I don't own these characters. Disney does.

9: All is Calm

It was Christmas time. School was out for break. Bonnie felt like she had ended school on a good note, even though there was still a month left when they came back from vacation. It was just, she thought she did a good job for this end, anyway. And she thought she would end the year on a good note.

And a good note for her would be presenting her girlfriend with a sweet, loving, and touching gift. Her girlfriend — Kim Possible. The very thought made her want to float off into space. Made her want to be a better Bonnie. She needed something to show that, needed Kim to know exactly how she affected Bonnie.

Before Kim, she would have thought something special meant something expensive. It was what she would have expected from past boyfriends. Kim might very well have gotten her something expensive, but she was not saying. Kim was a big believer in the art of surprise. No matter how much Bonnie begged to know what it was, Kim refused to say.

Bonnie had not purchased something expensive. Kim was not that type of girl. Yes, she would appreciate a sparkly bauble as much as the next girl, but she would rather something well thought out and from the heart. Bonnie wanted to do that. She wanted to get Kim something that would make her smile every time she saw it.

"Maybe it's a little corny," Bonnie considered, looking down at the wrapped box in her hand. She was in her bedroom with the present.

Tomorrow was Christmas. Her plan was to walk over to the Possible house when she could get away from her own family for a few minutes. She might lie and say she wanted to go to the store for something, just to make sure no one asked any questions. Of course, there was always the chance no one would ask questions. She just had to avoid the right people.

She fiddled with the gift a little more, tracing its edges with her finger, and then put it away, not wanting to risk damaging it. She hid it in a small space under the floor in her closet. Her sisters did not respect private space… not that she did either. They went through her room like it was theirs, so she often returned the favor. Throughout the years everyone had found something golden, but also something scarring. Bonnie would never forget the day she found Connie's vibrator. Yeah, it was a source of amusement, embarrassing the hell out of Connie, but also… ew.

Lonnie seemed to have an endless supply of condoms hidden around her room, which was surprising. Bonnie did not think Lonnie was smart enough to practice safe sex, but apparently, she did. Bonnie used to steal them all the time. Lonnie never seemed to notice, making her the only one of them to not realize things were missing from her room.

So, she secured the present, even though it was wrapped and did not say anything remotely telling. It was not like she left a tag on there, "to my wonderful, amazing girlfriend Kim, whose babies I would totally have." But, it was engraved and they might open the wrapping to see that. Then, she would be subjected to the Spanish Inquisition, which Lonnie would not understand, but Connie would have a field day with and Lonnie would just along with to see Bonnie squirm.

With that out of the way, Bonnie went downstairs to wait for her relatives like the rest of her family. They had a Christmas tree up in the living room. It was one of the few things her father did not complain about. Christmas never cheered up his eternal grumpiness, but he seemed a little more agreeable than other times.

There were presents under the tree. She got her sisters something despite their constant and consistent douche-baggery. They probably got her things, too. They did almost every Christmas. Of course, their mother had gotten them all stuff, but Bonnie usually got just a little more.

Bonnie had also gotten Tara something because Tara got her something every year, but this year was the first time she returned the favor. She was beginning to understand Tara was different from her other friends. Tara was not just someone who clung to her to leech off of her popularity. She would have to do better by Tara and this was the start of that.

"Hello, family!" The front door opened and a friendly, female voice called out.

Her aunts — two of them — arrived. One aunt, Sandi, was married and had two kids. One daughter, one son — Britney and Bretford. Brett was the only boy in a sea of girls. Their grandparents loved him like he was the Holy Grail. Brit and Brett were closer to Lonnie's and Connie's ages, so Bonnie did not interact with them much.

Her aunt Sonni was what her grandmother affectionately called a "spinster." Sonni tended to laugh it off. For the "spinster" of the family, she always dressed well and was pretty successful. She was also the friendliest of the three sisters.

"Staci!" Sonni grabbed Bonnie's mother into a tight hug.

Bonnie watched her father grumble as Sonni wasted no time hugging everyone as if she would never see them again. Well, not everybody. Sonni did not hug Bonnie's father. In fact, she did not even glance his way.

Her grandparents arrived about an hour after her aunts. They cooed and fawned over all of their grandchildren, even though everyone was pretty much grown. Bonnie was the baby of the bunch, but she still did not compare to the holiest of holies, their grandson. Whatever.

"Brett, look at you!" her grandmother said, grabbing him into a hug for the third time in two minutes.

"You still playing hockey, boy?" their grandfather asked.

"Yeah, Grandpa," Brett answered shyly.

Bonnie thought this was a weird aspect of her cousins' personality. Both Brit and Brett were a little bashful. Not that it mattered. Aunt Sandi would sing their praises for them.

"You know he is, Dad! Mark wouldn't let him quit and he needs the scholarship money," Sandi chimed in. "It's tough putting two kids through college." It was a possible dig at Bonnie's parents, but she did not go any further than that.

"Yeah, thank goodness Connie got her scholarship," Bonnie's mother said, making conversation. She put an arm around Bonnie. "Hopefully, this one will manage it, too."

Before Connie or Lonnie could jump in with something mean, Sonni spoke up. "How is this one doing in school, anyway?" She nodded toward Bonnie and there was just small talk about all of the children in school.

This was her mother's family. They were pretty normal and brought normalcy with them. Her father did not interact with them much, preferring to sulk in his chair in the living room. Bonnie did not understand why, but sometimes she thought her father was jealous. There had been occasions in the past when her father's attitude and screaming would be kicked up to eleven the moment her mother's family left, like he resented she had people who loved her and he had nothing.

As far as she could tell, her father did not speak to his family. His parents were still alive, living in another state. He had a brother somewhere who did not talk to him. Bonnie envied them.

Her mother's family tended to ignore her father for the most part. Every now and then, her grandfather or Aunt Sonni would get brave and try to engage him, only to leave the living room muttering insults under their breath. She did not get why they bothered, but whatever.

"Do you need any help with anything? Cooking?" her grandmother offered, speaking to her mother.

Bonnie's mother laughed and shook her head. Her mother went all out for Christmas Eve dinner, doing the amazing things all by herself since none of her daughters could cook. Tomorrow, like always, her aunts and grandmother would handle Christmas dinner, giving her mother her one day off of the year. Over the years, she and her sisters and cousins, overheard and eavesdropped on many conversations between the adults of the family and had come to a better understanding of her mother's plight. Of course, that never stopped her from feeling like her mother was annoying, as well as a doormat.

But, she would do her best to enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas. She kind of felt like it was truce between her and her sisters. They could be calm and collected and just enjoy being around halfway sane family, even if the favoritism was blatantly skewered in the male's favor with almost all of the adults focusing on Brett.

"Well, since I don't give a damn about hockey, how about you girls tell me what's going on with you?" Sonni asked, speaking to the girls. She smiled. Sonni was always interested in everyone, as best she could be.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie texted Kim when she was outside of her house. She was bundled up in snow gear, as Middleton was never deprived of their white Christmas. One of her favorite childhood memories was with her cousins allying with her against her sisters in an epic snowball fight. They were all too old for that now, even though she would give her right hand to see Connie smacked in the face with a slush-ball.

Kim came rushing out of the house in only a winter sweater and her usual pants. Bonnie resisted the urge to scold her and force her to go back inside to get a coat. Kim grabbed her into a hug, which she returned. They then pulled back and smiled at each other.

"Merry Christmas," Bonnie said.

"Merry Christmas," Kim chuckled and dipped her head. "I almost kissed you when I saw you standing out here."

Bonnie's heart thumped. She would have enjoyed that very much. But, they were in the middle of the street and who knew who could see. Ron was probably in the house and he could always glance out. Hell, the twins might have come out to start trouble while they were in the middle of a lip lock.

"I wouldn't have minded," Bonnie admitted. She would not mind right now, either.

Kim swallowed hard. "We'll have to talk about that."

"Not now, though. I just wanted to give you your Christmas gift on Christmas," Bonnie said with a small smile. Getting away from the house was harder than she thought it would be, her aunts had questions for her as to where she was going and all that, but she managed it.

"Good. I wanted to give you yours on Christmas, too." Kim went into her pants side pocket and pulled out a small box.

Bonnie handed her gift over as Kim did the same. "What is it?" she asked.

"Just open it. I want to see your face when you do," Kim replied.

Nodding, Bonnie had to slide one glove off to do so. Tearing through the wrapping paper, she knew she had a jewelry box in her hand, but did not recognize the name. She hoped Kim did not go all out. She did not want to bankrupt her girlfriend. Then she popped the top open and found infinite symbol with tiny emeralds on one curve and blue topaz going through the front band. Her throat went dry.

"Kim… you didn't… you didn't…" Bonnie could not even finish the sentence.

"I wanted to. The second I saw it, I thought of you. The blue made me think of your eyes. But, then they were in this infinity symbol and I thought of math. You know, it's both of our best subject and I want you to think of us when you look at it," Kim explained and she gave a little shrug.

"I love it," Bonnie sighed. Damn it, I really want to kiss her now!

"That's good," Kim blushed… or the cold was turning her cheeks red. It was probably both. She rubbed her hands together and then put them in her pocket, like she was insecure… or cold. "I thought it was nice because you're kinda like infinity. You go on and on, no matter what. You're awesome."

Bonnie sniffled and wiped at her eye. "You can't make me cry while we're out here where people might see."

Chuckling, Kim smiled a little. "I'm sorry. I just want you to know what I was thinking about when I got it."

"Thank you…" Bonnie sniffled again and swallowed, hoping to keep back tears. "I don't think I've ever had someone put this much thought into a gift for me. Most boyfriends would've seen this and just grabbed it because it looked pretty. They probably wouldn't even know what the infinity symbol was. They definitely wouldn't know I like math."

Kim grinned. "So, I've done better than past boyfriends?"

Bonnie yelped and stood a little straighter. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. I'm just teasing. What did you get me?" Kim played with the box a little.

"Open it now, so you can go back inside!" Bonnie ordered, giving Kim a light shove back in the direction of her house.

Kim laughed. "I'm fine." She made short work of the wrapping paper, but still made it look like she was creating origami. Her eyes lit up as she saw the small, dark wooden jewelry box with detailed flower designs carved in it. "It's beautiful…" she whispered.

"Open it." Inside was the best.

Kim popped the top and it played a little song from Swan Lake. But, best of all, on the top, she had the words, "You make everything possible" engraved in it. Kim looked up and locked eyes with her. Bonnie gave a small smile.

"Now, who's going to make who cry? This is beautiful," Kim repeated. She locked eyes with Bonnie, who felt like some many emotions passed between them in that moment.

Bonnie chuckled, feeling a little too exposed for outside. "You already said that."

Kim's breath showed in the air as she smiled. "It bears repeating. This so lovely."

"I think it'll be better once it's full of keepsakes I buy you over the years," Bonnie remarked.

A half-smile tugged up the side of Kim's face. "Yeah. I wish I could fit The Grapes of Wrath in here." She shuffled the box from hand to hand briefly.

That would've been awesome. Bonnie shook her head and looked down for a second. "I wasn't thinking about that."

"It's fine. I'm sure I'll get other things to put in it. I look forward to filling it, actually." Kim grinned. "But, Bonnie, you make everything possible, not me."

"That's nice to say, but…" Bonnie stared at the ground and shrugged.

Kim reached out and took her hand. "I'm ferociously serious, Bonnie. You're the one who made us possible. You were the one brave enough to take that step. You were the who decided you wanted to change and become the person you feel was hiding inside of you, the one who approached me. This…" She motioned between the two of them. "This is all you."

"No, I was the one who ruined any chance of us in the first place," Bonnie replied.

"But, you brought us back together. There was a moment that meant something to you and you held onto it and you chased after it. You're the one who did something amazing."

Bonnie decided against arguing, but only because she wanted Kim to get inside. Yeah, Kim might be superhuman or whatever, but it was cold and even she got sick every now and then. For a moment, she rubbed Kim's hand, which still had hold of her, with her thumb.

"You want to come in for a little while?" Kim offered, apparently not willing to let go just yet.

"I'd like to, but I should get back home." Bonnie was fairly certain her family would decapitate her if she missed Christmas dinner and she certainly would miss it if she stepped into the Possible house. Besides, things were okay at her house for once. She should enjoy it.

"What's going on at your house?" Kim asked curiously.

"The same thing going on in your house, I'd figure. My grandparents, aunts, uncle, and cousins are at the house. My grandmother and aunts are cooking. Well, my aunt Sonni is pulling stuff, but in the kitchen none the less. Everybody's catching up with each other and just being happy to see each other," Bonnie explained. There was some snark going around, as that was expected with her and her sisters, but for the most part, it was all right.

Kim nodded. "Yeah, my mom cooks. Nana can be a bit of a diva if you let her in the kitchen, but her food tastes like something a drill sergeant would make." She snickered.

Bonnie laughed as well. "I'm sure you'd soldier through it."

Kim shrugged. "I have, but that doesn't mean I like it. Do you want to come ice skating tomorrow?" she blurted out.

Bonnie's forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows drew in close to each other. "Is this a date or will Ron be there?"

Kim laughed. "Ron and my cousin Joss, who's visiting from Montana. But, I could take you on a date there after hours."

"So, you want to ice skate in the dark?" Bonnie teased.

More laughter escaped Kim. "No, of course not! A lot of people owe me favors over there and I could cash one in for a romantic night of ice skating for my girlfriend."

The word hit Bonnie and seeped into her like a warm glow on this cold day. "I'd like that. You're surprisingly romantic." Ouch. Wow. And I'm crap at this.

"Better than your other boyfriends?" Kim teased with a half-smirk.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, huh?"

"If it makes you feel any better, you're doing a good job at making me feel more appreciated than any of my past boyfriends."

Bonnie scoffed. "All three of them?"

Kim tittered. "Four!"

"Four?" Bonnie tried to calculate in her head how many boys she had managed to steal from Kim, but the number was higher than four. Apparently, Kim did not realize how many boys actually liked her.

"Yes, I've had four boyfriends, counting Josh. They weren't that great," Kim grumbled with a shrug.

Bonnie had no doubt about that. "They're intimidated by you, baby." Oh, wow. Was that cool? Can I call her that? They had used other nicknames, but this one was rare.

Kim laughed. "I'd like your insight on that, but I'm starting to feel the nip in the air and I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Can I call you tonight?" Bonnie requested, while noting her use of "baby" as a term of endearment had not been shot down. So, it must have been all right.

"Please." Kim finally let go of her hand. "Text me when you get home, though. I want to know you made it all right."

Bonnie nodded and they touched hands once more before heading off in different directions. Bonnie's hand felt warm as she eased it back into her glove. She wondered how long this extremely high version of love would last. The simplest things from Kim made her lose track of reality.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie was in her bed. She had her phone in hand, pressed to her ear. She and Kim were having a late night conversation, reviewing their Christmas day with the other. It was nice. Bonnie never had a simple conversation like this with anyone aside from Kim.

"I'm glad Tara liked your gift," Kim said.

Bonnie smiled at the memory. "She was so surprised I gave her something. I need to treat her better. I think… I think she might be my one true friend."

"Hey, what about me?" Kim sounded like she was pouting.

Bonnie snickered. "You don't count. You know why."

"I suppose. Still, it's nice you got her something and you recognize her worth to you. Tara's a good person."

Bonnie could not argue with that. Despite her influence, Tara remained a fairly decent human being. Like any teenager, she had her moments, but nothing like Bonnie.

"So, aside from Tara, what did you do?" Kim asked.

Bonnie chuckled a bit, shocked at how quickly Kim wanted off the topic of Tara. She did not bring it up, but quickly moved on, informing Kim about her family's time together. Kim spoke of her family's time together as well.

"I'm impressed with your cousin's ability to consume so much turkey. I think I'd be able to take him in an eating contest, though," Kim remarked.

"You won't be doing that around me," Bonnie stated. She never thought of Kim eating a lot, but now that the idea was out there, she realized it would be crazy for Kim to not eat a lot. Kim was in constant motion. Her body had to burn a lot of energy.

"You mean you won't think that's attractive? I'm pretty sure I saw Brick and Lance do it once."

"It wasn't attractive then either, not that I was attracted to either of them." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized it was the truth. She had never been attracted to them, or any of the boys she had been with.

Kim was silent for a moment. "Why were you with them then?"

"Well, I was with Brick because he wanted you," Bonnie admitted easily.

"You've been purposely stealing boys from me since junior high."

"Well, I didn't want them near you because I wanted you and I also wanted to hurt you," Bonnie replied. They had been through this, so it was not so hard to confess, but it sounded so stupid. I hurt you because I love you? I'm an idiot.

"Did Lance like me?" Kim asked.

"Why? Do you like him?" Bonnie countered. She was sick of Kim bringing that douche up.

"No! No, no, no. Honestly, he comes off as a bit of an asshole."

"Yeah, trust me, he is just that. He never liked you as far as I know. I ended up going out with him for my second reason to live — popularity. I wanted to be popular in high school and he was my first step." It was a huge price to pay and right now she really wished she could take it back, but it was done and over. She was older and wiser now.

Again, Kim was silent. "It didn't bother you that he was sixteen?"

"I thought it was great a junior wanted to date me," she replied honestly. Now, yes, it was creepy to realize she was fourteen and he was sixteen. Worse was the fact that he turned seventeen while she was still fourteen, but to her it was amazing that this older boy wanted to bother with her. She could tell Lonnie she was not too "awkward-looking" for an older football player to want to be her boyfriend. It had not occurred to her that he wanted to be with her beyond the fact that she was pretty, but more that she would do what he wanted.

"I guess that's a valid reason."

"No, it's not. You don't have to tiptoe around it, Possible. I know how it seems and he was dating me for the very reason you're thinking of," Bonnie blurted out before she realized what she was saying. She did not want to talk about this anymore. She did not want to end up admitting to Kim she had slept with Lance, more than once, not that it was a secret. When they broke up, he went around telling everyone what a horrible lay she was. Her plan to prove him wrong and pay him back was to sleep with more guys on his team, so they could tell him he was an ass and she was great. The plan worked, but it was short-sighted, like always. Now, the whole school thought she was fast and easy. Hell, maybe she was.

So, there was another long moment of silence. Bonnie sighed. I am really bad at this. She never would have considered Kim was better in the relationship department than she was. She had so much more practice at this! Well, not really. None of her relationships were real like this.

"Kim, I'm sorry. I just…" Bonnie was not even sure what to say.

"It's okay, Bonnie. You've had boyfriends."

"But, I've always wanted you," Bonnie said. Okay, that was probably good. But, there was silence again. "Kim?"

"I'm a little choked up over being this person you always wanted. You being this person who's right for me… It's weird, but it's amazing. You make me feel amazing."

Bonnie smiled. "I'm glad I do. You're special, Kim Possible."

Kim chuckled. "You, too, Bonnie Rockwaller."

They spoke for a while longer before having to get some sleep. Bonnie sighed as she eased her phone down onto her nightstand. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: All is Bright

Kim smiled as she put her Kimmunicator down. It was nice to speak with Bonnie and find out how good her Christmas went. She wished she had been able to spend Christmas with Bonnie, but her family would be crushed if she went to the Rockwaller house and Bonnie had not invited her over anyway. She suspected Bonnie did not want her to have to deal with her mean-spirited sisters.

"Of course, they can't be worse than Bonnie used to be," Kim muttered to herself, but she would not push.

She wanted to celebrate things with Bonnie, though. Reaching over to her nightstand, she picked up her Christmas gift and smiled from just the weight in her hands. Bonnie planned to get her things, things to fill this box, which was already wonderfully perfect.

"She wants to be with me. She's wanted to be with me…" Her smile grew. Maybe that thought was a better Christmas present than the keepsake box.

Of course she knew Bonnie's reputation and most people would probably consider her crazy for thinking it was something special that Bonnie wanted to be with her. Bonnie, who it was said had been with most of the football, basketball, and baseball teams, wanted Kim. The idiots who talked about Bonnie did not know how special she was, though.

Kim got to see the real Bonnie and the real Bonnie wanted her. Everyone else got the facade, the armor, the wall. They did not know Bonnie and just accepted what they showed. A smile curled onto her face as she thought about what people missed out on.

"Too bad for them," Kim muttered.

Of course, one person was there for Bonnie… Tara. It was good that Bonnie had one person in her corner, even though Bonnie had hidden herself from even Tara. How had Bonnie managed, keeping her true self locked away for so long?

"Well, she doesn't have to do that anymore. I hope she let's the world see who she really is," Kim said. Beyond that, though, she hoped she was always the person who got to see the most of Bonnie.

Turning the gift box in her hands, Kim sighed contently. This thing she had with Bonnie, it was real. It was realer than anything they had with guys. She looked forward to other holidays with Bonnie. She looked forward to a future with Bonnie.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Bonnie arranges a New Year's date.