Stan didn't know what to do. It was clear that his niece was deeply distressed; her face was scrunched up in fear and small whimpers escaped her mouth. Should he try to wake her or see if he could reach through her subconscious to soothe her?
She began to violently thrash in his arms as if she was trying to escape his grip. The tighter he hugged her, the more she resisted. Stan wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but it didn't take long for him to deduce that she was in the middle of a violent nightmare, and the best thing to do would be to bring her back to the realm of reality.
"Mabel...pumpkin, wake up. It's me, Grunkle Stan. You're dreaming." Stan whispered as he gently shook her awake.
Mabel's eyes popped open. Not knowing where she was at first, she desperately tried to escape the arms holding her. "NO! NO! LET GO OF ME!"
"Mabel, Mabel, calm down. Calm down, sweetie." Stan cupped her face and gently lifted her head so that she saw his face. "It's me. It's Grunkle Stan. You're okay."
Mabel stopped struggling and slumped against Stan's chest. She felt guilty for mistaking her beloved Grunkle as the one who hurt her and lashing out at him. "I'm…I'm so sorry, Grunkle Stan."
"Shh…don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"I'm sorry," Mabel said again seeming to ignore Stan's forgiveness. "It's just that…it's just…" Mabel screwed her eyes shut, but it didn't stop the tears from slipping out of them. "Oh, Grunkle Stan, it was awful! He...he was back...I tried calling for you, but...but you didn't come…I was alone with him and he wouldn't let me go!"
She was shaking violently at this point, and her tears soaked Stan's nightshirt as he attempted to rub her back and calm her fears. "Shh, shh, shh, it's ok, pumpkin. I'm here now. He can't hurt you. He's never gonna hurt you again, I promise."
"How can you know for sure?" Mabel whispered as more tears flowed down her face.
It was a fair question. Stan couldn't know for sure. As much as he wanted to always do everything in his power to keep Mabel safe, he couldn't be with her every moment of the day. Stan was hit by the heart-wrenching realization that he could never 100% guarantee Mabel's safety. And it killed him.
He decided to let the question pass. Instead, he picked her up in his arms and allowed her to lay her head on his shoulder as he carried her downstairs. He figured he could try to calm her down with a cup of hot chocolate and some TV to distract her until Ford and Dipper got back.
She sat on his lap in the armchair in the living room as she sipped her warm drink. Stan grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. Normally, he would have stopped on something mindless and violent, but given the circumstances, he figured it would be better to find something tamer.
He finally stopped on that Rob Boss painting show that was always on at the oddest times of night. Mabel liked art, and Stan had to admit that even he found that Boss guy's show relaxing.
After a while, Stan let a yawn slip despite his best efforts to stay awake. Mabel nuzzled against his chest as if silently giving him permission to rest.
Stan wrapped both arms tightly around Mabel and cradled her close to him. He placed one last kiss on top of her head, and soon they were both fast asleep.
The next thing Stan became aware of was the sound of the front door opening. Stan jolted awake, his body still fully prepared to defend Mabel from whatever had entered the house. He went to reach one hand under the cushion of the chair where he had a small gun hidden until he realized it was Ford and Dipper.
Ford immediately noticed Mabel was sleeping. He looked at Dipper and put a finger over his mouth to signal to the boy to be quiet. Dipper nodded. They both came into the living room as quickly and quietly as they could. Ford whispered: "Oh, Stanley, I'm so happy to see you both."
"I'm glad to see you too, Sixer." Stan was already in over his head being the kids' full-time guardian. Now, he had to help Mabel deal with this traumatizing event. This was definitely a scary place for him right now. He was grateful that Ford was here now so at least he wouldn't have to go through this alone.
"Grunkle Stan…" Dipper said looking like he was on the verge of crying. The bags under his eyes indicated he hadn't slept at all during the ride back. "What…what happened to Mabel?"
In that moment, Dipper looked so scared and confused. It was a painful reminder of how young Dipper really was. He was always trying to grow up too fast, and thus, was very mature for his age. He was an extraordinarily bright child, but still a child nonetheless. And Stan had no idea how to go about explaining to him something even he, as an adult, could never understand.