It was a rather slow day at TUFF, but this day would change two particular agent's lives. It all started at around 10… no wait, 10:01 in the morning at TUFF HQ. Some agents were working on their computers, some were working in the lab… ok just Keswick, and some agents were just hanging out due to the fact that no bad guys were striking so far.

Dudley and Kitty were recently in the snack room chatting, and Dudley had a yoyo. As the yoyo traveled up then down then back again, an announcement came on over the loud speaker:

"Agent Katswell, report to my office at once!"

Due to the fact that the announcement scared the living daylights out of Dudley and Kitty, they stopped to catch their breath. Finally they both began running to the Chief's office.

"Dudley, did the Chief sound rather nervous to you?" Kitty asked Dudley. She couldn't help but notice that the Chief sounded hesitant in his announcement.

"Slightly, I guess." Dudley said. They quickly found themselves at the Chief's door. They opened it instead of breaking it down this time because the Chief had to keep wasting money on new doors every time they broke it down.

"Thanks for just opening the door this time. Agent Katswell, can I speak to you alone this time?" Chief asked.

Dudley and Kitty exchanged glances but shrugged. Dudley walked down the hallway and Kitty closed the door and sat down. However, the second Dudley saw the door close; he slowly crept over and put his ear up to the door.

Kitty sat in the chair and could immediately tell that something was wrong. The Chief had a slightly sad look in his eyes, although she could tell he was also trying to remain stern. He sighed and finally spoke up.

"Is everything alright Chief?" Kitty asked.

"Not exactly. There's no way to say this easily… and I don't know how to without making you upset, but…"

"Did something happen? Did I do something wrong?" Kitty asked and started to get nervous.

"No you're doing fine." Chief said. Kitty breathed a sigh of relief. So did Dudley outside the room, but it was much quieter. He couldn't bear the thought of losing his partner. He then continued to listen.

"I'm just going to come out and say it… I'm going to fire Agent Puppy…"

"WHAT?" Kitty almost screamed. She felt like she was about to faint. Her eyes were huge and she immediately felt a combination of sadness and intense anger. "You can't!"

Dudley couldn't believe his ears either. What did he do? He could feel tears coming into his eyes and fists clench, but he continued to listen.

"I'm sorry, but he's caused too many injuries and problems. I was almost killed by his flea collar, he let all those bad guys go when he was home without his mom, buried King Mutt's bone, turned us young, and almost got us shut down by the mayor for good! I'm sorry, but I can't keep letting him hurt everyone and letting bad guys go."

"What about all the good things he's done?" Kitty asked.

"They're outnumbered by his screw-ups." Chief was beginning to get impatient.

"Please don't fire him Chief! I'll train him even more and I won't quit! I promise!" Kitty said about ready to fall to her knees and beg.

"How long will that take and how much more will happen before then? What about all the pain he's caused you?"

Dudley was growing rather angry but at the same time he could understand the Chief's thoughts. He just couldn't accept it. He was nothing without TUFF.

Meanwhile, Kitty paused for a moment to think things through. It was true, Dudley did injure her a lot, but she didn't care at all. She would go through it all again if that meant she could keep Dudley with her. Apparently, Kitty had thought it over for too long, because the Chief took it the wrong way.

"See? You can't argue!"

Kitty was about to argue, but she was interrupted by a rather angry voice. "I've heard enough and if that's really how you guys feel, I'll just get out of your lives!"

Kitty turned around to find Dudley in the doorway. He turned around to walk out, but Kitty grabbed his hand. "Dudley, please don't go!" she said. She could feel a tear roll down her cheek.

Dudley didn't face her. "Kitty, admit it! The Chief is right! You can't keep fighting for me because you feel sorry for me!"

Kitty was shocked. Was that what Dudley thought? "You honestly think I'm fighting for you because I feel sorry for you?"

"Fine, why are you fighting for me then?"

Kitty knew exactly what to say next, but she couldn't get the word out. All that came out was, "Because… because I… because…" For some reason, what she wanted to say wouldn't come out no matter how hard she tried.

"See?" Dudley began, "You can't think of another reason! I thought we had a great friendship, but if you can't see that, I'll just"-

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"

Dudley was shocked. He slowly turned his head to face Kitty. She had her hands clasped over her mouth. He snuck a look at the Chief and noticed his mouth was wide open.

"Did you… just say what I think you said?" he asked.

"I- I think so." Kitty replied, uncovering her mouth. "I meant it too." she said feeling a little more confident. There was no more fighting it, her secret was out. She took a deep breath and turned to face the Chief.

"If Dudley goes, I go to." she said quickly hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.

Dudley's mouth fell open. Kitty would really do that? She would give up all her hard work, for him? The Chief was shocked too, but he finally took a deep breath and said, "Fine, one more chance, but that's it!"

Kitty and Dudley both smiled. "Thank you Chief." they said in unison.

"Ok, you can go back to work." Chief said.

The two slowly walked out the door, closed it and walked halfway down the hallway when Dudley stopped. "Kitty, I want to give you something." he said.

Kitty faced him and before she knew what was happening, Dudley gently kissed her on the lips. She was shocked for a moment but eventually kissed him back, pulling him closer.

After about three minutes, they pulled apart and hugged each other. "I love you too." Dudley said. Kitty smiled. "I promise, I'll do whatever I can to make myself a better agent, for you."

From that moment on, Dudley kept his promise to Kitty. He was extra careful and soon became an even better agent for him and for their love.

The End