Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

Prologue: The Choice

Joe was looking over a familiar pink scrapbook covered with drawings and stickers. The stories his kids had told him that September had been fascinating and, he thought with a smirk to himself, their faces when he and Kristen had revealed how much they knew were pretty funny.

Joseph Pines was a tall, thin man who bore an almost striking resemblance to his son, especially now that said son was older; he and his sister had just turned fifteen a few days ago. His wife, Kristen, was a bit shorter with blond hair, and when she smiled, one could easily see the resemblance she held with her daughter in that respect. In Joe's option, even well into their thirties, there was no lovelier woman anywhere.

He flipped to a random page, seeing three familiar faces, and one not so familiar, in a large photo. The man he would know anywhere as he favorite uncle gave him that old, sly grin while he ruffled twelve-year-old Dipper's hair. The look on their son's face always made Joe and Kristen smile. He looked so happy, so comfortable. It had been years, at the time, that either had seen a smile like that on Dipper's face. Now, two years later, he still lite up when he talked about Gravity Falls.

Twelve-year-old Mabel had a huge grin on her face while she hugged her brother. Much like the smile on Dipper's face, that wasn't something either parent had seen between their kids in years at that point. It wasn't that Dipper and Mabel were ever distant or fought often; they had always gotten along and were practically born loyal to each other. Simply that they rarely did things together, let alone hugged unless being made to. It had been a lovey surprise to see how close they'd grown over that summer.

The unfamiliar man was what he still had trouble wrapping his mind around. Growing up, Joe had only vaguely heard a few times that Uncle Stan had been born with a twin brother, who had died in a car crash when Joe was still small. Than the kids come back with tales of portals, journals and a very silly feud. Joe wasn't stupid. He knew quite well about the oddities Gravity Falls contained. He had spent several of his own summers there, after all.

Unfortunately, another summer was coming to a close. The news that Stan was leaving Gravity Falls for a while was what really influenced their choice to keep the kids down here for the past two summers. The first time, they had taken the news about as well as Joe had expected. Mabel had pouted for a day or two but got over it, saying that there was always next year. Dipper just shut himself in his room for a couple of weeks, acting like he'd been betrayed. That boy was definitely a teenager. This passed summer, things seemed to return to what they'd been for years; Mabel always out with friends and Dipper staying in his room with his books and video games. It was great that they loved the place so much, but neither Joe nor Kristen felt comfortable leaving their kids in the custody of people they themselves didn't know. But if they all went...

"Hey, babe." Kristen's voice made him jump slightly. She walked over to the couch and sat beside him, placing two mugs of hot chocolate on the coffee table in front of them. Aside from their daughter's pig, who was sleeping soundly on a chair, they were alone. "I'm done with the lesson plans. Did we make a decision yet?" she asked, taking a sip form her cup.

"I think it might be a good idea." Joe smiled, taking his own mug. "I loved Gravity Falls as a kid, and Dipper and Mabel would love it if we did, especially Dipper."

"And your job?" Kristen asked. "We only have so much rainy day money."

"No one's looking for a new software programmer down here." Joe said. The company he'd worked for had merged with a bigger corporation and they had had to let go of more than one employee. This was about a week ago. "I think it might be time to leave." He paused and looked at his wife. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Joe, do you remember when we were seventeen, and you dragged me up to Gravity Falls for the summer?" she asked, smiling.

"No, actually." Joe said with a teasing look on his face as he pulled her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I do remember, though, how you invited yourself along for the trip. Always headstrong."

"Those dates..." she sighed wistfully, ignoring the accusation. "that's when I realized I love you."

"So...you're really okay with it?" Joe asked, placing a gentle kiss on his wife's head. She hummed a yes. "The kids'll be happy to hear it. School doesn't start for a couple more weeks, you can go teach at the high-school, and..."

"Joey?" Kristen interrupted, looking and sounding half-asleep. "It's midnight. How about we save it for tomorrow?"

Okay, this is an ambitious project. An actual story that spans more than a few chapters. Oh man, my ADD's gonna hate this. Review.