Auto x Photo? Pure Curiosity/Speculation

i'm just going to admit up front that this is a total noob question but i'm curious...
has anybody ever tried crossing an auto with a photoperiod? i'm talking just pollen chucking, not any kind of dedicated breeding program. is the autoflowering trait strictly on/off or would a plant just flower quicker than other photos? or would some children flower automatically and others veg and flower like a traditional photoperiod plant?
not serious about this by any means (might experiment with it someday or not, who knows?) just something that tickled my brain after a few beers.

thoughts?

ok the quick answer..
photo+auto = photo with auto traits dormant..
take the seeds from that cross and breed them to each other and you get 50% or so( if lucky) that auto...
keep crossing the autoflowering ones and they get more stable for auto...

ok so it's like a recessive gene thing...thanks just curious how this stuff works.