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Stan hadn’t held out hope that his brother would join the family for breakfast, so Mabel took it upon herself to make him a plate, insisting that he eat, even if he wanted to do so alone. She piled the plate high with bacon and a stack of pancakes, drizzling maple syrup on top. After wrapping it in foil, she headed down to the basement.
The elevator doors opened, and Mabel stepped inside, noting the large curtain on the far side of the room, and her uncle at his desk. “Morning, Grunkle Ford!” Mabel chirped.
“Morning,” Ford answered, not looking up. She brushed off the odd feeling in her stomach and walked up to him.
“I brought you pancakes,” she said, holding out the plate. Her grin had melted into a tiny smile. The corners of her mouth began to quiver.
“Thank you, Mabel, but I’m not hungry,” Ford said, still not looking up. Mabel’s face fell.
“Are you sure? It’s the most important meal of—”
“Mabel,” Ford said sharply, stunning her into silence. “I’m very busy. Just leave the pancakes. I’ll eat when I’m done.”
Mabel nodded, carefully setting it down next to him. Then, she gulped and asked, “I-is there something wrong?”
“Dipper told me what you did, Mabel.” Ford’s voice was flat. He had his back to Mabel, but from what she could see, he was working on something. She felt her cheeks flush.
“He did?” Mabel asked in a small voice. “I was just trying to do the right thing—”
He slammed his palms on the desk and stood up, finally facing her. “Mabel, the right thing would’ve been destroying the portal. I should’ve known Stanley would be too selfish to do that. The right thing would’ve been to leave me.”
Tears spilled from Mabel’s eyes. “You can’t mean that, Grunkle Ford. Don’t you want to be home? Where you’re safe?”
“But I’m not safe, Mabel. And thanks to you, neither is Stan. Neither is Dipper.” He walked past her, his trench coat billowing behind him. Mabel stood alone in the basement, the gravity of what she’d done crashing down on her like the second floor of a burning building.
She curled in on herself and sobbed. She hiccuped, gasping for breath between each wave of grief pouring from her. What had she done?
Mabel went to pick up the plate Ford left behind, when cracks began to appear beneath her, and she fell.
Mabel jolted awake, heart thundering. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. Would Grunkle Ford really be mad at me? Like he’s mad at Grunkle Stan?
Mabel hadn’t breathed a word to Dipper about what she’d heard the night Ford returned—she couldn’t let Dipper know his idol planned to throw Stan out once they went back to California. It would break his heart.
Carefully, Mabel got out of bed. Waddles moved to the spot where she’d been sleeping and curled up, making soft little snorts as he got comfortable. Mabel tiptoed to the door and eased it open just enough to slip out.
She went downstairs, careful to skip the squeakier steps. She couldn’t stand Ford putting all of the blame on Stan. She’d played a part in bringing him home. He had a right to know that.
She came to a stop at the door to his old room—the room she’d fought Dipper for a month ago. Butterflies fluttering wildly, she knocked. She heard shuffling, then the door opened.
“Mabel?” Ford asked, surprised to see her outside his room in the middle of the night. He hadn’t yet managed to bring himself to sleep, but seeing the look on her face, he couldn’t bring himself to care.
He knelt in front of her as she said in a shaky voice, “It wasn’t Grunkle Stan’s fault, what happened with the portal.” She plucked up her courage and looked up at him, bracing herself for the moment his face twisted with rage. He sighed. “I know you think that, but Stanley knew what would happen. He read my journals.”
“But it wasn’t!” Mabel insisted, voice rising—thankfully not loud enough to wake the rest of the house. “I was the one who could’ve shut it down, Grunkle Ford. It’s my fault. Not his.”
“Oh, Mabel…” Ford pulled Mabel into his arms. “Is that what has you awake? You couldn’t have known the consequences of opening the portal. You were trying to do the right thing.”
Mabel wasn’t sure it was the right thing considering how angry Ford was—even if he hadn’t been real. She thought about her nightmare, about the scorn on her uncle’s face as he rebuffed her. She buried her face in his shoulder. “I didn’t want to press the button, because Grunkle Stan was telling the truth. I know he was. I didn’t know you existed, but if I’d trapped you in that machine, I—I—”
“Mabel, Mabel, it’s okay,” Ford murmured. He rubbed her back. “Shh, it’s okay.”
“It’s my fault you guys are fighting,” Mabel said, voice breaking. “I never wanted this. And I don’t know how to fix it.”
Ford pulled away and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “Mabel, sweetie, it’s not your job to fix it. Stanley and I have had problems for years. It has nothing to do with you.”
“I thought you would be mad at me too,” Mabel admitted. “I just—I had a nightmare. You found out that I’d kept the portal open, and you were so mad! You—you told me I was the reason we weren’t safe.”
The idea that he’d ever say something so cold to a child horrified Ford. “I could never be mad at you, Mabel. No matter what.” He half-smiled. “Besides, it’s a little difficult to feel angry with someone who called my handshake a full finger friendlier than normal.”
Through her tears, Mabel laughed. Ford’s voice grew solemn. “It’s between Stanley and me, what happened with the portal. I don’t know if I can undo the damage done, but I’m going to try. We’ll be safe again, Mabel.”
Mabel raised her chin to look Ford in the eyes. “I told you: you were trying to do the right thing.”
The right thing. Mabel wasn’t sure if she fully believed Ford. Maybe he really was angry and was choosing not to show it. She decided not to think about that possibility. She hugged him again. “We’ll be okay, right?” Mabel asked.
After the past week, after finding out her beloved Grunkle Stan wasn’t who she thought, after seeing her world flip upside down, she needed to believe that.
“Yes, sweetheart,” Ford murmured, wrapping his arms around her. “We’ll be okay.” However long it took, his family would be safe again. He’d make sure of it.
THE END