{A/N: Now to the part you're all wondering about. What happened to Kim after Shego left.}

*6. Aftermath*

/Two years ago, one month after Shego's disappearance/

One month. That's how long it's been since Kim Possible stopped hopping around the world and went back to Middleton. After a year of traveling around the world, jetting here and there, doing the hero thing, she'd come back. One would think that the redheaded teen hero would've felt as though she'd returned home, after being away or not being there for so long. But she didn't. Kim still considered Middleton her hometown, of course; after all, she'd been born here. But it wasn't home. Not any longer. It hadn't taken her the whole month to figure that out; it hadn't even taken a day.

"Kimmie?" It was her mom. Again. It was the third time she'd come into the teen's room that day alone. Kim acknowledged that she was probably worrying her mom a lot more nowadays than when she'd first returned. After all, in the past month she had slowly withdrawn into herself, left her parents' home less and less. In just the past week, she'd barely left her room outside of eating and bathing.

"Come on, Kimmie," she heard her mom say. "You need to get out. This . . . this isn't healthy, honey."

Kim just shrugged and continued staring out the window, watching the rain fall against it. She sensed her mom coming up behind her, but the older redhead did nothing more than lay a hand on her shoulder and giving a light squeeze before leaving again. 'Why did she leave?' she asked herself, her face mirroring the window as her tears imitated the rain. 'I thought . . . I thought she was happy being with me; why did she leave?' Every day since she'd woken up in that bed alone, she'd been trying to figure out why the pale-skinned ex-villain had just disappeared. A whole year they'd been together, since the teen had graduated high school and the Lowardians had been defeated. They hadn't been TOGETHER together, but Shego had joined her on her break from anything school-related (she'd wanted to focus on just the hero work for a whole year so she could feel better about going into semi-retirement while in college). Ron had been accepted into a culinary school in Europe, but he'd helped the the two females until he had to leave.

'And now the world depends on him,' she thought. There was no resentment or anger with that thought; after all, she wasn't saving the world anymore. She had no motivation for it in recent days. She'd tried to keep going, of course, but a few close encounters during the first two weeks she'd been back along with a mission that had ended with her being badly injured - nearly killed, as a matter of fact - had convinced her that she was no good at it anymore. Global Justice tried to take over the teen hero's missions, but shortly had to bring in Ron and Yori, his Yamanouchi-trained girlfriend. Team Stoppable proved to be just as efficient and skilled as Team Possible had been; more so, since Ron's skill in Monkey Kung Fu had drastically improved and was coupled with Yori's ninja skills. Shego had been the biggest surprise to her, though; she had fought the older woman for years, and while she would always claim to be evil she never actually seemed evil. She'd even admitted at one point during their post-invasion Team Possible days that she had always been more of a bad girl than truly evil.

'She always said she was straight, too,' Kim thought. 'Couldn't really understand that after we started having sex. Maybe . . . maybe I did something to drive her away. Been too aggressive, o-or something.' Kim felt a sob shake her, then another. 'I wish she'd come back to me, or at least call. I'd . . . I'd be happy with just a letter. As long as she did something to let me know she's at least alive somewhere.'

/Four months after Shego's disappearance/

Three months later actually found Kim outside and sitting on a bench in Middleton Park. It had taken a forced intervention from Monique and - shockingly - Bonnie to get her out of her room and her house. They'd forced her to go to the mall with them and had dragged her around to every store they possibly could. While she hadn't gotten anything that time, or the next few times she'd been shanghaied to the mall, but those forced trips had brought her out of her apathy; but not really her depression. She had figured out why she'd been so badly affected by Shego's disappearance: she'd fallen in love with her one-time arch nemesis. That realization had actually helped lift her up, even if she still couldn't figure out why the superpowered woman had vanished. Wade couldn't find her, though he'd only been searching for a couple of weeks.

The reason Kim was in the park, dressed in some of her new clothes (right now consisting of dark green flared slacks and a black elbow-length shirt) was because she was waiting for her girlfriend. It had taken some convincing from Monique - a lot of convincing, actually - before she agreed to 'get out there.' It had actually been during one of their shopping trips, as Kim had decided that her wardrobe of pink, white, and blue clothes was too cheery and she chose a new one (she hadn't really paid attention, but her new wardrobe mainly had clothes in black and dark green, with some dark blue thrown in). She'd bumped into an old cheer squad member, Tara, and had been asked out by the blonde; in spite of being gay herself, she hadn't picked up on the fact that Tara was also a lesbian. Monique had accepted on her behalf, which would've bothered her if she'd been in a better state of mind; as it was she had just gone along with it. It hadn't turned out too bad, if she was honest with herself. Tara had been kind, considerate, and hadn't pushed Kim on anything. The redhead knew she wasn't much of a girlfriend, but her former classmate hadn't really cared. She had just enjoyed being around Kim.

"Kim!" she heard a shout. Turning her head, she saw the blonde walking towards her with a smile on her face and a hand waving enthusiastically. A smile, small though it was, appeared on her own face and she returned the other girl's wave. She got to her feet right as her girlfriend reached her.

"I didn't think you'd come, Kim," Tara admitted, blushing in embarrassment. It actually was a valid concern, as Kim had gotten an unfortunate habit of forgetting things every now and then.

"I wrote a note to remind myself," the redhead admitted. She let out a heavy sigh, and added, "I'm sorry I'm not a good girlfriend, Tara."

"I don't think you're a bad one," the blonde replied. "You've had a tough time over the past few months, and I understand completely."

"It isn't fair to you, though," Kim told her. "You've been so patient and understanding with me. I know it's only been a couple of weeks since we started going out, but I feel like I've been letting you down."

"You don't want to break up? Do you?" Tara asked, her expression falling.

"No!" Kim exclaimed, shocked. "Sorry; I didn't mean to yell." She pulled her girlfriend into a tight embrace. "I don't know how long we'll last, but I don't want to end things now."

"I'm glad, Kim," the blonde said just as softly. "I can tell that you're pining after someone, and I'm just happy to have you for as long as I'm able to."

/Eight months after Shego's disappearance/

Kim and Tara had managed to stay together for a month after that day before they broke up; it'd been a mutual decision between them. It had hurt, of course, but turned out to be for the best. Tara had moved on a few days after the breakup, and was actually going out with a drama major from Upperton University - and they were still together. Kim had also moved on; or tried to. The next girl she'd gone out with she had ended up walking in on the girl and her boyfriend; they'd been together only a week, and Kim had ended their relationship by putting the cheater's boyfriend in the hospital with a broken arm and a dislocated knee. Of course, he'd tried to beat her so it was called as self-defense (even if she'd been extreme about it). She had gotten a lecture from both of her parents about that.

Strangely enough, she hadn't even really been angry about her girlfriend cheating on her; sure, there'd been a moment or two of anger and betrayal, but both had left pretty quickly. Honestly, she hadn't really cared much after that and had broken up with the girl. That had made her upset, and caused her boyfriend to attempt to beat Kim. She'd left relationships alone after that, and not even Monique had pushed her on that. And while Kim had retired from the world-saving 'business,' many people still wanted her help. She mainly accepted 'missions' that only had her speaking at places like high schools and charity events; using her name to inspire kids to do their best at whatever they choose to do, or to draw attention to things like wildlife conservation and cancer research.

She did stuff like that because it was the right thing to do, and it was what people expected of THE Kim Possible. But she no longer had the heart to put into it. She faked it, and for the most part people bought the act; the exceptions being her family and close friends. She'd even sold her collection of Cuddle Buddies, with one exception, and donated the money to a children's hospital. The one exception was a custom-ordered green and black pandaroo Shego had given her for birthday during the year they'd been together. And even though it had been eight months since the woman she loved had disappeared (Wade hadn't been able to find a single trace of her anywhere), the pain was just as strong as though it had happened yesterday. She sighed, and took a sip from her soda; she didn't remember what flavor Monique had ordered for her, and didn't really care. Lately, she had been finding it hard to really care about much, though it had been five months since she'd planned out a suicide (she had made sure to write them down instead of typing them up, and had burned away all traces whenever she didn't start one). Whenever she'd tried, she would have Shego's face flash before her mind's eye and found herself stopping immediately.

"Girl, you aren't even listening, are you?" Monique's voice cut into her thoughts.

"I am," Kim contradicted distractedly.

"Really? What did I say, then, GF?" the mocha-skinned girl pressed.

"Something about something," the redhead replied, taking another sip.

"Oh, sure. That covers . . . nothing at all."

"Sorry," Kim said, trying to be apologetic.

"What's wrong, Kim?"

'Nothing."

"Sure. And Ron's joining the Middleton Space Center as head of research and development."

"That's nice."

"Kim!"

"What, Monique?!" the redhead snapped, surprising her friend. "I don't care, okay?! The woman I love left me for no reason I can tell, hasn't bothered to get in touch in any way, and might as well have fallen off the face of the fucking Earth for all the success Wade's been having in finding her! I can't cope with that, and have fucked up two - no, three! - relationships because of that!"

"Um, technically, Megan wasn't your screw up; she cheated on you, after all," Monique replied quietly.

"Thank you for pointing that out, Captain Obvious!" Kim snarled.

"Actually, that's Ron," the other girl said, trying to defuse the situation. She failed miserably when Kim gave a scream of frustration and stormed off; she was unaware of the stares she'd attracted.

She was walking home, her stride full of anger. She knew Monique had meant well, had only been trying to lighten the mood, but that didn't lessen her anger. The guilt that she felt over her overreaction only fueled her anger more, and directed it at herself. She hadn't noticed the weather changing until the sky opened up on her and dropped a deluge on her head. She stopped and stares up into the sky, blinking rapidly as the rain hit her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I get it," she mumbled, dropping her head and trudging on. "I'm an inconsiderate, thoughtless, dumbass bitch."

As she walked on, the weather deteriorated so much that Kim took shelter in a covered bus stop. It didn't provide much shelter, but it was better than being out in the rain directly. She took a deep breath and let it out, though it sounded more like a sob as it left her. That undid her, and soon she was sobbing uncontrollably; her body shaking and her breath hitching as she sobbed. She didn't know how long it went on, but it was interrupted by a question: "Hey, are you okay?"

Raising her head up felt like Atlas lifting the world, but quicker than she thought Kim's gaze fell upon the concerned face of another redhead, though her hair was a darker, deeper color than her own.

"You wouldn't believe me if I said I was," Kim mumbled, dropping her eyes again - only to find a hand under her chin gently raising her head up.

"Someone as pretty as you shouldn't be so sad," the other young woman told her.

"You wouldn't think I'm anything if you knew how I'd just treated my best friend," she replied, tears (or rain, she didn't know which at this point) still falling down her face.

"Well, that's easy to fix; just apologize to her. She'll understand, if she's truly a friend." The girl smiled and held out the hand she'd lifted Kim's chin with, as the other was holding an umbrella. "I'm Heather."

"Kim," the lighter redhead replied, taking the offered hand.

/13 months ago, 1 year after Shego's disappearance/

Kim was once again depressed. It had been months since she'd felt this bad. Her depression warred with self-loathing; she hated herself for trusting Heather those four months ago. But she'd been so kind and understanding, had only pushed her as needed, and had given her space when she'd needed it, too. And Heather had gotten Kim to willingly do what she had once needed to be forced to do: go out and be social. Her 'happy mask' became genuine, and her enthusiasm was once again infectious. But in spite of everything the darker redhead had done, Kim couldn't forget Shego. She knew that the pale woman was a member of the Go family of (obviously) Go City, even if the children's names weren't public knowledge. Their real names, anyway. So when she'd gotten an invitation to the Go family's annual charity gala, she had immediately RSVP'd. Heather hadn't been happy about that, as she'd been planning on them attending a high-society costume ball that evening. Kim asked if the ball was gathering donations for a charity or something similar, but her girlfriend had said it was a meet and greet of the rich and famous. Kim refused to cancel her RSVP, stating that the charity gala was a better use of their time and would be more relaxed. Heather got mad, feeling insulted by Kim's honest opinion, and the two started bickering; mostly Heather, though, as she tried whatever tactic she thought would work to change Kim's mind. Nothing worked, though, and after a screaming argument Heather publicly and humiliatingly dumped Kim - the day OF the charity gala. So now Kim was at the party, in a strapless red floor-length dress that complimented her figure and brought out her eyes, all alone and at the bar. The Gos - or at least Alice, Shego's mom - didn't put a minimum age limit on their bar, so Kim was nursing her third Long Island Iced Tea and feeling a pleasant buzz beginning to emerge in the back of her head.

She felt someone watching her, but whenever she looked around she couldn't spot anyone in particular; after all, being a single woman drinking alone at the bar in the dress she had on would definitely attract attention. She sighed, hating herself for what happened between her and Heather, depressed about being alone again, and falling into the dark hole within her heart.

And almost unaware of someone approaching her from behind.

/Present/

"Fuck me, Princess," Rayne said in stunned shock. She'd had no idea just how bad Kim had gotten while she was off finding herself and reconciling with her family. "I had no idea things had gotten like that for you."

"Yeah," Kim confirmed. "I was in a pretty bad place, mentally and emotionally, the night of your parents' party. Publicly, though, I made sure I seemed fine."

"You had me fooled," the pale woman replied quietly.

"You wouldn't have been if you'd personally been where I was." The redhead held up a hand to forestall the protest. "I'm not blaming you or anything. I never did, really. Not even for leaving."

"I should've been there for you, Princess. No matter how scared I was then."

"We can't change the past, Rayne," Kim told her. "What matters is that you're here, now."

"I don't deserve you," the older woman replied, leaning in to kiss her redhead.

"I don't deserve you, either," came the expected response after they'd parted.

"So, Kimmie, what happened next?" Rayne asked, her curiosity beyond piqued. "What happened at that party? Why'd you disappear? And . . . and where did Elizabeth come from?"

"Well, you see, Rayne," Kim began, "it usually requires a man and a woman to-"

"Kiiim!" the pale woman groaned exasperatedly.

"Okay, okay," the redhead said with a laugh. "Back to that party. I was sitting alone at the bar, not quite drunk, when one of the other party guests came up to me . . . . . ."

{E/N: And that's chapter 6! Damn, what a year for Kim. In the next chapter, the origins of Elizabeth Anne Possible and the reasons for Kim's disappearance are finally revealed! Might even have a guest appearance by Ron and Yori!}