"Now remember pumpkin, when the cops aren't around everything is legal!And the yellow light means go faster!" Stan instructed as he and Mabel raced through the streets of Gravity Falls, laughing and weaving between the cars. Typically teenage girls are cautious and jumpy when put behind the wheel, but Mabel was taking to it like a natural. She really did trust her Grunkle Stan….heck her adoptive father.
They had taken to each other pretty quickly after her original arrival in Gravity Falls. Stan hadn't been used to having a girl child in his care, and so at first he was extra cautious (hidden behind a deep gruff wall), but from the moment the girl had chosen a grappling hook over a doll Stan knew that this little girl was exactly like him. They thought alike, laughed alike, and had similar talents and skills.
Mabel wasn't exactly like Stan though (and he thanked the heavens for it). She was caring and kind and she was bright. She may not be as traditionally book smart as Dipper, but she tried hard and was very resourceful with the skills she had. She had all the pieces together to change the world in her own Mabel way, and Stan couldn't wait to see his daughter do it.
For now though he was content to sit in the passenger seat blaring rock music (his girl was going to have better taste in music than that trashy rap stuff). They drove through the upper-middle class neighborhood where the Northwest family now lived. Mabel drove close to the curb as Stan knocked over the mailboxes (Mabel would repaint them and return them later). The two of them were having a blast together without a care in the world.
This slowly changed as dark rainclouds began looming over the car. Stan couldn't understand why, but suddenly she was gripping the wheel a little tighter, going a little slower, and overall seeming a bit more uneasy.
"You alright pumpkin?" Stan quietly inquired.
Mabel only nodded, as her eyes remained locked on the road.
Stan decided to try to take some of the nerves off by getting her on the interstate. It seemed odd, but Stan thought that having the freedom and space to go quicker would help her.
It had the opposite effect, however, and Mabel appeared more nervous than ever as she brought the car's speed down to a crawl.
"C'mon pumpkin you can tear up the road now. No cops, not much traffic, c'mon make the old Stan-mobile fly," Stan encouraged.
Mabel tried to speed up a little, but it still wasn't fast enough.
"C'mon Mabel at this rate you'll get a ticket for going too slow," Stan said seeming more agitated with his daughter.
Mabel tried to please her father and tried going just below the speed limit, but it wasn't enough.
"MABEL FOR GOD'S SAKES FLOOR THE DAMN CAR!" Stan shouted.
Frightened by the anger in her father's voice Mabel pushed hard on the gas and the two of them went speeding. Stan was laughing happily, Mabel was not.
Her hands shook wildly and she began to lose control of the vehicle as the rain began to pour. She began to slide over to the wrong side of the road as an eighteen-wheeler came barreling towards them.
Stan instinctively grabbed the wheel and swerved out of the way as the truck honked. Stan just threw his middle finger up at the guy. He was about to give the wheel back to Mabel when he noticed tears flooding his daughter's eyes. He brought the car to a shoulder and stopped to give Mabel a minute.
When she continued crying Stan thought she was just upset about the truck. "Don't feel bad sweetie, I did the same thing when I was learning to drive. I nearly gave Ford a heart attack," he said laughing, but Mabel continued crying.
"Baby….are you ok?" Stan asked putting a hand on her shoulder.
"The rain….and the truck….that was the last thing my parents saw before….." Mabel couldn't even finish she was sobbing so hard.
Stan had never felt more guilty in his life. He had put unintentionally put his poor baby through such an awful memory, because he was too stubborn to put Mabel's safety and comfort before his fun.
"shh shh baby it's ok….it's ok, I'm here baby," Stan soothed as he engulfed his daughter in a tight embrace as she continued crying.
"Do…do you think that they hurt?" Mabel quietly news
"No sweetie….they didn't hurt, the trooper who called told me they died instantly….quicker than falling asleep," Stan whispered as he rubbed his daughter's back.
Admittedly he was lying, or at least he didn't know for sure. That day he had gotten the call the news had hit him instantly, and the moment it did all he cared about was taking care of Dipper and Mabel. He knew that their folks would want that. He felt bad that he wasn't being totally honest, but he also wanted to say whatever Mabel wanted to hear.
Thankfully Stan was still a master at charisma, because before long Mabel was drying her tears on his shirt and managed a sad, tired smile.
She had zero desire to drive anymore that day, and Stan had no desire to let her as he truly consider what could have happened out there. He and Mabel switched seats and he laid his jacket over her as she drifted to sleep, as he drove home for the first time in his life Stan made sure to go below the speed limit.