"Adjusting to change"
Inside a demonstration center at Henchco Inc:
Drakken and Shego were watching Drakken's henchmen participating in training exercises. Drakken had an evil grin. "Kim Possible doesn't stand a chance."
Shego groaned and slapped herself on the forehead. She leaped from the observation deck and landed in the middle of the henchmen. She motioned with her hands for them to come and attack. They all looked up at Drakken. "This will be an excellent test. Attack!" The henchmen although much improved all ended up on the floor moaning and groaning.
Shego looked up at Drakken. "Another colossal waste of money."
Drakken just grumbled and left the observation deck.
Ron hopped on his scooter and headed over to Tara's house. He paused at the front door before pressing the doorbell to collect his thoughts. He took a deep breathe and pressed the door bell. Tara answered the door with a big smile and hugged Ron. "Good afternoon sleepyhead."
Ron smiled. "Mom said you stopped by. Sorry, it was a long flight home and I was exhausted."
Tara invited Ron in. "Are you hungry? We can make a Bueno Nacho run."
"Actually I ate barely an hour ago. Have you had lunch?"
Tara shook her head no.
"C'mon, we can go to that Italian restaurant that you like so much."
Tara smiled, "Sounds great."
Tara and Ron talked at lunch. Tara had a bunch of questions about Japan. Ron, still under the oath to keep Yamanouchi a secret was unable to tell Tara all that had transpired. Tara was saddened and feeling hurt. Ron sensed Tara's distress. "I'm sorry Tara. I wish I could tell you. You know as much as my parents do."
"What about Kim?"
Ron knowing full well Tara wasn't going to like the answer. He took a deep breathe. He looked at Tara and said, "Kim knows everything."
Tara was already fairly certain that Kim did know the truth. After all, Kim spent a week in Japan with Ron. A frown appeared on Tara's face and she looked down at her half-eaten plate. She had lost her appetite.
"I'm sorry Tara. I wish I could tell you everything but I can't. The decision to invite Kim to Japan wasn't mine." Ron placed his hand on Tara's chin and lived her head up. Tara made eye contact with Ron for a second and then looked away. Tara felt pretty hurt. Kim knows so much about Ron that I don't. I wish he'd share more of his life with me.
"Take me home please."
The ride home was uncomfortable. Not much was said. At Tara's house, Tara got off the back of Ron's scooter and walked to her front door. When she got to the door she turned around and looked at Ron. Ron could clearly see how sad Tara was. Ron didn't know what he could say to make things better. "I'm sorry."
Tara nodded. "I'm sorry too." Tara turned around and walk back in the house. Ron headed home.
Tara walked to her room and sat on her bed and brought her knees to her chin. In her heart, she knew Ron was being truthful. She believed that he wanted to tell her about Japan but couldn't due to circumstances beyond his control. However it bothered her that Kim did know. It wasn't fair. Kim knew so much about Ron. Would she ever get to know Ron as Kim does? If she and Ron started growing close, how would Kim take it? Would Kim put up a fight? If push came to shove and Ron was forced to choose between her and Kim who would Ron choose? Tara knew at this present moment, the answer to this question was Kim. Tara and Ron had only been going out about a month and Kim has known Ron like 13 years so Tara could understand her losing to Kim at this point in time. However, would Ron open up to her to a point where Tara could win that battle? That was the million dollar question.
When Ron got back home he headed up to his room and sat down in his chair. He felt bad about what happened with Tara. He knew how he'd feel back if the roles were reversed and Tara was the one that couldn't share something with him. He looked at the picture of Kim sitting on his desk. He let out a sigh. He couldn't avoid Kim forever. He would have to accept the fact the Kim and Eric were going out. Ron's thoughts drifted to Yori. He had learned that Yori had feelings for her. Yori had done so much for him. He remembered his promise to honor Yamanouchi. Ron stood up with a look of determination. He would not let Sensai and Yori down. He would not let himself lose his inner balance. He would try and work things through with Tara and accept the fact that Kim has another man in her life. Ron picked up the phone to call Kim. Kim wasn't home so he left a message.
Drakken and Shego were leaving henchco when Shego wanted to stop by a local newsstand to pick up the latest copy of her favorite ladies gossip magazine. Drakken wasn't too thrilled standing there inside the store waiting for Shego. His latest plan with the martial arts training proved to be another failure. Suddenly, there was some commotion coming from the outside. Curiosity got the better of Drakken and he walked to the front to have a peek out the window. He saw a thief running down the street with a couple of purses. He gasped as he saw Kim Possible walking hand-in-hand with some guy that wasn't the buffoon from the other direction. Kim saw what was happening to took off to chase the purse snatcher. As Kim was closing the gap the thief cut into an alley. Drakken stepped out of the store to watch what was happening. The thief took off down the next street from the alley. Kim was with 50 feet of the crook when Eric suddenly appeared and stuck his foot out and tripped the thief causing him to take a tumble. The police arrived and took the thief into custody. Drakken had seen the whole thing. Kim smiled and gave Eric a big hug. "You rock Eric." They walked off hand-in-hand.
Suddenly it dawned on Drakken. When Drakken got bored, he occasionally thumbed through some of Shego's magazines. An evil grin appeared on his face. He walked back to the magazine store and browsed through the women's magazine section. Shego was sitting in a chair preoccupied with one of her magazines. Drakken read the story titles on some of the magazine covers:
Finding the perfect man.
Take our compatibility quiz.
Is he your soul mate?
Drakken smiled to himself. I think I have found Kim Possible's weakness. "Shego, it's time to go."
Later that evening Ron arrived at Kim's house for dinner. "Thank's for having me over for dinner Mrs. Dr. P."
Mrs. Possible smiled. "Any time Ron."
Ron was about to walk into the family room when he saw Kim and Eric sitting next to each other on the couch holding hands. Their shoulders were touching. Kim had a big smile on her face. Oh no. Ron took a deep calming breath, forced a smile and walked into the room. "Hey guys. Kim thanks for inviting me to dinner."
Kim turned to Ron and smiled. "Hey Ron, come and have a seat. Mom said dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes." Ron walked over and sat in the recliner.
"I thought this would be a good chance for you and Eric to get to know one another. Want something to drink Ron?"
Ron shook his head no.
Kim got up and headed toward the kitchen. "I'm going to see if Mom needs any help. You two get to know one another."
Eric spoke first. "Ron, Kim has told me a lot about you. How was Japan?"
Oh no, I hope Kim didn't tell Eric too much about Yamanouchi. "What did Kim tell you about Japan?"
"Not much actually."
Ron internally let out a sigh. "Japan was good. We learned some stuff that should help us out on missions. So Eric, tell me a little bit about you?" Ron had heard more than plenty from Kim on the plane ride home but Ron was trying to make polite conversation.
"Well, my family just moved here just over two weeks ago. You were in Japan my first day at Middleton High. Mr. Barkin asked Kim to show me around the school and we really hit it off. Btw, I think it's really cool what you and Kim do saving the world."
Kim walked back in and sat back down next to Eric. "Dinner's almost ready." Eric placed his hand in Kim's and they both smiled. Kim looked at Ron. "Glad to see you two are getting along so well. I imagine the two of you will be seeing a lot of each other."
Eric squeezed Kim's hand and grinned. "Well I hope not too much. I'd like to spend some time just with you." Kim just giggled.
Ron with a smile still on his face excused himself to the bathroom. "I need to wash up before dinner."
Ron closed the door to the bathroom and turned on the faucet. He let out a groan and splashed some cold water on his face. You can do this Ron. You can get through dinner.
Dinner was uneventful except when the tweebs started singing "Kim and Eric sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Mr. and Mrs. Possible stopped the tweebs outburst in a hurry and apologized to Eric. Eric just smiled and said, "No problem Mr. and Mrs. Possible. I got a younger brother and sister myself." Mr. Possible beamed at what a polite young man Eric was. Ron was quiet most of dinner. This wasn't unusual as he was usually busy stuffing his face with food. Mrs. Possible noticed Ron wasn't stuffing his face as usual. "Ron, is something the matter? You don't have your usual appetite." Ron just smiled as best as he could. "I had a late lunch today Mrs. Dr. P. The food is wonderful as usual." Mrs. Possible looked at Kim who just shrugged.
Kim and Eric had gotten up from the table and made their way back into the family room. Ron was still sitting at the table. "Ron, are you coming?"
"In a minute."
Mr. Possible helped Mrs. Possible clear the table. Ron was still sitting at the table appearing to be lost in thought. "Ronald, are you going to join them?"
"Actually Mr. Dr. P I think I need to head home. My parents are still waiting to hear about my adventures in Japan."
Mrs. Possible turned to Ron and smiled. "Why don't you wait for dessert? I got your favorite, chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. You can take some home to your folks."
Ron got up. "Thanks Mrs.Dr. P but I should get going."
Mrs. Possible looked concerned. She looked at her husband who just shrugged his shoulders? "Ron, you sure you're feeling ok?"
Ron nodded. Ron walked into the family room. "KP, I need to get going. My folks are expecting me."
Kim turned to Ron. "Ok Ron, thanks for coming over. You and the 'rents still over for Sunday brunch tomorrow as usual?"
"I'm not sure KP. I'll have to check with them. Bye KP."
"Bye Ron."
As Ron left the house Mrs. Possible walked into the family room. "Is everything ok with Ron? I'm worried about him."
"I believe so Mom. I think he may still be a bit jet lagged."
Mrs. Possible looked that the pictures of Ron and Kim they had on the wall. Sadness crept over her as she walked back into the kitchen.
