Lost in Danville

Chapter 5

When Perry gets home, he finds the place surprisingly quiet. It's the middle of the day. Phineas and Ferb are never quiet in the middle of the day. It's prime time for them to be building something. They must be working on it somewhere else.

Perry stands on his hind legs to unlatch the gate, then quickly drops to all fours to open it. He doesn't expect to find them there, but he still has to take the precaution.

But when he looks inside, he does see Phineas and Ferb sitting under the tree, all alone and looking devastated. Perry chatters loudly.

The boys both look over, and Phineas gasps when he sees him. "Perry?"

Perry tries to look subtle as he walks over to them, but he's so relieved to be home, it takes all his self control not to run to them.

Phineas and Ferb both get up, and Phineas meet his platypus halfway, scooping him up into a hug.

"We missed you so much," Phineas whispers.

Perry just chatters, and he hopes the boys know it's an 'I love you' chatter.

"Come on, boy," Phineas says. "Let's get you inside."

Perry lets Phineas carry him in the house, and though he can't see it, he knows Ferb is right behind them. He has his boys back.

Phineas puts Perry down on the kitchen counter. "Where have you been, buddy?"

Perry almost wishes he was still human so he could tell them all about it, and all the hoops he jumped through just to get back to them. Instead, all he does is chatter.

"Don't ever leave us like that again," Phineas says. "We've never been so worried."

Perry just chatters again.

"We should go tell Mom and Dad," Phineas says. "And Candace, too!"

Oh joy. Because he really wants to see Candace as soon as he gets home. Sure, he likes her, but it's obvious that the feeling isn't mutual. He just wants to hang out with the boys. After so long on the streets, he just wants their love.

But Phineas is already running out of the room, beaming, and there's nothing Perry can do to stop him.

Ferb scratches Perry on the head, and Perry lets out a content sigh. Why's he even worrying about all that? He's home. He's back with his people. He doesn't even care what happens next. He's just glad he gets to see his boys again.

Phineas comes barreling down the stairs, a few steps of footprints not far behind. Perry expects the first one out, obviously, to be Phineas, followed shortly after by Lawrence. He likes Perry, too -- they watch old TV shows together and everything -- and, unlike Linda, he can move quickly. He expects Linda to be next, because she likes Perry, and, more importantly, cares about the boys liking Perry, but she doesn't tend to move as quickly as Lawrence does. Then, of course, he'll see Candace at some point, but he's not holding his breath about that one.

To some extent, he's not wrong. Phineas is the first one back in the kitchen, and he's by the platypus's side in an instant. What he doesn't expect is for the next person to see him to be Candace, and he's too shocked to know how to feel. Candace doesn't even like him. Why would she rush over to see him?

"Perry?" she says hopefully. "Is it really you?"

Perry just chatters.

"It is," Phineas says."Look in his eyes. He's too happy to be home for it not to be him."

How Phineas knows that, Perry has no idea, but the idea that Phineas can see through his mindless facade just enough to know that Perry loves them warms his heart.

Candace scratches him on the head. "Welcome home, Perry."

Again, Perry just chatters, and it's a happy chatter. He's not sure why it takes disappearing to get Candace to like him, but he'll take this welcome over any other -- and not just because he likes head scratches.

It takes a minute, but Lawrence and Linda do follow eventually, and they're both overjoyed to see him, too. Linda mentions possibly try to make sure Perry doesn't escape again, but, before Perry can even begin to wonder how that could affect him getting to Doofenshmirtz's, Phineas shuts the idea down, because "As much as we missed him, we want him to be happy, and he won't be happy being cooped up inside all day."

Lawrence, of course, is a savior, because he mentions that Perry might be hungry after all this time away from home, which couldn't be more true. So, to conclude his return home, he gets to eat a double meal while the whole Flynn-Fletcher family celebrates with a pie. And, just when he thinks he couldn't be happier, he gets a rare remark from Ferb.

"They say if you love something, set it free," he says. "If it comes back, it was meant to be. I don't think there's any other sentiment that could explain Perry better."