Disclaimer: I don't own ME.

Lights were off and only the faintest sounds of human voices were coming through the closed door. Only silhouettes of several bunks, a table and chairs were visible in the dim light coming from a holographic screen of a computer. The machine was humming slightly, a soft regular sound that was driving John crazy the more he had to listen to it. Or maybe it was the fact why he had to listen to it that caused his anguish.

With a heavy sigh he hid his face in his palms, closing his sore eyes. He'd been there for eternity, writing and perusing last reports to see if he hadn't missed any significant detail. The only positive thing about all the paperwork was the assignment had finally come to an end. They had depleted every source of information they had found along the way across Cerberus top secret labs and safe houses. His teammates were excited about their every success, but John doubted their efforts had caused the organization any vital problems. From what he'd seen its fingers were already sunk too deeply into the human society to be rid of it that easily. To him it felt like they had just scratched one of the three's Cerberus' heads. We probably haven't done more than to piss this Illusive Man off, John thought. Taking a deep breath – and ignoring the short pain shooting up and down his torso from his unhealed ribs – he looked at the screen again.

But at least they had managed to discover a connection between the Illusive Man – TIM, as Rick had nicknamed him – and New Dawn Pharmaceuticals. Upon receiving an echo from John the Alliance stormed and closed the organization, confiscating large amount of omega-enkaphalin; a drug that could suppress biotic abilities. But again, the drug had been already invented. And John doubted closing the organization would prevent Cerberus from getting more of it.

A silent swoosh sound broke the silence and John looked to his left, hissing and closing his eyes tightly as the sharp light came in through an opened door.

"Ups...sorry, boss," Tanya uttered cheerfully, coming in without actually being invited. "We were worried about you. And since Tan doesn't talk and Rick is too manly to express concern I was sent to check up on you," she was saying while crossing the room swiftly. The door closed behind her, letting the room once again drown in the comfortable darkness. By the time, however, Tanya was seated on top of Johns table, head turned to side so that she could read what he'd written. "Hey, you got a mistake there," she pointed out, leaning closer. "Cerberus operatives? I thought you called them fuckers back on that station. And I made that one headless, too...hell, I loved the way his brain splattered all over the wall behind that guy. Headshot! Serves him right for not wearing a helmet."

John lifted his eyes from the screed to look at her, hand supporting his chin while listening to her. "You're drunk," John stated simply when she finished.

She giggled like a little girl, which seemed rather twisted considering the theme she had just mentioned "Oh, you can tell, can you?"

"Do you realize you're still on duty?"

"I know. That's why I'm still in my free-time-uniform," she nodded, pointing at her outfit.

John frowned slightly. "I'm going to regret asking, but why do you call it a free-time-uniform?"

"Well, it's a uniform, isn't it? And we wear it only on board of a ship when we aren't fighting, because we have a free time" she smiled at him. "See? Simple."

John shook his head helplessly. "If you weren't such a good soldier, Tanya, I swear I'd have you before the court martial long ago."

"I know, you're such a charmer, sir," she answered and touched his shoulder briefly. "Hey, how's your ribcage? You got that one pretty badly after they shot down your shield. I still see the nice pirouette you made when they hit you. Half-pirouette…you landed prone."

"It's getting better," John simply answered. "I'm amazed you've managed to say pirouette twice in a row without messing it up as drunk as you are."

She grinned at him. "I grew up on streets, boss. And don't change a subject. You're a liar. You wince every time you move quickly. You must keep your face under check if you don't want to scare that hot redhead of yours." she shrugged. "By the way, what was so ugly about her hair? I loved that haircut."

"My sister," John started slowly, "had long hair as long as I remember. Seeing it cut short was...weird."

This time Tanya's girl's face frowned in concern. "I have a short hair too. Do I look weird?" she asked, grabbing a strand of her brown hair and bringing it in front of her eyes. "It's good. It fits under a helmet and doesn't stick to my eyes. Do I look weird?"

"I'm not going to answer that. I'm neither stupid, nor as drunk as you to do something like that."

Tanya giggled again, focusing her pale dilated eyes on him. "And that's why you need to stop this crap," she said, pointing her hand towards the computer, "and finally join us to celebrate. We're finally going home again. That's worth celebrating," she added.

"Just give me ten more minutes to send all the files," John said, knowing better than to argue with her.

She hesitated, regarding him with a searching look as if to determine whether or not he was lying to her. "Right," she mumbled after a while and hoped off the table. "Don't take too long. You need to blow off some steam just like us."

...

Several hours later everything ended when John finally stepped into the corridor full of uniformed people. His own uniform, however, was inside the sport bag he carried. Though HQ wasn't as busy as he usually remembered it considering the early morning hour.

Walking slowly, trying not to overstrain his healing wound, he made his way down the large corridor. The careful way he moved attracted curious looks from soldiers around him, but they didn't stop him to ask. At least they almost didn't. John had already the front door at sight when a voice somewhere to his left stopped him.

"Well, well, what a sight. John Shepard, limping. Now I've seen everything." It wasn't meant as a mockery, he could tell, more like a teasing anyway.

John slowly turned towards the source of the voice and frowned at the woman he saw. "Lena?" he whispered, not really sure if his eyes weren't deceiving him. The tall, full-figured woman with shoulder-length black hair gave him a broad smile. Her brown eyes he'd last seen after the basic military training smiled at him. "It is you."

"Long time no see, John," Lena smiled and approached him slowly, a datapad in her hand. "Do you want to help with that? It looks like it's too heavy for you," she joked.

"I don't know who needed help with her backpack during the final tests back during the training," John replied promptly.

Lena looked at the ceiling, smiling. "Blast, he still remembers the moment of my weakness. And I remember," she went on when she focused her eyes back on him, "that you were half the size you are now. Look at yourself. All muscles and all. You look good."

"And you haven't changed in the slightest," John reflected. "And I would love nothing more than to stay here and talk about what you've been doing all those years, but I'm afraid I'm in a little hurry. I've just returned from an assignment, you can imagine."

She lifted her free hand, palm to him, while using the other to hug the datapad to her body. "Then don't let me stop you. I'm sure your sister's eager to finally see you in flesh again," she added with a soft smile. "She's such a sweetheart and she spoke so highly of you despite you leaving her for so long."

That caught his attention. Sensing a longer stay, John carefully lifted the bag off his shoulder and let it drop to the floor. "Wait a minute," he said slowly, her words echoing in his mind. "What are you talking about? How do you know my sister?" That was disturbing. He remembered Lena had told him she'd aspired to become a military psychologist. An unsettling feeling started gripping his stomach when his mind started coming up with countless ideas why Maya would have needed to talk to an Alliance psychologist.

Lena tensed, the hold on her datapad became a little more forced. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the bag before travelling back up to meet his eyes. The look he gave her was completely emotionless, indicating something was going on in his head. "I've met her. I didn't even know it was her until they sent her in my office for an interview and I saw the name in her file."

The look intensified when she fell silent again. "What kind of interview?" John asked. Decided not to jump to conclusions he tried to calm himself down while waiting for her answer.

"You don't know..." Lena gathered, taking an involuntary step back.

"What don't I know?" he asked, but then the answer dawned on him. "No."

Lena's shoulders dropped. "Oh, I've just gotten her into trouble, haven't I? She hasn't told you yet," she whispered and looked away from him, shaking her head. "And here I thought how proud you must be of her to be accepted into our ranks," she bit her lip.

"What?! So not only she's enlisted, but they have accepted her as well!" John barked out so loudly that other Alliance employers paid him a shocked look.

"John, keep your voice down," Lena tried to hush him.

"What kind of stupidity is this? How could she have passed the medical examination? She's half-deaf, goddamned!"

"Alright, that's enough," Lena frowned and bent to take the bag he'd dropped on the floor. "Come with me. I get the feeling this is going to take a while so we can move somewhere private. Like my office," she offered.

John reached out, ignoring the pain, to take the bag form her quickly. She didn't fight him, but also didn't wait for him when she quickly headed deeper into the building. Despite wearing heels she walked quickly and John struggled with his wound to keep up with her, feeling so incredibly stupid.

Luckily the office wasn't far and soon he found himself standing opposite of her behind a closed door. The room was rather homely with lot of plants, a bookshelf, a large wooden table with computer on it and two comfortably-looking armchairs. Neither of them sat down however.

"So?" John bid her to talk when she walked around the table to turn on the computer.

"I shouldn't be doing this, but since you helped me out once – as you've so kindly reminded me – I'm going to show you something. It might anger you even more, but I ask you to act and think like a soldier. Come over here," she motioned him to stand next to her as she started searching the computer's memory. "Here is she..." she mumbled when she found the file she was looking for. "See for yourself," she turned the screen towards him. "She's undergone a surgery to get a translator implanted into her ear to cover for the damaged eardrum. Now she can hear even better than you or me thanks to it."

John's eyes widened as he scanned the file in front of him. "What does the Alliance symbol next to her picture mean?" he asked.

"It means the Alliance is super-interested in your sister," Lena answered curtly. She waited for her words to sink in. "Not because of you," she added when he looked at her slowly, "as you can see the Alliance doesn't consider an applicant's siblings important enough to actually ask about them," she pointed with her hand towards the screen. "It's her own exceptionality that attracted the Alliance's attention. She's been through an intensive martial arts training, she can handle all sorts of weapons, from pistols to sniper rifles, and she possesses extraordinary technical skills, too. The Alliance would have been stupid if they hadn't leapt at the chance of having her."

"That's..."

"Her psychological profile was flawless, too, despite everything she's been through, and that's a hint of incredibly strong will. She's exactly the sort of person the Alliance needs. Plus, she's an L3 biotic and that's a jackpot," she added, her eyes watching the screen. Then she looked at him. "Or do you have another impression? And stop thinking about her as your sister, but a possible recruit, John."

"She's perfect," John had to admit despite himself. He frowned at the screen, reading all the important parts again. "You must stop it," he said suddenly, turning his head towards the woman by his side. "Tell them you've made a mistake. That she's not fit for this kind of duty."

Lena's eyebrows rose. "I'm afraid I can't. Even if I wanted the decision has been made. In three weeks your sister's basic training starts and there's nothing anyone, not even you, can do about it. Look," she added in a softer tone, laying her hand on his shoulder, "I know you want to protect her. But believe me, John, she doesn't need that. She's incredibly mature and smart young woman. Besides, it is her call and she's made it. You have to respect her wish." When he didn't say anything, her eyes saddened. "Why is it so wrong?"

"Why?" John spat out, taking a step back from her hand. "Are you kidding me? The job's dangerous. She's not joining the Alliance if I have any say in the matter."

"Which you don't," she said calmly, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I can still dissuade her from it. She still has the right to decline..."

"You're a hypocrite, John," Lena stated, cutting him off. "Look at yourself. You had a sixteen- years-old teenager in your care, a girl who had went through a very traumatic experience, and you simply packed up your things and left her for no apparent reason! And the day you did so you've lost the right to command her. Let her live her life the way she wants. From what I've gathered, she loves you so much, John. Don't make her change that point of view."

"What is it to you, anyway?" he growled. "It's not like you and I are such big buddies. We could have, if you hadn't walked away from me. Don't you remember?"

"You can't blame me for pursuing my dream, John," she shook her head, gesturing around her. "Besides, if I remember correctly, you weren't all that shattered that I left you. After all...what was her name? Kathe..."

"Don't you dare," John growled and turned around, picking the bag from the floor.

Lena sighed when he left her office and bit her lip. She shook her head and activated her omnitool.

...

"Hey, I knew it was weird when they summoned him even before the ship could dock, but that's already taking excessively too long," Rick muttered discontentedly, eyes checking his watch.

Tan narrowed his eyes when they found its way towards the front gate of Alliance HQ, nodding his agreement.

"He's hurt," Tanya whispered groggily, already sitting inside Tan's speeder. She winced, her own words hammering into her brain. She'd cursed herself for letting Rick drunk her so much the previous day. Her head was killing her, her throat felt dry and she had a queer aftertaste in her mouth as if something had crawled inside while she was sleeping and benignantly died there.

"So what? He's survived worse. He's..." Rick started saying but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "What is it, Tan?" he asked his comrade.

Tan nodded towards the speeder. "Quieter," he whispered.

"Why? Do you think she's ever respected my hangover?"

"Next time I'm trying to save your life on a battlefield," a weak voice from the speeder chimed, "I'm making it very painful."

Another squeeze on his shoulder stopped Rick from answering. Following Tan's gaze Rick's eyes travelled back to the HQ building and watched his commanding officer walk slowly down the stairs. "What are you still doing here?" John asked his teammates when he approached them.

"Tan wanted to give you a lift," Tanya's silent voice spoke from the speeder. "And Rick was curious what they wanted to talk to you about."

Rick shrugged and pointed towards Tanya. "Pretty much that."

John frowned, watching his subordinates as if he didn't quite believe that. "They want us back on the SSV Hastings once our shore leave is over."

"Good. I never liked staying on solid ground for too long anyway," Rick shrugged and moved to get in the speeder. Tan motioned John to get in as well. Clenching his teeth he sat down in the passenger seat.

They didn't speak along the way. John wasn't in mood, Tanya looked miserable enough and therefore Rick had no one to talk to. John didn't care anyway. His thoughts were elsewhere.

"You're a hypocrite, John. Look at yourself."

"She loves you so much, John."

"And that's a jackpot."

"...incredibly strong will."

"She's perfect..." he whispered, looking at his own reflection in the lift's door. It was gone soon as it opened and he walked inside the well known corridor.

"Don't make her change that point of view."

He was surprised to find the door unlocked despite the early hour, and even more stun he was when he realized Maya was awake, sitting on the sofa, probably waiting for him. She was wearing a large T-shirt, shorts and a pair of thick woollen socks. Though she still had sheets around her, she looked like she was awake for quite some time now. She stood up when he entered and smiled at him softly, tugging her short hair behind her ear, and John couldn't help but stare for a moment. It was strange to finally see her after so long. She was much taller than he remembered and looked more athletic than when he'd left. The short hair did really suit her and... "What's that thing on your neck?!" John blurted out, noticing the dark spot there after she'd moved the hair away.

"Well, good morning to you to, John," she smiled at him. "And welcome home. Here, let me help," she approached him, lifting the sport bag off his shoulder. He grasped both her arms to hold her close, while examining the tattoo under her left ear.

"AR?" he read out loud, not protesting when she took the bag from him.

"Always remember," she shrugged, heading towards the bedroom to put his bag on the floor there. "My way to honour the first anniversary of Mindoir's destruction," she added when she returned. "Why don't you sit down? You can berate me from the seat just as well and it won't be as painful for you," she pointed at him.

He blinked. "Wait a minute, how do you..."

She smirked. "Well, I have my ways."

"Lena?" John growled.

May bit her lip and laughed gently. "Who else?" she shrugged and went towards the kitchen. "She said you were pretty angry when you left, so that I'd brace myself. Kind of her to give me the heads-up, isn't it?" she added in irresistibly sweet voice while preparing herself a cup of tea. She poured water into a jug kettle and turned it on, using the other hand to put few tea spoons of sugar into the cup.

A soft clang sound to his left brought John's attention to the wall unit. His eyes widened when he noticed a terrarium full of sawdust, with a small house and an iron wheel. "What is this?" he asked, pointing towards the creature merrily running inside the hamster wheel as if chasing after something really important.

"My Hamster. Isn't he the cutest thing ever?" May smiled, leaning against the kitchen desk in with her elbows to watch the pet with dreamy eyes. "A gift for my birthday from my friends," she said and then the sharp click of the kettle brought her back to present. A scent of cranberries filled the whole flat when she poured water into the cup. Leaving the steaming cup in the kitchen, she quickly crossed the distance between them, taking John's arm and leading him towards her sofa. Putting the blanket away, she made him sit down, ignoring the twist of his face. She sat before him, cross-legged, and smiled at him. "We need to talk."

"Why?" was all John managed to ask, his eyes looking around, searching for other changes. Maya followed his gaze as he fixed his eyes on a box next to the sofa. "Well," she took a slow breath, focusing on her brother again, "I didn't know what else I could do after school. I already know a lot about the Alliance from Kyle and I enjoyed everything he was teaching me. But I didn't decide until the day I heard about the pharmaceutical corporation that had been making drugs. I wasn't sure why, but from the news I had the impression something much bigger was behind the scenes and when I talked to you, you more or less confirmed my hunch, saying you had just screwed one of Cerberus' important allies. And I knew that one day I would simply love to be able to say something like that myself. That I helped to keep humanity safe. That I would be there next time some colony is attacked. That I would make the difference. Do you know some other way to accomplish that?"

Still not meeting her eyes, John shook his head slowly. Then he finally looked at her. Instead of saying something, he reached out, putting her hair behind her ear just as she'd done it not so long ago, to look at the tattoo again.

She smiled, feeling an opportunity to ease the atmosphere with a joke. "I'm going to add N7 to it after I graduate," she said.

"If you become an N7 I'll give you a thousand credits," John played along, sensing the same stubbornness he had himself; Lena was right. There was no way he could change what was going to happen. She had made her mind. And maybe, somewhere very, very deep inside, he really was proud of her.

"Challenge accepted," she narrowed her eyes at him and grinned.

"You would have to be better than the best for them to take notice of you and invite you in the villa. Besides, you'd be the first woman to ever reach that ranking, do you realize that?" he added, turning his head to one side, not really sure if she was still jesting or meant it.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?" she whispered and then took a breath. "So, you're not angry with me after all." It wasn't a question. "I was afraid of your reaction."

He frowned. "Don't take me wrong. I don't like the idea and I'm sure it's going to get you killed one day."

"As long as I'm not spaced," she smiled. "That would be just terrible a way to die. Or to drown. Or to die in a fire. Or…"

"I get the picture," he stopped her, shaking his head. "As I said, I'm not thrilled, but I don't want to argue about it with you. It's not worth it. Especially when there's nothing anyone, not even me, can do about it."

His sister laughed softly. "Why do I have the feeling you're citing Lena, now? That's what she would say."

"How come you know each other so well?"

"We've became friends, you know. Had a lot to talk about. Especially about what we have in common," she added and grinned mischievously.

John's eyes flickered slightly, as his look trailed across her face. Then he focused on the box next to the sofa, deliberately changing the subject. "What's inside?" he asked, nodding towards it.

"A crate. For Ham. David's going to stop by for lunch and to pick him up. Someone needs to take care of him while I'm gone," she added and paid the pet, that was now hovering on top of the little plastic house, a quick look.

"Who's David?"

She turned to him again, smiling. "My boyfriend. You know him, by the way. The guy you met in front of the school. You know…the day Jereth died." She made a short pause and John noticed the sad expression in her eyes. "Anyway," she sighed, shaking her head. "I hope you like pasta. I promised David to cook lasagne so…" she trailed off, biting her lip. She got up and walked to the kitchen. She carefully took the cup into her palms and took a sip, closing her eyes.

"You can cook?" John said, surprised, and wanted to turn around after her, but a sharp pain stopped him in mid-motion. Clenching his teeth and trying to keep his face deadpan he stood up slowly, turning towards her.

She laughed shortly. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Yeah…mom would be so proud. She thought I would have learned it much earlier considering the amount of time they were gone and I was alone, but every time I was hungry I grabbed a fruit." She smiled sadly. "There were all kinds of fruit on Mindoir. And when you took a bite the juice just went down your chin and there was nothing you could about it. I miss the fruits. They were different than Earth's. Much sweeter." She turned her back to John, leaning against the kitchen desk drinking the tea. "It was great refreshment during the hot days. We used to eat so many of them with Tobias whenever we went to the lake to bath. It made our tongues hurt," she laughed, but it sounded empty. "Like when you eat pineapple."

"You need to get out," John whispered suddenly.

"Huh?" she looked at him over her shoulder.

"You need to get out," he repeated more loudly. "I've got a shore leave for a few days now, we could…go somewhere. And I think I know just the place," he added silently.

...

Tobias sat silently on a bank of a limpid lake. His bare feet were dipped in the cool water, making soft splashing noises whenever he moved them. His eyes were closed, he was leaning back slightly, propping on his hands for support. The blazing sun was touching his cheeks gently. It was summer, hot and dry, and it was the only Earth's season that remotely reminded him of Mindoir. Though Mindoir had happened long ago. It was just a word to him now. As if he'd never lived there. With each passed day he had more and more troubles remembering lost things. His parents' faces. His own bedroom. The way hot air shivered above the colony. The school. He could no longer remember even her face.

But he couldn't completely forget either. He'd thought in time he'd let go and move on. There was Kara, after all. And Hyper. His foster parents. But Mindoir clinged to him, determined not to let him get rid of it. Everything he saw and experienced here he tended to compare with Mindoir.

He heard soft steps coming closer, but didn't need to look around to know who it was. "Hey, Tobi. How long are you waiting here?" she asked silently, a hint of laugher in her voice.

Tobias opened his eyes and watched her sat down next to him, putting her flip-flops off her feet. With a soft smile she closed her eyes when her toes pierced the water surface. "Hm…I see why you love it," she whispered. "Anything to cool down a little in this hot weather."

"Where did you shake off Kara?" he asked, turning towards the girl next to him. She was smiling at him, blue eyes sparking merrily. "I didn't. We couldn't make Hyper leave the house. Poor thing, he must be suffering so much. Although…I'm glad we can be alone for a while."

Fixing his eyes on the water surface he nodded, moving his hand to rest around her shoulders, bringing the brunette closer to him. "She just likes you so much, Alex."

"And she adores you," Alex purred, closing eyes again.

"Dangerous combination," Tobias uttered curtly, but she laughed nonetheless. "Hey, and I've got a news for you," she straightened. "John Shepard's back on Earth again. He survived another dangerous mission, though this time they didn't say what it was," she mused, watching the glittering water. She was still smiling softly when Tobias turned his head to her, thinking. "Why do you tell me that?" he asked after a few seconds of confused silence.

"Well…" she started saying, her legs gently swaying in the water, "I thought you liked the guy. You always look him up on the extranet, searching for any piece of information about him," she gave a shrug. Without looking at him she bent over, dipping her hands into the water as well. Tobias watched her bring the hands up to dry them against her dark brown hair. Just as she was done and turned to him, he leaned closer to gently kiss her on her lips. He could feel her smiling and when he pulled away her eyes were shinning like a star. "I do. You're right," he smiled at her, raising his hand to absentmindedly play with her hair.

Almost year and a half since the two ended up together, and it still felt weird when her brown strands were slipping between his fingers.

Tobias knew Alex loved him blindly from the very first day Kara had introduced them to each other. She was nice and pretty, very kind, though sometimes annoying. She was playful and light-hearted. Even though he did find her attractive, he didn't feel so strongly about her. But he liked her enough to let her through the wall he'd erected after Mindoir.

"Yeah, you…you're amazing," he added and turned to watch the lake too. "I didn't know you've noticed it." The truth was he searched for any information about someone else. But he couldn't tell her that, obviously.

"Well, I have," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't respond and only wrapped his arm around her again, bringing her a little closer. It was a moment of peace as they sat there together, unmoving, silently watching the shimmering water surface. It felt perfect and Tobias's grim mood was gone, replaced by a warm sensation. Somehow he thought nothing could make the moment better.

His eyes snapped open when a loud barking woke him up. Both he and Alex were lying in the grass on the lake's bank, limbs intertwined. Alex blinked drowsily and looked around with confusion just as a huge black and white dog jumped on them, licking their faces, wiggling its tail madly and unintentionally scratching their bare arms and legs with its claws.

"H-Hyper, get..." before Tobias could finish Hyper hoped off and a loud splashing sound as well as a spray of cool water told him the dog jumped into the water.

"What the..." Alex started saying, but another voice cut her off.

"Tobias! Tobias!" Kara was screaming at the top of her lungs, running to the couple. They sat up, watching the girl run towards them. "Tobias...!" she said breathlessly when she arrived to them, bending over and placing her palms against her knees.

"Kara? What is it? Is everything alright?" he asked suddenly worried. But then the brunette lifted her head, a broad smile on her flushed face. "I've got...a big...surprise for...you, Tobias," she said and yelped in surprise when the wet dog darted over to her, a long pink tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. Water was dripping from Hyper's fur and he had the great idea to shake it off among them.

"What a crazy dog..." Alex laughed when Hyper hopped off to the water again, barking merrily.

Tobias took a breath to ask what she was talking about, but then he noticed Kara was watching something behind them. He looked over his shoulder and the world around him suddenly halted to stop altogether. The breeze seemingly stopped blowing, the sun ceased to burn his skin, and he forgot to breathe. He wasn't even aware he'd stood up until his legs moved on their own accord.

May folded her hands and narrowed her eyes slightly. "One comment about my hair and I'm going to kill you," she said. Her posture was the same he remembered, but her voice sounded a little bit deeper. But he liked it. And then she smiled and relaxed, biting her lip.

"It is you..." he whispered. He felt he needed to say it out loud, though there were no doubts. Only Maya would say something like that.

Before he knew it, he was holding her in his arms tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder and he knew he never wanted to let go again. He slid his hand up, eager to feel the soft curls of her hair under his palm. But when he brushed the skin on the back of her neck his eyes widened and was about to quickly pull away from her, but she was faster. He startled when she swiftly grasped both his wrists, stopping him. "Please, don't..." she pleaded, shaking her head slightly. "It's nothing. I'll explain it later," she added in a whisper.

Tobias stared at her, not really sure what to say or do. His eyes fell on her hands. He noticed the skin between her thumb and forefingers was burnt on both hands. "Heh...quick reflexes," he said eventually, tearing his eyes off the burns.

She smiled shyly, shrugging. She took a breath to say something, but suddenly Tobias felt a sharp tug at his arm as his little sister captured it in her hands. "Isn't it crazy? After so long and here she is!" Kara practically squeaked in delight. May frowned slightly, confused, but didn't say anything as the last person present approached her. The brunette was a little bit shorter than May and her blue eyes were scrutinizing the girl before her. She was smiling when she extended her hand, but it was a forced smile, Maya could tell. "I'm Alexandra," she introduced herself, brushing off dust and dried grass from her jean shorts with her other hand. "Tobias' girlfriend."

Her voice was kind, but something told Maya if D was there he'd be screaming: Hostiles detected, until he'd gone hoarse...hypothetically speaking. Drones couldn't go hoarse. "My name's Maya," she accepted the offered hand and shook it twice before letting go. "I used to be Tobias' schoolmate back on Mindoir."

"And his kindred spirit," Kara added, mimicking Tobias' deep voice, oblivious to the tension. "Isn't it great?" she asked and looked at her brother.

Tobias nodded and smiled again, absentmindedly using his thumb to touch his fingertips as if he could still feel the little device under them.

...

It was incredible and Tobias still couldn't believe it. She was here. Now. With him. She had found him. She had wanted to see him even after so long. And here he had thought he'd be just a painful reminder of what she'd lost. That had been the reason he had changed his mind about visiting her eventually. He had little desire to cause her pain. But he'd been wrong. She was here now.

They had returned from the lake after some time of casual talking. As if neither of them had wanted to discuss what really mattered to them until they were completely alone. Though Tobias felt a little guilty when Alex parted with them with an obviously made-up excuse. And according to Maya's face she'd known it too. But it hadn't stopped her from fascinating Peter and Carol when they invited her for a lunch.

But it wasn't until almost evening, when Tobias finally managed to get rid of Kara. By the time Maya was outside, petting Hyper while he was lying in the dust, belly up and tongue out of his mouth. "He's just awesome," she purred when she noticed him and stopped stroking the dog. She sat back on her heels and looked at him. Hyper snorted discontentedly, so she quickly went on with the rubbing. "Where's Kara?"

"Inside. I asked Carol to keep her occupied for some time," he answered and approached the two, kneeling down beside Maya.

"You're lucky to have a sibling like her," she said, smiling as Hyper lifted his head to look at her. "Who's the cute doggie? You are, yes you are."

Tobias laughed. "You call me lucky? You're brother's a hero!"

"And has his duties," she added. "And he's very serious most of the time."

"But you said he took you here. Which means he must care, because he helped you reach a childhood friend."

"I didn't say he doesn't," she quickly replied. "He doesn't express it often, but I know he cares," she paused to take a breath. "Tobias," she started saying again, turning to him. "Tell me one thing. What did Kara mean by what she said back at the lake? About the long time and me being here?" she asked, watching him intently while still gently stroking Hyper's belly.

Tobias watched her hand disappearing between the dog's rich fur for a while before he replied. "Well, I wanted to visit you, but eventually decided against it. I thought seeing me might hurt you, you know?"

"How?" she almost laughed when she said it as if the idea seemed so ridiculous.

"Well...I might remind you of Mindoir and everything..." he shrugged.

She touched his cheek and lifted his head to look at her. The large emeralds were sparkling merrily when they locked with his eyes. "That was the silliest thing you've ever said, Tobias," she smiled at him and he couldn't help. He lifted his own hand to cup her cheek gingerly. "You know me," he whispered. And then he remembered. "What's that thing at the back of your neck?" he asked and watched May's eyes widen.

She chuckled mirthlessly, biting her lower lip as she fixed her eyes on Hyper. "Well, I'm not even sure if it has any official name, but John always calls it amp jack," she shrugged. "It's a place where doctors put a needle to gather data from...from my implants. Tobias, I'm a biotic," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as if she felt ashamed by it. The truth was, most people didn't react well when told. They didn't know what being a biotic meant and therefore were afraid of it. All they saw was the eminent power biotics had at their disposal.

Maya tensed when she felt Tobias' hand brush away the hair to get a better look at the nape of her neck while she had her head bent down to Hyper. She could feel him touching the skin around with his fingertips like he was testing if it hurt her. "Biotic," he mumbled. "That's...well...So that's why you've decided to follow your brother's footsteps and become a marine."

She bit her lip. "Partly. I also wanted to protect humanity the best I could. The fact I can use my biotics to do so is a pleasant bonus." Once she felt his hand retreat, she straightened and looked at him. She felt relieved he didn't appear to be afraid of her or anything.

"Humanity," Tobias repeated.

"You saw what happened to Mindoir. If our role in the galactic society had been stronger, they wouldn't have attacked it. No one is foolish enough to attack asari or turian, because they know their race wouldn't forgive it. But...look what happened after Mindoir. Nothing. Nothing happened and I doubt anything will. I know it's because the attackers were pirates, but still..."

"I know what you mean," Tobias nodded and frowned. "If I could I would do anything to show the bat-like assholes what..."

"Tobias!" Maya quickly cut him off.

"Sorry," he muttered and his scowl deepened. He clenched his teeth for a moment and May was sure she had never seen more hatred displayed on his face before. Than all at once his features became relaxed again and he let out a long breath. "Wow...biotic...what was your brother's reaction to it?"

Feeling still a little uneasy from what she'd just seen, she made herself smile at him, hoping it looked genuine enough. "Well, my first biotic performance cost me a nosebleed and he wordlessly handed me a swab to wipe the blood away, saying it was normal. He looked so...casual as if it didn't surprise him at all. I on the other hand felt frightened and not only because a guy was..." she suddenly stopped. "A guy was shoving a gun into my face moments before that," she'd wanted to say, but then she remembered she wasn't allowed to speak about anything anyhow related to Cerberus. "It was crazy," she added, biting her lip.

"I can imagine," he nodded. "Hey, why isn't he with you?" he asked and May was glad he'd decided to ignore her abrupt stop.

"He's probably sleeping in a hotel," she nodded towards the centre of the little town. Or maybe it was a large village, she wasn't sure. She knew it was larger than Mindoir nonetheless. Anyway it was a slow place, calm and peaceful. There were a lot of farms, but they specialized in breeding animals rather than growing any kind of plant. "He knew how important this was to me so he didn't want to disturb me. Besides, he's been hurt and even though he's playing tough, I've glimpsed him wince in pain when he thinks I'm not looking," she smiled. Considering John's health Maya was even more touched by his gesture. Instead of resting he'd chosen to accompany her. "He wanted to show me Earth," she added and her smile turned rueful. "Though the time for it is limited. He needs to be back in two weeks."

"Meaning you can't stay here for long?" Tobias asked, trying his best not to sound disappointed. Of course she'd have to sooner or later return, but he simply wished they could stay like that.

She nodded. "Tomorrow morning we're leaving. Heading south," she added with a sigh. She lifted her eyes from Hyper, focusing on the darkening sky. Even the sun hadn't set yet, she could see a bright star blinking at her. "I haven't got used to this yet. The night sky."

"I know what you mean," Tobias agreed, letting the previous topic slip away. "I still search for the stars I used to watch as a kid, but they are nowhere to be found."

"I would like to see them again," Maya chimed, tilting her head to one side. Her hand stopped moving, but this time Hyper didn't react. He was still, breathing slowly and listening to the couple intently as if he could understand what they were saying.

"Maybe you'll have a chance. They want to renew the colony. Start over with new colonists...and a proper defence," Tobias added, frowning.

"Maybe..." she mused, eyes fixed on the single bright spot above them. "But it won't be Mindoir for me."

To be continued. Thank you all for reading and for leaving such awesome reviews. I dearly appreciate every single one of them :)

And since today's a special day I'd like to wish you all merry Christmas (yeah, yeah...I could have posted this chapter yesterday, but I wanted to wait for today :)

Lyv: Yes, May was N7 in that preview, but since I travelled back in time again it all is still waiting for her ;) Thank you for your reveiw, by the way, and happy Holiday :)

edit: I changed a minor detail in the last chapter. Only six years has elapsed since Maya and John reunited, not eight, as I mentioned in the last part of the previous chapter. I'm sorry for misleading you, it wasn't intentional :D