| abstract | - 'Beep, beep, beep.' The alarm clock in Phineas and Ferb's room went off. "Oh no!" Phineas said, jerking his eyes open, "I can't believe we didn't beat the…" He trailed off, realizing there was something wrong with his voice. "I think you're sick," said Ferb, who was always a bit more talkative around Phineas. "I'm sure it's nothing," Phineas croaked as he headed down to the kitchen. However, as breakfast progressed it became clear that it most definitely was not 'nothing'. "Hey, Phineas pass the milk," Candace said when she sat down. "Sure thing, sis," Phineas said with a sniff as he slid the milk across the table. "Wow Phineas, your voice sounds so low and gravely today. What did you do?" Candace asked, hoping it was something bustable. Phineas turned a light shade of pink and was saved from answering Candace's question by a coughing fit followed by a quick succession of sneezes. "Eww, that's so disgusting. Mom!" Candace yelled, "Phineas is being all gross while I'm trying to eat breakfast!" "What's this about Phineas being gross?" Linda asked as she walked into the kitchen. "Mom, just look at him, he's sniffing and coughing and sneezing and being all sick." "Oh, wow Candace, you're actually right this time," Linda said as she looked at Phineas "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a cold." Phineas croaked, his voice getting noticeably worse, but Linda wasn't convinced. She pulled out a thermometer and made Phineas stick it under his tongue. "That's what I thought, 102°. We need to take you to the hospital," she said looking down at the thermometer. Phineas opened his mouth to protest but no sound came out, he had completely lost his voice. Fifteen minutes later Phineas, Ferb, and Linda sat in the hospital waiting room. Phineas and Ferb were silently working on blueprints for a voiceless communicator to help Phineas talk until he got his voice back. They were surprised when they heard their mom say, "Hello Vivian, Isabella." At the mention of Isabella's name Phineas' head shot up. When their eyes met they both turned a light shade of pink. "Hello Linda," Vivian said sitting down next to her, "What are you guys here for?" "Phineas is sick," Linda replied as Isabella sat down unusually close to Phineas. "He's got a runny nose, a cough, and fever, and he's lost his voice." "That sounds like the same thing Isabella has." Vivian pointed out, causing Phineas' and Isabella's blushes to darken, an action that only Ferb seemed to notice. Before he could inquire about the involuntary reflex the nurse walked into the waiting room and said, "Phineas Flynn, the doctor will see you now." As the three members of the Flynn-Fletcher family walked back to the doctor's office Ferb leaned over to Phineas and whispered, "Would you like to tell me what you and Isabella were doing last night that got you both so sick?" Phineas gave Ferb an incredulous look that clearly said, 'I have no idea what you're talking about.' "Don't give me that look," Ferb said in response, "I know you snuck out last night and I'm pretty sure you met up with Isabella." Phineas blushed an even deeper shade of red but still refused to tell him anything. "Fine, I'll just go ask Isabella then," Ferb said turning back toward the waiting room. Phineas' eyes widened, shocked that his own brother would do such a thing. He quickly grabbed Ferb's arm and shook his head, pleading with his brother not to talk with Isabella. Ferb conceded, knowing that one way or another he would find out what had happened between his two best friends. Phineas was relieved when they reached the examination room where he could avoid Ferb's questioning glances with ease. Unfortunately it wasn't as easy to avoid the doctor's questions. "OK Phineas," the doctor said after giving him a quick checkup. "I just have a couple questions. I'll try to ask yes or no questions since you don't have a voice so just nod or shake your head." Phineas nodded to show he understood. The doctor grabbed his clipboard and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Linda's cell phone. "Sorry, it's my daughter Candace, I should take this," she said as she walked out of the room. The doctor nodded and started through his list of questions. "Did you feel sick last night?" Phineas shook his head. "Did you go to bed last night at a reasonable time?" Ferb was unsurprised when Phineas shook his head again. "How late did you stay up?" the doctor asked, forgetting the need for yes or no questions. Phineas thought for a moment and held up his hands, showing five fingers. "Five A.M.?" the doctor asked incredulously, "Do you stay up that late often?" Phineas quickly shook his head no. "Good," the doctor replied, writing down Phineas' answer and moving onto the next question. "Have you been out of the country within the last week?" To Ferb's great surprise Phineas nodded. "Where did you go? Oh wait, I forgot, yes or no questions." The doctor paused, trying to think of a way to get an answer. "I know!" he said suddenly with a bolt of inspiration. "We can play 20 Questions!" "Or he could just write it down," Ferb suggested. "That's a great idea," the doctor said. He pulled a piece of paper out of his notebook and handed it to Phineas. Phineas pulled out a pen and quickly jotted down one word. He handed the paper back to the doctor before Ferb could read it. The doctor glanced down at the note and exclaimed, "Ah, Paris, the city of love," causing Phineas' blush to return. "Well France isn't famous for making tourists sick," the doctor continued, noticing the color in Phineas' cheeks. He was distracted from probing further when Linda walked back into the room. "It appears that Phineas has a basic cold," the doctor said to Linda, "I'll give you a prescription for some antibiotics. Before you go I have one more question. Do you know if any of your friends are sick? They should come in to get some medicine too." Linda didn't seem to notice her son turn bright red when she said, "I think Isabella might have the same sickness, she's out in the waiting room." Ferb, however, did notice his brother's abrupt change of color and made a mental note to confront Phineas and Isabella about their suspected romantic activities in the city of love. Later that day Phineas sat alone in his bedroom, isolated to prevent the rest of the family from getting sick. Phineas was slightly glad to have some time away from Ferb's never-ending questioning glances. He had the feeling that Ferb had some inkling about what happened but was waiting for Phineas to tell him about it. The only problem was that Phineas didn't dare tell his brother anything without Isabella's permission. It was, after all, her secret too. But Ferb was his best friend and only brother. Phineas had never ever been able to keep a secret from him. Perhaps Isabella would have a solution. Just as Phineas resolved to talk to Isabella about his predicament the next time he saw her, his mom walked in and said, "Why don't you come downstairs for dinner, I've invited Vivian and Isabella over so you an Isabella don't have to be alone." Phineas grinned, showing his mom ho grateful he was. He followed his mother downstairs and saw Isabella sitting at the kitchen tale. She carried a bright pink notebook to help her communicate with others. Phineas quickly sat down next to her while everybody else was helping prepare dinner. He grabbed Isabella's notebook and wrote her a quick note. "We need to tell Ferb." Isabella quickly read the note and vigorously shook her head in protest. Phineas responded with a slightly longer note, "But I think he suspects something. He knows I snuck out last night and he knows we have the same sickness. Besides I've never been able to keep a secret from him for very long." "I thought we agreed not to tell anybody, at least not for a while." Isabella wrote back. "We did." Phineas replied, "But Ferb's bound to find out about it somehow, and I think it's best if he finds out from us." "But what if Ferb tells Buford and Baljeet or the Fireside Girls?" "I know Ferb, he would never tell anyone." Phineas wrote confidentially, "Besides, Ferb's more of a man of action." "Ok," Isabella wrote, giving into Phineas' pleading, "We can tell him after dinner, but we are not telling anybody else." Phineas put his arm around Isabella and pulled her into a quick hug to show his gratitude, but had to quickly pull away as their families walked into the room. Luckily, the only person who saw it was Ferb. "How are you two feeling?" Linda asked as she set a big pot of soup on the table. Phineas and Isabella both gave her a thumbs up, showing that they were feeling much better. "That's good," she said while she ladled some soup into the bowls Candace had set on the table. "Hopefully this soup will help soothe your sore throats." The two sick children grabbed the bowls Linda handed them and silently dug in. "It's quite interesting," Lawrence stated, "That Phineas and Isabella have caught the same virus." "I did notice that Isabella was starting to catch something last night," Vivian mentioned. Phineas and Isabella started to blush, they did not like where the conversation was heading. Phineas looked over at his brother, begging him to say something and change the subject, but Ferb just shook his head and chuckled. In his opinion Phineas and Isabella deserved to squirm for trying to keep a secret from him. "And I bet Phineas caught it from Isabella," Linda said. This time everyone noticed when Phineas and Isabella turned beet red. Linda, however, ascribed their sudden change of color to their sickness and immediately sent them to Phineas and Ferb's room. Phineas and Isabella quickly heeded Linda's orders, extremely grateful to escape the awkward situation. As soon as they made it out of the kitchen Phineas took Isabella's hand and pulled her up the stars. Soon, Ferb finished his dinner and excused himself to confront the two lovebirds. When Ferb walked into his shared bedroom he found Phineas and Isabella cuddling on Phineas' bed. Phineas had his arm around Isabella and her head was resting on his shoulder. The two were so engrossed in the movie they were watching that they didn't notice Ferb. Wanting to make his presence known before they started getting all lovey-dovey, Ferb cleared his throat. Phineas and Isabella jumped, quickly moving to opposite ends of the bed. They had both turned a deep shade of red out of embarrassment but when they saw that it was only Ferb their cheeks returned to a light pink color and they moved back together. Ferb crossed his arms and blinked. He wanted an explanation and he wanted it now. Phineas reached into his pocket and pulled out a completed Voiceless Communicator. He immediately started typing on the keyboard causing a computerized version of his voice to say, "Whoa there Ferb. There's no need to get angry." Ferb blinked again. "I know, I know," Phineas typed making the voice sound guilty. "We kept a secret from you, which something a brother should never do. So we've decided to come clean." Ferb's eyes darted over to Isabella and back to Phineas. "Yes, Isabella agreed to this," Phineas typed as Isabella nodded. Ferb relaxed his confrontational stance as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, eagerly awaiting the juicy details. "How much do you already know?" Phineas typed. "You snuck out, you went to Paris, and you got sick," Ferb stated simply. "That's basically the whole story," Phineas typed. "We used Candace's cell phone to transport to Paris. We did the basic touristy stuff we didn't have time for when we were there last time, they we came home." "But why Paris?" Ferb asked. "Well, you see, last time we were there I completely ignored her because I was so worried about losing the bet with Buford and ruining her summer. But when we were trapped on the island I saw her crying. Last night I realized that I was the one who had made her cry and ruined her summer anyway. I decided I needed to make it up to her." Phineas stopped typing indicating that he had come to the end of the story. However, Ferb could tell Phineas had left the most important part out. Ferb waited for a couple of seconds to see if Phineas would continue without encouragement before glancing down at the hand Isabella had placed on Phineas' knee. "Oh, that," Phineas typed. "Well when we were on the top of the Eiffel tower something came over me, and I kissed her. I know this sounds cheesy, but it was the best moment of my life and it made me realize how much I care about her." Phineas was grinning from ear to ear as he glanced over at Isabella, only to see a smile that was just as big as his. The two started to lean into each other, but Ferb interrupted them before their lips could touch. "I'm guessing that's how you got sick." Phineas didn't look away from Isabella as he typed, "Isabella had a slight cold last night and I didn't realize she was contagious. But kissing her is totally worth a couple of sick days." "Well, it's about time," Ferb said as Phineas leaned in and lightly kissed Isabella on the lips. Ferb chuckled as he got up and walked out of the room to leave the couple in peace.
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