i love that you can't help but be yourself around me

Summary: Goldie and Scrooge have a difficult conversation.

Word count: 7518

Warnings: None

2019; Duckburg

She was learning so much new information second-hand.

No one had specifically told her anything, but everyone was talking very loudly. Talking about how Scrooge’s family (particularly Sharpie and the one with the hat) had defeated Bradford and F.O.W.L. by tearing apart his stupid anti-adventuring contract. Talking about how Webby was actually Scrooge’s biological child (what?) created without his knowledge or consent (how?) and intended to be used to defeat him.

It was a lot to take in.

Goldie was trying her best not to feel any certain ways about Scrooge technically being a father. He wanted to be a father, she’d realized over the years, so he was probably enjoying that. She didn’t want to react to it badly - they’d made so much progress recently and she didn’t need to push herself further away from his family. With this added complication, she knew the best course of action would be to simply be there for him and show her support.

(It was really, really hard, though. She was never good at being supportive.)

The Ducks and McDucks had taken off in Scrooge’s plane, leaving everyone else to find their own ways back to America. Goldie hitched a ride with some bears she’d gotten to know while they were all held captive, and they dropped her off in Duckburg as requested.

“See ya round, Miss O’Gilt!” Kit said with a wave.

“Thanks again. And I’m sure things will work out with your parents, try not to overthink it,” Goldie answered with a wave of her own, finishing up the long conversation they’d had during the flight.

Kit and Molly smiled and took off, leaving Goldie by herself on the edge of town. It was where she’d wanted to land, since she needed to take a shower and get some new clothes before announcing herself to Scrooge once again. Good thing she could always get a free room at the Duckburg Blackjack.

Goldie decided to stay the night in her hotel, not wanting to immediately interrupt what was probably a very complicated family situation. She could wait until the next day. Surely Scrooge wouldn’t head back to work just yet, and even if he did she could just hang around and talk to Sharpie or Pink or…whoever. Della or Donald, even.

She really wanted to know exactly what happened in Egypt and what was going on with his family and…well, honestly, she just wanted to spend some time with Scrooge. Maybe it wasn’t the best time for him, but Goldie didn’t care. She’d just spent weeks stuck in a box next to a man she couldn’t stand, so she didn’t see a problem with trying to have some fun before going back to her old schedule.

Goldie laid down on the hotel bed and her phone beeped, letting her know it had finally charged. She’d had no reception while trapped in Alexandria and then her battery died and her service had been temporarily disconnected and it was a whole thing, but now she was back online and she could see all the messages she’d missed.

There were a lot of messages from Dickie. A lot. Though Goldie didn’t visit her often, she almost always responded to texts and emails within a week. Probably scared the crap out of that kid.

Under those were a few text messages from Sharpie.

And a million missed calls, of course. Many of those were from Scrooge, a handful from Sharpie and Dickie, and then another handful from unknown numbers.

Goldie decided to spend a bit of time scrolling through the messages. It was nice to know that people missed her. Or at least that they were trying to get a hold of her.

Can you send me $100? I need a new electric guitar 😝!!!

Goldie sighed at the first of the dozen messages Dickie sent her. Of course it was about money.

Also I miss you!

Classic.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Goldie kept scrolling to find that there were several messages composed entirely of emoticons. There was truly nothing more confusing and humbling than trying to communicate with a young person over text. Dickie’s emoticon usage got more and more confusing until she sent a final message.

Ok ok. Let me know when you’re back from whatever trip you’re on. I really do miss you!

Assuming her phone was accurate, Dickie had sent that message four days ago. If Goldie didn’t tend to disappear and go off the grid every couple of months, her grandkid would probably be worried sick. Good thing she was so bad at staying in touch already so no one would notice the difference.

The texts she had from Sharpie were more to the point.

Do you wanna help us fight a bunch of evil villains?

After two days of no response, he followed that up with:

Yeah, I figured. It’s fine. We’ll take care of it.

Another day after that he sent his final text.

Uncle Scrooge hasn’t heard from you in a while. I hope you’re ok.

She stared at that one for a few minutes. When was the last time someone besides Scrooge or Dickie showed any care for her wellbeing? She and Scrooge had history and she paid for Dickie’s entire life, so of course they cared.

But Louie? Louie didn’t have to care. He didn’t have to worry about her. But he did.

Goldie kept staring at that text, ignoring the heat growing in her chest. She wanted to respond and…and apologize for worrying him! She hadn’t genuinely apologized to anyone in decades. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

Embarrassed, she threw the phone to the side without even listening to the voicemails or seeing what Scrooge sent her. She couldn’t deal with anymore feelings-y crap and just needed to go to sleep.

God damnit. She really did get too close.

—

Scrooge McDuck had had a wild week. Besides all the drama that'd been unfolding over the past few months, he hadn't expected to find out he had a daughter.

And it was Webby.

Webby was his daughter.

Terrible circumstances aside, he was pretty excited. When he was young, he didn't want kids. One thing that made him and Goldie work so well was the fact that neither of them wanted kids or a traditional family. But when Donald and Della came into his life, Scrooge knew his feelings had changed. He didn't care so much about raising his own feathers and blood, but the feeling of raising a child and teaching them the things he'd learned throughout his life…there was nothing else quite like it.

Webby was only twelve years old, but she was already so capable and strong and intelligent. He always knew she had the McDuck spirit in her heart, he just never imagined she also had McDuck blood.

But there were obviously some problems with their situation, too. Webbigail was a child that Scrooge hadn't known about, hadn't consented to, and hadn't necessarily wanted. He was happy about her and happy about the new developments in their relationship, but…they had a complicated origin story.

He wanted to make sure she didn't feel unwanted. But he also wanted to make sure she was comfortable. Still, it was hard to contain his excitement. He wanted to share all the private family things with her that she seemed so eager to know about. He wanted to teach her about business so maybe she could take over one day (if she wanted).

Scrooge also needed to talk to Beakley, obviously. He wanted to know how much she knew and why she hid such important information from him. She obviously knew that Webby was created by F.O.W.L. and she, for whatever reason, didn't trust Scrooge enough to tell him that. Meanwhile, he only hired Bradford on her recommendation. It was a huge mess and a big part of it was her fault.

She was already hurting quite a bit, though. Webby was still calling her "Grandma" on the ride home, so she hadn't rejected her, but all of her lies coming out at once and in such a dramatic way was going to need at least a few days of rest to recover.

The morning after returning home, Scrooge was sitting on the end of his bed and trying to plan out his day. He needed to talk to Webby, but he also needed to talk to the press, and he needed to reach out to some of his kidnapped allies and make sure they were alright and that they understood what happened…and he also needed to work. Without a trio of business managers, he had a lot more work to do than usual.

He stood up and stretched, loudly cracking his back.

"That sounded painful."

Scrooge quacked in shock and turned around to find Goldie sitting on his window ledge.

"Goldie?! What're you doin' here?"

She smiled, finding it funny that he was repeating something he'd said to her last time she was in his home. "Just checking on you, sourdough.'

He calmed down and his feathers visibly unruffled. "Is…is that so? That's suspiciously nice of ye."

Goldie stood and walked closer to Scrooge, brushing some dust off her pants. "It doesn't have to be suspicious, y'know. I wanted to make sure you're alright."

Scrooge continued to look at her like there was a sinister angle to her words, and Goldie tried not to take it personally. She really wanted to be there for him and she was going to do it the best way she could.

Which probably meant they'd have a lot of sex. But she could also listen to him whine or give advice or whatever. Whatever he needed, she supposed. "Don't give me that look, Scroogey. I'm trying to be nice."

He smiled despite his urge to frown deeper, and Goldie knew she'd got him.

"Thank ye, Goldie. I'm -"

He was interrupted by a loud knock on his door.

"Uncle Scrooge! Are you up yet? We're gonna have a big family breakfast!"

Scrooge gulped and looked over at Goldie. "I, um…this isnae…maybe ye could-"

"I'll wait here, hon. I've already eaten."

Scrooge gave her a nod and turned to the door. "I'll be down in a moment!" Then he looked at Goldie again. "I might be a while, Goldie. There's…a lot to be discussed."

She shrugged. "It's fine. I'll wait."

Her words hung in the air. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge the fact that Goldie hated waiting. She almost never waited for Scrooge - she'd leave him behind or she'd disappear without a trace. But she'd waited for him in Florida. She'd wait for him now.

Scrooge gave her a curt nod and then left the room, knowing full well he should be more anxious about a thief being in his home. But he had other priorities at the moment and she knew that.

Goldie watched him leave and sat on his bed, picking at the low thread count sheets. All that money and he still refused small luxuries. She felt an urge to go look through Scrooge’s Goldie Drawer again, but…there was nothing new in there. Despite all the changes in their relationship lately, she couldn’t think of anything that he would’ve added.

Though she told herself not to bother, Goldie found herself opening up the drawer as usual. Inside she saw all the familiar trinkets and clothes that she saw last time. She reached over and grabbed the box that contained his original gold nugget and the deed to his claim in White Agony Creek. It was nostalgic and she wanted to take another look.

She opened it up and was shocked to see something new in the box.

It was the Mayan artifact she’d left for him two years ago.

Goldie was certainly surprised to see it. So not only had Scrooge seen it and not mentioned it to her, but he saved it away like one of the many things she left at his place. He didn’t seem to give it any significance or treat it like the invitation it was. Did he even see the letter that came with it?

She sighed and put the box away again. She was probably overthinking, but it was hard not to. Scrooge always made her overthink.

After another ten minutes of idly sitting around, Goldie decided to shower and walk around the manor for a bit. Why not, right? Scrooge didn’t tell her to leave, so that was basically an invitation to stay.

When she opened his bedroom door to step out into the hallway, Goldie was immediately greeted by the sight of a green-hoodie-wearing child walking down the hall and staring at his phone. She smiled.

“If you don’t look where you’re going, you’ll trip and smash that cute little face of yours.”

Louie stopped in his steps and slowly looked up, a confused and concerned expression on his face. “Aunt Goldie? Why are you here?”

Goldie shrugged and leaned against the doorframe. “Thought I’d take a little vacation after being kidnapped.”

“Oh.” Louie nodded, accepting that answer. “Is that why you never texted me back?”

“It sure is,” Goldie said, then glanced over the balcony to see some of Scrooge’s family walking around. “I appreciate all the messages, Sharpie. It’s always nice to know you care.”

Louie rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her. “Don’t make it weird! I just thought something might be wrong. And I was right! Uncle Scrooge should listen to me more.”

“Scroogey never listens to anyone but himself.” Goldie walked over and patted Louie on the head.

He shook away her hand. “Are you coming down for breakfast?”

“Your uncle went down for breakfast almost twenty minutes ago. Your pancakes might be cold.”

“What?!” Louie frowned and rushed towards the stairs without even saying goodbye.

She supposed it didn’t matter, since she was going to be around for a while. Still, she wished she’d said something about how worried she was and how proud she was to hear that Louie had been such a big help in taking down F.O.W.L.

Goldie wasn’t very good with words. She knew that about herself. So maybe she could tell him she was proud in some other way.

A lightbulb flashed above her head as she remembered the golden idol she’d stolen from Sharpie out of his bedroom over a year ago. She decided that putting it back where she found it would be her way of saying that he earned it back. Or something like that. Maybe she just felt bad about taking it and didn’t want it anymore. Who could say?

Goldie decided she’d do that after taking a shower and a nap. She’d had a weird last few weeks and her body was still adjusting to life outside the time stasis she’d been stuck in.

—

“You’re still here?”

Goldie woke up groggily, opening one eye slowly to find Scrooge staring down at her. She’d fallen asleep in his bed and apparently slept more heavily than she had in decades. Usually no one could open a door or walk in the same room as her without waking her up.

“Yeah,” she said quietly as she stretched. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh.” Scrooge squeezed his cane awkwardly. “Goldie, I didnae realize…I would’ve woken ye sooner if I’d known!”

Confused, Goldie opened her eyes. “Sooner than what? What time is it?” She glanced towards the window and frowned deeply.

It was dark out.

“How the hell long was I asleep?!”

He grimaced. “Ah…all day, I think?”

“I didn’t…I didn’t realize I was so tired,” Goldie grumbled, staring down at her hands. She was also starving and that didn’t help how woozy she felt from sleeping so long. “I was in F.O.W.L.’s stupid stasis cage thing for so long, it must’ve messed me up more than I realized.”

Scrooge put his cane down and stepped closer to the bed. He sat down on the edge and reached out one hand to lay it against Goldie’s forehead. “Are ye sick?”

Goldie blushed under his attention and shook it off as soon as she came to her senses. “No, no. I just feel like all my nerve endings are coming back to life.”

“Ah.”

“I’m also hungry as hell.”

“I could ask Beakley to make somethin’ for ye.”

Goldie laughed. “No thanks, I’d rather not get poisoned. I’ll just make something for myself.”

“W-well, how about…I make you something?” Scrooge asked cautiously.

She tilted her head curiously. “When’s the last time you so much as put together a sandwich?”

He let out an offended peh! and stood up. “I’m perfectly capable of gettin’ you food. Just sit right here and wait.”

Goldie didn’t have time to respond before he was back out the door, and honestly…she was very curious what monstrosity he would bring her. As far as she was aware, when his housekeepers were gone he’d just order pizza.

But part of her wondered if he was doing this because he didn’t want to talk to her. He knew what she meant by talk, obviously. Things were going to get serious and weird and intense. They would have to talk about this daughter situation and where they stood and where Goldie stood in regards to the daughter situation. And if they talked about daughters and kids and family and their history and it all mixed together, well…she might end up telling him about the kids they’d almost had.

She didn’t know how he’d react to that sort of news. It wasn’t like she'd hid a living child from him - she was pregnant and then she wasn’t. At least twice. That was it. But as much as she tried to convince herself that it wasn’t a big deal, the fact that she hadn’t been able to tell him about it was telling.

Goldie sighed and laid back down. Would she be able to fall asleep again? If she slept too long she’d look depressed and even though a psychologist might point out some significant flaws in her mental state, depression wouldn’t be one of them. She was fine. Just physically exhausted.

Scrooge was back within a few minutes - a sad looking sandwich and a little bag of potato chips in one hand, a seltzer in the other. She couldn’t say he didn’t try.

She scooted over to the other side of his bed as he handed her the food. Goldie quickly scarfed it down while he got into his pajamas - which told her it was even later than she’d imagined. She was genuinely scared to check the clock and find out how long she’d been asleep.

When he got back to bed all dressed and ready, Goldie was sipping her seltzer happily and thinking about how to get back to the topic of…having a conversation. But she didn’t have to.

“I know ye said ye wanted to talk, but, um…” Scrooge mumbled as he got under the covers.

“No, yeah, you’re probably tired.” Goldie shrugged. “We can talk tomorrow.”

Scrooge hesitated for a moment. “...no, we should talk now. About…uh, well. About Webby, at least.”

Goldie didn’t respond. She just continued drinking.

“I, uh…I dinnae know how much you’ve heard, but…well…Webbigail is my…daughter, apparently.”

“I’ve heard.”

“Right. Well. Black Heron got her hands on my DNA and used that to make Webby. I wasnae a part of it and I certainly didn’t, um…impregnate someone…”

Goldie frowned at his wording. Not this time, he didn’t.

“I dinnae expect ye to come around and act like a…well, like anythin’ other than usual, really. I just hope this doesnae come between us, Goldie.” Scrooge fully turned to her, the expression on his face a combination of worry and hope. “You know I still want ye in my life. But if Webby’s a dealbreaker for you, then…then you know what’ll happen.”

She blinked slowly. She hadn’t expected his little rant to end like that. “What makes you think I’d consider her a dealbreaker?” Goldie asked, putting her seltzer down on the nightstand. “You really think I’m that shallow, huh?”

“I-...no, I…” Scrooge stumbled over his words. “I honestly dinnae know, Goldie! This is new territory for us. Even after everything we talked about in Florida, it’s, um…it’s a big change.”

“And I’m not great with change, I know,” Goldie muttered. “Neither are you, most of the time. But you seem to be adjusting alright to this.”

“Webbigail’s been around this manor for her whole life,” Scrooge said with a shrug. “I wish I’d been there for her when she was younger, but over the past few years we’ve gotten close. I already saw her as part of my family, so though it feels different, it’s not much of a change.”

Goldie hummed softly at his response. “Isn’t that sweet.”

“I…suppose.” Scrooge was clearly trying not to sound awkward, but everything was coming out wrong. How could he be anything other than awkward in his situation? Who else but him would even find themself in such a ridiculous conversation? Telling his lover of over one-hundred years that he had a child out of wedlock that he didn’t know anything about, and then asking her to accept his daughter without hesitation. It was weird, to say the least.

After a few moments of silence, Goldie sighed. “I like her, Scroogey. I do. She’s feisty, she’s cute. I’m not going to get in the way of you being a father.”

“Oh.” He frowned, still unsatisfied with that answer. “Well, it’s not…I dinnae want ye to stay away.”

“You couldn’t keep me away if you tried, sourdough.”

Scrooge chuckled and a smile came back to his face. “So you’re, um…we’re alright, then?”

“We’re alright, Scrooge,” she answered softly. For a moment, she was tempted to turn this conversation around, but the light note they’d ended on made her want to keep it that way. She didn’t need to ruin the mood before bed.

Well, bed for him. She had no idea if she’d be able to get back to sleep.

She leaned over to grab her seltzer again when Goldie felt Scrooge’s hand gently flicking her tail. She turned around, surprised to see him looking - dare she say it? - sultry.

“And here I thought you were tired,” Goldie said with a smirk.

Scrooge had quite a deep blush on his feathers, but he didn’t break eye contact. “Not that tired.”

Goldie laid on his chest while he idly played with her hair. He was obviously getting pretty tired, but she still wanted to tell him. She usually never wanted to tell him secrets. Maybe it’d be best if she told him while he could barely register it and then he’d be the one who had to bring it up later.

“...Scrooge?”

“Mm?”

“How asleep are you?”

He snorted, but Goldie could feel his hand relax on top of her hair. “Hey.”

Scrooge didn’t respond that time. Goldie glanced up and by the moonlight coming through the window, she could see his eyes were completely closed. She poked him once and he didn’t react, so she knew he’d fallen asleep. He was always fast with that.

She sighed and laid her head on his chest again. Maybe she’d try again tomorrow. Maybe she wouldn’t tell him about it at all and they could just talk about other things. She didn’t have to tell him, after all. This urge to share her sad secrets would certainly go away if she waited it out. It wasn’t Scrooge’s business before, and even though he had a kid now, it still wasn’t his business.

Goldie’s brain kept replaying the phrase ‘Scrooge has a kid’ and she rolled over to stuff her head into a pillow. This should not have been agitating her the way it was. She didn’t have a problem with Scrooge being a…father, of sorts. She didn’t! She’d never wanted to be a mother and that was fine. But the more she thought about it, the more it felt like she should tell him and she didn’t want to tell him, but she…she wanted him to know. She wanted to ruin his good mood with some unhappy knowledge that might make him angry at her for keeping it a secret all this time. Why did she want that? That was stupid.

Disturbingly, sleepiness started to come back to Goldie. She didn’t usually get jetlagged, since she traveled so much and slept whenever she wanted, but this certainly felt similar. Worse, actually. She hoped that if she fell asleep now, she might wake up at a normal time and just stay awake this time around.

—

The next day was very similar for Goldie.

Scrooge left early to get a headstart on work (claiming he wanted to come home early to spend some time with Webby and then, hopefully, with Goldie) and Goldie relaxed and let the day wash over her. She wasn’t ridiculously tired anymore, but she was definitely bored.

She thought about going into Duckburg and visiting Dickie, but she didn’t want to risk cross-contamination. What if Scrooge happened to be walking around town and saw her? Or what if Dickie asked to stay at the hotel with her and it would be a whole big mess. She wanted to talk to Scrooge, so it’d be best to just stick around ‘til they finished talking.

Whenever that was going to be. She wanted Scrooge to fully understand that she wasn’t abandoning him just because he had a kid. But she also wanted to fully understand his expectations for her regarding said kid. Did he expect her to be, like…a mom? Because that sure as hell wasn’t going to happen. But she could be a fun aunt, she supposed. Like she was for Sharpie.

Goldie got up and took another long shower, thinking about how to spend her day.

—

She’d been fending for herself all day when it came to food. Goldie knew that if she stayed around for another day or two, she’d finally just have to confront Bentina and eat lunch with the rest of the McDuck Gang…but she was really hoping to leave that until the last possible second.

On Day Two of camping out in McDuck Manor, Goldie had an awkwardly long conversation with Dewey, the bluest of the triplets. He wanted to interview her for what seemed to be a fake talk show. She didn’t really want to talk about her history or her present with this very talkative child, though she had to admit that he was cute. In an annoying, campy kind of way.

Scrooge entered his bedroom like he did the night before, but Goldie was wide awake this time - reading a book while sitting at his desk chair.

“Hey there, moneybags.”

“Goldie.”

He stepped closer as she swiveled around in her chair, revealing that the book she was reading was his autobiography. Scrooge gulped, unsure if she’d ever read it before. She’d certainly never mentioned it to him before.

“Y’know, Scroogey…this book was first brought to my attention in, hmm…’87, I think?” Goldie flipped through the pages casually while she spoke. “There were a million copies of it at the Dawson Public Library.”

He looked nervous. “I…I see.”

“No one told me about it,” she said dryly. “You’d think a book that I’m mentioned in so many times would be brought up to me, but no. Not even once. So of course I had to read it myself.”

Scrooge squeezed his cane. “Goldie, are you-”

“Only to find that I’m barely mentioned at all! Even when you do talk about me, it’s just my old stage name. Otherwise you say ‘my old friend’ or say you did things by yourself. And I’d forgotten about this, Scrooge, until a few hours ago. So what’s up? You didn’t want to mention me? Did you think if I was brought up, I’d be more likely to point out all your lies?” She closed the book and poked the cover aggressively. “Today your kid Dewey tried to interview me, and he had all these jumbled up facts.”

“Ack!” Scrooge shook his head and pinched the bridge of his beak. “They’re not-! Look, Goldie, listen. I didnae bring ye up in the book because I knew - I know, you’re a very private person. You’d just stepped down from your hotels and it seemed like ye were tryin’ to get away from the spotlight. I didnae want to bother ye.”

“...oh.”

“And they’re not lies! I…embellished some stories to make them more excitin’. But that’s what my publisher told me to do! The first draft of this book was drastically different from the one you’re readin’.”

“Ah.”

Scrooge stood there and stared as Goldie awkwardly tapped her fingers on the book’s cover. She had to admit, those were some good answers. She’d sat here for an hour after finding the autobiography and spent that whole time preparing to stir up unnecessary conflict, but he just shut her down instantly instead of getting mad and yelling in return.

He really wasn’t the same man he used to be.

“Well…thank you, then,” Goldie finally said. “You’re right. I would’ve been pissed if you’d used my real name.”

“I know ye dinnae think I pay attention, but I do value your privacy, dear.” Scrooge walked over to his dresser and started to change. “Is that what ye wanted to talk about this whole time?”

Goldie frowned and stared down at the floor. Of course that wasn’t what she wanted to talk about. But she didn’t want to talk about what she wanted to talk about. “Not exactly.”

He walked over and held out a hand to help her out of the chair. “Well, you’re welcome to stay here as long as ye need. But please stop stealin’ food from the cupboard, Beakley is gettin’ ready to throw ye out.”

“She knows I’m here, then?”

Scrooge laughed, and Goldie hated how infectious his laugh was. She ended up chuckling along with him.

“Ye havenae been the most subtle! She’s known since breakfast yesterday.”

Goldie rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the arm, walking over to the dresser to find herself some pajamas. After a second, she decided to just steal one of Scrooge’s nightgowns instead. They were surprisingly comfortable.

—

Several more days passed without Goldie having the specific talk with Scrooge that kept weighing on her mind. He didn’t complain about her prolonged stay - in fact, he repeatedly told her how much he enjoyed having her around. The nightly sex was probably a big part of his joy, but she chose to think of it as more than that.

She’d had awkward conversations with the other members of the house - mostly the kids, who she kept running into at the worst moments. Scrooge’s daughter, for instance, bumped into her as she was getting out of the shower. And then she ended up finding the girl curled up with some old photo albums and having an identity crisis.

Family certainly was an adventure. Scrooge’s family was, at least.

And then suddenly it had been one week since the Duck family returned from Egypt - she’d been staying in Scrooge’s room for six straight days. The miscarriages were far from her mind, almost completely forgotten, as Goldie tried to blend into Scrooge’s family’s daily routines without bringing much attention to herself. She didn’t know how long this would last and didn’t want any of the kids getting too used to her presence. There was always a chance she would disappear without a moment’s notice.

She had no immediate plans to disappear, but, well…sometimes Scrooge said the wrong thing and she would take it the wrong way. She didn’t deny being overly sensitive when it came to him.

“I dinnae know if you’ve talked to Donald, but he’s leavin’ tomorrow mornin’,” Scrooge said that morning as he got dressed. “Ye might want to say goodbye or good luck.”

Goldie was brushing her hair and staring at herself in the mirror, trying not to focus on the little grays that were sticking up from her part. “I really doubt he cares if he gets a goodbye from dear ol’ Aunt Goldie,” she said sarcastically.

There was an unexpected silence after that, uncomfortable enough that Goldie stopped brushing and turned around to see Scrooge glaring at her. Great, she’d finally messed it up.

“Goldie, you cannae be serious,” he said with a harsh frown.

“What?”

“Of course he’d want to talk to ye,” Scrooge said, buttoning up his robe. “He’s always cared about your opinion of him, even as a lad.”

Goldie shook her head and spun the chair around so she was fully facing Scrooge, sitting there all dressed for the day ahead. “What are you talking about, you old geezer? I barely talked to him back then.”

“Yes, well,” Scrooge grumbled and made some awkward hand movements. “He still liked havin’ you around. And Della did, too, though she never wanted to admit it.”

“She takes after you that way, huh?” Goldie said with a smirk, but she was reeling a bit from this confession. She’d always thought of herself as a nuisance that interfered with Scrooge’s life and pissed his family off. They hated her, or if they didn’t hate her…they wished she’d go away. But liking her? Caring about her opinion of them? It wasn’t anything she’d noticed over the years.

“All the kids like ye, Goldie. It’s not just Louie.” Scrooge kept on talking, almost rambling at that point, not really sure how Goldie would react to what he was saying. He knew she had a tendency to run off when things got emotional and he really, really didn’t want her to do that again. “Webby asked me if it was alright to call ye Aunt Goldie or if she should lean towards mom and I’ll tell ye, that gave me a heart attack!”

His words triggered the memory that Goldie thought she’d completely put out of her mind. But now it was back and she didn’t know what to do. She tied her hair into a ponytail to keep herself from looking at him.

“Of course I know ye never wanted to be a mother,” he said, still rambling. “So I told her to stick with Aunt Goldie, but even that’s a wee bit odd for me to hear, all things considered. I mean…of course, I’d thought about what it would’ve been like to raise a family with ye once upon a time. But I was younger then and just thinkin’ about the future, I knew it wasnae in the cards for us. Ack, this is…I didnae mean to go on like this, just…pretend ye didnae hear any of that, alright?”

Goldie stared at him and exhaled loudly, trying to decide how to respond. “Scrooge.”

“Ah? Yes?” He seemed happy that she’d finally cut him off.

She stood up and walked over to his bed, sitting on the edge and playing with her hair. “I’d…thought about it, too. When we were younger. About what it would’ve been like to have a family.”

“Oh. Well. I guess ye talked yourself out of it, then, eh?” Scrooge asked lightheartedly, following her to the bed.

Goldie heaved a small sigh and picked at the fabric of her pants. She wondered if telling him would be like a weight off her chest or if it would just add more weights on top. There was no way to know unless she just said it, though, was there?

“It wasn’t…I mean. I didn’t…” Goldie stumbled over her words, staring down at her legs. She needed to do this, but she didn’t want to. But she did. But it was very, very hard. She had a strong feeling that she’d split as soon as she was done. “Scrooge, there’s…something I…I want to tell you.”

More curious than he’d been in a long time, Scrooge quickly sat down next to her. “What?”

“It’s, um…it’s not really important at all, it’s just…” She played with her hands while she tried to speak. “It’s relevant to all this stuff and I…ugh!”

Scrooge frowned. She wanted to tell him something related to what they’d been talking about? Was she going to tell him that she had a secret family she’d never told him about? If she didn’t finish soon, he was going to start spiraling into thinking a lot of strange possibilities.

“Webby isn’t your…well she is, but she almost wasn’t…ergh…”

He couldn’t have been more confused. “Webby isn’t what?”

“She wasn’t the first! I mean she is. She is! But she almost…there was almost…”

Scrooge shook his head and stood up. “Goldie, you’re confusin’ the hell out of me. What are ye tryin’ to say about Webby?”

“Ugh!” Goldie groaned loudly, steadying herself by running her hands through her hair. “It’s not about her! It’s not. It’s about us. It’s…”

She let out a deep sigh.

“I was pregnant. Twice. At least twice.”

Scrooge stayed silent and Goldie didn’t look up to see his expression. She didn’t know how she wanted him to react and she didn’t know if she could handle however he was reacting.

“They were yours. Both of them or all of them, I don’t know how many there might’ve been.”

He still didn’t say anything and she felt beads of sweat on the back of her neck. Was it getting hot in here?

“Before you start screaming at me, just-! Just know there…I was never pregnant for more than a few weeks. There was never anything to tell you. So don’t call me a lecherous liar or deviant deceiver or something! I just didn’t want to bring it up. But. I don’t know. Felt different now.”

“...”

She shrugged. “I felt like you should know, I guess.”

The room was filled with such tense silence that Goldie could swear she felt it making her shoulders heavier and heavier. The urge to rush out the window was growing stronger by the millisecond, but she was also frozen in place.

Scrooge sat down next to her again and grabbed one of her hands, the one that had been picking at pills on the comforter. Goldie’s heart started to race faster.

“...when?”

Goldie shrugged again. “The worst one was around 1950. I was pretty sick for a few weeks, and then nothing. I didn’t really understand what happened until later. Then I saw a doctor in ‘60 and he all but confirmed it.”

Scrooge didn’t speak for another minute, processing everything she said. He remembered her mentioning a brief sickness in the early 50’s - it stood out to him because she was so rarely under the weather. And he definitely remembered their time together in 1960… He suddenly felt like an ass for what he’d said to her back then. But how could he have known? She never told him. She never told him anything.

Until right now, that is.

“Would you have told me?” he asked quietly. “If…if the pregnancy had worked out?”

Goldie finally looked up at him and it broke her heart to see the depressed look on his face. He was genuinely so sad, and she didn’t know how to take that. She’d been sad about it for a little while, but then she’d accepted it. He was sure to react similarly, if he was telling the truth about fantasies of a family life with her. “Of course,” she said with a sad smirk. “Like I would have your kid without making you pay for it?”

After a moment of shock at her response, Scrooge laughed. A big, boisterous laugh that seemed inappropriate for the conversation, but made complete sense all the same. Goldie laughed along with him and shoved her elbow into his chest.

“Either you would’ve been paying child support or raising the little tyke on your own.”

Scrooge shook his head. “Maybe I would’ve asked ye to marry me and move to Duckburg. That not an option?”

Goldie hummed softly and tapped the fingers of her free hand against her knee, the other hand squeezing his. “...I suppose it was always an option. Just not one I thought about much.” She leaned her head onto his shoulder and sighed, closing her eyes. However she hadn't wanted him to react…this was pretty good. Her urge to leave was squashed and she even felt like…staying for a bit longer.

“I’m sorry, Goldie.”

She turned her head to stare at him. “For what?”

“Not bein’ there for ye when ye needed me.”

Goldie moved around so she was facing him fully. “For all the things over the years I’d want an apology for, this is not one of them. How were you supposed to know?”

“I still should’ve! I…I dinnae know. I should’ve figured it out!” he said louder than he meant to. “I’m Scrooge McDuck! I’m sharper than the sharpies!”

“It’s not like I’ve ever been there for you in your times of need,” Goldie said with a shrug. She paused for a second, deciding on her next choice of words. “I’m…sorry, too. For that.”

“Ye dinnae need to-”

“I should’ve said something when Della disappeared. Or when Duckworth died. But I didn’t. I didn’t know what to say.”

Scrooge shrugged. “It’s alright, Goldie. I had my family, after all. But you…I dinnae know who ye have. Family or friends or anyone to talk to about things like this. Have I ever even asked?”

She sighed and leaned against him again. “I don’t know if you’ve asked. I’m sure it came up at least once over the last hundred and twenty years. But no. I didn’t have anyone. So I dealt with it, like I dealt with all the shit in my adult life. It’s not that big a deal.”

She thought about telling him that she had someone now. Sort of. She’d never burden Dickie with things like that - the kid deserved to think of her grandmother as strong and intelligent and resourceful and flawless. Well, maybe a little emotionally stunted. But other than that!

Scrooge grumbled under his breath, something Goldie couldn’t quite make out, and then rubbed at his eyes.

He wanted to argue with her and tell her that it was a big deal. But they were the same, he and Goldie. They both grew up independent, knowing they could only really rely on themselves. It wasn’t until Scrooge’s family grew that he learned to trust other people with his life and heart and money (to an extent). Goldie might’ve trusted him with her life, sure, but that wasn’t everything. He wanted her to have a family to fall back on like he did.

A thought struck him suddenly and Scrooge chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“I…I dinnae think we’ve ever apologized to each other before. Not once in all these years.”

Goldie tried to think back throughout their lives and came up empty. She chuckled too, still leaning on his back. “That is pretty funny.”

They grew silent again, though it wasn’t awkward at all. Still, Goldie was tired of it. “Since we’re being all apologetic, I do have one more.”

“Oh?”

“Sorry for dumping this on you right now. I know you’ve got all this other crap going on and the last thing you need is…this.”

Scrooge suddenly pivoted his body to the side, making Goldie fall over so her head landed on his lap. “Goldie, of all the apologies I could possibly want from you, that is absolutely not one of them.”

She smirked and rolled her eyes at him repeating her words from earlier.

“Let’s just agree to stop apologizin' and move forward, alright?” he said simply, staring down at her like she was the only other person in the world.

Goldie stared back, unable to will herself to break eye contact. “Yeah, alright. We didn’t get a fresh start, but we can take another new step, right?”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her, ignoring the screaming from his spine. This was not a great angle for him, but God did he want to kiss that beak more than ever in that moment.

She kissed back and reached her hands up to hold him in place, not wanting him to pull away.

Eventually, Scrooge wrapped his hands around her back and lifted her up a bit so she was sitting up and his back wasn’t cringing in pain anymore. They kissed like that on the bed for a minute, enjoying the moment of just being together.

When they pulled apart, both old ducks had bright smiles on their faces.

“I…think I should leave today.”

“Wait, what?” Scrooge looked shocked. “But we just…you…huh?”

“Not forever,” Goldie corrected with an eyeroll. “I’ve just really overstayed my welcome, alright? I need to go check on some things. I’ve been away from Dawson for way too long.”

“You’ll be back, though?” he asked. “Soon?”

Goldie smiled, a bit of pink on her cheeks. “Yeah, we’ll see.”

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- Obviously this chapter takes place after The Last Adventure!
- Goldie meeting Kit and Molly references my summaries for DuckTales S4 which you can check out here:
https://lettheladylead.tumblr.com/post/672841151197396992/if-ducktales-was-still-on-going-what-would-you
- The golden idol Goldie returns to Louie was stolen in Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake! Scrooge gave it to Louie at the beginning of S2.
- There's some references to my fic "Not Your Aunt" in this chapter, which you can read here:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/30381390