A/N - Got struck with inspiration for this last night...but, as usual, I forgot my perfect lines of dialogue and reaction word choices by morning.

So I spent today trying to remember...and I only partially succeeded. No good, no good. But I always need sibling fics. This takes place when Jazz knows, but Danny doesn't know she knows. You know. Maybe having a touch of "Control Freaks" or self-questioning in here...

In case any of you didn't know, sapphireswimming and I are "hosting" a Phandom-Wide Rewatch of the Series. We started today with "Mystery Meat," and we will continue every Friday at 7 PM EST with a different episode. The goal is to rewatch and analyze the series and bring the phandom back to life with fics and fanart and general phan participation. :) We hope you want to join us!

When the World Brings You Down

She sighed and stomped her boots on the mat, shaking the water off of her umbrella before closing the door and shutting the madness outside. The storm out there was terrible, and she was glad to finally escape it. Jazz cringed as she unzipped her rain coat, covering her mostly-dry hands with the slime of raindrops. She placed it delicately on a hanger and shoved the jacket into the front closet, pushing her problems away with it. Now she was home, out of the stresses of school (minus her homework, of course, but that would get finished with no problems), and out of the messy atmosphere of the horrible storm occurring outside. She released another relieved breath before putting on a smile and stepping lightly toward the kitchen to grab a snack before getting to work on her papers—all due next month.

The television crackled, succumbing to the power of the storm outside. She saw Danny out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting on the couch, feet planted firmly on the ground and his elbows resting on his knees. His hands were clasped and placed thoughtfully in front of his mouth, the look in his eyes both intent and somehow lost at the same time. She walked briskly through his line of vision and frowned at his lack of response. She slowed down and paused before turning her back to the kitchen and facing the living room once more. Standing next to the television, the static noise nearly unbearable, and she was about to scold Danny for even keeping the thing on before she made out two barely-perceptible words coming from the set.

"Danny Phantom…"

She clamped her mouth shut, a nervous quiver running through her body as her eyes widened, and she glanced at Danny. He made no reaction. He hadn't noticed her automatic response. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. And then her nerves were replaced with concern.

"Danny, what are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep her tone reprimanding but soft at the same time so as to neither arouse suspicion nor hurt him in any way.

He blinked once. "Watching TV," he deadpanned. His voice sounded quiet and shook just the slightest bit. She could only tell because she was searching for it, but she heard it.

"No kidding," she responded, narrowing her eyes needlessly – he would not take his eyes off the screen to look at her. "I mean, what is this, the news? Why are you watching this, especially when the transmission isn't even coming in right? You never watch the news."

His gaze shifted just a touch for a second, and she could tell he was thinking of an excuse as he took a deep breath.

"I, uh…have a school project," he thought quickly. She could practically see the gears in his mind frantically swirling to come up with an answer. "Lancer assigned it to us. Has to be about a current topic or something. Now shh."

She had to admit – he was getting better at his excuses. Still not good, but better.

She opened her mouth to rebut only to be stopped by a loud screech coming from the television set. Turning her head toward the noise, she watched the screen as people scrambled helplessly away, the camera panning upward to a shot of Danny Phantom – her brother – and a ghost she didn't recognize.

But, then, what ghosts did she recognize?

"It is still unclear as to whether Inviso-Bill was intending to harm the citizens or hinder the other ghost's attacks. His blasts caused damage to several buildings, but no one was injured as a direct result of his strikes. Though his motives and allegiance may be elusive, one thing remains certain: Inviso-Bill adds one more issue to the ghostly problems that Amity Park encounters on a near-daily basis…"

The report carried on with theories and explanations and interviews with local citizens, most of them speaking unfavorably of Danny. Jazz shifted uncomfortably and glanced back at her brother. Every time someone with a negative opinion appeared, she expected to see him get angry. Instead, an indescribable pain danced around her heart as she watched his eyes flinch and gloss over with unshed tears at every comment.

He was really taking this to heart. Perhaps…perhaps he didn't even know whether he was doing more harm than good. She hadn't thought about it much – hadn't had the opportunity to since she technically "didn't know" his secret. But this was Danny – her little brother – and she knew, no matter how emotional and frustrating he got, that he would never hurt a fly. She took it on faith that what he was doing was good and just and right. And she still believed it was.

But…maybe he didn't. He'd never been the most confident boy in the world - the most argumentative, maybe. But confident in his abilities? His motives? His image? Not at all. And, suddenly, Jazz realized her brother had the weight of the world on his shoulders - a world that was constantly bringing him down.

"Danny," she started softly, biting her lip to keep from revealing too much, "I know sometimes you might feel like the world is against you and that nobody cares about you, but I just wanted you to know that I care. And that I think you're a good kid."

She could practically feel his heart skip a beat in fear as he jolted out of his position to stare at her, eyes wide. "WHAT? Um—I mean—er, thanks, Jazz, but…wh-why are you saying that…just now?"

Her face relaxed into a smile to reassure him she knew nothing. "I don't know. We just had a talk in Psychology class in school today about how it's good for people to have a support system. And I just wanted to let you know that I'm a part of yours."

A particularly nasty splice of lightning lit up the house and caused the television to crackle into blackness. Jazz had never been so happy to see the power go out.

"Oh well," Danny sighed dejectedly, pounding on the power button of the remote control as he fought to get the reception back. "It wasn't that great a news report, anyway."

Understatement, she thought as she nodded. But doing her best to feign innocence, Jazz turned and queried, "But what about your homework assignment? How will you do it now?"

She watched the panic return to his face for a split second and nearly laughed. He'd gotten much better at lying these past few months – a fact that, quite frankly, made her a bit forlorn – but he was still horrible at it. "Oh, erm…well, it wasn't due until next week anyway. So I'll just…do it on something else."

He sighed at his needless save of face, and Jazz just shook her head. She was beginning to think he would never tell her. But as long as he was safe, she would let him continue in his secrecy. She just hoped it wouldn't continue for too terribly long…

"Fair enough. I was just gonna go grab a snack. You want something?"

"I always want something if it's food," he responded innocently, relaxing completely at the change of subject.

She smiled and took a step toward the kitchen before turning back hesitantly. "You know, I meant what I said. I'm always here for you, Danny."

He nodded in acknowledgement, and she strained her ears as she walked slowly away. She hid behind the doorway to the kitchen and observed him alone in the living room. His smile faded, his eyes returning to their distant anguish, and he turned his head to the storm raging outside his home.

"At least someone is," he whispered.

In the darkest of nights, I will be there

Just stay with me

Quotes/title for this chapter brought to you by the David Hodges song "Hard to Believe." I highly recommend anything this man has ever sung or written. It's beautiful.