Christmas had come to pass, thankfully without the usual family drama that tended to befall clan McDuck and those close to them. Gyro had been grateful for this as it was his first holiday back with Della, however it didn't mean that drama wasn't soon to come. It wasn't as if he was knowingly crafting an invention that could potentially form a god complex…at present anyway…though the thought of doing that suddenly sounded more appealing.
"Do you think your parents will like me?" Della asked from the couch of the brownstone, fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket.
Despite what some would think, Gyro actually had a pretty civil relationship with his parents despite not talking about them. They were nurturing and understanding of his gifts, allowing him to skip multiple grades and eventually emancipate at the age of fourteen. Sure, there were concerns about his social skills being underdeveloped hence being sent to cotillion among other things at a young age but beyond that..all was well…at least, until he had come back from his time in Japan and the real signs of a strain on a familiar relationship began to show as he made the choice to work with Scrooge instead of moving back to Goston to tinker and toil away at his father's construction company.
July 2007:
It had been nine years since the last time Gyro had stepped foot in Goston…since he saw his family. Sure, they still communicated however some things were better said in person than over the phone which was why he had decided to drive across the country with a three month old in the middle of a heatwave.
As he pulled up toward the driveway, Gyro thought that it looked smaller than he remembered…though he supposed being gone for almost a decade and living in the shadows of McDuck manor during the majority of that time would taint anyone's perspective. Even the ritzier homes he passed on the drive looked like ramshackle cabins in the woods by comparison.
"Home Sweet Home," Gyro muttered, picking up the baby carrier and making his way toward the front door.
"Surprise, You're grandparents," he practiced himself reaching out to ring the doorbell.
He waited a few moments, wondering if perhaps his dad was on a jobsite, or if his mother was in court. For being a genius he realized he probably should have called first. The door soon opened however as a teenage bird soon greeted him.
Did his parents move? He wondered until the figure in the doorway reacted to his presence.
"Is this my older brother or is this a figment of my imagination?" the boy asked, causing Gyro to do a double take upon the realization that this was his brother Gareth.
His kid brother was only eight the last time he'd been home so it made sense that he would be older now.
They had never really been close even in those early years. Sure, it was only a six year age difference however with Gyro's advanced scholastic path it made for a lack of shared interests.
"I can't believe my baby brother is almost as tall as me."
Mentally kicking himself for his comment, Gyro watched as his brother's eyes fell to the baby carrier in his hand.
"Speaking of babies…"
About to open his mouth, Gyro was met with his mother joining Gareth at the door.
"Now this is a surprise," Carlotta spoke.
"Me visiting or me having a child."
"Well, honestly with the way you last attempted to bring life into this world, I would have thought Gareth would be the one to make me a grandmother first."
There was an awkward silence as Carlotta could tell she had made a poor choice in even alluding to 2BO the way she did.
"Anyway, it's too hot to be standing outside like this…we can unpack your car later."
Gyro nodded his head as he stepped inside the house taking a good look around. While things had definitely been replaced and relocated in the last nine years there was definitely an air of familiarity that made him feel as if he had never left for all those years.
"Huey, this is your Granny Lottie and Uncle Gareth," Gyro spoke looking down toward the red blanketed bundle who seemed to finally wake from the nap he'd been taking.
Huey cooed as Carlotta smiled.
"May I hold him."
"Absolutely," Gyro said, lifting up Huey from his carrier and placing the bundle in his mothers arms. As Carlotta took the duckling it was clear that she noticed the simplistic gold band that still clung to Gyro's fingers. Even though Scrooge had spent a significant amount of time and assets in the search for Della without any results in the past few months…nothing could stop Della Duck and thus he remained hopeful for her return and so his wedding band had remained.
"Is that what I think…"
Gyro nodded his head silently.
"Oh, you should have brought her along. I'm sure she's lovely…though letting you travel with your child all the way from Duckburg by your lonesome she must have a good reason …"
"I'm sure you've heard of Mr. McDuck's niece Della."
There were nods between his mother and brother before the moment of realization hit. Their gaze turned toward a sorrow filled one as Fulton stepped into the room.
"Gyro my boy, isn't this a pleasant surprise," Fulton said when suddenly his eyes fell to the blanketed bundle in his wife's arms.
"I have a feeling I missed something."
"Surprise, you have a daughter in law and grandchildren dad. I just felt it would be better to say these things in person."
"Well, where is the lucky woman who managed to steal you away from your studies."
"Scrooge's niece Della dear," Carlotta replied as Gyro watched his fathers expression go from excited to consoling in a nanosecond. It was then that Gyro realized the major freudian slip he had made in answering his father's initial question.
"Wait, did you just say children," Gareth asked, "as in I have more than just this one nephew?"
Sucking in a deep breath, Gyro nodded.
"Yes…and well…no…it's complicated."
"How so son?" Fulton asked as Gyro ram a hand through his hair.
"Della had triplets…boys…Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Before she left on her 'last adventure' she left me a note requesting if anything were to happen for her brother and uncle to each adopt one of the boys."
"Rich People," Gareth said shaking his head, "Am I right"
Gyro glared at his brother's comment before reaching over to carefully take Huey back from his mother.
"Actually, she knew that I was…am planning to go back to school to finally complete my doctoratorial studies and she didn't want to be a single father of three to squash my dream. And she knew that her brother and uncle had their own lives and so by splitting the boys up but still raising them as family it would give them their best chance."
"There are plenty of fine Universities in Goston," Fulton said, "much more prestigious than in Duckburg, I might add."
Gyro nodded. He had very much been aware after all that was where he had done his studies in his tween years. And while the prospect of moving back home for a built in support system did feel tempting he knew that it would be a massive step back.
"My life is in Duckburg dad, and besides I don't want to go against Della's wishes…especially if she were to find her way back."
He could tell by the way his parents and brother looked back at him as he spoke those words of hope that they thought he was delusional however they wouldn't speak this out loud. Instead they just gushed over the newest member of the Gearloose family in between catching up on all of Gyro's Duckburg Adventures.
"They will adore you," Gyro spoke, placing a kiss on Della's head just as the doorbell began to ring causing Huey to run in from the other room eager to grab it.
"Granny Lottie, Papa Fulton," Huey's voice spoke from the doorway as Gyro felt Della's hand give his a squeeze. Looking up, he smiled at the older couple who were in the process of commenting over how much Huey had grown since they had visited Goston over the summer.
"Mom, Dad," Gyro spoke, capturing his parent's attention.
"My boy, this place is not what I was expecting at all." Fulton replied as he gave his son a welcoming pat on the back.
It was then Gyro realized that in the more recent years of reconnecting with his parents they had never actually been in his home in Duckburg before.
"Just because I'm looking toward the next engineering revolution doesn't mean I don't appreciate the classics. And besides I figured it would be more nurturing to raise my son in a warm environment vs a sterile lab."
Sure people thought of him as a mad scientist but he wasn't a monster and at the end of the day he took pleasure in curling up on the couch with a scientific journal and a nice cup of tea.
"Trust me Mr. Gearloose I was pleasantly surprised by Gyro's choice of abode as well, but then when he showed me photos of your place back in Goston it all made sense."
"Well, they call it a classic for a reason," Fulton replied as he took a step towards Della as if to size her up. "Anyway, Mr. Gearloose is my father.. Please call me Fulton after all we are family."
Gyro watched as his mother nodded at his father's statement.
"I love my boys dearly but I always did want a daughter and Gyro did tell me your parents have long passed on so if you want to call us mom and dad we also wouldn't mind."
"Thanks Mrs…Carlotta."
Gyro could tell that Della seemed a bit unsure of calling his parents by their names and he hoped the more she got to know her once and future in-laws she would feel more at ease.
—
They had been sitting in the living room for a while, the initial nervous aura around his fiancé melting away as Della began to open up a bit sharing stories about past adventures while Huey piped in chatting about some of the accolades he'd earned since his last visit.
It was a rare occurrence of the mundane in an otherwise extraordinary life environment. He didn't have much time to revel in the moment however when there was a knock on the door.
Fenton was away, possibly introducing his Abuela to his literal goddess of a girlfriend and Scrooge promised not to invite Della on any adventure until after the new year. With their ever growing list of friends and family however there was a list of endless possibilities. He just hoped it was something along the lines of Donald wanting relationship advice about Daisy or Gladstone wanting to go over floral arrangements over Launchpad needing crime fighting assistance or Penny wanting to be educated on some human idiosyncrasy.
"I'll just be a moment."
"Hey Uncle Gyro," Dewey spoke with a smile as he stood on the stoop with Lena causing Gyro to let out a sigh of relief at the outcome of his visitors.
"Dewey, Lena, this is a pleasant surprise."
"I know I should've texted, but we were in the manner and I noticed that mom had moved her music collection out of her old room and I was hoping to help Lena expand her musical horizons and possibly discover some hidden gems."
There was a moment of silence before Lena tilted her head toward Dewey. It was clear she had sensed that there were already guests in the brownstone and it was clear she didn't want to interfere.
"I'm sure the record store has just as good a selection as your mom Dewey and they probably have some sort of after Christmas clearance sale going on."
As Lena began to attempt to drag Dewey away, Gyro shook his head waving them happily inside.
"Your mom's CDs are more than likely in one of the boxes she has piled in the guest room," he confirmed, "I'm sure she won't mind the two of you going through them but first your grandparents are in the living room."
"My grandparents died in an explo…oh you mean your parents."
Gyro nodded.
"Sure, I'll say hi."
—
Gyro soon arrived back into the living room with the two newcomers as Carlotta stood up approaching Dewey with a smile.
"If it's possible you look even more like your father than Hubert." giving the boy a gentle tap on the shoulder before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Dewey flushed slightly of embarrassment before he and Huey spoke up at the same time.
"It's because I/he has the height gene."
It was true, of the triplets Dewey was at least three inches taller despite being the middle child and while he was very much Donald's son in every other way the height was distinctly from his Gearloose DNA.
"Anyway, it's nice to see you again."
Gyro could tell exchanging pleasantries with his biologically paternal grandparents was a bit awkward for Dewey as while they had met the boy as well as Louie a handful of times through the years it was clear the boys didn't think of them as family… at least not as strongly as the McDuck side of the tree.
"We're going to the guest room to check out the CDs you brought over from the manor… if that's okay."
"There are a couple of hidden bonus tracks on the Powerline Greatest Hits album that will change your life! I know you want to spend time with your grandparents Huey but there will be plenty of time for that later…I hope."
Carlotta and Fulton nodded.
"Okay, I get it, you want to talk about more adult matters… even though we aren't sheltered… I've had more near death experiences at my age than anyone should have in a lifetime."
"But do you regret them?" Both Della and Dewey asked with the kind of facial symmetry that showed without a shadow of a doubt that they were related.
—
Once it was just the four adults in the room there was a moment of silence before Fulton spoke up with a raised brow.
"So, who is Dewey's friend?"
Gyro could tell from his fathers tone that the man assumed that Lena was Dewey's…. no… no…
"Her name is Lena and actually she's our niece."
"She is a friend of my cousin Webby who had an unsavory home life and so my brother Donald took her in."
"Just another branch in your eclectic family tree." Fulton spoke with a chuckle.
Gyro nodded his head. Sure, being normal was vastly overrated but deep down he hoped that whenever his brother decided to settle down and start a family things would take a traditional turn if only for the sake of their parents' sanity.
"I'm just glad I've delighted in making seating charts for this wedding to someone else."
A smile crossed his bill at the mention of his impending nuptials.
"And speaking of the wedding…why don't I have the children change my life with that powerline number."
"Since when do you care for pop music, son?"
"Since I'm sure you want Della to show you the photos of her wedding dress she has password protected on her phone so tight that even I can't hack it mom."
As Carlotta nodded and Gyro began to back out of the room he couldn't help but smile at how Della and his parents had melded together like a well oiled machine. He knew that they would instantly adore her and he couldn't help but picture spending the actual holidays in the future as one big happy family.