The nightmarish shape that had once been a Spectre loomed over them, its metal talons digging into the Citadel wall with impossible ease. From Saren's twisted body, vast bursts of energy spewed forth, scorching the ground beneath her feet. Ashley threw herself to the ground, the heat of the explosion singeing her even through layers of shields and armor. Off to her left, gunfire crackled as Shepard's assault rifle tore into Sovereign's puppet of metal and bone, soon joined by a burst of biotic energy from Liara.

Ashley rolled away from the fire and raised her sniper rifle, but the thing was already moving. Hurling itself through the air, it slammed into the ground next to the dodging Shepard. The Spectre emptied her clip into Saren, but in spite of the shots, it kept coming. An elongated metal limb ripped through Shepard's shields and a second crashed into her armor, knocking the commander to the ground. Before she could get to her feet, the monster was on top of her, its talons pressing down towards her face as she tried desperately to push them off of her.

At last able to get a clear shot, Ashley hit the monster with a round in its back. Saren turned, giving Shepard a moment's respite, and before it could strike again, the gunnery sergeant hurled herself forward, slamming the butt of her rifle into the creature. Saren staggered backwards and the commander rolled free even as one of the limbs that had been pinning her was striking at Ashley. The talon punctured her shields and as she tried to retreat, a second strike bit into her leg, trapping her as the metal ripped through armor and flesh. Ashley bit back a scream as the other arm embedded itself into her shoulder guard, cracking the armor and piercing the skin beneath it.

And then Saren was ripped off of her, caught in a powerful biotic field. Liara slammed the creature into a pillar and Shepard leapt after it, jamming her rifle into its metal face. She pumped round after round into Saren, chunks of metal and bone spraying across the floor. The beast spewed forth another fireball though and Shepard dropped to the ground, trying to beat off the flames on her armor.

Ignoring the pain in her arm, Ashley yanked out her own assault rifle and fired. The shots struck Saren's head and it turned away from Shepard. It's mouth open to spew a fireball and then the space between them exploded, a single shot from Liara's pistol placed neatly between its glowing eyes. Saren crashed to the ground, dissolving as the dark energies that animated the creature consumed it at last and Ashley slumped to the ground as well, the pain of her wounds catching up to her.

Ashley blinked as light flooded her vision, her breath coming in sharp gasps, but when she looked around her, the ruins of the Presidium were nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was lying in a hospital bed and though her leg still throbbed where Saren had stabbed her, her wounds had been treated. A salarian doctor was standing over her, a concerned smile on his grey face. "Ah, Sergeant Williams, you're awake."

"Where am I?", she groaned.

"Huerta Memorial, on the Citadel. Thankfully, wasn't damaged too badly in the fighting. Am glad you're awake. Some important people waiting outside, refusing to leave."

Ashley rubbed her head. "Who?"

"Human Spectre. Shepard. Friends too."

She smiled, relieved to hear that the skipper had made it through the rest of the battle all right. "Show them in."

"Very good. Don't overstrain self. No celebratory drinking. Doctor's orders." She nodded and the salarian turned to leave. "Oh," he recalled just before he reached the door, "Almost forgot. Someone left this for you." He picked up an envelope from the nightstand and handed it to Ashley.

Ashley looked at it with surprise, turning it over in her hands. She seldom saw written letters and the paper of the envelope was of very high quality, with her name was written in elegant script on the front. Ashley started to open it, but before she could, a familiar voice filled the room.

"Ash!" Shepard walked in, Liara by her side. "Thank god you're awake." Ashley instinctively sat up, trying to salute. "Stop that," the commander insisted. "You got into that bed pulling my ass out of the fire. I won't have you injuring yourself on my account now."

"Indeed," Liara told her, before looking over at Shepard, a mixture of relief and concern in her blue eyes. "I cannot thank you enough for what you did."

"Even if it was a little bit foolish, charging Saren like that," Shepard added.

Ashley could feel herself blushing. "It was the least I could do. You saved my ass plenty of times. I owed you one back."

"Well, you can consider us even now." The commander smiled over at Liara, her hand resting on the asari's back. On Ilos, Ashley had suspected that something had happened between them and now she was sure of it. She knew a freshly fucked glow when she saw it. Once, she would have judged Shepard for getting involved with an alien, but after everything they had all been though, to say nothing of Liara pulling Saren off of her, Ashley was just happy for the two of them.

Behind them, the rest of the team was heading into the hospital room, ignoring the protestations of the salarian doctor. "Williams!", Wrex bellowed, "Glad to see you're not dead just yet."

"Not for lack of trying," Garrus added, "At least according to Shepard."

Tali simply rushed over to her bed and gave the marine a hug. Her embrace felt a bit odd through the material of her suit, but Ashley appreciated her concern. In spite of her initial misgivings, she'd started to regard the quarian as a little sister.

Her distraction however caused the envelope to slip out of her grasp and Shepard's eagle eye didn't miss it. "What's this?", the Spectre asked, bending down to pick it up.

"I don't know," Ashley shrugged, "Nothing probably."

"Nothing?", Wrex laughed. "Looks pretty fancy to me."

"Aren't you going to open it?", Tali asked, her voice quivering with excitement. The quarian did love a good bit of gossip.

Ashley sighed. "There's no getting out of this is there, ma'am?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow with amusement. "What do you think, gunny?"

Slitting the envelope open with her fingernail, Ashley drew out the small card inside. The words inside were written in the same elegant script as her name on the front.

Sergeant Williams,

I am pleased to see that you have survived recent events and that my suspicions about your having a role yet to play proved to be correct. I, and the rest of the Citadel, owe you a great debt of gratitude. If you would like to speak further of this or anything else, I would be delighted to receive you in my chambers at your earliest convenience. May the Goddess speed along your recovery,

Sha'ira

Ashley tried to hide the note before anyone else could read it, but she wasn't quick enough. Shepard got a good look and promptly burst out laughing. "Well, well, Ash! Aren't you the lucky marine."

"What does it say, Shepard?", Liara asked curiously.

"It's from the Consort. She's worried about Ashley." Shepard grinned. "Really, really worried,"

"You're two are fine ones to talk, ma'am," Ashley quipped.

Now it was Liara's turn to blush, her face turning a darker shade of blue. "Are we that obvious?"

"Eh, I've seen worse." Ashley paused. "Occasionally."

"You're missing the point here people," Wrex interjected. "Williams has a date with the Consort!"

Did she? As the rest of the crew started joking back and forth about both her and Shepard's love lives, Ashley slid the card back into the envelope. She wasn't sure what this meant, but she was pretty sure that the question was going to be hard to get out of her head.

She only spent one more night in the hospital, but it wasn't until two days after being released that Ashley finally found the nerve to follow up on the Consort's invitation, making her way up to the Presidium. She hadn't managed to make it inside yet though. It wasn't because of the usual line either: there wasn't one. Though the fires from Saren's attack had been put out, the area was largely deserted that afternoon, the rich and famous still keeping their distance.

So why was Ashley on the outside looking in? It wasn't like she was some blushing virgin. Usually, the sergeant was perfectly comfortable going for what she wanted. And she wanted Sha'ira. She might not have understood why exactly she was feeling that way, but once she'd gotten past her denials, she knew desire when she felt it throbbing between her legs. And yet…

Ashley was used to being the one in demand. An attractive woman in an Alliance marine unit attracted plenty of attention. She wasn't the kind of girl who liked to take advantage of that. She was a soldier, not some prom queen flirting with all the boys. Still, when she went to talk to a guy, it gave her a certain kind of confidence that her interest would be reciprocated or at least not seen as an imposition.

Now, though, she was a dumb grunt going to meet with a renowned asari beauty and she had a knot in her stomach. Was Sha'ira even interested her like that? And even if she was, Ashley had never been with a human woman, let alone an alien. The most she'd ever done was make out with Shelly Pomeray on a dare back in Basic. One way or another, she might be about to make a fool out of herself if she didn't turn around right now.

Ashley swallowed hard. The hell with it. She'd experienced far worse in her life than making a fool out of herself. "Once more unto the breech," she muttered under her breath and stepped through the entrance.

Once inside though, she didn't see any of the usual guests or employees. The lights were on but the place was empty, and she was just wondering if she should go when a friendly voice called out to her.

A short asari with dark purple skin wearing the dress of one of the Consort's acolytes stepped out into the entrance room. "Ashley Williams, I believe."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Business seems a little slow today."

"We are not open for business. Most of the other acolytes are at home until repairs have been completed to this part of the Citadel."

"Oh." Ashley backed up, raising her hands apologetically, "I'm sorry. I thought I was invited to… I should go."

"There is no need. The Consort told me to expect you. You may go in and see her now."

Ashley didn't know whether to be relieved or frightened to be afforded such special treatment, but either way, she was heading in. This Williams wasn't going to run away, not even if a part of her would have been more comfortable if it were a squad of turian soldiers waiting on the other side of the door instead of Sha'ira.

One more chapter to go after this. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, faved, and followed: I wasn't sure how many people would be interested in this rare pairing and the response has really been encouraging.