&& something worth a wish
"I had fun tonight."
"Me too."
Shego had parked her convertible in Kim's driveway and the two women were awkwardly standing in the doorway. Kim was holding Emmie as she wondered what exactly was happening. During the course of the evening, both had shyly admitted their feelings to each other and were on the same page. But that, in itself, brought them a whole slew of problems.
Were they both ready for something like this? (Whatever this may be.) Kim scrunched up her face in thought as she looked down to the sleeping form of her daughter. Would Shego accept the fact that if Emmie was part of-
"Kim." Shego placed both hands on the redhead's shoulders, effectively breaking her train of thought. "We'll play it slow. Don't think too hard on it."
Kim nodded. Should she kiss Shego good night? Or was it too early for such displays of aff-
Shego moved in first, but hovered slightly, as if silently asking the redhead if this was ok. Kim closed the gap without any hesitation.
What was supposed to be a romantic moment was ruined when Emmie cracked open her eyes and saw a curtain of ebony hair before her.
So she took a fistful and tugged.
"Hi Auntie Shego!"
The woman greeted the ever-growing child who ran toward her with a hug. "Hey, squirt. You eat breakfast yet?" Emmie nodded and followed Shego into the kitchen.
Kim had just finished washing the dishes and watched as Shego put down grocery bags on the kitchen counter. "Was it crowded this morning?"
Shego shook her head. "Nah, just your typical day at the grocer."
"Auntie Shego, I have a question!" said Emmie as she raised her hand.
Shego noted the amused expression on Kim's face as she left the kitchen, giving the two privacy.
"What's up, Emmie?"
"How come you don't live here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Mom and I come over, or you come over, but you don't live here with us."
"Do you want me to live here with you and your mom?"
The child's eyes lit up in delight. "Can you? Pretty please?"
Shego grinned. "I'll talk to your mom about it."
"Ok," smiled Emmie.
"Hi, 'Mommy'," said Kim as Shego entered the bedroom.
The older woman simply grinned. "That was unexpected."
"Why? Emmie loves you as much as she loves me."
"I just think motherhood was never in the cards for me."
"Because of your life choices?"
"No," said Shego as she climbed into bed. "The comet probably ruined my body... I don't think it would result in a genetically-normal kid if I wanted to bear a child."
"You don't know that," replied Kim as she touched Shego's hand.
"I wouldn't want to risk it anyway."
Kim nodded in understanding. Both women were sitting in bed with their backs to the head board. The redhead gently laid her head on Shego's shoulder before quietly asking, "Are you ok with this?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You knew that being with me also included Emmie-"
"-It's not like I would've asked you to abandon her. I knew what I was getting myself into."
"Ok."
"Did you think I was going to bail because of Emmie?"
Kim looked away in embarrassment.
"Hey," Shego used a finger to gently turn Kim's face towards her. "That's understandable."
"It still makes me feel guilty about it."
"I wouldn't leave you because of Emmie. Hell, I'm having fun helping you raise her."
Kim smiled weakly, still feeling bad about the thoughts that had gone through her head.
"Princess, don't feel bad about it," said Shego as she gently brushed her lips onto Kim's forehead.
"Remember that time I doubted you and we had that fight in your living room?"
"Yeah, I was being stupid at the time."
"I promised myself that I shouldn't doubt you from then on... I broke that promise-"
"-You didn't. You just weren't sure about things and emotions clouded your thoughts."
"I doubted you - that, in itself, is bad."
"Don't worry about it." Shego puffed up her chest, as if pretending to be a knight in armour. "I'm here to stay."
"I know," said Kim as she kissed her girlfriend - no, Shego was something more than that now - her life partner on the lips.
"Owwww!"
"Emmie, no, stop that!"
The baby cooed and kept tugging.
"She really likes my hair-ow!" Shego scrunched up her face in pain and then blew a raspberry at Emmie.
The child let go, to Shego's relief, and giggled.
"I am SO sorry, Shego," said the redhead.
The older woman untangled her hair with her fingers and chuckled, "I really need to put my hair up when Emmie's awake."
"Are you ok?" Kim reached out to touch Shego's hair but then stopped mid-air. A thought had crossed her mind and she was about to pull back when Shego held onto her hand.
"I'm fine." Shego analysed the look on Kim's face - a mixture of relief and fear - before asking, "Are you?"
Kim let go of the breath she was holding and nodded. She squeezed Shego's hand gently in response.
"Ok," murmured her companion. It's nice, Shego thought, to hold Kim's hand.
The baby's giggling suddenly reminded them of where they were.
"Um, I guess I should go..."
"A-are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah, she didn't tug that hard enough to rip out my hair... She's got quite the grip."
"Ok... Well... Good night, Shego."
Kim acted without thinking and kissed the woman on the cheek. When she pulled away and felt her own cheeks burning, Shego had turned a darker shade of green.
"Good night, Kimmie. You too, you little hair-playing munchkin."
Shego stretched her legs in the park. It was 5 AM, but she felt like going for a morning run after the previous night's events. She had ended up lying awake in bed, wondering why she had made the first punch at Kim. It wasn't as if Kim had done something wrong, right? Kim was trying to defend her in front of her father, but he had remained prejudiced over the years that had passed. Whatever happened when Kim was a teenager with Drew was ten years ago - don't people deserve second chances?
The problem is, Shego thought, that I will never lead a normal life again. Never.
She finished her leg stretches and did a few jumping jacks.
Nothing like getting the blood pumping through the veins, she thought.
It was still dark outside, but she had decided that a morning run would clear her mind of these thoughts that were bothering her - was it guilt? She did feel bad for trying to attack Kim: she noted that the redhead had simply dodged her blows, but did nothing to fight back. Maybe Kim did trust her completely.
It wasn't because of the baby that Shego didn't end up hitting her... was it? Was she losing her touch? No, wait, she wasn't in that game anymore, so why did she act that way? Did Kim's trust mean all that much to her?
Argh, I need to stop thinking about this, she thought.
She popped in her ear buds and put on her workout playlist. A morning run will clear everything up.
She ran around the park three times until she saw the glows of the sun brightening her surroundings. She paused her playlist, pulled out her headphones, and stood still to watch the sight.
Maybe I should give this friendship with Kim another chance, she thought. But first, I have to apologise.
"So it's all not that difficult, just fix her some baby food and she should stop crying about it. Unless she's started teething, then that's why."
"Ok, thanks, Mom. I'll see what I can do about it."
Kim put her keys on the door side table. "Well, here we are... It looks different than what you saw when you came to help me pick a place." She picked up the baby carrycot where Emmie was tucked inside and was fast asleep.
"Very nice decor, Kim." Anne took a good look around. "I'm surprised it's not a toy battlefield here."
"Oh, yeah, we cleaned it up last night since you told me you were visiting."
"We?" asked the older redhead as she watched her daughter gently lift the sleeping baby from the basket.
"Uh, Shego came by to help with Emmie, so..." she said as she went up the stairs to Emmie's room. Anne followed and noted that, while her granddaughter's room was covered with stuffed toys, her daughter's room was a disaster zone. Clothes were strewn everywhere and boxes were not unpacked.
"...So...?" prompted Anne.
"She helped me with clean-up."
"You're spending an awful lot of time with her."
Kim shrugged as she put Emmie in her crib and tucked her in. "We're just hanging out while I look after Emmie. It's no big."
"Kim, you said she comes over to help with Emmie. What does that entail?"
"Um, she helps with keeping Emmie entertained when I'm trying to do laundry and stuff... And she helps cook."
"I'm not sure if you're just making her help you look after Emmie, Kim. If you need me to help, I can take fewer shifts at the hospital."
"No, it's ok, Mom. I've got it under control."
"Does Shego work?"
Kim shook her head. "No, she doesn't... Well, I mean, she can but she chooses not to, I think."
"Is this because of what the comet has done to her?"
Kim knew that her mother was referring to Shego's skin colour, but she honestly doubted that was the case. It was probably more because Shego was still known as a former criminal.
"No... I think she's just settled well for the next little while, that's all."
"All the money that she-"
"-I don't know, we don't talk about this sort of stuff." Kim took Mister Tibbles, Emmie's teddy bear from the floor and placed it beside the sleeping redhead.
"So what do you talk about?"
Kim shrugged. "Unimportant things like what we've been doing in the past ten years and stuff like that."
Anne sighed. "Kimmie, you know your father is worried about you. And frankly, I am too. You barely know a thing about Shego yet you're letting her help you take care of your baby."
"Does it really matter what her past has done to her? It wouldn't affect Emmie in either way - besides, she has a degree in child development... She understands children probably more than me... So she's been a big help."
"All right, as long as you think it's ok."
Kim said nothing in response. What was with both her parents? Why had they become so judgemental about her new friend?
They shuffled their way into the bedroom. They were still in lip lock when Kim tripped and landed on her back on the bed.
"Well, now, this is a compromising position," smirked Shego as she peered at Kim.
The redhead grinned. "Is it really?" She took advantage of the moment and managed to roll them both over, reversing their positions.
"You know," said Shego as she noted the desire in Kim's eyes, "We should be glad the baby's asleep. You're not a screamer, are you?"
Kim blinked and then stared hard at Shego. She felt her face burn - she was blushing, no doubt.
"Oh, Kimmie, you're such a prude," laughed Shego as she pecked the redhead on the cheek.
"I don't scream! I think...?"
Shego reversed their positions again and simply grinned. "We'll see about that." She saw Kim avert her eyes uncomfortably and climbed off the redhead. "What's wrong? Are we... going too fast?"
The redhead sat up and shook her head. "I..." She stuttered. "I've actually never done it with a woman..."
"Oh." Shego put an arm around Kim. "Don't worry... If you're not ready, then-"
"-I am."
"Just tell me if you want to stop and I will."
"Ok." The redhead leaned in to kiss Shego on the lips.
The older woman's hands roamed over the redhead's form and eventually found their way under Kim's shirt. She was about to get the shirt off when she heard the baby crying.
Kim broke the kiss and gave Shego an apologetic look that was returned with a shrug. She got out of bed and headed to the next room.
Gosh, Emmie, you have the worst timing, thought Shego as she ran a hand through her hair.
"Everything'll be fine."
"How can you say that?"
"Anything's possible for a Possible."
"..."
"Shego, please stop worrying."
"I can't help it."
"I know you care... It's no big. We'll be fine."
"I-I- don't want to lose you-"
"-You won't. I'll fight it. All of it. For you and for Emmie."
"So, Shego, you've been coming over here a lot to help Kim babysit."
"Mom..."
The ebony-haired woman put down her coffee and looked at Anne. "I've got time to kill."
"Apparently a lot of it," murmured the older Possible.
Anne had stopped by again this morning to spend some time with her grandchild but was surprised that Shego had also come over for breakfast.
"Being a reformed criminal has apparently limited the number of things I could do," said Shego with a shrug. "You can have Global Justice to thank for that."
"Oh?" asked Kim. "What do you mean?"
"You don't think they've got me monitored? I know that they have people on the look-out for me in case I ever end up doing something," she paused to make air-quotation marks, "evil again."
"I didn't realise-"
"-it's nothing. Doctor Director probably knows I hang out here." Shego shrugged. "You do realise she also has you monitored too?"
Anne and Kim shared an uneasy look.
"I thought the agreement was that they leave you be, Kimmie."
"Me too, mom... Shego, how long have you known?"
"You should ask your Nerdlinger. Doesn't he tell you about stuff like this?"
"Wade stayed on to help Global Justice... I actually haven't heard from him since my last mission."
"Which was shortly before you got married," said Anne. "Tell me, Shego, how did you come across this information?"
"I wasn't a thief - uh, now an ex-thief," the woman added with extra emphasis for the doctor, "- for nothing. I'm sufficient with simple hacking."
"I doubt you could call hacking Global Justice's system simple," replied the brain surgeon.
Shego shrugged. "I'm reformed now and didn't do anything." She winked.
Anne fed Emmie some applesauce. "Is that how you came across Kimmie's address? By hacking into a Global Justice database? Very few people know where Kim is right now. If what you say is true, then you could've come across this information while perusing their system."
"Mom! You shouldn't be so doubtful of Shego's intentions!"
"It's ok, Kim. I understand why your parents are skeptical of me." Shego shook her head. "I didn't know Kim moved here until I ran into her in the park." She looked Anne in the eye, silently conveying that it was the truth.
The older redhead blinked once in acknowledgement and remained silent as she continued feeding Emmie. Oblivious to the tension in the room, the baby happily ate her applesauce as it was fed to her.
"Thousands of people have shown up to this memorial and we'll now go live to Bob who is currently on the scene. Bob, tell us what it's like."
The screen flickers and a middle-aged reporter stared back. He is dressed in a simple black suit, no doubt as a sign of respect, as he replies.
"Hi Barbara, I'm here at the memorial and we have many people here whose lives have been touched by the former teen hero, Kim Possible. With me now is Emilio Sanchez. Tell me about how Kim helped you."
The camera pans over to a burly looking man in his late forties. He dabs his eyes with a handkerchief and sniffles loudly. "I called her once to help me save my crops from a grasshopper infestation. Miss Possible was opposed to me killing them with pesticide, and had managed to find an environmentally friendly way of moving them to an empty adjoining field and then later to a conservatory. I'm truly grateful for her help and offer my condolences to her family."
"Thank you, Emilio, for sharing this story," says the reporter. The camera pans back to him. In the background, mourners in black place flowers at the grave. "I understand that Ron Stoppable also showed up at this service earlier today. He didn't give any interviews, but we do have a photo that a viewer submitted-"
The screen fades to black as the TV is turned off.
Emmie watched the two adults sit down on the couch. She was playing with her teddy on the floor. The woman she knew as her mother was fidgeting and the other woman appeared to be shifting her eyes about in the room.
This lady was always nice to her. When she cried, the lady was around to pick her up, tickle her, and make silly faces at her.
Emmie crawled toward this lady and cooed. On cue, the lady picked her up and made silly noises. Her mother smiled at her, as if silently thanking her for being the distraction.
"Eeeeee."
Her mother said something in surprise and the lady tilted her head.
"Eeeeeeguuu."
Emmie frowned. Why was it hard to express herself? She tried again.
"Eeeeegoo."
The lady blinked and then looked at her mother.
She saw her mother's lips move again and heard an indiscernible sound she just couldn't make out. So she repeated herself again.
"Eeeeegoo!"