I do not own Duck Tales.

A Not So Warm Welcome

Della peered out of the taxi window as it rolled up towards the familiar golden gates. She grimaced upon seeing her uncle waiting for her, his cane tapping impatiently against the dirt ground. She paid the cabbie and stepped into the sunlight. "I guess you're ready to throw me in the nearest deep, dark pit too, huh?" she asked as she approached him.

"Ah'm ready t' knock some sense into yeh," Scrooge said firmly. "Della, lass, yeh cannae joost waltz in like this! The boys need t' be prepared before they see yeh!"

"What, did you tell them I'm dead?" Della asked angrily.

"Donnae be daft. They know you're alive. That means-"

"They know I left them," Della finished, her heart heavy. "I know I didn't handle things well."

"You're telling me," Scrooge said flatly. "If yeh needed money, why didnae yeh joost ask?"

Della threw her wings in the air. "Because I was ashamed! I was ashamed that I couldn't take care of myself let alone my own kids! I knew you wouldn't want to give me the amount I would have needed in order to get my life in order and I knew Donald would never let me hear the end of it."

"Those are nae excuses!" Scrooge exclaimed. "Ah would have leant yeh the money yeh needed t' get your life together. That would have been the responsible thing t' do."

"Well, we both know that responsibility isn't my thing," Della muttered. "Uncle Scrooge, it's been so long. I got my life together and I just want to see my sons."

Scrooge studied her desperate expression and sighed heavily. "Aye, Della. Yeh've always had a knack for driving those around yeh wild."

"So...?" Della prodded hopefully.

"We'll wait until Donald gets here," Scrooge said firmly. "We'll have a talk. What is for certain is that yeh will nae be seeing the boys today. We need t' give them time t' adjust t' the idea."

He pushed the gates open and motioned Della through. They headed up the long walkway and entered the mansion.

"Duckworth, make sure the boys stay outside," Scrooge instructed to the passing butler. "Is Huey still upstairs?"

"He finished his homework earlier than expected. He did not want to bother you and I checked over his assignment. It was well done. He is outside with his brothers," Duckworth responded, eyeing Della curiously.

"Perfect. Keep them occupied. We'll be in the drawing room," Scrooge informed. Duckworth inclined his head and changed directions to perform the task.

Great. I'm being hidden from my own kids. But there's no one to blame but myself, Della thought sadly as she entered the drawing room, a place she had spent many hours in when her parents had brought her over for visits when she was a child. Scrooge shut the door firmly behind her and they both took a seat on the couch.

"Ah think Ah may have skipped some pleasantries," Scrooge said with a slight smile. "Hullo, Della. It is nice t' see yeh again."

The sincerity in his voice caused hot tears to gather in Della's eyes. "It's nice to see you too," she whispered.

"Why so long?" Scrooge asked gently.

"I...don't know," Della admitted. "I know I could have called...I was only in St. Canard after all. But it wasn't until recently that I found my courage to come back after what I did."

"Yeh have t' understand, there's a good chance that the lads will nae welcome yeh with open arms straight away," Scrooge warned. "Yeh'll have some explaining t' do."

"I know." Della folded her wings together. "It'll be difficult but I need to do it. So...does that mean what I think it means?"

"We'll have t' discuss this with Donald," Scrooge said carefully. "Yeh may be their mother, but yeh gave the lads t' Donald. He has final say."

"Absolutely not!"

The shout came before the duck who uttered it did. Della winced when the door slammed open, revealing a very ticked-off Donald Duck. "She is not seeing my boys!"

"Come on, Don!" Della pleaded. "Can't you understand what I've gone through? I think about them every day-"

"Apparently not enough to send them a card on their birthday!" Donald raged. "I'll be surprised if you even remember their names!"

Della's eyes flashed and she stood up. "Huebert, Deuteronomy and Louis," she snapped. "I'm not as heartless as you make me out to be! I know the names of my own sons!"

Donald snorted. "I'm remembering why Dewey doesn't go by his full name."

"Dewey?" Della repeated, floored. "You changed his name to Dewey?"

"I didn't change anything. They shortened each other's names when they were four so they could at least pronounce them to some extent. They've gone by Huey, Dewey and Louie ever since. But of course you wouldn't know that."

"Donald!" Scrooge said sharply, bringing the attention of his niece and nephew to him. "Look, Ah know you're not happy about this. But Della has her reasons, and although we may nae like or understand them, she's here nao. Do yeh really want the boys going through their lives nae knowing their mother at all?"

"They've been doing fine so far. Dumbella will only complicate matters."

"Don't you even start calling me that!" Della shrieked, the dreaded nickname bringing back painful childhood memories.

"I'll call you whatever I want, Dumbella."

Della went to punch her brother and Donald easily dodged the attack. Scrooge quickly inserted himself between the squabbling siblings, his own temper heating up. "Knock it off!" he bellowed. "Blast me bagpipes, you're both acting like stubborn children!"

"It's his fault," Della said angrily (and a little childishly).

"My fault?! You're the one who-"

"Whoa, what's with all the shouting? We can hear you guys all the way from the yard!"

The three adults in the room froze. The triplets (who had ignored Duckworth's attempts to keep them outside) stood framed in the doorway. They stared, stunned, at the female duck who was most definitely not Daisy, like they had initially thought.

Della took a tentative step forward. "Do you...do you know who I am?" she asked nervously, suddenly realizing that she was not as prepared for this moment as she thought she was.

Louie stared, his eyes wide. "Mom?" he breathed, hardly believing what he was seeing. But yes, the woman in front of him was the same one he had seen in his uncle's photo albums, her facial features having changed very little over the years.

"It's me," she whispered, eyes welling up at seeing her sons for the first time since they were toddlers. "You've grown so much."

Dewey opened and closed his beak. So many questions ran through his mind but none managed to reach the verbal state. He was speechless.

Huey, however, was not. His eyes narrowed into slits at the one who had abandoned him and his brothers. "What do you want?" he asked coldly.

"Nao, Huey-" Scrooge began.

"No, no. He has a right to be mad," Della said softly.

"You bet I do. You leave us for twelve years and now you decide to show up? Pardon me if I'm suspicious." Huey crossed his arms.

"I know nothing explains my isolation from you guys. But I'm hoping you'll give me a chance to explain-"

"Sorry, not interested," Huey said flatly. "When I was younger, yeah, maybe I would have jumped at the chance to finally meet and bond with my mother. But I grew out of it, and you missed out. Come on, guys."

Huey stormed out of the room. Louie glanced hesitantly at his mother. "Maybe...after he's cooled down," he said softly and hurried after his sibling.

Dewey rubbed the back of his neck. Despite the fact that Della didn't deserve his sympathy, he found himself feeling sorry for her. She just looked so sad. "You probably do have an explanation for your absence. And we will hear it. But this is a shock for us, you know?" he said, trying to sort through his reeling emotions so that he could stay indifferent at the current moment. "We've always dreamed you'd show up and we'd get to have a mom. But it's been so long we just accepted the fact you weren't coming back for us."

"Are you mad too?" Della asked.

"Sort of. We all are. Give us some time to think this over, and we'll get back to you." Dewey eyed her cautiously. "That is, if you're sticking around."

"I rented an apartment in downtown Duckburg," Della informed. "I can leave my number with Uncle Scrooge, if you'd like."

"Okay." Dewey took a deep breath. "Okay, yeah. You do that. We'll have a talk...but I'm not promising you anything."

"I understand. I appreciate the chance." Della managed a smile. "Thanks..."She trailed off, suddenly realizing that she had no idea which son she was talking to.

"Dewey," the boy answered her unspoken question. "The one that, for the most part, always wears blue."

"I'll...remember that," Della said softly.

Dewey gave a curt nod, waved and departed. Della collapsed back onto the couch with a long breath.

"That went well," Scrooge said tiredly, rubbing his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on.

"They were doing fine without you in their lives, Della," Donald snapped. "Thanks for screwing everything up."

"Donald, shut it," Scrooge growled, glaring warningly at his nephew. "This is a complicated matter and it will nae be solved by fighting. Della, leave your number with Duckworth and head home. Ah think it would be best if yeh were out of the picture for the moment."

Wasn't being out of the picture the problem in the first place? Della thought. Instead, she agreed. "I'm...sorry, Uncle Scrooge. I never meant for-"

"It is better that yeh show up nao than nae at all," Scrooge interjected. "Ah'll be talking to yeh soon, Della."

Della nodded, cast a glance at her brother before leaving. Donald glared after her and only looked away when Scrooge rapped him sharply on the behind with his cane. "Ouch! What's the big idea?"

"Yeh need t' grow up, Donald," Scrooge snapped. "Yeh cannae joost keep Della out of the boys' lives!"

"I need to grow up?" Donald cried. "I'm the one who took the boys in and raised them as my own! I'm the one who was there for them when they needed it the most! Not her!"

"She's trying, Donald," Scrooge said softly. "We may nae agree with many of the things she has done, but she's obviously willing t' make an effort."

"It's an effort that should have happened long ago."

"Aye. But she's here nao. And yeh and Ah both know it is the boys who get the final say. As much as yeh may nae like it, yeh need t' let them decide what t' do."

Donald eyed his uncle wearily. He was not at all keen on having his sister try to bond with the boys. In his mind, she had long forsaken that opportunity. But he also knew that it should be the boys who had the final say in this matter, not him. "Fine. Whatever."

"Good lad." Scrooge smiled, relieved that his temper-ridden nephew had ceased his objections.

"Do you need me to stick around?"

"Ah think Ah can handle things from here. Yeh have a cancelled date t' reschedule, do you nae?"

"Yeah." Perhaps some time with Daisy would help him cool down-so long as they didn't get into one of their infamous lover's quarrels. "If you or the boys need me-"

"Ah'll be sure t' call," Scrooge promised.

Donald nodded slowly and left. Scrooge waited until his nephew had gone before collapsing into an armchair with a tired moan.

He knew that emotions would be running high for the next while. With Donald close to shipping off and Della's determination, there would be many more fights to occur, especially if Huey continued giving attitude. Out of all three of them, Huey was the one who inherited most of the Duck family temper. He was simply not that easily ticked off like his uncle was.

"Why me?" Scrooge groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Ah'm an old man who should nae have t' deal with this."

The door creaked open and Webby cautiously poked her head into the room. "Uncle Scrooge? I heard a lot of yelling...is everything okay?"

Ha!

"An unexpected visitor dropped by," Scrooge said carefully, unsure if Webby needed to know the information that would no doubt somehow include her in the family squabble. "No one was really prepared for her and...well, yeh know Donald's temper."

"Oh. Where's the visitor?"

"Gone." For now, anyway.

"Was there...something special about this visitor to make everyone so emotional?" Webby asked.

Scrooge smirked at her not-so-subtle attempt to divulge information. "Nothing yeh need t' worry about right nao, lass. Why don't yeh go play?"

"Oh, alright," Webby sighed, disappointed that she was (once again) being left in the dark. "See you later, Uncle Scrooge."

"Bye, darlin'."

Webby shuffled across the foyer, her gaze drifting towards the ceiling. Whoever the visitor was, she really made her cousins upset.

I wonder what's going on.