"Dipper, buddy, maybe you should get some rest," Stan said as he put his hand on Dipper's shoulder. "We can all talk about this in the morning."

"NO! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER AND I WANT TO KNOW NOW!" Dipper shouted so overcome with emotion that he forgot his sister was still asleep.

A loud voice pierced through Mabel's slumber and she woke with a start. She was shocked to see Ford and Dipper, as she didn't expect them back until morning. Mabel wasn't ready. Overcome with fear and shame, she turned her head away unable to look at her uncle and brother. She wrapped her arms around her Grunkle Stan's neck.

"Mabel..." Dipper asked gently as he reached a hand out to touch her. He didn't expect her to jerk away from him like she did. Whatever had happened to Mabel caused her to not trust the touch of her own brother, and that enraged Dipper before he could even grasp what was going on. Stan rubbed Mabel's back, as he gave Dipper a sympathetic look. Dipper hadn't seen Stan look at him like this since the night their parents had been killed.

While Dipper had spent the better part of the car ride back trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever happened, nothing could prepare him for what he was about to hear.

Ford knelt down so he was looking Dipper in the eye as he spoke. "Dipper, tonight an intruder entered the shack…and attacked Mabel. Stan was able to stop him before anything serious happened. But he attempted to..." Ford always had a way with words, but this word got caught in his throat. He looked over at his niece; she was cringing waiting for the horrible word to slip from Ford's mouth. Ford scanned through his mental thesaurus trying to think of a suitable synonym that could lessen the impact. But there was no milder version of this word that could lessen the impact. "He attempted

to rape Mabel."

Dipper felt his faith in humanity crumbling around his and any innocence he had left had been lost forever. Ford was going to put a hand around Dipper's shoulder and comfort him…

Until Dipper spoke again. "Where is he?"

Ford immediately retracted his hand startled by the pure rage in Dipper's voice. No one had ever heard Dipper this angry before. It even frightened Ford. "D…Dipper…"

"I'll kill him. I swear to god, I'll kill him." Dipper wasn't just upset, he was out for blood.

"He's in jail Dipper. He won't ever come around again. He'll be locked up for a really long time," Stan said, trying to be reassuring for both his sake and Mabel's.

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Dipper shouted, curling his hands into fists. "I WANT TO MAKE HIM PAY!"

It was all too much for Mabel and the emotional dam broke. Seeing his sister cry in distress eroded Dipper's anger. "Mabel…I'm sorry." Guilt gripped and twisted his heart; guilt for yelling, for making things worse…for not protecting her in the first place. "I'm so sorry," Dipper said in a shaky

whisper.

None of this was fair. It wasn't fair that Mabel had to go through this It wasn't fair that Dipper could do nothing but helplessly watch his sister suffer.

It wasn't fair their mother and father could not be here to comfort their children.

Stan and Ford exchanged a glance at each other that said: "I have no idea what to do." Before long, the two grown men were crying as well.

It wasn't fair that two childless old men were forced to become parents in what should have been the golden years of their lives.

The four of them cried together for what felt like an eternity.

It wasn't fair that no sooner that life was finally being good to them that something had to come along to shatter it once more.

Ford was the first one to speak. "I think we all need at least a few hours of rest." He surveyed the expressions on each of his family members faces, and it was pretty clear that they all needed some sleep. What was also clear based on their body language was that no one wanted to separate while they did so.

The first rays of the morning were shining through the window. Ford shut the blinds on the window so no light could come in as the sun rose. He then grabbed some blankets and an old mattress from the closet in the hallway. He quickly created a make shift bed for the four of them.

The four of them lay close to each other, Mabel in the middle protected by her family. For a moment, they were at peace. Soon all four of them were asleep, safe and together.