A/N: Wrote on a whim… kinda a future situation that fits into the Things Chang, RTD, AiBS series...

Big Thanks to bcbdrums for editing!

Blind Spot

Shego wasn't sure at what point she'd stopped helping Possible and Global Justice with weekend missions and had started taking on more during the week. It had only been once in a while, and here and there...but she seemed to be relied on more as time went by, even taking a few undercover jobs once in a while. Perhaps it was the thrill of using her skills outside of a classroom...but it never really dawned on her how much she was working. She'd always get home before dinner with her family, and it was no different then any other 9 to 5 job... At least at first.

It was nearly dawn when Shego got home from her latest mission. She was agitated as she always wanted to be back before dinner—not breakfast. The house was silent and she wondered if the kids had stayed the night at their friends. They were old enough that this was a common occurrence. She saw the single bowl in the sink and nodded. They had. She was glad Drakken had managed to eat at least. He'd probably been happily tinkering away in his lab all night. She smirked at this and that he'd probably appreciated not having distractions to his work. She saw the dim light of the television as she entered the living room and paused. If she was being honest, they rarely used the large television save for family movie nights over the years.

Shego slowed as she looked on the couch where Drakken slept holding a pillow under his arm. He'd yet to change out of the clothes she'd seen him in the morning prior, which meant he hadn't been in the lab. His phone was placed in front of him, whereas normally he'd toss it somewhere else; the countless times he'd have to track it down were laughable. She leaned over the couch and looked at him sleeping. His face wasn't peaceful like it normally was when he slept, but contorted. His breathing was heavier than normal as if he was having a nightmare or had just drifted off.

Shego furrowed her brow at his as she leaned on the back of the couch. Her hand smoothed out the stressed lines on his face softly and his eyes shot open.

"Sheila?" he asked quickly and then focused his eyes. A look of relief swam over his features. "You're home."

"Doy," smirked Shego. She raised a brow and it clicked. "Did you stay up all night waiting for me?"

Drakken sighed and nodded.

"You didn't call and I couldn't get the hover car started... You forgot your tracker..."

He was ranting out of worry rather than anger at her being forgetful. She mentally chastised herself for forgetting her tracker—something he'd insisted on in case she found herself in a circumstance she may need Drakken to assist her in. She was torn towards being annoyed by his worry, but it faded.

"You didn't take your tracker," he said again. This time there was annoyance. His hand desperately covered hers. "You didn't call this time..."

"Sorry, there was no service in Cambodia," she yawned. "But I'm home."

His brow relaxed and he sighed before looking at the clock on the television.

"I have to go to work," he muttered but smiled at her. "Breakfast?"

"No, I'm exhausted," she gave him a quick kiss. "I ate something on the jet... You have a good day at work."

"Love you," she heard him call behind her. She responded the same but her yawn muffled it slightly.

He heard me.

Again...and again, the missions were taking longer and longer. She was coming home at obscene hours and a few undercover missions had taken whole weekends. On that night's mission she'd gotten her phone smashed. She'd not bothered calling home once she'd gotten into a service area because she had planned on being home by dinner... Unfortunately an escape from the cells at Global Justice had made her walk right into a lock down upon her return.

She was furious as she walked in the door at nearly midnight. Another dinner missed. She saw bowls in the sink soaking so at least everyone was home. It was aggravating that she only seemed to see the kids in passing. And Drakken...it seemed he was always at work when she was home...which wasn't the way she'd planned her job to be. They had mirrored shifts...or they were supposed to. She walked up the stairs and sighed as she entered their room. Drakken lay in bed and she looked at the clock. It was Saturday, so he wouldn't have work tomorrow and the lab could wait.

She smiled and tossed her clothes aside before lazily sliding under the covers next to him. It had been warm that night despite the air so he wasn't wearing a shirt. She felt herself relax and the trials of the day fade away as she smiled and snuggled up to him. His cool skin against her cheek was a welcoming feeling. He stiffened and she knew he was awake.

"It's just me," she hummed. She snuggled further in the silence as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Sheila?" his voice was hoarse and off. She raised a brow and opened her eyes.

"Hmm?" she asked as his hand slid over hers. "What's up?"

"Are...are you not happy anymore?" he sighed. There was a heaviness in his voice.

She was confused by his question and snorted.

"Of course I am... I mean not with work at the moment... Tonight was—"

"Are you happy with me?" he asked. Shego sat up completely.

"What do you mean? Why, did you do something? Did something catch fire..." she looked around trying to figure out if she'd missed something.

"I meant with me in general... Do I make you happy anymore?" he breathed.

Shego looked at his form. His breathing was heavy and he hadn't turned to look at her. Her hand slid over his shoulder and she let out a deep sigh. She felt it fuel her already agitated state. She would have normally scoffed at his absurd question but his voice again made it melt away into unease.

Why would he ask that...

"What kind of question is that? Of course you make me happy... I love you," she chuckled softly. Her hands dug into his flesh in a gentle squeeze. "Why would you ask that?"

"You don't come home anymore... You even canceled our date nights... You stopped wearing your tracker and calling when you're out..." He turned to look at her now. "I can go on."

She could see in the moonlight how tired and sad he looked. She knew he'd been crying at some point that evening by the shine in his eyes. She wanted to argue that it was just work or timing or— Her mind shut down the growing annoyance from lack of sleep as it clicked. He thought she had fallen out of love with him? Her own heart ached at this, a mix of anger and sadness swimming inside her... She wanted to demand how he could think that but he'd just explained it to her...and he was continuing in her silence.

"You don't wear your wedding ring... When did you start taking it off?" he added as he held up her bare hand, his wedding band catching the light.

"I don't want to lose it on undercover missions," she stated. It sounded pathetic but it was true. Her hand gripped his. "It's in my bag..."

"Are you sure it's not just me," he asked. There was a sad laugh in his throat. "It seems that way... You come home for other things... Not me, or us... It's been weeks since we've been in the same bed...months if you're honest... I just can't figure out if it's because I've gained some weight... I didn't think it was that noticeable... Or...have I finally just annoyed you enough..."

His voice cracked as he rambled about everything wrong with him and Shego's mind was pulled into the past... She was picturing an isolated Drakken, alone in his lab...all by himself... The kids were out more and more, and she was home less and less... He was alone again in his head...and so he was making mental lists of his faults to try to figure out why.

Shego's shoulders fell and she slid her hand across his cheek and he fell silent.

"I'm sorry Drew... I didn't mean to make you feel this way... I'm not unhappy..." she muttered. He wasn't looking at her and she knew he was still mentally finishing whatever list he'd concocted in her head. "Drew... Hey, Drew... Drakken! ...Look at me."

His head turned to her at the use of his old name...gaining both his attention and focus. Her fingers traced under his eyes, caressing the deep scar more than the other as she wiped away the dampness.

He had his emotional moments, he always had...but not to this degree. She wondered just how much he'd been piling onto himself over the months in misguided reasoning to explain her absence. If she hadn't come home when he was still awake...how long would he have kept building that wall of self-pity and loathing back up? She'd thought it had been eradicated years ago... But she felt stupid at that thought... Walls never really go away... They just crumble in small places.

"It's not whatever you're listing in that crazy head of yours. It's me... I've been neglectful and selfish." She tried to give a smile to lighten the conversation but she felt her eyes burn as she did so. "You kind of knew that when you married me."

His expression didn't change as he looked at her hands on his face. He barely touched her hand in response. The silence stayed as she tightened her grip on his face and forced him to look at her. There was still sadness in his eyes as he nodded.

Shego's heart ached as she saw this. He was only nodding because he was accepting her answer rather than believing her. She'd unknowingly been breaking his heart and tormenting him for months. Any other man would have assumed she was having an affair...but he knew better than that. No...he just assumed she'd fallen out of love with him. It hurt her to know this. But she couldn't fault him for his thoughts and emotions... An image from over a decade ago flooded back to her mind, of her crying in bed as he worked and ignored her as neither of them were used to being in a relationship. And now more than ten years later...she'd flipped the pain onto him. Her heart beat in her throat out of fear and sorrow. She lunged forward and kissed him hard.

She felt hunger building in her as she tasted the salt from her own tears and his as she kissed him. His hand slid into her hair and around her with the same blind hunger as hers. Her thoughts fell to wondering about the last time they had even made love... Her hunger was fueled even more as she couldn't remember... Months? Any other man might have been tempted to stray rather than brood... Not Drakken... Not her husband. He loved her with all his heart...and she'd been breaking it. She pulled from his kiss and rested her head against his. She needed to make it very clear to him.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't know I was hurting you." She sniffed and scoffed at herself and rubbed her face in frustration. "Of course I didn't... I haven't been here to see."

His hand pulled hers away from her face.

"You thought I didn't love you," she whispered to herself rather than him. She felt anger mix with her own upset. "After everything we've been through... After all of that...I made you think I didn't love you?"

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, her hands on his face again to keep his eyes focused on hers. He hadn't looked away but she didn't want him to even think about doing so. She saw him swallow hard as his hands slid over hers to lace his fingers with hers to pull them from his face and to rest on their laps.

"But you do?" he asked rather than stating and it hurt again.

She yanked her hands from his and reached to the side lamp. He clearly wasn't seeing her in the dim-light and she was losing patience. She turned to look at him to focus on his eyes with her own. The light showed the deep redness of his eyes...with the distant sad look in them. He looked uncomfortable as he pulled the blanket around himself...his words faintly in her mind of how he'd listed his faults... She'd made him insecure... His expression shifted as he took her in.

She knew her eyes were red and puffy from her slight tears. She knew her body held bruises from her mission... She had lost weight, if she was being honest... There wasn't always time to eat in her haste to get home and even when she'd get home, she'd much rather sleep. She hadn't washed her hair in days...yet he looked at her with all the love he always did. But still, the sadness was there.

She could see his eyes look into hers, and she smiled softly as the hesitance in his eyes seemed to fade.

"Look in my eyes, Drew Lipsky," she demanded. "Do they look for a second...for even one second...like I don't love you? Tell me."

She felt relief as she watched the last of his concerns fade from his eyes and a smile ghost his lips as he shook his head and moved closer to her face with his own.

"I want to hear it," she smirked. Drakken rolled his eyes.

"I love you," he smirked. Shego pulled back from the kiss he was going for and he gave an annoyed sigh. "And you love me."

"Glad that's cleared up," snorted Shego. "God, you're so needy—"

His lips kissed hers hard but it turned soft and passionate as she felt the anguish and the stress fall away and his hands slide over her shoulders. She'd been so wrapped up in work and missions that she was letting it all build up as she ignored him unintentionally. Each part of her his skin touched felt like it was screaming in relief. The scent of oil, mint, and flowers soothed the weight in her chest. Her hands slid under his arms and her nails ghosted over his back. She heard the hum of relief from his lips.

Months...

She repeated that mentally as her body held its renewed craving of his hands on her skin. It had never really gone anywhere, just...clearly waiting for her to slow down. She pulled him closer against her so her body was flush against his chest. She wondered if this was what people meant by the phrase touch-starved. His hands touched and kneaded every inch of her he could reach, and each touch was rewarded with hums of contentment from her lips.

"You're not going into the lab this weekend," she said between breaths as she fell back against the soft blanket, pulling him down over her as she did so.

"I don't have to work all week if I want," he said as he began kissing down her neck. Her nails dug into his back as she grinned at this.

"I have several weeks of vacation," she smirked as his brow rose before kissing her lips softly.

"Technically you don't have to ever go to work," he said innocently. "I mean I don't either..."

"And nix my goal of becoming director just so I can be Possible's boss?" she asked in mock shock.

"Oh well you're right...we can't let that level of petty go un-denied," he laughed.

"Damn right," laughed Shego.

They stared at each other as their laughter faded. Shego slid her hands to grip through his hair tightly as she leaned up to kiss him firmly. When she pulled away he was giving her a soft thoughtful smile.

"I love you," he sighed. Shego tugged his hair and he laughed. "Ow! And you love me."

"Uh huh," smirked Shego. "You better keep saying that too... None of this emotional pity-party in the middle of the night."

"Well sometimes it was in the middle of the day in the lab," he nodded. Shego rolled her eyes as he continued, "in the car listening to music..."

"Zip it," she laughed as he continued dramatically.

"I floated in the pond in the park in grief—"

"You better not have," she gasped. "Don't need any of the single grandmothers in the neighborhood showing up at the door with Jell-O molds."

"You joke, but we both know Beatrice down the block has a sweet spot for me," he retorted. Shego rolled her eyes. "...And you like watching the welcome mat eject them from the property and into the pond... It's your favorite summer party activity."

"It would be nice to see how far the Jell-O mold could make it intact," mused Shego.

"Well I didn't so...we'll have to figure out a way to test that in the morning." Drakken smirked and reached for the light as he slid off her.

"Ohm, excuse me...I still want attention... It's my turn to be emotional and needy," scoffed Shego as she yanked him back to her.

"You can be the needy and emotional one in the morning," he suggested. Shego pouted but sighed.

"You're lucky I'm tired and too drained from your breakdown," she said, cuddling into him as he lay down next to her.

"I meant it by the way," he sighed into her hair. "Take the week off?"

"Two," she yawned as she found her spot nestled in the crook of his arm. "Let's go away."

"We do have the island..." She heard him yawn.

"How about something more family-friendly," she replied as the blanket was pulled around them.

"You act like an island of killer plants and piranhas isn't something the kids would enjoy," he scoffed. Shego snorted.

"You're right...they are ours... The island it is," she nodded.

Shego took a deep breath and pulled herself closer to Drakken, wondering if taking a month off would fly or not... As much as she enjoyed the thrills of missions, danger, and mischief...she'd been letting the best thrills fall into a blind spot in her head. Love, laughter, family, and their own brand of united mischief was always far more thrilling than any mission could ever be.