Define, Hell III: The sequel
Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time….).
This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.
This is not a part of the (shameless plug) Blue Eyes, Shining stories or the JadeKimVerse, but judging from the reviews of the original tale, I've been charged with show the aftermath of Ron's actions, Kim's behavior, and Bonnie's breakfast.
I hope that you enjoy this: you can blame Cindy for this story (yes, it's the same Cindy that sent me the ANC picture that spawned "Merry Christmas, Momma" and "Paint Me a Christmas Memory:" she's a closet Plot Bunny).
A/N Forward:
Questions:
What happens after Define, Hell I: The Prequel and Define, Hell II, the Original?
After the 'death' of Pandaroo and the 'I love kosher!' comment from Bonnie Rockwaller, what does Kim do to Ron and Bonnie, and what does Ron have planned for Kim?
And, Steve Barkin and Dr. Vivian Frances Porter: will the happy couple make it to their floating alter?
Answer:
More surprises….
We have angst, we have fluff (and, a wee bit of smuff), and we have…well, I'm not sure what you'll call it, but it's here.
-----
Define, Hell III: The Sequel
-----
Kim Possible was sad, but she had no choice:
She had to have a Pandaroo funeral.
Luckily, her college wing-mates had all left, and she was struggling with what to do when Ron came by.
"KP, we've gotta leave: they're closing down all the dorms in 90 minutes.
"Ron, I have to say something for Pandaroo: he died here, and it wouldn't be right without a few words.
"Kim, wouldn't it be more appropriate to do at your house? This is kinda like 'the scene of the crime,' you know," and he broke her logjam of confusion.
"You're right!" she exclaimed, placing the remains of Pandaroo into the lined box and closing it reverently. "That makes more sense, Ron," she kissed his cheek, "thank you," as she picked up her last bag. Ron took Pandaroo and headed for the door.
"You got everything, KP?" he asked, and she nodded and smiled.
"I have you, my BFBF, want more do I need?" she leaned in and kissed his other cheek, walking out of her dorm room.
'And, who knows, what else, KP?" Ron smiled with the last hint of his blush fading from his cheeks as he turned out her lights and closed the door, the automatic locks engaging as well as Wade's security system.
-----
"Are you sure you're ok with my driving us home, KP?" Ron asked again after he had loaded the last of Kim's things into his Gourd Stallion 7-passanger cruiser.
"For the last time, Ron," Kim was exasperated by this time, "I'm fine with it, Ron.
"Besides, I don't have much choice after the Sloth became sandwich cold cuts between those two MumVe Ones two months ago," she grinned sadly. She had loved her car, but getting out of the car to get coffee at MoonNickel's just before those two MumVe smashed her car in their 'street racing gone wrong' didn't seem like such a bad thing now, especially after they pulled the cars apart and she saw the flattened Sloth right before it fell over on its right side.
"Yea, Kim, that was bad: I'm just glad," he started his Cruiser to cover his sob, "that you didn't get killed."
"That would have been ridiculous: 'Kim Possible survives Diablos and dies in car wreck,'" she chuckled, not noticing Ron's reaction as they pulled away in the snow.
"Next Stop: Go City Bueno Nacho for fueling," and Rufus popped up from the rear cup-holder and called out "NACO!"
"Now that they finally carry 'the food of the gods,' Rufus," Ron chuckled, and Rufus cheered.
-----
"Stephen!" he heard the woman of his dreams call his name, and his heart melted once more.
"Vivian!" Professor Steve Barkin shouted in the airport, not caring who heard him or how he looked when Dr. Vivian Frances Porter ran and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his trunk and slamming her mouth against his.
"mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" was all that came out of their mashed-together mouths, and men and women alike sitting in the airport all got smacked by their husbands, wives and partners as they stared envyingly at the couple.
When they finally separated, she smiled bigger than he'd ever seen her smile.
"Stephen: my parents are meeting us in Hawaii for the cruise, and Daddy's going to give me away! Won't that be wonderful?" and Steve Barkin contemplated suicide at that moment, but only for a moment: no one could take his blonde blue-eyed goddess away from him, not even her parents.
"Are we going to pick up your parents?" she asked as the jet took off for Middleton.
"Not exactly, Viv: both of my parents are dead, but I promised them that, if I ever found the perfect woman, I'd bring her to visit them in Middleton," and Vivian's eyes watered.
"Oh, Steve, I'm so sorry," and she leaned over and kissed him, bringing a smile to his face.
"You can use my parents, if you'd like," she whispered, and Steve groaned inside.
-----
Bonnie Rockwaller had stopped at the Go City Bueno Nacho for a Taco Mexicani salad with oil and vinegar on the side before she took the bus home.
During her high school senior year and that unfortunate incident of her car falling apart, the Tweebs had rebuilt it in exchange for her becoming their 'Car Monkey 2.0.' That lasted for under four weeks until she threw them out one night when they pushed her past the breaking point: her car magically stopped working two days later, and every mechanic that looked at it shook their head.
Her dad had refused to get her another car, so that relegated her to (shudder) public transportation or riding with her sisters (even bigger shudder). The only time that she had any help was when she was starting and ending the school year: her dad would bring the We-Haul hooked up to his BND Packer to pull her things home.
Bonnie was munching her salad when her worst nightmare came true:
Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible walked into the Bueno Nacho.
Bonnie tried to hide, but Ron saw her and waved. Kim saw her, and Bonnie wished that she couldn't read lips.
She thought about dumping her salad and going to the bus station to wait, but her bus didn't leave for another four hours, and even she couldn't sit there that long…
The nightmare only got worse:
Ron headed her direction, with Kim pulling in vain on his jacket.
"Hola, BonBon! Mind if we join you?"
"RON!" Kim hissed, but Bonnie stood to leave.
"It's ok, Kim, I was just leaving," she replied.
"Nonsense, BonBon; you haven't finished your salad," Ron smiled as he pushed her back down and slid in on the other side of the booth.
"Come on, KP, your lunch is getting cold," Ron suggested, and Kim grudgingly sat down, snarling a hello" at Bonnie as Ron took their food off of the tray.
"Oops, Kim; you need to get up: I forgot the drinks and sauces, and you know how the little guy gets when he doesn't have his Diablo sauce," and Ron pushed Kim out of the booth, exited, then slid her back into the seat.
"Be back in a minute!" he called as he stepped away.
-----
The temperature inside Bueno Nacho was normally 78 degrees F in the winter; at this booth, the temperature had dropped to 45 degrees F.
Kim sat and glared at Bonnie while she munched on her salad.
A second bite, and Bonnie couldn't take it any longer.
"Kim, I'm sorry," came from Bonnie in a small, sad voice, and the KP glare weakened a bit to include a taste of surprise, without Diablo sauce.
"For what?" Kim growled, and Bonnie was surprised: she'd never heard Kim like this, even in high school.
"For everything, Kim," and Bonnie lowered her eyes to her salad.
"For the way I treated you and Ron in junior high and high school, for the way I've treated you here at college, and, most importantly," and Bonnie paused and took a deep breath.
"For Pandaroo, Kim: I'm sorry for what happened to Pandaroo."
"Are you, now?" Kim smirked, and the snarl disappeared for a longer period but returned. Bonnie raised her eyes and looked directly at Kim.
"Yes, Kim, I am. I got kicked out of my sorority, my folks cut off my college money when they found out I got kicked out of the sorority, and now I'm taking the bus home for Christmas to my sisters and parents who all treat me a like a failure.
"I did it to myself, Kim, but, even worse, I hurt you, a member of the cheer-sisterhood, and I'm sorry," Bonnie lowered her head, and she heard a noise coming from across the table.
"Bonnie, do you know anything about what you did to me?" Kim asked, and Bonnie shook her head 'no.'
"Ron gave me Pandaroo when we were six years old, Bonnie," Ron had walked up behind Kim and stood silently, listening. "He took his birthday and allowance money that he had been saving for over a year and bought Pandaroo for me for my sixth birthday, and he had to promise his parents the remainder of his allowance for the next four months to pay the balance. No one else had a Pandaroo or even seen a real-live one, and I had wanted one for the two years since I first saw it, but only Ron thought enough of me to buy it for me for a birthday present.
"Bonnie, you've wondered why I got so mad all those years when you'd put Ron down?
"Well, that's why: he loved me, way back, and he still does, and you can't understand that."
"I do understand it, Kim; you're the one who doesn't get it!" Bonnie shouted, lifting her head and seeing the tears in Kim's face for the first time.
Kim was more shocked to see tears in Bonnie's face than Bonnie was to see them in Kim's.
"You could never understand, Kim:
"I was jealous of you all those years, and your relationship with Ron just made it worse!" and she lost it, sitting in the Go City Bueno Nacho, in front of strangers and Kim Possible, tears falling harder from the blue-green rain forest.
"You had it all," Bonnie cried, "a family who loved you, a guy who worshiped you and still does, and you had a Pandaroo!" Kim broke a smile for the last remark. "It wasn't fair, so when I had a chance, I took it out on the one thing that I knew would hurt you," and Bonnie's tears continued to flow.
By this time, Bonnie was a bit calmer, and her voice softened considerably. "I'm sorry, Kim; you don't know how sorry I am.
"A new friend helped me understand how wrong I've been," and she reached down and picked up the box underneath the booth and brought it up to the table.
"He gave me this, Kim, just a few days ago. It was something I've always wanted, but now it doesn't seem as important to me, anymore; not as important as how you feel about me.
"I want you to have it," and Bonnie opened the box, and Kim's jaw dropped open.
"BONNIE! Do you know what that is?" Kim's drool level was reaching the leakage point.
"Yes, Kim, I always wanted a 'KangaKitty,' but my parents would never get one for me. I didn't have a 'Ron' to get one for me when I was six," Bonnie smiled through her tears, and she looked up at Ron and smiled.
"But, I hurt you, Kim, and I took your dream from you. I know what it's like to lose a dream, to have it taken away from you, and I can't be the cause of that, ever again.
"I hope you and KangaCat will be very happy, together. I know this doesn't make up for PandaRoo, but, maybe, someday, you'll forgive me for what I did to him," she stood, pushed her salad bowl to the side.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bus to catch," she reached down for her bags and saw a hand on top of hers.
"Bonnie, wait," she looked up to see Kim's tear-streaked and smiling face.
'I wish that I had everything, even one of the things, which came with that smile,' Bonnie thought.
"Bonnie, you don't have to take the bus," Kim smiled, and behind her Ron's grin grew bigger. "Like you said: we're members of the cheer-sisterhood, and we stick together, no matter what.
"You're riding to Middleton with Ron and me."
'I can't believe I'm saying this!'
"We have the space," Kim added.
"I won't take 'no' for an answer, Bonnie, and I'm sure that Ron won't mind."
"Mind what?" Ron walked from behind the booth bench, a tray of sauces and four big drinks in his hands.
"Having Bonnie ride home with us."
"No problem, BonBon; as long as you don't mind not having a working DVD player in the Cruiser," Ron smiled as he let Kim slide over and slid in next to her.
"Four drinks, Ron?" Bonnie smirked.
"You looked like you needed a big diet cola, BonBon," and Ron slid it over to her, then reached over and moved her salad back in front of her. "Now, eat, you two lovely ladies," Ron commanded as he slid Kim's tea in behind her plate and Rufus grabbed his straw, jamming it into the lid and taking a big slurp.
"Yes, Ron," came from both the ladies, and giggles emerged.
"Jinx! You both owe me a smile," and Ron created a miracle in the Go City Bueno Nacho when Kim Possible and Bonnie Rockwaller both smiled at Ron Stoppable.
-----
After the stopover and the trip to the Middleton Veterans' Cemetery, Steve and Vivian were back on a jet to LA, then Hawaii.
They didn't talk much, Steve noticed, but he didn't care: he spent most of the time running his hands up and down Vivian's perfect legs that she had draped across the seat into his lap as she slept.
'She must have used that laser hair removal,' Steve thought. 'Her legs are so smooth, so shapely and beautiful; they're just perfect, just like her,' and he leaned over and kissed her right knee, eliciting a giggle from the seat in front of him. He looked up and saw a little girl, no more than four years old, grinning and pointing at him.
"She's pretty, like my Barbie Doll," the little girl said, and Steve nodded.
"But, she's real, and soon she'll be my wife, and we can have a little girl just like you," Steve smiled, and the girl giggled and slid back down into her seat, still giggling.
When they landed, they were lucky enough to not have to deplane; their plane was flying on to Honolulu, and Vivian decided to take advantage of that and turn, putting her head in Steve's lap.
"Someone likes this position; gee, I wonder why?" Vivian smiled, and she lifted her head as Steve lowered his to kiss her fetching lips.
'This is too good to be true, but I don't care,' Steve thought as he stroked her hair and face, as she slept over the Pacific. 'I can't wait to marry her,' and he fell asleep himself, dreaming of placing the wedding ring onto her finger and kissing his bride….
-----
"But why can't we wait?" Vivian whined and pouted once again, and Steve was exasperated.
They were standing in the Honolulu airport, having just deplaned and received word that Vivian's parents had been detained and would not make the cruise departure time.
'For the last time, Vivian, they can't hold the entire cruise ship for your parents, so we have to go or we won't be able to get married," and a throat clearing behind Steve broke his concentration, and he turned to look at the older Latin man, standing with a cane and smiling at the couple.
"Please forgive me, Sir, Madam," and he bowed to both of them, "but I could not help but overhear your predicament.
"Allow me to provide to you with a small measure of assistance: I will have my helicopter pick up your parents when they arrive at the airport and fly them out to the cruise ship. They may not make the ceremony, but I can only hope that they can make your reception."
"Thank you, sir, but we're not having a big reception: it's only the two of us and her parents," Steve replied, and the older gentleman looked horrified.
"No reception for this beautiful lady?" and Vivian smiled and blushed.
"I'm a schoolteacher, and we barely made it out here and paid for her parents' flight."
"Nonsense, sir: Allow me to provide you with the proper reception: my wedding gift to you," and Vivian's eyes grew huge.
"You'd do that for me, for us?" Vivian asked, and the Latin gentleman smiled and took her hand, kissing it.
"To see young people in love, smiling, and pledging their lives to each other: this is a payback for the people who helped me when I was growing up," he smiled at the shocked Steve. "Besides, I get to see this lovely lady in what must be an absolutely stunning wedding dress, and that, indeed, will be my payment," he smiled as he pulled out his cell phone and called the ship's kitchen to arrange for the meeting with the head chef for the reception.
"Señor, gracias …I don't even know your name," Steve stumbled, and the elder Latin smiled.
"De nada, Señor, de nada; Señor Senior, Senior, at your service," and he smiled and shook Steve's hand, bowing as he did.
-----
Steve boarded the cruise ship with his bride-to-be and saluted the stern before he stepped on-board.
"There's only one kind of man who does that," came a familiar voice from behind Steve, and he grinned.
"A Navy man," Steve replied, and turned to face:
"Captain Steubing, I presume," Steve grinned as he saluted the cruise ship Captain, who returned his salute and then grabbed Steve in a bear hug.
"Little Stevie Barkin; not-so-little Stevie any more, I see," Captain David Robert Allen Steubing smiled as he shook Steve's hand. "How long has it been, Captain?"
"Too long, Captain."
"Please, Captain, it's David, or it's going to be 'Captain Barkin' all day long," Captain Steubing replied.
"All right, David," Steve laughed.
"David, I'd like to introduce you to my fiancé, Doctor Vivian Frances Porter," and Captain Steubing saluted Vivian, then took her hand and kissed it.
Vivian blushed and giggled. "Captain," she smiled.
"My gosh, Steve, you're the couple I'm marrying?"
Steve nodded.
"This is wonderful! Steve, congratulation; and Vivian, my condolences; you're got a huge task on your hands, let me tell you.
"I think I'm up to it; I know he is: up, that is" Vivian replied innocently, and Steve blushed while David roared.
"Yea, Steve, she's a definite keeper," and David put his arms around the couple.
"So, when are we doing this?"
"Sunset," and the threesome walked towards the upper deck to discuss the upcoming nuptials.
-----
The ride out of Go City was relatively quiet: the roads were packed with the newly-fallen snow that continued to accumulate, and Ron was paying attention to his driving, as difficult as that task could be:
He had Kim in the front seat next to him. Kim was still wondering what made her invite Bonnie to ride with them and simultaneously teasing Ron unmercifully by crossing and uncrossing her legs, allowing his hand to occasionally touch and separate from her oh-too-delicious thighs.
In the back was Bonnie, smiling the entire time and moving her hand to her neck and pretending to unbutton her blouse underneath her coat, but only when Ron was looking in the rear-view mirror.
'How long, O Lord?' Ron moaned in his head, and he would have sworn he heard a chuckle inside.
-----
They left Go City singing Christmas carols, and Kim was happy.
Then, inside Kim's mind, she had visitors, again:
--
GoodKim was sitting on Kim's right shoulder; she had 'upgraded' her previous LBD attire to a LWD (little white dress) that made the LBD drool. She crossed her legs, showing off her white silk stockings and new white Prada pumps. She'd decided that she was still a 'good girl,' but no one said that good girls couldn't look 'really good.' She had her halo on today, and she swung her legs back and forth, singing.
BadKim: OMG, GF, what are you wearing? Are you 'horning' in on my sitch?
BadKim popped in on Kim's left shoulder, still wearing the LBD, silk stockings, and 5-inch heels, her legs again crossed in as highly provocative manner as she could. The dress looked rumpled, though, and she looked tired in comparison to GoodKim, who looked perky and refreshed. BadKim was horned, today: two tiny red horns were prominent on the back of her head.
GoodKim: Told you Bonnie would work out.
BadKim: Bull fracking stuff, GF: You agreed with me, remember?
GoodKim: Not at the start, remember? You didn't have all the facts, or you didn't give them to me….
BadKim grinned: Gee, would I do that?
GoodKim: D'OI!.
BadKim: I wonder if Ronnie gave her some 'Ronshine;' She's sure looking at him like he did.
GoodKim: Ronald would never do that; he'd be nice to her, but he'd never….
BadKim: SHE HURT PANDAROO!
GoodKim: Won't work this time, Kim: Bonnie already apologized, and she gave us her KangaCat. She's trying to change; why can't you admit you were wrong about her?
BadKim: Because I still want to see her suffer….Hmm, maybe we need to find out if Ron did what we asked him to do to her, ya think?
GoodKim: Ron would never do that to anyone!
BadKim: So, maybe we need to find out for sure, huh?
--
They crossed the Big River, singing the MHS fight song and laughing, but by now Kim was pensive, thanks to the seed of doubt planted by BadKim.
Less than 50 miles outside of Middleton, Colorado, Kim finally broke through her anger at Bonnie and re-directed it at Ron. It was here, just before they crossed out of the Denver city limits, as they sang camp songs, when Ron almost died.
-----
"Ron?" Kim asked sweetly.
"Yes, my love?"
"Do you remember what I asked you to do?"
GULP!
"Yes, my love," Ron replied, and Bonnie, in the back seat, stopped singing 'John Jacob Jingleheimer Jones.'
"Well?" Kim asked.
Silence.
"WELL?" came from Kim again, this time stronger.
"Well, what, my love?" and Ron grabbed the steering wheel with both hands.
"Did you do it, Ron?"
"No, KP: not exactly," Ron replied somewhat sheepishly, and he felt his left hand being pried off the steering wheel.
"What did you not do?" Kim asked, squeezing his hand.
"I couldn't, KP" and his hand hurt even more as she squeezed it even harder.
"Why not, Ronnie?" and her sweetness covered the cold, hard steel in her voice.
"I just couldn't, Kim," and Kim knew he was conflicted now. "I know that what happened to you was bad, KP, but I couldn't do what you wanted me to do, what you asked me to do," Ron pulled hard and got his hand back, shaking it to get the blood flowing again.
"Can I explain it to you when we get home?"
"Why can't you explain it to me now, Ron?" Kim growled softly, and Ron motioned towards the back seat.
"I don't care, Ron," she continued to growl under her breath.
"Just what did you do?"
"I WAS NICE TO BONNIE, ALRIGHT?" Ron finally yelled at his girlfriend, and both Bonnie and Kim were shocked at Ron's outburst.
Ron looked up and saw the exit ahead with a truck stop/gas station within a quarter-mile, and he slowed on the ice to make the exit safely, pulling off the highway and into the truck stop parking lot. He pulled to a stop and put the Stallion in park, left the engine on to keep the heater running, and turned to face his girlfriend (he hoped, not for the last time).
"KP, that wasn't you, even if it was Bonnie who hurt you when she 'killed' Pandaroo," Ron started, and Kim stared at him.
"What you wanted me to do, seduce Bonnie and wreck her life," and Bonnie gasped form the back seat, "I just couldn't do.
"He tells us not to return hate for hate, but to return love for hate.
"You remember the Saturday Chemistry final?" and Kim nodded.
"Well, the night before, I made dinner for Bonnie," and Kim's growl was louder than the revved engine when Ron mashed the accelerator to keep the engine from dying.
"I made dinner for her, and we talked, and I learned more about her that you don't know, KP. That's how I was convinced that I'd done the right thing.
"That was when I gave her KangaCat," and Kim:
"YOU!
"GAVE!
"HER!
"KANGACAT?"
"Yes, KP, I did, because she had always wanted one, and she needed some goodness in her life," and Bonnie sat in the back seat, still in shock.
"How did you-"
"Wade."
"oh."
"Yes, KP, I gave her a CuddleBuddy, and she slept at my place since the snow was so bad. I slept on the couch," Ron held up his hand before Kim could yell again, "and she slept in the bedroom. If it was anyone else, that's what you'd have wanted me to do, no questions asked, right, KP?"
"Yes," Kim growled, begrudgingly.
"I made her breakfast, and I came to class, and nothing happened, KP, except that I treated her the way He Who Has No Name has taught us to treat our fellow man and woman, and the way you would have wanted me to treat a friend of yours, any other member of the 'cheer-sisterhood,' right?" and Kim begrudgingly agreed.
"You know that I would never do anything intentionally to hurt you, KP, don't you?" and Kim nodded.
"I ask you now, KP:
"Trust Me, until we get home, and you'll get all of your answers then.
"If you don't like them, KP, well, I'll leave and never bother you again, as much as it'll destroy me, KP, but it's about what you want, not what I want.
"Can you wait a few more miles, one more hour, KP?"
Silence, then a voice from the back seat.
"Kim, nothing happened," and Kim snapped her head around to glare and stare at Bonnie.
"Trust me, Kim, I wanted something to happen. I've never been treated the way that Ron treated me: like a lady, Kim, but I suppose you're already accustomed to that," Bonnie smiled, and Kim saw tears for her and Ron on Bonnie's face.
"If Ron treated me one night half as nice as he treats you all the time, I understand why you were so hurt. That's why I gave you KangaCat, Kim: it's a small token of my thanks to you for never giving up on me all these years, even though I was a royal pain.
"You mean, a Queenly pain," Kim smirked, and Bonnie nodded.
"I deserved that, Kim, but you're right.
"Please, Kim: please don't give up on Ron," Bonnie pleaded, and Kim looked a Bonnie defending Ron, and then looked at Ron protecting Bonnie, and both of them pleading with her to wait just a few more miles…
'I'm in the car with synthodrones,' was Kim's thought, then she decided:
"All right, when we get home, Ron, and no later," Kim wasn't happy, but she could wait a few miles.
"Thanks, KP," and Ron's grin returned as he put the Stallion Cruiser into 'Drive' and headed for the truck stop entrance. He slammed on the brakes, put the Cruiser into 'Park,' and opened his door.
"Nature call, KP!" and he ran, sliding and stomping through the slush, over and through the ice and snow into the entrance.
Kim looked at the door, reached over and pulled it shut, then grinned, smiled, and burst out laughing.
Bonnie looked at her, perplexed.
"At least he didn't do it in the snow, Bonnie," Kim grabbed her sides as she laughed even harder, and Bonnie's smile split her face. She soon joined Kim in the laugh.
"'Output Beer,'" Bonnie added, and the ladies laughed and were still laughing, even after Ron came back with four large Slurpsters and a pound of deer jerky.
"What?" he asked, and the question made them laugh even harder as he placed the drinks in the appropriate cup holders.
"Rufus?" and he crawled out of the rear cup holder, laughing his hide off, pointing at Ron and repeating "'Output'" and laughing even harder. Rufus grabbed his straw, pulled the paper off, jammed the straw into his Slurpster, and took a huge slurp.
"OK," Ron pouted as he put the Stallion into 'Drive' once again and pulled out of the parking lot back onto the highway entrance ramp for the last miles home.
"Brain Freeze!" Rufus yelled, his front paws on the side of his head.
Kim thought the rest of the way home, about what Ron had said to her:
'How could I have pressured him into even thinking about what I asked him to do?
'He must really love me, that can be the only reason, and I took advantage of his love, one more time.
'I've gotta stop doing that, of I'm going to lose My Ron, forever,' and the thought of a life without Ron, her rock, caused Kim to do something almost impossible for her to do: pray for forgiveness.
-----
Steve stood with the ship's captain as the last of the liner's guests was seated, Steve in his Navy Dress Uniform complete with row after row of ribbons.
He still marveled at what Señor Senior, Senior had done for them.
He had arranged for the string quartet to play at the wedding and the reception, the ship's floral Shoppe to decorate the arch under which they would be married and fill the area with fresh, blooming flowers, produce flyers and have them distributed ship-wide to publicize their wedding, and the reception: Vivian cried when the head chef showed Vivian what she had planned for them for the reception: bite-sized surf-and-turfs, a beautiful vegetarian polenta with arugula and a sauce Steve still couldn't pronounce, the Cajun crawfish and shrimp boil that he loved, the mini-eggplant omelettes that Vivian loved, and so many other things that his mind boggled while the ladies laughed and plotted for the guests to be ecstatic and full.
Steve still hadn't seen her wedding dress, but that was about to change as the quartet began the Wedding March and the guests stood and turned to see:
Several guests gasped, and Steve's dreams all came true at the same time.
'I can die a happy man tonight, or even right now, for I have seen my vision of Heaven.'
The wedding was being broadcast ship-wide; the announcers, a veteran husband and wife duo from a shipboard wedding of their own, were having a field day:
"James, Steve looks so sharp in his Navy uniform. What a hunk!
"Jamie, calm down: he's taken," and Jamie pouted. "Besides, the man has seen combat more times that I care to count, and he's wearing a Purple Heart and a Silver Star, among others, so I know he's served his country well.
"There goes the wedding march, and here comes the bride…oh, my goodness, she's gorgeous. Can I trade you in, Jamie?"
"Funny, James, but she is a vision in that dress:
"The bride, Dr. Vivian Porter, has most definitely dispelled every myth of the 'Plain Jane asexual scientist' here today in her wedding and her wedding dress: She's wearing a strapless A-line gown with silver beaded corded lace, and the train is the perfect length. Her waist is framed by a red sash, and it trails down the back of her dress to the end of her train. Her veil delicately covers the face of an obviously beautiful woman, and her blond hair is styled up. Her beautiful pure white gloves are up to her elbows, and her arms and hands move like she was a model. There appears to be a…is that…yes, yes, it is, there is a small crown under the veil, what a perfect touch for the princess on her very perfect, special day. She looks like a beautiful porcelain doll, she looks so perfect.
"James, do you have any comments?
"James?"
"She definitely doesn't need straps to hold that dress up, does she?"
"James, stop drooling!"
Señor Senior, Senior handed Vivian off to Steve with a wink and a bow, then took his seat.
"Dearly Beloved: It is one of the few truly timeless maritime traditions, and a joyous privilege, indeed, of a Ship's Captain, to perform the ceremony of uniting two people in holy matrimony.
"It is a special privilege, indeed, to do so for an old friend, someone who has served his country so honorably and saved my bacon more times than I can count," and the guests laugh, "as he marries the woman of his dreams," and the Captain smiles as the wedding ceremony begins, just before sunset with their backs all framed by the streaks of blue clouds with hints of purple and lavender.
-----
"Steve, you may now kiss your bride," and Steve took Vivian's delicate face in his huge hands and tilted it as he placed his lips onto hers, and they kissed passionately.
Steve and Vivian separated, smiles on their faces as big as the sky they stood under, and the Captain grinned as he formally introduced the couple:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you, for the first time, Professor Steve Bartholomew Barkin and his lovely wife Dr. Vivian Frances Porter-Barkin," and the guests all jumped to their feet and applauded as the string quartet began the traditional wedding recessional and the happy couple walked, almost floated, down the aisle.
-----
"KP, wake up."
"KP."
"KP," and Ron shook her gently.
Kim moaned and opened one eye, but only a bit.
Freckles greeted her, and she smiled.
"Ron," she reached up and pulled his face down to hers for a kiss.
"A-HEM!" came after a few moments, and Kim recognized-
"DADDY!" and she sat up quickly to the smile of her father behind Ron, almost hitting Ron in the mouth with her forehead.
"Hello, Kimmie-Cub. Do you use that method of waking often?" James Possible smiled as his daughter blushed deep red.
She looked up and realized that Ron's Stallion Cruiser was parked in her parent's garage.
She looked behind her, and Bonnie's seat was empty.
"BonBon's in the house, KP," Ron explained as he offered her his hand and helped her from the Cruiser.
"Kimmie-cub," James held out his arms and Kim fell into them, smiling and hugging him tightly.
"Welcome home, Kimmie-cub," James whispered into her hair. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Daddy," she whispered into his shirt.
"A-HEM!" and the two looked up to see a frowning Ron and a smiling Anne Possible.
"MOMMA!" and Kim ran into her mother's arms.
"You got the goods, 'Bugsy?'" James whispered to Ron in a very bad gangster imitation.
"They're as good as gold, 'Rocky,'" Ron replied in the same imitation and winked as they all walked into the house.
-----
Steve and Vivian were in the middle of some serious kissing and fully-clothed body searches when the knock came at their door.
"Who is it?" Vivian called out with a giggle, and Steve smiled: he loved those little giggles of hers, and he could hardly wait to hear more of them tonight.
"Mom and Da-yad," was the response from the other side of the door. "Are you two doing anything that you shouldn't be doing?"
"Not yet," Steve laughed as he took Vivian's hand and walked the two of them to the door. Vivian opened the door and yelled:
"MOMMA!
"DADDY!" and she fell into a huge hug, and huge was not an understatement:
'Daddy' Porter was a giant of a man, but he wasn't fat: he was obviously in excellent shape, just huge, Steve thought, and Momma Porter-
Steve thought he was looking in a mirror, because Momma Porter looked exactly like his Vivian's twin sister.
-----
Kim received more surprises in the house:
Bonnie, wearing an apron and cooking!
The Tweebs, joking with Bonnie!
Bonnie, laughing with the Tweebs!
"Hey, Big Sis-"
"You didn't tell us you were bringing-"
"Our Car Monkey 2.0 home with you-"
"Or we would have parked-"
"Our surprise out front," and they high-fived each other.
"Taste this, Kim," Bonnie handed her a dab of cookie dough, and Kim took it and put it in her mouth.
"Oh, my, goodness, that's wonderful, Bonnie," and Bonnie smiled.
"What is it?"
"My Nana's recipe for triple-chocolate double-pecan-drop cookies with fudge icing; that's the cookie, and here's the icing," and Bonnie rammed a spoon into Kim's mouth.
Kim licked the spoon as Bonnie withdrew it, and Kim grinned.
"How did you do this so fast, Bonnie?"
"Kim, we're been here for almost an hour; you've been asleep in Ron's Cruiser the entire time.
"That wonderful man of yours wouldn't wake you up: you were sleeping so soundly for the first time in weeks, he told us, so he stayed out there and watched you the entire time," and Ron grinned sheepishly.
Kim reached over and kissed her BFBF, earning only a small throat-clearing from her father and her father earning a dirty look from her mother.
Bonnie shoved another spoon in Kim's mouth; Kim licked it clean as Bonnie withdrew it, and Kim grinned even more.
"Wow, Bonnie, your Nana does with chocolate what mine does with lemon squares," Kim grinned.
"Oh, I love lemon squares Kim!"
"Excuse me, KP?" and Kim turned around to see Ron holding a large box with a huge red ribbon on it.
"An early Merry Christmas, KP," and she took the box, perplexed.
"Go on, open it," Ron took her hand and put it on the ribbon. "It's an early Christmas present," and James Possible smiled as his daughter began to tug at the ribbon.
Kim pulled the ribbon, and it fell off of the box onto the floor. She lifted the lid and-
-----
"PANDAROO!" She squealed, pulling the clear plastic bag out of the box with a new Pandaroo inside.
"Ron, how did you-"
"JCove, Kim: they have everything if you're willing to look for an owner, and the owner's willing to part with it, and you're able to convince him or her to do so," Ron grinned and scratch the back of his head.
"Ron, is this-"
"An original, only once-opened Pandaroo? Yeppers," and he was assaulted by Big Red Goodness.
When she came up for air (and, after James and Anne cleared their throats several times), Ron took a deep breath and continued.
"Kim, what's that in his pouch?" and Kim looked down at the pouch, reached inside the single carefully-masked opening in the plastic, and reached into PandaRoo's pouch, pulling out a small sealed manila envelope with something inside.
She opened the envelope, fearing the contents, but Ron took the envelope from her and reached in, pulling the contents out and revealing it to all as he knelt and slipped the emerald and diamond engagement ring onto Kim's finger.
"Kimberly Ann Possible, I have loved you from the day I met you in Pre-K." Ron began, and Kim looked down at the chocolate-brown eyes, now holding a hint of tears as hers began to form.
"Through elementary school, we've always been together.
"We made it through junior high, and through the start of your web site for babysitting.
"We made it through the first accidental sitch, where you met someone who loved CuddleBuddies as much as you did.
"We've made it through Drakken, Dememtor, Frugal Lucre, Camille Leon, NastyGram, Shego, Electronique, and so many others that don't even count.
"Through it all, you've never stopped taking care of me, KP, and I've never stopped loving you.
"It took the Diablos for me to finally tell you how I felt, and it took a Synthodrone and a cactus for you to finally realize how you felt about me, and the Prom was, in a word, Incredible," and Ron's tears matched Kim's as he held her hand.
"We almost made it through graduation without incident, but Motor Ed had to show up: we survived that, too.
"We made it to Go City University, despite having Steve Barkin show up at the University as Faculty," and Bonnie laughed with them.
"Through it all, Kim, I've never stopped loving you.
"When Bonnie 'killed' Pandaroo," and Bonnie winced, "I knew it was time to replace him and take it one step further.
"I told Bonnie I had something special planned, but she didn't know what.
"Now, she knows, and you know:
"Kimberly Ann Possible, I love you. Please do me the honor of becoming my wife, of sharing your life with me, of growing old and, for me, grey," and Kim grinned through her tears, "with you," and James and Anne held hands as they remembered their own special moment.
"Kimberly Ann Possible:
"Will you marry me?"
-----
"Kim, if you don't say yes, I'm slamming him over my shoulder and carrying him home with me," Bonnie interjected, and Kim looked over at her 'rival' and saw something she'd never seen before:
True, honest love and caring for Kim, coming from Bonnie Rockwaller.
"Yep, definitely a synthrodrone: she even tolerates the Tweebs!'
Kim looked back at Ron, on his knee, looking up at her and waiting for her answer, and she knew what the answer would be.
"Ronald Dean Stoppable, my answer is…" and she paused to see the look, the twitch, in his eyes.
"Yes.
"Daddy told me that 'Anything was possible for a Possible,'" James smiled, "and he was right:
"We can find true love, even when it's been right in front of our faces for all our lives.
"How could I not, Ron, my friend forever, my true partner in all things, my protector, my love forever, marry the one and only man I've ever loved?" and Kim's tears re-started.
"How could I not marry the boy who spent his allowance and birthday money to buy me a silly stuffed animal, just because I said I wanted it? And, then, work another four months to pay the rest of his money back to his dad to cover the balance?
"How could I not marry the man who lost his pants whenever we're in danger, who was willing to pretend to be a fool to protect, to save me, more than once?" and Ron blushed, Bonnie laughed, and the Jim and Tim laughed with Bonnie as they watched their Dad sputter and their Mom blush.
"How could I not marry the man who, whenever I try to do totally stupid things like rant and rail at people, agrees with me and then does the right thing, not what I want him to do? Always protecting me, he is," and Kim took Ron's hand and pulled him up to face her.
"Ronald Dean Stoppable, thank you for never falling out of love with me, even when I ignored you, when I mocked you, when I mistreated you, when I went looking for what I thought was something better," she took a deep breath, "and even when I was convinced I was defeated. You 'hung' by me," and Ron laughed through his tears, "and lifted me up, Ron," and by now the entire kitchen was filling with tears.
"I can hardly wait for the day, Ron, when I wear that dress, place that ring on your finger, receive that ring on my finger, say 'I do,' and hear the announcement of Dr. Ronald Dean Stoppable and Dr. Kimberly Ann Possible-Stoppable.
"Thank you, Ron, for never giving up on me.
"Yes, I will marry you. I love you, and I always will. Please do me the honor of becoming my husband, of sharing my life with you, of growing old with me, and raising our children together," and Kim grinned through her tears, and Kim and Ron kissed.
"Bonnie," Ron said when they finally separated, "come here."
Bonnie looked perplexed, but she came over to Ron.
"Bonnie, thank you," and Bonnie looked totally confused.
"You've been a pain, a thorn in my side, but you've never hated me," Ron continued. "In fact, you've gone out of your way to not hate me, even when you were calling me a 'loser' all of those years.
"I suspected what you told me that Friday night, and Kim understands when I say this:
"I love you, too, Bonnie: you are a very special person, so deserving of love, that I wish I could do something more than this," and Ron reached out his hands and received three boxes, two large ones and one small one, from the Tweebs. He held the boxes for Bonnie to open.
"Bonnie, Merry Christmas," and Bonnie pulled the ribbons on the large boxes and opened them:
"KANGACAT and PANDAROO!" she screamed, and she hugged both Kim and Ron.
"YOU KNEW!!!
"HOW DID YOU KNOW, RON?" she sobbed into her new friends.
"Just a lucky guess," Ron whispered into Bonnie's ear, "and an understanding of a decent person underneath all of that hurt."
"Open the last one, Bonnie: it's from the Tweebs," Ron grinned, and Jim and Tim high-fived.
Bonnie took longer this time: the Tweebs had taped every possible place that a fingernail could have gotten into, but she finally opened the box and retrieved…
"Keys?" Bonnie stared at them, and then she recognized them.
"MY KEYS!" and the Tweebs nodded.
"We decided-"
"That you deserved your car back-"
"Especially since you zapped Kim-"
"Even better than we ever did-"
"When she lived here."
"It runs better now-"
"that we fixed the engine-"
"And you don't have to become-"
"Car Monkey 2.1, Bonnie-"
"Because we like you."
"So, if you want a date-"
"And want twice the fun-"
"Call us, ok?"
"TWEEBS!"
"Gotta go-"
"Bye-bye, Bonnie," and they disappeared out of the kitchen followed by Kim.
"Some things never change," Ron noted, and he smiled at Bonnie, now sitting at the kitchen table staring at her keys and her CuddleBuddies, her normally-perfect face tear-streaked "and some do."
"Here, Bonnie," and Ron handed her a towel to wipe her face.
"Thanks, loser," Bonnie grinned as she took the towel.
"And, some things remain the same," Ron chuckled, and Bonnie winked at him.
"Hell is where you find it, Bonnie, so quit looking for it, and you'll find heaven."
"Someone call for an angel?" and a wheelchair came flying into the kitchen.
"FELIX!" Ron yelled, and he grabbed Felix Renton.
"Where's the ball and chain, Felix?"
"No more, Ron-man: Mon's found someone else," Felix looked sad, but then he turned and saw Bonnie sitting at the table.
'That could be for the best,' Felix thought, and he moved over to Bonnie.
"Hello, BonBon," he smiled, and Bonnie smiled back.
Ron grinned.
'Felix has gone from Hell to Heaven in a single moment,' Ron thought.
-----
"May we come in?" and Daddy and Momma Porter stepped through the door with huge smiles on their faces, and they both hugged their daughter again.
"Baby, I'm so sorry we missed the wedding, but we made it here to meet this wonderful man you're found," Momma Porter smiled as she extended her hand to Steve, still more than a bit in shock.
"Steve, I'm Dr. Vivian Francis Porter, and this is my husband, Dr. Oliver Wendell Knight," she smiled as she shook his hand, and then laughed as she looked at his thoroughly-confused face.
"You have a question or two, I imagine, as to why my little girl looks like her mother," Vivian Francis laughed as she and Oliver sat on the couch, while Steve sat in the chair with his bride on his lap, nibbling at his neck.
"Cheese and crackers, lady, that would be an understatement! Is she a clone, or what? I've seen some pretty strange things in Middleton with Possible around, so nothing would surprise me," and Vivian Francis beamed.
"You know James Possible?" Momma Porter asked.
"I meant his daughter Kim, but yes, I do know James," Steve replied, wondering what tangent road he'd just taken.
"Pay up, Oliver: I told you I thought he was a Middleton man when our little girl called me, and you didn't believe me," and Oliver pouted as he handed her a fifty-dollar bill.
"You've close, Steve; our little girl is the latest development in cyber-organics: a fully-functional life form with all emotions, capabilities (as I'm sure you've found out already," Vivian Francis smirked, and Steve blushed as Vivian Frances ran her hand inside his shirt and onto his chest), "and desires of a natural woman.
"I think you two will be a very happy couple."
"I MARRIED A ROBOT?" Steve shouted, and his bride stared at him and slapped him.
"STEVE! I am not a robot!
"Besides," she grinned, "could a robot do this to you," and she rubbed him in a way that made his body respond and convinced him that she most definitely was not a robot.
"And, would a robot have these," and she put his hand on her chest, and no robot could respond the way her chest did to his touch. "Steve, 'you make me feel like a na-tu-ral woman,'" she sang, and even Steve had to smile at the pun.
"And, could a robot have made you fall in love with it and make you scream 'Sweet Niblits!' over and over and over again, Stevie?" Vivian Frances smirked, and Oliver and Vivian Francis laughed as Steve blushed.
"Steve, she's a truly cyber-organic artificial life form, the second of her kind, and she's very special to her mother and I," Oliver smiled as he took his wife's hand.
"Second?" and Vivian Francis smiled.
"He's the first," she pointed to Oliver who smiled and nodded.
"Trust me, Steve: he's no machine, but he's a real animal in bed," Vivian Francis beamed, and Oliver blushed.
"MOM! TMI!" came from Vivian Frances as she blushed.
"So, you're an artificial life form: does that make you an ALF? Do you like cats, too?" Steve asked with his own smirk, and his bride whacked him in the back of the head, then leaned over and gave him a kiss that curled his toes inside of his dress shoes.
"I could be your pleasure slave," she whispered into his ear.
"That's not what I want in a wife, Vivian," Steve pushed her away from his ear and took her face in his hands.
"Lots of people have told me that there was no woman on earth that could put up with me, and I guess they were right," Steve grinned, "and they were wrong, as well," and Vivian looked expectantly at him.
"There is one woman that I've always wanted, and she's on my lap right now. I want a partner, Vivian; I want you. Please be gentle, honey, with a poor, fragile ordinary human being tonight," and Vivian grew a totally wicked smile.
"Some people would say that having a woman who's 'not real' would be their definition of Hell.
"If this is Hell, I love the definition," Steve smiled, and Vivian Frances Porter leaned in and kissed him again.
Steve couldn't see his wife give a thumbs' up to her parents, and Oliver and Vivian Francis smiled, then kissed. Oliver curled Vivian's toes in her pumps, and she didn't mind a bit.
-----
Bonnie was in the Possible back yard with snow flurries falling, Felix by her side as she finished her final task.
"Pandaoo, I'm sorry," she said over the freshly-mounded dirt, placing a white rose on the pile.
"I was jealous of you and Kim, and I took it out on you.
"Do you forgive me, Pandaroo?
"I hope you do," as she hugged her two CuddleBuddies. "I think you do, especially since Ron and Kim have both forgiven me."
"I have my new friends in Kim and Ron," and they smiled from inside the house, "and I have my two new friends here," and she squeezed her CuddleBuddies, "and, on top of that, I may have an even newer friend here, as well," and she reached down and took Felix's hand, squeezing it.
"I've been through Hell, but I think I'm out of it, now," she said as she walked away with Felix's hand in hers, heading back inside for more warmth.
-----
"Stevie?"
"Uh-huh?"
"Are you awake?"
"Woman, how do you expect me to sleep when you keep doing that?"
"That's the idea: Keep Stevie Up," Vivian rolled over on her side and grinned in the darkness.
"I have a student who has the perfect response for that, Vivian."
"Oh? And, what would that response be, Stevie?
"BOOYAH!"
-----
Author's afterward:
-----
Once again, to clarify:
Dr. Vivian Frances Porter: cyber-organic artificial life form (don't call her a robot: she gets really, really testy about that).
Dr. Vivian Francis Porter: human.
Got it? Great….
-----
A very special set of thanks go out to the following:
A whole slew of writers for allowing me to bounce this idea off of them, and to CajunBear73, Desslock3, Kim's #1 Fan, King in Yellow, Pharaoh Rutin Tutin, Slyrr, whitem, and Zaratan for their review of the story opening and opinions on Vivian's wedding dress choices. Yes, it's kinda silly for grown men to be selecting a wedding dress for a cartoon character; then again, it's different that grown men are writing about a teenager who saves the world; wait, isn't that on another network at night?
CajunBear73, Pharaoh Rutin Tutin, Sir Sebastian, and Slyrr for their final review of the story. Thanks, gentlemen: I actually listened and made a few modifications based on your recommendations.
-----
Thank you, to all of you, for continuing to support me and provide me with a sounding board.
Thanks again for reading, and please review.