Found this old oneshot sitting in my files and figured I'd upload it.

It was a shock, to say the least. Two sets of wide eyes stared in numbed silence at the crackling flames, watching in a distracted fascination as the sparks danced above in the darkening sky before disappearing with one last flicker of life into the night.

The error had been small, but catastrophic. One stupid little miscalculation had cost them years of work and the opportunity of a lifetime. All their data - all their samples: gone. Their lab was almost, if not already destroyed as well. The explosion had taken out most of their supplies, along with a good chunk of their house. They had been in the making of an incredible breakthrough. Months of surveillance and waiting had finally paid off and presented them with a chance to show the world just who they were and what they could do. Their target had been captured and detained quickly. The thing had barely had a moment to realize what was happening before it was knocked unconscious. In the brief time it had the ghost had tried pleading, spewing out lie after lie in a desperate attempt for its freedom to be returned; but they weren't fooled by its impossible claims.

It was with great amounts of pride that they carted the specimen home, each bragging about their unbelievable luck throughout the trek with minor complaints and blame about who had lost the RV. Jack and Maddie couldn't wait to tell their kids about this either. Despite the children's claims the couple knew their kids were interested in what they did. Ghost hunting was in their blood, wasn't it?

They had barely waited for the ghost to wake before they began tearing into its ectoplasmic flesh; ripping samples from anything and everything they could. It had been hard to ignore the screams at first. It had triggered the parental instinct within both adults but with a little consolation from one another they firmed their resolve and refused to act on it. Ghosts don't feel pain. They don't have emotions. It wasn't real. Years of research had proved that!

But that was then. In the end it had all been for nothing. They couldn't retrieve their notes and their experiment would likely have completely disintegrated by the time the fire stopped. In the shock and the confusion they had forgotten it inside. There was no going back now.

A series of worried shouts roused them out of their stupor. A young redheaded girl scrambled over the streets as she rushed to her parents. She immediately began fussing over them, her hands flailing in the air as if she were afraid to touch them. Finally, after a few seconds of incoherent words and thrashing limbs she clung onto the couple, burying her face into their jumpsuits.

The moment was soon lost as the young girl registered the sound of someone screaming. It was faint, but it was definitely there. She jerked away and stared at the building in alarm before turning on her parents, demanding to know what was going on. The elder Fenton's stared blankly back at her, neither one giving an answer. Realization flashed across her face and with a horrified shriek Jazz started running towards the burning building, calling out for her brother. Jack and Maddie almost didn't catch her in time. The younger girl screamed and fought with all her might to break free of their grasp with little to no success.

The pained cries soon died away completely and the girl began to cry. The only sounds in the street were the crackling of the flames and the hopeless screams of a heartbroken sister.