Gravity Rises (S2)

GL: Part Four

Mabel entered the kitchen to hear the welcome sounds of cheerful humming and frying bacon.

She pulled her dull orange sweater around her as a draft floated through the old Museum walls. Melody Ramirez, Mystery Museum employee and housekeeper for Ford, sang to herself as she flipped bacon and buttered toast. She was wearing an old nightshirt of Ford's over some sweats, having slept here at the Museum last night after their crazy day yesterday.

Though "crazy day" might have been an understatement.

Yesterday, the Pines (Melody an honorary member) fought for their home against the insane and powerful Pacifica Pleasure, who had stolen it and kidnapped Dipper as part of some crazy scheme to make him fall in love with her. This obviously didn't work, but she had almost defeated them with her magical amulet that gave her the power to read minds, levitate things, and, as Mabel learned yesterday, create a huge astral projection bigger than a house that could squash anything in its way. Luckily, Mabel had managed to take the amulet from her, and she and Dipper had smashed it. They had won, and gotten their home back, but the effects of destroying Pacifica's amulet still chilled Mabel at the thought of it. The girl had completely lost it, started screaming at the top of her lungs and eventually collapsed. Gideon Northwest — the jerk who had pretended to be on Mabel's side only to betray her to Pacifica — had crept out of the woodwork and taken her home.

Now that Mabel thought about it, it was a wonder she had been able to sleep last night.

"Good morning, Mabel!" Melody said, setting a plate out in front of her. "You're the first one I've seen up so far."

"Morning," Mabel said, lowering herself stiffly into a chair. She had a plethora of bruises from yesterday, and they were all tender now that it was morning. "Dipper is up, he's just not downstairs yet. Have you seen Ford?" She wanted to ask him about the other crazy part of their day: last night, down in the secret basement.

"Not up," Melody said. "But when I went to check on him earlier he looked fitful. He wasn't moving or anything, but his face was all scrunched up. Made his worry lines stick out. He usually looks like that after a rough day."

Mabel frowned. "You've checked on him in his sleep before?" That just sounded weird.

Melody smiled and shrugged. "I usually come over early to make sure he's doing all right and start breakfast. I am legally his caretaker, you know. In case his old age catches up with him and he starts going batty. But that hasn't happened; he just overworks that big brain of his sometimes."

Mabel hadn't known that Melody was his caretaker. She just thought she cleaned the house, led tours of the Museum, made meals, and sometimes drove Ford places (sharing that job with Robbie, his other employee). Though, now that she thought about it, those did all sound like caretaker-y jobs.

"Is that bacon?" came a hopeful voice.

Mabel didn't turn, but she did hear Dipper's feet on the wooden floor as he bounced into the kitchen. He always had a lot of energy in the mornings. Mabel figured every time he slept, it recharged his energy meter which then slowly depleted throughout the day. It never depleted far, but he always seemed to be most hyper at the beginning of each day.

"That it is," Melody said, "and it's nearly ready. You get a good night's rest, Dipper?"

Dipper sat down beside Mabel and glanced at her before saying, "Yep!" Mabel realized he was probably wondering whether or not to tell Melody about following Ford down into the basement.

"That's good," Melody said, moving the pan of bacon around on the stove. "So what got you all up in the middle of the night last night?"

Well, that solved that dilemma.