A/N: Just a silly idea that I got and decided to put into words. This is what Scam would be like if he became a father. Special thanks to KraziiePyrozHaveMoreFun for Celeste's name!

A cool autumn breeze swept through her auburn hair, tousling it as she biked through the colorful foliage. Her wristwatch read six o'clock, but she could see that the distant sun was already beginning to show signs of setting. In New England, where her parents owned a vacation home, the start of the fall season meant that the sun retired earlier with each day.

"Eric, we have to move quickly," Celeste said to the blond-haired boy biking right beside her, as they steered into the driveway of a rustic mansion. "I told my dad we'd be home at six, and he doesn't like people to be late." Hopping off their bikes, the pair of teenagers parked carefully and began running towards the front porch.

"Dad, we're home!" Celeste yelled, hurrying up to the hulking figure there. As she neared it, a gasp suddenly escaped her as she realized that her father was holding a large rifle, though thankfully not pointing it at them. Throwing a nervous glance back at her boyfriend, she saw that he had noticed the rifle before she did, and was slowly starting to back away.

From Eric's point of view, the man before him was massive. He himself was no dwarf, standing at nearly six feet tall, but this man was even taller and had a certain aura about him that seemed to make him appear even larger than he already was. Though he could plainly see that this was Mr. Scam – the similarity of his features to Celeste's was striking, particularly their unique green shade of eyes – he hadn't expected him to look this… menacing.

Tim Scam didn't bother to look up till a few moments later, as he calmly cleaned and loaded his rifle. When he did, he saw Celeste and his face softened considerably. "Hi, sweetie," he smiled. "And this is Eric?" The boy didn't miss the way Scam's face had hardened again as he turned to face him.

"Yes," his daughter replied. Then in an exasperated tone, she continued, "Dad, would you explain why you have your rifle on you? It's just us."

"What do you mean, honey?" he asked innocently. "I'm only cleaning it – you know, proper firearm maintenance." Shaking her head and muttering under her breath, Celeste turned away just in time to miss her father's smirk.

"But why do you have to clean it now?" she demanded. "Couldn't you have waited until later?"

"Not really," her father smirked again. "I actually brought this out to go shooting earlier today. This time of year is perfect for hunting game. The main course of tonight's menu is duck – guess where it came from." Celeste sighed and elbowed him, though she was secretly relieved that he hadn't really been trying to frighten anyone.

"Okay, Dad," she mumbled. "I'll just take Eric on a tour of this estate until you tell us when dinner's ready." He nodded sharply, and the two teenagers turned around to leave.

Although Eric hadn't yet uttered a single word, he still hadn't missed the way Mr. Scam had seemed to tense upon seeing him. Somehow, even though his explanation for why he happened to have his rifle was reasonable, he had a strong feeling that he had to be very cautious around Celeste's father…

"Eric, catch!"

Whipping around at the shout, Eric caught a flying projectile that had been aimed straight at his face just in the nick of time. After taking a couple of seconds to still his racing heart, his eyes widened when he saw that he was holding a bullet in his hand. "The rifle…" Eric quietly breathed as an eerie chill ran up his spine. "He was trying to send a message…"

"Nice catch," Tim Scam smirked, walking towards the stunned boy. Seeing that Eric remained in too much shock to react, he bent down slightly to speak to him.

"Listen very carefully," he whispered in no uncertain terms, not bothering to hide hints of bloodlust in his tone as he did so, "this is my little girl you're dealing with, and if you try any funny stuff, the next one might come a little faster. Understood?"

"Daddy, please!" Celeste's somewhat irritated plea rang out. Several silent moments passed that seemed to drag on for hours. Then Scam blinked and straightened up.

"I'll see both of you in the dining room in exactly one hour," he smirked one last time before he headed back to the mansion, his large boots crunching noisily against the dead leaves as he did so.

Whether he had dreamt up the whole scene or not, one thing was now clear to Eric: the Scam household had one intense patriarch.