Birth, and Rebirth 00: My Eyes Adored You Chapter 9: 8: Worked my fingers to the bone, a kim possible fanfic

Birth, and Rebirth 00: My Eyes Adored You

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. The original lyrics to the songs referenced in this story and the music are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels. 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.

Enjoy! Please read and review.

A/N Forward:

This began as a thought in both the heads of cpneb and kt (of jakt). A few phone calls, some emails, and the idea came brought forth into production.

This joint project between cpneb and jakt is the direct result of the request from a certain eleven year old; resistance was futile, indeed, as one simple question became the opening of the Birth, and Rebirth arc.

cpneb will present the main story line, while jakt will presents other major components of the story as it is told.

"Let the adventure begin."

Previously, on Birth, and Rebirth 00: My Eyes Adored You

Needles came out of the ER, her mask still on.

Kim stood, and she squeezed Ron's hand as he stood.

"Nana, is Pandaroo all right?"

Dr. Esther Andrea Possible hesitated before she reached for her mask….

Chapter 8: Worked my fingers to the bone

...and she smiled as her mask came off.

"Kimberly Ann, your friend is a trouper: he made it through the operation with flying colors. We've repaired his heart, and he's better than ever."

Kim's tears were happy ones, and Ron's squeeze made it all worthwhile.

"When can I see him, Nana?"

"Give us about 10 minutes to get him to Recovery, Kimberly Ann, and we'll have him ready to get visitors in 30 minutes or less," Esther laughed. "Then, you all should be able to return to Middleton in good shape."

"Good shape," Bonnie whispered. "Kim?" she asked, and Kim turned and looked at her. "Have you been home?"

"Yes, I have, Bonnie," Kim squeezed Ron even tighter.

"Do you need a place to stay? No, wait: I'm the one who needs a place, now," Bonnie laughed.

"Why, Bonnie?" Tara asked.

"The reason I snuck back into the house, Tara: I walked out on my dad's last tirade, and I'm only going back to pick up the last of my clothes before I move out permanently."

"BONNIE!" Ron looked shocked. "What happened to make you leave?"

"Oh, not much: he just said that it was yours and Kim's fault that that the aliens were here in the first place, and he suggested that we should give you to them to get them to leave us alone," Bonnie stated matter-of-factly, and Ron's eyes glowed blue for a moment.

"Warhok had no intention of leaving, Bonnie," Ron replied.

"He was here to destroy the planet, regardless of whether or not we were in his custody or not," Kim added. She was shocked that someone was willing to sacrifice her and Ron for themselves.

"Bonnie, I'd offer you a place to stay, but..." Kim laughed, smiled and held her arms out. Bonnie stepped into her, and the two former best enemies hugged, each of them dealing with their own loss.

"Dr. Load, may I have a word with you?" Esther beckoned, and Wade stepped away from the group to speak with her.

Esther put her arms around Wade as they stepped away. "Wade, don't be too worried about Jocelyn: she's as stubborn and headstrong as her mother was when she was just married, and she's not quite as stubborn as either her father or James were when they were growing up. As much as she loves you, there is nothing that can come between the two of you, of that I'm certain."

Wade looked up, shocked. He didn't realize how much Joss and her Nana had talked, but he was now certainly glad that they had.

"Thank you, Esther," Wade looked up, and Esther could see the red in his eyes from the crying.

"Listen, now: go take care of all the ladies: I'm sure that they'll need some attention," Esther winked, and Wade laughed.

"Like I'd ever do anything to jeopardize my relationship with Joss," he laughed, and he stepped away, taking five steps, but he turned and ran back to Esther, slamming into her with a tight hug.

"Thank you, Dr. Possible, or everything," he hugged her tight.

"Wade, it's Esther, or Needles, please and thank you," Esther laughed and kissed the top of Wade's head. Wade gave her a final squeeze, and he returned to the group.

"That's Dr. Load?" Dr. Susan Nith asked, and Esther turned and nodded.

"Somehow, I expected him to be taller," Susan mused, and she and Esther laughed and headed to the recovery room.

Kim and Ron both walked into Recovery, and they couldn't help but laugh at the sight

The small room was painted to look like 'The Land, Down Under,' and eucalyptus trees were painted everywhere. Pandaroo was the lone occupant, and he was stretched out in a large basket, Bonnie's torn sleeve tucked into one side of the basket. He was covered from neck down with a bright blue blanket, and stitched on it was a sentence:

'Born to be wild.'

"They must know him pretty well," Ron laughed, and Kim punched him in the side and kissed his cheek.

"Wha-" Ron started as he turned his head, and Kim kissed his lips.

They smiled and held each other. The doctors and nurses in the room that had quietly followed them into the room, after a few moments, quietly applauded the couple, shocking them back to reality with a pair of red-faced grins.

"Kimberly Ann, he's ready to go," Esther laughed, "but, he might be a bit jealous of that last kiss."

I thought I heard someone walk over to my basket and whisper, "Pandaroo?"

'No, Bonnie, please, I'm a one-woman 'Roo.

"Tara, please, no: I'm taken.'

"Pandaroo?"

'Kim?' I felt groggy, but I recognized her voice and then I heard-

"Yes, Kimberly Ann, you can pick him up," Esther laughed, and Kim gingerly reached under me, scooped me up into her arms, and held me to her chest.

'I'd know that smell anywhere! Kim, I'm back!

'Dang, Nana, you're good: I don't feel a thing! You proceed, woman!'

"Pandaroo, I thought I'd lost you," Kim whispered, and my heart leapt at the sound of her voice: pained, hurting, and strong, all at the same time. "I thought I'd lost everything when that beam pulled me off the graduation stage."

'Now, wait just am ever-lovin'- Joey-pickin' minute...

'Beam?

'WHAT BEAM?'

"But, we're back now, and it's gonna be all right."

'We? Who's we? Girl, you've got some 'splainin'; to do!'

"Nana," I looked at Kim as she spoke, and she was looking at her smiling grandmother, in full surgeon's gown, "How can I ever repay you?"

"Think your friends would like some friends of their own, Kimberly Ann? I've got some Cuddle Buddies here that are looking for a home, and Pandaroo has been telling them all about your friends. Think your friends would like to help a bunch of homeless Cuddle Buddies find a home?"

Esther's grin was priceless.

"A CUDDLE BUDDY!!!! SHE WANTS TO GIVE ME A CUDDLE BUDDY???!!!

The high-pitched screams of four young women, morphing back into five-year-old girls, could be heard throughout the center, and the squeals were followed by the sounds of running.

The four young ladies slammed to a stop outside of the nursery window, huge grins on their faces. Their faces pressed against the window like children at Christmastime.

Needles came out, pushing a cart, and she walked over to Tara, first. "He wanted to know if it was all right if he could stay with you, Tara," she handed Tara an Armariffe. She smiled and nodded her agreement, hugging the Cuddle Buddy.

"He must have known I was looking at him," she grinned. "I was thinking just how adorable he was," she continued, and Needles nodded and moved over to Sarah, clapping her hands with glee like a 5-year-old at Christmas, but then she stopped and looked at Needles sadly.

"Not for me, please and thank you, but for Olivia: she needs someone more than I," she smiled, but Needles could read the smile.

"How about this one for Olivia," she reached onto the table and held up a Cuddle Buddy, "and, Sarah," she grinned and pointed at the Bearephant on the cart, "this one for you?"

"I love it, Esther, but what is this one?"

"It's a Kitpup: cute, cuddly, with fangs and claws just barely showing that will protect Olivia from her oncoming nightmares," Esther smiled sadly.

Sarah picked up the KitPup and hugged her tightly. "She's perfect for her, Esther, and I love mine, too," Sarah smiled.

Monique smiled at the cart. "And, who is this?" she reached down and lifted one into her arms.

"He's an OstriHorse," Esther grinned.

"Well, at least he's dressed sharply," Monique observed: the OstriHorse was wearing a Club Banana shirt and jacket.

"He's really a clothes horse, Monique," Esther laughed, and Kim groaned.

"On him, it works," Monique hugged him tightly.

Bonnie wasn't sure which of the three Cuddle Buddies that remained on the cart that she wanted: the OtterFly, KangaCat, or RhinoGoat. She loved them all, and she didn't want to make a decision and hurt any one of them.

"Bonnie?" Bonnie lifted her head, and Esther smiled. "Have you made a decision?"

"I can't decide, Mrs. Possible," Bonnie replied honestly, and Esther saw her trying to keep her tears from welling up. "I love them all," she whispered, "I want them all, but I can't have them all."

"Why not?" Esther asked her, and Bonnie's face went to a massive shocked grin.

Kim held Pandaroo tenderly as she watched Bonnie, happier than she had ever seen her, trying to hold all three Cuddle Buddies at once and not make any of them feel left out.

'This is definitely not Queen B territory,' Kim thought, feeling Ron's touch. She smiled.

"If this was all it would have taken, Kim, I would have figured out a way to buy Bonnie a Cuddle Buddy, years ago," Ron said, wrapping his arms around Kim's waist.

"You would have done that for her, Ron?" Kim turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder at hi, so she didn't see Bonnie's head jerk up with a start at Ron's comment.

'Of course he would, Kim: I'd have thought you'd have figured that out by now.'

"Of course, KP: you and Bonnie were sorta friends, back in the day before the two of you got into cheering. If I had known, I could have found a way to earn some more money and buy her a Cuddle Budd. I definitely would have if I had known how happy it would have made her. She deserves some happiness, KP; after this summer, and this past year, it looks like she's been trying to catch up on 12 years of missed good times," Ron observed.

'Ron, you don't know just how right you are,' I heard Bonnie's thoughts, somehow, as she hugged Otterfly, then KangaCat. 'Kim, you don't know how lucky you are to have a friend like Ron, and now you're engaged to him. If I'd had half a brain, I would have tried to get him, but…' she sighed sadly.

'Bonnie, you're a fine girl,' came from KangaCat, and I saw him smile. I could tell that Bonnie heard his voice echo in her head, and she looked up. There was no one who could have said that close enough to her, except…she looked down at the KangaCat, grinned, and pulled him closer to her and hugged him tightly.

'I know that it couldn't have been you that said that, but 'Thank You,' anyway,' she thought, kissing the top of his head.

'You're welcome, 'Bon-Bon,'' he laughed. She looked surprised at his comment, but then she smiled and hugged him even tighter.

'Oh; I'm likin' this,' I heard KangaCat say and saw Bonnie smile. I just laughed.

"Wade, are you all right?" Wade looked up in surprise to see Will, smiling and holding hands with Lindsey.

"I'm much better now. Thank you, Agent Du," he responded, looking a bit confused at the picture of a smiling Will Du.

"Will, please," Will grinned. "Even Joss calls me that, now," he added, and Wade's right eyebrow rose slightly.

"She does?"

"Indeed, and she didn't even threaten me, this time," Will laughed, and then he winced.

Lindsey caught his change in tone. "Are you all right? Is the bandage too tight?"

"Bandage?" Wade looked at Lindsey, then Will.

"Just a small scrape from the fight, Wade," Will replied.

"Small!" Lindsey snorted. "Wade, he took a glancing shot from one of the pods when one of the Avatars saved his life."

"Tornado saved you?" Wade's eyebrows rose even higher, and Will smiled.

"He turned as the shot came and took it for me," Will replied.

"You impressed a Tornado, and Joss? I'm going to have to rethink our relationship," Wade joked.

"I already did, Wade," Lindsey grinned, reaching behind Will and pinching him, but then she gave a motherly glare.

"William Du!" she said, and Wade almost laughed, "Why didn't you tell me that you were hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt…much," he responded weakly.

"I'm getting you back home and onto that couch of yours," she said, and then blushed when she heard Wade and Ron both laugh. "So you can rest!" she shouted, turning redder by the moment.

"Yes, ma'am," Will laughed, and Lindsey squeezed his hand.

'Real soon,' Will promised himself as he squeezed her hand back.

Wade watched them walk away, but he was startled by a hand on his shoulder.

"Wade," the voice spoke, and he looked up to see Esther standing with her hand on him.

"Yes, Mrs. Possible?"

"Wade, you ever call me that again, I'll go all 16 on you," she grinned, and Wade now knew where Kim came up with the phrase.

"Yes, Ma'am, Esther," he smiled, and she snorted. "All right, 'Needles,'" he grinned.

"Your mama raised you right, but I'm not here for that: I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for my granddaughters, both Kim and Jocelyn," she smiled, but and caught the reaction from her mentioning of Joss' name.

"Remember what I told you, Wade? Well, add 'stop sleeping with other women' to that list, and you'll be good to go," she smirked, and Wade planted his face in his hands and groaned at the same time. "Kidding, Wade, just kidding: I know my granddaughter: she's so upset about her reaction that she can't think straight. That's why she didn't come down for Kim's graduation. Just let things take their course, and I know you two will be fine."

"You told me that already, but are you sure?" Wade grinned.

"Trust Nana: she loves you; if she doesn't take you back, I'll take you myself," Esther laughed. "I could use a younger man in my life right about now," she added, and Wade laughed and hugged the senior matriarch of Clan Possible.

She felt a twinge in her side, but she chalked it up to too much fighting. 'I've gotta get back into shape: this just proved how much fun I've missed,' she thought as she hugged Wade and ruffled the top of his head.

We were now flying back, and the plane was filled with extra CuddleBuddies for more people in the Tri-Cities area…as well as my newly-adopted friends.

"I saw Justine and Mike Cotton walking toward the cafeteria before we left, and I saw Steve Barkin blow her a kiss," Monique told everyone. She was bringing them up on the latest news from the school for the past five minutes or so,

"STEVE BARKIN????" came from Kim, Ron, Bonnie, and Tara.

"Yeah," she grinned. "I asked him about PDA, and he said that, after what he and Justine had just been through, he had no problems with PDA anymore."

"AWWWW, MANNN," Ron groused. "Why does all the good stuff have to happen after we graduate, KP?"

"What did they do, Mon?" Kim asked, ignoring Ron's grousing. Inquiring minds want to know all, and I am neither a slacker nor a lazy 'Roo in my studies.

"Oh, not much; just took out over 15 Pods, working together as a team," Monique replied, and I watched Kim's jaw dropped.

"Justine?" she looked surprised, and Ron laughed.

"Looks like all the ladies that had a thing for the Ron-man are bon-diggity Pod killers," he smiled but didn't duck fast enough when Kim's 'love swing' connected with the back of his head.

"Gotcha," she smirked, and he moaned a bit as he rubbed the back of his head.

'Ron, Ron, Ron: you've got to learn to look out for the 'love'.'

"Kim?" I heard Wade call her just after Ron made his comment, and he sounded like he was not even here.

Kim looked up. He had come up from the rear of the plane and was holding a folder in his right hand.

Kim looked up. I knew he had been (more or less) hiding in the rear of the plane and working furiously on his laptop since even before we took off. I didn't know why he had done that; but, here he was now, standing a bit of a distance back from Kim and holding a folder in his right hand. I couldn't place the expression on his face, but I at least knew it wasn't a good one

She read his face, though. "Wade, what's wrong?" she asked, standing with me still in her arms.

"Kim, would you do me a favor, please and thank you," Wade laughed, but I'd never heard that much hurt in his voice before.

"Sure, Wade: what is it?"

"Would you read this for me?" He thrust the folder forward towards her. "I wrote it for Jocelyn, and I want to know if it's good enough for her, to keep her from leaving me."

Kim took it and smiled. "Of course, Wade: anything for a friend," and we followed him to the rear of the plane where he'd been sitting, all alone, and sat.

Kim opened the folder. "Poetry, Wade?" She looked at the title and smiled.

"Well," he pulled at his collar as Kim began to read.

She let out a hoot that got the attention of the entire plane. She looked up and smiled sweetly, "just thought of something funny, that's all," she said, and the conversations restarted.

"Wade!" she whisper-shouted with a huge laugh on her face, and Wade grinned.

"You didn't like the first poem?"

"'Roses are red,

"'Strawberries, too.

"'Joss loves me:

"'Woo-hoo, extra hoo?'" she laughed.

"I want her to laugh, Kim; maybe that way, she'll stay with me," Wade whispered, looking like he was going to cry.

'Wade, why would Joss leave you? She's got it as bad for you as Kim does for Ron.'

"Wade, she loves you too much to ever leave you, even over what happened," Kim smiled.

'Happened? What happened? Somebody wanna tell me just what in the eucalyptus tree is going on here? Kim, I love you to death, but we are going to have to have a very long talk….'

Kim continued to read and Wade fidgeted in his seat.

I saw Kim smile as she read, and then she sniffled. She put me down for a moment to get a tissue from her bag and blow her nose before she picked me up again and continued reading.

"Wade, that was beautiful," she closed the folder and turned to him.

She chuckled, and she turned me in his direction:

Wade was asleep, leaning just a bit on Kim's left arm. He had a smile on his face, but I could see more than a little bit of worry in it there at the same time. He looked so much like a little kid and like a man at the same time that it hurt to watch him.

Kim held me gently and leaned over. She gently kissed his forehead, then backed away and shook her head. "That won't do, my friend, my almost-BIL," she laughed quietly.

She leaned over and gently brushed Wade's lips with her own. "I will always love you, my partner, my friend," she whispered as she pulled her lips back.

She laughed quietly when she saw Wade lick his lips, heard him whisper, "I do love strawberries, Sweet Tea," and smile as he seemed to visibly relax, the worry literally vanishing from his face.

"Wade, you will always be my partner, my friend," Kim smiled though the tears she was unsuccessfully holding back. "Joss will come around: I know my emulatin' cousin," she grinned and took his hand in hers, leaning into the seat and closing her eyes.

She opened one eye and gave me 'the look', winked at me, then grinned as she said, "now, don't you start jellin', Pandaroo: you're my secret love." She brought her right hand up and kissed her fingertips, then placed them on my lips before she closed her other eye, and fell asleep almost immediately.

I sat there for a few minutes as she held me loosely in her arms, savoring Kim's kiss, before I heard Ron's chuckle. I felt him lift me out of Kim's arms and placed me on the table next to her and facing him as he sat, the big grin on his face hiding something. He could hide a lot behind that grin of his, but he never really could from Kim or me.

"Pandaroo, I destroyed two beings," he stated simply while his face turned serious, and the shock of his statement kept me silent.

"I violated His law, Pandaroo: 'Thou shalt not kill,'" he said, and he dropped his head into his hands and quietly sobbed.

'You're out to action just a little bit, just a few days, and the whole world starts to come to an end. Next thing you're going to tell me is that dogs and cats are living together, Shego and Drakken are dating now, Ned has a girlfriend, we've had an alien invasion, and Rufus has sworn off cheese permanently and is secretly in love with that hairless cat, Debutante.

'Kim, we so have to have that talk. Ron: a killer? No way… Unless…'

He looked up at me and smiled. "I didn't say who or how, did I?" he grinned.

I knew that for him to even think that way that there had to be a very good reason, so I sat on my tail and waited for it to come, and here it comes….

"Warhok and Warmonga: they were the two aliens that we were fighting. They had hurt Kim, and I heard Warhok brag about giving Warmonga Kim's spine as a trophy, and I was furious. That's when the MMP kicked in,' he grinned.

I knew that there just had to be a reason for him to be thinking that way. After hearing what he just told me, I couldn't help myself: 'let them have it,' I thought. But, that's not right, and I knew it. I was and wasn't surprised to see Ron's eyes flash a deep dark blue for a few seconds before returning to their chocolate brown.

"I fought them," he continued, "and I was winning, much to their surprise, when they came in for a final strike. I grabbed them and threw them into the air. I heard Warmonga yell 'FRACKLE,' saw a flash, and they struck their falling spacecraft." He paused for just a moment, gathering his words, and then he said the two words that were at the root of the pain I could feel in his heart:

"It exploded," he said.

No, he hadn't killed wantonly: he had done what he thought, what he knew he had to do to protect Kim. I knew what he had to hear, what would set things right again for him.

'Ron: He says not to kill: you did not kill anyone. You did not kill them on purpose. You were defending yourself and Kim,' I reminded him

He looked up with a thought on his face.

'Wow: Ron, thinking: that's gotta leave a mark,' I couldn't help myself but to laugh.

"But, I didn't kill them, even though a part of me thought about wanting them dead when I heard what they were going to do to my Kim," he smiled. Ron then closed his eyes, but then one of them popped open and gave me a wink. "Thanks, guy: I knew I could talk to you. I was so scared, Pandaroo: scared of dying, but even more scared of losing KP, that I knew I just had to do something to save her. My fear melted like a pile of fresh Naco cheese in the noonday summer sun, and I just grabbed them and swung.

"Maybe He will forgive me." He whispered the last as he lifted me from the table and placed me in her arms. She shifted for a moment, hugging me tight for a second and then holding me just tight enough to ensure that I wouldn't fall. I watched Ron watch her and me for a moment before he went back to the other side of the table and sat down again. He looked back at me and her, and I barely heard his voice once again, his whisper, his plea, his prayer:

"Maybe He will forgive me." he whispered and closed his eyes, once again, falling asleep almost as fast as Kim did.

"Pandaroo, look," I heard Kim's voice, and I could tell the energy, the excitement in it. She held me up to the window, and I could see that we had landed and were pulling up to a spot on the tarmac…

A 'Possible' spot (ok, I couldn't resist: I've been around Ron for far too long), a spot occupied by James and Anne Possible, and Slim and Joss Possible.

"Daddy," she whispered, and I felt a tear hit the top of my head as she squeezed me.

"Joss came for him: I knew she would," she added. She leaned over and whispered to Wade: "She's here, Wade, and she's not packing any heat that I can see."

Wade's eyes snapped open, he grinned, but then he frowned.

"I can't tell her, Kim: I know she hates me and she never wants to be seen with me again, let alone be with me," he sniffled.

'Dang: human love is certainly confusing, if not complicated.'

The jet pulled to a stop, and I heard the front hatch open.

"Hey, Joss," I heard Sarah Best call out.

"Sarah, where's Wade?" I love Joss' voice, but I could hear hurt and worry in hers, as well: the same sounds I had heard in Wade's

"He's inside, but he's scared to come out: he's afraid you still hate him and that you're going to yell at him," Sarah replied.

'Oh, snap.'

"SNAKE MUFFINS!"

'Here she comes,' I laughed as I heard the boot-steps of one of the most feared creatures on the face of this, or any, planet: a rampaging Possible redhead slamming up the stairs.

'This could get interesting, or even gnarly.'

Author's afterward:

A quick note from the story's protagonist:

I, Pandaroo, have authorized the following:

cpneb, to tell my story, what happened to me during Kim's graduation;

jakt, to write some of my more memorable stories about Kim and me, through the years.

This time, though, they teamed up on me. It was a surprise, but I think it was all right. They didn't leave any marks, and 'neb didn't take any of my leaves.

A couple of quick notes: Kim will never admit it to anyone, but she loves the Frankie Valli song, and I like it, as well, so you'll see it referenced by my two storytellers, cpneb and jakt.

I would be extremely remiss if I didn't thank my fans out there for voting for this story in BOTH rounds of the Third Annual Fannie Awards. Even though My Eyes… didn't win in year three, your votes meant a lot to ja, kt, cpneb (yes, even the vote piggy: he was worse about votes than Joss is about the sparkling grape juice!), and especially to me: who would have ever thought that that a stuffed animal would gain a following?

Thank you so very much, all of my readers and followers …I still have some of that dang dust in my eye, that's the reason for the water coming from it….Roo hugs, for everybody!

Next, on Birth, and Rebirth 00: My Eyes Adored You

Chapter 9:Made myself a name…

Thank you, to all of you, for supporting us on this new journey.

Thanks again for reading, and please review.

2009/07/25

Idea by K.T. and cpneb. Story by K.T, J.A. and cpneb.

Thanks to jakt and Star-Eva01for beta work. Their suggestions and thoughts are timely and appreciated, as always.

And, lest I forget, my very special thank to KitPup for allowing the use of her 'likeness' for such a tale as this. Thank you, dear lady, and may you be a source of strength for your self and others, much as your Cuddle Buddy will be for Olivia.