After making one more rest stop, Kim and Shego had finally arrived in Go City. As Shego drove them to her parents' house, Kim looked out her window in awe.

"It's not like what you said... Seems like everyone is in the festive spirit. Look at all the decorations on these houses!"

"Yeah, that's the neighbourhood for you, but my parents' house isn't as- What the hell?!"

Kim looked in front and noticed that the house in view was decked out from top to bottom with Christmas lights and decorations.

"Must've been the Wegos. Only they get really excited about Christmas..." Shego parked on the curb and turned to look at Kim. "Ready?"

Kim nodded and leaned in to kiss Shego. They were only in lip lock for maybe five seconds before a snow ball landed on the driver side window. Cursing under her breath, Shego stepped out of the car and shouted, "Walter! Wallace! Cut it out!"

"Why don't you-"

"-get a room!" taunted the twins. Shego couldn't see them but knew they were using the snow around them to hide.

"When I get my hands on both of you, you're both dead meat," muttered Shego.

Smack. Right in the face.

Shego growled and wiped the snow from her face. Identical laughter could be heard as the woman picked up snow. Before she knew it, someone had pelted snow to her right. She looked and saw that Kim had thrown a snowball at a downed Wallace who was ten feet from her.

"You mess with your sister, you mess with me too!" laughed Kim.

A snowball flew at Kim and the redhead managed to dodge it with a back flip. Shego pelted snow in that direction, hoping that it would hit Walter. The brother came out of his hiding place, several feet from the porch, brushing snow out of his hair.

"Serves you right for chucking snow at my car!" laughed Shego. Kim had helped Wallace up and helped him brush snow off his jacket.

"What's going on out here?!" bellowed a voice. A muscular man had stepped outside and was now peering at the three siblings and Kim.

"Nothin', bro," replied Wallace. "Just having some fun with sis and Kim."

"I see." He stepped out onto the driveway and Kim managed to get a good look at this new sibling. She wasn't sure who it was, but judging from his demeanour, she assumed this was Horace. Dressed in a dark blue sweater and thick black pants, the man walked towards the group. He took one look at Kim and directed his attention back to his sister.

"Mother said you'd be arriving this afternoon. I see you've brought a friend."

Before Shego could roll her eyes at him, the twins interrupted them.

"She's not just a friend-"

"-she's Shego's girlfriend!"

This made Kim chuckle but the eldest Godeaux sibling appeared displeased. "I see." He turned to face Kim now and offered his hand. "Horace Godeaux."

Kim shook his hand - a very firm grip, no less - and responded neutrally. "Kim Possible."

For a split second, the redhead thought the man's eyes narrowed but then he focused his attention back to his sister. "You've thrown our plans into disarray this year by coming back home this late."

Shego scoffed. "Whatever, Hego. Mom and Dad don't seem to have cared, so what's the point of harping on me now? I'm here and that's all."

Horace frowned. "Our Christmases are always planned meticulously to the very last detail. We've yet to take a family photo and Mother has forbidden us to open the presents until you and Miss Possible show up. The only good thing that happened without you is that we watched Snowman Hank last night."

Shego rolled her eyes. "Ask Mom if you can open them now for all I care."

The brother huffed and went back inside as Kim and the twins stifled their laughter.

"Believe me, he'll be more of an ass later tonight," mumbled Shego as she popped open the car trunk to retrieve presents for the family. "And I don't know how the hell you convinced me to get Hego a present."

"He's still family," commented Kim. "Wow, he's so much more stuck up than I thought he'd be."

"Wait until-"

"-he starts his 'Shego, you should be with a man' speech!" commented the twins.

"I'd rather you tune him out on that one," commented Shego as she gave Kim a pile of presents to carry. "He'll probably have the guts to talk to me about this in front of you during dinner," she said apologetically.

"Ok..." said Kim hesitantly before they went inside the house.

Kim took a look around. The interior of the house was simple and decorated with tinsel and family Christmas photographs. She paused to take a look at one where Shego appeared to be in her early teens and the twins were still in diapers. The young version of Shego was very much like she was now: slightly pale with dark long hair that brought out the green in her eyes.

"That was taken shortly after Sheridan started high school," came a warm voice from the hallway. Kim turned to look and saw a woman who looked like a carbon copy of Shego smiling at her. With exception to the greying hair, Marion Godeaux and Shego could pass as sisters. The woman came closer and offered her hand to Kim. "Marion."

Gently placing the presents on the floor, the redhead shook the woman's hand. "Kim."

"It's so good to finally meet you," said Marion.

"Kimmie? Where'd you go-Oh. Hi Mom." Shego had shuffled her way out into the hallway. "Thought you needed a hand with the presents," she pointed at Kim's feet. The redhead nodded and helped her girlfriend take them into the living room. Marion followed them and took a seat on the couch, watching the interactions between the two women. The twins had wandered off somewhere and Horace was nowhere to be found.

"So I understand you'll be going to Paris shortly after the New Year?" asked Marion as she watched her daughter take the utmost care in placing the presents under the tree.

"Does Betty tell you everything, Mom? Honestly, is there some hotline between the two of you to gossip about my life?" asked Shego jokingly.

Marion laughed. "I had telephoned the Directors shortly after I called you to wish them a Merry Christmas. I know not of this hotline that you speak of."

"Right... And you happened to find out I'm going to Paris with Kim..."

"It'll be a well-deserved vacation, don't you think?" Marion winked at Kim who nodded in agreement. "Besides, I had merely asked Elizabeth whether or not you were excelling at your job. I don't gossip."

"With you, you do... I should just not tell Bets anything."

"But, from my understanding, it was Kim who surprised you, so you should ask Kim not to tell Elizabeth anything."

Kim laughed as Shego shook her head. "If I didn't talk to Betty, I don't think she would've let Shego go on vacation."

"I think it's the other way around, Kim. Sheridan here is too stubborn to take a break when she should."

"Mom... Can we stop talking about me?" Shego sat on the couch and patted the spot next to her, prompting Kim to sit with her. Marion was seated in the couch adjacent to them and looked at them warmly.

"So, Kim, how is work for you? I understand you, too, deserve this break."

Kim fiddled with her hands a bit before Shego put a hand on top of them, calming the redhead. Marion took note of the action and had the faintest smile on her lips. "It's... hard work running a newspaper. Even more busy when deadlines for holiday issues need to be met."

"So you must've been quite busy leading up to the holidays then. It must be nice to take some time off after a stressful year."

Uncertain as to what Marion was referring to as stressful, Kim chose to answer carefully. "I wouldn't say it's stressful... Just busy."

"Well, I'm glad both of you are taking some time off together. Think of it as a well-deserved break that you've earned after two years' worth of work." Marion had looked at her daughter expectantly and noticed that Shego remained impassive. "Let me go fetch your father. He's been dying to meet Kim here." Marion got up to leave as Shego lightly patted Kim's hand.

When certain Marion was out of earshot, Kim asked, "What did she mean, two years?"

"Two years since I moved to Middleton... And two years since I last took a holiday or vacation of sorts."

"Oh."

"What did you think she mean?"

"Two years since all my drama somewhat subsided..."

"Oh... I actually don't know if my parents or my other siblings know about that. The twins know because they're also in Middleton..."

"I just thought it odd how your mother phrased it, that's all."

Shego shrugged. "Sometimes mothers know more than they let on."

"That's what makes them scary."

"My mom isn't scary, Kim."

"I know, but I'm just saying that as a general case..."

They heard footsteps come down the stairs and remained silent until a tall, bespectacled middle-aged man entered the room with Marion. Like his wife, his red hair was showing signs of grey but he had a boyish look on his face that was similar to the twins.

"Daddy." Shego got up to greet her father with a hug that was promptly returned.

"So, this is Kim, eh?" Shego blushed a little as her father ruffled her hair. He offered his hand to Kim, who now stood to properly greet him. "Joseph Godeaux, but you can call me Joe if you'd like." He flashed a smile before sitting down with his wife. "Sorry, I was busy upstairs marking my students' exams. Deadline is looming for submitting grades."

"On Christmas Day?" asked Shego.

"Day after Boxing Day, but I'd like to spend as much time as possible with family." Again, he gave Kim a warm smile when he said the word 'family.' "Kim, I understand you'll be spending the week with us?"

"Yes, I had made arrangements with Shego earlier."

"And you'll be going to Paris shortly after?"

Kim nodded.

Joe put an arm around his wife. "Oh, to be young again and to travel the world..."

Marion chuckled and Shego shook her head. "You can still travel, Dad. And you're both not that old."

"The thing is, Sheridan, you should take advantage of your youth as much as you can," said her father. "Live your life with no regrets and enjoy it to the fullest with that special someone." He winked at Kim, who blushed, causing him to laugh.

Marion patted her husband on the knee. "Joe, you're embarrassing them."

"And embarrassed they should be, because it's our job to embarrass them as parents." He leaned back on the couch, taking up a more relaxed position. "So, Kim, what do you do? How did you manage to tame our rambunctious daughter?"

Kim smiled. "Shego's not rambunctious at all... She was kind of like a shy kitten at first-"

"-Really, Kim? A kitten?" groaned Shego.

"What, you were pretty shy when we first met!"

"And how did you meet?" interjected Joe. He was smiling now, enjoying the little banter between the two women.

"Uh, at a café in Middleton," said Kim. She didn't want to give the Godeaux parents the entire story and decided that a watered-down version of her first meeting with Shego would suffice. "Shego was really shy. It was cute."

To that, the pale woman rolled her eyes. "I mean, come on, I was star-struck by your beauty."

"Ew! That sounds-"

"-Gross!"

The twins had entered the living room after overhearing their sister's conversation with their parents. They had changed out of their outerwear and were wearing matching T-shirts and shorts.

Shego huffed and mumbled something about parents asking her embarrassing things as Marion and Joe smiled. As the only Godeaux daughter, they always wanted her to be happy and had noted how heartfelt her confession was about her first encounter with Kim.

"Say, where's Matthew?" asked Kim. "I had met Horace earlier but I have yet to see Matthew around."

"Oh, he sadly has a deadline today. Such is the life of publishing for us... Don't worry, he'll show up for dinner. He's just holed up in his room working," said Marion. "Although, I suppose I should fetch him."

"It's ok, Mom, Kim needs to put her stuff in my room... We'll walk by Matthew's room anyway, so we'll stop by for introductions," said Shego. "Come on, Kimmie, let's just get you settled and then you can meet my crazy brother." She took Kim by the hand and led them out the living room.

When they left, Marion and Joe smiled and then told the twins to sit down. "Tell us what you know about Shego and Kim," they said.

The Wegos merely grinned.

Author's Notes: Family gossip! So much grinning with the Godeaux siblings (re: how Chapter 55 ended).

Sorry, I forgot to post an update last week (er, and the week before). Been caught up in a bunch of things. Hope everyone had a good summer now that September is finally here!.

Chapter title is from "Dreams" by The Cranberries. I had put on the track while editing and figured it seemed like an appropriate song to describe Kim and Shego, despite it having little relevance to the context of this chapter... Ah well, there's also a subtle pun in the title - maybe.