Thank you to Uberscribbler, Molloy, Jimmy1201, Anonymoose, Eddy13, campy, TheKPFan, CajunBear73, Bobtrumpet for reviewing and to everyone for reading.

Thanks also to everyone who has favorited this or any of my other stories.

Finally, props, once again, to campy for looking over this chapter.

KP © Disney; Original Characters © the Author

The resemblance of any characters in this story to any individuals, alive or dead, is a figment of your imagination, which I sincerely hope will go away at noon on January 20.


Father Knows Best?

I.

Kim pulled the Kimminator into the Stoppables' driveway and came to a stop. "I'll be back in the morning, 'kay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ron said glumly.

"I'm bummed we can't be together, too, Ron, but I think we need to talk with the 'rents first. We just took a ferociously big step."

"That's it, KP," Ron groused.

Kim cocked an eyebrow. "You're still not worried about Dad, black holes, and space probes, are you?"

"Well, yeah! Wouldn't you be?!"

"First, Dad made that threat a long time ago. Second, he said he'd do that if you made me unhappy. Trust me, I am so the opposite of unhappy with you right now."

"What if he changed his mind? He still has a lot of firepower and I can't afford to go to space!"

"You're not going anywhere and if it comes to that, considering the firepower I've got, he's outmatched."

"Huh?"

"You seriously don't think Dad is going to stand up to me and Mom, do you?" Before Ron could answer, Kim added, "If he even tries, he's so busted." Then she leaned over and gave her boyfriend a buss on the cheek. "Love you."

Ron could not help but grin. "Love you too, KP," he said in reply as he got out of the car.

II.

Kim walked into the kitchen of her reconstructed childhood home and did a double-take. "Shego?"

"Heya, Kimmie," she said as she sipped at her coffee. "Where's Monkey Boy?"

Just then the Tweebs entered and they heard the exchange. Jim chimed in, "He's probably getting decontaminated …"

"… Yeah, nobody could handle all those cooties!" Tim added.

"Tweebs," Kim growled.

"Boys," Ann warned.

Shifting her attention back to Shego and her mother, Kim answered, "Ron's home showering; the mission was kind of messy."

"Yeah …" Tim enthused.

"… Ron got the dinothingy to spit up some lame-o TV has-been."

"So, Stoppable stepped up again?" Shego asked, genuinely curious.

"He sure did," Kim said with a warm smile. "But no monkey power this time. Just some good old fashioned Ron Factor."

"Huh," Shego grunted. "It would have been nice to see him."

"Getting sentimental?" Kim gibed.

"Nah, I like to bust his chops," Shego said with a smile. But then she added, "And, after that whole graduation day thing, I've got a new appreciation for the sidekick."

"Okay," Kim replied. "But after he gets cleaned up he's going to stay and visit with his fam. He'll be back in the morning, then we can head back to school, though I hope to see Hana before we go. She is such the cutie!"

Ann offered a motherly smile while Shego's grin was something more wicked. "So you and Stoppable working on your own 'cutie', Princess?"

Kim's eyes opened wide, her cheeks flushed, and she began to stammer.

Shego guffawed. "Got it in one!"

"Got what?" James asked as he entered the kitchen. Kim, though, was saved by her father's randomness. He suddenly focused on Shego and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Say, aren't you one of those show folk? I'm pretty sure I've seen you. Weren't you in the revue at the rocket scientists' convention last year?"

Kim's fear that her father was about to be flambéed by the henchwoman quickly overrode any embarrassment that she might have been feeling. "She's not show folk, Dad," she interjected. "She's Drakken's, er Drew's, uh, what are you and Drew these days?"

Shego rolled her eyes. "I'd like to know, Princess."

Before Kim could probe that statement, her father, being a rocket scientist, was able to juggle multiple narrative threads in his head and asked her, "Now what had you sputtering, Kimmie-cub?"

Kim sighed. She knew she could try to stall or distract, but that, frankly, was something her BFBF was better at. First, though, she had to deal with Jim and Tim. "Tweebs, out. Now."

"But why do we have to leave …" Jim asked.

"… when things are getting juicy?" Tim added.

"Because you have to be this tall to ride," Kim added as she held her hand up high above their heads.

Jim and Tim sighed, then left the room, clearly annoyed.

"Kim?" her father asked.

"Dad, Ron and I are, uh, we're …"

He cocked an eyebrow.

"More personal than I'd like to know?" he asked with a pained smile.

"You know?"

"I had a feeling."

"And you're okay?"

"It's not a matter of whether I'm okay, Kim. What matters is whether you're okay. As much as I hate it, you're growing up. This is your decision."

"If it helps, Dad, Ron and I are serious about our future."

"Oh?" James pursed his lips, then asked, "How serious?"

Kim took a deep breath. She'd touched on this subject with her mom earlier that fall, but she had never actually talked with Ron about how they might discuss with their parents what she was about to say. Then there was the presence of Shego, which was admittedly awk-weird, though given the life she led, oddly appropriate. But she knew she needed to put all of this behind her, not only for the sake of her relationship with Ron, but the one she had with her parents, which still remained very important to her. "Ron and I are together for the long haul."

"Long haul?" James asked.

"I haven't talked with his parents, but when the time is right, I, uh, want to ask them for their permission to marry him."

Shego burst out laughing prompting a sharp rebuke from Kim. "It's not funny and I don't care what you or some stupid media people say."

The green-skinned former villainess held up her hands in defense, "Whoa there, Princess! No offense intended."

"You could sure fool me," Kim groused.

"Look, Cupcake, you got to admit it's kind of a howler that you would propose to him and, even better, I know about it before he does."

"She does have a point, dear," Ann added.

"So, you got a ring? Are you going to drop down on one knee? You going to carry him over the threshold?" Shego was clearly having a good time, especially as it helped distract her from her own issues.

"Aargh!" Kim exploded. "I don't know how this is going to unfold, or even when, but I'm ferociously sure that it will! I, I can do anything!"

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised," James said to everyone's surprise. "Look at your graduation. Not many boys, or I guess Ronald deserves better, men, would go to space to find their girlfriends. And I'll always remember how he stuck by you when you lost your memory senior year. I know I haven't always been enthusiastic about you and dating, but I'll admit, he's a keeper."

Kim looked at her father, then sprang from her seat and embraced him. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Kimmie-cub," James replied. "Though I still reserve the right to threaten him with black holes …"

Kim shot him a look and said, "Fine. But only if he makes me unhappy. Otherwise, I'll be unhappy with you and you know what that means."

James chuckled. "Rockets are gone?" he suggested.

All of the women at the table simply nodded their heads.

James sighed. "Gotcha."

III.

"Hola!" Ron exclaimed in his usual jaunty manner as he entered the Possible family kitchen and saw Kim and Ann. A shower, some Hana time, and a good night's sleep had helped him put aside his Mr. Dr. P-induced fears. "And how are my favorite ladies doing on this fine AM?"

"Oh, look, it's the college man," Ann good-naturedly said.

"No, Mom, it's my college man," Kim said before giving Ron a good morning kiss.

"Man, that's almost as good as Mrs. Dr. P's pancakes," Ron observed.

"Excuse me?" Kim said glacially.

Ron suddenly looked panic. "Uh, sorry, the pancakes might be great, but the kiss is badical, and, and, and …"

By now, both Kim and her mother were grinning and Ron finally caught on to what was actually happening.

"I've been played, right?"

"Guilty," Kim said, then added sweetly. "But I'll make it up to you."

"The Ronman's all about you making it up, KP."

"But not now," James said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mr. Dr. P!" Ron squeaked while Kim and Ann both said, or some might say, snarled, "Dad" and "James", still worried about him going into overprotective father mode.

Ignoring them, the rocket scientist took Ron by the arm and led him back to the door. "Excuse us, Ronald and I need to go have a little talk."

Ron managed an "eep" as James, looking supremely confident, led his daughter's boyfriend back outside, leaving two surprised Possible women behind in the house.

IV.

"Father, do you know where my precious Bon-Bon is?" Junior asked his aged parent, who was idly leafing through the latest issue of the Henchco catalogue.

"Perhaps she had one of the henchpilots deliver her to that shopping emporium in Beverly Hills," he answered with barely hidden disdain. Bonnie Rockwaller had begun to try his patience.

"What?! She went shopping and I didn't have an opportunity to ask her to replenish my supply of Le Goop!" the self-entitled young man squealed.

Senor Senior, Senior sighed. "My son, have you not considered that Miss Rockwaller's interests lie only in her wants and desires?"

"I do not understand, Pappi. Why would that be a problem? It has worked well for me all these years."

Senor Senior responded with a face palm. "Junior, let me be honest with you. Miss Rockwaller is as much a threat to our financial well-being as that Vinny Wheeler character was."

Junior remembered Mr. Vinny. Because of the charlatan, the young dauphin actually had to do manual labor. Even if it was only for a short time, the experience had been horrifying, almost as bad he imagined as going without hair care products. "Are you sure of this, Father?"

Senor Senior let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, Junior. And if you need confirmation of this, I suggest you look in the storage closet near the grotto. You will find everything you need there." Of that the old man was sure. It was he, after all, who had manipulated Bonnie into abducting the Senator's son, something that had not proven that difficult to do. While Junior might be heartbroken by what he would find, his father was sure that the acquisition of a movie studio or record label would more than soothe his son's hurt feelings.

V.

James led Ron up to the deck and sat the young man down in a chaise lounge.

"Ronald, I'll talk and you'll listen," the rocket scientist said.

"Uh, sure," Ron answered nodded compliantly, worried about what his girlfriend's father was going to say but not sure that he had any alternative, though he could run. Running had its appeal, but Kim's was even greater.

"You and Kim are, well, intimate, aren't you?"

Ron's eyes opened wide, he tugged at his collar, and gulped.

James sighed. "I thought so. I presume you're taking precautions?"

Ron nodded again, albeit nervously.

"This isn't comfortable for me," James said as he looked at the young man seated before him. "Trust me, you'll understand if you have a daughter."

"If you say so, Dr. P," Ron offered, still looking like he wanted to bolt.

"I do, Ronald. Look, I'm not going to lecture you and I'm sure you want to know whether I'm going to send you to a black hole, right?"

Ron paled and gulped again. Then he nodded.

"The answer is no," he said to his daughter's boyfriend's immense relief. "I said I'd do that if you made Kim unhappy and she seems as happy as I've ever seen her. Thank you."

"Huh? For what?"

"For taking care of my daughter. For being there for her for all these years. For being what she needs."

"You know I'd do anything for KP," Ron said.

"Pop Quiz time, then …

"Huh?" Ron said.

"… You can get tickets to the Captain Constellation convention at the Tri-city Convention Center but Kim wants to go see Remains of the Day of the Pianoforte. What do you do?"

Ron gulped yet again. "Uh, I may not be the brightest bulb on the block, but I know the boyfriend basics. The Ronman goes to the chick flick with his lady."

"Good man, Ronald," James said as he proffered his hand. "And just remember that while you and Kim may be grown-ups, people are paying attention to you two."

Ron rolled his eyes at that. "The celebrity thing? Been there, done that, have the t-shirt, can we move on?"

Kim took that moment to appear. "I hope you haven't been threatening my BF, Dad."

"I'm happy to say this has been a threat-free zone, right Ronald?"

"You got it, Mr. Dr. P.," he said in agreement. "Your dad and me, we're Chauncey."

Kim looked back and forth between the two, then smiled. "Spankin'."


To Be Continued …