Jack couldn't sleep.
No, it wasn't another nightmare... those had come by off and on through a long time in her life, but she hadn't had one since blowing Teltin, a thought that brought a smile to her face even as she rolled over again. She just... couldn't get damned comfortable, for some reason.
After a few more minutes of this, she sighed and rolled out of bed. Fuck it, she thought, she felt hungry anyway; she could afford a midnight snack. Donning her pants and beltbra-she wore an actual shirt more often now, but this late, she didn't bother-she stepped out of her lair and headed for the elevator, calling it down to her deck.
When the door opened she stepped inside, her eyes passing over the crying asari in the cor-what? Abruptly, she did a double take. Yes, there was an asari in the corner of the elevator, on her knees, her face buried in her hands, crying softly; Jack had never seen her before, to her knowledge. She hadn't moved at all since Jack had stepped into the elevator, and the convict paused. Clearly, whatever this was was none of her business... on the other hand, she'd never been one to pay attention to niceties like that unless not doing so would get her killed, and if Shepard had let this asari onto the ship anyway, it didn't seem likely.
"Hey," Jack said.
The asari started slightly, looking behind her at Jack; tears still glittered in her light, intense blue eyes, but she took a deep, shuddering breath as she noted the other presence in the elevator. "Oh... hello. Jack, I believe?"
"You be-who the hell are you?" asked Jack suspiciously.
The asari took another deep breath. "L-Liara T'soni."
Jack paused. "Liara... shit, I know I've heard your name before... right, you're the Illium info broker? Shepard went off to help you chase the Shadow Broker or something."
Liara nodded. "She did. We won that battle."
"So... what's with you?"
Liara chuckled helplessly. "It's complicated... but, well, Shepard and I-"
"Lemme guess," interrupted Jack, rolling her eyes. "You were an item, and she dumped you."
Liara nodded silently.
Yeah, that didn't take long, Jack thought. You should have heard her with Jacob practically the instant she came on board... and she lectured me about trust and friendship earlier? Fuck her. Outwardly, she shrugged. "It happens. Don't know much about it myself, but you'll get over it."
"I-" Liara glared for an instant at Jack, before dropping her head back into her hands.
Oh, for-Sighing, Jack, reached a hand out to Liara, who gave it a look for a few seconds before taking it, letting Jack pull her up. "Here. No reason for you to sit in here all night." A thought occurred to her. "Wait. How long were you in here anyway?"
Liara paused. "I had drinks with Shepard, then I left her cabin at about 10:30, ship time..."
"You've been down here for two hours?" asked Jack in amazement.
"I... suppose."
"Shit," said Jack, shaking her head and giving Liara another look. Even though she was standing now, the asari was still looking shaky, as if she'd be perfectly willing to fold up again after walking a little ways. "She really meant that much to you, huh..."
Liara nodded, biting her lip.
Jack shrugged. "Well, here." She hit the button to open the elevator door. "Go that way down the hall, you'll see some stairs. I've got a cot down there; you can crash there if you don't want to fly off the ship yourself now. I can't sleep anyway."
Liara's eyes widened in surprise as she nodded, Jack taking a steadying grip on her arm as she stepped out of the elevator. Once she'd left, Liara turned back, giving Jack a watery smile. "Thank you, Jack."
Jack didn't quite know how to respond to that, so she simply closed the elevator again and began the trip up, shaking her head, wondering about what had just happened.