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The Forest Waker
Chapter 1: Troubled Sleep
Jane chewed her lower lip, relishing the taste of whatever was left of her margarita. Twenty-first century humans sure knew how to have a good time she surmised as her face flushed with the rise of alcohol. She turned to the dim neon lights of the club and awed at the colors, quite thoroughly intoxicated.
"Shepard?" Kaiden questioned, his eyes on his commanding officer. Jane glanced briefly to her Lieutenant and scoffed. Her dark hair was now framed wildly around her face and she was certain her mascara had smeared during her battle on the Citadel.
"Can I help you, Alenko?" She asked, almost mockingly. The sound of the music was now a muffled shrill in the background; the thudding of the song echoing the beating of her own heart. She felt the reverberations throughout her chest cavity and smiled under the blue and red club lights, her face momentarily lit up by a strobe.
"Captain." He said coolly and his tone did not pass by undetected. She assumed he was attempting to keep his distance now that they were under scrutiny with the galaxy watching their next step. Jane's smile was gone, instead replaced by a raised eyebrow. "I see you already started celebrating." He noted pointedly looking toward her finished glasses and the new one being poured. Jane now suddenly wished her head wasn't swimming in a sea of thoughts troubled by a storm of shots and downed beverages. The heat in the room seemed to be rising as well, or it could have been the proximity to Kaiden. Who really knew?
"Ah well, I thought I'd give it a go, it' been a while since I last had a drink." She said leaning back, and it was true. Jane couldn't recall when she last did anything against regulations. "We're going to be jumping into another war, I figured I might not be so lucky next time."
"Well then." Kaidan said smiling. He had a shot poured and held it up, the liquid smooth and golden under the muted light. "To Ash." He said and Jane gave a sad sloppy smile.
"To Ash." She added and their glasses clanked. There was a moment of silence as they reflected but soon enough Jane's thoughts returned to Kaidan and she felt a flicker of something light twisting in her belly. The sensation wasn't unfamiliar but she had been keeping it at bay during the entire mission. Sovereign was defeated and now with her mind clear she couldn't help but admire her Lieutenants profile. "Why are you really here?" Jane asked, her voice shaky. Their conversations had briefly crossed over to flirtation the last few days on the ship but the sense of unease returned with the end of their mission.
"I…" Kaidan faltered, what could he possibly say to her? His eyes briefly scanned Jane's face, the scar on her lip sending a flare of longing through his loin. It wasn't the first time he thought about letting his lips caress her open mouth, to kiss from that scar up to her eye lid and run his hands through her dark untamed hair. But regulations were regulations. "I came to see where our orders were taking us to next."
"Ah. Well the Reapers are still out there. Once the Council reconvenes we'll need to find out whatever we can about them and hopefully a source to their location in Dark Space. More than that though we don't have a weapon against them. Sovereign nearly wiped out an entire fleet, and it was just one Reaper."
"Is that all?" Kaidan joked. Jane smiled weakly.
"And now you see why I'm drinking." She laughed. Kaiden let a smile grace his lips and Jane felt the jolt sing through her body.
"I should go." She said placing her glass down. "Tomorrow we'll most likely be back to saving the galaxy and I might have a hangover." She said slumping to her feet. She left him at the bar, her heart thudding. Taking the transit back to her room at C-Sec, she passed out, dreams of black space enveloping her mind. The night provided no solace, just a long troubled nightmares of dark oblivion.
---
"Commander?" The hazy voice crackled. Jane pulled the blanket from over the com station on her night stand and pressed the reply button, her head heavy and throbbing as she suspected it would after a night of heavy drinking.
"Yes?" She grumbled standing up.
"Your audience is requested in the embassy. The new Council would like to address the reaper situation. Anderson is waiting for you."
"Right." She said before jumping into the shower and quickly rinsing off the sweat and grime of an intergalactic battle off her skin. She dried off and put on her fatigues, not bothering with the hard suit today. Hopefully there weren't any remaining geth trolling about the complex. She didn't feel bad at all about making them wait, they certainly weren't going any where or doing anything without her and she earned the privilege after saving their asses.
Jane made her way to the embassy, now the temporary Council quarters after the Reaper attack on the Citadel Tower. She strolled in, a smirk on her face. This was most definitely going to be an interesting morning.
"Nice of you to finally join us Shepard." Anderson threw at Jane. Her smirk rising up to mock the Council, their scowls on display for her viewing pleasure.
"Long night." She offered sitting at the conference table. She poured herself a glass of water and looked over to the Asari woman, her arms crossed uneasily in front of her chest.
"Well it's about to be a long month for you. We pulled what we could out of our data banks. You're being sent to the Richter system. It's the closest cluster of planetary bodies before Dark Space, we believe one served as a platform for the Prothean ships based on Liara's findings. We are hoping that you can recover something about the Reapers and their technology and relay the information back to us. It's not the strongest lead but it's a starting point. The Protheans are our only real connection to the reapers now."
"I see." Was all Shepard said. "Liara will be accompanying me I presume."
"That is right as well as anyone else you deem necessary to the mission. We are willing to let you keep your crew." The Asari woman nodded, her fingers now lacing together. Jane idly glanced past her to the synthetic morning outside.
"Understood."
"You may take a leave of two days while we prepare for your departure. I'm sure you've earned it."
"This is another step in the right direction Shepard. I know you probably had a break from fighting in mind but we need to hurry the process forward if we want to be prepared for the return of the Reapers." Anderson added. Jane gave him a troubling look but followed it with a grim smile.
"I completely understand. I'm not worried, the threat is out there that much is perfectly clear now. I'm just… wondering what I'm going to do with myself for two days without a gun in my hand." She laughed. The council exchanged knowing looks-- they apparently were thinking the very same thing.
"Rest. We'll send you the files tonight. This meeting is adjourned." The Asari said curtly before standing up and leaving with the rest of the council. Jane sat there, numb from the announcement. The only thing running through her mind was an emptiness that stretched into the equally empty room. The silence was cloying and she felt the first wave of exhaustion hit her since the battle against the reapers.
Another mission, why she really that surprised? No… Rather it was the news that she would keep her crew, keep her contact with her crew mates. To that end, she was pleasantly pleased.
She stood up and slowly exited the room, somehow making her way back to C-Sec and into her bed. Jane sat in the darkness, not quite sure what to do or where to go. Her mother would probably want to see her but her thoughts barely lingered on home. With two days to relax she didn't want to muddle with traveling. Rather, she didn't want to bother with traveling home.
"Shepard… Are you in there?" The knock at her door brought her from her trance. Startled, she stood up and opened it, her Lieutenant standing with a smile on his lips. She stepped aside and allowed him entry into her room and shared in his excitement although for what she wasn't sure. It was odd how he brought a smile to her lips. "Two days of rest and relaxation. Maybe we should take the crew out."
"You're right. Tonight would be a good night to celebrate together." She said walking to her desk to put some distance between her and Kaiden. It seemed as if the heat had suddenly risen in the 10 seconds that he was standing in her quarters. Kaiden smiled at her, his eyes lowering momentarily but he caught himself.
"I wanted to know if you would accompany me to…"
"To what?" Jane interjected, watching him squirm slightly.
"To breakfast."
"Breakfast?"
"You know… To eat."
"Ah… Yes… I would like to do that." She said as her stomach growled. He smiled knowing that she could not escape that excuse. Jane returned his grin and exited the room, making her way to a restaurant. It crossed her mind that she could remember exactly when was the last time she ate.
*
AN - Welp… I don't know what to say. I just loved Kaiden and I had to do something… I just wanted to write this as if they didn't get a chance to get busy on the Normandy though. This way I actually have a little bit more to right about. :P