Phineas and Ferb
Un-Happy Father's Day
Prologue
FanFiction Summary: Isabella's dad has always been a mystery to everyone. Isabella never really cared, though, because she felt that she already had everything she needed. But when another annual Fireside Girls Father/Child picnic comes around, and she ends up unable to participate in the festivities once again, she is pushed over the edge and a horrible secret is revealed. This sets the course for Phineas, Ferb, & Isabella's biggest adventure ever as they set out to find the truth! Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz tries to ruin Father's Day for everyone else so his celebration with Vanessa will be "Better by default" and somehow it ends up mixing in with Isabella's journey. Trust me, story is much better than the summary makes it sound.
Disclaimer: Phineas and Ferb does not belong to me. It belongs to the two geniuses Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Keep up the good work, gentlemen! Also don't expect any good original songs! Sorry, but I'm not good with writing original songs. Never have been.
(Cue Flashback)
December 24th, 1999; 7:05 p.m.
It was the dead of night. There was not a single star nor cloud in the sky, and everybody on the block was supposed to be asleep. But the sounds of sirens kept everybody on the block awake. The ambulances surrounded the Garcia-Shapiro home. The paramedics rushed out of their vehicles into the home, and loaded Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro onto their stretcher. She was already in labor, giving birth to a new baby girl.
"OK, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro, we're on our way to the hospital right now. Just keep breathing." One paramedic said. She was loaded into the back of one of the ambulances. Her husband, Mr. Shapiro (who, by this point in the episode, would not have his face or any part of his body revealed to the camera), who was shaking violently with fear, was led into the same ambulance with his wife. "Mr. Shapiro, I need you to stay with me here. Your wife needs your support right now."
"Oh jeez, I d-don't-I don't know if I can do this." He quivered being led to the ambulence. "Oh this is all too scary."
"Sir, I need you to stay calm. Your wife needs you now more than ever. For pete's sake, she's about to give birth!"
The ambulances all drove off to the hospital at a break-neck pace. There wasn't much time until the delivery. They arrived at the hospital moments later and immediately got Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro into a delivery room.
"OK, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro, we're all set here. Now push!" The doctor readied himself to deliver Vivian's baby, while Mr. Shapiro helplessly watched from behind a glass window, feeling that if he went into the room to support his wife, he would throw up. And he almost did that night...about 5 times.
The delivery process was a bit painful and it almost didn't work. But after 5 long, grueling hours, at exactly midnight on December 25th, 1999, Vivian Garcia-Shapiro successfully delivered a new baby girl into the world. After she was finished crying, they cut her umbilical cord and walked over to Vivian.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro." Said one of the doctors, handing the new mother her beautiful baby. The baby girl smiled at her new mother as Vivian beamed with joy. Mr. Shapiro had finally gotten the guts to go inside and see his new daughter (after he had thrown up all his guts in the first place)
"Oh my stars, she's so beautiful." Vivian beamed to her husband.
"She really is, isn't she?"
"Have you folks thought of a name yet?" One of the doctors asked them.
"Oh yes. Yes we have." Mr. Shapiro was the first to answer. He and Vivian had been arguing over what to name their child for a while now. They had several different names ready for whether it was a boy or a girl.
"Are you sure about this?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." He turned back to the doctor.
"So what's it gonna be?"
They both looked at the doctor, and then at their new baby. Then they smiled at each other as Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro answered the doctor for him. "Isabella. Isabella Garcia-Shapiro." The new baby giggled as the new parents laughed. "Merry Christmas, Isa."
(End Flashback)
June 18, 2009; 8:30 pm - Three Days before Father's Day.
"And that's the story of how you were born, mijita." Vivian said to her daughter, tucking her under her blankets as she cuddled her Phineas plush doll.
"Wow, mom. That story gets better and better every time you tell it to me." Isabella giggled. "Hey, mom, what do you suppose ever happened to my dad?"
"Well..." Vivian stuttered and hesitated to answer. "I don't know, Isa. Things happen for a reason, and...sometimes, we just can't explain those reasons. I wish I had the answers, Isa. But I just don't."
"That's OK, mom. I know wherever he is, he's watching me." She looked to her dresser and saw a picture of the three of them. Her, her mom, and her father, who had a red fro hairdo, a green sweater vest, blue sweatpants, and shoes on. They all looked so happy together. "I still wish I got to see him more often. It's hard not to have a dad living with you."
"I'm sure it is, but you have me, Isa. And you have the most wonderful friends in the world."
That word struck a chord for Isabella. "Yeah. Friends." She really wanted to tell Phineas how she felt about him, but she didn't want it to end a wonderful friendship she had with him.
"Don't fret, Isa. Phineas'll come around someday."
"I hope so, mom." She turned on her side and almost instantly fell asleep. "Goodnight, mom."
"Sweet dreams, mijita." Her mother said one more time before she kissed her daughter on the forehead and left the room, shutting the light behind her. Isabella immediately had wonderful dreams about what it would be like if she and Phineas were married. That always made her happy, being with Phineas.
(Cue Dream)
June 25th, 2002; 10:39 p.m.
It was the night of Father's Day. Isabella was now less than 3 years old and was now asleep in her bed, having just had a wonderful time with her mom and dad, and her new friends, Phineas, and his stepbrother, Ferb. Phineas and Ferb were also in the same bed as her, as their sleeping bags had gotten ruined earlier.
Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro was in the bathroom, while Mr. Shapiro was in the kitchen going through some mail. "OK, let's see here. Bill, bill, bill, half off at Slushy Burger -- ooh, that's a keeper. Bill, bill, wait! What's this?" He looked closely at the last letter, and cringed at just what it said. "Oh dear." He opened the letter and started reading it, and was shocked and apalled with what it said. He sighed in defeat. "I was afraid this day would come."
So with a heavy heart, he knew he had no choice but to pack up his things and leave. So he went into his and Vivian's room, packed his clothes, some old family photos, a couple of his posessions, and about $2,500 in cash, and started making his way back to the front door.
By this time, Isabella was now awakened from a need to drink something. So she grabbed her blanket along with her teddy bear, jumped out of bed, and started walking towards the kitchen to get a glass of water. It was when she got into the kitchen that she noticed there was someone walking towards the door. She was surprised to find that it was her dad. "Daddy?" She said as she walked into the living room right before he was about to leave. "Where are you going?"
The man turned around to see his little girl standing there with her blanket in one hand and her teddy bear in another hand. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Daddy has to go away for awhile."
"But...why?"
Mr. Shapiro put his suitcase down and walked over to her daughter. He picked her up and hugged her tightly. "I can't tell you, Isabella. You wouldn't understand right now. I'm going away for a while, and I don't know how long I'll be gone. Or...if I'll ever come back. But just know this. I will always love you." He kissed the girl on her forehead, put her on the couch, picked up his luggage, and walked out the front door, not taking a final glance back at his daughter, who sat there on the couch, with her stuff in her hands.
Vivian then came into the room having come out of the bathroom. She had just missed out on Mr. Shapiro leaving, and was curious as to why Isabella was sitting on the couch looking out the window. "Isa, why are you out of bed? It's late, honey."
The girl turned to face Vivian, with tears forming in her eyes. It was only then that Vivian caught sight of the letter he read before he left on the table. She picked it up and read it, and finally understood what had happened. "Daddy left, mommy."
"I see, pumpkin. I see." Vivian didn't know how Isabella would react, but she could tell that she was confused and very hurt.
"When is he coming back?" The little girl asked her mother.
"I'm not sure, sweetheart. But I think I should take you back to bed. It's really late."
"No! I wanna wait here for daddy to come back!" Isabella protested by crossing her arms and pouting. Normally, she would obey her mother when she told her to do something, but she loved her dad so much that she would stand by and wait for him no matter how long it took. Vivian knew she couldn't argue against her daughter on this one, so she simply let it be.
And so Isabella sat on the couch, waiting for her dad to return home. Little did she know that he wasn't coming back. But that didn't stop her.
So she waited...and waited...and waited...the hours passed by quickly as Isabella ketp watching out the window. Her eyes started drooping after about an hour and a half, but still, she wouldn't give in to the temptation of wonderful slumber.
But at 1:20 am, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, and at last, she collapsed onto the couch and fell asleep. Her mother came in and saw that Isabella was asleep. So she tucked her in under her blanket, and cradled her with her teddy bear. She could tell she was very hurt and didn't want to wake her.
(End Dream)
The next morning, at about 7 a.m, Isabella found herself sleeping on the couch near the front door again. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Every single year around this time, Isabella would mysteriously sleepwalk towards the front door and sleep on the couch, as if she was instinctively waiting for her dad to return home.
"Isa, honey, what are you doing sleeping on the couch?" Vivian asked entering the living room.
"I-I'm not sure, mom."
"You were probably sleepwalking again."
"Why does this keep happening to me, mom?"
"Oh, mijita, you just miss your dad, that's all. And I can understand that, especially around this time."
"What are you talking about?"
"Isa, this Sunday is Father's Day."
"Oh, yeah. That's right! Wait, then that means...this weekend is the Fireside Girls' annual Father/Child picnic...which..." Her mood lit up and then fell. "...I won't be able to participate in...again." According to the official Fireside Girls handbook, a child could not be present at the location of the Fireside Girls' Father/Child picnic unless they had their father present with them, something Isabella never had.
"I know you're disappointed. But cheer up. You still have all of your friends."
"I suppose so."
Isabella quickly got dressed into her Fireside Girl uniform and quickly went over to the Danville Park for her Fireside Girls meeting today. Her troop members were already there with their dads, and everything was set up for the picnic, from the stage to the many carnival games to the refreshments, even the entertainment. (Schlocko the Clown from Cheer up, Candace, the ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, Jeff Foxworthy, & some old maid with a horrible spanish accent named Consuela *hint hint*.)
"I hereby call this meeting of the Fireside Girls to order." Isabella said as she banged her gavel officially starting the meeting. "Is everything set up for the Fireside Girls' annual Father/Child picnic?"
"Check!" All the girls shouted at once.
"Well let's just make sure. Game booths?"
"Check!" Milly shouted.
"Entertainment?"
"Check!" Katie called out.
"Refreshments?"
"Check!" Holly shouted.
"Music for the Father/Child dance?"
"Check!" Adyson called.
"OK then. It looks like we're all set. And I see you all brought your dads with you. Very cool." She lied. Deep down, she was very jealous that everyone's dad but hers was there.
"My dad and I set up the game booths." Milly said pointing to one of them, which read "Ring Toss". "That's where my dad won me my stuffed giraffe 3 years ago."
"Yeah. I sure remember that." Isabella sighed, remembering how she got to play that and Isabella couldn't.
"My dad and I booked that entertainment. We got a clown, a ventriloquist, and a spanish chick." Katie said proudly. "My dad used his own money to buy the entertainment last year when we got Howie Mandel to entertain us."
"Of course. How could I forget that!?" Isabella was starting to cringe, hearing all of these past memories of festivities she couldn't be a part of.
"I remember last year too!" Adyson called out. "That's when my dad and I were able to set up the advetisement for this event. You know, with the blimps, and the flyers, and the billboards. I even got us a commercial on CBS!"
Isabella's temper and emotions were starting to get the best of her. She clentched her fists in the hopes that she wouldn't have an outburst, but that seemed harder and harder with each passing second. She also shut her eyes tightly, which nobody seemed to notice.
"And then we were also able to get the Mayor of Danville to spread the word through his mayoral speeches...and..."
"Oh put a sock in it, Adyson!!" Isabella finally barked into her fellow troop member's face, which surprised everyone, even the dads. "Do you know how hard it is to listen to you girls rant on and on and on about the fun you have with you daddies while I'm forced to sit on the sidelines every single year because my dad doesn't even bother to show up!?"
"Isabella, we didn't--"
"Do you know how hard it is!? It's-It's hard! Very, very hard!" She started to tear up. "I'm sick of it! I'm so sick of having to watch you guys have fun and I don't get a chance to join in the festivities! Why can't I have fun for once!? Why can't my dad come out to one of these stupid festivals for once!? I want my daddy! Is that too much to ask!? I want my daddy!!" Now she was starting to cry. "I WANT MY DADDY!!! WAAAAH!" With that, she had finally broken, and rushed off the stage back home to cry in her room. Her fellow troop members and their dads watched on and felt so much sympathy for her.
End of Prologue.
Yes, so sad. I know. But don't worry. It gets better. This is just the beginning!
Next Time: A shocking secret about Isabella's dad is revealed.
Expected Update: Between December 18th and December 20th.
