** 26 **

James dropped the bot onto a bed and turned. His heart lurched when he saw Shepard leaning over Alenko, the pain on her face clear for all to see. He had no reason to be there but he couldn't bring himself to leave. Shepard and Liara removed the Major's helmet and the depth of his injuries became more apparent. James flinched, even he could see the danger the soldier was in. Shepard seemed lost and it wasn't until Liara spoke that she jumped back to life.

'We have to get him to a hospital,' Liara was connecting him up to machines as she spoke. 'I'm not a medical doctor, I only know what Chakwas would do to put him on these machines.' She glanced at Shepard who hadn't responded. 'Shepard,' she spoke louder and Shepard looked up at her, 'we need to get to the Citadel, we can get help there.'

Shepard nodded, 'Joker, get us to the Citadel.' She pulled herself up and looked at the bot behind James, 'see what you and EDI can get from that thing.' She was talking to Liara but as she met James' eyes her gaze softened, 'Are you okay?'

'Yeah,' he nodded and she relaxed slightly.

EDI interrupted and Shepard dashed out to speak to Admiral Hackett. James watched her leave before his eyes fell back on the deathly still Major. He walked to the side of the bed where Liara was linking his armour to the medical scanners.

'So, the Commander and the Major …' James looked up as Liara sighed.

'Once,' she lifted her head and looked at him. 'On the SR-1, they were inseparable.'

'But not now?'

'No, there's too much hurt there I think,' she smirked at him, 'besides, I think she's found someone else.'

It took a moment for James to realise what she was saying. 'What?' He held up his hands but there was no strength in his argument, 'I was just her guard, we're friends.'

'James, it is James, isn't it?' Liara waited until he nodded, 'Shepard is going to need someone she can trust and rely on to get through this. She takes everything on herself and shuts people out. Someone needs to push through that.'

James held her gaze for a moment, 'Shepard knows she can count on me.'

'I hope so,' she glanced down at Kaidan and her silent message was loud and clear.

'I need to go find a bunk,' James gave the Major one last glance then left the medbay.

He stepped out into the mess and had no idea where to go. He guessed that the crew quarters were on this deck so he wandered the corridor until he found them. The idea of sharing close quarters wasn't appealing; he liked his space and privacy. Not something one often got on military ships but he could try. He found the observation lounges and was pleased to find a poker table and bar, this cruise might not be too bad, at least they had somewhere to relax, if they ever did.

The sleeper pods were definitely uninviting, besides, his bulk made them tight and uncomfortable. His stomach growled and he realised he hadn't eaten since breakfast. It felt like days had passed but it was only mid-afternoon. He wasn't the only one who hadn't eaten. He scoured the mess cupboards and managed to scrounge up enough supplies to make scrambled eggs, he hated the powdered eggs but when left with little choice they would have to do.

'EDI,' he was aware of how comfortable he felt talking to an AI and it surprised him a little. 'Where is the Commander?'

'Right here,' she spoke from behind him and he jumped. She laughed as he almost dropped the spoon he was using. 'You need something, James?'

'No, but I thought you might,' he dished up his eggs and handed her a plate, 'you haven't eaten since breakfast.' He was a little relieved to see she'd at least changed out of her armour, something he had yet to do, assuming he could find clothing to change into.

Her eyes moistened as she looked from him to the plate and back again before reaching out and taking his offering. 'Thanks,' she said softly and moved to the table.

James took a moment to make coffee before joining her. 'So, what happens when we get to the Citadel?'

'I have to see the council,' she grimaced and he chuckled.

'Not looking forward to that?'

'Beating my head against a brick wall, no,' she chewed her food quietly but her eyes kept glancing at the medbay.

'I'm sure the Major will make it,' James stared at his plate so he didn't have to see the fear in her eyes, 'he seems like a strong person.'

'He is … was… I don't know anymore,' she sighed and sipped her coffee. 'He doesn't deserve to die like this though.'

'So, you and he …' James was surprised when she grunted a laugh.

'No, thought so once but not now.'

James lifted his gaze to find her smirking at him and relief flooded through him. 'So, just friends,' his lips lifted and he fought down a grin as she raised her eyebrows at him.

'I like to think so but who knows.' She went back to eating but there was a smile on her face, 'I'm surprised you found supplies, the Normandy wasn't scheduled to leave so she wasn't stocked for flight.'

'Yeah, there's not a lot there, mostly energy bars, some powdered stuff. We do have coffee though, even if it is military grade.' He took a sip and frowned as the bitter liquid ran across his tongue.

'Edi,' she looked at the ceiling, 'can we make sure we do a full restock when we reach the Citadel. Include dextro supplies in there and anything else we don't have for non-human races, who knows who'll end up on the Normandy before this is over.'

'Yes, Commander, should I also procure medical supplies although we do not have a doctor on board?'

'Definitely, I'll see what I can do about getting us one and organising additional crew.'

'Don't forget alcohol,' Joker interrupted, 'you know, for morale.'

'Shepard,' Liara dashed out of medbay before Shepard could respond to Joker, 'EDI and I have retrieved the data from the Cerberus machine.' She sat beside Shepard and held out a datapad, 'it appears to be a weapon, massive and capable of unquantifiable amounts of destruction.'

'This is huge, the amount of resources … '

'We can't win this conventionally,' Liara reminded her, 'isn't it worth trying at least?'

'I don't know, putting all our resources into something we know nothing about,' Shepard's brow furrowed as she continued reading, 'it seems a little convenient.' She sighed and looked at Liara, 'send it through to Hackett, he can decide.'

Liara nodded and left, almost running into a dark skinned woman who was coming around the corner. There was a moment of confusion as they struggled to hold on to their datapads but with a laugh they sorted themselves out and continued on. The young woman stopped beside the table and seemed unsure whether to salute or just start talking. James guessed that this was her first ship posting.

'Commander Shepard,' she spoke with a quiver and fiddled nervously with the pad in her hands. 'I'm Specialist Samantha Traynor, I was brought on board to help with the refits and … '

'Relax, Traynor,' Shepard smiled at her and the room suddenly felt warmer to James. 'What can I do for you?'

'Actually, ma'am, I thought I could do something for you,' she held up the datapad, 'I thought you might like to know what changes have been made to the Normandy.'

'That would be very helpful,' Shepard indicated for her to sit.

'I think I'm going to check out the armoury,' James stood and Shepard followed him with her eyes, 'see if I can find something to wear and find somewhere to sleep.'

'Here,' Traynor fiddled with her omnitool and James' tool beeped in response. 'I've sent you a ship layout so you don't get lost and I believe there was a crate brought on board for you before Earth was attacked. You'll find it in the cargo bay.'

'Thanks,' James picked up his and Shepard's empty plates and dropped them in the dishwasher. With a final nod to Shepard who was still watching him he headed for the elevator.

'Mr Vega,' Steve yelled as he stepped out of the elevator.

'Hey, Esteban,' James walked over to where Steve waited. 'Sorry about your shuttle, had no choice.'

'You didn't think about using the guns?'

'It has guns?

'Yeah, we have the UT-47A, it has mass effect cannons and stealth. It's a good thing I'm good at my job,' Steve shook his head with a smirk, 'otherwise we'd be down a shuttle.'

'Well we can't have you getting bored can we,' James clapped him on the shoulder with a chuckle then looked around the bay.

This was it, the Normandy, and now it was his ship if he wanted it to be. He hadn't planned to become part of her crew in the manner he had but he was here. He shouldn't be here though, he should be on Earth, fighting the Reapers, saving lives. He needed to do something to help and he wasn't completely convinced that he could do that here.

And yet this was exactly where he wanted to be, fighting alongside Shepard. She was going to need a team behind her, someone to watch her back and take care of her, because he was pretty sure taking care of herself would be the last thing on her mind. He was happy to be that someone but guilt tugged at him, pulling the threads of his conscience every time he thought about Earth. He wondered how long it would take his mind to unravel if they didn't go back.

Right now though there was nothing he could do and he knew Shepard would let him leave if that was what he wanted. She would let him return to Earth to fight because he knew that was what she would do given the choice. He didn't have to make that choice just yet and he turned back to Steve.

'Are you camping out down here?'

'No, I'm happy to share a bunk,' Steve indicated the armoury across the bay, 'there's plenty of room to tuck a cot in there, might be a bit cold though.' He propped his hip against his console and crossed his arms over his chest, 'how's Shepard?'

'Okay,' James turned and leant beside him. 'Worried about the Major, dealing with leaving Earth and what they found on Mars.'

'What's she like?'

'Warm and friendly when she's not cold and hard,' James thought about the various moods he'd seen while guarding her. 'She does what she has to do.' He glanced up at the pilot, 'you've met her.'

'Only briefly when you brought her on board and I didn't expect to be here when the Normandy took off.' Steve dropped his eyes to the floor, 'what was it like, on Earth.'

'Terrible, worse than anything I've seen in nightmares,' James pushed off the console and paced. 'I tried to save a woman and child but there was no time. There were dead bodies everywhere, people panicking and buildings collapsing. It was like nothing I've ever lived through.' He stopped pacing and glanced around the bay before finally bringing his eyes back to Steve, 'and we left.'

'From what I hear Anderson ordered us to.' Steve looked at him with a concerned frown.

'Yeah, but it just feels wrong,' James sighed as he rolled his neck and shoulders. 'I need to get out of this armour and take a shower. Traynor said there's a crate down here with my name on it.'

'Yes, arrived two days ago, wondered why it was sent here.' Steve pointed to a crate by the armoury.

'Thanks, maybe we can have a drink later,' James offered his hand to Steve who took it firmly, 'it's nice to see a familiar face.'

'I'm sure you'll fit right in, Mr Vega,' Steve chuckled as he turned back to his console.

James opened the crate and found datapad with a message.

James, thought you might need some things so had them delivered to the Normandy, just in case. Take care of our girl. Anderson.

So, the old man had looked after him too. He fought back tears as he thought about the last time they'd seen him, about how they'd left him behind. His thoughts turned to his team, were they still alive, would they stay that way. He brought up his omnitool and sent off messages to each of them. He doubted they would get through but he had to try.

The ship flexed and shuddered and he realised they'd passed through the relay. They'd be at the Citadel in an hour. He grabbed clothes from the crate and headed back to the crew deck. He guessed that Shepard would want him at some time as he and Liara were the only other team members she had right now and he planned to be ready.

'Hey, Esteban,' James trotted to where Steve was just entering a store. 'What are you doing out here?'

'Setting up some procurement lines for the Normandy,' he continued into the shop and James followed. 'As this war escalates supplies are going to get harder to find so being able to order from on board will make that a little easier.'

'Did Shepard ask you to do that?'

'No, she's got enough to worry about, I checked with EDI about the budget and she's happy to help. Joker was relieved, I think he was worried he'd have to do all this by himself.' Steve chuckled as he looked at the shop terminal.

'So, you're staying on board, you don't want to go back to Earth?'

'No, why would I?' He gave James a puzzled stare, 'we can't do much there, we'd be just another gun. Out here we can help Shepard,' his gaze wandered past James to the people outside, 'and I think she's going to need all the help she can get.'

'But what if we're too late? What if we … the Normandy could make a difference by being there?' James followed Steve's gaze and was a little pissed that everything was normal. There was no war here.

'Would we really, what can one ship do to help, no matter how powerful it is. You were there, you saw much more than I did.' Steve went back to looking at the terminal. 'Anderson knows we can't do this alone and so does Shepard.'

James knew that. No matter how many times he told himself he could help on Earth he knew he was fooling himself. They needed help and Shepard was the one who would get it, whatever it took.

'EDI,' he tapped the earpiece Shepard had given him before they left the Normandy, 'do I have a budget for the armoury?'

'Of course Lieutenant, you are the Normandy's armoury officer.'

'So you'll let me know when I'm spending too much?'

'Of course,' she paused for a moment and there was a hint of amusement in her voice when she spoke again. 'Jeff has asked that you think about morale while you're out shopping. Also, he has suggested that I let a human look at my shopping list, he seems to think I am incapable of procuring things that aren't military.'

James laughed and Steve looked at him strangely, 'tell Joker I'll see what I can do.' Steve chuckled and shook his head. He suddenly had a thought, 'does Shepard have rules about alcohol on board?'

'No, as long as it doesn't affect crew functions.'

'All right then,' James grinned, 'time to go shopping.'

James stared out of the window on the Presidium and anger gnawed at him. These people had no idea. He'd wandered the wards, done some shopping and caught up on whatever news he could find, which wasn't much. There was brief coverage of a rumoured attack on Earth and Palaven, a mention of the batarians disappearing and a reminder that next week was a chance to celebrate the anniversary of some Asari occasion he'd never heard of.

Thousands, possibly millions were dying and these people were celebrating. They were lost in their own little world and nothing else mattered. Shepard had come to these people for help. He didn't like her chances. He'd run into Liara as they crossed paths in the elevator and she'd only reinforced his beliefs. As if on cue he turned to see Shepard walking towards him. Her face told him everything he needed to know. She was angry, frustrated and worried. He cursed as a reporter stopped her and though he couldn't hear what was being said he could see from Shepard's stance that she wasn't happy. Her fists clenched and for a moment he thought she was going to punch the reporter.

Suddenly she relaxed as the reporter leaned angrily towards her. Gently Shepard placed her hand on the reporter's shoulder and the woman slumped and dropped her head. It was amazing the effect Shepard had on people, James watched in awe as the reporter nodded and seemed to pull herself together. Shepard watched her walk away before turning and moving towards him.

'James,' she stopped beside him and turned to look out the window.

'Hey, Commander,' he studied her face and while she had her Commander persona firmly in place he could see the tension in her jaw and the emotion in her eyes. 'Liara told me the Council was no help.' His eyes turned back to the view outside, it was beautiful and he hated it.

'Yeah,' disappointment flickered across her face but was quickly gone.

'Why would they? Look at this place, there's no war here.' He turned to face her. 'People are talking it about it but it's like it's a movie or something, they don't believe it.'

'They will, eventually,' she sighed and turned towards him, 'is this your first time here, among the elite of the galaxy.'

'On the Citadel, no, up here on the Presidium, yeah.' He glanced around and a shiver ran down his spine. 'There's something about this place, it's just not right. It's too calm and peaceful.' He sighed and met her eyes.

'It used to be, once.'

'I'm not so sure. All this,' he waved his hands in the air to indicate the world around them, 'it's all an illusion, or maybe it's delusions of grandeur. These people are just hiding their heads in the sand, hoping reality doesn't come crashing down on them.'

'Well, I don't think we'll have to wait too long for that to happen.' She sighed and looked around before settling her gaze back on him. 'So, do you still want to go back to Earth?'

James looked at her, took in the paleness of her skin, the fear, or was it hope, in her eyes. She was beautiful and he knew this decision had been made a long time ago. It was made the moment Anderson dragged him out of Afterlife and introduced him to Shepard. He had no choice and he didn't mind that at all.

'Hell yeah,' he felt his heart speed up at the look of disappointment in her eyes. She wanted him to stay, 'but Anderson was right, we can't do this alone. Besides, it looks like you're going to need help convincing these pendejo politicians to pull their heads out of their asses.' The smile she gave him lit up the room and the temperature rose several degrees.

'You're staying?'

'Yeah,' he nodded and his lips turned up slightly, 'I'm here for you Shepard, whatever you need.'

'Good,' she leaned in and the scent of her shampoo sent his senses reeling, 'at least I'll have something nice to look at on the battlefield.' She grinned at his wide-eyed stare as she pulled back.

'Ah, I think I'm going to head down to the wards, you know, the real world. Come find me if you have some spare time.' He leaned in just as she had, 'maybe I can buy you dinner.'

'James, are you asking me out on a date?'

'Shepard, there are regs against that,' he stared at her in mock surprise and she laughed. 'But the offer is there.'

'Thanks, James,' she rested her hand on his arm and the temperature rose again. 'I might just take you up on that offer.'

'Anytime,' he nodded and reluctantly moved away but he felt her eyes following him. He'd just made a pass at his CO and she'd been amused by it. He wondered just how important frat regs were when the end of the world was upon them. Maybe it was time he found out.

A/N: Okay, school holidays are over so things should be back to normal - regular updates should resume (notice the word should in there, already had the granddaughter home sick)

Anyway, I hope you like my coverage of James finding his feet on the Normandy and that it's not too boring but I always wondered how he had clothes when he was not able to pack. And why does he have a cot in his workspace among other questions that weren't answered. Let me know what you think - good or bad ;p

Thanks again to everyone reading - I really appreciate it.