well today is my birthday so as a present to me i'm posting a chappie! hope y'all enjoy.

as usual, thanks to my very busy superbeta, Sentinel... and to all the people that have reviewed, you make posting this story special.

and i'm officially old enough to drink, so cheers!


"When you're on a holiday, you can't find the words to say all the things that come to you... And I wanna feel it too...
On an island in the sun we'll be playin' an' havin' fun, And it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain."

-Weezer, Island in the Sun


The next day I realize how much dropping those two losers cost me. I'm stiff and miserable and now my arm is about a hundred times more painful.

Happy Monday to me.

Ron's already gone and I groan when I realize that I have only twenty minutes to get to my first test.

A short, hot shower helps me feel slightly better and I put on my shorts and a green tank top with a cool KP logo that Wade got me for Christmas, and run to school, dropping into my seat as the proctor calls the classroom to order and hands out the tests.

After a hundred and fifty multiple choice questions about personality disorders, stress disorders, mood disorders, sexual misconduct, and Lord knows what else, I sigh with relief and head to the Lounge for lunch with Ron. When he sees me, he stands and hugs me. His eyes are questioning when his fingers skim my arm.

"I'm okay," I assure him, even though I want to go back to bed. We sit together in a cozy, comfy little booth in the corner, eating and relaxing. I can tell he's checking on me though, and I know I'm caught.

He walks me home and gives me his own 'the look' before heading off to work. I groan and flip on the TV, then turn it off again. It's been two minutes and I'm already bored.

I wish Ron's ability to relax would rub off on me.

I call my mom, but she's in surgery and I know I'm probably on speaker, so I refrain from complaining about my personal life and ask her to call me when she's home. She asks how I'm feeling and I tell her I've rested so much I probably sleepwalk. She just tells me to have patience, because it will be a while before I feel normal again.

Gee, thanks, Mom.

I set the coffee maker and move into the office with the intention of writing emails out to Monique... and one to Shego. The whole 'befriending the semi-villain' thing still... tickles my noggin... but I digress.

I delete a bunch of junk mail and read through several others. Felix Renton, the tricked-out wheelchair guy sent an email with concern over the accident. I tell him that we're all okay and ask after him and his family. He says his mom tweaked his wheelchair again and worked it out so that he can technically drive. Way cool.

The next email is from... Bonnie Rockwaller? This I have to see. K, I heard you managed to bring down an entire jet with your stupid cheerleaders. I don't know how you managed to do that but seriously be glad no one got themselves killed.

Ha! I laugh out loud and respond: Thank you, Bonnie, for your words of encouragement. It's nice to know you care about the well-being of my squad.

I have another email from someone I don't recognize. It passes the virus scan, and I wonder who it is as I open it. All it says is watch out. Watch out for what? Who is this person anyway?

I open a chat line to Wade. "Hey."

"Hey, what's up, Kim? How are you feeling?"

"Not important. I need to know who an email came from."

"Okay, give me a minute to get in your account." I can see him typing furiously, then he frowns. "That's weird." he types some more, and after a few minutes, his frown deepens. "They used a proxy, but I traced through it to an internet cafe. Dead end Kim, sorry."

"Thanks anyway, Wade."

"Hey, will you ask Ron if he knows about any new neighbors his parents might have? There's a car parked in the driveway across the street from the house, but when I checked out the address, no one was listed as living there. It's been two days. There's no for sale sign on the house either."

First they jump a girl exactly like me for information about Ron, now they're staking out his house?

"Keep me posted on what you see, and I'll have Ron get back to you."

"Thanks."

"No Problem."

I blow my hair out of my face and sip my coffee. I have a bad feeling about this...


We're finally out of school, and Ron sags with relief when he sees his grade report: As in all his classes except one which is one point away from an A, Cumulative GPA resting comfortably at 3.892. He's worked really hard, harder than most people have to work to maintain their grades that way. I'm proud of him, and I let him know that.

Mine looks like it has every year since the fifth grade. Straight As and 4.0 GPA. Brilliant. I'm ready for summer back home in Middleton.

Ron's been racking up as much time off work as humanly possible so that he can come home with me this summer, and he's excited when we get the last of our things into the trunk of the car and head for the highway. Wade beeps in to ask Ron some questions. Things around his house have been getting intense. The mysterious car is constantly on his block, at his mom's work, at his dad's functions... We're going to have to have a serious talk about safety with them when we get there. We still don't know who is behind the creepy emails (there have been two since the first one, and Ron got one too) and all they say is to be careful and watch our backs... as if we already aren't on red alert. The girl Kitt moved out of our building after she thought she was being followed again. As far as I know, she's safe. It still makes me wonder who would be looking for me for the down low on Ron.

When we pull up to my house at the same time as my dad, and he forgets to park the car in his rush to see me. It rolls a bit but Ron manages to jump in before anything major happens. Dad grins sheepishly and hugs me. "Welcome home, Kimmie-cub."

"Thanks Dad," I whisper into his chest.

The Tweebs make their grand entrance attached to some kind of home-made rocket, and as usual, there's a crash. We all cringe and they wave briefly and dash off before they can be reprimanded. I shake my head. Some things never change.

Ron volunteers to cook since Mom is working late, and after a delicious meal Ron says he wants to go home. I get my stuff out of the car and drive him the ten minutes to his house.

We pull up and the door of the house opens. There's flash of pink and black and then Ron's spinning his giggling little sister around and around. He stops spinning and holds her close. She settles on his hip and wraps her little arms around his neck. "I lub yew Wonnie," she says into his neck.

His smile is blinding. "I love you too, Hana Banana. Look who's here to visit."

I brace myself, knowing she'll tackle me next. She does, and I hit the ground hard. But she's giggling, so I tickle her and play on the lawn with her a while before its time for her to go to bed.

Ron's parents are waiting for us on the porch by the front door, and I carry Han in, listening as she tells me all about her new daycare friends, the new doll that Ron gave her, and other things that little girls talk about. Times like this, it's so easy to believe that she's just a normal three-year-old, and not a super ninja baby.

I offer to take care of Han while Ron and his parents reconnect after the ten months away from home, and Ron smiles softly at me in thanks. His kisses his sister's forehead and whispers to her to be good, and that he'll be up to tuck her in soon. His parents fawn over how good he is with her, and then I take her upstairs for her bath.

She splashes, plays with bubbles, sprays me with her rubber duckie, and giggles when I wash her in the places that tickle, and then I wrap her up in a fluffy, soft towel and get take her to her room. Ron is there, watching quietly while I dress her in cute little pink pajamas and tuck her gently under her covers. He sits on the other side of her. "What do you want to read today, Sis?"

Han squeals and demands that he read her a poem called the Peppery Man. He's not even half way through when she's asleep. He kisses her cheeks and brushes her hair out of her face with his fingertips before switching on a tiny nightlight in the corner. I feel myself tear up. He's so sweet with her.

Once we're out of her room, he absently reaches for my hand, pulling me toward his room. He's quiet, and I know he's thinking about her. For someone who was so against her coming into his home, he's gotten extremely attached to her. I sincerely hope that all this drama with people watching his house and stuff goes away before any of them get hurt.

When we reach his room, he plops down on his bed. I curl up next to him, listening to the soft thumping of his heart under my cheek. We stay silent for a long time, my head on his chest, his arm around me and his hand in my hair.

He finally speaks. "Tomorrow we'll hit the lake?"

"You bet! I bought this awesome new swimsuit at Club Banana..."

He grins. "Mmm, you look delicious in bikinis."

"Delicious, eh?"

"Uh-huh."

"Only you, Ron."

"It's why you love me."

Smug bastard. He has a point though.

"Do I get to know what color it is or..."

I smirk at him. "No dice."

"Aww man..."


The lake is fun. Dad and Mr. Stoppable are manning the grill, the moms are soaking up some sun and reading, and Ron, Hana and I are playing in the water. We teach her swimming basics, and we let her splash around in the shallow for a while. We build and destroy a hundred sand castles, we swim around with little Han on our backs, and finally after lunch, Han tanks. We set her up under the shade of a tree next to my mom and we head back for the water. We duck under the floats and swim out to a rock in the middle of the lake, ignoring the whistles and dirty looks from the lifeguards. We sit there most of the day, enjoying the sun and each other. Ron's starting to look like a cooked lobster though, so we head back and I apply cooling gel and sunscreen to his back, much to his relief. We watch the sun set in each-other's arms. It's restful and romantic.

At night I slip a white tank and some shorts over my swimsuit, and we all head to a restaurant for dinner. Ron holds my hand and his mom who never got to see my engagement ring, snatches it away from him to study it. She and my mom fawn over it and how romantic and everything else, and I take my hand back and place it in his again. He kisses it and smiles at me, and the moms sigh. Little Han is tired of her booster seat so Ron has her in his lap for a while, even though he never lets go of my hand.

We enjoy the food over laughs and cheerful conversation, and Han falls asleep on Ron. Mom excuses herself to the bathroom and the dads discuss splitting the bill. Ron wants to pay for me and Han, and dad gets all awkward again. I decide to stay neutral on this one. How is it that that stupid Twilight girl put it? Ahh, yes. Switzerland. Switzerland, which really means escaping-to-the-bathroom-to-avoid-the-awkward-moment-land.

When I get there Mom is washing her hands and wondering why I look so frazzled.

When we return the bill is all paid for, however they divided it seeming not to be an issue anymore, and Ron carries his little sleeping beauty out to her car seat. He really is the best big brother ever, I muse to myself as he gently buckles her in, pushing a stray hair from her forehead and brushing her cute little cheek with his finger. I barely hear him say "I love you" before he pulls me away from the parental units.

"Where are we going?"

"We're off to see a movie. My parents are taking Han home, and your parents need to see if dweeb squared didn't burn the house down. I'm not tired yet."

I laugh. "I'll be happy if the garage is still standing. I'll make the tweebs sleep outside."

We get to the cinema and Ron immediately wants to see some action movie. This one actually looks like it could end up being... not cheesy. Something about alien robots taking over the world and some guy named Sam teaming up with some of his robot friends to kick some major evil alien ass. Been there done that. Got the t-shirt, the coffee mug, and the rockin' boyfriend to prove it.

Ron checks out the British hottie in the movie, and I give him my 'the look'. He scrubs his neck for a moment and then puts his arm around mine. His other hand reaches for mine, absently toying with my ring. He says something in my ear about the girl not being as awesome as me, and I just raise my eyebrow.

"Well it's true! Look she gets kidnapped by the robot car, and she spends the entire time locked up with that crazy psycho villain dude. You would have kicked his ass and base jumped off the building, and then proceeded to blow up some evil robots. Starting with the creepy vulture-looking one."

He has a point. The whole 'damsel in distress' thing is soooo not my drama.

"Besides," he smirks, "you know that you wish you could base-jump off Trump Tower."

I shrug noncommittally, but I know he knows I think it would be cool. He gets all smug when he knows he's off the hook, and I glare at him. He kisses my cheek and then has the nerve to shush me and tell me to watch the movie.

Typical date with Ron.