Chapter 3
Kaidan and Shepard made their way to the mess the next morning through the still mostly deserted ship. It seemed that everyone was making the most of their last morning of shore leave, although Kaidan was aware of the speculative glances thrown their way by the few remaining crew members already in the mess.
"I'm heading off, Kaidan. I need to talk to Miranda, then I think I'll grab an hour of shore leave myself to get a few items." She gave him a wink as she headed off towards Miranda's office.
"Shopping? You hate shopping, Shepard."
"Sometimes even I need some things that aren't weapons mods." She gave a mock sigh as she continued walking.
Kaidan watched her walk away. She was definitely up to something and that didn't bode well for his peace of mind. She had refused to leave the ship since they'd docked. Now with only a couple of hours before they were due to leave, she suddenly had to go shopping. He was still sitting at the table deep in thought ten minutes later when the two women came out and headed for the elevator. He thought about following them but decided to go and talk to Garrus instead. He was staying right away from Joker today, although lately Garrus was almost as bad.
He caught up with Shepard a few hours later, after they'd left Ilium. He wasn't surprised to find her in the mess at her usual seat. The servings on her plate were small however compared to what she normally ate.
"Not feeling well, Shepard?" He looked pointedly at the plate.
"I'm fine, Kaidan. Just didn't want to go into our match on a full stomach." She grinned up at him.
"Are you really sure you want to do this Shepard?" Kaidan asked. Despite the grin on her face she seemed to be taking this one on one match a bit too seriously. It meant he would have to be on his toes or she'd wipe the floor with him.
"You can always back out if you want Kaidan."
"No. I'm just giving you a chance to back out gracefully."
"Relax Kaidan, it will be fun." She patted his arm reassuringly while the look on her face was anything but reassuring.
He had a bad feeling, but was saved from commenting by the arrival of Garrus, Tali, and Jack who joined them at the table.
Jack stuffed a large piece of pancake in her mouth, eyeing Shepard as she chewed. "Fraternizing with the enemy Shepard? That's no way to go into a fight. I knew deep down you were a pussy."
"Jack, it's a bit hard not to fraternize when 'the enemy' sleeps in the same bed."
In a low voice Kaidan murmured to Shepard, "Really?. I didn't notice any fraternizing going on last night or this morning," which made her giggle and drew strange looks from their breakfast companions. Out loud he added "So, I'm 'the enemy' now am I? Nice to know."
"Don't look so worried Kaidan. It could be worse. She could be making you go on a mission in the Hammerhead. At least you know you won't die in this sparring match. With Shepard's driving that's not always a given in the Hammerhead." Garrus said with a chuckle and a grin on his face.
"That bad, huh?" Kaidan grinned.
"You have no idea. It really makes me miss the Mako."
"Garrus I can always go one on one with you after I beat Kaidan's butt, if you like."
"No, Its fine Shepard, really. Kaidan's the only suicidal one around here and he has an edge the rest of us don't have."
"An edge Garrus?" She looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"Well, he's probably the only person that still walks, talks, and breathes after putting you in stasis. You must really love him."
"Take that silly grin off your face Alenko," she said without even looking at him. "Garrus, I figure I'd get way too much crap from Anderson and the Alliance if anything drastic happened to him."
Tali finished her breakfast and stood up. "I better head back down to engineering and make sure there are no problems." She was heading for the elevator when Shepard called her back.
"Have you heard from Kal Reegar lately, Tali? How is he doing?"
"He's fine. He 's still escorting a science team, trying to find out about dark energy."
"Kal Reegar is Tali's sweetheart, Kaidan." Shepard said in response to the baffled look on his face. "It's so sweet. He even calls her 'ma'am'. Reminds me of someone." She added with a grin at Kaidan.
"Um…yes…well…I really have to get back to engineering. See you." Tali made a hurried exit from the mess.
"I bet she's blushing like crazy in that suit." Shepard laughed.
"There's no way I am ever telling you about, or introducing you to, any woman I might meet, Shepard." Garrus said as he stood up to leave.
"Yeah, I'm going too. Shepard will make me throw up if she keeps this up much longer." Jack stood giving Shepard a disgusted look. "I hope you're going to get serious soon, Shepard. I've got money riding on the outcome of this fight."
Shepard stood and stretched. "I'm going to change, then warm up down in the cargo bay."
Sighing, Kaidan stood and headed to the cargo bay. As soon as he entered he noticed someone had already set up a ring of sorts. Garrus joined him and they stood silently watching as Shepard entered and began to warm up.
"Remind me again how you got yourself into this Kaidan."
"Shut up Garrus. I can do without that at the moment. Now, you're supposed to be supervising this match. Make sure you break it up before anyone gets hurt. We do have a mission, remember."
"You sound worried Kaidan."
"She just seems to be taking this whole thing a bit more seriously than I'd like, that's all."
"May I remind you that you are the one who brought up my legend status amongst the crew Kaidan? But don't worry, you know that Dr. Chakwas will be standing by to patch you up. She seems to be looking forward to it." Shepard interjected. She grinned broadly at him as she threw a punch at the punching bag.
"You're definitely in trouble, my friend." Garrus laughed and slapped him on the back.
A steady stream of off-duty crew began arriving as the match's start time drew near. For those on duty, Joker had promised a running commentary as well as a screening of the footage when they finished their shifts. Kaidan shook his head at the festive atmosphere. They're even passing around snacks for God's sake, he thought sourly. He was going to make Shepard pay for this somehow.
"I'm ready whenever you are Garrus." Shepard said walking over to where they were both standing. "Ready Kaidan?"
"Just remember our rules, Shepard." Kaidan walked to the middle of the ring and stood waiting. He'd never actually seen Shepard in hand to hand, but given her training and sheer stubbornness he knew not to take her for granted. She joined him in the ring. Her stance appeared relaxed but he wasn't fooled into thinking she was anything less than ready to move instantly in any direction.
They circled each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Relax, Kaidan told himself as he threw a right that she blocked easily with her forearms. She returned with a jab of her own that he only just managed to block. Damn she was quick.
After a number of feints he actually managed to get past her guard. He grabbed the front of her shirt only to be rocked backwards as her right hand grabbed his in a vice like grip while her left followed through to his chin. She followed this with a knee to his inner thigh in a blow that just missed his groin.
"Hey! Careful Shepard!"
"Don't worry Kaidan, I won't damage any important bits." She grinned and stepped back allowing him time to get to his feet.
They continued to spar. At times Kaidan thought he was beginning to best her but she always came back strongly. After the third time she managed to kick his inner thigh he realised that her aim was deliberate and she was sticking to their rule of no low blows. He knew he'd have some nice bruises in a few hours. Each time she came close he noticed her eyes twinkling with enjoyment. I suppose I should at least be thankful she isn't going for the quick kill. That would be humiliating.
They'd been going for quite a while when Garrus called a break. Kaidan sighed with relief. He was holding his own so far but it probably wouldn't be long before Shepard took him down. He watched out of the corner of his eye as she drank some water and received what he presumed were tips from Jack. Not that she needs any he thought ruefully. He had managed to throw her on her back once so far but she'd been back on her feet before he'd been able to take advantage of it. I'll either need to take her by surprise or distract her to gain any advantage. Whatever I do, I'll probably pay for it later.
As the match began again he headed towards her swiftly, catching her before she turned. He wrapped his arms around her body intending to sweep her legs out from beneath her. She responded intuitively, throwing her head back to bloody his nose as she stomped down hard on his foot. He released her and staggered backwards, clutching his nose.
"Damn it Shepard, what the hell was that?" he gasped. Garrus stepped between them, stopping the action to lead Kaidan over to Dr. Chakwas. Kaidan, his head still reeling, found himself feeling sorry for the Krogan she'd reportedly head butted. Her skull is like concrete.
After a moment Shepard joined him, watching as Dr Chakwas tended to him. "That's what happens to people that don't follow their own rules. And stop being a baby, it's not broken! I deliberately held back. I told you I wouldn't risk any permanent damage to you." She leaned close to whisper in his ear, "If you're lucky I might even kiss it better for you later."
She'd be doing more than that if he had his way. He had major plans for payback forming in his mind. He just hoped he had the willpower to go through with it, but one way or another he'd have a victory over her. He gave her a smug look and was pleased to see that it had disconcerted her. It was a minor victory for him, but at this stage he'd take it. She wasn't looking quite so smug now.
Standing up he said "Let's get this over with then." He headed back to the centre of the ring. She followed and took up her stance in front of him again.
The fight continued, with the advantage going back and forth between them. As Kaidan began to wonder how much longer he could continue, the distraction he'd been hoping for materialised as Jack shouted. "Stop being a pussy and go for his nuts, Shepard!"
Shepard giggled, her concentration lost momentarily and she hesitated. He lunged at her, the momentum carrying them both to the floor.
Kaidan straddled her hips and leaned forward pinning her arms to the floor. Leaning closer he whispered in her ear "How about we call it a draw and head to the cabin? You can start on the kissing better idea."
Before she could reply Joker's voice rang out. "Yes! I am so going to win. I'm the only one that had 'they'll get frisky in the middle of the fight' in the betting pool."
Shepard wiggled against him looking for leverage as he pressed down harder against her to prevent her movement. She smiled up at him, relaxing slightly, then swung her hips hard, flipping him over and pinning him to the floor beneath her.
Well this is just great. While he had no problems with this position when they were alone, it was causing serious problems here, and if she didn't move soon he wouldn't be able to stand up without a great deal of embarrassment. He tried to think of anything he could that would take the thoughts he was having away. Think Udina, think Udina was a litany he repeated over and over in his mind.
He heard Jack yell something about if she wanted to see this kind of action she'd look at extranet sites with Joker. At least he thought it was Jack, he couldn't concentrate on anything at the moment.
Shepard looked down as she continued to wiggle on top of him. "You ready to give up now, Kaidan?"
"I thought we agreed you wouldn't fight dirty."
"All's fair in love and war. And this is definitely war, my love."
"You are so going to pay for this you know. I've taken my last cold shower!"
"What are you going to do Kaidan? We're in a cargo bay full of people. People that are about to hear you say 'uncle'"
"Hope they're not holding their breaths. Don't get too cocky just yet. I've still got some tricks up my sleeve. Besides, you have to come back to the cabin at some point."
"Hmm, this I have to see. I'm not the one who's 'cocky' at the moment though." She wiggled against him again for good measure.
He grimaced. He didn't like letting her get away with this although he knew that his most effective tricks were more suitable for when they were alone. He was saved from having to choose between embarrassment and inaction by Joker.
"Damn I hate to do this, but I have Anderson waiting on the comm. He says he needs to speak to you both immediately."
"Looks like you owe Joker and Anderson. They just saved your very fine ass." Shepard stood up and held out her hand to him.
"I think you've got that the wrong way around, Shepard. But I'm willing to call it a draw for the sake of your status with the crew." Grabbing her outstretched hand he pulled himself to his feet.
"Oh, come on Kaidan. You know I was holding back. I didn't want to do any permanent damage to you. You won't always be restricted to cold showers you know."
"Real funny, Shepard. Since when do you hold back in anything you do? "
"C'mon we better see what's so important that Joker was willing to break this up and forego the footage for blackmail purposes."
After speaking to Anderson they headed to the bridge.
"I'm very disappointed in you Shepard." Joker turned and gave her a forlorn look.
"Why is that Joker? It wouldn't have something to do with you not making a killing on the bets you had going would it?" Shepard grinned at him.
"Why else? You could have finished Alenko off, if you'd actually been trying, and made me a much richer man. Although technically I did win because you two did get frisky. It might have gotten quite interesting if Anderson hadn't called."
"We did not get 'frisky', Joker. Well I didn't anyway." She cast a glance at Kaidan who had obviously decided it was best to stay quiet.
"C'mon Shepard, who are you trying to kid here? I've watched enough stuff on the extranet and know you two well enough by now to spot frisky when I see it." He gave Kaidan an amused look, pleased to see the slight pink colour beginning on his cheeks.
"Alright, fun's over Joker. Anderson wants us to head to the Phi Clio system in the Rosetta Nebula. Seems there's been some suspicious activity there lately. He thinks Cerberus might be involved and wants us to check it out." Kaidan spoke a bit more harshly than he'd intended.
"Aye Aye Commander. You're letting your frustration show you know, Alenko. It might be time for you to have another one of those cold showers." With that he turned back to the Normandy's controls snickering as Kaidan left the bridge muttering under his breath.