All characters and places in this story belong to the Disney Corporation. Original creators, Mark McCorkle and Robert Schooley I receive nothing for the writing of this story.

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Previously

"Ronald, you can't eat anything the day before the wedding and you have to wait till it's over to eat anything that day."

Back in Kim's old room in the present, she remembered, and almost broke into laughter, Ron's reaction to what the Rabbi told him about not eating a full day before the wedding.

He fainted.

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Ron's old bedroom at his parents home. 3:45AM W-Day

Ron lay in bed looking up at the ceiling trying to remember. He'd been trying to remember ever since he went to bed last night, before his eyes became road maps with the roads highlighted in red, before the bags formed under those eyes. He couldn't remember any of it.

He had asked Rabbi Katz, that since the people attending the wedding were going to be a mixed crowd, if after he recited the sheva brakhos (Seven blessings.) in Hebrew and it was Kim's turn, if he could recited them in English right after she said each one of them. This would be so they could share that part of the ceremony with everyone that wasn't Jewish. Sounded like a great idea. Kim loved it and so did the Rabbi. And so did Ron, till last night when he decided to go over them again them just to keep them fresh in his mind

"Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha?olam..." That was as far as he got and when he stalled. He tried starting over several times. He tried skipping the first one and going one to the second one with the same results. Starting to panic, he decided to just recite the English version just to calm himself. "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe, who... did something."

Calm down Ron. Let's try the ring prayer. "Hairy at Mekuddeshetawhat." Hairy What? What in the heck is that?

"Oh Crap!" He'd lost it. All of it. He couldn't remember any of it.

Usually when something like this would happen he would grab a late night snack to help clear his head. He started to get out of bed when he thought. "Wait. I can't eat anything till after the ceremony tomorrow. Today. Dang it! That's why Rufus is sleeping in Hanna's room tonight. He smells like cheese sometimes and that would really keep me awake. Like I'm sleeping fine now. No kissing, no food, it's too late to call Kim now just to talk. Crap!

As he started to lay back down to try and start over on his recital, a little voice in the back of his head asked, "Who would know?"

"What?"

"Who would know if you went down and got a light snack? It would clear you mind, make things easier."

"But, that's not what the Rabbi said..."

"Rabbi Schma-abbi. He's not the one getting married tomorrow. He's not the one that would be embarrassing his own family if he couldn't say the blessings and prayers like he said he would. He's not the one that would be embarrassing her or her family. Do it for them. Do it for her. Do it so you can say the words."

"Yeah. I could..." Ron started thinking, but then he remembered, "Say The Word." A song that he and Rufus had written for Kim back in high school.

Kim. She wouldn't cheat and she trusted him not to cheat. If he cheated and got something to eat now, it'd be like cheating on her, and on God. "

"No. No way."

"But you could..."

"Shut Up! Dang, I'm having a dichotomy with myself, like I did when I stole her battle suit back in high school. Yeah, I stole it. Might as well say it for what it was instead of that secret borrowing crap. I took the easy way out. She was pretty disappointed in me; she had a right to be. She was almost as disappointed as when I told her I bought the property for our home. Problem was, I didn't talk to her about it first.

"What the heck?! I can remember a school word like Dichotomy and I can't remember the prayers or blessing?"

It was right after they became engaged and before they had to deal with the Yono. Kim had just gone take a final survival test for Global Justice and would be out of town for almost a week. He always hated it when they were apart, even if it was necessary sometimes.

He had just gotten his little blue Geo convertible and was out driving around with Hanna, since Kim was out of town, through some of the old neighborhoods. Some areas of the city still hadn't totally recovered from the destruction cause by the Lowardian walkers six years before. All the streets had been repaired and the rubble cleared away, but some of the buildings had never been repaired. Repairs happened on the highest priority properties first to get the city back on it's feet. Government, hospitals, fire departments police, transportation, commerce, the schools for after the summer was over. Everybody pitched in to help, but the truth was they had to. The rest of the country and all the countries of the world hadn't been spared from the Lowardian's destruction and money was tight, very tight for a long time. Somehow though they had managed to get most things back up within a year. This is why both Kim and Ron had to wait a year before starting college.

Ron had been talking to Hanna about this and that, going over some of their early missions and how most of them had been right here in town.

"The bad guys lived here in Middleton? Is that why they moved away, because you were so close?" she asked looking up to her big brother.

"No Hanna." Ron chuckled. "The first missions that Kim and I went on were mostly babysitting and rescuing cats out of tree. I was basically there to just keep her company. I also took care of her webpage when she was busy."

"Where was Uncle Wade?" she asked.

"We hadn't met him yet so he was probably working on his first doctorate. I wasn't that good as I recall, but it freed her up little and gave me a chance to spend time with my best friend."

When Ron turned the corner, he saw it. It had a wire mesh fence put up around it with big "Keep Out" signs on it. The grounds looked like they hadn't been tended to in years. The grass and weeds were probably taller than Hanna was at the time. He slowed the car down and just cruised around till he saw the main gate. There was a big "For Sale" sign on it with the telephone number of the realtor.

Ron started to call Kim to tell her what he'd found, but then he remembered that she was out of reach. It was then that he came up with the idea of turning it into a surprise for her. The biggest and best surprise possible.

He called his mom, who was also his financial manager as well and then the realtor to set up an appointment to discuss the property. Fortunately they could meet later in the day to start things rolling. His mom showed up first and was looking things over as well as she could from outside the fence.

"Oh Ronnie." his mom said with trepidation. "This is going to take a lot of time and money to get it back into shape. The repairs just to the building itself and trying to undo what looked like six or seven years of neglect. Are you sure that this is what you and Kim want?"

It was then that he explained his plan, to make it a surprise for her and why it was perfect. He also said, if possible, he wanted to try to get the papers signed within the week, before Kim got back.

"Ronnie. That is a big mistake. She should be a part of this. This is one of those decisions that you two should make together. Do you really want to start out your lives together like that?"

Ron thought about it and said, "Maybe you're right Mom, but I just know that she'll love it. Maybe we should wait till she gets back and talk it over."

At that moment the realtor drove up and got out of the car as he greeted them. "So. You're interested in this property too."

"Too?" said Ron. "You mean it's sold already?"

"No, it's just that you are the second person that's inquired about it today. Some big investors looking to buy up a lot of the properties in this area cheap and develop them into condos. They offered a bid, but it's well below what we are asking for it."

"Isaac." said Lonnie Stoppable. "You and I have worked together at the bank arranging loans for people to buy houses and property for years and I know that you're not above saying something like that to push people into buying from you just so you can get a bigger commission."

"Lon." and here the man looked around to make sure he wasn't overheard. "Don't let this get around, but I swear to God I'm being totally honest with you. I'll even show you the paperwork on it, but someone has already offered a bid on it. If you really want it, you have to top their bid by a considerable amount." He then told them what the price would be. A lot.

While Ron was looking anxiously at his mother, she was thinking, trying to figure out if it could be done.

Finally she asked Ron, "Are you sure Ronnie? You are absolutely, positively sure, that she'll go along with this and it won't create any problems between you two?"

"Yeah Mom. I'm sure. She will love it."

She looked at her son, not as sure as he was, but finally she said, "Isaac, let's all go to your office and see what we can work out."

Six days later, because they had called in a lot of favors and the city was willing to speed things up for the person that saved the world, Ron was putting his signature on the piece of paper that said that he was the new owner.

The day after that, he went with her parents to pick Kim up at Global Justice HQ and show her, and them, his surprise. Ron's father was out of town but his mother was going to meet them there for the big unveiling. Her parents knew nothing about it.

Upon seeing her, Ron rushed to her and pulled her into a big hug. "I missed you. How'd it go?"

"I missed you to Ron." she said with a tired smile. "Hi mom. Hi dad. It went alright. The others I was taking the test with got hurt and I had to get them as well as myself to the pickup zone on time, but we all got out of it. I'm mostly tired now and could really use a hot bath and several hours of sleep."

"Well before that happens, I've got a surprise for you." he said with a great big smile on his face. "I purchased the place that we can call home after the wedding. It'll need a lot of work, but it's ours."

Looking to her parents to see if they knew anything about this, all she got were shrugs. Looking back at Ron as her tired smile disappeared, she asked, "You did what?"

Ron watched as the look on Kim's face changed from tired happy to perplexed and then to something he really didn't want to ever see on her face. Disappointment.

She was disappointed in him.

"Ron. This is a big step. For both of us. I can't believe you didn't talk to me first before doing something like this. This involves the two of us. I thought I was going to have the problem curbing myself to involve both of us." Her disappointment was quickly turning into anger.

"Kim, I didn't have a choice. Someone else had already turn in a bid on it and if I didn't act when I did, we were gonna lose it. I swear you'll forgive me once I show it to you."

Pulling back on her anger, remembering that she still loved this big goof she got her anger somewhat under control. She then asked him where it was.

"Let me show you. I'll drive, but you have to wear this blindfold till I ask you to take it off. I want it to be a surprise"

Kim agreed to his request and she wore the blindfold. Her parents weren't quite as pacified as she was, but they agreed to keep quiet till after Ron's revelation.

Ron took several different routed so she would have no idea where they were. Even blindfolded she could figure out where they were, at least in their hometown.

She had tried asking him about as he drove but he kept it to himself. Her parents could see but they just stayed quiet for most of the trip. They weren't too happy with Ron themselves and worried about what the marriage was going to be like if this was how he acted about Kim's involvement in their important decisions, but they held on to the idea that Ron knew what he was doing. At least they hoped he knew what he was doing.

When Ron pulled the minivan up to the now open gate that his mother was standing by, they both recognized where they were, even though they hadn't been by here in years. They thought that he might be able to salvage the situation, depending on how Kim reacted, but they had hope now.

As Ron and James were helping the blindfolded Kim of the van, Ann went over and greeted her friend Lonnie, but when she got closer her voice dropped to a whisper. "Ron said that if he didn't buy this when he did they were going to lose it to someone else. That's why he didn't talk to Kim about it first."

Lonnie whispered back, "Right. I saw the paper work myself and that's right. If he hadn't bought when he did, it then someone else would own it by now. I had to sell some of his stocks and we dipped into some of his reserves but we were able to pull the rabbit out of the hat with the bank so we were able to do it without cutting anybodies throat."

Ann replied, "If she doesn't like it or is still mad, it won't be his throat that he needs to worry about getting cut. Although, I do think this is a good idea for their home, but that will be up to her."

Ron carefully led Kim through the tall weeds to a spot he had pick out. Their parents waited at the gate to give them this moment alone. She was beginning to feel worse about it as they went, feeling the tall grass brush her elbows and at one point she could swear she smelled something dead, but she kept quiet, wanting to give him as much of a chance as she could.

Finally they reached the spot he'd chosen. The spot. Letting go of her hands he went behind her to remove the blindfold, asking her to keep her eyes closed till he told her to open them. He moved back in front of her and picked something up and held it behind his back. His face was full of hope as he said, "Okay Kim. You can open your eyes now."

She opened her eyes hoping that she would not be disappointed, but as she looked around, that exactly what she was. They were standing under a tree that looked like it had seen better days. The grass, or weeds rather, were well up to her elbows as she thought with several mounds of something or other half buried under vines. When she could see the ground, all she could see was ages old litter. There was a single story block building that looked like it had been half demolished years ago and then left to the elements to finish the job. She could now smell the rot of time in the air. In a half pleading and half whining voice she said, "Roooon." as her eyes started to water.

Still thinking that this was a good idea, Ron brought the object around that he'd been hiding behind his back and gave it to her. It was a large, red, child's playground ball. While she was looking at it, he said, "This is where you tell me I'm weird."

He had no idea how close he was to reading her thoughts at that moment. Playing along, till she could go someplace and have a good cry later, she started to form the words in her mind to say them, but they started echoing in her thoughts. "You're weird. You're weird. You're weird," till her memories focused on an instant of time.

"You're weird, but I like you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. (pause) Would you be my friend?"

The little blond boy smiled and said, "Sure. I'll be your friend for as long as you want me to. I'll even be your best friend."

"I'd like that. My name is Kim."

"My name is Ron."

Looking up from the ball, she looked at a mound of vines that could be covering a set of monkey bars. The building started to look familiar. It was their old Pre-K School building and they were standing in what had been the playground under the same tree that they stood under when they first met.

With questions in her eyes she looked back at Ron and he said, "A Lowardian walker went through the building. They had only been using it for storage since the number of kids had outgrown the school and it ended up being cheaper for the school district to re-build it in a different location.. I know it's going to be hard work to get this place so we can build here but this is where it all started KP." His own eyes started to water now. "We met for the first time right here and I thought we could have a chance to live and with any luck, grow old here. Do you think we could do that? Together?"

Before he knew it, she was in his arms, crying happy tears.

After a bit she said, "You are more than forgiven this time, but try not to make a habit of making such decisions without me again. Okay? I know why you had to do it, but try?"

"You got it KP." he said before she pulled him back into a hug. One that he was more than grateful for.

Back in his own room in the present time, Ron smile at the memory as he laid back down in his bed. He took a cleansing breath and began again.

"Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam, bo'rei p'ri hagafen.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam shehakol bara lichvodo.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe, who created everything for His Glory.

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam, yotzer haa'dam.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe, who creates man."

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam, asher yatzar et ha-adam b'tzalmo, b'tzelem d'mut tavnito, v'hitkin lo mimenu binyan adei ad. Baruch atah Adonai, yotzeir ha-adam.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe, who creates man in your image*, fashioning perpetuated life. Blessed are You, LORD, creator of man."

Sos tasis v'tageil ha-akara b'kibutz baneha l'tocha b'simcha. Baruch ata Adonai, m'sameach Tzion b'vaneha.

May the barren one exult and be glad as her children are joyfully gathered to her. Blessed are You, LORD, who gladden Zion with her Children.

Sameiach tesamach reiim ha-ahuvim k'sameichacha y'tzircha b'gan eden mikedem. Baruch ata Adonai, m'sameiach chatan v'chalah.

Grant perfect joy to these loving companions, as you did your creations in the Garden of Eden. Blessed are You, LORD, who grants the joy of groom and bride.

Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bara sason v'simcha chatan v'kallah, gilah rinah ditzah v'chedvah, ahavah v'achavah v'shalom v'reut. M'hera Adonai Eloheinu yishammah b'arei Yhudah uv-chutzot Y'rushalayim kol sason v'kol simcha, kol chatan v'kol kalah, kol mitzhalot chatanim meichupatam u-n'arim mimishte n'ginatam. Baruch ata Adonai, m'sameiach chatan im hakalah.

Blessed are You, LORD, our God, sovereign of the universe, who created joy and gladness, groom and bride, mirth, song, delight and rejoicing, love and harmony and peace and companionship. Soon, LORD our God, may there ever be heard in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem voices of joy and gladness, voices of groom and bride, the jubilant voices of those joined in marriage under the bridal canopy, the voices of young people feasting and singing. Blessed are You, LORD, who causes the groom to rejoice with his bride."

And the one for the ring.

"Harey at mekuddeshet li B'taba'at zo k'dat Moshe V'israel.

Behold, thou art consecrated unto me with this ring according to the law of Moses and of Israel."

After he finished reciting all of the prayer, blessings and their English translations without a mistake, he relaxed and thought to himself that this was going to be the happiest day of his life and nothing was going to interrupt it, as he fell into a restful sleep looking forward to the wedding and seeing Kim again and they could start their live together.

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I'd like to thank everybody that is following this story. I've PM'd most of you but I was unable to PM pattie103 so thank you patti.

And to Beckman, to answer a comment you made to me, I have no intention to jump ship. Note serious face. : )

TBC

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