Apprentice {Gravity Falls}

By Any Other Name

A/n: Greetings! This one-shot will have the exact same plot as "What's In a Name?" from my Gravity Falls Season Three book! However, this is one of my favorite headcannons and definitely deserves to be in "Apprentice," too!

Ford hated his middle name. He didn't mind his first name or last name too much. He preferred Ford to Stanford, and Pines had a nice ring to it, especially when you added the Dr. prefix to it. When he graduated college, being referred to Dr.Pines or Dr.Stanford Pines always made him smile. If he was honest, it still did.

But his middle name? He couldn't stand it. He was named after his father: Filbrick Pines. His father was someone who he absolutely despised.

When they were younger, the Stans thought it was normal how Filbrick treated them. Their father acted like they were just a nuisance and wanted to be rid of them. Stan could never be good enough in his eyes, and Ford was always pressured to be nothing less than perfect. But as time went on, they realized something - Filbrick just sucked!

It was Filbrick who kicked Stan out. That night was one of the worst nights of their lives. Ford was crushed when he lost his chance to go to his dream school, and Stan had lost pretty much everything he had. Ford remembered how the duffel bag Filbrick threw at him was already packed - as if he was just waiting for Stan to mess up one more time as an excuse to get rid of him.

That was the reason every time he had to write his middle name on anything he couldn't help but press the pencil down harder out of dissatisfaction as he glared at the words "Stanford Filbrick Pines" written on the paper. It made him upset every time he saw it. So upset, Dipper must've caught on to his hesitation to write his middle name.

"Grunkle Ford, you know you can just, change your middle name right?"

Ford was silent as he processed this information. "I can change my name?" He repeated.

Dipper nodded and hummed a yes, "Yeah. I don't know exactly how it works, and it might cost some money. I really don't know how expensive it is, but if the name makes you so upset that you glare at your signature whenever you have to sign something, I think it would be worth the investment."

That solution was so simple! He had to agree with Dipper about the cost. It would certainly be worth it to be able to write his full name without scowling. But, another question came up-

"What would I change it to?"

Dipper beamed, "Anything you want!" He exclaimed, "Is there any name you wished you were named? Well, that can be your name now! Granted, your middle name! But it's still your name! I've always wanted the name Tyrone," he gave a chuckle.

Ford sighed, "I've never really thought about it that much. I've always liked my first and last name. I didn't know changing it was an option in the first place."

"You don't have to decide right now," Dipper reminded, "It's probably a bit overwhelming," he perked up, "Oh! You could look at naming websites!"

"Thank you, my boy," he smiled, "But, no thanks. I'd rather have this name mean something to me than just find it scrolling online. I want it to be important to me! I want it to be special!"

Dipper nodded, "Alright then!"

As the day went on, Ford tried to think of possible names for himself but he was drawing a blank. Every name his mind came up with was run of the mill. If he was going to pay money for this, then he was going to choose a freaking amazing name!

When he mentioned to Stan he was going to change his middle name, but couldn't come up with anything, Stan offered him some advice.

"How about you change your name to match someone else?"

The idea at first made Ford cringe. He was already named after his father. This was until Stan added, "Someone you look up to or trust, Sixer! Not someone who's gonna make you upset!"

"You could be named after any incredible scientist you want!" Dipper exclaimed, "Wouldn't that be cool?"

"Stanford Einstein Pines." Stan laughed. Ford playfully rolled his eyes. However, that just wasn't right. As much as he looked up to previous well-known scientists, for some reason the name was missing something.

"Again, there's no rush Grunkle Ford!" Dipper reminded. Ford nodded as his mind wandered from possible names. He thought in silence as he watched Stan and Dipper interact. Stan grabbed Dipper a Pitt Cola, but tugged down his cap in a teasing manner before doing so. Dipper gave a hurt look, but it was obvious he wasn't actually hurt. Ford watched the scene for a few moments. An idea began to form.

"I've thought of a name!"

Dipper and Stan looked at him in silence. "That was... quick."

"So, what's the name, Sixer?" Stan questioned. Dipper was curious too.

Ford smiled, "Wait and see,"

It was about a week later Ford was able to successfully change his middle name. The elder could barley contain his excitement. He could feel in his bones that this was supposed to be his name. Not only did it sound good with "Stanford" and "Pines," it was also extremely important to him. He was ecstatic to show his family the newly printed birth certificate that now read of his choosen name.

When Ford arrived home, he was greeted by an inpatient Stan and a curious Dipper. "So, what's the name Six?"

Ford gave a warm smile as he pulled out his birth certificate. "Alright, son, come here! I want you to see first."

Dipper cautiously walked up to Ford and read the name on the birth certificate. The new name wasn't what he was expecting. It wasn't of some famous scientist. Instead it was-

"Stanford Mason Pines," the boy read out loud. Ford gave a warm smile as Dipper kept looking at it. He almost didn't believe it, "You... you changed your middle name to my name..."

"Stanford Mason Pines," Stan repeated, "Has a nice ring to it, Poindexter!"

Ford smiled at Stan, then turned back to Dipper, "I wanted this name to be special to me! I wanted it to be important. I don't think I could've picked a better name than yours,"

At first Dipper was quiet and had no response. Ford was almost scared he offended the boy. But that soon turned to relief when the biggest smile Ford saw formed on Dipper's face and he lunged into the elder's arms.