Legal Whatnot: Okay people listen up, Disney owns Kim Possible, not me; I just write about them. Now I could say something about Disney's current schedule but you don't want to hear my rant again do you?
Thanks to spectre666, Ran Hakubi, CajunBear73, and yvj for reviewing.
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Second Mission, Second Thoughts
Chapter 5: Night at the Davis Ranch
The main gate to the Davis estate wasn't an imposing portal structure; it was simply a part of the fence that opened and closed by a small motor, but still, they stopped short of it. Ahead of them was a long stretch of paved road, lined by tall trees.
Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator from her side pocket and dialed the team's tech genius, Wade. Ron leaned in close to Kim to get a better look at the new gadget and to say hi. The image of a stout, African American nine-year-old smiled back at them. "Wade?" Kim asked.
"You guys okay?" he asked, "Your helmet transponders stopped moving for a while. I was just about to call when they started to move again."
"We're okay. We just ran into a little snag," Kim replied.
"Yeah, parachute trouble," Ron added.
"Ooo. Are you guys okay?" he asked in a tone tinged with worry.
"We're fine. Ron had a little run in with a tree, though."
Ron smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just some bumps and maybe a bruise."
"Ouch," Wade winced, "So what up, Kim?"
"Could you call Mr. Davis and let him know we're here?"
"Sure, but I can do one better. I can connect you to the main line. Just give me a minute."
"Please and thank you," the redhead grinned.
Wade took one sip from his Slurpster, interlocked and then flexed his fingers. They separated and hit the keyboard. His digits danced on the keyboard to a symphony of clicks, lasting only a few seconds. As soon as the clicking stopped, he looked back up at the screen and smiled, "Done. It's voice only seeing that they don't have a direct vidlink. Just hit the send button and it'll connect directly. Good luck out there."
"Thanks. You rock, Wade!"
Kim did as instructed and soon enough a man's voice answered the line. "Davis Dude Ranch, Mr. Davis speaking. What can I do ya for?"
"Uhh Mr. Davis. This is...is...uh?" Kim looked at Ron who motioned her to continue on, "This is Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. Mr. Paisley sent us. We're here to help out with a lost cow."
"Kim? Kim...Oh yeah, Kim Possible. So you're the ones that Paisley talked about. Where are y'all? Out front?"
"Yes, we just got here."
"Good. Gimme a few and I'll come git yah. Sit tight, all right?"
"Thanks, Mr. Davis."
"My pleasure, ma'am."
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Mr. Davis came out driving a white Humvee with a set of large horns mounted atop its hood. Kim was very surprised to see that a man that looked very much like her uncle Slim had greeted them. The only noticeable differences were that he was slightly shorter and rounder and his face was a little on the heavy side. This man even dressed like her uncle right down to the cowboy hat and bolo tie but the colors were off; he had an off white shirt and blue jeans.
"Mr. Davis?" Kim had to ask.
"Yes, ma'am," he said in a voice an octave lower than her uncle. He took off his cowboy hat and extended his hand, "Jonathan Davis, at your service, but y'all can call me 'John'."
"Pleasure to meet you, John," Kim replied, shaking his hand.
John then offered his hand to Ron, "And, you are?"
"Uhh, Ron Stoppable."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, too, Ron." he said motioning for them to get into the SUV and added, "Step on in and I'll get your stuff loaded."
The second they seated themselves and buckled in, Ron turned to Kim and exclaimed, "Hey, Mr. Davis got my name right! "KP! He got my name right! Almost no one gets it right!"
"Ron."
"It's not like it's a hard name to remember."
"Ron!"
"It's not like its something off the wall like Terry––"
"RON!"
"Oh…right…Sorry, KP."
Mr. Davis had just stepped in and looked over from the front seat. "Well, let's get going. It's getting dark, and I don't think you and your boyfriend want to search for Gertie at night."
"Uh he's not my boyfriend," Kim quickly countered, "He's my best friend."
"Huh, your best friend's a boy?"
"Since Pre-K," she smiled proudly.
"Sorry. I just thought you two were together. Too bad, you two would make a mighty fine couple," he remarked, turning to face the road.
Kim answered with her smile becoming uncomfortable, "Huh?…Umm, yeah...Thanks."
As the SUV lurched forward, Ron looked at Kim with the same degree of discomfort and simply shrugged.
Kim contemplated, "That…really didn't cross my mind until now."
She noticed that they had inadvertently sat right next to each other in the spacious vehicle. Although it seemed perfectly natural to them, being best friends for years, Mr. Davis' question did make them uneasy. Kim leaned slightly away from Ron, while Ron slowly turned his gaze outside the window. However, a few moments later, she did steal a quick glance, wondering about it for the briefest of moments. She was surprised to find Ron had looked back as well. A short moment of silence had passed between them.
"Awkweird?" they whispered in unison, and broke their passing gazes.
"Jinx!" Kim said suddenly but mutedly, "You owe me a soda!"
"Aww, man. I owe you too many sodas" he replied in an equally hushed tone.
And soon, both of them erupted with a burst of muffled giggles. As soon as the laughter subsided, John said plainly, "Oggie spoke might highly of you."
"Oggie?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, Ogden Paisley, but his friends call him Oggie. Ol' Oggie couldn't stop talking about how you bounced and jumped through his high tech security system. I was thinking of getting a security system myself for my collection. I might have to reconsider."
"Your collection? Oh, that's right, you two know each other because you're 'Cuddlers'," Kim stated.
Ron gave them a strange look and thought himself, "Never figured a cowboy as a Cuddler…"
"Yep. I understand that you're one as well."
"Well I'm not sure I'm an official 'Cuddler' but I do have a number at home," Kim admitted, "Pandaroo is my favorite! I have one myself – umm…uh, I mean they're a good investment."
"Yes, they are," John winked, "Besides, the pride o' my collection is also a flamigoat."
"Omigosh! Two flamigoats in my lifetime," she breathed.
"Only ten of them were made," both the redhead and the cowboy declared.
Ron could only sigh in response, as he had nothing to contribute.
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The ride to the ranch house was a short but welcome one. Kim and Ron could have walked to the front door. It was a little distance away but they were tired from the uncomfortable flight accommodations and the chute incident; the additional weight that the gear they packed did not help, either. John drove slowly down the tree-lined road, giving them a chance to see the property. The ranch buildings were at the front of the property and its backyard seemingly stretched to the far mountain range. The house – lodge was a more appropriate description – itself was larger than they first thought. It was a long, wide two-story building with simple architecture embellished with typical western décor; log paneling, wood railing, wagon wheel decorations, western style benches and real wagons. Despite its rustic appearance, they could see many modern refinements: the automatic garage door, motion sensor lighting, and lighted pathways.
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As they pulled up to the house, Ron's eye once again grew as wide as dinner plates. Mr. Davis guided them to the front porch and motioned for one of his ranch hands to take their luggage/gear. Ron was in awe of the whole estate. He had heard of these before but never expected to see one personally, much less spend their time there. His brown orbs took in the sights, his large ears took in the sounds and his nose took notice of the smells, particularly the clean air. Not that Middleton wasn't clean, but it was more natural out here. "This is probably what Kim felt when she first came to her uncle's ranch," he mused.
Ron found himself wandering into the house, barely following Kim and Mr. Davis. The interior was more interesting than the outside, having more of a "cowboy" like atmosphere. The walls and flooring like the exterior was also wood-paneled. Numerous pictures, some of them historical pictures of the Old West, some of them family photos but most of them of dude ranch activities and visitors, hung all over the walls. Other items joined them: hats, ropes, branding irons, and other western artifacts. Some of the lighting resembled old lanterns, and the furniture even had a distinct "cowboy" look about them. It was like stepping into the Old West.
Ron was so caught up in the atmosphere that he missed much of conversation that Mr. Davis and Kim were having while getting acquainted.
"…and you're both thirteen? I still can't believe that you're that young. Well, as long as your parents say its okay, you're as good as Oggie says and if Oggie trusts you then that's fine with me," the ranch owner smiled. "So let's get settled down, and then y'all can relax."
He led them through one of the main hallways then down a side hallway that ended with a large oaken door. It opened to a room that was very much unlike the rest of the house, at least from what they had seen. It was as if they had stepped into a very different house. "Study" would be the best word to describe this room. Several shelves, all full of books with a multitude of topics, lined the walls. A display case with numerous trophies was off to one side and in the middle of the room was a large desk – like a corporate executive would have – with a computer with dual screens, which was its sole fixture. A large couch faced the desk and Mr. Davis sat himself into a large office chair.
"Have a seat," he offered, taking off his hat and tossing it across the room. It landed squarely on an awaiting coat rack.
"Like it?" he asked the two as they took their places, "Not what you expected from a cowboy, huh?"
Kim and Ron nodded a 'no'.
"Well," he chuckled, "Most of the books are the missus, lord rest her soul, but they're a good read. I'm taking up on Computer Engineering myself. The computer helps me keep a track of past, present, and future visitors, inventory, finances, and web access."
"You sound like our friend, Wade," said Kim.
"Nice fella," John smiled, "A little inquisitive though, but I guess it comes with the territory, seein' he's making sure y'all have a good lead."
"Yes sir."
"So let's get down to business then," the cowboy said, leaning back in his chair, "So, I bet you are wondering why?"
"The thought had crossed my mind. I did – Ow!" Ron exclaimed, rubbing his recently elbowed ribs.
"Ron!" Kim muttered, "Don't interrupt."
"What? I was just answering the question."
"Are you two sure you're not together?" the cowboy questioned.
Both of them blushed brightly.
"Heh. Just joshing ya two," he laughed, "Okay, back to the question. So why don't I hire someone else? Why not a ranch hand or two to find little Gertie?"
They nodded.
"Well, most of my ranch hands are out on one of the biggest cattle drives of the year, which doesn't leave a lot of people back at the ranch. I need all the people I got here seeing that my wife's passed away. My sons are in school. I really didn't want to pull them out of school seeing that they're in California. But the main reason is that Oggie and Mr. McHenry said you two are something special. You two are a team right?"
"Yeah, but Kim does a lot of the work – but I help out. I'm like the sidekick." Ron replied.
"Ron..."
"It's true. I'm not the one who tumbled through the lasers."
"But you're the one who convinced me to go."
Mr. Davis looked at the two. "Not together? Ya could of fooled me…"
"Well," he said, being slightly louder, "Something told Oggie and me that you two, despite being young'ins, should be given a chance. Don't know why, but I gots this feeling...And…" John paused to pull out a copy of the Middleton times. On it was a picture of Kim – Ron was in the background – holding a kitten. She had just rescued the kitten in a tree. Nothing too big but it was newsworthy to be mentioned in the paper. "Oggie forwards me a copy. I've seen you in it several times. I haven't seen Ron but I figure he's got a big part in all of this. So that's why."
Ron looked at Kim, smiling a "I told you so."
"Wow!" Kim gushed, "I don't know what to say."
"Think nothing of it. So, ya still up for it?"
"You bet!" they said at the same time.
"Jinx!" Kim proclaimed, "You owe me a soda!"
"Aww man, again?" he replied dejectedly.
The cowboy smiled. He then pushed back from his desk, opened a drawer and pulled out a checkbook. "So how much do you charge?"
"Charge? As in a fee?" Kim questioned.
"Yes, ma'am", John answered, his pen hovering over a check.
Kim's mind raced. "I did start the website to get more babysitting offers but I dunno. I mean I could use the cash but I don't think it's right to charge someone asking for help. I didn't charge Mr. Paisley, Mr. McHenry, or the others and it wouldn't be fair to Mr. Davis."
Ron looked at his best friend. "We could use the fundage. I mean, I wouldn't mind getting a few more things and we could grande size stuff more often and we could go to premiere movie showings…Wait…Kim hasn't said yes..."
"Miss Possible?" the cowboy asked.
She drew in a deep breath. "No charge, Mr. Davis. No charge at all."
The cowboy's writing instrument dropped.
"What?" Ron's mind exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" asked the ranch owner.
"We're just here to help. It's what we do. Besides, we do this because we like helping out and not for the money," she said happily.
Ron gazed at Kim. "Yeah, I guess she's right – but it wouldn't hurt to splurge once in a while…"
"Well I'll be. Oggie said that you didn't charge him either but I didn't believe it. I was right; you two are something special, especially with that good attitude."
Kim's cheeks turned a bright crimson. Ron smiled.
John put the checkbook back in the drawer. "Well, at least let me give ya room and board, my ranch is one of the finest in this part of the state. Plus Rachael's a mighty fine cook and she's making her specialty steak, Rachael's Rodeo Ribeye tonight. Think of it as a favor." John stuck his hand out.
"Favor. I like the sound of that," replied the redhead as she shook his hand. "It's a deal, John. And you can call me, Kim."
"Good," he added, shaking Ron's hand, "Gimme me a few minutes to get everything all set up. You two can wash up in the water closet down the hall to the right.
To be continued…
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Chapter End Notes: I had to explain how this all got started. It took me a little while to clear up some of the missing details in the series. I hope this made a plausible explanation to that as well as the money issue. I'm placing this story west-northwest of Great Falls, Montana, close to the Cascade Mountain Range. The Lazy C (Uncle Slim's Ranch) is North-Northeast of Great Falls.
