There was a knock on the front door. Trudy opened it, to reveal a snow-covered Phineas. He seemed a little hesitant when he noted it was Trudy who answered the door.

"Is Gretchen home? Her car's out front," He said.

Trudy glanced up the stairs, "She's unavailable at the moment."

"Oh, I just wanted to let her know that I finished the drive," Phineas replied.

"Would you like to come in for a few minutes; to warm up?" Trudy asked

Phineas shook his head, "I should be heading home."

"I've got the coffee on, you might as well have a cup," Trudy gently insisted.

Phineas stepped into house, and took off his coat, boots and gloves, "Thanks."

"How have you been?" Trudy inquired.

"All right I guess...A little concerned about Ferbuch and Gretchen," Phineas replied.

Trudy gave a nod as she poured a cup of coffee for Phineas, "Milk? Sugar?"

"Just a little sugar."

Trudy handed the cup over and sat at kitchen table. Phineas sat across from her and stared at the table top.

"I want to make sure they're okay," Phineas spoke quietly.

Trudy nodded in response.

"It's my fault really...I shouldn't have insisted that Ferb get in the car," Phineas said.

"There must have been other things weighing on him and it all just came to a head, all at once," Trudy remarked.

"My brother's the most laid-back person I know. For him to get worked up over something, it has to be a big deal. He used to talk to me about his problems, just to get a different perspective," Phineas stated.

"As you've no doubt figured out, there are some things that people don't talk about," Trudy replied with a nod.

Phineas shook his head, "Not Ferb. He's always talked to me about everything."

Trudy took a sip of her coffee.

"Well, he's the one I talk to about all my problems. He's got an insight that no one else has," Phineas continued.

"He is a bright young man," Trudy noted.

"He had to be..." Phineas chuckled lightly, "To keep up with my insane ideas." he sighed, "He always knew how to get Lillian to calm down when she was a newborn. I just wish I knew what changed."

Trudy sipped at her coffee, allowing the young man to work things out in his own head.

"He got married...and I...well, I have a child out of wedlock. Maybe that's why he's less willing to share stuff like that; consideration for the one he loves with his whole heart," Phineas mused.

Trudy gave a nod, "I can tell you that it wasn't a quick decision to let our daughter marry at nineteen."

Phineas looked up at the German woman, "Really?"

Trudy gave another nod, "Gretchen's father and I had a long discussion with Ferb about many things."

"He never mentioned that. He did say that he asked for her hand in marriage," Phineas said.

"That he did. My husband wouldn't have condoned their relationship if he hadn't," Trudy replied.

"Ferb probably would have married her anyways. He loves her, more than anything," Phineas said.

"That's why we consented," Trudy replied softly.

"As Gretchen's mother, you would rather she be in an honest relationship, not a secretive one," Phineas realized.

"Exactly. There was a time when Gretchen would talk to me about her fears and desires. Ferb has taken over that role. I'm not privy to their personal lives," Trudy replied.

"I had no idea Gretchen had any fears. I know Ferb's scared of a number of things," Phineas commented.

"Without a doubt. It's one thing to be treated as an adult, it's another thing entirely to prove that you're an adult," Trudy replied.

"I know all about that. I'm still trying to prove that to my mom," Phineas said.

"Sometimes, it's good to have your parents near," Trudy said quietly.

"Dad's been a lifesaver a few times. Mom too," Phineas said.

"What about your sister and your brother? Do you see them as adults or just big kids?" Trudy asked.

"Ferb's always been an adult, even when we were kids. I think he's finally come into his own. As for Candace... well, she's more adult now than when we were kids. I guess having a family does that to a person," Phineas replied, staring at his cup.

Trudy nodded, "Sometimes. Children don't come with an owner's manual."

"Ferb always seems to know what a kid wants or needs. He'd make an amazing father," Phineas looked up.

"He would," Trudy gave a nod in agreement.

"Ferb seems to know more about my own daughter's food preferences than I do. It's hard for me to predict her moods...but kids aren't machines," Phineas remarked.

"Do you think that could be because he's looking in from the outside?" Trudy inquired.

Phineas gave her a confused look.

"Ferb isn't directly involved in the minute-to-minute raising of your daughter. He can see the subtle changes in her that you're too tired to see," Trudy pointed out.

"I still think that Ferb and Gretchen would make better parents than Sienna and myself," Phineas muttered.

"Why don't you put that to the test?" Trudy suggested.

"How?" Phineas asked.

"Give Ferb a few weeks, to recover, then ask him if he'd like to look after your daughter for a weekend. That would give you and your girlfriend a chance to relax and give Ferb and Gretchen an opportunity to "try on" parenthood," Trudy explained.

Phineas puzzled over the idea, "Well I would have to talk to Sienna about it, but I think she would agree."

Trudy nodded, "That's an idea."

"I should get going...Sienna's expecting me back. Could you tell Gretchen that if she needs the driveway shoveled again, I would be more than willing to do it?" Phineas said.

"I'll let her know," Trudy replied.

A few minutes after Phineas left, Gretchen stumbled into the kitchen. Her hair and clothing disheveled, but she seemed a little less stressed than before. She decided against telling her mother what happened the other night, after Ferb had the heart attack. Gretchen knew her mother would have a fit if she found out that Gretchen had passed out in the hospital room and had moved to the chair after she came to. Gretchen shook her head and grabbed herself a cup of coffee.

"Mmmm….Coffee," Gretchen mumbled.

"How was your nap dear?" Trudy inquired.

Gretchen nodded, "Thank you. I didn't realize how exhausted I was. I only woke up because I smelled coffee and heard voices."

"Phineas just left. He said you can call him to shovel the drive anytime," Trudy said.

"That really wasn't necessary for him to do that," Gretchen replied after taking a sip of her coffee.

"He wanted to help...and he felt that Ferb's heart attack was his fault," Trudy remarked.

"It wasn't," Gretchen said simply.

"I told him that," Trudy replied, as Gretchen drained her mug.

Gretchen took a few deep breaths as her mind clicked back into normal working function. Several things needed to be done before Ferb came home from the hospital.

Trudy noticed this, "Gretchen?"

Gretchen shook her head, "I need to concentrate on getting everything organized for when Ferb comes home."

"What needs to be done?" Trudy inquired.

"I need to clean the house, do the laundry, get some shopping done," Gretchen rattled off.

Trudy smiled at her daughter, "Done, done and done. Linda and I were quite busy today."

This got Gretchen's attention, "Who did the laundry?"

"I did," Trudy replied simply.

Gretchen turned red as there were a few items in the laundry that she really would have preferred to take care of herself, "There were a few items..."

Trudy knew why her daughter reddened, "Don't worry about it."

Gretchen looked in laundry room, "Where did the laundry go?"

"I folded everything into the basket and put it in your room dear," Trudy replied.

Gretchen stammered, "I uh..."

"Greta dear, I've been doing laundry for years. I used to do your laundry," Trudy gently cut off her daughter's stammering.

"Not since I was younger," Gretchen pointed out.

"When you'd come back for the summer-" Trudy started.

"Yeah, I know...And I remember the conversation we had the first summer back," Gretchen interrupted with a slight uncomfortable look on her face.

"I was concerned for my girl," Trudy remarked.

"You had nothing to worry about," Gretchen pointed out.

"You were willing to do anything to make your boyfriend happy," Trudy made her point.

Gretchen gave a shrug, "Well, eventually we got engaged then married."

"Are you going to be okay getting up in the morning, or would you rather I stayed over tonight?" Trudy asked, noting that despite the nap, her daughter still looked exhausted.

"I should be fine..." she replied.

"Are you sure?" Trudy asked.

"..Yeah...Yeah, I'm sure," Gretchen mumbled.

"You don't sound too sure," Trudy pointed out.

"If you wish, you can stay in the guest room," Gretchen replied.

"What time do you need to be up?" Trudy asked, getting the feeling that Gretchen would more than likely be needing someone to make sure she got up.

"I need to wake up at five to get to work for seven," Gretchen replied, after making a mental note of the road conditions and weather report for the morning.

Gretchen's alarm went off at five AM, but she slept through it. Trudy came upstairs to find her daughter still asleep. Trudy tilted her head and tapped Gretchen lightly.

"Greta dear, time to wake up," She called out gently.

"Five more minutes," Was the muttered response she got.

"It's five," Trudy said.

"Not today, I have to work. We can do that later," Gretchen muttered groggily.

Trudy chuckled and stood back, she placed her hands on hips, and then raised her voice, "Gretchen!"

The effect was immediate: Gretchen's eyes flew open and she fell out of bed, "Oof, what happened?"

Trudy sounded slightly amused, "Don't you think you should get ready for work?"

Gretchen glanced at the alarm, and muttered something under her breath, "Yes."

Gretchen got up off the floor and began to get ready for work. While her daughter got into the shower, Trudy went downstairs and prepared a simple breakfast and packed a container of homemade soup for her. Shortly, Gretchen rushed into kitchen; her ID badge clipped at her waist.

"I'm out of time, I'll just..." Gretchen was interrupted by her mother pressing a plate of toast and eggs and a mug of coffee into her hands.

"Sit and eat. I've got a lunch packed for you as well," Trudy said.

Gretchen complied and remarked as she was eating, "You didn't have to. I could have just grabbed something."

Trudy gave her daughter a look, "Something that probably wouldn't suffice."

"Mom.." Gretchen sighed.

"You and your brother both have that bad habit. When you're in a rush you don't take time to take care of yourselves. Always in a rush," Trudy scolded gently.

"I'm not always in a rush," Gretchen protested, returning the plate and mug to the sink.

"I took the liberty of packing a clean set of clothes for Ferb. He probably also needs his razor and toothbrush," Trudy said as she handed Gretchen a bag and her soft-sided lunch cooler.

"Oh for the love of..." Gretchen paused, " Thank you. I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

"Just looking out for my family," Trudy informed her and got a wane smile in return from her daughter.

Gretchen was greeted by Shane as she walked into the staff room. Shane watched her carefully as she placed the small cooler in the fridge.

"Soo...Dr. Thomas's mellowest patient gets out when?" he inquired.

"Shane...if you know what good for you, you would keep your-" Gretchen started before getting cut off.

"Whoo...Someone's moody," Shane noted.

"Sorry about that. I'm hoping my husband can come home this afternoon," Gretchen said, giving Shane a truly apologetic look.

"Is that what Duncan said?" Shane inquired.

"I've not seen him today, I hope Ferb can come home," Gretchen replied as she covered her face with her hands.

"Don't like going home alone? If so, I know that feeling...I hate it when Percy is away on business," Shane said sympathetically.

"I don't sleep as well when he's not there," Gretchen muttered.

"Duncan will be here in about an hour...Best thing you can do is keep yourself occupied until then," Shane remarked giving his watch a quick glance.

"I've got my rounds to make," Gretchen replied.

"That's my girl. Would you like me to tell your darling husband that you're looking forward to seeing him again?" Shane said.

Gretchen gave a nod, "Thanks, Shane. Oh, could you run this up to him?" She handed him the bag her mother had packed.

"Anything for you sweetheart," Shane said in reply.

Gretchen gave a sob. Shane instantly became concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"That's what Ferb calls me," Gretchen mumbled.

Shane sounded slightly unsure, "Sorry...I'll just run this up for you...Nice 'Space Adventure' scrubs by the way."

Gretchen gave a shrug, "Thought they'd be entertaining."

"I'm sure the pediatric patients will love 'em," Shane said with a slight smile.

Gretchen downed the dregs of her coffee then stood up, "Time to start the day."

"That's the spirit," Shane responded.

Shane walked into Ferb's room. He greeted Ferb with a chipper, "Good morning sunshine."

Ferb raised an eyebrow in response.

"I've got a little something for you from a very special someone," Shane said with a smile.

Ferb's eyebrow rose higher.

"She'll be here during her lunch break...She's in the children's ward today," Shane said with a shrug.

"Thank you for bringing it up to me, for her," Ferb said.

"Not a problem. How are you feeling this morning. I'm just going to take your blood pressure while I'm here," Shane looked at the breakfast tray, "Would you like me to sneak you in a danish? There are some strawberry ones in the staff room."

"I don't want you to get into trouble," Ferb protested softly.

Shane smirked, "I'll tell Fletcher to bring one in for you then."

"Don't want to get her in trouble either," Ferb protested.

Shane gave a light laugh.

Ferb's brow furrowed slightly, "What's so funny?"

"They won't have a problem with Fletcher doing it...She is one of the best," Shane said simply.

Ferb raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, please. You must know that she's the most respected nurse in the entire hospital. She'd be a charge nurse if the doctors had anything to say about it," Shane said in response.

Ferb blinked.

"Union rules," Shane said simply.

Ferb raised an eyebrow, "She's really that-"

"Yeah...You didn't know?" Shane asked him.

"She's stopped telling me about certain aspects of her job," Ferb replied.

"Like?" Shane inquired.

"Her lifting people off the floor and back onto the bed," Ferb replied quietly.

Shane chuckled lightly, "She does it without complaint but asks them to be careful next time, and there's a 'call nurse' button for a reason."

Ferb fell into pensive silence. This didn't go unnoticed by Shane, "Something wrong?"

Ferb tried not to sound upset, "I guess I don't know her as well as I thought."

Shane encouragingly informed him, "I'm sure she's trying not to bore you with the politics of the job."

Ferb gave a sad nod, "Will Dr. Thomas be around today?"

"Yes...He'll be here in about," Shane checked his watch, "half an hour."

Ferb gave a sigh, "All right."

"Hey now, chin up. Everything will be okay," Shane said, trying to pull Ferb from this feeling of doubt about his marriage to Gretchen.

Ferb gave a nod.

"Would you like another coffee?" Shane inquired.

Ferb shrugged, "Thank you."

Shane returned after a couple of minutes with a fresh hot coffee.

"Thank you,"Ferb said again.

"You might want to have a conversation with your wife later," Shane told him.

Ferb raised an eyebrow.

"Talk about things..." Shane gave a wink, "It helps."

Ferb sighed, then nodded.

"I'll make sure she comes in over her lunch break. I'll personally barricade the door for you," Shane said with a wink.

Ferb rolled his eyes, "That won't be necessary."

"Go easy on her, she's been worried about you," Shane remarked gently.

"She puts me before herself," Ferb muttered.

"Isn't that what married couples do?" Shane inquired, giving a very valid point.

"I haven't been doing a good job of it," Ferb retorted.

"Well, you're in the hospital...Can't do much to change that current fact," Shane had to point out.

Ferb gave a sad nod.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shane asked.

Ferb shook his head.

"I'll stop by later, we'll catch up," Shane told him and then left the room.

As promised, Gretchen came in on her lunch break. Ferb gave her a slight smile when she came in. Her hair was pulled back into its usual ponytail, but he could see some of the exhaustion and stress lines around her eyes. Shane had been right, she had been worrying about him. His expression went pensive as he pondered on the fact that she was well respected.

"Something's bugging you Ferb...What's the matter?" Gretchen asked as she noticed her husband's expression.

Ferb blurted it out, "You didn't tell me that you're well respected here."

"I didn't think it mattered to you," Gretchen said, confusion in her tone.

"I feel like I don't really know you," Ferb said.

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"I thought we told each other everything," Ferb said quietly.

"We do," Gretchen replied simply.

Ferb shook his head, "I told you when I landed that large account."

"You didn't tell me one of your co-workers is a jerk," Gretchen pointed out.

"That's different," Ferb replied.

"How is that different?" Gretchen inquired.

"It just is," Ferb replied stubbornly.

"It's not. We promised..." Gretchen started to point out.

Ferb sighed, "I know."

"What did the Doctor say?" Gretchen asked.

"He said that I can go home this afternoon as long as I don't do anything stressful for the next two weeks," Ferb answered.

"That's great news honey," Gretchen gave a smile.

Ferb gave a shrug.

"Would you rather be in hospital?" She asked, his actions confusing her.

Ferb gave another shrug.

"Do you want me to leave?" Gretchen inquired.

Ferb shook his head.

"Then what do you want?" She asked gently.

"I want..." Ferb fell silent.

"Ferb?" Gretchen prompted.

"To know that you still love me," Ferb finished.

"I do still love you," Gretchen said earnestly.

Ferb raised an eyebrow.

"I still love you so much that sometimes it hurts," She blurted out.

"Gretchen-" Ferb started.

"I don't like seeing you in pain Ferb. I felt helpless when you had your heart attack," Gretchen cut him off.

"Why?" was Ferb's simple question.

Gretchen blinked, "What sort of question is that?"

Ferb's brow furrowed slightly, "Why did you feel helpless?"

"You just collapsed, the first flakes of snow were starting to fall. I Love you," She explained and then started to cry.

Ferb pulled her close and murmured in her ear, "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry," She replied.

Ferb muttered, "I love you too."

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Maybe we should talk with someone," Ferb suggested.

"About what?" Gretchen asked.

"Us. We got married very young and I know I wasn't completely sure what I was doing," Ferb admitted.

Gretchen's voice was gentle when she spoke, "I'm still not sure..."

"Do you think we should have waited a few years?" Ferb asked.

"Would you trade the last two years for being engaged instead of being married?" Gretchen's query was soft.

"No. I never said that," Ferb remarked.

Gretchen sighed, "You're right though, we were pretty young when we got married."

"It couldn't hurt. Maybe we can get some suggestions to strengthen our relationship," Ferb suggested.

"Do you really think we need help?" Gretchen inquired.

Ferb looked at her questionably.

"You're right," She admitted.

"We'll talk about this later okay? You need to eat and get back to-" Ferb replied.

"You're not the first person to lecture me on my eating habits today," Gretchen interrupted.

Ferb raised an eyebrow.

Gretchen sighed, "Got the 'you're always in a rush' thing from my mom."

Ferb placed a kiss on her forehead, then smiled at her.

Gretchen looked into his eyes, "I do love you. I'll see you after my shift and we'll go home."

Ferb pulled her back for another hug, "I love you too, sweetheart," He then placed a kiss behind her ear.

She turned bright red and mumbled, "Ferb..."

Ferb smirked at her reaction.

"Later.." Gretchen whispered.