Norman and the twins sat in a circle around the now emptied box Dipper had brought, catching their breaths and massaging aching arms and necks. Dipper had already called and ambulance and would probably be there soon, so now they were just coming up with a story.
"Maybe they would believe we all got into a fist fight! Over um… Over… Dipper believes he's the anti-christ and started to try and summon satan!" Mabel suggested and Norman busted out in laughter while Dipper turned pink with embarrassment.
"Mabel! No way! I am not pretending to be crazy again!" Dipper hit Norman on the shoulder for laughing, earning a pained gasp in return. Norman gave a stink eye to the hatted man but shook his head at Mabel anyways.
"He's right, maybe we should just lie and say we don't remember? Better and more believable than any crazy thing we can come up with. Besides, we all did hit our heads at one point, so…" He offered and the twins both nodded in agreement. A bzz from Dipper's pocket gained everyone's attention and pulling it out with a confused look, Dipper answered the ringing phone.
"Hello, Dipper Pines speaking." He announced formally, and both Mabel and Norman laughed quietly. However, their grins faded as Dipper's face fell.
"Yes… I am?..."
"What…"
"No…"
"Wh-what time…"
"You… I… Okay… Th-thank you…"
"Y-You… You too…"
Dipper ended the call, face pale and now shaking as tears welled in his eyes. Mabel and Norman looked from each other to Dipper with frightened expressions.
"Dipper, is everythi-"
"He's dead."
Norman cocked an eyebrow in confusion, but Mabel's face twisted into confused pain.
"Wh-what… Dipper, you're... He... " She barely whispered. Dipper's voice barely wavered though his eyes began to drip profusely.
"Grunkle Stan died."
Norman wasn't sure what exactly happened, but when the ambulance did arrive, the twins sat in painful silence, holding eachother and refusing to let the EMT's tend to them. Norman had to explain what happened (or well, what didn't) and allowed his head and wounds to be wrapped. He didn't pry, as the two seemed to be locked in some eerie trance of their own world, eyes wide and glassy, crying silently. He didn't know what to do or how to comfort them, and when they arrived at the hospital and Dipper immediately ran away from the EMT's with Mabel in tow, he let them go. He explained he wasn't sure what happened to the nurses, but someone they knew died and they got the call before the ambulance came. Norman was escorted to a separate room, and was denied any further information on the twins after her accidentally revealed he wasn't a family member.
It wasn't until late that Norman was released with a green card. He immediately went to the front desk, asking about the twins.
"I need to know where the um… The two twins who came up earlier today, all beaten up? Pines, and they went to go see someone? Have they come back yet?" He asked the tired looking desk clerk.
"Not yet, dear. Would you like to know where they are? Are you family?" She asked, looking at Norman from over her pink glasses.
"Yeah, I'm their cousin." He lied, but the woman didn't press, just typed a few things into her desktop before turning to Norman and handing him a slip of paper.
"Room 157C. Third floor, just ask which one when you get up there." Norman nodded a thanks and scurried off.
He was frozen in the doorway, surprised and heartbroken. Mabel was thrown over the body under the sheet, sobbing, while Dipper stood at the end of the bed, eyes wide and blood-shot. A nurse, who looked a little impatient, stood in the corner, quietly watching.
"Dipper…" Norman said quietly, and the man's head spun to Norman, eyes wild with rage.
"YOU! THIS IS A-ALL YOUR F-FUCKING FAULT! IF Y-YOU HADN'T F-FUCKING NEEDED YOUR A-ASS TO BE SAVED STAN W-WOULDN'T BE DEAD!" Dipper screamed, storming up to Norman, who turned red with embarrassment and guilt.
"Wh-what… Dipper, I…"
"NO- GET OUT, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, YOU AREN'T NEEDED! FUCK OF-" Dipper shoved Norman out of the doorway, pulling back a hand to slap Norman, but Mabel got there first.
Both men stared at the girl who hung her head, gripping Dipper's arm with white knuckles.
"Dipper… Please don't… Don't blame him… He didn't know…" Mabel whispered hoarsely. Norman was stiff with shock and confusion, and felt his heart shatter even more when Mabel raised her head and her eyes shone with tears. "Come in Norman… It's okay…" She said, letting go out Dipper's hand and taking Norman's more softly, leading him back in, while Dipper turned away, arms folded and shoulders stiff. Mabel led him to the bedside, letting go of Norman's hand.
"Who…?" Norman asked quietly.
"Our great uncle. We'd spent summer after summer with him. He's the reason we're supernatural hunters… He was very old, though. We knew this was coming, we just… We just didn't know when…" She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes. The back of Norman's mind itched and he hesitantly reached for the top of the sheet covering the body.
"May I?..." Norman asked, to nobody in the room in particular. Mabel mumbled a yes, and Norman very slowly pulled the sheet down.
He let out a sharp gasp and stepped back a bit, both twins turning to him in mild surprise and confusion.
"Wh-what?"
"I… He… Stanford… Stanford…" Norman rubbed his neck and let out a soft sigh of mixed emotions. The twins looked between each other, and Dipper walked closer.
"What? What is it?" Dipper pressed.
"Well… I wasn't going to give chase… I was going to let you guys deal with Bill on your own, but… He… I met your great uncle while I was in limbo." He explained slowly, and Mabel looked like she was going to cry again.
"Oh, Stan…" She choked, covering her face and shaking.
"And… He asked me to go after you guys, to try again. He asked me to help you two out, even though I was upset." He awkwardly finished as Mabel turned to her brother and hugged him, crying. Dipper was obviously holding back tears, and his lip quivered. Norman looked him in the eyes and the mixed emotions of anger, relief, and fear shone back at him.
"And he also said… Dipper. He said, um. 'Tell Dip it ain't his fault. Everything. That he and Mabel will do just fine." And Dipper broke, he hiccupped and buried his face into Mabel's hair, both of them sobbing.
While Norman was glad he could tell them, now he felt awkward and guilty for making them cry. He wondered if he should've given them space and told them later, but Dipper looked up again at Norman, and though his face was wet and red, he managed a small smile at Norman.
"Th-thank you…" He choked and Norman smiled back shyly, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking back to Stan's body. He internally questioned when seeing dead bodies had stopped freaking him out.
THE END
HAHAHA just kidding, sorry for sUCH A FUCKING LATE CHAPTER- just like… life happened. I still got a bit more up my sleeve and most likely a sequel fic! :) thanks for being so patient guys anhdbzjsfdk