Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from Kim Possible are all owned by Disney. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

Climbing over Rocky Mountain

"So, ah, isn't this cozy?" Ron suggested as the four of them shared a booth at Bueno Naco. His tone of voice suggested it was anything but cozy.

Kim's eyes narrowed as she stared at Ron and Shego across the table. Shego was sitting too close to Ron. And Ron wasn't trying to move away from the implied intimacy. Of course, Ron had no room to move away from Shego, but it was the principle of the thing – he could at least try.

Shego stared at Shego. It was hard to believe she had ever been that naïve idiot.

Shego stared at Shego – the fake who had stolen her identity, committed crimes in her name and ruined her life.

Kim opened the meeting, "We really need names for you so we can tell you apart. How about—"

"I won't use Candy," the younger Shego insisted. "That's just my cover story. I'm Shego."

"Well, I'm Shego," the other insisted.

"Is one of you willing to be called something else?" Ron asked.

"No," they chorused.

"We could call one of you by your real name," Kim suggested.

"No," they agreed.

"We're making progress," Ron said cheerfully. "I'll bet you two didn't think you'd agree so much."

"I've got to protect my secret identity," Shego explained.

Shego snorted, "She has three identities. The only identity I have is Shego, so I'm not giving it up."

"Well, I was Shego first!"

"Yeah, but you weren't Shego until you were twelve. You've been Shego less than half your life. I've been Shego since day one. Hell, I've been Shego longer than you have."

"Please don't use language like that. It isn't proper," Shego corrected Shego.

"What language?" Shego asked.

"That one word."

"Hell?" Shego asked.

Shego nodded.

Shego gave a wicked grin, "Okay, no Hell. How about damn? Shit? Son of a—"

Shego covered her ears in horror. Kim nudged Shego in the ribs with her elbow, "That's enough. You don't have to give her George Carlin's list."

"Oh, I hadn't even started on Carlin's list," Shego reminded Kim smugly.

Kim fought the urge to smile, "Look, we've already established you two have more in common than you want to admit. You two need each other."

"I don't need her!" Shegos declared loudly.

"Stereophonic Shego," Ron chimed in, "cool!"

"Shego, you've lost seven years. Shego can fill you in on what's happened better than anyone else." Kim turned to the woman beside her, "And Shego, you know Drakken played with your mind - who you are. Shego can provide a starting point to explore who you are and what comes from Drakken."

"I'm not going to be Pollyanna there. I'm not going to cringe if someone says Hell."

Shego tried hard, but not successfully, to avoid cringing when Shego said Hell. "You said you wouldn't say that."

"I lied. Get over it."

"You don't have to be Ms. Go again… But she had her good points. I liked her. I–"

"Did you?" Shego interrupted. "Did you really?"

"Yes," Kim told her. Shego gave Kim an odd smile the younger woman didn't understand. The redhead continued, "Look, you're older. You've learned things. You don't have to go back exactly the way you were."

"And what's wrong with who I am?" the younger Shego demanded.

"Nothing," Ron said, "nothing at all." Kim didn't like the way Ron said it, or the smile Shego gave him.

Kim continued, "But in a few years you don't expect things to be exactly the same as they are today, do you?"

"No," Shego sighed, "I want things to change. I just don't want to end up like her."

"Well, if she doesn't have to be you, you don't have to grow into her either," Kim reminded her. "You are two individuals who share a lot of memories and a lot of personality–"

"No we don't!" they interrupted. They stared at each other for a second, then gave each other a nervous smile. "Look," they said together, then stopped.

"Me first," the older Shego said. "I may not like you, Pollyanna. But Kim's right. I need you. I've grown up. I like a lot of what I am and don't want to change it all. But parts of me aren't me. I want to figure out what Drakken did to me and fix it… Well, some of it."

Kim looked at the younger Shego, "She's willing to try."

Shego sighed, "Okay, I guess it's not your fault you're an evil fake. I've lost a lot. And… And I probably need you too, to help me understand what's happened and so I don't sound like a complete idiot in—"

"I'm good," Shego interrupted, "but I don't do miracles."

"Shego," Kim hissed and nudged her in the ribs with an elbow, "behave!"

Tension eased slightly around the table and they chatted for another hour or so before business picked up and Ned's glare let them know they needed to order more food or vacate the table for paying customers.

As they got up Kim heard Shego remind Ron softly, "You aren't allowed to tell her my real name."

"But you can trust Kim," Ron protested, "She's my gir– She's my best friend!"

"I've got to get Shego out of Ron's house," Kim thought. "This would go a lot faster if Shego spent more time with Shego. It would be a little crowded, but why doesn't Shego move back to my house?"

Shegos looked at each other, "No!"

"Great, easy to find things where they agree to disagree. Now we need to find where they can agree to agree." Kim wondered if she could take Shego into her confidence and share her concerns about Shego and Ron. Maybe Shego could even be her ally against Shego. Kim shook off the idea. She needed to get Shego to work with Shego, not sow more animosity between them. She wanted them to move back to Go City and share an apartment as sisters, or cousins. Kim really didn't care how they presented themselves to the world – as long as they did it in someplace other than Middleton.

During the next week Kim found one good way to get Shego out of Ron's house. The young woman didn't like losing and wanted to train as much as possible. Shego often went with them. It frustrated Shego that Kim still beat her with ease, but Kim told her she was improving as they practiced. Sometimes Shego would sit to the side and watch in awe as Shego sparred with Kim. Shego wasn't sure if she should cheer for herself when Shego beat Kim – proving it could be done, or cheer when Kim beat Shego proving good is better than evil. In the spirit of fair play she cheered enthusiastically for both and tried to remember their moves. If Shego could do it, then she could learn to do it.

Twice after workouts both Shegos returned to Kim's house and worked on supper together. Kim took it as a positive sign, although their conversation made little sense.

One would begin with something like, "Do you remember that time Mr. Edwards lit the grill?"

And the other one would say, "Of course."

Then they would both laugh. It was almost as irritating as watching Shego with Ron, but not nearly as irritating as imagining Shego alone with Ron.

Sometimes when Shego mentioned someone from their past the older Shego would reply, "He died," or, "Her family moved to Pittsburgh."

"How do you know this stuff?" Kim demanded.

Shego shrugged, "I kept up with local news."

Anne Possible loved coming home from the hospital and finding a wonderful dinner prepared and waiting. She threw an arm around each Shego and hugged them, "I hope you both stay around for awhile."

Shego blushed at the compliment and Shego smirked.

And Kim wished even harder they would both go away. "They're trying to steal my boyfriend and my mother."