Middleton General Hospital is one of the most renowned hospitals in the country. It is known for being on the cutting edge of medical advancements and technology as well as a nicely rounded staff with experts in all fields and friendly people all around with only a few exceptions here and there. Because of all the good publicity the hospital is, not surprisingly, usually very busy. Find time just to sit down and eat in the cafeteria is a rare luxury for some doctors.
Two such doctors enjoying that privilege were Dr. Ann Possible and Dr. Rich Anderson. They had both found empty slots in their schedules and decided to have lunch together before the madness started up again. Their conversation began with small talk about their patients and other various things around the hospital, but eventually came around to Ann’s family, in particular her daughter. It was kept far above the usual overly proud parent blathering on about their child’s prefect grades in school, however, due to the simple fact that Ann’s daughter was the world famous teen hero Kim Possible. So while many things could be said about the tales Ann told, boring was never one of them. The current adventure she was recapping for Dr. Anderson was about Kim’s clone and what became of her. He merely shook his head in amazement.
“I tell you Ann, I can’t see how you can do it,” he mused.
“Do what?” she asked, looking over the rim of her coffee mug at him.
“Handle this. All the weird things that happens to your daughter. I mean, cloning? Someone actually perfected that?”
“I was surprised by it too. Especially since she seems to have all of Kim’s memories. Do you know what the means for me as a brain surgeon? I mean, our understanding of the brain is limited as it is, but to find out that the idea genetic memory might be possible?”
Her eyes twinkled a bit at the idea as her fingers absently rubbed the lip to her coffer mug.
“Not to mention what it could do for the organ transplant business,” Dr. Anderson remarked. “Imagine being able to have fresh lungs, hearts or livers available right away. Of course that does raise the ethical question of killing off one person to save another.”
The logic seemed to snap Ann out of her musings.
“You’re right,” she admitted. “It wouldn’t be right to kill one person to save another. But you have to admit the implications are amazing.”
“Oh yeah, they’re great. If you use it right. But somehow I think if cloning ever did get passed by Congress we’d just end up cloning the wrong people.”
“That’s probably true.”
“Right. So just leave it to the mad scientists for now.”
Ann nodded, retreating back into her thoughts for a moment. Dr. Anderson regarded her and suddenly had the feeling he might have stuck his foot in his mouth. Again.
“Hit too close to home for you?” he probed.
“Huh?” she asked back, looking up at him. “Oh no, not really. Just thinking about…well I guess how things have changed recently.”
“Starting with your second daughter.”
“There is that,” she remarked. “And you’re right, clones are just as much of a person as the original. Even if it’s not the best life.”
“Not sure I’m following.”
Ann gave him a look that only a concerned mother could have. “Ren just seemed so…lost. Like she couldn’t figure out who she was, and I can’t say I blame her. It has to be confusing to have someone else’s memories in your head while at the same time building new ones.” She shook her head sadly. “I don’t envy her and I really wish she would have stayed so I could try to help her, but I can understand her choice. I guess it’s just the mother in me that’s worried about her child. Even if that one is a genetically engineered duplicate of my original daughter.”
Dr. Anderson let out a slight chuckle at that.
“I love the fact you can say that with a straight face,” he mused.
She gave him a kind smile in return. “Well eventually you do learn how to adapt to these things.”
“Yeah but still…how can you handle it knowing your daughter’s willingly putting herself in danger on almost a daily basis?”
Ann closed her eyes and let out a slow sigh.
“It’s not easy,” she replied as she reopened her eyes. “But I trust Kimmie’s judgement. I raised her to make the right choices and I firmly believe that’s what she does on every mission. I get a little worried sometimes, yes, but like I said I’m a mother, it’s what we do.”
“Yeah but still…I just understand how you can be so calm and accepting about it.”
Just as she was about to open her mouth, their conversation was interrupted when Dr. Cox came rushing into the cafeteria and practically jumped into the empty seat next to them. He glanced hurriedly around as if someone where chasing him then crouched down low to the table as he looked back and fourth between the now very confused paired.
“For the love of God, hide me!” he requested.
“Perry, what’s wrong?” Ann asked.
He let out an annoyed groaned. “Martha’s got yet another problem with a patient and is doing that thing where she annoys the hell out of me until I help and I reee-heally don’t want to deal with that right now.”
“Martha?” Dr. Anderson replied, feeling a bit lost.
“J.D.,” Ann clarified.
“Oh right. I forgot Perry you like to emasculate the only guy in this hospital that actually seems to like you.”
“And I’ll keep on doing that until he learns to stop it,” Dr. Cox retorted. “So now, what were we talking about?”
“Like you care.”
“Not particularly no, but if I wanna hide out I need to look like I’m part of the conversation. So…go on, discuss whatever.”
“Well if you must know we’re talking about Ann’s family.”
This for some reason brought a smile to Dr. Cox’s face that neither of them liked. It was the same maliciously gleeful look that he got when he was just about to rip into one of the new interns. Ann and Dr. Anderson braced themselves for the worst.
“Oh and what aspect of her very fascinating and very strange family are we talking about now? Her rocket scientist husband who seems to always inadvertently make some of the deadliest weapons known to mankind in his pursuit of quote/unquote knowledge. Or maybe it was her world saving daughter who generally has to go out and get those very same inventions back so they won’t be used in some loon’s latest plot to take over the world. Bearing in mind of course that now she’s in a lesbian relationship with a woman who until very recently was helping one of those loons. But hey it’s all forgotten because they had a baby through some weird perversion of, again, quote/unquote science. Then of course there are her two twin boys who seem to be either following in their father’s footsteps or maybe some of little Kimmie’s foes in the whole ‘making of WMDs thing’. They, however, seem to be sticking to the tried and true MacGuyer line of thinking of using just anything laying around the house for their inventions.
Yes that family dynamic has Norman Rockwell’s name written all over it.”
The other two occupants of the table stared at him in amazement and annoyance.
“Wow. All that talking and still you didn’t manage to say anything,” Dr. Anderson quipped.
“Oh is this the game we’re going to play now?” Dr. Cox replied in a challenging tone.
“No, we’re trying to have a civil conversation,” Ann broke in, trying to head off a fight. “You’re welcome to join us Perry if you can think of something useful to say.”
“I can think of plenty of useful things to say. Like first off, being that you are now a new grandmother, I should say congradulations into getting into the exclusive GMILF club. Very few of those around.”
This caused Ann to flush a bit and stare down at her tray in embarrassment.
“I know what that terms means Perry.”
“And I hope you should, I’ve heard it thrown around enough in your presence, mostly by the new interns and of course The Todd.”
“Yes Todd’s come up to me a few times with some…choice words,” she remarked, the flush dying a bit. “Honestly I don’t know whether to be offended or take it as compliment.”
“Considering the source I’d be offended,” Dr. Anderson offered. “That guy…there’s just something not right about.”
“Of course there’s not, he’s a surgeon,” Dr. Cox pointed out.
“And what’s wrong with surgeons?” Ann asked, taking an offended tone.
“Have you not heard my multiple rants about the knuckle draggers that make up the surgical team?”
“Probably not since we all seem to tune you out after awhile,” Dr. Anderson quipped.
“Then I won’t get into it here cause I don’t think any of us has the time. But you don’t have to worry too much there Annie, you’re a brain surgeon, which means you have to have just a little bit more skill and that points you far above the rest of those scalpel jockeys.”
“Careful Perry, that almost sounded like a compliment,” Ann said with a smirk.
“You want an honest-to-God compliment? Well fine here it is,” he paused to take a breath and when he was done a much more serious look could be seen in his eyes. “I think it’s amazing that you can stay so calm at not only having to deal with all the crap that goes on around here, but also the things your daughter does. Do I agree with you letting her throw herself into danger every chance she gets, no not really but I’m also well aware that I’m not the best person in the world to give advise on good parenting. But I do know that if Jack were out there doing all the things Kim was while I was stuck here dealing with this place…well I’d be an even bigger mess than I am now. So the fact that you can take this all in this incredible stride makes you one of the strongest people I’ve ever had the privilege to know.”
The other two were again stunned into silence but this time due to the amazing 180 that only Dr. Cox could perform. Going from gruff doctor with ice water running through his veins to almost gentle soul that actually cares for the well being of others. The fact he could do this several times a day was unbelievable.
“Wow. Looks like you do have a heart after all,” Dr. Anderson joked.
“Way to ruin the moment there Ritchie,” Dr. Cox retorted.
“Don’t call me that Per.”
“Thank you Perry,” Ann spoke up, again cutting the two off.
“Don’t mention it.”
“Really I-”
“No I mean really, don’t mention it. I don’t need any of the interns or Newbie thinking I’ve gone soft. That would destroy the entire image I try to maintain.”
“My lips are sealed.”
“Mine aren’t,” Dr. Anderson said.
“Oh come on Rich, just let him go on having his fun.”
The slightly older man sighed. “Fine. For you.”
“Do you two want some time alone?” Dr. Cox asked in a suggestive tone.
“Hey! I can still renege on that deal.”
“You can go ahead and do whatever you want, I really couldn’t care less,” the brown haired man remarked as he looked towards Ann again. “But you, you really do need to get a handle on your daughter. Again, probably not my place to say anything, but you have to seriously sit down and face the facts that she can’t going on like this forever. Especially since she has a family of her own now.”
“I know Perry, I know. It’s just so hard for her to accept the fact that she can’t keep doing this forever,” Ann said with a sigh.
“Well then give her a taste of the big guns if you have to. You’re still her mother and she will listen to you, you just gotta be firm.” He leaned forward as he looked her straight in the eyes. “Look I’m saying this for your safety as well as hers. You’ve been around here long enough to know what happens to pro athletes who think they’re invincible. They can’t accept the fact that they’re getting older and slowly and can brake much more easily. And what always happens to them? They always wind up in here with a much more severe injury than they need to have just because they’re too stubborn. Hell, you’re a brain surgeon you know what one too many bumps to the head can do to a person. And none of those people, none of them, have lunatics chase them around with death rays. So you gotta ask yourself how would you feel if one day it was Kim laying on the operating table like that?”
Ann let out another sigh as she leaned back into the chair to think of his words. In true Perry Cox style his words were blunt, to the point and ultimately correct. Her biggest fear was the day when Kim would get severely injured on one of her missions because she either didn’t go prepared or took a risk she shouldn’t have. She tried not to dwell on for fear of it driving her crazy, but it was always there in the back of her mind.
“You’re right Perry,” she admitted, still looking down at the table. “I just can’t seem to be able to the find the words to tell-”
She stopped when she looked up and saw the chair he was sitting in was now vacant. When she looked to Dr. Anderson for an answer he merely pointed behind them. She titled her head a bit to see a young doctor with black, moused hair walking towards them with a clipboard in his hand.
“Hey have either of you two seen Dr. Cox?” he asked, stopping in front of their table.
“Sure have J.D., he’s right over there between those two fat guys,” Dr. Anderson said, pointing over to the table across from them.
Dr. Cox leaned forward between said fat guys to glare spitefully at him.
“Well played ya bastard,” he growled then turned his attention to J.D. “Hey Newbie is that the candy fairy over there handing out bracelets and sugar canes?”
I know I shouldn’t… J.D. thought but nonetheless looked behind him.
Not surprisingly there was nothing there, but he still couldn’t help but let out a disappointed groan. When he turned back around he noticed Dr. Cox was not only gone from the table but from the room completely.
“He moves very fast,” he said quietly to himself.
He then shook his head and looked back at the two at the table.
“Hey Ann, while I’m here there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he started.
“OK, what?” she asked, wondering if she should be suspicious.
“I know that your daughter now has a baby too and I was wondering if you could talk her into loaning her to me.”
“I’m gonna be sorry I asked this, but why would you want Ann’s granddaughter?” Dr. Anderson asked.
“Because I want to get her and Turk and Carla’s baby together for a new idea I had; Baby Racing.”
“Baby Racing?” they both asked.
“Yeah. Think of how cute they’d be in their little racing uniforms and goggles and scarfs.”
“J.D. I want you to take a moment and really think about that idea,” Dr. Anderson advised.
The young doctor looked at him for a second before he turned his head to the left and seemed to drift off into his own little world. When Dr. Anderson looked to Ann for an explanation she merely held up an index finger in the classic, “Wait a minute” motion.
“There’d be tears and doodie everywhere!” J.D. suddenly shouted with a shake of his head.
He then walked off, presumably continuing his search for Dr. Cox. As he watched him go, Dr. Anderson couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement.
“You know, the more I work here the more I realize it’s not just your daughter who has to deal with freaks,” he mused.
“Oh J.D.’s fine he just has an overactive imagination,” Ann remarked with a wave of her hand.
“What about Perry?”
“He’s…well…I’d better not say.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough. But, and I really hate to say this, he does have a point. Kim really needs to start worrying about her daughter the way you do about her.”
“Oh she does, trust me. I’ve had to talk her down a few times where she’s wondering if she’s doing the right thing or if she’ll make a good mother. She actually reminds me of me when I was raising her.”
“Okay so she’s got the overly worried mother part down. But she’s still putting herself in harms way. Not just her but her baby’s too. I mean, don’t you ever worry about one of those freaks she fights breaking into her house and doing something to Shin?”
“Of course I do. Like I said, I’m a mother I worry about all my children all the time, including my grandchild. I have nightmares that one of Kim’s foes is going to cross the line and take their revenge out on Shin. They’re not often because as I said, I trust her to do the right thing and to do all she can to protect her family but occasionally the thought does keep me up at night.”
“So what do you do?”
She reached forward and grabbed her mug of coffee and closed her eyes as she took a slow sip. When she was done she cradled the mug in her hands as she opened her eyes to look across the table at him. Her eyes looked mirthful with just a hint of seriousness mixed in.
“I feel very sorry for whoever’s foolish enough to go into the house looking for a fight.”
The End
Author’s Notes: Well there you have it, the first installment in a new way I’ll be presenting my one shots. Since I have so many of them in mind, and more popping up everyday, I decided to just compile them all under one title rather than cluttering up the first page with all my weird ass ideas. Plus it will help me be more organized and able to reference them quicker, which is always good. For the most part they’re follow the pattern I’ve set so far, with them being about 5-10 pages of mostly dialogue and character introspectives but there might be a few that are around 15-20 page action/adventure stories. I’ll try to keep those to a minium though as I feel those kind of stories should be fics in themselves. Still, this series will offer just what its promises; a closer look at the various characters that make up my “Maternal Instinct” universe, both major and minor and OC. Hope you’ll join me for the ride.