"Kimberly Anne." She was roused by her mother's flat voice.
"What is it?" she mumbled, scrubbing the sleep from her eyes. The space next to her on the bed was empty, but still warm; he hadn't been awake for long. As she awoke further, the distinct scent of eggs and pancakes filled her nose and she sniffed appreciatively. Oh... he hadn't been awake for long... Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up. "How long have you been here?"
"Long enough," her mother said quietly, her voice still flat.
She knew they were caught then, and she got out of bed, ready to argue. The only thing that stopped her was the distinct sizzling of turkey bacon and Mrs. Stoppable's voice announcing that breakfast was ready.
Giving her mother a very pointed look, she went into Ron's closet and pulled out a hoodie and a pair of her jeans that she'd left here on one occasion or another. The sweatshirt was huge and she practically swam in it, but it smelled like him, and she snuggled into it happily even though there was no air conditioning because the power had not yet been restored.
She padded down the stairs, immediately searching him out. They stood in front of each other for a long time, studying each other, communicating silently with their eyes. Finally, she spoke. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "How bad was it?"
He swallowed hard, and tears made his eyes glassy. "Bad," he whispered. "Really, really bad."
"I'm sorry, Ronnie," she whispered, leaning into him.
"When I woke up I... thought I'd lost you," he choked into her hair.
She squeezed him hard, then she let her hands roam his back and shoulders. Her fingers tangled in his blonde hair over and over until she finally pulled away from him, her hands framing his face before slipping down and resting on his chest. She studied his honey brown eyes for a moment. "There isn't anything in the universe that can take me away from you, okay? I'm... I'm not going anywhere, and nothing is going to happen to me. I... I'll never leave you."
He smiled a little and then he caught her in his arms, squeezing her until she had to remind him to let her breathe. He loosened his grip slightly, but pressed his lips to hers. She met his kiss happily, suddenly not interested in silly things like breathing anymore.
When the finally pulled apart, he gave her a sheepish grin. "I think our food is cold."
What she said next earned her a jubilant 'boo-yah' and a real smile: "I heard the BN in Go City is still operational."
He was out the door in a second, the only evidence that he'd been standing there moments before being the slight breeze that he'd left in his wake. She laughed and followed him out to her car, calling a hurried goodbye behind her as she hurried to catch up with him.
The trip to Go City had been sobering. There was destruction everywhere they looked. The giant hat had been torn off the Bueno Nacho and lay in pieces beside it, but somehow they still had their basic electrical functions, except for air conditioning. They ordered their food and ate by the harbor, where the destruction was minimal and the sun shone brilliantly on the water.
Ron turned to her, giving her a real smile again. "KP?"
"Hmm?" She swallowed a bite and looked at him.
Putting their food aside, he reached for her hands. "I love you," he said sincerely. Then he drew a shaky breath. "I'm... really glad you're home. This whole thing has showed me that... I really can't live without you."
Kim blinked back tears at the sincerity of his speech and launched herself at him, needing to be in his arms.
He held her close, kissing anywhere within reach of his lips. She shivered as his lips brushed her ear and pressed herself closer to him. "I love you too," she mumbled into his chest. "I can't live without you either. You're everything to me."
"And you, to me," he whispered in response.
"What do you think happened last night?"
"I thought I heard him in the bathroom," James answered his friend, looking thoughtful.
Anne sighed. "It doesn't matter what happened, we specifically told them they weren't to share the room."
"Yeah and they both took to that with about the submissiveness of a hungry tiger to a tamer," snorted Yvonne.
"What should we do? Ground them?"
It was James who shook his head. Heaving a heavy sigh, he stood and began to pace. He felt old. It wasn't too long ago that she'd been taking his baby girl to Middleton Park to play in the snow, or to the Rocket Booster's club. It felt like yesterday that she'd tugged on his sleeve and begged him, "please daddy, buy me a puppy!" and pouted adorably when he said no. He remembered distinctly the color of the little marbles in her pigtails as she bounced excitedly in her booster seat, telling him about her new friend Ronnie, and how they were going to be best friends forever.
"No boys. Ever. And driving? Pfft, forget about it." Those were among the new rules he'd naively given her after she'd flown a space craft by herself to rescue Ron at the tender age of fifteen.
He'd overlooked the fact that Ron was a boy. Stupid, stupid man, he cursed himself. Of course she'd fall for him, he knew her better than she knew herself. And he wasn't a boy... not anymore. He'd proven himself over the past day to be very much a man, returning the enormous favor of going into outer space to save her life.
Of course she'd share a bed with him... she shared everything else with him. She shared all her dangerous experiences with him, trusting him with her life over and over again. She shared her successes and failures...
He'd looked into his wife's sparkling blue-green eyes a thousand times as he did the same, and the thought made him swallow hard. She'd marry him, he finally admitted to himself. His baby girl wasn't his baby girl anymore. Now she was...
Ron's girl.
"Jimmy?" His wife whispered, watching him in concern.
He swallowed again, and then he turned to her. "Leave them be," he said quietly.
"What?" The other three sputtered.
James looked at his wife and swallowed hard again. "He looks at her the way I look at you," he whispered. "He... loves her. And she loves him. They... they grew up, Annie. They grew up a long time ago... they grew up the first time they ever went on a mission together. Stopping them... it's just delaying the inevitable."
Anne watched her husband struggle with the realization that she'd come to some time ago: their little Kimmie and her best friend were not children anymore. "You're right, honey," she conceded quietly, "but they still disobeyed directly, and as the grown ups they are now, they can face the consequences of that."
Yvonne nodded immediately. "I agree. While... while they aren't the youngsters they used to be, they are still under, I guess you can say, our roof, and so they still have to obey the rules."
The other three stood as the couple in question entered the house their laughter echoing in the front hall. She was still wearing his sweatshirt, and her hair was in a pony tail. Her cheeks ere flushed and her eyes were bright. He looked at her with nothing but adoration, an elated smile on his face. "Oh hey, mom and dad," Ron said when he saw them standing. He pulled Kim along by the hand, putting his arm around her as the sat down. "We want to talk to you guys."
All for parents stood extremely still.
Kim reached across his lap and squeezed his hand. "I decided what school I want to go to, and Ron is going with me."
James swallowed hard, trying to smile for his daughter. He knew that they'd go away together at some point, whether they were a couple or not, so this wasn't news to him.
What she said next was. "We're going to Go City. Smarty Mart has a scholarship program for its employees, and he applied. Go City University School of Business is excellent, and Martin Smarty himself has vouched for Ron more than once. He's going to transfer there to work, and I've applied to several jobs there as well. Ron's expecting his acceptance any time within the next couple weeks."
"So... you're going to get apartments in Go City then, instead of campus housing?"
They both shook their heads. "One apartment. Near but not on campus. There's one we could afford together in the harbor."
Complete silence.
"When would you be moving?" Asked Dan, clearing his throat.
"End of the summer," Ron replied, squeezing Kim's hand gently. They smiled at each other, leaning toward each other like magnets, their lips meeting briefly. Kim's nose skimmed his cheek briefly and she curled into him. He wrapped his arms around her, and Yvonne watched them get comfortable. They fit, like puzzle pieces, and it made her heart constrict a little. She now understood James's struggle. Her son wasn't a little boy anymore... he was a man, very much in love with the woman of his dreams.
"Congratulations," she said sincerely, and her son untangled himself from his girl's limbs to wrap his arms around his mother. He was taller than her... not enough to tower over her, but tall enough to engulf her in his embrace.
He shook his father's hand, and the man looked his son in the eyes. He was satisfied; his son was happy, and he didn't want anything more.
Ron turned to James, expecting a half-hearted threat about deep space and black holes and the like. Which was why it surprised the life out of him when the older man hugged him. "Please... take care of my baby," he whispered.
Ron nodded into his shoulder. "Of course, Mr. Dr. P. She's my life too," he said, his voice rough with emotion.
Ron proceeded into the kitchen to make dinner, and Kim and the twins pulled out a board game.
Neither Kim or Ron ever got grounded.
