Gretchen gave a wry laugh, "Guess this was a bad idea."
"You've always pushed yourself a little too far," Adyson remarked.
Gretchen closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
Adyson responded to this with a worried, "Gretch?"
Gretchen opened her eyes and exhaled, "I guess you're right."
"You can be so hard headed at times," Adyson remarked.
Katie came in and spotted the two, "Gretchen, you don't look good."
Adyson rolled her eyes, "That has been noted Katie."
"I could do without the-" Katie began.
Gretchen took on the role of peacemaker, "Oh will you two knock it off?"
"Are you going to be okay Gretch? Do you need anything?" Adyson asked.
"I'm sorry Adyson," Gretchen apologized, then asked, "Can you drive me home?"
"What about lunch?" Katie asked.
"Just ask that good looking waiter to pack it to go. Gretchen's not feeling well and I don't want to spend my entire day in a Ladies room," Adyson asked of Katie.
Katie looked between Adyson and Gretchen then nodded, "Okay."
"I'm sorry," Gretchen apologized quietly.
"You can't help it if you're not feeling well," Adyson waved off the apology.
"I'll be right back," Katie said, then left the bathroom.
Adyson put an arm around Gretchen's back to support her, "Let's get you home."
Gretchen nodded.
Adyson picked up Gretchen's purse and her own. She helped Gretchen out of the bathroom, then out of the restaurant and into her car. Katie was already outside with three to-go containers. Katie handed two of them to Adyson with a guilty glance in Gretchen's direction.
"Don't worry about the bill. I already took care of it," Katie said when Adyson looked at her.
"Thank you Katie," Adyson said.
"Do you think she might be pregnant?" Katie asked in a whisper.
Adyson shrugged.
Katie gave one last guilty look in Gretchen's direction before getting in her car and driving off. Once Katie was gone, Adyson got in her car and turned her attention to the pale woman sitting in her passenger seat.
"Just sit back and close your eyes," Adyson advised.
"Thanks Addy," Gretchen whispered.
"That's what friends are for," Adyson replied as she pulled out of the parking lot.
"I'm sorry," Gretchen apologized.
"Will you stop with that?" Adyson shot back.
"Can I ask you something?" Gretchen asked.
"Of course you can, ask away," Adyson responded.
"Would you mind staying with me, you know, until Ferb comes home?" Gretchen inquired.
Adyson stopped at red light, "Sure. Not a problem. Why?"
"Just in case," Gretchen replied.
"You're afraid you are going to pass out, aren't you?" Adyson asked.
"A little bit," Gretchen answered.
"Gretchen.." Adyson said.
"Adyson..." Gretchen returned.
"You can't keep pushing yourself past your limits," Adyson remarked.
"I'm fine Adyson," Gretchen returned.
Adyson shook her head, "You've always done that. To tell you the truth, I'm worried about you."
Gretchen tilted her head, "Why?"
"Ferb said that he'd be home soon," Adyson replied.
Gretchen started to cry.
Adyson reached behind her seat and pulled a box of tissues out, "Here. You should have said that you weren't feeling well. When you said you had a few days leave from work, I thought it was due to an injury."
"It's closer to 'stress leave'," Gretchen remarked dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
"I'm going to talk to Ferb when I see him," Adyson commented.
"Adyson," Gretchen gave a warning tone.
"What?" Adyson asked.
"It's nothing to do with Ferb," Gretchen returned.
"Then what does it have to do with?" Adyson asked.
"I'm just stressed. It's all the little things piling up all at once. I guess my body just wants to shut down," Gretchen replied, trying to downplay the situation again.
"Doesn't Ferb help?" Adyson asked.
"He helps as much as he can. He can't do my job, for instance," Gretchen replied.
"Well, of course he can't. But you're not eating. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say you've lost ten pounds just this past week alone," Adyson commented.
"Eight," Gretchen correctly automatically, "I just pushed myself a little too hard the past couple of weeks."
Adyson shot her a look.
"What?" Gretchen asked.
"Do you talk with anyone from the old troop on a regular basis?" Adyson inquired.
"What do you mean?" Gretchen asked in return.
"You know, Isabella, Milly or Ginger?" Adyson explained more, leaving out Holly as the African-American woman wanted hardly anything to do with the Germanic woman.
"Isabella comes over for dinner once or twice a month, other than that not really. I know you guys get together on weekends for coffee, but I'm at work," Gretchen replied.
"What time do you finish your shift? We'll change our times around; no big deal," Adyson commented.
"It varies, sometimes it would be 2pm other times 10pm, maybe later if I need to stay. Then there are the days I finish work at 7am and sleep most of the day away," Gretchen returned.
"So you're isolated?" Adyson asked.
"I suppose you could say that," Gretchen replied with a shrug.
"That...that's not..." Adyson trailed off.
Gretchen gently prompted, "Not what?"
Adyson put her thoughts together, "So the only time you see someone from our old troop is when I, in an act of being accident prone, nearly filet my arm and have to go to the ER?"
Gretchen paused, "That was a wonderful word choice Adyson."
"Once you're feeling better, would you mind if I called you up to help my troop out with a few patches?" Adyson asked.
Gretchen gave a soft smile, "Once I'm feeling better, I'd love to help out once in a while."
"Maybe Ferb would be able to help the girls earn their 'Engine Repair' patch," Adyson suggested.
Gretchen snickered, "You'll have to ask him. I'm not going to promise him out."
"Do you think he'll agree?" Adyson asked.
"I don't know, he might," Gretchen replied.
"There's a couple of girls who aren't squeamish about getting their hands dirty," Adyson remarked.
Gretchen laughed lightly, "I bet."
"There's one that reminds me of you," Adyson said.
"Oh?" Gretchen raised an eyebrow.
Adyson pulled into the Fletcher driveway, "Yeah, by the time the third meeting was over, she had the entire handbook memorized."
"Do you double check patch requirements with her?" Gretchen asked.
"All the time. It's faster than looking it up for myself, and I've got an app with all the cross-link references," Adyson answered.
Gretchen raised an eyebrow.
"However unlike our troop, the other girls aren't so accepting of it," Adyson added.
"That's not good," Gretchen murmured.
"There is one girl who gets really irritated with them over it," Adyson commented.
Gretchen laughed lightly as she opened the front door, "So, a girl like you?"
"No offense, but you were extremely bookish," Adyson remarked.
"None taken," Gretchen returned.
"How are you feeling now?" Adyson asked.
"A bit better. I guess it was just nerves," Gretchen answered.
"I just thought it would be good to get you and Katie talking again," Adyson said sheepishly.
Gretchen nodded, "Would you like a coffee or something?"
"Sure, whatever you're having is fine," Adyson replied.
"I was just going to have a glass of water," Gretchen said.
Adyson tilted her head, "That's what you ordered at the restaurant as well...Not able to handle anything other than water?"
"For the time being," Gretchen replied.
"Water's okay with me," Adyson commented.
"You sure?" Gretchen asked.
"Yeah," Adyson said with a nod.
"Would you like something to eat? I can fix you a quick lunch," Gretchen offered.
"If I can just borrow your microwave, I'll heat up my lunch," Adyson replied, holding the bag from restaurant.
"Sure," Gretchen replied as she got a plate from the cupboard, "not a problem."
"Do you want me to heat yours up as well?" Adyson asked.
Gretchen gave a slow nod, "I think I might try eating a little something."
"All right then," Adyson responded.
Gretchen glanced at Adyson's arm then said slowly, "Adyson..."
"Hmm?" Adyson hummed.
"May I see your arm for a minute?" Gretchen asked.
"Uh...okay," Adyson said then held out her arm.
"That's healing up nicely, unfortunately you're still going to have some scars," Gretchen told her.
"That's the way it always happens," Adyson remarked.
Gretchen raised an eyebrow.
Adyson laughed, showed Gretchen her leg, "This is from a spelunking excursion."
"Yikes," Gretchen muttered.
"Yeah, it hurt when I did it," Adyson remarked.
"I bet," Gretchen commented.
The two women sat at the kitchen table with their re-warmed lunch.
"Is this some sort of physical reaction to stress that you're having?" Adyson inquired.
"It must be," Gretchen answered.
"You should talk to someone," Adyson suggested.
"I'll consider it," Gretchen replied.
"You need to take care of yourself. You're too good of a person," Adyson stated.
Gretchen raised an eyebrow.
Adyson laughed lightly, "Do you know how many patches we wouldn't have gotten if you didn't have the book memorized?"
"Isabella would have made sure everyone still got all the patches," Gretchen replied.
"You're too hard on yourself," Adyson stated.
Gretchen gave a soft sob.
Adyson jumped when Ferb burst through front door.
"Gretchen, are you okay?" Ferb asked as he rushed into kitchen and pulled her into a protective embrace.
Gretchen buried her face in his chest and muttered, "Yes. Just got a bit woozy is all."
"Maybe you should talk to Dr. Manson about this," Ferb gently suggested.
"Ferb, we have a visitor," Gretchen mumbled.
Ferb glanced over, "Adyson...how are you?"
"All right, and yourself?" Adyson responded.
Ferb nodded, "I'm sorry to hear about your divorce."
Adyson shrugged, "We wanted different things."
Ferb looked at the re-heated lunches on the table, and raised an eyebrow.
Adyson rested a hand on Gretchen's back, "She suddenly felt unwell at the restaurant."
Ferb looked into his wife's dark blue eyes, an unvoiced question in his own equally dark blue eyes.
"I'll be fine. My nerves got the better of me when I found out Katie was joining us for lunch," Gretchen answered his question.
Ferb nodded slowly, "Your nerves got the better of you."
"Some things happened between us when were teenagers," Gretchen said.
Ferb raised an eyebrow, and Gretchen could see worry in his eyes.
"It's nothing to worry about honey," Gretchen assured him.
Ferb gave her a 'we'll discuss this later' look.
"Are you going to join us?" Gretchen asked.
Ferb nodded, "Unfortunately I forgot my cooler at work."
"We can share mine," Gretchen offered.
"I can just get some-" Ferb started to decline.
"Ferb, this is too much for me," Gretchen interrupted, and Ferb saw the honesty in her eyes.
"Okay," Ferb replied then got himself a fork and returned.
"How long have you been feeling unwell?" Adyson asked Gretchen.
"A few weeks," Gretchen admitted, refraining from dropping her hand to her abdomen.
Adyson turned to the green haired man and asked jokingly, "Hey Ferb, do you think she might be pregnant?"
"I think I would know if that were the case," Ferb replied.
"It's just stress," Gretchen remarked.
"Are you sure?" Adyson asked, giving Gretchen a closer look.
"I'm sure," Gretchen said with a tone that convinced Adyson.
"You'd tell me if you were pregnant though?" Adyson asked.
"Adyson... Just drop it. I'm stressed, that's it," Gretchen said a little sharper than usual.
"Calm down sweetheart," Ferb commented, looking at his wife and thinking, 'hormones, again.'
"I am calm," Gretchen snapped at him.
"As a tempest," Adyson remarked.
Gretchen gave Adyson a death glare.
"And there's the glare of death," Adyson commented.
"Adyson I don't think that's a good idea to be-" Ferb started, recognizing that Adyson was about to get herself, and him, into hot water.
"Sorry," Adyson cut him off, she too realizing the danger signs.
Gretchen closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
Ferb got up and stood behind Gretchen and placed his hands on her shoulders. Upon feeling the tension in them, he started to rub. Gretchen visibly started to relax.
"I wish my ex-husband would have done that to me. He thought there was only one way to touch a woman and it wasn't holding her hand," Adyson remarked.
Ferb looked at her and smirked.
"You know exactly what I mean, don't you Ferb?" Adyson asked.
Ferb raised an eyebrow and continued to smirk.
Gretchen reddened slightly and closed her eyes.
"We're all adults here Gretch. And you're a nurse; surely you've heard it all before," Adyson said.
Gretchen opened her eyes, "I've seen some things I could have gone without seeing."
"You mentioned something about a married couple and the ER," Adyson prompted.
"Not right now, not something you want to hear before eating," Gretchen responded.
"I've got a strong stomach," Adyson said.
"Let's just say that there were toys involved and no one knew how to read the directions," Gretchen stated.
Ferb burst out laughing as he retook his seat.
"That would be... unpleasant," Adyson said with a slight grimace.
"Surgical intervention was required," Gretchen deadpanned.
Adyson started laughing, "Are you serious?"
Gretchen nodded, "Yeah the surgeon on call was NOT happy about what he had to remove."
"So was it the husband or the wife that needed it?" Ferb asked.
Gretchen smiled, followed by a giggle then full out laughter, "Both!"
Ferb and Adyson laughed harder.
"How can someone-" Ferb trailed off at a loss for words.
"Honestly, there are only so many places-" Adyson began before continuing to laugh.
Gretchen sobered up in comparison to her two lunch companions, "Neither of them thought to read the instruction manual."
"I've never read the instruction manual!" Adyson remarked.
"Well you've never managed to get yourself seriously injured," Gretchen pointed out.
"Unless you count the Bio-Dome," Ferb said.
"The Salamanders were singing that day," Adyson said.
"That was just heat stroke," Gretchen said.
"It was still unpleasant and I had a wicked headache for the next few days," Adyson informed the pair.
"It's funny how you were the only one afflicted," Ferb mused aloud.
Adyson shrugged, "Call it my being accident prone."
"You should be a bit more careful," Gretchen advised.
"I've learned my lesson the hard way," Adyson replied.
Ferb kissed the top of Gretchen's head, "How are you feeling now sweetheart?"
"Okay," Gretchen replied.
"Will you be okay for an hour or so while I get your car?" Ferb asked.
"Yeah, I should be fine," Gretchen answered.
"I'll pick up Phin and we'll head over and get it," Ferb said.
"Thank you honey," Gretchen mumbled then handed him the keys to her car.
Ferb smiled at her before leaving.
"Can I just say something?" Adyson asked.
"Like?" Gretchen prompted.
"You two have had to been made for each other," Adyson commented.
"Why's that?" Gretchen asked.
"Well you two have a long standing and loving relationship," Adyson responded.
"We've had our ups and downs over the years," Gretchen said.
"You've always worked things out in your favor though," Adyson stated.
"We make a point of communicating," Gretchen pointed out.
"That's what went wrong in my marriage," Adyson commented.
Gretchen tilted her head, "What do you mean?"
"Towards the end we didn't talk much," Adyson admitted.
"Oh, that's a shame," Gretchen said.
"He's the one who filed..." Adyson muttered.
"Something wrong?" Gretchen asked.
"I actually stopped my birth control the day before he told me," Adyson said sheepishly.
"Have you gone back on it?" Gretchen asked.
Adyson shook her head.
"Yet you're looking to start dating again," Gretchen commented.
"I'm not going to do anything stupid," Adyson defended.
"Accidents happen, Adyson," Gretchen said seriously.
There was a pause then both women realized what was said and start laughing.
"I want to have a meaningful relationship, kinda like Ferb and you," Adyson said after regaining her composure.
"So you want someone that understands you?" Gretchen asked.
"Yes, and that will love me for me," Adyson answered.
"I'm sure he's out there somewhere," Gretchen said.
"I wonder if this mystery man is looking for someone like me right now," Adyson mused aloud.
"Maybe he is. Who knows?" Gretchen responded.
"Ferb is very gentle with you...Is he like that all the time?" Adyson asked.
Gretchen turned a bright red, "Adyson..."
"Just curious, my Ex, he wasn't exactly the 'gentle' lover," Adyson said.
"Well, we do have our moments," Gretchen admitted.
"Really?" Adyson leaned forward, "Who's more aggressive?"
"Adyson!
"He was aggressive more often than I was."
"I'm not going to tell you."
"It won't go past-"
Gretchen sighed, "You're persistent, I'll give you that."
"Come on, I need to have girl talk with someone. Isabella's got nothing, I swear that girl's a nun. Tell me you wear something pretty or nothing at all, give me something," Adyson nearly pleaded.
Gretchen blushed hard, "I've got a couple of pieces I'll wear on occassion."
Adyson squealed like a little girl, "Show me!"
"Okay, come on," Gretchen sighed.
Gretchen led Adyson upstairs to the master bedroom. She went to the left side of the room and opened a dresser drawer. There were several lace nighties and two piece numbers.
"Okay, I'm impressed," Adyson admitted.
Gretchen was still red, "Why?"
"I would have never pegged you to be one to wear something like that," Adyson said.
Gretchen sat on the bed, "Yeah well," she smirked, "Not so innocent anymore."
Adyson held up a little lacy number, "This one is beautiful, where did you get it?"
"Berlin," Gretchen said simply.
Adyson's jaw dropped, then she picked up another, "This one?"
Gretchen glanced at it, "Rome."
Adyson picked up yet another, "Let me guess, Paris?"
Gretchen stood up and shook her head, "London." She picked up another one, "This one came from Paris."
"You know, most people collect spoons or postcards," Adyson pointed out.
Gretchen gave a shrug.
Adyson laughed, "Odd sort of collection."
"Ferb likes them," Gretchen replied.
"Can I ask you something?" Adyson asked.
"Hmm?" Gretchen looked at the taller woman.
"How come you never acquired an accent?" Adyson asked.
"An accent? From where?" Gretchen asked.
"From anywhere, from Ferb," Adyson said.
Gretchen coughed slightly. She started rambling without thinking too much about her three years in Europe. A very slight German accent crept into her voice.
"You suppress it?" Adyson asked, surprised.
"For the most part, yes," Gretchen replied.
Adyson smirked, "Anytime you don't or can't?"
Gretchen flushed red again, "Yes."
"Have you always-" Adyson began.
"Well, when was just family, we spoke German without dropping into English too often," Gretchen answered.
"So you've always spoken more than one language?" Adyson asked.
Gretchen nodded.
"After all these years, I'm learning new things about you. Does Ferb know you speak German?" Adyson remarked.
"He learned German to impress my father," Gretchen replied.
"Is he fluent?" Adyson inquired.
"He's conversational. I don't know if he can read it," Gretchen said.
"Is there anything he has yet to learn about you?" Adyson asked.
Gretchen shrugged.
"Anything you have yet to learn about him?" Adyson inquired.
Gretchen gave another shrug.
"How can you stand to not know everything about someone you're married to?" Adyson asked.
A third shrug from Gretchen as she picked up her newest piece, "It's fun to see what happens next."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Adyson inquired.
"Sometimes, he'll just surprise me with something," Gretchen replied and held the piece against her, "Or with one of these."
"Really?"
Gretchen nodded.
"Like Phineas always said, 'Ferb is a man of action'," Adyson commented.
Gretchen smirked, "You could say that again."
The two women went back downstairs and talked. After a while the front door opened. Phineas and Ferb came in, and were in the middle of a conversation.
"What are you going to do?" Phineas asked his brother.
"What can I do?" Ferb returned.
The two men walked into the living room.
"Gretchen, how are you feeling?" Ferb asked his wife.
"Better," Gretchen returned softly.
"You've got great taste Ferb," Adyson commented.
Ferb raised an eyebrow.
Gretchen shot Adyson a look.
"Adyson? What are you-" Phineas began to ask.
"Just hanging out," Adyson cut him off.
Ferb looked at Gretchen inquiringly.
"Girl talk," Gretchen answered.