Teenager Donald Dreamer

Donald would soon be a teenager and was growing up well. He would occasionally ask to sleep with Darren, and so Darren allowed it. Donald dreamed of his mother. He barely remembered her. He was thankful that Darren had continued to keep his mother's memory alive. He had shown Donald pictures, and talked often of Kaylynn. Donald knew that Darren had loved her too.
Today was Donald's birthday. "So, what would you like to do today, Donald?" asked Darren to the birthday boy. Donald had plenty of plans. "Well, I've been wanting to see that new Transformers movie!" said Donald. "All right", said Darren. "Let's go see it. Then we'll go out to eat wherever you want, okay? And...why don't we invite Brandi to come along with us!" Darren wanted to spend more time with Brandi. Brandi accompanied Darren and Donald to the movie, then out for pizza afterwards. Upon arriving back at the Dreamer home, Darren lit the candles and Donald blew out the candles.
Donald was now a teenager. And...he looked very much like his birth dad...Don Lothario.

Donald Langerak Dreamer

Donald was having a birthday! Darren stood, watching as Donald's transformation began. Only a few months had passed since Donald had become a part of Darren's family. And, surprisingly, Don hadn't been by even once. Darren had expected some kind of trouble from Don...but none had come. It was true that the adoption had been classified as "private". But Darren remembered Mortimer, standing outside his home as the social worker delivered Donald to him. Had he known? Had he told anyone? Darren would never know that Mortimer had taken that bit of knowledge with him to the grave. Donald's transformation was complete. He would now be going to school, bringing friends home. Darren was happy for Donald. He seemed happy and barely seemed to remember his mother. Darren showed Donald pictures of Kaylynn. He wanted her to always be remembered. She had been a good mother to Donald.
Donald was a normal little boy. He went to school, played games on the computer, made friends. Darren had made sure his life would be happy. Though he didn't have everything materially, Donald couldn't be more loved.

Donald Grows And Learns

Over the next few months, Darren concentrated on his new son Donald. The first time Donald called him daddy was one of the happiest moments of Darren's life.
Darren taught Donald to walk...
and to talk...
and he helped him learn to use the potty...
It was just the two of them. He spent all his waking hours with one goal...to take care of Donald. Really, Donald learned very quickly. Kaylynn had worked with him and he already knew so much when he arrived. Darren knew Kaylynn had been a good mother and had spent a lot of time teaching her son. Donald's birthday was only a few days away!

Darren Adopts Donald

Darren was again devestated at the death of the woman he loved. He could hardly believe it, even these few months later, that she was really gone. Dead. Had died in an awful fire. But...what had happened to her son? Darren heard the entire story about how the maid had held the little boy...tried to comfort him...and then the social worker came and he was gone. But where was he? Darren learned that the boy had been taken to the Pleasantview Orphanage. Was he still there? Or had Don already come after him? Darren made several calls and found out that Kaylynn's son was still at the orphanage. This is what he could do for Kaylynn! He could provide for her son...raise her son as his own. He was sure that was what she would have wanted. Darren immediately called and requested to adopt the boy. He had been accepted, and today was the day little Donald was to arrive. Darren waited impatiently for his new son to get here. When they finally arrived, Darren ran outside and watched as the social worker unbuckled Donald's seatbelt.
The social worker lifted Donald out of the van and held him closely. Donald was a little uncertain, until he saw Darren. He remembered seeing this man with his mother. He remembered that his mother seemed to like this man...so he must be nice. Everything was going to be all right after all!
Donald sat on the soft grass, looking around at his new surroundings as his new "daddy" and the social worker talked.
Darren bent to pick up his new son. Turning around he saw Pao Mellon, the postman walk past. And then he saw Mortimer Goth himself. That was bad luck! He was hoping to keep the adoption a secret from the Goth family. He didn't want any trouble from Don. Now...here was Mortimer...strolling by and looking at the social worker...and you could tell he was taking it all in. Well, it couldn't be helped. It was official now...Donald was now Darren's son and would be called Donald Dreamer from now on. There wasn't anything to be done about it...even with all his millions. Darren held his son Donald closely. He thought of Kaylynn. "This is for you Kaylynn. I promise to do everything in my power to give "our" son a happy life! I love you Kaylynn." Darren would show his love for Kaylynn by taking care of her son.

Kaylynn's Decision

Kaylynn thought of Darren often. She just couldn't seem to get him out of her mind. "It would be so nice if he were here tonight," thought Kaylynn as she sat, watching television. She needed someone to talk to tonight. Kaylynn had found out that she couldn't make the payments on her new home. She and Donald were going to have to move! What should she do? Darren had said that she and Donald could move in with him. He had a big house and lived all alone there. But Kaylynn didn't want to "jinx" their relationship. Things had been going too well between them.
Donald slept as she made a t.v. dinner and ate her dinner. Kaylynn thought of Darren's generous offer. She also thought of the offer Don had made to her. He had advised her to go ahead and sell her home. She could then use whatever profit she made as part of a down payment on a smaller place. Don had even offered to pay a large portion of the down payment, with the Goth money of course...IF she would put the place in his name. He had told her he was doing it for his son. Kaylynn appreciated Darren's offer, but she wanted a place of her own. She was leaning towards taking Don's offer. After all, she felt he did owe her something...didn't he? What Kaylynn didn't know was that Darren couldn't get her out of his mind either. He hadn't seen her for a few weeks, and he missed her. He had fallen hard for Kaylynn, but did she feel the same towards him? Darren thought of his wife, Darleen. When she died, he had been devestated. He thought of Cassandra. Darren had fallen in love with her after the death of his wife. But Cassandra had not loved him in return. She had fallen in love with...Don Lothario. He didn't want the same thing to happen again...To fall in love and not be loved in return. He wanted to help Kaylynn. She was unmarried and now had a little boy to care for. And she told him that she was losing her home because she couldn't afford the payments. He wished he could help her more financially...but he was barely getting by himself selling his paintings. And now...with Dirk going to college... Darren's son, Dirk, was leaving soon for college. He had already received his scholarships and acceptance into the University. With Dirk gone, Darren would be all alone in this big house. He didn't like that idea very much. But, to have a baby in the house again... Darren sighed. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see what she decides. It's out of my hands."

Darren and Kaylynn

Kaylynn had gotten into the habit of taking a daily walk. She knew how important it was to continue to exercise throughout her pregnancy. She stopped by Darren's home for a quick visit. Darren was outside, working in the yard and enjoying the sunny day. They talked while standing in front of his home. Suddenly Kaylynn felt her baby move. Darren placed his hands on Kaylynn's abdomen and felt a kick. That was the most amazing feeling for Darren. An actual person was growing inside of this woman. He was awestruck at the miracle of it all. It had been so long since his wife Darlene had been expecting their son Dirk. He even felt a little sad. It brought back memories of his own family and the unexpected death of his wife and Dirk's mother. He had done the best he could to be a good dad to Dirk, and had moved on. He realized how difficult it must be for Kaylynn to be alone at such a time as this. Just then, Mortimer walked past. He stopped and stared at Kaylynn. So, it was true. He had heard it being said about town that Kaylynn was expecting. But whose baby was it? He had his own ideas about that. Darren invited both Mortimer and Kaylynn inside for a glass of iced tea. As Darren went to serve the tea, Mortimer began to talk about Cassandra and Don...about how happy they both were. Kaylynn quickly made it clear to Mortimer that she did not want to talk about Don. So, he was right after all. Judging from her reaction, Mortimer was almost certain that Don was the father of her baby. He couldn't wait to get back home and see how Don reacted to his news. Darren practically ignored his other guest and gave all his attention to Kaylynn. She was so easy to talk to. They had so much in common. The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to be with her. Mortimer watched the two of them. "Looks like Darren is falling head over heels to me. Apparently he's gotten over his infatuation with Cassandra." thought Mortimer.