Author's Note: For anyone reading my long fic, rest assured I'm writing on it- I just needed a break. I wrote this tonight, and I think it reflects my week, unfortunately. One of our cats went missing, he was the sweetest thing ever, and...just, lousy stuff has happened. Too much stuff.

Darkwing Duck is owned by Disney, etc. Lalala.

Blood

Gosalyn Mallard had been released from the hospital three days ago, but still spent most of her time bundled up carefully on the couch in front of the television, watching Pelican's Island reruns. For once, she didn't have the stomach for anything more violent.

Launchpad had taken off time from work to stay with her at the house, and after two days of not seeing her dad, Gosalyn knew why. She had gotten Launchpad to confess yesterday. Drake, or more accurately Darkwing, had gone missing a while back, which finally explained why he had never visited her at the hospital. Launchpad went searching for him most nights, but even with Darkwing's tools he simply didn't posses the tracking skills of the night time vigilante.

Launchpad said he didn't think Darkwing was hurt, that he was just...trying to work through things. Gosalyn clung to that, as painful an explanation as it was. It was still better than thinking of him in a ditch somewhere.

Gosalyn sighed quietly, and flipped a page in the comic book she was half heartedly reading. So far, today had been kind of weird. Usually by eight or so in the morning, Gosalyn could call for Launchpad and get him to lumber in, looking half dead, and help move her downstairs. But it was half past ten and she had yet to see him. That meant she was stuck up in her room, or at least upstairs, since she couldn't handle stairs yet on her own. So she sat leafing through comic books instead, trying to ignore the fact that her pain killer was overdue. An old candy bar, at least, had taken care of her hunger.

An uneasy feeling suddenly passed over Gosalyn, and she stopped her hand awkwardly, midway to flipping a comic book page. She tensed, and her heart sped up.

Someone was watching her, she was absolutely sure, and the gaze didn't feel friendly. Please let it be Launchpad...

She turned carefully, a nervous flutter in her stomach. Gosalyn Mallard, you never would've been this chicken a month and a half ago!

"Dad!" Relief poured through her. He was dressed as Darkwing, and the fedora shadowed his eyes. A dark look lingered on the visible portion of his face. "You're back!" Her smile faltered when he didn't respond, and a weight dropped in her stomach as Launchpad appeared behind him.

The look on Launchpad's face wasn't right. She had seen him grief stricken, upset, and horrified over the past weeks, and however much she wished he wasn't, Gosalyn still understood those feelings.

But now his face had closed down. His eyes were hollow, or perhaps shocked, and he was strangely tense. He didn't say anything.

"Gosalyn." Her attention snapped back to Darkwing, and she pushed away the uneasy feeling. It didn't matter. Her dad was back again, and if she had anything to say about things there wouldn't be any more disappearing acts!

She frowned, gearing up to berate him, but didn't get far. "Dad..."

"Gos..." He came forward suddenly, and his eyes caught the light. She watched, a little shocked, as he knelt down in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders so lightly she hardly felt it. His eyes were cold, and so serious she nearly flinched.

"Dad...?" She looked into his eyes timidly, searching for a reason behind it, afraid he was angry with her.

His voice interrupted, frozen and hard. It made her heart stop. "Never again. He'll never hurt you again, I promise." Something about the way he said those words hurt, a lot.

"I...s-so you caught 'im, huh?" She forced a grin. "I'll bet he gets life, with all the stuff he's d..." Her voice faltered, as she caught the look on Launchpad's face, and she laughed uneasily.

There was an uncomfortable pause, then Darkwing answered, his voice harsh and low. "Or maybe, just death..."

"Darkwing..." That was Launchpad, a warning tone in his voice. He paused, then went on. Gosalyn didn't miss the slight tremor of fear in his voice. "You...you should go get cleaned up, don't you think? Whew, I can smell you from here! I mean, you've been out on the streets for days..."

Darkwing's eye's narrowed dangerously. "Launchpad..." But he paused, and let out a quiet breath. His eyes met Gosalyn's again, and she finally saw a hint of something softer, something familiar. "Right." He ran a hand ever so carefully over her remaining pig tail, eyes lingering sadly on it. Then he stood up. "I'll be back...sweety." As he left the room, Launchpad flinched back to avoid him, as though Darkwing was on fire.

Launchpad lingered in the doorway, and after a few moments his eyes slowly turned to Gosalyn's. He smiled falteringly, trying to mask the distress he obviously felt, and came forward. "Hey Gos, want me to help you get down to the..."

He broke off, and looked down at his feet awkwardly.

Large, silent tears were rolling down Gosalyn's cheeks. She had finally noticed it, a faint odor that had clung to her dad, and now, ever so slightly, to her. It had become a familiar smell in the last month, and so she recognized it easily.

Blood.

Author's Note: I appreciate reviews. They cheer me up? I'd love theories as to what exactly took place here. Also, this is a one shot, just so you know.