*taps on microphone* Is this thing on?

Hello again, wonderful JN fandom! Anybody remember me? My love for this fandom has just recently been rekindled, and not only that – I've got a cute little story for you. Long ago, back in 2013, I wrote/started a CRAP ton of Jimmy Neutron fics that I never got around to publishing.

And this...isn't...one of them.

Completely random inspiration hit me just last night, so I sat down and wrote this. HOWEVER, there will be the previously-unpublished-turned-published one-shots in the very near future and if we're lucky - another full-length story! *knocks on wood*

I'd also like to dedicate this story to jcforever19, who got me back into this fandom by asking if I'd read her story "Times Infinity" (which is flipping AWESOME by the way, go check it out!) a few months ago. Thanks, you lovely person you. I'd nearly forgotten how incredible this fandom is.

Cindy and Jimmy are around 17 here, just as a sidenote.

Without further ado. Enjoy.

It was Goddard who got his attention.

It was late, but how late exactly, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was in the midst of furiously penning possible solutions to Goldbach's Conjecture in the dim light of his bedroom and the house was eerily quiet. Somewhere along the line he had fallen into a half-aware daze – not quite sleeping, but not fully awake – when his mechanical canine nudged him on the hand, whimpering softly. Jimmy inhaled sharply, shaking his head, and blinked rapidly as he stared down at the sea of paper surrounding him. "Time for bed boy?" he said, stretching. Goddard nudged him again, more forcefully, and Jimmy frowned. "What's the matter? Do you need to go out?" His dog barked softly and turned in a circle, then seemed to head nod towards his window.

It was then he noticed it was open.

With a soft hum of acknowledgement, he stood and walked towards it, shivering slightly. He had never outgrown the comfort of sleeping in only his boxers, and he had been all ready for bed when inspiration for the Conjecture had struck. He should really get to bed.

It was only when he went to close it that the sight of a familiar blonde down in his yard kick-started a burst of adrenaline. "Cindy?" he said, rather loudly, then clamped his mouth shut when she looked up at him from down below.

"Hi," was all she said and he frowned.

"What are you doing here? It's like…" He glanced quickly at his watch. "One A.M. Are you okay?" He could barely see her – she was outside the beam of illumination from the streetlight – but could make out her movements. She shifted from foot to foot, arms crossed over her chest.

"I need help Jimmy," she said softly. "I…" His heart stopped, then picked up double time with alarm.

"Hang on," said he. "I'm coming down." He crossed his room quickly, grabbing a pair of checkered pajama bottoms from the floor and put them on quickly. His tiredness had disappeared entirely and questions were pounding in his brain. When people showed up at your house in the middle of the night, it was rarely to share good news. What had happened? Why did she come to him? Why did –

He yanked a sweatshirt off the back of his desk chair and ran on his toes down the stairs. His parents were fairly deep sleepers, but he couldn't help going overboard with precaution. He opened the door slowly, despite the apprehension tingling in his nerves, and stepped outside. "Cindy?" he whispered. She appeared from the left, but stopped right outside the path to the house. He quickly took in her appearance – pajama shorts, flip flops, disheveled hair, sleeveless top, arms still crossed firmly over her chest – and frowned. It couldn't be more than forty degrees out here…she must be freezing. A quick glance across the street and he noted several lights were on in the Vortex household.

Odd.

"I just…I needed to…um…" Her voice was barely audible. He squinted in the darkness. Was she…shaking?

"Hey, do you want to come inside?" He motioned behind him, watching curiously as she stole a glance at her house. She then locked eyes with him and he froze for a second at how green they were in this strange lighting.

"Jimmy I'm sorry," she whispered. "I really am. I just need to lay low, I –"

"It's no problem. Come inside." She was exhibiting an uncharacteristic level of agitation, possibly fear, and it was unnerving him a little. When she breezed past him and entered the house, it caught him by surprise. He took a moment to cast another quick glance around the neighborhood, then walked back into the house, shutting the door softly behind him.

He entered just as he spotted Cindy cresting the top of the stairs, entering his bedroom. He smirked a little, then caught himself, and followed her there. He was just about to enter his room when he heard her whisper, "Don't move." He froze, instantly noting two things.

1. She had turned his light off and

2. She was down on her knees by his window, looking out at her house.

He didn't move from his doorway, cold anxiety creeping up his spine at the sheer panic he had heard in her voice. Something was wrong. No, something was very wrong if Cindy Vortex was seeking him out at this time of night. She was the most fearless person he knew, and if something was scaring her, it was worth at least a smidgen of alarm.

He stood there for several minutes in total silence, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. When Cindy finally exhaled and moved a little, he thought it might be safe to speak, but she beat him to the punch.

"Sorry," she whispered. If the house had not been dead silent, he might not have heard her, her voice was so low. "My…my mom was out in the yard. I had to make sure she didn't see anything." Jimmy blinked, then walked over to her.

"Cindy," he said quietly, crouching down beside her. "What is going on?" She slumped back onto her bottom, staring glumly at the wall, then turned towards him.

"My parents had a really big fight," she whispered, her eyes shining with tears. "That in itself is a pretty common occurrence, but this was a bad one, Jimmy. This time I was involved." He studied her intensely, noticed her still shaking, and swallowed. "It started hours ago and I…I didn't want to deal with it so I just went to bed." She gestured at herself, as if to explain why she was in pajamas. "But it got loud. Really loud. Screaming, crying, things were getting broken. I didn't know…I didn't know if he was going to hit her again." Jimmy took note of the word "again," but stayed silent. "So I went down there. I had hoped…I had hoped maybe I could talk them down or something. When I got down there it was…oh God, it was chaos Jimmy. The coffee table was in pieces, the TV was smashed, it –" She cut herself off and wiped her eyes. "I didn't know they'd been drinking. There were…there were several empty bottles of wine, I didn't bother to count. I was furious. I demanded that they stop or I was going to call the police and –" She suddenly sobbed and Jimmy felt his heart break. "They…they turned on me, I don't –"

"Oh Cindy," he whispered. He reached out to touch her and she flinched. His fingers froze in movement, just above her shoulder.

"He pushed me, Jimmy." She locked eyes with him then, tears now streaming silently down her face. "Into the coffee table. It was glass. Already broken. And I…" She unfolded her arms from around her chest and he froze at the sight of her bloodied fingers.

"Cindy, oh my God, you're –" He motioned Goddard over and muttered a quick, "Light, light," and the glow showed a nasty gash across her upper arm and shoulder. "You're bleeding," he said with horror, but Cindy only nodded.

"I'm really sorry," she whimpered. "I just panicked and ran and Libby's was too far away. I don't have my phone or anything or I wouldn't have bothered you and you were right there across the street. I…I hid in your bushes for like ten minutes just in case they saw and Goddard heard me throwing rocks at your window and –"

"Okay. Cindy, we have to get this cleaned. Come on." Urgency overcame him in dizzying waves and all he knew was fix this fix this I have to fix this. He grabbed her hand without thinking and led her to his bathroom. "There's no window in here so they won't see the light," was all he said, flicking the switch. The sudden brightness rendered him blind for a moment and he blinked, irritated.

Her father had hit her. Her father had hit her –

When his eyes finally adjusted, he finally got his first real look at her for the night. Blood, both fresh and drying, stained the milky white of her right arm and she seemed to be absentmindedly clutching it with her left hand. Her face was red and wet and her eyes were –

"Did he hit your face?" he whispered hoarsely. Her gaze rose from the floor and stared at him, sadly. A bruise was forming at her left temple, the skin ugly and irritated, and the scene played out in his imagination rather disturbingly. Fist to the left temple, she goes flying and lands on her right arm, skin gets lacerated from broken glass and –

"Sit on the counter," he said. She complied and he had to force himself to quell the utter fury currently flowing through him. His fingers worked quickly, grabbing cleaning supplies and towels in an attempt to calm himself down.

He worked in silence, cleaning the blood from her skin with a warm, wet towel. He disinfected the wound with soap and water, whispering an apology when she hissed with pain. His brain was in full-on fix it mode, and he soon had her bandaged up with expert efficiency.

"Goddard," he whispered as he studied her face. "Get me some ice, please." The dog exited the bathroom silently and it was at that moment she spoke again.

"Jimmy." Her gaze met his and he felt another part of his heart shatter. "I swear to you, this…this was an accident. My father has never hit me before and he was drunk and –"

"He hit you," he snapped. The fear in her eyes was absolutely unnerving him because this wasn't Cindy. Cindy was strong, Cindy was fearless, no one should have the power to terrify her like this.

"It was an accident," she said again. He reached out slowly and tucked a few pieces of hair behind her ear, watching as her eyes filled once more.

"Cindy." He grabbed onto her shoulders, gently. "Are you sure this has never happened before?" Her eyes closed and her head dropped.

"Please don't do this, Jimmy," she whispered. He wanted to scream and break the mirror. No. He wanted to go bash her father's face in. He couldn't believe that any man was capable of hitting a woman, much less his own daughter, and the weighty injustice of it felt like someone had stabbed him in the lungs. God, it was just so…so heartbreaking.

At that moment, Goddard returned with the ice and he took it from him without another word. He pressed it gently against the side of her face and the two relapsed into silence once more. His anger, though still present, was beginning to fade as he realized that that wasn't what she needed right now. They could deal with those emotions later, but what she needed was a gentle hand, a comforting presence.

She needed support, and he was more than willing to give it.

After a certain point, she suddenly shifted, grabbing ahold of his wrist and pulling it away from her face. "I'm okay," she said quietly, still not looking at him. She got down from the counter slowly, swallowing hard. "Could I…could I use your phone? Libby never turns her phone off and she'll let me spend the night. I'm really sorry, it's the last favor I'll ask of you tonight."

"No." She jumped and looked at him, startled. He shook his head to emphasize the point, suddenly feeling like a huge jerk. "Listen, Cindy. You're not…you're not bothering me. At all. I'm glad you came to me." Suddenly feeling bold, he grabbed a hold of her hands. "Please stay here tonight. I can get you anything you need." She didn't react and it was then he realized what an idiot he was being. She wanted to be with Libby, who the hell was he to make the choice for her?

"Oh Jimmy," she whispered. "You really mean that, don't you?" He gave her a sad smile and nodded, squeezing her hands in his. She let out a small laugh, letting go of his hands, then stepped forward and wrapped him in a huge hug. He held her close, inhaling the scent of vanilla and strawberries, and forgot for a moment that anyone else existed except for her.

"So it's settled, then," he murmured into her ear. She nodded, pulling back, and he took ahold of her hand and led her back to his room. "You can sleep in my bed," he whispered, "and we'll figure all this out in the morning, okay?" She nodded and he smiled. He hastily grabbed up all of his calculations and placed them on his desk, motioning towards the bed. She laid down quietly and he tucked her in, marveling at how small she looked. "It's going to be okay, Cindy." He stared down at her, suddenly feeling weak. "I promise."

"I know," she whispered. He smiled again, brushing those stubborn strands of hair away from her face again.

"Goodnight." He stood and turned, running a hand through his hair. There were extra blankets in the hall closet, so he would be fine. He just hoped he was up before his parents. "Come on, Goddard." His dog had followed him silently all night, and he would have to remember to give him extra treats for getting his attention tonight.

He was just about to exit when her voice cut through the silence once more. "Jimmy?" He turned and she was sitting up, clutching the blankets to her chest.

"Yeah?" She paused a moment, almost seeming hesitant.

"I…" She picked at the sheets, then sighed. "I don't want to be alone tonight." She sounded so broken, so utterly nervous, that he shut the door behind him without thinking and made his way over. She instantly slid to the other side of the bed and he got in with her, feeling slightly giddy before he forced it down.

It was so not the time for that.

The two laid facing each other, studying the other, until Goddard shut the lights out. Even then he could still make out her form in the dark, those green eyes penetrating the darkness.

"Jimmy," she whispered. She sighed softly. "Thank you."

"Of course, Cindy." He jumped, slightly, when she reached out and touched his face, running her fingers over his jaw line. He shivered.

"I take back every nasty thing I ever said to you," she said, then slid closer, resting her head against his chest. "Goodnight, Jimmy."

"Goodnight," he murmured, cradling her against his body. There were still a lot of things, a lot of challenges the two would face once the sun rose. Yet despite it all, he knew that tonight was a shift, a transition of sorts into something entirely new. Nothing would be the same between them. And he was okay with that.

In hardly any time at all, her breaths rose and fell in a steady pattern and she fully relaxed in his arms. The sound of her breathing slowly lulled him to sleep and before he succumbed entirely, he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. In the morning he would fix everything for her.

But right now, he would simply hold her.

I'd like to take a moment to quickly detail how I think Cindy and Jimmy's relationship went as they got older: the two stopped fighting as much, but maintained their competition with each other. And of course, mild to outright flirtation is a fairly common occurrence between them, but they need a push to actually "become" a couple. Viola.

Did you know that the idea for this story came about because I had a vision of the two of them in bed just playing and cuddling with each other? Leave it up to my warped mind to turn it into something dark and depressing.

Anyway, please leave a review for this rusty old author. I do apologize if they were OOC, but it makes sense to me in the context I provided above. A part of me is kind of tempted to write a follow-up too; the next morning drama and all that. Let me know if it's worth it!