As they passed it, Ashley paused to stare at the flickering poster, frowning. It took Shepard a second to realize she wasn't at his side, but he fell back to see what she was looking at once he did. He glanced between her and the vibrant advertisement, an amused smirk on his face as he said, "Blasto? Really Ash?"

Her frown deepened at the jab and she started to lift a hand, but caught herself. "No, it's not like I want to see it or anything. I'm just...wow." She shook her head. "It even looks stupid. How do people watch that and enjoy it?"

"Well," Shepard said, "it's not like we've known the people in this galaxy to be very bright."

"They have their moments," Ashley replied, shaking her head again. "I don't know. I've seen some of those movies. They're horrible. I left halfway through the first one I saw."

"You've gone to see a Blasto movie." It wasn't a question, just a statement, but Ash still looked at him sideways. "That's...surprising. I didn't think you were into that sort of thing. Crappy movies about hanar Spectres seem kinda far-fetched, even for you."

"Hey, I left before it was over, so stop judging me."

He grinned and jerked his head back down the strip, wordlessly asking her to get moving. She started after him, nearly falling in at an angle as a force of habit. She quickened her pace to walk alongside him and allowed her eyes to wander. They were meandering their way through some sort of shopping strip, but they weren't stopping to buy anything. Shepard wasn't the kind of guy to buy her something stupid on a whim, and Ashley wasn't the kind of woman to want him to. Admittedly, she was just enjoying the freedom and the air, even if it was fake. And her company, of course, but she wasn't paying much attention. Shepard was letting her look around; it amused him, obviously.

"You'd think you've never been in a city," he said.

Ashley shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I've been to cities, just never walked around." He arched a brow and she sighed. "I'm not big on girly things, shopping included."

"But you know how to dance and you like sensitive stuff."

"And you're too sweet to be someone capable of punching my teeth out."

Shepard laughed. "Okay, I guess that's fair. Sometimes, anyway."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Says the guy who makes it his goal to help every damsel in distress across the galaxy."

"That's a problem?"

"No," she said. "Just pointing out the obvious, Skipper."

He slowed a bit and she matched it, brows raising at the expression on his face. She couldn't place it, something between confusion and amusement, and it made her laugh. "What's with that? The whole Skipper thing?"

"There has to be a reason behind it?"

"You don't do anything unless there's a point to it."

"I'm out here with you when there's Collectors that need killing."

Shepard snorted. "Point taken, but still."

"It's a nickname. Don't think about it too much and you'll be fine." She was being honest, as usual, but it bugged her that he thought she had a reason for it. She didn't know why; lots of things bothered her for no apparent reason. Besides, she gave nicknames to just about all of her friends. All of her dead friends.

She shuddered. It had been a while since she paid the 212 any thought. While she owed all of them even a little bit of her time, Ashley didn't want to let it bother her now. She was going to let bad memories ruin the day for her. It had been good so far, even if it was a little bland. All they'd done was drive and wander around, but it was still a good day. Shepard was perfectly happy with whatever they did and she wasn't picky, so it was pretty easy to keep themselves entertained. He seemed content to walk with her and she was just glad to finally get him somewhere the Illusive Man couldn't spy on them. Granted, they hadn't done much of anything that would be interesting to spy on, but regardless, it was her life, and she wanted it to be hers only.

"Do you ever think about it? What you'll do once all of this is said and done?"

Her head snapped up from her feet. It was a popular place for her eyes to stray to when she was thinking. Shepard seemed to have the same problem.

"What do you mean?"

"Like what you'll do once there aren't any Collectors to destroy, any Reapers to worry about, or there's no Cerberus to be afraid of," Shepard explained.

"I haven't really thought about it. There's no guarantee we'll even get that far. We could all die tomorrow, so I don't try to get my hopes up." The slight crease to his forehead told her that wasn't the answer he'd been expecting, much less hoping for. It didn't surprise her. Throughout the course of the day, she'd been seeing more and more of the man she remembered, and that man was an eternal optimist. "Why? Have you?"

Ashley already knew what he was going to say, but part of her hoped she was wrong. Regardless, Shepard nodded and said, "I think about it too much. It gives me something to fight for, makes me hopeful."

"Yeah? So what are your big plans, Commander?"

"Dogs," he said instantly. "Earthborn mutts that everyone overlooks because they're not modified. I've always wanted one. I figure if I save the galaxy a couple more times, maybe I can retire with enough goodwill to fade into the background and raise them in the woods somewhere."

She bit back a laugh and smirked at him. "That's your big plan? Become a crazy guy raising dogs in the woods?"

"Well...no," he said, sounding somewhat embarrassed. "Dogs are an important part of the plan, but it's not the whole thing. I want somewhere quiet to live with a few dogs and a family. Nothing big, just simple. After that whole Spiderman thing I had as a kid, I decided I really didn't want to be a hero. I just wanted to be me." He sighed and waved a hand before stuffing it back into his pocket. "Though as you've so kindly pointed out, that's unlikely to ever happen. But if I'm lucky enough to get what I want, I'll happily fade into obscurity."

Ashley looked back down at her feet, then back up at him. "I'm sorry, Shepard. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, it's fine. You're right. We're lucky to get the next five minutes. I shouldn't be hoping for a future I'll most likely never get."

"For what it's worth, if anyone deserves to have a happy ending, it's you."

Shepard smiled. "Thanks, Ash. That means a lot."

She let out a puff of breath and looked ahead, watching people as they moved in waves around the corners and through storefronts. "So. Dogs, huh?"

"Like I said, I've always wanted one, but anything bigger than a hamster was off-limits for space stations," Shepard said.

"You don't strike me as a dog person," Ashley said. "Varren, maybe, but definitely not dogs. And unmodified mutts? Really?"

Shepard nodded. "No one wants them, so they end up on the streets. They deserve homes and someone to love them."

"They get sick and die a lot easier than a breed with gene enhancements."

"So? That doesn't mean they deserve to be overlooked. Humans lived without gene enhancements in their pets for thousands of years. Why should that stop me from getting a normal dog?" Ashley shrugged. "Unmodified dogs are just as great as any modified dog. I'll prove it to you."

That caught her attention. Both of her brows shot up as she looked up at him. "How are you going to do that?"

"When I go looking for a dog, you'll come with me," he said flatly. There was something about the tone of his voice that made her want to demand why, but there was some self-satisfied tick in the back of her mind that made it unnecessary. It brought a smile to her lips and she just kept walking, perfectly fine with that explanation. "Why are you smirking like that?"

"Like what?"

"You mean there are multiple smirks?" She laughed and forced her eyes elsewhere, flustered. Shepard wasn't a stupid man, and this was likely to be awkward for her, if not just as awkward for him. And if it wasn't going to be awkward for him, he'd probably spend the next three hours laughing at her. Or both. Both would be best, because while he found it funny, he wouldn't bring it up.

"What, did you think I wasn't going to include you in my plans or something?"

"It didn't even cross my mind."

"And here I thought you didn't lie, Ash."

She scoffed. "It didn't! Not until you said the thing about taking me with you to look for dogs."

Shepard stopped and stared at her, squinted to be exact. He looked at her like she'd grown a second head or something, and she shifted uncomfortably before straightening up and matching that stare of his. When she did that, he snorted. That snort turned into a laugh, and that laugh turned into a fit of laughter violent enough that he had to wipe a tear from his eye.

"What?" Defensive. Great. Probably not the best time for her to feel that way, but it didn't seem to bother him one bit.

"Oh, nothing," Shepard said. "You're just blissfully unaware of so many things that it's hilarious."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That's my point," he replied, smiling brightly. "I just can't believe you thought I'd look you in the eye and say I'd rather find some other woman to be with once this was over."

"I didn't say that."

"Then who'd you think I would go do all this stuff with? Miranda? Jack?"

She cleared her throat, sucked in a huge breath, and said, "Uh, no? I mean...I didn't exactly put much thought into that." His brows shot up and she groaned, running a hand down her face. Shepard was getting a kick out of it; she could tell by that subtle little twitch in the corner of his mouth. He was trying not to laugh at her. "That came out wrong. I thought about it, but it didn't...click?" She groaned again. "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."

"I can tell," he teased. "But seriously, did you think I was going to make plans to do all that with someone else when I have you?"

"No?"

"Ash?"

"What?"

"You're an idiot."

"Okay, but you're not wrong."

Shepard let out the laugh he was holding back as he started walking again. "I'm joking."

She huffed, saying, "I wouldn't go back and change a thing, but I'm really missing my people skills right about now."

"Those ones you never had?"

"Shut up."

He chuckled. "For someone so observant, you sure do miss a lot."

"Only with you," she said absentmindedly, frowning at another ad. She heard it mention Shepard and how faking death was a popular tactic in dodging taxes, but he seemed unaware of it. That, or he was just happy laughing at her selective lack of a brain. Regardless, she decided that there were some weird advertisements on the station. The Blasto poster wasn't that big of a deal, but between asking them if they wanted to be buried in asari robes and saying that people pretended to be dead, Ash wasn't entirely sure she was comfortable with the ads calling out her name as often as they did Shepard's.

"This was a good idea," he said, interrupting her train of thought.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm having fun."

"We haven't really done anything." She whipped back around to look at him, face now totally bereft of the amusement that had been there moments ago. "But...yeah, it's nice. Relaxing. I'm glad we did this."

She smiled. "Before we head back...you wanna get something to eat? Might be our last chance to get something that Rupert hasn't added ass to."

Shepard grinned again. "Hell. Yes."

By the time they got back to the Normandy, Ashley was ready for the day to end. Running around with Shepard had taken up a large chunk of the day, and whereas he had things to do afterwards, all Ash had to worry about was getting Sarah back on a transport to Earth. That didn't take long, thankfully, due to EDI purchasing the ticket the instant she was asked to, but walking her down to the shuttle was kind of sad. She'd liked spending time with Sarah again; Ashley would have preferred to keep her sister within arm's reach, but it wasn't possible on a ship. The SR-2 was twice the size of the SR-1, but that didn't mean it had the space for extra passengers. And besides, they'd be hitting the Omega 4 (hopefully) within the week, and Ash didn't want Sarah anywhere near the Collectors.

"So this is it," she said, looking up at the digital sign overhead. "Time for you to head home."

"Yep." Sarah followed her gaze, then looked back at the side of Ashley's head. "So...we'll be seeing you again?"

Ashley shrugged a shoulder and said, "Depends on what happens. I'll call you when we get back. If we get back. But it'll be a while before I can come home. I have things to work out with the Alliance."

Sarah nodded. "You'll be safe?"

"As safe as possible on a warship."

"That's good to hear." Surprisingly, Sarah hugged her before saying, "I'm going to miss you."

Ashley did her best to return the gesture without letting her hard suit dig into Sarah's ribs. "I'm going to miss you too."

She watched while Sarah boarded the shuttle, stayed long enough to watch it depart, and stood there for quite a while afterwards. Only after her omni-tool chimed to say shore leave was over did she move, headed back for the elevator to take her up to the docking bay. She'd expected Shepard to take longer with Garrus and Thane, or that the ship's upgrades would've taken longer to install, but if they were on the move again, she wasn't going to complain. It put them one step closer to the Collectors.

So far, this had been simple. Easy, even. Ashley just hoped it would remain that way.