Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I wrote the chapter, then rewrote it. Then rewrote parts of it. I never seem to be completely happy with it so now I'm publishing it anyway! Please let me know what you think, and thanks for reading! A big hug to those of you that have reviewed as well!

Chapter 11

Swore to never ever leave you
To never let you out of my hands
Nothing here could ever change this
A promise 'til the living end
I never meant to be a liar
The shame is cutting into my skin

The Exies - "Stray"

She had been right about Joker finding the 'situation' with Kaidan's parents hilarious, he laughed so hard she was worried he might choke to death. She couldn't help but laugh as well when she thought of it, but she was worried that Kaidan's mother might try to stop them from seeing each other.

Kaidan hadn't answered her messages until later that night and he'd told her that his parents had talked to him for hours about her being underage and that Kaidan's mother didn't think Athena was the right girl for him. She'd felt a surge of anger at that last part but Kaidan had seemed just as mad that his mother had tried to interfere and that calmed her down a bit. But it was official: Kaidan's mother did not like her one bit.

Athena didn't care what Mrs. Alenko thought of her as long as she didn't try to come between them. But from Kaidan's reaction she knew she didn't have anything to worry about.

They decided that it might be good to lay low for a while and Athena should probably not show up at the house, but that didn't keep them from seeing each other. Kaidan came over to Athena's apartment a few times and hung out with her, Joker and the rest of the guys, but Athena felt a bit on edge every time he was there. She was always worried about running into Eric when Kaidan was there, for fear of what he might do or say. It wasn't forbidden to bring someone from outside the gang to your apartment, all of them did that from time to time, but if Eric somehow found out about Kaidan's, and by extension Athena's, connection to the Alliance, things could escalate. He already seemed to have it in for her, though she had no idea why.

When they wanted to be alone for a bit they went to the beach. They usually brought some food and beer and a blanket and sat there watching the sunset, often ending up making out under the blanket, but they didn't dare do anything more in a public area, even though they were alone, and the lack of real alone time was frustrating for both of them.

A whole week went by like that, with Kaidan's mother coming home at all hours and calling him when she couldn't actually be there. It was getting increasingly annoying but they decided to play along since having a shouting match about it wouldn't solve anything, and worse: that might trigger Kaidan's dad to side with the mother. He had refused to say anything more on the subject since 'the incident' and they were both very grateful for that.

They were lying on the beach under a blanket and cuddling when Athena's omni tool pinged. It was from Joker, but it only contained a few words and none of their usual banter.

Get home now
- Joker

Athena immediately jumped up, startling Kaidan who had begun to doze off.

"What is it?"

"Joker told me I had to get home. It looked serious" She said as she put her shoes back on and started searching for her jacket.

"I'm coming with"

Kaidan had got up and put on his shoes as well. Athena hesitated for a moment, she didn't think it was a good idea to bring Kaidan home if something had happened. Maybe Eric was looking for her? But she couldn't just leave him there either, since they'd taken the bike he had no way to get home if she left and she didn't feel like taking a detour to his house before figuring out if Joker was okay.

"Alright"

She was on the bike in a heartbeat and soon felt his familiar warmth against her back. It calmed her down a bit and she took a deep breath before starting the bike and beginning the short drive home. Even though it would only take a few minutes, she had to fight the urge to speed way over the limit. Only the fact that she had Kaidan behind her made her restrain herself.

Her head was spinning. It could just be Joker thinking it would be fun to worry her and he'd snicker when she came rushing home, but somehow she didn't think so.

Her heart sank as they drew close and saw everyone darting around, obviously working on something. It reminded her of the activity a few days before the raid and she sighed. Would they be doing another raid? Was that what this was all about?

As she parked the bike, she got a lot of dark glances from the people rushing by and she frowned. That was weird. Not that these people usually greeted her with a hug or anything, but now they seemed downright hostile. She looked at Kaidan, who seemed to be picking up on the strange atmosphere and he gave her a worried glance.

She was tense as a bowstring as she gestured for him to follow her to the small apartment, hoping Joker and the guys would be inside. As she opened the door they all turned around. Joker, Dave, Johnny and Jade were inside and she felt s small wave of relief that Eric wasn't there. Didn't last long though.

Dave stepped forward and hugged her, and she hugged him back, being very confused. Johnny and Jade got to their feet as well but by then she had seen the way Joker was cradling his left arm in his right hand and she rushed by them. She knew that posture well after all their years together.

"What happened?" She asked as she sat down beside him and studied his broken forearm with her eyes, not wanting to touch him before she knew how bad it was.

"The Lost Sons attacked us"

Her head snapped up at his words and she stared at him open mouthed, not knowing where to begin asking the questions.

"They just came in with two cars, but every one of them were carrying guns" Dave stepped in to explain it and she turned her eyes on him. "They spread out and did a search before we even knew what was happening. We think they found the bags we took from them but they didn't take anything with them. We were all in the base and some guy pushed Joker when they rushed by, breaking his arm"

She was overwhelmed but all the other questions could wait for a bit, she had to find out how Joker was doing.

"How bad is it?" She turned towards him again and tried to read his expression but his face was set in a firm mask that concealed all pain.

"Not too bad, only a small fracture. Just broke the arm when I stopped the fall"

It could've been way worse, Athena grimly thought. Joker winced as she gently probed around the wounded area.

"I think we should go to the hospital"

"No way, It's not that bad and we don't have the money" He got a stubborn expression and she knew he probably wouldn't give in but she had to try. He would never let on if it was a serious fracture and she couldn't tell.

"We have the money. Come on"

"No" When she narrowed her eyes at him, he waved his uninjured hand in a direction towards the door and continued. "That's not even why I told you to get back. Eric was looking for you. He was mad as hell, raving about you never being here when we need you. He's only gonna get angrier the longer it takes him to find you" He suddenly frowned and got an almost worried expression. "I hope he just wants to yell at you. Since you know, if he beats you to death it's my fault for calling you back" He tried to brush it off as a joke but his smile didn't reach his eyes and the tone of his voice was strained.

She snorted, it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. One, Eric would never kill her. Beat her, yes, but never kill. As much as he liked to pay tough, that wasn't his style. And two, how in hell would it be Joker's fault? She would have come back home eventually anyway.

"He won't kill me. And even if he did, it wouldn't be you fault, dickhead"

She saw the amused glitter in his eyes and congratulated herself on turning his frown upside down.

"Bitch"

She chuckled, as did all the others.

"Who's Eric?" Athena almost jumped, she'd completely forgotten that Kaidan was there and from the surprised look on the other's faces, they had too. She quickly debated with herself whether she should tell him or not, but it seemed shitty not to, especially now that he'd heard Joker say Eric might kill her. He shifted nervously under everyone's stare before Athena answered him.

"He's the leader of the Reds. And he doesn't like me"

"That's an understatement" Joker muttered as he adjusted his trademark cap.

She shot Joker a warning look. No need to worry Kaidan even more.

"He's just been on edge lately, and he would never actually kill any of us" She tried to smooth it over but Kaidan still looked very worried. Even though it was a serious situation she just wanted to go over and kiss him until he smiled again. That will have to wait.

She turned back to Joker, his arm was priority one in the list of things to sort out. As she sat down beside him, he moved his hand so she could perform the usual routine check they'd come up with over the years. Bending and stretching the elbow joint and the wrist and carefully probing the arm to find the fracture and check if there were more then one. They both knew he could do this himself but there was an unspoken agreement that she'd do it as well every single time. She needed to check it out for herself and he let her, even if it meant more probing on his broken arm.

When she was satisfied with the check up, she proceeded over to the drawer where they kept the bandages and wrapped his arm quickly but firmly to stabilize the bone. It wasn't as good as a plaster cast but it would have to do since he refused to go to the hospital.

When it was done she looked up at him as he flexed his fingers and he nodded to show that it wasn't too tight. She brought him the painkillers that they kept for emergencies and a glass of water. Okay, problem one fixed, time to take care of the rest.

She took a deep breath before turning back to Dave.

"So they didn't take anything? Just scouting?"

Dave nodded, and Athena said what they were all thinking.

"That means they'll be back"

No one had anything to say to that and they all stood quiet for a while before Athena broke the silence again.

"And Eric is looking for me?"

"Yeah" Joker was squirming in his seat, and that alone was disturbing, making her even more wary of Eric's wrath. "He was fucking furious. Don't know where he is now though. But you should try to find him before he gets even more worked up"

"Sounds like a plan, I - " Athena jumped as the door banged open to reveal both Eric and Yennie standing in the doorway, both looking angrier then she'd ever seen them.

Fuck. Maybe Joker hadn't been wrong after all, they did look furious enough to kill someone.

Athena stood her ground as Eric charged in and stopped with his red face an inch from her own, but she had to fight the urge to take a few steps back. Or run.

"Where the fuck have you been?!" Eric's voice was only a low whisper but it in the quiet room it carried like thunder. Before Athena even opened her mouth to answer, Eric's eyes darted around and landed on Kaidan. He narrowed his eyes before he turned them back to her. "Don't even bother replying, I can see the answer right there. Is he worth risking everything for?! Your life here, your friends?! I can kick you out whenever I fucking feel like it!"

Athena honestly didn't know how to answer that and Eric seemed to be close to exploding so she bit back the sarcastic retort that formed in her mind and kept her mouth shut.

"I told you not to mess it up, and yet you weren't here when we were attacked. What if they had wanted something more then scouting?" He moved his face even closer to hers, their noses touching and yet she had to strain her ears to hear him as he whispered even lower. "Don't you care about what happens to you little gang?" He motioned towards Joker and the guys and Athena suddenly felt somewhat ashamed.

They'd been attacked and she hadn't been there. She'd been spending so much time away for the past week that she hadn't even had time to talk to them. If one of the LS's had wanted to hurt Joker it would've been bad. He had broken his arm from just a push, she didn't even want to think about the outcome if someone beat him up. Even though he hated it, he needed her to protect him from stuff like this. They had always been a team and now she felt like she had abandoned him. Shame burned alongside the rage that Eric dared question her loyalty to her friends.

It was an effort to keep her mouth shut and her eyes trained on Eric's, but she did it. He stepped back and sneered at her. She wondered if he was disappointed at the lack of response. Perhaps he'd hoped she would shout back, giving him a reason to hit her. She thought her restraint should earn her a medal and made a mental note to brag about it to Joker later.

"Too busy fucking the rich boy to protect the cripple" Yennie spoke up and something inside Athena finally snapped.

She launched forward and pushed the taller woman hard into the wall behind her. Before Yennie even had time to draw a breath, Athena fist connected with her nose and she heard a satisfying crunching noise. That bitch had no right to speak to her like that. No right to speak about Joker and Kaidan like that, either.

She vaguely heard yelling behind her but she was too focused on the bleeding woman in front of her to hear the words. But before she could hit her again, Eric was there, pulling her off Yennie and throwing her across the room. Athena landed hard, colliding with a chair, and for a moment she had no idea what was going on. Before she had time to sit up, Eric was over her again, hands around her throat.

"How dare you?!" The hands around her throat tightened and Athena made a strangled sound as she struggled to breathe while her hands tried to pry his off. His hands wouldn't give an inch and she felt a panic building quickly.

Suddenly her vision turned blue and the hands left her throat. She thought she must have been too long without oxygen when she saw Eric flying across the room, bathed in a blue glow, and hitting the opposite wall. When she looked around, bewildered, she saw Kaidan with his hand outstretched and an almost surprised expression on his face, as if he couldn't believe what he'd just done. Athena couldn't believe it either. He'd told her that he was a biotic but somehow she had never imagined him using his powers.

She scrambled to her feet at the same time as Eric did. They stared at each other, no one moving, before Eric glared at Kaidan and then looked at Yennie, who was standing beside him with a hand pressed against her bleeding nose.

"Get that fucking freak out of here. And if you ever do something like that again, you and your pathetic friends will regret it" With that final threat, both Eric and Yennie left.

Athena let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and then Joker and Dave were there, asking her if she was okay. She had no idea. She wasn't hurt, just a little banged up after being thrown across the room, but the repercussions of what she'd just done, and what Kaidan had just done, was something she'd rather not think about. And she was wondering if Eric had tried to kill her or if he'd just wanted to scare her. Probably the second. Probably.

"I'm fine" She waved Joker and Dave away and stepped between them to talk to Kaidan. The look on his face told her that he was still in shock, and she noticed that Johnny and Jade had both stepped away from him and was looking at him with widened eyes. They hadn't known he was a biotic. Athena had, and she'd still been surprised as hell. I have to get him out of here. She walked up to him and gently put her hand on his arm, making him jump even though she was careful.

"We should go" She was proud to hear that her voice didn't waver and led him outside. She walked quickly, not wanting to draw anymore attention to them, but once they were seated on the bike and started driving, she realized that she didn't know where to go. She doubted that Kaidan wanted to go home and face the parents right now, and she wanted to talk to him, reassure him somehow. But how she would manage to do that when she couldn't even reassure herself, she didn't know.

She drove them back towards the beach, at a loss for other options, but knowing that she couldn't stay long. She'd made Eric furious enough already and she still needed the Reds for another year before she could join the Alliance.