A note to JPMod – No. This story is taking place as if "So the Drama" did not occur. I am working as if Kim got back together with Josh the summer before senior year, and all this begins to take place at the closing of that summer, and runs through Kim and Ron's senior year of high school. I do make reference to Kim's "we grew apart" comment from 'Emotion Sickness' with the fact that Ron is angry about her and Josh getting back together when he though he was rid of the boy after their sophomore year.
I know I'm spending a lot of time developing Kim and Ron's relationship, and I make no excuses for it. To me it is a major part of the story, and interests me. I will be putting in more action and 'bring the war to them' (as one might be able to surmise by the content of this chapter) with the next few installments. After this chapter the story will take a darker turn, but don't expect me to drop the humor completely; even in the darkest hours of man humor has always been an effective and necessary release for physiological tension.
Once again thanks to my reviewers, and my Beta Reader, daywalkr82.
Chapter Seven Training
"Umm…KP…Kim, honey…" Ron whispered nervously as he placed a hand on Kim's shoulder. She turned to meet his eyes, still breathing heavily.
"Oops…" She whispered back to him, quickly calming and registering that in her tirade she had revealed what they had been trying to keep a secret. Kim and Ron both turned to face the silent cheer squad as they stood huddled together behind the three. Bonnie was just sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest with her head buried in them.
"Umm…I'm sorry about that. This is not really how Ron and I wanted to have everybody find out about us…" Kim began. She nervously glanced between Ron and the squad.
"KP, why don't you take the squad out and talk to them while I try and get Bonnie calmed down." Ron whispered to her.
"Are you crazy, Ron? She just tried to attack you, and you want to talk to her?"
"Look, KP, something is wrong. You know Bonnie; did you honestly ever think she would actually attack me? The way she looked after she slapped me, I don't think she meant to do it." She gave him a look like he was crazy, but nodded after looking at Bonnie, who had started to sob, and at the cheer squad, who looked like they weren't going anywhere until they got some answerers.
"Alright, Ron, I'll talk to them, but give me a call if she tries something again." Ron nodded, and Kim left, quickly urging the remaining cheerleaders into the locker room with her. She had a lot of explaining to do.
"Bonnie?" Ron said, kneeling down beside the girl.
"Go away! I don't want to talk to you."
"Bonnie, come on, I know you did not mean to slap me. Tell me what's going on."
"No." Bonnie stopped sobbing and looked up at Ron.
"Why do you want to help me? I just attacked you." She asked after a minute of silence between them.
"Look, Bonnie, you and I have never really gotten along, but that does not mean we can't at least be civil with each other. The way you looked at me after you slapped me…well, you looked like you didn't mean to do it."
"Look, I'm sorry I slapped you…I just…after I heard about Kim and Josh, I just got angry, and I needed someone to vent on."
"Why would you get angry about Kim and Josh?" Ron asked, looking confused. Bonnie looked guilty.
"Look, I just don't want to talk about it...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take it out on you…just leave me alone…"
"Bonnie, I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on; you need to get this out." Ron sighed and gave her a goofy grin, trying to lighten her mood. "Besides, I don't want you 'venting' on me again."
Bonnie gave a slight chuckle. "Don't count on it." She gave a deep sigh, and then looked back at the boy, who had taken a seat beside her on the gym floor.
"I'm only telling you this because I owe you and explanation, you and Kim are still both losers. Just because the three of us don't get along does not mean I want you to hate me though." Ron nodded an indication for her to continue.
"Has Kim ever told you anything about my parents or my sisters?" Bonnie questioned, Kim had met Connie and Lonnie, and they had both met her mother, but as far as Bonnie knew nobody at school (save a few) had met her father, or ever seen them all together.
"No, she never mentioned it." Ron replied, remembering the Mt. Middleton experience where he had met Bonnie's mother.
"The reason nobody ever sees my dad is because he is a captain in the U.S. Navy. I don't get to see him for months at a time, and every time I do…it's just…it seem like he always forgets about me. When he goes off on his tours, he gets letters that mom writes, and Connie and Lonnie are always doing some great thing, and I never get mentioned because I never do anything as great as them…and when he comes home, he just forgets about me." Bonnie looked like she was going to break down again by the time she finished, but she took a minute to breathe and continued again.
"Now, with this war and all, I don't ever get to see him; he might die out there, and ships are disappearing every day. And now Brick has decided that he is going to go off right after graduation and join the army. I tried to talk him out of it, but the big idiot is dead set on this. He just goes on and on about how his dad was in the army and he has to serve and all this stuff…and it's just not fair! Kim's dad already works for the government, and he's a scientist so he'll be safe, and she had Josh, who makes good enough grades not to get drafted, and does not want to go off anyway. And all I'm left with is two sisters, who hate me, and my mom, who forgets about me. I just got so angry when I heard that she just gave Josh up. She has the perfect life, and she has no right just letting a guy like that go, when I know my Dad and my boyfriend might never come back." Bonnie ended, nearly shouting. She had a glazed look in her eyes, as if she had forgotten all about Ron sitting there, and was just ranting to herself. After a minute of catching her breath, she looked over at Ron, and they sat there in silence for a minute.
"I'm sorry, Bonnie; I did not know about all that." Ron just gave her a sympathetic look. He would have told her it was his fault Josh and Kim broke up, but they had discussed it when they decided not to tell the general public about their marriage. Kim insisted that their marriage was only something that moved that decision up; she would have broken up with Josh anyway. They sat for a few more minutes until Bonnie spoke again.
"So…what's all this about you being Kim's husband?" She asked, which sounded more like a demand than a question to Ron. He just sighed and collected his thoughts for a moment. He would have to tell her anyway, Kim had let the cat out of the bag now, so there was no turning back.
"It's the truth Bonnie. We are married." Ron reached around his neck, removing a silver chain at the end of which dangled his wedding band. He and Kim had taken to wearing them like this when they started school again, that way they always had them, but could hide them from the public. He carefully removed the band, slipping it on his finger, and then replaced the chain around his neck.
"Kim and I got married over Christmas break. Just before the break, I received a draft notice; I don't have the grades, and I can't work for Global Justice until I'm twenty-one, and Kim…well, we made the decision to get married."
"So this is just some stupid draft dodging plan? You're going to get a divorce when you turn twenty-one! I can't believe…" Bonnie nearly spat at Ron. Being a military child, Bonnie already had distaste for those who put down servicemen, but draft dodgers were even lower in her book.
"No!" Ron cut her off. "I don't know if you can understand this, but, you see, Kim and I…we can't live without each other. This is for real; we are not planning on getting a divorce or anything else. I really do feel bad about not going. But I love Kim, and I would do anything she asked. She asked me to stay, so I stayed." Ron explained; his tone was serious and forceful.Bonnie just gave him a strange look, as if trying to digest all the information. She and most people actually had rarely ever seen Ron forceful or mad, but he was serious about this, and judging by Kim's reaction, she was too. Ron sensed their conversation was over, and got up to find Kim.
"Ron." He turned to look back at Bonnie, who had gotten up as well.
"I'm sorry about all that…thanks…you know…for listening, and good luck, with Kim, I mean." Bonnie got a little smirk on her face. "This doesn't mean you and Kim are not still losers, though." Ron smiled and gave her a nod. Bonnie really was some piece of work. She was hateful, mean, vengeful, and a handful of other colorful euphemisms, but every once in a while she showed a spark of compassion; and in those moments, she actually could be nice.
"So what do you want to do? We can't just threaten them all into keeping their mouths shut, and eventually we'll have to tell everyone anyway." Ron asked Kim. The cheer squad was re-assembled in the gym, and Kim and Ron were talking about what to do now that their secret was out. They could ask the cheer squad to keep it secret, but unless they agreed, there was no guarantee that it would work, or they could just go ahead and announce their marriage to the world. That was risky, however, based on the fact Ron had been drafted, and they did this to keep him from going off; not to mention the fact that they were so young, and still in high school.
"I don't know, Ron." Replied Kim; she really could not decide in this situation. Both options were less than perfect, but both were reasonable.
"Umm…Kim, Ron?" Bonnie spoke up, coming to the front of the group of cheerleaders. Earlier, Bonnie had apologized to Kim, who remained suspicious, but accepted it anyway. Since then, she had been talking to the rest of the squad while Ron and Kim conferred.
"Yes?" Both asked, turning to her.
"Look, we know you both are not really ready to have everyone know about your marriage, so the rest of the squad and I agree that, if you want us to, we won't tell anybody." Ron and Kim looked at each other and then back at Bonnie. It had surprised both of them that she had agreed to such a prospect; they thought she would want to take every chance to rub it in that Kim was married to a 'loser'.
"Ok…alright, I guess if you all are willing to keep our secret, then we'll try it." Kim said, nodding at her fellow squad members, who nodded back, and then an uncomfortable silence followed for a minute. Nobody really knew what else to say.
"Alright, everybody, we are going to head home, so I guess we'll see you at tomorrow's practice." Kim said. People nodded and started grabbing their things and leaving. Kim and Ron both heaved a sigh of relief at dodging a major slip-up. Kim gave a little smile for the fact that, at least during cheer practice, she could show some affection towards Ron.
"Hey, K." Bonnie called from the exit doors, turning around to address Kim and Ron, who were walking over towards the bleachers to get their things. Kim just looked up at her.
"Just so you know…you're an even bigger loser now that you are married to one." Kim scowled at her, and Bonnie just gave a smirk and walked out. Ron chuckled.
"Well, at least we can count on Bonnie to always be the same." Ron said, putting his arm around his wife and giving her a grin.
"Hey Wade, what's the sitch?" Kim asked as she flipped out her Kimmunicator. It had been a few days since they last heard from Wade about a mission or anything, and while Kim still loved saving the world, she had become glad that they did not have as many missions right now. One, she did not want to get caught up in the war in any way. And two, it gave her and Ron a chance to bond as a couple a little more; not that they were not already great friends, but some things change when you become a couple, and they were still adjusting.
"Hey, Kim, this really isn't a current mission related call, per se, but it is something I want to talk with you and Ron about. Is he around by the way?"
"He's in the kitchen helping his mom prepare dinner; I'll go get him." Kim said, standing up and heading into the Stoppable kitchen. Kim and Ron were staying with Ron's parents for a couple of weeks, and this was one of the rare occasions where both his parents and Kim and Ron were all home at the same time, so they were going to have a family dinner together. Kim had been helping earlier, but after an incident that caused her, Mrs. Stoppable, and Ron to be covered in flour, she had been ordered to go take a break.
"Ron." Kim said as she poked her head in the kitchen.
"Yes, dear?"
"Wade wants to talk to both of us about something mission related; can you spare a minute?"
"Ok…oh! I hope he got us some cool new gadgets, you know; I really need some of my own…" Ron started to gush as he thought of all the 'cool stuff' Wade usually came up with…that he was not allowed to use.
"Ron, don't make me give you the talk about the fingernail polish incident again." Kim chided with a slight grin. Ron just grumbled as they walked into the living room and got situated on the couch for whatever Wade had to tell them.
"Alright, guys, you know that with the war and all, terrorist attacks and the like have been increasing around the country. So far, they have been mainly attacking government buildings, military bases, power plants, and a few banks. The government and space center are concerned that with the increasing attack and riots sprouting up around the country that the attacks will only get more severe and that they will eventually expand to attacking scientific facilities as well. Chiefly, what they are cornered with are suitcase nukes, and dirty bombs which can be left in a bag or car or something, unseen."
"Ok…so what does that have to do with us?" Asked Kim.
"Here's the deal. The government is shorthanded in all areas right now. With the war going on, many soldiers, C.I.A., F.B.I., and Global Justice Agents are spread across the country and world right now. So, they are concerned that even if these weapons can be located that they do not have the manpower or the knowledge necessary in many parts of the country to defuse and deactivate the devices. They have a proposition for Team Possible. If we will provide our training facilities as a location to train a group for defusing and deactivating these devices, they will pay for all expenses, provide all the materials for the training, and pay all three of us a salary. You two will naturally be included in the group which will consist of about twelve other people from around the country. I will help perfect the instruments going in a satellite designed to locate incendiary devices." Ron and Kim blinked and then looked at each other and then back at Wade.
"Well…what do you think, Wade?" Kim asked.
"I say we go for it. You can use the training for your other missions, and you could save a lot of lives, and we could use the money to do some improvements to the base and your arsenal."
"I don't know, Kim, I mean, it'd be great and all to have some more money and to be able to dismantle a bomb, but it sounds kind of dangerous to me. I mean, it's cool and all that they want us to help, but I think it may be a little dangerous to be dismantling an atomic bomb." Said Ron, looking nervous. He could understand Wade's point, but putting yourself at more risk than you had to just wasn't smart to him.
"Hmm…Well, we could use the training, but on the other hand I do agree with Ron; it is kind of taking on more risk than we have to." Kim said, tapping her chin in thought. Wade, and for once, Ron, both had good points; she had to consider this carefully; she took her time and after a few minutes of thinking, she finally answered.
"I think we should do it. If somebody does happen to plant one of those things around us, we won't be safe anyway, and if we can get some training that may help save hundreds, maybe thousands of lives, I think it's worth it." Kim said looking at Ron, then at Wade.
"Ok, Kim, I'll call up the general that contacted me about it. The training should start during your spring break, in a week. You will train during that week with the others, then once school starts back, you'll train two days a week, and on weekends. It should take about a month to complete. Wade out." Wade said, cutting off the Kimmunicator. Kim looked at Ron, who nodded, but was still frowning and scratching the back of his neck. Something was bothering him about this, Kim could tell. As he got up to rejoin his mother in the kitchen, she grabbed his hand.
"Ron, what's the matter?"
"Look, KP, I will go with whatever you decide on this…it's just…I'm afraid that one of us might get killed. And I don't want that, I mean we just got together and…I love you…I just don't want you to die." Ron said, trying to hide the emotions on his face.
Kim just melted a little. Her husband had to be the sweetest man alive; he was just worried about her safety. She reached out and pulled him into a hug.
"Ron, I know it's dangerous, but this is our chance to save a lot of lives, besides there is no guarantee that we will even have to deactivate any bomb; it's just precautionary." She reached up and kissed him. "I love you too, and I know how you feel, but don't worry, we'll be in it together, ok?" Kim gave him a reassuring squeeze and another kiss, and Ron smiled at her. She was right, whatever happened, they would do it together. Ron nodded, and turned to walk back into the kitchen. Just as he pushed the door open, Kim reached out and gave his butt a hard pinch.
"KP!" He said, turning red and whirling around to see his wife giggling at him.
"Oh, come on, Ron, you're just so cute when you're worried, plus I like your butt." She gave him a grin and a wink as she sauntered out of the room, towards the bathroom to wash-up for dinner.
"Oh, Mrs. Stoppable, you'll pay for that one later!" He called suggestively after her.
"Possible!" Mr. Barkin howled from across the gym as the burst through the doors late during an after school cheer practice.
"Ahh…hey Mr. Barkin, what's the sitch?" Kim asked as the administrator marched up to her just as she was about to dismiss the cheer squad for the evening.
"Good, I caught you and your fellow squad members before you dismissed. Here's the situation, Miss Possible. With the condition that the city and country are in right now, during this time of war, there has been a jump in the crime in Middleton. I would like to personally ask you if you would consider teaching your fellow cheer squad members some self defense moves with which they can protect themselves while they are outside these walls. What do you say?"
"Well umm…I guess that would be a good idea. We could devote one of our regular practice times a week to self defense training instead of practice, since football season is over."
"Good show, Miss Possible, and tell Stoppable to come too; you could use him to demonstrate on." Mr. Barkin said, giving Ron a look as he was standing over to the side with his Mad Dog head in his hands. Barkin turned and walked out leaving a slightly confused Kim and cheer squad.
"Well, gang, you heard it. Next week, we will start taking one day of practice to do some self defense training, I think Wednesday would be a good day to start, so show up wearing athletic clothing." Kim said, grabbing their attention. Ron walked over to Kim as everyone left the gym.
"Ah man…all we are going to be doing for the next few weeks is training." Ron whined as they walked towards the exit.
"It's better than missions all the time. At least, this will leave us with some time off in the evenings." Kim retorted. Ron smiled and took her hand as they walked out. She was right about that, missions normally had no time limit, so they usually got in late, tired, and just hoping to grab a few hours of sleep before school. At least, with both the training programs, they would be getting done with enough time to enjoy evenings together.
"You know, with all the combat training we've been doing lately you might not be demonstrating on me, I might be demonstrating on you!" Ron quipped. Kim just got a smug smile.
"Bring it on, potential boy, just like last night, you won't last long." Ron turned a bright shade of crimson at his wife's comment.
"Hey!" Ron protested. Kim giggled and gave him a wink.
"You know I'm just kidding Ron…you were great last night." Since their marriage, the humor between them had taken a somewhat suggestive turn when they were alone. It was strange at first, but lately it had become almost freeing. As a couple, they could now talk about a lot more than they could have as best friends. Granted, they had been very close best friends, and if either had needed to, they would have been willing to listen to a certain amount, but there had always been a line neither dared to cross. Now, the line was erased, and they had been exploring how much closer they could be as husband and wife. It was nice, sometimes awkward, sometimes funny, and sometimes even maddening. They were best friends; they could laugh, and joke and have fun, just the same as they would have before, but now it was deeper, and even more meaningful.