As the trio arrived home, Jack Fenton ran up from the stairs from the basement carrying his newly improved device. He had a big grin on his face as three people walked through the front door. He found an audience to show his new device to.
"It's finally done!" Jack bellowed holding out his new device in front of Danny, "The new and improved Fenton Sickly Ghost can track and give any ghost any ghostly deseases and it was invented by me! Jack Fenton!"
Danny shrank back looking at the device with fear. His friends behind him looking on with equal awareness. They knew that the inventions from the older Fenton's made was hazardous to Danny's health since he was half ghost. Perhaps if they knew he was half ghost then they wouldn't make such dangerous as well as helpful gadgets.
But they didn't.
A red light flashed on the remote control like device and Jack's face lit up like a Christmas tree. A female computer voice announced, "Ghost detected"
"Now you'll see how this baby works!" Jack grinned before he pointed his index finger and went to hit the big green button
Then Jazz came into the living room. She suddenly saw her father was about to use his new device. She gasped knowing she had to draw him away from Danny. She ran back into the kitchen, opened the kitchen draw, grabbed some metal utensils and dropped them on the tile floor.
Then she cried pretending to be in trouble, "erm eeeek a ghost…"
In the living room Jack heard the loud cluttering noise and Jazz's cry from the kitchen.
"The ghost is in the kitchen!" he announced before running off
Using the opportunity the three teenagers climbed the stairs and disappeared before Jack could came back to complete his introductory on his latest invention. Jack entered the kitchen to find Jazz standing there in front of the open draw. Of course his mind too trained on ghosts to realize he caught his daughter red handed.
"Where's the ghost?" Jack asked pointing his device in every direction as if it was a gun
"Uh… I think it flew away," Jazz answered
Jack slouched and pouted, "Awwww, I wanted to use the Fenton Sickly Ghost. It has the Fenton Finder installed and everything"
Jazz patted his slouched back, "Maybe next time"
Jack perked up, "Oooh I know! I can track it down in the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle!"
Before Jazz could take the next breath her father grabbed the keys and raced out the door.
From the lab Maddie appeared at the kitchen door with her jumpsuit hood and goggles over her head, "Where's your father?"
"He decided to track ghosts… again"
Maddie sighed, "Well I'm sure your father will be back soon. I'll start dinner. Do you mind if you kept an eye on both Dannys'"
"Sure thing Mom" Jazz replied
Maddie moved off towards the kitchen. Jazz picked up the utensils she dropped and moved off to head for her room. That way she could do what her mum asked and finish off the latest issue of Genus Magazine.
In a rush Danny left the Fenton Thermos in his room. He rubbed his chest feeling like someone had taken a bat and swung it at him. Well to be more precise it was an Ectoplasmic ghost punch from the ghost at the Nasty Burger. He pulled up his shirt to see a large purple bruise forming on his pale skin. Danny knew it was nothing to be worried about but he knew it would hurt for a week or so.
He left his room and led Sam and Tucker to a closed door at the end of the short hall. It was plain white like his parent's door oppose to his or Jazz's, which was decorated with posters, lettering and stickers. Danny knocked on the wood making a hollow noise.
"Yeah?" the voice on the other end answered
"It's Danny can I come in?" Danny asked
A sigh came before he voice answered, "Yeah"
Danny turned the doorknob and opened the door. The same age teen laid on his bed putting down a book he had been reading. The golden shaggy haired kid stared at Danny and the strangers with bright blue eyes that were framed by round gold glasses.
Danny could see his surprise so he introduced his friends.
"These are my two best friends Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Guys this is Daniel Jackson"
"Hey"
"Hi"
The three entered the room as Daniel sat up.
"Hello" he greeted still surprised to see the new visitors
"Nice place you got here…" Tucker trailed seeing the room was bare, "Could use a bit of paint"
The three visitors separated as they entered. Sam approached the stranger as Tucker wondered around the empty room and Danny hovered around the entrance quietly watching.
"So where are you from?" Sam asked sitting on the bed near him
Jackson swung his legs to the side of the bed and shrugged, "It doesn't matter"
"Sure it does" Sam insisted feeling the kid's shyness
"No it doesn't matter. I doesn't matter where I've come from, all that matters is where I'm going," he said in his quiet and hard voice
Sam was taken by surprise by that answer and heard the experience in the teen's voice. The foster kid stole a glance at Sam's face and looked into her violet eyes. He expected pity but he got curiosity. He faltered and gave a sigh. Sam gave a reassuring smile. He blushed a little before turning away a bit.
"Promise you wont laugh?" he ventured
"Cross my heart" Sam replied
Daniel gave a small sigh, "Well ok… I-I was born in Egypt"
"You mean desert Egypt?" Tucker blinked
The kid nodded.
"You don't look Egyptian," Tucker pointed out
"My parents were American. They were there on an archaeological dig" the kid opened up a bit, "My parents shared the same interests that led them to do everything together…"
"Sounds familiar…" Danny muttered
"You have a large collection of books," Tucker observed at the pile of books in the corner waiting to be put on a shelf, "But no videogames or tech…"
"I like books" Jackson pushed his glasses back up, "Video games get tedious and boring but with books you can use your imagination and learn lots of things"
Danny saw the way Sam's eyes lit up while Tucker frowned.
"Video games are the best form of entertainment around!"
"Yeah if you like destruction and violence" Sam pointed out
"And what's wrong with that?" Tucker asked defensively
Sam rolled her eyes and focused her attention back on the foster kid, "I think books are great too"
Tucker gave up the argument and moved off to have a curious snoop at the foster kid's stuff.
Danny watched the whole scenario from the doorway. He tried to talk to this kid before but he just shot him down, now he was all friendly with Sam? He didn't really know why but he had a strange feeling about him, something he should be wary of…
"Whoa dude!" Tucker picked up some of the books that were next to the teen's bed and read some titles, "Gods of Ancient Egypt? Mummification? Anubis, Lord of the Underworld? Man half of these are game titles!"
The kid growled and snatched the books out of Tucker's hands.
"Tucker!" Sam scowled
"What? I was just only looking!" Tucker said defensively
"Why are you here?" Daniel said defensively but diverting his eyes to the floor and glaring at it, instantly claming up again
"We thought you might want some company," Sam answered before anyone else could
"I don't need company" Jackson said defensively, "I don't need anyone"
"See what did I tell ya?" Danny muttered
Daniel seemed to hear this. He stood up and glared at Danny.
"Just go away!" he growled, "You all are just the same!"
"Fine maybe I will" Danny snapped, "I was only trying to be nice"
"Well I don't need your sympathy or your niceness" Daniel growled and turned away
Danny folded his arms "Well if you're going to be a brat…"
Sam shot Danny a glare at his insensitivity, "Danny!"
"What?" Danny blinked innocently at Sam
"I'm no brat!" Daniel almost snarled turning to the Fenton kid, "What do you know? You got everything you want! The way I see it you're the brat!"
Before Danny could reply his sister appeared at the door, "Danny? Are you two fighting? Already?"
"Don't worry I'll be out of your way in a week anyway. So what do you care?" the boy snapped ignoring Jazz turning around to put his books away, "Just leave me alone!"
"Why what happens in a week?" Tucker asked
Jackson grunted, "I get kicked out"
"Don't be silly! No one's going to kick you out" Jazz reassured, "Why would anyone want to?"
"Yeah" Sam agreed, "Danny's parents are not like that"
"He just wants to play victim" Danny accused, "So leave him alone, like he asks"
Daniel gave a sneer, "Don't blame me if you have inadequacy issues with your family"
That comment caught Danny right off guard, "What?"
"So just leave me alone!"
"Way to go Danny," Sam said sarcastically
"Ok! Fine! We'll leave!" Danny cried having enough of the foster kid's attitude
"Danny-" Sam protested
Her protest was cut off as Danny grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door.
"No Sam. It's obvious that he doesn't want us here and wants to be left alone!"
Jazz and Tucker followed waving good-bye at the kid. The child glared after them and growled. He slammed the door behind them and leaned against it. He looked down and stared intensely at the floor regretting letting his guard down. He would always be different. He knew he never fit in anywhere. He's always the extra piece to a puzzle set. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered.
Soon as they were outside in the hallway Danny released Sam as she pulled away.
"What's wrong with you?" she hissed
"What?" Danny said defensively, "The guy's a complete jerk! It's obvious he didn't want us in there!"
"You don't understand where he's coming from or what happened to him! How can you just pass judgement like that?" Sam argued, "I say you're the complete jerk!"
"Well maybe if he told us all that maybe I could understand" Danny argued back
"Maybe its personal stuff that he doesn't want to talk about!" Sam defended, "You should at least be more sensitive!"
"What? Well if he didn't bite my head off all the time maybe I can be," Danny snapped folding his arms
Their quiet voices steadily climbed to a shouting level. Jazz and Tucker quietly watched and decided to stay out of it. Jazz decided to sneak off to her room and approach Danny when he had time to cool off. Tucker was also contemplating on sneaking off but then he thought about Jack Fenton down stairs ready to show any thing that moves his inventions and talk about ghosts. Instead he decided to stay where he was and look through his PDA. He gave a smile as he raised his treasured gadget to his face and accessed pictures of Bethany Barks.
"I can't believe you're being such a jerk over this!" Sam accused
"Me a jerk?" Danny snapped then said sarcastically, "Oh and I guess his attitude is sweet and pleasing"
Sam gave in and growled stormed past Danny, "Oh forget it! It's like talking to a brick wall!"
Danny frowned and gave a growl to Sam's disappearing form.
"Fine!" Danny yelled at her back as she disappeared down the stairs, "Leave!"
"I'm already gone!"
Tucker looked up from his PDA to see Danny walking off into his room. He heard the front door thundering shut. Tucker cringed at the loud noise knowing Sam was venting her anger in her exit. Tucker followed Danny a few feet behind before finding his friend's door slamming in his face, as he was about to enter the room.
"Hey!" Tucker protested, "I wasn't even involved!"
There was no reply.
Tucker glared before knocking and yelling, "Hey! Open up Danny!"
Still there was no reply. Getting the hint that he wasn't wanted around anymore Tucker turned away and headed for the stairs.
"Well if you want it that way…" Tucker said angrily before following in Sam's footsteps and leaving the house as well, "They fight and I get the blame!
Tucker looked longingly at his PDA, "I can never fight with you! That's why technology is a man's best friend!"