For all the scenarios that he had run through his head on the drive over, imagining the moment he was reunited with Mabel at last, this had not once crossed his mind.

The girl huddled in the corner with her bony knees pulled to her chest and arms hanging limply at her sides, hidden from the view of those on the other side of the one-way mirror, was Mabel; of that, at least Dipper was certain. But he hadn't expected her to be a skeletal thing, her long brown hair clumped in tangles and her skin unnaturally pale and marred by angry bruises and faded scars. He hadn't expected her to remain entirely motionless even as he slowly approached her, staring with dead eyes at the floor.

She was nothing like he remembered. She wore basketball shorts and an old t-shirt that must have come from some box they had lying about in social services that drowned her, not a fluffy oversized sweater like had always been when they were kids. She always looked so different without them. She was not bright and bubbly with a chubby face and pink cheeks. She was not excited to see him. She was still and silent. But she was still Mabel.

"Mabel," he repeated himself, a little louder as he knelt down next to her. She still didn't move. There was no sign that she even heard him. "Hey," he said, because he didn't know what else to do besides keep talking. "Mabel, it's me. It's Dipper. I'm here."

His breath hitched as she lifted her head, staring straight through him at first. But by slow degrees, he saw the recognition register in her eyes.

"I'm here," Dipper said again, like he needed to convince her. "I found you."

She let out a whimper and stretched out her legs, awkwardly swinging them away from Dipper so she could shift her body just enough to lean forward, and Dipper watched almost painfully as she lifted her arms and held them out to him. He didn't need her to say anything to know what she wanted. It was a gesture he recognized from when they were kids and she was upset, and she hadn't needed words then either.

He gathered her in his arms and pulled her close, and that's when he started to cry. Mabel was clinging to him with as much strength as she had, which wasn't much, sobbing into his shoulder, and it was as though all his emotions burst out of him. "I love you so much," Dipper choked out, starting to rack back and forth as though that could comfort both of them. "I missed you. Jesus, I missed you so much. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Mabel."

Mabel never spoke a word throughout their tearful reunion, but Dipper didn't feel like anything was missing. This was his sister. She was back, and as far as he was concerned he wasn't ever letting her go again.

A long while later, after the twins were all cried out, they left the police station together. Mabel was extremely unsteady on her legs, having not used them frequently for so long, but she managed, clinging to Dipper for support when her balance wavered and refusing, in her own silent way, to be further than arm's distance from him.

Dipper had been given a folder filled with instructions on what Mabel needed, and his mind was racing as he tried to think of how he would manage all of them. It was brought to his attention fairly quickly that she still had her braces on her teeth and they were going to need to be removed as soon as possible. She had antibiotics to take for inflammation of her cervix (that news had been particularly painful to hear) every morning and evening. . She needed someone she trusted available to her at all hours of the day, and it was important she was introduced to new people slowly and carefully, and never more than one at a time. He shouldn't worry so much about her silence; she would find her voice when she was ready, and they could decide what to do from there. Dipper should consider finding her a physical therapist to start rebuilding her muscles. And most importantly, Mabel needed to be renourished, which was a delicate process that required calorie counting and weigh-ins every day to make sure she was gaining weight properly.

Dipper, while overjoyed to be bringing Mabel home with him, was also wallowing in the onslaught of stress that caring for her would entail, and stewing in fury from the news that her kidnapper and abuser had yet to be caught. According to Erika, the house she was held in had been abandoned hours before the police had gotten an anonymous tip that there were drugs within it, and while drugs were found their unearthing had been greatly overshadowed by the girl the SWAT team had discovered bound and blindfolded in the basement closet.

Dipper unlocked Mabel's door for her and helped her settle into the passenger seat of his car, leaning over her to buckle her seatbelt for her. She hadn't smiled yet, but she was watching him every second. He could feel her gaze on him as he shut her door and hurried around the front of the car to the driver's side. "You ready?" he asked his sister. She didn't respond, but he hadn't expected her to.

He started the car and pulled out of the lot, gearing himself up for a long ride home and wondering what he was going to do when they got there.

It became overwhelmingly apparent after four hours that Dipper was not going to be able to take care of Mabel by himself. When he was leading her up to his apartment they passed two of the building resident in the halls, and Mabel had gotten so scared she'd fallen over trying to run away. And that was only the beginning of their problems.

The fright in the hall was so bad Mabel was practically catatonic the rest of the evening. Dipper ushered her inside and sat her on the couch as he scoured the kitchen for the rice he knew he had, which was one of the foods on the list of foods that would be good for her, and she slid off the couch and onto the floor, resuming the curled up position she had when Dipper had first seen her at the police department in San Francisco.

He found the rice and managed to cook a proper sized serving for her, keeping an eye on her as he stood at his stove, but when he went to her and tried to get her to eat, she panicked and let out a small shriek, which was the loudest Dipper had heard her be so far, and knocked the bowl out of his hands before proceeding to begin sobbing into her arms.

That shook him up. He tried explaining that he wasn't trying to scare her and he just wanted to help, but there was no consoling her. The only thing he could do was sit next to her holding his head while he waited it out. When she finally did come around, Dipper managed with a great amount of effort to coax her into eating a cup of applesauce.

Getting her to bed was a different matter. Dipper dug up a T-shirt of his he figured she could sleep in for the night and he could figure some way to get her clothes the next day. He tried giving it to her, but she only stared at him as the shirt fell into her lap.

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. "Well… I guess you can sleep in what you're wearing now." But getting her into different clothes, when he acquired them, was going to be a whole new challenge altogether. "Come on," he held out his hands and she took them, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. "You can sleep in my bed," Dipper told her, leading her into his bedroom. He pulled back the sheets and awkwardly helped Mabel into the bed, pulling the covers over her. "Is this okay?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

She made a small noise of content and shut her eyes. Dipper sighed, but a smile tugged at his lips. He patted her shoulder once and stood up. "Good night, Sis," he whispered, shutting off the light and closing the door.

He sank down onto the couch and buried his face in his hands. "I can't do this," he groaned. Normally he wouldn't have given up on a challenge so easily, but if he didn't properly take care of Mabel there would be enormous ramifications. He simply didn't have the energy to keep this up. He couldn't work because he needed to be with her all the time. He couldn't go out and buy food and clothes for her because she panicked when she saw other people. And since he couldn't work there was no way he'd be able to afford all the things he was going to need for her.

Yes, he needed help. But who could he ask for help? He didn't have any friends, and Mabel was his only family.

Wait… except for…

They did have one family member left, but Dipper had only met the man once three years ago at the memorial service for Mabel, when everyone thought she was gone forever. He hadn't spoken much, but Dipper did remember that, when the old man thought no one was looking, he'd been sentimental for just a few moments over "that poor girl."

Dipper stood up and went rummaging through drawers for his father's old address book, eventually finding it beneath a pile of receipts. He hoped the number would still work.

Taking a deep breath, Dipper dialed the number belonging to his Great Uncle Stanford Pines, praying as it rang that the old man would pick up.

"Hello?" a gruff voice spoke on the other end.

"Um… hi. Is this Stanford Pines?" Dipper managed to ask. His heart was racing.

"Speaking. Who's this?"

"It's Dipper. Dipper Pines?" he said his name as though it were a question. "We met a couple years ago at the memorial service for my sister."

"Oh," he heard the old man's voice darken. "Yeah. Hey, Kid."

"Hey," Dipper repeated. He'd never felt more awkward in his life. "Well, the reason I'm calling is… I need a favor. A really, really huge favor."

"Uh huh." His great uncle sounded unconvinced.

"The thing is… it's Mabel. They found her this morning. Alive. My sister is alive," Dipper said. He hadn't intended to say that last part, but he liked hearing the words spoken aloud. "And she's not doing well. I need your help. You're the only family we have left."

There was silence for a full minute before Stan replied. "What do you need, Kid?"

God, I'm so excited for Grunkle Stan. Watch for chapter five!

Thanks for reading!