"My husband is here. Louie Gearloose-Duck. He was in a major accident and I need to know how he is." Boyd spoke urgently with the lady at reception, just short of completely panicking.
"We can't release that information to you yet, sir. He's still being treated. Give us a few hours."
"A few… A few hours?! I need to know if he's okay!" Boyd's fists were clenched tightly and his whole body trembled.
"We'll update you as soon as possible, sir."
Gyro caught Boyd's hand before the android's eyes could begin to glow red.
"Come on, Boyd. We have to be patient."
"That's my fucking husband!" Boyd exploded as Gyro led him to the waiting room, then, softer, tears streaming down his face, "I need to know if he's okay."
"Louie is made out of tough stuff," Gyro said, keeping a hand on Boyd's arm, "He's going to be alright."
"I know, but-"
"He's going to be just fine," Gyro promised again.
Boyd was the first one who'd made it to the hospital but Donald Duck wasn't far behind.
"Where is he? How is he?" He asked Boyd, hands on the other man's shoulders, keeping them both steady.
"They won't update us yet," Boyd said, feeling dizzy with worry.
"Damn it. What even happened?"
"Louie went after the man who was masquerading as Jailbird. That's all I know. I tried to stop him, I didn't think he was actually going to go this far. I'm so sorry…"
Donald pulled the sobbing man into his arms, "You did what you could, Boyd. You can't blame yourself."
"But it was my fault," Boyd wept.
"No, no, it was Louie's choice. He knew what he was getting into," Donald said, though his heart hurt. He couldn't help thinking about how Louie had never really promised he wouldn't go out with his gun and get vigilante justice. Donald wished he'd been able to stop Louie but Louie was like a freight train, once in motion, impossible to stop.
"If anything, it was my fault," Gyro said, "I enabled him, encouraged him, helped him rework the Jailbird armor. I should have put a stop to it before it started. But I never thought he was going to get hurt like this. I didn't want this."
Boyd glanced at Gyro with a sigh, he didn't want to argue about something that had already happened, even though Gyro shouldn't have helped Louie do this.
"Dr. Dad… You had no idea it was going to end like this."
"Let's avoid the word end," Donald suggested, "Nothing is ending. Louie is going to be okay."
Boyd was having a really hard time believing it.
Friends and family members dropped by all afternoon, mostly to check on Boyd but all of them hoping for an update on Louie's condition. But no update came, except one from Gosalyn when Boyd was least expecting it.
Gosalyn pulled Boyd aside, the android having spent the last few hours pacing.
"Boyd, there's something else you should know. A couple things, actually, about how we found Louie."
"Yeah?" Nothing could be worse from the silence from the doctors.
Gosalyn decided to be blunt, "Louie killed the other Jailbird, and when we found him he was protecting this little boy, the man's son we think, a little guy named Mo who got a bit scuffed up in the ordeal. Mo is going to be okay, they're just keeping him overnight for monitoring. Louie is probably going to ask about him when he wakes up."
"Louie has probably already mentally adopted the kid," Boyd said, brow furrowed, "Is he awake? Can I meet him?"
"I think he's resting now. Louie asked me to stick by him. I just thought you should know."
"Thanks, Gos. This concerns my little family so I'm glad you told me. If he's resting now then I'll just wait until I've gotten the chance to talk to Louie before I overwhelm the little kid." Boyd rocked on his feet a little, his head feeling fuzzy. His husband was critically injured, and now there was another little human to worry about? Boyd decided that he really needed to sit down.
His heart fluctuated between anger and sadness and fear. Louie had lied to him, had broken a promise, and gotten hurt. What's more, Louie had killed a man, not unprovoked but still. This was bad. This was some supervillain shit. And then there was the kid. Mo. Fuck. Louie and Boyd had always talked about adopting but they'd barely even been married for a month. Everything was changing way too fast. And yet, this day had moved so slow.
"Would you like to see your husband, Mr. Gearloose-Duck?"
"Yes, please, finally, and it's Dr."
"Right, sorry, Dr. Gearloose-Duck. Come this way. We'll update you about his condition momentarily." Boyd followed the nurse, holding two gift shop teddy bears, one he intended to give to Mo. He really hoped the little guy liked it.
"Is he awake?"
"No, but he may wake up at any moment. He's not in a coma, just resting." Boyd let out a sigh of relief.
"That's good news." The nurse nodded, offering him a smile.
"There's bad news, isn't there?" Boyd guessed. The nurse's smile dropped.
"Sir, your husband is paralyzed from the waist down." They had reached Louie's room, and Boyd couldn't really hear anything she said after that. He just stared, horrified and heartbroken, at the love of his life.
Boyd had a few hours to process this information before Louie woke up. He had let Donald and the others know what was going on but he mostly wanted to be alone with Louie. He'd agreed to tell Louie the terrible news, and he hadn't stopped fidgeting with the teddy bears and the squeaky hospital chair for hours now.
"Boyd?" Louie sounded drained when he whispered Boyd's name, and Boyd's heart fractured into even tinier pieces.
He let out a sob, "Louie, I've been so worried about you."
"I'm fine, Boyd. Where's Mo?"
"Gosalyn is with Mo. They're gonna release him tomorrow. We'll talk about that in a minute but first, we've got to talk about this. You're not fine, Louie. You nearly died."
"I didn't die, I'll be okay-"
"You can't walk, Louie."
Louie fell silent and looked a little nauseous, "Oh."
"Oh," Boyd agreed, and they were quiet for a few painful minutes. Boyd was still so angry and sad and afraid but he also just felt tired.
"They're not going to release me tomorrow, are they?"
"No, Louie, probably not. I imagine you might be here for a while."
"Do you think I'll be allowed to see Mo?"
"I don't know, Louie," Boyd said with a tired sigh.
"He's all alone in the world, Boyd. We have to take care of him."
"Of course we have to take care of him. But why can't you ever take care of yourself?" Boyd watched Louie flinch and Boyd frowned, making a note of that.
"I just didn't want other people getting hurt."
"You got hurt! You nearly died. People need you alive. But you lied to me, you skipped therapy and broke a promise to me and something terrible happened. You killed a man! And you nearly DIED." Boyd kept his voice low but the emotion was still clear.
"I'm so sorry, Boyd. I'm so sorry. I couldn't let the man who nearly destroyed you get away with it. I tracked him down because I love you."
"No, he tracked me down because we love each other. I'm sorry, Louie, you might technically have won the fight but you still fell for his trap. I love you, Louie, and I'm here for you, forever, babe, but this changes everything. This is not okay."
Boyd took Louie's hand, "We both need to be more careful."
Louie squeezed Boyd's hand weakly, "We do. We have someone to look out for now."
"Yeah, we have to talk about that," Boyd said.
"I know it's a lot and it's sudden but we have to do this, Boyd. He's all alone in the world, what would happen to him if we didn't step in?"
"Based on previous examples, Dewey would probably adopt him."
Louie snorted, "Yeah, well, I like the kid too much to let that happen."
"You really want to do this, Louie? Because if you do I'll support you but things are already going to be harder with this injury, it's going to take time to get used to using a wheelchair, it's going to take time to make the house accessible for you. Adding in baby-proofing and making our house safe and homey for him? Parenting is a lot."
"I know that, I know, and it won't be easy and we might, well, we probably will need a lot of help. But that kid is worth the work. I can tell you haven't met him yet. He's an amazing little kid, Boyd. He's so smart and he deserves someone who cares about him, someone who will take care of him. You have taken such good care of me, Boyd, I know you're going to be an amazing dad. I want to do this with you. Do you want to do this with me? It's not a decision I can make alone."
Boyd closed his eyes and centered himself, knowing that whatever he said would shape his future forever.
"I want to do this with you," Boyd said, "If that little boy needs us, then we need to do whatever we can for him. I'm excited to meet him."
"You're gonna love him, Boyd. I already love him."
"I know I will," Boyd said, settling into the chair next to Louie.
Louie attempted puppy dog eyes, "Can I use your phone? Mine is probably still at home."
"Yeah, what for?"
"We need to order like, a lot of kid stuff. He's two and he can count to ten and I want him to have the best possible home life ever. So we're gonna buy him a shit ton of stuff."
"You're going to spoil our son aren't you?" Boyd asked, testing the words out loud, liking the way Louie lit up when he said it.
"Probably."
"You can use my phone to make a few purchases but then you really need to rest. People are going to want to see you tomorrow. Including Mo."
"I just need to place an order for overnight delivery of a baby bed and baby clothes and toys and some other stuff. I wonder if he's potty trained…"
"We'll figure it out, love." Boyd watched Louie hastily spend a lot of money (not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things) for some necessities. Gyro was already at the house taking care of Mars, so he would be there when the deliveries showed up. And Boyd and Louie and Mo would be here, together.
After a lot of shopping, Louie gave Boyd his phone back, took the gift shop teddy bear, and went to sleep.
Boyd was nervous the next morning. He was worried for Louie but he was also worried about Mo. Gosalyn was overseeing Mo's release from the hospital and then they would bring him over to see Louie and meet Boyd. And Boyd was very nervous about meeting the little boy.
"Let me get you some breakfast," Boyd said, unable to sit still while his nerves were through the roof.
"Thanks, baby," Louie said, clearly very sleepy, pain numbed by painkillers but still not very comfortable. He wanted to be home, snuggled up to Boyd, but he knew things wouldn't be the same again. He had put his whole life on the line and he was honestly lucky that worse hadn't happened but the idea of never walking again still deeply troubled him. What's more, Mo was going to complicate everything. But those complications Louie was excited for. He'd wanted to be a dad as long as he could remember. He loved kids, and he especially loved this kid. So when Gosalyn came in with Mo while Boyd was downstairs scavenging for breakfast, Louie lit up.
"Hi, Mo, how are you feeling buddy?"
Mo looked a little groggy and whined a little, "Bad."
"I'm sorry, Mo. I know things are bad right now. They're going to get better. You're going to get to meet Boyd, my husband, remember? And soon we're all going to go home together, and he and I are going to be your dads." Louie was rambling, just trying to cheer Mo up. Mo continued to sulk, reaching for Louie.
"Sorry, buddy, I can't hold you right now." Mo began to cry and Gosalyn cuddled him, shushing him and humming a lullaby their grandfather used to hum to them.
That was when Boyd came back, took in the scene, and almost walked out. He felt way too overwhelmed to deal with this now.
"Boyd, come meet Mo! Mo, this is your new dad, Boyd. Boyd, why don't you show him the bear you got him?" Louie pulled out the puppy dog eyes again.
"Right," Boyd attempted to calm his nerves, handing Louie the breakfast burrito and grabbing the other gift shop bear.
"Do you like toys, Mo? I got you this little bear." Mo eagerly latched onto the bear, hugging it tight, peering at Boyd, squinting his eyes in the bright hospital room light.
"Do you want Boyd to hold you?" Gosalyn asked, giving Mo a choice. Mo thought about it for a good minute and then reached for Boyd. Boyd looked relieved, bringing Mo into his arms now.
"Hi, little one. You're a cutie, huh?" Mo nodded a little in agreement and Boyd giggled.
"We're gonna be your dads," Boyd said in a quiet voice, still awestruck by the words. Mo nodded again, smiling a little. He hadn't known you could have two dads but these two dads already seemed nicer than the one dad he'd had before. That dad had been scary.
"What kind of things do you like, Mo?" Boyd asked, walking around the room with Mo as Louie ate his breakfast and watched his two boys.
"Cars!" Mo said excitedly, his arms flapping a little as he thought about the movies and the mode of transportation.
"I think, if I remember correctly, your new papa ordered you some toy cars for your new room," Boyd said, and Mo looked so excited, glancing at Louie to see if this was true. Louie nodded and Mo clapped.
"Cars cars cars cars cars cars cars," Mo said, almost rhythmic but not quite singing.
Boyd laughed, "That's right. You'll get to play with those and see your new room later." Huey and Fenton had gone to help Gyro turn Louie's office into a kid's room. Louie had already texted his oldest brother to let him know that Mo liked cars.
"Do you like cats, Mo? We have a cat. His name starts with M just like yours. His name is Mars."
"Mars," Mo repeated, grinning when he got the name right, "Kitty cat Mars."
"Yeah!" Boyd knew that it wasn't going to be this easy forever, but he was delighted that he and Mo were already connecting. Cars and kitty cats was a shaky foundation but it was a start. Louie and Boyd locked eyes for a moment and reached an agreement. They would do anything for this little boy, already so full of love.
Though it wasn't the best for the little boy whose life was already pretty unstable right now, Mo absolutely refused to leave the hospital with anyone other than Louie. He only let Boyd and Gosalyn hold him, outside of Louie of course. The second Louie was given the go-ahead to hold Mo, the two were practically inseparable. Louie was still learning to deal with his new mobility devices and lifestyle but his arms were made to hold Mo.
And several days later, Louie, Boyd, and Mo were able to go home together for the first time.
Louie couldn't tell who was more excited, Mo to see his new home or Mars to see his family. Although, a third contender was certainly possible, as Gyro looked a little emotional seeing his son, son-in-law, and grandson come home.
"I'm staying with you until you've gotten everything under control," Gyro told Louie and Boyd, leaving no room for argument.
"Thanks, Dr. Dad. Mo, this is my dad. Your granddad."
"Hi," Mo said, giving Gyro a smile and then looking around and poking Boyd to be let down, "Cars?"
"Yes," Boyd laughed, "There are toy cars in your room." Boyd carried Mo to his room and set him down to explore, Louie following behind in his wheelchair.
"How are you feeling?" Boyd whispered to Louie as they watched their son play.
"A little overwhelmed," Louie admitted, "but happy. I'm happy he's here with us."
"Me too," Boyd said, "About both of those things. We're going to get through this. We're going to take this on together."
"Daddy," Mo called, the word already so easy on his tongue, "Come play." He waved a car at Boyd and Boyd plopped down, Louie sneaking a couple photos that would probably end up on the ever-growing photo wall.
I don't know a lot about disabilities yet and, while I will probably do some research in the future, I'm going to get things wrong. Feel free to call me out on anything or let me know how I could do better. I want to do better. Suspension of disbelief can take us pretty far, but I would like to do better.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm really glad Mo is in the story, and Louie and Boyd already love him so much (and so do I). After the next chapter, I'm gonna go back and edit chapters 31-40.