Tate was the only kid Stan ever knew to eat all of his vegetables with a smile. (Stan always snuck his vegetables on Shermie's plate, and when he moved out Stan just hid the unwanted food under his napkin. Ford's tactic had always been to eat the vegetables first and eat them quickly, and then to gulp down half of his water to drain out the taste.) But then, when Stan first tasted the collard greens Maddie had made, he understood completely and happily ate his own serving of the vegetable.

The McGuckets were currently moving up to Gravity Falls, having found a nice little house in a friendly neighborhood and were in the midst of moving their things into their new home. They had taken a break from work to have dinner with the Pines at their cabin in the middle of the woods, and to distract herself from the stressful hassle of moving and to thank the Pines family for their help, Maddie had cooked. Tonight, the five adults and the four-year-old boy feasted on homemade biscuits, collard greens, and ham. The ham was some of the best meat Stan had ever eaten in his entire life and the biscuits tasted like clouds from Heaven, so fluffy and buttery and steaming without burning the roof of his mouth. He happily munched on his third biscuit as Maddie told a story that took place last Father's Day.

"So we're sittin' at church, Tate's in Sunday School, n' Fidds n' I are sittin' in the pews for service. Well, for Father's Day the pastor decides t'let kids who wanna stand up in front of the church n' talk 'bout their fathers. Kids from 'bout nine t'thirteen are gettin' up there, some makin' grown men cry n' others makin' 'em blush tomato-red. Then this one little girl gets up there n' the whole room sorta takes in a deep breath n' holds it. Sweet little thang, 'cept she's got a big mouth n' is always sayin' the kind of stuff that makes us laugh n' grateful that we're not her parents."

Maddie pauses for a minute to wipe her lips free of honey from her biscuit and Fiddleford his shaking his head and smiling, knowing how the story ends. Hephzie is already giggling over how her friend is telling the story and the twins are a little too busy enjoying dinner to really react, but they are smiling and listening closely nonetheless. Tate watched the adults as he eats quietly, entertained and feeling special being surrounded by grown-ups..

"So she gets up, little buttercup named Rachel, n' she says, 'My father's the best father in the whole wide world cuz he always lets me sit in his lap n' he takes me out t'ice cream n' he makes cookies with me n' he even lets me lick the spoon!'" Maddie narrated in a slightly higher voice. "'He's even better than my mother, cuz he's not just a father, he's a motherfather!'"

Ford choked on his glass of water and Stan harshly patted his back as he barked out a laugh. Hephzie put her fork down so she wouldn't be tempted to eat and accidently choke.

But Maddie, or more accurately, Rachel, wasn't done. "'Ya wanna know how I know, cuz my mother says so! She says "Ya stupid motherfather! Imma take my foot n' put it up your ask!" Oo! N' he's not the only motherfather! Imma little motherfather!'"

Stan banged his fist on the table multiple times, shaking the whole piece of furniture and everything on it, while Ford is laughing so hard his eyes are building up tears and Hephzie is holding her ribs as they ached.

"'N' my granny, she's a nosy motherfather!'" Rachel had apparently added, according to Maddie. "'N' my neighbor, Ms. Donald, she's a loose motherfather! N' my father sometimes calls himself a smooth motherfather! He also says that my mother is a scary motherfather.' N' then her face all red n' she added, 'Sorry, Daddy, I forgot that was a secret.' Meanwhile the whole church is either bustin' up laughin' or had fallen over n' fainted!" Maddie laughed.

Fiddleford was now also laughing, remembering how funny it had been when he was in the middle of the church and saw the look on Rachel's parents' faces. Ford removed his glasses to wipe his eyes dry, all the while still laughing like he hadn't in a long time. Stan eventually calmed down and started to take in deep breaths. Hephzie is still struggling to breathe, but she's slowly remembering how to use her lungs properly and soon she's sipping her sweet tea and she says,

"Sweet Lord, what I wouldn't give to be in that congregation!"

"Oh, man, the look of her mama n' papa's faces was like nothin' I'd ever seen!" Fiddleford laughed. "The things some kids say… I didn't realize how funny they could be until we had Tater." And he ruffled his son's hat, making the boy smile and playfully swat his father's hand away.

"Oh, I know," Hephzie said. "I remember at my church growin' up there was this little boy named Jarel. Sweetest little boy ya'd ever meet. He was 'bout five-years-old when I was a senior in high-school, n' it's summer n', like always, everybody's outside chattin' n' socializin' n' plannin' out lunch n' whatnot. Now, Jarel's best friend lived with his grandma in a little house across the street from the church, n' every day Jarel's daddy - he was the pastor at the church, by the way - would walk his son across the street to pick up his friend n' then they'd come back. Well Jarel was gettin' bored n' his daddy was busy n' all, so even after I let him braid my hair n' tried to get him to listen to whoever I was talkin' to, he wandered off n' did his own thang. I wasn't worried until I saw him outta the corner of my eye walkin' across the street! I'm thinkin, 'I don't wanna go to Hell for lettin' the pastor's boy get killed.' So I ran to him n' stopped him from goin' any further. I get to his level n' ask, 'What are ya goin, ya know ya can't cross the street without holdin' somebody's hand?!' But he said, 'I am! Imma holdin' my hand!' N' he holds up his held hands to show me that he's holdin' his own hand!"

Everyone laughed, even the twins the story being new to them, and Hephzie laughed a little before continuing.

"All I could do was hold my head n' tell him that he needed to hold an adult's hand, so he took my hand n' I walked him to his friend's house n' back. Darn kid gave me a heart attack n' probably took a few years off my life."

Tate asked over all the laughing with an encouraged grin, "Wait, that doesn't count?"

Fiddleford wiped a tear from under his eye and looked at the boy a little more seriously, but he still had a kind smile on his face. "No, son, that doesn't count. Ya always gotta hold an adult's hand when crossin' the street."

"What 'bout when I'm an adult?" Tate asked curiously. He was a bright boy, much like his father, and normally asked a lot of questions.

"Well hopefully by then you'll have a lady-friend to hold your hand." Maddie teased and rubbed her son's back affectionately. "But I suppose once you're an adult ya don't have to hold somebody's hand."

"Take it from me, Tater Tot." Hephzie added in between bites of her ham. "You'll wanna hold someone's hand when crossin' the street."

Ford was stiff for a moment, remembering when Hephzie had been hit by that truck, and that familiar but still unwelcomed guilt fell into the pit of his stomach. No, no. Holding hands wouldn't have prevented the accident. Ford swallowed some water and the tiny knot was gone, as usual.

"Okay." Tate said. "Can I have another biscuit?"

"I dunno, can ya?" Fiddleford teased as he passed the bowl of bread to his son and he picked a biscuit. Tate shook his head disapprovingly in order to stay respectful and not say something smart, and then he bit into his bread. Maddie rolled her eyes at the joke her husband enjoyed making.

Stan sat his fork down and patted his full gut. "Welp, I won't be eating again for the rest of the week."

"In all honesty, Maddie," Ford said as he ate his greens. "This is one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Thank you very much!"

Maddie blushed and sipped her tea to try to humble herself. "Oh, you're welcome. I was happy t'do it. Expect a lot more meals like this from now on." She challenged with a wink and Stan looked ready to fall out of his chair. Maddie then turned her attention to Hephzie and asked, "So, how's work. Ya always got the funniest stories!"

Hephzie chuckled as she chewed on her meat, and once her mouth was empty, she said, "Oh, let me tell y'all what happened today at work! So this one lady comes in to confirm that she's gonna have a baby. She's nineteen, tells me she's in college, there's no ring on her finger, n' seems a little calm 'bout the whole thang. I'm thinkin' she's probably numb from shock or had been tryin'. So I do an ultrasound n' it doesn't take long for me to pick up two heartbeats."

"No!" Maddie gasped.

"Yes!" Hephzie replied, happy to have just an interactive audience. "So I tell her after checkin' that everythang looks good, 'Wow, both heartbeats are really strong.' N' then she goes 'Oh, well that's good since I'm having a baby.' I just sorta blink n' try to remind myself that shock is a strong drug, so I said, 'Wait, what?' N she says, 'Well, it's a good thing that my heart is strong too because I'm about to have a baby.' So I laugh a little n' pull the screen closer so she can see n' I said, 'No, I'm talkin' 'bout both of the babies have strong heartbeats.' She's quiet n' shocked, obviously, n' as I'm packin' everythang up I'm 'bout ready to comfort her n' spill this speech that only Ghandi's long-lost descendant could've cooked up, 'bout how the two best people in my life are twins n' have blessed me in more ways than I can say, n' that she's so lucky n' that everythang's gonna be okay, but before I can say a word she sits up n' says, 'Can't believe I'm gonna be pregnant for eighteen months.'"

Maddie's jaw dropped and then she laughed. In fact, the whole table does. Ford held his head over the woman's stupidity while trying to make his blushing go away about what his wife had said. The two best people in my life are twins n' have blessed me in more ways than I can say. God, what did Ford do to deserve her?

"God Almighty, please tell me you're jokin'!" Maddie laughed.

"Nope." Hephzie said plainly. "I swear, I get dumb questions n' statements like that all the time! I lose my mind nearly every day! Some people just shouldn't repopulate."

"Well, I hope everythang works out okay for her." Maddie said as she stood up with her empty plate.

"Oh, she seemed happy about the fact that she was havin' twins once I explained it to her that she'll only be pregnant for another eight months." Hephzie said as she stood up and started to gather dishes.

"No, no, Hephzie, I cooked, I clean."

"Nuh, uh. My house, my rules, n' I say I do the dishes. Ya sit n' rest."

"Aw, c'mon…"

"I mean it…"

The women bickered playfully as they both started to do dishes and Stan stood up to go watch TV. Tate followed him, enjoying the idea of getting lost in a mindless program, and Ford and Fiddleford walked to the porch to sit and talk. The two scientists both enjoyed the cool summer night. Fireflies danced around the grass and sounds of the woods graced Fiddleford's ears.

"God bless, I've missed this." He sighed happily as he rocked in his chair, his eyes closed and his hands comfortably folded over his gut. "Ya saw the farm I grew up in. We were a ways away from the woods, but we were close enough t'enjoy 'em. When money got tight Papa n' Todd would go out n' hunt squirrels n' rabbits. I went huntin' once, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't shoot."

Frd nodded at hearing his friend's story. "Abraham Lincoln went through the same thing when he was a boy."

Fiddleford chuckled and nodded. "Course, for some odd reason, I had no trouble fishin'. I guess cuz the woodland critters seemed so… alive, while as fish reminded me of plants. They're alive, but not… all there, ya know?"

"I think so." Ford said, getting the general idea of what his friend meant. "I grew up fishing with Stan and Hephzie. We mostly put them back, but not because we had a problem bringing them home for dinner, but because we didn't need to. In retrospect I suppose when Hephzibah's family was tight on money they could have used the extra food, but the fish in our hometown was dangerous to eat. Too many glass shards."

"I remember ya sayin' ya got a boat for your birthday." Fiddleford brought up.

Ford smiled and nodded. "I still don't know how Hephzibah managed to do it without my suspicions at least, but she did. One day Stanley and I will have to take you and Tater out to fish. If you want to, of course."

"Tate'll love that, thanks." Fiddleford replied. "That was one thang I didn't like 'bout Palo Alto: no good place t'fish unless ya wanna take an hour drive."

"Is that why you moved? To fish?" Ford joked with a low chuckle to boot.

Fiddleford returned the laughter. "Well, we had more than one reason. Mainly, we saw an opportunity n' we took it. We were fine with Palo Alto, but with Tate startin' school a year from now n' takin' how much we like it here n' with ya needin' my help with your project, now more than ever seemed like the most ideal time t'move."

Ford admitted to himself that it did make more sense to move when all things were considered. He had initially thought of having Fiddleford stay in the guest bedroom and go back home to visit his family every once and awhile, but if this was what Fiddleford and Madeline wanted to do and they honestly thought that it was best for them, then he was happy for them. "Thank you, again, for helping me." Ford said.

"Oh, hey," Fiddleford said as he waved away his friend's thanks. "What else are friends for?"

Ford smiled and looked out at the dark woods. His Muse had said something similar to him before. They were both right. Ford had never really experienced such acts of kindness (outside of Stan and Hephzie) until after high-school, and he found that when you care about someone, you're willing to do a lot for them. Ford knew that he would be willing to do the same for Fiddleford if he had asked, heck he didn't even have to ask. Maybe he should give Fiddleford's personal computer idea a chance.

The door opened and Tate came out with a little jar in his hands. The lid had a few holes poked into it.

"Whatcha got there, son?" Fiddleford asked.

"Uncle Stan gave me a jar n' said we could catch fireflies!" Tate answered and then looked out at the yard full of glowing bugs. His jaw dropped and he said, "Wow! Look at all of 'em!"

Stan got out and took in a deep breath. "Alright, Tater Tot, let's see how many we can catch!" The boy ran out to the yard with Stan and started to let the bogs crawl into his hands and he slipped them into his jar.

"So, this portal," Fiddleford brought back up and Ford averted his eyes from the activity taking place on the yard to his friend. "When did ya wanna get started?"

"How soon will you be moved in?" Ford asked.

"I'd say by the end of the week."

"Let's go over the blueprints and get started on Monday. Stan will, of course, be helpful as well. This isn't a small hand-held device. This portal will be far bigger than the two of us combined. We'll need Stan's help with heavy lifting and the construction of the project."

Fiddleford nodded. "Course, it's not like we're alien to engineerin'."

"No, of course not." Ford agreed. "We could probably get it done without Stan, but it would take much longer and be much more difficult. Three pairs of hands are better than two."

"I agree. Why do ya think my folks had so many children?"

"Am I too assume that Tate will have many brothers and sisters?" Ford teased, fully intending to drop the subject after he had a laugh; he thought plans of having a family were private unless one felt like sharing.

In this case, Fiddleford was open to sharing. He shrugged with a laugh and answered with, "I've always wanted a big family. Madeline was an only child n' regrets that, but she's a little… apprehensive 'bout havin' another child, n' quite frankly so am I. Tate's been quite the little troublemaker, but... I wouldn't rule out the possibility of us having more children, but don't hold your breath."

Ford nodded, understanding Fiddleford's logic, and watched Tate play with Stan. They had a good number of fireflies in the jar now and were watching them glow from behind the glass.

"What 'bout ya n' Hephzie?" Fiddleford asked politely to keep the conversation going. "Do y'all plan on havin' any children?"

Ford was stiff at the question and rocked in his chair in an attempt to relax. "We have thought about it, but ultimately decided to wait until I can prove my Unified Theory of Weirdness."

Fiddleford nodded. "I can respect that. At first, I wanted to wait until I could get Computer Magigs off the ground, but Maddie made a good point that if we weren't careful no time would be 'perfect'." And Fiddleford even made air quotations around the word "perfect".

Ford raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, ya know what they say. 'The grass always seems greener on the other side.' Say we waited until I finished my personal computer n' got Computer Magigs off the ground. If it became as big as I'm dreamin' of, then we'd probably make excuses how I'm too busy or I'm tired from workin' to want t'have kids, so we'd say t'wait even more. Than we might say we should wait for some other reason 'till time got away from us. If ya really think 'bout it, there really is no perfect time to start a family, but I think that's the idea." Fiddleford concluded. "Ya don't start a family cuz it'll be easy - cuz Lord knows it won't be - ya start a family cuz ya want to." Fiddleford thought of something and quickly added, "Not that I'm sayin'... I didn't mean t'disrespect your choice…!"

"No, no." Ford said calmly and put a hand up to stop his apology. "No offense taken, Fiddleford."

"Daddy! Daddy!" Tate yelled and ran up to the porch. Fiddleford perked up and smiled at the boy when he displayed the glowing jar proudly. "Look at all the fireflies we caught!"

"Wow, son!" Fiddleford said more enthusiastically than he might have. "That's a whole bunch! Uncle Stan did a good job teachin' ya, huh?"

"Uh, huh." Tate said with a big smile and nodded. "Uncle Stan's the best!"

Stan sat on the steps and leaned against a beam with a smug grin on his face. "Well thanks, squirt. You're not half bad yourself."

"Imma show Mama!" Tate said and ran into the house.

"Be sure not t'let 'em bugs out in the house, Tater!" Fiddleford called back.

"We've had worse things in the house." Stan pointed out.

"So Ford has told me." Fiddleford said and he gave the twins a skeptical look. "Please tell me not all of your stories are true."

Ford couldn't help himself. He smiled and readjusted his glasses by pinching the edge of his frame and lining the glasses up better with his eyes. "Just wait and see."

Ford and Fiddleford were down in the basement, reviewing the blueprints and double-checking equations. Well, Ford was; Fiddleford was quintuple-checking the equations.

Ford had to admit to himself that it was nice to have his best friend around again. Ford had been lucky to have the companionship of his twin brother and his wife while in Gravity Falls, but Fiddleford's company gave Ford something he couldn't have with Hephzie or Stan. They were both very intelligent in their own right, but Fiddleford had the same kind of intelligence that Ford had; Hephzie's intellect was more on medical care and she proved to be surprisingly wise at times, Stan was street smart and cunning, where as Ford and Fiddleford were both book-smart and did very well academically and in their respective scientific fields. This shared quality meant that they could have conversations that, otherwise, would be nonexistent, like the latest scientific breakthroughs and other discussion topics.

Today, however, they had a more "normal" conversation about the latest fashion trend.

"I could understand if people wear 'em for warmth, but wouldn't pants do a better job since it covers more than your calves?" Fiddleford brought up as he sat at one desk and reread a blueprint.

"I suppose they do it more for the look." Ford said with a shrug as he read over some equations while fiddling with Fiddleford's Cubic's Cube. Fiddleford couldn't stand to see it unsolved for more than two seconds and Ford enjoyed messing it up and seeing him try to fix it, so Ford had sneakily taken it and was messing with it quietly so Fiddleford wouldn't notice. "I also think the idea is that when you exercise it makes you sweat more and therefore you lose weight more quickly."

"I suppose." Fiddleford then fell silent and seemed to have nothing more to add on the subject matter of leg warmers. Ford thought he heard something and he pocketed the cube in his trenchcoat before turning in his desk chair to confirm his superstitions. Fiddleford's leg was bouncing at 2.3 KBPS (Ford could tell how anxious his friend was based off of his knee bounces per second), indicating that he wasn't necessarily distress, but was slightly apprehensive about something. "Stanford," Fiddleford said and turned to look at his friend. "These blueprints… they're somethang truly incredible."

"Well… thank you." Ford said hesitantly, knowing that Fiddleford wasn't done but he wanted to show his gratitude for the compliment nonetheless.

"It's just… not t'insult your intelligence in any way, but these blueprints are unbelievably complex. Even ya admitted t'needin' my assistance, so I'm just wonderin' if maybe someone helped ya come up with this idea. Did Stan or Hephzie work on this, too?" Fiddleford asked, hesitantly as to not hurt his friend's feelings by implying that Ford wasn't smart enough to come up with these plans alone, which was not his intention at all.

Ford shook his head with a smile to ease Fiddleford's worries. "No offense taken, buddy. No, Stan and Hephzie didn't help me with this. Hephzibah has been too busy at work and Stanley… no, they didn't help me with this."

"Than someone else did?" Fiddleford asked politely.

Ford considered the question carefully. He had been extremely careful to keep his Muse a secret from Stan and Hephzie, which was not an easy task, and he often wondered if it was worth it. It seemed like the longer Ford kept it a secret the more he asked himself if he should tell someone. Maybe he should confide in Hephzibah and tell her how Ford got the antidote for zombification. Maybe he should share with Stanley who has been helping them better understand the anomalies of Gravity Falls. Maybe he should trust in Fiddleford and admit that someone else has been assisting him in this project, but no. Fiddleford was a very superstitious and religious man, who crosses himself when he walks over graves and hates it when Ford says, "What the Devil!" If Ford told Fiddleford, he would think Ford was crazy, and even if he didn't think that, it would be unfair to tell Fiddleford and not tell Hephzie or Stan, and Ford couldn't tell just Hephzie or just Stan for the same reason.

Ford shook his head and picked up a stack of papers. "With hard work, anything is possible, Fiddleford. Now, would you mind going over these equations?"

Fiddleford met Ford halfway and took the stack with a smile. "Not at all, old friend, that's what I'm here for." He said, and decided to let it go for now.

It was times like these that Ford was grateful for Fiddleford's Southern hospitality.

Hephzie yawned into her palm before sipping her coffee. She had worked a long day at the hospital yesterday and was going to have another long day today, but after all of that she had two days off to rest, so she happily sipped coffee with her family and privately planned to grab a doughnut at the shop on the first-floor of the hospital shortly before work.

At ten-thirty, she put her empty mug in the sink, kissed Ford goodbye, and headed out the door as she grabbed her black leather jacket from the hook by the door, but stopped when she saw Fiddleford on the porch, about to knock on the door. "G'mornin', Fidds." Hephzie greeted.

Fiddleford looked very stressed this morning, but smiled a little when he saw his friend. "G'mornin', Hephzie. Headin' to work?"

"Sadly." Hephzie chuckled. "I should be back 'round midnight." Fiddleford cringed sympathetically at the long day Hephzie had ahead of her and she turned her head back into the house. "Boys, Fiddleford's here!" She turned to her friend and held the door open for him. "They're in the kitchen."

"Thanks." Fiddleford replied and walked into the house, leaving Hephzie to go to work on her motorcycle. Fiddleford didn't run anymore, but he didn't stall going into the kitchen. He found the twins drinking their own mugs of coffee and they smiled at Fiddleford as he entered. This also helped lower Fiddleford's anxiety, to the point that when he sat down, his KBPS was down to 1.8.

"Morning, Fiddlenerd." Stan greeted in a chilled manner. "Hungry?"

Fiddleford paused for a moment at his question and then gave his head a little shake. "N-No, thank ya, Stan. I already ate. Maddie made biscuits n' gravy."

Ford checked the clock that hung over the kitchen doorway again and said, "Well, then once we finish our coffee we should get to work."

"What's the plan for today?" Stan asked. "Should we keep on laying down the groundwork?" Stan might not be as technologically advanced as Ford and Fiddleford, but he was a fast learner and proved to be very helpful when working on the portal, asking questions the other two never bothered to ask and always handy to break a tie.

Fiddleford remembered why he had been so anxious this morning after breakfast and his KBPS spiked up to 3.9. "I-I'm afraid I have some terrible news, gentlemen!" He yelled in a panic. "I was lookin' over the plans after breakfast when I came t'the conclusion that in order t'power the portal, we'd need a Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive!"

"So, what's wrong with that?" Stan asked, assuming that the two geniuses were more than capable of building the hyperdrive.

"What's wrong is that humanity won't be able t'invent one for another ten-thousand years!" Fiddleford explained, and his KBPS increased a little to 4.1.

Stan looked down at his nearly-empty mug. "Oh."

Ford, however, gave out a hefty laugh, as if he had heard an amusing joke. "Oh, is that all?"

Fiddleford stared at him like a startled squirrel and stuttered, "I-I-Is th-that all? I-I-Is that all?! I just told ya that all of our hard work for the past month has gone t'waste n' wouldn't be possible t'complete for another ten-thousand years, n' all ya have t'say is 'is that all'?!"

Ford sipped his nearly-finished coffee patiently and calmly said, "Yes, because I know where to get one."

Fiddleford might as well had been shot with a freeze-ray or thrown into a lake in Alaska; he was completely still and rigid. He opened and closed his mouth to try to ask Ford if this was true, but Stan beat him to it. "What, you have one of those hyperdrive-thingys lying around here?"

Ford chuckled and shook his head. "No, but I do know where to get one. In fact, you do, too, Knucklehead."

Stan thought about it for a moment, a little unsure if he had ever seen a Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive, but then he slapped a hand on the table and grinned mischievously. "Oh! Yeah, I know what you're talking about!"

"Well, I don't!" Fiddleford reminded the twins urgently with his hands entangled in his hair. "What are ya two talkin' 'bout? Where can we get a Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive?"

Stan and Ford exchanged amused looks and Stan motioned his brother onward and leaned back in his chair to enjoy the show. Ford smiled at his old college roommate and said, "We can get one at a location we have named Crash Sight Omega, where an alien spacecraft had crashed landed in Gravity Falls millions of years ago."

Fiddleford's reaction did not disappoint. He clenched his hands and pulled, actually removing some hair from his scalp, and then left his chair to pace the kitchen in a very Ford-like manner, moving quickly and holding his chin as he swallowed this life-changing thought. "Are ya serious?! Aliens?! Here?! My cousin, Thistlebert, said his grandma was taken by what he called 'saucer people', but nobody believed it; we just thought her mind was leavin' her in her old age! Sweet Saparilla! If what y'all are sayin' is true, this could change everythang!"

Stan laughed and said, "It is true! It exists, and I'd bet my car that the hyperdrive is in there somewhere."

"We can take a two-day hike to the exact location." Ford suggested. "We could take the one-day expedition into the heart of the valley, but that entrance leads to the storage facility and we'll have better luck finding the Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive in the engineering section of the spacecraft."

"Sweet Heaven Above," Fiddleford swore and he held his head and stood still. "A real alien spaceship…"

Ford looked at his friend cautiously and asked slowly, "Are you alright, Fiddleford?"

Fiddleford grinned and looked at the twins excitedly. "Are ya kiddin'?! This is fantastic! I know y'all said this town is somethang else, but… well, never mind all that! When should we go? We need the Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive before we can move any farther ahead on the portal, so we may want to get it sooner rather than later."

"We'll leave the day after tomorrow." Ford settled. "The girls can go a few days without us."

Maddie stirred the tomato soup as Fiddleford talked to her from the table. Their son was listening as the boy patiently waited for dinner and for Maddie's response to all of this.

"A spacecraft?" She clarified.

"Yup." Fiddleford said with a nod of his head.

"N' Ford says it's hidden in the woods?"

"Yup."

"N' it'll take two-days t'get what y'all need from there?"

"Yes."

Maddie scooped up a bit of the thick tomato soup and tasted it from her wooden spoon. It tasted just like the way her aunt used to make it, so she tapped the spoon on the edge of the pot and got the three bowl to start serving dinner.

"Well, I dunno what ya expect me t'say except y'all better come home in one piece or I'll beat the whoopin' daylights outta." Maddie said with a smile and looked over at her husband.

Fiddleford grinned at her support and said, "Madeline, sweetheart, I promise we'll be just fine. I'll be home before y'all know it, n' I'll brin' somethang over t'surprise ya!"

"Can it be a dog?" Tate requested.

Fiddleford couldn't help but laugh at his son's quick wit; he never did pass up an opportunity to try to ask for a dog. "Tater, why on Earth would I bring ya a dog from a spaceship?"

Tate shrugged and said, "Cuz an alien dog would be even cooler than a regular ole dog."

"Well, your father ain't brinin' ya a dog or an alien dog." Maddie said firmly as she placed a small bowl of soup in front of her son.

"Aw…" Tate whined as he picked up his spoon and rested his cheek on his fist.

"No elbows on the table." Maddie reminded her son and he set his arm down.

"Why can't I have a dog?" Tate asked.

Fiddleford gave it some serious thought, seeing how a simple question deserved a simple answer. If he couldn't give his son a pet, he could give him an explanation. "Well, son, we just moved to a new place n' I'm very busy right now. It just doesn't seem like a good time t'get a dog."

"Well, when will it be a good time t'get a dog?"

Maddie chuckled under her breath as she gave her husband his dinner. "Tell ya what, Tater, when the time comes t'get a dog, we'll tell ya n' make it a family thang. Ya won't come home one day t'find a canine in the livin' room; we'll go out as a family n' find just the right one for all of us. Until then, let's just be appreciative of the family we got, k'?"

Tate thought about it and seemed to find no good way to argue about it in his favor, so he said, "Okay, but one day we will get one, right?"

Maddie paused from pulling out a loaf of french bread from the box and looked at Fiddleford, who looked at her, and they both did that neat thing most married couples seem to do when they look at each other and talk without talking. Maddie and Fiddleford both smiled and came to the same conclusion.

"Yes, son," Fiddleford answered. "One day, we'll get a dog."

Tate grinned, and to hide it he ate his soup without another word.

Maddie sat with the bread and her own bowl of soup and Fiddleford asked her, "Now, are ya sure y'all will be okay on your own?"

"Fiddleford, you'll be gone for two days." Maddie said with a roll of her eyes. "You're off t'go hike in the mountains, not t'fight in a war."

"I know, I'm just checkin' s'all." Fiddleford said defensively with a chuckle and a smile.

Maddie chuckled and ate her tomato soup. "Well, when ya come back, be sure t'have lots of stories for us."

Fiddleford thought to himself that he was the luckiest man alive to have such a supportive wife. Maddie thought to herself that she was a little worried about her husband going off to some place dangerous, but she kept her mouth shut for once and happily ate her dinner with her boys.