Slices of Life and Family

by bluefrostyy

PART 3 of The life of Sebastian Pines! (Read that first, I doubt you'll understand what's going on) The story follows Seb's life after Gravity Falls. Bill was defeated, but the Pines family still have thousands of adventures together. Old characters will come back, new characters will make an appearance, all to accompany Seb through his journey as a human (Cowritten with Mizuuma)

9. Fords sup special n much needed therapy

Hii we're back, hope you enjoy this chapter! Drawing in deviantart, as always!

Miz: Ford's magical friend making adventures

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Ford wouldn't say he was… nervous. Not… really. He just… had some concerns about his situation. He sat in front of his computer, hand over the button to call his new therapist for their first session. He should do it. But he just couldn't… quite push the button. He took his hand away and then placed it back on several times. Come on, he could do this. He could! Ford felt frustrated at himself.

He should build a machine, so when he felt...concerned, the machine pressed the button for him. Yes, yes he should do that! Where was his journal?

He put his laptop aside (great laptop by the way, Fiddleford's devices were starting to sell, quickly overtaking the other personal computers on the market), and started designing.

Luckily for him, Fiddleford knocked on the door. He knew it was Ford's first session and he had to make sure he didn't chicken out. "Stanford? Are you talking to Ashton already?" He slowly pushed the door open and frowned at the sight. Ford had his laptop next to him, closed, and he was happily doodling on his journal. "Shoot the goose and eat it raw! What are you doing Stanford?!" The blond demanded.

Ford jumped startled, but quickly relaxed when he saw it was just Fiddleford. "Hello Fiddleford! I had a great idea! A mechanic hand! For when you don't want to do something! It could even be used for disabled people and people who had accidents!"

Fiddleford deadpanned. "You don't want to call Ashton, do you? Ford, this has a word, fear, and also, Tate told me, it's called procrastination."

Ford hugged his pen to him and pouted. "I'm not procrastinating! I was...distracted...because I swear on TESLA that I was trying to call him! But-But I needed some help…" He said sheepishly.

The blond groaned loudly and opened the laptop to call Ashton. Ford looked away when Ashton's face popped up. "Oh, hi Stanford, Fiddleford...I thought you'd never call me."

Fiddleford stood up dramatically, grabbed Ford's journal (confiscated until further notice) and waved. "Tell Ashton what you were doing!" He turned on his heel and left his friend to his therapy session, closing the door of the lab behind him, leaving Ford alone in front of Ashton. Ford swallowed. "Ah, yes. Hello Dr. Kimbel."

"I've said you could call me Ashton if you want Dr. Pines." Ashton grinned a bit.

"Well, then please call me Stanford." Ford flushed, grabbing a chair and seating himself down in front of his laptop. He stared at the man's face for a few seconds before declaring "I don't know what to say...What is the protocol or the right procedure for a therapy?"

Ashton hummed. "Well...I'm not sure, why do you think there must be one?"

Ford shrugged. "Everything has a logical procedure, even weirdness, so of course a therapy must too." Ashton chuckled. "Well generally, I ask about how your day has been." Ford blinked. "But that has no bearing on my deficiencies?"

"Humor me." Ashton shrugged. Ford settled more comfortably in his chair and told Ashton about his day. The idea for a mechanical hand he was working on, the patents that he was waiting for confirmations on, the fire that one of the other scientists started that morning…

"And breakfast?" Ashton asked. Ford blinked. "What?"

"What did you have for breakfast?" Ashton asked.

Ford looked away, almost guilty. "Ah, I skipped breakfast this morning." He admitted. "I did have coffee though." Ashton raised an eyebrow. "It's noon." He said. Ford wiggled in his seat. "Then… I… should get lunch?" His statement sounded more like a question. Ashton didn't 0laugh at him, but he did nod. "I think lunch would be very good for you right about now."

"Ah… but I'm supposed to be talking to you?" Ford rubbed his arm. Ashton smiled. "I don't mind if you got a quick bite to eat. I have nothing else booked today." Ford nodded sheepishly. "I will go… and get some food then."

"I shall be waiting for you here." Ashton assured Ford.

Ford quickly left the office and ran back to the Shack. He looked for something appropriate to eat for lunch. There was a lot of things (Melody only stayed a few times a week but she always kept the pantry and fridge full) and he didn't know what to eat. Fruit? Fruit was appropriate food, right? Vitamins and healthy natural sugar. He grabbed an apple and a banana. That counted as lunch right?

...he also made himself a cup of coffee. Because that was part of a balanced breakfast, and lunch, and dinner, and snack...

Coffee went with everything because it was an elixir of life.

If he got hungry, he could just order something! Food delivery was the best things humans could have thought of! He happily returned to his office where Ashton was reading on the other side of the screen. "I'm back, Dr-erh Ashton. With food." He saw that Ashton had a few sandwiches too. The therapist nodded at Ford. "Welcome back. So, are you the type who prefers fruits or a light meal?"

"Huh? Ah, oh not really. I'm fine with eating pretty much anything." Ford took a bite of his apple first. "I got used to eating almost anything I could find when Stanley and I were lost in the multiverse…" He shuddered at the memory of some of the stuff they'd been forced to eat to survive. Ah… it made him miss William's cooking. That kind version of Bill Cipher managed to use alien ingredients to form meals that tasted almost like Earth cooking. Ford hadn't realized how much he and Stan owed that demon. The scanner to see if food was safe for their consumption had saved their lives multiple times over the years.

Ashton nodded slowly. Right. Space. And traveling through dimensions. Getting confirmation this was a...thing, even though he'd heard of some of this from Fiddleford already, was still shocking.

"Stanley and you seem very close, I guess it's because of how you two had to survive together during your... time in space, no?"

Ford hummed in thought. "Well...I've always gotten along much better with Stanley than with Sebastian even back when we were kids… But, I mean, it's not like I hated Sebastian or anything, I just… well, it was easier being with Stan, and that's ok, right? I-I don't know why I couldn't get along with Sebastian, we three used to have lots of adventures together as kids, but I don't know, I think Sebastian got weirder? I thought we were finally getting along better, but-but then, I have to admit I...I might have ruined our progress." Ford winced. Once he'd gotten some sleep and calmed down, he was horrified with himself and what he'd almost done. If his theory was right, and Zully WAS indeed Bill Cipher, he would have saved his family from the demon. But if he'd been wrong…

Ford had vomited into the toilet when he'd realized that. He'd felt sick for days afterward.

(He'd even had nightmares of what might have happened if Sebastian hadn't stopped him in time.)

Ashton nodded slowly. He didn't know much about Ford's other triplet, he'd like to get back to him a little later, but he wanted to know more about Ford for now. "That's unfortunate. If it was that bad, I can see why you finally decided to get help. You don't want to be cut off from your family. I have an older sister, mind you. We don't live anywhere near each other, but we always try to stay in contact, like you and your family I'm guessing?"

The scientist nodded with a pout. "I DON'T want to lose my family, I can't… I-I've been away for too long and I don't want to be alone again..but it always seems like, like I fuck things up when I try to talk! And I mess up even more when I don't talk." Ford complained. "I-I couldn't trust my niece a few years ago, if-if I had, if I hadn't pushed her away she would have known about the rift! She didn't like me back then-" Ford knew, he wasnt dumb, Mabel smiled at everybody, that summer when he came back, her smiles always decreased when directed at him. "And, when I was trying to fix things up with Sebastian because I was scared of him being a demon and-"

"Your brother was a demon?" Ashton asked, confused about the sudden shift and wondering if this Sebastian man was mean or cruel and 'demon' was some metaphor? Ford summarized his brother's complicated backstory. After that, Ashton still had his doubts, but if Fiddleford had seen the literal face of a demon (mentioned something about seeing Hell beyond the portal) and Ford went through said portal into space, so Ashton guessed the 'demon' comment was literal. And that apparently demons could be reincarnated into humans.

Still, it didn't explain much about Ford's fear towards his brother. He only discovered Sebastian was a demon once they were all adults. So what about when they were children? Ford literally just said they played and had adventures together… if Sebastian truly was a reincarnation of a demon, that meant he'd always been a demon, since they were kids. So why did Ford only become afraid once they were all grown up? From the sounds of it, there had been no fear while they were children?

"So, you were angry and scared of your brother when you discovered he was a demon because he pushed you and Stan into the portal, and you, in your ongoing paranoia, was convinced he was helping Bill, the real demon?" Ashton summarized. Ford nodded and Ashton bit his sandwich.

Alright… "Has your brother wronged you before that moment in any way? Has...Has he hurt you?" The therapist asked softly. If Stanford stopped getting along with his brother as they grew up, then something happened between them. Maybe Sebastian hurt him but Stanford couldn't recall it? That could be why he had so much trouble getting along again?

Stanford frowned. "Well, he always pushed me as a child and screamed at me...He jumped on my bed to wake me up when he knew I didn't like that and he was tripping over me all the time, and sometimes he...he was a little...suffocating...I wanted to be alone but he was there! Following me around! And well, then was the science fair where he broke my project but...but I'm over it now…" Ford said in a tone that made it clear he hadn't gotten over it. Ashton closed his eyes to collect himself. There was a lot there to work through.

"He pushed you? Screamed at you? Did you feel threatened when he did so? Did he hurt you? Did he call you names?" Ashton asked to try and get clarification. Ford blinked. "No he never hurt me. He just didn't understand how rough he was being. I don't think he realized he was pushing me. And he never called me names. He just spoke loudly." Ford said.

Ashton paused. "So, he was loud and rowdy?" Ford nodded. "It was very annoying. I don't know why he couldn't just be quiet like we all told him to."

Ashton had to rub his head. "So, does he do this now?" Ford shook his head. "No, he has calmed down since we were children, but sometimes he DOES speak very fast when he gets excited and hit anyone who's closer to him at the moment."

Ashton resisted the urge to stare at his client incredulously. Did he seriously not realize- the therapist took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "So Sebastian, as a child, was rowdy, loud, active-"

"Yes! It was very annoying." Ford nodded. Ashton gave him a patient look. "Stanford, you just described most young boys." Ford looked taken aback. "But I never behaved so terribly-"

"I have a son." Ashton said calmly. "He's a sweet boy. Around seven years old. He's very active, loud and loves to run around or smack people to get their attention."

Ford frowned. "I'm very sorry, he must be quite a handful."

Ashton raised an eyebrow. "Yes he is. But he's also behaving perfectly normal for his age. All children are different, but some children are simply more active. They're full of energy and it bursts out because they haven't yet learned self control. That is normal." He said. Ford frowned. "But I was perfectly behaved. Stanley was very active, but even he knew how to stay quiet when our father asked him to. It was only Sebastian who never could."

"Well I don't know your brother, maybe tell me more about him. It almost sounds like he might have ADHD."

Ford's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, yes, he does have that, now that I remember. He told us his therapist diagnosed him with it."

Ashton blinked slowly, waiting for Ford to make the connection. He didn't. Ashton was struck with the sense that for all his 'genius' Stanford was surprisingly bad at making connections. "Do you know what ADHD is?" He asked gently, in case Stanford didn't actually know what that disorder entailed.

Ford blinked. "It's a mental disorder. Which makes sense, the demon Bill Cipher was insane, so it stands to reason that if Sebastian still has his memories from back then, he would still be insane-"

At that, Ashton's eyes widened in horror. Was that what Stanford thought ADHD was? A sign of insanity? He had to correct him. "Stanford, ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It means that your brother literally has trouble staying focused, or being able to control his impulses because his brain is physically built different. It's a neurodevelopmental disorder from his genetics. His brain developed differently from neurotypical people."

Ford jolted. "Wait, it's genetic?!" Ford hadn't looked into ADHD, he'd been too busy and Stanley said Sebastian was getting therapy for it, so Ford thought it was fine so long as he was getting help...

Ashton rubbed his eyes. "There are many things that can cause ADHD. Most of the time, someone is born with the disorder, in fact it shows up more commonly in pre-mature births such as the case with twins, since the early birth might affect the child's physical development. It can also be caused by abuse or neglect in young infants during their developmental phase. Low birth weight, starvation and even illness and infection in a young child could cause their brains to not develop and grow properly and that can also cause the disorder." Ashton waved his hands, appalled that Stanford hadn't looked into the disorder even when he knew his brother had it. "It causes children to be unable to control themselves as their brains fire off signals more than normal. They have to go through years of therapy to learn the self control needed to control their impulses."

Ford opened his mouth to speak, but he had nothing to say. But...if Seb had this, and-and it caused him to be clumsy and loud… "Then...Then he couldn't control it? And I was angry at him for…" the sudden weight of guilt crushed him. But, it couldn't be that… right?! Because then...then Ford had called his brother stupid, and-and useless while he was suffering from a condition he was born with... A condition Ford never knew about!

"I'm a horrible person...I'm a horrible brother…" Ford's breathing increased speed just a little. "I-I was annoyed with Sebastian for being sick!?" But Sebastian had been surely acting the way he had just to annoy him!...Right?! Ford had always thought Sebastian was being a pain in the ass on purpose- "You mean… he...he had never done anything on purpose to me… he had never hurt me and-and I just hated him for being-!"

"Well I wouldn't know about that. I don't know your brother. But if he indeed has ADHD, he would have had many behavioral problems growing up. Restless, inattention, the inability to pay attention or sit still…" Ashton listed off. "It would have been very obvious. If your brother was really behaving as badly as you say, any counselor would have noticed immediately and suggested behavioral therapy to help him learn proper self control." Ashton frowned. Did no one do that?

"Did your parents know?" Ashton asked.

Ford took a deep breath and shook his head. "N-No...No…" He whispered in a soft voice. "No-No one knew…"

"Shouldn't they have taken Sebastian to a counselor? Most parents do, not just because of ADHD, there are a whole slew of disorders that elementary school teachers are supposed to look out for so they can inform the parents to have their children examined by a professional…"

"No one… no one liked Sebastian at school…" Ford let out a shaky breath. Was it because of his eye? Or his condition? Oh holy crap, he should have done something, he was such a bad brother, he deserved to die. "The-The teachers couldn't stand him and-and I remember he was forced to sit in the back so he couldn't bother anyone else...and-and I thought that was the right response!" Ford's tears finally made themselves present.

"So none of your teachers told your parents?" Ashton frowned. Because that was very… negligent of them. They were supposed to look out for things like that. Most children who start school would display all sorts of problems that teachers were expected to look out for. Like when kids needed glasses. Teachers were supposed to keep an eye out for signs of poor eyesight or...

"I-I don't know...but Pa always got so angry with Sebastian whenever they were called by the school and...and he hit him!" Ashton's eyes went wide with horror at that admission. "And I...I didn't do anything to stop that, I didn't want...I didn't want to be hit as well, but Stan didn't care, Stan was stronger and he faced Pa to try and protect Sebastian, but he couldn't do much either…" Ford quickly wiped his tears. "And Seb was always hit because he was always moving and, and at school, the teachers shouted at him! And just, they stopped calling on him, and he was just punished after school and-and WHY DID I THINK THAT WAS NORMAL?!"

Why did he...why did he still think, somehow, deep inside him, that Seb deserved it? For being so weird and clumsy and stupid and a freak ?!

'Oh, please, Brainiac~! You want to prove you aren't just a freakish weirdo like dumb Sebastian right!? You're SO much better than him~! You're the intelligent one, remember? Not like dumb ol' Sebastian. He's so stupid he can't even finish his schoolwork! HAH! He's so stupid he tried keeping you down! In the same level as him! As a simple, useless freak! Let's prove dear ol' Pops wrong, shall we?'

Ford clutched his head. Ashton sat up in worry. "Stanford? Are you alright? Do you need to stop?"

Ford nodded rapidly. He wanted to stop. He wanted to get rid of this voice from his head, he couldn't stand hearing it anymore. It was torture! Why couldn't Bill leave him alone?! He was DEAD!

"Stanford, breathe."

Ford nodded, listening to the voice (which sounded NOTHING like Bill's shrill tone) and he took a deep breath. Bill couldn't do anything to him anymore, he was dead, he was gone.

"Are you stupid boy?! Are you like your freakish brother?! Do you want to know what happens to useless freaks like him?!" "N-No! No! Please, I'll be better! I'm not Sebastian!"

"I…" He moved his hands a little so he could speak. "I want it to go away...I want the bad voices to leave…" Heavy tears spilled from his cheeks.

Ashton wasn't sure what this was about yet, but his newest patient clearly had even more issues than he originally thought. "I will help however I can." He told the scientist whole heartedly.

"Bill still...Bill tells me bad things, bad things I don't want to feel!" Ford punched the table. Ashton nodded slowly. He didn't doubt it. "I promise we will make him leave." Now Ashton needed to work with his patient's paranoia, self-esteem and very rooted problems with childhood, which were clearly linked somehow to his triplet…

The session finished for today, but Ashton continued thinking about his patient all day. And he promised to help. Just like he had been helping Fiddleford.

-.-

Next session was at the same time so Ford made sure he had food to show Ashton. Abuelita had been in the kitchen though and when he mentioned he was going to grab some food, she told him to get closer and pinched his cheeks.

"No sense, I'm almost ready!" The woman poured him a bowl of very nice looking orange soup, it had long noodles, chicken and carrot slices. "Is a type of pumpkin. You need good eating." Abulita told him. "Grow up to be a big strong boy."

"Um… I'm a grown man…" Ford held the bowl, it did smell quite nice. Abulita patted his cheek. "Eat your soup." She told him, there was a firmness in her gaze, like a sense of… not quite dangerous, but it was like looking up at a mother bear just waiting for you to make a wrong move. Ford meekly went to his lab with his soup. Abulita smiled pleasantly.

Ford set his soup on the table after clearing it of papers and tools and turned on his laptop.

He called his therapist and Ashton smiled at him through the cam. "Hello Stanford. How are you today?"

"I have food." Ford said. "It's pumpkin." He added, feeling somewhat lame. Like a child trying to show off the fact that he DID eat his vegetables so his mom wouldn't nag him about it.

But he also couldn't help but feel happy and proud. He had healthy food, like everyone said he never ate. Now he could prove for a fact that, yes! He did! And it-he took a spoonful to his mouth-ah! And it was amazing!

Ashton smirked. "Well, that's an improvement." Ford took another spoonful and let out a content hum. "This was really good! I had never noticed how nice Abuelita's cooking is!" He commented.

"Is she your grandmother?"

"Oh? No! Um..." Ford thought how to explain his weird living arrangements. "She's the grandmother of Soos, he's Sebastian's friend who-who moved into the Shack a few years ago…"

"Oh?" Ashton said, looking at him and waiting for him to elaborate. "So he simply moved in with you?"

"Well, kind of. It's just, while I was gone in the multiverse, Sebastian opened a tourist trap in my house and, somehow managed to create a fake will saying I gave him the house." Ashton frowned a bit. For all Stanford's talk of not wanting people to know things about him, he was very loose lipped once he got going. "Now it's not valid anymore, of course, but Sebastian didn't want to close the Shack, and I thought it was fine to keep the place open. So Seb named Soos the new manager. He moved in to check on the Shack and 'to watch over Dr. Pines'" Ford quoted as he rolled his eyes.

"And you like living with them? Why did you accept?" Ashton asked, actually curious.

Ford sipped his soup softly. "Well, I was getting along with Sebastian pretty well, we had just defeated Bill, he was healing, he had his memories back, and he had to leave, he loved the Shack, that's still his business, and I didn't want to… take that away from him." Ford took another spoonful to his mouth. Why did he accept Soos and his grandma again? Letting Soos run the Shack was one thing, but having the two of them moving in was...

It had been pretty awkward the first few months, both for him and Soos, they didn't get to interact much that summer and knew nothing about each other (just that Soos looked like a gopher, but Ford never brought that up again, worried about offending the kind man.)

It did have perks. He got food, and Abuelita was obsessed with cleaning so the house wasn't dirty. But he didn't know that would happen back when he allowed them in…

"Maybe...Maybe I felt...bad, and that's why I accepted." Ford finally said in a very vague way. Ashton asked why he felt bad.

Stanford rubbed his arm, embarrassed. "Remember...I-I told you about Seb being a demon?" Ashton nodded tiredly. Yes, once again this was related to Sebastian.

"Well, we-I-" Ford winced. He was still regretting being so mean to Sebastian. "We had been fighting a lot that summer, even after he'd spent 13 years fixing the portal to get me and Stan back. I told him I...I wanted him out of my house and-and to take off everything from the Shack… I think I let Soos stay because OF Seb, I wanted to... feel better after what I did… what I said to him." Ford shrugged a little. "I guess I thought that maybe I'd feel better if he got to keep the Shack, and the townspeople all seemed sad at the idea of the Shack closing so I didn't want to disappoint them."

Ashton nodded. "You get along with Soos?" Ford shrugged. "We don't really talk much, but I don't think we get along bad ." Ford finished his soup."He uses some of my ideas for attractions too, we tells the tourists they come from the research center." The therapist laughed.

"Alright… so how long have you known Fiddleford?" Ashton knew, he just wanted to hear Ford talk.

"Oh, since college! We were roommates." Ford smiled. "He's a very good friend."

"Oh, I can imagine, he worries a lot for you...and do you ever go out with him? Maybe with some other friends as well? What do you do for fun with your friends?"

Ford shrugged a bit. "I don't have other friends…" He and Stan knew Rick from their time through the multiverse, but he doubted that drunk scientist considered them his friends. "But I really don't need them, I work and I don't have time to go out, it would just mess with my job, like having kids." He shuddered a bit. His brothers were brave for having them. He loved his niblings but he didn't have to raise them! He couldn't imagine himself with kids, let alone 2! He knew NOTHING about children, he wasn't made for that!

"Haven't you tried talking with your other colleagues? Maybe there's someone who's caught your attention?" Ashton poked a bit, trying to get a handle on Ford's social life, because from what he was hearing right now, it seemed really… lonely. Ford blinked.

"Dr. Wexler is a very intelligent woman?" He tried. Ashton stared. "So, you don't have any friends aside from Fiddleford? Do you hang out with the other scientists? Outside of work?" Ford frowned and shook his head. "No, I'm… I'm always working. If I'm not in the lab, I'm out hiking the forest to find new samples."

"...Do you have any hobbies you do for fun?" Ashton asked, worried now.

"Oh. I play D, D and more D… well, when I can find someone to play with me that is." Ford blushed a little at this. But Ashton didn't make fun of him for that nerdy hobby, in fact he looked relieved.

"Alright ok, great… Do you play any sports?" Ford made a so-so gesture with his hand. "I train in the morning when I have time and I'm good at fighting, but no, I never did any sport, Stanley is the sportsman."

Ashton nodded and stared and Ford. "And you think what you do is something ok to do?" Stanford didn't have a healthy routine, he was an extreme workaholic, didn't eat regularly unless someone prompted him, barely talked with his colleagues and didn't try to involve in social activities. That was… going to need to be addressed.

Ford looked at Ashton. "...I have the feeling that you want me to say 'no'..." He said carefully. Ashton rubbed his eyes. "I don't want you to say anything, all I want is to know if you think it's fine what you do, and why you think so."

Ford blinked. "I'm fine. I get work done. I'm not distracted by frivolities." He thought it was fine that way. He had so many things to do. He was building a solar powered generator for the Center, to cut down on the electricity bills right now!

"Do you think hanging out with friends is a frivolity?" Ashton asked and Stanford shrugged. "What's the point of that? You aren't doing anything productive and it sounds boring…" He shrugged a bit, pulling at his sixth finger. "And how do you even know if your so called friends aren't trying to use you?! Fiddleford was my roommate and that was different, we spent a lot of time together but I don't trust anyone else to-" He considered. "And I didnt want a therapist because I'm just telling you my entire life and I don't know what you might do! And I shouldn't trust you! But Fiddleford trusts you and I don't have any other choice!"

Ashton didn't even blink when Ford screamed. "Do you think that if you make another friend, they'll try to do something to you? That's why you don't trust people to be your friends?"

"Yes! Because I can't stand not knowing people's intentions! Seb-Sebastian had a friend who was an asshole to him, he talked bad about him and called him names because of his hand and eye! And I don't want that to happen to me! Never again-" Ford shuddered at the memory of Bill. His dear muse who Ford had trusted so much... "Of course I tried making friends as a kid! But no one wanted to! Because I was a FREAK! Like-Like we already established! So I stopped BOTHERING! And then when I met Bill and he wanted to be my friend and… and then he betrayed me!"

Ashton stared at Ford when he ran a hand through his hair. "And of course, he was just using me! All the nice things he said to me weren't true, and he also told me bad things about my family to convince me the portal was for me to be great. He tricked me... He was just like...everybody who talked to me before…" Ford angrily moved his spoon on his empty bowl.

"Every person who talked to you wanted to hurt you?" Ashton asked softly and Ford nodded. "Of course. At school and college. They just approached me because they wanted something from me or to bother me...Of course it wasn't the same with the teachers, they appreciated me, but it only made the other kids think worse of me! So I had no way of escaping! One day they wanted you to explain them math, but the next day they ignored you and didn't invite you anywhere. And I know you might be thinking 'I didn't try hard enough' but I did, it was just my hands ! Because Sebastian, Sebastian was ALWAYS trying to make friends, but the kids didn't like him either! And those who claimed they did, just humiliated him! Or just straight out insult him! And I wasn't going to go through that too! I could avoid it! So I didn't care about their stupid parties or meetings! About going out with people who could easily be talking shit about me later! Or when they only chose me as a group partner because they wanted to use me! I had better things to do! And I'm definitely better than those stupid morons and their stupid birthday parties and gossiping and DRAMA!"

Ford finished his rant, loudly gasping for air.

Ashton calmly took a sip of his tea. "So, paranoia, yes? I'm not saying it's not justified, but here's something that I need you to understand." Ford sat heavily in his chair and frowned. Ashton sighed. "Children are dicks." Ashton said simply. "Especially if they haven't been taught right from wrong. I'm sure you've met some awful people when you were a child, but here's the thing, children grow up. Some of them never learn right from wrong. Some of them never learn to be a good person. But that's how it is with humans. And you shouldn't write off all everyone you don't know as a potential enemy just because they 'could' betray you. Humans require social interaction, even the most introverted of people still need to spend some time with people."

"I don't like that. I prefer being on my own." Ford complained childishly. Ashton hummed. "You do? You'd be fine in a secluded place? All alone without seeing anyone?"

"Very much." The scientist grumbled stubbornly. "I don't like depending on people."

"So you'd be fine without seeing your family ever again? Being completely on your own? Locked up somewhere with your research?"

Ford pursed his lips. "Well… no… I like being with my family… playing D, D and more D with Dipper and… talking to Fiddleford too, and his family is nice…" Ashton grinned. "Then you see? You also need people, especially your family."

The therapist slowly hit his pencil against his fingertips as he thought. "Can I make a guess? Tell me if I'm wrong." He waited for Stanford to nod before slowly phrasing his thoughts. He liked to use his triplet as comparison for some reason? Fine, he could work with that for now until he discovered why he did that in the first place. "Soos was Sebastian's friend, right?" Ford nodded. "What's stopping you from being his friend too? Or any person who works in the center? Do they care about your six fingers?"

Ford grabbed his pinky and looked down. "...No, I-I don't think so...One, one scientist even mentioned once that-that he...he admired me…" That made him feel good.

"Uh huh, so, if the problem isn't your hands in this case, then why not try becoming friends? My question is this: don't you think that, because of your deep fear of being rejected, you are also accidentally shutting off potential friends ?"

"But what if they don't want to be friends? What if they just want something from me?!"

"But what if they do?" Ashton smiled kindly. "I know you have trouble trusting, that's what paranoia is about, but what I want you to see is that, you can't always know everything, life is like that. We slowly build friendships, over time, after knowing those people better! There are many assholes in this world, I won't deny it, but there are also good people out there who would want to be friends if you gave them a chance~" Ashton explained.

Ford rubbed his arm. "We-Well...There were...these kids I played D,D and more D with when I was a kid...They...They made meetings outside our games, like, to eat pizza and play videogames and that stuff...but I never went to them…"

"And why is that?" The man asked Ford patiently.

"Because...Because I thought I wasn't invited…" Ford whispered with a frown. He had never considered going as an option! He only played with them, but he never thought they'd want him outside their D, D and more D games...If, if he had decided to go, who could tell if they would have mocked him? What if he HAD been invited as well, and he could have had friends! He could have met them better, eat pizza and talk about many other stuff, instead of going back home, thinking about how much he didn't care that they were having pizza without him...

Ford paused. "Wow. I am very sad." He said simply. Ashton nodded solemnly. "And that's why we're here." Ford groaned and buried his face in his hands. "So… you want me to go out and… talk to people? Make friends?" Ford asked quietly. Ashton raised an eyebrow. "I'm not making you do anything. It's up to you."

Ford thought about it. "The other scientists at the Center all admire me." He said quietly. "And none of them have ever brought up my hands in a way that was insulting…" He rubbed at his face. "I guess… I can try… talking to them more?"

"Well, the final decision is up to you, but I do recommend you try to get to know more people.." Ashton told him gently.

Ford slumped in his chair. He hated socializing. It was so hard!

-.-

Stanley laughed at him when Ford told his brother he was planning out how to talk to some of his colleagues. Specifically, Stan was laughing about the long list of things Ford had written in order to attempt said socialization. Stan, feeding Diego some baby food, had snorted so hard he knocked the plate off the table and onto the floor. Diego stared sadly at his lost food. Nooo his orange goop!

"You're overreacting, Ford! You don't need some checklist to talk to people. You're all nerds right? Just talk about nerd stuff." Stan told him. Diego tried reaching for his food, but from his high baby chair, it was useless. He closed his eyes in grief when mommy groaned and started cleaning it up.

"Um, do you think we can be friends just talking about science?" Ford asked in a quiet voice. Stan sighed fondly. So dumb. The dumbest genius. "You don't make friends just like that, talking about things you have in common is a great way to start though! You'll do fine~ Hey! Where's the kid's food?!"

Diego narrowed his eyes at daddy. He "Hmph!"ed and kicked his little legs. Mommy was petting his curly hair while rolling her eyes. "I'll go get more."

So Ford decided to spend some time at the Center's lounge to watch the scientists there. The place had couches, and a small kitchen in case someone wanted to use a microwave (it was prohibited to put experiments there, dammit Arnold we told you four times already), or make themselves some coffee.

The number of people working here had increased a lot, and he was proud that more people chose to work here. The problem was that he didn't know any of these people, and it made everything harder. It was comforting to know that every single one of these people had gone through a strict psychological exam and were only the best from the best. So at least they weren't that bad to begin with.

A woman entered the lounge, stretched, threw her lab coat to one couch and marched up to her locker to take out her lunch. Ford could recognize her, she was from the first batch of applicants to join the Center. What was her name again… he knew she was Dr. Wexler, but what was her first name?

Dr. Wexler closed her locker, holding a small microwave safe container and turning on her heel to make a beeline to said microwave. Ford was still staring at her as he tried to subtly look at her name tag. It was on a lanyard around her neck, the Identification card was right over her chest. Ford shifted over and stared at it, trying to read her name.

"Is there a reason you're staring at my chest Dr. Pines?" The woman asked, raising an eyebrow. Ford flushed and waved his arms. "N-no I'm just- you-" Ford tried to explain himself and keep himself from running away, he already started bad! "Your name is there and I couldn't see it and-" Ah! This was so embarrassing! He should have brought his checklist! Abort! ABORT! "I have to go! Science stuff! Good bye!" Ford said as he turned on his heel and marched stiffly away.

"Wait, Dr. Pines!" Dr. Wexler called out. Ford almost didn't stop. But she didn't sound angry so…

Ford turned, instinctively folding his hands behind his back. "A-ah, yes?" He stammered.

Dr. Wexler took her food out of the microwave, popped the lid open and poured some coffee into it. "My name's Amy Wexler. You could have asked. Goodness knows I'm having trouble keeping track of people's names." She said while stirring the very inedible looking concoction in her tupperware. Ford glanced down at it, horrified and fascinated all at once. Was there ground beef in there? "It's very nice to meet you Dr. Wexler. Amy. Amy Wexler. Can I call you Amy, wait, no, Dr. Wexler is better. Right. Yes. You must have studied hard for your title-it-it's more formal, yes." truly, Ford was the epitome of grace and charm.

Dr. Wexler raised an eyebrow even as she finished stirring coffee into her… was that some sort of lasagna(?) and then opened one of the half and half creamers cups to pour in as well. "I suppose Dr. Wexler is fine. Did you wish to speak with me, Dr. Pines?" She asked, now adding sugar and… ketchup(?!) to her increasingly toxic looking lunch. Ford was actually getting worried now. He didn't know much about food, but he was quite sure what she was making there was going to be awful.

"Oh, it's- I was just-" Ford didn't know how to respond to that. "I was just hoping to-" He watched her open a packet of soy sauce and drizzle that in too and he just couldn't hold back anymore.

"-to know what you're doing, holy Axolotl…" Ford muttered as he stared at the slop that was once food in horror. Dr. Wexler actually smirked. "Lunch!" She all but chirped. Ford held back a gag. "Ah. I see…" He knew there was an examination before scientists were hired for the Center. So she must be quite brilliant. But… but…

And Dr. Wexler took out a spoon, carefully scooped out a tiny bit of the 'thing' she made and took it up to her mouth. Ford watched, unable to look away. She placed it in her mouth, eyes going wide and turning to spit it out into the kitchen sink. "Oh that is awful!" she said (cheerfully?!) as she straightened back up, pulling out a thermos and gulping down the contents.

"Ah… well. Not to insult your culinary skills," Ford had heard that apparently women (and his brothers) hated having their cooking insulted "But I'm sure mixing all those things together would be quite awful to the taste buds." He wasn't sure why she looked so happy though. Dr. Wexler laughed. "Well it needs to be awful!" She said matter of factly. Ford blinked, not quite understanding. "Um. Oh, okay?"

Dr. Wexler looked almost giddy as she went back to her lab coat and pulled out a small vial from one of the pockets. She had her phone out in her other hand, typing something down. "Experiment 22. Altering the receptors." She mumbled as she quickly jotted down on her phone. Under Ford's curious eyes, she opened the vial and carefully dripped a small droplet onto her tongue. She smacked her lips together, moving her tongue around to spread the substance all over it before she turned to Ford and grinned. Never breaking eye contact, she spooned out some of the sludge and placed it in her mouth, this time she hummed in appreciation before digging in to her meal with gusto.

"It tastes like strawberries now! Everything tastes like strawberries now!" Dr. Wexler said happily. She was glad that it worked. She'd tried this with several other types of food but she needed something truly vile to really see the results of her experiment.

Ford gaped, his mouth so wide his jaw could have dislodged. And finally, after seeing the woman eat half of the thing she created, he finally came out of his stupor. "That, that's amazing!" He gasped, with a huge grin on his face.

Dr. Wexler chuckled. "Yup. I'm working on making this stuff into a type of drink. If I can get more flavors working, I was thinking of marketing it as an easy way to get children to eat their vegetables. Or getting people to eat more healthy foods by making them taste like something else." She looked quite proud of herself. "I've mainly made various fruit flavors so far. Still hoping to make a fried chicken flavor at some point but it's still a work in progress."

"Woah…" Ford whispered. "Fascinating…" He stared at the horrible mess. If she could fix the taste of the vile creation, she will surely conclude her experiment. "That would have been a godsend out in space, when we had to eat a lot of very nasty food." He commented. Ford was very hush about his time in the multiverse, but the scientists knew about the portal, Fiddleford briefed them about it, as well as warned them all to never attempt to rebuild it. They all treated the broken pieces as some sort of valuable antique. Dr. Wexler raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Was space food really that bad?" She asked as she walked out of the room and towards a larger dining hall like area where many other scientists and workers were sitting down for their own lunches.

Ford followed her. "Well, they weren't all bad. But there were certainly some unique flavors out there. A lot of sour food. Though that might have been because a lot of things are acidic out there but, well, we survived so it wasn't too bad…"

Ford ended up sitting at a table with her and several other scientists. Dr. Wexler introduced them to him. "Ah, these are my friends. That's Dr. Arjun Poddar-"

The dark skinned man grinned and waved. "Hello Dr. Pines. Fancy seeing you here. Guess that means you DO get hungry sometimes." The man turned to the man beside him. "Oi Brucy you owe me $20." The other man, whom Dr. Wexler introduced as Dr. Bruce Clark, rolled his eyes, grumbled and pulled out the cash. "There goes my theory that the boss just IV drips the nutrients into himself…" Dr. Clark muttered. Ford blinked. That was… actually an amazing idea!

Dr. Wexler glared at the two as Ford managed a small smile. "No, unfortunately I do eat, but you gave me an idea!" He should try it!

The last man, eating a pudding, shook his head. "Don't listen to the dumb ideas of these two, Dr. Pines, eating is much better, and more delicious!" He hummed happily at his chocolate treat. Ford knew his name was Jerald, but he couldn't remember if that was his given name or last name! Aahh!? Why didn't Dr. Wexler introduce him too?!

"So whatcha doing here among us mortals, Dr. Pines? I haven't seen you in a while." Dr. Clark asked. Ford rubbed the back of his head when he had the four scientists stare at him, analyzing him, questioning him, judging him-

"Are you working on something at the moment?" Dr. Jerald asked too. "I'd love to have your opinion on my latest project." and Ford couldn't help but feel a little proud about that. They wanted to look to HIM for help? Well. That was only to be expected, he was technically their boss after all. "I'm just working on making a mechanical arm that can perform tasks for you. Perhaps hooking up the sensors to nerve endings so it could function as a working prosthetic…"

"Like in Partial Alloy Chemist?!" Dr. Clark asked eagerly. Dr. Jerald smacked him lightly on the arm. "Nerd~" He teased good naturedly. Ford blinked at them. "What?"

"Nothing. Just a stupid anime." Dr. Jerald rolled his eyes as Dr. Clark gasped and placed a hand on his chest. "It's NOT a stupid anime! It's one of the best! The symbolism! The commentary on the nature of War and the human condition-" Dr. Jerald and the others all rolled their eyes. Not this again.

Ford listened to the man talk and talk, but while he understood what he was talking about, he had no idea what anime he was referring to. Ford never really watched shows anymore. "What do you think, Dr. Pines?!" Ford blinked and looked back at him. "Excuse me?"

"Don't torment him with your animes!" Dr. Poddar groaned. Ford nervously played with his sixth finger. "Well, I can't give you my opinion, I have never watched this...anime. I don't really follow series or-or watch TV."

Dr. Clark gasped horrified. "Whaaaat?! But there are so many good shows on Nexflit!" He whined. He was a fan of movies and series. Practically a cinephile.

"No one has your time to procrastinate, Bruce." Dr. Poddar made a 'duh' face and Dr. Clark gasped, offended. "Excuse me!? I work hard! But I also want to live my life!" He looked back at Ford. "You should totally look up Partial Alloy Chemist! It's such a cool show!" Ford nodded slowly, not really planning on doing that. He had way too much work to do. "Right, maybe when I have time."

"So what's your lunch Dr. Pines?" Dr. Jerald asked, chewing on his own sandwich. He brushed the crumbs off his mustache. Ford flushed as he realized he didn't bring a lunch today. "I, ah, need to go and…" He looked over at the Cafeteria, they had food here. Freshly prepared and ready for people to grab and eat. Fiddleford had insisted on this being part of the facilities for the Center and Ford was very glad his friend had done so. "I'm going to go grab something." He told them before stiffly walking away. He hoped he wasn't being too awkward!

As Ford walked out of earshot, Dr. Poddar turned to Dr. Wexler "I can't believe the boss is actually here! I haven't seen him since Orientation week! And that time he brought his family on a tour of the place!" Dr. Wexler shrugged. "Yeah, surprised me too. I guess he's probably shy or something."

They all nodded. That was kind of adorable. Well, as weird as it was to call a 30-40 something year old man adorable. But he was! Most of the scientists working here (both men and women) secretly agreed together that their mysterious boss, the great Dr. Pines, was absolutely adorable. They'd never say it to his face of course, he was the one sending them their paychecks after all.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'll convince him to watch anime." Clark smirked and his friends all groaned.

"I wonder why he's suddenly here? Will he have lunch with us from now on? That would be cool, we could talk about our work with him." Dr. Jerald hummed, stroking his chin in thought. Dr. Wexler shrugged. "It'd be nice. But the poor guy looks so spooked. Like a scared owl." When he wanted to see her name, she actually felt bad for scaring him. He almost ran away!

"That's because Bruce scared him with anime!" Dr. Poddar laughed and Dr. Clark nudged him. "I wasn't scaring him!"

Ford finally returned with some food and stared at the group. "Um...I brought some food now…" His tray had a single apple and a bowl of oatmeal.

"Is that like, a snack before real lunch?" Dr. Clark whispered (there was so little food! He was hungry at the thought of only eating so little) and was nudged by Dr. Poddar.

"Well, I'm not very hungry right now." Ford explained as he quietly sat down. Dr. Clark shrugged, but he was still shocked. He guessed Stanford HAD to eat at some point, he was very tall and not skinny at all. (Actually, he was kinda jealous of the doc's muscles, like daaaaaamn~) The group ate quietly for a bit before Dr. Poddar brought up, "So I noticed we didn't get to finish the introductions?"

"Oh right." Dr. Wexler gestured to the last guy at the table. "That's Jerald. Dr. Jerald. Jerald Jerald. That's his name."

"That is NOT my name!" Dr. Jerald whined. Everyone else laughed, Dr. Wexler even thumped him on the back with a fond smile, they were never going to let this inside joke go. It was simply too funny. Ford waited but no one actually gave him Dr. Jeralds real full name. And Ford was too timid to ask.

He squinted, but Dr. Jerald wasn't wearing his identification. So Ford guessed he'd have to call him Dr. Jerald until he knew his full name. No big deal.

"So…" Ford stared at his food. What was a general question he could ask? "Where are you from? Um, I'm from New Jersey…"

"Really? Huh, who would have known?" Dr. Poddar smiled. "I was born in India, but my family came here when I was a child."

Dr. Wexler smiled. "I'm from Maine. Though I lived in New York for a good portion of my life before coming here."

Dr. Clark shrugged. "Boston." He said simply.

Dr. Jerald wiped his mouth with a napkin before speaking. "I'm from Virginia."

"Woo! Diversity!" Dr. Clark cheered, giving Dr. Poddar a high five.

Ford nodded. But now he didn't know what else to say to keep the conversation going. Ah… well, when all else failed, talk about SCIENCE! ...is what he meant to do, but when Ford opened his mouth to ask if anyone else was excited for the next test of their collider in a few days, he instead blurted out, "I like watching atoms smash together!" Everyone stared at him and Ford wanted to die right there.

"Well, that's a pretty cool process I have to admit!" Dr. Jerald hummed. He had never seen it that way. "It's like a battle! Fighting for their atomic lives!" Dr. Clark exclaimed, excited as ever.

"I think people forget just how freaking important atoms are, we wouldn't be here without them." Dr. Wexler took another bite of her food before spitting it back. "GAH! THE EFFECT IS GONE!" She wailed in agony and stole Dr. Poddar's drink to gulp it all down. Everyone started laughing, even Ford though he tried not to, mocking others wasn't nice. Dr. Wexler typed out on her phone. "Okay, so… effect lasts around twenty minutes. Will need to work on that…" She muttered. Dr. Poddar pouted at his now empty cup. "I'll go get another drink…" He sighed as he got up to get a refill.

Dr. Clark stared at Ford's cup. "What's your favorite coffee? If I work, I like Americano, but if I'm simply drinking to enjoy it, I love cappuccinos!"

"I don't have a favorite type, as long as it has a lot of sugar, I've always had a thing for sweets…" Ford admitted. Also, the sugar is just extra energy to keep him going.

"Sweet tooth, huh?" Dr. Wexler smiled. That was adorable indeed. "You looked more like a bitter coffee type."

Ford rubbed the back of his head, smiling. "I've been told, but my triplets and I really like sweet things, though Stanley prefers salty." He shuddered. The one time Stan took them out to try sushi… Stan had poured soy sauce over his food and Ford clearly remembered the looks of absolute horror on everyone's faces (both the other guests and the staff!)

Dr. Jerald chuckled. "How are your brothers by the way?" Ford wiggled in his seat. "They're doing well. Raising their kids. The usual."

"Aaw~ You must have a lot of niblings~" Dr. Clark said. "My girlfriend only has one and he's a jerk!"

"Yes. There's Mason, Mabel, Dillon, Diego, Zoe and… Zully…"

The group didn't notice his volume dropping. "Haha, two from each brother, that's so cute! An equal number of boys and girls!" Dr. Jerald smiled

"I love their lettered names. It's adorable!" Dr. Wexler cooed. "So what would your kids be if you ever had any?" She asked. Ford shrugged. "I don't really know. Never thought about kids. Don't particularly want any." Because he knew nothing about raising children! He'd probably mess up.

"Oh, that's alright." Dr. Wexler smiled. "I don't know if I want any either but I always loved the name Annie." Dr. Clark raised a finger. "And it is was a boy, Annie'o!" The ginger woman rolled her eyes. She was surrounded by idiots...

Ford wiggled in his seat. "If I had to choose...It would be hmm...Nicholas?" He liked the name Nicholas. He didn't feel like following the naming convention of the rest of his family.

Dr. Poddar nodded solemnly. "Genius. Like our god." Ford laughed, actually laughed and nodded. "Only the best~"

The group talked for a bit longer, Ford was very entertained listening to their stories, until they sadly declared they had to go back to work. "Work calls!" Dr. Poddar patted Ford's shoulder. "It was very nice talking with you Dr. Pines."

Ford remained seated watching the four scientists go. He sighed. Well, he couldn't say he didn't try… Dr. Wexler turned around. "Would you like to eat lunch with us tomorrow as well? we didn't finish discussing solutions to Dr. Jerald's robotics mobility between tight spaces problem!"

The curly haired man beamed and nodded quickly. "That would be nice…" They left and Ford let out a relieved sigh. Yes! Now he could tell Ashton that he had spoken with some colleagues and that they didn't immediately mock him! Yes! Socialization success!

"Do you enjoy hanging out with them?" Ashton asked in their next session a few days later. Ford thought about it. "Yes. They're nice. I… like talking with them, they have very interesting projects and its nice listening to them." It was nicer especially once Fiddleford started sitting with them as well. Ashton smiled. "That's wonderful." Especially since this meant Ford had to eat lunch regularly, since they met up to each lunch together.

Ashton could tell that Ford was starting to trust him a little more. Frankly, the man was actually very trusting. He was simply too afraid to open up himself to do so. Well, getting Ford to want to open up was only step one. Ashton was a little worried about what he might learn from Ford once the man began telling him more…

He sighed. One problem at the time. Ashton decided to start applying a psychological evaluation to see just how intense Ford's paranoia was. As it was easier to talk to him now (which was lucky, most people with paranoia couldn't trust their doctors and therefore made treatment much more difficult) then it would be easier to make the test. Of course he didn't tell Stanford that he was testing him so all the answers he got from him were genuine.

The results Ashton got were evident, and confirmed what he already knew. His patient, excuse him, client , struggled a lot to trust people, preferred being alone and really thought people were after him to harm or deceive him. It came from severe self esteem issues (which Ashton still didn't know the origin of, Ford hasn't opened up to him like that yet), and the intensity increased after the demon that haunted Fiddleford's dreams for years, betrayed him. All associated to panic attacks and anxiety. Ashton wanted to unfold Stanford's complex mind. He theorized everything bothering Stanford, his paranoia, his fear of socializing, his lack of ability to talk to others, all had the same root, but what ?

Ford couldn't believe it at first when Ashton told him he had anxiety. He really couldn't have the same thing Seb had...could he? Plus he knew he had paranoia since… forever. But the evidence was right there and he couldn't deny it. "So, how is this cured?"

Ashton looked down at his notepad. "Well, Stanford, first of all, we will work with social and communication skills, yes? I am quite glad you have started talking to more people at the center, that's amazing! The anxiety is mainly caused by your other issues and if we treat those you'd probably get better on your own on that front. But paranoia can affect your normal interpersonal interactions if we don't work on that, ok? We'll work with something called psychotherapy, just...talking."

"That's it?" Ford asked curious. "And learning to talk will help me trust more?"

"I remember you mentioned you think you 'mess things up' when you talk to people." Ashton nodded when Ford winced on his seat. "Don't you think learning and talking together until you find a way to manage your life and raise your self-esteem will help you when you interact with others?"

"...I guess…" Ford grumbled. He did want to feel better. If he felt better about himself, then he wouldn't have to think everyone was after him to hurt him.

"And also, I'll prescribe you some pills through a short period to treat your anxiety until you get over it on your own." Ford gasped, shocked. "Pills?! But! But no! I-I don't need pills !"

"Stanford, you get excessively worried, stressed and overthink. Your anxiety fits perfectly with your paranoia and you can't ignore that." Ashton smiled softly. "It won't be too long, it's complementary to psychotherapy, alright? Can you trust me to help you?"

"Do I have any other choice?" Stanford grumbled.

He complained to Fiddleford as soon as the blond was free. Fiddleford groaned. "Just obey Ashton, he knows what's good for you."

Stanford also complained to Stanley, who basically told him the same, but less kind and with more curses. "You know what you're doing?! You're losing time! That's what! Instead of complaining to ME, why don't you just take the freaking pills?! Sebastian took his pills too and he's getting better! That could be you too!"

"But this makes me look like I'm insane! And-And I just need help to stop thinking about demons…"

"Oh." Stan said softly. "Oh, oh then if you only want that, I think I know what you should do…"

"What?" Ford asked desperately.

"TAKE YOUR FUCKING PILLS!" Stan screamed and hung up. He was stern with his brother about this subject and will take no shits regarding his treatment.

Ford sighed and glared at the small bottle with pills. No one supported him! Not fair! He sighed again and laid on the floor. "How did Seb even do this? Isn't he afraid?" He spun the bottle, bored. It'd been a week and he hadn't taken any.

Seb didn't want to take them at the beginning but then he did...Ford wished he could talk to his brother, but he was too much of a chicken and Seb was still surely angry at him.

Ford closed his eyes and sighed and suddenly his mind was illuminated. Seb might not be helping right now, but there was a memory of him that Ford recalled clearly.

"Lookie~ My pills sucked until I had the brilliant idea to put them in order in a box with spacers! One for each day! And it goes with N&Ns as a reward! Genius huh?" Seb squealed, proud of himself for finding a way to take his medication.

Ford had thought it was kind of silly at the moment, but right now, it was the most brilliant idea he had heard till now. He got a box with spacers too and put his pills in each little space, along with two jelly beans, everything perfectly organized. Each week had a different color of deliciousness and the box looked like a rainbow. Ford felt a little silly but, if this could work then… he would do it.

To his brother, friend, and therapist's relief, Ford started taking his pills. Fiddleford had to talk to every store in town to not sell Stanford jelly beans (the bastard realized he could get jelly beans without taking his pills), but after that little arrangement, it became a routine.

Fiddleford was glad when Soos proudly informed him that Ford hadn't woken up screaming or had a panic attack after he started his treatment...

-.-

Ashton was having a little trouble keeping a straight face. He'd finally gotten Ford to talk more about his childhood after several months of therapy and… frankly, he was having trouble holding himself back from taking a plane to Jersey to kick Filbrick between the legs. An abusive monster like that doesn't deserve children!

From what Ashton was piecing together, everything problematic with Ford boiled down to something his father had done to him. And now everything made so much sense! Ford's low self esteem? Filbrick insulted and pressure Ford all through his childhood, to be better to 'make up' for his hands. Ford's relationship problems with Sebastian? Filbrick always threatened Ford to do better and be 'perfect' if he didn't want to be treated like that 'Freak brother of yours!'. Everything always came down to something Filbrick had done. Ford had watched his father beat the shit out of Sebastian for not 'behaving properly' for 'being clumsy' for 'being stupid' for 'being a freak' and Ford had taken to constantly comparing himself with Sebastian, with trying to be 'better' than his triplet just so he wouldn't be punished by their father as well.

Ashton rubbed his face. Yeah… how the hell that awful man hadn't been arrested for child abuse was...

He looked up at Ford with a very sad expression well hidden by a masked neutral face. The scientist was trying not to cry and he was hiding his face behind his hands. "I am so disgusting...I shouldn't have listened to him, no?! I-I was a horrible brother! I let him hurt Seb! And I didnt do anything! I supported him! Why did I think that?! What kind of-of monster I am?!"

Ashton sighed. "Stanford, you can't blame yourself for what that di-for what your father did to you and your brother…" The therapist winced. He hoped Sebastian was getting help too. If the man's words affected Ford like this, he didn't want to imagine how Fords triplet felt after-after all that torture!

"No, no, I did it all myself! I should have been better!" Ford sobbed.

"Stanford, it wasn't your fault. It was your Father. You were a child, it wasn't your responsibility to stop your father." Frankly, why hadn't anyone stepped in to do something about this? But that was then, and this is now. From what Ford had told him, none of them had seen their father in years. Their mother had finally divorced her husband and no one had so much as spoken or written a letter to that man ever since.

Good. Avoiding contact was the best they could do, unless and until the brothers were ready to face him again.

Stanford sobbed and wiped his tears with his sleeve, his glasses had fallen to the floor but he didn't care. "I-I didn't know...I-How could he have done that to me?!" The scientist sobbed. It was Filbricks fault! Ford couldn't even remember-! He couldn't remember when had he ever felt normal or comfortable with himself! When had he ever truly loved his brothers without trying to compare himself to them!

"Bill-Bill used that against me!" Ford sobbed. "I didn't know how much I cared but he did! He used to make me work harder by telling me that I had to prove I wasn't a worthless mess like my brother was!"

Ashton watched him. Ford angrily threw a bunch of papers to the floor. He was angry, he was furious! How could he have been SO blind! He-He let Filbrick's words affect him, he let them guide his words and actions...And he felt so dumb...thinking his father cared for him...that he was trying to help ...

"So you took my book to read?" "I'm sorry, daddy...But I was curious! It didn't have pictures like our books!" "Well, at least you are intelligent…" "I'm intelligent?! You think so?" Ford watched Dad stare at one of his hands. "Yes, and that's good, because if you are intelligent, then your deformed hands don't matter." Ford stared at his little fingers.

"He never cared about me. He just wanted me to prove myself to him, or else I wasn't even worth having!" Ford was slumped over his desk at this point, about to curl up in a ball. Ashton was texting Fiddleford to ask if he knew anything about Ford's family life (to try and see if anyone, ANYONE had noticed the abuse happening in that household). Fiddleford didn't know much about Ford's father, though he had heard about their mother, and the brilliant man quickly put together what Ashton wasn't saying and correctly figured out that Ashton had just learned something awful about Ford's father. The mechanic decided he would build a robot to spy on and attack Filbrick Pines if that man turned out to be a problem, laughing only a little manically at the thought. (He was still sort of insane, just a little…)

Ford covered his face with his hands. He had never felt so mentally exhausted. This was a very revealing conversation but it hurt, it hurt so much…What-What was he supposed to do now? He just realized his father had damaged his head, even before Bill had ever entered his dreams! "Why didn't he like me.." Ford asked quietly. Ashton pressed his eyes closed, a pained expression on his face. "Because some people are assholes, and he didn't deserve you or your siblings."

"How do I stop thinking like him?!" Ford sniffled. Ashton gave him a sympathetic look. "You'd have to keep in mind that such thoughts aren't healthy and remind yourself over and over that you shouldn't think like that. There's no easy fix for this, you've suffered years of abuse during your formative years as a child. It'll take a lot of work to undo that."

Ford curled up this time. Abuse...He had been abused as a child...by his own Father...And he-he only thought it was Sebastian-He burst into tears again and Ashton sighed sadly. "I'm doing it again!" Ford wailed while holding his head. "I always thought of only myself! Se-Sebastian was abused and hurt too! He was locked up in the attic all summer and Dad hit him! Hit him so much! He always had bruises on him! But I've never cared! And-and- I always told myself that I didn't deserve to be made fun of or hurt- but I never cared when Seb went through that- because I kept thinking that he DID deserve it and I'm a terrible brooooother!" Ford was fully crying right now. He tried not to, but his unmanly cries were finally escaping.

Ashton kind of wished he was there in person so he could give the poor man a hug. "You were a child. It wasn't your fault."

Ford shook his head. "No, even after I grew up- like- it'd been like 20 years since Seb was thrown out by our father and I never even cared what happened to him! I-I thought that Seb being dead in the street would have been what he deserved for breaking my STUPID SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT!" Ford sobbed, fat, ugly tears pouring out. "And it was a project that didn't even work!" He'd realized that, once he was old enough. That thing wasn't a perpetual motion machine. Not even close. It was just some stupid machine that spun around and around. But it would have run out of energy eventually. Either once the power running the magnets stopped working or once the kinetic energy wore itself out over time due to air friction.

So Seb had been thrown out, for NO REASON.

Because even if his project wasn't broken, the teachers at West Coast Tech would have realized his project was a failure anyway.

And he'd have been rejected anyway...Ford wiped his tears and his eyes went wide. If he'd had been rejected, even with it intact...Filbrick could have kicked HIM out...Because he actually didn't care like Ford thought, he'd have consider Ford a failure too, not "making up for being a freak" hard enough...

But most likely, Sebastian would have been the first to go after him, to try and help Ford, try to convince their father to let Stanford return home… Seb would have never given Ford the cold shoulder like Ford did…

"I'm so horrible! I'm selfish and a monster and I only care about myself! I'm like Filbrick ! I'm horrible!" Ford continued crying. Ashton winced. "You're not. You were raised wrong, and now you're working to get better. There's no need to beat yourself up or blame yourself. The fact that you're trying to do better is good." He didn't like seeing Ford crying like this, but it was good for him to finally let it all out. "You're not a monster. You're an abused child who's finally getting the help you need to heal and grow up."

Ford pulled at his last finger nervously, his own version of self comfort tick, like Seb sucking his finger. "I'm sorry…" Ford whispered.

"You don't have to apologize for how you feel." Ashton told him. This poor soul. They had so many things to work with, but to treat the rest, first Ford needed to come to terms with his abuse because it was the root to everything. Ashton was hopeful about Ford's ability to recover though, if he was able to recognize the issue, then he should be able to work through this. Most people were in denial about having suffered abuse, not wanting to call themselves 'victims' so the fact that Ford was able to opening admit to himself that what he went through WAS in fact abuse, gave Ashton hope that Ford could heal. It was going to be a long, difficult journey but Ashton would do his best to help Ford on his way.

Ashton let his client rest after the session (with something warm, NOT COFFEE, and not too much sugar!) And Stanford went to his room after having tea. Abuelita made delicious tea. He curled up on the couch and tried to sleep, but he couldn't. He was still thinking about what he talked about and learnt with Ashton today… Staring at his hands and feet felt...different now, as if the meaning they have had his entire life suddenly...meant nothing. It was imposed to him, by someone who didn't like him. If he hated them so much, why didn't he do anything?! Why let Ford keep his 6 fingers only to destroy his confidence when he was just a little child?

Ford wanted to change this meaning that had stuck for so long, but where could he even start with doing so?

Ford sniffled. He clung to his mom's dress, trying to hide his sixth fingers. "A kid told me I look weird and ugly…" Mom picked him up and cradled him to her chest. "What a dumb kid~ They don't know what they're talking about! You are so, so, so handsome!" Mom told him, kissing his nose. Ford giggled. "And you know what else?" mom asked as she pressed her forehead against his. "What?" Little Ford asked, blinking up at her behind his glasses. "I read the cards the other day and they said your hands are so special~" She kissed the child's little hands. "Because you will make them so, Fordsie." Mom told him. "Special hands for a very special boy~" She cooed and cuddled with her eldest baby. Ford laughed and squealed when she tickled him.

"...Ma…" Ford laid on his side, tears trickling out. He… he really needed to call her more often. He curled up on himself. Well, unless she was angry at him for never calling… or for trying to hurt Zully… or for being mean to Seb… Ford shook his head. No, that shouldn't stop him. If his mom got mad at him for that, Ford would accept any and all scolding he would get.

He closed his eyes and sighed, thinking of how he had to talk more to his Ma. He loved her so much too, he had thought he'd never see her again. And now that he was back, he had to show he cared. He had to change, because he wasn't like Filbrick, he loved his family, even if he was still learning how to show it…

And with that thought, Ford fell asleep.

-.-

Dillon gasped as his grandma defeated him in his own cad game. "I've taught you too well…" He complained.

The old woman smirked. "I cheated the whole time." Diego laughed loudly and clapped, while Dillon bowed. "Queen of liesss!" She was here babysitting Diego, but Dillon decided to use his granny for his own entertainment.

The phone started ringing and like a good grandson, Dillon went to pick up. "Yellow?" he greeted, having picked up this little verbal quirk from uncle Sebastian growing up.

"Um, hi..Dillon?"

The teen hung up and went back to his chair for a new round. "Who was it, sweetie?" Kari asked and Dillon shrugged. "No one!" He was still mad at uncle Ford, even if its been months. Dillon was also a vindictive little bitch when he wanted to be. Something he learned from his mommy Carla.

Kari narrowed her eyes. She smelled lies here. The phone rang again. "Bring me the phone, please dear." She drawled, waggling a finger with a beautifully painted nail.

"But granny!" Dillon whined but still obeyed when she glared at him. Scawy! Dillon grumpily grabbed the phone and gave it to his grandma, who held it between her shoulders so she could still grab her baby grandson, who was playing with her bracelets. The teen sat down in front. He wanted to hear what Ford had to say.

"Yes? Hello?"

"...Hi...Um, mom?"

Kari's eyes widened. "Oh, hello Stanford." She looked over at Dillon and he had the decency to cough and look away, a little bit guilty. "Not that I don't enjoy hearing from you for once-" She could 'feel' Ford wince on the other side of the line. "-but what's the occasion?"

"Well...I-I thought we could talk a bit? Unless you don't want to, that's fine too…" His voice was soft and unsure. Kari hummed. She picked up Diego and left the room to have more privacy. "Be right back, Dillon, I have to talk to your uncle."

"But our game!" Dillon complained and Kari laughed. "Prepare it so I can come and beat your ass again!" She went to the room she used when she stayed in Stanny's house. She could see Dillon was angry, she didn't want him overhearing stuff. When she closed the door and Diego was on the bed with her, she addressed Stanford again. "Tell me, Fordsie, what do you want to talk about?" She had a lot of things to say, but Ford finally called her, so she let him talk first. Ford seemed to struggle on his side of the line.

"...I love you, Ma." Ford finally said, almost sounding scared to admit it. Kari blinked and felt a thick, warm feeling overtake her. "I love you too, Fordsie." She said wholeheartedly. She heard Ford muffle a sob on his side of the line. "What's wrong, dear?" She asked.

"I-I just… I never tell you how much- how much I appreciate everything you've done for me." Ford's shoulders shook as he tried very hard to express himself. Kari sighed. "I haven't done enough, my dear." She knew she hadn't been the best mother. A smarter, better mother would have taken the kids and left that household long before she had. She had been a terrible mother, too afraid to leave until her kids were all grown and gone. She blamed herself for the suffering they'd all gone through. If she'd been stronger, braver...

Ford shook his head, but his mom didn't see it. "No, you-you were the best and-and you're the only one I have." He took a deep breath to keep his tears from falling. Ford didn't blame his mother for what Filbrick did. She was as much a victim of abuse as any of them. As scary as their father was, at least none of them were forced to share a bed with him. Ford paled a little when he suddenly realized that the entire fact that Shermie existed meant that- and then Ford felt cold, afraid to ask his mother if she'd even wanted that, or if Filbrick had forced her-

A thought for another time, Ford wiped at his eyes and got back to the conversation. "I-I really miss you and-and I'm sorry, I'm sorry I made you cry, but I'm getting help now, that won't happen again, I'm getting help...I just wanted to-to tell you I love you because I have been so, so SELFISH and disgusting that-that I never told you before…" He really hadn't. It was always Seb and Shermie who were the clingy ones. Those two had always given their mother hugs and kisses and told her that they loved her all the time. But even Stan showed his love, it was only Ford who didn't, because he had been such a bitchy kid…

"I'm glad you don't hate me after everything…" Ford whispered.

"Oh, Fordsie." Kari blinked away her own tears. "I could never hate you. You are my first baby. I loved you when you were born, and I love you now." She told him. "And I will never stop loving you." Ford started sobbing outright. It felt like a weight had been lifted. His mother loved him. Even if his father never had, at least… at least he would always have his mom...

Stanford wiped his tears and managed a wet chuckle. He had never cried so much in such a short amount of time. It reminded him somewhat of Sebastian. He was so sensitive, despite his past as a demon. "I've been going through therapy for months…" Kari nodded, she knew, Lee told her. "And I feel so bad for hurting Sebastian and his daughters...I wasn't thinking right , Ma, and there are still things that scare me!" Even when he had been talking to that group of scientists for months, discussed theories, projects and ideas (listened to them talk about how they totally knew Tina the lab assistant was pregnant with Scott (from microbiology)'s kid while she was dating George), he still didn't feel like they were his friends. He was trying though. He really was.

"And I want to talk to him but I doubt he'll want to talk to me." Ford winced. Kari smiled. "Oh Sebas has always loved you. If you call and apologize, I'm sure he'd forgive you instantly." Her dear Sebastian was always such a sweet and gentle boy. Forgiving of pretty much anything. He simply couldn't hate anyone forever.

Even when he used to be a...demon? Hhmph! He was a little angel.

Ford sighed and rubbed his arm. Yeah, Seb loved him...even after Ford had been so cruel to him… "So… I should… call him?" He felt a little embarrassed to be asking his mother to tell him 'yes' or 'no'.

Kari hummed in thought. "Do you want me to tell you what to do?" She asked and chuckled when she heard Ford whine. "Maaa~ I don't know what to do~"

"Well, sweetie, when you three were kids and you fought, how did you feel?"

"...Bad…" Ford grumbled.

"And what did I tell you to do so you didn't feel bad?"

"...Apologize?" He asked and when his mom didn't answer, he sighed loudly. "So I guess I do have to apologize, so I can feel better, and Sebastian can feel better...But I tried hurting Zu-Zully…"

"You'll never know how your brother is feeling if you don't talk to him, Ford."

"What about Wanda? Do I have to apologize to her too?"

Kari went silent for a moment before saying "No. Wanda will murder you, talk to Sebastian first." She said plainly. "Let your brother calm her down before you even attempt to call her." She didn't want to have a 2nd funeral for her eldest son.

Ford nodded quickly. Ok, ok. He got that. No talking to Wanda. "Thanks, mom…"

"You're welcome, sweetheart" Kari rubbed Diego's belly. Diego looked like Stan, but still reminded Kari of her babies when they were younger. "Don't leave your therapy ok? I-I want you all to be happy and healthy." Kari told Ford sternly. Ford nodded. "Y-yeah. I will Ma." He sniffled. "I'm gonna do my best to get better. I don't want Sebastian to hate me. I don't want to lose any of you." His voice choked up a little. "I love you all, so much." He told her. Kari smiled, glad that her son had called to tell her so. "I love you too."

They chatted a little, with Ford telling Kari about how he'd been before he finally said "Bye." and then sat for a bit as he worked up the courage to call his brother. He almost wanted to prepare a speech, write out the whole apology and just read it off… but Ford realized it wouldn't be right. And that he was probably just searching for an excuse to push this conversation off. Finally, he took a deep breath and pressed the call button. It rang for a very long time. So long that Ford nearly lost his nerve. Finally the line picked up. "Sebastian! I-"

"Sixer?! This-" Ford could hear a child wailing hysterically in the background. He could also hear Wanda's voice, worried and sounding close to tears. "No, no, no, no- she just keeps bleeding!" Ford's eyes widened. What was going on? Seb let out a wail of his own. "Now is NOT a good time, Sixer! I need to call an ambulance-" Seb's voice dropped in volume as he pulled his face away from the phone to call out to Wanda. "Wanda don't try to move Zully! That'll make it worse-"

"Seb? What's going on?" Ford asked, his heart pounding hard. Did something happen to Zully?!

But all he heard was the sound of the call cutting off as Seb hung up on him. Ford stared at his phone, worried out of his mind. What had happened? He almost wanted to try calling again, but Seb needed to call for an ambulance so…

Ford let out a soft whine as he twisted his fingers through his hair. What had happened?!

---

Damn, Zully can't just get a break, can they? Please comment!