Candace arrived a short time later.
"Hey Ferb," Candace greeted.
"Hello Candace," Ferb returned.
"I take it everything went fine?" Candace inquired.
Ferb nodded.
"Did she get the epidural?" Candace asked.
Ferb shook his head, "No, there was no time."
"You just said everything went fine," Candace remarked.
"Our son is healthy, doesn't that count as 'fine'?" Ferb asked.
"Of course it does," Candace replied then hugged him tight, "I'm so happy for you Ferb."
"We better get going," Ferb said.
Candace smiled as they got in his car, "I'm an aunt."
"You already were an aunt," Ferb pointed out.
"But he's my first nephew," Candace pointed out in return.
Ferb gave a slight shrug, Candace did have a point.
"You never told me his name," Candace said.
Ferb smiled and replied, "We named him Alexander."
"That's a wonderful name," Candace noted.
Ferb became sheepish, "Candace, can I ask you something?"
"Of course you can," Candace replied.
"Is there anything I should know about raising a son?" Ferb inquired, stopping at a red light.
"Be careful when changing his diaper. The boys had gotten Jeremy and myself on more than one occasion," Candace warned.
Ferb raised an eyebrow, then returned his attention to driving as the light turned green.
"Other than that, love him," Candace added.
"That part is easy," Ferb replied.
"I've seen you with my kids and with Lillian. You'll be a great father."
"I'm nervous. I don't want to hurt him, he's so tiny."
"He's your son, Ferb. You'll do fine."
"I'm not sure of anything right now," Ferb replied with a sigh.
"When Amanda was born, Jeremy would sit and watch her sleep for hours. When I asked why, he told me that Amanda 'looked so peaceful.'"
Ferb smiled slightly, "Alexander does look peaceful when he's asleep, so does Gretchen."
Candace laughed lightly, "I've seen her the one time she fell asleep against you in that overstuffed chair in the den at Mom and Dad's. You were reading your book so as not to disturb her."
"I used to watch her for hours when it was my day off and she was working the night shift," Ferb admitted.
"You'll get a few more chances to watch her soon enough. She's going to be tired, looking after an infant isn't as easy as it seems," Candace remarked.
Ferb became worried, "I know she's taking a year off. Do things get easier?"
"You will fall into a routine and everything will flow smoothly," Candace assured him.
"I hope so," Ferb said.
"It'll get easier once you settle into a routine," Candace said reassuringly.
Ferb nodded as he stopped at a local coffee shop.
Candace noticed this and asked, "What are we doing here?"
"Gretchen is now allowed to have her coffee and tea. I'm getting her one of each. Did you want one?" Ferb replied as the pair went inside.
"It's on me, Ferb," Candace said then placed order for three large coffees and two large teas.
"Thank you for this Candace," Ferb said.
"Not a problem. I remember when I had my first real coffee after the kids were born," Candace replied.
"Gretchen was pretty happy to have the coffee that Jen brought with her breakfast," Ferb remarked.
"I was wondering about the tea thing, has Gretchen always drunk tea or just since you two have been together?" Candace inquired.
"Actually she has always drunk it. I believe she started on the coffee when we were teens," Ferb replied.
Candace nodded then asked, "Did they give her anything to make up for the blood loss?"
Ferb nodded himself, "And several items with a high iron content."
"Because of her anemia?" Candace asked gently, as she took the drink carrier.
Ferb went wide eyed, "No one-"
"I won't tell anyone, I already promised Gretchen I wouldn't," Candace cut him off.
"Thank you," Ferb said as they got back in the car.
"Let's go, you've got a son to show off," Candace said.
Ferb grinned and drove to hospital, parking in the same spot he had parked in earlier.
"Do you know when Gretchen's getting out?" Candace asked.
"She said it should be tomorrow or the day after," Ferb answered, leading the way across the parking lot.
"That's good," Candace noted.
Ferb nodded.
"You said there was no time for the epidural...Just how long were you here before he arrived?" Candace asked.
"Half an hour," Ferb admitted.
"Cutting it kinda close," Candace noted.
"I'm surprised she didn't break my hand with how much pain she was in," Ferb remarked.
"I feel for her. How big is he?" Candace replied.
"Five pound-six ounces," Ferb said.
Candace looked at him, "And he was early? She's lucky, if he stayed in he would have been just about nine pounds."
Ferb eyes went wide, "I wasn't a very large baby."
"You've met her father, he's not exactly a small man. I've seen her brother back in high school, and he's not a small man either," Candace pointed out.
Ferb gave a slow nod.
"Both of my boys were headed for that weight if they were singletons," Candace said.
"Weren't they a good eight pounds each anyways?" Ferb asked.
"Yes. But I'm much taller than Gretchen, Candace replied then shook her head, "If your son was full term, that would probably have been a lot more painful."
"I don't want to see her in that type of pain again," Ferb said, as he pressed the button for the elevator.
"So, you're stopping at one child?" Candace asked.
"Gretchen was in tears, Candace. My wife was doubled over in pain," Ferb pointed out.
"She was in labor, that's to be expected," Candace replied.
"She wanted me to go away," Ferb said as a group of whispering nurses walked past.
"Did she ever scream at you?" Candace inquired.
Ferb shook his head.
"I screamed and quite frankly, I did curse out Jeremy," Candace admitted.
Ferb raised an eyebrow.
"Neither of you were certain what was happening. Jeremy was scared to death of another pregnancy after Amanda," Candace explained.
"How did the second one go?" Ferb asked.
"As you know, the pregnancy was fine. Because they're twins, I had a difficult labor but we knew what we were in for. Jeremy did great, I never would have gotten through it without him," Candace replied.
Ferb paused in his step getting into the elevator.
"Is something wrong?" Candace asked.
"Do twins run in Mum's family?" Ferb asked, fully stepping into the elevator.
"Yes, Grandma Betty Jo has a twin... Lorraine. Why?" Candace returned.
"Twins run in Gretchen's family," Ferb replied, pressing the '4' button.
"You're a little concerned if you two decide to have another, you'll wind up with two?" Candace asked.
"It's a little concerning given Alexander was nearly a month early and weighs as much as he does," Ferb replied.
"My advice? If you two do have another one, and it winds up being twins, take it one step at a time," Candace said.
Ferb gave a slight nod.
"It's not like she's going to be pregnant again next week," Candace pointed out.
A horrified look crossed Ferb's face, "Heavens no. She needs some time for her body to adjust."
"You worry too much, you know that?" Candace said.
"That might have been pointed out once or twice," Ferb replied as the elevator stopped on the Maternity floor, "Gretchen's in this room."
Candace followed Ferb into a room down the hall. The overhead lights were off, but sunlight was coming in through the window. Candace could see Gretchen's form in the bed. The hospital table was off to the left of the bed. Ferb stepped up to the bed.
"She's still asleep," Ferb said quietly.
"Considering how little sleep she got, I'm not surprised," Candace said.
"She'll probably wake up once she smells the coffee," Ferb remarked.
Candace set the drinks on the hospital table.
Ferb removed Gretchen's glasses, then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "I'm back."
Gretchen eyes blinked open, "I must have fallen asleep."
"We've brought you a peace offering," Candace said indicating the coffee.
Gretchen sat up with Ferb's help, "Is that real coffee?"
"There's also a tea for you, the tea's been steeping for the past ten minutes," Ferb said.
"I think I'll take the tea first," Gretchen replied.
Ferb handed her the tea.
Gretchen put on her glasses, then took a sip, "Thank you."
Candace watched the interaction between Ferb and Gretchen.
Ferb noticed this, "Something wrong Candace?"
Candace shook her head, "I'm assuming Alexander is asleep?"
"I believe so," Gretchen replied.
"Gretchen, how big do they think he would have been at full term?" Candace asked.
"He could have been almost eight and half to nine pounds," Gretchen replied.
Ferb hugged her, "I'm so sorry sweetheart."
Gretchen gave one arm hug in return, "Ferb, a woman's body is built to do this."
"Exactly," Candace said.
"I felt so helpless this morning," Ferb said.
"You were wonderful," Gretchen told him then looked at Candace, "He was my rock when I needed him the most."
"There you go Ferb, you can't ask for higher praise than that," Candace remarked.
Ferb smiled slightly as he sat down beside his wife.
Gretchen leaned back, "It feels odd though."
"Not being pregnant?" Candace asked, knowingly.
Gretchen nodded.
"Before you know it you'll be back in your old jeans," Candace said.
Gretchen smiled, "It's been a while."
"You look good though," Candace said.
Gretchen placed her hands on her abdomen, and a tear fell, "I wish he was still here."
"You can hold him now, that's so much better," Candace said.
Gretchen nodded, "It is, I'm just not used to this."
"You will get used to it," Candace said.
Gretchen nodded.
"It took me a while to get used to it myself. I'm pretty sure your mom would say the same thing," Candace said gently.
Gretchen nodded, "I guess I could always ask Ferb if he wants another," she said looking at him.
Ferb blanched, and shook his head, "No. I don't want to put any more stress on you."
Gretchen ran her hand through his hair, "What if I want another?"
"What if it's twins?" Ferb asked.
Gretchen smiled, "There's a chance it won't be."