I don't own a thing, Disney does. Yeah, wasn't exactly garden-variety smuff, but it did in a pinch. Hope everyone enjoyed it.

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Life Changes – Chapter 6

"Your kidneys have shown remarkable improvement. I see no reason to keep you overnight any further, but I would like you here on a weekly basis for continual check-ups and physical therapy."

"Thank you Doctor."

Drew Lipsky levered himself quickly into his wheelchair, taking care not to bang the casts on his legs against anything. When he had first gotten the chair, he had tried to move too quickly, and the pain that had followed when he had smacked his legs on the unforgiving metal had been excruciating. He settled himself in, carefully laying his blanket over himself. It covered most of the injuries, though little could be done to hide everything. The eye patch over his left eye still bothered him somewhat, as did the lack of depth perception, but he was adapting. After all, adapting was what he did. No matter how many failures he faced, he always pushed on from them, always moved forward. He had to!

He tucked his damaged left hand under the blanket, and with his right started up the motorized wheelchair. He didn't like being pushed around, and had gotten a hold of the motorized one just this morning. It gave him much more freedom, not having to rely on anyone to get around. A last look at the room he had been spending his nights the last two weeks, and Drew wheeled himself out of there. When he got to the main floor, he had been expecting to find Shego waiting for him, as she had been most mornings since everything had happened. Instead, he found his mother there, a smile on her face, as she stood beside the large van, holding the door open for him.

"Mother, you really didn't have to come get me. Shego usually handles this."

"Nonsense! That poor girl could use a morning to herself, considering how late she was out last night. Besides, this gives me a chance to talk to my little Drewbie!"

Drew's eyes just rolled. "Mother, could you not call me Drewbie? I'm not a child anymore!"

"Oh, I know you're all grown up, but I'm your mother, and you'll always be my little boy."

Drew just grumbled as he lifted himself up, getting into the passenger seat. He was about to tell his mother to get help putting the chair in the back of the van, and was surprised to see her angle the thing in, quickly and cleanly. She hopped into the driver's seat, starting the vehicle, and they pulled off down the road.

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Steve's eyes slowly opened, and instantly noticed that she was gone. Sometime during the night, Shego had left, deftly tucking a pillow under his arm so as not to wake him. Normally, he would have woken to any kind of movement, but that underscored just how tired he must have been. It had been some time since he had been in the field, and about as long since his… later activity.

It was hard to describe just what exactly had happened last night. She had said she didn't want a relationship, that it was just sex, but that wasn't what it had felt like. When it's just sex, there isn't that… that fire, at least not usually. He'd had those kind of relationships before, on his many different excursions around the world, and none of them had felt like that. There had to be more to it, and Steve wasn't even sure if he knew what his own mind and body were telling him, let alone trying to interpret how she was feeling.

He rose quickly, stretching a few times, and slowly got dressed. A few minutes later, he was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. He might not have Stoppable's skill with the skillet, but when it came to the basics, nobody could top Steve Barkin. A quick glance at the clock showed him that Drakken would be arriving soon enough, and set out to work. His thoughts remained a turbulent mess though, as thoughts of the woman residing in the compound, two doors down from him, kept passing through his mind. When it came to matters of discipline or military precision or even cooking, Steve knew where he stood, able to analyze a situation and respond. But relationships… that was never something that he could work through very well. They were always so confusing and strange to him.

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"Drewbie… Drew… please, talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, Mother. I'm fine!"

Gertrude Lipsky pulled the van over instantly, braking sharply and forcing Drew to put on his good hand to stop his momentum. When he looked over at his mother, he saw the sheer determination on her face as she just looked at him.

"Mother… we really should get going. Evil doesn't stop itself you know… well, not always anyways. They could probably use my help planning out the next mission or something."

"Drew Theodore Lipsky, we are not moving from this spot until you tell me what I want to know!"

"Mother, I don't want to talk about it."

Her expression softened, and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Drew, it's all right to be upset about what happened to you, but you can't keep it bottled up like this, acting as if nothing is wrong. I know you don't want anyone to see you hurting like this, but you have to talk about it!"

"I can't talk about it!"

"Please, Honey, just tell me why you can't."

"BECAUSE I WAS WEAK!" Drew's head dropped to his chest, all anger and frustration disappearing, as his mother sat beside him, a small tear running down her cheek. "I was weak… I've always been weak. I've always hidden from my problems, or tried some elaborate scheme to make them go away. I always hid from my responsibilities, laying the blame on others. I never realized just how weak I really was until… until he did this to me."

"Drew, there was nothing you could have done to stop him. He was stronger than you. You don't have to be the strongest person there is, it just isn't healthy to think that way."

"That's… that's not what I'm talking about. I know there was nothing I could have done to stop him. It's just…" The tears were freely flowing down his face now, as all control, all the barriers he had put up for himself came crashing down. "When he was… hurting me, I begged him. I begged him to stop, and he wouldn't. And when the pain… when the pain got to be too much… I begged him to hurt Shego instead. She's like a daughter to me, one of the few people who ever stuck with me. I saved her when she was on the streets, and the first thing I do is offer her up to this madman to hurt. He just… he just laughed at me, he told me she was dead. That was when I thought… when I wished… she was still alive, so she could take this for me, to be hurt instead of me!"

The silence was broken only by the sound of sobbing, as Gertrude could think of nothing to say to try and console her distraught son. It was a few minutes before Drew was able to get himself under control.

"That's why I have to be so strong right now… for her. She blames herself, and if I can try to make things as normal as they were, to try and give her something better, maybe… just maybe… I can make up for my weakness. She deserves a decent life, and I almost ruined that for her, with my crazy schemes." Drew wiped the tears from his eyes, sniffling slightly as he tried to regain his composure. "I… I had a lot of time to think as I lay in that hospital bed. I want to try and help her, help her be the person she needs to be. I don't even care about the lectures or money or any of that, not anymore. Those just help maintain the illusion of what I always wanted before. Power, prestige, glory, none of that means anything if it costs her life or who she could be. She… she's all that's important!"

Gertrude could only stare at her son, tears still wet in her eyes, as he just looked out the window, looking at nothing. "I… I had no idea."

Drew didn't turn, just continuing to stare out the window. When he spoke, it held none of the emotions that had been so predominant just a few short moments ago. "Can we go now? They are probably expecting me."

She didn't say a word as she quickly put the van in gear, and pulled out back onto the road.

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Steve instantly noticed the lack of energy from Mrs. Lipsky when she entered the room, following in behind her son. The same exuberant woman he had met seemed gone from the person who almost shuffled in. Drakken on the other hand seemed his normal self, a half smile on his face as he wheeled up to the table.

"Ohhh… you made breakfast!" Drew wheeled up to his plate, savouring the smell. "Mmm… smells scrumdidilyumptious!"

Steve kept his eye on Mrs. Lipsky, as she made no move to sit down, just standing there watching her son. "Mrs. Lipsky, would you care to join us? I did make enough for everyone."

She seemed to snap up from her trance, pausing a moment to look at him. "No thank you dear, I don't seem to be very hungry."

Steve just frowned, as he picked his own empty plate up and turned to put it in the sink. Drew smirked when he saw the scratch marks on the back of his neck.

"So… Agent Barkin… I assume you and Shego are all right after last nights little… escapade?"

If he caught on to what Drew had said, it didn't show. "Yes, the mission went well, and there are no significant injuries."

Drew took another look at him, almost sizing him up, before turning back to his mother. "Mother, could you give me and Agent Barkin a moment? We need to discuss some… sensitive matters."

"Of course dear, I'll just go clean up that big meeting room of yours. I swear, you children can make such a mess at times."

"That's not really necessary Mrs. Lipsky."

She just waved her hand at him. "Oh pshaw, it's the least I can do, since I'll be staying here to take care of my little Drewbie here!"

Drew just groaned. "Mother, I've asked you not to call me that. I'm a grown-up now!"

She just leaned in, giving his cheeks a quick pinch. "But you'll always be my little Drewbie!"

Steve didn't notice the faint smile on his face when he looked up at his mother. She smiled as well, pausing to look at him briefly before turning and leaving the way she came.

Drew sat and watched her leave, and waited until she was out of sight before turning back to Steve. "Agent Barkin, what I was talking about before did not involve the mission."

An almost guilty look crossed his face as he stood stiffly, his eyes never leaving Drew's. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Drew just grinned, a grin reminiscent of the many times he had Kim Possible as a prisoner. "It is blatantly obvious you got… freaky with Shego last night…" Drew allowed the man in front of him a chance to breath as Steve began coughing. "And while I don't make decisions for her, let's just say I am very… protective of her. She is a grown woman, and can make her own decisions, but she never did have a proper chance to… grow up so to speak. She lost her parents at an early age, and never really did have much of a chance to be a teenager. She's also never had a serious relationship as far as I can tell, at least not in the years I've known her. Now, I understand she probably initiated the whole thing, that is the way she tends to… do this, but I don't know if she considered the whole ramifications of starting a relationship with a co-worker, though I am sure she insisted that this was not the start of one. Since she is not here, I can only assume she is in her room right now, feeling very confused about what she has done, about what she will do next."

Drew let that hang out there a moment, allowing Steve a chance to absorb what had been said. He watched the man before him, and could see understanding on his face, and Drew felt some relief. "Now, to the point of all this. I understand she probably doesn't know what she wants right now, but if you hurt her in any way, I will see you suffer. I may be stuck in this chair, but I can come up with over eight hundred methods off the top of my head."

Steve took a step closer to him, anger evident on his face. "Are you threatening me?"

Drew raised a hand defensively in front of him, as if to wave off an advance. "No, no, not threatening. This is a promise! After all, how would you feel if someone hurt… say… one of your little Pixies? I think you would feel the same way I do if someone were to hurt Shego."

Steve just stared at him, a look of surprise on his face. "How did you…"

Drew just waved at him. "Not important. After all, I am a resourceful man, and it is public record. I do hope we have an understanding though?"

Steve just stared at him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I understand."

Drew just smiled. "Good to hear!" He quickly wheeled away, heading right for the door, pausing briefly to look back at Steve. "And for the record, I do approve. Try to make her happy. Excellent breakfast by the way, you'll have to tell me what you added to the eggs, they were excellent!"

Steve just shook his head as he stared after Drew. Things were definitely getting interesting around here, and they were only going to get more so as the day went on.

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Author's Notes – Well, we have just had a look into the psyche of Drew Lipsky. While I really enjoy the whole Shego/Barkin paradigm, I felt Drew needed to be fleshed out a little further as well

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews;

Campy – Yeah, but you have to consider. He had just woken up, he was already attracted to her, and she… halted his protests pretty damn quick there. And yeah, I guess it wasn't so much smuff as smut, but like you said, this is Shego. Just… don't count out the chance for smuff just yet.

Lil-Lyon – Well, you just saw what Drakken thought. Personally, I had fun going M.

mattb3671 – Oh yeah, I fully enjoyed it! The fact that it was Shego who crashed first… just thought it was something that would happen with her. As for Steve, I always saw him with a good heart, just very gruff on the outside. Look forward to plenty more smuff in some of the upcoming stories, as well as some more here!

MrDrP – Oh come on, I don't always leave it at a cliffie… well, not all the time. Besides, this story will now deal more with inter-personal than action, since this is only supposed to be a short story. Probably only have two or three chapters left right now.

Worker72 – Yeah, that would be funny. I might have to use that at some point.