Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible; that's all Disney.

Author's Note: I've had this almost done for several days, but things were complicated when I cut my hand and required stitches. That made typing difficult for a couple of days. This is the last chapter of this particular story. Some things will be resolved, and new issues will be introduced. Enjoy!

Closing

At last, the concert was over, and the newlyweds were sent on their way in a hovercar freshly decorated with streamers and a "Just Married" sign (and in possession of a full set of MC Honey's albums, all signed). The guests began to drift away as MC Honey's road crew worked to dismantle the stage and the lighting and sound systems they'd brought.

Kim and Ron sat at a round table in a corner, watching the activity. Neither of them felt very inclined to move just yet, and they felt a sort of responsibility as assistant hosts to remain until all of the other attendees had gone. Kim was wondering if they should offer to help clean up. After all, it was still only early afternoon, so they had plenty of time to get home before night fell. Besides, Ron seemed more fidgety than usual, and she thought he could use something to occupy him.

She was surprised, therefore, when he suddenly took hold of one of her hands. She turned to look at him and found him gazing at her with unusual solemnity.

"Ron, what is it?" Kim asked immediately, knowing that he didn't show his "serious face" for anything but the most earth-shattering situations.

"Kim, I don't know if this is the right time or not, but I don't think I can stand waiting anymore," he replied. "Maybe it's the whole romantic atmosphere, but…well, it doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is, Kimberly Ann Possible, will you marry me?"

With that, he drew a velvet box out of his pocket and set it on the table between them. Kim felt her heart racing, and while she knew he would want an answer quickly to end the suspense, she also knew that she had to think it over carefully first. This was, after all, a big step.

Earth shattering indeed, she thought. Certainly, she'd been thinking a lot about their long term relationship recently, but was she ready to make this kind of commitment? How long an engagement was he thinking about? Was it rude to ask that question in this sitch?

Suddenly, something she'd heard once came into her mind: "It's not the one you can live with; it's the one you can't live without."* That memory completely shifted her perspective, and she took another look at the young man who'd been her faithful companion for nearly 14 years. She could scarcely remember a time when he hadn't been a part of her life, and as she looked at his expression, simultaneously adoring, hopeful, and nervous, she knew that she didn't want to see a day when he wasn't. She smiled.

"Yes, I will," she answered, hoping the pause hadn't been too long. Fortunately, the mind works quickly, and Ron didn't seem to notice anything.

"A-booyah!" he practically yelled, making Kim blush a little in embarrassment. There weren't very many people left here, and they'd surely drawn everybody's attention. Her self-consciousness was quickly forgotten, however, when Ron stood up, pulling her with him so that he could hug and kiss her more easily. There was some scattered applause from the Wegos, who were roaming around and cleaning up. Kim and Ron broke apart, laughing at the spectacle they were making.

Rufus was happy, too, but he tugged on Ron's sleeve and pointed at the jewelry box that still lay, abandoned, on the table.

"Oh, right!" Ron exclaimed. "Thanks, buddy." He opened the box, removed the ring that lay inside, and took hold of Kim's left hand, raising his eyebrows in wordless inquiry. She nodded, spreading her fingers to make it easier for him to slip the item on. Once there, she held it up to the light to admire.

Knowing how Kim disliked jewelry that was likely to catch in hair, clothing, or doomsday devices, it was not a traditional diamond solitaire. Instead, the tiny diamonds lay in a channel of white gold. It was almost exactly what Kim would have picked for herself, and she marveled that he'd chosen so well. Somehow, having this tangible symbol made the moment feel more real, and she felt her heart rate increase again.

"I'm engaged," she whispered, half to herself. "We're engaged!"

"Yeah," he agreed, looking just as thunderstruck as she felt, although he must have been thinking about this for quite some time. "I love you, Kim."

"I love you, too," she responded, and this was followed by yet another kiss. "But how did – I'm sorry if this a gorchy thing to ask, but how did you afford this?" She wasn't going to insult him by asking if the gems were real. Ron smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, about that…turns out my parents started an engagement ring fund for me the day I turned 14," he explained. "They didn't exactly say this right out, but I think they were figuring it'd be for you."

Kim shook her head when she recalled what her feelings were back then and what their relationship had been.

"Did everybody see this coming but us?" she asked ruefully. Although her recollections of the time she'd spent under the influence of the Moodulator were a little hazy, she seemed to remember that her parents hadn't been all that surprised that she and Ron were going on a date at last. They'd certainly made the transition from Ron as best friend to Ron as boyfriend easily enough. It was even possible that the transition had been smoother for them than it had been for Kim herself. Of course, Ron hadn't been calling them at three o'clock in the morning to confirm that they were really going out.

"Almost everybody, I think. Oh, and there is one other thing about money I should tell you."

"What's that?"

"Remember that royalty check I got from Bueno Nacho for creating the Naco?"

"You mean the money you blew? How could I forget?" Kim replied.

"Uh, yeah, that. Well, that was just the first check. See, I still get a few cents on every Naco sold in the world. My dad set up a trust fund for me and arranged with Bueno Nacho to put the funds directly in there. He kept it a secret from me, and I can't say I blame him."

"Spankin'. So how did you find out?"

"He and my mom decided it was time to tell me when I talked about getting married. Besides, I start getting the money next year, when I turn 19. I'll get monthly checks until I'm 22. Then, I get full access to the entire account."

Kim's head was spinning.

"So, how much money are we talking about here?" she asked cautiously.

"It's pretty substantial," he admitted. "The monthly payments should cover rent and living expenses, and that won't even equal what's coming in. As long as people keep buying Nacos, anyway."

Kim had to sit down as she tried to comprehend those kinds of numbers. There were no financial restrictions on them getting married, at least. They wouldn't have to struggle much in their first years like most young couples did. There was no guarantee that the royalties would keep rolling in, but their jobs would be mainly for security as long as that source of income continued. That provided them with an immense degree of freedom, and she couldn't help but like that.

"That's…" Kim didn't have the words to describe the situation. "When were you planning to have the wedding?" Ron sat down beside her again.

"I wanted to talk to you about it, of course," he said. "But I was kind of thinking next summer." She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"After we spend a month in Japan together?" she asked. "You want me to get through my first year of college, hold down a job, train in Japan for a month, and somehow plan my wedding at the same time?"

"You're the girl who can do anything," he reminded her. "Besides, the best way to plan a wedding is from a distance." He raised his eyebrows at that, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"You may have a point, there," she conceded. "But there is one thing I thought I should mention."

"What's that?"

"Using my middle name in your proposal? Overkill."

"Okey-dokey. I'll remember that for next time."

"Hah. There better not be a next time," she retorted, punching him in the shoulder.

The preliminary wedding plans occupied them during much of the ride home. Kim did let Ron drive the first leg, but though she could probably still benefit from a nap, she found that she couldn't even think about sleep. She was too wound up.

"So your parents obviously know," she said. "What about mine?"

"Not yet. I mean, I thought about doing the whole asking for your hand thing, but I didn't know exactly when I would ask you, and I didn't want them peering at us every time we got home from a date, waiting to find out if it had happened or not. I didn't need the pressure, and you would've been suspicious."

"Probably true. So we'll tell them when we get home."

"Seems like the thing to do," Ron agreed, although he gripped the steering wheel a little more tightly. Kim noticed the change.

"Nervous?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," he answered emphatically. "I mean, they are your parents. Your dad already threatened me with a deep space probe."

"If you didn't treat me right," Kim added. "I don't have any worries about that."

"Okay, that's true. Still, getting married is totally different than dating. Are you sure they'll be okay with it?"

"My mom will be cool. Dad might not be thrilled at first, but he'll come around. And I think I can make sure he doesn't send you into space."

"That would be nice."

"The thing to do is plan as much as we can before we get there," Kim decided. "If we make it seem like it's already a fait accompli, it will be easier for everyone to accept."

"A fated what?" Ron asked with consternation.

"Fait accompli," Kim corrected, giggling. "It's French. It means something that's already been decided."

"Okay, sounds good. So…August wedding? Before we go back to school?"

"That does give us the most possible time to plan," she concurred. "But I'm not sharing an anniversary with Drakken and Shego. I don't care how reformed they are."

"I'm with you on that. Besides, I want to have some time for a honeymoon before you have to do your cheerleading thing." He flushed slightly as he mentioned this, but he didn't seem too embarrassed by the concept. Apparently, Kim hadn't been the only one to consider furthering their relationship.

"Don't forget your football thing," she added, determined to continue believing he would get into the university next year and make it onto the football team. "We'll need some time to set up an apartment together, too."

"Right, so I guess it'll be the first weekend in August."

"The next thing to figure out is what kind of ceremony to have. It's not like Jewish-Christian weddings happen every day."

"Traditionally, it's the bride's choice," Ron pointed out.

"I know, but I want to respect your beliefs. Hey! How about we have the wedding outdoors but under a canopy?"

"Sounds like a good start."

"A basically Protestant ceremony, with readings from the Old and New Testaments," Kim continued, really warming to the topic. Her mind was racing. "And we can do that crushing the glass thing."

"I like it," Ron approved. "Our wedding will be original."

"Just like us," said Kim.

The response of family and friends to the engagement news that evening was generally positive. Ron's parents, of course, were not surprised but were ecstatic that it had actually happened at last. Kim's mother was almost as enthusiastic, and even Mr. Dr. Possible was not as reticent as Kim had anticipated. His main concern was the time frame.

"Next year? That's awfully soon," he remarked with a frown.

"Now, dear," his wife tried to moderate the situation. "Just because you took three years to decide to marry me, it doesn't mean everybody needs that long."

"That's not fair! I had to finish my doctorate, and you were tied up with medical school, then your internship."

"I know, but I don't think either Ron or Kim is planning to spend that long in school." The red-haired doctor looked at them both. "You are going to finish college, though, right?" The young couple affirmed this, causing Mrs. Dr. Possible to give a nod of approval.

"Well, then, I don't see a problem," she continued. "They make some good practical points about combining living expenses and transportation costs, and I'm sure you'd prefer they legalize things before they take certain steps in their relationship." Her expression left no doubts as to her meaning.

"Mom!" Kim shouted as she turned bright red. Ron also blushed and tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Ann!" Mr. Dr. Possible chastised at almost the same time. "There's no need to give the young people ideas."

"Oh I hardly think they need us for that," the brain surgeon replied lightly. "I still remember what it was like to be young, even if you've forgotten."

"I haven't," her husband grumbled, clearly stung. "Oh, all right. You have my blessing. But I expect you two to behave yourselves for the next year. Just because you'll be away at college doesn't mean there are no boundaries."

"Yes, Dad," Kim responded meekly, keeping any contrary thoughts she may have had to herself.

Once the parents had been informed (and Rufus reunited with Tina), Kim and Ron decided that it was just about dinner time, so they should celebrate their engagement by going out. They weren't in the mood for anything fancy, so they just stopped into a casual dining place where they could have a corner booth to themselves and a server who wasn't too intrusive. Since it was a Thursday night, the place wasn't too busy. Kim paused in perusing the menu to admire her ring again, but she suddenly frowned, which got Ron's attention.

"Something wrong, KP?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how long it would take the media to descend on us," she replied. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I mean, the ring's not that obvious, but if anyone notices and passes it on…"

"I hadn't thought of that," Ron admitted. Since he was normally ignored (even, sometimes, by the villains they fought), he could occasionally forget that everything Kim Possible did was news. The tidbit that they would be getting married was likely to cause a media circus.

"Not that I'm afraid of people finding out," Kim added quickly, wanting to reassure him that she was not ashamed or regretting her decision. Ron appreciated that, even though he hadn't needed it this time. A lot of things had changed in the last year – the last three months, even – and he was much more self-assured than he once had been. If he hadn't felt secure in their relationship, he wouldn't have found the courage to propose in the first place. "I just want to handle it the way we choose."

"I know exactly what you mean," said Ron. "I don't really want paparazzi camping on your front lawn tonight."

"What about your lawn?"

"That either, but given the choice, whose house do you think they'd pick?"

"Unfortunately, you have a point." Kim chewed her lower lip thoughtfully.

"So…press conference?" Ron suggested.

"I suppose that's best," Kim agreed. "Let's have Wade set it up. We should tell him the news, anyway."

They waited until after they'd ordered to call the computer genius up on the Kimmunicator, to give them the maximum amount of time to talk to him before they were likely to be interrupted.

"Hey, guys," Wade said when his face appeared. "How was the wedding?"

"Nice, actually," Kim answered. "Everything went as planned, and the happy couple is off on their honeymoon."

"We're actually back in Middleton," Ron added. "We're about to have dinner, but we couldn't wait to give you the news."

"What news?"

"Tell him, KP."

"Why don't you tell him? You're the one who asked."

"Yeah, but you're the leader of the team."

"Will somebody please tell me something?" Wade interrupted. The easiest thing would have been for Kim to simply show him the ring, but since she wore the Kimmunicator on her left wrist, that wasn't physically possible without removing one item or the other. At any rate, she was the one to take pity on their young partner.

"We got engaged today!" she announced happily.

"Wow, really? Congratulations," said Wade, smiling back at the two of them. Then, his face fell. "Aw man, I lost the pool."

Ron and Kim exchanged glances.

"There's a betting pool?" asked Ron.

"On when we'd get engaged?" Kim contributed.

"Oh, yeah. I can't remember exactly when it got started, but I think Monique was kind of talking about it with Tara, and it spiraled from there."

"So, who did win?" asked Kim curiously.

"I'm not keeping the official records, but I think Monique was closest. I was figuring on Christmas break."

"Who's holding the bets?" Ron put in.

"Felix," Wade shrugged. "He didn't want to bet, so everyone agreed to let him hold the guesses and the money."

"Good old Felix," sighed Ron.

"Well, gambling aside, there's something we wanted you to help us with," Kim continued. "To hopefully limit the media feeding frenzy over this, we want to hold a brief press conference tomorrow morning, before we go to work."

"No worries, Kim. I'll get everything set up and send out the notices. Where do you want it to be?"

They hammered out the details and signed off before the food came and sat back to enjoy the rest of their evening and the meal.

"I guess we should call our friends tonight, so they have advance warning," Kim remarked ruefully.

"As Monique might say, true that!" Ron laughed.

Shego woke up and stretched languidly. Her husband still slept beside her, which made her smile to herself. She couldn't remember too many days in their entire association when she'd been awake before he had.

I must've really worn him out last night, she thought with a certain degree of satisfaction. They'd actually managed to consummate their marriage twice already. The first time had been quick and fiery; they'd barely remembered to close the door of the hotel room. The hovercar ride to the Bahamas had taken several hours, which was a long time for the anticipation to build. After that, they'd realized that they were ravenously hungry and ordered room service. They'd eaten the food in bathrobes before returning to the bed for another round, this one slower and more controlled. Both experiences had been wonderful, as far as Shego was concerned.

Her smile broadened. She felt like she could wake Dr. D up and go again, but she restrained herself, at least for the moment. It was kind of nice to simply lie and watch him sleep. In all of her sexual history, she'd never spent the entire night with a partner – she'd felt that would lead to the dangers of emotional involvement, which she'd wanted to avoid at all costs.

Now, though…well, she already was emotionally involved, and she found that waking up to someone she'd made love to was an experience that she could enjoy and get used to. The fact that they'd just pledged their lives to each other added a depth to it that she couldn't have imagined feeling a few months ago. It made her head swim that this wasn't just for a night; this man was hers for as long as they lived. She raised her left hand to look at her one-of-a-kind ring once again – the symbol of their commitment to each other and of Dr. D's love for her. She couldn't imagine a better wedding gift, although the private concert had been a close second.

Eventually, the call of nature forced Shego to leave the comfort of the bed. When she returned, she kissed Dr. D's bare shoulder, knowing that he was a light sleeper and should wake fairly easily. It was the first full day of their honeymoon, and she had no intention of wasting it.

Meanwhile, beneath a mountain somewhere in the Appalachians, two large, humanoid figures lay suspended in air, their bodies encased in cylinders of coruscating light in all colors of the spectrum….

*These lines are adapted from the song "Go With Her" by Toby Keith, Scotty Emerick, and Dean Dillon, although they're probably not the first to use those words. If you're interested, I actually wrote a songfic in the Teen Titans fandom based on that song.

Author's Note: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but this is basically a prologue. To answer several questions, I do intend to do four more installments, one for each year of college (I know most people take 5 or 6 years to get a bachelor's degree these days, but I'm making it four to simplify things). However, I'm planning to take a break before I get started. First of all, I need to solidify the plot in my mind and decide where I'm going with Freshman Year. Second, I'm hoping to have about 5 chapters ready before I begin posting so that there won't be as long a wait for the readers between chapters. Third, I just need a little time off. I may write a few oneshots here and there in the meantime. Thanks for following this story, irregular posting and all!

Review Responses:

Katsumara: Yep, and this chapter had a surprise from Ron to Kim. Hope you liked it!

yeahh: Was this enough K&R for you? The next story will involve them and their relationship a lot more.

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks. Details with clothing and food aren't my forte, but I thought it was necessary to help everyone visualize the event.

Eddy13: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. See the author notes.

CajunBear73: That's true, but I decided to take pity on Drakken and Shego. The guest list alone was weird.

Caraline Fisher: Thank you very much!

snarky Beth: I'm so glad Motor Ed sounded like himself. He's harder to write than you might think. Glad you enjoyed the ceremony.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Thanks for the applause. As I understand it, that pretty much is what civil ceremonies are like, unless you make special arrangements.

Allysian: Yes, you are fortunate that you didn't have to wait so much for the chapters. This story has ended, but clearly, the real tale is just beginning.

Yamal: Well, here's the conclusion of this story. I hope it fulfilled your expectations!