All their friends had gone home. Isabella had crossed the street for a shower, then come to visit for supper, with the enthusiastic encouragement of both their mothers. Now, in the cool early summer evening, Phineas sat in the backyard under the tree. Isabella sat in his lap, her head on his shoulder. She sighed contentedly.

"See, I told you we'd be back in time for dinner. How many patches did you get for our adventures?"

"Six. The Traveling Through Time patch - again - and the Wilderness Survival, Spearfishing, Small Furry Creature Hunting, Fish Preparation, and Cute Boyfriend patches. If I'd managed to keep the rabbit skins, I could have gotten the Free-Range Furrier patch, too. What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"Ferb and I never got to our notes for the paper. Maybe we'll go to the library."

They sat together for a few minutes, just enjoying being home, together.

"I was worried that when we got back, it would all go back to how it was," Isabella said.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," he said, and kissed her.

After they came up for air, she said, "We made a pretty good team."

"We did. It's going to be weird going to sleep alone tonight. I'll miss you."

"I'm just across the street, and we'll see each other tomorrow."

Ferb came out the back door of the house. "I have a confession to make," he said. "The fine targeting wasn't broken. I deliberately left you back in time for two days. And I'm not sorry about it."

Isabella looked shocked, and looked from Ferb to Phineas. "You planned that?"

Phineas, equally shocked, shook his head. "I didn't."

Ferb said, "I didn't plan it. I took advantage of the opportunity. And, apparently...so did you."

Phew. A few notes:

The characters surprised me at least twice while I was writing this. The first surprise was when Phineas offered Isabella his shirt - I really hadn't planned for that, it just came out organically as his immediate reaction. The second surprise was when Ferb pointed out to me that he'd done it deliberately.

There's some associated fluff vignettes coming, starting tomorrow. Tentative title is 'Firsts', and I think we're starting with Their First Fight. (Title is tentative because it's a bit generic.) These will probably be rated T as well, but I think they'll be tamer than this.

Many, many thanks to all those who've read this far, and especially to all who've reviewed.