Kim's seven days were spent in the county jail, a place which made the run-down flat in Havana look posh in comparison. She was able to bring in a pile of books; at least she'd be able to catch up on some reading.
Ron came in to see her during afternoon visiting hours. “I was going to bring you a hacksaw blade inside a burrito,” he told her. “But I got hungry and ate it.”
“You ate the burrito?”
“No, the hacksaw blade. High in iron, low in fat.”
Kim smiled, wondering if anyone but Ron could have gotten a smile out of her.
There was in another woman in the women's detention area Kim's first two nights. On the third night Kim was roused from her sleep by a noise at the cell door.
Her guest startled her, “What are you doing here,” Kim hissed.
“Doh, I'm picking the lock. We need to talk for a minute and this is a good time.”
Shego pulled the cell door shut behind her and sat down on the metal bench bolted to the wall. She gingerly rubbed her stomach. “Breaking into this place is almost as hard as breaking out. Or maybe it's just that my abs won't be back in shape for a long time.”
Kim propped herself up on one elbow and stared at Shego, “I repeat, why are you here?”
“I needed to talk with someone about your bastard--”
“Don't call her that!”
“She's my daughter, your bastard,” Shego spat. “You dumped me, remember?” She fell silent for a minute, closing her eyes and wondering how to continue. Finally she spoke, “Look, I figure I'm not a fit mom--”
“Got that straight.”
Shego glared at her, “I want what's best for the kid. And being raised by single mom like me with the media watching her like she's a freak is not what's best.”
Kim was silent for a moment, “So what are you thinking about doing?”
“I'm not sure. I sure as hell don't want your parents raising her -- not after the job they did with you. Maybe I can find some way to put her up for adoption where she won't know who her parents are… Where nobody will know who her parents are. I don't know… What's it like to know you're adopted? I figure if other kids know they make fun of you, but hell, kids have been bullying other kids for a long time. Poor kitten would probably have it worse growing up with just me. Either everyone knows about us -- hell, that will get her treated like a freak. Or I move to some place where no one reads newspapers to raise her and she asks me to tell her about her daddy.”
“You really care about her, don't you?”
“Yeah, kinda weird, isn't it? I couldn't wait for her to be born so I could get rid of her, but now that she's here I don't want to.”
“What do you want to do with your life?”
“Hell, I don't know the answer to that one either. Dropping out of Team Go sounded good years ago, but the life of crime isn't as fun as I thought it'd be. With the pardon I can go anywhere again without looking over my shoulder for you…” She wished she hadn't said that, but Kim seemed to miss the implications.
“Going to get a job?”
“Maybe, I don't know. God, Kim, being a celebrity pays better than crime. Do you know how much money I've made since the kid was born? I wouldn't have to work -- but I think just sitting around would drive me crazy.”
“Who could tell the difference?” Kim asked with a smile.
Shego grinned back, “Point for the redhead. Seriously, Kim, the money is another issue. I'd like her to have most of it, but put her up anonymously for adoption with a couple million? That would get the creeps wanting to adopt her. And if people know where the money is coming from she's got the whole freak thing. And I want her to have all you'll pay in support… I don't know if you have to pay if I put her up for adoption. And I want you to pay. But I don't want her to know --”
There was a sound of a door latch and Shego hit the floor and rolled under the bunk. Kim casually tossed the blanket over the edge of the cot so that it covered the pale woman as the policewoman looked in. She noticed Kim was still awake, “Are you all right?”
“Just fine.”
“Sorry we had to hold you.”
“You're just doing your job,” Kim prayed the woman wasn't in the mood to be chatty.
“Okay, just holler real loud if you need anything.”
“Thanks, good night.”
“Good night.”
With the sound of the latch clicking Shego crawled out from under the bunk, “They were never that concerned about me,” she complained.
“You aren't exactly local hero,” Kim said.
Shego refrained from pointing out that the fact Kim sat in jail raised questions about whether the redhead still deserved the title or not. The pale green woman just wanted up off the floor, and had trouble getting up. She would be uncomfortable for weeks after giving birth. Finally Kim extended a hand to help her.
It felt like an electric current ran through the pale woman's body at Kim's touch. She stood for a minute, enjoying the sense of Kim's hand in her own. “Are you okay?” the redhead asked.
Shego dropped the hand and quickly sat back down on the bench, “Yeah, just fine. Thanks. Any thoughts?”
“I'm not a lawyer. Can you set up an escrow or a blind trust or something?”
“I'm no lawyer either. I guess I should have talked with one instead of you.”
“No, I appreciate any company, even you. And thanks for asking. Tell me, how is she?”
Shego's face lit up with a smile, “She's beautiful, Kim. She's got your eyes and she already has a laugh that… None of your damn business.”
The two women glared at each other for a minute, the conversation clearly having died. “Don't the door hit your ass on the way out.” Kim punctuated the sentence by rolling over in her bunk and closing her eyes. In the morning Kim wondered if it had been a dream. And she wondered if she should have told the policewoman of Shego's visit, although she wasn't sure of the penalty for breaking into jail.