Until recently, the parents of the triplets had been surrounded in complete mystery. Now, that was only half true. At last, not only did the triplets learn about their estranged mother, but they finally got to meet her as well. The one they'd been eager to see their whole lives… was finally in front of them, engaging with them.

But of course, Huey, Dewey, and Louie were still curious. There was another parent they had heard nothing about: their father. Who was he? Where was he? Why did none of the adults ever speak about him?

The triplets sat in their messy bedroom, spread out on the floor, deep in discussion about said parent.

"What if we don't have a dad?" Dewey asked, eyes going wide.

"Of course we have a dad, Dewey!" Huey huffed. "We wouldn't have been born, otherwise."

Louie dug his hands into his hoodie pockets. "Hmm… I hope whoever he is, he's as rich as Uncle Scrooge."

Huey rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he wondered if his brother cared about anything other than money.

"Wait, speaking of Uncle Scrooge…" Huey tapped his chin. "Surely he'll know something about Dad."

Dewey nodded. "And Mom and Uncle Donald too."

"If they're willing to tell us…" Louie muttered.

So with that being said, the triplets made their way to their great uncle's lavish office. From the chatter inside, they could tell that their mother and uncle were also in there.

Inside the office, Scrooge McDuck was seated at his large desk, glowering at his niece and nephew.

"I told you two," he leaned on his cane, "you can't just-"

"Mom!" the triplets broke in. "Uncle Donald! Uncle Scrooge!"

"Hey, we're in a meeting right now!" Donald squeaked. "Come back later!"

Naturally, the triplets didn't understand half of what he had said. So instead they carried on.

"We've got a really important question to ask!" Huey spoke up. "We… we wanna know…"

"Who's our dad?" the triplets all asked at the same time.

There was a tense silence between the adults. Scrooge tightly gripped his cane.

"Well, where is he?" Dewey asked. "You gotta tell us!"

Della's face shadowed over. She trembled. Donald reached over to squeeze her shoulder.

"Your father isn't… something we wanted to talk about," Scrooge admitted, adjusting his glasses. "At least not for a while."

"Why not?" Huey asked. "Did he do something bad?"

"Oh, no, laddies," Scrooge shook his head. "Your father… he was a good lad. But…"

He sighed, deeply. He glanced at Della and Donald. Donald kept his arm around his sister.

"We… we can tell them," Della spoke up, voice choked. "They were going to ask eventually, I suppose."

"Della, are you sure?" Donald asked.

"I'm sure," Della nodded, wiping her eyes. She breathed out, addressing her sons. "Well, it's probably not all that surprising that we met on an adventure…"

Della cried out, avoiding a blow from the monster. It collided with the cave wall instead. The whole cave rumbled.

"Get back here, you damn duck!" the monster roared, launching another fist in her direction.

Della simply smirked, avoiding the second blow. The monster growled in frustration.

"Della, come on!" she heard her brother's voice in the distance.

Alright, big guy, Della stepped back. Time to-

Suddenly, the ground beneath her feet cracked. She waddled backwards. The abyss loomed below her. She screamed, about to plummet to her death-

"Hold on!"

A white, feathery hand grabbed her own. It pulled her up, bringing her back to the ground. It belonged to a fairly handsome male duck - the same species as Della - who was wielding a large staff. His white hair was messy, some of his bangs covering his eyes. He wore a simple blue and red hoodie, and messy jeans.

"Th… thank you," Della stammered. She gasped.

"Not a problem, miss," the duck replied, waving a hand. "Now-"

"Look out!" Della cried. She stood up, pulling herself and her new friend away from the monster.

The duck laughed. "Ha ha! I guess we're even now, huh?"

Della laughed. "Right! Let's get outta here."

The two continued running towards the exit. The monster roared in rage.

"You won't get away!" it boomed, racing after them.

The two ducks looked at each other.

"We've gotta get rid of that thing somehow," Della's friend muttered.

Della tapped her chin. "Hmm… I think I've got an idea."

Her new friend grinned. "Do tell."

Before long, the two ducks split up. The monster stopped in its tracks, looking around in confusion.

"Now!" Della called.

Before it knew what was happening, a staff slammed into the monster from behind. It let out a bellow, then collapsed onto its stomach, eyes rolled back into its head. Doing a backflip, Della's new friend landed in front of the monster.

"That was amazing!" Della grinned at him.

"You're pretty amazing yourself, ma'am," the friend laughed. "Now, come on! I'm really sick of this cave, aren't you?"

Della nodded. The two made their way out of the cave, at a much more casual pace.

"By the way, I never got to ask your name," he addressed her.

"Della Duck," Della responded. "And you?"

"Frederick," the duck replied. "Frederick Pond."

"A pleasure, Frederick," Della grinned, shaking his hand. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just… adventuring," Frederick replied, scratching the back of his head. "You?"

"I'm adventuring too!" Della told him. "I'm exploring the whole world!" Her eyes lit up. "And maybe space one day as well…"

"Shoot, I wanna go to space too!" Frederick gasped.

"Really?" Della's eyes went huge. "That's amazing! Where in space do you wanna go?"

"Everywhere!" Frederick gushed. "The entirety of space is fascinating!" He suddenly began coughing, but quickly covered his beak before Della could notice. A smile soon returned to his face.

Soon, he and Della made their way out of the cave, engrossed in a conversation about space. Donald and Scrooge stood there, arms folded.

"Della!" Donald shouted. "Where were you?!"

"Sorry," Della scratched the back of her head. "I got distracted by a monster. Anyway, this is my new friend, Frederick Pond!"

"Hiya," Frederick waved at the two. "You can just call me Fred."

Donald scowled, not liking how close Fred was to his sister.

Fred turned to Della, grinning. "I'm feeling pretty thirsty, you up for a drink, Della? It's on me!"

"Oh, sure!" Della smiled at him.

Donald glowered. "Wha- hey! You barely know this guy!"

"Oh, relax, Donald," Della huffed. "You don't need to go all protective brother on me. We're just having a drink!"

Donald narrowed his eyes regardless. "I'm watching you two."

Della rolled her eyes. She put her arm around Fred. "Let's go, Fred!"

"... and before long, Fred and I were going out for drinks almost every night," Della laughed. "We spent hours and hours talking, planning our next adventures…"

"And when she wasn't with Fred, she was talking about him," Donald scoffed. "Freddy this, Freddy that. I nearly lost my mind!"

"Did you go on any adventures with him?" Dewey asked.

"Was he rich?" Louie asked.

"Oh, we went on plenty of adventures together," Della laughed. "Too many to count! And, well, about him being rich…" Her face shadowed over. "That's difficult to answer."

There was another silence.

"And then you two started planning to go to space," Scrooge added in. "You wanted to explore the stars together."

Della smiled. "That's right. We planned to do many things…"

Della and Fred gazed at the map spread out before them, inside their hotel room. It was dark blue, dotted with white, crystalline stars.

"It's so big and beautiful," Fred gawked. He pointed to the colourful spheres known as planets. "We have to go there, and there, and there…"

"What about the moon?" Della asked, eyeing the small ball rotating the Earth.

"Of course we'll go to the moon," Fred laughed. "Who knows what kinds of secrets it holds?"

Della nodded, placing her hand on top of the moon. Fred placed his hand on top of her hers. Her whole face went bright red. His face went red as well. They both laughed.

"Freddy…" Della giggled. "Do you promise to travel all over space with me?"

"I promise," he gazed into her eyes. Their faces grew closer, beaks inches apart.

"AHEM!"

Both stepped back. Donald walked in, arms crossed.

"Donald!" Della shouted.

"It's 12AM!" Donald retorted. "You should both be in bed!"

Della rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, MOM."

Fred just laughed it off. "You two are so funny."

He suddenly began to cough. His chest heaved in and out.

"Freddy!" Della wrapped an arm around him. "Are you okay?!"

"I-I'm fine," he chuckled. "Just, uh, got something stuck in my throat…"

He reached into his pocket, a hand on his buzzing phone. He smiled once again, but it was more hesitant than before.

"It got more… intimate after that," Della admitted. "We started dating for real. We began making family and wedding plans. And then… and then I realised I was going to be laying you three."

"Three eggs? Are you serious?"

Della nodded, the two standing in her bedroom. Fred gasped with joy. He ran forward, throwing his arms around Della.

"We're going to be parents!" he cried.

"I know!" Della squealed.

"We've gotta take our kids to space," Fred said.

"We will," Della grabbed his hands. "I've been designing a space-ship. A space-ship that will take all of us up there."

Fred gasped, eyes full of wonder. Then he waddled backwards, almost… hesitant.

"Space with the whole family…" he breathed out, eyes watering. "Wow, that's… that's..."

All of a sudden, his phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket. His face creased.

"Not now…" he muttered.

"What is it?" Della asked, watching his face.

"N-Nothing," Fred rubbed the back of his head. "But I was just wondering, Della… have you heard about the dance at Duckberg Town Hall?"

"I have," Della said. Her eyes lit up. "Wait, are you…?"

"Come to the dance with me," Fred clasped her hands in his.

"Of course I will," Della pecked him on the beak. Their kiss soon grew more intense. Outside, Della's uncle and brother waited.

"I still don't like that Fred guy," Donald told his uncle, arms folded.

"Maybe you're just being a wee bit protective of your sister, laddie," Scrooge replied. "He makes her very happy. You've got some nephews on the way, too."

"Hmph," Donald huffed. "We still don't know much about his family, though. Where does he come from? What's his deal?"

"Maybe there's a reason he keeps it private," Scrooge shrugged. "Personally, I keep a lot of my own family life private." His face shadowed over. "Mainly because of how... humiliating some of 'em can be."

Donald Duck couldn't remove his scowl, however. Something just seemed so… off about Fred. And he was going to find out what.

The night of the dance arrived at last. Of course, Della wore her most glamorous gown: a silver, princess-like dress, and a diamond tiara. She had bought it just for the dance. Fred himself wore a dashing, silver tuxedo. They walked to the large town hall, hand-in-hand, their outfits shimmering in the moonlight. Fred glanced up at the moon with a hesitant smile.

Neither of them noticed Donald Duck creeping in the bushes, suspiciously eyeing the both of them. Before long, the two walked onto the dance floor, gentle music playing above. People danced all around them, tables filled with party food.

"A slow dance," Della gushed, gazing at the disco ball. She grabbed Fred's hand. "Fred…"

"Of course we can dance to this," Fred took her hands. "We-" He was interrupted by his phone ringing. His brow furrowed. "Um… sorry, Della, could you excuse me for just a sec?"

"Sure..." Della gave him a thumbs up.

Fred ran into the men's bathrooms. Donald crept to the walls, staying low.

"Hello, is this really necessary?" Fred asked, leaning against the bathroom walls. He frowned. "... yes, we're at the dance. Uh huh. No, she doesn't suspect anything."

Doesn't suspect anything? Donald narrowed his eyes.

"I know," Fred continued speaking. "Yes. Of course. I understand. … no, that's ok. Yes, I know, you'll be the richest duck soon enough. Okay. I know, this is my swan song. I'll be fine, I promise. … okay. See you later, Mr. Glomgold."

Glomgold?! Donald saw red. I knew he was up to no good!

Fred coughed into his arm again. His face creased up, but he forced himself out of the bathroom. He returned to Della.

"Sorry about that," he apologised. He took her hands in his. "Now, where were we?"

"Who was that calling you?" Della chuckled. "You've been getting a lot of calls recently."

"Oh, no one important," Fred waved it off. "The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"

"It is," Della agreed. She squeezed his hands. "Hey, when we go to the moon… what do you say we dance up there, too?"

Fred hesitated for a moment, before smiling.

"Of course we will," he hummed. "Our sons will dance there too."

"Oh, Freddy…" Della laughed. She pressed her head against his chest as they slow-waltzed across the dance floor. Everyone stopped and gawked at them. Fred's body began to tremble, and sweat appeared on his forehead.

Della gazed up at him in concern. "What's wrong, Freddy?"

"Hey, Della…" Fred clenched her hand in his hand, shivering. "You know, um… there's something I really need to tell you…"

"HEY!" Donald ran over, shaking his fists. "YOU FAKER! GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"

"DONALD!" Della glared at her brother. "How many times do I have to tell you to leave us alone?!"

"He's a FAKER!" Donald pointed at Fred. "He works for Flintheart Glomgold!"

"What?!" Della burst out laughing. "Now you're making up lies?!"

"It's true!" Donald exclaimed. He turned on Fred. "I saw you talking to him on the phone! You've been manipulating us all!"

"That's not true!" Della shrieked. She turned to Fred. "It's not true, right?"

Fred trembled. He breathed out.

"... actually, it is true," he bowed his head. "I do work for Flintheart Glomgold. But not in the way you're thinking!" He raised his hands. "Della, listen, Glomgold… he's been helping me with… with something. Nothing to do with you, I promise. It's… it's something else. A problem I've been having."

"What are you talking about?" Della demanded.

"Della, I…" Fred trailed off. He placed a hand on his chest. "I'm… I'm sorry… I don't think I can keep my promise…"

All of the sudden, he collapsed on the spot, eyes rolling back into his head.

"FRED!" Della gasped, racing over to his slumped form. "Quick, someone call an ambulance!"

Donald pulled out his phone, eyes narrowed. "On it!"

"Wait, he worked for Glomgold?" Louie asked.

"Well, yes, but not in the way you're thinking," Della replied. "You see, Fred had an extremely rare disease. It's so rare it doesn't even have a name, and the cure is almost impossible to find. Fred and Glomgold were on good terms, so Glomgold was paying him money to try and help him find a cure. Sadly, they weren't having much luck."

"Glomgold… would really do something like that?" Huey asked.

"As long as he gave him updates about our family, he was willing to help," Scrooge muttered, shaking his head. "So in the end, he was somewhat of a spy after all. But he truly loved Della, I know that much."

"But what happened with the disease?" Dewey asked. "Did Fred - Dad - get better?"

Della breathed out. "Well…"

"Fred, Fred, please…" Della pleaded, leaning beside her lover's hospital bed, his heart monitor beeping. "Please, it's going to be okay…"

Fred just smiled. "Della… you're so beautiful…"

"A case for this disease hasn't been seen for over a century," a doctor walked in, scanning her notes. "Almost remarkable…"

"You can fix him, right?" Della ran up to her.

The doctor furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry, Miss Duck, but the cure for this disease is even rarer than the disease itself. Without it, Mr Pond will die soon. It can only be found in one location in the world. The golden rose, they call it. Even with the help of the 2nd richest duck in Duckberg, they still couldn't find it, so-"

"I'll find it," Della declared.

The doctor gasped. "I don't mean to fault your optimism, but-"

"I'll find it," Della insisted.

"Miss Duck, you are expecting to lay any day soon," the doctor told her. "Going on a mission across the world is not a good idea, you could damage your eggs."

"I don't care," Della clenched her fists. "I'm going to find the cure and save Fred." She raced over to her lover, grabbing his hand. "Don't worry, Freddy. We'll fly to the moon, and the rest of space, with our children. I promise. I'm going to save you."

Fred just smiled, but there was sadness in his eyes. "I know you will… you never let me down, Della."

"And so I travelled everywhere I could, looking for the golden rose," Della said. "I spent hours and hours exploring and gathering evidence. Scrooge and Donald helped me, of course. We went everywhere we could."

"Did you find it?" Huey asked.

"... yes," Della's eyes teared up. "We found it, deep in the caves of west Atlantis. But the day we found it, something else happened…"

"Della!" Donald caught his sister. She clung onto the golden rose, which was shaped like a small, golden rose statuette. It was seated upon some sea-weed covered rock.

"The triplets…" she gasped. "They're coming…"

Scrooge crossed his arms, eyeing his nephew and niece. "Come on! We need to get ourselves out of here."

"My beautiful triplets…"

Della sat on top of the three eggs in their nest. She wore a massive grin.

"Just wait until Freddy sees these!" she gasped. "He'll be so proud!"

Donald came in, an anxious expression on his face. "Della…"

"Well, don't you think Freddy will like them?" Della asked, running over to her brother. "Did you give him the cure? He's all good now, right?"

"Della…" Donald looked down.

"No," Della laughed. "No, he's okay, isn't he? He's fine, right?"

"It… it was too late," Donald hugged his sister. "I'm sorry."

"No…" Della trembled, shoving him away. "NO! That's not fair! We got the cure! He should be alive! It's not fair!"

Her head slumped over. Donald reached out for her again.

Della sobbed. "He never even got to see the eggs…"

"He… he really died?!" Dewey gasped. "But… but that's awful! After you spent so long looking for the cure!"

Della wiped her eyes. "I was in denial about his death for a long time. I didn't want to picture him being dead. But… but I had to face the facts. He was gone." She shook her head. "I… I guess his death was what led me to taking the Spear of Selene on impulse. I didn't want to face my feelings around him. But I wanted to keep my promise to him, even in spirit. He never got to see space."

The triplets bowed their heads.

"He was a good lad," Scrooge spoke up. "He'd be proud of you three."

The triplets sniffled.

"Does he…" Louie blinked. "... does Dad have a gravestone?"

The adults glanced at each other.

The triplets stood around the gravestone of their father. It was hidden by large trees and leaves. Flowers surrounded the grave, one of them being the golden rose. Another thing there was the map Fred and Della had used to map space.

It was beautiful, but hauntingly so.

"Heya, Dad," Huey waved at the gravestone. "Nice to meet you, I'm Huey, this is Louie, and Dewey. We're your sons." He coughed, awkwardly. "Hey, um… I'm sure… sure you were a good person. Sorry we never got to meet. But Mom did get to see space, and she's friends with some people that come from the Moon! I'm sure… sure you would've liked to see them."

The other two nodded in agreement.

"Well, thanks, Dad," Huey's throat choked up. "One day, we'll go to space ourselves. And we'll think of you while we're up there. I promise."

The framed picture of Frederick Pond grinned back at them, as if the spirit himself was beaming from above.

A/N: Ah, it's nice to write a one-shot for a different fandom every once in a while… thanks so much for reading! Had this idea for a while. XD Hope you enjoyed it, even if it made you sad lol.