“I know he saved me” Emily sobbed as she rubbed her eyes “I know that stupid, dumb, overprotective brother of mine, I’d be gone without him.”

  She turned to her father “I know I should be grateful and I am but..” her voice turned beseeching “But why didn’t he? Why didn’t he tell me? Why did he keep this a secret?”

  Thomas paced up and down, his brows furrowed deep in thought. The only sound in the room was his steps, the rhythmic ticking of a clock somewhere deep in the house, and Emily’s quiet, unsteady breaths.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he stopped and turned to her. His expression was unreadable, but his voice was steady.

  "Em, I need to talk to Danny. Directly."

  Emily’s breath hitched. For a moment, she just stared at him, caught between confusion and something else—something uneasy. She felt her brother stirring within her as well, still quiet - but curious.

  She gnced at Sarah, looking for guidance, but even her mother seemed surprised. Sarah was fidgeting with her fingers, clenching and releasing them in a slow rhythm, her own telltale sign of stress.

  Her father had tolerated Daniel at best, treated him like an unwelcome guest at worst. And now he wanted to talk to him?

  She swallowed. “Why?” she asked cautiously.

  Thomas hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly working through his own emotions.

  “Because... I should have done this a long time ago,” he admitted. “I know we spoke a few weeks ago, and I wasn’t ready back then.” He exhaled sharply. “But I am now.”

  Emily blinked in surprise at the sudden nature of this request.

  Thomas raised a hand slightly, as if sensing Emily’s hesitation. “I’m not here to yell at him,” he said quickly, then sighed. “I just... I just need to talk to him. Man to man.”

  “Can you..” he cautiously continued “Can you bring him out? Switch out or whatever?”

  Emily paused for a moment, absorbing her father’s words. She could also feel a series of emotions from Daniel within her - shock at Thomas wanting to speak to him, some guilt, anger, regret, fear, relief, and - curiosity?

  “He’s not exactly in the best mood right now,” she finally replied, her voice soft and hesitant.

  “I don’t care if he’s angry.” Thomas continued with a gnce at Sarah, who gave him an encouraging nod. “Please bring him out.”

  Emily bit her lip, considering the request.

  After everything that had just happened, after the fight, the revetion—was it really the right moment? Daniel was already pulling away, already withdrawing into himself.

  But Thomas’s voice had been different this time. There was no edge to it. No skepticism. Just a quiet sincerity she hadn’t heard before.

  She nodded, took a breath and closed her eyes, reaching out for her brother through their bond.

  "Danny... Dad wants to talk to you.”

  Her brother’s voice came through, nervous yet still heavy with frustration.

  "Yeah, I know, same body, same senses remember? But you sure this is a good idea, Shrimp?"

  There was a pause, and Emily sensed the undercurrent of conflicting emotions he was carrying.

  "I don’t want this to get worse."

  "Don’t want this to get worse? It’s already all a mess - who cares. Just talk to him" Emily snapped internally, her own inner voice a mixture of irritation, anger at betrayal and something else.

  Guilt she realized, her eyes momentarily opening. Some part of her felt guilty - at having fought with Daniel, at not thanking him instead of being furious at him, for with a gulp she realied - for the first time pushing him to snapping point.

  Nevertheless, in the next momentum Emily felt the sting of her words hit him.

  “Yeah... okay," he muttered.

  With a deep sigh he finished with “Okay swap out.”

  —

  Emily felt the familiar shift, barely imperceptibly as she and Daniel swapped pces.

  As always, it still felt like she was controlling the body but it also felt different; as if there was just a slight g, as if perhaps she were watching a recording rather than watching a live py. She could feel her mouth move, her breathing, her hands and feet just like she would normally, but it nevertheless all felt just a hair distant.

  Nothing new for the siblings.

  Daniel was now the primary driver in the body.

  Emily’s posture shifted every so slightly, a little straighter. Her eyes took on a different expression - more determined yet more furtive at the same time. Daniel flexed his - or her - fingers, and then rubbed the back of Emily’s neck—a now familiar nervous tick from his previous life.

  His eyes darted to Sarah, and for a split second, they shared a look—a brief, understanding smile from Sarah that seemed to say, "It’s okay."

  Looking at Thomas he appraised the situation. Neither person broke the silence. In the end, tired of waiting, Daniel awkwardly began.

  “Hi ho hello…you uh..wanted to talk to me?” he asked, his voice hesitant.

  —

  Thomas gasped as he heard the slight change in tone, cadence, verbiage. This was only the third time he had seen this transformation after all.

  Even in this tense moment, Daniel could resist a quip.

  “You know, by now I figured you’d get used to shi…” looking quickly at Sarah his eyes wide ended with “I mean used to stuff like this.”

  Shifting slightly he added his voice a mix of humor and faux irritation “I mean, you don’t need to stare at me like it the first time every single stinking time! I already feel on the spot enough as is with Shrimp's, shall I say eclectic, fashion sense!”

  The quip temporarily broke the tension, earning a nervous chuckle from Thomas and a knowing smile from Sarah.

  “Daniel…Danny..it's good to speak to you like this” Thomas began a little stiffly. “Yeah, we should probably get used to our new life but here we are…”.

  A look of shared understanding passed between him and Daniel, a brief moment of camaraderie before Thomas continued cautiously.

  “Emily told us everything. She said you almost…died? You saved her?"

  Danny swallowed, eyes gncing, shifting awkwardly before locking his gaze with Thomas.

  "Yeah, well... I couldn’t just let her go, could I?"

  His voice came out more strained yet the protectiveness was clear.

  "She’s my sister, even if it seems unorthodox to everyone else."

  His st comment wasn’t meant to be insulting or pointed but Thomas nevertheless felt it hit something deep within him.

  Hard.

  “Sorry - didn’t mean to come out like a jerk…” Daniel mumbled, looking away sheepishly.

  Thomas considered the soul in front of him - nervous, hesitant, protective, mischievous, fiercely loyal, almost childlike.

  So much like his daughter.

  How had he not seen this before?

  He swallowed hard, emotions starting to choke him, his thoughts in turmoil.

  "Emily said that you spent your life force or energy or whatever trying to save her? You... you almost drained yourself," Thomas asked, gently but firmly.

  "You didn’t tell her. You didn’t tell us. Why is that?"

  Daniel’s posture tightened, a flicker of guilt crossing his face - quickly repced by determination and frustration as he turned back to gaze at Thomas and Sarah.

  "Why didn’t I tell folks? Well, back then I didn’t have time," he began, his voice lowering. "She was dying, okay? Her heart had stopped. She was f****ng dying. "

  The room went cold as the words left his mouth, the bluntness and ferocity cutting through any lingering doubts like a knife through butter.

  Sarah’s hands immediately went to her mouth as tears welled and even Thomas’s mouth opened a little bit. They knew the stakes - they had been at the hospital during the code blue but hearing Daniel say it so bluntly - in their daughter’s voice of all things - hit home in a different way.

  "If I’d waited for permission, if I’d stopped to expin, or if I hesitated for even a second—" Daniel continued, his voice cracking slightly but still fierce. "She would’ve been gone. So yeah, I had to act. What were my options?"

  Daniel’s eyes- or Emily’s eyes - bzed with fire and intensity, the protectiveness practically radiating off him.

  "And you know what? I wasn’t gonna let that happen - not a chance in hell. She is my kid sister and I’ll go to hell and back before I let anything happen to her."

  Before Thomas or Sarah could respond he quickly continued - “Why didn’t I tell you and mom? It’s quite simple - I couldn’t talk to you back then like I can now.”

  “And even if I could have told you—" Daniel locked eyes with Thomas, his voice like steel. "It wouldn’t have mattered."

  He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in before adding -

  "And if you want an analytical reason? Emily is more important. The host dies, who knows what happens to the consciousness. Maybe I’d have died too. Maybe I’d have been shoved into another body. Hell, maybe I’d have gotten my own. Who knows?"

  He took a deep breath and continued “The point is - Emily is more important, okay?”

  He sighed with irritation, gncing away momentarily, grumbling to himself before turning back to Thomas.

  “So, yeah - of course, I gave it everything. If it meant she’d live, that was a no-brainer. I made the only choice I could.”

  His tone turned more assertive, more confident, as his eyes fshed.

  “And you know what? I’d do it again. Every damn time. I don’t care if you hate me, if she’s pissed at me—I WILL NOT let her go.”

  Thomas took a step back, he hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath as his own eyes began stinging with unshed tears.

  Emily had on several occasions lobbied in favor of Daniel - expined multiple times that she viewed him as her brother, her kin, her guardian.

  Thomas however had tolerated it at best but hearing him show his love and care for his daughter with the sheer ferocity - realization and with that understanding finally began to dawn.

  For the first time - Thomas truly understood why Emily considered this second consciousness - no, this second soul - her brother.

  Why Sarah considered him her son.

  It all made sense now, it had always made sense.

  However, Daniel continued in frustration—oblivious to Thomas’s own realization.

  "And yeah, maybe I should’ve told someone. Told her."

  His voice snapped, rough, edged with something desperate. "But you know what? There’s no manual for this, no guidebook for what happens when you’re part of someone else’s head! I was figuring it out as I went."

  He roughly scratched at Emily’s hair, emotions overwhelming him before continuing.

  "I didn’t want to drag you all through the mess I was dealing with, okay? I didn’t want you to be burdened with it. You’ve already done enough—handled enough. Dealt with all of this!"

  His hands balled into fists, and his voice grew harsher, the irritation bubbling into something more raw. He knew his emotions would bleed over into Emily, she could probably feel the tension in his or her chest, his heart pounding.

  He should be insuting her, but he felt cornered—like he was at breaking point, his entire complicated existence pressing in on him.

  "She was okay. She was alive. Isn’t that what mattered?"

  His voice cracked on the st word.

  "What’s the point of bringing this up? To make you feel guilty? To make her feel guilty?"

  His breath came faster. He didn’t realize he was shouting now in Emily’s voice.

  "I thought if I just let it go, maybe—maybe—you could all live your lives without dealing with my crap. Maybe I could, for once, not be looked at as a freaking problem."

  His breath hitched again, but the words kept tumbling out, uncontrolled now. "But no. We have to keep talking about it. We have to keep digging it up—again and again and again!"

  He paused, his voice turning more vulnerable.

  "How would it have mattered, huh? What have I done here besides cause confusion and stress since I showed up?!"

  His tone turned self-deprecating.

  "I’m always just in the way. I never asked to be here in the first pce anyway I just ended up here! Complicating her life, complicating mom’s life, your life."

  His voice finally cracked completely.

  “And you know what? Maybe deep down, I thought it would be good I just disappeared. Maybe if I just vanished, things would’ve been simpler. Maybe life would be easier without me?”

  He looked up at Thomas, tears streaming down his cheeks in earnest.

  “Maybe life would have been less stressful. Less... confused? You guys could have a normal family again? Shrimp would be okay? No more secrets? My presence wouldn't be SCREWING EVERY DAMNED THING UP?”

  His fists unclenched, but his arms hung limply at her sides, his head dropping slightly the outburst finally draining him, the room far heavier than it had ever been before.

  —

  The silence was deafening.

  As Daniel looked up, hot tears still running down his face, he saw Sarah and Thomas—and their reaction hit him like a tidal wave.

  Sarah’s hands had flown to her mouth, her eyes glistening with tears, clearly on the verge of breaking down. Thomas too looked visibly shaken, his face tight yet defeated—as if he had been punched in the gut repeatedly.

  Emily felt another wave of guilt pass through Daniel as he observed their reactions; his own emotions a mix of confusion, anger, embarrassment—all tinged with exhaustion.

  His throat worked as if he wanted to say something.

  Maybe to deflect, maybe to crack a joke. Maybe to take it all back.

  Instead, his voice came out small, but firm - "That’s it. I’m done. I’m peacing out."

  He took a step back, barely aware of how drained he felt.

  “I’m sorry if I made you guys feel bad or…I’m sorry.”

  His voice was quieter now, his eyes darting to the floor. And then—he was gone.

  Emily felt his presence receding, pulling away from everyone and the conversation, and just like that—she was now back in the driver’s seat.

  She clenched and unclenched her fists, took a few quick breaths as she felt herself gain full control again. The change was subtle but definite—the slight fog around her eyes disappearing, as the world became just a little clearer.

  Then, the aftershock of his emotions hit.

  Not quite hers, not quite lingering—but the remnants still burned, akin to phantom pain from a wound that wasn’t hers but still somehow hurt.

  The weight of it made her stagger.

  She felt her parents moving toward her, instinctively reaching out, but she stopped them with a wave of her hand.

  She needed to breathe first.

  “Mom, Dad—I’m back. I’m okay, I’m okay,” she began, a moment ter, her voice trembling.

  She took a deep breath and looked up at her parents, eyes stinging.

  “But Danny? He’s gone… he couldn’t... I—"

  Her voice faltered, her own tears welling in her eyes as she looked between them.

  “I’m sorry, I... I don’t know exactly why, but... I think he feels pushed away. Like he was out of line or something.”

  That did it. Sarah was already at her daughter’s side, pulling her into a tight hug.

  "Oh, Emily—it’s okay," she whispered, her voice soft and soothing, as she stroked her daughter’s hair.

  “He’s just a bit… overwhelmed. He just needs a moment, okay? I’m sure he’ll come back.”

  Emily, however, shook her head, a small sob breaking through, her heart aching.

  "Mom—I… I didn't know!" she cried. "I didn't know he thought he was such a burden. He was hurting—I didn’t know, I didn’t see it. He feels like he's only been in the way?"

  Sarah continued stroking her daughter’s hair. “Shh… it’s okay, Em, he…”

  She hesitated, searching for words, her mouth opening and closing before she finally continued - "He isn’t in the way, hon. We’ll help him see that."