Ice

Shepard stood in the cockpit, her helmet under her arm, staring out the window at the snow-covered landscape of Alchera. She hadn't even left the ship, yet she was already trembling. She was preparing herself to view the Normandy SR-1's final resting place - and what should have been hers, as well. Every fiber of her being recoiled from the task, but there were other casualties whose bodies still remained down there. They deserved to be honored; their families deserved closure. She owed them that much.

Joker reached out and took her gloved hand in his. "Okay?" he murmured.

Shepard tried to nod, but the gesture ended up being more side-to-side than up and down. Her body refused to convey the lie her mind was trying to tell.

The pilot regarded her, somberly. She was pale and shaking, a startling amount of white showing around the brilliant green of her irises. "You don't have to do this."

Shepard gazed through her faint reflection, contemplating the inhospitable ammonia atmosphere rotating below them. "Yes, I do," she replied, with quiet determination.

"I wish I could go with you." Actually, Joker wished that he could save her from having to take this journey to the planet's surface, the way he hadn't been able to the first time. He would have willingly taken her place now, just as he would have back then. But Vrolik's and ice were a potentially catastrophic combination, and his presence would be a hindrance rather than a help. "As usual," he thought, bitterly.

The regret in Joker's words caused Shepard to withdraw from her inner turmoil and focus her attention on him. He looked as anxious as she felt, and she knew that he was reliving the memories along with her. Shepard bent and pressed her lips to his, offering silent reassurance. His fingers tangled in her hair and gripped the back of her head, clutching her to him. When she broke the kiss, he held her face mere inches from his.

"I'll be with you the whole time," Joker whispered fiercely, pointing to her helmet, where the comm resided. Shepard nodded her understanding, and he released her, reluctantly. "Be careful."

"Aye, aye," she said with the shadow of a smile, before slipping out of the room. With a shuddering sigh, Joker faced forward and prepared to temporarily surrender Shepard to Alchera once more. But the planet couldn't keep her – not then, and not now. Because she belonged to him, and he had no plans to give her up.

Ever.