Danny tapped his pen against the seating map as Sam entered the restaurant. He exhaled as she approached the host stand and rested her elbows casually against it.

"Hey Sam."

"Hey. So... I heard about dinner last night."

"Did Jazz tell you?"

"What she saw. I guess she and your dad left halfway through?"

"Yeah." He glanced over his shoulder, then handed her the clipboard. "Quick, before the manager comes back- would you mind beating me unconcious with this?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "No, Danny, I'm not going to beat you unconcious with your clipboard. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Sam, I just found out that the psychotic prison warden who's been after me since he decided I was up to something is my grandfather! Now Mom wants us all to be one big happy family, and..." He sighed. "This sucks."

"Well, he is her dad."

"Sam! Whose side are you on?"

She shrugged. "I'm just saying. So what happens now?"

"I don't know. She left for the Ghost Zone about an hour before I came here. Said she was gonna talk to him." Danny rested his forehead against the host stand. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Oh, c'mon, Danny. Look on the bright side." He raised his head. Sam smiled slightly. "Now that he knows you're related, he probably won't toss you in prison again."

The next afternoon, Maddie knocked on Danny's door as he was getting ready for work.

"Come into the living room when you're done, okay? I've got something to talk to you about."

Danny nodded, pretending her newfound accent didn't grate on his last nerve. 'Newfound' was a bit of a misnomer; Maddie had mentioned losing her accent early in high school. Shortly after meeting Walker, however, she had taken on a touch of his drawl- and hadn't dropped it since. As if hearing it every time Walker opened his mouth wasn't bad enough.

He descended the stairs and stepped into the living room, finding, as expected, Jack and Jazz seated on the sofa. Maddie stood in the center beside a whiteboard, tapping a marker against her palm. Walker sat on the loveseat.

Danny's eyes narrowed, but Maddie's look kept him silent. He took a seat on the overstuffed chair, which was too close to the loveseat for his liking, but also happened to be the only other available seat in the room. "So what's this about, Mom? I have work in twenty minutes."

Maddie smiled. "Don't worry, Danny. This won't take long. Grandpa has to get back to work soon anyway." She uncapped the marker and wrote on the board in capital letters: FAMILY DINNERS.

Danny slammed his palm into his forehead before he could stop himself. Maddie plunged ahead as though she didn't notice. "Once a week, we're all going to have dinner together as a family. Before we start this little tradition, I thought we should lay down some ground rules."

She even growled rules the same way Walker did. Perfect.

"Rule number one: All family members will approach the table unarmed." She wrote NO WEAPONS! on the board. "If you happen to be a ghost, a brown belt or both, you will pretend to be unarmed until dinner is over.

"Rule number two: No bringing up the past." NO EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE took its place beneath the first rule. Danny raised his hand. "Yes, Danny?"

"What if we start talking about the Civil War or something?"

Maddie's eyes narrowed. "You know what I mean, Danny. Don't be a smart alek. Moving on."

Danny glanced at Walker, half-expecting to see him smiling smugly. His green eyes remained fixed on Maddie.

"Rule number three: Everyone must attend." NO SKIPPING appeared on the board. "Unless you have the Ebola virus or something similar- and believe me, I'll know if you're faking it- you'll show up and you'll stay until dinner is over." Stepping back, Maddie capped the marker. "That's about it. Any questions?"

"Nope." Danny stood. "Can I leave now?"

Maddie sighed. "Yes, Danny. You can go."

Danny strode through the living room wall without looking back. "Just give him time," he heard Maddie say as he left.

Hah, Danny wanted to tell her. Fat chance.

This chapter ended up being a lot shorter than I had planned. Sorry if it seemed a bit fillerish, but the next few will get right back into the swing of things. ;)

Oh, and thanks to everyone who directed me to "Claw of the Wild," and to Dark Nightingale Wings for the link to the DP Wiki site. Much obliged.