The sleeping pod felt confiding. There was so little room to move. Kaidan tried adjusting himself, but ended up smacking his back against metal. He needed to get out, maybe even get some painkillers for the dull headache. The last thing he wanted was a migraine. The sleeper pod opened with a light hiss. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, but he could see someone sitting at the mess as he descend the short person seemed entirely unfamiliar, definitely a woman though. She wore an oversized SR1 shirt, feet propped up on the table, long lean legs in the air. Kaidan couldn't tell if the woman was wearing shorts, if she was the were not visible at al. He noticed her toes were painted navy blue, something he'd never seen before. There was a stack of datapads to the woman's right, one in her hand as well. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun, small stray-aways framing her must have been standing there awhile because she finally spoke to him.

"You gonna leave a girl alone Lieutenant? Stop standing there like a dumbass and sit with me"

"Commander?"

She giggled, "Do I have to make that an order?"

He liked the sound of her laugh, it was so light and pleasant, making him smile too. Kaidan took the seat across from her. He was taken aback for a moment. Shepard looked normal. There was nothing in her face that made her look very commanding at this point. But it made her all the more amazing. He sometimes forgot she was human too, everything about her was so godlike and superior.

"Something wrong with my face?"

Kaidan felt like an idiot, he could feel a light blush creeping across his cheeks. "No ma'am. You don't look as ah... intimidating. Threw me off a bit, I didn't mean to stare. You just look so normal."

She laughed again. He didn't mean to be funny, but he wouldn't deny that making her laugh was something he didn't mind. "Can you believe I'm just a regular girl behind all the biotics and armor. You know I have boobs too, they're pretty normal as well."

The last sentence came out as a hushed whisper, as if it was a secret. Kaidan felt his face turning a different shade of red.
"I bet they are," he immediately regretted the sentence and she raised a brow "No. I didn't mean it like that, I..." he felt a cold sweat consume his body. He needed to get away from that, her body. God it was sending chills up his spine. Anything, just something to make him stop thinking about her perfectly perfect curves, "Cute toes." Foot successfully inserted into mouth. Joker would have called this a face palm moment.

She stifled a laugh with her hand, "Nice smooth talking. Considered me melted." She stretched and grabbed the bottle next to her, taking a drink. "You want one?"

Kaidan was a little dumbfounded, "Commander, is that beer?"

"Brewed right on Earth, had to do a little searching to get it. It's much better than the fake crap they serve at Flux." She extended an unopened bottle his way his way, "Take it. I promise you won't get in trouble."

It took a little biotic force to pop off the top, even leaving a small indent in his hand. The taste of honest to god beer was worth it. Kaidan forgot how much he missed it, the taste reminded him of home. Earth. Space would never compare.

"Makes you miss home doesn't it?"

She smirked, "Ah, I don't really have one of those. Space stations and warships don't really count."

Another face palm moment. Shepard had told him about being a spacer kid. He had listened so intently to her stories, taking in every word. How the he'll would he forget something like that?

"I'm sorry. I never meant to-"

"Please don't apologize for something like that, it makes you sound weak. And I need my men strong, Lieutenant."

There was a glimmer in her eyes. Flirting? He wasn't new at this with her though. They'd been going back and forth for the past few weeks, Kaidan wasn't about to stop it now.

"I'll keep that in mind. Never want to disappoint you ma'am."

"The last thing you do is disappoint me. So tell me, what brings you up at this ungodly hour wearing that outfit. I gotta say Kaidan, your see-through shirt is gonna have all the ladies rioting. I know I'm starting to go a little crazy with this view of your abs."

He tried to let that comment slide, but it was nice knowing she was looking at his body. Admiring it in fact. "Sleeper pods bring out claustrophobia. I just needed to get out for a second. And you?"

She sighed downing the last of her beer, "I feel bad because I felt like my quarters are confiding. Well not confiding really..." Shepard took long pause and began to spin the bottle around on the table "After a nightmare the room feels suffocating. I always feel the need to get out of there. That bed is so inviting, but I'm afraid to fall asleep."

It amazed him how quickly the conversation turned. They had only gotten a few moments of flirting when it went south. But that wasn't so bad, he could use this time to get to know her on a more personal level. Kaidan then saw fear in her eyes. Then he took a closer look at his commander. Dark circles hung below her brilliant emerald eyes, making them seem dull. Her hair look brittle, the gleam of blonde seemed to fade away. Wrists and arms seemed unnaturally skinny, had she been eating properly? Her collarbone stuck out more, usually glowing tan skin seemed sallow and lifeless. Battle bruises and cuts covered her entire body, he saw new scars beginning to form. Shepard look absolutely tired. Sick even. Horrible.

"Commander, you don't look good"

"Just want every girl wants to hear..."

"I'm serious. You look exhausted"

She met his gaze and he was right, there was nothing in his eyes that told her differently. Caring perhaps? But he was her subordinate, he had to make sure she was functioning properly. "The joining with Liara hasn't helped. I know she needs the visions for her research and maybe she can decipher something in them... But they make the nightmares worse." Shepard rubbed her temples, as if she was trying to rub the bad dreams away. "I just want them to stop. No amount of meds can make them go away. I don't think it's too much to want a good night's rest. Goddamn, it doesn't help that we're zipping around doing a hundred fucking things."

"I wish you'd rest sometime, even if it's a few days on the citadel. I'm sure you can help the galaxy somehow when we're docked."

"Hackett gave us so many mission, plus we still have to get to Feros. Virmire too, and I'm-"

"Shepard. Stop." Kaidan pulled the datapad pile away, "I'll tell Joker to where we're going after this mission. Don't worry about anything."

She smiled, "Kaidan, you don't need to baby me. I can handle myself and this ship."

She was lying to herself and him, it was obvious. "We need you coherent, two days minimum is all I want from you. Wouldn't it be nice to relax for one day?"

She paused, seriously thinking his proposal over "Alright, I'll try a day after we get Wrex's family armor. One day is all your getting from me."

He smiled, she was complying "I'll take what I can get from you Shepard"

Just a little intro into the Shenko-ness. Let's face it, no one can resist that ass. I promise more soon~ Please feel free to review all you like!