Something seems off...

Chapter 25

After a while, Sara did manage to herd everyone into the huge family living room, even convincing Anthony to stay after bribing him with a pizza all to himself that evening. He sat awkwardly on the edge of his seat though, seemingly unhappy to be there, but that didn't matter in the slightest to Mabel. Oh no, her brother might have been joking earlier on, but in reality he wasn't far from the truth. Gosh, wasn't he handsome.

"Look! Jason Funderburker has discovered a new life form from a far-off planet!" Greg cried all of a sudden, making Ford look up sharply, only to see that the unrecognised possible threat at the other end of the room was only a small tabby cat. The eight-year old was quick to get up and run over to the furry feline, making space-ship noises as he did in a new game of make-believe all to himself. The older man let out a sigh, tension leeching out of him visibly. Mabel had seen all this, and even though she had gotten up to join Greg in his game, she glanced back at Ford and flashed him a reassuring smile. He smiled back, but his posture quickly turned ramrod-straight again.

"We come in peace!" said Mabel, addressing the cat that only looked up for a second before dropping her head back down to her folded paws.

"But we still want you to take us to your leader!" added Greg, trying to get a bit more of a reaction out of the sleepy animal.

They continued on the outer space adventure, but all the while Mabel kept an eye on the group and the serious conversation that was going on. She was a little worried about Ford, even though she knew that he would be fine. He was just a little on-edge, but Dipper would probably be able to deal with that. Still, her Grunkle looked calm and composed right now, efficiently disguising the fact he would react in the instant if any threat presented itself to them, or even if anything that by his standards could be considered as even slightly suspicious.

"Dipper and Mabel are my grand-kids, and Warren and Georgie my great-nephews that are staying over this summer," said Ford, not missing a beat, answering Anthony's pointed glare that he had kept on him for a while now. Although she shuddered at the lie, Mabel couldn't help but be impressed with how easily her Grunkle had spun a convincing back-story for them.

"Stanford was a senior when I first attended university, and he helped me a ton when I was struggling through my first year of med school. Shame you left though; I probably wouldn't have dropped out if you had stayed a little longer!" she laughed, poking her head out of the kitchen from where she was trying to keep a hold on the conversation while also being civil and making drinks.

"We were on a road trip visiting old friends and family with the kids on the East coast, and I just thought that it would be nice to pass through and catch up with my old friend from way back in college," Ford continued on his path of deceit, shrugging and constructing it with an ease that was uncanny. "It's been some time, after all."

"And how long are you staying for, then?" asked Anthony carefully. He obviously still had his doubts, and although it could become problematic and difficult to explain on their side if he uncovered the truth, Mabel couldn't help but gasp inside at the intelligence he displayed, even though anyone else would've had the same suspicions of they were in his position.

"A few days, honey! It was all a big surprise, so make sure that you pull out those spare mattresses, you'll have to share your room with one of the boys. Anyway, it's not the time to make sleeping arrangements yet. Boris'll be home soon with the girls, we'll have to see with them how we're going to organise things."

Anthony slumped back deeper into the couch, seemingly pacified. Mabel continued to stare at him for a few seconds longer, but was snapped out of her trance by someone tugging at her sleeve. Unsurprisingly, it was Greg, babbling something excitedly in regard to another discovery their lucky frog had made, something to do with hexagonal space-slugs. The girl shook herself and listened intently, trying to catch up on what he had to say. No matter how much she liked this guy, he wasn't going to get between her and Greg, not in a million years.

She pushed aside the dreaded thought about the brother's precarious situation, the fact that once this trip was over and that they got hold of the information they needed, there was very little chance that they would get to see each other as regularly as they had been in the last week or so (had it only been that long?). After all, they had been born and raised on this side of the country, if anyone was willing to take them in, it would be here. She had to spend as much time as she could with the brothers while she still had the chance to do so; Anthony was just an interest, someone she could potentially exchange phone numbers with, but he was in no case the priority.

Sara came back through the archway to the kitchen holding a tray with all sorts of glasses and such on it, which had Greg immediately interested when he spotted the ones most likely to have a high sugar content.

"Mabel, can we put the mission on pause for the moment? I think the interstellar jet has run out of fuel."

"Of course!" she replied, seeing that mischievous look in his eye. "Does the commander wish to sit on my lap while the jet recharges?"

"Yes please!"he answered immediately, and the next second they were plonked on the couch next to Wirt, on the side closest to the armchair that Anthony was sitting in. Mabel winked at Sara's son, just for the sake of it, and to her joy he turned his head in the other direction, biting back a smile.

"So... where have you been working lately? And on what subjects? You skip around a lot, I'm sorry that I didn't manage to keep track of it all," Sara asked sweetly, handing out the glasses and indicating that they could all serve themselves with what they pleased.

"Oh, well... biology. Yes, that's right. Allopatry. How a same species divides after a while into two different ones after two populations have been separated by natural barriers, for example," Ford said, using again that easy way about him that allowed him to lie through his teeth. To Mabel's combined dismay and joy, Ford seemed relaxed, happy about discussing whatever nerd thing he was going on about to a nodding Sara, who seemed to understand every last bit of it. Glancing to her left, she caught sight of her brother with a likewise calm expression on his face, a rare smile illuminating his features as he listened in on the conversation, captivated by the adult talk. Wirt, on the other hand was discussing something in hushed tones with Greg.

"No, it is not reasonable to add more sugar to your drink. It's sweet enough already."

To this, the little boy replied by whispering plans to Jason Funderburker about stealing the small pot of sugar that was supposed to be added to the home made lemonades as seen fit by the person drinking them. Wirt sighed, throwing his hands up, but did not relent and instead hid the small porcelain pot behind his back.

Seeing her whole family happy and easing without problem into this new environment (and of course she considered Wirt and Greg as part of her family, how could it have been otherwise?), she turned back to her right again to sneak a quick peek at Anthony, just to feast her eyes while she still could, but was surprised, then elated to see him quickly look away from her and an awkward half-smile tug at his lips. Mabel laughed, and the sound weaved itself into the happy humdrum of the room with the ease of a ribbon over a birthday present.

Things were looking up. Even though their time together was limited, be it with the brothers or the Brundiges, at least it looked like it was going to be enjoyable. And if she added just enough of her own touch to things, she could tweak it so that it was not only so, but unforgettable.

It was time to get her scrapbooking equipment out.

-

It's been a long exam period plus of course writer's block, and I had to change a major plot point for the whole ending to make sense :/ . Anyhow, I hope that now that I'm free, I'll get this fic finished. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do so before September, that would be a good thing, and maybe even another chaptered work if I manage to.