Stan lay wide awake, while Mabel rested peacefully on his chest. There was no way he was getting any sleep tonight. Not only because he felt obligated to watch Mabel the whole night to make sure she remained at peace, but because he couldn't bring himself to be at a place of rest after what happened that night. Stan Pines had experienced many sleepless nights in his life: the night he was kicked out, the night he lost his brother, the night he had gotten the call about the twins' parents. But tonight felt different. Unlike all those other times, tonight he took action, tonight he had actually managed to control how bad things could have been, tonight he had saved a life instead of destroying it. Nonetheless, he was still restless, and he knew just who could help set his mind at ease.

Keeping his right arm secured around his great niece, Stan used his left arm to grab the cell phone on his nightstand and dialed the familiar number of his twin brother and best friend.

"Hello...Stanley...is everything alright?" Ford asked in a groggy, but still attentive voice.

Stan didn't know what to say. He didn't want to speak too loudly for fear of waking Mabel up, but he needed to talk to his brother, he just had no idea where to start.

Ford could sense that something was troubling his twin brother. The silence on the other end of the line was deafening, but he couldn't help until he knew what was wrong. "Stanley?"

Stan finally managed to whisper through muffled sobs, "Mabel…Mabel was attacked tonight."

"SHE WAS WHAT?" Ford screamed so loud that Stan was afraid Mabel would hear it. "WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED? IS SHE ALRIGHT? IS SHE HURT?"

"Shh, not so loud, Sixer. She's sleeping right beside me. She's okay." Stan heard his brother's sigh of relief on the other end. "I caught the guy before he…" Stan stopped unable to let the horrid words slip from his mouth.

"He what?" Ford asked urgently. "Stan, what did he try to do?"

"He tried to rape her."

Ford put his hand over his mouth. Now he was nearly on the brink of sobbing too. To imagine anyone harming his sweet little Mabel in such a way was more horrifying than anything he ever saw in the Nightmare Realm. "Oh god…"

"He's in jail now but...Mabel's really shaken up...and...and I am too," Stan whispered, trying to stay quiet and silence his sobs for the sake of the sleeping child on his chest.

Even over the phone, he could hear Ford pacing back and forth. It was a nervous habit he's had since they were kids. "I'll wake, Dipper. We'll leave immediately."

"No need to rush home. You guys should sleep and come first thing-"

"I'm not getting any sleep until I see her," Ford asserted. "Dipper can sleep on the ride back."

"Ford, come on…"

"I can't just stay here and do nothing, Stanley. I have to do something. I just…I just feel so helpless from way out here," Ford confessed.

Stan sighed, he could understand Ford's frustration. He was right beside Mabel, and yet he felt helpless too.

"Oh, Stanley, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Sixer. That's why I called you. It seems like you always know what to do."

"Well, I'm afraid you and I are in the same boat on this one."

"I guess we'll just have to take it one day at a time," Stan said as he rubbed the sleeping girl's back.

"Yes, one day at a time," Ford said sadly. "Well, Dipper and I are no help to Mabel out here. I'll go wake him. We should be home in a few hours. I know you don't want us to rush home, but I'll feel better with all of us together."

Stan had to admit it would give him peace of mind to have all of them together. "Alright just, uh, keep things vague with Dipper. I mean, don't lie to him, but...this is something we need to explain together...as a family."

"Agreed. We'll be there as soon as we can. Take care of Mabel."

"And you take care of Dipper. Be careful driving home, okay?"

"I know how to drive carefully, Stan. I'm not you," Ford teased.

Stan couldn't help but give a small laugh at Ford's jest. The brothers said their goodbyes and Stan hung up.

Talking to his brother had finally calmed Stan down enough that he thought he might be able to get a few hours of sleep…until he felt a strong tug on his nightshirt and glanced down to find his niece looking greatly distressed.