Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom!
"So, what exactly do you do, Mr. Grey?" Maddie asked as everyone sat down for dinner.
"Please, call me Damon. I work for Axiom Labs, in the security division."
"That's great! Do you like it there?"
"Yeah, it's a really great job. It pays the bills, and I have set hours, so I'm able to take care of Valerie."
"What about Mrs. Grey?" Damon's gaze became downcast.
"She died…childbirth…" Jack and Maddie looked horrorstruck.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Maddie exclaimed.
"It's okay, but thank you." Nobody said anything for a bit, and Maddie took advantage of this to pass around a plate of lasagna.
"So…" Jack finally started, in an attempt to break the awkward silence. "How's the security at Axiom? Is it ghost-proof?" Damon was caught off-guard by the last statement, but tried to answer the beginning.
"Well, it could be better," he said. "I'm not one to criticize my own department or boss, it's just that…besides security guards, we mostly use a lot of guard dogs. I think that there's enough new technology available that we could design a state-of-the-art security system. My boss still likes having the dogs around, thinks that they give off an aura of security better than some computer, but I think that the guy above him is starting to agree with me."
"Don't you like doggies?" Sam asked.
"I do," Damon replied. "Which is why I don't want to have them guarding Axiom. I never really put much thought into it before a few months ago, but now I'm standing much more firmly on this issue."
"Why, what happened a few months ago?" Jack asked.
"We had this puppy, a rottweiler, that we'd just bought from a breeder. It was the cutest dog any of us had ever seen; we loved watching him scamper around and play with his little pink chew toy. Unfortunately, the brass decided that having a cute puppy wasn't in the company's best interest. They forced us to take away his chew toy and use it to train him and make him a vicious guard dog. I still feel terrible about that…"
"People shouldn't do that to animals!" Sam asserted. Damon smiled softly.
"You're right. That's why I want to use technology to protect Axiom, not guard dogs."
"Yeah, technology rules!" Tucker added, and Damon chuckled.
Some time later, the adults were talking and the kids were starting to nod off. Jack got up and carried Jazz up to bed, and Maddie carried Danny. Tucker was sleeping over that night, so Jack carried him up to Danny's room. Damon carried Valerie into his car, and Maddie came back downstairs and brought Sam into his car as well.
"Are you sure you don't mind taking Sam home?" She asked. "Because we don't mind letting her spend the night."
"Oh, don't worry about that. Her parents are big stockholders of Axiom; I've met them at more than a few company functions. Besides, she won't be sleeping over. I know their address; I'll just drop her off at home. I'm sure her grandmother's been expecting her for some time now." Maddie looked at him, thunderstruck.
"Her grandmother lives at home? Why didn't she come to pick her up, then?" Damon shrugged.
"I guess she thought that Sam's parents were supposed to get her."
"But she wouldn't have gotten worried when Sam didn't come home for a few hours?"
"You know, I never really thought about it. I'll have a talk with her when I drop Sam off. So I'll see you on Wednesday, then?"
"Wednesday?"
"The next karate class." Maddie clapped a hand to her forehead.
"Of course. See you then!" Damon waved one last time before getting into his car and driving off. Maddie walked inside and tiredly plopped down on the couch.
"What an exhausting day," she muttered.
"Yeah, but look at all the new people we met!" Jack exclaimed as he landed on the couch next to her.
"That's true. Valerie's father seemed like a very nice man. I have my doubts about Sam's parents, though…"
"Yeah, we need to get them over here. Then we'll have," he paused to count on his fingers, "five people I can blather on to about ghosts!" Maddie sighed and shook her head, the barest trace of a smile tingeing her lips.
"Come on, we need to clean up the kitchen."
"Aw…" Jack pouted. "Can I at least have a cookie?"
"Oh no. You ate the ones that were supposed to be for the kids. No cookies for you for at least a couple of days."
"But Maddie…"
"No buts. Now get up to our room, mister, unless you want it to be a whole week!" Jack scowled at her and sullenly trudged upstairs.
More karate next chapter! Promise!