I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.
After the conversation with her parents Kim and Shego headed to the TV room for a Mythbusters marathon, and almost immediately fell asleep again on the couch.
Kim's cell phone woke them up.
“Hullo?”
“Kim, how are you doing? Anything I can do to help?”
“I'm fine, Monique, wonderful, really.”
Kim held the phone to Shego's ear. “Don't believe her Monique. Kim is possessive and manipulative. She won't let me go. Help me!”
Kim brought the phone back to her how ear, “See why I'm feeling wonderful?”
“For sure, GF. Can I take the two of you out for coffee tonight?”
“Thanks, but later… Oh, make it much later -- a month or so. I'll explain next time I see you.”
The two were still awake, watching Buster the crash test dummy suffer more bizarre indignities, when the phone rang the next time. Kim looked at the ID, “It's Ron,” she giggled, passing the cell to Shego, “push the green button to talk.”
“Good afternoon, this is Kim Possible's new cuddle toy. You may leave a message at the sound of me hanging up, ‘cause Kim and I don't care what you have to say.” A small ‘click’ signaled Shego having disconnected.
“Shego! That was rude. Ron is my friend.”
“Oh, come on Pumpkin. I bet he sets a record getting over here to make sure you're safe. I just gave his feet wings.”
“And you want him over here?”
“No, I want him to leave us alone and you to smother me with kisses. Damn it, Kim, can you stop asking me questions until the truth ray wears off?”
“Well, I know one way to keep me from talking.” After several minutes without conversation they were startled to see Ron watching them in amazement.
“Stoppable, will you please work on a noisy walk!”
“Okay, Shego and Kim swapping spit. Now I believe it. I'm going to start knocking before I go into any room you two are in.”
Ron didn't stay long. He still hadn't decided whether to be happy for Kim, or very, very afraid.
“We can't let her go back until the truth ray wears off. Dr. Drakken could learn all kinds of… stuff,” Kim warned her parents later in the afternoon.
“Okay, Shego, you are welcome to stay -- in the guest room. And you'll let us know when the truth ray wears off? I don't plan on you moving in.”
“Believe me Jean, I want this to wear off. I hate the feeling. I'll lie to you just as soon as I can.”
“Somehow that doesn't sound very reassuring.”
In the evening, after a couple rubbers of bridge, the adults went to the TV room and wrestled the remote away from the tweebs for a History Channel program on Surgery in Ancient Egypt.
The Drs. Possible sat together on the couch while the twins, bored with the lack of explosions plotted revenge for Kim's treatment of them a few weeks earlier -- they were a little too in awe of Shego to extend their revenge to her. Jim and Tim tackled Kim and began to tickle her. Shego initially came to Kim's aid, then in a surprising switch in allegiance held Kim's arms and let the boys tickle her.
Jean watched the young people romp on the floor more than she watched her program. According to Kim Shego had younger twin brothers herself, they would probably have been about the age of Jim and Tim when Shego had left home. Jean felt she was watching Shego revert back to an earlier, gentler version of herself. She truly wished she could see any hope for a relationship between this odd, pale young woman and Kim.
An hour after people had gone to bed there was a loud, “KIM!” The shriek brought the Drs. Possible running down the hall into the guest room. Throwing the light switch revealed a startled Shego, and Kim -- sitting on the bed grinning.
“Kimberly Ann Possible! What are you doing here?”
“Well, you made Shego promise to sleep in the guest room. You didn't make me promise to sleep in my room. And if I can't see her for a month I want to hold her tonight.”
“James, you deal with her. I'm too angry.”
After his wife left James passed judgment. “Shego, this isn't your fault. Jean is probably devising some horrible punishment for Kim at the moment, and if it doesn't entail boiling oil or molten lead Kim deserves it. I don't care if the two of you sleep here -- as long as that is all you do. You remember the compromise. Are you going to keep your word?”
“I promised Dr. Possible. I don't want to cause any more problems in your family.”
“Kim, please control yourself. I don't like trusting a wanted criminal more than my own daughter. Your mother is really on the edge with you right now. If you stay in here you will leave the door open and the hall light on because Jean will check on you. But it will be better for everyone's future happiness if you keep the spirit as well as the letter of the law and go back to your own room.”
He left, leaving the room light on.
“Kim, I… I… I… The damn inhibitor won't let me say I want you to go back to your room. But you should. I'm as excited about this as you are, but you know how I'm not speaking to my family -- don't lose yours. They love you too much for that, you love them too much.”
Shego had apparently taken a stronger dose of the truth ray than Kim had been exposed to. On Sunday morning she still couldn't tell a lie, but had progressed to the point she could at least remain silent instead of blurting out the truth. But she did answer honestly the question Jean Possible asked.
“Would you like to go to church with the family?”
“No thank you.”
“Can I stay home with her, Mom?” Her mother's glare answered that. “Just thought I'd ask.”
When the two were alone Kim begged, “Please, Shego, I think if you go with us Mom won't be as hard on me after you leave.”
“I don't do charity, I get paid to do a job.”
“I'll pay. Three months and you will be rewarded.” Kim whispered in her ear, “Remember, I heard your wish list yesterday.”
“I don't do dresses.”
“That's okay, I can loan you slacks and a top.”
When they got home from church Jean told her sons, “Boys, change clothes before lunch! Shego, it was very nice to have you with us. You have a beautiful voice. Kim, you are still in trouble. You need to change too. James, help Shego and me set the table.”
“Jean, you bought an awful lot of take-out. I don't think Kim and I will be eating as much as we did at breakfast yesterday.”
“Oh, you've never been here for Sunday lunch. Any minute--”
“Oooh, Mrs. Dr. P. Chinese take-out. Smells wonderful! Did you get enough fortune cookies for everyone?”
“Hello, Ron. Your timing is excellent. Would you like to join us?”
“So, does Stoppable come with Kim?”
“I'm afraid so, it's a package deal.”
“It makes me wonder about a long term commitment.”
Jean drove Shego down to the hospital for blood work that afternoon. Kim rode along, unwilling to let Shego out of her sight for any longer than necessary.
“Thank you Shego,” Jean said as she wiped the pale woman's arm with a swab and put a bandage over the spot where she drew blood.
“No problem. I want you to have that assurance. You might want to include some sort of note with the sample though. No one has really figured out how the comet changed my brothers and me, but the blood chemistry will look odd to whoever does the lab work. Maybe that's why I usually heal pretty fast -- human diseases don't know how to cope in my body.”
“So you might not be human?”
“Only if it makes it easier for you to accept Kim and me.”
The neural inhibitor wore off late Sunday afternoon. Shego suffered her own small bout of intoxication with life as she regained control of her brain and tongue. She gave Kim a big hug, “Princess, I hate you.” - kiss- “I really hate you!” -kiss- “I hope I never see you again.” -kiss- “I think you have lousy taste in girlfriends.” -kiss-
“Break it up or I'll throw a bucket of cold water on the two of you.”
Shego grabbed Kim's father and kissed him on the cheek, “I can lie again! You are a lousy bridge player!”
Back in uniform, Shego said her good-byes. Kim didn't want to let go, but Shego reminded her the month apart couldn't begin until they were actually apart. “Here's my number… Please don't let the boy genius have it.”
Monday morning the housing office put Kim on the waiting list for a dorm room, number thirty-seven.
“Pretty hopeless, right?’
“Not necessarily. There are always a number of no-shows -- students who enroll and never show up. Usually it's only in the mid-twenties, but some years we've had almost fifty spaces open up. We can keep you on the list for second semester also. But keep calling back, it can take a week or so to get straightened out.”
Kim's first college class began at 9:00 on Tuesday, English Comp. Signing up for the same section as Monique may have been a mistake since the two spent more time whispering to each other about Kim's weekend than listening to the professor. Kim killed three hours with a visit to the library and lunch in the student union before a section of Western Civ. with Ron. The housing office informed her she had gone to twenty-three on the list.
“The first two days usually have the greatest numbers of no-shows and drops. It can take as long as three weeks before everything is clear,” they explained.
On Wednesday Kim had moved to number eleven.
On Thursday number nine.
On Friday, five.
The housing office called on Sunday, “Miss Kimberly Possible?”
“Sorry, Kim is over with a friend. This is her mother. May I take a message?”
“Your daughter was hoping to move into a dorm room. There is one available -- although I feel I should tell you that another woman had been assigned that room and requested a move, oh, make that two women moved out after meeting the young woman who would be your daughter's dorm mate. Because they were already in the system we honored their requests for transfers first. I thought I should warn you.”
“Thank you. She will take it. How soon can her father and I move her in?”
“Any time -- this evening if you would like.”