Note: This shot does *NOT* contain spoilers for "Whatever Happened to Della Duck?!" save for a reference to something we got in the early clip. This is just pure last-minute speculation since I won't be able to watch the episode until tonight, and I wanted to get this idea out.

At Journey's End

For what it's worth, Della's return to Earth is relatively quiet.

Of course, no one is expecting it; after ten years of her presumedly being dead, why would they? And landing in the middle of some desert doesn't help garner attention either. By the time she shuffles along to the closest road, gravity and the sun bearing down on her, her rocket is well out of viewing range and at best she appears to be a worn-down hitchhiker.

Still, by some miracle, she makes it home. Home to Duckburg, home to McDuck Manor.

Mrs. Beakley's the first one to see Della out the window as she clamors across the front yard in broad daylight, and she gasps as if the Queen of England herself is paying a visit. Her first instinct is to yell for Donald to answer the front door. The second is to call the Money Bin, where Scrooge currently is.

As soon as the line picks up, Beakley wastes no time.

"Scrooge, come home now." No "sir," no "Mr. McDuck."

"Are you daft? It's the middle of the work day!" he counters, and she can practically hear him waving his hand about for emphasis.

She shakes her head. "You're going to want to see this. You need to be here." For whatever reason, she can't bring herself to deliver the life-altering news over the phone. It just doesn't seem right, so she pleads, "Just trust me."

Perhaps it's the sincerity in her tone or the sudden curiosity picking at him, but Scrooge sighs and agrees with, "Very well."

After telling his secretary he'll be back soon, he goes down to the garage and climbs into the limo Launchpad has waiting and running for him. The drive home takes minutes, but he somehow still manages to get pulled into a daydream as he watches the daytime moon skip along the blurring treetops.

By the time Scrooge strolls through the front door and Beakley wordlessly guides him by the arm into the dining room, Della has already dived into telling stories about her adventures on the moon to her audience of the kids and Donald, who have gathered around her at the table in disbelieving, happy tears. There'll be time for proper reunions and introductions later. Right now, they all just want to share in her presence, and she just wants to eat the non-black-licorice-flavored food that Beakley's set out for her.

But when Scrooge enters the room, all goes silent.

His expression is astonished, but his voice is softer than his own feathers.

"Della?"

Neither of them move as they watch each other, and suddenly it's like they're the only two people in the room.

Scrooge can only think of the last time he ever saw her, of her panicked look and desperate voice as he tried to save her. As he couldn't save her. As her face became synonymous with "Transmission Lost," and his world crumbled down through the atmosphere, the remnants drifting off into space.

He has to be dreaming, he tries to convince himself. It's been a while since he last had a dream this torturous and tempting. Her final screams will wake him up any second now, and then he'll spend the rest of the night staring into a cup of ultimately-abandoned tea.

But there are no screams. Only his niece staring wide-eyed back at him, alive and back home.

She's back.

That thought kicks his tail into gear, and his feet begin to shuffle forward on their own. As soon as they do, Della gets up from his chair at the head of the table and does her best to take equal steps, Earth's gravity still acting as a fickle mistress on her senses.

Scrooge's pace gets faster with every step until finally, he closes the distance between them and they wrap their arms around each other in a hug that brings them unsteadily to their knees.

His tears fall through shut eyes and thoughts free their way through clenched teeth into her hair.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, Della girl. I never should've- I thought I lost- I just cannae believe you're back!" he hiccups into her shoulder, squeezing her tighter.

"Shh, I'm back, Uncle Scrooge. I'm back."

While he feels their roles should be reversed right now, Scrooge lets Della's voice in his ear and comforting hands on his back reassure him. They're proof of her presence, and he's not about to let that go anytime soon.

Della's back, and he's never letting go again.

Welcome to my DuckTales one-shots, everybody!

Kickin' things off with some reunion fluff. I've had the image of Scrooge and Della meeting in a hug halfway and just the power of it bringing them to their knees in my head for about a week now, and I finally started typing it down last night. Again, I have no clue what's happening in today's new episode yet, so I wanted to get this out while I still had the chance.

Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing (should you choose to do so)! See ya soon! :)