"Alright, almost there. Watch your step."

"Ow! Man, I swear that barbed wire just popped out of nowhere, KP."

It was a quarter until Midnight and the world-saving duo had just returned from their latest mission. All had gone as it usually did; Drakken's attempt at an evil plot, Shego brawling with Kim while Ron, unintentionally, discovered a self destruct button that sent the scientist's current lair into smoke, and Kim and Ron made their swift escape as Drakken swore his revenge. It would've been a rather calm and regular night, that was until Ron caught his leg up in the barbed wire fence as they were making their escape. As Kim gracefully made it to the other side of the fence, she looked up and saw Ron hanging upside down, squirming and trying to free his caught pant leg, yelping every time the wire pricked his fingers.

Kim tried to calm him down and climb back up to help, but Ron came crashing down, a pathetic 'ow' escaping his lips. The boy's right pant leg had been torn off, cut off from the knee down. Kim knelt down to help her best friend get back up on his feet, and realized he could barely take a step without falling over. Turned out, along with half of his pants, the wire had also got part of his leg, leaving about a three inch cut on the side of his calf. On the ride home, Kim had managed to stop some of the bleeding, but still insisted that her mother take a look at it.

Now here they were, at the Possible's front door, Kim helping a limping Ron inside the house. Dr. Ann Possible was still up, sitting in a chair and reading a book in the den, waiting for her daughter to get home. Usually with late night missions, either she or her husband, James, would stay up and wait downstairs just to make sure Kim returned safe and sound.

"Hey, Mom," Kim called out as she shut the door behind her. "Got a bit of a sitch here!"

Ann put her book down and rushed over to the entrance of the house. She only needed one glance at Ron who had an arm draped around Kim for balance and his left leg wrapped up to shift from 'Mom' mode to 'Doctor' mode. "Carry him over to the couch," she ordered. "I'll go fetch the first aid kit."

Kim led Ron into the living room and onto the couch. She could see the look of relief on his face as he finally got off his leg. As Ron shifted his position, Kim tenderly unwrapped the bandage she had applied earlier. "You're gonna be okay, Ron."

"Seriously, Kim, I'm fine," Ron falsely assured. "Really, you don't have to do all of this."

"Ron, you have a gash in your leg!"

"Just a flesh wound! Rufus, tell her!"

The pink mole rat scurried out from Ron's undamaged pocket, took one look at his owner's leg and let out a series of shocked and disgusted noises before retreating back into his hiding place.

Ron frowned. "Thanks for the moral support, Buddy."

Kim rolled her eyes, annoyed. "I swear, you can be so stubborn sometimes."

"Wonder where I got that from," Ron mumbled, but not quiet enough for Kim not to hear him, which got him a swat on the kneecap.

Ann returned with a first aid kit and a glass of water for Ron. She knelt down by the edge of the couch, carefully examining the injury.

"Yep, just as I thought," she concluded. "This is going to require stitches."

Ron's eyes went wide and he nearly fell off the couch. "Stitches?!"

Kim went over to Ron's side, putting an arm around his shoulder in order to calm him down. She knew Ron wasn't a big fan of sharp objects. Especially ones digging into his skin. "It'll be okay," she held his hand and squeezed it. "I'll be right here."

Ron gazed into his friend's kindhearted, green eyes. Looking at her always made him feel at ease. He took a deep breath and nodded. Turning to look at Ann, he spoke. "O-okay. Let's do it."

Ann gave Ron some ibuprofen to help with the pain. Unfortunately, because they weren't currently at the hospital, anesthetic was out of the question.

"Now, Ron, I'm going to need you to try and stay as still as you can, okay?" Kim's mother informed as she was cleaning up the infected area.

The young man gulped. This was so not gonna be fun. "Sure thing, Mrs. Dr. P."

Kim, who was still holding Ron's hand, attempted to avert her friend's attention away from the sitch at hand. She learned from experience that the less you look at what's being poked at you, the less it hurts. "Hey, remember that old car racing game we used to play when we were kids?"

Ron tilted his head. "Super Krash Dummies?"

"Yeah, that one!" Kim smiled. "Dad found the game in the garage along with some other ones we used to play. How about tomorrow we have a gameathon? We could get Bueno Nacho to go."

"Yeah," Ron smiled at the idea. He was always a sucker for nostalgia (when it wasn't traumatic, of course). "That sounds fu- OWW!" He gritted his teeth as he felt the first stitch being sown. Instinctively, he raised his head, trying to look at the cause of the sudden pain, when Kim brought her free hand to his cheek and forced him to look at her.

"Look here, focus here, okay," she reminded him. She repositioned their hands so now their fingers interlaced. Ron had one hell of a grip.

It crushed her to see her best friend in any sort of pain. Then she remembered something from their childhood. Something they would do whenever the other was afraid or upset. Gently caressing Ron's cheek, she tilted his head again so that his eyes were now glancing into hers.

"You're okay. Just look at me, deep breaths. It's almost over."

Ron's shallow, rapid breaths slowly turned to deep steady ones. He continued to hold her hand, squeezing tightly every time the needle entered his flesh. His mouth kept letting out sharp groans and occasional whimpers of pain, and he swore he almost blacked out a few times. All the while he continued to focus on Kim. Her emerald eyes that he loved to watch light up, red hair that he loved to admire from afar, just the way she could communicate through expression. And in that moment, or many moments (Ron had lost count), he somehow felt at peace.

"All done!" Dr. Possible announced.

Both teenagers were shook out of their trance. Ron smiled at his sutured-up leg. "Well, how about that?"

Kim wrapped her arms around him. "See, that wasn't so bad! I'm proud of you."

"Now, you're going to want to stay off your leg as much as you can, Ron," Ann informed the young man. "You don't want to risk popping those stitches. You're more than welcome to stay here for the night, I'll call your parents and tell them you're safe and sound."

The blonde smiled. "Thank you, Ma'am."

Kim and Ron always kept a spare change of clothes at the other's house, just in case. After changing into a T-shirt and pajama pants, Ron curled up on the couch. Rufus made his own sleeping area on the arm of the sofa. Ron found it incredibly easy to fall asleep even with everything he had gone through. Turns out having a needle dig a thread through your skin takes a lot out of a person.

As he faded in and out of consciousness, he couldn't help but think about his best friend. The duo had always been inseparable, yet nowadays Ron found himself always wanting to get closer. He wanted every hug, conversation and adventure they had to last forever. He was pretty sure tonight was the longest time they had held hands...ever. Maybe this was just the aftermath talking. He was just tired. Yeah...that was it. There was no way she felt the same. Right?

Kim sauntered back downstairs and into the living room after changing into her PJ's. She brought down a pillow and blanket from her room, not wanting to leave Ron's side. She lay down right next to him, foreheads almost touching, her body facing the other end of the sofa. It had been awhile since they had a sleepover; she missed them.

Ron was completely out of it, softly snoring and blanket tucked up under his chin. Kim smiled at him. 'He looks utterly adorable' she thought. Remembering back to when she was helping Ron cope through the pain, she couldn't forget his face. His hazel brown eyes filled with fear and pain had transformed back to his soulful ones. His messy, blonde hair that she loved to tussle and play with on occasion. The freckles that masked his cheeks and nose that she liked to count when he wasn't looking...like right now.

Kim snapped out of her thoughts when she realized she had been staring at Ron for almost three minutes. What had come over her? It was probably the adrenaline from tonight just wearing off. It was always her worst fear to have Ron be hurt on mission, and although this wasn't a critical injury, it still made her uneasy. Her best friend, her very first friend all the way back to preschool, her sidekick, her Ron. In a bold act of courage, she gently brushed away his hair and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. She knew Ron was a heavy sleeper and would probably never remember that. But she would. And if the time ever came when she was ready to act on these feelings of hers, she would do it again. Only this time when he was awake.