(This story contains reference to a couple of illustrations by the brilliant markmak, but most of the inspiration is my own. I MAY make two or three chapters, or just leave this as a standalone. It depends if I think I can add anything worthwhile to what I've already written down. Remember, as our Lord and Master Mr Hirsch says: "I'm more interested in quality, than quantity". And now... What you've all be waiting for) :)

There had been a subtle change in the atmosphere of the still-being-repaired Mystery Shack.

Wendy didn't notice it... She was too busy hanging with her friends Nate, Lee, Tambry, Thompson and (somewhat surprisingly) Robbie. Making the most of her time off, she didn't have a care in the world.

The tension went straight above Soos's head too. Either the loveable man-child was staying true to his nature of seeing the best in everyone, when he wasn't too busy with his'cool' new hobby of FCLORPing (which had been indefinitely suspended, following the mysterious disappearence of one Toby Determined...)

But Dipper, Mabel and Stanley sensed a change in the air. Up until now, the permanent residents of the ramshackle building had got along quite nicely, and even the revelations about a lost dimension-hopping brother that Stanley had kept from his niece and nephew had failed to permeate the trio's bond that had been established that summer.

The problem was not Stanley's SECRET itself, but the SUBJECT of it... His gone-for-three-decades sibling, Stanford Pines, or as if he was referred to by a now frozen shapeshifter, 'that six fingered nerd'.

In fact the same criticism could be levelled at Dipper himself (minus the extra digit) which probably explains why the young boy was so taken with Ford's journal No 3... Which he had literally read to death before the man he'd been waiting so long to meet had emerged after a 30 year hiatus (Almost as long as the gap between new episodes of Gravity Falls).

Since their first encounter... And Dipper's discovery of journals 1 & 2, completing the set... Ford had become somewhat of a hero-worship target for the pre-teen. At first amused by the attention, Ford initially rebuffed Dipper's advances due to the time-consuming nature of his research (Plus, because to a promise he had made to his estranged brother than he wouldn't involve his dangerous scientific affairs with his niece and nephew, thus keeping them out of danger).

But thanks to an accidental tumble through the foundations of the Mystery Shack, and the discovery of a mutual love of statistical role playing games involving LOTS of dice, the pair had found a true kinship.

After an unfortunate incident involving the eccentric, evil wizard of said game coming to life and almost eating their brains, in which their lives were barely saved thank to Stanley's risk-taking, Mabel's imagination and a stick of chewing gum, Dipper's Grunkel had reluctantly allowed the duo to hang out. Either to keep the peace, or because he couldn't resist his nephew's hangdog expression. Who knows?

What IS certain now, is Stanley's relaxation of the rules he established has led to some wide-reaching reprecussions.

It started with Dipper. Him and his sister used to be inseparable... Always together, like two peas in a pod. He would've do anything for her, and vice versa. They'd saved each other's lives on numerous occasions that summer alone, and despite their complete opposites in personalities and interests, there was never a closer brother and sister than those twins.

Until, Grunkle Ford entered the scene.

Now, on Dipper's end, it was all "Sorry Mabel, me and Ford need to finish this dungeon." or "Sorry, Mabel, Ford wants my help in his laboratory." Now Dipper had found someone who had almost the exact same temprament and hobbies as him, he apparently didn't need his big sister around anymore.

At least, she still had Grenda and Candy. And Waddles, of course.

But she missed the way her twin and herself used to goof off together. She missed the little things, like silly string fights, or tickle battles (She ALWAYS won both). She missed most of all, when they would go out and solve mysteries together... His sarcastic cynicism, vs her upbeat optimism. It was a perfect blend.

All gone, now.

They hadn't even had an awkward sibling hug for over a week.

This was unheard of.

She DID love having two Stans around, really. She even said so in a letter to her parents. (Dipper was far less sentimental when it came to keeping contact... He just sent them an email, usually consisting of less than a dozen words).

But, it was an undeniable fact that Ford's presence... Had somehow upset the harmonic balance around the place, whether intentionally or not.

And, she didn't like it.

She needed to talk to someone.

Candy and Grenda were good at discussing hot boys and hotter fashion with, but pretty useless with family matters. Waddles would oink and appear to be paying attention, but would soon fall asleep in the middle of their conversations. Gompers was the worst of all... He had a habit of chewing her hair, and staring blankly into the distance with those weird yellow eyes of his.

All useless.

Then, she hit on an idea.

What about Stanley himself? He may not exactly be in his brother's good graces at the moment, and the two had barely spoken since Ford appeared on that fateful day.

But, they gew up together. Surely, Grunkle Stan would know SOMETHING that would help Mabel get her brother's attention again, to get him away from that...

Well, it's not like she was JEALOUS or anything. Of course not.

She found Stanley perusing over his latest issue of Gold Chains For Old Men, sitting at his desk, mumbling to himself. Funny, she thought he'd be in a better mood, considering the grand re-re-opening of the Mystery Shack was due in a few days...

No matter. Without announcing her arrival, she skipped into the room, and made herself comfortable at the chair opposite to him.

"Hi, Grunkle Stan!" She announced to her slightly startled elderly relative, who hastily put down his magazine to look across the table at his niece, while adjusting his fez.

"Oh hello sweetheart, what can I do for you?" The owner of the shack gave her a genuinely warm smile. Her sappy ways may sometimes grate on his nerves a little, but the old curmudgeon had a true soft spot in his withered old heart for the buoyant girl.

"I wanted to talk to you about Grunkle Ford..." Mabel started her sentence.

"NO, NO!" Stanley harshly cut her off, his wrinkled features now firmly locked in a frown. "It's bad enough having your brother hang around with him 24/7, I'm not going to lose you too. If you've got any sense kid, you'll stay out of that room anyway. Who knows what boring stuff those two geeks are talking about? Come and sit on your Grunkle Stan's lap kid... You can help me pick out a new medallion". He grinned again, and patted his knee in expectation.

Mabel felt concerned. SOMETHING had obviously upset him, and she needed to find out what it was. Just so her smile chart was in sync.

But, for a change, she decided to be selfish and regale him with her problems first. So, ignoring his welcoming lap, she walked right up to Stanley, took his hand, and said in her sternest voice:

"Grunkle Stan! This is important. Me and Dipper... We've never been apart for this long before. I know I should be pleased that Dipstick has finally found a friend nerdy enough to hang out with him... But, he hardly ever even TALKS to me now. It feels like I'm sharing a room with a stranger. Please, you've gotta help me... Is there ANYTHING you can tell me that could lessen the grip your brother has on him? I don't mean to sound envious, but..."

Mabel was suddenly interrupted by Stanley's arms around her thick mane of hair, as he bent down to comfort his niece with a bearhug that could almost rival the sweater-wearer's own method of affection.

"Looks like you and me are in exactly the same boat, kid." Stanley told her (Although, internally he was wincing at his choice of words). "I was discussing this very topic with myself when you came in... Eerr... Not that I'm going crazy or anything, you understand. I haven't seen much of the boy much myself of late... And I don't understand... What HAS that brainiac brother of mine got, that I haven't?" Stanley grinned confidentally to himself.

(Mabel WAS tempted to say "A college degree", but of course, she was nowhere near that mean-spirited.)

"I don't know... All I can tell you is... I miss the old days... When it was just us... And Wendy... And Soos..." Mabel sniffled a bit, wiping her face in Stanley's black overcoat. "I'm not saying I want to send Grunkle Ford back to wherever he came from, but..." She struggled to finish that sentence.

Stanley didn't seem to take offence to that... He simply nodded sagely, while holding her close. "Don't worry sweetheart, I know exactly what you mean. Only this morning, I was walking downstairs, and I heard the sound of dice rolling. Your brother and mine are STILL playing that dumb Dungeons game, even after all the trouble it got them into last time. Tell you what... If they end up getting kidnapped by another mad mathematical wizard, they're on their own. He can eat their brains a la carte, for all I care..."

Stanley frowned again recounting this memory, but stopped after seeing the concerned look on his niece's face. He felt rather guilty all of a sudden, and nervously patted her on the head.

"Eerr..., Only joking darling, of course I would never let that happen. Anyway, what I wanted to say was, me and my brother used to have a secret handclap when things were going our way... A 'High Six' we called it... You know, on account of the fact he has six fingers. Very funny. Hardy har har. He didn't try that greeting with anyone else. But, the minute I walked in..."

Stanley grit his mouth."HIGH SIX! He was doing our signature move with YOUR brother. YOUR BROTHER... Who he's only known for about a week... And they're already such bosom buddies that Stanford's taught him our secret handclap. THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR HANDCLAP! HOW COULD HE GIVE IT AWAY SO EASILY?!" At this point, Stanley was beginning to get more and more irate, and in doing so was accidentally crushing poor Mabel into a nice shade of blue.

"ALRIGHT GRUNKLE STAN! I GET IT!" Mabel gasped for breath, her ribs nearing cracking at the pressure with which Stanley was applying.

Her great uncle, suddenly snapped out of his anger episode by her cries of pain, quickly released her from his firm grasp, before sheepishly looking at her wheezing form in an apologetic way.

"Oh, I'm really sorry Mabel" he told her... It's just... This whole thing is not what I expected, at all when I found my brother again, after so many years of searching. I thought we'd all be together, as one big happy family, doing stuff that other families do for the rest of the summer. Paintballing... Go-Karting... Playing poker for high-stakes, you know, that kind of thing. Little did I know it would cause it would cause such a rift... Perhaps it would have better for everyone, if I'd just left hi..."

"NO, DON'T SAY THAT! DON'T EVER SAY THAT!" Mabel had recovered from her unannounced squeezing and had pounced on Stanley's words with a new fervour." You might be going through a rough pa... Okay, a VERY rough patch at the moment with him, but he's your brother! You still love each other despite your differences, just like how I and Dipper love each other. We've just gotta keep persevering... One day, those two geeks will bore each other senseless, then we'll be waiting for them with open arms, warm towels, and a fresh, new friendship sweater to try on!"

Mabel let out a brace-filled grin at the thought, and Stanley could only marvel at the girl's knack of cheering him up. How is it, she could always find the right thing to say to make the sun shine, no matter how bleak the situation? He owed her so much she'd never realise... It was down, after all, to her never-ending faith in him that Stanford even came back.

And the best thing about the girl? She didn't know how special she truly was. She would aid anyone without asking for anything in return, then go merrily on her way... That person's cheerfulness being reward enough for her. How blessed he was to have a niece like her.

Stanley laughed, and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're right. I shouldn't let this worry me so much. We might be different in so many ways, but there is ONE thing we all have in common. We're ALL Pines... And we'll always come through for one another, no matter how dissimilar we may be on the surface. I mean, it's not like they're keeping an incredibly dangerous, scary secret from us that could rupture the world as we know it, is it?" he laughed again.

Mabel, feeling much better, and ready to leave her Grunkle's loving embrace to update her Smile Chart to fine 'n' dandy, stopped in her tracks. She remembered something... A brief peek she got at a diagram Dipper was drawing in Journal No 3, while she was knitting her latest masterpiece... He'd tried to cover up his illustration, but she'd caught the briefest of glimpses of it.

What was it the page had said... Something about an Inter-Dimensional Rift Whatsit Thingie? All big words... And she didn't really understand them. But they did sound pretty important... And she wondered if she should tell her Grunkle about them.

Would she be betraying her brother's trust? Well, he hadn't told her NOT to tell anyone... And part of her WAS still desperate to get his attention, so...

"Well"... Mabel hesitantly started her sentence...