Another 'not so' little plot bunny nibbled on my ankle. This is the result.

Disclaimer: I gain nothing from using the Kim Possible characters. Also… Angst ahead, so please read responsibly.

A Family Called Stoppable

Ron arrived home for his first vacation after starting college. He was glad that he was close to home starting out at Upperton University, so he could get enough credits to join Kim at her college in Massachusetts. The plan had been to spend one semester there, and then head East and graduate with Kim (hopefully).

For now, he was able to easily come home when there were short breaks. Heck, he could even spend a quick weekend and go back later on Sunday. This just happened to be one of those weekends.

Ron had initially called to make sure his parents would be home for the weekend, and they said they would be for Saturday. Sunday his parents were going to actually go house hunting. Their plan, since Ron was most likely going to eventually move in with Kim after this semester was finished, was to start looking for a smaller place to raise Hana.

Setting down his small suitcase and large duffel bag of dirty clothes (hey, gotta take advantage of the free laundry facilities), Ron called out to his parents. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!"

He then headed into the kitchen to get a quick snack, and that's when he saw the back door was ajar. Maybe they're in the backyard he thought, and pushed open the door. That was when he heard his mother scream out his father's name, and then he heard a loud thump.

Quickly stepping into the backyard to see what happened, Ron's heart literally sunk. His father was lying on his back underneath the tree house, and his mother was frantically going down the wooden planks attached to the trunk.

"Mom! What happened?"

Mrs. Stoppable was near hysterics. "He… your father… Gene… he was trying to move that old couch… Suddenly he stood up and clutched his left shoulder… I… I think he had a heart attack Ron! I told him we should wait for you and… and then he stumbled through the opening and… and…"

"Mom! Please!" Ron said sternly after taking hold of her shoulders. "Go… go call an ambulance... I'll see what I can do!"

Just then a small voice called out from up in the tree house. "Pa… pa?"

Before Jean could say anything, her son was up the trunk and had retrieved Hana. Apparently she was with them at the time and had witnessed everything. Ron quickly handed his sister to his mom and told her to get Hana inside as well. Jean quickly ran inside with a screaming and confused little girl.

Just as a hastily shut door muffled Hana's screams, Ron dropped to his father's side, felt for a pulse, and he couldn't find one.

"No…" He said shakily, and immediately started CPR. After performing the technique for about five minutes, Ron checked for a pulse, and again found none.

It was at this point he saw his mom standing back a few feet holding Hana in one arm, Rufus was on the little girl's shoulder, and a cordless phone in her other hand. Ron couldn't tell what she was saying on the phone, but he didn't care about that. He had to save his father!

Ron quickly asked a question that he wasn't sure how his mother would react to. "Mom… can… can you please turn around?"

"What… what for Ronnie? I… I called emergency… now I'm calling other family members." Tears were falling down her cheeks, and little Hana was uncharacteristically silent, but her eyes were wide and moist.

"Please mom… I… I want to try something I learned at Yamanouchi all those years ago. It's… a little radical, and you might not understand what I'm doing." The look in his eyes was pleading, but his mom would have nothing of it.

"No Ronnie. Do what you have to do. I… Just save Gene!" With that said, she quickly spoke into the phone and then pressed a button disconnecting the call.

"OK…" Ron huffed, and turned back to his Dad.

The young boy placed his hands on his father's chest, one over the heart, and the other on a side. Ron closed his eyes, concentrated for a few seconds, and a blue flash came from his hands, causing Gene's chest to jump up as if he was given a jolt of electricity.

Ron checked for a pulse once again, and then repeated what he had just done. This time, the elder Stoppable took a breath, and slowly opened his eyes. Hope welled inside Ron's chest. "D… Dad?"

Gene slowly raised a hand and placed it on the back of his son's head, pulling him closer.

"R… Ronald… Son…" He said with obvious difficulty. "P… please… let me go. T… take care of the f… family… including K… Kimberlllyyyyy."

"Noooooooo!" Ron screamed, and started pumping on his father's chest once again. "Don't… leave… me… Dad…" He said in time with his chest compressions. The wailing sirens weren't even registering in his ears.

…x x x x…

It was late Saturday morning as Kim puttered around her small apartment wearing just a robe and a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers on her feet. She was carrying a cup of hot tea in one hand while she was doing some minor rearranging of pictures with the other.

She had decided to put a picture of her parents and brothers on top of the old television set her Dad let her have from the basement. (Hey, at least it could receive basic cable) Then she decided to remove the picture of the Tweebs, and placed them on a nearby hutch.

Her eyes then gravitated to the books and papers that were on the kitchen table. "I really should be working on that research paper for my Basic Law class." Kim said out loud to no one, and then a picture of Ron caught her eye.

She walked over to the small frame that held the picture of her boyfriend and took it off the shelf. She looked around the small room and decided to place it on a small end table next to the couch.

Just as Kim was about to set it down, a jolt of energy went through her arm, causing her to drop the picture. It fell to the floor, causing the glass to break. She stood there for a moment, not knowing what had just happened.

Then the red head felt an almost overwhelming feeling of dread cross over her. She knew something was wrong, and it had something to do with Ron. She had to call her boyfriend. Just as Kim took a step towards the phone, it rang out causing her to yelp in surprise, making her spill a small amount of tea.

"H… Hello?" She listened for no more than twenty seconds to the caller, and hastily replied with three words before hanging up. "I'll be there."

It took Kim only five minutes to get some clothes on, throw things into a backpack, and then take off in the Sloth. It was a personal best for her from time of call to time of departure. She would contact her parents since they were at another Spousal Connection meeting and her brothers at the Science Camp while she was en route.

…x x x x…

Jean Stoppable, along with her son Ron, her adopted daughter Hana, and pet naked mole rat arrived at the hospital just seconds after the ambulance arrived. The elder Stoppable was pretty sure she broke more than a few traffic laws to get there, but she didn't care.

Jean tried to follow the paramedics as they wheeled her husband into Emergency, but she was stopped by one of the nurses. "Mrs. Stoppable, I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay out here until they evaluate your husband." The nurse handed a clipboard to her. "If you can at all, I'd like you to start filling out admittance papers. If you can't complete these now, you can do it later. We understand."

"Yes… yes, of course." Jean replied with an almost numb sound to her voice, and her and everyone else sat down next to each other in a row of chairs, with Hana sitting in Ron's lap. Rufus was perched on his owner's shoulder, being respectively quiet. She absently wondered why no one mentioned having a pet in the Emergency Room.

Jean tried to fill out the form, but was able to get no further than writing down her home address when a doctor stepped into the emergency room and called out her name. They all stood, and when the doctor was only able to get out the words "I'm sorry, but…" the clipboard fell to the floor with a clatter, and Mrs. Jean Stoppable broke into tears.

Immediately Ron took his mother into a hug while holding onto his sister, and everyone, including Rufus, mourned the passing of a great man.

Ron absently heard the door of the Emergency Room open, but he paid no mind to who had entered. He noticed that his mom had looked up, but he didn't see her facial expression. Suddenly Ron felt a presence beside him joining in the embrace… a very familiar presence. The voice confirmed to him who it was.

"I'm so… so sorry about your father Ronnie, and for your husband Mrs. Stoppable. I would have gotten here sooner, but the Sloth can only fly so fast." She then paused for a bit before continuing. "When… when I came in and saw all of you embracing and the doctor next to you… I wasn't sure if I should say anything. Then I saw Jean here motion to join you."

"Oh, hush now Kimberly." Jean said while wiping a tear from her face, and everyone released each other from the family embrace, but not quite complete, as they now formed almost a complete circle while holding each other's hands. "You… are… family. Even if Ronald here hasn't quite made it official yet, you are part of our family now, and forever."

The two teens blushed slightly at her comment, which also garnered a 'cooing' sound from both Hana and Rufus. Before anyone could say anything, Rufus chirped out " Hnk! Jinx! You owe me some cheese!"

For the first time on that fateful day, everyone had a little chuckle, and for a fraction of a second, Ron thought he could also hear his Dad's laugh as well.

The End…

First time I've tried a little angst using the Stoppables as the primary. Usually it's the other way around.

While proof reading this, I started to wonder if my minimalist style of writing is detrimental to angst stories, or is it an advantage? Oh well… I guess I write like I write.