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They missed the court date.
They chased a ghost and forgot.
They were smarter than this, at least that’s what she thought.
Jazz was smart, she knew what that would mean for the couple.
Jazz found out she couldn’t be angry at her parents anymore; they didn’t deserve to have her attention. Ghosts were more important than their children. Danny and Jazz weren’t important to them, but… they were very important to their uncle. Uncle Vlad was kind, he was also clumsy with the two. He’s never had kids. The man has no clue what he’s doing, but he’s trying. In the short time (a week, give or take a day or two) that they’ve been in his care, he’s given them most of his attention. He even took a leave of absence from work.
Their new home is big, in a whole ‘nother state too! She spent the first day wandering around, peeking into rooms. She wanted to memorize everything she could so that neither her nor Danny would get lost. It hadn’t dawned on her until that night that things had changed, and she hoped they had changed for the better. She stares at the ceiling of her new room, listening quietly for Danny. She doesn’t want him to be loud again, it hurts her ears now. She’ll have to ask her uncle if they should bring Danny to the doctor… he seems to know what’s going on though.
Jazz doesn’t sleep through the night, she wakes up sporadically. She trudges her way to the dining room, muttering to herself when she hears Danny giggling. She picks the seat closest to the toddler, which is difficult because Danny is still in a highchair.
“Good morning, Jasmine.” Vlad greets from behind his paper
Right to the point, “What did the portal do to Danny?” She needs to know now
Her uncle freezes mid turn of the page. She watches him put the paper down and sit up straighter. His mouth opens and closes as he tries to form an answer. He’s saved by breakfast.
“We’ll talk after breakfast.” His tone is soft, gentle. She can accept that answer for now.
Breakfast is a quiet affair after that, save for Danny’s few words and babbling. Jazz cleans herself up quickly after breakfast and helps her uncle through the motions of getting Danny ready for the day, as well as picking an extra outfit for the toddler just in case. They all sit in Vlad’s office after their morning routines. Jazz had distracted Danny with a few blocks so she and Vlad could talk. He still looks like he doesn’t know what to say.
“Jasmine, have you ever seen something come out of the portal?”
“No… but… they told me ghosts do.” Ghosts. Stupid ghosts.
Her uncle nods, “That is unfortunately true,” He seems like he hates to admit that in front of her, “The portal connects to a place called the Ghost Zone, where the ghosts… reside.”
She hates the cold realization creeping up her spine, “… What happened to Danny…?”
The man stands up carefully, “The same thing that happened to me…”
A beam of light covers their uncle, once pale skin now cold, lifeless, blue. He wasn’t standing either, he was floating. Her mind blanks as she stares at the man. Her eyes dart over to Danny, the same Danny whose eyes have a greenish tint to them as the boy stares at their uncle. She’s confused and scared. She doesn’t know what that means. Her uncle is surrounded by light again, and suddenly a living man again.
“Is…” She swallows the lump forming in her throat, “Is Danny… Is he dead… did he die?”
Vlad panics and shakes his head, “No! No! He isn’t dead.” He can’t tell the child her brother is technically half dead now, can he? “He just… has… powers now.”
Powers are less believable than ghosts.
She stares at him, fighting back tears, “You’re lying to me.”
Vlad walks around the desk and kneels in front of her, “He’s still here. You can hold him and talk to him. He isn’t dead… not really.”
She chokes a sob, “But he is though, isn’t he…?”
Their uncle wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly, “It’s hard to explain, but he isn’t dead.” He looks to the boy, the blue-green eyes now staring into his soul.
She sobs into the man’s nice shirt, wrinkling it as she clings to him. Danny starts to cry too, the toddler waddles over to them to join into the hug. Danny does feel colder than last night, Vlad would have to look into that. It might have something to do with their cores, or maybe that Danny is much to young to have control over anything, especially the ghostly wail.
After Jasmine had calmed, he settled the two down for a nap whilst he worked in his lab. Not only did he have to baby proof his home, he now has to ghost baby proof it. A tantrum could be catastrophic and he will need to explain more in depth to Jasmine what’s going on with her brother. He only stops working when he hears a giggle behind him. He snorts as he turns around to find the dark haired boy, with white roots now, floating behind him.
Dammit.