Well, I had good intentions anyway. This was supposed to be the final chapter before the Epilogue, but it's not. There will be a Chapter Twenty-Two, then the Epilogue. Thanks for hanging in there.

As with every chapter before and every to follow, Kim Possible and all related characters (other than those of my own creation for the purpose of this story) are the property of The Walt Disney Company. Everything else is all mine.

Other than some minor turbulence over central Alabama and northern Mississippi due to a line of storms passing through, so far Jonathan Stoppable's flight back to Middleton had been uneventful. The bumpy ride had woken him out of a deep sleep, but he figured after some iced tea he'd be able to pick up right where he left off.

Sipping his glass of tea, Jonathan flipped through the Saturday edition of the Orlando newspaper. It was filled with the usual mix of news, most of it bad. Turning to the sports section, he scanned over the college football pages and came upon a rather unexpected article.

"Well, what do you know?" he said to himself. "Brick Flagg is getting his first start today." Middleton High School's former star quarterback had been wooed by a full-ride scholarship to come down to Florida and understudy at the University of Central Florida. He was slated to be red shirted his freshman year, but due to a fall practice season-ending injury to the senior starter, Brick began the year as the backup.

When the junior starting quarterback was injured late in UCF's opening game, Flagg was inserted to play out the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Due to the starter's slow recovery, Brick would be the starting quarterback for at least Saturday's game, with a wide receiver who had played quarterback in high school acting as his backup.

"Huh. I wonder how Brick's doing?" Jonathan said out loud as he glanced at his watch. "Guess I'll have to check the web when I get home."

Folding the newspaper back up, Jonathan stuffed it into the pocket of the seat in front of him. He drained the remainder of his iced tea, handed the glass to the stewardess as she walked by and placed his tray table in its upright and locked position. Finally, stifling a yawn, he wedged his pillow between his seat and the outer wall of the aircraft, pulled his blanket up over him, and curled up for the second half of his nap.

"Where could Mom be?" grumbled Kim. "I called her over half an hour ago."

"R-e-l-a-x, KP", Ron said, attempting to reassure her. "I'm sure she'll get here as soon as she can. Maybe she was delayed by some sort of emergency at home."

"If that "emergency" had anything to do with the Tweebs, those two are going to be so busted."

"Well, KP, at least we won't have to wait for Wade to move the McHenry Laser Grid system. He already has a second prototype put together and should have it installed in your bedroom by the time you get home."

Kim leaned back in her bed. "You know, Ron, I'm wondering if maybe once Wade takes apart this system he should install it in your bedroom."

"Nice idea, Kim, but I don't think my parents would be crazy about it. Besides, why would anyone come after me?"

"For one, you're part of Team Possible, Ron. More than that, you're my best friend and boy friend. Drakken, Shego, Killigan and Monkey Fist all know how much you mean to me. They wouldn't hesitate to do something to you if they couldn't get to me."

"I see what you mean, KP. I'll have to talk with Mom and Dad, but if they give the go-ahead, we'll have Wade install the system right away."

Looking at his watch, Ron observed that another five minutes had gone by.

"So, what else can we talk about while we wait for your Mom?"

"Well, my dad brought up the "college issue" again this morning."

"Oh? What did you tell him?" Ron asked.

"Just that you were still planning to go straight into culinary school after graduation."

"You didn't happen to bring up the whole "going away to school" thing, did you?"

"Yeah, I mentioned it."

"And?"

"And Dad naturally tried to convince me that it wasn't necessary to go "away" to school, that there was a good culinary school not far from here, and that you and I have already been more places than the Pope."

"Was he upset?"

"Maybe a little. He seemed more disappointed than anything."

"What about the housing "arrangement" while we're in college?"

"Ron, breaking the news to Dad that you and I plan to go away to school was hard enough. Telling him that we're seriously considering sharing a two-bedroom apartment is more than he or I could handle this morning."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"About going away to school? No way. About sharing an apartment? Definitely."

"Kim, we'd have our own bedrooms."

"That's true, Ron, but that's not how our parents are going to see it."

Ron shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see how it would be any different than each of us having apartments or even you living in a dorm and me having an apartment. One way or another, they'll have to trust us, right?"

"You're right", Kim said with a sigh of resignation. "But will they see it that way or will we be able to convince them to see it that way?"

"Oh, we may not be as hard to convince as you think."

Kim and Ron jumped when they heard that voice. Slowly turning toward the room entrance with "I am so dead" expressions on their faces, they saw Kathleen Possible standing there, arms crossed, grinning.

"Mom! Have you been listening the whole time?" Kim exclaimed.

"Not the whole time, Kim. Just long enough to hear about your housing arrangement plans for college."

Kim buried her head in her hands. "Great. J-u-s-t great. Mom, I really was planning to talk with you and Dad about it. Honest."

"Don't worry, Kim. I believe you."

Sitting up, Kim reached for the array control and pressed the button to deactivate it. Once her mother had entered the room, she pressed the button once more to activate the array.

"Well, Mrs. Dr. P.", Ron interjected. "Since you heard it all, what do you think?"

"I think you're absolutely right, Ron. We have to trust you. We do trust you. If we didn't, do you think we would have allowed you two to go gallivanting around the world by yourselves the past five years?"

"So does that mean you'll trust us no matter which housing we choose?" asked Kim.

"Kim, your father and I have tried to instill in you what we believe is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false and what we consider to be wise and what is foolish. Ron's parents have done the same for him. What you decide to do with those values is ultimately out of our control."

"Not completely, Mom. You and Dad are planning to pick up whatever college costs after any scholarships and financial aid, right, and Ron's parents have said they would cover his, too."

"Kim, you and Ron aren't lab rats. Your father and I aren't going to threaten to withhold money for college as a means of behavior modification, and I don't see Ron's parents doing that, either. Like I said, we've taught you as well as we can and need to continue to trust you. Now, if you two decided to quit school, elope to Vegas and gamble away every last penny, then we might have to do something", Kathleen Possible concluded with wry grin.

"No need to worry about that, Mrs. Dr. P. Graduating from culinary school is going be enough of a challenge for me."

"Same here, Mom. I'd have better luck trying to fight Shego with one arm tied behind my back than beating the odds with a one-armed bandit on the Strip."

"That's good to hear. Kim, here's a bag with some clothes, socks and shoes for you to wear. I also tossed in your shampoo, cream rinse, body wash and a few other things. I figured you'd want to get all cleaned up before going home."

"Thanks, Mom!" Kim said, hopping up and giving her mother a hug. "You always seem to think of everything!"

"Just part of being a mother, Kim. Someday I'm sure you'll be doing the same for your children. Now, I'm going to go take care of that paperwork and head home. See you back at the house!"

As soon as Mrs. Possible had left the room and was out of earshot, Kim literally jumped into Ron's arms.

"Can you believe that, Ron? And here I was worrying about if we could convince them?"

"Uh, Kim, that was your mom, remember? Your dad's likely to be a harder sell. Oh, and there's the small issue of convincing my parents, too."

"True, but I think your folks will be a lot more open to the idea when they find out my parents trust us. As for Dad, with Mom already on our side, he doesn't stand a chance. Mom always finds ways to sway him, sooner or later."

"Oh, yeah? Just like you have to sway me?" Ron asked with raised eyebrows.

Snuggling deep into his arms, Kim looked up with her half-closed green eyes and purred, "O-h-h, y-e-a-h. A-n-d, kiddo, you ain't seen nothing yet."

After leaving Kim's patient room, Kathleen Possible took a slight detour on her way to the hospital admissions desk. Ducking into a small waiting area, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed up the Stoppables.

"Hello, Stoppables."

"Rachel, this is Kate."

"So, Kate, how'd it go?"

"Perfect!"

"So, you think you've delayed them long enough that you can get home before they discover Jim and Tim's little "mission" work?"

"More than enough, but I'd better get going. No sense in tempting Murphy's Law."

"That's for sure. I'll wait for Jon's call, and then come over. See you soon."

Kathleen hung up and immediately dialed her home number.

"Hello, Possible residence."

"Tim? This is Mom."

"Oh, hi, Mom. What's up?"

"How's the charcoal fire doing? Was your dad able to get it going without any "assistance"?"

"Yeah, he got it started…barely. Jim and I kept telling him to use more lighter fluid but he insisted on doing it "the old fashioned way". It took him nearly a whole book of matches to really get it going."

"Well, the important thing is it's started, Jim. Tell your father I still have to fill out Kim's release forms and then I'll head home. Oh, and don't forget that if there are any calls other than from me or Mrs. Stoppable to let them go to the answering system. If it's an emergency call, go get your father so he can call back. Okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

"I should be home in about half an hour. See you soon."

Kathleen hung up her call, stuck the cell phone back in her purse and proceeded to the Admissions Desk to fill out the paperwork.

Had it not been for the stewardess waking him to buckle his seat belt, Jonathan Stoppable very likely would have slept until the airplane was on the ground and his fellow passengers were noisily disembarking. As it was, he was still a little groggy while pulling down his rolling suitcase from the overhead bin and exiting the plane.

Slowly making his way up the ramp and into the terminal, several people brushed or even bumped him in their rush to get to wherever it was they were going. Jonathan saw no need to hurry. He had his luggage, he was reasonably certain of where his car was parked, and he knew his Rachel, Ron and Rufus would hold supper until he got home.

Exiting the terminal, Jonathan walked across the street, down the sidewalk and on into the airport parking garage.

"Okay, Rachel", Jonathan said to himself, "this time I'm going to prove you wrong and find my car right away. I parked it on the Second Level, and I memorized the row letter and space number on the flight to Orlando: Row B, Space 15."

Jonathan punched the up arrow button between the two elevators and waited. In moments, there was a "Ding!" to his left and the doors opened. Once inside, he repositioned himself and pressed the "2" button. With a jolt, the elevator began its ascent.

Glancing around, Jonathan caught sight of the elevator's inspection notice. "Hmmm. This was inspected only a month ago. Well, whoever did the inspection wasn't very thorough."

Once the elevator reached the second floor and the doors opened, Jonathan made a beeline to where he was certain his car was parked. Reaching Row B, he confidently walked down the row of cars to Space 15. There appeared to be a full-size, dual-cab, long-bed pickup parked in Space 14, so he knew he wouldn't be able to see his car, a small four-door compact, until he got past the truck.

Rounding the other side of the pickup, Jonathan abruptly came to a halt, a look of dismay mixed with frustration washing over his face. The space was empty.

"No! This can't be! I know I parked my car here! I had the row and space memorized! Someone has stolen my car!"

All flustered, Jonathan dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed up his home number.

"Hello, Stoppables."

"Rachel! You are not going to believe this. Someone has stolen my car!"

At the other end of the line, Rachel nearly broke down laughing. Speaking as normally as possible under the circumstances, she tried to comfort her husband.

"Jon, let's try and calm down. First, like I've said, you almost always lose track of your car after a flight. Second, even if your car did get stolen, getting all excited isn't going to help. Now, are you sure you have the right location?"

"Yes, Rachel! I am absolutely certain! I memorized it on the flight down: Row B, Space 15."

"You've been gone a week, Jon, and a lot's happened since you flew down, so it's possible you might not be remembering correctly. Let's try this: walk up and down the row and see if you can find the car."

"O-k-a-y, but I'm telling you, Rachel, I know I parked it here!"

Although she could feel her conscience tugging at her a bit, Rachel knew this was necessary to make the "Welcome Home!" dinner a surprise. Besides, she hadn't pulled a stunt like this on her husband for years and, frankly, she was thoroughly enjoying it. Feeling a giggle fit coming on, she covered the phone's mouthpiece just in case. She could hear Jonathan muttering to himself as he walked back and forth along the row of vehicles.

"Rachel, it's not here!"

"Jon, don't panic. Try going up and down some of the other rows. The airport parking garage is pretty secure, so I honestly don't think the car was stolen. If I don't hear from you in about ten minutes, I'll call you back, okay?"

"Alright, but I'm telling you, I know I parked the car in Row B, Space 15."

As soon as Jonathan hung up, Rachel was overcome by an enormous giggle fit. It took a few minutes before she could compose herself enough to call Kathleen Possible.

"Hello, Possible residence."

"Kate, just calling to let you know everything's going perfectly at this end, too."

"Jon's having trouble finding his car, huh?"

"Actually, he found the parking space empty and thinks the car was stolen", Rachel said, breaking out into giggles once again.

"Rachel! Shame on you!" Kathleen chastised her co-conspirator before also breaking out into giggles.

"Oh, don't worry, Kate. I'll confess I'm enjoying this but I'll more than make it up to him later."

Ron's patience was wearing a tad thin while waiting for Kim to shower and get dressed. Normally he could have occupied himself by playing a game on the Ronnunicator, but Wade had removed that module and replaced it with the taser module. Since it was the taser that saved Ron's life a second time the previous night, he wasn't about to complain.

"Kim, how much longer are you going to be?"

"It'll be at least another five or ten minutes, Ron. You know I'm the "towel-off type" when it comes to drying my hair. Unfortunately, the one thing Mom didn't bring was my hair towel. So, I'm trying to use the hospital towel, which isn't exactly absorbent."

"You want me to go get some more?" Ron asked.

"That's sweet, Ron. Actually, I could use a two or three more, if you don't mind making a towel run."

"Okay. I'll get some and be right back."

Actually, while Kim did need two or three more towels, what she really wanted was for Ron to leave the room. As soon as she heard him reactive the array system, she turned on her shaver and did a quick once-over. If he had heard the shaver, he might get ideas that she didn't want him to get; at least not yet.

Kim finished up and switched off the shaver just in time. The sound of the array system being deactivated was heard only seconds later.

Ron knocked on the bathroom door. "Here you go, Kim. The nurse was a little puzzled why you needed more towels. I just told her your hair tends to get wetter than most people's."

Opening the door a few inches, Kim reached out and grabbed the towels from Ron's hand.

"Thanks, Ron. This should do it."

Another ten minutes passed before Kim finally emerged from the bathroom, but for Ron it turned out to be well worth the wait.

"You know, KP, I can't remember school clothes ever looking so good on you."

Kim literally skipped into his arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, gave him a quick kiss and then pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"Oh, and you smell terrific, too. So fresh, and", as he ran his fingers through her flowing red hair, "so clean. Funny that I've never noticed all this before now."

"That's because you don't get to see, feel and smell me first thing in the morning right after I've taken a shower, silly", Kim explained with a smile, her green eyes gazing into his brown ones.

"Ahhh, but a year from now that will no longer be the case", Ron retorted with a smile of his own.

"Only if you can convince your parents to approve our housing arrangement. Otherwise…", she continued, pressing her index finger on his nose and pulling out of his embrace, "…I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until either I'm hospitalized again or our honeymoon, whichever comes first."

"Well, if that's not enough incentive, I don't know what would be", Ron said with a grin.