Ron sat up in the uncomfortable bed and stretched his arms, yawning loudly. He carefully unraveled the bandage around his wrist and inspected his cuts. The doctor had told him that it would be a few more days before the stitches could be removed. It didn't matter. He wasn't getting out of this place anytime soon. The psychiatric ward of the hospital would be his home for several more weeks yet.
After they left the warehouse, Kim had convinced him to go to the hospital and have his injuries taken care of. This, of course, posed the question on how he got the wounds. There was no use lying about it since the answer was completely obvious to anyone with half a brain. As soon as he admitted to it, a psychiatrist was sent to his room to assess his condition. With Kim holding his hand tightly the whole time, the truth about everything leaked out. Afterwards, he was sent up to the psych ward and informed that he was too much of a threat to himself to be released.
Ron's parents were called and told of the situation, which sent them speeding to the hospital in record time. His mom was hysterical over the news that her only child had tried to commit suicide. Luckily, Kim's mom was able to take a break between surgeries to come calm Mrs. Stoppable down to a semi-sane state. As for Kim's parents, Ron was just surprised that they didn't want to finish the job for him after what he'd done to their daughter. They were actually very concerned for his state of mind after hearing the story.
That same night, the warehouse burned to the ground—along with Drakken's body. The authorities said that it was likely a group of "punk kids" looking for a thrill, but Kim knew the truth. She wasn't about to let Ron go to jail for murdering that worthless bastard.
Ron flopped back down on the pillow and sighed. He just wanted to get out of there. They had him taking massive doses of Prozac and he was forced to go to therapy every day to "work out his issues." Ron thought the whole thing was idiotic because in reality he didn't feel much better. He still secretly wished that he had died that day in the warehouse, but saying so would only condemn him to an even longer stay in the hospital.
The door creaked open and Ron looked up to see Kim enter the room. "Hey! How're you feeling?" She asked.
"I'd be better if I could get outta here." He grumbled.
"Well, I brought you something that might cheer you up. Well, two things actually." She revealed the paper bag that she had been hiding behind her back and dropped it in his lap.
"Booyah! Bueno Nacho! You sure know the way to my heart, KP. Hospital food sucks!" He dove into the bag like he hadn't eaten in weeks.
"You're welcome." She said with a smile.
"What's the other thing?" Ron asked through a mouthful of Chimerito.
Kim tapped her hand on her pocket and suddenly a little pink head appeared. Rufus immediately jumped onto Ron's shoulder and nuzzled against his face. "Hey buddy!" Ron exclaimed. "Have the tweebs been treating you okay?"
"Uh huh, Uh huh!" Rufus nodded his head, and then dove into the Bueno Nacho bag to see if Ron had missed any crumbs.
"I had to sneak him in cause the hospital has a strict 'no-rodent' policy. Go figure." Kim shrugged.
"Thanks for everything Kim." Ron said sincerely.
"No big. You would do the same for me."
"Yeah."
"Look, I can't stay. Rufus and I are on the way to Europe. The Seniors' have bought out every disco club between London and Paris. No telling what they're up too this time, but it can't be good."
"No telling." Ron said with a distant look in his eyes.
"I'll see you tomorrow." She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips, then picked up Rufus and placed him back in her pocket.
"Be careful, KP." He called as she left the room.
Ron leaned back and thought about how incredible Kim was. With everything that had taken place, she was already back to saving the world. After attending a few therapy sessions herself, she was able to bounce back to normal and put the entire incident behind her. When she looked at him, there was nothing but love and concern in her eyes, as if nothing ever happened.
"She deserves so much more." He mumbled aloud to himself. The fact that she was able to forgive and forget so easily made him feel even worse. He couldn't stand how she said that she loved him. Not after what he did to her. He didn't doubt the honesty of her words, but it would have made him feel better if she came into his room every day and beat the living hell out of him. That's what he deserved—not her soft embrace and tender kisses.
Everyone tried to instill in his mind that what happened wasn't his fault. Ron knew it was true, but he couldn't get past the fact that he did it, regardless of whose fault it was. He did it and he would have to live with that knowledge for the rest of his life. Night after night he was destined wake up in a cold sweat, screaming in anguish, just as he had done every night since it happened.
A tear rolled down his cheek as the terrible memory began to creep its way into his mind once again. He was supposed to call the nurse immediately if he started to feel angry or depressed again, but he couldn't deal with that right now. He was sick of watching them scribble down their little notes about him while he answered their damn prodding questions.
With a groan, Ron climbed out the bed and lifted up the mattress, cupping his hand around the small pills hidden there. Each night since he was admitted to the hospital, they had brought him a strong sedative to help him sleep. He had fooled the nurses every time by hiding the pills under his tongue as they waited for him to swallow them with a watchful eye. When they left his room, he had carefully tucked them away for reasons not quite clear to him…until now.
For ten days, Ron had held tight to the hope that he would begin to feel better. That the torment and nightmares would start to fade just as Kim's had. For ten days, nothing changed. Sure, he had his high moments when Kim visited and reassured him that everything would be okay, but as soon as she was gone the pain would slowly sneak back in. A sarcastic laugh escaped his lips as it finally sank in that it was all a load of crap. They could give him all the therapy and drugs in the world and it still wouldn't make the gnawing agony that he felt inside go away.
"Twenty." Ron muttered aloud as he finished counting the pills. "Should be enough." If the schedule flowed normally, the nurses wouldn't be in with his dinner for at least an hour—plenty of time for the pills to have their effect.
With a trembling hand, Ron shoved all twenty of the small pills into his mouth and downed them with a huge gulp of water. He climbed back in the bed and laid flat on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling. He knew that Kim would never be able to forgive him for this, but he had no choice. He would never be able to forgive himself.
THE END
AN: Booyah! Weren't expecting that, were you? Sorry guys, but I just can't see Ron letting it go that easily. He just seems too sensitive and he's definitely the type that would develop mad issues over something like that. I'll leave it up to your imagination whether or not they find him in time. ;-)
Seriously though, I would really like to thank everyone so much for all the great reviews. I honestly never expected to get so many! It makes me want to write something else, but I don't have any good ideas right now. Winter break is almost over so I doubt I'll have much time either, but we'll see. So there you have it—I'm done this time. No really, I am!