Launchpad and Fenton sat across from each other in a corner of Darkwing Tower. Fenton sat upright in an armchair. Launchpad leaned forward and looked worriedly at Drake, who paced back and forth in front of the other two.

There was cause for celebration tonight, sure. F.O.W.L. was defeated, and they'd all emerged mostly unscathed.

That did little to brighten the conversation.

"You said the plans were recovered, right?" said Drake.

"Mr. McDuck is keeping them locked in the Bin," said Fenton. "I don't see a way we could convince him to start the project up again."

"He knows it's the only way to get Waddlemeyer back!"

"Solego's Circuit almost killed his family tonight. Let's face it; we've all seen a lot more risk than reward with it."

Launchpad raised an eyebrow and looked at Fenton hopefully. "Can't you fix it in your VR-cloud-thingy?"

"We've tried. We can rebuild the Ramrod, but there's no way to keep it stable with that much data input. It can't scan more than a few million realities before it breaks down again. Waddlemeyer could be in any of an infinite number of them."

Drake frowned, leaned down toward Fenton and raised a finger. "Who's to say he's not in the first one it scans?"

"I'll keep testing it in the GizmoCloud," he said. "Maybe we can find a way to make it work. But from everything we know now, it would be next to impossible." His phone buzzed, and he sighed. "I have to get home. Mama's interrogating Gandra and trying to make it sound like a normal conversation, and she's not good at it." He stood up, put his dufflebag over his shoulder and pointed between the other two. "Don't tell Mama I said that."

Drake closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

Fenton looked away. "I'm sorry." He turned and left the tower.

Once he was gone, Drake looked up at the windowsill that Gosalyn had claimed as her "room". She rested her head against the wall and draped an arm across her raised knees.

Launchpad followed his gaze. "Someone should check on her," he said with a yawn.

"I will," said Drake. "It's been a big day, though. Probably best to leave the heavy stuff for tomorrow." He looked toward Launchpad, who had managed to fall asleep within a few seconds. He deserved it.

He climbed up the loft to the window where Gosalyn sat on top of her makeshift bed and looked out at the city. She spoke before he even stepped off the ladder.

"You don't have to break the news to me," she said. "I know we're not getting him back."

Drake sat across from her on the windowsill. The glass was cold. She didn't seem to notice. "I'm sorry, Gos."

She turned in his direction and held her knees up to her chest. She put her head in her arms and looked down.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"I dunno," she muttered.

"That was some real hero stuff today," said Drake. "You should be proud of yourself."

She threw her arms out. "It's not fair! Everybody else got their family back and went home. The day is saved, and everyone gets to celebrate, and I'm stuck having to deal with the fact that I'm never gonna see him again!"

She groaned. "I know I'm not being fair, either. It's not their fault. It's just how I feel."

She finally looked up to face him, and he saw the tears that had been rolling down her face. Her eyes pled with him to find something to say, anything that could make it the slightest bit better.

He sighed. "You're right. It's not fair. You deserve to have your family with you." He looked out at the skyline and set his jaw. "Believe me, if there was any way for me to fix this, I would."

"You did everything you could," she said, resigned. "That's more than I got from most people."

"Anything I can do now?"

"Can you just…" She wiped more tears from her eyes and sniffed. "Can you stay here for a little bit?"

Drake managed a smile and nodded.

Gosalyn took a deep breath and put her forehead to her knees. Drake could just make out her singing quietly to herself. He'd heard her hum the same song at night when there was no other noise in the tower, but he'd never heard the words.

Close your eyes, little girl blue

Inside of you lies a rainbow

Yellow, blue

Red, blue, purple too

Blue, purple and green, then the yellow

She peeked out and saw him smirk.

"Grandpa used to sing it to me," she said timidly. "I was little; I needed to learn my colors."

"No, no," said Drake. "It's cute."

"It always calmed me down. I've been singing it a lot since I lost him, and since Bulba...ugh!" She flopped back onto the messy pile of blankets and crossed her arms.

Drake started singing, hoping against hope to keep her from spinning out again. Ideally, to keep her from ever having to think about Bulba again, but that was a wishful thought if ever there was one.

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 till tomorrow

She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. She looked a lot of things. Like she wanted to say she was too old to be sung to, but she couldn't somehow. Like there was a part of her that welcomed it. Mostly, she looked surprised.

"What was that?"

Drake shrugged. "I'm an actor," he said. "I improvised."

He continued:

I'll be near to chase away fear

So sleep now and dream till tomorrow

She rolled her eyes and nestled into the blankets. They would have to do some laundry in the morning. For now, though, her eyes drifted shut as she turned away from Drake in a failed attempt to hide her contented smile.

He got down from the windowsill as she pulled the covers over her face. He watched her breath start to steady before he climbed back down to the lower level.

He frowned again as he turned and headed for the armchair to sit with his failure. Of course, another failure that he had to face was his failure to look down on his way there. He tripped over Launchpad's leg, landing face-first on the floor and prompting Launchpad to jump up from the couch and take a defensive position.

"Who's there?!"

"Just me," Drake grunted from below.

Launchpad took his arm and helped him up. Drake brushed himself off and sat down in his chair.

"How's she doing?"

"She's okay now," said Drake. "Doesn't mean she'll be okay in the morning. Or the next day. Or the day after that." He slumped down and sighed. "I'm supposed to be a hero, and I couldn't even help this one kid."

"'Course you helped her," said Launchpad, sitting back down on the couch. "You believed her. You stuck up for her. She'd be out there all on her own if it wasn't for you."

"I couldn't do what she needed," said Drake. "It's over. I told her we could get her family back, and then I left her with nothing."

Launchpad frowned. "You're not nothing, DW."

Drake furrowed his brow and blinked. He looked up at Gosalyn sleeping by the window. Finally, he sat up and leaned toward Launchpad.

"LP," he said. "Let me run something by you."

Gosalyn held onto the front of the sidecar and grinned as the Ratcatcher skidded through the tower window and landed inside. She laughed triumphantly and threw her helmet over her shoulder, neglecting to notice Drake taking the impact behind her.

"Watch the ribs, kid," he said, holding one side of his chest.

She either didn't hear him or was too worked up to acknowledge it. "Oh, man, did you see me? I knocked out, like, thirty minimoles, and I didn't lose one bolt!"

Drake untied his mask and took off his hat. "Smart maneuver," he said. "Don't know why I didn't think to flash the brights at them." He turned off the bike, and the headlights went out.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe 'cause you never turn them on?"

"I don't want to blind the oncoming lane. How do you even know how they work? You're a few years off from driver's ed."

"Grandpa used to let me drive around the parking lot at our apartment building," she said.

Some days had been worse than others over the last few weeks, but tonight she didn't start to spiral at the mention of him. That was a good sign.

"Wait until I tell Launchpad," she said, keeping her same upbeat tone. "We were major league impressive back there."

Drake chuckled. "Yeah, he'll be sorry he missed it."

"Alright, the city probably won't be at risk of collapsing a second time tonight," said Gosalyn, stretching out her arms. "I'm gonna head up to my room." She started for the ladder.

Drake set his hat on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Hey, um - about that."

She turned back with a puzzled look on her face. Drake sat down and patted the spot next to him.

"I wanna talk to you about something," he said.

She tentatively sat on the other side of the couch.

"Gos, you're a smart kid," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Tough, too. You know that."

"Nice pep talk," Gosalyn scoffed. "What's your point?"

He sighed and put his arm down. "I know you can look out for yourself," he said solemnly. "But the fact is, you shouldn't have to."

Her face fell.

"You're still a kid. Your life can't be nonstop crimefighting. You need something more stable, and -"

"I get it," she said curtly.

"Wh - what do you get?"

"You tried to help me get my grandpa back, and it didn't shake out. He's not coming back. There's no reason for me to keep hanging around here."

"Gosalyn, that's not what I meant."

She spoke bitterly. "I'm not some poor little orphan who needs to be taken in by a kindhearted stranger, okay? If you want me out, I can take care of myself." Her voice cracked, and she strained to keep her tears from coming.

Drake pulled a set of papers out from under the couch cushion he was sitting on and handed them to her. He set his jaw as she looked over them.

ORDER OF ADOPTION

Gosalyn's eyes widened, and the tears started to fall out.

"Are you serious?"

"Launchpad's been helping me look for a house," he said. "This'll still be base of operations, but it's not really fit for a kid to live in."

She stared at the form in silence, save for a hitched breath.

"Gos," Drake said gently. "If you don't like the idea -"

She clutched the papers in one hand and threw her arms around his stomach. She buried her face in his shirt and sobbed.

He patted her on the back. "Do - do you like the idea?"

"Mhm," she said, muffled by the fabric.

Drake breathed out through his nose and smiled.

"Me too, kid."