A quick word of thanks to those of you who have taken the time to write a review.

Spectre666 was kind enough to find an error in my writing that I missed in proofreading Thanks again for the help.

How to Save a Live

By

Iffert's Flame

Chapter 3

Slowly, Shego awoke from her slumber. She felt as if she had gone twenty rounds with Kim Possible and had lost each and every one of them. Assessing herself without much movement she could tell that she was going to have a heck of a time getting out of bed. Looking around the room she could tell immediately that she was no longer in Drakken's Lair. Instead of the gray metallic walls of Dr. D's place, the walls were very white, both from the window and sunlight and the annoying glare of florescent lights. It meant that in the very least she was in a real hospital, and at worst in the custody of the GJ. Either way Shego didn't think it was a very good sign. Looking over to the monitor that she was hooked up to she could read that all of her life signs were normal. Well as normal as someone having the body temperature of a small furnace went anyhow. She could tell that there were probes on her body and at least two needles under her skin.

Again with a weakness of a kitten she moved her arms to see if she was being held down by restraints. It hurt her arm like the dickens that she moved her arm with the IV attached to her, but other then that she felt as if she was free to move her body about. Her mind wondered a bit where she was again, now that she was not restrained from leaving if she could.

"Ah good your awake." An unfamiliar voice said out of Shego's limited view. It was female with an authoritative tone which asked, "How do you feel?"

Taking a deep breath Shego mustered a whisper, "I ache, I'm tired... body feels like lead and I feel like my mouth is full of cotton balls. Otherwise happy to be alive." She dared to move her head around to where the voice had come from. As difficult as it was she could see a woman who stood at least her own height with blazing red hair just like, "Possible." Silently, and knowingly Shego cursed her bad luck. 'What was the Ferinegi saying again? "No good deed goes unpunished." ' she thought to herself turning back her head to her original position.

"Doctor Ann Possible", the doctor answered as she walked up to Shego. Her face was neutral as she examined some of the readouts that she got off of the monitors. She took out a thermometer and got ready to place it into Shego's mouth, but asked hesitantly, "What is your normal temperature?"

"Depends, it jumps around between 125 and 130 degrees." Shego said before Dr. Possible nodded and place it underneath Shego's tongue. She noticed that the Doctor's demeanor softened a bit as she pulled up a chair and sat next to the villainess. For a minute (which for Shego was pretty long for having something metallic shoved in her mouth) the two did nothing but stare at one another. Shego wondered if she was going to get a tongue lashing for trying to hurt Dr. Possible's daughter.

Instead Dr. Possible continued to stare at Shego, and for some reason it made Shego a bit uncomfortable. Much better the tongue-lashing then begin stared at, as if the good Doctor was going to burn two holes in her head.

One beep later, Dr. Possible pulled out the thermometer and gave it a shake. "Well, according to this your having a low grade fever of 123." She walked away for a moment before walking back with a cup of water. "Can you hold this?" As Shego struggled to pull up her arm, it only flopped a bit. "No?", The doctor continued before Shego could answer, "Then let me help."

Shego could feel her head being lifted up slightly as Dr. Possible took the controller of the bed and raised her body to a more sitting position. Placing the cup on the lips of Shego she said, "Drink it slowly. That should take care of some of the bad taste in your mouth."

The only answer was Shego sighing before the water entered her mouth. She hated to feel like an invalid, but another part of her was genuinely surprised that someone else other then Drakken was willing to help her so quickly.

An odd looked must have crossed Shego's face because Dr. Possible simply took back the cup of water and said, "Yes, it is part of my job, but, personally, I wanted to find a way to thank the person who saved Ron's life yesterday. Kim was very distraught when he was first brought into the hospital but Ron has started to make a remarkable recovery from his injuries."

"So the idiot's going to live. Good." Shego said looking away from Dr. Possible, part in shame, part in irritation. While her disdain was evidently fake on the outside, inside she was very glad that Stoppable's life was no longer in danger. After a few moments of silence she continue, "So, not to sound any more rude but when are you guys going to turn me over to the authorities? I'd like to get the blazes out of here as soon as possible."

"When you recover, you may leave as you wish." Dr. Possible responded as she got out of her chair and walked over to window as she began to open the shades. Both could see that the sun was about to rise over the Rockies. "For now though, your not strong enough to make it out of here on your own. And according to Dr. Drakken, it'll take you at least another day to make a full recovery of your blood loss and injuries."

Shego, to her dismay, remembered quite clearly the injuries that she sustained in the last fight. A few cracked ribs and an extended muscle, that would have normally recovered overnight. Heroically, or stupidly depending on the point of view, used her own blood to heal someone else, meaning a slower recovery for herself. She rolled her eyes with the prospect of having to wait for a day. Though the thought did pop up, "So why not turn me over? I mean, you've got me lock, stock and barrel."

"Because, Kim... asked me not to turn you over to Global Justice." Dr. Possible responded glancing at Shego before turning back toward the sunrise. "Its against my better judgment, and the law, but she didn't feel right turning you into the authorities, when you risked your freedom to save Ron's. You might want to think about that when you leave."

"Listen your Princess doesn't..." Shego never finished the sentence as she was silenced by a stern look from her Nemesis's Mother. The look on her face wasn't one of condemnation but sadness though. She could see for the first time how worn Dr. Possible had actually been. Her usual sunshine smile had drooped and there were definitely rings under her eyes. "Look, its not like I'm thankful or anything but, Kimmie and Me, we are ... well..." There was no easy way to say it, "are each other's adversaries, you know? Its not like one of us one day decided that we loathed each other's existence and I don't think that we are ready to be best buds overnight either."

It was an uncomfortable feeling that Shego was feeling. Part of her wanted to kick herself for babbling like an idiot, and the other wanted to know where the conversation was going. Once again, Kim's mother said nothing, as she turned back toward the window.

Oh why the blazes would 'I' care anyway, Shego frowned. She did her level best to humph and turn over, still not having the strength to move. That would come back with some nourishment and time. Looking over at the elder Possible she sighed, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Dr. Possible asked not shifting her gaze from the window. The sun was just starting to peak over the mountain tops in the distance.

Taking a deep breath, "How do you let your daughter, who's a pain in the neck, go out on mission after mission, fully knowing that she might not come back one day?" Shego kept telling herself it was to kill the silence between the two women, but deep inside she wanted to actually know.

"Prayer... faith... and a busy work schedule." Dr. Possible answered with a dry chuckle. "I have to force myself to pull back on my maternal instincts and not let her go out on these missions." The sniffle, gave away how hard it actually was.

"She's good. With the idiot she's almost unstoppable." Shego continued to used the nickname to keep a distance between herself and the feelings of the days before. "It never occurred to me until a few months ago how good the dork actually is for her."

"I wish you wouldn't call him those words, he gets enough of that from school." Dr. Possible said in almost a scolding tone. The surprise on Shego's face again must have been evident because she continued, "He helps Kimmie save the world... and keeps her safe... and I hear about all of the ridicule that he receives at school."

"Your kidding me right?" Shego was actually beside herself. Sure the guy was a complete dork and spaz, but he did help Kim save the world more then a few times. "I mean he's no Rambo, or Arnold but still the boy's got a few moves and has well..." this was going to be hard to admit, "Helped dismantle more then a few of Dr. D's devices. That's got to mean something to somebody around here."

"It does to the people who care for him." Dr. Possible said straighting herself up again. Turning back toward Shego she wiped a tear of two away, quickly she switched the subject toward the patient, "So, now what are you going to do?"

"Honestly, I don't know passed wanting to get out of here as quick as possible." Shego tried her best to shrug it off. In all honesty she didn't know quite what to do. For the first time in years she could decide on her own what it is that she wanted to do. At the very least she thought to herself, she'd talk to Drakken one more time before deciding what to do.

The beeper on Dr. Possible's belt interrupted any further thought along those lines. The Doctor turned toward Shego as she was about to leave. "I'll be back later. Perhaps, you need time to think about your next step." With that she left, leaving Shego alone with her thoughts.

To Be Continued...