A/N: Sorry for the long time between updates. I've been moving and downsizing my life in preparation of a layoff from work. They won't tell us when the layoff is coming but I assume it will be the end of the year. Such is the times I guess. This is another of those famous 20,000 word chapters I sometimes reel off. So I decided to break it into 2 parts for easier consumption.

So I'm posting this chapter and will soon follow it up with another.

Thanks to those that have reviewed the story and thanks for being patient. Remember write a review, receive a reply.

Sitting comfortably in his basement office at his house, Eaton Trendle looked at the giant white board filled with time lines, names and dates. Glancing at the computer monitor he watched the football game live from Boston. Ron had the Hurricane's ready to play and had the game well in hand. The score at the moment was 27 to 13.

Smiling Eaton glanced at the small picture of his mother sitting in acrylic frame above the computer monitor. Leaning back in his chair he smiled at the picture, and said quietly. "You know you really should have told me about that bear."

Turning his attention back to the game, there was a close up of Ron signaling in the plays to the offense. Eaton didn't get to see this part when he attended the walk through so this was new to him.

Dr. Ron Stoppable's University of Miami Hurricane offense was known as the Storm Front Offense. It was similar to the other stretch offenses used by other colleges except that Ron's was a no huddle offense.

All plays were signaled in from the bench after each play. Ron called the play to the quarterback. The offensive line coach would signal in the line formation and the receivers coach would signal in the routes to the receivers. The idea was to get his team to the line as quickly as possible to prevent the opposing team's defense from making changes.

As the formation would take shape, the defense was forced into coverage mismatches as there would be receivers, and tight ends lined up all along the line of scrimmage forcing the opposing offense to stretch their zone packages.

Boston College's coach used to be Coach Ron Stoppable's offensive coordinator before leaving to take the head coaching job with Boston College. Thus the Boston College offense looked very similar to the Miami offense except that Coach Stannis had his offensive line spaced a yard apart from each other on the line of scrimmage. The plan was to stretch the Hurricane's defense to cause mismatches and coverage mistakes just as Coach Stoppable had hoped to do to Boston College.

On this day however the plan was not working as the Miami defense easily kept the Boston College offense in check throughout the game. Now with time winding down, the Hurricane players were sneaking up behind their coach with a water cooler filled with Gatorade.

As the Hurricane's quarterback Tyrell Claymore took a knee in victory formation the players dumped the contents on the water cooler on top of Ron. Eaton laughed as Ron was drenched. Thinking about the large man in the teal sport coat, Eaton mused. "Dr. Ron wins again. I hope this throws a wrench in Tovella's plans."

Reaching for the remote control he turned up the sound on his computer. He wanted to hear the last few minutes of the game telecast before he dived in and started to do more research into the planetary saviors Dr. Drakken and Sheila Go.

"...the University of Miami Hurricane's will go into Tampa Stadium next Saturday undefeated. Their opponent in the ACC Championship game will be the Clemson Tigers."

"Coach Stoppable and Coach Stannis are meeting at midfield. Let's see if we can listen in for a moment."

The two coaches met at midfield and embraced. Eaton could hear Ron telling the other coach that, "Monique sends her love."

The other coach smiled, "Janice is up for more shopping in the off season."

The two men laughed before Coach Stannis pulled Ron close to him and whispered in his ear. Ron nodded his head, "Thanks for the heads up, we'll look into that."

"A warm meeting at Midfield, Dr. Ron and his Hurricane's leave still the number 1 ranked team in the nation. But the season isn't over yet for Boston College. As they will be gearing up for a New Years Day bowl game, that has yet to be announced. Dave Maurtry, what bowl do you see Boston College being invited to?"

Another announcer began to talk as Eaton turned the volume down on the monitor. He now turned his attention to an old card board box. Pulling the masking tape off the top he opened it. Pulling out a large black trash bag, he opened it up and smiled as he saw the bear that Ron and Monique so fondly remembered.

"Not going to offer me a cigar?" He said whimsically. Then he frowned, "No I guess if I was packed away inside a trash bag for 20 years, I wouldn't be offering any cigars either."

The bear was older than he was. He turned the bear over and saw the blood stain on the back of his head. Blood that had oozed out of his mothers nose as her lifeless head rested on the Theodore T. Bear in that lonely field all those years ago. Wincing at the thought of a symbol of childhood innocence having been found at the sight of his mother's grizzly violent murder sickened him.

Wiping a tear from his eye he turned the bear back around to face him. Theodore's black glass eyes stared at him expressionlessly. His pink tongue still stuck out of his mouth. Giving the raspberry to the boy that had boxed him up all those years ago. Sighing he shook his head, he told the bear softly.

"Sorry about the whole bag and the box thing. I never realized how important you were to my mother."

The years did take their toll on Theodore's wardrobe. Gone was his little yellow ran hat and one of his galoshes was missing. The yellow rain coat was still intact. The only sign of wear on the coat was faded paint on the snaps that fastened the raincoat over the portly bear.

Sitting the bear aside he dug through another box. This one labeled Middleton Stuff. He pulled out a small disk marked History Channel, Lipsky Interview. He was holding in his hands the only known raw footage of an interview the History Channel tried to do on the 10 year anniversary of the Great Colorado Volcano. Smirking at the title of the documentary, Eaton mumbled, "Volcano my ass."

He took the pouch containing the Lipsky interview along with other resource materials he had acquired over the years back to his desk. It was time for him to check out his source material against his eyewitness recollections of Ron and Monique Stoppable. Glancing up at the monitor he saw that Coach Stoppable was seated at a table answering questions in a post game press conference. Eaton reached up to the monitor and turned up the sound.

"...unaware of any such rumors concerning retirement. I can't retire yet. I still have 2 years left on my contract and my wife wants a new kitchen."

Eaton smiled as the press corps that was assembled shared a laugh with Coach Stoppable. Then another thought crossed his mind. It was apparent that all the talk on the local talk radio station had finally caught up with the national media. Shaking his head, he mumbled, "Too bad..."

"After the win today, you're team is still the number 1 team in the nation. Any concerns going into the next Saturday's ACC Championship game in Tampa?"

He pushed the button on the thin desktop computer and a small try slid open. He placed the disk into the slot and pushed the button again. The tray slid back into the computer. Eaton settled back in his chair to hear Ron Stoppable's answer.

"Well we had a few injuries today so naturally we're very interested in getting our team up to speed. Clemson has a strong program and with the tough game Boston College gave us today. I'd have to think we're going into the game as the underdog."

Eaton laughed along with the media, as the menu of the disk appeared he shouted at the monitor. "They aren't buying it Coach."

Sitting back up in his chair he picked up his note book, turned the HDTV feed off to the computer and pressed play on the menu. There was an image of Mt. McKinney followed by an intense flash of white light. The voice over narrator opened the show.

"In early June of 2007 a once thought peaceful mountain in Eastern Colorado exploded. Mt. McKinney seated on the edge of the Yellowstone Caldera exploded. The super heated gas escaped from the earth's core incinerating and destroying everything in its path."

"Yeah right..." Eaton said bitterly as he mocked the narration.

"First to fall into the path of the high speed gas cloud was the town of Middleton. A quiet suburb of Upperton..."

Eaton hit the step button till he found the file footage of a very uncomfortable Dr. Drakken and Sheila Go receiving a medal from the United Nations, for their work in saving the world from the volcano. Eaton grinned as he pushed the play button, "I just love this part of the great lie."

Dr. Drakken his head surrounded by yellow flower pedals from an experiment gone awry stepped forward to the podium. Sheila Go stood beside him wearing a green dress that highlighted her dazzling female form. She appeared to be as equally uncomfortable as her employer. Eaton looked closer, "She might be smirking, hard to tell. This is obviously before she found out that her brothers were dead."

"Drew Lipsky in the guise of his other persona Dr. Drakken a criminal genius was credited with saving much of the Western United States from the volcanic activity."

The image on the screen switched to an older white haired scientist. He was explaining how Dr. Drakken saved the planet. Eaton read the name that flashed up on the screen on the bottom of the screen to identify the man. "Dr. A. H. Maxwell, Purdue University..."

"The true genius of what Dr. Drakken did was in his inventing an ultrasonic device powerful enough to cap the volcano and restore it to its previous state. If one were to look at Mt. McKinney today it would appear as if nothing of a volcanic nature ever took place on this mountain range."

Eaton laughed at the man on the screen, "That's because nothing volcanic ever happened at Mt. McKinney."

"Now for the first time Dr. Drakken speaks on the record about the events that happened nearly 10 years ago in Colorado."

The image turned to a much older man, the flower pedals surrounding his head didn't appear to Eaton to be nearly as bright and colorful as they had in years past. It was obvious the man who stood accepting the medal of meritorious service from the United Nations was showing his age. Dr. Drakken was no longer clad in a dark blue lab coat and black rubber gloves. He was now clad in a blue suit with a red tie. Eaton shook his head as he watched the man fuss about the lighting. "This is truly raw footage."

"Do I look sinister enough? I always enjoyed looking sinister. Maybe a key light shining upwards out of sight of the camera would achieve the desirable effect?"

The woman who was attempting to interview the mad scientist was off camera, trying to get her subject to focus. "You look fine, very scary..."

The former Dr. Drakken sneered, "Did I say scary, no I said sinister. Grrrrrr, you media types are all alike..."

"I'm sorry Mr. Lipsky, is it all right if we start the interview now?" The woman tried again.

Drew Lipsky eyed the woman suspiciously, "This is going to be a serious piece right? I mean no questions about gender equity in the super villain world? I mean let's face it. It's primarily guys trying to take over the world because women already run everything..."

The woman conducting the interview sensed an opening. "That's a very interesting opinion. How do you figure women actually run the world?"

Drakken laughed maniacally, "Oh, don't play innocent with me. You know very well that women start to take control of the men at a young age. Potty training, the women always handles the potty training and from there it leads to being dressed in matching clothes, usually clean. Then as a boy grows older into a man, it's always the woman that chooses the mate..."

"So what you're saying is men never have a say in these things?"

Fuming Drakken crossed his arms, "I didn't, I mean...I always thought our relationship was purely profession. Next thing I know, I'm settled down and have two kids. I'm told what to pick up at the store, I drive a mini van. A MINI VAN, how can you be sinister and evil in a mini van? I don't get to run with my homies and try to take over the world anymore..."

"You're talking about your relationship with Sheila Go?"

A loud sarcastic voice could be heard from off camera, "Oy, of course he's talking about me..."

He had seen the footage many times in the past. Still hearing Sheila Go's voice and her attitude always brought a smile to Eaton's face. "Man, she can be a real ball buster."

"Look its simple Doc. Try to take over the world, have Princess track you down and kill you, like she did Dementor." Sheila Go reminded him from off camera.

Drakken straightened up in his chair and looked defiant. "Every plan has its own set of draw backs. True, now that Kim Possible's running around executing people for Global Justice. It does pose a formidable challenge, one that I think I can overcome given enough time..."

The woman conducting the interview for the History Channel had spoke up after hearing mention of a certain name. "Kim Possible, I haven't heard that name in years..."

"Yeah, she used to run around and interfere with our plans. Her and that one guy that played football, I can never remember his name." Drew told the interviewer as he struggled to remember the name.

"Stoppable, Ron Stoppable...You know the guy that sent us the great baby travel pack after Alicia was born." Sheila Go reminded him from off camera.

"Oh yes, that was thoughtful. Never even got a card from Kim Possible..." Drakken fumed.

"That's because her train left the tracks Doc..."

Drew Lipsky screwed up his face, as he pondered a new take over the world strategy. "Do you think she'd actually kill me? I mean, my plans never really hurt anyone. There was more property damage than anything else."

"NO, NO, NO, Look Drewbie, you got two kids, a mortgage and keeping me in the life style I've become accustomed to, to consider." The annoyed voice of Sheila Go reminded him.

Eaton picked up a pen and quickly scribbled in his note book, "Ask Coach Ron about Kim P. and some guy named Demented. Ask him also about Lipsky kids..."

Drakken frowned, "It wouldn't have to be the world. Maybe me and Killigan could dust off Monkey Fist and have a guy's night out? We could just overthrow a country or something? I mean, we could always give it back later."

"NO" Came the firm response from off camera.

Pouting Drakken looked at the camera, "She never lets me do anything fun."

Eaton chuckled at the depressed former super villain, "If anything she's keeping you from getting killed by the murderous Senator Possible. Have to ask the Coach for more background on Kim Possible..."

"Well now that we have that out of the way, let's try some questions about how you stopped the volcanic eruption at Mt. McKinney?" The woman asked as she tried to regain control of the interview.

Drew Lipsky screwed up his face, puzzled by the question the woman had just posed to him. "Volcano, what volcano?"

"The one that..."

"There was never any volcano. It was aliens, why can't you people just admit it was aliens? The rest of the planet knows it was aliens, why cover it up from the American people?" Drakken fumed.

"Hey Doc, remember the large donation to the Go Family Charities? It's a volcano already." The voice of Sheila Go reminded him from off camera.

Looking dejected Drew Lipsky slumped into his seat. "Oh yeah, that volcano. I used a sonic endorameter based on the pan dimensional vortex inducer to effect a seismic reversal on Mt. McKinney. Or, something, like that."

"I'm told the flower pedals and the roaming vine attached to your body, are part of a failed botany experiment. Is this the experiment that left your skin with a bluish tint?"

Drew Lipsky brightened considerably, "It's funny you should ask about that. I remember it was a Tuesday..."

Eaton reached over and stopped the program. He hit the eject button and the small disc slid out of the computer. He filed it away in slip case with the rest of his prized collection of Lowardian attack artifacts. He picked up his pen and made a few quick notes.

"No wonder the History Channel shelved the idea for this program. It would have been laughed off the air in Europe. I have to show this interview to Coach Ron.

After the interview, Drakken dies two years later, 12 years after the attack from an exotic cancer that is believed to have been the result of some past failed experiment. Alicia Go, Drew Lipsky and Sheila Go's daughter dies from the same cancer when she is 16.

Only son Henry Michael survives. Curious note, both Sheila Go and Monique Stoppable name a son after deceased brothers. How many more children are out there named after deceased siblings?

Question, was Coach Ron or Kim Possible ever exposed to what Drew Lipsky succumbed to?"

Putting his pen down, Eaton rubbed at the bridge of his nose. It had been a long day in his basement. He knew he should really head up stairs and spend time with his girls but he felt he unraveling some vast puzzle and he couldn't just let it go.

Eaton sighed, "It's early, head up at 5:00 for dinner. Then maybe head over to the Stoppable's and talk to Monique. I should probably call first."

Looking down at the slip case he pulled another disk from the collection. "Because We Can, A film by Zita Flores." Eaton turned the disk over in his hands and then slipped it back into the case.

"How could Zita Flores do what Dr. Drakken and Sheila Go couldn't do? How could she for that matter do what Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable could not do? Expose all the corruption and human rights violations of the local governments affected by the attack? She took them all down. I'll have to watch this documentary again or watch it with the Stoppables." Eaton thought as he filed away the disk.

Turning to a cluttered pile of papers next to his desk, he uncovered a slim book. Looking it over as he mused about the books secret meaning. He read the title out loud, hoping it was shed new meaning on the contents of the book.

"The Liberating Power of Education in a Controlled Society, A Doctoral Thesis by Ronald D. Stoppable, B.S.E., M.A.E."

He paged through the thesis once again. He had read the work several times. Always looking for a new meaning or a twist, it was as if the old coach was leaving clues but he wasn't seeing them. In the work Ron Stoppable never mentioned what had happened in Middleton or even referred to the disaster the western states had to endure.

Glancing through the thesis he stopped to read a small segment, "The main misconception is to perceive the population under oppression to be silent, powerless victims under the thumb of a controlled society..."

"Eaton, come upstairs with us for a while. You've been down there long enough."

Turning his attention to the voice from upstairs, he flipped the theses back onto his desk. Chuckling to himself, he thought of Drew Lipsky's rather unique view of who actually controlled the world. "I'm on my way upstairs Ruling Overlord."

"What..."

"I said, I'm on my way up." He said still chuckling as he grabbed Theodore, before climbing the steps.

He emerged into the light of the kitchen. His little girls were busying themselves around the kitchen table as Eaton's wife finished making dinner. The youngest girl spotted the bear first.

"My teddy..." The girl cried excitedly.

Eaton picked up his youngest daughter, "No, Tara not your teddy. He was your Grandma's. His name is Theodore."

The little girl took the bear away from him. A chill ran up and down Eaton's spine as he realized that it wasn't only the Go's and the Stoppable's that named children for deceased relatives. He had named his youngest daughter Tara Dee, after his deceased mother.

Megan the older daughter looked at her father and lifted an eyebrow, "What's that stain on the on the side of his head."

Eaton's wife turned and saw Theodore. She was not happy to see the old toy at her dinner table. "Eaton get that disgusting bear out of the kitchen."

"Chelsea, it was my mom's..." Eaton protested.

"I don't care whose it was, it's nasty. Now get that nasty bear out of my kitchen." She ordered as she pointed towards the back door.

Eaton figured it would be safer in the long run to give in. "Yes my Ruling Overlord."

"What was that?" Chelsea Trendle said angrily.

Moving quickly towards the door Eaton said. "Nothing, nothing..."

The tired looking woman eyed him as he made his way to the door, "Take the trash out as long as you're up."

Eaton stopped at the door and pulled the plastic trash bag from the can. "You just manipulated me to do your bidding didn't you?"

Chelsea pointed to the door, "Nasty bear...OUT."

Grumbling as he left the kitchen, Eaton dropped the trash bag into the large green dumpster on wheels before making his way to the car. "Sorry Theodore, wife says you have to go."

Opening the door to his small car Eaton caught himself before he tossed the bear unceremoniously into the front seat. Stopping himself in mid throw, he instead sat the bear down in the passenger's seat.

The pink tongue sticking out of the bears mouth struck Eaton that the toy was grateful that he didn't throw him into the car. He looked at the bear. Theodore did appear to have his own unique personality. He could see how the Stoppable's could be fond of the stuffed toy.

He grinned as he engaged the bear in a one sided conversation. "Yes she does look a lot like my mom." Eaton said as he thought about his 4 year old girl Tara Dee. Her hair wasn't as fair as her grandmother's but she did look an awful lot like her.

The bear's glass eyes starred expressionless out the windshield of the car. Eaton chuckled, "Yeah, I think mom would have been proud of her too."

A cloud passed over the sun throwing a shadow across the carport. For just a second Eaton could have sworn he saw the bear's eyes twinkle. Eaton smiled, "Sorry Theodore, she's only 4. A little young to be smoking cigars...You really are a nasty old bear."

Phoning ahead, Eaton Trendle had received the green light to visit with Monique Stoppable. In the background of the phone call was the sound of rather large party taking place. No doubt to celebrate the big win over Boston College. Monique's speech was slightly slurred, it sounded as if she had plenty to drink during the celebratory party. She became very excited as Eaton told her that Theodore would be coming with him.

Eaton and Theodore arrived at the security gate a little after 6:30 PM. He heard the gates motor hum to life as the barrier opened to allow him access to what he had jokingly referred to as 'Fortress Stopppable'. Looking over at the stuffed bear sitting next to him on the seat, "They're rolling out the red carpet for you. You better offer these folks some cigars are they're liable to make you swim in the pool."

Eaton stepped out of the car with Theodore. The front door opened and he was greeted by a much frazzled Annie Possible. She motioned for him to come inside, "Welcome to my nightmare. I swear, I hate it when mom ties one on."

Chuckling Eaton walked up the steps. "Monique has been doing some celebrating tonight?"

Annie nodded her head, "Oh yeah, she had the Lady Cane's club over tonight. They get a little loud and little rowdy."

She moved aside to allow Eaton and Theodore into the house. Eaton moved past her and pointed down the hallway. "Are they in the family room?"

"They were in the family room. The party broke up about an hour ago. Mom moved our little party out back by the pool." Annie said as she moved in front of Eaton to lead him outside.

Walking through the family room he glanced over at the unconscious form of Myracle sprawled out on the sofa. Cheyenne was kneeling next to her. She stood and joined Eaton and Annie as they headed to the pool. Eaton grinned, "Let me guess she helped herself to the refreshments."

Cheyenne giggled, "Helped herself to mom's refreshments."

Annie smirked, "Yeah, we give her one job. Make sure mom doesn't drink too much, and what does she do?"

"She helps herself to mom's cup whenever she isn't looking." Cheyenne finished.

"Which causes mom to drink more since her cup is always coming up empty..." Annie continued.

Cheyenne whispered as she saw Monique trying to stand up from her patio chair, "Which only caused mom to drink twice as much as she usually does at these things."

"HI YA EATON..." Monique shouted happily.

Annie raced forward to help her sit back down, "Mom, just sit here for a while."

Monique grinned happily, "OK..." Looking at Cheyenne she said, "How's your sister?"

Cheyenne smiled, "She'll live..."

Eaton grinned, "Hello Monique, looks like you and Myracle had quite a drinking competition going on tonight."

Snorting, Monique said. "I can table anyone under a drink."

Annie giggled, "She's on the couch."

Monique nodded her head, "I am so going to smack her when I sober up."

Eaton presented Theodore to Monique, "I know you were looking forward to seeing him."

Squealing Monique hugged the bear tightly to her. Then she pulled it away, "Look at you. Look at Theodore. You haven't changed a bit..."

Cheyenne smiled, "So that's the famous bear."

Monique nodded as she examined the bear closely. "Yeah, yeah..." She became quiet as she saw the blood stain on the back of Theodore's head. "Oh baby, oh baby, I'm so sorry." She said softly as she ran a hand down the side of the stuffed bears face.

"You can sit here Eaton." Cheyenne said as she motioned to an empty patio chair.

"Thank you Cheyenne..." He said as he sat down. He was unsure what to start the interview off with since it was obvious Monique wasn't in much condition to answer very many questions.

So he decided to question Coach Ronald Stoppable's oldest daughter. He had been curious about her since she was so much older than the other Stoppable children. He looked at Cheyenne and asked. "Not to be nosy or anything Cheyenne, but I know, Monique's children with the Coach Ron and I know Kim Possible's children with Coach Ron... If you don't mind me asking, whose daughter are you?"

Cheyenne smiled sadly, "My mother was a woman named Stacey Horton, a bar slut that dad picked up at the 2008 Las Vegas bowl. She and a friend of hers went back to dad's room with one of his teammates. They swapped my mother and her friend back and forth. Then something happened dad threw my mother's clothes at her and told her to get out of the room."

Monique shook her head, "And 11 months later Ron gets a court order demanding he submit to a DNA test."

Annie smiled, "Dad shoots, dad scores."

Cheyenne frowned, "Unfortunately my mom is a nut job who had a thing for Indians. She always fantasized about being with one of those muscle bound guys from the cover of those romance novels. So I get named Cheyenne Lakota...Cheyenne Lakota Starks."

"I had to break up with Ron to keep peace in the house. Connie Stoppable didn't want any little grand kids running around the place..." Monique said bitterly.

"Then I showed up." Cheyenne said in amusement.

Monique frowned, "You were dumped off. Your mother loved to party, so Ron gets tagged with a 347 a month child support bill and gets you in the process because..."

"Mom didn't want me around." Cheyenne finished.

"Yeah and Ron is still stuck with the child support payment. He can't take care of you at school by himself so. Grandma Stoppable and Monique get the job of taking care of you." Monique said angrily.

Eaton frowned, "So Coach Ron's mother made you two split up, because she was afraid that you two would have kids together?"

Monique turned the stuffed bear around on her lap so he could see Eaton, before she answered. "No...no...I think she thought we were rushing into things too quick. Ron and I started dating a day or two after Kim broke up with him." Monique smiled sadly, "He wanted me to go with him back to Wyoming."

Annie smiled, "So what do you think would have happened if you would have gone with him?"

Thinking it over Monique shrugged, "We probably would have broken up. I...I wasn't real mature back then."

"So was Ron's mother trying to protect you two then?" Eaton followed up.

Monique smiled, "Oh I guess. I had it bad for Ron back then."

Annie chuckled, "And you don't now?"

"Girl, I was pathetic back then." Monique giggled.

"When did you find out about the Ron and Kim Possible's break up?" Eaton asked.

Monique frowned, "I was there. We both got blown off at the same time."

Eaton said gently, "Do you want to talk about that day?"

Shaking her head, Monique said quietly. "Nope…I'm not real interested in reliving one of the worst days of my life."

The phone rang inside the house. Annie stood quickly, "I'll get it."

Eaton tried to think of another question to ask. It was difficult since Monique had been drinking and it was difficult to decide just how much information that she had could be truly useful. Scratching his chin he tried a new question, one that he hoped wouldn't be too sensitive in nature for her.

"Once you had moved in with the Stoppables, did you ever hear from your parents?"

Monique frowned, "Yeah, just once. It was in August of 2007. Ron was in Wyoming and the neighborhoods had some semblance of a postal service restored to us. So, I got brave and wrote my mother a letter."

"So this is about 2 months after the attack and your parents were still in Doe Run?" Eaton asked as he jotted down the information in his note book.

Hugging Theodore tightly, Monique nodded. "Yeah, I was afraid to write. I was afraid I'd get in trouble for not coming home. Connie Stoppable made me write. If for nothing else to let them know I was okay."

"How long did it take to get a reply?" Eaton asked softly.

Monique's eyes filled with tears, "About a week. Momma told me that she and Daddy were happy I was safe. Keyshawn was dead, and I was the only child they had left. They told me to stay where I was at. They were going to take the next shuttle bus out of the neighborhood and that we would all meet up again, if not in this life then in heaven."

Cheyenne gasped, "Oh no..."

Nodding her head, Monique continued her story. "The shuttle buses to Doe Run quit running at the end of June. It was too dangerous to go out that way. The National Guard was even afraid to go in there. I...I...think Momma and Daddy knew they didn't have long left..."

Monique began to cry softly, "They just didn't want me to...worry."

Cheyenne reached over and put her hand on top of Monique's as Annie came from out of the house. "That was Dad, he's going to be home in a couple of hours, and he's bringing a friend."

The sight of Monique crying brought her to a stop. "What did I miss?"

Looking up at her, Cheyenne said, "She was telling Eaton about her parent's last letter to her."

Monique smiled bravely and sat up in her chair, "Every night we could hear gun fire coming from the direction of Doe Run. Funny thing was, no one in the neighborhoods was allowed to have guns. So that meant everyone naturally had one."

The small group chuckled nervously while Monique continued her tale. Shaking her head and frowning Monique said. "Then one night in September, the sky glowed orange. One of our neighbors came over and told us that Doe Run was burning, and the emergency services were afraid to send anyone out there to try and put out the fires."

Cheyenne leaned over, "Maybe your Mom and Dad were able to get away?"

Monique shook her head, "I was hoping that too. They found them in a field just outside the neighborhood. They had lain out there for about a week before they were found. Connie Stoppable and I would head out to Smarty Mart every day and look at the big message boards. One board was for people that were dead. The other board was for trying to find people that were missing. Their names appeared on the dead list one day. I was...I'm still blown away. It just seemed so...unreal."

Eaton felt that Monique was past the crying stage, and it appeared that the intense emotions had burned off the influence of the alcohol she had consumed earlier. So felt it was safe to probe a little further into her past. "So were you able to claim the bodies?"

"No, no, Connie and Walter drove me out to where the Red Cross was setup. My parents were laid to rest with the other victims in the Twin Pines Cemetery that was just down the road from the neighborhood. I didn't have any money for a headstone but Daddy was in the navy so the VA supplied their headstones." Monique told him, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Did you have any other family in the area?" Eaton asked.

"I had a few aunties and uncles but...I didn't know how to reach them or even if they survived. So...I've been alone ever since." Monique said sadly.

No one said anything. Monique had finished her piece and was now clutching the stuffed bear to her chest tightly. Eaton now understood why Coach Ron had always said that Monique had a much tougher time of it than he did.

Annie cleared her throat, "So...have you ever gone back to see their graves?"

Monique shook her head, "No, no...I've only been back to Middleton twice, once for the 10 and 25 year high school reunions. I only saw the graves before the headstones were in place. I had to get the plot numbers for the forms that I had to send in. I was a mess for about a month or two after that."

Trying to lighten the mood, Eaton thought of a new question to ask. A question that just popped into his mind, a question that he figured the other girls would like to hear as well. "So what was it like to date the young Dr. Stoppable?"

The three women laughed. Annie smiled, "Daddy was hell on wheels wasn't he?"

Cheyenne grinned, "All tongues and hands?"

Monique laughing shook her head, "No, no, your daddy was a sweetie...I was all tongues and hands."

Annie laughed and clapped her hands as she leaned back in her chair, "Ewwww, you go girl."

Cheyenne grinned, "Daddy was hot stuff, huh?"

Laughing Monique nodded, "Girl when your Daddy played football in high school he weighted about a 150 pounds, and not one defined muscle in his whole body. You're your Daddy left for Wyoming he was skin and bones, and weighed in when he reported for his physical at a 132."

Turning her attention to Annie, Monique said. "Now when your Daddy came back from Wyoming and your mother dumped him. He was a very buff 178 pounds of good lookin' man."

Annie grinned, "Mom was crazy then?"

Monique laughed, "When we saw your Momma for the first time. She had cut her hair short and bleached it blonde. Hell yeah she was crazy."

Cheyenne grinned, "Her loss, your gain?"

Monique nodded, "Oh hell yeah."

Eaton grinned, realizing he had hit upon a topic that Monique would enjoy talking about. He hated probing difficult subjects when Coach Ron wasn't around. Now that he knew he was on his way home. He could relax a bit and not have to worry about him coming home and finding his wife in tears.

Handing Theodore to Annie, Monique motioned towards an empty spot on the table that was free of empty beer cups. "Sit that bear down, he'll like this story."