DISCLAIMER: Disney owns Kim Possible, not me. Elizabeth Anne Possible is an OC I created.
A/N: The chapter's title is the song "I Wish I Had an Angel" by Nightwish from the Album 'Once.'
3.) I Wish I Had an Angel
After she'd left Kim's apartment, feeling a little crushed by the redhead's dismissal, Rayne had wandered around Seattle a bit before checking into a hotel in one of the city's richer districts. The pale-skinned woman wasn't worried about her business; the two dozen employees she had were capable of handling things while she was on 'vacation,' and her assistant could get in touch with her of there was an emergency. What worried her was Kim. She seemed like her spirit was broken, or at the very least wounded. Perhaps, she thought, the fire's gone out of her. That thought was the worst as far as Rayne was concerned, because it meant that the Kim Possible she'd known and had finally realized she loved was gone.
Later, after she'd had a few hours of sleep, Rayne decided to do some shopping, even though she wasn't really in a mood to be around people. She rolled out of the bed, and dragged herself to her feet, then headed off to take a shower. Once that was taken care of, the pale-skinned woman pulled on fresh clothes and checked the time. Seeing it was after noon, Rayne decided to get lunch before shopping.
Being that she liked Thai food, Rayne stopped at a place she always went to in the Bahamas and that she was happy Seattle had: Tai Chi Latte Café. When she was seated, a very attractive blonde waitress came over.
"Hello, I'm Stephanie," she said. "I'll be your waitress today. Would you like to see a menu?"
"I'm pretty familiar with the menu here," Rayne admitted.
"A regular, eh? I haven't seen you in here before."
"I'm only passing through," the pale woman explained. "Sort of. I actually live out in the Bahamas."
"I thought you were an exotic hottie," Stephanie replied, making her customer blush. "Well, give me your order and I'll get it right to you."
"I'll have Pad Thai and a double mocha espresso," she said. The blonde wrote down her order and said, "Be right back."
Sure enough, she came back a couple of minutes later with Rayne's drink, and then sat down. At the woman's raised eyebrow, Stephanie said, "We're slow today so I'm okay. So why are you in town?"
"Nosy much?" Rayne asked, smirking.
"Damn straight," she replied, drawing a chuckle from the other woman.
"I was hoping to visit an old . . . friend," the pale woman said. She hoped her hesitation had gone unnoticed, but such was not the case.
"Trying to hook back up with an ex, eh?" the blonde teased, drawing an unwanted blush from the other woman. She heard her customer's order and went to fetch it. When she returned, Rayne's blush had faded.
"So who's the lucky guy?" Stephanie asked. Rayne paused with her food near her mouth.
"Do you mind?" she asked. "I'd rather not puke while I'm eating."
"Ooh, so you prefer sushi to sausage," Stephen replied, nearly making the pale-skinned woman choke on her food.
"What the hell?!" she managed to get out after catching her breath.
"I like shocking people."
"I couldn't tell," Rayne replied dryly. She sighed, though, as her thoughts drifted back to Kim.
"She must've been some girl," the blonde told her gently. Then her boss's voice rang out.
"Stephanie! You're on break! Remember, you don't get off until Miss Anne comes in!"
"I know, boss!" she called back, then made herself comfortable at Rayne's table.
"Coworker?" Rayne asked, continuing to eat.
"Yeah," Stephanie confirmed. "Really sweet girl, though it's obvious she's going through a rough patch."
"I know the feeling," the raven-haired beauty agreed.
"She works two jobs, and has to take care of her daughter on top of that," the blonde said. Bells went off in Rayne's head. This was sounding pretty familiar to her, so she decided to learn some more.
"I screwed up," she said, surprising herself by saying that. When her new acquaintance looked at her, she went on. "You remember that alien invasion about three years ago?"
"Yeah," Stephanie replied
"I was a part of saving the world," Rayne explained. Her companion looked at her, studying her, then comprehension dawned on her.
"You're Shego?" she asked, stunned.
"The one and only," Rayne replied. "Though I no longer use that name."
"Weren't you dating Kim Possible?" Stephanie wondered.
"That's where I screwed up," she said. At the other woman's look of incredulous shock, she hurriedly went on. "Not the dating her thing, exactly. Up to that point, I'd always thought I was straight. The conditions we were in, the closeness we shared . . . it wasn't surprising that something happened between us. But after, like, a year or so, I woke up one morning and it all hit me at once."
"You panicked," the blonde said gently.
"No, I freaked out," the raven-haired woman corrected. "I just ran. I ran, and didn't say anything. I was gone before she woke up. I didn't leave a note, a number, nothing. For two years, absolutely nothing."
"What's changes?" was the curious reply.
"Me. I spent a whole year trying to figure out who I was. I even went back to Go City and reconciled with my brothers and parents. Hell, I even spent the next year setting up a legitimate business." She sighed. "And when I come back to the States I find Kim is gone."
"And you think she's here in Seattle?" Stephanie asked.
"I know she is," Rayne answered. "Her mom was the only one who knew where she'd gone, though she doesn't know that her daughter's living in a piece of crap shoebox apartment or that she has a four-month-old daughter."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," the waitress interrupted. "How do you know that, if you didn't know anything before getting back?"
"I met her again last night, and got it figuratively put in my face," she explained.
"Where did you say she lived?" Stephanie asked. Rayne told her, and watched in surprise as the woman's jaw dropped in shock and her eyes widened in disbelief.
"You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaimed, finally finding her voice after a few moments.
"What?" the pale-skinned woman asked.
"That's the same address that Kane lives at!" Steph said.
"Who?"
"Kane. Well, K. Anne P. is the name on the schedule," the blonde replied, then slapped her forehead. "I can't believe I didn't pick up on that! But why would she hide who she is?"
"I don't know," Rayne said, a little irritated. "I haven't been in her life for two years, remember?"
"So why are you back now?" she was asked.
"To make up for what I did. Or at least apologize for it. I wasn't there when she needed me, and it kills me all the time."
"It should," Steph told her, and Rayne nodded in agreement. The blonde's expression turned to surprised amazement. "I can't believe that I've been, off and on, boning Kim Possible for almost a year."
"What the hell?!" Rayne sputtered, nearly choking on the last of her tea.
"We're not dating," she rushes to reassure the woman. "We're just friends with benefits. Admittedly, it doesn't happen near as often as I'd like, but I'm there to scratch the itch for her when it comes. My boyfriend's cool with it, since he knows that being bi is part of who I am."
"At least you're there for her," Rayne said softly, feeling depressed again.
"You love her, don't you?"
"Yeah. I always did, though I wish I'd realized it two years ago."
"It's never too late, you know," Stephanie told her.
"Why does she need me when she's got you?" the pale woman asked morosely.
"She may 'have me' as you put it," the blonde replied, "but I don't have her. Whenever she gets horny, I'm there for her. Whenever she needs someone to watch Elizabeth, I'm there for her. But there's no real connection. We're friends, yeah, but nothing more. She isn't even much of a participant in sex."
"That's not my princess," she replied.
"It's who she is now," Stephanie told her. "I don't know what happened between the two of you so long ago, or why she'd shown up here like she did, but if you truly care for her, love her, then do something about it."
"And you're just gonna let me waltz in and do that, right?" Rayne asked, a little sarcastic.
"Yes," was the simple reply.
When Kim's shift at SmartyMart had ended, she was actually grateful she didn't have a shift at the cafe today. 'Today' being the day after Shego had shown up in her apartment after being gone for two years. She got another shock when she saw who was waiting for her.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the redhead asked as she walked up to the pale woman, sounding more exhausted than angry.
"Giving you and your daughter a ride home, Princess," Rayne replied in a sincere tone.
"Elizabeth?" Kim asked, freezing in place. Rayne could easily sense the fear and terror rising in the younger woman, and felt her heart just break that the strongest woman she'd ever known had become like this. One step at a time, Rayne, she told herself. One step at a time. Out loud she said, "It's okay, Kim. She's in the back seat, sleeping." That last was said as the reformed villainess patted the hood of a black 4-door sedan.
"Y-You picked her up?" Kim asked, looking at her former rival with a look that mixed gratitude, a little fear, and more than a little surprise.
"I ran into your friend Stephanie yesterday when I went for some Thai and tea," Rayne explained. "She knows about my history, and guessed who you were. I didn't mean to give anything away, but she promised she wouldn't tell."
"You can trust her," Kim said, still in shock. "Her word's as good as mine was."
"In that case it's as good as gold," the other replied. "Anyways, I was doing some shopping when she calls me up and says she was asked to come in early. You weren't off yet, so she asked me if I would pick up Elizabeth for you."
"And you agreed?" the redhead interrupted.
"Without a second thought," Rayne confirmed.
"B-But . . . why?" Kim asked.
"Get in, Princess," Raybe said, opening the passenger door, "and I'll explain on the way to your apartment." Still in a daze, the redhead did as the older woman said and shortly thereafter they were on their way.
"Kim," Rayne said after a moment, the use of her actual name capturing the redhead's attention, "I've changed. Really. I shouldn't have run away two years ago, but I freaked out about what was going on and didn't know how to handle it. At all. I was scared and confused and overwhelmed. I was straight, or thought I was, and when my brain became aware of what we were doing . . . I panicked. I'm not making excuses, for I have none, nor am I asking for forgiveness. I don't know if I deserve it. But I want to be here for you now, and your daughter, too." She glanced at Kim for a moment, guilt on her fave, and got an encouraging nod in return. "I shouldn't have said what I did that night. You didn't deserve that, especially since I have no idea what's happened in your life between when I left and when I came back. All I'm asking is for a second chance." Kim opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Rayne held up a hand. "Don't answer now," she was told. "Just think about, okay?"
"H-Hey, Shego?" Kim asked.
"Yeah, Princess?" Rayne replied as she pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Kim's apartment.
"D-Do . . . do you want s-sta-stay for dinner?" the redhead asked, extremely nervous and apprehensive.
"I'd love to, but only if I can cook for us," she agrees teasingly. And for the first time in two years, a genuine, warm smile (a small one, but one nevertheless) appeared on Kim's face.
E/N: I know this chapter didn't have much to to do with the song it's titled after, but it's what I was listening to and the title fits. Next time, Kim and Shego spend a bit more time together thanks to Stephanie, and start healing the rift between them.