Be Our Guest

Dani's eyes slowly fluttered open to a blindingly white scenery. She strained to focus at the brightness and shielded her sight with one hand to adjust. She blinked a few times and glanced around at her surroundings. Pristine tiles, pristine flooring and she swore she smelt some kind of disinfectant. There was also the sound of a slightly delayed beep in the background, coming from her left. And it was starting to annoy her a lot.

So she concluded she'd either woken up into reality where that other room had been a dream and now she was being experimented on or, the more logical explanation, she was in hospital. Frankly, neither sounded appealing to the Halfa.

It was so nice to keep waking up in a new unfamiliar location.

Something else she had now noticed was the breathing regulator covering her mouth and nostrils. That explained the awfully pure smell. She hesitantly took it away and took a breath of the real air. Fortunately, she wasn't suddenly gasping for breath and managed to breathe at a natural pace.

Dani stretched on the bed only to grimace as she felt her muscles tense with soreness. Her body ached less then before though so she assumed there were some kind of pain killers in her system at that point.

As she put her arm down, she realised there was a tube stuck in her hand. She twisted her wrist both ways to properly see it and realised it must have been to provide her with something. Most likely those pain meds. If she required that then they'd probably gotten some records about her now.

Oh no.

If the had records on her health...They may have taken blood tests.

The beeping beside her sped up suddenly and was evidently a heart rate monitor. Dani swung around to face it with alarm and then down to a peg on her finger. Out of desperation, she pulled it off, effectively cutting the noise off.

Even so, it was likely that someone would be coming to check up on her now. She needed to get out asap. The panicked child yanked the IV out of her hand with a wince then made a move to slip out of bed when her door burst open.

A doctor came in with a look of mild surprise. He regained his composure, slicking back his brunette hair and striding over to the end of her bed to grab some charts. He seemed to ignore the young teen who watched him with bewilderment until more people came dashing in and were suddenly forcing her to lie down again before re-applying the breathing mask.

The suddenness rendered her incapable of doing anything but as she became aware of the situation, she resisted the hand tubes. A nurse sighed and came forward with a syringe full of a horribly bright fluid that set Dani on edge.

She was momentarily taken back in time. Back to when Vlad was approaching with a muscle relaxer. Getting closer and closer.

She let out a yelp and involuntarily jutted out her leg into the woman's elbow. The direction and force resulted in the nurse punching herself with her own fist.

Dani would've laughed if she wasn't so damn scared.

Another nurse rushed the injured one out as she shot a dirty look in the Halfa's direction, while blood gushed from her fractured nose. Dani watched her leave, crinkling her own nose at the sight only for her eyes to catch the old man from before standing outside.

He glanced from her to the two nurses then back. Then with a slight smirk, he shot her a thumbs up before slinking away.

A slight cough beside her grabbed Dani's attention. The doctor was standing there, clipboard held tightly and lips pressed in a thin line.

He cleared his throat again, "Do not be alarmed, you are in the Gravity Falls General Hospital. I am Dr Gregson." He smoothed out his jacket once more, "Now I hope you don't mind but I have to ask you a few questions. You can move the breather now."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, she had pulled it off again. If the doctor noticed her speed, he said nothing.

"First, can you understand me and can you also see alright?"

She nodded at the man, focused on his words, preparing herself for what he may ask.

"Good, good, now can you tell me your name?"

Dani fumbled for a moment, unsure whether or not to lie for the fact that they had records about her and most likely about her blood. She didn't exactly want that connected to her...

She realised she was taking too long when the doctor sighed and began to write something down.

"It's Ellie." She said abruptly. God her voice sounded weak, she hid a cringe at the sound.

"I see." He wrote on the paper, presumably her "name", "And what about your surname?"

Darnit. She hadn't ever actually been asked about a surname before. There were times when she'd conversed with other people but had only ever had to give out a first name. She wished she'd made some kind of fake identity before. That was probably rule number one of running away. So much for her street smarts.

And there was no way she'd say Fenton, as much as she secretly wanted to. What if they linked her back to Danny? They did look pretty identical after all. She didn't want to end up burdening him with her issues again.

It was time to think something up fast. Thinking in the moment could be something she'd have to do more in future so she needed to be good at it.

"Marston." A combination of Masters and Fenton. Not that she was very happy about the first part but at least she hadn't said Smith.

This seemed to satisfy the doctor as he wrote it down before asking more questions, "And where are you from?"

That one wasn't an issue, "Illinois."

Dr Gregson raised an eyebrow as he scribbled more notes on the paper, "That's far from here. Who's with you?"

It seemed he wouldn't stop.

Dani mentally fumbled for a moment but kept a visible poker face.

"I'm here to visit a friend. I came here alone."

"All alone? You're pretty young, your parents must trust you."

"Yup they do."

The doctor put the clipboard down, "Alright then Ellie, I assume you know why you're here?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, "I passed out?"

"Yes, but do you know why you passed out?" He prompted.

"I have no idea." As soon as the words left her mouth the doctor was frowning.

"Really? Well, I suppose that's to be expected. You were found in the middle of a storm with lightning inflicted injuries."

The Halfa quirked an eyebrow and snorted slightly at his words, "Seriously? I know there was a storm but I doubt I got struck by lightning."

"Yes, seriously."

Of all the things that could've harmed her that night, lightning seemed pretty dumb and she felt silly for the fact that she had risked flying in the storm like that. She didn't honestly expect to get struck, she was just so adamant to get out of the way of that damn ghost. And that was another issue she faced. The ghost was probably still lurking about somewhere in town and she needed to leave before it found her again.

The doctor began to speak again, cutting her from her thoughts, "Just to say, I'm incredibly surprised by the rate at which your body has recovered. Although you got struck only yesterday, a lot of your minor injuries have almost faded. I mean, other strike victims would either be dead or still unconscious at this point. It's...almost supernatural."

Dani smiled awkwardly, "Yeah I guess."

The doctor noticed her discomfort, "Sorry, forget I said that. What I was saying, there's also a difference from when you arrived to now. Somehow, you were prepared to race out of here a moment ago."

"So...what exactly does this mean for me?"

"Well, I think you'll be able to leave today, the one thing you have to deal with is putting an ice pack on that black eye of yours." A sigh of relief escaped only for her heart to constrict at his next words, "We've taken some blood tests but the results won't be back for another week or two."

If they traced the Ectoplasm in her blood...

"Remember, you're not completely healed though so don't start doing any strenuous activities when you leave. Sure, you can walk, talk etcetera, but please refrain from over exerting yourself. That includes running. At least for the next few days."

A little unfortunate but she didn't exactly want to be in the hospital any longer than necessary. Hopefully flying was still an option.

The doctor grabbed the clipboard again and clicked his pen, hovering it above the paper, "Before I'm allowed to discharge you I need you to give me details of where you're staying or living and exactly who with."

And this was the part where she was screwed. She needed a location that if checked out would be legitimate, but she also needed names. Who was that family she was with last night? What was the address?

The old man was outside, perhaps he could help her out here? Yeah, but like he'd agree to con a hospital. If only she could just phase out there, no questions asked.

"I'm staying with the people who brought me here." She mumbled slightly.

"The Pines family? But they only just met you."

"Actually I do know them. Mr Pines out there probably forgot, he's old you know." She'd need to leave fast when they discharged her. She hoped the man couldn't hear her outside.

"I see. I don't want to be discharging you to a stranger so I hope you aren't lying."

"Of course not. What reason would I have to make this up and put myself in a dangerous situation?"

He looked her over with a cocked brow while Dani kept as straight of a face as she could. After a sigh and a shake of his head, the doctor relented. "Alright, I'll discharge you to Mr Pines. You can leave once I've given you some medicine to take with you. Also, I'll be back to check up on you in a few days." He turned away from her, "I'll be back in a moment."

He put the clipboard back on the end of the bed and left the room, the remaining nurses trailing behind. Dani breathed out heavily and slumped back into the mattress, rubbing her forehead to ease out the tension. She didn't notice as Mr Pines came in until he cleared his throat.

"So apparently you've known us for some time huh? I guess I really am a senile old man then."

"Uh..."

"I'm just messing with ya kid. You've cooked up some backstory I see for whatever reason. Seeing as though I'm involved in it, I guess I gotta know your intentions."

Dani shrank back slightly, realising she'd been cornered.

"Hey, you can tell me kid and I won't say a word."

The sincerity in his voice and eyes took her by surprise and she found herself explaining, "I just wanna get out of hospital as fast as I can. I don't intend to stay at your residence."

The man rubbed his chin and nodded his head, "I figured...Look, I can see you're like, on the run maybe? But at the least, you're trying to get out of here for some potentially shady reason. I can help you out ."

"Why?"

"I've been in your shoes before plus, you're just a kid. I've also probably done worse. Anyway, it's not my business but if we get this over with then we're out of eachother's hair and can get on with our lives again. The docs and the law will be none the wiser." He chuckled deviously.

"Thanks um, Mr Pines? I appreciate that. I still don't really get why you'd wanna help but if there's no consequences to this plan then thanks for helping me out."

"Not a problem. I'll go along with what you say as long as it doesn't make me look bad." He laughed and Dani smiled at his words.

Dr Gregson returned at that moment, carrying a medication bag containing aspirin and any other pain meds she may need as well as a plastic bag with her old clothes inside.

"You're lucky the shoes didn't melt." He remarked, handing her the two bags.

She peered inside the clothing bag and noticed although not melted, her outfit had slight tears and singe marks.

"I can't go out in these." She pointed out and the doctor merely chuckled.

"We are aware of that. I requested that a nurse bring you another set of clothes. Nurse Lainey!"

A nurse came in with said clothes and waited patiently beside the doctor. The plaster covering her nose and slight scowl made Dani cringe as she recognised it was the same nurse she'd injured moments before.

"Nurse Lainey will escort you to the toilets to change and then she will bring you to the reception where you will then be able to leave."

Dani breathed out a relieved sigh.

The nurse came over to help her out of bed but she refused and did it on her own. The nurse shrugged, evidently still pissed and not too bothered by her decision.

"We'll go now then. Follow me." She finally spoke up, her voice was sharp and the annoyance was audible.

Dani glanced at the two men before following the woman out of the room.

Caught their conversation as they walked away.

"So you do actually know Ellie huh?"

"Yep, she's a friend of the twins."

Dani smirked knowingly to herself and continued to follow the nurse towards the toilets. Walking along, she felt a little discomfort in her legs but chose to ignore it, instead paying attention to the other patients and visitors and doctors and nurses also travelling down the halls.

"We're here."

Dani had to stop herself from nearly bumping into the nurse. She smiled awkwardly and took the bag of clothes from her before hesitantly entering the single person room.

As she got inside, she locked the door and closed her eyes. This better all work out. Reopening, her eyes, she briefly examined her new outfit; a jewel necklined red sweater and a pair of black leggings. Not exactly the comfort clothes she was used to but still of course, better than nothing. Feeling the fear that the nurse might potentially trap her inside the toilets for whatever reason, Dani hastily changed her clothes and rushed out of the bathroom.

Nurse Lainey raised a brow at the way she forcefully left the room but said nothing and motioned her to follow to the reception area. Dani scratched her arm uncomfortably and calmed herself down. She'd be out of here soon fortunately.

When they got there, Mr Pines was signing and filling in some forms. He just handed over the last one as Dani got to his side.

"You're good to go kiddo." He said to her smiling and a grin appeared on her face.

Dr Gregson cleared his throat, "Well Ellie, you can head on to the Mystery Shack now. If anything is concerning you, just call the number I've given Mr Pines and I'll do what I can."

"Thanks." She responded with a small smile.

"Come on then kid, let's head back." Mr Pines said and Dani was happy to oblige. She walked past the man and rushed towards the automatic doors.

Then finally, Dani gladly took her first steps back into freedom.

As the Halfa emerged into the quaint town of Gravity Falls she took in the area in wonder.

Too bad she'd be going off to another state now. Maybe if she hadn't messed up she could've stayed longer. Or maybe she never would have come here in the first place and instead ended up somewhere else.

She sighed and shook her head then after a moment, Dani began to head off.

She'd walked about five steps before she was stopped.

"Hey! Wait kid! Where are you going?" A gruff voice called out behind her.

The ravenette spun on her heel with confusion. Mr Pines...what did he want? Oh right, he probably expected her to be going to that home again.

She frowned slightly and turned around, ignoring him. The deal was to pretend what she said was legitimate, not to prove it completely. They didn't need to.

"For crying out loud...Are you really gonna make an old man run?" He continued.

Dani rolled her eyes at his persistence and faced him again, "I'm just leaving. I don't need to stay here I need to get back home."

"Nice try kid, you do realise that doctor's gonna come to check up on you at some point?"

Well, she hadn't thought about that. She'd only considered them knowing she had a place to stay, and Mr Pines was evidence of that, but not the doctor's literally going there to check on her. Darn.

Dani shrugged her shoulders, "Then I can just come back can't I? Or you can say my parents collected me because of the accident."

"Ha! You don't know when he'll visit. Getting back here will take time too. And if I go for the other option, they'll want contact from your parents which I should have as the one owning the house you would've been staying in." Stan rubbed his temples, "I'm starting to wish I hadn't agreed to lie for you."

The Halfa's eyes narrowed, "Then why did you?"

"You're obviously in a situation where you're alone, so if you got found out, you'd be pretty screwed, 'scuse the language."

"I've said worse." Dani shrugged.

The old man smirked, "And I can tell you're not a bad kid so, if this is how your life is, it wouldn't be fair to let the legal forces ruin it for you. I don't know what happened to your parents or guardians or whatever, but you're obviously used to what you do. If this is how you wanna live, travelling I assume? Then legal nonsense shouldn't have to get in the way. Life's short so, be free...And that got a lot deeper than I wanted it to. What I'm saying is, I'm trying to help you out here so you can get back to what you're doing and while you leave, I have to deal with the consequences of the situation if they discover we lied because you're gone."

Dani smiled in appreciation, "I guess I owe you for helping me out already. I can't let you get in trouble for lying to the doctors now so, I'll stay to make the story seem legit."

"Great. Oh and by the way, don't be so trusting in future, how do you know I'm not just some creepy old man?"

"Because a creepy old man probably wouldn't have been concerned about my health and besides, the doctor wouldn't have let you take me if you were. There's also those two kids I guess."

Frankly, she had lied somewhat. There were definitely people out there capable of hiding their bad side as she'd learnt the hard way with Vlad. Then again, that experience had helped her see the world clearer and better identify when there was something not quite right about a person. She could see that Stan was genuinely just a kind concerned guy. You know, under his tough exterior.

"Good observations kid." Stan responded with a smirk, "You'll do great out there."

"I won't even have to stay long anyway."

"Just don't get annoying with the twins." He laughed, "Let's head back then Ellie."

"Oh and about that, my name is actually Dani."

Stan let out a hearty chuckle and shook his head, "Ah, I suppose we'll have to remember that and not call you the wrong thing huh?"

Dani smirked and followed Stan as he began to head back to the Mystery Shack.

She had a good feeling about this man somehow. There was a sense of a deep understanding of how her life worked and he wasn't trying to rush her to the cops to find a family. Hopefully his family wouldn't be asking about her life either.

Back at the Mystery Shack, the twins were hanging out in the kitchen eating snacks as they anticipated news about the girl from the storm. Soos had left the room to answer a phone call, presumably from Stan and returned a few minutes later with a big grin on his face.

"Dudes! Mr Pines just called and told me that the girl got let out of hospital."

Dipper relaxed in his chair slightly, "That's great to hear. She must be okay then right?"

"That's not all! He said she's coming back here as we speak!"

Mabel suddenly shot forward and sprayed Mabel Juice™ across the room. She turned to her brother with wild eyes and he moved back slightly with minor concern.

There was excitement behind her expression due to the fact that this would be the perfect opportunity for her to make a new friend!

"Actually, " Dipper suddenly continues, "I thought she was injured still? How can she have already been discharged?"

Mabel let out a cackle of laughter at her brother and threw her hands in the air, "Who cares?!" She exclaimed, "I can have a new friend!" Startling the other two, Mabel suddenly gasped harshly, "Oh my gosh! We could go shopping, and get makeovers and I could introduce her to Candy and Grenda!"

"Mabel!" Her twin cut off her rant, "Calm down she's probably gonna be here for like a few minutes or something?"

"Shh, you're just jealous."

"Of wha-"

"Dudes, don't fight." Soos but in.

"Yeah guys and Mabel, not to get you down, but who says she's interested in the same things you are anyway?"

The older twin huffed and Dipper jumped as he noticed by the new voice, Wendy had entered the room.

"W-Wendy! When did you get here?" He freaked a little, "And how come you know about the girl?"

The redhead chuckled at his reaction and began to explain, "I actually just came in for my shift. Didn't realise the shack was closed though but I guess I can hang out with you guys now." She turned to glare at Soos to the confusion of the twins before elaborating, "But I know about the girl because Soos called me at three AM again!"

Soos laughed awkwardly, "Sorry I woke you. It was just interesting news I wanted to tel-" He stopped randomly and Mabel cocked her head to one side.

The large man rushed to the window and pressed his face to the glass before spinning back and beaming at the group, "Dudes, they're back!"

Mabel squealed loudly and speedily chugged down the rest of her juice to then run into the Gift Shop. The rest followed albeit slowly. The bubbly tween bounced on her feet at the door, hardly able to contain her excitement, before giving up from impatience and flinging the door wide open.

Moments before being spotted by Soos, Dani decided to strike up some more conversation. She wanted to know about the people she was about to spend a lot of her upcoming days with.

"So, your great niece and nephew came over for the Summer huh?"

Stan looked down at her, then back to the approaching shack, "Yeah, their parents wanted them to actually do something more than laze about for the whole holiday." He chuckled.

Dani smirked at his words, "Sounds fair I guess. What exactly are they like?"

"Mabel, the eldest, is quite loud and somewhat overwhelmingly cheerful I guess. Don't let her intimidate you though, she's great. She has a thing for sweaters by the way and a pet Pig called Waddles."

The Halfa's eyes widened when he mentioned Waddles, "She has a pet Pig? That's awesome."

Stan's face become sour, "Yeah, it's super." He monotoned, eliciting a chuckle from the kid.

"What about your great nephew?" She continued.

"Dipper can be a little shy at times but he's also pretty confident when he wants to be. He's kind of obsessed with mysteries though so just ignore him if he starts spouting nonsense about random theories he has. Not to be harsh on the poor kid."

Dani let out another laugh and Stan smiled guiltily. He didn't mean to be harsh on Dipper and hopefully wouldn't end up upsetting him, but he couldn't let anyone else know about the supernatural things going on at the Mystery Shack. Sure, there Dani seemed like the type to be hiding things from the law from what she's made up earlier but he didn't want to risk a repeat of what happened with those Government Agents. She may have been just a kid, but after dealing with people like Gideon and even knowing the twins, he knew being young didn't mean anything about your capabilities.

"So how old are they both then?" Dani asked, bringing the old man out of his thinking.

"They're both 12, 13 at the end of the month." He responded.

She nodded in acknowledgement, "Cool, I turned 13 last December so that's nice."

"The twins have been anticipating this for a while. Both want to be teenagers but honestly I think they'll prefer the time before. Especially Dipper, kid's a bit of a stress-ball." Stan chuckled.

Dani mulled over his words, she didn't exactly have a childhood so she couldn't give a true opinion to his words. From her single year of experience though, she figured her teenage years would be better.

Something else he said clicked in her mind that she didn't think about before.

"Hey, no offence but what kind of name is Dipper?"

The two were right outside the Gift Shop Door and Stan went to answer her question.

"It's just a nickname, he's actually called-"

The door swooshed open out of nowhere, startling the two outside.

Dani stumbled back a little while Stan shook his head upon noticing who exactly was standing in the door frame.

"Jesus Mabel, are you trying to give me a heart attack sweetie?" He asked whilst rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, sorry Grunkle Stan, I didn't mean to scare you." Mabel spun towards the mildly freaked out Halfa, "I'm Mabel nice to meet you!" Her hand shot outwards for Dani to shake.

The ravenette blinked at the sudden gesture then, a little hesitantly, took the brunette's hand and shook it. "I'm Dani...Nice to meet you too."

Mabel smiled widely and turned around to face the other three hovering in the background. She pointed at everyone and introduced them, "This is my brother Dipper."

"Hey." He waved and Dani responded with her own wave and a small smile.

"This is Wendy." The older twin continued, pointing at the tall redhead, "And this is Soos. They work here."

Dani nodded, keeping a mental record of each name, "Hi everyone."

"Hey, how about we give the poor girl some space, " Stan suggested and they all parted out of the way to allow Stan and Dani inside.

Stan motioned for the young teen to follow him, as well as the others, into the living room. As soon as everyone was stood or sat somewhere, the questions came flying at the girl.

"So where's your family?"

"How long have you been in Gravity Falls?"

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Why were you in the storm?"

"What's in your bag?"

"How do you feel?"

"How old are you?"

Dani cringed slightly as she couldn't gather all that was asked and looked to Stan for some kind of guidance. Unfortunately, the man shrugged his shoulders in defeat but he at least motioned for the gang to shut it.

Although she'd been unable to decipher what everyone was trying to ask altogether, the last question she did manage to catch.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving!" She blurted out, only to laugh nervously at her outburst, "Sorry, I haven't eaten much recently and I wasn't at the hospital long enough to have to eat their...mush." She responded wrinkling her nose at the idea of hospital food.

Dipper tapped his chin, "I think there's still some left over Chinese takeout in the fridge from last night, I could get it if you want? And if you're able to eat it?" Dipper suggested.

Dani beamed at him, "Yes, thank you. Chinese food is the best."

She had to admit, it was a little ironic that she loved takeaway food so much despite spending the beginning of her life eating practically gourmet food at Vlad's mansion. Maybe it was for the best. Easier to access and not a reminder of her time with the horrid man.

God, she needed to stop remembering him. If only there was a laser or something that could remove her memory.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

Dani turned back to the boy and rubbed her neck, "Just water please. Thank you."

Dipper left the room and there was a moment of awkward silence.

The Halfa cleared her throat and decided to strike up conversation to clear the air a little, "So, uh, Gravity Falls huh?" She began, scratching her neck a little, "That's a unique name for a town."

Mabel sat forward with her hands in her palms, "Oh, it's because the 8th and 1/2 president, Quentin Trembly, fell backwards on a horse down here and decided to make a town." She laughed.

Dani quirked a brow then smirked, "So Gravity made him fall and he called it Gravity Falls? That's actually an interesting origin story." Something suddenly clicked and she pulled a quizzical face, "Wait, you said 8th and 1/2?"

"Mhmm, he got kicked out of office and was covered up by the government or something." Mabel waved one hand dismissively, "But now he roams freely!"

The Halfa blinked, lost at the explanation.

"...Okay."

Before she could ask anything else, Dipper walked back into the room carrying a tray with a plate of noodles and the requested glass of water. Dani felt her stomach growl at the sight and tried not to start salivating.

The boy gently handed the tray to the ravenette and sat down in his original seat as she smiled sincerely and thanked him.

First she took a drink of water and then ate some of the warm food in front of her. Damn, she hadn't eaten a meal this nice in days, only a couple of cheap cereal bars. Her stomach would need a moment to get used to this. Frankly the last time she'd even had a full or proper meal was when she was with Vlad. She swallowed the next bite quite forcefully as she thought about her previous mentor another time within five minutes.

She mentally scolded herself for letting her thoughts derail.

"So, Dani you didn't really answer our questions before but how old did you say you were?" Wendy? asked.

"Didn't, I'm 13."

Mabel piped up again"Ooh, me and Dipper are 13 at the end of the month! When was your birthday?"

Well it wouldn't exactly hurt to state her birthday. This was useless information.

"December 10th."

Vlad had created her around the time of Danny's birthday, hoping for a complete replica of him made on the same day. Once he had the perfect clone, he wanted to remake it on that day...Not creepy at all.

Dani shuddered at the thought. That guy was so messed up.

"Anyway kids, how about we help arrange somewhere for Dani to sleep tonight." Stan suggested.

"Oh, I can sleep on the couch it's no worry!" She hastily started, feeling a little uneasy about troubling them too much.

"You're a guest, and recently injured, that wouldn't be fair."

"Even so, I'd prefer to stay down here if you don't mind. Stairs might not be a good idea today anyway."

The others looked at each other uncertainly.

"If that's what you want...But we'll bring down some blankets and stuff for you though."

"Thanks." Dani smiled widely, appreciating their efforts.

Maybe staying here wouldn't be a bother after all.

Jets of icy water poured onto Dani's back as she shivered at the feeling. It wasn't due to the temperature, no, thanks to her ice core that was mostly unnoticeable, just finally getting properly washed and clean was a sensation she hadn't experienced in a long time. Being out on the streets had meant she only occasionally had access to a stick of deodorant. There were times she had to just make do with the rain.

Anyway, forgetting her previous struggles, today was a new day and the perfect time to get herself at least a little organised. The previous day she'd been too busy working on settling in to this new environment she'd have to remain in for however long. She had ultimately slept on the couch that night even though Mabel had insisted she take her bed while she and her brother shared. Mabel was stubborn but Dani was worse and she hadn't wanted to just come in and start claiming their things. She already awkwardly had to ask that morning if the elder twin had any spare underwear for after her shower. She definitely would've noticed the difference of her grimy clothes after washing. Yuck.

Her nose wrinkled at the idea before she went back to trying to untangle her hair in the water. This would be easy to fix if she had some kind of shampoo or conditioner. Dani glanced to the right and spied an assortment of bottles. The Pines' had given her permission to use them and she gave weight to the possibility that she wouldn't be able to use "luxury" products so soon again...but which ones?

She read over them all and raised an eyebrow. There were four shampoos and conditioners each as well as six shower gels. She had to wonder why they needed so much but concluded it was likely the fault of Mabel.

The shampoos included Oak, Pine, Maple and Chestnut while the conditioners helped with Dry scalp, Shine, Volume and Strengthening. The shower gels were Moringa, Mango, Strawberry, Pink Grapefruit, Honey and Satsuma.

To her, the best sounding ones would've conflicted with each other but after going without for so long, she couldn't bring herself to care and started by grabbing her chosen shampoo. After squeezing a good amount into one palm and massaging it into her scalp and all throughout her hair, specs of mud and dirt began to fall at her feet. By the end, her raven locks were basically invisible under a cloud of thick pale blue foam and it was a real struggle to wash away completely. Eventually, she was able to put the conditioner on.

She'd chosen the one for dry scalp due to constant itchiness of her head most days. Perhaps when that was no longer an issue, she could graduate to using one for shine or volume. Frankly, she had resisted the urge to scratch at her scalp a couple of times in front of the others.

When she applied the shower gel in order to clean the rest of herself, there were many expressions of pain let out while she grimaced in discomfort as she went over a burn or a particularly prominent bruise, but it had to be done now or she might remain a walking trash bag forever. When she finished she turned of the water with a sigh.

"Haven't felt this fresh in months." She mumbled with a small smile before finally stepping out of the shower. She had to wonder if the others thought she smelt before.

As she stood putting on her towel with her back to the mirror, she happened to catch her reflection while adjusting the back and her eyes widened.

"What..." She whispered in shock.

A scar in the shape of a tree with numerous leaf-less branches was visible at the top of her back, evidently going further down as well.

"What the hell?..."

With hesitant fingers, she touched the mark and fortunately felt no pain. Well, she realised, she probably would have felt something significant in the shower if it could hurt.

Dani hastily checked herself for any more similar scars but all she found where the burns, bruises and scratches that she already knew were there. Looking at her face in the mirror only revealed the black eye to her which she knew about but hadn't yet seen for herself. It didn't look as bad as expected but it had likely gone down a lot from her fast healing again.

The Halfa shook her head and decided to leave the room and get herself dressed, remembering to grab the clothes she needed from their safe space in the room. While walking across the landing she spotted the bubbly girl. It was actually Mabel right?

She realised she was only wearing a towel and suddenly became very self-conscious. At least it was another girl right?

"Hey Dani!" The brunette called to her cheerfully.

"Oh, hi there." She waved in return with an awkward smile.

"Have you seen Waddles at all? It's feeding time!" Mabel asked in a sing-song voice completely glossing over the girl's attire.

"No I haven't sorry. I've been in the shower? I can help once I'm ready though."

"Oh thank you! And by the way you can borrow some of my clothes if you want."

"I think I'll just stick with this outfit for today." Dani lifted up the pile of clothes in her hands, "I kinda need to go in your room and change though." She grimaced, realising that's where Mabel had been headed.

"That's fine," The brunette waved a hand dismissively, "Just tell me if you see Waddles alright?"

"Mhmm." Dani began to leave only to pause as a thought entered her mind, "Oh, um Mabel? Where did you say your spare underwear was?" she blushed lightly as she asked.

Mabel giggled at her discomfort, "Left side of the second pink draw, it's probably in a packet."

"Thanks." The Halfa nodded and returned to entering the room while Mabel called out for her pig as she descended the stairs.

She probably should've grabbed the underwear before-hand, then she could've easily gotten changed in the bathroom and it wouldn't have been so awkward...Ah well.

Entering the room, Dani noted the obvious difference between the left and right side. It was clear who slept where and she laughed slightly. The twins' room wasn't too bad actually, a little messy but cosy, as she had realised the rest of the house felt.

Finding the draw wasn't an issue and when Dani opened it and found what she wanted, she exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in.

"Oh thank Clockwork."

The underwear wasn't bright or weirdly patterned as expected, just a simple colour and plain. Of course no one would see anyway but Dani would know, and it would haunt her for life.

Five minutes later she was dressed and able to roam freely around the house. Well for the most part. Now the only thing left to do was dry her hair, if she could find the hairdryer.

A knock on the door caught Dani's attention and Mabel's voice soon followed.

"Dani are you dressed?"

"Yeah, you can come in!" she called back.

The door cracked open then the brunette skipped into the room and crouched down to look under the beds.

Dani figured why she was doing this and chuckled slightly, "I guess you didn't find Waddles then."

"No, and neither have you then."

"To be honest I forgot to check when I came in. Luckily he's not in here though 'cause that would have been awkward." She rubbed the back of her neck, once again like Danny.

Mabel laughed and then yelped as she suddenly flipped over onto her back.

She groaned and mumbled in complaint as Dani came to her side.

"Are you alright?" She asked while trying to suppress a giggle.

"Mhmm."

"You shouldn't have rolled on your head to talk to me when you were crouching." The ravenette grinned.

"Maybe." She shrugged after being helped up.

Dani glanced around the room with narrowed eyes, "Hey, where's the hairdryer? Is it in here or...?"

"Yup!" Mabel went to grab it from it's location and turned back to the other girl in the room. She looked from the hairdryer to Dani twice before her smile suddenly got very wide. That look was a little unnerving to the ravenette who felt herself step back slightly at the expression.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"You have to let me do your hair!"

Dani's face went flat, "What."

"Come on please!" The brunette rushed over to her, "I know we basically just met, but you're staying for a while and this is a great bonding opportunity!" She spread her arms out wide for emphasis.

Bonding opportunity? Dani smiled and shook her head. Clearly the girl wanted to be friends and to be honest that wouldn't be so bad right? Sure Mabel was quite...enthusiastic most of the time but she was a good person. Dani could do with some good people in her life...That would be nice.

When she had been travelling the states, she had met some cool people but hadn't stayed long enough to get to know them for more than a few hours. Always disappearing, feigning needing to go home or something. Most of them knew she was just travelling around and thought that was pretty cool but it sure was lonely in the long run. If she was going to be staying here longer than expected (and actually had a place to stay), why not make a friend. She may even run into Mabel again since this was only her Summer home for the year. Maybe she could befriend Dipper too, he seemed alright if a little awkward.

Hopefully this wouldn't backfire and come back to bite her in the ass later.

"Hello, earth to Dani?" Mabel rapidly waved a hand in front of her face.

She blinked back into reality and cringed, "Heh, sorry zoned out."

the girl leaned forward on her toes with anticipation, "It is it a yes?"

"Yeah why not?"

Mabel squealed excitedly and ushered the poor girl into a seat. She turned on the hairdryer and began to tend to her hair. After some time, she started to brush it as well, fully clearing the slightly older girl's hair of tangles without yanking at her head. How she did it will forever remain a mystery. She continued to brush it smoothly for a while after turning off the hairdryer, leaving Dani to close her eyes at the relaxing feeling.

"And all done!"

A little sadly, the ravenette stood up and tied her hair back into its normal ponytail.

"Thanks Mabel."

'Oink!'

The two girl's brought their attention to the door where a cute little pig drowsily waddled into the bedroom and in their direction.

Mabel gasped and dived for the pink blob.

"Waddles! Where have you been?!" She hugged him tightly and buried her face in his side.

The only response she got from the pig was a sneeze and a sniffle.

Mabel gasped again, this time in horror, "Oh no! Waddles you're sick!" She faced Dani, "I'll be right back, I need to check if we have any medicine."

In a blur she was gone.

Dani looked a the pig and frowned at his condition. He walked over to the girl and nudged her leg with an oink making her expression soften into a sad smile.

"Aww." She cooed and scooped him up before plopping down on a nearby beanbag with Waddles lying on her legs. He rolled on to his back and wiggled his legs at me so she started rubbing his belly.

Her ears twitched suddenly and she raised an eyebrow, pausing in what she was doing and earning a small whine from the pig. People were shouting downstairs but not loud enough for anyone other than her to have been able to hear it upstairs. Her curiosity and heightened hearing would probably become a real problem one day. But not right now.

"MABEL, YOU CAN'T GIVE A PIG PEOPLE MEDICINE!"

"WHY NOT? WE'RE ALL EQUAL!"

"PEOPLE MEDICINE IS HARMFUL TO ANIMALS!"

"WHY ISN'T IT FOR EVERYONE?!"

"BECAUSE IT CAN'T BE MADE THAT WAY!"

"FINE!"

Dani snickered, "Really Mabel?" she mumbled.

The sound of feet rushing up stairs could be heard and then the door swung open so Mabel could pop her head in, "I have to go get Waddles some medicine, do you wanna come with?" She questioned quickly.

The Halfa blinked in surprise before shrugging, "Okay."

She shifted the pig off of her legs and lied him down on the beanbag then started to follow the girl out of the room and down the stairs.

Wait.

She stopped descending the stairs and scratched her neck, "I just remembered, I have a black eye..."

Mabel hid a smirk, "I can get something to cover it up downstairs."

The slight twitch at the corner of the girl's lip didn't go unnoticed by the Halfa and she had to hope the brunette hadn't thought up something crazy.

"Great." She pulled a half-hearted grin.

"To the pet store!" Mabel yelled as they raced down the rest of the stairs.

Dipper was at the bottom standing with crossed arms and a stern expression.

"We're going to get that proper pig medicine Dipper." His sister teased.

The boy shook his head in exasperation and glanced at Dani, "Can you make sure she gets the right medicine please?"

"People medicine right?" she smirked and he frowned in response and slapped a hand to his face.

"On second thought, I'll come too." He deadpanned, eliciting another chuckle from the ravenette. These people seemed to make her laugh a lot. It wasn't unwelcome.

As the three entered the Gift Shop, Mabel suddenly ran off to Mr Pines and whispered something in his ear. Dani noticed him smile before he briskly left.

"What was that about?" She asked as the bubbly girl returned to the two.

"Oh nothing." She grinned.

Dani wasn't buying it, but barely a moment later, Mr Pines came back with his hands behind his back and walked towards the three.

"Here ya go kid!" He announced and handed Dani something black.

As soon as she realised what it was, she felt her good eye lightly twitching.

"An eye patch?"

"Arr." He confirmed.

Dipper lightly snickered behind her and Mabel cracked into laughter. The Halfa whipped around to face the boy and put the patch on with an intimidating expression, daring him to laugh again.

"Let's go." She said with a satisfied smirk.

"Wait you're actually gonna wear that?"

"Yes."

"Go?" Mr Pines cut in, "Where are you guys off to?"

"Mabel needs medicine for Waddles, who I guess is sick...and we're going with her." Dipper responded.

"Mostly to make sure she doesn't buy the wrong one." Dani added.

The old man seemed amused, "Makes sense." He laughed, ruffling Mabel's hair, "But how are you planning to pay?"

"With some of my allowance?" Mabel said confused.

Mr Pines pulled a wad of cash out of nowhere.

"Here's 40 bucks. Spend $10 on the medicine and the other $30 on yourselves. I want you two to show Dani around town, don't take too long though, the pig needs you."

The three kids' eyes widened.

"Whoa, thanks Grunkle Stan! Being generous with money, that's a first?"

"No problem. Now, I have to actually open the gift shop, I'll see you kids later." He smiled only to register the last thing Dipper had said, "Wait hey!"

"Bye Grunkle Stan." The twins chorused and quickly ran out the room.

Dani was left stood with an awkward expression. She waved slightly before turning to quickly follow after them, "Yeah, bye Mr Pines."

And then they were off on their "quest" of sorts.