It had been months at sea until Stanford Pines had finally managed to get into the habit of sleeping properly and not just when he dozed off at the helm. Even with the waves crashing outside, he'd finally settled into a decent sleep, trusting that his twin brother would be able to steer the boat until he woke up. Waking up came a lot quicker than he'd expected though...

"Ford! Oi, wake up! We've got to get back to Gravity Falls right away!"

Ford groaned as he was rudely brought back from his nap, frowning at Stanley.

"Wh...huh? What are you going on about?"

After a few seconds of taking in Stan's expression and gradually registering his tone of voice, Ford sat upright, much more awake.

"What is it? Has something gone wrong back there? Stan, we're a week away from shore, if this is serious..."

Stan cut off Ford's worried rant but grabbing his shoulders, his expression a mix between excited and terrified.

"Yeah, cos it's a week early! Soos had... I mean Melody.. Gah! They've had their baby!"

Ford relaxed a bit when he realised that Stan was hyped up over something that wasn't about to destroy the earth, patting Stan on the shoulder as he tried to get him to calm down.

"That's great, but we can't go any faster than we already are, you'll just have to wait to see it."

Stan pouted but sighed and gave a short nod, grumbling as he went back to his post. Ford smiled as he laid himself back down, happy to see that eager spark in Stan's eyes, the one that always appeared whenever kids were involved.

Stan barely got a chance to knock on the door of the mystery shack before it was thrown open and pair of strong arms pulled him into a tight hug.

"Mr Pines! It's been so long, I don't think I can ever end this hug!"

Stan forced a chuckle with whatever breath he had left, patting Soos on the back.

"Well you'll have to, Soos... I..ngh... I can't breath!"

Soos beamed at Stan, obediently releasing him from his hug just long enough to pull him into the giftshop and close the door. Stan was happy to see that not much had changed, minus the occasional graffiti of his "founder" statue and a bit of 'baby-proofing'.

"I don't know how you manage it, Soos, I barely kept the place running when it was just me and you've already got it in better shape than I had it!"

Soos flushed red, flattered by Stan's praise.

"Thank you but... We both know you didn't come to check up on the Mystery Shack, huh?"

Stan perked up, looking excited all over again.

"That's right, where is the little tyke?"

Soos lead Stan through to the living room, much more homely now that Melody had gotten her hands on it and cleaned it up a bit. Even the fish tank had a few new residents. In Stan's old armchair, now covered in a few knitted blankets, courtesy of Mabel, was Melody. In her arms lay a small chubby faced little baby, peering curiously up at Stan. Stan let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, holding out a finger for the tiny baby to grip onto.

"Hey there, kid..."

Stan blinked back a few tears of pride, refusing to let Soos see them. Soos smiled fondly, pretending not to notice.

"She likes you."

Stan gave a small scoff, glancing at Soos with a softened expression.

"Eh, at this age they either like everyone or they hate everyone, and I can't see anything that's part you hating anyone."

Melody giggled at Stan's almost paternal behaviour, holding the wrapped up bundle for Stan to hold.

"Have you told him what we've called her yet?"

Soos shook his head, putting a hand on Stan's shoulder with a slightly sheepish smile as Stan cradled the little girl in his arms like an expert.

"Mr Pines, meet Stanley."

Stan's head whipped round to stare in disbelief at Soos, tears filling his eyes again.

"...You're kidding, right?... You're... You're not kidding..."

He bit his lip, looking back at the smiling face of the baby.

"Stanley Ramirez..."

Soos's grip on Stan's shoulder tightened slightly, starting to look a bit nervous.

"Actually... That's something else we wanted to talk to you about."

Soos reached into his Mr Mystery suit, pulling out a wad of papers that could only have been concealed in pockets fitted by an ex-conman. Stan gently swapped Stanley for the papers so he could read them over, eyes widening as he went. He recognised them as the adoption papers he'd printed out years ago incase a teenage Soos had ever lost the last remaining members of his family. The only parts not filled out were places that would need his signature. Soos pulled the papers down from Stan's face slowly, Stanley cradled in one arm as he smiled nervously.

"We were kind of hoping... Aw heck, we want her to be your granddaughter!"

Ford wasn't too surprised when he got a short letter from Stan less than a day later. It arrived at Fiddleford's mansion, where the scientist had been staying during their visits to Gravity Falls. It consisted of a photograph of Stan, looking teary eyed and utterly delighted, with a tiny baby and Soos and Melody on either side of him, and a single piece of paper.

'Suck it, Poindexter! I'm a Grandpa now!'

Well... At least he'd used proper grammar.