A/N: Chapter 7! Sweet. Shout out 'CajunBear73' for using 'In Vino Veritas' in his review. I liked the phrase enough I decided to include it here.

Oh, also, the story Ron tells in this chapter is based on the revised versions of the first two chapters. So if it doens't make much sense, you may need to go back and re-read since those revisions were made.

Disclaimer: Kim Possible and affiliated licenses do not belong to me.

The Strange Life After

Chapter 7: Listening

For the second time in a week, Ron Stoppable awoke with no memory of the previous night. 'Oh no…please God, no. Not again…' He sat up with a start, taking stock of his surroundings. After a brief moment of reflection, he was able to ascertain two things. First, he had somehow made it back to his makeshift bedding on the top floor of Shego's firm, and second, according to the nearby clock it was currently 2:00 in the afternoon, 'a lot later than I would expect to wake up on Shego's watch…' He presently became aware of a seemingly-impossible amount of pain in his stomach and head. In fact, no sooner did Ron stand up and take a step before being forced to make a mad-dash for the nearest toilet. 'So much for testing the waters' he thought sullenly, watching as the previous night's consumption washed down the bowl before him.

After a rather lengthy service at the altar of the porcelain gods, Ron found it in himself to make his way to the bottom floor, where he fully expected to be reprimanded by a waiting Shego for overdoing it the previous night. To Ron's bemusement, he found no one else in the building. His first thought was to get food to his pained stomach, before realizing that he had no money. 'Okay, think Ron. Where would a supervilla—eh, a legitimate businesswoman like Shego keep a food stash?' After a brief hunt, he found absolutely nothing.

"Well that just figures" he said to himself dejectedly. "I guess I could call her…"

He took out his cell phone and searched for her name in his contacts, only to find nothing. 'What the hell? She didn't put it in when she gave me the address of this place? What if I had trouble finding it or something? Oh, right. This is Shego, she would just laugh at me…' Giving his phone one more once over, he found one contact he hadn't noticed before. "Heh. Figures she'd call herself 'Boss'." He dialed the number hesitantly. 'I am sooo gonna regret this.'

After six rings, his employer picked up, sounding none too pleased.

"Hello? Who is this?"

For once, Ron didn't gulp at hearing her tone. "Hi, Shego? It's Ron…I just woke up and, uh…this is gonna sound stupid, but I can't find any food here."

He was answered with dead silence.

"I can't very work on an empty stomach—"

"That would imply you work at all" she replied flatly.

"Hey! The Ron-man worked yesterday, didn't he? Anyway, I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up and get something to eat." The implication of his request was lost on him, but not on the call's other participant.

"Stoppable…are you asking me out to lunch?"

"Uh, no! I mean, yeah, but not in that way. What I mean is…You're mad now, aren't you?" he asked, deflated.

"No, just mildly amused. I'll tell you what, give me ten minutes to put on some decent clothes and I'll be right over."

At her mention of 'decent clothes', and the implication it carried about her current state, Ron found the rational half of his body at odds with his more base instincts, his mind flooded with images of his employer in various states indecency. Fighting down his blush, to say nothing of his urges, he realized that he was still on the line.

"Greatsoundsgood!" he squeaked out before ending the call.

Shego chuckled at her partner's embarrassed tone as the call ended, correctly speculating on where her choice of phrase had accidentally led his thoughts. Presently, she set about choosing some clothes. 'Gotta hand it to the little smartass' she thought with a smirk, 'most people would have turned tail and run the second I implied they were asking me out on a date. Seems he's grown a little backbone. It's about time…'

Her first thought was to choose something appropriately stunning, before she remembered that she only had ten minutes to get ready. 'It's just as well…why the hell should I dress up? This is a light lunch with my employee at the firm, nothing more… No reason not to be impressive, either though…' If she was being honest with herself, Shego had to admit to a certain satisfaction garnered from the number of heads that turned when she entered a room. Ultimately, she settled on a short black skirt, with black stockings and dark-green knee-high boots. A loose-fit green blouse and hair in an oriental-style bun completed the ensemble.

Shego whistled, examining herself in the mirror approvingly. 'This oughta give me a chance to gauge the sincerity in his comments last night, too…' She was out the door with just under two minutes to spare.

Meanwhile, Ron decided to go with the tried-and-true method of putting zero effort into his appearance. How much of this had to do with his having no clean clothes, versus how much input laziness had in his decision, is a question best left unanswered. He had spent the last ten minutes trying to piece together various extremely hazy recollections from the previous night, with little success. He was startled from his task by opening of the door, revealing the sight of his employer in an ensemble that Ron's anatomy clearly approved of.

This last fact did not go unnoticed by the subject, and she offered a smirk in the general direction of Ron's…approval. "You start carrying guns recently, or are you just happy to see me?"

Ron briefly reddened before regaining some semblance of composure. "Sh-Shego! You look…uh, wow, I mean…you know what, we should probably go! It's already after 3, before you know it, we'll be getting dinner instead of lunch and that would just mean we wasted all this time getting ready since dinner places are more formal and—"

"At ease, there, sport!" Shego cut him off quickly. "You're rambling again, and its getting on my nerves. Let's just get the hell out of dodge, alright? We can talk over our meal."

Ron rubbed his neck self-consciously, accidentally aggravating his dead weight. "Right, heh, that's probably a good idea…"

For their late lunch, Shego chose a local Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet, knowing her companion's appetite. As he stuffed himself with more food than a normal man can consume, she chanced starting a conversation about the previous night's excesses.

"So" she began, trying to decide on the most tactful to proceed, "how much of last night do you remember?"

Ron looked up, thoughtful for a moment. "Counting the time we were drinking? Absolutely nothing. Actually, I was hoping you might shed some light on what the hell happened. You don't seem upset, so I obviously didn't destroy anything again, and I obviously made it back up to my sleeping quarters somehow, I'm guessing with your help. But that still leaves a sizable gap between my second drink, pre-blackout, and waking up this morning. I remember some disjointed images, a cab maybe? And you, putting a hole in the ceiling. I'm guessing I said something…untoward?"

"You said you wanted to sleep with me" Shego responded without missing a beat.

If it was possible for someone to both pale and blush simultaneously, Ron demonstrated the ability at that moment. "I-I did? Oh man, oh no…Oh, jeez. I mean…wow. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to say anything that offensive."

Shego raised an eyebrow. "Why would that be offensive? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not angry at you today am I? I took it as a compliment, albeit a pretty damn bold one."

Ron nearly choked on his lo mein. "Y-you did? Wow, that's…that is to say, that's great! I don't know why I said that, but I'm glad it made you feel good. Everyone deserves a compliment once in a while, right?" Ron finished nervously.

"In vino veritas" Shego responded with a smirk. At his look of bewilderment, she explained further. "'In wine, truth'. We say and do a lot of crazy things when we're under the influence, Ron." She thought back briefly to the way she had caught herself with her fingers in his hair after his gratitude speech. "It doesn't mean anything, it's just an expression of our moment-to-moment thoughts without filters."

"But if we think something, we must mean it on some level right?" Ron prodded further, unsure of why he seemed to be actively attempting to dig himself a hole. "Hey, wait a minute! You just called me 'Ron'!"

Realizing her blunder, his companion attempted to deflect, to no avail. "What? No I didn't."

"Oh, but you did! The Ronster's growing on you, huh?" he responded with an ear-to-ear grin. "Don't worry, it's useless to deny it. It happens to all, after awhile."

"Except no, because I didn't call you that! You're delusional, Ron."

"You just did it again!"

"I SO did not."

"You SO did!"

"Did not."

"Did too!" Ron punctuated his statement by putting his tongue out and blowing a raspberry.

Shego tried desperately to suppress her rising chuckle, but it was a useless effort. She found herself laughing, for better or worse, at the situation. The sheer implausibility of it would be enough, to say nothing of the immaturity. The two of them, of all people, sitting here and engaging in such childish activity.

"So, I didn't do anything else too…awk-weird, did I?" Ron chanced.

"No, thankfully you only said one thing to make a fool out of yourself." Shego thought briefly about his 'thank you' and the speech following, but ultimately shelved it for later. 'I don't feel like I can deal with THAT can of worms right now.' She grinned as she realized one more thing about the previous night that could be useful, if only for FINALLY getting the story she was so curious about. "Actually" she said offhandedly, "there was one more thing."

"Pray tell" Ron deadpanned, his focus divided between his companion, and his last piece of General Tsao's.

"You mentioned that Kimmie left you for some other guy. Feel up to sharing?" Shego asked, unsure of why she asked rather than demanded. She would get the full story, one way or another.

Ron sighed, rubbing his temples. Cracking his knuckles, he moved his plate aside, and laid his hands on the table, drawing comfort from the cool marble surface. "Well, I guess I had to talk about it sometime. All I ask is that you don't interrupt. Just sit back and listen. Alright, here goes nothing." He steadied himself with a deep breath before continuing. "Kim and I have been growing apart. Every time we talk these days, it's all about her escapades with her friends, or her life at college. Which would be all well and good, obviously I'm interested in that. But there was this name that kept coming up, and the context was always…unsettling. Some guy named Sam."

By now, the story had gotten intriguing enough that Shego had set aside her own plate as well, giving him her undivided attention. She signaled for him to continue, waiting expectantly.

"So, I'm thinking, 'Okay, so she is hanging out with some guy. No big, she's still dating me, nothing to worry about. But I wanted to do something drastic. A gamechanger." He reached into his pocket and took out the ring that he continued, for reasons unknown to himself, to hold onto. Shego once again marveled at the ring's size and beauty.

Ron took another readying breath before resuming. "I searched through a LOT of stores to find this. I was proud of it, I'll admit it. But more than that, I hoped Kim would be proud of it, proud of me. For growing a spine and finally taking this step."

As he expected, Shego interrupted him, much to his chagrin. "You don't have to anything to prove to anyone. Look at what happened a few days ago. You stood up a renowned former super-criminal for calling you names. You're not exactly 'spineless', Ron."

"Did it again!" Ron said gleefully.

"STOPPABLE. Finish the damn story."

Ron sighed, he had been all too happy for the distraction. "Alright, fine. So anyway, I showed up at her dorm. I was ready, I was focused, nothing was gonna drag me down."

"Until…?"

"I saw her with another guy. Out the window. This huge guy pulls out some necklace that's probably worth more than most small countries, and she kisses him. They walked off arm-in-arm."

"Wow…"

"No, wait, it gets better" Ron said, his despair giving way to anger. "Her whole room is like a shrine to this guy. She's got pictures of them holding each other taped into a collage on the door, a CD she made for him, a page on 'How to screw over your boyfriend of three years' open on the computer, AND…" he paused for effect. "My favorite picture, the one of me and Kim standing outside our old high school kissing, was turned face-down on the desk."

"That must've sucked. Obviously. Then what happened?" Shego prodded.

Ron continued, working himself into a frenzy. "What do you think? I ran out! Got the hell out of there and just drove!" He slammed his fists on the table, flipping it over and subsequently receiving the attention of everybody in the restaurant. Realizing his mistake, he looked around sheepishly. "Wound up here, got drunk at some back alley dive. Crashed into a building. The rest you know" he mumbled to a finish, clutching the back of his neck in pain.

"Uh…Ron?" Shego asked, concerned both at the attention they were drawing, as well as the fact that Ron began to moan in agony, holding the back of his neck as if his life depended on it.

"I…I need to go…" Ron mumbled, getting up, and quickly collapsing into the booth again.

"Alright" Shego grimaced. "Let's go." 'And then you can explain what the hell is wrong with you' she finished inwardly. She grabbed him by the shoulder, and slowly guided them out of the restaurant. As they passed the counter, she stopped only to leave a fifty on the cash register. "Keep the change" she mumbled on the way out.

By the time they reached the firm, Ron was nearly catatonic, only making noises to grunt in pain each time he was required to move. 'He is NOT in any shape to sleep on the floor at the firm…' Shego sighed. "I am SO gonna regret this…" She slowly guided her companion up the street to her apartment. As they reached the door, she was numbly aware that sometime over the course of their journey she had begun pulling him by the hand, rather than by the shoulder or arm. She didn't stop to contemplate this for more than a second before opening the door, and guiding Ron to the couch, where he collapsed.

"Thanks…" he managed to mumble.

"Don't thank me yet. That couch isn't what I would call comfortable. At least not to sleep on. But, it's better than the floor at the firm. You owe me an explanation for this as soon as you're able, Stoppable."

Ron mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?" Shego asked, leaning in closer.

"…Call me…Ron…" he repeated, before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Shego's only response in the face of this was a sigh, a shake of her head, and a quick look at her 'to-do' list.

'Now, where the hell did I leave that helicopter…'

In a large castle overlooking a rocky island in the Caribbean Sea, an agile figure paced in contemplation. A call came through on the large nearby view screen, which the figure promptly answered. A stocky man in a circular helmet appeared on the other end.

"It is done. This had better be worth it! I sacrificed a perfectly functional lair and a few good men for this 'master-plan' of yours."

"All in good time, Professor. Very soon, my plans shall come to fruition."

"Why should I trust you? You haven't even told me your name, much less the plan. I feel like I'm trying to help a ghost."

"I'm sorry, Professor, but my plan requires absolute secrecy in order to succeed. Even from the other players involved. You understand, I'm sure?"

"No, I don't. Which is precisely the reason why—" *CRASH* "Hey, what the hell is going on? How did you find—"

The mysterious figure allowed himself a small chortle as he watched the lair of one "Professor Dementor" get raided by Global Justice.

"Goodbye, Professor. End transmission."

A/N: So, we get our first glimpse of some of the larger forces at work, however brief a glimpse it was. And, we see Ron's first pains from the dead chip on his nerves. Next chapter: More relationship development between Ron and Shego, and we see more of Kim! R&R, please!

UPDATE: So, starting with Chapter 8, I am having new chapters to this story beta-read by my esteemed colleague, Joe Stoppinghem. So the chapters may be slowing down slightly, hopefully not by much. Anyway, this will hopefully lead to a better quality product for you, my dear readers. Rest assured, as soon as I implement whatever revisions are suggested, I will upload the chapters immediately. As always, thanks for reading!