Disclaimer: Any Darkwing characters I mention belong to Disney. All 
other characters are so being mine, Ricia's and so not being yours. 
Got it? Good. Let's move on.

Thanks to: Oh where to begin. Aero for helping me create Ricia Fedora 
at The Old Haunt, John for listening to my ramblings about the watch 
and helping me sort out some stuff, Douglas Adams for inventing the 
term "Professor of Chronology", Renee and Chris for the whole Ricia 
image and The Viscount for the gift of the pocketwatch.

***************

"All the time in the world"
"All the time in the world"
"Mom?? Dad??"
"MOM? DAD?"

Ricia Fedora woke with a start. Her pounding heartbeat keeping steady 
time with the hundreds of clocks surrounding her. Clocks set to every 
time zone. All moving forward steadily. Ricia slipped out of bed and 
walked quietly to the kitchen for some coffee. "Just a nightmare." 
She sank to the floor. So long ago. It happened so long ago. She 
didn't want to remember. She closed her eyes and listened to the 
ticking. The beautiful ticking always soothed her nerves. The phone 
rang disturbing her meditation.

"Hello?....No, sir I realize what time it is, I was....Yes I like my 
job very much...I...but...I'll be right down." She hung up the phone 
and sighed. The Dean of Saint Canard University was a small man. 
Small in stature, mind, ideas, generousity, heart among various other 
things. Ricia made a face at the phone and went to get ready for 
work.

********
"Okay. Now if we combine chrotons and electrons in a steady flux what 
will be the result?" Ricia said to the group of college students 
sitting in front of her. They stared at her like deer caught in 
headlights. Ricia sighed. Thank Chronos it was Friday. She looked at 
the clock. Five minutes to go. "Okay, I'm tired, you're tired, just 
read the chapter next time, okay?" Students mumbled and nodded and 
filed out of the room" Ricia flopped down on her chair and stared at 
her ceiling. She didn't hear the door open.

"Ah. Professor Fedora. Slacking off I see."

Groan. Not him. Not now. Ricia kept her eyes glued to the ceiling on 
the off chance he'd think she was dead.

"Professor Fedora!!!"

Damn.

"Yes Dean? May I help you?", Ricia asked in a polite tone.

The Dean scowled. His opinion of Ricia Fedora was a well broadcasted. 
He thought she was arrogant and didn't know her place. Mostly he 
thought chronology was a waste of time science. This was because he 
couldn't profit from it. He had tried threatened to cut off her 
funding but she seemed not to care one way or the other. Infuriating 
woman.

"Fedora, your class ends at 4:45, not 4:40!", he yelled at her. He 
didn't really care when she let her students out. He just needed a 
reason to chew her out.

Ricia looked at him like he was a three year old. "I'll try to 
remember that. Now if you're quite done, I have a date."

"With who?"

"With me."

The dean turned and gawked. Standing in the door was a elder duck. 
His hair had long gone gray, but his eyes still possessed most of 
their youthful sparkle. The dean made some strange straggled noises 
and walked out. The second he left Ricia started to laugh. "Oh Ian! 
That was priceless! His face!" Ian Featherton, her father's eldest 
friend and Ricia's honorary uncle chuckled, "He had it coming. Course 
now the rumors will fly"

Ricia shrugged. "Let them. Nobody respects me around here anyway."

Ian smiled sadly at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon 
let's go to dinner."

********
Ian wiped his face with his napkin "So Ricia, how are you doing these 
days?"

Ricia flinched. Here it came.

"Any men in your mind?"

Bullseye!

Ricia blushed and fidgeted. "Um...Uncle Ian I don't have time for 
that. I've got my students and my studies."

"Ricia, this is important. You know a new generation of Fedoras must 
be born! You're the last one..."

Ricia cut him off. "I know that! Don't you think I realize the 
importance of having a kid? Dad told me all the stories and explained 
what will happen if I don't continue the bloodline!" Ricia closed her 
eyes and saw her father standing there. "Now, Bright Eyes, our family 
is very important. We need to keep time going forward. Our 
pocketwatch will keep everything going steady. And our bloodline 
will go on forever. Right my daughter? But don't worry. You have all 
the time in the world. All the time in the world."

"Ricia? Ricia, are you alright?" Ian stared at her with concern.

Ricia's eyes flew open and she looked in shock at Ian. "I'm...I'm 
fine. I'm fine. I need to go. I've got papers to grade." She 
stumbled out of her chair and fled the restaurant.

She walked to her apartment, mind spinning. Suddenly a gang of thugs 
surrounded her. Ricia backed away a little. Where was that stupid 
vigalante Darkwing Duck when you needed him. Probably stopping 
Quackerjack from taking over the city with exploding Super-balls or 
something. The leader of the gang spoke up.

"Hello, beautiful. Nice night isn't it? Now be a good little girl 
and give us your money."

Little girl? She was probably five years his senior. She reached 
into her jacket pocket. She never carried a purse if she could help 
it. "I don't have money but I do have this." She pulled out a gold 
pocketwatch. The thugs took a step towards her then there was a 
green flash. Ricia looked tiredly at the now frozen thugs. She shook 
her head. Not frozen just ahead of the rest of time. She chuckled as 
a cloud of blue smoke appeared.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the rusty gears that 
stop your clock! I am Darkwing Duck!!!"

Ricia nodded respectfully. "Mister Darkwing." She swept a hand 
towards the criminals. "They're all yours." She walked away leaving 
a baffled Darkwing to collect the seemingly imobile thieves.

End of Part One