by Zebeckras

A/N: Yaaaaay! (Maybe!) I've been working a lot on rewriting my earlier fics lately, but just in case people who have been following the series wondered if I was planning on continuing it... here is the start of the latest! This follows "The House on Avian Way" (which itself follows "All About Elizabeth", which is actually the most recently-written one) and is a Darkwing-Light, Launchpad-Heavy fic. Yaaaay! I've been wanting to write this for a few years now, though for a long time I only had a vague idea of a few things I definitely wanted to include and a potential idea for a storyline. My husband helped me pull a few things together at the start of this year and I'm finally feeling ready to tackle this! I expect it to be somewhat shorter than my average - I'm aiming for around 7 or 8 chapters - but I don't know how frequent the updates will be. Hope no one minds. :) Enjoy and PLEASE, PLEASE leave feedback! I'm not sure which my priority should be right now, new fics or rewrites, and so if it looks like the rewrites are the ones getting more attention then I'll probably go ahead and focus on those - unless you TELL me you are reading this! So please do :) Thank you!

OH and PS: lest I forget, Darkwingpsycho is doing my betareading on this and as always I am deeply grateful for her help!

Act I, chapter 1

Launchpad slapped a newspaper onto the dining room table and beamed proudly.

After a moment in which the pilot didn't say anything to elaborate, Drake took a look at the paper. "'St. Canard Poison Center reminds everyone not to take poison'? Nice to hear they're taking a creative approach."

"No, not that one!" said Launchpad cheerfully. "The St. Canard Air Show Starring the World-Famous Flying McQuacks!"

"Ohhhh yeah. Y'know, I think you might've mentioned that ten or twenty times before." In contrast to Launchpad's clear excitement, Drake made no effort at all to seem even slightly interested.

Launchpad pulled a chair out from the table and sat down, looking at the paper with an almost fond expression. "Yeah, guess I'm excited. They haven't been through here in three or four years!"

"You really don't see your family except when they're in a local air show?" Drake thought this was a little bit sad. Not that he ever saw his family, but there were circumstances involved there that he didn't feel needed any elaboration.

With a shrug, Launchpad said, "Yeah, well, they're pretty busy. So'm I, actually. Our schedules just don't fit together too well." Perking up again, he said, "But now they're gonna be in town all day today, an' flying in the air show, an' everything! I've been planning this for weeks!"

"I'm sure you and the kids will have a lot of fun," Drake said absently. Air shows were not his cup of tea, and he didn't intend to fake an interest. Gosalyn, on the other hand, had been nearly as excited as Launchpad ever since she'd heard of the event.

"And Beth," Launchpad added. With that remark, his near-giddy attitude suddenly made sense to Drake.

"You're going to introduce her to your parents," he said in dawning realization. Launchpad grinned sheepishly. "You're taking her to meet 'Mom and Dad'. Does she know that you're engaged, or were you going to wait until the day of the wedding to tell her?"

"Oh come on! This is totally normal, there's nothin' romantic about introducing a friend to your parents."

"Have you told them about Beth before?"

Evasively, Launchpad said, "Couple'a times," and examined the tablecloth. Drake took this to mean that there had been a number of conversations on the subject. Redirecting the conversation, Launchpad said, "You sure you don't wanna come along? We got plenty of room in the car..."

"Gonna have to take a pass on this one, LP," Drake answered. "Not all of us have 'days off' in the usual 9-to-5 sense of the word." Technically, of course, he was preaching to the choir. Launchpad didn't work a day job any more than he did. But Drake knew that the odds of Launchpad pointing that out weren't very high, and he liked the way the dramatic flair of that sentence outlined the difference between him and the average Joe Cubicle.

"Really? I thought we took care of all the big bad guys for now. Did SHUSH call with an assignment?" asked Launchpad. At that moment, though, Gosalyn burst into the kitchen and Drake was spared from having to answer.

"Dad guess what!" she announced as she launched herself excitedly into a chair at the breakfast table, "I'm gonna see if Launchpad can pull some strings and get me into the cockpit of an F-22 Raptor!"

"That sounds reasonable," Drake said airily, catching Launchpad's eye to make sure there was no doubt that the pilot would NOT be pulling any strings.

"Uh, Gos, don't be too disappointed if they're not lettin' civilians inside mosta these jets," Launchpad started, but Gosalyn blew him off with a snort.

"Oh whatever. They can't possibly keep an eye on all of them all day long, and besides, it's not like I'm gonna steal them or blow something up!" She pulled a cereal bowl towards herself rapidly and it made a scraping sound against the surface of the table. "Dad, do you have any idea what kind of fire power is in these babies?"

Drake cringed. "Please tell me that they don't leave the jets loaded."

"Y'know, you should be more excited about what's gonna be goin' on above us!" Launchpad interjected in an effort to hijack Gosalyn's train of thought. "They got some of the best pilots in the world comin' out to fly these jets, an' some of 'em are state of the art!"

"That's so COOL," Gosalyn said, bouncing in her seat. Drake wondered offhand how many bowls of cereal she'd had so far that morning; he had a feeling the one she was pouring for herself now was at least the third. After all, it was nearly 10 am on a Sunday morning. "Does your family do weapons demonstrations, Launchpad?" she asked.

Launchpad laughed. "Nah, they don't do army stuff. They're formation fliers, y'know, aerobatics. It's a lotta fun to watch!"

"Keen gear," said Gosalyn cheerfully. "Dad, you should totally come! It's gonna be great!"

"Well, Gos, you know I'd love to, but crime doesn't take a break just because-"

The doorbell rang, and Gosalyn catapulted out of her seat and ran for the living room. "That's Honker! He was gonna bring a book about the specs on the Tie Fighter 18s!" Drake could almost swear that she left a cloud of dust in her wake.

Drake's arrival in the living room a few minutes later was met with an excited stream of chatter from the couch, where Gosalyn had set herself and Honker up with three or four magazines and one heavy-looking book. Honker looked pleased enough, even though Gosalyn was the one doing all the talking.

At his left, Launchpad laughed and said, "Hey, at least she's excited, huh?"

"Sure you can handle her, LP? You've seen her when she's surrounded by heavy artillery..."

"Aw, no problemo. She really can't get into any trouble at an air show, an' besides, I'll have Beth with me."

Although Drake had his doubts about Launchpad's ability to focus on things that were not Beth while Beth was around, he wasn't really worried. His sidekick was perhaps not the brightest bulb in the box, but he was undeniably dedicated to the kids and he'd never dropped the ball while taking care of them, with or without Beth around.

The doorbell rang again, and Gosalyn sat up straight and then jumped up to answer it. Launchpad, however, was already on his way across the room and he beat her there by perhaps a half a second. Despite the effort he had clearly made in doing this, he nevertheless managed to look completely casual when he opened the door to a smiling Beth Webfoot.

"Hi! I'm not early am I?" she asked. She was holding a bag in both hands, and it was clutched in front of her, a bit like a shield. Despite the oddly defensive body language, she looked perfectly thrilled to be there, and gave Launchpad a huge, bright smile before turning the same expression on everyone else.

"Nah, just in time! C'mon in!" Launchpad stepped aside as she entered the room, and as she walked around and greeted Gosalyn and Honker, stopping to chat with each of them, Drake tried not to notice the way Launchpad watched her stared at her, really with what Drake could only consider a kind of silent expectation. Not that he got the impression that Launchpad was precisely expecting anything, only that he didn't think the pilot was aware of how intense he was becoming in his fixation on Beth. Drake wondered if Beth noticed, and what she thought of it. Maybe she liked it. If she did, though, then she needed to give the poor guy a break and just let him know already.

"Morning Drake!" she finished, turning the smile on him.

He greeted her, not bothering to match her enthusiasm; it rolled right off her back, and he felt a sense of relief at finally reaching some minor point of being comfortable with her. "So, all set, huh? Everyone's here?" Drake checked the time; it was now just past ten and it felt like the day was slipping away.

Beth took a moment to do one of her odd, missing-the-point reactions to what he had just said, and she looked around the room as if she wasn't certain who was there, even though she'd just greeted everyone in it. "Oh, um, I think so..." She looked questioningly at Launchpad, who was predictably just over her shoulder.

"Yep, it's just us four goin'. I guess we oughta get on the road it takes almost an hour to get out to the air field... Gos, Honk-man, you guys ready?"

"YEAH!" Gosalyn cried, scrambling to her feet and knocking several magazines onto the floor. Honker, somewhat more reserved, turned in his seat and nodded.

Launchpad turned back to Beth and asked, "An' how 'bout you?"

"Think so," she said. She brought her bag up to eye level and started pawing through it. "I wasn't sure what to bring but I heard that these things get really loud so I thought maybe earplugs do they get really loud?"

"Well, it can get noisy with all those engines," Launchpad allowed. Beth nodded and thrust her hand into the bag, then pulled it back out, gripping a few cases of foam earplugs.

"So this ought to help. And then I have some packets of tea, because I thought we could get some hot water while we're there well, hopefully anyway and if it's too warm for tea we can just drink regular water, and I brought a little cash for souvenirs in case the kids want anything, and of course some sunscreen since you never know what the sun's going to do. Oh and I have a little blanket in case it's chilly. Will it be windy?"

"Uh, probably. Or at least, with all the engines..." Launchpad trailed off, apparently a little confused.

Drake had to roll his eyes. "Y'know what, Beth, I think you're prepared. I think you could join the Boy Scouts, you're so prepared. So go, have fun, and let other people worry about things for a while." He started up a trick he hadn't used for a while, of stepping towards Beth to get her to back up towards the door. It worked just as well as ever, and since she was moving, Launchpad kept pace with her, and Gosalyn was out the door and making for the car as soon as she saw they were on their way.

Beth paused at the door. "Why don't you come, Drake? I bet there's plenty of room in the car and you'd probably have a great time." Her smile fell. "Oh! But I only brought four pairs of earplugs you'd have to go without... or someone else would..."

"I don't really mind," Launchpad offered.

Drake shook his head vehemently, and hoped they'd assume it was a noble sacrifice on his part. "No, no, you save those earplugs for yourself, LP. I'm sorry to say that I have a busy day ahead of me and air shows are not in the schedule."

"Oh, you have to work?" Beth looked sympathetic, but not about to press the point.

For effect, Drake threw in a little extra. "Well, the criminal world doesn't shut down just because a few fancy planes fly into the city limits."

"Ohhh," said Beth, as impressed as she ever was; Launchpad nodded as though he knew from experience that this was true. "Well... I hope it won't be TOO hard, since you'll be all by yourself, but "

"I'll be fine," he assured her, managing to get her out the door. She gave a little wave, then turned and started down the sidewalk to the driveway, where Gosalyn and Honker were waiting at the car.

As Launchpad started after her, Drake gave his sleeve a quick tug. "Hang on, LP. Let me give you some advice." When his sidekick stepped closer, a questioning look on his face, Drake said in a hushed voice, "Don't push."

"Huh?" Launchpad clearly had no idea what he was talking about. "Don't push what?"

"You. And Beth. Don't get ahead of yourself. Just watch it." He tried to indicate with his eyes what he meant, but the point was still lost on Launchpad, who seemed to have the self-awareness of a trout.

"Aw, we're fine, DW. Nobody's pushin' anything."

"Hokay... whatever," Drake said, and gave up. "Have fun, then."

"Will do!" Launchpad gave him a thumbs-up, then paused on his way to the car. "Sure you don't wanna come with?"

Drake shook his head and reiterated once more the same thing he'd been saying all morning: "No can do, just too busy today."

"Okay! Well, see ya tonight then!" Launchpad said, and made it to the car. Drake watched them pile in and then pull out of the driveway, and he waved as they drove off down the road.

"Just too busy," he said to himself as they disappeared around a corner, and he went back inside and shut the door. With a sigh, he settled back onto the couch, then stretched out his legs and lay down, settling the newspaper over his face to block out the mid-morning sun. "Yep, yep, yep... too much to do."

By the time they were fifteen minutes outside the city, Beth had gone through the contents of her bag in full one and a half times and she was already considering that she might have underpacked.

"Didn't you say you have a blanket in there?" Launchpad asked, peering at her bag.

She was staring out the window as he said this. "Um, well, I just thought y-you know how you never know what the weather will be like in, in, in um-" As she answered she made tentative little gestures towards the steering wheel, as if unsure whether she should grab it or not. It reminded him to check the view out the windshield, but once he'd corrected their trajectory away from an approaching tree, he turned back to her. By this point she seemed to have cleared her thoughts and was more relaxed; her hand fell to her lap. "Um, in November. It can start out cold and get pretty warm by the afternoon."

Beth turned around halfway in her seat and looked at Honker and Gosalyn, the former of whom was wearing a light sweater, while the latter was wearing her usual purple t-shirt. "I can't even tell which of you two is dressed properly for the day." She was clearly erring on the same side as Honker, since she was wearing a wool jacket over her shirt.

"Aw, c'mon, you have to be from a tropical island to get cold in this weather," Gosalyn said. She looked at her window as if she was considering opening it and riding with her head sticking out.

"It's in the 50s, Gosalyn!" Beth said in mild disbelief. "Honestly. It must be your metabolism. I freeze when it goes below 70 degrees."

"Aw, well, I'll help keep ya warm," Launchpad said cheerfully. He loved that coat on her. It made her look so huggable.

Beth flashed him an unsteady smile, and he realized what he'd just said. "Thanks," she said uncertainly.

"Uh, I meant with... uh... the car heater," he added lamely, and turned on the vents.

"Oh. Okay," she said, smiling a little more. She turned back towards Honker. "Are you cold? Or if Launchpad turns up the heat will you feel too warm back there?"

"Um," said Honker thoughtfully, folding his hands in his lap, "I think I'm fine."

"Hmm, if you're fine now we probably don't need the heat that high..." She prodded at the heater while Gosalyn kept a running commentary about how they were all way too sensitive to cold.

Eventually conversation switched to the subject of the airshow, what kinds of planes they were likely to see, what kinds of performances were scheduled, and what precisely Gosalyn would do to stow away in one of the fighter jets. By the time they were fifteen minutes from the airfield, the topic had drifted over to the subject of Launchpad's family.

Beth, who had been reasonably nervous about meeting the Flying McQuacks for the past week or two, now found that she had amped up into the "ridiculously nervous" range over the past half hour. She tried to reassure herself they were Launchpad's family, they had raised him, they were naturally going to be good people and then he said it.

It was a casual comment but it put everything into a new perspective for her. They were talking just generally, about the letters Launchpad wrote, whether or not the McQuacks knew who was coming, whether or not they'd miss getting to meet Drake, and so on; Beth mentioned that they probably wouldn't know what to do with her, and Launchpad said, "Oh, no way, they're really lookin' forward to meetin' you!"

That was when it occurred to her, for the first time, that she was meeting Launchpad's parents, and usually when adults brought other adults to meet their parents it was a sign of things getting "serious" between them. In fact she had avoided introducing Launchpad to her family for exactly that reason.

It wouldn't have mattered, of course, if they'd actually been dating. Or if she had known that Launchpad felt the same way she did, that they were platonic friends and nothing more. But when she factored in the fact that he was, admittedly, a little infatuated with her...

Fact: Launchpad wanted to be more than friends with her.
Fact: Launchpad had talked about her to his parents.
Unknown: In what capacity had he mentioned her?
Fact: Whatever it was, it was favorable, since they were interested in meeting her.
Logical conclusion: Launchpad's parents were expecting to meet his girlfriend.

She suddenly felt too hot in the coat she was wearing, except that she also felt like she wanted to leave the coat on and maybe pull the collar up around her chin.

It was just past 11 am when they arrived at the air field, and the day was clearly beginning to warm up as they parked the car and set off for the hangars. Beth took her coat off, then felt chilly enough to put it back on and decided to keep it with her for the whole day, even if it meant carrying it after lunch. Launchpad was busy identifying planes to Honker and Gosalyn, and Beth was both relieved and terrified at being left alone to her thoughts as every step brought them closer and closer to a situation she no longer felt prepared for.

Launchpad looked back at her as she began to trail behind them. "Hey, somethin' wrong?"

"I, um, not really..."

He smiled. "You're not nervous, are ya?"

Sheepishly, she answered, "Well, a a little bit. New people and all... you know."

"Don't worry," he said, taking her arm gently and pulling her forward, "they'll love you."