This is a Phineas and Ferb story that I've been dying to do ever since BFF Mandi and I RP'd it weeks ago. It just stuck with me and I'm unable to let it go. So, I'm wrapping it up in a story. For Mandi and all my Phineas and Ferb fans on fanfiction!

Title: Hard Earned

Genre: Romance/Drama/Tragedy/Hurt/Comfort/Family

Rating: K/T

Characters: Candace Flynn/Mitchell, Jeremy Mitchell, Ferb Fletcher, Phineas Flynn, Lawrence Fletcher, Isabella "Izzie" Garcia-Shapiro, Dana Greene,Vanessa Doofenschmirtz, and Perry

Pairings: Jeremance, Phinella, and if you know my character Dana, Ferbana.

Rain On Me

Candace Mitchell blew her bangs out of her eyes, ignoring the pattering of rain on the roof. Her red-orange hair was tied up in a messy bun that she let out and re-tied again and again out of habit...both nervous and normal habit. She sat at the table of the huge kitchen that was connected into the living room and stared blankly at the glass of iced tea in front of her. Her mind was racing as she folded her arms over her belly. She thought about the night before...about her brothers...everything that had happened in such a little amount of time. Especially after her and Jeremy's wedding. Nothing could have been worse than the destruction of the happiest day of her life with one simple phone call. She never let Phineas and Ferb leave the house to go out on their own since. She kept them in sight at all times.

The rain poured outside which fit Candace's mood pretty well. She looked up when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and smiled when she saw Ferb. Over the years Ferb Fletcher had gotten taller than he had always been in the younger days. He towered over her in a stunning six-foot-four, which said nothing less for Phineas, who also towered over Candace in a stunning six-foot-two. She remembered the days when she was taller. He rubbed his eye walking into the kitchen, his green hair in a messy disarray that made his older sister want to laugh. She couldn't help it, but he looked so much like the twelve-year-old he once had been. His striped sleeper pants went well past his ankles, which told Candace that he'd lost weight again and she'd have to fix them up. Not to mention his navy blue shirt looked like it would fit over her pregnant belly.

"Hey," Candace smiled, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

Ferb smiled back and waved from the far left side of the counter and Candace caught him frustratingly pull up his pajama pants. She stood up from the table and walked over to him.

"You lost weight again, Ferb," Candace lifted his shirt to look at the waistband on his pants. "Is everything okay?" She tugged his pants up and folded them to see how much she'd have to do the fixings and was kind of stunned when she folded the band three times more than she'd already done them. "Ferbus Raines Fletcher." She looked up at her younger brother...which was kind of odd for her since she was the one they normally looked up to.

Ferb looked down and over at her and gave a distinct shrug. Candace cocked an eyebrow and tugged on his waistband for emphasis. She wanted him to talk and she was going to GET him to talk.

"Silent Boy say words now," Candace huffed.

Ferb stared down at the counter and shrugged again.

"If this has anything to do with Dana..."

"No!"

Candace jumped back and let go of his waistband. "Okay."

"Sorry," Ferb grabbed his drink and sat at the kitchen table. Candace stood there for a moment just looking at him, then walked over to the table and sat across from him.

They sat in silence for a while, Candace trying to interpret his facial expressions, but all she saw was the twelve-year-old Ferb blank stare into space. She sat back and sighed. "You can talk to me, you know."

Ferb nodded and shrugged. Candace figured this would be the answer. But it seemed like Ferb had been getting sick a lot lately and losing more weight than he was able to afford. She wondered if Phineas knew anything. If he did, he wasn't telling her. And it wasn't because he was like Silent Boy.

The rain pattered more and more outside and it filled the silence between brother and sister. Candace was genuinely worried about him, but knew that she couldn't push him. With a tired sigh, she got up and ruffled his hair. "Get some sleep, okay?" She gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek and headed upstairs.

She passed Phineas's room door and Ferb's open room straight to her and Jeremy's large room. She opened the door, revealing a huge room with a large iron canopy bed, two dressers, two closets and a large bathroom. She walked in on the hard tile floor to the bed and sat down on her side, turning on the light.

Jeremy squeezed his eyes shut as the light blared into his eyelids. It took him a few minutes before rolling over onto his back, rubbing his eyes. He stretched and groaned. "Candace?"

Candace turned her head, re-tying her hair up once again. "Hey."

Sitting up, Jeremy moved closer to her. "You alright?"

"I'm not sure."

Jeremy kissed her cheek and grabbed his shirt. "Okaaaayyy...what's wrong?"

Candace sighed and un-tied her hair, re-tied it, and let it down again. "It's Ferb."

Jeremy walked around the bed, confuseion written all over his face. "Again? Why, what's wrong this time? I thought he wasn't the one you were having problems with."

"He's not," Candace started braiding her hair...another habit of hers. "But he--he lost weight."

"Again?"

"Is that your favorite word of the night?" Candace smirked, despite her thoughts of seriousness. "Yeah, he came down, his pajama pants were huge so I sinched them...and they were three times sinched than the last time."

Jeremy looked just about as concerned as she had been. "Are you sure?"

'"Yes."

"Did you ask him why?" Jeremy flicked on the light above them.

Candace nodded and un-did her braid. "Yes, I asked him if it was about Dana and he kind of lashed out with a big 'No'. So I kind of jumped back and let him go. I told him he could tell me anything, but he just sat there in silence. Didn't offer anything." She dropped her hands in frnt of her belly and sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm being a good sister."

"Oh Candace," Jeremy sighed and sat next to her. "Of course you are. I don't know anybody else who watches them better than you. To be honest, I don't know what they would do without you." He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "You've done so well for all of us. Trust me."

"But I want him to be able to talk to me...both of them. If Ferb's sick for some reason, I need to know and it's not going to help if he won't talk to me," Candace forced.

Jeremy nodded. "I know, Sweetheart," he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You need to give Ferb time and you know that better than anybody else. If there's something going on that's making him--"

"He hasn't eaten dinner in three nights, Jerem. I really am starting to think that there's something bothering him. He needs to know that I'm his big sister and it doesn't matter how old he gets...he's still my little step-brother."

With a nod, Jeremy kissed her cheek. "I know, Candace. I know."

Silence filled the space in between them. Candace stared at the floor with her head on Jeremy's shoulder, just letting her thoughts go loose and run around wild in her head. She was worried about her family. Ever since their mother died in a car accident after her and Jeremy's wedding, things have never been the same. She'd been playing Mother and Sister to Phineas and Ferb while being married and preparing for a baby. She was getting so stressed and wound up that she and Phineas ended up fighting more than normal. And it broke her heart that just the night before Phineas told her that she was the worst sister ever. Not to mention that she noticed Ferb and Dana's relationship had been dwindled over the weeks. She had no idea what was causing his frequent weight loss and sickness...between home and working her worry went overtime almost everyday. Candace started to really believe that she was a bad sister. But phone called from their dad often left her with high spirits...only to be crashing down in the end all over again. She remembered happier times and wished that they were back.

Jeremy rubbed her back and offered no words. What could he say? They've been all in a fuss since the death of Lynda after the wedding. Candace insisted that Phineas and Ferb stay with them in the house. God knows it was big enough. And he didn't mind. After all, Candace loved her brothers and she would do anything for them. Jeremy knew this. He hated seeing his wife in pain but knew that she had reasoning.

"CANDACE!"

Candace's mind snapped back into reality when she heard Phineas's voice erupt loudly from the kitchen. She looked at Jeremy and got up immediately, running down the stairs as best as she could for a pregnant girl. Jeremy followed right behind with little next to none hesitation.

"CANDACE!"

"Coming, coming, coming," Candace raced into the kitchen, her eyes not prepared for what Phineas was yelling her name for. She saw him on the floor of the kitchen with Ferb right in front of him, totally unmoving. Her heart almost stopped. "What happened!" She ran over and knelt down, lifting Ferb onto her lap.

Phineas shook his head. "I don't know. I just came down here and the next thing I knew, he was down."

"Ferb..." Candace gently tapped his cheek. "Ferb, wake up. Ferb, can you hear me!"

Jeremy looked and Phineas and Candace was starting to go into hysterics. "I'll call 9-1-1," Jeremy ran into the living room while Phineas grabbed a cold wash cloth.

Candace was shaking. She knew her instincts were normally right and when she'd seen him earlier, there was no exception to how wild they were behaving. "Ferb! Ferb, hey, come on, wake up."

Jeremy ran back. "They're on the way."

Candace felt tears run down her face as Phineas put the wash cloth on Ferb's forehead. "Come on, Ferb. Wake up, please." She felt her voice get low and choked.

Jeremy felt like he could do nothing but rub her back and hope for the best, which said the same for Phineas. It felt as if a bad episode of Charmed was unfolding in front of them.

And there was nothing that they could do about it but wait.

Ta-das! Now, please don't get me wrong, Ferb is my FAVORITE and I normally make stuff like this happen to my favorites because it gives me a chance to develop that character and make the best scenes for me to do. So let me know how it is...I'm continuing it either way!!

Reviews are love!

Jay