Title: Finding a Life Unknown

Story summary: The sequel to Slipgate's 'Losses' concludes. There were things that were lost. What has been found, and what comes next?

Disclaimer: This story uses characters owned by Disney Corporation but does not profit from doing so.

I reference a real-life news story during this chapter. I was uncomfortable putting a real person in here without their express consent, but it's not meant as disrespect to her ordeal.

~*~*KP*~*~

Finding a Life Unknown

by Slipgate

Epilogue: Picking Our Way

The next several days were a bit of a whirlwind. They kept up the hospital observation. All the doctors, including Anne Possible, had declared him as well as can be expected. They would check on him periodically, but there was no reason to live in the hospital any more – now came the time to try to reconstruct whatever memories he could on his own and with those he cared about.

~*~*KP*~*~

In that time, he learned about how lucky he had it. There had been a woman named Su Meck. In 1988, she'd suffered a freak ceiling fan accident in which she completely lost all her 22 years. This was made worse by the fact that she had a husband and two sons. She'd had to re-learn how to read, walk, talk – everything. For a long time there, her husband had to play the role more of a big brother. She eventually re-married her husband and had a third child, as well as getting an associate's degree, but what stuck with Ron the most was that the woman had a different personality than she'd had before, and there had been no guarantee that the new her would fall in love with the same man she had before again. He was less enthusiastic about the fact that even now she didn't remember the births of her first two children. And he definitely wasn't excited to realize that his college degree and MBA admittance were probably just paper now, but his parents were helping him look into his options.

As thrilled as he was that she'd turned her life around from literally nothing, it made him realize how lucky he had it that he'd lost so few of his memories, by comparison, but also that, as unknown and uncomfortable as this life might be for him, he had lots of support – more than he really knew how to work with, more than he'd been accustomed to having from others before the accident. It was a surreal experience.

As for rebuilding his own life, there were a lot of things to consider. Per the girls' suggestions, he'd consulted the Doctors Possible to have some sort of DVD constructed that could give him some highlights. He'd heard things from Kim and Bonnie but visuals would certainly help, he thought. One day in the hospital the Doctors Possible, Kim, Wade, Bonnie, and the Stoppables all showed up with a DVD in tow and a portable player.

James Possible began setting up the player. "You know, Ronald, this one will be a little different than the one I used with Kimmie-cub."

"How's that, Mr. Dr. P?"

"Well, Kim had nothing and we were trying to construct lots of montage flash videos to give her the sense of different things in her life, hoping her recall would start filling in the rest. For example, seeing a fight with Shego might stir the memories of other fights with Shego once the ball got rolling."

Ron nodded. "I'm not sure why I didn't stick around to watch that disc with Kim."

"Neither am I, to be honest, Ron. I guess it was getting late and we didn't quite think of it. Anyway, you're lucid instead of chasing light beams. So we probably don't need the same kind of 'flash memory' approach because there's a fair amount less we need to do. We did use some of that, but mainly we consulted whatever videos and photos Kim, Wade, Bonnie, and the Stoppables could provide – from high school or after."

"To be honest, Mr. Dr. P – and no disrespect meant – but I'm glad it's not just the memory flashes approach because I'm not sure if that approach was enough to make everything chauncey."

James stopped a moment. Kim's eyes had grown softer, understanding, as James turned around and headed for Ron's bedside. Silently, James embraced Ron. "I'm sorry about where that approach failed, Ronald."

"No big, Mr. Dr. P."

As they settled in for the video, Ron raised an eyebrow and looked to Kim. She smiled back and shrugged. The start of the video, of course, tried to pick up where his life had left off. There were snippets about different missions Kim and Ron had been on, but a lot of it was surveillance from Wade that had made Ron look askance at the teenager. He saw about how the college sitch had been starting to bother him, and got to hear about a few events that surprised him – "I took KP to Paris for Valentine's Day except I didn't plan it as taking her?" he asked the room, but nobody had an answer for him – and he saw how Kim and Yori had become fine around each other. Actually, a fair amount of stuff seemed to cut in to Wade or Kim talking about various things while facing a camera, recounting some memorable Kim/Ron dates or aspects of what was going on that a video wouldn't cover so well. It all seemed like a good time on the dates for the most part – things had looked okay other than the college sitch and a few disagreements, but the latter was nothing he and Kim hadn't had before.

He then saw pieced-together multi-part footage of graduation, because the ceremony had been completed in part before Kim's abduction and then re-visited after, as well as some segments described by Kim and Wade due to the communications problems caused by the Lowardians. He looked at Bonnie when she was informed she wasn't graduating without summer credit and jumped into Junior's arms when he promised to be with her. He'd probably have looked to her at that point anyway, but it kind of helped that he heard her grind her teeth when hearing Junior promise that.

The defeat of the Lowardians had never ended up on any video. Suddenly the video changed again, and Ron gasped. "Shego!"

She was in what looked like a lab that wasn't built into a cave, as a pair of blue hands tried steadying the camera, sometimes obstructing the view for a moment.

"Hey, Stoppable. Heard you're up in a bad way and was asked to do my Good Samaritan duty of filling you in on what you don't know about. Thank God I'm not actually your teacher any more, though… So, if you really do have only the memories I've been told you have, you probably gasped 'Shego!' in surprise the moment the video got to this moment. Well whatever, helped save the world, turned over a new leaf, this is being recorded in Drakken's current digs, yada, yada, yada."

Shego examined her nails. "Kim knows what happened during Graduation, but pretty princess was out for some of it. Drakken was off dealing with walkers. I'm the one who was conscious for your whole blue light song and dance. That's why all your family and friends decided, heh, that they needed me."

"You… well, there'd been some pretty snazzy battling going on. Ask Kimmie to tell you about the move where you flew toward Warhok and held your arms down to give her a boost when she jumped from the ground, used your acrobatic assist, and spun through the air to land on his jet glider and rip it off. I have to give her that one – slick. You were a bit distracted, though… I've been told since that it was because you were worried you wouldn't get to be with your bestest bestest friend after Graduation."

Kim growled and Ron narrowed his eyes. "Don't pay it any mind," Bonnie said. "You know the girl is unrepentantly blunt."

"Anyway, we thought we got them but they broke free – that sent Drakken spinning off in his hovercraft, and on his way back he worked on dealing with walkers. I was knocked for a loop but managed to get my head on again in time enough to see that Kim had been knocked unconscious and that Warhok was holding her up by one leg upside down and talking about stuffing her and taking her back as a trophy.

"I was trying to get up but couldn't quite manage it, even though I was thinking hell was breaking loose and I had to do something before we were all roasted. But you… well, frankly, them threatening Kim like that… made you go ape-shit."

Ron widened his eyes at the cursing, but somehow Kim, Bonnie, Wade – heck, all of them – just winced. "Oh God the pun," Bonnie drawled.

"Huh?" Ron asked.

"Shhh," many people said.

"Your skin became surrounded by this blue light – you became totally blue in color – and the light surrounding you took the shape of a monkey, even a tail. You rose up in the air and the sky turned into a red swirl. I swear to God, you think I'd make this sch…."

"Shego! Not again!" Drakken's voice interrupted plaintively.

"Ah, I mean, make this stuff up? Anyway, you looked pissed, and when you attacked them after that, you were knocking them back huge distances and blocking their punches even though their fists were like the size of your giant gut back then. It was like electrical heebie jeebie sounds every time you blocked. Finally they both tried to jump you together, you grabbed one in each arm – or was it the energy light that was arm-shaped around your arms? – and hurled them skyward at their crashing ship."

"Wait, you mean I…"

Suddenly Shego's voice turned grave, and her eyes got serious. "I know what you're thinking, Ron. But you have to know – the world didn't exactly escape without fatalities that day. You've already made your peace with this once before, and I don't really have the patience to hear about you making your peace with it again, so get over it. Think back to when I cut Kim's jetpack off. If you hadn't caught her, and in fighting me afterwards I got knocked off a roof during our brawl, would you be a murderer? Hell no. Same difference applies. In fact, that was probably a miserably insufficient example."

This part of the DVD had the unexpected consequence that Ron had gotten enough information overload that he needed a break before he watched the rest. At least, that's the charitable excuse everyone was willing to accept. Everyone got out except for Kim and Bonnie, intent on returning with the disc the next day.

Ron was silent for a long time.

"I suppose it's not the same as doing it, hearing about it. I don't know why – whether it's because I'm remembering some of myself, or just because it's more like watching Saving Private Ryan than it is fighting in a war myself – but… I don't seem to need as much convincing that it was okay as I probably did when this first happened. But still – I'm almost uncomfortable that I'd be accepting it more easily than before, even though I'm sure that would be easier on everyone else to deal with."

There were no hesitations or questions asked. Kim enfolded Ron in a huge hug and patted his back. "I'm fine, Kim… I'm…" suddenly he burst into tears. "I never thought I'd be callous about killing."

"You weren't, Ron." Bonnie said, surprising him by still moving to sit on the bed despite the display. "Actually, maybe in some ways it's like what happened to you and me a few days ago. You cared about her enough to fight in her stead, and you cared enough about saving this world that you made a tough decision in a split second, like you're sometimes forced to. If you hadn't been so intent on defending me from any possible harm, we might not be here right now, but I might've died on that street. I really don't want to compare the situations, though. I've never asked you whether you knew or not that people had died, but I'm sure you must have. Walkers had crashed all over the world. Obviously sometimes this would be on peoples' houses, with them inside. And you were now the last line of defense, with Kim, Shego, everyone out. And personally, in the short term, you knew you had to do something about them before they literally killed Kim."

Ron needed a minute or more to get his tears under control, but Kim held him and Bonnie patted his shoulder throughout until, with a last sniffle, he said, "I think I'm okay for now." Kim gradually pulled away, and Ron got up and shuffled to his sink to clear up his face and composure.

"Let's pick this up tomorrow, huh?" he said, a pleading tone in his voice.

~*~*KP*~*~

The next day had been a bit more mundane – Kim and Bonnie had talked a lot about this stuff already.

It was neat to see the class tape on some presentations he'd made included in the disc. "I sound like I know what I'm talking about there!" he marveled during a final paper presentation on Ernest Hemingway he had made that Wade had recorded. He wiped a good tear from his eye when the Chef de Cuisine of Chez Couteaux, a portly man with laugh lines and a nice smile, talked about how wonderful it was to work with Ronald and how eager the young boy was to learn.

Time passed, and finally, the day came when he was discharged, other than periodic checks, to the loving care of those around him.

~*~*KP*~*~

"Now first you told me you're engaged, Bonnie! Or at least that's what your phone message while you were laughing said. And now you tell me you're not! I mean, what am I supposed to think other than that you were drunk or high or something that night?"

"Mother, I… I can't even begin to describe to you what's been going on here, because you're not even prepared to listen.

"Look, here's the part that you'll understand. Ron and I have needed to take a step back, sort of rewind the clock on our relationship. That doesn't mean anything bad will happen to it. It's just something that we needed, after talking together."

"So what is this about this engagement, then, Bon-Bon?" Mrs. Rockwaller commented, shrill as always.

"Are you prepared to listen for more than two minutes at a stretch, mom?"

"Don't talk to me that way. When you're prepared to talk respectfully to your mother, then, we'll talk."

"Wait mo-agh," Bonnie said, as she heard the click. "Well, there's one thing that's constant in my life at least. Who knows, maybe the new Ron might have some new insights on what I can do there to change things with my mom." She smiled wistfully. "I don't know if he'll have any success, though. I know even his patience back when gave up on Connie and Lonnie as a lost cause."

"I'll have to ask K if she ever told him about them back in high school junior year or if he first met them when I introduced him." she thought. "Kind of sucks that I have to hesitate to talk about it, though, since we're now back to date one and that's 'meet the parents' type stuff."

~*~*KP*~*~

"So, I'll pick you up at 7:30?" Ron said.

"All right. See you then, Ron." Bonnie replied.

Ron walked into the kitchen as he held the phone with one hand, opening the fridge and retrieving the orange juice. As he reached for a glass, he said, "You know I'm a lucky guy, Bonnie?"

"Well it's nice of you to think so," Bonnie said, as she supported the phone with her shoulder and painted her nails.

They clicked off, and Ron drank his orange juice then washed his face in the sink. Afterwards, he left the kitchen. Kim was waiting for him and immediately stepped forward to critique the state of his clothing.

Kim had never had that dish session with Bonnie that she'd talked about that first day Ron was hospitalized. She'd wanted to. It would have been a hint of normality in what had been a crazy day. But Kim didn't feel all that appropriate talking Bonnie's ear off about what was going wrong in her own life, especially her love life, in the middle of what both Bonnie and Ron were facing right now.

Kim had, partly as a result of the opportunity for girl talk and partly as a result of the awkwardness she felt inherent in being that girl who is a guy's ex-girlfriend and who talks to him about all the relationship troubles and other guys, never really talked to Ron about her dating life. In fact, before the accident, Kim had not quite let on to Ron that she was starting to approach levels of desperation and questioning self-worth that had first prompted the (in retrospect) almost youthfully naïve question she had asked him, "Do you really think there's a guy out there for me?"

She wanted to talk about this with Bonnie. And considering how much she was being affected, how much it was getting to her, she realized she needed to talk about it with Ron or he would get upset with her for not sharing something that was bothering his best friend so much. But… how could she do that right now? She hoped that tonight at least gave them enough semblance of normalcy that she could sit down and dish with at least one of them, if not both of them, tomorrow.

Kim was smoothing out his shoulders on his suit. Suddenly, she thought, "What are you doing, Possible? You're getting too comfortable." She hesitated, then stopped and stepped back. Before she could say anything to him, Ron suddenly snagged her hands and looked deep in her eyes. "Kim? Thanks. Thanks for all your help."

"No big." she replied, letting go of his hands that were clasped with hers.

"No. Way big."

They were silent a moment.

"So, umm, what do you think? Do I seem ready to show a lady a good time?"

She nodded. "You seem ready to me…" she whispered.

He took a deep breath. "Thanks Kim, again…"

He stepped away and turned for the door. Just as he reached for the knob, Kim suddenly stopped him. "Ron, wait."

"Yeah, KP?"

"I want you to know, Ron, that… I know you're worried about whether this thing with Bonnie will work out or not. I hope it does, but I want you to know, if it doesn't, it's not you."

"What do you mean?" Ron said, furrowing his brow.

"Just… just take it from someone with experience. If things don't work out between you and Bonnie, it's not you."

Ron stared at her for a moment, with plenty of questions on the tip of his tongue.

She just smiled and said, "Go get her, RS."

Wordlessly, he left.

Finding a Life Unknown

~*~*KP*~*~

Author's Notes: I give you a complete story. There are reviewers (and possibly others) who might look at this and still want to know what happens next, but I had a laser focus in what I intended to cover with this story, and too much of that detail would get too far outside our main characters. I hint at a few things, and a big part of this story has been me working on saying more with less words, so I'd really like to see if people pick up on some of the events I didn't spell out.

I admit there's one area in which this story falls flat. When I wrote Losses and then later this story, I thought I was constructing an emotionally devastating and life-changing situation for the three characters to find themselves in. However, I've done some research on amnesia as part of my work on this story, trying to see if there was a type of amnesia that actually fit what happens to Ron, and how likely memory recovery is, and other details like that. Fortunately, there is a type of retrograde amnesia that can have effects like that Ron has. Unfortunately, I really didn't realize how life-shattering the multiple types of amnesia can be. Su Meck's story is happy news compared to some of the total memory wipes or other cognitive problems that happen to some people.

Back when I wrote Losses, I imagined Ron waking to find he was with some other girl, but that girl didn't necessarily have to be Bonnie. As I was planning the story my notes kept saying 'Bonnie or some other girl,' but by the time I finished writing it I decided to stick with the placeholder name and make it her. At the time, the fact it was Bonnie was just a detail fixed into place and not the point of the story. However, in this story I'm glad that I'd selected Bonnie seven months ago. I still view Losses as a story that can be read on its own as a what-if and this as a potential sequel. But in this story, Bonnie offered several interesting possibilities to me, some of which I took and some of which I didn't.

I think one of the most interesting challenges of writing this story has been taking what I wrote in Losses and trying to make it something that you could buy happening given where Kim and Ron left off in Season 4. Did I succeed at that? I'm interested in your critiques – please review! I'd love to discuss it with people.