She had been hand-picked by the Illusive Man, chosen to serve on the SSV Normandy SR-2 alongside Commander Shepard, the Savior of the Citadel and humanity's greatest hope. It was an incredible honor, and yet, as her back slammed down onto the mat with a heavy thud and a whoosh of breath exploded from her, she couldn't bring herself to feel all that happy.
Winded, tired, and very, very, very sore was about all she could manage at the moment.
Shepard was staring down at her, hip cocked and arms crossed with a small little frown. Not an angry one-she'd never really seen Shepard look truly angry and definitely never wanted to-but it was certainly a little bit frustrated.
"Kelly. You're a 5' 2" therapist, not a krogan. You can't just charge me like that and except any good to come from it."
Shepard leaned down, a hand outstretched to help her up. Kelly stayed down, resting her hand on her stomach and trying to catch her breath.
Shepard's hand waved in front of her.
"C'mon. Up. We're not done yet, Yeoman."
Kelly groaned as she was pulled to her feet and winced as she swayed a little bit. There were definitely going to be bruises all over her tomorrow.
"I think I was safer down there, Commander." She forced a grin, hoping it was charming enough to buy her a little time before she ended up on the mat again.
Shepard wasn't having any of it.
"You end up on your back in front of some Cerberus agent hell-bent on putting a bullet through your skull then you're as good as dead, Chambers."
And there it was. The tension in her tone, the bitterness that tinged her words every time she spoke to a crew member.
"It wasn't your fault, Commander."
Shepard's expression would probably be impassive to most people, but Kelly wasn't most people. She saw the way the Commander's knuckles whitened, how her jaw had tightened, how she'd drawn up her back to stand a little taller.
She'd looked that way after Horizon.
Guilt, shame.
"I destroyed the Collector Base, Yeoman, and dragged my crew into this mess. Cerberus only wanted me before I forced my crew's support."
Kelly leaned forward a small amount, her voice matter-of-fact and stance purposefully neutral. Shepard didn't want kindness, wouldn't accept anything that could be construed as friend comforting a friend.
"Commander, your entire crew signed on for this mission. We all had the choice to stay then, and we all had the choice to leave when you quit Cerberus. You didn't force anyone."
Shepard had opened her mouth to speak, but Kelly cut her off.
"You accept responsibility for every choice you make, Commander. So do I. So does everyone on the Normandy. Don't take that away from us, Shepard."
The Commander was silent, and even though Kelly wasn't most people, she couldn't read the other woman's expression.
"Arm around my shoulder, Yeoman."
Kelly hesitated, then took an uncertain step forward. Shepard rolled her eyes and took Kelly's arm, placing it around her shoulder.
"I'm going to teach you how to flip someone. It's been a while since I ended up on the mat. Without meaning to, anyway."
"Oh. Hey, is this what you've been doing to me?"
Shepard laughed (something Kelly hadn't heard in a long while, and she couldn't help but beam a little) and nodded.
"Put your hip here, opposite your arm. Don't worry about digging in; you'll need to if you want me to actually go over."
Kelly bit her lip in concentration, placing her foot behind Shepard's and resting her hip against the other woman's.
"Like this, right?"
Shepard took a quick glance and straightened Kelly's leg a tiny amount.
"Good enough. Now, pull with your arm and lift with your hip."
Kelly heaved, shoving and pulling. Shepard didn't budge, merely lifting an eyebrow.
"Oomph-this is-not as easy-" Her foot was sliding away across the mat.
"My bones have metal in them, Kelly. You're going to have to do better than that if you want me to hit the mat."
Kelly drew away, panting a little bit. It was like Shepard said; she was a therapist, not a krogan.
"I don't think I can lift you, Commander."
"Y'know, Jack's about your size. Maybe even smaller. You want me to go see if she's up for some sparring?"
Kelly wiped the sweat off her forehead, shaking her head in an emphatic no.
"I don't think Jack spars, Commander."
"You're probably right. Not without breaking bones, anyway."
Shepard was grinning. Grinning. Kelly took a deep breath, fighting back the sudden welling of irritation. The Commander was just trying to make sure she had a chance if Cerberus came after her. It was silly to be angry at someone who wanted to help you; she'd been on the receiving end of that often enough to know.
But she was sweaty, and sore, and she must have ended up on her back at least fifty times by now.
She charged forward, slipping quickly into the position Shepard had shown her, using all of her momentum and strength to pull at the other woman.
Shepard flipped through the air, crashing onto the mat with a surprised grunt. Kelly laughed in exultation, pumping the air in triumph.
"Yes! Which 5' 2" therapist just scored a point against Commander Shepard? This one did!"
She was pretty sure she'd felt Shepard kick off with her feet, but she didn't even care. She wasn't the one on the mat, and that counted as a victory even if it had probably been allowed to happen.
Shepard sighed and climbed to her feet, dusting off her pants.
"Now let's just see if you can do that again, in a way that wouldn't get you killed in a real fight. And act like your grabbing my gun while you do it. We're not stopping until I think you have a chance to survive Cerberus finding you."
Kelly's fist dropped to her side, shoulders slumping. At this rate, Cerberus finding her wasn't sounding like such a bad thing.
She was going to have so many bruises...
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