Stan's vision went red as he charged Brad and physically lifted him off Mabel. Brad was stronger than he looked, however, and soon had Stan pinned to the floor. He held up the knife attempting to stab Stan. Stan managed to grab his arm mid-stab, but Brad was still slowly lowering the knife towards Stan's face. All the while Mabel was trying to beg Brad to spare her Grunkle, but the gag reduced her pleas to muffled cries.

"Once you're out of the way, I'll get to play with her all night" Brad mocked.

That was the wrong thing to say.

A new explosion of rage gave Stan the strength to push Brad off of him and take the upper hand. Stan took advantage of Brad's surprise by taking the knife from him. He held the knife high above his head. Throughout his life, Stan Pines had done some awful things in order to survive, but he had never killed anyone, however as he glared down at the monster who had attacked his niece he was seriously considering breaking the tradition.

Before he could, however, he caught a glimpse of Mabel. Her eyes were filled with horror and tears, and she was shaking her head. After everything Brad had done to her, she still tried to extend mercy to him. She still didn't want to see anyone killed, and after everything she had been through that night Stan couldn't murder someone in front of her. That didn't mean Stan was going to let this monster off easy.

He grabbed Brad by his collar, so he could look him in the eyes. Stan then proceeded to punch the daylights out of Brad. The only time in his life Stan may have hit harder was when he knocked the lights out of Bill Cypher but in a way, he may have actually hit Brad harder. After all, Bill was getting erased regardless, Brad was a real life monster, and if Stan couldn't outright kill him, he was still going to defeat him. With one final punch, Brad was out cold.

Stan then turned his attention to his poor niece; when he pulled the gag out of her mouth she released a sob so loud that she was nearly hyperventilating. Of course, Stan hated hearing her cry, but in a way, it was the most beautiful sound he could hear considering what could have happened. "shhh shhh shhh pumpkin it's ok now, you're safe now, you're safe Mabel, I'm right here sweetie, I'm right here," Stan cooed, trying to remain calm as he untied the ropes that were used to bind Mabel up. Upon being released, Mabel instantly hurled herself into Stan's arms and continued to sob.

Stan held her tightly as he tried desperately to calm her down, "shhh shhh it's over pumpkin, I'm here, I got you," Stan whispered as he held her. The poor girl was shaking so hard that she shook Stan's frame as well. Stan knew what he had to ask Mabel, even though he was positively terrified of the answer, "Mabel, pumpkin did he..." Stan couldn't even finish the sentence he felt so sick.

Mabel looked up at him as if she was ashamed and embarrassed, but mostly confused. It killed Stan that she was having to go through this, "he didn't...I mean we didn't...I know you've given the talk to both me and Dipper, but he...his hand touched me...can I get pregnant from that?" She whispered.

Stan let out an audible sigh of relief that he had arrived before it had gotten too bad, but he was still heartbroken for his niece's lost innocence, "No pumpkin...everything's gonna be ok, I know it doesn't feel ok, but we are gonna get you help. Everything is going to be alright, I promise," Stan knew that it would take a very long time for anything to feel ok for Mabel, but he had hope that with lots of love and a little time things could get back to some sense of normalcy.

Mabel cried a little more into Stan's shirt until she finally looked up at him and made the most innocent and yet impossible request she could make, "Grunkle Stan...I want my mommy,".

She sounded so small, so helpless. It broke Stan's, heart. That shouldn't be too much to ask. For a girl to have her mother right now, and it destroyed Stan that he couldn't get that for her. It was such a simple request. He held her tighter and began to gently rock her back and forth. He didn't say anything though, there was nothing he could say right now, the best thing he could do was stay with her.

Brad suddenly released a quiet moan, but just the thought that he could wake up terrified Mabel as she buried herself deeper into Stan;s chest. "Please don't let him hurt me, Grunkle Stan," she pleaded.

That was a request Stan could gladly carry out, "I won't princess I won't," Stan promised as he began to pull away from Mabel, she cried as he broke contact.

"shhh shhh shhh it's ok sweetie, I'm not leaving you, I promise, I'm just gonna take care of this creep, but I am staying right here the whole time ok?" Mabel nodded as she slowly let go of her Grunkle.

Stan grabbed the rope that was used to bind his niece and forcibly tied Brad to a chair in the corner of the room, "there, see how you like it, you monster. That'll hold you till the cops get here," Stan scowled as he headed back over to Mabel's bed to comfort her.

"Grunkle Stan, will Blubbs and Durland make me tell them everything?" she asked gently.

Stan gave her a tight hug, "It's just to make sure this monster never see's the light of day again honey, I'll be with you the whole time I promise,"

Mabel allowed a few tears to fall, but she nodded nonetheless. Stan was inspired by her bravery.

When Blubbs and Durland arrived Stan had to admit he was impressed by how professional they acted. To be fair to them, Gravity Falls was not the type of town where "typical" crimes occurred on a regular basis, so Stan was pleased to see them take the situation so seriously.

While they were interviewing her, there were several times Stan didn't think Mabel would make it through, but she carried on like a trooper thanks to having Stan's shoulder to lean on, and Waddles in her lap. Stan was surprised to discover that the times Mabel got most upset during the interview was when she recounted how Brad had threatened Stan's life. Stan was both touched and heartbroken that even amidst her greatest crisis her main concern was his safety.

When they finished they explained to Mabel that she may have to appear in court to finalize Brad's sentencing. Mabel nodded, but Stan could tell the poor girl was completely drained from the events of the evening.

The only time Stan had ever seen either Blubbs or Durland look intimidating was when they were escorting Brad to the cop car. Of course their looks were nothing compared to the death stare that Stan Pines gave him.

When he was gone Stan knew that there was a long road to recovery that Mabel would have to go on, he was just unsure how to start with helping her, but he did know that she looked exhausted. "Pumpkin, do you want me to call Dipper and Ford and..."

"NO...I...I don't want them to know," Mabel said quickly.

"Why not sweetie?" Stan asked gently.

"Because...I don't want them to think I'm...you know?" Mabel couldn't describe it, but she felt so dirty, and she didn't want Ford and Dipper to see her that way.

Stan knelt down so that he was looking into his niece's eyes, "Mabel Pines, you listen to me. You did nothing wrong, honey. That guy was a monster, but it was not because of anything you did. There are just some awful people out there, but there was nothing you could have done differently. I don't ever want you to think of yourself as anything less, because of that guy's actions. Do you understand?"

Mabel nodded, though Stan was not entirely sure that she believed him, "let's get you to bed, we can call Dipper and Ford tomorrow," Stan didn't know if he had convinced her, but he hoped that she just needed some rest and more time.

Stan gently leads her up the stairs. Mabel didn't want to think about sleeping in the room where something so awful had happened, but she followed her Grunkle nonetheless. When they got to the top of the stairs, however, they went in the opposite direction of Mabel's bedroom.

"Where are we going?" Mabel asked.

"You're sleeping in my room tonight, is that ok?" Stan wanted to ask her permission even though he didn't plan on taking no for the answer, mainly because keeping her beside him would help with his peace of mind. When Mabel released an audible sigh of relief Stan took that to mean that Mabel felt the same way.

When they got settled on the bed, Mabel purposefully lay on the edge of the bed as far away from Stan as possible. This destroyed Stan more than anything, had this monster taken away Mabel's ability to trust and love? That would be a crime that wouldn't have a fitting punishment.

"Mabel pumpkin?" Stan whispered.

"I...I don't want to take up too much space," Mabel answered quietly.

"You'll fall off the bed if you scoot any further silly, come here," Stan said as he gently pulled Mabel close to him. Mabel took in his weird old man smell, and it gave her an odd sense of comfort and home.

They lay there in unmoving silence for a moment until Stan finally spoke, "close your eyes pumpkin, you need to get some rest,"

"I see him when I do," Mabel answered in a shaky voice.

Stan didn't know what to tell her. He had to admit that he felt the same way when he closed his eyes all he could see was what could have happened if he didn't get there in time. He took a deep breath, "He can't hurt you now pumpkin," Stan said as he wrapped a strong arm around her and pulled her even closer.

Mabel had to admit that she felt a little better snuggled up on Stan's chest listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart. It made her feel safe and soon she was able to close her eyes and drift into a dark, dreamless state.