"MABEL!" Stan was back inside the burning house searching for his niece. He had heard her scream upstairs but has since been terrifyingly quiet.
He could feel the smoke fill his lungs and his vision going blurry. But it didn't matter. He wasn't leaving without Mabel. He was either going to get her out or die in here with her. He tried to shout Mabel's name again, but all that came out were muffled coughs. He couldn't find her anywhere. He was running out of time.
He finally spotted Mabel's small form amidst all the smoke and flames. She was lying on the ground not moving. Panicked, Stan ran towards her as fast as he could. He kneeled beside her and picked up her limp body. "Mabel! Come on, baby, open your eyes!"
But Mabel didn't answer and her eyes remained closed. Stan pressed his ear against Mabel's chest to listen for her heart.
But he heard nothing…nothing except for a long endless beep of a heart monitor indicated the heart it was hooked to had died.
Stan awoke sweating and breathing heavily. Tears were forming in his eyes. He looked around the room to confirm that the kids were safe and sleeping.
He saw Ford stroking Mabel's hair softly with a look of deep regret on his face. Ford turned and looked at his brother sadly. It was clear to him that Stan had awoken from an awful nightmare, and Ford didn't need to be a genius to guess what it was about.
"She's alright, Stanley. Look, she's alright, see?" Ford motioned towards her heart monitor: Stan's greatest enemy but also greatest friend in this crisis.
Stan quickly wiped his eyes, trying to keep Ford from worrying, and also to save some face after his nightmare. "I know that, Sixer. It's just your turn to get some sleep."
Ford remained where he was for a moment and continued stroking the girl's hair. Stan looked sympathetically at his brother realizing that what he had told Ford about Mabel's heart must be weighing heavy on him.
"Hey, Sixer…it's like you said, she's alright. We're sticking with these kids, so you have plenty of time to make great memories with her." Stan smiled and Ford managed a small smile back. He bent down and tenderly kissed Mabel's forehead before leaning back in his chair and falling asleep.
Stan suddenly felt a squeeze of his hand. He looked down to see Mabel looking distressed. He was about to wake her up when her eyes suddenly opened wide.
"Grunkle Stan...water," Mabel whispered as her voice began to crack, and she started coughing.
Stan instantly stood and grabbed a pitcher of water on the nightstand and a small paper cup and filled it with water. He gingerly removed the oxygen mask from her face and cradled Mabel's head up so she could take a sip. "Here you go, sweetie."
She took a small sip and then shook her head indicating that she didn't want anymore. She had more pressing matters on her mind. "Is everybody okay?"
Here she was, badly hurt after nearly losing her life and she thought of her family first. Stan could cry. "Everybody's fine, sweetie. We all got out okay. Dipper and Ford are right here next to you."
Mabel looked around to receive visual confirmation that her brother and uncle were alright. She appeared to become worried about something else, but Stan already knew what it was.
"Waddles is fine too. He's staying with your friend, Grenda."
Mabel appeared satisfied and gave a small smile of relief. Stan was happy to see her smile. Until she asked her next question. "The Shack?"
Stan didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. She could read the sadness in his eyes like an open book. "Oh no…Grunkle Stan…I'm…I'm so sorry."
"Mabel, this isn't your fault."
"No, you don't understand, Grunkle Stan. I got up to get some water earlier tonight. I wanted to wake you so you could go with me, but you looked so peaceful…I couldn't…." Mabel's eyes glanced over the bandages all over his uncle's body covering angry red burns. "If I hadn't left you, then you wouldn't have had to go downstairs to get me. I'm the reason you're hurt. It's my fault that all of you got hurt, and…and we lost the shack," Mabel said as tears began to flow down her burnt cheeks.
"No, no, no, sweetie, please don't…" Stan pleaded. "Everything in that old shack can be replaced, but you couldn't."
Mabel was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke up and said something that tore Stan to pieces, "I wish I were dead instead of Mom and Dad."
For a moment, Stan couldn't breathe. As though those horrible words his niece just spoke literally knocked the wind out of him. And Mabel wasn't even done.
"Dipper needs Mom and Dad more than he needs me. You and Grunkle Ford could be sailing around the world, but you gave up your dream to take care of us. And now, you lost the shack too," she said as she struggled to catch her breath.
"Mabel…" Stan felt as though he could vomit.
"Maybe…maybe it would have been better if Brad had finished me off that night."
"Stop…stop, Mabel…please stop," Stan pleaded as though he were a tortured man begging his captor for mercy. "Mabel, for god's sake, don't you ever say anything like that again."
Stan cupped her face and gently wiped the tears from her eyes, being mindful of her sensitive skin. "Don't you ever think that some stupid, run-down, tourist-trap dump is more important to me than your life, okay? If I have to choose between you or that place, I'll burn the damn thing to the ground myself."
Mabel only cried harder at this, touched at her uncle's unyielding love for her despite the liability she's been to him.
"Listen to me, Mabel. This isn't the end of the world. We're gonna get it all fixed. I wouldn't be shocked if we had it back up and running by Thanksgiving." Stan smiled trying to infuse some optimism into the young girl who always tried to give optimism to others.
Mabel was deafly quiet for a long moment. "Grunkle Stan, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but…I saw mom and dad tonight."
Before, Stan would have just assumed Mabel had hallucinated. But he recalled Mabel calling him "Daddy" in the ambulance. He thought she had just been confused, but now he wondered if maybe it hadn't been Stan she saw. "I believe you, sweetie."
"I...I wanted to stay with them. It was safe there. I wasn't in pain. I felt far away from Brad and anything that could hurt me. Daddy…Daddy gave me a big hug and told me I had to leave them…but I didn't want to." Mabel was shaking. Stan was too at the thought of Mabel having to choose between life and death, and nearly choosing the latter. "Why can't we all be together?"
Stan didn't know what to say. She shouldn't be in the position where she had to choose between people she loved, she shouldn't have been able to feel the joy of a place free from pain and suffering only to be brought back to it. But at the same time, Stan couldn't bear the thought of going on with life if Mabel would no longer be in it.
"I don't know, sweetie. Maybe your folks knew how much we needed you with us."
"Need me?" Mabel asked confused.
"Of course, pumpkin. Don't you ever doubt how much we need you. You and your brother have brought us more joy than anything in the world ever could."
"But what about sailing around the world? That's been you and Grunkle Ford's dream since you were kids."
"We found a better dream when you two gremlins came into our lives." Stan gently ruffled the girl's hair.
"I didn't because…I would have missed you guys if I stayed with Mom and Dad."
"Not nearly as much as we would have missed you, pumpkin." Stan pulled her into a tight hug but immediately stopped when she winced in pain.
"It hurts so bad, Grunkle Stan." Poor Mabel was never one to complain, so Stan knew that the pain must be unbearable for her. Her medication was likely wearing off, and she would feel the full force of her injuries if she didn't get more soon.
"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to hurt you. Hang on, I'll call a nurse we can get you more medicine," Stan said as he reached over to press the nurse call button before Mabel stopped him.
"No! I don't want a nurse. I don't need medicine," Mabel said even though her face was scrunched up in pain.
"I don't understand, baby. Doesn't it hurt?"
"Yes…yes, it hurts," Mabel whispered in a cracked and pained voice. Stan reached back towards the nurse call station, until she said in a small frightened voice, "What if they put me to sleep and... I don't wake up."
The fact that this thirteen-year-old girl had this fear was enough to wreck Stan. No one her age should have to have a fear like that when closing her eyes. And the worst part was that her fears were actually grounded.
"You're gonna wake up, sweetie, cause I'm gonna be right here all night to make sure you do, I promise."
Mabel gave a small smile, trusting Stan to watch over her. So, she didn't say anything as the nurse came in pumped the medicine into her I.V. Still, she was terrified at the prospect of closing her eyes.
Stan knew what he needed to do, he also knew it would be breaking all the rules of the hospital, but he honestly didn't care (he didn't care about the rules on the best of days). He gently moved the wires and tubes out of the way so he could physically lay down beside his niece and wrap her in his arms. The nurse looked like she wanted to say something, but after catching the old man's threatening glare she thought better of it.
Stan was nearly falling off the bed, but he didn't mind. He wasn't looking to make himself comfortable. Besides, having his niece in his arms, the physical confirmation that she was alive, was enough comfort for him.
Mabel snuggled against his chest as the medicine took its effect. Once Stan was positive she was asleep, he pulled her in closer to him, holding her tight. He said to her in the softest of whispers, "Daddy's here. Daddy's got ya."