Disclaimer: Kim Possible and related characters are created by Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle. Copyright by Disney.
My sincere thanks to Andarion (andarion . deviantart . com) for beta-reading this story and providing me with feedback and suggestions.
AN: For starters, I wish to thank you all for your supportive feedback until now. Nearly 2000 hits in less than a month, I mean, wow! Thank you, guys.
So, as promised, this is the part of the story some of you have been waiting for since the first chapter. I hope it was worth the wait.
Also, this chapter is part of what gives this story it's T-rating. There'll be talk about the birds and the bees. Nothing graphic, only descriptive, and certainly nothing your average teenager doesn't already know. But for those few who are insulted by the idea that there are two kinds of people, and that those people like to explore the differences between boys and girls… you have been warned.
Chapter 4 - Trust
When Kim had been cleared at the second check-post, a familiar face greeted her. "Good afternoon, Sergeant Miles." she said politely.
"And a good afternoon to you as well, Miss Possible." The sergeant replied. "Madam Director has sent me to greet you because she wants to speak with you before you visit the prisoner."
Kim nodded. "By all means, lead on."
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When Kim entered Dr. Director's office, the woman motioned her to sit down and continued reading the file she had been reading before. Well, at least it's not urgent then. Kim thought while calmly waiting for the moment that Madam Director would be ready with whatever she was doing. She only hoped it wouldn't take too long. Her visits with Shego seemed too short already without these occasional trips to the head of Global Justice.
Finally, after what according to Kim had seemed an eternity, but according to her watch had been less than five minutes, Dr. Director closed her file and looked at her visitor. "You're probably wondering why I asked you here." She began without any extra introduction. Kim nodded and Dr. Director picked up a remote that lay on her desk. She pushed a button and a panel in the wall opened to reveal a wide-screen TV monitor. "As you probably know," Betty began, "as part of the witness protection program we have set up for Miss Shego, all queries concerning her whereabouts and activities since the UN ceremony pass through me, and replies are considered to be Class Alpha confidential." Kim nodded again and Madam Director continued. "Usually, all queries are restricted to absolute need-to-know basis. And since everybody who does need to know, already knows about Shego's current status, my replies can be given pretty quickly. However, during one of our missions earlier this week, we received a query which I feel should be decided on by Miss Shego herself. So if you would be as nice as to pass on the following information to her…" Betty clicked another button on the remote and a point-of-view recording of the GJ operation of earlier that week began to play.
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"Say again?" Shego asked in surprise after Kim had finished recounting what she had seen only a few minutes before.
"Team Go wants to get permission of Global Justice to actively pursue you." Kim repeated.
Shego sat back in her seat, unable to understand this sudden interest of her brothers in her. She opened her hands, shaking them beside her, and yelled "Why?!" to no-one in particular.
"Electronique." Kim said simply. Shego looked at her with puzzlement. Kim sighed. "Look, before you get angry or anything, what I'm about to say is need-to-know info, and until recently, Madam Director didn't feel you needed to know. After that debacle with Electronique and her Attitudinator, Team Go needed to accept a position as sub-contractor for Global Justice. To the outside world, it still looks as if they are an independent crime-fighting team, but the powers that be decided they couldn't risk them going rogue again, so they got the choice: work for Global Justice or be decommissioned. They have a GJ liaison in Go Tower at all moments, and he dispatches assignments to them, and if they want to go on an independent assignment, so to say, they must ask GJ permission first."
"So that's why their effectiveness increased in the last few months!" Shego guessed. "And here I thought that Hego might have actually gotten a smidgeon of sense knocked into him when being hit repeatedly by Electronique's toy."
Kim sighed. "No such luck. According to Ron, he's still his old charming self."
"Great." Shego muttered.
"Anyway," Kim continued "Earlier this week, a GJ task-force came to Go City to take down a secondary target from that list you compiled based on Perkins' information. Some kind of R&R facility for hench-people. Needless to say, GJ enlisted the help of Team Go and the mission went off smoothly."
"Boy, Global Justice has really whipped those boys in shape." Shego joked. "I haven't heard the words 'Team Go' and 'smooth mission' in the same sentence for a long time."
Kim couldn't help but smile and then steeled herself for the hardest part of her explanation. "Yeah, I saw the footage and it's true, they are more effective than last time I saw them in action. Mego doesn't even try that stupid 'pop-up from behind' thing anymore. Anyway, after that mission, which was the first big joint mission between GJ and Team Go, Hego got what he probably considers to be a brilliant plan, and he contacted the liaison to suggest trying to increase what he called 'the size and operational effectivity of Team Go'."
Shego slapped her hand on her face and groaned "Oh no! You don't mean…"
"I'm afraid so." Kim confirmed. "He requested permission to track you down because, and these are his words, you clearly want to do the good thing, what with getting a reward from the UN and all, and you haven't committed any crime in the last half year or so, just been laying low. And who else than a loving brother can bring a person out of the shadows of crime and back into the light of hero work?"
Shego balled her fists and did everything she could to keep her temper and not burst into flame. Despite that heroic internal battle, Kim was convinced that she saw a light green nimbus appear around Shego's balled fist. Finally, Shego's explosion limited itself to words. "That stuck-up, half-witted, ignorant, holier-than-thou, egotistical oaf! If anything could bring me back to a life of crime it would be spending a day in the same room, hell the same town as him! Please tell me that Madam Director told him to take his idea and stick it where the sun don't shine!"
Kim mutely shook her head.
"She didn't!" Shego exclaimed "She actually gave them permission to look for me?"
"Not yet." Kim corrected. "She told them she'd 'consider their request'. But what else could she tell them? Oh, no. Don't worry, she's been in our custody for the last few months. And by the way have you ever considered your capacities as an uncle?"
Shego deflated as she realized that both Kim and Dr. Director were right. An outright refusal would only have raised her brothers' suspicion. "So, why did Madam Director ask you to tell me all this?"
"Well, since this clearly has impact on your privacy and your status as a protected witness, Madam Director decided that you should have the final say in what we'll tell Team Go." Kim explained. "Either they get the green light to waste time and effort in a vain attempt to locate your current whereabouts, or they will be informed about your legal status, your condition, or both."
"No!" Shego exclaimed "Certainly don't tell them that I'm pregnant! I've hardly gotten used to the idea myself. Trying to accept that those four will be uncles is too much for now. Can't Dr. Director just tell them not to waste money to search for me because I no longer pose a danger?"
"She could if they used public money." Kim confirmed. "But not if the decide to use their private funds. They only way Dr. Director could legally forbid them from actively searching for you is if you'd get a court-order against them. But that would mean they'd get the information that you're in GJ's custody anyway." She gave a small sigh. "I'm sorry, Shego; but the two options you've got are letting them use the money, or giving them information about your current status."
"Damn!" Shego spat. "Couldn't she just have taken a decision herself, so I could blame her for that decision?"
"I guess that's one of the main reasons why she wants you to make the call." Kim said. "If it were just any other person or group, they'd have gotten the permission without any second thoughts. You've left enough false clues for them to chase their tails for ages. But Madam Director was afraid that Hego might actually spend a large part of Team Go's assets in a useless chase, and she didn't want to take responsibility for that."
Shego sighed. "Yeah, he's capable to do that. Hego has many faults, but he does have a one-track mind, and once he sets his sights on something, he won't be easily distracted. He might actually waste most of Team Go's money before he gives up." Shego took a deep breath and looked at Kim. "Fine. Limited disclosure after they swear absolute secrecy. Let them know that I'm at the moment in the custody of GJ. Nothing else! Not even that I closed the deal that put so many criminals behind bars. Let them think you finally captured me."
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A month had passed since Kim and Dr. Director had debriefed Team Go on Shego's status as an unwilling guest of Global Justice. Kim was happy that the following visits had been uneventful, and that Dr. Director hadn't even called her in for one of their discussions about Shego any more.
Kim visited on a regular basis now. Every week, her schedule had one day with only morning classes, and once those classes were done, Kim would get into her car for the 2,5 hour drive to GJ headquarters. The two young women would spend hours talking about everyday things, usually current events, Kim's college life or Shego's ongoing pregnancy. At times, Kim would even forget that less than half a year before, the two of them had come close to killing each other.
Shego was clearly showing her pregnancy now and could often be seen absently rubbing her belly. Kim had brought Shego a little treat, Belgian waffles this time, to surprise the pregnant woman.
Being with a pregnant Shego was a strange experience. The woman didn't really suffer from mood-swings, though Kim found it difficult to imagine Shego being crankier than her usual self, but she did have moments when she was highly sentimental, and her cravings for the strangest food at the weirdest moments were as strong as the classic cliché suggested. Most of the time, Shego just sent out for whatever her fancy desired at any given moment, but that didn't diminish her thankfulness each time Kim came by bringing something special to surprise the expecting mother. Her gifts always tasted the best.
"So," Kim asked after she had handed Shego her cup of coffee and waffle. "How did the last check-up go? Any idea yet whether you're gonna get a boy or a girl?"
"The check-up was fine." The pregnant woman confirmed. "The baby is developing exactly as it should. It looks as if all those worries about my powers being a possible threat to the baby were unwarranted. And no, I have no idea about the child's sex, and I don't want to know."
"You don't?" Kim asked in mild surprise. "How do you know what color you'll need for the baby's things?"
"It's gonna be green anyway." Shego said jokingly. "And for the rest, I just want to be surprised"
"So, do you think the baby will take after its father? Or would that be a bad thing?" Kim asked cautiously.
"Physically, it wouldn't." Shego claimed. When she saw Kim's look, she added. "Hey, I might not know exactly who the father is, but I do know my taste in men. You can be sure he was a looker. And as for the child's behavior, well, if it's a boy, you can bet your ass that I'm gonna teach him better than to knock up a girl and never call her back."
Kim chuckled at that statement. Still, she had this burning curiosity that had plagued her for the last three months. She just had satisfy her curiosity and finally worked up the guts to ask point blank what she wanted to know. "So, although you don't know for sure who the father is, do you have a list of Usual Suspects?"
Shego shot an annoyed look at Kim, but her guest's face showed genuine interest, not a desire to hear the latest dirty gossip about the once great thief. She relaxed and decided to be level with Kim "What I'm about to tell you stays between you and me, understand?"
"Scout's honor." Kim replied, raising one hand and placing the other over her heart.
"I didn't know you were a scout." Shego said surprised..
"6 years of pixie-Scouts." The red-head replied. "I got out when my website started demanding most of my time. But please don't change the subject now." she added.
Shego grinned and sat back in her couch, rubbing her belly with a happy smile. "Well, as I told you, my little one is the result of a crazy weekend. What follows is a tale of intrigue, crime, alcohol and lots of promiscuous sex. Are you sure your delicate, innocent ears are ready to deal with that?"
The expectant look in Kim's eyes gave Shego all the reply she needed. "I shouldn't expect anything else from a teenager who admitted she's addicted toAgony County." she chuckled. "Well, it all began with that museum heist me and Junior pulled on the day of your graduation."
"Heist?" Kim asked surprised. "I don't remember any news about a theft from a museum committed on graduation day. And certainly not one that implicated you or Junior. Although I can understand that it had gotten lost in the mayhem caused by Warmonga's invasion."
"Well, actually, it's due to the only unfortunate part of an otherwise brilliant plan. I'll come to that later. You see, it seems that Junior felt himself humiliated after that fiasco with his father's birthday."
"You mean that time I kept interrupting the two of you?" Kim inquired.
"The very same. Apparently, that boy knows how to hold a grudge, and he had sworn that he would show his father he could be a villain without the great Kim Possible interfering. He had been planning the perfect moment to commit his 'crime of the century' and hired me to do all the really difficult work. And he didn't let himself be distracted by the whole alien invasion mayhem either, I did respect him for that, I'll admit. The loot was the oldest known manuscript on the adventures of Robin Hood which at that time, was on loan in the Go City Museum of Arts. We got in, snatched the manuscript and were out before you kids were done slapping each other on the back for surviving kiddie-prison."
"So that's why he wasn't on the graduation dance!" Kim exclaimed.
"Huh?" Shego said surprised.
"Sorry, long story. I'll tell you later. Please, do continue". Kim said
"Right." Shego continued. "Junior was so anxious to show the manuscript to his father the next Monday. What he didn't know, but should have known if he had done a little more research, was that the publishing house that had given the manuscript in loan was actually one of the many companies owned by the Seniors. Needless to say, Sr. Sr. Sr. did not alert the cops when the theft was discovered."
Kim laughed out loud when she heard about Junior's mistake and Shego smiled at her reaction. "Yeah, I can laugh with it now, but I wasn't so thrilled when I found out, though. Anyway, that evening, we were in a celebratory mood. We had just stolen a priceless historical document and Kim Possible didn't even know about it. Junior decided that deserved a healthy toast, and the Seniors happen to have a well-stocked wine cellar. Now I'm not a specialist on wine, I'm more of a beer person, but I guess that the vintages Junior selected were pretty stubborn. In short, I got drunk."
Kim looked at Shego in wide-eyed surprise. "You had sex with Junior?!" she exclaimed.
"I honestly don't know." Shego admitted. "Until that day, I was always sure that Junior was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide, but ever since I woke up there, I'm not so sure any more."
Kim sighed for a moment and then confirmed. "He's straight, all right. Or at least bi. He's been dating one of my former classmates for nearly a year now."
"Junior? Dating?" Shego said surprised. "Where would he find somebody who'd be able to stand him for more than a day? Heck, for more than an hour even?"
"Well, his girlfriend was the worst, self-absorbed, narcissistic B-I-T-C-H the school has ever seen, excepting her two elder sisters." Kim said with audible contempt in her voice.
"Ah, a perfect match then?" Shego quipped.
"Oh, you have no idea!" Kim conceded. "So you think he might have cheated on Bonnie?"
Shego shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I woke up the next morning in a king-size bed in one of the many guest-quarters with one heck of a hang-over wearing nothing but my panties and one of Junior's trade-mark shirts. For all I know, he was the perfect gentleman and only helped me into bed. But then again, it's just as well possible that we got freaky for more than half the night."
"And what did you do then?" Kim wanted to know.
"What do you think I did," the former thief replied. "I grabbed my clothes and got the Hell away from that island. I didn't even wait for Junior to pay me for the job."
"So you never asked him whether..." Kim left the rest of her question hanging.
"Nope." Shego confirmed. "I never spoke to him afterward. That news about his father already owning the manuscript, I received by e-mail."
"What did you do after you got back to your place?"
"I got into civvies and went to my usual pub." Shego continued her tale. "I still had one heck of a hang-over, and on top of that, I was feeling terrible about myself. In short, I got drunk… again."
"You didn't!" Kim said in surprise. "Don't tell me you… you know…"
"Yes, I did." Shego said glumly "The next morning, I woke up naked in the apartment of one of the pub's regulars. The apartment owner was still taking a shower, so I grabbed my stuff and ran out of there. I got home and took a cold shower to ease myself and to suppress that hang-over I was having. When I was standing under that shower, I actually cried. I felt so cheap… I hadn't felt like that for a very long time."
Shego stopped her story for a moment to breathe deeply and finish her coffee. When she put her cup back on its saucer, Kim saw that her hands were trembling. She stood up and sat herself next to Shego, putting her hand on her shoulder and said. "It's OK Shego. You don't have to continue this story. I… I don't need to know any more."
"Yes, I do." Shego said firmly. "I need to get it out. And you do need to know about things like this, if you truly want to be able to help people face everyday evil."
Kim said nothing and merely nodded for Shego to continue, not leaving her side.
"Anyway, once I got out of the shower, I opened up a bottle of beer. I still had a terrible head-ache and, as I hope you'll never need to find out, the best way to stop a hang-over is actually pouring more alcohol on it. After two beers, most of the head-ache was gone, but the terrible feeling still ate at me. So I followed with a few beers more to drown that feeling. Unfortunately, I only had a six-pack of cold beer in my fridge and I hadn't even fully sobered up from the previous night yet. Now, I detest warm beer, so my addled brain decided that I would find more cool beer elsewhere. I got out again."
Shego gave a quick glance to Kim who was still sitting next to her slowly shaking her head.
"I woke up around midnight in some motel, once again naked and feeling like I was suffocating. Which wasn't such a surprise because a man I never had seen before was lying passed out on top of me. I actually threw him on the ground, got home as fast as I could and used my powers on each and every drop of alcohol I could find there. Needless to say, I haven't touched a drop of booze ever since."
"Wow." Kim said. "That's... quite the story. But during all those… escapades… didn't you use… you know…"
"Protection?" Shego prompted.
Kim blushed at Shego's question and nodded.
"No need to be so shy about thinking of that." Shego told Kim. "You're absolutely right. And the thing is: I always do use condoms. Actually, once I got my mind together the next day, I checked my wallet and noticed that 4 of them had disappeared. Now I don't know whether we got down to action 4 times and one time, the condom failed. Or one of those guys was so incompetent that after ruining 4 condoms, I gave up. Or that we did it more than 4 times and by the end, I forgot. But the crux of the matter is: something went wrong."
Shego rubbed her belly again and smiled. "Correct that. Not wrong. Just not as planned."
"You're saying that even with using condoms, you might have gotten pregnant?" Kim asked surprised.
"Well, yes." Shego confirmed. "Even in the best of circumstances when used correctly, condoms can still have a failure rate of nearly 5. And I seriously doubt that we were using them 'in the best of circumstances'. Don't you remember that from your Sex-Ed classes?" she added.
"Actually, our Sex-Ed classes were more the 'if you don't want to get pregnant, don't do it' kind." Kim told. "Usually, they were so tame I got the feeling I was in a Disney movie or something like it."
"Really?" Shego asked incredulously. "Well, if I had still been at Middleton High when you got Sex-Ed, you can be sure I wouldn't have put up with that kind of nonsense."
"You mean to say that your credentials include Sex-Ed?" Kim asked.
"Definitely." Kim's one-time substitute teacher confirmed "Actually, it was a mandatory course, but I would have included it in my package anyway."
"Maybe it wasn't so bad then that you stopped being our teacher." Kim stated. "No offense, but I just can't imagine getting Sex-Ed from you, that would just have been way beyond sick and wrong. It was bad enough to get the whole birds and the bees talk with Mom when I hit puberty, but getting a detailed do and don't explanation from my former enemy…. The mind boggles at the idea itself. It's a lot better to just discuss this stuff with a friend, like we're doing now, than to have to know it for an exam."
"Well, I understand what you're saying, Kimmie." Shego replied. "But don't forget, when it comes to Sex-Ed, the only real exam is the one imposed on you by life itself."
Kim hung her head and very meekly said "Yes, Ma'am."
"Oh my God," Shego giggled. "I sounded exactly like a teacher there, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did." Kim said smiling mischievously. Finally, the tension of the previous minutes broke, and both of them had a healthy laugh.
Once they regained their composure, Shego looked at Kim and asked her "Say, did you just call me a friend?"
"Yes, I did." Kim replied without hesitation.
"When did we become friends?" Shego inquired.
Kim held up her hands; not exactly sure about the correct answer either. "Somewhere between then and now, I'd say."
"Don't you think that's… weird? You and me being friends?" the former thief asked.
"Somehow, yes…" Kim conceded. "But in other ways, this just feels perfectly OK. As if we know each other so well for so long, that we've been friends without even knowing it."
"Shouldn't the world implode or something?" Shego asked jokingly. "Don't get me wrong, what we're having here, I like it, but it's nothing like that time I got hit by the Attitudinator."
"Tell me about it." Kim confirmed. "You're still the same person you've always been, and I guess that's a good thing. Back then, you were more like a big sister and at times, I actually felt protective towards you. But now, you're still the same, strong woman you've always been. The only difference is: you're choosing not to commit a crime, which only shows your strength more. Something I can respect."
"So," Shego said cautiously "You think we can continue to be friends, even after I have this baby?"
"Why not?" Kim confirmed. "Anything is possible for a Possible, and you do whatever you want anyway."
"Well then," Shego said while lifting her cup of coffee. "Here's to an interesting friendship."
"Toasting with coffee?" Kim said incredulously.
"I'm pregnant and you're a minor." Shego stated firmly.
Kim raised her cup as well. "To an interesting friendship." She repeated while they toasted.
"That still doesn't mean you get to be the godmother." Shego added teasingly.
--End of Chapter 4--
I hope you guys feel this chapter was worth the wait. I know that some of you will probably hate me for what happened to Shego, but the sad truth is, I've seen too many otherwise intelligent people, both men and women, get themselves in the worst trouble one can imagine when under the influence of alcohol. They say that one has to write what they know, and believe me, I know more about this than I'd want to. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against alcohol, heck I like a good glass from time to time as well, but it's always important to know your limits.
Okay, so far for this short public service rant.
Next: Kim goes shopping; three guess what she's looking for.
