"Grunkle Ford, can I have a pill this time?" Mabel asked before the bus even arrived to pick her up. She still wanted to support her brother, but the way she saw it, he was going to have Ford. If she was going to be without her Grunkle Stan, she wanted to experience the isolation in a dark, dreamless, state.

Her feelings weren't lost on the scientist, and while he was hurt at the continued distance between him and Mabel, he had no idea how to go about fixing it. He figured that it would be better for him to give her space for now.

He wasn't even sure how to attempt talking with Dipper right now. It was usually easy to talk to the boy, because it was so much like looking into a mirror of himself when he was young. Even though he was certain that Dipper was better than he could ever hope to be.

They rode in silence for a long time, Dipper allowing Mabel to lean on him for comfort as she slept.

Ford was on his laptop researching how to plan a funeral. It seemed like an odd thing to research, but he had zero experience in that field. He didn't want to bother the kids, but he still had questions in regard to making sure that they had the sendoff they deserved.

"Umm…Dipper?" he whispered nervously.

Dipper looked up at him.

"Were your parents…I mean did they practice any kind of…? I know our side of the family is Jewish…"

"They weren't really. Mabel and I would put up a Menorah and a Christmas Tree every year, but we never practiced a certain religion."

"Oh…thank you,"

Dipper nodded before asking a question of his own. "Do you think that there's a heaven?"

The question caught the scientist off guard. He certainly wasn't expecting it, but he didn't want to ignore the boy either.

"I like to think that whatever comes next is better than what's here. After all, life is a hard and heartbreaking thing, and people always say that the dead rest in peace, so I like to think whatever is on the other side is at least peaceful."

Dipper took the answer in before tearing up and asking a follow up question. "Do you think that wherever they are…they miss us too?"

Ford wanted to embrace the poor boy, but he didn't want to move him and wake Mabel, so instead he stroked the boy's hair and whispered, "Of course they do, and they always will."

"Me too," was the only response the boy could manage.

—

Mabel woke up just a short time before arriving back to Gravity Falls. She surprised herself when tears came to her eyes upon seeing the town sign. A few days ago, she imagined herself crying as she watched it disappear into the ether, but now, she wanted to be anywhere but here.

When they arrived at the Shack, they were surprised to see Wendy and Soos waiting up for them. It was long past the end of their shifts.

"Hey, dudes," Soos said, forcing a smile.

"Here, guys, let me take those." Wendy offered as she scooped up both Dipper and Mabel's luggage with her lumberjack strength.

Waddles gave a happy oink as he rushed up to his master, Mabel opened her arms and held the pig for dear life.

Dipper looked up at the Shack as it hit him that it would no longer be a summer getaway, but a forever home. He didn't care that it wasn't as big or nice as his childhood home, but he felt a sense of magic drain from it, nonetheless. It had seemed more special to him when he thought it would be nothing more than a vacation spot. It was now his home, and after the trauma of the past few days, he doubted it would ever seem magical ever again.

—

A little while later, Dipper and Mabel had unpacked some of their things (enough to get them through those first few days), and they were settling into bed. There were no late-night discussions, or games of mini-golf, only heartbreaking silence.

At one point, Waddles started chewing on the sleeve of Mabel's nightshirt like he had done throughout most of the summer. Little did he know that this was now a huge mistake.

"NO WADDLES!" Mabel ordered with a tone that was so angry and unlike her that it startled the pig. "You can't chew this anymore! It's Dad's…" she whispered softly, feeling guilty for yelling but being too prideful to say so.

Waddles was trying to comprehend his owner's sadness, but he couldn't, so he just snuggled up to her. He wanted to help however he could.

Ford came up to check on the kid's and bid them goodnight. Dipper managed a quiet goodnight, but Mabel just pulled the blanket over her head, pretending to be asleep, but he knew she wasn't. Stan was miles away, and he was the one by Mabel's side now. Yet, he felt so far away.