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'Jennifer,' she thought. Turned it over in her mind. 'Jennifer.'

In the entire mess, it had been easy to hide how shaken she was. That was the shelter of a fight. You couldn't obsess about things when you were busy trying to survive. For a moment she'd even forgotten the comment. During the shuttle ride she'd been relieved, elated, her kids were fine, were going to be fine, not fighting on the frontline. Well, relatively fine, considering that there still was a war on that threatened the entire galaxy.

But once they'd gotten to the Citadel, she'd remembered.

"Your real first name is Jennifer. I can find out your last name if you ask nicely."

She hadn't been able to process the words at all for a moment. Then she realised who the asari had to be. She'd never met her in person, but some news of the attack on the Shadow Broker base had reached even her hidey hole down below engineering.

Maybe she was just messing with her mind. After all, she'd just hit the commander, and she and the asari had been an issue. Were still an issue, Jack had noticed by the time she'd gotten off the shuttle. So maybe that was her way of giving Jack a hard time.

And what did it matter?

She was Jack.

What kind of name was Jennifer, anyway?

"Jack?"

She sat up with a start.

"Were you sleeping? You missed dinner."

She relaxed, looked at Kahlee's dark silhouette against the brightness of the corridor beyond her little room. She rubbed her face, felt crankier than usual.

"I wasn't hungry."

"Jack, that was a major fight, you need to eat."

"I'm not one of the students, Kahlee, don't give me that sh... stuff."

There was this thing about Kahlee. At first Jack had thought her to be a bland, perfectly harmless person. Then she'd realised that beneath the indulgent smile there was an edge. Not razor sharp, but there was someone who knew what it was like to have to fight. Tired of it, too.

And she seemed to have decided to make it her mission to get all up in Jack's business all the time.

"Alright, Jack, what's eating you?"

And she never let go. It was really easier to tell her, just to get her off her back.

"The asari who was with Shepard?"

"Dr T'Soni. What about her?"

Jack bit her lip.

"She told me my real name was... that she knew my real first name. And could find out my last name. If I asked nicely."

"And you didn't ask nicely?"

"There was no time for chit chat! And I'd just punched her girlfriend, she was probably just messing with me."

"I don't know much about her, but she used to be an information broker on Illium. Quite successful, from what I've heard."

"So you think it was the truth?"

"There's the possibility." Kahlee frowned. "You and Commander Shepard did get along fairly well, why don't you just ask her about it? I'm sure I can come up with her contact information. She may even still be on the Citadel."

"Hello, Shepard."

Liara smiled and closed her eyes as gentle fingertips stroked her neck.

"Do you have a moment?"

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

"I met Jack in Purgatory."

"I've heard about that. I thought you'd given up on dancing."

Shepard pouted.

"Why is nothing I say ever news to you?"

"Because I'm..."
"...a very good information broker. I know."

Liara gave her an amused look.

"You have a bit of a soft spot for her, don't you?"

"Do you have bugs in my mind now?"

"No, but somebody punches you, you usually don't just look awkward and apologise to them."

"She did have a point about Cerberus."

Liara gave her that look.

"Alright. A little smitten. I'd never have done anything, I was waiting for you to come around."

"She wants to know her name?"

Shepard nodded.

"Seems you've gotten into her mind, too."

"I didn't mean to be mean to her. Although I didn't like her hitting you. But I actually feel really sorry for her. That's why I went digging for the information in the first place."

"You already have her name, don't you?"

"Give me her contact information. It's her decision to share it with anyone else."

Shepard kissed her cheek.

"Thank you."

It was enough to know. But she was not that girl anymore. She couldn't even remember her. It was one thing to get over her past, quite another to treat it as if it had never happened.

She was Jack now. She had a present, with luck she might even have a future. But in it, she would always be Jack. And she was alright with that.