It's a Really Intimate Get-Together

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Isa," Vivian asked her daughter as she loaded her suitcase into the trunk of the taxi.

"For the hundred and fiftieth time, mom, yes," Isabella told her. "Abuela needs you right now way more than I do, and you won't feel right until you go see her. Besides, you're only going to be gone for the weekend."

"I know you're right, sweetheart, I just don't want you to get lonely while I'm out of town."

"Well I was thinking of inviting the girls over to hang out tomorrow. Just Gretchen and Ginger."

"Or you could just invite mi yerno instead," Vivian said in a playfully suggestive manner. "You'd have the whole house to yourself, after all…"

"Mom," Isabella said with alarm, her face blushing furiously. Her mother had, in recent months, begun referring to Phineas in Spanish as her son-in-law; partly because it always got a rise out of her and partly because her mother knew how much she and Phineas cared about each other. "Don't joke with me like that! Phineas and I are still kids, for crying out loud!"

Vivian laughed heartily at her daughter's reaction. "Alright, dear. But seriously, don't worry about spending time with Phineas while I'm gone. You are a smart, sharp, beautiful young woman, Isa, and I trust you."

"Thanks, mom," Isabella said, hugging her mom tightly before she left for her taxi. "Have a safe flight! And don't worry, I won't trash the place!"

Isabella stood near the curb and waved while she watched the taxi head off towards the airport. Once it was out of sight, she turned and walked back into her house, flopped down onto the sofa across from the TV in the living room, and grabbed her cell phone from the table. She hit her second speed dial and waited for a pickup. She didn't have to wait long, as Gretchen was always quick to answer.

"Hey Izzie, what's up," Gretchen asked.

"You don't work this weekend, do you," Isabella asked in return.

"Nope. Mr. Johnson set me up with weekday hours at Mr. Slushy Dawg for the summer, thankfully. I've got weekends to do whatever I like."

"Awesome! Wanna come sleep over at my place for the weekend? Mom's out of town to go visit grandma. She hasn't been feeling too well recently."

"I'll check with my folks, but I'm definitely up for that. Anyone else coming?"

"You were my first call. I'm gonna hit up Ginger next."

"Good luck getting on her schedule," Gretchen said with a laugh. "Want me to poke anyone else?"

"Nah, I'm shooting for just the three of us. You know, just our own little intimate get-together."

"Gotcha. I'll get things in order over here and be over in a bit."

"Sweet! See you soon!"

Isabella ended the call and then hit her fifth speed dial to contact Ginger. Again, she didn't have long to wait.

"Hi Isabella," Ginger said hurriedly. "Hold on a sec. Deteikinasai, kono baka onee-san!"

"Che, tsumnannai. Isabella ni yoroshiku tsutaete na," another voice said in the background.

The sound of a slamming door came next, jolting Isabella slightly.

"Sorry about that," Ginger apologized. "Stacy's home for the summer and every flipping time my phone rings she thinks it's Baljeet and comes to harass me. It's driving me batty and summer vacation only just started!"

"Well how about I give you a chance to get away from her for the weekend? Wanna come for a sleepover? My mom's out of town and Gretchen's already in."

"You are a lifesaver. I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Excellent! Oh, and try to keep this quiet. It's just an intimate get-together for us three."

"Roger that, captain! Over and out!"

Isabella giggled as she ended the call with Ginger. She celebrated going two-for-two on her invites and set off to the kitchen to get some snacks together for when the girls arrived.

Phineas sulked in the backseat of Candace's car, grumbling mentally to himself as they made their way to Googolplex Mall. He looked at Ferb sitting next to him, who didn't seem nearly as put out as he was. He sat back up again and thrust his head into the front half of the car, looking over at Candace as she drove.

"I could totally have had this done for myself and Ferb from home," he told her. "We have the tools and the capability to build something to help us do it and you know it. But noooo, we have to waste our time going to the stupid mall."

"You know the more you complain the longer this is going to seem to take," Candace replied without taking her eyes off the road. "And we've been over this, Phineas. Whose wedding is this?"

Phineas sat back down, sulking again. "Yours."

"And who gets final say in how things play out?"

"You do."

"And what did I tell you both the morning after Jeremy proposed to me?"

"No invention interventions for the wedding."

"Exactly. This is going to be as normal a wedding as I can manage to have. It won't kill you guys to humor me for one day, will it?"

"But you deserve the most awesome wedding known to man, Candace! And we could-"

"That's not the point, Phineas," she said, cutting him off. She came to a red light and quickly turned around in her seat to look at him. "I don't want 'the most awesome wedding known to man', I want my wedding. When it's your turn, by all means, go nuts, but for just this once listen to and humor your big sister. Please?"

The pleading look in his sister's eyes melted Phineas' resolve. "Can we at least do something for the reception?"

Candace thought for a moment and then smiled a little at him. "I wouldn't mind an ice sculpture like what you guys did for Auntie T."

"It'll be way, way better than that one," Phineas said, grinning once again.

"Alright. But for now let's just get to the mall and get you guys sized for tuxes. You've both gotta look sharp if you're going to be groomsmen for this."

"Look on the bright side, Phineas," Ferb told him. "I'll bet Isabella is dying to know what you look like in a tuxedo."

"This is true," Phineas said, now finding new interest in dressing up. "I'd better make sure my Spanish stays sharp for that evening then."

"Please do not use my wedding reception as a backdrop for a makeout session," Candace said resolutely as they neared the mall. "That goes for both of you."

"Aww…" both boys said in a mock-disappointed tone in unison.

The fitting for tuxedos was uneventful and it wasn't long before the three were heading back to the car. As they walked, however, a familiar voice called out to Candace from behind. She stopped, turned in its direction, and had just enough time to brace herself as Jenny all but tackled her with a hug. The two went completely giddy as they reunited. Phineas and Ferb stopped and just hung back as the two longtime friends got to talking.

"Ohmigod, Jenny, I've missed you," Candace said, stepping back to look her friend over. Her sense of style hadn't changed much since high school; she was still very much the picture of a flower child. The two hadn't seen each other for almost a year, though, since they both had been at college when Candace called her to see about getting her to be a bridesmaid.

"You're looking like you're doing well too, Candace," Jenny told her. "You've got this aura of happiness about you…it's almost blinding, really."

"Heh, I'll take your word for it. What brings you here, though? I thought you usually weren't one for major commercial centers."

"We came to do some impromptu shopping. Mainly clothes."

"We? You're here with someone?"

Jenny looked around for a moment, suddenly confused. "Well I was. But then I saw you and took off running after you. He must still be catching up."

The Flynn-Fletecher siblings all looked at each other in confusion, wondering who Jenny could have come to the mall with. They were answered when a teenage boy with messy brown hair and dressed in a faded yellow t-shirt, gray cargo shorts, and flip flops ran up. He stopped to catch his breath and looked at Jenny somewhat irritated.

"Next time, don't run off when I'm looking around in a store, sis," he said while panting. "I ran around half this stupid place trying to find you!"

Phineas was suddenly delighted. "Django! I didn't know you were back in town, dude!"

Django smiled and hugged Phineas and Ferb in turn. "Good to see you both too. Yeah, I'm back in Danville for the summer. Dad said since Jenny's gonna be around here for the wedding I could crash with her."

"I've got a place we're living in for the summer here," Jenny added. "We couldn't justify the cost of hotel rooms for the whole time, and I wanted to be here for Candace so we found a cheap apartment. It's not much, but it's clean and in a decent enough part of town."

"We go back to Cali at the end of summer, though," Django said to the boys. "It's home for us now, after all."

"This summer just got a million and six times better," Phineas told Ferb quickly before turning back to Django. "You've gotta tell us all about the West Coast, dude."

"So long as you guys fill me in on what's been happening here," Django told him. He looked over at Jenny then. "Sis, I'm gonna hang with P&F for a while if you don't mind."

"All cool with me, bro," Jenny told him. "Call me when you wanna do your shopping. Candace and I'll go catch up some more on our own too."

The two girlfriends walked off and began chattering away as the boys headed for the one place they knew they could relax: the food court.

"So…either of you got a girlfriend yet," Django asked with a smirk on his face as they walked.

"As a matter of fact, we both do," Ferb told him.

"No way," Django said, going wide eyed from shock. He stared for a long moment at Phineas and then looked back at Ferb. "Isabella must be furious."

"Django, it is Isabella," Phineas told him, not appreciating either the joke or the subsequent raucous laughter now coming from both of them.

"Sorry, man, I had to," Django told him after he finally stopped laughing. "That's awesome, though. So who're you seein', Ferb?"

"Gretchen Adler," Ferb said, smiling as he thought of her. "We've been together since just after Freshman year started."

"And Baljeet got together with Ginger Hirano too," Phineas added. "I think I even heard something about Buford hooking up with someone towards the end of the year, too."

"Milly Anderson," Ferb told him. "Gretchen confirmed that for me a couple weeks ago. Apparently they're quite happy together, or at least so I'm told."

"Man, everyone's hooked up now," Django said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What about you," Phineas asked. "San Francisco's gotta be chock full of girls."

"Oh yeah," Django said sarcastically. "Half of them are lesbians, or at least claim to be. Most of the rest who aren't already spoken for are total fluff chicks. And they're all so thin I can count their ribs when they inhale, which isn't exactly attractive. At this point I think I've been hit on by guys out there more often than I've had dates with girls. And I do not swing that way."

"Oof," Phineas said, wincing at the thought. "My sympathies, man."

Django shrugged at him. "At least I can surf and draw to my heart's content out there. School's okay, but it's not the same without guys like the two of you around."

"Well feel free to hang with us as much as you like this summer, man," Phineas told him. "We're glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back," Django replied, smiling. "Now let's get some food. I'm starvin'."

Phineas and Ferb echoed the sentiment and the three picked up their pace so as to reach the food court faster and attempt once again to quell the voracious beast known as the teenage male stomach.

Things definitely felt more comfortable at home to Isabella with Gretchen and Ginger now over for the weekend. Comfortable, and yet it hadn't taken the three of them long to become exceedingly bored. All three were in Isabella's room trying to brainstorm something to do that day.

"We could always marathon some movies," Gretchen said.

"And waste such beautiful weather," Isabella said, looking outside. "No way. Maybe we could go poolside and work on getting a nice tan."

"I don't really need help there," Ginger noted, looking at her skin.

"I just burn anyway," Gretchen added.

"Man, I can't stand this," Isabella said in disgust as she fell back onto her bed. "I wish Phineas and Ferb were home."

"Where'd they go, anyway," Gretchen asked.

"I have no idea," Isabella replied. "I saw them get in Candace's car earlier, but I have no idea where they went."

"Maybe give 'em a call and find out when they'll be back," Ginger said. "I could call Baljeet too and see if he wants to come over."

Isabella considered the idea. On the one hand, she didn't want too many people over for fear of things getting out of hand. On the other hand, it was just their boyfriends they would be inviting over. And even doubling the number of people there it would still be small enough to be a nice intimate get-together. Unfortunately for her, by the time she decided it was worth doing, Gretchen was already on her phone calling Ferb.

"Hey sweetie," Gretchen said to Ferb on her phone. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Uh, excuse me," Isabella said, looking at Gretchen slightly annoyed. Gretchen rolled her eyes and waved her friend off.

"Ah, that explains that then," Gretchen said, continuing her conversation with him. "We're all hanging over at Izzie's. You guys wanna come by later and we can all chill out together? Fantastic! See you then!"

Gretchen hung up and looked over at Isabella. "They went to the mall to get sized for tuxes for Candace's wedding. They'll be back in about an hour or so, and they'll come right on over."

"Tuxes," Isabella repeated. Her mind instantly drifted to thinking of Phineas and how dashing he'd look in such formal wear. While she daydreamed, Gretchen silently urged Ginger to take her turn to call Baljeet.

"Hey there, baby," Ginger said to Baljeet on her phone once he picked up. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Hey," Isabella said indignantly as she snapped out of her daydream. "Knock it off, guys!"

Gretchen laughed out loud as Isabella began assaulting her with a pillow while Ginger continued her phone call to her boyfriend.

"You don't have classes tonight, right? Great. The girls and I are over at Isabella's house for the weekend, and Phineas and Ferb are coming by later. You wanna come over too? Excellent. I'll see you then, lover boy."

Ginger blew a kiss to him over the phone before ending the call. "He'll be over around the same time as Phineas and Ferb."

"Cool," Gretchen replied. "That should definitely liven things up some more. But what should we do until then?"

"I still like the idea of chilling out by the pool," Isabella said as she walked to her closet. "I'm gonna change into a swimsuit and catch some rays."

"I guess I'll join you," Ginger added. "I did bring a couple swimsuits, and I'd rather not be cooped up inside all day."

Both girls then looked at Gretchen, who was looking flustered at the idea of pool time.

"Come on, guys," she pleaded. "You know I'm self-conscious about wearing swimsuits!"

"Are you really gonna sit inside the whole time," Isabella asked her. "Come on, it's just the guys coming over after all. Besides, I'm sure Ferb would appreciate seeing you in one."

Gretchen saw both Isabella and Ginger looking at her pleadingly and begrudgingly opened her bag and fished out the swimsuit she'd brought.

"Alright, I'm coming too," she said. An idea suddenly occurred to her, then; a mischievous, devilish, yet irresistibly fun idea.

She slowly and dramatically stretched her arms over her head. It had the intended effect of sticking her chest - which was far more ample than either Ginger's or Isabella's - out in an exaggerated manner. Ginger and Isabella looked at her with mild annoyance as she winked and smirked at both girls.

"Besides, it wouldn't be right for Ferb to have nothing to look at when he gets here," she told them proudly.

"Oh," Isabella said slowly as she rose to her feet and put her hand on her hip. She quickly realized Gretchen was having fun with them, and she decided to simply run with it. "You wanna make a competition out of it? I'm willing to bet I could give you a run for your money, honey. I've made a hobby out of knowing what Phineas likes, after all."

"Well that's all well and good," Ginger added as she gracefully stood up and posed as if she were a gymnast completing a floor routine. "But while you two are competing, I'll be clearly giving my man what he really wants to see."

All three of the girls eyed each other and then put their hands together, with Isabella's hand on top of Gretchen's which was on top of Ginger's.

"The winner is whoever gets the biggest reaction out of their boyfriend," Isabella said. "No cheap tactics, though. Winner gets bragging rights. And this is all in good fun. You guys are too important to me for this to be anything serious."

"Absolutely," Gretchen added. "We're gonna kick this summer vacation off with something the guys will never forget."

"This is crazy, but at the same time it's gonna be fun," Ginger chimed in. "And I can't think of two more worthy competitors to be going up against."

"Well said, Ginger," Isabella added, her face then taking on a more cunning look. "All pleasantries set aside, you guys are going down."

"Oh I'll be going down," Ginger said confidently. "Going down in the history books as the one who put you both to shame."

"The only shame to be had will be on both of your parts when I knock Ferb's socks off," Gretchen told them both, smiling suggestively.

The three girls broke their huddle and Ginger and Gretchen quickly rushed off to separate parts of the house to make their own preparations. Isabella closed her door and drew the shades of her window. She was perfectly intent on giving Phineas a show at the pool that he would never, ever forget.

"You're sure it's cool for me to hang here," Django asked as he sat on the sofa in the Flynn-Fletcher home. "I don't wanna impose."

"Dude, you're about the least imposing person we know," Phineas told him. "Besides, Candace and Jenny are just upstairs going through old photos and stuff so you won't be alone here."

"You could still come over with us," Ferb said as he tied his shoes. "I'm sure the girls would be happy to see you again."

"Yeah, I stand by my earlier comments," Django said as he slid down the couch to lie down, folding his hands behind his head. "Something about tagging along with three guys who're going to see their girlfriends screams 'third wheel' to me."

"Suit yourself. We'll probably be back soon enough," Phineas told him as he and Ferb headed for the door. "But if we're not back in an hour, call for a search party."

"If you're not back in an hour, I'm calling for a pizza," Django replied as he closed his eyes for a nap.

Phineas and Ferb weren't even halfway down their driveway when they spotted Baljeet waiting at the end of the sidewalk leading up to Isabella's house. He simply stood looking around, hands in his pockets as he waited. Clearly he didn't want to head in alone.

"Hey 'Jeet, what up," Phineas called out as he and Ferb crossed the street.

"Namaste, compadres," Baljeet said, waving back to them. "How's the summer break treating you so far?"

"Pretty awesomely. We went to get sized for tuxes for Candace's wedding, and ran into Django! He's back in town for the summer!"

"Now that is some good news. It'll be fun having everyone back together again. So…what's the nature of this gathering here at Isabella's?"

"Dunno. Ferb got the call from Gretchen while we were at the food court earlier, but she just said to come over to hang out."

"That's pretty much what Ginger told me too."

"Well standing around out here isn't going to answer these questions," Ferb said as he stepped past both of them and headed towards the house. Phineas and Baljeet quickly followed, both of them curious about what awaited them.

The front door was unlocked, but upon entering the boys didn't see anyone around. A quick sweep of the main floor confirmed no one was inside.

"I don't get it," Baljeet said as he leaned on the island in the kitchen. "Why would they invite us over and then not be here?"

"Wait, do you hear that," Phineas asked as he cupped his hand by his ear. He heard music faintly coming from the backyard. "Maybe they're out back by the pool. You guys wait here; I'll go check it out."

Phineas made his way through Isabella's house to the sliding door that led to the backyard. Her house had always had a pool in the back, but over the past few years more things had been added to make it even more enjoyable for guests and parties. A bar was set up on the far side of the pool, and a raised patio had been added just off of the kitchen that overlooked the pool. There was also a fairly sophisticated sound system that Phineas and Ferb had helped install and set up, and sure enough it was filling the air with music. There still wasn't any immediate sign of any of the girls, however, which further mystified Phineas.

"Isabella," he called out as he walked around the pool. "You here? Anyone?"

Just as he passed by the bar, Phineas felt a hand touch his shoulder gently. He smiled, turned around, and froze in place. Isabella stood before him in a white string bikini with a white, floral sarong around her waist that was tied at her right hip. She also had a white lily tucked into the left side of her hair and wore white sandals. She smiled seductively as she stepped up to Phineas, whose heart rate had suddenly become quite a bit more rapid.

"Buenas tardes, mi amor," she said, affecting her voice with a sultry Mexican accent. "Qué están haciendo?"

"Whoa," Phineas said, taking a step backwards as he looked her over again. "Wow. Isabella, you…I…uh…oh man…"

"Te gusta lo que ves," she asked with a smile, continuing to saunter towards him as he staggered backwards.

Phineas did his best to force his brain to translate her Spanish, but his level of distraction was incredibly high. "Oh yeah…I mean, uh…Si, eres muy hermosa."

Phineas immediately realized his mistake and cursed himself for it. Now it was Isabella's turn to freeze in place. She hadn't counted on Phineas having the wherewithal to draw on his still limited Spanish skills. She found the sound of his voice speaking the language to be incredibly romantic, and as such it always had a profound effect on her. Phineas saw the look in her eyes shift like it always did when he spoke Spanish to her and backed up a few more steps cautiously. Isabella suddenly moved to close the distance between them, which again prompted Phineas to back up more.

In retrospect, he should've watched where he was backing up to, as the encounter ended not with a passionate kiss from his girlfriend, but with him taking an unintended dip into her pool.

Just as Phineas left to investigate the music, Baljeet heard a sound very familiar to him ring out through the house. It was the chime from a bell that he knew was one Ginger used for meditation purposes, and it sounded like it was coming from the patio.

"Ah, Ginger must've brought her meditation supplies for the weekend," Baljeet said. "I'll go check on her."

"Suit yourself," Ferb told him. "I'll just stay here until one of you figures out what's going on."

The patio was just off of the kitchen, so instead of going the same was Phineas had Baljeet headed through there to reach it. He slid the door to it open, stepped outside, walked up the steps to the top of it, and suddenly found out exactly how wide his eyes could open. Ginger sat across the way, breathing evenly as she sat in a Lotus position with her hands cupped together in front of her. The position wasn't what was so provocative, however; it was the fact that she was only wearing a black one piece swimsuit that was cut high around her thighs and hugged her slender figure enough that it showed off even the slightest of curves to her body.

"Hello my dearest," she said quietly, slowly opening her eyes to see him. "I've so been looking forward to seeing you today."

Sounds were coming from Baljeet's mouth, but they failed to form any coherent thoughts as he watched her unfold her legs carefully and deliberately before standing up. He'd always found her legs to be her most attractive physical quality, and clearly she knew that quite well.

"Oh darn," she said, crouching down to touch her right calf gently. "I think I've got a bit of a stiff muscle here. You're so good at helping me work these out, Baljeet, would you mind?"

"E-e-e-e-excuse me for just a moment," he said, turning back to the stairs. His intent was to go and quickly make sure his hands were clean at the bathroom inside. Instead, he missed the first step of the patio and quickly was re-introduced to the effect gravity has on a falling body.

"Suit yourself," Ferb told Baljeet. "I'll just stay here until one of you figures out what's going on."

As Baljeet headed for the kitchen, Ferb took a seat in the living room in a chair to relax. He wasn't seated but a moment when he felt a pair of hands touch his shoulders just at the base of his neck. As he felt them gently squeeze his muscles, he instantly knew it was Gretchen. She'd given him many neck rubs during their time together and she always started them the same way. He closed his eyes and rolled his head back a bit to rest on a pair of pillows. He then opened his eyes again. He didn't recall there being pillows atop that particular chair when he first sat down in it. He put a hand on hers to stop her actions for a moment as he sat up and turned around. He then fell forwards out of the chair onto the floor.

Gretchen stood behind the chair wearing a wine-colored one piece swimsuit with a deep neckline. The combination of that and the form fitting nature of the suit did nothing but emphasize her fairly ample chest. She stepped around the chair and smiled at Ferb as he got an eyeful of her figure, which she'd gotten him to admit on more than one occasion he was quite the fan of.

"Sweetie, you're all tense," she told him mischievously. "I could feel it in your shoulders just now. Come have a seat and let me work that out some more for you."

"Er, that's…alright," Ferb managed to stammer out. "Really. I'm quite fine. So are you. How! How…are you, that's what I meant to say. Yes."

Gretchen giggled briefly and bent over as she extended a hand to him, showing off even more cleavage than she already was. "Need a hand up?"

Ferb scrambled backwards slightly, his heart now racing. Fortunately for him, Gretchen stopped and looked up as they both heard the sounds of a splash coming from the pool and a muffled scream coming from the patio. Ferb took the opportunity to attempt to get up, only for his head to connect with the coffee table that sat in front of the couch as he turned around. He dropped back to the floor, seeing stars as he felt Gretchen quickly move to his side to attend to him.

Five minutes later, all six teenagers were assembled poolside. The girls, now all wearing bathrobes to cover themselves up, were a mixture of embarrassed and dejected as they looked over their boyfriends. Phineas was wrapped in towels with his sopping wet clothes in a pile next to him where he sat. Baljeet was hunched over forward with wads of tissue sticking out from his nose as he'd smashed it after falling off the patio. Ferb sat back with an ice pack on his head over the forming bruise from where he'd crocked it on the coffee table.

"We really can't tell you how sorry we are about how this all turned out, guys," Isabella said as spokesperson for the girls. "We just each wanted to do something nice for you all and we made a tiny competition out of it. We never intended to freak you out or anything, and we certainly didn't mean for all these accidents to happen."

"Hey, accidents happen," Phineas said as he adjusted his towels again to make sure he was still fully covered. "At least nothing seriously bad happened to anyone, right guys?"

"Agreed," Baljeet said, sounding nasal since both his nostrils were plugged currently. "This was, if nothing else, quite a memorable way to kick off the summer."

"Memorable in all the wrong ways," Ginger added sadly. Baljeet stood up and hugged her with a smile.

"It'll give us a laugh down the road at least," he told her. Ginger considered the thought for a moment and eventually nodded, but still felt horrible for what had become of the boys.

"I guess it was a good thing Django didn't come over with us then," Ferb said, slowly sitting up. His head still spun a bit, but Gretchen was immediately at his side to stabilize him. "That could've complicated matters even more."

"Django," Isabella said, repeating the name. "Django Brown? He's back?"

Phineas nodded at her. "Since Jenny's in town for Candace's wedding later this summer, he was about to come with her. They'll be around all summer. He's chilling out at our house right now while Jenny and Candace catch up with each other."

"We should throw a welcome back party for him," Isabella suggested. "We'll invite a bunch of people over so everyone can catch up with him again."

Phineas smiled at her as he folded his arms across his chest. "I was gonna bring that idea up myself when we came over. You must be working on your telepathy again."

"Well that solves the problem of figuring out what we'll spend the rest of the day doing," Gretchen said, finally smiling a little again. "At least once you guys are up to planning and discussing stuff."

Ferb took her hand in his and squeezed it. He smiled warmly at her as she looked down at him.

"I've taken far worse bumps than this," he assured her. "And at least there was a good reason for this one. You really blew me away, there, love."

"Ferb has a good point," Baljeet said, looking at Ginger. "This is nothing compared to what Buford used to do to me, and he's certainly nowhere near as appealing to me as you are, Ginger."

Isabella smiled as the other two couples got a little cozier with each other and then looked at Phineas, who was blushing madly.

"All I can say is it's kind of a good thing I took an unintentional dip to cool off," he told her. "I really don't know what might've happened next otherwise."

"I guess you'll just have to use your imagination for now," she told him playfully as she sat next to him. "And I know how good you are at that."

"If it's all the same by you, right now I'd rather imagine some dry clothes. Our neighbors may have seen a lot of weird stuff around our house of the years, but me crossing the street dressed in nothing but towels might just be a bit much."

Isabella laughed as she gathered up the mess of wet clothes next to him. "I'll toss these in the dryer for you. I think I'll also go change into some more normal clothing while I'm at it."

"I think I'll do the same," Gretchen added. Ginger also chimed in that she would follow suit, and the three girls took their leave of the boys who now all looked at each other.

"Well that was…interesting," Ferb said, putting his ice pack down. His head had finally gotten mostly back to normal.

"That's one word for it," Baljeet added as he removed the tissues from his nose. The bleeding had long since stopped. "I mean, no disrespect to Gretchen and Isabella, but Ginger…she's really got it going on."

"To each his own, I suppose," Ferb replied, shrugging at him. "Ginger and Isabella have their charms, I'm sure, but Gretchen is in a league all her own."

"Guys, trust me," Phineas said as he stood up, a towel securely tied around his waist. "Ginger and Gretchen may be easy on the eyes, but they really don't hold a candle to Isabella."

The boys stopped before the discussion went any further, looked at each other, and burst out laughing at themselves. This was without a doubt the most memorable start to a summer vacation they'd had yet.

Next Episode Preview: Plans come together quickly for a "Welcome Home" party for Django, but there's one person for whom a reunion with him will turn into a clash of personalities.

Translation notes for this chapter

Ginger (to Stacy): "Get out you stupid sister!"
Stacy (to Ginger): "Meh, how boring. Give my regards to Isabella."

Isabella (to Phineas at the pool, and in order of what she says to him):
"Good afternoon, my love."
"Whatcha doin'?" - As far as I can tell from my research this is the Spanish language version of Isabella's trademark line in the series. If I'm wrong here, though, please do let me know so I can change it.
"Do you like what you see?"
Phineas (to Isabella): "Yes, you look beautiful."