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Together Again
Stanford (Ford) Pines hated Christmas with a passion! All it did was remind him of all those lonely times he spent dimension hoping, running for his life. His twin brother, Stanley (Stan) Pines, was ecstatic. Not only was it the busiest time for The Mystery Shack, but it would be the first Christmas in over 30 years that he wouldn't be alone. His great-niece and nephew, Mabel and Mason (Dipper) Pines, would also be there. When asked why they didn't want to spend it with their parents, they just gave a vague answer. Ford was currently holed up in his basement lab to avoid the festivities; he invented some story about an experiment, but Stan didn't believe him. You can't con a con man. He turned around and saw his brother wearing one of Mabel's knitted sweaters instead of his usual Mr. Mystery jacket. It read, “Merry Christmas from Mr. Mystery." "Ford, I brought you some hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, and Mabel asked me to give you this sweater." "Thank you for the hot chocolate, and thank Mabel for the sweater." Stan chuckled and said, "I believe yours says 'Dr. Mystery.’ Why don't you come upstairs and celebrate with us? The nibblings are dying to see you. I know this experiment thing is a load of crap. You used to love Christmas." "I am not in the mood, Stanley!" Ford snapped irritably. Stan didn't say anything but gave Ford a searching look, like he was looking for someone or something, and left.
Later that evening, when the shop had closed, Ford ascended the stairs to the kitchen. He was immediately engulfed in a hug by his great- niece and nephew, both starting to talk ten to the dozen. "Why aren't you wearing your Christmas sweater?" "We missed you!” "Are you going to watch a Christmas movie with us?" Ford's head was spinning. Stan gave a merry chuckle as he pried the twins off Ford. "One at a time; Mabel, you can go first." "We missed you, Grunkle Ford. And why aren't you wearing the Christmas sweater I knitted?" Mabel said as she gave him a piercing look. Ford felt a slight stab of guilt and said with a fake jovial voice, "I love it! I just forgot to put it on. I will try to spend more time with you and Dipper." "What are you working on? If I help you, it can be finished quicker," Dipper said eagerly. "Don't concern yourself, my boy; I am almost done," Ford said, lying through his teeth. "Are you going to watch a movie with us?" Mabel asked eagerly. "You can choose!" Dipper said just as eagerly. Stan, pretending to clear the dishes, remembered the conversation from earlier and didn't think Ford would want to watch any movie. "Kids, Ford's not feeling too well." "Don't worry, Grunkle Ford!" Mabel said happily. "I will make you my special Mabel hot chocolate and you will feel right as rain!" "Thank you,” Ford said, getting up and leaving the table.
The Tape: Has 2 parts
(Part 1)
Ford couldn't sleep; he just couldn't get the disappointed look Stan had on his face out of his head. So, he made himself coffee and went to read a book in the lounge when he saw a note stuck on the VCR. “Play me," it read. Thinking Stan or one of the nibblings left it there, he pushed play. Suddenly, Ford found himself in a white room. "Where am I?" he said in panic. "Now there is no need to fret." Ford spun around and saw an elderly African American woman; she wore a kaftan and headscarf. She also had a cane. "Who are you?” Ford asked. "Let's just say I am your Fairy Godmother, but you can call me Belinda,” she said, chuckling. "Time to go, " Belinda said happily. "Where?" Ford asked. "You will see," Belinda said mysteriously. She snapped her fingers, and they were gone.
Ford found himself outside his old home in Glass Shard Beach. "Why are we here?" he asked, frowning. "You know why," Belinda said patiently as they ascended the stairs to his old room. His parents never celebrated Christmas, claiming it wasn't a Jewish holiday, but for Stan and Ford, it didn't matter. "You used to be full of the Christmas spirit. What happened?" Belinda watched as two young brothers hugged joyfully while exchanging small gifts, giggling. Ford felt a painful ache in his chest. "Well, don't you have anything to say for yourself?" she said, clearly annoyed. "That's all in the past," Ford said, his voice wavering as his throat tightened with emotion. She hit him on the head with her cane. "We will get through to you yet.” As Ford rubbed his head, she snapped her fingers.
They were outside Backsmore University; it clearly was Christmas. Ford smiled slightly as he saw his old friend Fiddleford. "Ford, y'all coming to the Christmas party tonight?" Fiddleford asked cheerfully, wearing a sweater with a Christmas tree on it. "My Ma knitted me this," he said happily. "I am sorry, I can’t,” Ford said, shortly leaving for his dorm. Belinda clicked her tongue. "For shame!" She clicked her fingers, and they were outside a dingy motel room. They went in ; Ford gasped in shock . He thought he had it worse than Stan, but he was wrong. Ford knew it was Christmas, judging by the calendar on the wall. He was covered in bandages and was stitching a wound. "Merry Christmas, Poindexter, wherever you are, “Stan said in a sad voice. "What happened to him?" Ford asked, clearly distressed. Belinda looked sadly and said, "Your brother got involved with the wrong people. He was asked to take a shipment across the border, but when he found it was people, he couldn't and set them free." Ford wiped his eyes, thinking if only he had known. Belinda snapped her fingers and they were gone.
This time they found themselves in a cave; time was irrelevant to Ford. "Why are you showing me this?" Ford asked irritably. "So you can appreciate your family and the precious time you have with them,” she said, gently touching his shoulder in a comforting manner. She snapped her fingers and they were in the Mystery Shack. Ford saw a few people invite Stan over for Christmas, and he kept turning them down. They followed him to the basement laboratory. "That's how he spent the next 30 years of Christmas-trying to get you back." Ford looked at his brother sadly, remembering how he had treated him when he returned. She snapped her fingers again, and they were in a home he didn't recognize, but he did recognize the two kids. They were his niblings. "It’s Christmas time," Belinda said with a sad look on her face. Ford stared around in disbelief. How could it be Christmas? There were no trees or ornaments. "Can't we spend Christmas with you?" Mabel asked pleadingly, grabbing her mother's arm in desperation. "Of course not, Maggie!" her father laughed conceitedly. "How are we going to enjoy ourselves with you hanging around? Here is Ms. Abernathy now," and she had half a dozen cats with her. The twins winced sadly and went to their room.
(Part 2)
Ford turned around to ask Belinda a question, but instead he found a young woman. Her hair was braided with colourful beads; she wore a Christmas sweater that read “Family, the greatest gift of all” and jeans. "Who are you?" Ford asked in surprise, wondering where she came from. The young woman gave a musical laugh and said, "I am Belinda's daughter, Hope. I will be taking over for her." Ford was not sure how much of this emotional roller coaster he could handle. They were still at the twins' house; the only difference was that the twins looked older. "Can we go and spend Christmas with Grunkle Stan?" they both pleaded. "You won't even have to pay for the tickets; we saved up and bought them with the odd jobs we did,” Mabel asked, holding her breath. "Yes, whatever," their father said, waving them away dismissively. "Those two are so full of light,” Hope said quietly, then added sadly, "I would hate to see them lose that." She snapped her fingers. It was the day the twins arrived. "With you knuckleheads here, and Ford, this is going to be the greatest Christmas ever!" Ford felt tears of regret well up in his eyes. "There is still time to fix this," Hope said. Pleased that Ford had realized the error of his ways, she hugged him, wishing him a Merry Christmas. Snapping her fingers, he found himself back in the lounge
Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
Ford found himself on the floor of the lounge; he knew everyone would be up soon. It was Christmas Eve. The first thing he did was change into a pair of jeans and put on the Christmas sweater Mabel had knitted for him. He decided to surprise Stan and make chocolate chip and strawberry pancakes. Stan and the twins walked into the kitchen to find breakfast on the table. "I want to apologize for acting like the Grinch lately,” Ford said in an apologetic voice. “Can you forgive me?" he asked hopefully. "Of course," the twins said joyfully, hugging their Grunkle. Stan nodded and was even astonished when Ford went and hugged him. "You made my favourite,” Stan said gruffly. "I need to go into town to get a few things. I won't be long. How do you feel about baking Christmas cookies when I come back?" "That sounds like a great idea, sixer!" Stan said, smiling in approval. "Can we add glitter?" Mabel asked hopefully. "I think sprinkles will be a better idea,” Dipper suggested. Mabel just stuck out her tongue at Dipper. "We can have them with the movie tonight,” Stan suggested. Like Ford said, he wasn't long; he already knew what Christmas gifts he wanted to get for them. They had fun making Christmas cookies. When the twins had gone to bed after the movie, Stan asked, "Do you mind telling me about the sudden change of heart? " Ford was quiet for a moment and said, "I realized I was letting my past experiences reflect on the present, causing me to hate Christmas. I forgot how lucky I am to be able to spend Christmas with you again and the nibblings. I love you, Stanley." Stan wiped his eyes, blaming the dust as the two brothers hugged. "I missed you too, Poindexter."
Christmas morning dawned bright and beautiful. Both Mabel and Dipper were up early, eager to see what was under the tree. Mabel had given everyone a sweater with their zodiac symbol on it. Dipper had given Mabel a set of shooting star earrings, Stan a Swiss Army knife, and Ford a new journal with a set of sketch pencils. Stan gave Dipper a complete set of Ghost Harasser, Mabel a glitter gun, and Ford a framed picture of the last Christmas they spent together. Ford gave Dipper a science kit, saying it was only to be used when he was around. Mabel received a complete knitting kit, and Stan gave a large framed picture of the four of them. "Thank you, Ford," Stan said, choking up with emotion. "I am going to hang this above the fireplace." "Mabel, Dipper, we're so glad you came; you're welcome to come again next year, “Ford said in a casual tone, hoping they would admit the truth. "Ford is right," Stan said, "but won't your parents be upset if you didn't spend Christmas with them?" Both Mabel and Dipper sighed sadly. "This is our first real Christmas,” Mabel confessed. "Every Christmas, our parents go away with friends, leaving us with the crazy cat lady next door,” Dipper added, moving closer to Mabel. "This year, we got odd jobs and saved up so we could spend Christmas with you." "Then it's settled: from now on, you will be spending the holidays with us! Plus, it's free labour. Don't worry about the tickets; we will take care of them." Mabel and Dipper hugged their Grunkles in gratitude. At the same time, Ford and Stan felt a sense of closeness that they hadn't felt in a long time.
Merry Christmas.