Challenge Gravity Falls: Here Comes the Sun - Angsty Settings Roulette

Gravity Falls: Here Comes the Sun

Written by: Nehru_Amidala (who else?)

Angsty Settings Roulette Challenge

Setting: Hospital

Fandom: Gravity Falls, shared universe with The Owl House

Ships: Ford Pines/Elizabeth Connor (OC), Stan Pines/Camila Noceda, Eda Clawthorne/Raine Whispers

(Obligatory) Voice Actor List: Elizabeth Connor- Natalie Portman, Ford Pines- JK Simmons, Stan Pines- Alex Hirsch, Eda Clawthorne- Wendy Malick, Raine Whispers- Avi Roque, Camilla Noceda- Elizabeth Grullon, Odalia Blight- Rachel Macfarlene

February 2015


By mid-February, the majority of the blizzards befalling the Pacific Northwest had quieted down, leaving a trail of slushy, salt-bathed streets that made driving passable, but as Gravity Falls had once been a logging town, downed branches were more of a risk. Occasionally, a howling gust of wind would send black, broken branches would whack at exterior windows.


Even with the large, cleared area around the Mystery Shack, the forests were still risky. What with the Bottomless Pit clinging to its ring of ice around the edge, and the power lines would snap like whips. From his laptop in the kitchen, Ford Pines kept one brown eye on the report regarding the influx of fairies into the abandoned Dusk 2 Dawn, and another one on his wife. Liz, being just shy of 35 weeks pregnant, was standing on her tiptoes, trying to reach the dried allspice kept the kitchen cabinet. He had to chuckle and stood to help her.


Liz Connor, last of the Tuatha De Dannan of the Boiling Isles, library assistant and museum docent, was not about to let a jar of dried herbs just out of reach deter her from making a halfway decent huevos rancheros. Just a little bit further, she strained on her tiptoes, her belly making it a bit difficult. Paperwhites sprouted from the crown of her head, continuing to do so as she pressed forward, only to sneeze… and knock over half the herb and spice jars!

Achoo!

Ford jumped in an instant, coat tails of his brown trench coat flying as he knelt, helping Liz from the floor. “Are you okay,” he asked worriedly, wrapping his arms around her and pressing kisses to her soft, black hair. Liz had to smile somewhat, “Yes, I am okay. The eggs are going to taste odd.” Ever since she and Ford had learned they were going to be parents; she could have sworn her husband’s anxiety level had gone through the roof. Considering he spent at least 3 decades dimension jumping just to keep ahead of a certain demonic triangle, she could understand. She was anxious about meeting their little Felicity.


Between the two of them, they were able to get the spilled herbs that didn’t land in the frying pan swept up and added some canned meat and diced bell peppers to the eggs and herbs to balance out the flavors. They stood next to each other getting lunch ready and into the oven, when the back door slammed open, and with it a gust of frigid air.


Camilla Noceda-Pines stamped her feet, knocking the snow off of her boots. Her glasses fogged up, and she sniffed the air, “Something smells delicious.” She pulled off her goose down parka, and it happened to land in Stan’s arms as he walked in, followed by the family’s pet plaidapus, Ritz. “Hey, what do I look like, a coat,” Stan complained as he pulled off his own parka and hung it on the coat rack next to the back door. It was broken out for tourists visiting the Mystery Shack once the weather got cold, but with the weather being so terrible, nobody would risk stopping by for a visit.


The veterinarian took over the cleanup as Liz sat down and leaned back. “My back is killing me. When you were pregnant with Luz, were the pains this bad?” Camilla sat down next to her younger sister-in-law and rubbed her back. “You are a bit younger than me when I had Luz, but late trimester pains are the worst. But, you’re a Tuatha De Danann, don’t you have incantations to help?” She cast a questioning look at her brother-in-law, and Ford looked away. “Saoirse’s journal is still partially translated, and even then we don’t know the results of the spells,” Ford responded as he walked over to tend to his wife. Camilla smiled and ruffled his silver hair playfully, before joining her husband.


Stan was rearranging the shelves, when Camilla joined him. From the kitchen, they could hear Ford and Liz verbally edit the report, sharing a quiet laugh. Stan gave a sad smile, and Camilla asked him, “What’s wrong, mi amor?” Stan gave a quiet sigh, “It’s Odalia, I think she’s back.” Camila could herself grow cold at the mention of the name. It was difficult to imagine Amity’s mother capable of carrying such a red-hot hatred for a young woman who through no fault of her own, witnessing the wholesale genocide of her dimension jumping people, all because the Tuatha De Danann had the power of the Titan etched into their blood via the tattoos ascribed to every child at birth. The cumhacht na réaltaí (power of the stars) it had been called, something that could not be easily be described by anyone in the Human Realm as activating such powers required a portion of the brain that was exclusive to denizens of the Boiling Isles. Ford and Stan were able to use spells, an odd aftereffect of their first encounter with Odalia and the Bill Cipher Society out in Topeka more than a year ago. The brain portion only applied to the Tutaha De Danann, the regular witches the Isles had to make due with an organ that grew on top of their hearts.


Stan gazed out the window, “She’s out there, I know it. Ritz was going crazy earlier, and I think a home birth for Liz might be best.” He kisses Camila’s tan brow, “Besides, I hear Luz and Amity haven’t met Liz yet.” He fixed his wife with a glance, and Camila rubbed her elbow. “Of course I want my Luz to meet you, all of you. But, with Elizabeth in the family way, and Odalia being out for blood, it’s just not the right time.” She started washing the dishes, and Stan started drying. “Trust me, toots- I know all about bad timing. Did I tell you how tense things were between me and Sixer when I opened the dimensional gate down in the sub-basement? Ford was on the brink of destroying Bill Cipher when I opened the rift and dragged him back here? He was absolutely livid! He threw himself into dismantling the damn thing, and only confided in us when it was almost too late. Better to have the tough conversations now before things get too far down the road.”


He gestured to where Ford and Liz were sitting, laughing at some private joke, blushing and holding hands. “See that? Ford and Liz had to wait for 2 years before they could properly,” Stan told her, and Camila nodded. She could certainly understand what Stan was saying, she had gone through much of the same when she had accompanied Luz back to the Boiling Isles to confront Emperor Belos.


She pulled the casserole out of the oven, and announced lunch was ready. Despite the odd herbs and spices used for seasoning, the egg casserole was declared delicious. As they discussed the weather, Ritz had gotten a bad case of the zoomies. Liz’s palisman was dashing from one end of the ceiling to the other, making Camila look up. “I have never seen a palisman do that before. Is he worried about Felicity arriving early?” Liz groaned as she rubbed her belly, she hoped not. That was the last thing they needed, Odalia openly attacking the Mystery Shack while Ford was helping her give birth in the bathroom. Camila could not use runes as well as her daughter, and Stan could not be in two places at once.


“Geez, I hope not,” Liz admitted as Ritz climbed down the wall and stared disdainfully at the food the humans were eating. “Your food’s in the freezer, Pal,” Stan grunted without looking up from his plate. Ritz, in an uncharacteristic move, crawled onto the table and started tipping the plates over. Liz grabbed him, “Ritz Pines, what has gotten into you?” Ritz squeaked and crawled on top of Liz’s shoulder and sat there like a stoll. Ford glanced out the window, sleet was starting to fall harder now. “Ritz isn’t getting ansty due to the weather, I think I’m going to get Liz checked out,” Ford told everyone. Liz managed to get to her feet, a migraine flashed and she audibly winced, gripping the back of her chair until her knuckles turned white.


“Liz?!”


“Ford might be right,” she managed to get out before her legs turned to jelly and she fell to the floor. Camila jumped into action, taking her pulse and directing Ford to put her to bed and call Dr. Stevenson, their doctor. “Stan, get the jeep ready. That baby’s going to be showing up early.” Stan nodded, and whistled for Ritz, “C’mon Ritz, let’s see if I can get the car deiced before Liz’s water breaks.” Ritz waddled towards Stan, and they braved the bitter cold to deice the car.


Camila pulled out her phone and sent a frantic text to Eda and Raine, “Get to Gravity Falls ASAP! Worried about Sixer, Liz and the baby.” She put the phone away, and went to go check on Liz. Ford and Elizabeth had settled into the main floor room that had been set up as their bedroom for the duration of Liz’s pregnancy. She knocked on the door, was everything okay? Liz looked a bit more pale than usual, and this was saying something as her normal skin tone was a match for Amity and Eda. She asked Ford how everything was going, and Ford told her, “Fetal heartbeat is where it should be, Liz’s water hasn’t broken (thank God!) but Liz’s migraines are getting more consistent. She’s taken a Tylenol, and I want her to rest before we head out.” Liz was blushing, and as someone who had spent the past 25 years without any sort of affection, having her loved ones care for her was a bit overwhelming.


“I feel like crawling into a hole and sleeping this off,” she announced. Ford pressed a kiss to her hands, “Your stuck with us, dear. We’re family.” Liz had to smile, one of the things she loved about being in Gravity Falls was having people who genuinely cared about her.


It was about now, Stan called out that the car was ready, “Ritz’s in the back, are you ready?” Liz nodded, slowly sitting up and managing to push herself into a standing position, Camila helping her slip on her parka. “Ford, text me as soon as you get to the hospital.” Ford nodded, he would. Taking Liz’s hand he whispered, “Let’s go.” Liz nodded, and Camila watched him bundle her into the car as the taillights turned on, the salted ice crunching under the wheels.


Camila stared after the car’s reflection disappeared from the window, the reflection from the headlights eventually fading from her sight. “Dios mio, please let nothing bad happen to them,” she prayed silently. It was about now she heard something hard on the floor upstairs from the attic. Panicking it was Odalia after all, she grabbed a stack of prepared glyphs and charged. She charged upstairs, and all there was to see was scattered papers blowing about, one of the windows was open, but the shape on the floor…


Oh no! Oh no! Without a moment’s hesitation, she cast a light glyph, which illuminated the entire room, she took a deep breath and looked around. There was nothing there, what was going on? “Calm down, Camila. Being anxious is not going to help, she told herself. She looked around once more, when she spotted something aimlessly scampering about. It was a bit of abomination goo hardly the size of a field mouse. It squeaked before exploding, and her eyes widened! Ford and Liz were driving into an ambush!


She frantically pulled out her cell phone to call Stan, but the power went out as the electric line came tumbling down into the parking lot, this was not good. She could hear Stan come flying up the stairs, calling out for her. “In here!” She was trembling when Stan found here, and he took her into his arms. “Look at me, Camila. This isn’t your fault, you were tricked.” He pulled her into a tight embrace, and could feel the tears on his collar. He gave her a kiss, “Grab your sandal, we’re heading down to the ER.” Camila nodded, and grabbed her sandal.

The road leading towards Gravity Falls Community Hospital happened to be one of the most dangerous at this time of year, it wove in and out of dense thickets and had a bad habit of freezing over. The gnomes liked using it for their all-night bowling parties, so certain sections of the road were constantly being paved over. Liz gazed at the sleet streaking by like miniature comets.


“Are you anxious?”


“Yeah, I just feel off.”


Ford pressed her free hand to her mouth, and it was then something large came into view! It growled and shuffled towards the car, causing Ford to turn the wheel all the way to the left, cranking it and slamming on the brakes to avoid the collision. The wheels squealed loudly against the icy tarmac, and Liz screamed in fright. The monster came at the car again, lunging wildly and forcing Liz from her seat, the car door bouncing behind them. Ford aggressively sped down the road, but he lost control and over the edge of the cliff it flew, landing him in a bramble patch, bruised and frightened. “Elizabeth!”


The climb up the slope was cold and slippery, he wished he had brought gloves with him. When he got the rise, he felt his heart and soul shatter into stardust, Liz lay in a small pool of blood, her arms and legs covered in gashses. Running over to her, Ford draped his trench coat over and made a tearful call to 911.


“911, what’s your emergency?”


“I’d…I’d like to report a car crash. I was driving my pregnant wife to the hospital and we were attack. She’s stable, but I’m worried about her and the baby…Please hurry!” Ford felt numb as he gave their location, and as he stayed on the line, began tearing what cloth he could to stave the bleeding, and it was now, to his horror, that he realized Elizabeth’s water had broken.


“Ford? Is everything okay,” Liz asked from under his jacket. Ford tearfully kissed her and held her hand, trying not to give into the feeling his whole life was crumbling out from under his feet and there was nothing he could do about it. In the distance, he could hear the wail of the ambulance, and he seemed oblivious to the swarm of paramedics and EMTS who raised Liz onto a gurney and carried her into the back and insisted he stay with her, and all the time, asking him what had happened exactly.


How could even begin to explain what had happened as his beloved wife, his partner in all things, slipped in and out of consciousness? The only sign of hope were the flowers growing and resprouting from her hair. As the ambulance drove away, Odalia Blight’s face twisted into a cruel smile. Soon, the Titan’s Blood from Elizabeth’s tattoos would be ready to harvest and both the Human Realm and the Boiling Isles would tremble at her rule. She sauntered off down into the ravine, not knowing that she was followed.

=




Stan and Camila had decamped in the emergency room’s waiting area hoping for some shred of good news, and had been wondering where on Earth Ford and Liz were. “Come on, come on, pick up Sixer. I need to hear Liz’s voice,” Stan whispered frantically as he paced back and forth. Camila was worried, she had not heard back from Raine or Eda. She was seriously considering texting Luz and Amity when the doors suddenly burst open, Ford racing beside the gurney, and Liz pale and shivering.


They got up immediately as the doctors and nurses swarmed the gurney, asking questions and Ford raising his voice, insisting he help. The doctors whisked his wife away and told him he needed to wait. “Liz,” Ford whispered tearfully as the doors closed silently. He knelt to the floor, crying. “It’s not fair, what happened to us?” Stan hugged his brother. “Sixer, look at me. Liz is going to be fine, and so is Felicity. She’s a Pines, we don’t give up.” Camila joined in the hug. “Where’s Ritz?”


In all the confusion, Ritz had been left behind in the wreckage and was squeaking sadly, when Eda found him. “Hey there, Ritz. I know, your mom got hurt pretty badly. Don’t you worry, Raine and I are going to deal with her.” She glanced over to where Raine was speaking to his fox palisman. Raine glanced down at the tracks, Odalia was gloating in her premature victory. He fiddled with the memory erasing gun, typing in Odalia’s name. He had failed Saoirse, but he would not fail Elizabeth or Felicity. “I have a lead on her trail,” they called over their shoulder. Eda nodded and scooped Ritz up, time for some payback. She transformed into her harpy form and carried Raine and Ritz down to the lower ground.


Back at the hospital, it was touch or go for awhile, and to Ford’s frustration, nobody was telling him anything. What was the condition of his wife and daughter? He had been pacing back and forth, whispering prayers in Hebrew and Gaelic, dealing with the angst as best he could. Camila had tried to get her brother-in-law to rest, but he had shouted at her, “How can I rest not knowing if my family is going to pull through?” It was the uncertainty in Ford’s voice that threw Stan for a loop.


“I know what that’s like,” he told his brother as they strolled down on the hallways. “After you went through the portal, I was at a loss. I couldn’t sleep for weeks. I would roam the woods with a flashlight at 2 in the morning, hoping you were still there. But, you weren’t and I felt like I was in a fog, nowhere to go. I got so depressed I stayed inside the house, looking for clues until I had eaten the rest of your food and had no money to speak of. So, I headed into town and the rest is history, as they say. I guess what I’m getting at is that you’re not alone. You still have me and Camila.” He wiped away a tear and gave his twin brother a hug.


Ford returned to the waiting room, where Camila had a hot cup of tea waiting from the hospital cafeteria. The endless hours were mindnumbing, no news coming out of the operating room. Sometime around 9 pm, all three adults had fallen asleep when a nurse walked over and shook Ford’s shoulder, “Dr. Pines?” Ford woke up at once.


“What…what happened?”


“Your daughter is here!”


Ford collapsed to the floor, “Felicity is here? Is she in the NICU?” The doctor nodded, and motioned for Ford to follow her. He felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his soul, Felicity was safe. “How is my wife doing,” he asked anxiously. The doctor said she had taken some nasty injuries in the crash, but surgery was just finishing up and she would be moved to the delivery wing in about half an hour or so. Ford wiped away a tear, both his girls were safe.


The NICU was filled with parents, nurses and doctors tending to babies, and Ford watched as he walked, some of the little ones were hardly bigger that Ritz on bath day. Eventually, they made their way to an open incubator, where a little pink bundle had been swaddled. The pink knit cap covered most of the thick, shiny black hair and miniature sprouts. Her pink mouth was working the pacifier something fierce, and her little legs would kick every now and then. Ford sat down and was handed his daughter. “Hello there, Felicity, I’m your dad.” Craddled gently, Felicity turned towards the voice and opened her eyes, a soft brown like his. He eased his index finger into her tiny hand, and to his delight, she had six fingers like he had. He asked why she was back in the NICU when he saw the monitor on her left hand.


“She had elevated levels of adrenaline, so we wanted to monitor her for a while. For someone her size, she’s healthy. Organs are fully formed, and she came out howling,” the head nurse informed him. “Can I take her with me to see my wife,” he asked hopefully. The nurse nodded, of course.


Back in the private room, Elizabeth Connor-Pines woke up and groaned. The harshly bright lights blinded her, and her stomach felt like it had been flattened by a steam roller. “Ugh, what happened,” she slurred as she slowly woke up. Glancing around, she spotted her husband sound asleep on a chair next to her bed, and on the other side was baby Felicity, also asleep. Ford woke up, and smiled at Liz, “How do you feel?”


“Like I got run over by a cement truck.” She eased herself up as Ford sat on the bed next to her, giving her a kiss. Felicity woke up and started to fuss, so Liz scooped up her daughter to hold her for the first time. Never in her life had she felt complete until now, her husband and daughter with her. Felicity opened her eyes and regarded her mother with a coo. Liz kissed the downy forehead before letting the little one get in a good meal.

Stan and Camila spent all night in the chairs, and nothing would wake them. It was a little before 6 am when Ford came to get them. He had brought coffee and bagels. Camila thanked him and asked about Liz and Felicity, were they okay?


Ford’s smile was bright, “Come on back and see for yourselves.” They followed him into a well lit, airy room. Liz was doing a crossword puzzle, and her face lit up when she saw them. “Camila, Stan,” she chirped. Camila gave Liz a hug and Stan gave his brother an affectionate noogie.


Felicity was awake and gazed at her aunt and uncle in wonder. She cooed and yawned before settling down for another nap. Stan held her for a minute, “Hey there, pumpkin. I’m your Uncle Stan, and once you start crawling, I’m going to teach you all there is about the art of the con.” Ford shot his brother a look, but Stan waved it away, “Hopefully, you take after your cousin Mabel and your mom more than you do your stick-in-the-mud dad.” Ford raised a vocal protest, but felt Liz’s hand on his. “Let Stan have some fun, it’s going to be okay.” Letting out a sigh, Ford nodded and let his brother entertain his new niece.


Camila excused herself, she had to make a phone call, “Hola? Luz, can you put Amity on for a minute? There… there are some people I really want the two of you to meet.” Amity’s excited voice echoed on the other end, who did Camila want them to meet? Camilla gave them the address for the Mystery Shack, and to stop by in a couple of days.


That taken care of, she smiled at Stan, who knew what Camila had been up to. “Does Luz like babies,” he asked. Camila nodded, “Don’t worry about that, Felcity is going to have two teenage girls fawning over her, free babysitting!” An orderly poked his head in and said Camila and Stan had to leave, but they could come back at 9:00, when visiting hours started. They waved good bye to the other couple, and made the drive back to the Mystery Shack.


Two days later, Valentine’s Day 2015, Felicity Saoirse Connor-Pines came home with her mommy and daddy. Her basinet had been set up, and the surfeit of baby clothes Mabel had knitted had been unpacked and ready to go. Liz smiled when her feet felt the front porch, it was nice to be home. Ford draped an arm around her, as he opened the door. Ritz happily waddled over to the baby carrier, tail thumping the floor. Kneeling, Liz explained Felicity was a baby, and he had to protect her also. Once Felicity was placed in the bassinet in the breakfast nook, Ritz ambled over and fell asleep next to the baby.


Camila took a photo, when there was a knock on the door. Wondering who it could be, Stan opened the door and to his surprise, it was a young Latina woman with short, curly hair wearing a purple down jacket and black boots, and standing with her was a cotton-candy haired girl of roughly the same age with overalls and they both had palismans with them. Luz was nervous, but she asked, “Are you Stanley Pines?”


“I am, and you are?”


“I am Luz Nocdea, your step-daughter, and this is my girlfriend, Amity Blight. Mom said something about your brother marrying Amity’s distant cousin,” Luz introduced, before Stan pulled her and Lumity into a tight bear hug. “Let me give you a grand tour of the Mystery Shack.” Laughing, the girls went along with the tour. Ford was in the kitchen making blueberry pancakes and turkey bacon as Camila and Elizabeth chatted quietly. They had posted an announcement on the Mystery Shack’s website announcing Felicity’s birth, when they heard Stan’s voice carry into the room. “Yeah, that’s about it. Now Luz, I don’t think you’ve met your Tio Ford and your Tia Elizabeth and baby Felicity…” Luz and Amity went pale from the shock.


Amity was the first to recover, she was more surprised by the young woman holding the newborn who was a dead ringer for Emira. Unlike Emira, the woman was softer, hair black and were those flowers sprouting from her head? “How are you able to do that,” she asked finally as she and Luz sat down, chatting happily away.


All was right with the world, and any questions asked could be answered later.