By the time Mr. and Mrs. Pines arrived at the hospital, Mabel had charmed the doctor into letting her use his stethoscope on the still-musical Waddles and Dipper was fumbling to open a candy bar with bandaged hands.

They'd managed to cobble together some kind of halfway sensical explanation for the hospital staff – who'd finally managed to burst through Grunkle Stan's chair-barricade – though, if you'd asked anyone involved, there wasn't a soul in the building who could actually tell you what had happened.

Well, not a soul that was talking anyway. Dipper and Stan told Mabel everything, of course, but she was the only other one who knew why Dipper wouldn't let the silver box out of his sight.

"I'm going to bury it again," he told her, trying to get a grip on the slippery candy wrapper. "But I'm going to lock it in another box, and put that box in a bigger box with a notebook explaining everything and then lock that box and bury it twenty feet underground. And then plant poison ivy on top of it."

She took the candy bar from him, popped open the wrapper, and handed it back. "Sounds like a plan. I'll draw pictures and add a few stickers for emphasis. I've got a whole page of caution and crime scene – do not cross stickers at home."

They were sitting on Mabel's hospital bed, waiting for their parents to finish re-doing the paperwork for the hospital – apparently Grunkle Stan had listed Pitt Cola as their insurance provider. He was back at the Shack – hadn't even stayed to say much more than "Hello" and "Goodbye" when the Pines parents arrived.

The twins sat in silence for a moment, Dipper munching his chocolate bar, and Mabel tracing circles with her finger on the top of the silver box.

"They'll let us stay the rest of the summer, won't they?" she finally asked.

Dipper swallowed. "Mom already said probably," he said. "Dad might take some convincing but if we point out how expensive plane tickets are, and how long it would take to rent a car and drive back, we'll probably manage."

She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Good."

He held the candy bar out to her for a bite. "So, Mabel…" He'd been dying to ask, but this was the first chance they'd really had to be alone since she woke up. "What…what was it like?"

She nibbled the chocolate and sat up, shrugging. "I don't really remember," she said. "But every time I'd start to have a dream, it would kinda…disappear around the edges. It was weird. But not scary."

He didn't say anything for a moment, rubbing the edge of his bandage. "It was pretty scary out here," he finally admitted.

"Aw, bro-bro," Mabel grinned and shoved his arm. "Didja miss me?"

"Ow," Dipper rubbed his shoulder in mock pain. He grinned back. "Nah – I just missed having someone to blame the disappearance of Grunkle Stan's butterscotch toffees on."

"I knew you were the one eating those!"

Someone pushed the room door open, and from out in the hall they heard their mom's voice. "Come on, you two," she called. "We're going to go out for some dinner."

Together, they hopped off the bed and headed toward the door, the silver box tucked securely under Dipper's arm.

"So," Mabel said as they followed their parents out of the hospital. "Are you glad we didn't stay at the Shack and waste our time doing the same stuff we'd do back home?"

Dipper gripped the edge of the box. "Not particularly," he said.

She grimaced. "Ok, me neither. How about no more weird stuff for the rest of the summer, whaddya say?"

"Fine by me," Dipper said firmly.

He glanced sideways at his twin.

She glanced sideways at him.

And they both cracked up laughing.

"Ha! Yeah, right!" Mabel chortled. "That would be so boring."

"No weird would be weird," Dipper agreed. "After all – it is Gravity Falls."

FIN

And...roll credits! Hope you liked reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it. :D (Also...yeah, getting Mabel out of the hospital that quick after she's been in a coma is probably completely unrealistic. But so is getting possessed by an ancient dream-eating snake ghost, so... yeah. And I was uncomfortable keeping them anywhere but the Shack and the town for much longer too. :P)

I've got the next story queued and ready to post, so check back next Friday for the first chapter in a new adventure: A Pack of Lies.

A stranger appears at the Shack claiming to be Stan's long-lost son. But is he telling the truth? If so – what will happen to Dipper and Mabel's summer? And if he's lying… Why?

See you then! (and reviews are more precious to me than infinity-sided dice, so if you liked it, leave me a review or a smilie or your favorite Bill insult, and I shall be mightily pleased. :D)

~Essie