Where Did the Time Go? : Part XXIV
Even though the temperature had been below freezing when the sun came up, Saturday quickly turned into an early taste of spring. It wasn't expected to last, as a cold front would be there by Monday, bringing more light snow with it. Still, it would have been a terrible shame to miss out on such good weather, especially on a Saturday.
The young couple certainly weren't going to pass up such an opportunity. As soon as the sun was up they loaded Ron's car up with a picnic lunch and some other goodies and headed right for Lake Middleton State Park. Even with the air warming up, they still wore their cold weather gear, at least until they got there when they stripped down to matching winter sweaters.
Back in town the snow had been gone for several days now, but in the dense woods surrounding the lake there were still patches of white. At least the gravel trail was clear and mostly dry by this point. After about an hour of slowly meandering through the forest they reached the place where they intended to have their picnic. Last spring they found this place when they were looking for some privacy to do some make-up making-out after a particularly nasty fight, one that might have led to their breakup if it had not been for the intervention of Monique and Rabbi Katz.
Two seconds sitting on their picnic blanket and they realized the place really wasn't going to work. It was the beginning of June then and it had been dry for weeks. Now the small meadow was probably free of snow for only a day at best and the ground was still completely saturated, as were their behinds after trying to sit and enjoy the sunshine.
Both of them nearly fell over laughing as they tried to use the remaining dry parts of the blanket to pat the moisture off their respective butts. "Not exactly the way I had this in mind." Ron sputtered as he dried Kim's backside.
"Well, it's a better excuse than usual for you to have your hand back there." She gave him a little pat on his head as he folded up the blanket. For lunch they would have to head back for the main area and use a picnic table, if they could find one that had been in the sun long enough to thaw out.
Carrying the basket and the blanket (which was now slightly heavier than before) made it a little hard to hold hands, so they settled for letting their shoulders bump together slightly as they made their way back.
Kim pouted slightly. "I was so looking forward to some private smooching time."
Ron stopped and looked around. They were still deep in the woods, the lake itself barely visible through the trees. During the spring and summer months there would be hundreds of people in the park, most of them concentrated around the sandy beach not far from the main entrance. Today they had seen maybe a dozen people in total since passing the gates. Barring the odd coincidence, they were completely alone.
Setting down his basket, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, holding her close and rocking back and forth slightly as if they were slow dancing. Kim tilted her head back, her eyes closed, enjoying his touch to the fullest. She craned her head back a little more so he could kiss her.
Just as she turned in his arms so she could kiss him some more, the Kimmunicator beeped in her pants pocket.
"Oh please, not now. This is our time." Kim whined as she pulled the device out. "Hey, Wade. Sitch it for me."
"Whoa, what's got you so blue, Kim?" Their twelve year old tech guru asked as his face appeared on the screen.
"Oh, nothing, just an all day long date with Ron on the prettiest Saturday we've had all winter."
"Sorry. We just got a hit about the Red Circle Gang committing some high-tech robberies in Go City."
Kim raised an eyebrow. "Aren't they supposed to be Team Go's responsibility?"
"Normally, yes, but they're overcommitted and they specifically requested you for this case."
"Grrrrr. Okay. What have you got for a ride?"
"If you can get to Upperton Depot in an hour, I can get you a ride on the train."
"A train? Wade, the last time you lined us up a train ride it was a circus train being pulled by a steam engine Ron could beat on his mountain bike running uphill." Kim complained.
"This is a regular passenger train, and in Denver you can transfer to the High Speed Special, which should get you to Go City in about ten hours. Sorry, I don't have any air transport for you."
"Okay, we're on our way. Tell Hego he owes us big for this."
"Will do." He gave her a big thumbs up. Then he noticed her scowl. "Okay, that came out wrong. Talk to you guys later. Wade out."
"Did he just say Wil Du?" Ron said, laughing slightly.
"Shut up, Ron." She said, her 'tweaked' expression dominating her features as they headed back to the car.
They threw their things quickly into the rear hatch. "Ron, I don't remember bringing out backpacks?" She pointed to the two brown packs, which doubled as school bags and mission gear packs, propped against the back of the rear seats.
"I grabbed 'em on our way out this morning. Never know when a…mission might pop up."
She mulled that a couple seconds. "Good thinking, though I think you threw a mojo on us by bringing them."
"Sorry, KP, I was thinking the whole other way around. I thought if we were prepared it wouldn't happen. Guess I screwed up."
"No, Baby, you did good. I'm proud of you, thinking like that. Wanna suit up now?"
He shook his head. "We've got a ten hour train ride, plus however long it takes this commuter train to reach Denver, I think we'll be more comfortable dressed like this."
"If my butt ever dries out." Kim said as she climbed into the car seat.
"Tell you what, KP, since we were spending the whole day together anyway, why don't we just pretend we're not on a mission until we get to Go City?" He gave her knee a slight squeeze before putting the car in reverse.
"That's not procedure." She tried mimicking Hego's voice.
"Well, I'm not going to tell the senior partner if you don't." He grinned at her. Even though his wrist was fully healed, they had gotten into the habit of driving the car together, Kim operating the gearshift for him while he drove, affording him the opportunity to keep a hand on top of her leg.
"Ronnie, there isn't a senior partner with us. We're equals. Got it?"
He shook his head. "Kim, that would be just stupid. You're smarter than me, stronger than me and I've got no illusions about who it is that always saves the world. When it comes to Team Possible, you're the one on top."
"Honey, that's sweet, but I want you to take a more active role. You don't always have to be the distraction. You saved both of us back at Wannaweep. Tell you what, we both have strengths and weaknesses, we'll do what the sitch calls for. If that means you have to take the lead, then you do it."
He gave her leg another squeeze. "Okay, then I call dibs on this mission."
Kim cocked an eyebrow at him as they pulled out onto the main highway. She shifted into fourth and settled back in her seat a little. "We'll see."
"There's that code word for 'ferociously unlikely' again." He smiled, letting her know he was teasing her about that.
"No, it means we'll see who's best suited to lead when we get to Go City and assess the sitch."
"Okay boss."
She punched him lightly in the hip. "Okay, team leader, what's our first move."
Grinning, he took her hand and entwined their fingers. "Our first move is just getting there and the mission doesn't start until we do."
"Okay boss." She said, squeezing his hand and laying her head down on his shoulder as best she could in the little car.
The train just pulling into the station when they got there about thirty minutes later. It was Colorado State Transit commuter train made up of modernized older streamline cars pulled by a retired Amtrak diesel. Ron spent a moment talking to the conductor before they took their seats, which were somewhere between what they would find on a long haul passenger bus and coach seats on an airplane, albeit with a little more leg room. Kim let him take the window seat and she leaned against him, snuggling against him.
She almost said something when he pulled her pack down from the luggage rack and rummaged around in it, but decided not to chide him for doing that since he'd packed it himself. Moments later he produced a rather thick book. Kim frowned slightly when she realized what it was.
"We're reading this next month too, so for once we can share our notes." Ron suggested as he handed her the copy of The Old Man and the Sea she had been assigned earlier that week.
"Homework on a mission, Oy." She grumped as she found the bookmark.
"Team leader's orders." He whispered as she settled into as close an approximation of her favored reading position as the seats would allow.
"You know, this isn't exactly the reason I'd like to go to Go City right now." She mentioned after reading for about half an hour.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. The New York City Ballet Company is there performing Valentino Surprise at the Go City Opera House. I've always wanted to see that in person."
"Ballet? Ug. I'd just as soon go to see the Go City Angels play the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. It's a shame, really, we'd be getting there just in time for either one."
"Hockey. Hate to say this Ronnie, but like you said, ug. Wait a minute. I can understand you knowing when a hockey game is on, but a ballet?"
He shrugged. "You mentioned it a couple weeks ago so I looked it up. There was a schedule on the home page." He looked down at her, but her attention was still on the book so she couldn't see his slightly worried expression.
She turned a page in her book. "Oh, okay." Closing it, she nestled a little deeper into his arms. "I think I'll read some more after we change trains. We were up really early this morning and we didn't exactly get to bed until late last night." It had been their usual Friday evening. They came home at eleven and it was well after midnight when her mother finally chased him out of the house. He had hoped he would be invited to spend the night or simply be left snoozing on the couch with her but Anne Possible had seemingly acquiesced to her husband's wishes, leaving such things for emergencies and special occasions.
Ron wrapped his arm around her as she dozed off, snoring softly.
Everything was going perfectly according to plan. With his own smile he rested his head against the window and tried to add to the two hours of sleep he had managed before six that morning.
The train station in Denver had seen better days. Where the Upperton Depot was a relatively small, it had been lovingly restored by the local historical committee. In reality, it was more of a museum than a working train station, though the commuter train did maintain a stop there, tickets being sold from a small portable building.
The larger station was still a working building. Amtrak, being constantly strapped for cash, had elected to let the historical societies preserve the 1914 structure, with its 64 foot ceilings and high, arched windows as well, but it had a much more 'lived in and used' appearance than the freshly painted, almost new look of the restored depot.
The gleaming white and purple train waiting at the main platform looked utterly out of place. Ron had only seen the advanced, high speed train in pictures and it was certainly much more impressive in person.
Kim, on the other hand, had seen a freight version of the train up close. Very up close, as in about to run both her mother and her down on their four-wheeled ATV.
"Look at this, KP." Ron was reading a brochure he had picked up in the station after disembarking from the older train. "The engine is totally robotic, with only a small support crew on board. It uses…"
"An advanced power supply. I know. I just hope the brakes work better than the one I was on before."
"Huh?"
"Remember last Mother's Day?"
"Boy do I." He shook involuntarily, remembering his all-day attempt to clean out the garage, a feat he only accomplished after Kim showed up with a matter-eating protoplasmic blob.
Kim pointed at the idling engine, which looked far more likely to take off into the sky than rocket down the tracks. "That's the same kind of train Mom and I had to get on at a hundred miles per hour when we were trying to keep Drakken from getting his hands on the SynthoPlasm."
"You're not weirded out riding a train like this, are you?"
"Nah. Just seems kinda funny is all."
They were shown by the staff to a private compartment just two cars back from the dining car. The small space had two tiny fold-down beds but they wouldn't be needing them since the train was scheduled to arrive in Go City just before eight that evening. It wasn't going to take ten hours as Wade had first said, but just under seven. When the train hit the new high-speed corridor with its concrete ties and welded rail, it would hit speeds close to two hundred miles per hour. It wasn't as fast as the TGV in France, but that was due more to the lower standard of track it would have to negotiate in places.
Ron took both their packs and stowed them in an upper compartment as Kim examined the room. Gripping his shoulder she pulled him close for a quick kiss. "It seems our new team leader has made a very good tactical decision."
"Oh, how's that?"
"By not starting official mission time until we get there. If this was just a trip for the two of us it would be very, very nice."
Ron smiled broadly, then kissed her again before holding the book up between them. "Work before play." He said, raising his eyebrows.
"Grrrrrrrr." Taking the book, she sat down in her seat just as the train started moving. Ron took the seat directly across from her instead of beside her and picked up her feet to take off her hiking boots.
"Oh, that's so good." She moaned as he rubbed her feet.
"What in the world are these socks?" They were white with little animal faces on them.
Kim pulled the leg of her black denims up and pointed to a readily recognizable face. "Cuddlebuddy socks. I got them from the Cuddler's website. I just wish they had more of Pandaroo on them."
Ron went back to rubbing her feet. "Wanna rub mine?"
Kim held up the book again. "Work before play, Baby. Mmmm, I like that." She purred as he worked the middle with his thumbs. "I've got you trained right."
She read for several hours, eventually changing sides so she could snuggle with him as usual, not even complaining when his hands started roaming just a bit. Closing the book after surpassing her current assignment by a couple chapters (not counting the report she would have to compose before classes resumed Tuesday morning) she stuffed it into the baggage compartment and sat in Ron's lap.
"Play time?" She whispered, gripping her hands over his as they encircled her waist. Tilting her head back, they started kissing until a knock on the door startled both of them.
"Tickets, please." A voice drifted through the door.
"Tickets? I thought this was all taken care of?" She wondered, quickly tucking her blouse back into her pants. Their sweaters lay discarded on the other seat.
"I'll take care of this." Ron quickly stepped out the door, returning moments later. "They just got the compartments mixed up.
"I thought the railroads were the model of efficiency?"
Ron just shrugged. "They're only human." He looked up at the folding berth. Kim followed his eyes up.
"Uh uh, leader boy. Behave yourself."
"Eh, I was just thinking." He got up and opened it anyway. It was crisply made, though there was obviously only space for one person.
"Ron, there's less room up there than the back seat of your car. Now sit down here with me." She pulled him back down by his waist, making him land in her lap for a change.
Kim wrapped her arms around him and gave him a good squeeze. "Alright, your turn now." She got up and shut the berth, taking a seat opposite from him so she could rub his feet.
Later, as they dozed once more in each other's arms, the PA announced they were thirty minutes from Go City.
"I think we'd better suit up." She said, extracting herself from his arms. Shaking her head slightly as he went right back to sleep, she opened the compartment and took out the two packs. Kim frowned a little when she realized her pack wasn't bulky enough for her new boots, nor heavy enough for her older 'rocket skates' shoes. Oh well, that just meant making do with her hiking boots.
She kicked Ron's foot, hoping to wake him up. They'd pretty much have to change together since they were this close but had seen Ron in his underwear countless times and since it really was getting close to mission time, he'd be all business anyway. To and extent. Fortunately she wasn't wearing any 'special' garments under her blouse and jeans.
Ron got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck before she could even finish unbuttoning her blouse.
"Okay, loverboy, it's showtime, and I don't mean a striptease either." She opened her pack and pulled out the first piece of clothing.
It wasn't black or olive. It was dark purple. She pulled it on out and it kept coming and coming…
"Ron? I thought you said you packed our mission gear?" She held the knee-length dress out in front of him. "How am I supposed to take on the Red Circle gang in this?
He was grinning from ear to ear. "I packed the appropriate, mission specific gear we would need tonight."
"Ron, this is the dress I bought for the Spring Fling dance, not mission gear." She started buttoning her blouse back, stuffing the tail into her waistband.
"It is if our mission consists of ballet, followed by a late dinner." He put on his most innocent look.
Kim's jaw hung open. "What?"
Ron opened his own pack, pulling out a neatly folded dress shirt and gray slacks. His tie was already done so all he had to do was pull it over his head and tighten it up.
"It's like this, KP. Tuesday, we've got class all day. Then we've got cheer practice and since we're starting a new, more advanced routine, which includes me, by the way, it's going to run right past dinner time. Throw in the fact I've got a big trig test the next day and that's a recipe for either a really short date or none at all. The best we could do would be having supper together at home and exchanging gifts, so I figured the weekend would be better." He reached into his pack and withdrew two tickets to Valentino Surprise.
"Ron, I, what?"
"Happy Valentines, KP."
"You planned all this? There's no Red Circle gang waiting for us in Go City?"
"Nope. Far as I know, most of them are still in prison. They're Team Go's responsibility anyway."
Kim looked into her bag. There was a nice pair of her dress shoes in there, as well as a dressy sweater.
"Ron, I don't believe this." She dropped everything and swept him into a ferocious hug. "You did all this for me?"
"Beats chocolates." He said sheepishly.
She gave him a huge kiss. "Be my Valentine?" She asked, smiling hugely.
"Forever and ever." He said after kissing her again.
"So how are we getting back?"
"Same train tomorrow morning. We'll be back in time for Sunday dinner with your folks."
She looked him straight in the eye. "So this is what you had to ask permission about."
He shrugged slightly in her arms. "Not so much the train or the ballet, but since we're going to stay overnight."
"Oh? You got that past my father?"
"Well, I had to promise him I'd get separate rooms…and promise him we'd use them." He added when she looked at him with hooded eyes.
"Doesn't mean we have to use both rooms all night." She purred.
"I like the way you think, KP."
She let go of him and picked up her dress. "Come on, Mr. Team Leader, get dressed, you've got a night on the town to show a certain lady."
"Booyah." He said as he pulled his shirt over his head.
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