Sea of Green
by Zebeckras
Act I, part two
Beth arrived at 537 Avian Way at approximately 5:35 pm that evening. They'd never agreed on a time for her to start, and she figured it was better to be early than to be late. She'd spent most of the remaining hours at work wondering if she should call the Mallard household and ask what time to come, but this felt like tempting fate, so she'd just decided to show up. Launchpad hadn't called, and that was a good sign, right?
Please let this be right, she prayed silently; after so many years, she was due for something to finally be right. She rang the bell, and waited in very tense anticipation for the door to open.
Drake Mallard answered. She heard him before she saw him, because as the door opened he was in the process of speaking loudly to someone behind him in the room. "...I'll tell you one thing, if it is one of the Muddlefoots, I'm just sending you over there with them right now, instead!" He was looking over his shoulder as he said this, and when he finished, he turned and their eyes met.
To Beth, it was an electric moment; she felt like she almost jumped at the sight of him, with those eyes, and that face, and those three little pieces of hair that wouldn't stay combed down in the front and instead fell forward towards his eyes, but not quite in his eyes - casual but not messy, a look she found attractive.
She couldn't help but notice, though, that Drake did not have a similar reaction. In fact he didn't seem to have much of a reaction at all; he straightened up a bit when he saw her, and looked at her almost questioningly before saying, "Can I... help you?"
Good lord, he'd forgotten who she was. She scrambled to refresh his memory before it got too awkward for them both. "Oh, um - we met a couple of days ago at Bindler's Hardware store - I got you that bolt you needed-"
"I remember you," he said, though he didn't seem to have one of those big moments of recognition. "Beth Mallard."
"Um. Webfoot," she said quietly, hoping she wasn't coming across as rude. She was sure that she was blushing profusely.
"Yeah... look, I know who you are, what I mean was, we settled this whole bolt thing yesterday, right? Soooo...?"
She realized, as she felt herself going numb with embarrassment, that somehow she must have missed Launchpad's call. He had probably called when she'd been in the back - Henny would have answered - she could just hear how the conversation must have gone... Although she felt a little bit sick, she knew she had to at least try to apologize before she fled the scene. "I, I... I-"
The door swung open wider, and Drake's daughter Gosalyn peered around the side. "Oh, hey!" she said casually, then looked up at her father. "Sheesh, Dad, you look like she's selling Quackerware or something. Aren't you gonna let her in?"
Drake paused for a half-second, giving Gosalyn a level look, and then stepped aside to allow Beth entrance into the house. Beth stammered something about it being okay and she was just leaving as she stepped inside.
So now she at least got to give her awkward and terrified apology inside their home, rather than outside. She wasn't sure if that was better, or ten times worse. She cleared her throat, and addressed Gosalyn, because it was easier. "Well, you - you look like you're recovering pretty well," she said.
The young girl smiled casually and shrugged the comment off. "Eh, I got nerves of steel," she said dismissively.
"Did you need to stay home today or was it straight back to school?"
Gosalyn turned to glare at her father, who was tapping his finger rigidly on the end table nearest the couch. "Y'know, I suggested a stay-at-home day for decompressing, but not everyone around here seems to believe in my need for special care!"
Drake scoffed. "Since when have you ever needed a recovery period after being -" He stopped, and coughed, then said, "What was that about 'nerves of steel'?"
"Even steel can bend under pressure," said Gosalyn defensively, crossing her arms. "Anyway, I hope you're not here for that babysitting gig," Gosalyn went on, "'cause I'm on the verge of having Dad realize that I don't need anyone to watch me by now, and I'm very sorry to say that I don't think your services will be needed this evening."
Beth blinked; she'd been sure that her babysitting job had been cancelled, but if that was so, apparently the sittee hadn't been aware of that. "I thought-" she began, and stopped herself, then turned to Drake.
He did not look happy, although she couldn't tell if it was aimed at her or if it was just in general. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, "That's right, Gosalyn was just telling me about her newly-discovered sense of responsibility."
"Yep! And Dad was saying how I could stay home on my own for a few days - or weeks, wasn't that it, Dad? - and we'd see how it went."
"Oh yes," said Drake, his voice turning to an odd combination of sarcastic sing-song. "And you were telling me how you'd make absolutely certain that all the dishes were done, the rooms were vacuumed, and the laundry was clean and folded. Riiiight?"
Gosalyn narrowed her eyes, and they exchanged glares. "Riiiight," she answered, echoing his tone from a few sentences before.
Beth had a feeling she was missing something, but she understood that her part in this was finished. "Well, I... I guess I'll be going, then," she said. She felt like her bones were filled with disappointment. "Thank you for... for the opportunity..."
"Absolutely my pleasure, so sorry things didn't work out, life's like that, huh?" said Drake, becoming more animated than he'd been since he'd answered the door. His daughter gave him a look that Beth found indecipherable, but he ignored it, and made for the door so that he could open it for Beth to exit.
Gosalyn was smiling at her, and she was doing her best to return it - she really liked the little girl, and she was quite sure at this moment she'd never see her again, let alone her father - when there was movement from the landing of the second floor. "Oh, hiya Beth!" called a voice, and she glanced up to see Launchpad giving her a cheerful wave.
He started down the staircase towards her, and about halfway down he paused. "Uh-oh," he said quietly, apparently to himself, and when he reached the bottom of the steps he walked up to her and said, "Uh, hey. Can you wait here a sec?"
"Sure?" she said in reply, enough confusion in her voice to give the statement an out-of-place question mark.
Launchpad tugged at Drake's elbow and said in a low voice, "Drake, can I talk to ya about something?"
As Launchpad removed Drake to a corner of the room, away from her, Beth was almost certain that he had forgotten to speak to Drake about her coming. She supposed she should be upset, maybe, but instead it struck her as somehow quite funny.
"Look, DW," Launchpad said in as quiet a tone as he could manage, while still being sure that Drake could hear him, "about Beth bein' here..."
Drake was casting glances back at Beth, who was speaking now with Gosalyn near the front door. Musingly, he said, "It just never seems to end, does it? I keep thinking I've gotten rid of her, and then bam, like a bad penny..."
Launchpad realized belatedly that this situation was a little on the awkward side, and that perhaps he hadn't quite gauged DW's feelings towards Beth as well as he'd thought. "Uh, well, y'know she's here to babysit, right?"
"Right - that," said Drake. He turned his full attention to Launchpad and said, "That's the kicker, there. What part exactly of 'get OUT' left her confused yesterday?"
"Well," said Launchpad carefully, "I did tell her she oughta come by..."
"What?" Drake raised an eyebrow, "Did you miss the part where she led a convicted criminal to our house and facilitated his kidnapping Gosalyn?"
"Aw, c'mon DW, you know she wasn't involved in that. She was as freaked out as anyone!"
Drake crossed his arms stubbornly. "I don't have any proof of that," he said huffily.
"Are you talking about Ms. Criminal Mastermind over there?" Gosalyn appeared between them and nodded over her shoulder at Beth, who was still standing by herself near the door, looking around with an air of feeling out of place. "Yeah, she's the real dangerous type, all right."
"She... she could be," said Drake insistently.
As he finished this sentence, there was a loud rattle, and all three of them turned to see Beth propping a picture frame back up on the table she'd apparently knocked it off of. She fumbled with it for longer than seemed necessary, then carefully removed her hands, looked up to notice everyone watching her, and grimaced self-consciously. "Sorry!"
"Oh yeah. Watch out for that one," Gosalyn deadpanned.
Drake stewed for a moment, then said, "Launchpad wants her to babysit you." This was clearly designed to get Gosalyn on his side.
Calmly, and in quite a mature tone of voice, Gosalyn explained, "That's a nice thought, Launchpad, but Dad and I have just agreed that I'll be taking care of myself in the evenings from here on out."
"Ohhhh no," said Drake sharply; he caught himself and lowered his voice, continuing, "No no, little miss sunshine, I meant what I said yesterday. You still need watching until you can at least make it through a week without causing some kind of major destruction to the property."
"Well - but how're we gonna know if I can, if you won't give me a week to try?"
Launchpad took a step backwards, recognizing that he wasn't going to be getting a word in between them for a few minutes. He looked up and caught Beth's eye as she watched them curiously; she blushed when he waved at her.
Meanwhile, Gosalyn said in a fierce whisper, "So all that stuff about me staying home..?"
"Just trying to get her out of the picture!" Gosalyn's jaw dropped, and she glared at him indignantly. "That's right, Gos, as soon as she's gone I'm dropping you off at Honker's tonight and that's where you're going to stay!"
"DAD! I'm ten years old, and I'm not-"
"Ten years old isn't exactly the pinnacle of maturity, kiddo!"
"You're kidding me! I've fought supervillains you couldn't even beat!"
"And yet you still let strangers into the house while I'm asleep-"
"Oh please," said Gosalyn fiercely, "like I'm so dumb I'd do that when you're not here!"
"You are not staying home alone. End - of - story."
"Okay," said Gosalyn; her voice held a warning edge, which Drake caught a moment too late. "Then I want her to babysit me."
"No. No. Absolutely-"
Gosalyn crossed her arms and stood as tall as she could, which was still about two heads shorter than her father. "It's her or nothing."
Drake and Gosalyn both fell silent and stared each other in the eyes for a few seconds. Launchpad crept away and greeted Beth.
"Um, hi again. So - did I miss a phone call, or what?"
"Ho boy. Uh, no, that's all on me... Things kinda got busy this afternoon." Actually, DW had been out when he'd arrived back home, and then he'd fallen asleep on the couch, and once he'd woken up he'd just forgotten; it was probably better if he didn't mention all of that.
"Don't worry about it. It's actually nice to have a change of pace in the evenings." Beth looked around and smiled hesitantly.
"Yeah? No exciting plans you're missin' out on?"
"Oh well, if I weren't here I'd be at work... or at home, it's either one or the other for me."
Launchpad shook his head as if he just wasn't buying it. "Nah, no way. You must do somethin' else - roller derby? Extreme bungee-jumping? A weekly dance-off at the disco?"
Beth was giggling shyly. "Stop it! Stop, you know I don't do any of that!" Pulling herself together, she said, "So... you and Mr. Mallard are both going out tonight?"
"Yeah - uh, probably, anyway," Launchpad said, nodding.
"Where to?"
"Oh." At no point had he given any consideration to this, and he wasn't sure if DW had either. He pulled out the first excuse he could think of. "Bowling."
"Wow," said Beth, her eyebrows going up. She looked beyond him, and Launchpad turned slightly to see a grouchy-looking Drake approaching. Gosalyn, just behind him, looked distinctly smug. To Drake, Beth said, "Are you in a league or something?"
Drake, who apparently hadn't quite heard her, repeated sourly, "Am I 'in league' with something?" He sounded distinctly annoyed. Launchpad had the feeling that, with his current mood, he was less likely to ask for clarification and more likely to just snipe at Beth instead.
"A league. The bowling league," Launchpad said quickly. Drake frowned at him, and he nodded as he said, "I told her that's where we're goin' tonight."
"Oh. Sure. That league." Still looking unenthusiastic, Drake turned his annoyance onto Launchpad, but he at least agreed. "The bowling league. So, Ms. Webfoot -" Drake paused, took a moment to sigh, and then continued, "-After a little chat with my daughter, it seems we will be in need of your services this evening after all. While Launchpad and I are out... bowling."
"Really?" Beth gasped, and then she took a step backward, blushing. "I mean - if you're sure..."
"Oh yes," said Drake unenthusiastically. "I'm sure. Why not."
"Oh!" Beth put her hands to her bill, apparently overcome.
Drake stared at her for a moment, his expression suggesting that he wasn't quite sure if she was for real or not; he shot a quick look at Launchpad, who smiled and shrugged. Then he said to Beth, "YEAH, so... How about we settle on rates, times, things like that before LP and I head out of here."
"Oh gosh, you don't have to pay me!" Beth said immediately.
Eyebrow raised, Drake paused before answering. During the silence, Gosalyn said loudly, "OH yes he does!"
Turning his attention to his daughter, Drake said, "Sweetie, let Daddy do the talking now..."
Gosalyn leaned in close to him and hissed, "Dad, she's gonna be taking care of me. After I've told you over and over how much I want to stay in alone. Think about that."
"You're not going to make this easy on me, are you," Drake said, narrowing his eyes.
Smirking, Gosalyn said, "It's not as if there's no other option..."
Drake shook his head, and muttered something about 'just one night'. Returning his attention to Beth, he said, "So. Let's hear those rates, Ms. Webfoot."
Gosalyn was perched on the couch, watching her father pace in front of the coffee table. "Dad, we're gonna be fine."
Drake stopped pacing and eyed her. "I still can't figure out why you're so intent on having this woman babysit you. This seems like the kind of revenge on me that ends up punishing you."
Actually, Gosalyn was pretty certain that this Beth Webfoot was a pushover, and was anticipating an easy night. On the other hand, even if that wasn't the case, it was just one night... and this strengthened her resolve to do pretty much whatever she wanted, since Beth wasn't going to get much of a chance to keep up with her and there weren't going to be any repurcussions later. She didn't really have any intention of making this clear to her father, though, so she just smiled sagely. "Well, if you'd rather I stay by myself..."
"Not a chance."
They were at a standoff, and both of them knew it; and both were willing to play the risks to get their way, with both counting on winning the war even if it meant losing a battle or two. Gosalyn was therefore dedicated to making sure that this babysitter both irritated her father as much as possible, and cost him good money. This would show him he was better off just letting her take care of herself.
"Okaaaay," Gosalyn said. "Have a good time on patrol, then!"
Her father looked sharply around the room, automatically verifying that Beth was not there, before giving her a look. "Don't play around," he warned her. "And you, just remember, you asked for this."
"Mm-hmm." Gosalyn nodded, a giant smile pasted across her bill. "Just one question, Dad."
Drake raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What's that?"
This was really going to twist the knife, and Gosalyn knew it. She waited one more moment before she asked him, "How're you going to get to the tower while she's here?"
The expression on her father's face was worth sacrificing an entire evening to a babysitter-librarian. He froze, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, then clenched his jaw and his fist at the same time. "I can't believe this!" he hissed. He looked at Gosalyn, who smiled back at him sweetly. "Where's Launchpad-"
As if cued from backstage, Launchpad entered the room with Beth at his heels. "So, that's the kitchen, an' the list of emergency phone numbers is on the fridge. 'Course most of those are on speed dial anyway... You remember where all the fire extinguishers are?"
Looking overwhelmed, Beth said, "Do I really need to know where all six are?"
"It really helps," he answered seriously. "So DW, you all set to go?"
"Have you eaten yet?" Drake asked suddenly; he grabbed Launchpad's arm and pulled him toward the kitchen. "You know you don't play well on an empty stomach!"
"Well, that is true..." said Launchpad uncertainly; he aimed a quick wave at Beth, and left her behind.
"Okay LP. We need a plan to get out of here while that hardware woman is here."
"Oh yeah," said Launchpad, clearly just realizing the problem. He opened the refrigerator.
"Launchpad," said Drake through clenched teeth, "last time I checked, there was no secret route to the tower through the fridge."
Launchpad straightened up, looking surprised. "I thought you wanted me to eat before we left."
There was an audible 'smack' as Drake slapped his hand to his forehead. "Why do I still get surprised?" he asked rhetorically. "Okay, fine. Here's what we do. I'll tell Gos goodbye and have her get Beth to go upstairs or something. Then we'll use the transport chairs before she can get back downstairs."
"Okay. Well, that was easy!" Launchpad said as he fished a few pickles out of a half-full jar.
"Yeah, thanks for your help," Drake said; the sarcasm was lost on Launchpad, who answered that it was nothing at all.
When they returned to the living room, Beth was sitting on one of the transport chairs and peering at the statue that activated them; Gosalyn, sitting mere feet away, was absorbed in the television and didn't seem to notice.
Drake nearly had a heart attack. For several precious seconds, he couldn't seem to move, even as Beth seemed to move in slow motion. She reached a finger out with agonizing slowness towards the figure, saying, "This is fantastic! Basil of Baker Street, right? I love that book, I must've read it four-"
"Don't TOUCH IT!" he managed to snap, and she froze, before snatching her hand back.
"I-I-I'm sorry-"
Still feeling like his heart was about to pop up through his throat, Drake crossed the room and hovered over her, glaring. "It's a - a family heirloom. Real valuable. No touching."
"Wow," she said, all wide eyes and deer-in-the-headlights expression. It seemed likely she couldn't quite manage anything else.
"Yeah. Y'know that chair is - they both need to be reupholstered. Why don't you sit somewhere else. Anywhere else." She practically bounded to her feet, completely obedient. He added, "The view is really nice in the evening from outside..."
"Oh," she said, then her brow furrowed, and she added a nervous laugh. "Hahaha...?" How she'd managed to stick a question mark at the end of laughter, Drake wasn't sure, but he did know that he needed to get away from this woman, now.
It was just one night, he told himself... Just one night, and once he was out of the house he'd probably never see her again. Unless destiny had a nasty sense of humour, of course.
He waited until Launchpad was telling Beth where it was okay for her to sit (and taking slightly too long; it was embarrassing watching him try to flirt with her every time they exchanged two words), and then he knelt next to Gosalyn.
"Thanks so much for your attentive efforts on behalf of my secret identity, Gosalyn," he said in a low voice.
Gosalyn gave him an indifferent look. "I told you, Dad, it's not like it has to be this way."
Blackmailed by his own daughter. Drake felt attacked on all sides. Sheer stubbornness was all that kept him from breaking down and letting her have her way just to get Beth out of the house. "I don't know why I'm bothering to go out looking for enemies tonight," he said sourly. "Look, Gos, just do your dad one favour. I need you to distract her so I can get out without her noticing."
"I dunno Dad, you're asking a lot..."
"Fine," he said, standing up. "Have it your way."
Gosalyn seemed to wonder if perhaps she'd pushed him too far; she sat up straighter, looking at him warily.
In a louder voice, Drake said, "Well Beth, you can order a pizza for dinner, make sure Gos is in bed by 9, and above all make ABSOLUTELY sure she gets her homework done. In fact," he said, as innocently as he could, "didn't you say you were going to need some extra help tonight?"
Gosalyn's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't sound like me," she said slowly.
"Oh, now I remember! You put it aside upstairs and said that you were going to do it before you watched any TV or anything, since it was *so* important. Maybe Beth can go take a look right now!"
"I would be pleased beyond belief to do that!" Beth volunteered, standing up straight again. Drake cheered himself as his new nemesis followed his grumbling daughter up the stairs, and as soon as they were both out of sight, he made a break for the chairs, grabbing Launchpad by the arm on the way. Within seconds he'd attacked the head of the Basil statue, and they were gone.