The car didn't even come to a complete stop in the driveway when Candace opened the door, leapt out and ran across the street. "Candace, that's dangerous. I don't want two of my children in the hospital." Linda yelled at the retreating form. Candace banged on the door of the Garcia-Shapiro house, she didn't mean to she was just that furious. Isabella answered the door. "Where's Phineas!" The redheaded girl all but screamed. The younger girl stepped aside and let the teen into the house. "He's in the kitchen." The raven-haired one spoke up. Candace let herself into the kitchen and found her brother sitting at the table doing nothing. He looked horrible. She sat down beside him. "Hey." She shoulder nudged him. "You know, your best friend in the world really needs you." The shortest sibling wrang his hands. "I'm scared. I can't. I, I, I… I." His sister hugged him tight. "Our brother is scared too. He told me so, so it must be true." Phineas just shook his head; it was going to take more than Candace claiming Ferb was scared to make him go visit. "Sorry Candace. I can't. I just want to remember how he was all right?" The older teen girl slammed her fist down on the table and raised her voice. "You're talking as if he's dead! He's not dead! He's still Ferb!" almost a whisper "He's still our brother." The redheaded boy shook his head again. "FINE!" His sister yelled at him. "FINE!" Louder this time. "I'll go see MY brother. I'll make sure MY brother is all right. I'm going to try to make MY brother as comfortable as I can!" She got up and walked to the front door. "Thank you and sorry." She said to her neighbours.

The two Garcia-Shapiro women couldn't help but hear the entire exchange. Isabella couldn't believe her ears; Phineas didn't want to see his friend, his confidant, his brother. Tears started to form in her eyes, she didn't know who she felt worse for. Phineas, who just got yelled at by his sister 'not that he didn't deserve it' she thought, or Ferb who's been injured, who's lying in hospital wanting to see the one person who refuses to visit. She got up and went into the kitchen to confront him. "How dare you!" She spat. "How dare you not visit your brother? He'd visit you if the situation were reversed. I'm going over to see Candace." She left the house and knocked on the door of the Flynn-Fletcher house. Mr. Fletcher opened the door and invited her in. She just stood there for a moment then she took his hand in both of hers and whispered "I'm sorry. I wish there were something I could do. May I come along to visit? Ferb is a great friend. I want him to know that." Lawrence looked down at the young woman "I'm sorry. Only family can visit. Hospital rules." Linda was trying to move the desk around in the den. It was to be turned into a bedroom for Ferb "the next 12 weeks are going to be excruciating." She mumbled to herself. "Candace, can you help me a moment?" She called. The teen in question stormed into the den. "What!" "Don't take that tone of voice with me young lady, just help me move this desk around." Candace was so full of adrenaline; she placed her hands on the desk and shoved it clear across the room to the far wall. "Is that enough space for you?" The teen demanded and went upstairs to her room.

Isabella quietly left. 'Everyone's so on edge right now.' As she entered her house, her mother was on the phone with someone. "Just a moment please, here she is." Vivian handed the phone to her daughter. "Hello?" Isabella said as she took the phone. "Oh, hey Gretchen. How is everything." She tried to sound more upbeat than she felt. "No, I never got that message. I'm so sorry to hear that. What can I do to help?" The raven-haired girl looked to the boy sitting in her kitchen. "Right. Ferb went camping with Buford for a couple of weeks. You got that message." She put her fingernail in her mouth and started biting. Phineas looked up and shook his head and mouthed the words "Don't tell her. Don't tell her." Isabella continued her conversation with her friend. "No, we've not heard from him. I'm sure he'll call once he's back home. Well, Phineas is over, so… I should go. Take care of yourself and I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother." She hung up the phone. "Well, I didn't exactly lie to her. I just didn't tell her the whole truth."

Phineas spent the next three days working on the Community Concert Series and the next three nights bawling into the pillows on Isabella's bed. "I'm such a bad person" he told himself. "Why can't I just go visit him?" On the third day while he was at the park working on the lighting and sound set up he saw Jeremy and Candace out for a walk. Jeremy was trying to make Candace feel better, but one could tell by the look on her face it wasn't working. The redheaded boy went over to them. "Hey." Candace glared daggers at him and he knew he deserved it. "I was hoping that you knew of someone who could get Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro a nice gift, you know, for putting up with me for the past few days." Jeremy knew what had happened, Candace told him of course. "Sure. What did you have in mind?" The blond teen asked. "I don't know. What would make a good 'thank you' gift?" Candace didn't even look at her brother "Mom and Dad were picking up a couple of bottles of wine." Phineas nodded. "I gotta get back to the sound and lighting." His sister called after him "He's supposed to come home this afternoon." He only nodded. 'I'm a terrible person. I'm a sorry excuse for a brother.'

Lawrence drove into the driveway. He got the wheelchair out of the back and helped his son out of the car and into the house. Isabella was across the street before their front door closed. "Wait! Please!" she called. Mr. Fletcher held the door for her as she ran into the house. "Ferb! Oh thank goodness you're all right." She bumped into the side of the wheelchair and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I wouldn't say that." He responded. The neighbour girl stood up and looked at him. "What are you talking about? You're alive! That's great isn't it?" He only shook his head. "My brother never came to visit. MY OWN BROTHER." Ferb roared. His eyes turned cold. "Take it easy son. You're not the only one going through this." His father reminded him. "He's a git. Here's a message from me to him, Isabella. Tell him he can go get stuffed." "Ferb!" Lawrence's accent got thicker the angrier he got. "Go to your room! There will be none of that. Stress is not a valid reason to throw insults around or use that language." The man of the house scolded his son, grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and moved the green haired teen into the den and then closed the door. "I'm sorry about that. It's been a wretched few days." He told her. After glancing at the door to the den, he finished "Try back tomorrow." Isabella slowly walked back across the street.

Her mother greeted her in the living room. "How was the visit?" Isabella was visibly upset "That's not Ferb. Not the Ferb I know." Vivian invited her daughter to sit down beside her. "Tell me. What happened?" The leader of the Fireside Girls had to think for a minute. "He's colder somehow. He doesn't like; no… he despises Phineas. He was calling his brother names I've never heard before. I didn't even know those two knew how to fight with each other. His father said it was just stress, but the look in Ferb's eyes told a different story." "I don't think they'll get into a fight." Her mother was saying. Isabella continued "Not a physical fight at least, but a war of words. Oh, neither of them is stupid. Ferb is a walking thesaurus and Phineas is no slouch when it comes to language either. I've got to go find Phineas. He's the only one who can do something. He's the one who has to apologise." She got up and left for the park.

Jeremy and Candace were having ice creams near the pond when they saw Isabella. "Hey!" Candace called out to her. The girl in the pink dress looked over and approached them. "Have you seen Phineas? I've got to…" The look on Isabella's face was strained. "What's wrong?" Jeremy asked. "The insults have started." The young teen said. The redheaded girl snickered "Who said what?" "It's not funny, at least it doesn't sound funny." Isabella began "Ferb started by calling Phineas a git." Ms. Flynn giggled "That's nothing, that's just calling him childish… not far from the truth." Isabella looked hurt but continued "Then he said that Phineas can go 'get stuffed'. That's when your father told him to stop." Candace's eyes closed tight. "He didn't say that did he?" The younger teen just nodded. "What does that mean?" "You didn't hear this from me okay?" the redhead started "It's not a very nice thing to say. The nicer way of putting it is 'get lost'." Candace finished. Isabella turned white. She couldn't believe that her friend could possibly say something like that. Especially about his own brother. "I'll go have some words with young Master Flynn." Jeremy said. He got up and left the two girls alone to talk.

Later on that afternoon, Jeremy walked Candace home. She invited him into the living room for a bit and went to fetch some snacks and drinks. "I've got to baby-sit this evening Jeremy, I can't make the movies." The young woman called from the kitchen. Jeremy nodded and noticed the door to the den was slightly ajar, he went over and knocked. When he didn't receive an answer he pushed the door open a little to reveal Ferb sitting there in a wheelchair looking for the entire world as if he'd lost his best friend. "May I come in?" Candace's boyfriend inquired. The quiet teen nodded. "I know you've been through a lot this past week."

Candace and her mother were in the kitchen preparing some snacks and drinks for Jeremy. "Mom, is it just me or does it seem like Ferb's being more distant than normal?" Linda pondered this for a moment "Hmm, I guess you're right. Ferb's always been more independent. It's a nice switch from what Phineas does though. Every little hangnail or papercut and he's demanding attention." The teen girl picked up the tray of snacks and told her mother "I just wish there was something I could do to make him feel better. He really deserves something nice to happen to him." "Well, I'll just wave my magic wand and make things better." Her mother joked.

There was a knock on the door and Sharon, Ashley's mother, was dropping the little girl off for Candace. "I'll be back about 10pm. Have fun." Candace and Ashley were making chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen with Linda when the resident quiet soul of the house slowly wheeled his way into the kitchen. "Would you like to help?" Linda asked her son, who shook his head. "I'll just sit here and work if you don't mind." Ferb was programming something into his laptop. His phone was beside him as though he were expecting a call. "You're the one working with our dance director on the show." The little girl with mouse brown hair tentatively said to him. The green haired teen nodded. "I'm not fond of the costumes I have to wear." She continued. "I've no control over the costumes. I'm just working on the laser and light show." Ferb responded not making eye contact with her. He doesn't want to scare her again. "What happened? You're sad." Ashley quietly took a seat across from the boy in the wheelchair. That made him look up. "I." He began. "I was in an accident." Candace brought over a plate of cookies fresh from the oven, a glass of milk for Ashley and a cup of tea for her brother. "Your friend misses you, I hear him talking to himself all day between rehearsals in the park." Master Fletcher offered the little girl a weak smile. "My friend… right. He's the one who has to do most of the work this time. He's not used to that, now if you'll excuse me, I must go check on something." After he grabbed his laptop and cellphone, Ferb maneuvered his chair around and with determination, carefully made his way into the living room. Candace's charge for the evening looked up at her and told her "He needs a hug."

"HimomI'mhome! OhheyFerb!" and then a crash was heard. "Oh, NONONONO Ferb, wake up. Please wake up." Phineas called out. Linda and Candace rushed to the living room to see the redheaded boy righting the wheelchair out from under the coffee table, and the green haired teen wedged partially under the couch and twisted at what could only be imagined as a very painful angle. Mr. Fletcher came downstairs "What's all the ruckus?" Then he saw the sight before him. The two conscious males lifted the couch and the two women carefully picked up and placed Ferb back into the wheelchair, he then rewarded everyone with a groan.

Later that evening, Lawrence assisted his son in getting ready for bed. "I'm useless." Ferb lamented. "I feel as though I'm three years old." His father ruffled his son's hair "You're not useless, you might not be three years old, but you're still my son and I'm here for you." Once the teen was dressed for bed, with some assistance, he hoisted himself onto the pullout. He just couldn't get comfortable. His back hurt from sitting in the wheelchair all day. Then everytime he moved a little bit this way or that while trying to fall asleep, he would whack himself in the head with his casted arm causing renewed pain. It didn't help that his mind was stuck in gear. 'What if…' scenarios were keeping him awake. 'I'm not even going to be at school for the first three months because it's not accessable. What if I never catch up? Doctor appointments. What if my prognosis is worse than expected? Physiotherapy, oh, that'll be fun. What if I never walk again? I can't even see Gretchen; it's not that I don't want to. I can't. I can't take her out anywhere like this; we can't go bowling, to the beach or anything. What if she doesn't want to go out with me? I'm just a complete failure.

In the morning, Ferb practiced getting into and out of his wheelchair and was soon able without assistance; he was also able to dress himself. Socks and shoes were a different story. The regular gang came over to visit with Phineas. The redheaded one was outside with his friends, having fun. Ferb had to stay indoors because of the lawn sprinklers. Buford came into the house, but he left after just a quick smile at his friend. The same went for everyone else. They all stopped in for a few minutes to say 'Hi, how's it going?" then they left again. "At least you still want to see me." He said while patting Perry.

Jeremy came through the back gate and saw everyone there. "Hey guys, how's it going?" A chorus of "Great, want to join?" was sounded. He replied "Nah, I'm here to see…" "Candace, Jeremy's here for you!" Phineas yelled to her open bedroom window. Jeremy was frantically waving his arms to shush him, to no avail. "Jeremy?" A mop of red hair poked out the second story window. "Hey, Candace." The blond teen replied and went into the living room through the patio door. Candace bounded down the stairs as fast as she could and almost tripped over Perry. Jeremy caught and steadied her. "Hi, Jeremy." She said in that way she always does. "Actually Candace, I'm not here to see you this morning." He said while rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh. Then who are you here to see?" She queried. "I was hoping, your brother would want to hang out." Candace looked outside. "Your other brother." He told her. Next thing Jeremy knew he was being hugged tightly. "Thank you." She told him. "Thank you so much." He knocked on the door to Ferb's bedroom and entered. "Ah, Ferb?" The young teen lying on the pullout looked over. "Want to hang out today?" Jeremy finished. Ferb gave a weak smile and started to sit himself up to get into the wheelchair. Jeremy went over and helped him. Soon they were ready to go. "Hey, Ferb. What do you want to do today?" Candace screamed and the two teen boys left in Jeremy's car.

The Community Concert Series was only a couple of days away, Ferb felt as though the pain was under control so he asked his Mum if she could drive him to the park so he could run through dress-rehearsal with the groups who needed the laser show. "Of course dear." She responded. "I'll pick you up in a few hours. I've got some errands to run."

Candace came home to find the regulars, sans Ferb, in the backyard. "Alright, who knows how to play chess?" All save one of the Fireside Girls acknowledged that they knew at least the basics. "I need someone who can teach me quickly. Ferb's been winning every game for the past week. The worst part is, he's not even trying." She complained. Gretchen, who was in the far corner of the yard away from the rest, came over to the redheaded teen girl "I'll teach you, it's really quite simple." The two girls went into the house. Gretchen continued "What you need to remember is how the pieces move.

Candace looked at the little Fireside Girl. "How do you remember all that?" Gretchen blushed so severely Candace could feel the heat radiating from her. "Ferb tought me… I mean practice." The Flynn girl smiled. "You've got a thing for him don't you? That's great. Maybe you can… cheer him up, get him back to normal. He's been depressed since the accident." Gretchen nodded, then made a point of changing the subject. "Candace, I should warn you. Ferb's beaten the computer at chess. I think he said he's got a 10% average." The bespectacled girl said. "10%? He's slipping." Candace retorts. "You don't understand. He wins against the computer 10% of the time. That's no small feat." Gretchen said. "He programmed it himself. Meaning, it learns from him. Everytime he wins, the computer learns where it went wrong. He is effectively playing against himself." She finished.

That evening, after dinner Candace challenged her brother to yet another game of chess. "I'm too tired tonight Candace." Ferb told her. "Please?" She tried being cute and nice. "Fine, one game." He replied. In a matter of moves Ferb had his sister in check. That one was countered easily. Candace then lucked out and claimed a Knight, a Bishop and the Queen. After a couple more moves Candace triumphantly yelled out "Check and Mate!" "Impressive." The Fletcher boy stated. "You're learning. Now if you could just keep that level of concentration and tactics up you might be able to 'bust us' one day." He jokingly said as he started to maneuver to his room. "I know who she is." His sister called after him. She walked over to the back of the wheelchair and assisted him into the den. "If you need to talk, about anything, I'm here for you. You know that right?" She told him. Ferb reached up as best he could and hugged her. "Thanks. Now if you could just get Phineas to appologise…" The she looked at him "He's not done that yet?" Her brother shook his head.

The following day was the Community Concert Series. Phineas and Ferb had no choice but to work together. Normally Ferb would be up in the catwalks adjusting the lights, but not today. Phineas was calling through the headsets they wore "check stage right." Ferb typed in a command into his laptop. "Now check stage left." The disembodied voice came through the headset. This continued until it was determined all lights were working properly. "Ferb, there's one more thing that needs to be checked." Came the disembodied voice through the headset. The injured teen was looking at the computer readouts 'everything appears to be in order' he thought. A hand was placed on his shoulder. "My pride. I'm sorry. I should have said something sooner. I should have visited. I'm sorry. Please forgive me." A very dispirited Phineas murmured. The teen at the controls looked to the ground. "Two weeks. We've not spoken properly in two weeks." The redhead looked worried. "Ferb, I'm sorry. I should have come to visit. I should have been a better brother." "It takes two to fight. apology accepted." Ferb said.

It seemed as though all of Danville had turned out for the Concert in the park. The dance numbers were spread out through the afternoon and evening. The song selections were great party songs and everyone in the park danced and sang along. The night ended with the Choir and Dance Studio's performance of Auld Lang Syne. Gretchen, Isabella, Jeremy and the rest of the family walked over to where Ferb was working. As the song started up, he used the preset program for the lights, put the laptop on the table and tried to stretch his back. "I didn't think this song would work when I first found out they were using it." He said. Gretchen smiled at him. He offered her a seat on his good leg and held on. "I thought this song was for New Years' Eve, it's the end of summer." Gretchen said resting her head on his shoulder. "The song refers to memories, to time, to change, to the past." "I missed you so much." Gretchen whispered to him. "To the future." The teen boy said and kissed his girlfriend.