"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm Officer--"

"We want nothing to do with you police. My children are still in a traumatic state of mind and deserve to be left at peace, at least until the funeral--"

"Mom." Danny pushed open a flap of the tent next to his mother, studying the officer that stood outside. His hair was greasy and matted, in desperate need of a wash, and he hadn't changed out of this pair of clothes in two days. "I can answer his questions. It's no big deal."

"Are you sure, honey? This man needs to respect your and Jazz's privacy during this time."

"No, really. Jazz is still asleep; I'll just talk to him." Then, to the Officer, "We can chat in the RV."

Nodding, the Officer stepped out of the way and allowed Danny to lead the way to the door of the RV, sliding it open and ducking as he headed into the back. He took a seat on one of the metal benches and watched, bemused, as the befuddled officer took a few glances around the vehicle before taking a seat across from him.

Danny sighed and ran his hands through the dirty locks of his hair. "Sorry about how I look. I haven't really thought about hygiene lately."

"That's to be expected." The officer kept changing his positions, looking more uncomfortable than ever. "I would just like to know how you and your sister came across the body."

Danny cleared his throat. "Okay. So, we're just visiting Gravity Falls, right? My sister and I live in the city and I guess we haven't really had that many opportunities to explore the woods. We were curious. Jazz wanted to take pictures for her scrapbook and I wanted to just walk around and enjoy the sights. You know, hiking."

The officer nodded and looked up expectantly. Danny noticed the microphone attached to his shirt.

"So it started to smell really bad and Jazz and I were kinda grossed out but I wanted to see what was going on. Jazz was complaining about how we should just turn back and I pushed through these bushes to a meadow. The meadow that Pacifica was in."

"Did you see the bear?" The officer queried, leaning forward. His eyebrows were squished together in polite consideration.

"No, just the prints. I mean, they looked like bear prints. It was large. What else could do that kind of damage to--to Pacifica's--"

"I understand." The officer brushed off his suit. "Is there anything else that you might've considered noteworthy throughout that experience?"

"Not really. I mean, there were the burn marks on the trees and stuff. Those are kinda hard to explain. The place looked like it just saw war."

"We're looking into that. There were some reports from citizens of smoke, so it's quite possible that a forest fire sprung up and scared the bears. The summer has been decently dry."

"Yeah." Danny leaned back against the cool metal of the vehicle, closing his eyes. "Not really what I expected to find during a vacation to Oregon, you know? My mom says that we just need closure and it'll be fine, like that funeral that's coming up for her, but I just can't find out why Pacifica would run into the forest not long after she was found."

The officer looked like he was about to offer an explanation to why Pacifica had gone into the forest, but he closed his mouth and muttered a simple, "No further questions. The department is terribly sorry for any trauma this event might have caused."

Danny didn't tell the officer about how he and Jazz weren't the only ones that saw the body for fear that the department would come after the Pines or Wendy. He didn't say that the giant prints weren't bears; they were the markings of a large ghost dog named Cujo. He didn't tell the officer about how he picked up Bill's body and buried him deep in the forest, where the sun could barely break through the canopy, or how he buried a severed head with the carcass of that dangerous monster.

Who would believe him, anyways? It would only cause more trouble. The public could accept a bear attack; they would have a harder time believing that there was a stream next to their beloved town that could turn humans into monsters and monsters into humans. Ignorance is bliss.

Danny and Jazz went shopping for formal clothing before the funeral. Pacifica's family was high class and it was a miracle that all of them were even being allowed into such an event. That privilege had come with help from the persuasive Maddie Fenton and more than a little alcohol clouding the Northwests' reason.

Dipper still didn't go to the funeral, though.

Vlad, despite himself, invisibly attended the funeral and continuously bothered Danny. Danny was pretty sure that he was hiding out somewhere in the Mystery Shack, but he couldn't be sure. Danny wasn't even sure why the cheese head bothered staying around. Maybe a small part of him blamed himself for the death of Pacifica. Maybe he just liked to watch Danny break into a million pieces. Probably the latter.

And, despite himself, Danny blamed himself for Pacifica's death. Dipper blamed himself for Pacifica's death. Stan blamed himself for Pacifica's death.

Everyone's fingers were pointed at themselves.

If it hadn't been for Jack's constant and loud reminders that he and Maddie had to find the ellusive Phantom, the Fentons would've already left town. Curse Danny's father and all his obsessive ways.

A week later, it seemed that Jazz, Wendy, and Mabel were the only ones back to normal.

"Daniel Fenton," Jazz shouted, kicking at the lump of blankets and pillows that Danny hid underneath.

"Jasmine Fenton," Danny mimicked, his voice muffled by the layers that surrounded him.

"Dang it, get up! You can sleep when you're dead."

"I am dead."

"Okay, that was, admittedly, a bad choice of words." Jazz reached down and pulled the covers off of Danny's head, revealing squinted blue eyes and ruffled hair. "Ew, you need a shower."

"Thanks." He reached for his blanket again but Jazz promptly threw it off his body.

"You're going to take a shower while I go buy cupcakes," Jazz stated, pulling out her wallet and heading out the tent.

"Why the heck do you need cupcakes?"

"Because you haven't eaten in two days and I'm guessing that Dipper hasn't either!" Jazz shouted. "You know, you guys are pretty alike when I think about it."

"That's like saying that you and Wendy are pretty alike," Danny muttered, squeezing his eyes shut and preparing to go back to sleep.

"If you aren't out of that bed by the time I get back, I'll kill the other half of you myself!"

Danny groaned and got out of bed.

* * *

"You smell good," Wendy said, preparing to open the wooden Mystery Shack door.

"It's this fancy shampoo my mom bought for the funeral." Danny shrugged. "How's Dipper holding up?"

"Not good. As far as I know, he hasn't eaten or taken a shower in a couple of days."

"Sound familiar?" Jazz queried, glaring at her little brother. A box of cupcakes rested precariously in her hands.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Let's go."

As soon as the door creaked open, Mabel was jumping all over them, wrapping them in bear hugs and speaking at a thousand miles a minute. When she'd finally calmed down enough to join them on their slow walk up the stairs, she wrinkled her nose and grabbed Danny's hand, wrapping her fingers around his. "Soos found your creepy uncle upstairs in the carpet room."

"Carpet room?" Danny furrowed his eyebrows.

Mabel waved off the question. "Long story. Do you really think these cupcakes are going to get Dipper out of bed?"

Danny's eyes widened slightly as he was thrown into the memory of watching his friends and family die. Of watching Sam die. Of the effects that had had on his alternate timeline self.

"I have no idea," he simply offered, shrugging.

Wendy knocked on the door and slowly let it creak open, sticking her head through the opening. Her red hair swayed with the motion. "Hey, Dip. We brought cupcakes!"

Danny heard a groan of dissatisfaction come from the darkened room before Wendy pushed it the rest of the way open with her hip, letting everyone else follow. With help from his advanced eyesight, the teen watched as Dipper curled into a tighter ball underneath a pile of blankets and pillows. It felt hot and stuffy in the room.

"I'm not hungry," Dipper's muffled voice came from underneath.

"Uh huh." Wendy flicked on the light and opened up the curtain, letting light splay through the room. Dust floated in the sunlight from the window. "You're gonna eat some cupcakes with us."

Mabel, slowly walking across the room with a look of worry etched into her features, took a deep breath and ripped the blankets off of Dipper's figure. The boy squinted and groaned at the new light. His eyes were swollen, his face red and blotchy. Danny inwardly cringed from his silent spot in the corner.

Jazz opened up the container and waved a chocolate cupcake in front of Dipper's nose. "Studies show that sweet foods and time with friends helps grieving people."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You can't just say that to someone. Give me a cupcake." He straightened and headed over to his sister, taking the cupcake that she was waving around and promptly shoving it in his mouth.

Jazz shoved him. "You pig!"

Danny licked his fingers, making obnoxious smacking noises all the while. "Well, this was fun, but I think it's time for me to--"

"BOO!"

Danny's hands lit up in green as he swiftly turned, eyes narrowed. His hand stopped right at Wendy's neck.

She was wearing a white sheet over her head.

"Jesus, I almost killed you!" Danny shouted, his hands extinguishing. The sheet fell off of Wendy's head as she doubled over in laughter, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

Dipper cracked a smile and pulled himself up in bed.

"I--" Wendy gasped, laying on the floor, "can't believe-- you fell-- for that!"

"I fight ghosts on a daily basis and you think I'm not going to react when you shout, 'Boo'?" Despite himself, Danny was smiling. Wendy's laughter was infectious.

Jazz, wiping away tears, went, "He's always been really jumpy. This one time, before I knew about him being half dead, I told him that I was onto him having a girlfriend and he just shouts, 'IT'S A LIE I'M NOT A GHOST!"

"You said that you knew my secret!" Danny argued. He tried to ignore Wendy cackling on the floor.

"You could've hidden it a little better!"

"I was fourteen!"

Dipper laughed once in the corner of the room, quickly covering his mouth soon after. The entire room went silent.

"Look at Mr. Serious laughing it up over there," Mabel smirked, jumping onto Dipper's bed.

Dipper blushed. "It was one laugh."

Mabel reached over and grabbed a cupcake. Moving it up and down in the air, Mabel mimicked, "It was one laugh."

"Stop that!"

"Stop that!"

Dipper pointed at his sister, his mouth pushed down in a frown. "I'm not eating that cupcake."

"I'm going to eat that cupcake," Mabel mimicked. Then, moving the cupcake once more, she chanted, "Eat me, eat me, eat me--"

Wendy joined in on the chant, soon followed by Jazz and Danny. Soon, the entire upstairs was echoing, "EAT ME! EAT ME! EAT ME!"

"Fine!" Dipper shouted, and he ripped the cupcake out of Mabel's hands and took a bite.

They all began whooping and hollering. Jazz clapped wildly. Mabel jumped on the bed, causing Dipper to fall off the side.

Laughter pursued. Even Dipper laughed, with cupcake crumbs falling haphazardly out of his mouth and onto the floor.

"I could tell you all kinds of stories about this guy." Wendy pointed at Dipper and reached for a cupcake, sitting cross-legged on the ground. "This one time he missed his mouth entirely and smashed ice cream on the side of his face."

Dipper faked looking hurt. "Oh, yeah? Well one time you -- you --" Dipper sighed. "I actually can't think of anything embarrassing you've ever done."

"Whoop!" Wendy promptly took a bite out of her cupcake.

"Once," Mabel laughed, reaching for a cupcake as well, "Dipper had to dress up in a lamb suit and sing in front of ghosts."

"I thought we agreed to never talk about that again," Dipper muttered, hiding behind his hand.

"Bro," Wendy said seriously, pointing her cupcake at him. "That was amazing. You saved our lives."

"Dipper saved your lives by dressing up in a lamb suit?" Jazz queried, eyebrows furrowed.

Danny shrugged. "You'd be surprised what us heroes have to do to save people."

Danny winked at Dipper. Dipper looked down at his cupcake and grinned.

Suddenly, the door swung open. Grunkle Stan was standing there in his boxers and a tank top, scratching his chin and looking annoyed. "You guys woke me up with all your yelling."

Jazz looked at the clock. "It's two in the afternoon."

"Don't judge my life decisions."

Mabel laughed and jumped towards her brother, wrapping him in a hug. Dipper dropped his cupcake in surprise. "I love you, Dipper."

"Yo, I can get in on that action," Wendy said, standing from her position on the floor and wrapping her arms around the two warm bodies.

"Count me in," Jazz said quickly, joining in on the hug. "Daniel Fenton, get over here."

Danny pretended to pout but headed in their direction, grinning as he wrapped his arms around the four people.

"I don't know how to react to this," Stan stated from the doorway.

"Aw, Grunkle Stan." Mabel wiggled out from in between the bodies and wrapped her arms around her great uncle's legs. "You get a hug, too."

"Ah! Human contact!"

"Looks like everything's back to normal!" Mabel shouted, still cuddling Stan's bare legs.

Danny glanced out the window, watching as his father ran past with a device in hand, his mother in tow.

"I wouldn't say normal," Dipper pointed out.

Danny smiled. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

* * *

HOW CHEESY I LOVE IT.

ALSO I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE TERRIBLE HUMOR I'M A GIANT MESS.

ok to start this author's note out I'd like to say that I am so incredibly sorry for basically a month long wait. I'm a terrible human being and I was just so busy with the fair and nashville and ghewrigohrwg I'm just rlly sorry ok

next i would like to say that HOLY CANOLI THIS STORY OFFICIALLY HAS 2K VOTES CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP

looks like we have one more chapter left !! this story has been my pride and joy for literally almost a year and that's insane I started this in what ?? november? wowowie look how far we've come. I love all of you with a passion. thanks for sticking with me.