I don't own these characters, except for Cali, Isabel, and Kane.

A/N: This chapter is smaller than usual and I think any follow up chapters will be about this length.

4: Psychology 101 — How to Stop Living in Your Own Head

The sofa was evil, Kim was sure of it. Well, not so much evil as it was trying to devour her. The bed was doing the same and that had to mean evil. It had to be evil to try to devour a hero, after all. Nothing good would try such a thing.

She now preferred the floor. She spent so much time lying down that she actually hated the feel of cushions molding to her body. She seriously thought they were trying to consume her, slowly swallow her.

The floor was much safer. It was steady and firm. It did not bend. The floor was how she used to be, Kim thought. I was steady and firm and unbreakable. Now, I'm an invalid and can't do the most basic things on my own. How the mighty have fallen. The voice in her head could not have been bitterer if she tried.

"Kim, do you need anything?" Joss inquired. It sounded like she was in the kitchen.

The voice made Kim want to growl. She was sick of hearing her cousin's voice. She sick of her cousin's presence. I don't need her here! Kim mentally insisted. Oh, yes, you do. After all, you can't even stand up. Hell, you can't scratch the end of your nose. The voice in her head made the redhead frown. Shut up! I can do anything!

"Kim?" Joss repeated, making her cousin grit her teeth.

The injured hero had to take a deep breath before responding. "I'm good," she answered from her space on the floor in the living room.

Shego and Bonnie had set her up a little nest of pillows and blankets on the floor after she complained about being on the sofa. She made sure not to sound too upset when she did it, but it was difficult to keep her composure. She had smiled in their faces all the way through and, even though they had eyed her oddly, neither said anything. Maybe they knew the sofa was evil and trying to devour her.

"You sure?" Joss asked, interrupting the redhead's thoughts.

Shit, can't she shut the hell up for two seconds? Kim hissed mentally. "I'm sure," she answered pleasantly. I'm always sure! I wouldn't say it if I wasn't sure. I don't need to be asked a million times like I'm some child.

Kim hoped her cousin believed her and did not come into the living room. She was tired of seeing people, tired of seeing faces. She wanted to be left alone! Of course, that was impossible thanks to her injuries. She had never been so injured. With the way everyone acted, she was almost willing to believe no one had ever been as injured as she was. But, I still want them to leave me the hell alone!

Why should they, Kim? It's not like you can do anything for yourself. You need them and now they know how weak you truly are. You are weak, Kimmie. Extremely weak and they all know it. Kim shook her head, sick of her brain mocking her. I could fix it if they would just leave me alone. I know I could. I can do anything. I can do anything. She needed to believe that.

"Kimmie!" Cali flopped down next to her. While in her humanoid form, Cali still did plenty of animal things, like dropping to the floor and lying in a very canine-sort-of way. "Joss told me to make sure you didn't need anything. Do you need anything? Because if you do, I can get it! I can really get it!" She smiled up at Kim.

Kim forced out a smile, even though she really wanted to scream at Cali. The feline was getting on her nerves just as much as everyone else. No, she did not want anything! If she wanted something, she would get up and get it herself! Well, of course, if she could move, she would get up and get things herself.

"Are you sure you don't anything? Oh, I could carry you to the bathroom like Shego does! Could I do that? I could do that!" Cali offered with a brilliant grin on her face.

Kim had to take a deep breath before answering. "Cali, I don't need anything. Could you please just let me sit here and chill out?" she replied in a composed, controlled manner.

Cali eagerly nodded. "Oh, yeah, I can do that!"

The redhead sighed and could not believe how happy she was when Cali just stopped talking. She would have felt better if Cali had gone away, but she supposed she could not have everything. Matters were only made worse as Joss came in and sat down. Kim clenched her teeth and took a deep breath.

"I can't believe I waited this long to come here. This house is awesome. How ya feelin', cousin?" Joss inquired.

"I'm fine," Kim lied. She would be fine if everyone just left her alone. Then I can figure something out, like how to get back on my feet!

"You sure? I mean, I sent Cali in here to check and all, but it looks like she's taking a nap," Joss commented, nudging the cat-girl with her foot.

"Hey, I'm not sleeping! I'm taking care of my Kimmie!" Cali proclaimed like a proud child with her head held high.

Kim rolled her eyes. She could not believe it, but she actually missed Shego and Bonnie as caregivers. Shego and Bonnie, who hovered like freaking helicopters and would not give her a minute's peace. She would rather have them in her face for the whole day rather than have Joss and Cali as babysitters. They were like freaking Frick and Frack.

"I'm helping, right, Kimmie?" Cali asked with a bright grin.

"Yes, you're helping," Kim replied, trying her best to pick her hand with the intent to pet Cali. The pain was too much. Kim almost wanted to growl, but she held it in. She took a deep breath and then smiled.

"I still can't believe you guys have a cat that turns into a woman and Wade didn't have anything to do with making her," Joss commented with a light laugh.

Kim did not say anything. She was sick of Joss talking about Cali. Yes, Cali was interesting and everything, but she was tired of hearing about her. To be fair, she was tired of hearing about everything. Not to mention she was tired of looking around the living room and the bedroom and the house in general. Then there were the people in the house. I'm so sick of them!

Oh, really? You sure about that, Possible? Underneath it all, Kim knew she was just cranky and disappointed in herself. She was not meant to sit around the house all day, especially for the time she had been. She was trapped thanks to her own body and faults. She should have been able to do something, to save Professor Sobek, even if he was being dishonest. She should have been able to stop the men who killed him and the men that practically destroyed her.

Frowning, she thought about how she let some petty thugs almost kill her. She could not fend off punks! She was Kim Possible. She had saved the world more times than she could count and laughed in the face of danger so much that some people actually thought she was insane… and yet, she had almost given up the ghost thanks to some creeps who she could not even remember.

No matter how long and hard she thought about it, Kim could not recall what her assailants looked like. She could not recollect how many there were. Even if there had been a thousand, they were still just regular jerks and they had almost killed her. It was like a cosmic joke! And the universe is laughing long and hard! Laughing at me.

Kim was about to growl, but the sound only made it to rumble in her chest. Cali's head was up like a lion surveying her territory and her attention went right to Kim. The smile on Kim's face was automatic and soothed Cali instantly. The cat-girl put her head back down and Kim tried her best not to get lost in her own head for the millionth time that day. Taking a deep breath, she pushed all of her emotions down and just continued to smile.

Yeah, Possible, keep smiling and faking like you're still strong when it's clear you're weak.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego groaned as her cell phone went off. "I hate this damn thing," she grumbled as she retrieved the phone from her pocket.

Bonnie had forced her to carry the thing everywhere she went since "the incident" with Kim. And, yes, they actually referred to Kim almost dying as "the incident with Kim" and nothing more. It was more for their benefit than anyone else's.

"Yeah, Mommy?" Shego answered her phone.

"Hey, firefly," Isabel greeted her daughter cheerfully. There was a lot of noise in the background. "How are you and my other two darling daughters doing?"

Shego rolled her eyes. "Same as always. I'm picking up some of Kim's pain medication. What the hell is that noise in the back?" she inquired, not wincing as a scream echoed through the phone. She glanced around at the pharmacy to make sure no one else heard. Thankfully, she was by herself while waiting for the prescriptions to be filled. Of course, after the prescription was filled, she had to hope the cops did not pick her up for "intent to distribute" considering the amount of pain meds her poor princess had to take.

"That's just your father. He's talking to someone," Isabel replied lightly.

Shego chuckled slightly. "Talking to his kneecaps, I'll bet."

"Perhaps. He's one of the men that touched your redheaded pixie, you know," Isabel reported. Her tone just sounded like she was smiling… in the same manner that a crocodile smiled.

"And you want me to tell you what I want done to them?" Shego guessed. The list was so long.

"It would make my day better," Isabel practically chirped.

Shego thought on it for a long moment. "I don't think that's up to me, Mommy. I mean, whatever you and Daddy have already done is probably what I'd like."

"That's true. What about Bonnie? Is Bonnie with you?"

"No, Bonnie had to go up to her office today. I'm going to go pick her up in a little while, actually. I think this is something we should discuss with Kimmie. This is her call. Maybe I should have her parents there, too," Shego considered. "I'll have to run it by her."

"My, sounds like you are taking well to being a spouse, thinking not only of your women, but the parents as well. I'm proud of you, firefly."

"Shut up, Mommy. I'm not a spouse. I'm just a girlfriend. Stop trying to marry me off."

"Well, it would be nice you all did get married. I would love some grandbabies!" Isabel chirped.

"Shut up, Mommy. I'll call you back when I get home," Shego huffed and ended the call. Sighing, she scratched her forehead and thought about getting home as soon as possible. She turned her attention back to the counter that she was in front of. "Hey, could I get my stuff sometime today? It's not like the pain'll get easier to deal the longer you take!"

It took all of her willpower to not hop over the counter and get the drugs herself. She yanked the white bag from the pharmacist and ran out of the store. As she went to her car, she dialed Bonnie's number and told her to make sure to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. Bonnie was waiting for her when she got to the firm.

"Hey, sweetheart," Bonnie greeted her and leaned in for a kiss. "Thanks for coming to get me."

Shego waved that off. "You act like I would've left you. I got all of Princess' meds. She's going be pissed when we force her to take these."

"She's always pissed about it, but she's going to take them. I'm not just doing to sit there and watch her suffer when she doesn't need to," Bonnie declared.

"I know you're not, Duchess," Shego replied, taking Bonnie's hand in her own. They had gotten into the habit of holding hands when they were in the car, as if needing the physical reminder they were there. She caressed Bonnie's hand with her thumb. "My mom called me earlier."

"Oh? Why was she calling? Are she and Kane coming back yet?" Bonnie asked, glancing at Shego.

"Well, probably. For right now, she was calling to let me know that she and Daddy caught the jackasses that touched the baby. She wanted me to tell her what she should do with them."

Bonnie studied her for a moment, squinting in thought. "And what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything beyond I needed to talk to you and Pumpkin and maybe the Possibles. Besides, they probably did everything I'd tell them to do," Shego informed her lover with a shrug.

Bonnie nodded. "What do you think they did?"

"They more than likely mirrored all of Kim's injuries and when those started to heal, they probably just hurt them more," Shego reported as if it was nothing. To her, it was nothing and she was sure that it would be the same for Bonnie.

"Will they kill these guys?"

"No, I told you, my parents like to make people suffer for hurting their children. Death isn't suffering."

"Right." Bonnie nodded and then sighed. "You know Kim and her parents are just going to say something like they should go to jail. Hell, Kim might even say they should have a fair trial. What do you think about that?"

Shego was silent for a moment and that gave Bonnie a chance to absorb the information she had just been told. She felt like she should feel something beyond elation that there were men being beaten by essentially her in-laws. Kim would be disappointed in her if she knew, but Bonnie still could not bring up the emotions she felt a good person should have. She was happy that Isabel and Kane were hurting those men.

"I hate to say it, but my parents will probably try to honor whatever the hell Kim and her parents come up with, but if they think it's unreasonable, they'll actually ignore it. They will then lie, extremely well, about what they did do. We might never know the truth," Shego explained.

"So, they could say that they'll get them put in jail, but what?" Bonnie asked.

"It's not so much about putting them in jail. My parents don't have a problem with that. It's just you have to be specific sometimes. So, if Kim wants the bad guys in jail, my mother and father will put them there. But, the jail might be in, say, Russia, where my mother can get people to continue punishment for as long as she wants. Now, that she wouldn't tell us about." Unless, of course, Shego asked. Every now and then, she found herself asking about Drakken and her mother would give her some vague response that let Shego know the guy was still alive at the least.

Bonnie nodded. "Honestly, I don't very much care. They could drop those guys into the middle of the Atlantic for all I care," she growled.

"Agreed."

Blue eyes drifted out the window of the car for a moment. Bonnie took a deep breath and Shego glanced at her. She squeezed the younger woman's hand.

"Duchess, what's wrong?" Shego inquired.

"I should feel worse about the idea that your parents are beating people up, possibly torturing them, but I don't. I don't care. I truly don't care, not one single bit," Bonnie muttered and then she turned back to her lover. "What does that make me?" Her lip trembled.

"Makes you pissed off, rightfully so. These men dared to almost take your first love from you, the woman who made you who are today, the woman that showed you that you are worthy of love. And why? For money! They almost killed Kim for fucking money!" Shego roared, obviously rightfully pissed off, too.

Slowly, Bonnie nodded. "You're right. You're absolutely right. Shouldn't that be enough to get those guys in jail? They robbed a four thousand year old tomb and almost killed Kim. Shouldn't that be enough?"

Shego sighed and shook her head. "No, it wouldn't be enough. Most of the loot's on the market now, babe. It's gone. Kim doesn't even remember who they were or what they looked like. That's not even enough to get them a bus ride to a precinct. We have better odds of lightning striking them all at the same time than them going to jail for their actual crimes."

"Point taken."

"Listen to me, Duchess, don't think about these guys. They're bugs. Lower than bugs. Bacteria. Do you spend your time thinking about bacteria?"

"At the moment, yes, because I'm worried my baby is going to get an infection, but in general, no. I understand what you're saying, sweetheart, and I appreciate the effort." Bonnie smiled.

"Focus on Kimmie. She's the one that needs it. Focus on our family."

Again, Bonnie nodded because Shego had a point. She squeezed Shego's hand and smiled at the older woman, wanting Shego to know that she was appreciated. Shego was the one that was really holding their family together in the past month. She knew it had to be an incredible burden, but she could not yet get herself together enough to lighten the load.

When they arrived home, they were ready to go straight to Kim. They worried about leaving her side, even if she had Joss and Cali home with her. She was still basically immobile and they knew she did not sleep well. They were also still concerned about the fact that Kim just could not stop smiling at people. They knew she was not handling her injuries as best she could, but she refused to talk about what was on her mind. She just kept smiling, unaware that the light was out of her eyes.

They barely got in the door before Cali was in their faces. The cat-girl looked like she was about to burst into tears, so the two women knew she had important information. She was babbling and moving quickly back and forth in front of them. They held up their hands and then gently motioned for her to lean forward. Cali knew the tactic and moved in.

"Crying! I smelled the tears!" Cali reported in a very low, but incredibly panicked tone. She had to speak through clenched teeth to make sure she did not scream. "Jossie went out to jog and I went out for birds and when I came back in, I smelled tears!"

"Shh, calm down, Cali. Calm down," Bonnie urged her, scratching behind Cali's ear.

"I smelled the tears on Kimmie again. I smelled it and came in, but she wasn't crying, but I could smell them," Cali told them, still very anxious.

"It's okay, Cali. It's okay. It's good that Kim's crying. She needs the emotional release," Shego said.

Cali's brow wrinkled. "Emotional release?"

"It's just that Kimmie's been bottling up things. She needs to cry, so if you ever smell tears with her again, just leave her to cry. She needs it," Shego explained. It was good to know that every now and then, Kim had cried a little. That was a lot more normal than her smiling constantly. Plus, she needed to let something out, no matter how small, if only to help her actually cope with her injuries and what happened. Every little bit helped.

Cali nodded, even though they knew she did not understand. She thought crying was a bad thing. After all, she only cried when she was sad or hurt. But, Shego said was good and Bonnie did not dispute that. Cali just trusted her humans. So, she straightened up with a deep breath and walked away, calm and collected now. Shego and Bonnie sighed.

"I'm actually happy to know she's crying. This day just gets stranger and stranger. I'm glad people are getting beat up and I'm glad my baby is crying," Bonnie said, rubbing her forehead.

"It's okay, Duchess. You've got the right feelings," Shego assured her lover, rubbing the lawyer's shoulder for a moment.

"I know you're right. Sweetheart, I'm sorry for being such deadweight to you," Bonnie said.

Shego put her arm around the smaller woman. "You're not deadweight. Look, Bonnie, you're dealing with this as best you can. You know you can lean on me and you're willing to talk about it."

"In other words, I'm doing better than the baby." Bonnie nodded toward the living room.

The former thief nodded. "Way better than the baby, who's just going crazy in her own head. I wish she would lean on us."

"We just need to keep encouraging her."

Shego nodded and they journeyed into the living room. Kim was in her little nest with her head down, lost in her own thoughts as usual. She often got that way when she thought she was alone and they had yet to figure out how to get her to talk about what was happening. She would always just smile and say she was fine, no matter how much they tried to assure her it was all right to talk to them.

"Hey, Pumpkin, I got your meds and your baby," Shego announced, her arm around Bonnie's waist.

Kim straightened and turned her attention to the pair. "I want my baby," she said with a smile.

"And your pain medication," Bonnie said in stern voice.

"I don't need it. I'm not in a lot of pain," Kim replied.

"Yeah, a lot by whose standards? You're taking the meds, Possible. I also have your antibiotics and everything," Shego said.

Kim was obstinate about taking her medication, as always. She went so far as to pull her lips into her mouth and duck her head to keep Shego from putting the pills in her mouth. Eventually, she did have to open her mouth and she was given the pills along with some water. Shego then patted Kim on the head just to be annoying, which worked, of course. Shego figured Kim appreciated the normalcy of her being troublesome, but Kim actually just felt bothered and resentful by it.

"How are you doing, baby?" Bonnie asked before she could stop herself. She knew Kim hated the question, but she seriously needed to know. Of course, she was not going to get an honest answer, so it was actually moot.

"I'm fine, baby," Kim answered with a smile. Of course, if she were actually fine, she would have requested kisses for her greeting, but that thought did not even cross her mind. Her lovers were more focused on other things than to always remember to give Kim kisses. They tended to be more focused on giving her medication.

"Do you need anything?" Shego asked.

The redhead looked like she was about to snap, but suddenly she flinched. She tilted her head to the side and gritted her teeth. Honestly, she was about to scream that she "did not need a motherfucking thing!" Thankfully, she caught herself and smiled sweetly at her girlfriends.

"I don't need anything, love," Kim replied. Her tone was so saccharine that she felt like she would get diabetes from it.

Shego sighed and slid down to sit with Kim in her nest. Bonnie did the same and she had to fight off the urge to cuddle into Kim. She missed the snuggling; Shego did, too. Bonnie reached out and stroked Kim's neck. It was the closest she could come cuddling with the redhead for the past month. Shego did something similar, gently running her fingers along Kim's hip.

"My parents called me earlier, Princess," Shego announced.

"Oh, are they back in Middleton?" Kim asked, not that she really cared. Isabel and Kane were probably going to try to come and see her. Then, they would bear witness to her weakness too, just like everyone else. The thought made Kim want to grind her teeth, but she could not do that in front of her lovers. After all, her annoyance would be a burden to her girlfriends and she did not want to be more of a burden.

"Baby, her parents… they… found the guys that did this to you," Bonnie replied, motioning to casts and bandages that Kim was wrapped in.

Kim blinked in surprise. "Found them? That's great."

Shego glanced at Bonnie and they did that communicating thing with their eyes that Kim hated. It was like they were having an argument that she could never follow. Any other time they did it, she knew what was going on, but when they were debating, she was lost. Of course, they knew that and that was why they did it. In the end, whatever was going on, it seemed that Bonnie won.

Sighing, Shego looked away for a second. "They want us to call them and tell them what we want to happen to the guys."

Kim looked even more baffled. "Tell them what we want? What do you mean? Shouldn't they be going to jail?"

"Jail it is," Bonnie said, smiling at Shego.

Shego threw up her arms and shrugged. Instead of making the call, she shot a text to her mother. Barely three seconds later, her phone rang.

"Yeah, Mommy?" Shego answered the call.

"Was this Kim's request?" Isabel asked.

"Yes."

"Can you put her on? I want to speak with her and Bonnie if she's there," Isabel requested.

Shego shrugged and put the phone to Kim's ear. "Mommy wants to talk to you," the eldest informed Kim.

"I could hold the phone," Kim huffed, forcing her hand up to take the phone. Her lovers expected a wince, but none came. The pain medication was definitely working or Kim was a grand actor. "Hi, Isabel."

"Hey, Kim. Is my daughter treating you properly?"

Kim glanced at Shego before answering, "Of course. She always takes the best care of us."

"That's because you take the best care of her. I'm indebted to you in that regard. I'm sorry Kane and I haven't been up to see you lately, but that'll change."

"Oh, no, you don't have to…" Kim argued. Truly, she hated people seeing her incapacitated and weak. She did not want anyone to see the evidence of her incompetence or inability. Of course, she was the only with that opinion, it seemed, as people continued to show up at the house, trying to cheer her up.

"It's all right, dear. I understand. We are alike in that regard. Shego would understand too if you told her. They both would understand if you talk to them. They love you, Kim," Isabel said.

"I know they do."

"They're your family. If you were in their shoes, what would you want?" Isabel asked.

"That makes sense."

"Listen to me, Kim. Once upon a time, I was depressed beyond comprehension. Looking back on it now, it almost feels like a dream or something that happened to someone else. I was in a fog for a year, not realizing I had people to lean on and that being strong did not mean carrying the load myself. It was in this haze I nearly lost everything. Hell, my relationship with my daughter has never been the same. I don't want that for you. I don't want you to allow this thing to come between you and your loves. You're stronger than that and they'll help you be stronger still."

Kim could not stop a whimper from escaping her throat and she sniffled. "I'm trying," she whispered, glancing between her girlfriends.

"They're there for you, Kim. I'm rooting for you, all of you. Kane is, too. I'd put him on the phone, but he's otherwise engaged. He'll have gifts for you all when we get back, though. Now, may I speak with Bonnie?" Isabel requested.

"Of course."

"And, Kim, darling, please, do try. They want to be there for you. Let them."

Kim sniffled. "I will," her voice cracked, which earned her curious looks from her girlfriends. She then passed the phone over to Bonnie. "Isabel wants to talk to you."

Bonnie accepted the phone and spoke with Isabel briefly. She then handed the phone back to Shego. Isabel was still there and she spoke with Shego again very briefly. The call was disconnected and Shego just dropped the phone on the floor with a sigh. They were silent for a long time before Cali wandered in, back in her cat form. Cali cuddled into Bonnie's thigh.

"This is our little family…" Bonnie muttered, caressing Cali's back. The cat purred contently. "I don't… I don't… want anything to happen to our family…" she sniffled. This was the only family she had.

"Duchess, nothing is going to happen. We're all here and everything is fine," Shego tried to assure Bonnie, reaching out to rub Bonnie's back for a moment.

Biting her lip, Bonnie could only shake her head. Everything was not fine! They all knew that and she was doubtful that anything would ever be fine again. They had nearly lost Kim a month ago and in a way they had. Kim was not the same person. Her smile was forced, her eyes did not shine anymore, and she spent more time in her own head than anywhere else. No, their family was broken!

"I don't know…" Tears slid down Bonnie's cheeks. She wished she could articulate her concerns better, but the emotion just choked her up every time.

Kim bit the corner of her mouth and grabbed Bonnie's hand with her own. She squeezed, almost to the point of hurting Bonnie. The tanned woman turned her eyes up to Kim's face and saw tears welling up in olive eyes.

"Baby, please don't cry. I hate it when you cry. I hate it when I make you cry," Kim implored in a low tone.

"I can't help it. It's not your fault. It's those bastards! They hurt you and they've hurt our family!" Bonnie cried.

"No, they haven't hurt our family. This is my fault. I just don't know what to do, loves. I don't know how to recover from this," Kim admitted, her tears starting to flow now, too.

"You lean on us, Princess. That's how you recover from this. You tell us what's going on in your head, you reach for us when you need to be picked up, and you tell us if you need something. Suffering with this all alone isn't the way to do it. Being strong is letting us in," Shego stated, reaching out and gently taking Kim's other hand in hers. The older woman sniffled a bit herself.

"I… I… wanna …" Kim sniffed.

"Baby, please, lean on us. Lean on us," Bonnie implored her.

"I don't know how," Kim wept. "I don't know how to get out of this mood I'm in. I'm so sick of everyone and of everything. I want to get up and move. I want to be me and I can't! I'm so frustrated and so angry! They beat me! Kim Possible was beaten by some worthless thugs!"

"No, no, no, Princess, they didn't beat you. You are not beaten," Shego assured her, moving and nuzzling her face in Kim's neck. The hero's neck was just about the only place they could safely touch her aside from her face.

"The only way they win is if you don't bounce back, if you let them break you and us," Bonnie asserted. "You would never do that, though. I know you, baby. You would never let them win."

Kim nodded. "What should I do?" Her lip trembled as she spoke.

"You're doing good right now, baby. You're talking to us and you're letting it out. Let it out, please," Bonnie implored.

"I'm trying. I really am," the redhead insisted.

"We all need to try. Now, tell us what you need, Princess. Be honest. What do you need?" Shego inquired, her eyes pleading for honesty. "What do you need from us to help you get better?"

"I think I need time alone every now and then. I don't need you guys here with me every second of every day. I just need some time to myself, to not feel like I'm a baby," Kim answered.

"That's fair. We'll back off and we'll tell Joss to back off some, too. Just understand that we can't leave you alone all day," Shego replied.

"But, you have to stop fighting us so much because you're stressing yourself out," Bonnie chimed in. "It's not good for your healing."

Kim sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do. I don't know how to handle this." She looked down at herself and frowned.

"Baby, we are here for you. We are here," Bonnie said.

Kim nodded and, for a moment, she actually felt worse. She felt selfish and shameful, forgetting about her family and resenting their concern. She had spent too much time focusing on herself and what she had gone through rather than what she had. Even though it hurt to blink much of the time, she was lucky. She had a beautiful, supportive family, especially the ones snuggled against her now.

"I promise to do better," Kim said in a low voice. The vow brought a smile to her lovers' faces.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego and Bonnie lay in the bed together as they had for the past month. Kim slept in her nest; Cali kept her company. Kim had explained to them earlier why she preferred the living room nest, which both of her lovers were grateful for. They had been worried about her not wanting to be in the bed, but now that they knew it was just driving her crazy they felt better. Still, they both could not wait for Kim to be back in the bed with them.

"You think the baby is gonna be okay?" Bonnie asked, snuggling into Shego's warm body.

"I think Princess is going to be fine. I think really once her body starts to heal, her mind will as well. She's the sort that needs to be moving to figure herself out. Sort of like I'm the type that needs to be sitting still to figure myself out," Shego answered.

"I was glad… I was glad she opened up to us. I've been worried about her, especially when I had to go back to work. I felt like I needed to watch her every second of the day and then suddenly I couldn't …"

"Watching her was more for you, Duchess. You felt like if you couldn't see her, then she wasn't there. You have to remember just like we told Kim: they didn't beat her. She's here. She's safe."

"Thank you, Shego, for being so strong."

Shego shook her head. "Believe it or not, this is learned behavior. I learned this from my dad."

"How so?"

The room was silent for a moment. Shego pulled Bonnie a little closer and took a deep breath. She then made sure to look Bonnie right in the eye as she spoke.

"My mother… after Matteo and before the twins, she was pregnant. My mother had to be the most fertile woman on the planet actually. It seemed like she was always pregnant. Anyway, we almost had a brother, Azrael." Shego paused to laugh. "We were gonna call him Azzie …" She sniffled and a tear drifted down her cheek. It was the first time that she mentioned this brother.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked while gently caressing Shego's side to help keep her calm.

"He was a stillborn. My mother went through full labor, almost died, and he was a stillborn. My mother was broken by his death. She thought it was her fault, thought she was weak, and for a year, she couldn't move, couldn't speak, and barely ate. It was like she was dead. My father took care of her every day, stayed with her every day, and believed she'd be herself again one day. He just needed to stick with her. It took her a year, but he was right. One day, she started talking and eventually she got her ass out of bed. Before long, she was back to cursing us out and kicking ass. If my mother could survive that, then Kim can survive this. And, if my father could survive that, then we can survive this," Shego stated strongly.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. We will survive this."

"As a family."

"As a family."

-8-8-8-8-

Kim sat in the dark with Cali pressed against her side. Usually, Bonnie and Shego would have slept in the living room with her, but they had agreed to give her any requested space they could. She wanted to sleep by herself. It would give her time to gather her own thoughts and therefore be better prepared when Bonnie and Shego were on her in the morning about breakfast, medication, and how she was feeling.

Of course, it also left her alone with her thoughts. Her mind had been rather traitorous lately. Even if Bonnie said those guys didn't beat you, we both know they did, Possible. They beat you!

Kim shook her head and made a fist with her one good hand. "No, no they didn't. They didn't destroy me, or break me, or beat me. I'm here. I'm here with people who love me and only want the best for me. This isn't forever," she muttered, looking down at the array of casts and bandages. "No, this isn't nearly forever. I can't sit here and dwell on what almost happened. I have to get better for Bonnie and Shego and Cali. Hell, for Joss, my parents, my brothers, and my students. I have to get better for the world at large. They didn't beat me. They made me stronger."

Yes, they had made her stronger because they made her realize what she had in life. They made her realize that it was not weak to depend on those around her. It was not weak to be taken care by people who loved her. It was not weak to be helpful, even if some people would lie and take advance of that. It was not weak to be herself.

"I won't let them take anything more from me. I'm not going to sit here and dwell on the wrong things anymore," Kim vowed. She was stronger than that. She would be stronger than that, for herself and for her family. "My family," she said with a smile and reached down to pet Cali's head. My family. I will get better for my family.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: several family members pop up.