The second time Danny came to her, months had passed by, and she was in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

"Hey Mom, need any help?" Danny asked from somewhere over Maddie's shoulder.

"Sure, Danny. You could help me peel these potatoes." He approached quickly and, after washing his hands, set to work next to her. They worked together for several minutes in a silence broken only by a dull *thunk* every time a potato slipped through Danny's nervous fingers.

"...Stupid potatoes..." Danny grumbled under his breath, and Maddie couldn't suppress a small giggle at the outburst. She glanced over at her son to find him glaring daggers back. " 'S not funny, Mom."

And just like that, he was back. Danny, before he hit puberty. Before high school, and all the secrets, lies, and recent awkwardness. Maddie stared at the carrot in her hands. She had missed this, so much more than she had even realized. She missed her son.

"Danny..."

"Mom, I..." They spoke at the same time. She looked over at him, a sheepish expression on his face.

"Go ahead, Danny." She conceded, and he looked back at the half-peeled potato in his hands.

"Mom, I love you..." He said it quietly, and it threw Maddie off-guard. "...And I..." He chewed on his lip nervously. This was terrifying to him. Maddie came to a decision in that moment, one that she hoped wouldn't come back to bite her later. She sighed slightly.

"Danny, I know this is hard for you."

"You have no idea."

"But you don't have to put yourself through this." She looked up at him, his eyes filled with confusion. "I'm sorry things have been uncomfortable between us lately. But I trust you, Danny." She smiled at him reassuringly. "Whatever is going on with you that you don't want to talk about with me, you don't have to. I'm not going to force you to, and I'm not going to pry." He stared at her, dumbfounded. "Just promise me it's nothing illegal..." she paused, trying to figure out the best way to phrase this next part. "... and try to talk to someone about it, even if it's not me or your father."

"It's not illegal, I can promise that..." Relief swept through Maddie at that reassurance. She knew that he was being honest with her, like he hadn't in months now. "...and I do talk to people. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. They keep tabs on me just in case." Maddie smiled. Sam and Tucker were unsurprising; those three were the very best of friends. Danny confiding in Jazz though? That did catch her off guard, but in a good way. Jazz was very protective of her little brother; and if anything was really wrong with Danny, or if he was in danger, Jazz would tell her.

"Alright then, Danny. I trust you with whatever you're doing."

"I'm helping people, Mom." There it was again; honesty. "I wouldn't be doing it for no reason. I'm sorry I've been..."

"No, Danny. It's enough." She saw his smile from the corner of her eye as she turned her attention back to the carrot in her hands. "Just try to be home for dinner a little more often, okay?"

"I'll try."

"Now, those potatoes aren't going to peel themselves." She laughed as he grumbled. "You volunteered, remember?"

"I know, I know."

Maddie noticed a drastic shift in her son. Suddenly, a huge weight seemed like it had been lifted off his shoulders. They worked on cooking supper together, laughing and cracking bad jokes at one another like they hadn't done in several years. Danny had always helped her cook. It was their special bonding time. She smiled at him. Maybe things could be better between them. Maybe he would finally open up to her about all these secrets he'd been keeping. Maybe... Maybe...

Maybe if she had tried a little harder to listen to him at that moment, they might not have ended up where they did.

AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites everyone! And because I'm a relic of ancient , I completely forgot you can now reply to reviews! I was a little torn about this chapter; namely I thought about combining it and the first one into one chapter, that way the story was in three parts (mirroring the title) but I think I like the flow a bit better as a separate chapter. Also, I'm posting this on tumblr as well under the name katwritesthings.

Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you guys next week! :D