Chapter 1 – Tension

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back with a new story. This is a Mabel/Ford bonding story that I had for a while now. Watching DaMvtF made me realize just how much Ford is underestimating Mabel so I had to write this fic.

Enjoy!

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Mabel sighed as she stared at the ceiling of the attic room, wishing for sleep to come. She have been hardly getting any rest lately. She doesn't like this worrying business.

She rolled over for the umpteenth time and glanced over to her brother who was out like a light, sleeping soundly. She just wished she could be like that. There was a nagging feeling at back of her mind that wouldn't go away no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

Besides, Mabel normally isn't the type of person who would worry about things and overthink them all the time. That was more of Dipper's area.

Sighing heavily, she curled up in her blanket and closed her eyes, hoping to at least a get a little bit of rest before the others woke up.

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"Mabel, wake up,"

Mabel slowly stirred and her eyes cracked open to see her brother's face staring down at her.

"Come on, you don't wanna miss breakfast, do you?" he asked as she sat up slowly. It was then he noticed the exhausted look on her face.

"Hey, you okay? You look tired."

Mabel yawned, rubbing the tiredness from her eyes. "I'm fine, just couldn't get much sleep last night."

"Are you sure?" Dipper frowned as he eyed her doubtfully.

"Yeah, don't worry bro!" She grinned and shoved him playfully.

"Okay," Dipper shrugged and headed downstairs. Wasting no time, she quickly changed into her normal attire and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She found Grunkle Stan reading a newspaper while Ford was making something by the stove with Dipper.

Mabel greeted both her grunkles cheerfully before sitting at the table where a plate of pancakes was waiting for her. Grunkle Stan must be in a good mood today. It was then she noticed that Dipper hadn't joined her at the table and so did Stan as he called for him.

"Hey kid, hurry or pancakes will get cold!"

"Oh not today Grunkle Stan. Great Uncle Ford is making something," he replied absently.

Mabel noticed the disappointed look on her uncle's face and quickly chimed in. "Hey it's okay Grunkle Stan. I'll try them." She said and took a mouthful of pancakes into her mouth with a goofy grin. This seemed to put a smile on Stan's face.

"Alright it's ready. Just wait until you try it!" Ford exclaimed as he placed a plate of pancakes of his own making with Dipper not far behind.

The rest of meal was filled with awkward silence that was occasionally broken by Dipper asking Ford questions or Stan and Ford sending each other cold glares. Mabel wanted to ask Dipper if he wanted to hang out with her today, but she couldn't get the chance.

"Alright Dipper, it's time to head back. I still need your help with…..you know what." Ford stated as he eyed him knowingly. Mabel raised an eyebrow in confusion. What was he talking about?

"Oh right!" Dipper beamed and quickly began following their uncle out of the kitchen.

"Can I come too?" Mabel asked hopefully.

Both her brother and uncle tensed at her question. Ford quickly regained his composure. "I'm sorry Mabel, but I only need Dipper."

Dipper sent her an apologetic smile. "Hey, it's probably just more of that complicated science stuff. You wouldn't be interested." He said and with that they both left her alone in the room.

Mabel watched the two leave the room and sighed. This wasn't the first time Dipper left her to go do something with great uncle Ford. She knew she should be happy that her brother was bonding with the author of the journals and she really was, but she hated being left out like this. She and Dipper barely spend any time together anymore.

Mabel knew it wasn't Dipper's fault. It was Ford who didn't want to her to come along with them, but why? Did she do something wrong or does he think she couldn't handle whatever they were working on?

But I can handle it and maybe even help out with their mystery project! Mabel thought as she chewed on a lock of her own hair, something she did whenever she was deep in thought.

Grunkle Stan was in the middle of cleaning the dishes when he noticed the state she was in.

"Hey, chin up sweetie. You could hang out with me once I'm done." He told her with a small smile.

"Okay," Mabel replied, trying to easy the heavy feeling in her chest.

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"So what is exactly do you need help with?" Dipper asked as they made their way downstairs to the lab.

"Well Dipper, while the barrier we built around the house is very effective it won't stop Bill from trying to get his hands on the Rift." Ford explained. "That's why we need to think of a new way to protect it."

"But what else can we do?" Dipper asked, frowning.

"I'm thinking about making a containment unit for the Rift. It might take some time, but it should be enough." He said and walked over to the table where some blueprints were.

That's when the bout of dizziness came. Ford suddenly felt uneasy and his head ached, making him sway a little.

Dipper seemed to notice this and quickly hurried to his side. "Great Uncle Ford, are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"I'm fine…I just…" Ford winced, his vision beginning to blur as his knees finally gave out and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Great Uncle Ford!"

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Stanford slowly regained his senses and opened his eyes to find himself lying on the lab floor. He groaned and massaged his temples as the pain slowly faded. Once his vision cleared he realized he was alone in the room and there was no sign of Dipper anywhere.

"Dipper?" he called out wondering where the boy have gone, but none answered. Did he go to get help when Ford collapsed?

Fearing he might have given the kid a scare, he quickly got back on his feet and made his way back to assure him that he was fine now.

Slowly, the vending machine door swung open and Ford walked out into the gift shop only to be hit with more silence. The gift shop was empty and he couldn't hear any voices in the house at all. Did Stanley take them somewhere while he was out of it?

"Hello? Anyone?" he called out, feeling as if he travelled back in time thirty years ago when he lived in the shack by himself. Where did they go? Did something bad happened to them?

Suddenly, he heard shuffling sounds coming from upstairs. Someone was coming. Feeling his paranoia kicking in, he reach for his gun and silently waited as a colorful figure came from around the corner.

"Freeze!" Ford growled and aimed at the small figure causing it fall backwards to the floor with yelp.

That's when Ford finally got a better look at it and lowered his gun when he realized who he was staring at.

"Mabel?"

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A/N: That's it for the first chapter. Let me know what you think of this with a review.