Here it is. The final chapter. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, once again, thank you. If not, you made it this far, so I guess the joke is on you ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway, here's the ending. Enjoy!

Mabel rolled over in her bed. The light shining in through the hospital windows was making it hard to sleep. It was easily past noon, based on how bright it was outside, but Mabel had stayed awake well into the night, waiting for news from Pacifica. It wasn't until Wendy and Dipper came into her room at around 4 in the morning to report that Pacifica had woken up and wasn't injured that Mabel finally allowed herself to be overcome by sleep. On top of that, yesterday had been one of the most exhausting adventures of her life, both physically and emotionally. She was completely drained, and would have liked to stay in bed all day if she could.

But as she rolled over to her right, the brunette felt a surge of pain shoot down her arm. Confused and in pain, Mabel shot upright in bed and immediately looked down at her arm to investigate the source of the pain. And she saw the cast wrapped around her arm. Sighing, Mabel mumbled to herself, "Right. Broken arm. Gotta be careful of that." Then she flopped back down into her pillow.

"Uh…M-Mabel? Are you awake?"

Mabel shot upright once more at the sound of the voice. Looking over to her bedside, Mabel saw Pacifica sitting to her left, looking confused. Pacifica had entered the room a few hours ago. The blonde had pulled a chair up right next to Mabel's bedside, and had been quietly looking down at her hands, trying to think of things to say for when Mabel woke up. Mabel nearly gave the girl a heart attack when she suddenly jolted up in bed, only to lay back down as if nothing had happened.

Surprised by Pacifica's presence, Mabel was briefly rendered speechless, so Pacifica took the opportunity to speak. "I…uh…I wanted to…um…" The blonde struggled to find the words. After all, looking back on everything that happened, what was she supposed to say? And how was she supposed to say it? Even after spending all morning trying to come up with something, she still couldn't find the words she was looking for.

Taking a deep breathe, Pacifica collected herself, and, instead of thinking, she let her feelings flow naturally. "Thank you, Mabel," Pacifica began. "Not just for saving me. For everything. All the fun times we've had. All the memories we've shared. Meeting you has changed my life in the best possible way, and I wouldn't be who I am or have the friends I've made without you. You are, without a doubt, the single greatest thing to ever come into my life, and I don't know what I'd do without you." Pacifica paused for a moment, careful to keep her emotions in check. "Which is why, if I'm ever in danger again, don't come save me. It's not fair to you. I nearly burn down my own house, but I walk away without a scratch. Meanwhile, you had to endure all this pain for my sake. I don't want that to ever happen again. I don't want you to have to go through all this because of me."

Silence.

Both girls remained quiet for several moments. Mabel, on one hand, was trying to take in everything her friend had said. Pacifica, on the other, was hesitating. There was one thing left for her to say, but it scared her that she had to say it. Yet she had already come so far. This may be her last chance. She had to see it through.

"And," said Pacifica, quietly. "And I love you. From the bottom of my heart, I love you. There's nothing I wouldn't do to be by your side. So please." Pacifica began to lose her composure. Tears formed in the blonde's eyes. "Please, never hurt yourself for me. Never get hurt because of me. Never do something so recklessly stupid like running into a fire for me. I don't want to see you hurt. I don't want to see you in pain. I love your energy. I love your innocence. I love your smile. I love…YOU. A-And…" Pacifica couldn't hold back anymore. But as she cried, she pressed on, determined to set all her emotions free. "I know y-you probably don't f-feel the s-same way, but th-that's fine. Just p-please. Even if y-you never see m-me the same w-way again, n-never stop b-being my f-friend."

Pacifica had said her peace. Even if she hadn't, she was no longer in any condition to continue talking. The blonde completely broke down sobbing, lowering her head, wanting to hide from the girl she had just confessed to, yet unable to run away. She had done it. All her feelings that had been welling up inside her had been released. There was nothing more for her to say. All she could do now was wait for Mabel's reply. The brunette had been sitting patiently, waiting for Pacifica to finish, wearing an expression that was difficult to read. A few moments passed before Mabel gave her response.

"That's dumb."

Pacifica didn't bother to look up. There was no reason to look. There was no reason to move. She had poured out her heart and soul. There was nothing left. So she just continued to cry.

Until she felt Mabel's hand on hers.

The blonde looked up to see Mabel smiling at her. "That's dumb," she repeated. "No matter what happens, I won't ever abandon you. You're safe and that's all that matters to me. Besides," Mabel lifted her right arm. "This is nothing. I deserved it anyway." Pacifica wiped her tears with her sleeve as Mabel continued, "At the theatre. I ran away. I was being selfish. I'm sorry."

"No, no! You don't have to apologize!" replied Pacifica. "I was the one who said…that…so unexpectedly, so…" Pacifica's voice trailed off, and, once again, the girls were left in silence for a few moments, until Pacifica spoke up again. "The llama sweater…I burned it. That's how the fire started. You took the time to make it for me and I destroyed it." Tears once again started to well up in the girl's eyes.

But, to Pacifica's surprise, Mabel wasn't mad. Instead, the brunette smirked. Looking around the room for a moment, Mabel saw what she was looking for. Pointing at her backpack in the corner of the room, Mabel said, "Would you mind grabbing that and bringing over here?" Pacifica nodded. As the blonde walked over to the backpack, Mabel added, "Don't worry about the sweater. I have a surprise for you."

Pacifica sat back down, the backpack on her lap, and looked at Mabel, confused. "Open it," said the brunette. Pacifica obeyed and saw what looked like a big ball of red yarn. Pulling it out of the bag, Pacifica watched as the ball unfolded into a large red heart, about a foot and a half wide. Right in the center, in purple and green, the letters "P+M" were knitted on. Pacifica stared at it, not sure what to say or how to react.

"It's not finished yet," said Mabel. "But that's gonna be the centerpiece to our giant sweater. It might take me a bit longer to make than I had hoped, now that my arm is hurt, but, once it's done, it'll be the mother of all sweaters! And it'll be all for us."

"Mabel, this…is this…does this mean…?"

"That's not the surprise," interrupted Mabel, before Pacifica could stammer out her sentence. Lowering the heart, Pacifica turned to Mabel to ask what she meant, but her lips were sealed before she could say a word.

Mabel had leaned over and kissed surprised blonde.

Pacifica was confused for a moment, before closing her eyes and deepening the kiss. In that moment, everything else melted away. In that moment, all that mattered was the two of them. Pacifica's mind went blank, and her body felt warm. This was happiness. This was bliss. This was everything she had wanted. And it was finally hers. Her dream had come true.

After a few moments, the girls pulled away from each other. "I love you, too, Pacifica," said Mabel. "That's why I won't ever leave you again. That's why I will always be there whenever you need me. I want to protect you, no matter what it takes. And I never want to see you cry again."

Once Mabel finished talking, Pacifica immediately pounced on her, pulling her into a hug. There was nothing she had desired more that to hear Mabel say those words. "Ow, ow, ow! Ribs! Arm! Pain!" yelped Mabel, as Pacifica squeezed her. Pacifica jumped back. "Oh, right! Sorry, sorry! Are you alright?" Even as Pacifica said this, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting that," laughed Mabel. "But, more importantly, the doctors said I should be free to go by tomorrow afternoon. So, how about we go see a movie? I don't know about you, but I wasn't paying much attention to that movie last night."

Pacifica nodded happily. "Oh, but I'll have to figure out what to wear."

"Doesn't matter," replied Mabel. "I'm sure you'll be beautiful no matter what you put on."

Pacifica's face turned bright red, and Mabel burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh! Your face! Your face is so red!"

Pacifica pouted and playfully punched Mabel on the shoulder. "Knock it off. That's not even a compliment. It's a fact. You're just jealous."

Mabel put her hands on her hips, as best she could with her arm, and smirked. "Fine. Then I'll just have to make myself look super adorable. Then we'll see who's jealous."

"Oh, you're on."

The girls went on like that, teasing each other and laughing. All their troubles faded away, and yesterday seemed like a distant memory. It was like a weight had been lifted, and both girls had never been happier. It felt like nothing it the world would ever stand between them. Now that they were together, they would never be apart.

And they both had the feeling like this might turn out to be the best summer ever.