It was a rather calm night for Scrooge. Relatively speaking, that is.
Scrooge had done lots of backbreaking, dangerous work through his years, and gone through so many lifespan shortening or ending adventures that he shouldn't even be alive. But none of that, absolutely NONE, could prepare him for raising a child. Some days he couldn't get more than an hour's sleep. Yes, he's slept less, but usually he still had a hard-earned break after about a week. With the infant Rebecca, it was nonstop. Feeding, bathing, changing diapers, getting her to sleep, getting her BACK to sleep after she wakes up and starts crying, and everything else. But, today, she'd been rather calm. Now all he has to do is feed her, burp her, then get her to bed and-
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Scrooge sighs. Rebecca was going to start crying because she would be fed five seconds later than scheduled. Regardless, he sets the bottle on the side table, gets up, and heads to the door, Rebecca in-arm, as the knocking continues. "Hang on! Hang on!" He starts to open the door. "Wot do yew- want?" His frustration changes to shock as he sees, before him, his former partner from SHUSH Agent 22... And his ex-everything Goldie... holding a female duckling with a pink bow wrapped in a blanket in her arms, in almost a perfect mirror of him. "Wo- 22? Goldie?!"
"Seems we both have some explaining to do, eh Scrooge?" Goldie sighs.
Scrooge, without second thought or pause, steps aside and lets them in, heading back to the sitting room and sitting in his chair as the two women sit on a sofa across from him. Scrooge picks up the still warm formula bottle from before and starts to feed a now cranky Rebecca, who hungrily sucks, grabbing at the bottle with her chubby baby hands.
At the same time, Goldie opens up her blouse and starts to breast feed the pink-bowed duckling in her arms, not even caring for decency at the moment.
"Goldie, it's been nearly year. And yew have... a bairn?"
"Yep, and so do you it seems. So, let's cut the chitchat and start with the explanations." Goldie takes a deep breath, and starts to explain from the beginning.
Scrooge was in shock. FOWL had abducted Goldie, impregnated her with a child of his using who knows what methods, and forced her to have said kid. After the shock was gone, he was absolutely enraged. They had DARED to put HIS Goldie through all that? When he finds FOWL and the ones responsible, he will personally make them suffer ten-fold what she went through. But, despite all that, one thing he still couldn't get through his mind.
"But, why? Why would they need a direct descendant of me?" He asks.
"I don't know, but I kept hearing something about needing an heir." Goldie says.
"Wait, heir-" Scrooge freezes in shock, realizing. "The Papyrus."
Beakley nods, having come to the same conclusion. "You did specify as much when you used the Papyrus all those years ago."
"Well, ae suppose." He says, even though he specified 'rightful heirs', and for him, that would mean those who earned their place, blood or not. "Still, an actual daughter?" He asks, wincing at himself as he looks down at Rebecca. "Well, by direct blood ae mean." He corrects himself before burping her, having finished feeding her.
"Yep. She's even got some of your looks ." Goldie remarks as she finishes nursing the pink-bowed duckling, who she promptly burps as well. "Well, the good ones at least." She smirks.
Scrooge rolls his eyes, then stares at Goldie's child for a while, before speaking. "May ae?"
"Sure." Goldie gently hands the pink duckling to Scrooge, who takes her in his other arm as he looks at her. She had his eyes alright, which were looking back at him. Among other features likely yet to develop. "She's beautiful..."
"I'd hope so, given what I went through for her." Goldie remarks. "So, dad, what should we name her? FOWL wanted to call her 'Project 87' or 'Project April', but you can understand why I'd rather not use either of those."
"Hmm... No idea." Scrooge says.
"Well, we can pick a name later. Now, please explain, that." Goldie refers to Rebecca.
"SHE is me niece!" Scrooge snaps, indignant at Rebecca being referred to like a creature or object. "She is- WAS, all ae had left. She's Della's."
"Oh, right... 22 told me on the way here. I'm sorry."
"Not just that, Donald left too, and took the boys. He blames me fer everything... and rightfully so."
"Scrooge..."
"Ae tried talkin' ta him, but he won't even answer my calls." Scrooge sniffs, before changing tone. "Well, if he's goin' ta be like that then fine! Ae donnae need him! Ae'm a father now. Ae've got all the family ae'll need!"
Goldie and Beakley would argue with him, but were far too tired.
"So, what now? I'm a bit too tired talking about anymore of this." Goldie asks.
"Duckworth, set up some bedrooms fer them." Scrooge requests.
"Just one, you know I'm fine in Scrooge's." Goldie says as she gets up and heads there.
By the time Goldie was showered and in a set of pajamas she keeps at the manor, a crib had been set up for Webby, and Scrooge was sitting in a chair, humming a tune to the two infants. "Well will you look at that? Seems someone is ready to be a father." She says, taking a seat next to him.
Scrooge almost jumps out of the chair, startled. "Ae had Duckworth bring a crib in here from the nursery. We'll probably move it back in there after a while so the two lassies can share a room."
"Hmm, so despite everything you still wanna go through with this?"
"The lass is still my blood, and ae intend ta make her my co-heir with Rebecca. But this time, without FOWL controlling her"
"Fair."
They look at the two for a while, Rebecca fast asleep while Webby gets excited at seeing her mother.
"So... How are you?"
"I've been... better. To say it was a nightmare would be an understatement. But, she at least made it bearable." Goldie smiles at Webby, who lets out a big yawn, almost disproportionate for her size. "Seems she's had a long day as well."
"Then let's get some rest. We can sort everything out in the morning. Fer one, ae've been needing rest fer the past weeks. Caring fer a child alone is not easy."
"Trust me, it isn't."
As Goldie settles into bed, Scrooge puts the two babies away, Webby in the crib on Goldie's side, Rebecca in the crib on his.
He then gets in bed with Goldie, and pulls her close.
Finally, Goldie knew she and her baby were safe, and could relax at last.
The next morning, Goldie awoke alone in bed. Webby was was still asleep beside her while Rebecca was being tended to by Beakley, who was feeding her some formula. Goldie sat up, to which Beakley finally noticed her.
"Good morning." Beakley nods. "McDuck and I thought we would let you sleep in, given everything."
"Fair. So, given you are feeding that one, I should probably feed mine." Goldie says as she picks up Webby, who wakes and coos, before things go quite as the two infants are fed. Goldie looks at her daughter, lovingly. "She saved my life, you know."
"Hmm?"
"Turns out, she's allergic to standard formula and wouldn't take it. They tried to get rid of me right after, but she got sick. Wanted to raise her with machines and no contact nor comfort. Didn't actually want anything to do with her. She almost died three days after she hatched."
"That's awful. Everyone knows infants REQUIRE regular contact, especially in their early days."
"Yep, they finally brought me in and by just holding and feeding her she started to get better. Even after all that, they only let me be with her during feeding times. The absolute..." Goldie almost slips up, but remembers she is in the presence of infants, including her own. "Cretins."
"That we can agree on."
The babies are soon finished eating and the two women burp them.
"What about you, Beakley? You have any kids?"
"A daughter. She, recently passed."
"I'm sorry."
"It is something I am learning to deal with. And is partly why I sympathize with you."
"Thanks." Goldie rocks and bounces Webby very gently. "Where is Scrooge, by the way?"
"Helping Duckworth make breakfast. He should be back any-"
"So, how are my two little girls doing?" Scrooge asks as he enters, carrying a breakfast tray that he puts on the nightstand.
"Very well. Properly fed and tended to." Beakley says, setting Rebecca in her crib.
"Yep, not causing any issues... yet." Goldie teases as she hands Webby to Scrooge, then taking the tray into her lap. "Say, how long until they can stop breastfeeding?" She asks as she starts to eat.
"Six months, give or take." Beakley says, a tad suspicious.
"Good, I'll stick around until then."
"What?!" Scrooge and Beakley ask as one.
"Goldie, ae know being a mother isn't... yew... but ae want to do this together. A chance fer us that we never had before. Two beautiful little girls ta raise." Scrooge half-pleads.
"Scrooge, as much as I am flattered by the offer, I'm not the best influence after all."
"Goldie..."
"If I may interject, I can protect you both from FOWL if that is your concern." Beakley suggests.
"I can take care of myself." Goldie argues.
"Yew say that in spite of what yew JUST went through. Please, just stay a while and try. Then we can talk. Please." Scrooge pleads.
Goldie sighs. "Fine. But I am doing it for her, not for your... family fantasy." She looks at how Scrooge cradles the baby tight and lovingly, almost a natural. "So, any ideas for a name? I tried since she hatched and could think of nothing good."
"Perhaps, Prudence?" Scrooge suggests.
"Good god Scrooge, don't make her life worse than it has been. A name like that will get her picked on."
"Ae'm not the best at names, okay? And this was all so sudden! Took me a month to think of 'Rebecca', and that was after 30 weeks, a month of which was waiting for her to hatch after losing the others."
"...Webbigail." Beakley says suddenly, looking at the baby.
"What?" Scrooge and Goldie say, caught off guard as they look at Beakley.
"Webbigail, or Webby for short. A variant of Abigail."
"'Father's joy'... Fitting." Goldie admits. "Why that name?"
"My daughter considered it for when she had kids." Beakley says, a tad somberly.
"Webby McDuck... It's perfect." Scrooge says teary-eyed, looking at his daughter, who giggles at him.
"Webby McDuck..." Goldie tests. "Yeah, it really is."