Stan was just finishing the latest episode of The Duchess Approves when his brother walked in. The first thing that he noticed was the fact that he had a clean, new trench coat on. The next thing that came to his attention was the grim but satisfied expression he was wearing.

"You won't have to worry about Jorge ever again," Ford stated in a pleased tone.

Stan slowly turned off the TV, but didn't look at Ford.

"What do you mean?"

"I… took care of him… We did. The town decided to pitch in."

"I see…"

Ford moved around the recliner. He laid a hand on Stan's shoulder and looked into his eyes.

"He will never hurt you again, you're safe now, I promise."

Ford's tone was sincere and his eyes didn't waver.

Stan blinked. He pulled Ford into a tight hug.

"Thank you."

One Month Later...

Stan was currently by himself. Ford was out trying to convince some board of idiots to give him a research grant for marine biology. The crazy old nerd was trying to get his 13th PhD, well his second in this dimension.

Unfortunately, though, Stan was really starting to wish he was home. The house was very empty and every little sound of the floorboards creaking or the screen door rattling in the breeze was making him jump.

No I can't rely on him all the time. Stan berated himself mentally.

He clenched his fists hard trying to stop the mounting panic he was feeling right now. He hated this. One minute he would be doing fine and the next he would be in fight or flight mode and unable to do anything about it, his mind and body ready to face a threat that wasn't there. He hated relying on Ford even though he often helped his brother deal with his own panic attacks. He had spent too long fighting his own battles, he supposed. That and it was really hard to get rid of the voice in his head telling him he was weak.

The shaking was getting worse. Stan cursed under his breath and tried to calm himself. The whispers of things to fear his mind was making up now weren't helping.

Stan nearly hit the ceiling when the phone rang. He glared at it across the room. He wasn't in any condition to deal with a solicitor or really anyone at the moment. But it could be Ford and he really did want to know when his brother would be getting back.

It rang again. Stan steeled his nerves and answered it.

"Hello?" He said keeping his voice as level as possible.

"Hi, Grunkle Stan!" Dipper's cheerful voice drifted through the receiver.

"Oh, hey there Dipper." Stan said laughing nervously.

He grabbed a handful of his hair trying to ground himself. He was going to go bald at this rate, he thought absently.

"Are you okay?" There was concern in Dipper's tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine kid, just was distracted by something on TV."

"Okay," Dipper was not buying it, but thankfully he let it drop.

"Was there a particular reason you were calling. Or did you just want to bug an old codger?"

"Oh, Yeah," Dipper said apparently remembering whatever the goal of the call had been.

"You won't believe what happened today. So you know that old printer in the Mystery Shack office?"

"Yeah…" That thing had caused Stan some problems when he was starting out.

"So anyway it turns out it can make copies of people. So a while back I made some copies of myself -don't ask why- Anyway earlier today I actually ran into two of them. So I was over at the school and…"

Crazy kid… He thought with a chuckle Of course Gravity Falls weirdness would manage to find him even back in Piedmont.

As Stan listened to Dipper's story he didn't even notice himself starting to relax. The anxiety was slowly slipping away into the back of his mind. Suddenly the empty house didn't seem as daunting anymore.

9 months later…

It was dark and cold, he couldn't breathe. "Let me go, please… I'll do anything!"

Stan shot upright in his bed, gasping. For a moment he wasn't sure where he was, just that it was dark and he was in a tight space. Terror clenched his throat shut before he remembered.

That was right… He and Ford had decided to head over toward the Bermuda Triangle, figuring it would do Stan some good to be back on the move and both of them could use some sun.

Right now, though, Stan couldn't take the close confines of the ship's cabin. Especially with the sound of water outside, it reminded him too much of… He didn't want to think of that right now.

Quickly he slipped into a thick waterproof coat and a life vest. He shoved his feet into his boots and then was on his way out the hatch.

It was a clear night. The stars were large and bright in the sky, but Stan couldn't enjoy them.

The fear from the nightmare kept clawing at his insides and he couldn't get rid of his rising anxiety.

He started wandering around the boat checking over all the equipment and ropes in an attempt to distract his mind.

"Stanley?"

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ford silhouetted in the moonlight.

Great, now he had woken his brother up… stupid anxiety.

"Hey, do you want to come sit with me?" Ford asked moving to seat himself on top of the cabin.

Stan hesitated for a moment and then sat next to him. He jumped a little as Ford leaned against him and drew a heavy wool blanket over both their shoulders.

They sat there quietly. Simply listening to the ocean around them and watching the Stars.

Ford didn't say anything, letting Stan choose to open up if he wanted. He had gotten better about that, but sometimes he just wasn't ready.

Right now Ford's quiet presence at his side was all he really needed. With Ford warm and solid against his side, the sea that had felt terrifying when he was still in the grip of the nightmare, now was calming and beautiful, it's waves and swells gently rocking the boat.

Maybe he was still struggling, maybe the nightmares would still stalk his mind, maybe there would always be some fear haunting him, maybe he had a long way to go but he wasn't alone anymore…

And that was all that really mattered.

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this story. Thank you so much for your comments.