Launchpad was given permission to ride in the ambulance with Darkwing. At the hospital, DW was x-rayed, taped and bandaged. His ribs were cracked and his left arm was put in a cast and sling. He had burns on his feet. They would heal, but for now they were both bandaged up to the knee. He had a gash on his head, so it was also lightly bandaged. He was going to need a lot of help for a while.

"Don't worry," Launchpad told the doctor. "I'll take care of him. By the way, DW, where do you live?"

"I live in Darkwing Tower."

"Darkwing Tower?"

"I'll show you where it is later. For now, can you please drive me to the orphanage? I want to let Gosalyn know I'm alive and see about-" he broke off.

"See about what?" Launchpad asked.

"See about adopting her," he said, as if he hadn't known he was going to say it until he'd opened his mouth.

"That's great! Let me help yah get up."

An orderly came with a wheelchair and Launchpad carefully lifted Darkwing into it, then wheeled him out to the Ratcatcher, where he just as carefully lifted him into the side car.

"So where's Darkwing Tower?" he asked as they drove off.

"Actually, that's just what I call it. I don't want other people knowing where my hideout is. Of course, you're my sidekick now, so you'll be there with me a lot. It's really the Audubon Bay Bridge tower."

"Boy, I'll bet you have a beautiful view of the city from up there."

"I do," Darkwing said, smiling, "But I'm going to have to find a house to live in if I'm going to have a daughter. Where do you live, LP?"

"Well, I don't have a house yet either in Saint Canard. I'm still in Duckburg."

"Well, why don't you move in with Gos and me? It makes sense; I mean, we'll be working together and we can share expenses."

"Good idea!"

Things were working out better than Launchpad could have ever hoped. He wasn't only going to have a job where he could do something truly meaningful again, but he was not going to have to live alone anymore. In a sense, he was going to have a family in Saint Canard.

"Wait a minute!" DW said, startled. "What am I thinking? Launchpad, we need to go to the tower before we go to the orphanage. I need to get out of costume."

At the tower, Darkwing took off his mask.

"My real name is Drake mallard. It's probably best if you call me Drake if I'm out of costume and we're out in public."

"You got it, Drake."

Drake's white feathers were his hair and he had blue eyes, a big beak and worry lines on his forehead. He was young and kind of short, even not counting the fact that Launchpad was taller than the average duck. As Darkwing, he wore a purple costume with a gray fedora. As Drake, he wore a sweater vest over a pink shirt.

"Are yah disappointed?" Drake asked quietly.

"Why would I be?" Launchpad asked, surprised. "I knew yah had to be someone else when you weren't being Darkwing Duck. What's wrong with Drake Mallard?"

"Well, I'm just an average person and you thought I was your hero."

"You are. Drake and Darkwing are the same person, remember? Just because you're Drake now doesn't mean you stop being a hero. I have friends in Duckburg who think of me as a hero, too, but they also know I'm just a regular guy. They're all about ten years old and we've been through a lot together. I'll tell you about that later. For now, let's get you into your civilian clothes and go tell Gos you're OK."

Later, Launchpad dropped Drake off in front of the orphanage and went to find a parking space. He found one, then tried to park, but accidentally hit the reverse control again. Before he knew it, he was in the orphanage in Drake's blue sedan with Drake, Gosalyn and the lady who ran the orphanage staring at him in surprise. He laughed sheepishly and said, "Still having a little trouble with reverse."

"Oh boy," Darkwing said in a "here we go again" tone. Gosalyn laughed. The woman just continued to stare. She had a small beak and she pressed her left hand to it in shock. Drake, Launchpad and Gosalyn smiled at the car. There were tire marks on the carpet.

"Sorry," Launchpad said to the woman. "Don't worry; I'll pay for it. I'm a pilot; I'm not used to driving cars, or motorcycles either. Hi, Gos."

"Hi, Launchpad," Gosalyn said happily. "Can we go now, Mrs. Cavanaugh?" she asked eagerly.

Mrs. Cavanaugh looked doubtful. It took a minute or two for Launchpad and Drake to convince her that Gosalyn would be safe, but she finally let them go.

"Please have Gosalyn back before nine, Mr. Mallard," Mrs. Cavanaugh said as Gosalyn carefully climbed onto Drake's lap, trying not to aggravate his injuries.

"I will," Drake promised, already picking up the newspaper off the dashboard to find the real estate section.

"I like that one," Gosalyn said, pointing to one of the houses in the newspaper.

"Me, too," Drake said, and showed it to Launchpad.

It was a cozy-looking two-story house in the suburban part of the city. The color was off white with tan trim and had three bedrooms and one bath.

The address was 537 Avian Way. It didn't take long to get there and the person who originally owned the house was in the front yard, talking to a chubby duck with white feathers. The owner, an older female duck, looked over when she saw the sedan park in her driveway.

"May I help you?" she asked.

Launchpad and Gosalyn got out of the car, then helped Drake out and the three of them walked over to her.

"I'm Drake Mallard. This is my daughter, Gosalyn and my friend, Launchpad McQuack. We're interested in buying your house."

"Oh, Good! This is my neighbor, Herb Muddlefoot."

"Hey there, Drakester!" Herb said cheerfully. "I got a son about your age," he said to Gosalyn. "Please to meet yah, Launchpad!" He shook Launchpad's hand.

Launchpad immediately liked this guy. Herb reminded him of one of those guys you see in movies or TV shows that everybody liked. He also reminded him of the hillbillies that had moved in next to Mr. McD a while back. Bubba had a huge crush on their daughter.

But Launchpad had a feeling Drake didn't like Herb. He knew instinctively that it was because Herb had called him Drakester. Launchpad hoped that if they picked that house, Herb and Drake wouldn't have the kind of relationship Mr. McD had had at first with Julie's father. If Gosalyn became friends with Herb's son, a feud between the parents could only hurt the kids. Julie and Bubba had run away, which finally convinced Scrooge and Mr. Blurf to act like adults and try to get along. Launchpad came out of his thoughts when the woman started speaking.

"I'm Mrs. Fern. I run the Saint Canard Flower Shop. I'm selling the house because I've decided to move in with my daughter, Heather, and her new baby. Her husband was just sent to jail for helping those awful Beagle Boys rob a rich duck named Glomgold. I told Heather that no-good Max Aubrey would cause her grief someday and now it's happened! My husband's been gone for years and this old house has gotten lonely, so this arrangement will be better for all of us. I'll get to see my daughter and grandson and someone else can have a chance to grow up in this beautiful neighborhood." She smiled at Gosalyn.

"Glomgold was robbed by the Beagle Boys?" Launchpad thought, picturing Scrooge laughing as he heard the news. He wondered if Scrooge had been able to see Glomgold's face when it happened. He also wondered how Aubrey and the Beagle Boys could have gotten past Glomgold's security system. It wasn't nearly as sophisticated as Gizmoduck, but it was still state of the art. Maybe Aubrey had been the brains behind this one; the Beagles definitely couldn't have done it themselves.

"Where does your daughter live?" Gosalyn asked.

"She lives on Redwing Road. That's perfect because it's closer to the flower shop. Heather works there with me, but she's currently on maternity leave. She had little Marvin just last week. Oh, he's so adorable! Well, come in and I'll show you the house. See you later, Herb."

"Bye, Elizabeth," Herb said, going in the direction of his own house.

Launchpad was amazed at how much Mrs. Fern talked. She had a story for almost every room in the house. Drake looked bored. Gosalyn listened with fascination to the stories of the trouble Mrs. Fern's son and daughter had gotten into. Launchpad listened quietly, also interested in the stories and wondered if Mrs. Fern talked this much all the time. He had a feeling she was the talker and her husband had been the quiet one.

The house was perfect for them. The three of them discussed it outside while Mrs. Fern went to answer a phone call and they decided to take it. Coincidentally, Mrs. Fern wanted to move out on the same day Launchpad was scheduled to move out of his house in Duckburg.

"Gladstone's luck again?" Launchpad wondered to himself. "Too much has happened to me in the last two days to be coincidental." He would have to ask Gladstone if he was able to pass his luck on to other people the next time he saw him. If this really was what had happened, Launchpad wondered how long it would last.