HAT: Okay, next chapter. As you can tell, this story has the Stans right (unlike the others, but dang it, I'm not changing them in the middle of the story or going back and correcting it!)... let's see how else I mess up my favorite character! Eventually... enjoy!

Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls would I make fanfictions about it?... probably, but regardless, I don't own Gravity Falls or its characters.


The entire next two days whenever Stanley sees his brother he feels like one of his science experiments because he's being observed so closely. Stanley hadn't had another nightmare in that time, but he had practically gone out of her way to make sure that he saw the twins at least once a day. He had to make physical contact every time he saw them- whether it's a ruffle of the hair or a nudge for whatever joke he made or something along those lines. He had to make sure that they were real because that nightmare felt like it had actually happened and if he doesn't check then he's afraid that it would going to become reality.

"Dude, is it me or is Mr. Pines getting a little more touchy with you two?" Wendy asks when her boss leaves the room for a tour, he had ruffled both of their hair.

"Yeah, I've been noticing that," Dipper murmurs as he listens to the familiar voice weave tails about his exhibits. "It's weird."

Soos narrows his eyes. "Yeah... Mr. Pines isn't really a guy that shows a lot of physical affection."

"Do you think the shapeshifter's back?" Mabel asks.

"No, Uncle 'Ford checked and he was frozen still," Dipper reassures. "But there could be others..."

There could have been, but that was not the case and all of them knew it somewhere in the back of their mind. There was something more and the younger set of Pines twins are determined to find out what is wrong with their great uncle.

Too bad he was unwilling to let anyone find out what was wrong with him. Stanley had already broken his silent promise to always be the strong one, to never cry and if he does to not in front of anyone, and he broke that the second he went into the twins' bedroom. He had further broke it- possibly beyond repair- when he gave up and cried like an inconsolable child with his brother. Stanford knowing how weak he could be was bad enough, but if his niece and nephew- or even his employees- found out, he's sure that he's ruined. He can't face the pity if they knew what really happened that morning.

Get it out of your mind, 'Lee, he tells himself as he twirls his cane absentmindedly. He wouldn't admit it- even to himself- but the nightmare shook him to the core. The thought of losing two of the people that meant the entire world to him was devastating to think about and he knew he'd give every single penny he had to get them back if he had to. People may not have known he'd go that far for them, but if punching a pterodactyl in the face just to save his great-niece's pig that he doesn't particularly care for is any indication, then it would be very plausible for him to give up everything for them.

"Grunkle Stan, is everything okay?"

He blinks and looks down at his niece and- as he's been doing for the past two days- reaches down and ruffles her hair to feel the warmth of her head under his fingers to be sure that she is alive and real. "Yeah, kid! Whydoyaask?"

"Well, that," she answers, pointing to her head. "You hardly ever do that and now all of a sudden you're all over me and Dipper."

Didn't think of that. "Maybe... you two grew on me," he admits reluctantly, but it's better than telling her about what he'd seen in his nightmare.

The claw marks from her ear to her neck, the blood- so much blood- her unseeing eyes, the-

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel shouts, shaking him as best as she can with her tiny hands clenching his coat.

He blinks and puts a hand on her head to- again- reassure himself that she is real. "What?" His voice comes out horse and thick so he clears his throat and speaks, the thick feeling still in his throat, but it's much clearer, "What?"

"You're crying."

He blinks in surprise and puts his cane under his arm and uses the newly freed hand to touch his cheeks to find them moist. He glances down at her worried face and then forces himself to smile and lie- one of the things he does best.

"I finally got it. Now I can make myself cry at will- make some extra money off of sympathy," he says with fake pride. "Been trying to do that for a few days, sorry to worry you."

"Then why's your hand still on my head?"

He shrugs and drops his hand quickly. "Gotta get ready for the tour- stay inside the Shack, would ya? No monster hunting."

"Why?"

"Because I said," he grumbles.

The day he had a breakdown and they went monster hunting he had very nearly lost his mind. He'd ask Soos and Wendy if they'd "seen the knuckleheads" in between tours and when they'd not seen them he'd go back to giving tours with a heavy heart and the nightmare replaying over again. After that he more or less forbade them from monster hunting with the same excuse as he just gave his niece. He couldn't let them out, he had to keep them safe and away from all the monsters that could kill them.

"That's not an answer! Grunkle Stan, what's really going on?"

He crosses his arms and glances toward the door he'd been trying to escape through. "Listen, Mabel, it's dangerous out there... You and your brother always go looking for trouble and I'll be da- deranged if you two got hurt because you two couldn't keep your noses out of it."

"But we don't always go looking..."

He sighs. "I know kid, but could you at least try for me? I'd appreciate it... a lot."

She observes him for a few moments- behind the mask of disgruntled worry, was genuine fear in his eyes that compels her to comply with his demands- and then finally nods. "Okay."

His stiff shoulders relax. "Thanks. Now... go play with your grappling hook or something."

She runs back into the gift shop while her great uncle walks into the museum.

Dipper gets up from his seat when he sees his twin enter. "Do you know what's going on with Grunkle Stan?"

Mabel had always been better at figuring people out and their uncle was one that she'd managed to read better than anyone else could read him. Dipper figured that Stan would be more open with his niece and that's why he had sent his sister to talk to him instead of going with her.

"Well... he seems worried," she admits.

"About what?" Wendy asks, curiosity peaked.

"I don't know. Me and Dipper, I guess. He didn't want us to go monster hunting at all," she informs before biting her bottom lip while wondering if she should tell them that she'd seen him crying.

Sure, he had said that it was because he wanted to get sympathy money, but the look in his eyes scared her. It looked like his entire world were falling apart and- despite how his brown eyes were looking at her- he couldn't see her and he wasn't looking at her, but at something distant- perhaps a memory? Either way, it wasn't good. He was looking past her at something that was tearing him up inside and it scared her to think that her fearless uncle could be so afraid of something that it would bring him- literally- to tears.

"What're you holding back?" Dipper demands, knowing her better than anyone and knowing when she wants to say something, but doesn't know if she should.

Grunkle Stan wouldn't like it, she decides and shakes her head.

"Did he do something to you?" Soos asks with a seriousness that most wouldn't associate with the large man-child.

"No!" She shouts, defending her great uncle- she knows he wouldn't do anything to her or Dipper and she's confident that even Bill couldn't make him hurt them. She can't tell them that he was crying, but she can tell them a little. So with a sigh she says, "He's... he's scared. I don't know what it is, but he looked like he was just waiting for something bad to happen and he couldn't do anything to stop it... I think something's wrong that he isn't telling us."

Her brother shares a look with Soos and Wendy before turning to him. "Are you sure?"

She stomps her foot in frustration at the fact that none of them seem to believe her. "You didn't see what I saw! Grunkle Stan's scared and worried about us!"

I saw him crying! Something bad's happening! She screams in her head, but she keeps these thoughts to herself.

Dipper holds his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, I believe you. Calm down."

She takes a few calming breaths before moving a stray hair out of her face with a pout. "I'm scared that something's wrong... what if something happened to mom and dad and he's scared to tell us? Or what if something happened to him?"

"I'm sure Grunkle Stan would tell us... right?" Dipper asks, glancing towards everyone.

"C'mon, Dipper, this is Grunkle Stan," Mabel deadpans.

"Yeah... you're right..."


Stanley: *pinches the brig of his nose* HAT...

HAT: Yes?

Stanley: You're really gonna fu-udge my life up in this story aren't you?

HAT: *nods* Yep. Nothing personal, I just- for some reason- ruin the lives of my favorite characters.

Stanley: How'd you ruin your favorite character of your last fandom in one story?

HAT: *laughs nervously* Um... dad went insane and killed his mom, ran away with his little sister and got separated, ended up a slave for three years and when he reunited with his sister she hated him, dad and slave trader show up and nearly kills him, his dad puts a spell on him to make him kill his new mother figure, dad tortures him, his girlfriend and little brother figure, and his dad snaps back to sanity after he saves him from a wild animal but dies anyway. *smiles nervously*

Stanley: *stares blankly at her* I'm doomed...

HATL *nods* Aaaa little.

Stanley: *sighs* Review. *turns and sees HAT gone and a black hole where she was standing* Well, crap...