Danny woke up choking in fear.
He ran to his dad's room as the night sky filled with lightning. His daddy met him halfway.
"Danny-lad, what's wrong," his daddy asked as he picked him up. Danny's heartbeat was at a normal person's rate.
Danny buried his face in the crook of his daddy's neck.
Jason frowned as he felt the wetness hit his skin (as the fear hit him like a wrecking ball). His little boy was scared; Jason could only assume it was because of the thunderstorm.
Jason went to his bedroom with his son. Jazz walked out of her bedroom, crossed her arms, and frowned. Once a lightning bolt hit, her eyes lit with understanding.
"I'll get Ellie and meet you in your room."
Jason nodded and went into his room. He sat on the bed while getting Danny as comfortable as he could on Jason's lap. He wrapped his little boy up with a soft blanket and held Danny close to his chest. Jason started humming a lullaby his mom, Catherine, would sing to him in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep.
Jazz walked into the room holding a still-asleep Ellie. She got into the bed and held Ellie close to her chest. Danny jumped every time a lightning bolt struck.
Jason knew Danny was a brave little boy (especially since he wasn't really five years old), so he never thought his son would be scared of a thunderstorm. Still, he would be there for his son and send out feelings of reassurance. He continued humming and rocked Danny back and forth. Jazz held Ellie with one arm and held Danny's hand with her other hand.
Eventually, thankfully, the thunderstorm cleared out, and Danny fell asleep.
The little family fell asleep in Jason's bed for the night.
The morning was cloudy, but thankfully, there didn't seem to be any more thunderstorms coming. The sun would peak out every once in a while.
Danny was the first one to wake up. He was tucked in a blanket up against his daddy's chest. The sixteen-year-old in him was embarrassed, but the five-year-old in him felt reassured. He settled deeper into his dad's chest, letting his warmth chase away the remainder of his fears.
Jazz and Ellie were asleep beside him.
He wriggled himself deeper into his dad's chest and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, everyone had woken up.
"Hey, chum, how are you feeling?"
Danny rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "Better."
Danny bit his lip and turned to Jazz, who was getting off the bed with Ellie.
"Jazz, can I talk to daddy alone?"
A look of understanding let her eyes. She nodded and left the room.
Danny didn't know where to start.
"What is it, lad?"
"I want to tell you why I'm scared of lightning, but I don't know where to start."
Jason didn't say anything. He had thought Danny had been scared because he was five. It looked like he was wrong.
"You don't have to tell me, Danny."
"That's the thing I do! I just don't know where to start."
Jason carded his hand through Danny's hand, not saying anything.
Danny took a deep breath, collected his feelings, and started talking.
"When I died," Jason stiffened at Danny's words but stayed silent, "I had been in my parents' basement. Their life work was to build a portal to the ghost zone. It hadn't worked. My two best friends, Sam and Tucker, wanted to see it. Being a stupid teenager, I let them. Sam talked me into going into the portal so she could take a picture."
"My parents weren't big on lab safety. There were wires everywhere, and radioactive chemicals spilled on the floor that I had to clean. I think you get the idea."
Jason hugged Danny tighter. He knew exactly where this was going.
"The machine hadn't worked because they had built the 'on' button inside it. I tripped on some wires...the machine turned on with me inside it. I was electrocuted to death even as the ectoplasm brought me back to life," Danny whispered.
Jason held Danny as his little boy shuddered before he started crying.
Jason let Danny cry, and he grieved for his son's lost life and innocence. Jason made a vow always to protect his baby however he could.
