Stan fell to his knees in the cold and lonely ER sobbing uncontrollably. It was a quiet night in the ER, so there was no one around to witness his emotional breakdown. But the reality was, the whole town could be here and he would still be an emotional wreck. His sweet young niece, who had already been through so much, and whom he had sworn he would protect had, for all intents and purposes, died right in front of him. On top of that he was certain that somehow, someway, it was all his fault.

Ford and Dipper rushed into the hospital entrance. Dipper outran Ford to Stan's side.

"Where's Mabel? Where is she, Grunkle Stan? Is she gonna be okay?"

Stan didn't know what to tell him. He didn't know what to say about Mabel's condition. There was no way in hell he was going to tell the boy his sister flatlined on the way here. He didn't know if Mabel would even make it, so how could he say it to Dipper?

Not knowing what else to do, he pulled the boy into a tight hug, which only worried the boy more. Stan was not the type to show that kind of affection towards him. The last time he had hugged Dipper like this was when he told him his parents died, so of course, Dipper assumed the worst.

"NO!" Dipper yanked himself out of Stan's arms. He looked up at Stan with an expression that was begging Stan to tell him the unthinkable hadn't happened. "No…Grunkle Stan, no…she can't be…she can't…"

"Stanley?" Ford's tearful eyes widened in panic at Stan's silence to Dipper's question.

"She's not dead," Stan said quickly, realizing how his lack of response must have looked to his family. "They took her back there. They're looking her over now."

Dipper bowed his head as more tears slipped down his face. Ford put his hands on his nephew's shoulder.

"Your sister is a fighter. She'll make it through this." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone.

"Do they know what started the fire? It…it has to be my fault." Stan didn't know what had started the fire, but he knew it had to be something he had done wrong: some appliance that he hadn't properly turned off or malfunctioned because he was too cheap to replace it.

"No, Stanley, it wasn't your fault. There were some matches found outside the shack. They think it was started intentionally," Ford said quietly.

The three of them looked at each other with tears in their eyes. Stan was able to piece together quickly who must have been behind this like Ford and Dipper had when they first heard the news.

"How did they even get in? The fire was in the house, so I...I must not have locked the door or something!" Stan lamented as his voice cracked and he began to become more and more hysterical.

"Stanley, that couldn't be it! I saw you lock the door myself...heck you nearly barricaded us in!" Ford said, trying to calm his brother.

"Then HOW did they manage to get into our house!?" Stan asked.

Ford looked miserable...like it was physically killing him to say this, "well the police did find some clues...the back door was open and..." Ford's voice trailed.

"AND?" Stan demanded.

"They found your bat Stanley...the first responders suspect that Mabel must have opened the door and when they saw her they grabbed the bat and...knocked her out..."

Stan had no words as he could barely comprehend all this information.

"That's probably why you found her unconscious. They didn't want to give her a chance to escape. They didn't want to give any of us a chance to escape." Ford put his hands on Dipper's and Stan's shoulders not forgetting that they had been endangered as well tonight.

The doctor walked through the doors and before she could even get Mabel's name out, two old men and a young boy bombarded her.

"Where's my sister?" Dipper demanded bluntly.

"How is she?" Ford asked just as urgently.

"Is she okay?" Stan asked desperately.

"She's alright."

The Pines men practically collapsed into each other's arms. The three of them broke into a tight hug over all that had happened tonight.

The doctor explained Mabel's condition. "She suffered only minor burns. We cleared most of the smoke from her lungs. She has a bump on the back of her head, but no serious brain trauma, just a very tired little girl."

Stan managed to collect himself enough to say, "Can…can we see her?"

The doctor nodded as she led them down a seemingly endless hallway towards her room.

"Remember, she needs her rest, so keep your voices down," the doctor said as she left to give the family some privacy.

They opened the door and peered in on a small girl sleeping soundly in the hospital room. Despite all the tubes and wires and the oxygen mask that covered Mabel's face, she looked peaceful, like she was just napping. The heart monitor, however, shattered the illusion that Mabel was just sleeping and not gravely injured.

Stan immediately pulled a chair as close to her bed as possible and took one of her hands. He made himself comfortable because he had no intention of going anywhere tonight.

Dipper stood behind Ford, hiding behind his uncle as if afraid to approach his sister when she's in such a fragile state.

"Hey, sweetheart, it's Grunkle Ford. Dipper, Stan, and I are right here, Mabel. We aren't going anywhere, we promise. I knew you would be worried about him, so I want you to know Waddles is safe. He's with your friend, Grenda. She promised to take good care of him until you're well again. Waddles misses you very much, so you've got to get well soon so you can come back to him…." Ford put his hand over his mouth unable to continue as the tears took over.

Dipper emerged from behind Ford and approached his sister. There was so much Dipper wanted to say, but words failed him. He instead did something he hadn't done since he was a child: he placed a soft kiss Mabel's forehead.

Suddenly, two figures entered the room without so much as a knock. Startled, the three Pines men stood up ready to protect their precious Mabel from anyone trying to come near her while she lay helpless.

It turned out to only be Blubs and Durland. Stan was less than pleased to see them.

"What do you want? Haven't you two morons put us through enough?" Stan said harshly but quietly to not disturb the fragile girl.

"We just came by to tell you that we apprehended the young men who started the fire," Durland started.

"It was three of them…hired by Brad to…take care of you." Blubs looked truly heartbroken at the state the young girl and her family were in.

"One of the three boys felt guilty after fleeing the scene, so he dialed 911," Durland continued. "Then, he came to the station and sang like a canary."

"Oh, fantastic! How much is it gonna cost their folks to get them out of there?" Stan asked as his anger at the cops for letting Brad go began to build.

"We have a confession, so we didn't set bail for any of them. They'll all stay in custody until they're tried in a court of law. You don't have to worry," Blubs said trying to calm the angry old man.

"WORRY? WE ALL TOLD MABEL SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY, AND NOW LOOK AT HER! SHE'S IN THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE YOU LET BRAD GO AND CONDUCT THIS LITTLE SCHEME THAT BURNED DOWN MY HOME AND NEARLY KILLED MY FAMILY! MY LITTLE GIRL ALMOST DIED TONIGHT BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO STUPID TO DO YOUR JOBS!"

"Grunkle Stan, stop! You're making Mabel upset!"

Stan turned around and noticed Mabel writhing and whimpering in her bed frightened by Stan's screaming. Guilt crushed Stan's soul as he forgot about Blubs and Durland (who took the hint to leave while the old man was distracted) and went over to Mabel's side. "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean to scare you."

Mabel continued to whimper and cry. Stan stroked the top of her head. "Shh, Mabel, sweetie, don't cry, shh. It's okay. It's okay."

As disoriented as she was, Mabel was still able to recognize her uncle's voice. "G-Grunkle Stan?"

"I'm right here, sweetie."

Mabel had vague flashes as to what happened to her before she lost consciousness. "Fire…too hot…can't breathe…"

"Shh, it's okay, baby. You're at the hospital. You're safe now." Stan gently cupped her face.

Hearing the word hospital Mabel cracked open her eyes, despite only being half open her pupils rapidly glanced around the room. She wasn't able to make much of anything out due to the mask over her face, drugs in her body, and overall weakness, but she recognized being in a hospital. The last time she had been in one of those, two of the most important people to her never got to leave.

Her heart monitor began beeping rapidly again...not unlike earlier when it stopped. Mabel was trying to speak — to articulate that she was scared and wanted to go home, but the only sounds she could make come out were helpless cries and coughs.

"You two, find a nurse now," Stan ordered Ford and Dipper urgently, but softly. He didn't want to scare Mabel more.

Dipper looked frozen with fear. He couldn't imagine leaving his twin again, even momentarily, but Ford gently pulled him away so they could help the best way they could.

Stan stroked her hair as he so often did to comfort and show affection towards her. The gesture was more important now than ever.

"Mabel, honey, listen to me...I know this is all scary, but everything's going to be okay. You're safe now. Nothing can hurt you anymore...not the fire...not Brad." Stan felt sick saying that name again — enraged that this had been allowed to happen in the first place. "I'm right here, sweetie. All of us are right here."

Mabel's cries had quieted, but her heart was still racing.

A nurse entered and administered medicine to calm her nerves and soothe her back to sleep. Mabel felt frightened seeing unfamiliar liquid being placed into an IV.

Stan squeezed her hand and cupped her face.

"Sweetheart, look over at me," Stan said as he gently guided her face away from the unfamiliar site and back towards him.

"It's alright, honey. She's not going to hurt you, I promise. She's just gonna help you feel better." Stan then leaned in closer to make sure she could see him. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Mabel. I need you to trust me, honey. Please trust me."

Mabel finally managed to make the slightest eye contact with Stan. She still couldn't speak without a mouth full of smoke, but the monitor was finally slowing down.

Her eyes filled with sleep again as her lids began to droop.

"Shh…that's my brave girl. Go on to sleep, sweetheart. I'm right here. I ain't going anywhere."

With the gentle words and familiar touch of her Grunkle, Mabel finally succumbed to sleep.