A/N: Well, here it is. The final chapter. Thanks to all my readers out there who have taken the time to read my little romp through Hanukkah. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed.
Disclaimer: KP is owned by Disney. Consarnit.
Thanks to the following for their reviews of Chapter 7: Iffert's Flame, Samurai Crunchbird, fatherfigure1, kim's 1 fan, Captain IT, rebafan4ever, Pharaoh Rutin Tutin, Sir Sebastian, CajunBear73, and majinbuttercup. Oh, and LAOTZFAN gets a shoutout here to, even though the reviews have been a chapter late. Gotta include everybody, ya know.
8 Nights
Eighth Night
Ron looked around the cave. Everything was in order, just as they had left it. A call from Wade said that they should expect to be rescued sometime after ten that night, local time. Even though the rescue teams knew where they were, they still had to gather up men and equipment needed, plus they had to safely dig through the rocks that had left them trapped for the past eight nights.
Ron let out a sigh. He had spent the whole of Hanukkah trapped in a cave. At least he was with his wife, even if she was in such excruciating pain that she couldn't stand to be awake, thus the sleep chip in her clothes was working in overtime, making sure that she couldn't be woken up, even if someone banged a gong over and over right by her ear. They would soon be airlifted to a hospital in Berlin, where they would get a look over with a fine tooth comb. That and it was a place where they could get cleaned up.
The tow-headed young man sat down next to a rock and pulled out his Ronunicator, looking at the local time. It was just after seven. The sun had finished its trip across the sky for the day. Pulling out his lip balm laser, Ron pointed it at the log and fired. The word "log" was a gross miscalculation. It had been a miracle hunk of wood. It had provided them eight nights of warmth, when any other piece of wood that size would have just burned for one night.
For the first time, Ron could look at and feel the warmth of the fire. His sleeping chip would not be activated. He had to be awake so that the someone could assure the rescue workers that they weren't dead. So, to kill the next three hours, he pulled out his history book and started to study again. Ron Stoppable was indeed becoming Ron Stepupable.
The pages of Ron's book had become dog eared and well worn from his studies over the past three nights. Warhok's threat was not going to be taken lightly. If that loony alien wanted a fight, then Team Possible, no, the world would give him a fight that he would remember.
In the book, Ron looked over the strategies used by the great generals from all of history. From Napoleon, he was learning the importance of might. The French emperor unleashed the full power of the French army across Europe and won a good size of the continent for his efforts. From Hannibal, he learned that even if you are out numbered, it is still possible to win battles and leave the enemy licking its wounds.
General Patton was teaching Ron how effective it was to keep moving. Of course, he already knew that lesson from the Charity Game-A-Thon, but the fields of Everlot and the fields of the real world were vastly different. They were lessons that Ron could learn from again. General Schwarzkopf was showing Ron how important technology can be in winning a war. The technology used during the first Iraqi war lead to a complete decimation of the army of Iraq.
And, of course, Ron, being a geek at heart, also took some teachings from the great Captain Picard. During his study breaks, he went over episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation in his head. And even though it was a show of fantasy, the lessons were still real. From Captain Picard, Ron learned to always be open to suggestions from anyone. One of those suggestions could mean the difference between life and death.
XXX
As the old saying goes, "Time flies when you're having fun" or, in Ron's case, trying to find a way to beat an insane green mammoth from a different planet. When Ron looked at his Ronunicator, the time read nine fifty-seven pm. Ron closed his book and put it in his backpack. Soon he would be free and going home. Okay, so, soon he would be free and going to a hospital, where he could get a look over and a shower, THEN he would be going home. That was the correct order. 'Either way,' Ron thought, 'Kim and I will be out of here…'
Ron watched the fire of the log. For eight nights it had burned, providing Kim and himself warmth. He smiled to himself as he, for the first time, realized what had happened. The miracle of Hanukkah had repeated itself, just for him and his wife. Awfully nice of it to do so. But the log finally gave up the ghost. With one last wiff of smoke, the fire extinguished itself, leaving nothing but the blackened remains of a piece of tree that found itself knocked into a cave during a rock slide.
However, the moment the fire had gone out, a pile of rocks fell downwards and a head made itself known. The head had a baseball cap on it with some German lettering and a red cross on it, and was attached to the neck of a man, who used it to look back and forth the cave and then right at Ron. "Ello, I am Johan. You must be se vons ve vere looking for. Give us a few minutes more, and ve vill have you out of sere," The head spoke with a very heavy German accent.
Johan pulled back and swung a pick axe a couple of times. The rocks slide deftly out of place and collapsed into a heap on the ground. Giving a smile, the German rescue worker walked over to Ron and gathered up his and Kim's backpacks. Ron took him into his arms, holding her in the classic cradle position. Johan led him to the rescue camp. Piles of rocks and debris lay scattered everywhere, as well as the rest of the rescue team. A loud cheer of joy came from the team when they first laid eyes on Team Possible. Then, as fast as they could, medical workers rushed over to Kim and Ron.
"Come, lets get you to se hospital, you look a mess," one of the medics said. Ron gave a nod. The male half of Team Possible helped the medics secure Kim to a gurney and then into an off-road ambulance before climbing in himself. Johan climbed in after Ron. Once the doors were shut, they were off.
It turns out, as Johan told Ron on the way to the hospital, Wade actually knew the general location on where Team Possible was, and that the rescue workers had dug through just about every other cave they could find on the mountain. When the request to increase the length of Kim's sleep chip came, Wade had to send out a more powerful signal, which allowed them to narrow in on where they might actually could have been.
XXX
"Okay, Mr. Stoppable, you seem to be in fine health, just take it easy on the Bueno Nacho until you can stretch your stomach back out again. Eight days without eating has shrunk it down to about half its original size," The doctor told him.
"Thanks, doc, now can I get a shower?" Ron asked.
"By all means, it is just through that door," the doctor said, pointing to a door in the left hand side of the room that was open just slightly.
Ron gave a nod and walked to where the doctor was pointing. He opened the door the rest of the way, and quickly shut it behind him. Soon the sounds of running water could be heard. About half a minute after that, the sounds of "The Naked Mole Rap" followed.
The doctor gave a laugh and turned to leave the room to give Ron some privacy. Just as he was about to walk out of the room, a nurse, with a sad look on her face, came up to him. She didn't say a word and instead, handed him a chart. Kim's chart. The doctor looked it over and shook his head.
"Poor girl…" he said and handed the chart back to the nurse. The two left the room together so Ron could take his shower in peace.
"What is that, that freaky thing? Yes that's right it's a naked mole rat! C'mon ya'll, let those girlies sing! Listen to the naked mole rap! I heard Smarty Mart was havin' a sale…"
XXX
Ron walked quietly into Kim's room. She was laid out in a hospital bed wearing a full body gown. Kim's exam had taken a lot longer than Ron's. She had just finished getting cleaned up and looked over when Ron came in. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared to be asleep. Ron was also wearing a full body hospital gown. The hospital said that they would clean their clothes so that they would have something to wear on their trip back to the states.
Ron pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. He gently took her hand in his and kissed the top of it. He smiled at her. Once again, they had survived another sitch that lesser people would have folded under. Ron knew that they were remarkable people. Heck, everybody knew that. But it still amazed the young man that he had been doing this for the other side of five years and they were still able to get away from the jaws of death and defeat.
Ron sat there for a good thirty minutes, just holding Kim's hand and watching her sleep. It wasn't the first time he had watched her sleep. There were times when he'd get in late from work, and Kim would already be in bed. He would stand in the door frame and just watch her, thinking about how lucky of a man he truly was.
Kim's eyes opened up slightly, and she looked over at her husband, who was wearing his trademark goofy grin. It was a sign that everything was going to be alright. Of course, the world isn't perfect, and sometimes good people don't get to be happy.
"Hey there KP. Did they find out what the stomach pains were about?" Ron asked.
"Yeah…they, uh, they had found out….that…." And with that, Kim broke into sobs. Tears ran from her eyes like it was going out of style.
Ron leaned over and took Kim into his arms the best he could. He let her cry into her shoulder. He himself was also crying. No words needed to be exchanged than they already were. No sounds were in the room except for Kim's sobs and Ron fighting back a few himself. Kim's hospital room was as quiet as a tomb.
Through the twists and turns of fate, two people who had fought so hard with everything they had to keep the entire world and its people safe were dealt a life crushing blow. Sometimes, good things happen to bad people. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. And then, in the balance of karma, nature, and the world itself, horrible things happen to great people. And while it is unfair, that's just the way things work out. Be it for the best, or that everything happens for a reason, or that sometimes nature just takes a freak turn.
No words past between the two heroes. No words needed to be said. Their tears of pain, of hurt, of betrayal, and of sadness said them all. There would be no happy news for Kim and Ron to give this Sunday, Christmas. Instead, there would be only four words. Four words that nobody who knew these two ever wanted to hear. Four words that should not happen to people like Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable. Four words, and four words alone will break hearts and cause tears to fall like rain.
Those four words?
Kim lost the baby.
XXX
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik neir (shel) chanukah
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, she-asah nisim la-avoteinu, bayamim haheim, (u)baz'man hazeh.
- Hanukkah Blessings of the eighth night (In Hebrew)
THE END
A/N: I'm sure this will not be popular with the readers. I'm not sure what to say to keep the flames at bay. I guess there is nothing to say. Sorry guys, but sometimes horrible things happen to great people. Thats just the way the world works.