Dipper smiled. Over the past year, he'd noticed that his own experiences in Gravity Falls had changed him, too.

"So—Doctor McGucket, could I—could I come and visit you at your new house sometime? "

The man smiled gratefully. "Thank you kindly, Dipper, I'd like that. "

The welcome back party went on into the early evening. When everyone had gone, Soos showed the twins up to the attic.

"Wow. It's like coming back home again. "Mabel said, running over to her bed and doing a face plant on the mattress.

"It sure is." Dipper agreed sitting down on his own bed and breathing in deep, as if to absorb being there again.

"You dudes getting comfortable?" Soos asked, from the doorway.

"Sure thing, Soos."

"You bet."

Soos smiled. "It'll sure be nice to have you dudes here again. "

"Melody went home? " Mabel asked when she turned over.

"She's downstairs cleaning up right now, but she'll go home after that." Soos said. "That's one reason why I'm glad you dudes are here. "It's kinda lonely. "

Dipper paused, wondering if he should ask, but then did, cautiously. "Uh—Soos—didn't your abuelita move in with you? "

Soos sighed. "Yeah, but she fell and broke her hip. We decided it was better for her to live in a place where she'd have someone with doctor know-how to take care of her. "

Mabel frowned. "Aw, I'm sorry, Soos."

Soos grinned, but a bit sadly. "Aw, it's okay. You dudes are here now. Maybe one day while you're here you can come with me to visit her. "

"That would be great, Soos." Dipper said, feeling bad for his friend.

"Well, I'll go help Melody. You two dudes must be tired. "

"Thanks, Soos."

"Thank you, Soos! "

After their host had headed back downstairs, Mabel slumped back down on the bed and yawned. "Boy, I am tired. That was a great party."

Dipper chuckled. "Since when does partying wear you out?"

Mabel smiled. "Well, Dip, I usually don't party for hours after riding in a bus for hours. "

Dipper yawned. "Okay, I'll give you that. "

After changing and climbing into bed, Mabel said, "So, Dip, what were you doing at the party? I hardly saw you."

Dipper paused. "Well, I said hello to a couple of people—but mostly I was talking to an old friend. "

Mabel rolled over and propped her head up on her hand. "Old friend, huh? "

Dipper climbed under the covers and let his head fall back on the pillow. "Not that kind of friend."

"I noticed that you got your hat back—so you must have talked to Wendy."

"I did, but not for very long—talk to Wendy, that is. She told me that someone wanted to talk to me. "

Mabel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, man, a mysterious someone. We're not even here twenty-four hours and you're doing mystery stuff. "

Dipper rolled his eyes. "At first I couldn't tell who he was, then—then—"

"Then?"

Dipper rolled over and rested his head on his hand like his sister. "It turned out to be Doctor McGucket. "

Mabel blinked, then her eyes went wide. "You mean Old Man McGucket? "

Dipper rolled his eyes. "I don't think we should call him that anymore—but—yeah. "

Dipper's twin gazed at the floor a moment, then back up at him. "So—how is he? Has he got any more of his memory back? "

"Well, from what I understood, some—he and his son are living in the old Northwest mansion now. "

"He and—" Mabel blinked slowly. "Awww. I'm so glad he and his son are getting along, now. "

Dipper grinned. "Yeah, me, too. I asked if I could go visit him sometime, and he said he'd like that. "

"Could I come, too? "

Mabel's brother grinned appreciatively. "I'll bet he'd like that. "

Suddenly, the room lit up.

"What was that?" the twins said in unison. Dipper got to the window first. He could see some sort of trail in the darkening sky.

"Uh-oh. Something to investigate." Mabel said, rolling her eyes.

Dipper had to admit he was tempted, but he said, "Maybe they'll talk about it on the news tomorrow."

He gazed in the direction of the trail in the sky a moment more, and then returned to bed. This time he fell asleep seconds after his head hit the pillow.

Dipper woke up, and for a moment wondered where he was. When he came fully awake and remembered, he smiled.

Sitting up and looking across the room, he saw that Mabel was still asleep. Dipper got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs.

"Doo-doo doo-doo doo…cookin' breakfast for my pals…"

Dipper stood at the entrance to the kitchen and grinned, Soos, already up and dressed, was at the stove.

"Mornin' Soos. "

Soos looked over his shoulder. "Oh, hey dude, where's Mabel? "

Dipper went over and sat at the table. "Still asleep. Guess she's still worn out from last night's party. Thanks for that, by the way. "

"Hey, you dudes are my friends. Melody did most of the work, anyway. "

"It was sure nice to be welcomed back. "

"Anythin' for you dudes. So , what're you going to do on your first day back? Hunt up some ghosts or somethin'?"

Dipper grinned sheepishly. He had gotten himself a reputation the summer before, that was for sure.

"Actually, Soos, I was thinking of dropping in on Doctor McGucket today—if—you don't need any help around the Shack."

"Naw, that's cool, dude. If you want, I can take you for a ride up there after Melody gets here. "

"Thanks, Soos. "

Dipper had to admit, this felt just a little strange. Last summer, Soos had been all about "going on missions" with him. Of course, this summer there wouldn't be any "missions" just visits to friends.

*Yawn* "Don't you dare go without me."

Dipper and Soos both looked to see Mabel there. Dipper grinned at his sister.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He assured her.