A/N: I want to again thank Jeriddian, campy, and daccu65 for permitting me to use their original characters in this A/U story. Besides the usual grammar can continuity changes from the original version posted on AO3, I've also added a brief Crystal and Zoe scene. Hope you're enjoying the story!

Tara and Hope's House Before School

"What is it, Betty?" Tara, wearing a cream colored top and low-rise jeans with boots, asked as the Director for Global Justice appeared on their television monitor. "This better be important. You caught us as we were on our way out of the door to go to school."

"I'm sorry for the sudden call, but I have some news for you that I think you might be interested in." Betty Director said in a no-nonsense voice.

"Okay…let's hear it."

Doctor Director's next words immediately drew the attention of both girls. "It concerns David Bruckner. He's been assigned to a deep cover mission. I'm not at liberty to say what the mission is nor how long he will be on it. Suffice to say that he will be out of contact for an extended period of time."

"We understand. It's part of the game—comes with the territory." Tara replied. "He's had to do this before. I trust you'll let us know if conditions change."

"As soon as I am made aware of any changes…" Betty vowed, "…you two will be the first to know." The Global Justice director further declared, "He volunteered for the mission because he recognized how important it is. If he succeeds, the number of lives he saves will be in the hundreds of thousands—at a minimum."

'Thank you, Betty." Tara replied with a warm grin.

"Yeah, Betty." Hope interjected, "We appreciate your letting us know."

"I'll let the two of you go on to school now." Betty said, her lips turning up in a smile. "Take care."

"Think he'll be all right?" Hope asked as the pair walked out of the house and got into Tara's Alfa-Romeo.

"Yeah." Tara smiled, "It's not like he hasn't gone deep cover before. Last time, he had to infiltrate a Chechen cell. He was in the cold for six months on that one."

"What's the longest you've been out in the cold for?" Hope inquired.

"About a month once." Tara replied, "Usually I don't do deep cover jobs—this is my first really long term job and it's kind of a special sort of mission. I wouldn't call what I'm calling deep cover though because too many people know who I am."

"What sort of mission would you call it?" Hope asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Her lips turning up in a smile as she regarded her best friend, the blonde adventuress responded, "A smashing good one. I never really went to school." Tara confessed, "Oh yes, I went to a boarding school for a brief period—but that was because Grandmama, Uncle John, and Auntie Emma wanted to be sure I learned to develop good social skills and how to adapt quickly to circumstances. For the most part, I had private tutors. This is the first chance I've had to actually behave as a teenager." She chuckled as she started the car and put it in gear, "Cheerleading, goofing off in classes, hanging out with friends, even doing detention…It's actually kind of fun."

Middleton High

"Hey guys!" Kim Possible, with her best friend and sidekick Ron Stoppable in his customary place at her side, ran up to the Dirty Pair in the hallway. "How was your weekend?"

"Absolutely smashing!" Tara grinned. "You two should have gone with us."

"Yeah." Hope smirked, "We laid out all day working on our all-over tans sipping mai-tais and taking it easy and at night…"

"Partied with some of the best looking studs you've ever seen." Tara interjected with a leer. "There was this one bloke…sandy blond hair…six pack abs…"

"Carried about eight inches…" Hope interrupted licking her lips lasciviously. "Me, Tara, and Sheila just took our time…"

TMI! Kim thought to herself as she imagined what went on in that hotel suite, her face blushing even redder at her next thought. Wish I was there.

"We wore the poor lad out…" Tara quipped, "…but when we left him, he had the cutest smile on his face."

Kim stammered, her face turning a deep red "Ummm…yeah…We had a good weekend too—didn't we Ron?"

Ron shifted about uncomfortably, happy once again that he was wearing baggy trousers as he imagined himself alone in a room with Shego, Tara, and Hope—all three girls horny and slightly buzzed. Wrong-sick! Wrong-sick! "Yeah." The blond sidekick replied, running his fingers through his unruly hair as he sighed inwardly in relief at his friend's switching of the topic to a safer zone. "We went to Floppy World and I got Allie Gator's autograph and got my picture taken with Floppy Ferret himself!"

"Sounds like you two had fun." Tara chuckled.

"Well…" Kim smirked, "We did have to beat that low-rent wannabe villain."

"You mean Greyscale?" Ron laughed, "No big."

"Greyscale?" Hope snickered as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yah." The redheaded teen hero snorted, "He wanted to turn the park and everyone in it black and white—like the old TV shows."

Laughing, Ron declared, "Yeah. He was a real weirdo."

"He had this ray gun that changed anything it hit black and white." Kim recalled. "He was going to brainwash everyone into thinking they were characters on some old fifties TV show and he was going to turn Floppy World into a fifties style small town. Ron found a reverse switch on the ray gun while I was fighting Greyscale's henchies and turned everything back to normal again."

"Way to go, Ron!" The girls praised as the young man preened, obviously enjoying their compliments.

"You really stepped up there, Ron." Kim commended, giving her best friend a warm smile.

Shrugging his shoulders, the young sidekick responded with a modest, "It was no big."

"Well…I think it was." Kim replied, "I don't know about you two…" She grinned at her fellow cheerleaders, "But I know I don't want to live my life in black and white."

"Not our idea of a good time either, luv." Tara laughed as Hope nodded her head in agreement.

"So…" Kim inquired as the foursome made their way to their next class, "What are your plans for after school?"

"Chess club." Tara answered back, "I promised Kevin…"

"That's right!" Kim interjected, "You promised you'd play fourth board for the regionals."

"Yeah." The blonde cheerleader nodded her head as her best friend heaved a sigh.

"And she's dragging me along for moral support."

"It won't be that bad, Hope!" Kim giggled, "Besides…Liz said there's a couple of hotties in the club. Bet you'll end up having fun."

"Yeah." Hope snorted, "Right."

"It's not going to be that bad!" Tara laughed as she practically dragged her best friend to a classroom at the end of the hall. "You're more scared than that time we stumbled into that room full of henchmen."

"Henchmen I can handle." Hope sighed, "Just go in and beat them up. No problem. But we're about to go where no cheerleader has gone before!"

"One cheerleader has." Tara smirked, pointing at the couple waiting by the closed door. "There's Liz and Kevin."

"All right!" Hope sighed as the Dirty Pair approached their friends. "Let's get this over with."

"I'll let them know you're here." Kevin said as he opened the door and entered the classroom, closing the door behind him.

"So…" Tara asked her red-headed fellow cheerleader, "What can we expect?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Liz, wearing a short skirt and top with her customary purple headband grinned, "They're a pretty good group…really. And yeah…believe it or not, there are a couple of very good looking guys in there…one of them I'd say definitely falls into the hottie category. If I weren't already involved with Kevin, you better believe I'd be giving him a test drive."

"All right…all right!" Hope sighed, "I'll give them a looksee, but I'm leaving if I see just one of them picking his nose!"

Mr. Amberson's Room—Chess Club

"Hey, Kevin!" Dave Ponder, a rather small-sized, but not on the whole unattractive, boy with fuzzy brown hair and wearing horn-rimmed glasses grinned as his friend entered the classroom. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"She'll be in soon." Kevin replied. Turning to Mr. Amberson, the calculus teacher and faculty advisor, a slender middle-aged man with dark-hair and a receding hairline and wearing classy wire frame glasses , the chess club captain announced, "Our fourth board is outside."

"Well…" The advisor grinned, "Tell him to come in."

"Yes, sir." Kevin grinned as he opened the door and motioned for his girlfriend and the other two cheerleaders to come in.

Entering first, Liz was greeted with smiles and waves and a greeting from the faculty advisor. "Good afternoon Liz." Mr. Amberson smiled at the young redhead.

A hush filled the room as the other two cheerleaders entered the room. Noticing that every eye in the room was focused on her and her best friend, Hope snarked, "Did you just fart, bestie?"

"No luv." Tara grinned back, "I thought it was you." She then quipped to her redheaded fellow cheerleader, "Liz? Did you just cut the cheese?"

"No." Liz replied, her face turning a shade of red as she shook her head. "I thought it was one of you two. I figured you were continuing that contest you had in the locker room after practice…"

"Oh…" Tara smirked, "The one where Jessica joined in and ripped one that had both Bonnie and Kimmie in tears."

"Yeah." Liz chuckled, "That one."

Jordan Cross, a tall and wiry young man with buck teeth, nearly fell off his seat as his eyes fell on the lovely blonde and beautiful dark-haired cheerleaders. After a few clumsy attempts, he finally managed to regain his equilibrium as he stammered. "Ummm…Kevin….uhhh…what are the Dirty Pair doing here?"

"Our reputation precedes ourselves, luv." Tara snickered as her best friend's lips turned up in an evil grin.

"Tara's our new fourth board." Kevin announced.

"I'm her moral support." Hope grinned.

"They also stepped in when a couple of football players gave Paul a wedgie in the lunchroom a few weeks ago." Kevin pointed out. "Kicked one of them in the balls…"

"That'd be me." Hope bowed, giving the boys an ample view of her cleavage.

"And Tara delivered a good one to the back of the other boy's knee." Kevin recalled, giving both girls a look of gratitude for coming to the aid of the young freshman. "We owe 'em both."

"Wankers had it coming. I hate bullies." Tara replied, "Your friend wasn't doing anything but standing in line minding his own business."

Jermaine Hall, a heavyset African-American boy exclaimed as he set down the hero sandwich he had been munching on, "Cheerleaders don't play chess…" Gulping at the glares coming his way simultaneously from three cheerleaders, he quickly added, "Do they?"

"Yes, luv." Tara responded with a sigh as she sauntered over to his board and, taking the white side, advanced the king's pawn up two squares, "We do."

"I think the gauntlet has just been tossed down, Jermaine." Kevin chuckled as everyone sat down to watch the boy's reaction.

Shrugging his shoulders, Jermaine advanced his king's pawn two squares and the game was on—for as long as it lasted. After about twenty moves, it became clear to everyone that Tara had won as Jermaine tipped his king over, signaling resignation.

"Otilichno srabotono! Well done!" A Russian-accented voice called out.

"This is Sergei. Sergei Radovsky." Kevin gestured towards a very handsome boy with somewhat long dark hair and a crooked grin. "His family emigrated from Russia last year."

"Da." He smiled as he gestured at his board, "Pozhaluysta? Please?"

Nodding her head, Tara gave the handsome Russian a coy smirk as he held a chair out for her while Hope perched on the corner of a nearby table, licked her lips lasciviously as she eyed the good looking boy. "Spasibo." The blonde cheerleader responded as she awaited Sergei's first move.

Opening with his queen's pawn, Sergei's eyebrow raised slightly as she opened with her king's knight in a Queen's Indian Defense. As the game played on, both Tara and Hope teased the young Russian with subtle flirts, drawing an amused smile from Mr. Amberson as Dave whispered to Kevin, Liz, and the faculty advisor who were all gathered together watching the game with rapt interest.

"I've seen the Dirty Pair in action before." Dave shook his head in envy at his Russian teammate, "I'm surprised Sergei's holding it together as well as he is. If I were in his chair right now; I'd be a pile of goo."

"They do realize they're not going to be able to get away with this in a regulation tournament, don't they?" The faculty advisor whispered to Kevin and his girlfriend as Hope and Tara continued playing their game within a game with the young Russian who was courageously soldiering on.

"They do." Kevin answered back.

"Yeah." Liz interjected, coming to her friends' defense, "They're just having fun with him right now. Believe me…those two are usually a lot worse "

"Tara's testing him." Kevin quickly concluded as he caught the glint of approval in the blonde's sapphire eyes and then a similar look from the darker eyes of the raven-haired cheerleader perched on the table watching the game. "She's wanting to see how well he can keep his mind on the game even with her and Hope's distractions."

"I believe you're right, Kevin." Mr. Amberson, observing the Pair's actions more closely, remarked, nodding his head slightly.

"Don't worry about them in a real tournament." Liz consoled, "They'll behave themselves. Believe it or not, they're team players. They won't do anything to put our chance to win regionals at risk."

"That's good to hear." Mr. Amberson replied as Sergei tipped his king over in resignation.

"Good game, prekasnaya dama, lovely lady." He gallantly accepted Tara's hand and kissed it as Hope, coughing, extended her hand as well.

"Forget someone?"

Taking the olive-skinned cheerleader's hand in his, the Russian graciously kissed it as well, "Prostite menya pozhalyusta. Excuse me, please, prekasnaya dama, lovely lady."

"I think we have a keeper here, bestie." Hope leered, "What do you say? Add him to the collection?"

Her lips turned up in a wicked grin, Tara responded as she gave the handsome young Russian a coy wink, "I think he definitely has prospects." As both cheerleaders took station on either side of the dark haired youth and slipped their arms around his waist, Tara murmured in a sultry voice, "What do you say, Sergei? Want to grab a cup of coffee with us?"

"Da." The young Russian, by no means either stupid or blind, responded affirmatively "Spasibo."

Watching as the trio exited the room, Dave turned to his friend, "Kevin? What just happened?"

Laughing along with his girlfriend, Kevin responded, "Right off hand, Dave…I'd say Sergei just hit the jackpot." Then, smiling at the pout his girlfriend was giving him, Kevin wisely amended, "But I'm the luckiest boy in the room because the prettiest cheerleader at Middleton High is willing to put up with me."

"Nice save, Guberman." Liz chuckled as she gave her boyfriend a flirtatious wink. "I think I'll keep you."

A slight smile crossed Mr. Amberson's features on hearing the cheerleader's joke as he cleaned his glasses, reflecting on the change in fortunes of some of his players and the club. He always had three long-term goals as faculty advisor of the chess club. One was to get more girls interested in playing the great game. Now, he had three. One—Tara—definitely very experienced in playing. Whoever taught her had taught her well. Two—Liz—a beginner, but one willing and eager to learn thanks to the encouragement and tutelage of her boyfriend. And three—possibly Hope. With the support of her best friend and roommate as well as the others on the team and himself, he hoped…no pun intended…he chuckled softly to himself…that she might be persuaded to at least learn and play the game on a casual level.

The faculty advisor's second goal was to encourage the young men in his club to expand their horizons—to seek out new friends and challenges. He understood that many of them were socially awkward—he was at their age and still was to an extent. There had always been a barrier between the chess club and the rest of the school and sadly, the existence of that barrier was due to both sides wanting to keep it up. This stupid food chain promoted by some students along with his students' passive acceptance of it was an obstacle to the social interaction his students needed. But that was beginning to change now. Thanks first to Kevin's relationship with Liz and now to the Dirty Pair joining the club, he could see the barriers beginning to crack. Oh, the crack was a small one to be sure, but it was there and with proper nourishing and care, it could grow. In any event, the addition of the two young nonconformist cheerleaders would definitely add spice to club meetings. Of course, he wryly mused, he had best prepare himself for the inevitable F or S bomb that would sooner or later escape the lips of one or both of those cheerleaders at some point—probably at the most inconvenient of times if their reputation was any indication to go by.

However, there was still a long way to go, the teacher mused as he nodded his head in approval at Mr. Ponder's intriguing bishop sacrifice in his game with Jermaine. The food chain and its hold on many of the students would not be broken overnight, but, for the first time in a long time, Mr. Amberson could see a ray of light for his students shining through the darkness.

His third objective actually tied into both the first and second ones. He wanted to see the playing of chess grow in popularity at the school. Oh, he had no illusions that chess would replace sports such as football and basketball in the school hierarchy or that every student would be hanging on in anticipation as the results for the U.S. Open filtered in, but, for the first time in a long time—he had hopes that one day he could walk the school grounds and see before and after classes and during lunch breaks students sitting together and playing casual games.

"Yes. This has been a very good day." Mr. Amberson smiled as he watched his players moving their pieces on their boards and as he observed Kevin teaching Liz about how to execute a proper attack in the King and pawn versus King endgame. "A good day indeed."

Carnie's Coffee Shop—Middleton Mall

"We need to find something to do for the community service requirement—and soon." Hope let out a breath as she sipped her Ethiopian coffee with plenty of sugar and cream. "If we don't hurry, the only spots left open will be roadside trash pickup."

"We could coach girls youth football?" Tara suggested as she sipped from her cup of Hawaiian Kona with a dollop of cream.

"If you're referring to soccer…" Hope began only to be cut off by her best friend's laughter.

"That's the only real football." Tara interjected as Sergei, the Russian chess club member who had joined the girls for coffee, laughingly agreed.

"Da. American football is not true football. It is bodies crashing into each other."

"English Premiere League all the way." Tara laughed.

"Nyet…" Sergei shook his head as he let out a rich laugh, "Russian Premier League! Zenit St. Petersburg."

"Chelsea!" Tara countered with a smirk.

As the argument went back and forth, the people at the nearby tables looked on curiously. The dark-skinned teenager occupying one of the tables, enjoying her break from her part-time job at Club Banana, shook her head, muttering "Who cares about stupid soccer? Steel Toe versus Pain King's coming up and I can't get tickets."

"Football…soccer…whatever!" Hope shook her head.

"Football!" The other two at the table both shouted in British and Russian accents.

"All right!" Hope sighed melodramatically, "Football! Happy now?"

"Yes, luv." Tara smirked victorious.

"Da." Sergei chuckled, "Anyway…if you are thinking of coaching youth football, I coach one of the boys teams. Is a lot of fun. They are good kids. But I also like to volunteer at the Senior Center. A lot of us chess team members do. They are always looking for people to spend time with the residents."

"What would we be doing there?" Hope inquired in a voice that was half-way flirtatious and half-serious.

"It depends on what you want to do and who in the Center needs a companion." Sergei responded as he sipped his Columbian Roast coffee. Shaking his head, he let out a sad sigh, "Many of the members there have no one. Their families either live far away and can't get to see them as much as they'd like or…" The young Russian shook his head in dismay, "Even worse, they are forgotten about completely, left all alone by those who are supposed to have loved them."

"You know…" The raven-haired cheerleader suggested in a soft voice, "We could do both."

"We could." Tara nodded her head in agreement, "It's not like we're Kim…we're not doing a million and one things that suck up all our time." Her lips turned up in a warm smile, "Let's do it."

"Does this mean that I am a 'keeper' now?" Sergei chuckled, giving the girls a sly grin.

"It means you're in very serious contention." Tara smirked back as Hope gave him a coy wink.

"You're on the right track, Sport. Keep it up."

Norma Jean's Bookstore and Coffee House—Old Town Square

"So, Tara and Hope got into this farting contest and then Jessica let out a sonic boom that…I swear…" Crystal laughed as she gazed into the eyes of the lovely Asian woman sitting across from her, "…rattled the windows."

Setting down her cup, Zoe laughed merrily, "So…who won?"

"I don't know." Crystal replied as she too a sip of coffee. "Kim decided to join in and let out a juicy one that brought Bonnie to her knees and had me running out of the locker room in nothing but my towel."

Laughing even louder, Zoe playfully teased, "I'll bet the boys at basketball practice loved that."

"Tell me about it." Crystal answered back as a slight blush came to her cheeks, adding in a somewhat timorous voice, "Not that I'm interested in any boy at the moment." Taking another sip from her cup, Crystal sighed, "It's not like no one's asked me out or anything. I've gone out on dates and all…and well…you know how it is. Sometimes they're all hands wanting one thing. Sometimes you get the nice ones…"

"But…" Zoe interjected as she gazed into the other girl's eyes.

Heaving a second sigh, the tawny-haired cheerleader picked up where she left off, "But…there's nothing there. I mean I have a good time when I'm with one of the nice boys like Dillon from the track team, but…" she shook her head, "…like I said, there's nothing there…if you know what I mean. No spark. Even when he kissed me goodbye I didn't feel like it was anything special. I don't know." Crystal moaned dejectedly, "Am I doing something wrong? Is something wrong with me?"

"No, Crys." Zoe responded with a warm smile as she reached across the table and took the cheerleader's hand in hers. "There's nothing wrong with you. It's just that you haven't met the right person yet."

"I think I have." Crystal responded as she quickly glanced away before again gazing into the other woman's eyes, "I'm just not sure the person I'm interested in is interested in me."

"What if this person is?"

"Then it gets even more confusing." The tormented cheerleader answered back. "I don't know…I want to tell this person, but I'm not sure…"

Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, Zoe spoke softly, "I'm very sure that this person would tell you that it's okay for you to be confused. That she is very much interested in you and that she understands what you're going through because she's been there herself and that she's willing to wait until you're ready."

"Thanks." Crystal smiled back at the lovely Asian seated across from her. "I think that was what I needed to hear. So…we still on for the zoo this weekend." The tawny-skinned cheerleader asked with a lump in her throat.

Smiling back at the girl seated across from her, still holding her hand, Zoe responded with a warm reply, "Looking forward to it."

Middleton High—The Next Day

"You haven't been at the tequila again, have you Kimmie?" Tara laughed as she saw the hang-dog look on her redheaded friend's face.

"Nah…" Hope teased with a wink, "She got lucky with some hottie last night. Right, Kim?"

"I wish!" Kim sighed. "It was a long night. First, I got roped in by my mother to fetch my Dad and the Tweebs from J. P. Bearymore's after their soccer practice."

"Football." Tara interrupted. "It's called football! Not that demolition derby of a sport you Yanks call football."

"Don't get her started!" Hope pleaded, "Please, Kim!"

"Okay! Football! Whatever!" Kim sighed, "Anyway, he always takes the team there after they finish practice and the Tweebs were being their usual bratty selves. Then I run into Ron who was hanging out there playing video games, then something happened…I think the Tweebs were horsing around because Dad ended up getting his leg broken and guess who's now stuck coaching their soc…football…team."

"That's funny." Tara replied, "Hope and I are volunteering to coach a team for the girls league and Sergei's coaching a team in the boys league."

"Sergei?" Kim smirked, raising an eyebrow, "New guy? And…by the way…what's going on with David?"

"David's gone deep cover." Tara explained in a low voice that only the three girls could hear. "We're not going to be able to hear from him, get any messages to him, or anything like that until he comes in out of the cold."

"I'm sorry." Kim answered back sympathetically, "That sucks."

"It's part of the game." Tara shrugged her shoulders, although the concerned expression on her face was evident to all. "He wouldn't have volunteered for it if he didn't think it was very important."

"I'm sure he'll be okay, Tara." Kim declared, then, in an effort to lighten up the mood, repeated her earlier question, "So…Sergei?"

"He's this hottie Russian with long dark hair who goes to school here and belongs to the chess club." Hope leered. "And before you ask…we've got first dibs on him."

"He's all yours." Kim replied as her voice hitched, "There's only one guy I'm crushing on now."

"And he's at your twelve o'clock…am I right?" Tara grinned.

Nodding her head, Kim stammered out a "Uh Huh."

"Well…why don't you go up and talk to him?" Hope urged, "You've already made first contact, so you know Josh doesn't bite—at least not yet."

"Too late." Kim shook her head, "He just went in the boys room." Her lips then turned up in a slight smile, "But he waved at me."

"That's a good sign.' Hope replied with a grin.

"And you'll catch him next time." Tara declared in a reassuring tone. Shifting topics, the blonde cheerleader queried, "So…what else happened last night?"

"After I found out I got stuck coaching the…football…team." Letting out a breath, Kim pleaded, "Come on, Tara, let us call it soccer—it's confusing otherwise."

"Yeah, bestie." Hope added her entreaties, "Just imagine that when we say soccer, we're really calling it football…okay."

"Oh…all right!" Tara snorted as she shook her head, "Bloody Yanks."

"Now that we've got that settled." Hope declared as she turned her attention back to Kim, "You were saying?"

"Right." Kim took a few moments to regain her train of thought before continuing, "After getting home and finding out I was the new coach, Wade calls and says that something happened at the J. P. Bearymore's we just came from. So…I hustle back to there and meet up with Ron and we find out that someone took the animatronic bear…you know, the one that plays the banjo?"

"Ummm…Kim…" Hope drawled, "We wouldn't be caught dead in that place."

"I wish I could say the same." Kim grumbled as Ron joined the conversation.

"You girls talking about J.P Bearymore getting kidnapped?" Ron exclaimed, "Yeah, it was horrible! I can't believe the Senors did that! And then they stole Pizzapotamus!"

"Do I want to know?" Tara whispered to the other two girls who barely stifled their giggles.

"No." Kim whispered back, "You really don't." Picking up the narrative, she recalled, "We grabbed on to the rope they used to snatch Pizzapotamus and tried to climb up it." Letting out a breath of air, she confessed, "I thought we were going to end up splattered against the wall of the Smarty Mart for a bit. Junior was going to slam us into the building."

"That was the smart play. That's what a pro would have done." Tara commented, "Why didn't he?"

"Senor wouldn't let him." Kim answered back, "I don't know why. Maybe it has something to do with that how to be a villain book he bought online?: She shrugged her shoulders. "All I know is that we lucked out."

"You're damned right, you did." Tara chided, "Don't ever try that stunt against a pro. You do, and they will be scraping you off a wall."

"Ass chewing duly noted." Kim replied, accepting the criticism. "Anyway, we got lucky and I managed to grapple on to a Bueno Nacho sign and we were able to swing down."

"Made it just before BN closed." Ron declared, "We got lucky and managed to get some burritos to go."

As the tiny group made their way to study hall, Kim turned to Tara, "You know a lot about soccer…right?"

"Grew up playing it, luv and I try to never miss Chelsea when they're playing on the telly."

"And I played in middle school." Hope chimed in.

"So…" Kim queried as the group entered their last period classroom. "Any hints?"

"Come here and we'll try to give you a quick rundown." Tara laughed as the three girls huddled together while Ron, pretending to study, quietly dozed off at his desk.

Middleton Park—soccer fields

"Good job, Cheryl!" Tara clapped her hands as a young girl with ebony skin scored a goal. "Do you see how she got you, Theresa?" The Englishwoman asked the brown-haired fair skinned goalie.

"No, Tara." The goalie replied with a frown.

"Hey…no frownies now!" Hope grinned as she gave the distraught goalie a hug, "We're here to have fun…right?"

"Right." Theresa smiled back. Looking up at her blonde coach, the little goalie asked, "What did I do wrong?"

"It's nothing big." Tara smiled as she kneeled down in front of the girl and began to draw an imaginary diagram on the grass. "You see, Cheryl went this way to fake you. When someone comes at you, pay attention to how their body moves. That'll help you to figure out if they're faking or not. And don't worry about making a mistake. It's gonna happen, luv. Just pick yourself up and get ready for the next one and like my bestie said, have fun."

Calling out to her team, Tara clapped her hands, "All right…everyone ready for some passing drills. And…to make it more fun…if you make five passes before I blow my whistle, you'll get one of my Auntie Emma's cookies."

As the girls did their passing drills, Hope smirked, "Did Auntie Emma really bake those cookies?"

"Hell no." Tara chuckled, "But they do come from a very good English bakery. Here…" She said as she handed a cookie to her best friend, "Try one."

"Hmmmm…that is yummy."

"It looks like your girls are having fun."

"Hey, Sergei." Tara and Hope both smiled as they saw the young Russian approaching. "Have a cookie."

"Spasibo." The Russian grinned as he bit into the treat, "Bozhe moi! This is good."

"So…how are your boys coming along?" Hope asked as Tara called over two of the girls and demonstrated to them how to better pass the ball between each other a couple of times before letting them do it themselves.

"They are good kids." Sergei responded, "They learn quickly."

"Maybe one of these kids will end up playing in the World Cup one day." Tara commented as she pointed to a blonde girl passing to a girl with red hair, "See her…she's a natural. Great technique."

"Da." The Russian nodded his head.

"Her friend's no slouch either." Hope noted, pointing out how smoothly the pair worked together. I'm thinking we put them on first squad. What do you think, T?"

"Sounds good." Tara agreed. "We've got to be sure to set the roster where everyone gets a chance to play though."

"Da." Sergei agreed. "I have to do the same with my boys. Speaking of which…" He inclined his head towards the field where his team was practicing, "I must get back to them. Will I see you at chess club tomorrow?"

"Count on it." Tara grinned as Hope flashed the young man a smile.

"Better believe it."

"Dosvedanya, krasyvyye zhenshchiny, until later, beautiful women."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Sergei!"

Ron shook his head as he saw Kim almost literally terrorizing the children she was coaching. Wincing as he heard her critiquing the players on her coed team's passing technique, the young blond whispered to his rodent companion, "Does she scare you too?"

"Uh Huh." A shivering Rufus answered.

Rolling his eyes, the young sidekick quipped, "I'm glad I'm just the equip…Oof!"

"Equipment manager!" Kim shouted, "Blow up these balls! No, Tim!" The redhead hollered at her younger brother, "There are no do-overs in a real game! Now…get out there and hustle!"

As he began the process of inflating the soccer balls, Ron shook his head, "Someone's Kimness just got kicked into overdrive, Rufus, old pal."

"Yep." The little rodent chattered back as Kim now kicking in the hyperdrive, stole the ball from the Tweebs as they were executing a pass and then rocketing it into the opposing goal, knocking down the goalie in the process.

"We should have joined…" Tim began to say only to have his thoughts finished by his brother.

"The boy's league." Jim said, completing his brother's statement as he pointed at Sergei's team, all laughing and having fun.

"I wish Mom and Dad had signed me up for that team!" Cathy, the goalie who had just been scored against, said to her friend, pointing to where the girls only team was practicing as she brushed herself off.

"I do too." Linda, the other girl's friend replied as the two girls looked on in envy at the coaches for the girls team letting their girls play a game with the coaches mostly staying out of the way. "They look like they're having fun."

"Wish we were." Cathy groaned as Kim warned her of another shot coming at her.

Shaking his head as he saw the somber looks on the little kids' faces, Ron decided to make yet another attempt to reach his hypercompetitive friend. "KP?" Rolling his eyes as his friend ignored him, he called out in a louder voice, "KP! Amp it down!"

"What?" Kim snarled as she reluctantly broke off from haranguing her team.

"Kim…" Ron pleaded in a calming voice, "We need to talk."

"All right, everyone!" Kim shouted to her charges, "Take five!" Turning to her best friend, she snapped, "What do you want to talk about?"

"KP…these are just kids." Ron pleaded, "They're out here to have fun. You're treating them like recruits going through basic training. Lighten up…"

"No!" Kim shouted, drawing the attention of the kids on the team. Lowering her voice, she growled, "It's not enough for them to just play. They need to learn that the only way to make it is if they go all out. Otherwise, they're just going to be losers like…"

"Like me." Ron finished as he turned to walk away. "I'm going to go and see if Tara and Hope or that Russian needs an equipment manager, Kim."

Realizing that she had unwittingly stepped on a land mine, the redheaded hero took a deep breath to call her friend back, only to be frustrated by the beeping of her Kimmunicator. Pressing accept, she called again to her blond partner, "Ron? Hold up for a moment. Please. It's Wade. I think he might have some information on the Senors."

"Okay, Kim." Ron, understanding that the mission came before any personal issues, replied in the affirmative as he walked back to his friend's side. "What does Wade have to say?"

"Hey, Wade." Kim spoke into the communicator, inwardly sighing in relief that her earlier foul up had, for now at least, been forgotten. "Is it the Senors?"

"Got it in one, Kim." The young genius replied, "They stole a prototype gas that's a hundred times as bright as neon."

"How do you know it's the Senors?" Kim inquired.

"They left a calling card." Wade laughed as he played the billionaire villain's message.

"Why would they steal animatronic puppets and a prototype gas used for florescent lighting?" Kim mused, "It doesn't make any sense."

"Does anything the Senors do make sense?" Ron quipped, his earlier irritation with his friend now gone.

"Good question." Kim responded with a chuckle. Speaking to Wade, she asked, "You got anything more?"

"Yeah." The team techie answered back, "Here's the rest of the calling card—this time it's Junior talking."

As she watched the video, Kim shook her head, "Club Lair? A combination villain's lair and disco. Well…at least it won't be hard to find."

"Got the location, Kim and your ride's on the way!"

"Thanks, Wade!"

Watching as Kim and Ron took off at a run, leaving their charges behind, Hope turned to her best friend and quipped with a snort, "Looks like Kimmie forgot something…or someone?"

"Several someones." Tara laughed. Shaking her head, she remarked, "I guess we ought to bring 'em over here."

"I'll get 'em." Hope volunteered, further suggesting, "We can keep the girls with us and send the boys over to Sergei."

"Sounds like a plan, luv." Tara smirked. Turning back to her team, she smiled, "We're gonna get some new players, okay? Now…they've sort of had a hard day, so let's be extra nice to them…right?" A few minutes later, Hope returned with Kim's now tired and ragged team. Letting out a breath of air, the blonde cheerleader grinned at the newcomers, "You lot look like you've had it rough."

"You can say that again." Jim remarked as his twin brother, Tim, grumbled.

"Yeah, Kim was murder."

"Right." Tara let out a breath, "Well, Kim's not here now, so take about fifteen minutes or so and relax. Grab yourselves some water or juice and we've got apples and energy bars over there. Then, Hope's gonna take you boys over to our friend Sergei and you can play with his team for the rest of the afternoon while you girls stay with us. Sound good?"

"Yay! We're free!"

"Hicka-bicka-boo!"

"Hoosha!"

"Oh…and Tweebs…" Tara warned as she tossed a knife in the air and caught it smoothly in her hand, "First probe or gadget I see…" She threw the knife at a wooden post, smirking menacingly as the blade struck true. "Get the point?"

Nodding their heads, the Tweebs responded in unison, "Yes Tara! No probes…we promise!"

Possible Home—that night

"Thanks for bringing the twins home, Tara…Hope." Mrs. Dr. Possible grinned as she let the two young women into her home. "Where's Kim?"

"Her and Ron got called on a mission and had to leave quickly." Hope responded, "A friend of ours helped us keep an eye on them and the rest of the kids until their parents arrived to pick them up."

"We were planning on swinging by anyway to discuss that matter you wanted to talk to us about Mrs. Possible, so we figured that we'd take the twins with us." Tara interjected.

"We got to ride in a sports car!" Both boys cried out in glee.

Mr. Dr. Possible nodded his head in thanks. "I hope the boys weren't too much of a problem."

"Not at all." Tara grinned, "We quickly came to an understanding and they behaved themselves the rest of the afternoon and during the drive back home."

"She threw a knife at a pole!" Jim exclaimed.

"It was neat!" Tim shouted as both boys danced around the Dirty Pair.

"And Sergei was fun!"

"We played chess without a board!" Jim chortled.

"It was the coolest." Tim echoed as Mr Doctor Possible nodded his head and smiled.

"Well, that's…ummm…good." James answered back. While happy at the boys picking up on the mental gymnastics of blindfold chess, he was not so sure though about the knife being thrown at a pole part of their story. Turning to the two girls, he prompted at the subtle urging of his wife, "Would you like to join us for dinner?"

"We don't want to impose…" Hope demurred.

"Oh…it's no imposition." Ann replied as she ushered the two girls towards the kitchen, "We insist." Her smile vanishing, she added, referring to an earlier conversation regarding the new designer drug, "It'll give us a chance to talk about that matter."

"Of course, Mrs. Possible." Tara agreed as the pair joined the Possible family at the dinner table.

After a very good—and filling—dinner, Ann asked the Dirty Pair to join her outside. As the three women exited the house, the redheaded neurosurgeon nodded her head at Tara, "Go ahead…I'll look the other way this time while you smoke one cigarette. Provided…"

Taking out her flask, Hope handed it to the older woman as Tara lit up a Sobranie Black Russian. "Here you go Mrs. P."

"Thanks." Ann replied as she took a sip and handed the flask back to the raven-haired cheerleader. "First off, since you've agreed to me being your new primary physician, I'd like to get the two of you in my office when you get the chance for physicals. I've got both your medical records—yours just came in from London today, Tara, and there was no problem getting yours from your old primary, Hope."

"Sure." Tara responded as her friend nodded her head in agreement. "Just let us know when it would be a good time. And thank you…" she said with sincerity, "…I know that as a neurosurgeon, you don't…"

"Don't mention it." Mrs. Possible smiled as she held up her hand, "I'm only too glad to do it after all the help you've given us. "I'll have Wade contact you when I get back into the office tomorrow and look at my schedule and we'll arrange appointment times. Now…" She said in a grave tone, "As to the second matter…that damned designer drug…" Pausing for a moment to take another sip from Hope's flask, the Possible matriarch inquired, "Have you heard anything more about who might be manufacturing or distributing these drugs?"

"Not yet." Tara shook her head, "Our friend has been asking about and she's got informants who…if they know what's good for them…will let us know as soon as whoever's selling and making this shite pops their heads up. The moment they do, we'll make our move."

"Good." Ann nodded her head, "When you go after them, please remember, we need…and need badly…anything you can get your hands on regarding the drug's chemical composition and any possible information on an antidote. We're doing all we can to figure that out on our own, but it's slow going…even with Wade helping. Eventually, we will come up with a cure, I'm confident of that. But…" she sighed dejectedly as she shook her head, "…until we do, all we can do is alleviate the pain and symptoms that are associated with the psychological and physical addictions that come with that drug."

"We'll do everything we can, Mrs. Possible." Hope grimly declared as she took a sip from her flask before handing it to Tara who did likewise.

"Hopefully…" The British cheerleader remarked as she handed the flask to the older woman who, after taking a sip, handed it back to Hope, "Cheeky will have scared the shit out of enough of those pushers so that one of them will come through for us."

"Let's hope so." Ann concluded before remarking with just a slight trace of concern in her voice, "I hope Kim and Ron are doing okay. Please, don't tell them this, I don't want anything to distract them out there, but James and I do worry when they go out on their missions."

"They know their stuff, Mrs. P." Hope stated in an effort to cheer the older woman up, "I have a feeling they're doing just fine."

The oppo are the Senors." Tara explained, "They're relatively low risk. Those two are villains because they're filthy rich and bored. I think Senor Senior sees it more as a game than anything else. I don't think he's really out to hurt anyone, and Junior's doing it because his dad is making him do it. Given his choice, Junior would much rather party all night or work on his tan."

"You'd think they'd find some other way to occupy their time." Ann shook her head in dismay. "There's so much good they could do with their time and money."

"That's a fair point." Tara shook her head as she put out her cigarette. "I wish I had an answer. Thankfully, those two are pains in the arse more than anything else. There are enough really dangerous ones out there, we don't need any more joining the party."

"Tell me about it!" Ann sighed and then smiled, "I want to thank you two again for helping Kim and Ron and for your help with that drug—not to mention taking care of the twins and bringing them home today."

"No problem, Mrs. P." Hope chuckled, adding, "But you might want to do the Tweebs and the other kids on their team a favor and fire Kim as coach."

Laughing, Ann responded as she walked the girls to their car, "I'll tell James to heal faster. I know better than to tell you to drive slow in that car, but please…drive safe!"

Club Lair—Senor's lair

"All we had to do was go in, find the elevator, and press the button!" Ron shook his head, "No fighting henchmen…no trap doors with spikes at the bottom…no man eating koi…I tell you Kim…they don't make villains' lairs like they used to."

Letting out a snort as the elevator chimed and the doors slid open, Kim riposted, "What did I tell you about giving the villains ideas, Ron?"

"Don't do it." The blond sidekick responded with a cockeyed grin.

"Right." Kim nodded her head and then brought her finger to her lips, "Shush…I can hear them."

"So…" Senor Senor Senior said to his son, "You've taught the animals how to dance. What's the next step in your villainous plan?"

"Isn't it obvious father?" Junior responded, "The people will be inspired by the animals dancing and will want to dance more. We will dance and party all night!"

"And that is the extent of your plan?" The elder Senor chided, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Oh…" Junior exclaimed, "I will also water down the drinks and overcharge for them!"

"I'm afraid we're going to have to break up the party, Senors!" Kim announced as she and her partner strode into the room.

"What have you done to Pizzapotamus!" Ron cried out in outrage, "And where is J. P. Bearymore's banjo!"

"I'm sorry…" Junior responded, squinting in what he thought was a properly villainous manner, "But tonight is my grand opening, so I simply cannot give up now."

"Kim…" Ron whispered, "Other than wrapping Pizzapotamus up in ugly polyester, it doesn't look like they've done anything really evil here. Maybe if they give back what they've taken, we can call it a day?"

"No Ron." Kim replied shaking her head, "Even if they were to give Pizzapotamus and the bear back, they still stole that prototype gas. Not to mention all the property damage they did."

"I'm sorry…" Junior declared, "This is an exclusive club and you are not on the guest list!"

"Very good, Junior." Senior nodded his head in approval, "You've got the clever threat down—just as we practiced. Now, you must follow through with a display of violent anger."

"I'm not mad. I'm just a little miffed." Junior complained. "But…if you insist…" The young villain turned to the two heroes and pointed to the exit, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Shaking his head in disappointment, Senior put on a pair of sunglasses and then handed another pair to his son as he pressed a button.

"Sunglasses indoors!" Junior clapped his hands in glee, "How very stylish!"

"You are now under my control, Kim Possible." The villain gloated as his teenage foes stood frozen in place. "You see, the light emitted from the prototype gas is refracted into a hypnotic pattern by the disco ball. You will do the first thing I suggest…"

"Everyone dance!" Junior called out, causing Kim, Ron, and Rufus to all dance to the beat.

"Can't stop dancing." Kim uttered in a dull monotone as she struggled in vain to fight the effects of the mind control disco ball.

Letting out his best villain's snicker, Senior nodded in satisfaction at the sight of his adversaries helplessly dancing in their cages. "The elite of Europe will soon arrive to be the hypnotized pawns in my plan to control everything."

"But that's not my plan!" Junior whined, "I just want everyone to dance!"

"You can party all you want, Junior." Senior declared, "After we control everything."

"I don't want to control everything!" Junior cried out, "All I want to do is…"

"Not now, Junior!" The old man snapped as the VIPs entered the disco. "It is now time for me to reveal my plan to the world and issue my ultimatum." Keying the mic to his radio, Senior declared, "This is Senor Senor Senior. I have a roomful of the best and brightest of Europe in my power. In exchange for the safe return of these people, I demand that the United Nations name me king of everything."

Seeing the look of frustration on his father's face, Junior inquired, "What is wrong, father?"

"Bad connection I think, Junior." The old man responded as he repeated his demands.

As he tried to reach Kim on her Kimmunicator, Wade, after hearing her dull response, at once noticed the hypnotic disco ball. "No time for Tara and Hope to get there." The young genius muttered to himself. "I've got one chance. I just put this in. I hope it works." He gritted his teeth as he activated a special device that temporarily cancelled out the effects of the disco ball around Kim.

"Thanks, Wade." Kim whispered as she danced, maintaining the illusion that she was still under control.

"You gotta hurry, Kim." Wade cautioned, "The shielding put up by the Kimmunicator won't last long. Do you have sunglasses."

"Yeah." Kim responded. "The Senors are busy right now, I can move." Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "Spankin'!" She exclaimed in a whisper as she opened the cage door. Leaping down to the floor, she quickly released Ron from his cage and, reaching into his backpack, pulled out his sunglasses and put them on over his eyes.

"Thanks, KP." Ron grinned as he returned to normal. "Time to kick butt?"

"Time to kick butt." Kim smiled back at her best friend. Raising her voice, the young redhead called out to the villains, "Sorry to cancel the coronation, Senors, but it's time for you to go to jail."

"You know, Kim Possible." Senior announced in a smug voice, "The disco ball is not the only thing I modified."

"You monsters!" Ron cried out in rage as he barely dodged a sideswipe by a rampaging animatronic bear, "First you steal J. P. Bearymore's banjo and now you've turned him and Pizzapotamus evil!"

"Wade?" Kim all but shouted into her Kimmunicator as she barely avoided being struck by Bearymore. "Can you get a lock on these animals and do something to shut them down?"

"I'll try Kim." The techie answered back, "But the software is very sophisticated. I can't hack the bear." Wade declared as Kim did a somersault over Pizzapotamus's head. "I'll see if I have better luck with the beaver."

"You know what Tara or Hope would say if they heard you give them an opening like that?" Ron chuckled as he dodged the otter.

Giggling, Kim jibed back as she ducked a punch by J.P Bearymore, "At least the Senors didn't swipe any pussy."

"Kim!" Wade exclaimed, "Please! My mom's in the next room!" Moments later, the young genius cried out, "I'm in! I just shut down the beaver and the otter."

"Now for the bear and Pizzapotamus." Kim let out a breath of air as Ron, getting to the scene first and seeing both animals charging at him from opposite directions, dodged at the right moment, causing the two animals to collide with each other, wrecking them both.

"Everybody dance!" Junior ordered, causing all the VIPs to begin dancing as the Senors slipped away in the crowd.

"Wade…we've got to take out that disco ball without causing it to shatter or fall to the floor!" Kim instructed.

"On it, Kim." The techie answered back as he punched furiously at his keyboard. "Got it!" He cried out triumphantly as the disco ball stopped spinning and its light faded away. "They should be back to normal immediately."

"Thanks, Wade." Kim sighed in relief as Ron patted her on the shoulder.

"Sorry they got away, KP."

"We'll get 'em next time, Ron." Kim smiled back at her best friend. "By the way, nice hustle there."

"Thanks, KP." Ron smiled, happy at the praise. "So…what now?"

"Back home for some hands-off coaching." Kim replied, "I've learned my lesson."

"Until next time." Ron chuckled, earning a playful punch in the arm from his best friend in response.

Tara and Hope's House

"We're glad to hear they made it back safe and sound, Wade." Tara, wearing her usual night-time attire of t-shirt and panties, remarked to the image of the young computer genius currently displayed on their living room TV that also doubled as a computer monitor. Lighting a cigarette, she inquired as her roommate, Hope, wearing a tank top and panties and carrying a glass of white wine in her hand, joined the conversation.

"Did they run into any serious problems?"

"Not really." Wade replied with a smile as he took a sip of cola through a bendy straw. After filling the girls in on the details of Team Possible's mission, he quipped, "The hardest part for Kim was finding out that she'd been fired as coach."

Laughing, Hope quipped, "I thought for a while we were going to have to put her kids through therapy—the little darlings were so shell-shocked."

"Yeah." Wade laughed, "It's scary when Kim gets hyper."

"So…" Tara asked as she took a draw from her cigarette and exhaled, "How did Ron do on the mission?"

"Not bad." Wade reported. "For the most part he kept his cool and pulled off a good move at the end when he maneuvered Bearymore and Pizzapotamus into colliding with each other."

"Got himself a twofer." Hope nodded her head as she took a sip of white wine. "Good thinking."

"Yeah." Wade nodded in agreement. "He had a good day today. I'd say better than Kim taking into account her coaching disaster." The young boy shuddered in terror, "Too bad about the Senors skipping out though."

"Can't win 'em all." Tara quipped as she put out her cigarette and took a sip from her gin and tonic. "In any event, as far as villains go, the Senors aren't that dangerous remaining out in the wild."

"True." Wade agreed. "There are far worse. Speaking of which." His face now took on a grim countenance, "I'm still not having any luck deciphering either those discs you gave me a while back or the chemical composition of that drug. Regarding the discs, I'm making slow progress, but I'm afraid it's going to take some time before I crack that encryption."

"That's okay, Wadesy." Tara grinned, "We've got time. What about the drug? Right now, that's the bigger problem."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, the dark-skinned genius replied, "It's painful going. It seems like for every step forward, we end up going back two steps. I hate admitting it, but Shego's probably our best bet right now. I just hope one of her sources can get us a name and place soon before we get more cases like those girls."

Tara declared in a reassuring tone, "Sheila hates that stuff and the people making and selling it as much as we do—more really. She'll get us what we need,."

"Then we take care of business." Hope declared in a grim tone.

"So…" Wade asked, changing the subject to a happier topic, "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Volunteering at the Middleton Senior Center." Hope replied, 'We've got to get our community service credits in before the end of the semester."

Nodding his head in approval, Wade confided, "When my grandmother's dementia had gotten so that we couldn't take care of her, we placed her there. They took good care of her, but they've got too many residents there who are all alone. I'm sure they'd appreciate having someone to talk to and do things with." Giving the two girls a goodbye smile, the young techie signed off, "Mom's calling me. It's my bed time. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Night, Wadesy."

Middleton Senior Center

"Welcome girls." Ms. Fullerton, the manager at the senior center, said with a warm smile as she greeted Tara and Hope at the front desk. "Here are your volunteer badges. We ask that you wear them while you're here both for security reasons and because it helps many of our guests remember who you are."

"Thank you, Ms. Fullerton." Hope answered back as she pinned her badge on to her top.

"Yes, thanks." Tara also replied as she pinned her badge.

Walking down the corridor, both girls were impressed by the cleanliness of the facility and the friendliness of the staff. Seeing the reactions of her new volunteers, the gray haired manager smiled, "We're fortunate in that we're well funded and staffed. Regrettably, all too many senior care facilities can't say the same. They rely primarily on state funding and are constantly short of qualified personnel due in large part to burnout. It's not always easy to care for our residents—especially those in the dementia ward. In this, we're no different from many other facilities in that our turnover is frequent and it's a constant struggle to ensure that our employees meet not just state standards, but our own standards which are even more rigorous."

Coming to a halt near two doors, the facility manager knocked on one of the doors. "Mrs. Stuart? Mrs. Grant? This is Lisa. I've got a couple of guests that would like to see you."

"Come in." An elderly voice replied.

"Please…come in." Another voice called back

Entering the room, the girls saw a neatly furnished room with twin beds, the walls decorated by portraits and paintings. One picture drew both girls' attention. It was the picture of a young woman with long dark hair kissing a man in uniform.

"That's me and my husband Willie." Mrs. Grant said with a smile. "It was taken when he got home from the war."

"World War Two?" Hope inquired warmly, as she came to an almost instant liking of the old woman.

"Yes." The elderly woman answered back with a warm smile on her face. "We got married shortly after that photo was taken. "Would you like to hear more about him?"

"Yes." Hope answered back, "I would.'

Nodding her head in satisfaction at how well the olive-skinned young woman was getting along with her resident, Mrs. Fullerton turned to the other resident. "Mrs. Stuart? This is Tara."

"Hello Mrs. Stuart." Tara said with a smile. Noticing the hand carved chessboard and pieces on the table next to the older woman's bed, her grin grew wider. "You like to play?"

"Why yes, my dear, I do." The older woman replied, "I take it you play as well?"

"Yes, my Grandmama and aunt and uncle taught me."

"Well…why don't we play a game and you can tell me all about them." The older woman responded.

"I'd love to." Tara answered back, "White or black?"

"You take white." Mrs. Stuart replied as Tara made her opening move. After several moves and a second game, the blonde beauty smiled at her chess opponent. "Thanks for the great games, Mrs. Stuart.

"No…thank you, Tara." The older woman responded. "It's been a while since I've had a good opponent." She then took a certificate out of a drawer and handed it to the young woman.

Reading it, Tara's eyes widened in surprise. "You placed in the top twenty-five at the US Open in 1953?"

"Yes." The older woman replied with a hint of pride in her voice, "I was one of only a few women competing there at the time and the only one to place. It was a different time back then." Her smile grew warmer, "I'm glad to see that more women are playing." Setting the pieces back, she gently inquired, "So…my dear…what do you do when you're not playing chess?"

After spending a rewarding afternoon with their charges, the two young women bid them reluctant goodbyes. "We'll be by to see you next week." They waved goodbye at the elderly women before exiting their room. Making their way down the hall, they encountered Mrs. Fullerton.

"So…did the two of you enjoy your day?" The facilities manager inquired.

"Yes." Tara responded as Hope nodded her head in agreement, "We did."

"What got me most…" Hope announced in a wistful voice, "Was how much life those two lived."

"You'd be amazed at the stories our residents have to tell and the experiences they've had." Mrs. Fullerton replied as the girls reached the front desk where Sergei was signing out. Seeing how the girls were looking at the handsome Russian, the grey-haired matron's lips turned up in a smile, "Well…I'll let you girls go now. Looks like you've got someone else you'd rather talk to. I'll see you next week."

"Hey, Sergei." Hope winked as she took station on one side of the Russian youth, deliberately brushing up against him.

"Hello, luv." Tara's lips turned up in a flirtatious grin as she took the young man's other side, giving him a gentle caress on the cheek as she did so. "Signing in or signing out?"

"Signing out." The Russian replied with a smile, "You two?"

"The same." Hope answered back in a sultry voice. "So…any plans for the evening?"

"Nyet." Sergei shook his head, "But…if you'd like…there is a Greek restaurant in town. Would you two like to…"

"We'd love to." Tara responded as Hope echoed her agreement.

"Tara's car is a two seater." Hope leered as she favored the Russian with her puppy dog pout, "You don't mind me sitting on your lap on the ride over do you?"

"Not at all." Sergei quickly replied, his smile growing brighter.

"Hope, luv." Tara smirked as the trio walked out the door, "You get to drive when we drop Sergei off back at his place."

"Okay, bestie…" Hope replied as the two girls both slipped their arms around the Russian's waist. "Fair's fair." Giving Sergei a flirtatious wink, she teased, "We always take turns."

The only sound escaping the handsome Russian's lips was an inaudible, but very happy, "Bozhe moi!"