CHAPTER 13-Here it is! My last chapter, and then the Epilogue!

I'm so sad! It's almost over!

But it isn't yet, so read this story!

And I still don't own Phineas and Ferb!

I hear gasps from all around, and a brief sound that sounds like someone is vomiting, but that all stops when I realize that the button Vanessa is now pushing is stuck.

DR. D'S POV

I sprint over towards my daughter, and everything around me slows down. I see Candace, engulfed in a tight hug by her boyfriend, Phineas and Perry the Platypus holding onto each other with tears streaming down their cheeks, the other 3 kids and Carl, eyes wide and saying nothing, stricken, and my own daughter, freaking out over this one stupid button.

I reach her and push her out of the way quickly. "Move!" I yell, meaning no disrespect. But we need to get the button fixed. My voice startles her and she backs up in shock. I pound my fist down on the machine as hard as I can, and though I hear a crack in both my fist and the machine, I ignore it and whack the "on" button with all my strength before collapsing to the floor and cradling my broken hand to my chest.

FERB'S POV

Oh, God the pain is killing me; I want it to go away! Everything is going all foggy and I clutch my hands to my chest tightly. I hear sound around me, but it is all one big jumble of words. I can't pick anybody out, and the edge of my vision is becoming red.

The only thing that is solid is the tile floor underneath me. I thought I was in a bed...

As my vision fades, obscuring everything, I press my fist into my chest harder, feeling the blood soaking into my skin and staining it.

Yes, I know what happened, and it's entirely my fault. I already had broken ribs…I shouldn't have been moving. But I got out of that darn bed anyway, and I guess my ribs couldn't take the pressure.

They punctured my…well, you get it. I don't want to make you too sick.

I take a shuddering breath, and get this feeling that I am going to die. Even if I don't, I'll be so darned messed up. For some reason, this complete sense of calm washes over me in the face of my doom.

They say that when you are going to die you see a light. Oh, hey, there's a green one.

Green?

I thought it was supposed to be white? Oh well. I guess a light to the greater beyond is just a light. I sigh, shut my eyes, and embrace it.

CANDACE'S POV

I hear the zing from the machine as it begins working again-thank God- and as soon as the green-ish light disappears, I sprint away from Jeremy and over to Ferb.

The rib I had managed to catch a glimpse of that had been sticking out of his chest is gone, the skin with only a faint scar on it, though it is hard to see through the blood covering his skin. His left arm and both legs all look almost totally healed except for the left leg, which still looks sprained, and the right arm only slightly broken. Obviously, he's still covered in bruises and cuts, but that can be overlooked.

Because he's not awake.

I drop to the ground and pound my fists on my knees. I turn to look at everyone behind me and almost have a heart attack when I see Phineas directly behind me, towards my right. A small chatter turns my attention to the left, where Perry is, with his hat in hand. Jeremy has Isabella in a hug, and the small Fireside Girl is crying into his t-shirt. Buford and Baljeet are standing next to each other; both of them are sheet white, and Baljeet has a sick odor coming off of him from when he had thrown up. Carl has joined Vanessa behind the controls of the machine, and Dr. D is still on the floor, holding his now broken hand.

"Why isn't he awake?" I cry.

"Candace," Jeremy whispers, "he lost a lot of blood. He might not wake up for a while."

I can see from the look in his eyes what he's not saying- a while, if ever.

I turn to Phineas, my eyes full of tears and see that his have done likewise. I wrap my youngest brother in a hug, letting him cry into my shoulder. A small pair of arms wraps around my torso, and I include Perry in the hug. His hat has fallen to the floor behind us, forgotten, and for just a moment, he's only a platypus.

And then the door slams open.

"All right," Major Monogram says, stalking into the room with a scowl on his face. "I haven't had an update in almost 24 hours, what is-"

He stops and his eyes take in the sight before him.

Dr. D with blood all over his lab coat, standing in front of some giant machine, Phineas, Perry and I crying and holding each other next to the fallen body of our brother and everyone else in the room, looking terror stricken at the sight before them. The Major turns menacingly towards Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

"What the he-" he starts, and then stops, realizing there are children in the room. Monogram takes a step towards Dr. D, now standing while cradling his hand to his chest.

"I can't believe that you would be so sick to-"

"Sir?"

Monogram turns towards the intern. "What?"

"Sir, Doofenshmirtz had nothing to do with this. He did nothing wrong. If anything, he did everything right."

"I'd like to believe that Carl, but then why is he covered in blood and standing behind an –inator?" He pulls out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and I dart to my feet, letting Phineas rest against my legs.

"You can't seriously think that Dr. D hurt Ferb!" I cry. "I can't believe you! Just because someone acts evil doesn't mean they don't have a heart! For crying out loud, I-"

I feel a tug at my hand and look down. Perry gives me a small smile and then steps over to Major Monogram. He looks at the man for a moment, then back over to us and then over towards Dr. D. With a small salute and a glare on his face, he chucks his 1940's fedora to the ground at the Major's feet, his expression saying very clearly what he couldn't: "I quit."

Major Monogram looks down at the hat for a moment, then back up at Perry in disbelief. "Agent P!" he cries.

Perry shakes his head and salutes one last time before turning and coming back to Phineas and me. He climbs quietly into Phineas' lap, and the triangular boy pats his head. "You didn't have to do that," Phineas says to Perry.

"Agent P, you can't quit!" Monogram cries in despair.

Perry shakes his head and then freezes as an arm reaches over my lap and grabs his wrist. "Perry…please don't quit," Ferb whispers.

I grin and slowly turn to look at my brother. He's wide awake, looking at Perry in concern. Him, looking at Perry in concern!

"Ferb?" Phineas whispers, eyes wide as saucers. Ferb turns his head with difficulty to look at his brother, who he hasn't seen for almost two days. "Yes?"

I back away slowly, clutching Perry to my chest as Phineas moves over to his brother. His lower lip trembles, but he still gets the words out with a bright smile on his face. "I know what we're going to do today."

He darts the rest of the way over to Ferb and tackles him in a hug, both of them sobbing quietly into the others shoulder.

Isabella has pulled away from Jeremy, and she starts to head forward, but I grasp her wrist. "Give them a second, Is. They almost lost each other."

The Mexican-Jewish girl nods and leans against me for support. I look over at Monogram and give him a stare of death, and he quickly backs out of the apartment. I'm itching to run forward, and I know Perry is too, but we keep still, with me still holding Isabella.

Finally, finally, Phineas pulls away, the front of his orange and white striped shirt stained red. "Geez bro," he says, wiping a tear from his eye, "I thought I lost you."

I smile softly and pull Perry into my lap, letting everyone go ahead of us. Isabella is the first up there and she hugs Ferb tightly. She pulls away a second later and smiles. "Whatcha doin?" she asks quietly.

Ferb raises an eyebrow and she grins. "Yeah, it's directed at you this time."

I don't get it, but Ferb obviously does, because a small smile alights on his face. Everyone else is a little less corny, so while they're talking, I stand and walk over to Dr. D, who's been left alone behind the controls, with Perry following me.

"Dr. D?"

He looks up and I engulf him in a tight hug before he can protest. "Thank you so much. You saved my little brothers."

I pull away, slightly embarrassed. "No problem," Dr. D says. "They're great boys, and they have such a great imagination and major talent. You're lucky to be their sister."

I grin. "Yes, yes I am."

I glance over at Perry, who has his hat on once more (No idea where it came from). He steps forward and gives Dr. D the most grateful look I could ever imagine on anyone, and then he salutes the scientist. He chatters, and then takes Dr. D's hand into his and shakes it firmly.

"No problem, Perry the Platypus. But you know, I hope you'll keep your job at the OWCA, and not quit. You know, so we can keep fighting."

Perry nods and smiles, and then takes my wrist and leads me away. I jump 6 feet in the air as my phone rings. Mom! I had almost forgotten about her. I quickly pull my cell out of my pocket and open it up.

"Hello?"

"Candace? Hey sweetie, how's camp?"

Camp? Oh, right! "Um, buggy. I have tons of mosquito bites."

Mom chuckles and I can almost picture her shaking her head on the other end of the line. "But otherwise it's fun?"

"Yeah, not bad. We might be home in a few days, provided I'm not eaten alive before then!" Mom laughs, and then we hang up.

I look down, expecting to see Perry, but instead, I find Buford at my side.

"How are you going to explain Ferb's broken arm and all your cuts and bruises?" the boy asks.

"Well… I can say that we went hiking and Ferb fell, I guess." I hadn't really thought about it. "I don't want to hit anybody with the machine twice. We don't know what would happen."

Buford nods, and then looks up at me. "You know, you're pretty tough…for a girl."

I smile. "Thanks Buford."

"You know, Phineas and Ferb really look up to you."

I grin and ruffle the boy's hair. "Thanks Buford. Bye!"

Buford smiles and walks back over to the group of people around Phineas and Ferb. Phineas has Isabella's hand in his, and Ferb's smiling impishly. He catches my eye and I wink. Perry is now Ferb's pillow and everyone else is chattering away eagerly.

I don't dare interrupt.

2 HOURS LATER, FERB'S POV

I'm back in Vanessa's room, on the now clean bed with all new sheets, pillows and blankets, sore, but thankfully not dead. All my clothes, at least the ones not torn, are in Dr. D's washing machine, along with Candace's and Phineas'. I am now wearing one of Dr. D's old t-shirts.

I look up as the door creaks open and Candace walks in, wearing some of Vanessa's PJ's and carrying two cups of hot cocoa. "Hey, can I come in?" she asks, closing the door behind her.

I raise my eyebrows. "You already are."

She chuckles and sets one of the cups down on the nightstand next to me before sitting on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling? Any better?"

I nod and smile. Candace looks down at the bed sheets, and traces her finger over one of the patterns.

"Ferb I-I want you to know, I love you so much. OK, this is going to sound corny, but it's true. You're not just my step-brother. You're just as much my brother as Phineas is, and I don't ever want you to think that I think differently. I know I don't "hang" with you as much as Phineas, but you know I still adore you. You're awesome, and when I thought that you might not-well-make it, my God Ferb, I was so scared."

My eyes are beginning to water, and Candace could have flooded all of Europe. "Please don't get hurt again. I love you-and Phineas- too much to see you hurt."

I gently reach up and pull her into a hug, now letting my tears run down her shoulder. "Ferb, if I'm ever not treating you fairly, I need you to tell me."

I pull away. "Candace."

She stops her ranting and looks at me. "Yeah?"

"Please shut up."

She chuckles and wraps me in a tighter hug. "I love you."

"Love you too, sis."

We pull apart a second later, just as Phineas walks in. "Everyone OK?" he asks, raising his eyebrows. Candace and I look at each other and nod.

"Good," Phineas says, sitting on the edge of the bed across from Candace, "because we have some stuff to discuss."

I raise my eyebrows and Candace looks at Phineas curiously. "What?"

"First, what are we telling Mom and Dad about Ferb's broken arm and sprained ankle?" he says, motioning to my arm.

"Well, I told Buford we could tell them that he tripped and fell down a hill while we were walking," Candace suggests. She sees my glare and smiles. "I know you're not that clumsy. It's just an idea."

Phineas and I both nod. "OK, that'll work," Phineas says. "Now, here's the worst one. I thought our clothes would be bad, but Norm actually got them pretty clean. The worst one," he says, with a deep breath, "is Perry."

"Perry? What about him?" Candace asks, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and sipping her hot chocolate, not really hot anymore.

"I was talking to Carl, and remember that if we find out he's an agent he has to be sent away?"

"Yeah, but now he's erasing memories," Candace protest.

"Well, that's better, but I don't know about you, but I don't want to forget any of this. I wish we could still remember, but not lose Perry."

Candace sighs. "We'd need a serious idea and secrecy for that."

I frown. I don't want to forget these moments-ones with Phineas, Perry and Candace. And I know for a fact that Phineas doesn't want to forget about Isabella. I pause as an idea hits me and turn to the two on my bed, deep in thought.

"Guys, I think I have an idea."

The two lean in and as I explain my plan, their smiles grow wider every second.

Ok, just the Epilogue left!

What is Ferb's plan?

What did you think? I'm almost done with this story! It is so depressing!

Candace went all sentimental in here! I am listening to Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Yeah… I was getting all mushy. Don't ask.

Anyway, R and R!