Who is Julie McDuck?!

Father and Son

Josh gulped. "O-okay," he stuttered, sitting back down on the couch. Uncle Scrooge sat in the armchair adjacent to him and let out a sigh.

"Lad, why didnae ya just call me?"

That got his attention and his gaze shot up from his hands to his uncle. "W-what?"

"Josh, if yew needed a home, ye could've called me," he repeated as he got up from the armchair and sat down next to his great-nephew on the couch. "Ae could've taken yew in. Didn't sound like staying with yer stepfather was...a good experience, anyways."

Josh nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I guess I never really had time to think about it. After Julie was hatched, I was kinda...left in the background. I just remember the fight."

That peeked Scrooge's interest. "Fight? What fight?"

"When Julie hatched, a big fight broke out between Fergus, Downy, and Matilda about who would take custody of us should our mother die. Grandma Matilda wanted us to grow up in Castle McDuck, but Fergus didn't want anything to do with us. Said we were just 'mistakes of a big mistake' or something like that."

He saw his Uncle Scrooge's fists clench in anger. "So they left you with Nathan and abandoned yer sister," he growled.

Josh nodded sadly. "Yeah, my stepdad was the worst. I'm glad Julie didn't have to live under his roof."

"Lad-"

They heard footsteps and turned their heads to see Julie holding a sleepy Jake.

"I'm...not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked.

"No, lass; you're fine," Scrooge replied. Jake whined and curled up into his aunt's chest.

Julie giggled. "Someone woke up and I had a feeling Josh would want to see him," she cooed, rubbing the soft, light brown hair on Jake's head.

Josh's beak twitched into a soft smile as he held out his arms and his sister carefully placed Jake in his arms.

Josh gazed down at his son cradled in his arms. "Hey, buddy," he whispered, bouncing Jake when he started to fuss. "Sorry it took me so long to come back."

Jake cooed and reached out to place his hands on his dad's face. "Dada?"

Josh felt tears began to sting his eyes. "Yeah, it's Dada."