A/N: Okay folks, we're almost done here. Should only be a couple of more chapters left, no more than 3 unless I come up with something else. Now I have a tad bit of a twist at the end here but I'm gonna warn you, I've just realized twists are not that easy to write, so if it's bad, keep the complaints to a minimum. Oh and real quick, thanks so much to all you lovely reviewers, you're like family!

(Stuff in bold is Mort's inner voice, and stuff in italics is Mort's voice.)

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'Welcome To Alexandria'

They had finally arrived. Alexandria, Virginia, home to Morton Rainey's daughter. In a few minutes they would be arriving at her house, and he would be meeting her for the first time. But what was he going to do? What was he going to say? It's not exactly like he had much in common with a fifthteen year old. But that's okay, he would have plenty of time to deal with that later.

Are you sure about that?

Yes.

Positive?

Yes! Why are you acting like that?

I'm just saying, what if you don't have time to deal with that later?

Why wouldn't I have time to deal with it later?

Oh I don't know.......... let's say, hypothetically of course, she's not there?

Why wouldn't she be there?

I'm just saying, hypothetically.

She's there! She's there and that's all there is to it. There's no hypotheticallies (is that even a word?), no what ifs, it just is! End of story.

All right.

Mort was more confused now then ever. Why was his mind against him all of a sudden? Almost acting as if it knew something that Mort didn't. No, it was just his imagination, he was sure of it. What could his mind know that he didn't anyways? It was, after all, his mind. How could his own mind know something he didn't? It couldn't.

"Well, here we are." Lucy announced cheerfully.

Mort glanced out the window to find that they were in fact there. The house was of medium size. Not too big, not too small, but just that right size, in a 'Goldie Locks and the Three Bears' sort of way. It was a white house with forest green shutters, and a long walkway leading up to the door that was lined with flowers. It reminded Mort of an entrance to a garden or something of the like. Now that they were here, all he had to do was work up the nerve to actually walk that walkway to the front door.

Lucy cleared her throat a bit to get Mort's attention. "Um, are you going?"

"Uh..... yeah, yeah I'm going." he nervously nodded his head.

Lucy watched as he made no attempts to move. She knew he was nervous, and understandably so, but he would have to go sooner or later. "Listen, Mort, I know you're scared, and that's perfectly understandable, but you got a little girl in there who's been waiting to see her daddy, you're not gonna keep her waiting are you?" she told him gently, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"You're right. I just got to bear down and go for it. Yeah, okay I'm going.........now." Mort gave a final nod and finally opened the door.

"Go get em tiger!" Lucy gave him two thumbs up that he returned with a nervous smile, then made a gesture as if she were praying for him when he turned his back.

Mort was walking rather slowly up the walkway, he was sure that that snail he seen when he got out of the car had just fast him. Miserable snails, he didn't trust them. Always carrying their house on their backs. 'Oh nothing can happen to me, I've got my house on my back.' Miserable creatures.

Mort was so deep in his thoughts about his dislike for snails that he didn't realize he had reached the door until he bumped into it. He looked at it like it was some kind of evil creature. But it wasn't. Just a simple piece of wood, the only thing now separating him and his daughter. All he had to do, was knock.

Alright partner. Time for the big showdown. I suggest...........you brace yourself.

Mort raised his hand, and after a moment's hesitation, he gave a strong knock. It didn't seem like anyone was coming, so he prepared to knock again. But before he got the chance, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. After a few more seconds, the door opened to reveal a teenage girl that was almost the spiting image of him. Same dark brown eyes, same brownish/blondish hair, same face structure, everything. It was looking in a mirror..............that is, if he was a teenage girl.

Mort was speechless. This girl, his girl, his baby girl, was absolutely beautiful. Like an angel. What he had done to deserve her was far beyond him.

"Hhh......hi." He was finally able to choke out.

"Uh..... hi." she said a bit oddly. But then something happened. It appeared as if recognition had hit her, and all of a sudden her eyes grew wide. "Dad?!" she asked, barely above a whisper.

Wow. Hearing her call him that took his breath away. "Yeah, it's daddy....................hi sweetheart."

That was all Maggie needed to hear. Her arms were instantly around his neck, holding on for dear life, as if he would disappear if she let go. That's it, Mort Rainey was in love.

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When Mort finally got out of the car, Lucy took the opportunity to get a better look at the place. It seemed like a nice house, and it seemed like a nice neighborhood. She came to the conclusion that Maggie and her mother had some money. Either that or her mother had married rich. Whichever the reason, they were doing good. Lucy was taking in the structure of the house when she suddenly frowned.

"Hmmmm." There didn't seem to be any lights on in the house. "Maybe they're the type that go to extreme lengths to conserve energy." she mused to herself. But then she noticed that there were no cars in the driveway. "Oh no, Mort's gonna have a heart attack if he has to wait any longer." she thought aloud to herself. But then she noticed something really odd, something that she couldn't believe neither of them had seen when they drove up, and without a doubt, something she didn't understand. There was a 'for sale' sigh on the front lawn. This just wasn't making any sense. "What the hell is going on?"

Lucy was about to get out of the car to get Mort when she saw something truly unexplainable. At the moment, Mort Rainey was hugging something. The only thing is, that 'something', was nothing but thin air.

A/N: Dun dun dun! (humor me please) Well there's my twist, enjoy it. Oh, and that bit about the snails, that's another part of the act that Jeremy Hotz does. Sorry, I couldn't resist adding it.