Welcome Home, Daria Morgendorffer
By Anastasia Hunt (Ana_ng@quincymail.com)

Disclaimer: Daria and other characters are owned by MTV. I am writing this for my personal pleasure and certainly not for any profit of any sort. Please don't sue me- I'm a poor college student.


Daria Morgendorffer sat in Business class, sipping on a ginger ale and pondering life in general, as usual. She was on her way home to Lawndale, a place she visited only for holidays. (Not the kind that pop up in human form in weird dreams induced by eating pizza too close to bedtime, mind you.) However, her sister Quinn was getting married to a really nice guy and Daria had been asked to be her maid of honor. Daria was actually looking forward to being back, in an odd way. Quinn's wedding coincided with her five-year high school reunion at Lawndale High. She wasn't sure she wanted to go to the reunion, but she was going to attend anyway. The wedding, however, was going to be kind of fun- Daria actually looked forward to seeing her family. Besides, her old compadre Jane Carson was going to be in attendance.
This had lots of fun potential.



Jake Morgendorffer paced around the terminal, waiting for his eldest daughter to arrive. His other daughter, Quinn, waited in a chair reading the latest issue of Spy. Helen was in the powder room.
"Dammit! Where is that flight?" Jake fretted.
"Daddy, calm down," Quinn reasoned. "She called to say he flight was running a bit late, remember?" As she was saying this, the announcement that Southwest Airlines flight 318 from Seattle was now landing. Helen made it back just in time to see Daria disembarking her flight. She immediately rushed over to her eldest and swooped her into a hug.
"Oh, Daria. It's so good to see you again. We have missed you so much," Helen gushed. Daria was tolerant of this and the other displays of affection her family lavished on her.
"You look great, kiddo!"
"Yeah, Daria. I like that look on you- you look so professional," Quinn offered.
Daria guessed that she did look a lot more polished than she used to. She had traded in her army jacket, pleated skirt, and combat boots for a green tailored jacket, a white cotton blouse, black wide-leg slacks, and black loafers.
The family went to claim Daria's baggage, and then they went home.



Daria sat in her old room, on her old bed. Her mom hadn't changed it yet, as she had threatened to do eight years ago when they moved in. Helen was still a very busy woman, having made full partner at what was now Horowitz, Vitale, Morgendorffer, Schrecter, and Schrecter. Jake, however, had had another minor health scare two years ago (a year after Helen made partner) and had retired from the consulting business. He was perfectly happy playing househusband.
Even Quinn was doing well for herself. She had just graduated from Woodbine University (one that she needed a 1200 on the SAT's to get into) with a degree in interior design. She was also marrying, of all people, David Sorensen, her former tutor.
As Daria mused, Quinn poked her head in the door.
"Hi. Can I come in?" she asked.
"Sure," Daria replied. Quinn, already dressed for bed in mint green pajamas, entered the room, noting the still-padded walls.
"I see Mom still hasn't gotten around to redoing your room yet," she said.
"Or signing my third-grade report card."
Quinn chuckled. "I'm not surprised." She paused, sitting on the edge of the bed. "So, have you gotten your dress yet?" Quinn was letting her attendants pick their own dresses.
"Yup. It's in the closet," Daria replied. Quinn rose and padded over to the closet. " It's in the black garment bag."
Quinn found the bag, unzipped it, and took the dress out. She hung it from a hook in the wall to look at it. It was a simple dress, but very elegant. It was black organza, lined with satin, with an empire waist and cap sleeves. Quinn looked it over, impressed.
"It's perfect. It's you. I like it," she proclaimed. Quinn still had a sharp fashion sense, but she was no longer a slave to the latest trends. That had disappeared completely in college, after the incident with the sorority.
Quinn remembered how that all went down. She had pledged Phi Alpha Theta with Sandi, Stacy, and Tiffany. It was going fairly well until a black girl named Keisha McAffee pledged. Melanie Klein (the vice-president) saw to it that Keisha's hazing was unnecessarily rough, landing her in the hospital. Disgusted, Quinn left the sorority. Sandi didn't agree with Quinn's leaving, and they finally had it out. Quinn told Sandi exactly what she thought of her and moved into the dorms. They didn't speak to each other again. Stacy left the sorority within the week, and the fashion Club was thus disbanded for good. The thought of the whole thing gave Quinn vicious headaches.
Daria saw her sister's mood change immediately. "Are you okay, Quinn?"
Quinn nodded. "I'm fine. Just thinking about that nasty mess that happened freshman year." She took a deep breath and smiled. "That's over, though. Thank God." She yawned mightily. "I have a lot to do tomorrow. I think I'll go to bed."
"Good night, Quinn. Get some rest, okay?" Daria said.
"I will. Thanks for everything. The dress is great, okay?" Quinn yawned.



END PART 1

Coming up in Part 2:
Daria, Jane, and Jane's new hubby get together for lunch
Daria and Jane have some alone time; wackiness ensues
Someone returns to town; Daria's world gets rocked