Something like this has been in my head for a long time, without the LI ever being certain. I had to go with Traynor, only because I like her more than any other FemShep option. Go ahead and call me a pig, LOL.

Samantha Traynor tried her hardest not to stare, and just kept on failing. It was just to hard not to, especially when the Commander was at work. There was such a magnetic effect to Jane Shepard, a supernatural pull to her personality, that made her impossible to resist. Samantha certainly thought it was impossible, anyway. Watching Shepard speak with the crew, her mouth in that hard line, her eyes wide as she listened intently to what she was being told, a few strands of hair falling across her forehead, the communications specialist was once again staring. Shepard patted the crewmember, Jessica, on the shoulder, and turned back towards the CIC. Of course Samantha didn't look away before their eyes met, and the Commander gave her a smile and wink that reduced her brain to mush. She immediately lowered her gaze to the console in front of her, desperately trying to return to work, she certainly had enough to do, and had almost succeeded when a hand squeezed her behind, so quick she wondered if she had imagined it. Her head darted right, seeing nothing, and then left, in time to see Shepard walking away without a glance back in Samantha's direction. She was still trying to decide she had imagined the squeeze when the elevator door closed, and Shepard was off to do whatever it is she did.

That was the third time that day she was caught staring at her superior officer, and new…what? Girlfriend? Lover? Was she just Shepard's toy of the month? It wasn't exactly clear what their relationship was. Four days had passed since their encounter in the shower, and the desk outside the bathroom, and the bed, and then just outside the elevator again, with Samantha never having the courage to actually talk to Shepard about what exactly they were. She would get to it eventually. Maybe. She and Shepard spent every night since together, so she assumed there was something about her the Commander found interesting. For probably the twentieth time, Samantha told herself she would make sure to clarify things with Shepard the first chance she had.

The first time she was caught staring that day was down in the cargo bay, watching Shepard and James during one of their sparring sessions. While she had never, ever found violence particularly interesting, there was something different about watching Shepard at work. She somehow managed to be as graceful as a ballerina, but as quick and deadly and powerful as a cobra or some other deadly snake. She would maneuver effortlessly, flowing like water, waiting for the inevitable mistake. When that mistake was made, and it always was eventually, she would pounce, and Vega or Kaidan or Garrus or whoever made the mistake of sparring with her would end up eating a punch or kick, or on the ground with their arm twisted in some painful way. Shepard had a black belt in some discipline of karate that Samantha could not remember, and it was easy to believe she was the best fighter in the world to watch her handle the rest of the soldiers on the Normandy so easily. It was unbelievably sexy, and of course Samantha got caught staring. When Shepard stood, releasing James's arm, she looked over in Samantha's direction and caught her. The communications specialist looked away, cheeks flushed, trying her hardest not to appear as creepy as she probably looked. When she dared glance back Shepard was talking with Vega, hair tangled and sweaty, looking past the marine and in her direction. When Shepard saw that Samantha was watching again, she smiled, in a away that did not make it clear who exactly she was smiling at. Fully embarrassed now, she hurried to the elevator.

The second time she got caught staring was only two hours later, in the mess hall. Since there was no workout room onboard the Normandy, a ridiculous exclusion the more Samantha thought about it, which was often considering how difficult it was for her to stay in the shape she preferred, it was not a strange sight to find Shepard exercising anywhere on the ship. That day, she chose to do sit-ups on the ground near the medbay door, and like a stupid teenage girl Samantha couldn't help but stop in her tracks. Up and down she went, a fluid, flawless machine. Like she knew Samantha would be coming, she was of course wearing a "shirt" that left her abs exposed, making it much easier to get lost watching those muscles tense with every movement. Just like with the fighting, she made something Samantha never thought was sexy before nearly irresistible. There was no one who disciplined her body the way Jane Shepard did. Not an ounce of fat sat on her body, and every muscle was toned to perfection. She never ate anything unhealthy, and Samantha had never seen her drink alcohol. Every aspect of her body was perfected towards the goal of completing her mission, as it needed to be. If she was in any less physical condition, it was likely she would have already crumbled beneath the injuries she sustained over the last few months.

This time, when Shepard caught Samantha staring, she just kept going, saying nothing, the only hint she gave that she knew Samantha was watching being the way they met each others' eyes when Shepard brought her chin to her knees. Just like earlier, the communications specialist immediately blushed, hurrying towards the kitchen to get a bottle of water, the entire reason she came down here to begin with. She had just grabbed a bottle and twisted open the cap when a hand enclosed hers, lingering briefly before taking the water from her hands. Samantha's hand tingled from the contact, and her blush returned. She turned around to find Shepard taking deep swallows of the water, not stopping until the bottle was just below half-empty. After she handed it back, she said, "Thanks, Traynor."

Samantha managed to pretend to be annoyed. "Why not get your own bottle? You have to bully your crew out of theirs to make yourself feel better?"

"Mmhmm," she responded. She turned and walked away, not even giving Samantha a second look. And of course Samantha's eyes immediately fell to her ass.

Samantha took the first opportunity she could to head up to Shepard's cabin, drumming a beat on her thighs as she waited for the elevator to arrive. The Commander had returned from a mission on Noveria two hours ago, where she had been tasked with taking control of a fighter base and eliminating any Cerberus presence. The mission was a smashing success, of course it was, Shepard never managed anything less, but Samantha had not seen her yet. She was safe, if she was injured in any way that would have spread around the ship five times already. The elevator doors opened, and after taking a deep breath Samantha stepped forward. She punched the button to open the cabin door, and walked inside. Shepard was sitting at her desk, a pair of headphones in her ears, head bobbing in rhythm with whatever she was listening to. Sensing the opportunity to sneak up on Shepard for once, Samantha lightly stepped forward, being as quiet as she could manage. The commander continued to bob her head to the music, not showing any awareness at all that someone else was in the cabin with her. Step by quiet step, Samantha crept forward, until she was mere inches behind the still oblivious woman. A few tense moments passed, and then Samantha darted her hands forward, tickling Shepard's ribs. Her efforts only led to Samantha being manhandled and tossed around with unimaginable quickness and effortless. "Oh,, oh sorry," Shepard said after Samantha ended up on her stomach on the bed, the Commander on top of her, pinning her down. She immediately stood up and released the communications specialist, which was slightly disappointing. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No," Samantha answered, once she calmed her baser urges. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Shepard said. She walked back over to her desk and grabbed a bottle of pills off of it. Popping two of them out, she swallowed them without needing anything to wash them down. It was disgusting. "What?" Shepard asked, smirking at Samantha.

"I will never understand how you do that. Its gross."

"You're just a wimp," Shepard taunted.

It was kind of true, but Kaidan and Vega weren't wimps, and they needed water to help swallow the pills Doctor Chakwas gave them. Shepard was the only one who didn't. And Samantha had seen Shepard swallow a lot of pills. Pain pills, vitamins, sleep aids, energy boosts, sometimes it seemed like the Commander ingested as many pills as she did food. Samantha had asked her if that was healthy one time, whether she was taking too many of the pills, and Shepard had assured her that Doctor Chakwas knew everything she took and approved. "I need them, Sam," Shepard said, seemingly reading her mind as always. "I told you before, Chakwas knows everything I take. I don't have the luxury of proper rest and recovery time, so I need these to stay strong enough to fight the Reapers."

"I know, Shepard. You made that clear before." Scooting on the bed so that she could place her feet on the ground, Samantha smiled nervously. Why was she always so damn nervous around this woman? "I wish you could just lay in bed and sleep and heal naturally, but I know better."

A lewd, toothy grin appeared on Shepard's face. "If you want to get me into bed, the war isn't stopping you."

Samantha managed to look angry, though she didn't actually feel angry. "If I didn't know that by now, I don't think I'd be smart enough to do my job." Shepard's grin did not leave her face as she closed the distance between them, swaying her hips. Samantha felt her mouth begin to open, and promptly snapped it shut. "I just know its not fair the way you have to push yourself to the absolute limits of human capabilities. Its not fair."

"The Reapers aren't programmed to be fair, babe," Shepard said, sitting down on the bed and propping herself up on her elbows. "They're evil robots, programmed to do nothing but destroy. This is what I have to do to keep going." Samantha nodded, knowing it was the truth. She began to speak, but was interrupted by Shepard's mouth closing over hers. Just like that, all rational thought was gone, and she was a hormonal teenager again. "Why exactly are we talking?" Shepard asked when they finally separated, both gasping for breath. "Isn't there something better we could be doing with our time?" Samantha nodded, her urges too overwhelming to do or say anything else, and Shepard closed in on her again.

Samantha had never tried so hard to stay away from Jane. An hour had passed since she and the others returned from Thessia, and an oppressively somber mood had overtaken the entire ship, all stemming from their commander. Samantha only knew the basics. Cerberus had been waiting on Thessia, and Kai Leng had managed to steal the Prothean VI that would lead them to the Catalyst. He would be back at Cerberus HQ with the data, and their chances of beating the Reapers had never looked any worse. The only thing keeping any of them going was the data Samantha shared after the mission, of how she and EDI tracked Leng to Horizon. Otherwise, all might truly be lost to despair. Jane had jumped on the possibility immediately, ordering Joker to set course for Horizon immediately. That was nearly an hour ago. Since then, she had stayed in her cabin, not leaving once.

Chakwas was the one who finally convinced Samantha to go check on Jane, twenty minutes later. "She needs someone there to vent her frustration towards," Chakwas said, in the motherly tone she usually used when not in her office. "Let her yell, let her complain, let her get all the anger and disappointment she feels out, even if she misdirects towards you." Samantha hated the idea of having to bear the brunt of Jane Shepard screaming at her, but she went up to the cabin anyway. No one else would, and maybe Jane would open up to her. This was bigger than anything else they'd ever talked about, which made Samantha nervous, but it would also help Samantha find out if Jane was serious about her or not. She did not doubt the Commander's passion, but despite a genuine caring the two felt for each other, their relationship relied almost solely on that passion and want for each other. Now was as good a time as ever to find out how serious this was, she thought as the elevator drew closer.

Inside the cabin, Jane was on her computer, reading something intently. Samantha drew closer, reading the screen. It was info on Sanctuary, the refuge established on Horizon for those fleeing the Reapers. Despite her urge to chicken out, crack a joke, and give up on talking to the woman in front of her, Samantha cleared her throat, letting Jane know she was there. "Commander? Are you busy?"

"Kind of. Not really. Ugh, I really want to be, but I can't concentrate on a fucking thing." Jane pushed herself away from her desk, a sigh of frustration escaping her lips. "This is all so fucked up. I cannot believe this happened." Her fists balled, the muscles in her forearms tensing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Samantha asked. Sweat began to form on her brow.

"No," Jane answered, in the most direct tone she'd ever used with Samantha.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I just thought…"

"I don't. Want. To talk about it." Jane glared at the communications specialist, making her cower. "If you were sent up here to get me to talk, then you are wasting your time. I'll be fine, that's all you should care about."

Something about the way she said that triggered a defiance within Samantha, and she stepped forward resolutely. "I came up here to talk to you because I care about you. Not Commander Shepard, but Jane, the woman, the person I've grown to care about. If you think you're going to scare me off, then you are wrong."

Jane glared even harder, and stepped forward threateningly. Samantha did not back down. "So, what? You expect me to cry like a little girl and feel better afterwards?"

"No. I expect you to yell and punch the walls and get all of your anger out. I will stand here and take it all." And take it she did. Jane got months of frustration off her chest. She yelled about the Reapers, she yelled about the Alliance, she yelled about Cerberus and Kai Leng and the Council and the stupid little things people did that annoyed her. She punched the walls, she punched her pillows, she kicked her desk. Samantha listened to it all, and waited. She waited and waited for Jane to stop. When she finally did, and sat at the foot of her bed, Samantha joined her. "Feel better?" she asked.

Jane laughed, and threw herself back to lay on the bed. "Yes!" she said, laughing harder. "That felt SO good. I don't think I've ever just cut loose like that in my entire life." She sat up and kissed Samantha on the cheek. "Thank you."

Samantha's cheek immediately began to warm and tingle where Jane kissed her. "Um, I, you know, you're welcome."

"Oh, now you're nervous again?"

Samantha giggled. "Of course. You kissed me." The two women shared a smile. "Since you just got so much off your chest, I want to do the same. I want you to know that I have complete faith in you. I know you won't let us lose. I know you won't let those stupid giant robots beat us."

"Call me Yoshimi Shepard," Jane said.

"What?"

"Nothing. Believe me, Sam, no one understands what is at stake here better than I do. I don't care how many people believe in me or don't believe in me. I will win. It would be tragic if I didn't."

Samantha had never heard more comforting words in her life. "It most certainly would." Jane laughed, and Samantha looked over at her questioningly. "What?"

"Nothing. I guess you don't get it. Never mind."

Samantha shrugged, and leaned her head on Jane's shoulder. She was glad when Jane simply accepted it, putting an arm around her shoulders and leaning her head on top of Samantha's. The two said nothing, watching the fish in the tank on the wall, for a moment forgetting it all.

I'm willing to expand on this, if anyone likes it. Read and review, I'm open to whatever criticism you have.