Well, here we are, another day, another chapter.

I would like to thank everyone for their reviews and favs again. I haven't responded to any of them yet because mostly it's been asking stuff that will be answered later in the story, and I don't want to spoil anything.

Enjoy.

Chapter 3

She woke up on the sofa as the door opened and Ron came stumbling in. A glance at the clock showed her it was almost two in the morning, and she gasped as turned around and saw him.

His face was bruised from his right eye all the way down his jaw, and he was favoring his left arm by keeping it pressed to his chest. Kim was helping him into the house, and didn't look to have a mark on her. In an instant Shego was on his other side, supporting him. "What happened?" she asked, her voice snarling. Kim glared at her, but Ron gave her a very bruised half smile.

"Monge fus." He slurred. Shego barely kept herself from glaring at the Princess.

"Monkey Fist showed up out of no where," Kim said, letting out a huff. "I have no idea what he was doing, there was literally nothing monkey related at that golf course. We'd almost finished wrapping up Killigan when Monte came out of the sand trap and started attacking Ron."

"Uh houd hee he uber gui," Ron said, drawing a scowl from Shego. They walked him over to the sofa and helped him down gently.

"You hush," Shego said, far harsher than she meant to, before storming into the kitchen, returning with three bags of frozen veggies. She slapped one into his hand and made him press it against his bruised face.

"Why didn't you take him to a hospital?" she snapped at the Princess, who stood up indignantly.

"Excuse me?" Kim snapped.

Shego leaned in towards the younger woman. "Why, isn't, he, at, a, hospital," she said slowly, glaring.

"He refused," Kim snapped back, "He insisted on coming home. Insisted that nothing was broken and he had to get back. I can't imagine why, seeing what's here."

Shego felt her temper flaring and was about to snap back when she felt Ron's hand on hers. "Eila, own." He mumbled. When she looked at him, he pointed down with his finger. "Own, ir."

For a moment, she resisted. Here was Princess, giving her grief, after letting Ron get hurt. Her breathing was harsh, wanting the fight, trying to ignore the flush of fear she'd felt seeing him hurt. Not just fear for herself, but honest fear for him. "Eila," Ron mumbled, "Pez."

It was the please that did it, and she reluctantly backed down, slinking to kneel beside him and take his injured arm in her hands. Gently, she pressed her fingers along it, ignoring his hisses of pain, making sure nothing was broken before she grabbed the other frozen bags to press against where he'd reacted the worst. She ignored Kim's shocked gaze as best she could. She also ignored the feelings that were buzzing around in her stomach.

She slightly surprised herself with the growl that rumbled in her chest as Kim moved to sit down on Ron's other side. The shocked looks on their faces showed she surprised them as well.

"What the..." Kim started, but Ron took the bag off his face and made a waving motion.

"Uh, his okay Im," he mumbled, "ah hink m ok. Oh het hom leep." He gave his best friend the best smile he could.

"Right..." Kim said, her voice and face unreadable. Shego ignored her, gently pressing ice and arm between her hands and Ron's chest. "I'll check up on you later today." Ron gave her a thumbs up before resting his head back and pressing the frozen bag back on the bruise. Shego waited until Kim had left and shut the door behind her before she glared at her owner.

"Y-you promised!" she hissed her eyes itchy for some strange reason, her fist lashing out lightly and hitting him the shoulder. He yelped and curled up and pain, and her eyes went wide. In seconds, and despite his protest, she'd shredded hit shirt with her plasma, revealing a massive bruise where she'd punched him.

"Why didn't you go to a hospital!" she practically shriek at him, as she realized most of his chest was bruises.

"ohing is broken," He said through clenched teeth. "hits just bruises."

"You could have internal bleeding!" she snarled, getting in his face, "You idiot!"

"ah already ook care of at," He said."

"What?" She said flatly.

"ah already eeled any," He replied, looking in her eyes. "ystica onky owrs, re'er?"

She paused, trying to figure out what he said. "Mystical Honky towers?"

Ron shook his head, briefly laughing before crying out in pain. She caught him as he nearly doubled over, and pressed him gently back into the sofa. "Onky, onky powrs," he repeated, "Ook, ook."

"Oh," she said. She vaguely recalled him having something to do with monkeys, which was why Fisk hated him if she recalled. "You can heal yourself with them?" Ron nodded.

She felt herself deflate, and got up to go grab him some pain killers, returning with a couple of pills and a glass of juice. Ron took them gratefully, washing down the entire glass as she sat a foot away from.

"Ah owwy or sca'in ou," Ron said softly.

"Please try not to do it again," She said softly, barely look at him, but she caught the motion of him nodding. When she saw him struggling to get up, she swiftly moved to help him, then all but carried him upstairs to his room.

Then she ignored his protests as she stripped him down to his boxers, ignoring the tent in them, put him to bed. He gazed up at her, drifting off thanks to the meds and exhaustion as she stripped down and curled up at his feet.

"Ou on' hav to eep here," Ron mumbled. Shego shifted so she was facing him, glaring in the dark and making sure he knew it even if he could couldn't see it.

"Stupid master," she growled, before flipping back over to face away from him. She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing even out. 'Good girls don't leave their Masters unprotected,' was the last thought that drifted through her mind before she fell asleep.

"Ow."

"Baby."

"Owowowowowow," Ron hissed as Shego 'gently' lowered him into the hot bath.

"Stop being a baby," She glared down at him as he slid down so the water was up to his chin.

"I'm not being a baby," Ron whined, "It just really hurts."

"Well, maybe that will teach you to block punches rather than being the bag," She said snippily. She couldn't help but look him over again. After a nights sleep, he could at least talk mostly normal again, but his bruises were even worse, if that were possible. Mystical Monkey powers apparently weren't up to the strength of her own healing abilities, but it seemed they were better than nothing. She had insisted on helping him into a hot bath anyways. He had insisted on being allowed to put on swim trunks rather than be completely naked in front of her.

She wouldn't admit she didn't have the heart to fight him over it and had simply agreed. She'd even held off teasing him about it too. He was rather well muscled though, that was something that couldn't be hidden. She simply dressed in a light green bikini, and answered his questioning look by flatly stating she was going to help in the bath and there was no reason to wear anything else.

She settled herself on the side of the tub, watching him pensively as he soaked. There had been some Epsom salts, along with a few other things for bruises and strained muscles. Shego supposed she shouldn't be surprised, Ron might be dense but he'd been doing martial arts long enough to know how to deal with the injuries. Still, he didn't have everything and it hurt not being able to do something as simple as go to the store and buy what they needed.

It was ironic, she thought, that she might have had more freedom as a slave than as a pet. She brushed that thought aside. No good could come from it.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked softly, dipping a hand in the water and flaring her plasma gently to warm it back up. She stiffened slightly as his uninjured hand came up out of the water to rest on her thigh. It was a surprisingly intimate gesture given he barely touched her beyond head pats and the hugs.

She tried to ignore how it made her feel.

"No, I'm alright," Ron said. She could feel the exhaustion in his voice, "this is helping." He looked up at her. "Thank you."

She felt her cheeks flush and looked away. "Whatever," she snapped, drawing her hand from the water.

"Seriously," he said, squeezing her thigh. "Thank you Sheila. You're a very good girl for master."

She snapped her head around at the tone of his voice, which was completely sincere. With his face bruised and swollen,she couldn't tell if he was making fun of her, but his what she could see looked more content than mocking.

"Stupid Master," she said, turning her face away from him so he couldn't see her flush.

"You're probably right," Ron said with a sigh as he relaxed. He didn't pull his hand away, she noticed. She tried to ignore the fact she felt reassured by his touch remaining.

She stayed there long past the point sitting on the tub got uncomfortable, warming the water occasionally. She tried to not react when his hand started stroking her thigh rather than just resting on it. His fingers lightly brushing the skin of her inner thigh, rising higher than the young man was probably aware. Then as it continued, she tried to hide her reaction as it carried on.

When that got impossible she got up, startling him. "I...I'm going to go make you some breakfast," she said. She wondered if the words sounded as rushed as they felt. Before he could say anything, she slipped out the door.

Her breathing was surprisingly ragged when she got to the kitchen. She didn't have to touch herself to know just how sensitive or ready she was. 'I...I shouldn't let him get to me like this,' she cursed herself.

Angrily she put on some hot water and started digging through the cabinets. She was not a cook and she made no claims to be. Fancy and lovely breakfasts were out. But there was oatmeal, and fruit, and coffee, and she could make those without screwing up. She even managed to find a tray to carry everything on after she dished and poured it out.

Ron was where she had left him. She paused. He looked young and innocent under the bruises. He opened his eyes and looked up at her with a broken smile as she came back in.

"You sure we should eat in here?" He asked, "I can get out and we can go eat in the kitchen."

"By the time you dried yourself off everything would be cold," She said coolly, setting the tray down on the counter and picking up one of the bowls of oatmeal and a coffee, before perching herself on the tub again. She set down the coffee and scooped up some of the oatmeal. "Now sit up and eat."

Ron groaned, but pushed himself up more before reaching to take the bowl from her. She noticed him wince as he tried it and glowered at him, before lightly slapping his hands away. "Stupid Master," she muttered, shifting herself and the coffee closer towards his head, before spooning up some oatmeal and holding the spoon in front of his face. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Ron relented with a sigh and allowed her to feed him.

"This is honestly embarrassing," He muttered halfway through the bowl.

Shego smirked down at him, leaning down to give him a better view of her cleavage. "Really? Most men would kill to be fed by a hot, virtually naked woman while lying in a relaxing bath." She purred, enjoying as he flushed from more than the hot water. "Much less by one who constantly calls him 'Master,'"

"I...guess you have a point." Ron said with a sigh, consenting to let her keep feeding him. His right arm came up out the tub and rested across her legs, his hand curling naturally around her hip. She felt his fingertips brush where her swimsuit ended on her ass.

While the tub was not comfortable at all, and his absent minded fingers were distracting, Shego had to admit it was kind of pleasant tending to the young man in the bath. He had been nothing but kind to her during this whole horrible situation, and she knew lots of guys would have absolutely taken advantage of her given the circumstances. Not that she would have blamed them, really, but Ron hadn't.

Maybe he deserved something special for it. It was something she'd have to consider. Later.

"So, do you think I can drink my coffee on my own or are you going to feed that too me as well?" Ron asked. His fingers were tracing the edge of her bikini and it was starting to distract her even more.

She turned back to him from setting the empty bowl on the tray and smirked. "Oh, I'm not sure. Master is so injured, it might be too dangerous." She purred, leaning over him and taking the coffee in her left hand. "Perhaps his Sheila needs to do it for him as well."

He squirmed in the tub, his eyes shooting between her face and the breasts she was showing off. "And...uh...how would you do that?" He asked nervously.

Unbidden the image of her sipping the coffee, and then feeding it to him with a kiss flashed across her mind, making her freeze. She was suddenly very aware of his hand on her ass, his arm across her thighs, and the fact that the feelings she'd thought she'd pushed aside while cooking had come back with a vengeance.

"With a kiss..." came out in a harsh, husky whisper, surprising her and him at the same time. They sat, frozen, staring into each other eyes and she wasn't sure who was more shocked. Shego recovered first, or though she did, and slid away from him, placing the mug in his hand and much to her further embarrassment, fled the bathroom without another word.

A couple hours later, she was still out in the backyard laying face down in a lawn chair, trying to decide if she needed to go back in and make sure he hadn't drowned or if it was better to stay here. It was probably better to stay there, she decided. Less chance of something happening. What that something was, she wasn't sure.

"Stupid Shego," she growled into her arms, "what is wrong with you?"

"Honestly, I don't think there's anything wrong with you," Ron's voice said suddenly, making her jump in surprise. She landed on her knees, hands blazing, to find him still heavily bruised, but dressed in a jersey and cargo pants giving her a kind smile.

"How long have you been there," Shego hissed, feeling flushed with embarrassment. It took a lot more effort than she wanted to admit to quench the plasma. "I didn't hear you come out."

Ron just kept smiling and gingerly moved over to sit on the chair with her, gently taking her hands in his uninjured one. "Not long," he said, and part of her felt he wasn't being entirely truthful, "It took a while to get out of the bath and dry off with only one hand, since my pretty pet ran away and left me all alone."

The blush might have faded if he hadn't called her pretty, though she wasn't aware of it. She looked down at their joined hands and part of her wanted to pull away, but his grip was surprisingly strong. "I...I'm sorry," she said softly. The words were hard to say, since apologizing wasn't really in her nature. "I...I went to far in the bath."

Ron didn't call her out on it, just squeeze her hands and smiled while he blushed as well, she noticed. "It's alright," He said, "It's like you said, you need something to control in your life."

'He thought I was just teasing him,' Shego realized, and looked away, 'That's probably the safe option.' Still, she felt a disappointed for reasons she didn't understand or at least didn't want to admit. "Right," she said softly, not looking back, "Still, I'm sorry."

'Stupid Master,' part of her whispered softly in her thoughts.

"You're forgiven, Shego," Ron said and she felt him kiss her hair. She hoped he didn't notice her breath catching for a second. "Now come inside, it's bad enough I'm all bruised up, we don't need you getting sunburned as well." He stood up gingerly and drew her to her feet, leading her back inside. "One of us needs to be smart and be able to take care of the other, and we all know I'm too dumb to be that one."

She could tell he was trying to be funny, but something in his voice when he called himself dumb sounded so defeated it was like something broke inside her as well. Without thinking she seized him from behind in a hug, her face buried in his shoulders. 'When did he get so tall?' she wondered as he froze.

"You're not dumb!" she found herself saying, almost against her will. "M-master is stupid! And careless! But he's not dumb!" She wasn't sure why she was clutching him so tightly, and she knew it had to be painful with his bruises, but she couldn't make herself let go. "You're kind, and sweet, and..."

She trailed off as she felt his arm wrap around hers and twist his head back to look at her, but she kept her face buried between his shoulders so he couldn't see her face. He let out a sigh. "Alright Sheila," he said softly. "I'm not dumb. Okay?"

She nodded against his back, confused as to where her outburst had come from, but in too deep to back out now.

"Would you like some hot chocolate? I know I would." He asked, and she found herself nodding again.

"I'll go make it, Master," she said. There was no teasing in the word, not that she noticed. She started to pull away, but as soon as her arms were loose enough he turned around in them and pulled her into a surprising tight hug, this time with her face buried in his chest.

"Thank you," he said softly. She felt him kiss the top of her head, gently. Against her will, she relaxed against him, hands coming up to clench in his shirt. "And I'm sorry for worrying you. I will try to be more careful in the future and not be such stupid master."

She nodded into his chest, becoming aware that tears were leaking into the cloth. 'When did I get so weak?' She asked herself. The answer was obvious, of course. She needed him to live, and if anything happened to him, then she would fall in to the yawning abyss waiting to swallow her up. Except for the one thin, fragile life line that ran between them.

For the last month the collar, and leash, felt like a noose around her neck, waiting to kill her. It still did, to be honest. But part of her suddenly saw it in her mind's eye as the one think keeping her from that abyss, the other end in Ron's shockingly strong grip, refusing to let her go. But he seemed so fragile, and she was terrified of anything happening to him, she realized.

She pressed closer, nodding into his chest as her tears silently poured into his shirt. He just held her close and let her cry, and she felt herself being more grateful to him than she had to anyone in years. As far as the world was concerned, she was just an animal, but she was still a person to him and that was coming to mean more to her than she could say.

Shego wasn't sure how long they stood there, but eventually forced herself away from his chest. For a moment Ron resisted, but gently relented after a moment. Still, the motion shifted her enough to feel how holding her for so long had affected him.

Wiping tears away, she gave him a slight smirk. "N-naughty Master, getting off on crying girls," she said. The teasing was ruined slightly by the slight hic that ended her words. She stilled as his expression became unreadable. 'Maybe I went too far again,' she worried.

Then his hand landed on her ass in a firm slap, making her yelp in shock and jump against him. "Bad girl," he said, and she was surprised at how strained and husky his voice sounded. "Teasing M..Master isn't nice." She yelped as a second slap landed on her ass.

She noticed, however, that his reaction seemed to be getting stronger. 'I-is he...playing with me?' she though, finding herself pressed even closer to him and letting out another soft yelp as a third spank landed, this time on the other cheek. 'T-testing me? Seeing how far he can go?'

A forth one landed and despite her ingrained response to anyone slapping her ass, much less repeatedly, she was suddenly aware of her own reaction to this very, very surprising new dominance and risk Ron was taking, and of a new way she suddenly wanted to respond to it as it flooded through her. Without even thinking she was nuzzling under his chin, whimpering. 'What am I doing?' she thought, 'I...I should be putting him in his place!'

'He is in his place,' the little voice answered, 'He's in Master's place. You should be in yours. Why aren't you?'

She was barely aware as the fifth smack landed, hands clenched in his shirt, whimpering under his chin. 'My place?'

'Yes,' the little voice, that sounded like her, yet different, purred. 'Your place. Under Master.'

That sent a shudder, and several rapid images of Ron over her, holding her leash. Pinning her. Petting her.

Filling her.

"P-please," she gasped into his neck as another spank landed. She shuddered, her body clenching with a need she both understood and didn't.

"Sheila?" Ron's voice broke through as he stilled. His hand was still on her ass. She was aware of how close they were. How hard he was. How excited she was. When she didn't respond he asked again. "Shego...are you okay?"

She didn't want to think about how emerald she was, and she didn't think she could look him in the eyes at the moment. A slight whimper tore out of her throat as she nodded into his neck.

"I'm sorry," Ron said, "I don't know what happened, I shouldn't have done that." She felt his hand coming off her ass.

Part of her wanted to tell him he was right. He shouldn't have done that. But that little voice was hissing in her ear, saying things she didn't want to hear, but that matched that coiling need that was taking over her body and mind. She swallowed hard.

"B-bad girls," she started, her breath catching in her throat as his hand gently took her arm to try and push her away."Bad girls...need to be spanked...Master." she managed to get out, trying to keep her face buried in his neck so he couldn't see how embarrassed she was.

Or how surprisingly needy she felt.

She felt him stiffen even more and make a number of choking sounds.

"R-right," he croaked. She felt him shudder as he tried to clear his throat. "Well...right now I need you to be a very, very good girl and go make that hot chocolate. Okay?"

"Okay," she said softly, and slid away from him, doing her best to keep him from seeing her face. And if she was unsteady on her feet from the need she found flooding herself, she wrote it off as just swaying her hips to tease Master. After all, teasing him gave her power.

Right?

That excuse lasted at least until she was out of sight, at which point she realized her bikini was soaked and her breathing was far more ragged than she'd realized. Being turned on wasn't a strange feeling for her, but she realized this was far more excited than she'd been in a long time.

'There's no way I can make anything like this,' she thought. Not that she could take care of the problem. The best she could do is change clothes so he wouldn't notice the state of her panties. She was pretty sure Ron was a virgin, but who knew what he knew and it would either lead to some very embarrassing questions, or some just as embarrassing knowledge.

So she scampered up to their room and to the drawer that kept her clothes, swapping out the bikini for a black skirt and green t-shirt that clung to her, with a matching set of underwear underneath. She was about to toss the bikini in her laundry pile when she froze, looking at the soiled panties.

'He did that to you,' the little voice purred. 'He made you like that. Master.' The last word was drawn out, sending a thrill she didn't understand through her, but that flamed up any of the heat that might have died down while she focused on changing. 'Your Master,' the voice teased her, 'He did that. He made you into a hot little needful thing.'

The images from earlier flashed again. Ron, holding her leash. Ron, petting her.

Ron. Pinning her to the bed, her ass in the air, holding her leash tight in his fist. Filling her. She felt a whimper in the back of her throat, but managed to hold it in.

Almost angrily, she threw the bikini in the pile and stalked away. She didn't like being out of control. She didn't like these unbidden thoughts that were suddenly flooding her head. They weren't her. It was Ron who was supposed to want her. He was the one who was supposed to be the needful thing. Not her!

But at the same time...she found she wanted to wrap herself up in them. To give in. After all, who knew how long she was going to be a pet. 'Not a pet,' The little voice purred, 'Master Ron's pet.' What was so wrong about giving in? It certainly looked more enjoyable in those images than the ones that had filled her for the last months of yawning abysses, losing herself in fear and terror.

'A prison is a prison,' She told herself, 'And I hate being in prison.'

'Maybe,' The little voice said, as she found herself back in the kitchen, pulling out the stuff to make hot chocolate and suddenly aware that she'd skipped breakfast hours ago when she ran away from Ron and the bath. 'But there's a difference in a comfy cell with soft beds, tvs, and books and a man who fucks you, and being stuck in a solitary concrete cell to be sliced open.'

She grimaced, not really able to argue with that, and tried to focus on making the hot chocolate, along with a sandwich. She settled for turkey and Swiss on rye, wishing there was some bacon.

"Maybe I can convince him to get some to give me as a special treat for being a good girl," she mumbled to herself, munching away hungrily. She'd found out after moving in Ron was Jewish, and while he didn't seem to be much into practicing it, little things like not having pork products stuck around.

The image of her kneeling at his feet, begging happily as he fed her bits of fresh, crispy bacon made her flush in a mix of emotions. She shook her head to try and banish the visions. And to try and ignore how happy a part of her felt at them.

The sound of the tv turning on in the living room told her where Ron was, so she quietly brought the drinks in there. Part of her wondered if she should keep her distance after what happened in the back yard. Part of her wanted to go and hide, a pretty big part to be honest. But she found herself curling up against his side, resting her head on his chest.

She felt him stiffen, and watched as he shifted as something else did as well, but didn't say anything or move away. Realizing she'd pressed against his injured left side, she started to pull away. "Sorry," she said softly.

"It's fine," Ron said, and to her surprise used his other hand to guide her back to to him, then gently guided her so her head rested on his leg instead. She gave an involuntary sigh as his hand started to stroke her hair.

After half an hour of flipping through the channels, Ron settled on some Jet Li movie that was well underway. Shego found she didn't care what they watched, so long as he kept petting her, and the little voice that had been whispering naughty things to her was graciously quiet as well. In spite of herself, she fell asleep.