Author's Note:

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed this story. Also, thanks to those who have pointed out possible errors in my story and made suggestions to make my story up to the standards I want it to reach. If I had money or gift baskets, I'd send you all some. If more errors appear in this chapter, let me know and it shall be repaired.

Kim Possible is not of my creation, nor is any other character aside from the chap Dr. Higgs (who doesn't even appear, but I might as well make that clear).

Hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Reviews are always fun to read. *wink, wink*

Kim was lying on her bed, snuggling with her Pandaroo Cuddle Bubby, not crying, but sort of shivering, as if she were extremely cold. She hadn't been able to eat much leftovers that night, a few bites of meat loaf at most, but no more. Excusing herself from the table just minutes after sitting down, she intended to try and get to sleep quickly. Having no idea what the time was (she didn't look at her clock before jumping into bed), she wanted to make sure she was awake at a normal time the next morning so she could get to Ron early (her parents had already promised to take her when they were all ready).

Sleep, however, was not coming quickly for Kim. Though her mother had warned her against seeing Ron, she of course had, and the image still bothered her. He was so beat up. So… lifeless. Making her night even worse, there was no Rufus, which concerned her, of course (but the fact that Ron and his family were still in critical condition seemed high priority on her worry list than Rufus's whereabouts), though she definitely intended to make time to look within the next few days.

How long have I just been laying here? An hour? Two, Kim questioned herself. She had no idea, but she did know she was quite restless. Why can't I just forget and go to sleep? Oh, her body was tired, and was screaming at her to sleep, but her mind couldn't just turn off on command. With nothing distracting her, she thought back to her visit to Ron earlier in the hospital.

Walking past large amounts of doctors and patients, Kim ignored them all and blocked them out, her thoughts on Ron. He can't be that bad. Wade said he didn't look terrible, unless Wade knew that head wounds bled a lot, and was referring to the fact no bones were poking out or- STOP, she thought harshly to herself. It's bad enough without imaging how much worse it could be, so thinking about it won't help any.

Her mother's hand was still firmly on her shoulder, leading her, which was good, because, as well as Kim knew the hospital, she really wasn't paying attention to where she was going. After multiple turns (Kim lost count after three), her mother slowed her pace and stopped in front of a room in which the windows were curtained. A few doctors where routinely walking in and out of the room, often holding clipboards and scribbling things down, generally ignoring the girl and her mother, which seemed to annoy Ann.

Sighing, she explained to her daughter, "Sometimes when things get hectic, the attending physicians can sometimes not notice their patient's families or loved ones because they're so busy." She stopped one of the doctors rushing out of the room, a younger doctor looking, to Kim, no older than 25, and asked "Excuse me, Doctor. I'm Dr. Possible, and this is my daughter. May we see Ron Stoppable?"

Looking confused, he glanced at his watch impatiently, and nodded. "Go ahead, but don't try and stir him," he replied in a hurried tone, and walked away.

"Well, that was rude," Kim's mother muttered, not looking in the mood for such behavior. To Kim, she asked, "Do you want to be alone, Kimmie?"

"Uh," she replied, unsure, her stomach acting up again, "I guess, yeah. For just a little."

"Okay, I'll be right out here. Take as long as you need," Ann said gently, rubbing her shoulder a little before removing her hand.

Slowly moving toward the door, Kim felt her stomach tighten. Pausing for a second, she thought to herself Come on, do it. He won't be any magically be any better if I just wait. Walking forward, she reached the door frame and glanced in, her eyes averting the bed, but looking for any doctors who might be there. Seeing no one, Kim stepped through the door frame and walked up the Ron, her eyes again not looking at him but focused on the bright, florescent light above his bed. Moving her eyes down gradually, fearing what she might see after letting her imagination get the hold of her earlier, she audibly gasped.

Ron was asleep, as she knew he would be, but with as badly as his face was injured, she couldn't see how. Maybe they gave him pain meds or something. Kim was not a generally squeamish person, but seeing her best friend like this caused her to backtrack almost a foot and tear up. A giant gash was on his forehead, the deepest part above his left eyebrow. Dried blood was covering most of his face, and a small indent was noticeable near the cut. His nose looked broken, causing Kim to wonder why the doctor, Higgs, she remembered, didn't mention it. I guess maybe it was such a little thing compared to everything else, she thought, though not really knowing. A giant bruise was surrounding his right eye. It was a sickly purple, which disgusted Kim, and she could understand now why her father might not have wanted to see this.

Taking this morbid sight all in, she ambled up to the side of the bed, knowing now what she'd see, so she wouldn't be repulsed by anything. Looking closely at the rest of his body, Kim saw he was breathing normally, if not a little ragged, but his neck down was covered in a blue blanket, so Kim couldn't see if Rufus was perhaps hiding himself in his pocket.

Grabbing the blanket covering where Ron's pocket would be, she tugged gently, surprising herself when she saw not his normal pair of baggy pants, but a hospital gown. God, how stupid can I be, she angrily thought to her. Letting the sheet go, she glanced around his room for his possessions. Seeing a small mound of clothes on a wooden chair to the left of his bed, she made her way over to go through it. Gingerly picking up his what she presumed was shirt, it took her by surprise how shredded it was. The jersey was completely non-repairable, Kim guessed, and dried blood covered most of what was left of it. Moving it to the side, she saw his pants, but a frown formed on her face when no shape of Rufus was noticed as being in either pocket.

Where is he? Loose in the hospital or something? If he was and someone catches him, would they… The thought trailed off in her head before she could complete it, but she knew what she was going to think. I can't let that happen. If something happens to Rufus, Ron would be even more devastated than he already would be with just his parents hurt. Rushing out of the room, she ran up to her mother, quickly saying, "Mom, do you have any idea what happened to Rufus?"

At first, Ann was confused by the question, but then a look of understanding came onto her facial expressions. "No, Kimmie, and Leroy never mentioned it."

"What if he's, like, disoriented and loose in the hospital and somebody finds him and-" Kim began rambling before being gently cut off.

"Kimmie, calm down, I'll take care of it," her mother replied, and without explaining, walked up to a nearby desk, where, nurses mostly, were bogged down in file folders and health forms. Kim didn't hear what she was saying, but she trusted she'd do something (her mother was not one to say but not act) to help the situation out.

After about a minute, she walked back to her daughter. "I told them to inform the whole staff to be put on alert for a naked mole rat, and that if they see one, to detain him and call me immediately."

"Wow," Kim said, awed, "I didn't know you had that kind of pull here." Not that Kim thought her mother didn't play an unimportant role in the hospital, but she didn't think she really ran anything.

"I don't, honey. Not really, but I let them know if anything happened to Rufus, I'd be resigning," her mother replied, looking very serious in her threat. "Not to sound vain, honey, but they can't really afford to lose me."

"Thanks mom," she said, smiling a genuine smile for the first time in what felt like years.

Pulling her forward by her shoulders, Ann nuzzled her daughter's hair, willing to go any lengths to get Kim through this traumatic experience with as little pain and stress as possible. "Anything for you and Ron, Kimmie." Holding her for a second, she released her, asking in a slightly worried voice, "How's he look, honey?"

"You've seen him, right," Kim spoke back, knowing she'd been at his CT scan.

"Only for the briefest second," Ann admitted. "I wasn't given the opportunity to take a close look. He was already prepped for the machine and his head was already in the scanner when Leroy and I got to the room. All I saw was blood," she added regrettably.

"Well, mom, could you look at him? Maybe the other doctors missed something," she asked, wanting to make sure her best friend was in as good hands as possible.

"Of course," she replied, but adding, "thought don't expect anything. I told your father earlier that Leroy is a very good doctor, and I trust his judgment." Ann hesitated a second, then said "If I can do anything to help him later medically, I will. Dr. Higgs offered to let me help out because he knows how close-knit we are."

"Mom, do you think anything's wrong with his brain," she asked bluntly, only realizing seconds afterward how childishly she worded the question.

Her mother, however, didn't look as though she thought the question was foolish. "I don't know, Kimmie. Sometimes car crashes can cause moderate damage, sometimes extreme. We'll just have to think of him and maybe pray he comes out okay."

Kim expected such an answer, but that didn't make it any easier for her to willingly accept. "There really isn't anything more we can do, is there," she sadly asked.

Shaking her head gently, Ann replied, "No, Kimmie, I think we've done all we can for now. I think Ron would be happy that you came here, though. Don't think you're doing nothing, honey."

Hearing this, Kim's eyes became watery again. Damn it, how many times a day can I cry, she thought, annoyed. Her mother saw this and pulled her into a hug. "Kimmie, I know it's hard. A friendship like yours and Ron's is so very rare, it happens once in a million years. I can't stress this enough though, Kim: Do not give up hope."

Kim knew this, and she wasn't giving up hope, but that didn't mean she wasn't utterly destroyed and gutted at the moment. Until Ron was up and about, smiling, with Rufus on his shoulder and his parents standing behind him, she doubted she'd feel anywhere close to fine.

"Honey," Ann said, whispering into her ear, "believe me: I will do anything I can to make sure Ron comes out of this fine." Her mother punctuated her statement with five seconds of silence. "Now, did you still want me to check on him before we leave," she kindly asked, letting her go and standing back, looking toward Ron's room.

Not able to find her voice, Kim simply nodded, but her mother accepted the gesture without reply and quickly moved to the doorway, going through. After three minutes, of which Kim just stood by the wall, ignoring others trying to make eye contact, perhaps wondering what she was doing in this area of the hospital, her mother came out.

"Besides the obviously broken nose, Kimmie, I think it's just as Dr. Higgs reported," she claimed, adding, "it could have been worse, keep that in mind. I know it doesn't necessarily make you feel any better, but he could have broken an arm or leg. It's a miracle he's as undamaged as he is."

"I don't consider a giant gash on someone's head undamaged, mom," Kim bitterly replied, "especially when Ron hates blood as much as he does. If he was conscious when he got the cut, it probably made him pass out."

"Oh, Kimmie," her mother said, rushed, "don't think about the crash like that. I know for a fact, if it's at all comforting, the force of the collision knocked him out before any of the other stuff happened. Just try not to think of it, Kim. That's all I can say."

Kim wished she could do as her mother suggested, but she was unable. Throughout the walk out of the hospital and the first half of car ride home, while Ann was trying to comfort her daughter with promises that she knew she couldn't keep, Kim thought about Ron, what the crash must have been like for him, and the whereabouts of Rufus.

Wade had told her to keep him updated, and she hadn't forgotten that, but she was quite far from being in a talkative mood. He'd probably know by now anyways, Kim reasoned, relying on his hacking abilities. I'm sure he'd understand I don't feel like talking, so I shouldn't worry about it.

"Honey," her mother said, speaking for the first time in almost 15 minutes (usually the drive to and from the hospital to their house would be maybe 20 minutes, but one can never be too careful in the treacherous, wintry weather), "I just wanted to let you know I'll talk with the twins tomorrow to let them know about the seriousness of the situation. They won't bother you, so don't worry."

Kim, reflecting about all that happened, didn't recall exactly what her response was, but she knew that afterwards, she and her mother drove the rest of the way home in silence. Apparently, her mother was smart enough to not try to force small conversation, which Kim was grateful for. Opening her eyes, the light of the moon causing her to squint, she positioned herself to be able to look at the clock. Sighing upon seeing the lateness of the hour, she dropped her head back down onto the pillow, again wishing for sleep to come. Her mother offered her something to help her sleep earlier, possibly during the first ten minutes of the drive home, but Kim shrugged it off, not thinking she would need it. Kim now realized her folly.

"It's too late to ask now," she said lowly, whining to herself aloud. Though she was in no mood to talk to her parents (not that she could have at the moment anyhow, as they'd surely be asleep at this hour), she did feel like talking to someone about how she was feeling. She didn't have as many friends as one might think (with Ron by my side, I have all the friends I need), so her choices were limited. A small, albeit tired, smile formed on her lips when the perfect person came into mind, and it must have been the stress of the day that made her not realize it earlier, she thought, making sense of the lapse of thinking.

Grabbing her phone and hoping Monique wouldn't be too mad at her for waking her up, she dialed her number, waiting anxiously and listening to the dial tone. After 30 seconds, a groggy voice said, "Hello, do you know what time it is?"

"Monique, it's me," Kim replied, happy to hear her voice, no matter how tired or annoyed she'd be.

"Kim," she said, sounding like she was now completely awake, and the tone of her voice changing drastically, "I heard about what happened."

"How," Kim asked, not thinking that Wade would have told her, though she guessed anything was possible.

"It was on the late news," she replied, "I was flipping through the channels when I saw it. I couldn't believe it. We were all together at Beuno Nacho less than ten hours ago. How you holding up, girl?"

"I'm," she started, about to say 'fine', when she realized she didn't call Monique to lie about how she was taking it, "terrible, Monique. I'm a wreck. I've cried, like, so much tonight." Well, I admitted it, Kim thought, feeling oddly relieved in doing so, no turning back now.

"I don't blame you. I wanted to call you when I heard, but then I thought it'd be best to give you some time to take it in," her friend replied, a deep concern and pity in her voice.

"It finally hit me how serious it was when I saw him in the hospital," she said, feeling, for the umpteenth time that day, a small tear escape the corner of her eye. I can so not lose it while talking with Monique. Gulping once, giving her a little time to recompose her, she continued, "He's pretty beat up."

"How are the 'rents and Rufus," Monique asked, sounding genuinely interested and concerned.

"His dad's badly hurt, and he might not make it," Kim replied, trying not to imagine what would happen if he died (Ron's reaction, in particular), "but they don't know yet for his mom. I couldn't find Rufus on Ron or in his stuff, and my mom alerted the hospital to be on the lookout for him."

"Oh my God, girl, that's terrible. Want me to come by tomorrow? Maybe I can treat you to some shopping at Club Banana to get your mind off of everything," she suggested, sounding like it was a fair proposition, but Kim physically shook her head when she heard it, even thought she realized that Monique couldn't actually see her.

"Sorry, Monique, I can't. I'll be at the hospital most of tomorrow. Ron's unconscious now but the doctors say he'll probably be waking up tomorrow night at the latest, and I want to be there," Kim said forcefully. Not many things could get Kim Possible to avoid shopping at Club Banana, but this situation was most definitely one of them.

"Listen, I hope this doesn't sound insensitive, Kim," her friend said, sounding as though she was sure that's exactly how it would come across, "but you can't let this run your life. You can't dwell and obsess over it. You can't hang by his bed every second waiting for him to wake up. It's not healthy. Maybe spending the day with friends would be better than you hanging out at the hospital. If you want, I can even call up Felix. He'd probably say the same thing I am."

"Please, Monique, don't speak for Felix. You've known him less than a full day," Kim replied, now feeling annoyed and even wearier then she was before she called. "I need to be with Ron to help him through this. I can't just pretend it didn't happen and go out to have a good time. What kind of friend would do that?"

Deciding not to answer her question, or perhaps thinking it rhetorical, Monique didn't address that point in her reply. "I ain't gonna fight with you, girl. You know what you want, and I'm not going to fight a losing battle, especially when it's as late as it is," Monique admitted. "Listen, do you want me to stop by the hospital to see you? I probably will anyway, to, ya know, see Ron and maybe get him something from the gift shop."

Sighing, and not feeling like bickering either, Kim replied, "Yeah, Monique, that'd be great."

"Glad to hear it," her friend said, truly sounding it. "I wouldn't worry too much, girl. I'm sure Ron will get through this without too much damage."

"You didn't see his broken nose or the cut on his forehead," Kim pointed out, not quite sure why she replied that way.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed. "Yeah, I guess I didn't," Monique said, sounding tired again, "still, we'll all make sure he gets through this."

"Well, yeah, I hope we do," she replied, wishing she could be as confident as her friend was. "I'm sorry for calling so late and-"

Monique quickly cut her off upon hearing that she was apologizing. "Girl, listen, you have nothing at all to be sorry about. Even if we talked all night and I got no sleep, there's no way I could be angry with you. Your best friend is hurt. Heck, girl, he's my friend too, but we all know how close you two are. Ignore my feelings and let's concentrate on helping Ron however we can."

Kim smiled at hearing her friend say this. Monique sometimes could get a bit snippy with Ron (Heck, so can I, Kim reminded herself), but she was his friend and did truly care. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Monique. I'll let you get back to sleep."

"Kay, girl, try and sleep yourself. You wouldn't believe how tired you sound."

"Will do, Monique. Thanks again." Kim disconnected, and, finally feeling at peace (or maybe her body just decided to shut down), managed to fall asleep within the next 20 minutes.

Not that it was easy, of course. Reoccurring thoughts of Ron created a torturous atmosphere for her. Thoughts that suggested maybe Ron was awake at that same moment, crying out for someone because he didn't know where he was, but those pleas falling on deaf ears. Thoughts that envisioned the deaths of Ron's father and mother. Thoughts of Rufus, who was still pinned under one of the seats at the wreck or maybe locked in the glove compartment, scratching rapidly, trying to free himself.

No, it was not at all easy for Kim to finally go to sleep that night, and though it might get a little better the next night if Ron did wake up, the teenager thought it might be a long while before she'd ever be able to get to sleep without worrisome thoughts and haunting images, and though they may not have said anything to her, both James and Ann Possible thought this too, as they were still awake in their room, not talking, but unable to sleep themselves.

They were worried for their daughter, and they were worried for Ron's family. Mostly, though, they were worried for Ron, and worried that perhaps it could just start getting worse instead of better.