Hi and welcome back to another installment of the lives of Kim Possible and Roman Stopblaski, graciously borrowed from Unheard Flipper and his AU, 'The Truth About Kim and Ron'. Here we explore the aftermath of the 'Exchange' episode and things surrounding our two friends as they have their own 'debrief'. Some of it has nothing to do with Japan, but most of it…well you'll see.

Before this begins we'd like to thank the following for their Review, Faves or Alerts: Sentinel103, pbow, EnterpriseCV-6, readerjunkie, Taechunsa and Jimmy1201. Thanks to you all for chiming in.

And once again we make the obligatory attempt to keep the briefcase crowd from Disney at bay: Kim Possible and others from the program are the property of Disney; their inclusion in our tale doesn't bring us any money, or profit of any kind. They are on loan to us just like Roman Stopblaski is from Unheard Flipper.

15

Exchanges: Yamanouchi, Ron and Kim

Raising his hands in returning triumph, "The boys are back in town!", the blond called to the two girls who had just seen their Japanese Exchange Student crush off; someone he had passed a covert message to as their paths crossed in the waiting area at their flight's gate.

Kim, after she glanced sideways to her best girl friend, asked, "So Spill! How was Japan? Tell all."

"Huh?", the mole rat nervously squeaked, his eyes wide in anxiety.

Ron gave his tiny friend a look that meant a lot if you knew what it was about, "Oh you know girlfriends, same ole, same ole."

"Well lets go down to baggage claim and get your stuff.", Monique spoke up.

"I uh can't, all I have left is this carry on. The rest of the stuff got lost.", Ron told them, "So why don't we head home?"

"Why don't we go to Bueno Nacho as a way of celebrating your return from the land of ninjas instead, Ron?", Monique asked not noticing Ron stiffen at her mention of ninjas.

"Huh? Oh yeah Monique, all that sushi left a funny taste in my mouth so I'd say you've got a bondiggity suggestion.", Ron smiled.

Kim could tell that he wanted to talk to her and report in to Mr. Barkin, but was now postponing that. She was going to go home but decided that she had better wait until they had talked.

"Ron we came here to see Hirotaka off, but it's good to see you, too. Come on I asked your 'rents if I could give you a ride. They had already decided that you'd be able to find your way home. Soooo..."

"Sure KP I'd love to ride with you if you have room that is.", Ron said, intending on giving Kim space from him if she wanted.

"I always have room for you Ron even if you eat till you're three times your size.", she replied not sure why she had said that, receiving a confused look from Monique and Ron for her effort.

X

Later after eating and dropping Monique off, Kim drove out in the country with Roman, fully intending on talking to him about his solo mission.

"Hey KP looks like your Mom is letting you drive now. So she trusts you to not wreck her minivan?", Roman asked now that they were alone.

Ignoring the small talk, Kim got right to the point, "What was going on with Yamanouchi? Why did they select you?"

"They wanted to make contact with Colonel Barkein's group without being too obvious. Et seems like meh friend Monty has made some friends dere, end the Master of deh school wanted to know if he had eny defectors.", Roman stated.

Sighing, "How many?", Kim asked, knowing he didn't like talking about this part.

"Huh?"

"How many did you have to terminate?", Kim clarified.

Roman thought for a moment before he answered, "One. He wes a senior student. We almost lost another, but we were lucky to get out alive. Eh went after hem after et wes over."

"So then, did things work out?", Kim asked unaware that the ninja that survived was a beautiful young Japanese woman.

Roman, well aware of Kim's tendency to get jealous easily, decided to keep that information from Kim at least until he had the opportunity to have his mission debrief with Barkin. "Da Kimika et wes good. Ded you have fun? Eh see vou Monique and Bonnie were drooling over Hirotaka."

Sigh, "We had fun...And it almost broke my friendship up with Monique, but Hirotaka is one that I would have liked to have taken out for a spin.", Kim confessed, "Are you mad?"

"Meh mad? Ded Eh get mad when vou tried with Junior? Nyet. Jest like vou not jealous when Eh have to perform..."

Grousing, "I never get to play 'The Spy Who Loves Me' where as you pretty much do what you want.", Kim growled as she began to clench her teeth in frustration, "I ought to take you up on your offer."

In confusion, "Offer?...Vhat offer?", Roman asked.

"Your offer to help me out.", Kim clarified.

"Help vou out?", he began to panic before he remembered his joke to her. Then he really started to panic.

"Yeah I'm really frustrated right now.", the red head said suggestively to him with a sultry look in her eyes.

Quickly shifting his tone, "Uh KP let's drop by your house, I want you to change into jeans and a sweatshirt and get your wig and sunglasses.", Roman instructed her, "And while you're at it, bring out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt for me from my stash too."

"Don't you want to come up to my room?", Kim invited with a slow wink.

"Uh nyet, not right now. Not in de mood vou are en.", Roman replied slightly nervous.

He was quite determined that if he were to take part in what she was suggesting, a fling was the last thing he wanted. Rather he wanted something more lasting between them then a quick roll in the hay with her.

Now baffled, "What are we going to do with that?", she asked.

"Ve are going to a parking lot in Lowerton.", he replied, concluding that he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, something desperately needed.

"Why?", she asked again.

"To change cars. Ve'll be back in a few hours.", he replied.

Surprised as hell, "You have a car somewhere?"

"Da.", Roman replied simply.

"OK, let's go then, but why the disguise?", she asked.

"So no one knows who you are.", he replied.

"But if they ID us..."

"Vou don't tink Eh haven't taken care of det?", he countered.

"Alright.", Kim replied as she turned towards home.

An hour later after she had told her Mom where she was going for a while, they drove off to Lowerton.

"Turn ento des parking lot Kimika.", Roman instructed.

After they had parked he motioned for her to put her wig and sunglasses on. They then exited the minivan and walked out of the parking garage and down the street. The disguised red head grabbed the similarly camouflaged blond's hand as he led her to a parking deck. After stopping in front of a jeep he produced a key fob and pressed a button to unlock the vehicle.

"Is that our car?", she whispered.

"Yes it is Trish.", Roman replied from behind his shades.

"Trish?", she asked quietly. Her senses and emotions at war with the 'What the hell?' sitch she found herself in with what he was doing while they walked to the jeep.

"Yes, Trish.", Roman replied as he held the passenger door open for her.

Once he had gotten in the driver's side he pushed a hidden button in the dashboard which exposed a hand pad he put his right hand on. Ten seconds later they heard a beep, and then Roman inserted a key and started the jeep. He then reached into the glove compartment, took out two wallets, and after examining their contents he kept one, the other he gave to Kim.

Kim looked in her wallet, "Trish Washburn? Driver's license…insurance card…credit cards...money? Where did you get all this Roman?"

"Secret, KP. Ve have a small apartment down en Denver. Eh em Abner Washburn, da.", he stated as he inserted a card into the security barrier control to raise the steel barricade and leave the deck.

Kim waited until he had completed the action before asking, "Abner? Where did you get that? What are we, brother and sister?"

"Husband and wife. Eh have the license too ef vou vant to see et.", he told her as he made a right hand turn and accelerated.

"Yeah I want to see it 'cause I sure as hell don't remember walking down the aisle! What did you do, get me drunk and force yourself on me?", Kim fired back.

"Nyet Kimika, Eh never force mehself on vou. Des fer undercover. Eh had Vade make de up months ago.", he informed her.

"Does Barkin know?", she asked.

"Deh Colonel does not know specifics. Heh knows dat Eh have a vay of protecting vou. Ef everyting goes bad ve scatter. En get back together vhen tings cool down. He told meh to make up way.", Roman explained.

"Why didn't the Colonel tell me himself?", Kim growled.

"Because vou not good actor like meh…And des es our vay of telling vou.", Roman snorted, "Only Vade knows since he helped set des up."

An hour later they pulled into the parking lot in front of a store, the likes of which Kim had never frequented before. "What's this place Roman?", the faux brunette asked.

"Vou mean Abner?", he asked with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah Abner."

"Toy store.", he replied from behind his sunglasses.

"Toy store?", she asked in confusion, looking up at the store's Adult Wares through the risqué signage in its window.

X

Forty minutes, and one of the most unusual shopping trips Kim ever experienced, later they found themselves back in the jeep and headed back to Lowerton when a much less tense Kim asked, "Can we go out for one drink?"

"Sure KP. Ve can go fer one drink, and per vour driver's license vou are old enough on to drink. But Eh heve to get vou home soon though.", Roman replied very happy with the way his escape plan was received by Kim. That and how she was beginning to relax after she completed her incognito shopping trip a few minutes ago.

Now that that was settled, she went back to previous thoughts of Roman's just completed solo mission, "So this guy that you eliminated in Japan...what kind of threat was he?"

"Yamanouchi has close ties to de Japanese government; end dis renegade student was working for Monkey Fist."

Sighing in frustration, "Looks like Monty's becoming a bigger pain than we realized.", Kim said. "So you weren't able to, ah, eliminate Monty as well?", she asked while discreetly reading the titles and descriptions of the items she had just purchased.

"Fisk somehow disappeared during the raid, but the government wanted de traitor Eh out of de way so he vouldn't be a problem again.", Roman told her as he sighed, "Eh didn't vant to do des."

"I know.", Kim replied as she put her head on his shoulder, "Come on lets get a drink then we can change cars and go home."

"Es meh lettle Kimika wishes.", Roman laughed.

"You mean your little Trish don't you Abner?", Kim replied teasing him a little.

After locating a small dive along a street lined with bars, "En here Eh am exhausted.", Roman moaned nervously.

'Too bad Roman.', Kim thought as they entered a side of Lowerton that doesn't show up in the Tourist brochures.

After a few moments Kim asked, "Why didn't you take us to the apartment? I'd like to see it."

"Three reasons. First et es for escape. Second et is too far eway and third I make promise to parents.", he replied.

"I get the safe house thing but what about the other one? What kind of promise did you make?", she asked.

Sigh, "Det Eh vould never hurt vou KP, and always have yer back. Our mission es first, nyet?", he asked.

"Yes the mission is first.", she replied in resignation as he pulled into a slot in the bar's parking lot and shut the jeep off.

After the signs of recognition Roman received after they entered the bar, "What?", Roman asked at her questioning look.

"How did you know this place was here?", Kim stared at him. "And how is it these people know you, Abner?"

Shrugging, "Vhile sometimes et es nice to go unnoticed, sometimes Ehm not so unnoticed.", Roman chuckled, "But dey know meh here."

An hour later and Kim's five stiff vodkas to Roman's one, the Russian carried her out to the car and set her in her seat and fastened her in. Ten minutes later they had switched cars and he drove her home. The petite, and once again, red head rested her cheek on Roman's shoulder as he carried her to her home; the bag still gripped in one of her hands.

At Roman's knock on the door of the Possible home, Anne opened said door and looked on in surprise as the blond young man easily carried her unconscious daughter into the Den.

"Mrs. Dr. P may Eh take KP to her room. She es tired.", Roman sheepishly asked her.

"Go right ahead Ronald, you know where her room is.", Anne replied as she noted that Kim's other hand had a tight grip on Roman's shirt.

After he had got Kim to bed, and Anne had peeked in the bag, he motioned for the Mom to follow him back downstairs.

Quietly at the foot of Kim's stairs, "Eh said that Eh vould never hurt Kimika en Eh mean dat Messes P. She wanted drink so Eh took her out. Eh vill not take advantage of her."

An eyebrow rose, "And how could you be sure she wouldn't be recognized getting drunk, and purchasing those gadgets she has in her bag?", Anne asked in simmering alarm.

"Ve vere careful, used desguises. In fact her wig es still in van too, so no one recognize her."

"Are you sure Ronald?" Anne could never get the young man that Kim still loved out of her mind. "I don't want Kimberly embarrassed...", she drifted before coming back in mortification, "Oh I'm so sorry, Roman, please forgive my mistake…but she still dreams about him."

Sighing with an acceptance of sadness, "Da, da Eh know Messes P. Kimika sometimes tink of me es Ron...because we look alike. Eh don't vant to hurt her. But she still love hem...not meh.", he said with a poignant smile.

Changing the subject away from the awkwardness that was settling in, "So how was your trip?", Anne asked, 'I'm so sorry Roman, I wish there could be another way.'

"Et wes good, saw sights, ate local food, ded tings dere.", he said offhandedly, then turned to the door, "Et es late, Eh must go home, didn't get much sleep on vay back. Eh see vou tomorrow ef et es ok."

At her nod, "Let KP sleep et off, she has vodka in her; tonight she needed et. She may hev headache in morning, but better than heartache."

Roman walked out the door, "Come Rufusinski ve have much to discuss."

After the door closed Anne returned upstairs and dressed her child in her pajamas while thinking about three lost souls. Two of which were still in pain. 'There's nothing I can do for Ronald and it still haunts her. But I wonder why Roman is hurt so bad?'

X

In the dark of the tree house sat two figures, one without his sweatshirt, the other wrapped in it. Looking to his fast fading little buddy snuggled in his shirt, "Den Rufusinski ve mest make sure det KP es safe and stays safe. Ef something happens to meh vou need to help her.", he said then dropped his head and said quietly, "Again."

Roman took another gulp of the clear liquid trying unsuccessfully to forget about his previous life and the abyss it had become.

The pink rodent chittered in return as the two kept up their conversation until the shirtless one passed out.

XXXX

Each has their own demons to confront, but they have someone backing them up all the way down the road. Kim's frustrations boiling over here somewhat, but Roman had her back as he unveiled their bug-out plan to her after their 'mission debrief'. An astute observer of her daughter, Anne can see the good in the partnership of Kim and Roman. But she can do nothing about it right now.

Maybe later; but for now, Roman's keeping his secrets and his agonies from his partner as he keeps her safe from harm, even from herself.