Hi readers! Thank you so much for the review, Aerie elf. I'm glad you like it so far. Well, I'll make this author's note very short, and get right to chapter thirteen.

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Chapter Thirteen-The New Computer

Danny was just walking up to the church when Michelle suddenly came dashing up to him.

"Danny! Danny!" her soft voice called out to him. "Danny, guess what?"

"What?" he replied, confused and puzzled as to what would get Michelle so riled.

"We're getting a new computer at the library!"

"What!"

"I said, 'We're getting—'"

"Ok, ok, I've got the point."

"Anyway, it's coming in tomorrow, and I was wondering if you'd like to come and see it after school."

"Hey, that sounds swell! I'll have to ask my uncle, but I'm sure he'll say yes."

"Great!" Michelle exclaimed, blushing the most adorable shade of pink. "Well, we'd better get to class now."

"Yeah." So they walked into the church together. Danny and Michelle then took their seats. Miss Dalton was delighted to find that everyone was there earlier than usual.

"Well," she expressed with sparkles in her eyes, "that's just more time to work." The whole class heaved a sigh as she frantically rummaged through her desk for a project plan. "Well class, I have something very special planned for you all. I'm assigning you…a study on your genealogy."

"Miss Dalton?" Emily timidly asked. "What's jeanology."

"That's genealogy, Emily, and it is your pedigree." Emily still gave Miss Dalton a muddled face. "Your ancestry." Emily's expression persisted. "Your mom and dad's moms and dads and so forth." Finally, Emily got it. "Now, resources could be first off your parents, of course, and our well respected library. Any more questions?" No one dared to even blink until Miss Dalton went on.

After school, Danny went straight to his house to take care of the chickens. I hope my life amounts to something more than just the chicken feeder, he told himself with a chuckle. Then after completing his chores, Danny entered the house to find Uncle Rick catering to Aunt Karen's every need.

"Oh don't get up, dear. You need your rest," he doted over her.

"Rick, I appreciate your help, but you're treating me like I'm the baby," Karen replied in an irritated tone. Danny just laughed and continued up the stairs to his room. Grabbing a piece of paper, he quickly searched his brain for the things he already knew about his family. He wrote 'Danny' on a line and then connected that line to a bracket. On the bracket's lines he put 'Kai,' with regret, and 'Popuri.' Then last but not least, he made a bracket from Popuri's line, and put 'Lillia' and the name of his disappeared grandfather, 'Rod.'

"That's not very much information," he dismally stated to himself, staring at the pitiful family tree. "I'll have to do some major research at the library tomorrow." But suddenly, Danny heard a vigorous rouse next door. He rushed to his window immediately and probed the scene to find out what was going on. He eyed Yodel Ranch and soon, Stu appeared helping May down the road. "Oh my gosh! May's having her baby!" he quickly put two and two together. Danny instantly flew down the stairs, told his aunt and uncle of the news, and took off for the clinic.

As soon as he barged through the door, he heard May's pleading cries. Barley and Stu were also in the waiting area, but Stu was entirely on edge. Hands clasped together in prayer, he was praying for his young wife's safety, and Barley was just trying to comport himself. Although Danny couldn't see May, he heard her pained voice and also Elli's confident coaching. His worries were soon relieved because Elli was there. She'd delivered almost all of the youngsters in Mineral Town, and was a locally eminent midwife. Being a midwife was a tradition in her family, and it seemed pretty likely that her daughter, Emily, would carry on that tradition when she grew up.

"I hope Sis can do it," Stu, whom was utterly shaken up, expressed, but as soon as he saw Danny, he invited him to sit with himself and Barley. "I hope this delivery is quick. I can't stand to see May in pain." Danny offered a few comforting words in assurance, and Stu feigned relief. He would not rest until it was over.

They sat, listening in agony, for another two hours, and at about 6:05 PM, the joyful cries of a newborn baby inundated the room. Stu swiftly dashed to May's side, and Elli then gently handed her brother his new baby.

"It's a healthy, beautiful baby girl," Elli stated, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thanks for the new niece, Stu." Stu turned to his sister, grinning that adorable grin of his from ear to ear.

"Stu?" May's weak voice sounded.

"Yes May?" he responded.

"W-we have to come up with a name for her."

"Oh my gosh, that's right! We never agreed on anything yet!"

"Well, I rather like Adell."

"Adell it is then… She looks just like her mother."

"Is Danny here?"

"Yeah."

"Please send him in."

"Hey Danny! May wants ya' to come in." Danny appeared in a split-second.

"Yeah May?" he asked.

"Her name's Adell."

"That's a beautiful name…"

"Ya' wanna' hold your new godchild?"

"Ohh, oh yes." She gently handed the bundle to Danny, and when little Adell was firmly nestled into his arms, his eyes dilated. Life is such a wonderful thing, he thought to himself. I can't believe I almost lost mine. He greeted Adell a bit longer and then handed her back to May. "I'll give you and Stu some time to be alone now." May gave him a weak smile, and then he left for home.

On the way home, Danny decided to walk by the beach, but just as he was about to walk down the stairs, he witnessed something most unusual. First, Kai appeared from the seaside Lodge with a paper in hand and then he met a man with a yellow suit on (Won). They both exchanged a few words, and Kai handed the man a wad of money. Then they both cleared out.

"I get the impression that that paper is rather important," Danny commented to himself. He was about to investigate further, but decided not to and continued on his way home.

"So," Rick began when Danny walked through the door, "how'd it go?"

"She had a healthy girl. They named it Adell."

"That's wonderful!" Karen exclaimed. "I'll have to cook her something." Danny and Rick's eyes quickly met and they both acted like they were choking, referring to Karen's cooking. Luckily, Karen didn't notice.

"Well, I have to get to bed," Danny told his aunt and uncle. "Goodnight."

"I'm proud of that boy," Karen expressed to her husband after Danny disappeared upstairs. "He's doing so much better."

"Yeah," Rick replied, "he's a good kid."

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The next morning, Danny got up extra early because he wanted to say hi to May before he went to school. He quickly brushed his teeth and put his school clothes on, but before he could leave, Nikki stopped him for a minute.

"Danny, what was Adell like?" she questioned with interest.

"Well," he explained, "she's real cute and she looks like May.

"What else?"

"Why don't you just come with me to the clinic and see for yourself?"

"Okay!" So they headed out toward the clinic and chatted about things on the way. "Say Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about me and Aaron?" Danny heaved a sigh and thought for a moment.

"Well, you're okay, I guess."

"You don't like him, do you?"

"He thinks he's a bigshot." Nikki let a gasp escape from her mouth, appalled. "Look, he likes you and that's fine with me, but in case you haven't noticed he's totally ignores me."

"I can't believe you think that!"

"Can we just drop it? Every time you bring him up, we get into it." They remained silent the rest of the way to the clinic.

When they finally reached it, Danny went to the front desk and asked to see May. Elli gleefully consented and sent them in.

"Oh, hi Danny, Nikki," May greeted them. "Did you come to see Adell?"

"Yes, and you too," Danny stated with a smile.

"Awww, can I hold her?" Nikki asked kindly.

"Sure," May answered, handing Adell to her. Nikki simply adored the small child.

"Gosh Danny, you're so lucky to be her godfather." They stayed a few more minutes, but had to leave for school. Danny almost had to pry Adell from Nikki's loving embrace. "Goodbye, Adell," Nikki softly cried as they left.

"Gosh Nikki, you're such a drama queen," Danny expressed, rolling his eyes. "Hurry up, we have to get to school." Nikki simply gave him a childish shrug and moved on ahead of him. "Girls."

"Well class," Miss Dalton began in the midst of Aaron's paper airplane throwing, "how's your genealogy project coming along?" No response... until Danny opened up.

"I've stared it, Miss Dalton," he replied, trying to sound interested by it. Miss Dalton just flashed a spurious smile and continued with class. He was glad to be rid of her at the end of the school day, and looked forward to seeing the new computer with Michelle.

"Hey Danny," Michelle caught him after school was "officially" out. "How's your genealogy project?"

"Okay," he drably expressed. "Yours?"

"I haven't even started it yet."

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe we could do some research on that new computer."

"Hey, that's a great idea! Well, let's get going." So they raced over to the library as fast as they could and flew through the door. "Tie!" Michelle announced the race result.

"Okay, okay."

"Wow." Danny turned his head to see what she was referring to, the computer.

The new computer was a Dell, and it was lined with a glamorous silvery texture. It's monitor glittered and shined just like water sparkling in the sun. Now, this might not seem so exciting to you or me, but it sure was to Danny and Michelle, who'd never seen such a machine before.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Turn it on." And indeed she did. They watched in awe as many logos appeared on the screen and various sounds escaped its speakers. They were absolutely floored by the incredible machine. After it was done starting up, they began clicking buttons. Immediately, a browser window that said "Internet Explorer" popped up. "Say, put something in about genealogy." After she did, another window popped up that said something about "find your ancestors." They quickly got to work, typing in their names. Michelle went first and got lucky by finding all of her relatives back to her great-great grandparents. Then it was Danny's turn. He heavily hesitated because he was terrified of the things he might find, the things from his father's side of the family, but mustering up all the courage he could, he cautiously clicked the search button.

"Danny," Michelle informed, "you're shaking. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." But he would not be fine when he viewed the next page that appeared on the monitor. He regretably lifted his eyes to the screen and saw a picture of his mother, Popuri. Then, there beside the picture, were seven letters that boggled Danny's mind. They read missing.

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Heh, good cliffhanger, huh? Well, I'll bring you more later. Adios!