"This place isn't that bad..." Jane glanced down at her five year old son. "Right?"
"It doesn't even have a Wal-Mart..." He said stubbornly.
Both of them were standing on the porch of her their brand new home. Jane had just bought it a few weeks ago. It was in a small town called Citadel, and neither of the two were quite used to small towns. Jane sighed and squatted down to make eye contact with her very upset, green eyed son. She ruffled his dirty blonde locks, noting that he needed a hair cut soon, and smiled.
"Sam, baby, I know this isn't like living on the base but can't you give it a try for me?" Sam was quite adjusted to military life, and knew very little about keeping a home for more than a couple months. "Maybe this place is just what we need."
He crossed his arms and bit his lip, his eye-brows knitting together. Jane couldn't stop from smiling wider, god she loved this kid, he was just as stubborn as she and his father was. Her heart fell at the thought of her late husband but she quickly swallowed it down, now was not the time to dwell on that, and blinked the moistness in her eyes away. Sam must've picked up on her sadness anyway because he quickly smiled at her. "Okay Mama, I'll try..."
She pulled him close, and leaned back onto her rear, moving out of the way of one of the hired movers carrying a box. "That's my big man." She whispered softly, kissing his forehead before standing back up. "Now..." Jane put her hands on her hips and grinned. "Let's go unpack your new room!"
The grenades blasted in the background, gun fire was constant, and the smell of burnt flesh filled her senses.
"Shepard..." A raspy, pained voice gasped out. "Jane...You have to go..."
"The hell I will!" She pulled him closer, determined to drag him to safety. Her leg burned, she wasn't sure if it was blown open from the blast, or shot. No one saw the grenade but him. She could hear the cries to fall back cutting through the blasts.
His firm hand, a hand she loved so much, covered hers. She cried and shook her head before feeling the sting of his hand on her injured cheek. She met his eyes with teary ones.
"You can't save us both..." He coughed out, blood spattering on his mangled chest and her face. "You...You have to think of our son, Jane...please...You have to go!"
Jane sat up in bed with a gasp, tears in her eyes and cold sweat covering her body. She took a few deep breaths before climbing out of her new bed and limping to the bathroom. She turned the faucet and splashed herself with the cool water, she even ran some through her blonde hair. She turned off the water and looked at herself in the mirror. She had a few scares on her right cheek, but they had faded away over the last year.
"I wished that worked as quickly on the inside too..." She sighed and popped a few pain pills for her knee before turning around to go start a cup of coffee. It was barely light outside but she knew that sleep wasn't going to happen. She rubbed her knee, a sharp pain shooting through it.
Today was Sam's first day at school and she wanted to make sure everything went smooth. A knock at the door made Jane jump with surprise and suspicion, but it was quickly overridden when she remembered where she was; Citadel hadn't had any major crimes in over a decade. She opened the door and was shocked to see a little girl staring back. Shepard glanced around quickly, looking for an adult; when she found none she stared back at the raven haired girl.
"Well, hello there, are you lost?"
"Can you make good pancakes like Mrs. Lent?" The girl asked, her brown eyes glaring up at her.
"...Um, Who?" Jane asked, completely lost.
"Mrs. Lent!" The girl repeated, as if that should have cleared it up. "She always made pancakes for me on Monday mornings."
"...Oh!" It clicked, Mrs. Lent must have lived here before Jane. "I see...Well..." She smiled at the girl wearing only a pair of pink kitty pajamas. "I don't know if I can make them as good as Mrs. Lent, but I can give it a try?"
"I can show you how." She stated, walking into the house and heading straight for the kitchen. Jane followed, a soft laugh escaping her at the kid's bravery level. "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to walk into a stranger's house?"
"The house isn't a stranger to me, but it is to you." She she started to rummage through Jane's kitchen as she spoke. "So, didn't your parents ever teach you not to buy a stranger's house?" She threw back and Jane crossed her arms, clearly amused. The kid was cute.
"You have a name?" Jane asked, limping over to the cabinet that held the pots and pans.
"Marissa Alenko."
"I am Jane Shepard, Marissa, it's nice to meet you." She pulled out the correct appliances and smiled. "So, let's do this."
An hour later Marissa happily ate a hot pancake next to Sam, who was very confused when he woke up to find his mom cooking with a strange little girl in pajamas. "So...Do the pancakes pass?" Jane asked calmly. When Marissa gave her a thumbs up she cheered, which made both the children giggle.
"How old are you Marissa?" She asked, taking a bite out of her on pancake.
"Nine."
"And do you have parents out there looking for you frantically right now?" As if the universe decided now was the right day to have perfect timing, the door bell went off, followed by loud knocking.
"Uh-oh..." Marissa swallowed her bite and ducked her head as Shepard went to answer the door. She was thrown off by the deep, worried brown eyes that looked at her.
"I-I'm sorry to bother you so early, but did you happen to see- Marissa!" The man let out a relieved sigh and hugged his daughter closely when she came to the door. His black, curly hair was messy and his lack of shoes and shirt proved that he'd left his house in a hurry. "Don't do that!" He scolded her gently his voice deep and raspy, pulling away from her.
"Sorry Daddy, I just came to see the new neighbors and see if she could make pancakes like Mrs. Lent..." He looked up at her again, this time with an apologetic look. Shepard smiled and said.
"I passed the test."
The man laughed softly, straightening himself back up. "Forgive my daughter...She can be a little demanding at times." He held his hand out. "Kaidan Alenko."
"Jane Shepard, but everyone just calls me Shepard." She shook his hand, noticing how warm it was. "Would you like a pancake?"
"No thanks, I actually have to get to work and Marissa has class..." Kaidan glanced down at his daughter, holding his hand out for her. "I'll be sure to keep her out of your hair between sleeping hours from now on." Marissa took his hand and pouted.
"It was no problem, really, she is quite the kitchen helper." Shepard smiled again, leaning against the door frame. Kaidan smiled too.
"She does love to cook...Well, I should get her dressed." He backed away awkwardly. "I should probably get myself dressed too..." He tried to cover himself, though Jane wasn't sure why...He was a very good looking man.
"Right, I guess I'll see you two later?"
Kaidan nodded and gave a wave before she listened to him scold his daughter about barging into peoples houses. She laughed when she heard Marissa say something about wanting her Monday pancakes.