Siblings' Quest |Phineas and Ferb Story|

Part Seventeen: The Crushing Truth

If looks could kill, he would've dropped dead long ago. Linda's eyes shot daggers at the man who betrayed her and her daughter, who had the audacity to show up at the worst possible moment. Things were finally starting to get back on track for their family, why did her ex-husband have to come back into the picture when she managed to keep him away for this long already?

After a couple seconds of tears and squeezes, Candace and her father finally pulled away from the hug. It was almost hard to believe he was back after all these years. Seeing him sent several memories flooding through Candace's mind. She now could remember exactly what he looked like and everything sweet he ever did for her—making her breakfast, taking her to theme parks, carrying her around on his back, etc. She felt guilty for suppressing those memories and forgetting the impact he had on her childhood.

"I can't believe it," Cameron said, now getting a better look at his daughter. "Look at you! My baby girl's all grown up! The last time I saw you, you were still missing your front teeth."

Candace laughed and wiped away her tears, "I just can't believe you're actually here."

"Neither can I." Linda mumbled to herself, but she wasn't unheard by those around her. Cameron's smile faded quickly when he saw her, especially noticing her angered expression. He should've known ahead of time that their reunion wasn't going to be as exciting.

"Linda..." He spoke up, awkwardly putting his hands in his jacket's pockets. "It's— it's nice to see you."

Linda cocked a brow at him, not at all falling for that bullshit greeting. It most certainly wasn't "nice" for them to see each other. She cleared her throat and stood up from the table, folding her arms. "What are you doing here, Cameron? I told you 18 years ago to never come near me or my children ever again."

It was exactly 18 years now since Cameron had left their lives for good. The day everything he owned was no longer in the house and he had officially moved out. Linda swore she would never let him return, she never wanted to see his face again. He didn't deserve to call himself the father of her children.

Cameron sighed, "Look Linda, I—" He stopped midway when his eyes unintentionally shifted aside, now spotting three teens standing next to each other. One in particular, with red hair and a triangular-shaped head, the eyes of his mother and the freckles of his father. Somehow, Cameron knew who it was, but he needed to be sure. "Is..is this—?"

"Yes, Dad." Candace answered with a nod, smiling and gesturing at her brother. "This is your son, Phineas."

Phineas felt strangely uncomfortable being introduced to his father now, yet at the same time he felt like a piece of him that had been missing his entire life was finally found. He never knew of this man's existence until very recently, and meeting him now was almost surreal. He stared at the 'mystery' man for a moment, noticing how he didn't look that much different from the old photos, just with more facial hair and his teeth were a bit crooked (he chose not to question why).

Cameron smiled, his heart melting now that he finally got to see his son. "Phineas..." He whispered, overwhelmed by just knowing his name. During Linda's pregnancy, they used to argue for hours over what they wanted his name to be. He never actually knew what it was and for 18 years he always wondered what his ex had picked.

Feeling a bit awkward, Phineas just gave him a forced grin, since he didn't know how to introduce himself at the moment. He didn't know what was appropriate, a handshake or a hug? Was a hug even warranted? This man did betray their family, and he never even met him before so it wasn't like he was much of a father to him. But a handshake was too formal. Perhaps it was best not to show physical affection at all and just stand there, hoping someone else would speak up instead.