Ferb splashed cold water on his face, hovering over the sink as his stomach threatened to act up again. There was nothing left for him to throw up, though. Linda had promised they could go wherever he wanted for lunch after court today, and he clung on to that simple promise with everything inside of him. It was one of the only things keeping him going. There was a knock at the door, and Phineas spoke.

"Ferb? It's time."

Ferb grasped the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. He could do this again, right? Who was he kidding, Ferb thought as he shivered. He hadn't even been able to do it the first time. Straightening his suit jacket, Ferb turned off the water and went out into the hall. Phineas stood there in a blue suit, tugging at his collar.

"Ready?" he asked.

Ferb shrugged, stepping closer to Phineas. He padded into the court room and reluctantly let go of Phineas's hand as he pushed his way through to sit beside his father and the lawyer. Then he gazed at the desk as he heard the door open again. He knew it was his mother because his father stiffened and snagged his hand to squeeze it. He did not look up. Not when his mother stopped beside him for a moment and tried to touch him. Not when Lawrence tugged him closer and told her to go away. Not when the judge came in and ordered the court to settle down.

The proceedings were a blur, and Ferb sat through the video and presentations of his comics. The judge thought it was silly until he saw just what was being depicted. Emily began to get antsy as the comics depicted day after day of abuse over Ferb's first five years of life. The judge stared at Emily afterwards.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" he demanded.

"Lies, all lies," Emily said. "That's the cock and bull that Lawrence has fed to him. He won't say a word against me. I'm his Mum."

"You're not my Mum."

The entire courtroom went silent as Emily turned to stare at her son.

"What did you say?" she asked in shock.

"You're not Mum. You never were," Ferb said, lifting his head to look at her. "You're Mother. And Mother is bad. Linda is Mum, not you. She never hit me or pushed me around when I was little like you did. I could write a hundred more comics about what you did to me, and I probably will. But not for your sake. You're not worth it. I want nothing to do with you."

Finally, Emily stopped talking. She stared across at her son as the judge ruled that she was to go back to England and would not be allowed back to the States. Ferb relaxed at that, dazed and absolutely exhausted. He didn't know how the words had come out. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done, speaking in front of his mother in court after weeks of being unable to say a single word. But what else could he do? He would never, ever be able to associate Emily with being his mum any more than he could associate Linda with being his mother. The two were entirely different to him, and he preferred Linda.

The rest was a blur, and Ferb barely remembered any of it. He was tense until the moment Emily was directed out by some large guards. He finally relaxed and shivered. The judge looked at him, a neighbor and friend of the family, and he nodded. "You wanted her to go away."

Ferb nodded.

"You haven't changed your mind?"

Ferb shook his head.

"Good. You're free to go, Ferb."

Ferb stood up on shaky legs and walked blankly out of the court room. He would have simply continued on if it hadn't been for Phineas. His brother captured his hand and tugged him gently to a stop. Candace joined them, and the three siblings waited for their parents.

Lawrence came out looking as if he had just had a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders, but he was far too tired to be truly relieved yet. He had his arm hooked through Linda's, and they headed straight for their children. Ferb looked up at the two of them then pressed close. Both of them gave him a fierce hug then Linda touched his cheek.

"Hungry yet?" she asked.

Ferb shook his head.

"Oh, you will be. So where do you want to go?"

Ferb pulled out his phone and typed out his choice. He really wasn't hungry, but Linda probably knew what she was talking about. Linda and Lawrence agreed at once and they headed out to a small local restaurant with the best American food. As soon as they stepped inside, Ferb became aware of how little he'd eaten over the past few days. As the trial had approached, he'd had less and less appetite. But the trial was over, and his mother was gone.

"How about now?" Linda asked as they waited for the hostess to seat a few people in front of them.

Ferb smiled and nodded, leaning into her.

"Told you so," she said.

Ferb shrugged, and the hostess came to seat them. They were led to a corner booth, and Linda slid in one side. Ferb quickly slid in beside her. Lawrence smiled at him and slid in to sit on Linda's other side and Candace slid in beside him, leaving Phineas to sit across from Ferb. Once they were settled with their drink orders in, he grabbed a menu and looked it over.

Everything sounded good, from the fried okra to the roast beef to the apple pie. It was all American, and he studied on what he should get before typing it out on his phone. Phineas ordered for him when the waitress came by, and once everybody else ordered, too, she headed off to put the ticket in. Ferb watched her go then set his phone down and sighed. Phineas took his hand.

"It's all over now," he said.

Ferb nodded and squeezed his hand. He tried to speak but nothing came out. He huffed in frustration, clenching his fists. Before he could get too angry at himself, Linda wrapped her arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

"Don't force it," she said gently. "We know you're upset, but it won't last forever."

Ferb relaxed and nodded. He leaned into his mum, closing his eyes as the restaurant noises floated around him. He felt safe for the first time since he'd seen Emily standing in their backyard. He was so tired.

"You can go to bed early tonight," Linda said.

Ferb nodded again, and they all sat there in a silence that wasn't forced or uncomfortable. Phineas tugged at his collar again.

"Can I take off my tie now, Mom?" he asked.

Ferb snickered. He didn't mind formal attire as much as Phineas. Phineas said it was because he was British, and they had an excellent sense of fashion.

"Of course. But try not to get your shirt dirty."

"No promises," Phineas said cheerily.

Ferb smiled. He loved his brother. Candace looked up from her phone, and Ferb wondered why she was getting away with it. Usually it was no phones at the table, excepting Ferb's when he needed it to communicate. But neither Linda nor Lawrence scolded her, and she finally shut off the screen and slipped it into her purse.

"Sorry," she said with a smile when she saw Ferb looking.

He shrugged and gestured at the phone.

"Oh, just planning some stuff. I was texting Stacy."

Ferb nodded. Her birthday was coming up, and he didn't mind too much. He couldn't talk to her, so it didn't matter if she was distracted. And if he did want to say something, he'd have to type it out, so it gave him time. But she didn't grab her phone again, and their food soon arrived. Ferb had gotten fried chicken with mashed potatoes and fried okra, and he accepted it with a nod to the waitress.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Nope," Phineas said after glancing at Ferb. "Thanks!"

Ferb waited until she left then dug in. He was so hungry now that the threat had passed, and he cleaned his plate. His family didn't talk much either, and he knew they were tired and relieved, too. It had been a rough few weeks, spending most of their free time with their lawyer as he went through Ferb's comics and pieced together the full extent of Emily's abuse history.

When Ferb was done eating, he grabbed his phone and typed out a message. He showed it to Linda, who read it and nodded.

"Don't worry. We're planning on thanking Mr. Tippins," she promised. "Soon, too." She smiled. "You were hungry, I see. Got your appetite back?"

Ferb grinned and nodded. He rubbed his stomach happily.

"I'm glad you can eat again," Linda said. "Now, I have a special dessert for you back home, so we won't get something here, okay?"

Ferb raised his eyebrows then nodded. He didn't mind at all. He really wanted to get home. Lawrence paid the bill as the rest of the family headed to the car, and he soon rejoined them. Candace pulled out her phone and grinned at the screen before she began to text again. Ferb didn't pay her much attention, even when she glanced at him with a grin several times.

When they pulled into the driveway, Ferb got out of the car and stretched with a grimace. He was tired, and Phineas took his hand, his eyes shining.

"Hey Ferb? You know how your birthday party didn't happen?"

Ferb glanced at him and nodded. He made several gestures to indicate he really didn't mind.

"Are you sure?" Linda asked, grasping his shoulder and guiding him to the backyard.

Ferb nodded intently, wondering where in the world this was coming from.

"Well then instead of a birthday, how about a celebration for our court victory?" Lawrence asked, and he opened the new back gate.

"Surprise!"

Ferb was shocked to see his British family all there, grinning at him, along with his friends and Stacy and Jeremy. For a moment, Phineas squeezed his hand, and Ferb glanced over to see Phineas looking concerned. As soon as he saw that Ferb wasn't upset or overwhelmed, he relaxed and hugged him.

"Surprise," he said. "Since your birthday didn't happen. But I think this is worth celebrating, too."

Ferb smiled and nodded, then he turned and stretched out his arms in a welcome gesture. He was tired, but he could always sleep later. He didn't get to see his family from across the pond too often.

The party lasted only a couple of hours, but it was a wonderful couple of hours. Linda hadn't made him a cake, but she had made him apple pie, just like he'd been eyeing on the menu at the restaurant. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was a heavenly dessert, and he had no complaints about skipping dessert at the restaurant. Linda cooked better anyway. After they ate, they played some games, ending with a soccer match where Ferb scored twice. After that, he sat down and watched his family. He loved them all so much.

Linda sat down beside him, wrapping an arm across his shoulders. "Have a good time?"

Ferb nodded with a big smile.

"I thought it would be nice," Linda said. "Even Phineas thought you wouldn't like it. But we agreed if you wanted to go lay down, we wouldn't stop you."

Ferb leaned over and embraced Linda.

Linda hugged him back. "I love you, too, Ferb. And you're my son, even if I didn't give birth to you. You know that, right?"

Ferb nodded, pressing close. Leaning against Linda, Ferb watched the party wind down, content to just sit with his mum. She would never be his mother, and she knew that now. More than that, she understood the difference, and that was more than Ferb had ever hoped for. Even if he couldn't speak now, there would be time for words later. His family was patient enough to help him find them, even if they couldn't come out of his mouth. And if he couldn't find the words? He could draw it out. They would understand.

The next morning, Ferb woke before dawn with an image in his mind that he had to draw. Stumbling to his desk, he took out a single piece of paper and drew out the picture. He didn't have the coordination to color it, so he settled for putting a dot of color on each bear. There was no need for dialogue, and he carried it downstairs when he heard somebody moving around. It was Linda, and she turned when she heard him in the doorway.

"Morning, Ferb," she said. "Coffee?"

Ferb nodded, and he sat down, clutching the paper to his chest. Linda didn't say anything about it until she set his coffee in front of him and sat down.

"What've you got there?" she asked.

Ferb blushed and squirmed a little before handing it over. Linda took it and gazed at the picture of the five bears, each with a single dot of color on them. That was all she needed to understand the scene. It was like a family photo, just with Ferb's characters. Brown and Red stood there, protectively embracing their three cubs, Green, Orange, and Little Red. Linda looked up at Ferb, tears in her eyes.

"Are you going to color this?"

Ferb nodded.

"Then we'll frame it once you're done and hang it in the living room."

Ferb's entire face lit up. He threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. Tucked up against her, he whispered the first words he'd been able to say to anybody besides Emily in weeks.

"I love you, Mum."

That was all he needed to say. Linda hugged him back then kissed his forehead. "Love you too, son."

She set aside the picture so it wouldn't get messed up and looked at Ferb. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

Ferb thought about that then stood up and got the waffle maker down.

"Cinnamon?"

Ferb shook his head and pulled out blueberries.

"You going to help?"

Ferb nodded.

"Then let's get cracking, as your father would say," Linda said, accenting her voice to make Ferb laugh.

He did, and they began to make breakfast. Words weren't needed as they measured out the ingredients and mixed them together, so it didn't matter that Ferb was still struggling to get any words out. He wasn't worried. His mum understood him anyway. And that was something that Emily would never be able to say.

And that's the end. I hope you enjoyed reading this story, and feel free to let me know what you think. Thanks for reading, and God bless.