Shego was tapping away on the keyboard of her computer, typing up a quick memo for the director of the Space Centre, Dr. Imon, when Dr. Possible and Dr. Lipsky walked out of the Laboratory, once again bickering over some theory that Shego couldn't care less about. Kim laughed from her seat at the small one-person desk she had claimed to do her schoolwork as she shook her head at the two scientists.
"You two sound like an old married couple," Kim joked causing her father to smile, at her.
"Maybe we should warn your mother that I'm about to be stolen away?" James asked, continuing the joke.
"We both know she'll just call you an idiot," Kim said as she began packing her schoolwork into her bag.
"Yes, she would, and then I'd need to stay with her to prove her wrong."
"You can try, but she'll never believe you," Dr. Lipsky spoke up from beside Dr. Possible.
Shego looked up when she heard her boss' voice, surprised that he had so easily been able to cut into someone else's conversation with a teasing remark. Maybe there is more than just a professional relationship between them, the Green woman mused as she powered off the computer she had been using.
"Sure, sure, now Drakken, I know you'll need a cab to your hotel, so we've already booked one for you, and Shego, I have a set of keys for you, there is a car in the carpark for you, Kim can show you the way."
Shego accepted the keys gratefully as she wondered whether or not she would actually need the thing as she didn't go many places even in her home town, she couldn't see herself changing that behavior in a new town. Shego walked out of the Laboratory, following along after Kim and the two scientists, she kept her eyes trained on the back of Kim's head to keep herself from glancing somewhere she knew she shouldn't. Thankfully for her, the walk to the elevator was a quick one.
"Guess we'll see you at home, dad," Kim said as she hugged her father before he stepped into the small elevator with Dr. Lipsky.
"See you at home, Kimmie-cub," He said with a smirk as the elevator doors closed.
"Dad!" Kim shrieked as her father disappeared behind the elevator doors, a blush quickly coming to her face.
Shego laughed softly, "Kimmie-cub, huh?" She asked with a grin, earning a glare from the teen.
"Do not call me that," Kim grumbled as she waited for the doors to the elevator to open.
"So, Kimmie-cub, why does this elevator need to be so small?" Shego asked, "Doesn't it get a little busy when people start and finish work?"
Kim shook her head, "The scientists started staggering their arrival and exit times, so that doesn't happen. And if you want to know why the elevator is so small, you're going to need to ask the people that built the center."
A few moments passed in silence before the doors for the elevator opened, and Kim and Shego stepped in, bumping into each other as they walked through the small doorway together.
"Sorry, excuse me," Kim said with a slight blush as her hand brushed against Shego's thigh.
"Don't worry about it, Kimmie-cub." Shego grinned, hoping the teen couldn't hear her thumping heart.
Kim groaned, "You're never going to stop calling me that are you?" Kim asked in embarrassment.
"Never," Shego teased, How can I when you look so cute when you're annoyed, Shego thought to herself.
Kim grumbled as she mashed the 'Ground Floor' button in the elevator, crossing her arms over her chest she began to pout. Kim ignored the grin that spread across Shego's face as she hoped for the elevator doors to open quickly.
Unfortunately though, the elevator had just started moving, and Kim knew she had at least a minute before they reached the Ground floor and were able to escape the confines of the metal box. Although only being sixty seconds, that minute felt to Kim like it lasted for at least five as she suffered through a strange mix of embarrassment and attraction to the older woman.
"So, tell me about your family, Kim," Shego requested as the elevator doors opened and the two headed towards the parking lot, deciding to give her new favourite name a rest for a moment. Kim groaned as the first thought that came to mind was the twins, "Something wrong?"
"Yeah," Kim sighed, "Today you'll get to meet the two most annoying people on the entire planet… My twin brothers Jim and Tim… The little jerks live to torture me."
Shego laughed softly at that as she got a faraway look in her eye, "Isn't that what brothers are for?"
"Well that's what I've been told many times, but it would be nice to get a day or even two without them trying to prank me. Here's the car," Kim said as she stood by a small, lime-green convertible with a soft roof and leather seats. Shego's bag with the belongings she'd been able to gather before the Hovercar arrived sat in the back seat.
Shege looked at the car, a smile spreading across her lips, "This is the car that was rented for me?" Shego asked, completely forgetting the previous conversation.
"Yeah, do you like it?" Kim asked as she climbed into the passenger seat of the convertible and quickly buckled herself in.
Shego climbed into the driver's seat, "Yeah, it's great," She smiled, "I'm just surprised, I expected some old beat-up sedan or something like that, you know, something cheap."
"I'm glad you like it, I actually suggested it, when we were selecting a car for you, dad basically just pointed at a random car in the lot and was going to rent it for you."
"Really I would have been happy just carpooling with your father," Shego explained, "But I am glad to have a car that I can use freely. So, how do I get to your house?"
"Turn the car on," Shego looked towards Kim with a deadpan look, causing Kim to smile, "Just do it."
On Kim's order, Shego slipped the key into the car's ignition and turned the car on, "Hello, where would you like to go today?" A feminine voice sounded from a small device that was sitting on the dashboard.
"Plan a route home please," Kim requested from her spot on the passenger's side of the car.
"Certainly, one moment please," Requested the device and within moments the screen showed a small map with a highlighted route, "Your estimated arrival time is about seventeen minutes with current traffic."
"It's a voice-activated GPS," Kim explained, "I borrowed it from one of my… Associates."
"Associates?" Shego asked with a small smile as she pulled out of the parking lot and followed the instructions.
"Yes," Was all Kim was willing to say which Shego noticed and decided not to push the matter further. The two fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive.
"This the place?" Shego asked as she pulled into the driveway of a split-level home that rested on the side of a hill.
"Yep," Kim said excitedly, "Just pull up on the grass, just in case mum or dad needs to leave."
Following Kim's advice, Shego pulled up onto the grass on the left-hand side of the house before climbing out of the car, grabbing her bag as she did so. She followed Kim up to the front door and waited for the teen to open it and allow them to enter the house.
Kim took a deep breath before opening the front door to her home, expecting to be attacked by the tweebs the second she stepped foot into the door. As she walked in and wasn't hit by any stray paper planes or tripped up by a strategically tossed ball, she breathed a sigh of relief before letting down her guard and turning to the older woman walking in behind her.
"Come with me and I'll show you to your room," Kim grinned as she started to walk backwards a few steps.
Shego's eyes flashed with mirth as she noticed two snickering young boys standing at the top of the stairs that led to the second level of the house. Shego glanced at the stairs and saw that the second step was shining in the light and, as Kim took the first step backward, she would have no warning when she planted her foot on the second step and would most certainly slip.
"Hey Kim," Shego called out before Kim could take the second step, "Shouldn't we go greet your parents first?"
"Ah, sure, I guess."
Kim stepped off the flight of stairs and headed towards what Shego could see was the living room. Shego followed the teen, but before she disappeared from view, she turned to the twins that were now glaring at her. The green woman grinned at the glaring pair before winking at them and mouthing 'Better luck next time' to the two boys.
"Mum, dad we're home," Kim said as she walked into the kitchen where her parents were busy working on making dinner.
James looked up and smiled at his daughter from his place at the island separating the kitchen and dining room, a knife in his hand as he deftly chopped a small pile of vegetables.
"Welcome home Kimmie and Shego."
Shego nodded her head to the Scientist, a small smile gracing her lips as James included her in the sentiment, effectively saying that this was her home too, at least for now. During the quick exchange, Kim's mother had left her place at the stove and was currently embracing her daughter. Kim was trying to push her mother away while simultaneously hide her embarrassment at being hugged so openly. Her mother relented quickly and turned to the newest member of her household.
"Hello Shego, I'm Ann, Kim's mother, it is a pleasure to meet you," Shego could hear a slight tone in the woman's voice that she could only attribute to a loving and protective mother.
"It's my pleasure," Shego told the older woman, smiling as she noticed how closely Kim resembled her mother.
"How was your first day working in Middleton?" Ann asked Shego.
"It was good, your husband and daughter have been very accommodating, and its been nice to see Dr. Lipsky's work appreciated for a change."
"Yes, it is," Ann smiled as she turned to her husband. James nodded knowingly to his wife before returning to his task.
An odd silence followed the exchange, "I'm going to show Shego to her room now," Kim said, breaking the silence and began walking out of the kitchen.
"Ok, dinner will be ready at about six," Ann called out to the two retreating women.
Shego turned to the older woman and nodded, "Thank you," she said before disappearing into the living room. As they approached the stairs Shego took a quick look at the second step and noticed that it was still shining with something, she made to tell Kim about the step but almost ran into the teen as she had stopped short of the staircase.
"Damn tweebs," The teen grumbled, "Watch out for the second step, it seems my brothers did lay a trap, if you want to head up first your room is the first door on the left. I'm going to get Jim and Tim to clean this mess up."
Shego chuckled as she watched a fuming Kim stalk into the living room but decided not to stand on the stairs and listen to what would undoubtedly remind her of her own family. Shego shuffled up the stairs and made her way into the only actual door on the left-hand side of the hallway. She raised a brow at what could only be described as a hastily thrown together partition in the middle of what was once a rather large bedroom. The flat-pack wardrobes, while offering visual privacy would afford little to no privacy when it came to sound, irking the Green woman slightly.
"Hopefully she's quiet," Shego grumbled as she sat down on what was to be her bed. Shego marvelled at the size of the bedroom the teen lived in considering, even with a double bed on her side of the room, there was still quite a bit of room to move, and Shego could only guess that Kim's side was roughly the same size.
"I hope the room is ok," Kim said after knocking lightly on the wooden partition that made up one of the 'walls' of their rooms.
"It's fine, what's more interesting is the size of what I'm assuming is your room, are all of the bedrooms this size?" Shego inquired.
"Yeah they are, our house is fairly large with few rooms so it makes sense that they'd be this big," Kim shrugged her shoulders, not really thinking too much about it.
Shego nodded her head in understanding, "How were your brothers?"
Kim shook her head and grumbled a little, "Mum got them to clean up the mess they'd made, but they did say something about not liking the 'Green Woman.' I can only imagine why that might be," Kim smiled knowingly at Shego, "Thanks for that by the way."
Shego was about to respond before a quiet beeping sounded from the teen's pocket, she quickly pulled a small, phone-like device out of her pocket. Her face fell a little before typing a quick reply to what must have been a message.
Shego looked at the teen curiously, "Everything ok?"
Kim quickly smiled, "Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?" She asked, a little flustered by the question.
One message later and a relieved look spread across Kim's face, Shego found herself wanting to know what was going on, found herself wanting to help Kim in some way and as she realized this, she quickly shut the feelings down. "Damn it," She cursed under her breath now receiving a confused look from the teen in front of her.
Shego ignored the look and instead rose from her bed, "I'm going to see if your parents could use some help," Shego explained, needing to get out of the situation immediately.
With Ann and James accepting Shego's help the rest of the afternoon passed comfortably and quickly for Shego, right up until the point where she was laying in her bed trying to fall asleep. A feat that seemed to be almost insurmountable as for the past few years she has used alcohol to help lull her to sleep.
"Is everything set?" Kim's quiet voice sounded in the darkness, Shego rose from her bed silently as she heard rustling on the other side of the room. "Transport is only ten minutes away?" Kim asked, presumably through a phone, intriguing Shego as to what was going on. "And the security at the house?"
'What is she talking about?' Shego asked herself as she risked moving from her bed.
"One sec," Kim said quickly causing Shego to freeze in place standing beside her bed, "Sorry. Go ahead… No big. I can handle it."
With that everything went silent once again Shego, as silently as possible, headed for the 'door' to her room, fully intending to peer into Kim's room but was stunned as she turned towards Kim's side of the room and almost ran straight into the teen. Shego jumped and gasped as her heart began hammering in her chest at the sudden appearance of the younger girl.
"Everything ok Shego?" Kim asked as a worried expression passed over her face.
"I'm fine," Shego replied noticing the strange get-up that Kim was wearing. "That doesn't look like pyjama's that you're wearing there," She observed as she took in the black mock turtleneck that left her midriff exposed, green pants, belt and gloves that the teen was wearing.
Kim stood up a little straighter, "I'm just trying some things on before bed," Kim lied.
Shego smirked at the younger girl, "Then what was that conversation all about? What's this talk about transport?"
"Just a little game I'm playing with one of my friends," Kim replied as she began to chew on the inside of her lower lip nervously.
"Look, Kim. I'm not buying it… What's really going on?"
"Just go back to sleep Shego," Kim said with a heavy sigh, "I really can't tell you, it's too dangerous."
"I think I can handle myself," Shego said as she ignited her right hand with plasma to emphasize her point, "Besides, I can't sleep right now anyway."
Kim seemed to be deep in thought for just a few moments before she sighed in defeat, "Fine, but you'll need to dress in comfortable clothing, I'm going to need to explain things on the way."
Thanks to Shego's usual attire all she needed to do was throw on a pair of sneakers and she was ready to go. She followed Kim downstairs and silently out of the front door, they walked towards a black sedan with tinted windows that sat in the middle of Kim's house and the neighbor's house.
Kim climbed into the back seat of the car, sliding across to make room for Shego who was immediately surprised when she noticed a young blond man sitting on the other side of Kim wearing much the same type of clothes as Kim. The blond seemed equally surprised when he saw the Green woman entering the car and closing the door behind her.
"Who are you?" The blond asked before giving Kim a questioning look.
"Ron, this is Shego, she and her boss are working with my dad, so she's staying with me and… Overheard my conversation with Wade. And Shego, this is Ron, he's my partner in defeating crime."
Shego raised a dark brow, "Defeating crime?"
Before Kim could explain further, Ron cut in, "Should we really be telling her? Are you sure we can trust her?"
"I'm sure we can Ron," Kim told her friend, "Don't worry, I trust her, nothing bad will come of this. In fact, I think Shego would make a great addition to our team."
Shego furrowed her brow in confusion and frustration, "Seriously, tell me what's going on."
Kim smiled warmly at Shego, hoping to calm the woman at least a little as she began to explain how she and Ron had been helping people in emergency's and going on various missions around the world. Kim put extra emphasis on their heroic exploits, especially the ones that involved them saving people that were in imminent danger, hoping to impress the woman a little.
Shego sat in silence as she listened to the young redheads' stories, her face a stoic mask of impassiveness. Although she did have to admit at least to her self that the two teens had done some truly amazing things in their short period as heroes. But something was gnawing at the back of her mind as her past threatened to break free from the vault it was locked in.
"Do you hide your identities?" Shego asked, interrupting the teen's enthusiastic retelling of the time she and Ron saved a bunch of young children that had gotten caught in a flood after they wandered away from their parents and the tour group they were with in the Amazon rainforest.
"Why would we do that?" Kim asked, confused as she looked to Ron, who simply shrugged his shoulders at the question.
"How many people know your true identities?" Shego asked as her mind went into overdrive.
"Uhh," Was Kim's unintelligent response to the question.
Shego closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, a groan escaping through her pursed lips, "You need to hide who you are from at least the criminals you catch," Shego growled. Kim made to retort but was silenced as she saw the terrified look on Shego's face, "You work to capture Mad-Scientist's and Genius's, people with a tonne of money… What if they decide to take revenge on your families? Or your friends?"
The two teens sat in the car, utterly speechless as a heavy air hung over the interior of the car, Shego was on the verge of tears as she battled to keep everything locked away in its vault.
A.N. I don't think that there was ever mention of a spare or guest bedroom at the Possible residence, so I needed to 'add' one. Also, just an FYI but there is no Dr. Imon, the space station is actually run by a Board of Director's so I came up with a character to be running the day to day that just works in the Space Centre.