Shepard, Joker, Alyssa, and Thane sat in a booth in the corner of Omega. A few of their fellow crewmen were on the dance floor, dancing away the terror and fear they encountered on their previous mission.
"There goes Kelly again, trying to get close to Garrus," Joker said, taking a swig of his drink.
"She won't swoon him. He will just think.." Shepard put up her fingers, making air quotes.
"Us female humans have weird behaviors." Alyssa chuckled, drinking her non-alcoholic water. She rested her hand on her stomach, feeling the subtle bump that was now forming. Joker put his arm around her, bringing her close. She tucked away under Joker's neck, and caught a whiff of the alcohol he was drinking, and instantly became nauseous.
"Sorry to break up the party, but I'm going back to the ship. I'm not feeling so well." Alyssa excused herself and hurried her way to the Normandy. Joker followed closely behind, hobbling as fast as his legs could take him.
Shepard laughed at the pilot hobbling away.
"What do you find so humorous, Siha?" Thane asked, eyeing the Commander.
"Joker just looked really funny trying to catch up with her. I shouldn't be laughing at him, but I've never seen him hobble to fast before!" Shepard keeled over, holding her sides as she laughed out loud.
"Siha, I think you had too much to drink. We should return to the ship, as well."
Joker walked into the bathroom just as Alyssa was getting ready to vomit into the toilet.
"Holdmyhair," Alyssa quickly said before letting out into the toilet. Joker picked up her hair and brought it away from her face. It had gotten quite long since she came on the Normandy. It was so soft, and a very natural brown.
Blleehh!
Alyssa was sweating everywhere, beads of sweat rolling down the back of her neck. Joker could see she was falling weak, and kneeled down to support her weight as best as he could. After one last huff, she leaned back onto Joker, breathing heavily.
"Sorry. I smelled the alcohol in your breath and I felt like hurling," she said, her voice raspy. Joker immediately threw his head up, so his breath would not go towards her.
"Man, this pregnancy got you all tweaked out. What's next? Are you going to have to wear sunglasses in the cock pit?"
"Haha-Ow.. don't make me laugh right now." Alyssa hoisted herself up and leaned up against the steel wall.
"Uh, you got some, uh," Joker shyly pointed at little chunks that were still clinging onto the side of her mouth. She wiped them away and flung them somewhere, never to be seen again.
"I still feel really flushed. I hate this part of the pregnancy." Alyssa sighed as she went to the sink to rinse her face. Joker left and brought back her toothbrush and some toothpaste, thinking she'll want to get that awful taste out of her mouth right away. She gladly took it, and he walked out to give her some privacy.
He strode into the elevator and hit the button for the CIC. When the doors swished open, Shepard was there, and she didn't look too happy.
"Is Thane throwing up too?"
"I got a transmission from Admiral Hackett. Something about a special mission. I'll let you know once I'm done talking to him." Shepard entered the elevator and rode it up to her cabin. Joker made his way to the cockpit, sitting in the cold chair.
"EDI, what's the status of Alyssa?"
"She is currently on the crew deck, in her quarters."
Joker brought up the camera to see her laying down on the bed, trying to get some rest. Her back was probably killing her, explaining the sour look on her face while she tried to lay down straight. He felt so bad for her; he feels a little hopeless when he tries to help her out.
He spun in his chair, knowing Shepard would call him soon. He wondered what could have been so important that Hackett himself had to call on Shepard. He took off his cap and fiddled with it, when Shepard's voice came booming over the comm.
"Joker. Get the Normandy ready for departure, and set a course for Aratoht."
"Any particular reason we're heading there?"
"We're on a rescue mission. Looking for someone named Dr. Kenson. She's a good friend of Admiral Hackett."
Joker got the ship ready as the Normandy crew slowly made their way back onto the ship. Once everyone was on board, the Normandy left Omega and proceeded onto their mission for Dr. Kenson.
"Is it supposed to hurt this much, doc?" Alyssa asked, leaning against the medical bed. Chakwas stood from her chair and walked over to the pregnant woman. She scanned her body with a handheld device.
"Your back is taking a lot of stress, which explains the pain you're feeling. You're just going to have to keep up with your stretching, but we have to cut back on your treatment. I don't want anything necessary going into that baby." Chakwas typed something into her datapad and handed over a smaller dose of ointment to Alyssa.
"I'm bringing you down to two ointment treatments per week. I'd like you to keep up with your daily stretches, and I'll keep a close eye on the baby's progress."
"Thanks, for your help." Alyssa walked out, a bit hunched over from the pain. She slowly made her way up to the cockpit, joining Joker as he navigated through the relays. He looked over and smiled, relieved to see she looked much better from when they first stepped onto the ship.
"Feeling better?" he asked, looking over to her.
"Doctor Chakwas said that I have to keep stretching every day, but I can only use the ointment twice a week. She's scared the medicine might go to the baby." Alyssa rubbed her back as she walked to the co-pilot seat and sat down.
"Where are we going?" She asked, looking at Joker's console.
"Aratoht. We're rescuing some doctor," Joker said, placing the coordinates to head to the planet.
"EDI, take the helm. I'll be back in a few hours."
"As you wish, Jeff."
Joker got up and motioned Alyssa to follow him. They took the elevator downstairs and went into their cabin. He told her to start to doing her stretches while he administered the first treatment for the week. It was a little harder for her to stretch, considering she had another person attached to her belly now. Joker gave her a massage to relax her, which helped tremendously. They ended up falling asleep together, both their hands on Alyssa's growing stomach.
"Joker! Joker! Wake up!"
Joker opened his eyes to see the turian hovering over his body.
"What do you want?"
"Shepard is insisting that she goes alone onto Aratoht. She won't listen to us. You need to convince her that she needs us to help her." Joker slowly got up and rubbed his eyes.
"Why do I need to convince her? It's not like I can go out there and shoot a gun with her."
"It's just not like her to go out on her own, you know? And Thane is worried, too. He can't get through to her." Joker sighed.
"Alright, I'll – hey! Where's Alyssa?" Joker frantically looked around for her.
"She's on shift in the main battery. I was working with her when I got the call from Thane. If she's not there then she's probably up in the cockpit." Garrus' mandibles flapped.
"She's one tough woman, Joker. I've never seen a woman work like that with a baby on the way."
The two men walked out and over to the main battery. Alyssa wasn't there. Joker waved to the turian as he made his way upstairs to the CIC. He asked EDI to have Shepard meet him in the debriefing room. Shepard walked in a few minutes later. Joker was leaning against the table, with his arms crossed over his chest.
"So what's this you going lone ranger on this mission?" Shepard sighed.
"Let me guess. Garrus or Thane put you up to this." Joker nodded.
"Thane said he couldn't convince you, so he went to Garrus, and he woke me up from my beauty sleep."
"No offence, but you'd have to hibernate if you want beauty." Joker put up his hands in defense.
"Watch the pride, Shep! Some girls dig the stubble."
"The only girl you should be worrying about is the one flying this ship. Don't worry about me going on my own. I'm doing a favor for Hackett, and he requested I go it alone. I told him I would do it."
"Fine. I'll be keeping my eye on you the whole time you're groundside, though. The moment it looks like you're in trouble, Garrus and Thane are coming in after you."
"Sounds like a plan." Shepard and Joker shook hands as they walked out of the room together. Shepard went towards the Armory to pick up her weapons, and Joker walked off towards the cockpit.
He sneaked up next to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. She giggled, surprised at the greeting. She turned to give him a hug.
"When did you wake up?"
"A couple of hours ago. EDI told me we were getting close, and when I went outside Garrus needed my help." Joker sat on the metal beam next to Alyssa, watching her hands fly all over the console.
"Commander, we are nearing your DZ. ETA two minutes."
"Thanks, Alyssa. In the cargo bay and ready to drop."
"Sounds good. Happy hunting."