Once School had started Kim was back at home in her element, she looked down the hall from her locker and saw that Ron's locker was that way on the opposite side of the hall. She seen Ron was there getting situated for the coming school year, and he was talking to Bonnie?

Kim gave them a strange look, "I wonder what Bonnie wants with Ron?"

Kim went down the hall to talk to Ron; she saw that Rufus has also returned for the school year in the traditional spot in the pocket of Ron's pants. "Hey Ron, it looks like we don't have any classes together this semester."

Ron nodded, "Yea we don't even have lunch at the same time anymore…Your coming in just as I'm going out."

Kim nodded, "I guess we won't see each other much?"

Ron shook his head, "It doesn't look like it."

Kim nodded, "Well I guess I'll see ya around then."

Ron nodded, "Yea see ya around, then."

Kim walked away disappointed, they didn't have any classes together. Ron always made an effort to get his classes and hers together but not now, "Everything really has changed." she thought sadly.

Ron was having trouble adjusting to all the attention of being a world class athlete, he was entering cell phone numbers into his phone, Bonnie was being nice to him, she had her reasons and they scared him, but Ron figured having a nice Bonnie was better than having a mean Bonnie.

Now he had to juggle his course schedule, practice schedule, meet schedule and work schedule in order to make everything work together. "If I knew it was going to be this much trouble…I still would have done it." Ron thought smiling to himself.

He also noticed Tara was paying extra special attention to him; he always liked Tara because she was one of the few people other than Kim that treated him nice when he was the Middleton Mad Dog. He put that out of his mind though, with Lacey being sick it wouldn't be right.

Later in the week Ron ran in his first meet, he finished fourth and was kicking himself. He ran hard and let at the beginning but his legs had run out of juice by the end of the race. Ron was getting a little grief from the other team members but not a lot, they were telling him that he needed those $200 shoes.

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "If I had both jobs and money was no object, I'd have those $200 shoes." He thought to himself.

Ron finally got to relax on the bus back to Middleton High School, "At least we won the meet, and I'll do better next time." He thought to himself.

He still had fun, Ron was awarded a t-shirt for fourth but no medal, Ron knew he would have to work on pacing himself better rather than getting all excited at the beginning of the race.

Ron made it home and called Lacey and told her about the big day, "I got fourth for varsity, not a bad finish for my first race. I got a baddical 4th place t-shirt….Next time I want a medal." Ron said with voice tinged with a little disappointment.

Lacey sounded tired, "Yeaaaaaa glad you did well, you'll do better next time."

Ron sat down at the kitchen table, "So how are you doing?"

Ron was going to be glad he was sitting down; because he was going to get an answer he didn't want to hear. "Ron, I have to go into the Lowerton Cancer Hospital on Monday, they say I need more aggressive treatment…I don't think I'm going to win this one Ron."

Ron's mind went blank, "She didn't say what I think she said…did she?" he thought to himself in disbelief.

"No, you'll go in and you'll get better, Lowerton's a pretty good cancer hospital." Ron told her trying to cheer her up.

Lacey was silent for a moment, "Ron, more aggressive treatment is usually just another way of saying last chance."

Ron was not grasping the whole concept of what Lacey was trying to tell him, "So there's still a chance then?"

Lacey giggled, "Ron your always the optimist, yes there's still a chance but I don't think I'm strong enough to make it…Last time it took me so long to recover…I don't think I can do it again."

Ron was hunched over in his chair, biting his thumb nail trying to take in what he was hearing, "uhhh…umm…Well…uhhh….you know."

Lacey knew Ron wouldn't take the news well, "Ron, I know this is difficult for you to hear. I need you to be strong for me…ok?"

Ron sniffled, "uhh…ok…I can do that…yea."

Ron was trying to gather his emotions back under control, "Ron can you do me a favor?"

Ron was wiping his eyes, "Yea, anything"

Lacey's voice sounded much more up beat, "Can you take me out on Saturday, I want to go to Bueno Nacho and Smarty Mart and Quarry Lake one more time, and I'd like you to take me."

Ron swallowed hard, "I…I can do that, I got a car you know." He said while trying to laugh.

Lacey giggled, "Booyah"

Ron winced, he was in no Booyah mood, they made plans for Saturday and said they're goodbyes and then Ron hung up the phone.

Ron pulled Rufus out of his pocket, "Rufus, Lacey's pretty sick and might not be with us much longer."

Ron swallowed hard, "We have two choices, that Lacey gave us…either we find a new girlfriend and let Lacey take her course or we stand tall and face this. I made my decision, what are you going to do buddy?"

Rufus didn't have to think twice, he stood tall on his back legs and snapped a parade ground salute.

Ron gave a soft chuckle, "I was hoping you'd say that."

Ron wiped away a few tears, "I'm going to wait on mom…I want my mom, Rufus."

Rufus nodded agreement and the two sat in the kitchen till Ron's mom came home from work.

Once Ron's mom came home from work, he told her all about the phone conversation with Lacey. Then Ron told her that he and Rufus were going to face the cancer with Lacey. Ron's mom, nodded and wiped her eyes, "You and Rufus, huh."

Ron nodded, "Yea…me and Rufus."

Ron's mom was not used to having Ron come to her with problems; he would always turn to Rabbi Katz or just keep the problems to himself. She gave her son a hug and held him, "For a son who had to practically raise himself, you sure turned into a fine man Ron. I am sooo proud of you"

Ron held onto his mother a long time, he knew the next several weeks would be tough on him and he needed all the support he could get.

At 8:00 PM the call came from Mr. Dotson at Smarty Mart, he wanted to meet with Ron and was wondering if Ron could come in and meet with him in about half an hour. Ron told Mr. Dotson he'd be there. Ron made the drive up to Smarty Mart and went back to Mr. Dotson's office.

Mr. Dotson shook Ron's hand, "Well the reason I called you down here is that I see your only getting eight hours this week, are you thinking about quiting?"

Ron was stunned, "No…I…I'm on the cross country team and…uhhh…School started and everything."

Mr. Dotson nodded, "I was concerned because eight hour is hardly worth coming in for. So I'm going to load you up with hours on the weekends and a couple a nights during the week, which should help you out money wise."

Ron liked the idea but had to tell Mr. Dotson of his plans with Lacey for this Saturday. Mr. Dotson smiled, "Glad to hear your going to stick with her, you know it's going to be a tough road."

Ron nodded and thanked Mr. Dotson for his looking out for him on the schedule. Ron had completely forgotten about the schedule, he was so wrapped up in cross country. "You don't get $200 running shoes if you don't have any money coming in." he thought to himself.

Saturday came and Ron made the drive to Lowerton to pick up Lacey for a day out. Ron ran by the Smarty Mart and bought her some flowers; he realized that he had never done that for her. He pulled into the driveway and let out a deep breath, he was shocked last week and this week he didn't know what to expect.

He looked himself over he had made sure to be extra clean and even made sure Rufus was cleaned up and looking spiffy. She met him at the door; Ron was relieved she looked much the same as she did the week before. He gave her the flowers and was rewarded with a big hug.

He held her close for long minutes afraid to let go, "I missed you."

Lacey hugged him back; "I missed you too."

Ron went inside and talked with Lacey's parents for a while, they both thanked him for taking Lacey out and how happy they were that Ron was going to see things through with Lacey.

Ron helped Lacey into the car, which made Lacey mildly irritated, "Ron, I ain't going to break."

Ron put his hands on his head, "S…s…sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Then they headed off to Smarty Mart. Once they arrived at Smarty Mart, Ron put Lacey in an electric shopping cart, so she wouldn't get wore down walking the long isle ways. She said her goodbyes to her friends that she worked with, Ron thought she handled things well, only because he didn't think he could do it. They stayed about an hour and then headed out to Bueno Nacho.

Ron was happy to be headed to the someplace a little smaller and less active, plus he hadn't really seen Ned since he quit. He walked in with Lacey and went to his favorite booth; he left Rufus to make sure she wouldn't get lonely while he was ordering.

Ron went up front to order and he spotted Monique and Kim, he waved and they waved back.

Ron spotted Ned, "Hey Ned two of the usual grande size."

Ned looked disturbed, "Stand in line like everyone else."

Ron laughed and shifted to the left, "Hey Ned two of the usual grande size."

Ned nodded, "That's better, have to maintain the customer/counter relationship."

Ron nodded; he figured he'd humor Ned and his little eccentricities.

Ron got his food headed back to the table, "It's snackage, it may not be as good as when I worked here but they try hard."

Ron was hungry and started to dig in, Ron noticed that Lacey wasn't eating much, but what she wasn't eating Rufus was taking advantage of it.

Kim and Monique stopped by the table and Ron introduced them and then Ned came up and interrupted, "Ron, I need to talk to you in the back now."

Ron looked a little disturbed with Ned, "Ok…Well I guess I'll be right back." Ron slid out of the booth and disappeared to the back with Ned.

Ron motioned for Kim and Monique to take his seat, and they did. Monique slid in first with Kim right beside her. The two girls eyed Lacey, Lacey was eyeing them. Kim fidgeted in her seat just a bit, "So…you must be Lacey."

Lacey nodded, "I must be…I guess that makes you Kim Possible."

Kim could detect a slight chill in her voice and it made her uncomfortable, "So…you've been dating Ron?" Kim cringed inside; she was not handling this well.

"Yea, I been dating Ron…best boyfriend anybody could ever have." Lacey informed her.

Kim swallowed hard, "This is not going to well."

Then Lacey stunned her, "I'm going to be direct with you, I've got a mission for you."

Kim squirmed, "Here it comes, she's gonna tell me to get lost." She thought to herself.

Lacey was in the mood for no nonsense, "Here's your mission, I'm going into the Lowerton Cancer Hospital on Monday, I don't think I'll be alive very much longer…I've accepted this, Ron hasn't. If and when I die, you don't let that boy fall apart. I don't know why but for whatever reason he still thinks the world of you, so don't you dare let him down again."

Lacey had her eyes narrowed and Kim could tell she meant business; "Uhhh…ok" was all Kim could get out.

Lacey was looking around, "Now for your curiosity on what you missed out on this summer, Ron's funny, charming, thoughtful and a great kisser, and when he loves, he holds nothing back. I asked Ron before we started dating why you guys broke up, all he'd tell me was he didn't measure up."

Lacey let out a bitter laugh. "Now I don't know what kind of lofty ideas you have for a boyfriend…but you lost out on one of the best…Tough luck Kim because if I was healthy I'd see to it that he'd forget all about you."

Lacey smiled, "You're not catching me while I'm at my best, I was quite a hottie before the chemo took it out of me."

Lacey shook her head, "Hey I figure I can get away with this little talk, death has a way of getting rid of one's inhibitions."

Shewas enjoying putting Kim on the spot, but she was getting tired and it was time to wind up her little talk. "Oh and quit trying to get him to go on missions with you, there are things going on in his head that he's been having trouble coping with, and you don't need to add to it."

Kim and Monique just sat across from Lacey with their mouths open, this is not what they expected from a little chat with Lacey.

Lacey spotted Ron coming back, "You remember what I told you if I don't make it."

Ron slid into the booth next to Lacey, "Ned's got a panic attack, I'm trying to get him to ask Tina out but…You know Ned."

Lacey smiled, "I want to go to Quarry Lake."

Ron nodded, "Then that is where we shall go."

Ron looked over at Kim and Monique, "We gotta go, it was great seeing you guys."

Kim and Monique smiled weakly and told them goodbye. Ron collected Rufus and escorted Lacey out to the car like she was made of glass. Once they were inside the car, Ron fired the motor and took them both to Quarry Lake.

Kim and Monique were still sitting in the booth, speechless, they sat for long minutes before Monique broke the silence, "Good thing you didn't try to pull her off Ron at that club, she'd kicked your butt."

Kim laughed, "Yea, now I see why Ron's so crazy about her."

Monique shook her head, "This is gonna kill Ron…You going to try and keep him together?"

Kim nodded, "Yea…it's a mission, and she's right I can't let Ron down again."

Monique nodded, "You going to try and get back together with him?"

Kim shook her head, "I don't know, I'd like to but I'm afraid I'd come across looking like a ghoul." Monique nodded her agreement.

They both sat in the booth still pondering what was to happen, "Monique, I think I'm going to need help on this one…I don't have any classes with Ron."

Monique nodded, "I've got him in a couple of my classes, we can always ask Tara; she's always kind of liked Ron."

Kim shot her an angry look which Monique immediately caught, "Or not"

Kim nodded and just to remind Monique of why Ron was off limits to Tara, "She is not Ron's type."

Monique gave a deep laugh, "and just who do you think is Ron's type?"

Monique asked leering. Kim just looked away blushing, "Monique…I don't know, but it's not Tara."

Monique broke down laughing, "Girl, you are hopeless."

Ron and Lacey made it to Quarry Lake, it was late afternoon and the shadows hung low over the water, the leaves on the trees were starting to turn color. It was quiet and the water was still, "This is truly my favorite place in the world." Ron told Lacey.

Lacey nodded her head in agreement, "Wish you had this car in the summer, I'd really of made it your favorite place." She said with a big smile.

Ron laughed, "Hey now, plenty of time for that when you get better." Ron said smiling.

Lacey looked out the passenger window and frowned, "Ron…I don't think I'll be getting better…ok."

Ron looked out the window and down at the steering wheel, "You…you're just nervous because you're going in the hospital on Monday, you'll get better, you'll see…people get better when they go in the hospital."

Lacey shook her head, "Not always Ron, you need to accept the fact that I might not be coming back….You have to be strong for me now…ok."

Lacey was rubbing Ron's ear trying to get him to accept the situation she was in.

Ron was trying hard not to cry, but wasn't succeeding very well, "I…umm…I can't give up…I…it doesn't feel right to give up."

Ron stopped talking to wipe his eyes, "The last mission that KP and I went on…I thought for sure, that I wasn't coming home…I was convinced, that I was going to die…I didn't trust Kim to watch my back anymore."

Ron stopped talking, it was the first time he had truly understood why he didn't want to go on missions anymore, and it was lack of trust. "Anyway, I got drilled by Shego pretty hard, had the wind knocked out of me and I couldn't move…I knew I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do about it…So…ummmm…I was able to raise my arms…in front of my face and I waited for the end." Ron was looking down replaying everything that happened in his mind.

"The end never came for me, Kim showed up and started fighting Shego…So…ummm…I think that if I have your back, that maybe…you won't die either." Ron was talking low almost in whisper.

Lacey and Ron hugged for long minutes after that, neither wanting to let the other go. Lacey was crying and rubbing Ron's back, she knew that if she died it was going to tear poor Ron to shreds. Lacey pulled back from the hug, "I love you Ron."

Ron closed his eyes, he'd always dreamed of hearing a girl tell him that and it had finally happened to him, "I love you too Lacey." Ron said it from the heart and he meant it.

Then they shared a long kiss and it was time to take Lacey home. Ron dropped Lacey off at home and shared one more long kiss, "I'll call and try to see whenever I can."

Lacey nodded and waived as she went inside her house. Ron was tired, it had been a long grueling emotional day for him, "Of all the people in the world, she loves me…A dork with a nice hair cut."

He was happy he found love but at the same time he knew it wasn't going to last. It was finally sinking into Ron, "Lacey is going to die and there is nothing anyone can do about." And the realization scared him.