Shepard wrapped her arms around Liara, pulling her close, their lips parted, nearly touching. She whispered. "I know we've never said it to each other, Liara, but …"

"Alarm."

"Alarm?"

"Your alarm clock is ringing, Shepard."

Shepard groaned. A faint ringing stung her ears as she struggled to remain in a dream of the night before.

"What the hell? Did I oversleep?" Shepard bolted out of the bed and raced to the shower.
"Yes, Commander. You overslept 3 minutes and 47.6 seconds. Would you like me to adjust the volume of your holoclock?"

"EDI … no, I'm fine."

"How are you feeling this morning, Commander?" EDI asked.

Shepard stopped in her tracks. She seemed puzzled. "I thought that was Kelly's department? Why do you ask?"

"You seemed to have slept better last night than any other night since you took command." EDI responded.

Shepard darted into shower. "You monitor my sleep?"

"I monitor the sleeping patterns of every member of the crew. It is a hobby of mine." There was a slight pause. "That was a joke."

"I would never have guessed." Shepard rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the shower to grab a towel.

"Cerberus recommends seven hours of sleep per every 24 hours to maintain optimum performance. Your sleep patterns are … erratic at best. Rarely do you sleep more than four hours a night and even then, whether conscious or not, you wake frequently. This is most likely due to vivid dreams, the Prothean vision and stress."

Shepard dressed in her Alliance fatigues and then hastily applied her lipstick. "I wish Miranda had just given me a makeup upgrade so I didn't have to put all this crap on every morning. Of course, knowing her, I would have come out looking like a two credit whore." Shepard gave herself a disapproving look in the mirror as she brushed through her hair. "What's on the agenda today, EDI?"

"The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

Shepard looked up. Her brow crinkled. "You're kidding me, right? I thought I told that coc - I thought I told him we were done."

"Nevertheless, he wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

"I'll think about it." Shepard headed for the door.

"Shepard, you did not answer my previous question. How do you feel this morning?" EDI seemed genuinely curious.

Shepard looked back into the room. She went over to the night stand and held the tags Liara had given her. She smiled softly. "I feel … good, EDI. Thanks for asking."