It's been a while, but after some time, I am now back. If you've not seen, I updated Hate a few days back, and now this story is getting the update it's long deserved.

This story will be updated weekly, and starting on April 5th, will come out every Tuesday. On a related note, I've fixed up some small portions of the first six chapters, though I may go for a major re-haul once I have more time. I'll let you know when and if that's done.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please let me know via either personal message or review.

I do not, as of yet, own Kim Possible. Maybe once I speak to my lawyer again, that'll change.

Lastly, I am sorry that it's been so long, but without further adieu, let's jump back into it.


It was the soft shuffling outside of Ron's room that stirred her from her unanticipated slumber.

Ron was by her side still when she opened her eyes. And the shuffling outside the room carried on. It was comforting, almost, and she actually might have fallen back asleep were it not for the intercom.

"Doctor Higgs, please report to Room 39. Code black."

At first, the clinical voice did little to disturb Kim, but upon reflection, her eyes shot open.

Room 39?

Hesitatingly, she stood up and made her way to the door, peering through the crack. Much like it was last night, nurses and doctors were frantically moving around, carrying charts, pushing carts, the looks on their collective faces nervous.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Kim jumped back, startled.

"Kimmie, come back to Grebenshchikov's office," Ann stated with urgency, her hands on Kim's shoulders, "please. I think-"

"Mom, is that Ron's father's room, 39?" Kim's tone was one-part anxious, the other part scared.

For what it was worth, Ann didn't bother to obfuscate the answer.

"Yes, Kim, and code black means he's going into v-fib. I don't know-" Ann stopped talking, and brought her daughter into a hug. "I don't know if he'll make it, Kimmie."

Kim stood still, soaking the words her mother said in. "Wait, you mean like- so not," Kim replied defiantly, wanting to push her mother away but not finding the necessary strength.

"Kimmie," Ann forcefully said, her grasp on her daughter tight, tighter than she's hugged her in years, "we don't know. Maybe Martin'll be fine."

The now-maddening shuffling outside the room became too much for Kim, and again, she broke down. The two stood there for a few minutes as the chaos outside the room persisted. It was only when Kim heard another familiar voice that she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, and sniffed loudly.

"Ann, Kimmie," her father lightly said, hurrying up to them, his arms embracing them both, "remember, no matter what happens, we need to be strong."

The rhetoric, to Kim, had an almost hollow undertone to it, but she knew that her father meant well.

"No big," Kim replied with a gulp, her words just as hollow, "don't worry."

The embrace the family shared lasted a mere minutes, but the silence between then caused the short time to feel so much longer.

"Folks, I don't mean to interrupt," Dr. Higgs spoke up, as he walked into the room, "I need to talk to y'all."

He made no attempt to hide the disappointment and sorrow on his face. That was what Kim first though upon releasing her parents and facing toward him.

"We lost Martin," he continued with a prominent gulp. "He went into v-fib, and after multiple attempts, we were unable to resuscitate him. I'm sorry."

With a small bow of his head, and a meaningful look to Ann, he turned to the door.

"Doctor," James spoke up, dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief her pulled from his pocket, "thank you for all you've done."

Higgs forced a smile. "Don't give up hope, James. We can come out of this." He looked at though he was about to add something else, but just slowly shook his head. With a last glance, he left the group.

"I- I can't believe it," Kim stuttered, her voice failing to fully indicate the shock and pain she was feeling. "He's- he's gone?"

Her parents were silent but the message was crystal clear - Martin Stoppable was dead.


"Ron, I'm so sorry," Kim whispered to Ron, holding his right hand in hers.

Her parents had left her with him; to get lunch, they said, though Kim knew better.

How will we get through this, she considered, looking at Ron's gentle face, wishing desperately he was awake. I mean, without Ron's dad-

She ceased her thought and exhaled, unconsciously wiping her eyes again, though they were, for once, short of tears. She glanced over to the television hanging off the wall, it's screen dark. Black. Kim saw a warped reflection of herself staring back at her, and of Ron, lying there, silent. Unmoving.

Kim shook her head and growled. She felt sick. A bubbling in her stomach most unforgiving arose, and before Kim knew what she was doing, she was leaning over the bathroom's toilet, puking. She flushed down the sick, but seconds later, threw up again, and leaned her head on the rim of the seat, her breathing ragged.

A knock on the door caused her to look up. Sluggishly, Kim stood up, and after thoroughly swishing water around her mouth, she spit into the sink, and left the tab running as she walked by Ron to the door.

"Yeah," she asked curiously as she opened the door.

Monique, Felix, and Wade stood on the other side, their faces solemn. "Hey, Kim," Wade said, his smile half-hearted.

Wide-eyed, Kim, dead-pan, replied "What?"

"We heard what happened," Felix explained, rolling himself into the room, brushing some clinging snow off his arms, and after sending Ron's unconscious body a pitying look, glanced back over at Kim. "About Ron's father, I mean."

"Yeah, it's, well," Monique began, following Felix, and then shook her head sadly, giving up. "I can't believe it."

"I saw it when it was updated on the system," Wade said, wringing his shirt in his hands. "Kim, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Incredulously, Kim looked from her friends, and stared at floor.

"It's Ron you should feel sorry for," she stiffly replied. "It's Ron who lost his-"

Before she completed her sentence, her voice hitched, and Monique pulled her into a vice-grip hug, not unlike her mother.

"Listen, Kim," Felix started, and reached out his hand in a consoling motion, which Kim took, "Ron will make it through this. We'll all be here for him. And it'll be hard, but once he wakes up, I think he'll realize that."

Kim silently nodded, holding onto Monique.

Wade pulled a seat up to Ron and sat down, averting his eyes from his hospitalized friend.

"It's different seeing it on a screen," Wade sheepishly said, his face noticeably paler. "Numbers, statistics, images, those I can deal with. In person, though..."

Wade trailed off, and looked around the room at anything that wasn't Ron.

Pulling up behind him, Felix patted him on the back.

"To build off what Felix said," Monique spoke, her throat constricted, "and this so go without saying, but we're all here for you too, girl. We've got your back."

After gulping, Kim let Monique go, and her arms dropped limply to her sides. "I appreciate that. Really," she urged.

"Listen, I need to get back home before my mother finds out I bailed," Wade said, looking regrettably at Kim. "But please, keep in touch with me. I need to know what's going on."

Kim gave him a forced smile, and after a few seconds deliberation, she pulled the younger boy into a hug. "Thanks a bunch, Wade."

After he left, Kim took his place, and Monique stood over her, her hand on her shoulder, doing what she could to comfort her. Felix just stared, stony-faced, at Ron, as though he was trying to fathom the scene before his eyes, but having a mighty hard time doing so.

"Ya know, it's amazing," he said, after the three shared additional silence, "just yesterday, the four of us were at Bueno Nacho. And here we are. God, things can change so quickly." This last part was said almost in a tone of awe as he continued looking at Ron's face. "Do you think Ron'll be okay, Kim?"

Miserably, Kim shook her head, not to indicated a negative, but to show she didn't know. "I really have no idea."

"What do you feel," he asked, his eyes moving to hers. "In your gut? What do you feel?"

Kim considered this, but only after Monique squeezed her shoulder did she reply. "I think it'll take some time," Kim explained gingerly, hoping she wasn't wrong, "but I think with time, he'll be okay. Or as okay as someone can be losing family."

Solemnly, Felix nodded. "I agree."

And the silence resumed.


After excusing herself from both her friends and her parents, if, for no other reason, she had to get away from the silence, from the same old conversation, from the assurances, the false assurances, that everything would be fine.

No one can know that, Kim thought to herself, quickly walking toward the coordinates on the Kimmunicator, not feeling the snow falling onto her uncovered head.

Shaking that thought away, she marched forward, dropping to the side of the road she was on, and instantly, she saw what she was looking for.

The vehicle was a complete wreck, but for the most part, it was intact. The hood was all but obliterated, but what interested her most was the backseat. From where she stood, through the slow-falling flurry, it looked almost in good shape. Kim made her way toward her destination.

She peered through the cracked window, only darkness letting it's presence known. Tapping on the window with her knuckles, she looked for any movement, any shifting in the dark.

"Rufus," she called out, her voice no more than a whisper. "Are you in there?"

There was no reply, though Kim honestly didn't know if she expected one. And so she again tapped on the window.

The hushed atmosphere remained, and Kim shivered.

Where else could Rufus be, her mind put forward as she delicately attempted to pull open the door, though as it appeared frozen, that took some doing. If he's not here, where else could I even look? Does Wade maybe have him chipped too?

He didn't, though - Kim asked already when she inquired Wade the coordinates to the crash site. And so here she was, a mile and a half from Middleton Medical Center, looking through the wreck for Rufus or any sign he left, such as paw prints in the snow.

If he left last night, they'd be gone already.

"That helps," Kim muttered.

The backseat was frigid, and not for the first time, Kim worried that Rufus' non-furry disposition would be ferociously unaccommodating in this weather. He didn't appear to be here, though. She called out his name thrice, and each was met with silence. An portent most ominous.

She had almost given up, but then noticed a shape, a lump, in the pouch on the back of the passenger seat. She eyed that shape, hoping like never before that it moved, but it remained still. Whispering a low prayer under her breath, she stuck both hands into the pouch. At first, Kim thought she struck out - whatever this was, it was far too cold to be a warm-blooded mammal.

But then she felt whiskers, and that was enough.

Cradling the lump in her hands carefully, she pulled Rufus out. He was unconscious, and his body a much lower temperature than she thought would suffice. Rubbing him with her hands, he gave no sign that he'd wake up. But the steady breathing did prove to Kim the most important thing - he was alive.

And if Kim had anything to do with this, he'd be completely okay when he woke up.


At Ron's bedside once more, Kim idly checked the clock on the wall.

It was nearing dinner. But even so, Kim wasn't overly hungry. Rufus, for once in his life, Kim noted, seemed mostly content, as far as food was concerned also. After keeping him cocooned in a warm blanket, and with the help of a Grande Size Naco, he came too, and happily chewed on his food.

But he was worried about his owner, and when Kim let him know about what happened to Ron's father, he miserably uttered something that sounded like "Oh no!"

For now, though, Rufus was okay. In fact, he was cuddling near Ron's neck, occasionally looking for signs of life from Ron, but upon seeing none, lowered his head again, the sadness obvious.

Kim didn't think she'd ever seen a sadder animal.

A knock on the door jolted her from this thought, and cautiously, Kim stood up. Her parents had gone to talk to the twins, and Monique and Felix had long left. Unless this was Doctor Higgs about to deliver more bad news, she had no idea who it could be.

She tentatively went to the door, and was more than surprised when, upon opening it, both Liz and Jessica pulled her into a tight hug.

The whole of the cheer squad was there, Kim saw. Even Bonnie, her face lacking her usual, haughty look. Instead, she just looked at Kim pityingly, and that, almost, was worse.

"We're so sorry, Kim," Marcella said, rushing in to give her a quick hug too once Jessica and Liz let go. "Hope saw it on the news, and we thought we could all come out here, you know, to show you that we're here for you."

Tara gulped, stepping into the room herself, her eyes focused far more on Ron's immobile body than Kim's shocked countenance.

"Yeah," Bonnie expanded, she herself not appearing fond of seeing Ron how he was, "while we, like, never got along, what happened really sucked." While the words weren't overly convincing, Kim gave Bonnie limited props just for coming along.

"Any idea when he'll wake up," Crystal asked. "You know, I hope he's okay, 'cause his Mad Dog routine really does help us out."

Crystal never showed that she cared for his routine before, so Kim accepted this for what is was. Still, as disingenuous as this all seemed, the point remained - her seven teammates came.

"Uh, no, I don't, but the doctors think it'll be later tonight," Kim replied.

Hope coughed lightly into her hand, and saw Monique's gift, the Star of David necklace that she had purchased earlier. "Oh, this is really nice, Kim," she observed, her eyes lightly up at how sparkly it was. "This from you?"

"Monique," Kim replied, her voice strained, though luckily, she noted, her eyes were dry for once. "She got it for him today."

"Listen, Kim," Liz said, her voice soft, as she held Kim's hands in hers, "don't worry about the squad. We all agreed to take a short hiatus, so no big, right?"

Kim noted that while Liz said this, Crystal and Tara looked accusingly at Bonnie, who merely avoiding their eyes, and glanced away guiltily.

"Well, thanks guys," Kim said, her voice rough, "ya know, for that, and this, just coming by."

"Of course," Jessica rushed to say. "Anytime you need any of us, you have our numbers. We know how close you and Ron are, and, well," the blonde-haired girl delayed for a little, searching for how to say what she wanted to get across, "for what it's worth, I'm really sorry how I treated him."

"Me too," Liz, Crystal, and Hope, in unison, replied. Marcella nodded, her eyes sadly looking over Ron.

"And once Ron wakes up, we'll apologize to him too," Tara explained, and Kim almost did a double-take - Tara was holding Ron's hand in hers, and while she spoke those words to Kim, he focus was almost entirely on Ron's face.

"Well, thanks a bunch," Kim replied, uncertain. "I don't know what else to say."

"Don't worry," Jessica swiftly said, pulling Kim into another quick hug sans Liz. "We just wanted to show you our support. Give Ron our love if it wakes up tonight."

Marcella placed a hand gently on Tara's shoulder, and reluctantly, she pulled away from Ron.

"We'll swing by tomorrow, probably earlier," Hope stated. "Once my mom gets off work, she can drive us down."

"How'd you get here today," Kim asked, mildly confused by this.

"Well," Liz replied, her cheeks beginning to match the shade of her dulled red hair, "I have my Learner's, and I'm close enough to passing the test, so..."

She trailed off, and Kim unexpectedly pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for coming, guys. Be safe on the way home, though. I don't want to see any of you like Ron," she finished in a gulp.

Forcing a smile, Bonnie nodded at Kim. "Well, see ya, Kim."

"See you all later," Kim replied.

Once the room emptied out of the cheerleaders, Kim looked back at Ron. Still sleeping. Rufus glanced up at Kim, and gave her a thumbs up. To Kim, it appeared that his heart was as warmed as her own.


Her parents tried to take her back home after they shared a half-hearted dinner at the cafeteria. The twins were present, but they must have had a very stern talking to, as neither one of them acted up in the slightest. They silently ate their meal, punctuated occasionally by Ann and James saying how nice it was for Ron and Kim to have so many visitors today. Kim agreed, but nothing more, as far as she could see, could be said about it.

It's almost 9:00, Kim observed, her eyes moving off the clock. Dad said he wanted to make it home before the snow really started coming down tonight.

Kim didn't blame him for this, but she was so reluctant to leave Ron's side. He was stable now, that was true. He wasn't in danger of dying halfway through the night (though, truth be told, Kim couldn't stop such terrible thoughts from occasionally entering her mind). But to leave Ron's side? Kim really, really didn't want to do so.

Grabbing one of his hands again, Kim gloomily glanced at her best friend. All things being what they were, he looked good. The gash on his face had been stitched up, and he wore a serene expression on his face, as though all was well with the world. But how quickly that expression would melt away once he found out about his father, Kim couldn't brave to think.

Sending Rufus a signal that they were to leave shortly, Rufus hugged Ron's face, a display Kim could barely keep herself from tearing up upon seeing.

"Well, Ron," Kim began, as Rufus crawled up to her shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

She waited a few seconds, but no reply came. The red-head expected as much, but to pretend that she took this with high spirits would be most false.

After a long-winded sigh, and a last glance to her friend, she stood up, and was almost to the door when a raspy voice spoke.

Groggily, the voice said, "Heya, KP. What up?"