Evening Talk

Kim blinked at Ron.

"That's…sudden."

"Yeah…maybe that didn't come out right." Ron said nervously. "I don't mean now… I mean that we'd be engaged and-then maybe get married but" Kim started to giggle. Ron blinked. "What?"

"This is the first time since I've gotten out that I've seen you start to have a Ron Meltdown." She said.

"Yeah." Ron answered, grinning, "But I had to get more control when I-" When I wasn't with you. And you're right, and I need you Kim. But Ron didn't say that. He couldn't. This had to be Kim's decision, no guilt trips or "do the right thing" trips.

"You do know it may be a while before we get married, even if I say yes." Kim said, "I'm still finding out who Kim Possible is anymore Ron, and I can't become Kim Stoppable until I know who I am now." She shrugged, "I didn't even realize…that I'd… be so affected by little things."

"They're not little." Ron said, "Kim, you've talked to Shego. What has she told you about being in prison herself."

"Not much. They got paroled right out." Kim said. Ron paused.

"That's not….well that's what happened to Drakken. Not to Shego. She kind of edited things, I see." He paused, "You might want to talk to her about your difficulties—she can help."

"Oh?" Kim paused. "What happened to her Ron."

"I really can't-"

"Ron…."

"I'm sorry Kim, but it's pretty…personal." He sighed. "Okay, just the very brief bits. Shego was put into a ward for the criminally insane."

"What?Why?"

"Because they figured that if they drugged her heavily enough she wouldn't be able to use her abilities to escape… and well." Ron stopped, wondering how they'd gone from 'will you marry me,' to this. "It wasn't very good."

I still don't know why they sent me that video. He thought. Some anonymous person had sent him the video file, three months after Shego had been incarcerated. Maybe they did it hoping he would do something, or maybe they though he'd enjoy it. Some of the ward attendants had thought it would be amusing to put the helplessly drugged, and partially delusional woman in with the more violent inmates. The clip had been of another woman (paranoid psychotic) taking away Shego's dessert cup, leaving her wailing like a five year old on the floor. The clip of Shego being forced to wear a diaper when another batch of medications had led to a partial loss of bladder and bowel control had also been included, with an audio track of the jokes, overlain on Shego's confused and hysterical pleas for them to stop.

It had been disgusting. Ron had thrown up the first time he'd seen it. He remembered the stories about his Great Grandmother… and he wondered if the anonymous source ha d known about her and banked on the reaction he'd had. That had been the first time he'd left Yamonuchi since he'd come there. Some things you couldn't do remotely. It had also introduced him to the term "cold hatred", the kind of anger and hatred that never went away. Shego had committed crimes, true, but that wasn't punishment-- it was the grown up version of a boy who pulled the wings off of flies, getting jollies from behind the shield of the law. Oh Yes. He and his remembered all about that. Ron shook his head as Kim continued.

"They drugged her."

"Yeah. Can't say anything more about this Kim." Ron said. "She'll probably blister my ear off for saying this much, but I think you and her can talk." He shrugged, "But needless to say, when a few birdies whispered in a few ears, a lot of nasty crap came to the surface. Some of her guards are currently inmates in prison—and the Supreme Court ruled that" he paused, searching his memory "'The use of psychotropic drugs, for any reason other than medical necessity, said necessity being arrived at by competent outside medical consultation, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment as set forth in the United States Constitution.' It was a 9-0 slam dunk." He looked over to the office, "The ACLU helped a lot and I give them enough money to keep watch to make certain nothing like that, hopefully happens again. Drakken was helping, that's why he got out on parole...and Shego, well I don't think the government wanted to argue the point-- and maybe get a full reversal. So, probation, then parole, but no more prison time.

"Spanking". Kim said, "I bet Shego was happy."

"She was… yeah, she was." Ron said. Kim would have to learn the rest from Shego. "I wish the case would have applied to you."

"It couldn't have." Kim said absently. "Nobody ever tried to hurt me, or treated me badly—and if you let people out because prison wasn't nice…." Ron nodded, hearing her voice the voice of the lawyers he'd retained to find any loophole to get her out.

"I…" Ron paused, "Kim… I could have gotten you out. I could have."

"How, I was in legally-"

"The Lotus Blade. A school of Ninjas… more money then God." He said, "I could have taken you to any one of a dozen nations that would never have extradited you."

"I'm glad you didn't. I'd have hated for you to decide whether to lock me up or wave goodbye when I got on the plane." Kim said softly. "I love you Ron, but if we let 'I love you' in as a defense, how many people would get off? How many criminals are in for years longer because they waved a gun around, even if nobody was hurt? I hurt people, and the gun I waved around could have killed entire cities." She conformed into his body, pulling herself close. "Would I be given a break because I saved the world? How do we balance that currency? I saved the world three times, that can pay for one murder, or three assaults?" She looked up at him, "It can't work that way. It's bad enough some people can buy off justice, but giving people like me a walk because I'm "better". No. Never." She paused, "And Thank you Ron, Thank you more than anything for never putting that temptation in front of me. I hope I could just go back…. But I don't know if I could." Kim yawned.

"Tired?"

"It's been a hard day…I'll stay here if you don't mind."

"Mind?" He shook his head, "No." He paused, "What about…"

"Yes." Kim said softly, "But it might be a long engagement. I'm serious about that Ron. I'll give you everything I am, everything I can be, in some traditional wedding ceremony, or if you want, some crazy skydiving ceremony." She paused, "But first I have to be certain I know what I'm giving."

Ron bent down and kissed her. "I know." He said softly. "And I'll promise you one thing. I'll never try and run over you again."

"You'll have to promise me two other things." Kim said.

"Oh?"

"That you'll never lose faith." She looked at him. "When dad told me about the 1980's he always talked about the people who said the world was going to end—the Missiles were going to come. Some kids even claimed they didn't need to go to college…. But the missiles never flew, and the walls came down to the sounds of music and partying, not cannonfire." She paused, "Promise me you'll remember that, you'll remember all the times it looked like nothing could save the day… and there was a day after that day anyway." She looked down, "And promise me that you'll remember that, and when I'm on the floor and can't stand, you'll help me get up and keep going on."

"I will." Ron said, and the conversation sparked a memory. He winced as he remembered the Asian girl on the floor, bowels and bladder involuntarily voiding from sheer terror…and for some reason it was overlain on the image of Shego in the mental institution.

She was going to do something that would kill millions, possibly. It was different. But the excuse sounded weak even in his ears. Because Kim was looking at him and he could never imagine doing such a thing while those emerald eyes were looking at him. He looked at Kim.

"Okay, and now you promise me something."

"What?" Kim said.

"That when it looks like I'm going to Fall, and fail, you'll be there to hold me."

"Always." She said.

They didn't have sex that night. Kim was tired, and something that Ron never would have even dreamed of in high school, was the fact that laying next to the woman you loved and had just become engaged to, feeling her heart, hearing her slow and regular breath, knowing she was here….

Was as good as the best sex in the world.

So. Ready to Talk? The voice spoke in Ron's head.

Oh. You. He replied.

TBC.