OK, so here's one of my main stories in my "Road to Babylon" series. This is set right after "Coffee."

Important note: I started working on this in October, and for the most part, was entirely written before Mass Effect 3 came out. Any similarities between my story and the game are a result of me just being amazingly precognitive. I'll mark the chapters that were written after the game got released.

Big thanks to owl208, my beta for both this and "Convictions," the sister story to this one.

As always, all feedback is welcome!

Of course, Bioware owns all the characters, I just sneak into Bioware's house when they're gone and try them on.

Rules of Engagement

This was going to be a challenge. Sometimes, Commander John Shepard just had to shake his head at how they were going to manage the situation they were in. Not to complain, he loved having the problem that he did, but if they didn't handle it correctly, it could blow up in everyone's faces.

He was sitting in the comm room of the Normandy with his fiancée, partner, and fellow Spectre Ashley Williams, their XO Miranda Lawson, and Yeoman Kelly Chambers. It had been two weeks since they had received their orders from Councilor Anderson to take the Normandy and hunt down anything that could be of use in the coming war with the Reapers and to destroy anything that could be a threat. So far, they had spent their time collecting the rest of their Strike Team, who had dispersed to their own lives after the Normandy came back from destroying the Collector's base. Now they were back to full capacity.

They also had the Normandy re-commissioned as an Alliance ship, and any of the Cerberus crew that wanted to stay aboard had been offered commission into the Alliance. While some of the crew had left because they didn't want to serve in the Alliance, most stayed aboard, excited to keep working with Shepard. What crew they had lost had been quickly replaced with the pick of the Fifth Fleet, as offered by Admiral Hackett.

When all was said and done, though, there was little room left on the ship. While the Cerberus-built Normandy was twice the size of the original Normandy, they were carrying three times the crew. Not just crew, but they still had their large Strike Team. It worked out that they had two of each specialty, as they had split the team between Shepard's designated ground team, and Ash's. It also gave them plenty of flexibility in any potential missions they would undertake, as they could setup a team heavy in firepower to distract an enemy force while they setup a team designed for espionage to sneak in behind them, or create multiple teams to engage an enemy on multiple fronts.

While Shepard and Ash usually handled the ground operations, Miranda tended to handle things directly related to the ship's operations; crew assignments, making sure they had enough supplies and fuel, but she also weighed in on objectives and potential strategies, as well as being the third in command. Feeling the odd man out was Kelly, whose duty as Yeoman didn't truly warrant her in this meeting, but her second job as ship counselor, along with her keen insight into the crew and Strike Team's emotional state, could help make sure they didn't run into any unexpected complications due to interpersonal problems. Problems which would likely flare up sooner or later.

While Tali and Legion, whose races had been at war for centuries, would get along, chances were that any other quarians they met would not respond well to having a geth around. Similarly, if an eye wasn't kept on Zaeed and Grunt, the two might end up killing each other during one of their sparring sessions. And of course there was always the wild card of Jack, though Shepard had a hunch she was slowly coming out of her shell: she had recently given herself the accurate, but slightly humorous handle of "The Psychotic Biotic," which showed a sense of humor that she hadn't ever shown before.

Shepard's ground team usually consisted of Garrus, Jack, Grunt, Legion, and Kasumi, while Ash usually took Tali, Thane, Samara, Zaeed, and Jacob. This division had happened almost naturally, so there hadn't been any acrimony when Ash and Shepard had discussed it. Of course this lead to some healthy competition between the teams, which usually lead to playful challenges during training sessions.

They had easily decided to rotate squads, so if a mission only required one team, the other would stay on the ship and act as reinforcements in case any were needed. Once that mission was over, they'd switch, so that each team, ideally, would have the same amount of time on the ground.

The issue that they were running into was that a lot of the operations they were planning were on the small side, so that not even a full team would be required. Of course, there would be the bigger jobs, especially the closer they got to the coming war, but right now, with most of their attention focused on tracking down leads of millennia old technology and information, they weren't planning on seeing too much combat in the coming weeks. Of course, they all knew that this could change in a heartbeat: after all, it had been a routine mission when the original Normandy had been destroyed.

John and Ash were concerned that with the lack of leads they currently had, that they wouldn't be able to find anything in time that would be of any use. Kelly was worried that the extra time on the ship might make them restless, and eventually breakdown the team structure and Miranda was concerned about the teams getting bored and eventually losing people. Of course they were getting help: both the Council and the Alliance were sending them any information they could put together, as well as Miranda's contacts that she still had in both Cerberus and her father's organization. They all knew, though, that Liara, acting both as the Shadow Broker and an expert on prothean history, would probably be able to get them the best information.

They were currently on their way to Illos. Since Saren's betrayal, several scientific teams had gone there to see if any information could be gleamed from the vast amount of prothean technology, but the planet still seemed to be a hot zone for heretic Geth, so little progress had been made. They were going to see if they might be able to get Vigil, the prothean VI that Shepard had encountered, back online and access all of the data he had. Legion believed that he might be able to interface properly with the VI, as long as Tali would be able to get the actual computers up and running. The rest of the teams would provide security for them, as well as hunt out any remaining heretic geth in the area.

The Council thought that, if they could understand what the Protheans had known about the Reapers, they would be able to add what information they already had, they'd better understand what happened to the Protheans, and how to avoid their fate. There was also the thought that there would be records of any technology that had been developed to combat the Reapers. Shepard and Ash both felt that was naïve, since the Protheans on Illos had been awakened after the genocide, but they didn't say that to the Council.

"Well, with what Liara sent us, I'm not holding out hope that Illos is going to give us anything," Shepard sighed, dropping the papers in his hand down onto the table.

"I don't think we really should waste our time going there. It's a dead end, and if they couldn't get anything from Illos in two and a half years, I don't think we're going to get anything in a couple days. I know our priority is to try to get Vigil up and running, but it's been shut down since we encountered it the first time." Ash had almost groaned when the Council told them to try Illos first. Miranda also thought it was a bad idea, but with lack of any other leads to start with, they had decided to go. On their way there, they would try all of their contacts and see what else they could find, as they all expected that this would be a dead end.

"If that Collector base was still around, we could look into that." Ash quickly looked over to John, "Not that I think what you did was wrong, but they were in contact with the Reapers. Hell, they were building one of the damn things! Who knows what information we missed out on?"

"In all fairness, I think we only would have gotten more information on the Collectors from that base. While they were building a Reaper, it looked like they were using their technology, not Harbinger's." Miranda said, leaning back in her chair.

Shepard thought for a moment. "We might be able to go back through the Omega 4 relay, and see if the explosion left anything useful. Granted, the base would be destroyed, but there might be something. Personally, I'd say that's a last resort, but it could be an option."

Ash shook her head. "That bomb would have wiped out everything. Besides, the Mass Relay might have gotten pushed out of position; we could materialize in the heart of a black hole."

"On the other hand," countered Miranda, "enough of the base may have survived for us to take a look. Any information would be better than the no information that we have now."

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather not throw all of our lives away on a 'maybe.'" A thoughtful expression crossed Ash's face. She didn't want to dismiss Miranda, especially since she had a point. "Why don't we ask EDI to run some tests to see if the end relay is still in position, and if we might be able to make the trip? Maybe we could send a probe or something before we take the Normandy through. If we have to do it, we might as well do it right."

Miranda nodded in agreement. "I agree, both in researching it and as a last resort. It's the best chance of getting something useful, but we do need more information. We can't recon anything if we're dead."

Shepard was almost surprised that Ash and Miranda worked so well together. He thought that they would clash, especially considering how strong willed they both were, but so far, they'd been working together very well.

Shepard turned to Kelly. "Any thoughts on how the crew will take the possibility about going through Omega 4?"

Kelly looked almost surprised that he had asked her. She thought for a moment, and, almost nervously, replied. "I think that going back… there... would be best left unless nothing else had any results. While the Strike Teams may look forward to it due to the possibility of some ground fighting, if there's enough of the base left for that, the crew, especially those of us that have been there before, would have a difficult time of it. Not to mention the fact that there's no way to send a distress call from there is anything happens. The whole journey would be… taxing."

They all nodded. While Shepard and Miranda and the rest of the team had been fighting the collectors, Kelly and the rest of the actual crew had been prisoners, watching as captured colonists had been reduced to a genetic paste to build a new Reaper. Ash, while she hadn't been there, could only imagine what it had been like.

Shepard sighed. He hadn't even thought about how going back there would affect the crew. He hadn't missed on Kelly's use of the word "us" when talking about the crew. She had been in one of those pods as well.

"In that case," Miranda cut in, "it might be best not to tell anyone until we've decided to go. No need to unduly stress them when they should be focused."

"I think that would be best. If we do go back to the Collector's base, I think the crew would appreciate knowing that it's because we have nothing else to go on."

Shepard, Ash and Miranda all nodded. As much as they didn't want to, with the lack of leads they currently had, this was looking to be the best option they had so far.

"EDI?" Miranda knew that, while the AI would be able to monitor the conversation, she would not interrupt their meeting unless she had to, nor would she make her presence known unless asked. Right after Miranda had called her name, EDI's familiar blue orb appeared at the holoemitter in the middle of the table.

"Yes, Miss Lawson?"

"Would you be able to run some tests and simulations to see if the Omega 4 relay is still stable enough for transit? We may be in need for a return trip to the Collector's base."

"I can certainly run these simulations. By my calculations, though, the explosives used to destroy the base would certainly have caused a large shockwave into the debris field. While I am confident that I can confirm if the relay is stable, I would not be able to confirm the status of the debris surrounding the base without better information regarding it."

"An idea trashed by trash," Ash muttered.

"Not necessarily, Lieutenant Commander Williams. When a ship exits a mass relay transit, their kinetic shields discharge some of their power in a bubble shape around the ship. With proper modifications, the Normandy's kinetic shields could be updated to provide a much larger discharge, providing a momentary field clear of any debris."

"EDI, I have to ask," Said Shepard, "Why wasn't this mentioned before our last mission there? And why isn't this something that's standard with every ship?"

"The modifications would take some time to install. Also, by setting up the kinetic barriers to project the field outwards, it would temporarily take them off-line, as the Normandy would have to recharge the shields completely. This is, of course, barring any damage done to the systems from such massive energy expenditure."

"Without the kinetic shields, we'd be a sitting duck to any stray scrap of metal. Any impact could be devastating." Miranda had a knack for saying exactly what everyone was thinking, but it didn't make it any less true, or unnerving.

"I don't know about everyone else, but I think we should hold off on doing this until we can upgrade the shields to not overload on us and leave us floating in space. EDI, run your simulations and look into those upgrades." Shepard wasn't looking forward to going through Omega 4, but he knew it would have to be an option.

"Well, we can't really do anything until we see what Ilos has for us, so why don't we reconvene then?"

Everyone nodded their agreement to Shepard's idea. They all stood from their seats, and made their way out of the comm room, through the armory, and out to the CIC. From there, Kelly returned to her station to the right of the galaxy map, while Miranda made her way to the elevator to return to her office. Shepard and Ash stood for a moment near his terminal.

"I think I'm going to head down to the cargo bay. In the past few days I've done more reading of reports than actually working out. I feel like I'm going to go soft." Shepard was only half-joking at this. While it was true they had exhaustively gone over every report and scrap of information they could get in the past week, both he and Ash knew that there was no way he would be going soft.

"I'm going to conference with Jacob about some new upgrades for our weapons; see what he thinks of them."

"Ok. I'll see you upstairs in a little bit?"

"You better believe it. After all, it is a trip to Ilos, and we do have a tradition to uphold."

Shepard smiled, remembering the night before they had gone to Ilos while hunting Saren. That had been the night that Ash had come to him in his cabin on the original Normandy, and they had finally expressed how they felt about each other, in more ways than one.

"Chief, not even a herd of angry krogan could keep me away." While Shepard was technically no longer Ash's Commanding Officer, and Ash herself had been promoted from Operations Chief to Lieutenant Commander, the terms had come to mean more to them than just shortened versions of their ranks. They had become their pet names for each other, their own unique terms of endearment. While neither of them were ever comfortable discussing their feelings, they knew what the other meant when they used them.

They smiled at each other for a moment, and then Ash turned to go back to the Armory, while Shepard turned to go to the elevator that would take him to the cargo bay. While it still held the hammerhead hovercraft, Mako, and their Kodiak shuttle, they still had plenty of room left over to use as a workout room and gun range. They even had enough room for a small sparring area, which was usually used by their resident biotics to train and test out new abilities. With the diverse type of people they had in the strike team, there was always some new technique or skill that could be learned, and their biotics, Jack, Samara, and Miranda, took full advantage of this.

Most of the time, Shepard just used the rough track around the perimeter of the cargo bay, and improvised gun range. He had never been one for working out, since he had always felt it was better train by doing, rather than using weights to gain useless muscle mass that was more cosmetic than useful. That's why, since he had enlisted, he had kept regular, but relatively light, workout schedule for himself. It was more important that his conditioning was kept high, which had always been second to none. So when he arrived at the Normandy's improvised gym, he did a quick warm-up, then started running some laps, alternating the speed between a full out sprint and a leisurely jog.

He had to admit to himself that he was starting to get anxious to get out of the ship. While he had been in command not only during their hunt for Saren but also in their campaign against the Collectors, he always had an objective to move towards. Now, they were to gather information. He didn't like not knowing what to do next. Even when the Council hadn't been listening to him when he had been trying to warn them about the Reapers, and later the Collectors, he still had a clear goal.

He was rounding the corner near the shuttle, when he saw a dark figure slip from the shadows, trying to trip him off of his feet. A quick shift to his right sent him up the slightly inclined wall, and he spring-boarded off of a crate to land facing the way he had come from, and where his attacker was. He landed in a crouch; ready to move in whichever direction he would need to, wondering how someone could have snuck on board the Normandy.

As Shepard readied himself for a fight, he mentally ran through various escape routes if he was outclassed in the fight. Of course, he would need to raise the alarm; if there was one hostile on board, there could be many more. His first thought was that the Cerberus crew had turned, but he quickly discounted that. They had all proved their loyalty to him. That left the Alliance personnel, but seeing as they had all been personally recommended by Admiral Hackett, so Shepard knew it couldn't be any of them. While he was coming up with his plan, he heard a slow clap from the shadows, as Jack emerged from her hiding spot.

"Good reaction time, Shepard. I thought you might be slowing down, but you proved me wrong. You might be able to save the galaxy for a third time after all." Shepard eased himself back to standing. He had to admit he was surprised that Jack had stayed on after the mission to the Collector's base. He thought she would have left after they got back to Omega for repairs, but she had stayed. He was even more surprised that she had stayed after their stop at the Citadel. While Councilor Anderson had promised her a full pardon for all past and pending criminal charges against her by the Alliance, he knew she wasn't concerned about that. He didn't know exactly why she had stayed, but he was thankful she had.

Though if she was going to jump out at him when he was running laps, he would have to reconsider. "I didn't think you were the sneak attack type. I thought you were always more of a 'run in all guns blazing' type."

"Naw, sometimes you gotta change it up. You taught me that."

Shepard started to walk over to the lockers that had been moved down for everyone. He figured his workout was done for the day. Jack walked alongside him, another first, Shepard thought, as she had usually walked behind everyone.

"Usually, one doesn't attack their commanding officer unless there's a reason. And since you're not being followed by an angry mob of mutineers, I can only assume you wanted to talk about something."

Jack suddenly looked down, and, almost subconsciously, fell half a step behind Shepard.

"Um, yeah. Listen, you know about Pragia and all that shit that those sick fucks put me through."

Shepard nodded to himself. When Jack had asked that they take a detour to destroy the facility on Pragia where a rogue Cerberus cell had experimented on her as a child, he had been impressed with her ability to actually ask him to do it. He knew she was less than enthused that he had brought Miranda with them, but since it was a Cerberus facility, he knew Miranda might be needed to access any databases they came across.

They had taken out a group of Blood Pack mercenaries who had been hired by another former test subject to try to salvage the base and restart it. Jack, at Shepard's urging, had let him go, but they had still blown the facility sky high, leaving nothing more than a smoldering crater, which the dense jungle would cover in a matter of weeks anyways. If Jack was bringing it up again, perhaps the wounds went deeper than just that facility, though.

"Well, when we docked at Omega, and then the Citadel, I was able to do some digging. I found some more files, ones that I hadn't had access to when you brought me on board. It seems that Timmy had a hard on for creating the perfect human biotic for a long time." The crew's nickname for the Illusive Man was always used as more of an insult than a joke. It had started with Jack, appropriately enough, and taken on a life of its own, especially amongst the Strike Team. While Shepard rarely used it, as he knew some of the original Cerberus crew didn't like it, he understood why everyone else did. "The facility that used me was only one of many. While it looks like the one I was in was the worst, the fact that they did this to other kids… when I read the report, I wanted to find Timmy and rip him apart, atom by atom."

Shepard knew Jack wasn't exaggerating, and that she could do exactly what she had threatened to. "I understand. The thought of other kids having to try to survive a batarian slaver raid like I had to makes me sick to my stomach, but I can only imagine what it's like to find out that there were other kids being treated like you were."

Jack perched up on a crate while Shepard got a bottle of water and a towel out of his locker. He sat down on the bench, and looked up to her. "What do you want to do?"

Jack looked him straight in the eye. "I want to kill every single sick fuck that had anything to do with any of those places."

Shepard held her gaze for a moment. As usual, there was not a bit of exaggeration in her statement, or second-guessing in her thinking. She had decided on what she wanted and God help anyone that tried to talk her out of it.

"Well, I can't promise to turn us all into a rogue hit squad, but I'll make you a deal. You get a list of the other facilities, and we'll investigate. I won't promise that we'll hunt everyone down, but we'll look into it."

Jack thought for a moment, thinking it over. She hadn't expected Shepard to agree to hunt down all of the scientists involved, but part of her was surprised that he had agreed to help at all. "Ok, deal."

Shepard nodded at her, and then stood up. He walked over to the cargo bay doors and stopped. He turned back to Jack, who was still on the crate. "One other thing, though, and I know you won't like it. You should talk to Miranda about this."

He could see the reaction easily on Jack. Not only did her face contort in an expression of rage, disgust, and shock, but she slid off the crate and assumed an almost attack posture. "The cheerleader? No, not gonna happen. I'll fucking jump ship and do it myself!"

Shepard didn't step forward, but he squared himself to her. He wasn't going to let this go. "If we're going into Cerberus facilities, she's the one with the information and access that we'll need. She's not with Cerberus anymore, but she still has contacts in the organization that will help her. And you and I both know that she's one of the best in coming up with a plan of attack. You know I wouldn't ask you to work with her on this if I didn't think it was the best way to get it done. Besides, she'll be able to strategize this so that it fits right in with our overall mission, ok?"

He could see that she was still angry, but that she also knew he was right. "Alright, fine. But if she so much as breathes wrong at me, I'll rip her in half and use her skin as a jacket, just so we're on the same page."

Shepard let the slight smile he was fighting slip through. "Noted. And Jack, I promise, I'll do whatever I can."

"Whatever. Don't make promises you can't keep. But… thanks."

Shepard nodded at her, then left the cargo bay and entered the elevator. She's coming out of her shell a lot more, lately he thought to himself. Here's hoping having her work with Miranda won't result in either of them killing the other, though the fact that she had called her "cheerleader" and not "Cerberus bitch" was a step forward in the right direction. Still, while the elevator was still in transit, he keyed his omni-tool to give Miranda a heads up, nevertheless.

Shepard arrived at the Captain's quarters, the uppermost level on the ship. He shared the rather luxurious accommodations with Ash. After their reunion, engagement, and his moving in with her on the Citadel, it would have been preposterous for them to maintain separate quarters on the Normandy. He supposed it would have been the more "military" thing to do, but they weren't concerned about it. They were open and honest with everyone on the ship about their relationship, and, while technically they were using loopholes in the rules about fraternization, and they both valued their and each other's careers, they weren't about to hide it from anyone. If they ended up failing to stop the Reapers, they weren't going to regret not having enough time for each other.

He walked into their quarters to find Ash sitting at the terminal in the office part of the room, going over some reports. He leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"So, Chief, anything interesting?"

"No, just going over some more reports on Ilos… again. Enjoy your workout?"

Shepard stood, and walked into the bathroom, where he started the shower. "The run itself was good. What happened after was interesting, though."

"Oh? Do tell." Ash closed the terminal and turned in her seat as Shepard stripped out of his clothes. "By the way, love the view, Skipper."

Shepard shot her a quick smirk as he got in the shower. "Jack wanted to talk to me about something."

"Jack wanted to talk? Wow, soon she'll be wearing an actual shirt and drinking afternoon tea in the mess."

"I wouldn't hold your breath on either of those. Anyways, it looks like she found some more Cerberus facilities like the one she was in. Besides hunting down everyone that worked at them, she asked if we could investigate the facilities."

"Really? She really has opened up since you first met her. I mean, I just met her right before we left the Citadel, but from what you told me, it's a big improvement."

"It is. I told her we'd do what we could but… I told her to talk to Miranda about it, too."

"Commander John Shepard, that is absolutely evil!"

"That's what she thought to. But Miranda will be able to get us the information needed to hit a Cerberus base, and she would be able to plan it around whatever leads we get. But I have to admit to an ulterior motive, too."

"Why, Skipper, I do believe that you've learned duplicity in the past few hours. You'd better stop talking to Liara so much, or you might become the next Shadow Broker."

"It's nothing like that. But I know that it's one thing for Jack to ask me about it. It's… easier, for her to talk to me about these things than anyone else. But this was a facility that had nothing to do with her, it's about other people. If she can bring herself to talk to Miranda about this, then it'll show that it's more than just revenge for what happened to her, and that she actually does care about what happens to other people."

Ash listened intently to Shepard's reasoning. She had to admit that the last reason he had was a good one; from everything she had been told about Jack, this was a huge step in coming out of her abrasive, angry shell that she had put herself in. "Maybe you're right. I just hope we don't end up having to clean the blood off the walls."

At that moment, the comm unit in the cabin chirped. Ash looked over to it and opened the channel, just as Shepard stepped out of the shower. He started toweling himself off as Ash answered the call.

"Yes?"

They were both slightly startled to hear Miranda's voice respond. "Ash, is Shepard there?"

Shepard walked over into the office, with his towel around his waist. "I'm here. Is everything ok?"

"Yes, Shepard. I got your message just a moment before Jack walked into my office. What did you do to her?"

Ash and Shepard exchanged grim looks. Evidently, Shepard had misjudged. "What do you mean, Miranda? What happened?"

"She… she… talked to me like a normal person!" The genuine confusion in Miranda's voice made both Ash and Shepard start laughing. "I'm serious; she walked in, said 'I need to talk to you about something,' and laid it all out there, without threatening me once! I believe that you may have finally tamed the beast, Shepard."

"Well, I figured that it's something worth investigating. And for your sake, I won't mention to Jack what you just called her."

"Thank you Shepard. One of the facilities is actually only a day's journey away from Ilos. With your and Ash's permission, I'll confirm that with Joker as our second destination."

Ash and Shepard looked at each other, and shrugged. "Sure. No reason to delay.'

"Thank you, Commander."

As Miranda closed the channel, Ash and Shepard looked at each other, and almost burst out laughing again.

Later, Shepard and Ash lay in bed together, Ash with her head on Shepard's chest. They had enjoyed a quiet, romantic dinner in their quarters before taking full advantage of their privacy. Shepard couldn't help but think of the night Ash had come to him in his quarters in the original Normandy before their first journey to Ilos. Then, they didn't know if they would survive, and he had been concerned when they both awoke that it would be attributed to out of control passions. When they had gotten back to the ship after defeating Sovereign, though, they had been nearly inseparable, and grew even closer than before. Of course, they had to maintain the appearance that they were just friends while near others, but it would have been nearly impossible for at least some of the crew not to pick up on it. They took all of their meals together, laughed at private jokes, and would take walks through the ship during their down time.

Of course, every night she would slip into his quarters, and would remain there for hours, until she would tear herself away to return to her own quarters, lest someone find her missing. She had been in his quarters, in a position very much like this when the Collectors had attacked. They had geared up in record time, and then…

Shepard quietly shook his head. He wouldn't think about those terrible moments anymore. They were alive, they were together, and they were a team. They had an even more important mission now than before, and their odds of survival were lower than ever before, but he was convinced that they would be able to defeat the reapers.

"Thinking about the mission, Skipper?"

"Why do you say that?"

"You tensed up, like you were ready to get all soldiery on me."

Shepard chuckled quietly to himself. "Sorry, just… thinking."

Ash picked her head up to look at him. "About anything in particular?"

Shepard sighed. "The last time we were like this… what we've gone through... what we're going through… what's to come… the usual."

Ash adjusted so she was resting her chin on Shepard's chest, looking at him. "Last time we were like this was back on the Citadel, in my… I mean our, apartment."

He smiled. She always knew how to cheer him up, how to motivate him. She never let him dwell on anything too long. He kissed her on the forehead, and started running his hands through her long, brown hair. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," she sighed. She started tracing circles on his chest with her finger. "Hey, Skipper," she said, not looking up at him, "have you thought about what we're going to do after the whole reaper thing is over with? You know… the whole us thing?"

He smiled, looking at her. "Well Chief, I put that ring on your finger, so I have an idea of what I'd like to do."

She looked down at her hand. She still couldn't believe that they were engaged. If it had been her, she probably would have waited until after the reapers had been stopped. The fact he had proposed before showed how hopeful he was that they would prevail. "You know what I mean."

"I do. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what will happen. But I am sure about us. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked."

"With the two of us being Spectres, and Marines… life could get complicated. What if the Council orders us away from one another? What if they don't like the fact that we'll be married by then? What if…"

He leaned up and kissed her on the mouth. He found that it was the most effective, and fun, way of quieting her down. "Those are a lot of what ifs, Chief. Let me put it to you this way: no matter what happens, I'll be right there beside you. If the Council decided they don't like the thought of us being together, then we'll figure out what to do then."

"But, I mean, there's a lot to think about. Where would you want to live? Do you want to go back to Mindoir? There's a whole lot we haven't talked about."

"Well, no time like the present. For starters, no, I don't want to go back to Mindoir. Yes, I still have some friends there, but that place hasn't been home since the attack. Ideally, I'd like to get a place near your family. And before you think for a moment that that's only to please you, it's because I can't think of a more loving, caring environment that we could be in. And if we decide to start a family, where better than near them?"

Ash was surprised by the last part of Shepard's statement. "A family? Skipper, you're always finding new ways to surprise me. You never mentioned this before."

He shrugged, which wasn't that easy while lying down with her almost laying on top of him. "I'm just saying that if that's what the future holds, why not? I'm not going to stop planning for the future just because there's a chance that the galaxy may not have much of a future."

They both knew that there was more than just a chance that the galaxy didn't have a future; there was a very good chance. Unless they could find a way to fight the reapers, they couldn't hope to survive.

"Skipper, I can't tell if you're an optimist or just naïve sometimes," Ash laughed. "We're getting ready for the fight of our lives, and you're planning our quiet, domestic life together. I'll bet you even have the drapes picked out."

"Hey, I do not. Granted, I've always liked teal…"

This garnered a deep laugh from Ash. She snaked her leg over Shepard, then shifted herself so she was straddling him. She looked down at her fiancée. His determination was one of the things she admired about him. He wasn't just hopeful that they'd win, he was convinced of it.

Almost as if he could read her mind, he looked into her eyes. "I'm not naïve, Ash. I know that we're in a tough spot. But I'm not about to throw in the towel. I'll fight until the end, as long as I have you by my side."

He certainly knows how to make those butterflies in my stomach dance like an over caffeinated salarian.

Shepard then smiled wickedly. "Of course, where you're at right now is pretty good, too."

They both laughed. "Well, Skipper," she purred, "why don't we make the most of every moment that we have." The last words where breathed into Shepard mouth, as she pressed herself to him.

Well, there it is, the first chapter. Let me know what you all think!

Stay tuned, lots more to come!