This is a little story I had written quite a while ago and posted on the RS boards in a contest they had going on. When I found this, I asked cpneb if he thought it would be any good to clean up (it's an earlier work that needed some grammatical corrections), and he said "Sure!" He gave a few suggestions, which I used, and this is the final result. I hope everyone likes it…
Disclaimer: Ummm… well, same as all the others I've written. I don't own the characters, yadda, yadda, yadda…
Introductions
"Hey Grandma Allie. How you doing today?" Ron's Grandmother never answered whenever he spoke to her, but he never really expected her to.
"Guess what? I'm going to marry Kim." While Ron sat on the grass talking to the gravestone, he never noticed a figure that was watching and listening from the shadows of a nearby oak tree.
"Yeah, I know you probably wanted me to marry a nice Jewish Princess or someone like that, but you know what? She IS a princess. At least to me. I love her so much Grandma Allie… that it hurts. Right here." Ron put his hands to his chest over his heart, and a small tear began to trickle down his cheek.
"You would like her. Heck, you would love her. I know you would." Ron took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. He then sniffed back a tear, and adjusted his legs underneath him on the freshly mowed grass. "I'm sorry I haven't been by for a while, but you know how things are with college and everything. Then there's the wedding..." Ron's voice trailed off as he seemed to be lost in thought, but then brought himself back to the here and now with a shake of his head.
"First we're graduating from college, and then 2 weeks later is the wedding. I really wish you could be there, Grandma. For both."
Ron wiped another tear from his cheek and continued to speak. "I remember when I was younger how you always told me, 'Ronnie, the best thing in life is to find someone who you can spend the rest of your life with. Someone who will make you happy.' Well Grandma, Kim makes me happy. Heck, she makes me ecstatic." A grin crossed his face as a particular memory was instantly recalled from not so long ago.
…x x x x…
baaaarrrffff!!! "I'm so…. So… sorry Kim." Huff huff
"It's OK Ron. You couldn't have known that you were going to get the flu today." Kim was kneeling beside her boyfriend of over 3 years, holding his head as he threw up in his bathroom.
A few more spasms came from Ron's stomach and Kim just held a cold rag on her boyfriend's forehead. "Are you done?" She asked with nothing but concern in her voice.
"Yeah. I think so. (huff) For now." He swallowed hard, and Kim helped him to stand on shaky legs.
Ron still had on the clothes he was going to wear on their date that night, which was a nice suit and tie. Luckily, he didn't have the tie on yet. He had called Kim just a few moments ago to tell her that he would be there soon, and when she heard the phone suddenly drop and the sound of his feet running she knew something was wrong. Kim arrived at his apartment just in time to hear even more confirmation of his contracting a bad flu virus, and what it was doing to his insides.
"Let's get you into bed." Kim said, placing a hand on his forehead as they both stood in the bathroom. She could tell he also had the shivers. "You're burning up!"
"N… no KP. I'll be… fine." He swallowed hard, fighting that feeling once again. "I said I was going to take you out, and I'm going to do just that. I… I wanted everything to be p… perfect. Th… they're expecting… us. Reservations."
"Oh Ronnie… Honey… You're too sick to go anywhere or do anything." Kim said with compassion while she led him to the bedroom and helped him to sit on the edge of the bed. Ron was too weak to offer any resistance… not that Kim wouldn't let him.
She knelt down and slipped his shoes off, then stood and proceeded to remove the suit coat. "No… Kim…Don't do that…" He said weakly as he reached for the coat after Kim had pulled it off of his arms.
Kim took the coat and threw it over her arm to take it to the closet when a small black box fell out of a pocket and onto the floor. In response, Ron just dropped his head into his hands. There was nothing else he could do since he was so weak from being sick.
"Oh my…" Kim breathed as she saw what had fell onto the floor. She knelt down, picked up the small velvet box and looked at it almost reverently. The lid creaked as she opened it, and then looked up at Ron with a tear rolling down her cheek.
"You… you were going to ask, weren't you?" She asked.
"Yeah… Now you know why I wanted to go out tonight so badly. Everything is ruined!" Ron fell back on the bed, his hands covering his face. "Why did I have to get sick?"
"May I?" Kim asked, taking the beautiful diamond solitaire ring from the box.
"Yeah. It's no surprise anymore, though. I mean…" Ron felt the bed move, and he opened his eyes. Kim had sat on the bed beside him, and she lay her left hand on the side of his face, the light catching the beautiful faceted diamond. All Ron could do was lay there with a weak smile.
"Ron, I love it, and I love you." Leaning in, she placed a quick kiss on his lips.
"Kim…" He said, turning his face away from her. "You'll get sick too."
"I don't care, Ron. Besides, pretty soon I'll be promising to stay by your side in sickness and in health. I may as well start early."
"So… that's a yes?" Ron asked with a whisper, his eyelids starting to close.
"Could I answer any other way?" Kim replied, and then she heard the soft snoring of her fiancé".
…x x x x…
"She takes care of me, Grandma Allie." Ron continued. "And I take care of her. In fact, just last week during finals week…"
…x x x x…
"Kim, you're going to burn out I tell you." Ron said while she continued to study hard into the night for her last final. It was for a Political Science class, and she just had to get a 'B' or better if she wanted to graduate with honors.
It was about 1:30 in the morning, and business had been very slow. In fact, he hadn't had any customers for the last half-hour, so Ron was talking with Kim on the phone. He was working the late shift at the campus Bueno Nacho (since his own finals were already done with) to get some extra hours so he would have pocket money for the month. He knew the Naco Royalties would be available after Graduation, but he wanted to have a little extra to last him until then.
"But Ron, I just… gotta… do… this." Her voice trailed off and sounded very weak.
"Kim? When was the last time you ate? I haven't seen you for at least 5 days, and I've barely talked to you. I know how you get when you put your mind to something."
There was no response. "Kim? Kim? You still there?" Ron barely heard a little murmur over the phone. "Kim!" This time he almost screamed.
Something is wrong, I KNOW it! He quickly glanced around the small restaurant, and noticed that there were no customers. He quick shut off the grills, and turned the power off to the deep fat fryers. He quickly made sure that there was nothing left that could cause a fire, and left the Bueno Nacho. Ron was in such a rush, he almost forgot to shut off the lights and lock the door. It only took him five minutes to reach Kim's apartment, and he stood there beating on the door and calling her name. She wasn't answering. Just as he raised a foot to kick it in, he heard a voice.
"Wait! I have a key! I really don't want to have to replace the door." The landlord was roused from his slumber by Ron's banging and loud voice. He knew something was up, and immediately headed for Kim Possible's room.
The landlord picked through a large ring of keys, found the one he wanted, and opened the door. Ron was inside in a flash. He found Kim slumped on her desk, the phone cradled in her open hand.
"Kim… Kim?" Ron gently shook her shoulder, and Kim's arm fell from the desk and the phone clattered the floor. He pushed back her hair as it was covering her face, and he involuntarily sucked in a breath. Kim's eyes were sunken in, and dark rings were noticeable underneath. Her once pleasantly round cheeks were slightly sunken in and her lips were dry and cracked.
"What have you done Kim?" Ron whispered. Very carefully he picked Kim up in his arms, and her head fell onto his shoulder. He barely heard Kim's voice as she weakly tried to protest. "We've got to get her to a doctor!"
After rushing Kim to the hospital in the landlord's car, they found out that Kim had pretty much burned herself out, and was moderate to severely mal-nourished. She was treated, and after a couple days recuperating, she was released. If it hadn't been for Ron, the doctor said, it could have been much worse.
…x x x x…
Then not so long ago there was our greatest challenge Grandma, that thing with the Lowardians. After I had taken care of them, there were so many legal things we had to deal with, but Kim and I stood together…
…x x x x…
The Judges voice boomed in the small courtroom as he addressed both Kim and Ron while they stood in front of him. "Ronald Dean Stoppable, you have been accused of Negligent Homicide against a sentient race, namely the Lowardians. You have also been charged with willful destruction of private property, namely, large sections of Middleton.
"Kim Possible…" The judge then continued as he turned towards the redhead standing next to Ron. "You have been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and have also been charged with assisting in said charges put forth against Mr. Stoppable."
The Judge turned to his left and received a folded piece of paper from the Bailiff that had the verdict concerning Kim and Ron written on it. He then swiveled in his chair back towards the two teens standing in the courtroom. "The Jury has reached their decision, but before I read this, I first must ask… How do you plead?"
Kim and Ron stood straight and proud, clutching onto each other's hand. They spoke as one, their voices sounding strong and loud so that there could be no question as to how they plead.
"Not Guilty, Your Honor."
"OK then…" The Judge said and unfolded the piece of paper, which he quickly glanced over, and then nodded towards the appointed leader for the Jury.
Juror #1 stood and spoke loudly so that she could clearly be heard. "We the Jury find Ronald Stoppable and Kimberly Possible 'Not Guilty' of all charges laid against them."
The entire courtroom exploded into cheering, and the Judge tried to silence them by banging his gavel and almost shouting "Order! Order in this court!" It didn't do any good. He gave up and joined in the celebration, as he too was overjoyed by the final verdict.
Amidst all the cheering stood Kim and Ron in a tight embrace, kissing each other tenderly on the lips and lost in their own little celebration. Caught up in the emotion that filled the room, Ron dipped his girlfriend and kissed her, reminiscent of the famous photograph taken so long ago. Cameras flashed, cementing the joyous occasion forever for generations to come.
The only person who wasn't happy in the room was the rookie court appointed lawyer for the Lowardians, Hank Perkins. He had a defeated look on his face that also held bits of fear as he didn't know if he would get paid, let alone, keep his life. The Lowardians had lost again, and they were not used to losing.
…x x x x…
After telling his story, Ron sat quietly for a moment, and then felt a presence beside him. He looked up and saw Kim standing there. He started to get up, but she just lay a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to stay there.
She sat down beside him, and looked into his face.
"You never met my Grandma Allie, did you?"
"No, I didn't." Kim answered.
"As long as I can remember, she was always sick with something. We all knew she would die soon, but it still hit me pretty hard."
"You were what? 12, 13 years old?" Ron nodded in agreement. "I remember that day. You wouldn't talk to me for at least a couple days after that.
Ron stood, and raised Kim with him. He faced the 4-foot high gravestone and spoke again, holding onto Kim's hand. "Grandma Allie? I am sooo sorry that it has taken this long to introduce you. I'd like you to meet my Fiancé, Kim Possible."
Kim stepped up to the gravestone and placed her hand on the cool cement, and spoke. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Without warning, a beautiful butterfly with predominantly red wings landed on Kim's hand. She breathed in a short quick breath, and tapped Ron on the shoulder. He turned around just in time to see to see the butterfly take off.
With a smile, Ron turned to head back towards the car and suddenly stopped. Kim had turned at the same time, and bumped into him as he stood still, his mouth open in surprise, staring towards the old oak tree. Following his eyes, Kim looked over at the tree and stopped short with the same expression as Ron.
In the dark shadow of the tree, a white form was standing there, looking like a little old lady. There wasn't much detail as they could see right through her and could see the bark on the tree behind her, but there was enough to see a smile on the specter's face as she waved and faded away.
"Ron? Was that…?"
"Yeah Kim. It was."
The two clasped hands tightly, walked back to the car with Kim's head resting on Ron's shoulder, and a smile on each other's face.
The end…
Hope y'all liked this little story.
Laters!