Buford watched as his boyfriend sat and forlornly looked out of his bedroom window. He knew where he was looking without even asking. He was staring at the house where he'd lived. There had been many a night when he'd done the same while the young Indian boy was still a resident of the house. He couldn't imagine what he was going through. His mother had accepted his sexuality easier than he had and his father...well, let's just say that they weren't particularly close to begin with.

Baljeet let out a soft sigh as he looked at what was once his home in sadness. He couldn't understand how the people who claimed to have loved him for all of these years could just...turn away from him. He'd never caused any trouble, he did everything they asked without question, pushed himself in academics to the point of being neurotic. Suddenly, it was all gone. Why? Because he happened to be gay. He rested his head against the cool glass and for a split second wishes that it was the day before, before any of this even happened and his parents still loved him. However, he knew that that wouldn't solve anything. If they could discard him so easily, the love they said they had for him couldn't really be genuine, could it?

Feeling eyes staring at him from behind, Baljeet turned around and met the concerned gaze of his former bully. They stared at each other for a bit, not really needing to exchange words. The silence was broken by Baljeet's breath hitching a bit and tears beginning to reform in his eyes. They slowly walked towards each other until there was no space between them and held each other. Baljeet held on because this was the last thing he had to hold on to. Buford held on because he hadn't wanted to hold anyone else this way and as far as he was concerned, never would.

"Vanessa?" Ferb tentatively asked again. He took in the from of the beautiful young woman before him and she did look very familiar. Her long chestnut hair still fell all the way to the middle of her back and her body was as 'developed' as he'd remembered, if not more so. There were differences, however. Her all-black wardrobe seemed to be a thing of the past. She was now dressed in a more professional manner with black dress slacks and a violet blouse. She wore a bracelet on her right wrist and a watch on her left and she was holding what looked to be her briefcase.

"Ferb? Oh my gosh! Ferb!" she yelled running up to hug the young teen. "It's been so long! How've you been?"

He gave a non-committal shrug and returned the question. She was still the beautiful girl he'd had a crush on all those years ago.

"Well, I'm interning with my uncle, the Mayor, and working on graduating from school. I'm going to law school right after though, so there's really no end to the schooling. What about you? You must be in high school, by now."

The last sentence made Ferb pause and the day's events flashed through his head. He was done standing in the shadows, he was done letting other people decide for him.

"Actually, I'm starting at Danville University in a couple of weeks." he coolly stated.

"Really? Well, I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. With all of that cool stuff you used to build, it's a wonder you don't already have a degree!" she laughed. "So you'll be an incoming freshman, huh? I'll be a junior this year, so I can show you around and everything. Is your brother going to be there too?"

"No, but another friend of mine will be there. He's actually younger than me. Do you remember Baljeet?"

"Uh...nervous little Indian kid who went on and on about grades?"

"That's him," Ferb chuckled at her accurate description of his friend.

"I had no idea I was surrounded by geniuses when I hung around you guys! How's your sister? I listen to her stuff on the radio sometimes."

"She's doing alright, finally enjoying the life of a pop star."

"Hey, were you on your way somewhere?" Vanessa asked. "You looked like you were in a hurry."

Ferb just slowly shook his head. "No, just...I just had to get away."

"Everything all right?"

"Not even remotely."

"Well how about we go and grab some dinner and we can talk about it. Come on, we'll take my car. I promise to get you home before curfew," she joked.

"Frankly, I don't really care. I suddenly have all the time in the world." he said with a sad smile as they walked towards her car.

They sat in the restaurant for hours. They started out reminiscing and making plans to hang out once Ferb got on campus, but then Ferb explained everything that was going on at home and why he ran out.

"Oh man, that's rough..." she almost whispered. "Hey, let's try something. Tell me right now what would make you happy...or at least feel better. There's no wrong answer, just say what you feel."

Ferb placed a hand on his chin and thought...and thought. After what felt like ages, but had only been a few minutes, he said:

"I'm not sure how to answer that. I want to stop being overlooked, but I don't want to be the center of attention. I want to be able to make my own decisions, but I'm afraid of the consequences of the wrong choices. I want to be more outgoing, but the past has taught me that keeping to yourself is the safest way to go. I want to be able to let people in, but I'm terrified of being hurt. I'm just...just a mess."

"No Ferb, what you are...is human. Those are very normal feelings and anyone who says they haven't felt that way is either strange or lying. Look at it this way, you just opened up to me and I'm not going to hurt you. There's always going to be the chance that you might get hurt, but there's also the chance to get to know someone on a deeper level and form a strong relationship, whether it's your family, friends, or your girlfriend. If you do that, you'll also learn a lot about yourself in the process, so I think it's totally worth it. You're a great guy, Ferb. Someday, I'd really like for you to see that."

Ferb was stunned. He'd never been talked to like this before. She wasn't talking down to him because he was 'just a teenager'. She was making light of his problems. She didn't give the "everything is going to be ok" speech, he's heard a thousand times. He felt so much lighter now. Like some of the emotional weight was being lifted, and it was all thanks to the young woman before him.

"Vanessa...I-I have a question."

"Fire away!"

"Do you...Do you think...Would you ever consider...going out with me?"

Vanessa's eyes comically widened and then she began to blink rapidly. "Ferb, I..." She calmed herself down before continuing. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"But you just said..."

"And I meant it! You are a great guy, without question, but... there are just a bunch of reasons why that wouldn't be a great idea."

"Is it because I'm younger?"

"That's one of the reasons, but not the main one. Ferb, you're going through a tough time right now. You're trying to figure out who you are and your place in the world. A relationship is really not something you need. I have absolutely no problem being your friend, because you need as many of those as you can get. As for being your girlfriend, that just wouldn't work. Also, excluding the fact that I'm 21 and you're 16 and us dating would be illegal, I have a boyfriend."

"Oh, I had no idea. I suppose I should have figured. I suppose you're right. I'll be honest, it doesn't make it hurt any less."

"Come here," she said pulling him across the table and into a hug. "Don't worry about it. You just focus on getting yourself better, alright? You do that and the ladies won't be able to resist you!"

He just weakly nodded and pushed himself off and returned to his seat.

"You want me to go ahead and take you home?" she asked.

Feeling exhausted, emotionally and physically, he said yes. They made their way to his house and after promising to keep in contact and to let her know when he got on campus, he made his way into the house.

As soon as he closed the door behind him the living room lights came on.

'I suppose it was silly of me to hope they'd just go to bed.' he glumly thought.

He looked into the now lit room and saw 3 pairs of eyes staring at him. He was about to make a run for the stairs and head to his bedroom, but he didn't move fast enough. His father had already stood and made his way towards him and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Please...please don't ever run away from me again." the elder Fletcher said on the brink of tears. " I was so worried, son. I still am. Talk to me, to us. Just tell us what's going on."

Ferb sighed and remembered his conversation with Vanessa. He had to put himself out there, where better to start than right there? So he let himself be led to the couch and the Flynn-Fletcher family listened to their most silent member let himself be heard.

Sunlight leaked through the windows and woke Baljeet Tjindar from his slumber. For a moment he'd forgotten where he was and thought he was back in his own bedroom. The memories came flooding back like a river and he was almost overwhelmed with emotion once again until he realized there was a large hairy arm around his waist. He felt the slow breaths of Buford Van Stomm breezing through his ebony locks. He never imagined he'd enjoy waking up in this position with the boy but at that moment, there was nowhere else he wanted to be. So he continued to lie there until his boyfriend woke up on his own.

Biffany Van Stomm watched from the doorway as her son and his boyfriend cuddled into each other onto his bedroom floor. They were apparently too tired to make it to the bad and given the postion they were in, she'd guessed it was because they hadn't meant to fall asleep. Her heart ached for the young man who, like she said, did so much for her and her son. She wanted more than anything to take his pain away, but she'd do the next best thing. She'd step in and be there for him as much as he allowed her to be. She had planned after breakfast to take him down to begin the emancipation paperwork to 'strike while the iron was hot', as she always says. She was determined to not let this darken the boy's bright future.

A new day in the Flynn-Fletcher household had begun and it was following one of the worst days the family had ever seen. However, after a very long conversation to clear the air, the healing could now begin. Ferb had made his intentions to accept the scholarship and begin at the university known. It was met with some objections at first, but the parents decided that this would be a learning experience for them all. They wouldn't be too far away from him should he need them, but he's still able to have his privacy and chance to experience some sort of independence.

Speaking of new experiences, Lawrence and Linda also had to ground Ferb for the first time for running out of the house and making everyone worry. Ferb accepted his punishment and spent a week in his room. While there he did a lot of thinking and soul-searching. He was growing more and more excited about his upcoming adventure. Of course, with excitement, there's usually a little fear to go with it. This was a whole new world he was going to be stepping into. He was really doubting if he had what it took after all. Of course, only time could tell...