Ashley dressed up, put on her armor, then went below to grab her helmet and her magboots. Shepard geared up in his cabin, and also modded his armor with space thrusters, in case he needed to maneuver around or wanted to surprise Ash by literately sweeping her off her feet. Ashley arrived a few minutes after Shepard was ready, being donned completely in armor and ready to walk out into space.

"Looking good skipper. So where's this hatch of yours?"

"It's deep in the front. I hope you like tight spaces."

As Shepard and Ashley climbed over the bed and into the crawlspace behind the bed, Ashley replied, "We talking skin-tight?"

"A little bigger than that."

"Oh, good. Wiggle room is always nice."

Shepard and Ashley crawled in the tight space, with Shepard leading, and found the hatch. As Shepard was about to grab the hatch, EDI interrupted with,

"Safety protocols prohibit the use of emergency exits while there is no emergency."

Shepard managed to say "EDI…" before EDI continued,

"In addition, this space will be vented should the hatch be opened. You space hamster may survive if it is only open a few seconds, but even if he does survive, your cabin will be a mess should it be depressurized."

Ashley cut in with a renegade interrupt by saying, "And YOU'RE cleaning it up, Shepard."

Shepard, in disbelief of the reactions of his crew, got over it and asked, "Before you override the safety protocols EDI, can you open the hatch once we're out?"

"Yes, Shepard. Simply signal me when you are ready and I will depressurize the chamber so you can get in again."

"Alright EDI. Override the safety protocols and open the hatch."

"Very well, Shepard. The consequences are yours."

At that moment, the hatch made a sound, the handle automatically turned, and a blast of air emptied out of the Normandy as the cabin was now exposed to space. Ashley and Shepard quickly engaged their mag boots, got out of the cabin, and closed the hatch so that the cabin could pressurize again.

As they looked up and away from the Normandy, the sight was breathtaking. Both of them saw the stars without a window in their way; somehow, it seemed, being out here in space was better than watching it through a window. The stars glistened and were many different colors; white, light blue, light red, orange, purple, maroon, some even flashed different colors. Shepard and Ashley held each other's hand as they continued looking out into the vastness of space. They could barely make out several distant planets and moons by the way they were shaded, yet one planet glowed as bright as the moon on earth, having a light purple appearance to it's beautiful aura. The sun, far away, was bright enough that they could not look directly at it without burning their eyes, even with their shielded visors. Sound was greatly muffled, the only thing they could hear was of themselves breathing, any chatter they would say on the radio, and the faint sound of their mag boots clinging to the Normandy's surface. Their senses could only take in so much; space was much more lively in person than it did anywhere else.

Shepard and Ashley, still hand in hand, began their spacewalk by walking to the front of the Normandy. Both of them were speechless as they observed what space offered in terms of sight. Their attention was divided between space and the Normandy; both were beautiful and stunning, yet it seemed both of them were fighting for each other's attention. Ashley caught a flash of a shooting star and exclaimed "Whoh!" as she caught both the flash and the intense color of the star.

Shepard replied, "That one took me by surprise too."

Continuing their walk, they finally arrived at the front of the Normandy. If the Normandy didn't catch their attention, the sun did, and with how bright it was, they had to keep their heads at a angle so that they could see. Shepard then came up with an idea.

"Hey Ash, I think it's time Joker got a taste of his own medicine. Follow me, and stomp as loud as you can."

Ashley laughed and replied, "If you say so."

Shepard and Ashley stepped down in between where the Normandy's windshields were, and stomped as loud as they could towards the front. In doing so, they awoke Joker from a brief nap, causing him to scream, fall out of his seat and experience pain in the process as he exclaimed, "What the?" from all the shaking and stomping made. Believing there to be intruders outside the ship, Joker was about to radio Shepard and a security them when Shepard suddenly and quickly jumped off the Normandy into full view of one of the windshields. Joker screamed, then a split-second later, realized it was Shepard, and after tapping into his communications, replied,

"Yeah, ha-ha, very funny smartass. My ass is probably broke now, thanks to you. If I didn't fall back you can bet I would have jumped to FTL and warped your asses to dust."

Shepard used his thrusters to land back on the Normandy and replied, "Good morning, Joker."

"Ugggh, yeah, morning, thanks for making sure im not dead, because I feel like shit now." Joker slowly got up and sat back in his seat, waving his middle finger at where he believed Shepard was. Luckily for both of them, Shepard did not see his gesture. As Ashley walked over to where Shepard was, Joker continued,

"How'd you get out here anyways? I would've known if you got out through the shuttle bay."

"I didn't. And im not telling you now," Shepard replied.

"Wiseass."

Content with giving Joker a taste of his own medicine, Shepard continued with Ashley on their spacewalk. Ashley was somewhat excited after Shepard scared joker, so there was no need for them to hold hands at the moment. Shepard and Ashley walked away from the sun and towards the right wing so they could get a good view of both the Normandy and space. Because the cabin was before the cockpit, they had not only a good view of the Normandy, but also a good walk to the other side of space they did not see. As they walked, they looked up and caught eye of a green nebula, it's shape shifting, and it's glow ebbing. Some Asteroids were to the left of the Nebula, spinning in place at a fast rate of speed. There were also a few planets brightly lit by the sun.

"Wow!" Ashley let out as she began to take in the sight, "I totally don't do spacewalks enough if im taking in the sights."

"The last time I took a trip into space, I…"

"It must have been hard. I'm sorry Shep. Really."

Shepard and Ashley stopped to look at each other.

"It's fine, Ash."

"Was it this beautiful before you…you know?"

"No. It was bad. All I saw was the Normandy explode around me. What I felt was what hurt the most. I hoped all of you would make it when you hit the escape pods. Joker was the last one I helped, and I wondered if he ever made it. I lost the Normandy. It hurt. But losing myself hurt the worst. The pain of depressurization, suffocation, losing friends, losing you…it all went to black after that."

"Oh my god…" Ashley reacted in shock, then brought out the paragon in her to try comforting Shepard. "You're here now, Shepard. I can't tell you how better I am that your back. I hate Cerberus for all the shit they've done, and still do today."

"Me too, Ash. Bringing me back was the only thing they did right, and it still isn't enough to justify their dirty deeds."

"Cerberus almost turned us against each other."

"They did, and more than once. But im glad you held on even through all that, Ash. It takes a special kind of endurance to handle that."

"God…just thinking about it…"

Shepard used a paragon interrupt and cut in, "You're here now, Ash. You don't have to think about it. You made it through."

"Yeah, your right."

Shepard and Ashley continued their spacewalk, walking down the full length of the right wing and then traveled towards the back of the ship. As they walked, Ashley said,

"I wish I could've walked on the SR-1, before that got blown to hell. Bet it would've been a better walk."

"Oh? How so?"

"Less angles, a better feeling of drift, and the fact that it's the ship we kicked so much ass on."

"How would you know about the drift?"

"Smaller ship."

"I'm not too convinced, but if you say so…"

"Just shut up and believe me, Shepard."

"Did you know about the Normandy SR-1 memorial?"

"No, I never knew they made a memorial, what is it?"

"They made the crash site of the Normandy SR-1 a memorial site. I actually went there to do some clean-up, and to place a statue on the spot. You probably know most of us made it. But a few didn't."

"Yeah. There were a few others who didn't make it before all that happened."

"I know. I think of them too. I think we both had others who didn't make it that we don't know about."

Ashley redirected him by asking, "So is the memorial right where the Normandy crashed?"

"Yup, right where it crashed on Alchera. Pretty damn cold if you go down there."

"We, Shepard."

"Right. We'll go there someday. Come to think of it, I wonder what's left of our quarters."

"'Our' quarters?"

Shepard and Ashley stopped as they approached the edge of the rear of the ship. "Well, technically, it was the CO's quarters, but honestly, with all the time we spent back on the Normandy, they were yours too. Remember those nights?"

"I thought of them yesterday. And im thinking of them now, since you mentioned it."

"We had some nice nights. But Ash, I've been thinking…what if the council and Alliance actually sent us against the Reapers instead of stopping pirates? Would you regret missing those extra nights we had?"

"What? Honestly, I don't know. That's a lot of think about, Shepard."

"Yeah, some of it is. But…now that I think about it, maybe I made a mistake. Every night I spend with you is always amazing. I don't think I could ever get enough, whether we chased the reapers or not."

Ashley used her renegade side to try and boost Shepard by explaining, "Shepard, I…what's done is done. We can think about this all we want when the war's over, but I don't regret all the nights we spent, whether or not the council would actually kiss our ass and send us to fight the reapers."

"I don't either. My only regret is…"

"What?"

"I never introduced you to my mother."

"Oh, Shepard…" Ashley's renegade mood changed back as she listened to Shepard.

"She's all I got left. But she's still alive."

Ashley perked up as she heard the good news. "I remember what you told me. She still serving on the same ship?"

"No, it was shot down on Earth. She survived though. I heard she's working on the crucible."

"Glad to hear it. Sounds like we got one more reason to win this war."

"We do. Comeon, we haven't seen all the Normandy's offered us."

Shepard and Ashley continued their walk to the left wing of the ship, which was somewhat marred by the merciless rays of the sun. Their attention was a little more towards the Normandy than space, but both offered excellent views. The plating was a little rough throughout their walk on the Normandy, mostly because of the damage sustained during Shepard's suicide mission as well as the retrofits and finally the brief skirmishes they've had with other ships, but here, towards the left side, it was more smooth. Shepard wondered if Joker told the whole crew yet about how he scared him, but knows he'll spill the beans sooner or later. Ashley looked up and didn't see much that was different in space, but it was still fascinating to look at. As she looked up, she saw a faint blue glow in the sky, and wondered if it was the Mass Relay they took to get here or if it was just a star. They finally arrived at the edge of the left wing, and stood there for a couple of moments. Shepard leaned into Ashley as they observed into space. A few moments later, Shepard gently took Ashley's hand into his own and said,

"Might as well walk on the bottom of the Normandy while we're at it."

"Hope it doesn't throw my balance off too much."

As Ashley and Shepard walked towards the edge of the wing, Shepard took a weird step and planted his foot on the bottom of the Normandy. Ashley did the same, but unlike Shepard, she was a bit disoriented. "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be," Ashley replied. She shook off her disorientation after a few steps as both of them walked towards the belly of the Normandy. As they looked up, they got a better view of space because the Normandy was shielding them from the sunlight. The stars looked slightly better, some of the planets were really bright, and off to Ashley's side, she confirmed that what she saw earlier was indeed the mass effect relay they took. There was very little new on this side of space, however. The Normandy was a bit rough to walk on from this side because there seemed to be more damage underneath than above the Normandy. As Shepard and Ashley were walking underneath the Normandy, Ashley said,

"Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?"

Shepard thought for a moment and replied,

"Umm…That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."

Ashley, surprised at his deep knowledge of Walt Whitman, rewarded Shepard by saying,

"Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand,
A long while amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oath and smutty jest,
There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word."

Shepard and Ashley continued their spacewalk underneath the Normandy, but decided to just walk where their whims took them. 2 hours had passed since they were out enjoying their spacewalk. Shepard eventually asked if Ashley wanted to go back onboard, and agreed. They walked back up to the top of the ship, forgetting about how annoying the sun is, eventually found the hatch they came out of, and signaled EDI to open the hatch. As the hatch opened, they quickly went in, switched off their mag boots, and closed the hatch to allow the cabin to pressurize. As Shepard and Ashley crawled forward to get back into the cabin, the sight that Shepard caught next was not pretty.