"You're CRAZY if you don't take it!" Pinky said.

Perry ignored him and kept walking.

Pinky had to speed up a little to catch up. "Think of it! You'll be in charge of everything. And you'll never have to worry about money! You'll have plenty! You'll get General Autograph's mansion, too. A mansion! I would have said yes right then and there!"

"It's not all glitter and kittens. I'd have to work my butt off."

"But it wouldn't be fighting! It'd be deciding everything for the agency! Wow. You'd be the boss of Monogram. You'd be the boss of all the security agents! They'll be bowing down to you!"

"Hope Ernest's head doesn't fall off if he does that."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I know it's a huge honor. But…"
"But what? Why is there even a but?"

"…I wouldn't be able to have time to be home. I would rarely see the boys, rarely see any of YOU, I'd never fight Doofenshmirtz again…"

"But Perry, don't you want to? I mean, you've been given this chance to rule a whole organization!"

"I know. But I don't. I've always been happy with my job and my home. Why should I abandon it all?"

"Well… I think you should at least think about it."

"I have been thinking about it. I don't want to take the job."

Pinky shrugged. "Well, we'll see you more often, then."

Perry smiled. "Yep."

"I'm glad you aren't gonna take the job." Phineas said, tossing an electronic ball to Ferb. "We'd be sad if you were gone all the time!"

"I figured." Perry said. "And I'd miss you. I still can't believe that out of all the agents, the General picked me…"

"You are one of a kind." Ferb said. He tossed the ball back to Phineas.

"Well, maybe. But there are hundreds of agents. It's a great honor, but it's not my thing. I like fighting and coming home to a loving family. By the way, you said you would trim my claws. And you haven't yet. They're getting split."

"Can't you trim them yourself?"

"Yeah, but I don't do a very good job. I can't ever get them even. I guess I could get Sideblow to do them. But Gustav usually hangs around him, and I don't really like being insulted."

"Who're they?" Ferb asked.

"The agency's groomers. Gustav's a grump. Can you just trim them? You don't even have to file them down."

"Later." Phineas said.

"Carpe diem." Perry muttered. He scratched a mosquito bite with his back foot.

"Daddy." Came a small voice from under the couch.

Perry nearly fell over. He looked under the couch.

Paisley looked back at him.

"Pay, what are you doing here?"

"Thewe is a stwangerly in my house and I am scaweded. So I comed in to the doow fow animalies. And I hide, like dis." Paisley crawled out from under the couch and then crawled back in.

"Awwwww!" Phineas said. "He's so cute! Like a mini-Perry!"

"There's a stranger in your house?" Perry asked.

"Yes."

"Were you alone?"

"No. Pawmew and Peppiwy and Pamewa and Mommily were thewe. And the stwanger."

"Is he… like, a robber?"

Paisley looked confused. "I don't know what dat word means."

"Okay. Come on." Perry took his hand and dragged him out from under the couch.

Perry knocked on the front door and waited.

Paisley chewed a flower that was planted in front of the door.

The door opened, and Palmer stared at Perry. "What are you doing here?"

"Bringing back your brother."

"Huh." Palmer said. He turned and called to his mother. "MOOOMMMYYY! DAD FOUND PAISLEY!"

"Don't make them stand in the doorway!" Poppy called back.

"Oh. Come in." Palmer said. He wandered off.

Perry and Paisley went inside. Poppy came to greet them.

"Paisley, why did you run off?" Poppy asked.

"Thewe was a stwangerly in the house." Paisley said.

"But honey, you know Pluto. I introduced him to you two days ago."
"Oh. Wight." Paisley said. "I forgotted."

"So you met Mickey's dog?" Perry asked him.

Poppy glared at Perry. "Don't make fun of his name."

A skinny platypus approached them. He gave Paisley a fond look. "Peppy, what were you doing? Your mom was about to have a freakout."

"I'm Paiswey." Paisley said. "And I forgotted your name too."
"Dang. I always get you two mixed up. Sorry. It'll take me some time to be able to tell you apart."

"The other one's named Peppily, by the way." Perry said. "Not Peppy."

"Oh, I know." The platypus said. "It's just a nickname. I don't believe we've ever met, by the way." He held out his hand. "I'm Pluto."

Perry shook it. "Sorry you're not a planet anymore, dude."

He laughed. "Yeah, I usually go by Toto."

"Either way, you're a dog."
Toto smiled. "And you are?"

"Perry. Not short for anything."
"So you're the father." Toto said. "I was hoping to meet you one day."

Perry looked at Poppy, who was looking intently at the floor. "Uh… he's my boyfriend." She said quietly. "And he's helping out with the kids and stuff. I forgot to tell you."

Perry let this process for a moment. He didn't really know what to say.

"He's doing it willingly?" Perry asked. He turned back to Toto. "Seriously, though, she's not paying you? Have you seen these guys in action?"

"Please." Toto said, grinning. "Last night one of them stuck a chainsaw in the clothes washer. And I've seen the rock oven."

"Brave guy." Perry commented, feeling a little annoyed with the chainsaw story.

"They're great kids." Toto said.

"Let's just hope none of them grow up to be a serial killer." Perry joked.

Paisley poked him. "What's dat? Cause I eated ceweal dis mowning."

Perry laughed.

"We should go out to a movie or something." Toto said. "Get to know each other more. I mean, I don't just want to barge in uninvited."

"...Sure. No movies with Kendrine Adems, though. I can't stand her."

"There's one playing downtown in an hour."

"Kendrine Adems movie?"

"No, no. Another movie. Hoho and Joan."
"Cool. I'll go. But I have to head home first and tell my owners."

"Sure." Toto said. "See ya then."

"Don't run off again." Perry told Paisley.

"But thewe's a stwanger in my howse. And he showd have weft by now."

"Paisley, Toto's living with us." Poppy said.

"Oh. Okay. Is he my bwother?"

Toto smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

"That was an interesting movie." Perry said as they left. "But I don't quite understand why Hoho fell off a cliff. I mean, his girlfriend was already dead. How could he attend her funeral if he was dead?"

"He could become a ghost." Toto suggested.

"And stalk her. I like it. Woah, as a ghost… imagine how many lines he'd be able to cut."

"He could cut the lines for the bathroom."

"Or an amusement park."

"Or…" Toto's eyes widened. "He might have cut the very line we waited in… to get into the theater."

They looked at each other.

"I did feel a chill." Perry said.

"And I heard someone say 'I'm cutting infront of you.'"

"Oh no. We were cut in line by Hoho the ghost!"

"How humiliating!"

"I bet he's laughing about it with his ghost friends right now, this very minute." Perry said.

They came to Poppy's house.

"See ya later." Toto said.

"Bye." Perry said.

He started to walk away, and then stopped. "Uh… Toto?"

"Yeah?"

"I know Pops has you to help…" Perry said. "But tell her… if she ever needs… any extra help with the kids… to call me."

Toto smiled. "I will."

"Thanks." Perry started home.

Perry curled up in his pet bed. It hadn't been such a good day. However, his cast had finally been removed that morning, which was good.

Unfortunately, his comrades had all gotten together and bombarded him with reasons to take the General's job. Perry had defended his decision to the end, but when he couldn't defend it any more, he ran from them.

"You're back!" Phineas said. "You missed the biggest project EVER!"

"We built another planet." Ferb said. "And named it Phineas Planet."

"Where did you put it?"

"In between Uranus and Neptune." Ferb said.

"But then it spontaneously combusted." Phineas said. "We don't really know what happened."

"Maybe Hoho the ghost blew it up." Perry said.

"You're a great friend!" Said a voice.

Perry looked from Phineas to Ferb. "You… didn't…"

"Um…" Phineas coughed. "We bought a waterproof Carlos doll for Blubbles. She needed a toy, and that was the only one they had…"

Perry went and looked at the fishbowl. Blubbles was floating merrily around. A miniature Carlos doll stood in the middle of the bowl.

Blubbles swam into the Carlos doll.

"Caring and sharing are fun! Run into my eye if you want me to sing a song!"

Perry growled.

Blubbles rammed into Carlos's eye.

Carlos began singing to the tune of the Toreador song from Carmen.

"OH, Caring and sharing are so very fun, caring is nice, caring is fun! SHARE, with every every every one, sharing is oh so fun!"

"At least he sings to good musical tunes." Ferb said.

"I HATE CARLOS!" Perry shouted.

"Okay." Phineas said. "Don't throw a tantrum over it."

"I'm sorry." Perry started choking up tears. "I've… just had a bad day."

"Aw." Phineas and Ferb ran over to him and started petting him.

"What happened?" Phineas asked.

"I just… it's that stupid job. Everyone wants me to take it. Just because it's an amazing opportunity doesn't mean I'm gonna want to do it! I love my life. I love my home, I love my work, I love my family… I don't have to have a lot of power and money to be happy!"

"Of course not." Phineas said.

"Why don't you just tell the guy in charge that you don't want the job?" Ferb asked. "Then they'll have to stop bugging you."

"I love you guys." Perry sobbed, hugging them.

"We love you too." Phineas said.

"You don't have to be in charge to do great things." Ferb said.

Perry nodded.

He wished everyone else at the agency knew that.