Chapter 11

Kim and Shego walked into the Possible home early the next morning. Ron and Rufus had been dropped off at their house and Drakken had been left with the authorities. It had taken some persuasion on Kim's part to convince them they hadn't seen Shego.

"I need to take a shower," said Kim, "The dried salt is kinda irritating, and I smell like the ocean."

"I noticed, but wasn't going to say anything," said Shego with a smirk. "But that was pretty clever, the way you took out CeCe. And made a bad pun as well."

"Drakken usually forgets something vital. It's just a matter of finding it," Kim answered.

Twenty minutes later, showered and refreshed, Kim flopped on her bed, wearing a tank top and baggy cotton pants. She wasn't particularly sleepy, just physically worn out and very sore.

Just then, Shego appeared at the top of the stairs. "How are you feeling?" she asked. She had cleaned up in the other bathroom, and was wearing her bathrobe again.

Kim groaned. "Very, VERY sore. I ache everywhere. The shower helped, though."

"I can help you feel better," said Shego, approaching her.

Kim turned her head and looked at her friend. "Please and thank you!"

Shego ignited her hands, and moved them toward Kim. Kim rolled over away from her. "What are you doing?" she asked, suddenly defensive.

"Just relax, and trust me. I'm not going to hurt you," said Shego.

After a moment's hesitation, she rolled back on her stomach again. "Sorry. I AM used to those hands coming to hurt me."

"Yeah, I should have explained first. My bad," said Shego. "I've got them on a low heat, like a heating pad. This will make your muscles relax and feel better."

Shego started rubbing Kim's back slowly, but with pressure. The plasma heat penetrated her body an inch, and Kim could feel it in her muscles. Shego's hands followed the direction of the muscles, kneading them and unkinking them. The relief was immediate and wonderful.

The massage continued down her back, over her buttocks, and down her legs. Then she worked on Kim's arms and hands. Kim had never felt so good, and groaned in what is usually termed a 'good hurt'. Shego turned her over, and repeated the process on Kim's front. She completed her task on Kim's neck and face. By the time she finished, Kim was nearly asleep.

"You said the other day you wanted to show your gratitude," said Kim, sleepily, "Well, consider it shown." She closed her eyes and dozed off.

Shego gave Kim a wistful smile, and quietly left the room.

Back downstairs, Shego winced at the pain in her belly. CeCe's blow had really hurt. She turned and went back to the guest room, trying not to show any weakness.

Mrs. Possible was in the family room, and watched her. Suspicious of her actions, she got up and followed.

Shego sat on the bed, and grabbed a bottle of pain pills, swallowing two dry. Just then, Mrs. Possible appeared in the door.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, just a bit of pain," said Shego, putting the bottle down.

Mrs. Possible frowned. "Don't give me that. Did you get hurt on that mission?"

Shego hesitated, a play of different emotions on her face. Then she decided to tell the truth. "Yeah, I got a very hard blow in the stomach, and a cut on the back of my head."

Mrs. Possible growled and briskly walked to her. She put her hand gently on Shego's head, and tilted it forward. Moving the hair out of the way, she found the cut. "Well, that looks okay. Does it hurt?"

"Just a bit. Ron cleaned it for me," she answered.

Mrs. Possible left the room and came back a moment later with her medical bag. She put a topical ointment on the cut, but left it alone otherwise.

"Lie down, please," she said, and Shego complied. "Tell me where it hurts," she said, pressing gently below Shego's ribs.

When she found the place, Shego couldn't help but react strongly. "Yeah, that's it," she said.

"Okay, get up and get dressed, we're going to the hospital," said Mrs. Possible.

"Why?" asked Shego.

"I want to be sure you don't have any internal injuries. With the cancer, your body is much more prone to break down from a violent shock," was the answer.

Shego knew better than to argue with Kim's mom, by now. She got up and got dressed.

Several hours later, Kim came downstairs, much refreshed. She found her mom and Shego in the living room, watching a movie and sharing popcorn.

"Hi," said Shego, "Feeling better?"

"Much," answered Kim, stretching, "There's almost no pain, now." She sat down beside her mother, and helped herself to some popcorn. "You missed your calling. You should have been a massage therapist."

Shego's eyes gleamed, and she looked at Kim with an amusement that left her wondering what she didn't know about Shego's past.

"Well, she got off lucky," said Kim's mom, "We caught some internal bleeding from that hit. Lucky the hospital has that gamma ray tool that could cauterize it without our having to cut her open."

"Oh, no," said Kim, putting her hand over her mouth, "I'm sorry, Shego. I didn't think of the pain you might be in."

Shego shrugged. "Comes with the territory," she answered.

"Well, as your doctor, I'm telling you that was your last mission, Shego," said Mrs. Possible, "You're getting to be too fragile for that kind of punishment."

Shego laughed grimly. "Me, fragile," she said, and snorted.

"Yes, you, fragile," said Mrs. Possible.

"Okay, okay, I get the message," said Shego, and turned her attention back to the movie.