Chap 5

Explaining the past

Ferb and Alison put the kids to bed and sat down to talk. "I think Isabella's starting to see the errors of her ways." Alison said. Ferb shrugged his shoulders. "Ten years too late, if you ask me." He replied. "Now you're being unreasonable. What about Candace? What about Phineas?" Alison pointed out. Ferb glared at her. "If you're saying I'm being stubborn, fine. I've also heard and observed plenty of the years." He retorted. "You and the children shouldn't have to be subject to bigotry from members of my family." He finished as he looked away.

Jeremy and Candace along with their children arrived home. Candace walked into the living room and picked up the photo album they were looking at earlier. Jeremy went into the bedroom, picked up the phone and called the hotel. "Ferb Fletcher's room please." He asked the hotel clerk who answered. "I'm his brother-in-law." After a moment the line started to ring. Jeremy took a breath. "Ferb, it's Jeremy. Thank you for coming out tonight. It really is great to see you, Alison and the kids." He listened to the other end of the line.

As Candace was looking at the old photos, she wondered to herself if her brother was ever happy. There were times she was sure he was, and there were times she knew he wasn't… but that's the way it is. No one can be happy all the time, well, unless they're Phineas. Even that's changed over the years. She went into the bedroom and saw her husband hang up the phone. "Who were you talking to?" He looked up. "I called your brother." Candace nodded. "I hope that they can talk it out. So, what's his plan?" Jeremy looked at the floor. "He said he'll talk with his brother in the morning."

The phone rang and Candace answered. "Hello? Phineas. I'm glad that you're going to talk with Ferb in the morning." Jeremy's eyes went wide and he made a grab for the phone. "You were just talking with Jeremy, he said he called my… brother…" She said and looked at her husband.

Isabella had gotten the girls off to bed and came down stairs. "Phin. I'm so sorry. I realize it's my fault that you and your brother…" Phineas interrupted her. "He's got a name you know." He said without turning to look at her. Isabella came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. "It's my fault that you and Ferb don't speak any more. I'm sorry." She said. "Izy, it might be too late for a simple 'I'm sorry'. Ferb's my boss. I'll just tell him I can't work for him." He said quietly. Isabella let her arms fall. "Ferb is your new boss? How?" She said. Phineas turned around. "He's one of the founders of the company and head of the R&D department. He didn't choose me, I had the talent for the job." He said.

In the morning Alison and Ferb awoke, Sian and Devon were still sleeping. "Have you come to a decision?" Alison inquired. Ferb looked over at his wife from where he was sitting at the desk. "If you would like to stay, we'll stay. I hope that you're right and I'm wrong. Either way, you deserve an apology." He replied. Alison came over and sat on his lap, ran her fingers through his hair and gave him a hug. "That's not what I was asking and you know it." She said.

The Fletcher family went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Alison perused the menu and asked the children what they thought they might like. "I think they might like the peanut butter and banana waffles." Ferb murmured. Devon's eyes went wide and Sian was grinning from ear to ear. "Peanut butter and banana waffles?" She inquired. Ferb nodded. "Yes, I've had them before. I do recommend them. In fact, I might have them myself."

Once everyone had finished, they went back to their room. The phone on the desk indicated that someone had tried calling. Ferb called the front desk and retrieved the message. "Should I tell Candace that we'll stay?" He inquired of Alison, who smiled and nodded in return. Ferb called his sister and let her know that Alison and the children will be staying for the remainder of the week.

The phone rang at the Johnson's house. Amanda answered. "Hello? Just a moment, I'll check." She then held the phone away from herself and yelled. "MOM! PHONE!" Fred came into the living room. "You don't have to yell, you know. Who's on the phone?" He asked. Amanda replied "Uncle Ferb. He's calling for Mom." Candace walked in. "There's no need to yell, I'm in the house… not across town." Candace took the phone. "Hello? Ferb. I'm so glad you called. Sure, we'll have lunch here and sort everything out." She said as cryptically as she could.

Candace then called Phineas to let him know that Ferb will be at her place for lunch with his family.

Candace called her children into the kitchen. "Uncles Ferb and Phineas are coming over. I need you three to stay away, either go out to a friend's house or stay quiet somewhere else in the house." Amanda, Xavier and Fred all acknowledged the request. "Will they be bringing our cousins with them?" Amanda inquired. Candace thought for a moment. "Alison and Ferb will be bringing Sian and Devon with them."

It wasn't too long before the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Amanda called out as she scrambled down the stairs to answer the door. She paused before opening the door to straighten out her outfit. "Good afternoon." She said sweetly as she opened the door and welcomed everyone in.

The Fletcher family entered the house. "Amanda! You won't believe what I had for breakfast! Peanut butter & banana waffles! They were so good, you have to try them." Sian carried on as she grabbed Amanda by the hand and headed over to the living room to sit. The teen was quite surprised at the strength that the little girl had, she gave up and just picked Sian up and carried her upstairs. "We're going to play beauty shop again."

Devon stepped out from behind Ferb's legs and went to sit on the stairs. Jeremy came over and sat with him, he tried talking with the lad knowing he probably wouldn't get a verbal response. "Is everything okay?" The three-year-old nodded. "Are you hungry?" Devon shook his head. "Do you want to play in the playroom?" The green haired child paused for all of three seconds before shaking his head. "We're just going to be talking about boring adult things, how about you see if Xavier and Fred are in the playroom." Devon looked at his uncle with the most serious face Jeremy had ever seen on a child. "You're going to try to stop Daddy from sending us back home." Devon said then stood up and walked down the hallway to the playroom.

Jeremy looked at Ferb. "You're not still thinking about…" Jeremy couldn't finish the thought, he found it too painful. Ferb shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't know what I'm thinking at the moment." He said and put his arm around Alison's waist. "Alison doesn't deserve to be treated like…" Candace interrupted her brother. "You're right, Alison, Sian, no one deserves to be treated like that.

Phineas and family arrived soon after. "Candace, I'm more nervous about this than anything else in my life." Phineas said. Candace motioned to the living room "They're in there."

"Amanda dear, can you come downstairs?" Candace called her daughter. The teen soon appeared. "Do you think you can take everyone to the park for a few hours?" Candace asked her. "I could I suppose, I just want to know… is everything going to be okay?" Amanda inquired. Candace shook her head. "I don't know dear."

Ferb sat in one of the recliners. Alison and Candace sat on the couch with Jeremy. Phineas and Isabella sat on the love seat.

"Why do I feel as though I'm on trial here?" Ferb whispered, then spoke up a little. "I'm guessing here that Candace said I'm willing to cut ties with everyone." He looked around and noticed that Jeremy and Phineas nodded their heads. Ferb sighed. "I guess I've got one question. Should I?"

Phineas looked up at his brother. "No! Of course not, you can't. Things wouldn't be the same without you." He said. Ferb closed his eyes tight and shook his head. "You don't get it, do you. You and Candace have each other, it's always been that way." Phineas' eyes went wide. "We used to tell each other everything, Ferb. We were closer than brothers." He said. Ferb took a deep breath then looked directly at the red-head. "Phineas, I've been keeping secrets from you since I was twelve. There was no way I was able to have certain discussions with you, you couldn't handle it. You would have either ridiculed me for the very notion, or you would have wanted to try to fix it."

Isabella and Candace nodded in agreement at that statement. "I remember having some intensely personal discussions with you on a few occasions." Candace mentioned to Ferb who nodded. "Believe it or not, I did trust and value your opinion." Ferb replied then turned back to Phineas. "As for being brothers… you didn't give a shit that I was beaten up and left for dead courtesy of the football team." Candace and Jeremy stared at him. "When did this happen?" They said in unison.

Ferb sat in the chair, he couldn't bring himself to give the explanation. "That was in grade ten, just after your girlfriend told the school she was pregnant with your child." Isabella whispered. "She was so popular that everyone would believe anything she said. If she said the sky was green, it must be true." She finished.

Ferb nodded. "I was ambushed at the beginning of lunch one day. First they muscled me into the locker room and assaulted me. I ended up with a split lip and a few bruises. That wasn't enough for them, they shoved me outside, where they pushed me against one of their cars. Then, while I was semi-conscious, they decided to see if I'd make a good speed bump. That's when I received three cracked vertebrae, four fractured ribs and gashes that required 37 stitches. They dumped me at the far end of the football field, away from where anyone would be able to see me. I regained consciousness late in the afternoon and knew I had to get to the hospital. That's when I decided I had two choices... either move away... or end it all." He didn't look at anyone while he said this, he couldn't. He'd kept this secret to himself for fifteen years, he never even told Alison.

Candace started crying. "I had no idea you were having such difficulties, had I known, I never would have left for college." She then turned to Phineas. "Why didn't you help him?" She turned back to Ferb. "Why didn't you call? You should have called me."

Alison stood up and went to her husband. "Ferb, you never even told me about this. Why?" She wasn't crying, she was too shocked to cry. He looked at her and when she tried to place her hand on his shoulder he shrank away. "I couldn't. The memory hurt too much. It still does."

Jeremy was trying to comfort Candace. "You actually considered ending your own life?" He shook his head in disbelief then continued. "I'm glad you didn't, I'd miss you man. You're like the big brother I never had, even though you're younger than me." Jeremy tried to smile but found he couldn't, Ferb's words had shocked everyone in the room.

Isabella shifted in her seat and wiped away a few tears. "I had no idea anything like that took place." Phineas was looking at his hands, he then looked up "Have you ever considered 'ending it all' since?" Ferb shook his head. "No. Once I moved, everything got exponentially better." He looked at Alison and smiled weakly.

It took three hours, but everyone understood all the reasons for Ferb's decision to cut ties with the family.

Phineas looked towards his brother and sister-in-law. "I accept all blame for everything, it's my fault... it's all my fault. I should have listened to you more when we were younger. If I had, things probably would have been different. I never should have let Isabella ruin your wedding, I'm so sorry about that... that's all my fault. You deserved to have your own wedding, it would have been perfect. I should have tried calling you for no reason other than you're my brother and I miss you. We're starting to turn into one of those families who only see each other at weddings and funerals, I don't want that. I don't know how it happened but I'm sorry that Fiona and Cassandra are inconsiderate to your children. I'll talk with them again. I'll tell them that sometimes family members live far away from each other and can't get together easily, but there's no reason to be disrespectful."

"I'm sorry for calling you a bitch all these years. And for not informing Phineas of his brother's visits." Isabella apologized to Alison.

The brunette looked to Ferb who shrugged his shoulders. "You can't cut ties with the family Ferb. You just can't." Candace told him. Ferb stood up and walked around the room a bit. "I've been debating with myself for years 'should I or shouldn't I?' I kept coming up at a stalemate." He looked to Isabella and Phineas. "The one thing I do know is that a simple 'I'm sorry' isn't going to atone the past eight years." Phineas closed his eyes and shook his head. "You're right. If I were you, I wouldn't want anything to do with me either."

Isabella turned to her husband. "What are you getting at?" Phineas looked at the floor. "If I were in Ferb's shoes, I wouldn't accept a simple apology. I guess I'd want everyone to bend over backwards to prove that... that... they really are sorry and that they do care. But that can't happen in one day, it's going to take time."

Alison spoke quietly to her husband. "I guess we should call the car and pick up the wee ones." Ferb nodded slowly. "No. I forbid it." Isabella announced. Candace's eyes widened. "You, of all people in this room have no right to 'forbid' anything." The two women faced each other, then Candace continued. "Two days ago, when I found out Ferb was planning on cutting ties with us, I felt a piece of myself die. It was as if he told me 'Now just continue on as you were only I'm going to rip your heart out and put it in a jar on this desk'. Now take a good look at Phineas. He's just sitting there. He can't fathom the damage that has happened to Ferb, his own brother." Candace looked hard at Ferb. "You always have been a brother to us, not a step-brother. That's just a bullshit term. You are the one responsible for keeping me grounded and keeping Phineas focused. If it wasn't for you, do you really think he'd ever figure out his feelings for Isabella? He'd probably still be living with Mom and Dad thinking that she's just a good friend."

Ferb stood still as he absorbed what Candace was saying. "I'm not the innocent twelve-year-old you're referring to." He pointed out. "You said I'm damaged, that's actually a very accurate description. I've felt that way for years. I suppose I'm saying... if you're willing to have a broken brother, I'm willing to remain a member of the family."

Phineas stood up and was across the room before anyone realized. The two brothers embraced each other and were crying as if they were not thirty-year-old men but eight-year-old boys who were told that their beloved pet passed away.

Jeremy stepped over to Alison and hugged her. Candace came over and joined them. "Thank you so much Candace." She said as she started sobbing.

The front door opened, unnoticed by everyone in the living room. Amanda and the rest of the youngsters came in to see almost all their parents crying and hugging each other. "Aunt Isabella? What happened?" Amanda inquired. Isabella looked over to her and smiled. "We grew up."