A/N: Happy little one-shot. Trying to get back my creativity bug.

The Cure

Shego wore one of Drakken's blue t-shirts but had foregone pajama pants. She had the bedspread pulled up to her waist as she lay on her side in the massive round bed. She had played music earlier from the sound system Drakken had built into the headboard in an attempt to relax, but it ended up irritating her more than helping.

She set a hand over her stomach as it rolled and churned. The ill feeling was getting worse, and she had failed to find any activity or medication, chemical or homeopathic, that would help. She was sure the ginger only had a placebo effect, as she still had to run to the toilet with the risk of vomiting every time she tried to get out of bed.

She felt the almost imperceptible swell in her abdomen and wondered again if she was really feeling the baby growing, or if it was still too early and it was just in her mind. She could barely eat anymore, so she knew for sure any bump was definitely not her stomach digesting a meal.

Behind her she heard the door slide open, and a familiar too-quick step entered the room. She listened to the equally-familiar undoing of buttons and the tossing of faux-leather aside as Drakken removed his lab coat. And then she heard him kick off his shoes and start on his belt buckle. She frowned and lifted her eyes to the clock in the headboard. It was just short of noon.

A minute later she felt the mattress dip as Drakken crawled onto the bed and moved behind her. He gently pushed her hair away and kissed the back of her neck. Her brow rose. So that's why he was coming to bed at lunch time...

She took a deep breath. "No."

He hesitated for the briefest moment, but continued kissing her neck. His hand moved around her waist and slipped under hers where it lay over her abdomen.

She took another breath and sighed long before repeating, "No." Her tone was more insistent that time and he shifted nearer to her so he could move his face over hers and make eye-contact.

"Why not...?"

"Because I feel like I'm gonna throw up even when I'm not moving."

She peripherally saw his expression morph to concern and she turned her head to see him more clearly. Beneath the concern was a strong desire... She knew it well, and it hurt her to disappoint him. But she was too sick.

Drakken's brow furrowed. "You've...gotten me rather used to a routine, Shego."

Shego bit the inside of her cheek as she considered his words. She'd been almost forced to do the research and knew that libido increased in the first trimester of pregnancy. But her sex drive was insatiable. She frequently wondered if the intensity had to do with her unique biology, or if it was really just normal.

But Drakken was right; she had gotten them into a routine. He'd been a bit annoyed and tired for about the first week and a half of her predatory behavior toward him, but after that and after she explained what was going on, he rapidly got on board. And she realized suddenly that that was the first morning in weeks that they hadn't made love immediately upon waking.

She glanced at the clock again. It was eleven fifty-six, and they usually woke up a little before seven o'clock. That morning she had commandeered the bathroom to throw up several times and he'd gone straight to the lab. Considering the workout she was always giving him in the mornings—not to mention the occasional afternoons or evenings—she was impressed that he'd made it till almost noon.

"Sorry..." she said, and she meant it. His behavior made perfect sense. But she was so sick.

His hand left her abdomen to run slowly down her bare thigh, and he pressed himself against her to spoon her. His arousal was unmistakable.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "Yes."

He looked dismayed. He slid his hand between her thighs. "What if I just—"

Shego grabbed his hand and removed it and then turned toward him and ignited her hand. He was startled and moved away from the green glow.

"Unless you want to be cleaning barf out of your bed, you'd better get over it and get used to not having a routine anymore."

He was distinctly startled by her behavior, but he backed away with his hands slightly raised in surrender. His expression morphed rapidly from afraid to sad to frustrated. Shego looked him over in his white t-shirt and blue-and-white striped boxers. He'd clearly not expected her to say no.

She let her glow go out and sighed. "If you want, maybe I can..." She trailed off and made a particular gesture with her hand.

He shook his head. "Not the same." He spun away from her and scooted off the bed.

"What are you doing?" she called as he headed toward the bathroom.

"Cold shower," he tossed over his shoulder with an irritated expression. Her eyes narrowed again when the bathroom door closed, and she carefully rolled over to see the door more clearly as she battled the morning sickness.

"Jerk..." she muttered to herself.

He had a serious problem if he couldn't go one day without sex. But to expect her to even attempt to be intimate while she felt like death was even worse. Drakken had always had a selfish streak, but that was a new kind of low.

She wondered what she could destroy to appropriately convey her annoyance, since yelling at him wasn't really an option; it would only make her feel sicker. Just breathing made the nausea worse.

She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. It was the only place that the churning of her stomach was slightly less.

When she heard the bathroom door open awhile later, she didn't even look as Drakken silently re-dressed and left the room.

"Shego?"

Shego woke from her very-light sleep at the sound of his voice. And then her face pinched in irritation. If he wasn't back to apologize, she was going to set his coat on fire...

"Are you...going to get up today? It's past dinner time."

Shego opened her eyes and peered at the clock. So it was. She felt...perhaps slightly less nauseous? She tried rolling over to face him...and had to swallow down bile as a result.

"No," she gasped when the burn in her throat subsided, giving up trying to look at him. As her stomach continued to turn, her annoyance with him built back into anger. It was his fault she was so sick anyway. He was the one who had gotten her pregnant despite her birth control pills, with his ridiculous fertility... Why was he so virile at his age anyway?

She realized he wasn't saying anything else, and when she turned her head he was already on his way out the door. She blinked in surprise, but then settled her head back on the pillow and frowned in satisfaction. Clearly he had learned his lesson. But if he thought he was touching her when he came to bed that night...

A few minutes passed as she contemplated making him leave the bed altogether. They hadn't slept apart even once since they found out she was pregnant, even though she still technically had her own room. Half of her stuff had been moved into his, and the rest was still in hers. And if she was mad or needed space, sometimes she would elect to sleep in her room. But it had been many, many weeks since she'd done that...

The door sliding open again caught her attention, and she held her breath as she made the effort to slowly roll over. She could threaten him with kicking him out at least, if he was thinking about—

Her train of thought ended abruptly as she stared at a loaded tray of food Drakken was carrying. She leaned up on her elbow to watch as he carefully set it down on the bed.

"Here. Take what you want, and I'll put the rest of it away," he said.

She stared at the tray with wide eyes. There were two kinds of ice cream, a red-orange colored smoothie, a huge tray of saltine crackers and cheese, a steaming cup of tea, a bowl of watermelon chunks, and two small ramekins with one containing a full zest of lemon and the other bruised mint leaves.

"What's this...?" Shego asked.

"The smoothie is watermelon and pineapple... The tea is lemon ginger. The ice creams are...lemon-ginger-coconut, and watermelon-orange sorbet."

Shego painfully sat all the way up. "...Did you make ice cream?"

"Well...you're feeling so much worse today, and I know you said the ginger isn't helping but...maybe you just need a little more. Oh, and the mint and lemon zest are just for...uh...is it called scent-therapy?"

"Aroma therapy..."

Shego looked up at Drakken's concerned face and then back to the tray.

"I guess...I'll have the ice cream?" she said.

He lifted the bowl of lemon ginger coconut with a raised brow, and she nodded. He passed her the bowl and spoon, and then after setting the mint and lemon zest on the headboard he picked up the tray and left the bedroom.

Shego stared at his back until he was gone, and then dipped her spoon into the ice cream and took a cautious bite. It wasn't too sweet, wasn't too tart, and wasn't too rich either. He must have altered the recipe in some way so it wouldn't be too heavy. And it was delicious... And swallowing it didn't upset her stomach.

In fact, after a few slow bites her stomach started to feel better. But her heart started to hurt as she felt a bit guilty. She'd been mad because he didn't get something she'd been offering sometimes multiple times a day... And his response to her refusal, which she'd initially thought selfish, was to pamper her.

It wasn't until she had finished the ice cream and set the bowl atop the headboard that she realized Drakken wasn't back yet. After a moment of thought she understood that the clean-up from all he had done and prepared was going to take awhile. He would probably clean the whole kitchen after making two ice creams and a smoothie... And had he even eaten anything?

She lay down on her side as her stomach turned again, though less fiercely, and waited. She wanted to thank him for all he had done, and apologize for getting upset before. The scent of lemon and mint above her head further helped calm her tortured stomach, and as she continued to wait she found herself drifting off to sleep again.

Shego started awake at the feel of the mattress sinking behind her. Her stomach rolled and she grimaced, but a feeling of peace began breaking through the sickness as Drakken's familiar weight settled behind her in the dark.

She was surprised a few moments later when she didn't feel his arms around her as was their normal, and she slowly turned over to face him.

"You're awake?" he asked softly.

"I slept on and off most of the day."

"Oh... Right."

She watched the slight furrowing of his brow as he looked at her. His lips parted as he took a breath to speak, and then he seemed to second-guess himself. The furrowing of his brow deepened and he closed his eyes.

"Good night, Shego," he said gently.

She stared at his face in the dark. He looked concerned... She rolled her eyes at herself. Had her mild threat that morning affected him so badly?

"Drakken..." she said softly. His eyes opened in cautious question. "Kiss me?"

The worry in his eyes began to fade, and when she opened her arms to him he closed the small distance between them on the bed and slowly drew her close. She nuzzled her way into a gentle kiss, and when his lips pressed back so familiarly and lovingly against hers she knew everything was fine. More-so when his hand softly rested against her abdomen.

"You're gonna owe me for these nine months..." she said against his lips as she continued to kiss him.

"All nine?" he asked. When she pulled back to look at him she saw he was half-teasing, as was she.

"Maybe less... If you keep bringing me homemade ice cream in bed."

"Done," he agreed, and kissed her.

His hand gently rubbed her stomach, and she continued kissing him softly until his responses became tired and few. She rested her hand on the side of his head and stroked his hair until his breathing evened and he began slipping into sleep. She leaned closer to his ear to whisper.

"I hope I'll feel up to getting back into a routine soon..."

She watched as the corners of his mouth turned up, and his arm settled heavily around her. Closing her eyes, she rested her face against his and hummed in happiness.