Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you a small update on barking for forgiveness. I've been out of the running for quite some time and I still haven't recovered completely. So writing is stil a bit of a challenge for me. Luckily this chapter was already almost finished before my accident. Meaning it only took me a small amount of effort to finish. Still not as eventful as I want it to be, but it is quite difficult to pick up where I left. Seeing as I hardly remember anything about the story and my ideas for them.

Barking For Forgiveness VIII

It was a peaceful night and even though Kim slept next to her, Shego managed to get a good night sleep. She fell asleep almost instantly and hadn't woken up during the night at all. The pup hadn't been a bother to her, that was up until the moment that morning came rolling around. She was in a waking state, it was almost 11 in the morning and she frowned in her light sleep. Slowly she opened her eyes, disturbed by something.

Her eyes fell upon the pup next to her, or rather on top of her. The girl was making a slight grinding motion with her hips, rolling against Shego's stomach, whimpering every now and then. Shego's eyes widened completely and with a growl she threw the pup off of her. Said pup yelped loudly as she was woken roughly and landed on the ground. Her head popped up just over the edge of the bed, looking at her owner with shocked eyes.

"Don't give me that look," Shego muttered. "You were humping me in your sleep, I know I said you could sleep next to me because of Christmas but that still isn't allowed." She explained to the pup and she watched Kim tilt her head slightly to the side. With a sigh she threw her blanket aside and sat up, her legs thrown over the side of the bed. She petted the red head softly, her fingers threading through the red hairs. Kim leaned into the touched, her eyes closing slightly as she enjoyed the attention. "You still know how to play innocent." She mentioned thoughtfully and she gave the girl one last stroke through her hair before finally getting to her feet.

She walked out of the bedroom, Kim walking right behind her on all fours.

"Good morning guys." She said casually to the other dogs and she yawned lightly as she stepped into the kitchen. She prepared the usual breakfast for the dogs, Kim and herself. The moment she sat down to actually eat it though the doorbell rang. A frown formed on her face again and she gave the dogs a look that said: 'don't-you-dare-bark.'. Getting to her feet she answered the door, she came face to face with a pile of gifts and two visible hands carrying said gifts. "Uh hello?" She questioned, not being able to see the actual courier.

"Hi, I have an order for Miss Go?" The manly voice sounded from behind the pile of gifts.

"Right, just put them down," Shego replied and she motioned towards the spot just next to the door. "Do I have to sign anything?" She questioned as he placed the pile inside her house next to her front door.

"Yes," He pulled out a sheet. "Just sign here." He replied and she took his pen, signing her 'name'. "Have a nice day miss." Was his final reply and he left. Shego closed the door behind him and eyed the enormous pile. She was quite certain she hadn't ordered that many gifts. Upon closer inspection she discovered that some of them came from her mother and even one from her little twin brothers the Wego's. She smiled slightly, thankful for the gifts, it was the thought that counted actually.

For now she left the gifts for what they were, placing them underneath the tree. She was about to return to the kitchen when she heard a loud clatter throughout the house. She sighed and rubbed her eyes in slight frustration. When she entered the kitchen, however, she let out a sputtering laugh. The two actual dogs were minding their own business, eating their food innocently. The red head however was covered in her own food.

"So much for breakfast." Shego noted, seeing that her breakfast had gone cold and Kim couldn't even eat hers. "Let's get you cleaned shall we?" She offered and she motioned for the younger woman to follow her. With slight hesitation Kim followed her owner into the bathroom, her eyes widening as she looked at the flowing water.

"Don't be scared, I'm just going to clean you." Shego said in a soothing voice and this made Kim edge towards her. It was a first for Shego, cleaning Kim calmly without ending up wet herself. I wish you'd always be like this. She thought as she finished cleaning her 'pup'.

The other dogs were behaving as well, they had neatly finished their breakfast and were now lazing about the house. For the first time in days Shego felt a calmness in her home she hadn't felt for quite a while. It was going to be a very good day.

She sighed contently as she settled down on the couch, contemplating her plans for the day. She was running out of ideas to entertain herself as well as her redheaded-pup. It was even harder due to the fact that Kim couldn't be seen by anyone, she didn't want to risk people recognizing the teenaged turned pup hero. Her thoughts were broking by a loud ringing noise. Her eyes fell upon her phone and her expression faded into an annoyed one. So much for a good day..

"WHAT?!" She barked through the phone, not knowing or caring who was on the other side. She heard a soft ohmygod coming through the line and a loud gulp of courage. She raised an eyebrow. "Buffoon?" She questioned, thinking she recognized that cowardly gulping sound. Someone muttered through the phone on the other side. It was definitely some kind of male-ish entity.

"You'd better speak up if you don't want to get burned for calling me without authorization. I won't even tell what I'll do to you for getting my SECRET and very PRIVATE phone number." She said with a lot of emphasis.

"I…. was just wondering, if you know where *gulp* Kim is?" Ron finally asked in a cracking voice.

"Why on earth would I know where she is?"

"You were the last one to see her? I thought maybe you kidnapped her or you saw her disappear? It's coming close to Christmas and her family really misses her. I… I really miss her." He said, his voice failing at the very end. The black-haired woman almost felt a tinge of guilt come over her as she heard the boy on the other side break down. She frowned a little, pulling back the phone from her ear. Her eyes wandered to Kim, who by now had a confused look on her face. She placed her hand on Shego's arm, as though wanting to say that everything was alright. It was almost human-like and Shego couldn't help the little upwards curl on her lips forming. She patted the pup on the head and placed the phone back to her ear.

"Buffoon? Would you stop bawling into my phone? I swear to god I can almost feel your tears and mucus coming through it." The boy on the other side sniffled a bit and uttered an apology she couldn't quite make out. Something with sorry for ruining your phone. "Look I probably was the last one to see Kimmie."She said and paused, looking at the subject of the conversation lying peacefully beside her. "I have no idea where she might be now. If she hasn't come home, maybe it was because she was sick of being a goody-two-shoes all the damn time? Maybe she just wanted a break from all of it? Maybe even from your face? Who knows! All I know is that I'm getting a new number and if you use that nerdlinger to hack it again I WILL hurt both of you." And without even giving him the chance to reply she ended the call and threw her phone to the side. With a huge sigh she fell back into her couch, her eyes fixed on her pup.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asked herself more than she asked the actual pup. Whom in her turn looked up at her owner with a bit of a sad face. I really can't keep her here all the time. Even though I want to… she too has a normal life. Or well she did before all of this. She thought, her frown deepening.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the two guest dogs. Loud barking through the house, sound of paws running across the floor. It seemed as though they were in a playful mood. That's it, I'm getting rid of those two. She decided then and there. She missed her peace and quiet way too much. So with a lot of convincing she tricked Kim into staying home with the 2 dogs. So she could go out in town to put op some flyers, hoping the owners of the guests would show up.

Three hours later, fifty dollars lighter and 200 flyers further, Shego finally returned home. As part of the daily routine she gave the dogs their food and made herself some. This definitely didn't turn out as the good day she hoped it was going to be this morning. A side of guilt, a lot of barking and 3 hours of bringing around flyers had crushed the odds of this being a nice, quiet and good day.

There was only one thing that could make this day worse. And that one thing was a blue-skinned moron with an annoying high pitched voice.

"Ugh." She simply uttered in disgust. Just the thought of Drakken made her mood slip even further into a depressing state. Luckily tomorrow it was Christmas eve, a good start to forget about all of her problems for the time being.

She ended up watching movies the remainder of the day. Taking the dogs on their walks and feeding them on their scheduled time. The guest dogs eventually gave up and fell asleep. While Shego stayed up with Kim next to her on the couch. Every now and then she would pat the red-head. Her eyes darting to the girl as the movie continued. She wondered if the human side of Kim, the one that was now buried somewhere deep inside her, could understand the movie. She seemed to have all the right facial expressions during specific scenes. Though that would be a question that would remain unanswered for the time being.

"I promise I will try and make this a good Christmas for you princess." She whispered and the redhead snuggled up to her even closer, a content smile forming on her lips. "Even though you can't be with your family."Shego added, the mood dropping slightly.

With that said Kim's smile disappeared. She noticed the drop in the mood and tilted her head slightly to the side as she examined her owner. Shego tried to smile at the pup but it was forcefully, something Kim noticed. She whimpered a bit, bumping into Shego's hand with her nose, forcing the woman to pat her. It didn't lift her spirits.

Kim backed off a bit, sitting up and frowning as she looked at her 'owner'. She slipped into a pouncing stance, her behind moving from side to side. A look of sadness was replaced by a look of playfulness, mischief even. Shego raised an eyebrow, examining Kim's general body language.

"Oh no.." She suddenly uttered, realisation dawning upon her. "Oh no no no nooo, don't you dare!" She warned the pup in a strict yet playful tone. This was enough to set Kim off. With a loud bark and all of her might she hurled herself towards the black-haired woman. Shego barely had the time to shield herself from the sudden puppy attack. Her hands shooting towards her face as a pink cute tongue came towards it.

"Arf! Arf!" Kim barked, attacking Shego's face with licks and nudges. Even the occasional nibble, making Shego squeal through her laughter as the puppy showered her with, what she liked to call, puppy love. And maybe, just maybe even some genuine Kimmie love. But who was she to judge, the pup sure knew how to make her smile again. The girl knew how to make her smile again.

There you go, just a little something to make you believe in this story again.

yours truly,

WPJ