For my older sister, of whom I think of as my younger sister. May your man always treat you right.

Standard disclaimer applies.

It was already way past sunset. The dark was cold and uninviting when a solitary figure slowly walked out of the shadows into the orange glow of the streetlamp. His head was held high, but his heart was heavy. He wasn't sure whether he could do this. But he had to. For his important someone. He stood unblinking under the orange glow, at the driveway which led up to the house where the love of his life lived.

His sneakers loudly crunched the loose sand beneath his feet as he gingerly walked up the concrete path. He ignored the queasy feeling in his stomach, not knowing when his courage would give out. All he needed to do was to remember to breathe. Head in the game, Ron.

He wiped his feet on the welcome mat, brushed his khakis down with his hands, smoothed his already neatly pressed shirt and quickly checked his hair for the fourth time in the reflection of the window next to the door. He took another deep breath. For the last time, he ran his fingers through his hair again. He cleared his throat and was about to rap his knuckles on the door when it swung open.

"Good evening Ron," Mr. Dr. P greeted the wide-eyed, open-jawed, gawking blond kid standing at the front door.

Remember to breathe.

"Err… Hi Mr. Dr. P…" Ron stammered out. His face was feeling a little flushed.

"Are you looking for Kimmie? She's not here at the moment; she's out shopping with her girlfriends."

"Ah… I know that… I just… well…"

"Yes, Ron?" Mr. Dr. P answered testily.

"Yeah, I'm not here for Kim. Actually… I wanted to, "Ron struggled to bring the words from his mouth, "…talk to you. Man to man."

Mr. Dr. P's left eyebrow arched as he scrutinized the perspiring young man standing on his doorstep.

"What about?" His voice was flat and unassuming. More like a statement or matter of fact thing, rather than a question, Ron thought.

"It's about Kim."

"What about Kim, Ronald?" That tone. Ron had only heard his full name mentioned once like that, and it was a long time back. That very same tone had mentioned something along the lines of "black hole" and "deep space probe". Now's not the time to panic. You can do this. Ron swallowed hard.

Remember to breathe.

"I would like to ask…" Ron's voice broke off into a whisper. "… for Kim's hand in marriage."

A veil fell over Mr. Dr. P's face, cleansing it of all discernible emotion. All that's left was a steely face and cold pointed eyes that seem to bore into the very fabric of his being. Ron did not know what to make of that expression. Was it anger? Disapproval? Scorn? Anything?

"Mr. Dr. P?" Ron whispered, slowly feeling the fear and anxiety grip his already numb body.

"Ronald." Flat. Totally flat, mechanical voice. "Come with me."

"Uhh... Where to?" Ron did not feel Mr. Dr. P's shoulder push pass Ron as he walked towards his car parked in the driveway. His mind was blank and his heart was in his mouth and all he was thankful for was that he had been too nervous to eat anything in the past 24 hours.

Is this is? Is this how it ends? Ron thought. A picture of him trapped in a space probe hurtling into a black hole flashed across his mind. I never told KP goodbye and I love her. I should tell her I'm sorry that I didn't make it back. I'm going to miss her…

"You'll see. Get in." Mr. Dr. P gruffly broke his thoughts and gestured to the front passenger seat with a curt nod. Then he sat down and started the engine, while waiting for the skittish boy to run around the side of the car.

Mr. Dr. P did not wait for Ron to strap in his seat belt. He just accelerated hard and Ron felt his back slammed into the car seat. Ron's clumsy fingers fumbled as he yanked the seatbelt and tried to strap himself in for the ride ahead.

It's quiet in here. Far too quiet. The stereo's not even turned on. Ron twitched nervously in his seat. Say something Mr. Dr. P, please. He prayed.

Anything.

"So you want to marry my only daughter."

Okay, maybe not anything. Ron wasn't quite sure what Mr. Dr. P meant when he said "only". Sure, Kim was his only daughter, but why did his voice have to grate over the word, "only"?

It wasn't like Ron was trying to steal away his only daughter. He just wanted to marry her. Wait. That's like taking away his only daughter from him. That's… what am I thinking? What would Kim say? Head in the game, Ron! Head in the game!

Yes. Short and sweet, to the point, don't show you're nervous, Ron. You can do this. At least that was what Ron thought before he said,

"Yes." Ron's voice broke into a high-pitched squeak like a little girl's.

Way to go, Ms Ron Stoppable, you sound so macho. At this rate, you better wait for Kim to ask your dad for your hand in marriage instead.

"Is this because she's pregnant?"

"Wha…?" Ron was completely caught off-guard. If he wasn't already sitting and strapped in, he'd have collapsed and oozed into a little puddle and ruining the upholstery. Hurriedly he stammered, "No… no that's not it… Kim's fine, everything is fine… no pregnant, I don't want kids. Wait, no I mean I want kids, but not this soon. Well only if you want grandchildren, which I so totally do, I mean, I want children, really, but…"

Remember to breathe. He caught himself before he blabbered on some more. Is this the way to the space center? Ron stared straight down the road, trying to discern where they were going.

Mr. Dr. P remained expressionless. His lips pursed hard at the torrent of words that was blurted out of his mouth.

"Ron. How long have you known Kimmie?"

"I… I've known her for 17 years."

"How long have you dated?"

"I… we've been going out for the last 4 years since junior prom."

"So why should I let you marry my only daughter?"

Okay. He's a little possessive of KP. But I can do this. I just have to let him know that I want to marry her.

"I got it all worked out. I know it's not much, but I'm graduating next year, and I've lined up a summer job with this restaurant uptown as a trainee cook. If they like me, I might be looking at something better. Also I've got a bit of savings, it's not much, but it's enough to rent a place after we've graduated next month. I can take care of her and I really love her." Ron smiled to himself. He'd had it all written out and rehearsed it in front of Rufus. Many times.

Mr. Dr. P kept his eyes on the road. His lips pursed thinly. Again, the awkward silence. Ron shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He tried to wipe the sweat off his palms on his khakis.

"Is that it?"

Is that it? Ron choked. That wasn't part of the script. We're suppose to… talk? I ask? He agrees? Wait, does this mean he… wha? Don't think like that Ron. Don't freak out.

Remember to breathe.

"Is… wha… I mean, I… I really love her and I really… care about her." Ron repeated weakly.

"Uh huh. I know a lot of other people who love my daughter too."

"I… I'll take really good care of her?" Ron's voice became a little strangled. He could feel himself clawing for air. Or something more.

"And…?"

"I… I… I bought this ring for KP." Ron dug his sweaty palm into his pockets and pulled out a navy blue velvet box.

Again, the long painful silence. Mr. Dr. P did not even turn to look at the emerald platinum ring in Ron's trembling hand. Ron's hands trembled as he held out the trinket of his affection, waiting for some sort of sign of acceptance. But nothing came, not even a glance or nod. Finally Ron heard Mr. Dr. P sigh.

"Ron, I also care for Kimmie and I love her very much. Let me ask again, why should I let you marry my daughter?"

Ron sat in silence for a moment. He gazed out the window at the passing streetlights as he thought of how he was going to answer that question. Ominously, they drove by the sign, Middleton Space Center. And Ron gulped.

KP is KP. There's no one like her. She's smart, beautiful, charming. She's special. She's…

"She means the world to me. Every step of my life she's been there for me, as I've been there for her. I guess, we were always together, and we will always be together. I… cannot imagine a future without her…"

"Ron. I did not ask you why you want to marry my daughter." Mr. Dr. P's voice cut him short.

Ron shuffled uncomfortably. He'd thrown everything out there already. He thought he knew why he wanted to marry KP. He felt so sure that this was what he wanted, he felt so sure this was what KP wanted. Now, he just didn't know.

Mr. Dr. P cleared his throat. "Ron. Imagine one day, you have a daughter. And she's twenty-one like you are now. And one day her boyfriend asks you for your permission to marry her. What are your thoughts?"

"I don't know… I would like to know if he can take care of her." Ron hesitates.

"That's a start."

"I think the guy has to be a decent person." Ron ventured.

"What else?"

"I… I would want to know if he's nice to her."

"And?"

"And… I would want to know if I can trust this guy."

"Trust him to do what?"

"I… I don't know where you're going with this, Mr. Dr. P."

"Ron, what is it you like most about Kimmie?"

"That's easy. I like her smile best. Whenever she smiles, she just glistens, and I want to just be in her glow. Her smile reminds me of all the best there is in KP. And I don't think she'd be KP without that smile of hers. And I want that smile to be the first and last thing that I see every day."

"Me too, Ron. Me too."

They sat in silence for a while. Ron tried picturing that smile. She flashed it at him this morning, when he brought her breakfast in bed. He could see that smile when he barged in on her lecture, and gave her a bouquet of twenty-one roses on her birthday, much to the envy and applause of her classmates. And there was the time he took her to a private beach, and they held each other as the sun went down.

And Ron suddenly sat up. He got it.

"Mr. Dr. P. I want you to know that first of all, we are not just love struck lovers. KP will always be my best friend and I will do my best to make KP happy. I made a mistake once, I trusted someone else, thinking that he'll make her happier than I ever could. But I'll never make that mistake ever again in placing her happiness in someone else's hands."

Ron thought of Eric, the synthodrone. If he had only the courage then to say what he said now, she'd be a lot happier. And it had hurt Kim and him just because he didn't think he was good enough. He took another deep breath.

"I want her to be happy and you can trust me on this because nothing means more to me than her happiness. I will give KP every reason to smile every day for the rest of her life. I know you would to, and this is why I'm asking for her hand in marriage."

Was that a hint of a smile on Mr. Dr. P's face? Ron wasn't so sure.

"What's your fondest memory of Kimmie's smile, Ron?" Mr. Dr. P's voice softened a bit.

"I don't know Mr. Dr. P. There's too many to say, I guess." Ron grinned.

"You know, mine is when Kimmie was nine. It was a school night, and I got back late from work at the space center, and I walked in to find Kimmie waiting for me on the couch. I told her sharply that she should be sleeping. But she said she was waiting for me to tell her a bed time story like I had promised…"

He gently picked up his precious daughter and carried her upstairs. 'She's getting a little heavier, or so I'm getting a little older,' he thought. 'Or maybe we're just both growing up."

He gave her a little kiss on the forehead as he tucked her and Pandaroo in.

"So which story do you want to hear, Kimmie-cub?" Mr. Dr. P asked, glancing at the stack of books on her bedside table. His finger gently ran down the spines of the books, wondering whether she wanted to hear Pandaroo Come Home for the eighth time.

"Can you tell me how you and mom got married?" she asked.

"Oh? Which part?" Mr. Dr. P was mildly surprised.

"You know, how you met mom and fell in love?"

"I don't think we have time for that." He didn't want to go into that topic of love, she was only nine.

"Please? Dad?" And she flashed her infamous puppy dog pout. And he felt his heart crumble.

"And that was it." A smile crept to his face.

"Huh, daddy? I don't understand."

"You know? That puppy dog pout? Your mom was the first one who used it on me. We were young and in college. We were lab partners and I was in love with her for the longest time, but I couldn't tell her that. Then, one day, she caught me looking at her and angrily told me, 'James, when are you going to ask me on a date?'"

"So did you ask her out?"

"I wanted to. But I hesitated, I didn't dare to. But she didn't take no for an answer, and gave me the puppy dog pout for the first time." He smiled.

"I'm glad you asked mom out, daddy."

"I'm glad too."

"Daddy? You know when I grow up, I want to marry you."

"Oh? I don't think you want to do that."

"Why not? You're the nicest, sweetest daddy out there."

"Because I already have your mom."

"Oh." She pouted and looked away."Then I'm going to ask Ron to marry me."

"Really?" His eyes opened wide.

"He's very nice. And cute too." She smiled at the thought.

"Ah, well, I'm sure he is. Time to sleep, Kimmie-cub. Good night." He gently patted her head and brushed a lock of hair off her smiling face.

"Good night, daddy."

He turned and walked towards the door. He reached his hand up to the switch and turned off the lights. And as he stood in the doorway, he heard a little voice call out to him.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Kimmie-cub?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled and closed the door slowly behind him.

They both sat quietly, as the car cruised on to nowhere. Wait, didn't we come by here? Isn't this the way to the space center? And Ron suddenly realized that the houses indeed look familiar, he'd been here many times. He'd walked down this very same street just an hour ago, just like he always had almost every day in his past seventeen years. There he was again, looking at the house where the love of his life lived.

The car pulled up into the driveway. Two somber figures silently got out of the car and walked up to the front porch. There was a sharp movement behind the curtain and the door was thrown open and a clearly worried red-head was standing at the doorway.

"Dad! Where did you take my boyfriend?" Kim asked sharply.

"Oh, nowhere Kimmie-cub. We just went for a drive." Mr. Dr. P gave her a big smile. "Is this how you greet your father?"

"Oh daddy…" Kim stepped forward and gave her father a big hug. "What were you two talking about?"

"Guy stuff. You wouldn't want to know." Mr. Dr. P grinned.

"Hmph. Ron will tell me all about it." She turned to her boyfriend, gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. "Come to my room, Ron. Show you what I bought at the mall.

"Uh… okay." Ron smiled sheepishly, mildly aware of the stern look on Mr. Dr. P's face when Kim kissed him.

Kim held his hand and pulled him into the house. The two young lovers and best friends ran up the stairs, leaving Mr. Dr. P standing on his front porch. Usually he'd frown on them going upstairs to her room together this late, but tonight he's willing to let her go. Let her go, huh? She already left. He looked wistfully at the memory of a little girl, running up the stairs.

There goes my Kimmie-cub, he thought. There goes my Kimmie-cub.

"Did you have to do all that, James?" An older but just as beautiful red-head stepped into the doorway. He broke into another wide smile.

"Do what?" James tried to look as innocent as possible.

"You know what I mean, James. The whole act of driving off into the night, like you were going to drop him off in a deep space probe at the space center."

"Hey, I could have my fun too."

"You know you were going to say yes." She smiled exasperatedly.

"Well…"

"Didn't you say that if they were going to get married soon, you'd march them both down to church this Sunday?"

"I know, I know… I just had to make sure."

"So, are you sure now?"

"Yes, now more than ever."

"Come here then." Anne Possible reached out with both hands and pulled her husband close to her and they kissed. James Possible reached around his wife's waist and pulled her close, and then they both walked in and closed the door behind them and another chapter in their lives.

Author's notes

I'm disappointed by the way this turned out. I didn't have a beta reader and I'll probably rewrite this someday. I guess I wanted to say that there's more to marrying someone than just love or diamond rings or beauty. It's about a mutual lasting friendship. Sure, a lot of us just throws out the word 'love' there, when we want certain characters to marry, but I think there's more to that than just an idealized notion. I guess I'm trying to say that Ron and Kim had true love from the very beginning because of their friendship, not the kind that we normally associate with a fiery passion. And that if we truly care about someone else, we'd step up to take their happiness in our own hands.

I guess I had problems, particularly with the threat of a space probe hanging over the conversation. It's difficult to hang that threat, which begins to sound like a joke to me, over such a serious conversation, and at times I find it hard to remind the audience that Mr. Dr. P would dump Ron into a deep space probe. Plus I hate having to describe the scene, while detracting from the conversation because the scenes doesn't really contribute to the atmosphere.

The perspective this story should be looked at from is from a father watching his daughter grow up and having to trust another man to take care of her for the rest of her life. Somehow when I think about this, I think that Mr. Dr. P will die someday, and he'd want someone to take care of Kim always. I just can't put it in there somehow.

Ron, on the other hand, feels that money and a job is enough, just to impress Mr. Dr. P and I know some people are lucky to get that out of a spouse, but I think here Kim deserves something more and deserves the best. Which is basically what Mr. Dr P put into perspective for Ron, to remind him what is most important to his daughter. I just want to put it somewhere that saying "I love you" just isn't enough for a marriage, rather it's a lifelong vow.

I'm also wondering why Kim has so many pet names with so many people. Mr. Dr. P calls her Kimmie, or Kimmie-cub, while Ron calls her KP. I wonder whether it's right to keep it this way, or just use Kim. I guess each pet name has a particular attachment to each person. KP is a girlfriend, while Kimmie is a daughter.

Also after my debut, I think this piece just doesn't live up to that. But I'm exploring themes right now, and this is more for personal development than anything else. Be constructive in your criticism.