AN: SPOILER ALERT - This is set after Della tells Donald "we're going shopping" in the finale.
As Della dragged Donald out to the car, they passed Fethry and Gladstone.
"Do you need help cousin Donald?" Fethry asked, noting how Della still had a slightly-crazed look in her eyes.
He wondered whether she was planning on kidnapping her brother so he couldn't go on his trip with Daisy. It would be a shame if Donald was forced to stay in Duckburg, he'd been hoping to bump into his cousin when they both set to sea again and he wanted to show Donald some of the wonderful places he'd visited with Mitzy.
"Everything's fine, just taking Donald shopping," Della told them.
Fethry looked over at Donald, who still looked uncomfortable, "perhaps we should come with you. Don't you agree Gladstone?"
"No, that's okay," Donald quickly spoke up. "We're just getting some clothes for my trip."
"Clothes shopping, why that's my favourite kind!" Gladstone perked up and patted Fethry on the back, "we'll have Donald kitted out in the best suits money can buy."
"We have a budget," Della told him, "but apparently a decade of interest built up my bank account quite nicely so it's my treat."
"Excellent," Gladstone waited until Fethry had opened the car door before stepping past his cousin and getting inside. "We'll turn Donald into a new duck, Daisy won't recognise him."
"She likes me the way I am," Donald objected, giving Della a look to tell her that he wasn't happy for their extra company.
"This is great, Daisy's really into fashion and Gladstone can tell what will impress her," Fethry pointed out. "I can help carry all the new outfits."
"We're only getting four," Donald had already battled Della down from twenty sets of clothes, and he wanted his cousins aware of how much they were getting.
"Four? Why you'll need a new outfit for each day, plus those extra special clothes for the evenings, swim wear, and all the different climates, plus footwear..." Gladstone kept talking as they drove away from the mansion.
"I already have plenty of clothes," Donald finally interrupted him, "I just need four nice shirts and that's it. A couple of different colours so I can co-ordinate with whatever Daisy is wearing."
"And he's not allowed any of those awful print-shirts," Della warned them. "Casual shirts are fine, but nothing that will look out-dated."
"Yes Della," Fethry nodded seriously, used to taking orders from his cousins.
The mall was busy, but Della found a parking space and herded them inside. She looked down at the map, trying to find store names that she recognised as selling clothes but there were so many new ones.
"Okay Gladstone you're up, where do we go first?"
Gladstone peered over Donald's shoulder and pointed, "there."
Della grabbed a paper copy of the map and handed it to Fethry, he'd proven to be good at navigating when they were Junior Woodchucks, "okay, you start there. I've got another errand first but I'll come and meet you in a bit."
"What other errand?" Donald asked.
"Never you mind, nosy parker," Della replied with a grin, then ducked into the crowd.
Gladstone linked his arm with Donald, "the three amigo's back together again, just like old times. Lead on Fethry."
Donald rolled his eyes, and hoped that Gladstone's luck didn't turn against him too badly this time.
By the time Della joined up with them again Gladstone was wearing a new suit and held a bag with the store logo on. She put her shopping with his and sat down on the sofa outside the changing rooms, relieved to be off her artificial limb for a while.
"How's it going?" she asked.
"I've got Fethry and Donald trying on outfits to save on time," he told her. "The staff have been very helpful."
Della smiled, "I'm sure."
Donald and Fethry emerged from the changing rooms, neither looked happy in their outfits. Gladstone jumped to his feet, going over to adjust Fethry's sleeves and check the length of Donald's shirt.
"What do you think?" Gladstone asked Donald, "I like the colour and it'll be light enough to wear on the beach."
"It's bright yellow!" Donald told him, "and the material's itchy."
"Yellow is going to be the fashion in a couple more months, so you'll be ahead of the crowd. Also it's such a cheery colour. You did say you didn't want anything green, and I kept that in mind picking these out."
"Thank goodness it's the last one then," Donald frowned when he spotted his sister trying to hold back her laughter, "where have you been?"
"I went to get a present for Daisy," she told him. "I wanted to apologise for getting a little rough with her earlier."
Donald's frown disappeared and he smiled, pleased with Della's thoughtful gesture, "that's nice of you. Thanks."
"Now, which is the pile of shirts you like?" she looked behind him at the rail of discarded shirts, which didn't appear to have been separated into two groups.
"None of them," Fethry told her before Donald or Gladstone could.
"What?"
"Your brother..."
"Gladstone's..."
They spoke at the same time and Della held up a hand to stop them before it could turn into an argument, "fine. We'll try another store."
"I'm still going even if we don't find anything," Donald warned her.
"I'm not letting you go off in those other shirts. Uncle Scrooge has a more up-to-date wardrobe than you, I bet even Duckworth..."
"I've had more important things to worry about than fashion," Donald reminded her.
Della paled, feeling guilty and Donald quickly apologised. He went to get changed into his clothes and when he came back out offered to carry Della's shopping. Fethry tried to break up the uncomfortable atmosphere with fun facts about krill, and the twins let him ramble on while they silently made up. Donald gave Della a quick one-armed hug and Della elbowed Donald, who stumbled into a mannequin which then knocked over a rack of the yellow shirts he'd hated. They helped right the rack and mannequin, before heaving the store trying to hide their laughter, in case Fethry thought they were laughing at him.
After nearly two hours in the mall, Della called a time-out and took them all to the food court to treat them to refreshments. Donald had brought a pair of sunglasses. That was all. Undeterred, the cousins agreed to visit the rest of the clothing stores if that was what it would take.
This time Della wandered around one store with Donald, while Gladstone and Fethry went on to the next to start gathering shirts in Donald's size for him to try on when he'd finished in the other store. Donald was getting irritated by Della constantly telling him to buy the shirts that she thought looked good, even though they were uncomfortable or just not his style. He had considered just buying some shirts and then not wearing them, but he knew Della would notice when they didn't appear in his holiday photos so he finally told her that they could go in two more stores and then he was done.
When they caught up to Gladstone and Fethry, there was already a changing room filled with clothes. Donald sighed, but as Della had agreed that this would be the last store he closed the door and began trying the shirts on.
"Perhaps he'll find some new shirts on holiday, there are some great boutiques..."
Gladstone was interrupted by Donald emerging from the changing room with a smile on his face, "this one!"
Della stared. It was a simple blue and white striped shirt, not the sort of thing Gladstone had picked for Donald before.
"I didn't put that in there," Gladstone told him. "Stripes are so unflattering. Where did you get it?"
"Actually," Fethry raised a hand to get their attention, "I chose it for Donald."
"You did?" Donald looked at his cousin in surprise.
"You seem to like blue, and I noticed a lot of your other shirts are the same material as this one. I also picked out a couple of identical style shirts with the blue theme."
"But..." Gladstone looked upset.
Della placed a hand over his beak, "that's great Donald, I'm so glad you found something. Now that's one down and three to go."
Once Donald was back in the changing room, she turned to Fethry, but wasn't sure what to say to him. She knew how much Fehtry looked up to Donald, but she hadn't realised how well their younger cousin knew her brother.
"You're not mad are you?" Fethry asked, "I know you wanted Gladstone's fashion tips, but I was just trying to help."
Della hugged him, "you did help, thank you. Now I just hope he likes those other shirts you found so we can get out of here. I was stuck on the moon for ten years and one thing I didn't miss was shopping in places like this."
"I don't like malls either," Fethry admitted.
Donald ended up with three shirts from the store, and Della didn't push for him to buy a fourth. Gladstone won a car as they were leaving, so he offered to give Fethry a lift back. As they were leaving, something caught Donald's eye in a store window.
"I'll be right back," he told Della.
He was in and out of the shop in less than fifteen minutes, changing into his new purchase then hiding it under his coat. Donald wouldn't show her what he'd brought bag until they reached the car, knowing she wouldn't approve.
"Well I only hope shopping with the boys won't be half as much trouble," she told him.
Donald laughed. Della didn't find it comforting.
"This was nice. Today." Della said.
"Yeah we don't get many drama-free days since the boys started adventuring."
"And getting to spend time with you, Fethry and Gladstone, it reminded me of all those times we spent together as kids."
"We had some good times."
"When you get back from your trip we'll send the boys off with Scrooge and have a day for just the two of us," she told him.
"No adventures, there's so much to catch up on. Ten years worth."
"I'd like that," Della smiled.
Donald removed his coat. Della hoped none of her boys inherited his taste in clothes.
The End.