Kim Possible and all related characters and indicia are owned by the Disney Corporation. This work of fan fiction is written for pleasure, not profit.

God-hand Number 7: No, it's not a sequel to the 'Moods' stories. I might write one eventually, if I can think of a good idea, but there is nothing of that sort planned right now.

continental-line: The cold comes into play in this chapter.

cyscoe: Always a pleasure to hear from you!

WWLAOS: I didn't give chapter one a title? I knew I forgot something!

Triaxx2: Kim and Ron are confident in their skills and training. Maybe too confident now and then, but that's part of what makes them human.

Kayla Tsukino: Glad you liked it! That is ironic :)

Fuzzie Muzzie: I'm reposting them slowly.

Thanks to: Nova-chan, fanjimmy, aspects, AzureHart, ficticiousgrl, Jinx, Jokerisdaking and gargoylesama.

Kim pulled a granola bar out her jacket pocket with her right hand, tore the wrapper open with her teeth and took a bite. Her left hand held her Kimmunicator, currently in GPS mode. Just under four miles. That was how far she and Ron had to go to get back to the safety and warmth of the resort's hotel. Kim glanced over her shoulder. Ron was right behind her, slogging through the knee deep snow. Kim took a deep breath. Heading out from the ski lodge where they had rented their snowshoes, she and Ron had hiked six miles in three hours before the approach of an unexpected storm had prompted them to turn back ahead of schedule.

"Unexpected storm," Kim muttered. "Lousy weather forecasters." Not that that was entirely fair. She knew well enough that the weather in mountainous regions could change rapidly and with little warning, especially in winter. 'Oh well, we weren't that far from our planned turn around point anyway,' she allowed silently. Still, she was concerned. They'd turned back an hour ago, and had were making the same pace as they had going out, but the weather was getting worse. The snow was coming down heavily now, and the wind, which had been so light as to be non-existent in the morning, was rising steadily. As a result, visibility was dropping rapidly, and the temperature was going down as well.

Kim slowed briefly to allow Ron to draw even with her. "What do you think, Ron?" she said, raising her voice to be heard over the wind.

"I think we'll be all right as long as it doesn't get any worse," Ron replied, taking a quick look at the western sky.

"And if it does get worse?" Kim asked.

"Then we'll need to find a place to take shelter until the storm blows over."

Kim nodded. "Agreed, though to be honest, I really don't care for the idea of huddling in a snow cave."

Ron grinned at her. "I prefer the hotel and a nice hot tub myself."

"Let's not dawdle then," Kim resolved, forging ahead with renewed vigor.

It was getting worse. The wind, whipping down the canyon, swirled the snow around in blinding billows, reducing visibility to a few hundred feet at best, even less at times. The temperature had fallen further as well, so much so that, despite Kim's multiple layers of winter clothing and her physical exertions, she was beginning to feel cold.

"Ron!" Kim had to shout to get his attention.

"What!" he shouted back, his voice nearly drowned out by the howling wind.

"We need to find shelter!"

"Ok! But where! In the trees!" Ron queried.

Kim shook her head. "Only as a last resort. According to this," she said, holding up her Kimmunicator, "there's a cabin less than two hundred yards away. Let's at least try to get to it, shall we!"

"Right! And Kim!" Kim saw Ron pull a length of orange strapping from somewhere under his own coat. The safety harness from the small pack of emergency supplies they'd brought along, just in case. Ten feet long, with clips on both ends, it would keep them from getting separated. Ron fastened one end to a 'D' ring on the front of his coat, the other to a similar ring on the back of Kim's. "There!" he said, patting Kim on the shoulder. "Let's move out!"

The two hundred yards seemed like two hundred miles. Kim and Ron had gone barely a quarter of the distance when the storm's strength seemed to double in an instant. Visibility fell from a few hundred feet to almost nil. Still, they plowed on, guided by the Kimmunicator.

One step, then another, then another.

One hundred yards.

One step, then another, then another.

Fifty yards. Thirty yards.

One step, then another, then another.

Squint at the Kimmunicator's frost crusted screen. Almost there. Nothing left to do except cross the...

Creek.


Ron was barely been able to make Kim out through the snow. She was little more than a shadowy figure. Suddenly her dimly perceived shape seemed to sink into the Earth. Ron felt the safety strap go taut, almost jerking him off his feet.

"Kim!" Rushing forward Ron saw a ribbon of black water against the white snow. The creek. It was barely three feet wide, less than six inches deep. Kim was in it, on her hands and knees. Ron exploded into action. Splashing into the water he grabbed Kim around the waist and hauled her bodily to her feet. She was already starting to shake, even as his own hands and feet went numb from the icy water seeping into his boots and gloves. The insulating properties of Kim's winter clothes might not have been totally destroyed by their immersion in the creek, but Ron wasn't going to take chances. He knew he had minutes, at the most, to get his friend out of the wind. Kim's Kimmunicator was nowhere in sight. With his own in one hand Ron set off, half carrying, half dragging Kim.

After what seemed like forever, a black shape loomed out of the blizzard. No time to rejoice. Where was the damn door? Ah! There! Ron set Kim down and dug in his pockets for his key ring. Kim's long time tech guru, Wade Load, had given them what he called 'universal keys'.

"Got the idea from a James Bond movie," Wade had said when he'd handed out the gadgets, boasting that they'd open ninety percent of the world's know pin-tumbler locks.

Carefully grasping the key in his numb fingers, he tried the key in the padlock that barred the cabin door. "Hope this is one of the ninety percent," Ron whispered prayerfully.

Praise God! It worked.

Ron dragged Kim inside, shutting the door behind him. A quick survey showed a Spartan interior: a twin bed, a wood burning stove, a table and a few chairs.

"Time for a closer look later," Ron chided himself. "First things first." Working quickly he began stripping off Kim's wet clothes: boots, coat, snow pants, sweater, trousers and long underwear tops and bottoms. Then he laid her, clad only in her bra and panties, on the bare mattress of the unmade bed and covered her with three blankets. Then he stripped off his own clothes, down to his boxers, and crawled into the bed beside her. Immediately Ron began to vigorously rub Kim's arms and shoulders, as much to warm himself by the exertion as her by the friction.

How long he was at, Ron was never able to say. Perhaps fifteen minutes. Maybe half an hour. All he knew for sure was that he gradually became aware that he was sweating from his labors. Kim's violent shaking had subsided to mere shivering, and then only occasionally. Her breathing had quickened as well, and while her skin was still cooler to the touch than Ron would have liked, the grey pallor had left her face, and her lips were no longer tinged with blue.

Deciding the worst was past, Ron ceased his rubbing and rolled onto his back, breathing heavily.

'Just a little break,' Ron told himself as his eyes explored the cabin that had saved their lives. It was an austere thing, with just this large room and perhaps one other at the back if the empty door frame in the rear wall was any sign, a kitchen he guessed. The wood burning stove squatted in front of an old stone fireplace. A meager supply of firewood was stacked to one side.

'That could be a problem unless there's some stored out back, and real close.'

In the short term though, they were all right. The cabin walls, un-insulated though they were, at least kept the wind out. The immediate threat to their survival abated, Ron relaxed. A wave of drowsiness engulfed him. Clasping Kim close, Ron shut his eyes and let sleep overtake him.