Make her as comfortable as possible.

Stan wasn't as smart as Ford and never would be, but he knew exactly what Ford meant by that statement. It made Stan miserable and terrified, but after everything Mabel had gone through to be strong for him, he knew he had to return the favor and be strong for her now more than ever.

Doctors and nurses were rotating in and out of Mabel's room to give her medicine. Stan stood by her side wiping her face with a wet cloth.

Mabel's eyes squinted upwards. She really couldn't make out anything visually, but she had Stan's familiar auditory confirmations to assure her that he was there. She tried to speak to him but having trouble forming coherent phrases. Her fever cooked her brain, making it difficult to understand what was going on. Plus, she was in pain. Every part of her body felt sore. She let out feeble moans of pain. "D-Daddy…"

"It's alright, baby girl. Daddy's right here," Stan promised as he wrapped her fingers around his own.

"Daddy…I'm tired…" she whispered as her eyes fluttered. "I wanna go to sleep…"

"NO!" Stan shouted, which startled her enough to make the heart monitor beep faster. Stan knew he had to calm her down, so he forced himself to soften.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, you can't sleep now," Stan said in a soothing but desperately firm voice.

Mabel forced herself to nod, trying to obey him even in her most difficult moments.

At that moment the doctor came in again to provide Mabel more medicine for her pain.

Stan was tired of sitting around watching his daughter suffer, he had to act. "What can I do to help her, doc? I'll do anything!"

The doctor looked sadly at his patient and then at Stan. He repeated what Ford had said just a little while ago. "Make her comfortable."

"HOW?" Stan was tired of people being vague with him in this crisis.

The doctor looked sadly at the poor little girl essentially dying in her bed. His sense of smell alerted him to what his patient needed right now, something her poor father can do for her. "She needs to be changed."

At first, Stan didn't understand what the doctor meant…until he remembered the diaper. Mabel had been so embarrassed having to wear it. She preserved what little dignity she could by at least changing it on her own.

But she was too weak for that now.

Stan wouldn't stand for that. God knows how long the poor girl has been laying in her own filth.

When he attempted to take off her diaper, a look of fear flashed in her barely-open eyes, but she didn't even have the strength to jerk away.

"Please don't hurt me…" she whimpered.

Stan's heart broke. It killed him that Mabel would think for a moment he could hurt her. The two of them had such a strong bond. Stan never thought he would see the day when Mabel hesitated to trust him.

He knew it wasn't her fault though. She had been through so much, and now, she was in a truly helpless position. She probably wasn't even coherent enough to understand it was Stan that was with her.

He had to remind her who he was and the bond the two of them shared that meant the world to him. "Shh…it's alright, pumpkin. It's just me…it's just your daddy."

Stan stroked the top of her head, where her beautiful hair used to be. It seemed to soothe her as she looked up at him, her eyes seeming a little more focused. Stan continued, "I would never hurt you, baby."

No matter how sick Mabel was, she knew she could trust her daddy. She gave a small nod, giving Stan permission to help her. Mabel had calmed enough to allow him to undress her and complete the arduous task.

Stan had watched Mabel's horrific deterioration since the cancer began and thought he had seen the worst of it. But the real horror of the damage the horrible disease did to her lay beneath the surface.

The sight of her nearly made him sick. He could see every rib on her body, she had sores from where needles had gone in, and her skin no longer had that natural glow. She looked like she was on death's door. Stan felt like he was looking at the body of a child who may be better off dead.

Seeing the look on Stan's face caused Mabel's limited body language to tense up again. Stan knew he had to quit being a coward and be the strong daddy that she needed now.

Mabel was delirious, but she still understood what Stan was doing for her, and it embarrassed her to know Stan had to provide this level of care to her. "I…I'm sorry….so so sorry…"

"Shh…shh…shh…it's okay, baby girl. It's alright."

When Stan finished he washed his hands thoroughly before putting a new diaper and a fresh pair of pajamas on her. Mabel couldn't deny it felt so much better being clean. Feeling the slight comfort of being clean unfortunately made Mabel grow wearier and her eyelids fluttered again.

"No, sweetie, not yet," Stan said as he cupped her face and tried to keep her awake.

"Why?"

"Because Ford and Dipper are coming, and they want to say…goodnight," Stan's voice cracked.

Mabel had always been able to read Stan like a book, and despite being so weak something inside her realized what he was saying and suddenly she was wide awake, but in the worst possible way. She asked in a tiny voice, "Daddy…am I gonna die?"

Stan didn't know what to say. He noticed Mabel's heart rate slightly increased, and Stan knew it was because she was scared. He had to say something to assuage her fears. He gave a watery smile. "No, baby…you're just sick. You…you'll be feeling better in no time."

Mabel was still terrified, but knowing her daddy was right beside her at least calmed her heart monitor down a bit.

Finally, like an answered prayer, Dipper came bursting through the door with Ford trailing behind him.

Stan was beyond shocked when Dipper instantly went to him as opposed to Mabel. Stan half-expected the boy to put him in a chokehold in pure rage. He assumed Dipper would be angry that they promised Mabel was safe only for her to possibly be dying after all the suffering they watched her go through.

What happened instead left him stunned.

He engulfed Stan in an embrace, burying his face in his dad's chest and unleashing a sob.

"I love you, son," was all Stan could say.

Dipper nodded before facing the inevitable future.

"Dipper…? Daddy…?" Mabel whispered weakly.

Dipper instantly grabbed her hand. He wanted nothing more than to lay his body over hers as if he could physically hold her here.

Ford was just thankful she was still alive. She had held on for him. She loved him that much, even though Ford was certain he didn't deserve it.

"Hey there, angel," he whispered as his quivering lips kissed her forehead. Using the nickname actually stung him. He meant for it to be a reference to a lullaby he would sometimes sing to her, but given the circumstances, the word gave him darker thoughts.

Mabel looked up at her twin brother: the face she saw every day of her life. In a sea of changes and challenges, he was her one constant. Even though she was too ill to fully comprehend what was going on, she felt safer knowing Dipper was there.

"Bro-bro…help me…" she begged.

Dipper's heart broke in an indescribable way, but as he had sat in silence on the way over here, he had promised that he would be strong for Mabel until the end...no matter how near the end may be.

"I know, sis…I know, but I'm here now. It's all gonna be alright…I promise," he choked out as their pinkies locked. "I love you so much, Mabel," Dipper managed to whisper. What else could he say now?

Mabel looked up at Stan and very quietly whispered, "Daddy, can I sleep now?"

Stan bit his lip. He couldn't bring himself to give her permission knowing what could happen.

Dipper sobbed so hard that he had to physically bite his sleeve.

Ford wanted to comfort his son more than anything, but he was apprehensive. When he got Dipper, the boy was quiet the whole way there, like a shell-shocked soldier. He assumed, like Stan, it was because Dipper was furious with them for Mabel's condition.

Even if Dipper was angry, he also needed his daddy.

Ford slowly put his arms around his son but was as shocked as Stan when Dipper buried himself into his sweater. Ford pulled him in close to keep Mabel from hearing the sobs.

"She has to get some rest," Ford whispered, reading the minds of the two other family members.

"But what if she…" Stan couldn't finish, but he didn't have to.

"Then we will all three be with her," Ford said as tears flowed from his face.

Stan took a deep breath and knelt by his baby girl's side. "Yes, baby, you can sleep. Ford, Dipper, and I will be right by your side…no…no matter what."

"And we always will, pumpkin," Ford added.

"Always," was the only word Dipper could manage.

Mabel managed to smile at them and then she said something that unintentionally soothed all three of them.

"See you guys in the morning…"