Discalimer: I don't own Mass Effect, Liara, or Commander Shepard. Especially all the drama. And the awesome.

The next morning, Ellanis woke up in her wifes arms. Looking up, she saw that Liara was still asleep, mouth hanging open just a little bit in an adorable way. Smiling, she carefully maneuvers her way out of bed without waking Liara. Walking into the bathroom, she turns on the shower. Stepping in, she sighs and gets to work. Today she decided to relax in the shower. Taking a small breather, she closed her eyes and let the water sluice down her body.

"In the end, all I was was scared."

Her eyes snapping open, she screamed a little bit and slid down to the floor. She heard the bathroom door open, and watched as Liara came into the shower to hold her. "Shepard, it's ok, I'm here..."

Shepard shook her head. "Just a bad dream..."

Liara looked directly into the redhead's eyes, leaned over and kissed her gently, saying "You're lying to me."

Shepard moved Liara out of the way, shutting off the water. "Liara, what do you want from me?"

Liara looks at her with a sad look in her eyes. "I want you to be ok. You need to let go of the past."

Shepard stares down at her wife, and then leaves the bathroom. Sighing, Liara just sits there. ::Why won't you let me help you?::, she broadcasts to Shepard's mind, knowing that there won't be an answer.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

At a local bar, Ellanis cradled a tall glass full of Ryncol. Krogan liquors seemed to be the only thing she could stand drinking these days. Her implants had been upgraded, inadvertently, when the Reapers were destroyed. They had failed as well, so the techs had cobbled together the last functioning bits of tech they could find and jammed it in. In short, Shepard would live as long as her partner. But she can't get drunk.

The bartender walks down to where Ellanis was sitting, gesturing at her glass. "Rough day?"

Ellanis doesn't say anything for a moment, then nods. "Could have been better."

The bartender looks her up and down. "You one of those fighter types? Ex-military, like that?"

She glances at the man, wondering why he is examing her like this. "You could say that."

He looks around, and then slides her a card. "Anyone who can drink a glass of Ryncol like that is bound to be good enough to make some money here."

She picks up the card. Reading it, it lists a location and a time. "Thanks. I'll look into it."

Hours later, going to that place, she finds herself looking at an underground fighting ring. Seeing her, an official walks over. "You here to fight?"

Ellanis nods. The man grunts and looks her up and down. "What's your style?"

She holds up a bare hand, and then makes a fist of biotic energy. "Biotic combat." The official nods, gesturing towards a locker room, and then walked away.

Suddenly, she felt a push in her head. ::What are you doing, love?::

Ignoring the presence, she walked into the arena. Looking at the man across the floor from her, she rapidly evaluated his fighting style, and then whispered in her mind, ::I'm just working some things out. Don't worry.::

The man roared, and launched himself across the room. Ellanis sidestepped his charge, and slammed her knee into his stomach, causing him to stop with a grunt. Letting her body glow for a moment, she pushed her knee further into his stomach, and watched him fly backwards. Hearing his vertebrae crack upon impact, the silver eyed woman turned to the official and stated; "I think this fight is over. Who's next?"

Later that night, Liara was waiting on the couch. Cradling a glass of wine, she looked up as the door opened, admitting one smiling Ellanis. "And where have you been all day?"

Ellanis slinked her way over, and gave her wife a long kiss. "Letting off some steam. Nothing big."

Liara pushed Ellanis away, albiet reluctantly, and frowned. "You've been gone for hours. Dinner is cold. Is there something I should know?"

Ellanis cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry to have been gone so long, but there's really nothing wrong."

Liara sighed, and got up to hug Ellanis. "I trust you. I was just worried because you were gone so long."

Chuckling, Shepard kissed her love on top of her head. "I love the fact that you worry."

Scrunching her face, Liara leaned against her wife as they went to bed.

AN: Annnnd another chapter done. I know it's been awhile, but life keeps me busy. I do hope this chapter doesn't seem contrived, but I feel that Shepard would have a non-standard way to cope with stress. Will Shepard continue with the fight club? Will Liara find out? Who knows. The characters do this to themselves.

Liara: What? I do not.
Shepard: Face it, hon. We create drama. *grabs Liara, exit stage left.*

*blinks.* Well, that was different.

SHOUTOUTS! Thanks to Kate and Vemilyus for the reviews!

Kate: Thanks for the review! I always liked the idea of Shepard having PTSD. How do you like the way she deals with it? Stay tuned!

Vemilyus: All is forgiven. Of course Shepard is in conflict with her past, and Liara is really the only one available to help her! She may get a little emotional, but hey. She's Commander Shepard, and this is her favorite stress in the universe!

Please enjoy and review, I will continue giving shoutouts to reviewers!