A.N.

- Ron's got a big night ahead of him, and the consequences of this evening will have far-reaching affects.

*** Takes place sometime between Chapters 10 - 14 of Changes. I'll let you figure out when...***

Forget everything else. Forget that awful summer I spent at Wannaweep. Forget facing down Monkey Fist, or knowing that I had to become what I feared most and let myself be imbued with Mystical Monkey Power to beat him the first time we met. Forget the fear of knowing if I didn't get that flower that KP would be gone. Forget the night at Bueno Nacho that I told her I loved her and wanted to be with her. Heck, even forget just a few short weeks ago when I thought I was going to lose her because Warhok and Warmonga were about to kill her.

I thought all that stuff required bravery and courage…but those times have nothing on tonight.

Tonight is important in more ways than one. Without tonight and a good answer to what I want to know, a lot of things can't happen. For one, and I know it's kind of selfish, I know I can't be happy if this evening doesn't go well. A thousand thoughts have been running through my head today, playing out different ways this whole thing could go really wrong. And if even one of those possibilities comes about…well, let's just say it'll be pretty hard for me and KP to stay together.

To tell the truth, it doesn't even matter that I know we're supposed to be together. You could even toss out the fact that we know this because our daughter from the future is currently in this time because she's trying to stop something catastrophic from happening. She's actually already told us that if we're not careful we could end up split. And, well…if tonight doesn't go like I'd like it too, that could very well happen.

Don't get me wrong, I love KP in ways I couldn't even begin to explain. And it's not just the big things, but the little things as well. That way she always replies to Wade with, "What's the sitch?" How she's able to go from regular Kim to mission Kim in the blink of an eye…and back again if necessary. The way she tugs on her hair when she gets really nervous. Even the way she stares at me with that tweaked expression with her one eyebrow raised higher than the other when I step in it big time (which has probably happened more times than I care to count, honestly). Heck, even the way she sometimes pushes me a little too hard to get me to be better…although I will say that hasn't happened nearly as much the more I step up on my own.

But if I don't get the answer I want tonight, I'm not sure how much of a future the two of us can really have. As much as I love her, I find myself wanting more. More than just being her boyfriend, I want to be there for her. More than just having her back, I want to be the one she turns to when the world is bearing down on her and she needs some help to carry the load. I want more than just her kisses and her giggles, I want every emotion she's got to give. And most importantly, I want that smile, the one that lights up the room even if it's only barely enough to be called a tentative grin.

However, I think the biggest thing I want is her happiness, something I know I can give her if she'll let me. Oh, I'm not saying I can make her as happy as she truly deserves to be—there's not a single person on this whole planet who could do that. Honestly, I don't think there's a single being in existence in the entire universe who could give this wonderful woman the jubilation and happiness she truly deserves. But I know I can come the closest of any single person who might try to accomplish that. In fact, I know I can leave everyone else who attempts that incredible feat so far in the dust they'll never see me again. Because I know that I love her more than anyone else possibly could hope to as her partner and as more than that. See, I love her enough that if it came down to it I'd have no trouble putting my life on the line to make her happy. And that's the honest truth.

Some might say we're too young to really know that kind of love, but I say they're completely crazy. I see the way her dad looks at her mom, and the way my dad looks at my mom. And that's the way I look at KP. I know she's the most incredible woman on earth, the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. And if she agrees to let me, I'm going to spend the whole of our time together proving to her that she made the right choice in giving me a chance.

That's one thing a lot of people don't get, I guess. Why did an amazing woman like KP, who's so gifted in so many ways, decide to give a lanky, slacker goofball like me a chance to carry her heart? To tell the truth, I still don't have an answer to that question, and I probably never will. She's tried to tell me several times before, but to this day I still don't see why she chose to let me be her boyfriend. She says it's because I've always been there for her, that I've always had her back. On missions and in real life, she tells me that I've always been there to support her and cheer her on. Honestly, if that's the way she wants to see it, I won't try to change her mind.

But even knowing that, knowing that we've always been tight and are so much more so now that we've been dating for over a year, I'm still aware of what the future could bring if I'm not careful. I know there's a possibility we could still end up at different colleges. After all, there's no guarantee that G.V.U.'s going to accept me. I know they'll accept Kim, but I also know that I'm not really college material. And if we don't end up at the same college together, there's still a good chance we might end up split. Even with June here in our time confirming that we're supposed to be together, I know everything could still break apart in an instant. It's just something that happens, although I hope and pray to Yahweh every day that it won't happen to me and Kim.

I mean, let's face it. There's no question I'm not prime catch material, and that there are guys out there who Kim might find more…on her level, so to speak. I may have turned into the star of th1e football team our senior year at Middleton, but there's no question Kim's more athletic. I may have pulled out a C+ average before graduation, but Kim's near-perfect grades and 4.0 GPA easily surpasses that. And I may have gained at least some notoriety due to stopping the alien invasion, but that beautiful red hair, those green eyes, and that flawless face have been in the spotlight for many years now. In fact, I still vividly remember that magazine cover that told about Kim's graduating—the one where she's smack dab center and I was off to the side and almost out of the picture. I don't blame KP for that, but it was pretty obvious to me that a lot of people already were thinking that college is going to split us up long before I was.

Maybe that's part of my motivation for taking this path, but I like to think it's not. I know it's because I want KP to know how much I love and care about her. And in order to show her that, tonight has to be perfect. If it's not…well, I don't really like to think about that possibility. But if it's not, I'm not sure what I'll do. I could probably stick around, simply to be near KP…but then again, maybe I couldn't. KP told me at graduation that I should relax. Her exact words were "Don't fear the future." And I've been trying not to. But whatever the future might hold, it all hinges on tonight.

See, tonight I'm going to do something that most would call stupid. Well, maybe not everybody. My parents seem pretty happy about my decision to take this route. A lot of people we know also think it's a good idea, particularly our best friends Felix and Monique, both of whom say they've suspected this since the moment we first started dating. But the person in front of me is harder to read. Maybe it's cause of what this person suspects about tonight. I'd actually be surprised if they don't know what I'm about to ask. After all, they've been watching me the past few weeks just like my parents.

But the thing about it is, this person isn't my parents. Actually, it's someone I respect even more than either of them (if that's possible), simply because of what they mean to Kim. This person is the one who was the first to hold KP the day she was born. This is the person who determined they would never let go once KP grabbed onto their finger with her tiny little fist. I've tried to imagine what that would be like, but honestly I can't.

This person in front of me has told me on more than one occasion that if I ever hurt Kim, my life will most definitely be in serious danger. And I know they are 100% serious when they say it. I know that if, Yahweh forbid, I ever do something to hurt Kim like that I'd likely kill myself first, but I'm also well aware this person would find a way to bring me back just so they could kill me themselves. And maybe, if I was lucky, there'd be something left to bury when they got done.

And that's what scares me the most about tonight. Because I'm basically asking this person to give me that chance. I'm asking them to give me the best chance of anyone to break Kim's heart. I'll never take it, of course, but I'm still very aware that if they say "yes" to my question that basically that's what they're agreeing to let me do.

But more than that, I'm asking if I can take KP away from this person. If they'll permit me to take over caring for her, to basically take the place in her heart that they've held for almost eighteen years. I know I'll never replace them, but if they say "yes" to what I'm about to ask, both they and I know it'll never be the same again.

Oh, there's no question she'll always love him. As a matter of fact, I only know of one girl who doesn't love her father. Kim's best friend Monique doesn't love her dad, but that's because he basically doesn't really acknowledge her. But that's nowhere close to the kind of relationship Kim and Mr. Dr. P. have. She loves him, and he loves her, more than anything else in the world. I've been told I'll never understand that until I first hold my own newborn baby girl, and based on what I see between KP and her dad, I know it's true. So how can I possibly ask him what I'm about to ask him?

Like I said before—more bravery and courage than I've ever had to summon before.

The dinner plates have come and gone, and now we've been talking for a good twenty minutes. I already showed him the earrings I got her for her eighteenth birthday this Wednesday, and he already approved of them. I guess it's now or never, because I've stalled long enough. As I pull the ring box out to show him, I can tell he knows what I'm about to ask him by the smile on his face and the look in his eye. But even so, I know it's something I still have to vocalize. I have to tell this man I respect so much that I want to take his only daughter, his "Kimmie-cub", away from him. I take a deep breath, and let it out slowly, desperately searching the bottom of the barrel for any remaining stores of bravery I might have missed. When I finally speak, my voice carries a courage I don't feel, but I still smile as I ask the question that has my heart pounding.

"Mr. Dr. P., would it be alright with you if I asked Kim to marry me?"

a/n

A lot of people have asked me about the night Ron asked Kim's dad if he could marry her, how that evening that I merely glossed over in Chapter 11 of Changes played out. And honestly, all I had for it was a simple outline of the highlights needed for later in the story. But then it got me to thinking: how does one go about doing something like that?

How do you tell a man that clearly loves his daughter as much as James Possible loves Kim that you want to be the man who takes care of her heart for the rest of your lives? And that got me to thinking about the thoughts involved. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized I could never understand James's point of view right now because I don't have a daughter. However, I could relate to what Ron must be feeling because I nearly made it to that point myself a while back.

And so this little plot bunny was born, raised, and cared for until he was ready for the world. To you men out there, I can only hope we each feel this deeply about the woman we care about. And to the fathers who read this, I want you to know that we're not trying to steal your little girls away from you, only asking if you'll let us try to live up to the fabulous standards you've set in loving them and helping them become the wonderful and amazing women that have stolen our hearts.