Shego knew, she was acting crazy. Like super crazy and stalkerish and inappropriate by getting into Drakken's bedroom in the middle of the night. And she could easily get in, since he didn't lock his door yet again! How can security people be responsible for the safety of the lab's main asset if he wasn't even using the most basic precautions?! But that was neither here nor there.

She stepped towards the bed with her superagility making her light as a feather. The bed was occupied by sleeping Drakken which was no surprise since it was his room, also it was nothing astounding that he slept without the top as was his new custom, what was new was that all the skin Shego could see, except for his face, was green. Was two years actually a too positive prognosis? Well, Shego was there to change all that. Theoretically. Because she was going to do the craziest thing possible – she was going to talk to the plant. Again.

"So… It's me again, Drakkenia," Shego began, sitting down onto the edge of the bed, doing everything not to come with contact with the plant's host. "I hope, you are actually listening to me. I have a favor to ask, a big one. I know, you want to live. We all want to. But the reality is… you were created alone and you will die alone without any possibility to procreate. And that's sad, of course, but what is sadder, is that your struggle to survive will destroy a brilliant mind. He can still archive so much in this life, he has so much to live for. …I care about him very much. And if you do too, let him live. Please, let him live." Shego knew, she shouldn't, but she still touched the protrusions on Drakken's back, wishing to connect to the plant she was attempting to communicate with. Which was nonsense, of course, but she couldn't help herself.

Shego was halfway to the door when happened what she tried so much to avoid.

"Is that you, Shego? You are back?" Interestingly, the second question was filled with much more disbelief than the first one.

"Yeah… Sorry for disturbing your sleep. I needed to… ask something… But it can wait till morning, no biggie."

"It was important enough for you to come here at four in the morning. What's going on? And did I hear you talking to somebody right now?"

Shego took a deep breath and prepared herself for the upcoming confrontation. No more bullshit. There have been enough confusion and miscommunication between them. She was however a bit sidetracked when Drakken switched on the lights, thus illuminating his upper torso. Shego found herself desiring to touch every inch of that. And that hair… She mentally slapped herself for not keeping herself together and then again for feeling it in the first place. So she returned to the bedside with extra caution and sat down as far from Drakken as possible.

"I asked Drakkenia to let you live."

"Why?"

Not 'Are you mad?' 'Who talks to plants?' 'How did you expect for it to answer you?' No, Drakken cut right to the chase. Which was shockingly introspective of him, particularly at four in the morning.

"I want you to live."

"Why, Shego?"

"What do you mean, why?! Why should I want you dead?"

"I am dying because of my own failed experiment, which would've happened sooner or later. You played no role-"

"I pushed you, so it is my fault too."

"So it is guilt?"

"For crying out loud, why would I want you to just die? Okay, there were moments when I wanted to burn you with my glow, but-"

"What does it matter to you, Shego, if I die? What does it matter to anyone?"

"Well, the boss lady will be furious, for starters. But that's not the point. We are family, remember?"

"You have no obligation towards me. You can start anew somewhere else, do whatever you want."

"I am not here out of obligation, remember? I am here, because I want to be here. With you. …Okay, tell me what will it take for you to fight for your life."

"You want to bargain for my existence?"

"I can't get through your thick skull in any other way, so what will it be?" But Shego did know, she just didn't know how to voice it. She couldn't just go and say it, right? Should she create a romantic atmosphere? Although they were practically in bed already. And that was messing with her thought process. "What will be enough for you to consider surgery?"

"I… That's a very complicated question, Shego."

"Do you want to date? For real?" she blurted out, because she just didn't know what to say next.

"Pity, Shego?! Now that's just dandy! I thought you above such pure evilness!"

"What pity? You want it as much as I do!"

"What are you on about?!"

"Shego Victoriana!"

And then there was silence. Shego never saw so many emotions on Drakken's face at the same time even if he was generally very expressive. But one was dominating – shame. Shame and fear.

"Why haven't you ever told me, Drew?"

Hearing the name made Drakken shudder as if electrocuted with high voltage. "Told you what?"

"That you have romantic feelings for me."

"Stop this! Just leave… I can't do this! I just can't!" Drakken attempted to escape, but there was nowhere to go in his own room beside the bathroom, so he opted to place himself in a corner between the wall and his wardrobe.

But Shego was relentless. Somehow bringing the truth to light became not only important to preserve Drakken's, well, Drew's life, but also hers. She neared his hiding place and sat down in front him, easily barricading him in, so he would have to go through her to get out and she could hold her ground quite well. "Why can't we talk about this like adults?"

"Because I won't survive another rejection. Not again."

"And why are you so sure I will reject you?"

"Please, stop! Haven't you tortured me enough? We talked about it already! Gorgeous women like you don't date men like me. Right from the start I knew… And I did everything to hide it, but you are just so… And then that reunion business-"

"Wait, from the start? What start?"

"Even before you signed your contract, I knew you would be one of those women I pine endlessly for, then finally confess and they brutally reject me. It happens every damn time. Genius scientists have feelings too, you know. I knew, you will eventually leave and I will move on at some point. I just didn't know you will stay for over five years and with every year you just rooted yourself deeper into my heart despite all the lipping and bashing and insults and lack of interest in my work… I am sorry, I couldn't-"

"Confess then."

"Wha-a-a-at?"

"How do you know I will reject your feelings if I don't even know what they are?"

Her only response was the vigorous shaking of Drakken's head.

"Okay, I'll confess some things then… Those dizzy spells were not you, but me. I talked to my brothers – don't ask, it's a long story – and it turned out that they went through similar stuff. When they fell in love with their life partners. As you know, Hego married his. By this logic, I am in love with you. I can't say, it's the truth, but it is not… completely off the mark. So, yeah, I do have feelings for you… that I would like to explore further. …Say something," Shego prompted, after receiving only Drakken's dumbfounded face after her confession.

"Is this a dream? It must be, because it will never happen-"

Shego silenced his speech of denial with a peck on his lips. "Does that feel like a dream? Or… do you have erotic dreams about me?" she couldn't help but to use the perfect opening for teasing.

"No…" Drakken mumbled. "Not anymore."

"What does that supposed to mean?!" Shego blew up, offended more by not being the subject of Drakken's dreams than for him having those in the first place.

"You do know that your suit leaves nothing to the imagination, don't you? So during those first months it drew me crazy day and night so I… made it stop."

Shego did find the whole situation flattering, pity she didn't pick up on it back then. Or it could've made her run off… "Stop? You didn't do something crazy like chemical castration or something?!"

"Of course not! That treatment has serious repercussions for one's health! I just hypnotized myself not to… feel those things."

Shego decided not to turn attention to the fact that he knew of those repercussions for he must've checked it out at some point. Drakken must've thought that if he had no chance with her or pretty much anybody else, it was better to get rid of his libido completely not to suffer any longer. Now that's some hopelessness. "So if it was only self-hypnotism, you can snap yourself out of it?"

"Why would I do-"

"Maybe I am not making myself clear enough… Something is clearly going on between us. Something we should not ignore anymore. I want us to try this dating thing out. We clearly both suck at it, but with some ground rules we can make it work if we are both invested into this relationship."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"First of all, we do everything we can possibly can for it to work out and if we get to the stage that we can't coexist anymore – we part ways."

"I can't exist without you in my life, Shego. I made my peace with the fact that you would leave if I accepted the contract here and it was okay, since I already knew the plant-human wouldn't last… But then you came to the lab and I thought that you would disappear eventually any way, but then with your fake couple plan… And I thought, at least for a little while… I am not going to play the failing game again, Shego. I better die with the knowledge that I at least didn't screw up what's really important, then live after actually screwing it up."

"And giving up without even trying is not failing in your book?!"

"Now that you put it this way… You could be right…"

Drakken's thoughtful expression was so adorable! Dang it, she did just think that. "I am always right, D! You just never listen!"

"Yeah… I should've not made you the sidekick, but I couldn't afford a partner back then-"

"And your superiority complex – that came from your inferiority complex – just wanted to show everybody that you are above everybody else."

"You know me too well, Shego. I am sorry for the way I treated you, I was a horrible boss."

"Apology accepted for as long as you are not going to do it again. The whole 'Shego - fetch' became old long ago. And you know me well too. The stuff you said about what I think about while fighting Kimmie… You were right about all of it. Being unique is cool, but there is always this longing to be normal. All the money in the world can't completely eliminate loneliness or bring happiness or self-satisfaction or… understanding that your life is important to somebody else but you."

"I made the will that way because money is the only thing I can give you, because it was all you ever wanted."

"Don't be stupid! You can give me so much more. For example, you can give me a hug."

"Right now?"

Drakken had a long way to go if he was so hesitant about a hug. "Doy. Right now," Shego confirmed, spreading her arms in a welcoming gesture.

Eventually Shego did feel Drakken's arms around her. The hug was awkward, since it was forced, but Shego still felt warmth at the contact. But then she felt as if Drakken grew another pair of arms which pulled them closer with inhuman strength which bruised her ribs. At least. And then they tumbled to the floor losing the balance after the unexpected intervention that was caused by the present third party a.k.a. Drakkenia that for some reason chose that moment to bound them together.

"Sorry… I am so sorry… Move!"

"What we have just said about ordering me around, D?"

"Not you! The plant! I can't make it release us!"

Drakken flailed his legs around to somehow disentangle them from Shego's (which was doing worse than good for both of them), so she moved to accommodate him by spreading her legs instead. Which made things even more awkward.

"Do you think it happened because I touched it?" Shego asked, moving her hands from his back – and Drakkenia's protrusions on it – to his shoulders.

"No… Just stay still! I need some time to make her move."

"Got it." Shego remained still for the next minute to get out of the bindings, but also because her mind went to a place it most definitely shouldn't. She was thankful her head was in the crook of Drakken's neck so they couldn't see each other's faces. Shego's current face was split into two by an evil smirk since she knew why Drakken could not concentrate well enough to control Drakkenia. She felt it right against her hip. So whatever self-hypnotism the genius scientist used must've lost it effectiveness at some point. Should she mess with him by moving her legs into a more compromising position? Nah… Then they won't get out of their predicament at all. Also… could he feel that she was turned on as Hell as well?

The vines slowly started to slither against Shego's back, rolling her to the side, and then she fell to her back taking a couple of deep breaths to restore her air circulation. Those vines were powerful as heck. She watched from the floor as Drakken stomped towards his nightstand and clipped the vines that he started to automatically roll into bundles.

"This was good bye."

That statement made Shego jump up from the floor and storm towards her technically former boss (whom she still considered her boss out of habit). "What was that about?! Stop talking in riddles like you always do!"

"She agrees to die for me to live. She also asked me to tell you that… you should do everything not to make her sacrifice meaningless. I don't know what the last part means."

Shego knew, but was not going to elaborate. But she promised to herself that she will try. Try to love him as much as he loves her. Maybe someday he will even tell her. But before all that…

"You need a surgeon then. A neurosurgeon. And we both know who it is going to be."

"Why?"

"Because she is the only one, we can blackmail into helping us. And into secrecy."

"But I already called that favor in, Shego."

"Two boys, two favors. That's only fair."

"You are talking about what's fair?"

"She is going to operate on you and we are going to beat this whole death thing. Doy?"

"Doy. But you have to promise me something, Shego. If I go brain dead, fall into a coma or get paralyzed – you pull the plug, deal? Break my neck or something."

"What about half-paralyzed? Only from waist down. You can still invent and be a mad scientist and all that."

"You will stay with an invalid?!"

"I will stay with you, D." And surprisingly, she meant it. Could there really be the L-word in the works?

…

Doctor Ann Possible stretched after another successful operation. She always felt a special feeling of contentment after saving another life. It was why she chose to become a doctor – to help others to make the world a less hopeless place one person at a time. She left the post-operation dressing room with uplifted spirits, but those were instantly crashed when she was grabbed from behind and knocked out.

Doctor Possible woke up in an office of sorts. In one of the empty ones in the hospital she worked in as it turned out. The perpetrator, whoever he was, didn't drag her that far away. So what was his purpose?

"Remember me, Doc?"

Ah, correction. Her purpose. "Shego, was it?"

"Indeed. I brought you a new patient."

"My schedule is full till the end of the year-"

"Doesn't matter. This is not a request. And you know why. Also, we are going to pay your mortgage off. I think that's a pretty sweet deal. The files are on the table."

Ann decided to entertain her kidnapper's request to buy herself some time and looked through the files. Surprisingly, she was not restrained in any way. "What is this?!" she questioned with exasperation, after seeing something no known scientific phenomena could explain.

"You know exactly what, or I better say, who it is. Due to the circumstances I am not going to explain, the plant parasite needs to be cut out. And you are going to do it. The plant started to separate its roots from the spine. It must be cut out immediately after it separates completely, because, as you know, it then starts to rot and that's bad for the host.

"I will bring you fresh scans every week. When the scans show that it is almost there, I will fly you to our… place of residence. You can tell me right now what you will need and we prepare everything beforehand. One of our botanists will be present to consult. Now… just make the list so we can move on with our days."

"Wait a minute! You can't just-"

"I most definitely can. Have you found the uni that will take your rascals? Surely it's not cheap to educate two geniuses, who love to blow things up."

"You are blackmailing me?"

"Did you expect anything less? Moreover, I am not going to appeal to your oath. But if that works for you, Doc…"

"Alright, I'll do it. But I can't do such operation alone, I need my team with me."

"Out of the question."

"But I need an anesthesiologist at least! And assistants and nurses and post-op staff…"

"Well, good news that you don't need the sleep guy. The vines cannot be cut when D is unconscious, so at least for that part of the op he needs to be awake. You can just numb the skin for cutting his back open. And okay, you can bring one assistant. 10K hush money. Not more. And by that I mean not a word to anybody, that includes you too. No talking about me being here or about the whole situation to any ofyour family members, colleagues and whoever else."

"But why such secrecy? The whole world saw those vines on TV."

"And that world included bioengineers, botanists and other nerds, who salivated at publishing about the only human-plant hybrid in the world. So if they find out that that precious research subject is getting destroyed with no chance of duplication… It will be nerd apocalypses. Moreover, our boss surely doesn't want to endanger her main source of income before the project is finished. And I don't want him to be mutated beyond saving. So I fly you in, you do your job, I fly you back. That's it."

"This is going to be a unique operation, there are risks-"

"We get it. D works on Power of Attorney papers for me as we speak. If he dies, you won't have any responsibility. I'll make it look like an accident – those happen in the labs weekly if not daily, so the project will go on and nobody will be blamed."

"This is madness!"

"Madness is letting Doctor Drakken die!"

"You really don't call him by his name, do you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Ann was surprised at how genuine Shego's shock was. Was it a villains' thing to not use real names? Were they even still villains? Nobody has heard anything about them before the reunion or after. "Nothing at all. James just mentioned after the reunion something about Drew liking to be called by his real name."

"What nonsense! …Whatever. Write me the list of the equipment that you will need. And I mean now."

Doctor Possible could only comply. She made the list and it was snatched from under her nose by the pushy sidekick as were the scans.

"See you in a week, Doc."

….

Seven days later, Ann Possible found Shego in her office – in her chair – while returning from examining the patient she was to operate on the next day. A file with the scans was tossed onto the table and she took the folder to check them while remaining standing in her own office. Ann did not believe Shego's words about the plant actually moving her roots away from the spine, but the progress was clearly visible on the scans. It was slow, but it was there.

"Fuck!"

Doctor Possible almost dropped the scans at the exclamation. She turned to Shego, who seemed to be distressed over the received text message.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…" she kept cursing, furiously typing the reply.

"Something happened?"

"Dementor escaped prison! Guess who will be his first stop to extract his revenge after we put him there?! Damn him! Couldn't he escape two weeks earlier when Drakken was in full control of his vines? You through with those? I need to get back a.s.a.p."

"Just a second." Ann continued to get through the files, but it was only a cover to watch the woman in her office, who at that moment was not a ruthless blackmailer, but a lover going crazy with worry.

Meanwhile Shego was barking at someone over the phone.

"Dementor escaped. … Obviously. He may need a day or two to get his shit together before he appears on our doorstep – or roof more likely – but when he does, you are not going to engage, you understand me?! You are going to the safe room with everybody else. … I don't care that it is only a couple of roots. You are a danger to yourself and others with those vines now. So be a good boy and get to the safe room, doy? Okay, you can fire a couple of laser cannons, but you are not to step out of the control center!"

"Something the matter?"

"Don't you worry your red head about anything, Doc. Any comments on the scans? Additions to the list?"

"No… Everything is progressing fine. With such tempo you have seven-eight weeks."

"Splendid. Then I'll be off. Till next week, Doc."