Standard I don't own Gravity Falls and/or it's characters and all that legal stuff.

Author's Note: This was kind of a hard chapter to write. I knew where I wanted to go with it, but didn't quite know how to get there. I tried to really get into Wendy and Dipper's heads and try to conceive what that kind of grief must be like. It was a dark place to get to, but I think the story is better for it. Language picks up a bit here, so be warned.

Chapter 8

The weary and distressed friends reached the police cruiser after what felt like the longest short walk of their lives. Dipper sat down on the firm faux leather bench seat, as Wendy took a seat behind the wheel. The teen boy grabbed his door and pulled, causing it to slam shut. Wendy flinched. The young officer had clearly been traumatized by the events of the day. The auburn haired woman put her keys into the ignition and started the cruiser. Putting the car in drive, she started down the street, ignoring the twenty-five mile per hour speed limit. "I just wanna get outta here" Wendy thought to herself. In the distance she could see a chestnut haired woman in a sky blue shirt, a grey vest and a black pencil skirt running towards the vehicle. It was Shandra Jimenez, the local news anchor. She leapt in front of the cruiser, causing it to come to a screeching halt. Wendy was barely able to jump on the brakes in time.

The reporter banged on the driver's side window of the police car. "Officer Corduroy, Officer Corduroy, can you tell us what happened today?" she asked. Wendy turned her head towards the window. In the reflection she saw the dried blood and mascara that adorned her face. "Damn…" the young officer said as she rolled the window down. Shandra looked at the clearly shaken up woman, who was covered in blood. The bright lights of the television camera blinded the redhead. The reporter was taken aback by the appearance of the young woman. Shandra was used to interviewing the local town oddities and the mundane, but this was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The auburn haired officer looked like she belonged on the battlefield of a war torn nation more than a small Pacific Northwestern town. She regained her composure. "Is it true that you are the only Police Officer in the town right now Ms. Corduroy?" she inquired. "Yes… right now I am." Wendy replied. The camera panned down to show the bullet holes in Wendy's shirt to the audience at home. "What happened here this afternoon?" the reporter asked. "Please direct all your questions to Oregon State Trooper Major Rodgers, he can answer better than I can right now…" the shaken woman said with a bit of annoyance in her voice. "Look, I lost three people I love very much today. I have to go… I-I can't deal with this right now…" Wendy said in a sullen and hollow tone as tears filled her eyes yet again. "Truly one of the darkest days that Gravity Falls has ever endured. Reporting live, Shandra Jimenez, First Alert News" Shandra said to the camera. "And we're out!" said the man behind the camera. Wendy was about to roll up the window and drive off when the reporter leaned into the window and wrapped her arms around the young officer. "I'm so sorry for your losses Wendy; I was just doing my job…" Wendy returned the hug as she said, "It's alright… I understand. Thank You." Shandra took a step back and the young officer drove off.

"I'll drop you off at the Shack" Wendy said to her good friend. "Yeah, I'm sure your Dad and brothers are worried sick about you" Dipper responded. "They're not here…" the auburn haired woman said. "Where are they?" asked a concerned Dipper. "Look… my Dad got really mad at me when I told him I wanted to be an officer… H-He said he'd already lost one important woman in his life, and he'd be damned if he lost another… I told him it was my choice and I was going to do it, no matter what he thought. So, he sold the house, took the boys and went upstate to work for my cousin. I haven't talked to him since last Thanksgiving" she said through tears. "Wendy… I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know…" the teen said as he struggled to find the right words. "It's alright dude… He'll come around… eventually… I hope" she with a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

The police car's headlights illuminated a dark Mystery Shack. "That's odd" said Dipper. He opened the door and got out of the car. He could make out a note on the front door. "Dipper & Mabel, Melody surprised me and my Abuelita with a trip to Portland for the rest of the week. I know it's short notice, but I think if you two can save the entire universe, then you can probably run the Shack for a few days. I'll see you soon dawgs! –Soos" Dipper read as he took the note off the door. "Looks like I've got the place to myself… great…" he muttered to himself. "Dude, everything alright?" a concerned Wendy asked as she got out of the still running cruiser. "Yeah, Soos, Melody and his Abuelita decided to go to Portland for a few days. She must have surprised him. I guess they don't know… probably for the best right now…" Dipper despondently stated. "I don't want you to be alone… not after today… I'm crashing here tonight" Wendy said, covering for the fact that she really didn't want to be alone either. "Alright…" Dipper replied. He opened the front door to the Shack as Wendy turned off the car. He flicked the light switch on, illuminating the building. Wendy walked up the front steps and into the Shack. The teen boy turned on the lights for the living room and kitchen. Dipper walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet. He reached up and pulled down a large glass bottle, placing it on the counter. Wendy made her way to the rear of the house, where the kitchen was. The brown haired teenager reached back into the cabinet and pulled out two small glasses. Wendy came into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, her blood drenched head being held up by tired,weak and shaky arms.

The young officer heard liquid being poured into the glasses. Dipper filled them up and brought them over to the table, placing one in front of Wendy. "You look like you need this… I know I do..." Dipper said as the redhead lifted her head up to see a glass of caramel colored fluid. She was a bit shocked to see the seventeen year old holding a glass of liquor. Wendy herself had experience with drinking, as she had attended many a house party in high school. "I didn't take you for the drinking type… at least not after Tambry's end of summer bash last year" Wendy said, recalling the wild time they had. Dipper had gotten egged on into a drinking contest with Nate. The teen had lost when he started painting walls with his stomach's contents. "Anything to get my mind off this…" the underage boy said as he raised the glass to his lips. Dipper downed the glass with one large gulp. The auburn haired officer put the edge of the glass to her mouth and tilted her head back, drinking the contents of the glass with one swallow as well.

The teen boy picked the bottle back up and poured himself another glass of the stinging liquid. Wendy was next, pouring and downing yet another shot of the cheap whiskey. "I can't believe this is real…" Dipper sighed. "I know dude. I half expect Mabel to walk around that corner any second now and start yelling at you for drinking…" Wendy said sadly. "Hey, she wasn't exactly a saint herself when it came to that…" said the teenager as he recalled the party. Dipper grabbed the bottle of whiskey and put it to his lips. The burning liquid poured down his throat quickly. He placed the bottle down on the table as he coughed. "Yeah, we all had fun that night… until you reenacted that scene from The Exorcist..." Wendy chuckled to herself. It was the first time she had laughed since Pacifica had sent her the text about Robbie's varying shades of black. Dipper looked down at the table, his cheeks reddened. "Yeah, that wasn't so much fun… Neither was holding back both Mabel and your hair after you guys killed that bottle of tequila…" the teen boy said with a bit of snark. The pair continued to drunkenly share stories of Mabel and Pacifica, some sad, some funny, some personal, and some caring, between trading drinks from the bottle.

It was around midnight and the pair had retreated to the living room. "You, know… I could deal with the end of the world… at least then nobody would be left behind… this… this I don't know. I mean, h-how am I supposed to go on… Mabel was my other half, literally … I need her. And Pacifica… I-I love her…" Dipper said cutting through the silence. "Yeah, I mean… at least if Bill had won and killed us all, w-we still would have gone together. Why did I live, when they didn't" Wendy replied as the mood darkened. The officer put her head on Dipper's shoulder as she began to cry. "Wendy… I don't know. I-I'd like to think it was for a reason…" the teen tried to reassure his good friend. "Why did Robbie do it? WHY! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ASSHOLE THINKING! IT'S HIS ENTIRE DAMN FAULT! IHOPE HE GOES STRAIGHT TO FUCKING HELL!" yelled Wendy with a raspy voice, trembling with her head in her hands. Dipper didn't know what to say. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the grief, but for once he had no words. He knew that being angry at Robbie wouldn't solve anything, but who was he to tell Wendy to how to feel. All the teenage boy could do was wrap his arms around the bloody officer and give her a reassuring hug. 'Thanks Dipper…" she said as the emotionally drained and drunk couple drifted asleep.

Wendy awoke suddenly, feeling sick to her stomach. Glancing at the timer on the cable box it displayed '3:42am'. Gently moving Dipper as not to wake him up, she got up from the couch and ran towards the bathroom. Flipping on the light switch, she barely made it to the sink before her stomach decided to release all of it's contents. After a few good heaves, it was all out. Turning on the water to dissipate the mess, the officer grabbed a handful and ran it over her face. She glanced into the mirror. Blood, her blood, ran down her freckled face and into the sink. The young woman turned off the water and dried her face with a towel hanging neatly next to the sink. Wendy took a long look in the mirror. Her auburn hair was stained with blood, from where the bullet had grazed her head about an inch above her left ear. The neat olive green shirt she wore was stained with dark red blood, her gold police badge with a bullet lodged into it. Above her right breast, a small hole adorned her shirt. Another hole appeared to be located near her navel and a third pierced the garment below her left breast. "That fucker really tried to get me" she growled through clenched teeth.

The redhead slowly loosened her tie and unbuttoned her shirt to reveal the white tank top she had worn underneath. The undershirt remained unpierced as her bulletproof vest had been worn on top of it. With a bit of pain she wriggled out of the olive green uniform shirt and placed on a wall hook. Next, she removed the tank top, revealing her black sports bra. Looking in the mirror again, she saw the bruises that had formed on her stomach and chest. She finally took off the sports bra, revealing her bare chest. Her breasts were swollen and bruised. Wendy undid her belt buckle and removed the olive green belt from her pants. She unbuttoned her forest green pants and they fell to the ground. Stepping out of them she had noticed for the first time that she had scraped up her knee pretty bad. She inspected her pants and found a decent sized tear in the knee. She neatly folded the pants and placed them on the counter. The redhead walked over to the shower and turned it on. "I hope I don't wake Dipper… This might be the best sleep he sees for a while" she thought to herself. Removing her black boy short panties, she stepped into the shower. The water was warm and felt good on her sore body. Wendy ran her head under the showerhead. Looking down, dark red water filled the bottom of the tub as the water stung her stitched up wound. "Jeez, looks like that scene from Psycho" the teen mumbled to herself. After making sure she had cleaned all the blood from her hair, she turned the water off. "Damn, I forgot to grab a towel…" she silently cursed herself. Pulling back the shower curtain, Wendy quickly stepped out of the tub and sprinted to the towel rack, trying not to drip on the hardwood floor. Grabbing the towel, she stood before the mirror, her athletic body reflecting in it.

Wendy got dressed and went to the fridge. There were a few beers inside. The officer grabbed one and headed towards the door. As she walked through the living room, the young woman paused. There lay Dipper, sound asleep. "I'm sorry dude" she sighed as she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Wendy opened the front door to the Shack. Glancing back at the gift shop where she had spent her teenage summers one final time, she closed the door behind her. Dipper stirred as the door shut. The teen boy glanced at the clock; it was 4:15 am. Rubbing his eyes, he realized that it was not a dream; no trick of Bill. This was real. Wendy had walked over to the police cruiser and opened the door. Inside was her tactical belt. The officer put it on and closed the door carefully, as not to wake up Dipper. Sitting on the hood of the older model car, she reached into her pants pocket, removing her wallet and opening it up. The auburn haired woman took out two pictures. Placing the wallet back in her pants, she stared at the pictures in the moonlight. One was of her family. Manly Dan and her three brothers joined her on a red flannel couch. It was a cheesy family picture, but one that meant a lot to her. The second picture was of Dipper, Mabel, Grenda, Candy, Pacifica, Grunkle Stan, Soos, Grunkle Ford, and herself. Wendy sighed as she looked longingly at the pictures, wishing she could go back in time and live in that moment forever.

Wendy reached down to her hip and unbuttoned the clasp on her holster. The auburn haired officer removed her sidearm from belt and held it, the moonlight reflecting off the cold metal of the weapon. The officer put the two pictures of her friends and family down onto the hood of the car and picked up the beer. Taking a sip of it, she rested the can on the hood of the cruiser. Looking at the pictures again, she picked them up and sighed. "I just can't… please understand…" the young woman pleaded to the pictures as she held the hand gun up to her head. A cool summer breeze rushed through the forest, chilling the tears that were running down Wendy's face. Her hands were trembling as she sobbed and reached for the trigger. "I'm sorry guys…"