January 1960-something

Stanford held his jacket a little tighter around himself. It was chilly here in the wintry late-afternoon, but it was better being cold on the Stan O' War than being warm at home. Here, no one called him a wimp. Here, no one saw him as a freak or a loser. Here, he was free to be as upset as he wanted to be. He didn't want to cry, but if he couldn't hold it in any longer than at least no one was around to see it.

Yesterday had been a bad day. Crampelter had cornered Stanford after school, while Stanley was busy talking to some girl, and eventually had the ten-year-old pinned to the cold concrete with a knee to his back, pulling his arm back and almost dislocating his shoulder until Stanley came and shoved the bully off his brother. All of the boxing lessons were starting to pay off as Stanley walked away with less scrapes and bruises than normal, but he still had to serve after-school detention today. The twins tried to hide their injuries on the way to the bathroom, but Ma saw them and knelt to look them over. Before Stanley and Stanford could convince their mother they were okay, Pa showed up and snapped, demanding if the boys had lost another fight and when they were going to quit getting their butts handed to them. Ma then stood and shouted at Pa and the two screamed at each other for what felt like forever while they fixed each other up with their first aid kit and spent the rest of the night in their room to avoid the fighting. No kid likes hearing their parents yell.

Stanford's shoulder didn't hurt as much anymore and the bruise on his back was still big and purple and black, but at least he could hide it. As much as Stanford tried to ignore it, even reading a book he normally would have enjoyed, the voices in his head kept on shouting at him.

"Dorks and losers!"

"FREAK!"

"When are you gonna stand up for yourself like a man?!"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Watch it, Six-Finger's got the plague!"

"You'll NEVER make any friends!"

Stanford closed his book, shut his eyes, took off his glasses, and scrubbed at his eyes with a fist and pinched the bridge of his button nose to try to compose himself. Stanford then used his blurry vision to look down at his birth defect. His vision became even worse when more tears formed, eventually making the boy buried his head in his arms and he quietly cried. Crampelter was right. Stanford was never going to make any friends. No one would ever want him around.

Okay, maybe Stanley did, but he wasn't here right now, and how long it would be until Stanley decided he was tired of being made fun of? Stanford truly believed that Stanley was cool enough to make it on his own. He'd bet his chemistry set that if Stanley had never defended Stanford, never been his brother, he wouldn't be made fun of as much as he was now. Sure, Stanley Pines messed up a bunch, but he was funny and smart in a way you can't teach to somebody and girls seemed to like him. What was stopping him from getting any gal he wanted and being an all star boxer or a superhero? His freak of a twin. The mistake.

These thoughts plagued and poisoned Stanford, who let them flow and then leave him. While he didn't disbelieve these bad thoughts anymore, they were no longer screaming at him, so he had the strength to go home. Maybe he'd feel better in his warm bed instead of the cold unfinished ship.

Stanford stood and smiled hopefully at the Stan O' War. Last summer, right after the boys had turned ten, they had found the shipwreck sailboat in a cave and took it as their anchor for a better future.

"One of these days, you and me are gonna sail away from this dumb town. We'll hunt for treasure, get all the girls, and be an unstoppable team of adventurers."

Stanford carried that message with him nearly every day, and he doubted the day would come when he stopped. He picked up his backpack and started on the walk for home. The wind howled, making Stanford shiver, and he picked up the pace. He wished summer would get here, he didn't like the cold. Something on the sidewalk in town nearly made Stanford trip, but he caught himself in time and turned to see what it was.

The boy raised an eyebrow to find a tape measure. It was black and yellow and had two weird triangles on it. "Huh. I don't recognize that company." He muttered to himself as he picked up the measurer. He pulled on the tape, as children will with these types of tape measures, and he realized too late that it didn't read inches and centimetres; it read years, but Stanford had already released the tape and then he was gone with a flash.

May 2016

After the flash was gone, one of the first things Stanford noticed was that he was warm. Really warm. And something was crackling behind him and smelled like burning fabric. Stanford threw off his backpack and stomped on it until the little fire went out. Once that panic was gone, new panic came as he realized he was in the middle of some woods. He had never been in the forest before, except for the little patches by the ravine, but the ravine was dangerous and only for stupid teenagers, so Stanford didn't go there if he could help it.

Once he knew he was safe, he looked down at the tape measure. "What the heck is this thing?" He asked himself as he cautiously pulled out the tape. It read measurements of time instead of measurements of space. He slowly let the tape back in the machine and put it in his jacket's pocket, deciding it would be best to try to figure this weird tape measure out later. More importantly, when was he?

Stanford looked around the fellow pines he was surrounded by and he smiled at the peaceful smell. It reminded him of the holidays and when Christmas trees would be up for sale at the park. Stanford understood his family didn't celebrate Christmas, and he was fine with instead celebrating a holiday that lasted seven days, but he wished just once they would bring a pinetree into their house just to make all the rooms smell nice. Stanford could hear birds, for once not choking on glass or honking. They either tweeted or knocked on wood. Here, in the quiet and in the warmth, Stanford felt much better than he did five minutes ago, despite being in a strange setting and far away from home.

Stanford thought he could hear the vague sound of a car, and so the boy hurriedly followed him to it. Where there was a vehicle there was probably a town. Stanford saw a dirt road and watched as a car drove one way. He could follow it, but when he looked toward where the car had come from, he could have sworn he saw a wooden structure of some sort through the trees. Stanford emerged from the woods and walked alongside the road.

"Okay, the tape measure had been set to forward." Stanford thought out-loud to himself to try to think clearly. "And if there's cars, I'm definitely in the future, but how far? I didn't see how many years ahead it sent me. Maybe I'll finally meet a robot!"

As Stanford walked along the old road, it became clear to him that either he hadn't time traveled that far into the future or he was somewhere considered "old" by this time's standards. Stanford awed happily at an old cabin with a triangular roof with a big sign that read "Mystery Shack", but the S was on the grass. There was a goat munching on a tin can and it looked at Stanford with it's weird yellow eyes, but Stanford grinned at the goat and carried on his way.

"What is this place?" He asked himself. "Some kind of haunted house?" The word "Mystery" was enough to lure him towards the building and he saw a door with a sign that read "gift shop," so Stanford decided to check that place out first.

A bell greeted him and Stanford smiled at the little shop. A pretty lady with a hat and a green question-mark t-shirt was at the cash register, helping an old lady buy a keychain with a spaceship on it. Stanford grinned as more and more things were his taste. There were baseball caps with pinetrees, question marks everywhere, some kind of Aztec wheel in the back, a monkey-fish - no! A Mer-key! - in a tank, and newspapers and magazines full of supernatural evidence. Stanford grinned and took a newspaper with a UFO on the front and opened it.

Before Stanford was too sucked into the story of the alien-sighting in Wyoming, he could hear the lady at the cash register groan and say to the old woman, "I'm sorry, ma'am, this drawer is always getting stuck. Here, let's see if my husband has any change for you." And they walked through a door with red curtains.

Stanford looked at the register. It looks pretty close to the one at Pa's shop. Curious, Stanford sat the paper down and went over to the drawer. There was a toolbox open by the vending machine, so he borrowed a red screwdriver and pulled a flashlight out from his jacket and got to work to try to fix the cash register.

He found the clip that wasn't releasing and managed to temporarily open the drawer, but the issue was, for the time being, you needed the screwdriver every time you wanted to open the drawer, so Stanford unscrewed some screws to look at the drawer's workings and he patiently fixed the clip so it was hooked the way it should be. Stanford smiled proudly at himself, happy to help that lady, and he put the drawer back together and closed it with a little ding.

"Whatcha doin', dawg?"

Stanford jumped a foot in the air and looked up to find the lady back with a big man beside her, the big man standing in Stanford's way of leaving the counter. He was a chubby guy and reminded Ford of a gopher. He had a red fez with a golden crescent (kinda like Pa's if Stanford was being honest) and he wore a suit and an eyepatch.

Stanford was shaking as he realized how bad it looked to have some kid standing by the cash; if this was Pa's store he would have called the police. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I just wanted to fix your drawer, I'm sorry!" Stanford yelped and sat the screwdriver down on the counter and shoved his hands in his pockets; he didn't want this big man to think he was stealing anything, cash or tools.

"Whoa, whoa," The big guy said and with his hands up to stop him. He was smiling nicely at Stanford and he slowly began to calm down. "It's okay, dude, I get it. You're not in trouble. Now let's see if you fixed this old girl."

The big guy reached over to the register and pressed a button. The drawer slid open gracefully, making the lady and the big guy grin. "Wow. I've never seen that thing work so well." The lady said.

"Me neither, and I've been here for fifteen years!" The big guy patted Stanford's shoulder. "You did a good job, dude. I'm impressed."

Stanford's face suddenly felt really hot, like the kind of hot it gets when someone points out his six fingers, but his gut wasn't squirming around in the usual bad way. And Stanford found it hard not to smile. "Th-Thank you."

"Thank you," The big guy said with a grin. "What do I owe you for a job well done?"

Stanford stared at the big guy, wondering if he was joking, but the big guy and the lady just smiled at him and suddenly he noticed how empty his stomach felt. "Can I have a snack?" And he pointed to the vending machine.

The big guy grinned and nodded. "Sure, dude! Hungry?" Right on cue, Stanford's stomach growled. He held his jacket tighter around himself and blushed, but the big guy and lady just chucked.

"No wonder, it's almost lunchtime." The lady pointed out as her watch told her it was almost one.

"Well, hey, Abuelita would love some more mouths to feed." The big guy said and asked Stanford, "Why don't you ask your folks if you can join us for lunch?"

"My parents aren't here." Stanford said, unable to believe what was happening in front of him. "It's just me."

"Oh. Well, wanna stay for lunch?" The big guy offered nicely. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but we'd love to have you…"

"Yes, please!" Stanford answered happily. "Sounds like fun!"

"Sweet!" The big guy dipped his fez to the boy and said, "Mr. Mystery at your service, little dude! But you can call me Soos! This here my wife, Melody. Want a tour of the Mystery Shack before lunch?"

"Sure!" Stanford even pulled out his notepad and pencil from his jacket and held it ready for note taking.

Soos laughed, grabbed an eight-ball cane, and led the way through the doorway with red curtains. Stanford was amazed to find a little museum full of odd stuff! Left and right there were strange anomalies and attractions that were just the coolest! Stanford had only seen stuff like this in his dreams, and now it was all here in front of him.

Soos cleared his throat and declared, "Dear gentleman! Looking around my Mystery Shack, you'll see many wondrous befuddlement, unlike anything you have ever seen before! Feast your eyes, on the dangerously adorable Unicat!" And he gestured to a fluffy orange tabby with a unicorn's corn tied to it's head. The kitty was sleeping on a fluffy cat's bed and Stanford grinned and began to sketch it.

"Now beware, tourist, not only could this guy make you sneeze, Mr. Wiggles is so adorable he can literally bend you to his will." Mr. Mystery warned with wiggling fingers. "One minute he's purring in your hand and the next he's biting your hand, but don't worry, just give him a treat and he'll be putty in your hands, dawg." Soos pulled out a bag from his suit and asked, "Wanna give the Unicat a treat?"

Stanford grinned and happily let Soos shake a treat onto his palm. Mr. Wiggles woke up and sat patiently on the bed. Stanford gave it to him and scratched Mr. Wiggles under his chin while the kitty munch on his treat and purred. Then he was ready for his nap again.

"Up next, I give you a rare picture of a horse riding another horse!"

The whole thirty-minute tour Soos amazed Stanford with the Rock That Looks Like a Face, London Bridge made out of popsicle sticks, other strange photos and articles framed on the walls, and finally the good ole Sascrotch. Stanford attentively asked questions and Soos happily answered all of them.

This little guy was reminding Soos of a younger version of himself more and more. He was helpful and nice and kinda shy and quiet, but Soos could tell this dude was special. Soos wondered if Mr. Pines felt this way about him when he first came to the Mystery Shack.

Melody eventually called Soos and Stanford in for lunch and Stanford let Soos put a hand on his shoulder and led him through the "Employees Only" door. Stanford was surprised to find what appeared to be a house. Not that he was too surprised, Stanford's family lived above their shop, but still. It looked like a really nice place to live. He had always wanted to live in a cabin! "Wow, you have a really nice house."

"Thanks, dawg." Soos patted his shoulder and pointed towards the kitchen. "Mm. Smells like Abuelita made tamales!"

Melody was fixing glasses of water while Abuelita stirred a pot. Stanford smiled at the old lady in an apron with soft old-lady skin. She smiled and shuffled over to the boy. "Aye! ¡Qué niño tan dulce! Hola, niño! Look at you! So thin! You must be hungry." She cooed and made Stanford sit at the table so she could pile his plate high with rice, beans, and tamales. "Here, eat up."

Stanford didn't know much Spanish, but he did know one phrase. "Muchas gracias, señora!"

Ma was a great cook, but she didn't look much Mexican. There was a taco place that was okay, but this was real Mexican food and it tasted so good! Stanford, who hadn't eaten since lunch, was starving and happily cleaned his plate while he listened to Melody and Soos talk about work and their plan for the day. They occasionally asked Stanford something and let him talk, but Stanford was happy to quietly eat and the grown-ups respected that.

"Oh, you're a twig, niño," Abuelita commented as she carried the plate full of tamales over to him and gave him another. "Here, have some more."

"No, gracias." Stanford said politely, making sure to say thank you.

"I asked if you would like more tamales." Abuelita said with a bit of a scary voice and a stern look. One glance at Soos and Stanford saw him smile and nod his head, advising to accept the food.

"Uh… si?"

"That's what I thought you said." Abuelita said happily and gladly piled four more tamales on poor Stanford's plate.

A few minutes later, a door opened in the distance and a voice called teasingly, "'Sup, Mr. Ramierez!"

"In the kitchen, Wendy!" Soos called back.

"Aw man, Dipper and Mabel not here yet?"

"No, bus doesn't get here for a few more hours."

"Dang it."

Stanford looked at the doorway and his jaw dropped. A very pretty red-headed girl with freckles, a blue flannel, and one of those pinetree hats, stood with jeans and hiking boots. Stanford was kinda reminded of Stanley; they both gave off an atmosphere of confidence and bigger-than-what-you-expect attitude. Wendy looked at the new guy and smiled. "Great, did you two kidnap some kid?"

Soos laughed and ruffled his fluffy brown hair. "Nope! This little dude helped fix the cash register."

"Oh, new handyman, huh?" Wendy asked as she stole a tamale off his plate and leaned against his chair.

"Well," Soos shrugged and smiled at Stanford. "If he wants the job, sure."

"Wait, really?" Stanford asked. "You want me as a handyman?"

"Sure! Why not? You know how to fix a golf cart?"

"Well, I don't know if I…"

"Boom!" Soos threw a random question-mark staff t-shirt at his face and announced happily, "You're hired! One size fits all, dawg! The golf cart's okay for the most part, but it's not quite charging right. Think you can look at the battery or the charger?"

"Oh," Stanford was having a hard time taking this in. First these guys actually liked him, and now they wanted him to stay and work?! He grinned from ear-to-ear with shiny brown eyes, hopped off his chair, slipped off his jacket, and changed shirts as quickly as possible so he could put his jacket back on over his staff t-shirt. "Okay!"

"What's your name, anyway?" Wendy asked as he patted his hard enough on the back that he went "oof."

Stanford opened his mouth, but hesitated. If he was going to stay here, some time-cops might come looking for him. Or he might mess up the time-space continuum more than he has. But what if it was always supposed to be this way? What if Stanford Pines went missing and was never found again? What if somewhere there was an unsolved report of a missing boy that no one missed? What if Stanford had found that tape measure for a reason? Deciding to play it safe and making up his mind to start over and stay, Stanford quickly answered with, "Phil."

The golf cart was easy to find. Stanford popped the hood and saw the battery. It was a bit too advanced, not because of the technology, but because Stanford is only ten and had never fiddled with a car battery before, but he knew enough about batteries as a whole to teach himself what to do. It turned out the goat had chewed on the cord so sometimes the battery would receive charge, sometimes it wouldn't, so all Stanford had to do was fix it with special black tape.

After that, Stanford went inside to see if anything needed to be fixed or to ask Soos what he wanted him to do, when he caught a glimpse of someone climbing up a ladder. Curious, Stanford climbed up and opened a little door to find Wendy up on the roof and sitting in a lawn chair.

"Whoa, what is this place?" He asked.

Wendy smiled with a soda in her hand and said, "Just my hang-out. Great place to come to hide from work. Wanna a soda, bud?"

"Sure, thanks." Stanford smiled to see that familiar Pitt soda now in a can. Really weird, considering he was used to bottles, but he knew how to open a can and found he didn't mind the change in containers for his drink.

"So, Phil," Wendy said casually. "If you could go anywhere in the world, where and why?"

Stanford sat on the roof with his feet dangling off the edge. "I don't know. I want to travel the world. I want to see it all."

"An adventurer, I like your moxie, kid." Wendy said. "Gravity Falls is alright, but I wanna go see a big city, like New York or even just San Francisco."

"I've been to New York." Stanford shared. It was true; the Big Apple was only an hour drive (two if there was bad traffic) from Glass Shard. "I wouldn't want to live there, but it's a nice place to visit. Lots of museums and historical records…"

Wendy laughed and shook her head. "You'd like my friend Dipper. He's a nerd, too."

Stanford's cheeks turned red, happy that this pretty girl seemed to like him. Not that he ever had a chance with her! She was eighteen and he was ten. "Who's Dipper?"

"My best friend." Wendy said proudly. "He might be a nerd, but he's also, like, the coolest guy I've ever met. A good friend, too. Hey, you'll actually get to meet him today! He and his sister Mabel are coming to spend the summer and they're supposed to get here some point today."

"Cool! I'm excited to meet them. I don't have any friends back home." Stanford let slip.

"Well, you've got some now." Wendy reassured the kid and lightly punched his shoulder.

Stanford punched back as he laughed and he then asked, "So, what's your favorite type of snack food?"

"Oh man, I can't just pick one. Popcorn's a big one. Really, anything salty. You?"

"Does jelly beans count or is that a candy?"

"Naw, man, that's a snack food."

"Jelly beans it is, then!"

"Phil! The portable toilets are clogged!" Soos called from inside the shack.

Stanford took a minute to register who his new boss was talking to and then sighed and stood up. "Back to work."

"Later, dork." Wendy said with a wink and Stanford climbed down with a dorky smile.

The red head sighed happily as a breeze drifted by, free from having to make-up an excuse as to why she can't attend to the bathrooms, and she sipped her soda and watched the sun slowly sink. A little while after Phil left, Wendy heard the familiar roar of a bus and saw it pull up to the tourist trap, but instead of a small group of tourists spilling out, two teenagers walked out with their arms full of luggage and a pig at their feet.

"YES!" Wendy stomped her boots on the roof and yelled, "THEY'RE HERE! DIPPER! MABEL!" Using her trusty pinetrees, Wendy climbed down and ran to her favorite pair of twins and hugged them. "I've missed you, you weirdos!"

"Aw, Wendy!" Mabel cooed.

"We've missed you, too." Dipper assured her and the hug ended so they could look at each other properly.

Dipper had hit a growth spurt since last summer and was now an inch or two taller than Mabel. He wore an opened blue flannel over his orange t-shirt with his jeans and Wendy's borrowed hat. As tradition, Wendy swapped Dipper's pinetree hat for her fur cap back and they high-fived when Dipper fixed his cap so it didn't cover his eyes. Mabel still wore her sweaters and skirts, but now her hair was only shoulder-length and her braces were long-gone. Today she wore her yellow "Hug Me" sweater with a pink skirt and headband to match.

"Wow, you guys look great!" Wendy complimented. She noticed Waddles making his way to Gompers and them falling asleep on the porch with the goat.

"Thanks," Dipper said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you believe we're the same age as you when we met?"

"I know, right?! It's so weird!"

"DUDES!" Mabel and Dipper braced themselves as a heavy man swept them up into his arms and squeezed so hard their faces turned blue. "I missed you two so much! I've got a bunch of new attractions to show you and fun stuff to do this summer! This'll be the best one yet!"

"Soos, can't breathe." Dipper wheezed.

"Who cares?" Mabel said hoarsely. "Anything for a Soos-hug."

Soos finally managed to let them go and he grabbed their suitcases for them. "Here, let me help you dawgs get settled in your room. You're still cool with sharing with your grunkles, right?"

"Always are." Mabel reassured him. With Melody and Soos in Ford's old room and Abuelita in Stan's old room, that only left the attic for guests, so every summer when the Pines family came home they had to share, but with two pairs of bunk beds and plants of woods for some alone time during the day, it was comfortable enough for the summer. Besides, it was a good way to make up for lost time during the fall, winter, and spring.

As Soos, Wendy, Dipper and Mabel went into the house by the back door, Mr. Mystery called out, "Hey, Phil! C'mere, there's some dudes I want you to meet!"

"Who's Phil?" Dipper asked.

"My new handyman!" Soos said proudly as he sat the suitcases on the stairs for a few minutes. "Really smart dude, fixed the cash register and the golf cart already!"

"Aw, you have your own wittle Soos!" Mabel exclaimed with rosy cheeks and bright eyes. "Well I can't wait to meet him."

"Yeah, he's kind of a nerd like you, Dip-Dip." Wendy added as she elbowed him.

"Well how long has he been working here?" Dipper asked.

"Just today." Soos answered. "I really like him. I think he'll end up being a member of the family soon enough."

"Sorry, Mr. Mystery," A voice called from outside. "I only got one toilet unclogged, but I'll clean the others!"

"It's okay, dawg," Soos hollered back.

The door opened and the ten-year-old looked around. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

Dipper and Mabel dumbfounded. It was like seeing a cartoon character come to life. That little sunburnt boy in all those childhood photos Ma Pines and their grunkles had shown them was now right here in front of them in a Mystery Shack staff t-shirt and brown jacket, smiling at the little gang. He cocked his head and looked curiously at the teenagers, who were looking at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. Embarrassed, Stanford's face turned red and he hid his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, Phil, this here is Dipper and Mabel!" Soos introduced, writing off the twins' reaction as shocked by the boy's cuteness and Phil's quietness as shyness from meeting new people. "Dudes, this here Phil! If you need something that needs fixin', just go to this guy right here." And Soos ruffled his hair playfully, making Stanford feel better and smile with his blush still intact.

"Uh… nice to meet you." Dipper muttered.

"OH MY GOSH!" Mabel ran up to Stanford and scooped him up into a hug. "You're SO CUTE! Who's a wittle guy, who's a wittle guy?! Is it you, is it you?" She cooed and hugged him tightly and combed his hair with her fingers.

"Whoa, hey!" Stanford squirmed a little bit but slowly stopped fighting. He had never been swallowed with so much hugs before and kinda liked it. "N-Nice to meet you. I like you. You're weird."

"Great," Dipper said slowly and moved towards his sister to grab her arm. "So why don't we get to know Phil somewhere else." And he dragged them off somewhere else.

Wendy looked at Soos curiously and asked, "What was that all about?"

Soos shrugged and picked up the suitcases to take them upstairs. "Teens are crazy."

Stanford was engulfed in darkness until a bright light was turned on by a pull of a metal string. The boy blinked his eyes to adjust to the light and found he was in some sort of small, dark, cramped space with the two teenagers in front of him, side by side. The girl, Mabel, was grinning really big, but the boy, Dipper, had his arms crossed over his chest and looked both stern and worried. They both somewhat looked familiar to Stanford, but he couldn't figure out why.

"Alright, what are you doing?!" Dipper hissed at Stanford. "How did you even get here? And where's the time machine?!"

The idea of playing dumb wasn't going to work, Stanford realized, as he paled a sheet and swallowed nervously. "You… You know I'm from the past?"

"Yes, we do, Stanford Pines." Dipper said firmly, making Stanford shiver.

Mabel noticed this and thought her brother was being too harsh, so she slipped in, "But we're really happy to see you, Ford!"

"But what you're doing is really dangerous." Dipper warned in a calmer tone. "By missing in the past you're jeopardizing the future."

"You don't understand." Stanford insisted. "No one back home will miss me. I'm a nobody in the past, but here people actually like me. Why can't I stay?"

"Now wait a minute," Mabel said gently and put a hand on one of his shoulders. "You really think Stan won't miss you?"

Stanford froze at that. The idea of Stanley all alone made his chest ache, but he shook his head and looked away from the teenagers before him. "He's better off without me." He mumbled.

"No he's not."

"Yes…"

"No, he's not." Dipper insisted and sat on a box to be eye-level with Stanford. "Listen to me, I don't know if you noticed this or not, kid, but we're twins, too. We understand more than you think we do. Sometimes you think you're not good enough and sometimes you think it'll be better for both of you if you went your separate ways, but… but family sticks together, no matter what. It doesn't matter if it's a twin or a parent or just a really good friend, one day you're gonna realize how much you need your family and I really really hope for you it's not before it's too late."

Stanford, frustrated that he didn't have a good comeback, decided to turn the tables. "Now, wait a minute, how did you even know I was from the past? And how did you know about Stanley?"

Dipper and Mabel exchanged uneasy facial expressions and Mabel then said to Stanford, "Look, Ford, please. You have to trust us. I know things are hard for you right now, but things will get better…"

Stanford scowled at that. They weren't listening! They just didn't understand! "You don't know that! You don't know what I've been through! I'm a nobody in the past, I'm a freak in the past!" And he even held a hand out to their faces so they could see his six fingers. With tears in his eyes, the boy yelled, "This is the one place I feel at home, and I won't let you take that away from me!" And with that, Stanford pulled the time machine out of his pocket, threw it on the floor, and smashed it with his sneakered foot.

"Stanford!" Mabel scolded.

"What did you do?!" Dipper yelled as he got on his knees and began to scoop up the broken pieces.

Stanford spun around, opened the closet, and left without another word.

"We should've told him we were family." Mabel said quietly.

"No," Dipper snapped as he stood up and exited the closest with his sister. "If he found out it could mess up our present. We need to try to get him to go back to Glass Shard."

"All while keeping it a secret that we're Pines, too, and also keeping it a secret that Phil is baby Ford?" Mabel clarified and rubbed her forehead. "And you do realize we've got until tonight when Grunkle Stan and Ford come home and will definitely recognize him?"

"I know." Dipper sighed. "I'll work on fixing the time machine. You're better with people, you try to convince Ford to go back to his own time."

"You got it, Dippin' Sauce." Mabel said and went off to try to find her wittle uncle.

Stanford was true to his word and went straight to finish unclogging the toilets, so that kept Mabel away from the most part and she got distracted catching up with Wendy. As the sun got lower into the sky, Dipper sat on his bottom bunk and fixed the time machine, meanwhile Mabel had to try to earn Stanford's trust, but the little guy was doing a good job of avoiding her.

Time was running out, and after Stanford raked the yard, cleaned the gutters, washed Soos' truck, and a bunch of probably unnecessary chores just to keep him busy, Soos proudly patted Stanford's back and said, "Good job, little dude! You can go home now."

"Oh," Stanford rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Uh, are you sure there's nothing else I can do, sir. M-Maybe I can sweep or…"

Soos raised an eyebrow, picking up how sweaty and nervous the kid was about going home, and he smiled gently. "Hey, I get it. I'm not kicking you out or anything. If you wanna stay, stay as long as you want. Heck, you can spend the night if you want to. The couch is always here."

Stanford smiled up at his new boss. "Thank you so much, Mr. Mystery."

"Hey, you can just call me Soos." He offered. "And if you need to talk, I'm here for you, dude."

Stanford nodded. "Okay."

Mabel pulled out all the stops. She laid a bunch of arts n' crafts stuff laid out on the card table and she stopped Stanford as he passed the living room. "Hey, S-Phil! Wanna make some puppets with me?"

"Oh boy, you're not hungover some puppet-boy again, are you?" Wendy asked as she entered the room, oblivious to Stanford's scowl.

"Haha! Nope!" Mabel said as Wendy sat with her. "Just felt like setting the arts n' crafts master free tonight! Whaddya say, Phil? Wanna get in on this? We could make hand-turkeys, or finger-puppets, or paint our nails?"

"No, thanks." The boy said coldly.

"Aw, come on." Wendy teased and laid her hands out on the table. "Here, Mabel, I've been meaning to do my nails, mind fixing me up?"

"You bet, sister!"

Stanford stomped off angrily, but Mabel somehow managed to stay focused and she left Wendy, confused and alone at the table, so she could go after him. "St… Phil, wait! Let's just talk."

"Talk about what?" Stanford snapped and turned back to look at her angrily. "You're trying to get rid of me! Why would you wanna talk to me if you don't like me?"

Mabel gasped and covered her mouth. Stanford was so confused, having no idea why she suddenly looked so sad and hurt, and she sunk to her knees and put a hand on each of his shoulders. "That's not true, Ford." She whispered quietly. "Not only do I like you, but I love you. We all do. Which is why you have to go back to the past."

Stanford blinked with surprise at finding Mabel looking so sad. It hurt more than he thought it would. And there it was again, that feeling like they had met before. She just looked so familiar… "But I don't wanna go back." Ford tried to explain yet again. "Why should I go back?"

"Cuz if you don't the entire timeline could change." Mabel stressed as calmly as she could, but she was failing, her arms trembling. "I can't tell you too much, but… but by being here instead of your own time, you're not doing things that'll shape today. You have no idea what could happen, none of us do, but that's what's so scary."

"Oh, come on, what could I do that's so important it messes with time?" Stanford dared to ask.

Mabel opened her mouth and closed a few times, like a fish out of water, but with no explanation, Stanford shrugged her hands off of him and turned to the door. He tried to slam it to make it clear to Mabel he wanted to be alone, but in his fury he had stupidly closed the door with his right hand still on it, crushing his fingers.

"OW!"

It was a painful door jam, the kind that made your eyes water and made you wonder for a second if your hand was broken. Stanford held his hand by the wrist as his hand immediately swelled and looked red. Mabel covered her mouth again and got on one knee in front of him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Let me see…"

"Whao, what happened?" Soos asked as he and Melody emerged from the kitchen and Wendy came out of the living room.

"S-Phil closed the door on his hand." Mabel said as Stanford held his hand close to his chest and hid it with his uninjured hand.

"Aw, poor dude." Soos went up to him and held out a sweet hand. "Here, lemme see it."

"N-No!" Stanford stuttered. And took a step back, now being on the porch with everyone else inside. "It's fine, I'm okay."

"Don't be afraid, Phil, just lemme take a look at it." Soos said as he fixed his eyes, trying to see past the uninjured hand at the hurt hand, but then his eyes widened. No, he must have miss counted. No, he didn't have… "Phil, lemme see." He said firmly.

"No!" But Stanford was too slow and Soos had grabbed his hands as gently as he could and held the hurt hand, not only to check if it was broken, but to count his fingers. Suddenly a lot of things were clicking in Soos' head and he felt like a big dummy dumb for not noticing who this little dude was sooner.

Soos, Melody, and Wendy gasped, making Stanford's eyes sting. He blinked to make the stinging go away; he should be used to that kind of reaction. He yanked his hand out of Soos' grasp and shoved both hands in his pockets.

"Dude!" Soos gasped, looking horrified. "Wh-Why didn't you tell me?! I can't believe…"

"Who cares?" Stanford asked, not looking at any of them. "It's just a stupid birth defect."

"No, I mean why didn't you tell me you were Stanford Pines?!"

That got him to look up, terrified, and he saw the three shocked faces and the sad one Mabel wore. "But… But…"

"Sweet Paul Bunyan." Wendy gasped. "It's really him…"

"I thought you seemed familiar, but I just thought you were a lot like me!" Soos yelled in shock as he held his head. "But it turns out you were a lot like Dr. Pines?! MY MIND! It'S EXPLODED!"

It was slowly sinking in that these guys didn't care that he had polydactyly; they cared that he was from the past, and apparently his older-self knew everyone here. Was that why Mabel and Dipper freaked out so much? "Wait, you… do you know me?"

Soos stared at Stanford in complete shock. "Of course we know you, dude! You're…"

"Our friend!" Mabel interrupted. "A really good friend!"

"Yeah, man." Wendy backed up. "Look, you're a really great kid, but…"

"But you need to go back home." Melody finished for her.

Stanford's whole world was shaking. "Wh-What?! But you…"

"I know," Soos said and got on one knee to be closer to his eye-level. "But… Dr… F-F-Ford, you're… you're a great kid, and we'd never do anything to hurt you, but you have to go back."

The poor boy's chest was suddenly feeling really heavy. His eyes were stinging again. He scowled angrily. He desperately didn't want to go back home, but what was the point of staying here if no one wanted him around? "I thought you guys were my friends." He croaked, unable to keep his emotions out of his voice.

"Stanford," Mabel took a step forward, desperately wanting to hug him but she was treating him like a scared animal who would run off at the sight of too much movement. "We are your friends, but you have to trust us…"

Stanford squeezed his eyes shut and darted around for the woods, planning to just run and run until no one could find him, but something he didn't see stood in his way and made Stanford fall flat on the grass, barely a foot away from the porch. Mabel, Wendy, Melody and Soos all hurried onto the porch and simultaneously gasped. Dipper came out with the fixed tape measure in hand and announced proudly, "Okay, I've fixed the time machine and - what the HECK is going on here?!"

Stanford had bumped into whatever he had hit so hard his glasses were skewed, but when he fixed them he marveled at who stood before him. A tall guy with a round gut, a brown coat over a t-shirt and worn jeans with boots, and a red beanie looked down at him. His gray hair passed his shoulders by an inch and he looked so much like Pa, but the sparkle in his brown eyes and the way he looked completely confused but took everything with a grain of salt was something Stanford could recognize anywhere. He didn't even question it.

He hadn't realized how much he had missed his twin until he was standing right in front of him. Who cares if he was old? With a trembling lip and wet matching eyes, Stanford lunged into Stan's legs and hugged him tightly, burying his face in his jeans, the top of his head just barely reaching his hip.

"Whoa there," Stan's gravelly voice was strange to Stanford, but his strong hands still hugged him in return and rubbed circles into his back. "It's alright there, Sixer. You're okay. You care to explain what's going on here, Poindexter?"

It sounded like Stan was no longer talking to Stanford. He wiped his button nose and eyes and barely let Stan go, just enough to look up at someone who was standing next to Stan. Stanford almost screamed, but he bit his lip in time. He didn't need to look at this man's hand to know who he was. He had Stanford's fluffy hair, though gray with a light streak around it, he had Stanford's cleft chin, and while this man also looked like Pa, there was only one person who could resemble Stan that much.

"Incredible," Ford awed and pulled out a green journal from his blue coat and opened it. Like Stan, he also wore blue jeans and boots, but he had a red turtleneck under his blue coat from the looks of it. "I thought I had another year or two…"

"Did you clone yourself, you weirdo?" Stan asked.

"What, no! Of course not!" Ford laughed.

"Oh, this is that shapeshifter dude you were telling me about."

"No, Stanley, it's really me." Ford knelt as he looked at Stanford, who still clung onto Stan's leg tightly like it was a life preserver in the middle of an ocean. "Over fifty years ago I came across a tape measure while you were serving detention that transported me from Glass Shard to this place. Is that what happened to you?" He asked his younger self.

Stanford nodded. Ford smiled at him kindly and Stanford managed to smile back. He looked up at Stan and squeaked as timid as a mouse, "Is… Is that really you, Stanley?"

Stan chuckled and patted his shoulder. Did his brother always used to be so cute? "Yeah, kid, it's me. Holy Moses, would you look at this little guy. You look just as I remember you, Stanford. Except not nearly as puny."

"Hey, I'm not that small!" Stanford defended.

"Yup, that's the stubborn brainiac I know!" Stan laughed.

Stanford smiled at him and then got an idea. Stanley would always have his back! He'll help him! "Stanley, they're gonna make me go away! Tell them I don't have to go!"

"Make you go away?" Stan repeated and then looked up at the crowd and saw the time machine in Dipper's hand. "Oh, don't wanna go back to New Jersey, huh?"

"But G…" But Wendy covered Mabel's hand before she could say anything else.

Stanford ignored the meanies behind him and gave Stan the saddest puppy-dog eyes he could muster. He could practically see his brother crumble. "I mean, I could never tell you no, Sixer…"

"Stanley," Ford said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "I would like to speak to myself in private."

Stanford didn't know how to feel about that. His little fingers tightened ever so slightly on Stan's jeans.

"Oh, sure." Stan then snorted and added, "If you can let go of my leg."

Ford chuckled and held out a hand to his younger self. "Come on. I want to show you something."

Stanford still wasn't sure. He looked into those deep brown eyes that matched his own, the same brown eyes he saw when he looked in the mirror. Or looked at his brother. Or his mother. Or Dipper or Mabel. Stanford glanced back at the other pair of twins, having a hunch, but he knew that there was only one person that was going to tell him what he needed to hear and wanted to hear in a certain way, so Stanford slowly let his brother go and took his own polydactyl hand.

Ford smiled and walked with the ten-year-old into the house alone. Stanford looked up at his older self and smiled. Ford caught this and chuckled. "Do I look as you had hoped?" He asked.

Stanford felt his cheeks get warm again, but he ignored it to talk to himself. Who else gets a chance to talk to themselves like this? "Did you get better at boxing?"

Ford laughed, knowing why Stanford asked that; the child was clearly happy he would grow up to be somewhat fit. "I did, actually. I'm still not as good as Stanley, but that's okay. I actually kept fit from field research and travelling."

"You're an explorer?!" Stanford gasped.

"We're an explorer." Ford corrected. "We are with Stanley."

"So," Stanford felt more comfortable with Ford as they entered the gift shop, so he asked, "Where exactly are we?"

"This is our home. We built this place when we first moved here." Ford explained as he stood in front of the vending machine. "It's changed a lot, but so have we. Excuse me." He let go of Stanford's hand to click a button on his watch, making the vending machine open. Stanford gasped and Ford took his hand again.

"So robots don't take over the world?"

"Not yet, anyways."

"Do we ever get better at talking to girls?"

"Better? Yes. As good as we want to be? No."

Stanford giggled at that. Maybe there was hope for him, after all. The odd pair went to the elevator, Ford typed in the code, and then they travelled down to the third floor.

Stanford gasped to find a bright, colorful lab. What used to be dark and dingy and dusty was now loud and bright and full of projects ready to be resumed now that Ford was home for the summer. Twinkle lights hung from the ceiling, pictures and books littered the desk, and a big window displayed a big work-room full of projects. The Electron Carpet was rolled up and on a wooden shelf, a motorcycle in the works was in the work-room, and the big machines were fizzing and blinking on either side of Stanford.

"This place is amazing!" He cheered with pure delight.

"Yeah, beats working in a boring office every day." Ford chuckled. "The lights were Mabel's idea. Says a workspace needs to be fun. Do you want to see what I'm most proud of?"

"Yes!" Stanford took off for the work-room, thinking Ford was going to show him a microprocessor, or a machine that would benefit all of man-kind, but inside the giant room he could hear Ford chuckling and he found his older self still in the lab.

"No no," Ford patted his ribs. "It's right here."

Stanford raised an eyebrow, confused and hoping it wasn't going to be a stupid metaphore (he never enjoyed poetry), but Ford pulled out a photograph and Stanford gently took it, thinking it was going to be an award ceremony or a monster or an invention that wasn't in the lab anymore.

The boy was beyond surprised to find himself in the picture, standing on the broken Stan O' War with Stanley. Stanford could remember when this picture was taken, it had only been last summer, and from what the boy could tell, this copy was very old and worn. Stanford looked up at Ford to find him smiling peacefully.

"It was our first real achievement, our first big project, and it will always be the one I'm most proud of because we did it with our brother." Ford explained.

Stanford smiled at himself, but then it went away as he thought about it. He was really willing to leave Stanley behind for all of this. Sure, mostly because he believed Stanley would be better off without him, but how much of it really was just Stanford trying to hide the guilt of leaving his twin alone. "Is… Is Stanley mad at me?"

"Oh, no." Ford quickly reassured. "When we send you back, it'll be like you never left."

Stanford looked back up at himself and saw the picture of someone who looked really similar by his shoulder. Ford noticed Stanford's averted eyes and he moved to the side so Stanford could look at the picture on the desk. A boy that looked a lot like Stanford had two fingers up by a girl who also looked like him with braces and long hair. The boy was wearing Dipper's hat.

Stanford took the framed photo and Ford chuckled. "Stanley's right. The resemblance is uncanny."

With the pictures of ten and twelve-year-old Dipper, Mabel, Stan and Ford all in front of Stanford, he swallowed and asked, "Dipper and Mabel aren't just friends, huh?"

Ford chuckled and shook his head. "No. All those people upstairs are your family."

"So… if I go back now, then all of this will be my future?" Stanford asked, his eyes moving around the room and staying up at the ceiling for a few moments.

"Well," Ford put a hand on Stanford's shoulder and said, "That depends on you, you got to make the right choices. But I know you will. Remember, I'm you. I was once a ten-year-old kid looking up at an older version of myself, being told the same thing. Time travel is confusing, but you'll find what goes around comes around, so if I experienced this," And Ford gestured to the boy in front of him. "Then it's extremely plausible you will experience this," And Ford gestured to the old man he was.

Stanford grinned and gave himself the picture back and sat the framed photo on the desk. There was still one last thing on his mind. Stanford hesitated, took in a deep breath, and dared to ask, "Does that mean Stanley and I will always be best friends?"

Ford held his cleft chin, hummed to himself, and then said slowly to himself, "I think you better get back to your own time and find out for yourself."

Stanford sinked in stature and admitted, "I knew you were gonna say that."

Ford chuckled and offered his hand again. "That's because we are one smart kid, Sixer."

When back up to face the family, Dipper gave Stanford the time machine and said, "Now, it's already set to backwards, so just go back fifty-two years and you should land right at the second you came from."

"Thanks." Stanford accepted the tape measure and looked at Dipper and Mabel. "I'm… I'm really sorry I got mad…"

"Hey, that's what family's all about." Mabel said, waving the apology away.

Stanford smiled and nodded, then figured he owed them a hug and gave them one. Dipper was surprised, but hugged back, meanwhile Mabel was tearing up and sniffing as she hugged Stanford back tightly.

"Are you crying, pumpkin?" Stan asked.

"I'm… I'm gonna miss him…"

"I'm right here!"

Everyone laughed as Stanford let the teenagers go. Wendy ruffled his hair and said, "Had fun with you today, Stan Two. Feel free to get yourself a pet dinosaur on the way home."

Stanford snorted and saw Wendy hold out a hand to him, wanting a high-five. He hesitated, then smiled and gave her a well-earned high-six. He then turned to Soos and Melody and said, "Thanks for hiring me, Soos, and giving me a tour."

"Aw, you're welcome, Little Dr. Pines." Soos said.

"Just be careful going home." Melody advised. "Don't let the time-cops catch you, don't go anywhere else, don't do anything you wouldn't do…"

"Yeesh, you're worse than Ma." Stan teased.

"Yeah, about that…" But Soos was interrupted by his adoptive father.

"Now move it, you knucklehead." Stan said as it was almost dark outside. "Quit moping around too, it's not like you're never gonna see us again. We're your family!"

Stanford smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Stanley. See you earlier."

"Love you, little brother." And Stan punched Ford's shoulder as he laughed.

"Yes, yes, enjoy it while you can." Ford commented as he rolled his eyes, and Stanford pulled back the tape and released.

The second his ten-year-old self was gone, Ford held out a hand to Stan and clenched it a few times until his twin grumpily forked over some cash.

January 1960-something

Just like Dipper said, Stanford was right where he was before he disappeared. He checked the clock in the window of a bakery and saw that no time had passed. He sat the time machine down for the owner to find and raced home, excited to tell Stanley everything.

But when bedtime came and Stanford was above Stanley and sharing his adventure, Stanley only said, "Wow, great story, Sixer!"

"It's not just a story, Stanley, it's real!" Stanford insisted. "It actually happened! Don't you believe me?"

"A future in which you're more fit than me?" Stanley clarified and blew a raspberry. "I bet you five bucks it never happens."

Stanford grinned, knowing he was destined to win. "You're on."