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Danny sat on the stoop of his house, glancing nervously at his right palm. His sister Ceci’s insignia still glowed brightly — a clear sign she was nearby. They’d always known that when the marks appeared, the other was close. But he’d been waiting twenty minutes, and she still hadn’t shown. There was no tug from the bond urging him to go elsewhere, so he stayed put.
Then, he heard a familiar, calming voice. “Danny?”
He looked up — and leapt into his older sister’s open arms. She held him tight, soothing him the way only a big sister could.
“I’m sorry I made you wait,” she said gently. “I had to finish setting up my cover in Amity. The images you sent through our bond were pretty scrambled. So, yeah… took longer than expected.”
“It’s okay, sis. I probably should’ve waited for you at the fake house we set up for your alias.” He smiled. “Now, are you ready to meet my family?”
She hesitated, her expression uneasy. “I’m more worried about our sister than your dad. From what you’ve told me, Jack Fenton’s not much different from Inferno. Loud, messy, a bit terrifying — but not the worst.”
Danny gave a half-laugh. “Yeah… let’s just get it over with.”
He ushered her inside. She glanced at the house as they stepped in. It wasn’t the décor that threw her — it was how normal it looked, considering this was the home of two ghost hunters. Then again, compared to her father Vlad’s obsession with all things Packers, anything looked subtle.
They walked into the kitchen, where Maddie stood in a blue hazmat suit and Jack wore his usual orange. But it was the redheaded teen who caught Ceci’s attention.
Jazz.
From what Danny had told her, Ceci was technically still the eldest by three months. But Jazz didn’t know that — and from the look on her face, she already suspected something was off.
“Hey, Mom, Dad. Jazz,” Danny said, raising his voice just enough to get their attention. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
All three looked up to see a teen girl around Jazz’s age standing beside Danny. Jazz blinked — only she seemed to notice the resemblance to Maddie.
“Hello there,” Maddie said, smiling warmly. “I’m Maddie Fenton. May I ask your name?”
“I’m Ceci Wells, Mrs. Fenton,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice calm. “Danny and I found each other after doing a DNA test for fun. My mom, Kathleen Wells, is a distant cousin of yours. We’re not sure if it’s twice or three times removed.”
She hoped that sounded believable.
Maddie responded with the same polite interest she’d shown when Danny met Ceci’s family. She asked if Ceci lived in Amity, and Ceci recited the same story Danny had used in her reality. Maddie and Jack accepted it easily.
Jazz, however, didn’t.
Maddie asked why Ceci was in town, and Ceci replied that she was visiting her mother, who’d become socially withdrawn after the divorce. She added that Danny had asked her to help with an intervention — something he hadn’t mentioned to Jazz.
That part stung.
“I’m meeting Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger in about an hour,” Danny added. “I just wanted you guys to meet Ceci before we left.”
Jazz crossed her arms. “Why don’t we show you the rest of the house before you go? I’m sure you’d like to see where your ‘extended family’ lives, right?”
Ceci hesitated. “Is that okay with you, Mrs. Fenton?”
“Please, call me Maddie. And yes, just stay out of the lab. I hope I get to meet your mother someday.”
“I’m sure she’d love to meet you — once she’s ready. So, Jazz, right?”
Jazz nodded, then led her on a tour of the house. Danny hadn’t told Jazz or his friends about his trip to Ceci’s world. Maybe he just wanted one thing to himself — something no one else could take from him. A bond that was his and Ceci’s alone.
He also didn’t want Jazz to get jealous. He wasn’t sure if she would, but he wasn’t about to test it.
After showing Ceci around, Jazz didn’t waste time.
She started probing. Politely at first, then more directly. Ceci kept her cool and answered honestly where she could, deflecting where she had to. Jazz’s reverse psychology didn’t work — not on her older sister.
When the interrogation ended, Danny and Ceci left the house. Neither noticed the flicker of confusion — and hurt — in Jazz’s eyes as they walked away.
At the Nasty Burger, Danny pointed to an open booth. Ceci slid in, and he went to order their food. When he returned, she eyed the burger skeptically.
“Um… these burgers aren’t actually nasty, right?”
Danny laughed as he sat down. “No. It used to be called Tasty Burger, but someone stole the ‘T’ and swapped it for an ‘N.’ Management just… went with it. Food’s fine, I swear.”
Ceci raised a brow but took a bite. “Okay. Thanks, little brother.”
By the time they finished eating, Sam and Tucker arrived. Both looked confused at the unfamiliar girl beside Danny. He hadn’t told them about Ceci — and she gave the same cover story they’d used with his parents.
Then Danny got serious.
He explained that he’d asked Ceci to help him mediate a conversation — an intervention, really — about his struggles in their friendship. She was there to ensure everyone had a chance to speak and be heard.
Then she gave Danny the floor.
Thanks to Ceci’s help, Danny had prepared. He'd rehearsed what he wanted to say, and now it came out clear and steady — though still heavy with emotion.
He told Sam how it hurt that she seemed to care more about his ghost half than his human one. How her controlling behavior made him feel smothered. He wasn’t sure if they could stay friends.
Then he turned to Tucker and voiced similar doubts. Both friends started to interrupt, but Ceci gently reminded them — this was Danny’s time. They needed to listen.
And they did.
Once he was done, Ceci let Tucker respond, then Sam. She stepped in as needed — clarifying Danny’s points, asking them to reflect, and making sure everyone stayed respectful.
She asked hard questions:
“Did you realize how your behavior was affecting him?”
“Can you see it now?”
The conversation stretched over two and a half hours. It wasn’t easy. Sam especially resisted at first — but eventually, she owned up to her actions.
By the end, they all agreed to try again. Clean slate. They’d be more mindful of how they treated each other. More honest. More open. They promised to communicate better — to stop letting things fester.
When it was done, they left the booth together — not fixed, but maybe on the path to healing.
As the sun dipped low, Danny walked Ceci back to the house they’d claimed for her “residence.” They spent the evening watching a movie, curled up on the couch — just two siblings, bonded across dimensions, leaning on each other.
Later, as Ceci faded back to her reality, Danny sat quietly for a moment.
He didn’t know what the future held for his friendships. But he had hope now — a flicker of something steady in the dark.
And for once, that was enough.