Hey guys! Wow, I'm so sorry for the late update! I'm a busy gal! Okay, down to business!

This week's winner by a mile is: FERB!

2 QUICK ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. If you haven't, I'd recommend reading my one-shot "Pass the Salt, Phineas" before referring to this chapter! It explains the disasters that happened at dinner!

2. I drew a picture of Cheyenne Bellamy, in case any of you care to see what she looks like. Keep in mind that it's just a sketch and I'm not a visual artist! The link is posted on the bottom of my profile page! And hey, while you're there, vote for next week's character! (I had to wait until more votes were in this week - there was a tie for a few days!)

Reviews are super appreciated, but please be civil! Thanks!

-Blythe


Monday

Phineas:

Well that could've turned out better...


Isabella:

I still can't believe I did that...


Phineas:

Didn't quite see that coming... One minute I'm a waiter, the next I'm on the ground with a bloody nose and a crippling headache!


Isabella:

Saturday couldn't possibly have gone worse! How will he see me now that I accidentally broke his nose?!


Phineas:

It's almost like it didn't happen - like some kind of bad fan fiction written by a crazed 18 year-old fangirl who lives in Connecticut!

...Okay, that was a little more obscure than my usual references, but it really does feel like that! I haven't been able to leave my room for a few days and mom didn't allow me to go to school today because she was worried about me passing out again. I don't think I will, seeing as it only occurred once and it was right after the accident, but it still hurts sometimes to lift my head while sitting up. Sometimes I even get nauseous when I stand up too fast! That never happened before, but I'm assuming it's part of having a concussion and it'll go away soon.

My nose is broken, too, and it feels worse than my head sometimes. When I was in the shower yesterday morning, I sneezed really hard and it started bleeding again. It wasn't bad or anything; it lasted only a few minutes and then came to a stop, but I can always tell when a nosebleed is coming on because I taste iron a few minutes before it starts. They've been frequent as of late, but that probably goes with having a broken nose.

Since Saturday, Isabella's been coming over at least once a day to check on me. Sometimes we sit around and talk about school and about English class, and sometimes she just lets me lay down while she makes dinner with mom. I don't remember the last time I've seen Isabella around the house this much, but it's strange... I kind of like it. She's really helpful sometimes, especially when we were at the hospital on Saturday night. I don't feel weird around her as much. I guess I figure that since I got totally creamed by a refrigerator door, there's nothing that can be more embarrassing!

Man, I didn't know it was even possible to get a broken nose and a concussion by a refrigerator door! That must've been the first time that's ever happened! Alright, a new record!


Isabella:

I didn't know it was even possible to break someone's nose and give them a concussion by smacking them in the face accidentally with a refrigerator door! It only happens to me, doesn't it? Phineas comes along on his bike on Saturday and lends me his jacket, rescues me from the cold, then goes to my house and cleans the egg yolk out of my hair and what do I do to repay him? I break his nose! Yeah, just what every guy wants, Isabella - a broken nose and a brain bruise. Good going, troop leader Garcia-Shapiro.

Lately, I've just been bad luck! Fate is playing way too many cruel jokes on me. First Phineas finds me after the initiation and then this. I just hope nothing else happens this week to make matters even worse! I can't stand the thought of him ignoring me even more...

Anyway, I'm going over to the Flynn-Fletchers' in an hour or so to check on him. He couldn't go to school today because he's still recovering from Saturday. I go over there at least once a day to help out around the house for Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher and take care of Phineas when I don't have cheerleading. It's the best I can do after what I did on Saturday. That was such a horrible experience!

I really hope this didn't make everything worse for us...


Ferb:

I'm inclined to wonder the speed in which someone would have to whip open a refrigerator door in order for it to possibly break a person's nose and, in turn, knock them unconscious. When I think of someone getting a nasal fracture or a concussion, the first few things that come to mind are fist fights, falling head-first down a long flight of stairs, car accidents, falling out of tall trees or high platforms, getting hit by a large moving vehicle, and possibly during a project using heavy machinery and high scaffolding - projects that Phineas and I have been doing for a majority of our lives.

Then I realize that the probability of the incident itself seems rather preposterous given the reputation we have with more complicated endeavors, such as time travel, building rocket ships, skyscrapers that extend to the moon, roller coasters, intergalactic travel shuttles, luxury cruise ships, enormous record-breaking airplanes and bowling balls, and even a giant mechanical shark at one point.

Yes, the lists extends further, but my point is that we're used to the risks of possible harm during every activity and therefore we've learned when it's best to remain aware of our surroundings, so the fact that Phineas was benumbed by a kitchen appliance is just a tad hard to swallow. Perhaps balancing four or five plates from the dining room to the kitchen of the Garcia-Shapiro's house isn't considered a project to be on-guard about as much as constructing a residential stadium, but even so, Phineas has been rather ungraceful as of late.

Last month he nearly burned the house to cinders when he rested our blueprints for an intergalactic space radio on the kitchen stove while he made his breakfast. Not only were the blueprints completely destroyed, but the kitchen cupboard above the stove now has black ashen stains from the incident that won't come off because of his carelessness. I'm surprised mum hasn't noticed them yet. Perhaps I should find a way to get rid of them before she does...

Anyway, with everything that's been happening, it comes as no surprise that Phineas has run into trouble yet again - albeit in a far less conventional way than most. But how many people in the world can say that they've acquired a broken nose via refrigerator door? It's quite impressive, actually - when we told the nurses at the hospital, they replied with, "no, really. What happened?"

Oh dear, what an experience it was to explain...And to think this might not have happened if Phineas had been a little more careful. (And perhaps his nose was slightly less prominent than it is.) We had to lay Phineas's head on a pillow in Isabella's lap on the way to the emergency room and I was in charge of his legs, making sure they were upright at all times. Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro drove her van and mum sat in the passenger's seat, panicking and fidgeting the entire way. Dad went home to stay with Candace and it might've been a good idea that he did - he can't stand the sight of blood.

...

However unfortunate the circumstance, it didn't turn out to be as bad as one would think.

Concussions aren't normally humorous. In fact if left untreated, they can be potentially fatal. But the way Phineas acted in the car on the way over to the hospital was far more comical than dramatic! He was quite goofy for someone with a brain injury, chuckling while asking time and time again what happened to give him a bloody nose. When he was told he'd been hit by a refrigerator door, he found it funnier than anyone else in the car, snorting and laughing like it was something out of a sitcom.

As expected, Isabella was miserable, apologizing profusely to me, Phineas and mum as if she'd done the clumsy deed more than once. I can tell this is the last thing she'd expected to happen over dinner. Mum was totally beside herself, frequently asking when Phineas wasn't talking or laughing if he was still breathing normally or if he was ever bleeding from his head.

Nevertheless, I found myself wanting to laugh the more Phineas found amusement in what had happened. He was in stitches by the time we arrived at the emergency room! (Metaphorically, of course.)

The rest of the night was a blur. Nothing noteworthy came after the car ride aside from the confirmation that Phineas did, in fact, have a broken nose and a concussion as I'd predicted. He didn't need to stay overnight, but they did need to run a CT scan on his brain to make sure no damage was done internally that had compromised his well-being. They did all that was necessary for his case, following the strict protocol - asking him his name, asking him to stand up, asking him to touch his finger to his nose, testing his reflexes, etc. It was nothing unusual aside from Phineas acting like his accident was a joke of some sort.

But something struck me during the car ride that I'd always been aware of, yet haven't really had an appreciation for; during the night's events, I got to witness Isabella's unfaltering loyalty to Phineas firsthand.

I've always known that she has harbored significant romantic feelings for him even when we were children - she'd made it obvious plenty of times. But on Saturday, it was so much more than that. It was whole-hearted caretaking; a selfless adherence she showed for him while he was wounded. The entire night she'd taken care of his bloody nose and provided for him better than any nurse could have, changing out his tissues when they were soaked with blood and making sure his head was cushioned and comfortable while we waited for the doctors to come back with the CT scan results. At one point, she even combed his matted hair after he'd fallen asleep on the ride back home. It was the single most endearing thing I've seen from Isabella, even after all this time I've known about her admiration for him. Normally, I'd talk about what a shame it is that Phineas won't be able to reciprocate for her selfless acts of kindness, but I believe that he already has...

While waiting in the ER, Isabella reiterated on what had happened earlier that day - about some sort of circumstance (she wouldn't specify) that required her to stay outside in Danville Park without clothes all night in the bitter cold. She talked about how Phineas had taken her home and spent the morning at her house caring for her by washing egg remains out of her hair and making sure she was warm before coming back home from across the street. Call me a skeptic, but that act of kindness extends well beyond what I'd expect from Phineas's usual selflessness. This sounds like something else. Perhaps he subconsciously feels different for Isabella? Well if so, it's likely that he wouldn't know - as I'd mentioned earlier, he isn't overwhelmingly perceptive. It's a shame how someone who knows so much can know so little...

As if that incidence isn't enough to occupy the mind, there's something else that happened last week while I was at the park. This troubled stranger came and sat next to me; admittedly, he looked rather familiar...


Monogram:

I've resorted to writing down my recorded thoughts after my palm pilot malfunctioned this morning. So far, this "writing with a pen" thing has made me realize that it's been awhile since I've handwritten anything at all - nevermind written in a journal before. Boy, blast from the past. Technology has really rubbed off on an old man.

This isn't that bad, but I miss those unnecessary faces you can make with colons and parentheses and such. What did Carl call those? Emoti...Emoticans? Those things are very hip - fun when you need them. It just isn't the same when writing emoticons with a pen and lined paper. Sucks the fun right out of it.

:) - that one is a smiley face. :D -this one is a much happier smiley face. See? This is why I miss my palm pilot.

What I was going to record today on my palm pilot device is something that's come up recently. It involves an agent's whereabouts and slight personal matters as well.

As an authority figure of OWCA, I don't like not knowing where my agents are at all times. When they aren't available for duty by the time I call them, it either means that an agent is trapped or that an agent has neglected their duties. This means it's time for desperate measures to be taken. To a degree, missing out on a mission or a call from a commanding officer is considered misconduct and a breach of the OWCA agent oath, which is punishable by stripping away an agent's resources and relocating them instantly to avoid the possible exposure of the organization. We haven't had to do this since 1998, but there have been a few close calls. There's always the worrisome risk of rogue agents, which is definitely something we keep under close speculation...

Especially when that possible rogue agent is my own son.

I don't normally take down personal memos on my palm pilot, but since I'm writing in a journal, I don't see any harm in using it.

This past week, Monty has been failing to show up on time for his missions. I've had to send in a replacement for him four times already and even got a phone call from Dr. Roddenstein about his frequent absences... I'm beginning to wonder if it's the same situation goes for school - if he's been playing hooky with his college classes. They would've never accepted that kind of behavior at...

...The Academy...

But what else could he be doing? School and the OWCA has always been the center of his life! Now I have to put him on yellow alert because of these recent irresponsible habits of his. I never thought I'd see the day when my own son would put the Monogram name in yellow alert. I am mildly disappointed in him. I say mildly because - well - at least it isn't orange yet. Orange is a sinister color and makes me uncomfortable. Still, I worry about him. I hope that this rebellious behavior is only temporary, otherwise I'll have to make him turn in his badge.

I was just informed by Carl that I can access my palm pilot after all. I apparently sat on it and turned it off.

Monogram out.

But I...guess I don't really have to say that, this being a journal and all.


Thanks for reading! So what's going on with Monty? What happened between Ferb and that "familiar stranger" at the park? What will happen when Phineas goes back to school? What's going on with all the other characters?! So many things are happening!

Reviewer responses!

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Anonymous users:

woodland5: Ooh, thank you! And as for Buford...maybehhhh... ;)

PNFAA LOVR: Hmm... interesting. Is there a reason why you'd like to suggest him?


Thanks so much for your patience, guys! Stick around! I hope to update really soon, promise!

-Blythe