#o53

No one was home so he decided to leave Blair a note about his leaving on her bed for when she eventually got home. So with one last glance at the house he called home for a while, he walked down the drive and loaded his bag into the taxi and found himself finally on his way home. Maybe now things could get back to normal. Or at least as normal as a town infested with vampires, werewolves, and witches could get.

Eventually he found himself standing outside his home, bag slung over his shoulder as his gaze fixed on the front door. He hadn't called Jenny yet, but as soon as he'd settled in he'd call her to come on home. It was just them now, sure. But this was their chance to come together and be a family again. Dan wouldn't let his father down by abandoning Jenny, not that it was ever a thought that crossed his mind.

With a heavy sigh he headed inside, his hand quivering as he unlocked the front door, almost afraid his fathers ghost would come rushing at him as soon as he opened the door. Standing motionless in the doorway he let the door swing open, the creaking of the door sending a shiver down his spine. He glanced around, his eyes noticeably avoiding glancing in that particular direction and with another sigh, he stepped inside.

His brow furrowed slightly, the smell of blood or the feeling of dread strangely absent. He had expected at least a musty smell from no one living there in weeks, and yet here he stood in his house that had a faint smell of bleach and other cleaning products. Dan smiled to himself a little as he chucked his bag over to the sofa in the living room and shut the door behind himself. He hadn't cleaned the place, and he knew Jenny definitely wouldn't have done so. There was really only one person that would've cleaned up for them. He made a mental note to go  thank Daniel when he had the chance.

Although he was the only one in the house and he had seen for himself the grave that Daniel had made for his father, he still tread carefully into the living room, as if making a ruckus would cause all the hurt to resurface at once. He stood in the space he had woken up in with Blair by his side... and his father on the other. He crouched low as his gaze became fixated on the spot where he had last seen his father, where he had yelled and cried and pleaded for whatever entity there was to bring him back.

Dan brought his hand to his face as his breathing became erratic. The images of his fathers dead body blaring in his mind. He let out a sob and gripped the sofa next to him and attempted to calm his breathing before he let himself go into a full on panic attack. 

One, he started counting. Two. He wiped at his eyes, as if doing so would clear his head. Three. Another breath. Four. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and blot out the visions in his mind. Five. He stood abruptly, his breathing even as his eyes slowly opened. His expression taking on a look of indifference.