Gosalyn had already gone to school when he got the call. This was potentially life-changing, no, it WAS life-changing.
Drake was pacing in the living room. He couldn't go back to sleep, his mind was raising with possibilities.
How would he tell her? Should he tell her? He had to, it was the right thing to do, but it was still too early, what if he gave her hope only to destroy her all over again? He wouldn't, couldn't do that to her.
But Fenton wouldn't have called him if he wasn't confident in his breakthrough.
So that's how Drake ended up making an elaborate lunch for Gosalyn, trying to figure out how exactly he would tell her that they might be getting her grandfather back.
"I'm back!", Gosalyn exclaimed as she closed the door behind her.
Drake heard her stop for a second before continuing her step, "What's the special occasion?".
Of course she would know, "What do you mean?".
"That's a rather elaborate meal for an every day lunch. Are we having people over?".
"No", Drake answered, still attempting to phrase the news in his head.
"Is it your birthday?", she asked in a low voice.
The worried tone in her voice made a small smile appear on his face, "No, you didn't forget".
While she tried to hide it, Drake could still see Gosalyns' shoulders relax, "So what, did you find inspiration to cook?".
Drake took a deep breath and started plating the food, "How about you tell me about your day first?".
Gosalyn raised an eyebrow, she knew something was up. The plate in front of her did smell delicious, and she was rather hungry. Her mind was made up.
Food first, questions later.
They exchanged words, simple, small talk really.
Drake had been fidgety and Gosalyn had noticed how awkward he seemed. He knew she knew something was up, but he was still worrying about how he would react.
"Just tell me what you want to tell me so that we can go back to our lives", Gosalyn said suddenly, tired of the tension.
Drake took a deep breath. He had to do it, "Fenton called today. He said he's had a breakthrough with the Ramrod".
He waited anxiously, staring at her face, looking for any sort of reaction.
It came slower than he expected. She seemed to be taking her time, processing what this meant, trying not to get too excited.
"What kind of breakthrough? Enough to try and look for my grandpa?", she finally asked.
"He's expecting us tomorrow", Drake said, hoping it explained enough.
A wide grin appeared on her face, "Really?! That must mean this is going to work! He must be close".
Drake smiled, happy to see her so joyful.
"Does that mean I'm skipping school tomorrow?", she asked.
"Yes. I'll call them and say we had a family emergency".
"You wouldn't be lying", she shrugged.
Drake sighed when she left for her room, hopefully to do her homework.
'Is this the right thing to do? I couldn't just tell her it probably won't work, not after she got so excited… I'll just be hopeful. It'll work
It has to'.
—
The elevator ride down to the lab felt a little too long.
Darkwing glanced down at Gosalyn, who was trying to contain her excitement, and failing for the most part.
What if this didn't work? What if Gosalyn got all excited for nothing?
'Maybe I should start practicing a failure speech just in case this doesn't work', Drake thought.
Finally, they made it to the lab where Fenton was waiting for them, "Darkwing! Gosalyn! You made it".
"We set out first thing in the morning!".
"Hi", Gosalyn said, "Darkwing Duck tells me you figured something out?".
"Straight to the point, excellent!", Fenton walked to a computer, "I believe I've figured out a way to look into other dimensions. I ran a few tests already and everything seems to be going as it should. It's not a portal yet, but it is punching a small window through the multiverse".
Gosalyn was smiling widely, excitement clear on her face.
"What can we do?", Darkwing asked, "Is there any chance we can at least locate Dr Waddlemeyer?".
"Locating our Dr Waddlemeyer might be harder than that, but we should be able to see a Dr Waddlemeyer. I wanted to wait for you to do the honors".
Fenton finished typing something and turned to Gosalyn, "Press this key and we should be able to see Dr Waddlemeyer".
Gosalyn did as she was told and stared at the screen expectantly.
"So when do you think we can get him back?", Darkwing asked Fenton, pulling away from the screen.
"I'm uncertain, but considering how I already have some understanding on how I can look into other dimensions, a few months? A year if we're being optimistic", Fenton answered.
Darkwing gulped. A year? Being optimistic…Gosalyn probably knew that already, she was smart, observant.
Surely it took Dr Waddlemeyer a long time to figure out inter dimensional travel, she must know this is more complicated than rocket science.
"Is it supposed to be doing that?", Gosalyn asked, interrupting the two ducks.
Fenton was next to the computer in an instance, "No, no, no".
Darkwing gently pulled Gosalyn back, giving Fenton more room to work.
Gosalyn seemed concerned and Darkwing started to feel something in the pit of his stomach. It was uneasy.
Smoke started to come out of the computer, sparks flying, and the lights above them went out.
Fenton grabbed a fire extinguisher and aimed it at the computer, "Better safe than sorry", he laughed nervously, "Wouldn't want to start a fire".
Darkwing looked down at Gosalyn, "I'm sure that was meant to happen", he assured her.
She shot him an incredulous look. At least he thinks that's what she was doing.
"Should we"-"Wait right here!", Fenton said, leaving the lab.
Darkwing Duck grabbed a flashlight off his tool belt and turned it on.
"Couldn't you just use your phone?", Gosalyn pointed out.
"Don't want to waste my battery", Darkwing answered, "And it's cooler to have a variety of tools".
The lights turned back on and Fenton came back into the room, checking on the computer.
"It seems looking for a specific person in the multiverse was too much for the computer. i'm going to have to work on that".
Darkwing was only half-listening, instead focusing on Gosalyn's reaction. She had a black expression, and while it didn't naw at him like when the ramrod was destroyed, this concerned him more.
"But you it did work before", Gosalyn said.
"Only as a window, I couldn't control it", Fenton said, tapping his foot, "I'll have to check the energy source and rebuild the interface. Maybe if - no that wouldn't work…but maybe…".
He grabbed a notebook and started writing something down before turning in his chair, "I'm sorry for making you come all the way here. I honestly thought it would work".
"It's still a lot of progress", Gosalyn said, "If anything, it gives us hope".
Darkwing wasn't entirely convinced of Gosalyns' demeanor, but this was not the time or the place to confront her.
"We should probably leave you to it", Darkwing said.
The two men made eye contact, having a silent exchange, "Right", Fenton said, "I'll keep you updated".
—
Drake and Gosalyn made it back to the apartment.
The way home had been quiet. Gosalyn had yet to have a reaction and that worried Drake.
Was she going to keep it inside her? Would she break down eventually? Was she just not that enthusiastic about the ramrods' progress?
"I'll be in my room if you need me", Gosalyn said.
'What can I do?'
Gosalyn walked into her room, closing the door behind her.
She looked at her bed and just flopped onto it. What had her day been?
'Why did I expect results? Why did I expect to get my grandpa back already? It was PROGRESS, not SUCCESS'.
She turned, looking up at her ceiling.
The worst part wasn't the surprise that came with the computer exploding. Or with not being able to see another dimension. Not even the power going out. Or the ride home.
What really made Gosalyn feel worse, was that she felt numb.
Sure it was sad, upsetting, disheartening that the test had failed and Fenton would have to rebuild everything as well as figure out how to make a portal, a stable one preferably.
Yet, she didn't feel like crying, or like she had lost something, or anything really. And that's what made her feel down right now.
Ironic, her lack of sadness made her sad. Frustrated.
'Why can't I just feel sad now and leave it behind?!'.
A knock on the door got her out of her head.
"Can I come in?", Drakes' voice came form the other side.
Gosalyn sat up on her bed, "Yes".
Drake pocked his head in before awkwardly stepping into the room.
"I was thinking of ordering pizza, maybe watch a movie, eat some ice cream. Would you care to join me? We could talk also, if you want".
The rooms' lights were off, so she couldn't see him clearly, but his tone and general demeanor showed that he wasn't sure if this was the way to go.
A small smile appeared on her face. She appreciated him trying, "I'll take the first offer. Sounds like fun".
Drake relaxed, shoulder falling, a quiet sigh escaping him, "I'll get on the pizza, meet you on the couch?".
"Sounds good", Gosalyn said as he started to leave the room, "Can I pick the movie?".
"Of course".
