Ford's Follow-up

SUMMARY: Ford does a followup with his therapist and learns the value of self-worth.

Every week Ford and Dipper went to the therapy office, every week they met with the psychiatrist to discuss medication and other alternatives, and every week Ford glared at his therapist and kept his mouth shut.

Every week Ford sat in the same long, brown couch that reminded him of the couch that was in his family home as a child. The room was small as ever, stuffy and now with the heat on because of fall the room was uncomfortably warm. He still proudly wore one of his sweaters, that day a solid black, with his trench coat and long black pants, not daring to remove the trench coat.

Frederick, the therapist, did not prod during their meetings but instead just asked simple questions. What was your childhood like? Silence. Were you more close to father or your mother? Silence. How was school for you as a child? Silence. How close were you with your twin growing up? Silence. All of it was constant silence.

Until one day…

"Have you ever been in love, Ford?" Frederick asked, him crossing his leg over the other at his seat. In his lap was a paper and pencil, the page blank; he never wrote anything down all except that Ford was silent.

Ford shifted his weight uncomfortably, not sure if he wanted to avoid the subject or talk about it.

"What… brought that up?" Ford asked calmly, folding his hands onto his lap.

Frederick shrugs. "Nothing really, standard questions," he explains as he uncrosses his legs. "But… that got you to react… the first thing I've seen you did since first coming to this practice."

Ford folds his arms, prepared to be silent again. However, an odd warmness tingled over him, something he has felt on more than one occasion. The feeling of trying to hold it all in. He has felt it as a child, trying not to cry as he was punched repeatedly. He had felt it when he found out that Stanley had ruined his project and channeled it to anger instead.

And he felt it when he thought of Layla.

Over the years he had dreams about her, about their time in the multiverse together. He would often dream of her with one of her sarcastic smiles as she tried to steal a bottle of alcohol, him trying to scold her for it. He would dream of her laughing or humming her lullaby she was sung to as a small child.

However, lately, or mainly after discovering his grandnephew's unconscious body at the very bottom of Dr. Bartek's basement where he kept his interdimensional portal, he thought of Layla more often. It was never the good things… he would remember how Magum treated her like an object more than a person, he remembered how Dr. Bartek called his own daughter a freak and a burden… he remembered her broken body as her once electric blue eyes had become a dull gray…

"Stanford…?" Frederick called out, and what sounded like he had been doing so for a few minutes.

"Um…" Ford murmured. "I'm sorry…? What did you say?" he asks absently.

"Do… do you want to talk about it?" Frederick prods gently. "Like… a name for starters?"

Ford stares at him for a moment, and he felt his eyes sting for just a second. He tried to hold it back in, just like always, but he felt the tears fall.

He rasps. "Layla…" He wipes his eyes, but the tears were instantly replaced.

Frederick gives him an apathetic look. "Ford… did something happen…?"

"She died for something that wasn't worth it…" Ford's voice cracked.

"What wasn't worth it…?"

"Me."

Frederick looked taken back, him sitting up straight. The paper and pencil fell to the floor, but he didn't bother to pick the items up. He then asks as he looked Ford in the eye, "Why would you think that about yourself…?"

Ford then stands up, causing the couch to move against the wall with a loud thump. He takes off his glasses to continue wiping the never ending tears. "Why do I?!" he demands as he kicked the foot of the couch "WHY DO I?! Because of me, a demon ran this world, because of me countless people are dead…! Including her! Because of me my family was almost killed!" He pants for a moment before he cried out, "Because of me a fifteen year old young man is so mentally unstable that he has tried to hurt himself on more than one occasion… I'm not worth anything to this world."

Frederick waited patiently as he let his patient rant. He then bends down and picks up the paper and pencil and sets it on his desk. Calmly, he looks Ford in the eye as he watched his patient collapse onto the couch.

"I need you to listen to me, Stanford," Frederick sternly delivered. "No human being on this planet is worth nothing. Because of you, and others, the world was saved. Everyone makes their own decisions, you and your nephew did to try to save what you could. You are worth something, Ford, why else would people you care about risk everything for you?"

Layla sacrificing her life…

Stanley with the portal that could've potentially destroyed the universe…

Mabel and Dipper making a plan to save him the first time when Weirdmageddon first started and risking their young lives…

Every important person in his life had risked something for him. What did they see in him that he couldn't? How is it that they can simply overlook his past and love him?

He repaid his brother's thirty years of trying to save him by punching him in the face. He repaid his niece and nephew's bravery by giving himself up to Bill. He repaid Layla by not killing the monster that tormented her.

So what did they see that he didn't see?

"What do they see then…?" Ford begs, putting his face in his hands. "What do they see?"

"They see a brother, a great uncle, a lover… a friend," Frederick explains softly. "They see a person they love and wish to make him safe. That's what family does, that what people who love each other do… you are very much loved by your family, Stanford, don't forget that."

Ford sat there for what it seemed like eternity, until he nods in understanding. That was when he started to talk. He talked about his childhood, how he was bullied for having polydactyl, how his twin defended him at every turn. He talked about his high school project that when Stan broke cost him a scholarship to an impressive school and when he decided to cut Stan out of his life. Ford told his tales from the portal, some mild stuff as things got violent and intense real fast. Layla was talked about to, about how at first he was annoyed by her and how over time he fell in love with her. Finally he talked about his family and Weirdmageddon, how they were the most important thing in his life now and how he wanted to preserve it as much as he could.

Once the timer beeped that their session was over Frederick stood up from his chair and so did Ford from his. As Ford went towards the door his therapist said, "I'm really happy you finally opened up Ford… it's not healthy trying to keep it all in. This is great progress."

Ford gives a small smile, thinking that something about him felt quite a bit lighter. He talked to the psychiatrist as well, separate from his nephew unlike the first time visiting, and he discussed with Dr. Wells his session with Frederick that day.

"Sounds like you really are starting to open up a bit, Ford." Dr. Wells commented as she typed on her computer. "Now… just open up a little bit more with your family, tell them how you feel as cheesy as that sounds. It'll make you feel better in the long run." She then sent in the refills for the medication he was supposed to take to the pharmacy. "I've sent yours, and Dipper's, medication the pharmacy," she informs him as she gives a nod, signaling that the session was over.

Ford leaves the office, Dipper walking out with him. Dipper seemed much more relaxed than normal, but then again so was Ford.

"How'd everything go for you, Grunkle Ford?" Dipper asks casually as they did their routine walk into downtown for lunch as they always did.

Ford gives his grandnephew a genuine smile, "Pretty damn well for the first time in my life."

Dipper laughs, "Yeah… me too."

Ford claps a hand to the young man's shoulder as they continued on walking, the old scientist feeling a lot lighter in his steps than he had for a very long time.

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry about the lack of updates, I have been extremely busy with everything... I've been trying to write here and there but my sister and college work comes first.

I figured I would shed some light on Ford's mind a bit, as in "Beyond the Portal" he kept repeating that he wasn't worth anything. This is commonly known as "low self-esteem". Ford thinks himself as intelligent, but not worth something that people need to risk for. As we see in "Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future" he took a blast from the robot and got captured to save Dipper, and as we see in "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls" he was willing to make a deal with Bill (and in "Cipher's Reign" succeeded on it) to save his family.

Thanks for reading as always!

~Skye Hendersen~