I don't own these characters; Disney does.

14: The Possibilities

Company Possible continued on plundering small ships on the high seas. Kim referred to it as "practice," and the crew understood why. They liked to think they would be able to graduate to larger prizes soon enough, even though Kim's map was always in the back of their minds. They slowly followed the course charted, making sure to continue to loot small ships because they both needed and wanted the swag. Most of their ships were partners of Hench Company.

"Take that you bastards!" Bonnie shouted, firing her cannon at a prize. They took the ship with little problem in the same manner they took all of their ships. They fired on them until there was enough damage for Kim, Shego, and Ron to board and make short work of the rival crew. Hench Company and its allies were no match for them.

Shego had decided after spending that first night comforting the captain in her sleep they should target Hench Company ships. She easily got Kim's okay with that plan, making sure to make a selfless argument, even though her reasons were quite selfish. She pointed out that Hench Company was the biggest slave trader in the Empire, and also dealt in many illegal practices, which included betraying the Empire by selling weapons to rival countries and shanghaiing drunkards to sell into slavery around the world. Kim knew about those and agreed they would target Hench Company ships, basically for the greater good. Most of the crew went along because they wanted to hurt any filthy skin-trading company.

"Serves those damn slavers right," Monique stated with a nod after they sailed away from yet another prize.

"Damn right," Ron agreed.

"Let's divide up the loot and see how much we have to keep fixing up the ship," Kim decided.

After making decision to hit Hench Co. ships, the crew went to work on a few "improvements" on the ship. Many of them were just little things. The very first was changing the name. Their ship went from being the Flying Monkey to the Anything's Possible. They had heard the captain say the phrase a few times and they liked to think it was true, not just for her, but for their whole crew. They took it as their company motto as well as the ship name and the captain's family creed.

The Jolly Roger was changed as well. Thankfully, Monique was handy with a needle, enough to make their new flag. They wanted Hench Company to know what company took on their ships when it finally happened and they knew there would be some confusion if they continued to fly Lord Fiske's flag. Their flag became a winking skull with fire red hair. It usually made them laugh when they looked at it. They doubted many people would be menaced by it at first, but they would get their reputation up and they were certain, eventually, no one would laugh when they saw that flag flying high.

Wade continued to make changes to the weapons and improve the ship. Every weapon was easy to loud, rapid fire, and he made his own special ammo. The ship was probably faster than even the Global Justice had been, but they still were not in any shape to take on large crews. Kim just made sure any prize money they took, a portion went to whatever ideas Wade might have. Many of his changes astounded his crewmates and they were certain he was the definition of a genius. Wade was just happy to be able to stretch both his imagination and his intellect.

"We got luck in picking up a genius," Ron said often. Kim could not argue with that.

Their run at "practicing" ended when Wade decided all of his improvements were enough for large ships. The practice had an odd effect on the captain. Kim was able to hide it from her crew for the most part because it did not affect her behavior, but all of the pillaging made her nightmares worse. The only person who knew was Shego because she now shared the captain's bed. There was nothing sexual going on, but Kim needed another presence beside her, someone to silently assure her everything was all right.

-8-8-8-8-

After taking a prize, Kim was always the first in bed. It was not that she disliked celebrating with her crew, but it was hard to be around a bunch of drunk, happy pirates when she was not drunk. Shego fell into bed when everyone else was gone. She never failed to find the captain in the middle of a night terror.

"I got you, Princess," Shego whispered as she eased into firm bed.

Kim turned into her immediately, seeking solace. After a minute or so, Kim calmed down, as she always did. Shego buried her nose in Kim's hair, which smelled of cinnamon and salt. It was a comfort, never failing to put her to sleep.

Shego made it her mission to hold Kim at night, keeping the nightmares at bay. It ate at her that some weak-willed fool was able to get to someone that she viewed as an equal. Hell, quite possibly the only person she viewed as an equal. But, she supposed it worked out in a way for her as she quickly found out she enjoyed holding Kim. She had never done anything like this before in her life, just lie there with someone and cuddle. It felt very good.

There was nothing Shego could compare this "good" to. She dared to think holding Kim felt pure. She would do it for the rest of her life, if she could. She hoped Kim enjoyed the embrace as much as she did. She suspected Kim liked it more since she always just curled into Shego's body whenever she felt those powerful arms around her.

Most nights started off with Kim going to bed alone and the nightmares would come. Kim would battle the phantoms and this was a fight she could not win. Soon after, Shego entered the room. On average, Shego always acted like she would sleep in her bunk with the rest of the crew, even though everyone knew she would not. She always found Kim whimpering and writhing, fighting off mental demons. The demons always seemed to be winning. Easing into bed, Shego would put her arms around Kim, who would continue to struggle until she was in a full embrace. Once Shego seemed to engulf her, Kim calmed down and put her arms around Shego. Sometimes, she would wake up and they would talk a bit and, other times, they would both just drift into peaceful slumbers.

"Shego…" Kim whispered in case the warrior had fallen asleep already. She really did not want to wake Shego, but she suspected the helmsman was still up considering the fact that talented fingers ran up and down her spine at the moment.

"Yeah?" Shego answered. She could not control her hands. They thoroughly enjoyed feeling Kim at moments like this. Feeling soft skin was pure bliss and she would never get enough, she silently noted.

"I just… I wanted to thank you… for being here for me…" the redhead replied, sounding almost shy. She was not sure how Shego would take the thanks. There was always a chance the older woman would tease her. Now, she doubted the teasing would be done maliciously, but right now, she could not even take playful teasing. There was just too much in her mind right now.

Shego was silent for a while, only breathing calmly while rubbing the small of Kim's back. Kim purred softly, pressing herself deeper into Shego. The contact made Shego smile.

"Don't think anything of it, Princess. We both know you'd do this for me if things were reversed. Besides, I enjoy being here for you," the pale woman admitted. It felt safe to say, wrapped in the warmth of Kim and the privacy of the dark room.

"Um…" Kim took a deep breath, feeling safer than ever before. Not just safe in Shego's arms, but safe to continue speaking. "…I like this…" she confessed in a low tone. She had never felt anything quite like this, not even when she was with Josh. There was something much different about when Shego held her. She would not say it was better than when Josh held her. She refused to compare Shego to him. But, this was certainly different. A good different.

"I like it, too," Shego answered. That was easier to admit than the other thing, not just because the first confession always seemed to be the hardest, but because it seemed a little less complicated and less emotional.

"I think I understand a little better what you were telling me about Bonnie and Monique as well Betty and Vivian…" There was an emotional connection between them that was more than friendly. It was not familial either. She had never considered such a thing could exist and it had not made sense to her at first, but now it was becoming clear.

Shego chuckled and then let loose a long, content sigh. "I think there's something to it, too."

Kim made a noise, but she did not say anything beyond that. She snuggled closer to Shego, who held her just a little tighter. Kim's fingers played with the ends of Shego's hair while the older warrior continued to rub her back.

These peaceful moments, they found, were just as good as when they were fighting each other. It made them both understand each other better, but it also made them understand Bonnie and Monique a little better. Yes, they liked arguing and sparring with each other, but there was something just as deep and fulfilling as lying together, sharing in the silence. It seemed quite natural. Almost perfect.

True perfection was achieved through an odd impulse had by Shego. Kim moved her head to rest against Shego's shoulder and she felt emerald eyes on her. She glanced up to see Shego staring down at her. Emerald eyes seemed so full that they might overflow and the emotion felt like it ran right into the petite redhead. She felt overwhelmed by the sight and feeling. A gentle squeeze around Kim's shoulders kept her eyes on Shego and then, suddenly, the redhead felt soft lips pressing against her.

Olive eyes opened wide for a second before drifting shut as the most pleasant, soothing sensation coursed through her. Instinctively, she returned the kiss while wrapping her arms tightly around Shego. Feeling the response to her touch, Shego tilted her head slightly to feel more of Kim's delightful lips. A moan passed between them and neither were sure who made the sound, not that they cared. Kim pulled away just as Shego was about to take things even further. The green-skinned sailor was just a little disappointed from the loss of contact.

"Wow…" the captain muttered in an amazed whisper, eyes looking beyond Shego as Kim tried to gather her thoughts.

Shego let loose a smile that was somewhere between satisfied and arrogant. "I aim to please, Cap'n Kimmie," she boasted. In her head, wow echoed with pride and delight, with just as much awe as Kim, though.

"I think… I think I'm really starting to understand this now…" the redhead remarked with a chuckle, turning her gaze back to the other woman.

"Maybe we should practice a little bit more, just to be sure," Shego quipped with a wicked smirk.

Kim nodded and a shy smile settled on her face. She then surprised Shego with the enthusiasm she put toward the task. Shego was caught off-guard when Kim's lips came in contact with her own. She moaned from the surprise contact and sweet bliss of the second kiss. There certainly was something to "this." Now, if only they knew what "this" was… not that not knowing stopped them.

When they finally settled down, their lips were swollen and their chests heaved for air, but they both felt more than adored, even somewhat admired. The emotions that existed between both of them seemed to expand infinitely, growing larger and deeper, while remaining peaceful, soothing, and comforting. As they drifted off to sleep, they both thought the same thing. "This" was perfect.

-8-8-8-8-

Kim and Shego were surprised to find that after a night of passionate kissing, their behavior outside of the captain's quarters did not change a bit. They were not awkward around each other and moved about like it was a normal day. It was as if they naturally fit together. Kim could not help thinking of when Vivian told her there was someone out there for her and she recalled answering that person was Josh. Could Shego really be that someone?

The idea that Shego was that someone disturbed and upset Kim a little. Was she going to allow Shego to replace Josh in her heart? No. Never. She quickly shook that away. No one would ever be Josh. Shego was different and fulfilled different parts of Kim, parts she did not know was there, but that did not mean she would or could take Josh's place. Josh was Josh and Shego was Shego. As long as she could keep that in mind, Kim was certain she could go on with Shego and see where they were going.

Shego was not thinking on things as hard as Kim was. Of course, she had less to think about. She had never had someone like Josh in her life, never thought what it might mean to care about someone so much, so she did not have that battle to contend with.

She had also lived the life of a pirate long enough to know when to go with the flow and just accept when something felt good… not that she had ever felt something feel this type of good. It was almost wholesome, quiet, but passionate. She liked it too much to question it and figured she would just stick around Kimmie until the emotions ran their course. She hoped the emotions never ran their course either.

"How's things going with the map?" Ron asked Kim curiously, as he noticed the captain studying the document. Kim was propped up on the gunwale, map in her hands.

"Everything's fine. We're on course and moving at a decent speed. I'm just wondering what this place is that it leads to. I've never seen this group of islands before and they're so far from the colonies. It's almost like these islands are in the East," Kim answered, eyes stuck on the map.

Ron glanced down at the map; the redhead never hid the document from the crew. This was one of the things he liked best about Kim. She was open and upfront about everything from what he could tell. He knew she had some kind of secret, but it seemed more personal than anything else because he only noticed it when he spoke about Yori to her. He had a feeling her secret had to do with some pain with a loved one, like he felt over Yori.

"I don't know much about maps, but it looks like we're headed west," he commented, his brow furrowing a little in confusion. Rufus, on Ron's shoulder as usual, also appeared to be a bit perplexed about the direction that they were headed.

"Yeah, we do need to go west, making this a long journey because we have to make it to the East, but it's almost as if beyond the East. We've only just begun," she pointed out. Monique interrupted their brief discussion.

"Ship off the starboard side!" Monique called out before putting her spyglass back to her eye to get some details. "Hench Company," she added when she noticed the company flags underneath the Imperial flag.

The crew all took out their own spyglasses, wanting to get a good look at the ship. Kim frowned when she noticed the size of the ship, as well as for another reason. The whole crew scowled, knowing just what was on a ship that size. Before Kim could even close her spyglass, she had three crewmates in her face.

"We're taking that ship!" Bonnie declared, pointing out to sea in the direction of the massive galleon.

"Right now!" Monique chimed in with passion in her tone. If not now, then sooner in her opinion.

"Whoa, calm down, so not the drama," Kim remarked, earning very strange looks from her crew. She chuckled, knowing, sometimes, her manner of speaking was a little much for them.

"Yes, it is! We're going now!" Bonnie commanded, a fire burning in her eyes that usually only showed up when she argued with Monique.

"That's not your call," Kim pointed out.

"We all have an equal vote," the tanned sailor countered smugly. There might be something to voting, she thought.

"Fine, we'll put it to a vote. Who thinks we should foolishly charge a ship that's clearly got us in size and manpower?" Kim proposed, folding her arms across her chest.

Immediately, Bonnie, Monique, and Wade raised their hands. "Aye!"

"All opposed?" Kim said. Surprisingly, the remaining crew did not raise their hands to vote the idea down. Even the captain just stood there.

"Do the ayes have it if since there's no opposition?" Monique inquired. It seemed to make sense to her. They should win by default because half of the crew abstained from voting.

"Just because we didn't vote against it doesn't mean we're for the idea. That's a suicide mission out there," Shego pointed out. As much as she loved a good fight, she was very much against committing any type of suicide. She liked living a little more than she liked fighting.

"Kim, I know you're against slavery in all forms, so why shouldn't we go after that ship?" Monique asked, feeling like the captain was more likely to give in to the good fight than Shego would.

"Because it's huge compared to ours. I am very much against slavery in any form, yes, but there's not much we can do. Do you know how precise our attack would have to be to even do anything to that ship? And then, let's say we manage to stop it and let's say we're able to even defeat the crew, what happens to the people inside the hull? We can't carry them anywhere. They'll be stranded in the middle of the ocean," Kim pointed out.

"Anything's better than being sold like horses in the colonies!" Bonnie hollered so loudly that her face turned red with frustration.

"Even being stranded in the middle of the Atlantic to starve to death while drifting to God knows where?" Kim inquired.

"YES!" the three former slaves answered empathically.

Kim had to take a step back because of the emotion of it all and silent for a moment, clearly considering their response. They would know better than she would, she knew this. She thought about how they had been held back. She thought about the marks she caught glimpses of on Monique's back. She thought about Bonnie and the fear on her face when Shego threatened to sell her to a brothel. No one deserved that. Still, she was not comfortable with the idea of possibly leaving hundreds to die in the middle of the worst ocean ever.

"Princess, don't even think about," Shego commanded, holding up a finger. Even from the helm, she could see that crazy glint in Kim's eyes that she knew bred foolhardy chivalrous ideas.

"It is a Hench Company ship," Kim said.

Shego frowned, thinking he might be on there. It was tempting, even if it was just to find him. Things were certainly more personal now that she and Kim had exchanged kisses and cuddled in the night. She would love nothing more than to rip him apart for trying to steal something she was now sure was a gift for her.

"It's a huge Hench Co. ship," Shego stated, not wanting to give in so easily. Still, inside, her belly twisted at the thought of getting her hands on him so soon. She would make him pay for his crimes.

"Probably full of all other types of plunder. Besides, I know how you feel about slavery, too," Kim argued.

Shego probably would have been an active abolitionist if she had settled on land somewhere in the Empire rather than live her life as an outlaw at sea. She was against any and all forms of someone controlling another person's destiny. Hell, one of the reasons she had no problem looting from the Empire was the fact that slavery was legal.

"What kinda plunder?" Shego inquired with a craned eyebrow.

With a slight smile, Kim shrugged. "You know, the usual stuff, crowns, rum, mail, clothes, maybe even some jewels."

"Food?" Ron chimed in. He could already see where this was going and he just wanted an excuse to go along with it. Yes, he was also against slavery, but like Shego had a problem with going on suicide missions.

"Of course," Kim answered.

Ron shrugged. "I guess I could go for that," he muttered.

The captain then turned her attention to the last opposition. "Shego?" she asked.

Shego was quiet for a moment and tempted to tell Kim that she would fight her for it. It would put her in a better mood, but it would also give that huge ship time to get away. She did not want slavers to get away, especially since that ship could quite possibly have that bastard Pete on there and Shego wanted so badly to tear her claws through him. It was settled for her.

"I call dibs on any rum," Shego stated.

Kim tittered and smiled even more. "Okay, guys, if we're going to do this, we have to do it right. This isn't practice anymore and there are probably hundreds of lives at stake in that ship's cargo bay. One screw up could mean a lot of dead people, us included. Now, first things first, we need to stop that ship without disabling it. Since we obviously can't fit all of the slaves on this ship, we'll need them to be able to sail that one."

"Yeah, because slave ships are always packed full of competent sailors," Shego remarked sarcastically.

"I don't hear your plan," the captain countered.

Shego snorted. "Where are they supposed to sail to?"

"There are a small group of islands nearby. We can take them that far. I don't know what they'll do after that, but that's better than being hauled off to the colonies and sold like a bunch of sheep," Kim replied.

The crew agreed with that, finding that was a decent solution to their problem. Now they just needed to execute things with a precision they were not too sure they had yet. Catching up to the ship, everyone got into their battle positions. Bonnie opened things up when they got close enough, firing her gun with a special ammunition that Wade prepared for them. When the shell made it to the other ship, it exploded and covered some of the crew in a foul smelling odor that rapidly made them lose consciousness.

"Fire more of that! It works well!" Kim announced, tracking their success through her spyglass. The ship's crew had not known what hit it and some of them busied themselves vomiting over the side while others tried to clean up. They would not stand a chance.

For once, Bonnie did not argue. She fired again as did Monique. Kim and Ron loaded guns of their own and fired. Shego kept the ship steady as they pulled up closer to the slavers. Once they were close enough, Monique took control of the helm, knowing enough to keep them from crashing into anything. Shego, Kim, and Ron boarded the other ship. Two out of those three, of course, had to complain about the smell as soon as they touched down.

"Did you guys really expect it to smell like roses after all of the stink bomb cannonballs we fired?" Kim inquired.

"I didn't expect it to smell like rotting ass!" Shego countered.

"Or for it to almost kill us!" Ron threw his hands up and Rufus squeaked in agreement. They both then quickly covered their faces with their hands.

Kim rolled her eyes, which were tearing. Wade certainly knew how to make potent ammunition. Added to that, he made the guns fire rapidly, so they had hit the prize with probably more than necessary. Thanks to that, they did not have many people to fight because most of them had passed out already.

Thankfully, the sea air carried the ripe odor away quickly, so the pirates were not in danger of passing out from the stench. They had to take the time to bind all of the crew before letting out the human cargo. At first, the people in the hull were shy to come out, but eventually they were coaxed above deck to see that they were saved.

After that, Shego returned to the Anything's Possible to take control of the helm. Kim stayed aboard the Hench Company ship to steer it toward the islands she told her crew about. Monique hung out with her, asking questions about steering the ship.

Shego was quiet on the trip, which the crew thought was odd. They had just taken a huge prize, after all, and freed a bunch of slaves. For them, that was cause for celebration, but Shego silently seethed over the fact that the bastard Pete was not onboard that ship. She really wanted to wrap her hands around his neck and never stop squeezing and she had hoped this would have been her chance, but no such luck.

The drop off was fairly easy. It was hard to explain to the former cargo what just happened, but it turned out Monique found someone she could communicate with in a language that none of the other crew members knew.

"You speak other languages?" Ron asked as they took a little time to help the people establish themselves on the island.

Monique shrugged. "My mother never learned English and I had to speak with her. Some of my first marks…" She rubbed her lower back. "For a long time, I refused to speak English. Eventually, my mother begged me to speak, couldn't stand to see me get whipped no more. She never understood, that was how I felt when I saw it happen to her."

Ron had to swallow around a lump in his throat. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Monique shook her head. "You don't have to apologize for it. You stand against it. You look me in the eye and you see a human being. Just like she does." She nodded to Kim, who was bossing Shego as Shego pulled a cannon off of the slave ship. Monique laughed. "What in the hell are they doing?"

"Knowing them, setting up a defense for everyone in case some Empire jerks coming snooping around."

Monique smiled. "Let's go help then."

Ron nodded and they were off, close enough to hear Shego cursing about how heavy the cannon was and how Kim's "bitching" was not helping. They helped set up some defenses and also helped gather the some food since many of the new freedpeople were too weak thanks to weeks of confinement in a ship. After that, the Possible Company went about its business, feeling pretty good about themselves.

Of course, they had to celebrate their victory with large mugs of rum. Their captain had tea, but she celebrated with them. And they took this as a sign of what they needed to do while following the course on the map. They needed to help those who could not help themselves… and get as much swag out of it as possible. And, of course, Shego would continue to keep an eye out for Pete.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Yori.