Ch.34

Kim sat waiting outside the GJ operating room that Ron entered hours before. Rufus was forcing himself to stay awake in the beginning but Kim had him sedated so that he could rest, a naked mole rat needed lots of sleep and it had been hours since the little guy slept.

Looking at the closed doors in front of her Kim couldn't help thinking of Ron being dead for a whole minute.

Ron had died and Kim knew it had been her fault.

Thinking through back to that minute, that had felt infinitely longer, Kim reinforced her feelings that Ron was hers and she was going to get him away from Sarah and Yori.

~~~~~

Tara's homework was a pile of balled up papers by the trashcan.

No matter what she tried, her head was not in the schoolwork and she kept making mistakes. She kept having the feeling that Ron was hurt but his cell wasn't being picked up.

She had tried asking Felix and Monique but beside mirroring her worry they didn't know what was going on.

~~~~~

Bonnie had just maliciously lashed out at Brick on their date and the only thing that kept going through her head was that Ron was hurt, not improving the situation as Brick drove her home.

~~~~~

Yori was beside herself as she waited for Ron and she didn't know why.

Normaly she was able to maintain a calm state of mind even during a specially difficult mission.

She kept glancing at her phone waiting for information when a secured call came through from Akito.

Switching over to Japanese she answered the call. "Hello, Akito-kun."

"Yori-san, there has been trouble." Where the first words that Akito spoke setting Yori's heart to maximum speed.

"How is he?" She asked trying her best not to cry.

"He is in surgery." Akito answered and began to explain. "We have looked through his x-rays and from what Sae could tell, two bullets hit his liver and one of them nicked a vein. We have notified Master Sensei and he is doing what he can from Japan through astral projection. Add the doctors efforts and we believe he will make it through this."

When Yori heard those words she almost wept with joy. 'Ron is going to be alright.' She firmly thought, aware that if he was not going to make it, Akito would have told her to brace herself.

"Akito-kun, how did he come to be injured?" Yori asked trying to understand what led to the current situation.

Akito was silent a moment before he spoke. "Just before the infiltration mission..."

After Akito explained the details on what led to Ron's injury. The disagreement that Ron had on continuing the mission. How as Ron had the attention of people in the command center Kim's entrance resulted in him getting shot. And how they interfered and brought Ron out off the compound. Then proceeded to contact Master Sensei and monitor the situation before finally contacting Yori.

Yori processed the report she was given coming to the conclusion of several things. One, she was going to speed up Ron's training, since similar situations are likely to happen again. Two, as much as she'd like to set Kim straight on her decision that led to Ron getting injured, Ron himself agreed to the risk by following her to complete the mission. And three, this one she found the most important, she was going to actively show Ron her affection since she didn't want to waste any of her time with him, especially since she didn't know how long it was.

'Wonder if Shego is going to take this news well?' Yori mused to herself hoping she didn't get a call yet or at least till Ron was back.

'No I'll call her, I would like to be kept in the loop myself.'

~~~~~

Shego had just wrecked another training equipment and her mood just kept getting worse. She couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong with Ron but when she called him he didn't pick up. Add to that the fact his phone stopped transmitting its location and it was last pinged in Africa.

The result, a pissed off Shego.

Just as she was getting ready for the next bout of destruction, no training, her phone went off. She had it in her hands in the blink of an eye.

"Ron?" She asked hoping there was no edge to her voice.

"Its Yori, Shego-san." Yori replied.

"Yori, what the hell is going on?" Shego asked while she mentally slapped herself for forgetting to call Yori for information.

"Ron has been injured but we believe he is going to be alright." Yori answered.

"Mission?" Shego asked to be sure.

"Yes." Was all Yori said.

"Will you call me when you hear from him?" Shego asked in a pleading tone.

"Of course, Shego-san." Yori promised.

~~~~~

Ann was on edge.

Ann had just finished going over patient files for a surgery but was struggling to focus on her job. She had a feeling Ron wasn't doing well and that made her wonder if Kim was okay. Tired of the back and forth, Ann brought out her phone to dial the Load residence.

After a few rings a women's voice came on the line. "Load's residence, Gwen speaking."

"Hi Gwen, it's Ann." Ann spoke.

"Hello Ann, what can I do for you?" Gwen asks.

"My daughter went on a mission today and I wanted a progress report if that's okay." Ann says.

"Oh sure, let me call Wade." Gwen agreed.

A minute or two later Wade's voice is on the line. "Hello, Dr. Possible."

"Hello, Dr. Load." With a smile, Ann greets Wade before asking what's on her mind. "How's Kim and Ron?"

"About that Dr. Possible, there was a complication during the mission..." Wade proceeds to explain what happened in the mission.

By the time Wade had finished explaining, Ann's emotions were in range from angry beyond belief to beside herself with worry. Angry that governments would send kids to deal with such a volatile situation and that they had allowed both Kim and Ron to put themselves in danger like that by giving them permission to go on missions. Worried that Ron might not survive and that Kim wouldn't recover from leading him into that fate.

"Wade, can you put me in contact with Kim?" Ann asked.

~~~~~

Kim jumped out of her seat when the Kimmunicator went off. She had been so focused on the operating room door that the familiar tune scared her into alertness. Quickly taking out the unit Kim answered.

"Go Wade."

"Kim, your mom is on the line and has been informed of the situation. She wants to talk to you." Wade explained.

"Please put her through Wade." Kim asked.

In moments Wade's voice was replaced with Ann's. "Kim can you hear me?"

"Yes mom, load and clear." Kim responded and began to pour out what was going through her head. "Listen mom, I know I messed up. We weren't ready for the mission once the fighting broke out."

"Kim." Ann said.

"And Ron was right, we didn't have the proper training to takle the situation. I should have listened to what he had to say instead of overruling his opinion." Kim went on not really listening to Ann.

"Kimmie..." Ann tried again.

Kim couldn't stop as she kept explaining. "It was my fault that he got shot. He followed my plan to the letter..."

"Kimberley Ann Possible! Would you be quiet and listen to me!" Ann finally raised her voice hoping to get through to her daughter.

"Yes." Kim quietly replied tears at the corner of her eyes.

"Are you alright honey?" Ann asked.

Kim finally broke into tears.

"Mom he was dead!" Kim cried into the line. "For a whole minute he was dead and it's my fault. Now he's been in surgery for hours and its unknown whether he will make it or not!"

"Sweetie blaming yourself is not going to change anything. I know for a fact Ron wouldn't blame you." Ann consoled Kim knowing that Ron would do the same. "Now you need to be strong, when Ron makes it pass the surgery he going to need your help more than ever."

Kim focused on Ann's words like a lifeline. 'When Ron makes it past the surgery he was going to need me.' Kim told herself a couple of times till she felt like she calmed down.

"Thanks mom."

"No problem." Ann said. "Now I want to be kept up to date on everything, the time of day does not matter. Also has anyone told the Stoppable's?"

"I don't know mom, I'll have to ask Wade." Kim admitted.

~~~~~

Dean and Barbara Stoppable were not the best parents.

They were currently in a meeting with their investment firm and going over the investment portfolio for the next six months to see if it was to be approved. Ron's money from the Naco royalties that were scheduled to come yearly and the left over from the first check that they invested for Ron, of course he has yet to be informed of this, was growing nicely.

Barbara and Dean combined were a capable team when it came to managing and investing money. As a result they could travel wherever on a moment's notice and it lead to some questionable choices when it came to parenting. Even before Ron's royalties came into the picture their lifestyle was funded by their own salaries and investments. And by this point in their life they were likely the richest family in Middleton, Colorado.

Of course they never told Ron of their assets and took their time properly teaching him the value of money. Which proceeded to disappoint them when Ron squandered the majority of his royalty check.

Both Stoppable's had no inkling as to what had befallen their son as they continued their meeting.

~~~~~

Ron didn't know how long he was unconscious for but eventually he found himself in his mindscape. Ron sighed to himself glad that he wasn't dead yet and greeted Xu Ming Yue.

"Hi Teacher Xu."

"Hello Ron." Xu Ming Yue greeted and pointed out. "Seems like you made it through the worst."

"Yeah." Ron simply agreed.

Xu Ming Yue took a moment to think before speaking. "Ron I want to clarify a couple things before we move forward and I continue your training."

"Yes, Tracher Xu." Ron agreed getting serious.

"Why did you reject the MMP for so long?" Xu Ming Yue asked and explained. "I know you fear monkeys from your memories but I can't understand why you rejected the power."

Hearing her question Ron thought the answer was stupid but said it anyway. "At first it was truly out of fear of monkeys. Then after a while and my body hadn't showed any sign of going simian I feared what I would become with so much power. You see, I have a tendency to let things go to my head."

Xu Ming Yue nodded and proceeded to think for a moment while Ron waited for other questions to come.

"Are you okay with me having access to your eyes and ears while I train you?" Xu Ming Yue asked after some time.

Ron was not expecting that as a question. He expected other questions into his character or morals not about access to his senses. Seeing Xu Ming Yue's smile he could tell she knew what he was thinking.

Having a question come to mind he asked. "May I ask why?"

Still smiling Xu Ming Yue explained. "It has been a long time since I got to see the world and I'm curious as to what else has changed. Your memories showed plenty but being able to see and hear as things happen would be fantastic."

After hearing her reason Ron didn't see why not and agreed, neglecting that he gave her access to even his private life.

Like this Ron proceeded to talk with Xu Ming Yue for a long time until he felt himself waking. At that point, Xu Ming Yue reminded him to continue healing himself to get better but wait till he was back at home to heal himself fully so as not to raise any questions.