A/N: So, I finally managed to kick myself into writing more. Hey, I do have most of the ending I got planned written - but the space between beginning and the ending is giving me funny looks O.o Thanks everyone who sent me some kind of feedback - you guys rock my socks!

Disclaimer: No hetero-/homo-/bisexual people were hurt in the making of this fanfic; I'm not here to "cure" anyone from their sexual orientation – I just decided to play on the note that maybe, just maybe, Steve found some traces of bisexuality in him. I own nothing – but if you had free Jokers lazing around, feel free to send them over! ;)

Two

It wasn't much of a surprise when Allison stood behind him again few days later, watching him checking the inertia damper coils.

"Is the shuttle okay?" she asked, careful not to startle him. It was quite surprising like someone who could be so loud and obviously dangerous could also be so quiet and non-threatening.

"Just double checking the coils, Commander," he said, continuing to scan it with his omnitool. Her quiet presence was making him slightly nervous; he became unused to people watching him so intently.

"I always come down here to see you working your ass off, Lieutenant. Do you even take some down-time?" she asked, curious.

He decided to avoid direct answer. "I get my sleep, Commander. Flying tired is nearly worse than flying drunk."

But Shepard seemed to be really intent on getting her answers from him that day. "What about your waking hours then? Any kind or R&R?"

Steve turned to face the Commander, suddenly tired of playing with words. "I used to sit in space dock and watch the ships flying by. I mean, it wasn't something many people would enjoy – but watching a ship flying through the space, so graceful… It was almost like watching a manta ray in the ocean."

She chuckled. "I know exactly what you mean – I used to do the same when I was kid, wreaking havoc at every space ship or station my parents were stationed at, only to disappear and be completely quiet, as I watched the ships fly by. I never told my parents where I went during those very suspicious silence periods – but I think they knew what I've been up to nonetheless."

He chuckled, almost against his will. "The illustrious Commander Sheppard being a terror?"

She smiled fondly in return. "Oh yes. Very much so." She looked at him, sombre again. "I know what you are trying to do, Steve," she said. "But please, take some shore leave next time we are on Citadel. Go watch ships."

He wanted to refuse, but then she said: "Do it for me." And he just couldn't refuse.

-o.O.o-

The docks had been pretty busy when he got off the Normandy for the first time the war started. There had been refugees everywhere on the Citadel, from little babies to people so old that Steve was wondering how old they truly were.

The observation deck near the docks had been rather quiet, though, and he was thankful for the peace, as he leant against the railings and watched ships fly by.

He felt a presence behind himself even before the person announced themselves.

"Allison," he said, earning himself an amused snort. "And here I thought I might surprise you," replied Shepard, coming to lean on the railings next to him.

"It really is amazing, isn't it?" mused Allison, pointing at the cruisers flying gracefully through the space.

"Look," pointed Steve, "that's an old turian fregate; I think I recognize that signature. That ship definitely has seen battle recently… See that waver in her drive core emissions?"

"Makes me wonder what one turian ship do at the Citadel," answered Allison, turning her head to look at him.

They were silent for a moment before he whispered: "She's alone, limping, looking for a haven probably… They probably think it would be better if they went down fighting together with their families back at home…"

That struck a bit too close to home in him, and from the slight change in Allison's stance he saw from the corner of his eye he knew that she knew. "Why do I have the feeling you are not talking about the Turians?"

Old pain gripped his heart at that. "I should have been there, Allison. With Robert."

She pushed himself closer to him, draping an arm around him. "I'm happy you weren't, Steve," she said quietly. "I'm sorry about Robert – but if you were there with him, you would be dead., we would never met and I would probably be dead thousand times over without you flying that shuttle."

He turned to look at her – she was completely serious, her eyes bright in the dimmed lights of observation deck. "Yeah," he confessed, "that is probably the only good thing which came from that."

Shepard gave him a small smile; looking at her made his stomach do a flip flop. "There will be more, Steve, once not everything is on our shoulders. We will not give up, you hear me?"

He nodded. He wanted to say something heart-warming to her, maybe something about kicking the Reapers where they belong and living happily ever after somewhere – but his eyes caught another ship entering the Citadel docks. He let out a surprised gasp, making Shepard to follow the look.

"That is an Alliance cruiser… What does it do in here?" she wondered aloud.

He pointed to the name written on the side of the ship. "SSV London – that cruiser had been decommissioned years ago; see? No guns on them."

"Looks like the refugees found it in the shipyard and went on their merry way to salvage it. That's Geneva class, right?" she asked, looking at him for affirmation. "That class always had been hard as granite; with certain beauty given to the stone and its indestructibility."

They watched the ship fly by; its flight slow, yet with certain level of grace. Steve heard himself saying: "I've got to let go, Allison. For real this time."

His companion nodded her head in agreement. "I've heard the refugees put up a memorial wall. Sounds like a plan, no?"

It did. But at the same time, his heart cried at giving up the last thing he had of Robert.