As with every chapter before and every to follow, Kim Possible and all related characters (other than those of my own creation for the purpose of this story) are the property of The Walt Disney Company. Everything else is all mine.

Kim awoke to find herself wrapped in a hospital blanket on her bed. The distinct and loud sound of Ron snoring could be heard to her left. Propping herself up, she looked over to see him in the corner of the room, stretched out over two chairs, his head wedged into a pillow, his feet dangling out over the edge of one chair.

Lying back down, Kim smiled. She had witnessed such remarkable changes in Ron over the last several months. The whiny, more-often-than-not self-centered teenage boy was giving way to a thoughtful, self-sacrificing young man. A genuine "new Ron" had emerged. Not that she wanted to see all of the "old Ron" disappear. She loved his goofiness and didn't want to see that precious child-like innocence of his completely disappear as long as the buffoonery went away for good.

Kim reached over to the nightstand, picked up the Kimmunicator and pressed the transmit button.

"Hey, Kim. What's up?"

"Wade, I really want to apologize for jumping on you earlier. You were only trying to protect me from myself. Can you forgive me?"

"Sure, Kim. I probably should have held off longer, anyway. Does this mean you'll take a few days off?"

"Yeah, I guess I'll do it, but on one condition: I want to be kept in the loop in case anything big comes up."

"Understood. What about your simulation tomorrow with Dr. Director?"

"Oh, I'm still going to take her on. Lately she's been treating Team Possible as though it's just another section of Global Justice. As far as I'm concerned, Team Possible works with GJ, not under GJ. I think a not-so-gentle reminder is in order. Besides, she and I have fought side-by-side but never each other. It should be interesting."

"Okay, Kim, but like I said earlier, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

James Possible sat nervously in his parked car, waiting for the twins to signal they were finished with Ron's car. He had thought about slumping down behind the steering wheel so folks driving or walking by would not see him, but decided that by doing so he would look even more suspicious.

"What's taking them so long?" James muttered to himself. "Deflating a couple of tires should take a few minutes at most and it's been almost ten minutes."

As if in response to his question, the light on the receiver went red. James breathed a sigh of relief, started the car and drove out the parking lot entrance. Coming back in the other entrance, he swung the car around and once again stopped it in front of Ron's car.

Jim and Tim emerged from between the parked cars, quickly opened the driver's side passenger door and jumped in. Once they settled in and buckled their seat belts, the twins did a "High Five".

"Hick-a-bick-a-boo?"

"Hooshaa!"

Pulling the sedan back out onto the street, James looked in the rear view minor.

"Boys, that took more than twice as long as it should have taken. Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Uhhh… well… Dad", Jim stammered.

Tim continued, "We got to thinking and realized that deflating two tires might not be enough…"

"… so we loosened the distributor cables from the spark plugs just enough…"

"… that the car doesn't start, but the real cause…"

"… won't be easy to spot."

Somewhat perplexed, James wasn't sure whether he should commend the twins for their ingenuity or scold them for disobeying his instructions. He chose to do a little of both.

"Boys, that was some cleaver thinking you did. H-o-w-e-v-e-r, I had given you very clear instructions on what you were to do and not to do. I'm thankful your little "bonus" is easily fixable but I'm afraid there will have to be consequences for your disobedience."

Jim and Tim swallowed hard, fearing the worst.

"For your punishment, first, we will go back to Ron's car and you will restore the distributor cables to their proper positions on the spark plugs. Second, starting tonight, you two will be in charge of doing dishes until a week from tomorrow. Last but not least, I believe an apology is in order."

"Sorry, Dad."

"Apology accepted. Now let's head back to the hospital."

Having a naked mole rat as a kitchen assistant was something altogether new for Kathleen Possible, but she had to admit Rufus was proving to be quite helpful. Her 'slaw recipe called for a few seasonings, and, having assisted Ron and Rachel Stoppable several times, he was able to locate and retrieve from the cabinet exactly what she needed.

Once the 'slaw batch was finished and placed in the refrigerator, Kathleen dialed up Rachel.

"Hello, Stoppables."

"Hi, Rachel. How are things going?"

"I'm just about done with the potato salad. It's been awhile since I've had to make a triple batch. Hope I got all the ingredients measured right. How are things progressing over there?"

"Well, the 'slaw is ready and should be nice and cold by dinner time. Jim and the twins aren't back from their little mission yet. They had better get here soon. Otherwise the charcoal fire won't be ready in time for the burgers and hot dogs."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be there shortly, Kate, and don't worry if we eat a little later. Jon is bringing home a little surprise that should keep our minds off of our stomachs until dinner's ready."

"A surprise, huh? Care to give me a hint or two?"

"Sorry, Kate, but I can't. Jon made me promise not to divulge anything about it, not even to you or Jim."

"Not even a teensy-weensy hint?"

"No, not even that."

Kathleen made a whimpering sound over the phone.

"Kate, that infamous Puppy Dog Pout of yours isn't going to get anything out of me, either."

"Rachel, you are one tough nut to crack."

"That's what makes me such a good banker, Kate", Rachel replied with a laugh. "Oh, tell Rufus I'll be by shortly to pick him up on my way out to the airport."

"The airport?" Kathleen said, puzzled. "I thought Jon's flight wasn't supposed to get in until around six o'clock."

"It's not, Kate. I'm going to move Jon's car so he has an even tougher time finding it."

"Rachel, that is downright cruel. The poor man already has enough trouble finding his car", Kathleen playfully chided.

"Oh, don't worry, Kate. I'm only going to move it a few spaces further down the row or maybe in a space across the way from where it's parked."

"Sounds fun. Only you'd better hope he hasn't memorized the parking spot number this time."

"He's never managed to do it before, Kate, so, in Jim's words, "That is a mathematical improbability.""

Figuring that Ron had napped long enough --- and that she had listened to his snoring long enough, too --- Kim hopped out of bed and walked over to where Ron was propped up on the two chairs.

"A goose bump wake-up call should do the trick", Kim thought. So, she reached down with her hand, carefully pushed up his pants leg to uncover some skin, and did a spider walk with her fingers up and down Ron's leg from the top of his sock to the cuff of his pants.

Ron clearly felt Kim's fingers crawling up and down, because he stirred and stopped snoring. However, as soon as she stopped, he slipped back into a deep slumber.

"Okay, if that didn't work, let's try it up around his neck and ears", thought Kim. "That should do it."

Moving close beside Ron in the corner of the room, Kim rested her hand on his shoulder and began to do the same spider walk, this time along the skin just above his shirt collar, looping up and around one ear, back across the collar and up and around the other ear.

This time, Ron appeared to be waking up. His eyes opened part way and he looked up at Kim. "Oh, please, don't stop", he said. "That feels g-o-o-d." Within moments, though, he was snoring once again.

Kim had had enough. "This calls for extreme measures", she said to herself. Turning around, she went into a slight crouch, jumped up at an angle and landed dead-center in Ron's lap.

"Owww!" Ron yelped.

Before he could say anything else, Kim threw her arms around his neck and planted a big kiss on his lips.

Surprised at first, Ron knew a good thing when he saw it, wrapped his arms around Kim's waist and pulled her into his embrace.

The two teens remained that way for several minutes and probably would have stayed that way for several more had they not heard a voice break the silence. It came from the room's doorway. It was the voice of the ICU doctor.

"Umm, I really hate to interrupt, but I think I have some news you'd both like to hear."

Rather embarrassed, Kim hastily slid off Ron's lap and stood up against the wall beside him. Ron jumped out of his seat and also stood against the wall beside Kim. Kim reached for the grid system control and pressed the "Off" button.

"No reason to feel embarrassed, Miss Possible", the doctor said as he observed the red color in her face. "Believe me, I've come upon some shall we say "unusual" situations when entering a hospital patient's room. What you two were doing was perfectly normal."

"Thank you, Doctor", said Kim as she reached over and entwined her fingers with Ron's. "You said you had some news for us."

"I do indeed. Based upon the results from the last set of tests, I think it's safe for you to go home. What you two were just doing confirms my diagnosis."

"Did you hear that, Ron? I can go home! Spankin'!" In her excitement, Kim practically leapt into Ron's arms as she planted an even bigger kiss on his lips.

After a moment or two, Ron tapped on Kim's shoulder and gestured with his eyes toward the doctor. Kim released her grip and once again stood beside Ron. Her face was now an even deeper red.

"Sorry, Doctor. I wasn't thinking and got a little carried away."

"No need to apologize, Miss Possible", replied the doctor. Looking straight at Ron, he continued. "This probably goes without saying, but you, sir, are a very lucky young man."

"Thanks for the reminder, Doc, …", Ron said. "…although I'd rather think I'm blessed, not lucky." Ron's hand squeezed Kim's as he said this and then she in response squeezed his and laid her head on his shoulder.

"We will need one parent to come down and fill out some paperwork", said the doctor.

"My mom said she would come down right away once you said I could go home."

"Great! Well, once she completes the forms, you'll be free to go."

James Possible pulled the family sedan in the driveway and up into the garage. It took two attempts but they had successfully completed their mission.

"Okay, boys, toss your clothes in the washer, close the lid and hit the showers. Oh, and make sure you scrub all that black stuff off your faces. We don't want to leave any evidence."

As usual, Jim and Tim raced each other through the entire process, from dashing to the washer through stripping off all their outer clothes and on into the house to the bathroom.

Not wanting to be spun like a top and/or run over, James waited on his side of the car until he heard the bathroom door slam, signaling that the coast was clear.

Strolling into the kitchen, James found Kathleen and Rufus busily preparing for the dinner celebration.

"It looks great and smells delicious, Kate", James observed before giving his wife a peck on the cheek.

"Why thank you, Jim!" replied Kathleen. "You know, flattery will get you everywhere."

James moved in behind Kathleen, wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head over her shoulder.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Uh-huh."

James began nuzzling Kathleen's neck.

"Don't mind if I do."

Kathleen placed her hand on top of James' head and pushed it away. "Later, gator."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now go get that fire going so we can eat on time", Kathleen ordered with a smile.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" James answered with a mock salute and a smile of his own.

No sooner had James walked out of the kitchen than the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Kathleen yelled down the hallway.

"Hello, Possible residence."

"Hi, Mom!"

"Kim! Does this mean that …?"

"Yep, I'm being released and can come home! Could you come down and fill out the forms?" asked Kim.

"Give me a couple of minutes to finish things up and I'll be right down", Kathleen answered.

"Oh, and Mom, could you bring down some clothes for me? All I have are the ones I wore last night and they need to go in the wash."

"Sure, Kim. I'll grab a set of your school clothes, along with some clean socks and your tennis shoes. Anything else you'd like me to bring?"

"No, that's it. See you soon!"

Kathleen hung up the phone and turned around to find her husband standing behind her.

"Sounds like Kimmie's excited to come home", James observed.

"Yes, but the doctor was almost an hour early in breaking the news to her, Jim. This really puts a wrench in our plans."

"It could be that the one you were working with got called away for some reason and forgot to relay the info. In any case, you're right: we've got a little timing problem on our hands. Hmmm. What can we do?"

"Well, as much as I'd hate to, I could delay heading down, but then I'd need a good excuse for being late. Only it would have to be something that Kim would believe."

"Oh, that's e-a-s-y."

James and Kathleen looked at each other, mischievous grins spreading across their faces.

"The twins."