Dipper felt like his fingers were being crushed as Mabel clutched his hand. Just from looking at her face you wouldn't think she was upset or anything, what with a bright smile plastered on, but her grip gave it away.

Then again, he could tell how his sister felt just by looking at her face. It was a twin brother privilege.

The two of them walked down the corridor to Stan's room. Soos had dropped by during lunch and he had informed them when he got back that their great uncle was up and grumpier than ever. It had been an honest relief.

Sure, they had visited yesterday after the doctor had given them permission, but…

It had just been weird.

He and Mabel were used to seeing Stan falling asleep in his chair or sprawling out in his bed, but somehow it had been wrong to see him in a hospital bed. Stan complained all the time about the aches and pains of getting old, but he had never gotten hurt bad enough that he had actually had to visit the hospital. He definitely had never been silent and asleep on a hospital bed, because he had a freaking heart attack.

So yeah, it had bugged Dipper.

Mabel had tried to brush it off too, climbing up beside the bed to babble in Stan's ear about how he was going to get better and not to worry about the Shack because Boss Mabel was on the case. When they had left, she had seemed fine to almost everyone as she smiled.

Then, when they went to bed, she had silently climbed into his bed with him and whispered, "It's going to be okay, right?" With the light coming from the window, he had been able to see the tears in her eyes.

"Of course." He had told her and pulled her into a hug, but…

Dipper really wasn't sure.

Technically, he still wasn't sure. Heart attacks were serious and for Grunkle Stan to have one… and who knew how he would be today…

He pushed his worries to the side. He had to be strong for Mabel.

"This is a children's show, Stanley." He perked up at the sound of Ford's voice. It was obvious that he was talking to Stan, so that meant he had to still be awake.

"Who cares if it's created with kids as the main audience? Art is for everyone!" The gravelly voice that responded brought a smile to Dipper's face and made the one on Mabel's face become a bit more genuine. They shared an excited glance and hurried closer to the room.

"This isn't art."

"Of course, it's art. Film counts as an artistic medium." Stan protested right as they opened the door.

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel beamed as she rushed into the room, only slowing down as she remembered why they all were there. She skidded to a stop right next to Stan's bed.

Stan looked over at the call of his name though. "Kids!" He grinned, obviously happy to get out of an argument with his brother. He waved both of them to come closer.

Dipper followed his sister at a bit slower pace. He was glad to see his grunkle up and about, and apparently back to normal, but there was still something about the image that seemed off. He frowned as he finally spotted what was wrong. "Is that a seatbelt?" He pointed at the strap that was seemingly holding the conman in place.

"Oh." Stan looked down at it with a disgruntled expression. "Soos rigged it up."

"You know, I did have a very tiny hope that your doctor had been kidding when she said you always tried to escape." Ford muttered. He didn't look very happy to be here, glaring up at the TV.

"The Doc doesn't really joke much." Stan rolled his eyes before turning to the younger twins. He frowned. "Mabel, is something wrong?"

Dipper wasn't surprised that Stan had picked up that something was wrong. After all, normally Mabel would have been up on the bed already, bobbing up and down in excitement as she told Stan all about her day at a mile a minute. Instead she was still standing at the bedside, fidgeting with the blanket.

"Well…" She started, glancing back and forth.

Stan somehow figured it out though. His face turned gentle and he held out his arms. "Come here, pumpkin." He said as he scooped up Mabel and settled her at his side. Dipper scuffed his shoe on the floor and looked away, because this sort of comforting was more their thing, but a voice stopped him. "You too, tough guy." He turned back to see Stan beckoning him up. "Get up here."

Dipper had to be strong. After all, Mabel was scared, Ford was upset at the turn of events, and even both Soos and Wendy, the most chill people he knew, were tense. So he was the one that had to keep things going.

But at Stan's invitation, he took it in a heartbeat. He scrambled up to sit on Stan's other side.

Their grunkle ruffled Mabel's hair and knocked back the brim of Dipper's hat. "Look, I'm fine." He said. "I'll be able to go home tomorrow morning. Sorry for scaring you two."

"So you're not mad at us?" Mabel quietly asked, burrowing her face into Stan's side.

Stan's face pinched with confusion. "Why on Earth would I be mad at you?"

"Because it's our fault, you're here." Dipper finished for her, unable to look his grunkle in the eye.

Both Stan and Ford blinked in confusion. "What?" They asked simultaneously, sharing a look.

Stan caught on first. "Oh, no, no, no." He pulled the niblings closer. "My heart attack was not your fault. The Doc even said so. It was a totally random and unpredictable spasm thingy. Totally not in any way your guys' fault."

"But you – " Dipper began to protest.

"But nothing." Stan sternly said. "It wasn't caused by anything you did or anything I did for you. Totally random. So stop beating yourselves up, okay?"

"Okay." The younger twins mumbled, but both of them hid their smiles. Dipper knew that he at least felt a lot lighter due to their grunkle's reassurances.

"Good. Now watch Ducktective with me and tell me how things went at the Shack. It looks like you guys and Soos are going to be running it for a while."

With that, Mabel launched into how things had gone and Dipper settled in to watch one of his favorite shows. A deep sense of contentment fell over him.

He was so content that he didn't notice Ford slipping away.

Stan narrowed his eyes as his brother slipped out of the room. To anyone else, it might seem like he just wanted to give him and the twins some time to bond.

Stan knew better.

He wondered if Ford really thought that he hadn't noticed him snitching his medical files as he walked past. It really is hard to fool a professional conman and thief after all.

Stan really preferred it if his brother didn't read those files. If he had his way, he would have burned the thing before Ford could ever get his mitts on it.

Still, if Ford wanted to risk the wrath of Dr. Vera Strange, after she explicitly told him to leave his records alone, that was his brother's problem.

Not like he could really leave the niblings here anyway.

So Stan sat back and listened to Mabel and held both of them close. This was way more important anyway.

AN: Ford thinks he's so clever, but when it comes to stealing he really isn't. That's Stan's area of expertise.

Also, seeing a relative in the hospital is really surreal, especially if it's someone you're really close to. I hope I'm conveying that feeling.