A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay in updating this. That dissertation has been kicking my ass. :)

Feedback on this chapter would be great. I was initially going to only include non-mission scenes for the fic, since I have no experience writing action scenes, but I quite liked the idea of expanding on Tali's mission. Plus, I was afraid it might become boring to just write about recurring conversations aboard the Normandy. Thoughts?

Not sure how updating will go from here. I think I'd like to update weekly, but we'll see how much free time I'll find.

Once again, thank you for all the follows/favourites/reviews! I appreciate it a lot! Crits still welcome as I'm still figuring out how this writing business works.


Her eyes hadn't left her terminal screen since she'd opened the message. She felt her stomach sink as she read through it one more time.

She's been compromised.

Miranda leaned back in her seat as she processed the information. Her father was getting closer. She needed to move Oriana as soon as possible. She ran a hand through her hair and sank deeper into her seat, her mind running through every possible option. Why did this have to happen now that she was aboard the Normandy? Miranda liked to do things herself; it was the only way to ensure that things were done to perfection. There was no room for mistakes when it came to Oriana. But now? She may have to pull some strings with people. She may have to ask for help from the Commander.

It had only been a couple of days since the pancake incident. Miranda had so far managed to keep her distance from Shepard, not looking forward to spending time alone with the person who had seen her in such an... ungraceful moment. Miranda felt the back of her neck burn at the memory.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, Miranda reined in her emotions. She took a deep breath and replied to the message, asking her contact to keep an eye on the situation and to contact her with any news. She squared her shoulders, got up, and made her way out of her quarters.

Shepard was exactly where EDI said she'd be. Chatting excitedly with Garrus in the corridor leading up to the Battery room, Shepard practically bounced on the balls of her feet as Garrus listened, arms crossed and an amused expression written on his face. Their sentences were punctuated with smiles and laughter. As Miranda approached them both she understood that the subject of their conversation was Tali'Zorah.

Following the mission on Horizon, new dossiers had been added to the list. The quarian was among them. Shepard all but sprinted to the CIC upon reading it, setting a course straight to Haestrom. Shepard, Garrus and Joker had then held a short conversation over the communications system about the 'good old days'. Miranda had wasted no time in retiring to her office.

"Ah, Miranda," Shepard said as she saw her approaching. "I was just about to go find you. We'll be in Haestrom any minute now. Can I count on you to come with?"

Miranda was taken aback. She and Tali had not shared the most pleasant of introductions. She didn't have a lot of experience reading quarian body language, but it was clear from the tone of voice alone that Tali would have been happy to put a bullet between her eyes had Shepard not been there the first time they met in Freedom's Progress. An unfamiliar feeling gnawed away at her as she thought back to that day. Was it regret? She had not exactly been kind with Veetor. Shepard's a bad influence, Miranda thought to herself as she opened her mouth to answer her Commanding Officer.

"Of course, Shepard. I'm ready to go at a moment's notice." She lingered, unsure of whether to approach the subject in the corridor. "Shepard... I was hoping I could take a moment of your time?"

Shepard lightly patted Garrus on the shoulder as he took his leave. She turned back to her with a beaming smile. "Of course! What do you want to talk about?"

Miranda eyed the corridor and knotted her eyebrows. "It's... personal. And it may take a while to explain. Could we do this after we return from recruiting the quarian?"

She noticed how the Commander's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly in response to her choice of words. "Certainly. I'm more than happy to talk in private when we come back from recruiting Tali." Shepard accentuated her friend's name, giving her a look. Her voice didn't sound angry but Miranda understood.

"Noted, Shepard." She bit her lip and turned on her heels.


To say that Haestrom was infested with geth was an understatement. They came at them in swarms. The sun ate at their shields, forcing them to hurry through the battlefield and to take cover in whatever shade they could find. Miranda caught the hitches in her Commander's breath as they scanned the corpses of fallen quarians. No-one said much as they made their way through the ruins, the only sounds being the recorded logs of the quarian team, encouraging them to find Tali.

The Dropship didn't make it easy for them. They were forced to fight off a seemingly never-ending barrage of them, Garrus and Shepard sniping as many as they could at a distance and Miranda overloading their shields. Well-timed warps on Miranda's part ensured the detonation of Shepard's biotic slams. On more than one occasion Miranda caught Shepard smirking at her. She returned them. They made a good team.

Shepard's relief at the sound of Tali's voice was palpable. They didn't talk for long, but it was enough to renew Shepard's hopes and to propel her along. She forced Kal'Reegar down as they arrived near the observatory and the three of them fought their way through the geth's last line of defence. Garrus took position on the bridge on the right where he could snipe from while Miranda accompanied Shepard through the left side of the field.

As they got closer to the colossus, Miranda was worried Shepard was becoming distracted. Her fears proved justified when a geth hunter snuck up on Shepard. Miranda shouted a warning but Shepard didn't look around in time to protect herself. Her only saving grace was Garrus, who sniped the geth through the headpiece just as it started shredding through her shields with a shotgun. Miranda rushed ahead and tackled Shepard behind cover just as the colossus released another pulse beam.

Miranda's face scrunched up in fury at Shepard's recklessness. She grabbed hold of her Commander's collar piece and gave it a shake.

"Damn it, Shepard! You need to focus!" She pulled her closer so they were nose to nose, her voice turning into a snarl. "There's not much point in rushing ahead to meet Tali if you're not going to be alive to greet her."

Shepard gaped at her as she was released with a shove. As Garrus sniped another approaching geth, her eyes focused sharply. She nodded at her before returning to position, and switched to a heavy pistol to dispatch the approaching geth at close range.

They were close to the colossus now. It lost sight of them both as they took cover behind the wall on the left. Garrus rushed along the bridge and took position parallel to them, keeping the colossus distracted as they lined up their own attacks. Shepard switched to her heavy weapon and hacked a geth trooper to help them out against the other foot soldiers while the colossus regenerated its shields. It didn't take that much to bring it down at this range. With a final explosion from a biotic detonation, the colossus fell and the three regrouped.

Tali awaited them inside. She hugged Shepard and Garrus as they entered through the door. The three of them were all smiles for a moment, before Shepard announced the news of the deaths. Tali shoulders dropped. Miranda watched from a distance as a new wave of hugging started, this time full of condolences and comforting. She looked visibly relieved as she learned about Kal'Reegar. As Tali turned back to the entrance of the observatory, her eyes met Miranda's. Miranda felt like a deer caught in the headlights. She was the other here. The three of them had their shoulders wrapped in each other's arms as Miranda stood there awkwardly, using the arms folded in front of her chest as a shield. Shepard turned her head, sensing something had changed. Upon seeing their body language, she detached herself from the unit and approached Miranda, who simply looked at her confused.

She placed a hand on Miranda's back as she addressed Tali. "You remember Miranda, Tali?" She grinned up at the Cerberus Officer as she spoke. "She's taken the liberty of saving my ass quite a few times in your absence. Including, but not limited to, today," she said with a smirk.

Miranda felt a swell of pride and affection at her words, touched by the gesture. She couldn't stop the small smile tugging at her lips. She felt a sudden rush of confidence and moved forward to address the quarian.

"We didn't exactly get off to a good start. I'm hoping I can make a better second impression." She tentatively raised a hand towards Tali, who hesitated. The quarian looked at the two of them in distrust for a moment, as if trying to understand why Shepard was trusting Cerberus. She held the Commander's gaze for a long time, neither of them moving. Just as Miranda was lowering her hand in defeat, Tali took it. The two shook hands in silence as Shepard watched, eyes darting from one woman to the other, as if half-expecting a shootout to start at any minute.

"Glad someone's keeping an eye on this one. For a Spectre, she certainly likes to flaunt her head like a target," said Tali, unable to keep the mirth from her voice as Shepard looked insulted. "Tell me, does she still insist on driving the shuttle like a deathtrap?"

Miranda gave her a genuine smile. "Given the reports from two years ago we made sure to hire someone especially for driving the shuttle. We're not spending another 4 billion credits on her just because she decided to nose-dive us into a crater."


Their trip back to the Normandy was fairly uneventful. Miranda watched as the three of them caught up. There was no sinking feeling in her stomach this time, but curiosity took the best of her and she watched them from the corner of her eye. It was clear Tali'Zorah still didn't trust Cerberus. Her eyes darted from crewmember to crewmember as she walked past them, and she kept her distance from them. Only Garrus and Shepard seemed to be on the receiving end of her trust. Still, as long as she got the job done... The Cerberus Officer found that she enjoyed the quarian's presence; She was clearly quick-witted and competent. As the four of them entered the lift in the hangar, Shepard turned toward Miranda.

"I haven't forgotten about our talk," she said smiling. "I just want to settle Tali in and take a quick shower if that's all right?"

"Sure. I need to clean up as well," Miranda replied.

She exited the lift in third deck, nodding her goodbyes to them, and made her way to her room to pick a few things up. After a quick shower she found herself once again in her quarters. Her thoughts turned to Oriana and the knot in her stomach continued to tighten. She'd received a reply from her informer, and it wasn't good news. Miranda found her anxiety building as she waited for Shepard's arrival. The day hadn't left her too long to ponder how she would approach the subject. Normally she'd bask in the few moments of silence she found for herself, but at that moment everything was too quiet. Not even the view of the stars from her window was enough to calm her.

She got up, too fidgety to just sit idly. She turned as she heard the sound of her door opening, and came face to face with Shepard, who was stuffing her face with a sandwich. The two just stared at each other for a moment before Shepard swallowed the mouthful of food.

"May I bring this in? I promise not to get any crumbs on your floor," she said sheepishly.

Miranda just nodded, motioning to her to follow her. They made their way to the seats in the back of the room, and Miranda sank into one immediately. Shepard followed in suit, sitting cross-legged on the couch.

"You know, for such a nice guy, Jacob's kinda tactless. He just went right ahead and told Tali to introduce herself to EDI." Shepard sigh. "I'm surprised she didn't knock him on his ass. The way she was looking at him, I wouldn't put it past her."

Miranda bit her lip. "That's... he just told her that...?"

"Yep," Shepard replied as she placed the plate of sandwiches between the two of them. They were cut in triangles, the ham poking out from between the crusts. "Help yourself."

"Thanks." She hadn't even remembered to pick up anything to eat. She knew that she should really eat something, but with the way her stomach was doing flips at that point she doubted she'd keep anything down. She took the one that looked the smallest.

"So how can I help, Miranda?" Shepard asked.

She took a deep breath, and she told her. She told her about her sister. And about her father getting closer. And about how she needed to relocate Oriana's family to ensure her safety. She didn't tell her the whole truth; Oriana was her secret to keep and she'd like to keep it that way unless absolutely necessary. As Miranda talked she played with her uneaten sandwich. She picked at the crusts, removing them until the bread was clear and white. Then she began to pick at the ham protruding from between the two slices.

Shepard simply listened. She looked at her with undivided attention while she talked, occasionally nodding at specific points and asking her a few questions.

"I mean, we're already going to Illium at some point, so I thought that if we found the time to spare maybe we could look into this? I'd really like to be there to supervise the family's relocation," Miranda said as she met Shepard's eyes.

"I'll set a course for Illium right away. The other two dossiers are there as well, so it makes sense to go there first." Shepard beamed up at her as she stood, not missing a beat.

Miranda jumped to her feet as well.

"So... that's it? I didn't think... I didn't know if you'd be okay with helping. I mean," Miranda stammered, struggling to find the words. "And I'm not insinuating you're unkind or anything-"

"Miranda," Shepard interrupted, smiling softly. "Even if we didn't already have business to do in Illium, we'd still go there. I'm happy to do this for you. "

Miranda just looked at her surprised.

"It's what friends do for each other," Shepard said, as if she were explaining to her that two plus two equals four.

The Cerberus Officer wasn't sure how to respond. Relief washed over her, and her legs felt unstable as she stood there. Friends. The word brought a surge of warmth to her. She thought she should express the feeling somehow, her gratitude. She considered patting Shepard on the shoulder, but that would be a little too formal. A hug, she decided. She approached the shorter woman in front of her and brought her arms up around her stiffly, not sure how this would be received by Shepard. She kept some space between their bodies, only connected to the other woman by the upper part of her torso. She stood like that for a few moments, her heart racing as she waited for the Commander to respond. And that's when she felt the laughter bubbling out of the woman. Inhibited. Loud. Laughter. Miranda felt heat rush to her cheeks as she pushed off her.

"Honestly, Lawson! Jesus...," said Shepard as she pulled her back into the hug, stifling her laughter.

Her whole body was into the hug this time. Miranda stiffened for a moment before relaxing into Shepard's arms. She felt hands on her back, gently holding her in place. It was warm. And comfortable. And funnily enough, Miranda felt the safest she'd felt in a long time. She raised her own arms and wrapped them around Shepard, allowing herself to enjoy the moment. The commander started rubbing little circles on her back after a while, and Miranda found herself tightening the grip in response, sighing.

Shepard pulled back after a while. With her hands still on Miranda's arms, she reassured her. "I'll set a course to Illium. We'll get it done as soon as we arrive."

She made to leave but turned on her heels back at Miranda before exiting.

"Who should we take along?"

Miranda blanched. "Oh..." She paused before smirking. "Would it be strange if I told you I felt oddly comfortable letting a thief in on something this personal?"

Shepard gave her a smile of her own. "I'll let her know. Goodnight, Miranda."

"Goodnight."

As Miranda crawled into bed exhausted, she caught herself wrapping her own arms around her frame underneath the covers, her mind whirring before sleep took her. Fool. You shouldn't get attached.