Disclaimer: I don't own Ducktales!

Title: Counting Cards

Summary: Goldie and Scrooge have known each other a long time now, and that's given them a special kind of closeness. Goldie can't say the same for the children he's dragging around with him now, but if she wants to continue the way they have she's going to have to learn. Too bad Goldie's never been good at being good.

...

Goldie fastened her belt, pulling it through the loops of her brown shorts. She patted her pockets, finding her money, her phone, and the meager remains of Scrooge's wallet. It wasn't much, but not every visit had to end with a cool million in her account, either. She smoothed out her white camisole sweater and decided she was ready to go.

She took a second to scan the room before chucking a rope out the window, securing it to the headboard. The first step out blasted her with the cool night air. Goosebumps prickled her skin as she scaled to the ground. Goldie took off at a jog, adamantly refusing to look up and know if Scrooge and/or the kids could see her leaving.

"Going already?"

Goldie reluctantly came to a stop alongside the pool. Donald had half a hotdog on a paper plate, seated on a beach chair. "Something like that."

"No flashy fireworks or speeches?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint," she said wryly.

Donald rolled his eyes. He tipped his sailor cap her way. "Take care of yourself, you hear?"

"You too," Goldie replied, though she lacked a hat to gesture with, making it feel a bit hollow.

She climbed the fence, landing with a thud that would undoubtedly make her regret this whole debacle later. Goldie brushed some dust off and began the arduous journey down the giant hill the mansion sat on.

"I know you're there, you know," she said into thin air. "You can come out."

Her shadow split in half. Goldie watched with interest as it flashed blue before settling into the shape of Lena. "Sorry, force of habit."

"Come to say goodbye?"

"Does Mr. McDuck know you're leaving?"

"Would I have have climbed out a window if I wanted him to know?"

Lena shrugged. "How d'ya feel about a game of pool before you go? I know a pub off Quackmore with a bouncer so blind basically anyone can get in."

"Bentina would murder me if I allowed you near alcohol," Goldie mused. "Ambrosia is one thing, but scotch is another."

"I'm a shadow," she reminded her blandly. "My guts don't work like normal guts. 'Sides- I want to play pool, not get drunk."

The downside to abrupt leavings is that you rarely know where to go after, and Goldie has to admit some extra time to decipher where to head next would be nice.

"Fine. But I call solids."

"Just so you know, you didn't fool me for a second." Goldie aims and shoots, sinking a ball. "This is just some lame excuse to lecture me about family, isn't it?"

"Nah. I leave those to Webby and Huey." Lena impatiently tapped her cue on the floor as she worked out her move. "I spend most of my time outside the mansion. It's so suffocating. And you're the first lady to give me a run for my money in years."

"Webby can't beat you?"

"I'd never bring Webs to a place like this, but she probably could, yeah." Lena hit and missed. The balls clicked against the sides. They watched them roll. "Family stuff can get overwhelming, but you don't gotta run away. You can just... take breaks."

Goldie scowled at the pool table as if it had personally offended her. "I haven't had a family in a long time."

"I mean, you are as old as dirt."

"That's part of it." Goldie sunk two, stepping back with a smirk. "But it's more about being a crook. Not a lot of folks look for family with my type."

"I'm a literal shadow monster, lady. Don't get me started."

Goldie laughed.

Lena regarded her a moment, eyes flickering up and down, her stick clutched to her chest like a spear. "Listen, this isn't any of my business, but you know you don't have to be part of our family, right? Not if you don't want to be."

Her strike skipped, missing the cue ball by a country mile. Goldie straightened. "Where did you get that idea?"

"You are planning on escaping into the night."

"I figure I've caused enough trouble for one visit. It has nothing to do with that."

"Really?"

"...Okay, so maybe it does a little," she confessed. "I'm not really into kids or keeping birthdays straight or anything even remotely like that."

Lena snorted. "You think Scrooge is? Beakley? They're so stiff it's like talking to a wall. Donald is cool, but he always gets out the scrapbooks and cries and that's nice but too much, man."

"You make a good point." Goldie sipped at a glass of water. Best not to get tipsy when ten bucks is on the line. "Scrooge and I have had relations for a long time now. I enjoy his company. Kids are... well, they're almost the exact, perfect opposite of that kind of longevity."

"I can get that. But being fresh is nice. I only had Aunt Magica for years. I thought family was all about taking and fighting. Then I met them, and Scrooge hates magic but he pats me on the back when I do it, and Beakley hates that I don't follow rules but she makes sure I eat right. We're all learning to compromise."

"You've had a rough time," Goldie acknowledged. "I know what that's like."

"They hurt you, but sometimes you miss them more than anything."

"Do you?"

"I still call her Aunt Magica, don't I?" Lena knocked the white ball into the hole. "She might think I'm nothing, but even she can't erase fifteen years together."

Author's Note: I've only played pool for fun, never for serious, so don't hesitate to correct terminology ya'll.

-Mandaree1