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Donald sighed as he stood outside the mansion, this would be the hardest thing he ever did but he knew it was something he had to do. He knocked on the door.
It opened to reveal Mrs. Beakley, who nodded at him with a sigh and gestured for him to come in. He gave her a small smile as he did so. The mansion was quieter than it had been in a while and that unsettled him, even if he knew why. Maybe this was a mistake... "He's in his office." She quietly told him, he gave her another smile and headed up there, well, no turning back now.
He took his time on the walk there, even though he knew the quickest route. He knew he was just delaying the inevitable and that that was bad, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Besides, if he moved too fast the eggs could get damaged, and that was the last thing he wanted. It hadn't been his first idea to bring them along but he didn't have any other choice. He was all they had right now. Hopefully he could change that.
That was part of the reason he was here, he wanted them to be able to at least know their Uncle, and they couldn't do that if the two of them weren't speaking. And if he were being honest with himself he really didn't want to lose any more family members, no matter how mad he was. He didn't think he could survive losing anyone else, he could barely survive losing Della. No, he choked back a sob, now was not the time to cry. Now was the time to fix things, or at least attempt to. He and Scrooge both were stubborn to the core and very proud, it didn't make things like this easy. But he was attempting to put all that aside, for the sake of the boys, he only hoped his Uncle would be willing to do the same.
There was only one way to find out.
He adjusted his hold on the eggs and knocked on the door. There was no answer as expected but he went in anyway. If his Uncle heard him he didn't show any sign of it, too busy hunched over some paperwork. He lightly tapped on the desk making him look up alarmed. He gave him a sheepish smile, "Hi, Uncle Scrooge."
"Donald Duck." Scrooge had to admit of all things he thought would happen today this wasn't it. His beloved nephew standing in front of him, holding his precious grandnephews, it was an unbelievable sight to be sure. He fought back a gulp, "Take a seat." The room fell silent, neither of them knowing what to say to each other until Scrooge broke it. "What can ae help ye with?"
"We need to talk." Oh, he hoped it wouldn't be that. It wasn't that he didn't have anything to say to his nephew, he had quite a lot actually, he just didn't know how to say it. How could he apologize for making the biggest mistake of his entire life?
"Do ye want to set them down? Ae can have Beakley get a nest." He offered in lieu of what he knew Donald wanted to hear. His nephew -as always- saw through him but took the offer anyway. The room fell silent once more.
"Do you really have nothing to say?" Donald quietly asked after she left, he carefully situated the eggs as he waited for his Uncle's answer.
Scrooge looked at him with sad eyes, "Ae have so much ae want ta say, Donald, ye dinnae even know." He stayed quiet and Scrooge sighed. "Ae'm sorry, Donald, Ae'm so sorry. Ae should never have made the stupid rocket and ae definitely shouldnae have tried ta talk her through that storm. There's nothing ae dinnae regret aboot this situation, ae let my pride get the best o' me and it's cost me everythin'." He finished brokenly, and he meant every word for it. If he could do anything to fix this, to take it back, he would. He'd do it in a heartbeat.
"Scrooge, it wasn't just your fault." His Uncle looked at him surprised. "Yes, you built the rocket and yes, you shouldn't have done that, but she was the one who took it. It isn't fair to put the blame just on you. I'm mad at you, furious even, but I want us to make up. I want you to be in their lives." He gestured to the boys. "They deserve all the family they can have. ...And I can't do this on my own. I was overwhelmed when it was just Llewelyn and now there's two more? I need help. I need my Uncle."
Tears welled up in Scrooge's eyes and he raced around his desk to give Donald a hug. "Ae need ya ta, Nephew. Ae'll do everythin' ae can ta make this right."
"Me too." Donald replied, muffled by his Uncle's coat.
"Why dinnae move back in here?" Scrooge asked his nephew a few weeks later. They were currently hanging out in the backyard, lounging around on the porch. Things between them were still tense but were slowly improving and he hated the idea of him and his other nephews living on a houseboat. Especially when they could live somewhere as nice as the mansion. He figured if he didn't ask now he never would, even if it ruined the peaceful atmosphere.
It was a great testament in how far they had come that Donald didn't outright balk at the suggestion. Just looked at his Uncle with demur. "I can't do that, Uncle Scrooge, I need to be out on my own. Be self-sufficient and all that."
"Ye can do that here." His Uncle protested.
"No I can't, you'll just try to pay for everything every time I hit a rough spot. And while nice, really won't do me any good. I need to learn to stand on my own." Yeah, Scrooge supposed he had to give him that one. He was proud of his nephew for taking the initiative, though he was still worried. He just had to trust he would reach out when he needed help. Donald said he would, but things like that were easier said than done, Scrooge knew that better than anyone. But he trusted his nephew, he just hoped his nephew trusted him.
Donald did trust him in fact, it wasn't how much it used to be -it probably never would be again- but it was there. And it was how he knew this was the right decision. "Listen I’ve been doing some thinking, what if you take Jet and Turbo?” Scrooge looked at him surprised. “I can’t handle all three of them and the houseboat is way too small for four people. I’ll bring Llewelyn over whenever I can and help raise the twins but I just can't take care of all of them. I trust you Uncle Scrooge, and so did Della, she would want what was best for them and this is what's best. Before I didn't really have a choice, and I was trying to come to terms with that, but now I do. I understand if you need to think about, there's no rush, they're still not due for a couple of months and-"
"Ae'll do it."
"You will?" Donald asked shocked. It wasn't that he didn't think he would -okay, some part of him did- he just didn't think he'd agree to it this quickly. Then again, he was the one who had taken him and Della in after their parents... passed. He was a softie for family, even if he didn't admit it.
"If it'll help ye oot then o' course ae will. We'll have ta do a lot o' preparations and such, and ae'll have ta move some thin's around at the bin but ae'll be more than glad ta do it." He gently picked up their eggs with a smile and Donald smiled as he watched them, he was already so smitten with them. The three of them seemed to have that effect on people. And it would be hard for him to leave the twins there, but at the end of the day he had to do what was best for them. Being mostly raised by Scrooge and his resources was what was best for them, he was sure of it. Scrooge could give them more than he ever could and that was all he wanted for his sister's eggs. As for his own egg, he would do anything he absolutely had to make sure it always stayed safe and healthy.
He looked down at it and his smile grew wider, he already loved this little being with all of his heart and he wasn't even here yet. This was the beginning of something great.