Hello everyone, Kenway here I'm sorry for the delay but this year has been a rollercoaster of grace and turmoil. I've been dealing with personal issues at home, mostly family matter but it's been resolved. But I want to thank everyone for your reviews and support, I really do appreciate it. So, here is the next chapter of R: M&R. Enjoy

B: Thoughts

I: Speech

Recap:

"I have to fix this before it's too late, I can't lose him again!" Kim told herself before running after him, slightly clumsy in her heels. She was brought up short by the last person she expected.

"Tara!?"

Tara's POV

While Jessica, Liz and Hope continued to talk about their life after high school, Tara worried about Ron. She knew that he was nervous about seeing Kim again. While Tara struggled to look calm, she was also more than a little nervous about seeing Kim, though not for the same reason as Ron. Even though it was seven years ago, she was still mad at Kim for how she treated Ron; cheating on him, passing it off as no big and then expecting him to just take her back. What made it worse was that when Ron had enough and left the redhead for good wasn't the first time.

Ron told her that even before he was dating Kim, whenever a hottie guy would enter the scene, Kim would distance herself from him. She would pursue whomever she wanted and assume that if things didn't work out, she always had Ron as a backup. He was ashamed to admit that he let her get away with it, that he was always there for her when her latest crush either didn't work out or wound up not being as golden as she thought. Tara couldn't understand how Kim could have treated a sweetie like Ron that way; if you were bored, just leave and let him try to find someone else. Being honest with herself, Tara was more than grateful that Kim had driven him away, but more than angry at how she did it.

"Tara, are you okay?" Hope asked.

Tara shook herself out of her daze to see her friends looking on, their expressions ranging from curious to concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied, forcing a smile. "Just zoning out a little."

Her friends were appeased and continued their conversation. With the attention away from her for a moment, Tara looked around the gym, trying to spot so she could get in one last dance before the evening ended. Instead of finding her elusive husband, she saw a certain redhead walking out the side door with a determined stride. Tara's eyes widened when she guessed why Kim was in a hurry, so she excused herself from the table and set off in pursuit. She wanted to make sure that Kim didn't hurt Ron any more than she already had, and she wanted to give the redhead a piece of her mind.

Passing through the door, Tara saw Ron and Kim arguing, exchanging harsh words that were meant to hurt. Finally, Ron yelled at Kim, spun on a heel and stalked away. Kim angrily called Ron a coward before she turned away. Ron, blinded by his anger, walked by Tara without even seeing her. As tempted as she was to reach out to him, now wasn't the time. Now was the time to deal with the person who had caused this. Wiping away a tear for her husband, she set herself to deal with her one-time friend.

Third Person POV

Kim ran after Ron to make amends, but she was stopped by the last person she expected to see.

If looks could kill, Tara's glare would have cremated Kim and planted what was left six feet under. Those beautiful blue eyes, which had once caused all the boys of Middleton High to stammer and stutter, were now as cold and unforgiving as ice. Kim idly noted that Tara was a natural mother, the anger coming from her would have put her own mother to shame.

"Tara," she said, preparing herself for a different confrontation.

"Kim, can we talk, right now?" Tara demanded, in a cold tone that left no room for argument.

Before Kim could say a word, Tara grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the door, until they were out of ear shot of any possible listeners. Once a safe distance away, Tara spun and slapped her across the face, hard. Caught by surprise, Kim couldn't retaliate or even speak before the other woman let her have it.

"What the hell was that load of crap?" Tara demanded. "If anyone was a coward back there, it was you! Do you have any idea what you put him through? Did you really think some half-assed apology would make everything right? You probably did, but when that didn't work, you played the victim! How the hell was his leaving you his fault after you cheated on him...again? How the hell was him having enough of your 'nose-in-the-air attitude just now and walking away being cowardly? He had enough of you and your attitude back then and he's had enough of you and your attitude now! Can't you understand that? Of course not, you're Kim f**king Possible and you can do anything you want, even treating your BFBF like he isn't worth your time, back then and now!"

Tara finished her rant and leaned against the wall while she struggled to catch her breath. She knew that she shouldn't allow herself to get this upset while pregnant, but she just couldn't let Kim get away with it anymore. Besides, she had held it in for years and it felt good to let it out.

Kim stood there as Tara's words echoed in her head. As much as she wanted to ignore her onetime friend, she knew that Tara was right. She was selfish and never considered Ron's feelings; during the ordeal with Francis, during times before, and even before they started dating. Tara turned and headed back towards the door, but Kim found the strength to finally say something.

"You're right." She managed to whisper. Tara stopped and turned her head slightly.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you," Tara sneered. She knew Kim was proud and saying sorry was hard for her.

"I said I'm sorry! You were right, I was selfish and always took Ron for granted, always thinking he would be there for me despite how I treated him. I was wrong, but...even before I started dating him, he was always there for me. Maybe I just thought that it would work out that way even after we started dating." Kim took a deep breath. "I was an idiot college student. I thought that this was what you did. I never thought about what I was putting him through until he was gone for good."

"He might have believed you, but I don't," Tara snarled back. "You were monkey branching!Going from hottie to hottie while leaving Ron behind. Hell, even Bonnie was faithful to Brick and she was a straight up Queen Bitch!

Kim lower her head in shame after hearing Tara's harsh but truthful remark

"Did you really feel regret?" Tara asked her. This time, her voice was much calmer, reflecting an honest question. "Even before you started working for Global Justice, you had strong contacts with them. It would have been very easy for you to find him, show up, and apologize. Why didn't you?" Tara's face became stern again. "Was it because you had someone else at the time, or was he only worth finding when you were going to be at the reunion anyway? Was he just an afterthought, again?"

"You're right I could've," Kim admitted. " I still loved him, and I could have just pushed a button and Wade would have located him for me. Yes, I had boyfriends after he left but that's not what made me stop. To be honest, it took me this long because I was scared. I was scared that he would tell me to get lost, that he didn't want me in his life, even as a friend. I was scared that I would find him successful and happy, which would mean that I had held him back. I was even more scared that I would find him broken and alone, then I would have to face the fact that I did it to him. So, I waited; I waited until I had a reason to be where I could meet him without it being obvious that I was looking for him. I didn't want him to think I was tracking him down because he would think that he could never be free from me."

"That's not good enough," Tara told her. "You did more than break his heart, you made him think that he was useless. You made him think that he wasn't worth being loved. Do you know how much I had to work to make him realize that he wasn't just a pity date? He was broken, but most people didn't realize it. I was the one who had to put him back together again!"

Kim paused to look at Tara and hugged her, catching Tara off guard before speaking again.

"But you didput him back together," Kim told her. "You saw that he was hurting and that he was worth fixing. I anyone has earned the life you have, the life you're still building with him, it's you."

"It's still not enough," Tara told her. "You have to apologize to him for the way you treated him and not blame him for it. You did it so admit it, admit that you wronged him and ask him to put it behind him enough for you to be friends again."

"I agree," Kim nodded. "Let's get this behind us for good."

As both women walked down the path Ron took earlier, Kim felt bad on how she handled the situation and hoped it wasn't too late for both her and Ron's friendship and as they walk, Kim shifted her eyes to Tara and inwardly commended Tara for standing up for her husband and realized Ron married the perfect woman for him, someone sweet and loving, but strong and firm when needed to be.

Both women stopped as they saw Ron in the distance sitting down on a bench with his head down. Tara then spoke to Kim.

"Let me talk to him first and then I'll bring him over to speak." Tara said as she went over to her husband and sat right next to him and place her hand on his shoulder. Ron looked up and saw his wife by his side as she embraced him lovingly which he responded with his own.

After a moment of intimacy, Tara spoke softly, "Ron, are you ok?" as she leans back and looks into Ron's eyes, knowing that they held his true emotions.

Ron was just about to say he was fine, but he knew better, and he couldn't lie to Tara, so he sighed as he began to speak.

"No, I'm not, I thought I was fine until I saw Kim again and all those feeling of hurt and anger that I buried all those years ago just came rushing back up. I was hoping that I wouldn't see Kim tonight and that everything would go well, but it was just wistful thinking. Heh, it's sad really."

Ron finished with his head down, but Tara placed her hands on his cheeks and made him look at her and she spoke.

"Ron, you had every right to be angry and hurt for how Kim cheated on you all those years ago. No one should ever go through that kind of pain. But Ron, as much as I hate to say it, but you need to forgive her"

Ron's head shot up and was about to argue until Tara grabbed his head between her hands and spoke again.

"No, listen, it's just as you said, you were hoping that you would not see Kim tonight, but you did and now is the time to put this to rest. I'm not saying you should take her back, but you need to let go of the bitterness and move on. Look I know its hard and trust me, I'm mad at her as well but until you let it go, you will never be at peace, Ron. So please do this not for me or even for Kim, but for yourself."

Tara finished her statement and watched as Ron began to think. As much as he hated it, he knew that Tara was right, how can he expect to have a future with his wife and future child if he still held bitterness toward Kim. He knew that the past was the past and it was time to look to the future and that future was Tara. Ron closed his eyes and made his decision and so he kissed Tara on the forehead.

"Thank you, Tara," Ron said while looking at his wife

"Anytime, Ron, I will be by your side" Tara replied back

Tara then grabbed her husband's hand and leads him over to where Kim was waiting and as the two former friends face each other for the second time tonight, Ron then speaks

"Kim, we need to talk."

Alright, again thank you for being patience with me, I took a hiatus from writing for a time, but I thank you all for enjoying the story and know I do not intend to abandon this story. I have one final chapter to go and I will try to get it out before this year, so you guys do not have to wait. Please read and review and constructive criticism is welcome. Kenway out.