A/N Back again, with another early mission for Kim and Ron. I've had this for a little while, figured I'd save it for a week when I didn't have anything else to post-so here we go.

Thanks to Eddy13 for beta reading.

From the episode "Coach Possible."

Chapter 5: Mr Blumburg

Kim: Thanks for the ride, Mr Blumburg.

Mr. Blumburg: I owe you one, Kim, I never would have gotten around the world in eighty days if you hadn't saved me from that hurricane.

Kim: Anyone could have steered a hot air balloon through gale force winds. I'm just glad Ron was around to serve as a ballast.

Ron: This time I'm staying inside the basket.

Poor Ron. I feel sorry for him, after what he went through today. I know that he's already sort of afraid of heights, and going through what he did? I'll probably never get him to jump out of an airplane again. It's kinda funny, really, he used to be so excited about hot air balloons-always said that they were so peaceful and great for marinating. Whatever.

Once we got the balloon back on track, I guess he did do his fair share of relaxing; or maybe he just passed out-it was sort of hard to tell. There really was something pretty peaceful about sitting in that balloon, though, while we were waiting for things to settle down, so that we could go home. The weather was bad enough that we had to stay in the balloon for a couple of hours.

I'll admit, I've always wondered about how someone could go around the world in a hot air balloon-especially in eighty days-I mean, you're basically just letting the wind blow you wherever it takes you-you could get blown back the way you came for crying out loud. After what happened to Mr. Blumburg I'm more sure than ever-give me something with control any day.

X X X X

"Kim! I can't see anything!"

"Neither can I! Keep looking!" Kim yelled back, then turned and looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure he's out here?"

Kim and Ron were currently in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, doing their best to save resident Middleton balloonist Mr Blumburg. They had actually be out on another, completely separate, difficult mission, and had hoped to get home soon, but Wade had realized that their services could be used elsewhere. As it as, Kim and Ron found themselves searching the sky for a red and yellow balloon. This wouldn't have been such a big deal, except for one small problem.

Mr Blumburg was lost in a hurricane.

Mr. Aero Notte, a member of Mr Blumburg's ground team, nodded at the teens, yelling over the storm to answer Kim's question. "Yes, his transmitter is still going, so he's still up there. I can't see anything either, but we're practically right beneath him."

The red head nodded back, not trusting her voice to carry across the distance. She turned to Ron, standing next to her, then pointed up. "I think this is as good as we're going to get. Are you ready, Ron?"

"No!"

She smirked and slapped him in the back, hearing a loud whoosh as the rocket pack on his back ignited, sending him into the air. The teen watched him rocket up, then turned and gave Mr Notte a thumbs up, before igniting her own back-pack jetpack. Within a few seconds, she was up, in the air, following Ron's trail as best she could. The heavy rains pouring down on her obscured her vision, and she was thankful that she had a helmet on. The wind buffeted her as well, and Kim realized that this probably wasn't the best way to test Wade's rocket packs-but it had been an emergency.

Kim used a hand to wipe at her visor, trying to clear off enough water that she could see where she was going; unfortunately, each swipe lasted only a few seconds, forcing the teen to repeatedly shift her body so she could swipe at her helmet. She realized that she couldn't even see Ron now, and if it weren't for the small HUD and blips in her visor, she would never have known where he was going. As it was, she followed him hoping to catch up so that they could work together.

As it turns out, she needn't have bothered. Following Ron's trail, she burst out of the hurricane, into the center of the storm, where it was rather peaceful. To her surprise, she realized that Ron wasn't that far ahead of her; within just a few seconds, she had caught up, flying right next to him. She yelled over at him, hoping he could hear, wondering if their helmet mikes were working. "Ron, slow down, we need to do this together."

His voice came back, clear, but frantic. "I'm trying. What was it Wade said about this? 'Tight flight?' Or was it-" He broke off as his jetpack soared up higher.

"Ron, quit fooling around. Squeeze the trigger to use more thrust, use the joystick. I thought this would be easy since you play all those video games."

He retorted back. "I don't remember playing many games with people strapped to rockets, then shot into the air."

The blond was about to say more, but Kim cut him off. "Heads up, Ron, we're going back into the storm." In the short time they had been talking, they had crossed the eye of the storm, and were about to head back into the buffeting winds. Her friend gave a short groan, and then they both flew back into the storm.

Just a few seconds after they reentered the storm, Kim heard a small cry from Ron over her helmet's microphone. She turned, swiveling her head back and forth, looking for him, quickly seeing what he had-a small burst of color against the blackened sky. She arched her body, quickly banking the direction she needed to go, Ron a ways a head of her.

The red head watched her friend close distance with the hot air balloon, and as she watched him, she realized that he was coming in too fast. "Ron, slow down!" She heard a muffled yell, then watched as Ron's jetpack cut all thrust; he slapped against the side of the balloon's basket, then slowly slid down. At the same time, his foot, caught in a rope on the side of the balloon, whipped him around, then left him hanging just under the basket. He yelped, and Kim heard him mumbling, so she knew he was okay.

Kim slowed her speed as she approached the balloon, quickly pulling back on her control joystick, flipping her body upwards so that she hovered in the air. She reached out in a smooth motion, grabbing the side of the basket, hauling herself in, and flipping off her jetpack. She rolled into the center of the gondola, then up to her feet, looking around for Mr Blumburg.

The adult was slumped against the side of the basket, a small knot on his head. The red head took her helmet off, setting it to the side, then knelt down. Kim realized that he had likely been caught by surprise by the gale force winds, and had staggered and hit his head against the burner, and lost consciousness. She considered trying to wake him up, but then a gust of wind hit the balloon and basket, causing her to stagger. The teen shook her head, realizing that they needed to do something about the storm first.

The teen took her jetpack off so that she could move easier, then thought back for a second, remembering the eye of the hurricane, where the winds were less intense; she figured with a little luck, they should be able to get the balloon into the calm of the storm. She looked around, trying to figure out which way the wind was blowing. She paused when she heard a yell, then ran fearfully to the edge of the basket, wondering if something had happened to Ron. She leaned over the side.

"What?"

His voice carried up to her, faintly. "Ow. Hail!"

Kim shook her head. "No, Ron, I can't help you yet, I need to get us out of here!"

Ron's voice came again, this time laced in pain. "Not help, hail! It's hailing!"

As Kim leaned over a little further, she realized that she was feeling something impact her thick hair and back. She turned her face slightly, planning to look up, when she felt something hard hit her cheek. Wincing, she cupped her hand, quickly catching some of the marble sized hail. In this size it wasn't dangerous to them, or the balloon, but it could quickly get worse-and Ron, out from under the balloon and basket, had to being get pelted.

Kim raised her arms and yelled, more to herself than anyone, "Could this day get any worse?" As if taking her words as a challenge, the hurricane gave another large burst of air, and Kim went tumbling against the side of the basket, then flipped over the side. Only her incredible reflexes saved her from the fall; the teen was able to get one arm over the side of the basket, holding on tightly, her feet kicking in the air.

As she hauled herself back in, she grumbled to herself. "Great, Possible, good going, you just had to ask. That'll teach me..."

Finally getting her feet back under her, she looked around, again trying to decide which way the wind was blowing, and which way she needed to go. She had gotten turned around in all the action, but after a few seconds, she knew where she needed to go. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing her the wrong direction.

Using what little ballooning experience she had, the teen turned to the burner, quickly cranking it up to full, hoping that it would give her enough lift. The balloon started upwards, slowly, but not quick enough. Figuring there was too much weight in the basket, with three people instead of one, Kim grabbed her jet pack, tipping her head in an apologetic 'sorry' to Wade, then tossed it over the side. It quickly fell into the ocean beneath them, and the balloon was lifting again, a little faster.

It still wasn't fast enough, and as Kim looked out, she realized that the hail was getting larger, and could soon present a danger to the balloon. She leaned her head over the side of the basket, feeling the hail bounce in her thick hair, the rest hitting painfully against her back. "Ron, lose the jetpack!"

He looked up her, then whimpered. If he tossed the jet pack, he'd have no way to break his fall if the rope slipped underneath him. As he winced up at her, she realized that the jet pack wasn't only his lifeline, but was also stopping some of the hail from hitting him. With a final groan, he cut the jet pack loose, then placed his hands over his head, doing his best to shield himself from the hail. Kim instantly went to work, using every trick she could think of to keep the balloon moving.

Finally, slowly, the balloon moved through the air, with the currents of the wind. It took nearly fifteen minutes, but the red head was able to get the balloon out of the storm, into the eye in the center of the hurricane. Around this time, Mr Blumburg finally started to regain consciousness; within a few minutes, he was able to take over from Kim, steering the balloon carefully, keeping it inside the eye.

Once she realized that she was free, Kim leaned over the side of the basket, grabbing the rope holding Ron; she quickly hauled him up, hand over hand, bringing him to the edge, where she was able to grab the back of his shirt and haul him in. They both fell backwards into the basket, Ron groaning the whole way.

Kim looked up at Mr Blumburg, but the balloonist was focused on his task, keeping them in the eye of the storm. The red head turned back to Ron, lifting his head so that she could look at his face. She winced as she looked at the small welts on his face and head, then looked into his eyes. "Ron, focus on me for a second." He did, blinking twice, his chocolate brown eyes locking with hers. She gave a relieved sigh as she confirmed that he didn't have a concussion or major head injury.

She turned, intending to stand up and help Mr Blumburg, but Ron groaned again as she moved, and she realized that he must hurt all over from the hail. She laid back again, carefully, placing her hand against Ron's back, then pulling him against her, to lay down, his back across the basket, his neck and head in her lap.

Kim sat with her back against the wall of the basket, feeling the balloon drift though the air, back and forth, slowly. She felt content, looking down, seeing Ron's head laying in her lap. He was still a little pale, but looked to be doing better after being outside the basket. His eyes were still closed, his breaths coming in slow wheezes as he tried to calm down, his bruises hurting no matter how he laid. Kim absently ran her hands through his hair, ruffling it, since it had already been mussed up by the wind.

The teen felt Ron finally seem to relax, his face regaining its normal color. She slowly continued to stroke his hair, before leaning her head back against the basket, her eyes closing at the soothing rocking. She drifted off to sleep.

X X X X

By the time Kim woke, it was nearly dusk, as best as she could tell. The storm seemed to have abated quite a bit, and Mr Blumburg seemed to be having an easier time of working things. He looked over at the two teens, then smiled. "Ah, good, you're up. Are you and your friend doing well?"

Kim nodded back. "Yes, I'm fine, but I think Ron's still pretty tired." She again stroked his hair lightly, "I don't think he's budged."

Mr Blumburg looked to his burner, adjusted it, then turned back to her. "Yeah, it looks like it's just some bumps and bruises." He continued almost absentmindedly. "You two make a cute couple."

Kim blinked. "Oh, no, we're just friends, best friends."

He gave a small smile. "Ah, I see. Anyway, thank you, and your friend, Ms..."

"Kim. Kim Possible." She made a motion with her head, trying not to move. "And this is Ron, and it was no big, Mr Blumburg, your Mr Notte contacted us, and we figured we might be able to help you out." She explained about their jet packs.

He nodded. "I wondered how you were able to get up here. Anyway, again, thank you, hopefully, I won't hit any more storms. This last one was plenty for the trip."

"Around the world in eighty days?" Kim asked, shifted slightly to get comfortable, but not enough to wake Ron.

"Yes, that's my goal." He looked out to the sky. "It looks like the storm is pretty much clearing up, Kim, so in a couple of hours, you should be able to get back down to the boat and go home. Why don't you go ahead and relax, and I'll wake you up when you two can get off."

"Are you sure? I could help with..."

Mr Blumburg shook his head, smiling. "Actually, I think you've done plenty already Kim, let me handle this, it's what I'm doing after all. And if you need my help sometime, just let me know, I'd be willing to lend you a favor if you need it."

"Thanks, Mr Blumburg." She blinked, looked around a little bit more, then relaxed, her head soon slumping back down again as she caught a few more hours of sleep.

A/N I always figured after the way Ron looked and sounded when he slumped down in the basket, that his ride outside the balloon was more than a little stressful.