I do not own Mystery Incorporated or Gravity Falls. But I do own my OCs.


Chapter 3: Surprises, Surprises


Dipper pulled Mabel forcibly back to the bus stop before he let go of her hand. Not long afterwards, he saw the white van that had been in old Monster Emporium parking lot drive away - and he was pretty sure he saw the dog in the front seat.

"Dipper - why'd you pull me away like that?" Mabel demanded, stuffing the piece of paper the lady had given her into a secret sweater compartment. She hoped Dipper hadn't seen the lady hand it to her. "It was rude."

"Mabel - we don't know those people. They're a lot older than us and-and did you notice how they drove away in an unmarked white van?" Dipper pointed to the road the van had driven away on. "Doesn't any of that ring a danger bell?"

"No." Mabel said, pushing up the sleeves of her sweater and folding her arms defiantly. "I'm sure lots of people drive unmarked white vans here."

Dipper rolled his eyes and was just thinking up a come-back when a familiar car rolled up. Dipper's and Mabel's mouths fell open in unison as the window rolled down and their father, wearing a pair of goofy sunglasses, smiled at them.

"Hey there kiddos," He pushed his glasses down a bit and squinted at his kids. "Wow, you two sure have grown…"

"Dad?!" Dipper gasped, blinking several times and rubbing his eyes. "Are you…wearing sunglasses?"

"That's so cool!" Mabel exclaimed, leaping forwards. Mr. Pines winked at Mabel and took off the glasses, handing them to her. "Awesome - are these for me to keep?"

"Sure," Mr. Pines said, pressing a button that unlocked all the car doors. Mabel put on the glasses before opening up the door to the backseat and hopped in. Dipper could only stand and stare in shock. Their dad…was wearing sunglasses. He'd never worn sunglasses before. Granted, it was probably because his Crystal Cove hadn't been sunny - but still, seeing his dad wearing sunglasses was unnerving. "Mason, you ready to go?"

"Uhm…yeah," Dipper said, taking a hesitant step towards the vehicle. Carefully he climbed into the backseat with Mabel, and was surprised to see a car seat strapped in the middle seat. Mabel was sitting on the other side of the car seat, eagerly bouncing up and down. Slowly, Dipper took his back pack off, sat down, buckled up, and closed the door.

"Everyone buckled back there?" Mr. Pines asked, glancing back at the twins in the rearview mirror. Dipper and Mabel both nodded. "All right - lets get you kids home. Your mom and Katie can't wait to see you."

"Katie?" Dipper asked, looking at the car seat between him and Mabel. He had a sinking feeling things were more different in Crystal Cove than he'd initially thought.

"Who's Katie?" Mabel asked, turning to Dipper with a questioning look. Mr. Pines let out a loud laugh that made both twins jump.

"That's a good one, sweetheart," Mr. Pines said, wiping a tear from his eye as his drove. "I know it feels like you and Mason have been gone for a long time - but it was only three months. Hardly long enough to forget your little sister."

"Little sister…?" Mabel whispered, her eyes going wide. Dipper quickly put his fingers in his ears in preparation for what he knew would come next. "I HAVE A LITTLE SISTER!? THIS IS THE AWESOMEST REALITY EVER!"

Dipper's breathing increased as Mr. Pines swerved the car, surprised at Mabel's out burst. He straightened out pretty soon, though not soon enough for Dipper's taste. While Mabel began a long and effervescent monologue about what she was going to do with a little sister - Dipper gripped his seat belt for dear life.


"Like, hello? Mom, Dad?" Shaggy said, carefully pressing the doorbell. It felt odd standing outside, ringing his own door bell when he had a key to his house in his pocket. Then again, this didn't feel like his house. It looked like his house, it smelled like his house…but it didn't feel like his house.

Inside, he heard feet coming towards the door, and took a few steps back when the door knob turned. His eyes widened when his mother opened the door and smiled when she saw her son.

"Norville! I'm so glad you're home," Shaggy felt chills go up and down his spine at his mother's too-happy expression and sweet tone. She was usually a lot more serious, and talked in a morose tone. "And I see you've brought your friends - come in, all of you. Colton's just finished making popsicles!"

"That sounds delicious, Mom," Shaggy said, trying hard to ignore the pang in his stomach. It had been a little while since he'd last eaten. The gang would surely understand if he ate a few popsicles before they began planning what to do…

"Unfortunately, we have a very important school assignment to finish up," Velma interjected, squeezing in front of Shaggy. Biting down his disappointment, Shaggy nodded. It seemed food would have to wait…for now. "Come on gang."

Velma unceremoniously squeezed past Mrs. Rogers, grabbing Shaggy's hand and pulling him in behind her. Shaggy gave an apologetic smile to his mother as Velma pulled him to his room. He heard the others filing in behind him, offering apologies to his mother in the process.

When they finally reached his room, Shaggy pulled his hand away from Velma. Glancing behind him to make sure the others hadn't arrived yet, he turned to look at Velma.

"You didn't have to do that." He stated, feeling a tension between him and Velma. Ever since their break up, she'd been terse with him, and rude towards his parents. Okay, so maybe his parents hadn't approved of her to begin with - but that didn't mean she had to be rude back.

"Shaggy, we don't have time for you to eat -"

"That's not what I meant," Shaggy said, folding his arms. He gave Velma a You know what I mean look, making her blush. They may have broken up, but Velma still liked him. Even though he'd picked Scooby over her, even though he thought of food before her, even though he hadn't made a move to patch things up between them. "You didn't have to brush off my Mom like that."

"I - Well -" Velma stammered, trying to come up with a defense. She did not like Mrs. and Mr. Rogers, at least the version of them she'd known. They were too controlling for her taste, though they had said the same thing about her. "Look, Shaggy, I didn't mean to be rude but - if I didn't intervene, who knows how long it would have been until we'd been able to come up with a plan?"

"Oh, so like, I eat too slow now," Shaggy said, the tension between them building. Velma felt her hands ball up into fists at her sides. There he went again - thinking of food instead of her.

"No, you just take a long time because you eat a lot." She stated, forcing herself to take a deep breath. Shaggy stiffened and tried not to let her remark get to him. He had a high metabolism, and as such he needed a lot of food to keep his energy up. If he didn't eat enough food and gain enough calories, he'd start acting sluggish. Carefully, he drew in a breath and let his arms drop to his sides. How had things gotten this bad between them?

"Hey gang," Fred said, popping through Shaggy's door. He held three popsicles in his hands. "Mrs. Rogers insisted I take you each a popsicle before Mr. Rogers put them in the freezer for next summer."

"Thanks, Fred." Shaggy said, his hand limply taking an orange popsicle. He stared at if a few moments before putting in his mouth, Velma's remark echoing through his head. Did he eat too much, he wondered.

Velma silently took the popsicle, twirling it between her fingers and staring at the bright green treat. With Fred and Daphne here, the tension had melted some - and for that she was thankful. But Velma had the sinking feeling that things between her and Shaggy weren't going to get any better if they kept arguing over the little stuff instead of addressing the main problem.

What is the main problem with our relationship? Velma wondered, stealing a glance at Shaggy. Or what was, I should say.

Before Velma could think up an answer, Daphne spoke up.

"So, Velma, why did you insist we come here?"

"Oh, right," Velma handed the popsicle to Shaggy and headed to his closet. There, she pulled out Shaggy's High School Yearbook and began flipping through it. She stopped when she came to a picture of the two kids they'd seen at the bus stop. She pointed down at the page and stood back so the others could see. "Look there."

"Hey, it's the kids from the bus stop!" Shaggy said, struggling to hold both popsicles without letting them drip.

"Rah!" Scooby chimed in, looking at the book. "But re've never seen rhem before."

"What kids?" Daphne asked, glancing between the photos and Velma. "You guys didn't go up to two kids at a bus stop, did you?"

"Well…kinda," Shaggy said with a shrug. He quickly put both popsicles in his mouth and proceeded to eat them, pulling the sticks out and tossing them in the trash. "Excuse me a minute while I go wash my hands."

"Velma Dinkley, you and Shaggy approached two underage kids at a bus stop - do you know how creepy that is?" Daphne's hands were on her hips, and her face frowning. "Especially since we were in an unmarked white van."

"I miss the Mystery Machine…" Fred moaned, looking out Shaggy's window at the driveway. The white van sat there, much too plain and unfamiliar to feel like his van. Daphne's face softened and she went over to Fred, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know Fred," She gave his shoulder a little squeeze and smiled. "We can get it repainted after we figure out what's happened."

"With four-wheel drive?" Fred asked, giving Daphne a hopeful look. With a soft laugh, she nodded, making Fred smile brightly. Still holding his popsicle, he grabbed Daphne around the waist and twirled her around the room. "I love you Daphne!"

Velma turned her gaze away from them, feeling uncomfortable with their public displays of affection. Shaggy never did that to her. He preferred to keep their relationship more under the radar, with movie nights and cuddle time alone rather than PDA. Stop obsessing over Shaggy, Velma told herself, giving her head a quick shake. Things are over between you two - so get a grip, girl! But Velma knew she wouldn't be able to do that. She still loved Shaggy, despite the fact that she also kind of hated him. Well, hate was a strong word - she felt he really didn't care about him, and she felt she should do the same to him. So…maybe she hated to love him?


Sorry for the long update lag! College takes a lot out of a person. Thankfully I have a few weeks off for Winter Break. Not that I'm going to be updating a lot (because of Christmas and everything), but I will have more time on my hands to write. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for all the comments!