"Mmmmmm…These are really good Miranda. Where did you learn to make them?" Lenalee asked, taking another bite of her chocolate chip cookie.

"Oh, well, um… my mother taught me, before she passed away. She always claimed she made the best ones in town," Miranda replied, looking at the floor of the kitchen as she smiled shyly. When she looked back up, Lenalee had finished her cookie, and was discreetly reaching for another from the table.

"Well, she was right, don't you think so Allen?"

"Oh, well I wouldn't know. I've never had homemade cookies before."

"Never?"

"No. Remember, my parents weren't around." Allen took on a melancholy look. Lenalee knew that saying his parents "weren't around" was Allen's way of saying that his parents had abandoned him. Lenalee wondered if Allen had ever tried to find his parents. But she didn't want to be rude, so maybe she should try to casually imply it…She thought about ways to bring it up, but couldn't think of any, so she just asked instead.

"Allen, did you ever try to find your parents? Like, see if they're still alive?"

Allen looked at Lenalee sadly. "No. I figured if they abandoned me, they wouldn't very well want me now."

"But Allen, what if it was an accident? Or they had to leave you?"

Allen looked at her with a confused look. "Lenalee, why do you care so much about this?"

"Well, I, uh," Lenalee started, embarrassed. She didn't want Allen to know just how much she cared for him. Maybe finding his parents would be just the thing to cheer him up. He'd been pretty depressed since he'd found out he had a Noah inside of him.

"Well, don't you think if it was an accident, they would want you to find them?"

Allen thought about it for a minute, looking off into space. "Alright, why not," Allen shocked Lenalee. "I know the name of the town where I was abandoned. I'll start there."

"You're going on your own?" Lenalee was disappointed, but she hid it. She had wanted to go with Allen, but if he wanted to do it alone, who was she to argue?

"Yeah. If I'm going to do this, I think it's something I should do alone. I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."