Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations from Gargoyles, those belong to their owners.

Author's note: This story takes place the summer following "The Journey", and though it ignores the comic's continuity, I'm using Fang's real name, revealed in Bad Guys #2.

Chance Meetings

Chapter 21

by Remtar85

Daniel Sykes was relieved it was finally Friday. The boy had been pretty bored since school had begun. With his mutated father gone out of the country, life had become pretty dull in general for Daniel, at least during weekdays. Going to the Labyrinth on weekends did a lot to alleviate this, but not enough for his liking. As the final bell of the day rang, Daniel was glad to leave the school, picking up his notebook and packing his backpack in a hurry.

"So hey, should we go to the comic book store before stopping by Yvonne's?" Tyler asked as he put on his backpack.

"Yeah, sure," Daniel said a little dismissively.

"You're still all surly?" a girl's voice asked. "Come on, Danny, you've been like this for so long now, and it's getting worse. It's been like over a week since I saw you in a good mood."

Their friend Yvonne Goodwin couldn't help but point that out. She was a chubby African-American girl with glasses and her hair styled straight down to almost her shoulders. She stood about just an inch taller than Daniel, who was the shortest in their group. Yvonne had met Daniel and Tyler during second grade and became friends with them, as she loved the same things they did. She, like Daniel, was soft-spoken and down to earth, and it was their mutual love of geeky things that helped the then painfully shy Yvonne to befriend the two boys and become more talkative and assertive. She was also always honest, thus she couldn't help but point out Daniel's attitude as of late, out of concern.

"I'll be fine," Daniel said. "I just need to distract myself, is all."

"What you need is to have a talk with your mom, is all," Tyler bluntly stated.

Daniel awkwardly avoided replying and just started walking, his friends following suit, both looking exasperated. The reason Daniel had been like this was because he and his mother were still not talking. Carmen had attempted several times, but Daniel refused, still feeling sore and angry about her never telling him about who his real father was. He knew his father had told him to take his time to settle down and then talk and make peace with his mom, but it was now October and Daniel kept avoiding the issue. Tyler and a very reluctant Daniel had filled their friends in on what the issue was, but made no mention of the fact that Daniel's uncle-now-father was back in the picture, instead telling them that he had gotten back in touch with Daniel and his mother from out of town. The three left the school, Daniel walking further ahead of Tyler and Yvonne, which annoyed them.

"Honestly, how long is he gonna keep this up?" Yvonne asked.

"Who knows," Tyler replied. "I never thought he could get this stubborn or this moody."

After around fifteen minutes of walking, the three arrived at the comic book store they always frequented and immediately set out to check anything new, from the comic books themselves to action figures and t-shirts. They could all spend hours in there, and did so any time they could. Tyler and Yvonne kept quiet about the issue with Daniel, the boy looking more relaxed the longer they spent in there indulging in the things they enjoyed. However, as the door to the comic book store opened after a while and they heard a familiar voice, Tyler and Yvonne knew instantly that the situation wouldn't remain quiet anymore as the fourth member of their group joined them.

"There you are," their friend Cynthia told them after scoffing. "Always ahead of me. Like, how fast are you guys when it comes to getting here?"

"Maybe you'd be here at the same time as us if you didn't spend twenty minutes yammering in the bathroom with your crowd, Cyn," Yvonne replied casually.

Cynthia Linley rolled her green eyes and smirked. She was about Tyler's same height, slim, with long, silky red hair, and a cute face. Having met her in the fourth grade and being friends since, Cynthia was the odd one of their group of four, in that she just didn't seem to fit. Tyler, Daniel and Yvonne were unabashed about the fact that they were geeks, at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of the school hierarchy. On the other hand, the rather ditzy Cynthia was very outgoing, loved trendy things, fashion and being with the popular kids-where she was firmly ingrained as the biggest gossip in school, her popular friends loving any time they got to indulge in Cynthia's latest bits of scandalous info. She only ever hung out with Daniel, Tyler and Yvonne outside of school, and nobody at school knew she was friends with them. The three didn't mind this, as Cynthia always managed to, in subtle ways, prevent the popular crowd she hung out with from picking on her geeky friends. When hanging out with Daniel and the others, she was as big a geek as they were, another thing none of her popular friends knew about.

"Sorry, but you know I gotta manage my time with my other friends, and it's like, totally exhausting," Cynthia explained as she joined the others in checking out action figures, noticing Daniel a bit away from them. "Oh my gosh, you guys. Is he still pouting?"

"I'm not pouting," Daniel replied.

"Like, you so are," Cynthia, who had absolutely no filter, retorted back to him. "When are you gonna get over the whole thing with your mom not telling you about your uncle being your dad?"

"Do you wanna tell the whole world?!" an annoyed Daniel snapped in a low voice. Though the group was already speaking in low enough voices, and other customers and employees were busy doing their own thing and not paying attention to the children's conversation.

Cynthia ignored Daniel's retort. "So how come you're still pouting?"

"I'm not pouting!" an exasperated Daniel repeated. "You have that happen to you, see how you react."

"Danny, we get it," Yvonne told him. "We know how much you like your Uncle Fred..."

"My dad," Daniel interrupted her.

"Okay, your dad," Yvonne continued. "We knew him, he was a pretty nice guy, and it's sad that he's not been around for a while, but at least he got back in touch with you guys. We get why you'd be mad at your mom, but it's not healthy."

"She's right," Tyler said. "You've been cranky most of the time."

"And a total bore to hang out with," Cynthia added while studying a Wonder Woman action figure. "You're no fun anymore."

"Well, excuse me for my family drama," Daniel grumbled, then sighed. "I'm just so mad at her."

"So, are you gonna stay mad till you're old enough to move out?" Cynthia asked. "Or, like, your whole life? You'll end up a grumpy old man, all alone and stuff."

"Yeah, Danny, you can't stay mad forever," Yvonne said. "Just talk things out with your Mom. Besides, if your uncle got back in touch with you, then maybe you'll see him again sometime, maybe even soon. So I think you should give your mom a chance, and that way things might start getting better again."

Tyler approached his best friend and gave him a supportive pat on the back. "What they said, this is the best thing to do. It'll do you and your mom good in the long run, you'll see, especially if Uncle Freddy does come back. Now let's get back to picking stuff out and having fun, and you can talk to your mom later."

Daniel hesitated, but then nodded in agreement. Both the girls smiled at having made some progress with their friend, then they left together to check out the cuter, more girl-oriented collectibles on the other side of the store, which Cynthia was particularly fond of. Finding that bit of momentary privacy, Tyler leaned in close and whispered to Daniel.

"Dude, you did promise Uncle Freddy to talk to your mom and try to make peace with her. It's better if you do it before he comes back."

Daniel sighed and nodded again. His friends, Tyler especially, had a point. He had promised his father he'd talk things out with his mother, and he was indeed in a depressed slump without the cougar-man around. He knew that trying to fix things with his mother was the right thing to do, so he decided to swallow his pride, stop being stubborn, and talk to her that evening. Going back to browsing the comic book store with his friends, he made his best effort to stop sulking and go by the rest of the afternoon as they always would.

It was late afternoon by the time Daniel got home from hanging out with his friends. After the comic book store, the four had gone to Yvonne's home and done their homework together so they could have the rest of the weekend off, something they did every Friday; then Daniel, Tyler and Cynthia all went home. Opening the door of his apartment, Daniel could hear somebody around, and at that hour, it had to be his mother home from work. Going into his bedroom, Daniel put away his backpack as well as the comics and action figures he had bought (deciding to splurge a bit with the money his father had left him), then sighed. After a moment of hesitation, he walked out of his room and towards the living room, where he found his mother in casual clothes, her long brown hair tied back in a ponytail as she was sweeping the floor with a broom.

"Mom?"

Carmen looked up from her task. "Yes?"

"Can we... can we talk?" he asked.

Carmen looked surprised. "Oh. Oh, yes, of course."

Setting the broom aside, resting against the wall, Carmen then sat down on the couch. "I'd been hoping we could talk."

"I know, Mom," Daniel said as he sat down next to her. "I've just been... well, stubborn."

"No, you have every right to be angry at me," Carmen said.

After a few seconds of silence, Daniel spoke again. "Would you tell me why you never told me about Dad?"

"I can, yes," Carmen replied, looking more at ease than she had in some time. "But I'd also like to know more on the whole thing about how you found Fred and brought him here."

"I can tell you some parts," Daniel said, "but I can't tell you where the Labyrinth is. I mean, the secret place I go to where Dad used to live at. I promised the people there that I'd never tell."

"That's fair," Carmen said while nodding, then sighed. "I just hope this talk doesn't make things worse."

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.

"Because now you're so happy with Fred as your dad, I don't want to make you sad about it," Carmen answered her son.

"Mom, I know he's done bad things," Daniel said. "I chewed him out about it before he came here."

Carmen looked a little surprised. "Really? What did he tell you he did?"

Daniel looked a little uncomfortable. "He wasn't really happy in the Labyrinth, so he tried taking it over by force. With guns and some guys working for him."

"Good grief," Carmen muttered as she shook her head in disbelief. "He's always been a trouble maker, but that's bold even for him. I assume they punished him?"

"Yeah. They locked him up in some sort of jail cells they have down there."

Carmen was silent for a few moments, as realization hit her. "And you let him out of that cell so he could come live here, right?"

Daniel hesitated, looking awkward, but then nodded in response. "Yeah, I did. But Dad wanted to prove he learned his lesson, and Derek, the guy in charge down there who's a complete jerk, wasn't giving him the chance. So I decided to do it myself. I mean, after all that time without seeing him, I..."

"Sweetie, it's fine, what's done is done and I'm not going to blame you or punish you for it," Carmen assured her son. "You wanted Fred back, that's understandable. But you've been going back to that Labyrinth place. Did you get in trouble for what you did?"

"A little," Daniel replied, looking rather relieved that his mother didn't make a big deal out of that. "Derek, who's also mutated just like Dad, he wasn't happy, but he hasn't stopped me from visiting. He keeps saying that Dad's gonna cause trouble and that he needs to be put back in that cell."

"So Fred staying here hasn't been just to stay close to you, right?" Carmen more stated than asked. "You and him didn't want this Derek person taking him back to that prison, and he can't just come in here to get Fred."

"Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I knew he'd be safe enough here," Daniel said. "And I know you're scared that Quarrymen or cops or someone will come here if somebody finds out about him, but he's been really good at laying low and out of trouble. Plus, Derek's sister is a detective, and she's cool. She gave me her number and told me to call her if we ever need her."

"Really? Well, that's some form of relief," Carmen said with a little smile. "At least for after Fred comes back, since there's no need to worry about Quarrymen or whatever while he's away."

"Yeah," Daniel said. "So then, why didn't you want to tell me he's my dad?"

Carmen looked apprehensive. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah, I do," Daniel said, nodding in response.

Carmen nodded as well, then was silent for a moment before explaining. "You remember the last job Fred had before he disappeared was at a warehouse, right? He was doing just fine there. But then one day he got caught trying to break into someone's locker near the break room, this after there had been some things reported missing from other people's lockers. They couldn't find what was stolen, but it was enough to fire Fred."

Daniel looked down, looking disappointed. "Oh..."

Carmen reached and took her son's hand in hers. "That's the reason why I never told you that Fred's your dad. He just had bad habits. Provoking people, getting into trouble, thinking that the world owed him..."

Daniel remained silent, looking pensive, which prompted Carmen to gently squeeze his hand. "Daniel, sweetie?"

"I'm sorry, Mom" Daniel finally said. "I've been a total brat with you. But now I get why you didn't tell me. Dad... he really was kind of a big jerk."

"Well, that was part of the reason I didn't tell you. The other one was that I know how much you've always loved Fred, so I didn't want you to get hurt when his screw-ups caught up to him," Carmen explained. "I'm sorry too, Daniel."

"It's okay, Mom," Daniel said, looking up at his mother. "You had a good reason. But even though Dad did those bad things, he's a better guy now. Maybe it was getting mutated and jailed and being away for all that time, but he's really changed. He doesn't get in trouble anymore, and he's even got an actual job."

Carmen gave her son a smile. "I'm not gonna deny that he and I still don't get along, and him being around in the apartment does worry me; but the fact that he's not out there getting in trouble and that he's been taking care of you, that's a big relief for me. It's about the most mature I've ever seen him be. Looks like having you back in his life's been a good influence on him."

At this, Daniel couldn't help but smile as well. "I think so too. And about him being here in the apartment, he did tell me and Tyler that he'll look into a different place to stay after he returns from his trip. His job and the money he's earning and stuff, that should help him, if he's discreet about it."

"Really? Well, that's a relief. It would be easier on all of us if he did manage to get his own place somehow."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, I know. I don't really like that he wouldn't be living here anymore, but I get that he needs a place where he can come and go easier than he can here. But if he does find a place, is it okay with you if he can still visit?"

"I'm not going to get in the way of you spending time with your father, honey," Carmen assured her son. "So if he stays out of trouble and makes sure to be safe so you stay safe too, then yes, he can visit. So we'll wait and see what happens once he comes back, okay?"

Daniel smiled and nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Mom."

Carmen smiled as well, though a bit sheepishly. "So, we're good now?"

"Yeah, we are," Daniel said, giving his mother a hug, one she reciprocated in kind.

Both mother and son felt a big relief and a weight lifted off both their shoulders after their talk and coming to an understanding. Even though Carmen still felt rather ill at ease with Fred being around, especially with the way he looked, she was willing to put up with it if it meant seeing her son happy, at least so long as Fred could remain careful and discreet. Daniel then proceeded to help his mother finish sweeping the living room and tidying up the apartment, while pondering what they would have for dinner. They were checking the pantry and fridge to figure out what to make when Carmen's husband, Richard, came through the door.

"Carmen? Daniel?" he called out, coming into the kitchen, still in his security guard outfit. "Hey. Thinking of dinner?"

"Yes," Carmen replied. "We spent the afternoon talking and cleaning, so we're thinking of what to make."

"Oh? So no more trouble then?" Richard asked. "You two made up?"

"Yes, we did," Carmen said, smiling at Daniel, who smiled back at her.

Richard smiled as well. "That's great! Then don't you worry about dinner. Let's all go out to eat, I'm buying. We'll make it a double celebration."

"Double celebration?" Daniel pondered in confusion.

"I'd been waiting until my next paycheck to tell you two about it, but I might as well tell you now," Richard said, sounding and looking proud. "I got a promotion at my job recently. Now I'm working security for a big company and the pay's even better. So we can celebrate my promotion and you two making up."

"Wait, really? Congratulations! Is that why you've been quiet lately?" Carmen asked, to which her husband smiled and shrugged rather sheepishly, then nodded. "Honestly, you've stopped drinking, you've been a lot nicer, you've even lost some weight and put on some muscle. And now you even got a promotion. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Carmen. I'm... well, I'm using you as a role model, you know? How you've gotten to be a better and more responsible mom to Daniel," Richard said, then looked at the boy. "I'm really sorry for how nasty I've been to you, Daniel. To both of you. And I'd like to make up for it. Maybe this can be a good start?"

Carmen smiled at this. "I'd say it definitely can be, Rich. You're being more like how you were when we got married, and I hope it keeps going like this."

"Thanks," Richard said, looking both delighted and flattered. "I hope so too."

Daniel was rather surprised. Richard had indeed mellowed out over the past few months, and had also stopped being mean to him. He had especially noticed how Richard had been drinking less and less, to the point that both he and his mother believed he had been going to AA meetings to stop drinking, and it showed in his demeanor. Daniel had never been close with Richard and vice-versa, and it had grown to full dislike over time. But seeing Richard mellowed out and not being drunk and mean, and especially not fighting with his mother anymore, it made Daniel feel relieved.

"Yeah. Good start," he told Richard, both adults looking at the boy with smiles on their faces. Daniel felt that if his mother was giving his mutated father a chance, so should he give Richard a chance.

Richard thanked Daniel as well. All three of them freshened up, changed clothes, then left for dinner at an Italian place. Dinner itself was pleasant, as was the rest of the evening; everybody returned home, showered and went to bed in a good mood. As he laid in bed, Daniel felt better than he had since Fang had left on that trip. Now that he was back on good terms with his mother, and his stepfather had stopped being a jerk, all Daniel needed right now for everything to be at its best yet was for his father to return from his trip, and Daniel could hardly wait. He drifted off to sleep thinking about visiting the Labyrinth the next day, eager to let his friends know how good things were going.

To Be Continued...

Author's Extra Note: Hey everyone. So here we saw what's been going on with Daniel while Fang's been away, and next chapter will pick up with Fang right where the last one left off. Look forward to it, stay safe and be well. Thanks for reading!