When it all comes down to it, I know I hate them. I know I do, but it’s not the same kind of hatred as I feel for others. It’s the strangest thing. Maybe I don’t really hate them, but if it’s not hate then what is it?
Shego sat with her father and brothers in the hospital waiting room for an undetermined amount of time; really, a minute was too long in their collective opinion because they wanted to know the condition of their family members. Eventually, they were told that they could go see their mother and the twins, but each patient was only allotted one visitor. Her father and brothers went into see their mother and the twins.
The pale woman tried not think about anything while she waited for her chance to see her family. She decided not to ask any questions when her father and brothers came back, if the bastards came back anyway. She detested being cordial toward those selfish pricks and had she been thinking clearly, she would have told them that she was going in alone and first and if they had a problem with it, they could kiss her ass before she kicked theirs. Damn her family, she thought with a huff.
After a while, she lost her patience and went to see what the hell was going on and why no one was coming back. She saw Mego running his mouth despite the fact that she could see Walter was actually hurt and did not need to hear their brother’s mess. She glanced at Wallace, who appeared to be sleeping, not that her idiot other brother noticed. She then looked over at her parents, who seemed to be having a moment, which made her guess that her mother was not critically injured in any way. She decided to save the twins from their brothers.
“Mego,” Shego said.
“Oh, hey, sis. I was just telling Wally about the article I’m writing,” Mego reported.
“Yeah, personally, I don’t think Wally gives a shit. But, there was a kid in the waiting room dumping shit on your last article,” Shego lied. She did not even know what the last article was that the middle sibling wrote.
“What?” the lilac-skinned young man huffed and he rushed back out to the waiting room with the intent of depending his writing. It did not occur to him that he did not even know who the person was that his sister was going on about.
“Thanks, sis,” Walter said in a tired voice.
“Don’t thank me. I’m just looking to hurt his feelings whenever I can. So, tell me what happened,” she commanded.
“Oh…” Walter replied and his ruby eyes seemed to search the air for a moment.
“Take your time, kid. How’d you get all banged up?”
“Protecting Mom. I truck smashed into her side. It’s hard to remember, but I think we made some copies and they got dinged up…”
“I know how it works, kid. You might not get as hurt as a copy when it gets hit, but eventually, the dings add up. Get some rest, big head. I’ve got to hurt Hego’s feelings,” she commented.
Walter smiled a bit, knowing that Wallace needed help from their irksome big brother; he would have laughed, but he was too tired. Shego went over to Hego and listened to him reliving the stupid old days. She could not believe how the man clung to the past like a float in the middle of the ocean. She would think that once a man noticed that his younger brothers were more successful than he was, even with two of them still being in school, he would try to do something more profound with his life. But, no, not their eldest brother.
What did Hego do? He was the manager of a Bueno Nacho. How sad, Shego thought. Mego was a critic, the Wegos were college students and they published an underground comic book while Hego asked if people wanted to “grande” size their meals or wanted to know if they had enough diablo sauce. Something was not balanced there and Hego did not seem to notice. He was too stupid to even try to think of something obvious like becoming a cop; he was such a moron, Shego thought.
“Hey, goon,” the emerald-eyed female said.
“What is it, sis?” Hego inquired.
“Wally’s sleeping, you nimrod. Leave him alone. He was just in a major car accident,” the green-skinned woman pointed out. Could Hego be any dumber than to bother Wallace after all of the trauma the kid went through? She doubted that it even crossed his mind how worn out the kid had to be.
“Oh, I just thought he’d like to know we’re here,” Hego explained.
“He’s sleeping. Leave the damn kid alone. Let him recover a bit. Just get the hell away from him,” Shego ordered.
“Look, I’m—” Hego started to say in voice that swore he was in charge. She was going to have to teach him one day that he was not the boss of anyone.
“Hego, don’t make me hurt you. Leave the kid alone. You’re not doing a thing for him,” she pointed out.
The former hero conceded, knowing that his sister was not making an idle threat. He left while she glanced at the dozing twin. She did not bother him and glanced over to her parents. Her mother looked fine, but she decided to not go and confirm since her parents seemed to be into each other at the moment.
Everyone was alive and relatively well, so Shego figured that she was in the clear. She had done her part by showing up and she had actually seen everyone. She decided to leave; after all, she had a pet to get home to.
Shego went to outside and noticed that it was pitch outside. She looked around and checked her watch; it was almost midnight. She got in her car and stared down at her keys before she put them into the ignition. She noticed the key to Drakken’s swinging a bit. She started the car and glanced down at the key every few seconds.
Shego sighed as she put the key in the door. She tried to ignore the rundown feeling that was building in her system. She silently opened and closed the door. She crept into the back of the apartment, showered, and eased into bed, her bed. It seemed rather big and empty to her at the moment. She tried to ignore it, but after nearly an hour of tossing and turning, the feeling persisted.
The law enforcement agent eventually got out of bed, annoyed that she could not fall asleep and that the feeling was not going away. She went into the kitchen and tried to find something to eat, but nothing caught her eye, which was all right because she was not really hungry anyway. She made herself some tea, but she did not drink it. It felt suffocating for some reason and she felt as if she could not breathe for some reason.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” Shego wondered as she went out into the living room. She sat down on the sofa, hoping to catch her breath. She clutched her chest with one hand and rested her hand in the other. She did not dare think that the emotions of the day might have caught up with her. It was not that big a deal, she told herself; besides, everyone was fine.
It took several minutes before Shego even considered standing up. She checked the clock on the wall to see that it was three in the morning. She shook her head; she needed to get some sleep because she had work in the morning. She did not want to get back into her bed, though. She then happened to glance at the ladder that led to the loft.
“This is the dumbest shit I could possibly do. I really need to get some sleep to have let that stupid idea even enter my head,” Shego said to herself.
The pale woman walked out of the living room, fully intent on going back to her bedroom. She reached out and grabbed one of the bars to the loft’s ladder. Before she even knew it, she was climbing up to the area. She glanced around, able to make out some books and other junk; her pet was messy. By the wall in the corner, she spied a blanket with a lump underneath it. She crawled over to that space and, as expected, she discovered her pet peacefully resting.
Shego slid in next to Kim on the thin, but comfortable mattress, and noticed that there was only one pillow. She took over the pillow by gently moving the sleeping redhead onto her. Kim made a small noise, but she did not wake up. Shego held onto the girl in between the way a person would hold a lover and a teddy bear. It only took a few minutes for the older woman to fall asleep.
Kim woke up and immediately noted that she was resting on her mistress. For a moment, she was very confused. She recalled going to sleep in her own bed last night because her beloved owner had not come in; she assumed that Shego was spending the night with that blue dolt again. Then she noticed that she was in the loft and in her own bed; apparently, her memory was correct for the most part. But, she was still extremely perplexed.
The redhead considered that her master might be drunk again to explain why the elder female was in her bed, but Shego did not have a hint of alcohol scent on her. She was not sure what to make the new predicament; Shego had never gotten into her bed before. She was about to move, but the green-skinned woman held her tighter.
“Stay with me,” Shego requested in a low, but clear voice. Her eyes were still closed; she might have just been talking in her sleep. It did not matter; Kim stayed right where she was, right where her keeper needed her to be.
Kim was lounging on the sofa upside down while channel surfing; she was not even sure why she was doing that. She was waiting patiently for dinner to be ready; she had made it a point to be extra good for her mistress all day long because she knew that something was weighing on the older woman. She had not asked what that something might be because she did not want to embarrass Shego by bringing up the fact that she had crawled into her pet’s bed.
There was a knock at the door and Shego called to her girl to answer it. The redhead flipped off of the couch and trotted to the front of the apartment. She opened the door and smiled when she saw who was standing there.
“Mrs. Gooding,” Kim grinned. And then she noticed the bandage on the older woman’s face. “What happened?” she asked curiously while pointing to the bandage.
“Oh, it’s nothing, dear,” Isabel tried to assure the redhead.
“Are you sure? It looks pretty bad,” Kim noted.
“Oh, no. It’s nothing. Is your mistress home?” the older woman inquired in a slightly amused voice. She was very entertained by the relationship that Kim had with her daughter and it typically showed in her voice.
“Yeah, she’s in the kitchen,” the girl answered.
Isabel nodded and Kim closed the door once the older woman was in the house. The girl took Isabel’s jacket for her and then retreated back to the sofa to return to her upside down television watching. Isabel went to the kitchen and saw Shego milling about the place.
“Shego,” her mother said, which caused the green-skinned woman to turn around. She arched an eyebrow at her mother’s presence.
“Mommy,” Shego said in a clipped tone.
“I didn’t get to see you last night.”
“You looked happy with seeing Dad,” Shego commented. She did not feel like putting up with her mother if the woman was injured anyway. She knew that her mother, thinking that she was some kind of super woman, probably would be very snappy while hurt; Shego knew that she would be snappy if she was wounded.
“I was,” Isabel confirmed. She doubted that her children knew or would even believe that she and Jason could get along quite civilly more often than not. “I’m glad someone managed to get in touch with you.”
“Who was that anyway that called me? He didn’t even tell me his name.”
“He was the nurse that was looking after me. I asked him to take thirty seconds out of his life to call you because I know that nobody else would and I thought you might like to know,” the older woman explained. Shego nodded to show that she understood.
“Where’s Wally?” the daughter inquired. She figured that those nutty match-heads would be with their mother, meaning they would know where she lived and they were the last people that she wanted to know where her apartment was located. She would never be able to get rid of them if they knew where she lived and she would just have to move to avoid the annoyance.
“They’re still in the hospital. Wallace broke his shoulder and Walter bruised a few ribs. The doctors decided to keep them for another day. They saved my life and they got hurt in the process. My baby boys…” the older woman choked back a sob. She did not wish to show any gushy emotions; at least, not without being in complete control of her emotions.
“It’s all right, Mommy. They’re okay and you’re okay, which is the important thing. Besides, Wally’s tough and young. They’ll bounce back like they always do. They’re good. You’re good. Move on,” Shego replied in dismissive tone.
“I’m supposed to protect them,” Isabel argued.
“Mommy, if you came here for abuse, I’m not going to oblige. I mean, believe me, I’d like to kick you while you’re down, but this is too low for me. They’re grown now. They’re like twenty or something like that. Let them act like men and protect you every now and then like they did. If you let them stay mama’s boys, they’ll end like Hego. Well, not that bad, but something like it. Don’t worry about the brats so much,” the law enforcer stated.
“Those are my baby boys, though.”
“Like I said, they’re grown men. Let the brats go for a second or so and see what happens. They might surprise you. Are they still at the hospital?” the younger woman inquired.
“Yes, they are.”
“All right. How’d you get here, Mommy?” Shego asked curiously.
“I took a cab. Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone where you live,” Isabel replied with a small smile. She knew that was what her daughter was worrying about.
“Good to know. So, you’re cool?” Shego inquired.
“I’m fine. Only some cuts and bruises.”
“See, fine brats you got there. So, you want to stay for dinner?” Shego offered, but made sure to make it sound like the words hurt her to say.
Isabel smiled a bit and accepted the gruff invite. She thought that it would be nice to see her daughter interact with her little pet some more. Their relationship fascinated the older woman. She liked seeing someone that was able to put up with her irritable daughter, but she also liked to see that Shego was capable of almost openly caring about someone. She was glad that Shego was allowing someone to make her happy, even if she did not know it or did not acknowledge; the same could be said with her being affectionate toward her little pet.
Isabel had to make sure not to smile through out dinner. Shego fixed Kim a plate, but her mother to fend for herself, as her mother expected. Isabel just noted the way the two were around each other, how Kim played to Shego’s ego, but not in a kiss-up way. She could tell that Kim was genuine in her delight with being with Shego and it was easy to gather that the green-skinned woman enjoyed the attention and affection because she still had Kim. Isabel just doubted that her daughter looked at things that way.
Isabel did wonder if her daughter would ever acknowledge her relationship with Kim as something beyond that as master/pet. Did Shego realize how important that girl was to her, the older woman wondered. She supposed that the significant thing was that her daughter kept the little redhead around and everything would eventually work out.
(New Day)
“Hey, sis!” the Wegos grinned as Shego entered the hospital room with Kim on a leash. They had gotten plenty of looks from those that noticed them as they went to the room, but no one said anything.
“What’s up, losers?” Shego replied. “How they treating you in this loony bin?”
“We got scars,” they informed their sister with smiles on their faces and they lifted their shirts to show off how they had twin scars across their abdomens.
“Could you two be any stupider?” Shego inquired. What were the odds of them getting the same exact scars, she wondered.
“Chicks dig scars,” they both stated.
“You keep telling yourselves that. I brought you morons some cookies,” Shego reported while putting down a box on a table that was in between the boys.
“What kind?”
“Poison,” she answered simply.
“Oatmeal,” Kim assured the twins.
“Our favorite,” they said with grins.
“So, Princess, do we get a gift from you too?” Walter asked, a lecherous smirk coming on his face in almost an instant.
“We are heroes, after all,” Wallace added to help pressure the female redhead into giving them something.
“You saved Mommy, not the world,” Shego remarked. The boys did not even know that they were dealing with a real hero.
“Mom is our world,” Walter argued.
“Totally,” Wallace concurred.
“Sounds solid to me. Here, for saving your world,” Kim said and she kissed each boy on the cheek, which caused them to grin. They then created a dozen other Wegos.
“Don’t forget…” Walter started.
“…To kiss them,” Wallace finished.
Shego rolled her eyes; leave it to them to take something simple too far. “Cut it out, you clowns. You always take things overboard,” she commented.
“Okay, we’ll be good…” Walter began.
“…If you let us hold the leash,” Wallace ended the deal.
“Hell, no. She’s my pet, slime,” Shego informed them.
“Selfish,” the twins grumbled. They doubted that they would ever see a sexier sight than a girl on a leash. They wondered why Kim would put up with such a thing; well, they would wonder why if they both were not so busy imagining holding her leash with her kneeling before them. Yeah, their minds were having all sorts of wild, freaky fantasies thanks to seeing Kim on a leash.
“When do you two fools get out of here?” Shego asked the ruby-eyed pair.
“Tomorrow,” they both answered.
“What are you two doing messing around in Go City anyway? Don’t you have school and crap?”
“Yeah, but we’re thinking about moving back into town when school is done,” Walter replied.
“It’s a great art town. Mom was helping us look at neighborhoods because we sort of forgot how Go City is,” Wallace explained.
“Well, good luck to you goofs. Stay away from the south side because every neighborhood there is hell. Oh, and make sure you don’t come looking for me or I’ll break your legs,” Shego threatened them.
“Why?” the duo whined. What was the point in living in Go City if they could not bug their older sister? They would have to find work or something.
“You want to end up here again with matching scars?” she inquired.
“Good point,” they conceded.
(New Day)
Kim was minding her own business, chasing after a rogue elephant that had escaped from a small circus. Her Kimmunicator went off and she answered it while borrowing a skateboard to keep up with the elephant. She looked at the Kimmunicator screen since Wade did not show up; it read that she had an incoming call from Josh Mankey.
“Hey, Josh,” she greeted him.
“Hey, Kim,” he replied.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
“I was hoping to get together with you and talking some things over.”
“I’m not in Go City right now. How about tomorrow?” she proposed.
“All right. How about noon?” he added.
“Sounds good. Where?”
“In the park by the fountain. We can walk around and talk,” he figured.
“Gotcha. Check you then.”
“Later, Kimbo,” he said and she could just picture him smiling while saying that.
The redhead disconnected the call and turned her attention back to the runaway elephant. How does one stop a huge, angry African elephant from charging without a tranquilizer dart? Kim was not too sure, so she was going to use her typical trial and error system because it worked in math. She wondered what Josh wanted from her; she would find out tomorrow.
(New Day)
“Hey, Josh,” Kim greeted the young man as she caught sight of him in Go Park by the fountain.
Josh was dressed in all blue for some reason. He had colored his hair again, a bright crimson where the blonde had once been. One day, she believed that she was going to see him and he was going to be bald. He just did everything on a whim, so she felt that one day he would impulsively shave his head. She doubted that he was would look nearly as cute as he was if he shaved his head.
“Hey, Kim,” Josh greeted her with one of his usual charming smiles. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“How’s everything going? Ready for school?” she asked.
“Everything is slightly cool. I wanted to talk to you about school, though. Want to walk and talk?” he proposed.
“Sure,” she agreed.
The pair started off walking through the park. Josh explained that he registered for a biology class because of the school requirements; he needed four sciences classes and he had only taken one since he started college. He was hoping that Kim would help him out because he knew that when he signed up for the class that he had no chance in passing without her. She had no problem with helping him get a decent grade, but she had to explain that she would help him, but she would not cheat for him.
“So, if you have papers or projects, I’m not doing them,” Kim informed him.
“Deal. I’ve got to learn to walk on my own sometime,” Josh remarked with another one of his infamous smiles.
“I also won’t sleep with you no matter how many times you flash me that cute smile,” she told him with an elfish smile of her own.
Josh laughed. “Damn, I was sure that would work.”
Kim a bit chuckled herself, even though she suspected that he was not joking around as much as he pretended to be. They continued walking and talking, even though they had gotten what Josh wanted to talk about out of the way. They eventually left the park. They strolled down the street, exchanging witty banter.
Shego and Doctor Director were out for lunch at a café that was not too far from their precinct; damn slow crime weeks, they both thought. They were sitting at one of the tables outside. Shego happened to glance up the street as what looked like a couple walked toward them. She then noticed that the girl in the couple was her little monster. What the hell was her rascal doing out with some boy, she thought with a huff while scowling. And what the hell was he doing smiling at her pet like that?
Next time: Shego gets to meet Josh and hate Josh. She also learns a bit more about her pet’s past.