After their initial shock at hearing Gaston's footsteps, Gideon and Geneva acted quickly. Geneva shooed Gideon away, and he ducked behind the dressing screen again, nearly running into Dipper. Dipper shot him a questioning look, but Gideon shook his head and motioned for Dipper to stay still. Thankfully, Dipper had managed to stay quiet for Gideon's entire conversation with Geneva; Gideon didn't want him to make any sound now.

The boys sat quietly behind the dressing screen, listening as Gaston knocked on the door. Gideon heard Geneva lie back down on her bed. "Come in," she said.

The door opened. "Geneva?" said Gaston. "The servants told me you had a headache again. Are you all right?"

"I'm feeling a bit better," Geneva said. Her voice was nervous; Gideon winced at how obvious it was that she was hiding something. "Gaston, darling, can I. . . ask you something?"

The bed shifted as Gaston sat down. "Yes?"

"Do you. . ." Geneva hesitated. "Do you really support Bill?"

Gideon held his breath. Geneva was rarely this forward. What would Gaston say?

There was a moment of silence. "Now, darling," Gaston said, "you know our family has supported Bill for generations."

"Yes," Geneva said, "but do you support him? If he — if he had to kill people to get what he wanted, would you support that?"

More silence. "I don't know if we have a choice, at this point," Gaston admitted. "If we tried to get in the way, our servants—" He paused, then spoke bitterly. "His servants would throw us out of the Manor."

"I'm sure they would." Geneva's voice grew quiet and tender. "But ignore that. Just tell me how you really feel about Bill. What if he went after Gideon? What if he tried to — to—"

She didn't finish her sentence, but Gaston seemed to know what she was talking about. "Now where have you heard that?" he said sharply. "Have you been talking to Stanford?"

"No, I just — heard a rumor," Geneva said.

Gaston breathed deeply. "Well," he said, "whatever you heard, it's wrong. Gideon doesn't have to die, and neither do the other Symbols. They're helping Bill get home, and once this is all over, he'll leave us be. We can get Gideon back, and—"

"That's a lie!"

Gideon jumped. What—? He looked up and saw Dipper on his feet, his fists clenched. Gideon grabbed his hand and tried to tug him back down, but it was too late.

"What was that?" Gaston asked.

"I — I don't know." Geneva sounded startled. She hadn't known that Dipper was here.

Gideon shook his head frantically at Dipper, but Dipper wasn't looking. He stepped out from behind the dressing screen. "That's a lie," he repeated. "Bill is trying to kill my sister, and he's going to try to kill the rest of the Symbols, too! Including your son!"

"Who are you?" Gaston demanded. "What are you doing in here?"

Gideon grimaced and got to his feet. Thanks, Dipper, this was exactly how I wanted my father to find out about us. Gideon stepped out and stood next to Dipper. "Father," he said, keeping his voice controlled, "this is Dipper Pines. He's helping me."

Gaston stared at Gideon in surprise, but a second later he composed his expression into a neutral, lofty look. "I thought you were hiding at the Mystery Museum," he said haughtily.

"I was," Gideon said. He refused to rise to the bait. "But I've come back to get my amulet. I need it to save Mabel Pines."

Gaston raised an orgulous eyebrow. "Mabel Pines? The peasant girl you ran away to see?"

"I ran away to tell the Pines about Lincoln," Gideon said, "but yes, also to see Mabel. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that she'll die if we don't help her."

"You're not going to get in the way," Dipper said, glaring at Gaston.

Gideon nudged Dipper to shut him up. "We're not trying to make any more enemies, Dipper. We're trying to get their help."

"My help?" Gaston repeated. "You want me to help you after you ran away, gave up one of our biggest secrets, and hid with our enemies?"

"Listen, buddy," Dipper said. "Gideon did the right thing. And Bill already punished him with nightmares for it, so he doesn't need any flak from you."

Gaston recoiled at being called "buddy" by a thirteen-year-old. "You dare speak to me that way?"

"Yeah, I dare! You called my sister a peasant!"

Gaston called almost everyone a peasant, but Gideon didn't like hearing the term used for his friend. "Mabel is innocent, Father," Gideon said, trying to stay calm. "She doesn't deserve to die. And her death would seal the rest of our deaths, too. Bill needs all ten Symbols to die before he can be free, and he will probably kill everyone else as soon as he has the power to do so. If you want to live, then you need to help me rescue Mabel."

Gideon knew Gaston probably didn't care enough to stop Bill from destroying the entire multiverse — which is what would happen if Bill escaped his prison. But did Gaston care enough about his own life to stop the demon?

Gaston hesitated, glaring at Gideon and Dipper as he thought.

Geneva spoke up in the silence. "I believe him, dear," she said. "Bill doesn't seem to care about us, even though the Northwests have been serving him for generations. I don't think he'll care whether we live or die."

Gaston glanced at her, then shook his head. "Bill has given us multiple promises of power and glory over the years. And now he's giving us the honor of hosting him while he guides the township home. I don't much like the way the servants are acting, it's true, but we must stay strong."

Dipper opened his mouth to yell at Gaston, but Gideon stomped on Dipper's foot to stop him. "Father," Gideon said, "I know the promises Bill has made, but once he's free—"

"No," said Geneva.

Gideon stopped and looked at her. She was staring intently at Gaston, and she drew herself up taller than Gideon had ever seen her. "No, Gaston, we are not acting strong. We're acting like cowards, letting Bill push us around. I'm acting like—" Her voice broke. "I've been a coward since I married you. I've sat aside and done nothing while you've abused our son and driven away our daughter." Her eyes flickered to Gideon, then back to Gaston. "Nothing will make up for that, I know. But I will not stand aside and let Bill hurt my son even more. I will help Gideon get his amulet, and you will not stop me."

There was silence as Gideon, Dipper, and Gaston all stared at Geneva in shock. "Mother," said Gideon softly. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

Geneva folded her arms and glared at Gaston. "Is that understood?"

Gaston recovered and glared right back. "You do not speak to me that way," he said.

Geneva wilted under that glare, but she managed to say, "I will speak to you in whatever way I choose. Now, where is Gideon's amulet?"

"And my grunkles," Dipper said. "We're here to rescue Ford and Lee, too."

"But the amulet first," Gideon said, wishing that Dipper hadn't said anything about Ford and Lee. They still didn't know if Gaston was willing to help them.

Gaston looked at each of them in turn, his face purple with suppressed rage. Geneva put a gentle hand on Gaston's arm. "Please, dear," she said, her voice soft once again. "Helping Gideon is the right thing."

It seemed as if Gaston wanted to push her hand away, but he didn't. "If we give him the amulet, Geneva, then he'll run away with it. He'll never come back."

"Good," Geneva said firmly. Gideon could see tears in her eyes. "Good. I would miss him terribly, but you shouldn't have him in your power ever again."

Gaston glared at her, but she met his gaze with a glare of her own. Gideon was in shock — his mother was never this stubborn. Since he was a child, he'd watched Geneva submit to her husband with quiet cowardice. Grace had hated that, and Gideon had overheard some of their fights.

If only Grace could see her mother now.

The room fell into a tense silence as Gaston thought. Gideon watched hopefully as the color drained from Gaston's face, returning to a calm expression. "You say this Mabel is going to die?" Gaston said, trying to sound disinterested.

"Yes," Dipper said quietly. "I don't know how long she has left. I. . . I can't lose my sister, sir."

Gideon glanced at him, grateful that he was being more respectful now. No one said anything for a moment.

Then, "Fine," Gaston said. "Fine. I will tell you where your amulet is. Or, I'll tell you where I saw it last. Someone may have moved it without telling me. But that's it. I won't have anything else to do with this, and I won't bail you out if the servants catch you. Understood?"

Gideon nodded. That was better than he'd dared to hope for. "Thank you, Father."

"What about my grunkles?" said Dipper. "Will you tell us where they are?"

"I know where they are," Geneva said. "I'll help you. I don't. . . I don't think it's wise to look for Lincoln, however. Bill isn't going to give him up."

Dipper folded his arms. "I'm here to rescue both of them," he said stubbornly.

"Gideon, your amulet is in the safe in the game room. The key is on my key ring." Gaston's eyes narrowed. "Don't let me see you sneaking around, or I may just turn you into the servants myself."

And with that, he turned and swept from the room, closing the door firmly behind him.

Dipper watched him go with wide eyes. "Wow," he said. "No wonder you ran away."

"You don't know the half of it," Gideon said. And he didn't want Dipper to know, either. He wondered how much the boy had inferred about Gideon's situation from what Geneva had said to Gaston. Hopefully not much.

Dipper glanced up at Geneva. "Why did you marry that guy?" he asked bluntly.

Gideon winced, and Geneva grimaced. "It was an arranged marriage," she said. Then she turned a wistful gaze on the door. "But I loved him, once."

"Dipper," said Gideon, "why don't you go check on our friends? Tell them that we know where the amulet is, and that we should have it soon. I want to talk to my mother alone."

Dipper nodded and went back out to the balcony. Gideon watched in his periphery as Dipper shot the grappling hook up to the roof, held on, and flew up as the cord retracted. It seemed to carry his weight just fine.

Gideon turned his full attention to Geneva. "Mother," he said, "I. . ." He swallowed. "Thank you."

She shook her head, tears still in her eyes. "I don't deserve your thanks. Not after fourteen years of. . ." She closed her eyes as more tears fell.

It was terrible that never, in all fourteen years of his life, had Geneva tried to protect Gideon from Gaston. But she was trying now. "Well," he said, "I still thank you for what you just did. Do you know where Father's key ring is?" She nodded, and he continued, "Then would you be willing to retrieve my amulet for me? If there's anyone in the game room, you can come back and tell me, and we'll make a plan." He was still wearing his backpack, which had a stun gun tucked away inside. Dipper had a stun gun, too. But as he'd told Dipper repeatedly over the last few days: They wanted to use stealth, not to fight their way through the Manor.

Geneva looked scared, but she nodded. "What about Stanford and Lincoln?"

"I'm just focused on the amulet right now. I'll be able to help them once I have it."

"All right. Will you stay in here when I go to get it?"

Gideon started to nod, then paused. "Will the servants come in here to clean?"

Geneva gave a small scowl. "They haven't been doing as much cleaning since they revealed their true loyalties. But they do come in here every once in a while."

"Then I'll wait outside," Gideon said. "Come out to the balcony when you get back, and I'll see you."

"Do you want me to go now?"

"When else?" Then he checked his tone. "Sorry, Mother. I meant to say, would you be willing to go now?"

She took a deep breath. "All right."

"Thank you."

She gave him a hesitant look. "Gideon, may I. . . may I give you a hug?"

He blinked. Geneva wasn't one for hugs, not that he knew. Except. . . maybe that wasn't because she didn't want to give them, but because Gideon and Gaston didn't want to accept them.

"Of course," Gideon said.

That was all Geneva needed. She threw her arms around Gideon. He hugged her back. It hurt, but it was worth it. It was the first time Gideon ever remembered his mother hugging him this hard.

She cried on his shoulder, and he let her. Confusing emotions flowed through him, and he didn't want to untangle them. So he just stood there in the hug.

Then she moved away. "Sorry," she murmured, aware of the physical pain she'd caused him. But the hug had carried emotional solace that made up for any physical pain.

She smiled up at Gideon, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I'll go now," she said. "Hopefully I'll be back soon with your amulet."

"Thank you, Mother," he said.

Geneva went to the top dresser drawer and pulled out a ring of keys. After a moment of deliberation, she grabbed one of her small handbags and put the keys inside to cushion their noise. Then, with a final smile at Gideon, she slipped from the room.

Gideon went out to the balcony and waved up at Dipper, who dropped the grappling hook down to the balcony. Gideon used the grappling hook with no problems. Once on the roof, the boys climbed onto Marigold and Rowan (since there wasn't anywhere dry to sit on the roof), and Dipper pulled out one of the sandwiches from his backpack. It had only been a few hours since they'd left the Museum, and Gideon wasn't hungry, so he just leaned down on Rowan's neck and made himself comfortable. The perytons knelt on the snowy roof with the boys on their backs.

"Is your mom going to get the amulet?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah," Gideon said. "She has the key to the safe, so hopefully she can just walk in, get the amulet, and come back."

"That'd be awesome."

Yeah, it would be. Gideon hadn't allowed himself to hope for such a simple, straightforward retrieval, but maybe it wasn't too unlikely. After all, talking to his parents had gone so much better than he'd ever imagined. He'd never expected Geneva to stand up for him like that.

It didn't make up for fourteen years of neglect. He could feel that deep in his mind. But he was relieved and thankful that Geneva had done what she did.

As he waited in the cold, Gideon felt more warmth inside than he had in days.

AN: Special thanks to ephemeralemerald27 for having faith in Geneva even when I did not. I didn't plan on this, but I am so glad it happened.