Candace and Amanda Johnson were both extremely tired.

Amanda had the luxury of resting on her mother's chest. Candace had woken up from a nap about twenty minutes prior, but was still exhausted; she suspected she would be for at least a week. Neither giving birth nor being born were easy things to do.

The baby had, by that point, had a very busy first twenty four hours of being alive, having already been held by everyone in her immediate family and doted on endlessly. Being the first grandkid and niece had its benefits, but it was hard work for a newborn.

She was stirring now, but she would fall asleep again soon, and when it happened, Candace would shoo everyone but her husband away like she did earlier that same day. But they had a few more minutes.

Since the Flynn-Fletchers had to run back to their house after visiting all morning, the Johnsons had taken over. Jack and Hawkeye left a few minutes ago to go to the cafeteria, and Jeremy had excused himself to go to the restroom.

For the moment, that just left Suzy.

Once upon a time, the mere thought of being around Suzy at all would have made Candace's anxiety flare up, especially with her newborn baby in the same company.

But the years had been kind to their relationship. As Suzy grew out of being a preschooler, it clicked in her brain that Jeremy wouldn't stop loving his baby sister just because he had a girlfriend, and then a fiancee, and then a wife.

She still messed with Candace from time to time, but the older she got, the more amicable the pranks became. At Candace and Jeremy's wedding, she had given Candace a hug! A hug !

And here they were now. Little Aunt Suzy admiring Amanda, no longer the littlest, no longer the baby of the family, and surprisingly okay with it.

Candace noticed Suzy's expression as she stared in awe. When her family wasn't around, she tended to drop the cloying façade she maintained around them. It was fading more and more as she got older. Her intelligence and calculated, well-spoken manner rivaled even Phineas and Ferb's when they were her current age, and nobody could keep that a secret forever. Even Jeremy was starting to catch on.

But it was obvious that her sweetness today was no ruse. Candace could tell it was genuine because it stayed even when nobody else was there to see it.

Suzy reached a hand out and lightly stroked Amanda's cheek with her pointer finger, who responded by looking at her with wide eyes. "Oh, I just love her."

"Me too," Candace sighed with a smile. "She's perfect."

Amanda gurgled and clumsily swiped her hand at the general area where Suzy's hand was, grabbing her thumb after a few tries and squeezing it.

Candace and Suzy both said "Awww," in unison.

Batting her eyelashes, Suzy asked, "Can I hold her again? Pleaseee?"

"That truce we discussed is still in effect, right?"

She shook her head and chuckled gravely. "Candace, Candace, Candace. You don't have to worry about a thing. My absolutely adorable niece has nothing to do with you and I."

"I kid, I kid." She shifted herself and Amanda so she could pass her over. "Only for a minute, though. I think she's getting sleepy again. That makes two of us."

The 7th grader giggled as she took the infant into her arms and immediately began to make exaggerated faces at her. Amanda simply stared in wonder, her little fists curling and uncurling.

Candace leaned back in her bed and rested her hands across her stomach. It felt funny – she had just gotten used to it being shaped like a beach ball, and now she would have to re-adjust herself to her non-pregnant state again.

She watched the two girls as they paced back and forth down the length of the bed. She would be lying to herself if she said she felt completely serene; her entire body was sore, she was cramping off and on, she hadn't had more than an hour alone with Jeremy since they got here, and she didn't really have the energy to do anything but hold her baby and sleep.

But she was happy. She was definitely happy.

Suzy's eye twitched as Amanda grasped one of her pigtails with brute force and tugged it towards her, but she didn't object. "She inherited your tenacity."

Candace smiled, too worn out to laugh. "Yeah. She's a little firecracker."

The bathroom door opened, and Jeremy emerged as quietly as he could. Candace turned her head towards him and felt a sense of comfort wash over her. Every time she turned to look at him was like being wrapped in a warm blanket. He was always her rock, ever-steady and reliable when her mind was stormy, but over the past few days, he had been more like her boulder, or maybe an even bigger sort of rock formation, like a mesa or a sea cliff.

A grin quickly enchanted his face. "Imagine that! My three favorite ladies in the entire world, all under one roof."

"Jeremy!" Suzy crossed the room to her brother, her head still tilted while her hair was in a vice grip. "Look! She'd make a great esthetician."

"You gonna braid Suzy's hair, kiddo?" he asked as he reached over and gently pried his daughter's fingers from his sister's curls, guiding them to wrap around his own fingers instead.

"Once she develops her fine motor skills, she'll be unstoppable." Suzy looked at Candace with a smirk. "We might even have another little Phineas or Ferb on our hands here."

Candace groaned and rolled her head backwards. "Oh, God, don't even joke about that right now."

Jeremy caressed Amanda's head and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Is my beautiful girl doing well?"

Suzy returned to Candace to give the newborn back. "She's about the same as she was three minutes ago. Still a cutie pie."

"Good." He took his place at the chair next to the bed. "And how about my glowing, radiant wife?"

"Same as I was three minutes ago. Head hurts. Cramps hurt. Et cetera. Pretty much anything but glowing and radiant."

"Could've fooled me," he added as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"You're very kind." The baby was back in Candace's arms now, and they both let their eyes shut as they snuggled into the bed and each other. "Naptime again. Banish all family members until further notice."

"Your wish is my command." Jeremy gave Suzy a side hug from where he was sitting. "I'll see you later, Suze. Love you."

"Love you too, bubba." She waved at her sister in law, who was already beginning to doze off. "Love you, Candy and Amandy."

Candace gave her a half-asleep grunt in return.

As Suzy slowly and carefully shut the door behind her, the hospital room fell quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the nearly-undetectable audio from the television (Jeopardy was on) and the breathing of the new family.

Jeremy sat back and studied the two of them, enamored with the moment he was in. At that very minute, he wanted nothing more than to climb into the bed with his wife and daughter and hold them both as they fell asleep in his arms. But he refrained. He couldn't possibly disturb them now.

Instead, he pulled out his phone, opened the camera app, and took a picture of them, preserving the precious nap forever.

He grinned as he texted the photo to Stacy. Another one for the inside of his guitar case. He couldn't wait to show Candace later; she would absolutely love it.