A/N: The long-awaited 'dog fic' I've been teasing on Tumblr... Thanks to the people who weighed in there with their opinions about the dog's name. You will see, your ideas were well-taken! And thank you to Gothicthundra for letting me use the name 'Estelle' from her fic for Drakken's mother, and for her bits of advice and inspiration throughout the writing process. You're more help than you realize, m'dear!

Warnings: Story is rated "M" Mature for sexual scenes and offensive language. The NSFW parts vary in nature and maturity level. They are NOT graphic, but you don't need your imagination. The bad language is sparse and is used for comedic effect, but that doesn't change that it's very offensive and may be bothersome or shocking for you to read. You have been warned.

The title of this fic is taken directly from one of my favorite childhood stories by a wonderful author and inspiration, the late James Herriot.

The single-chapter word counter on this website stops at the number you see. The actual word-count of this fic is 67,352.

This is the longest single fic I have ever written. I was aching for some domestic Drakgo, and as it often goes in fandom, I decided to take matters into my own hands. So now, I present to you... Drakken and Shego's first Christmas together as a couple. Let the chaos begin...

There's Christmas—and Christmas
by bcbdrums

December 3

The sounds of footsteps and other movements caused Shego to wake, and she stretched the length of her body as she slowly rolled over toward the sound. She shielded her eyes against the light as she sleepily smiled toward where Drakken was searching for something in the closet.

When he turned around he was frowning and looking around the room for something. Seeing she was awake he paused and smiled.

"You fell asleep," he said with a tiny smirk.

She pushed herself up to her elbow, but it didn't mask the exhausted look on her face. "This thing is tough," she responded, looking at the laptop sitting next to her on the bed and still running. "And I had a long night."

"It will be worth it. With the ZPM in our hands, we'll be ruling the world overnight."

"If I survive trying to steal it," she said, closing the laptop and pushing it away. She lay back against the pillow again and stretched her arms toward him, wiggling her fingers.

His smile was wicked as he sat on the bed, and as soon as he was close enough she pulled him down over her, her fingers digging into his back.

"You'll do more than survive. You'll get out without them even knowing you were there."

"Puh-lease! Did you even look at their security? I think half the government's defense budget went into that system. How'd you get the plans anyway?" she asked, tugging on his waist to pull him further in.

"From another very interested party with means. Whom we will double cross, of course."

Shego pulled him down into a kiss. His fingers threaded through her hair at the sides of her face and pressed into her scalp as his lips caressed hers. Her heart aflutter, she hummed happily and pulled him tightly against her.

"This is the best thing we've ever done," she said with a smile when he pulled away and propped himself up above her on his elbows.

"It will be, when we win."

"No," she said, fumbling with the buttons of his coat, "I meant us."

He looked genuinely surprised, but she only smiled at him as she sleepily tried to tug his coat off of his shoulders. The task was made impossible by his belt, and she gave up after only a few moments.

"Well?" she yawned, letting her hands fall back against the pillows.

She saw his answer of a smile before he kissed her neck just below her ear, his fingers kneading at her waist. Her arms went around him again and pulled him down.

"You're right," he said, his voice muffled by the kiss.

She smirked. "I'm always right."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him to prevent his escape and kissed him until they were both breathless. She put both hands on his chest and pushed him away, crawling out from under him until they were both sitting up on their knees and facing each other.

She smirked mischievously and un-clipped his belt, and then continued her work on his coat.

"Finally," she said, pushing the heavy garment off of his shoulders and tugging the sleeves down his arms. "You could help, you know."

She realized suddenly that he hadn't been helping or even saying anything. She looked up to find his expression happy but nervous.

"What? You getting shy all of a sudden?"

"Shego...did you really mean that?"

"Huh?" she asked.

He gestured between them. "That...'we'...are the best thing we've ever done?"

She set her forearms on his shoulders and leaned forward until her forehead touched his. "Mmhm," she said with a smirk.

He slowly pulled her arms away. "I'm being serious."

Her smirk vanished as she saw the hard look in his eyes. "Y-...yes, Dr. D. I meant it."

He dropped his gaze and began rummaging through his coat pockets.

"But I'll still figure out how to steal that ZPM thing for you, even though it'll probably kill me. I know how much taking over the world means to you—"

She stopped short as he looked up at her, a small, black ring box in his outstretched hands.

"I...I can't take over the world," he said, shaking his head. He opened the ring box. "Because...you're my world. And no one could ever conquer you. All I can do is...what anyone would do, when they've found the one who completes them. And ask."

Her mouth was hanging open. She stared at the small, jeweled ring and then slowly brought her gaze up to his nervous face.

"I'm...your world?"

She saw him swallow, and then nod firmly. He was holding his breath. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Then ask."

December 12

Shego wrung out her hair from the shower again as she put on her most comfortable pajamas. She stepped tiredly into her slippers and left her bedroom, heading for the kitchen.

Coffee. Lots, and lots of coffee.

And then she would curl up in front of the fireplace in Drakken's office...

She grinned as she remembered his bluster when she'd first pointed out to him that a fireplace in the Caribbean was ridiculous. He'd argued of course that a super-villain needed ominous reflections from a fireplace in their lair. She had laughed and started making fun of the shapes the light and shadows made on his dorky face.

Mornings like this, when she needed to relax, were the only legitimate use for that fireplace.

"Shego?" Drakken said, following her from somewhere into the kitchen.

"'Morning, Doc," she said as she started the coffee maker.

She looked up at him to see him fidgeting nervously and clearly wanting to say something, but not. She tucked her wet hair behind her ear.

"Cat got your tongue?"

He took a breath. "Where...where have you been?"

She turned her back to him and got her mug out of the cupboard. "Vacation."

"You...you went on vacation?"

His voice was weak, squeaking out just above a whisper. She put on a mildly irritated face before glancing back at him.

"Uh, yeah. Vacation. It's that thing I do when I need a break."

He still looked desperately worried. She couldn't blame him at all this time, now that they were engaged. But she wasn't about to give him a hint of where she'd really spent the last four days.

"Oh..."

She looked back at the coffee maker and willed it to percolate faster. He looked so pathetic.

"Did I...did I do something...to upset you?" he asked.

She grit her teeth. She had hoped to avoid this conversation. She wasn't good at spinning big, complicated lies.

Thankfully she didn't have to, as the intruder alarm suddenly went off.

Coffee and fears forgotten, they both ran for the lab computer and the security camera feed. A quick glance showed a uniformed postal worker standing outside their balcony door, a large package at his feet.

"How do they always get up there?" Drakken mused.

"Come on, let's go take a look," Shego said, already heading out the door.

They crossed back through the living area and to the back door where deliveries were often made. Shego stood back while Drakken opened the door.

"Hello?"

The burly man who looked more suited to henchman-work than postal-work looked down at his clipboard.

"I have a delivery for Drew Lipsky."

Shego leaned over Drakken's shoulder with a chuckle. "Well, we know who it's from."

They both looked down at the large box, which had a pattern of small circular holes in the top.

"What would my mother be sending me...?" he puzzled, staring at the box.

"There's a letter too, sir," the postman said, holding it out for him to take. "Sign here."

As Drakken did so, the box began barking. Both villains' eyes widened and they turned to look at each other, Drakken with a cry of glee and Shego with a scowl.

"Shego!" he gasped happily.

"Ohhh no. No way. No how. Not happening. Not again... No!"

December 19

The warmth from the fireplace was just dying down to a perfect temperature on the unusually chilly night in the lair. Sitting across Drakken's lap in the easy chair, Shego was leaned back and tugging on his arm to pull him close to her. But he was leaning to the side over the end table and staring into his cocoa mug.

"It's just not the same."

She inhaled sharply through her nose and let the breath out slowly through her lips. "I'll go shopping soon, okay?"

"It's not Christmas without marshmallows."

She leaned against the arm rest and set her forehead on her palm.

"We've got a few days... Look, you said I had to watch this movie before your mother gets here next week."

He sipped the cocoa with a forlorn sigh and then set it down.

"Finally!" Shego said, leaning back and tucking her legs up as he set his arm around her. "So what's so important about this?"

"Mother insists that we watch it every year. If she finds out you've never seen it..."

"Is it really sappy?" Shego asked as she arranged the blanket over their laps just to her liking.

"A bit. It's one of those ones with a moral." He pushed the record button on the VCR remote and then set it down, leaning back to stare up at the small TV on the bookshelf in his office.

"Yuck," she said, though the declaration was halfhearted as she finally, contentedly snuggled into his side.

"Um...you know, with commercials it's going to be more than three hours," he warned, glancing down at her worriedly.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and placed a soft kiss on his jaw. "That's all right. I can think of plenty of things for us to do if I get bored."

His shy blush delighted her, and she snaked her arms around his middle and leaned into him with a hum of happiness.

December 22

Inside the lair it was unusually cool—a mellow sixty-seven degrees. The henchmen were mostly gone, sent home for the holidays but for the couple that wanted the extra paycheck come January 1st. But they were sequestered away in the lower quarters of the lair, waiting to be called upon. The empty rooms hewn out of the ancient volcanic plug were silent but for the buzz of fluorescent lights, and the occasional hum of machinery as Drakken worked on something in his lab.

That all changed when Shego kicked the back door open with a crash, shoving her way through the door with her arms full of shopping bags.

"Drakken!" she shouted from behind the mountain of bags piled so high that only the top of her head was visible. "A little help would be nice!"

Silence was her answer as she carefully maneuvered down the first step and used her heel to push the door shut against the wind that had started up the night before. She stumbled back from the weight of the bags in her arms and let herself hit the wall, the alternative being falling down the stairs.

"Drakken!" she called again.

A moment later, she heard a distant yipping sound in reply.

"Oh, no."

She turned and started cautiously down the stairs, sightless as she was as the yipping grew closer. The sound reached full annoyance right at her feet, and she struggled to stay upright as she felt the paws of the small dog leaping up around her shins and calves as it continued to bark.

"Stupid... Down! Get down!" she said as she took careful steps. She couldn't stand the creature, but Drakken adored it. She didn't want to step on it and injure it, or worse, injure herself.

The dog only increased its attentions to her ankles as she tried to walk down the stairs. Two steps later, it yelped in pain as sure enough its paw got under her foot. She jerked her foot back and took a sharp breath as she felt herself falling off balance. She could drop all the bags and stop her fall...and then have to go shopping in the rain, again.

In resignation she half-stumbled half-fell the rest of the way down the stairs and landed ungracefully on the floor, the bags slipping from her arms at the last moment and landing unharmed in a pile around her.

'Arf!' the dog greeted, jumping up against her leg from behind one of the bags. The gray Maltese looked pretty cute with its fur trimmed short and its tongue lolling out of its mouth as it panted at her.

"I don't like you," she said with a frown.

The dog started humping her leg.

"Drakken!" she roared, shoving the dog off and jumping to her feet. Her rear end and her hip smarted where they'd hit the floor, and she realized her wrist had taken some of the impact too.

The man in question finally entered the room, at far too slow a pace in her opinion based on the way she had been shouting for him. She glared as he approached. The dog ran to its real master with yips of joy, and he picked it up with a smile.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? Yes it's you!" he talked in a baby-voice at the small dog, holding it up in front of his face like a child and then cradling it into his chest.

Shego rubbed her wrist as she scowled at him.

"Didn't you hear me calling for help?"

Drakken finally seemed to notice her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to carry some of those?"

He set the dog down who ran and jumped up against her shins again, its short tail wagging so hard that its whole back half shook.

"Down, Cuddles," she said through gritted teeth.

Drakken had walked up and was glancing into each of the shopping bags.

"Did you get marshmallows?"

Her hands flared in front of her. He stepped back in alarm.

"Wh-what?" he asked fearfully. "Were they all out?"

"Rrgh..." She reached a glowing hand into one of the bags and brought it out quickly, gripping three bags of marshmallows of varying sizes. The plastic and the sugar were melting quickly in her grasp.

"Shego!" he complained in a panic.

"Here!" she said, thrusting the bags into his chest. "Take your dumb marshmallows."

She rubbed her wrist and stalked away, out of the living room and toward her own. She could use a bath...with some mineral salts, grapefruit oil, rose petals... She was halfway down the hallway when a small impact at her ankles caused her to turn with a growl and flaring hands.

"Grrr! Drakken! Get your dog away from me!"

Drakken appeared around the corner in a hurry, the small gray fluff ball running to its master on sight.

"Shego," he admonished, "you'll hurt Admiral Cuddles's feelings."

"I'll hurt more than his feelings if he doesn't stop jumping on me. I thought you said he was trained?"

"He is, watch. Cuddles, sit."

The dog continued wagging its tail and consequently half of its tiny body, yipping excitedly.

"Cuddles, sit!"

The dog jumped up and down and turned an excited circle, continuing to bark at the attention it was getting.

"I dunno Doc, it seems like he's got a short circuit somewhere."

"Nghh... He was doing it before you got back."

"Yeah, well...keep it away from me until you've got it under control," she said, turning back down the hallway.

"Wait. Aren't you going to put away the groceries?"

Shego answered with a green blast which Drakken avoided with a well-timed duck, holding the marshmallows in front of his face. The dog ran yelping down the hall in fear.

"Stop scaring him!"

Shego answered with another blast, more purposefully aimed. Drakken pressed himself against the wall but it still glanced his chest, and he hissed at the sting of it.

"Or...um...I could put them away."

Shego tossed her hair and disappeared into her room. Drakken sagged against the wall in relief. A moment later, the dog reappeared in the hallway with a curious woof.

"What's gotten into her?" Drakken said to the small animal.

Shego slid her arms up out of the cooling waters of her bath with a sigh. An hour's soak had done wonders for calming her nerves and soothing her bruised hip. The strained wrist she thought might need a little more attention. She wondered if she could get Drakken to feel guilty about it.

That dog had caused more trouble since its arrival than Commodore Puddles ever had. At least the dog they had lost to Area 51 was vicious and trainable. But this new one...

Shego sighed as she got out of the bath and dried off, debating between putting her suit back on or just dressing for comfort. She chose the former, suspecting that Drakken might send her out on another wild goose chase considering it was only a day and a half until his mother arrived and two and a half days until Christmas.

The dog had been an early Christmas present from his mother. It came with a long, emotional letter that extolled his goodness and begged his forgiveness for not being a better mother to him. It was clear that Mrs. Lipsky blamed herself for his fall into villainy, which had finally been revealed to her after he saved the world from the Lorwardians; he wasn't able to prevent her from seeing worldwide news broadcasts.

And of course, the letter had ended with her urging him to change his villainous ways and embrace the heroism he had shown while saving the world. It wasn't like they had tried any huge world-takeover schemes since that time... Just a little petty theft here and there. And her little heist from a maximum-security military base that Drakken knew nothing about. But no one could prove it was her.

The dog was an apparent attempt at appeasement for his mother's "failure to love" him in his youth. He had been denied pets due to his father's allergies, he had explained after she read the letter, and had tried to sneak a dog into the house on more than one occasion. Once he had kept one for over two weeks before it was discovered.

While Drakken wasn't ready to renounce villainy and neither was she, the dog had thrilled him. So much so, that he'd invited his mother to the lair for Christmas.

Shego let down her hair which she'd pinned up before the bath as she zipped up her suit and left her room. Her wrist still hurt. The dog had only been there for ten days and had been nothing but trouble. Now it was getting her hurt. She had tried to be nice, but...it was time to lay down some ground rules.

"Dr. D.? Hey, Dr. D.?" she said, stepping into the lab.

She stopped short when she saw him. He was asleep, head down on his folded arm on his desk with a smile on his face. The dog was curled in his lap and he had one hand lain atop its back.

She shook her head and stepped forward silently, debating between leaving him be and waking him. There was some sort of half-finished device on the adjacent table that he was building, tools strewn about the surface and parts all over the floor, and he had fallen asleep atop the blueprints. She looked between the half-visible plans and the device and couldn't figure out what it was.

She looked down at his contented smile again, and then at the dog where his hand rested lovingly. She sighed.

The dog's eyes opened. Her breath caught. Was it some kind of dog-cat hybrid, to sleep that lightly?

The moment it caught sight of her its tail began wagging, and she took a slow step back from the desk.

'Arf! Rrrarf!' the dog cried, hopping down from its master's lap and jumping up against her legs.

"Nrrrgh! Cuddles, get down!" she hissed.

Drakken blinked several times as he sat up, looking confused for a moment.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I must have drifted off."

"Drakken."

He snapped to attention when he heard her cold tone.

"Get your dog off of me!"

He cleared his throat and stood, reaching down for the small, fluffy animal.

"Now now, Admiral Cuddles..."

The dog yipped and began jumping around in circles, trying to catch its short, hairy tail in its jaws.

"Yeah... I'm going to call that thing Short Circuit."

"Shego..." Drakken whined. "He just needs...more time to adjust."

She sighed and shook her head, rubbing her wrist. "Look, I understand that it's important to you. But I don't like it. I'm never going to like it. And I don't want it jumping on me. So get it trained, or it's taking a trip to a professional doggy school. Got it?"

He looked so sad that she had to turn and leave. She wasn't about to let his own sad puppy-dog face influence her.

"But Shego..." he whined as he followed her.

"No buts," she said, striding back into the living area and into the kitchen. She shook her head at the partially-melted bags of marshmallows on the counter. She'd gotten some microwave dinners since he'd said he'd be too busy to cook that night. Maybe he'd like some macaroni...

When she opened the freezer and found only a bag of frozen corn, her brow twisted in confusion.

Where are the...?

"Drakken..." she said, closing the freezer and turning toward him. He stopped short, fear in his eyes after seeing the look on her face. "Did you put away the groceries?"

He took a step back and scratched the back of his head with a worried smile. "Oh...um... Was I supposed to do that?"

Her hands flared at her sides. He sprinted into the living room, the dog at his heels. She stalked after him.

"I was shopping for four hours! Not including drive time!"

He knelt in front of the forgotten bags on the floor and began tossing things out of them. Tubes of wrapping paper went rolling one after another across the floor.

"Nrrgh! Not those bags!" she said, kneeling across from him and pushing one of the grocery bags at him while she started pulling things out of the others.

The frozen dinners would be fine; the microwave would take care of any problems there. But the ice creams were a loss and so was the eggnog and the milk.

"No cocoa-moo tonight," she said, holding up one of the spoiled cartons.

The look on his face was so pathetic that she found herself rolling her eyes and turning toward the door.

"Look, I'll go get some more. You put away everything else. Got it?"

He bit his lip and nodded obediently, looking genuinely remorseful.

She started up the stairs and then paused. She turned back to see him looking around in dismay at the scattering of groceries and Christmas trappings, the dog sniffing curiously at each item in turn.

"Oh, I...still haven't bought a gift for your mother," she said nervously.

As she expected, his eyes widened in panic. He pushed through the grocery pile and ran up to her, his hands clasped in front of him. "You have to get her something! Something nice!"

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I know. It's just that I've never shopped for senior citizens before. What does she want?"

He blinked for a moment and then his eyes darted away. "Well...uhm."

"You see? You don't know any better than I do. Should probably just get her a new coffee maker..." she said, turning to go.

"Hey! That was my idea!"

"Fine, sure. Get her a coffee maker. I'll think of something else."

Shego heard the dog bark just as the door closed behind her.

"Yeah, I'm not getting anything for you..."

Shego walked slowly through the department store, a thoughtful frown on her face as she looked at the various items in the women's department. From casual wear to formals, from purses to shoes, scarves, gloves, and everything in between...she saw plenty of things that she wanted. But nothing that she could be sure that Drakken's mother would want.

Just what did an elderly widow a few years shy of a retirement home want? She wouldn't need any clothes for work, or dating... And Shego had no idea of her taste in casual clothes. Would a woman her age want a new purse? And she probably only wanted comfortable shoes...

She sighed as she ambled into the sleepwear section. She had hoped that thinking like a woman would give her some insights. But...Drakken's mother wasn't a woman she could relate to at all. And she highly doubted that his mother would relate to her, when she came for Christmas in...one and one-third days.

She was still hoping she could talk Drakken out of it, and that they could just go to New Jersey for Christmas. It would be over in a couple of days, and then they could get back to their lives. With the exception of that yippy dog taking over the lair.

She continued through the clothing racks and paused as she reached the wedding lingerie section. 'A night you'll never forget,' boasted one of the ads. Shego's lips turned up slightly as she looked at the white, saucy garments designed for one purpose only.

She cast her gaze down and began gently twisting the ring on her finger. It was rose gold, with a small round-cut white diamond in the center and two tapered baguette-cut rubies on either side. She would never forget the night he had given it to her, about a week after Thanksgiving. He insisted that his mother needed to know before they made their relationship legal, so they had agreed to tell her at Christmas and then have the ceremony after the new year.

A new year, and a new start. Whether that meant villainy, or something else... They would do it together.

She realized she was smiling far too broadly for standing in the middle of a lingerie section, and hurried on through the clothing racks. She reached the bathrobes and paused. Maybe Drakken's mom would appreciate a warm, fluffy robe for lounging? Especially with the winters she must have at her home.

She scrutinized each item until she found one that was of a quality she approved, and had matching slippers. The price tag was also quite large. She threw the robe over her arm and held onto the slippers and walked back through the racks in search of a register. She spotted one on the other side of the lingerie section and made a beeline toward it.

She was nearly there when a striking bra and panty set on a mannequin caught her eye. The bra was a simple, wireless, triangle style, darted for shape, with a frilly trim on the band and on the thin straps. The bikini panties matched with trim around the waistband, and had a tiny bow at the band's center. They were seasonally red and completely sheer.

Red wasn't her favorite color, which he'd learned to great dismay when he gave her the engagement ring. But he would probably like the lingerie. She impulsively searched the nearby rack for her size, and added the pieces to her other items before continuing on. Thankfully, there was no line when she reached the register.

The cashier was a middle-aged woman who looked far too happy to be working after five in the evening three days before Christmas.

"Hello! Find everything okay?"

"Yes, thanks," Shego said, setting her items down on the counter.

"Last-minute Christmas shopping?"

"Mhm," Shego said, pretending to eye the chocolates for sale on the counter. She hated small talk.

"Woo! This for the fella who put that ring on your finger?"

Shego glanced at her ring, and then at the bra and panty set the woman was wrapping.

"Mhm," she said again, this time with a small smirk.

"Would you like one of these Santa hats to go with your new lingerie? Fifty-percent off!" the cashier gestured to the display next to the counter.

Shego's smirk grew as she picked up one of the red and white hats with the cheap fake fur, but then she set it back down.

"Nah. Not his kink."

The cashier chuckled. "Oh no? What is?"

Shego flared her left hand ever-so-lightly as she handed the cashier Drakken's credit card with her right. The woman's eyes widened as Shego grinned.

"Me."

"All right..." Shego said with a sigh, flopping into the corner of the couch. "Where did we leave off?"

"You don't remember?" Drakken asked, setting his cocoa mug—complete with marshmallows—down the coffee table. "You're the one who's supposed to be watching."

"I was distracted," she said with a smirk as he sat in the opposite corner.

"You distracted yourself," he muttered. "What's the last thing you remember for sure?"

"I dunno... That guy's dad had just died."

"That's it?" Drakken looked at her in shock. "We were much further than that!"

She shrugged. "I got bored."

Drakken began fast-forwarding the movie. "Now...pay attention this time. My mother will expect you to be familiar with it. It's one of her favorites."

Shego looked at the frustrated pout on his face as he held down the fast-forward button on the remote and sank low into his corner of the couch. She smirked.

"You know...you're really cute when you pout," she said, crawling toward him.

He gasped as he saw her catlike crouch, and then frowned at her. "Shego... We haven't even started yet."

"Oh, we're getting started."

With that, she pounced on him and the remote went flying as his hands went up in the air. She kissed him deeply as one of her hands played with his hair and the other felt slowly down his back until she found his rear. She gave a firm squeeze, and he gasped into the kiss. His arms dropped around her and pulled her tight against him.

At that moment, a small, light weight hit the back of Shego's leg. Her eyes flew open, and she turned with a furious snarl toward the little Maltese dog. It was straddling her calf and wagging its tail with its tongue lolling out of its mouth in that too-cute-for-words pose.

"Get off, Short Circuit!"

"Shego, don't call him that..."

The dog started humping her leg.

"Rrrrgh!" she growled, throwing a blast at it with both hands as she leapt off of Drakken and the couch. She stumbled as the dog ran under her feet, yelping in fear, and she tripped backward over the coffee table.

She had a brief glimpse of Drakken's horrified face as she went head-over-heels and hit her back on the edge of the table, knocking off their mugs and the plate of fresh cookies as she grabbed for something to break her fall. She landed painfully on her side, on the same hip she'd hit earlier that day, and also on her elbow and shoulder. She pinched her eyes shut tightly in pain.

"Cuddles!"

Shego felt tears stinging her eyes as she listened to Drakken consoling the dog that was yelping in fear. To add insult to injury, she felt the burn of the spilled cocoa as it hit her back and began soaking her hair.

"Shego? Are you okay?"

She struggled to her feet, teeth bared and eyes glaring. He stumbled back and fell onto the couch, holding the dog against his chest. She saw the cocoa staining its paws, but she had no sympathy for the creature. Her hands flared.

"Shego, wait!"

He rolled out of the way and into the cocoa spill himself as she fired at him with both hands. He dropped the dog and it ran out of the room, crying as she fired blast after blast at it.

"Shego, stop!"

She ran after the dog, determined to end its vendetta against her once and for all. She fired at it again just as it disappeared around the hall corner.

"Rrrrgh!"

"Shego!"

Drakken caught her around the waist, and she whirled around and pushed her glowing hands against his chest to escape. He released her with a cry of pain and stepped back. His eyes were concerned, but she was too angry to care.

"I want that thing out of here!"

A silent gasp left his lips. "But...Shego—"

"Either you get rid of it, or I'll get rid of it!"

He pursed his lips and took a step toward her. "Are you okay?"

She held up her glowing hands, and he retreated several steps.

"I'm going to take a shower, and go to bed," she said through clenched teeth. She turned on her heel and headed into her room.

"Um..."

"My bed! And when I come out tomorrow, that dog had better be gone!"

She vanished inside her room, leaving Drakken blinking sadly at her door.

December 23

Shego woke up the next morning to the soft calling of her name. She opened up her eyes and saw Drakken's silhouette in the crack of light at the door. He was holding something.

"Shego?"

"Ungh..." she groaned. The crack of light at the door widened.

"Can I come in?"

She nodded and rolled over, realizing she was laying on her bruised hip. He turned the lights up to halfway, and she saw he was carrying a breakfast tray. She saw the sad, worried look on his face and her anger from the night before faded.

"I...made breakfast, if you're hungry," he said as he approached. She sat up with a wince, and his brow furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know... What would you call being bruised, burned, and having a sprained wrist?"

His lips parted as he stared at her. "What?"

He sat down on the edge of her bed, the tray still in his hands.

"What happened?"

She frowned, quickly becoming irritated again. "Your dog, dingus. Were you paying any attention yesterday?"

He had the decency to look a bit ashamed, but he still looked confused.

She sighed and pulled her shirt off. "Look," she said, turning around. She pointed to the burned line up her side and on her back. "That's where the cocoa spill got me."

His eyes were wide.

"And here," she pointed to the long horizontal bruise on her back, and the darker one on her elbow. "That's where I hit the coffee table, and fell on the floor. And..." She rose up on her knees and pulled the side of her pajama pants down, revealing the bruise on her hip. "That's from when I fell down the stairs. And I landed funny on my wrist trying to protect the groceries. That you forgot to put away," she said, resting the injured limb lightly on her leg.

She sat down again with a frown and looked up at him. He looked surprised, sad, concerned, and was blushing slightly. She noticed his eyes dart briefly, almost reflexively to her bare breasts. She sighed and pulled her shirt back on with a slight fluttering feeling in her chest.

She held up her sore wrist and rubbed it. "All you care about is...is that stupid dog."

He looked down sadly. "I'm sorry."

She lay back with a silent sigh, and her eyes fell to the breakfast tray.

"What'd you bring me?"

He lifted the tray to present to her. "Strawberry waffles, with fresh whipped cream. And coffee."

"Did you remember the—?"

"Vanilla in the whipped cream? Yes," he said quickly.

She pursed her lips to conceal the smile that was starting to form. She reached her hands out for the tray, and he set it across her lap. She cut a piece of the waffle with her fork, adding a strawberry slice and spreading some of the whipped cream on top. When she put the bite in her mouth, she found the waffle was the perfect temperature. She grinned up at him despite herself.

"Good?"

She nodded, and began cutting a second bite. He scooted closer and took her injured, left wrist between his hands and held it gently.

She looked up at his worried face and pursed her lips. The breakfast was good. And she could tell he was sorry. But she still wanted to be mad at him.

"I hope you're not expecting me to clean up that mess in the living room..." she said between bites.

"I had the henchmen clean it up."

"Hmm. Bet they loved sticking around for Christmas for that..."

"Mm..." Drakken said, turning her wrist over gently.

"What about the dog?"

She saw him tense slightly.

"It's...in a crate, in my room."

"In your room?" She glared at him.

"I—I'll move it to the lab. Shego..." His furrowed brow caught her attention. "Where's your ring?"

He was staring worriedly at her bare finger.

"Oh... It's here," she said, looking over at her nightstand. The ring sat behind the phone, just out of his line of sight. He leaned forward until he could see it, and then picked it up.

"I...didn't know you took it off at night."

"I don't," she said, looking down at her plate as she spread the whipped cream around.

When she looked up he was staring at her with scared eyes and holding his breath. She set her fork down and sighed.

"I still want to marry you," she said.

His whole body seemed to relax, and his fingers curled around hers. After a moment she let go of his hand and stretched her fingers out. He cradled her wrist gently as he put the ring back on her finger with his other hand. She admired the diamond with a soft smile, but when she looked up again he still appeared worried.

"I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention yesterday."

She pushed the tray back and sat forward, setting her forearms on his shoulders.

"It's okay."

"I've been...very distracted, with my mother coming... I know it's not an excuse."

"I still think we should just go to New Jersey," she said with a raised brow.

His brow twisted. "After...all the work we've done here?"

She sighed. "No..."

He set his hands on her hips, and she looked up at him with a tired and resigned smile.

"When you're ready to get up, I'll wrap your wrist for you," he said.

"Okay," she said, pulling the tray of waffles back in front of her. He lightly squeezed her hand before leaving the room, and her smile grew as she watched him go.

She took another bite of the strawberry waffles and grinned at the memory of the gentle way he'd held her wrist, and how delicately he put her ring back on her finger. No one else would know, based on the way he acted when he was trying to take over the world, just how sweet he was.

She smirked as she remembered the way he'd glanced down at her chest when she'd taken her shirt off to show him her bruises. He'd been trying so hard not to look, she knew. He was always acting like an old-fashioned sort of gentleman with her, until she got him worked up past his point of resistance.

She pushed the waffle tray back and got up, hurrying over to her dresser where her new lingerie was wrapped in a small box. She'd intended it as a Christmas present...but she was sure he wouldn't mind getting it early. She cradled the box to her chest and scampered off to his room.

When she got there, she could hear the dog barking from the hall. Her brow furrowed, and as she went inside and turned on the lights the dog's yipping grew more excited. She spotted it running around on the far side of the room, trapped by the moat. The crate it had been kept in was open next to the bed.

"Now did he let you out, or did you learn how to pick locks..." she muttered as she stepped across the moat toward the small animal. She tossed her lingerie box onto the bed.

As she expected, the dog jumped up and began pawing at her legs, its tongue lolling to the side out of its mouth. She scooped it up and shoved it in the crate and locked it before the dog had a chance to realize what was happening. It began yipping in protest at being confined, and she shook her head.

She picked up the crate and turned to head out of the room. No way would she have that thing making noise in there with what she intended for the morning. The dog was running around inside the small crate, making it shake as she carried it. She let go with her hurting wrist and carried the crate with just her right hand as she headed toward the lab.

Drakken was standing at his work table putting something inside of a box when she arrived, and he turned quickly at the sound of the dog barking.

"Admiral Cuddles, how did you—? Oh. Shego."

"You forgot this," she said, setting the crate next to his desk.

"Why aren't you dressed?" he asked, looking at her green pajamas.

"Come back to your room and see," she said with a smirk as she turned to go.

She saw him raise his brow quizzically before he turned back to his box. She walked slowly back down the hall, knowing he would finish whatever task he was absorbed in first. She didn't mind. It would give her time for some primping.

About half an hour later she was standing behind the wardrobe door, admiring her work in his full-length mirror. She had done an excellent job of making herself look appealing, fluffing her hair to perfection and putting on just enough mascara and a red lip gloss to match the lingerie, which fit her like a second skin.

If this doesn't make him drop everything, he isn't a man.

She heard the door slide open, and her heart fluttered in excitement. She heard him pause momentarily, and then continue into the room.

"I thought you said you bought wrapping paper—"

She stepped out from behind the door of the wardrobe as he was speaking, and watched his jaw drop.

"Want one of your presents early?" she said seductively, lightly biting her lower lip as she walked toward him.

The large box he'd been carrying slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor.

Shego woke up suddenly, surprised only for a moment at the weight crushing her body. Then she sighed in contentment and lazily dragged her fingernails down Drakken's back to his hip, letting her hand rest there.

She coughed slightly, her lungs not quite able to draw a full breath due to his weight. He responded instinctively and shifted half of his body to the side and rested his face next to hers. She glanced at him and saw his eyes were closed, but his breathing suggested he was awake.

She supposed she must have only been asleep for a moment, if he was still awake. He always fell asleep.

He hadn't used to, when they had first gotten together, but she supposed that was because of the novelty. Now that they were comfortable together he would murmur eloquent love proclamations into her ear until he fell asleep. And they were always different. She smiled at the newest memory.

"I fell in love with you so long ago...and I'm still falling. Words don't exist to describe how much I love you...but I'll keep searching for them, so I can try to tell you."

She wondered if he looked for love quotes on the web, or if he came up with them all off-the-cuff. The latter seemed more likely, considering he was always half-conscious and delirious from their love-making when said them.

His eyes opened then and she turned her face toward him, smiling tiredly. She lightly squeezed his shoulder and brought her other hand up from his hip to find his. He grasped blindly over his shoulder until his fingers entwined with hers, and their joined hands dropped to the sheets on her other side.

"You okay?" he asked.

It took her a moment to realize he was talking about her wrist, which he'd insisted on binding before they'd gotten started. It was the hand he now held, and it definitely felt better for being immobilized.

"Yes," she said, rubbing his hand with her thumb.

"You're so perfect... You make me so happy... Did you know that you're perfect? You need to know that."

"Keep talking like that...and I might believe you," she said with a yawn.

"It's true," he said, inching his face toward hers. She met him halfway with a soft, lingering kiss.

When their lips parted he hummed in delight and his eyes fell closed again. She knew he would be dead to the world before long, and they'd lose a lot of the morning unless she made him get up. But she'd never actually done that before and wasn't keen on the idea of leaving his arms anyway.

"Oh..." he suddenly groaned, and she was surprised to see his brow furrowed in regret.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"I'll have to rebuild the vacuum..."

"...What?"

"The gift I built for my mother. It's a self-operating vacuum."

"A robot?"

"Mm. It was in that box I dropped."

Her eyes narrowed and she slapped his shoulder lightly.

"Drakken... If you were thinking about your mother while we were—"

"No!" he said, his eyes flying wide open in a panic. "No, no," he shook his head firmly. "I promise."

She sighed and settled her head back against the pillow, but her eyes remained narrowed. "Good. Because if you ever did...it would be the last night I spent in your bed."

"No," he said, and she watched as he moved over her again to look her in the eyes, his own wide and worried. "I just think of you...and how lucky I am."

"You'd better believe you are."

He flinched, his brow twisting in concern. She saw the hurt enter his eyes right before he slowly moved back and lay next to her. She turned her head to look at him and watched his anxious staring at the ceiling and the sad frown on his face.

She sighed at her own recklessness and reached towards him. "That's not what I meant. Come back here," she said, tugging at his arm.

She watched him grimace and then pull away from her, rolling out of the bed. Her heart began racing.

"Drakken. I didn't mean that like it sounded."

She sat up. He was frowning and gathering up his clothes.

"Come on, come back," she said, standing up and running to stand in front of him. She grabbed one of his hands which caused him to drop half of his clothes and she started tugging him toward the bed, giving him a sultry smile.

He blushed briefly, but then pulled his hand back.

"N-nice try," he said, averting his eyes. She moved to be in his line of sight again and snaked her arms up around his neck. He tried to pull away, but she kissed his shoulder gently. He tensed under her touch.

"I didn't mean that," she murmured in between kisses, lightly nibbling at his skin. "I didn't mean it. Come back to bed."

"...What did you mean?" he said after a moment.

She rose up on tiptoe to kiss under his jaw. "Nothing..." She thought quickly. "Just...every man is lucky to have found his woman."

She saw the small look of acknowledgment in his raised brow, and she started pulling him gently back again. This time he went with her, the rest of his clothes slipping from his hands to the floor.

She pushed him gently down with one hand on his chest until his head hit the pillow, and then she crawled over him with her knees on either side of his waist. She bent forward and kissed him long and slow, her hair cascading around them as she hummed in pleasure at the answering caress of his lips.

She leaned back with a smirk and then brought her hips down and with torturous slowness rolled them against his. The way his breath caught delighted her, and then she broke the sensuous touch. His eyes opened in annoyance.

"This is going to be one of those days, isn't it?" he asked.

"I hope so," she said, repeating the action of her hips. His breath caught again and he dug his fingers hard into her shoulders. When she pulled away that time he frowned at her.

"You're evil."

"You know it," she smirked.

He growled, and with one impressive move he had them flipped over. She laughed into his fierce kiss.

" I don't need to dream anymore... My dreams come true every time I look at you... You're more wonderful than anything in my imagination..."

When Shego woke up again, she knew she'd been asleep for a much longer time. Looking at Drakken laying next to her, she was surprised to see him already awake and staring thoughtfully at the ceiling with a slightly furrowed brow.

She grinned and rolled over until she was snug against his side. He smiled happily at her, and she slid her hand across his chest. She nuzzled at his cheek with her nose until he turned and met her lips in a soft, warm kiss. Her hand slid lower, down his middle and below his waist.

He grabbed her hand. "What's gotten into you?"

She smirked and took in a breath to reply.

"Don't answer that," he said quickly, his face flushing.

Her cheeky grin broadened and she began kissing and nibbling at his shoulder.

He sighed. "Really Shego, we have to get up. The tree isn't even in the stand, and I have to rebuild the vacuum, and bake more cookies."

"Let the henchmen do it," she suggested, kissing his ear.

He sat up, and she followed with her arms around his neck.

"Do you really want the henchmen to decorate our first Christmas tree?"

Her brow rose. He had a point.

"Fine..." she said with mild annoyance. She kissed his neck, and she slid one hand down his chest and below his waist again. "But let's shower first."

He didn't stop her this time, and turned to her with a smirk. "Are you sure it's a good idea...to give me this much confidence?"

"My husband should be the most confident man in the world," she answered, moving to kneel behind him and letting her other hand gently scratch across his chest.

He turned to look at her. His expression was unreadable, and it took her off guard. A warmth she had seen only on very rare occasions was slowly blooming in his eyes.

"G-get up," he said, his voice shaking slightly, "or we'll never make it to the shower."

She laughed and quickly scampered away into the bathroom with him chasing closely behind her.

Shego stood back behind the couch as the henchmen turned the Christmas tree in its stand.

"Still crooked. Go a little to the left," she said. She sighed as she watched them struggle with the fir tree as they had been for the last twenty minutes since she'd had them get it out of the basement. There was no way she could set it up on her own with her wrist out of commission. She'd decided it was definitely sprained, and if it didn't start feeling better by the end of the day she'd go to the doctor.

The tree only got more crooked in its stand as the henchmen turned it for what must have been the tenth time. She sighed and rubbed her aching hip socket. "The shower might have been a bit much..." she muttered to herself.

"What's that ma'am?" one of the henchmen asked.

"Nothing," she answered. "Push it forward a bit."

They complied, and for an instant the tree straightened up.

"Stop," she said.

They had already pushed it too far, and now it leaned forward awkwardly.

She sighed again, glaring with impatience. "Now...pull it back just a hair."

They did so, looks of fear in their eyes.

"Stop!"

They froze. She smiled. The tree was finally perfect.

"Now...don't move. I'll tighten it."

She bent down amid the small rain of pine needles and tightened the tree firmly into place in the stand.

"Why is this thing so dry? Haven't you been watering it?"

"Uhm..."

"Ugh," she said with a scowl. When she got back up, the tree was blessedly still straight. She sighed in relief.

"Now...set up the ladder, and open all those boxes of decorations," she said, gesturing with her good hand.

"All of them?" one of the men asked.

"Yes, all of them."

She stepped around the couch and sat down, pulling her laptop into her lap and flipping it open. She started looking through all the different images she'd saved of Christmas tree decor and wondering what Drakken would like best.

The holiday was very different, now they were together. Before she'd met him, she hadn't celebrated it as a villain. And in the past several years he had always talked her into drinking cocoa and watching Snowman Hank. "Even though we're in the Caribbean and it's too hot for cocoa," she reminded him each year.

With her own family, it had been an aluminum tree with scant decorations and even fewer toys, due to the family's finances. After her parents' deaths she'd stopped paying attention to the holiday altogether, even when Hego set up a tree in Go Tower. It hadn't mattered much to her in the past, and it certainly didn't matter much as a manufactured hero or as a villain.

She sighed and studied one image of a themed tree with silver tinsel, frosted blue balls, and silver and blue train ornaments hung all around.

"What do trains have to do with anything...?"

Her brow pinched in worry. What if he wanted a themed tree?

She groaned and pushed the laptop to the side and looked up at the twelve-foot monstrosity. His family had always done live trees, big family dinners, and lots and lots of gift exchanges. He'd told her that the tree always went up the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas became a whole month's affair, from the caroling around the neighborhood to the bringing of food and clothing to the homeless. She'd smirked at the last, and he'd reminded her it was in his pre-villain days.

He'd put her in charge of the tree. He trusted her with the tree, which he'd described as the focal point of everything. A home needed a good tree for everyone to gather around, he had explained. It brought everyone together.

She had argued that it was the people themselves who mattered, but his little pout when she complained about the task had been enough to push her into agreement. So now she sat surrounded by the boxes of decorations she'd spent the last several days buying, not even knowing how many she needed, and wondering what on earth to do with them.

She reached for her laptop again and tabbed over to the website she'd found that explained how to decorate a tree. There was even a new website that boasted to be a "quick encyclopedia" that had various articles about Christmas traditions. She hoped to read through some of them before his mother arrived, just in case something got sprung on her at the last minute.

The henchmen finished setting up the ladder, and she waved them away with her good hand. Judging by how long it took them to get the tree straight in the stand, Drakken's earlier point about them decorating was very well made. It couldn't be that hard, right?

In the lab, Drakken had finished rebuilding his automated vacuum and was packing it up for the second time in the cardboard box he'd found, this time with more padding.

Next to the desk, Admiral Cuddles barked from his crate.

"I know you want out boy, but...Shego wants you better-trained, first. And there just isn't time before Christmas."

He watched as the dog pawed at the latch, whimpering.

"I'll take you for a nice, long run on the beach later," he said decisively. "How does that sound? Does that sound fun, boy?"

At that moment, the phone on his desk began to ring. He picked it up before the first ring had finished.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Son! How's my Drew doing?"

Drakken cringed instinctively. "Oh, hello Mother. Everything is dandy. I mean...merry and bright, here in the Caribbean."

"I can't believe you were able to afford a house out there!"

"Well, it's...not exactly a house, Mother. It's more of a...um..."

"And how is little Admiral Cuddles? You always come up with the cutest names for things..."

"Oh, he's...happy as can be," Drakken answered, eyeing the small dog who looked at him sadly from the crate. He turned his back to it.

"Anyway, the reason I'm calling is because my flight got moved up because of the blizzard coming in."

"Wha... Moved...up?"

"Yes, I'm calling from the airport. My new flight number is...4876, and I should be there in about eight hours."

"Eight...hours..."

"You'll still be able to pick me up, won't you?"

"Oh, ye— Yes, of course Mother! Now I...I still have some baking to do, so I'd better hang up."

"Of course sweetie! I'll see you soon! Hugs and kisses!"

"Hugs and...kisses..." he said, hanging up the phone in a daze.

He raked his fingers back through his hair. That wasn't enough time. The lair wasn't remotely ready for a domestic visit. And she wasn't supposed to come until mid-morning on Christmas Eve.

How would he tell Shego?

The dog barked at him and snapped him back to attention. He picked up the package he had just finished taping and headed out of the lab. One problem at a time. First thing's first, wrap his mother's present...

He walked through the kitchen and then paused. He hadn't been able to find the wrapping paper the first time he'd done this. And he'd never found out where it was, due to Shego's early presentation of one of her gifts for him.

He tugged at his collar where he'd suddenly started to sweat, and headed into his bedroom. The paper hadn't been in the living room, so she must have put it in there. He looked around after stepping inside, but the only thing out of place in the room was the unmade bed and her red lingerie lying on the floor.

He hurried out of the room as he felt the heat under his collar again. Maybe she'd put the wrapping paper in her room?

A quick search there found no paper, and her half-finished breakfast tray still sitting on her bed. He frowned. He wished she wouldn't leave dishes lying around the lair, even if she never did the dishes...

"Well, if you'd just fix the dishwasher..."

He mentally added it to his to-do list and headed out of the room. He was at a loss as he adjusted his hold on the box and headed into the living room. He knew he'd told her to buy wrapping paper earlier that week... It wasn't like her to forget anything.

When he reached the living room, it had transformed from the spartan cave with a TV into...a mess. Boxes upon boxes of open Christmas decorations were scattered around the base of the twelve-foot tree he had picked out, some of them on the coffee table and even on the couch. Shego stood halfway up a ladder in front of the tree, a string of Christmas lights coiled over her shoulder as she was trying to position the end of the strand around the top. She glanced back at him over her shoulder when she heard him come in.

"This is all you've done?" he said in disbelief. "You got the tree in the stand?"

"The henchmen did that. Would have taken me half the time, but, you know," she said, holding up her sprained wrist.

He looked for a spare place to set down his box, and finally settled with putting it against the wall near the door to the hallway. That seemed the least likely place for it to get lost in the shuffle.

"I can't find the wrapping paper," he said, stepping forward into the mess. He looked at the boxes of shiny colored balls and frowned.

"Well, I bought it," Shego said, turning back to her task. "Didn't you put it away somewhere?"

Drakken looked up at her back. "What?"

"It was with the groceries yesterday. And the knick-knacks, and these lights," she said, looking down at him again. "Didn't you see it when you put the rest of the stuff away?"

"...No."

She narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to the tree. "Well, it was there."

He watched as she bit her lip and tried to put the lights around the tree without pricking herself on the needles. He wondered how long she would try that before giving in to being covered in pine scent and tar.

"I'm...sure I would have seen it," he said cautiously.

She set a hand on her hip and turned back to him with a frown. "Maybe your dog did something with it when he knocked me down the stairs yesterday."

Drakken grimaced as she turned back to the tree. It was certainly possible... Maybe Admiral Cuddles had taken the tubes of paper as toys. Which meant they would be ruined, and he would need to go buy more.

He pushed aside one of the boxes on the couch and sat down heavily, resting his face in his hands. It didn't make sense. He would have seen a mess. And he knew where the dog was almost every minute of the day. When it wasn't with him, it was with Shego. And now it was in the lab in a crate.

"Or maybe it just rolled somewhere when I fell," Shego said.

He glanced up at her back as she finally got into a rhythm stringing the lights. Then he looked around at the room.

Rolled somewhere...?

He grumbled to himself as he began shoving the boxes of decorations around. If the wrapping paper was in that mess, it would take forever to find.

He picked up a box of tiny, multi-colored plastic balls and set them on her closed laptop on the coffee table.

"Why did you buy all this junk, anyway?" he asked in frustration.

He missed the anxiety that flashed through her eyes, but looked up to see the irritated frown.

"Tell me again why we have to do this?" she said, stepping down from the ladder. She plugged in the lights and the tree lit up in color. She had no reaction but to set her hands on her hips.

He felt a little pang of hurt in his chest at her indifference. "Because...it's Christmas," was all the explanation he had.

"But why here?" she continued, grabbing a box of red and white translucent frosted glass balls from beneath the ladder and then going back up. "We could be doing this at your mother's house and avoiding all this...all of this."

"Because Christmas at my mother's house would be...eugh," Drakken said.

"It would be a white Christmas," Shego said thoughtfully, beginning to carefully hang the balls around the top of the tree.

"She would want us to...take family photos in matching outfits, and wear matching pajamas on Christmas morning..."

Shego turned, her eyes wide.

"And we would...have to go caroling even if it's snowing. And ice skating. And make maple candy. And try to fit in all of the family traditions in just a few days..."

Shego turned back to her task thoughtfully. "I thought you liked all that stuff."

"Most of it. Not the matching pajamas," he said, beginning to organize the boxes of decorations by category around the base of the ladder. It would make his search for the wrapping paper go faster. "But...you wouldn't."

She looked back. "Maybe I would."

His brow rose. "Like...like what?"

"Ice skating sounds nice," she said with a small smile.

"Oh..."

She hopped down the ladder and approached him. "And caroling in the snow wouldn't be so bad...if it means having your arms around me," she said. She took his hands and spun around so her back was against him, and his arms wrapped around her middle.

"That would be nice," he agreed, resting his cheek against her head. "But...it would be the family. And Mother calling all of the shots."

Shego let go of him and stepped back to the boxes of decorations. She picked up a box of silver balls, and then set them down in favor of glass icicles.

"How bad can it be?"

"As soon as she finds out we're engaged...horrible," he said, resuming his search. "It will be much easier to tell her here."

"Why? What would she do?"

"She would take you around town and introduce you to all of her friends... And you would have to sit and make nice with all of them, over tea and cookies and finger sandwiches."

"Pass," Shego said, going back up the ladder.

"And we would have to go to the candlelight church service on Christmas Eve...at eleven o'clock."

"Pass again. I have other plans for Christmas Eve," she said, blowing him a kiss and winking at him.

He blushed. "H-haven't you had enough?"

"Of you? Never," she said.

He missed the compliment as his eyes fell on a tube of wrapping paper poking out ever so slightly from under the couch.

"Aha!" he cried, lifting it up triumphantly.

"Good. I need that to wrap the gift I got your mom, too."

He knelt down and peered under the sofa. Four more rolls of paper were lined up mockingly just out of sight.

"What did you get her?" he asked as he stood back up, gathering all of the rolls into his arms.

"A robe and slippers."

His brow twisted nervously. "That's all?"

"They're expensive. I don't know what she wants!" Shego complained, glancing down at him as she hung the icicles, trying to balance them aesthetically among the red balls.

"Well... We can take her to a nice dinner and call it your treat," he said.

She turned a quizzical eye on him. "I thought we were doing some big traditional Christmas dinner here?"

"W-we are," he said, stepping backward out of the maze of boxes he had created and toward the hall door.

She narrowed her eyes. "Then what am I missing?"

He swallowed nervously. "Mother's flight time was changed due to a blizzard. She's...arriving tonight."

"Tonight!?" Shego snarled.

"In about eight hours. We can...still be ready on time, if I have the henchmen help out. One of them can help you make up the guest room, and the other can help me with the cooking."

Shego continued to scowl at him, until a sudden yipping sound drew their attention toward the door. Admiral Cuddles appeared moments later bounding into the room at top speed.

"You let him out!?"

"No, I didn't! Cuddles! Stop! Heel!"

They watched in shock as the small dog leapt around among the boxes of Christmas decorations, sending plastic balls rolling across the floor and getting tangled up in fake cranberry strands. It half-hobbled, half stumbled over to the base of the tree and lifted up its leg.

"Drakken!"

"No, Cuddles! Bad dog!"

After the dog relieved itself it ran around to the foot of the ladder and started hopping up the steps.

"Oh, no. No, no no!"

"Cuddles, get down!"

The dog reached the step where she stood and started humping her foot. She recoiled in disgust, and then her eyes went wide as the ladder tipped off-balance due to her quick movement. She grasped wildly for something to hang onto and only got a handful of pine needles.

"Shego!"

She heard his horrified cry, but all she saw was a flash of aluminum followed by flashes of green and red as she fell to the ground. She heard the clash of the ladder against the stone floor and the sound of glass breaking, and felt the weight of the tree as it hit her back.

"Shego! Shego!" His voice got closer, and she opened her eyes to see the wrapping paper rolls go flying as he skidded to a stop on his knees in front of her. "Are you all right!?"

Her narrowed eyes darted around at the destruction. The ladder was a couple of feet to her right, and the tree was on its side half-behind her, half-atop her. Several of the branches were bent awkwardly where the tree pressed against her back, and the pain of where it had impacted her began to throb in time with her racing pulse. Boxes of decorations had been crushed, and delicate red glass shards were all around in a sea of short pine needles.

A stinging on her face and hands joined the throbbing in her back, and she wondered if it had been the glass or the pine needles to have caused the microscopic cuts that were surely the cause of the pain.

"Shego?"

She finally looked up to where his hands hovered anxiously above her, his eyes looking her over and around at the destruction. She began pushing herself upright but stopped with a gasp as a sharp pain made itself known in her leg. She and Drakken looked down in time to see one of the glass icicles had impaled the back of her right thigh about an inch, just above the back of her knee.

"Oh...oh, no," Drakken said, his voice shaking as blood began seeping from the wound. He reached a trembling hand toward the icicle. "Um...I-I'll just..."

"No," she said firmly, scooting out from under the tree.

He looked at her worriedly. "But—"

"I said no!" she growled as she slowly sat up.

He reached for the icicle again. "But I ju—"

"If I have to say 'no' one more time I will hurt you."

"That's— OW!" She grabbed his wrist with a glowing, green hand as he reached for the icicle a third time. When he looked up, her teeth were bared in fury.

"You've done enough."

He tried pulling his wrist away from her, but she had him in an iron grip. He began sweating from the pain.

"I...please, that hurts... Y-you're going to set the tree on fire."

Her snarl abated ever so slightly, and the glow around her hand went out.

'Arf!'

They both turned as the dog pushed its head up through the branches of the fallen tree, still wrapped in cranberries and now with the string of lights twisted around its tail. The lights flickered as it wagged its whole rear end and started picking its way across the branches toward them.

"So...doggy school?" he said with a nervous grimace. The pain in his wrist returned and he looked back to meet her furious expression as her hand flared brightly.

"Not good enough. I never want to—"

With a sudden gasp she scrambled toward him, and they both looked down to see the dog happily humping her injured leg.

"Nnrrrargh!" she screamed, firing her glow at the dog. It howled in pain when the blast hit it and ran fearfully out of the room, dragging ruined decorations and broken fir twigs with it the whole way.

"Get that thing out of this lair! I never want to see Sir Humps-A-Lot again!"

Drakken recoiled from her anger, blinking sadly despite everything. "But...but..."

"No 'buts'! It goes! Either you get rid of it, or I get rid of it!"

Drakken's lower lip trembled as he thought of what her getting rid of it would mean. He nodded slowly.

"O-okay."

She leaned away from him and back into the mess of tree branches with a sigh, hissing as she accidentally leaned on her sprained wrist.

"We...we need to take care of you, first," he said shakily.

"I can take care of myself," she said, crossing her arms and frowning away from him.

"I...I know, but... You're right about that," he said, pointing to the icicle.

"We can't pull it out," she said, her voice calming slightly. "If it hit a vein or an artery...it could be really bad."

"Right," he nodded quickly. "I-I just panicked."

"Well, don't."

He bit his lip nervously.

"Can you stand?"

She tried pushing herself up with her uninjured arm and leg, but ungracefully tripped back into the mess of the tree with a hiss of pain.

"L-let me help," he said, reaching his hand toward her.

Glaring at him the whole time, she used his hand for support and got herself up on one leg. She looked down at the icicle with a sigh as the bleeding worsened.

"You'd better carry me," she said through clenched teeth.

He obliged immediately, scooping her into a bridal hold. She set her arms around his neck, but she had her face turned away from him in an angry frown. He picked his way carefully through the mess and toward the door to the balcony, his stomach turning at the blood droplets that were left in a small trail behind them.

"Look on the bright side..."

She turned her head toward him with a scowl.

"We...have a perfect reason to tell my mother to cancel, now."

Outside on the balcony, he set her gently in the hover car and then hurried around to the driver's side.

"How many hours did you say until she arrives?"

"Eight."

Shego frowned at him. "She's already on the plane. And you bought her a nonstop flight."

His face fell again, and he started up the car with a worried frown and sped off toward Puerto Rico.

"We should have just lied to keep her away..."

"Shego!"

"You lied and told her all the flights were booked, and that's why she can only stay for a day and a half," she retorted.

He looked away sheepishly.

"We could have lied to not go up there, either. We could have made up anything. We didn't have to celebrate Christmas to begin with," she continued bitterly.

Drakken bit his lip as a pain clenched around his heart. He had wanted to make their first Christmas as a couple special, and make it mean something for her. All he had succeeded in doing was getting her hurt and creating bad memories.

He sighed sadly, and they spent the rest of the flight to the US Territory in tense silence.

When Drakken carried Shego into the emergency room lobby it was almost deserted, but the faces that were there turned toward them. Some people simply stared at the blue man carrying the bleeding, green woman. Others whispered to one another, and some had the light of recognition in their eyes.

Shego frowned and looked down at the material of Drakken's coat, not wanting to get into any sort of dialogue with the people there. Especially not talk of their heroism during the past summer.

"All right," the receptionist said as Drakken stepped up to the window, "what have we got here?"

"Ah... Decorating...accident," Drakken said sheepishly.

The receptionist looked at Shego's leg and then started chuckling.

"Hey, Martinez! We've got another one!"

A dark-haired white-coated man putting on rubber gloves appeared from around the corner, his smile far too broad for his profession.

"What is it this time?" the man said in a surprisingly soft voice.

Drakken adjusted his stance to better show Shego's leg.

"Glass icicle," he said, his brow twisting in confusion.

The doctor chuckled along with the receptionist. "Okay, bring her back. We'll get started and you can fill out the paperwork there."

"Oh. Okay," Drakken said, following the doctor down a hallway. It was lined with cots, some empty, others occupied by other patients. They were led into a curtained alcove where Drakken deposited Shego onto an empty cot where she sat upright, leaning back on her good hand for balance. Drakken sat in a chair near the wall.

The doctor began examining Shego's injury. "So... Fall off a ladder?"

"You don't know the half of it," Shego said with a frown.

"Oh-ho!" the doctor said, looking over at Drakken's nervous face. "So it's that type of injury. He going to be spending the night on the couch?"

Drakken swallowed anxiously, and Shego narrowed her eyes on him with a vicious smirk.

"Depends on what he does after this."

"Whoo..." the doctor whistled lowly with wide eyes, and went about his work.

Drakken was handed a clipboard by the receptionist and focused on filling in all of the information while the doctor worked. He didn't want to get rid of Admiral Cuddles... But Shego had given him no other option. And if he didn't do something immediately, she would surely kill the pet.

When they got back in the hover car he could look for some animal shelters... And hopefully, one on an island near the lair. Maybe he could visit...

"So this didn't puncture any major veins or arteries, but it did tear the muscle a bit," the doctor said. "You'll just need to be on crutches for awhile as this heals. And watch out for infection."

"Super..." Shego said sarcastically, leaning all the way back onto her elbows.

"And when I'm done here, I'll look at that wrist you've got wrapped up."

Drakken watched the doctor cleaning Shego's wound briefly, the icicle safely removed, and went back to the paperwork.

"I'm curious, Doc," Shego said. Drakken looked up in confusion and realized she was speaking to the actual medical doctor. "Your gal out there said I was another one. You have other decorating-related injuries?"

"Oh, yes," the doctor grinned. "We get dozens this time of year."

"Like what?"

"Lacerations from broken ornaments, like you've got. Burns from candles... One poor fella who came in yesterday actually burned half of his house down," the doctor said with a laugh.

Drakken exchanged a look with Shego, a bit put off by the man's mirth. Maybe he should have had a second career as a villain...

"Lots of broken bones from people falling off of roofs while stringing lights... Electrocutions..."

Shego started to smirk, warming up to the man's apparent sinister nature. But Drakken was looking at the blood-tipped glass icicle that had been pulled out of Shego's leg

"Don't you think it's a little cruel to laugh at people's injuries?" he said, frowning at the grinning medico.

The doctor gave him a long, thoughtful glance. He gestured with his head across the hall to where another curtain was closed around a cot as he dressed Shego's wound.

"See that spot there? Five year-old girl had her stomach pumped earlier after eating mistletoe berries."

Drakken's eyes widened. He saw that Shego's had too.

"And down that way," the doctor gestured with his head again, "is a three year-old boy whose dad is coming home from Iraq tonight. He decided..."

The doctor stopped, and Drakken saw his grin disappear for the first time. The man shook his head with a grimace.

"He decided to wrap himself up as a Christmas present for his dad. Surrounded himself with tissue paper and somehow sealed himself into a box. He wasn't breathing when his mother found him."

Shego sat up again. "Will he be all right?" she asked slowly.

The doctor shook his head. "We're not sure. Got him breathing easy enough, but...he hasn't woken up. Might have severe brain damage. So you see," the doctor glanced at Drakken with a wan smile, "when we're dealing with that sort of thing... Especially when it's supposed to be the 'most wonderful time of the year,' when loved ones come together... All of us in my profession need to laugh at idiots like you."

The ride back to the lair was also spent in silence, but it wasn't tense in the way the trip out to the hospital had been. Drakken's mind was taking twists and turns down horrible dark paths after hearing the ER doctor's stories, worrying about things that could have happened. He tried to tell himself that he was being ridiculous; Shego wasn't going to get electrocuted putting up Christmas lights for him. But another part of his mind kept repeating, 'that's why they're called accidents.'

Shego meanwhile, was on a much more reasoned plane but not about to share what had so arrested her attention. She wasn't wrong: Drakken needed to control the dog better. But maybe she was being too harsh with him about the situation... He loved the dog, and it wasn't really right of her to demand that he get rid of it just because...it was acting like a dog.

True, she had no affection for it whatsoever. But it meant something to him, just like Christmas did. She was willing to make room in her life for holiday traditions and visits from his mother... Why not make room for a pet, too? As long as it got properly trained. And besides...

She glanced over at his sad eyes and worried frown.

...She loved him. They made sacrifices for each other. That's what people who love each other do.

She thought back to the ER doctor's devastating stories, and wondered if the little boy he'd talked about would be okay. She wondered about that father who would arrive home after possibly years abroad expecting to be welcomed into loving arms, and instead find a crisis more terrible than war.

Drakken had put her through far worse during world-takeover schemes than a sprained wrist and a small stabbing. Maybe everything bothered her more now because she loved him. And she...expected more.

She hoped she was giving him enough.

The sun had begun its descent in the sky when Drakken parked the hover car back at the lair. He hopped out of the car and ran around to her side.

"Hold on, I'll get your crutches for you."

When he looked up, he found her reaching her arms toward him. His eyes were whirlpools of anxiety when he picked her up, and she carried the crutches in her uninjured hand as they crossed the balcony to the door.

As soon as they'd crossed the threshold, he stopped short. Both of their eyes went wide.

The mess they had left was far worse than before, and the little Maltese dog was laying right in the middle of it whimpering. They also noticed a stinky deposit he had left next to the TV stand.

"Oh..." Drakken said worriedly, taking a step forward. But then he stopped and bit his lip.

"Just...put me down and go," Shego said with a resigned sigh.

Drakken waited until she was safely balanced on her good leg and one crutch before rushing to the whimpering dog. Shego watched as he knelt in front of it and quickly began examining it. She began a very slow and careful journey down the stairs.

"He's bleeding from his mouth!" Drakken cried in alarm.

Shego didn't even need to look around at the mess. "He was probably chewing on the glass ornaments."

Drakken gasped. "He could have swallowed some!"

Shego sighed again. "Yeah..."

"If he swallowed it, he could start bleeding internally! I'll have to take him to the vet."

Drakken gathered up the dog in his arms and began hurrying back toward the door. The panic in his eyes softened her mood as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She hated to make a bad situation worse, but...

"What about your mother?"

Drakken stopped short with a strangled gasp and he looked at her in wide-eyed panic.

"We just lost almost four hours with our little ER excursion."

Drakken looked around at the ruin of the living room helplessly, and then down to the dog in his arms.

"Ungh, look. I'll take him to the vet. You...find some way to deal with this. And...I'll pick her up too, to give you more time."

Even the air around Drakken seemed to relax as she presented the solution.

"Really?" he said hopefully.

"Mm," she nodded.

He closed the distance between them, and with a hand behind her neck pulled her into a grateful kiss. Shego tensed feeling the little dog pressed between them.

"Thank you Shego!" he said with such relief and joy, that she couldn't help but smile. After rolling her eyes.

"All right, you get his crate and I'll change."

"Huh?

"Don't think airport security will take kindly to the hospital-issue pajamas," she said.

Fifteen minutes later found Shego piloting the hover car through the amber sunset. The dog was yipping impatiently from its crate, strapped into the passenger seat. The air was unusually cold as she sped above the waters, and she set the cruise control after a few minutes so she could zip up her jacket.

With one Go Team suit in the laundry with cocoa stains, and another joining it now with rips and blood stains, she wasn't about to risk a third; she only had so many. She had opted instead for some dark-wash jeans, a loose-fitting teal t-shirt, and a favored black leather jacket that she'd had for years. She used to tease Hego with it, calling it her hooker-jacket, which nearly always sent him into a spitting rage. She wondered what Drakken would say if she used the line on him...

The sunset was still shining bright to the west, but to the east she could see dark clouds billowing upward at an alarming rate. It looked like they were in for another rare winter storm, just in time for Christmas. Maybe it would cool down enough to actually justify hot cocoa.

She didn't think so.

She landed the hover car with a great deal of pomp in front of a veterinary she had found on the closest island to the lair, taking up nearly three of the handicapped spaces right in front of the building as she did so. The dog had barked through the whole flight and was still barking as she hobbled around on one crutch to the passenger side of the car so she could unbuckle its crate.

"Do you ever stop?" she said to it as she lifted the crate out with her injured arm. The doctor had put a brace on her wrist and ordered her to wear it except when showering, to expedite healing.

It was all fine with her. But now, due to needing her good hand to support herself on the crutch, she felt she might need to revisit the idea of wrapping her wrist and adding the brace as an additional support. The weight of the dog crate was painful.

As Shego shouldered her way through the door of the clinic, the dog stopped barking. She sighed in relief. Inside the veterinary there were even fewer people than had been at the hospital. She figured pet injuries during the holidays were less likely.

"I think my dog was chewing on a glass ornament," she greeted the receptionist without preamble, setting the crate down in relief.

"Oh dear... Well, let's get some information and then we can have one of the doctors take a look. Now have you brought your pets here before?"

"No," she said, setting her crutch against the counter and then leaning heavily against it on her elbows.

"All right... So I'll need your name and address..."

"Can we skip that? I'm kind of in a hurry. Christmas Eve and all."

The receptionist looked surprised. "Ah... No, I'm afraid we need your information for billing, and to know where to call if your pet has to stay overnight, to know where to—"

Shego lifted her good hand and flared it. She peripherally saw the recoil of the other people in the lobby.

"My name's Shego. My address is 'Dr. Drakken's Lair.' And I have to pick up my future mother-in-law at the airport in San Juan in less than three hours. If this dog isn't fixed and back home in a third of that time, I'm going to drop it into the ocean and tell my fiancé you had to euthanize it."

The receptionist's eyes had widened in shock until the last, and now were narrowed on Shego.

"I'm afraid...I'll have to confiscate your animal, since you blatantly threatened to kill it."

Shego snarled and flared her hand brighter.

"Hey!" A man's voice at the door drew the attention of the veterinary's occupants. "What's with the UFO parked in the handicapped row?"

Shego crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. "You the one handicapped?" she asked, looking the perfectly healthy-appearing man up and down.

"Yes," he frowned. "That your space ship?"

Shego fired a blast at the man's foot and caused him to jump.

Satisfied with the look of fright on his face, she turned back to the receptionist. "Let's not make Christmas any more difficult than it has to be. You fix the dog. I pay you. We all get home before the storm hits."

"Storm?" a voice somewhere in the lobby asked. Shego ignored it.

"We understand each other?" she said to the receptionist, lifting her glowing hand again.

The woman was glowering, but picked up the phone on her desk and held down the intercom button.

"Code 2 in the lobby, code 2."

Shego watched as an overweight woman with a ponytail and blue scrubs rushed from around a corner onto the scene. Shego smiled to let the woman know it was her she was to meet, and the woman hurried to her and glanced at the crate before looking back to her and then to the receptionist.

"What do we have?"

"I don't know, since she won't fill out the paperwork."

The doctor looked back at Shego in confusion. "Won't fill out the paperwork?"

Shego frowned and leaned on the counter again. "Look, I have more important things to do."

The vet frowned. "Ma'am, before we can treat your dog we need to know some vital information. Such as, has it had its immunizations and its rabies vaccine?"

"What?"

"Has the dog ever had or been in contact with another animal with parvovirus?"

Shego rolled her eyes and scowled. "Look, if we can get this moving I'll try to fill out your paperwork."

The receptionist stood up from her chair. "As you can see, there's a wait—"

Shego's flared hand took the vet by surprise, and after a moment's consideration the heavy-set woman picked up the crate. Inside, the dog yipped happily.

"Come on back..."

Shego picked up her crutch and hobbled after the vet.

In the exam room Shego sat gratefully in one of the chairs. Seconds later a clipboard with an attached pen was thrust in her face by the angry receptionist. She took it and flared her hand again in warning. The woman left the room.

The vet had opened the crate and the dog was running around the floor, its claws clicking on the linoleum and its excited yips echoing in the spartan room.

"What's this little boy's name?" the vet said, picking him up with a grin.

"Short Circuit..." Shego muttered.

"What's that?"

"Admiral Cuddles," she said, spotting the line on the paperwork and filling in the dog's name.

"That fits him very well! That fits a good boy!"

Shego looked up to see the dog lightly licking at the woman's hand. She grimaced in disgust.

"So what exactly is the problem?" the vet asked, setting the dog on the exam table.

"Think he was chewing on a glass ornament. Could have swallowed some. Not sure."

"Well let's take a look..."

Shego only half-attended as the woman talked through the dog's exam. She didn't know any information about the dog at all beyond its name and breed, and so left the paperwork blank as she expected she would have to. Her left wrist was throbbing from carrying the crate, and her right felt a bit sore from having so much weight on it as she used the crutch.

Her leg was a mixture of throbbing, stinging, and itching where the stitches and bandages were, and to make matters worse she now felt sick to her stomach. She supposed it was because she hadn't eaten since the half-waffle at breakfast and had had nothing to drink all day.

"Excuse me," she interrupted the vet, and the woman looked up in surprise. "Do you have some water?"

"Oh yes, there's a cooler in the lobby."

Shego thought about the angry receptionist and decided it wasn't worth hobbling back out for. She could get some after she'd paid for the dog's treatment.

"He's been acting normal since chewing on the ornament?"

Shego's eyes darted away. "Yes," she said. As far as she knew, it had. The dog just barked and yipped and acted excited. And since she and Drakken had been at the ER for nearly four hours, they had no idea exactly when the dog began chewing on glass or how much he had gotten his jaws on.

"I would like to do an X-ray. Here's our price list. You'll need to sign this paper before I can go ahead."

Shego batted away the price list and grabbed the paper to sign and set it on the clipboard.

"It's pretty expensive," the vet said, looking surprised.

"Do what you've gotta do," Shego said as she signed the paper. She wondered how much her signature was really worth on anything, let alone internationally.

She watched peripherally as the vet's brow rose in surprise. The woman left the room a moment later with the dog wagging its tail excitedly in her arms.

Shego sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. At the rate things were going, she wouldn't be able to get the dog back before having to pick up Drakken's mother in Puerto Rico. That meant she'd have to stay up even later wrapping the present she'd gotten for her, since they'd lost the whole day.

As her mind traveled backward through the day's events, a tiny smirk turned up the corners of her mouth when she remembered the early-morning escapades that had set them behind schedule in the first place. She didn't regret surprising Drakken in the sexy lingerie for a moment. But she knew that keeping him in bed for a second round, and then a third in the shower until the hot water ran out had been too much.

She had been deliberately trying to put off the tasks he expected her to accomplish that day. She simply...didn't know how to do Christmas. Drakken had a lifetime of experience and traditions that she'd never had nor cared about, and was only bothering to care about in the present for his sake. But Christmas just seemed to be...so much. All the decorating, and cooking, and gifting was so not her.

She felt her stomach turn again as she thought about the gifting. True, she had succeeded in getting a gift for both Drakken and for his mother. But he seemed to think her choice of gift for his mother was sub-par... What if she didn't approve?

She knew Drakken wouldn't do something stupid like call off their engagement if his mother didn't approve of her, but she knew it was important to him that she did approve. And she wanted him to be happy.

"Nrgh..." she growled to herself as she thought about it. Maybe some expensive jewelry in addition to the robe and slippers... But when would she buy them?

The door opened and the vet returned. The dog barked in joy when it saw Shego.

"Good news," the vet said, sticking a negative up against a light box. "Your dog didn't swallow any glass."

"That's good," Shego said flatly. The vet's brow pinched slightly.

"And he only has a very minor laceration on his tongue. It will heal by itself in a few days. Just make sure he only has soft foods."

"All right," Shego said, pushing herself out of the chair with her good hand. She picked up her crutch and stuck it under her arm. "What's the damage?"

"The receptionist will help you out... Ma'am, if you don't mind my asking..." she said a bit cautiously.

"What?" Shego said in annoyance, turning toward the door.

"This isn't your dog, is it," she said as she latched the animal back in its crate.

"No. It's my fiancé's," she said. Despite everything, she still felt a light flutter in her chest when she called him that.

"Is it responsible for..." she gestured at the crutch and the wrist brace, "your trouble?"

"How could you tell?" Shego said tiredly.

"If you'd like, I could recommend a good puppy training academy? That should help prevent any future incidents."

Shego smirked. "Yes, please!"

The vet turned to a counter and started grabbing brochures and business cards. The dog was yipping in the crate, and a sudden small clang caused Shego and the vet to look down. They watched as the dog pawed the latch open and burst out of its temporary prison.

He didn't let it out...

The dog ran to Shego and began humping her injured leg. She kicked it lightly and then gasped in pain. The dog began chasing its tail.

"And getting him neutered," the vet continued, grabbing a second brochure, "will help a little bit with that."

"Only a little?" Shego groaned.

"Swimmers not swimming doesn't kill the drive," the vet shrugged.

"Ugh..."

The vet smiled understandingly. "Ma'am, would you like some help with him to your car?"

Shego returned to the lobby with the vet carrying the newly-crated dog past her and out the door to the hover car. She didn't make eye contact with the receptionist as she handed over Drakken's credit card. She had used up nearly all of her 'nice' for the day and needed to save some for the airport and Drakken's mother. Especially since it would be almost an hour's flight from San Juan back to the lair.

"Excuse me Ma'am?" The vet's concerned voice drew her attention as she tucked the credit card and receipt into her jacket pocket. The woman's expression was anxious. "I'm afraid your...vehicle...has been vandalized."

"What?" Shego said, hopping toward the door with the crutch.

When she got outside the sun had fully set, but the lamps in the parking lot illuminated the deep key-scratches on the side of the hover car that clearly spelled a four-letter word referring to her genitalia. Her eyes narrowed as she turned back toward the clinic, leaving the dog barking in the car.

"Where's that man?" she said, her eyes angrily scanning the lobby.

The vet looked concerned, but the receptionist looked upset.

"You don't know it was him," she said indignantly.

"Was it you?" Shego accused.

The receptionist looked shocked. "Of course not!"

"Get him out here," Shego demanded.

"What man?" the vet asked.

"He came in with a parrot right after her," the receptionist said offhandedly before turning back to Shego. "No. We protect our clients here."

Shego hopped back toward the door and leaned her crutch against the wall to flare her hand.

"Get him out here, or I'll set his car on fire."

The receptionist frowned and left her desk to go down the hall. Shego frowned and leaned back against the door frame. The vet approached her worriedly.

"Ma'am... We can just call the police and file a report. Please, it's not worth an incident."

"I have to go pick up my future mother-in-law at the airport with that on the side of my car."

The vet's eyes widened.

Movement in the dark outside caught Shego's eye. She turned in a flash, ignoring her injured leg and half-ran half-hopped back outside.

The receptionist was hurrying a man with a large white-and-blue parrot in a cage through the parking lot. Shego growled as she recognized him, and wondered what back door they had used. She paused, balancing on one foot as she took careful aim.

The green, glowing blast hit the cage dead-on and obliterated it. The parrot flew away screeching into the darkness.

"Snowball!" the man cried.

Shego smirked and hopped toward the hover car.

'Arf!' Admiral Cuddles greeted her happily as she slid into the driver's seat with a sigh of relief.

"You said it!" she said as she started the engine.

She took the craft straight up a couple dozen yards before looking back to where she could hear the angry man cursing at her. He was illuminated by the lamps in the parking lot below, his fists raised toward the sky. The receptionist still stood next to him, and the vet a few paces away holding onto Shego's forgotten crutch. There was a small crowd gathered.

"Merry Christmas!" Shego called sweetly, waving down at them.

"Some hero you are!" the man shouted back.

Shego's eyes widened. The sick feeling returned to her stomach as she turned the craft around and headed toward the US Territory.

Shego balanced on one foot as she read the flight arrival times on the airport marquee. The only flight arriving from New Jersey in the time frame Drakken had given her had landed over thirty minutes prior. Shego suspected she was late, but she hadn't been able to park the hover car as conveniently at the airport as she had back at the veterinary clinic. And lacking the crutch, it took her far longer than her pride enjoyed to get into the terminal.

"Shego?"

The familiar voice behind her brought a lump to her throat. She swallowed it down and took a deep, slow breath in through her nose. She was about to turn around, when a glint of light on her ring caught her attention. She quickly took the ring off and zipped it inside her jacket pocket. She wasn't sure how Drakken wanted to announce their engagement, but she knew this wasn't it.

"Shego, is that you?"

She turned around with a smile. "Hi, Mrs. Lipsky. I came to pick you up."

"Oh," the older woman blinked in confusion. "I expected Drew to pick me up."

"He's busy."

"With what?"

"With..." Shego paused. With what indeed? She knew he wouldn't want her to tell the truth. But they hadn't discussed a lie to tell, either. She settled for something in between. "With cleaning. We had a bit of an accident in the lai— Ah... In the...apartment, and he needed to take care of a few things."

"Oh my! Is he okay?"

Shego fought the instinct to grimace as she continued to balance on her left leg, which was now tiring. "Yes, he's fine."

"Oh my, you had me worried for a moment. Shego, would you be a dear and carry my bags for me? I've been wandering around looking for Drew for almost fifteen minutes, and I'm afraid my old arms just aren't built for this anymore."

Shego thought back to a number of bone-crushing hugs the woman had given Drakken and raised her brow. But despite that, she lifted her braced wrist. "Actually...ah..."

"Oh my!"

Shego had the sudden sense that that phrase was about to be on repeat in her head for the next two days.

"Well, I'll just get one of these nice airport men to help..."

Mrs. Lipsky set her two bags down— Two? Why does she need two? —and hurried to catch the attention of one of the couriers in the baggage claim. Shego hopped on her good foot to face the direction the woman had gone and watched her red hair travel a short distance through the sea of people, and then return with a tall young man at her side.

"Here we are. Now just lead the way, dear. I had the most trying flight down. Seven and a half hours..."

Shego hopped again as the courier picked up the bag closest to her, and Mrs. Lipsky noticed for the first time the younger woman's difficulty.

"Is something wrong with your foot?"

"My leg, actually."

"What is it?"

Shego took a deep breath again, but then frowned. "The dog got in my way decorating the tree and I fell and got impaled by a glass icicle."

Mrs. Lipsky blinked at her, her face familiarly unreadable.

"Well that was very silly of you, dear."

Shego's frown deepened.

The courier spoke up. "I can go get a wheelchair for you, if that would—"

"No," Shego interrupted, limping forward. "We need to get going. That storm is coming in fast."

"Oh!" Mrs. Lipsky said, catching up to Shego's side as the courier hefted her bags. "Will we have a white Christmas after all?"

Shego bit her cheek to stop her instinctive scowl. "No. But maybe a hurricane."

The gasp at her elbow gave her a small feeling of satisfaction. But it wasn't nearly enough to combat the deep pain in her leg every time she took a step.

Five minutes time found them at the hover car, with the courier loading the bags into the back alongside the dog crate that Shego had proactively moved.

"Oh!" Mrs. Lipsky exclaimed as the dog barked in greeting. "It's Admiral Cuddles! He wasn't hurt when you fell, was he?"

Shego clenched her teeth as she opened the hover car's dome. "We thought he ate an ornament, but it was a false alarm."

"Oh my!"

Shego added to her mental tally. Was that five, or six? She decided every 'oh' spoken in the same tone counted, too.

"Buckle up, and we can get this show on the road..." she said, sliding carefully into the driver's seat. Her leg throbbed now with every heartbeat.

"Shego! Someone...someone keyed Drew's fancy hover car! What does that mean?"

Shego blinked, suddenly remembering the damage and the dirty word left by the man at the vet's office. She glanced at Mrs. Lipsky's confused and worried face. "Uh..." She thought quickly. "It's a gang name."

"Oh no..."

Seven...

"Drew hasn't been targeted by some...by some tropical mafia, has he?"

Shego rolled her eyes. "No... It was...it was my fault," she said, not having the energy for a lie as she powered up the vehicle and sped off into the night. The clouds were darkening the starry sky and she wanted to get back to the lair before it rained if at all possible.

"You? Now Shego...you're not being tempted back to the ways of the underworld, are you? Drew told me you had seen the light too, after those awful aliens came."

Shego gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"No, I'm not."

"Well, that's a relief! I told Drew he couldn't have anyone working for him who was morally compromised in any way."

'Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!'

Shego grit her teeth. I love him... It's only two days...

"Oh—"

Eight...

"—You won't believe what happened to me on my flight! It started out just fine of course. I boarded and the attendant helped me find my seat..."

It's only two days... It's only two days...

Drakken was dressed in a thin white t-shirt and baggy, ripped jeans as he and the henchmen frantically cleaned the living room. He paused just for a moment to wipe sweat off his brow before continuing to sweep up the pine needles and broken glass. He had been working nonstop since Shego left, and as the hour approached the time when she would return with his mother he was beginning to grow anxious about finishing the task.

He had started with the easy things—making up the best guest room for his mother and wrapping presents—and then had ordered the henchmen to start cleaning while he made the lair civilian-proof. He had set new codes on every door, hidden every scrap of technology that looked even remotely like it would be used for world-domination, and decorated his desk with news articles about his heroism against the Lorwardians. His medal from the UN, thankfully, was already mounted on the wall.
When his mother arrived, she would see a new man devoted to a life of making the world a better place through his scientific inventions. The lab had been set up in advance with little things he had come up with just for that purpose—a wireless communication device 'for the military,' a rechargeable car battery that would help save on fossil fuels and thus help the environment, and the blueprints for some advanced bionics. For prosthetics, he would tell his mother. His intent of course was for his own new doomsday robots. Which he hadn't exactly told Shego about yet... But that could wait.

After two hours he had finished his work and calmly returned to the living room, to find that the henchmen had only succeeded in righting the tree and untangling the lights. A solid minute of screaming that left him with a pounding headache had gotten them moving, and now he had joined them in a frantic attempt to just make the room presentable. Decorating would be a different feat altogether.

He tasked one of them with separating the undamaged decorations from the damaged ones, and another with cleaning up the dog poop as he began the sweeping. The adage 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' seemed to apply to the situation as he used the massive janitorial broom from the basement to sweep up the mess. If he let the henchmen do it, it would be Valentine's Day before they were done.

"Hey Boss?" a deep voice made him pause in his task and turn.

"Yes...uh...Garth, what is it?"

The very large man who'd spoken was sitting on the sofa, his weight notably depressing it. He had dozens of tiny, delicate decorations laid out on the newly-cleaned coffee table.

"Which of these you want set up?"

Drakken dropped the broom and stepped over to the table. Shego appeared to have bought one of everything remotely 'Christmas-y,' including a classic Nativity set.

"Um...put that snowman on the TV, and...the praying Santa and manger on the kitchen table... Oh and heck, put all the reindeer and sleigh on my desk. Start with that."

"You got it," the man said, lifting his girth off the sofa. Drakken backed away with a slight grimace, and quickly returned to his sweeping.

His head still pounded from the yelling he had done earlier, but he ignored it as he hurriedly continued his task. The anxious tingling he felt throughout his nervous system wasn't helping either as he thought of his mother's impending arrival.

He had intended to create a home-away-from-home for her—a snow-less winter wonderland at the equator—but now it looked like he would be lucky to even have the tree decorated.

He paused the sweeping again and wiped his brow with the edge of his shirt and then stared up at the tree, hands on his hips and the broom handle in the crook of his arm. Only a few of the branches had broken, which was all right because Shego hadn't trimmed the tree at all and it sorely needed it. The henchmen had removed the lights and all the decorations, and put water back in the stand.

"Brooks? Where are you?" Drakken called when he saw he was alone in the room.

"Coming, Boss," the other henchman who had stayed for Christmas—a much older man, even older than him—said as he hurried back through the door. "I cleaned up the dog doo and sanitized the floor like you asked."

"Good. You...finish this sweeping, so I can get started on the tree."

"Right away, Boss."

Drakken passed off the broom and then left to find his garden shears. The extra boughs could be used to decorate the mantel above the fireplace in his office, and maybe a little in the kitchen if there was an appropriate space. He'd have to look at that one.

For the next hour he trimmed the tree, passed boughs off to Garth who took them to continue decorating around the lair, and was handed ornaments of his choosing by Brooks. Due to all the damage that Admiral Cuddles had caused, the tree decorations ended up being more of a colorful patchwork than the nice, neat theme he knew his mother would have preferred. He personally preferred the variety.

He wondered what kind of decorations Shego would have liked...

As soon as he'd topped the tree with a transparent glass star trimmed in gold glitter, he felt the throbbing in his head increase two-fold and the sizzling of his nerves reach a boiling point. He shakily descended the ladder, gripping its legs with both hands the whole way down, and then staggered back to lean against the couch.

"It's beauty-ful, Boss."

Drakken looked over to where Brooks and Garth were standing together, the former leaning on the broom handle and the latter holding a dustpan. He looked around the room and found it almost spotless.

"Good job," he acknowledged. Their pleased smiles made him cringe just a bit. "Now...make yourselves invisible for the next two days, and there'll be a big bonus in your next check."

The two men happily gathered up the cleaning supplies and headed toward the stairs that led down to their domain.

Drakken stepped toward the couch and practically fell onto the cushions. He set his elbows on his knees and held his aching head in both hands, fingers pressing small circles against his temples. His nervous system was still tinging on and off, and he realized his stomach was hurting too.

He hadn't eaten all day. Which meant Shego hadn't eaten all day. His eyes widened. Neither had Admiral Cuddles.

He rose from the couch intending to go start dinner, but paused to take one last look around the room. It was still very lair-like, but...it was actually looking a bit like Christmas. A tired smile curled up the corners of his mouth.

Just then, the door atop the stairs burst open. A familiar figure with towering, red hair stepped through holding the dog crate.

"Where's my Drewbie?"

"Mother!" he greeted, surprised at the shaking of his voice.

She set the crate down and let the dog out, who began running and bounding in circles around the newly-cleaned room.

Drakken met his mother at the foot of the stairs and then gasped at her bone-crushing hug, followed by the smack of her lipstick against his cheek.

"How's my handsome hero of a son? Let me look at you," she said, stepping back. Her eyes widened. "Oh, my!"

"Thirty-seven."

Drakken looked up in confusion to where Shego had appeared in the doorway. She was leaning against the frame, arms crossed and a frown on her face.

"Son, what have you been doing?"

Drakken remembered then the dirty, filthy clothes he had put on while cleaning.

"Oh, ah...I was doing a lot of cleaning, Mother," he said.

'Arf! Arf!'

Drakken reached down to pick up the dog that was pawing at his leg. His mother took a step back.

"Does Admiral Cuddles like your fancy apartment, Drew?"

"Yes," Drakken said, cradling the dog as it licked his chin. "Shego, what did the vet say?"

"He's fine," Shego answered from the doorway, still frowning.

"Now Drew, I hope you vacuumed up all of his fur before I came..."

"Well, you know Mother—"

"It's very unhealthy to have all that dander around, floating through the air and getting into your lungs."

Drakken sighed. "I'll have the hench— Ah...one of my interns, go through the kitchen. But this room has just been swept."

"And what about your other rooms? You know I'll want a tour of your lovely home."

"Ah...y-yes, Mother. All in due time."

"You're right dear. Why don't you bring my bags to my room, first? They're out in your fancy car."

Drakken felt the throbbing in his head increase. He stepped around his mother and went up the stairs to the door. When he looked at Shego still leaning against the door frame, she had an all-too-familiar frown on her face.

He squeezed past her and out to the balcony. He supposed she was mad at having been stuck in the hover car with his mother for an hour. He'd have to think of some way to make it up to her later on.

A roll of distant thunder drew his eyes to the horizon where dark clouds were billowing as he approached the hover car. He got his mother's two small suitcases out and set the dome-cover on the vehicle just in case it rained. He headed quickly back inside.

Shego was still leaning in the door frame, and now Admiral Cuddles was pawing at her legs. Unusually, she seemed to be ignoring him.

"Ah, Shego..." he said as he squeezed past her again. "Would you mind feeding him? He hasn't eaten all day. And he's probably thirsty."

She blinked at him, and he saw a muscle along her jaw twitch. The dog changed its focus to sniffing at his shoes.

"O-or I could feed him, don't worry about it," he said, hurrying back down the stairs to where his mother was examining the tree.

"Drew... Why didn't you do it up like we used to when you were a boy? With all the little white doves?"

"Eh... Well actually, there was a little trouble—"

"Did your assistant do the decorating? I've never really cared for this hodgepodge-style..."

Drakken glanced up at Shego, whose eyes had grown wider and her frown even deeper.

"Now I would like to freshen up before dinner," Mrs. Lipsky said. "Which way is my room? And I'm sure you'll want to change too, dear. Those awful clothes look like hand-me-downs from your cousin Eddie."

"Ah...your room is down this way, Mother," he said, gesturing to the hallway. She started on ahead of him as he hefted up the bags.

"Drakken."

He turned back to where Shego was glaring at him.

"Sorry. I...we can talk about it later," he said, before disappearing down the hall after his mother.

Shego's heart was pounding in anger, and she felt even more sick to her stomach than before. She glanced around in the entryway again, and around the bottom of the stairs. But the second crutch the doctor had given her—which she knew she'd left right next to the door—was nowhere to be seen.

With slow, agonizing steps she limped down the stairs and headed toward the kitchen. She might as well eat something to soothe one of her ailments, and then bed was probably a good idea. It was time to get the whole awful day behind her.

The anger that was causing her heart to pound was surprisingly easy to assuage. She understood that with the exigent presence of his mother, Drakken might have simply forgotten about her injured leg. It didn't mean she wouldn't make him regret his inattentiveness later, however.

In the kitchen, she hopped on her good leg—which was hurting too now from the over-exertion—to the freezer, and pulled out one of the microwave dinners. She leaned back against the appliance as she ripped into the cardboard, her stomach hurting more than ever now that food was so soon to be had.

She put the tray in the microwave and closed the door with a bit too much force as she punched in the required three minutes. She leaned back on the counter this time, sighing heavily as she stared at the seconds counting down.

Dinner, and bed. Drakken could feed the dog. She did need to tell him wet food only, though.

She filled a glass with water from the tap and grabbed a fork. She limped around the kitchen island to set both on the table, and limped back as she saw the microwave enter its last thirty seconds.

"...It's a lovely guest room, Drew. I still can't believe you were able to buy apartments inside an old volcano!"

Shego closed her eyes and groaned just as Drakken and his mother entered the kitchen.

"Eh-heh, well..." Drakken laughed nervously. "All perks of...saving the world."

Mrs. Lipsky stopped short when she saw Shego standing in the kitchen, but Drakken walked past his mother and straight for the freezer. The microwave beeped, and Shego gratefully took her tray of macaroni out and began limping around the counter.

"A microwave dinner? Oh those are so tacky."

Shego stopped and looked back over her shoulder at Drakken, whose eyes met hers. The frozen macaroni in his hand went back into the freezer.

Shego didn't make eye contact with the older woman as she set her steaming tray down and sat heavily in the chair. "Sometimes there isn't time for anything else," she said.

"Shego, are you eating with us?"

Shego blinked in surprise at the older woman. "I always eat here."

"Oh, how nice."

Shego turned back to her meal.

"Drew," Mrs. Lipsky half-whispered. Shego's ears perked up. "Maybe you shouldn't let your assistant have dinner with you so much. I think she might still have some evil tendencies."

Shego clenched her teeth and gripped the edge of the table tightly. She gasped silently as the effort shot a pain through her sprained wrist.

She heard Drakken pull something else out of the freezer, but she didn't look to see what it was. She stabbed three yellow-cheese-covered noodles with her fork and blew on them a few times before popping them into her mouth.

"Why Drew—"

"Hey Dr. D., before I forget," Shego interrupted, "the vet said only wet food for awhile for Shorty."

"Oh," she saw his nod of acknowledgment peripherally. "All right."

Shego stirred her dish, sending more and more steam rising up from the tray. She leaned back from it. It wasn't a pleasant steam like that from a bath, but one that smelled of whatever plastic-like film covered the cardboard container the microwave dinner was kept in. It was disgusting.

The familiar sound of ripping cardboard caused her to furrow her brow, and she half-turned around to see Drakken tearing into the other macaroni, and also into one of the frozen Shepherd's pies she'd bought. Her brow rose. She saw his mother looking confused and just a bit perturbed.

"Mrs. Lipsky, why don't you tell Drew about your flight?" she suggested, turning back to her meal.

"Oh honey, you wouldn't believe everything that happened to me!"

Shego smirked and took another bite of her meal. Drakken looked away at the microwave to hide his cringe.

"What happened?" he asked.

Mrs. Lipsky moved to sit at the table next to Shego, eyeing her macaroni with disdain. Shego bit her cheek to stop the instinctive scowl.

"Well at first everything was fine. But then the woman next to me started watching this horrible, horrible movie."

"What was it called?" Drakken asked, pouring a glass of water for his mother and milk for himself.

"I don't know and I don't want to. But it had so much violence and..." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "hanky-panky."

Shego smirked and lowered her head, letting her hair obscure her expression. In the hover car it had been annoying to hear the woman talk, but now it was starting to become funny.

"Oh..."

"I asked her to turn it off, but she wouldn't. I tried explaining to her that she shouldn't watch that sort of thing, but she just ignored me. I had to sit next to those awful images for over two hours."

The Shepherd's pie came steaming out of the microwave, and Drakken set it and the water in front of his mother with a fork.

"And then the man on my other side, he had this odor coming from him. And he never got up for the whole flight. I thought about suggesting he use the plane's facilities, but I was worried if he got up that the smell would get worse!"

Drakken grimaced and leaned back on the counter as he waited for his food.

"I could go on, but I don't want to spoil your meal," Mrs. Lipsky said.

"Oh go on and tell him," Shego said. She looked up at Drakken. "There's lots more."

"I can tell you tomorrow I suppose... Oh, there was one bright spot."

Shego swallowed her bite and looked up. She didn't remember anything pleasant during the hover car ride.

"About halfway through the flight, a young man announced that he was proposing to his girlfriend and got down on one knee in front of everyone. It was a very beautiful moment."

Shego bit the inside of her cheek again. As Drakken came to sit across from her with his macaroni and milk she set both of her palms flat on the table. She saw his quick glance at her bare left hand as he sat and took a napkin from the holder next to the centerpiece. Shego looked at the new item on the table and saw that the usual vase of fresh wildflowers had been replaced with the praying Santa she'd bought. She wondered if he had set that up because he liked it, or because he thought his mother would.

"Speaking of proposals, Drew..." Mrs. Lipsky continued. Shego took a large bite of her cooling food. "Now that you're back on the straight-and-narrow, and you have something to offer a good woman...I thought it might be nice if you came back home for awhile and got to know some of your old girlfriends."

Shego's brow shot up. "Old girlfriends?"

Drakken blushed. "Just...girls, who were friends."

"Some of my friends' daughters still aren't married, sweetie. And they've still got their looks. I'm sure there would be someone to your liking. Of course at your age, you can't be too picky."

Shego turned her face away and bit into both of her cheeks to hide her laughter.

"Well, um, actually Mother—"

"You know sweetie, I'm not all that hungry after all..."

Shego looked to the dish and saw that the older woman had only taken two bites before setting her fork down. What kind of person didn't eat microwaved food once in awhile?

"But maybe some milk and cookies before turning in would be nice. And we could catch up some more."

Drakken's face fell. "There, ah...there aren't any cookies."

Mrs. Lipsky's brow rose above her green-tinted glasses. "No cookies for Christmas?"

"I didn't have time to bake any."

"But on the phone this morning you said that you were?"

Drakken sat back in the chair and sighed. "I was going to, but...but there isn't enough milk. And then after Shego got hurt...the whole day was lost."

Mrs. Lipsky sipped from her water and then turned toward Shego.

"Yes... Shego it's very...attentive of you to stay for dinner, but if you're hurt shouldn't you go on home and take care of yourself? And you must have family to be with tomorrow."

Shego blinked once, and then again at Drakken's mother. She turned her eyes to Drakken, who was biting his lower lip nervously. Her amusement vanished in an instant.

"I live here," she said, straightening in her chair.

Mrs. Lipsky's brow rose again, before slowly narrowing behind her glasses.

"Oh. Drew didn't tell me that."

"But you're right, it's been a long day and I should turn in. Good night, Mrs. Lipsky. Dr. Drakken," she said, giving him a slight glare.

Shego had finished her small tray of food anyway, and after drinking down all of her water, she carefully pushed herself up from the table with her good hand and stood on her good leg. She took one limping step away from the table before Drakken was on his feet.

"Shego, why are you— Where's your crutch?"

"Lost it at the vet."

His brow furrowed. "Weren't there two?"

"I left it by the door, but it's gone," she said, shrugging. Her face bled annoyance.

Drakken frowned. "The henchme—ah, I...mean the interns—" he corrected nervously.

"Interns?" his mother asked.

"I'll...tell you about them tomorrow, Mother. Right now, I...I'm going to help Shego to her room. She shouldn't be putting weight on her leg. It's about time for bed anyhow."

"You're not coming back?"

Drakken had already stood and moved around to Shego's side.

"I...yes, I'm coming back," he said, looking at his half-finished tray of food.

"All right. Good night Shego, it was good to see you again."

"Good night."

Drakken set an arm around Shego's waist, and she an arm around his shoulder. They took several slow, awkward steps out of the kitchen, since it was her bad wrist that she had around him for support.

As soon as they had turned the corner and were out of his mother's sight-line, he scooped Shego up in his arms and walked briskly away toward the hallway. They were surrounded by the safety of the narrow rock corridor moments later, and Drakken breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well..." Shego said, looking up at him, "that went well."

Drakken scowled. "That was horrible."

"Yep. I can't decide now if New Jersey would have been worse or not," she said with a smirk.

Drakken continued more slowly down the hallway. "Worse. My 'old girlfriends' would have been there."

"Yeah, about that... Your mother doesn't seem to like me anymore."

"I noticed," he said. "Did you say something when you picked her up?"

Shego's eyes narrowed. "No. I barely said a word to her. I just let her talk my ear off. You owe me big, you know."

"I know..."

Shego sighed.

Drakken reached his room and stopped outside the door without opening it.

"What are you stopping for?"

"Ah... Did you want to sleep in my room...or yours?"

"I know which your mother would choose."

"Shego!" he scolded.

She sighed again. "Your room."

She noticed a slight relief come to Drakken's eyes as he unlocked the door and carried her inside.

Drakken paused just inside the doorway with a frown. He hadn't been back to his room since before he started cleaning the lair, so it was just the same as it had been that morning. Except now it also had his lab coat and favored work attire draped on the clothes rack by his wardrobe.

"Ah... Give me a minute," he said, and gently set her in one of his chairs.

She watched as he rapidly stripped the bed of its sheets, bundled them up and tossed them through the bathroom door at the laundry basket. He took a fresh set from his bottom dresser drawer and hurriedly began spreading them out over the bed.

He paused suddenly, bending down out of her sight on the other side of the bed and reaching for something on the ground. She leaned forward to see, and then he rose holding up her sheer red bra and panty set.

"Where...where do you want these?" he asked, blushing.

A small smirk turned up the corners of her mouth. "On the dresser is fine."

He crossed the moat and laid the items there with care, a tiny anxious wrinkle creasing his forehead as he did so. It made her smirk grow. She watched as he continued to make up the bed. The sweat-stained thin t-shirt he wore showed everything underneath, and the ripped jeans made him look tough and edgy. Except of course that the jeans matched his skin-color, so the effect wasn't as profound as she thought it could be.

"You look sexy in those clothes," she said.

He glanced at her with a tiny, appreciative smile, but didn't slow down in his task.

"Where's your ring?" he asked.

"In my pocket," she said, feeling through the leather jacket until she found the telltale circular shape. "She hasn't seen it. But I don't think she'll be happy to, now."

He finished tucking in the sheets and smoothed out the bedspread. "We can figure out how to tell her...tomorrow. Do you need anything?"

Shego thought a moment. "A nightgown. And...I might have torn open one of the stitches," she said.

Drakken cringed, and nodded. "Okay... Hold on."

He left the room in a rush, making sure to glance both ways down the hallway before dashing into Shego's room. The engagement was supposed to be a surprise—almost a present, for his mother. Not something she found out about because she caught him sneaking in and out of Shego's bedroom. Of course, it was a risk having Shego in his room at all with his mother there... But he was hoping to avoid explaining that.

He looked in her dresser and found...too many nightgowns. He had no idea which one she would want and so just grabbed the first one. Then he grabbed her entire first aid kit—his own was lacking in supplies of late—and rushed back to his room.

She hadn't moved of course, when he got back, and he found himself sighing in relief. He set the items down on the bed and quickly crossed the room to meet her open arms.

"I'll just...go say goodnight to Mother, and I'll be right back," he said as he carried her to the bed.

"Take your time..." she said with an eye-roll.

"I'll be right back," he repeated, and disappeared back through the door.

Shego scooted slowly and painfully onto the bed and looked at the nightgown he'd brought. It was practical, but barely reached her knees and wouldn't cover the bandage. She probably should have asked for pajamas...

When Drakken returned to the kitchen his mother was washing their drinking glasses.

"Mother," he chastised gently. "You...shouldn't be doing any work while you're here. You're a guest."

"Drew, if you've had a busy day you ought to just go to bed. I can manage for myself."

"You've had a long day too," he said as he sat back down. "I know what those flights are like."

He wolfed down his cold macaroni in just a few bites, and then looked at her barely-touched Shepherd's pie.

"Mother...are you sure you aren't going to eat this?"

"Oh, no sweetie. You go ahead."

He dug into her meal, less cold, and watched as she put away the three drinking glasses. He was glad he had finished his milk before she decided to start helping.

"Mother, please don't do any work. I have people I pay who can do the dishes."

His mother sat down. "Does Shego do your dishes for you?"

Drakken swallowed a large bite. "Eh...not really."

"Drew, don't you think it's odd that your assistant lives with you?" she asked, her brow furrowing in worry.

"The hen—interns live in apartments here, too. Downstairs. Shego lives upstairs...because, ah...she's my right-hand woman."

"That's a title most men would reserve for a wife," his mother said with a little frown.

His mirrored hers as he took another bite.

"She seems awfully familiar with you. Are you sure she's not a gold-digger?"

Drakken swallowed the food and smirked. He knew better than to comment on that. "Mother, when you first met Shego you liked her. You even suggested I should date her."

She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Son, I'm afraid she may not be as good as you are."

His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...she might still be secretly doing villain things. Especially after that ride back from the airport. And I've looked her up since this summer. Did you know she's wanted in fifteen countries?"

"Mother...she and I were both pardoned after we saved the world."

"I remember dear, but...I just think you should watch your back around her."

He swallowed the last of the Shepherd's pie and carried the trays to the trash. He dropped the forks in the sink.

"G-give her a chance, Mother. I think you should get to know her better."

"If you say so, Son. I'll see you in the morning. Breakfast at seven?"

"Yes, Mother," he said, quickly washing the forks. He suddenly realized his head was still throbbing. He supposed it had gotten worse in the last five minutes, too.

What had happened during the hover car ride to cause his mother to think Shego was still a villain? And how on earth would she take it now, when they told her about the engagement the next day?

"Oh!" he looked up in a panic, realizing he hadn't said good night. But his mother was gone. He dropped the forks on a dish towel and ran back out of the kitchen and down the hall. He spotted his mother just as she was opening her door. "Good night, Mother!"

She looked at him with a small smile. "Good night, my Drewbie."

Drakken forced a smile and waved until she disappeared. He leaned heavily against the wall with a sigh.

'Arf!'

"Admiral Cuddles," Drakken said, looking down at the dog, who for once wasn't smiling. "Where have you been?" The dog whimpered once, and Drakken scooped it up. "I'm so sorry boy. I'll give you a treat with your dinner, all right?"

He headed into the kitchen where the food bowls were, and after setting the dog down he gave it a double portion of wet food. He refilled the water bowl too, finding it empty. Then he dropped a fake bacon strip atop the food.

He watched the dog's tail wag more fiercely in its joy, and he smiled before turning to go into the living room. He knew based on that day's events that the dog couldn't yet be trusted around a Christmas tree overnight. He picked up the crate that his mother had left by the door and headed back into the kitchen.

When he arrived, the dog had completely finished its meal and was chewing on the bacon strip.

"You were as hungry as I was."

'Arf!' the dog barked in reply, looking up with its tongue-hanging-sideways smile.

"You're such a good boy! Come on Cuddles, come into the crate for Daddy."

The dog whimpered and took a step back, its smile fading.

"I know you spent all day in here, but...but it's for the best, for now. I'll figure out something better tomorrow."

The dog reluctantly came back, and Drakken pushed it gently into the crate and set the latch.

After turning out the lights, Drakken headed down the hall to his room carrying the crate. The dog whimpered the whole while.

When he stepped inside, Shego had changed into her nightgown and was sitting atop the bed covers. Her other clothes were laying nearby on the bedspread, and it was apparent she had changed the bandage on her leg.

"Oh no. He'll just bark all night, like last time," she said as greeting.

Drakken bit his lip. "He wouldn't if we let him out."

Shego frowned. "I'm not sleeping with that thing up here. And besides, he can undo the latch. I watched him at the vet's. He'll need to be somewhere else."

"But Shego...what if he destroys something again?"

Shego paused in her repacking of the first aid kit and blinked. Then with a scowl, she sighed.

"I don't want it up here."

"I-I know," he said, setting the crate down. The dog began barking.

Drakken crossed the moat and headed to the bedside. "Can I hang your clothes in the wardrobe?"

"Sure. Remember my ring's still in the jacket pocket."

After gathering the items Drakken hung up the t-shirt and jeans, and then began going through the pockets of her leather jacket. He found a receipt and his credit card.

"Two hundred and twenty-one dollars!?" he cried.

"What's that?" Shego asked, snapping the latches closed on the first aid kit.

"This vet bill!"

"Oh, yeah. The X-ray was extra, and...I think it was technically an ER visit so there was a really high flat-rate."

Drakken grumbled as he smacked the card and receipt down on his dresser and continued going through the pockets of the jacket. After finding the ring, he slid it onto his pinky while he hung her jacket up over her t-shirt.

"You still look sexy in those clothes," Shego said. She lowered her voice. "And when you're mad...you look even sexier."

Drakken glanced at her with a slight roll of his eyes. "Please...don't tell me you want to have sex again?"

He ducked as a flaming green blast was suddenly tossed at his head. He stared in stunned terror as she frowned deeply and turned away, arms crossed.

"Unflattering much, Drakken."

With a gasp he ran toward her waving his hands in innocence. He sat down next to her on the bed. "No, no! That's not what I meant, I— I'm just...really tired, is all, but...but if you want to, we can— I mean, I'm always...I always want to, um...no, that's not... I don't always want to, but I—"

"Shut up."

Her frown diminished slightly as she glanced back and saw his panicked face.

"No, I don't want to. I was just...admiring you," she shrugged.

"O-oh..." He blushed.

"Ring?" she said, holding out her open hand.

He dropped the ring from his pinky into her palm, and she slid it back on her finger.

"I'm too tired anyway," she said, her frown fading. "And I don't want to tear those stitches."

He followed her gaze to the new bandage on her leg, where a tiny spot of blood showed through.

"Were they torn?"

"One was. I restitched it."

His eyes widened. He set the first aid kit down next to the bed, and then went to go change himself.

"So the ride back from the airport...?" he began cautiously.

"Was hell," Shego said, slowly scooting back until she leaned up against the headboard. "Detailed commentary about her flight for almost an hour."

"Anything else?"

"She talked about you and what a 'great hero' you are," she said with a smirk. She yawned and folded her hands in her lap as she pushed her toes underneath the blankets.

Drakken tossed his dirty clothes into the bathroom with the rest of the pile and shrugged into his pajamas.

"Nothing out of the ordinary?" he asked as he stepped back over the moat and climbed on top of the bed.

Shego's brow furrowed lightly. "What do you mean?"

Drakken hesitated. "You heard her whispering, didn't you? She told me again, just now... She said that after the ride, she thinks you're still evil. I don't think she's going to take our engagement very well."

Shego pursed her lips slightly, but her eyes were thoughtful. "I don't think I said anything... I did tell her that Cuddles was why I got stabbed with an icicle and sprained my wrist."

Drakken rubbed his chin a moment in thought, and then began pulling the blankets back on his side of the bed.

Shego yawned again and mirrored his action, albeit more awkwardly. "So you got this place cleaned up really fast."

"The henchmen actually helped...after I yelled at them."

Shego chuckled.

"It's no laughing matter," he said, shaking his head. "I've had a headache ever since."

"Aw," she said sympathetically and patted his head as he climbed under the blankets.

He scowled. "I'm serious. It really hurts."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I've been nauseous almost all day. I thought it would go away after I ate, but it hasn't."

His expression softened.

Just then, a metal clank brought both of their eyes to the dog crate where Admiral Cuddles had just sprung the latch. Barking gleefully, the dog bounded out of the crate and leapt over the moat and started trying to hop up onto the bed.

"I told you he'd be trouble," Shego growled.

"Nyeh... Cuddles, no. Down!"

Drakken sat up and shook his finger at the dog, who only wagged its tail. But then suddenly...a flash of yellow surrounded Drakken's face as six massive flower petals emerged from places unseen to the casual observer and framed his face, as if his head were the center of a very large flower.

The dog yelped in fright and jumped back over the moat and ran back into its crate, whimpering.

Drakken grumbled as he heard laughter behind him.

"Someone forget to take their medicine this morning?"

"Nrrgh...and whose fault is that!?" he burst out, turning with a frown.

"Yours," Shego said, as she pulled open a small drawer in the headboard and took out a vial and syringe. "You want it now?"

"Nngh...yes," he said, pulling his shirt off and turning around.

The serum he'd invented only suppressed the plant mutation for a period of hours. If he didn't take injections on a regular schedule, it would emerge as it had at first with its own seeming consciousness or will...which, he had yet to fully discover. It was something he worked on regularly but had been ignoring for days in favor of the holiday.

"On the bright side, I think we've found a solution for keeping Shorty out of bed with us," Shego said.

Drakken looked at the frightened dog as Shego depressed the needle into his spinal cord. His anger faded.

"It's all right Cuddles... It's still your daddy."

"Do not say that where I can hear you again," Shego said as she put away the vial and syringe.

Drakken pulled his shirt back on. "I'm not...forgetting the injection every day just to keep him out of the bed."

"Nah, don't do that. But maybe you can invent a...petal-popping thing. A fake, to scare him."

"I don't want to scare him!" Drakken said, frowning again and ripping the petals out of his neck.

"He's not getting into this bed with us. If he gets in, I get out."

Drakken grumbled as he sank down beneath the blankets and turned off the light. He felt Shego slide down next to him, more slowly.

He closed his eyes and set his palm on his forehead.

"Your head hurts?" she asked. He recognized genuine care in her voice.

"Mm. I think I strained something when I yelled at the henchmen. They did almost nothing for two whole hours."

"Sounds like them... Which ones stayed again?"

"Brooks and Garth."

"Yeah...I have no idea who they are."

"Old guy, looks like he's in the wrong business. And the gentle giant with the deep voice who looks like an obese sasquatch."

"Oh, them..." Shego said thoughtfully. She snuggled up into his side.

"How's your wrist?"

"Getting better."

He sighed and brought his hand down from his forehead to find hers, and then rested their joined hands on his middle.

"I'm still nauseous though."

"If you puke, don't do it on me."

"It's not that bad."

He sighed again. "We didn't eat enough today. Not even Cuddles."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Tomorrow will be a better day... We'll make it better."

Outside, a heavy rain began falling, but the sound barely reached their ears inside the thick rock walls. She tilted her head up and kissed his jaw. He turned and kissed her temple.

"Tomorrow will be better."

December 24

Shego woke up feeling surprisingly cold. She stretched and realized the space next to her was empty. She opened her eyes and blinked, looking around the room. Both Drakken and the dog were gone.

She sat up in confusion, and then caught sight of a note taped to the headboard above Drakken's pillow.

'We went to buy milk. Cuddles is tied up in the kitchen. I didn't want him to wake you. Breakfast is in the fridge.'

"We...?" Shego said aloud, and then realized he must have meant his mother.

She pulled the blankets higher on her lap against the unusual morning chill and undid the brace on her wrist. The brace was an incredible relief on the sprain, but after wearing it for a day and a night her skin had begun to itch terribly. Once she had it free, she scratched at the sensitive skin liberally and took another look around the room.

The dog crate was still by the door, but it was the only sign that the dog had been there. The animal had not in fact barked in the night that she had heard. And if it had made any messes in the room, they were either where she couldn't see them or Drakken had already cleaned them up.

She put the wrist brace back on and carefully slid her injured leg off of the bed. It didn't hurt so much as long as she wasn't moving.

She was gathering the resolve to stand up, when she suddenly spotted the missing crutch leaning against the headboard. She realized Drakken must have gotten up early to find wherever the henchmen had hidden it. As she stood up with the help of the crutch, she glanced back at the alarm clock. It was only a little after eight.

When did he have time...?

Shego went through her morning routine a bit more briefly than usual, given that her leg bandage wouldn't allow for a long shower or a relaxing soak in the tub. She dressed in black track pants and a baggy t-shirt, knowing that with her leg the way it was she was poised for a day of sitting around, whether she wanted to or not. And after brushing her hair and pulling it up into a loose bun she slowly picked her way to the kitchen on her crutch.

She had forgotten about the dog until she heard it barking before she even rounded the corner. Stepping into the kitchen, she saw the dog's leash looped through one of the chair rails, effectively confining it. It jumped in excitement as it saw her.

A glance at the dog's bowl showed her he'd already been fed, for which she was relieved. The dog's food smelled worse than it did. She wondered if she could get Drakken to take the time to invent some doggy breath mints...

She got the prepared plate of a yogurt parfait out of the fridge and sat on one of the barstools at the counter to eat. It was easier on her leg than the chairs at the table, and it kept her out of range of the dog's attentions.

Of course, it didn't stop him from barking.

'Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!'

"Why do you like me? I don't like you."

The dog wagged its tail and dropped its tongue out of the side of its mouth.

Shego lightly flared her hand, and the dog only paused its excited wagging for a moment.

"I've tried to hurt you. Several times. But you were more scared of Drakken's stupid petals."

The dog strained on the leash trying to get to her, but she had about a foot's clearance. She smirked. For once, the dog wasn't being a complete torment.

She turned to the breakfast of yogurt with granola layered on the bottom and fresh fruit sliced on top. She considered making coffee, but her stomach still felt a bit queasy and she knew the acidic drink wouldn't help. Maybe after she ate.

'Arf! Arf!'

"Quiet, Shorty. I'm not letting you run around here."

She dug into the breakfast and considered the previous evening. She had been really tired and irritated, but she didn't think she had done anything that would have deliberately put off Drakken's mom. In fact, she had been as silent as possible during the hover car ride just in case she said something inappropriate.

Maybe his mom preferred a lot of chatter?

Shego spooned another bite into her mouth as she considered that. She had never really liked the 'girl talk' thing, but with an older woman it might be all right. The jokes would be different. Maybe she would even enjoy making fun of bimbos with her. Considering how straight-laced the woman seemed, she just might.

Shego's stomach turned again as she realized—she didn't even know Drakken's mom's first name.

"Oh..." she groaned quietly. She'd have to find out before any attempt at bonding.

'Rrarf!'

"You said it, Shorty."

Shego finished the breakfast and put her bowl in the sink. She decided she could use the opportunity of the empty lair to wrap her presents for Drakken and his mother. As she hobbled out of the kitchen the dog began yipping frantically and pulling hard against his leash.

"Fine, okay!" she said, turning back and undoing the leash from the chair. The dog's entire body wagged as Shego considered... If she put the leash on her good wrist and the dog yanked it suddenly, she might lose her balance with the crutch and fall. But if she put the leash on her bad wrist, she might risk re-injury.

With a sigh, she simply dropped the leash. The dog ran out of the kitchen to parts unknown.

"This is a mistake," she groaned as she headed toward her room.

In the minute it took her to walk down the hall the dog had reappeared at her side. She hoped it hadn't desecrated or destroyed anything in that time. But considering the terror it had caused in mere seconds the day before, she felt her stomach twist in concern.

"If you destroyed anything, I'm putting you back in that crate and melting the lock."

When she opened her door the dog ran past her. She frowned at her own lack of awareness as she stepped inside. The dog ran in circles around her small room, finally stopping to sniff at her tanning chair.

"Don't lick it. Tanning oil is probably bad for a dog."

'Arf! Arf!'

"Oy..."

She headed toward her dresser where she'd left the shopping bag with the robe for Drakken's mother. But...it was gone. She stopped in the middle of the room and began looking around. The bag was nowhere to be seen.

She narrowed her eyes at the dog.

"Did you get in here somehow and steal it?"

The dog only wagged its tail, still sniffing at the tanning bed.

"No... Drakken wouldn't have let you in here. The henchmen aren't stupid enough to come in here."

She sat down on her bed and picked up the phone extension, dialing Drakken's cell number. She wasn't in any condition to search the lair, and it wasn't practical anyway. Although why he would have moved the bag was beyond her.

"Hello?"

"Dr. D., did you move the present I bought for your mother?"

"Shhh! Ah, h-hold on."

Shego rolled her eyes and leaned on her hand. She heard him making some vague excuse and his mother's protests before he obviously moved to some place where she wouldn't overhear him.

"Shego?"

"Uh, doy. Who else? So did you move it?"

He hesitated. "I wrapped it and put it under the tree yesterday."

Her brow rose. "Oh. Uh...thanks."

"Should I not have? Did you have some special wrapping in mind that I—?"

"No, that's... Thanks."

"...Ah, you're welcome. Was...that all?"

"Yes. No. When are you coming back?"

"Probably...in about an hour. Mother is buying you a present."

Shego's brow rose. "That's a surprise."

"Mm. Yes."

Suspicion suddenly caused Shego to frown. "...Did you tell her to buy me something?"

"Ah..."

She hung up the phone and rested her forehead on her hand, shaking her head. This was going to be the longest two days of her life.

She carefully sat on the floor and reached under her bed where she'd hidden her present for Drakken. An hour would give her plenty of time to wrap it.

'Arf! Arf!'

The dog ran and put its paws up on her leg and began sniffing the cube-shaped, mug-sized box. She glared, but didn't push the animal away.

"You think he'll like it? He went on about it long enough... He'd better."

She carefully stood back up and clutched the box under her arm while she used the crutch to walk back down the hall toward the living room.

"And it wasn't easy to get either. He'll be happy whether he really wanted this or not."

'Arf!'

Shego's eyes shot open.

I'm talking to a dog...

Frowning, she entered the living room and dropped the small box onto the couch. She blinked in surprise when she saw the presents already under the Christmas tree.

'Rrrarf! Arf!'

As the dog ran by she bent over and grabbed its leash. Its happy run toward the tree was halted suddenly by its collar, and it yelped in surprise. Shego hopped toward the tree, pulling the leash closer until the dog was at her side, whimpering.

"Oh no you don't."

Holding the dog firmly, she narrowed her eyes at the four packages sitting on the green tree-skirt. They varied in shape and size, the smallest looking like a shoe box and the largest like a small dress box. Those two were rectangular, and the other two were closer to cube-shaped, but not quite. They fell between the other two in size.

Shego squinted and saw that the largest package was addressed 'To Mama Lipsky from Shego.' She considered the tag. She had called his mother that a few times in the past... Drakken paid more attention than she thought.

He had obviously put the robe and slippers in a box and wrapped them in a festive, snowflake-themed paper and done it up with numerous shiny, curlicued white ribbons and a large bow.

I hope this doesn't set a precedent...

Her brow rose as she saw that all three of the other packages were labeled 'To Mother from Drew' with a little heart after the word 'mother' on all three. He had gotten her three gifts, all wrapped differently. Would the woman be bothered that she had only gotten her one? Shego worried about her choice of gift briefly, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

She stared at the four packages and sighed. Then one corner of her mouth turned down. Where was Drakken's present to her?

Probably keeping it hidden in case I open it...

She smirked. He knew her well. She was sorely tempted to open his mother's presents too, to see what besides a robot vacuum he'd gotten her. Maybe an improved version of his voice-activated toaster...

Next to her, the dog whined and put its paws high up on her leg.

"Ugh, get down," she said, shaking the leash. The dog didn't comply, so she backed up until she could sit down on the couch. She tied the leash to the leg of the coffee table.

"There. You can't move that."

The dog was smiling and wagging its tail again, glad for the freedom. It leapt up onto the couch next to her and started sniffing at the box that held Drakken's present.

"Ohhhh no." She picked up the box and tucked it beneath the cushions at the far end of the couch where he couldn't reach it. "You're not touching that. And don't destroy anything while I find the wrapping paper."

The dog cocked its head at her as she hobbled back down the hall and toward his bedroom. That was the most likely place for the wrapping paper to be, all things considered. But a search of the wardrobe and closet and even a painful search under the bed only turned up clothes, various magazines and tools, and dust bunnies.

She leaned against the bed after finding nothing under there and sighed. She would have to talk to Drakken about the tools and circuit-bits laying in the closet and under the bed sometime. She rose on her aching good leg and started toward the lab. He must have wrapped the presents in there.

Another search through cupboards with tools and more pieces of robot parts than she knew he had again turned up nothing, and she tiredly sat in his chair in the lab. Where on earth could he have put it? He hadn't used it all by any stretch. Unless...he was terrible at gift-wrapping and had wasted most of it?

No, she had seen him wrap gifts before. That wasn't it.

She wiped her dusty hands on her t-shirt and carefully got up. The leg-injury had gone past frustrating to full-on infuriating. But she knew from the previous day that putting weight on her leg was only going to make both the pain and the healing-process worse. She grabbed the crutch again from where she had laid it against the desk and leaned on it with a sigh.

Maybe he put the wrapping paper downstairs?

That, or hidden in one of the many guest rooms were the only other possibilities. And she wasn't about to search any of those places.

She made her way back to the kitchen and grabbed one of the brown paper grocery bags from her shopping trip two days prior that Drakken had folded and tucked away for later use. Then she pulled scissors and tape out of the junk drawer. Tucking the items under her left arm, she made her way back to the living room.

The dog greeted her with repeated yips and jumps of happiness until he had gotten himself tangled in his leash. He began whimpering, and Shego chuckled as she sat down on the couch again.

"That's what you get," she said.

She laid out the bag, scissors, and tape on the coffee table and then pulled the present from where she'd hidden it and set it in the bag.

"I know I've heard some song about gifts being wrapped in brown paper..." she muttered as she stared at the task before her. How did one turn a bag into wrapping paper?

The dog's whimpering suddenly turned into panicked yelps, and she turned to see that it had gotten itself trapped up against the leg of the coffee table with part of the leash wrapped around its neck. She slid down to the floor and undid the leash from where it was tied around the table and started unwrapping it.

"Hold still!" she complained as the dog wagged its whole body in advance thanks of her saving it. When she finally had it undone she slipped the end of the leash onto her wrist. The dog jumped into her lap.

"Get. Off!" she said, shoving it away. It tried to climb on her again, and again she pushed it away with her left wrist as she pushed herself back up onto the couch with her right. "You are nothing but trouble."

The dog didn't bark, but wagged its tail and lolled its tongue.

"Ugh."

She turned back to her box and the paper bag. Maybe if she just...cut the bag open at the creases, and then wrapped it around the box? That wouldn't look good.

An idea struck her and she started cutting the bottom off of the bag. The dog jumped up on the couch and tried to get into her lap again. She shoved it to the floor with her elbow.

Once the bottom of the bag was removed, she cut down one crease to turn the bag into one big piece of paper. That was a much better starting point.

The dog jumped up and tried to crawl in her lap again. This time she elbowed it to the side and flared her hand. It took a cautious step back, but didn't jump down.

"Why aren't you more scared of me? I don't like you, and I'm not going to like you."

The dog wagged its tail harder knowing it was being addressed, and she rolled her eyes. She set about wrapping the box very slowly, not knowing if or when the dog might decide to jump up on the table instead. But for once, it seemed to take the hint. It sat down on the couch about a pillow's-width away from her and watched, tail still wagging every few seconds.

About ten minutes later she had the box wrapped with uneven folds and a haphazard tape-job. She grimaced and wished she could have found the pretty paper. The lousy job she'd done wouldn't have shown as much on that.

Now I need a pen, and a bow...

She pulled open the drawer under the coffee table and was relieved to find a pen there. She tapped the end of the pen on her chin for a moment as she considered what to write. Writing straight on the package was fine, wasn't it? Or would he be disappointed that there wasn't a fancy, festive tag like the ones on the packages he had wrapped?

She sighed. She wouldn't be able to find the tags anyway, and she wasn't about to go through the pain of another search.

'To Dr. D. love Shego,' she finally wrote on top of the box in one corner. She thought the 'love' might make up for the lack of pretty wrapping. She capped the pen and dropped it on the table, and then pushed herself up with the crutch.

Admiral Cuddles jumped down from the couch with a bark, wagging his tail. She expected the pull of the leash on her wrist, but it didn't come. The dog was standing at her side, looking up as if waiting to see where she was going.

"Hmmm."

Setting the box down, she picked up the discarded bottom of the bag she'd cut and crumpled it into a ball. The dog's whole body began to wag, and he barked joyfully. She dropped the end of the leash off her wrist and pitched the paper ball she had made down the hallway. The dog took off like a rocket.

Shego smirked as she hobbled toward the tree with her box, setting it out of sight behind the large white box that was her gift for Mrs. Lipsky. She would take care of a bow later, when she could drag out of Drakken where he'd hidden the wrapping stuff. Not that a bow mattered, since it was only decorative and didn't actually secure the package...

She rolled her eyes. What was the point of the holiday, anyway... So far it had been nothing but trouble.

The dog returned at a happy trot, the paper ball held between its teeth. It dropped it at her feet and looked up expectantly.

"Yeah...maybe later."

Shego stuck the end of the leash on her wrist again and picked up the scissors, tape, and other scraps before hobbling toward the kitchen to get rid of them. She didn't want Drakken knowing what she'd been up to when he returned. Especially since she'd done such a sad job of wrapping.

'Arf! Arf!' the dog yipped at her side.

She leaned against the counter after she'd put everything away and looked down at the dog. It was looking a bit anxious.

"You don't have to go out, do you?"

The dog turned in a small circle, stepping over his leash as he did so.

"Well, I'm not taking you. Let me get a drink and then we can watch TV. Drakken should be home soon."

She poured herself a glass and let the leash go. The dog had minded its manners so far... And now she had a trick to keep it occupied, should it get any ideas. After drinking the whole glass she made her way back to the living room. Admiral Cuddles traveled obediently at her side.

She sank into the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table and began flipping the channels. Everything was either a daytime soap, a Christmas special, a kids' show, or news. Absolutely nothing of interest.

It occurred to her that she could try to finish that movie that Drakken insisted was so important to his mother. Although she wouldn't have time before they got back from shopping... She could at least get a few more minutes of the black-and-white boredom under her belt.

She was thankful the VHS with the recording he'd made was still in the player and used the remote to get it started.

'Arf! Arf!'

The dog had its paws up on the couch and was holding the crumpled paper ball in its jaws.

Shego glanced between the dog and the TV screen, which had already begun boring her.

"Yeah...you're right, you're more interesting. Give it here."

She took the paper ball and tossed it next to the TV. The dog yipped in excitement and quickly brought it back, walking at the same pleased trot it had before. Shego repeated the action, and the dog did the same.

"Maybe you could be useful if you learn not to destroy anything..." she muttered. This time, she tossed the ball across the room toward the stairs.

The dog's leash dragged behind it on the floor as it scampered after the ball, and when he brought it back this time Shego noted it was getting just a bit slobbery.

"Okay... We're gonna need a new game soon."

She unfolded the paper and re-crumpled the ball so none of the slobber-contaminated parts were on the outside, and then tossed it all the way into the kitchen. The dog disappeared in a flash, claws clicking on the stone floor.

Shego yawned and leaned her head back. When the dog returned this time, she just dropped the ball on the floor. It picked up the ball again and set its paws on the sofa like before.

"Sorry, I'm done. Not interesting enough."

The dog stayed that way staring at her for several minutes as she stared at the TV screen. The lead character in the movie was giving away money as some sort of panic was going on in his town.

What a sap...

Admiral Cuddles finally dropped the ball and jumped up onto the couch. He tried to crawl in her lap, but she shoved him away hard. After a moment of staring and tail-wagging, he walked in a circle like a cat and sat down again about a pillow's width away from her and laid his head on the sofa cushion.

One corner of Shego's mouth went up in a smirk. "Now you're getting it."

She scratched the dog's head briefly, once, before folding her hands in her lap. At least it was a clean dog.

The movie went on. There was some sort of voice-over about the man not getting to do anything he wanted. As Shego shifted her leg, she felt she could sympathize. After only twenty minutes her eyes started feeling heavy...until...

"I just don't understand, sweetie. It's not logical."

Shego turned off the TV and straightened up, putting her feet on the floor. She moved too quickly and her leg stung beneath the bandages. She listened to Drakken's mother continue as the pair bustled through the door.

"Why would she have a change of morals just because you did? I think she's trying to exploit you for something."

Shego pulled her ring off and tucked it into the pocket of her track pants.

"It...makes perfect sense to us, Mother," was Drakken's tense reply.

At the sound of Drakken's voice, the dog leapt off the couch and ran for the stairs, barking excitedly.

Mrs. Lipsky closed a large umbrella and began taking off a plastic raincoat. Finding nowhere to put them, she turned and laid both across the bags in Drakken's arms and then strode down the stairs. She seemed unperturbed by the hard, forced smile Shego was giving her from the sofa. Shego's brow rose when the woman merely blinked at her, and then looked back up the stairs.

Shego followed her gaze to where Drakken was beginning his descent slowly, three grocery bags in his arms and one department store bag on his wrist, all now getting wet from the plastic coat and umbrella. His hair and clothes appeared a bit damp, and the dog was jumping up on his legs.

"Admiral Cuddles! Can't you see I'm busy right now? Down!"

Shego's anger faded slightly as she watched him struggle.

"Careful, Dr. D. Wouldn't want to sprain your wrist right before Christmas."

He peered at her from behind the bags with narrowed eyes.

"Shego," Mrs. Lipsky said, approaching her, "how are you feeling today?"

Shego blinked at the sudden change. "Uh... A little nauseous actually, but I'm on the mend," she answered honestly.

"That's good news," Mrs. Lipsky said, folding her hands in front of her.

Drakken tripped over his own foot as he reached the last stair and stumbled forward, barely maintaining his balance as the dog continued to run under his feet. One of the grocery bags started to slip to the floor.

"Oh, do be careful Drew. Shego," the woman turned to face her again, "since you're feeling so much better—"

Shego's brow rose.

"—wouldn't you rather spend Christmas with your own family, and not cooped up in here?"

Shego leaned back and made herself comfortable again, setting her feet up on the coffee table.

"I'm pretty used to it," she smirked. "And my family don't live around here."

"Oh, they don't?" she asked, beginning to frown.

"No. They live in Go City. You know... Shego...Team Go."

"Oh yes, I remember seeing that on the news... You were a hero before you decided to become a criminal."

Shego lay her braced wrist across her lap and nodded, her smirk staying on as she watched Drakken struggle. He was trying to pick up the fallen bag, but each time he bent over the dog would jump up and crawl into one of the others.

"My Drew seems very glad that you had a change of heart," Mrs. Lipsky continued. "He keeps insisting that you should spend Christmas here."

Shego barely heard her, still watching Drakken struggle in avoiding the dog. "Mhm."

"But I told him that surely you'd rather spend the time with family than with your employer."

Shego turned her head and faced the red-haired woman thoughtfully. "Well, a flight to visit my brothers would be...five hours longer than your flight here was..."

Mrs. Lipsky's eyes widened, and the corner of her mouth quivered in a grimace.

"And usually five minutes with them has me wanting to destroy something," Shego finished with a smirk.

"Oh..."

"Admiral Cuddles! Get down!" Drakken said in frustration as a second bag slipped from his grasp. He was still on his knees trying to manage all of them at once.

"What did you buy?" Shego asked, now wondering at the bags. "I thought I got everything you asked for."

"Oh no dear," Mrs. Lipsky said, "I looked through your refrigerator. You were missing lots of things."

Shego blinked and clenched her jaw, her anger beginning to return.

"But Mother..." Drakken said, his own jaw clenched as he tried to right the bags with one hand and hold back the dog at arm's length with the other. "We're not entertaining. It will just be the three of us. And...a little something for my two interns."

Shego cocked her head at that. She'd expected the henchmen to be entirely ignored unless needed.

"That doesn't mean we can't have a traditional Christmas!"

Shego looked between the two, starting to worry. What might Mrs. Lipsky have in mind for a traditional Christmas that Drakken hadn't already told her? She supposed if anything got too sickening she could hide in her room...

"Mother..." Drakken said with a hint of impatience, finally getting to his feet with all of the bags, "would you mind holding Admiral Cuddles while I put all of this away?"

"Of course not, dear. Come here Cuddles," she called.

The dog obediently ran to her and she scooped it up into her arms, where the dog began happily licking at her hands. In a few long strides, Drakken had vanished from the room with the groceries and other items, leaving the two women alone.

Mrs. Lipsky sat on the couch and set the dog in her lap, petting it kindly as it continued to lick her hands.

Shego studied the woman, who seemed much too spry and strong for someone her age. Her appearance was everything one would expect of a woman with a son approaching senior status himself. Her hair was thin, dyed, and teased to a ridiculous stature. Her cat-eye green-tinted glasses actually helped slim and feminize her masculine face a great deal, though it was still apparent to anyone looking that her son had gotten his nose and chin from her. Her blue eye-shadow was hidden behind the glasses, but the bright pink lipstick that most women her age favored stood out on the lower-half of her face. Her earrings and necklace were obviously cheap costume jewelry, and Shego suspected the beauty mark on her jaw was fake too. It only emphasized the size of her chin.

She was wearing a short-sleeved dark teal dress patterned with lighter-colored teal flowers. Shego could see by the fabric's texture that it was cheap, but the pattern was at least a bit more youthful than the things she had seen Mrs. Lipsky wear before. But clothing and makeup couldn't really hide the woman's age.

"Are you sure you won't be bored, spending Christmas here with your boss?" Mrs. Lipsky said.

Shego frowned. "I'm here all the time. If it was that boring, I'd...I'd have left a long time ago."

"I am curious, dear. What do you do?"

Shego blinked. "Do?"

"Yes, working for my son. He invents wonderful things to better the world. What do you do?"

Shego thought quickly. They hadn't gotten that far in planning lies, since they had planned to simply announce their engagement and let that settle everything. They hadn't expected the complications they had had so far.

"I'm...his personal assistant."

"Yes I know. But what do you do?"

Shego crossed her arms and shrugged. "Anything he wants."

"Do you bring him his coffee?"

Shego thought about that. In the context of work, never... "Yes," she lied.

"Do you cook for him?"

"Sometimes," she lied again.

"Do you help him with his inventions?"

"I get supplies for him."

Mrs. Lipsky blinked. Shego couldn't read her expression.

"Do you answer phones for him?"

"Yes."

The dog put its paws up on Mrs. Lipsky's chest, and she pushed it back down. The woman's expression had lost some of its hardness toward her, but still didn't offer any warmth.

"Does my son pay you well?"

Shego thought of the previous morning and grinned. "Yes."

"Is that why you stay?"

Shego sat forward with a start. Her grin vanished.

"All right, Mother," Drakken said, re-entering the room. The dog leapt down and ran to its master, and Drakken scooped it up. "Everything is put away."

"At last! Now you can give me that tour of your home you promised me, Drewbie."

Drakken was setting the dog back down and looping his leash around his wrist He brushed his damp hair back from his forehead and looked up with a weak smile.

"If...if you'd like, Mother."

Shego sat back with relief. The rapid-fire questioning and lying had thrown her off more than she expected. Especially the question about if she stayed for his money.

As she thought about it more, her anger began to build. Just what was the woman's problem with her? She turned back and was about to ask, when—

"And Shego, I'd love to see where you work and what you do."

Shego's eyes narrowed. She opened her to mouth to speak...and suddenly Drakken was in front of her, grabbing her good hand and pulling her to her feet.

"That's a wonderful idea, Mother! Then you can see just how important Shego is to me."

Shego's view of the smaller woman was completely cut off as Drakken handed her her crutch and gave her a warning look. Shego's eyes only narrowed further.

"Ah, Mother...would you mind refreshing Admiral Cuddles's water dish? He's acting a bit parched. It would...give me a moment to get out of these damp clothes before your tour."

"Of course, Son. Anything for my Drewbie."

"Eh-heh..." Drakken laughed nervously.

"You should change too, Shego. You're covered in dirt."

Shego looked down at the t-shirt she'd put on, accurately covered in dust from all of her searching for wrapping paper that morning.

Drakken whirled around and handed the leash to his mother, still blocking Shego's view of her entirely.

"I'll help you to your room, Shego," he said with put-on cheer as his mother disappeared into the kitchen.

As soon as she was gone, Drakken's entire frame slackened. Shego turned her glare on him.

"What was that all about?"

"You were about to say something!"

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I could see it in your eyes. You were going to...to insult her, or something."

"She deserves it. You know she thinks I only work for you because you pay me a lot? Does she still think I'm evil or something?"

"Yes," Drakken said, turning and heading toward the hall. "Come on, we'd better change."

Shego looked after him, then down at her shirt, and then at her crutch. "Sure, I can walk. Not a problem, Doc."

He was already gone, and she hurried after him as fast as she was able. She needed to blow off a lot more steam before spending time with that woman. And more importantly, they needed to make a decision about telling her about the engagement. And this might be the only moment alone they had for the rest of the day.

"Drakken..." she said once she reached the hall, but he was already in his room.

Frowning, Shego hobbled into her own room and sank onto her bed with a frustrated growl. She threw off her t-shirt and glanced over at her dresser. Maybe she should just say she's sick and hide out until dinner... She did still feel a little nauseous, which was strange.

Of course, Drakken's mother would make anyone nauseous.

She hopped over to the dresser and started to grab another t-shirt...when she suddenly had a devious idea.

Drakken hurried out of his room, now changed out of the rain-dampened clothing and into some comfortable jeans and a deep blue polo shirt he knew his mother would approve of. Re-tying his ponytail, he dashed down the hall toward the kitchen on the off-chance that Shego had decided not to change and might be verbally assaulting his mother.

When he arrived, his mother was alone, cooing at Admiral Cuddles as he lapped gratefully from his water dish.

"Ahh...Mother," he sighed in relief.

"I'm so glad Admiral Cuddles is working out. I was so concerned..."

Drakken approached her. "Concerned about what?"

"Concerned that you wouldn't accept a gift from me."

"Oh...Mother, why would you say such a thing?" he asked, brow furrowing in worry.

"Because...it's the mother's fault if the child doesn't turn out well."

"Mother... That's not true."

Drakken hugged her to console her.

"He's right."

Shego's voice in the doorway drew their gazes. Drakken gasped and his mother's eyes widened at her appearance.

Shego had let her hair out of its bun and now wore it in a high ponytail. She still wore the velour black track pants that hugged her hips and had a low-rise fit. Both features had previously been concealed under the baggy t-shirt, but now showed as she had opted for a very different top. She had put on a cropped, skin-tight spaghetti-strapped pink tank top, and was very clearly lacking a bra. The crutch she leaned on and the brace on her wrist did nothing to detract from the effect of the new, skimpy look.

"Ultimately, a kid will make their own choices. No matter how good the parents are," she continued with a smirk, hobbling toward them. "That's what happened to me."

With great effort, Drakken forced his eyes to stay on Shego's face as she approached them.

"Drew," his mother whispered in her usual far-too-loud voice obviously intended for others to hear, "does your assistant usually dress so inappropriately?"

"N-no," he shook his head lightly, his own voice barely audible. "She...usually..." His voice trailed off as his thoughts evaporated in the face of Shego's smug look. "Ah...Mother, we can begin the tour of the lair—the a-apartment here. This is the kitchen."

His mother blinked at him. "I know."

"Ah-hah, yes, of course. Well, on to the lab—uh, the, I mean...yes, the lab."

He rushed past Shego without making eye contact.

Shego watched his mother follow a moment later, looking her up and down critically without any pretense, and then she turned to hobble after them. Admiral Cuddles left his water bowl with a tiny growl and trotted along at her side. Shego was too pleased with herself to care about the dog's attention.

When she entered the hall, Drakken was waiting by the lab door, fidgeting with his fingers as he waited for them to catch up, an enormous fake smile plastered on his face.

"This is...where I make my world-saving inventions, Mother!" Drakken said brightly as his mother approached.

"Oh, goody! I can't wait to see them!"

"I'll even...let you see some of the new ones I haven't patented yet, if you promise to keep them secret," he continued.

"Of course, Son!" Mrs. Lipsky said.

Drakken opened the door and gestured inside. Mrs. Lipsky hurried past, her hands raised in excited fists next to her face.

As soon as she was in, Drakken turned to Shego with a scowl.

"Now remember," Shego whispered with a smirk, "we're going full-hero on her."

"I know that!" Drakken hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Having fun," Shego said, hopping a bit as she adjusted her weight on the crutch. "She doesn't like me. So I'm just making her visit bearable."

"But we're going to tell her about—"

"Drew, what does this do?"

Drakken tossed one more scowl at Shego as he hurried into the lab after his mother. She was bent over an array of apparent humanoid robotic parts on his workbench.

"Ah...those are...advanced prosthetics. A soldier loses an arm? They can have a...a fully-functional robotic one instead! Or a person is born without legs? Not to worry! Robotic legs will be available to them at a...a very affordable rate!"

"Oh, my wonderful, brilliant son!" Mrs. Lipsky cried, embracing Drakken around the waist. A genuine smile broke through his facade at her praise. "Making the world a better place!"

"Ah...y-yes, Mother."

"I'm so glad those awful aliens came and made you come to your senses!"

Drakken's smile faded. "Yes, well... There are some things...that everyone should be able to agree on."

He glanced at Shego, and her smirk faded a bit.

Mrs. Lipsky moved on to look at the other planted inventions laid out on the various workstations for her to view.

"That reminds me, Drew... The news reporters said that your super-plant invention had...transformed you into some sort of human-plant hybrid. Is that true?"

"Ah...um... O-of course not, Mother," he said nervously.

"Nah, it's more of an annoyance," Shego said, catching up to them. The dog jumped up on her legs, whimpering for attention, but she ignored it.

"Drew?"

Drakken shot her a quick glare.

"Well it's...I..."

Mrs. Lipsky looked between the pair of them, a frown forming each time she looked at Shego.

"It's more of a...a parasite," he finished.

The older woman gasped and her hands covered her mouth.

"I'm still figuring it out."

Mrs. Lipsky started looking her son over, clearly looking for evidence of the 'parasite.' Shego finally reached Drakken's side and smirked up at him.

"It's more comical, than anything else," she said.

Mrs. Lipsky frowned. "How do you know? Are you a scientist like my son?"

Shego blinked in surprise at the woman's sudden ire.

"Mother, it's...it's really not a problem. I hardly even think about it anymore."

"I help him with it every day," Shego retorted.

Mrs. Lipsky looked between the two of them, her gaze narrowing as she looked at Shego's chest for a moment before meeting her eyes.

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"She...she gives me injections to suppress it. Something I...came up with recently," Drakken explained.

Mrs. Lipsky still didn't look convinced.

"Mother, how about we go and look at my office? I think you'll be very impressed with the accolades I have achieved in the last few months..."

Drakken ushered his mom back through the door and down the hallway. Shego turned to follow, but Admiral Cuddles started chewing on her crutch.

"Hey! Let go, Cuddles!"

She shook the crutch to get him off, hopping on her good leg as she lost balance. She had to put her right leg down as the dog ran under her again, causing her to trip. She hissed at the pain behind her as the healing wound was pressured from her steps.

"Owww... Come on, you just started being almost tolerable," she complained to the dog.

'Rrarf!'

"Can't you go annoy Drakken?"

The dog wagged its tail, looking at her curiously as she leaned heavily on the crutch. She headed out of the room and down the hall toward Drakken's office—a place scarce few people besides the two of them had ever entered—with the dog walking at her side once again.

When she arrived she leaned against the door frame, the pain in her leg growing. She wondered if a stitch had been ripped again. Inside the office, Drakken and his mother were bent over some small objects on the floor. The dog trotted into the room toward them as Shego took in the scene.

"So that's where you ran off to yesterday... How did you get in here?" Drakken said, frowning at the dog.

Shego peered at the objects on the ground and recognized some of the knick-knacks she had purchased two days prior, of a sleigh and little reindeer and a fat Santa Claus. The dog picked up the Santa in his mouth and began growling at it.

"Admiral Cuddles!" Drakken scolded, kneeling down to pull the plaster piece from the dog's mouth. After doing so he began gathering up the other decorations.

"Oh, my heroic son!" Mrs. Lipsky cried, now admiring the medal from the UN mounted on the wall.

Drakken beamed with pride as he dropped the ruined decorations in his trash can.

"And all these honors from all these countries!" she said, looking at the various other smaller medals hanging up on the wall around the other one. "France...England...Canada..."

"It was...a rather spectacular feat," Drakken said, puffing up a bit under the praise. Shego smirked and shook her head.

"And all of these job offers!" she continued, flipping through the planted stack of papers on his desk. "Are you sure you don't want to take any of them?"

Drakken shook his head. "No, Mother. I don't want to be tied down. I'll...be able to help more people if I'm working independently"

Mrs. Lipsky folded her hands in front of her as she turned to face her son.

"Drew... You make me so happy!"

Drakken blushed lightly.

"I was so worried, when I heard about...about everything you'd done..." Her face fell.

"That's all in the past, Mother!" Drakken said quickly, lifting her chin with one hand.

"You...you promise?" she asked.

"Yes," Drakken nodded, swallowing nervously.

Mrs. Lipsky lowered her voice and lifted her hand as if to whisper conspiratorially. But of course, her voice was clearly audible as she pointed with her other hand at Shego.

"You won't let anyone tempt you back into a life of crime?"

"Hey!" Shego cried, starting into the room.

"Mother! Shego is...no more a criminal than I am."

Shego halted her advance with a small smirk.

Mrs. Lipsky didn't look convinced, but she sighed. "If you say so, dear... But are you sure your judgment isn't still compromised?"

"What do you mean?" Drakken asked.

"Well, you must have had someone," Mrs. Lipsky glanced at Shego, "or something influencing you to lead you down the wrong path to begin with. I'm just concerned that you might still be listening to some bad advice."

Shego glared. But before she could retort, the dog ran and jumped on her injured leg again, taking her by surprise. She stumbled back against the wall, dropping her crutch and grabbing the back of her leg with a hiss of pain.

"Admiral Cuddles!" Drakken scolded fiercely.

For once, the dog appeared remorseful. It ran out of the room whimpering.

Drakken looked between Shego who was scowling, and his mother who was frowning.

"Shego is valuable to my work, Mother," he said after a moment, crossing the room and picking up the crutch for her.

Mrs. Lipsky blinked and then glanced around the room. "So...where do you work, Shego?"

Shego held onto the crutch but continued rubbing her leg, ignoring the question.

"Shego...sits there," Drakken pointed to the chair she typically lounged in. The Villainess magazines usually in the nearby rack had been hidden away ahead of time.

"And what does she do?"

"She's my assistant... Mother, let's...continue on with the tour," Drakken said, hurrying to her side and ushering her out of the room. "We have a lot left to do before tonight's dinner, anyway."

"Oh. All right, what's left?"

"Ahh... J-just, where the interns work, and the bedrooms," he said, pushing her through the door.

Shego hopped a few steps after them and then leaned against the wall. Her idea of teasing Drakken and his mother had evaporated as the pain in her leg grew. Why was she even going with them? There would clearly be no winning his mother over to liking her. And her idea of wearing the skimpy top to annoy her wasn't going very far.

"Shego?"

She looked down the hall to where Drakken and his mother had paused as he looked back at her.

"Go on," she said. "I'm done."

Drakken left his mother and jogged slowly back to her side.

"Come on," Drakken urged quietly.

"Why? She's not going to like me," Shego said. "Let's just...get through Christmas and never tell her about us."

"Not tell her!?" Drakken said incredulously.

"Yeah. Just do this whole thing without me."

"Shego... She just needs to get to know you."

Shego frowned at him.

"Really. We'll...go do something where she can't accuse you of being evil anymore."

Shego shook her head. "Hurts too much to walk."

Drakken sighed through his nose and then took a deep breath. "I'll carry you," he said.

"Oh, your mother will love that..." Shego said, rolling her eyes.

"Drew?"

Drakken glanced back toward where his mother had called. He bit his lip and then bent down, carefully picking Shego up.

"Drew! You can't— She...she's not dressed appropriately for you to do that," Mrs. Lipsky said boldly.

Shego's nails dug into Drakken's neck as she scowled.

"M-Mother...that's enough."

Shego's eyes widened in time with Mrs. Lipsky's.

"Drew Theodore P. Lipsky! How dare you speak to me that way?"

"Mother, Shego is hurt. It's...my dog's fault that she's hurt, and it's not fair to...to make her risk hurting herself further."

Shego's death-grip on Drakken's neck relaxed. Mrs. Lipsky's glare began to slowly soften.

"If she would have gone home for Christmas—"

"She is home. She's not close to her brothers."

Mrs. Lipsky crossed her arms. "Well surely her parents—"

"My parents are dead," Shego said, adjusting her grip on the crutch she carried.

Mrs. Lipsky's brow rose and her gaze softened significantly.

"Oh...my."

"Forty-five..." Shego muttered.

"What?" Mrs. Lipsky asked.

"Nothing," Shego answered, shaking her head.

A pregnant silence filled the hallway. The two Lipskys glanced at each other, and then around at the stone walls and floor. After a moment, Shego cleared her throat.

"How about the rest of that tour?"

Drakken shifted his hold on her. "Good idea," he said, stepping up to walk alongside his mother. Shego saw the pleading look he gave the shorter woman.

"All right dear. What's left?"

"Ah...the...um..."

"Main lab," Shego said.

Drakken looked at her, and then nodded at his mother.

"Yes. That's where...the interns work," he said, stepping past his mother and starting down the hallway.

Shego wanted to lay her head on Drakken's shoulder, but she knew better. She sighed, hoping she could just escape soon. Drakken took a few steps, and then...

"What's down there, Drew?"

Drakken turned around and they saw his mother standing at the staircase that led down to the henchmen's quarters, the shark tank, and other unpleasant things.

"Oh... N-nothing. Um. Apartments...where the interns live."

"There are other apartments? Oh, I could come move in with you! Then we could make up for lost time!"

Drakken bit his lip and Shego dug her nails into his neck again.

"Ah...um, n-none of the apartments are vacant, Mother. I have lots and lots of interns."

"Oh, that's a shame. Are you sure, Drew?"

"Yes," both Shego and Drakken said together. They looked at each other before Drakken continued. "I'm sure, Mother. S-sorry."

Mrs. Lipsky frowned and then walked ahead of them.

"Where is this main lab?" she asked tersely.

Drakken led the way through the maze of halls and down another staircase. The moat was flowing with its sinister green glow, and the huge computer screen stood out as the centerpiece along with the generator, but otherwise the room had been stripped bare of all of its evil accoutrements.

"And what do you do here?" Mrs. Lipsky asked.

"Um... I..."

"The interns test inventions down here," Shego supplied, looking over Drakken's shoulder at the shorter woman.

"Oh. You've given them a lot of space."

"The...whole facility is large," Drakken said nervously. He adjusted his grip on Shego and looked around the room.

"Shego...do you ever work down here?" Mrs. Lipsky asked.

Shego pursed her lips into a smirk. "Occasionally. But mostly I'm upstairs with Dr. D."

"Oh Drew..." Mrs. Lipsky turned and headed back up the stairs. "Why are you still going by that awful name you used as a...as a criminal?"

Drakken followed and Shego smirked at him.

"It's...part of my image, Mother."

"The world wouldn't recognize him otherwise. Although the blue skin is kind of a giveaway," Shego chuckled. She was warming back up to the idea of teasing them both, now that she wasn't stuck hobbling behind them.

"Oh I do wish you could find a cure for that. I miss your handsome face the way it used to be," Mrs. Lipsky said as they reached the top of the stairs.

"I dunno, I think he looks kind of cute," Shego said, pinching his cheek.

Mrs. Lipsky looked back at them with wide eyes and a raised brow.

Drakken cleared his throat anxiously.

"Mother, it's almost lunch time... How about we have a picnic on the beach?"

Her brow twisted in confusion. "But it's raining?"

"Not anymore," Shego said, pointing to the window that was just a tiny hole in the stone wall. It was still overcast, but heat from the sun was coming in. The clouds would be gone soon.

Shego felt the muscles of Drakken's arms starting to shake, and she slid down out of his grip and balanced on her good leg, one arm around his waist.

"I might sit this one out, actually. But that dog needs a chance to run around," she added.

Drakken gasped. "Admiral Cuddles! I...I yelled at him."

Shego wanted to roll her eyes at the pathetic look on his face. But unfortunately, the situation did seem worth some concern.

"Yeah... You'd better go find him, before he destroys something."

Drakken waited until Shego was leaning on her crutch before sprinting away down the hall.

"I'll help while you go change, Shego dear!" Mrs. Lipsky called, hurrying after her son.

Shego frowned, and then looked down at her cleavage. Her pale green skin was set off nicely by the pink top.

A distant scream from Drakken caused her to grimace. Apparently the worst had happened where the dog was concerned. She wasn't too keen on finding out what that was.

She smirked however as she hobbled down the hall. She had a few other pink items in her wardrobe, courtesy of a shopping trip with Kim Possible when she'd been under the influence of the Reverse Polarizer. Perhaps she would change...and then join the Lipskys on the beach after all.

About thirty minutes later found Shego sitting at her vanity, brushing out her hair as she smirked at her new idea for personal entertainment. She had dressed in a pink and teal one-piece swimsuit that had stayed at the back of her closet since its purchase, and she'd gone ahead and put the track pants back on over it. No need to alarm Mrs. Lipsky too much.

But alarmed she would be, Shego was sure, when she started flirting with her genius hero son. The woman thought that Shego was trying to tempt Drakken into evil... So, why not give her some proof? Not evil of the world-takeover kind, though. Just your ordinary, day-to-day, men-and-women type of evil.

Satisfied with her hair, she grabbed her sunglasses and beach towel and hobbled on the crutch out of her room and down the hall. Thirty minutes should have given Drakken time to take care of whatever mischief Cuddles had caused—unless the tree was down again—and hopefully make up a picnic lunch. There were plenty of ways to show Drakken affection during lunch that would put a twitch in his mother's eye. And if things seemed to be getting out of hand, she would just enjoy sunbathing on the beach.

She entered the kitchen to find Mrs. Lipsky tossing a small red ball for Admiral Cuddles to fetch. Drakken was frowning and looking at two soda cans, apparently trying to choose between them.

"I'll take a lime sparkling water," Shego said as way of greeting.

Both Lipskys looked up and gave her a quick once-over. Admiral Cuddles ran and jumped up on her legs. She ignored him.

"I thought you weren't coming?" Mrs. Lipsky asked.

"Sunbathing is one of my favorite hobbies. Didn't your son tell you?" Shego said with a grin as she walked up to lean against the counter.

"No, he didn't."

Drakken had grabbed the sandwich ingredients back out of the fridge and was quickly throwing one together. "Yes," he said distractedly. "Sometimes she uses a tanning bed in the lab..."

Drakken looked up with a start when he realized what he'd said, and smiled innocently in the face of his mother's twisted brow. Shego sidled up next to Drakken as he finished wrapping her sandwich and packed it into the small ice chest he'd gotten out.

"That doesn't sound very professional," Mrs. Lipsky said, shaking her head.

Shego shrugged. "I'm used to getting what I want."

Drakken looked at her with a half-frown as he gathered up the ice chest.

"Mother, would you get Admiral Cuddles's things?"

"Of course, dear!"

Shego started toward the door, passing Mrs. Lipsky as she picked up the dog's food and water bowls and the ball. Already there was more of a spring in her hobble with her decision to stop trying to act nice and to just be her typical, sassy self. Even if Drakken's mom did end up hating her, she knew it wasn't going to change anything in the long run. Except maybe how future holidays were spent.

She was nearly at the stairs when the other two caught up to her, and she was ready to begin flirting level one.

"Dr. Drakken..." she said, putting a hint of feminine worry in her voice.

"Yes?" he turned to her quickly as he picked up on exactly what she wanted him to in her voice, though his brow twisted in confusion at her formal use of his name.

"I'll never make it down those stairs all the way to the beach... Do you think you could carry me?"

The concern in his eyes immediately turned to irritation as he realized what she was doing. She smirked at him, as Mrs. Lipsky couldn't see her face.

"Yes," he said. Then his brow rose. "Ah...can you carry the ice chest?"

"Not with my wrist... Oh Mama Lipsky, would you mind? I'm sure I can manage the dog bowls."

Shego took great delight in Mrs. Lipsky's confused face and in Drakken's anxious frown. He set down the ice chest and picked Shego up. With the crutch looped over her arm, Shego set her towel across her middle and Mrs. Lipsky handed her the dog bowls and toy before picking up the ice chest.

Admiral Cuddles rushed on ahead of the trio, wagging his tail all the way down the stairs.

The trip down to the beach continued in silence for three flights of stairs, until the silence gradually became filled with the heavy breathing of the two Lipskys. Shego lightly rubbed Drakken's neck and smiled up at him as they made it down another flight.

"Drew..." Mrs. Lipsky said breathlessly, "I didn't realize...you and your assistant...were so familiar."

Shego waited until she caught Mrs. Lipsky's eye and then winked. The older woman looked inestimably confused.

"We...um... Well..."

"We've worked closely together for almost five years now," Shego said. "There's not much we don't share."

She suppressed a laugh at the disturbed look on the red-haired woman's face, and likewise smirked at the annoyed and confused look on Drakken's face.

When they reached the beach, Drakken made to set Shego down, his arms trembling, but Shego held on tighter.

"I can't use the crutch in the sand," she complained. He blinked, and then frowned. "Mama Lipsky, why don't you choose a spot for our picnic?"

The older woman didn't go too far from the beach door of the lair before setting down the ice chest.

"Good choice, Mother," Drakken said, catching up quickly and setting Shego on her feet.

Admiral Cuddles took off at a run down the beach, barking excitedly. Drakken looked after the dog in concern for a moment, but then settled on spreading out the picnic. Mrs. Lipsky seemed to have recovered her equanimity as she looked up and down the beach with a smile.

"Oh my!"

Shego smirked. "Forty-six..."

"What a beautiful place!"

The sun had burned most of the clouds away, and only a few of the puffy rain-laden dark masses were left, hovering low over the crashing waves. The sun beat down from high in the sky, warming the sand and creating the ideal setting for a picnic lunch.

Shego dropped the dog bowls and toy and spread out her beach towel with practiced ease. She hopped out of her sandals onto the towel and carefully went down to the knee of her injured leg, and then sat down. She checked the pocket of her track pants, making sure her ring was still there, and then wriggled out of them. She folded them carefully and set them at the end of her towel and stretched her legs out, dropping her sunglasses down on her nose with a grin.

She looked over at Drakken who was watching her uncertainly. He had likewise spread a large blanket out on the sand and sat the ice chest on it. Mrs. Lipsky was mopping at her brow with a handkerchief.

"Ever been to the Caribbean before?" Shego asked the older woman.

Mrs. Lipsky blinked at the question, and then settled down slowly on the blanket. "No, I haven't. It's very picturesque."

Drakken watched the two women as he unpacked the lunch.

"I've gotta say, I don't really have anything to complain about living here," Shego said, rolling over onto her stomach and leaning up on her elbows. "It's a built-in vacation spot and it's out of the way. No one bothers us."

"How long have you...lived with my son?" Mrs. Lipsky asked a bit nervously.

"Ever since he hired me," she grinned. "But I did keep my own apartment for my days off until recently."

Shego reached for the chicken-salad sandwich and strawberries that Drakken had set out for her, along with a can of the requested sparkling lime water.

"When we were trying to take over the world, I was on call almost twenty-four seven," she added before taking a bite.

Mrs. Lipsky looked a mixture of sad and concerned. Drakken was frowning until his mother turned to him, and a fake smile instantly took over his face.

"Would you like some strawberries, Mother?"

"Oh no thank you dear, they're not really to my taste."

Admiral Cuddles ran back to them, his entire body wagging in glee. Drakken set up his bowls and opened a can of food into one and poured bottled water in the other. The dog shook sand out of his fur before digging into the food.

"So tell me, Mama Lipsky," Shego continued. "What was Dr. D. like as a kid? I mean, his genius must have shown at an early age."

"Oh it certainly did! He took apart our house phone when he was only five years old."

Shego took another bite and smirked at Drakken. He was staring down at seemingly nothing and scratching the dog's haunches, his brow twisted in worry.

"Did he ever show..." Shego lowered her sunglasses on her nose, "evil tendencies?"

Drakken turned to her with sudden ire. "Shego!"

Mrs. Lipsky's face fell in sadness, her lower lip trembling as she looked at her son.

"I'm just curious," Shego said with a shrug, her smirk unwavering.

Drakken rubbed his face with both hands.

"Oh, my poor son! Where did I go wrong?" Mrs. Lipsky cried.

Drakken stood and grabbed Admiral Cuddles up with him, who protested being taken from his food with a whine.

"I'm taking a walk," he said. He threw an angry glance at Shego before turning and talking off toward the surf.

Shego grinned after him and pushed herself back to a sitting position.

"So...that's a no?" Shego asked.

Mrs. Lipsky looked at her with a frown, and then with a huff, started off down the beach after her son.

Shego chuckled and pushed her sunglasses back up and continued eating her sandwich.

Drakken stared at the waves as they rolled in and vanished against the shore, petting the small dog he held tightly in his arms. Absolutely nothing was going as planned. He had assumed by this point that the three of them would have been tying ribbons on candy canes to add to the tree, and that he and Shego would have been making excuses as to why his mother's wedding planning ideas wouldn't work.

"Son! Son!"

Drakken turned with a sigh as he heard his mother's approaching voice.

"Yes, Mother?"

"Son, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings!" she said worriedly as she reached him.

He shook his head and set the wriggling dog down in the sand. "You didn't," he assured her with a tired smile.

"It was what Shego said, wasn't it? About you having evil tendencies?"

Drakken's face twisted in a tired sigh. "Mother... Why are being so hard on her?"

His mother blinked. "Don't you think she's acting very strange?"

The dog was pawing at his ankles and barking, so he picked it up again.

"H-how so?"

"She barely said a word to me on the ride back from the airport, and she's been getting moodier and more sarcastic ever since."

"You mean...acting like herself," Drakken said, his brow furrowing as he frowned.

"And then...with that horrible shirt she was wearing before, and now a swim suit... It's almost like she's trying to..." she lowered her voice, "to woo you her with her wiles."

Drakken's brow rose as he saw a potential opening.

"Would that be...quite a surprise, if she was?" he asked, scratching Admiral Cuddles's head and turning to walk back to their picnic spot.

"Oh Drew, it's to be expected."

He looked at her quizzically.

"Why wouldn't she be attracted to my handsome hero of a son? But I'm not so sure she's reformed her ways the way you have."

Drakken's face fell. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, it started with all that gang business back at the airport..."

His brow twisted in confusion. "Gang business?"

"Well yes. If she's involved in gangs, it can't be a good sign. And she was obviously trying to hide something from me."

As Drakken approached the blanket he noted Shego's tired expression as she lounged on her beach towel. Her braced wrist and bandaged leg seemed for the first time to take away from her natural menace, and he pursed his lips a bit at the new vulnerability the injuries naturally covered her in.

When she saw the pair approaching, she pushed herself up a bit and grabbed one of the strawberries he had set out for her, biting only half of it and slowly licking her lips afterward.

He grinned. The way things had been going, they certainly couldn't get any worse with Shego simply being herself. And his mother's presence notwithstanding, he definitely didn't mind the flirty attentions...

"Shego dear, have you told my son about those awful cunts?"

The dog fell from Drakken's hands as he choked on his own breath, gasping at what he'd just heard from his mother's lips.

"M-M—Mother, what did you say!?"

He was too stunned to notice Shego biting her cheeks and holding in her laughter.

"The gang who vandalized your fancy flying car. They scratched their name on the side of it with their keys," his mother continued.

Drakken was still choking, and he finally noticed Shego was fighting off laughter as she sat up on her towel. He fully registered his mother's words and began to realize in part just what was going on.

"I had such trouble sleeping last night, worrying that some of your former evil comrades had decided to take some sort of revenge against you since you saved the world. But Shego told me they were after her."

His mother sat back down on the blanket and continued her lunch. Shego rolled over so her face was momentarily to their backs, and Drakken saw her shoulders shaking behind her hair.

"Shego, have you told my son about it yet? I imagine you haven't had time..."

"No," Shego said from somewhere behind her hair, "I haven't had a chance yet."

Drakken's heart pounded as he sat back down on the blanket with a frown. He took a large bite of his sandwich and chewed it angrily as Admiral Cuddles crawled into his lap.

"Why don't you tell us both now? Why was it your fault?"

Drakken made eye contact with his mother and saw the look of warning in her eyes. So...something that had happened completely randomly had started all the nonsense of his mother's distrust of Shego? Well, she was giving him a chance to put a stop to it. So that's exactly what he was going to do.

"What happened?" he asked, after washing down his bite of sandwich with a sip of his grape soda.

Shego turned back to face them, having recovered her equanimity, and shrugged. "Someone keyed the hover car."

"A...gang?" Drakken tried to follow whatever story she had obviously made up.

Shego shrugged again. "I guess. After I came out of the vet, the hover car was keyed."

Drakken furrowed his brow as he considered. It could have been random... Or it could have been targeted. It could have been some sort of revenge as his mother had said, or it could be some new threat. It could have been something as simple as...someone who recognized them and didn't trust them as heroes yet. That happened fairly often.

Or...Shego could have done something to precipitate it. Not that it mattered to him. Only Shego knew the truth.

He narrowed his eyes at her and she shifted her sunglasses higher on her nose. He grimaced. So it was something she'd started...

"Well... You...remember all of our evil connections," Drakken said, spinning the lie further. "Do you think it's something we need to worry about?"

"Nah," Shego said, stretching out on her towel.

"Well, you see there Mother? Shego says it's nothing to worry about."

His mother didn't look convinced. "But the horrible things I hear about gang violence on the news... Are you sure these cu—"

"Now Mother!" he cut her off quickly. "If Shego says everything's fine, then...everything's fine."

She lowered her voice without lowering her voice. "I still think you're putting too much trust in her," his mother whispered.

Drakken watched Shego lower the sunglasses to roll her eyes, a frown settling on her face as she continued her lunch.

"Hey, did you put something different in this?"

"Hm?" Drakken looked to where Shego was pulling apart her half-finished sandwich.

"It tastes different."

He shook his head. "It's...just the usual."

The corner of Shego's mouth twitched for a moment, but then she seemed to let it go. "Tastes different. It's making me a little nauseous," she said.

Drakken let her comment pass as he pet the small dog in his lap. Her opinions about most things changed on a whim.

"I think it's delicious, dear," his mother said. "It's my recipe, isn't it?"

He smiled tiredly. "Yes, Mother."

Admiral Cuddles suddenly perked up. He left Drakken's lap and trotted away through the golden sands, either seeing or smelling something that his human companions were unaware of.

"Do you like sunbathing, Mama Lipsky?" Shego asked, lowering her sunglasses again.

"Oh... No dear, we didn't have beaches and sun like this where I grew up."

"You should try it sometime," Shego said, laying down with a smile. "It's very relaxing. Just melts your cares away..."

"At my age?"

"Why not?" Shego said, readjusting her sunglasses and smiling.

Drakken looked at his mother's perplexed and yet curious face. Perhaps this was an 'olive branch' moment, if he could find a way to work it in his favor.

"And it's best when you can get a massage, too," Shego continued. "There's this spa I go to in Greece... They do absolutely the best hot stone massage you'll ever have."

"Oh... That sounds..."

"I haven't been able to convince Dr. D. to try it yet," Shego said, grinning up at him. "Maybe we could all go sometime."

Drakken's face began to relax. It seemed...Shego was actually trying now? The spa didn't appeal to him at all, but perhaps if it convinced his mother to like Shego—

"That's very kind of you dear, but massages sound a bit too intimate for coworkers to share. That sounds like something just for families."

The smile she then gave to Drakken caused his hair to stand on end. He slowly met her expression with a broad, put-on grin.

"Heh-heh. Mm."

"Son? You haven't been working too hard lately, have you?"

Drakken's face fell to confusion at the sudden subject change. "Ah, well...no?"

"Inventing all of those wonderful things to help people must be very taxing."

Drakken shrugged. "Oh, it's...all in a hero's work, Mother."

His mother was on her knees and moving behind him. He leaned away in confusion until her hands began massaging his neck. He took a sudden breath, and then let it out in a long sigh as he felt his muscles beginning to relax.

"There you are, Son. No need to go to a spa. It sounds like the sort of place there might be women walking around in bathing suits anyway. Your sweet, innocent eyes don't need to see that. Probably all gold-diggers, too."

Drakken's eyes opened and he found Shego staring at him, her expression something between shock and anger. His lips parted to speak, though he had no idea what was about to come out. And then...

'Rrarf arf arf!'

Drakken turned and saw Admiral Cuddles about fifty yards down the beach barking loudly at something only he could see.

"Ah, I'd better...ah..." He got up and ran toward the dog, grateful for the distraction. As he got closer he saw that it was barking at a shallow pool that had been created by the recent high tide. He slowed down and narrowed his eyes. Inside the pool was a largish, brown octopus.

Hmm. Well, you don't see that everyday.

"Mother!" he turned and called down the beach. "Come see what Admiral Cuddles found!"

He watched as Admiral Cuddles excitedly stepped into the pool, and then backed off when the octopus moved its long slippery tentacles. The dog appeared to be changing motives every second, unsure whether to attack, play, or be afraid.

Drakken smirked. Mutant octopi might be a good idea... Definitely terrifying. But, given his experience with mutant plants perhaps he should stick to robots...

His mind drifted back to the conversation and he wondered if he should arrange some sort of resort vacation as a compromise, if only to try to get his mother and Shego closer together. If they were doing something Shego enjoyed, then maybe more of her good qualities would stand out to his mother and she would get off the whole villain-thing. Although her clear and direct attempt to put Shego off a moment ago was rather disconcerting...

"What is it, Drew?"

He grinned at his mother as she reached his side. "Admiral Cuddles found an octopus!"

"My goodness! What a fascinating creature! I've heard that they're poisonous... Is it safe?"

Drakken's brow furrowed. "Um... I'm not sure."

Admiral Cuddles chose that moment to decide on attack, and rushed into the pool to nip at one of the octopus's arms. Drakken watched wide-eyed as the octopus grabbed his little dog, who yelped in fright and scrambled for escape. Drakken bent over and reached for the dog, who leapt into his arms.

Drakken fell back on his rear end, his clothes immediately becoming covered in damp sand as the dog scrambled up to his chest.

"Oh...Admiral Cuddles," he said with a bit of disdain.

The octopus began squirming out of the pool, and when the dog noticed he ran away down the beach in fright, yipping the whole way.

"Cuddles!" Drakken called.

"I'll get him back dear," his mother said, "you get yourself cleaned up."

His mother stepped down the strip of golden sand after the dog, and Drakken frowned at the octopus as it crawled back toward the surf.

"You would make a good ally in evil," he said to it as he rose and headed back toward the picnic.

As he approached the blanket and ice chest he took in Shego's relaxed form where she lay on her towel. She appeared every bit herself out in the sun, right down to the devil-may-care smirk on her face, excepting the pink and teal swim suit that he'd never seen before.

She sat up as he got close, and he sat down with a frown and furrowed brow. As he brushed the wet sand from his polo shirt and jeans, he felt Shego slide up close to him and set one of her arms around his waist. He looked down at her anxiously as her other hand rested on his chest. His eyes darted down the beach to where his mother was still chasing after Admiral Cuddles.

"Want to give your mother something real to complain about?" the sultry voice at his shoulder said.

"Trouble-maker..." Drakken said, taking off one shoe and shaking the sand out of it. "I should have changed..."

"What makes you say that?" Shego said, sliding her hand up to his shoulder.

"Because it won't...make her accept our engagement," he said with a frown as he replaced his shoe. "We need to figure out...some plausible story."

Her other hand gripped his hip. "What's wrong with the truth?" she said in his ear, her hot breath igniting his senses.

He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "You're never this...this frisky," he protested, annoyed at the tremor in his voice.

Shego leaned back suddenly, her smirk still plastered on. "Maybe Christmas brings out the best in me."

Drakken turned as the sound of approaching barks heralded the return of the dog, running toward them with its tongue flopping casually out the side of its mouth. Drakken's mother was several yards behind, unable to keep up with the energetic animal.

He shifted and put a few more inches of space between himself and Shego, and her smirk faded a bit.

"Let's just tell her and get it over with."

"No," Drakken shook his head, watching his mother's approach.

"Why not?" Shego leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"We could...if she didn't think you were going back to villainy," he said, turning to give her a pointed look.

"I never left. Neither did you."

"But she doesn't know that! She thinks I'm some paragon of virtue now," Drakken hissed. "What really happened with the hover car, anyway? Why did my mother say—?"

"Catch him!"

Drakken looked up at the sound of his mother's voice and saw Admiral Cuddles approaching at top speed. He reached out and grabbed the dog by the collar, effectively stopping it, and it yelped in surprise.

When his mother reached the blanket she was out of breath and doubled over, her hands on her knees. Drakken held the dog to keep it from running again, its paws dirtying his pants again as well as the blanket.

"Are you all right, Mama Lipsky?"

Drakken looked over at Shego in surprise.

"I think...I could use a lie down," she said breathlessly.

"Go on and take your mom back upstairs, Dr. D. I'll keep an eye on Shorty."

Drakken stared at Shego's uncharacteristically kind expression. When she flicked her eyes over to his, he knew it was only pretense. But it was some of the best acting he'd ever seen as she turned caring eyes back to his mother, who he saw was looking at Shego with a surprise that mirrored his.

Shego shifted over to the blanket and took hold of the dog's collar as Drakken stood back up and took his mother's arm.

"I'll get this stuff packed up, too," Shego said.

Drakken started toward the lair's door, and then paused.

"Thank you. You're always...so attentive," he said, looking to add to the act.

The eye-roll Shego gave him told him it probably wasn't helpful, and he grimaced as he helped his mother to the door. He looked back one more time once she had started up the stairs, and saw that Shego had lay back down on her towel. He closed the door and caught up to his mother, supporting her at the elbow.

"Wasn't that nice of Shego to offer to clean up for us?" he said with an encouraging smile.

"I might have thought so if she hadn't made me carry the ice chest down the stairs," his mother replied.

Drakken's face fell.

They walked up the many flights of stairs in silence after that, but for their mutual heavy breathing. After four flights they both paused and Drakken barely caught himself from stumbling as his mother leaned against him.

"Drewbie..."

The lightly pleading tone of his mother's voice put him on guard, but he still looked down at her with a smile. Her face was concerned.

"Why don't you send Shego home to her family for Christmas? You're her boss, you can tell her you'd rather just spend the time with the two of us."

Drakken's heart sank.

"She wouldn't take that well," Drakken blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"No, I don't suppose she would," his mother said as she continued up the stairs.

Several minutes later found them at the top of the stairs, still out of breath.

"You know Drew, you really should have an elevator installed before my next visit."

"Next...visit...?"

"Yes dear. Now I'm going to go freshen up...and when I come back we can tie the ribbons on the candy canes and hang them from the tree," she said with a grin over her shoulder as she disappeared down the hall.

Drakken hesitated for a moment before heading to his room to freshen up as well. Beach days were definitely not his thing.

Shego had packed up the remains of all of the lunches, including her strawberries. For some reason they weren't tasting as good as usual. She'd dumped the contents of the dog bowls and packed those and the unused toy ball up in the ice chest too now that there was extra room. She'd folded the blanket and set it atop the chest, leaned her crutch against them, pulled on her track pants, and now sat on her towel.

Waiting.

The dog was sniffing at her feet, but not licking them, so she ignored him. She tried to guess how long it would take Drakken with the burden of his aged mother to ascend the stairs and then for him to come back down, but she hadn't been paying attention while packing up the lunch.

She lay down on the towel and folded her hands behind her head, looking up the jagged sides of the ancient volcanic plug that was the lair. As she stared up at the sides that narrowed into a flat top just below the clouds she started feeling dizzy.

She rolled onto her side and stared over at the dog, who had tugged the neatly-folded blanket off of the ice chest and was dragging it around in the sand.

"He can't be serious," she said to no one.

She looked over at the door, and then lay her head back down. She hadn't put on any sunscreen.

"If he's not back here in five minutes I'm going to need that blanket..."

"Oh Drew, this is just like when you were a boy!"

Drakken's mother gave his arm a squeeze as he tied an orange bow on a red candy cane. He did feel a calming sense of nostalgia with the repetitive act as they tied bow after bow of varying colors onto the candy canes ahead of tying them onto the tree. Listening to his mother drone on with reminiscences was also a very happy change from what her visit had been so far.

"...And someday, maybe you'll even have someone special to share this with," his mother said as she finished up a sparkling silver ribbon.

Drakken blinked back to the present with a frown.

"We're supposed to be sharing it with Shego..." he said, not hiding his disappointment.

His mother faced him with a furrowed brow. "You want to share our traditions with your employee? You wouldn't feel obligated to do that if she'd just go spend Christmas with her own family."

Drakken dug his fingers into the couch cushions, his forehead creasing in frustration. "Mother... She's not just my—"

A blaring alarm—the intruder alarm—began going off in the lair with a repeating horn and red flashes. Drakken stood up with a start as his mother covered her ears in pain.

"What's that Drew? Is it a fire?"

"No!" he yelled over the noise, running for the main lab.

He skidded to a stop in front of the computer and turned off the alarm as he brought up the lair's security camera feeds in multiple-screen view.

"Drew, what on earth? This isn't...isn't some horrible criminal thing, is it?" his mother asked, wringing her hands in worry.

"Nnyeh, Mother! Quiet!" he said as he cycled through the multiple cameras, looking for the point of intrusion. Who would be breaking into the lair on Christmas Eve day...?

As he switched over to the camera overlooking the West beach his heart began pounding. Two police boats were pulling up in the cove not too far from the beach entrance to the lair.

Questions began racing through his mind faster than he could pause to think of possible answers. How had they found the lair? What crimes had he committed lately to warrant police attention?

He started making a list, going backward toward the summer when he and Shego had received their pardons. There were the St. Lucia bank robberies, the Martinique bank robberies, the St. Thomas museum robberies... Had they sold any antiquities that could have been traced back to them? They had to keep up the cash flow so he could purchase parts for his inventions... And Shego got bored so quickly unless she was—

Drakken staggered back from the computer with a choked gasp.

"What's wrong Drew?"

"Shego! I...I forgot about her!" he said as he ran from the room.

"She's a grown woman, she can take care of herself..."

He heard his mother's protest faintly as he ran for the balcony and the hover cars, not even considering the stairs. How long had he left her on the beach? Twenty minutes? Thirty?

He was about to hop into the closest hover car when he stopped short, his eyes going wide.

"Drew... What's the big hurry?" his mother complained, catching up to him. He felt her eyes on him for a moment, but then her gaze followed his own to the side of the hover car. "Oh, there you see? That's where that gang vandalized your fancy car."

Drakken shook his head with a quiet growl and ignored the obscenity, jumping into the car and starting it up.

"Drew! Wait for me!"

"Mother, this...this really isn't a good time for you to come with me," he protested. But she was already climbing into the car.

"Oh, nonsense. Poor Admiral Cuddles is down there too. If you're so busy being concerned about your employee, he's going to be jealous and want some attention," she said as she buckled her seat belt.

Drakken bit his lower lip as he lifted the car off and guided it down the side of the lair. He'd forgotten his dog too...

"Drew, you're flying without your seat belt!" his mother gasped.

He turned away so she couldn't see his grimace as he yanked the belt across his chest and buckled it. His panic about the police had been superseded by his concern about what Shego would do to him when he got down there. He wouldn't be able to pretend that he'd just been taking overly long. She was sure to know that he'd forgotten to come back for her.

As he brought the car down he saw three officers had disembarked their boats and crossed the beach to where Shego was still lounging on her towel, but with an indignant frown on her face. Swallowing nervously, he landed the car about ten yards away and then hopped out. He slowed his initial jog as he saw the stern looks of the officers.

"Ah..." he began, looking nervously between the three men and Shego. Admiral Cuddles was sniffing at the policemen's shoes and wagging his tail excitedly.

"Huh, look who it is," Shego greeted him with a frown.

"Dr. Drakken," a dark brown-skinned police officer with a thick mustache and an accent something between British and French greeted him. "We're investigating an incident that happened yesterday evening on St. Vincent."

"Oh my!"

"Forty-eight," Shego said, drawing out the words as Drakken's mother joined them.

"Are you here about those cunts?"

The three uniformed men's eyes grew large as dinner plates.

"Mother! Let's...leave the officers to do their job without distraction, shall we?" Drakken said, taking his mother by the arms and turning her back toward the hover car.

"Drew Lipsky, if you're trying to hide some sort of underhanded goings-on from me... Or if Shego really is involved with that cunt gang and you're just turning a blind eye..."

Shego rolled her eyes.

"Mother! There is no gang! Please, just wait in the car!"

"But...if there's no gang then who vandalized your fancy car? Is Shego lying to you?"

"Don't worry about it!" Drakken said, his face starting to turn purple. "Now please...just wait in the car!"

"But if you knew it wasn't a gang, why would you—?"

Drakken was already jogging back to the officers, where Shego was standing up slowly using the crutch for support. He moved to her side to help her, but she slapped his hand away with her braced wrist and scowled at him.

Drakken recoiled, an anxious look on his face. He looked up at the three officers who were looking between the pair as if they'd just arrived from another planet.

"Ah...so... St. Vincent, you say?" Drakken said with a nervous smile. For some reason St. Vincent did ring a bell, but he wasn't sure why...

"Yes. A man made a report late last night, claiming that Shego had attacked him and deliberately released his $3,000 macaw."

Drakken looked at Shego, who rolled her eyes again.

"Ugh, I didn't attack him," she said with an exaggerated groan.

One of the other officers spoke up, a voice recorder in hand. "Would you care to give a statement?"

"Sure," Shego said, leaning on the crutch. "While I was in the vet with the dog, a man keyed my car," she said, pointing to the hover car. The third officer produced a small camera from somewhere and took a photo. "I was mad, so I let his bird out of its cage in the parking lot."

"The man says you...shot at him with your green fire," the first officer prodded.

Drakken swallowed nervously as Shego shrugged with another roll of her eyes. "Might have destroyed the bird's cage that way. But I never attacked the guy."

"I see... I'm very sorry to do this ma'am, but you'll need to come in to the island for further questioning."

Shego scowled, and Drakken quickly stepped in front of her, waving his hands.

"Now...now officers, surely this can wait until...a-after Christmas? My mother is visiting from New Jersey and just had a very long flight," he said with an innocent, beseeching smile.

The three uniformed men looked at each other. The one who had spoken first finally sighed. "If you were anyone else...no. But since you saved the world...we can wait a few days."

Drakken sighed heavily in relief, but Shego merely turned and began picking her way toward the hover car. Her going was made almost comically slow by the crutch's lack of stability in the sand, and Drakken watched with a grimace as she almost fell twice.

He balled up the picnic blanket, and tossed it and the ice chest in the back of the hover car.

"Can we help you ma'am?" one of the officers said as they all watched Shego.

"Sure," she said, tossing a glare over her shoulder at Drakken. The officer who had spoken moved to her side to help support her. "Nice to have a man a woman can count on around here."

Drakken grabbed Admiral Cuddles and hurried him back to the car as well, dropping him in his mother's lap. She looked a bit affronted, but held on to the sand-covered animal and began brushing him off. Drakken watched the police officer help Shego into the back seat of the hover car.

"Th-thank you again, officers," he said with too-big a smile. "We'll...expect your visit sometime after Christmas."

"Actually, if you could just give us a phone number, we could probably get this taken care of over the phone."

Drakken held his breath. Shego glared at him.

"Oh yes, that's a much better idea!" his mother said, joining the conversation again. "My son's phone number is..."

Drakken felt his blood racing as his mother gave out his private number to the police. He would have to change it...as soon as this St. Vincent business was over. He remembered now, he had seen the country's name on the receipt from the vet that he'd pulled from Shego's jacket pocket the night before.

"Thank you again, officers," Drakken said as the three men stepped back from the hover car. He leapt inside and started it up.

"Merry Christmas!" his mother called down with a wave.

Drakken stared at the rock in front of him as he brought the craft slowly up the cliff-face toward the balcony. But for the dog's scuffling around, shaking sand off of its fur into the floor of the car, the group was silent.

"Drew... Son?"

"Yes, Mother?"

"If you knew there was no cunt gang why did you tell me there was?"

Shego burst out laughing. Drakken turned to glare at her as he landed the hover car, but she was doubled over and holding her stomach as she seemingly gave up on all of it.

"You're not...involved in something evil again, are you?" his mother asked worriedly.

Shego swung her legs out of the car and landed on both feet with a hiss. Then using the crutch she began hobbling toward the door, still chuckling to herself.

"No, Mother! I...I invent things to better the world, now. Remember everything I showed you in the lab?"

He helped his mother out of the car, who still held Admiral Cuddles in her arms.

"But I don't understand. If you knew that the cunts—"

"Mother! Stop saying that! There is no gang, it's just a...a dirty word."

His mother's eyes widened behind her green glasses. "Drew Lipsky! You've been letting me say a dirty word and didn't tell me?"

Shego's laughter intensified, and he looked to meet her gaze from where she stood in the doorway. Her eyes flashed with anger and her mirth was suddenly gone. He knew if he didn't think fast he would have a green explosion of fury on his hands.

"I was just...I didn't... I wasn't..."

"Is it Shego? Is she involved in something you know about, and you're trying to protect her?"

Drakken looked back at his secret fiancée, who scowled and disappeared into the lair. He grabbed up everything from the picnic out of the hover car and hurried inside after her.

"You didn't answer me, Drew," his mother said, following close behind him.

Drakken passed Shego and gave her a pleading look as he went to divest himself of his burden in the kitchen. His mother looked between the two of them before following along.

"There's something you're not telling me, Drew Lipsky."

"Mother, please..." he said, leaning down on the counter and resting his head on his clenched fists.

It had all gone too far. Why they hadn't just told his mother the truth about he and Shego from the start was beyond him. Now that she was back on the idea of villainy she wasn't likely to let it go.

"Some Christmas Eve this is turning out to be," his mother said when she entered the kitchen, setting the dog down and moving to the sink to wash her hands. "We'll hardly have time to bake the cookies..."

Shego had followed them in with a frown. She sat heavily in one of the chairs and leaned her crutch up against the side of the table.

"Shego," his mother said, and he watched her look up with fire in her eyes. "Since my son doesn't seem to have the courage to tell you...I'll do it for him."

"What's that?" she asked. Drakken saw her right hand flare briefly, and he ran around the counter and pulled a chair to sit across from her and grabbed her hands in his.

"It's just not professional for an employee to spend the holidays with their boss. I can't figure out what it is you do for him, anyway. You should just make a clean break of it, and find a new job. Let him say goodbye to his past life."

Drakken bit his lower lip as Shego scowled.

"And you clearly haven't reformed all of your evil tendencies..." his mother continued, drying her hands on a dish towel. "Drew, I just don't understand how you don't see it. She's going to be a bad influence."

Drakken hung his head and grit his teeth. He felt the heat in Shego's hands and he held them tighter.

"Mother... Shego is...is..."

"I know you don't do well with change, dear, but if she leaves it will be the best thing for both of you. Here, Admiral Cuddles! You want something to eat?"

Drakken listened as his mother opened the ice chest and brought out the dog bowls. When he dared to glance up at Shego she was glaring. He wondered if she was mad at him for leaving her on the beach, or at his mother, or both.

"Well. I'm a bad influence. Clearly still involved in evil. What am I doing here?" Shego said quietly, in a voice far too flat. She started to stand up.

Drakken's heart leapt to his throat and he grabbed her shoulders to stop her. She furrowed her brow at him, and he glanced back toward where his mother stood. She was bent over the dog bowls, opening a new can of wet food.

Drakken leaned forward to speak into Shego's ear. "Is your ring in your pocket?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"What? Yes?" she answered.

"Give me your ring!" he hissed.

"What?" she whispered back as his hands went into her hip pockets, his eyes watching his mother warily.

"We'll do a...a mock-proposal," he whispered back.

"No! That's stupid!" she said, trying to pull his hands back. She could only grab one at a time though, due to her injured wrist, and he easily evaded her. He pulled the ring from her pocket and slipped it quickly into his.

"Mother..." he said. Mrs. Lipsky turned around. Shego scowled and rolled her eyes, turning her head so the older woman couldn't see.

"Yes, dear?"

"Shego is here because...I want her here," he said emphatically.

The woman stepped around the kitchen island to the other side of the table, her brow twisting in confusion.

"You do?"

Shego glared at Drakken and mouthed a 'no', but the facade of a sweet smile he had plastered on stayed firm.

"Y-yes," he said, going down on one knee in front of Shego. "And I want her here...forever."

"Oh! Oh my!" Mrs. Lipsky cried gleefully.

"Fifty..." Shego muttered under her breath, turning just enough to see the red-haired woman's hands in excited fists at her cheeks, her expression having suddenly blossomed into a wide grin.

"Shego, will you marry me?" he asked, pulling the ring from his pocket and presenting it to her.

Shego was still mostly turned away and frowning, her arms crossed. His eyes urged her on even through his forced smile. She let the moment rest. How could he act so...so...childish? Why did he let his mother have such control over him?

"...Well?" she heard his mother say, and recognized the hint of worry in her voice.

Shego's frown started to fade slightly as she considered... She could say no and ruin the whole thing. That would teach them both a lesson. She schooled her face and turned back to face him fully, taking a breath to speak. And then—

"Every moment with you...is a sunrise."

Shego looked at his face, from which the fake-smile had vanished. It was replaced by the intense stare he had given her just before proposing for real, though without the nervous crease of his brow this time. The breath she had taken came out in a wordless gasp.

She slowly held out her left hand, partially covered by the wrist brace. He slid the ring back where it belonged and then held her fingers gently. She felt the band from underneath with her thumb, sighing silently through her nose as she couldn't hold back the little smile that found its way from her eyes to her lips.

"Oh! My son is engaged! My son is engaged!" Mrs. Lipsky chanted happily. Shego peripherally saw the older woman dancing in a small circle behind the table. But she was focused on the man in front of her. He helped her to her feet and she stood up on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms went to her waist and pulled her close.

"How do you come up with that cheesy stuff?" she whispered breathily into his ear.

He turned his head so they were nose to nose, a shy blush on his cheeks. "I just...look at you."

She grinned and took his lips between hers, her heart pounding as his answering touch was fierce. His kiss was like fireworks going off in a grand finale, the heat building from deep in her chest until her every extremity was alight and tingling.

"Mmm..." she hummed happily against his mouth.

"Drew Lipsky!"

Drakken's lips left hers as he turned his head to look at his mother. Shego pulled herself more tightly to him and rested her cheek against his, smirking happily.

"Where did you learn such...such raunchy behavior?" his mother continued her scolding.

"Ah..."

Shego's smirk grew as she looked between the parent and adult child, whose eyes kept darting between her and his mother.

"He's got all sorts of behaviors," she said with a grin, adding fuel to the fire.

She caught Drakken's angry glance before he put on an innocent smile for his mother.

"Oh, Shego dear. I'm so sorry if my son has been corrupting you. I always knew his going so far away to college would be a bad idea..."

Shego's grin grew as her shoulders shook with silent laughter. Mrs. Lipsky's visit had suddenly become much, much more tolerable.

"What about his villainous past? Aren't you worried about that?" she asked.

Drakken slowly let go of his hold on Shego's waist, and she slid carefully back into her chair. He stepped behind her and his hands went to her shoulders and held onto them tightly.

"Oh, no dear. Drew assured me that the things he did didn't include anything...savage."

Shego turned and smirked up at him. "'Savage.' That's a new word for it."

Drakken's fingers dug into her shoulders. She patted one of his hands.

"Hadn't you better get on with baking those cookies?" Shego asked.

"Oh no dear, we should celebrate!" Mrs. Lipsky said. She stepped around the table and sat in the chair she had occupied the night before, bringing it much closer to Shego than the green woman would have liked.

"I think some fresh Christmas cookies are the perfect way to celebrate," Shego said, grinning up at Drakken again. "There's still plenty of Christmas Eve left."

"She's right, dear. Now off you go."

Baffled, Drakken looked between the two women and blinked several times. He finally turned and started pulling ingredients out of the cupboard.

Shego smirked and continued. "And I know I heard Drew say something—"

He turned and looked sharply at her.

"—about tying ribbons to candy canes? That sounds like fun!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. We started without you, dear. But we still have plenty left!"

Shego grinned at where Drakken was staring at her in total confusion as he laid out various sized measuring cups on the counter.

"I'm sure you can imagine... A poor family growing up in urban Go City, one daughter and four sons... My family didn't have any Christmas traditions."

"Oh my!"

"Fifty-one," Shego coughed into her wrist brace.

"Well now that my son is engaged, we can start building some new traditions!"

Shego put on a sweet smile. "That sounds great, Mama Lipsky."

"Oh, you can call me Estelle, dear."

"All right," Shego said. "And before we make the cookies, I think I should change. Unless we're going back to the beach?"

When Estelle Lipsky turned to look at her son, Shego's smile dropped into a critical frown. Drakken twiddled his fingers innocently.

"Ah...no, I don't think so," he said.

"Oh no, dear," Estelle said. "It was lovely, but Christmas should be spent inside don't you think?"

"I completely agree," Shego said, grabbing her crutch and pushing herself up. "I'll be right back," she sang as she turned and quickly hobbled out of the kitchen and down the hall.

Once down the hall and far out of sight, Shego's fake grin vanished and she let out a frustrated groan. What was wrong with Drakken, to just...ignore all of the horrible things his mother had said and throw out a fake proposal as if that would solve everything? And what was wrong with his mother, to suddenly forget her disapproval in light of her son's engagement?

She hurried into her room and after locking the door, stripped out of the bathing suit and hopped into the bathroom for a quick shower. She was glad she'd insisted that Drakken install one of those shower heads on a hose years ago, or else she'd have to re-dress her leg bandage. And she just wasn't in the mood.

True, now that they were officially engaged in his mother's eyes, the visit would go more smoothly. The woman's immediate doting attentions showed that. But they were still living a lie in front of her, and Shego didn't want to keep up with anymore ridiculous pretenses. She and Drakken had been together for months now and it would be odd to behave with that level of comfort if they'd 'just gotten engaged' as Drakken had decided. She was tired of acting like an employee who was a little too familiar.

As she rinsed off the sand and grime from the beach she weighed every possibility in her mind and tried to come up with a plausible story that would work. She decided it was fine to say that she and Drakken had been dating, but that she stayed on his employee out of fear he wouldn't commit. Of course, that was putting herself down. But who was his mother going to tell that would care?

No one, she decided, as she re-dressed in the track pants and the pink crop top. She added the black hooded jacket that matched the pants this time, not wanting to push the boundary with Mrs. Lipsky too much now that she had accepted her. After shaking the sand off of her sandals, she slipped them back on and hopped out to the kitchen with the crutch.

When she arrived, Drakken had put on his black apron that said 'Evil Chef' on it and was staring down at a cookbook. His mother was next to him looking very upset.

"But it doesn't describe you anymore, dear," she said.

Shego realized she must be worrying about the apron.

"It was a gift from Shego. I'm not taking it off," Drakken said.

"So did you two date at all? Or is this a sudden thing?"

"Oh," Shego said to announce her presence, "we dated."

Estelle Lipsky picked up two glasses from the counter top and moved to sit back down at the table.

"Come and tell me all about it, dear. Here, I poured you some of that lime sparkling water you like."

Shego hopped over, tossing a smirk at Drakken before she sat. She was still mad at him for forgetting her on the beach. Maybe she could come up with a few 'facts' from their dating history to put off his mother... It would serve him right.

"Thank you Mama Lipsky," she said as she sat.

"Oh, I told you to call me Estelle," the red-haired woman said.

"If I'm going to be family I should call you 'mom,'" Shego said, sipping from her glass with a warm smile.

"Oh my!"

Shego smirked. "Fifty-two..." she muttered into her glass.

"Drew, why didn't you tell me your assistant...I mean...fiancée...was so sweet?"

Drakken put on a broad fake smile as he poured flour into one mixing bowl. "Well, I...I thought...it was obvious..."

"So Shego dear, when did you first become interested in my son?"

Shego leaned back in her chair and looked over at the blue man with the furrowed brow. "Probably about a year ago," she answered honestly. Drakken glanced at her in surprise.

"And when did you start seeing one another outside of the professional setting?"

Shego looked back, answering honestly again. "Actually...not until after the alien invasion."

Estelle's grin faded only slightly as she leaned forward in her chair attentively. "I remember seeing that vine wrap you two up on the TV. Did he ask you out to dinner that night?"

"No," Shego shook her head. This was where a lie would need to come into play. Or at least a partial lie. "We just acted like nothing happened. See, you're right about one thing, Mama Lipsky..."

Drakken looked up with a start.

"What's that dear?" Estelle asked.

Shego shrugged. "There's really...not much for me to do here, now that we're not villains anymore."

"It is awfully suspicious," Estelle said, looking between the pair. "One might get the wrong idea."

Drakken blushed lightly, but Shego passed over the comment.

"We didn't get together until we realized there was nothing to keep me here," she explained. "Except that we wanted to be together." Shego smirked down into her glass and fought her rising laughter. "So we confessed our love."

"Oh, how poetic!" Estelle said.

'Arf!' Admiral Cuddles agreed. Shego looked down and saw him lying under the table, wagging his tail.

"So we've been dating ever since," Shego said with another shrug. She was pleased with how little lying she actually had to do, not for the truth's sake, but for her own sanity. She hated keeping track of lies.

"And you two kept it secret from me this whole time!"

Shego's grin faded at that. She looked at Drakken, who was biting his lip. He looked at her anxiously and she frowned. Now was his chance for redemption.

"What's wrong?" Estelle asked, picking up on the tension and looking between the two.

Drakken swallowed nervously. "Mother...you... You haven't...been very nice to Shego," he said, a tremor in his voice.

"Oh. Well Drew, she was acting so suspiciously."

Drakken opened his mouth to argue, but his mother continued.

"But now I know you two were just trying to surprise me. You know, you weren't very good at pretending nothing was going on."

Drakken blinked at Shego, and she shrugged. Whatever delusion Mrs. Lipsky wanted to live in was fine with her, if it meant less lying about everything and more getting on with the holiday and getting it over with.

"Ah, y-yes... That was it all along," Drakken said, continuing with the cookies. He poured a liberal amount of milk into the mixing bowl. Shego rolled her eyes.

"Now Shego dear, let me see your ring!"

Shego shifted her chair over to be alongside Drakken's mother and then held up her hand so they could both admire the ring together.

"It's just beautiful! And my Drewbie chose it!" Mrs. Lipsky said with pride, admiring the ring on Shego's finger.

"Yup!" Shego said, glancing over at her apron-clad fiancé as he bent over the recipe book, frowning as he stirred something into the mixing bowl.

Drakken cracked an egg over the bowl as he muttered something to himself, looking up just in time to see a piece of white shell fall into the mix.

"Oh, doodles!"

"Drew! You know how I feel about that doodle language!"

Shego chuckled. "You should hear the language he uses in the—"

"Shego!"

Drakken had jumped almost a foot and was now hurrying around the counter, wiping his hands on a dish towel as he came.

"Ah...Sh-Shego, can you help me in the other room...with the...um...the..."

"Drew, what on earth has gotten into you?" his mother said.

Drakken was helping Shego up to her feet and half-carrying, half-pushing her out of the kitchen.

"I just need...um... I...I'll be right back, Mother. Could you stir the cookie batter for me? And add the fresh ginger to the bowl on the right!"

"Well, all right Son," Estelle said, standing and walking around the counter. Shego barely saw her as she was dragged out of the room.

"Owww!" she complained as soon as they were in the living room. She'd had to put too much pressure on her sprained wrist holding onto him, and now it ached.

"Shego!" he hissed anxiously, looking her in the face. "Whatever else you say, my mother...c-can't know that we sleep together!"

She laughed in disbelief. "Why not?"

"Because she's...very traditional. And so am I. She expects people to wait until they're married!"

Shego smirked, setting her hands on her hips. "Come on, Doc. You're pushing fifty. You're old enough to have adult children. She can't seriously think you've never..."

Her words died at the anxious look on his face.

"...Seriously?"

"Yes. Seriously."

Shego's smirk returned. "Well, considering your dating history it's believable."

Drakken crossed his arms and turned away with an indignant frown.

"Just...make the best of it," he said. "She's happy now."

He turned and headed back into the kitchen, leaving her standing in the middle of the room on one foot.

"Drakken," she said sharply. He whirled around at the warning in her voice. She stretched her arms toward him, and he blinked twice before hurrying back. When he reached her side she looped her arms around his neck and he picked her up.

"Oh, um... S-sorry...about not coming back to get you on the—"

"Just get back in there before she gets suspicious."

Drakken turned to do just that.

"You're not...still mad?"

Shego lightly flared her hand against his neck, and he flinched. "What do you think?"

He didn't get to respond though, because his mother looked up as they re-entered the kitchen.

"Oh that's so sweet Drew, carrying your fiancée so she doesn't have to walk on her injured leg."

"Mm, yes," he said, setting Shego down and walking back around to the counter.

Just then Admiral Cuddles started pawing at Drakken's ankles and whimpering. Drakken bent down.

"Do you need to go out, boy?"

The dog whimpered again, and Drakken picked up the dog.

"Oh...Shego," he said as he headed toward the hall, "while I take Admiral Cuddles outside, why don't you help Mother with the cookies?"

"That's a splendid idea, Drew," his mother agreed with a smile.

Shego stared at Drakken's smug grin as he vanished into the hallway, and she looked over at the counter covered in jars, ramekins, and measuring tools.

"Well, come on dear," Estelle said.

Shego hopped around to the other side of the counter. She stared at the foreign landscape, blinking dumbly.

Drakken was cruel.

"Now you get on with the ginger snaps, and I'll make the snickerdoodles."

Shego blinked again. Somehow ginger snaps sounded easier than snickerdoodles, but she had no idea what to do with either. She wasn't even sure which bowl she was to work on.

She looked between the two mixing bowls and saw that the one closest to her had a darker mixture in it. Gingerbread was dark, right? She picked up the wooden spoon and began slowly stirring the batter as her eyes searched the counter for the recipe.

"These are almost ready..." Estelle said.

Shego looked to where Mrs. Lipsky was spooning batter out onto wax paper on a baking tray. The green-skinned woman glanced to her right and saw a second tray was prepared to receive the ginger snap batter. She cautiously began to get a spoonful out of the bowl.

"Don't forget the molasses, dear!" Estelle said suddenly.

Shego dropped the spoon back into the bowl. "Actually...I'm feeling a bit nauseous. I think I'll just sit down."

Estelle's brow twisted. "Weren't you feeling ill this morning, too? I hope you're not coming down with something."

"No," Shego shook her head. "I'm just...not good at cooking."

She felt relieved. May as well get that out in the open. It wasn't like it mattered that Mrs. Lipsky knew. Drakken did all the cooking for the two of them anyway...

"Oh my! Well you'll have to practice dear. I want my grandchildren to have home-cooked meals every day."

Shego's face paled. "Grandchildren?"

"Yes of course, dear. They'll need to be raised on a healthy diet."

Drakken re-entered the room with Admiral Cuddles trotting at his side, smirking at the sight of Shego standing behind the mixing bowl. Shego hopped back around the counter and picked up her crutch.

"I'm...going to go tie ribbons on candy canes," she said, starting for the living room. "Come on, Shorty."

The dog responded with a small bark of acknowledgement and hurried to her side. The smirk that had been on Drakken's face vanished as he caught sight of hers. But she didn't look at him as she hurried out of the room. Mrs. Lipsky's words were making her more nauseous by the moment.

Grandchildren?

Shego sat heavily on the couch, and the dog leapt up and crawled into her lap. She didn't push him away.

Drakken had never mentioned children. She'd never even thought of children. And the thought now made her entire stomach feel like it wanted to escape her insides.

Shego began scratching the dog's head, and then recoiled in disgust at herself. But the dog looked up at her almost with concern and whimpered once. Did dogs have some special type of empathy?

She pushed him out of her lap but let him sit against her leg. She reached across the coffee table and grabbed a handful of candy canes and ribbons. Maybe the tedious task would distract her from the worrying thought Mrs. Lipsky had introduced.

"What's wrong with Shego?" Drakken asked his mother as he returned to the mixing bowls. "What did you say to her?"

"Is something wrong?" his mother asked as she put the snickerdoodle batter on the baking tray.

"Yes, she was...very upset just now." Drakken began stirring molasses into the ginger snap batter.

"Oh... Maybe she's worried about not knowing how to cook."

Drakken frowned. "How did you know she...uh...that is..."

"Oh, she told me sweetie. And I said she would have to learn is all. Oh Drew, I'm so happy!"

Drakken continued to frown as he stirred the batter.

"Drew?"

"Oh, yes Mother. I'm...glad you were here when I proposed," he said quickly. He started to put the mixed batter out onto the baking sheet.

"You'll have a spring wedding..." his mother said as she opened the oven to pop her cookie tray in.

Drakken turned to face her. "Now...Mother, we...we've only just gotten engaged."

"You're right of course, Drew. First we need to have an engagement party!"

Drakken set his spoon down and leaned against the counter, rubbing his face with his hands. "Mother...no."

"Why not dear?"

He frowned at her. "Who would we invite? All of mine and Shego's friends are villains!"

His mother took a step back, her face falling and her lower lip trembling. Drakken sighed.

"Mother...please, don't be upset. I only meant that...we don't need to move things along so fast."

His mother's expression relaxed. "You're right of course, dear. After you finish with those ginger snaps, do you want to get started on the stuffing for dinner tonight? And I can get started on the carrots."

Drakken sighed and turned back to the cookie batter. "Yes, Mother."

Half an hour later, Drakken walked into the living room, wiping his freshly-washed hands on his apron to dry them.

"Shego—?" he began, stopping short when he caught sight of his black-clad fiancée standing carefully on both feet in front of the Christmas tree, tying a candy cane up as high as she could reach.

"You'll have to do the ones on top with the ladder," she said, glancing at him over her shoulder.

'Rrarf!' Admiral Cuddles greeted with a bark. He was sitting on the sofa. He wagged his tail and followed Drakken with his eyes as the blue man walked past toward the tree.

Drakken stepped up behind Shego and set both hands on her waist. She leaned back against him, taking the weight off of her right leg.

"That's a lot of candy canes," he said, surveying her work. There were so many candy canes amid the lights and other decorations now, he could hardly tell there was a tree underneath.

"I figured you wanted all of them. Why else would you have bought them?"

"Well...some are for eating," he said, glancing back at the dozen or so still on the coffee table.

"Eating? They're pure sugar," Shego complained, resting her hands over his.

"Well, we can put them in our hot cocoa."

"It's almost seventy-five degrees outside. You can't seriously want cocoa."

He sighed lightly as he surveyed the tree again. Later on he would get the ladder and take some of the ones she had tied below and move them to the higher branches of the twelve-foot tree. Then maybe it wouldn't look so busy.

"Hey..." she said, turning around and studying his face. "Everything okay?"

His brow rose. "I was...coming to ask you the same thing."

Her eyes darted away, and then came back to his. "I asked first. You never say 'hot cocoa'. You always say 'cocoa-moo'," she explained with a raise of her brow. "So what's up?"

"Oh, I'm just...distracted," he said, thinking of the past thirty minutes spent deflecting his mother's questions while putting together stuffing for the goose dinner they had planned. "I haven't made a traditional Christmas dinner in...some time."

Shego slid her hands up his chest until they rested on his shoulders.

"Is it going to be worth it?" she asked.

Drakken blinked. "If...if you like it."

Shego smiled. "Everything you make is good."

He blushed lightly. "Well...then it's worth it."

"Hmm," she said, kneading his neck muscles with her uninjured hand.

"But, are you all right? Mother said...you were upset because you aren't a good cook."

Shego's eyes darted away again. "That's what she told you?"

"Yes," he said, studying her face. "Was there something else?"

She glanced back at him, her face falling. "I think... I think we need to talk about something."

Drakken's own face fell at her obvious worry. He was about to ask what it was, but his mother's voice behind him interrupted them.

"Now Drew, I thought we settled this. None of that hanky-panky."

Drakken reluctantly let go of Shego's waist. She frowned as her hands left his shoulders and her arms crossed in front of her.

"What time would you two like to eat? I don't want to put the goose in too early."

"Um..." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket to check the time. "Maybe we should start it in a couple of hours."

"Oh goody! That leaves plenty of time for going caroling!"

Drakken glanced nervously at Shego, and then back at his mother. "There...aren't exactly any places to go caroling here, Mother. We're on an island."

"Oh... Well, what about ice skating?"

"Uh, hello?" Shego said, gesturing to her leg. Drakken frowned disapprovingly at her tone, and then looked back to his mother. Her expression was slowly falling.

"Taking gifts to the poor?"

"Again, island," Shego answered this time. "Except for the he— The interns, we're alone here."

Shego hopped back to the couch and flopped down. Admiral Cuddles stepped toward her excitedly, and she lifted a hand to hold him back at arm's length.

"Can't we take gifts to poor people who live on other islands?"

"Well, that would...take a lot longer than two hours, Mother," Drakken explained, crossing the room to meet her. "But...we could watch It's a Meaningful Life and...eat cookies and drink cocoa-moo?"

His mother's face brightened a bit. "The cookies will be out of the oven in a few minutes. Come and help me make the hot cocoa, Drewbie."

Drakken tossed an apologetic glance at Shego, who only scowled. When he had left the room, Shego dropped her hand and let the dog get close enough to lay its head on her lap. She pushed it off to the side and scratched its back briefly.

"I've got to talk to him..." she said to herself. She glanced at the dog. "Before his mother puts ideas into his head."

Suddenly the phone rang, and Shego lunged across the coffee table for it. She winced as she moved too fast, and the wound in her leg stung.

"Hello?" she said, answering it before Drakken's mother could get to it. No one outside the villain world had their number. Except the St. Vincent police, now.

"Hello Shego my love!"

"Junior... What do you want?"

"Shego, you wound me! I am only calling to wish you and your lover a Merry Christmas."

Shego smirked lightly. "That's nice. What do you want?"

"Ah my former mentor-in-evil, you know me too well! I am wondering what to buy for my dearest Bonnie for Christmas."

"You waited until now? Christmas Eve? I thought you were smarter than that," she said, sinking back into the couch.

"Oh I have many gifts already. Shoes, clothes, purses... But I buy her those things all of the time. I want to get something...something special. Something that symbolizes the love between she and I."

"Eugh," Shego said.

"Do you not have anything special for Drakken?"

"I do..." Shego said, looking at the four large boxes under the tree. Her tiny, brown bag-wrapped gift was hiding behind one of them. She sighed. "All right, I'll help... So how close are the two of you now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Shego smirked. "I got some very risqué red lingerie yesterday..."

"Ah...I think perhaps...I shall let Bonnie make the decisions about when either of us will give that type of gift to each other."

Shego snickered and drew her legs up onto the couch, curling up in the corner. "Enough said."

"What about some expensive jewelry? That is...I know she will like it, but how to make it special... Oh!" Shego shifted and stretched out on the sofa as he processed out loud. "Perhaps a necklace engraved with the date of our meeting?"

"That's a good idea," Shego said with a yawn, already bored with the conversation.

"Of course our first meeting was marred by Kim Possible assuming the worst of me... Why does she always assume I am up to the evil? Oh! Perhaps Bonnie would like me to steal something spectacular and rare for her?"

"Stolen jewels are always appreciated," Shego said, rolling over. The dog stepped over her legs as she did so and hopped to the floor. "It lets a girl know you care when it's something no one else has or can ever have."

"Then that is what I shall do! I shall steal a rare jewel and have it put into a necklace engraved with the day of our meeting," Junior said happily. "Thank you Shego! You are always of great help when it comes to the evil plots!"

"Evil plots are what I'm best at," she said with a grin.

"Thank you again! Do not hesitate to call if you need anything," he said.

"You know I just might. Talking to you is the best thing that's happened in two days," she said, sitting up again and crossing her legs.

"Why, has something unfortunate occurred? The last time we spoke you were, as it is said, 'over the moon' about your engagement."

She started scooting to lean against the arm of the couch. "Mm, it's not that. It's that—"

Shego froze as while she was turning, she caught sight of tall, red hair peeking around the hall corner. Her heart began pounding as slowly Drakken's mother stepped into view. It was clear from the expression on her face she had been eavesdropping.

How long was she there? How much did she hear?

"Junior I...I have to go," she said.

"Whatever is wrong—?" she heard faintly as she set the receiver down.

Mrs. Lipsky took a few steps into the room.

"Who is Junior?"

"He's an old friend," Shego said. She tried to think up some excuse for her words about evil plots. Estelle would never buy that she had just been joking...

"Oh. A close friend?" she asked, stepping around the sofa and pushing the candy canes into a pile to make room on the coffee table. She didn't make eye contact.

"Yeah. I used to tutor him. I was a teacher, before I was a villain," she added, deciding on that line.

"Oh, I see dear," Estelle said, leaving the room.

Shego let out an anxious breath and slid down to lay on the sofa. Now she really needed to talk to Drakken. The last thing they needed was his mother again thinking she was still evil, now that she finally knew they were engaged.

Admiral Cuddles jumped back up onto the sofa and begin sniffing at her leg where the bandage was under her pants. She frowned at the dog.

"I can't believe you've turned out to be less annoying than her," she said.

"Drew!"

Drakken jumped as his mother was suddenly at his side, grabbing his arm. "Mother, you almost made me drop the cocoa-moo."

"Drew, does Shego have a friend named Junior?"

He shook out of his mother's fierce grip and added the cocoa cups to the tray that already held the plate of hot cookies.

"Yes. Was that who was on the phone?" Drakken asked, heading into the living room.

"Yes..." his mother said as she followed.

As he entered the room he watched Shego sit up on the couch and push Admiral Cuddles down to the floor.

"Was that Junior on the phone?"

"Yes," Shego said, meeting his eyes. He noted her cautious gaze and was tempted to look back at his mother, but didn't. Whatever it was could wait. "He called to wish us a Merry Christmas," Shego continued with a shrug.

"Oh," Drakken said, setting the tray of cookies and cocoa down on the coffee table. "That was nice of him. Mother, if you're ready we can start the movie."

"Gotta rewind the tape first," Shego said, shifting on the couch.

Drakken sat down next to her in the center of the sofa, and his mother on the other side. He picked up the remote and set the tape to rewind while his mother undid a ribbon from a candy cane and started removing the plastic.

"Shego, would you like a candy cane in your cocoa-moo?" Drakken asked.

"Mm, no thanks," Shego said. She scooted up next to him and looped her arms through one of his. "Got all the sugar I need right here."

Drakken blushed. His mother looked at them with disapproval and...something else. Drakken wasn't sure what it was, but it made him uncomfortable. However, she didn't say anything. He reached for a candy cane and began unwrapping it to add to his own cocoa.

The movie finished rewinding just as he placed his candy cane in the cup of warm, milky-brown liquid. He playfully stirred his marshmallows as he pressed play and turned up the volume. Admiral Cuddles jumped up next to his mother, and he noted her thoughtful gaze again.

"Shego dear, you've seen this movie haven't you?" his mother asked as the opening titles played.

"I've started it a couple of times," Shego said. She was looking at the screen, but Drakken noticed a smirk forming on her face. "But I've gotta be honest...it's a little long for me. I've gotten bored every time I've tried to sit through it."

Drakken's cheeks started to color as he recalled each and every time he'd tried to make her watch the movie and she had gotten 'bored.' He felt Shego smirking up at him. He stared straight ahead at the screen.

"Oh, you mean you've never seen the whole thing?"

"I'm afraid not. Honestly, I'll probably get bored again," she said, her eyes still on Drakken.

His cheeks grew redder and he swallowed slowly as he stared unblinking at the screen.

"Oh, my Drew won't let you get bored."

Shego lightly set her hand on his knee and trailed her fingertips up his thigh. "You won't, will you?" she murmured.

Drakken shot up off the couch and fairly leapt over the coffee table.

"Drew? What are you doing?"

"I, ah...I-I need more cocoa-moo," he said, grabbing his cup and rushing out of the room.

"But we just sat down?" Mrs. Lipsky called after him in confusion.

Shego's shoulders shook with silent laughter as she picked up the remote that had been knocked down during his antics.

"What on earth has him so jumpy?"

"I have no idea," Shego said, turning to hide her grin. "Hey, Dr. D.? Bring me some eggnog!" she called.

"No!" came the strong reply from the kitchen.

"'No'?" Mrs. Lipsky asked.

"I don't think he likes it when I drink alcohol," Shego explained, her amusement calming down.

Mrs. Lipsky looked thoughtful and bit concerned.

"Well, no. You'll have to change your diet significantly when you have children."

Shego's face fell, and she bit her cheek to keep from frowning.

"Mama Lipsky... We...just got engaged today," she said, reminding her of the proposal less than an hour prior. "We haven't had a chance to talk about kids yet."

"Oh, but dearie..."

Shego felt suddenly alert as Estelle turned calculating eyes on her.

"If you're having a sexual relationship with my son, you must have talked about it."

Shego's eyes widened and her heart pounded all the way up to her throat. Her lips parted slightly as she mentally replayed the line in her head. Had Drakken's mother really just said...?

Shego swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head slowly. "Mama Lipsky... We...we haven't," she squeaked out, recalling Drakken's insistence that his mother not know about that aspect of their relationship. "Drakken...Drew...wants to wait until we're married. We have talked about that."

Mrs. Lipsky's brow rose slightly, but the hard look in her eyes remained. Shego bit her cheek again. What had sparked the woman's sudden judgment? Had she read into the hand on Drakken's thigh and her double-talk? Was it the tank top she wore without a bra earlier and Drakken's lack of reaction to it?

"Mother, Shego, I'm sorry..."

Both women turned at the sound of Drakken's voice. Drakken carried his cocoa mug in one hand and a glass of eggnog in the other.

"I'm just...a bit overwhelmed by the holiday," he said to excuse his sudden departure a minute ago as he reclaimed his seat between them. He didn't look at either of them, and Shego quickly pulled her face together as she took the glass of eggnog he offered. She took a drink...and found it didn't taste right. She set it on the tray and leaned back into the sofa with a sigh, this time not snuggling up to Drakken.

"Now...pay attention Shego, this is Mother's favorite Christmas movie."

His tone had lightened, and Shego knew he only meant to appease the older woman. She leaned her head on his shoulder and resolved to just watch the movie. She wouldn't be able to talk to Drakken about what his mother had just said until later. Not without further arousing the woman's suspicion, anyway, since they never seemed to be able to catch a moment away from her.

And there was still the issue of...children.

Shego genuinely had never considered it since she and Drakken had gotten together. And on the few occasions the thought had occurred to her throughout her adult life, she had easily dismissed the idea as something for other women and not for her. That was still her go-to resolution, and she was very comfortable with it.

But what if...he really wanted children?

She realized suddenly... He had never mentioned it. In the almost six months they had been together, he had never mentioned it either as a suggestion or a concern. Was he just assuming she was protected...? Because he never took any protective measures of his own that she knew of.

Shego felt sick. The subject was...a discussion that had to happen. And soon, she realized, before his mother started talking to him about it too.

Shego's stomach turned again as she realized—what if his mother already had? What if she'd been chatting about it with him, as she had with her, and he just hadn't mentioned it yet? It was possible...

She pinched her eyes shut and physically shook her head to get rid of the thought. Drakken looked down at her wonderingly.

"I don't feel well," she said softly.

He set his arm around her in sympathy, and she leaned in closer to him. There was no point in worrying about it now. Not until she could talk to him about it. She sighed through her nose and focused on the black-and-white movie on the TV screen.

Two hours later Shego was bored with the movie, but at least knew what it was all about this time. It had the benefit of being original in plot, but she was sure it would have a happy ending. That type of movie always did.

"Drew," Estelle suddenly spoke up, and he grabbed the remote to pause the movie. "Why don't you go put the goose in the oven?"

Drakken removed his arm from around Shego and leaned forward. "Thank you, Mother. Shego..."

Shego looked up at his confused frown.

"You haven't touched your eggnog."

"Doesn't taste right," she said blandly, leaning back on the sofa.

"Do you still want it?"

"No," she said.

"How about your cocoa?"

"It's too hot for cocoa," she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You can have it."

He took the eggnog glass with him as he headed for the kitchen along with her cocoa mug. When he was gone, Estelle turned to face Shego with a frown.

"You know I don't believe you," she said.

Shego crossed her arms. "Then ask Drakken."

Estelle frowned. "That's not his name."

"It's the name he chose. He doesn't like being called Drew," Shego said. "You can ask him that, too. And...you know what?"

Shego turned fully toward the red-haired woman, her frown deepening.

"It's none of your business anyway."

"My son's future wife is none of my business?" she repeated in stunned shock.

"No. He's almost fifty, for crying out loud," Shego said.

Admiral Cuddles jumped down from the couch, whimpering. The dog crept under the coffee table and set his head on the floor. It briefly crossed Shego's mind that he must sense the conflict between the two women.

Mrs. Lipsky was silent for a moment, and then she crossed her own arms and frowned indignantly.

"On that note...what is a woman like you interested in my son for anyway?"

Shego blinked in disbelief. "I love him."

"A young tart like you? With strange alien powers and a thrill for criminal acts?"

Shego's hands flared with her green glow, and then she gasped. She had set her wrist brace on fire. She jumped up and away from the sofa as she took the brace off and dropped it on the floor. She stomped on it repeatedly with her left leg, ignoring the growing pain in her right as she put all her weight on it.

"What happened!?" Drakken cried as he ran into the room, stopping behind the sofa to take in the scene.

Shego put out the last of the small flames and then turned her furious gaze to Drakken's mother, her teeth bared in anger.

"Drakken!" she growled, hands on her hips. "Tell your mother... Are we sleeping together?"

He took a step back from the sofa, gasping in shock. His face blushed purple as he looked between the two women.

"Well...Drew?" his mother asked, her face regaining its calm.

He shook his head fiercely. "Of course not, Mother! You know I would never... And Shego agrees with me. We're waiting until...until we get married."

Shego crossed her arms and raised her chin as Estelle cast a critical eye on her.

"What...ah, what brought this up?" Drakken continued, his voice shaking now.

"I dunno," Shego said, limping back toward the couch. "Your mother is just unnecessarily suspicious. She apparently doesn't think I could legitimately be in love with you."

Drakken gasped. "Mother! But...but you said earlier that you weren't surprised...?"

Shego glared at the older woman, who looked only mildly put-off.

"Just finish the movie," Shego said, dropping heavily onto the couch.

"How can you think of watching a movie when you've just had a fire?" Estelle asked, letting a bit of her ire show.

Shego smirked. "I set things on fire every day."

Shego heard the older woman mutter something about self control as Drakken cautiously stepped back around the sofa, his wide eyes looking between the two women uncertainly. Shego patted the space on the couch between them and then rubbed her injured wrist. She hadn't been aware of the sprain at all in the last several hours until now that it lacked its extra support.

Drakken sat down, still looking between the two women.

"Mother..." he said, his voice still shaking. "Don't you...don't you know me better, than to think that I would... That I would...?" He swallowed nervously, blushing again.

Shego looked past him at his mother, whose face slowly relaxed into acceptance. The woman pursed her lips, and then her brow rose as she looked up at her son.

"You're right, Drew. I don't know what I was thinking."

He smiled nervously. "G-good. That's settled. The goose...should be finished cooking by the time the movie ends, and then we can have dinner."

"That will be wonderful, Son."

Shego leaned back as Drakken started the movie again, the blue man sipping from her newly-microwaved cocoa. This time, she didn't lean against him. Whatever had given his mother the wrong idea, she wasn't about to encourage it. Her earlier idea of teasing the woman had been fun, but...the reality of her accusations when Drakken wasn't around weren't. She'd stick with Drakken's judgment on this issue.

...And deal with the issue of future children later.

Shego stared at the moist slices of goose breast on her plate. Also on the plate was a mixture of fat carrot slices and peas, covered in a thick, fragrant sauce of butter and onions and some herbs she couldn't name. There was a dark sauce drizzled over the goose that Estelle had told her was black currant, whatever that was, and the plate also bore the 'stuffing.' Shego had stopped listening to the ingredients list for that somewhere between apples and breadcrumbs. It was too many things to care about.

It all looked incredible. Better in fact than the finest restaurants Shego had eaten at. And apparently Drakken had done most of the work, as Estelle kept praising him for it. But for some reason...just looking at all of it had Shego's stomach turning.

She bit her cheeks as she pinned the gamey piece of meat down with her fork and began slicing it with her knife. Taking a very small piece of the meat on her fork and dipping it in the dark sauce, she measured her breaths as she brought it up to her lips.

As she expected, the mere act of putting food in her mouth turned her stomach. She focused on breathing as she chewed the bite slowly, worried that she might vomit at any second.

"Do you like it?"

She forced a smile as she looked up at Drakken's expectant face. She couldn't think about the taste. If she did, she knew she was sure to lose control of her stomach muscles. After she swallowed the small bite down, she took a long drink of her water.

"It's delicious," she finally said, meeting his eyes briefly before looking back at the plate. He had worked so hard... And it was the only tradition of his they really could successfully accomplish in the lair. Outside of the tree and movie, which had lost some of their charm due to other complications.

"My Drew started cooking the Christmas dinner back when his father was still alive," Estelle said.

Shego looked up to where the older woman was smiling adoringly at her son. He returned the look a bit shyly, but there was definite pride in his eyes.

Shego stabbed one of the carrot pieces with her fork next and brought that up to her lips. While the flavor was much more tolerable, it had the same effect on her digestive system. She closed her eyes for a moment as she focused again on her breathing. The holiday had been nearly ruined so many times already. Far more since the arrival of Drakken's mother. She was determined now that the rest of it all go well.

She washed the carrot down with another swallow of water, and for her third bite she tried the stuffing. She forced herself to stay optimistic. Maybe her stomach would calm down after a few more bites. She was very confused about why she was sick... It seemed to come and go at random, and it didn't make sense that even good food simply didn't appeal to her.

The effect of the stuffing was almost worse than the goose. She looked around the room as she quickly chewed, eager to get the food out of her mouth. She wondered how much of the meal she would have to eat for it to be considered acceptable. After that, she could excuse herself and lie down in her room. It was still very early in the evening, but she could say that her leg hurt. It was throbbing after the little incident with the fire, so it wasn't a lie. Not to mention her wrist was hurting, now that it lacked its support.

She cut another bite of goose, resolving to attempt at least half of the plate before making her excuses. As she brought the fork to her lips she caught Estelle's eyes on her, and paused. The woman's gaze was calculating again, but in a different way this time than it had been when she was accusing her of inappropriate behaviors.

What was she doing wrong now? Was she not hiding her dislike of the food well?

She began chewing the meat and looked down again. It wasn't the food, she knew. It was her. Something was wrong with her.

"What's wrong, Shego?"

It was Estelle's voice, and Shego looked up at the woman pleadingly. Couldn't she let just this one thing go? Drakken was oblivious to her plight and thought that for once, a Christmas tradition was going as planned.

"Shego?" Drakken asked, looking at her curiously.

"I'm...not feeling well," she admitted.

"Oh... You said that before," he said, his brow furrowing. Shego remembered telling him during the movie. But at that time she thought it had just been from his mother's questioning.

"I remember, you said you felt nauseous this morning when we got back from shopping," Estelle said.

Shego blinked. Had she said that?

She realized...she had felt nauseous on and off all day. And she'd been struggling to eat since breakfast.

"I must be coming down with something," she said with a small frown. "I'm sorry, Dr. D." She met Drakken's confused and worried gaze. "I know how important this was to you."

He shook his head. "It's all right."

"I'll just...wrap this up and put it in the fridge. We were going to have leftovers tomorrow anyway, weren't we?" she asked.

She picked up the plate and rose from the table, and was suddenly assaulted with dizziness. She barely kept the plate from falling from her hands as she sank back into the chair, her vision swimming.

"Shego?"

Drakken's concerned voice broke through the haze, but she kept her eyes closed as the lights danced in front of them. She leaned back in the chair and took slow, deep breaths.

"Shego, what's wrong? Are you all right?"

She blinked several times, and the stars started dissipating. She met Drakken's eyes to reassure him, and then her gaze drifted over to his mother's face. The older woman was scowling at her. Shego's lips parted in confusion.

"I got dizzy..." she said, still looking at Estelle's scowl. If the woman was mad that she got sick...then she was out of her mind.

Drakken stood up and moved around the table to stand next to her. One of his hands rested on her shoulder, while the other felt her forehead for a fever.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital?" he suggested.

Shego shook her head and lightly pushed his hand off her forehead. "If we do that it'll be Christmas before we get back. I'm just sick Drakken, it's not a big deal. Stomach flu or something..."

Her eyes drifted back to Drakken's mom. The woman was looking angrier by the moment. Shego frowned.

"What is your problem?"

Drakken looked up sharply, and his jaw dropped as he finally caught his mother's hard expression.

"Mother? What's wrong?"

Estelle pursed her lips and stood up, her eyes leaving Shego's and staring at a spot on the floor. "Drew...I need to speak with you privately."

Drakken and Shego looked at each other. Drakken started to step away from the table and toward the hall, and then stopped. He walked back behind Shego's chair.

"No... Mother, what is it?"

The older woman's brow rose in surprise. She looked between her son and Shego again, and Shego couldn't resist a tiny smirk. She even brought her left hand up to hold Drakken's, which was on her shoulder again. Flashing the ring was effectively flashing her claim over the man, and it had the desired effect of irritating his mother.

"You're not going to like it Drew," his mother said, her frown returning. But instead of shooting venomous looks at Shego, now she looked distinctly worried. "I really think you should come sit down with me."

"Mother... Shego isn't feeling well, and whatever it is...we can talk about it here. I don't want to leave her alone anymore."

Mrs. Lipsky lowered her voice to her typical not-a-whisper and tried to hide her mouth behind her hand. "It's probably best if we don't talk in front of her."

Shego rolled her eyes.

"Mother...you can say anything in front of Shego. I'm going to marry her, remember?"

The worry in the older woman's eyes grew, and she looked down briefly and sighed heavily. Shego leaned back in the chair, curious now. The sadness was out of character for how the woman had been behaving all day.

"Drew, I...I'm so sorry, Son."

"What?"

"Shego is cheating on you."

Shego's eyes widened. She looked up at Drakken, whose stunned eyes met her own. And a moment later, Shego burst into loud, disbelieving laughter.

"Oh come on. You've got to be kidding me!" she said through her cackling. She watched Drakken's brow furrow peripherally.

"Mother... Why would you say something like that?"

"Oh Drew, I know you're smitten with her, but she's deceiving you," his mother pleaded.

Shego was still laughing, the absurdity of all of it overriding any other emotion she may have felt in the moment.

"Doc, I'm sorry... I've met crazy people before, but your mom is trying really hard to take the trophy home on this one."

Estelle's worried expression darkened back to anger.

"I heard her on the phone with that other man. They were talking about evil plots, and how stolen jewels would make her feel special."

Shego wiped the tears that had come to her eyes. She held her stomach with one hand, the laughter making her nausea worse.

"Junior was just asking me for advice about what to get his girlfriend for Christmas. He's technically a villain, even though his heart has never really been in it."

Drakken nodded through her explanation, even though it was the first time he'd heard it. Shego felt a small sense of something warm and confident within her that he didn't take his mother's accusation seriously even for a moment.

"You're leaving something out," Estelle said pointedly. Shego raised a confused brow. "You said talking to him was the best thing to happen in two days. And what about the...risqué red lingerie you were telling him you bought?"

Shego's eyes widened. She'd forgotten about that part.

Drakken looked at her with a bit of annoyed surprise, clearly embarrassed at the idea that she might be sharing any of their intimate details with someone else.

Shego crossed her arms, her amusement having faded. "I thought Bonnie might like something like that."

"No, it was very clear. You were telling him about lingerie you bought for yourself," Estelle continued confidently. "And my Drew is a gentleman. As you said, he wouldn't be tempted into any...any sinful acts before marriage."

A warning started pricking in the back of Shego's mind. She glanced up at Drakken, who was biting his lip.

"So you see, Drew... She's cheating on you. Oh my poor son!"

Shego sighed and rolled her eyes again. She gripped Drakken's hand reassuringly, and then let go—the sprain in her left wrist was still pretty painful. The only obvious way out of this new predicament would be to tell the truth about the nature of their relationship, and further upset his mother, and further ruin Christmas... Unless she could convince the woman that she had just been giving advice to their younger, villain friend. It was the line she'd try, unless Drakken directed her otherwise.

Drakken took a deep breath. "N-no, Mother, I'm sure Shego isn't... She wouldn't do that."

"Really, Mama Lipsky. I was just suggesting to Junior that his girlfriend might like that sort of thing. 'Cause...you know... Villains don't usually care about...waiting for marriage..." Shego said, avoiding eye contact with the older woman.

Estelle shook her head as she dabbed with a handkerchief at her own eyes. "Oh, I wish it were true," she said shaking her head.

Shego frowned. "It is."

The red-haired woman looked at her again, and then up at Drakken.

"Mother...please, believe me. Shego would never...has never cheated on me," he said, his voice shaking.

Mrs. Lipsky continued to dab at her moist eyes. "But Drew... I know she's cheating, because...because she's pregnant. And she's been trying to hide it from us both."

Shego's eyes went wide. The world suddenly seemed to shrink down to only her heartbeat and her breaths, which were coming quicker with each passing second.

Pregnant?

She heard Drakken's and his mother's voices around her, but they sounded like they were under water as the blood thundered in her ears.

Pregnant?

"What?" Drakken said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh Son, I'm so sorry! My son's fiancée, pregnant with another man's child. And both of you world heroes. Oh, the scandal!"

Shego felt a pain in her leg as Drakken suddenly pulled her up to her feet. She realized she was in shock...because there might actually be something to what Mrs. Lipsky was saying. The unexplained nausea... Good food tasting strange, even the strawberries... And the random bouts of dizziness... Was she off track in her cycle? She hadn't been paying attention, due to getting ready for Christmas.

"Shego?" Drakken was saying, his wide eyes boring into hers. He looked as overwhelmed as she did, except...

He looked happy. There was a light coming to his eyes as he gently held her hands up between them, waiting for her answer.

"Is she right?" he continued. "Are we...? Are we going to be...?"

"What do you mean, 'we'?" Mrs. Lipsky asked.

Drakken bit his lip and swallowed anxiously, slowly turning his head to smile innocently at his mother. Shego watched as the older woman's sadness and confusion morphed into revelation, and finally anger.

"Drew Theodore P. Lipsky!"

Drakken let go of Shego's hands and darted around her as his mother started toward him at a speed surprisingly fast for a woman her age.

Shego blankly watched the comical chase around the table as the older woman slapped with both hands at her son's back, berating him all the while for taking advantage of an innocent young woman, and how he hadn't been raised to behave so uncivilized, and what would his poor deceased father say about his actions? To add to the farce, Admiral Cuddles left his food bowl and joined in the chase, barking and leaping up at his master's legs, tail wagging as he joined in what he perceived as play.

Shego slowly backed out of the room as Estelle continued her chastisements, a truth far more important than the one that had just been revealed needing to be known. Heart racing, she ran down the hall into her room and turned sharply into her bathroom. She didn't even bother to turn on the lights before yanking open her cabinet drawer and starting to pull things out, setting them on the counter.

I'm sure I bought a new one... Maybe a year ago...

At the back of the drawer her hand finally found several boxes of the nature she was looking for, all lined up evenly. She pulled them all out and rubbed the dust from her hands on the nearby hand towel after dropping them on the counter. She started checking the expiration dates on the unopened boxes and finally found the most recent, less than a year old. That one would work.

She opened the packaging on the pregnancy test and began reading the instructions carefully. She wasn't about to make a hasty mistake.

"Oh my son! Living a life of debauchery!" Estelle cried, burying her face in her handkerchief as she sat on the sofa.

"Mother..." Drakken said shakily, sitting beside her and nervously resting a hand on her shoulder. "It's...it's not..."

His mother turned to him sharply, her eyes wide with horror. "How many women have there been? What kind of philandering did you get up to in your years as a hardened criminal!?"

Drakken sighed and grit his teeth. "None, Mother. There's...only been Shego."

His mother pointed an accusing finger at him. "If it's just her, then why not wait? Why did you let her tempt you into such corrupt behavior!?"

"She didn't! I...I...i-it was mutual," he managed to get out, his face flushing purple.

"And what about her? What else has she been getting up to?"

"Mother!"

"Why is she hiding the truth from you!?"

Drakken sat back and blinked repeatedly, suddenly confused. "I...don't know."

"If she's not cheating on you and the...the baby is yours, why wouldn't she tell you?"

Drakken blinked again, his heart pounding rapidly as he looked down at his mother curiously.

"How do you know she's...that she's...?"

"She has all the early symptoms, dear. And she's been acting so secretive and strange around me."

Drakken frowned. "She just wants you to like her, for my sake. And she has no idea how to do that."

His mother looked confused. "Whatever do you mean? Why on earth would she think I don't like her?"

Drakken frowned, and mimicked his mother's voice. "'She's cheating on you, Drew! She's buying lingerie for another man!'"

His mother frowned. "It's a legitimate concern."

He continued on in his mimicry. "'Why would she have a change of morals because you did? She's trying to exploit you, Drew!'"

"But Son—"

"Mother!" He stopped and took a deep breath. He turned to face her and took her hands in his. "Shego is...sarcastic. And short-tempered. And...she sets things on fire every day, usually on purpose. And she gets a thrill from doing evil things. She doesn't like cocoa-moo, or movies with happy endings, or baking, or Christmas traditions. And..." he shook his head, "I wouldn't change any of it. I can't imagine a day of my life without her."

His mother looked down at their joined hands, frowning sadly.

"...You're sure of her?" she finally said, looking up at him worriedly.

"She loves me too," he said, wishing the strength of his voice matched the confidence he felt.

His mother's brow twisted in confusion. "Then why would she hide that she's pregnant from you?"

Drakken looked up at the Christmas tree. He looked down at Admiral Cuddles, laying on the floor and watching the pair with rapt attention, as if he could understand their conversation. He looked back at the tree, half-covered in candy canes that Shego had tied on that afternoon.

"She wasn't hiding it..." he said, as understanding hit him. He stood up abruptly and started down the hall.

"But...Drew, I know women. I'm sure that she's—"

"She didn't know."

"Shego?"

The soft knock on the bathroom door and the familiar voice outside brought the green-skinned woman out of her brown study. She blinked at herself in the mirror and stared at her own eyes. They looked full, and yet hollow; alive, and yet dead.

"Shego? Are you in there?"

She took a deep, shaky breath. The real world was coming into her tiny, claustrophobic hideout whether she liked it or not. She may as well...try to face it.

"Come in," she said, her voice shaking.

Drakken opened the door a crack and peeked inside cautiously. Shego continued leaning on one hand on the bathroom counter, the hand of her injured wrist loosely gripping her other arm. She watched peripherally as he stepped inside, closing the door as he moved to stand behind her.

A minute passed before she sighed through her nose and looked up at him through the mirror. His expression was concerned, and questioning. She sighed again, audibly this time, and let her gaze fall to the mess of items she had made on the counter. After a moment his eyes followed hers and fell on one specific thing.

He picked up the pregnancy test, and then scanning the counter he picked up the box it came from. His brow furrowed as he read it carefully, and then his eyes widened. He met her eyes through the mirror, silently asking for confirmation.

She sighed and straightened up for a moment before stepping back to lean against him. She set her head back against his shoulder but kept eye contact with him through the mirror. He studied her for a long moment, taking in her posture and expression. She saw his face fall ever-so-slightly before he spoke.

"Shego..." he said softly. "I...I should have asked you, if...if you... I don't know why I didn't." He shook his head in light disbelief. "It didn't even occur to me that—"

"No..." she said, the word coming out shakily as her chest tightened. "I take those pills like they're oxygen. I've never missed a day. You assumed right."

He shook his head again. "I didn't assume. I didn't...even think about it."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. She wanted to be mad at him for his lack of responsibility, but... His mother already hated her. If she made him the target of her emotional turmoil now, then she'd be all alone. And...she couldn't be alone in this.

Tears started coming to her eyes, despite her efforts to suppress them.

He set the used test and the box down, and his gaze drifted down and off to the side.

"Maybe...I secretly hoped..."

She lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes beginning to widen as she looked at him through the mirror.

"But I would never..." he looked back at her and shook his head, "never have tried to...not on purpose. Not without talking to you."

She saw the truth in his eyes and nodded once, slowly. No, he wouldn't manipulate her into something like this. Not even through feigned ignorance or lies of omission. It wasn't who he was.

"I know," she said shakily.

He slowly circled his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. She lay her head back on his shoulder and sighed as she continued to look at him through the mirror. But his gaze had drifted downward and now rested on her abdomen, where one of his hands was now gently lain.

"Does this..." she began, and his eyes rose to meet hers, "make you happy?"

He shifted his hands to her hips and slowly spun her around to face him. She looked up anxiously at his thoughtful, melancholy expression.

"I want to be," he answered after a moment.

"Do you..." she asked again, her eyes dropping down as one of his hands returned to her abdomen, "do you want this?"

His lips parted, and she saw fear flash through his eyes. But it vanished in a moment and she saw bravery take its place.

"Yes," he said with small nod. He held his breath.

She took a slow shaky breath and looked down to where he'd slightly shifted his touch. She let the warmth of his hand protectively covering what they both knew now was alive and growing within her seep across her skin. Her breaths began to come quicker as the warmth spread like tendrils up to her shoulders and then down to her fingers and toes. It was like strength being gifted to her, to let her know she could go on. The last time she'd been so afraid, there had been no source of strength. She had been forced to choose between running away, or pressing forward into the dark. But this time...

She wasn't alone. And there was light. She looked up at him.

"Okay."

Relief filled his eyes as he exhaled in a soft gasp. She didn't get to say more as his arms enveloped her and pulled her close. She held him tightly and rested her face against his neck as her tears began to flow.

"Shego," he said, his breath catching. She knew he was crying too. Several seconds passed, and then he turned his head to place a kiss on her wet cheek. "Shego," he said again, and she felt herself begin to relax. All his love for her was in his voice.

She gasped once, trying to hold back a sob. And then again. With the third, she gave up and let her voice join her tears as she cried into his neck.

She let him walk her out of the bathroom and into her darkened bedroom, where he slowly sat down on the end of her bed. She sat down straddling his lap, bending her legs to kneel on the mattress as she clung to him and cried. His hands gripped her back tightly as he simply held her, occasionally kissing her cheek as she emptied herself of emotion.

She wasn't sure how long she cried. But when the heaving of her chest calmed and her throat felt hoarse, she felt him pull away from her slightly.

"Shego?"

His voice was concerned. She drew back to look at him.

"Will this...make you happy?"

She wiped her eyes. "I want you to be happy."

He glanced away, and then back to her face, his expression worried.

"But...if it doesn't—"

She interrupted him with a finger on his lips. "I want you to be happy," she repeated. After the joy she had heard in his voice before, she knew...she couldn't take this away from him. And despite her fears...the more the minutes passed and the more the reality sank in, the more she knew... She couldn't take it from herself, either. "And when you're happy...I'm happy."

He still looked worried. "But—"

"Shh..." she said softly, and then brought her lips to his. The tender kiss was rejuvenating, electrifying all of her senses and bringing energy back to her emotionally-spent body. Like a sudden flood, passion rose within her. She slid her hands over his chest and moaned desirously into his kiss.

"Shego!" he whispered, pulling away quickly and grabbing her hands. "My mother is out there!"

Her brow furrowed. "In the hallway? Right outside?"

"Well...no, I don't think so—"

He was interrupted by her passionate kiss. Her thighs squeezed his waist in anticipation as he gave in, sinking backwards onto the bed to lay beneath her.

"Mm," he suddenly hummed in protest and grabbed her hands again to stop their pursuits. He wriggled out from under her and stood up, catching his breath and giving her an apologetic look as she frowned.

"Later, I-I promise," he said breathlessly. "My mother will come looking for us now if...we seem to be taking too long."

A tiny smirk found its way into her eyes. "Yeah... There's nothing quick about what I want to do with you."

Drakken blushed and pulled her to her feet. She leaned into his chest again, grateful when his arms surrounded her and pulled her close. He looked suddenly curious and a bit shy. She answered his look with one of her own.

He licked his lips. "When, ah...when do you think...it happened?"

Shego followed his train of thought and dropped her gaze as she considered. Her hand absently slid between them to rest on her stomach.

"Actually...it must have been the night you proposed," she said, looking back up at him. "If it was after, the test wouldn't register yet. And if it was before, I...I think I would have noticed."

"Oh..." he said, rubbing her shoulders gently, looking lost in thought.

She put her arms around his neck and pulled herself up on her tip-toes to be almost nose-to-nose with him. She found herself blushing as she smiled at him, preparing her words.

"That was...the most wonderful night of my life," she said.

He exhaled shakily and a second later was kissing her fiercely, almost lifting her off the ground with how tightly he pulled her against him.

"Mm!" she protested in the kiss, hitting his back with her palm once as he squeezed her too hard. He softened his grip and she found her feet again, putting her weight down on her uninjured leg. When he broke away and she looked up at him, he was grinning with a joy she had rarely seen on his face.

"Shego!" he cried gleefully, scooping her up and then sitting down on the bed again, draping her legs across his lap. "This is...this is..." he shook his head, "incredible!"

She smiled and gently rubbed his jaw. "I'm...glad it makes you happy."

He continued grinning at her, hugging her close with another hum of joy when she didn't say more. She realized with a bit of surprise that she was happy too. But that didn't eliminate her other feelings.

"Drakken..."

He leaned back from the hug to look at her, still grinning in delight.

"You know this...changes everything."

His smile only faltered slightly as he looked at her attentively, his thumbs turning in slow circles over her shoulders.

"Our life is going to change... It has to change."

His smile shrank again, and this time she saw the faraway look enter his eyes that indicated he was thinking.

"I don't know if...if we should keep trying to take over the world," she continued, "because...a child...that we're responsible for, is going to be our world now."

He blinked, his grin fading entirely as he took in her words. The warmth she had felt a short time ago began to slowly evaporate from her body, taking the gift of strength with it.

It reminded her of her fear.

Before it could settle back into her heart, his grin returned and he shook his head briefly, a carefree look in his eyes.

"I already have the world," he said, brushing her remaining tears away with the backs of his fingers. "It's just...a little bigger now."

Her gaze dropped to her lap as her breath caught. "You don't...really mean that. You just say sappy, romantic things to make me feel good."

He lifted her chin up to make her look at him. He shook his head, his dark eyes intense.

"Shego... When have I ever thought about something before saying it?"

She bit her lip lightly. It was true... He was a master of putting his foot in his mouth. Did it work the same when he said adoring, mushy things?

"You already gave me the world, when you agreed to marry me," he continued a bit shyly. "And now...we've been given more."

She curled her hand into a fist and hit his chest once, turning her face to hide her tears. "How is it a gift? I don't...I don't know what to do with this, Doc. I—" She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked away bitterly. "I'm scared."

She heard him sigh through his nose, and his thumbs resumed their circles on her shoulders.

"Well... So am I."

She looked back at him in surprise.

He shook his head. "I don't know what to do either. I'm just...glad we're doing it."

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, sniffling once as she thought about his words. His hand moved down and covered her abdomen again, and she felt the protective warmth return. She set her hand atop his and laced their fingers together.

A sudden knock at the door startled them both. She jumped slightly, hitting her face against his jaw. She heard his teeth snap together from the force, and then saw his face pinch in pain.

"Drew, are you in there?" the familiar voice of his mother sounded from the hallway as the knock repeated.

"Yes, Mother. We'll be right out," Drakken called back.

"Are you okay?" Shego asked quietly, rubbing her cheekbone where she'd bumped him.

"Bit my cheek," he said, and she watched the movement of his tongue through his cheek against the wound.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and frowned. "I don't want to talk to your mother."

Drakken turned his head to look at her. "We can't ignore her."

"Why not?"

"Because...um..."

Shego pulled back and stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Because her flight home doesn't leave until tomorrow afternoon?"

Shego shrugged. "I have enough food in here to last beyond that."

Drakken grimaced. "She can't...get back to the airport without us. Besides, she isn't...just going to go away. She's my mother."

Shego hugged him tighter and lay her head down again. "She doesn't get any input about how we raise the baby."

She felt Drakken tense under her and knew he was staring. She looked up and met his wide-eyed wonder and the awed parting of his lips. A moment passed before she realized what had arrested his attention, and then her own eyes widened as she replayed her own words in her head. She sat back and stared away at the wall.

"I... We..." she looked up at him, "are going to have a baby."

A tiny bubble of laughter escaped his lips as he smiled at her, and she saw tears come to the corners of his eyes. He suddenly didn't look like the middle-aged human-plant mutant who worried about his mother's approval, but the wannabe-dictator genius-dork with endless drive she couldn't wait to marry. She shook her head in amazement and dropped her cheek to his shoulder again.

"Wow..." she breathed.

She felt Drakken's hand squeeze at her middle ever so gently, and then he started pushing her away.

"The...sooner we go out there and talk to her, the...sooner we can come back in here?" he suggested.

"Oh, not in here," she said with a smirk as she stood up from his lap.

He frowned. "Why not? I want to try out your bed..."

She shook her head as he rose and joined her, his arm wrapping around her waist.

"Not worth it. Yours is better. Trust me."

She found his disappointed pout adorable, and biting her lip mischievously she reached down and pinched his bottom. His resulting yelp made her laugh, and she leaned into his side.

"You're cute when you don't get what you want," she said with a smile.

He blushed and frowned lightly. "Oh...I-I'll get what I want."

She wrapped both arms around him and chuckled. "Lucky you, we want the same thing."

With a resolved sense of direction and a measure of peace, the couple left the room and slowly made their way down the hallway. Shego leaned heavily against Drakken as her leg stung and throbbed due to the recent abuse she put it through running to her room, and barely a minute passed before she was limping painfully.

On entering the living room they saw Estelle Lipsky pacing back and forth in front of the Christmas tree, wringing her hands. Admiral Cuddles was running back and forth at her side, whimpering and looking up at her anxiously as if he could sense her distress.

"Mother..." Drakken said, and the older woman looked up with a startled gasp. He looked down at Shego, who leaned into him and dropped her gaze to his chest. But a moment later she looked up at his face as it bloomed into a shy, anxious smile. "We're...we're going to have a baby."

"Oh, Son!" Estelle cried joyfully. Her hands went up in fists by her face as she rushed forward, and a moment later she was embracing them both. The tiniest of smiles crept into Shego's eyes as she saw the older woman's joy, though she struggled to breathe under her crushing hug.

"Oh my!" she said once she'd released them, looking between them both with a smile.

"Lost count..." Shego said quietly, and Drakken looked down at her quizzically.

"My son is a hero...he's engaged, and I'm going to have a grandchild!" Mrs. Lipsky shook her head in disbelief. "This is...this is the greatest gift I could have asked for. What a wonderful surprise!"

"Well, it's...a surprise to us too, Mother," Drakken said, blushing shyly.

Shego didn't let go of him as he moved to sit on the sofa, and she melded her body against his even as he reached for a snickerdoodle and chewed it nervously as his mother sat down next to them.

'Rrarf!'

Admiral Cuddles jumped up onto the center of the sofa, looking between Drakken and his mother and wagging his tail excitedly as he sat between them. Shego watched the dog rather than look at Mrs. Lipsky's face. After the day largely filled with verbal torment, she realized she wasn't ready for whatever may come next with the latest revelation.

"You did give me a fright though, the two of you. I don't know why you didn't just tell me the truth in the first place."

Shego rolled her eyes from where she leaned against Drakken's shoulder.

"Mother, we...we didn't know Shego is pregnant. And...um..."

"Our relationship isn't your business," Shego added as she lay her injured leg across Drakken's lap to rest it. Drakken looked down at Shego in alarm.

Estelle's face flushed and she frowned. "You could have at least said that you were dating. You weren't even acting like a couple. I was actually surprised Shego said yes when you proposed, Drew."

Shego looked up at Drakken, whose brow creased uncertainly. Shego grimaced and lay her head back against him. She was done cleaning up his messes for the day, if not for the rest of the year.

"Actually, Mother... We've been engaged for almost a month."

"What?" Mrs. Lipsky asked, her brow twisting in confusion.

"We wanted to surprise you, for Christmas. But when you started worrying that Shego was still evil and...when you kept trying to convince me to send her away, we didn't know what to do."

"It was his idea to propose in front of you..." Shego added, not wanting to be blamed for that stupidity.

"So everything today...was just a sham?" Mrs. Lipsky asked, looking between them in confusion.

"Well...not everything," Drakken said. "I did build all of those things in the lab."

Shego rolled her eyes.

"But then what about the police coming to talk to Shego? And that...dirty word on your car?"

Shego shrugged. "I might have let some guy's pet bird fly away after he keyed the hover car."

Drakken looked down at her. "Do you know why he wrote that, in the first place?"

"Hover car took up more than one parking space. In the handicapped row," Shego said, running her hand lightly over her injured leg to make a point. "I didn't want to move it."

"Oh," Drakken said, his brow furrowing.

"Some people are just jerks," Shego said with a shrug.

Estelle sat up straighter. "Then why did you tell me it was a gang?"

Shego groaned. "I didn't want you to be offended by the language. I was trying to protect you."

"Well dear, I understand, but do you see how out of hand all of your lying got?"

Admiral Cuddles crept over to lay his head on Estelle's lap, and Shego frowned. Even the dog was taking her side?

"You'll need to get out of that habit as heroes, besides," the older woman continued. Shego smirked up at Drakken, who looked away nervously.

"Ah, you're right of course, Mother. Now...how about we all...go back and continue dinner and celebrate?"

He set his hand over Shego's abdomen and she closed her eyes with a sigh, her irritation fading. Her entire life was about to change, but at least she had—

"Drew, I think that food is a bit rich for Shego now, don't you?"

Shego blinked, frowning at the woman as Drakken helped her to her feet.

"Why don't you fix her up some boiled eggs and I can put away all the other stuff."

"Mother...it can't be that bad?" Drakken said as he set his arm around Shego's waist. The two slowly followed his mother back into the kitchen at a speed Shego's injured leg would allow.

"And I'll just pour the eggnog down the sink. You don't have any other alcohol in your apartment, do you?"

Drakken nervously watched as Shego's expression grew harder.

"Well, actually—"

"Drew, you know how I feel about alcohol," his mother scolded. "Did Shego get you into drinking, too?"

"It's not really—"

"Show me where it is and I'll pour it all out. Oh, and you can't have coffee anymore, dear."

They had reached the kitchen, where Estelle was now going through the cupboards.

"No. Coffee?" Shego growled.

"Of course not dear. Caffeine is bad for the baby."

Shego watched as the tower of red hair moved from cupboard to cupboard, examining things and either putting them back or setting them out as apparently unsuitable. Not that Shego had the faintest idea of the the majority of the things Drakken stocked in the kitchen. But that wasn't the point.

"Mama Lipsky, we don't need your help figuring out what to eat."

The tower of red hair turned around. "Oh. Have you been pregnant before?"

Shego clenched her teeth. "No."

"Then you need someone to tell you what to do, sweetie."

"'Sweetie?'"

Shego pushed herself away from Drakken's side and then leaned across the counter, cringing as she forgot about her wrist and put weight on it. When Estelle turned around they were face to face, and the older woman took a step back in surprise.

"Now listen close. The only person who tells me what to do is me. And if I decide I want a cup of coffee tomorrow morning, I'm going to have one."

Her voice rose in volume with each word, but Mrs. Lipsky appeared only mildly perturbed. She lowered her voice.

"Drew, why don't you send your fiancée off to bed? The pregnancy is giving her mood-swings."

Shego's hands flared green. "That's it!"

Drakken grabbed her wrists and whirled her around to face him. Shego gasped at the sudden pain in her sprained wrist and shot a small blast at his chest.

"Ow!" he said in surprise, wincing as he took a step back and let go of her left wrist.

Admiral Cuddles had followed them into the kitchen and was now alternating between barking and whimpering at Shego, apparently unsure of her behavior.

"Drakken! Tell your mother to keep her nose out of our business!"

"But you need the help, dear," his mother continued. "I only want my grandchild to be well taken care of."

Shego snarled and yanked herself away from Drakken. She cradled her left wrist close to her chest, and he immediately tried to examine it even though her right hand was still flared and raised in warning.

"I have done nothing the last day and night but try to give you a good Christmas," Shego growled through clenched teeth. "And you've done nothing but try to make me feel inferior. And I just found out I'm pregnant. And...and..."

At that moment, Admiral Cuddles jumped up to the calf of her injured leg and began humping, his tail wagging excitedly. Shego fired a blast at him and he leapt back with a yelp. Instead of running from the room the small dog postured angrily and growled at her. Her brow rose.

She looked up at Drakken's anxious, worried face. She looked across the counter at his mother's annoyed one.

"I'm done," she said, dropping her hands to her sides and limping out of the kitchen, her head held high.

'Rrarf! Rrrr.'

"And you can keep your opinions to yourself too, Shorty," she said, glancing back at the growling dog.

Drakken watched Shego until she'd disappeared down the hallway, and then bent down to attend to his dog.

"Admiral Cuddles...no!" he said, shaking a finger at the dog.

Properly reproached, it began whimpering and took a step back under the kitchen table.

"Drew, how could you let Shego speak to me like—"

"Stop."

"What?"

Drakken's brow was creased and his eyes closed. He raised his hands to his head and dug his thumbs beneath his brow bone where he felt a headache beginning.

"Mother. Shego is marrying me. She is not...marrying you."

"What? Drew why would you say something like—?"

Drakken had stood up and was now facing her, a deep frown on his face as he carefully measured his breaths.

"If you... If you ever want her to let you see our...your grandchild, then...you had better start being nice to her."

His mother frowned at him. "Drew Lipsky! You mean to tell me you would withhold my grandchild from me?"

"Yes!" he snarled.

He watched her face fall. He felt a pang in his chest at the shock and sadness on her face, but...things had gotten too far out of hand.

"Shego's right. She didn't want to...do Christmas. I don't think she even likes Christmas. She definitely doesn't like Admiral Cuddles, and it's his fault she's hurt. And right before your plane landed he destroyed the Christmas tree and was chewing on glass. And...even though she had just gotten back from the emergency room she took him to the vet and then picked you up, while I fixed everything here so we could still have Christmas."

His mother stared at him as she took the information in.

"She's miserable. But she's doing all of this for me, and she's doing it for you. And she didn't want to lie to you about the engagement, either. She wanted everything out in the open right away. I'm the one who was trying to ease you into the idea, since...since you seemed to think she wasn't anything more than a former evil assistant."

His mother's lower lip was trembling. She looked near to tears.

"And Mother, it's not your fault I became a villain. I fully understood the choices I was making. I did what I wanted to do. And I'm...still going to do what I want."

His chest was aching at the look on his mother's face. He turned away from her and started gathering up the cold dinner plates from the table and scooping the food items back into their various trays.

"Drew..." His mother's voice was quiet, and trembling. "I...I just love you, Son."

He looked up at her from his task, his frown still deep and his chest still tight.

"Then love Shego too. She's...she's the mother of my child. And she's going to be my wife. She's my whole world."

His mother set one hand cautiously on his forearm. "Why did you choose an ex-villain to be your—"

"And I did what I wanted in...in my love-life," he said. "I'm just lucky enough that...somehow," he shook his head in disbelief, "she loves me too."

His mother's hand fell away, and he watched peripherally as she started cleaning up the uneaten dinner alongside him.

"My life...is her life. So if you want her to let you be part of it...you might try making at least some of the effort she made the last day and a half, instead of just trying to make her mad."

She didn't answer. His head was definitely hurting, after the intensity of everything he had said. He continued packing up the dinner, wrapping the trays in plastic wrap and pushing them all into the fridge. He was moving quickly, and perhaps more carelessly than he usually would. He wanted to get back to Shego.

His head was still reeling with the fact that they were going to be parents, and unfortunately some of his mother's worrying had been passed on to his genes. He wondered...would Shego's anger somehow impact the pregnancy? Did she in fact need to change her diet? And how could they begin discovering all of these things that were undoubtedly important for a growing baby, without her losing her temper?

"I'm sorry, Drew."

He moved over to the sink and began washing his hands.

"I'm going to...try to calm Shego down, and...I'll see you in the morning, Mother."

After turning off the tap he shook the water from his hands and strode out of the kitchen and toward the hall.

"Tomorrow's Christmas Day," his mother called after him.

He paused and looked back.

"I know."

"Are we...going to have breakfast?" she asked, her brow twisting in concern.

"Yes, Mother. We'll have breakfast...and cocoa-moo...and open presents together while we listen to Christmas music and watch the parade on TV."

He saw her smile shakily.

"Sleep well, Mother."

Drakken knocked on his own bedroom door cautiously. When there was no answer, he opened it just a crack and peeked inside. Shego was sitting at his small desk looking at something on his laptop, her back toward him. He stepped inside and closed the door.

"Ah... Shego?"

She spun the office chair around and answered him with just a look, a frown still darkening her features.

"I've...um...I've talked to Mother. I'm sure she's going to be on her best behavior...for the rest of Christmas," he said. "Or else..." he added under his breath.

Shego stood up and half-limped, half-hopped toward him, her face unreadable. He crossed the moat and they met at the foot of the bed. He clasped and unclasped his hands nervously as he looked at her dark expression.

"So...you don't have to worry about her anymore."

Shego shrugged and crossed her arms. "I'm not worried. I told you. I'm done."

He pursed his lips uncertainly. "Ah...right."

She looked up at him and her eyes began to soften ever-so-slightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Her frown deepened, and she shook her head. "No."

He cautiously set a hand on her left wrist, worried since he'd grabbed it so hard before. Her look softened again as she allowed his gentle examination. After a few moments, she sighed.

"Um...what can I... Can I do anything to help?" he asked.

Her expression darkened slightly and then her eyes scanned him quickly. He recognized something in the look and found his heart was suddenly pounding.

"I'm in a bad mood," she said, uncrossing her arms and sliding her hands up his chest. His eyes widened and he backed up until his legs bumped into the bed. Her fingers tightly gripped the front of his shirt. "You'd better...cheer me up."

The next moment, all Drakken knew was that he was in the air. Shego threw him onto the bed with such force that his vision blacked out momentarily. When he recovered a second later she was already on top of him, her lips attacking him with ferocity as the press and roll of her hips against his made her desire clear.

He reached for her shoulders, but she grabbed his hands and pinned them above his head with lightning quickness.

"What about your wrist?" he gasped as she lowered herself down against him.

"Don't care," she breathed as she kissed him again. He relaxed into submission and simply thrilled in the caress of her lips and the warmth of her body pressed against his.

He blinked suddenly as the warmth vanished and she sat up over him. His pulse began to race as she quickly peeled out of her black velour jacket and stripped off the pink crop top, looking almost disgusted at the interference of the clothing in her pursuits. His hands followed their own commands as they went to her hips and began feeling slowly up along her newly exposed, creamy skin.

"You didn't wear a bra again."

She looked surprised. "You didn't notice?"

"Wasn't looking," he said, as his fingers crept higher.

"Such a gentleman," she said with a smirk. His fingers changed direction to trail back down her sides, and she frowned.

He smirked and lifted his brow.

She fell back over him again with a slight growl of impatience, her fingers threading into his hair as her eyes flashed with urgency. He let his hands drift down to the back of her thighs where he dug his fingers in possessively while his lips answered the demand in her eyes and attended to the offered flesh. She gasped at his skilled attentions, and time slipped away between them as she communicated her approval through gasps and moans and he furthered his efforts to please her with each sound she made.

"Drakken..." she breathed.

He dug his fingers hard into her rear and then set his hands in front of her hips, pushing her up. She clawed at his polo shirt, breathless as she dragged it up over his head and threw it away out of sight. He pushed himself upright and she rose up on her knees in front of him, her fingernails gently scratching his back as he kissed her navel, and then downward.

She gasped, and tremors ran through her legs as his fingers kneaded into her rear and his lips continued claiming her flesh. He pulled back suddenly and looked up at her with a wicked grin, and she frowned.

"You're wearing too much," he said, glancing at her track pants as his arms circled around her waist.

"So are you," she complained, crossing her arms and looking pointedly down at his jeans.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked, laying back on the bed and folding his arms under his head.

She growled and started fumbling with his belt buckle. He watched her flushed face with amusement, reaching one hand out to run his fingers through her hair. The way it fell in dark waves over her pale green skin always set his heart racing.

He kicked his shoes off in anticipation, and a few moments later she was tugging his jeans down over his hips. He sighed in relief as a great pressure was released with the removal of the constricting garment, and he smirked with a bit of pride as he saw her staring lustily at his crotch.

"This...is why I love you," she said, continuing to pull his jeans off.

"Is that the only reason?" he asked with mock-concern.

She sat up on the edge of the bed to pull her pants off and then rolled back over, looking him up and down eagerly before her eyes settled on his private region again.

"No..." she said thoughtfully, sliding her hand slowly up his thigh. She smirked. "But it's a big one."

He lunged forward and grabbed her arms, throwing her onto her back. This time it was his hands that held her arms out to her sides just below her elbows, pinning her where he wanted her. Her legs went around his waist and locked tightly at her ankles, trapping him against her. He kissed her neck slowly and repeatedly, covering every tense muscle and every inch of exposed skin with the soft touch of his lips.

He hummed in contentment, but she bit his shoulder impatiently.

"What are you waiting for?"

"Just enjoying the moment," he said with a smile, kissing her cheek and then between her eyes and down her nose.

"Well, there will be plenty more," she said and rolled her hips up against his. Her annoyance melted into a mischievous grin. "I could keep you in this bed for days."

He released her arms and pushed himself back, looking at her ravenous eyes, her kiss-swollen lips, and her heaving chest.

"Is...something wrong with you?" he asked. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized how she could misinterpret that. "I mean, not wrong, but you've been so... And you don't tend to... I mean, I'm usually the one who—"

"Relax, Dr. D." she said with a smile.

He let out his breath and sank against her, his pulse rising with the more intimate contact.

"You're right, actually. I was looking it up just before you came in..." she continued.

"Looking...what up?"

"It's one of the side-effects. Pregnancy increases the sex-drive in the first trimester," she said, wrapping her arms around him and lightly scratching up the length of his back.

"It...does?"

"Mmhm," she said with a smirk, running her fingers through his hair and pulling his ponytail loose. "And apparently the effect is extra-strong on comet-powered green villainesses." She gently pulled his head down to whisper in his ear. "So you'd better get some sleep tonight... I already know what we're doing all day tomorrow."

He shivered at her suggestive tone and pulled back to look at her. She bit her lip almost shyly and then pulled him down into a kiss. He sighed happily into her touch and replayed her words in his mind. If she was fully embracing all the side-effects of having their child growing inside her...the best thing to do would be to embrace them right along with her. Starting immediately, he thought, as he shifted his position atop her with purpose.

"Oh!" she gasped in pleasure. "Oh, Drakken!"

"You complete me... I didn't know how much of me was missing until I found you... I love you so much..."

December 25

Shego woke up the next morning to a feeling of nausea, and a headache. She slowly began pushing herself up...and then fell down again as a wave of dizziness hit her.

"Ungh..." she groaned, setting a hand on her forehead and closing her eyes.

A heavy movement under the blankets next to her suddenly became a weight on top of her. She opened her eyes and blinked into Drakken's giddy, excited face. She moved her hand to his shoulder just as he brought his lips down to hers and greeted her with a sensuous kiss. All of her nerve endings lit on fire, and she wrapped her leg around one of his and ran her foot up and down his muscled calf.

"Good morning," he said softly, pulling away to smile at her.

"I'm nauseous," she said.

His face fell. "That's...one of the side-effects?"

She brought her hand to her forehead again and closed her eyes.

"And dizziness."

"I'm sorry... Can I...do anything to help?"

She put her arms around him and held him tight.

"Make love to me."

He blushed and kissed the tip of her nose. "Later. It's Christmas morning!"

She blinked. "How can a grown man be more excited about Christmas than about—"

He kissed her lips again and her heart raced excitedly in her chest. She squeezed his back with her hands until a sharp pain reminded her of her sprained wrist.

"Don't tease me if you don't want to," she said breathlessly when he pulled away again.

"Don't you want to unwrap presents?"

She smirked. "I already have my present."

He dropped heavily on the bed next to her and stroked her hair, still grinning with boyish excitement.

"Really, you're like a kid Dr. D. It's embarrassing."

He blushed again and glanced away. "There are...other presents for you. Under the tree."

"Did your mother actually get me something?"

He nodded. "So did I."

She smirked. And then she wondered...when would he have put another present under the tree? They'd been together all night.

He suddenly pulled the blankets down below their waists and she rolled toward him and curled in on herself instinctively.

"Hey!" she said with a frown. But he was still grinning.

She relaxed her posture as his hand went to her hip, and then slid down low over her abdomen. She tensed slightly and then shifted to lay on her back again, her brow furrowing despite the happiness on his face.

"I didn't sleep very well," she said.

"I know."

"I kept having nightmares about this."

He pushed himself up on his elbow to look at her. "Like what?"

"Nothing specific. Just..." she set her hand over his, "that it's happening."

She watched the joy begin to fade from his eyes and she pushed herself up to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

"But I wouldn't change it," she said, softly kissing his neck before dropping back onto the bed.

He looked a bit worried. "Really?"

"Really," she said, running her fingers through his hair once before rubbing her forehead again. She figured the headache was a caffeine withdrawal.

Drakken sat up and tugged the blankets modestly back up over her hips. Then he bent down and placed a kiss on her belly, right below her navel. He was back to looking excited, and she gave him an amused smirk.

"Admiring your work? Nothing to see, yet."

He blushed and set a hand back over her flat belly and gently rubbed up and down. She set her hand over his again.

"Look what you did," she chuckled.

"What we did," he answered, smiling at her.

She looked thoughtful, and then rolled away to the side.

"Stop making me want you, or I'm not going to give you a choice."

He didn't answer, and she glanced back at him over her shoulder. He was pursing his lips and smirking, apparently trying to decide for himself.

After a few moments he crawled away from her and climbed off the bed. She sighed in disappointment, but admired his figure with a flush of desire in the few seconds before he put his robe on. She burrowed back under the blankets but watched him cross the moat. Closing her eyes would only bring thoughts of what he'd declined, or else thoughts of...the baby. And she wanted him with her if she was going to entertain either thought.

"You can take your time getting up... I have to cook breakfast first. It's a tradition from my father's side," he explained as he went through his dresser drawers and got some clothes for the day.

"Will there be anything I can eat?"

He blinked and his brow furrowed. "Oh... I'll...try to make something else too, in case your stomach doesn't settle."

"Thanks," she said, flipping over again as he disappeared into the bathroom.

The queasiness in her stomach increased as thoughts of the baby immediately returned in the quiet of the room. But she tried to think instead of what they would do that day. Apparently they would start with breakfast... And then open presents.

When she was a kid it had been a rapid frenzy as her brothers ripped into their packages, pulled out toys, and then took off to play, leaving their parents to clean up and Shego sitting in the middle of a mess. And her brothers had continued the uncivilized way of doing Christmas morning into their early adulthood back when she lived with them at Go Tower.

She wondered if Drakken had the same present-opening philosophy... She smirked as she realized if he did, he would probably damage the present she'd gotten him. She'd have a chat with him beforehand about proper present-opening procedures. After all...it was time to make some new traditions.

She lay back and held her left hand in front of her face, looking at her ring. He'd chosen it with such care... And it was very becoming on her finger, even if red wasn't her favorite color. She was excited to add a wedding band to it in a few weeks, assuming their plans went ahead without interruption.

Her face fell as she wondered if they were going to be obligated to tell Drakken's mother. Or worse, invite her.

They were just going to the courthouse. A couple hours in the hover car, maybe a special dinner date while they were out, and a couple hours back, just the two of them. That's all she wanted. And he had agreed to it. She probably wouldn't even buy a special dress.

She slowly sat up and glanced around for something to put on. Finding nothing easy, she started pulling on her clothes from the previous day so she could go back to her room. She wanted to shower and be ready in plenty of time to talk to Drakken before they were stuck with his mother all morning.

Drakken was grinning ear to ear when he left the bathroom, steam from the shower flowing out through the open door around him.

"Shego, I think—"

He blinked and looked around. She was gone. Probably to her room to expedite the morning routine, he assumed.

He tucked the tails of his gray button-up shirt into his darker gray trousers and headed toward the kitchen. He had slept later than he should have. But after all of the previous night's events and activities, he was exhausted. Coffee would be welcome.

He stopped suddenly before turning the corner out of the hallway. Shego would want coffee... But his mother said it was bad for the baby.

He bit his lip as he continued, wondering what to do.

'Arf! Arf! Arf!'

Drakken grinned. "Good morning, Admiral Cuddles!"

He scooped up the dog and ruffled its fur as it licked at his hand the rest of the walk to the kitchen.

"How about some chicken for the good boy? Would you like that?"

Drakken set the dog down and got some cold chicken out of the fridge that had gone unused in lunch the day before. He spooned some slices into the dog's bowl and watched the little Maltese wag its whole body in excitement as it began eating.

He hummed in satisfaction and then set about making the breakfast he knew his mother would expect. Potato pancakes were the unique item on the menu and would take the longest to prepare, so he didn't waste time getting started. Really he should have started the night before, but...things hadn't gone as planned.

He realized he needed to apologize to his mother. As difficult as she had been, it hadn't warranted him being disrespectful to her. And now as he reflected on the past day and a half, he realized it would have been best to simply tell his mother the truth about his and Shego's engagement to begin with. And if the intimate nature of their relationship came up...to tell the truth about that too.

It was difficult as a villain knowing when to lie and when not to.

At least hopefully...now, they could move forward. And then in a few hours his mother would leave.

He sighed. Unfortunately...it was a temporary solution to a long-term problem, now that there was to be a grandchild. And it would have to be talked about with Shego.

Since they were 'heroes' in his mother's eyes, she especially wouldn't understand his reticence to spend time with her. And she would want to spend far more than just holidays with them, because of the baby.

Drakken smiled softly as he stirred the mixture of grated potatoes, egg, flour, butter, and onion together in a bowl.

A baby. A family. He and Shego were a family, and they were having a baby together.

His heart thumped joyfully as he imagined what it might be like to hold a small, new life in his arms that symbolized the love he and Shego shared. It was really...all he'd ever wanted. To be loved. And to love that person back. And create a life together with them, and give them everything they desired. He'd always hoped to be a father too, but he'd never expected the opportunity would actually come.

He was grinning so much that his cheeks hurt. He hadn't realized he had so much love inside of him to give.

A soft knock on the wall caused him to turn around, and his mother was peering into the room uncertainly.

"Good morning, Son," she said.

He set the mixing bowl down and wiped his hands on his apron.

"Good morning, Mother," he said, crossing the room and giving her a hug. Admiral Cuddles left his food to jump up on her legs, tail wagging excitedly.

"Son... I'm sorry I was—"

"It's...it's in the past, Mother," he said with a shy smile.

She smiled weakly at him and returned the hug before reaching down to pet Admiral Cuddles.

"Would you like to help me cook breakfast?" he asked.

"Of course, Son!" she said, hurrying to join him at the counter. "How is...how is Shego this morning?"

"She's feeling a bit sick, but...I don't think she's mad anymore," he said, considering her actions from the morning and the previous night.

"Did she...I mean, did the two of you...share a bed last night?"

Drakken blushed and frowned. "We usually do. We're...committed to each other," he said. "Why?"

His mother glanced up at him from where she had started the preparations for fresh cinnamon rolls.

"I was wondering if she had a good night. Did she get any rest?"

Drakken blushed again, but focused on what his mother actually meant. "She's still feeling sick, and she had trouble sleeping."

"Oh. You know...some ginger will help her stomach feel better. Can I...add some to these rolls?"

"Ginger rolls?" Drakken asked, furrowing his brow. It was breaking tradition... "All right."

"I'll fix her some peppermint tea, too..." his mother said, stepping around him to look through the cupboard.

"Actually...she's going to want coffee, Mother."

He watched as she opened her mouth to protest...and then closed it. "All right," she agreed with a nod, though she looked anxious.

"Don't worry. I won't...let her have it every day. But it's Christmas," he said, his smile returning. He also thought about fixing Shego a latte as opposed to her usual black coffee to go easier on her stomach. Maybe with some honey...

"Drew..."

He turned and looked at his mother, standing with the fresh ginger root in her hands a few feet away from him.

"I really am happy for both of you," she said.

Drakken pursed his lips and then smiled, taking a slow breath in and out.

"Thank you, Mother. I...I'm glad you're here."

Shego limped into the kitchen on her crutch wearing deep green yoga pants and a long-sleeved button-up shirt that was slightly too big for her. The tails hung down below her waist, and she'd rolled the sleeves up to just below her elbows. It was patterned in dark purple and black plaid and she had it buttoned up the front higher than she usually would. She could be modest on Christmas, for the sake of Drakken's mother. She'd decided on just slippers for her feet as she didn't plan on leaving the lair that day, and she had wrapped her sprained wrist up in a compression bandage since her brace had been destroyed the night before.

Drakken was hanging his apron up on the magnetic hook to the side of the fridge as she turned the corner, and Mrs. Lipsky was setting a steaming plate of something in the middle of the table.

"Oh!" the older woman said upon seeing Shego, and Drakken turned around.

Shego wanted to feel smug at the nervous look on Estelle's face but...for some reason she didn't. She did feel a bit put off just seeing her, though. She continued into the room with a small frown.

"So what's this special breakfast?" she asked.

She watched Estelle and Drakken exchange looks before Drakken answered.

"Potato pancakes. My grandfather on my father's side always wanted potato pancakes."

"They were from Eastern Europe?" Shego asked as she sat down.

"Mm," Drakken nodded, bringing three steaming cups of coffee to the table and sitting down. He had traded chairs with his mother, so instead of his typical spot across from Shego he was next to her on her left. His mother sat opposite Shego.

Drakken served her one potato pancake, and then two for his mother, and three for himself. As soon as the scent hit Shego's nose her stomach began to turn, and she leaned back in her chair.

He continued serving the three of them, adding a perfectly poached egg atop the pancakes, and then put on each plate a slice of ham, an apple hash, and something that looked like a cinnamon roll with a glaze instead of frosting and some sort of of sugared bits of something golden.

Shego took a long, slow breath as she stared at the plate. Suddenly the idea of speaking to Drakken's mother seemed more appealing.

"Shego..."

She looked up at Drakken's worried face.

"You have to eat something," he said anxiously.

She nodded and took up her fork. Breaking the egg over the potato pancake, she cut into it and took a bite. The taste immediately caused her stomach to turn and she held her breath, suppressing her gag reflex.

Drakken set a hand on her arm and rubbed it sympathetically.

Shego swallowed the food down and looked up at Drakken's mother.

"How long is this going to go on?" she asked quietly.

Estelle blinked and straightened up, seeming surprised to be addressed.

"...Do you know how far along you are?" the older woman asked cautiously.

Shego glanced at Drakken, who blushed.

"If we counted right, just over three weeks," she answered.

"Oh my."

"Fifty-something..." Shego muttered, leaning back again. She looked up at Estelle's worried face, and then over at Drakken, who was looking between the two of them. "What?"

"Well, you're starting to feel sick a bit early..."

Shego's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"Probably...that you're going to be very sick, for a long time."

"How long?" she growled.

Estelle fidgeted nervously in a way that reminded Shego of Drakken. "Maybe...another twelve weeks or so."

Shego's eyes widened. She swore.

"Shego!" Drakken gasped, though the reprimand was halfhearted. His mother did look shocked.

Shego sighed. "I can't eat this," she said, setting the fork down.

Drakken looked anxious. "But...you have to eat something. You've barely eaten anything for two days!"

"I know," Shego growled, crossing her arms. She felt ridiculous. She knew she probably appeared very immature. Not that she cared what either of them thought. But she should be able to handle herself better than she was.

"Um..."

Shego looked up as Estelle spoke nervously.

"Why don't you try the roll? It's ginger."

Drakken perked up hopefully. "Mother made it special for you. She says it will settle your stomach."

Shego eyed the cinnamon roll-looking morsel for a moment and then cut into it with her fork. Chewing the bite was no better or worse than the potato pancake.

"Give it some time to work," Mrs. Lipsky said gently.

"...Okay," Shego said, and took another bite. Unfortunately, the older woman was the one with actual experience between them. She'd give her advice a chance.

After swallowing down two more bites, which took much longer than she thought it should, she picked up the drink Drakken had given her.

"Is there coffee in this?" she asked, eyeing the milky substance.

He nodded. "It's a latte. With honey."

Shego raised a brow. She had to be in the right mood for sweet coffee. She took a sip...

This is delicious...

She set the cup down and gave him a small smile. Then she realized...it was the first thing in two days that hadn't tasted off. Her smile grew.

Drakken's frame relaxed in relief, and he took a large bite of his breakfast. Shego took another slow bite of the roll, and looked over at Estelle. She still looked tense, casting anxious glances at Shego as she ate.

Serves her right...

Awhile later, Shego was starting on her second ginger roll while Drakken and his mother had cleaned their plates. They tidied up the kitchen, Estelle insisting that Shego rest and that she didn't need to lift a hand. Drakken made cocoa for himself and his mother and Estelle made Shego a peppermint tea—for her stomach, like the ginger—as they readied to go into the living room and open presents.

Shego lightly kicked Admiral Cuddles's red ball across the floor as she pulled a piece off of the roll and nibbled on it. The dog barked excitedly and pounced on the ball, carrying it back to her happily and dropping it at her feet. She kicked it again.

"Hey, Doc..."

"Yes?"

"You might want to put Shorty on a leash before we open presents. Don't want him destroying anything."

"Mm, you're right," Drakken said, getting the dog's leash from the hook.

Estelle turned off the tap as she finished washing her hands and then dried them on a dish towel.

"Well! Is everyone ready for presents?"

Drakken grinned excitedly and Shego smirked. So far, the morning hadn't been awful. Mrs. Lipsky had actually been pleasant. Probably out of fear, but...Shego would take what she could get. And the dog had yet to jump on her.

"Shego?" Drakken asked, looking at her with that boyish grin he'd had earlier. She shook her head and smiled.

Such a dork...

"Okay," she said and pushed herself up from the chair.

She grabbed her crutch, but Drakken picked her up before she could use it and started carrying her into the living room.

"My tea..." Shego protested mildly.

"Oh... Mother, would you mind...?"

"Of course not, dear!" Estelle said, carefully picking up Shego's cup along with her own and Drakken's.

Shego looked at the woman thoughtfully. Admiral Cuddles ran along happily at Drakken's feet, the leash around his master's wrist.

When they reached the living room Shego's brow rose. The base of the tree was surrounded by beautifully wrapped gifts, more than Shego had ever seen. It was like a mall display except better, as these packages were clearly real and were wrapped with far more care. And the candy canes had also been fixed, now evenly spaced over the tree from top to bottom.

Drakken set Shego gently in the corner of the couch and grinned at her. She continued to stare at the tree in shock.

"Where did those...?"

"Oh, it looks like Santa came!" Drakken sang happily, rubbing his hands and looking around for somewhere to tie the dog's leash.

"Drew, turn on the parade," Estelle said as she set the two cocoa mugs and the tea down on the table.

Drakken grabbed the TV remote and flipped through the channels until he found one bearing a parade with holiday-themed floats and giant balloons. He muted the volume and then stepped over to the radio which sat just to the side of the TV and tuned it. A few moments later, quiet strains of a low male voice singing 'White Christmas' filtered through the old speakers into the room.

"Oh, it's almost like home!" Estelle said.

Drakken turned to his mother with a thrilled grin.

One corner of Shego's mouth turned up, and then she looked back at the tree.

"Who wants to distribute the gifts?" Estelle said giddily, sitting down at the other end of the sofa.

"I will!" Drakken said.

Shego stared, her smile vanishing.

How old is he, five?

"Ah...Shego, would you mind holding Admiral Cuddles's leash for me?"

She stared at him, but held out her hand. He handed her the leash and then ran back to the tree.

"Come on, Cuddles," Shego said, and patted the sofa cushion below her feet. The dog jumped up, wagging its tail excitedly, and began to sniff at her slippers. Shego tucked the end of the leash under the cushion she sat on and then picked up her tea, taking a small sip.

Shego watched as Drakken shyly set the four packages she was familiar with in front of his mother, one at a time.

"Oh, Drew! For me?"

"Of course, Mother. You deserve them."

Shego glanced away with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Would have been less sappy with my brothers..." she said under her breath.

She heard a soft thud and looked up. Drakken had just dropped a large box in front of her and was going back to the tree for more. Shego stared in astonishment as six more packages were set in front of her.

Are these all from him...?

The nausea, which had finally started to abate thanks to the ginger rolls, started to return. Had he really bought her that many gifts...? And all she'd gotten him, was...

"Why don't you go first, Drew?" Estelle said.

Shego swallowed nervously...but then Drakken picked up a large, beautifully wrapped box next to where he sat on the floor between them. He tore into the paper much like she remembered her brothers doing and then took the lid off of a department store box. One after the other, he lifted out two handsome button-up shirts, one dark gray and the other an olive green.

"Thank you, Mother," he said, smiling at her warmly.

"A world hero should be well-dressed," the older woman said, sipping her cocoa.

Shego looked around the floor by Drakken anxiously. She saw one other package...and it wasn't hers. It was another clothing box, by its shape. Her little brown bag-wrapped box wasn't next to him. She glanced over to the tree and saw it still sitting there half-hidden by the tree skirt, ignored and forgotten.

"Open one, Shego," Drakken said excitedly. He set his hand up on Admiral Cuddles's back and scratched him.

"Um..." Shego's heart had begun pounding. Her stomach turned again. "Could you...bring those rolls in here?"

Drakken blinked, and then stood up as he understood. "Of course!"

Shego looked over at Estelle, who was smiling but looking a bit worried.

"The rolls and the tea are helping," Shego said. She hoped they would help more.

"I'm glad, swee— dear," Estelle finished, sipping her cocoa again.

Shego sipped her tea and Drakken came back into the room, setting the tray of rolls down on the coffee table and then sitting again in the space on the floor between it and the sofa. He scratched Admiral Cuddles and then looked at Shego excitedly.

Shego picked up a small, beautifully wrapped box and looked at it. It was wrapped in shiny green paper that was patterned with poinsettias, the leaves of the plant a matte texture to offset the shiny background. A big red bow adorned the package. A small tag was next to it.

"That one is from me," Estelle said as Shego squinted to read the tag.

Shego's brow rose as she looked at the box, too pretty to open. But...what else was it there for? She tore into the paper at the seams and then took the lid off the plain gift box inside. It was a small photo album, empty of course, and a small illustration of a globe was on the front.

"Since you love to travel so much, I thought...you might like to have somewhere to keep your memories," the older woman explained.

Shego's brow furrowed slightly. "How did you know I like to travel?"

The red-haired woman looked away, her face falling. "Well, since...since you used to be wanted for crimes in fifteen countries... I thought you must."

"She does," Drakken said quickly with a nervous smile, casting a worried glance at Shego.

"...Thank you," Shego said, setting the album back in its box and setting it on the coffee table. She sipped from her mug again, staring at the box thoughtfully.

It's actually a nice gift...

"Your turn, Mother!" Drakken said.

Shego watched as Estelle got into one of the packages with far less enthusiasm than her son, but still with an excited smile. Shego recognized the shape of the box and started nibbling on a roll as she watched.

"Oh my..."

Fifty-something again... Fifty-five?

"What is it, Drew?"

"It's a robotic vacuum," Drakken explained, taking the dome-shaped device out of the box and setting it on the ground. "You don't have to hurt your back pushing that old Electrolux anymore. Look, you just push this button..."

With an electronic whir, the device started up. Admiral Cuddles stood up on the sofa at attention. The dome-shaped robot started rolling slowly across the stone floor.

'Rrrarrarrarf! Rrrarrarrarf!' the dog barked, staring at the device in fascination. Shego grabbed hold of the leash just in case, and Drakken pushed the button to deactivate the vacuum.

"Ah...I'll show you later," Drakken said, looking at the dog curiously.

"Oh it's wonderful Drew! Oh, my clever son!" Estelle said, reaching down to grip his shoulder.

"Do you like it?"

"It's brilliant!"

Shego couldn't help but smile watching the exchange. She hoped the vacuum actually worked, considering he had to build it twice...

Admiral Cuddles was still standing on the sofa, staring at the vacuum. His tail was wagging, but he was on full alert. Drakken reached up to pet him and the dog let out a small warning growl.

"Oh my!"

Shego snickered.

"He...probably thinks he needs to protect us from it," Drakken decided, sitting back and leaning against the coffee table.

Shego finished her tea and set the empty mug down, continuing to nibble on her roll.

"Shego, open another one," Drakken said.

Shego scanned the six boxes and picked up one that was familiarly sized and shaped. Maybe Drakken or his mother had gotten her slippers... That would be ironic, if she and his mother had ended up with the same—

She gasped as she saw the label on the shoe box beneath the paper. Her jaw slackened as she looked up at Drakken, who was grinning.

Opening the box, she took out the black, wedge sandals that had surely cost at least $400 if they were actually made by the designer who was named on the box. Unless Drakken stole them, of course. She sat up and pushed off her slippers and put the sandals on her feet. They fit perfectly. And by the material, she knew they were real.

"Do you like them?" Drakken asked.

Shego was speechless. To get just the right size for her small feet...he hadn't stolen them.

She tried to speak, but only a small croak came out. She nodded.

"Open another one, Drew," Estelle said.

"Oh no, you do one Mother," Drakken said, putting a box about the same size as the vacuum had been in up in her lap.

"Oh, Drew! You shouldn't have."

Shego slipped the sandals off and carefully put them back in the box. She didn't want to risk anything spilling on them, or the dog licking them. She glanced at the dog. He was still staring at the vacuum, though he had sat back down.

When the shoe box was safely pushed aside next to the coffee table, Estelle had finished opening her next gift. It was a coffee maker.

"You remembered that my old one broke!" the older woman said, reading the specifications on the new box.

Shego raised an eyebrow at Drakken, who shrugged.

"Your turn, Shego," Drakken said again.

"When I was a kid, we didn't do this..." Shego said, picking up a tiny box that probably had a necklace in it. It was still wrapped as well as the others, and had a perfectly-sized bow on top.

"Didn't do what, dear?" Mrs. Lipsky asked, setting her coffee maker out of the way.

"My brothers just ripped into everything all at once. We didn't take turns..." Shego said as she pulled the paper off the small box. "I don't think they even saw the things I got—"

She gasped as she opened not a necklace, but an embossed gift certificate to the Mount Olympus Resort in Greece. The most expensive suite at the resort, the most expensive package for the spa, for a date of her choosing—already paid for.

She stared slack-jawed at Drakken again.

"For a vacation," he said. "Or...or a honeymoon."

Shego stared at him. "You would come with me?"

He shrugged shyly.

Shego felt a lump start coming to her throat. He hadn't stolen this, either. He was actually spending money on something other than death rays and doomsday robots. And he was spending it on her.

No sooner had she set the certificate back in the box than he had set another small package in her lap.

"Open this one," he said.

"Drew, you're not opening any," his mother complained.

"I'll do one after this," he said, nodding to her. But then he looked back at Shego excitedly.

This box she was able to accurately predict. The scent of the designer-label perfume was emanating from it before she even had the paper fully off, and she stared again at something she knew cost a lot more than the coffee maker that Drakken had bought his mother.

Admiral Cuddles finally looked away from the vacuum and stared at the perfume bottle in her hands. He growled and backed away from her toward Estelle.

Shego smirked lightly. "Well, if I need a break from him I know how to get it."

"Drew. Now you open one."

"All right," Drakken said, pulling the clothing-shaped box onto his knees. When he got the paper off and opened it it was a knitted blue sweater. Drakken looked startled and then blushed deeply. "Oh, Mother..."

It was clear to Shego that his mother had made the sweater, and she realized that Drakken's knitting hobby must have come from her.

Estelle had picked up another box at Drakken's insistence, and he was looking away a bit sheepishly while she opened it. He drank from his cocoa and looked up at Shego. His gaze was adoring.

Shego smiled back a bit thinly and nibbled the last of the roll she'd been working on. What would he say when he realized she'd only gotten him one present and he'd gotten her...six? What would his mother think? Would the older woman go back to thinking that she was inadequate for her son?

"Oh Drew!" Estelle laughed. Shego looked up to see her holding a knitted blue sweater, nearly identical to the one he had just opened. In a moment both mother and son were laughing while Shego blinked at them. They had made each other the same gift...

Shego looked down at the torn paper and ribbons strewn about the floor around them. Drakken was very close to his mother, despite all his years of lying to her about his life... He probably wanted the three of them—four now, with the baby—to be a happy family together. But Shego...didn't know how to do that. She didn't even know how to do just she and Drakken, yet, with how domestic he liked everything to be.

Her stomach turned again, and she glanced at the tray of rolls. They were very heavy and she didn't think she could eat a fourth one.

"Shego? Open this present now," Drakken said, handing her a larger box.

She had to sit up to keep it balanced on her lap while she opened it, and this time the box didn't give her any hints except that it was high quality in and of itself. When she lifted the lid off, her eyes widened. Inside the box was a black mink coat.

As she lifted it out she realized it wasn't a floor-length coat, but a bolero-style jacket. It suited her far better than a coat would, both in her taste and since they lived at the equator.

"For...special occasions, is what I was thinking," Drakken said. Shego heard the explanation, but didn't look at him. She was feeling the soft fur and imagining the different dresses in her wardrobe she could wear the jacket with. At the same time, her stomach was turning and the lump in her throat was growing.

"Thank you," she said thinly, as she had after each of the other gifts.

Why was he spoiling her so much? Why was he making himself look...look like the perfect mate, while she just looked like exactly what his mother feared she was? Nothing but a gold-digging tramp...

"Okay, this is the last one... You spoil me so much, Drew," Estelle was saying as Drakken pushed the large package into her lap.

"This one is from Shego, Mother," Drakken said with a smile.

Shego watched nervously as the red-haired woman ripped into the white packaging. She realized then that Drakken had tried to match wrapping paper to the gift inside, if not by color then by theme or overall motif. He had a very artistic eye.

"Oh my!"

Shego rubbed her forehead and forced a smile, though all she wanted to do was frown. Her nausea was getting worse again and all she wanted to do was disappear.

"These are lovely!" Estelle said, looking at the cashmere robe and slippers. "Thank you Shego!"

The woman's voice was bright, and her smile big. She actually liked just getting a robe and slippers?

Drakken was grinning as he looked between them. Shego's heart sank in worry. It may appear that his mother was taking a liking to her, but it wouldn't last when she realized that she had only gotten Drakken one gift. And it wasn't a gift the older woman would appreciate at all. She wasn't even sure Drakken would want it, now that they had a baby coming.

"Um... Drew, would you hand that one to Shego?" Estelle said.

Drakken picked up a small soft-wrapped package, looking at it curiously as he set it in Shego's lap.

"I'm sorry the wrapping isn't as nice... This was last-minute, and I didn't have a box, and I had to use the wrapping paper I brought with me. I don't know where Drew put yours."

Shego paused in her appraisal of the small package—which looked just as nice as the others, despite being box-less—and frowned at Drakken.

"Yeah. Where is the wrapping paper?"

He rubbed his neck. "Oh, it's...downstairs, with the...interns."

Shego looked at the mess of ripped paper and ribbons around them. "Is that where you hid all this stuff, too?" she asked, gesturing to the stack of expensive gifts she had acquired.

He nodded.

"Mhmm..." she said, realizing she would need to pay more attention to the henchmen now.

Shego pulled the paper apart that surrounded the small, light-weight gift within. As the paper fell away she found herself holding a tiny knitted onesie for an infant. The pattern was thin blue and green stripes, making it look almost teal.

Drakken gasped in awed delight. Shego stared at his mom. The older woman looked a bit anxious, and sad.

"Mother...did you make this last night?"

The red-haired woman nodded, still looking at Shego. "I know it's probably too hot down here in the Caribbean for anything knitted, but...maybe you'll come visit me in New Jersey sometime."

Shego felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

"Shego, dear... I'm sorry. I could have behaved better. And if my Drew says you're good enough for him, then that's all there is to it. I hope you'll forgive me."

Shego felt all of her worries melt away like snow from the branches of a tree. She set the onesie in her lap and tentatively reached across the dog toward Estelle. The older woman gasped happily as she took Shego's hand and squeezed it.

Behind the green-tinted glasses, Shego could see the tears in the woman's eyes as she smiled at her. She blinked repeatedly to try to get rid of the ones in her own. Her chest ached and felt warm at the same time. She didn't know what she was feeling. Except somehow, the whole mess just got a lot better.

She let go of Mrs. Lipsky's hand and looked down, feeling the soft material of the onesie again. She thought maybe...it wouldn't be so bad if Drakken's mother visited more than on Christmas and Mother's Day. Since, the older woman had actual experience with babies...

She lifted her eyes to voice the thought, but stopped short as Drakken suddenly began softly singing.

"'Have your-self a merry little Christmas...'"

Shego realized he was singing along to the radio and she sighed shakily. He pushed another box into her lap, about the size of a tea cup. It was the last one addressed to her. Drakken had a mischievous look in his eyes along with the excited grin he'd had all morning.

"Drew, clear some of this mess out," Estelle said, pushing aside some of the torn paper next to her. "It's hiding all your presents."

Shego felt a pang in her chest, but Drakken's eyes were eager. She opened the package and found a necklace. It was the strangest necklace she'd ever seen, as the smooth-polished stone was not perfectly round and in a weird setting that had it almost floating. The odd setting allowed light to shine through the stone from all sides. The look wasn't very feminine. But as she lifted the necklace out of the box her lips parted in fascination.

The deep blue stone—which had to be nearly 100-carat—was translucent, but not transparent, and interestingly was a close match to the color of Drakken's skin. It had six white lines crossing symmetrically through its center like a star, except they weren't perfectly straight nor were they stationary. As the large pendant swung gently from the gold chain the white lines wiggled and moved through the gem appearing to be inside it while simultaneously appearing to be on the surface, always remaining symmetrical. They looked like bolts of lightning, and as the gem hung in front of her it had the mysterious look of a small planet.

Shego looked up at Drakken, whose eyes had taken on an evil glint. He was still singing with the radio and nodded now toward the box. Looking inside she saw a little paper with a title and information about the gem.

"What is it, Drew?"

"It's a star sapphire," he answered, leaning forward on his knees as he watched Shego.

"It's huge! That must have been expensive!"

Shego squinted to read the paper.

'The Star of Ceylon is a 97-carat star sapphire, unique in that is almost flawless and has stars on both sides. It was gifted to the American Museum of Natural history in 1905 after being exhibited at the World's Fair. It was stolen along with other priceless gems in 1964, but was recovered two days later. It was returned to the museum and has resided there ever since. It retains its size from its original round-cabochon polish in the 16th century and has never been set into jewelry. It is valued at $968,000.'

Shego's brow rose, and when she looked at Drakken this time the evil look in his eyes had grown from a glint into a blaze. He stood up from the mess of wrapping paper and took the necklace out of Shego's hands and stepped behind her. She held her hair back as he undid the clasp and brought the chain around her neck, the heavy gem resting about two inches below her collarbone.

He stole this... He stole this, and he had it set without getting caught!

She heard him clear his throat as he stepped back around. He pushed Admiral Cuddles toward his mother, and Shego scooted into the side of the couch to give him room to sit down. His back was fully to his mother as he looked at Shego, unable to hide the villainous look on his face that would give him away.

Shego's heart pounded as she looked down at the blue gem, the lines shooting like lightning across and through it every time she moved. That particular gem, with its color and unique properties...was very appropriate. She looked back up at him with a wicked grin.

"Drew? Where are all your presents?"

Shego's face fell. Drakken schooled his own as he turned to look at his mother, who had continued pushing wrapping paper aside.

"I...only had the two," he said, his happy smile returning. "I tried to space them out."

Estelle leaned around her son, her brow twisting in confusion. "Shego? You didn't get Drew any presents?"

The lump returned to Shego's throat and her chest tightened. The thrill she'd felt from receiving the stolen gem vanished and she felt tears begin stinging her eyes again.

"Mother, Shego did all of this for me," he said, gesturing up at the tree. He knelt on the floor in front of his mother and held her hands, meeting her perplexed look with one of assurance. "I don't need anything else."

Shego stood up quickly and limped toward the tree. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Your fiancée didn't get you anything for Christmas?" Estelle said again.

"No, it's...it's here," Shego said shakily, carefully kneeling and reaching beneath the tree for the small box.

She moved back through the mess of torn paper and ribbons, glancing briefly at the respectively curious and confused faces of Drakken and his mother as she hopped back to her place on the couch.

"Here," she said, offering him the brown bag-wrapped box. "I couldn't find the wrapping paper."

"That's all?" Estelle said.

Shego scooted into the corner of the sofa and drew her knees up. Admiral Cuddles crossed the sofa to her and put his paws up on her legs, whimpering.

"Stupid mood swings..." she muttered, wiping her eyes again.

Drakken looked at her worriedly, but then looked down at the package as he sat back on his heels. He smiled softly as he read what she'd written as an address and then ripped into it.

Shego lowered her knees briefly to grab the dog up into her lap. She brought her knees back up and scratched the dog's head as she watched Drakken nervously.

When he got the paper off his jaw dropped and he rose up on his knees to face her, his eyes wide.

"It's the ZPM!" he cried in astonishment.

Shego bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.

"How did you get it!?" he asked, moving toward her on his knees.

She shrugged blandly as she blinked away her last tears. "How do you think?"

"But...but you said it was impossible?"

Shego felt the warmth starting to return to her chest. She rolled her eyes lightly. "Not impossible... Just sort of...life-threateningly dangerous."

"How— When did you do this?" he asked, coming closer until he was right next to her and they were eye-to-eye. Admiral Cuddles perked up and looked between the pair, wagging his tail.

Shego smirked softly. "Remember those four days I went on vacation?"

He gasped. "You weren't really... Ha! I was so worried," he laughed and sat back on his heels. "I thought something was wrong and you'd changed your mind about marrying me."

"You seemed to really want it..." Shego said, leaning on her hand with a grin.

"What about the randomized lasers? How did you get out without them recognizing you? I thought you said that it was impossible to kill the cameras without triggering the alarm? Wait, what about Dementor? Does he know we double-crossed him?"

Shego grinned as his questions came a mile-a-minute, his face growing more and more excited.

"I figured a way around the cameras," she said with another shrug. "I doubt they knew it was gone until at least the next day... And they definitely wouldn't publicize it."

Drakken rose up on his knees again, holding the ZPM at arm's length in front of his face. His eyes darkened into a wildfire of evil as he stared at it.

Shego grinned deviously. She held the dog closer to her chest, and then glanced briefly back over Drakken's shoulder.

"With the ZPM in my hands, I'll be ruling the world in no time! I've already designed the compatible technology... It only needs to be installed on any energy-producing device and then the world will be at my feet! I can stop armies! Weapons of mass destruction! I can take power from whom I want and give it to who I want! I'll—"

"Excuse me, 'you'?"

"Ah, ahem. We'll be invincible!" He set the ZPM at her feet on the sofa and stood up, grabbing her around the waist. The dog slipped to the floor with an annoyed yelp. Drakken spun her around twice amid the torn wrapping paper and ribbons, his eyes narrowing as his evil grin broadened. "I'll be the Emperor— No. The Supreme Leader— No...the Supreme Potentate of Earth!"

Drakken held Shego tightly to him, keeping nearly all her weight in his arms while she gripped his shoulders and tried to keep some balance on her toes. She hummed in agreement to all he'd said, lifting one hand to run her fingers through his ponytail when he finally held still.

"Hehehe hehe...!" He began chuckling, and she smiled wickedly. His chuckles grew in intensity until he had let her go, raising his arms and throwing his head back in a wild, maniacal laugh. She stumbled briefly before getting her balance and crossing her arms, raising one eyebrow as she smirked.

His laughter stopped abruptly and he grabbed her around the waist again. Lifting one hand, he used the backs of his fingers to gently caress her face.

"What would you like your title to be?" he asked sweetly.

Shego's grin grew. She cleared her throat and nodded over Drakken's shoulder.

"So..."

A strangled gasp emanated from Drakken's throat at the sound of his mother's voice behind them. He whirled around, still holding Shego, and saw his mother holding and studying the ZPM.

"...If I drop this thing does it ruin your plans?"

"NO!" Drakken shouted, letting go of Shego and lunging forward. Shego dropped into a fighting stance, ignoring the pain in her leg. "You'll destroy us all!" Drakken cried as his mother tossed the small cube-shaped device back over the sofa away from him.

Shego leapt forward and did a hand-spring off the back of the sofa, spinning in the air and landing on one leg, dropping to her knee and catching the ZPM just before it hit the floor.

"...Phew!" Drakken sighed heavily, his face brightening in relief.

"Drew. Theodore. P. Lipsky!"

Drakken recoiled in fear.

"You never stopped being a villain!"

Shego stumbled back to the couch, wincing in pain with every step and clutching the ZPM to her chest. She grinned as she watched Drakken's mother chase him around the room, slapping at his back and yelling at him about being a horrible liar, and what a disappointment he is to his name, and how on earth could a son of hers be so insane?

Shego dropped into the corner of the sofa with a relieved sigh, rubbing her aching wrist. Admiral Cuddles jumped up again and put his paws on her knees as he looked anxiously between her and between the two Lipskys running around in circles and arguing.

Shego tucked the ZPM deep into the couch cushions, raising her brow at the dog's confused look.

"I'd give it to the henchmen to hide, but they'd probably break it..." she said idly as she tightened the wrap on her wrist. "No one would ever think to look with them, though."

Shego held her hand up once her wrist was secure and admired her ring. The rubies really did set off her green skin beautifully. She lay her hand across her belly and looked over at Drakken, still running scared and pleading for understanding as his mother slapped at him.

"It's not what you think!" he cried when his mother took a breath.

Shego chuckled, and reached her other hand forward to scratch the dog as Mrs. Lipsky continued her castigation.

"Good thing you're learning to behave," she said, and the dog cocked its head to the side. "One baby in this lair is enough, and thanks to him now there's going to be two."

The dog opened its mouth and lolled its tongue out to the side and wagged its tail. She looked down at her hand on her belly again, and then over at Drakken. She felt a fluttering in her chest as she watched him continue to run around and make excuses.

My handsome, dorky, evil dictator...

She sighed happily and looked at the stack of gifts on the coffee table that he and his mother had given her. Then she looked at the massive gem hanging from her neck. She grinned as she admired it, thinking of what lengths he must have gone through to get it for her. The white lightning flashes through and across the deep blue stone made it all the more meaningful. It wasn't just that he'd stolen it... She couldn't think of anything that better symbolized Drakken than that gem, and she was thrilled to wear it and show herself off as being his.

'Arf!'

Shego looked up at the dog's curious expression again. She looked back at Drakken and sighed.

"Well, Shorty..."

At that moment Drakken tripped over the robot vacuum, activating it.

'Rrrarrarrarrarf! Rrrarrarrarrarf!'

Admiral Cuddles leapt off the couch and postured in front of the slow-moving robot as it rolled over some of the ribbons. The dog barked loud and long, growling in between as he faced-off with the machine.

'Rrrarf! Rrrarrarrarf! Rrarf!'

"Drew Lipsky, you are a disgrace! I have never been so ashamed in all my life!"

"Nnyeh nngh, Mother! How about I let you rule a country? Would you like Greenland? How does that sound, hmm?"

'Rrrarf! Rrrarrarrarrarf!'

Shego grinned as she watched the chaos. The TV still played the parade, and she could just hear the radio amid the barking and shouting.

'Rrrarf! Arf! Rrrarf!'

The ponderous robot vacuum, now trailing ribbons, bumped into the tree stand as Admiral Cuddles continued to bark at it. A glass ball crashed to the floor.

"Hmmm..." Shego said with a smirk.

She stood up and pulled the ZPM from its hiding spot, and then gathered all of her Christmas gifts up into her arms with it. She hopped around to the back of the sofa and then began limping away towards the back wall. Once she was there she lit up her right hand and fired a green, glowing blast at the base of the tree.

It was less than five seconds before the dry tree had gone from green to orange, flames climbing up past its twelve-foot height and smoke billowing and rippling along the the entirety of the stone ceiling.

"Oh my goodness! Fire! Fire!" Mrs. Lipsky cried, running away and waving her arms wildly.

Drakken took immediate action, running to the wall and grabbing the fire extinguisher as the smoke detector began its rapid, shrill beeps—several seconds too late, Shego thought.

Admiral Cuddles had stopped barking at the vacuum the instant the flames began and was now shaking and whimpering behind Shego's legs as she leaned back against the wall.

"Like I was saying, Shorty. There's Christmas—" She glanced down at the gifts in her arms, and then looked up at the blaze that was most definitely going to need more than one fire extinguisher. She grinned. "—And Christmas. So what do you think about New Jersey next year? Think the baby will be old enough for traveling?"

Mrs. Lipsky was standing behind the sofa, hands pulling at her hair as Drakken fought the tower of flames. The henchmen burst out of the hallway behind Shego carrying even larger fire extinguishers, and rushed to help as the smoke detector continued its shrill beeping.

Admiral Cuddles pawed at Shego's leg and whimpered. She slowly sat down against the wall to let the dog into her lap and pet him reassuringly. She softly sang along with the radio.

"...'And have your-self a merry little Christmas, now.'"