Charlie left the hospital that morning, joining some of his friends at Goldberg's restaurant.
Guy, Connie, Peter, Adam and Averman were already there-with Goldberg as well, of course.
"It's about time, Conway," Guy lightly punched him on the shoulder as he sat down. "What kept you? You're lucky I didn't eat your slice of pie. You can thank Connie for that."
He'd yet to tell anyone else besides Adam and Peter about the whole situation. For starters, he didn't know how to tell them. But it wasn't like he could keep it hidden forever. They were bound to notice a little kid-well, not little little-following him. Gordon had told him that the Ducks weren't going to judge him, that he could trust them. Charlie knew he was right. But it didn't make it any less difficult.
"Just got held up somewhere," Charlie muttered.
The other four didn't seem to notice anything unusual about him, even after Guy's question.
"We heard from Coach that you got the job," Connie beamed at him.
"Our Captains a teacher now," Guy grinned, patting him on the back.
"How come you didn't tell us?" Averman said.
"Yeah," Goldberg chimed in. "How come we had to find out from Bombay?"
"Sorry," Charlie gave them an apologetic smile, "I was a little distracted last night."
Guy and Averman wolf whistled.
"Well, that certainly explains it," Connie snorted.
"Not like that," Charlie rolled his eyes.
"So you didn't get lucky?" Averman clarified.
"No." He smashed his fork down on the pie, not feeling all that hungry at the moment. "Trust me, far from it."
"Then what's up?" Connie asked, taking a bite from the pie she was sharing with Guy. She reached for it at the exact same time he did, which made them do that thing where they smiled and looked in each other's eyes.
Peter pretended to gag.
He blew out air, not knowing where to begin. "Apparently, my dear old dad gets around," he cut into his pie a little more aggressively than he should've.
"What's that mean?" Guy arched his brow.
"I got a call last night," Charlie shut his eyes, " asking me to take care of my half nephew for a bit."
The four Ducks who weren't aware of this new development, gawked at Charlie.
He averted his eyes, not feeling too comfortable by their staring. "Say something," He mumbled.
Averman recovered first. "A half nephew?" He repeated. "That means-"
"We know what it means, Averman," Guy cut him off. He was still looking at Charlie, his face reflecting his uncertainty. He seemed like he was trying to determine Charlie's feelings for the matter. "And that's...good?"
"It's something," Charlie eventually said.
"I don't believe this," Connie said.
"I couldn't either."
"You just found out last night?" Connie asked.
"Yeah," Charlie ran a hand through his hair. He lowered his voice, in spite of there not being a ton of people around them. "His parents got arrested."
"For what?" Averman asked.
He got elbowed by Connie.
"Ow!"
"It has to be bad," Guy said. "They don't just take them away for no reason."
"It was," Charlie said. "And now they want me to look after him until they find my dad."
"He left that family too, huh?" Peter snorted, ignoring the look he was getting from Connie.
"I guess," Charlie said, shrugging.
"How'd they even find out about you?" Guy asked.
"Beats me. I was just trying to eat dinner and celebrate getting the job when they called me."
Goldberg abruptly stood up and headed for the kitchen.
"Is he okay, at least?" Averman asked. "If his parents got arrested-"
Charlie took a breath. "He's...not good." He couldn't get the images of Logan laying in that hospital bed out of his mind. It was an appetite suppressor, that was for sure. "They put him in the hospital."
Peter shut his eyes, turning his head to face the window.
"Holy crap," Guy muttered.
"I just went to see him earlier," Charlie said, shaking his head as if to shake away the memories.
"But he's going to be okay, right?" Adam asked, frowning.
"Eventually," Charlie said. "The doctor said his injuries weren't life threatening anymore."
"But they had been?" Connie said.
"Yeah," Charlie sighed. "They were."
It made them go quiet, strikingly somber than how they'd been just a few minutes ago.
"So you're going to take him in?" Guy said, curiously.
He felt the eyes of everyone, but especially Adam and Peter, looking at him intently. "Yeah," he said eventually. "I plan on it."
He didn't know how well this was going to do but he would try.
"Wait a sec," Connie spoke up. "How will that work if Coach is using that spare bedroom?"
It sent another round of silence across the table. Adam and Peter glanced at each other, having not thought about that. They weren't the only ones. Charlie's mom and Gordon himself hadn't thought about that.
"That's what I have to talk to him about," Charlie rubbed his face.
"If he needs a place to stay, he can stay at mine," Adam offered. "My place is big enough."
"He might have to," Charlie said. "He doesn't have anywhere else to go."
At that moment, Goldberg returned, setting down a plate of fries and a burger.
"Goldberg, I didn't order-" Charlie started to protest.
"You looked like you needed it," Goldberg said simply. "On the house."
In spite of things, Charlie gave an appreciative smile towards him. "Thanks, Goldie."
Guy swiped a few fries from him, grinning. "If Charlie's not hungry, I'd hate for it to go to waste."
Charlie grinned too, sliding the plate closer to him. "Back off, Germaine."
"Did you ever find out how old he was?" Adam asked, causing the other Ducks to glance his way. "What? He told us-" He gestured to himself and Peter. "-last night."
"I feel left out," Averman mumbled.
"I didn't feel like telling anyone else yet," Charlie said, looking apologetic for the second time. "And to answer your question, he's twelve."
"At least he's not younger," Adam was trying to be positive. "You don't have to potty train him."
Charlie grimaced at the thought. "Yeah."
"It'll work out then," Peter said, reaching over to snatch a fry. Charlie picked up the burger to take a bite. "You'll both be in school."
It would eliminate some of his initial doubts. It wouldn't end up being a conflict of schedule with them both being in the same place.
"So you're really doing it?" Averman said. "You're gonna be a dad to him?"
"Uncle," Charlie corrected. "Kind of. I told him he could call me Charlie."
"What's he like?" Goldberg said.
"Dunno. He barely spoke to me. He wouldn't even look at me."
"Maybe because you look like his dad," Guy said. "Have you seen him yet?"
"How would he if they both got arrested?" Peter looked at Guy like he was stupid.
"Oh, right..."
"No," Charlie shook his head. "He doesn't even look like me so I doubt his dad does."
"Or he could just take after his mom," Connie said reasonably.
"Or that," Charlie conceded.
Guy let out a breath. "You're handling this well."
Charlie lowered his eyes, not wanting to look at Adam or Peter. "Well-"
"I don't know how I'd react to some secret nephew," Averman said.
"I'm sure it'll all be alright," Connie said.
"Yeah," Guy said, giving Charlie a punch to his arm. "You got this, Spazway."
"And we'll be here to help," Connie added.
"Yeah," Goldberg chimed in. "I'll teach him everything I know."
"That's not much," Peter quipped.
That sent laughter around the table. Charlie mustered a thankful smile for them all. "Thanks, Guys."
He hoped Connie was right.
/
Gordon had to go into the office unexpectedly so he wasn't there when Charlie returned. Later on that day, when the sun was close to setting, he found Charlie sitting on the floor, surrounded by paperwork. His knees were pulled up to his chest, his expression blank. He didn't realize Gordon was there until the door shut, causing him to flinch.
"Hey," Gordon greeted and took off his suit jacket.
"Hi," Charlie muttered.
"You look busy," Gordon noted.
"Yeah..."
"How'd it go?" Gordon asked, keeping his eyes on Charlie as if he were studying him and his impending reaction.
Charlie shrugged.
"Is that a good thing or good thing?"
Charlie let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't know what they did to him."
Gordon carefully moved some papers away, coming down to sit beside him.
"I know it wasn't good since they took him away but I didn't expect any of that," Charlie buried his face in his palms. "I didn't think it'd be that bad. I...I thought he was going to have some bruises, maybe a broken arm but- I don't know."
"But it was worse," Gordon said quietly.
"They almost killed him," Charlie kept his eyes on the floor. "He almost died, Gordon."
Gordon gave his shoulder a squeeze. "I can imagine," he said. "I never worked on those kinds of cases myself but I heard some horror stories around the office."
"You should've seen his face," Charlie murmured, rubbing his face. "It was awful. I've never seen-"
He had to shut his eyes as the image came back to him, much more vivid than he would have liked.
"It's difficult to process, isn't it?" Gordon was sympathetic.
"It's not just because of that, it's-" Charlie looked away.
To know that it was done by someone who was technically related to him shook Charlie to his core.
"It's because of who did it?" Gordon guessed. Charlie's answer reflected right across his face. "I know this is a lot to handle."
"Yeah, you're telling me," Charlie let out a humorless snort. "I can't believe I'm related to any of them." It felt like a fever dream-all of this. Maybe it was. Maybe he had one too many slices of pepperoni pizza and this was the consequence. "I just don't get it. How does this happen?"
"How does what happen?" Gordon asked.
Charlie idly played with his shoelaces. "What he went through. How does that happen? I get it but I don't."
"I don't either, Charlie," Gordon shook his head. "Too many people don't deserve their kids."
"Yeah," Charlie muttered.
The conversation dissolved into silence until Gordon broke it.
"Were you able to find out how old he is?" He said.
"Twelve," Charlie said.
"That's not so bad," Gordon said, optimistically.
"No," Charlie conceded. "Guess not."
"So you'll both be in the same school?"
"Yeah."
Gordon nodded. "Do you know when he's going to be released?"
"I dunno. He's still got injuries that need to be looked over. Probably before school starts."
"Which means you'll need that room back," Gordon said before he could think of saying it. Charlie's head snapped in his direction. "I already knew that when you got the call, Charlie."
"But-" Charlie protested. "You just got here. What are you going to do?"
"I'll figure something out," Gordon said simply.
"But-"
"He needs you, Charlie," Gordon cut him off, looking serious. "He needs you more than I need to stay here."
"I know," Charlie realized the seriousness of the situation now. It hadn't occurred to him before that. But it was true. Logan did need him. He needed someone to care. "I just wish it could be both."
Gordon's smile was soft, the one that Charlie had seen directed at him before. "Don't worry about me, Charlie. I'll be alright. Focus on your nephew."
"Logan," Charlie corrected. "His name is Logan."
"Logan," Gordon said with a nod, pleased. "He's going to need a lot from you and you need to be prepared for that."
"You're not the first person to tell me that," Charlie shook his head.
"It's true," Gordon said. "This isn't a normal arrangement, Charlie. He's been through a lot. He needs you to understand that."
"I'm trying," Charlie said and he genuinely was. Seeing Logan like that-he knew he had to step in.
"Everything's going to work out," Gordon said with that air of knowledge that he'd had since Charlie first met him all those years ago.
Charlie wanted to believe it. He did. He just wasn't so sure that he could right now.
"Now," Gordon said, switching up the topic, "you're still going to the school on Monday, right?"
"Yeah," Charlie said. "I'll see my room and get a tour of the place."
Gordon smiled proudly.
"What?" Charlie was starting to smile too. "What's that look for?"
"I'm proud of you," Gordon said simply. "I knew you would end up doing something great."
"I'm just a teacher," Charlie said modestly. "I'm not like you or Kenny or Julie."
"Just a teacher?" Gordon echoed. "Charlie, part of the reason I became a lawyer was because my ninth grade history teacher, who also taught government, told me I would be good at it. He kept encouraging me."
"Really?" Charlie said, curiously.
"Really. Don't think that your job is any less important. How do you think we get lawyers? We need teachers first."
"I guess you're right," Charlie said with a half smile.
"I know I'm right."
Gordon ruffled his hair like he used to.
"I think I'm still in shock," Charlie admitted. "I can't believe I'll actually have my own class soon."
"I remember feeling the same when I was starting out at Ducksworth," Gordon recalled.
"You know, before you quacked at him," Charlie grinned.
Gordon laughed. Charlie knew they'd never let him forget it. "Yes, before that."