Chapter 3
Ron sighed as he settled down into the leather sofa in Dr. Larson's office. If not for the three men deciding in the office next door, Ron probably would have fallen asleep. He folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, his mind going over the previous hour.
Ron had never had a psych evaluation before, but he was pretty sure he had done all right in his first. A lot of personality questions, some situations, and a few open-ended discussions about various topics had taken up most of the hour. From what Ron could tell, the doctor didn't seem to surprise by any of the answers given. That could either be a good or a bad thing, Ron thought with a frown.
"Comfortable Mr. Stoppable?" The warden said from the doorway.
Ron jumped slightly, he had been so lost in thought he hadn't heard them enter the office. He smiled a sheepish grin and swung his legs over to the floor, bringing himself to a sitting position.
"Sorry, this is a bit more cozy then anything I've laid on in a while."
"Understandable", the warden added with a grin of his own. Then turning serious once more, "We've come to a decision regarding your parole. If you'll come with me to my office across the hall, we will discuss our decision."
Ron practically leapt out of the sofa and followed the warden across the hall. They walked into the large office, and Ron let out a soft whistle as he took it in.
The room was fairly large, more so then the interrogation/conference room they had been in earlier. A large oak desk sat in the back middle of the room, framed by the large picture window behind it. The window offered quite a view into the valley and the town beyond it. The wall to the right was adorned with several framed photographs. The left wall held a large glass covered cabinet, with several rifles and pistols on display. Ron guessed from the design that the firearms were from the civil war era.
In front of the desk were three chairs. Two of them were off to one side, facing the third. Ron gave a nod to the men filling the two chairs, as Dr. Larson motioned for Ron to sit down opposite them. Ron took his seat, and the warden circled around his desk and did the same.
The warden folded his hands in front of him and looked at Ron, almost studying him. The other men were doing the same, only not as intently. Ron was sure that they could all hear his heart thumping against his chest.
"Well young man", the warden started, breaking the silence, "We have reviewed the transcript from our hearing this morning, the notes from your psych evaluation, and your behavioral record since you first came here. We all agree that you seem to be an honest young man, and that your time here has helped you."
"The Ron Stoppable who stood trial for his actions three years ago was a young man. He was a young man, who seemed to be controlled by his emotions, and that was your undoing", the judge said.
"Over the last three years you have grown up considerably. Comparing how you handled your trial, to how you handled your hearing today...well, it's almost like two different people."
Ron sat taking in what they were saying. They seemed to be praising him, and he hoped the next words were not preceded by "but".
"Your maturation is one of the reasons that we are inserting you back into society. Your maturation, and your youth", said the warden.
Ron could feel the grin tugging on the corner of his mouth, but fought his hardest to keep it suppressed until they were finished.
Doctor Larson noticed Ron trying to keep the smile down and fought his own urge to laugh. "We believe someone who of your age and nature will be most successful on the outside."
"We took the liberty of contacting your school. They agreed that all of your credits earned here will transfer over, and they are looking forward to having you back", the warden said, then added with a smile "We also took the liberty of contacting your parents. They will be here in about an hour. And I'm going to take a wild stab at this one here...you probably don't want to spend a moment more then you have to here, so lets get you cleaned out, and processed so you can go home"
The three men stood up, and Ron followed suit, no longer able to contain his grin. He shook hands all around, offering sincere and unending thanks.
The warden led Ron to the door where the two guards from earlier waited outside to take Ron to his cell and processing. With a final goodbye and thank you, Ron made his way down the hallway with the guards.
The warden shut his door and turned back to the other men in the room. They all burst into laughter when a loud "Booyah!" was heard from down the hall.
"So this is goodbye then kid?"
"Looks like it, but don't be getting all sentimental on me now Benny", Ron said with a grin to his cellmate for most of the last three years.
"So what's on the free mans agenda?" Benny asked, as he leaned up against he wall and pointed at a photograph Ron had taped by his bed, "Gonna go see that pretty red head?"
"Good question", Ron replied taking down the picture and putting it in the small box he had been given for his things. "Who knows if she will even want to see me? We haven't talked since I first got sent here."
Ron put his books and journal in the box, and stopped when a newspaper article fell out of it. He looked at the headline and read it out loud.
"Kim Possible and new sidekick thwart evil. Hell, after that, I don't even know if I want to see her."
"Now don't be stupid kid." Benny said with a frown. "You know you love that girl. Don't miss another chance to tell her that because your pissed at her new sidekick. Besides, if you and her are as good of friends as you said, she'll probably give that schmuck the boot when you get home"
"Maybe." Ron replied, putting the last of his belongings in the box. "I just hope me being away, and the reason I was away, hasn't changed things to much."
"Well whatever happens, you'll be all right", Benny said removing himself from the wall and taking a step towards Ron. "Hell, you had to pick up something living with me for the last three years. You at least look like you did."
Ron laughed and looked at his body that had filled out considerably during his stay in jail.
"If I run into any problems that can be solved with the weight lifting techniques you taught me, I'll be sure to write you a letter of thanks", he said with a smile, extending his hand to Benny.
Benny took Ron's hand and shook it vigorously. "I'll be waiting for my letter, because I know it will pay off. That nice physique I helped you get will make that red head forget she was ever mad at you."
"I hope so buddy, take care of your self. Don't be a stranger when you get out", Ron said
With that, he picked up his box of possessions and headed out of the cell to where the guards waited to take him to processing.
Ron sat in the prison lobby tugging at his pants and shirt. If he had any doubts about not growing up any in jail, the way his clothes fit dispelled that notion. Processing had gone a lot quicker then he thought it would. After he had signed some paper work, they had given him back his personal effects. The only thing he had come in with was the suit he had worn at court. At one time it had been his best suit, now it was wrinkled, and four sizes to small.
Ron sighed at the thought of all his other clothes in his closet. My first act as a free man is going to be buying clothes. How exciting, he thought.
Ron's thoughts were interrupted when the sliding glass doors in the front of the lobby slid open revealing a short stocky man wearing glasses. It was the first time in three years that Ron had been able to see his father without the glass barrier between them.
"Dad!" Ron exclaimed, jumping up from his chair, leaving his box of belongings on the chair next to his.
"Ronald!" Mr. Stoppable returned his sons excitement as he quickened his pace to his only child.
The two met halfway in the kind of father/son embrace that had been missed so dearly from both of their lives. As they pulled out of the hug, Mr. Stoppable held onto his sons arms, and looked him up and down. His watery eyes met his sons, and he gave a large smile.
"Its good to see you son. I can't even begin to tell you how good it is to see you out."
"Its good to be out Dad", Ron replied with a smile. "I'm back Dad. I'm finally coming home." His smile faded as he looked behind his father. "Where's Mom?"
"Well, we figured you haven't had a nice home cooked meal in a while. So your mother is back home, making your favorite dinner, with all the fixings", replied Mr. Stoppable, then giving Ron a wink, "Unless of course you would rather us grab some prison food to take home."
Ron laughed, and turned around to pick up his things, then headed to the exit with his dad.
"No, Dad, I think I'll leave the prison food to the prisoners. Today, Ron Stoppable eats the meal of a free man!"
For the first time in many years, dinner at the Stoppable house was lively. Though they had visited Ron in jail every weekend since his incarceration, having him home was something completely different. The way his laughter filled the room, and his presence alone seemed to bring a spark to Mrs. Stoppable's eye. Over dinner Ron recounted the details of his parole hearing, and a few stories he had to tell since their last visit. His appetite was voracious even by Ron's standards. Although his increased body size revealed he was fed right in jail, Mrs. Stoppable couldn't help but fuss over the meals he received, and tried to make up for it all in one sitting. Once Ron was finally full, and the conversation had died down, he excused himself to his room.
He opened the door to his room and looked around with a smile. One could certainly tell he hadn't been here in a while, as it was quite spotless. He walked over to his desk and set his box next to his computer.
Ron looked at the computer and smiled. I've been away for three years, and I still probably don't have any email, he thought to himself.
He turned away, unbuttoned, and peeled his to small dress shirt off. As if announcing his return to normal life, he tossed the shirt carelessly to the floor, and flopped down on his bed.
"Ahhh", Ron sighed, letting the comfort of his bed engulf him.
Rolling onto his side, his eyes came to rest on his nightstand. Next to the alarm clock that informed him it was 6:15pm sat a picture. He reached over and took it in his hand an examined it closely. It was one of his favorite pictures of him and Kim. She was behind him with her arms wrapped around his torso, peeking her head over his right shoulder. Ron stood there with his arms at his side, wearing one of his classic dopey grins.
Ron smiled and let out a short laugh as he put the picture back on the nightstand.
"Happier times...happier times. I wonder if we'll be the same Kim. God how I want it to be", he said to himself, leaning back on his bed, thinking about what he would say to her when he finally saw her again.
A soft knocking on his door interrupted Ron's thoughts.
"C'mon in", he called not moving from his bed.
The door swung open to reveal a young African American girl around Ron's age. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders. Ron sat straight up in his bed, almost surprised that he wasn't the only one who had changed a bit over the years. He took in the girls perfectly developed form, which was complemented by a pair of hip hugger jeans and a white Club Banana tank top.
"Monique?" Ron asked, standing up from the bed.
"Don't act to surprised Ron, I haven't changed that much have I?" Monique asked with a smile.
"Well...you, I mean to say that I..."
Before Ron could finish he was gripped into a surprisingly strong embrace from Monique. Unable to think straight, Ron returned the hug, until Monique broke it.
"Well look at you", Monique said, taking a step back to examine Ron. "Looks like prison does a body good."
"And, uh, it looks like not being in prison does a body good as well?" Ron said with a half smile raising an eyebrow.
Monique laughed and sat down on the bed.
"Thanks, I think that was a compliment. I'm going to assume you haven't gotten or given many of those in the last few years."
"That's for sure. You don't want to run around that place calling people beautiful. So how did you know I was home? I told my parents not to tell anyone about my hearing."
"Oh, they didn't, but you know how good Wade is at finding things like this out." Monique said. "By the way, Wade sends his regards, he would have come with me, but Kim's out saving the world, and you know how that goes."
"I understand", Ron started, and then paused as he realized something. "Wait...two things...Wade would have come? Since when does Wade leave his room? And number two, if Wade knows...and you know...then Kim knows..."
"The holo-Wade has been getting a lot more use lately." Monique said, then looking down, "And yes, Kim does know."
"Oh", was all Ron could say as he sat down on the bed next to Monique.
"I suppose she wants nothing to do with me?"
"No, its nothing like that", Monique said, trying to find the right words to explain how Kim felt. "I guess she just...I don't know how she feels, actually. Every time I would bring it up, she would change the subject. When Wade called today to say you were out, she looked happy. She gave one of those classic Kim Possible grins, and let me tell you, those have been hard to come by since you've been gone. But then when I mentioned coming over here, she stopped smiling and fidgeted in her seat a bit."
"Then the Kimmunicator beeped, and she got her "Get out of seeing Ron free" card", Ron stated sadly.
"More or less", Monique said, putting a hand on Ron's shoulder. "I think you should go to her. Tell her what you have to say, because if I know you, you've been thinking about what to say for three years now."
Ron nodded "All that time, and it still won't come out right."
"I see you're still hard on yourself", said Monique as she stood up in front of Ron and looked down at him. "Now are you going to spend your first night free moping around feeling sorry for yourself, or come out with me and do something?"
Ron looked up at Monique and smiled. "You're right, I've done enough of this in jail. Besides that I could use some new clothes. Jail did my body a little to good as far as my pants are concerned."
"Great! The mall it is!" Monique said as she walked over to Ron's closet and pulled out an old blue hockey jersey. "This should still fit. Put it on and lets get going"
Ron took the jersey from Monique and pulled it over his head. While it was a little tighter then he would have liked, it at least gave him room to breathe. Once down stairs they stopped in the living room, where Ron's parents were watching the end of the evening news.
"Hey, Mon and I are going to run to the mall for a bit." Ron said with a wave, and headed towards the door before stopping dead in his tracks.
"Um, I know this is a little soon, but can I borrow some money? I really need new clothes."
"Geeze Ron, home for a few hours and you're already mooching", Monique said with a smile, shaking her head in mock disappointment.
Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable looked at each other with a smile. Mr. Stoppable stood up and walked to the office hutch in the corner of the room. He pulled an envelope out and handed it to Ron, who looked at his father with a raised eyebrow.
"Well Son, I think if you'll look in that envelope, you will find it may be us that will be mooching off of you", Mr. Stoppable said with a grin.
Ron opened the envelope to find an ATM card, and a bank statement. The top of the statement informed Ron that it was for a checking account in his name at the First Bank of Middleton. Monique leaned in over Ron's shoulder to look at the paper, and both of their eyes went wide as they saw the number at the bottom.
"Holy shit", they said in unison.
After a moment of awed silence, Ron finally spoke up. "Where did all this money come from? I hope this isn't a welcome home gift because you didn't have to do this."
"Heavens no, son. That's the combined total of all your naco royalties from the past three years. They continued to pay on it after you went to jail, so your mother and I opened a checking account in your name, and had them direct deposit the checks, so they would collect interest."
"Apparently the naco's bad market tests in Go City were an isolated result." added Mrs. Stoppable, who had moved from the sofa to her husband's side. "It tested through the roof in Cleveland, Metropolis, and Blüdhaven. After that, it pretty much caught on everywhere, and the money has been pouring in ever since."
Ron smiled and put the ATM card in his wallet. He thanked his parents, and turned to Monique.
"Lets get going Mon, we both get new clothes tonight", he said smiling brightly.
"Booyah!" Monique said, as they left for the mall
Monique's flame red Celica pulled back into the Stoppables driveway several hours later. Ron emerged from the passenger side of the car with a smile on his face and several shopping bags in his hands. Setting them down on the pavement, he leaned back into the automobile to bid Monique farewell.
"Thanks Monique, it's been a while since I've had a fun night like that." Ron said, then adding with a bigger smile "Come to think of it, that might be the first night shopping has ever been fun"
"Hey, with that kind of money, shopping will always be fun. But I should be thanking you for buying me those outfits. I could never afford them on my own."
"No big, anything for a friend. I'll see you Monday at school", Ron smiled, closing the door and gathering up his bags.
"Night good lookin", Monique said out the open window as she shifted her car into reverse and backed out of the drive way.
Ron walked back into his house to find his parents both still sitting in the living room. The evening news being long over, they were now both reading novels. He gave them a nod and held up the bags he had.
"I think I found some clothes", he said smiling.
"I'll say", Mrs. Stoppable replied looking up from her book.
"I'm going to go put these away, then I'll be back down. Maybe we can watch a movie or some T.V.", Ron said over his shoulder as he headed upstairs to his room.
"Sounds good son", Mr. Stoppable called after his son. He then turned to his wife, and they exchanged smiles, both happy to have their son back at home and back in their lives.
Once in his room Ron emptied the contents of the bags onto his bed. He separated the shirts and pants into two separate piles, and then turned his attention to his closet. Looking at his assortment of clothes, he decided to start from scratch. Grabbing one of the shopping bags, he began pulling the clothes off the hangers, and tossing them in the bags.
"Looks like the Goodwill is going to be getting a surplus of red hockey jerseys", he muttered to himself as the closet cleaning began.
After he finished taking the old clothes out, he began to hang up the new clothes. Buried in the closet he barely heard his mother call up to him.
"Ronald! You have company!" came the shout from downstairs.
Ron turned to face the door, and placed a hand to his mouth to amplify his shout.
"Send them up!"
Ron turned to finish hanging the last of the shirts up in the closet. He wondered who it could be. He hoped it was Kim, home from her mission, but from the way Monique talked, he doubted that was the case. As he hung the last new shirt up, he heard the door swing open behind him.
"Hey Ronnie, heard you got sprung."
Ron dropped the shirt and hanger to the ground, and turned to face the female voice that had addressed him. His jaw dropped when he eyed the slightly older girl standing in his doorway. Standing there with her hands on her hips, clad in a green long sleeved top and black miniskirt and boots, was none other then...
"Shego?!?" Ron gaped.
***
A/N- Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Also thanks to Classic Cowboy for the beta. Sorry if any of the legal details are slightly off, I never went to a parole hearing when I was in jail, I escaped before I was up for parole. So I just went with something that I thought sounded halfway professional, if not...oh well. Also this chapter might have run a little long, but I had a lot happening so that's how it turned out. So review, be kind, and have a wonderful day.
-Reed
Disclaimer P.S- I still don't own anything.
Ron sighed as he settled down into the leather sofa in Dr. Larson's office. If not for the three men deciding in the office next door, Ron probably would have fallen asleep. He folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, his mind going over the previous hour.
Ron had never had a psych evaluation before, but he was pretty sure he had done all right in his first. A lot of personality questions, some situations, and a few open-ended discussions about various topics had taken up most of the hour. From what Ron could tell, the doctor didn't seem to surprise by any of the answers given. That could either be a good or a bad thing, Ron thought with a frown.
"Comfortable Mr. Stoppable?" The warden said from the doorway.
Ron jumped slightly, he had been so lost in thought he hadn't heard them enter the office. He smiled a sheepish grin and swung his legs over to the floor, bringing himself to a sitting position.
"Sorry, this is a bit more cozy then anything I've laid on in a while."
"Understandable", the warden added with a grin of his own. Then turning serious once more, "We've come to a decision regarding your parole. If you'll come with me to my office across the hall, we will discuss our decision."
Ron practically leapt out of the sofa and followed the warden across the hall. They walked into the large office, and Ron let out a soft whistle as he took it in.
The room was fairly large, more so then the interrogation/conference room they had been in earlier. A large oak desk sat in the back middle of the room, framed by the large picture window behind it. The window offered quite a view into the valley and the town beyond it. The wall to the right was adorned with several framed photographs. The left wall held a large glass covered cabinet, with several rifles and pistols on display. Ron guessed from the design that the firearms were from the civil war era.
In front of the desk were three chairs. Two of them were off to one side, facing the third. Ron gave a nod to the men filling the two chairs, as Dr. Larson motioned for Ron to sit down opposite them. Ron took his seat, and the warden circled around his desk and did the same.
The warden folded his hands in front of him and looked at Ron, almost studying him. The other men were doing the same, only not as intently. Ron was sure that they could all hear his heart thumping against his chest.
"Well young man", the warden started, breaking the silence, "We have reviewed the transcript from our hearing this morning, the notes from your psych evaluation, and your behavioral record since you first came here. We all agree that you seem to be an honest young man, and that your time here has helped you."
"The Ron Stoppable who stood trial for his actions three years ago was a young man. He was a young man, who seemed to be controlled by his emotions, and that was your undoing", the judge said.
"Over the last three years you have grown up considerably. Comparing how you handled your trial, to how you handled your hearing today...well, it's almost like two different people."
Ron sat taking in what they were saying. They seemed to be praising him, and he hoped the next words were not preceded by "but".
"Your maturation is one of the reasons that we are inserting you back into society. Your maturation, and your youth", said the warden.
Ron could feel the grin tugging on the corner of his mouth, but fought his hardest to keep it suppressed until they were finished.
Doctor Larson noticed Ron trying to keep the smile down and fought his own urge to laugh. "We believe someone who of your age and nature will be most successful on the outside."
"We took the liberty of contacting your school. They agreed that all of your credits earned here will transfer over, and they are looking forward to having you back", the warden said, then added with a smile "We also took the liberty of contacting your parents. They will be here in about an hour. And I'm going to take a wild stab at this one here...you probably don't want to spend a moment more then you have to here, so lets get you cleaned out, and processed so you can go home"
The three men stood up, and Ron followed suit, no longer able to contain his grin. He shook hands all around, offering sincere and unending thanks.
The warden led Ron to the door where the two guards from earlier waited outside to take Ron to his cell and processing. With a final goodbye and thank you, Ron made his way down the hallway with the guards.
The warden shut his door and turned back to the other men in the room. They all burst into laughter when a loud "Booyah!" was heard from down the hall.
"So this is goodbye then kid?"
"Looks like it, but don't be getting all sentimental on me now Benny", Ron said with a grin to his cellmate for most of the last three years.
"So what's on the free mans agenda?" Benny asked, as he leaned up against he wall and pointed at a photograph Ron had taped by his bed, "Gonna go see that pretty red head?"
"Good question", Ron replied taking down the picture and putting it in the small box he had been given for his things. "Who knows if she will even want to see me? We haven't talked since I first got sent here."
Ron put his books and journal in the box, and stopped when a newspaper article fell out of it. He looked at the headline and read it out loud.
"Kim Possible and new sidekick thwart evil. Hell, after that, I don't even know if I want to see her."
"Now don't be stupid kid." Benny said with a frown. "You know you love that girl. Don't miss another chance to tell her that because your pissed at her new sidekick. Besides, if you and her are as good of friends as you said, she'll probably give that schmuck the boot when you get home"
"Maybe." Ron replied, putting the last of his belongings in the box. "I just hope me being away, and the reason I was away, hasn't changed things to much."
"Well whatever happens, you'll be all right", Benny said removing himself from the wall and taking a step towards Ron. "Hell, you had to pick up something living with me for the last three years. You at least look like you did."
Ron laughed and looked at his body that had filled out considerably during his stay in jail.
"If I run into any problems that can be solved with the weight lifting techniques you taught me, I'll be sure to write you a letter of thanks", he said with a smile, extending his hand to Benny.
Benny took Ron's hand and shook it vigorously. "I'll be waiting for my letter, because I know it will pay off. That nice physique I helped you get will make that red head forget she was ever mad at you."
"I hope so buddy, take care of your self. Don't be a stranger when you get out", Ron said
With that, he picked up his box of possessions and headed out of the cell to where the guards waited to take him to processing.
Ron sat in the prison lobby tugging at his pants and shirt. If he had any doubts about not growing up any in jail, the way his clothes fit dispelled that notion. Processing had gone a lot quicker then he thought it would. After he had signed some paper work, they had given him back his personal effects. The only thing he had come in with was the suit he had worn at court. At one time it had been his best suit, now it was wrinkled, and four sizes to small.
Ron sighed at the thought of all his other clothes in his closet. My first act as a free man is going to be buying clothes. How exciting, he thought.
Ron's thoughts were interrupted when the sliding glass doors in the front of the lobby slid open revealing a short stocky man wearing glasses. It was the first time in three years that Ron had been able to see his father without the glass barrier between them.
"Dad!" Ron exclaimed, jumping up from his chair, leaving his box of belongings on the chair next to his.
"Ronald!" Mr. Stoppable returned his sons excitement as he quickened his pace to his only child.
The two met halfway in the kind of father/son embrace that had been missed so dearly from both of their lives. As they pulled out of the hug, Mr. Stoppable held onto his sons arms, and looked him up and down. His watery eyes met his sons, and he gave a large smile.
"Its good to see you son. I can't even begin to tell you how good it is to see you out."
"Its good to be out Dad", Ron replied with a smile. "I'm back Dad. I'm finally coming home." His smile faded as he looked behind his father. "Where's Mom?"
"Well, we figured you haven't had a nice home cooked meal in a while. So your mother is back home, making your favorite dinner, with all the fixings", replied Mr. Stoppable, then giving Ron a wink, "Unless of course you would rather us grab some prison food to take home."
Ron laughed, and turned around to pick up his things, then headed to the exit with his dad.
"No, Dad, I think I'll leave the prison food to the prisoners. Today, Ron Stoppable eats the meal of a free man!"
For the first time in many years, dinner at the Stoppable house was lively. Though they had visited Ron in jail every weekend since his incarceration, having him home was something completely different. The way his laughter filled the room, and his presence alone seemed to bring a spark to Mrs. Stoppable's eye. Over dinner Ron recounted the details of his parole hearing, and a few stories he had to tell since their last visit. His appetite was voracious even by Ron's standards. Although his increased body size revealed he was fed right in jail, Mrs. Stoppable couldn't help but fuss over the meals he received, and tried to make up for it all in one sitting. Once Ron was finally full, and the conversation had died down, he excused himself to his room.
He opened the door to his room and looked around with a smile. One could certainly tell he hadn't been here in a while, as it was quite spotless. He walked over to his desk and set his box next to his computer.
Ron looked at the computer and smiled. I've been away for three years, and I still probably don't have any email, he thought to himself.
He turned away, unbuttoned, and peeled his to small dress shirt off. As if announcing his return to normal life, he tossed the shirt carelessly to the floor, and flopped down on his bed.
"Ahhh", Ron sighed, letting the comfort of his bed engulf him.
Rolling onto his side, his eyes came to rest on his nightstand. Next to the alarm clock that informed him it was 6:15pm sat a picture. He reached over and took it in his hand an examined it closely. It was one of his favorite pictures of him and Kim. She was behind him with her arms wrapped around his torso, peeking her head over his right shoulder. Ron stood there with his arms at his side, wearing one of his classic dopey grins.
Ron smiled and let out a short laugh as he put the picture back on the nightstand.
"Happier times...happier times. I wonder if we'll be the same Kim. God how I want it to be", he said to himself, leaning back on his bed, thinking about what he would say to her when he finally saw her again.
A soft knocking on his door interrupted Ron's thoughts.
"C'mon in", he called not moving from his bed.
The door swung open to reveal a young African American girl around Ron's age. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders. Ron sat straight up in his bed, almost surprised that he wasn't the only one who had changed a bit over the years. He took in the girls perfectly developed form, which was complemented by a pair of hip hugger jeans and a white Club Banana tank top.
"Monique?" Ron asked, standing up from the bed.
"Don't act to surprised Ron, I haven't changed that much have I?" Monique asked with a smile.
"Well...you, I mean to say that I..."
Before Ron could finish he was gripped into a surprisingly strong embrace from Monique. Unable to think straight, Ron returned the hug, until Monique broke it.
"Well look at you", Monique said, taking a step back to examine Ron. "Looks like prison does a body good."
"And, uh, it looks like not being in prison does a body good as well?" Ron said with a half smile raising an eyebrow.
Monique laughed and sat down on the bed.
"Thanks, I think that was a compliment. I'm going to assume you haven't gotten or given many of those in the last few years."
"That's for sure. You don't want to run around that place calling people beautiful. So how did you know I was home? I told my parents not to tell anyone about my hearing."
"Oh, they didn't, but you know how good Wade is at finding things like this out." Monique said. "By the way, Wade sends his regards, he would have come with me, but Kim's out saving the world, and you know how that goes."
"I understand", Ron started, and then paused as he realized something. "Wait...two things...Wade would have come? Since when does Wade leave his room? And number two, if Wade knows...and you know...then Kim knows..."
"The holo-Wade has been getting a lot more use lately." Monique said, then looking down, "And yes, Kim does know."
"Oh", was all Ron could say as he sat down on the bed next to Monique.
"I suppose she wants nothing to do with me?"
"No, its nothing like that", Monique said, trying to find the right words to explain how Kim felt. "I guess she just...I don't know how she feels, actually. Every time I would bring it up, she would change the subject. When Wade called today to say you were out, she looked happy. She gave one of those classic Kim Possible grins, and let me tell you, those have been hard to come by since you've been gone. But then when I mentioned coming over here, she stopped smiling and fidgeted in her seat a bit."
"Then the Kimmunicator beeped, and she got her "Get out of seeing Ron free" card", Ron stated sadly.
"More or less", Monique said, putting a hand on Ron's shoulder. "I think you should go to her. Tell her what you have to say, because if I know you, you've been thinking about what to say for three years now."
Ron nodded "All that time, and it still won't come out right."
"I see you're still hard on yourself", said Monique as she stood up in front of Ron and looked down at him. "Now are you going to spend your first night free moping around feeling sorry for yourself, or come out with me and do something?"
Ron looked up at Monique and smiled. "You're right, I've done enough of this in jail. Besides that I could use some new clothes. Jail did my body a little to good as far as my pants are concerned."
"Great! The mall it is!" Monique said as she walked over to Ron's closet and pulled out an old blue hockey jersey. "This should still fit. Put it on and lets get going"
Ron took the jersey from Monique and pulled it over his head. While it was a little tighter then he would have liked, it at least gave him room to breathe. Once down stairs they stopped in the living room, where Ron's parents were watching the end of the evening news.
"Hey, Mon and I are going to run to the mall for a bit." Ron said with a wave, and headed towards the door before stopping dead in his tracks.
"Um, I know this is a little soon, but can I borrow some money? I really need new clothes."
"Geeze Ron, home for a few hours and you're already mooching", Monique said with a smile, shaking her head in mock disappointment.
Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable looked at each other with a smile. Mr. Stoppable stood up and walked to the office hutch in the corner of the room. He pulled an envelope out and handed it to Ron, who looked at his father with a raised eyebrow.
"Well Son, I think if you'll look in that envelope, you will find it may be us that will be mooching off of you", Mr. Stoppable said with a grin.
Ron opened the envelope to find an ATM card, and a bank statement. The top of the statement informed Ron that it was for a checking account in his name at the First Bank of Middleton. Monique leaned in over Ron's shoulder to look at the paper, and both of their eyes went wide as they saw the number at the bottom.
"Holy shit", they said in unison.
After a moment of awed silence, Ron finally spoke up. "Where did all this money come from? I hope this isn't a welcome home gift because you didn't have to do this."
"Heavens no, son. That's the combined total of all your naco royalties from the past three years. They continued to pay on it after you went to jail, so your mother and I opened a checking account in your name, and had them direct deposit the checks, so they would collect interest."
"Apparently the naco's bad market tests in Go City were an isolated result." added Mrs. Stoppable, who had moved from the sofa to her husband's side. "It tested through the roof in Cleveland, Metropolis, and Blüdhaven. After that, it pretty much caught on everywhere, and the money has been pouring in ever since."
Ron smiled and put the ATM card in his wallet. He thanked his parents, and turned to Monique.
"Lets get going Mon, we both get new clothes tonight", he said smiling brightly.
"Booyah!" Monique said, as they left for the mall
Monique's flame red Celica pulled back into the Stoppables driveway several hours later. Ron emerged from the passenger side of the car with a smile on his face and several shopping bags in his hands. Setting them down on the pavement, he leaned back into the automobile to bid Monique farewell.
"Thanks Monique, it's been a while since I've had a fun night like that." Ron said, then adding with a bigger smile "Come to think of it, that might be the first night shopping has ever been fun"
"Hey, with that kind of money, shopping will always be fun. But I should be thanking you for buying me those outfits. I could never afford them on my own."
"No big, anything for a friend. I'll see you Monday at school", Ron smiled, closing the door and gathering up his bags.
"Night good lookin", Monique said out the open window as she shifted her car into reverse and backed out of the drive way.
Ron walked back into his house to find his parents both still sitting in the living room. The evening news being long over, they were now both reading novels. He gave them a nod and held up the bags he had.
"I think I found some clothes", he said smiling.
"I'll say", Mrs. Stoppable replied looking up from her book.
"I'm going to go put these away, then I'll be back down. Maybe we can watch a movie or some T.V.", Ron said over his shoulder as he headed upstairs to his room.
"Sounds good son", Mr. Stoppable called after his son. He then turned to his wife, and they exchanged smiles, both happy to have their son back at home and back in their lives.
Once in his room Ron emptied the contents of the bags onto his bed. He separated the shirts and pants into two separate piles, and then turned his attention to his closet. Looking at his assortment of clothes, he decided to start from scratch. Grabbing one of the shopping bags, he began pulling the clothes off the hangers, and tossing them in the bags.
"Looks like the Goodwill is going to be getting a surplus of red hockey jerseys", he muttered to himself as the closet cleaning began.
After he finished taking the old clothes out, he began to hang up the new clothes. Buried in the closet he barely heard his mother call up to him.
"Ronald! You have company!" came the shout from downstairs.
Ron turned to face the door, and placed a hand to his mouth to amplify his shout.
"Send them up!"
Ron turned to finish hanging the last of the shirts up in the closet. He wondered who it could be. He hoped it was Kim, home from her mission, but from the way Monique talked, he doubted that was the case. As he hung the last new shirt up, he heard the door swing open behind him.
"Hey Ronnie, heard you got sprung."
Ron dropped the shirt and hanger to the ground, and turned to face the female voice that had addressed him. His jaw dropped when he eyed the slightly older girl standing in his doorway. Standing there with her hands on her hips, clad in a green long sleeved top and black miniskirt and boots, was none other then...
"Shego?!?" Ron gaped.
***
A/N- Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. Also thanks to Classic Cowboy for the beta. Sorry if any of the legal details are slightly off, I never went to a parole hearing when I was in jail, I escaped before I was up for parole. So I just went with something that I thought sounded halfway professional, if not...oh well. Also this chapter might have run a little long, but I had a lot happening so that's how it turned out. So review, be kind, and have a wonderful day.
-Reed
Disclaimer P.S- I still don't own anything.