Blue Eyes, Shining 3: Merry Christmas, Momma
Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. The original lyrics to the song referenced in this chapter and the music are the property of the respective author, 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:
Get ready for a rough and wonderful night of closure for Joss, Wade, Slim, Betty, Ryan, and Rachel….a severe tissue requirement warning has been announced by the National Angst Service for this, the final chapter of Merry Christmas, Momma.
Thanks in advance for reading, and please review.
Chapter 5 – Worth the wait
The party gathered behind Charlie Brickle as he prayed at the grave-site. They were all silent, respecting his privacy.
"Mr. Brickle? Are you all right?" Joss saw him rising shakily, using his two canes, from where he had been kneeling. Steve tried to help him up, but Charlie pushed his hands away and stood, then took one of his canes in his left hand and saluted with his right hand, then dropped the salute sharply and turned to Joss.
"I'm fine, Miss Possible, thank you; I didn't want to intrude, and I had to visit with my Captain.
"Thank you for allowing me to come with you," he added, and Slim shook his head.
"Thank you for spending time with us, and thank you for allowing us to share your time."
"Let's go see the 'Eternal Flame' and the 'Challenger 7,'" Wade suggested, and Ryan and Rachel smiled at each other.
- - - - - - -
The evening went by quickly, and all of the parties waddled off to their respective hotel rooms after overloading on good food and even better company in the private dining room, with Ron providing the dinner and they themselves providing the company.
Ron had hijacked a corner of one of the hotel kitchens and had prepared his Pecan Trout as the main course and several vegetable dishes and salads; after sampling the main course, the executive chef made Ron promise to give him the recipe in exchange for a second dessert tonight (a German Chocolate cake that Lindsey described as "to die for!"), a 5-star breakfast for the whole team the next morning, a quarter-wheel of cheddar for Rufus, and unlimited kitchen privileges. He also mumbled something about part-time work in DC.
Wade and Joss stayed in the living area of the suite late into the evening, long after Slim, Ryan, and Rachel had all gone to bed.
"Did you see the look on Betty's face when Claudia came in the door yesterday?" Wade whispered to Joss as they sat on the couch, enjoying the fire and each other and, occasionally, stealing kisses from one another.
"She didn't have a look, Wade."
"Precisely.
"Betty's worried; she thinks she has no chance with your dad."
"WADE!"
"Doesn't your dad like Betty?"
"D'oi, Wade: he likes her, but he still thinks she's not interested."
"Well, she's interested, all right, but she thinks he's not interested.
"They're worse than we were, Joss…well, at least than I was," Wade chuckled, and Joss grinned and stole another kiss.
"What are we goin' to do 'bout 'em, Wade?"
"I think today' should trigger something; both of them said things at the grave-site that they didn't want anyone else to hear, and, unfortunately, I didn't have the PossCom turned to max gain to up what they said.
"Let's see if anything happens tonight," he suggested, and Joss agreed by snuggling up to him and enjoying his company and the crackling of the fire.
'I gotta get me a fireplace in my room,' Wade thought, and he stole the kiss, this time, and smiled.
- - - - - - -
"Wade?" Joss snuggled closer to him
'I love the way her hair smells…uh oh.'
"Yes, Sweet Tea?"
"What's your middle name?" and he knew he was doomed, now.
"Why?"
"Well, I asked your Mom and your Dad back in Middleton, and they both smiled and tol' me to ask you."
"Promise you won't laugh," Wade asked.
"I would never laugh at you, Wade.
"Promise me you won't laugh," Wade asked, again.
"I won't laugh at you, Wade. I said I wouldn't."
"Promise!"
"Yes, I promise," she was exasperated and showed it.
"OK," he sighed, "but lean over so I can whisper it to you," he asked, and she leaned over.
Wade whispered one word: "Agamemnon."
Joss had a blank look on her face, then she smiled, then her face broke into a huge grin -
"You promised you wouldn't laugh," he whined -
And then she fell onto the floor, laughing uproariously.
Wade grabbed a pillow from the couch and whacked her in the head with it, and Joss looked up, surprised.
"You hit me with a pillow." She glared.
"So?" Wade replied with a smirk, leaning forward, and she grinned, reached, and grabbed a pillow from the couch.
"So, this!" and she swung up and hit him across the face with the pillow.
"So, that's how you wanna play it, huh?" and he hit her again, and it degenerated quickly into multiple pillows flying around the room with laughs of glee and shouts of "OH, NO, YOU DON'T!"
Ryan and Rachel stuck their head out of their room, watched for a moment, and closed the door, softly, and fell into each other's arms, laughing.
"Warning: Geniuses at Play," Ryan said between laughs, and the fell back onto the bed, where their laughter soon turned into softer, happier sounds altogether different from the laughs….
- - - - - - -
The loud, repeated knocking on their door woke them from a rousing pillow fight, WMDs scattered across the room.
Wade got up and went to the door. He opened it, and was surprised and not surprised.
"Betty? What's wrong?"
"I need to see Slim, right now," she barged through the door, red-faced and her hair matted, and headed for Slim's room in the suite.
Just then, Slim swung open his bedroom door, heading for the door and to the hall, but stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Betty.
"Betty?"
"Slim!
"Inside!
"Now!" and she pushed him back to the bedroom and slammed the door.
"I like her red robe, better than the blue one," Wade commented, and Joss whacked him on the back of the head and grinned.
"I like the red, Wade; maybe I kin git me one like that," and Wade GULPED, then grinned.
"Not red, Sweet Tea.; it would clash with your glorious hair. An emerald green, I'm thinking," he remarked, and Joss gave him a big kiss.
"That's it! No red dress for me: I want emerald green," and Wade imagined Jocelyn in an emerald green strapless, backless evening gown…
BAD WADE!
..and he grinned mentally at the image.
"Let's add a little fresh oregano to the soup," Wade stated calmly and attacked his PosComm: Christmas music came out, and the song was 'All I Want for Christmas is You.'
Then he grinned and added, "Wonder how long they'll be?"
"WADE!" Joss looked at him, and grinned evilly.
"Wish I'd thought of that song; it's perfect for snuggling in this weather, mah Aggie," she whispered as she kissed him and led him back to the couch for more snuggling.
"Aggie, huh?" Wade smiled as they sat and Joss snuggled into his arms, and he felt her warmth.
- - - - - - -
"Betty, what's-, "and his words were cut off by Betty grabbing his face and proceeded to administer 'vertical CPR' to a very surprised Slim Possible.
He stood there surprised for far more than a few seconds in shock, and then he responded to Betty's kiss with equal enthusiasm.
The two adults, alone and lonely for so long, were finally responding to each other's signals and passions, and their hands explored each other's faces, feeling the surprise and joy that was suddenly theirs to share.
Slim heard music in the background and thought 'Do I get music with kisses, now?' then started to laugh into Betty's mouth.
Betty pulled back, a look of confusion on her face.
"Slim?"
"Betty, trust me, it's not you I'm laughing at. Listen," and they were quiet as they heard the vocalist sing,
"Make my dreams come true; Baby, all I want for Christmas, is you, you, you, you,"
and they smiled, grinned, chuckled, and then fell into each other laughing for minutes.
- - - - - - -
"Slim."
"Betty."
The spoke at the same time, then Slim held up his hand and said "You first."
"Slim, when I saw you smile at Claudia, I thought I had lost everything.
"I went back to the hotel and did something I'd not done since I was 7 years old:
"I cried myself to sleep, Slim, because I thought I had lost my chance with the one man that I've even been remotely interested in, in the last 11 years.
"Today, I asked your wife not to hate me because I thought that you were the one," and Slim's heart lept to the back of his throat.
"I came back to the hotel tonight, fully intending to leave, because I was convinced I had lost you; I even called a cab, but I fell asleep while I was crying and packing, and while I was asleep I had an overwhelming feeling to come here and tell you how I felt.
"I don't know if it was Sheri Nicole trying to tell me, or if it was Ron's Pecan trout," she added, and Slim chuckled, "but I was willing to risk it all that it wasn't the trout," Betty smiled through the beginning of tears.
"Slim, I think I love you.
"No, that's not true:
"Slim, I know I love you. I don't know if you love me or not, but I had to tell you.
"You can kick me out, now, if you want-," and Slim silenced her by returning the 'vertical CPR' favor, and Betty smiled all through her kiss. Slim pulled back and smiled and studied her beauty, marveling at the woman who had just confessed her feelings to him.
It was his turn, now, and he started...
"Betty, I like Claudia Rose, but I just met her.
"Another redhead for me, Betty? Puh-lese!" and he smiled as Betty laughed.
"Sheri Nicole and I agreed that we would find 'someone' if the other died, but I hadn't found anyone," Slim said, then smiled tentatively, "until you showed up with Wade, and I had feelings that scared me haf' to death.
"I asked Sheri today, also, if she would hate me, forever, if I told her that I thought that the 'someone' was you, Betty," Slim said, and Betty gasped and smiled at the same time that her heart lept with unbridled joy.
"I had gone to sleep, and I got a real strong feelin' that I needed to tell you tonight, or I'd lose any chance I'd have, forever," Slim added, "That's why I was headin' out in my PJs when you came in," and Betty suddenly realized what she was wearing, and then she started to blush.
"My…clothes…"
"…look real good from where I'm standin,' Betty," Slim finished for her with a very decadent grin.
"No, Slim, Wade and Joss saw..." then Betty smiled and thought 'Wade, you get your only free shot since I upgraded the jamming systems in my apartment back home!'
"'Make my dreams come true, Betty: all I what for Christmas, is you,'" Slim repeated the lyrics, and Betty responded, grabbing his face again and kissing him harder than she'd ever kissed anyone in her life.
When they separated and stared into each other's eyes, Slim said one thing, softly:
"booyah," and Betty burst out laughing, followed shortly by Slim, and then they hugged each other, and the years of pain and loneliness began to melt away like the freshly-chilled cilantro butter on top of Ron's just-prepared Pecan Trout.
- - - - - - -
"So, now, Betty, what do we do?" Slim asked, and Betty grinned evilly and reached for the tie on her robe….
"Merry Christmas, Slim Possible," she purred, and she let the robe fall to reveal her beautiful red negligee, and Slim just stared, captivated again by her beauty, her glorious figure, the entire woman that was Elizabeth Director.
"You like?" she smiled, and his smile grew, and then melded into a look of pure sadness.
"I don't deserve this," Slim whispered, then fell back into his chair.
"What?"
"I don't deserve you!" and Slim shouted as his eyes filled with water and tears began to fall. "I let mah wife down, and she died, and now mah littl' girl has no Momma, and I don't deserve happiness ever again, and I don't deserve you, Elizabeth," and he dropped his head into his hands and heaved sobs.
Betty ran over to him and grabbed him, holding him.
Slim shouted one word, crying out his anguish and begging for forgiveness and redemption:
"SHERI!"
…and then he fell into Betty's arms, reaching up and trying to stroke her hair like he did for his wife on that fateful day.
Betty held Slim as he dropped his arms and finally, truly, released his tears for his lost wife, and Betty joined Slim with own sobs, also releasing her pain, carried for so long, for her lost friend, his family, and, finally, for herself.
- - - - - - -
"Slim."
"Yes, my lioness?" as he stroked her hair.
"I want to take it slow," Betty stroked his arm. "But, I do like the name," she purred, and then she kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
"So do I, Betty, not because of you, but because I'm an old fart and can't change that fast," and she snorted.
"'NO' on the old fart comment, Slim, not from what Sheri Nicole told me."
"What did she tell you?"
"Everything."
"Everything?" and Slim started to get worried.
"Everything, Slim. And, to plagiarize from your daughter, 'I can't wait 'til I get me some of that 'Slim Goodness' that's not so 'Slim,'" and now Slim was fully embarrassed and starting to blush, and Betty smiled and kissed his lips.
"I can't wait, but I will wait, because you, my love, are definitely worth the wait, Slim," and she kissed him, again, this time with more promises.
'Ron's got nothin' on you, big boy!' Betty smiled at she thought of her prospects.
- - - - - - -
"They're still talking, Joss.
"Joss?" and Wade looked over at a sleeping Jocelyn Possible, with just a hint of a smile on her lovely lips.
'My God, she's even more beautiful asleep than awake.'
Wade looked up: 'Thank you, Father God, for bringing us together. I will wait for her, and I will protect her. I will even give my life for her, because she is worth every minute that we are together. That's how much I love her.'
Wade then gently lifted her head off of his shoulder and lay it down on the couch pillow that he'd gathered from the war, slipping out so he could get blankets from his bedroom and tuck her in.
"You're going to have a very Merry Christmas, Andrea Jocelyn Possible," he whispered as he kissed her forehead and then covered her with one blanket and tucked her in. "It looks like you just might get a new Momma in a 'littl' bit," he smiled and kissed her lips. She smiled but didn't wake up.
Wade took the other love seat, stretched out on it so he could watch her sleep, covered himself with the remaining blanket and fell asleep, watching her sleep.
- - - - - - -
"Look at them, Slim," Betty whispered as they exited the bedroom after crying into each other and laughing and telling Sheri Nicole stories for over four hours.
"Ain't they jus' the cutest thang you ever did see, Betty?" Slim asked, and Betty nodded.
"Let's not disturb them, Slim," she replied as they snuck over to the door.
"Betty, thank you: I seem to have been sayin' that a lot to you over the past months," he said as he lifted her hand and kissed it lovingly.
"Slim," and he silenced her with a kiss that took her breathe away.
"I love you, Elizabeth Director," he whispered into her ear as he hugged her.
"And, I love you, Slim Possible," she responded and kissed his ear. As she turned to open the door-
"'Good night, my someone,'" he smiled and smirked, and Betty turned back and grinned.
"It was her fault, you know," she clarified, and he kissed her lips again.
"'I love you madly, madly, Madam Librarian…'" and he kissed her again.
"You are my traveling salesman and my white knight, Slim, but I want to take it slow," she whispered, and he nodded.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, 'Madam Librarian,'" and he giggled.
"Where did that come from?" she giggled herself.
"The giggles? From being absolutely, positively, whole-heartedly, madly in love for the first time since I met Sheri Nicole, Betty. I feel giddy. I feel wonderful, and I love the way I feel; almost as much as I love the way you feel," and she blushed and kissed him.
"Flattery will get you everywhere, just not tonight, my love," and he giggled, again.
"Now, we're starting to sound like them," and he crooked a finger in the general direction of Wade and Joss.
"It's a shame we can't be as sure as they are: I miss the ideals of young love," Betty mused, and Slim grinned.
"But, I gar-run-tee that you won't miss the angst enough to give up the good stuff," Slim reminded her, and she grinned as she shook her head "NO!" vigorously.
"In the morning, Elizabeth? Breakfast?"
"That sounds wonderful, Slim," and she kissed him again. "It might even be as good as you," she smirked and smiled as she exited the suite.
"'Good night, my someone, good night,'" she sang, sweetly, as she closed the door.
'How lucky can one guy be?' Slim asked himself as he looked over the sleeping young teens, kissed his daughter and way-future-son-in-law both on the forehead, and went back into the bedroom with a spring in his step.
The door closed, and Wade opened one eye and thought to himself:
'Betty and Slim: if anybody ever deserved happiness, it's you two,' and then went back to sleep.
- - - - - - -
Ryan and Rachel opened their door quietly.
"She's gone, and he's back in his room," Ryan whispered, and they stepped into the living area.
"Look at them, Rachel," Ryan whispered as they looked out and watched Joss and their son sleep, Wade sleeping as if he were guarding her. "He really loves her, Rach."
"You were that bad when we dated, Ryan," Rachel whispered back, and smiled. "But, you were worth the wait.
"You're even worse, now; but, that's one of the reasons I love you," and she kissed his cheek.
"Do you think they'll really make it?" she asked, and he snorted.
"I know all four of them will, and I'm really happy for Betty: she so deserves all the happiness that she can get," Ryan hugged his wife tighter, and she responded by snuggling even closer.
"I agree, but who I really meant were Wade and Joss," she clarified.
"If they are really true to themselves and each other, they will. We'll have some 'real purdy' grandchildren, 'Grandma,'" and he didn't dodge fast enough as she slapped his arm.
"Let's go back in, 'Grandpa,' and I'll show you some 'grandmotherly' moves," she smiled wickedly as they closed the door on the sleeping pair.
- - - - - - -
The snow continued to fall outside, and Betty's cab driver finally gave up after waiting an hour and left, called in the missing fare, and got another dispatch.
- - - - - - -
Wade's PossCom kept playing 'All I Want for Christmas is You,' but when the sensors recognized no further motion in the room for the last 15 minutes it lowered the volume to a much softer background and switched to a music mix. It played all night long, accompanying the soft gurgles of sleeping geniuses, then turned itself off when it recognized the beginnings of morning stirrings.
- - - - - - -
Author's afterward:
Question: What about the presents? Doesn't anybody get any Christmas presents?
Answer: Be not afraid: The presents are coming on Christmas Day, but our next story begins tomorrow morning (now that this one has ended) and leads up until Christmas Day: Paint Me a Christmas Memory.
Thanks again for reading, and please review.