No own, no money, please no sue!

Sorry for the delay folks, I was visiting family for the holidays and I was staying with my grandmother. She does NOT have internet access. I'm still not sure how she truly lives. lol

-------------------------------------------------------------

Past and Present – Chapter 4

Michael found Michelle waiting for him when he opened their front door. He glanced at his watch, noting the time. "Honey, what are you doing up?"

Michelle clutched the couch pillow to her chest, smiling faintly at him. "Probably the same thing you are, thinking about the sitch with our folks." She paused, noting the concern on her husband-to-be's face. "I take it your mom told you the story?"

"Oh yeah." He sat down on the couch beside her, pressing close. "It was a hell of a story too."

Michelle reached over and took his hand, squeezing it gently. "Maybe we should share stories. Maybe we can figure out a way to help them both, or at least calm things down."

For the next hour, the two shared the stories their parents had told him, jumping in on each other when points of the story crossed. When they were finished, Michael lay his head back, stunned. "So, thanks to a mistake by my Mom and a drunken indiscretion by your Dad, we were born."

"I'm still trying to get over the fact that our folks were intimate." Michelle grinned, shaking her head. "Just how weird is that?"

"So... what are we going to do to resolve this?" Michael lay his head down against Michelle's, enjoying the scent of her hair. "I mean, it's obvious my Mom would at least like to have some kind of relationship again with your Dad, at least to the point of talking to each other again."

"I don't know." Michelle bit her bottom lip, running it through her mind. "My Dad is still pretty torn up about that. I think it would be good for him though to at least put it behind him. I mean, he hasn't even been in a real relationship since my mother left. But if she hurts him…" Michelle trailed off as she considered what she would do in that circumstance.

Michael groaned, feeling the late hour acutely. "Well, all I know is we should think about this in the morning. My brain is WAY too fried to be doing anything about it tonight. Besides, don't you have your final dress fitting tomorrow?"

Michelle moaned and rolled her eyes. "I will be so happy when that's finally finished." With her fiancée's help, she pulled herself up from the couch and into his arms. "I just want my father to be happy. He's done so much for me."

"I know Honey, I know."

------------------------------------------------------------

"That is so beyond messed up." Candace stood off to the side as the dressmaker fiddled with the fringe. "I mean, what are the odds that you would end up falling in love with the son of your father's old girlfriend?"

Michelle shook her head, the best she could do without the older woman harping at her. "I know, so beyond weird." Michelle turned to look at her maid of honour, catching her friend's expression. "So, what do you think I should do?"

Candace smirked wickedly. "Well, you could lock them in a room together. They'd either kill each other or fuck each other."

The look of disgust on Michelle's face was ample idea of what she thought of that suggestion. "EWWW! I don't want them doing... that. I just want them to resolve their differences, maybe become friends again."

The mirth faded from Candace's face. "It might be too late for that. It has been a long time since they even saw each other, and a lot of pain has happened between them. You might be setting yourself up to fail with this."

"I know, but I have to at least try."

"Try what?"

Michelle's expression soared when she saw her Aunt Hana step into the shop, though she never called her Aunt Hana except as a joke. There were only three years difference between them, so it was more like a sibling relationship between them. If she hadn't met Candace that first year of college and been roommates with her for all four years, she likely would have been the maid-of-honour instead of just a bridesmaid. "Hey Hana, you're just in time, we're going to be going for lunch in a few minutes."

Hana strolled over, nodding to Candace. "So what was it you have to try anyways? Sounds serious."

Michelle nodded as the dressmaker started helping her out of her gown. "It is. See, it turns out Michael's mother is Kim Possible and..."

Michelle trailed off as Hana's face darkened perceptibly. "Kim Possible?"

Michelle wanted to move forward but was stopped by the dress removal. "Hana, don't do anything rash."

"Rash?" Hana looked ready to hit something, and Michelle knew that with Hana's strength and skill, that would not be a good thing for property values, nor her budget. "After what she did to my brother, your father..."

"I know! Dad told me the story last night." She tried to look pleadingly at Hana, but wasn't sure how well she was getting through. "But this has been bugging Dad for years, and he needs to deal with this. They need to at least talk about this and put it behind them. Daddy won't be happy until he does. I need your help."

The look was more effective than Hana let on, and she let her anger slide away, though not fading completely. "You really think you're Dad needs to do this?"

"I'm sure of it." Michelle was glad that she was finally free of the dress, and stepped off the podium. "You should have seen him last night. They need to at least resolve this, since we're going to all be family."

Hana sighed, unclenching her fists. "All right, I see your point. But if SHE does anything to hurt Ron again..."

"She won't." Michelle smiled now that she knew she had Hana's support. "Michael is talking with her as we speak. We even have a plan."

"Plan?" Hana glanced over at Candace, who just shrugged.

"Yes. We're going to have a small dinner party in a public restaurant. You know how my Dad is about decorum in a restaurant, especially one of his own." At least Michelle hoped the public venue would do it, the party had been pretty public and that hadn't turned out so well. "Just the wedding party and the parents. Plenty of buffer support if things don't go well. It's the perfect time for them to work this out and settle things."

Hana frowned as she looked over at Candace, a feeling of dread passing over her. "This is so not going to end well."

------------------------------------------------------------

Michelle smiled as she looked around the table. Michael sat beside her, holding her hand, his own smile a little more strained. Her father sat on her other side, calmly eating, even with the tension in the room. Past her father sat Candace, Hana, and her other bridesmaid Sandra. To Micheal's other side sat his mother, who had her head slightly bowed as she ate. Michael's best man John and his groomsmen Justin and Paul past them, rounding out the table. It should have been a happy, boisterous group, swapping stories and bantering back and forth. At the very least, Justin should have been hitting on everything in the restaurant with two legs and breasts as he usually did. The tension though was too much, even for him.

Kim paused in her eating, pointedly avoiding looking Ron's way to focus on anouther Stoppable. "So Hana... what have you been up to?"

Hana glared briefly back at Kim, her gaze icy. "Like you care."

Kim was taken aback by the harsh comment. "Of course I care Hana, why would you think I didn't?"

"Well..." Hana was about to launch into a speech she had prepared for years, but saw the panicked look on her niece's face. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, gripping the table hard for support. It groaned under the strain. "I've been keeping busy, spending time in Japan. Doing the hero thing..." Hana's voice dropped to a harsh whisper, barely audible, "like you used to do before you sold out my brother."

Though it was said quietly, everyone had heard it, making the silence at the table tense and uncomfortable. Kim herself lowered her eyes down to her plate, stirring the food around without actually eating any of it. Even Ron, despite his earlier attitude, looked embarrassed for his sister, who looked like she wished she had never said anything.

Michelle was the one who bit the bullet and decided to cut the tension that permeated the room. "Daddy, how's the set-up for the new headquarters?"

Ron glanced up at his daughter, smiling. "It's going well. Everyone is just settling in and the place should be fully up and running after the wedding."

"That's great, isn't it great?" Quiet murmurs of approval sounded from around the table, but the tension was still palpable. "So did Maureen make the move over? She always took care of me so great when I came with you to the office."

"No Sweetheart, she didn't make it. Her family is all in LA and I couldn't take her away from that. She'll be running the LA office for now, but she will be here for the wedding."

"Well that's great for her. You always said she could run…"

"Ron," All eyes shot to Kim as she looked over past her son and future daughter-in-law, "can we talk in private?"

Michael could see the fire in her eyes as she spoke, the fire he was so familiar with growing up. He had been a bit concerned with how subdued she had been acting since meeting his fiancee's father and her former boyfriend, but it looked like that was about to change. "Mom, are you sure…"

"I'm sure Honey." Kim turned her attention to Ron, who appeared to be scowling. "Ron, I think we should talk."

Everyone could see the confliction within Ron, wanting to make his daughter happy and fighting the urge to yell, but after a moment he nodded and rose from the table. Kim patted her son on the shoulder, smiling at him. "We won't be long."

As Kim and Ron left the restaurant, the rest of the wedding party appeared anxious, torn between wanting to follow and listen or wanting to be as far away as possible when the fireworks started.

------------------------------------------------------------

When Kim thought they were a sufficient distance from the restaurant and out of hearing range of most in the vicinity, Kim stopped, grabbing Ron's arm and bringing them both to a halt. "All right Ron, it's time we cleared the air and settled this."

Ron crossed his arms in front of his chest, appearing petulant. "I don't think there is anything to discuss."

"Oh grow up." Kim's eyes narrowed as she finally fully looked over her former boyfriend and best friend. "There is so much tension in there that it's making everybody unhappy." Kim went for the big guns right away, knowing that's what it would take to get through to him. "If not for our own sakes, then at least do it for your daughter. This is supposed to be the best day of her life and our problems are ruining that for her."

Ron held out for a moment, but the logic of the situation spoke for itself. Slowly, his arms dropped to his sides and the tension seemed to gradually dissipate. "Fine… but I'm only doing this for Michelle."

Kim nodded, and seeing that Ron wasn't going to start, she proceeded ahead. "Ron, I am sorry for how things turned out all those years ago. I never meant for any of that to happen."

Ron appeared shocked at that. "Didn't mean… YOU are the one who broke up with me because you wanted to meet other people. What did you expect to happen?"

"ME?" Kim's hands clenched briefly at her sides before she reined in the anger that flashed through her. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Okay, so I screwed that up, but you never even gave me a chance to explain my side of things. I wasn't seeing anyone else, and I had no intention of doing so. I just wanted you to do something other than just stay cooped up in your room night after night." Kim stepped closer, looking at the best friend she had lost so long before with sad eyes. "You had no real friends, you never went out, and I knew how much you missed me because I missed you too. I just wanted you to get out and do something. I never meant for us to break up."

"Well it sure sounded that way to me." Ron's tone was surly, something Kim had never heard before, and it wasn't something she liked. "I mean, what was I supposed to think. I was barely hearing from you and then you drop this bomb that we should start seeing other people. Sounded like a break-up to me."

Now Kim couldn't bite back the anger she felt. "It sure didn't take you long to get over me though, did it. I mean, from what I heard, it barely took you a week before you hopped into bed with Bonnie."

"That was a mistake." Ron's voice was a growl as he leaned in towards her. "I was drunk, I wasn't exactly thinking too clearly, which was why I wanted to get drunk in the first place."

"Ron…" Kim was ready to push on, but she saw the look in his eyes. He was looking for a fight, any excuse. Kim had no intention of giving it to him. "Ron, I am sorry. Do you think we can try and get along for the kids sake? If we can just get through these last few days, you can avoid me all you want afterwards."

Kim could see the struggle on his face, the desire to continue, but the love of his daughter won out and his shoulders slumped. "Fine. Just… stay out of my way, all right?" Not waiting for a response, Ron stomped back to the restaurant, leaving a hurt Kim standing in his wake.

It was with great sadness that Kim followed him back to the restaurant. After all these years, Ron still was angry with her, still hated her. She knew she had done this to herself, but she couldn't help but miss that gentle, warm smile that used to brighten her day, the quiet, laughing voice that would cheer her up when she was down. For over twenty years, it had been missing from her life, and for the first time ever, the hope that she would ever hear that again was fading fast. Before, she had hoped that they might someday reconnect, if only she could work up the courage. Now that dream was dying a very painful death. A quiet tear slid down her cheek which she quickly brushed away before anyone could see. "I am so sorry Ron."

------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes – Next – The confrontations aren't over yet. Hana faces off with Kim, and it ain't gonna be pretty.