"Oh, Shepard. It's so good to finally see you."

Josh Shepard smiled, happy to see another familiar face. Particularly the beautiful one of the girl he loved... Miranda Lawson. The impossibly sexy former Cerberus operative, the girl that he had worked so hard to gain the trust and affection of. And all that hard work had paid off in tenfold.

"You too, Miranda," he said awkwardly. He had wanted to grab her and kiss her right there, but for fear of how many stares they would attract, and the fact that he had no idea where they stood after all of this time, he restrained himself. He saw her give him a puzzled look, and a raised eyebrow, but the conversation continued.

"Come." They began walking. "I couldn't get anywhere near you when the Alliance had you locked up."

"I was relieved of duty." She gave him another puzzled look. "... It's complicated."

"Oh, I'm sure it was. I'm surprised they didn't court-martial you. The Alliance isn't really known for its flexibility."

"Well, it doesn't matter now."

"Shepard- About Earth..."

"Countless people lost their lives within minutes. Minutes. The Reapers are everything we could've feared." Shepard escaped her outreached hand, as much as he yearned for her touch. Just thinking about what he had witnessed... It hurt him, deeply. They say when you're fighting a war, you just brush it off and move on. But Shepard couldn't move on, knowing that if he didn't actively do something about this situation, the entire galaxy would die. Trillions of lives. He couldn't just act like those people on the Citadel, carelessly living their everyday lives, acting as if the future of them, their children, and any descendants was riding on what was going on right then. When he enlisted to the Alliance, he never signed up for this. Heck, he was just a scraggly 18 year old kid trying to avoid jailtime.

"I'm sorry, Shepard. I truly am." Ms. Lawson came closer.

But Shepard did his best to keep his calm and carry on. This woman was one of the strongest things holding him together.

"Well, what about you?" he said, "What brings you here?"

"I needed to talk to a few people. Like you. Come." They continued walking. "The Citadel seemed like the best place to meet, for now. What's the Alliance's next move?"

"Well, we have a plan. It's a long-shot."

"When is it never?" she chuckled. "Shepard.. am I still part of your plan?" Miranda looked down at the ground, worried about what his answer would be. She knew, from her various sources, that his old flame Ashley had entered his life again. She was scared of them rekindling their relationship, even though she had been present when Ashley broke his heart on Horizon. It was the first time she had ever seen Shepard look even remotely like he was about to cry. It showed her that he was more than the ruthless, do-whatever's-necessary commander that his dossier stated him to be. "It's been so long that I had no idea of where we stood."

"Miranda," he took her hands into his, and she smiled, "you know that things will never be easy for us." She slightly frowned, hoping that her fears weren't coming true. "But, I know that I will always want you in my life."

"No second thoughts?" She smiled coyly, "this is your only chance to back out. Once you're mine, love, you're mine forever."

"No second thoughts whatsoever, baby."

She whispered in his ear, "I just want you to know.. I love you. Please do what you can so that we can keep this relationship going."

"I will do whatever's in my power."

"It was hard to be away from you. Surprised myself how.. attached I got. I'm not good at attached."

"Well, just stay close from now on. Alright?" He saw her smile falter, and he could tell something was wrong even before she turned away and sighed in exasperation.

"I wish I could. I really do. But there's something I need to deal with."

"What is it, babe?" Shepard tried to get closer in order to comfort her, but she walked away from his embrace.

"I haven't heard from my sister Oriana in a while. I'm getting worried."

"Your sister? Do you think she's alright?"

"I don't know. I really don't want to overreact, but.. well, there's a lot going on." A tear started to come to Miranda's eyes, she always got emotional when she thought her sister was in trouble.

"But I thought we made sure she got to someplace safe?"

"We did. It's probably nothing, but.. I just know my father is involved." Her emotion then changed to anger, as it always did when she thought of her overbearing, borderline-abusive father. The one that had tried to control her her entire life, and had cost her her dearest friend.

"What happened?" Shepard went to comfort her again when he saw her begin to seethe in anger.

"I don't know. Every measure I had in place to make sure that she was safe went dark."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

She smiled. "I knew you'd want to help, and I'm grateful, but you have your hands full. Don't worry. If I need a door or two kicked down, I know just who to call. But for now.. I'll be fine."

"Okay, Miranda. I understand. This is something you need to handle yourself."

"Right, I just have to figure this out." She shuffled a bit, wringing her hands as he noticed she always did when she got nervous. She had become so predictable to him, a woman he had initially been attracted to for her unpredictability. But, as he had gotten to know her, he fell in love with her all the same.

"Don't-" he grabbed her hands to stifle the repetitive movement they were making, "Worry, Miranda. You'll figure it out."

She smiled up at him, then placed a kiss on his lips. They stood there for a moment, radiating in the relief they felt in finally being in contact with each other, the other still wanting them. For just a moment, Shepard felt like the galaxy wasn't in danger of being destroyed. But that moment swiftly ended.

"Well, I have to get back to it. Bye, Miranda. I hope we can speak again, soon."

"Likewise, Shepard." She began to depart, but he firmly grabbed her arm and looked her in the eyes. She could see the seriousness in his stare.

"And be careful."

"No promises." He released his grip, and she brushed past him as she left, touching a very particular place just to get a rise out of him as she departed. Literally. She winked at him when she looked back, hinting at what their next meeting would entail.

That's when he had just about the most cliched thought in the galaxy.

That woman. I hate to see her go, but I just love to watch her leave.

/

He activated the com feed at the Spectre terminal, anticipating the person on the other line.

"Shepard, thank God you're alright."

"I'm fine, Miranda." He looked at her, starting to look at her a little worriedly in turn. Where was she? Is she safe?

"I really wanted to meet you in person, but I-"

"It's better this way. Babe, the Citadel's a mess."

"It definitely sounds like it. I've heard about the attempted coup."

"Yeah, with Kai Leng's help, Udina nearly seized control. I never trusted that man..."

"Wait, Kai Leng? That slippery bastard is still alive?!" He could see the anger starting to rise a bit. He wished he was there to physically calm her.

"Yes, he's alive. And right in the middle of all this."

"Well, that complicates things. A lot. I'll be on my guard. And look, I don't have much time, but I learned what happened to my sister."

"Where is she?"

"I.. I don't know that yet." She looked down in shame and worried, but brought her head up. "But I definitely know now that my father had something to do with it. If that bastard's done anything to her.. I'll kill him."

"Miranda.." he said in a calming voice, trying to reason with her. He could understand Miranda's anger at her father, with all of the shit that he has done to her. But to kill him? He could never imagine killing his own father. But that's probably because he had grown up his entire life without knowing his. Really, Captain Anderson was the only father figure that he had ever had, and he definitely couldn't even consider doing something to that man.

"No, Shepard, listen to me. I'm being hunted by Cerberus assassins. A lot of them. I need to stay out of sight."

"What? Why?"

"I heard a rumor.. maybe more, that my father is working on something for the Illusive Man. Something big."

"But wait, I don't understand. Why would your father be working with the Illusive Man? Especially now."

"My 'father', if I can even call him that," that statement earned an eyeroll from Shepard, "is ruthless about preserving his so-called legacy."

"Legacy?"

"Basically, he has an obsession with making his mark in history. Ensuring his dynasty will last forever."

"And you believe that the Illusive Man made him an offer?" Shepard raised an eyebrow.

Miranda sighed, "Yes, Shepard, exactly."

"Well, I suppose that whatever's going on with your father can't be good. So, we have to figure this out."

"I agree, but.. like we've already established, I need to do this myself. It's time that I stopped running from him."

"Are you sure, love?"

"Yes. I.. -ugh- I can't even think straight until I know that Ori is safe."

"Calm down, Miri. You'll find her. I know you will, I have faith in you."

"Okay." She looked down, avoiding his gaze. "Look, I better get going."

"Be careful."

"I- I can't promise that, Josh. Could you?"

"No. You know I couldn't."

"Goodbye."

/

Meet me. Apartment 903 in the Commons.

"Miranda, I got your message. I wasn't quite sure if I was walking into a trap or not. Is this about your sister?"

"Josh, I need access to Alliance resources. I can't say any more, you'll just have to trust me."

"Sweetie, I do trust you. But trust works both ways. Why don't you trust me enough to tell me what's going on?" He asked, immediately worried. He had constantly wished and prayed to every god in the galaxy that she was alright, so they finally meet and she drops this on him?

"Josh, just listen. You don't need to know. At least not right now. I can handle this. I just need access."

"Miranda, you listen. You know that I don't like secrets, especially when they're held by my girlfriend, alright? I can't just release Alliance resources when I don't know what they're going to be used for. Do you want me to risk my credibility? My career? Especially in this time when I need all of the support that I can get?" His voice started to climb, to yelling levels. He didn't want to start an argument, but she had enacted it by acting so suspicious about this whole thing.

"And this is a time where I need all the support I can get, Shepard. And I thought that you were the only person I could get this from. Listen, if it's a problem, then I can just go. I just thought that you loved me more than that." That's when the tears started to fall. Josh hated that, he hated seeing Miranda so vulnerable. If that woman broke, then the entire world could break. And he hated that. As much as he knew that she was probably using this to manipulate him (as part of Miranda's nature, and female nature as a whole) he gave in.

"Don't- Don't leave. I need your support, too, it's just.. hard, y'know? Trust is a little hard to come by these days. I didn't mean to start a fight, babe, I'm sorry." He embraced her tightly, wiping her tears, basking in her warmth. As much as he liked to say that she was his moon, moonlight is still sunlight. Just a darker interpretation of that warmth.

"I'm sorry, too. It's my fault.. I just can't tell you."

"Well, you'll get your access, Miranda. Just know that I really don't like the sound of this."

"I know. And thank you.." She released herself from his embrace, scooting to the farther end of the bed. "It means a lot."

Shepard felt slightly rejected. He wondered why she was being so distant, and he realized that it must've meant that she had something else on her mind. "This wasn't the only thing you wanted to speak about, was it?"

"No, actually. I need to be honest about something, something I should've gotten off my chest a long time ago. When this thing between us first started. It's been practically eating away at me, and I don't want to get even closer to you without you knowing."

This made him worried. He hypothesized if it was a confession about cheating or something. He had had a couple of run-ins with Ash, but she started to back off after he made it clear to her that he was taken and didn't have feelings for her anymore. That second part was a lie, but he knew that he would be much happier with Miranda in the long run, and that Ashley had rejected him once.

He'd also gotten a few advances from Liara, but after he told her that she was the bestest friend he had ever had, and tried to fix her up with Samantha Traynor, her interest in him ceased and they went back to a purely platonic relationship. She had even found her own little slice of happiness with the pleasantly geeky Ms. Traynor, even if she wasn't the most attentive person in the relationship.

"What is it, Miri?"

"When I headed the Lazarus project, to rebuild you, I wanted to implant a control chip in you as a safeguard."

"Haven't you mentioned this before?"

"I did. But there's a little more to it. The Illusive Man was the one who stopped me."

"Really? It seems like it would've saved him a lot of trouble in the long run."

"Maybe, but he didn't want to interfere with who you truly were. He didn't want something that just obeyed orders, he wanted Commander Shepard. Installing that chip might've ruined you."

"Miranda, I understand why you would've wanted to. I was a complete unknown-"

"I've never had to deal with that many black boxes on a project. I felt blind."

"Well, why bring all this up now?"

"Because.. I've fought against my father and his need to control every aspect of my life my entire life. He wanted complete control over me, right down to my bloody DNA. And after I got out of there, I couldn't stand by and just let it happen to my sister. I risked my life to get her away from all of that. And yet.. I didn't give a second thought to destroying your free will when I held the power," she said in a grim voice.

"So this is what's been bothering you?" Josh asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't want to seem insensitive, but sometimes he never understood the things Miranda would get upset about. This was ages ago. Before they even really knew each other. And she was just focusing on what would help make her project a success. It never happened, so why let something like that eat you up? Slap it under the table, and move on with your life. Good God.

"I told you, it's crazy."

"It's not crazy. Well.." he grinned, "maybe a little crazy."

"Shepard," she said through gritted teeth, she hated being mocked.

"It's crazy that you would get so hung up over something as petty as that. Listen, love, I lost two years of my life. And it was you who gave me back the rest of it. And a reason to live it."

"Thank you, but, with so many things being uncertain.. I wanted you to know that I always regretted wanting that chip. I could've changed you, prevented you from being the man standing in front of me. The man that I love. The man that I want to spend the rest of my life being devoted to, no matter how short or long that timeframe may be."

"I'll do my best to make it as long as I can."

"I know that. But.. I can't help thinking. What if you can't? What if this entire thing is just futile?" she begged Shepard for reassurance, becoming upset over the fact that she could lose to two people most important to her, and herself along with them.

"Don't- Don't think like that, Miranda. Don't. I win this. For you, me, my family whereever they may be, and the entire galaxy. I don't want another life to leave this universe without going out with a fight. We'll win this."

"But what if we don't, Shepard? What if we don't? I can't lose you, the galaxy can't lose you."

"If we don't, then.. I promise I'll see you on the other side. And we can live the happy life we were meant to live there. Just me, you, a couple of kids, maybe a dog." Miranda giggled. "And a nice, big house with a white picket fence. On a place like Earth. Home. And all of our friends will be there, and we'll all just live a happy existence for the rest of eternity."

"I kind of want to go there."

"I kind of do, too. But like I said, I'm not going without a fight." Shepard walked back over to the bed and sat down. "Now, let's just stop thinking about this stuff for a minute and allow ourselves a little slice of happiness, right here in reality. Come over here. And that's an order, Agent Lawson."

"Oh? Yes, Commander."

Josh smirked as he watched Miranda saunter over to him, overplaying her naturally sexy walk so that he could watch her bounce in all the right places. As she straddled him, and they both leaned onto the bed, he was welcomed with memories of their first night together. She had the exact same scent, the exact same form-fitting uniform, exact same sexy accent, and the exact same purr that she just loved to make in his ear, the only thing needed to get him going crazy.

"Oh, I see little Cadet Shepard is standing at attention?"

"Standing at fair attention, and he's not little."

"He definitely is not." Miranda grinned.

"Well, baby, how about making a little about face?" Shepard murmured in her ear while he placed a hand on her ass.

"Sure thing, Commander. And enough with the military puns."

"Fine, sweetheart. How about I go ahead and make you scream like a Banshee?"

"Oh, so now you compare me to ugly, naked Reaper creatures, Shepard?"

"Oh my God, Miranda, just unzip my pants already!"

...

"Damn, Miranda! Oh my God!"