A\N UPDATE! New chapter is here! I hope you like it. Also finally came up with how i'm going to end this story. It's actually about halfway through.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
Chapter 9
Fathers
"Finally." James said with a sigh.
He just finished packing all his stuff and souvenirs into relatively small suitcase. It's been two days since he arrived in Lighton. The convention went smoothly. Many interesting and famous people from Rocket Science field were there, a lot of new theories were presented, several experiments were held during it too. And despite all that James was happy that convention was over. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy it, quite the contrary, the problem was that he missed his family too much. Two days away from home was almost unbearable for him. The good thing was that he will arrive to Middleton saturday morning, and spend a weekend with his lovely wife and kids. James still had about six hours before his flight, so he decided to go for a little walk. He went through streets with suitcase in his hand. Lighton was a peaceful place: clear air, friendly people, and almost no crime. Kinda boring, for James's taste.
Suddenly he noticed a familiar, a bit chubby, figure walking toward him with a bag full of diapers in his hand.
"James!" man said with a cheery voice. "Long time no see, what brings you here?"
"I was here for a science convention. What is more important, what are YOU doing here Adam? I thought you and Sarah are traveling. Ron said that you two and Hana are at southern island right now."
"What?" Adam looked confused. "Why would he…oh boy…"
He went silent. Some realization hit him hard.
"James, do you have some free time right now?" he asked suddenly.
"Well, yes, i do have several hours before flight."
"Would you like to have a bottle of beer, there is very nice bar nearby. And also talk about my son."
James saw a shadow of sadness on man's face.
"Yes i would."
"Good, let me just call my wife."
Adam Stoppable pull out his cellphone and dialed home.
"Sweetie, it's me…yes i bought diapers…a lot…Listen, i just met someone from Middleton…it's James…no, i don't think he could join for a dinner, he has a flight soon…yes, yes i'll ask him, actually i'm going to treat him a beer right now…i know, i know, i'll drink only one bottle, you know me…don't worry i'll ask it…see you home…love you. "
Adam put his phone back into jacket and led James toward a bar. It was a clean place, much cleaner than any bar you'll find at Tri-City area. They ordered two bottles of beer, and sat at the table in the corner of place.
"So…" Adam started the conversation. "How is Ron?"
James wanted to say that he was good as always, but now he felt that something was wrong. All this times his lovely wife was concerned about the boy, all her worries that he thought was exaggerated little suddenly looked solid.
"Actually, i don't know." he answered.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"He is still cheery, smiling Ron, and i honestly thought that he was fine. But thing is, that he is rarely visit us for the last several month, and most information about him i had through Kim. He came to dinner last week though, and i haven't noticed anything weird in him, but Ann did. She said that he is hiding something from us, and it worried her."
"I see…" Adam sighed heavily. "Did Ron said that we are travelling?".
"Yes, he said it to Ann."
"Truth is we're not travelling. For almost seven months me, Sarah and Hana are living here, in Lighton."
"What?" James was shocked. "But what about Ron, why is he still in Middleton then?"
"He found out about moving only the day when we actually moved from the house actually. When i told him about it, he asked about what to do with his school and friends, that he can't leave it so suddenly. And we decided to leave him there to finish education. We send him money and call him monthly."
James felt the wave of pure anger.
"What the HELL were you thinking!" he shouted. "Why did you LEFT HIM just like THAT? WHY DID YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA?"
"Because you were there." Adam answered calmly.
"What?" James was confused once again. "What do you mean?"
"For him…you, Possibles, are family. Taking him with us would mean separating him from you. We thought that it would be better to leave him with you than with us."
"How can you think like that? He is your son!"
"Yes he is, but you can't deny that he is part of your family too."
"He…"
James couldn't force himself to say it. All those years, the boy was nearby, bringing smile with him into the house, bringing support to his children. He couldn't deny it anymore. The boy was a big part of his family for years. He was a good brother to Kim, Jim and Tim, and a good son for Ann. He can see it now.
"Yes…yes he is." James admitted. "But still, he is your own son. Why did you think that separating him from his real family was better idea?"
Adam drank some beer.
"I think…" he said. "I think i should start from the very beginning. Thing is, when Sarah got pregnant we weren't actually in love. We worked at the same company back then, only thing that we knew about each other were our names. One day, after work, i went to a local bar, i was dumped and needed alcohol to comfort myself. To my surprise, i wasn't the only brokenhearted there. I noticed Sarah at bar stand with a glass of whisky in her hand. I sat next to her and started the conversation. We shared our stories and drinks with each other, and a little bit later a bed. Next morning, though it was an awkward situation, we didn't regret it. We both needed a comfort back then, and we got it from each other. We said our goodbyes and decided to continue living as we were. It was a one night stand. I haven't heard from her for a month, until her mother called to me to my work number. Sarah got pregnant. It couldn't be from her ex-boyfriend, they didn't have sex for two month before break up, and he was overseas, working. The reason of the break up was that he, apparently, found someone better then Sarah there. So the only time she had sex for last three month was that night with me. Both our families were Jewish and really strict. Abortion wasn't an option, and also i had to take responsibility and marry her. I and Sarah had a talk about it. We couldn't go against our families, so we decided to go with a flow. I would marry her and provide family, and she would raise a child."
Adam drank some more beer. Small smile appeared on his face.
"The day when Ron was born was one of the most amazing days in my life. I never felt so many emotions at the same time before. Even though me and Sarah didn't felt any special feelings toward each other we instantly felt love to our child. But this is where the problems started. I went into full workaholic mode to provide family with everything we need, and Sarah looked after Ron. I was too tired and stressed to give my wife and Ron attention they needed. I haven't noticed what Sarah endured when she was trying to raise our son. She was very strict to him, just like her mother was to her. Partly because that was the only way she knew, and partly because of constant pressure from both of our families. We became a black sheep for them. She always tried to be a model wife and mother in their eyes. She wanted them to accept Ron as part of the family. But it wasn't that simple."
He went silent for a moment and drank what left of his beer and put a bottle away.
"One day i came back from work earlier, and as soon as is stepped into apartments i heard something. Sarah talked to her older sister, and judging by the tone of their voices it wasn't a pleasant conversation. I saw Ron behind the kitchen door eavesdropping them with a very sad face. He was only 5 years old at the time. Then i heard it. Her sister, in a heat of a quarrel said that Sarah is a shame of her family for bringing an unwanted child into the world. I saw how Ron's face changed. He ran into his room, and i went to a living room, where my wife and her sister were. I was furious. I screamed to that bitch to get the hell out of my house. When she left i was still trembling from anger. Sarah thanked me. I told her that Ron heard the conversation. She paled instantly. We went to his room, only to see him happily playing with a toy car. He was smiling. We thought that he didn't actually hear those words, and just got scared of a quarrel. Relieved, me and Sarah went to a living room and talked about what happened. She also told me about all pressure she got from both our families. That evening we decided to move out, to get away from them, to prevent them from controlling our lives. Now we were the one who made decisions, and only our thoughts matter. We moved to Middleton as soon as we could and cut all contact with our families to a minimum. I found a decent job, Ron went to Pre-k, and Sarah was keeping our new house in order. Ron was smiling all the time. He also found himself a friend, your daughter. He was so happy. Though Sarah were still pretty strict she was more fair then before, it was back then when my feelings for her started. She is most beautiful and interesting woman i ever know. I started to feel guilt inside. She could do so much better than a chubby awkward guy like me. So i decided to continue support her at least until the day she'll decide to move on with her life, since she wasn't tied up by her family anymore. It was a new workplace, new company, i had a fresh start. I started to take extras to get raises and promotions, and there were times when i even spent nights in the office."
Adam smiled again from his memories.
"After one of those all-nighters i went home, it was 6 am, and i found my wife at the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hands and red eyes. She was crying. When i asked what is wrong she didn't answered me. She asked me back if i had a lover. She thought i was cheating on her. I laughed. She was confused. Then, i confessed to her. I told her all my feelings. And it turned out that they weren't one-sided. She loved me back! I couldn't believe my happiness. Next several years were like a honeymoon. We were blinded by these new feelings. We didn't see how fast time passed. Ron was in elementary school when we started to notice. His smile was always brightest when he talked about Kim or your family. That special smile that children had when they talk about their mother or father, it wasn't belong to us anymore. We were devastated. At first we wanted to forbid him to visit your house or spend time with Kim. But if we did it, than we would become just like our parents. So we decided for opposite. We gave him full freedom to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted scooter, he got it. He wanted to help your daughter save the world, he can do it. He wanted to spend time with your family, it's his decision. He wanted to stay in Middleton with his friends, we let him stay."
"And that is where you were wrong Adam." James said. "People don't always say what they actually think. Ron isn't an exception. Also, by giving him total freedom you cut him out of yourself."
"I know." Adam sadly said.
"You do?"
"Yes, i am. Since we moved here we are calling him once a month to check on him. And every single time it's the same dry talk. It's like we are teacher that asked him if he did his homework. We still love him, but we are afraid that he doesn't. We afraid to ask him what he really think about us, our decisions. We are really afraid of answers."
"But you can't run from it forever!"
"Yes, we can't. That's why we are going to face it when he'll visit us on Hana's birthday."
"When is her birthday?"
"June 15th."
"Almost two months from now." James sighed a bit. "Adam, after what i heard, i can't say that you are good parent, but at least i understand why all this happened. I'm not Ron's father, you are, but i'm going to continue looking after him, and so is the rest of my family. I think that it would be best for him to reconnect with you and Sarah. If you want me to tell him anything i will gladly pass the message."
"Thank you James." Adam smiled. "Just tell him that we are waiting for him here."
"Ok, i will."
"Thank you, for caring about him."
"No big." James smiled. "He is a good kid after all. He is the only guy on the planet who will back from the orbit if he asks my daughter on date."
"By the way, how Ron and little Kim are getting along?"
"Best friends, just like it always was."
"It is worry me that he will stuck in this friendship zone and will end up heartbroken in the end."
"Considering that Kimmie had rather bad taste in boys it would be possible, but i don't think that you need to worry about it."
"Really, why?"
"Well, firstly, Ron already had a girlfriend before."
"Oh yeah, i think her name was Zita" Adam remembered.
"And secondly, recently he got himself a new female friend, Bonnie Rockwaller. Kim is talking about it every dinner."
"Really?"
"Yes, apparently Bonnie wasn't on a good terms with Kim and Ron before. But your son helped her last week and they became friends. Kim still thinks that she is plotting something against them though."
"Well at least my son can get an attention from girls. Thank god he got looks from his mother and not from me."
"That's true."
"Hey!"
They laughed a bit. They talked about their children some more, and after half-hour said their goodbyes. James got to his flight and, four hours later, he was home. As he entered the house he saw Ann standing before him in a bathrobe.
"Honey, i'm home." he smiled wildly and kissed his wife.
"Welcome." she said. "By the way, Kim is in the mall with a credit card, and Jim and Tim went to the movies with extra cash for arcades, do you know what it means?"
James gulped. Bathrobe fell to the floor.
