Morning rose, and Mabel couldn't wait to get out of bed. There were so many things she needed to talk about; of course the man sleeping on the dusty sofa downstairs, but also about preparations for their 13th birthday party. Mabel shot out of bed, ready to take on the day, when she noticed Dipper sleeping soundly next to her. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had seen Dipper sleep so peacefully. In fact, she could barely remember seeing Dipper sleep. He always seemed so tense in the mornings, and he was always on high alert. It scared her sometimes.

But right now, in this moment, she stood and looked at the small smile on Dipper's face. The boy who felt nothing... was happy. No more nightmares. No more tears. Mabel couldn't help but kiss the tips of her fingers, and touch the ends to the birthmark on Dipper's forehead. She felt so happy, so thankful, that she nearly squealed in joy, but stayed quiet as much as she could. I hope you stay like this forever... Mabel thought, And one day, I'm going to make it up to Sammy... She giggled to herself at his nickname. It's kind of adorable considering how handsome he- Mabel thought before stopping herself. No. No Mabel. Bad. Not getting involved in this. Not getting involved in him... She mused, before quietly tiptoeing down the stairs to get a peak at their sleeping houseguest.

Why did he have to be so damn perfect... She wondered. He's too old for you. It would be like Dipper and Wendy... But hey. A girl can dream right? She asked herself. She quietly strolled to the kitchen to grab a drink of water, before she heard shuffling and muttering. She carefully looked around the corner, and saw her Uncle Ford frantically writing in his journal. God, does that guy ever sleep!? Mabel thought frustrated.

Ford knew perfectly well of Mabel's audience, but decided to ignore her. He was to busy with his own findings. He had four pages filled out on Samson, and was in the middle of the fifth when Mabel showed up. He thought it kind of cute that she thought she was hidden, what with the bright pink pajamas and whatnot poking out the side of the door. He was slightly curious as to why she was up to early, but it needn't concern him. He preferred Mabel to stay away from his work, and slowly pull Dipper in further. He didn't know whether what had transpired had been a boon or a bane for his plan to work, but that could be dealt with at another time.

Ford had spent the night thinking about Stanley's words. The absolute lack of second thoughts as to Fords morality. Had he really become so blind? There were not many things that Ford could have used to argue with. During his entire time in Gravity Falls, not once had he ever called his brother except to send him as far away as possible. Never sought after him when their father kicked him out of house and home. And now, thirty years later, he was no different. Casting his brother out once the summer ended, taking away everything he had worked towards all this time. The anger, the rage. The lies and deceit. The betrayal and backstabbing...

It was all forgiven.

That was the bullet to the heart. The one mystery Ford would never be able to solve. Had things been reversed, Ford had no doubt he would have left Stanley stuck in that portal. Not only had his brother gone to hell and back to save him, the first thing Ford had done was punch him right in his face. God, I am a monster... Ford thought to himself. He shook his head and adjusted his glasses, trying to focus on his writing. There is not much for certain that I can say so far about this man, except for the fact that he possesses more knowledge of the alternate dimensions and timelines than I ever did. Attempts at peacefully interrogating Bud Gleeful for information have yet to provide answers, may need to advance. Organic tissue samples in testing. My nephew has placed his trust in him, will have to watch closely... He ended.

He closed the book and got up to make breakfast, only to hear the pitter-patter of socks dash away. He smiled to himself at his niece, he'd have to teach her a thing or two about stealth and tactics. With that grappling hook, he figured she could be a natural. He looked over to where Samson was sleeping restlessly. He's going to need something to gain his strength after what I pulled... Ford realized. He took a can of chicken soup and dumped it into a pot, before grabbing his blowtorch and going to work. Soon enough, the smells of hot cooking flooded the house, slowly getting everybody out of bed. He first saw Mabel, acting as if she had just arrived.

"Oh hey Grunkle Ford, that smells fantastic! Do you have enough for everyone? I'm starving!"

"Oh, uhh... Yes. Yes I do" Ford said. He'd only made enough for Samson and himself, but there was plenty more for the rest of the family. "Mabel, would you mind waking Samson for me? We need to talk."

Mabel felt her cheeks flush, but composed herself. "Sure thing Grunkle Ford, just please don't shoot him this time..." She said as she walked of into the living room. She sat down in front of Sam and stared into his closed eyes. She took a breath, and then spoke "Sammyyyy... Sammyyyy..." She said still laughing to herself. His name fit him well. Samson was strong, powerful, but Sammy was kind. Sam turned over, muttering to himself, "God shut it Gleeful..."

"Not quite, handsome..." Mabel whispered to herself, but still barely within Samson's earshot. His eyes shot open at what he'd just heard, and was thankful he was facing away from her. Well, this may be interesting... He mused. He feigned tossing over in his sleep, opening his eyes slowly in Mabel's view as so she didn't assume he had heard her.

"Ma... Mabel? What are you doing here?" He asked in a practiced tired voice. "Oh, you know, enjoying the smells, the sounds, the sights..." She trailed off. She jerked alert realizing what she had just said. "Uh, Grunkle Ford wants to talk with you" she stammered.

Sam perked up at that. "Tell you're Grunkle I've had quite enough of his hospitality..." He said frustrated. "Well then you wouldn't mind if I ate this soup all by myself!" Ford called from the kitchen. It was then that Sam caught the aroma, his stomach growling and mouth watering. He cursed himself for his vulnerability, but slowly rose to his feet, albeit painfully. He then sat down at the kitchen table with Mabel sitting next to him. Ford came around with a few steaming bowls of soup, that Samson started on almost immediately, ignoring the slight burning pain.

The sounds of feet stepping soon entered the room, and Dipper and Stan sat down happily alongside them. Dipper stretched and smiled, that was easily the best he'd slept in weeks. Stan was eyeing Ford, but giving him a thumbs up to the side. Once Ford had served everyone, excluding Bud and Soos, who Ford had told to guard for the night, he sat down and took a spoonful. It was hot and a little salty, but otherwise perfect.

He sighed. This isn't going to be easy, even less so with everyone here. Nonetheless, It had to be done. "...Samson..." He began. Everyone stopped and looked at Ford while Sam simply sat there staring coldly. "...I'm sorry... for trying to... remove you..." He said. He looked at Stan, who in turn gave him the aannnddd look. "...and I wanted to thank you, for saving Dipper's life". He looked at his brother, who at the moment smiled at him in a way that let him know, he did the right thing.

Samson look turned to heartfelt appreciation. "Coming from you, I know that means the world..." He said, extending one hand. Ford sighed, but smiled, and held the handshake. Sam smiled warmly, "You truly don't know what that means to me. We have a very big day ahead of us... But I'm getting ahead of ourselves. Here comes the part where you regret that handshake..." Sam started with his signature cocky smile. Ford grimaced, here it comes...

"Now that everything is in place again, It's time to reactivate the universe portal". He said slowly, waiting for Ford's reaction.

Ford was still annoyed at Samson for everything, but he knew that was coming. It was one of the very few things he did know about Sam's plans.

"Where do we start?" He asked, still vexed and frustrated.

Samson was surprised, yet thankful of Ford's understanding, "That depends. Stan, where are we on actual fuel for the device?" Sam replied looking at Stan's direction.

Stan looked up from his soup, realizing then that everyone was staring at him. "Well, not enough to open a gateway, but enough to get it jump started while I go get more. You're buddy Flannelbird has a stupid amount of electric material he uses on his projects, so I'll make a run and borrow some from him. Wish I'd known about that before I was almost put in federal prison" he laughed to himself.

"It's Fiddleford..." Ford said under his breath.

Mabel sprang up in excitement, "That means you can spend the whole day with us!" She beamed, only then realizing she was a bit too enthusiastic. She quietly slunk back into her chair, before Samson replied, "You know, that sounds like a great idea..."

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[AN: let me know if I should go deeper into Sam and Mabel's relationship, as of right now there's no fluff, but I may be persuaded]