Who is Julie McDuck?!

How to Cope

(This chapter takes place after Nothing Can Stop Della Duck! Enjoy!) :)

(3rd person POV)

"So...Julie has anxiety?" Della asked, running a hand through her bangs.

Scrooge nodded. "Aye, the lass passed out when you got lost in the cosmic storm. She also has gone through a bit of trauma."

Della sighed. "How bad is it?"

Her uncle slid her some papers. "These are the reports from her psychiatrist...when she was seven."

Della took the documents and skimmed the text. It read:

Patient: Julianna "Julie" Elaine McDuck

Age: 7

Diagnosis: has symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder such as severe anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks and mistrust towards strangers.

Summary: Julie is a bright and imaginative young lady; however, her uncle has noticed that the girl has been acting noticeably different following the disappearance and death of her first-cousin, Della. He has noted that Julie has been having trouble sleeping at night, and, when she does fall asleep, she wakes up screaming and crying for her cousin.

Other symptoms include not being able to trust people other than her family and is noted to have trouble speaking about the incident without breaking down. Julie seems to also harbor immense guilt from the incident (from what I could gather, she keeps repeating "It's all my fault" when I ask about the Spear of Selene), but when I ask why she feels this way, she just shakes her head.

When I asked the patient whether she considered Della as her mother, she seemed confused, wondering what a mother was. I will have to talk to her uncle about this, as Julie doesn't seem to understand what a mother (and, in relation, a father) is.

Della's lower beak dropped. "Julie....saw me as her mom?"

Scrooge smiled. "I'd go talk to her if I were you. Yew two got a bit of catching up to do."

Della bit her bottom beak. "A bit is an understatement, really."

"Ae can come with ya, if yew want."

Della nodded and the two made their way to Julie's room.

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(Della's POV)
We walked up the stairs from Scrooge's study to Julie's bedroom. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I stalled a little, but took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Julie, sweetheart? It's Della and Uncle Scrooge; can we come in?"

The door creaked open to reveal a small girl duck with short, dark brown hair that I'd never seen before.

Uncle Scrooge chuckled. "I forgot ta mention that Julie's an aunt now. This is Kylee, her niece."

Gosh, sometimes it's crazy just how long I've been gone.

I knelt down to the duckling's level. "Hi, cutie! I'm your aunt's cousin. Is she around?"

The girl nodded and opened the door wider to show Julie, awake and working on something with a small hook... and a ball of yarn?

As soon as her gaze met our eyes, her face flushed bright red and she shoved the yarn and hook into a basket and pushed it underneath her bed with her foot.

I turned to Uncle Scrooge, who had a knowing smile on his beak. "Haven't seen ya workin' with yarn in a while, lassie."

Julie's face only turned more red before she sputtered out, "I-I donnae know what yer talkin' about!" She instantly clapped a hand over her beak in embarrassment.

I shot Uncle Scrooge a confused glance. "What's with her accent? It sounds...just like yours."

My uncle shrugged. "She's developed a bit of a Scottish accent over the years. It only comes out now when she's nervous...or when she's hiding something," he replied, raising an eyebrow at Julie with a smirk.

Julie buried her face into a pillow and screamed into it in frustration before Uncle Scrooge walked over to her and gently pulled it away from her face.

"Lass, why don't yew show your cousin what you've been working on?"

Julie looked to Uncle Scrooge, then to me, and shook her head fiercely.

"Aw, c'mon, Julie," I tried, sitting down on her bed. "I won't make fun of you. You know that, right?"

Tears dotted her eyelashes. "Did you tell her?" she asked our uncle, to which he nodded.

"She was worried about yew, lass, and so am I," he replied, hugging Julie to his side and rubbing her back. "Tell us what's going on. Please."

The tears she'd been holding back ran down Julie's cheeks. "I-It just feels like another dream. I'm-I'm in my bed, then Della appears and then is yanked away again. And then...some voice keeps telling me, 'It's all your fault. It's your fault she's gone.'"

She buried her face in her hands. "How can you forget the same nightmare that's been happening for years...when it feels like you're repeating it over and over again?"

Uncle Scrooge looked to me, concern in his eyes. I gently pulled Julie's hands from her face so she could see me. "Honey, just breathe. In...." I inhaled deeply, "...and out." I exhaled through my mouth.

Julie followed my instructions, inhaling and exhaling until her hands stopped shaking. She wiped at her eyes. "Thanks, Della," she whispered.

After Uncle Scrooge left, I felt Julie grab my hand. In her other hand was a bundle of yarn, but when I looked closer...

"A new scarf? Julie..is this for me?" I asked. She nodded.

"I know it can't replace the one that Uncle Donald gave you, but..."

Still the same old kid, I thought with a smile. Always thinking of others even when she's been through so much...

I pulled her into a tight hug. "I love it."