"Hey, K." Bonnie was leaning against Kim's office door.

Kim looked up from her paperwork, surprised that Bonnie was there. "What's up?"

"I think we should have a talk." Bonnie waltzed into the office and sat herself down on a chair.

Kim pushed aside her papers and made a mental note of where she was to go back later. "Ok, sure, what's on your mind?"

Bonnie glanced at the door and got up to close it. Kim deserved at least some privacy with what was going to be discussed next.

"So, you and Sheridan, eh?" Bonnie felt that she should be blunt about it, but she wasn't in the mood.

Kim blinked yet her face remained impassive. She tilted her head to the side, as if confused.

"You guys are going out, right?" clarified Bonnie.

Kim shrugged. "I don't understand why you're making this your business."

"Just looking out for you."

Kim blinked. Very rarely did Bonnie show her any concern, but she understood where the concern was coming from. "Bonnie, I appreciate you being concerned, but everything's fine."

Bonnie crossed her arms. "How can you be certain? Are you sure that Sheridan or GJ Designs have not had any contact with-"

"Bonnie, please," Kim raised a hand to stop Bonnie from continuing any further.

Bonnie bit her lip. Seems like Kim still hasn't really gotten over it, she thought. "Look, Kim, I get the fact that you're probably still hurt about what was said and done, but-"

"I should learn to move on and be wary of the people I meet, I know," sighed Kim. "You don't think it hasn't crossed my mind that Betty or Sheridan have some ulterior motive? You don't think I've thought about the possibility that GJ Designs has had some sort of contact with his company?" She spat out the 'his' with such venom that it genuinely scared Bonnie. The brunette knew her coworker and friend was still recovering emotionally, but to harbour so much animosity towards an ex was borderline freaky.

Kim sighed as she rubbed her temples. "Bonnie, I appreciate the concern, I do, but I just can't keep going on thinking that everyone is out there to hurt me. I just can't." Kim's shoulders sagged a bit as she looked Bonnie in the eye before being brutally honest to her friend. "If I keep living like that, I might as well just hand the paper over to you. It's not that I don't find you a suitable replacement, it's just I owe it to Ron to keep it running until Hana is finished culinary school. So give or take another two years until I finally snap and go crazy." She chuckled feebly.

To Bonnie, seeing Kim so defeated did not sit well with her. "K, don't force this on yourself. I know I'm the favourite candidate to be your replacement, but you need to take care of yourself. You've been working at full steam since Ron passed away and with the whole ex-sitch. I haven't seen you take any days off, and I'm not really counting the weekends here."

She looked at her friend and saw how tired the redhead was. While on the surface Kim maintained her cheerful disposition, very rarely did she let anyone see this 'tired' side of hers. Bonnie was one of the few, along with her family and Wade. She didn't want to scare off Sheridan by suddenly being gloomy, but she did feel compelled to at least tell her girlfriend about what had happened. Maybe Bonnie was giving her an opportunity to do so.

"So you're suggesting I take a vacation?" the redhead asked.

"Not now since it's almost Thanksgiving, but maybe an extended Christmas holiday?" suggested Bonnie.

"Don't you have to go to Triple S' island during Christmas?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Not this year, we're having the festivities at my parents' house. Can you imagine the Seniors getting along with my nutcase family? It's going to be hell... Which gives me an excuse to come here to escape the madness."

Kim laughed. Bonnie was married to Señor Senior Jr., heir to one of the largest shipping and logistics companies in the country. Kim was partially baffled by the fact that Bonnie decided to remain working after getting married, whereas she could've just stayed home with all the money that could by several small islands off the coast of Hawaii. Working with Kim did not really hinder her husband's reputation, mostly because Señor Senior Senior was at odds with Lipsky International, Inc. In fact, it strengthened Kim's reputation to have such a family supporting her.

Yet, in the recesses of Kim's mind lay the thought that, should Bonnie become an adversary, she might as well pack and move away from Middleton. She shook those thoughts from her head and concentrated at the task at hand.

"I'll think about it, ok?"

"You deserve some time off."

"I know, but let's focus on the Thanksgiving edition first."

"Sure," Bonnie relaxed a bit. "What are your plans for Thanksgiving this year?"

"My parents probably want me to go home, I think. My brothers told me they'll be flying in next week since they managed to get some time off."

"That's good. I'm going over to the Seniors' island... Probably going to catch some rays while I still can." Bonnie smirked. "Are you taking Sheridan with you?"

Kim was caught off-guard by the question. It hadn't crossed her mind to spend Thanksgiving with Shego since she was too busy with work and hadn't really told her family she was seeing someone new. Their dates were simple: go out to grab a bite and then walk around until it was time to go home. The weekends were a bit different - sometimes they would catch a movie or go up to the Middleton Hills and have a picnic.

Noting the surprised look on the redhead's face, Bonnie stated the obvious, "You didn't think about it, did you? I'm sure she'd be fine with whatever you do."

"To be honest, we haven't done much outside of going on dates, if you can call them that. And my family doesn't know about her yet."

"Time for you to think about breaking the news to them then," replied Bonnie as she got up. "I'll leave you to your work then." As she gripped the doorknob, she turned and said before stepping out, "For what it's worth, I honestly think you two are good together."

Author's Notes: Bonnie cares. She's a softie. =)

Chapter title is from "Be Careful" by Dolores O'Riordan.

p.s. The new Cranberries' album, Roses, is pretty good.