“Help me, Kim”, Shego’s voice squeaked between sobs, “I’m so scared…”.
Not ‘Kimmie’. Not ‘Princess’. Not ‘Pumpkin’. The teenage girl recited the list. Just ‘Kim’…
And then Kim’s arms went out to her, as well.
The two girls cried in each other’s arms for several minutes. To Ron, it seemed like years. At the back of Ron’s mind was peculiar feeling, something like deja vu… something familiar. He felt there was something he should be remembering. But mostly he just felt awkward. Still, there was something just… sweet… about seeing them like this. Ron had known for years how Shego felt about Kim. He could just tell; he didn’t even wonder how he could tell. In fact, he wondered that no one else seemed to notice. As for Kim’s feelings towards Shego… that was more of a mystery. It was… it was like Kim wanted… wanted to feel something, but didn’t. Or was afraid to. Or was afraid to want to, he thought. Ron stared until he realized he must look like a voyeur, and looked away.
I don’t know what it took to break through her ice, he thought, but it’s about time. I just wish she wasn’t so… shattered…
When Kim and Shego had toned down to sniffles (finally!), Ron spoke up, “Shego… uh, I know a place… a safe place. No one knows about it”, as far as I know, he added silently. “You wanna come talk about it?”
Shego looked up at Ron, regaining a shred of composure. Ron Stoppable,she thought, buffoon sidekick of Kim Possible. Honest. True. Absolutely without guile. Everything I’m not. Probably never made a snide remark in his life.She sighed, no wonder Kim’s in love with him… If she ever were to lose Ron…
A look of terror seized Shego’s face as she remembered, coming to her senses, where she was, what she was doing, and why she was doing it. Oh my god! If Lee finds out… I’ve talked directly to her! OhMyGod!
“I… you… you have to get out of here!”, Shego said, panic filling her features. She looked Kim in the eye for the first time since she’d gone to tears, “ It’s dangerous… I can’t explain. He… my new boss, he… bad things happen. Very bad things happen, Kim. You have to go!”, and Shego turned to run, only to find Ron’s hands upon her shoulders, holding her back. She tried to shake him off, but it was no use, she was just too weak.
“Stoppable! Let go! Let… LET ME GO!”, Shego cried and struggled and pleaded. Finally, in desperation, she added, “Please…”
Shego felt another hand take hers – Kim’s hand – a hand that gently pulled her around, face-to-face. “I’m not letting you go”, Kim whispered calmly and with unusual seriousness, her emerald-eyes locked to Shego’s, “Not this time”.
“Kim… Kim you don’t understand. VERY bad things happen… You -”
“I AM NOT LETTING YOU GO! NOT AGAIN!” The forcefulness of Kim’s statement shook Shego to the core. Ron stood open-mouthed, aghast. Even Kim herself blinked. Where had that come from?
Shego slumped. Helplessness had become second nature to her, lately. “Fine. Call the cops. The GJ. Whatever. Just get away from me!”
“Shego! That’s NOT what I meant! Oh! -”, Kim rolled her eyes, “You’re as bad as Ron! I just meant… I mean…”. Kim began to panic as she felt her face getting warmer and warmer, flushed.
Shego saw. And seeing, her breath stopped, her knees felt warm and weak, and a yearning – one she had forgotten out of hopelessness – rose within her, for the first time in… in a long time. Starting from the bottom of her diaphragm, working up to her stomach, her throat… A feeling that could only be called “want”. Shego had to look away from the blushing Kim. Ron could feel her tremble, and tightened his grip on her shoulder. Not so much holding her back, anymore, as holding her up.
Kim was still stammering, “… it’s just… I… I…”.
“Shego… look… “, Ron interrupted, for which Kim was visibly relieved, “I… I think we can help. I don’t know why I think so, but… I just do. If you’ll let us.” What the hell?, he thought, as plans began to emerge from the mist in his mind, unbidden, unexpected, just on their own, as if he’d always known what to do, and had just been waiting for an opportunity. Ron had never felt like this before. And he had not been waiting for an opportunity. Had he? What’s happening to me?
Ron let go of her shoulder as a sign of good faith. “Please”, he added.
Shego thought, You don’t know! You just don’t know! She looked into Kim’s green-crystal eyes, and saw compassion, empathy, maybe a pinch of pity. And maybe something else. Then she looked over at Ron’s puppy-dog-brown eyes and saw…
Understanding?