Title: non sibi sed familia
Author: LM Simpson (Kady the Red Panda)
Pairing(s): Donald/Daisy
Rating: K+
Warning(s): Nothing bad; it's just for safety
Disclaimer: Disney ducks shalt not be this mere mortal's property. That's the long lost eleventh Commandment.
Other tidbits: I'm a sucker for "what if" fics. Thank you, my little sister, for helping me with the Latin title.
Prologue: Honor, Courage, Commitment
0000
Insomnia was an inconvenience at any age, but it was especially bothersome for parents and guardians. It was a quarter until one and Donald Duck could not sleep. Della's cute, but pestering, brats were asleep like little angels for once and he should have easily fallen asleep at nine. But after spending three hours tossing, turning, and quacking in frustration, he hopped out of bed and waddled downstairs. Maybe a couple of infomercials and the eleven o' clock news could substitute for sandman's dust.
War was always going on somewhere in the world, and yet most people spent their entire days and nights not even thinking about air raids, mines, and bloodshed. Donald was guilty of this too, and was usually only reminded of it when reading the newspaper, listening to the radio, or watching the television. Yet for some reason, hearing news of war at midnight impacted him more than it did or could during the daytime.
He heard footsteps pitter pattering down the staircase. When Donald turned, he saw a little duckling in blue pajamas at its base.
"Dewey!" Donald snapped. "What are you doing up right now?"
"I was getting some water, Unca Donald," he said meekly. Then, as if he did not make his point, he added "I'm thirsty…"
Donald knew he had to be blushing. He, a grown man, snapped at a little boy over a glass of water. How pathetic…
"Okay, go get yourself some water, but go right back to bed after!"
Perhaps out of fatigue, Dewey did as he was told. As he placed his left foot on the first step, he said:
"Good night, Unca Donald."
"Good night, Dewey."
"I love you…"
"I love you too, Dewey…"
He faintly heard a door shut upstairs.
Donald resumed watching an infomercial on a "new and improved" fishing rod. He had seen the same advertisement throughout the past hour and did not think much of it.
He cocked his head at the side table by his couch. How on Earth was he going to pay these bills? If the utilities were turned off, or if the house was foreclosed, it would not just be him that would be affected. He always complained about how his nephews were so naughty, but they were still his nephews, and he loved them like they were his own sons. What would happen to them if something happened? Foreclosure wasn't war, but it was just as scarring.
Donald was unable to sleep, worrying about the worst, until thirty minutes before the nephew's alarm clock went off. When the boys left, their sleepy uncle also left to drive to the temp office. As he waited at a traffic light, drinking caffeinated and sugar bombed coffee from a mug, he turned and noticed the building before him. It was Duckburg's local Navy recruitment center. He always did want to go to the Navy… A lightbulb turned on over his head.
When the light turned green he found the nearest parking lot and walked into the center.