Chapter 1
Returning Home
Ron had been called only by the hospital this morning, Kim was to be released, and under no circumstances, except, to use the bathroom, was she to be allowed to leave bed for the next week,
"I'm right here with you, hon," Ron said, helping Kim up the stairs to their loft apartment, "We're halfway there."
"I can take the stairs on my own, Ron, it's no big." Kim replied,
"And you said that about running the bar, and about shopping at Club Banana too, and look where that got you." Ron said,
"Yeah," Kim said, "Eight days in the hospital."
"On both occasions," Ron related, "just follow the doctors' orders this time, Kim, please, for my sake, and my sanity."
"Okay, okay," Kim said, "I'll be a good girl, and stay in bed for the next week."
"Thanks." Ron said, although he had a funny feeling that she wouldn't do as she had promised, in fact, he felt that something big was about to happen, and, as usual, he and Kim would find themselves hip deep in trouble, again.
As Ron helped Kim into bed, and turned to leave, she noticed something different about the bedroom,
"Why is the bed so high?" she asked, looking at Ron, who smiled,
"You can thank me for it later, but I added a hydraulic lift under the bed," Ron said, smiling widely, "I kinda figured that we would be thinking about a family, and I remembered that my dad told me that mom had a hard time when she was pregnant with me. So, just in case history were to repeat itself, I had the bed made so that it could come up from the floor, and then go back down once you were comfortable."
"That's so sweet of you, Ron," Kim said, smiling at Ron, who smiled back, "now, I'm a little tired, I'll see you later."
"Sweet dreams, hon." Ron said, walking back to Kim, and planting a kiss on her cheek.
The rest of the day at the restaurant had been nothing short of a disaster, until Drakken and Shego walked into the kitchen,
"Where's Kim?" Drakken asked, looking at Ron, who was covered in flour,
"Sleeping peacefully, at the moment," Ron said, turning to look at the new arrivals, "Bonnie's upstairs, babysitting her, so there shouldn't be any fussing on Kim's part."
"Did the doctors tell you what's going on?" Shego asked,
"No, they're still keeping me in the dark, although I overheard them talking about Kim's health, they said something about the placental lining had been perforated, and that's what was causing all of the bleeding." Ron said, his head hanging low,
"You know, I studied OB/GYN when I was in college," Drakken said, looking at Ron, "if the placental lining has perforated, she's not far from delivery."
"How far?" Ron asked,
"I'd say, about two weeks, to a month." Drakken replied,
"She's deep into her eighth month now," Shego said, looking at Drakken, and smiling, "so I'd say, yeah, she'll be delivering in a month, you dimwit."
"Very funny, Shego, but here's something you didn't know," Drakken said, looking at both Shego, and Ron, "Kim almost went into labor last month, you almost had a child that was two months premature, and from what I can tell you, someone of Kim's build rarely holds a pregnancy for longer than eight months."
"And what kind of build is that?" Ron asked, he was about to punch Drakken right between the eyes if he thought of insulting Kim at this stage,
"Petite," Drakken said, "the pregnancy is becoming a strain on her, and her body really can't take the extra weight that a pregnancy is adding to it."
"Explain, please." Ron said, looking at the blue-skinned former evil scientist,
"Kim is not a very large woman, and never has been," Drakken said, looking at Ron, and talking slowly, so that every word could sink in, "her weight has always been about the same, am I right?" Ron nodded,
"Okay, so I'm guessing about105 pounds, right?" Drakken asked, again, Ron nodded,
"And she's never stood above 5'5", correct?" Drakken asked, again, Ron nodded,
"Well, that's a dangerous mix right there," Drakken explained, "someone of her stature, the skeleton can't take the extra weight, that's why the doctors want her to stay off her feet, and not overexert herself during the pregnancy, if she continues to keep going the way she's going, she's gonna miscarry, and if that happens, she might lose more than just the baby."
"Meaning?" Ron prompted, hoping it wasn't the answer he was about to hear, no such luck,
"She could die herself, so she must follow doctors' orders if she even wants an inside chance of this baby being born." Drakken elaborated,
"That's why they wouldn't tell me," Ron said, "they thought I'd freak out."
"And you're not?" Shego asked,
"Not really," Ron replied, "I kinda figured there was something more than what the doctors were telling me at the time, now I know."
"And knowing is half the battle." Drakken added, as he tied on a bartenders apron Ron nodded at this, and allowed himself to be shunted from his kitchen, so that Shego could cook for the night, instead, he would help Charlie, and Drakken at the bar.
By the time Ron had closed up for the night, and dropped the nights earnings in the night depository at the bank branch at Middleton Mall, Bonnie was asleep on the couch,
"Rise, and shine, Bon-Bon." Ron said, walking into the living room, and shaking Bonnie awake,
"Huh," Bonnie said groggily, "oh, you're home, who was the night's haul?"
"Another banner evening." Ron said, then, turning to look at the bedroom, he asked, "How's Kim?"
"Sleeping peacefully." Bonnie replied, smiling slightly,
"Any problems?" Ron asked,
"A few, she wanted to cook her own dinner, but I told her that if you found out that I let her out of bed, that you'd skin me alive for it."
"And I would've too." Ron said, now throwing his windbreaker over a chair in the living room,
"Just how bad is it?" Bonnie asked,
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain, but I'll try." Ron said, then he began to tell Bonnie what Drakken had told him,
"And this is why she's been having all these problems?" Bonnie asked,
"Yep." Ron said,
"Her stubbornness is getting the better of her, and it'll drive her to her grave if she doesn't listen." Bonnie said,
"Let's not think about that." Ron said, shuddering at the thought of his life without Kim in it.
Unknown to them, Kim had heard the conversation that was going on, but rather than interfere, she went back into the bedroom, and covered up, waiting for Ron to come to bed.
When Ron had bid Bonnie good night, and gotten to bed, Kim spoke,
"You know." she said,
"Yeah, I figured that there was something more than what the doctors were telling me." Ron said,
"I asked them not to tell you, I didn't want you to know that it was because of my own ignorance." Kim said,
"We all make mistakes," Ron said, "even you, so stop beating yourself up over it, and get some sleep."
"Yeah, but it almost cost me my life, twice, I don't want to leave you to look after our child alone." Kim said,
"You won't," Ron said, looking over at Kim, "now, don't you think you should get some sleep?"
"Yes, Daddy." Kim said, smiling, she enjoyed ribbing Ron for his sometimes overprotectiveness,
"I'll give you 'daddy.'" Ron replied, now turning over in bed, looking at Kim with laughing eyes, that began the tickle fight,
"Ron . . . Please . . . Stop." Kim gasped, looking at Ron, the tears of laughter falling from her eyes,
"C'mon, am I your daddy?" Ron asked, still finding all of Kim's ticklish spots,
"No." Kim said, still laughing hard,
"Who is?" Ron asked, still assaulting her tickle zones,
"Dr. James Henry Possible." Kim managed to gasp out,
"Thank you." Ron said, stopping his tickle raid,
"That was no fair." Kim said, using her puppy dog pout, which always made Ron cave in to whatever she wanted,
"What is it this time?" Ron asked,
"Nothing, I just want you to agree with me." Kim said, still using the pout,
"Alright, it wasn't, but it was a lot of fun." Ron said, which earned him a pillow in the face.