Well everyone… here is the last chapter. I know this was kind of short, but oh well. I feel like it served its purpose. Thanks again to all those who have left a review: MrDrP, Molloy, Whisper fro the Shadows, AtomicFire, and Ace Ian Combat.

Disclaimer: Same as always. I do not own any characters already claimed by the Mouse Ears channel. The ghost was created by… me.

Chapter 3

In an attempt to clear sleep from her eyes, and to accustom herself to the bright light, Kim squinted and blinked several times.

Two voices spoke that both relieved and frightened the young pre-teens.

"Kimmie-cub?"

"Ronald?"

"Daddy?" Kim said, dropping her guard.

"Hey, Dad." Ron said, as he waved sheepishly from inside his sleeping bag, as he was stuck but good.

Kim rushed to her Dad, and hugged him. Mr. Possible returned the hug, and gently lay a hand on her hair as she pressed her face into his chest. "I thought you were at Ronald's house."

"And I thought you were at Kim's." Gene said to Ron as he helped his son un-zip the bag, and help him to stand.

"Are we in trouble?" Kim asked her dad as she looked up at him, her arms still wrapped around his waist.

"We are both VERY upset with the two of you." Gene said. "You both lied to us."

"The sun is already up?" Kim asked looking out the open front door, changing the subject. "I… set an alarm…"

She picked up the small Scooby Doo alarm clock and looked it over. The small button on the back that was to be pulled out to set the alarm was pushed in.

"I know I set that thing…" Kim mumbled under her breath. "How… did you know we were here?"

"When your mother called the Stoppables to ask if we could all go to breakfast this morning, we knew something was wrong. It only took us about 10 minutes of driving around looking for you to finally see your bikes in front of this house."

"We weren't sure what we would find, but we knew you had to be inside. I just never thought you would be camped right inside the door." Gene finished.

"OK you two… now March!" James said as he gently went to usher his daughter out the front door.

"What were you two doing inside here anyway?" Gene asked as he went to take Ron by the elbow to get his son moving out the door.

Inside… Ron thought. "I need to go check something out first, Dad!" Ron said loudly, turned on his heel and ran up the stairs.

"Ronald! You get back here this instant! You are in so much trouble as it is…" Gene said, and quickly went up the creaky stairs to find his son.

"Shall we follow them?" James asked his daughter.

"May as well."

Kim and her Dad went up the creaky old stairs, but not near as fast as Ron or his father. They saw Gene standing outside of a door, looking in. His mouth was open, but he wasn't making a sound.

The two walked up to his side and looked into the dark room. They too dropped their jaws at the sight.

Ron was kneeling in front of a large chest, his hands on the lid. Above the chest was a mist that vaguely resembled the form of a little girl. It was almost surreal as this was during the day, but the room was eerily dark

Without warning Ron undid the latch, lifted the lid of the chest, and fell back coughing and gagging as a small bit of dust hit him in the face. It wasn't just the dust that was making him gag though. It was a terrible rotting smell.

Ron lifted the bottom of his shirt over his mouth and looked into the chest. His eyes got wide, and he turned around, looking at everyone standing in the doorway, all color drained from his face. Tears ran down his cheeks, most likely from the dust. Or so everyone thought.

The three that were standing in the door next saw the misty form disperse and slowly disappear. It was Kim who regained her composure and slowly walked up to her friend's side and looked into the chest. Her hand shot to her mouth, and her eyes began to tear as Kim turned her head from the sight.

The two dads then walked into the room, and the rotten smell hit them too. Covering their noses mouths as Ron had earlier, they too looked into the chest. Both of them gently closed their eyes and dropped their heads in sorrow.

Inside the chest was the skeleton of a little girl. She wore a white night-gown type dress, the bony fingers clutching a small teddy bear to her chest. What little skin was left had turned gray, and had shrunk around the bones. Her long blonde hair lay underneath the small head.

"Ron…?" Kim finally said when she found her voice. "Th… that's… her. Isn't it?"

"Yeah Kim, it is. I'm sure of it."

James spoke next as the group backed away from the chest in an attempt to get away from the smell, though none of them left the room. "It looks as if she crawled into this chest, and the lid closed, causing the hasp to latch. That chest is lined with a thick padding, and I bet there was no way anyone could have heard her call for help."

"Daddy?" Kim said, looking up into her father's eyes.

"Yes Kimmie-cub?"

"We… saw her… ghost. Last night."

"Kimmie… now you know there is no such thing as ghosts." He replied.

"But we did see her!" Kim said full of emotion.

"That's what she was telling me all along." Ron said quietly, but everyone heard. "She was telling me that she was inside the chest."

"What are you talking about Ronald?" Gene asked.

"Ummm… nothing Dad, nothing."

James spoke again. "Well… let's go outside, get some fresh air, and call the police." He looked at Gene. "I think your son here has just solved a decades-old child disappearance."

…x x x x…

The Police came, taped off the house, and took statements from Kim, Ron, and each of their fathers. James had called Anne and told her an abbreviated version of the story, and said he would fill her in later.

Both pre-teens then rode their bikes home, followed slowly by James and Gene in the Stoppable's car. Kim rode up by Ron's side and spoke, breathing heavily from her pedaling.

"Hey Ron… (huff)… I just realized something."

"What's that, Kim?" He asked breathing hard also.

"You never once… called out for your old friend Rufus."

"I didn't?" He said, turning towards her.

"Not once. That was… really something last night, Ron. (huff) You were brave."

"Yeah… (huff)… I was? Wasn't I?" He straightened a bit on his bike.

"Let's not… say anymore to our parents about the ghost. (huff). OK? They might think we're crazy."

"Sure KP… No problem."

By then they had reached the Possible's house, Ron got into his Dad's car, and they drove home. The breakfast had been cancelled, so each family was by themselves for the rest of the day. Each of them had been banished to their rooms for the remainder of the day, and had to eat dinner in there also, as punishment for lying to their parents.

…x x x x…

"Is that it, Dad? Is the story over? Jeez, why did you tell us this? What kind of ending is that?" Jonathan said. "What about the little girl? Was the skeleton really hers?"

"Now… now, Jonathan. Calm down." Ron said, trying to calm his son. "I wasn't quite finished.

"That night, for some reason, about 2:30 in the morning I woke up. My eyes snapped open and who do you think was standing right next to my bed?"

"The little girl?" V asked, her eyes as big as saucers.

"Yup… the little girl. She told me her name was Elaine, and that she was happy now. Let's see if I can remember her final words."

…x x x x…

A very frightened Ron Stoppable sat up in bed staring at the floating white form of the little girl he had seen in the Cratchet House. Her eyes were no longer black, and he could almost tell what their original color was. She spoke to him

"Ron Stoppable…" Her voice was almost echoing, but not quite. It definitely sounded 'other worldly'. "Thank you for finding my body. If it were not for you facing your fears, my soul would not be at peace as it is now."

Ron just sat there in his bed, gripping the sheets with white knuckles. She continued to speak. "You are destined to do great things, Ron. I am not the only soul you will save. Continue to face those fears, and you can do anything. Always remember… anything is Possible!"

…x x x x…

"Whoa…" V and Jonathan said in unison.

"Now you two need to get to bed. Your Mom is going to have my hide if she finds out I've kept you up this late." He looked up at the clock on the wall. "She should be home any minute now. Good night…"

"Good night Daddy." Ron kissed his daughter on the forehead.

"Night… Dad." He then ruffled his son's hair as he had outgrown being kissed by his Dad.

"Good night… Ron…"

"Huh…?" All three said, looking around the room.

There in the corner of the room by a bookshelf was a little girl, dressed in all white. It was Elaine. She smiled, waved at the three, and slowly faded away.

Ron left their room with a smile on his face, not at all afraid at what he had just seen. Elaine would be there to watch over his children to make sure they would always be safe.

Jonathan and Veronica had their best night of sleep ever, as V didn't have anymore nightmares… ever again.

The end…

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Well, what did y'all think? Quite the bed-time story, huh? Is it plausible that an event like this would be what makes Ron do what he does? Facing his fear to always be at Kim's side, no matter how scared he might be? Let me know with some R & R... Thanks again!