and i wonder if i ever cross your mind

Summary: Goldie has a bad day.

Word count: 3681

Warnings: None

Birka, Sweden
July 1st, 1958
2:24 PM (local time)

She’d been spending a lot of time with Scrooge ever since she returned from her interdimensional traveling. It was nice, but it was also kind of weird. And sometimes she really needed to just…go out by herself and remember what it was like to be alive on her own.

For too long, being on her own sent her back to when she was trapped. But now she could do it and feel like herself again.

And she was traveling around the world on her own - sometimes she’d buy plane tickets, sometimes she’d sneak into the cargo hold. Sometimes she’d find her way onto a cruise, sometimes she’d get captured by pirates. It didn’t really matter to her. Her hotels were thriving and she could be gone for months at a time without a problem. So she traveled aimlessly, collecting any treasures she’d hear about on the way and ship them back to Dawson or Seattle or whichever Blackjack Hotel was closest.

Having her own specially designated free room in every one of her hotels made life so much easier. Maybe someday she’d share that fact with Scrooge.

But Scrooge was…busy. She’d barely seen him since their second wedding. After his purchase of a volcano that was not filled with diamonds, he’d still managed to find a way to make a profit off the gemstones that were there to make up for the wasted time and effort. But then he went back to work like he’d never done before.

According to him, he was closer than ever before to becoming the richest duck in the world. He wanted to focus and make sure he got there sooner rather than later.

So…yeah. She hadn’t spoken to him in almost a year.

Ten months without seeing Scrooge wasn’t that long, they’d certainly been separated for longer. But she still felt this annoying headache behind her eyes when she went on a particularly successful adventure on her own. A little headache that wondered if Scrooge would’ve made her trip more fun, or if he would’ve been impressed by her adventuring skills.

And her skills on this particular adventure were especially impressive. She'd scaled down into a deep crevasse, barely any light to guide her down, and then fought past several Viking ghosts to get her hands on their treasure!

It probably wouldn’t be the most profitable treasure she'd ever nabbed, but it was certainly noteworthy. If she looked into opening a Blackjack Hotel in Sweden, perhaps it would be good to display in the lobby.

Reluctantly, Goldie did what she knew was the smart thing and didn't open the treasure while she was still several hundred feet below the surface.

She shoved the large treasure chest into her magical bottomless bag and made her way back up top.

It only took a few hours - going up was much harder than coming down - but once her hands and feet touched grass again, Goldie was more than excited to see her prize.

She removed the chest from her bag and quickly went to work on the lock, picking it with an expert ease.

The treasure would probably include Viking gold and silver, not to mention the country had a lot of carnelian stones. She could only imagine the beautiful, intricate designs the ancient Vikings had carved into their gemstones.

With an excited sigh, Goldie finally opened up the chest.

In an instant, she was hit with a powerful, awful smell, and then suddenly everything went black.

---

At seventeen years old, Archibald Duckworth could say with reasonable certainty that his life was not going in the direction he’d expected as a kid.

His father died just before he and his twin brother were born, and his mother only a few years later. He was lucky enough that his father’s brother and sister were able to take care of them for as long as they could.

His mother’s brother, Uncle Albert, was a butler for one of the richest men in the world. His father’s sister, Aunt Bianca, was an au pair working for a wealthy family in England. So he and his brother ended up spending a decent amount of their childhoods in London.

Though Jasper didn’t feel the same way, it was always Archie’s plan that he’d start an apprenticeship when he was old enough. Around the age of seventeen, Duckworth moved away from his aunt and brother and into the mansion of the second richest man in the world so he could learn to become a proper butler like his uncle. The idea of spending the rest of his life as a butler was…weird, but also comforting. He’d always have a nice place to stay and he wouldn’t have to worry about the small stuff. Who could say no to something like that after the childhood he’d had?

Mr. Scrooge McDuck had been welcoming but uninterested in his arrival, a little frustrated at the idea of hiring someone new, but Uncle Albert insisted based on his own age. He was nearing sixty and wouldn’t be able to keep up with Scrooge forever.

Archie thought that was a little weird. Scrooge McDuck was clearly much older than his uncle, so it seemed more likely that he’d die first. For a while, he wondered if his uncle was sick and didn’t want to tell him.

Then one day only a few months later, Mr. McDuck came home looking younger than he did before, and immediately told his two butlers about the youth-restoring treasure he’d recently found. That was the day Archie realized that Scrooge McDuck had no plans to ever die. If he took this job, he’d probably live and work in this same mansion until he took his final breath.

Well…his bed was comfortable and the kitchen was huge, so that didn’t sound so bad.

Still, working for Scrooge McDuck came with a unique set of challenges. The man was prone to mood swings, occasionally violent ones that involved him knocking things off of desks and shelves. He also loved to track mud into the mansion when he returned from a treasure hunt, not paying any attention to where he walked. His home contained hundreds of rooms, and they all needed to be checked at least once a week to make sure there were no magical instruments of torture or Beagle Boys attempting to attack Scrooge in his sleep or spiders thinking they could take up space without paying rent (an actual quote from Mr. McDuck that Archie didn’t know how to react to).

His family was another odd part of the deal - though Archie had never met Scrooge’s parents, he knew they were magically still alive. And his sisters were, too. They were very Scottish and very close and he appreciated their closeness since he never had that with his aunt and uncle or even with his brother. His relatives were kind to look out for him, but they weren’t exactly warm and cuddly.

Still, with all the strangeness in Scrooge McDuck’s life, there was nothing that could’ve prepared Archie for Goldie O’Gilt.

Uncle Albert explained who she was long before they ever met.

“She’s strikingly beautiful with green eyes and blonde hair,” Uncle Albert had said. “And there’s no possible way to know how Mr. McDuck will react to seeing her.”

“Is she his…girlfriend?”

“Yes, but also no. I wouldn’t attempt to label them. Just don’t get in between them and you’ll be fine. And always knock on doors when she’s around.”

“...yes, sir.”

Since he’d never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend of his own, Archie didn’t know if it was appropriate for him to criticize Mr. McDuck’s very odd-sounding relationship with his girlfriend-rival-wife (apparently they’d been married, but not really, but actually yes it was real, but it wasn’t). But still, he didn’t think it sounded very healthy. Based on his uncle’s descriptions, it sounded like she was just using Mr. McDuck for sex and for his money and assets.

But it wasn’t his place to comment, so he didn’t.

Until July 2nd, 1958. Archie found himself unable to sleep and was wandering the halls of McDuck Manor. Scrooge was on a trip on the other side of the country so he and Uncle Albert had just been cleaning and cooking for themselves the past few days. It was really, really nice. Mr. McDuck wasn’t a lot of work, especially since he spent most of his time out of the house, but it was nice to not have to wait on anyone.

It was around three in the morning when there was a knock on the front door.

Archie glanced at the door curiously - if it was Mr. McDuck returning early, he would’ve just let himself in. If it was a criminal, they also would’ve just let themselves in. So…who could it be?

Hesitantly, he reached for the door and opened it up, fully prepared for something weird or dangerous to be on the other side. And to a certain degree, he was correct. But she didn’t seem particularly dangerous at that moment.

“...can I help you?” Archie asked, glad that the lights on the porch turned on automatically when someone opened the door.

Goldie O’Gilt stood there, wobbling significantly. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were dirty and torn up and her eyes were noticeably unable to focus.

If Archie had to guess, he would say she was completely intoxicated.

“Who’re you?” Goldie asked, a laughable slur to her voice.

“I’m, um…” He paused, considering how much personal information he was comfortable sharing with this woman. “You can call me Duckworth. I work for Mr. McDuck.”

Goldie stared at him for a minute and then let out a laugh, which quickly turned into a cough. “You’re not a duck.”

Archie grimaced at the sound of her cough and tried to figure out what he should do with her. With a slight hint of sadistic curiosity, he decided to ask a question he already knew the answer to. “So, uh…you’re Mrs. McDuck, right?”

Her reaction was louder than he expected - at the sound of that name, Goldie burst out laughing and fell to her knees when she was no longer able to hold herself up. “Mrs. McDuck…ha, HA! Oh, God, my stomach…” She was laughing and slurring and her hair was falling all around her face. “I need to…I need to see Scrooge. Where is he? Wake him up.”

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Mr. McDuck isn’t here right now.”

“Of course he’s not -” Goldie started, but she cut herself off with some dry heaving. “He’s never around when I…when I need him to be.”

Archie glanced behind him, happy to see that his uncle had awoken to find out what was going on. He shrugged at the more experienced man, hoping he’d have a solution to this problem.

Quackmore rubbed a hand against his forehead before walking over. “Miss O’Gilt, hello. Why don’t we get you inside, hm?”

“Quackmore! There’s a famil…familia…familiar face,” Goldie mumbled.

The two dogs grabbed her arms to pull her inside - Quackmore closing the door behind them with his foot. They started towards the living room, knowing full well there was no way they’d be getting her up the stairs in her current condition.

“Where’re you taking me?” Goldie asked with a slur, her head drooping back. “I wanna see Scrooge!”

Quackmore sighed as they made it to the living room. “Mr. McDuck is on a trip. He’ll be back in the morning.”

“I don’t wanna wait that long!” she grumbled, falling onto the couch with a thud.

The butler and butler-in-training glanced at each other awkwardly, before turning away from Goldie so they could whisper without any chance of her listening in.

“What do we do?” Archie asked quickly. “Is this...normal?”

“No, this is not normal,” Quackmore answered, looking back at Goldie who was breathing heavily and had her eyes closed. “I’m going to call Mr. McDuck at his hotel and hopefully he can come back early.”

“Really?” Archie looked surprised. “I thought he…well, I didn’t think he’d want to cut his trip short. Even for her.”

“Not if she was here to steal something, but…this is different.” Quackmore didn’t know everything about their relationship, though he’d learned a lot over the years and passed the knowledge onto his nephew. But he’d never seen Goldie in such a state. “I can’t imagine what she’s been through that led to…this.”

Archie nodded. “I’ll watch over her while you make the call.”

Quackmore nodded in return. “Excellent, thank you. I shouldn’t be long.”

As his uncle left the room, Archie looked back at Goldie and wondered if she was actually asleep or just so drunk that she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. "Miss O'Gilt…?"

"Mm," she mumbled.

"Why did you come here?"

Goldie slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. She stayed quiet for a few moments, then turned to look directly at him. "Wanna...I wanna see Scroogey."

Archie rolled his eyes, feeling protective of his employer. "Are you just going to steal from him again?"

She got uncomfortably quiet and they both stared at each other awkwardly. After about ten seconds, Goldie pulled herself up and tried to sit up straight. "Why did you...call me Mrs. McDuck?"

"Excuse me?"

"Did he...tell you to?" Goldie mumbled, getting more unintelligible by the second. "Or were you just...guessin'?"

He took a deep breath, hoping that his curiosity earlier didn't lead to him being yelled at. But he figured he could be honest with this completely intoxicated woman. "I wondered how you would react to it."

Goldie took a few seconds to soak in his response before letting out a hollow laugh. She brought up a hand to wipe at tears that weren't there and lifted her knees so she could lean against her legs. "It's stupid, y'know?"

Archie stood still, though he was intimidated by her more than he wanted to be. "What is?" He half expected her to insult him or Mr. McDuck.

"...all of this," she grumbled, falling onto her back again. "I don't know why I'm here. He won't even want to see me."

Archie raised an eyebrow, surprised by her confession.

"Or maybe he will. I never know if he's really mad or pretend mad and I-" Goldie cut herself off with a coughing fit. "...I don't blame him. I don't...I don't make it easy."

He thought about responding, but wasn't really sure what to say.

Goldie looked at him again. "You've been working here for a long time, Quackmore."

Archie pouted. He didn't really look like his uncle at all, but he supposed in her state of mind it didn't make much of a difference.

"Does he talk about me?"

"Frequently. Especially after one of your adventures."

Goldie breathed out a quick laugh and shook her head. "No, I mean...does he ever talk about me...happily?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Like...like he misses me?" Goldie's cheeks were an even brighter red as she spoke, eyes closed in embarrassment. "Or wishes I was here?"

Archie shuffled his feet, unsure of how to respond. In his limited time working for Mr. McDuck, he had heard the older man talk about his love wistfully. But not near as often as he complained about her. Still, he wasn't sure if that information was private...just because he heard Mr. McDuck talking didn't mean it was his place to share.

Before he could respond, however, the actual Quackmore returned and Archie could just tuck Miss O'Gilt's insecurities into the back of his mind in case the information would ever become useful to him.

"Mr. McDuck is on his way back," Uncle Albert said quietly. "Is she asleep?"

"I don't…" Archie started, but he was cut off by the sound of snoring coming from the couch. "Yes she is."

Uncle Albert loosened his limbs and rubbed the back of his neck. Clearly he was tired of trying to be so stiff and professional. "It's so stressful."

"She seems stress-inducing."

"No, not...well, yes, but…" The older man walked towards a shelf and grabbed an old tartan blanket. "Mr. McDuck tends to get anxious when it comes to...Goldie. He spent a decade thinking she was dead, so it's understandable, but I wish he wouldn't get so wound up."

Archie found this interesting, especially considering how wound up Miss O'Gilt seemed to be about Mr. McDuck. If he had to guess, it sounded like they were at an awkward stage in their relationship where both thought they cared more about them than each other.

If he was being perfectly honest with himself, it sounded like quite the entertaining soap opera.

"Will she be alright here?"

Uncle Albert nodded. "Mr. McDuck will move her if he wants, but he'll be at least five or six hours. She seems comfortable enough."

Archie looked at her again. "If you say so."

"Just grab some aspirin and water and leave it next to her. The only thing worse than a drunk Goldie O'Gilt is a hungover Goldie O'Gilt."

---

Scrooge's heart was hurting.

He'd returned home in record time after hearing that Goldie was an intoxicated mess on his couch, begging to talk to him. He couldn't imagine what had happened, but he was so worried that he couldn't spend another minute in New Stork.

He'd spent the entire plane ride being anxious and distracted, thinking about all the reasons she might have had to do such a thing to herself. Was it an anniversary of something bad? She never told him about the bad things in her life, but Scrooge assumed most of her family and old friends were dead. But then why would she come to his home? Did it have something to do with them? Their relationship?

He racked his brain for hours, trying to think of why July 1st or 2nd could be significant.

Nothing. He came up with absolutely nothing.

Once he arrived home, Scrooge rushed to the living room and felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of Goldie sprawled on the couch. She looked dirty and haggard and tired and he wanted to know why. He wanted to be able to comfort her somehow.

But he also didn't want to wake her. So Scrooge took a seat on the edge of the couch and watched her sleep, gently tugging some strands of hair out of her face.

Even like this, she was still so beautiful. But it hurt him to know he couldn't help with whatever had her so shaken. If it was demons from the past, all he'd be able to offer is a hug. But if it was someone in the present who was torturing her, Scrooge could really do something about it. He could help.

Scrooge sighed quietly, thinking about how Goldie was too prideful to ever ask for his help. She'd tell him he was being sexist and deal with it herself, probably.

He didn't care what she thought. He'd help her anyway.

Scrooge looked around the room to make sure no one was watching, then leaned down and placed a very gentle kiss on the side of her head. He then sat up, stretched his shoulders, and picked Goldie up bridal-style to carry her upstairs.

---

It was two hours later when Goldie woke up, a rampaging headache and sore throat the only things stopping her from opening her eyes.

She could feel the fluffy mattress underneath and immediately recognized it as Scrooge's. But she had no memory of coming to Scrooge's home. With an internal sigh, Goldie painfully but silently opened her eyes to figure out what time it was.

It wasn't dark. Well, that didn't tell her much.

She turned her head to look at the bedside table next to her. She could see water and medicine and a clock that said it was about ten in the morning. She turned again to see Scrooge sleeping soundly next to her. Why the hell was he still asleep so late?

Not wanting to wake him up, Goldie scooted out of the bed as sneakily as possible. She needed a bathroom. She felt hungover. But she hadn't been drinking, so...why?

As she walked towards the bathroom, she tried to figure out why she was missing time from her memories. She'd always prided herself on being sharp so it was concerning. Where was she yesterday?

Scandinavia. Norway? No, Sweden.

She arrived at the bathroom and saw her face in the mirror, immediately cringing. And not her usual God-damn-I-look-old cringe, but she looked beat up and sore and her hair was an absolute mess. She must've been on an adventure of some sort.

The Viking treasure came back to mind and suddenly all the pieces fell into place. She remembered opening the treasure and being hit with a powerful, disgusting smell. Then...nothing.

And the treasure wasn't in her hands anymore. Either she dropped it in her intoxicated state, or someone took it from her.

Briefly she wondered if Scrooge would've, but he was always hypersensitive about her when she was drunk. Probably had nothing to do with it.

With a shake of her head (that she immediately regretted), Goldie dropped the thoughts and decided to take a shower and leave. She wasn't sure why she was in Scrooge's home, but she didn't need to stay any longer.

---

Archie watched silently as he saw Mr. McDuck's golden-haired lover leaving the Manor, wearing some of Mr. McDuck's clothes. She probably thought her old clothes were done for, but he'd enjoy fixing them back up.

He looked down at the coffee in his hands and thought about all the things he’d witnessed over the past few hours. Mr. McDuck and Miss O'Gilt were certainly a lot more interesting than he'd given them credit for.

As Uncle Albert told him before, they definitely seemed like a mess. But he couldn't deny that he was a little excited to see their relationship progress for however long he worked there.

REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- Birka is often regarded as Sweden's oldest town. It was a big Viking trading center

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- Duckworth has a twin brother named Jasper, as mentioned in a DT87 comic
- Duckworth and Quackmore and not related to each other in regular canon because they've never existed in the same canon before. So now they're uncle and nephew. It's fine