"Hotel Montreal, how may I direct your call?" A woman's voice. Pleasant and polite, but impersonal.

"Hi." Shego propped herself up against the kitchen bench, already planning where they could go for the day. I bet Pumpkin would enjoy skating. "It's Anne Shirley calling. I'd like to speak to Kim Possible. Room 311."

"Oh ... I'm sorry. Ms Possible has already checked out."

Shego's world lurched. She grabbed onto the bench with her free hand, fingers blazing for a moment with a panicked flare of plasma.

"What?" Her voice sounded harsh in her own ears.

"She checked out very early this morning." The woman's tone became terse. Shego's mind whirled. Kimmie's gone? Why? Did I do something? Was this all a game for her?

"What?" Dimly, she became aware the other woman was talking again.

"Could you please repeat your name?"

The green woman paused. Are they tracing this? Trying to confirm it's me? I should hang up. I should activate the Lina Mayfleet ID and get out of here. I could be gone inside ninety seconds. But what good would that do? If Kim's trip to Montreal had all just been a trap, the redhead had had plenty of time to spring it. The house could be surrounded by now.

"Anne Shirley." She croaked at last. Of course it's not a trap. Princess has just come to her senses, and left while she still could.

"Thank you." Suddenly the woman sounded much more engaged. "Ms Possible left a message for you." Shego heard a rustle of papers through the telephone handset, then the woman cleared her throat. "'Got called on a mission. Back as soon as I can. Call me or beep me, if you want to reach me.' There's a phone number here. Do you have a pen?"

Shego glanced down at the burn marks she'd unconsciously left on her kitchen bench. With a shrug, she lit one of her fingers and poised it to write. Gonna need to replace the counter top now, anyway.

"Go ahead."

The hotel receptionist rattled off a number, which Shego melted into the surface of the kitchen bench. The green woman gave a preoccupied nod to herself as she read the digits back. She recognized it as the Kimmunicator's direct number.

"Thanks." Shego hung up the phone, staring at Kim's number. Her fingers itched to call, but indecision crawled up and down her spine. Is Pumpkin running away? Does she regret what she said, yesterday? She left her number. That must mean something.

It took two attempts to key the numbers correctly. Kim picked up almost immediately.

"Kim Possible speaking." The redhead sounded a little breathless.

"Pumpkin."

"Shego!" Kim's tone perked up noticeably. The sound sent a warm flush through the green woman's chest. "You got my message?"

"Yeah. Big mission?"

"So not the drama." In her mind's eye, Shego could see the redhead's nonchalant flip of her hair. "Frugal Lucre's stolen the Times Square Ball –"

"The Times Square Ball ?"

"Yeah, you know, they drop it at midnight every New Year's Eve?"

"I know what it is." Shego kept a tight lid on a sudden surge of anger. For that she blew off our date? "Why the hell would anyone steal it?"

"He's holding it for ransom. Everyone who wants to see it drop tonight has to send him five dollars over the internet. And you thought Drakken's plans were dumb, huh?"

"Kimmie." Shego's voice sounded strange to her own ears, eerily calm and controlled. I can't believe she did this. "How long do you think you'll be?"

"I'll need a few hours to deal with Lucre, then a couple more to get back to Montreal. I should be back around mid-afternoon."

"When you get here, can you come straight to my place?"

"You, uh, haven't given me the address." Kim reminded her.

"But you know it, don't you? Nerdlinger would have told you, before you came up to Montreal."

"Well, yeah." Kim's tone had become a little uncertain. "Shego ... is something wrong?"

"We'll talk when you get here." Shego's flat tone allowed no argument.

"Uh ... okay."

"See you later." The green woman hung up, and quietly set the telephone receiver back on the hook.

Then she went upstairs and beat the punching bag into submission.

Nervousness was not an emotion with which Kim Possible had much experience. She found she didn't much like it. She'd been able to push it to the back of her mind while she was busy catching Frugal Lucre ... but with the world's cheapest villain back in custody, the redhead couldn't help replaying Shego's phone call in her mind; over and over and over again.

The redhead paused at the gate to Shego's home. It was not what she had expected: a tidy two-story home with an equally tidy front garden, bounded by a white picket fence. The teen had expected something a lot more ostentatious, perhaps bristling with razor-wire and security systems. But then, that would kinda ruin the whole 'in hiding' thing.

This is so the drama. The green woman had seemed distant when she called. Kim couldn't shake the feeling she'd done something to upset the former thief. Was it what I said last night? Did I make this all too much for her? But I had to let her know how I feel. I have to know she knows what it means to me before we ...

There was a flicker of movement through the cottage window. Kim sighed. Time to stop lurking outside like a crazy stalker person and find out what's the matter.

The redhead swung open the gate and walked up the gravel path, watching as the door opened before she reached it. Shego stood just inside the entrance. Although dressed casually; a pair of slacks and a loose-fitting shirt; the green woman looked tense.

Remember, Kim: no babbling.

"Hi." The redhead mustered a smile, feeling disheartened when it wasn't returned. "Nice place. I like that you painted the gables green. Cute touch. And it seems like you're in a nice neighborhood."

Babbling!

"Come in, Pumpkin." Shego stood aside, allowing Kim to enter the house. The interior was more modern than the exterior suggested: open-plan, with white-washed walls, gleaming tile floors, and squared-off furniture in bold colors. "Take a seat." The green woman gestured at the couch.

"No." Instead of sitting, Kim reached out and hooked Shego's fingers with her own. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."

The green woman inhaled, her already drawn expression becoming pensive.

"Look ... it's nothing. Let's just forget about it."

"It's not nothing." The redhead gently squeezed the other woman's hand. "I've upset you, Shego. You need to tell me why. Otherwise what's to stop me doing it again?"

"You're sure?" Shego wait for the redhead's nod, then slipped her fingers free of Kim's, and ran her hands through her hair. Realizing she was stalling, she sighed. "Yesterday, you told me that if you agreed to keep seeing me ... that it would mean something. Something big. That you were serious about us. About there being an 'us'. Did you mean it?"

"What?" Kim was stunned by the question. "Yes! Of course!"

"Then why would you think it was okay to blow off our plans for the day?" The pale woman folded her arms, closing herself off from the redhead.

"I –"

Now that Shego had started talking, the words wouldn't stop.

"You said to call at nine, and then we'd spend the whole day together. I called ... but you were gone." Shego's voiced cracked a little on the last word.

"I had a mission!" The teen hero exclaimed.

The green woman bit her lip, trying to settle her emotions. Finally, she spoke again.

"When you were dating Stoppable ... did you blow off dates for missions then ... as well?"

"Well ... a few times." The younger woman admitted, now folding her own arms. "But Ron always understood."

Shego grunted.

"Maybe he did. Maybe he was willing to be your number two priority. But I'm not Ron, Kimmie. I'm selfish. I need to be your number one."

She's not being fair. Kim's hands were trembling with agitation. The teen hero's heart sank as she realized that she was about to lose the woman who had come to mean so much to her.

"Are you saying I have to give up doing missions to be with you?" The redhead's voice was even, but strained with the effort of fighting back tears.

"Of course not." Shego's answer stemmed the flow of misery in Kim's heart. The green woman sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm selfish, not stupid. I know that if I make you choose between the missions and me, that I'll lose."

"Then what is it you want me to do, Shego?" Kim spread her hands, helplessly.

"I want you to think about the missions you take." The green woman grasped the younger woman's hands, making eye contact with her younger companion. "I understand that if lives are at stake, or the fate of the world, then you have to help. But a mission to recover a glorified disco ball? I should mean more than that, Princess. I need to mean more than that."

"The police needed my help ..." the explanation sounded weak, even in the redhead's own ears.

"Please." Shego snorted. "Are you seriously telling me the entire NYPD couldn't find a six foot wide, twelve hundred pound ball that's covered with lights?"

"Well, when you put it that way ..."

"Face it, Kimmie. Some stuffed suit at city hall saw you as a way to save on paying a bunch of overtime." The pale woman sighed. "That's why they asked for you."

The redhead blinked. Are some people exploiting me like that? More immediately important: what do I do now?

But even in asking herself the question, Kim already knew the answer.

"You're right. I'll call Wade tomorrow and let him know that there need to be some new rules about what missions I accept."

"You don't have to do that." Shego looked genuinely surprised. "Just ... when we've already made plans together, don't cancel them except for a genuine emergency."

"I want to do it." Kim insisted. She stepped forward, sliding her arms around the other woman's waist, and tilted her head up to maintain eye contact. "Seeing the way Kit was with Ron over Christmas ... it brought home to me that sometimes I treated him like he was second best. I won't make that mistake with you."

"You'd better not." Shego's arms slide over the redhead's shoulders, pulling her into a firm embrace. "And I won't with you, either."

The two women shared the silent embrace for a few seconds.

"Huh." Kim's exhalation tickled the taller woman's neck. "Did we just have our first fight?"

"I guess we did." The skin on Shego's neck stood out in goosebumps where Kim's breath had touched it. "And you know what we learned from it?"

The redhead gave a small frown as she considered the question.

"That if we talk about things, we can work them out together?"

The green woman chuckled.

"I was going for 'Shego is always right', but I guess yours works too."

"Hate you." Kim smiled, gently squeezing the former thief.

"Hate you too, Pumpkin." The green woman's strong arms returned the gentle pressure.

They stood silently, each of them knowing what the words really meant, but not yet ready to say so, out loud.

11:59pm, New Year's Eve. A million people were gathered in Times Square, with millions more watching the event on television. Amongst the latter were two women, curled on a couch in a house not far from Montreal. The table in front of them was strewn with snack food and DVDs.

"You know, I'd planned that we'd go see Montreal's fireworks in person." Shego grumbled half-heartedly. "Not watch this over-hyped nonsense on TV."

"This is warmer." Kim retorted placidly, her cheek resting on the taller woman's shoulder. "So what else did you have planned for today? Before we decided to spend the evening making ourselves fat, I mean."

"Ice skating."

"Ooh. Fun. Can we do that tomorrow, instead?" Kim put on her best plaintive look, then grinned excitedly when the green woman gave a casual nod. "Cool. So was that the only thing you had planned?"

"Yeah." The former thief looked down at the redhead, a thoughtful crease in her forehead. In the background, the ten-second countdown began to on the television, thousands of people chanting along. "Why? -"

"... seven ... six ... five ..."

"- did you have something else in mind?"

"Just one thing." Kim smiled, tilting her head up.

"... two ... one ... zero!"

Millions cheered and celebrated as two pairs of lips met, and two bodies molded against each other. Neither woman spared the TV a glance. The kiss was long, and slow, and sensual. It was full of desire, full of hope, full of promise.

"Wow." Shego managed dazedly, when they finally separated. The green woman was now sprawled along the couch, the slim but sturdy form of the redhead stretched out upon her. That was something else. "I ..." She wanted to say so, to tell Kim how her heart was pounding and how much she wanted to do it again. But her courage failed. "I suppose now I really ought to be getting you back to your hotel."

"I haven't checked into one." Kim blushed, nibbling nervously at her bottom lip. "All my stuff is outside, in the car."

The green woman froze. Does Kimmie mean ... ? Is she suggesting ... ? One look at the glow rising rapidly across Kim's cheeks was enough to confirm exactly what the redhead was suggesting. Shego fought down the immediate urge to throw the smaller woman over her shoulder and carry Kim to the bedroom. It's too soon. She should take more time before we do this. I don't want to rush things and end up losing her. The former thief swung herself into a seated position, then reached out with one hand and gently lifted the other woman's chin.

"Don't do this because I was upset, and you feel you need to prove something." She said, looking deep into Kim's olive eyes.

The redhead shook her head.

"I'm not." The teen hero said emphatically. "I've known since yesterday how I wanted tonight to end. That ... that's why when you asked me to see you today, I needed to tell you how I felt, first." Kim met the taller woman's skeptical eyes without flinching, her own gaze open and honest.

"Are you sure?" Right now, Kimmie wants this. But will she still want it in the morning? Or will she be like the others?

Kim's answer came not in words, but in the soft press of warm lips open the green woman's mouth. Shego's resistance faltered, rallied for a moment, and then was swept away. She slid her arms under the redhead's body and lifted Kim into her lap, then stood.

"Mmmm, tres butch." Kim giggled, resting her head on Shego's shoulder and reaching out to caress the pale woman's shoulder. "Though I don't think this is quite what most girls mean when they say 'swept me off my feet'."

"Brat." The pale woman smiled, grateful that the redhead had lightened the mood. She dipped her head, nipping gently at Kim's nose, prompting a squeal from the younger woman.

"Hey! No rough stuff!" The teen hero warned playfully, her lips curling upward. "Or I'll pay you back. And I have you at a tactical disadvantage."

A dark eyebrow rose skyward.

"How so?"

"Well ..." The redhead gave her best innocent look. "You have your hands full, whereas I ..." Nimble fingers popped open one of the buttons on Shego's shirt, and a delicate hand slipped inside the fabric. Kim widened her eyes in mock surprise. "Oh ... what do you know ... guess I have my hands full, as well."

Shego nearly walked into the wall.

When it came to women, Shego figured she'd done it all. She'd had raw sex, passionate sex and tender sex. She'd had mad sex, sad sex ... even hate sex. She'd had desperate sex and leisurely sex. Kinky sex and vanilla sex.

Until Kim Possible, she'd never had playful sex.

"Dang." The redhead mock-pouted as she slipped off the green woman's shirt. "I'd always kinda hoped those things were artificially augmented."

The pale woman glanced down at herself.

"You hoped I had fake boobs?"

"Well, look at them." Kim cupped the topic of conversation. "They're amazing. It's not fair to the rest of us."

"More ..." Shego lost her train of thought as the redhead's thumbs brushed over her nipples. "... more than a mouthful is a waste."

"Trust me." The younger woman gave a soft laugh. "Absolutely none of these beauties is going to go to waste."

"Now why is it that I'm half-naked and you're still fully clothed?" Shego smiled, trying not to feel completely charmed by Kim's evident wonder at exploring her body.

"I guess I'm just luckier than you-eep!" The redhead's smart aleck reply gave way to a squeal as the taller woman suddenly yanked up Kim's sweater and t-shirt, tangling it around the hero's head and arms. "Shego! I can't see!" The girl who could do anything waved her hands plaintively in the air as she tried to wriggle free.

"But I can." The green woman smirked, running teasing fingers up and down the redhead's now bare flanks, prompting an involuntary giggle from the younger woman.

"No tickling!" Kim yelped.

"Awwww." Shego pretended disappointment, but tickling was the last thing on her mind. Caressing. Stroking. Kneading. Those all sound more like it.

"Hate you." Kim finally wriggled her arms and head free of her sweater, and gave the green woman a mock glare.

"Likewise, I'm sure." The former thief stepped forward and nuzzled Kim's lips with her own.

"Mmm." The redhead's eyes flickered closed as their mouths connected. Then they suddenly snapped open again as her bra slid off her shoulders. "How? What? You beast!"

"If I'm the Beast I guess that makes you Beauty." Shego smirked, leaning back to enjoy the view. Her pulse quickened. Yeah. A beauty indeed.

"You are so damn sexy." For a moment, the green woman thought it was her own husky voice that she'd heard. But it was Kim who had spoken, and who was now blushing at her own remark.

"You too." The green woman grasped the redhead's belt, then glanced up at Kim's face, silently asking for permission. The younger woman nodded, and the former thief undid the belt and pushed Kim's jeans slip to the floor.

"Ooh, Kimmie." Shego let her eyebrows rise as she caught sight of the redhead's slender back in her mirror. "You're wearing a thong? Seems like Princess has a naughty side."

"Well ..." The younger woman spoke slowly as she stepped out of her denim pants, her words almost hesitant, as if she was afraid of rejection. "... I usually wear boy shorts, but they didn't seem like quite the right 'look' for tonight."

Shego chuckled, letting her hands slide over the younger woman's smooth hips. Leaning down, she whispered softly, her breath tickling Kim's ear.

"Trust me ... you made the right call. Though I gotta say ... the idea of you in a pair of boy shorts and nothing else does have its own appeal."

A dusky flush spread across Kim's shoulders, then down her back, stretching from neck to heels and every point in between. Oh my. Kimmie really does blush everywhere.

"Lie down." Shego whispered, nudging the redhead toward the bed. "I want to explore every inch of your body." I have to make the most of this. She'll probably be gone, in the morning.

Damn it. The green woman inwardly snarled at herself. Whatever happens tomorrow, happens. Right now, live for the moment. You're supposed to be good at that.

Shego explored the redhead's body with her lips: kissing, nuzzling and nibbling at Kim's velvety-soft skin. She traveled from shoulders to fingers, and from neck to waist, stopping at all points in between. Though smaller than her own bosom, Kim's breasts proved delightfully sensitive, and the pale woman spent a considerable amount of time eliciting many different moans and gasps from her new lover. But it was finding the younger woman's more unique erogenous zones that Shego truly enjoyed: the sudden intake of breath when her teeth scraped Kim's neck; the redhead's whimper when Shego kissed the inside of her elbow; and the gasping, involuntary rise of the hero's hips when the green woman nibbled the flat skin just above her thighs. Throughout the whole exploration, the former thief felt her own heart pounding in her chest, as she savored every moment of pleasure that Kim was willing to share with her.

"Please Shego." The redhead whispered at last, back arching from the bed. "Please."

Pale fingers touched the sides of the thong, tiny flames burning instantly through the thin material.

"Hey!" The redhead yelped, eyes wide.

"Relax. I'll kiss it better." Shego's lips brushed over the skin where the silky fabric had rested. "And I'll buy you another pair. Heck, agree to model them all for me and I'll buy you a new pair every day." The green woman grasped the tiny triangle of material and pulled it away. She stopped for a moment, awed as she realized what she was about to do. This is it: this is when she backs out.

"Please Shego." But instead of the expected panic attack, Kim lifted her hips again. It was a call the former thief had no intention of refusing.

The redhead; and it was clear her hair color was all natural; was already desperately excited. Within seconds of Shego's first touch, Kim writhed and bucked, biting on her lip to stifle her screams of pleasure. Not that the green woman took this as a signal to stop. She continued to apply all her knowledge and experience to the younger woman's pleasure, driving her within minutes to a second, inarticulate cry of pleasure, before taking a longer, slower approach to the redhead's third climax. I may never get the chance to do this again; I'll make the most of it, now.

"No more." Kim gasped at last, her sweat-slicked body limp against the bedsheets. "No more, Shego."

The green woman kissed the inside of the redhead's thigh, then slid up the bed to lie alongside her.

"Don't tell me you're exhausted already?"

"Not quite." To Shego's surprise, Kim leaned forward, casually kissing her on the mouth. The green woman had had more than one partner refuse to do that, after she'd pleasured them. "It's just my turn, now."

"You don't have to do that." The former thief offered. "Not if you don't want to."

"But I do want to." Kim pressed a finger to the green woman's lips. "I want to make you feel as good as you just made me feel, Shego."

"Okay. If you're sure." The pale woman watched as the redhead rolled on top of her, then began kissing her way downward. Kim's path was not as leisurely as Shego's had been, though it did take in a full and complete tour of certain parts of her anatomy.

"Mount Bountiful." Kim kissed one peak. "And Mount Plenty." She kissed the other.

Finally, the redhead knelt between Shego's thighs. Kim paused and glanced up, an almost startled look on her face. Here it comes. 'I don't think I can do this'.

"You're beautiful."

Shego blinked. Did Kimmie just say ... ? She couldn't believe it. She'd never thought the redhead would say that. She'd never thought –

And then Kim's head dipped between the green woman's thighs, and Shego ceased to have any coherent thoughts at all.

Shego swam toward wakefulness through a sea of vivid memories. Her lips curled upward as she remembered some of the more vigorous activities of the night before. Without opening her eyes, she reached out for where Kim had collapsed, exhausted and spent, the night before.

Empty.

A cold weight pressed down on Shego's chest as she cracked open her eyes, hands feeling the space where the Kim should be. The sheets were cool enough that the redhead had to have been gone at least thirty minutes.

The green woman rolled onto her back and angrily pressed her fingers to her eyes. Damn it, will you never learn? It's always the same with 'straight' girls. First they freak out, then – if they'll speak to you at all – they say 'It was just an experiment' or 'I never meant it to go that far'.

Her self-recriminations were so bitter that it was nearly a minute before she heard the hissing and bubbling sounds from the kitchen. Then there was a soft clatter of crockery, and an equally soft curse. A tiny ray of hope appeared in Shego's mind.

"Kimmie?" She called, swinging herself upright. "Is that you?"

"Just making coffee." The redhead called back, still out of sight in the kitchen, "Don't bother getting up, I'll bring it to the bedroom."

"Okay." Making coffee. That sounds encouragingly not-freaking-out-ish. The ray of hope blossomed into a small sun. Just remember not to make any smart-ass remarks when she comes back. You're ruined more 'morning after's that way than -

"..." Shego opened and closed her mouth, trying and failing to say anything even remotely intelligible to the vision in her doorway. Her heart started to hammer as she almost forgot to breathe.

Kim smiled saucily as she stepped into the room, her coy look rendered all the more alluring by the faint blush that crept up her neck. She balanced two cups on a silver tray as she moved to Shego's side of the bed.

"A triple-shot, no fat, no foam latte, right?"

"..." Said Shego.

"Are you okay?" the redhead asked in a teasing tone as she set the tray down on the bedside table. "I know your brain isn't really firing until after your first cup of the day, but this seems extreme even for you."

"... where did you get that outfit?" The green woman finally managed to croak.

"This little thing?" Kim lightly touched the small lace cap perched high in her red hair, before dropping her fingers to the black choker at her neck. Then she ran them down the deep 'V' in the front of her scandalously short black dress, to the white satin apron hanging from her waist. "I picked it up while I was in New York. Do you like it? I had a little trouble with the garters ..."

"G ... garters?"

"Yeah." Kim grabbed the green woman's hand and placed it high on the inside of her thigh. "See?"

Shego's mind collapsed in a gibbering mound of hormonal excitement.

Kim smirked.

"I'm a little concerned about your reaction. You can tell me if you don't like it. I can always change."

That thought galvanized the pale woman's brain back into action.

"Cupcake, the only one who's taking that outfit off you is me." Shego growled, grabbing the redhead's thigh and pulling her closer, until the younger woman was perched on the side of the bed.

"Okay by me." Kim breathed, splaying her thighs and pushing Shego's hand higher. "But I think you'll find the outfit doesn't need to go anywhere."

Shego's heartbeat raced even faster as her fingers found not the fabric she expected, but only warm, bare skin. Kim smirked again, leaning closer until they were almost nose to nose, their breath tickling each other's lips.

"I'm glad you like it. And I just want you to know, Shego: last night was everything I could have wanted for my first time. I'm glad I waited to share it with someone special."

For a long moment, the green woman simply stared at the redhead, the words beating on the inside of her brain. She fought them, but they would not be denied.

"I love you." Shego surrendered, feeling herself fall into those olive eyes.

"Love you too." Kim leaned across the last few inches that separated them, and their lips met.

Author's Notes: And that's the end of BSP01. Looks like our two ladies have got on the same page (and justified this fic's 'M' rating in the process!). They still have to face more tribulations in the future, however. Like, oh, telling Kim's folks. How will that go? They'll have to deal with a couple of pretty big surprises, too.

But I guess you'll have to wait for BSP02: The Science Rogues Return? to find out what those surprises are. I'm not sure exactly when I will start it, yet. Might wait to finish one of my other stories before I do.

In the mean time, happy holidays, everyone!