All characters and episodes referenced in this story are the property of Disney. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment purposes.


Kim: Dad, I have a problem.

James: Frankly, uh, your mother has the good advice vis-à-vis boy trouble.

Kim: Oh, this isn't about a boy; it's about Ron.

James: Oh, gotcha.

Kim Possible, "Attack of the Killer Bebes"


I check my watch for the fifteenth time in the last half-hour. Two minutes to go... technically.

"Not midnight yet, dear," Ann says serenely, without even looking up from the pile of rubble she's been sweeping into one corner of the room. Our living room's still a mess, but it's much better than it was just a few hours ago. It's amazing how quickly contractors can work when they know how much repeat business it'll earn them; for once I'm thankful for the twins' reputation for destruction.

"Close enough," I grumble.

I wasn't happy about extending Kimmie's curfew in the first place, but when she came running back in here after defeating Drakken, I was quickly overruled. "It's her prom, James," my wife had said. "Not to mention poor Eric's."

Poor Eric, I think, glancing at my watch again. One more minute, poor Eric.

Okay, he did seem like a nice young man, and I can sympathize with being kidnapped by Drakken—all too easily based on recent experience. But at the end of the day, he's still a boy. And having been one of those myself, albeit not quite so recently, my trust only extends so far.

Just as I'm about to check my watch again, I hear the sound of a motorcycle pulling into the driveway. With a sigh of relief, I make my way quickly to the living room window and pull the curtain back just enough to peek outside.

"James," Ann chides, "give Kimmie and Eric some privacy."

"I would, dear," I say with a grin. "But Eric's not there." In a second, she's squeezed in beside me at the window.

It's not Eric's motorcycle we heard pulling into the driveway, after all, but Ronald's souped-up scooter. And it's not Eric walking my daughter up to the door, either. It's Ronald. Nice, safe, best friend, not-a-boy Ronald.

"What could have happened to Eric?" Ann asks.

I just shrug happily, not really caring. Maybe the whole Drakken kidnapping "sitch" was too much for him and he got scared off. Or maybe he got fresh and Ronald told him to take a hike.

Okay, admittedly that doesn't sound much like Ronald, but hey, I'm feeling charitable towards him for bringing my Kimmiecub home safe and sound and, especially, boyfriend-less.

All charitable feelings flee as I watch him lean forward and kiss my daughter!

Ann yanks me away from the window then, and I'm too stunned to put up any resistance as she drags me over to stand in the entryway. We hear a parting "Booyah!" and a moment later, the door opens and Kim walks in, smiling from ear to ear.

"Hi Mom, Daddy," she says. She looks back and forth between the two of us, as if she has no idea why we're staring at her like this. "I'm not late, am I?"

Thankfully Ann speaks up, because I don't think I have the faculty of speech at the moment. "Kimmie, what happened to Eric?" I can tell she's trying to sound stern, but she's doing about as poor of a job hiding her glee as I'm sure I am of hiding my shock.

"Um, it's kind of a long story...."

Ann crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. "We've got time."

"Okay, well…." As promised, the explanation that Kim launches into is a lengthy one, and I'm too distracted to catch even half of what she's saying. Something about "synthodrones," "a giant cactus" and "out there, in here"…? I shake my head. I'll have to get Ann to fill me in later.

I'm so preoccupied, I don't even realize that she's finished talking until she throws her arms around me in a hug. "Night, Daddy."

"Oh, uh…" I wrap my arms around her. "Good night, Kimmiecub." But instead of letting her go, I find myself squeezing her more tightly.

And then, an idea hits me. Still hugging her, I reach up with one hand and pull aside her hair, leaning over her shoulder to look at her neck.

Nothing.

I finally let her go then, thankful that she doesn't seem to have noticed what I was doing. Of course she didn't, I think, as I watch her kiss her mother and float up the stairs toward her bedroom. She's as distracted as I am, though for a completely different reason.

Her mother, it seems, is not quite so oblivious. Now I'm the one getting the raised eyebrow. "James Timothy Possible, did you just check your daughter for hickeys?"

"No!" I say defensively. Then my eyes widen. "Should I have?"

Ann laughs—she actually laughs! "Of course not! They only just had their first kiss tonight."

Is that supposed to make me feel better?

She looks at me appraisingly, and I can see the moment that she realizes what I was checking for. "Ah," she says, her mirth replaced by a gentler smile. "No, dear, no Moodulator this time."

She lets that sink in for a moment before reaching up and kissing me on the cheek. "Come on, it's late. Let's go to bed."

She starts to head up the stairs, but I don't follow. "Uh, I'll be up in a few."

She gives me another long look, but she doesn't say anything more, and after a moment she continues up the stairway alone.

I watch her disappear from sight and then find myself gravitating back toward the window that she pulled me away from only a few minutes ago. It feels like hours.

I gaze outside again. The porch is empty now, but I keep replaying in my mind the scene I saw there earlier.

Just like that, Ronald went and turned into a boy.


Thanks to everyone who's been kind enough to review my first two stories. This one's a little different, but I hope you'll like it. And special thanks to Slipgate for offering advice on this chapter and encouraging me to get my rear in gear and get this story up.

Three more chapters to go-- sorry they're short, but I will try to post them quickly to make up for it.