A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter this time around, but I just needed to get the ball rolling. Since I haven't been tweaking it much, it's just going to sit stagnant if I don't post it anyway, hehe. Hope you folks enjoy~

Even though Isabella had tried her hardest to crush any sense of curiosity overnight, it was for nothing. She woke up the next morning with just as strong a burning need to see the boys again... just in case. Her subconscious screamed that it was completely stupid, and that love was useless anyway, but she needed to know. She needed to see. Just in case. Because of course there had to be that one nagging little part of her that wanted something that left her as vulnerable as a relationship would, and there seemed to be no stomping that out of her system. And, she mused, you never know—maybe meeting them would open her eyes and push the ridiculous thoughts from her head. It was probably just the curiosity... or so she tried to convince herself.

With a great deal of courage—odd considering fearlessness had always been one of her best assets during the fight—she took the opportunity to meet the boys that very day. Making her way across the street seemed an insurmountable task, a journey of epic proportions. Her stomach churned with uncharacteristic anxiety the whole way over. It was unlike her to feel this sort of debilitating nervousness, but the situation was completely alien to her. Just yesterday she had grappled with the concept of friends after having lived in virtual seclusion from all those her age for a year, and today she was seeing who she had fallen in love with on a completely different plane. However, it was unlike her to back down from a challenge.

Her finger hovered over the doorbell for a long minute before she could summon the guts to press it. Distantly, she could hear the chime of the bell somewhere within the house. In the moments that followed in silence, she almost hoped that no one would answer, that she could just run home and forget that any of it ever happened, and continue on with her life on her own—

The vague outline of who she presumed to be their mother became visible behind the thick glass, and the door swung open shortly after. The mother, a woman of average height and build with a thick head of brilliant red hair just like one of her sons, greeted Isabella with a smile. Isabella could almost spot a ghost of mistrust flash through the woman's blue eyes, and she hoped it was merely a lingering reflex caused by the conditioning of the old rule.

"Hi," Isabella managed to stammer, cursing her feeble voice. She had hoped to put up a stronger front than this. "Are Phineas and Ferb home? I'm Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, from across the street." She added the last sentence quickly, as if trying to explain her sudden appearance on their doorstep.

"Sure, they're right upstairs." Linda backed out of Isabella's way and gestured toward to stairwell behind her. "And my name is Linda Flynn-Fletcher, but you can call me Linda." Her warm countenance appeared genuine, the subtle look of mistrust seemingly gone, and Isabella hesitantly stepped over the threshold. Once in the house, she darted for the stairs, eager to be away from the possible scrutiny of her motives. It never occurred to her that Linda might just be content that her boys had made a new friend.

Upon arriving at the top landing, Isabella slowed and allowed herself to look around. Her entire body tensed when she saw the figure not five paces away from her feet: the metallic shell and turquoise fur of the platyborg. Without thinking, she readied herself for battle, only to remember that the platyborg's stint in Doofenshmirtz's service was long since over. Perry—she was pretty sure of its name—had been Phineas and Ferb's pet before being abducted by their "leader," and he had returned to being a mindless domesticated animal ever since the war had ended. Nevertheless, Isabella felt a chill looking into the scope over one eye. She had had too many close encounters with the beast during its time as a tool of evil.

Cautiously, she crouched down and held out one hand. The platyborg chattered at her in its unique way as it peered at the gesture. Slowly, it stepped forward, the mechanized joints hissing and buzzing softly with every movement. It approached her hand and sniffed it. Isabella was still wary, almost expecting it to chomp on her fingers at any moment, but to her surprise, it nuzzled against her. She tentatively stroked its bill, and it chattered again. She took it to be a happy sound. Allowing a small smile, she scratched the fur at the top of its head. Its eyes drifted lazily, as if in contentment.

Assured now that the platyborg wasn't planning on taking her down, Isabella returned to a standing position and glanced around the hallway. Down the hall to her right was a closed door. From behind it, she could hear the distinct noise of splattering water from someone taking a shower. Ignoring the bathroom, she continued searching the doors. One was labelled with Candace's name; it was still odd to be in the house of her former boss, like she was intruding upon Candace's headquarters. Of course, she reminded herself, those days were gone. She looked to the left and saw a simple wooden door emblazoned with the exact names she was searching for: Phineas and Ferb. Steeling herself upon seeing the cracked-open door, she nudged it all the way open with her foot and peered inside.

She first took in the room's decor, which struck her as a look halfway between the utilitarian style and something more liberal. The floors and carpeting were the same dull shades of grey and off-white as her room, and dusty shelves lined the walls. There were several colourful posters up on the walls, however, and various trinkets were scattered across the room. Books of all shapes and subjects were littered on every available surface, including the corners of the floor. A rusted metal box filled with second-hand tools protruded from under one of the beds.

Atop the other bed was the singular occupant of the room. And as soon as Isabella's gaze reached his face, she was hit with a jolt somewhere in her chest region.

This was the one. There was no doubt about it. She could hardly believe that she had doubted the possibility that she would feel the same connection as the Isabella in the alternate dimension. Maybe it wasn't love, or even attraction, but it was something. Her stomach wound itself in knots, her heart leapt into her throat, and her eyes were locked onto his. It was him, all right. She had never been more certain of anything in her life.

The doubts, the former impracticability of friendship, and the fear of the emotional implications of opening herself up to someone seemed unimportant in that very instant. For a minute, she was almost able to forget all the misgivings born of the lifelong struggle and give herself over to something personal—something normal.

The moment they met eyes, Isabella was rocked by a wash of emotion so clearly defined that it nearly made her head spin. Everything about him was just so... amazing. She didn't know how she had missed it all before: his haphazard hair that he had allowed to grow out, the look of perplexity at seeing her barge into his room, and most of all, the spark of intelligence in his eyes... This was someone that could be worthy of her friendship, her confidence—her trust.

She wondered how he felt, if it was anything like the tidal wave of sensation that had just crashed over her.

So engrossed was she that she didn't hear the sudden silence of the water shutting off, or the opening of the bathroom door. Soon, though, she was awakened from the semi-stupor by a voice.

"Isabella?"

Dazed, she turned to the right to see who had interrupted her.

Phineas was standing in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, eyeing her with bashful awareness of his lack of clothing. "Isabella, right?" he repeated, the blush on his pale cheeks becoming ever more apparent.

Isabella's gaze drifted back to Ferb, who was seated upon his bed with an overlarge book on some complex topic she couldn't begin to understand. From under the soft locks of hair that brushed his brow, his brilliant eyes remained locked on her. He set aside the book and got to his feet. Isabella had never been a short girl, but Ferb easily topped her by at least a couple of inches.

It was impossible to really tell, but from the expression on his face, Isabella could almost believe that he might have felt at least an inkling of what she had.

With yet another jolt, a sobering swell of mental clarity cascaded through her, erasing all infatuation from her mind. She told herself that she was being ridiculous. Baljeet's talk had conditioned her to feel the clichéd sensations of "love"—or attraction, or connection, whatever it was—upon seeing one of the brothers. Using all of her inner resolve, Isabella crushed the fluttery feelings and replaced them with an iron-clad lack of emotion. She allowed icy indifference to flow through her entire body, forgetting almost entirely about her moment of weakness. Almost.

"It's been a while since I've seen either of you," she stated in a clipped tone, feigning a diplomatic intent. "I thought I should check to make sure everything is going okay."

"Uh... yes?" was Phineas' bemused reply. He glanced to his brother for answers, seemingly checking to see if he had missed anything while he was showering. Isabella caught the minute shake of Ferb's head that expressed perfectly that he had no idea what was going on either.

"Good." Isabella gave a haughty "hmph!" and crossed her arms. "Even though most people aren't paying attention anymore, I don't think that it's ever a good idea to let your guard down. You never know." She was mentally rolling her eyes at her contradictory intent on coming over.

"I actually think we're okay by now," Phineas said with a smile. "It's nice to actually enjoy summer, you know? Hey, it's nice just to have summer again! I mean, we probably don't get up to half the stuff that we—that is, our other selves—do in the other dimension, but you never know; we might be getting there!"

His delight with life was bordering on infectious. Isabella almost had to restrain the smile tugging at her mouth. With a deep breath, she shook her head. "You never know," she repeated ominously, almost implying that Doofenshmirtz could break out at any point to take over the Tri-State area once again.

Phineas shrugged carelessly. "Well, I think we can handle it if anything else happens. We've got each other now, right?" He jabbed a thumb in Ferb's direction. "I bet that Ferb and I could take on the robot army all by ourselves by now!"

At that, Isabella couldn't help herself. She laughed scornfully. "Yeah, like you two could take on a robot army. You could barely fight off a few of them last time!"

"Says the girl who was driving the mine cart," chided a smooth British voice from the room.

She whipped around to face Ferb, barely repressing her rage. "Excuse me?"

Ferb's gaze was even, just as blank as hers. And yet, she could see the trace of humour in his eyes. He knew exactly how she would react to what he was saying.

She decided not to take the bait. With another deep breath, she returned her gaze to Phineas. "Listen, I'm just saying that it's too quiet. We should all be on our toes in case someone—or something—else decides to attack Danville." She sighed irritably, thinking of her encounter with Buford the previous day. "I don't know why I ever stopped wearing my battle outfit. It might come in handy."

In her peripheral vision, she could see one of Ferb's thin eyebrows raise sceptically, but she ignored him. Phineas was staring at her with mingled disbelief and wonder.

"You're really into this whole resistance thing, aren't you?" he asked, his voice honestly surprised. "Maybe it's just me, but I think we should all be enjoying the peace and quiet—you know, just in case something does happen." He gave her a nod of acknowledgement. "Then we can at least say that we had some good times before it all went wrong again!"

Isabella had no idea how a kid could make something so grim sound so positive. It was even worse that his words made sense. The bugger was just as optimistic as his alternate dimension counterpart.

She uncrossed her arms while keeping her stiff, upright posture. "Maybe, I guess," she relented grudgingly. Despite the embarrassing moment of vulnerability, she still wasn't planning on becoming best friends with anyone—or falling in love, for that matter—but maybe he was right. Maybe she could stop dwelling so much on the outfit hidden in her closet. Maybe she could find a different hobby than working on tactical defence strategies.

It wasn't likely, though.

Even so, it was strange how he had done it with only a few sentences, but Phineas had almost shifted her outlook ever so slightly. His mood truly was infectious. Like a disease, she thought with acidity, though she still had to bite back a smile.

She shook her head mentally, so that they wouldn't see. What was wrong with her today?

"Good." Phineas was beaming now. "Anyway, we were just about to go make a giant ice cream sundae machine." He touched his chin in a mock ponderous gesture. "It feels right, somehow. Wanna join us?"

Isabella could hardly believe it, but for some reason, giant ice cream sundaes felt like it did bear some sort of significance. What would they even mean to her? She couldn't imagine, but she could feel a twinge in her throat, the ghost of a pain not really there. Nevertheless, she brushed off the sensation and declined his offer with a headshake.

"No thanks. I have to be getting back. Like I said, this was just a check-in."

Phineas looked crestfallen. "Well, all right then. But if you change your mind, don't hesitate to visit!" Suddenly remembering that he was still half-dressed, he darted into his room and disappeared into a closet. She could hear him rummaging through the hangers.

Isabella nodded curtly even though he wasn't there to see. Before leaving, she cast one last look at Ferb. He was still gazing at her, but now she couldn't quite pinpoint his expression. His eyes were like stained glass windows: beautiful, yes, but impossible to see beyond.

To her despair, she felt the fluttery sensation once again.

.*...*...*.

She thought that returning to isolation might help her forget that shockwave of sensation with which she was so unfamiliar—that connection.

It didn't.

A/N: SURPRISE. Yeah no. I'm sure you all saw it coming. I request no flaming, even if you don't care for the pairing. Share the love! Anyhow, writing second-dimension Isabella is a bit tricky since I want her to be human while still repressing the most basic of human urges - the need to be accepted or feel a connection. As hard-hearted as she tries to be, I'm sure she would have that weakness somewhere deep down... As always, reviews are delightful~