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"The couch isn't a good place for Grunkle Ford to sleep!"
"Shh, you'll wake him up!"
Ford opened his eyes to see his niece and nephew staring at him and arguing about his sleeping conditions. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and from the sunlight streaming through the window deduced that it was morning already. Last night was pretty rough, full of nightmares about Bill taking over the world. Ford wasn't even trying to sleep, it just sorta... happened.
"See? I told you that he'd wake up!" Dipper whispered to Mabel in irritation, then spoke up, "Sorry Great Uncle Ford, we didn't mean to wake you." Ford put his hand on his face tiredly as he thought of how to respond.
"It's alright, Dipper, I wasn't really sleeping that hard anyway," Ford reassured with a yawn, "Besides, it's the middle of the morning, I should've been up earlier!" Ford stood up without warning and headed to the kitchen for breakfast, the twins at his heels.
Ford grabbed the egg carton from the fridge and started to fry a few eggs, though almost burned them after falling asleep at the pan. The only reason the eggs weren't burnt was because Dipper pulled him a chair to sit on and took over. Ford apologized but Dipper and Mabel's concern only grew when they finally noticed the bags under his eyes.
"Grunkle Ford, you seem exhausted. Why don't you go back to bed?" Mabel suggested, a tinge of worry in her tone. Ford waved her off, he would be fine. Mabel pouted as Ford headed to his lab. Ford didn't need the kids worrying about him, he just needed to get to work on fixing up his lab for future scientific endeavors and he'll feel better with something to do.
A few hours later and Ford peeped his head out from behind the vending machine to see Dipper and Mabel whispering conspiratorially in a corner. Noticing Ford's attention on them, they walked up to him and asked if he'd want to visit the mall with them. Ford hesitantly accepted, more than a little suspicious of their motivations.
Ford was correct to be wary as it was quickly made apparent that this trip was to get pajamas. It wasn't that big a deal, Ford went along with their plans even though he didn't think a pair of pajamas would help him sleep. Mabel picked out several colorful space and animal themed ones, while Dipper chose ones themed with mystery. Ford picked the best of the ones the twins picked out and tried them on in the dressing room. They were all pretty cozy, he had to admit.
"Hey, Grunkle Ford?" Mabel inquired a few hours later out of the blue, peeping her head out from behind the sofa Ford was sitting in, "Do ya wanna have a sleepover? In our room? The sun's going down!"
"I don't know, Mabel, you sure you want an old guy like me in your bed?" Ford teased, a slight smile playing on his face, then he frowned and looked at his feet, "It's been such a long time since I've had a good night's sleep... I'm not so sure a sleepover would fix that, Mabel."
"Not with that attitude it won't!" Mabel took one of his hands and tugged in the direction of the stairs, albeit a little more roughly than Ford would've liked. Ford got up and followed her lead, almost tripping up a few times due to her utter enthusiasm. It wasn't long before they were at the door, but as Ford was about to open it, Mabel requested him to cover his eyes for a surprise.
Mabel opened the door, ushered him inside and ran to somewhere in the room. At Mabel's cue, Ford took his hands away from his face and found that the twins had much more up their sleeves than just pajamas. Their own beds were turned horizontal to the window, to make way for the extra mattress placed in the middle of the room. The mattress was covered in blankets, pillows, and, not to mention, a multitude of stuffed animals, all placed strategically for maximum comfort.
"Do you like it?" Mabel's excited voice was enough to convince Ford that maybe he would be able to sleep soundly for once, "Here, choose your pajamas!" Mabel tossed the pile of clothes they bought at Ford, who stumbled a little trying to catch them all. Dipper laughed at Ford's plight from his bed, book in hand.
"Just a sec, I'll go get changed," Ford winked as he headed back out and to the bathroom for some privacy. A few minutes later and he came back sporting a very colorful top with rainbows and stars chosen by Mabel and deep navy bottoms with a pine tree pattern along the sides chosen by Dipper. Mabel and Dipper gave their wholehearted approval at his idea to mix and match, excusing how much it clashed. Ford carefully arranged the extra pajamas on hangers and placed his boots in the closet, showing off six toes on each foot through his socks.
After taking a few seconds to exclaim her awe at his feet, Mabel pulled Ford by the hand to the bed excitedly and he sat down, a wave of exhaustion coming over him. Though before he could even lie down Mabel was in his lap holding a flashlight, while Dipper turned out the light. No proper sleepover could do without telling bedtime stories! At least, that's how Mabel put it. Mabel told a few fantastical tales of princesses, dragons, and giant kitties, while Dipper told rather spooky ones filled with mystery, monsters, and murder.
"Hey, could you point the light over there?" Ford asked once Dipper's ghost haunting story was finished, "I have something I want to show you." Dipper looked where Ford was pointing, a flat, empty part of the wall, and aimed it as requested. Without another word, Ford put his hands in front of the light, forming his hands into strange shapes that made intricate designs on the wall as shadow puppets.
"I used to do this almost every night with Stanley when we were kids." Ford explained at their awe, "My six fingers made it so shapes that would be difficult for normal hands were easier to me." Ford smiled as he created a gnome and gave the twins a fit of laughter with his gnome impression.
Ford glanced at the clock after a few more shadow puppets. It was getting rather late. He got up, almost as if to leave but Mabel wasn't having it, tugging his arm urgently. Ford sighed as he sat on the mattress and laid down. He knew the chances of having another horrible nightmare was high, and he really didn't want the kids to witness him having one. But Ford supposed it wouldn't hurt to try, seeing their expectant faces from their beds. He pulled the blanket under his chin, stuffed animals all around him, and slowly dozed off.
Mabel woke up sometime in the night to the sounds of Ford mumbling as he tossed and turned. She caught a few words, like 'Bill' and 'torture'. Which was enough to prompt her to whisper at Dipper, who's head was near enough to hear without waking Ford up. Dipper startled slightly, but quickly quieted at Mabel's hushed 'shhh'.
How they were going to help Ford with his nightmare, Dipper had no clue, but he followed Mabel's lead as she laid in the discombobulated mattress next to Ford and cuddled up to him. It wasn't long before Dipper and Mabel were being tightly hugged by a scared and trembling Ford, who quickly calmed down in their presence. Too tired to crawl back into their own beds, the twins fell back to sleep in Ford's arms.
"Ford, you in here...?" Stan quietly asked the darkness as he stepped into the attic bedroom with a lantern, "Oh." The sight of Dipper and Mabel sleeping in Ford's arms on a makeshift bed was enough to warm his heart. Ford seemed peaceful as he slept, better than Stan had seen him sleep since he came back to this dimension. Stan left them to sleep, it was still the middle of the night.
Ford woke up holding the still sleeping Dipper and Mabel, sunlight streaming through the triangular window. That, was quite possibly the soundest sleep he'd had in a long time. Ford finally felt refreshed for once, and reveled in the newly discovered energy he had. He gingerly shook Dipper and Mabel awake, for he didn't want to hurt them when he got off of the mattress.
"Did it work? How was your sleep?" Mabel asked as she woke up, a little too loudly. Dipper woke up with a start, rubbing his eyes. Ford gently sat up and gave both twins a large bear hug. To their surprise, tears glistened in Ford's eyes. Mabel worried she said something wrong before Ford finally spoke up.
"Thank you so much." Ford's voice was full of emotion, "That was the best sleep I've had in years. Decades, even." Ford was content to sit there all day, hugging them, but there were things he wanted to do today with Dipper and Mabel that couldn't wait.
"You're welcome, Great Uncle Ford!" Dipper replied as they all got up from the mattress, "We couldn't stand seeing you sleep on the couch like that! Just not right for our great uncle!" Ford gave them both a big smile as they hurried on ahead to the kitchen for breakfast.
Today was going to be a good day.