I.

Bonnie awoke to the smell of something good, the smell of food that was cooked instead of being either raw or burnt. She also realized that she was lying on a couch with a wool blanket draped over her. She didn't remember falling sleep yet alone lying down on a couch the night before. That thought scared her, and she quickly checked to see that she was still wearing the robe and towel she had put on last night. Sighing a little in relief that she appeared to be unmolested, Bonnie began to sit up in an attempt to find out where she was and how she had gotten there.

"Good morning."

Looking at the source of the voice, Bonnie suddenly began to recall the events of last night, about her begging for a meal and meeting Ron, err Ronald. How he had given her a meal and had continuously insisted that she refer to him as Ronald, and had offered her a shower and to help her find a place to stay. But after that, it got a bit fuzzy. The only thing that she could recall for sure was that she had made up her mind that she would not stay at his place for the night, and yet here she was.

"How did I end up on the couch?" Bonnie asked.

"I know you didn't want to stay here," Ronald said as he sat down a plate of breakfast in front of Bonnie, "But you were so tired that you fell asleep on the couch the minute you sat down on it. I figured that if you were that tired, then you really needed your rest."

Bonnie was only half listening to the explanation as she, with fork in hand, began to dig into her three cheese omelet, bacon, toast, and juice. Finishing the last of her meal, Bonnie closed her eyes as she sedately leaned back against the couch.

"Thank you, Ron, err, I mean Ronald." She said with none of the usual sarcasm or I'm better than your attitude that everyone associated with voice. The result was, at least as far as Ronald was concerned, a rather pleasing sound.

"Hey, it was no big deal. I'm just glad that you look better than you did yesterday, even with your bed head."

Bonnie's eyes flew open as she bolted upright and gasped in horror as in her mind's eye she imagined a picture of her hair being all tangled, wild, and unkept looking on a picture of her in her most stylish out fit that she would wear to the mall. But as the rational side of her mind caught up with her thoughts, the picture of her in the stylish out fit was replaced by what she looked like not twenty-four hours ago. And now here she was, in a warm place, with a roof over her head, cleaner than she had been in weeks, and with a full belly, and she was still worried about how she looked. As the giggles that began to escape from her lips soon became a full felt laughter, Ronald began to wonder about her mental stability. Finally getting over her bout of giggles, probably the first one Bonnie had had in months, she looked at Ronald and asked him a question.

"Thank you for giving me a place to stay last night, and I know that you don't really expect any kind of repayment, but I would like to try to repay you somehow."

"Well, if you really want to repay me, there is one thing you can do, help me at the diner." Ronald answered with a grin.

"Fair enough, but that's a lot easier to do if I'm dressed, and speaking of which where are my clothes?" Bonnie asked sternly.

"Their sitting in a basket in my room. You can go get dressed if you want. And not to worry, you can repay me with your clothes on."

II.

After getting dressed and taming her "bed head" hair, Bonnie finally exited Ronald's bed room and announced with a touch of her old Queen Bee flare, "Now that I'm presentable to the world again lets get this day started."

"I didn't think you were that unpresentable to start with." Ronald grinned.

"And don't you forget it," Bonnie said, "now let's talk about payment."

"Payment?"

"Yes, payment. You know what I owe you for last night."

"A thank you would be nice."

"Thank you. Now, what else do I have to do? You mentioned helping you at your diner, so how long do you want me to work there and how many dishes do you want me to wash."

"Bonnie, what makes you think that you have to wash dishes in order to repay me?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes as if she was talking to a child, "Because that's the way it works. A guy gives a girl dinner and a place to stay for the night, and she repays him. And judging by the looks of your place here, you're not exactly "Ron millionaire" are you."

"No, I'm not Ron millionaire," Ronald conceded, "But since you mentioned it, maybe I could use a little repayment from you."

"That's what I figured. All guys are the same." Bonnie said in disgust.

"Hey, you haven't heard me out yet."

"No, but let me guess, it involves me and various states of undress."

"What?! No way, Bonnie, I wouldn't demand any kind of repayment like that." Ronald replied in surprise.

"Then I guess it's back to washing dishes as I don't have any money on me."

Ronald sighed in frustration before answering. "Yes, you can help me at the diner, but it doesn't include washing dishes."

"Then what?"

"Come to the diner with me, and I'll show you."

III.

The car ride to the diner had been quiet as the two were wrapped up in their own thoughts after the morning's disagreement. After three songs and one commercial break on the radio, Ronald's beat-up used Pontiac came to a stop behind his diner.

"Are you sure about this, Bonnie? You don't have to do this, you know." Ronald said as he opened the car door.

"Yes, I'm sure. I know you don't expect any repayment from me, but I would feel better if you did let me help you around the diner today. I'll do whatever you need me to. I'll wash dishes, I'll sweep the floor, whatever." Bonnie answered as she followed suit.

"Well, I said you didn't have to do those things, and you don't. But there is something else I would like to know: Are you any good at math and accounting? Because I could use some help with that." Ronald grinned kind of sheepishly.

"Sure, I got an A in economics in high school. Besides, as long as you have a calculator, then it can't be that hard, can it?"

Two minutes later, at the back of the diner, Ronald showed Bonnie the broom closet, which served as his office. Bonnie could only stand there in a state of shock as she looked at the state of things on Ronald's desk. The term clutter would be far too generous to describe the scene before her. As near as she could tell the paper work on his desk and merged in to a single pile that not only stood almost three feet high, but also hung off the sides of the desk by a good six inches to either side. "Ronald Stoppable, you call this an office? It's an insult to the very concept of organization."

Ronald was struggling for an answer when he heard the bell at his front door chime. Saved by the bell, he thought. "Oh, look at that, the first customer of the day. Guess I need to go take care of them, I'll leave you here to handle things." He said as he began to retreat out of the office.

IV.

"Hi Bonnie, I thought you might like some lunch."

Looking up from the still rather sizable pile of paperwork in front of her, Bonnie saw Ronald standing in the doorway holding a plate with a sandwich on it.

"Is it lunchtime already?"

"Not quite, it's only 11 o'clock, but I thought I would make you something before the lunch time rush hits."

"Wow, I didn't realize it was that time already." Bonnie said as she stood and stretched. "But then again, taming this mountain of paperwork may well take the rest of the week."

"Hmm, if I didn't know any better, I would say that you were trying to find a way to keep yourself employed. Either that or you're looking for an excuse to hang out with me some more."

"Don't flatter yourself." Bonnie retorted as she accepted the sandwich. "Honestly, I don't know how you manage to run your own business. You have overdue and past due bills. Bills that have been more than paid in full, outstanding invoices for items that weren't delivered, and that's all from me just putting things in to like piles. No wonder you and Kim aren't together, no forethought or organization on your part."

"Now that's the old Bonnie I remember, always a snide remark." Ronald answered sarcastically. "But it shows what you know. Kim and I didn't break up over something so trivial as my lack of organization."

"Then why did you two break up?"

"None of your business, that's between me and Kim." Ronald said as he turned his back on Bonnie and walked back towards his kitchen.

V.

The sound of thunder finally caused Bonnie to look up from the some what smaller but still sizable mess she had been trying to organize on Ronald's desk. Listening to the receding thunder and the patter of rain against the roof made Bonnie glad that the task had taken all day, even if it meant having to spend the day with a loser like Ronald Stoppable Still, any day under a warm roof was better than one in the cold rain one, even if it was spent trying to organize paperwork."

Stepping out of the broom closet that served as Ronald's Office, Bonnie spied the man in question as he finished counting out change to the last customer in the restaurant.

"Here's your change. Have a good day, George."

"Same to you, Ronald," the customer said before spying Bonnie. "Oh, I see you finally got yourself some help around here, and she's a looker too." With a final wave towards Bonnie and Ronald, George opened his umbrella as he walked through the door and into the growing darkness.

"Hey Bonnie." Ronald said as he closed the cashier drawer. "Did you finish organizing my stuff?"

"No, but considering the size of the mess, it would probably take me a few days at the least." Bonnie said as her gaze lingered on the cashier drawer for a second.

"If you want to come back and work on it some more tomorrow, I'd be more than happy to let you."

"And what makes you think I want to do that?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm closing up the shop early today, but if you want to stay here and keep working, then I won't hold you back."

"I'll pass. I said I would repay you for last night, and I did, so we're even now." Bonnie said as she began to make her towards the door.

"Ok, we're even for last night. But what about tonight?"

"What do you mean, what about tonight?"

"Well look at it outside," Ronald said as he pointed out the front window, "It's raining cats and dogs, and if I remember correctly last night you didn't say you had a place to stay."

"It's not like I don't have a place to stay. What do you think I am homeless or something?" Bonnie asked sarcastically.

"That thought had crossed my mind."

"And just what makes you think that? Do you think I can't take care of myself? That I'm broke, that I don't have any friends? That Bonnie Rockwaller needs help, a knight in shining armor?" As some of the old "Queen Bee" Bonnie began to resurface.

Ronald simply rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration before answering. "In a word, Bonnie, yes."

Bonnie opened her mouth to respond but was quickly cut off.

"I'm not saying that to belittle or put you down Bonnie, but when I saw you last night, well you looked like you hadn't had a place to stay for quite a while, and more importantly that you hadn't had a friend for a while too."

"That's not true." Bonnie replied quickly.

"Then wherever it is you live, it must be a real dive."

Bonnie slowly shook her head no. "I mean, it is true about me being homeless. I am homeless. There, I said, I'm homeless. Hold that over me all you want, but.." Bonnie stopped to let a sob escape from her, "But don't say I don't have any friends."

Ronald hadn't meant to be that harsh to Bonnie. He had only wanted her to reconsider about staying over at his warm, dry apartment again. But as he watched the brunette sit down and begin to cry softly, Ronald knew that he had struck a raw nerve.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. I didn't mean to upset you like that. I was just offering that you stay the night at my place and out of the rain. I guess I sort of fell back into the old high school mindset of trading snarky barbs with you instead of being an adult about things and offering help to someone a little less fortunate than I. And you're right about one thing, you do have friends, like the one talking to you right now."

"I'm not your friend," Bonnie sobbed softly, "I'm just someone you're taking pity on."

"Then maybe we can be friends, it's not like we don't know each other. After all, we were on the cheerleading team together in high school."

"Where I treated you like the loser you were."

"Well, at least I'm not the one living on the streets, so who's the loser now?"

Bonnie couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed by the truth of Ronald's words. "Ok, so I'm a loser now. There I said it, happy now?"

"Bonnie, get over yourself." Ronald sighed. "No, I'm happy that you called yourself a loser. You know that I don't get pleasure from someone else's misfortune." Pulling up a chair, he sat next to the brunette and continued, "So why don't you let me help you out?"

"Why?" Bonnie quietly asked.

"Why? Why not? You've seen some rough times, Bonnie, and to be honest, so have I. So, as a friend, someone who's been around the block a time or two, let me be a shoulder you can cry on." Kneeling down next to Bonnie, Ronald handed her a napkin and waited for her answer.

"That's what she said too."

"What was that, Bonnie?"

Dabbing her eyes once, Bonnie lifted her head and looked at Ronald before repeating herself, "I had a friend once that said that same thing. Like you, she was a really nice and caring person, and she really helped me out."

"See, I'm not the only person that feels that way. Maybe you should listen to us wise persons, we might learn you a thing or two." Ronald said while holding up three fingers.

Despite herself, Bonnie couldn't help but chuckle a little at the blond man's antics. "Maybe you're right."

"Of course, I'm right. Now let's see what I can whip up for some dinner, I don't know about you, but I'm starved."

Over dinner, the two had a long discussion about Bonnie's living arrangements, namely the fact that she didn't have any. Being the gentleman that he was, Ronald had offered to let Bonnie stay the night at his place again. Although this was not something Bonnie had wanted to do, the chance to stay in a warm, dry, and safe place made for a quite convincing argument. As did the list of rules she laid down, such as Bonnie getting to sleep in the bedroom with the door locked while Ronald slept on the couch, that Ronald had agreed to had finally convinced the former "Queen Bee" to stay the one more night at his apartment, or at least until it had stopped raining.

VI.

Bonnie was enjoying the lingering flavor of dinner in his mouth as she rode in the passenger seat of Ronald's car. Staring out the window as rain continued to fall Bonnie began to wonder just how true the old saying about the fastest way to a "man's" heart was through his stomach or if it was equally applicable to women. If Ronald could cook like this every day, she just might fall to her knees and beg for his hand in marriage. The image of this brought a small grin and slight chuckle to the brunette.

"What's so funny?" Ronald asked.

"What?" Bonnie asked as her thoughts were pulled back to reality.

"Just wondering what brought that smile to your face. It looks good on you, you should wear it more often."

"Compliments will get you nowhere, Mr. Stoppable, although if you want to test that theory, that's fine be me. But to answer your question, nothing much, just had a thought is all."

"You don't say. Come to think of it, I've had a thought too."

"Well, wonders will never cease then."

"Hey, low blow there, I haven't even told you what I was thinking about."

"You mean your thought was something coherent and logical. The stars must truly be aligned just right tonight then." Bonnie teased. Although she had fallen far from her place as a "Queen Bee," Bonnie still enjoyed a good verbal sparing.

"Well, I was thinking about your panties." Ronald said.

This brought a raised eyebrow from Bonnie, "Want me to smack you before or after you try to dig yourself out of this hole?"

"What? Oh wait, that's not what I meant!" Ronald stammered as he attempted to back peddle as fast as possible.

"Then just what were you thinking? After all, you've already seen them up close and personal." Bonnie said while adding just a touch of huskiness to her voice.

"I was thinking that you might need some more of them unless you want me to see them up close and personal again by washing them tonight."

"Are you offering to buy me a pair of panties? That's the nicest thing a guy has done for me in months." Bonnie teased.

"Tell you what then, how about I also buy you a new pair of socks, a shirt, and some pants too. That's got to boost my standing by a few points, I'm sure."

"And just what will I owe you for all this? There's no such thing as a free lunch after all." Bonnie replied coldly. Things had been going to well for her lately, so it was probably time for a little bad luck. She also knew that in some way shape or form she was going to have to repay Ronald, with a little luck the repayment wouldn't be to bad, maybe a few extra days helping out at his diner. If that was all it cost her, then Bonnie could deal with that. After all, there had been times in the past when she had paid more for less.

"Bonnie," Ronald said, annoyed, "I don't expect repayment for this."

"Sure, I've heard that one before." Bonnie replied sarcastically.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Ronald began to wonder if it was worth trying to be this nice to Bonnie. "Tell you what, you want to repay me for this, fine. Work as my accountant for the rest of the week, then."

Bonnie thought about that for a moment before answering. "Ok, but on one condition, you let me help around the diner as need be in addition to just being your accountant." She said while adding air quotes at the end. I want to try to repay you as quickly as possible.

"Deal." Ronald said, "Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

"We're going shopping at SmartyMart."

Bonnie's screams of no could be heard halfway across Lowerton.