Chapter 3 – Good and Bad Advice

Garrus was leaning against the bar counter, his face grim. Or maybe that was just the default turian expression. "You will take good care of her."

James groaned in mock desperation. "Garrus! Not you too!" During the past twenty-four hours, it seemed as if every single member of the crew had approached him in a similar manner. "But to answer your question, yes, I will. I promise."

The turian nodded, his expression unchanged. "It wasn't a question. I'm sure you're perfectly aware of what will happen to you if you don't."

James raised his hands in a gesture of pure defensiveness. "Yes. Everyone's made that abundantly clear to me. Liara sounded pretty vicious, actually. Heck, even Joker told me he'd have my head if I hurt her." He sighed. "Look. I get it. You all care about her."

"We do. She's been hurt before and she doesn't need that now." Garrus' tone was serious, his sub-vocals humming with some kind of emotion. Pity? Anger? "Shepard… I never thought I could be friends with a human, but she's taught me otherwise. There's no Shepard without Vakarian, remember that."

"Yeah, yeah." James was beginning to feel a little nervous. "But the two of you never-"

"Hell, no!" Garrus shook his head. "Well, there was that one time when we were both kinda tense and seriously considered blowing off some steam together. We even watched a few extranet vids together, tried to sort out how it would work." He made a curious noise. "Seemed a lot more trouble than it was worth, though, so we left it at that."

Garrus' mandibles twitched. Was that a smile? A grin even? James was never quite sure where turians were concerned. Shepard would know.

Why do people always assume I know everything? Susannah sighed deeply. The warm buzzing in her stomach that had accompanied her all through the day and night, a pleasant reminder of the night spent in James' arms, was rapidly fading, replaced by an all-too-familiar sense of emotional fatigue.

An hour ago Traynor had casually approached her with a request for help from Admiral Hackett. A Cerberus base on Noveria needed to be dealt with, and soon.

Traynor hadn't really been forthcoming with details about the proposed mission. "You've been there before, haven't you?"

Susannah rolled her eyes. As if I could recall every little thing about every planet I've seen over the years! Sure, fighting Matriarch Benezia had been memorable. But back then they had landed at a regular spaceport, and she hadn't actually seen much of Noveria except for Port Hanshan and the Peak 15 facility. All she remembered was that it had been pretty damn cold.

This time they would go straight for the Cerberus fighter base, hidden somewhere in the back of beyond. She tried to focus on the mission briefing in her journal, attempting to come up with a strategy, but there really wasn't much to go on. If only she had a better idea what to expect!

Susannah hated going into any situation unprepared, even if it was just a routine assignment. She prided herself on being ready for every eventuality. Maybe Hackett would have some advice once she got him on the intercom. In the meantime, she needed to assemble her squad. Kaidan and James could do with a bit of rest after the tough fight on the Geth Dreadnought. She decided to take Garrus. It was always good to have him at her back. She would need a biotic, too, Liara maybe, or Javik. In moments like this, she really missed Miranda. She would have been perfect for this mission.

As for the weapons-

She sighed when she realized she'd messed up her hair by tearing at it. Shaking it out, she braided it again, making sure no strand escaped, then threw the braid back over her shoulder and straightened her shoulders. Time to go.

James wasn't particularly hungry. As a matter of fact, he had even considered skipping lunch altogether. Then again, he had already worked out for an hour or two, had a nice chat with Esteban in the shower, and checked all his gear thoroughly. What else was there to do, while they were waiting for Shepard to return?

She had left for Noveria with Garrus and Javik early in the morning, set to take out yet another Cerberus base. He missed her, but he wasn't overly worried about her. From the sound of it, it was a routine assignment, and he expected her back soon.

He quickly scanned the menu before picking one of the dishes from the mess hall's counter. While the quality of the food was better than on most ships he'd served on, it was still nothing to write home about, and he suppressed a wistful sigh at the memory of his abuela's cooking. If he ever got enough shore leave again, he'd take Shepard there for a decent meal.

Not that he was even sure she'd appreciate it. Lola was a spacer kid through and through. She had spent all her childhood on board various ships and space stations, eating variations on nutrient paste. The thought of the face she'd make at the sight of a proper burrito casserole, spicy and creamy, with refried beans and real beef, made him chuckle to himself.

"Pleasant thoughts, Lieutenant?" There was a cool edge to Major Alenko's voice as he took his place in line behind James.

"Just memories of home, sir." James kept his voice carefully neutral.

He didn't know what to make of the major, if he was quite honest. Of course he admired his achievements and abilities. Alenko was an incredibly powerful biotic, one of the finest Alliance officers, the second human Spectre – without doubt a man deserving of his respect. He was also Shepard's former lover.

She hadn't really mentioned him so far, but James had read her dossier, back when he was guarding her on Earth, and he knew she'd been involved with Alenko before her… death. He also knew it was over between them, well and truly over. He didn't need a dossier to tell him. No one could possibly miss the strained tone of their interactions, nor the cold distance in her voice. And yet she'd agreed to have the major back on her ship. James sighed, wondering when would be a good time to raise the topic with her.

Choosing a table, he plunked his tray down on it and pulled up a chair.

"Mind if I join you?" Alenko's voice, and right behind him.

James nearly jumped. "Not at all, sir."

He cursed himself the moment Alenko sat down opposite him. He did mind. He didn't feel comfortable in the man's company. His own relationship with Susannah Shepard was still far too new, too fragile. Still, there was really no polite way out of this situation, so he did his best to stay civil.

"That was a bad business on Benning, don't you think, sir?" Kaidan's biotics had helped him out of a tough spot, when Shepard had taken them both along on that particular mission a while ago. Yet James regretted his words the moment they left his lips. Anything involving Cerberus was probably not a safe topic of conversation.

The major's scarred lip curved up in the ghost of a smirk. "Yes. It's always unpleasant if civilians get targeted. Not much of a surprise for anyone who's had dealings with the Illusive Man before, though."

James nodded, avoiding the other man's gaze. "I'm sure Commander Shepard thought the same."

Alenko leaned back in his seat. He took his time to answer, chewing slowly first, then wiping his mouth with his napkin. "Ah, yes. Shepard. Yes, I'm sure she knew exactly what to expect."

The bitterness in his voice made James flinch. "The Commander has severed all her ties with Cerberus, Major. We had her under constant surveillance for months. There's no way she could have-"

"Oh, I have no doubt you watched her closely, Lieutenant." Alenko's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Be careful, though. She might be a bit more than you can handle."

James inhaled slowly, trying to keep calm. "I don't recall asking for your advice, sir."

"And yet you'd be wise to take it." Another bitter laugh. "Don't ever fool yourself into thinking you've got her sorted out, Lieutenant. She'll always have a surprise up her sleeve. I don't think I ever understood her."

James nodded slowly. "I don't claim to understand her either, sir. But maybe I don't need to."

Alenko huffed, a provocative smirk on his lips. "So that's the way it is. You'll be a good boy, never questioning her decisions. Not even when she leaves you up here and goes off fighting, preferring others over you?"

"That's not the way I see it. Shepard chooses the ideal squad for each mission, depending on the parameters. That's all there is to it." James felt anger rising within him. "Look, sir, I don't know what game you're playing here." He got up, what little appetite he'd had all but gone. "All I know is the Commander is one hell of a woman, and she has a lot on her plate. Anything I can do to help her, I will."

The major gave him a surprised look, all the sarcasm suddenly gone. "You sound serious about her."

So that's your game? You're trying to rile me up, see if I'm good enough for her? And yet, Alenko had sounded genuinely mad at Shepard only moments earlier. Maybe he doesn't know himself what this is about. But either way, he's out of line.

James realized he was past caring about consequences. Taking another deep breath, he pulled himself up to his full height, towering over the major. "You bet I am serious. And you know what? Don't you dare give me the don't-hurt-her talk, Alenko! You of all people have no right to do that." He felt his hands clench into fists. "Garrus told me about Horizon. You deserted her, back there. You have no call to act all jealous and protective now."

Alenko's mouth opened briefly, but then snapped shut again, his eyes flashing with hurt. James left before the man could get his act together again. He knew this was a hollow victory at best, but he didn't have it in him to regret his words. About time somebody told him!

Susannah squinted over Joker's shoulder, trying to make sense of the Normandy's readings. On returning from Noveria, she'd been all but frozen through and thoroughly sick of wasting her time on yet another shady Cerberus operation.

And yet she had grudgingly agreed to take a detour to the Hades Nexus before their next mission, recalling the promises she'd made to a few people on the Citadel. They were looking for various important artefacts, but she wasn't really optimistic they would find anything. It was rather like poking around in a planet-sized haystack, in the hopes of finding a tiny Prothean needle. I should have told them to go and try their hand at a little exploration of their own! Irritably she pulled on the end of her braid.

"So… you and the beefcake, eh?" Joker shot her a quick look. "None of my business, of course."

"Oh, come off it, Joker." She dropped into the empty co-pilot's chair with a sigh. "God knows, you've stuck with me long enough to count as a friend, so feel free to speak your mind."

"True." He grinned happily. "You stole the Normandy, got blown up by the Collectors and took us on a suicide mission to the galactic core, and I haven't mutinied once! Anyway, Vega is alright, I guess. Though I'd have expected you to be a bit stricter regarding the regs. If I'd known earlier, maybe…"

Susannah raised an eyebrow. "Really? I don't think so. As for the regs… just between the two of us, I used to be more worried about things like this, but really, what's the point?" Gazing out into the star field before them, she spoke quietly, almost under her breath. "If we don't get our act together there'll be no one left to hold up Alliance rules and regulations anyway."

"Ouch!" Joker flinched. "I think I liked it better when you still believed in the possibility of being court-martialled."

"You're right. Maybe we shouldn't give up on all the rules just yet." Susannah quickly schooled her face into her usual optimistic smile, cursing her brief unguarded moment. "But honestly, I think Admiral Hackett has other things to worry about than my love life."

"Well, I for one am not going to testify against you." Joker smiled reassuringly.

Susannah snorted. "You'd hardly be in a position to do so. At least my boyfriend is 100 percent pure human, no Reaper tech involved."

"Your point being?" The pilot's tone was bone-dry. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the regulations to prevent me from dating my ship."

"No, I guess there isn't." Susannah had a hard time hiding her affectionate grin. "So the two of you are still good?"

Joker shrugged. "Why wouldn't we be? EDI's smart, she's funny, and she's into spaceships. As far as I'm concerned she's perfect." He glanced up at her, suddenly serious. "And about Vega… I'm glad things worked out for you for once, Commander. All that Reaper crap must be tough sometimes. Even a badass like you needs someone to lean on once in a while."

Susannah got up to leave, stretching as she did so. Time for a quick work-out. "Maybe you're right. Thanks, Joker."

"Always a pleasure to help." His grin was back in place. "See ya, Commander!"

A big thank you to zevgirl for her help with this!