(Phineas' PoV)

Someone had mentioned someone looking like Isabella in a general store near this forest, that she always came in to fill a couple of containers of water every so often. There was a lot of campers in the area this time of the year, so it made sense she would choose this spot. If anyone saw her, they'd just assume she was another camper on her way to her campsite. While Isabella looked like more of a city girl, her time in the Fireside Girls had provided her with everything she needed to survive in the wilderness for this long.

Phineas took off a back pack setting it on the ground, and then sat on a fallen tree in the middle of the woods. Isabella had been gone a little over four months now, everyone else had quit looking after a month had passed, except him and the Fireside Girls. Even Isabella's mother had assumed the worst. Phineas refused to believe that anything bad happened to Isabella, that she was fine until proven otherwise, that was logic. Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro had obviously reconsidered leaving Danville, which infuriated Phineas to no end, that was the reason Isabella left, since he wasn't there and didn't really know, he assumed it was anyways. But she reconsidered in hopes that Isabella would return, and had promised she wouldn't make her leave. He pulled a bottle of water from the pack, and drank from it looking around. He'd been looking in these woods for about a week now, only returning to the camper at night to sleep. He had thought he found her trail a couple of times, but it was so hard to tell with the amount of visitors in these woods. If he had only gotten the information sooner before summer had really started... he couldn't dwell on that.

It was only noon, and it had already been a long day for him, he had started looking for her as soon as the sun had risen, he marked each path he went on, so he wouldn't spend hours in the same area, however he did come across his own markings several times, he wasn't made for nature. He was completely out of his element here, but somewhere in these woods waited the person he longed to see more than anyone else. Isabella just had to be here.

Several times he thought he had found her, came across several campsites that had a raven haired girl. Luckily the people understood the confusion, though sadly when he showed them her picture, no one had seen her. He still had a lot of ground to cover today, he put the bottle of water back into his pack before shouldering it again, and dredged on. All the while he wondered exactly the kind of person that would willingly do this for fun. Weird people... but to each their own, he thought.

He had been rather thick in noticing Isabella's feelings towards him, but now he kind of understood how she had felt. Like now for instance, he wanted to just be close to her to see her, to touch her... but she was no where to be found. He just had to find her, and he knew that she was alright, people had saw her, and not too long ago. He had tried waiting for her to return to the general store to get more water, the man had told her that she returned every couple of weeks or so, but after the second day he was too anxious to wait any longer. Gretchen and Katie who had come with him, would wait at the store with Candace who drove them there in a camper, in case she returned before he did. The more he thought about it, the more likely she'd return before he did, because he believed he just might be lost. No matter, all he'd have to do it find another campsite and someone would be able to direct him back to the store.

He pushed the thought out of his mind that he'd seen too many horror movies that started with teens lost in the woods, though it was hard to not think about. But he continued, because he needed to find Isabella. He wasn't sure she'd come with him, because even he didn't know what kind of trouble she'd be in when she returned. He just hoped that Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro wouldn't be angry at all at Isabella, though he knew that was a futile effort. He sighed as he sat down leaning against a tree, he wasn't out of shape or anything but his body was not used to all this hiking through the woods thing. He quietly ate what he had brought for lunch, which he hadn't eaten when he stooped earlier. The sun was getting low in the sky, it would be dark in a couple of hours. He was sure he couldn't make it back tot he store before nightfall. It was a clear night, so he was lucky. It could have been a stormy day and he was going to have to sleep out here. He pushed himself away from the tree, and decided to at least try to find another campsite, at least he'd have a place to start a fire... if he could manage it.

The sun had started to set by the time he found another campsite. This one already had someone staying in it, but maybe they'd be willing to let him joined them, not in their tent or anything, but just for the fire's warmth, and it's safety. He called out to anyone there, and he got no answer... Okay he had definitely seen more than one horror movie like this, a lost teen in the woods, coming across an abandoned, or seemingly abandoned camp site. The more he looked around, the more he noticed that this campsite was much different from the previous one's he'd been to. For one, it was near a river. The fire pit was different from all the others, it was wider and deeper. Most importantly it lacked a trash can, and there wasn't litter from cans and packages like some of the others had.

He set his pack down, and walked through the campsite, nothing really out of place. It seemed everything had been used recently, and no dead bodies in the tent... always a good sign. Before turning out of the tent, something caught his eye, a solar powered lantern. Not that those were uncommon, but this one was... he had made this one for Isabella... he looked around, some of the clothing, while faded did look familiar. He went out of the tent, looking around as if just knowing she was here would make her visible to him. He moved closer to the river, something moved in the water. He moved closer, he passed a pile of clothing left on a rock... that should have been a dead give away about what he was about to intrude upon, but he wasn't thinking about that...

Either, he was hidden enough in the brush by the river, or she had gotten so used to no one being around that she didn't even bother looking up on shore. But there was Isabella, coming out of the water... with nothing on... the image in his mind of the girl across the street had been forever altered. He saw her as beautiful, always as beautiful. But this... how she looked this way... his mind couldn't even process words that reflected how she looked. Oh he'd fantasized about how she'd look naked, he was after all a teenage boy. She looked a little thinner than he imagined, but that could be due to living out here for so long. She looked so relaxed, so at home he almost felt ashamed just being here... though he should have been ashamed of staring at her naked. A few more steps, he liked the way parts of her body would move when she stepped, and she glanced up. Her eyes locked with his... he watched as it clicked in her mind who he was... then watched it click when she realized she was naked... and he wished he saw it click when she screamed, and threw a rock at him hitting him in the head.

(Joint PoV)

When his eyes opened, she had gotten dressed, drug him back to the campsite, though he wasn't sure if she had gotten dressed before or after... he shouldn't even be thinking about that. He sat up and she just looked at him, he wasn't sure what to say. He had thought about it time and time again, and there were several things that he had wanted to say, none of them came to mind at the moment though.

"Sorry about hitting you in the head with a rock..." her voice was rough, but oh it was beautiful. It was like a part of him that had died had been resurrected. And he didn't care about the rock. "But you shouldn't sneak up on someone when they are taking a bath."

"I didn't know you were taking a bath..." he smiled, he wanted to move closer. But he wasn't sure if it would be accepted by her, she had been alone for four months and he wanted to make sure she didn't have anymore rocks before he made any sudden movements. "Can I... um can I come closer?"

"Uh..." she seemed to think for a moment, then she smiled and nodded. "Of course."

"You don't have any more rocks, or like a stick do you?" He asked, only semi-joking, he closed the distance before she replied, and put his arms around her. She sighed happily and buried her face in his neck.

"How'd you find me anyways?" she asked her voice slightly muffled by his neck.

"Well I never stopped looking, and the guy at the store here said he saw you come in there often enough for water. So I started looking, been out here for a couple of days... hating every minute of it by the way." He kissed her cheek, then her lips it wasn't a big passionate kiss. He just wanted to be sure this was real. "Then well I found you by accident really. I got lost, it started getting dark and I stumbled across your camping area, found the lantern I made for you... then found you..." his eyes glazed over for a moment as he recalled her body, until her fingers snapped in front of his face.

"Hey hey, stop thinking about that..." her eyes narrowed, and she looked at him. At least living out here alone hadn't ruined her shyness, even if she was comfortable swimming in a river naked... and his mind started going back... "What did I just tell you!"

"Sorry... kinda hard to forget..." he smiled and shrugged, she sighed and huffed. Nothing could have made him happier, she pretended to fight him as he pulled her into another hug, but quickly gave up her fake attempt and embraced him back.

"So... uh... whats the plan now?" she asked as her cheek laid on his shoulder.

"Dunno, was hoping you'd come back with me. I mean I did come all the way out here and fight the wilderness to find you. I can't leave without something." Phineas said, thinking that maybe not leaving wouldn't be such a bad thing... then his brain started working fully, when he realized he'd die out her if he stayed... or jump off a rock. He was not suited for this.

"Well you'd get to leave with a rather exotic memory of me." Funny how what she told him not to think about, she was now using as a distraction. Very good distraction, it almost worked. Almost.

"Well I was planning on leaving with more than just a exotic memory." she looked shocked at what he said, then realized how it could have been taken out of context. "No no, I meant leaving with you... YOU."

"I can't go back Phineas... if I do, she would just make me move, and I don't want to leave." Phineas felt the warm tears on his neck.

"Izzy, you did leave. Left me, and Danville and everyone. And your mom reconsidered leaving, she realized that in two years she couldn't stop you anyways." he pulled his pack closer and fished out a small packaged cake, and a wrapped gift. "You were gone for your birthday... so... I decided to bring this with me just in case I found you. Sorry I don't have a candle."

She just sat there tears in her eyes, she had assumed that everyone had written her off, that no one would have continued looking for her after she was gone for so long. To think, he brought this with him, because he had his heart set on finding her, and wouldn't have left without finding her. Even if it took the rest of his life. She opened the brightly wrapped gift, it was a leather bound book. She looked at him at first confused.

"It's only part of your gift, you have to come home with me for the rest of it, if you want it." He smiled and watched her open the book. Watched the tears form in her eyes as she read what was inside... in his free time when he wasn't looking for her, or when he was resting. He had been planning his and her wedding just as they had talked about. "I'm not very good at this stuff, so... I figured that you could help me out on some of it... as long as it's not held out here... I don't want to get lost at my own wedding..."

Isabella snickered at the comment, while he had found it hard to navigate through the woods, she wasn't really more than about a 30-45 minute walk from the general store, and he'd been out here for a few days? Yeah he was hopeless in the woods. "I didn't think we'd ever get to plan it... honestly I didn't think anyone would ever find me... well really look for me."

"You didn't think I'd look for you?" That kind of hurt a little that she didn't believe he'd look for her, hadn't he proven that he loved her with everything he was. He stumbled around like a fool in the forest, so far out of his comfort-zone to find her. He'd continued to look for her for four months. Even brought her a book he planned their wedding in.

"Well... You... I knew you'd keep looking. You are stubborn... Phineas I love you." She leaned against him summer had been over for a month, and the night air had started to bite, it wasn't unusual for this area to get cooler at night, not freezing just cooler.

"I love you too Isabella. So will you come home with me?" she didn't really want to go back home, she was free here. She was able to let go of a lot of her anger and frustration here by just being here. But home... where Phineas would be across the street. Where her friends would be. She even missed her mom, in a weird way.

"Alright, in the morning we'll pack up and leave... if" she started.

"If?"

"If you can convince our parents to let me stay with you." she said firmly. Phineas had no doubt that his parents wouldn't put up too much of a fight about it. But her mother with be the problem.

"I'll try... but..." He wasn't sure what he should be asking, she had been alone out here for months. Now wanted to stay with him not that he was unhappy about it. Then again, even having been out here for so long Isabella was after all, Isabella.

"But what?" she looked at him, couldn't figure out what he was thinking, then again figuring out his mind was not always her strongest suit. But if he couldn't agree with it, she couldn't go with him.

"I'm not sure what your mom would say about that... that is kinda how all this started Izzy... that and the cabin..." he felt her slump against him as he said this, he knew that she knew he was right, but he didn't want to be.

"Who came with you?" she asked, maybe if her mother wasn't there, she could find out if they would accept the terms, and if they couldn't... she could disappear back into the woods.

"Katie, Candace, and Gretchen... Candace drove."

"Okay, you can call my mom in the morning, and your parents... if they don't agree I stay. If they do then I'll go." It seemed fair enough, though he didn't tell her, that if she stayed, he would too even if he didn't like it. Isabella doused the flames and they both went into the tent, it wasn't really designed around two people, it was mainly just for her. But they managed to get comfortable laying on the sleeping bag. Something that had happened only twice before, she curled up with him just happy to finally have someone here. It had been so very lonely out here alone... peaceful yes, but lonely all the same.

He wrapped his arms around her, he expected some big thing upon finding her a tearful reunion. Instead he got a much better view of her than he could have ever managed to sneak on his own... a rock to the head, the memory again... he was finding it difficult to not think about that memory. Yes yes, he thought, got her to agree to return home with me... with conditions... and his mind faded, he was tired from his long day... he didn't even have a chance to worry about what Gretchen, Katie, and Candace would think when he didn't return.

The next morning, they decided to wait on breakfast... since Phineas didn't feel like berries fruit, and fish. Smiling to herself she decided that Phineas would starve in the wilderness if he had to forage for food. It's funny to see a genius thrown off stride when faced with finding food that didn't come from a package from the store. Lucky for him, she didn't love him for his wilderness training, she didn't even love him for his mind... it was something about how he cared about her... Even when he didn't realize that she loved him, he still cared. She loved him simply because he was himself. Once everything was packed up, her and Phineas carried everything while she lead.

"You've got to be kidding me." Phineas said as they walked out of the woods, coming face to face with the camper that he had arrived in, "You were... I wandered for hours... and you were..."

Ahh yes, she laughed she had been wondering what kind of reaction she would get when he found out. No doubt the other fireside girls would have found her more quickly, but she assumed he had been stubborn, as per usual and wanted to find her on his own. Then there was screaming coming from the camper, not the kind that usually meant danger, more like excitement.

A door slammed open and Katie, and Gretchen... barely clothed... more than he had found Isabella in anyways, came running out from around the side of the camper. They completely ignored him running to Isabella. Well then, he thought as he continued carrying his items dropping them next to the camper.

"So you found her." Candace strode around the side, at least she had taken the time to wear more than panties and a shirt. She smiled, coming over putting her hand on his shoulder. "We had hoped when you didn't come back last night that you had found her."

"Barely... I got lost and ran across her camp on accident. I might have passed it by if I didn't notice something I made for Isabella. But she wasn't at the camp she was... uh... in the river... anyways by the time I came to..." Candace interrupted.

"Came to?"

"Uh well you see... she was... bathing in the river... and she hit me in the head with a rock. Anyways... it was too dark by then to you know come back so we waited until morning." Candace had been laughing since the moment he said bathing, didn't make him feel happy but oh well. "I need to borrow your phone... Isabella might not come back with us."

"Why not?" Candace had stopped laughing, looking over to where the others were, nothing understandable even coming from that area... at least nothing he understood.

"See she wants to stay with... us, and if her mother doesn't agree she said she's not going back." Phineas hung his head, he was sure she knew how hard it was for him to have found her, and still he might end up losing her again... It had been sheer luck he had found her. If she knew he was looking in the right area, she might never be found again.

"I'll handle it Phineas, go inside and get something to eat... I... I'll make sure everything will be alright." She started dialing, and he had started around the camper before he stopped.

"If she doesn't go with us... I'm," he sighed not even looking back he just looked toward the store. "I'm staying too."

He went into the general store, he hadn't noticed before that it had a kitchen, then again he had only been there long enough to show the man a picture, and was out the door. He sat down at a table where he could see Isabella and her friends get back into the camper. He wanted Isabella all to himself, but that was selfish... they had missed her too. He looked at the menu and shrugged, he didn't care what he ate as long as it wasn't fish, he might have to be eating more of that than he wanted to soon enough. So he decided on toast, eggs, and bacon. Seemed simple enough... the anticipation he felt, he wanted to make sure whatever he ate agreed with him, his stomach was doing flips, and would continue doing them until Candace was off the phone, and he had an answer.

He had finished his breakfast and the waitress had cleared his table... he continued sitting there. Candace still hadn't come to tell him... he didn't even know if she was still on the phone. What would he do if they refused... obviously he'd stay here with Isabella. He couldn't see himself living anywhere else.

"Seems you have a lot on your mind Sugar." the waitress was back, she was an older lady maybe a bit older than his mother, she reminded him of Alice from the general store, where they ran off to the cabin. Though she looked different than Alice, and was younger. He just felt safer around her, like he had with Alice.

"Yeah... I came here looking for a girl in the woods..." he started, the waitress, who asked to be called Teresa, had said she remembered him coming in and going right back out, she was happy when he told her that he had found her... after four months of searching. And now it came down to one phone call, to see if it was all in vein or not.

"Well, let me tell ya, she's a lucky girl." Teresa said, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Not many guys care enough to look 'round the house for what they want anymore... for you to spend months looking for her... and going through these woods for her. She's lucky, things'll work out, just you wait and see."

He paid for his breakfast, and wandered around the store looking at all the things he had over looked when he first came in. It was like a small mall, this place had things you'd never think to see in a single store, the main thing that caught his attention was the jewelry. He was told by Teresa on one of her trips past him on her way to do this or that, that all of the stones in the jewelry came from this area. That was pretty unique, he thought. He caught Teresa by the arm the next time she went by, asking her if she got a minute if she could show him some of it.

When she returned again, he wasn't too interested in all of the pieces, he was only interested in two pieces, and only because the stones were the same color blue as Isabella's eyes. A simple necklace chain that held a blue stone... but more importantly a ring holding the same stone. If nothing else he'd leave with that ring he had to. When he asked how much they were, he sighed... he didn't bring all that much with him, didn't think he'd need it Well I said if I had to leave with one it would be the ring.

"I'll take the ring," he said, looking at it then looking at the necklace.

"Your going to get her one of these rings, instead of one of those fancy ones from one of those big stores?" She looked mildly shocked, obviously not to many tourists cared enough about the jewelry.

"Yeah, it's not so much the ring is it? It's more of the feelings behind the words, what it represents, right?" He didn't know much about all this stuff, even if he had been planning his and Isabella's wedding. But he did understand that concept, and he knew that Isabella would like anything he got for her.

"That's right that's what it's about. How about I sell you the ring and necklace for the same price... not often someone proposes to someone with one of our rings." Teresa smiled and putting each in their own box, and handing them to him. When he started to protest that someone would be angry if a necklace was missing, she just smiled. "Think my husband would fire me, shoot no. He couldn't run this place without me."

That solved that as far as she was concerned, Phineas thought. As he started to walk out the store, almost forgetting to pay he ran back in and muttered his apologies to Teresa and her husband. Who both smiled, but she said, it wasn't every day someone proposed... so it was understandable, and at least he did remember.

He looked over his shoulder, at the two watching from the window. Candace was coming over... he didn't really pay attention if she was happy or not, so he didn't know what kind of news she brought, he interrupted her before she started talking... saying simply he had to do this now, no matter what their parents said. He pulled the ring box out of the bag and put it in his pocket... he had a plan... it was simple and he had just thought of it while he walked out, but it was a plan... he just hoped he'd remember it all.

"I-Isabella?" he called into the camper, and seconds later she appeared before him.

"So what did they say?" she looked weary, but he shook his head.

"I dunno yet, I wanted to give you this first." he opened the box with the necklace, now Gretchen and Katie appeared beside her thankfully fully clothed. They all gasped at the necklace, said how pretty it was, and how it matched her eyes. She turned around letting Phineas put it on her, then let the girls admire it some before she turned around again...

At first she didn't see him, then she looked down he was kneeling on the ground. At first she wondered if he was going to be sick or something, being out in the woods for so many days non-stop could make someone sick... Until he looked up at her and opened the ring box. Everything stopped for Isabella, even Gretchen and Katie were now speechless.

"Isabella...I um..." he had a plan... he had done everything in it... but now his mouth wouldn't work. He fought trying to string the words together kneeling there in front of her. "Will you... marry me?"

It was so cute, nothing like she had imagined his proposal to be. She had imagined all his family and her's around when he did it, she imagined music in the background... but this was better. It was unscripted, surrounded by nature... the ring... she had looked at it a couple times when she had come here for water... had the lady inside said something? Or had he picked it all on his own?

"Isabella?" Candace whispered moving next to her and nudging her a little with her elbow. She shook her head and looked up to Candace, who smiled and looked back to Phineas. "He's still waiting."

"Oh oh, I'm sorry... Yes! Yes I'll marry you! Yes." She flung her arms around him after he put it on her finger... Her friends clapped, Candace did, even Teresa, and her husband had made their way outside were clapping.

"I-I have to talk to Candace a second alright... I'll be right back." It seemed like all his energy had escaped him, but he still had something to do, he kissed Isabella's hand, and walked with Candace to the front of the Camper. "So...?"

"Well Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro was not entirely happy with the idea..." Candace started, and Phineas felt his stomach tighten. Then he relaxed some, "when I told her that it was either that, or Isabella refused to come home... and told her that we were lucky you stumbled upon her camp... that there might not be another chance at finding her again. She agreed, as long as Isabella spends some nights at home with her."

"That was... big of her... I didn't expect that much, really I thought it would be harder." And he did.

"Me too, but I guess when faced with an option like that, it's best to choose the one that everyone will be happy and not just yourself." Candace smiled putting her arm around her little brother's shoulder, leading him back to the camper, to tell Isabella the good news... that she could live with him, and that he didn't have to eat fish for breakfast, everyone wins.

Author's Note: Some of you might notice that I like to start my stories from a week to a couple weeks after the events in in chapter prior to it. I would have posted the next chapter, which is mostly complete now, however... I decided to take another crack at it, and I'm filling in the few weeks prior to the original beginning. So much more fun to write a beginning when the end is completed. Some of you might not like that you'll have to wait for the next chapter, but I have just one thing to say about that... This is my sandbox, and if you don't play nice, I'll take my toys and you can go home. Anyways, for those of you Fans of 'Isabella is that you' Currently this series, and I'd assume you were since you've made it this far. I'd recommend my Gravity Falls fan fiction, 'In the End'. Had a lot of the same emotional struggle, however not as... feeling as my Fairly Odd Parents fan fiction, 'Breaking Point.' So as I said if you like this one, please take the time to read those. Precaution, 'In The End' Is a mature store, for adult situations, and I think language, I can't really remember it's been a while since I've worked on that one.

Also this fiction is now on Hiatus until I get more chapters out for other fictions I'm writing. If you are interested in being a Beta for any of my stories, PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Am Sadi, The Sadist