Well, I've had this idea for awhile and its been eating at my brain and making it hard to write for When Dawn Comes, thus, I'm getting the first chapter of this up tonight and I've put a chapter posting scheduled up on my profile so that all my lovely readers can see what day I will be posting for what story. Anyways, this story is set AFTER ME3 so really, it's just kinda my own little thing because I was one of those crazy girls who wanted a Jame romance and the Citadel DLC gave me a reason to do this.

Disclaimer: Bioware owns, I just like playing with their things.


Chapter 1

It was supposed to be simple; a one night stand and no attachment. Zeera could easily agree with that. It wasn't like it was the first time she'd had a one night stand or anything like that. They'd woken up the next morning and made jokes about everything, kidding around like it was nothing, just a bout of blowing off steam as Garrus would have put it, but it had slowly become more as their fight with the reapers had become more serious, but as those final hours drew closer, fear gripped her warrior's heart and she stood there, tall and proud with cerulean eyes filled with fear and doubt. She was alone as she had always been, staring out the window of the Starboard Observation. Just a matter of moments before their final battle would begin and she wanted to be alone, because she could not be with the one who was slowly crawling under her skin. Lifting a hand, she thumped her fist against the glass between her and the stars. Nothing would be the same now and she ground her teeth in frustration, before turning away, long chocolate hued locks swishing behind her as she strode out of the room and off to face her fate, a fate that could mean death if she was not absolutely positive that they were ready for this.


She was a drift in darkness, but it was so loud, she could hear people yelling, feel the touch of skin on hers and it was painful, yet she couldn't say a word, couldn't even see any light to help her find them. Zeera internally screamed, wanting them to stop and then an electric pulse went through her and she was gasping for breath and the world was a blur around her and the words of others seemed far away and muffled, like they were calling to her while she was under water and then the world was black once more and she couldn't feel the pain, instead she drifted in a dark world where fleeting memories passed by at a rapid pace until it came to that last one, that last drunken night of romance that had led to something she wished she could cherish.

It felt like ages had passed and then a warm feel spread over her and heavy lids opened, only to close once more as the harsh rays of the sun seeped through a broken window, flooding her room with light and she lifted a hand to cover her eyes, feeling the sharp pull of wires and an IV as she did so. Where in the blazing hell was she?

Taking care, she sat up and looked around, sharp blue eyes darting around to try and find anything that might be remotely familiar, but she couldn't find anything. Panic filled her and she moved to stand, but a soft voice stopped her.

"Whoa, Lola, stay down." Her eyes sought out the owner of that voice and her throat closed up as she looked at him, battle worn as he was.

She opened her mouth as though to speak, but stopped, raising a hand to her throat when pain laced through her. Calloused fingers came into contact with smooth bandages and once more, panic filled her. What had happened? She couldn't remember much, except that she destroyed the reapers and she had the full knowledge in her head that she should be dead right now, but she was damn near positive that she was still alive and kicking because it hurt too much for her to in the realm of the dead and everything seemed much too real for that matter.

"Don't push yourself." His voice calls to her again and Zeera shots him a sharp look, bright eyes locking with dark ones.

"I. . . Always push. . . Myself, Vega." It took effort to get the words out and the big man in front of her just shook his head before picking up a cup and filling it with water from a pitcher near the door that she hadn't noticed until he'd moved.

Narrowed eyes watched him, calculating what he might do, but she didn't really need to do that. James Vega walked towards her with the cup, offering it to her and with shaky hands, she took it from him and sipped at it lightly before speaking once more, "So, James, shouldn't you, I don't know, fetch the doctor? I'm sure no one is expecting me to be awake." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head and feeling the long strands of her hair dance against any bare skin.

"I think I can wait to do that, after all, I'm sure you don't want to be surrounded by doctors and nurses, not after just waking up." There was teasing to his tone, but it was a genuine sign that he understood her none the less.

"How kind of you." She cooed, voice oozing with fake sugary sweetness and only a hint or two of flirting before she sat back against her pillows and slowly drank down the rest of her water.

For the moment, they sat in silence, but she knew it wouldn't last. He probably had a lot of questions and she certainly had a lot of her own. She would wait though, wait and let him decide when it was time to speak, because that was all she could do, even if she was plotting her every answer in her head at this very moment.

Zeera sat there, tracing her fingers in an idle pattern over the fabric of her blankets, thinking those thoughts when he did decide to speak, "Look at me please, Zeera." His voice was soft and her cerulean eyes snapped up to his face, narrowing harshly at the use of her first name.

"I don't have the answers to your questions, if that's why you want me to look at you." She practically snarled the words as him, on the defensive, knowing that someone was going to try and pry things out of her that she wasn't even sure of.

"That's not why I want you to look at me. Zee, I was worried about you. I thought," His voice broke and he paused, clasping his hands tightly between his parted knees, eyes locked on the ground before he could look up at her again, "I thought you were dead."

For a moment, her world stopped spinning and she just stared at him blankly, eyes wide and confused and then they cast downward, locking onto a loose thread on her blankets before she answered him. "I thought I was dead too," Her words were barely a whisper and then she was looking at him again, "But I'm not and those damned reapers are or at least, I hope they are."

James shook his head and chuckled at the venom in her words before nodding, "Yeah, those sons' of bitches are dead. I'd ask how you did it, but I don't need those answers right now, I'm just glad to see you alive, awake and talking." There was a sad tilt to his smile before he rose from his seat, giving her a salute before he walked to the door, "I'll go fetch Chakwas for you." And with that, he was gone and Zeera was left staring after him, words left unsaid.


Laying in bed hours later, all she could really be happy for was the mostly clean bill of health she'd been given. Aside from a fantastical amount of new scars and a permanent limp that would eventually fade to something not so obvious, she was good to go. This was her last night here and then she'd be free to wonder back onto the Normandy, which had only arrived back on Earth the other day. She'd been out for a month, a whole month of nothing, but blackness and healing from injuries that had nearly killed her. She rolled onto her side and stared out the window, watching the stars which seemed so very far away and wishing that this had never happened and that for once, she wasn't completely alone.