Chapter 9: Drowning

(TRIGGER WARNING! Read at your own risk)

As the days passed by Dipper found himself taking a lot more naps throughout the day now that he couldn't do much at the moment. When he wasn't sleeping he'd have the nurses open a window so the sounds of nature seeped into the lonesome hospital room. Although he spent most of his life in the city, Dipper had always enjoyed nature and what noises it brought with it.

It was around noon when Dipper was snoozing under the thin hospital sheets and the young blond haired women, Pacifica, strode into the polka-dotted room. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the boy idly sleeping away. She harshly grasped his shoulder and shook him.

"Dipper, wake up. It's Pacifica." She said as he jolted awake.

"Christ, Pacifica! You scared the living daylights out of me. What is it?" Dipper frowned as he sat up wiping the crust from his eyes.

"You have a few visitors." She turned to signal the group of people in the doorway to enter the room. An older man, a middle aged couple and a young adult female approached the bedside. The middle aged women let out an audible gasp of horror.

"Dipper?" her shaky voice sliced through the air. A younger female voice followed on the brink of breaking down. "Oh my god, Dipper."

Dipper felt the heat rise up his chest and water well up at the edges of his eyes. He spoke breathlessly as his voice started to tremble, "Mom? Mabel?"

Pacifica watched on the sidelines as the Pines family reunited once again. "I-I'll just leave you be to catch up. I'll be around if you need anything.", she muttered as she exited the room. The middle aged man nodded gratefully towards her and dismissed her presence.

Dipper's mother let out a melancholy chuckle, "Y-yes, it's me honey." She sat down on the side of the bed. "Mabel, your father, and Great Uncle Ford are here too."

The hot tears that build up eventually started to cascade down his cheeks as he choked on his sobs, "M-mom. I'm s-so-sorry."

His mother couldn't hold back the tears that dared to fall from her eyes either, "It's n-not your fault honey." she embraced him in a gentle hug. Dipper gripped onto the cloth on her back and buried his face into her shoulder as his tears poured down. Mabel had to turn away and press her face into her father's chest as he held her in his arms and patted her back, sobs and gasps of air escaping from her too. Ford kept his cool and avoided to make eye contact with his crying nephew and niece.

As a few moments past Dipper calmed down and manage to choke out between sobs, "How d-did you get here s-so fast Mabel? I t-thought you were in San Francisco."

Mabel swallowed the lump in the back of her throat and smiled awkwardly, "Coffee can bring you a long way."

Dipper huffed in amusement, "Yeah, tell me a-about it.." he smiled a bit and pulled away from his mother, wiping the water from his cheeks.

"Now, Dipper", Ford called out, "When you get better and are released you have to decide if you want to go back to California or stay with me here until the trimester ends. In California we'll have to get you a nurse so you can get whatever you need while your parents are at work, but here I'll be able to take care of you since I have a stay-at-home job."

Dipper paused in thought for a few heartbeats and swallowed thickly, "I, um.. Can I sleep on it?"

His father spoke up, "Of course. We just need to know before you're released so we can get your stuff from your dorm room and get a space situated for you."

Dipper nodded his head gratefully and smiled awkwardly to lighten up the mood that hung like a fog in the room. "S-so how are things back home? Is everything alright?"

Dipper's father coughed awkwardly towards his mother and dipped his head trying to tell her to answer. She rolled her eyes in response and huffed. "Um, well do you remember your great Uncle Stan?"

Dipper hummed in thought for a few moments before nodding his head slightly.

"Yeah, well he's been trying to join our family outings again."

"Even after what he did to Ford?"

She nodded, swallowing a lump in the back of her throat, "Yeah. And he doesn't have anywhere to stay, so Ford has decided to put the past behind him and let him stay at his house until he can get back up on his feet. You know how he is with money and all.." She trailed on.

A gruff voice boomed from the doorway, "You know I can hear you, Darla"

The Pines turned their attention to the newcomer, a look of grimace washed over Ford and the twins' mother and father.

In onision Dipper and Mabel's eyes lit up with excitement at the sound. "Grunkle Stan!", Mabel squealed as she bounded across the room to the entry-way to embrace the old man in a tight hug.

"Heheh, hey pumpkin. Did you miss your old man?" Stan chuckled and brushed his knuckles roughly over Mabel's head. She tried squeezing her head into the folds on his arms as an attempt to escape from Stan's fabled noggie.

She let out a squeal of laughter in response, "Grunkle Stan! Hahah, stop that!" Stan eventually let her loose and grinned as he looked up at his brother. Ford wore an expression that obviously showed that he was trying to be polite but showed agitation nonetheless. Stan's grin faded as he directed his attention towards Dipper whom was still smiling widely.

"Grunkle Stan! It's great to see you again- well uh- you know what I mean." He softly chuckled at himself as he strained to make out the figure covered by haze as it approached the bed's end.

"Yeah, don't sweat it kid. It's great to see you too." he felt the sides of his mouth perk up as Mabel attached herself onto his waist.

They wasted what felt like a lifetime talking about each other's stories and tales until they decided to leave to let Dipper get some rest. The Pines rallied later at the local diner to discuss further in privacy from Dipper about his condition and try to organize a plan for when he will be released from the hospital.

As patter of rain knocked at the diner windows while a soft yellow glow lit up the small establishment, chatter filled the air. "I just don't know if we could trust someone to look after him while we are off working, Darla." Her husband announced abruptly.

Her harsh tone sliced through the noisy air "Well what else do you expect me to do Jarred? We can't quit our jobs! Well I don't know about you, but I can't."

"I never said that! I just think that we should have someone that he trusts to take care of him while he goes through this tough time of his life." Jarred placed his hand on Darla's. She refused to look up at him and kept her gaze directed to her lap, "I know this is hard for you, it's hard for everyone, but right now Dipper needs us more than ever."

Mabel, who sat across from her mother and father in the small booth crammed between her Great Uncles, picked at her cuticles on her fingernails. "I agree with Dad, Dipper is safer here. Ford and Stan will be at the house most of the time."

"It's not our decision either way, Dipper should be the deciding factor in all of this." Ford added.

A silence washed over the Pines as they each reviewed the situation within their minds. Although their minds had differing opinions on the scenario, they shared the same drowning feeling in their hearts; fear.

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(TRIGGER WARNING: UP AHEAD. HALLUCINATIONS, DEPRESSION, AND PILLS! Read at your own risk.)

Within the dark room painted with the pale shine of the moon filtering through panes of glass gasps and sobs of despair fill the heavy air. Where walls collide a figure curls up and buries his face into his legs that so painfully squeeze against his chest. The blonde slowly raises his head and glimpses around the darkened dorm. He wipes the hot tears from his eye as they haze his vision. On the desk that sits at the end of his bed he sees a silhouette of a small white bottle. A beacon of hope, the man throws his legs over the side of the bed but before he stands up he glances at the ground as it pulls away from him into a bottomless pit. He shrieks in horror and retreats to his safe black corner. His legs raise up to his chest again as he lowers his face into his knees and sinks deeper into his hole of pitifulness.

His head trembles as he gains the courage to scan the room again. The little white bottle beckons him again as the pale moon directs its ray onto it. He takes a shaky breath before scrambling off the bed, keeping his sight on the white container. He dared not to look at the ground below him. The world started to pull away and shadows grew larger as he approached the bottle. He stopped in his tracks and tightly squeezed his eyes shut, covering his chest to protect himself, whimpering in fear as he heard their voices fade into the distance.

Once the voices drowned into the silence he peeked out from one of his shut eyes to see the room as it should be. He took a step forward and snatched the bottle from the shadowed desk quickly. It rattled as the boy picked it up, the noise gave the boy hope and brief happiness as he scanned the room for the bathroom. Although the room felt familiar it oddly felt like he had never been there before. He dashed to the door not looking back into the shadowed filled room. He flicked the switch that was mounted on the wall as the small bathroom was flooded with light. The boy peered into the glassy pane that reflected a man with purple stained skin underneath his puffy red eyes. He wiped his eyes as tears began to fill his vision again and exhaled. His hands shook as he twisted the lid off the bottle, the rattle of pills giving more confidence. Soon everything will be alright, everything will be alright.

The child proof lid proved to be difficult to open, making the man more and more anxious each try. As the lid finally gives in the last two pills that rattled at the bottom of the container jumped out of the bottle and into the sink's drain.

"No, no, no!", he screamed in horror as he desperately tried to catch the two capsules as they plummeted down the hole. He slumped down in defeat and slammed his fist on the counter. He sinks down onto the ground as wails of sorrow escaped passed his lips. His back to the counter, he throws his head back against the wooden cabinets and gripped his hair, discarding the empty pill bottle onto the ground. He slowly drowns into the silence.

(AN: Hey guys! Now that summer has started will be writing a lot more now. So, yay! I really hope you're not too mad at me.. But uh, I'd like to thank my beta reader TheGreatDortio and my editor Skypher!

Right now I am also working on another fanfic with TheGreatDorito called "Indigo Dreams".)