"How did you sleep?" Anderson asked. He was sitting across from her at the mess table. He had a bowl of what appeared to be oatmeal and a small glass of red tinted juice. It looked much more appetizing than what she had on her plate. She contemplated asking to switch, but did not after realizing how that would look to the crew.

"It'll take some breaking in," she said as she rubbed her back and stretched her neck. "But I've had worse. How about you Captain? I bet the bed was so soft you couldn't get comfortable," she snickered.

"Ha, how did you know?"

"Lucky guess!" she said with a crooked smile.

Joker just sat there in silence. She was a bit worried that he had not said a word. It was very uncharacteristic of the loudmouth. The truth was that he was in awe of their relationship and of the Captain.

He already knew Shepard, so her presence did not phase him. Anderson, on the other hand, was a legend. He wondered, jealously, as to how she had gotten to know him so well. They were both N7s, but it seemed to run much deeper than that.

Regardless of the answer, he knew he was way out of his league just sitting at the table. He had decided to take in the moment in silence.

Shepard thought about nudging him to make sure he was still breathing, but did not want to risk breaking a rib. His diseased ridden body slumped in his chair. Brittle bone disease nearly made him into fragile glass. He walked with a limp and was often times assisted with crutches.

His hardened persona was a reaction to years of delicate handling. He refused to feel sorry for himself and did not appreciate it when others did. He hated to be thought of as a cripple.

His condition was part of the reason why flying was so important to him. When he was in the pilots' chair, he was strong and powerful. His ship was an extension of his body in the way that Shepard's guns were to hers. Nobody could rival his skills in the air.

After breakfast, the crew continued with their prelaunch duties. The dry dock crew slowly thinned as the body count on board grew smaller.

Shepard took some time to memorize some of the names on the duty roster:

Lieutenant Adams, G.-engineering

Staff Lieutenant Alenko, K.-marine detail commander

Captain Anderson, D.-everywhere

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Chakwas, K.-med-bay

Private Fredricks, D.-marine rotation

Corporal Jenkins, R.-marine rotation

Flight Lieutenant Moreau, J.-cockpit

Chief Navigator Pressly, P.-CIC.

Lieutenant Commander Shepard, E.-Executive Officer

Alenko, Fredricks, and Jenkins had yet to board, but she memorized their names anyway. As part of her marine team, they would soon be her brothers once they engaged in their first firefight.

She did not yet have access to personnel files so the lost was all she had to go on at the time. Instead, she was relegated to asking everyone the personal details of their service history as she made the rounds.

Most of the soldiers worked through lunch so they would have more time in the evening to get to know the rest of the crew. The remaining third were due to come aboard at 1300 hours.

Skipping lunch was usually not tolerated, but this was an exception. Anderson had granted leniency for the infraction. He had also arrange for the crew to have Liberty that evening. He always was a stickler for camaraderie, and he wanted everyone to get to know each other a little bit before launch.

A few marines were gathered around a small window on the port side when she walked by. "What's going on?" she asked.

"The rest of the crew is lining up on the docking bay platform," one of them answered adding a soft "ma'am" after he registered who had asked.

Just then, Joker's voice flooded her personal comm frequency. "Shepard, Captain wants you on the Command deck," he said, relaying the message.

"On my way, Joker," she answered heading up the stairs. She assumed correctly that he wanted her to accompany him when he met the remaining third.

"Let's go meet the rest of our crew, shall we?" Anderson said with a wink once she arrived. They made there way to the airlock. The doors slammed shut and the shrill VI began decontamination procedures.

She was right; this was already getting old. When the doors opened, the bright lights of the station poured into her pupils. She squinted in pain. She much preferred the darker lights of ship.

"Oh my god," he thought as he froze in terror. "How? Why? What is she doing here?" he questioned as his mind seized in confusion. Kaidan had to force his legs not to flee when Anderson introduced her as the Executive Officer. He tried to keep his eyes forward as he stood at attention. His palms were sweaty, and he felt his heart begin to race.

Had she seen him? Did she know he was joining the ship? His brain refused to relax. "I just slept with my commanding officer," he thought, "Forget about regs, my career is over."

His face began to feel hot at the thought of their night together. "No! No, two nights ago she was not my XO. We were just two marines on shore leave...It's in the past," he reasoned as he attempted to cool his blood and lower his heart rate.

Nothing that Anderson said made any sense to him. He might as well have been speaking untranslatable dribble. Sweat began to pour from Kaidan's brow. His head began to pound. He could not distinguish it from one of the frequent migraines he suffered from, but he hoped it was a brain aneurism instead.

"That would get me out of this mess," he thought. "Oh god no, she's coming this way," his brain screamed. He returned his brown eyes to the front in an attempt to pretend that he had not yet seen her.

"Oh shit," she thought to herself as soon as her eyes focused on his beautifully constructed frame. His eyes were forward. "Perhaps he hasn't seen me yet," she hoped.

Just then his eyes turned to meet hers. The terror in their eyes said more than words ever could. At least they were still on the same page...the same terrible page.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" is all her brain could think to say. "This is why there are regulations against fraternization; so that you don't sleep with the officer below you, or above you, or right next to you!"

Such things lead to complications at the least and death at the worst. She knew the regs and the reasons for them, but that did not stop images of Kaidan's perfectly sculpted body from dancing in her head. First he was under her, then over her, then right next to her. Her heart fluttered at the thought.

"Keep it together, Shepard," she thought. "This is why I shouldn't date marines," she huffed, disappointment filling her soul.

His eyes had wander back over to her at that moment. He could see the look of humiliation on her face. It only flashed for a second, and thankfully, nobody but him noticed. It saddened him at the thought that he was the reason for her internal torment. That is when he decided never to bring up their past.

His trip back from the Citadel was filled with thoughts of her. Of course, he had entertained the idea of dating Shepard. She was THE Shepard: Badass of the Blitz, and now, XO of the Normandy.

He imagined how things would go if he ever saw her again. None of them were as awkward as reality.

"If only I had known, I could have given myself a lobotomy or cut off my arm in order to receive a medical discharge. At least that would have been more pleasant," he thought. Yeah, he never wanted to bring up that night.

Just then, Anderson turned to her for a few words. She was unprepared for a speech. Even if she had had time to write one, her brain was so short circuited that the delivery would have screwed it up anyway. Fumbling through lines of generic speeches she had heard over the years, she made it through.

The crew probably should have laugh her off the ship for this monstrosity. Luckily, they were all too scared, or too excited, to comment on her lackluster first impression. Maybe her reputation was good for something after all.

The crowd that had rushed her after being put at ease, offered a reprieve from her thoughts. They all wanted to be the first to welcome her aboard. No one seemed to realize that she had already spent the night.

She was relieved that Kaidan walked by instead of joining the circle of marines. She wanted him to, but knew she would not be able to concentrate if he had.

Afterwards, they slowly trickled onto the ship in pairs. Anderson led the charge. Shepard brought up the rear.

Corporal Richard Jenkins was lucky enough to accompany her through the decontamination process. His eyes were huge due to his excitement of meeting an N7, and he had not shut his mouth since. She was certain that any minute he would pass out due to a lack of oxygen.

He was a young, eager marine always ready to follow orders. Serving with Shepard was a dream come true for him, and he understood what a privilege it was. For the next two weeks, he would follow her around like a puppy begging for any morsel of knowledge she would toss his way.

She walked through the corridor on the bridge towards the CIC. Several of the new arrivals were being shown their duty stations. All eyes followed her as she walked by their consoles, everyone's eyes but Kaidan's of course. If anyone had bothered to notice him, they would have immediately picked up on the awkward tension between them.

Shepard walked by but refused to let her eyes wander over him. All she could think of doing was jumping into his arms and planting a big wet kiss on his lips. "That sure as hell would get us thrown off the boat," she thought, not willing to take the chance.

"How about we take our new arrivals on a trip around the station, Joker?" she overheard Anderson say.

"Hell yeah!" he said before correcting his unfiltered outburst, "I mean, yes sir."

Anderson smiled at his enthusiasm before making an announcement through the comms. She was tempted to grab lunch with the thirty minutes she had to spare while the crew ran prelaunch checks. She decided not to after remembering Joker's reputation.

He was a great pilot, but this was a fun-run and she refused to risk it. The rations were unappetizing going down, she shuttered at the thought of how they would be coming up.

She made her way down the stairs to the Quarters. There was a small line leading into the med-bay where a few marines were waiting to grab some medi-gel packs. Others were there waiting to talk to the doctor about relevant medical conditions.

She headed towards the lounge before changing her mind mid stride and heading for the elevator to the weapons cache.

Two female marines stood by the elevator door. They had their duffles slung over their shoulders and their weapons tied to their backs. After pleasantries, the door slid open. They let her enter first. She refused at first, but they insisted.

Two more marines hollered for them to hold the elevator as they rounded the corner. One was Jenkins. He smiled with delight at the thought of having her trapped with nowhere to run for a minute or two. The other was Kaidan. Her heart skipped when their eyes met.

"Commander," Kaidan said with a nod of respect. So what if she was the XO? They had one passionate night on the Citadel and that was the end of it. She was now his superior and he would respect the chain of command. Besides, as she stood there in front of him, he began to entertain the idea that it had all been a dream.

"Lieutenant Alenko," she replied. She read the last name on his uniform and remembered his rank from the duty roster. They were both relieved that they had gotten their first words out of the way. She admired him for being first to the punch. Now, if only she could do something about her heart spazzing out at the thought of him.

The two female marines giggled as he stepped into the elevator. Their high pitched laughs punctured her eardrums. She did not like the way they were eyeing him. "If I can't fraternize, neither can they," she thought, surprised at her jealousy.

He failed to notice them. He was too focused on trying not to ravish her right then and there. He felt his cheeks turn red just as the door slammed shut. Thankful that nobody had seen him, he took a deep breath and sighed.

Jenkins had managed to squeezed past the three of them and was now standing to her left. She smiled at him as he began talking about one of her heroic deeds he had seen on a vid.

Kaidan stood directly in front of her. She could feel the warmth radiating from his back. His scent weaved its way through the air towards her. She had spent an eternity kissing his neck less than forty-eight hours ago. She resisted the urge to wrap her arms around him and rest her chin on his shoulder. But just barely.

"Dammit, get a hold of yourself, Commander," she thought to herself with distain just as the door opened. They fanned out onto the Engineering and Storage deck. The new arrivals were there to check things out and secure their weapons.

She walked over to the gun lockup and took out her assault rifle. Cleaning it always calmed her nerves. She broke it down without even thinking. After carefully examining each piece meticulously, she slowly reassembled it. She did this three more times oblivious to the world before she felt the eyes on her.

She slowly looked up to see the crowd gathered around her. Had she said something stupid? Did she put it together wrong and the minions came out to rub it in her face? She finally realized that they were staring because she was Shepard. She should have been used to the scrutiny by now.

They were just trying to learn something from her or find something they could brag about to their friends. "I saw Shepard assemble an assault rifle in under five seconds upside down and backwards," she thought sarcastically.

The only face that stood out was Kaidan's. Everyone was looking at the gun, he was looking at her. She knew at that moment that they would have to talk about their previous encounter. It was the only way to get passed it, but that was not a conversation she would look forward to having.

It was hard enough saying his name in the elevator without wanted to jump down the shaft to her death. How would she talk to him about their night? How would she do it on a highly advanced ship with a crew that gave no illusions of privacy? She sighed in frustration. Nobody noticed.

Joker's voice bellowed throughout the ship as he made a quick announcement over the comms system. "Sixty seconds till takeoff." The excitement he had earlier was replaced with his trademark stoicism. The message sent the crew scurrying towards the nearest window in anticipation of the voyage.

She carefully put away her gun. She was glad that she was no longer the center of attention. After she shook off the image of herself in a cage like an animal at a zoo, she scurried along herself.

She piled into the over crowded elevator then took the stairs to the Command deck. When she got to the cockpit, Anderson was standing behind Joker with his arms crossed at his chest. They both grinned wildly as the ship took flight.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed the awkward reunion. More overly excited Jenkins and an elevator kiss to come! Thanks for reading! We're almost to ME1!