It would never be considered her home. After all, it was just a cover like one of the many others that had been undertaken in the life of Miranda Lawson thus far. But as she stepped through the door to her apartment on the Citadel, even Miranda had to admit it felt good to be back.

Shepard followed, quickly checking behind him as he always did whenever he made the trip to the apartment in one of the higher-end housing wards of the Citadel. He closed the door and watched as Miranda checked her surroundings. Can never be too careful.

"I never thought I missed this place as much as I did." Miranda returned to the kitchen where Shepard was stood. "Don't get me wrong, the Normandy is a marvel. But after everything that's transpired I'm certainly glad to be back here." She smiled, deviously as she made her way over to Shepard. "Plus there's something else I've missed too."

Their lips crashed together once more, the longing built up from their last kiss now drowning both of them in lust. Miranda pulled away breathlessly. "No offense to your facilities, Captain." She whispered closely to Shepard's ear, her tone sending a chill right up Shepard's spine. "But I've got a private shower that's built for two. How about you come and join me?"

"Yes, Commander Lawson."

Miranda purred. "I like the sound of that." She yelped as Shepard quickly pulled her up into his arms, laughter soon taking over as she pawed at his chest. Their lips met again as Shepard carried Miranda towards the bathroom, Shepard mindlessly swiping at the door lock as he carried the woman almost in one arm towards the shower.

Miranda smiled as she laid down with her head on Shepard's chest, the man stroking her hair gently as a light sheet lay strewn across them. "How much time do you have?"

Shepard checked the time. "I've got a few more hours. After what happened, I thought a bit of downtime would be good for everyone."

"That makes sense."

A few minutes of silence passed before Miranda adjusted her head to look up at him. "What's wrong?"

Shepard chuckled. "You always know, don't you?"

Miranda nodded slightly as she lightly kissed Shepard's chest. "Talk to me, John."

"I need to talk to your boss again."

"John.." Miranda sat up as she sheet fell free, exposing her to him in all her glory. "I know your choice was difficult. I can tell it's eating you up inside. But nothing good will come of this, you know that. You need to move past this for the sake of your mission. If you continue to focus on this, right or wrong, it's going to effect your performance. I know you don't want to hear this and I should probably be the last one who says it, but please, let it go."

Shepard closed his eyes. "I know you're right. What's done is done, isn't it? No use dwelling now." His eyes opened. "But I need to do this. I need to understand why."

Miranda sighed as she pulled nestled herself closer to Shepard. "I know you do."

"I take it the studios where I was brought before is your key location on the Citadel." Miranda simply nodded silently. "I need to go back there, Miranda."

Miranda looked up at him. "Okay." She smiled softly. "I love you, John."

"I love you too, Miri."

Shepard knew that the man wouldn't be there personally, but they'd at least have a way to communicate with him. He looked over at Miranda as she drove the sky-car towards HISNO studios. After what I did, he can't hold this against her. He owes me, whether any of us would like to actually admit it out loud.

Miranda pulled the sky-car down, parking in the same spot as they had done before when Shepard was brought to the studios before Feros. "We're here."

As they stepped out of the car, Shepard took in the outside of the so called studios. It's right under the Council's nose and they know nothing about it.

Miranda approached the door and pulled out a keycard to unlock it. She stepped inside, Shepard quickly following. The studio was dark, Shepard unable to make out anything that was around him. "Miranda?"

"Hold on." A click of switch brought on the lights.

Miranda and Shepard were surrounded by emptiness. Just like in the research facilities on Binthu, the entire place had been gutted. It was nothing more than a big, hollow warehouse.

"I don't understand?" Shepard started to walk forward before stopping. "What happened to this place?"

"It was purged." Miranda stepped past the man and stopped to face him. "After you were brought here I imagine the decision was made to move on. There can be no loose ends, especially when it comes to a Council SPECTRE."

Shepard blinked and muttered to himself. "Son of a bitch." He held his hands to his face and growled. "Son of a bitch!" He turned to her. "You knew this would be like this."

Miranda nodded solemnly, calmness running through her. "I did."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why bring me here?"

"Because you needed to see it for yourself." Miranda sighed. "Cerberus burnt this place for protection, for me, for the group as a whole. If I told you this place was empty, you still would have wanted to see it for yourself. You'd have to know for sure."

Shepard shook his head. "How the hell can you just up and leave? The costs must be astronomical. How does Cerberus afford this?"

"It's for all our best interests. It's the only way we can continue to do what we do."

"How do I talk to him again?"

Miranda reached out to squeeze his hand. "You don't. I'm sorry, John. But it's a risk that neither of you can take at this time."

"Did you warn him?"

"No." Miranda didn't take offense to the question. It was a reasonable one to ask considering the circumstances. "In all likelihood, this operation was shut down as soon as you walked out of the doors the first time."

"Just in case I informed someone after I left?" Shepard sighed. "But my feelings for you didn't allow that. The thought that you were in trouble.."

"Gave them the time they needed, yes." Miranda finished off Shepard's thoughts. "And if I didn't make it back from Feros, this could have been an easy target for your inevitable wrath." Miranda stroked Shepard's cheek with her hand. "I know this isn't what you were looking for, or what you needed to happen. But I promise you, I'll find out what happened with the Admiral. We all owe you, John. I owe you."

Shepard believed her. While he imagined the truth would never emerge at a level that was needed for him to move on, he knew she'd do what she could to make that happen. He sighed as he pulled her into a hug. "I can't keep going on like this, Miri."

"I know, John." She held onto him tightly.

The journey back to Miranda's apartment was mostly made in silence.

I'm not mad at her, how can I be mad at her. She said I should move past it and I didn't. This wasn't her choice, this was mine. The blame, all of the blame, falls directly onto me.

"You're right. I need to move past this. Saren is still out there. What's done is done."

Miranda nodded softly. "I know you don't like it. I know you must feel as if you're drowning some days with everything you've had to face. It's never been easy for us. But I hope it's worth it."

"It is." John looked at Miranda. "It's always going to be worth it."

Miranda smiled. "I think so-" She stopped as her omni-tool started to bleep. "What the hell?"

Shepard frowned. "What is it, Miri?"

"An alarm has been tripped in my apartment." Miranda gunned down on the skycar. "There's someone in my bloody place!"

"Shit." Shepard pulled out his pistol, checking it. "How far out are we?"

"Two minutes." Miranda was deadly focused on the road. She quickly caught a glance of the pistol out the corner of her eye. "You can't, John. You have to stay out of this."

"That's not happening, Miranda. I'm not letting you walk into this alone."

"John I-"

"Miranda." Shepard put extra emphasis on her name. It wasn't a request.

The woman gritted her teeth. "Fine."

Exactly two minutes later she pulled the car down, parking quickly before both doors opened. Miranda too had her pistol free, nodding to Shepard as he motioned towards taking the lead. He reached the door - it was unlocked.

Shepard entered the apartment first, Miranda quickly following. Pistols raised, they found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. They searched the entire apartment, looking for anything that was missing, wrong or simply different. Even a scan for a bug search came up empty.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Miranda muttered to herself as the search results were negative. The woman was furious as she checked the door-cam footage. Unsurprisingly it had been wiped. "Fuck!"

"Nothing?" Shepard inquired as he reached her.

Miranda shook her head. "Nothing. Whoever was here, they're a professional. No trace." She moved to the bedroom, quickly pulling out a dufflebag.

"You going somewhere?"

"I can't stay here." She started to load up the bag. "This place isn't safe until I figure out who did this. It'll probably never be secure again."

"And they didn't take anything?"

Miranda growled. "Not a damn thing. I don't have many physical possessions. It's easier that way. Nothing that could be considered key is here. Nothing that links Cerberus, nothing that links us. But whoever it was, they were after something."

"Could it be random?"

Miranda scoffed. "At this time of day? Here? No. They knew what they were doing. They knew the apartment was empty."

"Which means.." Shepard froze.

"They saw us together." Miranda shook her head, quickly moving on. "Nothing can be proven, John. You brought me back to my place after a harrowing experience on Feros. That's all."

"I guess." Shepard watched as she lifted the bag to her shoulder. "What now?"

"You get back to the Normandy. I need to disappear. When the time is right, I'll contact you." Miranda's eyes were pained. "I haven't forgotten what I said. I'll do what I can."

Their lips met once more as Shepard held onto Miranda tightly. "Be safe."

"You too, John."