Chapter 33: Unexpected Surprises
Stan runs a hand through his graying hair on an early June morning, stressed once again on how the portal wasn't opening, dark circles under his eyes on lack of sleep.
He had tried all that he could, he could practically tell anyone the engineering behind the damn thing. Stan had read so many books and self-taught himself things he could never truly understand to the point where he could recite half the book without thinking about it. He knew the mathematical calculations so precisely that he could write it out and explain it on why those were the numbers.
With a sigh he slumped into the chair at the desk, glaring at the portal from behind the safety glass.
Eighteen years.
Stanley…! Stanley help me!
Oh, no, what do I do!?
Eighteen years and there was still no results.
Those words haunt Stan's nightmares nearly every night. The look on Stanford's face as he was being pulled into the portal flashed through Stan's subconscious…
With a grunt Stan pushed himself out of the rickety chair and headed to the elevator to go back upstairs. After all, he had a business to keep up to pay the bills. It had been eighteen years and during that time the Mystery Shack had been extremely profitable, he was able to pay off Stanford's mortgage on the house about a decade ahead of schedule.
Sometimes Stan wished that his father could've seen the business, maybe for once his father would say that he was impressed or even proud that Stan had made a profitable business. Stan then scoffs to himself, thinking that it would not be the case.
He'd just call me a liar and a hustler… I am lying to these people… and he'd say I'm still using Stanford since this is his house… he thought bitterly.
As he exited the elevator he heard the phone ringing. Stan checks his watch to see that it was eight in the morning, so he knew it wasn't his mother on the east coast trying to check up on "Stanford". Stan goes to the phone and swiftly picks it up to answer.
"Hello, Mystery Shack, Mr. Mystery speaking," Stan gruffly greeted.
"Uncle Stan?" a male voice asked on the other side of the line.
It took a moment for Stan to recognize the voice. Christopher, Shermie's son. Stan hadn't spoken to Christopher in the past year since the young man's recent wedding about less than a year ago. Stan was very grateful that there was an open bar to drown his guilt for not spending time on the portal…
"Oh, hey, Chris," Stan smiles into the phone. "How's it hanging?" Stan rarely had saw the kid growing up, only on a few occasions. Shermie was the older brother that was about ten years older than himself and Stanford, and even after Stanford was gone Shermie couldn't even tell the difference between the two, he had kept forgetting as he grew older and went on into the computer business which twin was the genius and which was the failure.
"Oh, everything is okay… ish…" Christopher nervously said. The kid had always had anxiety… must run in the family since Stanford had it too…
"What do you mean 'ish'?" Stan asked gently.
"Well… Katherine and I are just trying to get some family to California…" the nervous man said.
"For…?" Stan prodded.
"I don't think Dad told you, he rarely talks to you or even Grandma, but Katherine and I are expecting and we wanted to invite family members to meet the baby." Christopher finally explained. Stan could practically hear the shaking from the young man's hands.
Stan then gives another smile. "Oh, really? You two kids are having your own kid? Seems a little soon, doncha think?" Stan joked slyly. "Had a little too much fun on your wedding night, Chris?"
There was a groan on the other line. "God damn it, Uncle Stan… that is just awkward…!" Christopher's voice screeched on the other side of the line, causing Stan to chuckle to himself. There was then a sigh, "But in all seriousness, Uncle Stan, Katherine wanted to invite you and a few other family members to witness the birth."
Stan grimaced to himself. Watching a live birth definitely wasn't on his bucket list. But… they were family, and Christopher was the only one to actually invite him to any family functions.
"You know what, yeah I'll be there, when's she due?" Stan agreed.
"Mid-August, we wanted to give everyone a heads-up so they can plan accordingly." Christopher explained. "Especially you, Uncle Stan, I know you run a business and it is about an eight hour drive to Piedmont."
Stan understood where his nephew was coming from. "Alright, just let me know if something come up, okay?" he tells his nephew.
"Will do, Uncle Stan," Christopher replies happily. "Katherine is going to be excited, she's been saying on how she wanted to see you again, she thinks you're a very mysterious person."
"That's why I'm called 'Mr. Mystery', kid!" Stan laughs.
"Talk to you later, Uncle Stan."
Two months passed since the phone conversation with his nephew, and he was giving a tour when the phone rang.
Normally he would be angry that his tour got interrupted, but he told himself it could be Christopher with news on the new member of the Pines family. Stan tells his tourists that he would be make momentarily, saying that it could be news on his family, which they completely understood.
Stan gets to the phone by the fourth ring, him promptly answering his normally way.
"Uncle Stan, it's Christopher," Christopher greets on the phone, his voice wavering nervously.
Stan didn't like that tone. "Hey, Chris, everything okay?" he asks gently.
"Well… they think they have to induce labor if she doesn't go into it by the twenty-eighth, so they'd probably do it on the thirtieth," the young man shakily said.
"Induce…?" Stan wasn't familiar with that medical term. In all honesty he hasn't really been to the doctor at all since arriving in Gravity Falls, he thought the doctors were a little… odd. "Is that bad or…?"
"It's I guess common for a first pregnancy," Christopher tried to explain. "I'm worried though… they gave Katherine a lot of stress tests and ultrasounds… there was an unexpected surprise but we are happy everything is okay…" the young man kept on rambling and rambling, trying to get every detail in one sentence.
Man, he's really nervous… Stan thought anxiously.
"Look, Chris, if you said everything is going good there is no need to worry," Stan assures, interrupting the never-ending sentence. "How about I come out there a little early, hm? That way I definitely won't miss it."
There was a stunned silence on the other end. "R-really, Uncle Stan? Christopher asked in shock. "But… wouldn't that affect your business-?"
"Trust me, everything is fine here," Stan grouchily tells his nephew. "Don't worry about me, worry about your wife and kid. I'll probably be there…" Stan trails off as he looked at the calendar, seeing that it was already the twenty-fifth, "… by the twenty-ninth. If she goes into labor by then, hey at least I'll be on my way to meet the new Pines."
There was a sigh of relief on the other side of the line. "Okay, Uncle Stan, see you then…"
Once Stan hung up the phone he continued his tours. At the end of the tour he sold a lot of extra merchandise after someone asked who was on the phone. He had explained it was his nephew and that he and his wife were expecting and were letting him know what was going on. The tourists thought it was adorable that he was concerned about his family, so they bought extra things so he could buy something for the new baby.
Oh shit… I didn't think about getting a baby gift... The conman thought frantically.
After he had closed up shop he went into town to see if he could find a gift for the new gremlin joining the family. He stopped by a small store and asked what their opinion was, the young woman behind the register being very helpful.
"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" she asked nicely.
"Well… I actually don't… he didn't mention it…" Stan admitted. He tried to think back on Christopher's rambling, but he only remembered that there was an unexpected surprise. Maybe they had wanted it to be a surprised on the gender but was told by the doctor during the recent visits. "You know what, I'll just get something for a boy and a girl." Stan finally decided.
He ended up getting two stuffed bears with matching baby blankets as they were on sale. The "twin" package the girl behind the counter had said, which made Stan laugh. One bear was a dark brown with a blue bow wrapped around its neck, it having a folded, soft blue blanket in its lap. The second bear was a tan one, a pink bow around its head like a headband, the bow going over the left ear; like its twin it had a blanket in its lap but pink in color.
As he had drove home he couldn't help but think on how Stanford would be reacting to meeting a new member of the family. Would he have been excited or would he had just brushed it off like he had done with everything else? Stan frowns at himself, thinking that he should've been working on the portal, but he had gotten sidetracked with Christopher's news.
Once he was back in the Shack Stan put the bears in a specially decorated bag that read "Congratulations" in pink and blue bubble letters. He had even gotten a card and put some money in it to go toward diapers or whatever else the new baby needed.
"Good thing those tourists bought extra stuff so I can get this…" Stan murmured to himself.
Despite having a decent business and making decent money, he found himself being an extreme money pincher. He spent little money on food that he possibly could, the only money he truly spent being on bills. Stan even used one of Stanford secret compartments in the living room to hide money in just in case. Making a fortune… on his own…
The middle-aged man shook his head to clear away the thoughts. Right now he should be considering what to pack for his trip to California. Stan walked into his room and looked at the map he had of the country, small black X's on various states. Oregon wasn't Xed out and neither was California.
"Welp, at least I won't get arrested," Stan chuckled. "That'd be an interesting story to tell…"
Stan arrived to the decent sized house in Piedmont, California, it being yellow with a wraparound porch.
Stan had honestly forgotten what Christopher did at his job. He knew his nephew worked with computers, just like Shermie did after he had served in the military, but he wasn't one-hundred percent sure on what he did though.
He knocked on the door and waited patiently as the door suddenly opened. The person who answered was Katherine, her dark blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and her soft green eyes lighting up with excitement. She then proceeded to give Stan a large hug, although it was extremely awkward because of her large, swollen belly. The woman looked as though she was going to pop…
"Uncle Stan, you're finally here!" Katherine cheered.
"Um… yeah…" Stan awkwardly replied. He picked up the bag that had the baby gifts in it, him dropping it because of his niece's sudden embrace.
"Kat," Stan then heard Christopher say. The dark brown haired man then appeared behind Katherine, his brown beard neatly trimmed. "You shouldn't be moving around so fast…" he added nervously.
She rolls her eyes. "Oh, pish-posh, dear, I was just greeting Uncle Stan!" she grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.
Christopher then noticed his uncle. "Oh, hello, Uncle Stan, please come in." he greeted as he stepped aside with his wife.
Stan enters the home and gives a low whistle. "Wow, nice place you two got," Stan complimented. The home was very decently furnished, the carpet nice and fresh. Stan was so used to the Shack in the middle of the woods he almost forgotten what a nice home looked like.
"Thanks, Uncle Stan," Katherine replied. "There was a clearance sale."
Stan couldn't help but smile as he thought, Chris got a keeper.
"What's in the bag?" his nephew asked as he helped his wife settle onto the couch.
Stan then hands the bag to Katherine. "I got something for the kid, I didn't know if you two were having a boy or a girl, so I just got one for each," he explained as he saw his niece's eye light up as she pulled out the two bears.
"Oh, these are adorable!" Katherine cried out, a huge smile on her face. She then glares at her husband. "You didn't tell him?" she lowly says, causing Christopher to flinch.
"It might have slipped my mind…" Christopher admits as he puts a hand behind his head to nervously scratch, his brown eyes darting around anxiously.
Katherine then sets the bears on the side of the couch and gets up, although clumsily because of her large stomach. She proceeds to the kitchen then comes out with a picture and hands it to Stan.
"Um…" Stan confusedly says. "I don't know what I'm looking at here…"
Katherine then points at the picture. "This is your great-niece," she said as she pointed to the left side of the ultrasound picture. Her finger then moved to the other side. "And this is your great-nephew."
"T-twins?" Stan sputtered.
Katherine nodded excitedly. "Yep! I heard it runs in the family…" her voice went soft on the last part.
"Yeah… it does…" Stan agreed, his tone equal to hers. He then looks at Christopher. "So that was the 'unexpected' surprise?"
Christopher nodded. "Yeah… I must've forgotten to tell you on the phone…" he told his uncle.
Stan waved it off. "Eh, whatever, you're just nervous, it's fine. You're a first time dad, having things slip your mind was bound to happen." He then looks at the ultrasound again. "Did you two think of names?" he then asked.
"Yeah," Christopher replied. "Mabel for the girl-"
"And Mason for the boy." Katherine finished.
Stan gives a nod, "Heh, good names, good names…" he murmurs, mainly to himself.
"Dad should be here in the morning so we can go to the hospital so Kat can get induced," Christopher then says to Stan. "I think the last time you talked to Dad was at the wedding reception."
"Doing shot competitions." Katherine laughed as her husband rolled his eyes. "That was funny…"
"I won though," Stan smugly said. "I'm good with my alcohol."
After another few minutes of conversation Christopher then showed Stan to a small roll-bed they had purchased for guests. The young brunette explained that they didn't have a guest room, just the nursery and his office were the only possible extra rooms.
So Stan had to sleep in the office, and as they walked in the hallway he noticed the nursery. He noticed that the walls were a light pink and the carpet was a purple. It mainly looked very girly as there was crib and changing table that was mainly white with flowers decorated on it. The second half of the room looked very recently thrown together, a dark brown crib with a blue blanket thrown over the side and a small poster of a train.
"So… you two knew about the girl, huh?" Stan asked Christopher as they entered the young man's office.
"Yeah… we are overly prepared for her…" Christopher guiltily said. "I haven't had much time to get stuff for the boy… apparently its common with twins for one to hide behind the other in the ultrasounds. We literally didn't know about him until the last time I talked to you on the phone." He then set up the roll-bed. "I'm gonna get more stuff for him… I just feel bad that I didn't know he even existed until a week ago…"
Stan puts a firm hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Look, you're trying, and that's what matters. At least you're feeling something… that makes you a good dad already." Stan knew from experience what it was like being the unplanned one. The only difference though was that this kid was already going to a have a better time than Stan ever had.
Christopher gives a smile. "Thanks, Uncle Stan, that helps," the young man said. "Dad… was angry with me… I mean, he's always been mad at me this entire time."
"Why…?" Stan asked, curious.
"Well… Dad is a lot like Grandpa…"
"UGH…" Stan then groaned.
Christopher chuckles, "Yeah, agreed. He just thought that I married Kat too soon, and literally not being married for two months we find out we're having a baby, and now we find out we're having two. He just thought I was irresponsible and that I can't afford or handle this…"
Stan rolls his eyes. "Look, screw what Shermie said to you, Chris. You're doing the best you can, that's all anyone can do. Trust me, your grandpa didn't know about me being a twin and you remember that pawn shop… life wasn't easy then, but despite against all odds we had food on the table, clothes on our backs, a roof over our heads… you're going to be fine."
"Thank you…" Christopher tearfully said. "That really means a lot…"
Stan then leans in towards his nephew's ear. "And, just between you and me," he then goes into his wallet and pulls out a couple hundred dollar bills. "Here, something for you to get stuff for the boy."
Christopher's eyes widened. "Oh, no, I possibly can't accept that, Uncle Stan…" he cried out, him raising his hands in defense. "I can't…"
Stan rolls his eyes. "Fine. It's my gift to your son, now take it," he states as he hands his nephew the money. "Now, you got a busy day ahead of ya tomorrow, go get some rest with your wife, I'll settle myself in."
Christopher then puts the money in a lockbox that was on his computer desk. "Thank you…" he says again as he goes to leave the room. "Good night, Uncle Stan."
"Good night."
The next morning Shermie arrived with his wife, Claudia, and Stan greeted his brother and sister-in-law politely.
Shermie looked practically identical to their father, it was jarring to Stan to say the least. What was interesting as well was that Shermie also had their father's name as their middle name, just like Stanford. But not Stan, he was unplanned, he got the generic similar name to his twin and just a random middle name to be picked out of a hat.
"I just got a call from my parents," Katherine announced as she entered the foyer of the home, receiving a hug from Claudia. "It looks like there flight was delayed last night and couldn't make it…" she looked as though she was going to cry.
"They're coming still, right?" Christopher asked, trying to comfort his wife.
"Yeah… they'll be here by tomorrow hopefully," Katherine sniffled.
The family ended up taking separate cars, Stan having to go with Shermie because the backseat of the soon-to-be-parents' car had the car-seats for the babies. The drive to Piedmont hospital was short and silent, and once there the paperwork was filled out for Katherine to be put into a room.
Stan sat in a chair furthest from everyone else, not really wanting to be a bother. After all, the new twins were Shermie's and Claudia's grandchildren. He looked away when they gave Katherine the medication to induce her labor, and soon the monitors were showing her small contractions.
Stan had never really dealt with babies, the only baby he had ever visited in the hospital was when Christopher was born. He could tell Katherine was excited as she kept getting out of bed and was showing her in-laws the most recent ultrasound picture of their grandchildren. She kept doing small laps around the room, thinking it would help speed up her process.
The woman was in labor for hours, midnight rolling around to make it the thirty-first of August. Stan was ready to fall asleep in his seat when he heard Katherine yelp in pain. He sat up immediately as Christopher forced his wife to settle back into the bed, the monitors beeping loudly. A doctor entered the room and assessed Katherine, stating that she was ready for delivery.
"Now, I understand that you want to family to witness the birth?" the doctor recited from a filled out request form.
"Yes," Katherine replied, her face covered in sweat, but she was still calm.
The doctor nods. "Alright then, we do have a special delivery room where family members can look through a window as they all can't be in the room," the doctor explains. He then gestures to a nurse that was just walking in. "Linda will escort them there while we get you into the delivery room, Mrs. Pines."
Stan felt like he was cattle as he, Shermie and Claudia were ushered out of the room by the nurse. They were led to a special area where they could see into the delivery room. Stan started fidgeting nervously and despite the good situation about to happen his mind kept going back to the portal and how he should be getting to continue working on it…
"Stan, you look very nervous," Claudia chided him. "I don't know what you're so worried about."
Stan jumped from the suddenness of her voice. "Um, sorry, just never witnessed a birth before, I'm just worried is all…" he says weakly.
Katherine was then wheeled into the room and was being settled into the bed. The doctors and nurses were dressed in scrubs and covered with aprons and had masks over their mouths. Even Christopher was forced to wear the attire, including putting the typical green hair cap over his curled, dark brown hair.
The process was going underway, and a few times Stan looked away because of seeing the amount of blood and fluids. He knew human birth was supposed to be a "beautiful" process, but nothing was "beautiful" of something that looked alien covered in questionable fluids coming out of a woman. After a few minutes, a small baby was produced, dark hair matted to its head as it cried loudly.
A nurse stopped outside the room to tell the watchers. "It's a girl," she said with a smile.
Stan looked back through the window just in time for baby Mabel to sock the doctor in the jaw. Claudia gasped loudly as Stan began laughing, seeing the doctor hand the baby to someone else for the usual tests as he took off a rubber glove and rubbed his jawline. Stan was still laughing, ignoring the glares from his brother and Claudia.
After about five minutes another baby was produced, although something didn't look right, even to Stan. The cord was wrapped around the neck of the baby, his face completely blue. The doctor tried to stay calm and it looked like a couple of nurses went to assist on removing the cord from the infant's neck.
At this point baby Mabel was in a small container next to the bed, wrapped in a pink blanket that Stan recognized as the one he had gotten back in Gravity Falls with the bear. However, Christopher and Katherine couldn't enjoy seeing their baby girl as the boy was rushed out of the room to be tested for complications.
Katherine began crying, the first sign of distress Stan noticed during the whole procedure. Stan felt his heart tighten, the woman looked so broken, just finding out less than a week prior that they were having a boy as well and now he had been rushed away. Stan also felt a pang of sadness for the baby girl… Mabel.
Her twin was not beside her, and it seemed like she noticed. The little baby screamed and cried and no matter what anyone tried to do the baby refused to be soothed. After what seemed like hours the baby boy was rushed back into the room, he as well wrapped in the blue blanket that Stan had bought. The baby boy was placed in the same container as the girl and immediately the crying stopped.
Katherine after a few minutes was given her twins, the biggest smile Stan had ever seen on anyone on her face. She was then transferred back into her room where the family could finally visit the new additions to the Pines family. Claudia was fussing over the girl since she was the expected one, but gave a few little pokes to the baby boy's nose.
Christopher began explaining about the test results they got on baby Mason. He said that the doctors have no idea how long the cord had been suffocating the boy, and with the tests they noticed that oxygen levels and the heartrate was low. After the tests and getting out of distress baby Mason's oxygen levels normalized and so did his heartrate.
"Doctors think that it may affect his development…" Christopher finished. "We're just happy that he is alive with his sister."
Shermie scoffed, him finally having a chance to hold his grandchildren. "Well, maybe if you two went to the doctor more you two could've found out about this to prevent it," the old man muttered.
"Dad," Christopher sternly said. "We went to all the doctor appointments, they even said they did not see a second baby, we literally just found out about him last week, how the hell are we supposed to 'prevent' something that is beyond our control!?"
"Don't get snippy with me, young man, you're just barely out of the nest and you're barely ready for this-" Shermie then said but was interrupted by Stan.
"The kid is fine, leave him alone Shermie," Stan lowly said. "Let the man and his wife enjoy the birth of their children before you criticize like Dad did with everything."
Shermie sighs, "You're right… you're right…" He then hands the babies back to Katherine, whom held onto them tightly.
"Uncle Stan," Katherine called out. "Would you like to hold them?"
Stan looked astonished. "M-me?" he stammered.
"Yeah, Uncle Stan," Christopher laughed.
Stan sat in a large chair as Christopher handed each baby to Stan. Stan cradled the twins in each arm, their tiny bodies resting on his thighs as their small heads rested on his forearms. Baby Mabel had rosy pink cheeks, and her eyes were such a dark blue, almost like the void of space, a sure sign that her eyes will turn brown. Baby Mason had the same rosy pink color on his nose, his eyes the same dark blue. Both twins had a tuft of brown hair on their heads that felt soft to the touch. Stan then noticed something that was peeking through the boy's hair…
Gently, using the hand that was attached to the arm that the baby boy's head rested on he moved the tuft of hair. Stan couldn't help but grin to himself, something he immediately recognized after years of stargazing with Stanford on the roof of the pawn shop back in New Jersey.
The Big Dipper.
"This kid is gonna be just fine," Stan finally said as the others looked at the strange birthmark.
"Is that… the Big Dipper?" Christopher asked in awe. "That's quite interesting…"
"He's gonna get made fun of for that," Claudia pointed out.
Stan shook his head in disagreement. "That may be, but he's got his twin sister," he told them. "Twins stick together… and trust me, a little oddity like this runs in the family."
"Can I hold my grandkids now?" Shermie demanded, wanting to hold them again. "You're hogging them."
"Am not!" Stan sternly replied, feeling himself holding the twins closer. He then looks down on their small faces, their eyes wide seeing the new world.
Chin up kids, you'll always have each other… please don't make the same mistakes my twin and I had made…
He gives them a final small hug as he gives them back to their parents, who were smiling and overjoyed to see how the Pines family grew two more members.
A/N: AND DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER! I have been literally writing it all day while taking a break from my schoolwork. I believe this is the longest chapter I have written...
So we had a first glimpse about Stan seeing the twins born back in the 3DS game, "Legend of the Gnome Gemulets" and then I wrote a short story about him elaborating on the story in "After Cipher's Reign: Short Stories".
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
Check out my DeviantArt, SkyeHendersen, to see the artwork I have been posting about my series of these fanfictions!
Thanks for reading as always!
~Skye Hendersen~
