They sat there quietly, content in each other's presence. With the Reaper war just ended and Shepard just having woken up, these moments had been far and in-between. Eventually, Shepard swung her legs over the side of the bed and moved to stand.

Ashley sighed. "What are you doing."

"Standing. There doesn't happen to be any coffee on this ship does there?"

"About that. Dr. Chakwas doesn't think it's a good idea for you to have any caffeine. Not with you hardly sleeping as it is."

"Fuck that. I'm not dealing with these headaches."

Frowning, Ashley responded, "You were in a coma for several weeks, any physical side effects from caffeine withdrawal should be fine. If you have a headache I think Dr. Chakwas and Lawson should come up here."

The captain closed her eyes and breathed before answering. "I'm not calling a doctor every time my head hurts or my scars stretch. I'm telling you, if I get some coffee I'll be fine."

Ashley hesitated, knowing that if she refused to let Shepard leave the room she would only get angry with her. She knew Kallian really hated being denied the ability to do things on her own. And over the years she had come to rely on caffeine and stimulants to get her through the war. It was over now, but Kallian refused to accept that her role was diminished. Ashley knew all this, and so she helped her partner walk to the elevator.

"Wait."

Ashley stopped and looked at Kallian questioningly. "I need to put on my dress blues. My crew shouldn't see my like this."

"They know you're injured, Skip. They're not going to think anything of you looking like person normally looks after having a building dropped on them and waking from a coma."

Kallian smiled grimly. "No one sees me as a normal person. Not anymore." As Kallian pushed off Ashley and limped towards her closet, Ashley struggled to find something to say. She supposed it was true. Shepard was larger than life now. Her friends knew her as a human, but the rest of the crew would lose some resolve if they saw that even Captain Shepard was struggling with the war's aftermath. Shepard needed to be their strength, their hero that would never fail.

"I see you as a normal person. A bullheaded and stubborn normal person."

"I know you do," Shepard grinned. Then she paused before speaking again. "Would you help me put these on? I don't think I can lift my leg on my own."

"Great. You can't lift your leg but you want to wander around the crew deck drinking coffee and pretending you're not injured." Regardless, Ashley went and helped her change.

"It will be good for the crew to see me on my feet."

"Or foot, for that matter."

"Shut up."

Ashley's omnitool lit up and interrupted their banter. She froze. "Kallian. I need to go do something. Please, can you wait here for five more minutes? I'll be right back, I promise."

"What happened?"
"Hackett needs to speak with me."

"Hacket? I should get down there."

"Kal, just trust me, okay?" Shepard wanted to protest, but the earnestness in Ashley's eyes forced her to respond in the affirmative.

"Go. I trust you."

Quickly, Ashley spun to leave before realizing she'd abandoned Shepard leaning against the wall. "Shit, sorry." Grabbing the captain's arm, she half-carried her to the couch before kissing her briefly and nearly running to the door.

Miranda, Tali, and Liara were already waiting outside the conference room by the time Ashley made it down. Tali was pacing worriedly and Liara was attempting to calm her down.

Miranda looked up and spoke, "Garrus is in there now trying to stall for you. The councilors are all on the line, including Councilor Perry.

Tali stopped pacing to yell "That stupid boshtet! They'll never leave the captain alone, will they?"

Squaring her shoulders, Ashley put her hand on Tali's shoulder, "They can try to use Shepard, but she has us to protect her this time." Tali smiled beneath her helmet and nodded her head towards the door.

Inside, Garrus was arguing with the turian councilor. "Order me around all you like, Sparatus, but I'm not leaving the Normandy."

The human councilor, Perry, interrupted them when he saw the lieutenant commander. "Where's Shepard?"

"Like I told you last time, she's still in and out of consciousness. Hardly in any condition to give your damn speech," Ashley retorted.

"How are we supposed to know that when we aren't allowed to see her!"

"The doctors at the hospital agreed to allow her to continue treatment on the Normandy once she woke up," Garrus snapped, jumping in.

Hacket smirked in the background. "Councilor Perry, I'm sure that the lieutenant commander will allow us to speak with Shepard when she is feeling better. There will be plenty of time for speech giving once things have cleared up for a while."

Perry grimaced. "Earth is in ruins-

"All our homelands are in ruins-" Sparatus shouted.

Fine, the galaxy is in chaos. A speech from Shepard could give the people hope!"

"You just want to use Shepard and turn her into your stupid symbol. Hasn't she given enough?"

As Ashley said this, the asari councilor stood. "Councilors, please. There is no need to rush anything, the rebuilding efforts have just begun."

Sparatus and Perry stopped speaking and Garrus crossed his arms. "Now, with all due respect, as acting captain I have duties to perform. The Normandy is scheduled to make a drop soon."

Tevos gave her assent and Ashley disconnected the call.

"That was close, Garrus."

"We're going to have to let them see Shepard eventually."

"I know." She put her head in her hands.

Together, they walked to those waiting outside. The crowd had grown: Grunt, Jack, and Kasumi standing with the first three. "We bought some time," Ashley stated.

"Thank the Goddess," Liara exhaled.

"I'll bash their heads in if they bother Shepard. Shepard is a warrior! My battlemaster is no one's puppet."

Jack left to tell Vega the news and Grunt followed. "That sounds like a good idea to me," Garrus stated. "Hell, we can all bash their heads in."

"Now that I have this body, I can assist if the need to physically restrain the council arises…That was not a joke."

As Garrus clapped Ashley on the back, he and the others began to file out. "We'll see Shepard tonight, right?"

Hoping this was true, Ashley nodded her head. Inside she wondered if Shepard was really ready to face all her friends.