Longer Days Pass

Chapter 4

AN: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, but hopefully it will have been worth the wait!

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Launchpad McQuack couldn't remember a time when he had been this nervous. Then again, he was positive his mind was just too busy freaking out to remember anything besides what was going on now. He had rushed into the hospital with Drake still wrapped up in his arms in the red blanket and the lady at the counter had told them to wait. There was no one else in the waiting room, which didn't seem to help Launchpad in the least. Then again, he figured that if the room had been crowded, he wouldn't be able to find any peace and quiet.

He was sitting at the edge of the semi-comfortable waiting seat, leaning over and his chin on his hands, elbows on his knees. He glanced over at Drake, who was laying down on the pinkish waiting couch beside him. The poor mallard had fallen unconscious at some point on the way from Avian Way to the hospital. He wanted to hold Drake in his lap and arms, but since they were in public, he decided against it. Aside from Launchpad's openness of their relationship, Drake was still more reserved and hushed about the whole thing when it came to anyone outside the house, save for the Muddlefoots. They were the one exception. Launchpad will never forget the night the Muddlefoots found out about him and Drake. He didn't think his stomach would ever be the same after all the cookies and cake Binkie has stuffed down their throats in celebration for their relationship.

Neither duck had expected that behavior from them, thinking that the odd family would find them to be strange and queer. That was the Muddlefoots for you. They were always a surprising bunch.

Drake mumbled a bit, which brought Launchpad out of his thoughts. He desperately wished that one of the doctors would hurry up and become available already. He hated all this waiting. He wanted to know what was wrong with Drake!

It was at that moment that the lady duck at the reception desk clicked her tongue and said, "Dr. Court will see you now" she referred to a door that wasn't far from where she sat to her right. Launchpad nodded and watched as a middle aged tall rat came out with a clipboard and looked up expectedly at the pilot. "Is there a Mr. Drake Mallard here?"

Launchpad was easily intimidated at times when he was nervous and this was definitely one of those times. The doctor had on a light blue shirt and navy blue dress pants, but they were covered by a long, pure white doctor's coat. Launchpad raised his hand. "That's me. Well--" he glanced over at Drake. "Him. But, he's sort of….out" he fumbled. The doctor nodded, seeming sympathetic.

"Well, don't worry. Bring him on in here and I'll help you figure out what's wrong with your friend" he smiled warmly. Launchpad didn't waste any time. He quickly gathered Drake into his arms, the other duck mumbling words incoherently the entire time. Then, just as he was about to walk through the door, following the doctor, Drake mumbled one little word that broke his heart. "L-Launchpad…." The pilot forced himself not fall apart as he kept his eyes focused on the doctor's white coat in front of him. He couldn't break down, he had to get Drake in to see the doctor.

He bit back his emotions as the doctor guided him into a single room where the patient's bed was waiting for him. "I'm surprised you didn't go into the ER" commented the doctor. "You would have been able to get much faster help. You're lucky we're not very busy today."

Launchpad nodded. "I actually did try that, but they were too busy. Said something about understaffed at the moment" his eyes never left Drake as he said this, laying him down on the bed and taking off the red blanket.

The doctor was busy writing things quickly down on his clipboard. "Ah, yes. I hear several people are on vacation." He clicked his pen and placed into his breast pocket, looking up. "Oh, well. It doesn't matter. He's here and I'm checking up on him. That's all that matters. Now, what seems to be the problem here?"

Launchpad cleared his head, trying to focus on answering the question. He sat down in the little chair next to the bed, finally taking his eyes off Drake. "Well, gee, um…Well, for the last two days he's been complaining about chest pains. Particularly over on his left breast." He reached over and pointed out the place where it hurt on Drake's chest. "Or at least, that's where he'd rub at when he complained. Then, well, it happened so fast. We were sitting on the couch and he said it hurt again and I looked over and he was panting real heavily and I watched as he got all pale. I sort of freaked, not knowing what was going on and worried, so I brought him here. He fell unconscious on the drive here."

The doctor took all this in as he was standing on the other side of the bed, checking Drake's pulse, temperature and looking at his chest, moving aside his feathers. "I see. Well, I'm not sure exactly what could be wrong, but I have several guesses. Now, if you would please, help me prop him up. I am going to need to take off his vest here" the doctor said casually. Launchpad didn't understand how he could keep his calm. Then again, he figured, he saw this stuff all the time, every day.

Launchpad did as he was told and helped prop Drake up and the doctor took off his vest. Launchpad sighed at all the matted feathers on the other's chest. They laid him back down and the doctor immediately began pushing aside feathers and checking for any sign of bruising or injury that might be causing the trouble. As he did this, he began to talk. "My name is Dr. Court, by the way. You are…" he glanced down at his clipboard. "Mr. Launchpad McQuack?"

"Yes, sir. But LP will work" he said kindly. Dr. Court nodded.

""LP it is then. Nice little nickname you have there" he replied. His eyes scanned Drake's chest, not finding anything that would be causing the trouble. He took in a deep breath and let it go. "Well, LP, I am not finding anything visually noticeable on his chest, but that doesn't mean there is nothing wrong. The problem is obviously invisible to the human eye, meaning its being caused by something from the inside of his chest. Now, we will run several tests on him and figure out what might be wrong. In the meantime, I would suggest you get home and get some rest. The tests may be a while, seeing as how we have no frame of reference as to what the problem is. He will be kept here for the time being" he explained matter-of-factly.

Launchpad felt his head spin slightly. Leave Drake? He couldn't do that. He had to stay by his side at every moment. He couldn't leave him. "Can't I stay?"

Dr. Court up from Drake, and curtly shook his head. "No, you will not be allowed in here anyways during the testing. You are more than welcome to stay in our lobby if you feel the need to. The cafeteria is not far away" he paused, looking at Launchpad intently. "Are you Mr. Mallard's brother?"

Launchpad shook his head. "No…I…I'm actually not related to him" he sighed. He hadn't wanted this piece of information out for he knew how funny doctors were about only allowing family members in to see the patients. "I…If you must know, Drake and I are….partners…" He prayed that Dr. Court had gotten the hint.

He let out a breath of relief when he saw Dr. Court smile at him fondly. "I see. Well, relax, sir. He is under good care. I would suggest getting some rest." He then waited for Launchpad to stand and walked him to the door, saying several other small words of encouragement. Once the pilot was out the door, Dr. Court shut it. Launchpad fought the urge to smash it open. He wasn't even six yards away from Drake and he already felt so far away.

He forced himself to head out the hospital doors, remembering in the back of his mind that his loved one also had a daughter at home who was probably frantic and driving poor Honker Muddlefoot up a wall with worry. He could just see Honker trying to pull her away from the door.

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Honker Muddlefoot was pulling as hard as he could, trying to keep his best friend from going out the front door of the Mallard household. He was never the type to have good physical strength, especially when it came to his friend Gosalyn Mallard. She was a bundle of energy and had a strong willed mind with a great amount of spirit. So, how he was keeping her back from reaching the door was completely unknown to him. He had no idea how it was possible for him.

"Honker!! Let go of me! I have got to go and see my dad! It's because of me that he's in the state he's in!!" she yelled back at him, trying to take another step towards the door. Gosalyn, ever since finding out what had happened to her dad, had been blaming herself for what was going on, despite Honker's insistence that it wasn't.

"Gosalyn! We've been over this! It isn't your fault! You had no way of knowing that he was this sick!" he grunted, trying to save his energy for keeping Gosalyn at bay.

She finally stopped and Honker was finally able to let go of her purple jersey, which, now appeared to be stretched. Gosalyn shut the door that she had been trying to go through seconds before, her face full of sadness and dejection. "You're wrong, Honker. I should have seen the signs. He was tired, grumpy, and just not himself. I shouldn't have harassed him so much. I shouldn't have rubbed everything in his face…" she said this in a soft tone, which didn't come from her often. It made Honker nervous. He didn't want her to feel that bad.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and directed her over to the couch. She hung her head low as she sank down into the couch cushions. "I just got so caught up into everything. Things have been going so well for me as Quiverwing and….I have an ego just as bad as my dad's…." she sighed. Honker blinked at this. It was rare for Gosalyn to admit something like that. "He means so much to me. If it wasn't for him, I would either be dead thanks to Bulba or still at the orphanage…."

Honker wasn't sure what to say at this. Gosalyn wasn't one to talk about her past much, let alone mention Bulba or the orphanage.

Just then the front door slammed open and in came Launchpad, who seems flustered and disoriented. Honker just gave him an odd look but Gosalyn was up in a heartbeat and tackled with him questions as she rammed into him.

"How is he!? Is he really sick!? How bad is he!? Which hospital did you take him to!?" she demanded, her beak going fifty miles an hour. Honker sighed and covered his face with his hand. Launchpad just looked down at her, as though meeting her for the first time. Gosalyn soon saw this. "Launchpad! What's with you!?" there was silence for a moment as she tried to think of why he would be acting this way. Her eyes went wide. "He isn't…..dead, is he!?"

Launchpad seemed to come back to life at this question. "No! No, Gos, he's not dead. He's… Well, I don't know how bad he is. They made me leave. They told me they were going to run several tests on him."

Gosalyn blinked, not feeling reassured at all. "Tests!? What kinda of tests!?"

This is the moment that Honker decided to speak up as he walked in between the two of them. "Well, usually when someone is that sick they have to find the cause before they can help the person." he looked up at Launchpad. "I'm assuming they didn't find anything visibly wrong on his chest, right?" The pilot nodded. "Then that means that there is something inside Mr. Mallard that is causing him problems. They will probably have to scan his chest and figure out if there are any abnormalities."

Gosalyn and Launchpad took in this information with wide eyes. "Well, what do you mean by 'abnormality'?" questioned the red-head.

Honker sighed, pushing his glasses up further on his small beak. "Well, it could be anything from a sore muscle to a virus or infection. There are so many things that could giving him these problems. But considering that he is not only in pain, but sick as well, my guess is that its more of a virus or infection of some sort than anything else.

Gosalyn looked down the floor at his reply, her face filled with concern. "I don't understand though." She looked up at her best friend. "He'll be okay, right?"

She could tell that Honker was not looking forward to answering this question just by his reluctant notion to nod. It didn't make her feel much better, since she knew he might just be saying that to make her relax slightly.

Launchpad had listened to them both intently, not feeling reassured in the least. He wanted Drake to be alright. He hated the thought of not being near him. It felt wrong to have left him. But maybe now he could go back and have Gosalyn with him. Honker was more than welcome to come along if he wanted. He knew that the duck boy looked up to Drake after the years he's been saved by him. Honker was a good side kick for Gosalyn, mainly because he was good friends with Launchpad, who was also a side kick.

Launchpad cleared his throat, which got the other's attention. They both looked up at him expectantly. "Why don't we head on over to the hospital. That way you can see for yourself how he is."

Gosalyn blinked. She had just been preparing to say that. She was surprised that Launchpad was actually letting her go. She was expecting lots of reasons why they shouldn't go and such. But no, Launchpad was ready to take her.

She looked up at the pilot and saw pain all over his face. She knew this was just as hard on him as it was for herself. He did love her father a great deal after all. She nodded eagerly, coming out of her thoughts. "Yes! I agree! I gotta see him! I gotta see how he's doing!" Anger then settled in as she gave the large pilot a kick in the leg. Launchpad yelped at this. "You left me behind the first time! How dare you!?" There really wasn't all that much anger in her voice, nor scolding. More like hurt.

Launchpad looked away, opening up the front door again, which Honker exited out of. "I'm sorry, Gos! I was just in such a rush to get your dad to the hospital, I didn't think there was time to decide who's going and who's not!" he defended himself.

Gosalyn seemed to have accepted this answer. "Honk-man, aren't you going to go tell your parents where you're going?"

Honker shook his head, walking in front of them. "No one is home, so it would be a waste of time.."

They all got into the car, Launchpad driving of course, with Gosalyn in the front seat and Honker in the back. There was silence most of the way there, save for the small talk they all attempted. None of them really wanted to talk, especially when Launchpad was driving. Not only was he a cautious driver to be with, but his mind was too busy focusing on other things to worry about the little things like stop lights and other cars. So the ride there was scary and mind blowing for the two younger ducks in the car. They found it to be a miracle that they had survived.

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His breathing quickened slightly as he slowly came to his senses. Nothing made any sense. Why was it so bright in here? Did Gosalyn open up the shades to the front window for some reason? She knew she shouldn't at certain times of the day because then it would just be too darn bright. Then of course there was that nasty beeping noise. Maybe it was the TV? Launchpad was known for watching some pretty strange shows. He didn't even want to think about the odd shows his daughter watched.

He moved his legs, shifting them back and forth a bit. A blanket was covering him. A thin sheet, perhaps. Maybe Launchpad had put a blanket over him to keep him warm after he fell asleep on the couch. It wouldn't have been the first time.

His eyes lids slowly rose and his deep blue eyes adjusted to the world before him. He was staring a white ceiling. A white ceiling with a bright light in the middle of it. So that was where the light was coming from. Wait, this didn't make any sense to him. There was no such light on his ceiling in the living room. Or anywhere else in his house for that matter.

He furrowed his brow, getting a little worried and panicked. Nothing was making sense to him. He shifted his eyes around to get a better look at his surroundings and found that he was in a hospital room. He relaxed for a moment. 'Oh, just a hospital room, neh…' His mind then went over what he just said in his mind and his eyes widened. 'A hospital!? Why the heck was he in a hospital!?'

He jolted up, his chest exploding with pain at the sudden movement. None of this seemed to make any sense. It was then that a hand was put on his shoulder and a familiar voice was heard. "Shhh….Calm down, its just me…"

He looked over and saw the young, concerned face of his daughter beside the bed. She was standing next to the bed, looking down at him. She grabbed his hand gently, holding onto to it tightly. "It's okay, dad. I'm here. And so is Launchpad and Honker."

At this, Drake looked around and his eyes met with the large anxious eyes of Launchpad. He breathed slowly, feeling more at ease. He leaned up ever so slightly, smiling a bit. This allowed everyone else in the room to smile as well. Honker was at the foot of the bed, his face just a concerned as everyone else's.

"Hi, LP. Hi, Gos. Hi, Honker…" he greeted. Launchpad pulled a chair up close to the bed on his side and sat down, taking a jittery hand and running it through what little hair Drake had on his head.

"Hi, there, DW" he whispered. Gosalyn soon claimed a chair and did the same thing. She saw that Honker was still standing and scooted over on her chair so that they could share it.

"C-could someone please explain to me….what's happening?" his voice was desperate, for he wanted to know why he was in a hospital bed and all his loved ones were watching him with looks of sadness and remorse on their faces.

All eyes all suddenly seemed to be focused on Launchpad, who gulped, suddenly nervous. "Well, DW, first, what is the last thing you remember?"

Drake thought hard at this question, trying to get all the shattered memories back in place. He remembered Gosalyn leaving after making fun of him again. Sitting at the table with Honker talking. Then Launchpad and him sitting on the couch talking. His mind then went completely blank. He shook his head, his eyes going back to Launchpad. "I….remember you and I sitting on the couch talking.." Launchpad blinked. "That's it?" He received a nod for an answer. "Well, we were talking and then you suddenly had some chest pains. You started sweating and going pale. I freaked out to say the least and I knew I had to get you some help! So, I picked you up, wrapped you in a blanket and stuck you in the car, and I drove you here."

Drake had listened with startled eyes. "I…wow…" He was at a loss for words. He jumped a bit when Gosalyn's hand reached over and gently rubbed his chest. She looked at him. "Does it still hurt, dad?"

"It kills" he corrected her. Everyone's expression seemed to deflate at this. It was then that the door to the room opened and all eyes looked over to see Dr. Court walk in. In his hands was again, his clipboard, his eyes not leaving it until he was up and beside Launchpad. He looked up and smiled at Drake's three guests. "Ah, you must be his family. Excellent. Then I will be able to give everyone the results we found."

All eyes were glued on the doctor. "Well, Mr. Mallard, first, how are you feeling?"

Drake shrugged. "I'm alright. In a lot of pain though…"

Dr. Court nodded, jotting things down on his clipboard. "That's to be expected."

"What's wrong with him!?" Launchpad demanded to know. The urgency in his voice startled everyone. Drake smiled fondly at the pilot, knowing he was just concerned.

Dr. Court took in a deep breath. "Well, it seems that you, Mr. Mallard, have got a very rare, strange, case of cancer."

All went silent in the small hospital room.

AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger there, but I knew if I didn't stop here, I wouldn't be able to post this now! My college classes are starting up again, meaning that I won't have as much free time. Enjoy!!