Hello, and welcome to this weird chapter of this weird story.
I hope you enjoy it (or not)
Here it goes.
Chapter 3: What to do
Ford opened his eyes and looked with confusion the room he was in, why was he in the attic…?
Suddenly, all his memories of the last day appeared in his mind and he looked at his lap, where Mabel was sleeping peacefully.
Just the thought of her waking up and facing the day made Ford's heart ache, so he carefully put the girl on her bed and stood up.
When he opened the room's door, a teen fell into the room.
"Dipper?" Ford looked at him with confusion before glancing back at the girl. He sighed in relief when he saw her still asleep "What were you doing at the door?" he asked to the boy.
Dipper stood up while grimacing due the unceremonious fall, however, he looked nervously at his grunkle before answering "I… woke up last night with Mabel's cries, I got worried so I came here, but… that didn't seem like a good idea, so I only stayed here"
Ford sighed before smiling sadly at the boy "It seems as if everything will be more challenging from now on, so, how about we have breakfast before that?"
The boy agreed and, minutes later, the two of them were in the kitchen. Ford took his usual cup of coffee while Dipper tried to cook some pancakes.
"They will be good for Mabel" he said. "I'm sure"
After a little while, breakfast was ready and a sleepy Mabel entered the kitchen.
"Hi" she greeted with little emotion. Dipper quickly went to her side and put a plate of pancakes in front of her.
"Want some?"
Mabel wiped the tiredness from her eyes before smiling a little "Sure"
Dipper was right, the delicious breakfast cheered Mabel up a little. She was smiling with every bite while her brother told her about a movie he saw last afternoon.
Ford smiled a little at the two, happy with the fact that the two twins were feeling a little better; however, soon Stan entered the kitchen and, with him, the memories of yesterday.
Dipper shut up abruptly and Mabel avoided eye contact with her grunkle, while Ford watched worriedly at his twin.
"Geez, sorry for breaking the mood" Stan said while rolling his eyes "But I like to have breakfast too, you know?" Stan prepared a cup of coffee for himself and took a sit in the table before asking: "How did you sleep, Mabel?"
"I couldn't sleep at first, but after a while I was okay." The girl answered nervously
Dipper gave Ford a knowing look. Both of them knew that he comforting Mabel was what helped her, however they didn't know if it was a good idea for Stan to know that.
"Well, that's okay" Stan sighed "Look, I hate to take the "responsible adult" part but we need to know what are we gonna do with this.
Mabel started to play with her hair anxiously "I know"
"First things first" Stan gave a deep breath before asking his next question "Do you want to have the kid? Or would you rather… have an abortion?"
Mabel's eyes widened at the sudden question while Dipper put a hand on her shoulder to give her some courage to speak. Ford could only watch with worry at the teen; he knew the question was difficult, but it was important.
"I… I couldn't" Mabel shook his head as if trying to get rid of a bad thought "I know that is necessary in some cases but… I can't… I can't get rid of the baby." Mabel gave a shaky breath "I don't want to…"
"That's okay sweetheart, don't push yourself" Ford felt the sudden urge to speak. Ignoring his brother's angry look, he continued "We won't force you to go through something you don't want."
Mabel seemed to feel better at those words and relaxed a little bit.
"There's also the option of adoption" Stan said, when Mabel looked ready for another statement.
The girl played nervously with her hair "I don't know… I mean… It's mine, I don't know if I could deal with knowing that he… or she is with other people… I… I know it sounds stupid but…" Her lip trembled a little.
"That' understandable" Dipper commented "Besides… there might be some issues due the… you know, genes of the baby, right?"
That was a fair point.
"While there is a considerable risk for the baby to have health issues due our DNA, they might be not as bad" Ford answered, while avoiding his family's gaze.
Mabel hugged herself in her seat "I don't want the baby to have health problems" she said miserably.
Stan sighed "We can't do anything about that now, pumpkin"
"There is another issue we need to worry about" Ford commented without joy "We need to tell your parents about this"
Mabel eyes widened in horror and Dipper gulped. Both young twins looked like they completely forgot about that.
"They can't know" Mabel eyes threatened with letting some tears fall "They can't know. I mean…"
"C-calm down" Dipper tried to comfort her, in vain "They might listen to us"
Mabel shook her head "Mom said… Mom said my… first time had to be special… and… and now this…"
Mabel's eyes filled with tears and, before ayone could say something, she put her hands over her face and began to give small sobs.
The three men in the room looked at each other, not knowing what to say to make her feel better.
"Hey, pumpkin, come on, stop crying" Stan went closer to her and caressed her hair "I know it's hard, but you need to be strong for a little moment, so we can sort this out, okay?"
Mabel, after a few seconds, nodded and slowly raised her head.
"What do we say to them?" she asked before having a small hiccup "Do… we tell them the truth?"
"No way" Dipper was the one who answered "First of all, they don't know about grunkle Ford, and second… they would get him in trouble, no matter what we say"
Ford pinched the bridge of his nose at this. Of course it was a bad idea to tell the truth, but then…
"In that case, what can we say?" he asked to the air, and soon, he noticed Stan playing nervously with his fingers "Got any ideas?"
"You won't like it" Stan answered with a sigh, "but I think it's our best shot"
"Well, tell us about it"
Stan looked apologetically to his niece before answering "We can say what I thought happened" he said "Mabel met someone at the concert and… now she is pregnant"
Mabel looked away at her grunkle's words "I… don't like that"
Honestly, Ford didn't either, but what else could they do?
"We will handle that later" the scientist said to her "For now, finish your breakfast"
Mabel looked away from her plate "I'm not hungry anymore"
"Come on, Mabel" Dipper sighed at her sister's mood "You need to eat more"
"I will vomit it anyway" she said with sadness, making Ford think about other issue.
"Doctor's appointments" he said to no one, making his family looked confused "We need to take you to a doctor"
"Right" Stan facepalmed "I forgot about that"
"I'll make an appointment as soon as possible" Ford said to his niece "Being a teen can make you have a more risky pregnancy" seeing Mabel's worried look, he added: "Don't worry, we'll make sure you get the adequate attention "
The teen girl looked down at the table "Grunkle Stan, grunkle Ford…sorry for giving you so much trouble."
Stan sighed "Don't say that, pumpkin" the man smiled at her "We will handle this"
Later, the family was in the living room while Dipper called their parents so they could have a small videochat in the afternoon. The boy controlled his voice very well, but anyone could notice that he was pretty nervous.
"We'll do the videochat at 2 pm" he informed to everyone in the living room "Oh boy" he added to himself while letting himself fall on the sofa.
Mabel didn't look any better, she was sitting on the floor, trying to knit, but her hands were shaking too much.
"Stanley" Ford made his brother some hand gestures. Stan got the message and the two of them went to the kitchen for some privacy.
"What do you want?" Stanley's frown gave away how mad he still was at his brother, however, it was also noticeable that he was curious about what his twin had to say.
"You know the teen's parents better than I do, how do you think they'll react?"
Stan looked away and scratch his neck nervously "I couldn't say. I've seen them just a few times, they look nice, but you never know how a parent can react with something like this" he answered "They didn't believe Mabel's letters where she explained your existence, I don't know if they will be open to explanations from the twins in this situation."
At exactly 2 pm, there was a laptop in the living room' sofa. Dipper, Mabel and Stan, who had his working suit, were in front of it. Ford was hidden in the living room's entrance, listening to everything.
"Hi!" a black-haired woman greeted happily. Her face was as round as Mabel's and Dipper's and had big blue eyes. Her smile was very similar to Mabel's.
At her side, was a man with brown hair and dark eyes. He had fluffier hair and his face wasn't as round as his wife's. He also smiled at the screen, though not as energetically.
"Hi kids, how's summer going?" the man asked with both happiness and curiosity.
Mabel gulped before giving a small smile and speaking "For the most part, great"
Of course, their parents immediatly noticed that something was wrong.
"What's the matter kids?" her mother asked "You both look uneasy."
"Well…" Stan started to speak "There's something we need to tell you.
Stan then, told them the lie. He and Dipper accompanied Mabel to a concert in another town, but the night of the concert, Mabel got out of their hotel room and went to visit a boy she met in the same hotel.
"Wait, weren't you taking care of her?" their father was outrageous "How could you missed her!? And why are you telling us this just now!?"
"Mom… Dad…" the girl's voice was shaking, but she needed to say it "I'm... preg- pregnant."
Silence, complete utter silence.
Ford held his breath after his niece's words. Hearing her say those words made everything even more real , everything was different now, wasn't it? He really was going to be a father, wasn't he? He really got his niece pregnant, didn't he?
Ford suddenly felt too dizzy, however, he tried to snap out of his thoughts when he heard sobs.
"Where did we go wrong?" her mother said between tears "Mabel Pines, this is unacceptable"
Mabel only looked at the screen with tears in her eyes, unable to say anything, Dipper was holding her hand in a supporting way and had all his attention focused in other person.
Their father had the most serious look the twins had witnessed, making Mabel shake in fear. Stan, noticing this, put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You will get rid of it"
Silence. Complete silence filled the room until Mabel let a small and shaky:
"What?"
"You will not have it" the man stated "You will come back to California, not going out of the city again…" the man gave Stan a murderous look "and you will get rid of it"
"N-no…" the girl started hyperventilating "D-ad… please…"
"Don't call me that"
Mabel eyes widened and tears rolled down her cheeks while Dipper frowned and looked with anger at their father.
"Hey, don't be so harsh with her" the boy said "She is having a bad time"
"She is having a bad time?" the man rolled his eyes at his son's words "We are the ones that found out our daughter's whore personality."
"You call her that again…"
Dipper glanced back and looked at his great uncle. Stan had a dangerous look on his face and his hands were curled in fists "And you will regret it"
The twins' father looked shocked for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and gave one final statement.
"If she has the child, I don't want to see her again."
His wife's expression was unreadable, but no one could pay more attention to her because, suddenly, the videochat was over.
Ford, from his hiding spot, was having a hard time with himself. His hands were curled in fists, he was gritting his teeth and his face showed a dangerous frown. That man has called his own daughter a…
"Whore" Mabel's whisper was heard in the room "H-he… called me-e…"
Now Ford could hear his niece's cries.
The man got out of his place and went directly to the living room, where Dipper was already hugging his sister and Stan was rubbing his eyes tiredly before going to the kids and joining the hug.
Ford, hesitantly, walked to them. He was the one who caused this, he was the one who deserved a punishment, Mabel wouldn't be in this predicament if it wasn't for him. And even so… Mabel saw him and freed her arm from the hug so she could give him a sign.
"Come here"
Ford joined the group and Mabel cried her eyes out once again.
"Too much emotions for a day, huh?"
Ford looked at the entrance of his lab. Stanley was looking at the floor, like if he didn't know what to say.
"Sorry for acting like a jerk earlier" the con-man said.
"Don't worry about that Stanley" Ford couldn't care less about his brother's attitude in those moments "I understand"
Stanley took a sit in a chair nearby and continued talking. "Well, I guess we'll have to take care of one more person"
Ford sighed at that statement "I guess so" he mumbled "I have money from the projects I've presented, from our last year's trip and I can still make more money"
"Also, the shack is doing great" Stan commented "So, we'll be good."
"I'm not worried about the money" Ford said, his voice sounding really tired "Mabel…"
"I know" Stan sighed "She… she will need all the support we can give her."
Ford let himself fall in a chair and put his two hands in his face.
One night was able to turn Mabel's world upside down. One, horrible and dammed night.
"Stanford" Stanley was looking at the floor, as if he couldn't decide if he should say something "I still need to know… was there really nothing else you two could have done?"
Ford expected that question, he seriously did. However, it still hurt.
"I wouldn't have done that if it wasn't our only option" Ford said miserably "My only gun and Mabel's grappling hook was captured by those creatures when we used them, we tried to disguise her smell by putting her my coat, we tried… a lot" the man answered, not wanting to give more details "In the end, those plans were useless." Ford's voice shook "I would have never touched her."
"I know, just…" Stan let out a heavy sigh "Sorry…"
"It's all my fault" Ford interrupted his twin and he couldn't help but sob while saying those words, surprising his brother while doing so "Everything is my fault. I should have carried more weapons, I should have avoided that forest, I should…"
"Stop" Stan was now at his brother's side and had a comforting arm around him 'Hey, there was nothing you could do about that and there is nothing you can do now to change that… that." Stan sighed "We now have to face all of this together, all right?"
Ford could only nod while wiping his tears with his fingers "All right"
Both men entered the living room, only to find Mabel curled up in the couch while Dipper read a book on the floor.
"It's barely 9 pm and she is already asleep" the boy said, smiling sadly at his twin.
Stanley then, went closer to the girl and carefully carried her.
"Let's take her to the attic" he said before walking to the stairs.
After a few hours, all of them went to sleep. It had been a long day and they really need to rest.
However. At 2 am, Ford woke by the sound of quickly footsteps followed by gagging.
The man, a little dizzy for the sudden interruption of his sleep, went to the bathroom, where he found Mabel in front of the stall, she was puking, but that wasn't the worst part.
"Stop…" she pleaded to no one in particular "Just… stop"
Ford slowly went to her side and kneeled. He stroked her hair in a comforting manner, surprising the girl, however, Mabel didn't have time to say a thing, for she began to throw up again.
After she was finished and brushed her teeth, she spoke to Ford.
"Sorry for waking you up" she said, miserably.
"Don't worry about that" Ford replied "Do you feel better now?"
"Yeah" Mabel took a big breath "I'm… just a little dizzy. I don't want to go back to bed yet, I don't know if I will have to run to the bathroom again"
Ford nodded and the two of them went to the living room.
"Want to watch some TV?"
"Not really" answered Mabel "I just want to sit for a little while"
Ford nodded and took a sit beside her. The girl leaned in her great uncle's arm.
"Everything will be different now" the girl said after a few minutes.
Ford sighed in response "Yes, but do not worry" the man gently caressed the girl's hair "Stan and I will assure your safety here"
Mabel bitted her lip before speaking "Thank you, sorry for bother you two"
Ford raised an eyebrow at this, with clear confusion written over his face. "What? Mabel, this is not a bother and…" Ford had to look away with his next words "It's my child too"
He felt Mabel tense after that sentence.
"How… do you feel about that?" she asked with shyness and looking nervously to the floor "About the baby?"
Ford never imagined that he would be having this conversation with anyone in his life, and now he wished he could be having it with anyone except the girl at his side.
"It's weird" he answered with honesty "I would've never imagined this"
"Yeah… me neither" the girl let out a shaky breath before speaking again "I… will have to drop out of school… right?"
That made Ford look at her. She was still leaning in his arm, but had a sad frown in her face, her eyes showed how upset she felt about the statement she just give.
"Of course not" Mabel's brown eyes were now looking at his own "You may not be able to go to school for a few months… but I can teach you" Ford said this words before he could think about them "I can give you an education"
It was a good idea, actually. If Mabel had to stop going to high school for a while due her pregnancy, he could give her classes. He was more than qualified for that.
"No matter what, I'll make sure you have bright future" he said to her, tightening a little the grip he had on her in an affectionate way "I promise" he stopped talking with a warm smile and looked at the girl with gentle eyes.
Mabel eyes widened at her grunkle's expression, then she smiled and closed her eyes, feeling completely safe since the night in the forest.
"Thank you".
The next day, Ford made an appointment for Mabel.
"We will go to the doctor in three days" he announced to Dipper and Mabel in the kitchen that morning "For now, try not to be too active, Mabel"
"I couldn't even if I wanted to" the girl said with a small yawn "I want to sleep all the time…"
"Well, that's a common symptom" Ford said, athough he wasn't so sure if it was normal for her to be so tired.
"Well, I still need help in the shack" Stan entered the kitchen while adjusting his bow tie "Dipper, you will be working with Soos and Wendy today."
"Oh boy" the boy sighed tiredly but quickly stood up and started to follow Stan when Mabel spoke.
"I'll help too" the girl said while getting out of her seat "I've spend too much time in here"
"You will fall asleep on the counter" Stan raised an eyebrow to the girl "Do you really are asking me to work?"
"It's a good distraction" the girl smiled shyly at her grunkle.
Stan looked thoughtful for a moment, but he accepted "All right, let's go"
Mabel and Dipper followed Stan; Ford, after a while, went to the gift shop. He felt the need of making sure that Mabel would be alright working with her symptoms.
"Huh? What are you doing here?" Stan asked when the scientist entered the place before taking a sip of a can of soda.
"I don't have much to do" Ford replied while watching carefully at his niece, who was organizing some shelfs before the shop's opening.
"Hi everyone!" Soos arrived to the gift shop, and his brown eyes shined when he looked at the young pair of twins, who instantly smiled at the man with happiness "Dudes! Man, I haven't seen you in days, I was starting to get worried. Mabel you look a little pale. Oh God, were you bit by a zombie?"
"Sorry Soos" Mabel giggled and hugged her friend "I was feeling a little sick, but I'm better now! And no, I wasn't attacked by a zombie."
Soon, Wendy arrived and after a while, a lot of tourists too. Stan went to give a tour and let his workers handle the gift shop. Ford only stayed in a corner, watching the peaceful morning pass.
"No refunds!" Mabel moved on the next client "Hi, that would be… thirty bucks.
"Here" the client, a boy around Mabel's age with black hair, brown eyes and what others would describe like "cute face", gave the her the money "Also… well…" the boy blushed a little "I would like to give you this" The teen quickly gave Mabel a piece of paper and ran with his purchase.
Mabel stared at the phone number, frozen.
"Looks like someone's got an admirer" Wendy looked at Mabel with a smile, but quickly frowned when she noticed the lack of enthusiasm from the younger girl "What's wrong, Mabel? Normally you would be over to clouds for this"
Ford watched the whole exchange with sadness, he could imagine what was going around the girl's mind. He shared a sad glance with Dipper, who looked as unhappy as he.
"Well…" Mabel left the number in the counter "I feel a little sick, that's all" the girl tried to give Wendy a smile, however, her attempt looked more like a tense frown "I think I'll go to rest a little, maybe I'll take a shower"
With that said, Mabel left the counter and walked away from the gift shop.
"Man, she seems really depressed" Wendy turned to look at Dipper "Is something wrong?"
"Not really" Dipper smiled at his friend "She just… has a lot to think"
Ford followed the girl's way. He couldn't find her in the living room, he was about to go to the attic when he heard the shower.
Well, there was nothing he could do now, so the man sat at the sofa in the living room and turned the TV on, he just changed absently the channels and decided to watch some news for a little while.
However, Mabel was taking more than a little while.
After 30 minutes, Ford hesitantly went to the bathroom door and knocked.
"Mabel? Is everything alright?"
Nothing, no answer.
"Mabel, I need you to say something"
He waited again... no response. The scientist frowned, Mabel had been really depressed lately, he honestly didn't like the fact that she was in the bathroom, with the door locked, and wasn't answering.
"Sweetheart" he was a little desperate now "Can you answer me? You've been there for a while now."
No response. The man gave a deep breath before deciding to do something stupid.
Ford, with a strong kick, was able to open the bathroom door. Behind the shower curtains, he could see Mabel's shadow, cuddled in the bathroom floor.
"Who…?" A sleepy voice started to speak
"Sorry it's me, sweetheart" Ford felt the odd feeling that he needed to apologize "I was worried, you didn't answer when I called you"
"S-sorry " she answered weakly "But I felt too tired, so I sat and I think I fell asleep.
Ford didn't like to hear her voice so weak.
"Are you alright?"
"I don't think so" the girl answered weakly "I'm really tired."
"Mabel, sweetheart, I think the appointment will have to be sooner" Ford said to her "I don't like how you feel so weak. Turn the shower off and get dressed, I will take you to the hospital."
"Okay" she said, a little more awake now.
Ford was getting out of the bathroom when…
"Grunkle Ford…?" Mabel's afraid tone of voice couldn't mean anything good "I feel really tired…"
Ford tried to calm his worry, in vain "Can you get up by yourself?"
"I… I don't think so."
The man, after hesitating for a moment, took a near towel and spoke to the girl.
"Sweetheart, I will turn the shower off and wrap you in a towel, okay? I'll help you get dressed."
He could feel Mabel's hesitation about his future actions, however, she seemed to understand that they needed to go soon because she answered a small "Okay"
Ford let out a sigh and pushed the shower curtains.
Mabel was under the running water, hiding her body with her knees and with her eyes closed, probably that made Ford's presence easier for her.
The man wasted no time. He turned the shower off and kneeled besides Mabel, so he could carry her with the towel.
"There you go" The man lifted her and Mabel tightened her closed eyes, making Ford worry "Does something hurt?"
"N-no" she answered "But… I'd rather be dressed" she said with a slight blush on her cheeks.
Ford nodded "Don't worry, let's get you some clothes"
The man went to the attic with her and choose a random sweater with a skirt.
"I… want to put my clothes by myself " she said in a pleading tone
Ford nodded "If you feel okay, then you can"
The man left her standing on the floor, still with the towel around her body he let go of her… or he tried. The girl suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Sorry, I…" Mabel blinked a couple of times "I feel dizzy…"
That wasn't good.
Ford sighed and caressed her hair before speaking "Mabel, I only want to help you. I will help you get dressed to get you to the hospital, okay?" Ford hesitated before adding: "Nothing more"
Mabel looked at him as if those two last words were what she needed to hear. She nodded to her guardian.
Ford helped her put on her underwear, a shirt, a sweater and a skirt while making sure she didn't fall asleep.
"Dipper?" The man went to the gift shop with Mabel in his arms and saw the boy in the counter, who gasped at the sight of them.
"Grunkle Ford? What happened?" the boy quickly ran to them. Wendy and Soos imitated him.
"Dude, what's wrong with the little dude?"
"Is Mabel okay?"
"I'm taking her to the hospital to make sure about that" Ford said to them "Tell that to my brother, please. Soos, I'll need your…"
"What do you need to tell…? What happened?" Stan was entering the gift shop, it seemed like his tour had ended "What's wrong with Mabel?"
"I believe she has low arterial pressure, I'll take her to the hospital" Ford explained quickly.
"I'll go with you" Dipper looked worriedly at his twin, who tried to keep her eyes open "I'll take care of her in the car."
"I'm coming too, Soos, quickly, your keys."
Soos gave Stan the car keys and the four Pines got out of the shack.
