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Thanks to everyone for reading!
And a Mad Dog Cheer to MrDrP for beta-reading this chapter!
I.
"So, do you think Michelle will mind?" Ron asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. A sure sign he was anxious, and that was curious.
"No, why would she?" Kim answered as she absently picked at her slice of cake. "I told her you were going to be staying over tonight."
For the past three years, Ron had been camping out on a couch that belonged to Michelle, Kim's friend and roommate, whenever he stayed overnight in Tokyo. It had never been a problem. So, it didn't make sense for Ron to be acting like it would be an imposition now.
"I know she was fine with tonight, KP. I meant from now on."
"What do you mean 'from now on'?"
"Well, obviously, I'm going to have to be in town every day until this Lorwardian thing gets sorted out."
"Hold on, Ron," Kim said, laying down her fork. "Are you actually—"
"You heard Jack," he interrupted. "They could be on top of you in ninety minutes!"
"Two hours," she corrected sharply.
"Whatever! There's no way the ninja copter can get me here from Yamanouchi in that amount of time."
"So, you're just going stop your training? You told me this year was the crucial year!"
"I never said that," he objected.
"No, you said it was the 'mucho importante' of the 'whole enchilada' year," she snapped.
"Oh, fine. But whatever."
"And you're planning on throwing that away?" she asked heatedly.
"To keep you safe? Yes!"
Rufus, who had been following this escalating exchange with increasing concern, took this moment to let his humans know that they were not alone.
Some five feet away holding Ron's doggie bag and another slice of cake was a visibly upset Karin Maaka.
"I'm not hungry, Karin," Ron said with a shake of his head. However, his statement was belied by the cacophonous rumble of his stomach. He smiled, "Okay, that's not true."
Karin, mirroring his smile, hesitantly approached the table and placed her deliveries next to him.
"Everything's okay, Karin," Kim said, gently touching the waitress's shoulder.
After the young woman left, Kim sighed deeply. She turned to face her boyfriend. "I'm sorry, Ron. It's just … when I told Harkness that I didn't want to stop living my life, I meant your life, too."
"I know, KP." He was poking at the top of his cake with his fork. "But it really won't be a big deal. Sensei's coolio with me taking a break."
"Even if it ends up being a really long one?"
"Break, sabbatical, he'll be down with either."
"We could always meet half-way," she suggested. "I could take the Sloth north, and Sensei could fly you down. We could meet around Sendai, and … and that's a pretty terrible plan."
"It only makes sense for us to be together. And your exams are coming up."
"Right," she nodded. Then she brightened. "But if this continues into the August break, we will spend that in Yamanouchi. Deal?"
"Ok, deal."
With the sitch settled-accommodations-wise, until early September, Kim and Ron both realized that they were in the mood for Karin's cake.
Bee-be-be-beep
Caught in mid-chew, Kim covered her mouth and rolled her eyes.
"No worries, KP," Ron said, "I'll get it."
She held out her wrist Kimmunicator, and he tapped it. "Go, Wa—" he began. "Woah, Wade are you okay?"
Kim looked up from her plate at Wade's image. He looked wane, distraught.
"Uh … no. Not really, guys." He sounded as if he were in shock.
Kim swallowed quickly. "Talk to me, Wade. What's wrong?"
"UNIT kill-killed my computer," he managed.
"Dude, have you been crying?" Ron asked with much more sympathy that his word choice conveyed.
"A little," Wade admitted. "Okay, more than a little."
"What happened, Wade?" Kim asked again.
"Well," he sniffed, "'The Doctor' is too common a phrase to do a wide, in-depth search, so I decided to cross-reference it with 'Torchwood' since Harkness, apparently, knows this guy."
Soon after their first meeting with Captain Harkness, Kim had asked Wade to research both him and his group. Team Possible's tech guru hadn't been able to locate much, but what he did find suggested that both the Captain and his organization were legit.
"Okay?" Kim prompted.
"And that got a big hit with the UNIT agency."
"And who are these dudes?" Ron asked. He had noticed that the more his friend spoke, the less upset he seemed.
"'Unified Intelligence Taskforce.' Back in the 20th century they were officially sanctioned by the United Nations. The UN distances themselves from UNIT now, but they seem to still pay all the bills. Like Torchwood, they're based in the UK and seem to have something to do with extra-terrestrials."
"Like Area 52?" Kim asked.
"Something like that. Anyway, the most promising hit for the 'The Doctor' led back to UNIT's server, so I-I hacked it." Wade bit his lower lip.
"Stay with us, buddy," Ron encouraged.
"It was tough, but I got into it-the server, after about ten minutes."
Normally, if Wade had told Kim and Ron that it took longer than three minutes to hack a server, they would have assumed he was sedated.
"I issued a command line to collect all data on 'The Doctor' and that's when … it happened."
"What did, Wade?" Kim asked. The dip in her friend's voice at the end of his last sentence made her want to reach through her Kimmunicator and give him a hug.
"A virus. I-I guess. I've never seen anything like it. Seared through my firewalls. I-I tried everything I could to block it, but … I don't know. It was almost like … almost like it was alive!"
After a tense minute of silence, Ron asked. "What happened?"
"It fried her. The boards are all completely blackened. My room smells like ozone."
"I didn't think software could do something like that to hardware—" Kim began.
"It can't." Wade nodded with something of a walleyed stare.
"I'm so sorry, Wade," Kim said without really knowing what to say. To her, it looked like Wade had just lost a good friend. She was going to say that she would pay for the damage but decided against it. One, she believed that was already understood. Two, that really wouldn't help the situation. This was about so much more than money.
"No, I'm sorry, Kim. That really wasn't why I called."
"It wasn't?" Ron asked.
"No, I wanted to give you the info."
"You got info? On the Doctor?" Kim had almost forgotten the reason behind Wade's ill-fated hack.
"Not much, unfortunately. Just some images from the file on him."
"You rock so hard, Wade Load," Kim said with as much gravitas as such words could possess.
"Thanks, Kim. Ron." He gave them a weak smile. "I'll patch them onto your tablet, Kim."
"You can do that?" Ron asked, "I thought your computer was … no longer with us."
Wade's face broke into a genuine smile. "Don't worry, Ron, I have dozens of computers. See how many keyboards there are around me?" He sighed, "No, that one was just really special."
Kim opened the file from Wade and began to scroll through the images. After a few seconds, she started to frown. Some pictures looked really old, some more recent. The problem, however, was that each was of a different man. They were a real motley assortment of … well … characters. None of whom she recognized.
Are these associates of the Doctor? Colleagues … sidekicks?
"Wade, do you know if any of these is supposed to be the Doctor?" she asked finally.
"Not sure, Kim. I managed to snatch this small batch of images from a master directory labeled 'The Doctor.'"
"I guess these could just be his … companions?" Kim offered, looking to Ron.
Why did I use that word?
"Maybe, KP." Ron was making one his signature 'pondering' faces. From experience, Kim recognized it as a harbinger that her best friend boyfriend was about to have a genuine moment of brilliant, if unconventional, insight. That or he was about to drop a cringe-worthy pun.
Fortunately, it was the former.
"Wade, what if the Doctor is like Camille?"
"A shapeshifter?"
"I think you're onto something, Ron," Kim nodded her approval. "Is there any date information linked with these photos, Wade?"
"Checking," Wade said as he typed on two different keyboards. "The dates are all over the place, but some are from the same year." Wade furrowed his brow. "If we assume all of these are of the Doctor, that may indicate he has the ability to change his physical appearance. Like Camille Leon."
"Boo-yah!" Ron smiled.
"However," Wade interjected, "shapeshifters usually employ their abilities to either impersonate famous or powerful people or as a means for camouflage—to blend in with the crowd."
"I see your point, Wade," Kim conceded.
"Yeah," Ron had to agree. "None of these dudes blend. Like at all."
"Right. Is this one wearing a sprig of parsley on his lapel?" Kim asked indicating a thirty-something with blonde hair.
"I think that's celery," Ron said. "Yeah, and that one dresses like a villain from the Fearless Ferret. I mean, come on, the handle of his umbrella is a red question mark!"
"Whoa," Kim said looking away quickly from a picture of a middle-aged man wearing a ghastly, multi-colored patchwork jacket. "This one might actually work as camouflage."
"Uh-huh," Ron agreed, "you can't help looking away from him."
"So, I'm guessing you don't see anyone you know?" Wade asked.
"Negative," Kim said sadly.
I never would have made you take that risk if I'd known, Wade.
"None of the seven looks even remotely familiar?"
"Seven?" Kim asked.
"We only got five pictures here, Wade."
"There were five color images and two black and white ones." Wade asserted.
"Let me see." Kim switched out of her normal photo app and checked her download history. For some reason, the two monochrome photos Wade had sent to her device had been filtered out by the app. With rising anticipation, she clicked open the first one.
"Shoot," she groused. The man in the picture looked like somebody's grandfather dressed up as a rock star.
Then she enlarged the final image.
"Bingo," Ron breath.
"Yes," Kim smiled. "That's him, Wade. That's the Doctor."
Over the next few seconds, Kim and Ron were overcome with a vertiginous sensation as this photographic evidence proved that their shared dream from so many years ago had not been a dream at all. As this feeling ebbed away, both Kim and Ron began to study the picture more closely. Simultaneously, they started to tilt their heads at a 45-degree angle.
"What is he doing?" Kim asked finally.
"I was just wondering the same thing, KP."
None of the men in the previous six images had been posing. They were either unaware that they were being photographed or they were ignoring the camera when the pictures were taken. This photo, the one with the Doctor, was most definitely a posed picture. However, he was posing in a very odd way. He was laying on his side with his left arm supporting his head, his right draped across his torso, and his legs crossed at the ankles. And there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
"He's acting like a supermodel," Ron observed.
Although Kim gave her boyfriend's remark a slight eye roll, Ron was essentially right. The Doctor was positioned in a classic 'swimsuit pose.'
But the Doctor was not wearing a swimsuit. He was, in fact, dressed in the same disheveled outfit that he had been wearing when Kim and Ron had met him a decade earlier.
II.
The Doctor and Zoe were the first to reenter the Tardis. Jamie lagged with marked disinterest in the pursuit of the naked mole-rat.
"Which way did he go, Doctor?" Zoe asked, quickly scanning the floor of the console room.
"I'm not sure, my—," he began as a sudden movement drew his attention to the back wall of the console room. He saw the lid of his trunk shut smartly. A few seconds later, it rose just high enough for him to detect light glinting off a pair of anxious eyes.
"Ron!" a voiced hissed. And the lid dropped shut.
The Doctor and Zoe exchanged a look and then a smile.
"It seems we have come to the end of the adventure," the Doctor said, steepling his fingers.
"Adventure?" Jamie asked derisively. "What are you on about?"
"We have located Rufus's human, Jamie," the Doctor sighed. "Or, perhaps, humans."
"Where?" Jamie said.
The lid of the trunk cracked open a second time and then shut just as quickly.
"Stowaways," Jamie breathed.
"Now, now, Jamie," the Doctor cautioned, raising his hands. He then turned to Zoe, "Would you like to do the honors, my dear?"
Knowing full well why the Doctor had volunteered her for the task, Zoe smiled. Her adventures with the Doctor and Jamie had first began when she had stowed away on the Tardis by hiding in the very same trunk. "Certainly, Doctor."
She walked to the trunk and gently knocked on its lid.
Kim had never been so furious with Ron. It wasn't enough that he had kicked her in the back when he scrambled into the trunk after her. Or that he had elbowed her in the back of the head—hard, when he tried to squeeze himself down so the lid would shut. But then he had given away their position by 'taking a quick peek' even when she warned him not to. It didn't help that she was seriously frightened. Or that she secretly believed it was her hissing at Ron to lower the lid, rather than his raising it, that had most likely given away their location.
Someone knocked on the lid, and Kim, even though it was pitch black, shot Ron a harsh look. But then she felt his legs start to tremble against hers, and her anger melted. She placed a steadying hand on his knee and said, "Go ahead, Ron. Open it."
Although her anxious imagination had yet to settle on any single horrible thing, Kim had certainly not been expecting the friendly expression on the strangely-dressed teenager who greeted them.
"Hello there," the girl said pleasantly.
"H-hi," Kim managed. Ron said nothing.
Kim did a quick check of the trio that was now inspecting them. The girl had black bobbed hair and was dressed in a silver body suit; she appeared to be high school aged. Standing by the console was a young man with brown hair, wearing a kilt. Although he didn't seem angry, his face and posture suggested he was very annoyed. Between them was an older man who struck Kim as being … very peculiar. His black hair was styled, if it could be called that, in a way that reminded her of the cover of one of Ron's father's old records from the 1960's. She couldn't recall the name of the band, but the record was called Rubber … something. His clothes, however, was what made him look truly odd. His pants were like what her father would play golf in … except they were far too baggy. His black coat also seemed too big for him, and she could make out its worn, frayed edges even from her position in the trunk. Finally, his small bow tie was at a distinct slant and looked like it was just barely hanging on. Yet, for all of this, Kim found herself warming to the man. There was something about his expression, especially in his eyes, that made her feel, well, safe.
"Hello," the man said with a slight wave. "I'm the Doctor and these are my friends, Zoe," he gestured to the girl, "and Jamie," he gestured with an absent wave over his shoulder to the young man. "Am I to understand that one of you is Rufus's human?"
Even the tone of the man's voice placed her at ease. In fact, most of Kim's anxiety had melted away by the time she realized that Ron hadn't answered the question. She was just about to give him a nudge when he erupted.
"What have you done with KP's room!" he cried.
Horrified by Ron's outburst, Kim watched with dismay as the Doctor's pleasant expression quickly morphed into one of shock and then outrage.
"We haven't done anything with anyone's room," Jamie said hotly. "Why are you trying to stowaway on our ship!"
"Ron," she whispered urgently, "what are you doing?" As she looked back to the Doctor, she noticed his eyes shift quickly from Ron to her and back again. And, almost as suddenly, his face resumed its former pleased expression.
"And who is 'KP,' young man?" he asked in a mollifying tone.
"That's me," Kim said quickly. "My name is Kim Possible. That Ron's nickname for me."
"A-hah, I see," the Doctor nodded. "And you're Ron?" he asked, pointing to the furious towhead.
"Yeah, Ron Stoppable," Ron said angrily. "You need to give KP back her room like now."
"Ron," Kim repeated, grabbing his left arm. "Calm down."
"'Kim Possible' and 'Ron Stoppable'," the Doctor said happily to himself. "What wonderfully improbable names."
"Dude," Ron interrupted in a somewhat less furious, but still highly-agitated voice.
"Doctor," the Doctor corrected and then inquired quickly, "May I ask why you think we've taken Kim, I mean, KP's room?"
"Because," Ron began and then paused. "B-because it wasn't at the top of her ladder, and after we climbed those ridiculously-high stairs, we were here, and we can see her room through your window." He pointed to the scanner, where, indeed, Kim's room was still visible.
"I think you have made a slight mistake, Ron. We didn't take KP's room. We simply landed in it."
"Landed?" Kim asked. "Landed what?"
"The Tardis," the Doctor said, raising his arms wide to indicate the room in which they were all standing.
"Tardis?" Kim and Ron said together. However, neither felt compelled to say jinx.
"Yes, my ship," the Doctor explained. "And my home, too."
"But that can't be," Kim said, shaking her head. "This room is bigger than my loft. How can it be inside it?"
"It's all a question of dimensional engineering," the Doctor said simply.
"He means it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside," Zoe explained helpfully to Kim and Ron.
"Well, of course, that's what I meant," the Doctor, a little put out, huffed.
"I didn't believe it at first, either," Zoe said with a consoling look to Kim. "But it is true."
"Come on now," Jaime said. "They know all that! You don't really believe that nonsense about them climbing stairs into the Tardis, do you? They were trying to stowaway with us!"
"Hush, Jamie!" the Doctor said firmly. "Of course, I believe that nonsense-I mean, I believe them." He turned to Ron, "When you say that KP's room wasn't at the top of her ladder, what do you mean exactly?"
"Well," Ron, much calmer than he had been minutes before, explained, "there was like this black … nothing in the square at the top of her ladder where her room should have been."
"And when we went inside the void," Kim continued, "there was this ferociously tall staircase and at the top was the lid to that trunk. We lifted it, and we were in this room."
"Splendid," the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. "We were wondering why your room didn't have an entrance. We must had landed directly on top of it. This explains everything!"
"Excuse me, sir," Kim said.
"'Doctor,' yes, my dear?"
"Sorry, Doctor, I don't want to be rude, but that really doesn't explain anything to me."
"Me, neither," Jamie added. "I've never seen any … 'ferociously tall' staircases in the Tardis."
"Well, neither have I, Jamie, but that doesn't mean anything," the Doctor said crossly. "The Tardis has practically a limitless number of rooms, no one's been in all of them!"
"Doctor," Zoe said, wishing to both make a point and head off yet another row between her two companions, "I didn't think it was possible for anyone to enter the Tardis if the doors were closed. I mean, without a key."
"Quite right, Zoe," the Doctor said, turning from Jamie. "No one can enter the Tardis," he held up the index finger on his right hand significantly, "by force." He then smiled at Kim and Ron who were still standing in his trunk, "However, nothing prevents her from letting people in."
"Why would she do that?" Jamie asked, still not convinced.
"I'm not sure," the Doctor said with a frown. "Perhaps," he brightened, "she simply wished to reunite them with Rufus." He gestured to Zoe, "Come, come, there's no reason for you two to stay in that trunk. Zoe, let's help them out."
As Ron accepted Zoe's hand and stepped out of the trunk, he asked the Doctor, "How did you know his name was Rufus?"
"He told me," the Doctor, who was helping Kim, replied simply.
Kim and Ron exchanged looks. Although Ron had insisted for the past week that he could communicate with his strange new pet, he had never claimed that the little pink blob could talk.
"Well, I suppose you three would like to be back in your room, or, KP's room, rather," the Doctor said, gesturing to the Tardis' massive doors that were still ajar.
With the slightest of hesitations, Kim nodded.
This did not go undetected. "Or are you game for a small tour of the Tardis?" the Doctor asked with a knowing smile.
"Well, MrD," Ron said, "you've been really cool and all, but I think we've had enough of Wonderland. At least for tonight."
"Eh? 'MrD'? 'Wonderland?'"
"Ron has nicknames for everyone he likes," Kim explained. "He calls my parents 'MrDrP' and 'MrsDrP'."
"Oh, I see. 'MrD' for 'Doctor.' I quite like that. Thank you, Ron." He nodded. "Well, we certainly won't keep you."
Kim couldn't deny that she felt a little disappointed that they were leaving. However, at the same time, she did agree with Ron. It would be good to experience the normalcy of her loft again.
"However, you do have one more surprise in store," the Doctor said. Then he paused. "Hmm. You know, this usually works the other way around. People enter the Tardis and are shocked by how big it is on the inside. I believe you may be our first visitors to be surprised by how small it is on the outside."
Almost on cue with the Doctor's words, the doors of the Tardis closed.
"Jamie," the Doctor sighed, "please reopen the doors."
"For the last time, Doc," Jamie huffed, "I didn't touch anything. I haven't touched a button or knob on the console all—"
Suddenly, there was strange wheezy sound and the room seemed to tilt. Kim found herself on her bottom, and, a second later, Ron was in her lap.
"Hold on!" the Doctor called out as he clung desperately to the console. "This is going to be—"
And then, just as suddenly, the room was level and quiet once again.
"-much briefer," the Doctor continued, "then I thought it would be."
"What happened?" Jamie asked, picking himself off the floor. "Getting a mind of its own, again?"
"Where have landed now?" Zoe asked as she helped Ron climb off Kim.
"Sorry, KP!" Ron said offering her his hand.
"It's ok, Ron," Kim said as she got to her feet. "You're not as heavy as the floor is hard." She rubbed her sore backside.
The Doctor was fumbling with some of the controls on the console. "Let's see," he mumbled, "time zone … longitude … and …"
"What's the story?" Jamie asked.
"We've traveled about five miles north from our previous location, but we're in the same time zone."
Time zone?
Kim wondered what the Doctor meant by that. The nearest time zone borders were hundreds of miles in either direction from Middleton.
"So?"
"So, since it is only a matter of distance, Jamie, I should be able to get us back to KP's room very easily." He made ready to throw a lever and then paused. "Oh! Hold on to something, everybody." He waited a few seconds and then pulled the lever sharply.
Nothing happened.
He returned the lever to its previous position and pulled it again.
Nothing happened.
Zoe gave Kim and Ron a reassuring look. Jaime gave the Doctor a significantly less pleasant expression.
The Doctor adjust a few knobs. "I can feel your look, Jamie. Stop it." He pulled the lever again.
Still nothing.
The Doctor sighed and then looked to Kim and Ron. "I'm afraid the Tardis might have more in mind than just reuniting you with Rufus."
"What do you mean, Doctor?" Kim asked.
"The Tardis doesn't always take me where I want her to go—don't say it, Jamie!" he shot an admonishing hand toward the highlander. "However," he continued, giving Kim the full force of his gaze, "she invariably takes me where I need to go."
The anxious feeling in Kim's chest that she had noticed a few minutes earlier was building, but, at the same time, she was beginning to like the feeling.
"Well, where are we, MrD?" Ron asked because it seemed odd to him that no one had already asked this question.
"Exactly, Ron," the Doctor said. He turned a knob near his right hand. "Let's see where we've landed."
The blank grey screen slowly filled with a dark, shadowy image.
"I'll try to enhance the signal," Zoe said, twisting a dial on the console panel closest to her.
The image slowly began to brighten and became clearer. The outlines of an immense foyer with what appeared to be a large, oddly-shaped chandelier hanging above a grand staircase came into view. The picture was still very dark, but massive cobwebs could be clearly seen hanging from the chandelier, the corners of the ceiling, and draped along the banisters.
"An abandoned estate of some kind," Jamie offered.
"It would appear so," the Doctor said, not entirely certain.
"Pretty spooky, KP," Ron whispered. "I sure wouldn't want to be in that place on … well, on a night like this."
Kim was only half-listening because she was transfixed by the chandelier. It seemed very familiar for some reason. She stared intently, trying to discern its odd shape beneath the clots of webbing.
"Can you get more light in there, Zoe?" the Doctor asked. "We need a clearer picture."
"I'll try, Doctor" the teenager replied. She turned a small crank that awkwardly jutted out of her console.
The image was suddenly illuminated with a blinding light that made the entire screen white. Fortunately, it faded quickly. It was in the afterglow of this aurora that Kim noticed the glint of two red crystals near the top of the chandelier.
"Oh my gosh, Ron!" she breathed, gripping his arm. "It's Paisley Manor!"
"What?"
"Look, the chandelier is shaped like an owl. Remember? It had two rubies for eyes."
"Oh, yeah," Ron agreed. "Boy, he's really let the place go."
"What are you saying, Kim?" Zoe asked turning from the screen.
"We know this place," Kim said. "We were here just a week ago."
"Really?" the Doctor asked. "Is this the local 'haunted house' everyone explores for fun?"
"No, Doctor," Kim shook her head. "This house belongs to one of the richest people in the tri-city area. We were at his house just last week. He gave us a tour after …"
"After KP saved his life," Ron said proudly.
"What? You did?"
"It was no big, Ron" Kim said, slightly annoyed. "He had a problem with his security laser grid thingie, and I helped him out, that's all."
"What are you talking about, Kim?" Ron protested. "You were amazing! Even he said so. That's why he gave us the tour."
"Were you now, Kim?" the Doctor asked with a pleased expression. "I mean, amazing."
"Sure was," Ron smiled. "Kim can do anything!"
"Ron, please," Kim said, her cheeks growing warmer as she realized everyone else in the room, excluding Rufus, was staring at her. "That's so not important right now. That was only a week ago. There's no way his house could get so run down in only a week."
"You're sure we're in the same time zone, Doctor?" Zoe asked.
"Oh, yes, quite sure." He nodded with a smile.
"Then what could have happened?" Jamie asked.
"Don't know. I guess we'll have to investigate," the Doctor replied, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, "shan't we?"
"Doctor," Zoe said urgently, "do you think it'll be safe?"
"Oh, I don't see how it could be, Zoe," he chuckled. "I mean, really, when has it ever been safe?"
"No, Doctor," she said gesturing with a nod toward Kim and Ron, "I mean for them."
"Oh? Oh! Quite right, Zoe," the Doctor nodded rapidly. He approached Kim and Ron. "Kim, Ron, our adventures tend to be, well, they tend to be dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Ron asked with a discernible gulp.
"Yes, very. It might be a good idea if you two were to stay in the Tardis. You will be quite safe in here."
"If Mr. Paisley or someone else is in trouble," Kim said, "I want to help."
The Doctor looked her in the eye for a long second and said, "Good show, Kim. Good show." And then he looked at Ron's quaking form. "And how about you, Ron? Are you up for an adventure?"
"May I have a word with him in private, Doctor?" Kim asked.
"By all means."
She gently led Ron back toward the trunk. "Look, Ron, I know you're frightened. If you don't want to come, that's perfectly fine with me. You don't have to."
Ron stared at his shoes for a while. Then he raised his head and wiped his eyes with the side of his arm. "No, KP, if you're going, I'm going."
"Really?"
He nodded.
"Thank you, Ron," she whispered in his ear. "We're both coming, Doctor," she said with a smile.
"Splendid," he clapped his hands together. "Jamie," he called over his shoulder, "we're going to need torches. Five of them."
"T-torches?" Ron asked, more-than-slightly flustered.
"Oh, that's right," the Doctor said quickly. "You're Americans. You call them … fiddlesticks, it's just on the tip of my tongue …"
Kim blinked, and then fished her flashlight from her short's pocket. "Do you mean flashlights?"
"Yes! Flashlights," the Doctor clapped his hands together again. "That's it. Oh, and you already have one. Jamie, we'll only need four!" Then a strange look passed over his features. He reached into an inner pocket of his over-sized coat and produced what looked to be a blue and white striped flute.
"Is that a flute?" Ron asked.
"Actually, it's a recorder," the Doctor explained, "but very close, Ron. I was just thinking … 'Flash Light.' That George Clinton song … how does it go again?"
However, before he could play a note, Zoe and Jamie were at his elbow with the torches. "Doctor?" Zoe asked.
"Oh, yes, of course," the Doctor sighed. "That'll just have to wait, then."
Zoe handed Ron a torch.
The Doctor bent down so that he was eye-level with his new companions. "Okay, you two, there are some ground rules. Please pay attention because no one ever does."
Kim nodded and then Ron did.
Raising the index finger on his right hand, he said, "One, don't ask silly questions." He then raised the index finger on his left hand. "Two, don't wander off. And, most importantly, if I tell you to run," he placed the palms of both his hands lightly but firmly on their shoulders, "you RUN." After a beat, he favored them with a mischievous grin, "Any questions?"
Neither Kim nor Ron knew what to say.
The Doctor clapped his hands together and announced, "Splendid! We're off!"
III.
Kim and Ron were the last customers to leave the restaurant. However, they didn't make it ten yards from the door before they heard Karin calling for them.
"You almost forgot this," she said, running toward them with a long strip of blue paper.
"The tanzaku!" Kim exclaimed. "Thank you so much, Karin! I totally forgot."
"No big!" Karin replied happily. After handing Kim the paper, she waved 'bye' to them both and skipped back to the restaurant.
"That would have tanked," Ron said. He gestured over to the right. "I saw a huge Wish Tree this afternoon over this way."
"Great,' Kim said, nuzzling closer to him. Although it was July, a cool breeze was blowing. As they walked in the direction of the tree, the breeze strengthened into a wind. Kim rubbed her bare arms. "I'm starting to regret wearing this dress," she groused.
"I got you covered, KP." He stopped and unzipped his backpack. He took out a light blue tangled … something. "I've been meaning to give this back."
"My hoodie! I was wondering where that had gone."
"Yeah, you left it in my cell the last time you visited." He shrugged. "I've been meaning to give it back. I even washed it."
Kim was having difficulty undoing the tangle.
"But then I stowed it in my tote and completely forgot about it." He grimaced. "It probably smells awful, right?"
"No," she said, finally pulling it over her head. "It does smell. But it smells like you."
They walked a minute or so in silence.
"I can't believe he's real," Ron said finally.
"I know," she nodded. "And all that crazy stuff at Paisley Manor really happened."
"I'm not remembering everything," he continued, "it's just coming back in flashes." He shook his head.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I was such a coward."
"No, you weren't, Ron," she said firmly. "You were very brave."
"Maybe your definition of brave differs from mine, Kimbo, but I don't think I have ever cried that much before or since."
"No, I've seen you cry more since."
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" he asked wryly.
"What's important is that you faced those fears. That's what makes you brave."
"I guess," he said without conviction.
"It so does. Remember what Joss told you Junior Year?"
"Do you mean the secret to winning at horseshoes?"
"No, that it's your fears that make you brave."
"Well, I must be the bravest guy in the world."
"You're the bravest person I know."
Before he could protest, she was kissing him.
They walked the remainder of the way to the Wish Tree in pleasant silence. However, when they reached it, they saw that all the lower branches were full. Fortunately, Kim spotted a branch not far up that had some bare spaces. By standing on Ron's shoulders, she reached it easily and fastened the tanzaku securely.
"So, what did you write in it," Ron asked after she got down.
"Not supposed to tell," she said, straightening her dress.
"Well, I definitely want to change what I wrote," he sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"If I had known earlier that the Lorwardians were gunning for you—"
"Hush!" she said placing her fingers to his lips. "We're going to be fine." She checked the Kimmunicator. "Mom will be getting off the night shift in a few. I should give her a call when we get back."
"You gonna tell her about the Lorwardians?"
She nodded without looking up.
"How do you think she'll take it?"
"We'll see," she replied, dispassionately.
"Kim—"
"It'll be okay. No worries."
This phrase struck Ron as an odd replacement for 'No big,' but before he could reflect on it further, she was kissing him again.
Unbeknownst to them, a pair of ears near the top of the Wish Tree had heard every word they had spoken. And a pair of blood red eyes was now watching their every move as they headed back to Kim's apartment.
To be continued ...
