Doctor's consultations

Back in the gym, Kim made her slow way to the table set up where two other girls, Bonnie and someone named Tara, were sitting in their cheerleader outfits. Shelly wondered for a moment—if Kim wasn't on the team, why was she making decisions. Ron caught her look.

"Kim used to be the team captain…and she's still better than anyone about judging." He shrugged, "Bonnie knows talent." Shelly nodded. The routine that they put her through was more adhoc then it would have been otherwise, but Shelly quickly found herself moving to the time of the music. Bonnie and Kim were both putting down marks while Tara just watched. Then the music ended and Shelly waited for their judgment.

"Well…that was pretty weak." Bonnie said. "Compared to everyone else."

"Everyone else had a week to study the routine, Bonnie." Kim said, "Shelly just saw it today." Bonnie looked over at Kim and sighed.

"OK, but you get her up to speed, by next week, or she's out." Kim gave a grin—a ghost of her former confident smile, but still a grin.

"I'll-"

"Ms. Possible?" The voice came from the door, and Shelly turned and saw an older woman looking at Kim, with…not annoyance, but firmness on her face.

"Oh, um, Hi, Doctor Peterson." The woman looked at Kim and frowned slightly.

"Can I have a moment?" Kim looked around and nodded. She grabbed her crutches, and frowned at Ron when he moved towards the wheelchair. Ron subsided.

"OK… um, Shelly, we need to start putting together some times to practice."

Kim walked out of the room, following the blonde doctor.

"What's that…" Ron shook his head.

"She's one of Kim's doctors." His tone didn't invite any more questions, so Shelly shut up, running her hands through her black hair, green eyes concerned.

Once outside, and away from any other students, Peterson frowned at Kim. Kim paused, bracing her self on the crutches.

"I thought we had agreed that you would tell me if there was any major change in your condition."

"There wasn't." Kim said, "The doctors just gave me some news."

"Unlikely to ever regain full function…is not 'just news', Kim." The teen shook her head, and Peterson watched her, brown eyes worried. "Kim… I'm your psychologist, and credit me with enough brains to see the nose on my face. You are a very physical girl—yes you can do math and you are, or were, an "A" student, but your joy was in what you could physically do. And now you've just been told that may never be again." While she had been talking, she'd been leading Kim outside the school, to the outdoor lounge area, now deserted. They found a low, concrete bench and Cindy sat on it, indicating the other spot for Kim. The former cheerleader carefully lowered herself to the bench, sighing as the weight was taken off her legs. The crutches were placed to her side, Kim unable to disguise the glare on her face at them.

"Yeah…well it was pretty… Um…" Kim looked away, blinking rapidly. "But it's not for certain, I mean they said, "unlikely" not impossible." She grinned and said, "And nothing is impossible for a Possible." The humor didn't last and her smile didn't either.

And you're the daughter of a doctor, so you know that doctors never flat out say impossible. They use 'unlikely' instead. Cindy shook her head.

"Kim…" She paused, "You also were in the locker room. Alone."

"Ron was outside."

"And that's very nice, but the terms of your agreement with the school board don't allow for you to be alone at any time." Kim glared.

"And so I'm supposed to ask for someone to come to me when I go to the bathroom."

"If you want to continue to come here? Yes." She paused, "By rights, the school board shouldn't have let you back in, and even if they had, you should be forced to have a teacher or aide with you, not a student. Fortunately." She smiled, "Mr. Barkin can be very persuasive… and so can I." Then she stopped smiling, "But if you don't hold up your end of the bargain, we won't be able—no." She paused, "We won't have the right to try and keep you here."

Kim shook her head.

"Thanks for keeping my welfare in mind." Cindy's hand lashed out and pulled one of Kim's hands to her, pushing back the sleeve, revealing the ugly scars on her wrist.

"I am keeping your welfare in mind. You do remember how you got these, don't you? Trying to commit suicide in the girls bathroom? I have to give you credit for knowing how to go about it—if Monique and Zita hadn't been passing by, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." Kim tried, but couldn't meet the older woman's face.

"And today," Cindy said, "I find that you just have discovered that something you've done all your life may be impossible, and you than go, alone, to the locker room, to 'clean out your stuff'." She shrugged, "Do we need to go over the main signs of suicide…again?"

"I'm over that." Kim said, pulling her hand back.

"No you are not!" Cindy's voice rose. "You are not near being 'over it', because I know soldiers from past wars who have had forty years to get 'over it' and they aren't." She paused, "You may feel that you are for a time, but depression—even suicidal depression, is a very real danger….and if you are not going to abide by the rules that have been put on you, for your own good, then I have no choice but to inform Mr. Barkin of that fact." Cindy looked at Kim's face, "And if you were so...over it, why have you beencrying?" She reached out and took Kim's hands in her own, more gently this time, both of them sitting on the bench.

"Kim, the reason we don't want you to be alone isn't just so someone can spy on you. Other people, friends, they are your lifeline… not just Ron, because it's unfair to put that on him." Kim yanked her hands out from Cindy's.

"I Know that." She said, "But he's the only one who understands…"

"You haven't given the others much of a chance. They've come to me."

"I can't tell them." Kim said, looking at the floor. "I can't do that."

"Why?" Kim looked around, unable to meet Cindy's eyes.

"Because…" Her voice fell to a whisper, "Because they'll hate me. They'll know what a coward I was."

"I think you're wrong, Kim." Cindy paused, and went on to another subject. "So, what's Shelly like." Kim blinked at the tangent.

"She's nice… I mean, she really doesn't talk about her past much, but she's nice. She wants to join the cheer squad."

"Oh? And I heard you were going to help her?"

"Yeah. You know just how much slack Bonnie will give her."

"Ah yes, the mathematical numbers 'zip' and 'none'." She shrugged, "So how are you going to help her?"

"Run through some routines, show her how things go…" Kim got an almost involuntary grin, "Let her know what causes Bonnie to blow a gasket…."

"So she can avoid it?"

"Um, yeah, that too." Kim blinked at her expression. "Dr. Peterson, Bonnie likes to blow a gasket. She's not happy except when she's explaining why she should be furious."

"And that's…. A truth that no shrink will ever explain." Cindy looked at Kim. "Good luck with Shelly than, Kim—you've only got a week, remember."

"I know…" Kim said.

"Don't worry." Shelly replied, "I think you can do it."

"Thanks." Kim said, "I'd better get back to Ron….he's taking me home." She paused, "Oh, doctor?"

"Yes?"

"I'm…sorry. I really wasn't thinking about… you know."

"I know Kim…but it had to be said." Kim left, and Cindy watched her as she made it to the door, where Ron was. Somehow he had a sixth sense about where Kim could be, and yes, there was her wheelchair, ready to go. Kim didn't argue this time—tired out from the day and the news. The two teens vanished into the school..

Cindy sighed. Kim was doing better…but they could not make a break through. Not yet. Not until…

Lord give me strength…and give your Daughter, Kim Possible, and her friends, Strength to see what must be done. Short prayer over, Cindy headed out to her office. There was a lot of paperwork that didn't do itself.

To be continued