A/N: Thought of this while taking a shower, and started getting it down right when I got out. Seriously. I am preeeetty naked right now.

Gross

Sitting down upon the floor of the shower and feeling the warmth coax her muscles into relaxation could only be described as the feeling of coming home. It would be a lie if she had said she had not been nervous at first. A lot of time had passed, and Miranda knew more than anyone that that changed people. More often than not for the worse, in her vast experience.

Not a thing had changed however. She had entered the cabin only to be greeted by the sound of a space hamster running excitedly along his wheel with determination, and had smirked at the sight of the models filling the glass cases along Shepard's desk. Now, she leaned back against the woman's chest, content in the knowledge that it was undoubtedly the same Shepard she had fallen for all those months ago that sat behind her.

Miranda made no effort to keep the amusement out of her voice as she spoke. "I can't believe you're wearing your underwear in here."

She felt Shepard shrug nonchalantly before wrapping her arms around Miranda's waist lightly, careful to avoid her freshly patched up wounds. They had placed a now damp washcloth over her stitches to protect them from the spray of the nozzle as their medic had suggested, and were forced to sit on the ground as Miranda was unable to stand for long periods of time at the moment.

"Chakwas said this shower was purely for medical and recuperative purposes," Shepard defended herself easily. "I'm just doing my part to ensure you remain distraction free."

Miranda scoffed, "Thank you, you are so alluring I would have been unable to control myself otherwise."

Shepard nodded sagely, "Yes, I have been informed I have that affect on people."

"It's a wonder anybody can get anything done around here with you on board," Miranda sighed wistfully as she stretched her arms out into the spray of the warm water with satisfaction.

"It is a curse," Shepard lamented sadly, "but one I bare with courage." Miranda laughed and Shepard's arms pulled around her a bit more tightly in response.

"You're so much smaller now," Shepard couldn't help but whisper as she let her fingers trail along the woman's now quite prominent rib cage.

Miranda shivered at the contact, despite the warm water that fell around them. She hated the sorrow in Shepard's voice, and wanted to get away from the topic as soon as possible. "Well," she teased lightly, "end this war and you can claim the personal privilege of fattening me back up."

Shepard gripped her tightly and buried her face in the woman's neck, "I'm really glad you didn't get yourself all sliced up, you idiot."

With a smile, Miranda placed her hand over Shepard's, "It's over with now, Shepard. What we really should be focusing on is you."

"Me?" Shepard pulled back a bit, sounding nervous.

"I've been hearing things since I've been back," Miranda continued.

"Things that make you even more attracted to me?" Shepard guessed hopefully.

"No," Miranda replied sternly, "things that make me concerned. People have been mentioning nightmares and the fact that your stress levels are bordering on becoming debilitating." When Shepard didn't respond she continued, "I know that it is all gossip, however. Of course if anything like that was going on at all you would have discussed it with me earlier and I would not have to find out secondhand from some grunt on deck two."

Shepard flinched at her accusing tone, knowing there was very little she could say to get out of this conversational topic. Slowly, she tried to figure out the best approach. She didn't want to waste her time with Miranda talking about how scared she was and how little sleep she was getting. Shepard wanted to laugh with her again, to bask in the calming familiarity that the woman's proximity brought.

In the end, Shepard decided to go with the truth, "it's fine now. I just needed to get you back."

Miranda sighed in defeat, "Fine. But I'm not dropping it forever." It wasn't a true victory for Shepard; Miranda would certainly be broaching the issue at a later date. She understood the sentiment however. For once, things were relatively quiet. With Miranda's help Shepard had been able to track Kai Leng down and put an end to him for good. The Illusive Man was still out there somewhere, but his influence had been severely crippled. Oriana was safe, somewhere downstairs exploring the Normandy with wide eyes. And most importantly, they had found their way back to one another once more. It wasn't the time for discussing their troubles; it was a time for happiness.

Shepard chuckled in delight, "I never assumed you would, Miss Lawson."

Shaking her head in reluctant amusement, Miranda stretched forward to reach for the shampoo bottle that rested on the ground near them. Shepard sat back and watched contentedly as Miranda worked the product through her hair. Grudgingly, Miranda accepted that Chakwas had been right in ordering the shower; she was more than a little disheveled after her weeks on the run and eventual skirmish with Leng. There were days worth of tangles and snarls to work through, and eventually Shepard took the initiative to assist her, comb in hand.

While they worked, Miranda caught sight of another bottle and bit back a laugh. "Love and Peace: Sweet Body Lotion," she read aloud with a grin as she took in the pink gel. "Shepard, you've changed."

"Hmm?" Shepard peered over her shoulder, confused. "Oh, that must be Traynor's."

"Traynor's?" Miranda asked with a raised eyebrow, though Shepard couldn't see it.

"Yup," Shepard responded smoothly. "Sometimes she needs to take a shower in here after our wild sexual encounters."

Miranda jabbed her elbow back lightly, catching Shepard in the arm. "Don't be such an ass."

Shepard grinned and leaned forward to kiss her shoulder lightly before she resumed her work. After awhile Miranda stopped putting any effort whatsoever into their task and merely silently enjoyed the sensation of the water coupled with Shepard's attention. She still was rather exhausted from her brush with death, and as time wore on she felt her eyes begin to droop sleepily.

It was Shepard's voice that startled her back into full awareness once more. "So," Shepard drawled in as disinterested a tone as she could possibly manage while letting the comb fall to the floor, "when Chakwas said no sex, did she mean like one hundred percent no sex? Or like just a little bit of no sex?"

Miranda laughed as she felt Shepard's arms once again snaking around her middle. "I think she meant no sex, Shepard. Although I admit I would be curious as to what a 'little bit of no sex' entails."

"You know," Shepard pressed as she let her hands begin to wander teasingly over all the curves and dips that made up Miranda, "just a little bit."

Gasping as she was at the roving touch she had not felt in so long made it quite hard for Miranda to argue with her former commander. "I don't think the good doctor would approve, I'm afraid," she managed to squeak out in a rather uncharacteristically flustered voice after a moment.

"Ah," Shepard sighed sadly as her hands halted their persistent exploration. "What a pity."

They were silent for a moment and Miranda found herself shifting in discomfort along the shower floor. She hated always being sensible and following the rules all of the time. Especially when Shepard left her all bothered like this. She really tried hard to resist. Honestly, she did. But in the end, as it always did with Shepard, Miranda's better judgment fell by the wayside.

"You know," she said slyly, "I was designed to be superior to most people in nearly every aspect."

"Meaning?" Shepard questioned with interest.

"Meaning I bet I could handle more than the average woman with my injuries."

Shepard chuckled, "That sounds like a theory I'd be willing to test."

As it turned out, despite Miranda's superior healing capabilities, the doctor's assessment in her inability to perform any acts of an intimate nature without incident had proven to be more than accurate. Chakwas was far from amused when EDI woke her up in the early hours of the morning and she had to return to working on Miranda, practically stitching the woman back up from scratch. No, she thought as she set about her task while trying to ignore Shepard's satisfied grin, she wasn't amused in the slightest.