A towel was wrapped around her head as she exited her bathroom. The glow of the aquarium provided the only light in her quarters. The gentle movements of the fish gave her a reason to pause and watch them. As always her thoughts turned to 'what in hell was Cerberus thinking when they put that in'; probably something along the lines of look how amazing we are.

The pounding in her head throbbed in time with the growling of her stomach making it hard for her to concentrate on anything. They couldn't call for her fast enough as far as she was concerned. Her shirt was in the midst of being pulled down when EDI spoke to her.

"Commander, Dr. Solus has asked me to inform you that they are ready for you now and would you please head to the med-bay at once."

"Thanks EDI, let them know I'll be there shortly."

"Of course Commander."

A few minutes later she poked her head into the med-bay. Mordin waved her over to one of the unoccupied beds. On a nearby table various medical equipment gleamed under the lights of the room. Dr. Chakwas sat at her desk examining several datapads. Machines beeped all around the only other occupant, Martinez.

"Lie down and I'll administer the local and get to work. Should have you all set soon enough."

"Thanks Mordin. How is Martinez?"

Dr. Chakwas answered, "Well enough. It will be a good while before he is fit for duty but he should make a full recovery eventually."

"That's a relief. EDI?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"Tell Joker to set course for Illium. I need to see Liara."

"Of course Commander."

The pressure of Mordin's fingers on the the back of her skull increased momentarily and Jane closed her eyes, hating the feel of someone messing with her biotic implant.

"Are you in pain Shepard?" Mordin asked, concern laced through his tone.

"No, just it feels weird to have someone messing with something implanted in your head, you know?"

"Understand. Almost done."

"Great. Gardner should have something for both of us to eat when you are done. Also, Lawson will be asking you for a list of supplies our shuttles should be carrying."

"Excellent. Already prepared a list, hoped you would ask."

One last gentle nudge and Mordin straightened up.

"There. All set Shepard. Wait at least twenty-four hours before using your biotics. Come see either of us if headache gets worse or any vision issues."

"Understood."

Jane swung her legs off the bed before hopping down. She had almost made it out the door when EDI addressed her.

"Commander, the Illusive Man wishes to speak with you immediately in the conference room. He asked me to relay he has new information on the Shadow Broker."

Jane sighed, "Got it EDI."

Her head dropped a little as the scent of food hit her while crossing the mess heading to the elevator. The sooner she talked to him the sooner she could eat. As Mordin watched her go an idea began to form.

Mordin approached their cook, Gardner, and took the plate the man offered him. But rather than sit down to eat his food he put his serving on one of the trays.

"The Commander has been called into a meeting. Need your assistance in order to put together a tray so I can make sure she eats properly."

"Of course," Gardner exclaimed even as he quickly piled a plate full of some orange noodles. "It's good that her team is keeping an eye on her. That turian told me to make her favorite. Sorry I didn't know yours."

"Not a problem. Salarian dishes are often difficult to make."

Mordin eyed the tray the human heaped full of dishes for Shepard. His own was more modest but even so carrying them both was going to be challenging. Gardner must have come to the same conclusion.

"Uh, are you going to be able to carry them both?"

"If you get the elevator door for me, I should be fine."

"If you say so."

Carefully balancing the two trays, Mordin picked his way to the elevator. Gardner playing the role of bouncer happily, directing the crew to go around the salarian and not through him. Gardner slapped the call button and made sure Mordin got the elevator to himself before pushing the button for the CIC deck.

"Good luck sir."

"Thank you."

After the door closed, Mordin glanced over at where EDI's avatar was blinking.

"EDI, where is the Commander now?"

"She has just left the conference room."

"Excellent."

Sure enough, when the door opened on the main floor, he nearly collided with Shepard.

"Crap, sorry Mordin. I nearly ran you over."

"Not to worry, I was uh, hoping to run into you. Just not so literally. Come with me Commander. I have your meal and I mean to make sure you get some peace while you eat it."

Jane gave him a bemused smile and followed him towards his lab. The door whooshed open and Mordin sat the trays down on his desk. Jane watched as he cleared a chair off and brought it over for her. Mordin turned his attention to where EDI's terminal was located.

"EDI, please block all access to my lab for an hour. Oh, and the Commander is not to be disturbed for that time period as well. Unless we come under attack of course."

"Understood Professor Solus. Logging you out."

"There, now we can eat in peace."

Jane lifted the cover on her meal and nearly wept with joy. A plate overflowing with her favorite, macaroni and cheese, waited for her on the tray. Not caring about decorum she attacked her food with relish. Mordin smiled as he watched her, his own meal just a means to keep his body going. What he wouldn't give for a real meal and then that sparked an idea.

"Shepard, how long will we be on Illium?" Mordin asked between mouthfuls.

Jane hurriedly swallowed before answering. "At least a day while we make sure our newly acquired shuttle is up to standards. Maybe longer, depending on what this new data does for Liara's hunt."

"There is a restaurant in Nos Astra, excellent for multiple species. One of the few that does salarian correctly. Perhaps you would like to have dinner with me there?" He blurted out.

Jane's mouth dropped open, "Wait, are you asking me to dinner? Like a date?"

"Hmm, apparently not doing it correctly if you have to ask. Unsure what social cues I missed."

"No, no you did it correctly. I was just, umm, surprised. I thought you weren't interested."

"Ah yes, miscalculation on my part from before. Incorrect data, incorrect conclusion. Wish to rectify."

"What do you mean?"

"Assumed only interested in trying salarian. No appeal in that sort of relationship."

"Ah, in that case, I would love to have dinner with you."

"Excellent! Typical human dates involve dinner and a vid, perhaps afterwards we can find something suitable to watch. Hmm, will have to find something suitable...wonder what is popular now."

"Relax Mordin, for humans it's less about what you do together and more who you are with. And please, call me Jane. Nothing kills a mood like being called Commander," Jane said laughing.

"I'd like that, Jane."

Jane hoped the stupid grin on her face didn't repulse him because no other expression was possible at this moment.

Jane flung open the drawers that contained her casual clothes. Digging through her few choices had her swearing. What in hell did one wear to impress a salarian? Why hadn't she ever bothered to replace some of her clothes? Pulling out piece after piece revealed that very little she owned did not have a Cerberus logo on it. The bastards had at least left her undergarments unbranded. Buried at the bottom of the pile she found a plain black shirt and pants. This would have to do.

Finally dressed she left her cabin. Now if her luck held maybe the elevator would be free. Pushing the call button, she nervously danced from foot to foot.

"Really Shep, you're not going to wear that on your date are you?"

Jane jumped and turned to find her resident thief materializing next to her. "Fuck Kasumi, what are you just waiting outside my door trying to scare me to death? And how in hell do you know I have a date?"

Kasumi gave a delicate laugh, "Oh no, I was wandering around and by chance ended up outside your door. And it would be more appropriate to ask, who doesn't know."

Jane narrowed her eyes at the other woman, "And EXACTLY what do you mean by that?"

"Well I may have been passing through the Professor's lab when he locked the doors the other day and well I couldn't very well reveal myself at that point. So I might have heard about you two going to dinner and then well I decided to stay to see where he was going to take you."

"So how did it go from you knowing to others knowing?"

"Afterwards, I may have mentioned it to several of the crew that it might be a good idea for us to go along and make sure the Shadow Broker doesn't try anything."

"What?! No, no and more no! I don't want to see any of you there, wherever the hell that is."

"Too late we made our reservations and you wouldn't want us to pay the cancellation fee. We staggered our arrival, don't worry we will totally be discreet."

"Right, because Grunt and Jack blend in so well." Shepard threw her hands up in the air in disgust. "You know what, I don't want to know what you guys have planned but I will make your lives a living hell if you screw this up for me!"

"Have more faith in us Shep. We are just looking out for you."

Thankfully the elevator finally arrived. Jane stomped inside, trying to ignore Kasumi's presence. As she exited onto the CIC floor she heard Kasumi call out behind her, "See you at dinner!"

"No! I don't want to see any of you!"

"Oh, Commander it will be so nice for you two to have dinner at Janiri. I hear really good things about it," Kelly gushed as Jane stalked by.
Jane groaned, even her damn yeoman knew where they were going.

Turning she shook her fist at Kasumi, "You know Kasumi, your file never mentioned that you were the galaxy's biggest gossip. I'll make sure to add that in for you!"

Kasumi just laughed and waved before she disappeared once more.

Jane didn't feel quite so self conscious when she had gone to fetch Mordin only to find him in his usual outfit. Then again, how much casual clothes would he have had on Omega anyway. Luckily, the rest of her crew had made themselves scarce as they left the ship. Even Joker had kept his remarks to himself, only giving her a wave as they left the ship.

Jane steered them towards Liara's office near the docking bay.

"Let me just give Liara this information and we can be off."

"Excellent. Looking forward to some time away from the others. And of course being with you."

Jane muttered under her breath, "They are going to be a lot closer than either of us expected."

"What?" Mordin asked his face crinkled in confusion.

Jane sighed, "Kasumi was in your lab the other day when we had lunch. She felt that the rest of them should be nearby in case the Shadow Broker crashed our date. They made reservations and everything. Or we could ditch that place and go somewhere else."

"So long as they are not sitting with us, I can ignore them."

"God no, I told Kasumi I didn't want to see them at all."

"Then we will continue on as planned. Don't worry Jane, we won't let them detract from our evening."

"Thank you for being a good sport about this. I personally just want to throttle the lot of them."

By the time they reached Liara's office Jane had managed to relax some. She hadn't seen any of her people, although either Thane or Kasumi would be able to easily shadow them without revealing themselves. Trying not to think about that, Jane entered Liara's office. Liara glanced up from her console at their entrance. Seeing them she quickly stood and moved to embrace Jane.

"Shepard, it's good to see you again. I'm afraid I don't have anything new on the Shadow Broker."

Jane pressed a disc into Liara's hand, "Yeah well the Illusive Man came up with something for you. He got a little peeved when the Broker sent a hit team after me."

"Oh! Give me a few hours to examine this data and I'll be able to tell you if we are any closer to finding him."

"Ok, we are going to grab a bite to eat and then we can swing by here and see what you have found out."

"No, come to my apartment. After Nyxeris's betrayal, I keep my more sensitive information there."

"Alright then. We will see you later."

Janiri's outside contrasted sharply with it's interior. Jane cringed inwardly as she stared around the opulent interior. If their state of dress bothered Mordin, he hid it well. Mordin marched up to the hostess not even pausing to take in the scene.

"Reservations for two under Solus."

"Ah yes Mr. Solus. We have your table in the center ready. If you'll follow me."

Mordin shook his head, "No, requested a quiet table on the perimeter."

The asari glanced down at her list. "No sir, I have it right here. Request was for a center table."

Jane laid a hand on Mordin's arm before grumbling under her breath, "Kasumi no doubt."

Mordin nodded before waving a hand at the hostess. "Lead on then."

She lead them across the floor, most of the tables already occupied. Jane forced her eyes forward, not wanting to see any of her squad mates sitting near them. Ignorance is bliss became her mantra. Jane slipped into her seat quickly dropping her eyes down to view the menu the hostess had handed her.

"Are you alright Jane?" Mordin asked with a little laugh.

"Just fine. I'm pretending I didn't see half my squad sitting around us. And I really didn't see Tali tossing a little wave at us."

"Good. Although I am curious what Jacob meant when he showed me his thumb. What does that mean in human cultures?"

Jane groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "It means approval, he's telling you to go for it. Ugh I'm going to have to get a new crew because this one I'm going to have to kill."

Mordin laughed and turned towards where Jacob sat alone at a table and flashed him his equivalent of a thumb to the human.

"I guess I should be happy that they didn't try and get Legion into this place," Jane said.

"Of course not! I couldn't get him a good enough disguise so we left him in the skycar in case we needed to leave quickly. He was very disappointed, he wanted to observe organic mating rituals," Kasumi's disembodied voice stated somewhere near Jane's right shoulder.

Jane reached out towards where the voice had come from and growled, "Go away Kasumi."

Kasumi's laughter receded as the woman retreated to wherever she was going. Jane didn't relax until she spotted Kasumi materializing near Jacob and taking a seat at his table.

"I feel like all the craziest of my relatives have decided to chaperone my first date, all at once," Jane complained.

"Ah yes, chaperoning, archaic human custom to prevent inappropriate contact between individuals. Will there be inappropriate touching?" Mordin asked with a laugh.

"Hmm I am likely to want to use your shoulder again during the vid. Though I have to wonder what the rest of that particular mating ritual is," Jane smirked.

Mordin leaned in close to her. "Let's see, first we bring our horns in close to each other, watching our partner closely. Then we rub them against each other before we brush our shoulders together. Finally ending the ritual by delicately rubbing our posteriors together. Very poignant."

Mordin grinned when Jane burst out laughing. "What? You doubt me?"

"No, no I'm sure it's moving as all hell."

"Yes, it's been compared to human ballet."

Jane wiped the tears from laughing away, shaking her head in disbelief, "I must say Mordin, I'm very disappointed you didn't offer to forward that gem to my omni-tool like you did for all the other species out there."

"Yes well, it is a state secret so didn't want any record that I had shared it with you."

Their waiter approached the table. The human elegantly dressed in the custom black and gold colors of the restaurant.

"I'm Rick, I'll be your server tonight."

Mordin gave precise instructions about his order, why was Jane not surprised she thought with a laugh. But it did give her a little more time to pick something, anything. Spotting something off the menu that sounded vaguely interesting she placed her order as well. Once the waiter departed, they turned their attention back to each other.

"You have a lovely laugh, you should use it more," Mordin said.

"Thank you. And thank you for giving me a reason to use it. Not been a lot to laugh about lately."

"Will have to explain more about salarian customs."

Jane shook her head. "No, no it will be hard enough talking to Councilor Valern knowing about salarian mating rituals. Any more and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep a straight face talking to him."

Mordin laughed, "Good. He thinks too much of himself already, be good for him to be laughed at."

"Oh and about the whole touching thing, now that I know you have a weakness for a good butt rub...you are so in trouble," Jane said still laughing.

"No, musn't jump to the end. Have to start at the beginning," Mordin replied his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Guess I'll have to improvise," Jane grinned.

Jacob looked up from the plate of sushi that Kasumi had ordered them. He wasn't real sure about this but since he wasn't paying he figured he would give it a try.

A perplexed look crossed his face before he swore under his breath, "What in hell are they doing?"

Kasumi swiveled around to see what had caught his attention. She saw Commander Shepard with her hands held on top of her head like, well horns. Before she could say anything to Jacob, Mordin and Shepard dipped their heads towards each other in only what could be described as something like locking horns. Then the pair of them began howling with laughter, loud enough that people all around them turned to look at them.

"Dammit, I knew I should have hacked their omni-tools so I could listen in."

Jacob shook his head. "Trust me, no one needs to know what that was all about."

It was more than an hour later when a still smiling Jane departed with Mordin in search of a cab to take them to Liara's apartment.