"Damn," Garrus said, rubbing at his chin. "They really do deliver fast."

Miranda nodded beside him, examining the small, metal container in her hands. Her eyes flicked to the delivery drone on the floor of the airlock compartment. "Bloody well better. There's a reason expedited shipping costs almost a thousand credits more to space expeditions."

Garrus grinned and looked down at her. "That's what we are? A space expedition?"

She smiled. "I figured they didn't need any other specifics."

He tapped absently at his chest. "So…do I get to know what's in there?"

"A surprise."

"Great! I love surprises. What is it?"

She rolled her eyes. "A surprise as in…you don't get to know."

"Well that takes all the fun out of it, Lawson."

"Get used to it."

"C'mon. I won't tell anyone."

"I'm sure you'll see later today."

"But we make Tuchanka orbit later today!"

"Very observant, Mister Vakarian."

Garrus wagged his head back and forth. "I learned from the best. Speaking of which…Shepard seemed better today."

Miranda nodded, absently nudging the drone with her boot. Something flying around with the last, precise location of the Normandy wouldn't do.

"Uh…Lawson?"

"Yes?" She took a quick breath in and looked to him again, trying not to betray the fact she'd let her mind wander. Garrus…Thanix…he would like to test that out, wouldn't he?

"I was trying to ask about Shepard in a more…subtle way. She seems back to her usual self…how was it yesterday?"

Miranda ran a hand through her hair. She'd gone up to check on her again the night before, informing her of the course for Tuchanka, and staying for the ending half hour of some vid called Apocalypse Pompeii. It had almost been worth it, to hear the way Shepard cackled when a volcanic rock would careen across the screen out of nowhere to obliterate the helpless, hapless moron who happened to be in the way. "She was better than the night before."

"Hmmmm…night, huh?" Garrus grinned, waggling what she thought were the equivalent of eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes. "Good God. Really?" She swung the metal case and it clanged against his armored arm. "Oh…speaking of night…did Shepard…on the old Normandy…did she ever sleep on a couch instead of in her bed?"

Garrus scratched at a mandible. "Wouldn't you know that?"

"Not particularly. I know I never ran across a couch-to-bed preference in all my research."

He shrugged. "Not that I know of. Why?"

Miranda bit at her lower lip, frowning slightly. "I don't know. She sleeps on the couch. I'm not sure if she's even used her bed in the time we've been aboard."

"Why the sudden interest in the bed?" Garrus grinned, then threw his arms up as she readied the metal case for another attack. "No, no! Sorry! I couldn't help it."

Miranda pointed over her shoulder. "I will give Shepard the intercom microphone and tell her that you were the mastermind of the megaphone plot."

"You wouldn't."

"No…" Miranda squinted toward the ceiling. "No, I'm rather certain I would."

Garrus chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well played, Lawson. But…you know, you should probably ask her about the couch thing."

She sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"Hah! Of course I am. I am Vakarian, after all."

Miranda turned and started for the bridge corridor. "Oh, Garrus…would you like a little targeting practice with the Thanix?"

"Is that even a question?"

She glanced over her shoulder and adjusted the metal case under her arm. "Inform Joker to brace for offensive maneuvers. I'll reimburse the company for the drone."

"Yes! Hot damn, Lawson!" Garrus cheered. "Keep letting me shoot things like that, Shepard can keep you around forever!"

/ / /

"Shepard?" Miranda called as she stepped into the cabin. A quick glance around the daylight-cycle-lit room showed her hunched over her private terminal, with Sir Knight McFurball happily trotting away on his quietly squeaking hamster wheel.

Shepard glanced over and smiled. "Hey."

She strode over to the commander and set the case on the desk with one hand, the other coming to rest lightly on the woman's shoulder. "What are you up to?"

Shepard heaved a sigh, rubbing her mouth and shaking her head. "The Alliance all but destroyed everything they had on Sovereign. I'm having Tali try and dig up anything left on Saren, but…it's not looking promising."

Miranda squeezed her shoulder. "A little light reading, then."

"See? I work every once in a while too, Operative Lawson." Shepard leaned back in her seat, tilting her head back to meet Miranda's steel blue eyes above her.

She cleared her throat and brought her hands up to brush a few stray hairs from her forehead. "How…are you doing?"

"Better." She glanced at the case on the desktop and leaned forward to close out of the reports on her terminal screen. "What's that?" she asked, pointing.

Miranda put her hands on Shepard's shoulders. "A surprise."

"Great! I love surprises! What is it?" Shepard pulled it over.

"Really. You and Garrus." Miranda rolled her eyes, squeezing the tense muscles at the base of the Shepard's neck. "The point of a surprise is to not know what it is until you open it."

"Those kinds of surprises aren't nearly as fun, though."

"Just open the damn case." Miranda didn't know why she was suddenly nervous as Shepard began struggling with the clasps. It wasn't as if the woman was difficult to please…the words 'easily entertained' were two words that described her well. Her gaze was pulled to the two pictures Shepard had proudly taped to the wall at the right of her desk—the pictures Talitha had given her.

"Damn…case snaps…I can never…" Shepard let out a huff of air. "They're Shepard-proof."

Miranda giggled and leaned forward, arms reaching around Shepard, their heads side-to-side, cheeks touching. "Child-proof, but some days, I do believe the terms could be synonymous." The faint scent of generic soap that was so very…uniquely Shepard…wrapped around Miranda as she easily untwisted the locking pin caps and slid them out. She turned her head, nose brushing against Shepard's cheek. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" she whispered, well aware that she could straighten again to let her open the case. Instead, her arms circled around her shoulders.

Blind optimism wasn't going to bring them back through the Omega-4 Relay alive.

Shepard knew that. They both did.

She wanted to enjoy the small moment of Shepard having a good surprise again. At least she hoped it was a good surprise.

This is absurd. Why am I nervous about this? She thought, tightening her arms around the woman slightly as she flipped up the snaps. Miranda could feel the muscles in her shoulders shift against her chest as she moved, pulling open the case.

"No…way!" Shepard exclaimed, yanking out a can of pink model-paint.

Miranda smiled, nuzzling against her neck. "I figured since I refuse to paint the real ship this ridiculous color..."

"This awesome color." Shepard held the can up toward the display case with the SR-2 fully assembled, as well as a turian and alliance cruiser.

Impressive, really, that she managed to find time to do those.

"Yes, well." Miranda kissed her neck lightly. "At any rate. You can have your colorful damn spaceship now."

"Barbarella isn't gonna' have anything on us." Shepard set the paint lightly on the desk, leaning back into Miranda's embrace and turning her head, their noses bumping lightly.

"Us, hm?" Miranda grinned.

Shepard smiled, pulling herself up from the chair and sliding her arms around Miranda's waist. "Like the sound of that?"

"Perhaps. Although…I may need a little convincing," she murmured.

"I think I could come up with something." Shepard cocked an eyebrow and grinned crookedly, tugging her closer so there was no distance between their bodies.

Miranda gave a low, throaty hum. "Mm…do tell, Commander."

Shepard leaned forward, capturing her lips easily with her own. Their mouths quickly parted, tongues sliding past the open barriers; hungrily exploring familiar territory. Miranda took a step back, grabbing two fistfuls of Shepard's shirt and pulling her along until she had the commander pinning her against the desk behind her. Quick breath from their nostrils flared against each other's faces as Shepard pulled her hands up, one gently gripping the back of Miranda's head, the other coming to rest at her cheek. The operative tugged a little harder on her shirt, keeping her close.

She wanted her close.

Us. I think I rather do like the sound of that.

"High Master-Commander of the Zoo Ship Normandy."

Miranda couldn't help but laugh as Shepard groaned, breaking away from her mouth and dropping her head onto Miranda's shoulder. They were both out of breath. After finally regaining hers, Miranda put her hand on the back of the commander's head, still grinning. "What is it, EDI?"

"I thought it was worthy of note that certain crew members are currently attempting to rewire the shuttle bay combat simulator for stronger shocks."

Shepard jerked her head up from the operative's shoulder. "Stronger shocks? I already feel like I get hit by a truck when my health meter goes critical in the software."

"Which is precisely why I mention it."

Miranda grudgingly let Shepard take a step away from her and watched her run a heavy hand through her hair, sighing. "Who is it?"

"Grunt threatened engineers Ken and Gabby."

Shepard rolled her eyes and started re-adjusting her shirt. "For shit's sake. Alright." She turned to face Miranda again. "XO Lawson, you stand relieved. I'm going to go biotic-punch Grunt in the ass."

"It should be of note," EDI added, "that Kasumi and Tali'Zorah are there as well."

Miranda frowned. "Did he threaten them, too?"

"They are there of their own accord and under no duress."

Shepard smacked her palm against her forehead. "We're going to kill Grunt before we make it to Tuchanka," she said, glancing over to Miranda.

She giggled, putting a hand over her mouth. "Would you like some backup?"

Shepard nodded and waved her to follow as they started for the elevator. As the door sliced open to the short corridor, she turned abruptly, causing Miranda to nearly collide with her.

"Did you forget something?" Miranda glanced over her shoulder, into the room. She couldn't imagine what, unless the woman was planning on going down in a full suit of armor. Hm. It wouldn't be the worst idea. Oh, bloody hell. Now you're thinking in her idiotic phrases, too.

"No." Shepard's fingers brushed against her jaw, tilting Miranda's head back to meet her gaze. "I didn't get—"

"Shepard," EDI interrupted. "They are powering up the system with re-programmed voltage."

"You can tell me later," Miranda said, reaching up to grab her hand and yanking her to the elevator. "We have a krogan to save."

"Huh. Things you never expect to hear."

"Yes. Or say. Come on."

/ / /

"Grunt! Don't you dare!" Miranda shouted as soon as the doors opened.

"Tali'Zorah vas freakin' Neema! I see you at that console! Turn it off!"

Tali's hands shot up in the air.

Kasumi promptly cloaked.

"Goto?" Miranda snapped, putting her hands on her waist. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Awwwww," Grunt turned, his huge shoulders drooping forward. "Shepard. It was gonna' be fun."

"You were gonna' be dead." Shepard's eyes suddenly widened and Miranda's gaze shot forward. "Tali, I thought I told you to turn this shit off!"

"Grunt! Your five o'clock!" Miranda shouted.

"Hahahaaa! I knew you'd understand, Lawson!" Grunt howled, spinning with his sim-gun raised. A holographic Collector was blasted into hundreds of cubes that disintegrated into nothing, quickly followed by another two. Shepard threw her hands up helplessly, glancing at Tali as Grunt charged forward, the sensors on his simulator suit dealing damage to the holograms he barreled through.

"Sorry," Tali rushed, helmet tilting back to the display console. "With these new…it'll take a few extra…"

"I…am…KROGAAAaaaa—uh oh." Grunt's head bowed for a moment, examining the omni-tool reading of his shield and health meters. The red health bar flashed as three more glowing Collectors appeared. "I can take 'em!"

Miranda pressed her fingers to both her temples.

"Concussive shot at your three!" Shepard called. "Go, go!"

The young krogan pivoted, firing the high-powered round, effectively destroying a barrier reading.

A tell-tale, loud, flat, beep sounded. The critically wounded beep. The beep that came right before the shock.

Grunt's body jolted backward and he landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Shit," Miranda muttered as she and Shepard darted forward. "Grunt?" she asked, kneeling down at his side, Shepard opposite of her.

He blinked before coughing. "Heh…eh…heh. You…gotta' try this!"

The operative rolled her eyes as Shepard sat back on her heels.

"Y'know, I'll put it on my to-do list," Shepard said, grinning. She punched his arm. "We're going to have to talk about threatening the engineers, though."

"Hm?" He propped himself up on his elbows. "It was the sneaky one's idea."

Miranda shook her head slowly. "Of course it was."

Shepard looked from Grunt, over her shoulder to Tali, and back again. "So…why is Tali here?"

"Ha!" He hauled himself into a sitting position and clapped his hands together as if to dust them off. "Her idea! I was telling her how the last few rounds I went, the shock didn't knock me over or anything. I wanted more!"

Miranda scratched at her head absently. "Shepard, I really hope this friend, Wrex, of yours…knows how to fix…" She waved her hand toward Grunt.

"Yeah!" Shepard slapped Grunt's head plates affectionately. "We'll drop in and get him some krogan therapy lessons. Easy peasy."

/ / /

"Easy…peasy?!" Miranda shouted. Sand and dust crunched under her boots as she shifted, putting a hand on her hip, glaring at Shepard.

The woman in question was busy wiping at her front, examining the gruesome sludge that came off on her gloves. She looked up to reply, but instead whipped out her pistol, firing off three rapid shots over the operative's shoulder.

Miranda didn't flinch as she heard the body fall behind her, still silently demanding an explanation with…what she hoped…was an intensely intimidating stare.

"Hahahaaa!" Grunt bounded over, an antennae of sorts flopping freely from one fist. "Isn't this great?" He whacked Shepard heartily on the back, sending her stumbling a few steps forward. "Don't you feel better already, Lawson?" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thin lips pulling off his teeth as he smiled.

Miranda turned her icy gaze from Shepard to offer Grunt a smile. How thoughtful he had been when he said he wanted her to accompany him and Shepard to whatever a Rite was. He said maybe it would help her, too, since she was 'tank born'. It was almost a pity she would have rather been on the Normandy instead of the partially toxic, sweltering rock known as Tuchanka, taking down varren and klixen and whatever other atrocities awaited. It would have been a very sweet gesture. "I feel…something, all right."

Shepard was back to closely inspecting the thick, red goop on her hand, her nose wrinkling as she brought it close to her face. "Pwhaa! That reeks. Here, smell it!" She held up her hand toward Grunt, who took a whiff.

"Rrrgh. That…smells…it smells bad." Grunt's face creased into a frown.

Shepard looked over at Miranda, holding her hand out. "Smell!"

Miranda rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I'm not sure if headbutting that krogan earlier scrambled your already flawed logic, but if you smelled it and said it was awful, and Grunt agreed…why the hell would I put my nose anywhere near that…that…" She frowned and motioned toward the mess. As if on cue, a thick drop pulled down and landed on the sand-dusted ground with a slap. "That."

"I was just…investigating!" Shepard protested, wiping the mess from her hand onto the armor at her thigh.

Miranda let out a huff and nodded toward the keystone. "Grunt, go hit the button again. Let's get this over with."

"Yeeaah! Let's kill more things!" He shot off like an overjoyed child, the antennae still flopping from his grip.

"I would blame it on the headbut," Miranda said lightly, pulling out her pistol and ejecting a mostly-spent thermal clip, sending it clinking across the broken stones underfoot.

"I just wanted you to share in the experience," the commander replied, stooping to grab at a clip that was partially buried in sand. She straightened and blew it off before handing it to Miranda. The enormous hammer started crawling upward, screeching through the almost nauseatingly hot air.

"Thank you." She slapped it into place before flicking her hair from the side of her face. Sweat was beginning to trickle down her temples. "And that's completely absurd."

"No, see, Grunt and I had a fantastic bonding experience over that smell. And you missed out." Shepard pulled her forearm across her face, attempting to wipe away the sheen of sweat on her own features.

"What do you call being here?" Miranda asked, pointing her gun lazily toward the keystone.

"I…" Shepard paused and nearly tapped her chin, but caught another smell of the foulness still streaked on her glove. Instead, she curled her hand into a fist before pointing at Miranda. "You raise a valid point."

The hammer dropped, sending a light vibration through the ground under their boots.

"Of course I do." Miranda grinned and reached over to shove lightly at Shepard's head. "That's why I said it."

Shepard laughed, several strands of hair plastered wetly across her forehead. "Too bad we can't confidence these things to death."

"Or the Collectors." Something wasn't right. Miranda looked down to watch several pebbles shaking, scuttling in non-patters around her feet. The vibrations from the keystone should have stopped.

"We certainly don't lack for it." Shepard nudged Grunt with an elbow as he paced back to them. "I mean I kind of feel left out here. I'm the only non-perfect specimen around."

"Heh heh. We'll tear them apart, Shepard."

Miranda frowned, eyes flicking up to look between the two of them. "Do you feel that?"

"Hmmm…" Grunt's eyes narrowed.

Shepard pulled a new thermal clip from the pouch at her arm. "Feel what?"

The ground lurched as a giant column of dirt, sand, and rocks spewed up far to their right. Miranda shielded her face as the rubble rained down around them.

"Thresher maw!" Grunt roared.

"Get down!" Shepard sprinted forward, grabbing Miranda's arm on the way and yanking them both into cover behind a crumbling wall.

Grunt quickly followed and squatted next to them. "Why are we hiding?"

"We're not hiding," Shepard shot back. "We're making a plan."

"Alright." Miranda fought the urge to gracelessly spit out a few strands of hair that had managed to get in her mouth. She tugged them away. "So what's the plan?"

"It's okay." Shepard spread her hands out in front of her. "I've taken down one of these before."

Grunt's eyes widened. "Nice!"

Miranda peered over the top of the wall for a moment. "So…what do we need to do?"

"Find a Mako and blow the bastard to bits!" Shepard pounded one fist into her open palm.

"Hmph." Grunt scratched his neck and glanced to Miranda. "Starting to think maybe she did headbut Uvenk a little too hard."

"Okay, Shepard." Miranda smiled and reached forward to take her shoulders. "That is a wonderful plan, but for right now…we are going to keep brainstorming."

Shepard sighed. "Well, I was hoping maybe one of you saw one on the way in. Since you didn't…on to Plan B!" She patted the missile launcher on her back before turning, boots crunching gravel against stone. Her finger jabbed toward a tower with ragged canvas hanging from element-torn, wooden beams. "If I can get up there, I'll have a better shot at its ugly face. If we keep the pressure up…"

Grunt slapped his gun. "We kill it!"

"Hell yes we do." Shepard swallowed hard and poked her head over the top of the wall. "Oh, and…watch out for the spit."

"We got this, Shepard." Grunt hopped up, aiming his gun forward. "Go!"

Miranda stood, calmly aiming her pistol forward. It felt so useless, firing such tiny things at something so enormous. A quick glimpse over showed that Shepard had made it to the tower and was beginning to scramble up. The comm link cackled to life in her ear.

"Uuuup we goooo, into the wild blue yondeeerrr," she panted out the melody. They could see her searching for a good foothold.

Grunt shook his head and shot Miranda a sidelong glance. "She got a song for everything?"

"Uuuup we goooo, to kill the maaaaw!"

"She certainly makes it that way."

"Don't be jealous, guys. Hey…what's…what's it doing?"

Miranda took a step back, unconsciously putting her hand against Grunt's chest. "Oh shit."

"Oh shit?!" Shepard's form started clambering frantically. "Oh shit?! What's oh shit?!"

"Heh." Grunt fired off another round. "Watch the spit, Shepard!" His big hand dragged Miranda behind cover again.

"Watch the spit? How the hell am I supposed to…I'm on a—"

Miranda flinched as thick, see-through, green liquid splashed over their cover, over their heads, and slopped to the ground. It sizzled against the stones and sand.

"You guys okay?" Shepard rushed.

Miranda hadn't realized she'd grabbed Grunt's arm until he shook her off and patted her shoulder. "Yeah," she answered, a bit shakily. "Yeah, we're alright. Just…"

"Hurry it up, up there!" Grunt cut in. "We have any sort of reading on that thing?"

"I'll get it." Miranda tapped at the side of her visor, bringing up the readings of the creature in front of them. "Still at eighty percent."

"Not for long!" Shepard called.

She looked up to see the commander's legs wrapped around a beam as she wrestled the missile launcher into place against her shoulder.

"And…" she thumped off a rocket. "Boom goes the dynamite." She fired off two more quick shots. The first exploded squarely in the side of the maw's 'face', causing its unholy, high-pitched, scraping scream to shred through the air. It writhed frantically as the next two hit just below their intended target, sending dark blood and thresher acid raining to the ground as it retreated into its hole.

"Ha!...Ha-ha!" Shepard breathed, raising her rocket launcher. "I love this thing!"

"Impressive." Miranda pressed her fingers against her ear, grinning as she looked up.

Shepard gave a clumsy salute. "I aim to impress, ma'am."

A column of earth vomited upward again to the left, revealing the battered, but still very angry thresher maw head.

"Aaaaawwww." Shepard's shoulders fell as she twisted to see.

"Our friend's back," Grunt muttered, jogging over, already firing off incendiary rounds.

"Indeed he is," Miranda replied, following him. "Reading is saying just under seventy percent."

"Alright," Shepard said. "Keep firing until it shoots the acid, then I'll go again."

"Copy that."

"Shepard, can you get your gun out?" Grunt asked. "We could use some help."

"No!" Miranda said quickly. "No, it looks unstable enough up there as it is."

"I think I could get my pistol out…here I…okay! I…oooohhh…oops."

"Oops?" Miranda turned to see the pistol clattering to the ground with a few stray sparks. Oh good GOD. Really?

"There it goes!" She was yanked behind another low wall by Grunt again and she braced herself for the splash of acid above them.

"Oh…oh no!" Shepard's voice bounced over the comm link. "Dammit!"

Miranda tilted her head up, shielding her eyes from the sun. Shepard fired off two rockets before the hissing-spitting noise came.

"Oh…shi—"

The glob of acid hit the tower squarely in the front as Shepard grabbed onto one of the beams, ducking her head away. Two of the main rods cracked, and more soon followed, sending up a cloud of splinters. The one Shepard had been straddling gave way and she started plummeting to the hard ground, wrapping her body protectively around the missile launcher.

"No!" Miranda screamed, beginning to rush forward. She could catch her with a well-timed biotic—

"Look out!" Grunt barreled her over as acid splashed against the wall again, arcing over their heads.

Shepard hit the ground with a solid thud, her head slamming back against the stone.

"Shepard!" Miranda crawled from Grunt's grasp as the creature screeched again before ducking underground. The commander must have hit it with the two rockets she got off. She slid to a halt at Shepard's side, quickly lifting her head to check for damage. Her stomach calmed a fraction as her fingers didn't come back bloody. "Okay. Okay, time to get up, now."

Grunt knelt down, checking over his shoulder. The ground started rumbling again. "Damn…SHEPARD!"

The commander cracked her eyes open with a wheeze.

Miranda let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Have I ever mentioned how handy our barriers can be?" she asked, a little woozily, to Miranda with a lopsided grin.

"Indeed they are." Miranda patted her cheek. "Alright. Come on. Time to focus."

"Right. Okay. Got it…" Shepard blinked hard several times and shook her head, gripping the rocket launcher against her chest tightly. "I'm gonna' have a hell of a headache tonight," she muttered.

Another vertical explosion of dirt, sand and rock erupted at the front of the arena, the horrid screech already ripping through the air.

"Look out!" Shepard kicked both her legs out, sending an awkward biotic-almost-shockwave, shoving Grunt onto the ground, and then rolled over, grabbing Miranda and slamming them into the side of the low concrete wall just as the acid went cascading over again.

Miranda looked up at Shepard; her tense, corded neck muscles extending into her armor collar. The way her jaw stood out so well against them… "Oh, yes. Easy peasy, Commander. What could possibly go wrong?"

Miranda was, after all, a multitasker.

"Yeah, yeah." Shepard reached over and grabbed the rocket launcher again, dragging it to them. "In my defense, I didn't realize krogan puberty was so…physically demanding. Can we get another read on that bastard?" She crawled backward to let her get into a crouch again.

Miranda peered over the wall. "Bloody hell, Shepard! You took off half its mouth!"

Grunt laughed. "Told you we would rip it apart!"

"Thirty-eight percent."

"Good." Shepard checked the launcher. "Because I've only got three more." Her head turned to the second, remaining tower.

"No," Miranda said flatly, firing over their cover.

"But—"

"No."

"You didn't even know what I was thinking."

"That you would climb that death trap over there."

"So maybe you did…"

Miranda offered her a smirk.

Shepard looked between her and the tower.

"Don't…you…dare."

"I don't have a good angle down here!" Shepard gripped Miranda's forearm briefly as she reloaded her thermal clip. She was running low. "I'll be fine," she said just loud enough for her to hear before scrambling away.

"Goddammit, Shepard!" Miranda frowned, watching her sprint for the tower and begin a remarkably fast climb up the beaten wooden beams.

"Kill her later, Lawson!" Grunt said, switching to his shotgun. "I'm on my last clip. Gotta' get closer."

"Wait!" Miranda held out her hand, watching Shepard's quick ascent. The high-pitched whine that signaled the beginning of a scream started. "Okay, now!" She leapt over the crumbling wall, sticking close to Grunt's right side as they rushed forward, spewing the last of their ammo into the neck of the creature. Her gun clicked several times as the head turned downward, obviously unhappy with their interruption of its intended spitting-target of Shepard.

"Shepard?" Grunt asked into the comm line. "I hope you have a good shot!"

Its shadow crept across them as it screamed again. They were close enough that both Grunt and Miranda had to cover their ears, wincing in pain at the grating noise.

"Duck and cover!" Shepard responded. They heard three telltale thunks.

Miranda's eyes widened as they all hit the thresher maw squarely in the side of the face, ripping scaled chunks away, sending hunks of meat flying upward, sprinkling dark blood into the air.

There was a gurgling, grating, scream.

"No, no, no! Move!" Shepard bellowed.

A final acid stream started spewing from the mangled mouth.

"Move, dammit!"

Before she could process the command, there was an enormous bulk in front of her and wrapping around her sides; a deep, gruff chuckle in her ear as the stench of killed varren and klixen and krogan sweat smacked her in the face. "Heh heh."

Grunt?

"It was—"

He was shielding her.

"—a good fight!"

No.

They did not just do all that to have him killed by a damn thresher maw who managed a cheap shot at the end of its life.

She snapped her eyes shut and her hands grabbed the plates of armor of his that she could. She was aware of the dim glow that pressed against her eyelids as she flared her biotics.

She could hear the green slime splatter down around them in a halo, quickly followed by the remains of the monster's head farther away.

"Grunt? Miranda?!" Shepard called frantically over the line. "I'm coming!"

Miranda opened her eyes and Grunt let go, taking a step back to examine non-acid-splashed circle around them.

"Heh heh…we killed a thresher maw!" He roared, beating at his chest.

Miranda was still a little shaken. She balled her fists a few times before letting out a nervous chuckle. You…protected me. "That we did."

"Because we're perfect!" He slapped her shoulder. "Ha! Knew you had it in you, Lawson. Even though you're kinda' prissy."

She raised an eyebrow and planted her hands on her hips. "Prissy? Oh, you didn't just go there."

Grunt paused before shrugging his enormous shoulders. "I did."

"Miranda!" Shepard leapt over the wall and stumbled on her landing, still sliding the rocket launcher back into place. "Holy shit," she breathed as she stopped at the acidic puddle surrounding the two. "Holy…shit." She ran a hand through her hair, disregarding the muck.

They were all covered in it now. No use in trying to keep any kind of hygiene up at the moment.

"Here." Grunt grabbed Miranda easily and hefted her up.

"Grunt, what—put me down this instant!"

"Okay!" he replied gleefully, spinning in a quick circle before letting her go.

She bowled into Shepard and they collapsed on the ground. She was in the process of getting up when Shepard grabbed her into a sweaty, disgusting hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Miranda pulled back slightly. "What the hell for? You made the right call."

"I didn't know it would be that close when…and I…"

"Shepard," Miranda cut her off quietly, propping her weight on one arm to put her other hand against the woman's chest. "Stop."

"But—"

"Don't." Miranda leaned closer. "I know there's only one way to shut you up, but I'm afraid that will have to wait."

Shepard nodded wearily and let her head fall back to the blood-spattered, sand-colored stones. "I think that's enough fighting for one day," she breathed, reaching up to run her hand along Miranda's arm. "I'm ready to get back to the Normandy and get some morphine."

"I think you'll have to settle for aspirin."

"No morphine?"

"You bumped your head." Miranda let a grin play across her features.

"From twenty feet in the freakin' air!"

"And whose fault was that?"

"Hey!" Grunt said. "Here they come!" He took two steps in the circle clear of acid and leapt, clearing the green sludge with a duck-and-roll, kicking up a cloud of sand.

Miranda stood up and extended a hand. "Alright, Commander. Time to get the hell off this…" she glanced at Grunt's beaming face. "Wonderful…hot…smelly, rock."

Shepard accepted the help up and rubbed at the back of her head. "Well, Grunt, I say it's been fun, but how does being back in climate-control sound?"

"Ha! We killed a thresher maw!" He flung his hands up, already starting forward to meet the group of krogan that had emerged into the arena.

Miranda squeezed Shepard's hand briefly as they followed him. "I think he's excited."

"As soon as I get my morphine, I'll be excited."

"Aspirin."

"How about…we meet in the middle?"

Miranda leaned closer, letting her breath tickle Shepard's ear. "And how about I don't kiss you after we're all cleaned up? Which would be a shame, because…I think I'm quite looking forward to it."

"Did I say morphine? By morphine…I meant…aspirin."

"That's more like it."

"See? I'm not completely incorrigible."

She hummed lightly. "I suppose you have your moments."

Shepard grinned. "Come on. Let's get our trophy or medal or…participation ribbon—whatever they give us, and get back to the ship."

"Aye-aye to that."

A/N: Ah! Another lag between updates! My apologies.

This chapter is brought to you by the user Selena Shepard! (and the letter A. But that's not important.) Seriously, though. She has been a fantastic sounding board and without her input on several ideas, this chapter would have taken much longer to crank out. Thanks, Selena!

And, as always, thank you for all your reviews, faves and follows :)