Standard Disclaimer: Kim Possible and all related characters are the sole property of Disney. I do not claim to own them, blah, and blah. However, Selene is MINE MINE MINE MINE!! If you would like to use any of this, PLEASE email me!! ^_^
Violence Disclaimer: Mostly standard KP violence, but there are a few bloody scenes....
Language Disclaimer: Being a fan of NO cursing, there will be none of this.
Sex Disclaimer: Nope.
Thanks to: Well, since I started this halfway through the third chapter, no one reviewed. But, yea. Thanks to everyone who does review and read my stuff. Yay. Y'all are loved!
Chapter 3- Reparations
Leaning her weight into the door it groaned, protesting against the strain, and then gave way as she gave one final shove. Falling in it made a huge amount of noise that echoed in the hollows of the cave tunnels Shego and Drakken had made their home.
She didn't care, she could take any of Drakken's goons… and that sniveling wimp wouldn't dream of laying a hand on her. She knew he knew that she could take him out in one punch, and she wouldn't be afraid to do it.
Coward, she snarled to herself. No guts, half the brain.
Where an empty room might be, she had no idea. So she lugged the weight on her aching shoulder room-to-room until she thought her back might go out. Luckily it didn't, and she found Shego's room in one of the back hallways opposite a very open den.
Carefully laying her mother across the bed, she made sure not to bump the cut. The blood had been stanched sometime back along the road, but Shego had been out cold for the past hour; not a good sign.
Leaving the woman only briefly to bring in towels and warm water from the in-room bathroom, she hurried back to her side and gingerly cleaned the wound. Sleep was good in that it allowed her to fix the cut without getting slapped at, but it would have helped to know exactly where it hurt.
No big deal, though.
It could have been a whole lot tougher. She'd bandaged enough of her own wounds to get a pretty good estimate of the severity, and this one shouldn't be any more of a problem than a bruise. A chill circulated through the room, and she shivered, having on little more than a trashy pair of pants that had been torn too many times to count and a thread-bare tank top that used to be navy blue before the dirt and grime had gotten into it. Throwing the comforter around the sleeping figure, she hunkered down on the bare floor next to the bed and tried to force herself into sleeping –if only for a few minutes.
Drifting in and out of sleep most of the night, she probably only got an hour's worth of real sleep somewhere around four, and then nodded off again around seven. Each time she awoke, she listened to Shego's shallow breathes which had become steadier and deeper throughout the early morning; if only to reassure herself Shego would still be there in the morning.
Somewhere around nine a heavy thump followed by idiotic ranting tore through Selene's repose. Stiffly finding her feet and finding she was very cold and ached in several joints, she dismissed her own injuries in the stead of Shego's.
Unwrapping the gauze which had doubled as a bandage she checked for any infection, and, seeing a healthy pink beneath the gunk, was happy with the progress. She wasn't about to stitch the loose skin back together (although she'd done it countless times to herself), so she used Band-Aids instead. Once more disinfecting the gash and re-wrapping the gauze, she took extra care not to mess with the healing progress that was well on its way to a recovery.
After her self-appointed chores were over, she settled on the edge of the bed and went ahead with cleaning her own scratches. It had looked worse than it felt –or was. It was mostly bloody mud that had stuck to the scratches she'd received when she'd attempted to attack the red-head. Landing, she had kissed the ground most ungracefully. It looked more like the sidewalk burns you get at school… times five.
Then she turned to re-wrap her hand, gingerly cleaning the sore wound with cotton balls and warm water. The quills hadn't gone too deep because of her reaction time, but the laceration was deep enough to resonate pain throughout her entire hand and up her arm.
Halfway through the cleaning, the woman in the bed stirred, groaning in pain, obviously awake now.
It had been a dreamless sleep, and when she'd awoken, it had been like swimming through black Jell-O. As hard as she tried, she never seemed to get anywhere, and the darkness around her felt like an oppressive weight; holding her down, drowning her in subconscious thoughts. But when it looked to be impossible as her energy lagged, something propelled her forward and she burst into the world of the living once more.
All at once the pain was back, but not as bad as before. Of course, it stung only slightly in accordance to having been disinfected with alcohol moments before. Her mind was fuzzy and clouded, and she couldn't bring one clear, simple thought forward.
Where was she? How'd she get here?
"Feeling any better?" Selene's voice. There was a vague memory of something that Selene had said earlier, but it was too distant to recall. "You took a nasty hit on the head, so I brought you home." Home. That was it! Her mind reeled, spinning in disorientation. Home. Her bed. Drakken.
Making to sit up, the rush to her head sent a lance of pain through her skull. Wincing, she fell back into the pillow. A moment after, a warm hand brushed away a tendril of black hair that covered up one side of her face.
"It's going to hurt for a while. Just rest for now."
"Did Drakken..?" Shego started, forcing her mouth to move with her thoughts.
Selene had carefully slid in the bed next to her, curling up for both protection and warmth. "No. He's still clueless."
There was a momentary pause as both gathered and organized their thoughts.
"How does breakfast in bed sound?" Selene felt Shego wrap her arms around her, and smiled wistfully. Her strong, slender arms pulled her in close, and a gentle heat radiated from Shego that warmed Selene's cold skin.
So, this is what it's like to have a mother. Oh, mom, she thought sadly, if only you'd been here sooner. It had been hard without someone to take care of her, and she'd often stayed up at night contemplating the face etched in her memory.
"Mmm… sounds good. How will you find the kitchen?"
Selene grinned, even though she knew the older woman couldn't see it. "I can smell it from here." And, as much as she hated to, she pulled out of Shego's arms and stood on the floor in her bare feet. It was true; she could smell it from here. That was one of the better things about having heightened senses.
She slipped in and out of hallways, always wary of Drakken's position and the proximity of the kitchen. When she finally happened upon it, she slunk in with practiced quiet and collected an assortment of foods she guessed was considered 'breakfast food.' She, on the other hand, was happy with a handful of ham and raw bacon.
Of course, the kitchen was sparse and didn't have much food in it, so she had only taken from the surplus supplies. Dodging Drakken, who was set up in the den with the television and cereal, she hurried back to the room.
Shego was napping, her breathing easy and relaxed, but lifted her eyes when she heard the door close. "Find anything in that barren wasteland of a kitchen?"
Selene grinned. That was the Shego she knew.
"I didn't find a tray… so I suppose a plate will do." Setting the food on the nightstand, she helped her mom sit up in the bed. When she made sure she was comfortable and not hurting, she passed the plate to Shego and then settled in with the pile of ham and bacon she'd gotten for herself.
They ate in peace for several minutes, Shego enjoying an odd assortment of food. There were several fruits, lettuce (which she'd pointed out to Selene wasn't usually eaten alone), crackers, yogurt, and a glass of water. It was a bland meal (except the fruit, of course), but it tasted better than when she'd had to eat alone.
It was in between bites of the strawberry banana yogurt that she noticed the way Selene was eating. "Hey, you okay?"
Selene, in the middle of chewing some of the raw bacon, looked over at her with a confused look. Quickly swallowing the meaty mass, she followed Shego's gaze to her hand.
"Oh, that. Yea, I guess. Got tagged by a porcupine last night… it's nothing." It was a lie, Shego could tell. "I've had worse," she added off-handedly. But Shego wasn't convinced, and worried about the girl. It was true she hadn't had a good upbringing and had always relied on herself, but why did she still have to hide the pain?
"Hey," Shego moved her hand and placed it over Selene's wounded one, smiling gently. "Thanks."
Ron was stone-still, his face stuck in surprise. And for once he was speechless. Even little Rufus, sitting on his shoulder, was staring at her.
"What….? Wait… but, she… uh… how? A daughter? Are you serious?!" He didn't believe he'd heard Kim right. How could Shego have a daughter? That was just crazy.
Shrugging, Kim afforded him no explanation. "She called Shego 'mom' very clearly. Whether there's any real truth in it-" She shook her head, making her point just as easily. But she felt it in her gut that it was true. The possessive way Selene was holding Shego… well, it wasn't an act.
That, and the girl was eerily reminiscent of Shego at a younger age. Of course, Shego wouldn't have worn trashy clothes and acted like some kind of cornered beast, but the resemblance was there; the dark hair, the slender build, the strength, the pale skin… her intense emerald eyes.
"So… wait," Ron held up his hands, trying to sort his thoughts out, "how… exactly, is this a problem? So Shego's got a kid… why is this a bad thing?" Rufus made a several squeaky noises in concession.
"Because," Kim started again. "She's just as good as Shego –if not better. Shego was teaching her, but even without that skill, she had some power behind her tackle." Ron was still giving her a blank stare. Sighing, Kim put it simply: "It'll be like fighting Shego… times two." Yup, that seemed to do it.
Ron made a gagging sound. "One was bad enough… but... two?! Yea, this is bad."
Rufus nodded and gave a 'yup' in his tiny naked mole-rat way. Kim frowned. Now that she'd convinced these two and Wade… she had half of her work cut out for her. Still, this would plague her for a while.