Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from the Kim Possible series are all owned by Disney. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. NoDrogs created Kasy & Sheki, I modified them.

Quality Family Time

"Have you ever seen a total eclipse?" Shego asked Kim. "I'd read about them over the Gobi Desert or Timbuktu when I was a kid. Your family had money to travel."

"Not enough for that. I think Dad flew somewhere to see one before I was born." She hesitated, "I'd like to see it, but Jane is too little to understand, and that's a lot of traveling."

"We'll go to Carbondale, Illinois. The longest totality period of any decent-sized town in the zone. Kasy and Sheki are old enough to appreciate it. It will be quality family time."

"And a couple days of visiting Lincoln historical sites before we come back?"

"Sounds good." The promise of Lincoln sites encouraged Shego to book a motel room in advance instead of waiting to see the forecast for the twenty-first. "They're bigger crooks than Drakken ever was," she complained at dinner. "Anything in totality zone raised its rates, like, eight hundred percent! Found a room in Springfield, miles from totality – still costs more for Sunday than rest of the nights there all together."

"Price is determined by supply and demand, if I remember econ class," Kim reminded her.

"Price gouging is against the law," Shego countered.

"I was reading on-line, and the exact spot with longest totality is just a few miles from Carbondale. It may not have as many people – think we should try for ground zero?"

"Won't be as many places to eat lunch, probably crowded with astronomy geeks... Oh, I was wondering about light pollution."

"Light pollution?"

"Some street lights have electric eyes and come on automatically at dusk. If lights in Carbondale came on they might mess up viewing."

"Why do Sheki and me have to sit in the back seat?" Kasy complained as the rented SUV left the airport lot.

"Sheki and I," corrected Shego, "and you get back seat, with Jane, until you're old enough to drive."

"Can I–"

"No," Shego told her firmly

"I don't want to sit by a baby."

"Jane isn't a baby, she's a toddler."

"Diapers means baby."

In Springfield Shego ordered Kasy and Sheki to the motel pool, "What we're paying for tonight? Enjoy everything you can. We leave at seven tomorrow morning to find our spot to watch."

In the morning Kim went over their mission check-list. "Cooler with drinks, eclipse goggles, camp chairs, non-melty snacks, sunscreen... We're ready."

"Sunscreen?" asked Sheki. "For an eclipse?"

"Sun and heat until it happens."

Traffic snarled the highways of southern Illinois as they neared Carbondale. "Glad we got an early start," Kim chirped. Shego gritted her teeth. Traffic remained heavy as they passed Carbondale for the spot with greater totality.

Kim put on eclipse goggles and glanced up as they parked. "Just starting." Kim and Shego found a spot for Jane in the shade and Kasy and Sheki investigated where other observers were from.

"This is more than any partial I've ever seen," Shego commented as more than half the sun was covered.

The color of the atmosphere began to change slightly as mid-day turned to dusk. "I've heard it gets real dark," Kim commented. Shego answered with a 'how would I know?' shrug.

"Lot's of people taking pictures," Sheki reported when the twins returned.

Kasy looked up through her goggles. "Almost..."

Those watching saw the 'diamond ring' disappear and the sun was completely obscured. "You can look now without goggles," Kim told her daughters.

"I thought it was gonna get really dark," complained Kasy.

"Neither Eemah nor I have been in one before," Kim reminded her. "It's like twilight... Sounds like the birds are going to bed now."

"And they'll wake up in five minutes going 'What the heck'," predicted Shego.

Kim appreciated the fact Shego limited herself to 'heck'.

Four hours after leaving their observation spot they had traveled seventy miles, delayed with others by the mass exodus from Carbondale. Shego did mental arithmetic, "At this rate we reach our motel in Springfield sometime between one and two in the morning.

"Maybe it will speed up," Kim hoped optimistically.

Sheki observed, "Jane needs to be changed."

"Phheww," represented Kasy's opinion. "Can I get out and walk?"

"Don't tempt me, kid," warned Shego. "Okay, in a minute when we're stopped again, Chinese fire drill. We–"

Sheki asked, "Chinese fire drill?"

"We stop for a minute on this creeping torture they laughingly call a highway. We all open car doors. Mom drives, Kasy takes shotgun, you take Kasy's spot, I take your spot. Mom gets next four hours of driving, and I change Jane's diaper."

"What do I get? Why does Kasy get shotgun?"

"Kasy gets shotgun so Mom can have the pleasure of her company – and you get the pleasure of my company."

The maneuver was managed with only a few honks from the cars stranded behind them in line.

Kim commented, "After, like, four hundred years without an eclipse Carbondale gets another total in seven years. Jane will be about the age the twins are now."

"I heard. Cleveland also gets totality then. Never thought I'd say this, but compared to this, Cleveland is sounding civilized."

Moral: 99% of retired Americans answer the question, "Wish you had spent more time with family or work?" with 'family'. I assume the remaining 1% had their own Kasy.

AN: The predicted size of the Carbondale crowd made me switch to a town slightly west. I headed home before the Carbondale crowd departed. A projected 7½ hour drive home took me 8½ hours. Neighbors who viewed slightly SE of Carbondale caught the Carbondale crush, and needed 19½ hours driving back home.