Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible. It belongs to Disney and its creators. If it was in the show, I don't own it. Any songs mentioned are the property of their respective owners and artists. I am not doing this for compensation, simply for enjoyment and practice.
Claimer: Krista Ruthie Stoppable is my OC. If you want to use her, please ask.
After All This Time
Chapter 4
1 Week Later
Middleton, Colorado
Adrena Lynn entered the coffee shop. Looking around, she spotted a familiar red-head at a table near the back. Adrena approached the crime fighter, Kim looking up as she got close.
"Hey," Kim greeted, still wary of Adrena Lynn's intentions.
"Hi, Kim." Adrena took a seat, and an awkward silence hung between the two for a moment.
"Thanks for meeting me," Adrena said.
"No big," Kim replied. "But one thing has been bugging me since you called – how did you get my number?"
"I reached out to my old agent when I got out of prison to see if he could get it. He had some connections he used to help me out. I was actually going to call you to thank you. Turns out prison was the best thing to happen to me. I didn't realize how much harm I was causing with faking all of those stunts."
"Yeah, my brothers actually broke some bones from trying to imitate you."
"Sorry about that." Adrena looked down sheepishly.
"So not the drama. They bounced back. But I'm glad you've changed."
Another silence encompassed the table before Adrena spoke again. "Listen, Kim, I heard about what happened to… your baby. I'm so sorry."
Kim toyed with the mug in front of her. "Thanks. It's been rough."
"I imagine." Adrena took a deep breath. "Anyway, I wanted to meet to give you a bit more info on my sister."
"Shoot."
"When we were kids, she was sick a lot. She had lung issues and a bone deficiency. Our mom wouldn't let her do much. She got bullied for most of her school years. I was really her only friend."
"That's really sad."
"Yeah, but since I visited her last week, I've been thinking. Andrea used to worship the ground I walked on. I always thought it was the typical little sister adoration, but now looking back, it seems more like it was an… obsession."
Kim cocked an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"
"She used to pretend to be me. There was a period of time when she was ten that she would only answer to my name. It got so ridiculous my mom threatened to take her to therapy before she cut it out. She used to try to copy my gymnastics stunts, which was really dangerous because of all her health issues. It got to the point where my mom wouldn't let her come to my meets because she was worried Andrea would see something she wanted to try."
"That's pretty severe behavior. Definitely not the normal little sister admiration."
"I know. And when I went to visit her last week, she was so bent out of shape that I didn't want to try to 'get back on top' and 'seek revenge.' It left me with a bad feeling."
"Well I had Wade do some checking, and we haven't found anything on them yet. They have the proper paperwork to be an orphanage. Her husband runs a software agency that checks out. So I'm thinking our best bet of finding something is going to be your undercover work."
"I'll do my best, but it's going to be tricky. It could take years."
"Well, we're ready for the long haul if you are." The two women finished their coffee. As they walked out of the café, Adrena Lynn turned to Kim.
"Kim, I really do have to thank you for everything."
Kim waved a hand, dismissing the praise. "Really, it's no big. It's what I do. I just hope we can figure out whatever is going on with your sister."
"Me, too." Adrena and Kim said their goodbyes, with plans to meet again in a month. With a newfound determination, Adrena made her way back to Wyoming and towards whatever her sister had planned.
XXXXXXXXXX
2 Years Later
Cheyenne, Wyoming
7-year-old Krista buzzed with nerves as she sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office. She hated doctors. But Mr. and Mrs. Moore had made her come because she had been wheezing a lot lately. Krista picked at the skin on her thumb as she waited for her name to be called. Mrs. Moore roughly grabbed her hand.
"Stop that," she hissed.
"Sorry," Krista mumbled.
A door to the side opened. "Krista?"
Mr. and Mrs. Moore rose, giving a slight push for Krista to walk in front of them. Krista stared at the floor as she followed the nurse down the hallway and into an exam room. She wrinkled her nose. It smelled weird – like alcohol and antiseptic.
"The doctor will be just a moment," the nurse said as she closed the door. No one spoke. Thomas was reading something on his phone, and Andrea was leafing through a magazine from the waiting room.
Finally, the door opened again. A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a wiry beard to match entered. He shook the Moores' hands, then turned to Krista.
"Hello, Krista. I'm Dr. Whitman," he greeted.
"Hi," Krista replied quietly, looking at the floor.
"Krista. Look at him when he is talking to you," Thomas chastised. "I apologize for her behavior."
Dr. Whitman waved his hand. "No need. She's just nervous, I imagine. So what seems to be the issue today?"
"She's been wheezing a lot lately. Sometimes her coughing will keep us up half the night. It's quite inconveniencing for everyone," Andrea explained.
Dr. Whitman took Krista's blood pressure and listened to her lungs. "I do hear some wheezing. Could be asthma. But let's do some bloodwork and a few other tests just to be sure."
Krista glanced at the Moores, panicked. Needles?
Andrea rolled her eyes. "Oh, just suck it up. It won't be long."
Dr. Whitman led her to another small room. First, they had her do some breathing exercises. They had her exhale as hard as she could into this weird device. They took her body measurements. They wrote down a lot of notes. Then, they had her sit in a chair with one pillowed arm. A nurse entered with a few test tubes and a huge needle. Krista's eyes widened.
"Hello, Krista. My name's Millie. I'm going to be taking your blood. Just relax and it will be over before you know it," the nurse explained. Krista tried to focus on happy things as Millie prepped her arm for the blood draw, but she couldn't stop her heart from pounding so fast. As Millie approached her skin with the needle, Krista jerked her arm back.
"Wait! Wait. I'm sorry. I just…" Krista tried to slow her breathing, but it just became faster.
"Oh, for crying out loud, Krista! Just let the woman do her job! It's not that bad," Andrea complained. Krista still held her arm close to her body.
"Krista, I swear, if you keep this up…" Thomas warned. Krista gave a fearful glance towards her guardians, and shakily moved her arm back towards the nurse. She squeezed her eyes shut and counted her breaths. She whimpered as the needle dug into her skin.
Finally, it was over. Krista couldn't get out of that room fast enough. She was led back to the exam room to await the results. After another long, uncomfortable silence, Dr. Whitman entered again.
"Well, Krista does have asthma, but we also have another problem. Krista's lungs seem to be working extra hard. We still have to await the blood work, but I think we are looking at a chronic respiratory issue. We'll need to keep an eye on it."
"So what does that mean?" Thomas asked.
"It'll mean visits with a respiratory therapist. It could mean monthly bloodwork. We will need to keep an eye on her development, too, to make sure the respiratory disease isn't causing any other issues there."
"More needles?" Krista squeaked.
"Unfortunately, yes, dear," Dr. Whitman replied sympathetically. Krista slumped dejectedly.
Dr. Whitman wrote the Moores a prescription for a rescue inhaler. Thomas rose and shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you, Dr. Whitman." The Moores led Krista back down the hallway to the lobby.
"Honey, why don't you make the follow up appointment while I go ask Dr. Whitman another question." Andrea nodded as Thomas made his way back down the hall to the doctor's personal office. Once inside, he closed the door.
"Did you get everything I asked for?" he asked.
Dr. Whitman handed over a file and a vial of blood. "There you go. Millie will send the other off to my private lab for testing. She does have asthma, but no respiratory disease."
"Excellent. Thank you, Steven. We will be seeing you soon." Thomas pocketed the vial and tucked the file under his arm. He returned to the lobby and met with his wife and Krista.
Andrea gestured to the file under his arm. "What's that, dear?"
"Oh, just some information on Krista's condition. We'll go over it together at home." The Moores loaded Krista into their car and returned to the orphanage.
XXXXXXXXXX
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Andrea shut the door to Thomas's office. "So did you get it?"
"I got it. I'm faxing the information to our scientists as we speak. The blood sample will be on the way tomorrow," Thomas replied.
"And do you really think they will be able to develop it?"
"Honey, relax. I have the best minds at our disposal working on it. When it's complete, we'll sell it to the highest bidder. This could be our biggest deal yet."
"Let's just hope Team Possible doesn't go poking their noses in where they don't belong." Andrea began making her way towards to door, then turned back to her husband. "By the way, Lynn is coming over for dinner. She said she has a proposal for us."
"Sure, sure." Thomas waved her off, engrossed in a document on his desk.
Andrea left and began preparing for dinner. A few hours later, the doorbell rang. Andrea answered it and let her sister inside. "Glad you could come. We love having you here."
"I love being here," Adrena Lynn replied. The sisters made their way to the kitchen. Once the children had received their meager portions, Thomas entered and joined the two at the table.
"So, you said you had a proposal for us," Andrea began as she buttered a roll.
"Yeah." Adrena took a sip of wine. "I was thinking I could do a stunt class with the kids once a week. Thought it might cheer them up."
Andrea and Thomas shared a look. "I don't know, Lynn…"
"Come on! It won't be dangerous! I've been getting more training, too. I think it will be good for them, expend some energy."
Andrea drummed her fingers on the table, then looked at her husband. Thomas shrugged.
"Well… ok. But no fighting. We don't need to be encouraging violence among these already impressionable children. Only tricks," Andrea relented.
"Sure. Thanks, sis. I think this will be good for everyone. Especially the little blonde one… Krista, right? She's been looking really gloomy lately."
"Oh, Krista can't participate," Thomas said sharply.
"Why not?"
"She has a lung condition. She can't do anything too strenuous. Andrea has her taking one ballet class a week to do a gentle workout, but this would be too much for her."
"Oh." There was silence at the table for a moment.
"When would you be looking to do this?" Andrea asked.
"When works for you?"
Thomas and Andrea glanced at each other. "How about Thursday evenings? Thomas works late those nights, and it would be nice to have some help with the children."
"Works for me."
When dinner was over, Adrena Lynn left. As she drove down the street to her apartment, she couldn't help but think of Krista. Poor kid. No wonder she seems so depressed. She has to miss out on a lot. Maybe there was another way she could cheer her up. She just wasn't sure what that was.
A/N: Thanks again to StormChaser90 for advice, ideas, and workshopping. Leave a review if you feel like it.
