They poured over the stupid journal and settled on the couch with a blanket wrapped around their shoulders. Alice could feel the determination rolling off of Stan as their eyes flickered over the pages, mathematical equations mixed with the wanderlust writing of the man who had made it.

Alice started to get an understanding of the madman who had greeted them with a crossbow, even if the interaction had soured her already low opinion of the man.

Stanford Pines was brilliant in a way she hadn't expected.

"Looks like a blueprint," Alice murmured, her fingers trailing over intricately drawn lines that resembled the portal in the basement. "Unfinished blueprints."

Her eyes flickered over every detail, every mark, every diagram, all while Stan's hand held fast to hers. When she looked up at him, she couldn't identify the expression on his face, something she rarely felt when she looked at him.

"Unfinished," his voice was hoarse. "Unfinished is an understatement."

Alice shifted the journal fully in her lap, her brow furrowing as she quickly flipped through the pages to the back. Her heart lurched when she saw the neatly written cursive.

Continued in Journal Two.

"Two, there are two of these things?" Alice protested, a flicker of annoyance flaring in her chest. "How the hell are we supposed to figure the damn thing out with the other journal?"

Stan's hand tightened around hers.

"You're smart, princess," he muttered, his free hand moving to run through his hair. "You can figure it out without another journal."

"My degree is in biology," Alice replied, her voice coming out sharper than she'd meant it to. "Not whatever offset psychosis this is-"

She shifted, shutting the journal hard against her lap and tossing it next to her. Her hand moved to her temple, and she could already feel a headache coming on. Her words echoed through the cabin, and Stan nearly flinched next to her.

"I don't expect you to know any of this, alright?" he muttered again, his gaze flickering to the journal before returning to her. "I don't expect you to know any of this but I need you here-"

"I'm not going anywhere," Alice replied, shifting to face him, the couch sinking under her. "I told you, I've got your back, boss. But how... how are we supposed to do this?"

She gestured to the room around them, the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness settling onto her chest. No matter how badly he wanted to get his twin back, Alice wasn't sure how they were going to pull something as big as this off.

"I can find his research," Stan's voice cracked out, his head dropping into his free hand. "I can go through his things, and I can find his research and figure it out. If Ford can do it, I can too."

Alice sighed, resting her hand on his leg, her thumb running over her jeans as she tried to soothe the frustration forming in her chest. Her fingers itched for a cigarette, itched for something to do besides run through the pages of the journal.

She didn't understand half the science there, it wasn't her field, not by a long shot.

"I'm sorry-" Alice breathed, leaning carefully against his shoulder. "I just- I don't know what to do..."

Stan paused, glancing at her with a sigh and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, carefully pulling him against him. Alice leaned into his side, her arm wrapping around the base of his back and leaning her head against his.

"We'll figure it out, princess," he murmured, his words muffled as he pressed his lips into her hair. "We'll figure it out."

Alice let out a dry snort, her lips pressing together, "It's fucking insane... None of this should be happening."

"It shouldn't be," he muttered, squeezing her shoulder. "It shouldn't be happening, Princess. "

Alice propped her feet on the edge of the couch, pulling the blanket tighter around their shoulders. Had it only been a day since they were reading in the car on their way to Gravity Falls? Was that the moment it all went wrong?

Or was it when she let Stan go with Ford alone?

"How's your shoulder?" Alice asked, her voice softer as she curled into his side.

He was silent for a moment before he finally spoke.

"It hurts," he muttered back. "But I'll be fine."

Alice had to resist the urge to call him a liar. She knew better to think he was fine, not after he'd broken in her arms and collected himself like nothing happened. If he needed her to think that he was okay, she'd keep her mouth shut.

"I'll have to change the bandage soon," she continued, exhaustion creeping at the corners of her vision. "I don't want it to get infected."

"You can change it in a few hours," he muttered back, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Get some rest, princess. You need it just as much as I do."

"I'm not sleeping until you do," Alice said stubbornly, resting her head on his chest. "We're in this together, boss, and there's nothing that's going to change that."

Stan sighed, lifting his free hand to rub over his face, the other holding her tightly.

"I can't sleep," he muttered, letting his chin rest against the top of her head. "I have a feeling you can't either."

"No way," she agreed, blinking hard and fumbling for her pack of cigarettes.

She almost hissed as she saw how few were left, only five, and she didn't have the energy to go to the car. Neither of them had moved from the cabin, not to get their clothes, not to grab another pack of cigarettes, not even to make sure El Diablo was locked.

"How many do we have between us," he muttered, his eyes tracing over her hands.

"I got four," Alice replied, propping one of the filters between her lips. "After this one-"

Her hand slipped into her coat once more, her cold fingers fumbling for her metal lighter before she flicked it open. He pulled his box from his pocket, pulling one of the cigarettes free before he tucked it back in his pocket.

"I've got five, now." He muttered back, his free hand tracing patterns on her arm.

Alice lifted her lighter to her cigarette, then his, before she flicked it shut and shoved it back in her pocket.

"Nine should last us until we get some sleep," she muttered, drawing her blunt from her lips and releasing a cloud of smoke.

"God, when was the last time we slept?" He muttered, taking another long drag from his cigarette and keeping her as close as possible.

"Two days ago," Alice replied with a sigh, leaning her head against his. "Back in the motel in California."

Had it only been two days ago? It was hard to believe that only a few days before they had been trying to find a way to settle. The idea of settling somewhere and having a life together had been a beautiful one, and now, it felt like they would never get their hands on it.

"We fucked up somewhere, didn't we, boss?" Alice asked, her voice catching in her throat as she tried to take another drag. "We really fucked up."

"I think we did, princess," he muttered, taking another slow drag from the smoke.

They sat there in silence, smoke clouding above their head and the wind roaring outside the windows. It would have been peaceful if not for the sadness that settled over the entire cabin, the loss of the man who had built it, of the twin brother who disappeared. Stan sighed before he moved, leaning back further into the couch, his fingers tracing patterns over her arm.

"I'd give anything to go back to our life on the road," he muttered. Alice glanced up at him, finding his gaze on her. "Back before all this mess."

Alice let out a breath, something almost between a laugh and a sigh, "How far back?"

He lifted a hand, his forehead creased as he thought for a moment, his jaw clenching slightly as he thought.

"Maybe... our first job," his voice came out as a whisper, almost like he was afraid of his own words.

A real breath of laughter escaped Alice as she leaned against his shoulder once more. Her hand rested on her leg, the cigarette propped lazily between her fingers.

"I'd go back to when Atticus was letting you park in the driveway," she said softly, a small smile passing her lips. "Before he died and everything was..."

It had been innocent back then. Stan had flirted with her and she'd always have a retort ready for him. Atticus had always been ready to offer the driveway to Stan when he couldn't find a place to park his car for the night before he started offering the spare room.

"Easy..." Alice breathed, lifting her cigarette to her lips once more.

"Yeah," Stan muttered as he rubbed her arm. "Easy."