Training Table Blues
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.
You can read this without reading the background stories, but I would highly recommend (shameless plug) Black Hole Deep, version 2.0 and BE, S 1: Blue Eyes, Shining. You'll enjoy this story even more, and this story will make more sense if it's read in context.
To everyone who has read thus far and continues to read and review: thank you: your reads and reviews continue to fuel me.
A/N Forward:
Questions:
Three, this time:
How did the drug bust go, and what happened after that original event where Wade almost changed outfits from Meezod to vertical black-and-white stripes?
How are Jocelyn's classes going?
What do the three have to do with each other?
Answer: Quite a bit:
DCI's been busy, and Mel comes to Colorado to talk to Wade, Kim, and Ron about some connections as well as Wade's parents about what's happening due to their son's involvement.
Classes, cheerleading, barrel racing, and friends keep a girl busy, especially when Joss has a wedding to plan for, 8 years from now: you can never plan far enough ahead, is her motto.
Unfortunately, all of these events, and more, come together in frightening and dangerous ways that none of them expected or could have foreseen.
Drugs comes into the lives of the students full-bore in chapter six of Training Table Blues: Drug Busts, and Schoolwork Blues
For all of the Jade fans:
Thanks for your support all last year, and I promise to deliver more to you this year.
Thanks again for reading, and please review.
-----
Chapter 6: Drug Busts, and Schoolwork Blues
(Information release authorized from the following sources:
Archives and logs of Dr. Kimberly Ann Possible-Stoppable
Archives and logs of Dr. A. Jocelyn Possible-Load
Archives and logs of Dr. Melisandretti Claremore, Former Attorney-General of the Great State of Montana
Diary of Rebecca (Becky Barlow) Benge
Archives and logs of Dr. Wade Load
-----
(Dr. Kimberly Ann Possible-Stoppable)
"Ron, have the class rankings hit the school website yet?"
"They're supposed to be out at 4:30 PM exactly: that's in 3 minutes, Kim."
"Thanks, Ron. I'll call you back after I see where I am," and I hung up.
'I really wanted to see where Ron was more than where I was: he'd worked so hard to get his grades up, and even Mr. Barkin had complimented him at the end of the summer on his turnaround.
'Was it going to be Justine or me at #1? I knew it couldn't be Bonnie; but, then again, after this past summer, her attitude was so different…
'Maybe Felix; I didn't know what his grades were at his old school.
'Monique? I didn't think so, but who knew?'
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-be
And I slammed off my alarm and hit refresh, and the rankings were there!
Yada, Yada, Yada, best class in 5 years, Yada, Yada, Yada,
There it is!
Senior class of 2007 pre-final class rankings:
1. Kim Possible
2. Justine Flanner
3. Kevin Gordon
4. Bonnie Rockwaller
5. Felix Renton
6. Mike Cotton
Page
17. Monique Jenkins
18. James Jefferson
Page
Page
199. Ronald Stoppable
200. Ronnie Jean Ravenswood
201. Jessie Coleman
202. Ronald Reger
ALL RIGHT!
I'm number 1!
Stick that, Rockwaller!
And I immediately regretted that thought….Bonnie had been so nice all year; even when we didn't win State Cheer Championships, she congratulated the other team, person by person, and she consoled our own team members who were crying….
I could have been #2 to Justine's #1; it still could change, but it doesn't matter as long as it's Justine.
Ron's in the top 30 percent; he's still almost a shoo-in for a MIT cooking scholarship; I know that's what he wants, so bad.
They've already accepted me, but I'm holding off accepting until I know whether or not Ron's getting in….
Wait!
Scroll back up…Big Mike is in the Top 10?
Now know why Justine's been smiling so much lately…well, besides that….and just that thought made me get real hot, and I knew I was red.
And why shouldn't she be happy, finally? I thought as I called Ron.
I didn't know Big Mike's smile could be that big when he announced after the Middleton Fair ended that he and Justine were 'seeing each other;' of course, her smile wasn't small, either….
And, the size of his hands, and I got hotter by the second….
You go, Justine!
"Ron…."
-----
(Dr. A. Jocelyn Possible-Load)
Wade and I did go to visit Fletch and his parents before he left….
-----
"Wade, are you sure you can handle this?" I asked him one more time as Daddy pulled up in front of the hospital.
"I'm sure, Sweet Tea," he sounded exasperated, and he had every reason to be: I'd only asked him the question once every mile between the ranch and the hospital….
"I'm sorry, Joss," and now he apologizes to me for harassing him! I knew why Jen wanted to clone him; heck, I wanted to clone him so I could keep one up here in Montana year-round…but I wasn't gonna tell him that, and I grinned inside.
"It's all right, Wade," I replied, jumping down into the ice-slush on the road with a splash!
"I just wanted to make sure you'd thought this through," I continued as he landed in the same slush with a splash, splashing my coat and boots.
"OH! Joss, I'm so sorry," and I waved him off.
"Wade, that's what the coat and boots are for," I grinned as I took his hand and we trudged through the snow to the front walk up to the hospital door, with Daddy and Betty behind us. I looked over my shoulder, and they were grinning like…well, like Wade and me.
-----
"Mr. Benge?" I saw him standing down the hall from Fletcher's door, and he looked up when he heard my name, and he grinned real big.
"Joss!" he waved, and then he saw Wade, and his grin shrank about 95.
"Mr. Benge, how's Fletch?"
"He's fine, Joss," he answered, ignoring Wade, who squeezed my hand to let me know he was ok.
"Mr. Benge, I have someone here who wants to meet you. Mr. Benge, this is Dr. Wade Load of Team Possible," and Mr. Benge's eyes could have popped out of their sockets, they were so large.
Wade stuck out his hand.
"Mr. Benge: it's nice to meet you. I'm just glad we got Anne here in time to help your son," he said calmly, as Mr. Benge took his hand and shook it, confused.
"You…got Dr. Possible…here?"
"Yes, sir. Kim and I have worked together for years, and I've known Dr. Anne Possible for a few years. She is an outstanding brain surgeon; so, when Joss told me what had happened, I called Dr. Director and we got her here as fast as 'possible,'" and Wade smiled at the pun.
"Doctor...Director…?" and Betty spoke up.
"That would be me, sir: Dr. Elizabeth Director, head of Global Justice," and Betty stepped forward and shook the hands of the now-fully-in-shock Mr. Benge and his wife; his wife had come up after I had introduced Wade and was standing behind her husband.
"Jarrod Benge, ma'am, and this is my wife, Tracy," and Betty shook both of their hands.
"Ma'am, do you know who the president of that company was that paid my son's bills? We'd really like to thank him or her," and I saw Daddy grinning out of the corner of my eye.
'bomb dropping in 3…2…1…NOW!'
"That would be me, sir," and Wade smiled. "WadeLogistics LLC is my company, and I am the president."
'and, now, the jaws are firmly implanted in the floor,' and I looked at Jarrod and Tracy Benge and tried not to laugh at their shocked expressions.
"I help where I can, Mr. Benge, and I know how much this all will cost, and I have the money, and Fletcher is one of Jocelyn's friends, so," and he took my hand, and Jarrod Benge woke up.
"You mean, even after all Fletcher said to you, Joss, you helped him?"
"He apologized, Mr. Benge, so what he said didn't matter after that. He is my friend, and I wanted to help, and I asked my boyfriend, and, well," I trailed off after dropping that bombshell on them.
He did the right thing.
"Thank you, Dr. Load, for everything," and tears were starting to fight his face. "My boy obviously learned some wrong ideas from me, and you've help me understand that I've got some serious thinkin' to do, now," and Mrs. Benge nodded.
"Let's go and see if your son's awake, sir," and Wade led the way down the hall, looking at the doors.
"Sir? You should know: Becky's in there with him," Mrs. Benge warned Wade, and he knocked on the door and waited for an invite before opening it, and we walked in together.
-----
Fletch was in bed, but the top of his bed was raised so he could appear to be sitting up, and Becky was in the chair next to the bed, now leaning back. She saw Wade and had no emotion on her face: no love, no hate, no joy, nothing.
"Fletcher Benge?" and Wade walked forward to the bedside, and Fletch's smile grew big!
"Wade Load!" and he stuck out his hand to shake Wade's, and Wade shook it; Fletch pulled him into a hug, tubes hanging from both his arms.
"Thank you," Fletch said into him, "thank you for helping me, especially after everything I said and did to Joss," and he pulled back, and there were tears on his face.
"You could have let one more white boy die," and Becky winced at Fletch's remark, "and no one would have blamed you," Fletch said, grinning, and Wade grinned back and shook his head 'no.'
"Wrong, Fletcher. Two people would, Fletcher: I would have blamed myself if I'd done it, because that's not what Team Possible does; and Joss would have blamed me and killed me if I hadn't helped you," and Fletch laughed at Wade's last remark, and Becky still had no emotion on her face after that wince.
"And, you must be Miss Barlow, correct?" Wade asked as he walked around the bed to Becky, and she stood.
"I'm Wade Load, and I'm very happy to finally meet you: Joss has told me good things about you, but she never told me how lovely you were," and Wade reached, took her left hand, and kissed it.
It worked.
Becky smiled: it was a thin smile, but she smiled.
"Is the hospital treating you ok, Becky? Do you need anything?" Wade asked, and she shook her head 'no,' then sat back down and turned her head away from Wade and mumbled something.
"I'm sorry; I didn't get that, Becky. What did you say?" Wade asked, and Becky's head snapped back around at Wade, tears and anger both all over her face.
"HOW COULD YOU?" she shouted, and even Fletch was shocked.
"HOW COULD YOU?" she shouted again, and jumped up and started beating on Wade's chest over and over again.
"HOW COULD YOU BE SO NICE?" she yelled. "HOW? and she fell into Wade's chest and sobbed.
"After all I said to Joss, how could you?" She sobbed into Wade, and I reached and took her hand. Wade's hands were at his side, and he wasn't going to raise them and hug here without a signal.
"HOW COULD you?"
"HOW could you?"
"How could you," came from Becky, softer and softer, as she heaved sobs, softer and softer still, and she finally raised her head and looked into my Wade's chocolate-brown eyes with such sadness.
"I love him, and I thought I was going to lose him, and you saved his life," she said thru more tears.
"WHY?" she yelled once more, and then she fell into his chest, sobbing again.
By now, Daddy and Fletch's parents had come in, and they had witnessed the entire event.
"Why not?" was Wade's simple response, and Becky's face snapped up to glare and stare at him.
"Fletch never hurt me or Joss, and neither have you, Becky, so I ask you, again: why shouldn't I have helped him? He was trying to do something right; he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Carl showed up: so, again, why not help when I can, however I can?" and Wade pulled himself away from Becky, and he went back around the bed to Fletch.
"There's also some reward money, Fletcher: I don't know when it'll be released, but let me know if you have any problems getting it, and I'll talk to Mel and get them straightened out," he added as he shook the surprised Fletch's hand and came back to mumbling something about 'that's two more' to himself.
I went over to Fletch and hugged him, then smiled as I let him go.
"You gonna be ok, Fletch?"
"Sure am, Joss. Thanks," was his smiling response.
I went around to Becky and hugged her: she was still shaken, but she took my hug.
"You ok, BB?" I whispered to her as we hugged.
"You two are incredible, J," she whispered into my hair, and I squeezed her in reply.
"Thank you," she whispered back, and I squeezed her again.
Becky pulled back and stared at me with wonder and sorrow. "I'm so very sorry, J. Can you ever in a million forgive me?"
My hug was her answer.
"I may slip-slide, J, but I'll try, I promise," she whispered into my hair, and I nodded.
"It's been almost 15 years, and I've got a lot of unlearning to do," she said when she pulled her face out of my soggy hair and smiled at me.
"So do we, Becky," was the reply from Mr. Benge, and I looked up to see his wife nodding and Daddy smiling.
-----
Wade left, and I was alone for a bit with my thoughts, so I had a chance to spend some time in my room.
I hung Wade's picture that he gave me (wow, that thing was HUGE! I had to take down my picture of him, but I moved it and hung it over the steps into my room, hanging from the ceiling).
I loved that picture, and I could see why Wade loved Stephanie and Kim and, yes, even me, though sometimes I felt inadequate around Kim and when Wade talked about Stephanie.
I put Momma's flag on my desk so I could always see it, and I went downstairs and helped Daddy and Momma2 (dang, that feels good!), I mean Betty (not yet, Joss!) hang the picture that Daddy got from Rachel.
What an artist.
I was ready for school to start, and I was ready to get more As.
I pulled out the picture of me in my cheerleader outfit: I thought I'd slip a copy in Wade's luggage the next time he came up, and I'd send a digital copy after he left.
That should send him into the shower.
Daddy didn't complain, too much, when he saw me wearing the cheerleading outfit.
He did complain when he saw my choice for my barrel-racing outfits:
"Go git sump'in to wear that ain't sprayed on, Sweet Tea," was his only comment.
It was a little tight, but I wanted to get the judge's attention….
My wedding planner! I'd better move it to my night stand…
I already knew what dress I wanted, and who I wanted as my bridesmaids.
And, most importantly, I knew where I wanted to get married: on the ranch, at the bench, just before sunset.
My picture of Wade and me…I need that closer…maybe on the other wall, or hang in on the ceiling above my bed….
Wade, in a tux with full tails at our wedding…
Wade, on our wedding night…
I needed a cold shower.
-----
(Recording found in an authorized search of a residence…; can be admissible into evidence)
"What are we going to do about that kid?"
"The one that fingered us, or the idiot that helped him by being there?"
"Both of them."
"What about Red, and the black boy?"
She drew her finger across her neck, and he understood.
Take them all out.
-----
(Dr. Melisandretti Claremore, Former Attorney-General of the Great State of Montana)
I went to Middleton, Colorado, on a Friday morning in late March, to meet with Kimberly Ann Possible and Ronald Dean Stoppable, ad-hoc agents for Global Justice and founders of Team Possible.
I had another purpose, albeit a good one: I was coming to talk to Dr. Wade Load, partner of Team Possible, for two reasons: one, to tell him that his case had officially been dropped; and two, to pass along additional information regarding the Justin-1 drug bust and the results of the case.
I stepped off of the commuter plane and was greeted by Dr. Load, Kim, and Ron.
"Hello, Melisandretti," Wade smiled as he extended his hand.
I just loved it when he said my name: it rolls so beautifully off his tongue; I'd have sworn he was Italian.
STOP IT, MEL! HE'S JUST A KID!
Yes, but what a brain….
NO, MEL!
"Good afternoon, Dr. Load," I smiled as I shook his hand and he reached across and took my roller from my hands and started to pull my suitcase.
"Hello, Kim, Ron," I shook their hands and started to tell to Wade that I could handle my own suitcase.
Before I had a chance, he explained. "Dad always taught me that a lady should never have to carry her suitcase if a gentleman is around," he said as he pulled it behind him, struggling a bit at first but gaining control of it after a few steps.
'Your father is a wise man: I just wish my first ex-husband's father had taught him so well,' was my thought.
"Smart man," I grinned.
He turned towards the back of the airport rather than heading outside for parking, and I got worried,
"Wait a sec, Wade: how did all of you get here?" and I was afraid I knew the answer.
"The tube, Mel," as we walked into a closed room in a secured portion at the back of the Middleton Airport, and Wade had opened the door to a room that lit automatically when the door opened. He stood my suitcase next to the two of us as the door closed automatically, and I tensed in anticipation. I'd heard about this 'tube,' and it certainly didn't sound like my cup of tea.
Kim and Ron stood back, and Ron was grinning.
'This is not good,' I thought.
"Hold on, Mel," and the floor dropped from underneath me, and I-
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," and I landed on my feet outside of Wade's house.
"Wade," I struggled to get my breath back, and Wade just grinned at me, "I'm not so sure that they the courts should release you from your charges, now," and he laughed as he pulled my suitcase towards the now-open door framing his parents, the Doctors Load.
"Mel," Mr. Dr. Load came out, only using one cane today, and he shook my hand and took the suitcase from Wade, pulling it into the house.
"Ryan, how are you?"
"Much better than my students," he laughed as we headed towards the house.
"Mel," and Mrs., Dr, Load hugged me.
It made me wish that all children of Montana could have parents like the Loads and the Possibles: giving unconditional love and strong moral guidance as examples, not just words.
"Rachel, you're looking well," I replied as we separated.
"I hate the tube as much as I hate meat cakes!" Ron yelled, and I turned to see him and Kim land behind us.
"RON!
"Ron, you're going to have to see someone about this 'meat cake' fixation," Kim said as they walked up the sidewalk behind us.
"Already did, KP, and they don't have any idea, either," was Ron's response.
"Hello, Agent Claremore," and I turned around to see Dr. Elizabeth Director, head of Global Justice, walking up the sidewalk behind the two original members of Team Possible.
What a house in which to live….
"Good evening, Dr. Director," and I smiled as I extended my hand.
"It's Betty, please, Mel," and she shook my hand.
Wow.
"All right, D-Betty," and I smiled as we all went into the house and into the living room.
We all sat, and I opened my case and pulled out the first folder.
"Wade, the State Attorney's office has offered to drop all charges stemming from your 'EWB' incident, and the Judge has agreed with their request. Your slate is now officially clean in Montana, Wade," and Wade grinned and hugged me.
'Joss, good luck: he's a lady-killer on a mission, and you're the mission,' I thought, and I looked down at Wade, a wicked grin on his face.
"So, I can now send emails in Montana without fear of imprisonment?" he asked, and I laughed along with Betty Wade's parents, Kim, and Ron.
"Yes, Wade, you can, and we won't even charge a poll tax on your email," and I laughed because he didn't get that one, at first, but his parents did, and they laughed with Betty and me.
"What really brought me here, Wade, is some first-hand consulting from you and a conversation I need to have with Kim and Ron.
"You remember what you saw in the data on Justin-1, and we're starting to see some disturbing patterns in new data coming to us. That meth lab was the largest bust in Montana history, and we saw a major drop in crystal meth sales and increases in prices for several weeks after it happened. But, now, we're seeing the price dropping, again, and we can't find the source.
"Can I impose on you to come back to Montana to do some work?" and I didn't understand why everyone laughed at me.
"Mel, why go to Montana (unless it's for Joss-shine," he grinned), "when you can bring Montana to you?" and he stood and took my hand, leading me to a part of the house that had a palm-reader on the wall.
He palmed, and the door opened, and I understood why Team Possible could do what no one else could do: they didn't have Wade Load or his bedroom.
-----
Rebecca (Becky Barlow) Benge
"Fletch, hold onto me so you don't fall," I encouraged him. He was up, walking, finally out of his hospital room. His hair was finally growing back, but it was coming in curly, and I teased him about that.
"I'll hold on, Becky, but not for that reason," he grinned, and I moved his hand a little higher, to my lower back,
"That's better, isn't it?" I grinned back at him, and he pouted, so I kissed him, and the pout went away quick.
"Now, like the nurse said, baby steps, 'Curly,'" and he groaned as he moved one foot slowly, then another, then another, then another, then stopped.
"That was great, Fletch!" I beamed at him, and I looked up and saw a lady in a business suit walking towards us.
"Fletcher Benge?" she called out.
"Yeah?"
"This is for you," and she pulled out a pistol, and the DCI agent behind me yelled:
"GUN!" and ran around us and stood in front of Fletch and me.
And, three doors on the hall all burst open as she fired at the first agent, and he fell, dead. Then, she pointed the gun at us.
"NO!" and I pushed Fletch to the ground, and I felt two punches in my side.
I looked down, and I saw red on the side of my sweater.
'Fletch must have bled on me when I helped him out of bed,' I thought, but the red was growing on my sweater, and my stomach felt wet. I heard gunshots, and I looked up to see the lady, the person behind her who also had a pistol, and the three agents all fall to the ground.
"BECKY!" Fletch yelled as he struggled to get up at.
"Fletch, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Becky. Why did you push me down?"
"She was going to shoot you, Fletch," I told him, feeling a bit annoyed with that stupid a question. Now, I felt annoyed and dizzy.
"DOCTOR!" Fletch yelled.
'Why did he call for a doctor? Did I hurt him when I pushed him down?'
"Becky, you've been shot!" and he hugged me.
His hug felt so good.
'Maybe that's why that red is bigger on my sweater, now,' I thought, then my legs wanted to rest, and I went to my knees.
'Damn: I liked this sweater, and now I'll never get the stain out.'
"Fletch?"
"Yeah, Becky?" and he held my hand as the doctors came running up, and more agents were behind them, guns drawn, and there were tears on his face, but I didn't know why.
"I love you, Fletch," and now, the pain hit, and it hurt BAD, and it was hard to breathe, but I had to tell Fletch one more thing.
"tell…Joss…and…Wade…"
-----
(Dr. A. Jocelyn Possible-Load)
"31.1 seconds, with no penalties: that's great, Joss!" Stephen Michael Lopez called out as I passed him.
"That's my best time, so far," I yelled as I pulled up, turned, and brought my horse back over to Stephen where he stood with his stopwatch and clipboard, writing down my times. "But, it's not good enough," I added.
"Joss, why are you so worried? You've only been doing this for 3 months, and you've only been around the barrels ever for a time test in the last two days," he asked as I dismounted and he held my reins and petted Sadie, slipping her a sugar cube.
I took my rope and wrist clip out of the saddlebag and put the wrist clip back on under my sleeve. I wasn't supposed to wear it at school (concealed, you know), but Stephen just grinned: he figured that ropes and Rodeos fir together.
"Why can't you lower your expectations to the standards?"
"I'm a perfectionist, Stephen," I grinned. "and, I'm a 'Possible,'" I added, and he groaned.
"Let's get Sadie back to the corral."
"Who's that coming up the walk, Joss?"
"I don't know."
"Hey! Kids," I hate it when older people call me that…
"Yes, sir, may I help you?"
He pulled a gun and pointed it at us.
"Inside the barn, both of you. You're the last ones out, right?" and Stephen nodded, trying not to speak.
"Inside," and he waved us in with his gun.
Stephen opened the barn door and found the rest of the team inside with three other people (and I use that term loosely) holding guns on the rest of the rodeo team, and Mr. Sanchez was lying on the ground, face down!
"He's ok, Joss, he got knocked out!" came from Patti John, one of our seniors and our best barrel racer.
"Who are you?" He asked me as we turned.
"AJ Possible," I replied, and he grinned.
"You're Joss Possible?" the guy behind us asked.
"Yes, sir." I knew when to be nice, no matter what some people thought.
"Good! We've found one more target. Boss6, get on the horn and tell Boss1 that the redhead's in the corral," and he laughed as he pushed me to the ground.
"Sure thing, Boss2," and Boss6 touched his earpiece and began to speak while holding the gun trained on a group of teenagers.
Real brave people, these were.
"No! Leave her alone!" Stephen yelled, and he got rewarded by being slapped across the face with the gun.
"Shut up, spic, or you'll be next week's tamales," Boss2 laughed as Stephen wiped the blood off of his face.
Now, I was officially pissed.
I was glad I was wearing long sleeves: they couldn't see my wrist clip, and I knew it was gonna come in handy: I just didn't know when or how.
"What do you want with us, mister?"
"It's not just you we want: we want US $20 Million, a GJ Jet with no tracking devices, our drugs back and our buddy out of jail.
"Oh, and by the way, we want Fletcher Benge dead, and you, too, Red, and we want that boyfriend of yours to suffer while we do it so he'll leave us alone from now on," and Paula, one of the girls in the back, screamed, but she stopped that scream when one of the others slapped her with her gun, and I could hear Paula crying from the pain.
Now, I was madder than a bag of wet cats in a wading pool.
I wished Ron was here: he could show them some moves and shut them up.
'Center, Jocelyn:' I heard Ron's voice in the back of my head, and I twitched internally: I didn't want to unnerve the guy with the gun.
'You are the only enemy that you cannot defeat,' I heard him again, and my anger began to become more amorphous.
'Center,' I heard again, and the anger melted into a puddle, and now the puddle was beginning to form into a plan that Ron was directing from his past weeks' teachings that he had so graciously given me in my training.
'Now, Jocelyn, see the foes and identify them.'
'One right here waving the gun that hit Stephen and me, Ron: he's Boss2.
'The one who struck Paula: count her as Pain1.
'The one with the earpiece: he's Boss6.
The one that hasn't spoken yet: she's Pain2.
"You aren't going to get much from holding a group of teens in the barn," I goaded him, and my reward was whack across the face with his hand.
"SHUT UP, BITCH!" he screamed, and I shut up.
'That's gonna cost you, Boss2,' I thought, wiping my face.
"We've got the whole damn school locked down in the auditorium," he bragged, and I now knew where the rest of them were.
I sat down on a hay bale and knocked my PosComm out of my backbelt pouch (why he hadn't taken it, I don't know: maybe he thought it was a MaxiPod, or maybe he hadn't seen it).
One of the girls saw it fall, and she leaned forward and fell onto the hay bale, hitting the big red button in the middle.
I shore was glad that mah friends were nosy, and I stood up.
Two rifle shots came from outside, and Sadie whinnied and reared at the door, and Pain2 fired a shot at the door.
"You and Boss6 go find out what's spookin' that damn horse," Boss2 demanded, and the two of them ran out of the barn.
Good, only two of them in here.
Then, there were two more rifle shots, and silence from outside.
Then, a high tenor voice from outside, and I recognized Dean Noble's voice:
"We've got these two, the rest of y'all come out, and we won't shoot you, too."
"They shot Jane! What are you gonna do now, Jon?" she yelled and walked up next to Stephen, and he smiled at me, and I knew what he was going to do and that he was waiting for me.
"There's 10 of us left, stupid, so shaddup! We've still got the kids in the auditorium!"
"So, what are you gonna do now?" I asked Boss2 while Pain1 freaked out.
"We're gonna kill all of the girls unless they meet our demands, but we're gonna kill you, anyway, so what do you care?" and the lone gunman in view waved his pistol around the room.
'Now, Jocelyn,' I heard in my head.
"No reason," I replied, and I fired.
-----
(Dr. Melisandretti Claremore, Former Attorney-General of the Great State of Montana)
"Sorry about the mess: I wasn't expecting visitors," and he picked up a single small Slurpster cup and tossed it into the trash.
"Now, let's see what we have, Mel," and he activated five monitors and started attacking keyboards.
I had no idea of what he was doing., so I turned around and saw Betty grinning at me, with Ryan and Rachel Load standing behind her, holding each other and looking so much like my parents (may God rest their souls) in the love that they were radiating that I almost called them by name; that feeling almost made me cry.
I missed my parents.
"Joss is in trouble," came from behind me in a voice I barely heard, and I ignored it until -
"RON!" Kim shouted at him, and then I turned around to see-
Ron was in a tailor position: that was all right.
Ron was three feet off the ground and floating: that was not all right.
Rufus had adopted the same position on Ron's head: that was even stranger.
"Center, Jocelyn," Ron whispered, and Wade ran to his desk, activating every monitor in his room from his PosComm.
"You are the only enemy that you cannot defeat," Ron continued, and Wade was now attacking multiple keyboards now, looking for something. Kim stood next to Ron and touched his shoulder, and I would have sworn in a court of law that I saw something blue flow Ron to Kim and back into Ron.
"Center," I heard Ron, again
"Now, Jocelyn, see the foes and identify them."
Wade's clicking was the only sound as maps popped up on different monitors, from global to North America to US to the Northwest to Montana.
Multiple pagers sounded off simultaneously, and I touched my earpiece.
"Claremore: Talk to me, MATIC."
Wade howled a sound that I hope I never hear again: he'd found something….
"We have a hostage situation at a public school outside of Billings. Mel: it's Jocelyn Possible's high school," and my blood turned to ice because I knew what else was happening, and I heard Rachel in the background burst out a sob.
"Keep talking: I'm in Middleton with Dr. Load, and he's gathering and processing incoming as we speak."
"They shot Becky at the hospital," Wade said calmly. "They tried to kill Fletcher, but Becky stepped in front of him when the person fired, and they shot Becky," was all he could say, then he attacked the keyboards with a vengeance that I'd never seen in him before.
"Mel, there was a shooting at the hospital, also: we have both agents and perps down: no need for transport," the MATIC agent laughed hollowly.
"Who else?" I practically shouted.
"None lost: one injured, a girl," and my heart sank.
Becky.
"Condition?"
"In surgery," came from MATIC and Wade simultaneously. I could hear keyboards being slammed in both rooms.
"Fletcher Benge?"
"Cuts and scrapes. Mel, the girl took a bullet for Fletcher Benge: I don't know if it was intentional or accidental, but she did.
"My God," came from Betty's mouth.
"My agents just intercepted an encrypted transmission from the school: they have 150 hostages, and they are threatening to shoot the girls one at a time if we don't meet their demands.
"I'll meet their demands," Wade growled, and Betty grabbed him, spun him away from the keyboards, and shouted into his face:
"WADE!
"NO!
"STEPHANIE WOULDN'T WANT THIS, and NEITHER WOULD JOSS!" and, with that, he almost crumpled into her arms.
"Betty, I can't lose another one," he cried and shook.
"We'll get her, Wade," and Joss' PosComm beep signaled incoming transmission, and a monitor popped on above Wade's desk. Wade's head spun around to face the monitor, and he heard-
Two rifle shots, and a horse whinnied, and another shot, this one sounded indoors.
"You and Boss6 go find out what's spookin' that damn horse," a male voice commanded, and two sets of footsteps ran away, and a door slammed.
Then, there were two more rifle shots, and silence.
A high tenor voice called: "We've got these two, the rest of y'all come out, and we won't shoot you, too."
"They shot Jane! What are you gonna do now, Jon?" a woman yelled.
"There's 10 of us left, stupid, so shaddup! We've still got the kids in the auditorium!"
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Joss' voice came from the monitor, and the picture snapped on-
"We're gonna kill all of the girls unless they meet our demands in 30 minutes, but we're gonna kill you, anyway, so what do you care?" and the lone gunman in view waved his pistol around the room.
A few second's silence as the gunman waved his gun around, and then-
"Now, Jocelyn," Ron said, and his eyes popped open and he sank slowly to the ground.
"No reason," Joss said and fired her wrist clip, the hook wrapping around his wrist and retracting at such a speed that his gun flew out of his hand. There were sounds in the background, off-camera, and we heard several kicks, bodies hitting the ground hard, lots of yelling and several yelps of pain, and two gunshots, and then there was silence.
"Wade, are you there?" Joss reached over and picked up the PosComm as she reeled her wrist clip back in.
"Yes, Sweet Tea, I'm here. Are you all right?"
"Better than the bottom of the-"
"Joss!" and he grinned. "How many?"
"Just four were in our room, but two left, and I think they're down, outside: they're as stupid as Dr. D: there are 8 in the main building, and they want Carl and $20 million and a GJ Jet with no tracking devices.
"These two are down, and I took the shot, following Sensei's direction, although I don't know how he did it," Joss was now starting to shake.
"Joss! Mel here! Keep talking to us," and I gave Betty the signal for 'shock,' and she and, surprisingly but not, both Ryan and Rachel nodded.
"RON!" Kim yelled, and I glanced back at them and saw that Ron had fallen over.
Kim had put his head in her lap, now, and he had awakened, albeit with a goofy yet knowing smile on his face.
The door to the barn slammed open, and two students came in, both carrying rifles.
Thank God for the Montana hunters, their sons and daughters, and gun racks on pickups and in trunks of cars….
"Everybody ok?" one of them yelled.
"We're fine," was Joss' response, "but those guys are gonna need some headache medicine," and the room echoed and filled with laughter.
"We got two of them: they're injured, but the bleeding's stopped, and they're tied up and gagged next to the barn. Mr. Sanchez is gonna need more medical treatment: concussion, I think," Joss added.
"You're right, Joss," Delta Busby responded; she was working half-days as a paramedic-in-training, and she'd been helping as much as she knew how with everyone's cuts and scrapes, and she'd made sure that we did the right things that we could do to help Mr. Sanchez until we could get a doctor in.
"The rest are all in the main building, in the auditorium, Joss. Can you get word out?" a young man's voice asked her.
"You just did, Stephen. Wade, Mel, get that?"
"Five by five, Sweet Tea," was Wade's reply, and Betty and I went to work.
"Joss: did you download last week?" Tangent, Wade?
"Of course, my Wade. Why?"
"The latest remote-control software was in the last download pack," and Wade hit a control, and the PosComm rose up to Joss' face.
"Spanking!" was her reaction, and the camera moved to touch her cheek.
"Virtual kissing, Wade?"
"When the best isn't here, Sweet Tea," and the camera moved back to show Joss' now-red face.
"What are you gonna do with it, Wade?"
"You still have the school map that you downloaded at the beginning of the year, right?"
"Yes, but-OOOH, I could kiss you right now!" she squealed with glee as Wade grinned wickedly.
"Later, my love," he whispered a joystick appeared next to the keyboard.
"What's happening, Wade?" I asked, and Betty chuckled in the background.
'It's better than a Predatory drone, Mel: smaller radar and visual signal, and Wade-operated," was Betty's response as the school map appeared on one monitor and the joystick began to move by itself.
"I'm still faster with the keyboard," Wade said over his shoulder as he flew the PosComm out of the barn and up over the school for reconnaissance, then found what he was looking for and dove for one particular HVAC unit on the auditorium roof.
Betty and I created a conference call through the Command Center, and we had our plan together in seven minutes and had all of our people, already on-site, ready to move into position four minutes later.
-----
"GJ-One in position," and I recognized Will Du's voice. Betty had told me about his new 'involvement' with Commander Lindsey Peterson: she seemed to have worked her magic on Will as he had become (shudder) human!
"MATIC-Alpha in position."
"GJ-Five in position."
"GJ-Seven in position."
"GJ-Nine in position."
"MATIC-Oh in position."
"MATIC-Bee in position."
"Hold," came from GJ-One.
Silence for 90 seconds, then,
"Go," and six puffs of sound came over the speakers.
"MATIC-Alpha yes."
"GJ-Five yes."
"GJ-Seven yes."
"GJ-Nine yes."
"MATIC-Oh yes."
"MATIC-Bee yes."
"GJ-One: targets have been terminated. No collateral damage. We're going in for pickup and cleanup," and we head doors slam open and kids cheering.
21 minutes after the demand was issued, with Wade piloting the PosComm thru the school auditorium's ventilation system to locate the guests and place a radar and visual lock on each of them while Joss and Stephen calmed the other students in the barn and took care of Mr. Sanchez, six GJ and Montana FirstResponse snipers, all equipped with the new UniNaza-Spcl sniper-enhanced units, had taken out the trash with no collateral damage.
From demand to resolution in under 30 minutes: the after-action work and reports and dealing with the local, regional, national, and international press would take weeks, I thought, and I mentally groaned. Agent Sandmore will likely provide me with that 'opportunity; I assume (and assumed correctly: it took six weeks before the last press person left town for Austria, her home location: it seems that one of the attempted kidnappers that survived was an Austrian national.
-----
Wade's call finally got thru to Slim to tell him that Joss was all right: he'd heard bits while he was out grocery shopping, of all things, and couldn't reach Joss or Wade or the Bunker; when he finally got thru to the Command Center, the events were in full flight and only a few minutes from conclusion, although he didn't know it at the time.
Betty took a call with Slim from another room, and when she came back in her eyes were deeply red and cried out.
Being a mother-to-be was not going to be easy for Betty, especially when the daughter-to-be was a sometimes-mature and very free-spirited Possible woman-child.
-----
Betty arranged for transport for all of us to Billings International, and we all got there in frazzled condition.
Kim and Ron called their parents and told them what was happening, and Anne left the hospital and met us at the airport ('You can never have enough doctors,' was her reason. Kim: 'Mom just wanted to leave the Tweebs with Dad for the weekend!'). Wade had contacted the school, but a Mr. Steve Barkin was calling him on another line as he was calling the school, and he dropped the school line and took his call,
"Wade!"
"Montana: right, Steve?"
"Why did I know you'd be on top of it?
"What's the sitch, Wade?" and Ron and Kim both giggled.
"Closed. All kidnappers are down, and the school is secure. We're on our way there, now."
"Thank you. Charlie?"
"He's fine: got a text-burst SMS from him: they locked him in his office, but he was out and moving the rest of the students out and into other buildings when the final was taken."
"Good. Brick always had a good head on his shoulders," Steve sounded proud of his friend.
"I assume Possible and Stoppable won't be back today," he added.
"Yes, sir."
"Tell them to keep low…on the other hand, knowing Stoppable, tell Kim that and tell Stoppable I'm still watching him," and Steve smile came across over the phone.
"I'll pass it along," and I cut the connection.
-----
The flight was quiet except for Wade's clicking of keys.
-----
Slim and Joss met us at the airport, and Wade and Betty almost left before the plane landed.
"Slim!"
"Joss!"
"Betty!"
"Wade!"
I stood back and let them have their alone moments, but I could hear bits of Wade's conversation as he stood, facing her, holding both of her hands. I could see her face, but I couldn't see his.
"Are you crazy?"
Joss' mouth moved, rather animatedly, and she pulled her hands away as she motioned with them.
And she's not even Italian, I grinned: my husband always complained about me talking with my hands.
"Ron. …what?"
Joss' mouth moved, rather animatedly, again.
"How….?"
I could read her response: 'how the hell should I know?'
"…Becky?"
She got a very sad look on her face, and said something.
"She said what?"
She spoke for a long time, this time.
"I love you, Joss. Please, don't scare me like that again."
She asked Why?
"Because, I was afraid…lose you, Andrea Jocelyn Possible, just like…lost Stephanie...I couldn't…," and he fell into her, and she wrapped her arms around him.
"…sorry."
They were an old married couple at 14 and 15; I wondered what they would be like at 50, but then I smiled when I thought about it: they'd be just the same….
I looked over at Betty, and she had pulled herself out of Slim's grasp, finally, and they both were wet with tears. They looked over at Wade and Joss and went to them, and they had a four-way family-to-be hug.
"Ron, are we gonna be like that?" Kim said from behind me.
"KP, we already are," and I turned to see the smile on his face, and I saw her head cover his smile as they kissed.
"Where's mine?" my familiar voice came through, and I turned-
"I heard you were coming back, Mel," and I grabbed my husband and hugged him, and my tears and his tears both escaped for the children, forced to grow up, today, all too soon.
"Who's the lucky guy, Mel?" I heard Kim grin, and I turned to face her with Greg.
"Kim, this is my husband, Gregory Claremore. Greg, this is-"
"Kim Possible and Ronald Stoppable. It's an honor. And, may I congratulate you, Mr. Stoppable, for realizing what a gift you have," and Ron blushed as Greg shook his and Kim's hands.
I looked at Kim and mouthed 'told you,' and she giggled as he shook her hand.
-----
(Dr. Wade Load)
We all showed up at the hospital, and I had to hug Mr. and Mrs. Barlow.
They were hugging Joss and me, but we hadn't met, and I bet that they thought I was another student at the school.
"Wade!" Fletch managed to pull us away, and I hugged him (a manly hug, of course: per the Legal-Men rules), and I asked:
"How is she?"
"She's been in surgery for 7 hours, Wade, and they won't tell us anything!" and he lost it, then.
I was happy my Sweet Tea was there: she grabbed Fletch and let him cry it out.
When he came up, I learned why:
"She pushed me down, Wade, and she got shot twice with bullets meant for me!"
"Ron, what's wrong?" I heard Kim behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Ron running into a storage room, with Kim close on his heals.
"Just a minute, Fletch," and I followed them in, and heard the last part of the conversation with Ron and…the air?
"You have not completed your training for the art, Master, so you cannot completely heal her. You can prevent her from dying, and her selfless act will be payment enough for this," a voice, seemed to be hanging in front of Ron's face, was arguing with Ron, and he was arguing back.
"Why can't I heal her completely?"
"It would kill you without the training, Master, and self-termination will not be allowed."
"I don't care!"
"RON!" Kim shouted, and I saw the tears streaming down her face at what Ron was willing to do.
"I have no choice?" Ron sounded defiant yet defeated.
"No, Master, we have no choice. We can prevent her from dying from here, but we do not know how far we will be able to heal."
"Then, let's do it," Ron said.
"I'm ready: hit me, Lotus Blade!"
"Hold the blade, Master, and we will begin," and Ron thought, and his pants fell as his belt turned into the Lotus Blade, and it appeared in his hands.
Kim giggled and pulled his pants up, buckling them and spending an awful long time zipping them up.
'Darn zipper must have been stuck again,' I thought.
Ron held the blade, and the blue aura encompassed him. Ron rose in the air and assumed the Lotus position, and Rufus ran out of his pocket, looked down, and ran to the top of Ron's head and took the same position inside the blue aura.
Kim reached over and put her hand on his shoulder, and the blue aura encompassed her, as well.
Then, Ron began to shake, and then he screamed a howler monkey scream for what seemed to be 3 minutes, and then he stopped, the glow disappeared, and he and Rufus sank to the ground.
"Ron! Are you all right?" I asked him.
"Exhausted, need water, but fine," was his response.
"Slurpster, extra-large," was Rufus' response.
"My throat is dry, but I'll live," came from Kim.
"She will live," came from the voice.
"Is she healed completely?"
"No; she will not walk for a very long time, but she will, with training, learn to walk again."
"Thank you, Lotus Blade."
"You are welcome, Master. Do not speak of this to anyone except Sensei," and the voice grew silent.
"Wade?" Joss was banging on the door.
I opened it, and saw her worried look.
"Why did you just run into the closet?" and she grinned evilly. "Are you and Ron and Kim-"
"NO!"
"Good; I'd hate to miss it," she grinned and blushed hair-red.
"How long were we in there, Joss?"
"What'cha mean, Wade? You just went in a second ago," she told me.
'Time dilation' was my thought as I walked out of the closet, followed by Ron and Kim.
Doing that, anywhere, will get you a strange look.
After about four hours, and after I went downstairs to get a drink and visit the Business Office, the doctor came out.
"Mr. and Mrs. Barlow?" he spoke, removing his surgical cap.
"Becky made it thru the surgery," he finally said, and he smiled as the Barlows fell into him, crying.
I looked over at Ron and mouthed 'thank you,' and he mouthed back 'no big' with a big Ron-style goofy grin, and I almost burst out laughing.
"What we don't know," he added, and the Barlows braced themselves, "is the extent of the damage to her motor skills.
"Her spinal column was severely damaged, and we won't know until she wakes up, and we don't know when she'll wake up," he continued.
"Was it a bruise or a tear, Doctor? Dr. Anne Possible, a friend of the family," and the Barlows looked like they were going to faint.
"A very bad bruise, Dr. Possible, but she was very fortunate that it was not torn. I would have sworn, when I cut her open, that her spine was severed, but I was wrong.
"Lucky girl," he concluded.
"Thank you, doctor. If she has movement, what is the likelihood of her recovery?" I asked, and the doctor looked at me funny.
"Dr. Wade Load," I added, and he smiled and nodded.
"She likely will be totally paralyzed, but there's a slim chance that she'll be able to talk. Motion? I'd think it's impossible," and Joss grinned.
"Doctor: she's my friend, and I know Becky: if there's a chance, Becky will be able to move; she may not walk, but she'll be able to move," and she grinned as the doctor was overloaded by celebrities, as were the Barlows.
I didn't tell them what I did until after Becky woke up, and her parents let the cat out, so to speak.
Fletch spent 8 days in her hospital room, not leaving her side except to use the bathroom.
-----
Rebecca (Becky Barlow) Benge
I don't remember much after I passed out, but I do remember one dream.
Wade, Ron Stoppable (what a hunk!) and Kim Possible were in a room and Ron was floating in the air. There was a thread of blue something that stretched out from his body all the way into the operating where I was under anesthesia, and it wrapped itself around me.
I'd never felt that much love in my life except right before I was born.
I felt an itch that I couldn't scratch, and I couldn't reach it. I wanted Fletch to scratch it for me, but he was reading and I couldn't get his attention.
"mmmm," came from my mouth. There was something in it: a breathing tube.
"mmMM," came from my mouth again, and Fletch shifted.
I hurt all over, but I couldn't see through my eyes.
How was I seeing Fletch?
"MMMM," and Fletch jumped, dropped his book, and hit a button as he screamed my name.
"BECKY!"
I have never heard him say my name any more beautiful that that time, when I woke up.
Why was I in a hospital bed?
Oh, yeah, a minor matter of two bullets, Barlow.
Smooth move, girl.
Get yourself killed, and I tried to raise my hands and stretch, but there were so many tubes, and I was so tired, I could barely raise them.
"SHE MOVED HER ARMS!" screamed Fletch.
D'oi, Fletch! Of course I moved my arms.
He leaned over me and kissed me on the side of my mouth.
"I love you, Becky Barlow," Fletch started, with just a hint of a tear marring his wonderful smile. "You saved my life, and you almost lost yours doing it, but that's not why I love you.
"I loved the old Becky Barlow, full of life
"I loved the new Becky Barlow when she began to grow when the truth was in front of her, and she started to change."
AWWW, he's so sweet: maybe I'll keep him.
HAH! He's not getting away from me!
"And, I'll love this newer Becky Barlow, regardless of what happens.
"I want you, Becky, but I've got to get my act together; I've decided that I'm gonna go to college and then work for DCI: Mel said that they can even help pay for it! And, Wade even offered to tutor me so I wouldn't miss our graduation together, but now I'm worried about you, too.
Crap! How much school did I miss? I thought I was just in here one day.
"But, I can't do anything unless you're by my side, my BumbleBee, so get ready to rock through life with me, Becky."
The doors slammed open, and Mom and Dad ran in and saw my eyes open, and they started to cry.
How long was I out?
Joss Possible and Wade came in, holding hands and grinning big, and I wanted what they have.
There was a hint of that same blue line I'd seen in my dream, and it was connecting Joss and Wade.
Wasn't she supposed to be in school? Oh, yeah, this must be Saturday, the day after I got shot.
Did I tell Fletch I love him?
Did he tell Joss and Wade?
OMG, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable are here!
LOOK AT THAT ROCK she's wearing!
He's such a hunk, and she's so lucky….
That blue is all around them; I guess no one else saw it, because I'd think blue-glowing people would be strange.
A doctor came in, and I recognized him from my dream as the surgeon who operated on me.
"Hello, Becky," he had a smooth voice; I remembered it well.
"You've been out for eight days, and I need to check your dressings and reflexes."
Eight days?
"This is early, so don't be worried."
Yea, so now I'm worried.
"I see your arms are up; good. Can you wave at me?"
D'OI! I waved both hands at him and I almost gave him the finger, but I decided against it.
Mom and Dad yelled, and Fletch clapped.
"Now, lift your left leg."
Ok, next.
"Now, your right leg."
Next.
"Wiggle your right toes."
What the heck is this?
"Now, your left."
Ok, now what?
"Mr. and Mrs. Barlow: the lower part of her body appears to be paralyzed, but it's early. Her recovery in her upper body; well, I've never seen anything like it;, it's impossible."
Paralyzed? I could feel everything.
"She's my friend, Doctor, and it's just what I told you: she could do it, and she will come out all right. It may take awhile, but she'll be fine," and Wade was beaming and I was trying not to cry.
After all I'd done to Joss and him, he was in my corner.
"Doctor, can you help me with one question?" Dad asked.
"I went to the hospital's Business Office to set up my additional insurance for coverage, and they told me that everything's paid for, in advance. Do you know anything about that?"
"No, Mr. Barlow, I don't.
"Did they say how it was paid?"
"An unlimited-balance credit card, to W3LC," and I saw Joss grin and slap Wade, and he was trying not to grin.
Fletch thought for a second, and he looked at Wade.
Wade nodded.
"Mr. and Mrs. Barlow: you've just been Wade'd," Fletch grinned.
NO! He didn't!
"What do you mean, Fletcher?"
"He means, Mrs. Benge, that I'm helping my friend in a tough time," Wade replied for Fletch. "Joss and I already gave blood, but I thought you could use a little extra help."
OH, MY, GOD, he did it again, and I wanted to cry.
"You…paid…all of Becky's bills?" Dad asked, incredulously.
"Yes, sir."
"How?"
"We haven't met, formally: I'm Dr. Wade Load, of Team Possible."
"You…" Dad remembered our talks when I first saw his picture, and my confusion for the rest of the semester, and what he and I had talked about when Fletch was hurt.
"You'd do this…for my daughter? After everything…" and I saw something I'd never seen before:
Dad was crying!
"Yes, sir, because she's my friend, too, and friends help each other.
"When she's back up and about, I'll tutor her if she needs any help so she won't fall too far behind in her classes and stay on track to graduate on time, as well. I've got the time: my next defense will be over next month," he added as he walked over to Dad and hugged him.
Now, I wanted to cry even more.
"We'll make it through this, Mrs. Barlow," Joss said as she hugged Mom. "I'll do Becky's chores, if you need some help," and Mom laughed!
I wanted to tell Joss 'thank you' for being such a good friend, and for caring so much, but I couldn't.
I wanted to tell Wade how much this meant to me, how much his unconditional love meant to me, but I couldn't: not right now.
I'd just have to get better, and then I'd tell him.
I'd show him.
I raised my hand, and motioned for them to come over.
Mom and Dad, Wade and Joss all came over.
I held out my hand, and they all took it.
I squeezed, and Mom cried, and Joss cried, and Dad cried, and Wade smiled and winked at me.
Fletch kissed my cheek.
Oh, yea: this was gonna be a wild ride
-----
(Dr. Wade Load)
I completed my dissertation defense in record time.
I guess when you saved the Area Chairman's family by terminating the Diablos just before they smashed his house (he never told me; his secretary let it slip the next day….), he's less inclined to be an arse, and he actually read my dissertation, this time.
He had some intelligent questions, and I answered all of them.
Even 'Hands' had read it, this time.
I had walked into my room when Joss' signal came thru, and I popped on a monitor to see-
"Wade! How'd it go?" I love her hair, her beautiful ice-blue eyes….
"Perfect, Joss. They actually read it, this time, and everything went fine."
"That's great, Wade!
"I've got good news, too!" and she was grinning a load.
"I aced all of my classes, and my teachers told me that I don't have to take any finals! I've got all As for the year!"
"Joss, that's wonderful!" I was so happy for her, but I knew she could do it.
"You believed in me, Wade: thank you," she said quietly, and then she smiled.
I love her smile.
I just love her.
"And, even better: I made varsity cheer squad!"
"Joss! That's amazing!"
"Yea; they were impressed by my moves," and she grinned.
"I've always been impressed by your moves, Jocelyn," and I grinned wickedly.
"Not those, big boy," she whispered with a leer.
"They liked the moves that I integrated from my training with Ron, and now they all want to study Karate!"
"Do they want to study Karate, or Ron?" and she guffawed.
"Both," she laughed, "but they'd settle for 'Ron-shine,' extra-large." She grinned.
"Joss!"
"Well, they've seen the ears, Wade."
"Yea, but how may people did you tell about the switch?"
"No one, Wade," and she got the 'serious face.'
"I was too scared to tell anyone, and, besides, they'd never have believed me."
"I told you not to touch that switch, Joss," and she looked contrite.
"I'm sorry, Wade," but then she grinned. "At least, now, I understand what I've been doing to you with my teasing," she added.
"So, why do you keep doing it?"
"Because I see what it does to you, now," and she grinned and rubbed.
"What are you complaining about? You finally got what you wanted, Wade," she grinned.
"Yea, but not how I wanted: I didn't want to be Kim, not at that time," I was blushing, and Joss was laughing.
"Yea, I'll bet being Kim for those three days was quite an experience: I've never seen mood swings like that!"
"Don't remind me," I shuddered at what I had to do those three days in Kim's body; the experience was not what I'd expected.
"Rack 'em up, Wade," she grinned as she cupped, and I groaned.
"Not again, Joss!"
"So, when do Kim and Ron find out where they finish?"
"They've got finals in three weeks, and graduation is a week after that.
"I did a bad thing, Joss," I grinned.
"I snuck in, and I know what's gonna happen to both of them based on their grades so far, and I'm not telling them."
"OOOO, Tell Me, Tell Me!"
"No, that would be wrong, Joss," And she pulled out the Big Gun: her Puppy-Dog Pout.
I disconnected, and went for an ice-water cold shower…45 minutes should do it.
-----
Author's afterward:
This is dedicated to the young ones lost in Colorado and Pennsylvania: I wished that we could have delivered Global Justice for them and their families….
I do not recommend attacking an armed perpetrator unless you are trained to do so or you have Mystical Monkey Power.
A very special set of thanks go out to the following:
Two writers provided immense contributions to me in the construction of this chapter, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention them and their contributions:
Twila Starla challenged me to a brain-switching concept: a four-way switch! Sorry, Twila, I didn't use the four that we discussed, but I believe that this grouping will be even more fun! This intermezzo, "oops…," will be coming in the next few weeks, likely after the Fannies….
Pharaoh Rutin Tutin, for continuing to 'harass' me with humor and challenge me with new ideas, forcing me to become a better writer. Thanks, Pharaoh, for challenging me to improve.
Thank you both for giving up these great ideas and making an old man laugh out loud again after the last chapter (PRT, Joss is looking for you at the Fannies: something about kisses and whips…be wary!)
Preview:
Questions:
What's a premature funeral?
Answer:
Plan for someone's death, and they screw up and live.
Donna hasn't told Wade, yet: she's been waiting for multiple series of tests, but they're almost finished.
Fletcher Benge expected to die, twice, because people kept trying to kill him, and they haven't succeeded, yet.
Becky Barlow expected to die when she was shot, but she needs some answers: what was that blue thread?
These discussions, and several others, are underway, both good guys and bad, in chapter seven of Training Table Blues: Premature Funeral Celebration Blues
For all of you Jade fans:
Thanks for your continued support, and PM me if you have any questions about the JadeKimVerse. I promise to respond to all PMs as well as emails and reviews.
Thanks again for reading, and please review.
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Enjoy Kim Possible fan fiction? Of course you do. Looking for a way to pay tribute to your favorite authors and stories? Cast your ballot for your favorites in the Second Annual Fannie Awards: browse on over to the web site: intbike dot com slash fannie2 dot html for details, or visit Zaratan's profile. Voting ends January 31, so vote today!
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