And You And I

S220(U8): The heart of the matter

Author's note:

Whew, finally made it! My apologies to any of you early birds who read the first two chapters of this update and were wondering where the third one was. I had to go out for a couple of hours before I had a chance to finish posting it, but it's here now.

Ok, so this chapter was supposed to be a fairly straightforward and relatively short affair, so, naturally, it broke my record for the longest chapter I've ever written (third or fourth time I've done that is this fic) and comes in at a whopping 13568 words! However, I'll explain what happened at the end. For the chapter title, I've gone with the title of my favourite Don Henley (of the Eagles) solo song: The heart of the matter and it's is all about starting to work through your anger towards someone so that you can move on. The reason? Read on to find out. Enjoy.

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It was just after eleven pm and Kim Possible felt both happy, tired, but also a little sore. After leaving Bueno Nacho, she'd toured the new astrophysics exhibit at the Middleton Science Centre with her dad. Where it transpired that he'd made more than just a small contribution to an exceptionally fun and interactive exhibit. She'd asked him about it and while he'd insisted he'd only had a small part in it, the curator had been more than happy to tell her the truth of the matter. It seemed her father had originally been asked to contribute to a drab, lifeless exhibit that would have made enthusiasts yawn in boredom and caused children to wish they were back in school. Indeed, when he had been asked for his opinion, it had been exactly those words that had convinced the curator to take her dad out to dinner and quiz him on what he would do in order to engage people; especially children. One long conversation about the Little Rocket Boosters later and the curator had scrapped everything, hired someone who knew how to create engaging educational attractions and set about redesigning the exhibit based around her father's principles of keeping everything fun and interactive. The entire visit, which had included coffee with the curator and a trip around the rest of the science centre too, had lasted nearly five hours, after which her father had called home to tell Jim and Tim to order themselves pizza and then insisted he take her out to dinner. She had not hesitated in saying yes and they had enjoyed a lovely meal in a French restaurant; her dad's attempt to help refine her taste buds.

Kim drained the last of a glass of apple sours and lemonade and turned off the TV. She winced slightly as she rose from the sofa and took the glass through to the kitchen to place inside the dishwasher. Ok, so despite some pain in my back and not being able to go out on a mission, today was a good day. And dad finally treating me like an adult felt so refreshing. I'll need to ensure I make time for him moving forward. At least he's one person I won't mind spending time with when I'm home... she let the thought die there, not willing to let her feelings towards 'other' people in her life sour her mood.

Leaving the kitchen, Kim headed across the main living area towards the hall that led to her bedroom, her stride shorter than usual and with a slight limp. Neither of which she was able to ignore, despite how much she wanted to. I'm just a bit stiff and a little sore because I was on my feet almost all day, I'll be fine come morning... she let that thought die too. If she did not feel back to normal come morning, she would have to take tomorrow off too ...it's the sensible thing to do. Damn, I hate being sensible! She had just set foot in the short hall when the sound of her doorbell ringing caused her to pause. Who on earth is it at this hour? Turning, she headed down the step and had made it halfway to the door before stopping dead in her tracks. Mom! Dad will have told her about my back and so she'll have come straight over after work to check on me. She immediately felt both a sense of annoyance and appreciation at the implications of her deduction and both directed squarely at the woman whom she knew stood on the other side of the door. Annoyance, due to her current disposition towards her mom and what she considered continual attempts to interfere with her life and appreciation, not gratitude, that despite the current state of affairs between them, her mom had still chosen to come and see if she was ok. For a heartbeat, she thought about turning around and going to bed; leaving her mom out on her doorstep until such a time as she got the message and left. The sound of the doorbell ringing again drove that idea from her mind. If I'm not going to let her in, she at least deserves to hear it from me. She held this notion in her mind as she crossed the main living area to the door. I'm just going to open the door, tell her I'm fine, that I don't want or need her help and that's it.