"You're sure?" Bonnie stared at the woman behind the counter, a sick feeling twisting in her stomach.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but yes. I've checked it twice." The woman's expression did seem genuinely apologetic. She glanced at the screen before her again and punched a few buttons. "Your return details were amended yesterday afternoon. You were re-booked onto a flight last night." She paused. "Were you aware of the change, ma'am?"

The brunette swallowed, trying not to show her emotions. She knew it was a misdirected emotion, but she felt furious with herself for not anticipating something like this. She'd assumed that since her father couldn't simply cancel the tickets on her, her flight home was secure. It had never occurred to her he would go to such expense simply to punish her defiance. You'd think after twenty-four years, I'd know what kind of man my father is. "Um ..." Despite everything, she couldn't bring herself to openly accuse her father. "I guess there must have been a miscommunication. I didn't realize they'd managed to change my booking for me. Can ... can I get on another flight today?"

The woman - the badge on her lapel read 'Laura' - looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, ma'am. All our flights today are full. Overbooked, really. I can put you on standby, but ... this is one of the busiest travel days of the year. To be honest your chances of getting on a flight today are almost zero."

"What ..." Bonnie paused, consciously willing the tremor out of her voice and hands. "What's the earliest flight where you can guarantee me a seat?"

Laura's fingers flew over the keyboard. "Six-forty, tomorrow evening." She named a fare that would destroy what remained of Bonnie's savings, and then put a hefty balance on her solitary credit card. "But the standby lists are a lot shorter tomorrow. You could probably get on an earlier flight for a cheaper fare. And you'd only have to pay if you get a seat."

"Okay." The brunette ran a hand through her hair. "Put me down on the standby list. Today and tomorrow." Hopefully a seat would become available. She waited while Laura recorded her details, doing her best to match the other woman's calm demeanor. Given the bedlam in Middleton Airport, Laura's composure was actually pretty impressive. Bonnie could use some of that calmness, right now.

Her standby listing complete, the brunette trundled away with her bag in tow. A quick glance around the bustling terminal showed no seating available, so she parked the bag against a wall and sat on it, then put her head in her hands. For a minute or more, she simply sat there silently, allowing the ache of betrayal to overwhelm her. Finally she straightened, pulled a tissue out of her purse to wipe her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. That's twice my father's made me cry. He doesn't get to do it a third time.

Besides, it looked like she had a long wait in front of her, and she'd have plenty of opportunity to curse her father's name. Right now she had to get her thoughts in order. Bonnie had been expecting to be home in her apartment by the early afternoon. Now, in the best case scenario, she might get back to Huntsville late that night. Even that was only a faint hope. More likely, she'd need to spend another night in Middleton. Which meant working out where she was going to stay.

I could call Tara and ask to spend another night with her and Ned. But that would mean explaining why she was stuck in town. The brunette didn't want to drag out any more of her family's dirty laundry. Donato Rockwaller wouldn't care, since he doubtless believed he was justified in what he'd done, but Bonnie did. It's stupid. He did this just to hurt me, but I still don't want to make him look bad to other people. Stupid though it was, she'd probably end up paying for a motel room.

To think I was in such a great mood when I got here. The previous afternoon and evening had almost put the drama with her family out of her mind. It had been wonderful to renew her friendship with Tara. I'd forgotten what a good person Tee is. Of all her 'friends' in high school, Tara was the only one Bonnie believed had become so without any guile or calculation. They'd talked for hours about the high school years, and their lives since graduation. The blonde had Bonnie in stitches of laughter with the tale of her and Ned's courtship. Their first date ended with a grease fire and events seemed to only become more comically disastrous with each new encounter. How many first kisses end in a trip to the emergency room? It was a wonder they'd both survived long enough to get to the altar.

But when Tara picked up Ned after work, it was obvious that the two were very happy together. Ned was much as Bonnie remembered him; a little gangly and unkempt; and obviously besotted with his wife. As for Tara ... well, she'd once had a crush on Ron Stoppable, so clearly the blonde had a taste for the goofier side of the opposite gender.

Thanks to the pleasant evening, Bonnie had been in a great mood when Tara dropped her off at the airport. She'd finally come out to her family; it had gone as badly as imagined, but at least it was done. She'd rediscovered an old friendship; Tara's contact details were now in her phone. And she'd been looking forward to dinner that night with her best friend.

Shit. Joss. What do I tell her? Bonnie dug out her phone and brought up her list of contacts. The Montanan was flying back from her vacation with Reba that afternoon. She and Bonnie had planned to have dinner that night. It was a break from their usual Wednesday schedule, but they'd had to work around Christmas Day. Now it seemed she would have to cancel.

A text message would probably be the best option. She could keep it short and vague. And it would be easier to edit out any emotion that way, as well.

"Snafu on tickets." Bonnie muttered as she typed. "Probably won't get on flight today. Rain-check on dinner?" It should do. All the necessary information, none of the unpleasant details. She took a moment to silently rage about her father's petty act of vengeance. Then she pressed send, tucked the phone into her purse, and settled down to wait for a flight.

Twenty seconds later, her phone rang.

It was Joss, of course. Bonnie stared at the blinking number for a few seconds. Maybe I shouldn't answer. Of course, if she didn't, Joss would almost certainly try again later. She couldn't ignore the Montanan all day.

Okay. Time to prove who the real acting talent in the family is. "Hey Joss." She let her frustration creep into her tone, while clamping down on the misery and disappointment. She needed to sound annoyed about the mix-up, but not so upset that Joss realized there was more to the tale.

"Hi Bonnie." The younger woman sounded concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Except for some computer glitch making a mess of my travel plans, you mean?" The brunette managed a pretty good facsimile of a resigned chuckle. "I'm frustrated, obviously ... but I'll live. They've got me on standby for all flights today and tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" The auburn-haired woman's voice rose. "They can't even be sure to get yer on a flight today?"

Bonnie shrugged. Joss couldn't see her, of course, but it was important to really live the role. "It's the day after Christmas. They're overbooked."

"One of those bookings should be yours!"

"Yeah, but there's not much I can do about it. And there's no point yelling at the poor woman at the counter. It's not her fault."

"I guess not." Joss sighed. There was a moment of silence. When the Montanan spoke again, it was in a decisive tone. "Okay. I want yer to go tell 'em to pull ya off the standby list. I'm going to make some calls 'n' sort out a way for ya to get home t'night."

Bonnie frowned. This was not part of the script. "You've got stuff of your own to deal with. Heck, you have a flight to catch, yourself, in a few hours. You have better things to do than worry about me -"

"No. I don't." The Montanan was emphatic. "I've got a friend in trouble. Nothin' is more important than that."

"I'm not in trouble." Bonnie objected. "I'm just -"

"Stuck halfway across the country with no way to get home." Joss summed up the situation with stark simplicity. "Sounds like trouble t'me."

"Well ..."

"Bonnie ... I may not save the world every couple months like Kim does, but I'm still a Possible." Joss's voice took on a cajoling tone. "I can't just sit by, doin' nothin'. Let me make some calls for ya."

The brunette was silent for a few moments. Digging in her heels would disappoint Joss. And heck, maybe she will find a way to get me home. Best to let the younger woman have her way ... within reason. "Okay. Make your calls and get back to me. I won't cancel my standby status yet, though. It's not like they're going to call me for a flight in the next hour, anyway. And don't put yourself to too much trouble."

"I won't." Joss's response was so blithe that Bonnie immediately felt suspicious. But I already accepted her help. I can't change my mind now. She could, however, clarify her conditions.

"Just make sure Reba agrees with you about whether it is too much trouble or not. I know what you Possibles are like. You'd walk through fire and then say 'no big'."

Joss chuckled. "This from the woman who volunteered to help me entertain twenty elementary school kids."

Roughly half an hour later, Bonnie's phone rang again.

"Hi Joss. Any luck?" The brunette kept her tone casual. I don't want her to feel too disappointed with herself if the answer is no.

"Hey Bonnie. Yeah ... I got it sorted out."

The brunette felt a surge of elation. "You did? Wow. Thank you so much, Joss."

"Yer welcome."

"So what do I need to do?" Bonnie stood as she spoke, stretching out some stiffness in her back.

"Just sit tight. I'll be at Middleton Airport to pick ya up in about two hours."

Bonnie blinked. "What? But -"

"Before ya say anything, it's not too much trouble." The Montanan preempted the brunette before she could voice her first objection. So Bonnie defaulted to her second.

"What about Reba?"

"She's takin' a taxi to the airfield here, and catchin' our scheduled flight." There was a forced nonchalance to Joss's tone that rang alarm bells in Bonnie's mind. She's been subdued throughout this call. If I hadn't been wrapped up in my own stuff, I would have noticed that immediately.

"Did something happen with you guys?"

There was a long beat of silence.

"Can we talk about it later?" Joss asked, finally. "I'm coming down mountain roads an' I really need to concentrate."

"Okay." Reluctantly, Bonnie acceded. She tried to lighten the mood. "You do actually have a way for us to get home, right? We're not both going to be sitting here waiting on the standby list?"

The brunette's effort elicited a small chuckle from the Montanan. "As much fun as campin' out in the airport sounds, it's not somethin' we'll need to do." Joss assured her. "We'll be home by dinner time tonight. So ya can go cancel yerself off the standby list. I'll call ya again when I get close to the airport, 'kay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Joss. See you in a couple of hours." Bonnie ended the call and then stared pensively at the phone. It seemed she was not the only one having a less than merry Christmas.

"Ya sure ya brought enough for two days?" Joss stared doubtfully at Bonnie's bag, then at the small trunk of the purple vehicle she'd been driving.

"Sorry." Bonnie offered an apology, her mind elsewhere. For one thing, Joss seemed tense. For a second, the garishly-painted vehicle was familiar, but she couldn't place why. "I prefer to travel light, but it's not really possible when I'm staying with my parents ... they expect us to change for dinner. Plus I need a couple of different dressy outfits, in case they have plans for going out somewhere. It's a bit of a drama -" She broke off. I guess it won't be something I have to worry about, anymore.

"Well, it's done with for another year." Joss observed, in a distorted echo of the brunette's thoughts. The Montanan turned her own, smaller bag on its side and then squeezed Bonnie's case in beside it. "Just fits."

"We could have put it on the back seat if it didn't." Bonnie observed. A memory tickled the back of her brain. "Is this Kim's old car?"

"Well, rentals sure don't come in this color." The Montanan summoned up a faint smile at her own weak quip, but it looked forced. Probably still upset about whatever happened with her and Reba. "Yeah. Kim and her family are down in Florida, so she said Reba and I could use the Sloth. We made arrangements for her to pick it up when she gets back."

"... speaking of Reba ... do you want to talk about what happened between you guys?" Bonnie kept her tone casual and friendly.

Joss looked torn; tempted but at the same time reluctant. Finally, she sighed. "Is it okay if I don't? At least not right now?"

"Of course." The brunette nodded. "You can tell me anything, Joss. But you never have to tell me."

"Thanks." The Montanan closed the trunk, then leaned against it for a second, obviously thinking. "The same goes for you. You know that, right?"

Something about the tone of Joss's words made Bonnie feel edgy. She quashed the sudden surge of nerves and simply nodded. "Thanks."

"So ..." Joss turned, meeting her gaze. Bonnie read worry in the other woman's hazel eyes, but also determination. "... since ya know that, how 'bout ya tell me what really happened with yer booking?"

Author's Note: Ooh, Bonnie's been caught out. But how?

I know some of you were probably expecting more detail about Bonnie's night with Tara and Ned, but B & T's reconnection isn't really central to this story. Tara will remain a presence in Bonnie's life, however, and may have a further part to play in events :)

Meanwhile, it seems that Joss and Reba are over. A recurrence of their earlier problems or something new? Time will tell!