He stared at the photograph, the one that held so many memories, so many emotions. He stared at her specifically, unable to stop himself from wondering if she was as great as Donald and Scrooge said she was. Dewey was a spitting image of her. Just by this one photo, he could see the daring and daredevil trait he inherited. She seemed like the kind of person that wouldn't take no for an answer, like she would challenge anything Scrooge told her - just like Dewey. Scrooge always reminded Dewey that he had gained that from his mother. It was getting pretty annoying to the eldest of the three triplets.
Then there was Louie. The way he could read a situation and see all the shortcuts and possibilities. After their private conversation on family game night, it was all Louie would talk about. Apparently Della had given him that trait of hers, and it wasn't hard to believe that one, either. He could see it in the way she carried herself in the photograph that she knew what she was doing. She knew how to get out of every situation by looking for the shortcuts that were possible - just like Louie had done on family game night. Scrooge always reminded Louie just as much as he reminded Dewey.
He wasn't sure how it made him jealous, but it just did. It was something the three of them could bond over, leaving him to his JWG. He was left out of it because he hadn't inherited anything from Della. Dewey and Louie had gotten everything that made their mother the Della Duck. All Huey could really argue was that he had gotten Scrooge's smarts, but what was his uncle's smarts compared to his mother's daredevil spirit and witty personality?
Huey sighed, turning away from the aged photograph. It was hard looking at his mother and realizing he had gotten nothing from her. With how much Scrooge talked about her, the red-cladded duck figured he could find something he had in common with her, but after months and months of endless searching, he found nothing.
The eldest triplet wasn't one to give up on something, but this was an exception. By the time he had forced himself to end the search permanently, he was emotionally drained. There were fallen tear stains on the documents he had borrowed from Webby. There were times during his now pointless search that Huey had to stop what he was doing and just cry. By two months into the search, it was starting to become too much for him. Realizing that he shared nothing with Della made him feel as if he wasn't even her son. He left the library that evening with his research and notes still on the desk, not realizing that someone had come in a few minutes after he had departed and saw what he had been working on.
Huey was always the one who just let his emotions flow freely, no matter who was in the room with him. It was the things he read that made him realize that bottling his emotions up inside of himself was unhealthy. The eldest always liked to keep himself healthy, both physically and mentally. He glanced at the photo, his eyes making contact with his mother as she stood frozen in it. Dewey and Louie were a spitting image of her. Everyone knew it. Even Ms. Beakley smiled at the two of them. They reminded her of the young girl that used to camp out in the backyard, trying to catch Santa Claus.
"Lad?"
Huey turned his gaze from the photograph that had somehow gotten into his hands to the doorway. Scrooge stood there in the frame of the door, his hands resting on his cane as he had one eyebrow raised. Huey blushed lightly in embarrassment as he saw who it was.
"Hey, uncle Scrooge." He said, waving slightly as he watched his uncle walk into the bedroom he shared with his brothers.
"What are ye doing up here alone? Ye usually like to be down there with the family."
That was true. Huey loved to be with his friends and family. He was family-oriented. He thrived and came alive when with his uncles, brothers, and Webby and her grandmother.
"I guess I just didn't feel like being around people tonight." Huey finally said, his gaze returning to the photograph in his hands. Scrooge followed Huey's gaze so he was looking at the picture as well. He walked over to his great-nephew so that he was standing behind him, staring at the photo over his shoulder.
"Do ye miss yer mother, lad?" Scrooge asked.
Of course Huey missed his mother. He wanted her to come home. He wanted to be able to hug her and be held in her arms. Ever since he had found out that Dewey had been researching and looking for clues about Della, Huey couldn't help but start to feel a longing for his mother's love. Dewey longed to know of her existence. Louie longed to know that he had a part of his mom in him. Huey longed to feel the love that only Della could give him.
"Very much, uncle Scrooge. Very much. I wish she was here with us."
"Don't we all, lad." Scrooge sighed, shaking his head gently. "I bet she wishes she was here too, wherever she is."
"Do you think she's still alive?" Huey suddenly questioned, looking from the picture to Scrooge after resting it on the desk he sat in front of.
Scrooge was taken aback by that question. "What?"
Huey took a deep breath, slowing down his words so they came out more clearly to his uncle. "Do you think my mom is still alive, uncle Scrooge?"
In all his years, Scrooge had never heard such sadness in a question. Especially one with Della as the topic. Any conversation before her disappearance were filled with nothing but smiles and laughter. Della was never one to have doubts. Whatever she did, she did with so much pride. There was never a dull moment when she was around. There was never a question about Della the old duck couldn't answer.
But looking down at Huey, who was staring at him with shining eyes, small tears forming in the corners, Scrooge found himself at a loss for words. How was it, that when it came to the eldest triplet, he was unable to give a proper answer right away? Why didn't he have to think about what he was going to say with Dewey and Louie like he did with Huey?
"Well, I… I um…"
Huey sighed, looking down at his webbed feet. He wasn't expecting to get an answer from his uncle. It was a pretty deep question, and if he was being honest with himself, Huey knew that if he had been asked that question himself, he wouldn't have known what to say, either.
"I'm sorry, lad," Scrooge said, laying his hand on Huey's shoulder gently. "I wish I could say for certain that she was still alive, but I just don't know."
"I get it. It's fine, I guess." Huey muttered quietly.
Scrooge's features softened, finally realizing that there was something more that was bothering Huey t5han just missing his mother. He walked over and sat down on Louie's bed, patting it gently, wanting the eldest triplet to join him.
"Come sit next to me, Huey," he said, his hand resting on the empty space next to him. "I wanna talk to you."
Huey got out of his chair quietly and went over to his brother's bed. His eyes were trembling slightly, his gaze not once leaving his uncle's. When he had finally sat down next to Scrooge, the adventurer looked at the young duckling, watching as he folded his hands between his legs and stared down at his lap. For a moment, Scrooge had to think about how he was going to start this conversation without making his great-nephew more nervous than he already was. Huey was the one out of the three that got nervous the easiest. Scrooge could see through his demeanor that when things did get to him, he chose to express it through reading the JWG, and also through writing.
Scrooge had been there the night Huey was in the library. In fact, he was the only other person that had been in the money bin that evening. He had noticed the light that belonged to the library was on while walking down the hall. Scrooge had hid behind a wall so he could see who it was after previously believing that he had been alone.
You could imagine how surprised he must have been when he saw Huey leaving the room, looking defeated about something.
Scrooge entered the library after his great-nephew had left, and that's when he saw everything. He discovered the research he had been doing on Della. He discovered everything.
"Why are ye so hung up on yer mother, lad?" Scrooge finally asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Ye just seem more caught up in her more than yer brother was." Scrooge pointed out.
Huey sighed. "I just… I feel like I didn't get anything from my mom, okay?"
Scrooge tilted his head. He knew where this was going, but he couldn't let Huey know that. The poor boy was hurting, he couldn't make it worse by admitting he had saw him come out of the library the other night.
"I mean, Dewey has her daredevil spunk, and Louie has her witty personality. I have nothing. I'm the triplet who got nothing from Della Duck."
"Loyalty."
"What?"
"Ye got yer mom's loyalty, lad. And not only that, you also got her love of studying the world around her." Scrooge clarified. "Yer mother loved her family. No matter how many fights she and your uncle Donald got into, she never turned her back on him. She loved and cared for him. You've never abandoned your brothers. You stand by them even when they mess up. Yer mother also loved to study mysteries. In fact, she was the reason we went to all of those exotic places. She read about them in books. Just like you do. You're a spitting image of your mother, Huey."
By now, Huey had tears flowing down his cheeks as he hugged his uncle. The old adventurer hugged him back, chuckling softly. "Aw, lad."
"Thank you, uncle Scrooge. Th-thank you so much."
Scrooge just smiled, rubbing Huey's back gently. They stayed like that for the rest of the night with Huey in Scrooge's arms as they hugged, talking about Della and everything he and his mother had in common. Huey couldn't help but smile as Scrooge talked about his mom. The way she studied the stars, the way she researched everything before jumping into another adventure. Everything Scrooge said made Huey realize that he was closer to his mother than he thought
And that gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, she was still alive.