The Christmas Dress

"There. How does that look Ron?" asked Anne Possible as she put the finishing touches on the Christmas decorations over the fireplace.

Ron put his hands up like he was a big shot director trying to get the right scene for a movie. "Perfect as always, Mrs. Dr. P. No tinsel out of place."

"Are you and Kim going somewhere tonight?" asked Anne as she started placing ornaments on the Christmas tree.

"I hope not. We finished buying presents for everyone weeks ago and I'm hoping to chill here and watch the tube with her. There's a new Snowman Hank special on tonight, where he meets Santa Claus and saves Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza," Ron said, practically trembling with excitement.

Anne nodded. "That should be nice. I'll even get everyone out of the house so you and Kim be alone."

Anne knew James would complain, but she trusted Ron and Kim and understood that they were adults and capable of making their own decisions. She also knew that her patented glare would silence her husband's opposition.

"That would be badical," Ron replied. "You sure I can't help you with decorating the tree?"

Anne shook her head. "You already helped James with putting the lights up earlier and that nearly got you two killed."

Ron remembered how slippery the ice had been on the roof and how close he and Kim's dad were to almost falling two stories to a sudden world of pain or worse. Luckily, he stopped himself at the last second with help from Rufus and grabbed James's coat before he fell, stopping him as well.

Rufus was helping Ron's mom with some decorations at his house and was also in charge of watching Hana, which the naked mole rat apparently thought was crazy, but Ron bribed him with some extra cheese nacos and he agreed to it.

Kim trotted down the stairs from her room. She grabbed Ron's jacket from the closet and tossed it to him. "Let's go Ron."

"Where?" Ron asked, confused.

"We're going to Club Banana."

"But we already got everyone's gifts."

"I know, but there's a special limited edition dress that I want."

Ron groaned as Kim began pulling him towards the front door. "KP! The new Snowman Hank special is about to come on!"

"I've already set it to record. It'll be there when we get back," Kim replied, almost to the door.

"But Kim," Ron began.

Kim turned and shot him a glare that could've melted Snowman Hank. "Ron, that dress is only being sold tonight and only five hundred have been made. I saved up just enough money for it and I am getting that dress," she finished with enunciating the last five words.

Ron begrudgingly gave a small nod, though he still didn't understand the fascination of the dress.

"KP, you look good in anything. I don't care about what you wear," Ron said sheepishly.

"That's so sweet, Ron," she said giving him a little peck on the cheek, which warmed him up a little. "But I'm still getting that dress. I need it for Christmas."

"Kim, Christmas isn't about getting a dress. It's about love and caring and the joy of giving and being with your family and the ones you love."

"Thank you Ghost of Christmas Present," Kim snorted. "Let's just go."

After Kim and Ron closed the front door behind them, Anne couldn't help but shake her head and laugh at Ron's "get me out of here" eyes.

As Kim and Ron walked into the Club Banana, Kim pulled Ron along like a dog on a leash. He tried to give his best PDP, but Kim had somehow developed immunity to his look.

"Not going to work, Ron," Kim sing-songed as she walked like she was floating on air.

Kim approached where the dress was supposed to be located, but when she got there, she froze when she saw nothing but a few empty coat hangers and a cardboard cutout of a model wearing the dress.

She marched to the front desk where the new employee Monique hired, Candice, was standing, reading a magazine.

"Candice, where are those limited edition dresses?"

"Sorry, Kim. The last one went out over an hour ago. Headquarters gave us our limit, so we can't get anymore," she said apologetically.

"Can you check the computer database? See if any another store might have one around?" Kim pleaded.

"All this for a dress?" Candice questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Kim narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll check."

Candice typed on the computer for a few moments, then frowned at what she saw. "Almost all the stores are out, but there are some in a store Boston. It just opened two weeks ago, so not a whole lot of people know about it and it's one of the smaller stores."

"Address?" Kim beckoned.

Candice rolled her eyes and printed out the address for her.

"Come on Ron," Kim said, pulling him towards the door.

Ron flashed Candice a pleading look.

Candice just waved to Ron and gave him an apologetic smile as they left the store.

Kim flew the Sloth to the new Club Banana in Boston. A blanket of snow covered the road and sidewalks of the street. The store was tucked between two larger brick buildings and looked a little out of place.

Kim entered and momentarily noticed how small it really was. It was at least half the size of the one in Middleton and even that one was considered small by Club Banana standards.

With Ron behind her, Kim made her way to the back wall were the dresses were supposed to be. She beamed when she saw several still on the high rack. The dress was a deep purple shade with diagonal black and red stripes running along the entire dress. A purple bow on one of the shoulder straps finished the ensemble.

Kim stood there for a few moments as if they were pieces of art and she had to admire the beauty of them because of some unwritten rule.

"Excuse me Miss," said a small voice.

Kim and Ron looked down to see a small boy of about ten. He had on a dirty looking blue jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap with the Boston Redsocks logo on it.

"Can you hand me one of those dresses?" the boy asked politely.

Kim plucked one of the dresses and handed it to the boy, curious as to why he wanted it.

The boy looked at the size tag and smiled. "Perfect. Thank you Miss," he said as he skipped for the front desk.

Kim went back to picking her own dress and was elated to find one in her size. She checked the price, just in case, and was thrilled to see that with her employee discount she had just enough to buy it.

Kim motioned for Ron to follow her. He gave a sigh of relief that the ordeal would be over soon and followed her to the cashier at the front desk.

The boy was in front, laying the dress out Kim had given him to the cashier. "Sir, I'd like to buy this dress, please."

The man eyed the boy questionably, as if asking why he would buy a dress. His dirty clothes also made him look out of place.

As if sensing the question, the boy said, "It's for my mom. I want to give it to her as a special present just from me. Dad always buys her presents from us and says they're from my sister and me, but I want to give her something that I got with the money I saved."

The man nodded and scanned the barcode. "One hundred twenty dollars and eighty five cents," he announced.

Kim watched the boy dig into his jacket and pull out a few dollar bills and fistfuls of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. He placed them on the counter.

The cashier raised an eyebrow at the smiling boy, but went and began counting the money.

"Could you please hurry, Sir?" said the boy. "Daddy said there wasn't much time."

The cashier stopped and looked at him.

"Mommy's been sick for a long time. Daddy said she wasn't going to last much longer, but I know this dress will make her smile. And I want her to look beautiful if Mommy goes to heaven tonight," he explained.

Kim was stunned by what she had heard. She felt like a hard fist had just punched her in the chest. She forgot to breathe for a while and only her gasps reminded her to fill her lungs with air.

"KP?" Ron asked, concerned.

Kim shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. She looked at the dress in her arms and then back at the boy.

The cashier finished counting all the money and frowned. He seemed hesitant, but spoke, "I'm sorry, kid, but there's not enough here."

The boy began frantically searching all his pockets. He was only able to get a few more pennies out. "Is this enough?" he asked, expectantly.

The man looked conflicted and slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry."

The boy's face fell, his happy smile faded into disappointment. "Oh," he said softly. "Okay."

He turned to leave after putting all his money back into his pocket. Kim could see his eyes starting to become wet. She looked at her own dress again and shook her head disapprovingly.

"Wait," she said. The boy stopped and turned. "How much does he need to get the dress?" she asked the cashier, after handing Ron her dress.

"A hundred and eight dollars and forty six cents," he said.

Kim frowned. It was just about all the money she had. But she quickly shook her head and laid the money on the table, along with her employee discount card. "Here."

The man gave her a smile and rung up the purchase. Kim asked the cashier to also gift-wrap the dress. After he had done so, Kim kneeled down and handed the brightly wrapped box to the boy.

"Tell Mommy you bought this dress all by yourself," Kim said.

The boy's face lit up as he held the box. He looked at Kim with big, happy eyes. He opened his arms and enveloped her in a hug.

Kim returned the hug, feeling warmth well up inside her.

The boy turned to leave, but just before he walked out the front door he cried out, "Merry Christmas!"

Kim and Ron waved to him. "Merry Christmas," Kim replied, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

Ron wrapped an arm around Kim and pulled her in for a big hug. Kim squeezed him tightly, planting a kiss on his warm cheek.

"Excuse me Miss."

Kim turned around to see the cashier, his eyes also showing some moistness.

"You're Team Possible, aren't you?" he asked. Kim and Ron nodded. "That was a great thing you did. It is Christmas time, so you can have the dress, free of charge."

Kim looked at Ron and saw him give her an approving nod. She took the dress, walked over to the cashier, and handed it to him. "Thank you, but I really don't need it." With that she took Ron's hand and walked out the door.

Ron gave her a look of complete shock. "But Kim, you wanted that dress more than anything. We even flew out here to get it."

"You were right, Ron. Christmas isn't about getting a dress. It's about the joy of giving, and being with family, and with the ones you love." She finished by wrapping her arms around his waist and giving him a passionate kiss.

Ron returned the kiss.

When they separated, Ron had a wide grin plastered on his face. "Booyah."

Kim giggled and rubbed noses with him.

Suddenly the couple looked up when they felt something cold hit their faces. Thousands of snowflakes were falling to the ground, blanketing the area in a winter wonderland.

Ron couldn't help but stick his tongue out and catch a few. Kim did the same for a while; finally enjoying the small things the holidays bestowed.

"How about we go home?" Kim asked, leaning into that special spot in Ron's shoulder. "I feel like watching some Snowman Hank while cuddling next to my BFBF."

Ron nodded as they made their way to the Sloth, the snow continuing to come down. "I'll make some hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows in it," he cooed.

Kim sighed. "Sounds perfect."

Thank you all for reading this little story. I want to thank Captainkodak1 especially for giving me permission to use a few elements from his Night Court story to use for the beginning of this one.

I got the idea from listening to the song The Christmas Shoes by Newsong. It makes me cry every time I listen to it and a little plot snowman was born in my head. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmahanakwanzika! And as always please review! KingOAnime.