Author's Note: Sorry the first chapter is so short. I didn't realize that it translates to a lot less than it appears to be on the original document. From now on the chapters should be much longer, and I will try to update everyday or every other day.

Chapter Two: Liquid Courage

"Colt, how do you know that they have the best here?" Alex asked.

"You're gonna love it, and that's a fact. Don't worry."

"GET DOWN!"

Shepard woke with a start. Sleeping after such horrid nightmares didn't look like a viable option. The nightmares must've been triggered by the Prothean beacon, and subsequent warning burned into his brain. Alex, and every object or thing his brother had ever loved, was the main attraction in each nightmare.

Colt dressed quickly, and headed out to the kitchen hoping to find some liquor to ease his mind after such vivid dreams. After a long, and surprisingly physical search for his prize, he found what appeared to be some sort of asari wine. Without a second thought, he sat at a Mess table and started to unwind. He would never dream of doing such a thing if he were about to go on a mission, but they had just started shore leave. So why the hell not?

He hoped that drinking would accomplish two things: forgetting his awful nightmares, and the way Liara's eyes seemed to burn straight into his soul. They seemed to be able to go through the mountains of BS he so carefully laid down. With any luck, she'd just see Commander Shepard and not Colt.

Earlier he had seen a picture of Matriarch Benezia, and had been struck by the resemblance between Doctor T'Soni and her mother. Shepard hoped that he would not have to kill Benezia; it would almost be like killing an older Liara. He took a long sip; he wasn't supposed to be thinking like this on shore leave.

Shepard had occasionally nursed the thought of avoiding the Doctor so he wouldn't feel so bad about the inevitable confrontation between Benezia and himself, but he quickly threw that idea out the airlock. Avoiding Liara would be about as impossible as convincing Pressley that aliens were alright. She was too interesting to be ignored, and too valuable an asset to be neglected. He would have to remember to ask her about her mother, knowing her take on the situation could potentially save Benezia.

"Getting drunk already, Commander?" Liara's gentle voice called out. The surprise almost made him tip his chair backwards.

"Jesus Christ, Doctor! I almost died right there. How humiliating would that be?" Shepard changed his voice to match that of a stereotypical news anchor, "The only hope for the galaxy dies today after getting the shit scared out of him when a friendly asari interrupted his drinking."

"I am sorry, Commander," Liara was clearly not sorry as she was trying to hide a fit of giggles behind her hand. Colt quickly took another swig of this increasingly delicious wine.

"Do you wanna join me?" He asked, gesturing towards the table where he sat. The earlier conversation was already flying out of his mind. She nodded, and sat the on the opposite side of the table. Awkward silence fell over them like a dreadful smog until Shepard cleared his throat and asked, "If we meet Benezia in battle, can I trust that you will help me… subdue her?" Shepard hated asking that but it was important to know. He was sober enough to realize the importance of this question.

"Of course! Benezia is obviously not the same person she was, and we need to make sure she doesn't do anything that could hurt her reputation any more," Liara stated, making it clear she didn't expect to kill her mother. Shepard didn't say anything more on the matter. He could probably talk Benezia out of what she was doing. Probably.

"You know, Doct-," Shepard grasped his head when a headache tore through his mind. Colt doubled over in pain, watched flashes of aliens being torn to bits, his brother being taken by Batarians, and his own blood pouring from a wound in his stomach.

White hot pain surged through every vein in his body, burning and tearing through its path. His head was the main target. He was vaguely aware of Liara's surprise. She said a few things, and then started to stand. The massive wave of anguish crashed through everything, and then receded to nothing more than a hum in the back of his mind. Shepard straightened up. The staggering amount of pain left as quickly as it had come. "Are- are y-ou ok?" she managed to stammer out.

"The damn Prothean beacon is giving me the worst migraines I've ever had... But they're just headaches, nothing to get too excited over," he flashed her his crooked smile. Liara, not entirely convinced he noted, kept eyeing him like he would explode into tiny pieces of confetti.

"Commander, you know that I could meld my mind with yours right? I could help you with these...headaches," the asari scientist pleaded. True concern leached into her tone.

"No thanks, I'll be fine. It's just a phase I'll go through until my mind can sort out the beacon. So tell me,Doctor T'Soni, have you ever been in any fight? Ones with guns, and blood?" Shepard leaned forward.

Liara answered, "One actually, it was at a dig on some remote planet that Serrice University had sponsored. It was just me and five others, mostly asari and one salarian. I guess the Batarians thought we were going to be easy to capture," Shepard's shoulders tensed, "and they would have been right if I had not been trained so well with biotics. My instincts knew before I did, and I threw a warp before I was entirely awake. Luckily I had decided not to sleep in my tent or else, Goddess forbid, the warp would have rebounded to me. After that first warp it was just a matter of getting the stragglers." Shepard noticed,even through his alcohol induced haze, how much this seemed to bother Liara. He imagined that was probably the first time she told anyone about the incident. That was also probably the first time she had killed someone. A sickening, and yet totally unforgettable experience for anyone.

...

Commander Shepard took another sip of what appeared to be asari wine, and offered Liara a clear view of what appeared to be a massive scar on his right arm's bicep. She could see that his skin was several shades darker there, and it almost looked like someone had carved writing directly onto his skin. She leaned a little closer hoping to see if it was just a scar or writing. Shepard noticed her looking at his arm a quickly brought his hand back down, effectively covering the mark. The two stared at each other for a few long seconds. Shepard's eyes flashed dangerously. His eyes were usually a calm, piercing green, but they had turned to storm clouds. Feeling brave, she asked, "Commander, what happened to your arm?"

He tensed his jaw, and she could see something in his eyes she hadn't seen before. "Doctor T'Soni," he started, voice tight, "Let's just say some people are more forgiving than others when you mess up." His statement, of course, only piqued her interest. But prying would've been a treacherous decision. Shepard wasn't someone she wanted to be on the bad side of. "Well Doctor, I think it's past my bedtime-."

"Liara, please call me Liara, Commander," she turned her head downwards, and hoped Shepard couldn't see the blush spreading across her features.

"If I get to call you Liara, it's only fair that you call me Shepard," he said. The Commander stood up, and started putting back the wine. Liara noticed how he moved with an efficiency she had only seen other soldiers use. Even when he was precariously perched on one of the counters trying to get the wine back in its place, he still had a sort of grace to him. It was odd she decided, for Shepard was more than six feet but he moved like a ballerina.

...

Colt had made an utter fool of himself before Liara. If he didn't look like an asshole when she asked him about his arm, then it definitely came out while trying to put the bottle back. Retreating to his cabin, and facing the horrors of his dreams was favorable to staying with the Doctor.

Once he fell asleep, he dreamt of another reminder of his lost family member. He dreamt of his brother's favorite animal, horses.

In the morning, the hangover felt like the aftermath of Ryncol, not asari wine.