Nope, none of the named characters are mine. They belong to Disney.

Chapter 3 – Second Thoughts

It was after midnight when Monique dropped Kim off next to her car in the mall parking lot. Kim had not been very good company, spending most of her time reminiscing about Ron. Several times Monique had asked why she didn't just pick up the phone and call the boy, but Kim just shook her head and refused to talk about it. Monique's final words as Kim got into the Sloth were "Just call the boy! You know you gonna eventually. Get it over with. If you don't talk to him you're never gonna know what's really going on."

Sound advice, Kim thought as she headed back to the Middleton Inn. But do I really want to know? She parked her car and headed up to her suite. Her brothers were already asleep on the fold out bed in the multi purpose room of the suite, so she didn't turn on the light. Her passing caused a slight breeze as she went by the desk. She didn't notice the note that slipped off the desk to land behind the nearby dresser.

Kim sat up in her bed. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she saw it was 3:10. She pondered the dream that had interrupted her sleep. In it she seemed to be dazed. She saw Warhok standing over Ron, laughing. She could not make out his words, but from the way Ron's shoulders slumped and the look of utter defeat on his face she knew it was something bad. She reached for the phone and dialed a familiar number. After three rings she heard his voice, "Whoever you are, I don't want to give you an interview, or pose for pictures, or even talk about what happened with the aliens. Anything I have to say is posted on the Team Possible web site. Just leave me alone." There was a beep and the machine disconnected without any opportunity to leave a message.

She dialed the number again. When the message started she tried to talk over it, "Ron, it's me, Kim. Pick up. I need to talk to you. Please pick up." Her plea went unanswered, buried beneath a pile of dirty clothes in the corner of Ron's room. Again the machine disconnected.

After almost an hour Kim was able to get back to sleep, only to be awakened by a ringing phone a few minutes after eight. She answered sleepily and Wade told her "Sorry to wake you up, but you've got a mission"

Kim yawned. "Send it to GJ or somebody. Not taking missions right now."

"You need to take this one. I doubt anybody else can handle it."

That got her attention. She sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed, alert to everything Wade was saying. "A group of Japanese school kids were on a tour in Cambodia, looking at the old ruins. Several of them wandered off and found their way into the temple where you first met Monkey Fist. Somehow they got past the traps going in but now can't get back out. Several would be rescuers have been injured trying to get into the temple. The guide says you are their last chance."

Wade heard a deep sigh over the phone. "OK, I'll do it. But it doesn't mean I'm taking missions again. We'll talk when I get back."

"Want me to call Ron?" Wade asked.

"No reason to bother him with this one. Really nothing he could do to help. Do I have a ride?"

"Out front in 10," Wade replied. "You can turn the kimmunicator back on. I have everything filtered so you won't be getting any more calls from the media."

Kim quickly gathered what she needed for the mission. Her parents and brothers were already gone, so she left a note on the desk by the phone telling them she was on a mission in Cambodia. Then she hurried out front where a Harrier jet was waiting for her. A few moments later she was airborne, all thoughts of the previous night pushed aside as she went into mission mode.

KPKPKPKPKPKP

Ron finally dragged himself out of bed around 11 o'clock. He was not working, so he wandered downstairs and fixed himself and Rufus something to eat. After finishing and cleaning up he went back up to his room. He looked for his phone to see if he had missed anything important, and then remembered he had put it under his laundry pile because of all the reporters calling. He dug it out and ran through the caller ID records. There still seemed to be calls nearly constantly. There were even two in the middle of the night. Not recognizing any of the numbers he pressed "delete" clearing the memory and put the phone back under the pile of clothes so the frequent ringing wouldn't disturb him.

After showering Ron headed out. He walked down to the bus stop and waited for one heading downtown. He borrowed his mom's car and headed out to the Middleton Inn to see Kim. When he arrived he went directly to the Possible's suite and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he returned to the lobby and tried the house phone. It went to voice mail. Then he asked at the desk and was told the family had gone to their house to work on cleanup. Ron went back to the car and headed to the familiar address. It was his first visit since the attack. He was shocked by the devastation.

Oliver, Dr. Porter's cyborg, and several robots modeled on the Jupiter project were carefully removing the debris. As they progressed the two Drs. Possible were combing the salvaged material to see what could be saved. A number of photographs and other mementos were set aside, along with a few items of clothing. Rufus jumped from Ron's pocket and headed into the mess to see if he could help.

Ann Possible stopped her work and walked over to Ron. "Not sure what to say," he began. "If I can be any help, just tell me what to do."

"Oliver and the robots are doing most of the heavy stuff. Jim and I are just sorting what they pull out. It's really nothing you could help with. But thanks for asking."

"I really came looking for Kim," Ron replied. "We haven't talked since Sunday night. I'm kinda worried about her. She wasn't at the hotel so I thought she might be here."

"I'm not sure where she is. She and Monique were out last night and she wasn't back by the time we went to bed. I assume she got your message since it wasn't on the desk this morning." Her doctor's eye scanned Ron from head to foot and her voice softened a little as she asked, "How are you doing? This has to be tough on you."

Ron pondered a moment, then decided to keep most of it to himself. "Outside of the press chasing me for interviews and a couple rough nights I guess I'm doing OK. I'll get through it."

"For what it's worth, I don't think Kimmie meant any of what she said on Sunday night. I hope you two can work things out."

Ron scratched his neck and looked down. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said. "But I gotta go. Let her know I was looking for her, please?."

As Ron turned to go Rufus caught his attention, chattering loudly from in front of the pile of items considered unsalvageable. Ron went over to see what had his buddy so upset. Lying at the edge of the pile were the remains of Kim's Pandaroo. "KP's not gonna be pleased," he told Rufus. He looked around. A bent and crushed baking pan caught his eye. Carefully he picked up the plush toy and placed it in the pan, then turned to Kim's mom saying, "There's a lady in Temple who repairs dolls and stuff. Would you mind if I took Pandaroo to see if she can do anything?"

"Go ahead," she replied. "Pandaroo means a lot to Kimmie." As Ron drove off she thought to herself, 'I hope Kim knows what she's doing.'

Next Ron went to Club Banana where the manager told him Kim was not scheduled to work again until the weekend. Leaving the store he ran into Tara who persuaded him to go with her to the food court where she had a smoothie and Ron drank an iced mocha. Their conversation was inconsequential, but several Middleton High students and recent graduates saw them, providing more grist for the rumor mill. As Ron was leaving Tara asked, "Have you decided about Friday yet?"

He shook his head. "I'll let you know after work on Thursday. Right now I have some errands to take care of."

Returning to the car he called Wade, hoping Team Possible's tech guru would know where Kim was. "Hey, Ron," came the response. "Kim is on a mission in Cambodia, rescuing some tourists who wandered into an ancient monkey temple. She said not to bother you with this one, she could handle it alone."

"Thanks, Wade. Just a little worried 'cause I hadn't heard from her. I'll wait 'til she gets back." Ron disconnected and his shoulders sagged. He started the car and headed back downtown. Leaving the car for his mother he began the long walk home. A slight detour took him through Middleton Park where he found a secluded spot and began to meditate. Try as he might, he could only come to one conclusion. This mission to Cambodia was just more proof that Kim did not want him in her life anymore. He turned off his kimmunicator and stuck it in his pocket. At the end of his long walk home he took it out of his pocket and tossed it in one of the drawers of his desk.

KPKPKPKPKPKP

It was a 16-hour flight, followed by a six-hour jeep ride to reach the temple. Fortunately she was able to sleep during the flight, undisturbed by nightmares. It was early Wednesday morning in Middleton when she finally got started on the rescue.

It was one of those missions that really was no big. Kim vaulted through the hallway traps and avoided the snakes and other hazards before reaching the group of tourists. There were eight kids, ranging in age from 10 to 14. The kids had gone nearly two days without food or water so her first task was to see that they ate and were ready to be taken out of the temple. The time consuming part of the operation was getting them out. She could only take one at a time, so it took several hours before they were all safe. Because of darkness the tour guides were unwilling to travel any farther than their hotel a few miles down the road. Kim would spend the rest of the night as their guest. In the morning they would take her back to Pochentong Airport outside Phnom Penh where her flight home would be waiting.

As soon as she was in her hotel room she activated her kimmunicator, telling Wade that the mission was a success, but she would not be back in Middleton until sometime on Friday. Wade said he would let her parents know then added, "Oh by the way, Ron was looking for you yesterday. I told him you were on a mission. He said that was fine he would talk to you when you got back."

"See if you can get him now, please and thank you," Kim responded.

After a few minutes Wade again appeared on the screen with a frown on his face. "Apparently his kimmunicator is off. He has a message on his phone but doesn't answer."

"I got that a couple nights ago," Kim replied. "What about his tracking chip? Can you tell where he is?"

"Remember how we talked about the ethical ramifications of that chip? Well, it's a moot point now. My best guess is when he went full on with the Monkey Power it blew the chip. There has been no signal since the big battle."

"Keep looking, Wade. When you get him, patch him through. Don't worry about the time. Speaking of the big battle. Monique said the news channel covered it, complete with audio. Suppose you could run it for me?"

"Sure thing, Kim. Give me a minute," the tech guru responded.

True to his word, the video appeared on the small screen. The beginning was unfamiliar. She had been unconscious, waking only after Ron's powers had taken over. She heard the conversation between Warhok and Warmonga, then watched while Ron after seemingly talking to someone she couldn't see challenged the two. The scene played out. When it finished she said simply, "Thanks, Wade," and disconnected. She collapsed on the bed, mentally kicking herself over and over. Now she knew what Monique meant.

KPKPKPKPKPKP

It was Thursday evening in Middleton, and still no message from Kim. Ron considered contacting Wade again, but instead listened to his inner voice of insecurity. Why humiliate himself any further? It was over, nothing to do but move on. This time next week he would be in Japan and everything would be better, right?

His parents were out for the evening. Hana was asleep in her room and he was lying on his bed in the attic, watching the ceiling fan spin. Downstairs the phone rang several times, stopped, then rang again. There was no answering machine as his dad thought they were just a passing fad.

Finally he made his decision. He picked up his phone and dialed. When he heard her cherry hello, he responded, "Hey Tara. It's me, Ron. How about I pick you up around seven tomorrow?" He waited for her answer. "Cool, see you then." She spoke again and he replied, "Tonight? Sounds like fun, but I'm ready for bed and have an early shift at Smarty Mart so I best pass." He listened for a moment. "You too. See you tomorrow. Bye." He hung up and turned off the phone again, took two white pills and then crawled under the covers. Perhaps there would be no dreams tonight.