A/N: Sorry for the long absence! I decided to do a ton of re-writing on the old story and actually divide it up into a few different volumes with different perspectives that should add some exceptional flavor. Also, I figured I'd wait until after LOTSB had come and gone, so that way I'd have the correct plot to follow and fill in. I expect that we will be getting the next piece of DLC and/or story by the time I've written through that and my other ideas. So the journey will continue unimpeded this time. I also wanted to time the release of this story with the holiday season. It won't all be fitting, but this chapter is especially so.

As always, please read and review! I will continue this regardless as I enjoy dabbling in Bioware's world, but your comments, criticisms, and interactions motivate me to turn out the content a lot quicker than I would without them ;). If you are shy and want feel free to shoot me a message with any of the above, or if you have something you would like to see in the upcoming chapters.

Edited for minor spelling errors 12/2. Thanks!

Dawn

Shepard groaned as his "morning" stretch reminded him of the events of the previous day. They had defeated the Collectors and destroyed their base. He had taken quite a few biotically charged punches from Harbinger in their final encounter. Countless husks had tried to rip him apart despite the strength of Samara's biotic barrier. Everyone made it out alive, though nobody made it out unscathed. His cracked ribs and stitched flesh failed, despite their best efforts, to make him wake up on the wrong side of the bed today. All that mattered was that their little suicide mission turned out to be no different than most that the crew of the Normandy SR-2 had embarked on during the past few months. This one was vastly more rewarding to see the end of, but like all the others, there was an end to be had.

However refreshing and relieving it was to be done with the "suicide mission," it was a strange feeling to wake up with nothing pressing to do, and no imminent death staring him down. Suddenly a ruffling sound emanated from underneath the covers to his side. Shepard propped himself up on one hand, and used his other to trace the exquisite form that was still sleeping next to him. She twitched and stirred in response to his touch. Motivated by her response, Shepard bent over and placed his lips softly against Miranda's cheek. With this a smile spread across her lips.

She kept her eyes closed as she softly spoke. "Good morning John."

Shepard simply kissed her once more, but this time he gently cupped her face and moved it so their lips lined up perfectly. With this her eyes fluttered a bit, and finally opened once their embrace ended. Shepard leaned back once more, and admired Miranda who smirked once she was awake enough to notice. The lighting in "the Loft" was dimmed appropriately for nighttime by EDI, and this added more contrast to Miranda's already defined features. Shepard opened his mouth to speak but was hushed by Miranda who rushed a finger to meet his lips.

"Don't… let's just enjoy the silence a bit… OK?" Her voice practically purred for him to comply. Miranda certainly had a way of making him want to speak, even if he had to be silent.

Miranda sat up, and her pale skin was illuminated by the distant stars that shone through the window directly above her head. The sheet covering her body slowly fell, revealing her naked body, whose only covering was a bandage wrapped around her lower abdomen. She caught Shepard scanning her wound and knew that if she didn't act quick she would lose what she intended to get. So she laid back down and pulled the commander on top of herself.

John, in his credit, tried to resist. Miranda would have none of this, and she softly kissed at his neck. John finally spoke up. His voice waivered as he was slowly giving in to his lover's wishes. "Chakwas told you to take it easy until you healed." His voice nearly cracked. "You aren't supposed to have any… strenuous activities for a few days."

Miranda stopped kissing his neck and hovered briefly over it. The warmth seemed to spread from all over his body. She briefly rested her forehead against his, and then slowly moved over to his ear. She brushed against his earlobe and whispered, "then don't be so rough this time."

(A few hours later)

The elevator doors slid open and Shepard took a few steps onto the CIC. The hum of empty terminals and the buzz of the galaxy map only punctuated the abandonment of the deck. This Shepard could handle. Unlike twenty-four hours ago, he knew his crew was either in their quarters recovering or on the crew deck relaxing. Unlike twenty four hours ago, he did not have a lurch in his stomach that threatened to send him into panic. This silence he could deal with.

Shepard approached his terminal and powered it on. With a whirl it lit up. For the first time today he cursed. He kept it to himself, but he cursed nonetheless. Nineteen new messages my ass. No doubt half of them are from The Illusive Man. Get rid of those and maybe I'd give a crap.

With this thought Shepard powered down his terminal and took a step back. He glanced around the corner and down the hallway now hearing the slight echo of a snore. Looking around he found an open emergency kit amongst the wreckage and sifted through hoping to find something of use. After a few brief seconds he pulled out a thermal blanket and walked down the corridor leading to the cockpit.

The snoring got louder as he approached and he found Joker passed out with some extranet movie playing on his terminal. Afraid to even look at it, Shepard pressed the commands to power it down, and then gently put the thermal blanket over Joker. A smile crept across Shepard's face as he recalled how Joker had covered their approach to the Normandy back at the Collector Base. Kid did damn well. I'll have to remind him about the risks of engaging in combat with his condition… Shepard stopped right there, and decided it would be best to let the pilot live as he was; a fighter who did what he needed to do. No use worrying about what is past.

Shepard walked down the hallway and got out of earshot before speaking. "EDI… status."

EDI's avatar swiftly appeared on one of the nearby terminals and flickered due to the damage it had sustained. "We are en route to Omega as you directed."

Shepard simply nodded, urging EDI to continue. "We cannot sustain FTL travel so we are maintaining maximum velocity while minimizing stress on the hull and core systems."

This is what Shepard wanted to know. "How is it… how are you holding up?"

EDI took a moment to respond, having caught Shepard's correction. "My hull has lost a few more panels and containment fields were activated accordingly. Drive core operating at approximately half capacity with intermittent power outages. Battery backups providing interim critical system power. Weapons systems are overheated and need calibration."

Before EDI could continue Shepard interjected. "Are you going to make it to port without major emergency repairs. Can I allow the crew to sleep until we get there?"

Another long pause. EDI was doing her best to properly weigh the situation. "I would advise for certain repairs of mission critical systems. At this rate we will arrive at Omega in 31 hours 17 minutes."

Shepard ran his hand through his hair. He did not want to wake the crew. "I don't want to be drifting through the Terminus Systems for that long. Do you think you could walk me through some of the more pressing repairs?"

EDI responded quickly this time, almost jumping at the opportunity to help her crew get some rest. "Of course Shepard. Proceed to deck four and we can begin by attempting to stabilize the drive core."

Shepard smirked as he started heading for the elevator.

If Tali catches me she'll throw a fit.

(A little over three hours later… in the drive core)

Shepard wiped the sweat from his brow as he climbed out from one of the side compartments in the engine room's observation deck. The scaffolding brought back good memories but he was getting frustrated by the jungle gym he was having to traverse to get the engine to stay powered on.

"EDI… how does Tali put up with all of this crawling around?" Shepard didn't really expect a response to his question but EDI quickly replied. "She doesn't usually have to repair holes and fried components Shepard."

Shepard smirked. "Pity… though I am sure she will have something else to fix once I'm done rumbling around in there." After a second to catch his breath, Shepard stood up and approached the terminal. He almost jumped with joy when he read the display which had one small word hidden among numerous mathematical symbols and charts which he didn't quite understand; "stable."

Shepard had traversed back up to the CIC and found it completely empty to his surprise. Maybe Joker finally decided to go sleep downstairs. Or shit, maybe he got hungry or needed the restroom.

The lighting was still dimmed due to the lack of power, but Shepard had no problem picking through the wreckage on his way to the cockpit. He pressed the button to raise the blast shutters and sat down at one of the terminals that faced the largest of the windows. He began to recall the first time he saw space like this. It is compelling in any respect, but being taken by shuttle from the recruitment station to orbit for his first assignment was one of the most liberating moments of his life. There was relief in escaping his life on Earth. No more gangs, no more criminals, no more mindless violence. Or so he thought. For the first time since that day, Shepard looked out to the stars with the same feeling of relief welling within him.

Shepard felt well enough to finally get back to work. He powered on the terminal in front of him, and logged into his message account. Still nineteen messages. With that thought he took a deep breath and opened the program. To his surprise only one was from The Illusive Man. A new one had just come in from Cerberus Command though. He figured he would start at the top and work his way down.

...

To: Shepard

From: Cerberus Information Processing

We're aware that your old friend Liara T'Soni has been hunting for the Shadow Broker for several years. We wouldn't mind helping her in that hunt, given the Broker's past work for the Collectors. We recently uncovered some information that might give Liara a lead on where to find the Shadow Broker's base of operations, but unfortunately, she doesn't have much faith in Cerberus intel. If you'd visit Illium and pass it on to her as a gesture of goodwill, we'd appreciate it.

...

Feelings for his old friend immediately came flooding back as the importance of the message struck him. It was odd that The Illusive Man didn't want to tell him this in person, but he figured he would probably need to cool down a bit after their argument from the other day. It was surprising that he had given him anything this soon, but he would take it and hope for change from the old man.

Shepard stood up and started hastily walking down the hallway. He knew Illium was days away, but Liara needed to know her closure could be near. He picked up his pace and began to speak. "EDI… get Liara connected in the Com room please. I need to speak to her right away."

There was another slight pause from EDI. "Actually Shepard, Miss Lawson has requested that you meet her down on Deck 3. She says it is extremely urgent."

With this information Shepard all but dashed to the elevator.

The elevator stopped at the crew deck, and Shepard hastily stepped out, even before the doors had fully opened. When he rounded the corner to the mess hall he nearly fell back from surprise. It looked as if the entire crew had assembled. The moment they saw him they began to cheer and applaud for him.

Shepard was scanning the room, trying to take in the scene, when Miranda suddenly grabbed him by the hand. "Come on you big lug. We don't have all day."

She pulled him over to the counter, and the crew continued to applaud him as they parted way. Miranda smiled and picked up a glass of champagne, motioning to another on the counter. He suddenly noticed various crew members passing out glasses and filling them hastily with bottles. They were actually creating quite a mess. Miranda locked eyes with him for the whole time, and then suddenly raised her glass.

"Let's hear it for the Normandy, its crew, and mostly… its Commander!"

Shepard, still dumbfounded by the surprise was only shaken by it when Miranda quickly put her glass against his in toast. The sound of the two glasses resonating broke him from his stupor and he looked at Miranda who had not changed her gaze since uttering the toast. He tried to speak, but the clamor of the crew deck made it little more than a mouthing. Luckily Miranda could read his lips. She smiled and let out a bit of a laugh.

She leaned in close enough for him to hear. "No John… I didn't do this." He gave her a disbelieving look and she acquiesced. "OK… I told them that they had better be up and in the mess hall by noon." She suddenly started to turn a bit red, though the lighting in the mess hall was lowered enough to hide it well. She stammered on, "I really didn't do this… you did… and they all know it. We owe you Shep…"

Before she could finish Shepard had wrapped one arm around her waist and had pulled her close enough that he could plant a firm and passionate kiss on her lips. Almost forgetting where she was, Miranda closed her eyes and embraced him back. The crew's rumblings hushed down a bit as some of the crew was surprised by this. Unfortunately a few cat calls and whistles could be heard, and Miranda immediately tensed up, realizing what had just happened. She tried to pull away, a glare being readied for those individuals, but Shepard pulled her back in. He planted another quick kiss on her lips before speaking. "Miss Lawson… please don't kill them." She looked at him and gave a playful wink. "No promises… Commander."

...

"Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything."

Willa Sibert Cather

...

F/N: Well, that was it! I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapters will get into the action for those of you who enjoy that stuff more. I simply wanted to give a more humanistic feeling to the story and main characters from the very start.