Mabel burrowed deep into sweater town while still holding her father's hand. When she felt Stan's touch, she peaked out from under her sweater for just a moment before burrowing deeper into it, as if she could make all of this disappear if she tried hard enough.
"Mabel—" Stan started.
"I don't want to hear any more about brain death or machines or science junk!" Mabel's muffled voice demanded.
"C'mon, kid, do I really look like the type that's smart enough to talk about that nerdy stuff?"
"I always thought you were smart," Mabel insisted from under her sweater.
Stan gave a small smile despite everything. He had no idea what he had done for her to hold him in such high esteem, but it meant the world to him.
He put an arm around her and pulled her close to him. "Well, ain't that a coincidence? I've always thought that you were really smart too…just like your dad." His voice caught as the gravity of what was happening began to crush him.
"Really?" Mabel whimpered, still under her sweater, but appearing to come closer to the opening.
"You bet. You remind me of him in so many ways."
"I do? Like what?" Mabel said as the top of her head surfaced.
"Well, you both are crazy artistic, I remember when your pops was a kid, he would steal my newspapers every single morning to use as cover for his art projects. I didn't get to read the sports section all summer!" Remembering was bringing a smile to Stan's face, even as tears had been building.
Mabel still had her mouth covered, but she was at least looking up at Stan.
"And remember your 'boy-crazy' phase? Well, your dad went through his own girl-crazy phase. He was pretty much in that phase until he met your mom."
Mabel smiled in spite of herself.
"Your dad was also crazy kind, like one morning he nearly burned the kitchen down trying to make breakfast for me."
Mabel managed a tiny giggle as she herself remembered turning the kitchen into a war zone on more than one occasion making her various (and rarely edible) creations.
"You got his talent for sweet talking too. I swear your father could talk his way out of anything! Just like you could!" He said as he noogied her head softly.
"And you got his eyes, the way they always get a slight gleam when you get an idea, or got some crazy scheme, or how they become big when your sad…" Stan's heart broke seeing how large Mabel's eyes were right now.
Mabel was quiet for a very long time. "Daddy won't be able to do any of those things ever again…will he?"
Stan could only nod.
"Daddy always wanted to make me and Dipper happy, and we always wanted him to be happy, because he was so fun when he was happy…" Mabel said with a shaky voice.
Stan was silent but rubbed her back.
Mabel then looked at Stan, took a deep breath, and asked, "Do you think Daddy will be happy if we let be with Mommy?"
Stan thought about his nephew: how full of life he was, how much he loved his wife, and how happy they were together.
"Yes, Mabel, I think he would be happy with her."
Mabel's eyes filled with tears. "Is it okay if I'm not happy?"
Stan could only nod as the two embraced in tears, both wondering how the right decision could hurt so much.