A/N: Hello! Sorry for the wait and thank you all for the support on this story. Enjoy!

Over the next month, family and friends flew in from all over. Both sets of grandparents came, aunts and uncles Ferb had never met, Love Handel stopped by, Meap flew in for a quick visit, and there were quite a few delivery men who came to pay their respects. Love Handel was just on their way out to talk to their parents in the hall, and made room for Candace as she came in.

"Hi Ferb," she greeted weakly. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were bags under them. It had been a restless night for her. "Mind if I join you two?" Ferb motioned for her to take a seat. His older sister sighed and grabbed Phineas' hand. There was no response. Eventually she spoke.

"This is what I was afraid of, what I was always afraid of. I worked so hard to bust you guys before something like this happened.

"But nothing ever seemed to go wrong. And it always, just, disappeared. So I let my guard down. And the one time I wasn't there, this happened. Oh this is all my fault." Ferb placed a hand on her shoulder and she sniffled.

"I know Ferb. Still, I'm your older sister. I feel responsible." They looked at each other for a moment and Ferb blinked.

"You're right. Me feeling guilty isn't going to help Phineas. Thanks Ferb." Suddenly, the constant beeping of the heart monitor stopped, to be replaced by an extended one. The peaks on the monitor turned to one long valley.

"No," Ferb whispered. Candace shouted for help. Doctors and nurses came running and crowded around his brother. One of the nurses herded him from the room and slammed the door behind him, shutting out everyone who was not medical personnel. Ferb stared at it numbly. Suddenly a swell of emotion rose inside him. They couldn't take him away from his brother, not when he needed to be there most. A rage unlike any he had ever felt was released and he took it out on the door. He pounded and kicked with all his might, but it wouldn't open no matter how hard he tried. He could feel hot tears flowing down his face, but he didn't sob or scream. That wasn't like him. Finally his father dragged him away from the door and held tightly against Ferb's struggles.

"There's nothing you can do Ferb. Stop. There's nothing you can do right now." The green haired boy finally stopped fighting and slumped in has father's arms.

I could've been more careful, he thought. I could have volunteered to fix the machine. That should be me!

VVVVVVVVVVV

The rain fell in a light sheet, soaking the remainder of those still outside. The air smelled faintly of flowers. Everyone around him was wearing black, which looked odd on everyone except Vanessa, who was currently consoling Candace. His grandparents said their farewells and then left; they had a long flight home. Isabella was ushered into the car by her mom, both of whom were crying. His flattened, green locks fell in front of his face and Ferb brushed them away. Why was everyone crying? Why was everyone in black? Why couldn't he remember? Ferb turned around and stared in shock at the mound of fresh earth and newly carved gravestone.

His stomach lurched in disbelief. No. No. Not Phineas. This couldn't have happened. He had to be dreaming. He had to be.

VVVVVVVVVVVV

A gasp of air forced it's way into Ferb's lungs and he sat up quickly, staring around his dark room, wondering what had just happened. Then the dream came back to him. He let out a shaky breath. At least it had just been a dream. He wiped the tears from his eyes and realized his hands were shaking. Perry chattered at him worriedly. He hugged the platypus close to him, and could have sworn the platypus hugged him back.

"He can't die Perry. He just can't."

VVVVVVVVVVV

His parents kept Ferb home for the weekend after his little episode. They felt being around Phineas caused him too much stress. As much as being away from his brother was killing Ferb, he put his time to good use. He sequestered himself to his and Phineas' room, barely coming out except for meals… sometimes. Candace would knock on his door and when she didn't receive an answer, just walk in. She would find her younger brother bent over his desk, scribbling furiously, creating blueprint after blueprint, calculation after calculation, scrapped idea after scrapped idea, before he would growl in frustration and bang his head on his desk. Candace placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you ok?" she whispered worriedly. Ferb shook his head against the desk. "What are you doing?" she asked. He lifted his head and sorted through his papers until he found the very first one, and showed it to her, titled Project: Wake Up Phineas.

"Oh Ferb…" Candace wrapped him in a huge hug and he accepted, somewhat reluctantly. Once they pulled away, Candace took a seat on Phineas' bed.

"What have you come up with so far?"

Ferb shook his head as if to say "Nothing good."

"Well what have you tried?"

Ferb shrugged. "Everything."

"Well… what haven't you tried?" Ferb resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his sister.

"Come on Ferb, there has to be something. Something you would never think of doing. Even if it's something tiny." Ferb tapped his fingers on his desk and thought about what Candace had said. Something was coming to his mind. Something new. Something crazy. Something small. Something he hardly ever did. Something that just might work.

"I can talk."