Louie was lying by the pool a few days later, his feet in the water. Arms folded behind his head, he watched Donald and Dewey as they attempted to salvage what was left of the houseboat, which wasn't much: it was mostly blackened debris. Della told Dewey that he was to help Donald fix his boat for two hours each day as punishment for wrecking it so badly – since the blue triplet's actions had been a part of Louie's scheme to reunite Scrooge and Della, the latter decided to go easy with the punishment. It made for good entertainment since Dewey kept trying to put his own spin on the restoration. Donald was having none of it.

Stretching, Louie closed his eyes, allowing the sun's gentle rays to wash over him. It was nice to finally feel at peace once more: now that Scrooge and Della were on speaking terms again, the dynamic of the house went from being stressful to cheerful. Everyone was in high spirits, Duckworth included, and life returned to the mansion. Everything was as it should be.

A sound caught Louie's attention and he cracked an eye open. Scrooge was hovering over him with a warm smile.

"May I join you?" the magnate asked.

"Be my guest," Louie replied, sitting up.

Scrooge removed his spats and sat next to his grandnephew, dipping his feet in the water. He set his top hat aside and looked at Louie.

"Taking a supervisory role in the houseboat's repairs? How's that going?" Scrooge said.

"Nope, just hanging out by the pool," Louie said. He jerked his chin towards the houseboat. "See for yourself."

Scrooge looked over. Donald came out with a stack of lumber in his arms, Dewey right behind him.

"But, Uncle Donald, it would be so cool!" Dewey was saying. "We could add surround sound, a disco ball, and cameras so I can broadcast my moves on the internet. We'd have our own dance club right at home!"

"For the last time, no!" Donald snapped. "Wak!"

He hadn't been watching where he was going and he fell off the boat and into the pool. Soft ripples made their way to Scrooge and Louie and lapped at their knees.

"Things are going well, I see," Scrooge said casually as Donald resurfaced, coughing and spluttering.

"As well as they could," Louie said, swinging his legs in the water. "You should have heard what Dewey proposed yesterday: he wanted to add a ring of fire to the houseboat's bow."

"A ring of – For what? And right after the whole thing went up in flames?" Scrooge said incredulously.

"He thinks that daredevil stunts will help his online presence, not that he has much of one," Louie said, shrugging. "He got a few dislikes on that Dewey Dew-Night thing and he's been freaking out ever since."

"Someone needs to tell that boy that not everyone is going to enjoy his content. It cannot be helped."

"Huey tried; it didn't work. Now we just let Dewey do his thing and hope he doesn't accidentally kill himself in the process."

"And to think that your mother thought that adventuring with me was problematic. She should see what's happening in her own backyard."

"Technically it's your backyard."

"Don't be smart. You know what I meant."

"Yes, Uncle Scrooge."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, their eyes on Dewey as he fished out the lumber Donald had dropped. Louie glanced at Scrooge.

"I'm assuming there's a reason behind your joining me by the pool?" the green triplet asked.

"What makes you think there's a reason?" Scrooge replied.

"Well, for one thing, you never do this."

"Don't be so sure, lad. Even I need to cool off every now and then. But you are right in this case: I am here for a reason."

"What is it?"

Scrooge looked at Louie. "I came to see if you were all right," he said.

"Huh?" Louie blinked.

"We've been all so busy with trying to stop Della from leaving that we never checked in on you. What you went through was a traumatic experience and people much older than you can have trouble processing that. I want to help you if you need it."

Louie was surprised. The truth was, he never stopped to consider how he felt – like Scrooge said, they had all been consumed with putting an end to another family crisis. Perhaps it was time for the youngest triplet to examine his feelings.

"I think I'm okay," Louie said. "It wasn't the first time I faced certain death. Remember Toth-Ra?"

"That was different. It was easy to get that mummified abomination away from you," Scrooge told him. "You were literally teetering on the edge of death the other day and we came close to losing you."

"Give me some credit, Uncle Scrooge. I'm made of tougher stuff than you think: I've been offered as a sacrifice twenty-three times so far and I'm doing just fine," Louie said lightly.

"You also tend to cry at impending doom," Scrooge pointed out. Louie crossed his arms. "I know you, Louie. I'm aware that you try to hide behind the 'evil triplet' persona. You don't have to do that with me."

Louie looked away. He watched Dewey try to pull Donald out of the water, only to end up being dragged into it when their uncle lost his footing on the side of the boat. There was a reason it was said that Scrooge was sharper than the sharpies: rarely anything escaped his notice. It was a trait that Louie was proud to have inherited from his great-uncle and the green triplet should have known that trait would allow Scrooge to see right through him. Louie supposed there was no point in keeping up the act with the magnate.

"I guess there's a… really small part of me that's scared of repeating what happened the other day," Louie confessed. "But it's not enough to stop me from going on adventures. I still want to hunt for treasure with you, Uncle Scrooge, and I know I've got nothing to worry about with you."

"You're quite right. But you've got to address your fears or they can spiral out of control, no matter how small they are. Even the slightest fear can turn into something enormous," Scrooge said.

"How do you manage your fears, Uncle Scrooge?"

"I try my best to keep myself centered as much as I can. My meditations help with that."

"Wait, you meditate? Didn't you scoff at the mermaids of Mervana for that?"

"I admit that I was rather dismissive of them in our search for the harp. But I decided to give it a try and it's been useful. Maybe you should give it a shot, too."

"That's never going to happen."

"Suit yourself. Regardless, make sure that your fears don't consume you. Deal with them while they're still easy to manage," Scrooge said. He studied his grandnephew. "I never would have guessed you had any fears after the performance you gave to me and your mother."

"I'm not Huey; I can act," Louie said. "I had to hide it. If I showed even the slightest hesitation Mom would have taken us away from here. It would have been all the confirmation she needed."

"I don't disagree. Your mother would have sensed it the same way sharks can smell blood in water," Scrooge said mildly.

"How can I get rid of this fear? Or at least keep it under control?" Louie asked.

Scrooge gazed at him. "Do you truly trust me to keep you safe?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then rely on that trust when you feel your fears creeping up on you while we're out adventuring. That should help you through it."

Louie smiled. "I think I can do that."

"Good lad."

There was a large splintering sound, causing Louie and Scrooge to jump. The stern of the houseboat had snapped off.

"I didn't touch it, I swear!" Dewey exclaimed from the bow, holding his hands up. He and Donald had managed to climb back onto the boat.

Donald gave a defeated sigh and dropped onto an overturned bucket. That proved to be a mistake: there was another cracking sound and Louie watched as Donald fell out of sight to the bottom of the houseboat. Dewey leaned over the edge of the hole their uncle made.

"Ouch…" Dewey said, wincing. "That's going to leave a mark."

There was a hollow, pained moan in response. Scrooge and Louie looked at each other.

"We should go see if your uncle is all right," the magnate said.

"He's fine," Louie said, waving a dismissive hand. "He's been through much worse."

"You're that used to Donald's misfortune, are you?"

"You have no idea."

"Still, we should go help him. It's the decent thing to do."

"Oh, all right."

Scrooge got up, slipped his spats back on, grabbed his top hat, and went to the wreck that was Donald's houseboat. Louie stood up and stretched. Rely on the trust he had in his great-uncle… that was advice that could help the green triplet. In fact, it was already working: his concerns were assuaged. Louie smiled as he sauntered towards the boat. Things were going to be just fine.

The end