Darkness
That was all she knew at the moment; the darkness that surrounded her. It wasn’t a bad kind of darkness; in fact it was quite peaceful. The kind one would find in a dreamless sleep. It was comforting and held a promise that it would keep away all the bad things in life. It was a feeling the great teen hero Kim Possible rarely got, so she planned on enjoying as long as she could.
Unfortunately, that only ended up being about thirty seconds.
“Kim! Kim!” she heard someone calling.
The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it at the moment. All she knew was that it was trying to pull her away from her peaceful, non-dreaming sleep and she couldn’t have that. She fought off the annoying voice for as long as she could, but it persisted, drawing her ever closer to consciousness.
She let out a soft groan as she slowly became aware of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the hard, cold floor she was laying on, probably concrete from the feel of it. The second was a soft breezing being blown on her right ear. Finally she acknowledged the voice that was still calling her name. She cracked open an eye but could only make out a mass of black, peach and yellow hovering over her. She blinked a few times before she reopened her eyes and they finally focused on Ron looking down at her in concern. She could make out a pink blur from the corner of her eye fanning her with something white and assumed it was Rufus using a handkerchief.
“Ron?” she asked uncertain.
“It’s me KP. You OK?” he asked back.
“I just had the most horrible, horrible, nightmare.”
“Did it have anything to do with Shego saying that you were her baby’s daddy?”
Kim’s face scrunched up in confusion at the remark.
“How did you know that?” she asked a bit hesitantly.
“Because it’s actually happening,” a second, much too familiar voice said.
Kim tilted her head towards the source of the voice and found Shego standing over her as well. She smirked down at the fallen hero for a second before a thoughtful look crossed her face and she tapped a finger against her chin.
“Although, I would definitely say this counts as a nightmare,” she remarked.
“Definitely,” Kim agreed as she pulled herself to feet. She dusted herself off before she looked towards Shego again. “So?”
“So?” the pale woman answered back. “I told you. You know. So now I’m out of here.”
With that she turned and started to leave the dark warehouse, leaving a very stunned Ron and especially Kim behind. That was her plan at least, until Kim vaulted over and landed right in front of her, blocking the path.
“Where do you think you’re going!” Kim asked indignantly.
“I dunno. Away from here,” Shego answered.
“To where?”
“I. Don’t. Know.”
“Have you even thought about what you’re going to do to raise this child?” Kim tried to reason with her.
Unfortunately, this only succeeded in putting a nasty thought in her head. Panic and fear gripped her as she gripped Shego’s shoulders, a bit more tightly than the villainess would have liked.
“You are going to have this child, right?” she practically pleaded.
“Calm down Princess, I already went through that and yes I am having the baby,” Shego reassured her.
Kim lowered her head as she let out a sigh of relief. As she thought about the statement, however, an anger suddenly flared up inside her. It was an anger she had never felt before and couldn’t quite explain where it came from. Part of her knew it was irrational, but she couldn’t fight it. As it washed over her, she gripped Shego’s shoulders tighter, surprising them both. She slowed lifted her head again to give the woman a glare that seemed to cut right into her soul.
“You did what?” Kim growled in an eerily soft voice.
“I…uh…” Shego stammered, taken aback by this sudden change.
“You tried to kill my baby!”
“No!” The older woman shouted as she brought her hands up and swatted away the arms holding her. “I’m trying to tell you I didn’t do that! And I’m the one actually having the kid!”
“It’s still part of me!”
“It’s part of me too!”
Acting on instincts honed from their previous encounters, the two rivals took defensive stances and stared coldly into the other’s eyes. Shego ignited the plasma around both her hands, forgetting about her condition for the moment and focusing only on the one thing that seemed to make sense right now; beating Kim Possible.
For her part, Kim was trying to keep herself calm, but the idea of what Shego had suggested she tried still made her blood boil. Over the time they had know each other, the pale woman had seemed bent on taking everything from her and now almost took her legacy. There was no way Kim was going to let her get away with that.
“Uh…excuse me, ladies,” Ron spoke up, hoping to break off the fight before it started. “Need I remind you that you only came here to talk? And that one of you really shouldn’t be fighting right now?”
They turned their heads towards him and stared at him blankly. He waved at them nervously and gave an awkward smiling; hoping at least Kim would come to her senses and keep from hurting herself or Shego or most importantly, him. Fortunately, it seemed his luck held out this time as Kim finally sighed after too long a silence and relaxed her pose.
“He’s right,” she said in a soft, apologetic tone. “We can’t fight with you…like that.”
“Yeah I guess not,” Shego agreed, soundly slightly disappointed as she deactivated her powers.
“There we go. Now maybe we can go back to talking about this very sick and wrong subject in a civilized manner,” Ron advised as he stepped forward and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
They glared at him again and he quickly withdrew, holding his hands out in front of him in an “It’s cool” gesture. He was about to say something else when Rufus scampered up to his shoulder and held the blonde’s lips shut with his little paw.
“Shhh!” the naked mole rat inclined.
His master chose wisely to listen to him and merely stepped back to let the two women continued their conversation. With him out of the picture, they once again looked at each other but this time with a much gentler gaze. In fact, it seemed to Kim that Shego was looking guilty about something. She was about to asked another question but was cut off even before she could open her mouth.
“Look,” Shego started. “I did think of having an abortion, I’m not gonna lie to you.”
“First time for everything,” Kim muttered as she folded her arms over her chest.
Shego gave her a dirty look before continuing. “BUT I decided I couldn’t go through with it.”
The red head let out another relieved sigh and lowered her arms.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what stopped you?” she asked.
“Believe it or not Princess, you did.”
“I did?”
“Yeah. I kept hearing your annoying voice nagging at me as I stared at the clinic.”
Kim went back to being annoyed. “Gee thanks.”
“Welcome,” Shego smirked. Her expression went back to melancholy as she continued. “Plus I figured you had the right to know. Like you said, this baby is a part of you too. And…”
“And? What and?”
For the first time in a long time Shego found herself afraid and unable to face her opponent. She turned away from the teenage hero as she placed her hands protectively over her stomach.
“You met my brothers,” she said over her shoulder. “You know what happened to us. That meteor changed our lives in a lot of ways. The obvious of course being our powers and…well…” waved a hand across her face. “But it changed us on the inside too. Everything still works the same but our genes kinda got…skewed let’s say. Because of this I…well…didn’t think I’d actually be able to have kids. So then this happened…”
“You were amazed and thought it might be your only chance to bear a child?” Kim offered.
The raven haired woman chuckled at the reply. “You know, it always did amaze me that you could do that.”
“It’s a gift.”
Silence filled the warehouse tried to figure out their next move while Ron and Rufus continued to watch from the sidelines. Now that the details of the situation were out in the open, all that was left was to figure out how to deal with them. For Shego, that meant trying to think of what exactly she was going to do now. She decided that she was going to have the baby but she really didn’t know the first thing about child rearing. With all that had happened in the past, there was no way that she could turn to her family, not that she would really want to. Technically, she could raise the child on her own as she had enough money saved up from her villainous career to support herself and a baby for quite some time. Plus it wasn’t like single parent homes were rare in this day and age. Still…the thought of raising the child by herself…scared her. She hadn’t felt truly scared like this since the meteor changed her. After that she figured she could handle anything life threw at her.
Of course she never expected anything like this to happen. But she could handle it. She knew she could. She just needed to take a moment and think of a plan.
Before she could get too far into said plan, her train of thought was broken when she felt a gentle hand land on her shoulder. She turned to find Kim standing closer to her and giving her a soft, reassuring smile. It was something she thought she would never see directed towards her from the red head and it was a little unsettling. It was strangely comforting too and, much to her surprise, Shego found herself relaxing because of it.
“Look,” Kim started, speaking softly. “I know you probably want to try to handle this yourself, and I don’t doubt that you could, but the baby’s part of me too. Let me help you in raising it or at the very least seeing it born.”
Shego was going to try and offer a rebuttal, a reason why she didn’t want or need the teen hero’s help, but nothing came. Instead she simple sighed and closed her eyes while she dipped her head.
“Alright,” she agreed.
The smile that Kim’s lips suddenly curled up into threatened to split her face in half. She didn’t know why the announcement made her so happy and the moment she didn’t really care.
“That’s great!” she said enthusiastically. She then reached out and grabbed Shego’s wrist. “Come on, I know just where we need to go now.”
“Huh! Wha!” Shego stammered when she suddenly found herself being dragged along behind the red head.
“Ron, let’s go!” Kim ordered as she past him.
The sidekick in question simply watched in a daze as former girlfriend walked out of the warehouse dragging her former rival behind her like a straggling pet. Ron looked towards his own pet still standing on his shoulder and the two shrugged at each other in confusion. He didn’t know where Kim wanted to take them but he was sure that all this craziness was just getting started.
Middleton was by no means a big city nor was it a small town, merely a town. Despite its relative smallness, Kim knew it was still a good drive from the warehouse where Shego had requested to meet and her new destination; Middleton General Hospital. The two buildings were on the opposite sides of the town so she knew she had to hurry if she wanted to get there in time. Of course, being that it was almost 7:30 on a Friday night she knew she was pushing her luck in thinking that the person she wanted to see was even still there. But it was the only thing she could really think to do at the moment, so she hoped he was there.
While Kim focused on who they were going to see, Shego was more focused on where they were going. Even before she got her powers, she never liked going to the hospital and afterwards it was one of the very things she would admit to being afraid of. It seemed like all doctors ever wanted to do was poke and prod her which made her feel like a rat trapped in a cage. So when Kimmie finally let it slip as to where they’re going her first instinct was to throw the car door open and roll out to freedom. That idea was squashed, however, when she remembered her current condition so she settled for simply slumping back with her legs crossed and arms folded as she glared draggers into the back of the girl’s head, hoping to convince her to take her somewhere, anywhere, else.
Unfortunately, that tactic didn’t seem to be working. With a sigh, she resigned herself to the fact that she was going to a hospital whether she liked it or not. She glanced out the window to try to focus on something else, but Middleton offered very little in the way of eye catching sites. It certainly was a far cry from the tower buildings and neon lights of Go City. How someone like Kim could stand to live here she would never know.
Speaking of whom…she turned her gaze back to the world saving cheerleader driving the car. So far she had been unusually quite during the trip, which wasn’t too surprise given the bombshell she had just had dropped on her. She was probably trying to figure it all out just like Shego was. Still, there was something else about it there sat uneasily for the pale skinned woman. She had caught Kim looking at her through the rearview mirror a few times, but never looking over at her goofy sidekick in the front passenger’s seat. Not that she blamed her; he was hardly an impressive physical specimen. There was just a vibe between the two she had picked up on since their meeting in the warehouse. She had an idea of what it was, but needed to find a way to confirm it. Shrugging, she decided just to go for the direct route.
“So…you two are an item now, right?” she asked.
Their reactions told her everything she needed to know. They both stiffened at the question and started to fidget about nervously. A sly grin spread across Shego’s face as thoughts of how to have fun with this information entered her mind.
“The fairy tale ending didn’t go quite like you thought, eh?” she prodded smugly. “So what was the problem? Stoppable no good at the…night time activities?”
At this the car screeched to a sudden halt. Thankfully it happened to coincide with the light in front of them changing red. Once the car settled from it rapid stop, Kim poked her head round the drivers seat and gave Shego a cold, hard stare that would paralyze just about anyone else.
“We are NOT having this conversation!” she snarled.
“Yeah!” Ron agreed, imitating the look quite well.
Shego had to bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud at their reactions. It amused her when she could get under Kim’s skin in any way and that definitely seemed to do the job. She thought about pursuing the joke further but figured it was able to leave it alone. For now.
“So Shego,” Kim looked at her through the rearview mirror as she spoke, “since you’re so eager to talk all of a sudden, mind telling us what you did with Drakken?”
“I took care of him,” Shego answered offhandedly.
“Took care of him how?”
“Well I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re asking. I just…made sure he got the message that it wasn’t OK to do things like this.”
“So where is he now?” Ron asked.
“Tucked away somewhere nice and safe,” Shego replied, the devious grin covering her face again.
The warden of Foxriver penitentiary had seen a lot over his many years of service. Beatings, stabbings, even elaborate escape plans were all old hat to him, but what the captain of the guard had called to tell him took even him by surprise. He arrived as quickly as he could from his house and was currently being led to the cell in question where the captain stood and stared at the person in the small, barred room.
“What’s this all about Bellick?” he asked.
“Strangest damn thing I’ve seen. Even for this place,” the captain replied as he gestured to the person.
The warden looked into the cell and found a man huddled up in the fetal position on the lower bunk, sucking on his right thumb like a child. Two things immediately caught the older man’s attention; 1) was the “prisoner’s” blue skin and 2) was the abject look of fear in his eyes. Even with all his years of experience it still took him a moment to process this information.
“What happened?” he asked, turning back to the Bellick.
“Don’t know,” the younger man replied. “Found him dumped outside looking like he’d been beaten to hell and back. When we asked him what happened he just demanded we lock him up.”
“Why?”
“He said to keep himself safe.”
The warden gave him a confused look then went back to studying the blue skinned man in the cell.
“You already put him in a uniform?”
“Had too,” Bellick replied. “The clothes he had on were torn to shreds. So…what should we do with him?”
“I…guess we’ll keep him here over night and then call someone in the morning to get this all straightened out.”
Bellick nodded in acceptance and thanked the warden for coming in so late before he and one of the other guards escorted him out. The captain lingered a moment to glare disgustingly at the curled up figure in the cell. Just what he needed, another wacko to look after.
By the time the Possible family car pulled into the parking lot of the hospital it was slightly after 8:00 and the regular entrance had been closed for the night. Fortunately, being the daughter of one of the top brain surgeons there afforded Kim entry into the building. She and her impromptu entourage walked through the halls in search of her doctor’s office. She just hoped she wouldn’t run into the one doctor she didn’t want to see right now.
“Oh Kimmie!” her mother’s voice called to her.
Of course, Kim thought as she slumped her shoulders.
She tried to appear her usual chipper self as she turned to face her mother, but from the look on the older Possible’s face she could tell it wasn’t working. Kim braced herself for the inevitable “What’s the matter?” question, but was surprised when the question ended up being:
“Kimmie, isn’t that…?”
Once Kim actually registered the question, she caught her mom’s gaze and even without the glance over her shoulder, could tell she was looking at the newest member of her group.
“Yes, it is,” Kim answered. “And I’ll explain why later, right now I was hoping to see if Dr. Anderson was still here.”
“Well,” Mrs. Possible replied, placing a finger on her chin thoughtfully, “I think he said something about having to stay late to finish up some paper work.”
“Great! Can you go get him and have him meet us outside the sonogram room?”
Mrs. Possible’s eye grew wide in surprise just before she gave her daughter a questioning look. Again there was a promise to “explain later”, which the girl would definitely be held to, before Kim, Ron and Shego walked off to find the sonogram room. Mrs. Possible shook her head before she went to find her colleague, hoping that he would be able to get the answers she couldn’t at the moment.
Dr. Anderson sighed as he looked down at his watch. He was already put in three hours worth of overtime and judging by the small mound of papers he still had to fill out he wasn’t leaving anytime soon. Paper work was one of the worst parts about being a doctor. Not, the worst part certainly, but it was far up there. Briefly he considered finishing up the paper he was currently working on and finishing the rest in the morning, but somehow that prospect seemed even worse. What he really needed at the moment was a break from it all. Anything would do, just as long as it got him out of his office and away from the evil papers.
His salvation came in the form a gentle knock on his door.
“Come in,” he said, sounding more eager than he meant to.
As he watched the door open, he silently hoped that he hadn’t inadvertently agreed to more paper work, but those fears were put to rest when the smiling face of Dr. Possible peeked into the room.
“Rich, do you have a minute?” she asked.
“For you Ann, anything, especially if it gets me away from all this paper work,” he replied, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head. “So what’s up?”
“Well…” Mrs. Possible replied, stepping into the room fully. “It’s…honestly I don’t really know what it is. Kim just came in and asked if you were available.”
“Anything for one of my favorite patients. So where is she?”
“That’s what concerns me. She wants to meet you in the sonogram room.”
At that, he leaned forward in the chair until his elbows touched his desk and he gave her a confused look.
“Is there something I should know?” he asked.
“You and me both,” she muttered in reply.
He continued to give her an odd look for a few seconds longer before he titled his he head some and raised his eyebrows in a gesture of acceptance. He then stood up and grabbed his doctor’s coat from where it hung on a stand behind him.
“Well then,” he said as he slipped on the coat, “let’s go find out together.”
Ann nodded in agreement as he walked around the desk and pushed the door open. Ever the gentleman, he let her exit first, following closely behind her. Their usual small talk was gone as they walked through the hallways, the implications of Kim’s request weighing heavily on both of them, but obviously much more on Dr. Possible. It what she suspected was true then it would not only change her daughter’s life, but also life for the entire Possible family.
When they arrived at the sonogram room, they found the three had already gone in and made themselves comfortable. The number of people threw Dr. Anderson off at first. He knew that Kim was going to be there of course, and had seen her best friend-turned boyfriend-back to best friend a few times before, but the pale skinned woman in the black and green cat suit had been a complete surprise. Judging by the way she was glaring at him he could tell that she really didn’t want to be here and that she really didn’t like doctors. Also the fact that she was the one sitting on the medical bed gave him the distinct impression that she was the one in need of a sonogram. Still he wanted to make sure.
“So,” he said cheerfully. “Who here thinks they’re having a baby?”
“Oh we don’t think we know. And it’d her,” Kim replied pointing to Shego.
“Thank God,” Mrs. Possible sighed, causing her daughter to give her a confused look. “I thought for a moment you had something foolish.”
“Mom! Give me a little more credit than that!” she screamed, her cheeks turning red.
“I know honey, but you have to admit this is all a little strange. I know you want to help people, but why someone who’s tried to kill you before?”
“It’s part of that long story I need to explain later.”
“Which you can deal with on your own time. Right now I have a patient I need to tend to,” Dr. Anderson said as he walked over to Shego.
Being as stubborn as ever, Shego inched away from him, causing the thin sheet of wax paper on the bed to crinkle under her movements. Dr. Anderson stopped mid-step and considered her for a second. Her actions seemed to confirm his earlier guess about her not liking doctors. Adjusting quickly the situation, he stayed the relatively short distance between them and stared intently at her stomach. Even this action seemed to make her fee a bit uncomfortable as she took her folded arms from underneath her breasts to cross over them. The more he looked at her though the more agitated she seemed to get as emphasized by the bouncing right leg crossed over her left.
“Get a good enough look yet, Doc?” she snarled.
“Honestly, no,” he replied calmly. “I’m trying to see how far along you are and judging by how little that suit leaves to the imagination I’m guessing, not much. Wanna help me out?”
She stayed silent for a moment. “A month.”
“Good, now we’re getting somewhere. So…do you know who the father is?”
Even as he asked the question, his head was subconsciously turning to look at Ron. This caused the other eyes in the room to be directed towards him as well, but he stayed oblivious to it for a few seconds longer. When he finally did hit as to why they’re look at him he let out a slight panicked yelp and threw his hands up defensively.
“No! Noooo! No, no, no, no!” he said, backing away from them.
“Please, don’t insult me!” Shego retorted.
“Alright, so if it’s not him then who is it?” Dr. Anderson asked again.
“Yeah…see that’s kind of the complicated part,” Kim spoke up.
“It’s Kim,” Shego said offhandedly, jerking her thumb towards the redhead.
Silence encompassed the room. The confusion and uneasiness surrounding the group seemed to drown out the noise from the rest of the hospital and place the sonogram room in its own private bubble. Kim’s cheeks flared red once more and she fidgeted around nervously as she could feel her mother’s shocked and questioning gaze burn right through her. She turned around slowly and tried to look as innocent as she could but she knew it wasn’t working. The stern look on her mother’s face demanded an answer right now and she just wasn’t sure she could come up with one.
Fortunately she was saved when the scratchy, rumbling sound of plastic wheels being moved across a title floor filled the room. Everyone watched as Dr. Anderson pulled the small chair up to the bed near where Shego was perched then sat hunched over with his elbows on the arm rests and his fingers tented in front of him, giving her an expecting look.
“Go on,” he prodded.
The pale woman squirmed a bit before she looked over to Kim for help. The plan backfired, however, when the red head sent her the exact same look while she discretely gestured to her mom with her head. Shego let out a hefty sigh before she looked at the doctor and again recounted the tale of Drakken’s “greatest scheme ever” and how she wound up in her current state. Dr. Anderson took a moment to digest the information then leaned back in the chair and rested his head on his left hand, his index finger prodding his lips in thought.
“Well,” he spoke up after a moment. “It’s definitely a unique situation, I’ll give you that.”
“And so much fun too!” Shego replied sardonically. “But can we just get on with this whole thing so I can go?”
“Shego!” Kim admonished.
“What!”
“No she’s right,” Dr. Anderson said, standing up. “After hearing that I really want to get this show on the road. So then,” he looked Shego up and down again. “How does the suit come off?”
“Usually a guy has to buy me a couple drinks first,” she remarked.
“Well you’re going to have to expose your stomach so I can do this right and since that thing looks pretty one piece…”
Again Shego sighed. “It zips down the front. But…uh…”
“Yes?”
“Like you said it doesn’t leave much to imagination and so…” she looked over at the other people in the room, specifically Kim, “doesn’t really leave room for anything underneath.”
“Ah. Alright, looks like we’re going have to clear the room.”
“Never took you for much of the modest type Shego,” Kim said.
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know Princess,” Shego countered.
“So I’m learning.”
“This is fun and all, but I need to be alone with my patient, so if you please…” Dr. Anderson said, making “shooing” motions with his hands.
The sound of squeaking shoes then filled the room as they slowly filed out. Kim cast one last glance at Shego before she closed the door behind her. It was only after hearing that securing “click”, that the raven haired woman undid her belt and set it aside before unbuttoning the collar to her suit then slowly sliding down the well hidden zipper. She laid down on the small, rather uncomfortable bed before she pulled the two halves of her costume back, sliding the tight material enough to expose her stomach and offer only a tantalizing view of the rest of her body.
“Sorry Doc, but this is all you’re getting,” she said.
“All I need really,” Dr. Anderson replied sonogram gel on her exposed stomach.
Shego gave a slight shudder when the cold, slimly gel first touched her skin, but quickly recovered and forced herself to calm down. At least she tried to stay calm, but seeing a doctor approach her with a strange looking device, caused a few bad memories to resurface and her body to tense when he place it on her stomach. She closed her eyes and repeated to herself mentally that that was all he was going to do and that it would all be over soon enough. She just had to be strong. Luckily being strong was one of the things she did best.
“Huh. Just as I thought,” the doctor’s voice caught her ear.
“What? What’s like you thought?” she asked, opening her eyes and lifting her head.
“It’s a baby,” he replied, matter-of-factly.
Shego groaned and laid her head back down.
Great, a doctor who think’s he funny, she thought.
“Anyway,” he spoke up again, “From what I can see here everything looks normal enough, but this early on it’s kind of hard to tell. Plus given the fact of just how this baby was conceived and your albinism…well we’re definitely going to have to run some tests later on.”
“Oh boy, just what I love; tests,” she muttered. She then noticed the other thing he said. “Wait, what was that about my skin?”
“Well, albinism is a genetic trait that can be passed on. Of course since the…well let’s say ‘father’ has normal skin pigmentation there’s a 50/50 change the baby will have it.”
“Ah. And what if the albinism isn’t really…normal?”
“Well albinism itself isn’t normal, but what are you talking about?”
She let out a small irritable groan at the fact that she was going to have to reveal yet another facet of her life with this complete stranger. She relented though and told him about the multi-colored meteor that crash through the tree house she and her brothers use to play in and gave them all a unique power. Power the used to help the citizens of Go City as the superhero group Team Go. She ended her tale with her departure from the team, leaving her activities from then on a little ambiguous though from her explanation of how she became pregnant; she assumed he could take a guess at them. Whether he did or not, she couldn’t tell because he kept the same neutral expression on his face throughout her story. If it did change it seemed more out of concern for her than shock or suspicion.
“So what kind of power did you get?” he asked.
In response, she held up her left hand and ignited her green plasma energy around it.
“Ah, well that is interesting. I take it you can control it then,” he ventured.
“Yeah,” Shego said, extinguishing the flame to emphasize the point. “OK Doc, I gotta admit it’s creeping me out a little how well you’re taking all this.”
“I’ve seen a lot of weird things in my time. Partly the reason for this,” he explained as he ran a hand through his short, prematurely grey hair. “But this isn’t about my problems, it’s about yours.”
“Aside from the obvious, what else is a problem?” she asked with a dangerous edge to her voice.
“Well I really don’t know what kind of effect these powers of yours are going to have on the baby. I’m definitely going to need a sample of your blood now as well as close examination of the baby later on. Say about…two months. That might give me a better idea of what we’re dealing with here.”
“And what if I decide not to go through with this?”
“Well three things will happen. One, a problem with your baby that we could easily fixed would go unchecked; Two, Kim would most likely bring you back here kicking and screaming anyway; and Three, I could call the police right now and tell them I have the person who stole a patient’s files right here.”
Shego gasped in surprise of the obvious threat. She really couldn’t tell what she was more surprised at though; the fact that he knew who she was this whole time or the threat itself. While the police chasing her was nothing new, running from them while pregnant was. Not mention the fact that Kim was waiting right outside the door and would no doubt chase her down the second she thought something was wrong. Even if she did manage to escape it would put her right back where started; confused, alone and with a baby on the way. So trying to run would just be stupid. She may be many things, but she was not stupid.
“How do Thursdays work for you?” she asked in a snide, yet sheepish tone.
“Just fine. So I’ll see you this coming Thursday for the primary blood work and then two months later for another look at the baby,” Dr. Anderson replied, nodding in satisfaction.
With the situation resolved, he handed her a towel to clean off the sonogram gel, which she did vigorously. She cleaned up as much of the sticky gel as she could then dropped the towel on the floor and zipped up her cat suit. She shuddered at the feeling of the remnants being pressed against her suit and her skin, but ignored it and fastened the top button followed quickly by the belt. She hopped off the table, stepped briskly over to the door and after flinging it open nearly trampled Kim and Ron as she marched into the hallway.
“I’m done, let’s go,” she said curtly.
“But what-” Kim tried to ask only to be cut off.
“I said let’s go.”
Kim gave her a confused look but shrugged it off and turned towards her mother.
“I guess I’ll be going now. Do you need a ride home?” she asked the older Possible.
“No I’m fine. Your father said he’d come pick me after work,” her mother replied.
“Alright,” Kim agreed before she gave her a small hug. “Could you…you know try to get him softened up for this? I mean, don’t just tell him cause I think I should do that but…get him ready I guess.”
“I’ll see what I can do Kimmie, but I’m not sure about all this myself.”
“Neither am I.”
Kim gave her mother another quick hug before turning and leaving with her group, Shego actually seeming to lead the charge. Ann Possible watched her daughter disappear into the sea of people still in the hospital and let out a large sigh. She really wasn’t sure how to explain the situation to her husband or even what was going to happen from here on end. She knew that Kim would attack it head on like she did with everything, but she didn’t think her daughter was ready to be a mother just yet. For that matter she wasn’t ready to be a grandmother just yet.
“Never a dull moment for you family, is there?” Dr. Anderson mused, breaking her thoughts.
“They are few and far between,” she said distantly.
Kim’s hands tightened around the wheel as she turned the corner into her neighborhood. As she drew closer to her destination she began to rethink her plan, such as it was. The feeling only intensified when she looked at the person in the seat next to her. After she had dropped off Ron, Shego insisted that she sit in front so she could more easily talk to the world saving cheerleader about what they’re going to do about their upcoming child. At least that’s what she assumed Shego was up do, but she hadn’t said a word since she repositioned herself. This left Kim to carry out the only thing she could think; take Shego home with her. An idea she was begging to regret. Unfortunately it was much to late to think of anything else because before she knew it she was pulling into the driveway of family’s home. She turned off the engine absent mindedly and simply stared into space for a moment.
“Well, here we are,” she finally said, still sounding a bit distant.
“And where’s here?” Shego asked, looking up at the decently sized home.
“My house.”
“You’re house? This is your house!” the pale woman cried out, leaning forward to look at the house again.
“Yeah…what about it?” Kim asked, suddenly feeling self conscious.
“I dunno, I guess I was expecting something more…Brady Bunch. You know, small, ranch style thing. This is actually pretty big.”
“Well mom’s a brain surgeon and dad’s a rocket scientist so we have a pretty good income.”
“I bet.”
“It’s not like I’m spoiled or anything.”
“Didn’t say you were.”
Kim let out a low, irritated growl before finally unbuckling her seat belt and practically throwing the door open.
“Come on, let’s go,” she barked.
“Go? Go where?” Shego asked, stepping out as well.
“Inside of course.”
Shego was about to offer protest when Kim suddenly moved around the car and grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her towards the house. She was about to ignite her free right hand and strike, but remembering what the doctor told her she stopped herself and merely thought about punching the annoying red head. That idea was halted as well and instead she simply snatched her arm away from the girl. When Kim gave her a questioning look she gave her an irritated glare in return. Kim sighed before she made a polite motion for the older woman to follow her, which surprisingly she did.
When they entered the house, Shego was taken aback when Kim crouched down and began searching the house as she would for traps in one of Drakken’s bases. In fact, everything about her body language from her couched position, her shifting eyes, and tense muscles, seemed to suggest that she was expecting trouble. This caused Shego to tense up as well and subconsciously stick close to the younger woman as she bolted from the front door up a set of stairs. She acted more on instinct than anything else and followed Kim’s gaze up and down the small hallway looking for any signs of trouble. Though exactly what kind of trouble she didn’t know. She just knew that when the all clear signal was given she followed the girl up another flight of stairs, this one leading into a modestly sized, very pink room. It was this sight that caused her to snap out of her sneaking mode and return to her pervious stated of confusion and irritation.
“Good, I don’t think they saw us,” Kim whispered as she cast a glance down the stairs.
“Who!” Shego demanded, placing her hands on her hips.
“My geeky little brothers,” she explained, calming down a bit. “The last thing I need right now is them seeing you and telling my dad you’re here before I do.”
“Uh huh. And why exactly am I here?”
“Because it’s part of my plan.”
“And that plan is…?”
“To beg my parents if you can stay…here,” Kim explained sheepishly.
“Stay here!” Shego replied, looking around the room.
“Well not ‘here’ here. This is my room. I just meant in the house. At least as long as the pregnancy lasts.”
“Yeah, don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“And why not?”
“Me and the whole family thing? Yeah, never really worked out for me. I mean, you’ve met my brothers.”
“This will be different. My brothers aren’t…quite as annoying as yours and my parents are pretty good at adjusting to weird things. Plus it will help us both out. You’ll have a place to stay while going through the pregnancy and I’ll be able to help out as much as I can. Come on? Please?”
Once again any protest Shego could muster was interrupted by Kim’s actions. This time, however, instead of grabbing her or speaking over her, the girl’s lower lip began to quiver while her eyes seemed to grow larger and saucer shaped. Her hands clasped together at her side as she continued to stare at the former evil sidekick, her large eyes giving off a sad and pleading look.
“W-what is that?” Shego asked, caught completely off guard. “Stop that. Whatever that is it’s not going to work. So just…stop.”
“What isn’t going to work?” Kim asked in a sappy, sweet tone.
“That…look, whatever you call it. Won’t work. So stop it. Right now. I’m serious.”
But the look didn’t stop. If anything it actually seemed to grow in intensity, causing the raven haired woman to squirm about uncomfortably. She closed her eyes and looked away but she could still feel it, boring right into her very soul. She braved cracking open an eye after a few seconds only to find “the look” still directly on her. With a cry of frustration she finally gave in.
“Fine! I’ll stay! Just stop doing that!” she cried out.
Instantly, Kim’s expression changed from pleading to victorious. Shego answered with one of annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Alright, what was that?” she asked.
“What?” Kim asked back.
“That look. What was that?”
“Oh, that’s just my Puppy Dog Pout. I use it when I really need to…uh…persuade people.”
Shego blinked. “Wow. You’re a lot more devious than I gave you credit for Princess.”
“Don’t turn it into something bad. It’s just…helpful.”
“Riiight.”
“Just drop it, alright?” Kim asked with a sigh. “And stay up here while I go downstairs and wait for my dad. I need to prepare him before I actually have you meet him. Though…I have no idea what I’m going to say.”
“I would just explain what happened. And when I say ‘I’, I mean you. I’ve explained it enough for one night thank you.”
“Fine, I guess that’s fair. Just try to be quiet until I come get you, OK?” she requested.
After getting a confirming nod from Shego, started to walk back downstairs, only to stop when a particularly nasty thought occurred to her. She did a half turn so she could glare back up at the older woman.
“And don’t go through any of my stuff!” she demanded.
“Yeah like I have nothing better to do than go through your frilly crap,” Shego retorted.
Kim narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but didn’t press the issue any further and continued on her way. Shego watched her out of the corner of her eye as she slowly faded from view. She craned her neck to peak past the stairs and when she could find no sign of the red head, a devious smile spread across her face. She had promised not to go through Kim’s frilly stuff but that didn’t mean the rest wasn’t fair game. A quick glance around the room told her the first place to start looking was the computer at the far end.
Smart little girl like Kimmie must have some kind of virtual dairy I can scan through, she thought as she made her way over to the desk. She stopped when she was about half way there. Of course she probably had that computer nerd of hers put in a ton of firewalls and security codes. Not that I couldn’t crack ‘em, it just seems like too much work right now. And I suppose I should be somewhat nice to her since she’s helping me. So no going through locked stuff. Doesn’t mean I still can’t look at what’s laying out.
Her new goal in mind, Shego pulled the computer chair over to another part of the desk which held on it a black, spinning CD tower. She sat down in the chair and began leafing through the titles, a task she soon came to regret.
“Oh Boyz, Britina, Sideally Guyz, LMNT?” She muttered, her face twisted in disgust. “I thought she’d have better taste than that.” She turned the tower to another side and found a pleasant surprise. “MC Honey, well that’s a good at least. Still, no way I’m letting my baby listen to the rest of this crap.”
As Kim descended the second set of stairs in the Possible household, she racked her brain for something she could tell her father about her current sitch. It wasn’t so much what to tell him as it was how to tell him. He had always been a little over protective when it came to her and dating so she was afraid telling him she was about to have a baby might drive him over the edge. Of course the fact that she was the “father” might help soften the blow but still…it was going to be hard for even her family adjust to.
Right as her right foot touched the carpeted floor, the two people in the world she least wanted to see right now appeared in front of her; her annoying, younger, twin brothers Jim and Tim. By the matching devilish grins on their faces she could already tell they were up to no good. Something she was definitely not in the mood for right now.
“So Kim…” Jim started up, sounding much too sweet.
“What!” she snapped.
“We heard you sneaking someone into the house,” Tim finished.
“Was it Ron?” Jim asked.
“Are you two making up?”
“More like making out!”
With that, they both began making exaggerated kisses noises. Kim growled as she balled her hands into fists and let all of the night’s confusion and frustration out in one loud roar as she dove towards her brothers. Years of annoying their sister prepared them for such a reaction and split second before she pounced, they were already running into the living room. She quickly recovered and chased after them faster than they, or even herself, had anticipated and she caught them right before they left the room. She hauled them up by the back of their shirts until they were eye level with her.
“Listen carefully Tweebs,” she soft in a soft growl. “You two are going to forget you heard anything and you are definitely not going to tell mom and dad. Especially dad. Got it?”
Having never seen their sister this mad at one of their pranks caused them to go silent in shock and they slowly nodded in agreement.
“Good,” she said and dropped them both.
Once they recovered from the sudden fall they looked up at her once more before running out of the room in fear of their lives. Kim waited until they were out of her views before she let out a large sigh and fell down onto the couch. She leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees as she rest her head in her hands, rubbing her temples to try and calm herself. It did little good to fend off the headache she felt coming on, but at least it was doing something and that’s all she wanted right now.
The peace was short lived, however, when the sound of front door being opened caught her attention. She turned to prop her right arm on the back of the couch to watch her parents enter the house. Any greeting she had to offer was cut off by her father’s angered rambling.
“…the nerve to tell me what I should be doing and that my rockets are inadequate for his needs,” Dr. Possible muttered as he stepped into the living room.
“Hi dad. Rough day?” Kim offered.
“Very,” he sighed as he fell down into his usual chair. “There’s a new head scientist in the A.I. department and he’s just so…”
The sentence devolved into a series of growls and angered choking noises. Kim looked to her mother to see if she could provide any answers, but the look her mother gave her told her she had already heard the story too much. Knowing that she couldn’t break her news to her father like this, she drudged on in hopes of calming him down.
“What happened to Dr. Freeman?” she ventured.
“When went to a private company when they offered him more money,” Dr. Possible explained.
“That’s odd; he didn’t seem like the kind that would chase money.”
“Normally, no, but this company was willing to put up with his…eccentricities.”
“Ah,” Kim nodded in understanding. “So this new guy’s not working out then?”
“Well yes and no. Dr. McCoy’s actually a genius in his field. The problem is he knows it and wants everyone else to know it as well. Even poor Vivian, who’s suppose to be his partner on the project.”
“Oh, that’s can’t be good.”
“Not at all. She’s already defensive about people not taking her seriously because of her looks and now she had to deal with some who cuts down her actual scientific work.” He sighed again and shook his head. “It’s just frustrating for all of us.”
Kim nodded silently as she leaned back against the couch. Her father seemed a little more clam now, but she still wasn’t quite sure it was time to break the big news. At the very least she had to think of a very delicate way to tell him so as not to set him off again.
“So, you’re mother said you had something to tell me,” he said, throwing her completely off guard.
“Uh…yeah. Well…you see…the thing is…” she stammered.
“Mom! Dad!” Jim and Tim shouted as they ran into the room through the kitchen. “Kim snuck someone up into her room!”
That was definitely not a delicate way to break the news. Kim glared at her brothers in pure, unfiltered rage and wanted nothing more than to jump over the couch and make them pay for their little outburst. Any thought of revenge was halted, however, when her dad’s own intense stare cut through the fog of anger. It forced her not only to come to her senses but also shrink back into the couch in uncertainty.
“Kimmie is this true?” he asked in a measured voice.
“Well…yes, but it’s not what you think!” she defended herself.
“And what is it I think?”
“James,” Mrs. Dr. Possible spoke up, placing a calming hand on her husband’s shoulder. “I think this has something to do with what she wanted to tell us.”
“You knew about this!” he cried indignantly.
“I know…some of it. Kim, why don’t you go upstairs and bring down your…friend,” she suggested, looking at her daughter.
Kim silently thanked her mother and then bolted up the stairs. She slowed her pace when she came to the stairs that led to her room, not quite sure what to expect from Shego. Thinking about it now, it seemed like a huge mistake the leave the woman who was as much of her arch rival as Drakken was alone in her bedroom, but she didn’t have much of a choice.
“Shego?” she called, stepping more fully into the room.
“Over here,” the other woman replied.
Kim looked in the direction the voice had come from and found Shego crouched down in front of a small display case that held some of her most cherished positions.
“You collect Cuddle Buddies?” Shego asked in disbelief as she quirked an eyebrow.
“Yeah, what’s so wrong with that?” Kim asked back, folding her arms over her chest.
“Nothing at all. Five years ago. And what’s with the music?” she pointed behind her to the tower.
“What’s wrong my music?”
“The Lion King soundtrack?”
“I like it!” Kim shot back. “And it’s not like any of this is really important right now.”
“Maybe not,” Shego agreed as she stood up. “But I just love to annoy you.”
“You’re doing a great job of it,” she muttered as she turned back to the stairs. “Now come on, I’m going to try and explain all this to my dad.”
“Oh boy, meeting the parents.”
Kim shot her another annoyed look to which Shego merely held up her hands to indicate she would stop. Satisfied, the younger woman led her down the two flights of stairs and into the Possible living room where her bewildered father waited. He watched carefully as they stepped in front of his chair and stood there before him as they were peasants asking a medieval lord for some favor. At least that was the impression Kim gave off with how jittery she was Shego on the other hand seemed rather disinterested in the whole thing as she stood with her hands on her hips and looking off the side. Dr. Possible didn’t speak for a few seconds longer as he tried to place where he had seen this unusual woman before.
“Kim isn’t that…” he asked, perfectly mimicking his wife’s tone earlier in the evening.
“Yes, this is Dr. Drakken’s former sidekick,” Kim explained, gesturing towards the woman.
“Former assistant,” Shego corrected.
“Right. Anyway, she’s here because she’s pregnant. With my child.”
Much like his words echoed his wife’s statement earlier so too did his actions as his eyes widened and a look of complete shock overcame Dr. Possible. He looked back and fourth between his daughter, his teenage daughter, and the older woman at her side. Even his usually brilliant mind, which had no trouble plotting launch vectors and mixing complex chemicals, couldn’t process this simple bit of information. It just seemed…impossible, a word he rarely ever used.
“H-how…” he managed to spit out.
“Drakken devised a retrovirus from her DNA that was suppose to infect me and make me pregnant but after a slight mishap, and a cut to my arm, Shego ended up the one with the baby instead,” Kim explained as succinctly as possible.
“And this isn’t some kind of joke?”
“Pfft! Only on me maybe,” Shego scoffed.
Kim tried to ignore her. “No it isn’t a joke, it’s actually happening.”
“It is,” Mrs. Dr. Possible added. “I was there tonight in the hospital when they went to see Rich and he confirmed it.”
“Alright,” Dr. Possible said, slowly taking it all in. “So…what exactly are you going to do now?”
“Well…I was kinda hoping that maybe, possible, Shego could stay here,” Kim suggested. “At least until the baby is born.”
“Yeah, then I’m out of here. And I want to point out that this wasn’t my idea to begin with,” Shego said.
The two older Possibles looked at each other in concern.
“I…don’t know,” Dr. Possible stated.
“Come on. Please?” Kim pleaded, her lower lip started to quiver.
“Don’t try that Puppy Dog Pout with me young lady!” he said sternly. “This is a very big decision. Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle it?”
“Of course. I can do anything, remember?”
“That’s what you say, but having a child is a big responsibility,” Mrs. Possible spoke up.
“Might I remind everyone that I’m the one actually having the baby?” Shego asked rhetorically. “Which means I’m the one that’s going to have to put up with all the weird cravings, and mood swings, and of course the labor pains which sound oh so fun!”
“Wait until you actually experience them,” Mrs. Possible muttered.
“I think what your mother is trying to say,” Dr. Possible spoke again, drawing their attention, “is that you need to be ready for what raising a child is going to be like. Both of you.”
At that thought, they both began to squirm uncomfortably. Shego shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she twiddled her thumbs behind her back. Kim kept her gaze moving throughout the room, looking at the ceiling, the floor, the furniture and anything else that prevented her from looking at her parents. She couldn’t look at them now, because she knew they were right. She had spent the last few hours convincing Shego to let her help her with the baby and never took a moment to think of just how she would help. Or even if she could. She just knew that she had to help, somehow.
“You’re right,” she said softly after a moment. “We really haven’t thought of what it’s going to be like to raise this child.”
“When did I ever say that?” Shego asked defensively.
“Well have you?”
She made a small scoffing sound but said nothing else.
“That’s what I thought,” Kim remarked then looked back to her parents. “So what better way to learn then to in a house with a wise, loyal, and caring family?”
The Possible parents looked towards each other again. They knew there daughter was laying it on a little thick, but they also knew she was right.
“Well alright, but don’t let this distract too much from your school work,” Dr. Possible told Kim then looked towards Shego. “And you, as long as you’ll be living under my roof, you’ll be following my rules. First and foremost, no fighting.”
“Like I’ll be in any condition to fight here in a few months,” Shego muttered.
“Come on, I’ll show you to the guest room,” Mrs. Possible spoke up, walking over to the pale woman.
Surprisingly, Shego offered little resistance as the elder female Possible led her through the house. As she imagined, their house was decorated with multiple family pictures depicting the kids through various stages in their lives, rather plain looking furniture and a surprisingly dull kind of blue/grey wallpaper. She half expected the walls to be some kind insanely bright color like sunshine yellow or something similar. Overall it wasn’t a bad house, but it had a sense of family comfort that made her feel uneasy. Maybe because it was such a big contrast to her own dysfunctional family. If she was really going to stay here though she needed to get use to the idea, though part of her still felt queasy about the whole “family bonding” thing.
She focused on the here and now when Mrs. Possible suddenly stopped in front of a doorway near the end of the hall. She pulled it open and flicked on the light then allowed Shego to step in first. When she did so, she wasn’t too surprised with what she saw. The room was a medium size and was decked out in the same color wallpaper as the rest of the house. There was a full sized bed in the middle of the room with a whicker basket at the foot which she guessed would be used for knickknacks or something. A dark oak dresser stood against the wall on the right side of the bed while on the left was a small bed stand with a single lamp on it. A few short feet across from the stand was the double door closet which for the moment she had no real use for. The only window in the room was tucked away in a small nook which also held a computer desk and rolling chair. Overall, it was a nice room but nothing really extraordinary, just average.
“I hope you like it,” Mrs. Possible spoke up.
“It’ll do. Have to get some stuff to put in there though,” Shego remarked then let out a surprise yawn. “But that can wait til later. Right now I need some sleep. It’s been a looong day.”
“For all of us,” the other woman agreed. “And you probably should get some sleep with your condition.”
“My condition. You make it sound like I have a disease.”
“If you start to think of it like that, you might start to regret your decision. True it’s going to be hard for awhile, but trust me when I say it’s worth it in the end.”
She added a soft smile with the statement that Shego couldn’t help but return. After Mrs. Possible excused herself, Shego closed the door and walked over to turn the bed lamp on. She then walked back to turn the main light off, leaving her belt on the whicker basket as she did so. When she made her way back to the bed she pulled back the red wine colored sheets and sat down on the white comforter. She pulled off her gloves and set them on the table before slipping off her boots and leaving them dumped on the floor. She quickly unzipped her suit past her breasts to make it more comfortable then laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling with her arms folded behind her head.
As she stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling, she replayed the day’s events in her head. She had gone from being the assistant to a mad scientist bent on taking over the world to the pet project of her former arch rival and her family. Well…maybe pet project wasn’t the right word but they were treating her like she was made of glass and it just didn’t sit right with her. Just because she was pregnant didn’t mean she was an invalid. She could still be helpful…somehow.
She sighed and placed a hand over her stomach. The Possibles were right about one thing, she did need to start thinking about how to raise this child. Kim seemed to be more than willing to help, but obviously she didn’t have more of a clue of what to do than she did. She was determined to make it work though, she wasn’t sure how but she would find a way.
But that was for later. Now the only thing she wanted to do was sleep. She reached over, clicked off the light then pulled the blanket over her and laid her head down further into the soft, down pillow. She closed her eyes and as she quickly fell into a peaceful slumber her last thought was of what tomorrow would bring.
To Be Continued…
Author’s Notes:And so ends chapter two. Or at least where I had to end chapter two seeing as it already ran 27 pages long. Hope it wasn’t too much for you all to read, but it was mostly dialogue so it should have moved fast. The remaining scenes that would have been in here will now be merged with chapter three so hopefully that will be up soon. Still making no promises. Oh and there was a small cameo scene in this chapter that was originally going to be one of two in here, but again the second one will be saved for the next chapter. Anyone want to guess as to what it was? Come on, try to guess. If not, look for the answer in the next author’s notes.
Now is usually the place I would respond to my reader’s reviews, but I was told by my girlfriend that FF.N doesn’t allow authors to do that anymore. Whether or not that’s true I don’t want to take the chance on it. There’s also the fact that there’s just too many reviews to respond to individually. Not that that’s a bad thing mind you. In fact, I want to thank all of you out there. I knew the Kigo pairing had a strong following but I NEVER expected this! I mean…damn! Not only the most reviews I’ve gotten on a fic up here but also the most hits. Over a thousand! For one chapter! I just want to thank you go so much for all the support. I’m touched. Surprised, but touched. Thanks.