A/N: Okay, more cowboy!Danny for you!

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Valerie sighed. "I told you to stow that six-shooter somewhere less conspicuous. Guards around here get a bit jumpy when someone jus waltzes in armed like you."

Danny blushed, fumbling to stow said gun back in its holster. "Sorry... no one at home woulda thought twice 'bout it, though..."

"Well...let me put it this way, Danny. From what I've gathered about your hometown, people are more...obvious with their intentions than here. City life's a bit different than that out in less populated areas. I mean, seriously, what's your town's population, three hundred?"

Danny doubted his face could get any redder. "More like two fifty..."

"..I see. Well, believe it or not, this city alone has more than that in one quarter of its space. Imagine if that many people walked around with colt revolvers strapped to their hips! If you know human nature in crowds as much as I'm guessing you do..."

"R—Right..."

"Exactly. I understand, as do at least Sam and the director, that you have some...acclimating to do, but...well, there're a few things you need to realize that're necessary to operating in a different locale. That's one of 'em right there."

"Y—Yes, ma'am..."

Val made a face. "Danny, please. The only 'ma'am' in this place is the boss, Sam. Call me Val."

"Sure thing, ma-Val."

"Don't get me wrong, man. I appreciate your courtesy. It's just that, round here, most girls aren't used to being called 'ma'am'. They might look at you funny—like I just did—or...worse…."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Pardon my ignorance to custom 'round here, but... how can showing respect be a bad thing? And whaddaya mean worse?"

"Well...how should I say this... Basically, there may've been some common courtesy around here at some point, but…it steadily faded away. It still exists to some degree, but well...not nearly as much as what's probably the norm in your neck of the woods. People here are so focused on what they're doing, for the most part they don't even consciously notice anyone else around them. They might be nice, sure, but they don't exactly go outta their way..."

"Okay... but whaddid ya mean by 'worse'?"

"Well…y'see...people here think that any overt showing of courtesy, affection, etc, that they aren't used to or otherwise expecting is, at the very least, patronizing, so...they can tend to get a bit...well, defensive."

"...Defensive how?"

Val put a finger to her chin, trying to decide how best to explain. "...Well, that depends. If a person has the right...training, they may attempt to put you down themselves. If not, well...they just might call the cops on you."

"...Y'all have some weird customs, here..."

"Heh...I suppose they would seem strange to someone who's not from around here. Of course, I doubt there're too many people who have any idea what cow tipping is…."

Danny huffed. "We do not cow-tip. That's just a folk tale."

Valerie blinked at him. "...Seriously?"

"Yup. Now, you said somethin' about meetin' people?"

Val shook herself out of it. "...Uh, sure. First, we're gonna meet a guy called Vlad. He's a bit...eccentric, but he's cool."

"Awright, where's he?"

"Right this way."

Val led him into an elevator and pressed the 2B button. A moment later, the elevator dinged, and they walked out into a pristinely-kept autopsy.

"Hey, Vlad!" Val called.

The gray-haired man turned, grinning at them. "Why, hello, Valerie. And who is this strapping young lad?"

Danny blinked. "Uh, I'm Danny Fenton..."

"I see. And, is that—" Vlad glanced down at the gun on Danny's hip "—a leather-bound 1965 colt .45?"

"Um, y—yes'r, it is."

Vlad smiled warmly at him. "Good choice, son. Good choice."

Val decided to help the nervous new recruit out. "...Right. Well, Vlad, has anyone come down yet?"

"Why yes, of course...you two didn't come back with the others?"

"Uh...not exactly. Danny brought his own mode of transportation."

And the attention was back on a very uncomfortable Danny. "Did he?"

Danny nodded. "Yes'r. Brought my horse up with me."

"Oh...I see. I trust the animal wasn't flown from Texas with you, correct?"

"No, sir. I got a friend to hitch her up in his trailer."

"Good, good. And it's Vlad, young man. Nice to see courtesy is not as dead elsewhere as here, but please. No need to call me 'sir'."

"R—Right. Um, so you're the coroner for the team?"

"I'm the medical examiner, yes...among other things..."

Val grinned. "Yeah. Vlad helps out in other areas, as needed, from time to time, though his forte is definitely studying the dead."

"Indeed. As an idol of mine once said, 'The language of silence may be hard to hear. But, unlike the living, when the dead speak they do not lie'."

"Um, right..."

Val stepped back in. "Anyways. We should probably head upstairs."

Vlad nodded. "Very well. Nice to meet you, young man."

Danny shook hands with him. "You, too, si—Vlad."

Val and Danny headed back to the elevator, Val pressing 1B this time.

"Word of advice," she said. "Try and follow my lead a bit. Not saying you should be too friendly, but you won't have to be so proper either. Least, not toward everyone."

"Sorry, Val, it's habit, though."

"Hey, man. Nothing wrong with that. I'm not trying to change who you are, as much as trying to help ease your transition to this new environment. Just saying to not take offense if someone doesn't want you to call them 'sir' or 'ma'am'. It's nice every once in a while, but...it can seem overused sometimes. Least, it can to someone from around here."

"It's not that I'm takin' offense to it, I'm just not used ta goin' against that habit yet."

"Ok, cool. Just saying." Val winked. "Anyway, there's someone else you should meet before we rejoin the rest of the squad, our forensic tech."

"Your—?" Danny stared, wide-eyed, at her. "You've got a person just for forensics?"

"Well...yeah. When you have this many people in such a tight space, you tend to be able to have more specialized individuals."

"Huh," Danny muttered to himself, "never thought I'd see the day..."

"…Anyway," Val said as the elevator door opened and they stepped out, "I think I should really warn you…. This guy can be a bit, well—"

"VALLEY!" a voice yelled from the next room. A giddy redhead ran over to them, hopping a bit. "Oooh! You brought a new friend!"

Val sighed, rubbing her throbbing forehead. "I TOLD you! Just because my dad might've let his name for me slip, does not mean you can pick it up!"

"Awww, but Valley's such a cute name for you!" The young man turned to Danny. "And who do we have here?"

"Uh..yeah. His name's Danny…."

Danny just gaped. "This is your forensics guy?"

The man came right up to Danny, standing almost nose-to-nose with him. "Oh, I can do more than forensics, if ya know what I mean...!"

Danny blinked. "Um, naw, I don't..."

The other spun back to Valerie. "Geez, Val, he's got an accent and everything! Where'd you get him and can I get one?"

Val sighed. "Esu, how many times do I have to tell you. You can't purchase humans in this country, and you should certainly not be that…er, open with anyone who might chance to pass your field of vision."

Esu hugged Danny. "Awww, but he's adorable! You got a real-life cowboy!"

"Let him go, Esu!"

Danny wriggled uncomfortably. "Um, I'm with Val on this one..."

Esu pouted. "Awww, fine..." He let Danny go rather reluctantly.

One of Val's eyebrows shot up. "Need I get the director down here again?"

His pout deepened. "No..." Esu turned back to Danny. "I was just saying hi..."

"Um, hi...?" Danny found himself leaning back a bit from the other man.

"So...has anyone informed you of our latest case?"

"Not yet, but knowing Sam, they'll be here—" The rest of the team exited the elevator, and Esu gave Val a wide grin. "—right now!"

"Hey, Es—Oh, hi guys," Sam said as she saw the others.

"Hello, ma'am," all three replied.

"You...sure got here quick."

Val smirked. "Told you we could get here faster than you guys. In city traffic, nothing beats true horsepower."

"Hey, boss, you got your team a cowboy!" Esu exclaimed happily.

Danny stared in shock at the forensic tech.

"…Y—Yes, Esu, I'm well aware of that. The director's the one who deserves the credit, however. I'm usually not one for adding to our little group, but we'll see how he does."

Dash grumbled to himself, "Big deal, so he knows how to—" An elbow to his stomach stopped his complaining.

Tucker smiled as he pulled his arm away from Dash. "Great work out there, Danny. Don't mind Dash."

Sam snorted. "Certainly not. Baxter has a hard time letting anyone share his spotlight, let alone a newbie."

Danny nodded. "Y—Yes, ma'am. Um, Val was just introducin' me to your c—medical examiner and forensics tech."

"Ah. You've just come from autopsy, then?"

"Yeah. I think Dan here was surprised at Vlad's knowledge of firearms."

Sam sighed. "You'll have to get used to it, Danny. One thing I've almost come to rely on is Vlad's ability to surprise me, even when everything else doesn't."

"R—Right, ma'am."

Sam took Val to one side, asking quietly, "How's he doing so far?"

Val glanced quickly at Danny, who was being distracted by Esu and Tucker. "Pretty well, I'd say. Still has to get used to not being so overtly polite twenty-four-seven but, then, that's understandable."

"Quite." Sam turned back to the rest. "I hope you'll like it here, Danny. Some people may be a bit...off-putting at first—" she glanced at Dash and Esu "—but they're mostly okay individuals."

Danny nodded seriously. "Of course, ma'am."

Esu stifled a squeal, murmuring to himself, "He's so proper!"

Sam glared at Esu. "I think you should continue the tour of our facility, Val."

"To—? Right. This way, Danny." She pulled Danny towards the door.

As they left, they could hear Esu complain loudly, "Awww, boss!"

Danny glanced back at forensics before looking at Val, who continued to drag him away. "What else is there ta see...?"

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Sam marched into the conference room. "Okay, what've we got?"

"Well, we..." Dash sighed. "Actually, boss, we got a whole lotta nothing."

Sam sighed. "Doesn't anyone have anything! Tuck?"

"...No."

"Val?"

"Nada."

Sam groaned. "Okay, Danny. Any ideas?"

Danny jumped a bit at being addressed, but thought it through quickly. "Did Esu run those prints yet?"

"Uhh..good poin-"

RINGRING

Ignoring the stifled chuckles as Danny was startled by the phone, Sam slid the cell open easily. "Manson."

"BOSS!" Half the people in the room could hear Esu's shout. "Y'know that print you dropped off?"

"…Y—Yes...?"

"You will never guess what I found! Y'know that dude that's campaigning for mayor? That Stephens guy? Guess who his campaign manager was?"

"...Enlighten me."

"Our Jane Doe is really Jamie Donaldson, who was his campaign manager until she discovered some very shady deals he's been getting for his campaign."

"...Seriously? H—How many points're in the match?"

"Out of sixteen, fourteen. The last two were blurry to begin with."

Sam clicked off the phone. "Esu's got a lead. Val, take Danny and check it out. Tuck, go with them."

Dash groaned. "Aww, c'mon—"

Sam glared.

"...Fine, I'll stay here…."

Val nodded. "...Okay, boss. Let's go, guys!"

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"So, Dan, is Yoki gonna be okay by herself, or are you gonna have to take her everywhere?" Val asked as they headed out to the cars.

"She'll be fine once I set 'er up at my house here. I found a place at the edge of town with a decent yard."

"…You did?"

"Yup. It's a bit smaller of a house than I'm used to, but it's got room 'nough for Yoki in the back yard, and I'll have a small barn up for 'er in no time."

Tucker blinked at him in shock.

Val glanced between them, then said, "Ah…. The house wouldn't happen to be about 150 years old, with a nice little alcove in the third story, would it?"

Danny blinked a couple times. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"

Val chuckled. "Heh. No reason. That's actually the director's vacation residence. He likes to be able to relax somewhat, while still being close enough to the action should we need him."

Danny blushed. "R—Really? I—I mean, he told me he knew a place and could set me up there, but he never said—"

"He never would. He rents the place out from time to time, but it stands unused most of the year. He makes sure it's kept up, even invites the team to use it whenever any of us wants to, but never accepts anything in return, money or otherwise."

"I—I'll hafta find some way to repay him, I mean, ta let me use his own house! W—Well, vacation house, but still!"

Val and Tucker shared a smirk, then Tuck placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, effectively silencing him. "Cool it, man. He most likely won't accept anything, except maybe a 'thank you'. That's just the kind of guy he is."

"Tuck's right. Apparently, he grew up with that house. It was built by his relative from a few generations before him who'd owned acres beyond it. Says it's the least he can do to keep the legacy of always giving what you're able to to anyone who needs it."

"Yeah, man. Sure, he's very tough on criminals and whenever he needs to be, but most of the time he's cool."

"I—I guess so... I just... I can't believe he'd just let me stay there! He barely even knows me!"

"Dude, it's cool. He probably knows enough about you to be doing this."

"Yeah, Dan. Trust me when I say he doesn't let anyone near him, let alone anything he owns unsupervised if he's not vetted them enough."

Danny blushed darkly. "Y—Yeah, right..." He ducked his head, avoiding their eyes.

"Don't get us wrong, man."

"Yeah. Lancer probably just researched you enough to think you a good enough character. He's the kinda guy that'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you cross him...well…."

"Right. Stay in his good graces, got it. So, about this guy we're s'posed ta interrogate...?" Danny glanced between the two of them, curious.

"Oh, right." Val turned to Tucker. "Tuck, you take the sedan to the location. Dan and I'll meet you there."

Tucker chuckled. "Got it." He slid into the car and took off.

Val looked back at the cowboy. "Alright, Dan. Let's get Yoki over to the ranch house."

"Um, if Tuck's goin' to the place we're interrogatin' this guy at, how'll we get there after droppin' Yoki at the ranch?"

Val smirked. "Trust me. We'll be just fine!" She winked at Danny.

He gave her a suspicious look, but shrugged it off. "...Awright..." Then he untied Yoki and swung himself on.

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A/N: Okay, so this is gonna be about the average length for each chapter. Don't expect quick updates, mostly 'cause my parents are really being strict about my grades and I've got summer courses this year. -.-' Anywayz, read and review, y'all! …Oh no, Danny's accent is rubbing off on me…. Oh, wait, I did that before this story. :D