Tolim's console beeped in time with the little red light that signaled he had a request for a vid call. He opened one eye to see what time it was. Sighing, he untangled himself from Jane and clambered out of bed. He could see when Jane began to stir in bed from his chair at the desk. It was the Primarch's code, so in a few keystrokes he had the channel open.
"Good morning Primarch, uh Jane is in the room. Should I ask her to leave?"
"Good morning Councilor. I assumed she would be there, this is just an update about last night. I wanted you to know that overall the general population believes you two are really in a relationship and that this isn't some political ploy designed to consolidate power between our two races."
Out of the corner of his eye he watched Jane sit up, the sheet sliding down her nude body. The devilment dancing in her eyes confirmed that she was going to test his concentration, again. She prowled to the edge of the bed on her hands and knees. A gentle cough from the Primarch brought his attention back to the call.
"Ahem, Councilor, I can see your distracted and I can imagine by who so I'll let you go. Enjoy the rest of your time off."
"Sorry Primarch and thank you."
He shut the link down and stood up.
"I guess I didn't quite wear you out enough," he growled, stepping around his desk.
"What can I say, I recover quickly."
She gave a delighted laugh as he stalked towards her. She scrambled to the opposite side of the bed in a vain attempt to elude him.
"Really, haven't you learned you can't escape yet?"
"I like to think of this as your personal exercise program, can't have you getting soft sitting behind a desk, old man."
"Old man? We'll see about that," he huffed out indignantly.
He loved seeing this side to her, the playful silly side he doubted few got to see. She was quick but there were limited places she could go so in a few strides he had her in his arms.
"See, naked, and at my mercy...again," he chuckled.
Jane squirmed until she was able to face him, standing on tip-toes to plant a kiss on his mandibles.
"Maybe you just fell into my trap," she purred at him.
"Really? Do tell, I fail to see how you have the upper-hand now."
Smiling, she wound her arms up around his neck, letting her hands drift back to that spot. That one she had found that caused him to utter that sound that was part growl, moan, and deep throated purr and that she loved to hear. She had just barely begun her assault, much to his delight, when his console beeped again that he had another incoming call.
"Dammit," they growled in unison.
Jane gave him one last kiss before she retreated to the bathroom while Tolim marched over to the desk to see who was calling now. He groaned seeing it was the code for the asari councilor. He opened the link.
"Good morning Councilor, what can I do for you?"
"We realize you took today and tomorrow off but something has come up and we need to convene."
"This can't wait until I'm back at work?" he asked coldly.
"I'm sorry, I know you, uh, have a guest. But we need to address it immediately."
"I'll head to the chambers shortly."
"Thank you," she replied relief evident in her voice.
Tolim shut down the link once more and rubbed his face.
"Jane," he began.
He heard her walk up behind him before she wrapped her arms around him placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.
"I heard. It's okay, both of our jobs are hard to escape. Of course I had the liberty of threatening my crew with a month of cleaning toilets with their toothbrushes if any of them called for a bailout," she joked.
"Hopefully this will only take an hour or two."
"Sounds good, I'll take the time to go get some things I need."
"Do you want me to drop you off anywhere?"
"Nah, your car should lure away the news varrens and there are some shops not far from here. I'll walk there and hey, I have my handy-dandy cloak program to evade reporters if I need to."
"I shudder to think of you running cloaked through the shops," he replied dryly.
"Meet you back here then?"
"Call me if you need anything."
At his serious expression she nodded, "I will."
Jane watched from the picture window as his car left, trailed quickly by several paparazzi. He really needed to switch to a new vehicle. With them out of the way, Jane headed out.
In her old jeans and ballcap pulled down and her hair tucked up, she was unremarkable. The large shopping plaza down the street was packed with shoppers. Jane ducked into the first large shop that looked to carry everything that she might need. Looking at the huge array of choices had her wondering if perhaps she could just order everything off the extranet like she usually did.
"Excuse me miss, do you need some help?"
Jane turned to find an asari behind her. Maybe this would go faster with some assistance.
"Uh, yeah, I had my luggage get lost and well I need a few casual but nice outfits and well underclothes."
"What size do you wear normally?"
"Medium, I think."
"Any colors you like or dislike?"
"Nothing that clashes with my hair," Jane explained as she pulled off her cap.
"By the Goddess, you're Captain Shepard," the woman gasped.
"Shhh not so loud. Please can you help me get some clothes so I can get out of here before they find me?"
"Of course, come over here to the changing rooms. Wait here and I'll bring you several outfits to try on."
"You're a life saver! Thank you!"
Jane could hardly keep up with the woman as she kept bringing more things for her to try on. With her help she had four outfits and all the other necessities in a pile on the counter. Crap, she thought, there would be no easy way to get this all back to the apartment.
"I don't suppose you could have all this delivered, I'll pay."
"Of course, just write down the address here and I'll make sure you get your new things in an hour or two."
Jane quickly wrote down the address and unit number.
"I'll be sure and come back here when I need anything else. Thank you so much."
"Are you kidding? No one will believe me when I tell them that I helped dress Captain Shepard. Could I get an autograph please?"
"Of course, who should I make it out to?"
"Adali E'tiash."
Jane wrote on the old stock picture that the Alliance had issued of her, 'To Adali E'tiash, the best damn shopping assistant on Benning. Thanks again, Capt. Jane Shepard.'
Jane tucked her hair back up into her ballcap and headed back to Tolim's apartment. There were a few news correspondents hanging around the front of the building but Jane just ignored their shouted questions. One man blocked her path, Jane glared at him but he held his ground resolutely.
A building attendant rushed to open the door for her, hoping to end the stand-off.
"If you think you can stop me from entering then you don't know who the fuck I am," Jane snarled.
"We just want to ask a few questions, Captain."
"No, now move before I move you myself."
"Sir, you need to leave our residents alone. If you fail to do so then we will call security on you," the attendant informed those prowling the landing.
Jane marched around the reporter to gain access to the building. The attendant followed behind her.
She gave him a smile and said, "Well that went better than I expected."
He returned her smile with one of his own, "Well I would have loved to see you actually kick his ass but my boss wouldn't have appreciated it."
"Neither would have mine. Oh, some packages will be arriving this afternoon for me, page me and I'll come get them."
"Don't worry Miss Shepard, we will keep an eye out and one of us will be happy to deliver them."
"Thank you, that's so nice."
Jane found the apartment empty still. Rummaging through the small kitchen area she found Tolim had purchased food and drink for her. God, he was the best, boyfriend? Nah, that sounded like they were fifteen again, hell what were they to each other? Shrugging she gave up on trying to name what they were and settled down to eat when her omni-tool pinged an incoming call.
"Shepard here," she mumbled around her food.
"Skipper," the voice began.
"Ash! What's up?"
"Oh, just checking in. You know, and wondering if you have lost your mind."
Jane laughed at that, "Kind of late for that thought don't you think? Anything in particular on your mind?"
"When I saw the footage of you kissing that turian on Tuchanka, I figured Wrex had dared you. But after last night, really? You're dating him?"
Jane laughed, "If Wrex had dared me to kiss someone, it would have been someone more exotic...oh say the hanar diplomat that was attending. And Bakara would have skinned him alive for pulling such a stunt at that ceremony. Now as for Tolim, is it because he is a turian or because he is Councilor Sparatus?"
"Well, both. I mean, you were always open to all the aliens but when you never hooked up with one before...I well, just thought you weren't interested in relationships."
"Ash, listen to me. I didn't have any relationships before because working on my less than amazing interpersonal skills during a war seemed like a bad thing all around. And well, I honestly didn't count on making it through. So it hardly seemed fair to get involved with anyone then."
"You used to call him all sorts of things before, so I just find this change in heart hard to swallow."
"Well he invited me to a weekend on a beach, and we hit it off. We even discussed our, ahem, interactions from before."
Ashley laughed, "That's one way of saying it."
"He was just doing what he had to do. I mean look at it from his perspective, we really had no proof of anything. It's over and done with and I'm happy."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I am. So how about you? How are things with you?"
"Oh good, though it feels weird still not being on the Normandy with you. You didn't tell Hackett to kick me off did you?"
"Hell no, I think he was afraid I was corrupting you and Vega too much."
A chime echoed through the apartment.
"Hey Ash, I need to go, someone's at the door."
"Ok Skipper, and if you need anything don't hesitate to call."
"Thanks, and I will."
Jane opened the door to find one of the doorman with all her packages. She piled them up and hurriedly gulped down her food, wanting to put things away before Tolim got home. It was in the closet where he found her.
"I see you've been busy."
"Yeah, I took you at your word although the salesperson had some crazy notion that I needed sleepwear."
Tolim laughed at that, "Shocking. I hope you straightened her out."
"Of course! Get everything settled?"
"Yes, although I think it could have waited but it's done now. I get so little time with you that I don't want to give a moment of it up."
Jane stood up from where she had been taking tags off of the clothes. Crossing the room she took his hands in her own.
"I know. I put out some feelers about getting switched to a new job, you know something groundside."
"Really? What choices did they give you?"
"I thought they would offer me a slot as a trainer, but they didn't. Hackett suggested that I would be perfect as the human ambassador to Tuchanka."
Tolim's hopes crashed and burned but he managed to choke out, "What did you tell him?"
"No, of course." Jane looked up when she heard the pain in his voice. "Hell, I know if I took that I would have to give you up and I'm not ending this. So you're stuck with me and me in space for now."
Tolim buried his head into her neck and wrapped his arms around her.
"Good," was all he managed to say. What he really wanted to tell her was how important she had become to him.
They had settled onto the sofa as they went through the list of vids available trying to find something to watch together. Tolim scrolled through the list waiting for Jane to chime in when she saw something that interested her.
"Are you sure about this?"
"This being what?" he asked mildly.
"Granted, I've never studied turians outside of the military aspect but you guys really sit around naked when at home?"
At this moment, Tolim was glad that she couldn't pick up on turian vocalizations otherwise she would hear the amusement in his voice.
"Of course, why wouldn't we? Granted, it's typically only couples that do this or single people but why wear clothes when our, um, delicate parts are so nicely protected? Are you cold?"
"No, you have it nice and warm in here and well, I always have your body heat I can borrow."
"My body is yours," he replied with a grin.
A retort died on her lips when the door chime went off. They looked at each other, the same question on their lips.
"Are you expecting someone," they asked nearly in unison.
"Crap, nothing worse than getting caught in a fire fight naked," Jane stated running for the bedroom.
Tolim followed Jane, expecting her to be throwing on her clothes. Instead, she was busy pulling a pistol out from his weapon's locker.
"I doubt you'll need that."
"Better safe than sorry."
Chuckling, Tolim threw on a pair of slacks before heading to the door. Turning on the camera aimed at his door, he groaned when he saw his friend, Oraka.
"Go away Septimus," Tolim growled through the door.
"I come bearing gifts," was his laughing reply.
Jane emerged from the bedroom, pistol in hand and clad in one of his undershirts. It hung loosely on top and fell only a few inches down her thighs.
"Who is it?"
"Give me the gun so I can shoot him myself."
Jane approached the door to see who was on the other side of the door.
"Is that General Oraka?"
"Jane, be a dear and make Tolim open the door. I have some chocolate cake for you and kurrll fruit for him."
Tolim opened the door with a sigh, knowing his friend wouldn't go away peacefully. Septimus strolled in and took a good look at their clothing choices.
"Well you didn't sound really pissed so I didn't interrupt, ahem, anything so why is she just wearing your undershirt? Not that it isn't fetching on you," Oraka asked.
"Oh we were just going to watch a vid and Tolim explained that you guys like to relax at home, naked. So that's why we just threw on what was handy."
Septimus chuckled, "Well it's true we have been known to enjoy being home naked but for the most part that tradition passed out of favor, oh hundreds of years ago."
"Really now?" Jane asked turning her gaze to Tolim.
"Well it's one I think should come back into favor. You have to admit we spend more time naked than not when we are together," Tolim laughed.
"Bastard," Jane said with a grin.
"Now that you've ruined my fun, I think you can go now," Tolim stated waving Septimus back towards the door.
"Oh no, I have this lovely cake to deliver and well the fruit for you."
"And why are you bringing us gifts?" Tolim asked.
"Well, because you two are simply wonderful for my personal life! After that on-the-air statement last night, I've had no less than four propositions today!"
Jane burst out laughing, "What are friends for!"
"Exactly! I helped Tolim out and now he's, well inadvertently, helping me. So I thought I would give you both a little something as a token of my appreciation."
"So happy to help you," Tolim remarked dryly. "You've given your gifts, now you can leave."
"Fine, fine, no need to brandish a weapon at me besides I am meeting a lovely lady later. I'll let you get back to your evening."
Tolim happily pushed his friend out the door, shutting it once more. Still chuckling, Jane returned the gun back to the locker. They settled once more on the couch.
"Still wearing my shirt I see."
"Old Earth tradition, stealing your lover's clothes."
Tolim gave a rumbling laugh before pulling her tighter against him as they decided on a vid finally. He was only half aware of the show when Jane began to speak.
"You know, after Mindoir, I've never really had a home," she explained, her voice low. "I joined the military as soon as I could. Others would take leave to go home, me, I just went to the nearest town. After I was given command of the Normandy, by the way thank goodness they cancelled the spectre program."
"Yes, we wouldn't have been able to do this if you were still a spectre," Tolim murmured.
"Anyway, the Normandy was the closest thing to a home I had, but after the war, they took most of my old crew away. Hell even my shuttle pilot, Cortez, they transferred him to a fighter pilot unit. Not that he didn't deserve it but just that the Normandy isn't the same with only a few familiar faces on her now."
"I'm sorry," he began.
"No, it's okay. What I was trying to say is that here, with you, this feels more like a home than I've had in a long time."
"None of your family survived the attack?"
Jane shrugged, "I may have distant relatives somewhere but as far as I know, I'm the last Shepard. My parents, their siblings, my cousins, my siblings...all gone."
He rubbed the side of his face against the top of her head, "I'm sorry. I lost my immediate family during the war, my brothers and their families...my parents had died a few years before the war during an outbreak. But this, with you, yes this place becomes more like a home."
"I don't suppose you will get reassigned somwhere else?"
"I could request a new position but the Primarch would likely bring me back to Palaven as an advisor which is more or less a drop in tier in the Hierarchy."
"Well that would be bad. So here it is then."
"We'll make it work, some how."
"Yeah, we stopped the Reapers, how hard can a relationship be?"
"Exactly."
An incessant beeping woke Tolim, it was too close to his head to be his. Jane groaned before slapping the alarm on her omni-tool off. Now that the noise was gone, he settled back down to sleep some more.
"Blargh, let go...I have to get up," Jane grumbled sleepily.
"Too early, you have hours before your ship leaves," Tolim mumbled, his voice muffled against her neck.
"I've got to get there early in order to go over everything before we leave. I'll call a cab so you can sleep some more."
Reluctantly he released his hold on her and followed her out of bed. He rubbed his face, morning had come faster than he had wanted. The sound of the shower lured him into the bathroom.
The bathroom was already filling with steam when he joined her under the spray. A sleepy grin crossed Jane's face when she saw Tolim joining her. Winding her arms around him she pressed her face into his chest, finding the gentle rumble there as soothing as the shower.
"You didn't have to get up silly."
"What? And miss some of my time with you, never. I'll take you to the port and hang around and pester you if that is okay. I still owe you for the Primarch's call after all."
Jane laughed,"I'd like that."
The car was oddly quiet, words not coming easily to either of them. Jane felt her eyes close as Tolim ran his talons through her hair. At first he had been hesitant to tousle it but now he enjoyed it nearly as much as she did. This was likely the last private moment they would have together so she had better make the most of it, she thought to herself.
She swung her leg across his lap in order to straddle him bringing them close together. He took advantage of the change by wrapping his arms around her pulling her closer to him. Jane cradled his face between her hands, looking into his eyes and wondering if he could see how she felt about him reflected out of her eyes. She brushed her lips against his mouth plates, hoping to express at least a little of how much she cared for him. He countered by teasing her lips with the gentle brush of his tongue. She reluctantly broke the contact, sitting back on her haunches.
"I thought we should do a proper good-bye while we had some privacy," she told him.
"I thought that was what we did in the shower," he grinned.
"No, that was making a memory to keep us going. This is going to be a long tour. I don't expect to be back for three or four months."
"That long?"
"Yeah, they are sending us to several of our most distant colonies. When I get back, do you think you could get say a week or so off and we could go away together?"
"I'll see what I can do. Anywhere in particular?"
"I don't care, there is so much I haven't seen at least not with a gun in my hand. I just want to get away somewhere with you."
"I'd like that too."
"I'll try and send you messages before we have to go silent. Some of the more distant systems are still getting the comm buoys up so contact maybe spotty."
The motion of the car settling to the ground brought them back to the now. One last press of her forehead to his before she slid off his lap and back into her own seat. They exited the vehicle into the busy commotion of the docking area. He opened the trunk and pulled out a bag and pressed it into her hands.
"What's this?" she asked.
"My shirt that you became so fond of, wouldn't want to ruin any human traditions of yours," he laughed.
Opening the bag she found the undershirt of his that she had worn around the apartment. She grinned at him before reaching up to give him a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks! I will say that I've never had anyone try to get me naked by claiming it was traditional before."
"I'm still hoping to bring it back into fashion," he chuckled.
"Well I'm sold on it. Come on, you can watch from the shuttle bay as I make sure all the supplies I ordered are on board."
He found a place out of the way where he could watch her as she switched to being Captain Shepard and not just Jane Shepard. He heard shuffling and a more metallic sounding footstep coming up the ramp into the bay. He nodded in greeting to the Normandy's pilot and it's resident AI, but rather than continuing on, the pilot switched direction moving to join Tolim where he stood.
"Commander Moreau, good to see you again."
"Councilor," Joker said with a nod of his head. "Listen, about Shepard...she's like family to me, you know and I was just wondering where this was going."
Tolim pulled away from the wall he had been leaning against to stand straight. "What exactly are you asking me?"
"Well, is she just a fling or what?" Joker blurted out.
Tolim would have laughed except he could see the man was serious.
"I'm very serious about her and it's good to know she has friends such as you to look out for her," Tolim replied gravely.
"Right then, I'll just head up to the cockpit. You, uh, won't mention this to Shepard, will you?"
"No, I think it's in everyone's best interest to keep this between us."
"Good," Joker stated with obvious relief.
Jane had noticed that her pilot had made a detour to speak with Tolim. That got her curious, knowing Joker it was probably something embarrassing. She placed the datapad she had been checking over down on a crate and wove her way through the supplies to reach Tolim's side.
"So what was that about? Joker threatening to hang up on your calls for old times sake?" Jane asked.
"No, he just stopped by to say hi, maybe he regrets that his Captain back then made him disconnect calls so rudely."
Jane grinned up at him, "Doubtful, I think he enjoyed it immensely."
"Everything going as planned?"
"So far so good. No one forgot to order toilet paper or mistakenly order us five hundred cans of spam."
"Spam?"
"Don't ask, it's nasty and I think it just pretends it's a meat."
"Well that's not reassuring in the least."
"Spam never is. But I'm going to have to say goodbye, the last supplies are coming on now and then we will be shutting the bay doors."
"Alright, I'll look into setting up a vacation for us. As soon as you know when you'll be off let me know and I'll make the final arrangements."
"I will. I'll miss you," she said softly, her hands softly brushing the side of his cheek.
"And I, you," he returned quietly even as he leaned into her soft touch.
A gentle brush of his forehead to hers and then he picked his way down the ramp. Jane watched his stately march amongst the humans hurrying to load the last few items before he was out of sight and the ramp clanked shut.
