Chapter 7: Back Home
Beep Beep Be-Beep.
The Kimmunicator chimed its tone the moment Kim turned it on, after leaving the airliner at Denver International Airport.
"So what's the sitch?" She used her trademark reply.
"Are you two up for a mission before getting home?" The technical genius asked.
"What do you have for us?"
"The US Forest Service could use some help," Wade informed them. "There's a wildfire in the Rockies outside of Denver. A handful of cabins have been cut off, are in danger of being engulfed, and there's no communication with the occupants. The Colorado National Guard has a helicopter standing by, but they don't have anyone with air rappelling experience."
"We're on it, Wade," Kim informed him, after receiving a nod from Ron. "What do we do?"
"Head to Gate 90," Wade told her. "The airline's baggage handlers are pulling your checked luggage and a representative will link you with it. They'll also have a ride to the airport's General Aviation section. The chopper will pick you up there. Your mission will be to visit each cabin; if it's occupied you'll assist the aircrew with the rescue."
"You rock Wade," Kim signed off. "Let's go Ron!"
Wade and the airline's personnel came through for the two. They both pulled a set of mission gear from their checked baggage and changed in closets that the baggage handlers unlocked for them. A quick ride to the General Aviation section and they were introducing themselves to Captain Ruer, Lieutenant Ranum, Staff Sergeant Ceda, and their CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
"How much do the two of you know about this mission?" The Captain asked.
"Only that there are cut off homes that may or may not be evacuated," Kim replied. "And that you don't have anyone with experience rappelling out of a helicopter."
"Roger that," the Captain said. "The forest is too thick for us to land near these structures, but we'll hover over them so that you can rappel down to them. We have radios for you, so we'll keep in constant contact. We will also scout out possible landing sites in the immediate area. If you find anyone in the structures, we will either winch them up or you will guide them to a landing site, as the situation demands. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am," Kim answered. "You're calling the shots on this one, we're just here to assist."
"Good enough," the Captain smiled. "Let's move out."
The two officers piloted the aircraft while the sergeant stayed in back, with Team Possible, going over the homes that the crew had been assigned to investigate. The sergeant also tested the radios that the crew had given the teens, making sure that the communications were functioning. A few minutes later, they had reached the first structure.
The first three buildings were routine: The chopper was able to drop to roughly thirty feet above the ground, the teens rappelled to the structure, found nobody inside and called this information back to the aircraft. While Sergeant Ceda winched them aboard, Lieutenant Ranum marked off the structure on his map and radioed the search results to the Forest Service Coordinator.
In route to the fourth building, they spotted a party of four hikers on a logging road. Kim and Ron rappelled down to the hikers while the aircrew spotted a usable landing site nearby. Once Team Possible reached the hikers, Sergeant Ceda radioed them to travel two hundred yards at a 165-degree magnetic azimuth. The six people on the ground located the clearing, Captain Ruer landed the aircraft, Sergeant Ceda opened the rear doors and all six scrambled on board. They could smell smoke as Lieutenant Ranum called in the hikers' names on the way to the fourth structure.
A family of five piled out of the fourth home as the Chinook approached. Since there were no clear spaces nearby, Kim and Ron rappelled down and secured the family members, in turn, to the basket Sergeant Ceda lowered to them. After the last family member was safely aboard the aircraft, Kim and Ron piled in the basket, the Sergeant winched them aboard and they were off to the fifth structure. They could now see the smoke in the air.
The sixth structure had no people inside, only a terrified dachshund. Captain Ruer told them to bring the dog back on board the aircraft with them. They then managed to check out three more homes, rescuing two more people, before the Chinook started to run low on fuel. They delivered their twelve passengers (eleven humans and one canine) to an evacuation center then returned to the airport for refueling. Lieutenant Ranum received the next list of structures to investigate as they refueled.
The aircrew and Team Possible continued to work for the next six hours. All told, they rescued over thirty people and four pets by the time the Forest Service declared the area fully evacuated. Kim and Ron were exhausted, sore, hungry, thirsty, and reeking of wood smoke. They had, of course, missed their flight to Middleton and there were no further commercial flights until the next morning. The airline baggage crew had reloaded their checked bags, so they didn't have a change of clothes available. Wade managed to secure them a ride on a catering van but it was after two AM when they finally got home. The two teens had just enough energy left to stumble into their respective homes, shower and collapse into bed.
Ron slept in late the following morning and didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about it. Rufus joined him as he prepared himself a large meal. He was about to call Kim to ask if she wanted to share it, when his father walked into the kitchen.
"Son, I'm sure that you're thinking of inviting Kim over," Gene Stoppable said. "And I would ordinarily encourage you to do so. However, I have some things that I need to discuss with you and this is best done between the two of us. This isn't an emergency, so finish your brunch, or whatever you want to call it. Meet me in the garage when you're done."
"Besides," he continued. "I'm sure that she's even more tired than you. You were reeking of smoke when you came in last night so I'm willing to bet that she put in some serious effort on her hair last night."
Ron and Rufus neither rushed their meal, nor dallied at the table. Mr. Stoppable hadn't been upset, so Ron clearly wasn't in trouble. The two cleaned up after themselves then went to the garage, where they found Ron's father looking at a set of plans. Ron noticed that the plans were setting on a pile of building materials. He noticed two by fours, sheet rock, several cans of paint, a spool of romax wire, a couple of light fixtures and several electrical boxes.
"Have a seat, son," Gene Stoppable greeted Ron, with a gesture towards a nearby lawn chair. The older Stoppable man found one himself while Ron sat down.
"I really don't know how to start this," Gene confessed. "So I think I'll begin with one of Aesop's Fables: The Fox and the Lion. Do you remember it?"
"Yes," It was actually one of Ron's favorite tales.
"I guess you could say that you're the fox and I'm the other animals," Gene continued. "Life is the lion in the cave. I've made a lot of mistakes, son, and I'm truly amazed at how well you've overcome the sometimes…indifferent parenting that I've provided."
Gene appeared to be on the verge of tears, but he squared his shoulders and faced his son.
"We're not here to go over what might have been," he declared. "But still, I guess I'd better start at the beginning. I hope that you can take what I'm about to say in the manner I intend; a criticism of myself rather than you."
"I never really wanted children when I proposed to your mother," Gene informed Ron, after taking a deep, steadying breath. "Again, don't think that you were unwanted. The fact is that I was shallow and selfish and I didn't want to share her with anybody, not even my own flesh and blood. However, I knew that if I got into my forties and we hadn't reproduced, I would probably regret it. For this reason, we went about trying to start our family."
"So when did you decide to have children?" Ron asked, filling in the awkward silence that had followed Gene's confession.
"Four years after we had been married," Gene replied. "Both of us wanted to wait a few years. It gave us a chance to get used to married life before adding a third person." Gene actually smiled. "I still remember her walking into our bedroom while I was laying in bed, reading a book. She informed me that she wanted to start our family, then she informed me that I wanted to start our family."
The two men shared a laugh, which eased Gene's tension enough for him to continue.
"Three months later, we found out that you were on the way," Gene continued. "Remember that, son. When the time comes, your wife will inform you that you're ready to have children." The older man sighed. "I was worried about you up until last year. I thought that you were going to be like me, an awkward, social outcast. Now, I'm sure that you're going to make me a grandfather some day."
"Uh, dad…" Ron nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Kim and I are kinda young to be thinking that far ahead."
"I know, son. While I hope that you and Kim stay together, I understand that you're only sixteen. What I really meant was that this past year, you suddenly were no longer satisfied with 'just good enough.' You became determined to succeed academically, athletically, and socially. Once you earned your spot on the wrestling team and started dating Sue, I knew that you weren't going to be the loner I had been. But let's get back to the point."
"After you came along, I adjusted as best I could. I truly enjoyed you, enjoyed having you in my life, but I couldn't help but feel a little jealous about the time and attention your mother devoted to you. Because of this jealousy, when you were three years old and your mother told me it was time to start thinking about your younger sibling, I balked."
Gene forced himself to meet Ron's eyes and continued. "I didn't have the courage to tell your mother that I really didn't want another child and I convinced myself that as long as we were having intercourse, there was a chance that she would wind up pregnant, like she wanted. Finally, when you were five, despite my secret desires, that chance became reality."
"I remember when she informed me of this," Gene said, with a sad smile. "It was late one evening, I had just gone to bed but I wasn't asleep yet. She told me that I had 'accomplished my husbandly duties.' I knew what she meant, of course, but it seemed like a good time for clever banter. I said 'huh?'"
Father and son shared a smile, but Gene's was short lived.
"Your mother was very happy," he recalled. "Since we had been 'trying' for over two years. I don't know why, maybe pure chance, maybe God was unhappy with my attitude, but a few weeks after she told me her good news, she suffered a miscarriage." Now Ron's smile vanished along with his father's.
"We never told you," his father explained. "Since we thought you'd be too young to understand. We decided that it would just upset you. Instead, we acted like nothing happened and went on with our lives. A lot of the negative things that have happened since this are purely my fault."
"The first are the two issues your mother has," Gene continued. "These aren't just irritating personality quirks, they're real, psychological problems. I can't point to the miscarriage as the cause, but they've gotten worse as time has gone by. She panics whenever she sees either you or me in any form of conflict. She is also subject to anxiety attacks if she spends over an hour away from other adults. Like I said, son, I was selfish and I liked the idea of her being dependent on me. Instead of obtaining help for her, I settled into a life that, if not joyful, was at least familiar. I had a wife and a son who would always need me, and therefore I would never be alone."
"But then, last year, despite my failure to help you become an independent, successful young man, you went out and did it on your own. This was troubling to me. If my sixteen-year old son could turn his life around, what excuse did I have for my life? There weren't any excuses, so I took some actions."
"Son, ever since you left for Japan, your mother and I have been seeing a psychologist, both as a couple and individually. It's early, but we're making progress. I have every confidence that your mother will be able to enjoy watching you play football this fall, and wrestle this winter."
"That will mean a lot to me, dad," Ron said, with heartfelt sincerity.
"That's not all son," his father continued. "We've also come to some decisions. The most important one is that we want to raise another child." The older man raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Don't think for a moment that you're not adequate, son. You've exceeded everything that I could have ever hoped from you, but you're not going to be here that much longer. You'll be a senior this fall, and I'm sure you're going to be heading off to college after that. After college, you're going to be making your own life and your mother and I aren't ready to face an empty nest just yet. There's enough love in this house for two children."
"So do I have a younger sibling on the way?" Ron asked.
"No son" Gene's sad smile had returned. "Both the psychologist and your mothers 'woman's doctor' said that it wouldn't be a good idea for us to try to have another baby. Instead, we've contacted an adoption agency. It could be tricky; seeing a psychologist puts up some red flags for adoption agencies, but I'm sure we'll find a child before too much longer. This, of course, raises the question of the nursery."
"Aren't you just going use the spare room as the baby's room?"
"No, we want to keep a spare room in case company shows up," Gene explained. "We're going to move you up to the attic and turn your room into the nursery. We'll build you a room in the attic, and an exterior stairway. That way, your room won't be right up against ours, you'll be able to come and go on your missions without disturbing the rest of the family, and the baby will be close to your mother and I."
"So all of this…" Ron gestured to the building materials.
"Is your new room," Gene informed him. "We'll leave you in your old room until we get the new one built."
"When do we start?"
"Tomorrow," Gene smiled at his son. "Spend the rest of the day reconnecting with your friends. Your mother and I will catch up with you and Kim, this evening at the Possibles' house, and go over how things have changed since you've been gone. The two of us will get started tomorrow, Monday, after I get off work. I have a couple of plans for the room, but you'll make the final decision."
For some reason, Ron didn't feel bad about being moved out of his room. He was getting a new one that he and his father (and maybe his friends) would build together. He was looking forward to having his own door, and a floor essentially all to himself. Then he noticed something behind the building supplies.
"Uh, dad? What's under the tarp behind my new room?"
"That's a surprise for you," Gene said with a broad smile. "You'll get it after we finish your room. Now go on! It's a beautiful day and you have friends to get together with."
Author's Note:
For those of you who aren't familiar with Aesop's Fable 'The Fox and the Lion,' here is the version that I like the most:
A lion eventually becomes too old to catch game, so he crawls into a dark cave. Lying in the shadows, he calls out to the animals that pass by: "Could you spare a few minutes to come in and speak with a helpless old creature?" Whenever an animal entered the cave, the lion would kill and devour it. One day, a fox walked by the cave and the lion called out his usual greeting. The fox looked at the cave for several minutes then declined to enter. "But why won't you come in?" The lion called out. "Because I see many sets of tracks leading into your cave," the fox replied. "But none coming back out."
The moral of the story is that you can learn from the misfortunes of others.
Additional author's note:
After posting this chapter, I realized that I should have combined this one with Chapter 8. However, I am very lazy, so instead of restructuring my story, I'm posting Chapter 8 at the same time. Sorry.
One last note: Big thanks to Joe Stoppinghem for Beta Reading.