Happily emerging from the basement, Jazzmine Jackson (formerly Fenton, of course) opened the door to something surprising. Loud, male humming poured from the kitchen, mingling with the smell of bacon, eggs, pancakes… She followed her nose, like an old-time cartoon, to where the loveliness was pouring from.

"Morning, Jazz," Danny calls, flipping a pancake.

"Danny! When did you learn how to cook?" Jazz smiled, standing next to him.

"I did learn some things in college, ya know," he laughed, kissing her cheek.

She inhaled the food smell deeply, and her mouth actually started to water. "You sure did, little brother. You seem much happier than yesterday… anything you want to talk about?"

He turned and smiled dreamily at her. She cocked a reddish eyebrow.

"Danny…" She leaned in menacingly. He held up his spatula.

"I promise, I didn't do anything evil to Jesse."

"Then what is this all about? Did you just decide to move on with your life?"

"You could say that," Danny said ambiguously, working with the pancakes again.

"Danny, where were you yesterday?" Jazz asked, buttering each one without being asked as he put them on a plate.

"At first I was doing some internet research for apartment rates in Timbuktu. But I got over that, and decided that I like where I live."

"You're going to stay in Mom and Dad's house forever?" Jazz choked.

"NO," he said, laughing. "I'm just not going to move very far, if I can help it."

"And that makes you happy? I thought our contest was to see who could get farther away from here the fastest?" Jazz sat the pancake plate on the table, and got a plate down for the bacon.

"No, that's not it." Danny smirked playfully, placing the greasy meat strips on the plate.

"Then what IS?" Jazz asked, her voice betraying that she was dying to know.

"Sam," he said vaguely, smiling broader.

"What about Sam? Did she call you from London?"

"Nope."

"Will you stop making me guess? I diapered your sorry butt, I know how to kick it!"

"That's gross, Jazz."

"Sorry."

"Alright, I guess I can trust you…" Danny grinned as he turned off the burner and put the plate on the table beside the pancakes.

Jazz grinned in anticipation, helping Danny pour glasses of orange juice.

"I sort of… have a girlfriend," he announced, putting fresh plates around the table. Jazz took notice that he put six plates, rather than the basic five they needed.

"Really! That's great, Danny! When can we meet her?"

"She's coming to breakfast in about, twenty minutes."

"So that explains you showing off your cooking skills – you go, little brother, you go." Jazz kissed him on the cheek and helped him with the silverware.

"I've never been so happy in my life," he announced to her, smiling broadly.

"Aw, Danny, I'm so glad. But tell me, did you rush into this as a rebound relationship, or did you realize your feelings for this person once you gave up on Sam?"

Danny's blue eyes twinkled, danced. Uh-oh, Jazz thought. She didn't like that look.

He didn't say a word more about this new girlfriend, and that made Jazz more nervous.

But before she could grill him any further, yawns and scuffling feet were heard entering the kitchen. Jack's large frame came first, with short, curvy Maddie right behind him.

"Danny, Jazz! What is all this?" Maddie asked, smiling sleepily.

"Well, I made us food because my girlfriend is coming to breakfast." Danny looked down at the napkin he was folding, and heard an audible gasp from his mother.

Maddie and Jazzmine traded glances where Danny couldn't see. Jazz raised her eyebrows, and Maddie nodded subtly. Needless to say, breakfast at the Fenton household was probably going to become very interesting.

"Well, that's great, Danny," Jack said, patting him on the back. "I always knew you had the good ol' Fenton charm in there somewhere!"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him, Danny. You've always been charming. And trust me, if you got it anywhere, it was from me." She winked.

Danny chuckled as Jack's face turned sour, until Maddie handed him a cookie from a ghost-shaped jar.

Needless to say, Jack fell silent on the matter.

Jazz left the room, announcing that she was going to wake Evan from his beauty sleep. Maddie laughed and made a joking comment about husbands, which she handed Jack another cookie right after saying it. So that's how he's gotten so fat, Danny thought, joking to himself. Anytime Mom wants to shut him up, she feeds him cookies. Like a dog! I guess I should watch out for that… He was about to make a joke about those same cookies, when the doorbell rang. Adrenaline flooded his veins, a pure rush of emotion taking over his brain. He practically scrambled from the kitchen, past a very groggy, grumbling Evan, and a smiling Jazz, who entered the kitchen the way he left.

He reached for the doorknob, and realized his hand was shaking. He willed it to stop, but his fingers were still trembling as he turned and released it. The door creaked open, and there stood Sam Manson, wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans, black high-tops, and a weary smile. Danny moved past the door and drew her to himself, squeezing her tightly and kissing her forehead.

"Come on," he said, loudly. "I want you to meet the folks."

"Danny," Sam whispered, "I've known them since we were little."

"But you weren't my new girlfriend when we were little," Danny winked.

"Ah," she nodded in understanding. "…gotcha."

He took her hand, and she looked up at him.

"Why are you shaking?"

"I'm not." Danny blushed.

Sam smiled to herself. "Okay." He's so adorable, she thought, letting him lead her to the kitchen.

"Oh, I forgot and cooked bacon," he whispered when they were still out of earshot.

She frowned up at him. "Fine. Just don't make me eat it."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

And so, they stepped into the kitchen, and as Danny opened his mouth to speak, everyone gasped. Even Jack, who apparently was the most shocked – probably since he never had the slightest clue in the first place.

"Sam! I heard you were in London?" Jack was the first to speak.

"Did he steal you?" Evan asked, winking.

"You could say that," Sam said, laughing nervously.

Jazz looked from Danny, to Sam, and back again. Her eyes bulged, and her eyebrows shot up, as if she were silently asking him something. He just smiled at her. Danny looked so content, so proud and so joyful that it flooded Sam with newfound confidence. Yeah, this just might work after all, she thought to herself.

"Well, if she wasn't your girlfriend before, congratulations!" Jack said boisterously.

Sam cocked her head and shot Danny an accusatory look. He grinned innocently, shrugging. She rolled her eyes. He squeezed her hand.

"Yes, Danny, this is truly wonderful. Not completely unexpected, of course," Maddie smiled warmly at Sam, who grinned back. "But still, absolutely wonderful." She embraced both of them, and it flooded Sam with happiness.

A look that washed over Jazz's face explained to Sam that she had decided something. And then she smiled, and moved past Danny, and hugged Sam. Sam let go of Danny's hand and hugged her back, fighting a sudden unexpected flood of tears the motion brought her.

Jazz whispered in her ear, "You take care of him, Sam Manson. He loves you more than anything." And then she squeezed her tighter before releasing her.

Jack then moved in for the kill, lifting both Danny and Sam on either side, squeezing them to himself, laughing and shaking them in the process. (Always the comic relief.)

"You smooth-talker, you," Jack punched Danny lightly in the arm after putting them back down on the kitchen floor.

Danny's blue eyes danced.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving." Sam announced. Everybody laughed and agreed, taking their places around the table. Sam and Jazz helped dish out eggs to whomever wanted some, and then they all sat and had a wonderful meal together.

And amidst the laughter and the conversations, Sam realized something:

This is my family.