Dipper put the phone down letting out a tired sigh before bringing his fingers to his temples. He rubbed them in small methodical circles. A headache had developed and was becoming painful. There was an overwhelming desire within him to get this over with. Gravity falls had been overall tame with adventures since its end of the world. Whatever mysteries it had kept to themselves and didn't intrude on daily life. Though he did love a good mystery, he hadn't come to gravity falls to work. Much like Stan never did, not anymore. Dipper was tired. He prayed that they could get things over with before whatever it was escalated.
Eventually, after a bit of moping, he pulled himself out of the desk in the gift shop and left with his sister. They walked to the living room, inside they could see Stan asleep where they had left him. Their uncle was lounging like a sack of potatoes in the recliner, his mouth hanging open and drool dripping down his chin. An occasional deep and unpleasant sounding snore would come out of the gaping hole that was his uncle's mouth.
This sight, though disturbing, was endearing to the twins.
"Aww, he's like a wrinkly old man-baby." Mabel cooed, she then grabbed a shaggy old quilt from the sofa nearby and placed it over him gently.
Dipper smiled at this lightly before turning to find his book.
"I'm going to go make something for dinner ok bro?" she said to him, getting ready to walk out.
"Alright, let me know when you're done.", Dipper answered. He noticed the book wasn't where he left it. This fact made him uncomfortable.
"Hey, have you seen my book?" He asked just before Mabel left the room.
"Nope.", she answered before disappearing.
He began to question if he had misplaced it, or took it with him. But he knew he hadn't. So there was only one explanation, Stan took it. He looked at his uncle, who despite being a normal human was able to enter the forest, and he shivered. He didn't want to think about what it meant. Ford would just tell him that it meant nothing, that Stan was just too hard-headed to feel energy like what's in that forest.
Things like this, they had happened before. Stan didn't really sleep. Well, Dipper thought to himself, he did technically sleep but not for long. That old man will inevitably get up and walk around the house. It was just sleepwalking, that's what he was told and he believed it, if only a little.
"Grunkle Stan?" Dipper called out quietly.
Stans only reply was yet another long deep snore.