suppose. Madds had a theory that ghosts only form when the living aren’t prepared to die or something.” She laughed. “Not that I think most things around here have unfinished business. Everyone has a time and place, you know? A rabbit lives its life knowing it’ll be eaten and all that.”

“I guess.” Danny thought for a moment. “I think a lot of the ghosts I know didn’t even think death was a possibility.”

The little ghost zipped under the table and around their feet.

“Perhaps.”

In the time it took for Alice and Danny to finish with the blackberries and prepare dinner, the ghost kept fading bit by bit. Once Danny rang the dinner bell, the little ghost was completely gone. Danny tried not to miss it, knowing it was better that the little guy passed on, rather than hang around the ecto deprived area.

____

After dishes, Alice sat Danny down. “How you doing kid?”

“Fine?” Danny said, voice lilting up like a question.

“You sure? You looked rather, uh, sad about that little ghost disappearing on us.”

Danny shrugged, “hmm, I guess I’m not used to it.”

“It?”

“Yeah, I’m not used to things just…. Ending. I guess.”

“Oh, is that it?”

Danny looked off to the setting sun.

“You know, I can sympathize. Used to be a time when I thought that I could fix anything.”

Danny looked back at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you know I’m divorced right?”

“Sure, Mom visited you on the anniversary for that party last year.”

“Right, well I know it was a big celebration, but when it first happened, I was lost. I mean, I knew that it was coming. He didn’t like the farm, fell in love with someone who wanted the city life with him. A real yuppie. And yet, when I sat in the lawyer’s office, papers in front of me, there was this emptiness that seemed to take me over. We both wanted our relationship to end, happy for it even, but, that didn’t make it easier to deal with. Waking up and knowing that there wasn’t going to be someone by my side? That there was no fixing it, no going back? It’s hard to accept that some things just can’t be changed. Don’t like talking about that even now.”

Danny’s mind flashed briefly to Dan. His shoulders raised. “I guess. How did you deal with it?”

Alice hummed. “The divorce? Time, I suppose. I had the support of the community here. With death?” She shrugged. “I grew up. At some point you just realize that some things have to happen and you can’t change it, so you have to accept it.”

Danny huffed out air. “Yeah, alright.” The variation of the age old excuse of “when you’re older” rang hollow in him.

A hand landed on his shoulder. He turned back to his aunt. “Danny. I mean it. Some things just need the perspective that time brings. I’m still not sure my sister has quite grasped that.” She smiled. “No fault to her; understanding comes in its’ own time. Worrying about it won’t help.”

Danny watched the last of the light chase the sun down with his aunt beside him, before standing and heading to his cabin to think.

An hour later, he stood up from his bed and walked down to his aunt’s cabin. By now, the air was cool against his skin. The cicadas were out, filling the air with a loud buzz. Danny stopped halfway down the path, trying to collect himself. As he stared up at the trees, his eyes burned. Rubbing them harshly, he breathed in, the smell of dirt and the green leaves settling into his lungs. He stayed there for a moment, collecting the resolve that started to slip away. He let out some ectoplasm around his feet to light up his path and continued. Exiting the trees, Alice’s cabin was lit up, warm light enveloping it like an aura. Cozy. Welcoming. Danny dispelled the ectoplasm around his feet as he walked towards the cabin, each step feeling heavier than the last. His shoulders curled forward until he stopped at the stairs up to the porch. He heard Alice set something down inside and a creak of a door, then a click as the front doorknob rotated open. Danny stayed at the bottom of the stairs, feeling frozen, as the door hinges creaked. Alice’s red hair came into view first, quickly followed by the rest of her. Catching sight of something, she raised her head to look at Danny.

“Danny, that you down there? Everything alright?” voice soft as she stared down at him.

Danny’s body moved, skipping steps as he rushed up to Alice. Her body swayed backward as he barreled into her, and she wrapped her arms around him to steady them both.

“I died,” Danny said, voice muffled in her shirt.

Alice didn’t say anything for a moment, squeezing Danny close. His body shook as he cried into her shirt. After Danny’s shaking petered out, Alice stepped backwards, hand on Danny’s back to nudge him inside.

“Take a seat on the couch, Danny. You want tea? Hot chocolate?”

Sniffling, he wiped a hand against his nose. “Hot chocolate please.” He went to sit on the couch, grief and emptiness gnawing at his insides in equal measure.

The sound of boiling water soon filled the space. A clink of a mug. Powder being measured. The fridge door opening and closing. Alice walked over to the sofa, two mugs in hand. Danny unstacked two cup coasters from the pile in the middle of the coffee table, placing them down for Alice.

Danny picked up his hot chocolate and took a sip, holding the warm mug in his hands. Alice said, “Now, what was that about?”

The silence stretched between them as Danny stared at the wall, quiet. By the time Alice had finished most of her cup of tea, Danny finally opened his mouth.

“When I was fourteen, I died.” Silence followed Danny’s statement, Alice’s torso turned towards Danny, but nothing else to indicate she was listening.

Danny let out a shaky breath. “I didn’t, come back. All the way.”

Alice took another sip of tea.

Danny set his mug down. Folded his hands together and set them on his legs. “I know what it sounds like, but I’m not crazy. I’m alive, but I’m also, somehow, a ghost? Not like the one we saw today, but the kind I talked about, the glowing ones. I think I turned the portal on when I went inside to look. Not that I remember a lot of that, except for the pain,” Danny laughed, the sound hollow. “I mean, it wasn’t working before, and after that, it was that glowing green. It’s kind of pretty, actually? Or maybe that’s just what I think. It swirls around, the ectoplasm, like a really slow whirlpool, but it’s vertical like a door, not horizontal like a pool. It makes it really easy for Mom and Dad to get more ectoplasm samples. Actually, I gave the ghost today ectoplasm and it kind of turned into what I call a blob ghost? By the time we made it back to the farm it was back to that wispy appearance, so, I mean, that was different. But it was interesting, made me think of the blob ghosts back home. You know, the ones that don’t pass on? That’s the kind that I’m like. A ghost. I mean, I’m alive too, but I’m also a ghost. I don’t know if that means I’m still dead or not? I don’t think anyone really knows, but it’s kind of cool because I’m like the town superhe-“

“Danny,” Alice cut in. Danny stopped.

Alice took a breath. “Danny, do your parents know?”

Danny’s eyes widened. He shook his head.

“Are you going to tell them?”

Danny tongue felt stuck to the roof of his mouth, throat tightening as he thought about the answer. He settled for a small shrug.

“Alright. Well, I can’t say this isn’t a surprise, but I won’t make you tell your mom or nothing. Thank you for telling me.”

Danny stared at his mug, still half full. He picked it back up. As quiet settled around them, he felt his heart speed up. Alice set her mug down, now empty.

“But, I don’t think,” Alice started, slow, “that it matters too much. From what I’ve gathered, dead, alive, or something else, you’re still you. The caring and hardworking young man that Maddie described is the same one that arrived on my farm. Sure, you’re not perfect, and the implications of it all is damn worrying, not knowing, but that’s life.” Alice swung her knee up onto the couch to fully turn her body to face Danny, arm braced along the backrest. “For what it’s worth, people love you because of who you are, not what you are. That includes your mom and dad. Heaven knows when Maddie decides to love someone, she does it with her whole heart, no matter the circumstances.” She tacked on a lighthearted, “and that includes your fool of a father”.

Danny laughed, rubbing his eyes of residual tears. “Thanks, Aunt Alice. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Danny finished off his hot chocolate, bidding his aunt a goodbye, and walking back up to his cabin, feeling lighter than he had in a while.

______

During that week, Danny started helping out even more on the farm, volunteering to lend an extra hand when needed or after his own tasks were finished. He was getting comfortable with the flow of the days – spending mornings and evenings with the animals, afternoons in the fields, and helping out with various chores. It was easy to fall into the rhythm and to trade playful quips with Will and Alice when they worked together.

Alice called Danny over one day.

“What’s up, Aunt Alice?”

“You know anything about machines?”

“Uuuh,” Danny’s eyebrows shot up, “I guess? I’m familiar with my parents’ inventions.”

“Hmmm. Why don’t you come over here then and tell me what you think.”

Danny peered his head into the propped open tractor hood, looking at the mechanics. “It looks like the belt, here,” Danny pointed, “is wearing out.”

Alice appraised him.

Danny shifted his weight. “Uh, was that it?” he asked nervously, feeling like he was taking a surprise pop quiz.

“Yea. Yea, it was kid. You familiar with engines?”

Danny made a face, “Sure? I’ll help my dad out sometimes when there’s a problem with the GAV.”

“The GAV?”

“Oh, it’s our family car. Or van, RV, thing? My parents souped it up, so a lot of service shops won’t even look at it. My dad keeps up with most of the maintenance on it and makes me help out.”

Alice nodded, “Ok, makes sense I suppose. Well, if you’ve got a familiarity with it all, why don’t you help me replace it. I’ve got a spare belt down in my cabin. I’ll go grab it and you can get the tools we need. Just look in the toolboxes around here, find the one we need for the tractor.”

Danny nodded in agreement and Alice walked off to get the part.

Later that night at dinner, Alice remarked to Will that it might be time to let Danny drive the tractor.

“Sure thing boss! Who’s gonna teach him?”

“I will. I’ll start him off with parking it in the barn, so tomorrow just leave it out when you’re done and I’ll walk him through it.”

Will nodded and continued eating.

“I’m what?” Danny asked.

Alice raised an eyebrow.

Danny swallowed his bite of food. “Can I even do that? I don’t have a learner’s permit or anything.”

From beside him, Will answered, “Don’t need one. Most kids ‘round here start driving tractors much younger than you are. It’s not like you’re going to be driving down the road or anything in it.”

“Oh. You don’t need a license for it?”

“No sirree, and it ain’t that hard to do either.”

Alice piped up, “You good with that?”

“Oh. Yeah. I guess, I just wasn’t expecting it.”

The rest of the night and next day passed calmly. Then came Danny’s first lesson.

“When you go to park it, don’t forget to let it out of gear and apply the parking brake. That’s about it. So, you good to go?”

“I think so, Aunt Alice.”

“Alright, well don’t forget your ear protection, and I’ll let you get to it.”

Alice swung the door closed and stepped back from the tractor.

Danny put on the headset, and did one last review of everything, before he turned the tractor on. Looking behind him, clocking Alice still off to the side, he carefully backed up the tractor. Slowed down and came to a stop. Danny turned forward again and started moving the tractor forward. Taking a circle around, he pulled up to the storage barn and eased the tractor in. Applying the brake and turning it off, he took off his ear protection and stepped out.

“Not bad kid, not bad. Now help me look everything over before we head back for dinner.”

Alice walked Danny through the daily checks and maintenance on the tractor, then showed him where they kept their log.

“What it comes down to, is if you notice a problem, either stop and fix it right away, or come get me or Will if you can’t figure it out. I’d rather you waste an hour doing that, then pushing through it and messing up the tractor on us.”

The bell rang out, clear and bright. Alice glanced out of the barn doors. “Well, guess it’s quitting time for ya. Let’s get this put back and get our asses down there.” Alice handed the binder back to Danny, who placed it back on the small table and hurried to close the doors and catch up with Alice.

Another week passed, with Danny learning how to operate the tractor, hitching up different attachments, and getting used to the daily checks.

“I think it’s time to start harvesting the far wheat fields tomorrow.”

“Already?” Will asked.

“Yeah, it’s ready to go.”

“Huh. Alright, if you say so boss.”

“Will I be helping with that?” Danny asked.

Alicia nodded, “you’ll be here through this first harvest, then you’ll head back to Amity after that.”

“Oh.” Danny forgot he’d be heading back soon. “Right.”

“So soon?” Will asked.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Madds reminded me that their school year starts earlier in the season.” Alice shook her head, “seems ridiculous, but there’s nothing to be done for it. The cities run on their own timeline.”

“Wait, then when do schools around here start? And where’s the school? I don’t remember seeing one when you showed me around town,” Danny asked.

“Oh, about a month later than yours I reckon. The school isn’t on the main roads. It’s back on one of the side roads, so the farm kids can get to it easier.”

“Used to be in the town,” Will added. “When most of the town families moved out, the farm kids got together and convinced the adults to move it closer to them, oh, I reckon ‘bout 20 years ago?”

“Closer to 25 I think,” Alice corrected. “I remember the big commotion when I visited from college. Maddie, I think, organized it all.”

“Sounds like Maddie,” Will agreed.

“Mom did that?” Danny asked.

“Sure enough. Everyone knows she’s a force of nature when she puts her mind to something. She argued with near everyone about it.”

“Don’t know why she fought so hard for it,” Will added. “Had to have been her senior year, didn’t even make a difference for her, considering the changes took place after she headed off to college.”

“Huh.”

“She never mentioned it to you?”

“No, not really. But it explains where Jazz got her single-mindedness from. She turned our annual Spirit Rally into a whole week at Casper High during her freshman year.” Danny grimaced, “My freshman year, I got put in a diaper and thrown on stage for it.”

Will laughed and Danny scowled at him. “Sorry, but just a diaper?”

“Are you kidding?” Alice was flabbergasted.

“Wish I was, it wasn’t funny.”

“Sorry, but you have to admit, that’s just a little funny,” Will chuckled.

“It really wasn’t. Also, our counselor tried murdering Jazz.”

Will stopped laughing. “What.”

“Yeah, she ended up getting, uh, jail, for it.”

Alice narrowed her eyes, “Really?”

“Yep,” Danny said, “last year wasn’t so bad though. Hardly anyone called me a baby the whole week.”

“Damn.”

“What the hell is happening in those cities.”

The sudden somber shift made the conversation die down and dinner was finished quickly after.

The next morning, the bell rang out clear and sharp. Danny blinked his eyes open, noticing it was still dark out. Stumbling out of his cabin, he turned to Will, who was passing by. “Why’re we up so early?” Danny yawned, pulling on a long sleeved shirt.

Will returned his yawn, jaw cracking in the early morning air. “Oh, we do most of our harvesting in the morning or evening. Means real early mornings the next few days. S’not so bad, once you get used to it.”

“Mmm.” Danny responded, following Will downhill.

“Hey Alice. You got the coffee brewing?”

“Hey, boys. Sure do. Another couple minutes or so, then we can get started.”

After getting their coffee in thermoses, the group headed up to the fields. Danny was put on tractor duty. Alice took over the truck with a wagon attached and Will was in charge of the forage harvester. With the exception of taking care of the animals, Danny and Alice traded back and forth on filling up their collection wagons and running them to the silo.

Soon enough, the harvest passed and it was time for Danny to return to Amity Park.

“Yep, got it sis.” A pause. “Uh huh.”

“No, no need, I’ll take him myself.”

“Of course I do.”

“No, it’ll be fine. A short trip up.”

“Will can do what needs to be done.”

“Yes I’m sure.”

“Uh huh. See ya then.”

“Take care Maddie.” Alicia put down the phone and turned to Danny, seemingly unsurprised to see him leaning against the wall. “Well, I’ll be driving you back up to Amity in a few days.”

Danny nodded, not looking particularly taken back, despite the fact that his aunt hadn’t gone up to Amity in the past 10 years or so.

The corners of Alice’s mouth turned up, “alright then, make sure you’re ready. It’ll take a couple days, since you can’t help with driving, but it should be a nice enough trip.”

“Anything to do before then?”

“Nope, the only thing left to do is to check on the truck. As much of a help as you’ve been with the tractor, I’ll be doing that. You just make sure you help out Will with any odd jobs before then.” Alice scratched the back of her neck. “Uuh, ya excited to be heading back?”

Danny shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.” He looked out the kitchen window, “I’ll miss being here though. I know I caused some trouble when I first got here, but it grew on me.” Danny smiled softly.

“It has a way of doing that,” Alice agreed. “Well, let’s get back to work then. It doesn’t stop for rain nor shine.”

Danny finished loading up his bags in the short backseat and closed the back door. Hauling himself into the front passenger seat, he closed the front door.

“Got everything squared away?”

“Yep. Double checked and everything.” Turning to grin at her, “but if I forgot anything, that just means I’ll have to come back.”

Alice laughed and shifted the gear to start the truck rumbling down the path. Soon enough, bouncing along the road, a dust cloud behind them, the farm was swallowed up by trees.

The journey itself was uneventful. The mountains turning to valleys turning to farms turning to small cities and large ones, a one night stop at a motel, then back on the road, and finally Danny recognized the outskirts of Elmerton in the distance. He could feel the rumbling of something in his stomach, and it solidified into a nervous ball when they crossed the town limits.

Elmerton had enough tall buildings that Danny couldn’t see over into Amity Park, but he could feel the flow of ambient ectoplasm moving about like chem trails, signifying the presence of a visiting ghost. Next to him, Alice clutched the steering wheel hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Coming to a red light, she glanced over at Danny and noticed his pinched eyebrows, eyes on her hands. She sighed softly, relaxing her hands and hitting the accelerator when the light turned. The sun filtered through the buildings, casting long lines of shadow that waved over the truck passing through. Danny turned to look out the window, head in hand, braced against the door. It was quiet, no ghostly interference on this side of town. Nevertheless, he could feel the ectoplasm that floated in Amity’s air reach out tendrils in Danny’s direction. Welcoming him home, beckoning him closer, wanting to wrap him up in its embrace. He shuddered. After getting used to a non-ecto infused environment, the not quite alive reaction of the ectoplasm felt like a slimy slick hand on his shoulder, slipping off before trying to embrace him again. He didn’t notice Alice next to him, her breathing becoming shallow and quick.

As the truck crossed over the interstate separating the two cities, Danny shuddered, feeling the sharp contrast of a decidedly unhaunted city to one that almost had more ghostly visitors than alive ones. He could feel the boundary like he was pulled through a film, the ectoplasmic residue clinging to his skin on the other side, settling back into his nose and lungs, coating the back of his throat and cooling his hands. It wasn’t enough that someone like Valerie – fully human - would notice, but being so attuned to the presence of ectoplasm as a being shaped by it, Danny could feel it like a physical weight, bearing down heavier on him the closer they sped to FentonWorks. Alice’s hands lightly shook as she clasped the stick to shift down.

Pulling up to the side of FentonWorks, Alice stopped the car. They both sat there for a moment, breathing in the quiet of the street, before a far-off blaster shot echoed in the distance. Danny turned to Alice, a wobbly smile on his face, “home sweet home,” he said, punctuating it with a little laugh.

Alice looked past him to the door, then back to Danny. “I suppose so,” mouth set in a thin line.

Danny turned away, not wanting to parse what Alicia was feeling, and unclicked his seat belt. He opened the door to slide out of the truck. Alice followed him out and walked around to knock on the front door. As her first rap against the door ended, weapons sprung out of the sides of the walls, focused down on her. Alice jumped back a little as a light popped out of the door, scanning Alice from head to toe. “Freaky,” she muttered darkly as something dinged and the door clicked open, the differential air pressure opening it further. Alice turned back around to Danny, “What was that?”

Danny shrugged, “It seems Mom and Dad added some things while I was away.”

Alice gaped at Danny. “Added some things? What was it like before?”

Popping open the back door to grab his bags Danny said over his shoulder, “Oh, the weapons have been there since the first house defense upgrade, but the unlocking is new.”

Alice looked back to the door. “That’s the new part?” She hesitantly reached a hand out and tapped the door hard enough to swing it open the rest of the way. She leaned forward a little. “Uuuh,” she started, peering in. Clearing her throat, she spoke up, “Anyone home? I’ve got your boy back Maddie!”

Danny walked up beside her. “I wouldn’t wait for an answer Aunt Alice. It’s best to just walk in and take a seat.” Danny did so himself, setting his bags next to the stairs and walking back to the truck. Alice walked in, tentatively lowering herself down to the couch, and looked around wide eyed.

“Just what in the world has my sister been up to?” she said mostly to herself.

The slamming of a door and a loud beep sounded out as the truck was closed and locked. Danny walked in with Alice’s bag and closed the door behind him. “Seen anyone yet?” he asked.

Alice swung her head around to stare at Danny, “No, not yet.” She gestured around at the living room, a myriad of objects on the table, hung on the wall, or thrown onto a shelf. “Danny, what is all this?”

Danny barely glanced down before making his way to the kitchen, “probably broken ghost inventions. I wouldn’t touch any of them though, they can be a bit, well, temperamental.”

The sound of a cabinet door squeaking open, running water, and Danny came back with a water glass for himself and Alice. “Here ya go,” he said, holding one of them out.

Alice absently took the glass and sipped from it. Choking and spluttering, she set the glass down on the coffee table, slapping a hand against her leg. She collected herself, wheezing, and looked up as green light tinted her peripheral vision.

“Oh Alice! And Danny!! I didn’t hear you two come in,” Maddie said after exiting the downstairs lab. She quickly went over and swept Danny up into a big hug. “Oh, I missed my sweet little baby boy.” Giving Danny one last squeeze, she stepped over to Alice to do the same.

A clang could be heard, echoing up the lab stairs and then some thumps as Jack made his way up. Danny set his glass down in anticipation. No sooner did Jack realize Danny was home than he rushed over, knocking over a chair in the process, scooping Danny up into a bone crushing hug. “DANNY BOY!” was shouted right into his ear.

Danny did his best to move his wrists enough to pat his dad back. “Hey Dad. Just got back.” He paused and with no indication that Jack was going to let go anytime soon, “Can you let me go now? It’s hard to breathe.”

Jack, embarrassed, let him go, giving him a firm pat on the back, “Sorry about that, I was just so excited to see you back home! JAAAAAZZIE-PANTS!” He called out.

Alice clasped a hand to her ear, scowling as Maddie looked on fondly. “Oh honey, no need to yell like that.” She turned to face her sister. “It’s so good to see you here Alice. I don’t remember the last time you visited and things have changed so much since then. Jazz was just toddling around and we still had the play pen set up for Danny.” Taking a seat, she pulled on Alice’s sleeve, inviting her to sit next to her. “I missed you,” Maddie said.

Alice coughed and looked around the room, “I missed you too Maddie. If you ever want to visit the farm more often, you could.”

Maddie laughed and waved her hand around, “Oh our work keeps us so busy nowadays. Speaking of, I hope you didn’t run into any ghosts on your drive in?” Eyes twinkling, Maddie waited for the answer.

Alice frowned at her, “No, we didn’t,” and watched as her eyes dimmed a little.

“Aah well, that’s alright, I’m glad you two made the trip up here safely. Speaking of, I was thinking we could all head out for dinner tonight? I know it’s not often you’re in the city, so it might be nice.”

Jack leaned down to Danny and whispered conspiratorially, “We had an ecto sample explode in the fridge. All the food is completely inedible, but wouldn’t you know it? The old chicken and hot dogs started a little kingdom in there. Fascinating stuff Danny. Really.” He looked over at him, “Would you like to meet them?”

Danny grimaced more than smiled, “Uuuh no thanks Dad. I think I want to get started unpacking instead.”

Slapping a hand to his forehead, “That’s right! I won’t keep you Danny. Go take your bags up to your room, we’ll visit with your aunt down here.”

A boom echoed through the neighborhood and Maddie jumped, starting to reach a hand for her blaster before relaxing, continuing the conversation she was having with Alice. Danny stopped briefly to grab his bags and headed up the stairs towards his room. As he reached the top, Jazz’s door clicked open and she stepped out.

“Danny! You’re back!” she said. Stepping forward, she wrapped Danny up in a hug, chin poking into his head as she said, “I missed you little brother.”

Danny awkwardly stood there holding his bags, “Missed you too Jazz.” He swayed a bag a little to knock into her leg.

“Oh!” she said, releasing him, “Sorry, I’ll let you get to your room.” Smiling at Danny for a moment, Jazz started down the stairs.

As Danny kicked his door open, he heard Jazz greet their aunt. Dropping his bags down in front of his dresser, he jumped up onto his bed. “Uuuuuuuugh,” the groan rumbling throughout his chest. He breathed out, then rolled over onto his back, arms flung out and over the sides of his bed. Danny stared up at the glow in the dark stars, stuck on his ceiling years ago. He had barely been gone for a couple months, but already his room felt slightly foreign - like returning somewhere he didn’t fit into anymore. It was like an old sweater you found again after a few years. Slipping it on and knowing every seam, texture, and fold as it settles around you, but no longer the same comforting weight – a little too thin, worn at the elbows and a hem starting to unstitch itself. Not as soft as you wanted to remember. Exactly the same, but time having polished away the fondness that once endeared it to you.

Danny rolled over onto his side, staring into his closet. The sliding door left cracked open from when Danny slammed it shut, the recoil pushing it back open before he left. He heard the cadence of a conversation float up the stairs and he closed his eyes.

Waking up to someone shaking his shoulder, he blinked awake. His room had darkened with the setting of the sun and Danny felt groggy. “MmMMMmm?” he hummed.

“Danny, we’re going to head out to the Nasty Burger for dinner. You gonna get up and come with?”

Danny bolted up, smacking his head into Jazz’s hand still hovering above him. “Up! I’m up!” he said.

Jazz chuckled, “See you downstairs,” and left his room.

Danny braced himself on his arms, letting the thrum of his heart settle back down from the adrenaline rush. After a moment he swung his legs down. A quick detour to the second floor bathroom later and Danny joined everyone else downstairs.

“Alright, now that we’ve got everyone here – to the GAV!” Jack announced.

Danny sleepily followed Jazz out to the garage and clambered into his seat. Alice, who was following Danny, stopped at the open door. Looking around the retrofitted RV, she hummed and side-eyed Jack who had turned the key in the GAV, prompting the consol to light up in a variety of buttons and gauges. She stepped into the back and climbed into one of the open seats. Maddie closed the door behind Alice and got herself into the passenger seat. After clicking her seatbelt in and checking that the kids had as well, she pushed a button, the garage doors clanking open behind them. Jack flipped on the headlights and backed out of the garage.

“Hold on,” Danny hissed up to Alice, who in turn, grabbed onto the hold bar at the top of the door.

Once Jack cleared the sidewalk and safely backed onto the street, he stepped on the gas and catapulted the GAV down the street, careening around corners, and speeding through yellow lights till they swayed to a halt in the Nasty Burger parking spot. Jazz sighed, Danny let out his breath, and Alice looked a little green. “ Does your husband always drive like that Maddie?”

Maddie turned around, unclicking her seatbelt, “Like what, Alice?”

Alice eyed Jack nervously before looking back at her sister, “Uuuuh. Nevermind Maddie. Let’s go,” and she opened up the sliding door to shakily step out.

The Fentons and Alice went into the Nasty Burger, quickly ordering food and sitting down at a booth. The chatter of the restaurant was pleasant, if a little overwhelming to Danny. He decided to listen to his family’s conversation and looked out the window. As Alice asked after Jazz’s college adventures, Danny saw a bright blast light up the sky. He blinked and took a moment to process as a streak slithered through the air. A ghost! He turned around, nudged Jazz out of the booth, and slid out with a halfhearted excuse about the bathroom before making his exit. Hiding behind the dumpster, Danny transformed and flew off after the ghost that he could still see winding around the tops of buildings. The trusty Fenton thermos clattered against his leg as the wind whipped Danny’s hair into his face. Coming up to a stop, he watched the ghost slow down over the park, then dive down. Danny pushed himself into action, darting into the tree tops to see where it went. He heard the whine of a blaster charge up below him and Danny looked down. Tucker stood there, a small blaster leveled at the backside of the ghost. Danny flew up towards the sky and starting arcing down the other side. Before he could do much, Sam ran out from the other side of the trees shooting at the ghost. A low hum joined the chorus of weapons and Danny turned invisible as the Red Huntress caught up to the ghost.

Danny drifted up higher, watching the teamwork between the three of them. They quickly captured the ghost. He lazily drifted down to the trio.

“Huh, didn’t know you guys would team up,” Danny said, turning visible.

Tucker flinched and the girls rolled their eyes.

“Hey Danny,” Sam greeted.

Valerie retracted her helmet and stared at Phantom for a moment before, “Hi, Danny.”

Danny’s eyebrows flew up, pinched together.

Tucker laughed at his expression as it quickly morphed into a look of betrayal aimed at Sam and Tucker.

“Sorry Danny,” Sam looked away. “Val kind of… figured it out?”

“Sam!” Danny hissed, voice crackling like steam. “What does that mean?” His eyes darted back to Valerie, who just stood there, looking conflicted.

“Exactly what I said Danny!”

Danny shifted so he could stand on the ground. “But how?” He was starting to get angry at the lack of answers. It hadn’t even been two months and without being around Valerie somehow pieced together his biggest secret?

Tucker’s laughter died down.

“It’s – Danny please don’t be mad,” Valerie spoke up. Her eyes darted around the clearing before landing back on Danny. “When Phantom disappeared after Fenton left it wasn’t hard to figure out you two were connected somehow. And then Dani stopped by in town and-“

“Dani came back?” Danny interrupted. He glowered at Sam and Tucker, eyes glowing brighter for a moment.

“It wasn’t a big deal!” Tucker tried to defend.

“Yeah!” Sam chimed in. “She was here for like, a day? Maybe? Hardly worth mentioning. She spent most of it playing pranks on Vlad.”

“And Valerie met up with her? But not me?” Danny voice raised in pitch, “I missed seeing my cousin and you didn’t say a word?!? I thought I wouldn’t have had to tell you two that Dani coming back would be something important to mention.”

Tucker’s shoulders crept up to his ears.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Really, Danny, it is so not a big deal. We didn’t even know for most of that day. She only came to see us towards the end of her stop.”

Danny’s core felt a sting go through it.

“Did she know I was coming back?”

“Yeah dude, we mentioned you were sent to your aunt’s farm. She asked about you! Promise! Once she realized that, she told us she’d try to stop by to see you. Seemed really excited to check out a farm.”

“Although,” Sam chimed in, “I don’t think she realized you’d be back so soon? If you never saw her, she probably got distracted by something on her way.” Seeing Danny’s sad expression, Sam said, “I’m sure she’ll be back to visit you, Danny. She did say she’d stop by at least a few times a year to check in, right?”

Danny sighed. “Yeah. I’m just bummed that I missed her. And with no way to get into contact with her,” he trailed off.

“Actually,” Valerie started, “Uhm, I gave her a little, well, kind of like a cell phone? It can make calls, but it’s also got a little button to send a distress signal to my suit if need be? And seeing as it’s never gone off, Dani’s okay. Ok, Danny?”

Danny looked down at the ground. “Alright. I guess that’s better.” He looked preoccupied - lost in thought and still a little sullen.

Sam, Tucker, and Valerie exchanged glances with one another over Danny’s bowed head.

Valerie gave a little cough. Seeing Danny head twitch at that, she said, “I saw Dani transform after one of her pranks. I was stopping by Vlad’s office to see if I could find anything new.” Valerie paused. “She looks a lot like you Danny. And once I saw that, and my suit recognized her like any other human, I approached her. She explained a lot to me and after getting lunch, I brought her around to Sam and Tucker.”

Danny looked up at his best friends. “Really? Valerie had to bring Dani to you guys?”

Sam nodded and watched Danny’s expression lift at the confirmation.

“Anyway, Sam didn’t tell me anything, but Tucker told me about the whole,” she waved her hands around, “Cujo? The ghost dog thing.” She sighed. “It wasn’t easy to sort through it all, but I realized that I was being really unfair to you Danny. I’m sorry for not hearing you out about it earlier.”

Danny shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Oh, well. That’s? Ok? I mean it’s not okay okay, but I understand. Why you acted like you did. Life dealt you a really bad hand with everything and you were dealing with a lot with your dad and his job and the A Listers and everything so – “ a hand settled on his shoulder.

“Danny,” Valerie cut in. “You don’t to forgive me right away. I’ve had a few weeks to deal with this. I just wanted you to know that I know about your … situation and that we – Red Huntress and Phantom – are cool now.” A bell tolled somewhere in the town. Valerie looked up at the street lamps turning on. “Anyway, I’ve got to get back, but it was nice to see you Danny.” She gave him a little smile, activated her hoverboard and helmet, and flew off.

Watching Valerie fly off, all three of them stood still for a moment.

“Well,” Danny started, “I’ve got to get back.”

As he started moving to walk off, Sam grabbed his arm, “Are you mad at us?”

Danny turned around. “No, Sam. I’m not. I just – I’ve had a long day and I want to go eat dinner. Can we get talk about this tomorrow?”

“Promise? I’ve got a new game I can bring over to play,” Tucker offered.

Danny smiled at them, “That sounds good. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Danny started walking backwards and turned invisible from one step to the next. He flipped up into the air and flew off, back to the Nasty Burger. He transformed in a stall, washed his hands, and walked out to the booth. As everyone turned to look at him, Danny’s neck flushed red. “Hi.”

“You doing alright Danny?” Jack asked.

“Uuuh yeah, just,” Danny paused, “had to take a dump?” He slid into the booth, Jazz pushing over his tray of food.

“If you say so m’boy.” Jack shoved more fries into his mouth.

Jazz scolded her father for his manners and Maddie smiled fondly at her eldest.

Danny inhaled a third of his burger and as he took a sip of pop, looked over at his aunt. Alice had a smile on her face, but it was stretched a little thin, eyes crinkling right underneath them, a fist on the table and body turned, supported by the window and booth back. Danny went back to eating his burger. Aunt Alice had looked like she was in pain that she was trying to hide ever since they entered Amity Park’s borders earlier. He hoped she would be fine considering Maddie had wrangled her into staying for a couple days. Danny ended up ordering another burger and Jazz decided to split a small shake with Maddie. Once they had finished eating, they climbed back into the GAV and headed home. Danny started feeling sleepy again, leaning his head on the cool window, watching the streetlights pass by. Jazz looked over at her brother, noticing how relaxed he looked. She missed him.

“You know Danny,” she started, “you look so much more relaxed than before.”

Danny glanced over at her. “I’m not giving you the satisfaction of saying you were right.”

Jazz smiled softly as Danny’s head rolled back against the window. “I wouldn’t expect anything else little brother,” she whispered.

___

Danny heard the clicks and whine of the Fenton door weapons activate and after a few seconds, the doorbell rang out. He left his room, heading down the stairs to hear his mom invite Sam and Tucker in.

“Hey guys,” he called down the half flight of stairs. He waited for them to start walking up before he turned around and led them to his room.

Pushing open his door, he dropped onto his chair. Tucker grabbed a spot on his bed and Sam, after closing the door, took a spot at the foot of the bed.

“So,” Sam started.

“So,” Tucker added.

“Soooo,” Danny finished, “any thing else I should really know that you didn’t bother to update me on?”

Tucker winced at Danny’s tone.

“Nope,” Sam popped the p. “Vlad’s still mayor,” she ticked up a finger. “No new halfas that we know of, no new ghosts.”

“Oh!” Tucker interjected. “Dash had a wipe out on a skateboard.” He looked smug, “I caught it on video, wanna see?”

“Yes!” Danny cheered, leaning forward to watch.

Sam scoffed at them, but she also leaned in.

After catching up on all the little things Danny missed over the summer – a new girl moved in next to Tucker, Sam’s petitions and protests, teaming up with Valerie – Danny stood up and stretched. His spine let out a loud crack and Tucker gaped at him.

“Geez, are you okay? What were you even doing on that farm?”

“Yeah Danny, you sounded like my Bubeleh and she’s, like, 80.”

Danny laughed, sitting back down. “Actually, I think that was because I’ve been sitting so much the past few days. I was pretty active before that.” He thought for a moment. “I might be able to beat Dash in a race now.”

Tucker snorted, “I don’t know dude, he decided to start working on his legs this summer. He’s no longer, like, a Dorito with sticks for legs.”

Sam definitely didn’t giggle as she said, “But sure, we’ll take your word for it, Danny.”

Danny rolled his eyes as he sat back in the chair. “Alright, enough teasing me.”

“Yeah, let’s talk about Sam ditching our elective class to take environmental sciences. Can you believe she disrupted our carefully crafted schedule that ensured we shared as many classes as possible just for? What was it? The earth? Can you believe Same is ditching us like this?”

“Huh,” Danny said, he turned to Sam, “what’s that class even about.”

Sam glared over at Tucker before looking at Danny, “I’m glad someone here is taking an interest in the important things in life.” Sam launched into an hour long explanation. After the first five minutes, Tucker had pulled out his PDA to play a game, mouthing along to parts of Sam’s explanation from time to time. Danny got the basic idea shortly after that. He started to tune out, thinking about school. How in 2 short weeks, he’d be back in the classroom, probably juggling ghost attacks, Dash, the other A Listers, homework, and sitting in a cramped chair for hours on end. The sun coming through his window warmed Danny’s side. He glanced outside at the street. A bird flew across, but otherwise it was buildings, sidewalk, and asphalt as far as he could see. No green at all. He wondered if Undergrowth would make another appearance, and if Danny could convince him to –

“Danny, are you even listening to me?” Sam’s sharp voice called out.

Danny whipped his head away from the window, “Uh, yeah, Sam, I’m listening. You were saying something about,” he searched his short term memory, “the climate?”

Sam huffed and crossed her arms, “So, as I was saying – “

“As she was saying,” Tucker interrupted. “She’s shamelessly ditching us, Danny. Can you believe it?” Tucker slid dramatically off the bed and grabbed Danny’s jeans, “and Sam doesn’t even care!” he cried.

“Tucker, you know that’s not it,” Sam reprimanded. “Besides, didn’t you sign up for Advanced Algebra or Calculus or something? You’re also ditching us.”

Turning around to face her, Tucker gasped. “How. Dare. You. It’s Finite/Brief Calculus and that’s only because they refused to put me in the computer class again this year.”

Danny laughed, “That’s because you hacked the school’s computers and played that banana song over the intercom for all of lunch.

“Because peanut butter jelly time is a classic,” Tucker grumbled. He got up, sitting back on the bed. “Anyway, you should have your schedule by now too. Have you looked at it?”

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, “eh? I think my parents handed it to me this morning, but I didn’t take a look.”

“Oh, well then what are you waiting for? Let’s see it! I want to see how many classes we share this year!” Sam demanded.

Danny sat up in his chair and rolled over to his desk. Grabbing the school letter, he opened it, gave the schedule a once over, and then surrendered it to his friends. Sam grabbed the paper and her and Tucker leaned over it.

“It looks like we share PE again Danny,” Tucker held up his hand for a high five as he continued looking at the schedule.

“We all share chemistry this year, right before lunch,” Sam added.

“Oh nice. And look – we end the day together in art too,” Tucker pointed with his other hand. Sam and Tucker looked over at Danny. “Dude?”

Danny stared past them, eyes not focusing on anything. When Tucker waved his hand in front of his face, he jolted back to focus and gave a half hearted smile as he high fived Tuck. “Yeah, that’s great.”

Sam narrowed her eyes at Danny, “that doesn’t sound very enthusiastic. Are you not excited for this year Danny?”

A shrug was her answer. “I don’t know.”

Tucker glanced over at Sam, “What do you mean? When you finished summer school, you seemed pretty thrilled to finalize your schedule request and send it in.”

Danny looked out the window, “Yeah, I know. And I was.”

“Was?” Sam echoed.

“Well, this summer on the farm was a lot different. I liked it, being outside and stuff. Working on things, knowing that I was making a difference for people.”

“Danny,” Tucker started. “Do you not want to be in Amity anymore?”

Danny whipped his head to stare at Tucker, “Oh course I want to be here! I missed you guys so much! And I missed a lot of other stuff too!”

“Danny.” Sam waited until he looked at her. “You can have missed us, and not want be in Amity Park.”

Danny dropped his gaze to the carpet between their feet. “Yeah, I know that. I do want to be here. I do!”

He fell silent, struggling for a moment.

“I just – it’s so much, you know? The ghosts, and Dash, and school, and my parents, and all of it. It’s so much, all the time, without a break. And I don’t feel like I have a choice in any of it either. Obviously I can’t skip school and I can’t avoid Dash. We live in the same town after all, and there’s only like, three places for teenagers to hang out. And then the ghosts on top of that! And the ghosts are here because of my parent’s portal, but I’m the one that turned it on – I can’t just ignore that the ghosts are causing problems even if I want to. I don’t feel like I have a choice but to take responsibility and step in. And I know you guys have been helping Val and stuff, but -” Danny shrugged his shoulders.

“I like being on the farm. It’s quiet. And even when there are ghosts,” he noticed their faces, “– and there are ghosts,” Danny confirmed, “they’re different! They don’t cause trouble. It’s like,” Danny waved his hand around, “everything’s so close to the cycle of living and dying and everything has it’s time from the plants to the animals and like – uuuuugh,” Danny threw his hands up. “I don’t know how to explain it. Death is always a part of living and everyone out there is used to it being a part of life, so when it happens it’s less of a tragedy?” Danny looked away. “I guess,” he scratched his arm and fell quiet.

Sam and Tucker looked at Danny, waiting for him to clear up what he was trying to say. The wind pushed against his window, a slight whistle from uneven weathering strips cutting through the quiet of the room. Danny sighed and looked at the ground in front of his feet. “I feel like less of a freak for dying and coming back when I’m out there.”

“Oh Danny!” Sam moved forward.

Tucker let out a quiet “Danny”.

Danny pushed away from them in his chair, rolling back some. Rubbing his arms he said “I mean, I know I’m not a freak or anything, but it’s hard to forget that I died when I’m in Amity, you know? I can’t escape reminders of it and that it makes me different from everyone else. When I’m out there on the farm it’s just? I feel at rest.” He laughed, “that’s stupid isn’t it?” He ran a hand through his hair. Looking up at them, “A ghost who feels at rest. But DAMN! I do, getting to be part of life and death like that makes me feel normal – I feel like I belong out there.”

“Danny,” Tucker glanced over at Sam before turning back, “Danny, do you want to stay there?”

“Tucker!” Sam admonished, “I don’t think –“

Danny laughed, “Yeah, I think I might want to…. Would you hate me if I left you guys again?”

Sam rushed forward to pull Danny into a hug. “Oh Danny, I don’t think we could ever hate you.”

Tucker joined in, “Yeah, we’ll just have to visit you.”

Danny’s smile was smushed against both their shoulders.

“Do you think I could get internet out there?”

And all three of them laughed.

_________

“So, that’s what I want to do. If I can,” Danny said.�� He stared at the coffee table in front of him. His parents sat on the couch across from him.

“Well, Danny, I don’t know if we’ll be able to do that.”

“But if that’s what you want, we’ll support you son!”

Danny looked up and gave him parents a smile, “Thanks.”

_______

It turned out Alice was familiar with the work programs that the local school utilized for their students. It consisted of students taking the core classes, like math and science, in the mornings, and then working on the farm in the afternoons.

The trick was getting Casper High to agree. But between Alice and Maddie, there was no trouble convincing Principal Ishiyama and Mr. Lancer that Danny would be better off in the modified program. As long as he came back to take the state proficiency tests, he could even still earn credit for Casper High’s records without having to transfer them back and forth.

Within a few days, Alice, and now Danny, climbed back into the truck, ready to head back down to Arkansas.

“Bye!” Danny called, waving out of the window.

A chorus of bye’s and love you’s sent Danny off as they drove away.

Extra:

“Come on,” Danny laughed as he looked at his friends struggling up the side of the silo.

Tucker’s hand slid off a rung and he yelped.

Looking up at Danny, Sam asked, “are you sure this is safe Danny?”

Laughing again, Danny started climbing again, “Sure is. Besides, I can always catch you guys before you hit the ground.”

“Wow, that’s sooo reassuring,” Sam grumbled.

Reaching the top of the dome, Danny disappeared from both their sights. They heard some clangs before his head popped back over the edge, “come on! Hurry!” He grinned at Tucker’s frown as Sam reached him first. Danny disappeared again as he gave Sam room to clamor up. Soon enough, both their heads popped back over the side. Twin grins met Tucker as he finished climbing up. Hands thrust towards Tucker, he grabbed them and let himself be pulled up the rest of the way.

“Okay, we’re here. What are we supposed to be doing?” Tucker asked as they crawled their way to the middle of the silo.

Danny sat down, and pointing up said, “Look.”

“Oooh,” Sam breathed.

“Wow,” Tucker added.

The sky stretched up above them, shades of blue creating a fabric where streams of stars traveled across the expanse. Blushes of red and green broke up the inky darkness and stars twinkled back and forth. A light breeze caressed the trio and they laid back, enjoying the view.

#ectoimplosion2024 #danny phantom #danny fenton #danny phantom alicia #danny phantom fic #the bee writes #it is very late so i'll look over things once i sleep... i'm hoping there's nothing weird happening with format #ok! it's now later. I've got the AO3 posted and linked #warnings: there is a farm accident and therefore brief mention of an injury. also a brief mention of animal death #ao3 separates out the “injury chapter” so if you want to skip that part and get a summary of what happens then you should head there #this is the longest thing i've ever written actually. and most of it was written in the last 2 weeks.#every time i join a phandom event something happens irl: a case study (in this case it was multiple things)

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crackedhrglass · 3 months ago

Text

as thanks to my ao3 readers for giving me 8k total kudos, i wrote this portal ford x teen stan fic, so check it out!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64570375

#stancest #i love that my 7k kudos fic was teen ford x old stan #and now 8k is teen stan x older ford #very poetic IMO #also at 12.5k words this is THE longest single-chapter i've ever written #i honestly didnt think it'd be THIS long lmao

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fratboykate · 4 months ago

Note

Ooooff papi the pain. Maybe I am a masochist. It’s so agonizing but I fucking can’t stop reading it. It’s like eating something painfully spicy, you know?

If you would, allow me to word vomit. I think it’s so sad for me is because a marriage falling apart can happen to anyone. Like somewhere in a kitchen a couple is probably having this exact fight or something similar to it. This is kind like a glimpse through a window of a someone’s marriage and we can see every little dirty, human detail. And it’s heartbreaking. It’s happened a million times before and it's going to happen a million time in the future. and you can do absolutely nothing about it. because people are gonna be people, you know?

I am a hardcore romantic at heart so reading your stuff is almost a traumatic experience. But also it’s good for the soul so 🤷🏻‍♀️. And also I love it

also have you watched Acrane? it has Hailee Steinfeld in it? Probably one of the greatest pieces of media I've ever watched?

You want it to get sadder? I got 10.4k words worth of sad for you lol. You don't HAVE to have read the whole of FBAU so far to enjoy this, but I think I counted at least five other chapters/things that have happened before somehow referenced/called back in here and it just makes it so much more painful if you have that framing. But again, its not required to have that knowledge to understand this. We also see basically every major player in the story so far for at least a little bit. It's a nice roundup.

This picks up about sixteen weeks after the last chapter. It gets...a little Real towards the end so just...1) be warned and 2) trust the process. We're going on a journey here. Y'all just need to let it play out before you start asking for my head on a spike.

---

Yelena never thought she'd use the phrase ‘single parent’ to describe herself. It still sounds wrong when it crosses her mind. Like an ill-fitting jacket someone forced onto her. Like something she borrowed for a night and forgot to return.

But it’s real. It’s her life now.

Her apartment is smaller than the home she shared with Kate, but it’s comfortable. Just big enough for the kids when they stay over, but small enough that she doesn’t feel like a ghost rattling around in an empty castle when they’re gone. She was lucky enough to find a place a few subway stops from Kate's building so the kids don’t feel like they’re ping-ponging between two disparate worlds. She insisted on that. She wanted their lives to feel as seamless as possible despite the disarray beneath it. The world had already shifted under their feet. She wasn’t going to make them deal with unnecessary aftershocks on top of it.

Fifty-fifty custody. Three days at each place, alternating Sundays. A logistical nightmare, but fair.

Fair.

Yelena has no idea what fair even means anymore. It’s a kid asking why she isn’t home all the time. It’s a name missing from the emergency contact list depending on who fills it out. It’s the way the house is always clean now, nothing left out of place, no toys underfoot, no basketball shorts left out of place, no mug left in the sink with Kate’s protein powder stuck on the rim.

It’s quiet.

Even when the kids aren’t there, she wakes up early. It’s not by choice. Just habit. For years, there was always something waking her up before she was ready. Her wife’s wandering hands, a tiny foot pushing into her ribs, the distant hum of Kate on a phone call with Asian clients in another room.

Now, she wakes up to nothing half the time. Nothing but absolute silence.

Yelena swings her legs over the edge, presses her feet into the hardwood, and rakes her fingers through golden locks.

Coffee. She needs coffee.

Yelena moves on autopilot, filling the machine, pressing the button, waiting for the drip. The smell fills the apartment. Familiar. She used to love this part of the morning. Now, she makes the coffee and barely drinks it.

Some mornings, she forces herself to sit at the kitchen table and pretend she enjoys the quiet. Other mornings, it presses against her skull like a vice.

She used to be the type to start working before her second sip of coffee. Now? Most days, she just loiters around the apartment. Thinking. Tinkering. Trudging. Doing nothing at all.

Before, she measured time in deadlines and breakthroughs. Now, she measures it in custody exchanges and school pickups.

Yelena Belova never used to cancel anything work related.

Now? If the kids are with her, she leaves work early. She rearranges meetings. She skips conferences. She bows out of professional trips. She should be enraged about that, about all she’s missing. About how much more she could be doing. And she is pissed. At Kate, at herself, at the situation she got shoved into. But likely not enough.

But the truth is, when she’s with the kids, she doesn’t mind. And she’s getting them back today. The thought tugs at something deep in her chest. A quiet, unspoken relief.

She glances at the clock. She has a few hours before pickup. Enough time to go into the lab, check in, pretend to work for a few hours.

A knock at the door interrupts her before she’s finished the mental list of things to do once she gets to the office. A brute, familiar bang-bang-bang against the wood.

She sighs. Alexei.

A beat of waiting after loudly announcing himself, Alexei uses his keys to get in. They'd learned the hard (and embarrassing) way that him waltzing into the apartment with no warning was a terrible idea that traumatized both of them. Now Alexei knocks and waits a respectable amount of time before entering. At least long enough to warn Yelena that she needs to throw on a robe.

This day that was not necessary. So Yelena simply leans on the counter and waits.

A few thundering footsteps later…there he is. Alexei walks up to the kitchen threshold, holding two paper bags and looking smug.

“I knock loud enough now?”

“You definitely did.”

“No ‘Hello, Daddy’ for me today? Not even when I bring these?” Alexei lifts a couple of pastry bags.

"It’s barely seven in the morning, dad.”

"Breakfast is important. And you forget to eat when you alone." He moves around the kitchen like he owns the place.

"I eat."

“Coffee does not count," he mutters, already unpacking food. "Sit."

Yelena rolls her eyes but doesn’t argue. She drops into the chair across from him as he slides a breakfast sandwich her way.

Alexei squints at her like he’s evaluating a patient.

"You look better."

"I look the same."

"Better," he repeats, unwrapping his sandwich. "Less like roadkill."

High praise, coming from him.

Yelena takes a slow sip of her coffee.

"You should be sitting on a beach somewhere, not babysitting your grown daughter."

Alexei retired. Just…stopped. Unexpectedly. Said ‘Fuck it, I’ve worked enough’. The surprising decision came just days after Yelena told them about the divorce. After she cried for hours on their couch. Yelena still doesn’t know if he did it because he wanted to or because she needed him to.

And she sure did need him sometimes. Alexei watches Sonny on the days when Yelena can’t. Picks up Alexia and Maks from school if she’s stuck in a meeting. Stocks her fridge when she forgets.

He is, in his own words, Deda Supreme.

"Don’t flatter yourself," he mutters through a mouthful of food. "I am not just babysitter. I am also your mother’s house husband now. It is me and the kids or me and the pigs. Very important work I do.“

Yelena snorts.

"Bet mom and the pigs love that."

"Oh, she loves it. She gives me list. I ignore list. She yells at me. It is perfect system."

Yelena smirks, shaking her head.

The truth is, Alexei showing up like this is annoying. But also…the only thing keeping her from spiraling some days.

He leans back, watching her carefully.

"You are doing okay? Yes?”

It’s not ‘Are you okay?’ because they both know the answer to that. She nods, pushing a piece of egg around her plate with a fork.

"Yeah."

Alexei grunts like he doesn’t fully believe her, but he lets it go. For a while after that, they just eat in silence.

"You see Kate?" he asks. Throwing the question out there nonchalantly. More curious than he would want it to be.

Yelena keeps her voice even, but the question unsettles her more than it should. She knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time before he asked. But it still grates.

Alexei was Kate’s person for years. They shared the kind of love Kate never got from her own father. And Alexei? He treated Kate like she was his own. Kate was his unofficial second kid. His loudest, brashest, most stubborn child.

And then, just like that, she wasn’t. He chose his actual daughter in the divorce. Yelena knows it shouldn’t feel like a choice, but it does.

He doesn’t talk to Kate anymore. Not really. Not since the moment he found out how things had transpired. Alexei not saying anything is the better alternative to actually talking to Kate and verbalizing the things he would. Yelena has never really asked if they've talked, but she can infer. She knows because she can see how much Kate’s absence weighs on him. She can tell by the way Alexei doesn’t bring her up often. Or at all. Its been almost four months of this and this is the first time she even remembers him saying her name. He hasn't even tried to defend her. Yelena has had to mourn not just the lost of her marriage, but her father losing one of the most relationships in his life. She isn't quite sure which hurts more. And the way he looks at Yelena sometimes…like he wants to say something but swallows it down instead. That’s one of the worst parts of this whole mess.

She’s known Kate long enough to know that Alexei cutting ties is killing her too. Kate doesn’t lose people. She pushes them away. She burns them away. But she never truly loses them. Not until now. And Alexei? He lost her as well. Neither of them will ever talk about it. But Yelena can feel the ghost of it sitting between them.

“Only at drop-offs…Why?”

Alexei shrugs, stabbing at his eggs.

“Just wondering.”

Yelena doesn’t push. Neither does he.

Yelena shoves her chair back and stands.

"I need to go into the lab before I get the kids."

Alexei waves her off. "Go. I’ll clean."

"Don’t break anything," she calls over her shoulder.

She doesn’t hear his response, but she’s sure it’s something sarcastic.

///

When Yelena gets to the lab, she should work. Instead, she just…sits there. She stares at reports for twenty minutes without reading a word. Moves a petri dish from one side of the desk to the other. Rearranges the same stack of notes she’s already attempted to read five times. Her focus is gone.

Before the divorce, work was an escape. A thing she knew she was good at. A place where her decisions had immediate results.

Now, it just feels like…blergh. She doesn’t even realize she’s zoning out until her phone buzzes.

CALENDAR REMINDER: DR. O’GRADY @ 12PM.

“Damn it.”

Yelena sighs, grabs her bag, and gets up.

///

Therapy is therapy. Dr. O’Grady is direct. Unyielding in the way only an older Irish woman can be.

Yelena slouches on the couch, arms crossed.

"Before you say anything, yes, I’ve been sleeping. Yes, I’ve been eating. Yes, I’ve been functioning."

Dr. O’Grady quirks a brow.

"Functioning isn’t thriving, Yelena."

Yelena groans.

“You sound like my mother.”

Dr. O’Grady doesn’t react. Just waits. Yelena sighs, staring at the ceiling.

"I don’t know what you want me to say."

"I want you to tell me how you’re feeling instead of how you think you should feel."

Yelena doesn’t answer right away. She takes a slow breath.

"I feel…" She pauses. Licks her lips. "Different."

"Explain."

"I don’t know." She shifts, uncomfortable. "Kate backed me into this, and yeah, it’s messed up, and yeah, I was angry, but I’m here…And I’m figuring it out."

Dr. O’Grady nods.

"And what does figuring it out look like for you?"

"It means I wake up, I take care of the kids and try to remember to take care of myself too. It means I go to work and try to get anything done. It means I don’t let this define me."

"Do you still check your phone, expecting a text from her?" Yelena stiffens. Dr. O’Grady’s voice is gentler when she speaks again. "You don’t have to win the breakup, Yelena."

Yelena clenches her jaw, staring at the floor. She doesn’t answer. Because she’s not sure she believes that.

///

The alarm goes off at five-thirty, but Yelena’s already awake. She doesn’t need it anymore. Not when Sonny’s internal clock is better than any piece of technology ever invented.

There’s always a few blissful seconds of quiet, the kind where she almost forgets she’s not waking up in the old apartment, in the life she used to have. Then, reality settles in. A tiny voice crackles over the baby monitor. Sonny babbling in that half-asleep, half-happy nonsense way she does first thing in the morning.

Yelena sighs, throws off the blanket, and swings her legs out of bed. Another day. No time to linger.

By the time she makes it to the nursery, Sonny’s sitting up in the crib, Kate’s coal black hair wild, cheeks flushed from sleep.

“Mamaaaaaaa.”

Yelena leans against the doorway. “You could at least aim for anything past six.”

Sonny giggles, reaching her arms up, demanding. “Mama up.”

Yelena lifts her effortlessly, pressing a kiss against her chubby cheek, breathing in the warm, milky scent of her skin. Sonny hums, content, resting her head against Yelena’s shoulder like she has all the time in the world. For a moment, Yelena lets herself just hold her, swaying slightly on instinct, soaking in the quiet before the chaos of the morning really kicks in.

Yelena walks to the wall and gently taps it twice, voice low but firm.

“I’m coming in to get you in five, so don’t act surprised.”

Inside, there’s a groan followed by a muttered “Too early.”

Yelena smirks.

“Cry about it. You’re still getting up.”

The next bedroom over is Alexia and Maks’ room. A compromise. A necessity. Three bedrooms were the absolute most she could swing in New York City on her single mom salary, and even that was stretching it. A brownstone was out of the question. A four-bedroom was a pipe dream. The kids would have to share.

Alexia hated it at first. Maks didn’t care. Yelena still remembers the first night in the new place…Alexia lying stiff as a board in her bed, refusing to speak, while Maks snored like a chainsaw two feet away.

Alexia made it three days before she finally caved and admitted she could live with it. Begrudgingly.

Still, Yelena doesn’t barge in during the mornings. They’re Kate’s kids, after all. They need a bit of winding up time or they're little cranky demons. She learned that lesson fast.

She hears Maks stirring, rolling over, the distinct sound of him smacking his lips dramatically like he’s waking from a coma instead of a normal night of sleep. Alexia sighs heavily, the universal sound of an older sibling’s deep frustration.

Yelena just leans against the wall, waiting. Five minutes of extra quiet for everyone. No more, no less. The truce they’d landed on. Some battles weren’t worth fighting. Others? She fought like hell.

Sonny clings to her like a koala as Yelena moves around the room. The toddler is warm, heavy, and a little floppy from sleep. It would be nice if they could stay like this. If the morning didn’t immediately have to shift into the barely controlled chaos it always does.

But then…right on cue…she hears it. The sound of Alexia and Maks butting heads in their bedroom.

“You’re so annoying!”

“Stop copying me!”

Someone groans in frustration. A door slams. Something crashes. Yelena takes a deep breath, shifts Sonny higher on her hip, and steels herself for war.

///

By seven, Alexia is at the kitchen table, bleary-eyed, snapping at Maks for ‘breathing too much’. Maks is hanging off the back of a chair, already talking at full volume about something he saw on YouTube. Sonny is smacking a spoon against her high chair like a tiny, chaotic drummer.

It’s a circus. It’s draining. It’s the best part of her week.

"Mama, Maks is making that sound with his throat again," Alexia grumbles, jabbing at her eggs like they personally offended her.

"I’m just clearing it!" Maks protests.

"You're doing it on purpose."

"No, I’m not!"

Alexia levels him with a look. Maks grins. Then deliberately clears his throat again.

“MOM!” Alexia complains.

Yelena pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Both of you. Eat.”

“MOM! SHE’S KICKING ME!”

Alexia rolls her eyes so hard Yelena swears she can hear it.

"Eat," Yelena warns. "No more talking."

It lasts a grand total of ten seconds.

“Do ducks know they’re birds?” Maks asks suddenly, looking genuinely concerned.

Kate used to answer these questions. Or, at the very least, deflect them better than Yelena can. But Kate’s not here, so Yelena tries. She tries.

Before she can come up with even a semblance of a coherent answer, Yelena hears the telltale jingle of a spare key in the lock and she knows her morning is about to get a hell of a lot worse.

She doesn’t even look up from where she’s trying to wrestle Sonny into her pants when the door swings open.

“Доброе утро!” [Good morning!] Alexei’s voice booms through the apartment like a goddamn foghorn. “I bring real breakfast.”

Maks is the first to react, immediately jumping out of his chair.

“Deda!”

Alexei barely makes it inside before Maks throws himself at his legs.

“Ah, мой мальчик!” [Ah, my boy!]

Alexei hoists Maks up, swinging him dramatically in the air. Maks shrieks in delight. Alexia, still slumped at the kitchen table, doesn’t even glance up from her plate.

“It’s too early…”

Yelena sighs, trying to keep Sonny from wriggling out of her grasp.

“Dad, if you brought soup again, I swear to God…”

“I bring strong, good, Russian soup. I do not want my babies to be weak.”

“Deda, we hate soup,” Maks reminds him.

Alexei clutches his chest like Maks just stabbed him.

“Deda up.” Sonny requests while lifting both arms.

Alexei scoops her up effortlessly.

“See? This one? Smart. She will respect our family traditions.”

“I just had to stop her from eating a piece of paper. I’d temper those smart expectations.” Yelena says in jest.

“Я тоже ем бумагу. Это нормально.” [“I eat paper too. It's okay.”]

Alexei grins, tossing Sonny in the air just enough to make her giggle. The front door closes again, much softer this time. Melina.

“Alexei, do not throw the baby.” Her voice cuts through the kitchen before she even walks in, immediately taking in the scene.

“She likes.” Alexei protests.

Sonny looks at her grandfather and signs ‘more’ repeatedly.

“See! She likes a lot.” Alexei throws the baby up in the air again.

Melina sighs, placing a massive binder on the counter. Yelena groans.

“If that’s another ‘updated version’ of your binder, I’m setting it on fire.”

Melina helps in a Melina way. Clinical, methodical, and ruthlessly efficient. She made Yelena a co-parenting binder. Thick enough to double as a weapon. Complete with color-coded custody schedules, "empirical resources" on child development post-divorce, a curated list of recommended therapists (vetted…of course), and a financial projection chart mapping out Yelena’s single-income future in excruciating detail. She sends links to peer-reviewed studies on shared custody benefits. She forwards articles titled "The Psychological Impact of Divorce on Children and How to Mitigate Harm." She asks if Yelena has had “productive” therapy sessions with the same tone she once used when quizzing her on chemical compounds. The whole thing is intense, overbearing, and borderline invasive. And while Yelena would rather chew glass than admit it, she appreciates it more than she can say.

Melina ignores her, flipping it open.

“Have you reviewed the meal plan I sent you?”

“The…what?”

“The meal plan. I designed for optimal childhood development. I included omega-rich foods for cognitive function and…”

Alexia groans, shoving a forkful of eggs into her mouth.

“Too many words before school.”

“Speaking of school, have you confirmed with Kate about the parent-teacher conferences?”

“Mom…” Yelena interrupts, rubbing her temples. “I love you. I appreciate you, but if you say one more thing that makes me feel like I am doing this wrong, I’ll just stop telling you things.”

Alexei, who has been rummaging through the fridge, emerges.

“You are out of beer.”

Yelena glares at him.

“It’s seven-thirty in the morning.”

He shrugs.

“And? It is afternoon in Moscow.”

Maks, who has been quiet for a suspiciously long time, suddenly tugs on Alexei’s sleeve.

“Deda, do ducks know they’re birds?”

Silence. Alexei strokes his beard.

“Ah. A great question.”

Yelena groans.

“Don’t encourage him…”

“No, no, this is important,” Alexei insists. He turns to Maks, solemn. “Some ducks…yes. They know. They accept the bird life. Others?” He shakes his head. “They struggle. They fight it. They don’t like the expectations of bird society.”

Maks nods, taking this in.

Melina exhales sharply.

“This is exactly why they ask you the ridiculous questions and me the important ones.”

Melina declares as she begins to tidy up around the house. Before Yelena can respond, a spoon clatters to the floor. Everyone turns.

Sonny, looking incredibly pleased with herself, smacks her high chair tray and signs ‘More more more more’.

Alexei beams. “Да! Demand what you deserve, моя девочка!” [“Yes! Demand what you deserve, my girl!”]

“Deda, can you take us to school?” Maks queries.

“He’s gonna make us late.” Alexia argues.

“Me? Late?” Alexei scoffs, placing a hand over his heart. “Impossible.”

Yelena side-eyes him.

“You picked them up late last week.”

Alexei waves a hand.

“I had things to do.”

“You were watching a soccer game.”

“Exactly. Things I was doing. Now? Nothing to do but take these devils to school.”

Maks jumps up and down.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Yelena sighs, giving in. “Fine. You take them. I take the little one.”

Alexei claps his hands together.

“Alright, soldiers, let’s move out!”

He swoops one kid in each arm and heads for the door.

“Do NOT forget their bags this time.”

“I would never.”

“BYE BYEEEEEEE!” Sonny waves both arms wildly as her siblings disappear out the door, her little voice echoing down the hall.

The door shuts behind Alexei. And just like that, the apartment is plunged into a sudden, startling silence.

Yelena collapses into a chair. Her body still wired from the morning mayhem, muscles tense from the constant motion of keeping three kids fed, clothed, and moving in the right direction. It takes her a full minute before she realizes she doesn’t actually have to move anymore.

Melina reappears from the living room, arms full of scattered toys she’s gathered like some kind of overworked maid. A plastic dinosaur dangles precariously from her fingers, and she steps over a half-constructed Lego tower with the precision of someone who has spent far too many years dodging stray bricks.

“You let your father get away with too much,” she remarks, dropping a stuffed elephant onto the dining table with a huff.

Yelena snorts, stretching out in her chair.

“You say that like we’ve ever stopped him from doing anything.”

Melina sighs, flipping open the binder again. Yelena swears that thing balloons in size every week.

“I need you to confirm the holiday schedule with Kate. We need to know where they will be for each major holiday. I would prefer Christmas. She can have Thanksgiving.”

Yelena groans, tilting her head back against the chair.

“Can we survive one day without a schedule?”

“No,” Melina says flatly, barely glancing up.

“This is why Deda is the favorite,” Yelena mumbles, half joking.

“I know.” Melina smirks.

Yelena sighs, dragging herself to her feet.

“You want coffee?”

Melina hums, flipping a page in the binder. “You never said if you reviewed the meal plan. It has balanced dietary recommendations for all three.”

Yelena glares. Melina sighs.

“Fine. Yes, coffee. But if you do not ask Kate about holidays, I will call her… and I do not know how well that will go. For her.”

Yelena sighs heavily but pours her a cup anyway.

“Don’t call Kate, Mom.”

Melina lifts the mug with a satisfied little nod.

For all the chaos, all the headaches, all the everything, this…this…is what keeps her sane. The noise. The movement. The absolute certainty that she doesn’t have to do any of this alone.

Even if she wants to strangle half the people helping.

///

Therapy with three kids is a whole different ballgame. Yelena doesn’t mind her solo sessions with Dr. O’Grady, annoying as the woman is in her ability to see things Yelena isn’t ready to deal with. But therapy with the kids? That’s another beast entirely.

Dr. O’Grady sees all of them now. Yelena. The kids. Sometimes separately. Sometimes together. Right now, they’re all together. Yelena sits between Maks and Alexia on the couch. Sonny is on the floor, attempting to cram a toy into another toy that is very clearly too small.

Alexia is… watching. Not outright angry, not anymore, but cautious. Taking notes. Filing everything away for later. Yelena can feel it. She talks to her, but there’s a hesitance in her voice, like she’s waiting for the inevitable moment one of them fucks up. And she’s going to have some things to say when they do.

Maks doesn’t fully understand what’s happening, but he knows something changed. And he doesn’t quite like it. That’s why he keeps asking when Mommy is coming over for dinner.

Sonny, blissfully oblivious, just knows she has two beds, two toy baskets, and two completely different sets of rules depending on whose house she’s in.

And Kate? Kate is…Well. Kate’s Kate. And at the moment, Kate refuses to do therapy.

Dr. O’Grady shifts in her chair, studying the kids with that careful, quiet way she has. Then, finally, she looks at Alexia.

“Do you have any questions for your mom?”

Alexia is silent for a long moment. She kicks at a loose thread on the couch. Then, finally…

Yelena sees it coming. She tries to head it off.

“Your mom and I both love you,” she says before Alexia can even get the words out, trying not to fidget under Dr. O’Grady’s stare.

Alexia doesn’t answer right away. She looks at the floor.

“Then why don’t you live together anymore?”

Yelena hates that question. There’s no right way to answer it. She takes a slow breath.

“Because sometimes loving someone isn’t enough to make it work.”

Dr. O’Grady shifts slightly like she wants to step in, but she doesn’t. She lets Yelena sit with it. Eventually, Alexia crosses her arms, eyebrows pulling together.

“That’s stupid.”

Yelena exhales.

“Yeah,” she agrees, voice breaking. “It is.”

///

Maks can’t find his left shoe. Alexia forgot she needed a poster board for a project due today. Sonny still refuses to put pants on.

Yelena doesn’t remembers ever having to herd all three of them alone before this. Kate was always there. Or she was dealing with one or two of them somewhere else. Yelena is starting to think this could be considered an Olympic-level sport.

"Alexia, you’re getting way too old to be this disorganized…”

"You’re supposed to help me!"

"I am helping you by telling you to get your things together before the morning it’s due!"

"Mamaaaaa," Sonny whines, wiggling dramatically to push her pants down.

"Yes, I know, pants are oppression, but unfortunately, they are also necessary."

Maks is spinning in circles. "I forgot what I was looking for!"

"YOUR SHOE," Yelena yells, shoving Sonny’s leg into her pants while simultaneously digging through a pile of backpacks.

"OH RIGHT," Maks shouts, then immediately forgets again and starts talking about platypuses.

Somehow, by sheer force of will, Yelena gets them all out the door and into the car.

///

By the time she drops them off at school and daycare, she feels like she’s run a fucking marathon.

She grabs a second coffee, sits in her car for a full minute, then forces herself to drive to the lab, trying to scrape together whatever energy she has left.

The second she walks in, her assistant greets her with a loving grimace, “Were they up all night again?”

Yelena shoves her sunglasses onto her head. “No. They actually slept all night. I think this is just what my face looks like now.”

“Did YOU sleep?”

“Not really.”

He makes a noise of disapproval but hands her a file.

“Well that explains it…Review this before the briefing.”

“Remind me why I don’t just quit and become a full-time mom.”

“Because you’d lose your mind within a week.”

“…Right, yeah.”

He gives her a pointed look.

“Read the file. Let me know if you need me to make any changes”

Yelena sighs. "If I must."

She takes her coffee and heads to her office.

///

The bedtime routine is…organized chaos. Heavy on the chaos part. It’s, as always, a battlefield.

Getting them clean takes twice as long as it should because Maks keeps dunking his head underwater like he’s training for some kind of deep-sea survival mission and Sonny shrieks like she’s being waterboarded. Alexia refuses Yelena’s help with her shower because ‘she’s not a baby like the others’, but Yelena can still hear her struggling to detangle her hair in the bathroom down the hall. Meanwhile, Yelena, soaked to the elbows, tries and fails to contain the splashing, the wailing, and the general bedlam that is bath time.

By the time the kids are clean and wrapped in towels, Yelena is exhausted. And it’s not over.

Sonny fights sleep like it’s an act of war. Maks forgets how pajamas work every single night. Alexia acts like brushing her teeth is akin to brutal manual labor.

“Okay. Final warning. If you’re not in bed in five minutes, I’m making both of you sleep in the bathtub.”

Sonny, sitting on the floor, gnawing on a toy block, looks up with interest. “Bath?”

Maks gasps and speaks over his sister.

“You can’t do that!”

“I absolutely can.”

Alexia groans.

“Maks, she’s lying.”

“Am I?” Yelena raises an eyebrow, the tiniest smirk pulling at her lips.

Sonny drops the block. “Bath?”

Yelena scoops her up. “Oh, now you want a bath? Funny, because I remember you screaming bloody murder during your actual one.”

Sonny frowns like she’s been betrayed.

“You didn’t tell her she had to sleep in the bathtub.” Maks grumbles.

“She’s a baby. Babies don’t sleep in bathtubs.” Alexia clarifies.

“So she’s the favorite?”

“Absolutely.” Yelena ascertains.

When Yelena gets all three of them into pajamas and actually in bed, she’s wrecked. So much so that when they ask to sleep in her room, she doesn’t fight it. She secretly welcomes it. An empty bed is an awful thing.

///

Alexia sprawls out on Yelena’s bed, flipping through something on her iPad while Yelena wrestles Sonny into a clean diaper. Maks, fresh in his dinosaur pajamas, sits on the foot of the bed, dramatically flipping through a book like he’s deeply unimpressed.

“What are we reading?” Yelena asks, rubbing her tired eyes.

Maks huffs.

“I want to read the shark book, but I think we left it in Mommy’s car.”

“So pick something else.”

Maks flops onto his back.

“But I want the shark book.”

“Maksimilian.”

He groans, rolls onto his stomach, and flips a few pages.

“Fine. This one.”

Yelena takes the book from him, barely glancing at the title before he immediately shakes his head.

“No, wait. Not that one.”

Alexia doesn’t even look up. “Oh my God, pick a book.”

“You’re so bossy.” Maks scowls at her.

“I’m the oldest.”

Sonny, half-asleep on Yelena’s chest, perks up.

“Me book.”

“It’s not your turn!” Maks argues.

“Me book.” The toddler pushes back aggressively.

Alexia sighs heavily.

“Just let Sonny pick.”

Maks narrows his eyes, and the histrionics dialed to a twelve, he slides the pile of books toward Sonny. Sonny doesn’t even look at them. She just pats the top book with an incomprehensible babble. Maks sighs, defeated.

“Fine. We’re reading this one.”

Yelena shakes her head, flipping it open.

“Alright, it’s bedtime for real now.”

By page five, Sonny is completely knocked out, sprawled over Yelena’s chest like a tiny human heater. Alexia has shifted, eyes closed, curled up on her side. Maks fights it, blinking slower and slower, trying to keep himself awake. Come the end of the first chapter, he’s practically asleep, too. Yelena closes the book and carefully shifts Sonny. Then Maks mumbles something. Yelena glances down, brushing a stray strand of blonde off his face.

“Hmm?”

“Mommy doesn’t read anymore.” He barely opens his eyes.

The words hit low in her stomach, but Yelena continues to smooth a hand over his hair.

“Yeah? Since when?”

Maks shrugs sleepily, barely nodding before he fully drifts off. Yelena doesn’t move. Just sits there, staring down at him, at Sonny, at Alexia…listening to the slow, steady rhythm of their breathing.

Kate used to read to them. Every night. Even if she was exhausted. Even if she barely had time. She always made time. Yelena doesn’t know what it means that she stopped. And she doesn’t like that she doesn’t know.

When she moves to stand, she glances up and finds that her daughter is still awake. Alexia staring back at her. Watching her.

“You should be sleeping…Do you want me to read more?”

Alexia shifts under the blanket.

“You don’t have to try so hard.”

“I’m just…doing my best.”

Alexia doesn’t answer for a long moment. Then, finally, she shrugs then rolls onto her side, turning her back to Yelena. Yelena knows that’s as much of an answer as she’s going to get. She sighs, pressing a kiss to Sonny’s forehead before gently laying her down between Alexia and Maks. She tucks the blanket around them, smoothing it over Maks’s shoulders before slipping out of the room.

///

The apartment is finally quiet. Yelena leans against the doorframe for a second, exhaling.

There’s still a mess in the kitchen. Crumbs on the floor. A juice cup on the counter. One of Maks’s socks mysteriously on the bookshelf.

She should clean. She should read some reports. She should do literally anything productive. Instead, she drags herself to the couch and collapses, rubbing her temples.

Tomorrow, she has to take them back to Kate. And that, as always, is the part she dreads the most.

///

The morning is a blur of cereal bowls and half-packed backpacks and Maks losing his shoe. Again.

And then they’re in the car, and the drive feels like it always does. Soul annihilating. The car is mostly peaceful, filled only with the occasional hum of the radio and Maks mumbling half-formed stories in the backseat.

When she pulls into the garage, Kate is already waiting. Leaning on her car, parking spot next to her empty. This has become their routine. Yelena doesn’t know what she expects. Maybe another fight. Maybe some passive-aggressive remark about their scheduling. But when Kate steps forward, she doesn’t say anything at all.

She looks…off. Kate isn’t cold. Not exactly. She’s distant. Detached. It’s subtle. So subtle that if Yelena hadn’t known Kate for two decades, she probably wouldn’t have noticed. But she has. And she does.

Kate’s always been a controlled kind of chaotic. Loud but focused. A hurricane with a purpose. But now? Her energy is different. Unsettled. Her clothes are rumpled, like she just pulled them out of a pile on the floor. Her hair is messier than usual. And her eyes…fuck, her eyes…there’s something off about them. Even the shade of blue looks Not Right to Yelena. Like she’s too wired and too exhausted at the same time. But Yelena doesn’t say anything right away.

Kate helps Maks unbuckle his seatbelt. Alexia lingers, hesitating before stepping out. Sonny is half-asleep in the car seat, unaware. Yelena quietly works on unstrapping the toddler.

Alexia and Maks barrel past them into the elevator area, barely giving Kate a passing glance before heading inside. Kate doesn’t react to them, doesn’t make any move to pull them into a hug or ruffle their hair. That’s weird. Kate has always been the one who reached for them first. Always touched their heads, their shoulders, their backs. Subtle, barely-there things that had nothing to do with a greeting and everything to do with ‘I love you, I love you, I love you’. But now? Zero. That’s not something her old Kate would do.

Kate takes Sonny from Yelena’s arms without a word, shifting her weight like she can’t stand still for too long. Her jaw is tight, her eyes unreadable, like she’s narrowly holding something together.

“You okay?” Yelena asks, watching her carefully.

Kate glances at her, startled.

“What?”

“You look…” Yelena hesitates, watching Kate more closely.

Kate’s expression falters for just a second before locking back into something unreadable.

“Just tired.”

It’s too fast. Too defensive. Yelena frowns.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Kate scoffs, shifting Sonny on her hip.

“Why do you care?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Yelena crosses her arms, softens.

Kate’s expression tightens.

“It’s not your job anymore.”

There’s a heat behind her words. Not full fire…just embers, waiting to catch.

“Kate.”

“I have to put Son down for her nap.”

The finality in her tone is clear. Yelena doesn’t push. Kate turns and walks into the elevator area without another word. Yelena watches her.

The kids move inside the elevator, dragging their bags with them. Maks waves at Yelena with a smile. Alexia glances back just once before disappearing through the door. Kate doesn’t linger. She steps inside. The door closes.

Yelena stays in the car for a moment, staring at the elevators. She doesn’t know what she just witnessed. But she knows Kate. And something isn’t right.

After a long pause, she pulls out her phone and dials. Susan picks up on the third ring.

“Hi! You still owe me that girls night by the way. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

Yelena forces a laugh.

“We will. I promise….When’s the last time you talked to your sister?”

Susan goes silent, then sighs.

“What did she do now?”

“Nothing…That’s the problem.”

“Define ‘nothing’.”

“I don’t know. She feels off. The kids ran inside, and she barely looked at them…When did you last talked to her? Saw her?”

Yelena waits.

“Not for a while.”

“Why?”

Susan sighs. “Yelena…”

“I’m not starting anything,” Yelena says quickly. “I just…I know her. And I can feel it.”

“I love that loser, I do. But she’s a goddamn mess. And I can’t…be around her energy right now. She doesn’t listen. So why would I bother talking? I’m letting her sit in her shit for a while. She needs a time out.”

Yelena hesitates, debating how much to say. She doesn’t want to stir the pot if there’s nothing there. But she knows what she saw.

“She seems…I don’t know.” Yelena admits. “Something’s not right. I’m worried.”

Susan doesn’t argue. That silence says enough. Yelena’s stomach twists.

“You are too, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know either.”

“I don’t buy that.”

Susan groans.

“You two are so annoying. Always in each other’s business even when you’re divorcing.”

Yelena tightens her grip on the steering wheel.

“She’s technically still my wife…For a couple more weeks at least.”

Susan doesn’t say anything at first. Then…

“…I don’t think she’s okay, but that’s her own doing. If it makes you feel better, I’ll check on her.”

“It would make me feel better. Thank you…And, uh…let me know, yeah?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

They hang up.

Yelena sits there for another beat, staring at her phone, waiting for something she can’t quite name. But nothing happens. So she starts the car. And drives away.

/// — \\\

Kate’s days without the kids are nearly unbearable. Time stretches in all the worst ways. Dragging. Bleeding into itself until she loses track of it completely. She hates them.

She never used to feel alone in her own house. Even before the split, even if she and Yelena weren’t speaking for whatever stupid reason, there was always noise. The kids. T he creaky floorboards. The way Yelena would sigh dramatically over some work thing as she sat at the kitchen table, tapping her pen against her laptop. Even if they weren’t talking, Yelena had been there. Had been there for years. And now she’s not. Now the apartment is dead quiet.

Kate wakes up early out of habit, but there’s no reason to. No Sonny babbling. No Maks breaking anything. No Alexia blasting cartoons way too damn early. No one to force her out of bed except herself.

Some mornings, Kate stays there for hours.

Other mornings, she gets up and makes too much coffee for one person. A habit. She drinks one cup and lets the rest sit on the counter until it goes cold. She doesn’t pour it out. Just leaves it there, staring at it like it might do something.

Without the kids, without anything to distract her, it all comes creeping in. The resentment. The regret. The rage. She’s so fucking angry. At Yelena. At herself. At this entire fucking situation.

She tells herself she doesn’t miss Yelena, because that would imply some kind of softness, and she’s not soft about this. The divorce was necessary. Yelena didn’t fight for them, so Kate had to do what she always does…fix the problem. Cut off the loose ends. Move the fuck on.

Except she hasn’t moved on. She can’t. She sees Yelena constantly. At custody exchanges. At the kids’ school. In Maks’s stubborness, in Alexia’s face, in Sonny’s little mannerisms.

Kate spends half her time trying not to think about Yelena, and the other half convincing herself she doesn’t care what Yelena does anymore. But she does. She does care. And that pisses her off more than anything.

Because Yelena is fine. She sees it. At drop-offs, at pick-ups. The way Yelena carries herself now. Like she’s lighter. More put-together. Like she’s thriving in a way that Kate isn’t. She looks good. Not just physically, but okay. Relaxed. Settled. Like this divorce didn’t fucking gut her the way it has Kate.

It makes Kate want to fucking scream. Because this isn’t how it was supposed to go. Yelena was supposed to hurt too. Yelena was supposed to fucking fall apart, and instead, she’s just…fine.

Kate should be happy about that, right? The mother of her kids is handling this well. She’s adjusting. She’s making it work. So why does it make Kate feel like she’s losing the divorce? Even if its not a game, she feels like she’s losing and that enrages her most days.

The days without the kids stretch into themselves. Her routine is shot to hell. Work doesn’t keep her occupied the way it used to. The company is fine…thriving, even…but she’s not focused the way she should be. She’ll sit in a meeting and barely process what’s being said, mind wandering to the clock, to the calendar, to how many more hours until she has nothing to do. Nothing to drown out the noise in her head.

She works late, not because she needs to, but because it keeps her occupied. The company has become less about her career and more about noise. She takes meetings she doesn’t have to. Stays long after everyone else has gone home.

She fills the silence with anything she can find.

When the kids aren’t with her, she goes out. Not with friends. Not with anyone who actually knows her. She’s pushed all those people away. So Kate finds noise. Bars. Places where she can be something else, someone else, even if it’s just for a few hours.

She drinks too much. She flirts with people she has no interest in. She lets herself get swept up in meaningless distractions, lets strangers talk at her, lets the bass of whatever music is playing drown out the thoughts clawing at the back of her mind.

It’s all so fucking empty. And the second she’s alone again, it crashes back down. The house. The quiet. The space Yelena used to take up. She doesn’t let herself sit in it for too long. Because that would mean acknowledging it. And Kate refuses to do that.

///

The days with the kids are different. With them, she has structure. Purpose. She wakes up early because she has to.

Sonny cries and Kate moves without thinking, scooping her up, pressing kisses to her hair as she soothes her. Maks is up within minutes, bouncing into her room with a thousand questions before Kate can even blink. Alexia takes longer to wake up. She’s always been like that. Slow in the mornings. Pensive. Observant.

The house is loud when they’re there. It’s never been clearer how much of her life is defined by them.

She moves through the morning on autopilot. Breakfast. Packing lunches. Chasing Maks down to make sure he *actually* has underwear on before they leave. Getting everyone out the door before they’re late for…whatever it is they're supposed to be doing that day.

It’s normal. It’s the only part of her life that still feels like hers. The only time she feels like herself is when they’re here.

But they’re only here half the time. And when they leave, it’s back to square one. Back to silence. Back to wondering why the fuck she let this happen.

///

Kate hears Susan before she sees her. It’s impossible not to.

She’s barely had time to get the kids settled in when the telltale shuffle of sneakers against hardwood floors and the exaggerated sigh of a six-months-pregnant woman reaches her ears.

“Jesus, Katherine. This place is depressing,” Susan mutters as she drops her bag on the entryway table, hand pressed to her lower back. “You know they make lamps that don’t give off ‘abandoned psychiatric ward’ vibes, right?”

“What are you doing here?”

Susan rolls her eyes, shrugging out of her coat.

“Came to see my favorite nieces and nephew.”

“They’re the only ones you have.”

“That’s why they're my favorite. Also…”She glances down at her stomach, patting it. “…the parasite inside me is demanding spaghetti and I know you have to make them dinner so…you might as well make me what I want for dinner too.”

“Does it look like I take requests?” Susan simply glares. Kate huffs a laugh despite herself, shaking her head. “I’ll start some water.”

The kitchen is bright compared to the rest of the house. Not warm, necessarily, but it’s lived in…mostly because the kids exist in it. There are dishes in the sink, half-empty snack boxes on the counter, and an unclaimed sock near the fridge that Kate refuses to acknowledge.

Susan doesn’t hesitate before making herself at home. She drops into a chair at the dining table, stretching her legs out with a groan.

“Where are they?” she asks, rubbing a hand over her belly.

“Sonny’s napping. The other two are probably in their rooms,” Kate says, filling a pot with water. “Leo is still bouncing off the walls from whatever sugar Yelena let him have before drop-off, and Alex is acting like I personally ruined her life by asking her to unload the dishwasher.”

“That one’s your clone, you know.” Kate glares at her, setting the pot on the stove. “Just saying.”

The sound of small feet pounding down the corridor interrupts whatever insult Kate was about to throw back. A second later, Maks appears in the doorway, wide-eyed, slightly breathless.

“SUZU!”

Susan barely has time to react before Maks launches himself at her, arms wrapping around her in a bear hug. She grunts but laughs, ruffling his hair.

“Hey, bug. Miss me?”

“Yes,” Maks says, muffled against her shoulder. Then he pulls back suddenly, eyes dropping to her stomach. “Is the baby still in there?”

“Nope. I already had it, and I just like walking around with a fake belly for fun.”

Maks frowns, considering this. Alexia appears in the doorway a second later, arms crossed. She takes in the scene, then sighs heavily.

“You’re going to make her back hurt.” Alexia reprimands him.

“My back already hurts. Kid’s gonna come out with his arms crossed if the attitude I’m dealing with in utero is any indication.”

“It’s a boy?!” Alexia’s lips twitch in a half smile.

Susan shrugs.

“Dunno. Doctor won’t tell me.”

“Why?” Kate inquires, confused.

“Because we told them we don’t want to know.” Susan smirks at her sister.

“You don’t want to know?” Maks’ face scrunches in disbelief.

“Nope. Gonna be a surprise.”

Maks looks appalled. Kate watches them interact, something unsteady curling in her gut. It’s too normal. Too easy. Too much like how things used to be. She turns back to the stove, stirring the water just for something to do.

///

Later, after dinner, bedtime is a full-blown event.

Susan tries to help, but Kate stubbornly refuses the assistance. So Susan sits back and watches, arms resting over her stomach, amusement clear on her face.

“You’re making this harder than it needs to be,” she points out as Kate struggles to get Sonny settled in her crib.

“I don’t need your help.” Kate glares at her, jaw tight.

Susan raises an eyebrow but doesn’t argue. Just waits.

Eventually, Maks and Sonny are both down, Alexia disappears into her room with her headphones in, and Kate trudges into the living room, exhausted.

“You can go now.”

“Yeah, no. We’re not gonna do that.”

“Do what?”

Susan gestures at her, at the house, at the entire situation.

“This thing where you pretend you’re fine when you’re very clearly not.”

“Suze…” Kate grits her teeth.

“You look like shit.”

“That’s not your problem. Not anyone’s problem.”

Kate begins to tidy up. Just to do something. Just to not have to look at her sister.

“You always do this.”

“Oh, great. Here we go.”

Susan doesn’t let Kate get away with it. She pushes off the couch and steps forward, voice steady. Aimed.

“You’re too old for this, you know?”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Susan takes a step closer, eyes narrowing.

“It means you’re too grown to be acting like DJ.”

The room goes silent. Kate’s whole body locks up. There are certain things you don’t fucking say. Certain things you don’t bring up. Certain wounds that have been closed…or at least buried so deep they should be closed. Susan just cracked one wide open.

“You need to watch yourself.”

“Why? Did I hit a nerve?”

Kate flinches. Her fingers twitch at her sides, hands curving into fists. Susan doesn’t stop.

“You remember how Deej used to tell us he was fine? How he always had some excuse for why his life was going to shit?” Her voice is razor-sharp now, hitting Kate exactly where she doesn’t want to be hit. “How it was NEVER his fault? How it was everyone else who didn’t understand? How he could quit whenever he wanted, how it wasn’t THAT bad. You…”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP.” Kate snaps.

Susan does not.

“YOU are doing the same fucking thing. You’re making the same excuses, telling the same fucking lies. And you want to know the real kicker? The thing that set DJ down that road was them. It was Mom and Dad. It was growing up in a house where love felt like a fucking death match where no one ever got out whole…Just like the house you’re making your kids live in now.”

Kate feels her vision blur with rage.

“You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.”

Susan tilts her head, giving her this look…an almost pitying, disgusted look.

“You’re not even Mom. You turned into Dad, Kate.”

Kate sees red.

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

Susan doesn’t even flinch. She just stands there. Watching her. Kate’s breathing is ragged. Her pulse is roaring. Susan doesn’t even look shaken. Just…resigned.

“You really think you’re better than him?” she asks, voice softer now. “You really think you’re doing something different?”

Kate’s throat burns. Susan stares at her for another long moment. Then, she shakes her head.

“You know what’s funny?” Susan tilts her head, voice deceptively casual. “I told you this would happen. I told you, years ago, the first time you tried to pull this divorce shit, that if you actually went through with it, Yelena was going to thrive, and you were going to be miserable. And, huh…Look at that.” She gestures at Kate. “I was fucking right.” Susan shakes her head. “I know this isn't even how bad it’s going to get because, how do you think its going to feel when she starts seeing someone else. I also told you that, remember? Your wife…”

“Ex-wife.” Kate corrects venomously.

"YOUR WIFE is one of the best people I've ever met. I don't even know how she's still single. But she won't be for long. So what happens to you when you have to see that? Hmmm? Her. With someone else. Your kids in another family. And you won't be able to say shit about it."

Kate wants to hit something. Wants to break something. Wants to scream 'You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about', but she can’t. Because deep, deep, deep down…a part of her knows Susan isn’t wrong.

“You don’t get to be mad at her for moving on when you did this..." Susan surveys her. Takes in her rigid stance, her baller up fists. She shakes her head. "Deej resented you for being okay. For being able to come out of it fine. To have a life after all that shit when he couldn't. You're doing that now. You're Deej. And you're dad. How sad, Kate."

“Fuck you.” Kate’s voice is raw when she finally speaks.

Susan’s mouth tightens, but she doesn’t look mad. Just… disappointed. Like she expected more. Like she’s done.

“Yeah,” Susan mutters, grabbing her coat. “Fuck me, I guess.”

Susan watches Kate for another long beat. Then, she heads for the door. She doesn’t even slam the door when she leaves.

The quiet is worse.

Kate stares at the spot Susan just vacated, chest heaving, fists clenched so tightly her knuckles are white.

She rushes to the living room bar cart and pours herself a drink. She drinks it too fast. It burns. She pours another.

The cacophony in her head doesn’t quiet.

Kate doesn’t even bother with a glass the third time. She reaches for the whiskey bottle and drinks straight from it. She barely registers the sting. She just takes another gulp. And then another.

She presses the back of her hand to her mouth and exhales hard through her nose, blinking rapidly, as if that’ll stop the fucking shaking in her hands.

She’s fine.

She just needs something to take the edge off. To drown out Susan’s fucking voice still bouncing around in her head.

You're Deej. And you're dad. How sad, Kate.

Kate tips the bottle again. She isn’t her father. She isn’t. She just…fuck. FUCK!

Kate grabs her phone, swiping through contacts she has no intention of calling. She doesn’t want to talk. She doesn’t want a conversation. She wants noise. She wants a distraction. She wants to drown in something. Anything. Whatever isn’t this feeling.

She closes her messages and opens a dating app instead.

The profile pictures blur together. Smiling faces, sultry smirks, bio after bio of meaningless bullshit. She barely reads them. Doesn’t care. She thumbs through them, swiping right on the ones that look like they won’t talk too much. She has her first match within seconds.

Hey.

What are you up to?

Nothing. You?

Nothing. Want company? Come over.

Kate exhales slowly. The resounding ‘yes’ in the response might be the best word Kate’s heard all day.

///

Fifteen minutes later, there’s a knock at her door.

Kate barely remembers which one she picked, but it doesn’t matter. She opens the door, and there’s a girl standing there. Brunette, short skirt, black boots, waaaaay younger than Kate should be fucking. This girl is the exact opposite of everything Yelena is. Was that intentional? Kate doesn’t know.

“Hey,” the girl purrs, leaning against the doorframe like she’s done this a thousand times before.

Kate could not care less.

“Yeah. Come in. You have to be quiet. My kids are sleeping.”

The girl steps inside without hesitation, glancing around like she’s sizing up the upscale apartment. Kate doesn’t offer her a drink. Doesn’t ask about her night. Doesn’t bother with the niceties. She doesn’t fucking want to know this girl’s name. She just grabs her by the wrist and drags her to the bedroom.

To her bed. The one she used to share with Yelena. The girl giggles.

“Someone’s impatient.”

Kate doesn’t answer. She just pushes her onto the bed and crawls on top of her.

It’s easy. Mindless. Lips on skin. Hands tugging at clothes. A body beneath her that doesn’t fight her. That doesn’t argue. That doesn’t demand anything from her. The girl moans and sighs and moves the way Kate wants, and for a little while, it’s quiet in Kate’s head.

///

An hour or so later, they lay in bed. Catching their breaths. The girl leans over to grab her purse, digs through it.

“You want a bump?”

Kate freezes. The girl is grinning at her, lazy, sated, pulling a little baggie from her purse.

“Or…nah?” the girl teases, shaking it between two fingers.

Kate stares at it. Her pulse kicks. She hasn’t done coke (or any drugs for that matter) since she was a dumbass college kid with no responsibilities and no consequences. Since before that night Yelena caught her getting high and ripped her a new one.

The smart thing would be to say no. The right thing would be to say no.

“Yeah. Okay.”

Kate’s never been known for being smart or right.

The girl grins wider and dumps a little onto the nightstand. Kate watches, detached, as she takes the first hit, then taps her finger against the surface.

“Go for it.”

Kate hesitates. For a second. Then, before she can talk herself out of it, she leans down and does the line.

Fuck.

She tips her head back. Blinks. It’s been a long time. The burn in her nose is familiar. The rush that follows is instant. She exhales hard, and it’s like everything loosens.

“That good, huh?” The girl laughs, pressing closer.

Kate grins. For the first time all fucking night, she grins. And then she rolls the girl onto her back and fucks her again.

She doesn’t think about the fact that this is the same bed Yelena used to fuck her in. She doesn’t think about the fact that she doesn’t even remember this girl’s fucking name.

She just chases the high, drowns herself in it. And when it wears off…Kate simply does another line.

///

Kate leans against the bathroom sink, staring at herself in the mirror. Her pupils are blown, her skin flushed. She looks awake. Alert. More alive than she has in weeks.

She sniffs hard, then runs the back of her hand under her nose just to be sure. The girl…fuck, what was her name?…is still sprawled out in her bed, half-asleep, looking as wrecked as Kate should feel. But Kate doesn’t feel wrecked. She feels good. She feels…quiet.

It’s the first time in months that her head isn’t roaring with noise. The static is gone.

Kate steps out of the bathroom, grabbing her phone off the dresser as she moves. 4:58 AM. The kids could wake up any second. She shakes the girl’s shoulder.

“You gotta go.”

“Mmm, rude.” The girl groans, cracking one eye open.

“I’m serious. Put your clothes on.” Kate doesn’t humor it.

The girl groans louder, stretching like a satisfied cat, then finally starts pulling her clothes on.

“At least let me have coffee before you kick me out.”

Kate doesn’t answer. She’s busy checking the nightstand.

There’s still a little left in the bag. She rolls it between her fingers. The girl catches the movement and smirks.

“Want another?”

“Yeah.” Kate has zero hesitation this time.

She takes two more lines before walking the girl to the door. She doesn’t feel tired. She doesn’t feel drained. She feels ready.

By the time the kids wake up, Kate is on it. Breakfast is already going, lunches are packed, backpacks are lined up by the door.

Alexia steps into the kitchen, brow furrowed.

“You’re happy.”

Kate grins, flipping a pancake.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re…smiling. It’s different.”

Kate tosses a pancake onto a plate and slides it in front of her.

“Mom just woke up in a good mood.”

Something pricks at Alexia…but she just nods and lets it go.

Maks, oblivious, scrambles up onto a chair and immediately launches into his morning monologue about some game he’s playing on the iPad. Sonny happily plays on her mat.

Kate moves through it all effortlessly. No headache. No irritation. No exhaustion pressing down on her ribs. It’s easy. They’re loud. But she’s quiet. The right kind of quiet.

///

Kate gets them to school on time. No scrambling, no forgotten homework, no yelling over missing shoes. She even remembers that today is Sonny’s picture day and gets her all dressed up.

It’s perfect.

And then…Kate looks down at her phone.

Seven missed calls.

Fifteen messages.

Her assistant’s name dominates the screen:

Where are you??

You have that Impact Co. meeting in ten.

KATE!…

The meeting started.

ANSWER YOUR PHONE.

Kate blinks. The noise rushes back.

She was supposed to be at work an hour ago. She groans, forcing herself to think. She can still make it. She can just blame it on traffic, make a joke about how it’s been one of those mornings…

But her feet aren’t moving toward her car.

She looks up.

The bar is still there.

The same one she used to drag DJ out of. The one where she got her head bashed in for trying to fight with the dealers.

It’s still standing. Still open. Still servicing its…special clientele. The smart thing would be to keep walking. To go to work, fix her fuck-up, act like everything is normal…But Kate doesn’t feel smart right now. She doesn’t want to be.

She shoves her phone into her pocket and steps inside.

The smell is the same. Stale beer, sweat, something funkier underneath.

The bartender doesn’t even look up as she slides onto a stool. She orders whiskey. Downs it in two gulps. Then she looks for someone who can sell her what she really came here for.

It doesn’t take long.

///

Kate walks out of the bar with a bag of coke in her pocket and no intention of letting the noise get the better of her until she has to pick the kids up from school.

#bishova #bishlova #katelena #kate bishop #yelena belova #kate x yelena #THIS JUST FELT RIGHT WE LOVE SELF DESTRUCTIVE QUEENS IN THIS HOUSE #very CFAU!Lexa of FBAU!Kate lol #but im sure y'all are gonna scream at me its fine i can take it #its worth it for the shit thats about to happen (do i know what it is yet? no because y'all know i dont plan but im sure itll be good lolol #we're all collectively trusting the process...including me lol #like when i realized what route kate had to go down it all clicked yesterday i was like 'OH this is how all that shit is going to pay off'#i think this is the longest chapter ive ever written outside of CFAU???#its a beast so...you truly cant say im not making up for the drought ive given you over 20k since like...thursday and its saturday lol #also for arcane no i dont like cartoons lol :)#kyfbau #kyfbaup #anonymous #answers

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hinge · 27 days ago

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Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

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truths33k3r4 · 12 days ago

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"The Strength in Weakness" UPDATE!!!

Okay- So, I will start by saying this: This was... the most DIFFICULT CHAPTER I have EVER written. It has taken weeks of help and critiques from my beta-reader, @poetique823 ,and re-write after re-write in order to finally get it right. @-@

But~ Even when things seem to be going wrong, God still remains intentional and creative in His plan. <3 Thanks to how long this chapter has taken to finish, I will be posting it tomorrow, Father's Day.

And there's something you must know about this upcoming chapter- It's centered for the first time around Splinter, and is specifically based around what it's like to be a father.

To quote one wise ancient turtle, "There are no accidents." :)

Anyways, I can finally proclaim that SIW CHAPTER 16- "When Everything Changed" will be posted tomorrow! I know I usually have a little sneak peak picture to add to this post, but unfortunately it will give away WAY too much if I do- so you guys will just have to wait to see my illustrations. :)

Can't wait to see y'all's reactions! And thank you so much for your patience!

OH! And if you want to be tagged in the chapter comment below! :)

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

#tmnt #the strength in weakness #SIW Splinter #Splinter POV for the first time #heaven help me XD #Bro this chapter took FOREVER #It's also the longest one I've ever written so WOOOOO #*plummets into pile of brain-deadness*#SIW Raphael #Fatherhood

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snowleek · 2 months ago

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/62620309/chapters/167370358

𐂯 𐂯 𐂯 𐂯 𐂯 𐂯 𐂯 𐂯 𐂯 𐂯

Thatorchia

CHAPTER 19: Corpus Vile

But in the days following the Harrow Incident, Gideon doesn’t really feel the same pull towards her old vices she expects. She goes out once, gets fucked up, gets scooped roadkill-style off the pavement by Cam and Pal, and then kind of just. Stops. Gideon doesn’t want to table dance or make out with a stranger in a photo booth or even throw a fucking punch.

She gets the depression.

#thatorchia #griddlehark #tlt #tlt au #griddlehark au #tlt fic #tlt fanfic #griddlehark fic #modern au #fic writing #this one is a little greasy yall #also it's my longest chapter to date #and also kind of my magnum opus ngl #coronabeth tridentarius i forgive you personally #pyrrha dve #it's snowleek sunday baby #snowleaks

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ddejavvu · 6 days ago

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looking at my outline for spring fling chapter 7 it's projected to be on the shorter side because originally six was supposed to be the end of day 2 but i was too long-winded and cut it into 2 chapters. so this is the tail end of what should have been six but it's too important to rush so i had to ramble instead. how much rambling? we'll find out. but i can't guarantee it'll be a behemoth like the last one

#watch it be the longest chapter yet #that seems to be the pattern #outlining each plot point has been such a massive help in writing series #it seems to go without saying #but really i used to just. write.#just start a new document and start chugging #and then ofc i'd lose sight of where the story was going and let it fade away into oblivion #outlining's where it's at #also i was a bit gutted to break the 'each day is 3 chapters' pattern #but the last day is only supposed to be 2 chapters #so it evens itself out

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cuz-reasons · 3 months ago

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Summary: Ingo gets some help from Dawn. Emmet meets an old friend.

As promised, they're finally getting up that mountain

#submas #subway boss ingo #subway boss emmet #trilho family #pkmn oc #augh were gettin to the end i cant believe it!!!#two more chapters after this like #wtf #when did that happen #also this chapter officially makes this fic my fic with the most publish chapters #not longest words count yet tho #that may be next weeks #anyways #hope you enjoy!#temporal mistake

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hinge · 15 days ago

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Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

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myokk · 11 months ago

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before it felt like a sin, ch. 2

ch.1

pairing: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC

word count: 6900

summary: Eloise never wanted to be different.

And yet, her differences are what have defined her life up until this point: growing up as a squib in one of the most prominent wizarding families, being exiled to muggle society, and then attending Hogwarts at the age of sixteen.

She finds herself thrust into the life she should have been prepared for from birth but was denied. As she navigates this new life and her new precarious position in her family, she must come to terms with the fact that maybe what she dreamed of her whole life isn't turning out how she ever expected it would.

a/n: here's chapter 2!! I just wanted to add these amazing beautiful drawings I look back on allllllll the time, by @kay9leo 🥹🫶 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH !!!!! 😙💓😙💓😙💓

I also want to reiterate that this fic is REALLY CANON DIVERGENT!!!!! I will NOT be following the game’s plot at all really with this (it really starts to diverge around chapter 6/7 maybe I don’t remember), and I don’t see Eloise as the game’s MC either.

Things were definitely not going as planned…not that Eloise had really known what to expect. Almost from the moment the portkey had brought her to meet Professor Fig, it seemed like everything had gone from bad to worse.

And it had all started out so well. He had handed her the provisional wand, and upon contact the magic coursing through her had been exhilarating. Finally Eloise was able to experience what she had dreamed of for so long. All too soon, however, she was putting the wand to use in ways she hadn’t imagined. Watching Mr. Ospric die had made her blood run cold but then she didn’t have the luxury of processing the shock as so much was happening at once and there was a dragon and death and then…another portkey? Before she knew it, she was fighting some sort of sentient guardians in some mysterious Gringott’s vault and there was concrete proof of the goblin uprising…it was simply too much to take in at once.

Now, she was standing in front of the ornate entrance to a room Professor Fig had called the “Great Hall”. He checked the pocketwatch inside his robes again, and muttered (more to himself than anything) “hopefully the sorting is still going on…” and then in a louder voice as he glanced at Eloise - “come along then, young Eloise!”

He peered more closely at her then, taking in her pale appearance and added in a kinder tone, “I’m sure you’re hungry. We’ll just head in and get you sorted into your house, and then an early night for the both of us. Don’t worry about the things that were lost in the attack - I’m sure one of your new housemates will share her things with you until they are replaced.”

With that, he pushed open the doors and ushered her in. In any normal circumstances, Eloise was sure that she would have been absolutely in awe of the breathtaking appearance that greeted her. It was simply…for lack of a better word, magical. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky above the castle, stars glimmering through the wispy purple clouds that covered the ceiling. There were thousands of candles floating in the air, illuminating the hall in a soft, golden light.

She couldn’t focus on any of that.

As soon as Fig opened the double doors, the low chatter that filled the Great Hall slowly faded as everyone turned to look at who had entered. Eloise froze. Hundreds of faces all staring at her, filled with curiosity.

Judging her.

They must all know that she was a squib and didn’t actually belong there.

No. She had proved her magical capabilities earlier that day, albeit in a different manner than she had expected. She deserved to be here just as much as they did.

The teacher at the far end of the hall was saying something and the students surrounding her had begun to whisper amongst themselves. There was so much buzzing in her ears that she didn’t hear a word that was said. Then, a familiar voice - how in the world could it still be familiar after so much time? - broke through the fog and her head turned sharply to the side at the noise.

“Eloise?”

Her gaze met familiar hazel eyes as Leo quickly stood up, taking a step towards her before he caught himself and stayed where he was. If the shock hadn’t already been apparent enough in his voice, one look at his expression told Eloise everything. He hadn’t had any idea that she had been accepted to Hogwarts. After she had been burned off of the family tree by her mother, it was like she didn’t exist anymore. Of course he hadn’t known that she would be there.

Leo had changed since Eloise last saw him. Of course he did, she thought to herself. It had been five years, after all. The same unruly black curls, same eyes. And yet…he almost seemed a stranger to her. He was taller, face more angular and defined than it had been at thirteen. Voice deeper. But, the expression of vulnerability and guilt written all over his face was something she recognized well. It was the same expression that he had had the last time he saw her, the face she sometimes saw before falling asleep. Just as quickly as it flashed across his face however, it was gone, hidden behind a stony exterior. His expression hardened and he sat down just as quickly as he had stood up, quickly averting his eyes. The people around him were looking between them curiously, but before Eloise could even begin to process this new situation, she felt a gentle push on her shoulder.

Professor Fig had been talking to her. “…the Sorting Hat. You need to go up and get sorted into your house.”

She looked up at him and realized that he was gesturing to the front of the Great Hall, vaguely recalling how Leo had described the sorting ceremony in his first letter home from Hogwarts. Everyone was still staring.

Well, let them, she thought. Eloise tossed her braid over her shoulder and lifted her head high, straightening her posture in the meantime. Did it matter if everyone was staring at her? She determined that if people were going to be whispering about her, speculating about her, she would give them something to talk about. About the girl who was admitted in her fifth-year at Hogwarts. The girl who surpassed them all.

Eloise shook off Professor Fig’s hand and walked to the raised platform, where there was a stool and a professor waiting with an ancient wizarding hat in her hands. As Eloise sat down, a semicircle of professors behind her and the tables of students in front of her, the hat was placed on top of her head. It was so formless and well-worn that the faded fabric slid over her eyes and she was surrounded by darkness.

Hmm…interesting, a voice purred in her mind. Eloise jumped at the sound. Don’t worry, dear. I won’t hurt you, although I suppose that not everyone would say that. My, my. You have had a rough go of things, haven’t you?

It’s not often I get to sort a new fifth-year student. She realized that it was the hat talking to her. Always much more interesting, you see. The first-years are always fun because I get to see their potential and who they will turn out to be, but even that can be fallible sometimes. People are shaped by their experiences.

An older student, though? Someone closer to the person they will be, with more experiences that have shaped them? Oh yes, these are the ones I like the most.

Wait, thought Eloise. You’ve sorted others like me before?

Oh yes. A pause. The voice purred in her ear. I can see the hunger for knowledge in you. But…Ravenclaw seems too simplistic. Behind the intelligence lies great ambition. A desire to prove yourself. Prove you belong. Yes, you may have had a rough life but you have managed to use what’s around you to your advantage. So, you must be a…

“SLYTHERIN!”

Eloise started at the sudden shout, realizing that it must have been out loud. As the hat was pulled off of her head, she could see the students at the table at the far end of the hall, the one Leo was at, break into furious whispers amongst each other. The teacher with her smiled kindly and pointed Eloise in their direction. “That’s the Slytherin table, dear. Once you sit down, we can begin eating.”

Eloise got up numbly and slowly walked towards the table. The whispering got louder as she neared it, and the students kept shooting her glances. Most seemed simply curious about the new, older student who had just been sorted into Slytherin, but others looked at her with hostility. Two students moved aside and motioned to her.

“Figured you would rather sit with us than the first years.”

The girl who spoke gave her an appraising look, taking in her muggle clothing and mussed-up hair. Eloise sat down next to her, nervously smoothing her hands over her skirt. Now that the sorting was over and she was actually interacting with her future classmates, she felt exhausted and completely unable to keep up her facade of nonchalance.

“I was going to ask if you like quidditch but…judging by your clothes -“

“Gods, Imelda,” came a drawling voice to Eloise’s left. “Can’t you give the poor girl a break? Not even one second at our table and you’re already trying to recruit her for the team.”

The boy who spoke gave an amused look to Imelda before turning to Eloise. “You’ll want to watch out for that one - if she even gets a whiff of the fact you can fly a broom, she’ll be out to recruit -“

“It’s not my fault!” Imelda interrupted forcefully, smacking her hands on the table and leaning over Eloise to talk to him. “Our best players all graduated last year and I have it cut out for me -“

“- you to the Slytherin team,” the boy concluded, ignoring Imelda’s heated protests. She sat back with a huff and crossed her arms. “Just ignore her. It’s what we’ve found works best. I’m Sebastian Sallow and this is Ominis Gaunt. Two people you will actually want to spend time with.”

He stuck his tongue out at Imelda as he held his hand out to Eloise. The boy across from them snickered quietly to himself as he listened to Imelda splutter in denial. Eloise shook Sebastian’s hand hesitantly. “Eloise. And actually,” she added, turning to Imelda, “I do know what quidditch is. Unfortunately, I’ve never ridden a broom though.”

That got Imelda going again, this time about how it was absolutely impossible that someone could know about the existence of quidditch without ever touching a broom. She seemed to be of the opinion that knowing of its existence meant an undying desire to learn how to play. “So you’re not a mudblood, then? Oh, who am I kidding - of course you’re not. We’re in Slytherin, after all. But how…”

Fortunately, food started appearing on the table before Imelda could finish her thought. It was enough to move her attention from Eloise as she began to pile different foods on her plate. To be quite honest, Eloise was relieved. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell others about her circumstances, especially during this first night before she knew anyone. Would they think differently of her if they knew that she had been disowned from her family and presumed a squib?

Who was she kidding? Of course everyone would judge her for that. Besides, she knew she wanted to talk to Leo before revealing anything - maybe he could help her get a feel for how to approach the situation. If he wanted to even associate with her, that is. Once again, the thought passed through her mind that he could have changed through the years, just as she had. Their parents could be quite persuasive, and more often than not the two siblings had learned that it was easier to go along with them than against.

Leo had grown up with the adoration of their parents, showing magical prowess at the young age of three, when his favorite toys started following him around in a little parade. Eloise, on the other hand…as the years passed and she still wasn’t showing signs of anything at all, not even a measly show of a sneeze blowing her away, their parents started working to distance the siblings from each other. It hadn’t been very effective and yet…without her presence, she could see him moving on in his life. Just as she had tried to do.

A sharp poke to her side. Eloise jumped and looked at Sebastian. “Aren’t you going to eat anything? You need to grab the good things before they’re gone - it’s every man out for himself during the feasts.”

She looked around and, sure enough, the food on the plates was steadily going down. It all looked absolutely delicious - mountains of meat, bread, puddings…her stomach growled loudly as she took it all in. Eloise hurriedly started putting the closest food to her on her plate, reaching over to give herself a heaping serving of mashed potatoes on the side. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he replied after swallowing the food he was eating. “I’m sure you’ve had a long day if you arrived that late to the sorting ceremony. As you walked up to the stool, Ominis and I had a bet about which house you would be sorted into. I told him, after my first glance at you, that I could tell you’d be one of us, but unfortunately, he - “

“Hey! I can hear you,” Ominis said from across the table, leaning forward slightly. Eloise realized that he was blind - his eyes had no pupils at all. His gaze was unfocused but his head turned in her direction. He explained, “I could only sense your form as you walked down the Hall. And, for the record, before Sebastian can say otherwise, I said I could tell you would be a Slytherin. Will the blind jokes ever get old?”

“As long as I have breath in my body - hey!”

Ominis had thrown a roll at Sebastian’s head which, surprisingly, hit its mark.

“I might not be able to see what just happened, but I know that I’ve just won,” Ominis said smugly, returning his attention to his plate.

Eloise just sat there, not really knowing how to react. This time, it was Imelda’s turn to say, “just ignore them. Luckily, we won’t need to see much more of them as the feast’s finishing up.” She wrinkled her nose in Sebastian’s direction, a gesture that was swiftly returned. Even though she had just met the three of them, Eloise couldn’t help but feel happy just listening to their back-and-forth. She did feel a twinge of…something, though, knowing that she could have been with them since their first year, if only her magic had shown itself sooner.

Mountains of dessert started to replace the remnants of the dinner: plum pudding, lemon tarts, cakes…it was more dessert in one place than Eloise had ever seen in her life. None of the students held back at all trying to get their favorites, especially if it was at the expense of another. The atmosphere was electric - everyone was excited to be back among their friends and catch up over everything that had happened the summer before, and Eloise was happy to just be among them.

She reached for a lemon tart, and when she looked up, she saw that Leo was staring at her intently. He looked away as soon as they made eye contact, but the moment didn’t go past Imelda’s notice.

“Do you know him?” she asked, nodding towards Leo. Eloise flushed and looked down at her plate, nodding reluctantly. She knew as soon as they went through role call the next day, everyone would know that she was a Babbit.

“Yes, he’s…er -“

Eloise broke off, grabbing the nearest goblet of pumpkin juice and drinking the whole thing in one go. When she came up for air, Imelda was still looking at her expectantly. Eloise took a deep breath and tried continuing, but… “I’m not really sure,” is all that came out of her mouth.

Imelda furrowed her brow, clearly trying to figure out how that answer made sense and Eloise wasn’t about to clarify for her. Although it wouldn’t be long before it got out that they were siblings, she wasn’t sure how much she wanted these new acquaintances to know about her at the moment. She had had enough pitying looks to last her a lifetime, and she just knew that once they found out she had been a squib…

“Hey Sebastian,” a pretty blonde girl said, leaning towards the group. She shot Eloise a curious glance but quickly looked back at her target. “Where’s Anne? Is she still gone this year? What a pity…the two of you are…were…sewn together at the hip and I was looking forward to finally being the one who gets between the two of you this year.” At this, the girls surrounding her started tittering and she flipped her hair over her shoulder and pouted. “I thought there would be more of a challenge. But if you’re going to be the changed Sebastian again this year…”

“Who’s…” Eloise trailed off as she saw Sebastian’s expression. It had changed into something almost unrecognizable - at least, to someone who had only known him for all of forty-five minutes. He was looking at the girl with a mixture of barely-controlled fury and…something else that Eloise couldn’t quite place. She shrank away from him as she took in his stricken expression.

“She’s still sick,” he said shortly as he stood up. His hands bunched into tight fists and his body was shaking. Sebastian quickly turned and stormed down the hall. They all watched him go in silence; once he left, the blonde girl turned to Ominis.

“Gods, what’s his problem? So what if she misses a few days of school?” She looked around at everyone, pouting. “You all know I’m right. Last year he was a mess but he should be getting over it by now.”

“You always speak before thinking, Victoria,” Ominis said tersely, getting up. “One of these days, it’s going to get you in trouble. If you keep this up, when that happens nobody will be around to help you pick up the pieces.” With that, he strode away after Sebastian.

Eloise blinked and looked around. The rest of the students were starting to get up and slowly move towards their respective common rooms having finished their dessert, and the prefects were starting to herd the first-years along. Victoria laughed weakly and turned to her friends, effectively ignoring Eloise and Imelda as if they weren’t there. “I think the summer holidays have made people extra sensitive this year. I honestly don’t know what their problem is.”

“Come on, then,” said Imelda, shooting Victoria a dirty look. “Let’s head to the dorms.”

Eloise stood up and started following Imelda’s lead. She was parting the students with ease as she walked through the crowd. Her strides were so long that Eloise had to half-jog to keep up with her. “Our common room is in the dungeons,” Imelda said, looking over her shoulder at Eloise. “The other houses are creeped out by it, but they haven’t actually seen it. You’ll see.”

Because of how quickly Imelda strode through the corridors and down the stairs, Eloise didn’t have much time to take in the rest of the castle. She did however realize that they were winding through the corridors in such a way that she would be hopelessly lost if Imelda weren’t with her. The two of them arrived at the Slytherin common room well before the other students due to Imelda’s fast pace. As they entered the common room after saying the correct password - basilisk - Eloise couldn’t help but look around in wonder. There was light piano music playing in the background - Chopin, Eloise thought she recognized it from her piano lessons at the muggle school. Even though the overall tones of the place were cool - blues and greens filtering through the tall glass windows and from the lamps, the checkered marble floors and columns giving off an air of cold elegance - the beautiful rugs and happily crackling fires made it all come together and seem oddly cozy. Various tables and desks were scattered around the space, and comfortable looking armchairs and couches crowded around low tables. Eloise could just picture it teeming with students studying after class or hanging out on the weekends. She knew that it was a place that could finally feel like home to her.

“I tried, Ominis,” came a hushed whisper from near the windows. Imelda and Eloise froze at the entrance to the common room and glanced at each other. “I just can’t do it. I know what you and Anne told me but…”

“Sebastian. Anne doesn’t want you to wallow and waste your time here worrying about her. I know that you’re worried for her. I mean, I am too. You know she’s like a sister to me.”

“You have no idea,” Sebastian interrupted fiercely. His back was hunched over and he was holding his face in his hands. “It should have been me. I can’t live with myself. With this guilt.”

“No, you -“ Ominis cut himself off as the sound of the other students filtering in started to fill the room. The boys abruptly sat up straighter, although they didn’t look at each other. Oblivious to the tension between the two, a group of second-years sat on the sofa right next to them, as they excitedly caught up with each other.

“I’ll show you our room,” Imelda said, turning to Eloise. “It gets pretty crazy here the first night back from any holidays, with everyone catching up. I don’t know about you, but I want to get some sleep! Quidditch tryouts are next week and I already know how exhausting it will be.”

Eloise really was exhausted, and nothing sounded better to her than finally going to sleep. The dorms seemed to be set up so that the stairs going up led to the girls’ dormitories, and the ones going down to the boys’. Imelda explained that it was due to the fact that boys weren’t to be trusted, and the stairs would turn into a slide if any boy attempted to go up them. It wasn’t something that Eloise had even considered, due to the fact that she had just come from an all-girls school, but she flushed at the implication.

As they reached the staircase, they almost crashed into Sebastian. Imelda had been marching towards the stairs with a single-minded determination and Sebastian had been heading towards his with just as much purpose.

Eloise bounced off of his shoulder. She grabbed her own, wincing slightly. He was more solid than he looked. He looked blankly at the two girls before shaking his head and realizing where they were. “Gods, I’m so sorry. I’m just -“ he gave his head another little shake and saw that Eloise was holding her shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s fine,” Eloise reassured him. She gave a small smile. “I’ve had worse, it’s really nothing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” interrupted Imelda. She shot Sebastian a concerned look. “Go to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Imelda shook her head sadly and the girls resumed their path. “Poor boy. He hasn’t been the same since the summer after our third year. I mean, he was always kind of obsessive, but in a charming way. He was on the quidditch team with me, and always really determined to be the absolute best, always working hard to show all of the other students they don’t even know half as much as he does. That sort of thing, you know? It’s not like he was insufferable, his charm drew everyone to him.”

She held the door open and Eloise walked in. It was a cozy circular room, with five four-poster beds. A small fire in the middle of the room warmed the whole place up, and Eloise was relieved to see it. When Imelda had told her that their dormitory was in the dungeons, she had immediately pictured a dark, cold, slimy space. Only one of the beds didn’t have trunks placed at its foot, and Eloise went straight to it. Her trunk had been lost in the dragon attack. She was relieved to see a nightgown laid on top of the bed and a pair of green slippers neatly lined up on the floor; she hadn’t been sure what she would wear.

Imelda sat down heavily on the bed next to Eloise’s and started unlacing her boots. She continued talking. “Then, in our fourth year, he comes to school after summer holidays. Alone. He hasn’t been the same since. Nobody’s quite sure what’s going on with his sister, except that it’s bad. She’s not expected to live much longer.”

“Oh my god,” breathed Eloise. “I can’t even imagine.”

“Me neither.” Imelda shook her head. “He got into trouble left and right last year, there were even rumors of a duel…I don’t think there was a single week where he didn’t have detention. I mean, I don’t blame him, but - he was taken off the team! This year he better not, I can’t afford to lose my best beater again.”

The girls continued chattering quietly to themselves about other topics as they got ready for the night. Slipping into their nightgowns, braiding each others’ hair, and, finally, slipping under the freshly turned bed covers. Eloise turned towards Imelda and simply whispered, “thank you.” Although they had just met, Eloise felt certain in the knowledge that she had just made her first friend.

Imelda waved her off. “It’s nothing. Get some sleep, the first day of classes is always overwhelming. I can’t even imagine starting as a fifth-year.”

With that, she rolled over and soon Eloise heard her breathing deepen as she fell asleep. She stared at the canopy covering her bed for what seemed like an eternity. The low murmurs of the other girls as they came in and got ready for bed slowly morphed into drowsy good-nights, until finally the room was silent except for the steady tick of a clock and their breathing.

As tired as she felt, Eloise couldn’t stop the racing of her mind. It felt like the last few days had more action than the entirety of her life. Even though banished had, at the time, been incredibly momentous for her, it paled in comparison to finding out that she actually was a witch and had been admitted to Hogwarts. She had used magic for the first time today. The rush of power that ran through her body when she cast spells was unlike anything else she had ever experienced. It just felt right. Like some part of her that had been hidden away had finally made itself known and she felt whole for the first time. She wondered if everyone else felt that same rush, that same desire to know and master absolutely every aspect of magical knowledge. She had been given a gift that until now had felt like a pathetic little daydream and she wasn’t about to waste it now that she had it.

The clock kept on ticking lazily and still Eloise was awake. She eventually got up and after shrugging on a robe and slipping on the green slippers, headed towards the common room. She and Imelda hadn’t spent much time in it earlier, and she wanted to see it at least once without any people, maybe as a space just for herself.

As it was even later in the night - it must have been around three - the fire had been extinguished and the light filtering through the windows had turned an even deeper shade of emerald green. It covered the mahogany furniture with an eerie light, as if Eloise had stepped into some strange underworld instead of the empty Slytherin common room. She trailed her hand along the velvet back of a sofa, mesmerized by the stark contrast of the green highlights and black shadows as her hand moved. Lazily twirling a globe as she walked past, the room silent except for her muffled footsteps.

It was precisely the silence that absorbed her completely. Being alone had always been her favorite thing; there was just something so special about being the only person in a place, feeling as if you were the only holder of some great secret. Eloise made her way towards the tall glass windows as if in a dream, not really noticing anything of her surroundings and yet taking it all in. The feeling of being there.

When she heard the soft voice she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“You couldn’t sleep either?”

Eloise whirled towards the voice, feeling as if her heart was about to burst through her chest. The student - a male - was sitting by one of the windows. Since the only light source was the windows, his face was entirely shrouded in black. Eloise was suddenly very aware of how indecently she was dressed to be outside of her dormitory. The sudden change from complete, eerie tranquility was shattered and she wrapped her robe more tightly around her, keeping her arms hugged around her body.

“Who -“

The boy straightened up, tilting his head back toward the window and, with the aid of the green light, Eloise saw that it was Ominis.

“What are you doing down here, Ominis? You almost gave me a heart attack! You’re sitting in the shadows and I thought I was alone.”

“I could ask the same of you,” he said simply, the hint of an amused smirk gracing his features. “And, might I add, I didn’t mean to scare you on purpose. I thought you were purposely walking towards me. For all I know, it could be the break of dawn and I’m basking in the early rays of the sun.”

Eloise’s jaw dropped open in mortification. She had completely forgotten that he was blind. “How did you know that I was walking towards you?” She clapped her hands over her mouth in horror, the words leaving before she could stop them. What was wrong with her? With her sudden movement, her robes had fallen open again, revealing her nightgown, but she was too distraught over possibly having offended Ominis than continuing to follow the rules of propriety. “Oh Merlin’s beard, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

He just huffed quietly. They hadn’t spoken much at dinner, and Eloise was positive that he was angry with her. Maybe he had only acknowledged her presence because his best friend had seen fit to talk with her. Growing up blind, it would make sense for him to be sensitive to any comments regarding it…her face was flushed with mortification and guilt, and she slowly started backing away. Eloise figured it was better to just end the whole encounter being ruder still by making a hasty retreat, than to put her foot in her mouth once again and risk offending him more.

“No, wait,” Ominis said as soon as he realized she was walking away. His voice was choked with emotion and it seemed difficult for him to get the words out. Eloise froze and looked at him. His whole body was shaking, and she couldn’t tell if he was angry or…

Was he laughing?

“I might be blind, but I’m not deaf. In this silence, I would have been able to notice if anyone had entered the room even if they were trying to be sneaky, which you certainly were not. Stay, if you want.”

Eloise hesitated, then took the seat across from Ominis in the window. She nervously smoothed her nightgown over her legs. “Just so you know, you’re completely in shadow. If you hadn’t said anything, I probably would have walked right past you without realizing that you were here too.”

“I’ll choose a better spot to sit next time then, when I can’t fall asleep in the middle of the night,” he replied seriously. If not for the fact that he had just been teasing her, she would have thought that he was really taking what she said into consideration. “You never answered my original question. You can’t sleep?”

Eloise shook her head, then quickly added, “no. So much has happened these last few days…my brain always has a hard time turning off. Especially after a day like today.”

Ominis hummed in understanding, tilting his head towards her. The green light filtering through the water danced over his gaunt features, making his cheekbones and the dark circles under his eyes more prominent. His pupil-less eyes glowed eerily in the light. “I can only imagine. You arrived late to the sorting, and your aura was very unnerving as you stepped into the Great Hall. I immediately knew something was extraordinary about you.”

“My…aura?”

“Yes. I might not be able to see, but my wand does it for me. It’s hard to explain but…I can sense the people around me. I can’t make out features, but everyone has their own unique aura radiating from them. Yours is…different.”

Different? It must have something to do with the fact she hadn’t had any magical ability until recently. Maybe it was stunted or…maybe her aura was different due to the stress of the day.

“I saw someone murdered in front of me today,” Eloise blurted out before she could stop herself. Ominis didn’t look surprised by her sudden outburst, he merely remained still as he waited for Eloise to continue. “It was…shocking. A dragon came out of nowhere and just ripped our carriage in half, taking Mr. Osric with it. The worst part is…I’m-I’m shocked because it happened. But I’m not sad. I don’t feel the horror I think I should be feeling, and that is more horrifying to me. When I was lying in bed, the events of today kept replaying in my mind on a loop and I kept on trying to make myself feel the correct emotions. But I couldn’t. Something inside of me is broken.”

Eloise looked down at her hands, fingers wringing and untwisting together in her lap. She tried to force herself to sit as still as Ominis, but it was impossible. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to unload all of this onto a stranger, but he didn’t seem to mind listening. There was silence for a few minutes, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. Eloise peeked at Ominis from under her lashes. The boy appeared to be deep in thought.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” he finally said. “It’s normal for me, though. I also have a hard time turning off my thoughts, especially at night. This little corner of the common room feels like mine, in a sense. I’ve been coming here to think since I was a first-year. Maybe I subconsciously chose this place because, if you’re right, it’s more hidden than the rest. Nobody will see me if they’re sneaking around late at night, and it’s so peaceful.”

“That I can agree with,” said Eloise. “I actually came down here to see what it was like when it’s empty. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but this place already feels like home to me. A far sight better than the place I left behind. Places.”

“If you want me to leave, I’m fine with giving up my hiding place for a worthy cause.”

“No,” Eloise said quickly. “I…I like having you here. With me. It means I don’t have to be alone with my thoughts.”

Ominis smiled and tilted his head, not quite looking at her in that odd way of his. “It’s nice, talking to you. Most people avoid me. I can’t imagine why.”

Eloise huffed in quiet laughter. They sat in silence for a while longer, until Ominis broke it again. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But…am I correct in guessing that you and Leo Babbit know each other?”

Eloise’s breath hitched in her throat. She still wasn’t sure how much of her past she wanted people to know…but she also knew that as soon as the day broke the castle would be swirling with rumors. And, as much as she hated the thought, the truth would come out one way or another. She had been lucky enough so far…her name hadn’t been said at the sorting due to the unusual circumstances. But, come morning, everyone would put the pieces together once her name was called out by a teacher.

She could test the waters with someone like Ominis, who seemed like the sort of fellow who would take it in stride.

“I…like I said, you don’t have to tell me,” Ominis said softly.

“No! No, it’s fine,” Eloise assured him. “It’s…complicated. I would prefer if it never came out but…if the school I was at before is any indication, everyone will know by lunch tomorrow regardless of if I say anything or not.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “My full name is Eloise Babbit. Leo is my brother.”

Ominis showed no reaction. It gave her the strength to continue.

“I was rejected by my family. As the years went by and I still wasn’t showing any signs of magic, I was ignored by my parents in favor of Leo. When my eleventh year came and went without any acceptance letter to Hogwarts, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was actually a squib. Up until then, I had held onto the hope and the day I lost that, I lost everything. I was banished and burned off of the family tree, like I never existed. Until a few days ago, I was learning how to become a perfect muggle wife at one of their horrid finishing schools. My family had already prepared a marriage for me to a prominent muggle family, reasoning that I could at least give them important connections.” She spat that last word out. Even speaking the words was a bitter reminder of the life she had almost led. “Based on Leo’s reaction, he definitely didn’t know that I had been admitted to Hogwarts. I don’t even know what’s worse: if my parents knew and decided not to tell him, or if the fact that I was burned off the family tree means that they wouldn’t have received a notification.”

She stared at her hands again. What was it about this boy that made her want to unload everything to him? Yes, he had asked her about it, but she still felt guilty for talking to him at all. Like somehow, telling him would make it his problem as well.

“If there’s anyone in this school who understands the horrors of one’s family, it’s me,” he said. Eloise looked up at him in surprise. He chuckled quietly, as if he could see her expression. “My family are direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Absolutely stark-raving mad, pureblood fanatics. We’ve gotten quite reclusive in the past hundred years or so, and don’t have much contact with the outside world. Your family’s inbreeding resulted in fear of giving birth to a potential squib. Mine, in the form of a useless, blind son who has no interest in continuing their crazy beliefs. I guess you could say we are two kindred souls. Maybe that’s what your aura was trying to tell me earlier this evening.”

“I guess so,” Eloise replied. Both could tell that the other wasn’t saying everything on their mind, but she wanted to give him the same comfort he had offered her and decided not to pry. “Thank you, Ominis.”

He inclined his head towards her and then moved his unseeing gaze to the large stained glass window. They sat there for quite some time, at least it felt that way to Eloise. The passage of time seemed not to exist as she and Ominis sat there, deep inside their own thoughts. Formless shadows danced behind the window, their regular movements helping to calm her thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity, Eloise found herself stifling a yawn.

“It seems your day has finally caught up with you,” Ominis said, smiling softly. “I think it’s best if we head to bed. Hogwarts might be more progressive than the muggle school you’ve just escaped, but if anyone sees us here together it would just further the rumors already swirling around you.”

Eloise nodded her assent and stood up slowly. She hadn’t realized how much time they had spent there until she felt the stiffness in her muscles that only comes from remaining still for a very long time. Ominis also got up slowly, gracefully stretching out his long body in the process. As he stood, she saw him grab his wand out of his pocket, and it began glowing a faint red as he walked. That must be how he gets around, she thought to herself. He did say his wind has a mind of its own.

She followed him and they slowly made their way to the two sets of stairs leading to the dormitories. They paused once they were about to part. “Goodnight, Ominis.”

“Goodnight, Eloise. I’ll see you tomorrow. Or rather, I’ll sense your presence later on this morning.” He gave her a faint smile and then turned to head down the stairs leading to his dormitory. Eloise stood there, watching until she couldn’t see the red glow of his wand anymore. With a yawn, she turned towards her room and soon slipped under the covers, sleep finally coming. Before she fell asleep, she had only the fleeting realization that Ominis had not actually answered her question.

The title is a link to everything on ao3, but just in case you didn’t catch that, here it is🫶

next chapter

#let me know what you think about this chapter🥹🫶#I love the painting bc I hope it captures how Eloise was feeling….#she does NOT like being noticed #I’m about to go to the beach #and I hope I can swim😭 normally the sea where I live is pretty cold #but this summer is so warm that there are SO MANY JELLYFISH AND PORTUGUESE MAN O WARS😭😫😭😫😭😫#yesterday there I was swimming around like a fool bc I just do laps across the beach back and forth #and less than an hour later all of these jellyfish were being washed up on the shore😳#like you couldn’t even walk barely on the sand😳😳#I almost met my demise…..#in all honesty I suppose they would just sting and overall I might be fine #BUT THAT IS MY WORST FEAR……….#my city even created a special jellyfish flag to put up so that people know what they’re getting themselves into when they swim #but they never put it up until people start being stung😭😭#ok none of this was that interesting😆😆 but there you go #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy fanart #hphl #hogwarts legacy oc #hogwarts legacy mc #eloise babbit #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow x mc #hogwarts legacy fanfic #also this is probably the longest chapter #so hopefully it’s not too crazy and you actually read it💓💓💓

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