I don't own Mass Effect, sadly. If I did, Kaidan would have been less of a butthead on Horizon and he'd be in my crew right now.

Katherine Shepard was tired. She'd spent the day on the Citadel, running errands and fixing random people's problems. It never ceased to amaze her that she always got swept up in the trials and tribulations of others, no matter how trivial they were. But now all she wanted was to relax, paint her nails and enjoy the remainder of her night.

She was sitting at her desk, checking her messages when the door to her quarters swooshed open quietly and she watched Kaidan walk in, his shoulders drooping slightly. He looked as tired as she felt.

"Hey."

Kaidan bent over and kissed her forehead, "Hey yourself." He was about to ask her how her day was when an odd whirring noise reached his ears.

"What is that noise?"

"Hmm?" Shepard looked around, her eyes settling on a small cage in the corner of the room. She watched as its occupant seemingly ran for his life on the wheel inside. "Oh, that's probably Thor."

Kaidan looked at her questioningly, "Thor?"

"Yes, my hamster."

Kaidan raised his eyebrows in surprise, "You have a hamster? Since when?"

"I got him today on the Citadel while you were in that meeting with Anderson that I wasn't allowed in on…"

"Again with that?" Kaidan said, slightly exasperated.

"Well I don't understand why I'm still being shut out. I've cut ties with Cerberus, and you all know that I was only working with them in the first place because no one else was willing to do anything about the Collectors!" Shepard stood up, her voice rising slightly with frustration. Kaidan put his hands on her shoulders in an effort to calm her. She was glowing slightly as her biotics flared with her emotions.

"I know that. And Anderson knows that. But you haven't rejoined the Alliance, so you can't be involved in meetings that involve Alliance business." Shepard rolled her eyes at his explanation.

"That is such bullsh-"

"Kat!" She looked at him, contrite. She knew it wasn't fair to take her irritation with Anderson and the Alliance out on Kaidan. "We're getting off the point."

"Oh? And what is the point?"

"The point is that you now own a hamster."

Shepard walked over to the cage, smiling happily, "Not just any hamster. A Miniature Giant Space Hamster."

"Uh huh. Wouldn't that just make it a regular sized hamster?"

Shepard cocked her head in confusion, and Kaidan continued, "So why do you have a hamster?"

"Why not? I've never had a pet before. Unless you count the fish, and they're just not very cuddly."

"You've never had a pet?"

"I've never had the opportunity really." She tapped on the glass slightly, and was rewarded with a small squeak, "I grew up on various space stations or living on whichever ship my parents were assigned to at the time. You can't really have a dog or a cat on a station, let alone on a heavy cruiser warship. I always wanted one, but I knew it just couldn't happen. It'd be against the rules. But now I'm making the rules. And the rules say I can have a pet. Hence, Thor."

"Okay….But why didn't you get a dog? Or a cat? Why get a rodent?"

Shepard was indignant on behalf of her hamster, "Don't call him a rodent! You'll hurt his feelings. Besides, a dog or a cat would be too much work. Thor was a happy medium; an adorable pet that I wouldn't have to head down to planet side to take for walkies."

His eyebrows shot up a bit, "Walkies? You're so cute sometimes. And Kat, he IS a rodent. Hamsters are rodents."

"You don't have to call him that to his face though. "

Kaidan walked over to the cage and opened the lid, "Fine, I won't call him a rodent. You know, he is pretty cute. Hey there little guy, OUCH!" He pulled his hand away, shaking it slightly, "Dammit! He bit me!"

Shepard watched as he stared down at her hamster, and was amused to note that her hamster was staring back up at Kaidan, challenging him to stick his fingers in the cage again.

"Well, you did call him a rodent."

"HE IS A RODENT." Kaidan looked over at her, his lower lip protruding in a pout, "Ow…" Shepard just shook her head and laughed at his display.

"Oh hush you big baby. Let me see." She reached over and took his hand in hers, examining his fingers. "There's hardly any blood, you're fine."

"I don't like it when things bite me you know."

"I beg to differ," Shepard replied, lifting her sultry gaze to his while stroking her fingers across his chest, smiling to herself as his breath quickened, "I happen to know that there's a spot on your collarbone that if I bite it lightly you seem to enjoy it quite a bit." Her smile grew as Kaidan squirmed a bit under her gaze.

"Yes, well that's different. "

Shepard just continued to look at him causing Kaidan to groan slightly.

"I am the ranking officer in this room. I could command you to get rid of it." He said, attempting to not to smile as he watched her eyes narrow. He loved getting her riled up like this, and reminding her that he outranked her now was one of the easiest ways to do so.

Shepard scoffed lightly. "IF I were still a member of the Alliance military you would be the ranking officer, true. But I'm not, and this is not an Alliance ship. This is my ship, and my command. So technically, you're still serving under me." she said, raising an eyebrow.

Kaidan smirked slightly in response, "I have always enjoyed serving under you. "

Shepard put her hands on his shoulders and slowly started walking him backwards towards the bed. "Now let's see what we can do about your horrible battle wound. On the bed soldier, I need to kiss it and make it better."

"Aye, aye ma'am." He snapped a salute at her before allowing himself to fall onto the bed, grabbing her hips and pulling her on top of him, grinning as she laughed at his response.

Please R&R!