So, hello! I'm totally new to writing for Gravity Falls, though I've wanted to for literally about a year now. The idea for this struck me a couple months ago, and I finally typed it up. This will be about four chapters, I imagine, and I have the second chapter done, and the third is in the works. I'll update in a few days if this gets a nice response.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

It was a sunny Tuesday and the twins were ushered to get a move on and get onto the car. Grunkle Stan had decided they were going to have a family day, and they were going hiking. Mabel was relatively excited, as per usual, and was sing-songing about the adventure that awaited them. Dipper, on the other hand, seemed irritated at having to get up early. He picked at his breakfast and dragged his feet getting in Stan's car.

"Yeesh, kid, cool it with the enthusiasm, you're killin' me here," Stan joked, revving up the engine as they made their departure.

"Yeah! Come on Dipper, stop being so grumpy!" Mabel interjected. Dipper just sighed in response, focusing on the window and scenery flying by them. They were driving about an hour and a half out to get to the place where they were going to be hiking. He couldn't help but wish he was able to go back to his bed and go to sleep. He guessed he hadn't slept well. He let his head fall against the window and he drifted off to sleep.

When he awoke again, only perhaps twenty minutes later, he felt even more groggy and tired than he did before. He felt too hot and his stomach was gurgling and it was too stuffy and he longed to get out of this car.

"Grunkle Stan, how much longer?" He asked.

"Look, kid, you start askin' me that and the ride's gonna feel even longer."

He tried to go to sleep again, but something was keeping him from doing so despite how tired he felt. He tried to sit still and look out the window to keep distracted.

He might have been okay just looking out the window if the gurgling in his stomach wasn't getting uncomfortable and if it wasn't so hot in this car. He managed for another few minutes when he began feeling nauseous.

He gulped hard and tried to ignore the saliva that was filling his mouth along with the taste of pennies in his throat. His face paled. He knew all too well what was next.

He brought his hands to his midsection and groaned miserably. Mabel turned her attention to her twin, immediately concerned.

"Dipper? Are you okay?" She asked.

Dipper ignored her question and urgently addressed Stan.

"Grunkle Stan, pull over," he moaned.

"Why do I need to-"

"Just do it!"

Grunkle Stan quickly pulled the car off the road and into the grass. Dipper wasted no time throwing the door open and leaning out to vomit into the grass. Mabel patted his back as he emptied his stomach. He groaned and coughed weakly when he was finished, feeling as though he'd just puked out every fiber of strength his body might have possessed.

Stan cursed under his breath. "Y'alright, kid? Carsick?"

Dipper would have answered, but there was a gnawing ache in the base of his stomach that made him scared he'd puke again if he tried to reply.

"Hold on," He said, and got out of the car to walk around to the trunk. He had a lot of miscellaneous stuff laying around back there, one of which being a big brown paper bag from a grocery store. He opened up Dipper's side of the car and passed him the bag.

"Keep that close," he was told, and he miserably nodded in response, closing his eyes. He felt his uncle's calloused hand brush his forehead.

"Alright, knuckleheads, we're headin' home. Dipper's got a fever," he concluded. He got back in the driver's seat and turned the car around, heading back.

Dipper laid his head in Mabel's lap, feeling awful for ruining the plans his uncle had set for the three of them.

The first twenty minutes of the forty minute ride back were bearable, but the second twenty minutes Dipper increasingly felt worse and worse.

"Grunkle Stan…how much longer?"

"About fifteen minutes, kid. You uh, okay?

Dipper shook his head no, and the car was pulled off into the grass. He opened the door and leaned out to throw up again. Once again, Mabel reached over to rub his back and he slowly pulled himself back in when he was done, and set his head in his sister's lap.

"Aw, Dipper, your face is white as a sheet!" Mabel exclaimed.

He weakly acknowledged her with a grunt, and managed to drift off for the rest of the ride home.

As promised, fifteen minutes later Dipper was being led out of the car and to his room by Grunkle Stan. He hung his head in shame as he trudged, exhausted, up the stairs.

Upon returning to the attic that served as a bedroom to him and his sister, Grunkle Stan helped him out of his vest and put his hat elsewhere while Dipper slipped off his shoes. He stumbled forward on wobbly, weak legs and let himself collapse into the soft bliss of his bed on his aching body. Stan cleared his throat and awkwardly laid a blanket over his great nephew before telling him to yell if he needed anything before leaving him to sleep.

Dipper curled up underneath his blanket and nestled down to go to sleep.

...

The rest of the day passed in a strange pattern of sleeping and being awoken just slightly by someone checking his fever or propping him up and murmuring for him to take a sip of something sweet and bubbly from a straw.

He awoke again in the early evening at the feeling of a different hand on his forehead. It was just early enough for it not to be pitch black where he couldn't see a thing, but still too dark for his weary eyes to make out who was sitting on the side of his mattress touching his face. He blurted out a delirious, illogical guess.

"…Mom?" He croaked hopefully.

"'Fraid not kid, sorry. Just Wendy. Your uncle asked me to come up and check on you. You holding up okay?"

Dipper felt his face heat up with embarrassment. He began struggling to sit up before two hands on his shoulders ushered him back down.

"Hey, relax."

He huffed a sigh and meekly did as he was told, mainly because he was feeling too weak to sit up anyway. Wendy gave him a sympathetic half-smile. "You want anything?"

He just shook his head.

"You sure?" She asked. He nodded silently.

"Okay," She said, squeezing his hand. "Well, my shift is over, so I'm heading home, but I hope you feel better tomorrow, dork."

Dipper gave a sheepish nod in response, his eyes falling shut before she even left the room. He slipped asleep once again.

...

"Diiiipper, wake uuuup," Mabel hummed to her brother, trying to awaken him gently.

"Nngh…" He groaned.

"Dipper, time to eat!" Mabel said exuberantly. "I made you chicken soup and toast and there's ginger ale that Grunkle Stan bought! You don't even have to get out of bed! C'mon, sit up!"

"I'm not hungry…" Dipper mumbled, feeling his stomach turn at the thought of food.

"You need to at least try! C'mon!" She urged.

Dipper gave in and sat up, struggling a little to do so. Mabel immediately lifted the tray off the nightstand and set it on her twin's lap. Dipper queasily examined his options. There was a bowl full of yellowy-orange broth and a piece of plain toast, along with a few saltines off to the side. He reached for a saltine and carefully began nibbling the edges off, and found after a few tiny swallows that he could give eating a try. He finished off two crackers and a bite of his toast, and about half of the soup. He had a few swallows of ginger ale before he pushed the tray away, unable to eat any more.

"You did even better than I thought!" Mabel told him, before lifted the tray off of his lap and slipping out of the room to discard the uneaten food.

Dipper crossed his arms over his middle and sat back, looking at the window and how dark it was outside. He thought about the journal and all the stuff that might be out there and how disappointing it was knowing he probably wouldn't feel up to investigating anything by tomorrow. Whatever he'd come down with was completely sucking up all of his energy.

By the time Mabel returned to the room, Dipper was beginning to drift off again, so she quietly turned off the light and pulled his blanket up. She quietly got herself into bed as well, keeping Waddles close.

Dipper's dreams were filled with heat. He was inside of the Mystery Shack as it was on fire, and he was trapped in the attic. He kept trying to find a way out, but it seemed there was none, and it was getting hotter and hotter. He just…needed to find a way out…just needed to get where it was cooler and where he could breathe. He looked toward the attic window, and figuring he had no other choice, made a dash for it in order to try and break out. He ran toward it, his body seemingly on fire, and…

…stared up at the ceiling. He felt a momentary relief before his face flushed hot and he became aware that he was going to throw up. He bolted upright and made an attempt to swing his legs over the side of the bed but found he was sufficiently tangled. He turned his head over the side of the bed in a weak attempt to prevent a mess and threw up all over the floor.

He found himself whimpering miserably from the pain and distress of vomiting, and soon enough, Mabel was awake and inching her way around the puddle of vomit, trying her best to comfort her brother, figure out what to do, and remain calm all at once.

"Okay, okay, um…Dipper, come on, let's go to the bathroom and clean you up, okay? It's gonna be fine, I'll get Stan, or-or call mom or something…" She whispered, being as gentle as she could. She clambered up onto the end of his bed and helped him to scoot to the end as to avoid the puddle on the floor. She took his hands and helped him stand up on his wobbly legs and pulled one of his arms over her shoulder to keep his drooping body upright. Dipper leant heavily on his twin as she led him down the stairs to the closest bathroom.

"Mabel," He managed to stammer, "I-I'm gonna throw up again."

Mabel moved quickly, shuffling Dipper to kneel down in front of the toilet and placing her hand in between his shoulder blades, tenderly rubbing circles in his back, the same way he had for her once when she'd come down with the stomach flu and was stuck in the nurse's office throwing up when school was still in session.

He vomited until he was having spells of dry heaving, his body desperate to rid itself of something that wasn't there. When the heaves subsided, he was left burning up with a fever, a sore throat, a throbbing headache, and a near-limp shivering body.

"Wait here. I'm going to go get Grunkle Stan," Mabel told him after she scooted him so he was propped up in the corner created by the wall and the bathtub. He merely nodded and pulled his shaky arms and legs closer to himself as chills raked his body.

He must have dozed off because next thing he was aware of was Stan prodding a thermometer in his mouth with Mabel crouching close behind. He allowed the thermometer and dully registered his great uncle's sound of worried discontent at the reading. That couldn't have been a good sign. His face was wiped with a cold, damp wash cloth and the sweat-drenched shirt he was wearing was pulled over his head, and his upper body was wiped down by the damp cloth as well.

He sat limply, miserably allowing his sister and great uncle to take care of him, but wishing only to be back in bed. He felt a pang of real, heart-wrenching homesickness for the first time since arriving in Gravity Falls. He missed his bed at home and his mom and felt his heart ache.

Grunkle Stan was gruffly instructing him to take the two blue pills he was holding out to him along with a water bottle. He followed instructions without complaint. He was far too tired to complain. Next he was handed a little medicine cup full of bubblegum pink Pepto-Bismol. He begrudgingly tossed it back and groaned a little at the taste. He was passed the water bottle again and took as small a sip as was possible to clear the taste before he handed it back.

He was just beginning to wonder if he even had the strength to walk up a flight of stairs when Stan gathered Dipper into his arms, and began heading for the couch. He was laid down, covered with a blanket and a large plastic mixing bowl was set on his lap in case his stomach rebelled any further. He was just grateful to be lying down.

"You can go back to your bed after we clean up in the room, okay?" She asked softly, patting her twin's hand. Dipper's heart sank when he remembered the events of earlier and he felt a lump in his throat and tears sting his eyes.

"Mabel?" He croaked miserably.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sitting down on the edge of the couch, her hand gravitating toward the bowl, as if fearing he was going to say he needed to throw up.

"I feel really homesick," He whispered, trying to hide how close to crying he was.

"Aw, Dip, it's just because you don't feel well! I bet I'd want to go home and see Mom if I were as sick as you right now. But Grunkle Stan is doing better than we would've thought! Right? Once you get better you won't feel so homesick, I promise."

Dipper nodded, trying his best to tell himself that Mabel was right. But right then all his brain wanted was his home and his bed and (in all honesty) his mother. He turned on his side and tucked his arms over his aching midsection, deciding to close his eyes and rest while he had a chance. Mabel silently slipped from the side of the couch and went to go help Stan.

...

Dipper awoke to find that he was being laid down in his bed, his blankets pulled up over his shoulders. He sighed softly, and wasn't sure he'd ever been so happy to be in bed.

"Kid, there's a wastebasket by the bed if you…uh, need it. And a glass of water over here. Anything else you want, or…need? Or whatever?" Stan asked.

"Um…another blanket?" He stammered after a moment of thought, feeling distantly guilty for troubling him.

"Sure," He replied, and soon enough he felt the slight weight of another blanket settle over him. The lights in the room were turned off and Grunkle Stan muttered something to Mabel he didn't quite make out. He quickly fell into the sacred depths of much-needed sleep.

Aaaand there we have Chapter One! If this gets a good response, I'll continue updating! Thanks for reading, and reviews are SO greatly appreciated (and = faster updates!).