Kim's masturbatory habits had picked up again.

Ann had always gone back to bed after listening for just a short while. If Shego was with her, she would stay for the conversations and leave them to their lovemaking. During their long talk, she had admitted all this to Kim, who understood her reasoning once she got over the embarrassment. Ann had also assured her that her father had never heard a thing, as he slept like a log. The twins took after him in that regard; the problem was getting them to sleep in the first place. They'd managed to share a giggle over that.

There had been no mention of whether or not Ann would stop listening. She had been reluctant to offer the option at the time, and Kim had never asked. In fact, she had assumed she was still eavesdropping that night...

That night. Since the kiss, Kim was playing with herself every night; and Ann was now listening for the duration. Was her daughter thinking of her? With Shego? Or perhaps Shego wasn't involved in her latest fantasies at all. Perhaps Kim imagined, or assumed, that she was there by the stairs, listening.

Why was she?

During the day, Kim seemed happy. She no longer blushed in her mother's presence. The only real difference was the new smile. It wasn't a thing of secret lust, but of gratitude, appreciation and love. Ann couldn't help smiling back when she saw it. It made the rest of her day a little brighter.

During the occasional quiet hour in the office at the hospital, Ann researched incest on the internet. She became professionally curious about siblings that had been seperated at birth or during infancy, found each other as adults and discovered a strong sexual attraction to each other. But nothing she found gave her any clarity on her own situation.

If only Kim would moan a name or something while she was getting herself off. At least then Ann would know for sure.

And then Kim had returned home (just before curfew) with a satisfied smile on her face, leading her mother to guess what the day's mission had entailed. When she asked the teen hero if it had been a good fight, her smile only broadened, saying nothing as she passed through.

There had been no self-molestation last night. Ann assumed Shego would visit tonight.

She was right. For some reason, they were talking about television when she settled on the steps to Kim's room.

"...Was the first," Shego's voice was saying. "Some guy called Billie had dumped me. I lost patience with the characters in under two minutes. You?"

"Space Passage. I was a red shirt."

"Huh. How did you survive?"

"Wade zapped me out of there before the aliens... wait. You watch Space Passage?"

"It's one of the few shows I was ever interested in. Think about it. A show filmed in the middle of the cold war had a Russian officer as a series regular, along with a female first officer and a black woman. And no discrimination in guest actors. It was showing us a positive future, despite all the political and social bullshit that was going on at the time."

"What about all the spinoffs?" Kim asked.

"SP:TEE* was often well written and still tackling social issues, but it lacked the same punch. I barely watched the others. After the show's creator died, the guy who took over... well, the franchise jumped the shark long before female cast members started ending up topless for no good reason."

The teenager certainly hadn't expected all that. "Okaaay... anyway, Wade zapped me to The 'Real' North Pole. I'd just been voted out of the igloo. Then I was in that hospital drama with you."

"Sounds like every time you flipped channels, the rest of us did too."

"What came between Pals and the hospital?"

"Missing. The sad thing? The plot made more sense than Drakken's plans. I swear, every failed plot, I'm one step closer to quitting."

"Well, even if it's just quitting him and not crime altogether, I'd consider it a good thing."

"I can't quit crime, cupcake. I'd lose the bad girl vibe you love so much."

"Mmmaybe..."

The conversation made way for kissing. Ann allowed herself a small smile, thinking of her relationship with James. If Kim and Shego shared such a bond... well, she wouldn't put it past her little Kimmie to make the impossible work, after all.

"I was surprised by the girl in the pink wig," Kim eventually continued. "She was every bit as good as us."

"We were interacting with the characters, not the actors. Which is why you were the one being a pain. Admit it, you just wanted to fight."

"You were the one who started things in Evil Eye. Oh..." Kim couldn't help giggling. "'Here we go, pretty boy?'"

Ann could almost hear Shego shrug. "What can I say, the guy was full of hot air. It's like people who say they 'support the troops' without enlisting and actually supporting some troops. Never cared for any of that reality crap that's been popping up everywhere. And did you notice how the shows that have live audiences actually had the audience?"

"I wondered about that too. Were those the same people that were actually there when they filmed that particular show? Kinda freaky."

"A shame we didn't end up in a porno. Getting the Kim Possible off in front of an audience would have been a blast, even if it wasn't real."

"They do that?"

"Occasionally. It's based on live sex shows in Amsterdaam. It's fun to see a real audience inspired to get it on with each other by what's happening on stage." There was the sound of movement, followed by a pleased groan from Kim, before Shego added, "Think your mom would enjoy a show?"

Ann froze.

"It's funny," Kim eventually answered. "I can fantasize about my own mother all I want, whatever my age; but I can't have sex with my girlfriend until I'm eighteen. Something seems wrong with that."

"Freedom of thought, pumpkin."

"And you frequently abuse freedom of speech by saying what's on your filthy mind." There was a mild phsyical altercation - wrestling, perhaps? - before the teenager continued. "She's accepted that I'm seeing a girl, and that the girl is you. 'Love who you love,' she told me." A far quieter pause, ending with the sound of a kiss being broken. "I love my mother. She's amazing. And yes, thanks to you, I think she's sexy, too. I even kissed her. On the lips."

Shego's voice sounded genuinely curious rather than lecherous. "How'd she take it?"

"I kinda ran away, after. But it hasn't been awkward, so I've been... experimenting. Fantasizing."

"Mmm, details." Ah, lecher.

"At first I imagined she was just watching me. Then kissing me, like the first time you caught me at it, remember? Then I imagined it was her fingers doing the work."

"Did you get off on it?" Shego asked. Ann already knew, her question finally answered.

"Every time. But those are just fantasies, and that's okay. I don't think mom would ever cross that line for real. Or maybe someday she will. Either way, that's okay too." Kim's tone became more earnest. "You have a darkness in you. You can imagine yourself doing terrible things. But that's just your imagination. When you act, you have standards. Which is why I think mom would be safe with you, if she chose to let you have your way with her. Despite the darkness."

"You can't know that..."

"I feel it. I have faith in you, Shego. Maybe not to do the right thing," and Kim's voice turned back to amused at the addendum, "But to not do the worst thing."

"Well... I guess that's... something."

As increasingly intense kissing took over the dialogue, Ann leaned back and considered her daughter's words. This past week, since the kiss, Kim had made her feel something she'd never felt from her before. Not arousal; it was physically higher, like... butterflies in the stomach. The same as when she was noticed by... well, anyone.

She liked being noticed. She enjoyed the attention, looks that lingered a little longer than perhaps they should, from men or women; the forbidden fruit, moving beyond their reach as she returned home to the man she loved, her soulmate.

Ann loved her children too. She wanted them to be happy...

...Oh.

That's why she'd been obsessing over this! Yes, she knew her daughter was attractive, but she wasn't attracted to her. She had simply enjoyed Kim's new level of attention as she did from anyone else. She only considered responding to it because she thought it would make Kim happy... which, apparently, it could...

But Kim was perfectly content without. She didn't need a mother who made love to her, as long as she loved her. And she knew she had that, now better than ever.

Ann new she'd hit the nail on the head, because whatever was going on below, the realisation had warmed her heart.

She stood and glanced up the stairs. Shego was muttering some vulgar epithet as Kim lavished her most sensitive areas with attention, but that was okay. Ann believed her incredible girl could handle anything the villainess could throw at her, in the lair, the bedroom, or anywhere in between. And - maybe - she felt she could trust Shego, too.

As she tiptoed back to bed, she decided she didn't need to eavesdrop any more. At least, not when Kim was alone.

But she might when Shego came around. The conversations were never boring.

*Space Passage: The Ensuing Engenderment. SP:"T" is easier than ST:TNG, don't you think?