Dipper's POV

I did not know how anyone could take care of kids... Mothers had a trick; they had to have some kind of trick to deal with this. Something with powerful magic and untold potential. Me? I needed a leash and a muzzle for Tammie and some sort of stress ball for Tyrone—anything to keep them busy and quiet while I went over paperwork. Just...just ten minutes of silence would do... Just ten!

"HEY, DIPPER!" I heard Tammie yell.

On second thought maybe Grunkle Stan should take them.

Or at least Tammie. Tyrone was one thing. He wasn't as curious and hyper as his sister. Tammie though, wow... She got on my nerves to the extreme with the way she acted. I hadn't had to deal with this kind of energy in twelve years; now suddenly it popped back up like a spring daisy. And every time she opened her mouth, it was like I was listening to Mabel again. She had her own unique voice but the fact that she looked so much like Mabel made her sound that way too. She was downright exhausting and tough to deal with.

"It's only been an hour," I muttered to myself. "She has to power down eventually."

I sighed and got up to see what Tammie wanted—because Tammie stuck in the Mystery Shack, where tons of 'high-quality' merchandise resided, wouldn't end well if left alone.

"Dipper," she said once I got to her. "What's behind that door?"

She pointed to the "Employees Only" door.

I sighed and answered, "That just leads to Stan's living room."

"Question. Is there anything sparkly in it?" she asked.

I smiled, my only comfort resting in the thought that what goes up must come down.

And later on, she did come down. Once she got used to my house, she was fairly calm. She was still curious to some extent but I wondered if this was just how she responded to change. Tyrone still seemed a little edgy but that was understandable. After all, he went straight from being with his mother to being with a complete stranger. I'd tried to be nice to them to make them feel more comfortable around me, but I didn't think Tyrone was as trusting as his sister was. He always kept some distance. I wasn't too worried about him; I was worried about Tammie though. She struck me as the kind of girl who always wanted to meet new people and make friends with everyone. She would grow attached to people if she was around them long enough and I didn't want her growing attached to me or anyone else here. She needed to be with her mom and I didn't want her to miss anyone. That was why, starting tomorrow, I wanted to find her mom as quickly as I could.

I just didn't know how.

The kids were boarded up in my room and I planned on sleeping on the couch for tonight, and maybe tomorrow night if I couldn't find their mother tomorrow. I already had a spare blanket and since I didn't have another pillow, I just folded up two towels and placed them on top of each other. Boom, makeshift pillow.

Tyrone's POV

"It was nice of Dipper to let us stay here," my sister said.

And I agreed with her, but I wanted to be back home with Mom. We'd just moved into a new apartment and already we had to spend the night in a new place with a stranger acting as our guardian. I wasn't used to it and the likelihood of me sleeping tonight was slim to none. Not to say that Dipper wasn't a nice person—just the opposite, actually, the way he tried to make us feel at home here—but I'd been by my mother's side my whole life. The last thing I wanted was to have her replaced with anyone else.

Tammie crawled up beside me on the edge of the bed and sighed.

"I know it's hard but we have to stay here tonight," she said. "Besides, do you honestly think Mom even knows we're gone?"

"She will tomorrow morning!" I retorted.

"It's summer; she always lets us sleep in during summer. She'll just think we're still in bed or something. You know how she is."

"Fine. Maybe around tomorrow afternoon."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Tyrone, she could go for days on end without knowing we're gone."

"She'll figure it out eventually!" I argued.

My tone was probably a little more vehement than I meant it to be, but Tammie didn't seem very bothered by it and stretched out beside me—the beginning of a little routine she did to get comfortable before actually going to sleep.

"Just get some sleep. Maybe you're right, maybe Mom will notice we're gone," she murmured.

Subconsciously I knew Mom wouldn't know. She would have to stumble across an empty bedroom or something in order for her to realize we were no longer home. I also knew Tammie was just trying to give me a little hope, letting me win just this once. I kind of wished she wouldn't let me win but most of me was glad she did...for now.

I turned onto my side just in time for her to bump into me, almost pushing me off the bed—I would've gone down had I not clutched the red comforter.

"Tyrone, quit hogging the covers," my sister complained.

I sighed. "I wouldn't have to have rope to cling to if you didn't shove me out of the bed."

"Lights off now! Bedtime!" we heard Dipper shout from his living room.

At first I was worried he might've heard our conversation about Mom, but quickly relaxed when he didn't say anything else. If he knew, he probably would've mentioned it. I didn't want him getting the wrong idea about her. She worked so hard to take care of us and didn't have much free time on her hands. It wasn't that she was ignorant or indifferent to us, it was just that she was trying to put food on the table. All the sacrifices she made for us on a daily basis—and I was pretty sure there was more to it than she would ever let on.

She wasn't a bad mother like he would think if he'd overheard us talking. She was just...busy...

Mabel's POV

I woke to the sharp screeching sound of my alarm and realized two things: I'd nodded off during a call with my boss and it was time to get ready for my final job of the day/night.

I jerked my head up and rushed to get my jacket off the convenient hook on the door.

"Kids, I'm off to work!" I shouted to them.

I scrambled to get out and all but slammed the door. Then, not before locking the door of course—Tammie and Tyrone had always come first even if, at times, they doubted it; and keeping them safe was probably the one thought that never left my mind—I made a beeline for my car, relaxing a little more upon hearing it start up easily and quickly with the weather so much warmer. During late fall, winter, and early spring, I had to wait a few minutes for the engine to get running before I felt comfortable enough to drive.

I turned my bright lights on and sped off to the warehouse.

A/N

So, I'd love to get some feedback on this! We get a little bit of insight from everyone. Under the given circumstances, do you think I kept Dipper and Mabel in character? I've been a little concerned about that...

For those of you following my Danny Phantom stories, namely The Boy With the Rings and/or Whatshisface, I'm rereading them in attempts to get my motivation back. Reviews always help with my motivation for any story.

On a last note, I'm sorry this was so short and took such a long time to update. Believe me, I didn't want it to and I tried to milk this chapter out as much as possible, but it still ended up being so much shorter than I intended... :( Sorry, everyone.