Louie didn't sleep for long, an hour at most, but at least he was comfortable. For the first time since the arrow struck him, he felt safe: the way Scrooge held him reminded Louie of how Donald would comfort the triplets whenever they had a nightmare, a gentle and reassuring embrace. The feeling wasn't going to last long, that he knew, but it was still nice while he had it. He was going to enjoy it while he could.
The sounds of his family continued to fill the chamber. Keeping his eyes closed so Scrooge would not tell him once more to go back to sleep, Louie listened. He could hear his brothers and Webby exchanging information; his mother, judging by the sound of her mechanical leg, was pacing back and forth along the far side of the chamber; Donald was rummaging through one of the backpacks, looking for something Louie couldn't make out; and Scrooge was quiet for the most part, only occasionally asking questions or making suggestions. Louie guessed that his great-uncle was trying to be considerate: he was supposed to be napping, after all. The green triplet appreciated the magnate's efforts: he was beginning to feel a dull ache in the back of his head.
He realised that he was much less cold. Whereas earlier it felt as if he had plunged into a frozen lake, now the chills came on and off at a lesser degree. It was a relief for Louie, although he wasn't ready to exit the cocoon Scrooge had arranged just yet. Perhaps he would give it another five minutes before making it known that he was awake – the longer Louie pretended to be asleep, the longer he could pretend that this nightmare was not happening.
Footsteps approached them and Louie cracked an eye open. It was Donald, holding a canteen in his hands.
"Here, Uncle Scrooge," Donald said meekly, setting the bottle down next to the magnate. "I found some water in one of the backpacks. You can give it to Louie when he wakes up."
"Thank you, Donald," Scrooge said. There was an edge to his voice. Louie did not envy Donald in that moment: having been on the receiving end of Scrooge's ire himself, the green triplet knew what was coming. He closed his eye, not wanting to watch what was going to happen next.
"Mind if I sit with you for a minute?" Donald asked.
"You have work to do," Scrooge replied coolly.
"It won't take long. Please, Uncle Scrooge."
Louie heard his great-uncle sigh. Nothing was said, then the silence was followed by the sound of someone sitting down. Louie guessed that Scrooge had either given Donald a nod or the latter had perceived the former's quietude as a type of acquiescence.
Neither of them spoke. Wondering what was going on, Louie cracked an eye open again. Donald had fortunately decided to sit where Louie could see him as well as Scrooge and the green triplet noted how his uncle was awkwardly playing with the sleeve of his shirt. His great-uncle, on the other hand, was gazing straight ahead with an unwavering stare, his expression unreadable. Louie prevented a sigh of his own from escaping and closed his eye, wishing he could start the dialogue between the two adults.
"So…" Donald began. "Della told me what was in that vial."
"She did, eh? So you're aware of what you've done," Scrooge said tartly. "I wasn't sure, considering how you were flailing all over the place."
Louie almost winced on Donald's behalf. As much as they all loved Scrooge, he could have a tongue that was razor-sharp and his words ran deep at times. It took everything in Louie's power to not pipe up and tell his great-uncle that Donald did not need to be reminded of his actions. So much for not beating each other up, Louie thought.
"Look, Uncle Scrooge, I'm sorry. I really am," Donald said. The green triplet could hear the sincerity in his uncle's voice.
"I'm not the one to whom you should be apologising," Scrooge told him.
"Louie's asleep so I can't say anything to him. I'm apologising to you as well because Della told me how much all of this has affected you."
"Of course she did… Are you really surprised that this mess has shaken me to the core after what happened to your sister?"
"No, I'm not. I've been panicking ever since Louie got poisoned and I keep replaying the day Della got lost in space over and over again in my mind. Everything I felt came rushing back and I… obviously didn't handle it well."
"That's an understatement. I've seen you lose your mind but it never led to something so foolhardy. Well, not as foolhardy as this. Are you still continuing your sessions with Jones?"
"Yes, Uncle Scrooge," Donald said, sounding exasperated. "And they've been effective. But I'm not perfect: I still occasionally forget myself."
"Your timing is excellent, as usual," Scrooge remarked.
Louie bristled for a moment, unable to believe his great-uncle's tactlessness. Then Scrooge added,
"But I can't fault you for being scared. As angry as I am, I also empathise with you and I know I shouldn't lash out at you. We're in the same boat: we both love our family and would do anything to protect them. I want a happy ending to this adventure as much as you do."
Louie exhaled, releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding. The uncles fell silent and the green triplet realised he had just given himself away. Knowing there was no point in pretending any more, Louie opened his eyes and found Scrooge and Donald staring down at him.
"You know, you've been doing a lot of eavesdropping since you've climbed into my lap," Scrooge noted, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"Mm," Louie said, shrugging. "I'm lying here wrapped up in a blanket. I've got to do something to pass the time."
"Nice to see the poison hasn't affected your wit," Scrooge said. He looked at Donald. "Now's your chance to apologise to him."
"That's not really –" Louie began but Donald interrupted him.
"I want to. I'm so sorry, Louie. I made things worse when I should have been listening to you kids instead," Donald said.
Since they were doing this, Louie figured he might as well be honest.
"You freaked me out back there. You couldn't see that there was a reason I wasn't drinking the stuff? I want to be cured more than anyone but I'm not going to consume any possible antidote that comes my way! We have to make sure of things first," Louie said.
"I know…" his uncle said, hunching his shoulders.
"And now, thanks to you, we have even less time to find the real thing!" Louie exclaimed, feeling a sudden surge of anger. "This is literally could have affected my chances of survival!"
Donald winced. Scrooge gave Louie's arm squeeze.
"Steady, lad," the magnate warned softly.
Louie turned to his great-uncle, who gave him a meaningful look. With a nod, the green triplet pivoted his gaze back to Donald.
"But I know you did what you did because you thought it was going to help me. I know you didn't mean for this to happen and that you care about us more than anything so I'm not as mad as I probably should be," Louie said. "Just… listen to what we have to say next time, okay?"
"I promise to never let you down again. Can you ever forgive me?" Donald said, looking at his nephew with pleading eyes.
Tears stung the back of Louie's eyes. He extricated himself from Scrooge's arms and threw his own around Donald's neck. His uncle returned the embrace, trembling slightly.
"You're forgiven, Uncle Donald," Louie whispered.
He looked ahead and saw his mother watching them. Della had a hand pressed to her heart, looking emotional herself. Louie motioned at her to approach and she did, wrapping her arms around her brother and son.
"Bless me bagpipes, this is a photo-worthy moment," Louie heard Scrooge say.
"You could have taken a picture if you had gotten yourself a new phone like we told you," Louie said as he pulled away. "Flip phones are out of style."
"The one I have serves me well. I see no reason to replace it," Scrooge retorted. "I guess the chills have passed, lad?"
"Not quite, but almost," Louie replied, pushing the hood of his shirt off his head.
"That means the next symptom is nigh. We'd better get a move on."
Scrooge got on his feet and bundled up the blanket as he followed Della and Donald, tossing it by the backpacks. Louie watched them go, feeling a little bit lighter. He then realised that the dull pain in the back of his head had increased, not by much but just enough to make it irritating. Louie grabbed the canteen Donald had left for him and took a large swig from it. The intensity of the chills made the youngest triplet worry about how bad the headache was going to be – if it was going to be anything like the drop in body temperature he had just experienced, Louie was in for a rough ride.