Who is Julie McDuck?!

A Secret Meeting

(3rd person POV)

Donald walked downstairs to see his uncle walk through the door, leading Josh through the doorway carefully. The poor kid looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Guess someone's gonna be sleeping in the living room tonight, huh?" Donald teased lightly, guiding his cousin to the couch. The brown-haired duck just collapsed onto it and fell asleep immediately.

As Scrooge and Donald got Josh a blanket and pillow, they talked.

"How's the lass doin'?" Scrooge asked, propping his great-nephew's head up with a pillow.

Donald gave him a so-so gesture with his hand as he pulled a blanket over Josh's lower half. "The kid's fine, just a little disoriented is all." He chuckled a little. "Seems like only yesterday she was a baby duckling, and now, she's almost an adult."

"Aye," Scrooge said, but there was a slight undertone of sadness that Donald couldn't help but pick up.

Donald let out a groan, pinching the bridge of his beak. "As much as I hate to bring it up, I need to know: how long has Julie been having these...panic attacks?"

Scrooge sat down in his favorite armchair, running a hand down his face as he did. "Since the Spear of Selene, actually. Julie would have nightmares about Della leaving and getting lost in the cosmic storm. She'd wake up crying and screaming for her. Ae took her to a psychiatrist, but was only able to get the lass diagnosed with having gone through childhood trauma. We tried several coping strategies, but the nightmares....changed after a few months."

"What do you mean?" Donald asked, arching an eyebrow.

Scrooge shook his head. "Julie wasn't crying for Della anymore....she was calling for YOU, lad."

"Wh- but why ME?!" Donald quacked out.

"The only thing we could reason was that Julie didn't yew want to leave and that she missed ya. Saw yew as someone she could rely on. The psychiatrist managed to configure that the reason she gave ya that nickname was because she trusted ya more than anyone."

"What nickname?" Donald asked. He didn't remember any nickname that Julie had given him.

Scrooge smirked. "Ya don't remember? Lad, when she first showed up on my doorstep..."

"Donal'," his nephew chuckled. Even after several years, the mention of the name still brought a smile to his face.

"Aye; I'm surprised Julie didn't sneak her way over to the marina and come see ya herself," Scrooge chuckled.

Donald laughed nervously. "Yeah, imagine that..." he trailed off, a guilty look in his eye.

His uncle, ever observant, picked up on this. "She did, didn't she?"

Donald sighed. "Yeah, but don't blame her! The poor kid just wanted to see me and the boys; she wasn't-!"

Scrooge silenced him by putting a hand up. "Donald, it's fine. I understand...she passed out before yew left with the eggs...she deserved to see them and yew one last time, at least. Ae shouldn't have let a dumb mistake that Ae made tear us apart."

He was silent for a moment before burying his head in his hands. "If Ae hadn't built that stupid rocket...Della would still be here an' Julie wouldn't have gone through that. I went through enough pain as it is....I cannae IMAGINE how a child would've taken that kind of loss."

Donald put a hand on his uncle's shoulder. "Hey, don't blame yourself. Della WANTED to take that rocket to space. And you were there for Julie; you took CARE of her when no one else would. Uncle Scrooge, you're more of a parent to her than her own parents were."