Day 109:

"I need to go!" Dipper insisted as he talked to the three investigators.

"That will only make things worse," one of the investigators, a ginger woman, said. "They wanted a rise out of you. They want you to react. If you do so they'll only raise the stakes."

"But this is my wife, my pregnant wife-"

"I know it's hard but you cannot, under any circumstances, give them what they want."

"You don't know what he's like," Dipper inisisted. "You don't know what he did to her. I have to go-"

"As difficult as it is I suggest you try to get along with your life as well as you can."

"I need to be there for her!"

"Mr. Pines," a man with a bald spot coming in set a hand on his shoulder. "As hard as it may be, the best thing you can do for your wife is to stay put. If you return now you'll only aggravate the situation. Investigator Lawrence is correct. Stalkers of this nature thrive off causing reactions and panic in their victims. You cannot give that to them."

Dipper hung his head, heart flying, and not in the good way. The investigators had just told him Preston may have been involved in all this, but now they weren't letting him go home to Pacifica.

"We have some leads we are going to follow up on now. Don't do anything crazy."

The investigators left Dipper's hotel room, after the vandalism he'd been moved to another motel, though he was still expected to participate in all the classes.

Dipper was shaking as he reached for his phone and factimed his wife.

"Hey," she called in a weak voice as her face appeared on the screen. She was smiling, trying to stay strong, but he could tell she was scared.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Pacifica," Dipper all but whispered. "I should be there. I should have never left you."

"Babe, this isn't your fault," Pacifica said. "He's in jail! How can he get to me in jail, right? I don't-" Pacifica rubbed her forehead with her hand.

"Princess?"

Pacifica pulled her hand away to reveal her eyes were brimmed with tears. "It wasn't even him trying to get me back that was the worst. He wants to get to the baby."

"That's not going to happen," Dipper said quickly. "I will literally kill him if he tries."

"You'll have to get in line, kid," Stan said from off screen. He sauntered into view, cleaning a gun. "Wendy, Mabel, and I have all called dibs. P.S. I called Ford, he's coming down to install one of his new security systems he's been tinkering with."

"Good," Dipper sighed in relief. That would atleast make him a little bit better. Maybe it would be subtle enough that the stalkers wouldn't notice.

Pacifica wiped a few tears away. "I thought I was rid of him.."

"We'll still get rid of him. He's already in jail so this is only going to make things worse for him."

"And what then? What if he comes after me again a-"

"Then things will get even worse again. Eventually he's going to have to give up and accept the fact he lost."

"But what will he do until then? How desperate is he going to get?"

Dipper gulped. That's what he was worried about, but he couldn't let Pacifica know that: "That's why this time, we're going to throw the book at him. We get him locked for as long as we can in the tightest security prison we can, and as far away from us as we can."

Pacifica sniffled and nodded.

"I love you so much, Princess, and I wish I could be there."

"Get you degree," Pacifica said. "No reason our lives should stop just because of them."

Dipper nodded. "I'll do my best. I promise I'm going to give you the best life possible when I get back."

"You already have."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Clang! Clunk!"

Preston's eyes snapped open as he heard his door being unlocked and half a dozen guards came in.

"Up, arms on the wall," one ordered.

Preston obeyed, but not without asking: "What's the meaning of this?"

One of the guards kept his club pressed against Preston's back as the other five guards serached the cell.

"Got it!" one of them called, and held up the phone. Preston felt his breath hitch. She told on him? No! That is not how that was supposed to work! She was supposed to look to him for comfort! For protection! No turn him in!

"Hope you still got your attoreney's number, Northwest, because you're about to be in a world of hurt!"