AN: I wrote this fic for a challenge on a site that long ago took down the challenge. So wondering what to do with this fic, I suddenly realized this is now my fic (duh, but hopefully you know what I mean), and it can be molded to my mind instead of the world that the challenger had originally imagined. Expect more eventually. XD

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. I really wish Shego was though...

Warnings: None, but something may come up in future chapters.

Time Stops When You're Not Here

Chapter 1 - Flashback (Where'd You Go?)

It had been so long since Kim Possible had seen her arch-nemesis' partner that she began to wonder if perhaps Drakken had killed her. As much as Shego was known for shooting down Drakken's ideas and hopes, it wouldn't be too hard to believe. Sometimes Kim would picture him using one of his many toys and frying Shego while she was asleep. She would have to be asleep, otherwise there was no way in hell that Drakken could have beaten Shego. Even Ron knew that Shego could kill Drakken one-handed if she hadn't been working for him. However, the fact was that if Shego was still alive, why hadn't she taken the opportunity to kill her former employer? Maybe she still worked for him in secret? Probably not. Drakken had lost a lot of his flair since Shego's disappearance three years ago.

It seemed like any day now, Drakken will just knock on Kim's door and say that's he going to retire. How nice an idea it seemed, but the truth was that the blue skinned, mad scientist was just as stubborn as many of the villains Kim fought on a daily basis. Chances were, Drakken would end up dead before he'd quit. Somehow he convinced himself every morning that this would be the day he would finally throttle Kim Possible and take over the world. In actuality, it was becoming embarrassing.

Back to Shego though, who had gone missing three years ago, Kim had begun to wonder if maybe her disappearance related to their last encounter . . .

/Flashback/

It was the start of summer, the end of high school for Kim, yet, that wonderful time before becoming a college student in the fall. The temperature was hot, almost at 105 degrees that afternoon. Kim, Ron, Rufus, and the Possible family had headed for the beach to cool off. Not that it helped much. Even the twins were too hot to do anything more then simply float lazily in the cool ocean waves. Rufus was sitting atop the picnic basket they had brought along. The naked mole-rat was guarding the food from Ron, who wanted a bite of his sandwich. Mrs. Possible had said lunch wasn't for another hour, so the blond teen continued to try and sneak his hand into the basket. Rufus had bit Ron twice and snapped at Mr. Possible once.

Kim, on the other hand, was happy for the heat and sun. She had been hoping to fix her recently paling skin with a nice summer tan. Rubbing lotion on her legs, she caught Ron eyeing her movements. Stopping, she looked up and met his gaze. Quickly, he snapped his head away, pretending to play with the sand. The red head sighed and went back to rubbing lotion on herself. There was no romantic connection between the two best friends. Sometimes she would catch Ron watching her but he never said a word. Either way, Kim wasn't interested in him anyway. To be honest, it was beginning to bother her because she wasn't interested in anyone as of late.

That wasn't entirely true though, because someone did catch her eye. That someone was the biblical equivalent of forbidden fruit. It didn't help that she dreamed almost nightly of that person for many months by now. It drove Kim insane but no matter what she couldn't get that person off her mind. Her arch-nemesis' minion, partner, associate - whatever you wanted to call her, had become Kim's nightly obsession. Even if Kim could explain why, she wouldn't understand it herself. Nonetheless, Shego was constantly on her mind.

"Kim?" Mrs. Possible's voice broke through Kim's thoughts.

"Oh . . . Yeah, mom?" She smiled, but it felt forced.

"Honey, are you okay? You've been staring at the same spot for the last five minutes."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just . . . thinking."

"Well if you need to talk to someone, you know I'll lend an ear." Mrs. Possible smiled at her only daughter, patting her on the hand.

"Thanks, mom. I think I'll go swim for a little while." Kim said, standing.

"Well, tell your brothers it's almost lunchtime."

"FINALLY!" Ron shouted from his spot next to the picnic basket.

In the water, Kim swam as far as she could, successfully putting Shego out of her mind for the time being. When she got back to shore, her muscles were tired but she felt great - until her communicator went off in her beach bag. Almost regrettably, she answered the communicator.

"Yo, Kim! I'm sorry to intrude on your trip but we got some trouble." Wade said, pushing up the sunglasses he'd been wearing.

"It looks like you're at the beach too. I guess I'm not the only one having my vacation interrupted."

"Well, yeah, but you know I rarely let up on my computer. Anyway, it seems your dear friend Drakken is up to no good again. You know how it's so hot today? It seems Drakken was working on a heat ray but something broke down so now it's generating all this heat."

"That explains the record high temperature lately. You know something though, Wade? I can't figure out how you always get such detailed info on everything."

"He he, if I didn't, I wouldn't have this job." Wade winked.

"Touché. I'll handle Drakken, later." Kim hung up and sighed.

"What's up, KP?" Ron asked, holding the sandwich he'd been dreaming about since they had arrived at the beach. The look she gave him made him groan. "No! Not a mission! Not now! I haven't even finished my sandwich!"

vv

"Oi . . . You could've at least let me take my sandwich with me." Ron groaned for the tenth time since they took off.

"You'll live, Ron."

"So you think . . .," He grumbled.

The duo was flying through the air on hang-gliders, heading for Drakken's current hideout. While it was her job to fight crime and evil, she wasn't too thrilled about the possibility of seeing Shego. It was confusing for her to deal with the thoughts that played in her head. Though, she wasn't going to let Shego get away with her crimes, but her desire to do unspeakable things of a sexual nature with the villain was overwhelming.

"Kim, you know, I've been meaning to tell you something." Ron said, picking his words carefully.

"Huh? What's that Ron?" For some reason she had a feeling of impending-doom clenched in the pit of her stomach.

"For a long while now, well, I've . . . felt things." He started.

"You mean, like with your fingers?" Kim joked.

"No. I mean, yeah I feel with my fingers, but that's not what I meant! Look Kim, we've worked together for a long time now and, well, you know . . . "

"Er, Ron? Look out!" The red head suddenly shouted.

"Wha . . . Whoa!"

Barely missing the side of a cliff, Ron gasped for breath at his near death experience. After that, Ron's courage dissipated and he fell silent. Unfortunately, the feeling of doom remained in Kim's stomach. As if whatever was about to happen would be something major. Maybe she was going to lose this battle? Was she finally going to fall victim to her nemesis' clutches? Did death await her - or perhaps something worst? Sudden thoughts of Shego taking her hostage and making Kim a sex slave almost sent the red-haired teen into a nose dive toward the ground far below.

They glided around a corner and low and behold, there was Drakken's recent hideout in all it's mediocre glory! Not even guards were guarding the place, just a sole security camera pointed at the main entrance. Kim rolled her eyes and wondered who went in through the main entrance anymore.

"This is just too easy!" Ron said excitedly as he approached the main entrance.

"Ron, no!" Kim shouted, running to grab him but was too slow.

An alarm went off when the blond walked into the camera's view and a cage sprung up around Ron and Kim. Cursing her luck, Kim kicked at the bars but to no avail, they didn't budge. Beside her Ron apologized as the cage slipped underground, disappearing into darkness for what Kim guessed must've been forty or fifty feet, before appearing in a dim cave. Little could be seen in the cave at first glance, though Kim did spot two doors opposite each other on the walls of the cave, those she could tell for certain because of their size and shape. Apart from a few shapes far ahead from the cage, she could see nothing else. Though the intense heat was almost ridiculous here - it was far worst then above the ground.

"Oh, this is just perfect! I was just saying to Shego how nice it would be if Kim Possible could see our new hideout!" Drakken said, appearing from the door on the left wall, lights overhead turning on. Ron cleared his throat when Drakken had paused. "Oh, and her idiot-tail . . . "

"Hey!" Ron yelled.

"Anyhow, I bet you're just dying to know what I have been up to!" Drakken continued, ignoring Ron's hateful look.

"You're working on a heat ray, but you had some technical difficulty, therefore causing the intense heat down here and all over town." Kim said, unimpressed.

Drakken's face dropped.

"I really hate you, Possible."

"Yes, I know. The feeling is quite mutual, so don't worry." Kim quipped.

"It doesn't matter, because today you shall meet your maker! Bwahaha!"

"You really need to hire a writer or something. I'm getting really tired of your overused and cliché lines." Shego commented as she appeared from the same left door Drakken had entered from.

That feeling of doom instantly disappeared, but Kim found herself in almost a trance as she watched Shego's swaying hips bring her closer to the cage. Had it not been that she had the villain on her mind all the time, she may have not noticed so quickly the sudden change in Shego's wardrobe. The black-haired maven had disregarded her usual green and black jumpsuit for a more cooling green tank top and black denim shorts. She still sported her gloves and boots, but it did little to hide the lithe body that was finally freed from the jumpsuit. Kim blushed, unable to take her eyes off Shego.

"What's the matter, princess? Never saw a real woman before?" Shego asked in a teasing voice, when she was three feet from the cage.

Shaking her head, in hopes of clearing her mind, Kim slammed her fist against the cage's bars. "Dammit! Let us out!"

"No, sorry, I'm not taking any requests today - it's a little too hot, don't you think?" Drakken grinned as he moved over to a control panel Kim had over looked. "Today I'm only giving out BRUTAL PUNISHMENTS! BWAHAHAHA!" Drakken laughed by himself for a moment, inhaled and exhaled slowly. "No, I'm only kidding. Actually, DEATH is on the menu today. Please do enjoy it, I've worked so hard on this meal."

"This is stupid, Drakken." Shego said, turning to her employer. "Explain to me again why we're just going to leave them here to 'sweat' it out? Why can't we just shoot them like normal bad guys?"

"I told you already, Shego. We are not normal bad guys, we are evil genius villains, therefore, we do this the evil genius way." The blue-skinned scientist replied in a forced sing song voice.

"So you mean the incredibly slow and utterly stupid way?"

"Really Shego that just hurts, it's not utterly stupid. IT'S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! You know, because I'm an evil genius and all."

The dark-haired woman coughed the word "Stupid" as she approached Drakken.

"Come on, let me just finish them quickly. This is no fun!" She said in a sweet voice.

"Eheh, it's not supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be - ABSOLUTELY EVIL!" Drakken shouted and hit a button.

Through the right doorway, a bulking machine squeezed through, causing the whole room to become instantly 20 degrees hotter. Ron began to pray and cry as Kim fell to her knees from the intense heat. It seemed the heat ray turned out to be a bulking robot, probably for easier transportation. Kim's vision blurred as she felt herself choking on the heat. The blond teen beside her was still crying and praying but his words were becoming forced. Kim could barely see Drakken and Shego escape through the door they had originated from. Perhaps, the heat that was blurring her vision, made her hallucinate as well, because she could've sworn she saw Shego blow a kiss to her just before exiting. It didn't matter, Kim knew she was going to die and it saddened her that Shego wasn't really kissing her, maybe saying goodbye but not out of love.

Kim collapsed to the floor of the cage, her skin burning where it touched the metallic cage's floor. She was sweating profusely as thoughts of Shego still swam through her mind. Yes, she hated her but no one was to blame for what was happening other then Drakken who put her in this dire situation - accept perhaps, Ron. The red head wasn't thrilled with her partner as she laid slowly suffocating to death. Still, she knew the risk she took by bringing him along every time. So perhaps the only one to really blame was herself. Yes, it was her fault. One other thing did pop into her mind though.

"I wish I had said . . . how much . . . I was . . . crazy for . . . ," Her words trailed off by a series of sounds that made her slowly roll her head to the side.

Her vision was too blurred to see, but at the control panel, a small, forgotten mole-rat had hit several buttons in rapid succession. One of the buttons he happened to hit sent the robot back through the doorway on the right. Another button pushed the cage slowly back up where it had come. As fast as he could, Rufus ran to cage to catch a ride up to ground level with his comrades. When they were freed into the early evening air, Kim and Ron gasped for air. The cage fell open and disappeared but they could only lie there for a long time, allowing a small breeze to slowly cool them down. For a while, Kim had blacked out, but when she awoke, she was surprised by what she saw.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." Shego said, holding up Kim's head so she could drink some water from a cup. When Kim had down the whole cup, she gently lowered Kim's head back down onto the ground. "Look, don't get the wrong idea or anything. I just think Drakken was stupid to take such a coward's route. He should at least have the backbone to finish you off face to face."

"Dreaming . . . ," Was the only word that Kim could get out of her mouth right away. Her throat and lungs hurt, leaving her raspy and hoarse. "Shego . . . " Her eyes closed again.

"Kim, snap out of it!" Ron shouted.

"Huh, what?" The red head said groggily.

She quickly sat up. surprised by the cool night air and the blanket draped over her. Looking around, she realized she was in a poorly constructed tent made by the hang-gliders they had flown on. Ron sat next to her, fiddling with her communicator in one hand. Next to him, Rufus stood up and ran to Kim, acting in a way that reminded Kim of a doctor. Her lungs and throat were a little sore, but otherwise she felt okay.

"What happened?" Kim finally asked.

"I don't know. I woke up next to you in here in time to see Drakken's hideout blow up!"

"It did what?!" She cried in surprise, scrambling to her knees and crawling out of the makeshift tent.

To her amazement, she was up on a cliff with a perfect view of Drakken's hideout, or what was left of it, anyway. About 300 yards away and maybe 100 yards down, the hideout was barely recognizable through all the smoke and flames that still emitted from it. Ron crawled out to join Kim as she tried to grasp onto what had happened. Then something dawned on her.

"Shego! Where did she go?" Kim asked, turning and grabbing Ron's shirt.

"What are you talking about KP? She probably hightailed it along with Drakken a long time ago. They probably blew up the hideout to make sure we didn't escape!"

"No! She was there . . . " Her voice trailed off, as her gaze fell back to the ruins. "She gave me a cup of water when we came back up."

"I think the heat affected your brain, Kim. I never saw Shego after she ran out of the cave with Drakken. Then again, I passed out pretty quickly and didn't wake until we were already here."

Kim whirled around. "So she must've brought us here! It has to be!"

The shock of the recent situation overloaded Kim's normally cool composition and she broke down into tears. Burying her face against Ron's shoulder, Kim wondered where Shego had gone. Even if Ron didn't believe her, Kim knew that Shego had brought them to safety, but where had she gone afterward?

/End of flashback/

So three years later, Kim had achieved her associates degree in criminal justice and was working toward a bachelor's degree. Ron did two years of college, getting a degree in food management, but dropped out of college before his third year started. He felt he should follow other venues in the work industry and now worked full time at the Nacho Hut. Though he still fought crime with Kim, there had been a steady decline in the actual times he had helped over the last year. Chances are he was still crushed after Kim had turned him down for a date a year ago.

It wouldn't have worked between the two of them anyway. She had become obsessed with school, crime fighting, working at a part-time job, and wondering what had happened with Shego. No one that Kim had talked to or rescued had seen Shego. By now, Kim was finally beginning to give up hope on finding the dark-haired woman, she had other problems to fret about in the here and now.

End of Chapter 1

End note:This is my first Kim Possible fic, so I'm nervous as to whether I did it well. The next chapter will be up when it's done. Beyond that, I'll need feedback to determine what direction to take the fic. So reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated.