Chapter 4

The sun was out, but it wasn't very hot, the clouds were a light airy colour and allowing for a pleasant wind to pass through. It wasn't the weather, and it wasn't the wind, that had Kim Possible upset and moody; it was the day itself, and what that day meant. The fact that everything seemed so happy when she was anything but, and now that she was taking a break from school, even something simple like work seemed too much for her to do. Granted, she ran lucky when the roster was released that gave her today off, but she had noticed that the closer she got to it, the more unbearable doing anything was. She wondered if this was how everyone felt when they lost someone who was so dear to them like Ron was to her. It was almost noon before she got out of bed, even though she had been watching the sky outside from her bed since sunrise. Fixing herself a simple a bowl of cereal, she stood on the porch, listening to the wind and the birds, and wondered whether she should just go back to bed when she was done. Suddenly a blue bird came flying toward her from the tree line, sitting on her head and picking at the obvious knots in her hair that had formed from all her tossing and turning the night before. It was almost like a sign, this bird, which flew back off into the trees once it was content after picking for a minute or two, having not made a sound the whole time. With that, she turned back into the house, took care of her dishes, and all but ran to her room to get ready.

It was almost unavoidable to know what day it wa;. There was a memorial article in the paper, and an anniversary obituary that took up a whole column. Granted, he held some respect for the young man before his untimely death, Drew Lipsky wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be reminded of today by way of memoriam other than one certain person, who he guessed wouldn't be dealing well. He remembered how he dealt with his own father's death, and she was showing all the classic signs. The last time they had talked, she had snapped at him after he made a tiny joke about her job, and then curtly said goodbye, not waiting for his reply. He had done similar as a child, suddenly without a father figure and just beginning to develop into a man. It was a hard time to be 'the man of the house', and he mourned for almost five years. Hopefully this budding friend would do healthy things, like find friends or family to be with and confide in. He knew she had come to find a good person to relate to in him, but he wasn't sure if she would seek him out to deal with this. He had never let on that he understood her sense of loss, except in the love part. But she had not just lost her lover but her best friend, and there was only so much that he could help with when she wouldn't actually ask him how much he could relate to her situation. He also felt it wasn't his place to volunteer the information, so they were at a standstill they didn't realise was there. So it came as a surprise when his doorbell rang and he found Kim Possible standing there, a nervous look about her and a cheesecake in her hands.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Never, come in." She walked slowly, but deliberately, to the kitchen.

"I don't know why I bought this, but I thought it might help." She sat at one of the chairs at the island, directly across from where he stood.

"Help with what?" He took the pie out of it's box, keeping it on the cardboard plate it came on, and set it on the holder that he had for cakes and pies.

"Well, I was up late last night, and saw this series on television, I don't remember the name, and these four women stayed up late and talked about things that were bothering them over cheesecake. I thought, since something is really bothering me, that maybe we could do the same. Only during the day, instead of at night." She knew she was rambling, but she didn't care. She also knew she couldn't look him in the eye, thinking that she had to sound crazy.

"I know that show, and trust me, cheesecake does help, no matter the time of day." He took out two plates, a knife, and two forks, and began cutting the pie into eight even slices.

"What, did you use to do the same thing when you trouble with taking over the world?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did, although Shego preferred to put cherries on hers."

"I've never liked anything on my cheesecake. Hey, is it a cake or a pie? I've always wondered, but never found out." Somehow, she was at ease and visibly relaxed, taking the piece pushed toward her and motioning that he sit beside her at the island by putting the other piece in the right place. He sat, although not with the ease she had.

"Both, if you look at it right. It's a pie by design, cake by name. Personally, I don't care, as long as it tastes good." He demonstrated by taking a rather large bite.

"That sounds like a slogan or something. 'Pie by design, cake by name.' I like it." She took her own large bite, licking the remains on the fork delicately.

"Never thought of that before. It was always something my mother would tell me when I was a kid. She'd always have one of these for her birthday, Why I'd pick either a chocolate or carrot cake."

"Oh, I like carrot cake, although I never understood why they are called that."

"You can make them with carrots you know, it's just not done much any more." He nearly inhaled the last bite of his piece, then picked another one up and put it on her plate as she ate the last of her own before putting a second on his plate. They ate their second piece in silence, the only sounds the clinking of silverware on dish ware.

"Thanks. For everything."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to you thanking me for anything, let alone everything. I don't think I've done that much for you to warrant it."

He motioned for another piece, but she shook her head in the negative, prompting him to put the cover on the pie and get out of his seat. She followed, taking the plates with her and rinsing them off in the sink, then putting them in the dishwasher. He put the pie into the fridge, and took out a pitcher of lemonade. She noticed and grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, handing them to him to fill.

"You'd be surprised how much you've helped. I was in a horrible funk before coming over." He handed her a glass, then poured his own, and took a sip before putting the pitcher back into the fridge.

"Why did you come over?" She stared into her lemonade, wondering how to tell him the truth without sounding corny or nuts.

"Funny story; see, I moped for most of the morning, and when I finally got breakfast, I had a visitor." She stopped, wondering if what she wanted to say next would sound like she was stretching the truth just to have a reason to see him, even if that was part of the truth.

"What kind of a visitor?" He knew he was pushing, but he couldn't help his curiosity. Since Shego, Kim was the first woman to almost constantly come to him for anything, even if the most his ex-assistant came for was her pay-cheque and a good meal.

"A bluebird." It was barely more than a whisper, but he heard her and she knew it.

"How did a bluebird get you to visit me?"

"It pecked me, on the head, and took a few knots out of my hair."

"That doesn't explain why that would get you to come visit me."

"Because that's the kind of thing you do. You help me with things, in my head. You help me feel better, like it did for even stopping on my head. Birds don't do that sort of thing, and neither do villains… er, ex-villains."

"So because a bluebird wasn't afraid of you and tried getting food off your head, you decided to visit the mad blue scientist?" He said it with a laugh, but she didn't seem to take the joke as he intended. She was angry, visibly, and she could almost feel her hair stand on end as she yelled what she only intended to say loudly.

"Yes actually, I did. I thought maybe, on today of all days, that you would help me feel better again. That you would care that I don't want to be here, I don't want to be…" He interrupted her by taking her into his arms, trying to sooth her with a calm, low toned voice.

"I didn't mean to upset you, honestly I'm glad you came to me, of all people. Honoured really, because I don't even understand why someone like you would come to someone like me for help with something this important. you hurt, I understand that, really I do." She had begun to cry, to let everything out, and it was comforting to be in his arms. Then without preamble, he began telling her about his father, how he died in a plane crash, and what he went through in mourning. He told her how he got himself through it all, even though he felt alone, and how he was all but begging she let him help her, that she try to move on properly, something she had yet to really do. He begged that she just give life a chance again, instead of retreating into herself more than she already had. Begged that she tried taking up the life she once had, friends included, so that she have a support system to help her through this emotional roller-coaster she was on.

She could tell by what he said that he meant it and realised she had been hiding, trying to find the similarities in life to before Ron's death and make life fit that picture. She had been trying to find him where he no longer was, and it wasn't working, only making her bitter. Now was the perfect time to move on and with someone's help, it would be that much easier. That someone was holding her, the fingers of one hand running through her hair, the other hand rubbing slow circles on her back. It was a soft, warm embrace, much like the last time he had held her, for much the same reasons. Only this time, she wasn't the one to pull back first, and when his lips met hers, she pushed herself into him, giving herself over to her emotions and kissing him back. As if of their own accord, her hands grabbed onto him, one at his neck and the other was clawing at his back. The exchanged became heated as they both fought for control, whether it was of each other or themselves, and soon she found herself seated in one of the chairs, legs around his waist. Absent-mindedly, he noticed she had gotten a hand under his shirt, not trying to get the garment off but just for the skin-on-skin contact. His hands stayed at more neutral places, one on the small of her back, the other holding her head upward, fingers tangling in her hair with their movements. Then, when the need for air became too great, they broke apart, and while trying to gain back her breath, Kim tried making eye contact with Drew unsuccessfully, his own downcast. He was the first to speak.

"Sorry about that." His voice was husky and his face was flushed, mirroring her own.

"Don't be. Like I said, you make me feel better." She gently flipped her hair back, brushing it into place with her hand.

"That was inappropriate."

"But I enjoyed it."

"You shouldn't have."

"Who said?"

"Unwritten rules of heroes and villains." Suddenly, she could tell he was joking, if only in part.

"If they're unwritten, how do you know them?"

"Took a course on it, very informative." He helped her off the chair, and then kept a distance, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Do you mean it though?"

"Mean what?"

"That that was inappropriate." She needed to know how he really felt, if only to help her understand how she felt. Her heart still hadn't stopped pounding, and she could almost hear it in her ears, a steady rhythm almost like a song.

"I'm old enough to be your father." He kept his eyes downcast, his posture screaming shame.

"Like that ever stopped anyone." She leaned against the island counter, trying to relax.

"It's enough to stop me."

"What about a minute ago?"

"I was... blinded."

"Blinded by what?"

"By passion, I guess. oh, I don't know! I'm not exactly a genius at this or anything. I've never been very good with women, you should know that." His voice turned bitter, scornful, and he crossed his arms to show his discomfort.

"I don't think anyone is very good at relationships, no matter what kind. but that shouldn't stop us from trying." She took a step toward him awkwardly, not really knowing what to do.

"Why me? I just don't understand it." He finally looked at her, and saw the confusion on her face.

"I said once before. you make me feel better, more alive." She smiled, hoping to ease his fears.

"Why should that make a difference?" He sounded unsure, scared.

"Because it's how Ron made me feel." Shyness crept into her voice, trying to mask the hurt.

"So I'm just a replacement?" Anger frosted his tone.

"No, more like a band-aid." Her voice almost broke from choking back the tears.

"That's supposed to make me understand better?"

"It's supposed to make you understand where I'm coming from, why I'm here."

"All I see is that I'm a rebound for you."

"NO! anything but, you're more of a friend-"

"So now I'm the friend. You might as well have the benefits too."

"WHAT, NO! Why are you making this so hard?" She couldn't help but yell this time.

"Why are you?" He yelled back, hands at his sides.

"Drew," she spoke calmly, her voice nearing a whisper. "When I first came by, after Ron died, it was because you were at the funeral." She put her hand up when he tried to speak. "I understand, and respect, why you were there. But that started this friendship. and ever since, every time we've gotten together, you've helped me ease back into living. I was ready to give up, you showed me I couldn't. When I needed support, like at Christmas with my family, you came through for me. remember when I told you Ron came to me, spoke with me?" He nodded, afraid to speak, hands stuffed back into his pockets and shoulders slumped.

"He told me to move on, he really did. You can call me crazy, but he told me goodby, and when he did, he also said that what I needed, who I needed, was right in front of me. That was when the only friend I really had was you. Everyone else was still avoiding me, giving me 'my space'," she made quotation marks with those words, "But you let me in, you comforted me. I'm not attracted to you because you're convenient, I'm attracted to you because you're everything I thought I lost, right here in front of me."

"Sans the naked rodent." He couldn't help, it just slipped out, but she took it good-naturedly, and smiled back at him.

"We might not work out, but why can't we at least try?"

"Even if I'm old enough to be your father?"

"Anything's possible for Possible, even that." She reached her hand toward him, like an olive branch.

"Why did I know that's what you would say." He took her hand in his, squeezing lightly.

Somehow, Drew Lipsky changed Kim Possible. She was no longer hiding from the world, no longer unfeeling of what was around her, she even began taking on missions again, even if they were never the same. Her blue crusader wanted to help, so she got her technical buddy Wade Load to collaborate with him and his good intentions. Although she didn't see much come out of their work together, she did know that it helped the scientist stay happy, which kept him from doing anything seemingly devious. They worked with that steady, smooth rhythm for three whole months, which would have normally been her summer vacation from school, and made the focus of their relationship much like it had been, a budding friendship. Of course there were moments where he would take her hand lightly or she would move a little closer to him on the couch, but overall they just took the time to really get to know one another, really understand who the other was. Part of the process included reminiscing about the past when she would foil his plans for world domination, and some of that time they noted all the ways he could have succeed, knowing that those theories would never play out.

One evening, very close to the end of August, Drew was waiting for Kim to get off work, her duty that evening being to close up shop after the mall was closed. He waited patiently in his hovercar, in the back of the parking lot, reading a very interesting book, and not noticing when she finally did leave the building. When she noticed he was extremely into the book, she got into the hovercar as quietly as she was able, making sure to stay out of his peripheral vision. Once she was seated beside him, his nose still in the book, she decided the best way to surprise him was simply by turning on the hovercar. Granted, she didn't know how to drive it, that was one thing that they kept separate. If they had a short trip, she drove her car, and when the weather was nice, they took the hovercar. He didn't legally know how to drive a car, and she had refused his offer to teach her the mechanics of his invention. She thought it better for their relationship if they each had something only one could do, so that they had a way to do for each other when need be. The moment she turned the key, as it wasn't different from a car in that regard, he visibly jumped, the book flying onto the back seat, closing shut it a loud clap.

"What have I said about startling me like that Kimberly?" Whenever he was miffed at her, her name, whether just her full first name or her whole name, always came out. Sometimes it was annoying, but mostly she found it endearing.

"Oh, but you're so easy to scare," she teased, leaning against him as he got the vehicle elevated and moving. They stayed that way the whole ride to her home, neither speaking, just taking in being with one another.

It was an awkward moment when he set the craft down, as she wasn't yet inclined to leave the vehicle. Feigning sleep, she kept a light hold on his arm, hoping he would get the idea and just continue back to his place, or be romantic and carry her in. Instead, he just sat there, waiting for her to move, watching her intently. After five minutes of nothing, she made a move, provoked more by a cold wind, she held his arm tighter and snuggling in closer, trying to get warmer. At first, he did nothing, then ever so slowly, he took a blanket that was kept on the back of the seat, and pulled it around her shoulders while trying not to disturb her. Another wind blew through, and she felt him shiver. Gently nudging, she stopped the charade and covered him with the blanket as well, allowing her to snuggle into his arms better. A bit stunned, he wrapped his arms around her, leaning back into the seat and holding the blanket closed around them. Neither knew how much time passed, but soon they were both dozing off, his light snoring the only sound heard over the whispering of the wind.

They were awoken by the sound of a car coming up the drive, the driver Mr. Dr. Possible. Startled, and a bit ashamed at almost being found by her father like this, Kim quietly woke Drew up, telling him to pretend to not be there.

"We have to hide," she hissed, sliding down to the floor of the hovercar and trying to get under the control panel.

"Why?" he ducked down from view, but had to consider how to proceed in the cramped space.

"I have never liked my father seeing me with my dates once we come back. He always gives me, and them, this look. It's a bit unnerving." He tried getting under the console with her, finding it a bit smaller than he was, and could only get his upper body under, head in her lap.

"What kind of look?" He was intrigued.

"This 'I know everything you've been doing while you were out' kind of look. Like I said, it's unnerving. And he also tends to ask my date questions."

"Really? How many guys have you dated?"

"Three. You've known all three, even made one."

"Oh," he sounded regretful. "And he did that with Stoppable too?"

"He still gave Ron the look, but was a bit nicer with his questions. I swear, the older I get, the more protective of me he gets."

"You are his only daughter." He was just getting comfortable in their current position, but could tell she wasn't. That was when they heard the front door open and shut.

"Do you think he noticed the hovercar?"

"It's a little hard to miss sitting in the middle of your front yard."

"Yeah, guess you're right. Maybe he thinks we're inside. We should sneak in."

"Um, I'm not so good at sneaking, if you haven't noticed."

"Well, you have the world's greatest teen hero, you'll be fine." She smiled, and he instantly felt better.

Quietly getting out of the vehicle, they crept low to the ground and around the house, coming to the back terrace. Grabbing her grappling hook from her backpack, something she took everywhere because of it's versatility, she grabbed a hold around his waist, his arms instantly going around her in return, and pressed the button for the hook to reel the cord back in, pulling them up. Walking on the wall, they made their way upward sooner than they expected, and were soon on her bedroom sill. Taking out a key, she unlocked the window and climbed in, helping him from not falling. The only light in the room was one she had forgotten to turn off beside her bed, and in relief for that, she flopped onto her bed, sighing heavily.

"If your father is easily suspicious of your dates, how will he take my being in your bedroom?"

"About as well as I take any of her dates generally," a voice replied from the stairwell of the room, Mr. Dr. Possible walking out of the shadows. Kim shot up, shocked, while Drew dropped onto the bed, barely making it into a seated position. "You know I could tell you two were in that car of yours out there."

"How'd you know Dad?"

"Drew, you're wearing blue shoes. Black pants may help to conceal you, but the shoes gave you away." He sounded rather amused, and took the chair at her desk out to sit on, facing the two of them.

"I'm sorry James, really I am. I-"

"It's okay. I could tell nothing happened. Besides, Kimmie, I promised I would be civil. especially now that you're an adult. and I meant it."

"Dad..."

"But since we are here, why don't we catch up?"

"Dad?"

"What? Can't I catch up with an old college buddy?"

"Who you poked fun at constantly, who dropped out only to become a villain after world domination?" The blue man sounded skeptical, and the redhead beside him sat a bit closer, for support.

"Why not? I heard today about a new invention of yours. Something to do with combining an MRI and CT scanners into one machine?"

"Oh, that!" And Kim phased out, not really understanding what either were talking about. Rather quickly, they both got up, excited about something, and went down to her father's study to talk more, compare notes, and other scientific things she didn't completely understand. As they passed the living room to the study, their conversation caught the twin's attention, and her brothers soon joined the discussion, bringing whatever they were talking about into a hearty debate about how to do what. As she about to go back to the living room, convinced they were fine alone, her mother came in.

"Hey Mom."

"Hey Kim, how was work today?"

"The same Club Banana always is."

"What's going on in there?" She pointed to the study, where the debate was beginning to become a discussion again.

"Dad wanted to catch up with Drew, and the tweebs joined in. I have no idea what they are talking about. All I caught was talk about MRI's and CT scans."

"Then we'd better leave them alone. want to help me make dinner?"

"Mom?"

"Just keep me company at least?"

"Okay," and the two women walked into the kitchen.

To Be Continued...