Mother Knows Best

Shego smirked across the dinner table where she, the henchmen, Drakken, and his mother sat. She'd been loving this all day long. She had gained so much fuel to annoy Drakken with for months if not longer. Drewbie? She fought a laugh as she heard it in her head. The glare he shot her was like he was reading her mind. Another helping of casserole found her plate as she was in mid-bite of the last one. She looked at the smiling woman as she put out more helpings of her home-cooked food. Shego shot a look at Drakken who had a smug smirk on his face.

"I'm actually pretty full Mrs. Lipsky," said Shego. "I'm sure Mitchell would love some more."

"Oh yeah," said Henchman Mitchell as he and Lucius high-fived when more food found their plate.

"Nonsense dear, there's plenty, and as active as you were today you need to eat. I still don't understand what an unusual treatment those women needed," said Mrs. Lipsky as she sat down again. "Mrs. Lipsky? No need to be so formal dear. You can call me Estelle or Mama Lipsky. Drew talks about you all the time. I feel like I've known you for ages."

"Does he?" asked Shego with a raised brow. The henchmen snickered. "Should I be worried?"

"All work-related things, Shego, all work," said Drakken. He seemed more agitated as he stabbed his food. "Mother, how long are you staying today?"

"Well, I was planning on calling and getting a hotel. I don't want to impose on you and your work today...even though it's still Mother's Day," said Estelle, drinking her beverage and giving a squinty smile.

"A hotel, that's a good idea. Let me call and find you the best room," said Drakken confidently, ignoring the guilt in her voice as best he could.

"Drew, how rude," said Shego, and Drakken glared. "Your mother shouldn't be in a hotel room. There's plenty of guest rooms here."

"Guest rooms?" asked Estelle. Shego didn't hesitate to respond.

"Some of Dr. Drakken's patients need more intense treatments, so we have spare rooms," said Shego. She shot a look at Drakken, who was tapping his fork angrily.

"Oh, Drewbie, you're such a caring doctor. Letting your patients stay at your home... Oh, Shego, you live here as well?" asked Estelle. Drakken took over.

"She stays here from time to time...when it gets too late and patients are double-booked," said Drakken. He shot Shego a look, and she rolled her eyes. He could have done better.

"From time to time?" asked Shego. Drakken was doing his best to smile at his mother and give Shego a death glare. She got an evil idea. "Sure, if every night means time to time. I live here."

"Maybe," said Drakken. Estelle raised a brow.

"Drew Lipsky are you keeping secrets from me? What have I told you about secrets!" snapped Estelle, waving a finger at her son.

"Secrets are poison and they can kill, especially if someone might have the cure," he mumbled. Shego raised a brow and watched Estelle nod.

"That's right. So why are you lying about Shego living here... Oh...wait... Are you two...?"

"No," said Drakken and Shego at the same time. The henchmen all gave various looks to each other.

"Shego, as I've told you, is my assistant, Mother. Nothing more. She does live here, I just didn't want to alarm you..." said Drakken. He was glaring at Shego even more.

"Alarm me? Alarm me to what? So your assistant lives in your massive home. If you have patients who stay overnight it makes sense. She has her own room, doesn't she? I...oh don't go anywhere dears. I made apple pie for desert. I'll be right back," said Estelle as she quickly exited and the henchmen sat back down.

"Yes Mother... What are you all doing?" asked Drakken. The henchmen jumped and Shego shrugged. "It's not funny. The sooner we get her out of here, the sooner we can get back to working on taking over the world. Shego, what was that?"

"You were going to try to stick me in a crummy hotel room for the night," said Shego. She was guessing but his expression proved her right. "I knew it. Besides, your mother can stay here for one night."

"You told her we have guest rooms. She's going to want to stay all the time," said Drakken in a quick low grumble as his mother's voice came back into the room.

"Here you go dears... Oh you two aren't fighting are you?" asked Estelle looking between the two.

"No, no..." said Drakken shaking his head. "We were having a discussion about patients..."

"Meaning we have a full booking of overnight patients tomorrow and he was worried about rushing you out the door in the morning," said Shego. "I told him that one of the patients isn't coming until the night time, so there's no worry of rushing you out the door."

"E-Exactly," said Drakken, raising a brow.

"Oh, it's no trouble. I'll be out of your hair by morning. I have a flight back to New York in the afternoon," said Estelle happily.

"You know dear, that Shego has a pretty good head on her shoulders," said Estelle as they sat in his living room part of the lair. "You really should think about setting up roots, you move so much I can barely keep track."

"Oh well... My show needs to do that...for...sponsors," said Drakken quickly. He laughed nervously but cleared his throat. "Mother, Shego is my assistant. Besides, I am far too busy to ohm...settle down."

"Oh, you're just like your father's family. Work, work, work. Honestly, if they didn't have strong women in their lives, the Lipsky line would have died off ages ago," sighed Estelle. She opened her mouth to keep talking when she saw Shego walk past the doorway. "Shego, dear."

"Mother, I'm sure she has places to be," said Drakken as Shego stepped back into the doorway.

The day had been a nightmare. He could already sense the amount of snarky remarks and jokes that Shego was holding in her deck for the next few weeks. The less time she spent with his mother, the better...for both of them. He hoped Shego would just excuse herself and avoid the chatter that would follow. Instead, he noticed Shego's expression seemed...softer?...as she looked at his mother. That was different.

"Yes Estelle," said Shego as she came in. She shot a look at Drakken.

"Would you mind showing me to my room?" asked Estelle as she got up and moved swiftly near Shego.

"Mother, I could have..." Drakken began. A wave of panic hit him. She was trying to isolate Shego. "I'll take you."

"I can show her," said Shego with an eye-roll. It turned into a smile as she took Estelle's arm. "It's next to mine."

"Shego..." Drakken muttered, but Shego gave him a confident smirk and vanished. "Great...just great... Wonder if I can get away with taking off and hiding for a week."

He slumped in his chair, thinking about following the two, but there was nothing to do there now. If his mother was going to vent and rant and attempt to marry him off, there was no stopping her. He was less worried about Shego freaking out; the woman could handle her tongue much better than people might think. No, he was more worried about what Shego might ask, and she really didn't need more fuel for her lippy cut-downs. The idea of him settling down and having a family...it was laughable really. Him. He... No. He found his mind becoming blank for a moment and then a counter argument in his head returned. Curse his mother, why did she have to put these thoughts in his head? This was why he preferred mail with her; he could skip over those parts in the letters. He needed a drink. Who am I, Shego? He shook his head. He needed his lab.

"I don't mean to pry dear, but was your skin a chemical accident as well?" asked Estelle, her arm still tight around Shego's as they walked.

"Sort of, environmental," said Shego. She wasn't lying.

"Not that it matters, but do you think that would affect your future children?" asked Estelle. Shego's eyes shot open.

"Ohm...never...really thought about it," said Shego. She honestly hadn't, and the random question threw her off. "Maybe. None of my brothers have children so I guess we won't know until then."

"Are you brothers the same shade of pale green?" asked Estelle. Shego saw her shocked look fade to curiosity.

"No, we're all different colors... A pastel rainbow really," said Shego with a shrug.

"Really? So what if the pastel colors continue... I mean if you're all different colors, then perhaps it would continue in shades," said Estelle. She shook her head. "If it's a family trait, what about your parents?"

"Ohm, they were normal. The environmental thing happened later," said Shego, and she had an overwhelming wave of panic at Estelle prying. She was not going through that again. One person a decade was quite enough.

"Oh," said Estelle. She didn't press, but her hand patted Shego's as they reached the door of the guest room. "Such a big place, no wonder it gets filled with patients. It'd be awfully lonely without it. I'm glad you live here dear, I know my Drew. He says he doesn't get lonely, but he does. He gets stuck in his head far too long. He got like that after he left college. Before, you could barely get him to stay home, he was always out and about. Mr. Social. The older he gets the more he reminds me of my Theo."

"Your husband?" asked Shego. Drakken had never mentioned his father before. "Drakken doesn't mention him."

"Oh, that's because he passed away before Drew was born," said Estelle. There was something in her eyes that made Shego want to inquire more, but she didn't. "He had a good heart, Theo. I'm just glad my son is a doctor and I don't have to worry about him in dangerous situations somewhere. Although, some of your patients seem a bit extreme."

"Yeah, they can be," said Shego. They stopped outside a door. "If you need anything, my room is right there."

"You're such a nice girl. Bit of a silver tongue, but any good woman should have one," said Estelle, giving a wink at Shego as she let her arm go. "I appreciate you looking after my Drewbie, I know how he can get sometimes. But his heart's in the right place. I just wish he didn't work so much. He's missing out on what's important in life you know. It's late dear, I'm sorry to keep you."

"It's no problem. Good night Estelle, and Happy Mother's Day," said Shego. She felt a mixture of emotions at the woman's look and words.

"Good night dear," said Estelle. She grabbed Shego's hand. "As I said, you can call me Mama Lipsky, no need to be formal."

"Good night then, Mama Lipsky," said Shego as Estelle shut the door, and she let go of a deep sigh.

"If I can connect this..." Drakken was working on a very delicate wire for a new hand-held laser gun—something in his panic he'd decided to rework on.

"Dr. D.?" He watched the wire melt away as Shego's voice made him miss.

"Yes, Shego," said Drakken. He prepared himself for the onslaught of one-liners and digs as he sat up and pulled his magnifying goggles up. "Come to toss a few digs before bed? Let's hear them."

"Oh, no... Those are for much later," said Shego with a smirk. It faltered as she sat on his desk. "What are you working on?"

"...A laser gun?" asked Drakken. What was Shego up to...? Her expression seemed unreadable. "Everything okay?"

"Your mother thinks you work too much," said Shego. She was playing with his papers. "Got me thinking."

"You want to go on another vacation?" asked Drakken. That would solve the problem of him avoiding her comments.

"No, just thinking. Maybe because you do work all the time, you're missing the big picture," said Shego. She moved his papers in front of him. "Maybe stepping back for a few weeks might help you come up with a better scheme."

"Are you telling me to take a break?" asked Drakken. This was...this was new. "You tell me I procrastinate all the time... You've literally sat in that chair and told me I'm not working fast enough."

"I changed my mind," said Shego. He saw a look of agitation float past her eyes. "You need a break."

"...If you want to take on a mission, I'm not going to stop you. It's in the contract, that if you feel I'm taking too long..." He was cut off physically by Shego shoving a crumpled up paper in his mouth and covering it.

"No, dodo brain. I'm telling you to take a break and can it," snapped Shego with an eye-roll. "Do you need me to sign it to you?"

"Whyfh didd ustj wayhs it?" came his muffled reply and Shego rolled her eyes and removed her hand. He spit out the paper. "Why didn't you just say that?"

"I did," said Shego. She looked around. "I'm kicking you out of your lab."

"Excuse me," said Drakken. He felt a wash of panic. She had to be joking.

"Eventually," said Shego, as she got up and walked out of the room. "'Night...Drewbie."

Lab Restrictions? →