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AVAVA

(Author's Note)

VAVAV

Fried chicken, and mashed potatoes! Now that I have your attention. It's me again. Yes it's been a while. I've been suffering from major's writer's block. But I'm forcing this out, so obviously, if this seems forced, it is. I can't let you guys wait forever, no matter the writer's block.

And as always, I don't own Gravity Falls. I do own the ideas that are unique to this story. Names and Places are owned by their respective owners.

AVAVA

( Dipper's PoV )

VAVAV

Brightly colored paper littered the living room of the Mystery Shack. His and Mabel's parents had sent plenty of presents. Including ones for Wendy, who had elected to stay in Gravity Falls, instead of visiting her family, Soos and Stan. Mabel... while she had mellowed over the years still had a few times a year when her wildness and hyperness were in full gear. Christmas was one of them.

He watched her happily unwrap items with so much joy. Just then sadness struck him knowing that he wouldn't be able to give her that joy this year. He'd looked desperately for something... anything. But what do you get someone, that is usually happy with anything? He didn't want just anything for her. He wanted to show he knew her best... and he did. Which was why it was so hard for him not being able to find a gift for her.

He looked at the various items he had opened. Couple of books he'd been waiting for, a few games he'd wanted. Of course clothing, but still he needed them. All in all good presents. Great ones... but still. He eyed the boxes yet to be opened by him. His eye caught the tag of one. 'From Mabel', He was no longer feeling the small amount of Christmas spirit that he had been feeling. He made some excuse that he wasn't feeling well, and disappeared into the kitchen. He didn't think anyone noticed beyond the brightly colored paper wrapped boxes.

He sat at the table putting his head down on it. He shouldn't be sad today. But these material possessions didn't mean much when he still felt guilty about not getting anything for Mabel. Every year he could remember, he'd always gotten her something. What made this one so different? Why couldn't he find her something, even with Wendy's help? He should have been able to find her something. Mabel had been able to find him something. She always was able to. He had been the same way... maybe Robbie messed up his head. Or maybe the fight with Mabel had broken something inside him.

He sighed pushing himself away from the table, and up the stairs to his and Mabel's room. He debated on getting into bed, to further the being sick sham. However, Mabel would be right there the entire time, checking his temperature and trying to force soup down his throat. Then again, she'd know he wasn't sick... so there wasn't a point to it. He changed his clothes, from his pajamas to insulated underwear, then his regular clothes. After fighting for a while with the jacket he managed to get it on, along with the gloves, which also was no easy task with his cast. He knew when the cast came off, the glove would be useless.

He slipped back downstairs to the kitchen, and went out the back door. Fresh snow had fallen the night before, and it still continued falling. He wasn't running away... he just needed a few minutes. Had to think of at least something to tell Mabel. He told her he'd been looking for something, and he'd spent three days looking. He should have found something. That didn't matter now... what mattered was that now he had to figure out what to say and how to apologize.

AVAVA

Dipper had spent an hour and a half wandering the woods... to be fair, he spent about twenty minutes wandering the woods. The rest of the time he was looking for the way home. The snow that had been still falling, had completely covered his tracks. He sighed and looked in all directions, hoping to find some hint of his tracks beyond the last twenty feet. He didn't think anything could get any worse, when the snow started coming down harder. Great... he didn't get Mabel a gift, he was lost in these freaking woods again, and now he might freeze to death. Great... why couldn't he just stay at the shack and just tell her he couldn't find anything? Why did he have to come out here to hide?

In the past hour, he swore it got colder. Maybe it had been due to the stronger wind and thicker falling snow. It had gotten back enough that he could barely see anything. Everything seemed to be a giant swirl of white. Still he pushed through in what he assumed was a straight direction, seeing nothing but snow... and the occasional tree, despite being in a forest, it was hard to even see the trees. He continued wandering, there wasn't much else he could do.

He wandered across a dark cabin, that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Given the state it was in, he doubted anyone had lived in it for a long time. It took a couple tries, but he managed to push the door open and enter the building, then worked almost as hard pushing the door back closed. It wasn't warmer inside, but it was less windy, he thought looking around the cabin. Had to be something in here. It didn't take long to find logs, as old as they were he doubted they would burn long... but he didn't need it to burn long. He just needed something to burn just long enough to find something more solid to burn. He watched his hand shake as he picked up paper from the dust covered coffee table. His entire body shivered as he put the paper into the fireplace, the managed to get a couple of logs on the paper. Now he just needed fire.

He started with the living room where the fireplace was. Not much left behind, he thought as he first searched the mantel above the fireplace, then tables, and cabinets. Not finding what he was looking for he continued onto the bedroom, looking in abandoned dressers and under the mattress... In his mind he knew this wasn't right... he couldn't think properly, but he continued his search, which lead him to the kitchen.

After searching cabinets, and for some reason the refrigerator, he finally found what he was looking for. A box of matches. He reached for it, and picked it up. It fell from his hands several times before he managed to get a firm grasp on the box. Slowly he made his way back to the fireplace. He legs felt heavy, and more than once he forgot what he was doing. However he finally made it to the fireplace.

He opened the box of matches and pulled out a match. Stuck it against the side... a small flame burst into existence, and soon vanished. He took another match this time cupping his hand next to the flame after striking it on the side. He leaned forward burning the edge of the paper. Slowly the fire engulfed the paper. He didn't know if the fire would last long enough to catch the log a blaze. His mind was clouding and he wasn't sure why he was even here. But he knew the fire needed to burn. He stumbled as he tried to move grabbing all the paper he could, keeping only enough for a final attempt if this failed, and pushing it under the logs. He didn't even feel the flames as they momentarily licked at his fingers. Then put a few more logs on top of the ones already in there.

Then the fireplace became far away, so far away even as he sat there. It was sideways though, he thought. He hadn't yet realized he'd fallen over. He stared at the fireplace until it disappeared. His mind finally shutting down, his last real thought was that he hoped the fire would burn long enough he wouldn't freeze to death... if it even completely caught fire to begin with.

AVAVA

( Mabel's PoV )

VAVAV

Mabel had just finished opening another gift and went to show Dipper, realizing that he was gone. She looked around the room for her missing twin. Gruncle Stan was there, Soos too, as was Wendy. But Dipper no where in sight. She got up form the floor and went into the kitchen thinking he went to get something for breakfast. No Dipper. Bathroom maybe? Both bathrooms turned up empty. She went back into the living room where the others were.

"Hey, where's Dipper?" Mabel asked over the excited talking.

"Wasn't he just here?" Soos said looking around.

"Didn't he say something about being hungry?" Stan said, but obviously wasn't too sure.

"No. He said he wasn't feeling well." Wendy looked at the other two adults, then to her. "Maybe he went up to you guy's room and laid down?"

"I'll go look." Mabel had already started towards the stairs. The first thing she noticed was his pajamas on the floor. Not that him throwing clothes on the floor was unusual... he just usually didn't so early, and not if he was feeling well. She doubted Dipper was running around up here naked. Not that it wouldn't be funny, just she was very sure that was not something Dipper would do.

As she looked around the room, she noticed his boots hat and jacket were gone. As were his gloves. She wasn't sure what all he had brought so she couldn't tell if any of his clothes were missing or not. She stripped off her nightshirt, putting on winter clothing of her own. She stuffed her feet into her boots, grabbed her jacket and went back down to the living room.

"I think he went outside, how long ago did he leave?" Everyone looked at one another... obviously they hadn't been paying attention.

"Maybe an hour ago, or more." Wendy finally looked up. She followed Wendy's gaze to the clock. She couldn't believe that it had been about four hours since they woke up that morning to open gifts. "Maybe longer, geez I didn't know it was that late. Maybe two hours?"

"I'm going to go find him." Mabel said.

"I'll come too," Wendy called after her.

Once Wendy joined her at the door, she opened it to see nothing but white past the porch. Dippers footprints in the snow on the porch then almost completely disappeared past that point. Wendy however pointed out slight depressions in the snow that matched Dippers stride, and matched up to the ones on the porch. Having no other leads, the girls set off in that direction.

In the woods, Wendy had taken her hand saying it wouldn't be good if they got separated in the woods. And sadly they lost Dippers trail in the many depressions, and hills, in the ground caused by leaves under the snow. But it seemed that Dipper went in one direction, and continued with it, so as long as they continued they would hopefully find him. And if not, they would be able to go straight back to the shack.

"Do you smell that?" Wendy asked Mabel, at first it took her a moment to smell anything but snow... if snow had a scent. Then she caught the smell. Burning wood... someone had a fireplace burning. Maybe Dipper found someone out here and sought out shelter.

"Yeah I think it's... Over here!" she pointed to a rundown cabin, that was barely visible. She only spotted it due to the small amount of yellow light from the window, and the smoke coming from the chimney. Mabel started toward the moment she mentioned it to Wendy. Wendy started knocking on the door, as Mabel went straight to the window looking in.

Every thing looked old and dusty... only the fire looked recent. She looked around, then wondered what a pile of clothes was doing in front of the fireplace. That's not a safe place for clothes, she thought until the pile moved. That wasn't clothes, that was Dippers jacket, and no doubt Dipper was in it. She pushed past Wendy and tried opening the door.

"Dipper's in there on the floor." she grit her teeth pushing against the door. Wendy pushed with her and the door opening letting them inside. It was warmer in the cabin though not by much. The fire had started dying. She ran over to Dipper, while Wendy grabbed a few of the logs and tossed them on the fire.

"Dipper? Come on Dip. Say something Dip." Mabel knelt next to her brother. While the cabin might not have been warm, being right next to the fire had kept Dipper warm enough, though he seemed a little pale.

"Mabs?" Dipper muttered, but didn't wake. Wendy had busied herself using rags and things to block off any openings where the wind from outside was getting in. And within a few minutes, between the blocked holes, and the added logs, the living room began to warm up. Wendy sat next to her and the sleeping Dipper, after tossing another two logs into the fireplace.

"I'm not sure how much time we have with thee logs." There were about twenty more logs by the fireplace, but the logs were burning faster than she was used to them burning, much faster. The only thing she could think of was that the wood was so old, and dry rotted that they burned faster. After about thirty minutes Wendy tossed another two on. Mabel figured they had at most five hours. More if they broke up the chairs and used them... but not much more.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dipper asked, his face seemed less pale than before. And she clung to him.

"You scared the heck out of me Dip." Mabel glared at him, though she couldn't glare long, she was just too happy that he was alright.

"I went for a walk, to try to figure out how to explain why I didn't get a present for you." Dipper, who since the cabin was heating up, was now sitting up and seemed much better.

"A present? Who cares if you got me a present. You're here with me." She laced her fingers with his, then leaned over and kissed him.

"Ew... ew... Sorry sorry, I so wasn't ready for that. I mean... I know you guys told me. But seeing you kiss, I so wasn't ready for it." Wendy said her back now turned. Mabel and Dipper couldn't help but laugh.