Losing You

By Sheryl Nantus

Disclaimer: What, you think they're mine? HAH!

Rating: G

Synopsis: Ron has to deal with a heartbreaking loss.

Note: This story happens after StD, so the Kim/Ron relationship is established and schmoopying along.

Another Note: I have NO idea how to put wee widdle symbols in to designate scene changes. This system won't give me a hint and I've tried a lot and nothing works - apologies in advance.

Losing You pt.1

He stared out of the shadows as the police swarmed over the old warehouse; Dr. Drakken and Shego once again being herded towards the waiting police van. The good doctor was busy swearing and cursing towards the two teenagers who stood off to one side; wide grins on their faces as Shego pushed the blue-faced villain none-too-gently into the van. His eyes darted away from them to the small pink rodent perched atop the blond crimefighter's shoulder.

"Hmph." He mumbled into a tape recorder held to his lips. "The molerat succeeded in not only surpassing Lipsky's alarm system again by chewing through the right wires but by deactivating the self-destruct command by hitting the right sequence of buttons." His eyes narrowed. "Quite the useful little beastie."

Kim Possible covered her mouth, stifling a yawn. "Let's go home, Ron." The police van drove slowly away, Shego's angry face framed in the small window. "I think we've earned a good night's sleep after this one." Pulling a small blue box from her pocket she tapped the buttons. "Wade, ride home please and thank you!"

The youthful face smiled back at her. "Already arranged. Local trucker's heading back to Middleton and has room in the back. Get you home by morning."

Ron sighed dramatically. "Riding in the back of a tractor-trailer wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"He's hauling a hundred mattresses." Wade took a slurp of his ever-present soda.

"I think we'll manage." Kim chuckled. "Thanks again."

The figure watched intently as the truck drove up, the grateful driver hopping down and opening the back of the storage area for the pair. The two teenagers climbed up, the redhead wincing as she rubbed her shoulder. The rodent scurried over the stacked mattresses, chittering happily as the pair lay down on the soft plastic.

"See you at home." He took a step backwards and disappeared into the darkness.

Kim opened her eyes to a familiar sight; a naked pink molerat tapping her lightly on the cheek. Turning her head to one side she stared down at Stoppable, who was liberally drooling on her black sweater.

"We home yet?" She whispered to Rufus. He nodded, head bobbing up and down enthusiastically. As if on cue the vibrations under them slowed down and stopped. "You're pretty good at this travelling thing."

He chuckled as he scurried up onto the sleeping man's shoulder, pawing at the blond hair.

She looked down again, smiling as his hand began to tighten on her bare waist, his head shifting to nuzzle deeper into the fabric around her neck.

"Innaminute mom. Inna…" His eyes slowly opened as Rufus continued his gentle attack. "Oh, come on."

"Ron, we're home." Kim reached down and gently detached his fingers from her hip. "And I'm hungry."

"Ooh!" His eyes shot open as he sat up, almost tossing the small mole rat across the mattress. "Breakfast burritos at Bueno Nacho!"

The redhead sighed. "If we must. At least it's Saturday and no school."

The back doors swung open, blinding them temporarily with the sunlight. "Sorry I couldn't give you better accomodations." The grizzled elderly trucker offered a hand to Kim as she climbed down. "Still owe you for helping me deliver that baby elephant in that thunderstorm."

"No big." She waved him off as Stoppable joined her. "Saw it on Animal Planet and figured it couldn't be that hard."

Rufus scampered up into Ron's pocket, poking his head out and chittering loudly as they looked around. The blond teenager pointed to their left.

"Nacos at eleven o'clock!" He began to walk down the street towards the barely visible giant taco poking up above the buildings around them. Kim followed behind, stifling a yawn.

He watched them as they sat down at their usual booth in the fast-food restaurant, an outrageous amount of food in front of the boy and the creature. The redhead, as usual, had a much healthier display, some sort of Tex-Mex granola and yogurt concoction. It was truly amazing that the rodent had survived on such a diet that had melted cheese as a primary ingredient.

"That was great." Ron leaned back, patting his bloated stomach. Rufus did the same, letting out a low belch.

"That was scary." Kim sipped the last of her orange juice.

"So now what?" He groaned as he sat up. "Wanna take in an afternoon movie?"

"Sounds like a plan." She licked her lips. "Let me get home, brief Mom on how we're doing and you can pick me up in a few hours?"

"Well, we could do that." Ron covered his mouth as he let out a discreet burp. "I'll be ready for lunch about then."

Kim got to her feet. "I'll tell Mom to expect you for lunch."

He belched again. "What movie do you want to see?"

"Do you really care?" Leaning forward she kissed him on the cheek. "See you later."

Ron waved as the redhead walked out of the restaurant. Turning to Rufus he let out a contented sigh. "Doesn't get much better than this."

Rufus let out a small burp, rolling over onto his back. He gave Ron a thumbs-up as he closed his eyes and smiled.

"I heard about the fight last night." Dr. Possible looked up from his morning newspaper as Kim walked in, dropping her knapsack next to the kitchen table. "Drew just never seems to learn."

"Tell me about it." Kim reached for an apple out of the never-empty fruit bowl on the counter. "But we got the job done. Again." She nibbled on the fruit. "Ron's going to come over for lunch and then we're catching a matinee at the movieplex, if that's okay."

"I don't see a problem with it." Kim's mother placed the last of the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. "You could have come back here for breakfast, you know."

"Yeah, but you know Ron. If he doesn't get his daily ration of Bueno Nacho he goes a bit nuts."

"And their stock drops about fifty points." Her father noted with a sly smile. Suddenly he scowled. "And why weren't you home earlier?"

"Wade got us a ride back with a trucker. Not exactly a private jet, but you take what you can get." She looked at him, a puzzled look on her face. "What, you think we crashed in a hotel and then hopped a supersonic ride back?"

He opened his mouth but before anything came out her mother made a coughing sound, taking over the line of questioning. "Don't give your father ideas, Kim. He's still thinking of having Wade give him a GPS tracker that details how far apart you two are from each other."

"Oh." The teenager blushed. "Dad, we were on a mission."

"Happens in the movies all the time." He tapped the newspaper with a single finger. "So, what movie are you going to see?"

Kim's face went blank. "Ah…"

"That new action one, right?" Dr. Possible interjected, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "I heard you talk about it yesterday, before you had to go."

"Right. That one."

Her father coughed. "Maybe your brothers would like to go. Make it a family thing."

The redhead's eyes widened as she spun around, staring at her mother.

"Honey, it's not exactly what I want the twins to see." Winking at her daughter she walked over and placed one hand on her husband's shoulder. "Remember what happened when you took them to that hockey film?"

"Oh." One eyebrow rose. "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"And the insurance covered it. That time." Turning back to Kim Dr. Possible smiled. "I was planning on tossing the leftovers onto the table for lunch. Think Ron'll mind?"

"I think we'll be lucky if there's anything left." The mumbled response came from behind the newspaper. "And I'm still thinking about sending the twins with you."

"That'd be great, Mom." Kissing her mother on the cheek Kim smiled. "Just going to shower and change. Ron'll be here in a bit." The redhead pulled down the newspaper, placing a light kiss on her father's forehead. "Thanks, Dad."

"Just don't sit in the back row!" He called after her as she walked out of the kitchen. Shaking the newspaper again he let out a weary sigh. "I'm still not comfortable with this entire 'dating' thing."

"Well, it's not like we didn't see it coming." Picking up her cup of coffee she took a deep sip. "Besides, at least it's Ron."

"Rather she go into a convent."

"Of course, dear." She smiled. "Just wait until Jim and Tim start dating."

"That'll be your area." The elder Possible grinned. "Then I can pass on the grey hairs."

He scribbled notes as he sat in the car outside of the Stoppable residence, licking the edge of his pencil every few minutes. Picking up the tape recorder again he cleared his throat before hitting the button.

"It seems that the creature is much hardier than any others of his kind. Considering his diet and living quarters it's a small miracle that he has lived this long. To say nothing of the danger that his owner persists in putting him into." He paused as Ron stepped out of the house with a wide smile on his face. Rufus chuckled as he balanced precariously on the teenager's shoulder. The pair strolled down the walkway and onto the sidewalk, turning left towards the Possible home. The man shook his head.

"This abuse is intolerable." Turning off the recorder he turned the engine on, pulling away from the curb at a slow steady pace. "Intolerable." He repeated.

"Drs. P!" Ron grinned as he sat down at the kitchen table. Rufus scampered up to sit beside the empty plate, nodding at the two adults.

"Good to see you, Ron." Kim's mother placed two plastic containers on the table. "It's 'clean the refrigerator day' so we're dealing with leftovers."

"Your leftovers are better than many fine restaurant meals, Mrs. P." Ron's eyes widened as Kim walked to the table with three more bowls. "Good thing I skipped breakfast."

"You did not." Kim slid in beside him with a smirk. "I was there with you."

"That…" Ron pried the lid off the nearest container. "That was a very late midnight snack. Ooh, meatloaf!" He paused, fork poised for attack.

"Go ahead." The redhead nodded. "You too, Rufus. Mom wants all this gone. Dad already scrounged something for himself." As if on cue a loud cough came from the living room. "And he's fine with us going to a matinee." Her voice rose as she winked at Stoppable.

"I still think you should take your brothers." The growl drifted over the mound of food collecting on Ron's plate.

"Ignore him, Ron." Dr. Possible leaned on the counter. "He's just having trouble dealing with his Kimmie-Cub doing something adult."

An answering grumble came from the living room.

Rufus rubbed his paws together, eyeing the beef stroganoff with a large smile. Licking his lips the small mole rat began to dig in, burrowing his way through the lasagna and heading for the meatloaf.

"Beat you to the loaf!" Ron dove in, fork flying.

Kim carefully moved her plate to one side, out of reach of paw and fork. "I'll take care of the salad."

"This mole rat far surpasses any other in his species." Sitting a good distance down the street from the Possible house the man sat in the car, dictating again. "His grasp of mechanical and electrical theory is amazing, to say the least." He looked up as a couple exited the house. "Amazing."

"Your dad's really freaking over this dating thing." Ron took ahold of Kim's hand as they started down the sidewalk. "I mean, really freaking."

"Well, he's overprotective." She shrugged. "Think of it this way - I'd rather have him worry about you and I making out at the theater instead of whether Monkey Fist drops us down a deep well in the Amazon."

"Good point." He smiled. Rufus, perched on Ron's shoulder, nodded his agreement. "So, who's buying the popcorn?"

The small movie theater was half-full; mostly couples ducking in out of the bright sunlight to enjoy the air-conditioning and a little privacy. Rufus cocked his head to one side as the couple snuggled down in two seats near the back of the theater.

"Hey, dude." The blond teenager whispered to the rodent. "Hate to do this to you, but can you catch some z's in the pocket?" His cheeks reddened. "Give me a little privacy with KP."

Rufus crossed his arms with a snort, shaking his head from side to side. He pointed up at the screen with a loud questioning wail.

"Okay, okay. Just don't cramp my style, 'kay?" Ron leaned in. "I'm still pretty nervous at doing this."

The rodent chuckled, giving a thumbs-up to the teenager as he scampered off along the tops of the theater seats.

"Just be careful!" Ron called after the mole rat. Turning around he let out a loud yawn, stretching his arms out in the air. One casually dropped down behind Kim, resting on the back of her seat.

"I see your Mystical Monkey Power comes in handy for stealth moves like this." She chuckled as the lights began to dim.

"Oh, you've no idea of my power." An answering chortle came out of the darkness.

"Bring it on, Monkey Master."

Rufus stopped on an empty seat back, sitting up to get a clear view of the screen as the loud music began to reverberate throughout the theater. Happy with his chosen spot he sat down, eyes fixed on the figures flying back and forth.

Exactly one hour and forty-five minutes later the lights began to come up, slowly illuminating the rows of seats.

"Cool movie." Ron let out a yawn. He lifted his head from the redhead's shoulder.

"For what you saw of it, yes." Kim chuckled as she leaned forward, allowing the blond teenager to pull his arm free from where it had been anchored on her waist. "Although your snoring during the big love scene was rather noticable."

"I was expressing my displeasure with the lighting." He scoffed, getting to his feet. "Besides, too much clothing."

"Don't let my dad hear that or you'll never get to go on a mission with me again." She chastized him as she joined him. "Where's Rufus?"

"I dunno." He turned from side to side, then all the way around. "Rufus!" The loud shout startled some of the slower patrons. "Rufus!" Cupping his hands around his mouth Ron shouted louder. "Rufus!"

"This is not good." Kim murmured to herself as Stoppable moved into the center aisle and began to search each row. Digging into her pocket she pulled up the Kimmunicator.

"Hey, Kim!" Wade's smile was infectious. "What's up?"

"We've got a missing Rufus." She paused. "Please tell me that you microchipped him."

"Me chip a naked mole rat?" The youngster shook his head from side to side. "Besides, he wouldn't let me."

"Well, we've got a sitch here." She looked up, seeing Ron running back and forth through the rows. "Rufus wouldn't just wander off like that; it's not like him. Put everything you have on the job."

"Kim!" A sound came from a few feet to her right. An arm jutted out of the aisle in front of her, clutching a small piece of cloth. "Look at this!"

Taking it from Ron she studied it warily, her nose crinkling up at the smell. "Wade, I need an analysis of this. Smells like something a bit more than just spilt cola."

She held the Kimmunicator close to the fabric, allowing the delicate sensors to take their readings.

"Oh, man. Major knockout juice." Wade shook his head. "That's not good."

"Kick it into high gear." Kim looked up to see the frantic Stoppable digging in one of the trash bins at the back of the theater. "Call in every favor you have to."

"I'm on it." Wade began to tap on the keyboard. "Just keep Ron sane."

"That may be a problem."