The heat was starting to drive Shepard crazy. So was being confined to a tiny space. She rarely opened the door for visitors and even more rarely ventured out. Her body was in a desperate need of a shower and she was certain there were things living in and under her bed. The house wasn't dirty. Far from it. Kaliyah was a fervent cleaner and often broke into the room to tidy it up, despite Shepard's protests. But she still felt dirty. She was glad for the lack of Thane, however. After their encounter a few days ago, he kept to himself, going out of his way to avoid her, which was absolutely fine by her. But it caused Kaliyah to give her disapproving looks. The only member of the household that seemed undeterred by Shepard's behavior was Nohalah. If anything, it made the child more curious about her. Shepard often caught the girl spying on her through the crack in the door whenever her mother was in the room, cleaning. Shepard could swear that her eyes were getting bigger and bigger everyday and someday would swallow her face whole. She told that to Nohalah one day and the girl didn't believe her. It wasn't possible she had protested, but still covered her eyes. Later, Shepard overheard her ask her mother if it was possible for her eyes to grow as large as her face. Her mother only laughed and told her that Shepard was only teasing her. Moments later, Nohalah was in her room, calling her a liar in as indignant a voice as a child could muster. It made Shepard laugh for the first time in ages.

But now, she was going crazy. She had to get out of here and there was only one person who could make that happen. Or so Shepard thought. It occurred to her recently that there had to be a town somewhere near by. They didn't grow their groceries, at least not all of them. And where there was a town, there were people and communication stations which would suit her as well as her visor. She just had to figure out a way to get that information out of someone. She took her first opportunity when Kaliyah entered her room to clean.

"Must get lonely out here all by yourself." Shepard commented, starting the conversation as casually as possible. Kaliyah shrugged.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it. Plus, I do have company. I have my daughter and I have Thane. That is enough for me."

"You must have friends, though."

There was a slight hesitation in Kaliyah's movements at the mention of friends, but it was fleeting and she soon resumed her cleaning.

"They have either passed or have chosen to stay on Kahje."

"I see." was all Shepard could say. It was clear from Kaliyah's tone that she did not wish to discuss personal matters and Shepard wasn't going to press her. If she wanted to get the information she needed, it was important to make Kaliyah her friend. She decide to go with a more domestic approach.

"Is there any way I could take a shower tonight?"

The drell woman paused, a quizzical expression on her face.

"A shower?"

"Yes. I wish to clean myself up a bit." Shepard replied, pulling the dirty tunic away from her skin.

"Oh. We - don't have a bath. Drell skin naturally stays clean. Our bodies do not produce sweat."

Great.... she thought, no bath, no shower. As though sensing her disappointment, Kaliyah added "I'm sorry, sometimes I forget you are not drell."

"It's fine. You must get water from somewhere. I can work something out with a bucket and some soap."

"There is an oasis a walking distance from here."

An oasis? Why in hell did they choose to build a house here, then? It was puzzling, but Shepard didn't question it.

"Any way I could run into town and pick up some soap?"

"There are a couple bars in the pantry you can use."

Damn it, this woman's got everything covered. But Shepard couldn't argue. She didn't want Kaliyah to get suspicious as she was certain Thane ordered her not to disclose the town's location. Perhaps next time, she could use Nohalah's curiosity to her advantage.

The opportunity was given to her when Nohalah was ordered to take her to the oasis the next morning. Even though it was within walking distance, apparently Kaliyah believed that Shepard would get lost.

"How do you know where you're going?" Shepard asked Nohalah who was confidently striding through similar looking dunes. She looked back and grinned proudly.

"Landmarks!" she said. "When you've walked a certain way many times, the land takes different shapes. I can tell the difference between each hill!"

Shepard was impressed. The girl was smart. Perhaps as smart as she was when she was a child.

"That's pretty impressive."

"Thanks!"

Nohalah seemed really happy about the compliment.

"So, are you happy living here?" Shepard asked, keeping the conversation going.

"Yeah! Mom always told me that where she came from is all wet and foggy. It doesn't sound nice. I like the sun! And playing in the sand is fun, too!" she laughed, picking up a fistful of sand and throwing it in the air then hastily running away to prevent it from falling in her face. The breezed blew the stray grains in Shepard's direction and she covered her eyes.

"You like Earth, then?"

"Of course!"

"I was born here, you know."

That seemed to excite Nohalah as she turned around and ran toward Shepard, grabbing her hand and tugging on it.

"You were? Really? Were you born in a desert, too??"

The action surprised Shepard and her hand reflexively tried to pull away. But Nohalah's grip was surprisingly strong for a child. Her touch also felt cool against her skin. She looked down at her, into her inquisitive and eager eyes. The girl seemed so innocent, so pure. So unlike herself.

"No, I was born in a big city." she finally replied.

"Really? What's it like? I've never been to one!"

Shepard thought for a moment.

"Well, you know, if you tell me how to get to town, I'll take you one day. How does that sound?"

Nohalah was genuinely excited.

"You would do that? But.... Uncle Thane told me not to tell you." a frown crossed her face, her eyebrows knitted together. "And I promised him I wouldn't." Her tiny face was riddled with concentration.

"If I tell you, promise me you won't tell Uncle Thane! I want to see a city!"

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Shepard smiled, making a cross over her heart. Nohalah, copying the action, inquired what it meant.

"It means that if I break the promise, I will die."

"Whoa! That's a serious promise!" her eyes grew as wide as her incredulity.

"Oh! I think your eyes just grew another inch!" Shepard teased.

"No, they didn't!!" Nohalah protested, squinting her eyes as if to force them to shrink. They both laughed. The laughter felt almost alien to her, but it also felt good. Carefree. Shepard wasn't a hero here, she was simply... her.

"What is your name?" the girl asked her suddenly, making Shepard stop in her tracks. She had not shared her identity with the family and, apparently, neither did Thane. With good purpose, of course. Word traveled fast.

"You can call me... Jane!"

"That's a strange name! I'll give you a better one. Hmm." Her eyebrows knitted together again, making her look impossibly cute. "I will call you...Nie'vu. It's a word that means 'friend' in our native language." she smiled brightly up at Shepard.

"Friend, huh? Okay, I like it. From now on, I shall be known as Nie'vu."

Nohalah smiled again and pulling her hand, they continued on toward the oasis.


A/N: A brief look into Shepard's possible other side. Let me know what you think!