A/N: Thank you so much to all of you for reading, reviewing and adding this story to your favorites and alerts. You really motivate me to keep on writing! Also, thank you to Suilven, my dear friend and beta.

Chapter 10 – Trials

06/29/2171

Lisa was wearing an above the knee, light blue chiffon dress that had a gentle flare to the skirt, short sleeves, and a banded waist. She had borrowed it from Emily; the only summer dress her friend had had that covered the scar on Lisa's shoulder. Luckily, Emily had great taste and fashion sense. The attire was beautiful and fitted Lisa nicely.

After she put on a little make-up to highlight her eyes and lips, Lisa took a picture of herself using her omni-tool and sent it to her friend. If not for her own prom today, Emily would certainly have been there helping her get ready for her… date? This time it really was a date, wasn't it?

Emily immediately messaged Lisa back, approving the look and wishing her friend good luck.

Temperatures were warm this time of the year, and it was still sunny outside when Kaidan arrived to pick her up. He looked stunning, with his hair carefully styled, and wearing an ash grey trimmer-fitting shirt and slim-cut dark jeans. Lisa had missed him these past weeks; just exchanging messages was not the same. So, she pulled him into a hug that he returned in kind, their biotics coming to life around them.

Mrs. Alenko appeared behind them and cleared her throat, causing them to separate. She reminded them that Lisa was not supposed to stay out late, and told them to have fun as she sent them off.

As she got into his car, Lisa felt her heart pounding in her chest. She had never been asked on a date before. Should she compliment him on his looks? Where was he going to take her? When they got there, was it okay for them to hold hands? She had never held hands with anyone before; it must feel so nice… Okay, calm down. One thing at a time.

"So… where are we going?" she asked, trying to keep her cool but failing epically. Her excitement was clear in her voice and in the stupid grin that wouldn't leave her face.

"I… uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought we could go grab a burger…"

A burger? It was like having a bucket of cold water thrown at her. "Okay…"

"Would you rather have a pizza?"

There was something wrong. This was not a date, was it?"Burgers are fine. What did you have in mind?"

"There's a place not far from here, on 4th Avenue."

"You mean McDonald's?" Ugh! She had thought they'd go somewhere romantic, hold hands, talk and laugh, and, at some point, they would kiss. Perhaps she had watched too many movies and her expectations were unrealistic. Or, what seemed more likely right now, this was not a date.

"You don't like it? There are other places…"

"Whatever." She shrugged and turned to look out of the passenger's window. It wasn't a date. She had made a fool of herself getting all dressed up for this.

They did not exchange another word. She kept feeling his eyes on her, but every time she looked back at him, he'd pretend he hadn't been looking at her. He must be wondering why I'd put on make-up, a fucking dress, and high heels just to go grab a bite with a friend. God, this is so embarrassing.

The silence between them was stretching, getting more awkward, and the instant he parked the car, she hastily got out, grateful she didn't have to sit alone with him in that small space anymore. He stayed in the car for a moment longer and, through the windshield, she noticed how he dragged his fingers through his hair and exhaled heavily before opening his door. When he had picked her up, he had been in such a good mood. Now, he was upset and it was all her fault. She had misread his intentions and ruined their evening.

"Kaidan, look…" She came closer to him. "I'm sorry. When you asked me out, I thought…" Shaking her head, she buried her face in her palms. "Gosh, this is embarrassing," she muttered and took a deep breath before looking at him again. "I thought this was a date, all right? I don't know why I'd think that. Can we just pretend this never happened and that I'm not wearing this stupid outfit and making a complete fool of myself? Today is Saturday, you probably have a real date to go to after you drop me off, so let's just go eat some fucking Big Macs and get this over with."

His eyes traveled down her body and then shot to the place they were about to go into and he shook his head. "Fuck this. Get in the car."

She was already on her way to the restaurant and turned around, looking surprised. "What?"

"Get in the car," he repeated, already getting back inside himself.

She hurried to catch up with him. "Where are we going?"

"We're taking the lift to Grouse Mountain so we can watch the sunset from up there."

That was one hell of a romantic thing to do. What was going on? Damn, this man was driving her crazy. "Kaidan, you don't have to do this."

"I want to. It's where I wanted to take you when I asked you out."

"So why…?"

"I'll tell you later. There's something I need to ask you first."

"Okay. Ask."

He was quiet for a while. It seemed he was reflecting on whatever it was that he was about to ask her and she decided to wait and not press him.

"Tell me about your brother. I mean… only if you don't mind, of course," he finally said, still hesitant.

That was unexpected. "Well, he was little more than a year older than me. Looked more like Mom — caramel-colored hair, blue eyes…" She trailed off, staring pensively out the window.

"You two were close?"

A wistful sigh escaped her. Over a year after their deaths, it shouldn't still be this hard for her to talk about her family. Maybe it wouldn't be if she had at least tried to do it every once in a while, instead of avoiding it completely.

Kaidan must have thought his question had upset her, because he began to apologize for it. But, she could talk about this with him, couldn't she? She had done it once already, and somehow he had made her sad memories hurt a little less.

"We… we were always at each other's throats." She cut off his apologies, willing herself to speak and answer him. "His name was Jeremy, just like my father. Sometimes, when I wanted to piss him off, I'd call him Junior. He hated it so much." She let out a little laugh, but it died quickly. "I guess he… he didn't like me much. People were scared of me and that cost him his friends."

"I'm sorry to hear it. Wish I could say people are not so intolerant and prejudiced here, but…"

"Yeah. There are a lot of kids from my former school in the neighborhood. Everyone knows what I did, what I am, and they're afraid. The moment they see me, they usually run away, though some of them prefer to insult me first. That's why I'm not running on the beach anymore. Or gardening for the neighbors."

"I'm sorry. I know how much you loved it."

"Not really. They only have useless decorative plants and they would look at me like I was crazy whenever I suggested replacing their pointless rose bushes for a pumpkin patch."

"You're crazy," Kaidan laughed.

They arrived at the station at the foot of Grouse Mountain and got in the line for the lift. The place was packed with tourists this time of the year, and Kaidan cursed himself for not going straight there after picking up Jane. He would have, if his mother hadn't kept reminding him Jane was his foster sister and he was supposed to act like an older brother to her. At least, and to his relief, it didn't seem like she saw him that way.

The lifts were going up full to capacity and, when it was their turn to board, Kaidan grabbed Jane's hand and hurried inside, pushing past the crowd until he could get a spot in front of a window. The windows were huge, but Jane was a bit too short to be able to admire the view outside if not standing directly in front of one. He was hoping it wouldn't be too late for them to catch the sunset.

Kaidan stood right behind her, close enough to feel the buzz of her biotics and the warmth of her body, but not touching her, so there was less of a risk of one of them involuntarily flaring and causing panic among the tourists during the ride. However, the lift lurched forward as it started to move, and Kaidan instinctively put one hand on the railing in front of Jane and the other on her waist to steady them. For a few wonderful moments, her body was flush against his and it took all his willpower to keep his dark energy under control. Thankfully, she managed to hold back, too, but it must not have been easy. He had felt her shudder, heard her gasp, and noticed how her body had straightened up and tensed.

Suddenly, all his blood seemed to be rushing south and he found himself struggling to control more than his biotics.

The lift was softly rocking back and forth now as it went up. Kaidan put a few inches of distance between Jane and him, so he could get a hold of himselfand his biotics, but his hand that was resting on the curve of her waist had found a home there and was refusing to let go.

For the tourists to have time to take pictures and appreciate the panoramic view of the city and the coast, the ride up the mountain was really slow. So, when the sun began to set over the ocean, Kaidan and Jane were still in the lift. It was not how he had planned for this to happen. But, lucky him, this way was even better. Watching the sunset while suspended in mid-air was magical. The view was so breathtaking that everyone in the lift was suddenly quiet, admiring the scenery and making no more than the occasional appreciative noise.

Jane reached for Kaidan's free hand, entwining their fingers, and he took it as an encouragement to come closer to her again and tightened his grasp on her waist. When the last reflections of the sun were fading from the horizon, she turned around in his arms to face him.

He let go of her hand and reached up to tuck the strands of hair that were covering the scarred side of her face behind her ear . Blushing, she averted her eyes, but he kept his gaze on her until she took a deep breath and looked up at him again. They smiled when their eyes met, and he parted his lips as the tip of her tongue darted out to moisten hers.

There was nothing he wanted more than to kiss her right now. His mother was going to be so disappointed in him; she would probably give him the scolding of his life. Not to mention that his biotics would certainly go off the instant his lips touched Jane's, and inside a crowded lift with nowhere for this bunch of terrified tourists to run to... it could only end badly. Still, why was he inching closer to her instead of pulling away?

A loud chime rang inside the lift, and an electronic voice announced through the speakers that they were arriving at their destination and that all passengers should prepare to disembark. Jane flashed Kaidan an understanding half-smile as she turned away from him. The moment was lost and it was probably for the best.

They got off and walked to an observation deck, watching quietly as the artificial lights were gradually lit in the city below. He got them two sodas as she spent a credit to use one of the high powered binoculars to appreciate the view in more detail. It was breezy up there, the wind making the light fabric of her dress flow and press upon her thighs. Kaidan felt his mouth going dry. She was his foster sister; it was wrong to feel this way about her. But, then why did it feel so right? Guilt and desire were battling inside him when his omni-tool chirped. It was a message from his mom — Don't bring Jane home too late. Remember, she's only seventeen. Guilt won.

Kaidan found a quiet spot for them to sit down and have their drinks and tried to think of a safe topic for them to talk about; something that wouldn't lead to flirting or any inappropriate behavior on his end.

"When is your hearing?" Damn! He instantly regretted that question and how it made her shoulders slump and her head drop.

"There's an arraignment in a few weeks and then they'll set up the hearing. I just want this to be over. Can't stand going to any more doctor appointments. They're… annoying."

That was an understatement. His mother had told him about the doctors Jane had been required to see before her appearance in juvenile court. They had been questioning, poking, prodding, and subjecting her to extensive tests and scans, most of which seemed pointless and completely arbitrary. And, they wouldn't even tell her what it was that they were trying to find. To make things worse, whenever Jane had one of these appointments, she had to wear those horrible cuffs for biotics and was escorted by two police officers the whole time, into every room, even when a doctor required her to undress for their tests.

Kaidan was not one to believe in conspiracy theories, but he was starting to fear these ignorant, intolerant people might make something up just to get Jane locked up. Apparently, his parents agreed with him, because his mother had been keeping his father updated on all the developments on Jane's case, and his father was passing along all crucial information to his superior officers. Kaidan had a feeling the Alliance's help would be needed again and, thankfully, his dad seemed intent on assuring Jane would get it.

"I shouldn't have brought it up. I was supposed to distract you from all this. Ma said you never leave the house anymore unless you have one of these doctor appointments, and she is worried about you. So, she told me to try and get you out, take you to do something fun. A sanity check, you know?"

Jane stared at him. There was a slight tremble to her fingers, but her face was carefully expressionless. "Your mother told you to ask me out."

It was a statement, not a question, but he answered it anyway. "Yeah."

She swallowed hard. "I think I want to go home now."

"Jane, is everything okay?" Did I say something wrong?

There was no reply. She just got up, tossed the empty soda bottle in the nearest recycle bin and started walking towards the station to get the lift down the mountain.

He hastily followed her. "Jane?"

"Your mother told you to ask me out. This is a fucking pity date," she said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"No! God, Jane! Of course not. I mean, she told me to ask you out, but this is not a… oh, fuck!" This evening had been going so well, but he had to put his foot in his mouth.

"So, what is it then? A friends' thing?"

"No. I don't know." He sighed. "It's complicated."

"Let me know when you figure it out then, because you're confusing the hell out of me and I don't think I can deal with this right now."

How come he had managed to fuck this up so badly? If only he knew what she really was to him… Sister? Friend? More?

He had tried to do something "a brother and sister would do for fun", like his mother had suggested, but when he'd seen that was not what Jane had been expecting from him, it had felt like a huge relief. He didn't know how to be a big brother; he had never been one and he didn't want to start now. Not to Jane, he didn't. The thoughts he had been having of her were far from brotherly. She was not a sister to him. Definitely not a sister.

A friend, then? When she had been in his arms inside the lift, it had felt like the world was in slow motion and there had been no one else but them in there. It wouldn't be like that if friendship was all that existed between them. It was more than a reaction to her biotics, what he had been feeling whenever she was close to him.

So, she was more. Or, at least he wanted her to be. He should ask her out again and make it clear to her that it was because he wanted to go out with her, and not because his mother had told him to do it. And, hopefully, he wouldn't put his foot in his mouth again. And, he would kiss her. Yeah, that sounded like the right thing to do.

08/26/2171

Lisa was in her room when Kaidan showed up at his mom's, insisting on seeing her. Ever since their "date", she had been avoiding him. He had asked her out two other times after that, but she had refused. Things were already confusing enough between them, and she didn't want to complicate them even more, especially when there was a chance she could be taken away from her foster home and locked up somewhere.

However, the court appointment that would decide her fate was tomorrow and, when Kaidan had gotten there that evening wanting to see her, she couldn't find it in herself to deny him a third time. She didn't let him into her room though, remembering how Mrs. Alenko hadn't been too happy to see him in there the morning after Lisa had gotten expelled from school. So, she led him to the balcony on the first floor instead.

"Why have you been shutting me out, Jane?" He went straight to the point, sounding upset.

It was time to come clean with him. She couldn't leave him without an explanation when there was a real chance they might not see each other again for a long time. "I should've never agreed to go out with you in the first place when I already knew I could be taken away from here. I guess I wasn't thinking straight. It was selfish of me and I'm sorry." She had reached that conclusion after returning from Grouse Mountain, as she had taken off the dress she had borrowed from Emily and wiped the make-up off her face. The next day, she had re-dyed her hair the color closest to her natural shade of brown as she could find.

"I won't lie, Jane; I've thought about that possibility, too, and I was afraid you wouldn't give me the chance to say good-bye in case you… you know." He sounded sad and she fought the urge to touch him, turning to lean on the railing instead and looking over at the ocean.

"But, you understand, right? You understand why I wouldn't go out with you again?" They would only get hurt if they started something now, when there was a strong possibility they would be forced to part ways.

"I do." Sighing, he leaned on the railing by her side. "At least you gave me an explanation," he added with a bitter laugh, and she wondered if there was story behind that reaction. Perhaps it had something to do with that ex-girlfriend of his, Radha or something.

"Of course. You deserve one. I would've told you sooner, but I didn't want to risk you trying to change my mind," she said.

"Do you think I would?"

"Try?"

"Change your mind."

"If you tried, yes, and that wouldn't be good for anyone."

"I don't think I agree with that." The look he gave her as he said those words was so intense, she blushed. Damn this man! He was crumbling her resolve with no effort whatsoever, just by being there.

Say good-bye before you do something stupid. "Kaidan, I… I have to wake up early tomorrow so… I better... uh... go inside and…" God, where had all the words gone?

"Okay. But, can I at least give you a hug first, for good luck?"

She nodded without even thinking and he pulled her into his arms.

Lowering his head, he whispered in her ear, "When this is over, will you go out with me?"

"Yes," she smiled brightly.

Still holding her, he pressed her even tighter against his chest and kissed her hair. "Good luck tomorrow."

Looking up at him, she replied, "Thank you." Then she stood on her toes to give him what was supposed to be a quick and innocent peck on the cheek. But, her mouth seemed to have an idea of its own and trailed down to brush the corner of his lips. Dark energy burned around them and he inhaled sharply, his lips parting.

Pulling away from him instead of deepening the kiss was unbelievably hard. "When this is over," she whispered, for his benefit as well as hers.

"I'll hold you to that."

08/27/2171

At the arraignment, a couple of weeks ago, Lisa Mae had pled guilty. Today, she would be sentenced. Commander Alenko and Captain Hackett had come from Arcturus Station to Vancouver to defend her and to try to convince the judge to give her community service instead of sentencing her to serve time in some facility for young offenders. There was a third Alliance officer with them, who Lisa didn't know. He was wearing a black uniform with a red stripe on the right arm and an emblem on the chest with a letter and a number: N7. Juvenile hearings did not have a jury and were closed to the public, but nobody had messed with this unknown soldier when he had come in with the others who were actually participating in the hearing.

Private Mitra and Lieutenant Kyle were there, too. They had come to testify in her favor. They praised her self-control to the judge and insisted that, contrary to what the civilian doctors had been saying, individuals with biotic abilities weren't inherently violent or prone to insanity.

Lisa was glad to see the Alliance hadn't abandoned her. She wasn't naïve; she knew they wouldn't have taken an interest in her if it weren't for her biotics. But, the way she saw it, it meant they valued her for something that caused almost everyone else to treat her like a freak. It only strengthened her resolve to join the military once she turned eighteen.

Her friend Emily had also been called to testify and, as she had been instructed beforehand by Captain Hackett and Commander Alenko, did not mention the footage she had made of the attack. Although the vid showed Lisa was being bullied by the kids she had hurt, the fury and strength of her reaction might scare the judge who clearly, until this day, knew next to nothing about human biotics. And, he didn't seem much interested in learning either.

Juvenile court was a busy one in a city as big as Vancouver—with over eight million people, and gangs recruiting minors in the poorest neighborhoods—and the judge just wanted to get her case over with so he could move on to the next and fulfill his schedule for the day. He looked bored as hell as he waited for all the witnesses and angry parents to speak and kept checking his watch for the time.

In the end, he gave Lisa fifty hours of community service, and had to call in the police to remove the parents of the injured kids from the courtroom, who were shouting accusations that the military must have intimidated the judge for her to get away with just community service.

Whether he had really felt intimidated by all those uniforms on Lisa's side, or had just believed in their assurance that they would keep her under their watch and had found it good enough, the important thing was that Lisa was free.

She felt Commander Alenko putting his arm protectively around her shoulders as Hackett, Kyle, and Mitra surrounded her. The man in the black uniform took point, his right hand hovering over where his sidearm was holstered as he hastily led them out of the courtroom and past the small crowd that was making a protest against human biotics outside the building.

Barbra and Emily followed suit. Their group quickly split into two cars and they all headed to the Alenkos' residence. Rylan invited his fellow soldiers in for drinks, as an improvised celebration, as well as a thank you for their help. Since they were all going to spend night on Earth anyway, they accepted.

Lisa powered on her tool and wrote a message to Kaidan: It's over. I'm staying. In about an hour he would be getting out of work and she hoped he would stop by to see her.