"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IT'S OUR LAST FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL EVER!" Mabel said as she shook Stan awake, while Dipper did the same for Ford.

"What….wait….first? Last? Which is it?" Stan asked groggily as he wiped his eyes.

"It's our last first day Grunkle Stan!" Mabel said with a giggle.

"Ah Senior year, the endless cusp of possibilities," Ford said wistfully as he wandered out into the hallway.

"Yeah for some…anyways I'm going back to bed. Wake me when you graduate," Stan joked as he rolled over and tried to go back to bed.

Dipper chuckled, "let the old man sleep Mabel, I know where he keeps the recipe for Stan-cakes, and since we're going to college at the end of the year I might as well learn to cook."

This suggestion was enough to raise Stan from the comfort of his bed. "Who says you can use my recipe? They're called Stan-cakes for a reason, not poindexter-cakes! If anyone in this family is cooking them I am!"

Dipper gave Mabel a sly grin. He may not be similar to Stan, but at least he had picked up on how to trigger him.

The four of them had breakfast together; all the while Mabel and Dipper went on and on about senior year and all the excitement that came with it.

Like with most things they were excited about different aspects of the experience. Mabel could hardly wait to create her dream prom dress with Candy and Grenda, while the prospect of being class valedictorian filled Dipper with pride and joy.

One thing that both of them were excited about was college.

"It will be so nice to finally be able to study what I want to study, instead of being forced to learn all that boring stuff Dipper likes!" she said, giving her brother a playful shove.

"I can't wait to go to a school where I can actually feel challenged by the material," Dipper said with a false boastfulness.

Before long it was time for Mabel and Dipper to get going.

"Can we borrow the Stan-mobile?" Dipper begged. "I want all the other seniors to see the coolest car in Gravity Falls," he said, hoping to appeal to Stan's pride in his car.

"Alright, but let Mabel drive! You can't tarnish the Stan-mobile's reputation by following all of the road laws like a goody goody," Stan joked.

Mabel quickly snatched the keys while sticking her tongue out at Dipper. The two shared a laugh, and then they were out the door.

Stan and Ford remained at the kitchen counter, maintaining an awkward silence.

Ford decided to break it, "they grew up fast didn't they?"

"Too fast if you ask me,"

Ford put a caring hand on Stan's shoulder, "they grew up into great people, probably cause they had such great fathers."

"You know, when the kids first came here that first summer I was excited to have the company, but not thrilled with being a glorified babysitter. I thought that as summer went on I would become eager to get them out of here. The exact opposite happened, but when I got that phone call…" Stan's voice trailed off as he remembered that awful phone call. It was one of those moments that was just as vivid now as when it happened.

He took a deep breath, "I never had any doubts about taking them in. They needed to be with family. I knew that I wasn't an ideal caretaker, and I didn't know if I had what it took to help them through that. I just knew that if I released them to the state that they would be separated. I didn't know if they needed me, but I knew they needed each other."

Ford patted his brother's hand, "they needed you too…they really did,"

Stan smiled at his brother. "They needed you too you know?"

Ford sighed, "I'm not sure about that, but I do know I needed them, and you. I needed a family again, I just never imagined I would end up with such a wonderful one," His eyes wondered over to one of the first pictures they had taken as an official family. It was a fishing trip the four of them had taken in Stan's dingy old boat. It certainly wasn't the adventure Ford had in mind, it was a better one than he could have imagined.

Stan followed Ford's line of sight to the picture. He still looked very depressed about everything.

"Hey we aren't losing the kids completely! Those adoption papers mean that whether they want it or not they are stuck with us forever!"

Stan managed a smile at this. "I'll still miss having them around,"

Ford nodded, "I will too, but hey if we've done our job right Dipper and Mabel will be able to take on their next adventure, and as fathers, we get the honor of watching them fly."

"I wonder if ma and pops resent the fact that I fell more than I flew," Stan whispered.

"I can promise you mom didn't, you were her favorite you know?"

This made Stan grin to remember his mother.

Ford cleared his throat, "and as for father, he made choices to not be there for either of us unless it was beneficial to him. I've made peace with the fact that those decisions are on him not us."

Ford smiled proudly at Stan, "you know we've come a long way and done lots of wonderful things as fathers, but I think the best thing is that we broke that cycle of abuse. No matter what path Dipper and Mabel take in their next chapter, they know we are always there for them."

At this the two men gave each other a high-six.