Drake Mallard rocked the rocking chair slowly as he watched his eldest daughter Gosalyn from the window as she and her boyfriend, Huey Duck, played a game of one-on-one basketball. Gosalyn had just turned 16 and would be going to NYU early on a hockey scholarship. Huey and his brother Louie would also be going with her – Huey had gotten in on a drama scholarship and Louie on a basketball scholarship. Huey and Louie's brother, Dewey, was going to Harvard early with Honker.
Drake's wife and Gosalyn's step-mother, Morgana MacCawber-Mallard, was in the house, sleeping. Like her husband, Morgana thrived on darkness and night, when her magic was strongest. That, however, never meant that she would shun any of Gosalyn's sports meets or big parent events. At any rate, she had married Drake when Gosalyn was 11, and had given Drake a set of triplets – two boys and one girl – when Gosalyn was 12. Drake was holding his napping 4-year-old daughter, Carina Gosalyn, in his arms. The boys, Devlin Launchpad and Drew Monoculo, were sleeping in their room, so the house was quiet.
Drake sighed softly as he observed Gosalyn's impish green eyes dart right and left, looking for her chance as Huey, who was slightly taller than her, tried to block her shot. Drake had never been more proud of his girl than he was right now. Gosalyn may have been adopted, and Drake may have had three of his own biological children with the woman of his dreams, but Gos had been his girl first. He'd fallen in love with the spirited red-headed 9-year old when he sung her that lullaby when she'd been under his protection. Even until today, he remembered all the words and when she had a bad dream, it was the only thing that would get her to sleep. He had hoped he would be the only man in her life, save Launchpad, that she would ever need.
Unfortunately, time flies all too quickly, and Gosalyn had met the Duck triplets through Launchpad. Dewey, the shy, intelligent triplet, had been dating Webby Vanderquack, so Drake had not been worried about him, and Louie, a jock and secretly a violin virtuoso, was in an on-and-off relationship with one of Gosalyn's only female friends, Casey Quackerson, who had gone ahead to New York to sign the lease for the apartment that the 4 of them would be sharing. It had been Huey, the bad-boy brother, that Drake had been concerned about, and it turned out to be a very founded concern. Huey had been seeing Gosalyn for two years now, and it was painfully obvious that the two of them were crazy about each other. The thought had saddened Drake, knowing that Gosalyn had another man in her life to depend on. He laid Carina, nicknamed Carrie, on her blanket next to the rocking chair and reached for his acoustic guitar. He hardly had time to play it anymore, but it just seemed right to strum a tune at that moment. He softly let his fingers play over the strings, before breaking into gentle song, so as not to wake up Carrie.
Drake:
In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes
In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes
And when she wraps her hand around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about
It's hangin' on when your heart has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daugter's eyes
In my daughter's eyes
I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes
Drake finished the song and slumped over the guitar mournfully. Regretfully, he put it back on its stand and picked up his still slumbering baby girl. As he remembered the first time he'd sung to Gos 7 years ago, he was struck with an idea. Placing Carrie gently on the couch, he grabbed Nessa's spare notebook and pencil and began sketching. He might not be able to physically be there for Gos when she needed him, but he knew how she could carry a little piece of him wherever she was.
Two months later…
As Gosalyn finished all her good-byes and got ready to board the plane with Huey and Louie, Drake knew he had to speak to her quickly. Excusing them, he took her aside, away from everyone.
"Dad, if this is going to be another 'Eat right and call me every 10 minutes' talk-" she began jokingly. Drake shook his head and handed her a slightly large present, wrapped neatly in green paper. Gosalyn looked down at it in confusion before ripping off the wrapping paper. It turned out to be a papier-mâché musical box. Gosalyn smiled as she recognized that the only colors on the music box were red, blue, yellow, green and purple – the same colors in her grandfather's lullaby. Such an amalgamation of color would normally make the box look tacky, but Gosalyn admitted that this would definitely have to be some of her father's best work. She was ecstatic to see the engraving of a bow and arrow on the lid, and the branded "QW" on the brass latch. She opened the music box and found a figurine inside. Instead of the traditional ballerina, it was a figurine of Drake and Gosalyn hugging tenderly. A picture of the MacCawber-Mallard-McQuack family had been painted on the interior of the lid and Gosalyn was moved. Her father hardly ever used his little-known artistic talent, preferring logic and deduction to painting. But what brought tears to her eyes was the song that the music box played-:
"Close your eyes, little girl blue
Inside of you lies a rainbow,
Yellow, blue, red, blue, purple too,
Blue, purple and green and a yellow
Rest your head, little girl blue,
Come paint your dreams on your pillow,
I'll be near, to chase away fear,
So sleep now and dream 'til tomorrow
I'll be near, to chase away fear,
So sleep now and dream 'til tomorrow"
"Grandpa's lullaby," Gosalyn breathed as Drake's beautiful tenor voice trailed off. Her father had recorded himself singing the lullaby, accompanied with lovely piano music, and had made it the music box's song.
"I know that when you have nightmares, only this'll get you back to sleep," Drake smiled sadly at his little girl, all grown up. "So, if I can't be there, this'll substitute," Tears running down her cheeks, Gosalyn threw her arms around her father and hugged him tight.
"Nothing can substitute for you, Daddy," Gosalyn whispered. Drake almost lost it himself. Kissing her forehead tenderly, he tilted her chin so her green eyes were staring into his blue ones.
"I love you, Gosalyn Elizabeth Mallard," he murmured, running his hand over the thick red hair in its short, edgy style.
"I love you too, Dad," Gosalyn kissed her father's cheek gently before hurrying after Huey, the music box grasped tightly in her hands. Drake was joined by Launchpad, his cousin and Launchpad's wife Nessa, Morgana, the triplets, Anna Morgana McQuack (Launchpad and Nessa's 4-year-old daughter), Scrooge McDuck and Donald and Daisy Duck as they watched Huey, Gosalyn and Louie's plane take to the skies.
"She'll be alright, Dray," Nessa put her arm around her cousin's shoulders. Drake nodded.
"You'll be alright too, you know," she told him softly. Drake smiled. Nessa had an uncanny ability to tell what he was thinking.
"I know…I'm just going to miss her so much," he whispered, staring at the receding plane. Morgana, standing on his other side, slipped one hand into his and squeezed it reassuringly with a tender smile. He returned it before looking back out the window. "Take care of her, Huey," he murmured, hoping that Huey could hear him. "Take care of my baby," a single tear streaked down his face as he turned and silently led the way out of the airport.