Blue Eyes, Shining
Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time….). This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.
To my reviewers:
Whitem and DuffKilliganFan: I'm glad you like it and enjoy the different view of the world.
AtomicFire: In case you haven't been on campuses lately, the PhD candidates are neither dressed in sackcloth and ashes nor do they look like your mother (unless your mother looks like Mrs. Dr. P or Betty!). Ahh, the times, they are a'changin…
Zaratan: (Wade) "I'm not shy! I'm just reserved and cautious." (turns to cpneb) "Was that ok?" "No prob, Wade."
Enjoy! Please read and review.
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Chapter 3: Redheads and Tornados
(From the archives and logs of Dr. Wade Load.)
"Wade, what in the world are you listing to?" I was laughing when Kim ping'ed me, and I hadn't stopped yet when her face came into view.
"Tom Lehrer, Kim. His stuff is hilarious: 'Lobachevsky' is my favorite, but I also love 'Fight Fiercely, Harvard.' I'll rip a few of my favorites and send them to your email at home."
"Don't bother, Wade. Dad: Rocket Scientist, remember? I grew up on 'The Masochism Tango' and 'Werner Von Braun.' I thought Ron was gonna wet his pants the first time he heard 'Be Prepared,' but he blushed real bad at the end," Kim laughed as she remembered her dad's reaction to Ron's reaction: he almost fell off the top of the stairs watching Ron in her room as they listened to that song. "I was just calling to thank you for your help on the "Poquitos Diablos," she giggled as she intentionally butchered the Spanish.
"'No big, Kim,' and she laughed again as I tossed her response back at her. "I'm just glad I didn't have to clean up the mess everywhere; cleaning my house was bad enough with only the one."
"Tell me about it, Wade. We just barely had the final repairs on the roof completed before the big thunderstorm hit last week, and the kitchen still has the burned plastics and electronics smell," Kim remembered back to the Jr. prom night.
"Did it smell better than your cooking, Kim?"
"WADE!" and she gave me the 'I am not amused' look that she usually reserved for Shego.
"Sorry, Kim, but I couldn't resist," and she laughed as I smiled.
"Dad said it reminded him of his college dorm smell, since Drew was always 'cooking something up.'"
"Anyway, I called to tell you that I just talked to Uncle Slim. I called him after I got an email from Joss. Uncle Slim says it's ok to work with Joss on her rope gun."
"Thanks, Kim. Is she trying to become "Montana Kim?"
"No; she just wants to help, and Uncle Slim has enough background info from Dad to know that it's better to help her than send her off without backing her. I'm glad, too: she's a good kid, and she still misses her mom so much. Uncle Slim hopes that she can use the rope gun to keep the boys off of her; gee, I wonder where he got that idea?" Kim just rolled her eyes.
"At least he doesn't have a space probe handy, Kim."
"No missions?"
"Nothing active, Kim. It looks like all of your 'friends' went underground after Drakken's plan with the Diablos bombed."
"That would be nice, to actually have a summer off," Kim thought what she wanted to do this summer, and I read her smile.
"Planning some lake time with Ron, are we? Perhaps, collecting some rays of 'Ron-shine'?"
"As long as Dad doesn't see the two-piece that I bought."
"Kim, you stop traffic in a tote sack, so what's he worried about?" Hey, I wasn't so dead that I hadn't noticed that Kim was almost as pretty as Joss. Of, course, that wasn't Ron's opinion.
"Wade! I just wish I could see you blush after a comment like that," Kim teased. "Just wait until you get a girlfriend: Ron and I are going to go medieval and unmerciful on you."
"Kim, I'm 13, not 30. Give me a break, I'm not so old that I don't see the drool coming off of Ron. Besides, you can't miss it: Niagara Falls delivered less water than those guys drooled when you and Ron walked into the Prom."
"Thanks, Wade...I think."
"At least Ron's not as bad as Felix 'drool-boy' Renton: Monique has a shadow following her in a wheelchair, and I wonder why he is always offering her a seat."
"Well," Kim decided to quickly change the subject: she didn't want to discuss that subject with me. "Joss said that Ron had sent your email address to her, and she was going to email you pretty soon."
"Thanks, Kim. I just hope the summer is quiet."
"So do we, Wade, so do we. Thanks," and she got the 'I'm dreaming of Ron' look as she disconnected.
I changed the track from Lehrer to my random mixer, designed to select by composer and/or name of work or song: Leonard Bernstein's 'Mass', Bonnie Tyler, Willie Nelson, KISS, David Hasselhoff (no comments, please: you just wish you had his money from his tracks in Germany!), J. C. Arriaga, George Winston, and Johann Sebastian Bach. It would pull random selections from the Internet and give me some background music while I was writing. I had had writer's block on my current dissertation for the last 2-3 days, but I was back on track now.
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I was 20 more pages into it before the computer's selections slammed me up against the wall. How my computer knew to pull that specific Willie Nelson song right after Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse', I'll never know. Work was off the table now, as my mind was wiped from fractal theory application in space-time movement and went into thinking about how to approach starting a relationship with Joss. This, unfortunately, went past dinner and up until 10:30 when I got Joss' email. Her email asked for my instant, so I sent her the secure connection message id. This email also simultaneously solved and created my problem on how to start the relationship.
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"What's the sitch, Wade?"
"Sorry to bother you, Kim, but I'm a bit of a quandary."
"About what?"
"I got Joss' email last night."
"Great."
"That's the problem, Kim."
"Now, I'm confused."
"Joss wants to know if I can come up to Montana to work with her on upgrading her equipment."
"WHAT?"
"Now, you see my quandary."
"I don't think that's what Uncle Slim had in mind."
"Exactly," I said, but thought 'but sounds like a great idea to me! Mountains, moonlit nights…'crossed my mind. BAD WADE! BAD WADE!
"I'll talk to Dad when I get home. Maybe Uncle Slim has already called him," Kim said.
'That'd be great, Kim."
"No big. I'll let you know," and she dropped.
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I could tell what Joss had in mind for the summer by her request. The equipment and the specifications that she sent were very basic, but I could tell that she was assembling equipment for a search and rescue practice of 2-3 people. I went bask to last summer's Kimmunicator files for analysis on Mr. Dr. Slim Possible's equipment (can't call him Mr. Dr. Slim Possible all the time, and can't call him Mr. Dr. P; maybe, Mr. Dr. S? Work on that, Wade); I especially wanted to see technical specs on Tornado, the horse that he built. He has some information on his web site, and his back room had a better-than-commercial firewall (what a surprise), making him safe from basic and intermediate hackers, so I decided to wait and get information from Kim before I broke in: I might even get permission and not have to hack. I expected that, when I get in, Slim would know who got in: not many people could do what I do.
In the meantime, I checked GJ's files for any information that they had on Tornado. Nothing: what a surprise. They had Will Du as one of their top agents, for gosh sake: what did you expect?
I updated her information with the specs that I would use to make the equipment usable in all conditions and environments, much more than normal rescue would need (but, you never know: there's too many nuclear sites up there, and far too many groups with political leanings towards anarchy; some people thought that there might be some terrorist camps up there), but I held onto the specs pending the response from Mr. Dr. P. and Mr. Dr. S.
This kept me busy part of the afternoon. I put 1.5 miles more on the treadmill and finished another 10 pages on my dissertation in the meantime.
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I sent Joss an email telling her that I had asked Kim to check with Mr. Drs. S and P and to make sure that I didn't get her into any trouble (keep her happy, I must: too much Yoda, I had been watching recently). Joss sent back a nice email thanking me for doing that; she said that she would have had to "blister my behind" if I had not told her ahead of time that I had talked to Kim. I so wanted to send her a response email, but I wrote it and deleted it; I didn't know that well…yet.
I sent an email asking if I could get the technical specs for Tornado and told her that I had some ideas for her equipment list that I wanted to share with her before we got together, if everything worked out; I also told her that I couldn't leave Kim and Ron high and dry this summer and wanted to know if I could set up some equipment for a remote control center for Team Possible. She sent back a response that she was looking forward to my ideas for equipment and liked the idea of a remote site for Team Possible control center. If I would let her know what was needed, she'd check with her dad and see if they could set it up without me needing to bring any equipment to Montana. This could be the start of her control center, she suggested, or even a backup that could be used if I wanted to take some time off. I liked the way this lady thought (among other things….)
WHAM!
No!
WHAM!
No!
WHAM!
No!
WHAM!
No!
I can't help it: she drives me to distraction more than anyone else I've ever known, and I have yet to meet her in person!
This is not good: what condition would I be in when I actually met her?
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"Wade, I just talked to Dad. Uncle Slim gave the go, so just let him know what date you're coming and how long you think it'll take, and he and Joss will pick you up at the airport."
"Airport? I don' need no stinkin' airport, Keem."
"Bad imitation, Wade."
"Sorry, I guess I picked a bad time to start doing imitations."
"WADE!" Kim was getting them, now. "What's gotten into you, lately? Music, bad puns, movie quotes…are you feeling all right?"
"Kim, I'm fine. This second dissertation has tried to corner me like the Wraithmaster in Everlot, but I've won all the battles so far. I forgot: you didn't see as much of me during the first dissertation; I get this way when I haven't had much sleep, and the music and other things help me focus by taking my mind down when I'm deep into writing." 'Good line, Wade; some of it's actually true, but you know the real reason you're like this. Maybe she'll believe it.'
"Oh. OK, I'm just glad to hear that it's coming along well."
'HE SHOOTS and SCORES a THREE-POINTER AT THE BUZZER! She bought it: hook, line, and sinker.'
"I was concerned, Wade," Kim continued, my face showing none of what I was thinking. "You need a real vacation, away from the Kimminicators and getting Ron and me rides and such."
"Kim, no problem. Remember the hologram projectors in my room?"
"No, Wade, I meant outside of your room for a while. Maybe this trip will help you with some time away. Montana's not frozen this time of the year, and you've never been to a working ranch. Who knows: you might enjoy yourself."
'I have every plan to….' At least this time I didn't open my mouth.
"I think you'll like Joss, Wade."
'D'OH!' Quiet, again…..
"Just watch out, though, she's a real pistol at times, and she's definitely a handful."
'Watching I will do, most definitely.' Pushing my luck; I'd better say something.
"You may be right, Kim. But you'll not have to worry about the communications: Mr. Dr. S is setting up a backup center for me at the Ranch so that I can stay connected."
"'Mr. Dr. S?' Oh, Uncle Slim. Wade, you've been hanging around Ron too long."
"I've already talked to my parents; they think that the Ranch is an excellent idea, and like the fact that I'm getting out of my room. Mom mumbled something about fumigation, repainting the walls, and new floors."
"Great. Just let Ron and I know when you leave."
"Are your parents going to take you?"
"Nah. I'm bumming a ride with GJ on one of their jets. I told Dr. Director (Oh, Betty…. BAD WADE! BAD WADE!) about the work with Joss in Montana and the backup center idea, and she liked the idea so much that she offered some additional support equipment and transportation. Besides, she said that she was sending a team up to Canada for training west of Alberta in the Rockies, so they could drop me off on the way."
"Canada, eh?"
"Now who's doing bad impressions, Kim? Thinking about Joe again?"
"Sorry….GJ's ride sounds way cool, Wade. Maybe Ron and I can drive up later in the summer and meet you up there?"
"That'd work, Kim." 'Like Mr. Dr. P would let you and Ron anywhere near a motel room alone after the Prom! IN YOUR DREAMS!'
"Dad thought that it might be a good idea; he said he might even try to get away from the Space Center and bring Mom and the Tweebs."
'DEAR GOD in HEAVEN, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? MR./MRS. Drs P, RON, and the TWEEBS? FORGIVE ME, OH GOD for I MUST HAVE SINNED!'
"Great idea, Kim, but what happens to your Ron-shine time?"
"Out the window if the posse comes," Kim was frowning now, so maybe she didn't like the idea as much now, "I'm working on Mom and Dad to send the Tweebs to visit Nana. She can hop them up on lemon squares, or maybe lose them in the Everglades," and she let go with an imitation Shego look. "Hey, it's a thought." She smiled, but this time the same smile she used when she was thinking about Bonnie Rockwaller. Jim and Tim must have done something really bad this time to deserve the 'Bonnie' look.
"I'm leaving tomorrow, Kim. I'll have a Kimmunicator that you can reach me on while I'm off-site and before we bring the backup center on-line. I'll let you know when GJ's on their way."
"Thanks, Wade, again, for your work on the Diablos. If it wasn't for them, Ron and I would not be together now."
"Does that mean that you're sending Dr. D an invite to the wedding, Kim?"
"WADE! We're nowhere near that stage," and then she got that dreamy look. "White gown, long train," she whispered, and then she shook her head a couple of times as if she was trying to shake the thoughts out of it. Then, she started to turn red.
"Anyway, I'll talk to you later, Wade," and she disconnected.
I had to laugh out loud on that one. I had 2 months after college graduation in the Kim/Ron wedding pool at GJ.
So, let's see if Mr. Dr. S has the connection up so I can transfer the software to the backup site and begin the boot sequences for the satellite links….
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I head the GJ jet landed in the street in front of my house. I hugged Dad and kissed Mom goodbye (inside, of course: I had an image to maintain!) and ran out with my backpack and suitcase as the jet canopy popped open and Dr. Director jumped out. She was in her personal jet. I loved a woman in uniform, especially blue….
"Wade. Good morning. Are you ready?" she asked in her clipped tones.
"Yes, Dr. Director. I have everything I need here," and I patted the suitcase and pointed to my backpack. "I'm ready to go," and my heart was pounding, not for Betty this time but for Joss.
"Good; the other jet is already en route with the equipment and the trainees. Let's go," and she grabbed my suitcase and tossed it behind the co-pilot's seat as I scrambled up into the jet and strapped myself in.
Betty seemed to jump into the jet and fire up the engines as the canopy closed. We lifted about 500 feet straight up, and she slammed the throttle. We were off.
About 10 minutes into the flight, I was in deep trouble.
"Wade, I wanted to tell you that I was impressed by your first dissertation. I've seen most that were not as well-written as yours, and I understand from your department head that your defense was exceptional."
"Thank you, Dr. Director. I'm flattered that you took the time to read it; that's more than some of the committee members did," I added the last remark because 3 of my committee asked questions that were obviously answered in the dissertation.
"You're quite welcome. I hope that you're taking that consultancy offer with us seriously. You could continue to work with Kim and Ron, of course."
Silence, and then it hit. The conversation was the calm before the storm.
"Wade?"
"Yes, Dr. Director?"
"I've been pondering something for a few months. How did you get my measurements for my battlesuit? It fit so well, almost as if it were tailored exactly to me by a custom tailor who had taken my measurements. I have the same question regarding Kim's suit, of course." she said calmly.
GULP!
'This is going to be a very long short ride,' I thought. 'I just hoped that she won't hit the eject controls.'
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Betty brought her jet in at the Possible ranch. As we landed, I saw Mr. Dr. S standing next to Tornado, and Joss was sitting on Tornado, red hair streaming as the wind pushed it back There were ranch hands and GJ team members unloading the other jet. I was trying to be casual and look at Joss.
She was glorious.
She was everything that I dreamed, and more.
"Should I tell Joss how our battlesuits were fitted, Wade?" Betty had figured out why I was coming up here, and she was doing everything to make me squirm.
She laughed as she cut the engines. "Don't worry, Wade, I won't tell her about the battlesuits or how you feel about her. I'm glad you're taking a chance for her," and she popped the canopy and jumped out.
"Dr. Possible. Jocelyn. Good afternoon."
"So formal, Betty?" and Mr. Dr. S stepped forward and hugged Dr. Director. ? "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"The Oxford conference, 1991," she said, and she was smiling. ?
I need to do more research…later, I thought as I hit the ground and turned to be almost nose-to-nose with Joss.
"Hey there, Wade," she said. "I'm shore glad you could come up here and help me out." There was a twinkle in her eye, and an honest smile when she shook my hand.
"The pleasure's all mine, Joss. I'm glad I can help," I replied, and she smiled even bigger.
It was electric.
It was definite.
I loved her accent.
I was in serious trouble.
She was even more captivating in person.
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A/N: OK, readers, I have some questions for you to ponder:
Is Wade going to have all of the Drs. P and Kim and Ron and the tweebs and Rufus to deal with while he's "working"?
What is Joss really thinking?
What happened to Joss' mom?
What about Mr. Dr. S? What is he going to think of this?
Betty and Slim know each other?
What did Betty do to Wade; she seemed to approves, so everything must be ok, right?
Is Ron still scared of Tornado? Are Kim and Ron going to have a very happy summer?
Wade knew that this wouldn't be easy, but just how hard is it going to be?
What's the name of the Willie Nelson song that pushed Wade over the edge? This one should be easy….FYI: Tom Lehrer is real as are the song titles. Listen at your own risk: you've been warned.
Stay tuned for chapter 4: 'In the Twilight'. Thanks for reading, and please review.