A/N: Holy Hell it's been a while. I'm SOOOOO sorry this took forever to upload. I don't feel like it's my best chapter, but that's what happens when you stop working on a story for a while, you lose the groove. I'm going to try and get back into it. I promise. I apologize for the mediocre chapter, but I still hope you all enjoy. I'm sorry for my absence, but start expecting more updates soon. Now, without further ado, and no more gilding the lily, I'll let you read.

Disclaimer: Blah blah, no owning the characters and stuff. If Disney sues me, I'm screwed.

Kim stared up at the school building, her hand clutching her side just below her ribs. She was trying to catch her breath, though it wasn't easy. Normally, she would have been able to take the walk without issue, but her broken ribs made life more difficult than she thought it would. As much as she hated to admit it, and as much as she needed a break, to stop for the day and rest, Shego was right about one thing: Kim wasn't going to get better lying around the house not doing anything. Part of her was scared of what Shego had planned for her inside, but another part was curious, and even excited. She needed to do this; it was the only way for her to get her life back to normal.

Taking a deep breath, Kim kept staring at the entrance to the school building. She could feel Shego's stare on the side of her head, it felt like the other woman was burning a hole into her head. Turning her head to look at Shego, Kim nodded and put on a brave smile. If she was going to truly get better, she had to work for it, and not only work for it, but convince Shego that she wasn't terrified of whatever burning pain she'd end up having during the process.

"Round two? No problem. Let's get this started Shego."

Shego smirked and started the walk up to the front door, pulling out a ring of keys from her pocket. Kim took a few moments to follow, catching her breath before she moved. By the time Kim had recovered enough to move, Shego was holding the door open for her. Kim thanked her for the courtesy and walked through the empty halls of the school with her "teacher".

It was a little more than eerie walking through the school when no one was around. After spending so much time in the school with the students crowding the halls, the pure silence was unnerving. Kim was so used to the school being filled with people and noise; she could even see some of the ghostly outlines of people walking around her. More than once her head turned to follow someone that she thought she saw or heard.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Kim tried to focus and prepare herself for whatever may be coming her way for "round two".

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Shego kept her gaze straight as she walked down the halls of the school. She had the day planned for the two of them, with a lot of emphasis on building up Kim's already strong legs. She was especially looking forward to the next part of the fitness, and it didn't help that Shego had been having dreams of it for the past few days as she planned it out. She counted her blessings the school had an indoor pool, and that they could have the building all to themselves on the weekends. Smirking, Shego stopped just outside of the door to the school's pool and turned to look at Kim, her smirk still on her face.

"Alright Princess, round two starts right after you get changed."

Kim raised an eyebrow at Shego, wondering what the other woman could have possibly meant by getting changed. Changed into what? What did Shego have planned? It took Kim a long moment to realize that they were standing outside of the entrance to the pool. She was about to run away, but something rooted her feet to the floor. Putting on her brave smile again, Kim forced herself to take a step forward.

Shego opened the door for Kim again, holding it open so the younger woman could walk through. As she watched Kim walk into the room, Shego had to convince herself that this was not just because she wanted to see Kim in a bathing suit. It was mostly that, but it was also because the water resistance would help Kim get her strength and speed back. And it was also payback for making Shego dress up in the cheerleading uniform. In Shego's mind, she was winning every battle here, even if she had to get into a bathing suit to work with Kim.

Walking in behind the younger woman, Shego didn't hesitate to start her strut towards the changing rooms. She had planned ahead and bought two bathing suits for Kim and her. Kim was taking her time following, each footstep slightly nervous, and Shego had to make sure that the heroine was actually following a few times.

The truth was Kim was nervous not because of whatever cruelty Shego had planned, she was nervous about Shego seeing her body. It was a stupid thing to be scared of, but for some reason, Kim was terrified. It was ridiculous to be scared of Shego seeing her in a swimsuit, Shego had seen Kim in far less before, but those moments had been short. She hadn't had time to think about being self-conscious until after Shego had disappeared.

It took a while for Kim to get changed, and by the time she was finished, Shego was already in the pool, floating on her back and waiting for the younger woman. Kim walked out of the changing room slowly, one arm wrapped around her torso as if to try and hide the small scars on her chest. It wasn't working very well, at least Kim that's what Kim thought. At least it wasn't a bikini, then Kim really would have died.

Clearing her throat, Shego moved a bit in the water, standing in the shallow end and looking at Kim with a smile on her face. The young woman looked gorgeous in her body hugging swim suit. But Shego knew she would, Kim could wear a burlap sack and still look like a runway model. Just for that thought, Shego's inner voice screamed at her, but Shego ignored it. Well, she ignored it as best she could; it wasn't easy when that voice was all she had listened to for most of her life.

"You look great, now get in the water."

Shego started to walk over to the edge of the pool, intending to help Kim into the water so that the younger woman didn't over-exert herself. Easing Kim into the pool was easy, and it almost made Shego a little afraid at how light the younger woman was. The memory of Kim flying back into the bookshelf came back into her mind and Shego had to shake her head to get rid of it. The two walked through the water to the center of the pool, Kim already breathing a little heavily from the water resistance.

Shego half walked, half floated to stand in front of Kim. She noticed Kim was shivering a bit, and couldn't help but admit to herself that the water was a little cold. But they had to work through that, and standing still was not going to help with Kim's recovery, or warmth.

"Alright, we're going to walk around the edge of the pool a few times. Have you ever practiced any sort of Martial Arts?"

Kim shook her head, her voice a little shaky from the cold when she spoke.

"A bit of Tae-Kwon Do but nothing serious, why?"

"We're going to be doing a bit of sparring while we walk."

There was no mistaking the glee in Shego's face when she spoke. Kim felt herself shiver again, and not just from the cold water. The last time the two of them had fought, Kim ended up in the hospital. She was in no hurry to fight the older woman again, though it didn't seem like she had much of a choice in the matter. Taking a deep breath, Kim headed towards the edge of the pool, Shego by her side. It wasn't a long walk, but Kim would have preferred to swim, though it wasn't an option with her broken ribs.

Shego moved to stand in front of Kim again, smiling and raising her hands up from the water. Kim did the same, matching the other woman's posture. The two women stood that way for a while, each of them getting settled into their stances as they gazed at each other. Kim was nervous, and was not looking forward to actually sparring with Shego again, but it would help make her skills sharp after her long period of absence. Taking a deep breath, Kim decided she would be the one to start.

Her punch was fast, and she overextended her arm just a bit, but it was enough to make her yell in pain. Shego easily deflected the punch and caught Kim as the younger woman tried to double over in the water. Shego's eyes were filled with concern as she gazed down at the younger woman, her arms wrapped around Kim's waist.

Kim was breathing heavily, her eyes closed in a grimace of pain, one of her hands gripping her side as she tried to regain her senses. Apparently, Kim's broken ribs hated the idea of her getting any better, but she had always known that recovery wouldn't be an instant snap of the fingers. She had seen kids with casts on their arms and legs that stayed there for months and those were bones that didn't protect vital organs. Raising her hand, Kim waved Shego off of her, determined to stand on her own even if it was painful.

Shego backed up from Kim, but still kept close enough to catch the young woman in case she fell. With a groan, Kim stood up straight, her breathing slowing just a bit but she still looked like she was in pain. Shego was about to call off the day when she saw Kim straighten up and raise her hands, ready to continue. The older woman couldn't help but let a soft smile cross her face; she saw a lot of herself in Kim.

Raising her hands up, Shego stepped forward and threw a slow, but accurate punch in Kim's direction. The young woman countered with the same speed, stepping forward and returning the attack, her movement this time was slower, and easier paced. Shego stepped backwards, allowing Kim to push her back along the edge of the pool. The two of them moved slowly through the water, but Kim was amazed at how graceful Shego seemed to be. During their previous fights, Kim had never really been able to pay attention to how the other woman moved, she was always more concerned with dodging the attacks.

But now, it was different. They were taking their time, their movements slow, and Kim was able to see just how beautiful Shego looked in the water, and just how well trained her movements were. Kim was impressed, and at the same time so very thankful that Shego was the one that was taking care of her and bringing her back to full health.

It took only one circuit around the edge of the pool before Kim was breathing heavily from the exertion. The water resistance on her legs straining her more than she was used to combined with the added motion of her arms. It was enough to make her attacks sloppy after a while, and Shego recognized it. With one last punch, Shego caught Kim's hand easily and held up her free hand in a sign to pause, Kim was more than happy to accept.

"Let's take a break for a bit, you need to rest."

Kim nodded and leaned back against the edge of the pool. Shego lifted herself up out of the water and sat down on the edge, her feet hanging into the water as she looked down at Kim, a smile on her face. The Villainess had to admit that Kim was doing rather well, even if she was injured. Kim would make a full recovery soon, Shego knew that. She also knew that once Kim was back to full, Shego wouldn't have a reason to stick around, and she'd have to leave, go back to her life of crime. It made her heart sink into her stomach, but the older woman wasn't going to be focusing on that too much. Right now what mattered was Kim, and she was going to lose herself in the task of getting Kim healthy again, even if that meant falling even more in love with the young woman.

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Kim was breathing a bit heavily, leaning back against the edge of the pool and trying to ignore the pain in her legs. She had never actually had to move through water like this, but she could figure the benefits. The water resistance was tough, but Kim liked to think that if anything was too easy, it wasn't worth doing. She could hear the water next to her moving and it comforted her, a reminder that Shego was right beside her. Opening her eyes, Kim looked up at the older woman to say something, but her mouth just hung open, the words stuck in her throat.

The young heroine had seen Shego before in a similar state after cheer practice, her body glistening with sweat, but what she saw now was even more … beautiful. Shego's body was wet, her hair hanging down loosely from her back, droplets of water slowly running down the pale flesh of the older woman's legs, chest and arms. Kim hadn't noticed it before, but now it seemed as if the bathing suit that Shego was wearing had tightened a bit in the water, and Kim found her eyes wandering down the curves of Shego's body.

She stared for a long time before the other woman's voice shook her out of her own, muddled day dreams.

"Take a picture Princess, it'll last longer."

Kim's eyes moved up to see the smirk on Shego's face before blushing and looking away. She muttered something that she couldn't quite make out. It was silent for a moment before she heard the sound of Shego's body sliding into the water. Turning her head to face the other woman, Kim raised her hands, ready to continue. Shego did the same, readying herself for their circuit. It was easy to fall back into the fluid tempo of before, trading off slow, easy blows back and forth. Shego changed up the tempo a bit every now and then by pushing forward and forcing Kim backwards, but they would trade off like that for a while.

Kim's breathing started to get heavier a lot quicker now than it had during their first circuit, and half way around the pool the redhead signaled that she needed to stop. Shego nodded and leaned up against the side of the pool next to Kim, the young heroine breathing a bit heavily as she tried to relax and regain her breath. Leaning on her side a bit, Shego reached a hand out and rested it on Kim's shoulder, her face not hiding her concern.

"Can you go the rest of the circuit or should we stop?"

Kim shook her head, grimacing as her hand comes to rest on her ribcage, her eyes narrowed in determination as she turns to look at Shego.

"No, I'm fine. I can do this." Kim stares into Shego's eyes, full of passion. The sight sent a shiver down the villainess' spine, it sparked something in her that she had been fighting for the past few days. It sparked a feeling of desire of the non-pure kind. Every fiber of Shego's being was on fire and the need to pull the young redhead close and into a passionate embrace. But she resisted, she didn't want to make this awkward, well, more awkward than the situation already was.

So instead, Shego just smiled and nodded, reaching out a hand to rest on Kim's shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze before moving back in the water and raising her arms, ready to continue. Kim took a few more moments to herself to catch her breath and get ready to finish off the round. Pushing off of the side of the pool, Kim took a few slow steps forward before raising her hands and gritting her teeth, steeling herself to not feel the pain in her body. And then the two women were off again.

This time they were moving a bit faster, Kim being the one to lead the pace now. She was pushing Shego back slowly, but the older woman had to wonder if the heroine was pushing herself a bit too hard. One way or another though, Kim was going to feel this all tomorrow, but Shego didn't tell her to slow down. She didn't say that they would be doing this all weekend long, she wanted the lesson for Kim to learn here be that she needs to conserve her strength so she doesn't end up overexerting herself. The redhead would learn that lesson the hard way.

They were three-quarters of the way done when Shego noticed Kim's breathing being labored, her pace slowing, her attacks getting sloppy, but she kept pushing. Shego had to admire the other woman's drive, she was fighting through the pain, fighting to get better. Glancing back over her shoulder after deflecting a blow from the younger woman, Shego checked how long they had before they made the full circuit and then quickly turned her attention back to the other woman, hastily parrying a strike that was meant for the back of her head.

By the time they reached the full circuit, Kim was breathing heavily, panting almost, the parts of her body not wet with pool water were wet with sweat, her hands grasping the sides of the pool tightly. Kim was bent over a bit, her eyes closed and her face in an expression of pain, between panting breaths the young redhead would let out little groans and whimpers. Shego came up behind Kim and rested her hand on the other woman's back, gently caressing Kim's body as the villainess leaned down a bit to look at Kim's face.

"Slow breaths Princess, if you keep breathing that heavily you're going to end up hyperventilating."

Kim nodded a bit before arching her back a bit and standing up a bit taller, taking in one long, deep breath and grimacing a bit once she inhaled fully before letting it out. Shego rubbed the heroine's back slowly, watching in silence. Kim took a few more breaths before opening her eyes and looking over at her training partner, a shy smile on her face.

"Thanks, Shego."

"For what?"

"For being here. I wouldn't have been able to do this on my own."

"I made you a promise Kim. I keep my promises." Shego grinned and reached up to ruffle the other woman's wet hair before turning and lifting herself up out of the pool. Bending down a bit and holding out her hands to help Kim out of the pool, Shego couldn't help but get a view down the front of Kim's swimsuit. It was a stolen glance that made Shego immediately regret it, but it was too late to take back now, so the villainess instead committed the sight to memory for later. Shego had to remind herself that she was supposed to be evil, and even if this was in the vein of petty crime, it was still pretty evil.

If only she knew that Kim had also a stolen a long look at Shego when the older woman climbed out of the water. Kim watched the water drip from Shego's body, memorizing the way she glistened in the dim light and even the way that the water dripped down her figure. Kim was enthralled, her eyes opening a bit wider at the sight. She had already known that Shego was gorgeous, but now she was seeing the older woman in a new light. A shiver ran down Kim's spine before she shook herself out of her thoughts and reached up to take the offer of help from Shego.

Pulling Kim out of the water as gently as possible, Shego helped the younger woman steady herself on the ground. Kim shook a little bit, leaning back and forth, trying to regain her balance. It was an odd sensation, leaving the pool after moving around in it for so long. There was an odd sensation of vertigo due to the easier weight of oxygen then having to deal with the water of the pool constantly resisting your motions. After Kim managed to get her footing back, she found it a lot easier to move, and that she was moving a bit faster. Her muscles had gotten used to tensing and pushing themselves to the limit in the water, so it took a bit of time to calm down her body so she wasn't moving around the pool in super-speed.

Once Shego was certain that Kim had gotten her footing and wouldn't fall into the pool again, the two parted ways and headed into different changing rooms to get back into their clothes that they had been in on the walk to the school. While in her changing room, Kim leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, collecting her thoughts, trying her hardest to not remember the way that Shego's body glistened as she came out of the pool.