If lovin' you is wrong, for Christmas: A MoRonic Christmas
Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Corporation. All other characters are the creation of the author and may not be used without his permission.
This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work…at this time.
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A/N Forward:
It's their first Christmas together after they got married, and it was supposed to be happy…
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If lovin' you is wrong, for Christmas...
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A MoRonic Christmas
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The band started playing, and a few, then more, then all the guests laughed when they recognized the music. The laugher was joined by applause and cheers as the newlyweds stood.
The new husband offered his hand, and his new bride smiled shyly and placed her hand in his. He led her to the ballroom dance floor to continued waves of applause and whistles, then offered a bow; he responded with a blush as she curtsied to him. He offered his hand, and she stepped into his arms as they began to dance to their chosen song:
"If lovin' you is wrong, I don't want to be right," and they both closed their eyes as they danced.
His thoughts: 'How did I get this lucky to be in Bueno Nacho that night, to see her walk in after all these years? What did I do to ever deserve someone so beautiful, so caring, so witty? God, thank you for sending her to me.'
He twirled her, and she melted back into his arms.
Her thoughts: 'I love him so much. God, what would have happened if I hadn't had that lay-over here that night because of a weather delay: would I have ever seen him, again? He loves me so much. Eat your heart out, Kim: I got a Ron of my very own, and I don't have to feed a naked mole rat!'
She smiled as she looked into the ecstatic eyes of her husband and said, "I love you, Mr. Ronell Scott Reger, my husband."
He felt he was literally beaming when he heard her speak, her voice so soft that he knew her message was only meant for him, and he looked into her deep browns and spoke for the first time since he'd been stuffed with cake, "and, I love you, Mrs. Monique Darlene Jenkins-Reger, the love of my life, my beautiful bride."
"Do you like the music, my husband?"
"Much better than the alternative, my bride: 'Ebony, and Ivory' would have been a bit obvious," he smiled, and she laughed. "Besides, I'm not that white," he whined.
"We'll see tonight, won't we?" Monique smirked, and the guests were entertained by the happy couple laughing on the dance floor.
They stared into each others' eyes, their heads moved in concert…
…as their lips met, and champagne corks popped, for the second official kiss of the Regers…
Ron knew that it was forever; of that, he was certain…
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Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
"Are you all right, Mister?"
Ron shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs and the fears from his mind, as he cracked open his eyes and stared at his wife of five months, now lying still in a hospital bed, a tube down her throat, her eyes, still closed.
He could feel her warmth as he held his hand, but his mind said that something was different….
He realized that there was someone else in the room, someone whose hand was in his: a small hand, but a hand filled with warmth, even though it felt old and young at the same time.
He opened his eyes a bit and looked down at the hand: tiny, heavily bandaged, with tiny fingers sticking out the ends. The fingers looked wrong.
He looked up from the hand, and he wanted to cry. This person had obviously been in a fire, a really, really bad fire: these were second- and third-degree burns that were being treated with skin grafts.
He lifted his head, and he saw the face, wrapped in bandages with dark black eyes peering out, but the eyes were so far from the pain that he expected to see…the eyes were looking into his soul, it seemed.
"Mister, are you all right?" and Ron smiled.
"I'm fine; I'm just worried about my wife."
"She's very pretty, Mister: she'll be fine, I just know it," the person stated with the confidence of youth.
"I've come by every day since she came in, and I talk to her. She's a good listener," the person laughed.
"Sharon! There you are!" Ron looked up and saw the nurse coming into the room.
'This must be Sharon,' he thought.
"Nurse Annabelle," Sharon looked up at the nurse, and Ron's eyes followed her head as he looked up at the nurse, as well: compassion and caring were the mantra of Annabelle's face.
"Are you bothering Mr. Reger?" Annabelle asked with a smile, and Ron shook his head 'no.'
"She's no bother, no bother at all; in fact, she told me that Mon is a good listener," Ron laughed. "And, she is, too, Sharon: she's listened to me and put up with me all the time we've been married."
"How long have you been married, Mister?" Sharon asked.
"Only five months," Ron smiled, "but I know we'll be married forever," he added, and Ron could now see that the little girl's mouth was partially uncovered because her smile came through.
"My brother and I have been longer than that," Sharon replied.
"How long have you been here, Sharon?"
"We've been here since March, ever since it happened.
"I'll bet she'll be a good Mommy, too, like my Mommy was," Ron saw Annabelle's eyes pain, so he changed subjects quickly.
"Where is your Mommy, Sharon?" Ron asked, and he got a no-word answer:
Sharon's little hand shot straight up, and a single index finger pointed skyward. "Mommy and Daddy are our new guardian angels, me and my brother," Sharon smiled. "They're keeping us safe from the bad things, now."
"Sharon, we should go and leave Mr. Reger with his wife," Nurse Annabelle stretched her hand out, and Sharon placed her hand in Annabelle's hand.
"Bye, Mister Reger," Sharon said as she left the room. "I'll be back tomorrow to check on Mrs. Reger," she called as she headed down the hall.
"She'll be back, tomorrow, Monique," Ron said through his tears. "She's alone, and she's worried about you, Mon: maybe I can be that strong when you come back to me," he smiled and leaned over, kissing her lips around the tube, his tears falling on her face.
"Good-bye, Mrs. Reger. I'm sorry; I never wanted you to come to any harm: who would have known that a drunk driver would take our child, even before we got to meet him?" Ron fell into his seat and cried for his son, now no longer even a chance for survival in his grasp.
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Ron didn't know, before they got married, that Monique was pregnant: obviously, neither did Monique, until they returned from their honeymoon to learn that their child was five weeks along.
Ron had welcomed the news after his initial surprise, and Monique was relieved to know that the weight she'd gained and hadn't been able to get rid of wasn't due to her getting older. The couple had announced the news to their friends at an alcohol-free party. Monique's parents were thrilled, and Ron's parents were beside themselves with joy when they got the calls from the happy couple. Kim had been excited, wanting to see if Monique was going to use her design skills to create a new maternity line for Club Banana. Ron Stoppable had called Ron Reger and congratulated him, but he had also warned him about the 'food craving' window.
Ron Reger had thought he was ready for it, but the green chili pepper enchiladas with sardines and roasted marshmallows were the final straw to his stomach. Monique had laughed as she ate them and watched Ron turn the same color as the chili peppers.
'The whole sitch was absurd,' Ron thought as he left Monique's hospital room. 'If she had not decided to help a friend, she would have been at work instead on the road when that man came through the intersection at 90 mph.' The front and side air bags as well as her seat belts had saved his wife's life, but those same air bags had doomed his son.
"My son," Ron said as he looked into the nursery and watched the parents holding their children. Fortunately, Monique would still be able to have children, but she had lost their son. Ron only wished that she had had a chance to hold him like he had before they took him away.
"Goodbye, Ron Jr." Ron had named him; they had talked about names, but they hadn't decided on one for certain; this was one that was on the list, however, so he had chosen it for his son. He had wrapped the tiny child in the blanket, kissed the tiny forehead and fingers, and convinced the doctor to allow him pictures before they took him away. "Monique would never forgive me if I didn't get at least one picture," Ron Reger said, and Ron Stoppable had had to help Ron Reger stand while Kim took the pictures, tears streaming down her face. Kim's daughter, Amy Janine, had helped her mom, and she held the camera and snapped the picture that Kim wanted for Monique; a picture of Kim, holding their son, and smiling.
"Goodbye, little guy," Amy Janine had whispered as they took him away, and Ron took his friend Ron Reger out so he could collapse away from the ladies, and Kim and Amy sat with Monique as she lay, unconscious, in the hospital bed. 'It was the least we could do,' Amy had told her mother, and Kim agreed.
Ron Reger remembered one statement that Ron Stoppable had made: "Ron, I know it hurts like hell, but you will make it through this, and you will have a son. Yahweh told Rebekah that she would conceive, and she did, even though she was barren. Monique will feel the same, but she will have a child, Ron," and Ron Stoppable hugged his friend Ron Reger and cried with him for his lost son.
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Monique was dreaming: she was driving in downtown Middleton, and all was well. She saw the Mumvee roaring down the street toward her car, but she couldn't get out of the way. She felt the vehicle strike her driver-side door, she watched the drivers-side airbag deploy, followed by the airbag in front of her from the steering wheel, and she felt her car spin around like a top.
She was outside, watching the car spin, and she was sitting on the sidewalk, watching her car.
"What a mess," she heard a voice next to her; she turned to see Kim sitting next to her, sucking down a Slurpster and watching the scene.
"Kim, what's up?"
"GF, you were a wreck," Kim laughed as Monique heard her car finally stop its spin, the fluids from the vehicle pouring from the engine.
"What are you doing here? What am I doing here, and there, at the same time?"
"You need to say goodbye to someone," Kim said as she held out her arms; her Slurpster disappeared and was replaced with a baby in a blanket.
"Say hello to Ron, Jr.," Kim smiled, and the baby looked up at Monique and smiled.
"Hi, Mom," Ron, Jr. spoke, and Monique was sure she'd had too many drugs, wherever she really was. "Sorry I didn't make it, but Dad and Aunt Kim were good to me and helped me go Home," Ron Jr. smiled. "But, you're all right, and that's what really matters.
"Mom, I love you, and I'll be watching out for you," he continued with a smile. "Be good to Sharon: she's been watching out for you the whole time you've been in the hospital."
"Who's Sharon?" Monique asked, and a couple appeared and took Ron Jr. from Kim's arms.
"Sharon's our daughter, Monique," the woman replied. "I'm Zelma Pruitt, and this is my husband Tony: we were Sharon and Clayton's parents before we were killed in an auto crash, just like you, but ours was worse than yours.
"Monique, we'll watch out for Ron, Jr., up here, so don't worry about him. Your son is in His hands, now," Zelma smiled.
"What about your kids, Zelma?" Monique asked as they all began to fade into a huge fog bank as the emergency vehicles appeared on site.
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Monique realized that she had a tube in her throat, and then she realized that she had a tiny hand in hers.
She cracked open her eyes and saw a smile.
"I told him you'd wake up today, and he didn't believe me!" the person squeezing Monique's hand was excited as her hand moved up and down.
"Hello, Mrs. Reger," the person smiled; Monique could see it around her bandages. "I'm Sharon, and I've been your hostess," she giggled "while you've been otherwise occupied with healing."
"Sharon, you were right," Monique's heart rate sped up as she heard the voice she needed to hear. "Hello, Mrs. Reger," Ron smiled as he walked closer to the bed and bent over, kissing his wife around the tubes.
"Mrs. Reger: good afternoon. I'm Doctor Thomas," the doctor entered the room, smiling, and with the nurse in tow. "You're been breathing well, and we're going to remove that pesky tube, but I'm going to need your help, alright?
Monique nodded.
"Good. I'll need you to blow when I count to three, and then you'll be rid of this thing. One…Two…Three! Blow, Mrs. Reger!" Monique blew, and the doctor removed the tube. Monique started to open her mouth, but the doctor placed his hand over it. "Not yet, Mrs. Reger: You'll need a few hours. Here are some ice chips to help you get rid of that rough feeling down there," and he handed the cup to Ron; he placed a chip on Monique's lips, and she let it slide into her mouth, welcoming the cool water flowing down her throat.
The doctor and nurse left after a few minutes of checking charts and talking to Monique about the schedule for the next few days, and Ron pulled the chair up next to the bed and sat, Sharon moving to the chair furthest away from the bed and sitting down.
Monique pointed at her stomach, and Ron shook his head, 'no.'
"Before you panic, Monique, the doctor said that everything's all right: you still have the ability to have children; the accident, unfortunately, hurt Ron, Jr., more than his little body could handle, and he didn't make it."
Monique's tears welled up. "I named him Ron, Jr.; I thought he needed a name before he was buried, and the minister baptized him, too," Ron added, and Monique mouthed 'thank you.'
"I have pictures of him, as well: Kim and Ron helped me, dear, so you wouldn't feel bad," Ron smiled.
"Besides," he added, nodding his head toward Sharon, "you've had a guardian angel the entire time you've been in here. Sharon, would you come over here, please?" Sharon stood and walked over, taking Monique's hand as Monique's eyes widened. "I found out that she's been in here whenever she could sneak away or wasn't in tests or procedures of her own, mostly holding your hand and talking, Monique," Ron smiled.
"You're a good listener, Mrs. Reger," Sharon added, "your eyes are pretty, too."
"Sharon?" Nurse Annabelle appeared in the door, and Sharon looks up at Ron and smiled.
"Gotta go," she grinned, and she headed out of the room. Monique's eyes widened even more as she saw the cane that Sharon was using, and Monique noticed her limp, even though it was almost non-existent.
What Monique did notice was the little girl's prosthetic left leg as she waved goodbye and left the room.
"I've missed you, baby girl," Monique's eyes watered as she heard the phrase that always melted her heart, and she turned her head back to Ron's moist eyes. "I was afraid…scared, all the time you were out, that you weren't going to come back to me. I didn't know what I would do if you didn't come back."
"I'm………….here………….now………….baby boy," Ron's eyes widened as his smile snapped into place with the five magic words he'd prayed to hear coming from Monique's lips, and he leaned over and kissed those magic lips, now free of all tubular obstructions. Monique's arms came up, tubes and wires and all, pulling her husband to her, and their shared tears finally released for all of their unshared, now shared pain.
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Monique was watching NCN when she heard a knock at the door. She looked over and saw Sharon.
"Come on in, baby girl," Monique smiled, and Sharon walked in. Monique put her sketch pad down and patted the edge of her bed, and Sharon climbed up and into it, her back against the headboard.
"How are you, Mrs. Reger?"
"Sharon, please: Monique, remember?"
"All right…Monique?"
"That's better," Monique smiled, and Sharon couldn't help but smile.
"You smell like Mommy," Sharon smiled, and Monique felt a twinge of pain inside. Ron had already told Monique about Sharon's parents and the fact that she and Clayton only had each other, and Monique had cried at that story.
"Thank you, Sharon; that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," Monique answered, trying not to cry.
"Ron smells and feels like Daddy, too: even Clayton said so," Sharon added.
Sharon noticed the sketch pad. "What are you drawing, Monique?"
Monique held up the pad and showed her. It was a hospital gown, but ti wasn't like the ones that Sharon had seen: it was pretty, and it has a back, too. The sides looked different, too.
"What is that, Monique?"
"A different kind of hospital gown: instead of the open back," Sharon giggled, "the front and back join at side Velcro straps that go the entire length of the gown on both sides, so it's almost a pull-away gown: it has the advantages of bring able to get the patient in and out of it easily, but it gives the patient some dignity back, too," Sharon's mouth dropped open.
"And, it'll come in more colors, too: the new gown-plus, from Club Banana," Monique grinned, and Sharon laughed.
"Like, Club B would ever do this," Sharon laughed.
"Oh, I think I can convince them," Monique smiled knowingly.
"How?"
"Sharon!" Annabelle called from the hall, and Sharon hopped down from the bed, but not before she gave Monique a hug.
"Thanks for showing me your picture," Sharon told her. "Nurse Annabelle: you need to see Mrs. Reger's new hospital gown!"
"Indeed," Annabelle came over, and Monique showed her the sketch pad. Annabelle took it, stared at it, and smiled.
"Interesting; too bad no one will make it," Annabelle handed it back to Monique.
"How many would you need to test the idea?" Monique asked, and Annabelle thought for a moment.
"I'd think about a thousand, for starters, to get it through a reasonable-sized test."
Monique picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Jeremy? Mon," and Monique went into full professional in-charge mode. "Can you send someone to Middleton General, room 549, and get a sketch? I need someone to bring 30 PTPs in PCs to me two days from now; once I approve them, we'll need a MSR five days after that...PCs, right. We've got a possible new market…right. You're coming? Good. Get Jasmine and Ashley to work on the design when they get a look at it….yes, this has Alpha priority. Coco won't have a problem with it, especially when I show him the MPs…Great. Thanks, Jeremy…Yes, I'll be back, but it'll be a bit…thanks, Jeremy, I appreciate that, and I loved the flowers, too…yes," Monique laughed, "and the balloons, too, but a little girl liked them even better. Send some more balloons, too: I'll make sure she gets them; in fact, send a 'bunch,'" she laughed again, "the children's wing needs some 'big' fun, and there are some adults up here who need a laugh, too…yes, I love you too, Jeremy: just, don't tell my husband, alright?" Monique laughed, "TTFN, GBF," and she hung up and looked at the staring, in shock, Annabelle.
"How…?"
"Hand me my case from the dresser, please, and thank you, Annabelle," Monique asked, and Annabelle got the case and handed it to her, noticing the Club Banana logo on the side. Monique opened the side, pulled out a card, and handed it to Annabelle:
Monique Jenkins-Reger
President, and Chief Designer - North American Operations
Club Banana
"You're that Monique?" Annabelle gasped.
"I didn't know there were that many 'Moniques,'" Monique laughed. "If the prototypes look good, you'll have a few to test out on patients to see if you and the patients both like them," she added.
"But, I can't place an order like that! I'll get fired!"
"Annabelle, it's not an order: it's market research, and it won't cost the hospital a dime…until you buy the first ones, and I'll guarantee that you'll get all your orders at cost or less; it's the least I can do for everything you've done for me and your patients.
"Besides," Monique grinned, "the publicity you'll get before and when these hit the market will be worth millions in contributions. In fact," Monique opened the case and pulled out her Blueberry, fired it up, and entered a reminder to herself that Annabelle didn't see:
'M: make sure that A gets a biiiig bonus, and hsptl gets biiiiiiiiiiiiig cntro from Coco.'
"You like?" Monique asked, and Annabelle smiled back.
"Me like," Annabelle replied, and the ladies both laughed. Sharon stood, perplexed, but happy that her two friends, the two ladies, were happy as Monique and Annabelle hugged.
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Ron's next three weeks seemed to fly by: two business trips, numerous conference calls to catch up on business contacts he'd put off during the three weeks that Monique had been unconscious after the accident and the burial of their son.
During the entire time, he realized, his mind had been invaded by thoughts of Sharon. The little girl, so alone in the world now except for her brother and their nanny, was the most positive person he'd ever met, even more than Kim, he thought. He'd learned more about Sharon from Nurse Annabelle, as Sharon called her; Anna Snowden, first over some of that 'wonderful' hospital coffee in the cafeteria, then over a cuppa and a Danish at MoonNickel's:
Sharon and Clayton were the only survivors of a terrible accident that the Go City authorities were still investigating: the 'accident' story didn't smell right. The Pruitt's driver was a professional, yet he'd not been able to avoid the oncoming vehicles, and the car was smashed from both the front and the side by eerily-similarly-looking MumVees: too much of a coincidence for the investigation team. The fact that the Pruitts, Tony and Zelma, were wealthy didn't help the suspicions.
The children's nanny had finally received permission from the courts to visit the kids in the hospital after several months of legal battles and investigations, even though she had been with them since birth. She had been suspicious of Ron and Monique's interest in Sharon until Ron had told her that they had no interest in the money but only in Sharon and Clayton. Donna Weber, the nanny, believed him, but she still withheld judgment until she'd see more 'proof in the pudding,' she'd said to Ron.
He asked Annabelle about foster parenting, and Annabelle grinned.
"Sharon really got to you, didn't she?"
"Both of us, and both her and Clayton," he replied with a smile.
"I'll get you in touch with their court-appointed special advocate," she told him, and he thanked her as they sipped their Earl Grey and continued to talk.
The highlights of Ron's weeks, besides every day that he saw Monique, were finally meeting Clayton, the first week of the three-week period, and Sharon's request that he be the only person besides the doctors and nurses to be present when her bandages were removed from her face. This had been the final surgery on her face, and she was scarem
The doctor cut away the final wrap and carefully peeled it away. He looked at the results and smiled, as did the nurse.
"Well?" Sharon asked as the doctor motioned to Ron to step forward, and Ron got a look at the face of the girl who had, literally, single-handedly pulled both him and his wife from the doldrums.
Amazingly, her face showed little residual of the operations: there were scars were there, if you looked carefully: one, under her cute nose, and one each on the lower parts of each cheek. Her eyebrows were growing back, but they were barely showing. The top of her head showed the results of the multiple shavings for the surgeries, but her hair was beginning to grow back, once again, the black peach fuzz only now re-appearing. Her medium-brown face had some light pale marks showing where the skin had been bruised, scratched, and stretched. He wanted to hug the plastic surgeon, but he settled, later, for shaking his hand and getting his card.
She was the second-most beautiful person he'd ever met, Monique being the first (of course), and he smiled.
"You're beautiful," he stated simply, and her reaction lit every lamp in Ron's heart.
"You really think so? You're not just saying that, are you?" She smiled, and Ron had to convince her:
"I'd lock you in a tower to keep the boys away from you until you reached 30: does that answer your question?" he grinned, and Sharon grabbed him, laughing and crying into his shirt.
"Thank you," she said when she finally released Ron, and she looked at his soaked shirt and, then, up into his face and grinned. "Sorry about soaking you," she smiled, and her smile sealed the answer to the question in his heart.
"No big, Sharon," he replied, and her eyes popped open.
"You know Kim?" She practicially beamed, and he nodded.
"I went to high school with her, and so did Monique: she was, and is still, Kim's BGF," he replied.
"Momma and Daddy told me about her: she saved their lives when she pulled the plug on the Diablos: they were on their honeymoon cruise when the Diablos started to grow on the ship: Mom said that there were over 20 of them, and they were trying to sink the ship when they started to shrink back to toy size. Nobody knew what stopped them until they got back to port."
"She saved this hospital, too: there were three in here that were trying to reach the backup generator, for some reason, before they shrank. They'd almost taken the roof off the hospital, and we had of damage, but nothing like what would have happened if she hadn't stopped them," the doctor added.
"Doctor, can may I please go to Monique's room with Ron? I want to show Monique how good you are," Sharon asked, and Ron laughed as she turned on her own PDP. When the doctor nodded, she held out her hand for Ron, and together they walked out of her room and went to Monique's.
"Mon, I brought you a present," Monique looked up and dropped her magazine with a smile.
"Who is this young beauty, Ron? Are you dumping me already for a younger woman?" Monique asked, and Sharon giggled.
"It's me, Monique: it's Sharon," she laughed, and Monique held out her arms. Sharon ran to her and hugged Monique, and Ron knew he was right.
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"CASA of Middleton, Colorado, may I help you?" The soft lilt of the voice's drawl always made Ron smile.
"Good morning, Winona; this is Ron Reger."
"Ron! She just hung up; I'll patch you through."
"Ron?"
"Good morning, Ms. Vil."
"It is, indeed, Ron: it's all approved: you can enter the house with Ms. Weber to get the children's Christmas presents, and I got word that your foster parenting application has been approved. The only thing you have to get is Ms. Weber's approval to come to work for you if you want her, and Sharon and Clayton's official approval, as well," she smiled over the line.
"That's wonderful!" Ron exclaimed. "Sharon and Monique are both being discharged today, and we're going by to visit Ron Jr., grab a bite to eat, head them over to our house for the gifts, and then go to the park for some snow fun."
"I wish I'd had you two for parents," Valencia Vil laughed. "My parents never wanted to play in the snow," she added with a laugh.
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"Are we ready, Clayton?" Ron asked, and Clayton looked over at him.
"Bring it, Ron," Clayton grinned, and the doctors, nurses, and patients alike all cheered along the way as Sharon Pruitt and Monique Reger both were rolled out of their rooms and to the nurse's station on the first floor. Monique and Sharon held hands as Ron and Clayton waited as the ladies received congratulatory hugs and kisses and gifts and tears from the hospital staff, and they finally rolled them out to the car, where they were all surprised to find Donna Weber standing and waiting for them.
"Now, Miss Sharon, Mister Clayton, do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, Miss Weber," they replied at the same time.
"Jinx! You owe me, Sharon," Clayton shot out and smiled.
"Not again!" Sharon moaned, and Ron and Monique and Donna laughed.
"Donna?" Ron raised an eyebrow, and she nodded and smiled.
"Let's all get in," Ron helped Monique out of the wheelchair and into the new Gourd MontoVan, pinching her rear as she stepped up, earning a glare and a kiss from Monique and a pair of laughs from Sharon and Clayton. Ron then helped Clayton help Sharon into the rear seat, then helped Donna in after Clayton climbed in next to his sister. He then popped the rear open and loaded all of the hospital loot and clothes into the back, closing the door and getting behind the wheel.
The van started with barely a sound, and they drove, laughing and talking until the came to the entrance of the cemetery.
Ron turned in and drove toward the rear, stopping after a few minutes in a quiet spot. He got out and helped Monique and Sharon, Clayton and Donna making the exit without any problems.
"Are you sure about this, Monique?"
"I've never been more certain of anything but my love for you, Ron," Monique smiled, and he took her hand as he led her to the tiny gravesite.
A tiny grave, but a headstone identified it as owned by Ronell Scott Reger.
The message underneath: …taken from us, far too soon….
"Hello, son," Ron spoke. "I brought your mother to visit: she just got out of the hospital."
"Hello, son," Monique started, tears already flowing down her beautiful brown face. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to hold you before you left, but I have wonderful friends that took pictures of you, so I'll always know what you looked like.
"I just wanted to tell you how much I loved you, how much I love you, even now, and that I will always love you, Ron, Jr.
"Son, be nice to Tony and Zelma," and Donna's surprise was total. "They'll look out for you, up there, while you're in here," and Monique touched her heart.
"Goodbye, Ron Jr.," Clayton smiled. "I never met you, but you would have liked your parents, and I know you'll like mine," he only shed a few tears and wiped them with his gloved hand.
"Goodbye, Little Brother I Never Knew," Sharon grinned. "You'll love Mom; and Dad's good, too: just don't tell him too often, or he'll get a big head," she added, holding her tears in.
Monique turned suddenly and walked away, and Ron ran clumsily after her.
"Mon, what's wrong?" he asked when he finally caught up with her, turning her and looking at the stream of freezing tears falling down from her eyes.
"I love them, Ron: Sharon, and Clayton: they just locked themselves into my heart.
"I think we should adopt them," Monique grinned, and Ron smiled..
"Well, Mon, it's good that's we got the approval to become foster parents: they can move in with us while we start on the adoption process; assuming, of course, that they want to be adopted," Ron smiled as he hugged his wife. "You just confirmed what I already strongly suspected that you felt: so much love from the two of them," he added.
"What's wrong, Mrs. Reger?" Donna made it to the pair with the two in tow.
"Everything's wonderful," Monique replied.
"Kids," Monique knelt down to talk to Sharon and Clayton, "would you like to open some Christmas presents today, go to J. P. Berrymore's, and then go to the Middleton Park for some snow play?"
The yells almost knocked Monique on her rear end.
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Sharon and Clayton were shocked when they pulled up at Ron and Monique's house. Donna was a bit surprised, but she was very pleasantly shocked when she saw the interior of the house: both immaculately and tastefully decorated. Sharon and Clayton were both really surprised when they saw the size of the Christmas tree: a 15-foot evergreen in the living room, with presents piled underneath.
Ron pulled out the ones from Zelma and Tony Pruitt, placing them in front of Sharon and Clayton, each of them giggling as a present appeared in their piles, and Monique had a wonderful afternoon watching them open presents and taking pictures as they opened and played with the presents, a surprised Donna, and an even-more-surprised Ron.
Sharon and Clayton were not surprised that their parents had bought Christmas presents for them before they had died ("You have to have understood Mom and Dad," Sharon explained: "they always planned ahead, even as much as 10 months in advance, and they could never pass up a good deal," Sharon laughed). They did shed some tears when they saw the notes that their parents had written that were attached to the gifts, and they saved each and every one of them ("Momma wrote this," Clayton explained, and Ron decided that the next gift that they would get from him would be a scrapbook to hold their treasures).
Donna winced as they pulled up at J. P. Berrymore's Pizza Partytorium ("I can't stand the burned pizza smell," Donna admitted to Monique and Ron, and Monique laughed as Ron looked shocked), and Clayton and Sharon ran through the underground parking lot tubes to the escalators leading up to the huge play floor and dining area.
Ron took off with Sharon and Clayton, heading for the gaming complex, while Monique and Donna sat in the BPS-F section that J. P. had finally set up for the parents that had complained for the last 10 years.
"Donna, I'm very happy that you'll come with us and help take care of Clayton and Sharon," Monique smiled as Donna sat.
"I love them, Mrs. Reger," Donna stated with a smile, and Monique smiled back. "I've been with them since they were born, and I've changed diapers with Mrs. Pruitt and hugged them before they left on that fateful trip," she continued. "Honestly, I was concerned that you and Mr. Reger might be going after the money, but he told me that money wasn't an issue.
"I'll be honest with you, Mrs. Reger: I had you two checked out. When I found out what your jobs were, I was certain that money wasn't an issue. When the investigator told me that you were a friend of Kim: that settled it. I knew that anyone who was a friend of Kim Possible couldn't ever hurt a child.
"Now that you know, you can ask me to leave, if you'd like, but I had to tell you what I'd done: that's how serious I am about making sure that Clay and Sharon are safe," Donna stood, but Monique pulled her back into her seat.
"How much did that investigation cost you?"
"12 thousand dollars."
"Other than the fact that you got stiffed on the cost, I'll make sure you'll get your money for that. Donna, I love them, too, and I want someone like you who cares enough about them to do what you did.
"So, you know what I do for a living?"
Donna nodded. "I must admit, Mrs. Reger, I was shocked and impressed. I never imagined that someone as young as you could have that important a position.'
"Well, I do," Monique stated, "and I'll need some help. I expect to spend as much time as possible with them. One advantage of being in charge is that I can control my hours, for the most part, but there are emergencies, and Coco is still in charge and not convinced that he needs to move everything here yet, so I may have a few scramjet flights to Paris on occasion.
"Are you willing to take on a new adventure, Donna? We've been approved to become foster parents, and we're going to ask Sharon and Clayton if they'd like to live with us," Donna smiled. "Then, Ron and I have talked and, when they're ready, we want to adopt Sharon and Clayton," and Donna gasped. We love them, Donna; we'll never replace Tony and Zelma, but we want to show them that love can be expanded and help them share their pain, ultimately lessening it over the years."
"How did you know their names?"
"It's a secret, Donna: if I told you," Monique smiled, and Donna laughed, the sentence left unfinished.
-----
After three hours of pizza (and, thankfully, excellent odor-suppression capabilities in the room that she was in), Monique rounded up the crew.
"Kids! They're all the same, no matter what age," she laughed as Ron pouted with Clayton as they pulled away from the restaurant.
It was a short trip in the snow: the roads were clear of traffic this Christmas Eve, even though there was still shopping time for the husbands. Ron pulled into the new Central Middleton Park of Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible fame: the park where Ron had made his stand against Warhok and Warmonga. The newer trees around all had grown extremely fast, considering that they were all oaks; The original trees in the area could not be distinguished from the new ones.
Ron pulled over to the side and unlocked the doors, then got out and helped everyone out, the snowfall having slowed to a light dusting as it continued to pile up on the ground and park benches. Ron guided everyone over to a grouping at a park table, and he dusted the snow away for Donna, Sharon, Clayton, and Monique, then placed a large blanket he'd brought with him on the cold concrete benches.
"We wanted to talk to you, Sharon, Clayton, about something serious," Ron began, but both Sharon and Clayton held up their hands.
"Is it about you wanting to be our foster parents, Ron?" Clayton asked.
"Or, is it about the idea of you adopting us, Monique?" Sharon asked.
Ron and Monique sat, stunned, and Donna looked at them and laughed.
"Welcome to my life, Ron, Monique: these two are way sharper than most adults give them credit for," Donna explained, and Sharon and Clayton each stood up and walked over to Ron and Monique, respectively.
"Ron, I know you aren't my biological Daddy, or the Daddy I lost," Sharon said with her face wet with tears and snow, "but the idea that you are willing and want to put up with me makes me so happy, I don't know what to do," Sharon grabbed Ron and hugged him.
"Monique, I can't think of anyone I'd like to spend my young life with than you," Clayton said as he held Monique's hand. "The fact that you actually want us to invade your lives," he laughed, "means that you're either crazy or love us; I can work with either one," he grinned.
"And, how old are you, again, Clayton?" Monique asked, and Clayton held up 8 fingers.
"I'll be that old in three months, but I drive my teachers crazy because I read at a college sophomore level," he explained, then grinned. "I also understand enough to know a pretty Mommy when I see one, and you're as pretty as mine was," and his smile held as his face leaked.
Monique held out her arms, and Clayton stepped into them.
"We'll never replace your parents, and we don't want to. Just consider us as filling in for them while they're not here," Monique told Clayton as he finally, for the first time, cried for his mother.
Ron felt snow on his head, and he looked up at a smiling Sharon, holding a handful of snow. "Tag, you're it, Ron," Sharon grinned and tossed the rest in his face, then broke into a run through the snow and stopped about 10 feet away from Ron, bending down and scooping a mound of snow and placing it in her scarf she'd now unwrapped from around her neck. She loaded the scarf and turned it into a slingshot, whacking Ron square in the chest with a strong, well-placed shot.
"Why, you little," Ron grinned and fired back, striking Sharon in the right shoulder. She giggled, loaded up, and swung again; this snowball struck Monique and Clayton.
"Now, you've done it," Ron called, and Monique scooped snow and fired back.
The discussion quickly degenerated into a snow battle, and the group all laughed as they all got wet and cold and happy.
When they slowed down, Ron pulled them all together and hugged everyone.
"I have an idea," Ron pulled out his laser pointer. "Wade 'souped it up' for emergencies, but it'll work here," he walked over to the nearest large oak and began to carve his initials in the tree, then carved Monique's, Sharon's, and Clayton's, then drew a heart around the entire collection.
"We're here, forever," he smiled, and Monique captured his lips, each of them holding a hand of a child….
-----
"..and, Dad kissed Mom, and we became a family," an older woman finished her story as she held her husband's hand and the hands of both of her sons.
"It was silly, but it was sweet," an older man added, holding the hand of his wife and daughter as his wife held the handle of the stroller of their son. He stroked the carved image and smiled.
"I wish I'd been there for that," a third, a young man spoke, holding the hand of a pretty young woman his age.
"You weren't even a gleam in their eye, back then," A woman, younger than him, laughed as she held the hand of a young man.
"Well, to be honest, yes, you were all there," Monique Jenkins-Reger smiled, holding the hand of her husband, Ron Scott Reger, his red hair streaked with white.
"Yes, you were all there, in spirit, even before you were born," Ron squeezed his wife's hand and grinned at her perfectly-styled hair, not an ounce of grey showing. In his mind, Monique was as beautiful as the first time he saw her, that night in Bueno Nacho.
"I wish Donna had made it with us," Clayton Pruitt-Reger smiled.
"So do I," Sharon Pruitt-Reger Jamison replied, "but she has her own life, now, and her own grandkids to be with."
"She's allowed; after all, put up with all of us all that time," Jean-Luc Reger smiled as he squeezed his fiancée's hand.
"Word," Jean-Anne Reger replied as she squeezed her boyfriend's hand.
"Merry Christmas, family," Ron smiled and squeezed his wife.
"Merry Christmas, my husband," Monique smiled, and she kissed him under the tree filled with mistletoe.
"GET A ROOM!" came from all of their children.
Ron looked into his wife's eyes and winked, and Monique fluttered her eyelashes.
They both knelt and scooped handfuls of snow, coming up throwing into the crowd.
"GOTCHA!" came from Ron and Mon Reger, and the snow battle was on.
-----
Author's afterward:
Thank you, all of you fans of Ron and Mon Reger, for your read and review of the first story, and I hope that this one brings you a touch of the season. Monique and Ron will be back next year for more of their life story, their adoption of Sharon and Clayton, and the births (later) of Jean-Luc and Jean-Anne Reger.
CASA is a real organization: Court-Appointed Special Advocates is the name of the organization ( and they exist for one reason: to be the voice for abused and neglected children, everywhere, and as volunteer 'guardians ad litem.' In this specific instance, CASA volunteers became involved, along with local case workers, because the Pruitt family (both the parents and their children) were 'friends of CASA' as time, monetary, and gift volunteers while they were alive. Typically, CASA takes on the cases that most of us don't want to read about: the children, abused, ignored, and/or neglected, who need a voice in the courts
If you can, donate to CASA (either with your time, funds, gifts, and/or prayers), and help make a difference in the life of those who are out there, in here.
A big "Thank You" to kt for use of your scarf to fire snowballs: West Texas boys never considered that use of a garment (never had enough snow to do this with).
From cpneb (and the plot bunnies who have now permanently moved into his study and have their cabbage shipped in rather than go to the store), and on behalf of all those in my writings, I wish you and yours a joyous and save holiday season. To the friends of Jade, DefineHell, and ilyiw, thank you for your reads, reviews, and encouragement.
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Mon-speak translations:
BGF - best girl friend
BPS-F - burned pizza smell-free
CASA – court-appointed special advocate
Contro - contribution
GBF – gay best friend
Hsptl - hospital
MPs - market projections
MSR - multi-size run
PCs - pastel colors
PDP – puppy dog pout
PTPs - prototypes
TTFN – ta ta, for now