Warnings: Blood and vomit
I woke up at the crack of dawn, ignoring how my stomach growled as I made my way back into the gift shop. I ignored William's snores as I scrubbed the floor clean then re-drew the circle. I replaced the candles and started saying the summoning spell again, once again watching as it illuminated, the candles lighting themselves, but no demon made his appearance. I continued to repeat the spell for nearly ten minutes before a knock could be heard on my door. I sighed, blowing out the candles before getting up to answer the door. I opened up, being met with Mabel and Persephone.
"Erm... hi?" I greeted, raising a brow. "Hey! How are you holding up?" Mabel asked, shifting the car seat to her other hand. "Fine. What are you doing here, Mable?" I asked, frowning as I looked at the baby. "Well, I just thought that maybe a day with the baby would calm you down and get your mind off of Bill?" She said, giving me an uncertain smile. "Don't lie to me, Mable." I deadpanned, my twin, giving another sigh. "Fine. Pacifica and Perseus are having a hard time right now, so I want to be there for them, but I can't do that with a baby on my hip." She said, giving me a guilty look. I rolled my eyes and took Persephone's car seat as well as her diaper bag.
"Thanks, Dipper. You're awesome." She said, smiling at me as she turned and walked away. I looked down at my god-daughter, being reminded of the time Bill had rocked her in an attempt to let me sleep. I took a breath as I brought her to the gift shop, setting her and the diaper bag down on the ground near me as I started again with the encantation. I continued until the baby got fussy which, admittedly, wasn't very long. I looked at her, sighing as I took her out of the seat and gently rocked her.
"Shh~ It's okay, I know. You're probably hungry, hm?" I said, gently bouncing her as I headed to the kitchen to make her a bottle. Once made, I went upstairs and went into the nursery, sitting in the rocking chair as I fed her. I looked around, frowning as I was once again reminded of who I went shopping to get all this stuff with. I looked down at the child in my arms, pausing with my rocking. "God- I'm holding a fucking baby while grieving for Bill," I muttered to Persephone. "I am such a hopeless, lovesick idiot." I sighed, letting my head fall back against the back of the rocking chair as I resumed rocking the baby. I let her eat a bit more before lifting her up and beginning to burp her. I transitioned between feeding and burping the child until she was done eating, getting up to change her diaper before putting her down for a nap.
I made my way back downstairs, checking the time. It was only 9 am, but that was late enough to start waking people up. "William! Get up. Make yourself useful. You're not going to freeload in my house as long as your brother is missing." I said, taking his pillow and hitting him in the stomach with it. Will shot up and looked around, glaring at me. "Just call your uncles and let me sleep!" He snapped, laying back down and turning away from me. "Fine. Maybe I will." I snapped back, walking back upstairs to get my phone. I was about to dial uncle Ford's number when I paused, shaking my head. He would be outraged if he found out about Bill and I; so I put the phone in my pocket and decided to head down to Ford's office to find some sort of clue- something that might help me get him back. Though, as I looked through everything, nothing seemed like it would help at all.
After nearly an hour of searching through Ford's studies, Persephone began to cry, so I made my way upstairs to get her. Though, when I entered the room, Perseus was sitting on his bed, reading one of his books. "Persy? What are you doing here? I thought you and Pacifica were having a rough day?" I asked, the boy immediately looking up. "We were, but then she yelled at me so I came here." He said, starting to tear up. I frowned, going to pick up the baby before sitting beside the boy. "Do you know why she yelled?" I asked gently as I bounced Persephone in my arms, trying to calm her down. "I was rambling again to try and get my mind off of mom and dad, and I guessed I rambled too much because I only made her cry harder and then she told me to stop-" The boy took a shaky breath, sniffling as he leaned against me. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders as he started to cry, obviously upset about his older sister yelling at him.
"Hey, I know. I know it's upsetting, but you're both upset right now. She's having a hard time with your mom and dad too, so maybe just stay here for tonight? Let her have some space?" I suggested, ruffling the kid's hair. Perseus sniffled and gave me a small smile, nodding. "Okay... but can I go see Bill?" He asked, looking up at me hopefully. I bit my lip, willing away tears as I shook my head. "Sorry, buddy, but Bill is gone. He was taken by some demons yesterday." I said, making Perseus frown. "Well, when will he be back?" He questioned, smiling. "I don't know if he ever will be back, Persy. That's why I've got to figure out how exactly to get him back." I said honestly, giving the boy a small smile as I continued to try and calm Perseus down.
"But when Bill gets back, you'll let me know, right?" The boy asked cheerfully, only serving to upset me even more. "Sure, buddy. If he comes back, you'll be the first one to know." I agreed. "Now! Let's go get you some breakfast, hm? I doubt you've eaten lately." I said, standing up. I finally calmed Persephone down, bouncing her as I led Perseus down into the kitchen, making a bottle for the baby before getting some bread out so I could make Perseus some breakfast, or rather, lunch. It was nearly 10:30 am by now. He sat down, awaiting his food.
I gave Persephone her bottle, making sure it stayed in her mouth by holding it with my chin as I got some peanut butter, jam and bread out, doing my best to make a PB&J one-handed. Once the sandwich was made I put it on a plate and put it on the table in front of Perseus, the boy giving me a grateful smile as he dug into his food. I sat down in one of the chairs, taking the bottle away from Persephone so that I could burp her. Once that was done I continued to feed her. "So... how did you even get here?" I asked, the boy frowning. "I hitch-hiked." He said, giving me a nervous smile. "You what?" I asked incredulously. "Hitch-hiked..." He muttered, prompting me to sigh and shake my head. "Listen, Persy, you're too young to be doing that, okay? If you needed a ride you could have called. I don't care if you sneak out and need me to pick you up at 3 am- call me and I'll be there as soon as I can." I said, Perseus giving me a small nod. "Good. Now don't ever hitch-hike again, or no treats at all while you're here for a month." I warned. "you can't do that!" He snapped.
"I can, and I will because if you're going to get into some random strangers car with the chance that you get murdered, then you can go without sugar for a while," I said, the boy thinking for a moment. "Fine, I guess that makes sense." He sighed, defeated as he ate his sandwich. "Good. And don't sneak out, either, because I doubt Pacifica will let you skip school over a hangover with the number of parties she's been to." I scoffed, once again taking the bottle away from Persephone so that I could burp her. "Would you let me stay home if I had a hangover?" He asked. "Oh, god no. If you're dumb enough to go to a party on a school night then you can deal with the pain of a hangover. But you're, like, eight so you shouldn't be drinking at all anyway." I warned, the boy nodding in response and taking another bite of his sandwich. I fed Persephone the rest of her lunch before getting up to go change her, getting her changed into some new clothes as well just in case Mable hadn't done that first thing this morning after she had gotten up.
However, that's when she started crying. I frowned, picking her back up and gently rocking her, once again trying to calm her down. "I just fed you, what's wrong?" I questioned aloud, patting her bottom as I bounced her a little. "Do you need to burp again or something?" I muttered, adjusting her to be able to burp her. After 10 minutes of trying to burp her, she hadn't and she was still crying. I sighed, repositioning her in my arms again as I returned to rocking her. She just continued crying, kicking her little legs and flailing her arms. "Are you gassy or something?" I asked, rubbing her stomach with my free hand as I headed downstairs to check on Perseus. "Can I have some fruit?" He immediately asked once I got into view. "I mean if I have any," I said, going over to the fridge.
Thankfully, I had some strawberries, so I took them out of the fridge and cleaned them, still shushing Persephone. I cut off all the stems and leaves before putting them all on a plate and giving them to Perseus. "There you go," I said, taking his empty plate and putting it in the sink. "William! Get your arse up before I drag it off my couch!" I snapped, startling him awake. "I'm up! God-" William grumbled the rest under his breath, but I knew it was probably just a bunch of profanities against me. I looked at the baby in my arms who was still screaming, but I still didn't know why. I could figure out what a weird smoke spirit in the forest is but I couldn't figure out why a tiny human was sobbing about. "Jeez- how do single mothers and fathers do this all the time?" I muttered, still trying to calm her down.
I tried changing her again, offered her another bottle, tried burping her again, took her temperature to see if she was sick, but none of it worked. After nearly an hour she finally calmed down, falling asleep in my arms like she hadn't just been screaming. "Is that it? You were tired?" I asked, sighing as I went to put her in her crib. Once she was down, I left the room and returned to the kitchen, taking the second empty plate Persy left me as I brought it to the sink, running some water so I could wash some dishes. Perseus was in the sitting room, reading a book while William watched television. Once the dishes had been cleaned dried and put away, I returned to Ford's old office again to try and find something to help.
I looked towards the giant portal, debating if I should try and use that instead... or I could sleep deprive myself and wait to see if Periculosis would open another portal to fetch me, or I could find my own way to open one of their portals. I could also try and stab myself with forks? Just to see if it would make Bill show up as Bipper? Or I could call my uncle Ford and explain everything that has been going on... maybe not the last one, but still, I had to figure out some sort of way to get Bill home. I sat down on top of the desk, pondering what I was going to do. I reviewed my options, really not liking them at the moment.
1. Continue to chant the ritual until it works (if at all)
2. Blindly search for some sort of new way to open a portal or spell to get Bill back
3. Call uncle Ford, explain what happened and get his guidance
I sighed, rubbing my eyes with my hands as I heard Persephone start crying again, letting me know that she was awake. I slid myself off the desk and made my way upstairs, picker her up out of her crib. "Damn it... You've got a fever." I muttered, placing the back of my hand against her forehead. Just to be sure, I took her temperature with a thermometer. Unfortunately, that only confirmed that the poor kid was sick. "Poor thing... how did this happen?" I wondered, gently bouncing her. It was uncommon for children this young to get sick, and potentially dangerous, so I went to get my phone and called Mabel. "Hey! What was the name of the doctor that delivered Persephone?" I asked as soon as my sister picked up. "Uh... Doctor Mannings, why?" She asked. "Well, if you're gonna dump a baby on me and not even notice that the eight-year-old is missing, then I'd like to know their doctor's name because I'm keeping them for a while." "Wait, Perseus is with you? I didn't even know he left!" She said, panicked.
"Exactly," I said, frowning. I hung up, shoving it into my pocket as I grabbed the thermometer and re-took Persephone's temperature, hoping maybe that I was wrong about her being sick, but unfortunately, I wasn't. I continued to try and calm her down as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called the hospital. "Hello, Gravity falls hospital. My name is Andrea, how can I help you?" The nurse said cheerily, even though she was probably worked to the bone and exhausted. "Yes, hi, I'm Dipper Pines. I'd like to speak to Doctor Mannings about my god-children." I said. There was a pause and the sound of tapping before the nurse spoke again. "Oooookay- I can transfer you to his line. Please hold." She said. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the transfer. "Hello?" "Yeah, hi. This is Dipper Pines calling about Persephone Northwest." I said.
"Oh, yes, the baby that was born a few days ago, right? What seems to be the problem?" The doctor asked. "Yes, she has a fever," I said. "Okay, what's her temperature?" "99.5" I responded. "Jesus- Okay. The good news is you don't have to bring her in just yet. The bad news is that an infant with a fever at that temperature, let alone at all, is very dangerous." Doctor Mannings said. "Alright, so what do I do?" I asked. "Well, give her a lukewarm bath, make sure she's wearing light clothing and make sure she stays hydrated. Unfortunately, she's too young for medication, but if her fever persists longer than 12 hours then you can bring her in and I'll get her an IV." The doctor reassured. "Alright, thanks..." I muttered, hanging up as I looked down at the baby in my arms. I got a fresh diaper out for her. "M'kay, Let's get you in a bath," I said as I made my way downstairs, making sure the sink was completely clean.
Perseus walked into the kitchen, giggling and laughing as he spoke with William. "Persy, can you go and get me one of the lighter onesies for your sister and a towel? She has a fever." I called, the boy groaning. "Fine..." He muttered, running upstairs. William looked at me. "Really? Why are you making the kid do it?" He asked, frowning. "Really, Will? I'm about to give a screaming newborn a bath because she's sick and you ask me why I asked Perseus to help with his younger sister?" I asked, bewildered. "He's just a kid, why make him do all the work?" Will asked. I just blinked, shaking my head before sighing and nodding. "Okay. You get to talk when you help me find a way to get your brother back." I said, Will, glaring at me. "Fine." was all he said, walking off.
I shook my head again and turned back to the crying baby. I turned on the tap and filling the sink with lukewarm water. I got her undressed and gently put her in the sink, using my hand to scoop water over her. "There, hopefully, this helps," I muttered. After only five minutes, she slowly stopped crying, relaxing a little and opening her eyes. "Hey there, kiddo. How do you feel now?" I asked as if she could understand. She responded with nothing but a slow blink, moving her arms a little. I smiled a little, continuing to scoop up more water onto her. "Is she feeling any better?" Perseus asked as he walked over with a onesie and a towel, just as I had asked. "Thank you, Persy, and I don't know yet. We have to let her bathe a little longer." I said, the boy nodding a little. I bathed her for another ten minutes or so before taking her temperature again. Her temp hadn't really gone down, but I didn't want to somehow give her cold so I took her out of the sink and wrapped her in the towel Perseus got me.
I made sure she was nice and dry before I got her dressed and into a new diaper and onesie. Thankfully, she didn't cry, so I think that meant she was feeling better. "Thanks for your help, buddy. You can go play now." I said, flashing the boy a grateful smile. Perseus nodded and rushed upstairs, grinning. I just chuckled and made a bottle for Persephone. I sat down at the table and fed it to her, once again repeating the cycle. She soon began to drift off to sleep, so I changed her diaper and brought her upstairs to put her down for a nap, making sure Perseus knew how to stay quiet. I returned to the kitchen and sat at the table, making up my mind as I picked up the phone and called my uncle Ford.
"Hello?" Came his uncertain voice from the other end of the line. "Hi, uh... I need to ask a question." I said hesitantly. "Oh, Dipper! Hello, what's your question?" Ford asked. "Well... is there any way to get a dream demon to appear without their specific ritual?" I asked, wincing as Ford's tone went from light-hearted to stern. "Dipper. Do not tell me you tried to summon Bill." He said. "Well, uh, yeah... about that-" "Mason!" Ford scolded. "Stop! I didn't summon him! He was just sent here to fix me, and then he moved in, then he became my best friend and I-" I paused, biting my lip as I tried not to cry. "Then they took him away and he... he told me he loved me, but the problem is I'm in love with the damn demon too and I've been burning the ritual circle into the gift shop floor trying to get him back because his younger brother is sleeping on my couch!" I ranted, my bottom lip trembling at this point.
Ford was quiet for a long moment before he sighed. "Okay. Alright, I think I know how to fix this. Go down into my old lab. Under one of the floorboards near the table has a spare journal filled with everything that you'd need to summon a demon either unwillingly, or by forcefully pulling them through a portal. I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a shot, just... be careful. Does anyone else know?" He asked. "Yeah... everyone in gravity falls." "HOW?" "'Cifica had a party and Bill and I got into a fight, we ran from the police, they had us confess and then let us go," I explained, chuckling at my uncle's heavy sigh. "And here I thought you were going to be the boring one. Guess I was wrong..." He sighed. "Anyways, I love ya, kid. Go get your, uh- boyfriend? It doesn't matter, just go get Bill back." Ford told me, making me laugh. "Okay, will do, uncle Ford. Love you, see you next time you visit." I said, my uncle, hanging up on me afterwards.
As soon as I was off the phone I ran downstairs and into the lab, ripping up the floorboards and cheering in triumph once I found the journal. I rushed back upstairs and into the gift shop, ignoring the look of shock on William's face as he saw the journal. I dropped to my knees in front of the already drawn circle as I flipped open the book, reading the first page. I flipped through the journal once more, finally falling upon the right page. The enchantment was different, but the circle was the same. I began reciting it, a tingling sensation running through my body as I continued on, the tingling turning into pain as I read. Once I was done reciting it, the circle glowed and the candles lit... but it also hurt, so badly that I started throwing up blood, my screams echoing throughout the house. The circle finally stopped glowing only two minutes later, but to me, it felt like an eternity.
I gripped my side as tears ran down my cheeks, gasping for air as the bile in my throat finally dissipated once more. My side felt like it had split again but to my dismay when I looked up, there was no sign of Bill. I almost sobbed from just that, but I tried composing myself as my body ached. I turned to look towards the doorway, both William and Perseus standing there worriedly. "It's okay, I'm fine," I promised, giving them a small smile. They just nodded and back away as I sat back on my heels and blew out the candles. Getting Bill back was going to be absolute hell. I got up off of the floor, gripping my side as I headed upstairs to check on Persephone. Somehow, she was still asleep, so I checked that she was still breathing and not overheating. She seemed fine, so I left the room and headed to Bill's, throwing myself onto his bed.
The rest of my day was exhausting. I took care of both Perseus and Persephone, as well as tried to get Bill back with the regular ritual. My body was too exhausted to attempt the stronger ritual at the moment. It was nearly 3 am before I finally collapsed onto Bill's bed, passing out almost immediately after my head hit the pillow.