Reconciliation

Jack sat on the bar stool, glaring at the entitled, rich, Cerberus-cheer-leading bitch. She hadn't changed at all.

"What are you doing now, Jack?" she asked, sipping from her drink. I wasn't what Jack had expected. She thought it would be pink and in a delicate, stemmed glass. Instead, she drank whiskey on the rocks, exactly like Jack.

Jack took a swig of her own drink, "Did Shepard tell you how she pulled me out of Grissom Academy?"

Miranda nodded, but didn't comment.

"Well, since then, I've been leading them in a support role. Ya know, keeping barriers strong for the soldiers, trying to keep as many of them alive for as long as possible. Its exhausting, but its worth it."

As she spoke, Shepard walked into the room. The Commander walked behind the bar and began mixing herself a drink.

Miranda's eyebrows shot up, "So … you're leading the Grissom Academy students?"

Jack's hackles rose, "Yeah. That a problem?"

"Just a surprise," Miranda answered, shrugging, "Your psyche profile suggested you were mainly interested in yourself."

Jack slapped a hand to the counter, causing Shepard to jump slightly. Miranda didn't react. "You're telling me I'm only interested in myself? Oh that's just fucking perfect."

When Miranda didn't respond, Jack went on, "Did it ever occur to you that I'm trying to grow as a goddamn person?"

Miranda leaned forward, putting her elbows on the bar. There was a mischievous glint in her eye. "Oh, I could tell you were growing. I assumed it was," she waved vaguely at Jack's chest, "Whatever that is you're wearing."

Jack looked down at herself and realized with a start that Miranda was teasing her. More than that, she was teasing Jack about her tits.

"Oh, these?" she asked, cupping herself with both hands briefly, "Well, yeah, they were strapped down with a leather belt before. Its kind of stupid to show off your rack in the middle of a maximum security prison ship."

Miranda shrugged again, "I never had the pleasure."

Jack leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bar and her chin in her hand. They weren't exactly across from each other, but leaning on the bar, their faces were still very close. Close enough that Jack could see Miranda's nostrils flare and the slight wrinkle in her cheek, showing the hint of a smirk.

"You'd never survive," Jack said, then added, in a mockingly sweet voice, "You might break a nail."

Miranda stood up straight, folding her arms, "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

Jack smiled, realizing she had Miranda on the ropes, "You're a spoiled, rich-girl cheerleader."

"Victim," Miranda countered.

Jack leaned forward slightly, "Test-tube clone princess."

Miranda also leaned forward, "I think its past your bedtime."

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" Jack asked, raising her eyebrows, "I didn't get to read your psych profile."

"Ladies," Shepard said suddenly, stepping forward, "I see we've all gotten enough to drink."

Jack smiled, "Relax Shepard. I'm not gonna smear the walls with her. This time."

"And I couldn't possibly think of anything worse to do to her than that haircut," Miranda said, smiling openly.

Jack, unable to help herself, jumped at the bait. "Hey, Cheerleader," she said, more harshly than she meant, "My hair and I have been fighting Brutes and Marauders on the front lines of this war. Meanwhile, you got your big, bubbly-butt kicked by some guy with a sword."

Miranda smirked at the comment and turned and looked at Shepard. "You see, Shepard?" she said, "Best of friends."

The Commander shrugged, "Honestly, I thought it might help if you too just kissed and got it over with."

Jack felt her jaw drop. Miranda's eyes widened. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

Shepard folded her arms, "I mean, this is all just sexual tension, right? Two powerful biotics, forceful personalities, confident in their sexuality…" she let the comment hang.

Jack finally found her voice, "You are shitting me."

"Oh my God," Miranda said, burying her face in her hands.

Light flashed briefly as Kasumi's cloak dropped. She smiled sweetly at the trio. "I'm ready to record," she said, "I'm pretty sure there's a market for this."

Jack looked at where the thief had been, but she was already gone. "Kasumi," Jack said through gritted teeth, "I will find you and I will hurt you badly," then, with resignation, said, "I need another drink," and reached for the bottle of whiskey.

Miranda pushed her cup forward, "One for me too. No ice."

After she poured the drinks, Jack realized that Shepard was still standing at the bar, watching them. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, Shepard," she said, "The cheerleader and I are just messing around."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "You sure? You two seemed pretty serious."

Jack shrugged one shoulder. "Nah. She fights better when she's pissed off," she said, smirking, "I'm just keeping her primed."

"Alright," Shepard said, "Just don't break anything."

Jack and Miranda both laughed, and Jack felt a surprising warmth at the thought of the two of them laughing together.

"If that's what you're worried about, Shepard," Miranda said, "You might want to find Zaeed and Garrus."

Shepard's eyes widened briefly before she said, "Excuse me," and almost ran out of the room.

As Jack watched the Commander leave the room, she couldn't help but laugh again. She turned to her drinking partner, a woman who, just a few months ago, she would have relished killing.

"What're those two crazy bastards up to?" she asked.

Miranda smiled, taking a dainty sip of her whiskey, and said, "I heard the two of them talking about booby trapping the entry way."

Jack held up her drink and stared at it, "Yeah, that sounds like them."

"How did you end up teaching at the Grissom academy?" Miranda asked suddenly.

The question caught Jack off guard, though she recovered quickly. "Alliance brass suggested it," she answered, "They figured with my unique abilities, I'd be able to help the students there."

Jack looked up to see Miranda staring quizzically at her. "What?" she asked.

Miranda leaned forward, seemingly genuinely interested in what Jack had to say. "Why did you accept? I mean, no offense, but that just doesn't seem like you."

Jack felt an unexpected wave of shame wash over her, "It was either that or go back to prison. I might have helped you and Shepard save the galaxy, but I was still a wanted pirate. Plus my association with Cerberus didn't do me any favors."

Miranda took a long pull from her whiskey, then set the glass down. "I can understand that," she said, "The Illusive Man wasn't the only reason I went underground after Shepard turned over the Normandy. If the Alliance had caught up with me, I imagine I'd be living in a very dark hole right now."

Jack raised her glass and said, "To escaping the dark holes."

"I'll drink to that," Miranda said, raising her glass. The two women each took a long pull from their drinks.

Jack smacked her lip appreciatively as Miranda daintily dabbed at her lips with a bar napkin. After a moment of silence, Miranda leaned back against the wall behind her.

"Seriously," she began, "Why join up? We both know you could break out of any hole the Alliance could have thrown you in."

Jack thought about that for a second. Finally, she came up with the only answer she could think of.

"Shepard," she said, "Shepard was the only one who ever gave a damn about me. Toward the end, I started to shut her out. There was real chance that we weren't coming back after going through the Omega Four relay. I'm still amazed nobody died. Anyway, I didn't want to be close to anybody. I didn't want to miss anybody if they didn't come back. But Shepard still tried. She did everything except try to fuck me."

Miranda laughed and Jack went on, "When Shepard told us that she was turning over the Normandy, at first I panicked. What the hell was I going to do. I'd be on the run again. But she sat me down in her quarters, like she did with everyone, and asked me what I wanted to do. I had no idea. I knew I didn't want to leave, but I also knew that the Alliance would lock me up and throw away the key."

"Shepard convinced you to stay," Miranda said knowingly.

Jack shook her head, "No. She asked me where I wanted to be dropped off. But, looking at her face, the face of the only person who'd given a damn about me in I don't know how many years, I couldn't leave. So I was on the Normandy when she brought it to Earth. Shepard had apparently already told the alliance who I was, but they didn't show up with guns bared like I thought they would. I was separated from Shepard almost immediately. I got interviewed by scientists, psychologists, and military types. After all that, a guy named Anderson suggested I try my hand at teaching."

"How did that work out?" Miranda asked, gesturing with her glass.

Jack smiled as fond memories passed through her mind, then she saw a bad one that made her shiver. She said, "This one bad drop on Palaven, I had to pull this girl, Rodriguez, out from underneath a pile of husks. If I hadn't recognized her ugly fucking boot, I'd never have seen her. She'd have died under there. That really freaked me out. I was really afraid of losing her."

She looked up to Miranda's face to see understanding there.

"You love them," she said, knowingly, "But you hate that, because if you lose any of them, it'll hurt, really hurt. You're not sure if you can handle that."

Jack felt the tears spring to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "How do you know that?" she asked.

"My sister," Miranda said, "I would give up everything, including my life, for her. Anything less, and I've failed."

Jack nodded, seeing for the first time some kinship with a woman she had hated since their first meeting.

Miranda suddenly smiled mischievously, "Alright Jack. I hate to say it, but Cerberus was wrong about you."

Jack felt footsteps behind her, but guessing at who it was, didn't turn. "No shit," she said.

Miranda gestured as Shepard came around the bar, making herself a drink, and Miranda continued, "You're still violent and maladjusted, but the Illusive Man never would've predicted you'd bond with the Grissom Academy students. You're growing, despite everything Cerberus did to you. I find that," she paused, taking a breath, "Extremely admirable."

Jack, taken aback by the sentiment, simply said, "Wow. Thanks."

She recovered quickly, giving a rather pervy Shepard something to think about, "I still really hate you, but you have fantastic tits."

Miranda laughed out loud, "Alright, I can live with that."

Shepard, drink in hand, shook her head as she walked out of the room. As she turned the corner, they both laughed.

"Did you mean that?" Jack asked.

Miranda nodded behind her drink, "Of course. You?"

Jack took a sip to hide her own smile. "Only part of it," she said.

Miranda stood on the balcony that overlooked the massive living room and bar area. With her were Liara T'Soni, James Vega, Ashley Williams, and Jacob Taylor. Liara and James continued to argue about biotics.

Liara said, "I could easily lift with my boitics."

"Could not," James said.

"Could too," Liara said back, almost petulantly.

Miranda rolled her eyes and looked at James. "You've seen biotics in action," she said.

Liara shot her a grateful look. Folding her arms, she said, "I could float you off this balcony without breaking a sweat."

James smirked, folding his arms as well, saying, "Oh I know you could, but do you have the cajones to actually do it? Any of you?"

The motion caused his already tight shirt to stretch across his large pecks, showing them off to great effect. Miranda was sure the move had to be practiced. It was the only way to explain how good it made him look. She wasn't the only one who noticed, either. Looking at Ashley, she saw her flush, biting the corner of her lip. When she saw Miranda looking at her, she flushed brighter and studied her drink.

Jacob, not being remotely in interested in Vegas' pecks, laughed at his challenge, "What a guy. Buckle up, Brotha'."

Ashley shook her head, looking up from her drink. "James, Seriously?" she asked.

Before anyone else could object, Liara held out her left hand, forming a biotic field around James and lifting him a few feet off the ground, just as Shepard made her way to the group from the stairs.

"Shepard," Liara said affectionately.

The commander briefly took in the scene and asked, "What's up?"

Miranda smiled, "Just demonstrating a little biotic supremacy."

Shepard folded her arms, leaning against the wall next to Liara, asking, "You okay, James?"

"Yeah," James said, laughing, "This is trippy! I'm kinda buzzing all over."

"Exactly," Jacob responded, "Nice, right? I can feel that way on a whim."

Liara spoke up, "Do you find it … relaxing?"

Her voice was husky, almost ethereal. It reminded Miranda of the way Samara spoke.

"Uh, kinda," he said. Then he looked down, "Among other things."

It was then that Miranda noticed his obviously growing manhood under his pants. Unable to help herself, she said, "Looks good on you."

"I'm glad you lost that bet, James," Ashley said. She looked at Liara, "When's my turn?"

Shepard stood up. "Careful," she said, "I need my full crew back when the night's over."

"Okay," James said, looking a little flushed, "You've had your fun. Put me down now."

Liara released the field, and James dropped to his feet. Before anyone could say anything, Liara practically shouted, "Lets dance!"

The Asari immediately began moving to the music, pulling Shepard to her. Miranda looked over to see Jacob touching the sound system control on the wall, turning up the music. Ashley had started swaying her hips to the music. James danced as well, though he kept glancing at Ashley out of the corner of his eye. So, there might be a little spark there, she thought.

Deciding to help the situation along. Miranda moved behind Ashley, pressing against her back and swaying her own hips to the rhythm of the music. As she put her hands on the other's hips, she began to guide their movements into wider swings, following the downbeat of the music.

"Uh," Ashley said, "What are you doing?"

Miranda grabbed the empty cup out of Ashley's hand and used the motion to turn her around so they were face to face. Ashley's arms fell naturally on Miranda's shoulders, and she let the cup gently fall in a biotic field. Her hands free, she put them on Ashley's hips, pulling them to her own. She had the brief thought that she'd rather be doing this with Jack. Where did that come from? She thought.

Their faces very close, she said, "James is into you, I'm just helping things along." She saw the look of surprise on Ashley's face, but continued, "In a second, I'm going to bump you with my hips. Act like I did it too hard and stumble over to him. He'll catch you. The rest is up to you."

Ashley's hands, perhaps put of reflex, trailed down Miranda's back and onto her butt. She wondered if Jack would put do the same if they were dancing together. The combination of that thought and the contact raised goosebumps on her skin. Fortunately, her suit covered most of her body, so they didn't show.

Ashley leaned in, putting her mouth next to Miranda's ear, and whispered, "He'll see right through that."

Miranda grabbed one of Ashley's hands and turned in her embrace so they were back to front again, though in reverse order. She grabbed her dance partner's hands and placed them on the front of her own thighs, placing her own hands over them. She leaned her head back on the other's shoulder so that she could whisper and still be heard.

"First, you're giving him too much credit," Miranda said, "And second, even if he does, it won't matter. He can't take his eyes off you. Just trust me."

Miranda bent at the waist, putting herself perpendicular to Ashley. Suddenly, she bent her knees, then straightened them, shoving her rear end into Ashley. The woman played it perfectly, stumbling directly into James' arms. He reacted exactly as she had predicted, catching her in his perfectly sculpted arms. Even after she regained her feet, the marine didn't let her go. As they begin to exchange words no one else could hear, Miranda looked over to see Shepard smirking in her direction. She had caught the whole thing.

Smirking at Miranda, Shepard turned to face Liara. She whispered a few words before they shared a quick kiss, and Shepard left the balcony. Liara made her way to Miranda. The Asari put her arms around her neck, creating an embrace that made the two move in unison.

"She wanted me to tell you that was pretty clever," she said.

Miranda, the picture of innocence, asked, "What was clever."

Liara smiled, pushing Miranda away lightly, breaking the embrace, but not creating any distance. "Just dance with me," she said.

Miranda did so, letting the music take her. She danced with Liara, though not as scandalously as she had with Ashley. She brought Jacob into their group, dancing in a trio of friends that made her feel quite content.

Soon, Ashley and James made their way away from the impromptu dance floor. As they passed, Miranda, on a whim, reached out an smacked James' butt. When he looked up in surprise, she said, "Have fun, you two."