The story of Sarah continues. She is now in the hands of her former adversary. Will she go through with it, or let her fear of rejection get in the way? Please join her on a journey of self discovery, which begins with small, tentative steps.

As usual, Sarah Go and other characters belong to Disney. I've just borrowed them for a while.

The Journey of a Thousand Miles

Sarah woke up to find herself in a bed she didn't know. How did she get there? She lay with her head on the soft pillows, smelling a faint aroma of strawberries and vanilla, somehow vaguely familiar. Looking around, she had immediate evidence of where she was. On the nightstand there was a picture of Kim Possible and her boyfriend, taken sometime just after their high school graduation. The shelf above the dresser held numerous trophies, the result of years as a cheerleader.

Memory came back, slowly, and softly. Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes as she relived the events of the previous night.

Kim had opened the door of her small apartment, and pulled her in out of the hallway. Her arms had been so warm and supportive about her. The rejection she had feared and prepared herself for never came. It was as if the years of being adversaries had never existed. The hug lasted for several minutes as Sarah had cried herself out, and Kim became soaked from the rain and the tears. It had felt so good to just let it all out.

She had been led to the bathroom, and stripped of the wet clothes that she wore, the only things she had left in the world, other than the picture that she carried at all times. A warm bath took the chill out of her bones. The shampoo that had been used to clean the filth from her long, black hair had smelled of fresh strawberries and vanilla.

That's why that scent was so familiar. She had smelled it during fights with Kim, when they would be wrestling about one lair or another. Deep breaths of it came from the girl when she was held in a strangle hold.

Then Sarah had been taken to this room and tucked into bed. Everything was a blur after that. She had fallen asleep, for a long time, by the position of the sun that filtered through the curtains on the window. She seemed to recall hearing voices as she drifted off. One was youthful and begged that something be done to make things alright. The other had been more mature, but equally feminine, full of care and sympathy.

The door of the room opened slightly, and Kim looked in at the bed. Seeing that her guest was awake, she came in and stood at the side of the bed. She brushed back the locks of hair that had fallen across the pale, slightly greenish face. In the process, she put a hand on her forehead, just as her own mother had once done, so long ago.

"How are you feeling, Shego?" The warmth was still in the young woman's voice.

"Please, it's Sarah. That was... is my real name, who I really am, I hope." She struggled to find her identity, who she really was. Was she the villain that had fought Kim Possible for four long years, or was she Sarah Go, one time teacher to the same girl? She closed her eyes and prayed that she could take that name again, and do it proud. Who was she?

"Sarah, then. Are you feeling okay, no aches or stuffiness?"

"No, I'm just very tired. Maybe if I moved around a little bit..." She tried to get up out of bed, but strong hands pushed her back to the pillows.

"Oh no you don't! You aren't moving until you have been checked out. You were half dead when you knocked on my door, and no friend of mine is going out in your condition." There was a tone of finality in Kim's voice, and she crossed her arms. "I want you to promise me that you won't fight me on this one. Promise?"

"I promise, I...am I really your friend?"

"That's what I said, She... Sarah. We were at odds for a long time, but we always respected each other on a certain level. We've saved each other's lives, at least once." She sat on the side of the bed and pushed a strand of auburn hair back over an ear. "I think it's time we just let ourselves like each other, like we did back in my junior year."

"Oh, Kimmie, I burnt the pictures! Why did I do something so stupid?" She was starting to cry again, when she saw a small smile on Kim's lips. Why did the girl find that so amusing? She'd been a fool.

Kim got up and went to a book that sat on a shelf in the corner. Turning pages, she found what she was looking for, and brought the large scrapbook to the bed. Laying it on Sarah's lap, she pointed. There, carefully preserved on the page, were three pictures, the ones that Kim had kept from the bunch taken in the booth that day, so long ago.

"You kept them? All this time, even when we were fighting each other?"

"We were almost like sisters, Sarah. I didn't want to ever forget that. We may have been fighting, but I always treasured that time we spent together. I'd waited so long for a sister." She reached over the book and grabbed the woman in a tight hug. "I'm glad I've got her back."

There was a light knock on the door. The two women looked up to see Dr. Anne Possible standing in the door. She was dressed in a warm sweater and had her stethoscope over her shoulder and a black bag, of the sort every doctor seemed to carry, in one hand.

"Well, young woman, you are looking much better than you did when I saw you last night. I trust you are behaving yourself?" There was a laugh behind her eyes, even as she took a visual inventory of Sarah's physical condition. She spent a lot of time looking at the dark eyes, as if assessing any neurological trauma that might have escaped her the night before.

Anne shooed her daughter back, and took her place on the bed. Putting the book out of her way, she then gave Sarah a thorough check. She wasn't thrilled with the thinness of her patient, and fretted over the condition of her skin and hair. Still, there wasn't any permanent damage. Time and care would set it right. Kim had insisted that the woman be allowed to stay with her, rather than taken to the hospital. She had been afraid that maybe Shego was a wanted woman again, and was waiting on enquiries to Global Justice, quietly, before doing anything.

"You seem to be on the mend, Shego, but you are not to try to do anything until you have gotten more of your strength back."

"It's Sarah, Mom. Her name is Sarah Go."

"My apologies, Miss Go." Mrs. Possible stood up and turned to look at Kim. "If she develops a fever, I want you to call Dr. Gruberman at once. I'm a brain surgeon, not a family doctor. Daniel is the best in Middleton, and you can count on him to be, discreet." She walked out of the room.

"What is going to happen to me when I am better? Will you turn me over to the police? I haven't exactly led an honest life since I last saw you. I wasn't caught doing anything, but I did steal things to get by." Sarah was determined to face whatever punishment was coming her way. She had done wrong, and would pay the price. How else could she be worthy of the care she was now receiving?

"You haven't hurt anyone, and you only took what you needed. I'm not going to let it out of this room. It's time to come in out of the cold, Sarah." Kim came back to the side of the bed and helped her sit up against the headboard. "You have a long journey ahead of you. But I'll help you take the first step."

"As Sensei used to say, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' Time to lace up your shoes Sarah Go." A blond man came into the room, balancing a covered dish on a tray. A steaming mug of tea was next to it. On his heels, a small pink rodent entered, carrying a single rose bud in a vase. "And you can't go anywhere on an empty stomach."

Ron Stoppable put the tray on the bedside table and pulled up the lid. The aroma of chicken broth hit everyone like a wave, causing all of them to take a deep breath. He took a spoon of the soup and blew on it, holding it out for Sarah to sample. The warmth hit her stomach and eased some of the cramping hollowness she had felt for so long.

"It's my grandmother's recipe. Guaranteed to cure what ails you. You don't even have to eat it to cure a cold, germs run when you mention it." Another spoonful followed, and he would have continued to feed her like an infant, if Kim hadn't intervened.

"She's a big girl now, Ron. I think she can manage a bowl of soup on her own."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that Sarah."

She looked up into into the deep brown eyes. He had remembered her name, even though she'd only used it a few times in his hearing. No wonder Kim had held onto him so long, he was special. "Thank you, Ron. Not just for the soup. You just called me Sarah, like I had never spent all those years fighting with you all." She smiled at Rufus as she accepted the pink flower that he offered. For a rodent, he was something special too.

"That was over a year ago, and I remember Miss Go as being the nicest teacher Middleton High ever had."

Yes, this was where Sarah Go needed to be. It wouldn't be easy, but like the young couple standing over her had said, one step at a time. The first step was to follow doctor's orders and get well. Ron's soup would go a long way. Then she could repay these people for their kindness.