Isabella's days rapidly developed a rhythm. Phineas started coming over to help with breakfast; after a couple weeks, she gave him a key so she didn't have to let him in every morning. With him feeding Becky, it gave her time to get a real breakfast and a more leisurely shower, which made her look forward to the day more than she had since before Becky was born. She'd drop Becky off at Abuela's for the day. Her mother would typically 'just happen' to mention some young man she knew who was single and would, she was sure, make a wonderful husband and be a father for Becky, and Isabella would find some excuse not to get roped into a date with him. She'd gone on dates with two of these 'wonderful' young men before Phineas had returned, and both had been disasters.
She'd spend the day at work, occasionally visiting Phineas and Ferb at F&F for lunch, then return home, picking up Becky on the way. Becky played while she took a quick shower to wash the day away, then Phineas would come over. Sometimes he came over early and made dinner for the three of them; sometimes he ate with his parents, and Isabella whipped something up for her and Becky before he came over to help with Becky's bedtime.
Weekends, Phineas still came over for breakfast and dinner. Sometimes he'd take Becky for the day, and go do something with her; sometimes they ended up spending the day hanging around the apartment, or going out and doing things together. Those were Isabella's favorites; for an hour or two, she could almost pretend they were a family again. She barely caught herself from grabbing his hand a couple times before reminding herself that, no, she wasn't getting involved with him that way again.
He'd invented - or reinvented, depending how you looked at it - the wood-metal fuser, and the patent paperwork was progressing. She joked with them at lunch that she should get her name on the patent, too, since she'd been the one who'd brought it back in time for them. Ferb had raised an eyebrow at Phineas and they'd instantly agreed, to her great surprise.
Phineas made Becky a small Godzilla suit for Halloween, and even Vivian had been unable to resist smiling at his eager expression as he prompted Becky to say, 'Tick oh teet!'
Phineas hadn't meant to end up in Isabella's room. Becky had been being difficult, and decided to run away from him shouting, "No!" when he went to change her diaper. He chased her into her mother's room, and stopped. It had been his room - their room. That had been their bed. And he'd thrown it all away.
Becky was trying to hide behind the desk; it wasn't very effective. He sidled over and picked her up, listening to her scream. Holding her against his chest, he saw a tape-covered piece of paper on the side of the desk.
It was the note he'd written when he'd left; it had been torn to pieces, then carefully taped back together. He leaned over to look at it.
Dear Isabella:
I need to go. I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I can't do this. It's better this way.
I'll try to come back when I can.
Take good care of her. I always love you both.
Phineas
He'd thought he'd been more expressive than that; apparently his memories of the event were fuzzier than he thought.
With a sigh, he carried his squirming daughter off to a desperately-needed diaper change.
Isabella held the apartment door open with her foot as she picked up the grocery bags she'd set down. Phineas looked up from his seat on the couch, closed his laptop, and came over to help; Becky was sound asleep on the floor, holding her stuffed bunny and sucking on the first two fingers on her left hand.
As they put the groceries away, Isabella asked, "So how was she?"
"A bit difficult on a diaper change. I had to chase her into your room."
Isabella laughed. "She does that sometimes."
"I...saw the note," he said hesitantly.
She paused, then kept putting away groceries. "I was so furious when I found it that I tore it up. And then I realized it might be the last thing I ever got from you."
"I'm sorry."
"I know. You're doing what you can to fix it. We go on."
"It gave me an idea, actually. I started looking into what happened to Tim."
"Tim? Your biological father? Why?"
"If I can figure out why he never came back...maybe it can help me make sure I never run away again."
Isabella looked over at him; he looked sad and resigned. "So what did you find?"
"The last letter from him was postmarked Warren, Pennsylvania. So I poked around the local newspaper and government websites, trying to see if there was any record of a Timothy Patrick. Nothing."
"Okay. He may have just been passing through, though."
"I know. It's just the last lead I have. I'll see what else I can find out."
Isabella and Becky arrived at the Flynn-Fletchers' house around noon for Thanksgiving. She and her mother had been going over there for years, ever since her father had died when she was very young; they hadn't wanted to do the full Thanksgiving for just the two of them. The celebration had grown over the years - Jeremy had joined Candace, and their children had come along, and then Vanessa had joined Ferb. They both spent time here before going over to their in-laws, making sure to spend time with both families.
Normally Linda's parents would join them as well, but this year they were off visiting Linda's sister Tiana and her family on a trip down the Orinoco River. Even so, Linda and Lawrence's three children, two children-in-law, and four grandchildren, plus Isabella and her mother, made for a very full house.
Lawrence, Vanessa, and Jeremy were watching the football game in the living room, while Candace and Jeremy's three-year-old twins, Fred and Xavier, played with toy trucks on the carpet. Candace, Phineas, and Ferb were all helping their mother in the kitchen, with Amanda trying to direct everyone's activity. Becky toddled over to join the twins in their play.
Vivian came over, carrying a casserole dish full of tamales; despite Linda insisting that she didn't need to, she always felt obligated to bring something over to share. Isabella smiled as her mother told Becky, Amanda, Fred, and Xavier that they were all so grown up and had gotten so big.
Isabella sat and chatted with Vanessa while they waited for the meal to finish up. Vanessa seemed to be paying a lot of attention to Becky, making Isabella wonder if she and Ferb were considering adding another grandchild to the tally.
"How are you and Phineas doing?" Vanessa asked quietly.
Isabella shrugged. "There really isn't a 'me and Phineas'. There's Becky and Phineas, but...to be honest, I think he's scared of me."
"He probably is. Ferb thinks he still cares about you, but thinks that there's no way he can make up for what he did, so he's funneling it all into Becky. You know Phineas - he doesn't do anything half-way, not even self-loathing."
Isabella laughed despite herself, waving off curious looks from Jeremy and Lawrence.
Phineas sat between Becky and Vivian at the table, with Isabella on the far side of Becky. Amanda had protested at how Becky got to sit at the adult table while she had to sit at the kid table with her brothers, but quieted down when Candace asked if she wanted to sit in a booster seat.
Phineas cut up some turkey and put it on Becky's tray. She picked a piece up and put it in her mouth, giving him a grin. He served himself some food, remembering his last Thanksgiving. It was by far the best meal he'd gotten while he was away, at a church in Seattle. Now, a year later, he was back home, and seemed to be doing okay on getting his feet back under him. He'd created a relationship with his daughter. And maybe - someday - he could rebuild his relationship with Isabella? It seemed unlikely, but he'd done the impossible before.
Vanessa, across from Becky, and Jeremy, across from Phineas, started talking about her political career and his work as a music teacher. Vivian was mostly talking to Linda, next to her on the end of the table, and Candace, across from her. At the other end, Isabella and Lawrence were talking quietly as Ferb sat and listened. Phineas enjoyed a moment of solitude in the midst of the bustle, concentrating on enjoying the meal and feeding his daughter.
As the meal drew to a close, Jeremy asked, "So, Phineas, how are things going with your therapist?"
"Really well," Phineas answered, looking up. "She thinks I'm not at a serious risk of running like that again."
Beside him, Vivian sighed.
"Are you and Isabella..." Jeremy trailed off.
Phineas looked over at Isabella, who was busily talking to his father.
"I hope not," Vivian muttered.
Linda looked up sharply from her conversation with Candace. "Why not?" she asked.
Vivian glared at Phineas, then said, "He left her behind. Surely you don't think my Isa should take someone back who'd do something like that?"
Linda said, in a quiet but firm voice, "He came back."
"That doesn't make up for what he did," Vivian said.
"He's trying," Linda said. "What more do you want him to do?"
"Get out of the way so she can find someone she can count on? Maybe it would have been better for them if he'd never come back at all."
Candace and Jeremy looked at each other, and with an exaggerated glance at his watch, Jeremy said, "Oh, look at the time, we need to get to my parents' house." They packed up quickly as Linda and Vivian squared off, Linda arguing that Phineas was trying to make up for his mistake and Vivian claiming it was unforgivable. Ferb and Vanessa left at the same time, claiming a need to go visit her mother's house for the holiday.
Becky was looking back and forth at her grandmothers as the argument grew more heated, and started to cry at the anger in the room. Isabella picked her up out of the chair to comfort her, and Phineas suggested the two of them go home early and he'd meet up with them for bedtime later.
Isabella said her goodbyes to Lawrence and waved at her mother and Linda, who didn't notice because they were both busily blaming Becky's tears on each other. Phineas watched them go, and turned back just in time to see Vivian pick up her casserole dish and march out the front door, pointedly ignoring him as she walked past.
"Fine!" Linda said, closing the door behind her. She gave Phineas a hug, and said, "I just want you to know that I'm proud of you for coming back, and staying even when some people are saying horrible things about you. It was a difficult thing to do, I know."
Phineas nodded as he looked over her shoulder out the window. I wasn't content to just wreck my own relationship. I just destroyed one of my mother's oldest and closest friendships. Good job, Phineas.
I was a fool to ever think we could make it work again. Vivian's right. Isabella needs somebody she can count on, and I'm not it.
