Disclaimer: I do not own Darkwing Duck or any other Disney character....

If you haven't read "The Path Chosen", this story isn't going to make sense to you.

This fic derives directly from the original story. It's a look into one of the Darkwing realities that could have been. This is the story of the one called Tracker.

Tracker's Story Part 1

A figure dressed in a dark blue trench-coat and mask stood alone in the eerie dark edifice that was once Darkwing Tower. "Why am I here?" he asked himself as he looked around his abandoned fortress. "There are only painful memories for me here." He walked slowly around the tower, now benighted, save the glow of moonlight through the broad archways. Equipment that was once considered Hi-tech and invaluable to his cause now sat caked in dust, forgotten. Nothing in the tower meant anything to him anymore.

A huge portrait hung on the wall in the center of the tower. Even with the soft glow of moonlight, it was too dark to see it. It didn't matter, he didn't want to see it anymore. It was a painting of Darkwing Duck as he once was. His purple and blue clad attire and an arrogant grin on his face. His chest out proudly, his cape flapping in the wind behind him. The duck stepped infront of the old mirror that stood in one corner of the tower. He lifted a hand to wipe away the dust that covered it. The reflection that looked back at him from the now tarnished surface was a duck in a simple dark blue trench-coat and a dark masked that covered his face. Only the old fedora was the same. It was the reflection of the Darkwing Duck that now existed. The old Darkwing, ego and all, was long dead.

A small night stand stood next to the mirror. Opening the night stand drawer, he pulled out a framed photo he'd put inside a long time ago. He looked at the picture with a heavy heart. It was a photo of himself as he had been all those years ago. The purple vest and fedora, a small child on his shoulder, both of them waving to the camera. He looked into the face of the child in the photo. Fiery red hair pulled back in pigtails, her liquid green eyes shined like emeralds. Gosalyn. His precious child. All the pain his heart had suffered under for so long intensified. He shoved the picture back into the drawer and slammed it closed. "Why am I here!" he shouted still trying to understand what had brought him back up to the tower. Something had drawn him back to this place after all this time, but what?

It didn't take long for the answer to present itself. Within a matter of minutes, the atmosphere began to get the feel of an almost electrical energy all around him. In front of him, awall, like clear rippling water began to materialize from the thin air. There was an eerie glow behind it, almost beaconing to him. Calling him to come through. He stared at it, and knew, somehow he knew. This was it. This was the answer to his prayers. This was how things were to be set right. Unafraid, he stepped forward and passed through the vortex of light to what awaited him on the other side.

Years Earlier....

2 AM. The blue chairs in the house of 537 Avian way spun quietly in the dark. When the spinning stopped, a duck dressed in in purple garb rose from one of the chairs and moved silently through the darkness of the unlit room and up the stairs.

Drake Mallard, still wearing his guise of Darkwing Duck opened the door to his daughters room and stepped in. He moved quietly to the side of the bed and gazed down at his sleeping child. She looked so sweet and innocent when she was asleep. It was hard to believe she was the same kid that sneaked into the bathrooms in the police station and poured super glue on the toilet seats! Drake smiled to himself, she was a handful, but she was worth it. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead before slipping back out.

He moved down the hall to his own room and stepped inside. "Hello Dark," came a rather flirtatious voice from the darkness. Darkwing grinned. He wasn't quite use to coming home to that sort of greeting, yet. A dim light came on next to the bed. His wife of two months, Morgana, sat up in bed and looked at Darkwing with a loving smile. "have a good night?"

Darkwing returned the smile "No," he answered as he moved behind a floor screen to change his clothes.

"Why not?" Morgan asked as she waited for her husband. Drake Mallard emerged from behind the screen in his PJ's and climbed into his side of the bed. "I couldn't keep my mind on my work. I just kept thinking about how beautiful you were all night. Did you put a spell on me or something?" He was just teasing of course.

She grinned at him. 'That would only be fair. After all, I've been under your spell since the day I first saw you."

Drake laughed and lay back into his pillow. He was still getting use to the married life. He and Morgana had been married in the early fall and adjustments were still being made. For one, LaunchPad had decided that four was a crowd and had moved out of the Mallard house and into a small apartment a couple of blocks away. Morgana was learning to cook normal food along with her own special recipes. Gosalyn had made it clear, though kindly as possible, that she wasn't ready to call Morgana mom. That was alright with Morgana, she wasn't sure she was ready to be called Mom. Drake was still having a time of getting use to sharing his room with his wife. He had moved his desk into the loft over the Garage that had been LaunchPad's room.

Morgana kissed him lovingly on the bill. Drake grinned at her. There were definitely some things that were worth getting use to. They nestled down together for the night. "Good Night Morg."

"Good Night Dark."

It was only 2 weeks before Christmas and Morgana was rather looking forward to cooking her first authentic Christmas dinner. She had been living as Mrs. Drake Mallard for almost three months and things had gone rather well, all in all.

It was 2:30 PM and she was preparing dinner for Drake and Gosayln. She had actually learned to make normal food along with her own special recipes when she started her restaurant, which her aunt was now running for her.

From the kitchen she heard the front door fly open – and slam shut followed by Drake's yelling from the bedroom for Gosayln to stop slamming the door! Morgana smirked a bit, she had become accustom to this routine and found herself enjoying it. The kitchen door swung open and Gosalyn cam skipping in carefree, her book bag still swung over her shoulder. "What's for dinner, I'm starved!" she piped out as she peeked around Morgana to see what was being prepared.

Morgana smiled "chili." she answered as she reached over to a fresh baked plate of cinnamon cookies and gave Gosalyn two of them as a snack to tide her over until time to eat. "Thanks Morgana!" Gosalyn said taking the still warm cookies.

"Just one cookie before dinner young lady!" Drake's booming voice came from his bedroom upstairs!"

Morgana and Gosalyn exchanged looks of astonishment. "How does he do that!" Gosalyn exclaimed.

Morgana shrugged and motioned for her to go on with her cookies when Drakes voice boomed yet again from upstairs. "I said one cookie, Little Missy. Morgana stop spoiling her!"

Again they were both mystified, but Gosalyn gave a surrendering sigh and resentfully placed one of the cookies back on the plate. "Oh, guess what!" she told Morgana as she took a large bite out of her cookie.

"What?" Morgana asked sounding interested.

Gosalyn slung her backpack onto the table and pulled out a peace of paper and handed it to her step-mother. Morgana took the paper and looked at it. It was a science test with a big fat A at the top. "an A?" Morgana said in utter surprise knowing Gosalyn was not the best of students in school.

As if on Que Drake walked into the kitchen in his bathrobe "A what?" he asked Morgana getting into the conversation.

"A very good test score." Morgana informed him as she handed him the paper.

Drake looked at the test paper in total shock, then glanced unbelieving at his adopted daughter "You actually got an A?"

"A" Gosalyn corrected. "it was on physics. I picked up on all that stuff when I use to go to my Grandpa's Lab . I didn't even have to study!" With that she snatched the paper from her dad's hand and skipped out of the room.

Drake turned to Morgana dumbfounded "to bad her Grandfather didn't run a history museum on the side."

"Now don't ruin things for her." Morgana chastised her husband "She's very proud of.." she broke off feeling dizzy all at once. Drake grabbed her as she lost her balance and almost fell.

"Morg, what's wrong?" he asked with concern as he helped her over to a chair.

"I don't know." she answered a bit disoriented "I just suddenly got very dizzy." she saw the look of concern on her husbands face. "That was the first time it ever happened. Maybe I've just been on my feet to much today." She closed her eyes for a moment and took a couple of slow, deep breaths. She opened her eyes again "There. It's gone."

"Perhaps you should take it easy for the rest of the day. I'll finish up in here." Drake suggested, still concerned.

Morgana smiled lovingly at him. She was glad he fussed over her so. "I'm fine. Besides I'm almost finished, so why don't you go on in the living-room and make a fuss over your daughters rare A."

Drake grinned at her "If you're sure your alright."

she nodded.

"Well then. Perhaps I should enjoy looking at a good paper from that kid for once." he stood to leave "Maybe I should have it bronzed!"

Within the next several days, Morgana experienced the dizziness and feeling sick off and on more frequently. Finally, Drake had insisted that she go to a doctor. Drake had walked in the front door with Gosalyn both of them carrying well wrapped packages in their arms. Morgana was laying on the sofa with a light throw over her. "Hey Morgana!" Gosalyn greeted, skipping up to Morgan and held a brightly wrapped package up for Morgana to see. "We've been Christmas shopping. This is the gift I got you. I had it professionally wrapped and everything. But you can't have it until Christmas because of Dad's dumb Christmas traditions."

"Alright little Missy. You keep that attitude up and Santa may just take your name off the nice list. You know I had to bribe him by leaving him those fancy little petits fours last year instead of plain cookies, just to get your name back on the good list in the first place, right?"

Gosalyn retorted by sticking her tongue out at him which made Morgan laugh. Drake saw then, how week she seemed so frail. "Morg," he asked with concern "Are you OK?"

Morgan smiled at him oddly and sat up "I'm just fine Dark. In fact the doctor just called. My symptoms aren't anything to worry about and they'll go away on their own."

Drake sat on the sofa next to her. "Well, I'm glad to hear that." he noticed she was looking at him strangely. "Uh,he was sure there was nothing really wrong?"

She nodded.

"Well, how much longer does he think the symptoms will last?"

"About 9 months."

"Nine months! That's a long time to be getting sick every morning and........" He trailed off as the realization of what his wifes words were intending set in. "Uh, nine months ..you mean ...you're ...that is ..we're..."

"We're going to have a baby." she finish for him.

For a long moment he seemed to be in a state of shock, then he threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly "We're going to have a baby!!" he exclaimed "Oh Morg, this is perfect! What a wonderful Christmas present!"

Gosalyn stood at the end of the sofa in utter disbelief. A baby? A real kid all their own?

"Gos, did you hear that!" Drake exclaimed jumping up and grabbing her up in a big hug "You're going to be a big sister!!" Putting her back down he ran over to the phone "I've gotta tell LaunchPad right away! He's going to be a God father!"

"Oh Drake, now wait." Morgana said with some urgency in her voice as she snatched the phone from her husbands hands. "We have to talk about the Godfather part."

"Talk about what? Who else would we have as our baby's Godfather?"

Morgana looked a bit sheepish before answering with an uneasy tone "My father,

maybe?"

"Your father!!!!! Oh, no, no way!!"

"Now, Drake, he is going to be this baby's grandfather after all..."

"Don't remind me!"

The rather heated discussion went on as Gosalyn slipped up quietly to her room. She locked the door behind her and climbed into her bed. A real baby! "He doesn't need me any more," were the only words that she muttered softly before she drifted into a unpeaceful, worried sleep.

To be continued....