Ford was always the family pacer. From the time he was six years old, whenever he would get anxious (which was often), he would pace back and forth. It used to make Stan dizzy, resulting in him falling over laughing. For Ford, the sound of his brother's laughter would always soothe him.

That was not the case this time. Now, Stan was pacing right alongside Ford. At one point they were so lost in their thoughts that they ran right into each other.

Their minds were racing with every possible way these next few hours could go terribly wrong.

What if Mabel woke up but Dipper didn't?

What if Dipper woke up but Mabel didn't?

What if neither child woke up?

All of these thoughts filled the men with dread. For two men who never even considered being parents, it was beyond surreal to imagine an outcome where they would no longer have that privilege.

Stan broke through the veil of silence first. "How long has it been?"

Ford glanced at his watch. "Fifteen minutes."

"How long do these things normally take?"

"Normally, four hours."

"DAMMIT!" Stan swore out loud, getting attention and angry glances from parents of young children. Stan blushed. He cut down on swearing since Dipper and Mabel had come along, but times like this made it difficult to censor himself.

Dejected, Stan sat down burying his face in his hands. Ford wanted to continue pacing and get lost in his thoughts as he often did when he wanted to avoid an unpleasant situation. But he had learned that his place when things got tough was by his family's side. He sat down next to Stan and took his hand. Stan squeezed it tight.

"They're going to be alright, Stanley," Ford said as authoritatively as he could.

"I know, Sixer," Stan said with zero conviction. The worry in his eyes not diminishing in the least.

"This is a common procedure. The odds are in the favor."

"Since when are the odds ever in our favor?" Stan asked bitterly.

"Stanley-"

"All our lives, bad stuff keeps happening to us: me breaking your project, me pushing you into the portal, having my memory erased, the kids' parents dying, Brad, the fire, Mabel nearly killing herself, Dipper's kidney failing, Mabel having to give up hers. Did I miss something?"

"Stanley…"

"I know the doctors told us it's unlikely anything will go wrong, but for this family, everything always goes wrong!"

"Stanley, that's not true."

"How's it not true?"

"Because, for all the hardship we've all suffered, we've had so many blessings too. Namely, being fathers to those children."

"That's the thing, Ford. You and I lost so many things in our lives. What if we lose them too?"

"We won't," Ford said sounding much more confident.

"How do you know?"

"Because so many of the things that went wrong with our lives are because we made bad decisions, especially me." Ford lowered his eyes in guilt knowing most of the suffering in Stan's life was because of him. "But Dipper and Mabel aren't like us. I cast you out of my life because I felt like you cost me my dream. Mabel didn't hesitate to give up her dream for her brother."

"Hey, it ain't like I was the perfect brother either. I should have been happy for you, but instead, I was mad that you were leaving me – so mad that I broke your project…on accident!" Stan added quickly. Ford smiled and nodded. "Dipper, on the other hand, wanted to refuse his sister's help and risk dying just so Mabel would be safe and happy. He's a better brother to Mabel than I was to you."

"That's what I'm trying to say," said Ford. "They're so much wiser than either of us could ever be. They're strong because they're always there for each other. That's how I know they'll be alright."

Stan smiled, but unfortunately, Ford's words did little to mitigate his fear. Ford himself, despite his reasoning that this was a relatively safe procedure, could not suppress his paternal instinct to worry about his babies. The two brothers remained side by side holding each other's hands and comforting each other the best they could.

After what felt like a lifetime, the surgeon came out with his scrubs covered in blood. The blood of Stan and Ford's children.

"Where are they?" Stan demanded.

"Are they alright?" Ford asked shaking.

The doctor let down his professional guard to smile at the two men. "They did fantastic. Dipper's body is reacting so naturally to that new kidney, it's if it has always been his. We have about thirty minutes left on him, just to close him up. Mabel's in recovery right now. You can go see her now."

Hearing this news, Stan hugged the doctor tight. He was shaking, and the doctor could feel tears of relief on his shoulder. He gladly returned the father's embrace. Sometimes his profession was emotionally draining and difficult, but moments like this made it all worthwhile.