Peruvian Whiskey

Kathryn relayed Captain Anderson's orders to Joker and returned to the crew deck find Alenko sitting at the mess table. He smiled at her as she approached him, and that nervous flutter was back.

"Commander, you okay?"

She sat down and sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

He stood up and started fussing with something on the counter. "I...ah...figured you'd be hungry, so I warmed up something for you."

He turned around, a plate of pasta carbonara in hand, and quickly set it in front of her, with a napkin and cutlery. It had seemed a good idea at the time, but standing there now, as she stared at the plate, he thought he might have gone too far, given her the wrong idea. She, on the other hand, was wondering if there was any way he could have known this was her favorite pasta dish.

"Oh wow, that smells...forgive me for saying...fucking fantastic, Alenko." She grabbed a fork and dug in, shoveling a few mouthfuls in before noticing he was staring at her, a strange expression on his face. "What?" she asked, food in her mouth. Had she offended him by swearing? She hadn't even stopped to think what this meal might mean, and it probably meant something. Too late, I'm eating it. "Oh god...good, really good. You make this yourself?"

Alenko relaxed and laughed, getting two glasses before sitting down again. "Yeah. Not everything's fresh, but you learn to make do out here."

"You aren't eating any?" She paused.

"I ate already, earlier. I just thought..." He shrugged. The truth was, cooking calmed him. For several hours the only thing he could think of, the only thing he could see or hear, was her, floating in the air, her body twitching, not knowing if she'd live or die...it had been hard for him, knowing he couldn't do anything about it. Once he knew she was going to be okay, making her dinner served a dual purpose. He felt better, and he could do something for her.

Eventually, Shepard pushed her empty plate away and sat back, satisfied. She looked Alenko in the eye. "I needed that. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She wasn't ready to pack it in just yet; if she went to bed now, she'd be up all night thinking about her conversation with Anderson. "So. What got you laughing in there? Having a hard time imagining me on shore leave with a bottle of whiskey?"

He laughed again, and a small thrill shot down her spine. His voice was warm and comforting; she could listen to him talk for hours. Oh god, no.

"No...yes? Ah, I just thought it was funny you mentioned Peruvian whiskey. Do you like it?"

"Like it? I'm pretty sure I have taken shore leave with a bottle. Do you like it?"

"Yes." he said, opening the box beside him with the flair of a sommelier. An unopened bottle of Peruvian whiskey rested in a cloud of red velvet. "Would you like some?"

"Weren't you here just a minute ago?" she teased.

He opened the bottle and poured them each two fingers, neat. The way I drink it. Does he know these things about me?

"I'm glad to see you're okay, Commander. Losing Jenkins was hard on the crew. I'm glad we didn't lose you, too."

She raised her glass to touch his and they each took a sip. "It was rough down there."

"Yeah, I'll never get used to seeing dead civilians. It doesn't seem right, somehow. But at least you stopped Saren from wiping out the entire colony. "

Kathryn leaned forward. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"We're marines. We stick together. I'm just sorry we lost Jenkins."

She hunched over her glass. "Yeah, I...I wish I could have done something to save him."

Now Kaiden was leaning forward, an earnest look on his face. "I was there, you did everything right. It was just...bad luck. Hell of a shakedown cruise. Our first mission ends with one Spectre killing another. Citadel Council's not going to be happy about that, probably use it to leverage more concessions from the Alliance."

"Sounds like you have a good grasp of the situation. You a career man?"

"Yeah, lot of biotics are. We aren't restricted, but we sure don't go undocumented. Might as well get a paycheck for it. Besides, my father served. Made him proud when I signed up. Eventually."

Kathryn sensed a story there. Kaidan was obviously uncomfortable talking about himself. He's probably completely unaware how handsome he is, damn him.

"...is that why you're here?" he was asking.

"Spacer, military family. Dad's retired, Mom's the XO on the SSV Kilimanjaro. I've done all right for myself."

He chuckled. "Yeah, a few of us might have heard about the Skyllian Blitz." Shepard had earned the Star of Terra medal at twenty-two for single-handedly holding off enemy troops during a breach in the colony's defenses.

They smiled at each other, taking more sips of whiskey. She could tell he was thinking about something and nudged his foot under the table.

"You have a question."

He leaned forward, his voice low. "There's a rumor we're headed to the Citadel, ma'am. Can you tell me why?"

She mimicked his movements, whispering, "The captain hopes the ambassador can get an audience with the council, tell them what Saren's been up to."

"Makes sense. They'd probably like to know he's not working for them anymore." He sat up again. "Whatever happens, Commander, we'll be ready for them."

"Of course we will, Lieutenant. 'There are damn few better than us, and they're all dead.'" They grinned at each other for several seconds before finishing their drinks.

"Well, I think I should turn in. No offence, Alenko, but you look about as good as I feel. You've earned a break."

"Yes ma'am. May I escort you to your door?"

You really have no idea how adorable you are. "I'd like that, Lieutenant."

x ~ X ~ x

Shepard stared at the ceiling of her cabin, unable to sleep. All humanity, it seemed, was depending on her to save them from a rogue Spectre, whether or not they knew it yet. She thought of Kaidan Alenko, in the room next door, and of carbonara pasta, and Peruvian whiskey. Things aren't all that bad.

A/N: Thank you readers, and to reviewers Zute, Zevgirl, Kassandra Black, Soulraven16, and anonymous. Please read and review. The reviews are very motivating! Cheers, Biff