Chapter 10

Violent Therapy

It took James all of five minutes to storm his way back toward the Normandy, his mood seriously soured by his fight with Johanna. He barged through the crowds in the docking bay, not really paying attention to where he was walking or who he walked into. He punched the airlock button and stomped his way back onto the ship, not bothering to stop to greet Joker adpnd EDI like he normally would, he just made a beeline for the elevator. The quiet of the shuttle bay was exactly what he needed. Time alone with his thoughts and a punching bag. Even better, a punching bag which he could picture Kaidan's face on. That was exactly what he needed. He flexed and cracked his knuckles on the short trip down to the shuttle bay. It might not be the real thing and he supposed he'd never get the chance but this would do for now.

The elevator doors pinged open and he practically ran toward his workstation. "Bullshit." He hit the punch bag with a left hook, sending it swinging slightly. "Total," punch, "Fucking," another punch, "Bullshit." He punctuated each word with a punch. "Babysit me? I don't need babysitting. I take care of my own shit and I get shit done." He swung for the bag again and his fist connected with it with a satisfying thud. Whoever said that violence wasn't therapeutic clearly had no idea what they were talking about. It was working, he already felt less angry. A little bit. Maybe. He was right, though. He just knew it. Johanna wasn't the kind of woman that men like Kaidan could just walk away from without wanting a second chance. She was strong, funny, beautiful and independent, the kind of woman who wouldn't normally look twice at someone like Kaidan, especially after Mars. But she was visiting him all because he asked nicely? "Nah," another punch, "She's the one talking bullshit."

"Lieutenant Vega, is everything ok?" EDI's voice suddenly crackled over the shuttle bay comm link. "Your omnitool biometric readings show signs of distress. I thought it best to check with you before asking Jeff to."

"Yeah, EDI, I'm fine, just working a few things out." It still freaked him out that EDI could monitor the crew like that. He knew that it was just part of her programming, the job she was supposed to do but still, it didn't freak him out any less. "Has the Commander come back aboard yet?"

"No, she has not," EDI replied, "The locator on her omnitool shows that she is currently leaving Huerta Memorial Hospital."

"Do you know where she's heading?" James asked, finally calm enough to want to talk things through. If she had left the hospital, it meant one of two things. Either he was right and she was leaving to put some distance between herself and an awkward talk with her ex or he was wrong and she just wanted to get the hell away. Hopefully the latter, another fight wasn't on his agenda.

"I do not. I am unable the predict her movements after she leaves Huerta, the signal is a locator, a tracker, not a predictor. The Alliance installed it on her omnitool shortly after she was imprisoned." He really should have known - EDI was an AI, not an all seeing, all knowing crystal ball. "Shall I contact Shepard to ask where she plans on going next?"

"That's ok, EDI, thanks." James heard the familiar crackle of static as the AI closed the comm link followed by the ping from his omnitool. "Well, well," James grinned, "I was right."

"So I was right, huh?" James had taken his time in going to Shepard's cabin, she'd been the one to apologise so he figured he could make her wait a while. He sat beside Johanna on the sofa and grinned at her. "I'd say that I told you so but y'know, I spent a while beating the shit outta the punching bag in the shuttle bay, imagined his face on it the whole time. Feel pretty good right now."

"Yeah," Johanna sighed, "You were right." She could still feel the awkwardness of the conversation. "He asked how we move past Horizon, that there's nobody special in his life right now and that he still cares. I told him that we could move on as friends but as nothing more, I told him that I'd moved on. He seemed to take it well." She shrugged her shoulders, partly wishing that Kaidan had fought a little harder for her. "Don't let your ego run away with you, James," she threw him a smile, "I don't think he's lying in bed right now, crying his eyes out because I chose you over him."

"Aw shit, Lola," James laughed, "You had to go ruin it for me, didn't you?" It would've been quite the ego boost but he wasn't stupid, he knew that Kaidan was made of sterner stuff. He'd have to be, he'd been with Shepard after all. "Seriously, though? He just let you walk away? He didn't even try to convince you to choose him?" Had it been him in the Major's place, he would've fought tooth and nail for her. "I'm just saying, he didn't work very hard for it. I would've fought for you, I wouldn't have let you leave until I knew you were mine." A second's silence passed between them before he realised what he'd said. "Not that you belong to me or anything, you know what I mean."

"Well look at you," Johanna grinned and scooted close enough to capture his lips in a kiss, "I had no idea you were such a romantic, James." At least one of them would've fought for her, it was good to know. "I think I like this romantic side of you," another kiss, it wouldn't hurt to tease him a little bit, right? Where was the fun in always being well behaved? Not that Johanna was ever well behaved to start with. "Who knew you were such a big softie," she swung her legs over his so she could sit across his lap. "And you know what?" She grinned, knowing that what she was about to say would inflate his ego at least five sizes, "I think I like being yours."

"Hey, I can be romantic, like, really romantic, not just this soft stuff," James' fingers ghosted over her knee, "I'll show you. How long are we staying on the Citadel?"

"I figured we'll stick around another day. I have to speak to Aria, no doubt she'll want me to run some god-damn errand for her, better to get it done now." Johanna sighed again, hating that she'd have to spend even more time on the station. "I hope whatever she has up her sleeve will help, I hate spending time here. It's too fucking peaceful. Planets are burning and the people here are so fucking ignorant about it." She'd launched into her rant without even realising. "Sorry. Why do you wanna know how long we're sticking around here for."

"You'll see," James smirked, "Maybe I have a little something up my sleeve, too. Hopefully something more fun than whatever Aria has up hers, maybe a little less dirty." He nudged her playfully, "Or maybe more, you never know." He'd take her out - if she wanted to see how romantic he could be, he'd show her. "And as for the people here, I think I remember someone telling me that we'd be waiting with a huge fucking cup of I told you so when this shithole finally wakes up to smell the ashes. Hold onto that, I know I am."

"You planning to surprise me, James?" Johanna quirked an eyebrow, "I'll have the secret outta you by the end of the night." Her eyes twinkled with a mischief that would've been unheard of at the start of the day. "But ground rules, ok? Nothing involving me having to dance, I wanna be entertained, not be the entertainment. And nothing too fancy, I don't really do fancy. Last time I wore a dress, I shot the shit outta the place. If you ever meet Kasumi, ask her about Bekenstein."

"By the end of the night, huh?" His mind quickly ran through the less innocent implications of those words, it was second nature for James to look for the double meaning. "I'll bet I can have you outta something in the next ten minutes."

"Oh really?" Johanna stood from her place across her lap. "I hate to disappoint but I have to update Hackett on Kaidan and the cure, can't really put it off any longer or he'll put a boot up my ass." She leaned over to kiss James again, her lips lingering on his for a moment. "Rain check for an hour?"

"An hour. You got it." James stood with a grin and walked off toward the door, slapping Johanna's ass on the way past. "I'll be here. Don't be late." Maybe it was his turn to have the last word after all...

A/N :: So sorry about the delay in this chapter, everyone. I had it written and good to go along with an interlude, but when I went to post it, it had been deleted somehow (wasn't too happy about that) so I had to start over and write the whole thing again. I think I managed to cover everything in the original draft but if I think of anything I've forgotten, I'll find a way to work it back into a later chapter.

As always, thank you to "Zee," "Katschaba," "eboncat," and "Skylark16," for the reviews on the last chapter - your feedback is always, always appreciated, guys!