"I'm sorry that got so weird back there, it's just that for a while, I was really starting to think you'd betrayed me or something. Sorry about that. I should have known better… well, technically, I shouldn't know better, what with my memory being gone and everything, but I do know better, and I'll try hard to remember that from this point on."

In case you can't tell from the context, I was walking Hilda back to Annie's after our eventful talk with Doof.

She was practically skipping as we walked along, because she'd just, in essence, discovered a long lost family member.

When we got back to Annie's house, she was waiting for us, looking a little like the cat that ate the canary. I regarded her suspiciously at first, expecting more teasing, but she just ushered us in through the door.

As I walked by her, she reached down, and took the watch Hilda had made from my wrist. Her eyes twinkled as she dashed upstairs with it.

Hilda gave me a funny look, and I just shrugged.

"Well, since she's acting so weird, I'm just going to go ahead and get started on dinner. Can you stay?"

It was tempting, but I really had to get home.

"Oh… well, thanks for today, anyway." She turned and walked into the kitchen, and I followed.

"I'm sorry, I thought you meant you couldn't…"

I shook my head again, and pointed upstairs.

"Or, right… you're waiting for her. Well, would you mind opening this for me then? These jars are always impossible to…" she broke off mid-sentence as the seal popped. I grinned at the look on her face. "Oh, sure… make it look easy."

Annie was coming back downstairs. "Perry?"

I handed Hilda back the jar, and went back into the living room.

Annie tossed the watch back at me, that twinkle still in her eyes.

I didn't catch on for a second, then I pressed a button, and saw that she'd hooked it up to the O.W.C.A. secured satellite. I was back in the mainframe, which meant…

She kept her voice low. "Welcome back, Partner."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. The longer they'd taken coming to a decision about me, the more I'd started to wonder if I really was going ot kicked out of the agency.

She nodded towards the kitchen. "Any progress?"

It didn't take long to fill her in.

I said my goodbyes, and left the two of them squabbling over spices in the kitchen. No way was I going to get involved with that mess.

As I headed home, I made a mental note to side with Annie on all things desert, and to back Hilda in the other meal areas. Probably something I should have shared with my friend, but I figured she'd discover that on her own, soon enough.

Things back home had settled down. Phineas simply grinned at me and said, "Oh, there you are, Perry!" as I opened the gate to the back yard.

Their invention for the day was a giant record player that they were roller-blading on. Ferb pointed to my skates, which had 'somehow' just appeared beside the other pairs of shoes, so I changed into them, and joined in.

The hardest part was actually just getting on the thing, since the record pretty much took care of the rest. It didn't get boring though, because every once in a while, one of the kids would call out something to change it up, and we'd all scramble to try it, dodging the others when they'd fall, and end up spinning around until they got to the needle arm.

Just as Mom's car drove in, a green ray of light hit the record player, shrinking it down to normal size, and leaving us all to fall onto the lawn. Ferb, Isabella, and I managed to land on our feet.

Mom opened the sliding door. "Actually, Candace, they're skating to music, not on music. Having fun, kids?"

Cheers went up all around.

"Well that's nice. Anyone want to take a break, and come in for a snack?"

Everyone started taking their skates off except me. I pointed towards the gate, and indicated I wouldn't be long.

"Alright, Sweety, but supper will be ready soon."

I gave her a thumbs up, but my smile faded the moment I skated out of sight.

That green ray had come from D.E.I.

I would have been sure of it, even if it hadn't obviously been the infamous Shrinkinator.

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, but it was always unsettling. Personally, I'd sooner buy Candace's 'mysterious force' theory, than assume that Doof was doing it on purpose. I highly doubt he'd do anything to endanger my family, even if her knew about them, but I knew he didn't know about them, if only because Doof can't keep a secret. Still, that Shrinkinator had been far too close to the kids, and there was always a chance, however small, that he'd looked out the balcony, and recognized me in the back yard.

I got there, and rang the doorbell.

He opened the door, and studied me carefully. "Um… yo… Dude… Do you have the wrong address, or are you selling something? I didn't order a pizza, did I? If I did, I hope it was more then fifteen minutes ago, because I'm low on cash."

I pulled my helmet off and put my fedora on instead.

"Perry the agent!" He said it that weird half yell half gasp way he always does, then his face went bland again. "What are you doing back here?"

I skated over to the Shrinkinator, and turned it so that it was pointing inside the building. Then I made sure no other inators were pointing off the balcony, or any windows for that matter.

"What are you just here for maintenance work? That's rude! Especially considering that we're both waiting for you to come back on duty! How long is it going to take before you're my nemesis again, huh?"

The fact that Doof hadn't even recognized me without the hat reassured me that he wouldn't have known it was me even if he had seen me outside my house. Strange, and bewildering, but useful.

The mystery was cleared up when I saw that Norm was dusting. I tipped my hat to them, and skated back out the door, and to the elevator with a sigh.

For someone who wasn't technically Doof's nemesis, I was certainly spending a lot of time in this building.