*Note: This chapter is one hundred words more than the usual count, equalling six hundred words.*

Thirty-Eight: Open

Mara's footsteps were uneven from exhaustion and aches. She half-stumbled to the bridge, a glass of water in one hand and a pill bottle in the other, and dropped into the copilot's chair. She leaned her head back and allowed a quiet moan of discomfort before collecting herself and rubbing her eyes.

Joker switched the Normandy on auto and spun his chair toward Mara. Neither of them said a word as she took two capsules and sank into her seat. Joker eyed the bottle questioningly, but she waved her hand and he shrugged.

"Take two pills to not die?"

Mara shook her head, but smiled nonetheless. "Take two pills to not have a mental breakdown," she corrected. "It's an anti-anxiety." She held up the bottle and squinted at the name before tossing it at Joker. "I can't even pronounce this. Give it a shot."

"Nee-oh-fo-lay-teen?" he read haltingly. "I've never heard of it."

Mara was about to explain a probable reason for that, but she stopped herself short. "Why would you know anything about anti-anxiety meds?"

He fussed with a loose thread on his sleeve and huffed, shifting as if he was trying to avoid the answer. "I, ah… saw a shrink for a week after you got spaced, Alliance-ordered. He just threw a whole bunch of meds at me and waited for his check."

Mara sighed. "Yeah, too many of them are like that." She stretched out her legs and rested them on the panel in front of her. "Doctor Chakwas gave me this back when I was first assigned to the Normandy. She had to make sure it wouldn't cause any sort of dependency."

Joker's fingers twitched at the last statement. "Addiction runs in your family?"

She tensed up. "Ah…" Rubbing the back of her neck, she decided it was time to talk. "I used to be addicted to some party drugs. Hallex, for the most part, but after that, it was, uh… it was whatever I could get."

He sat up straight in his chair and said in a hushed whisper, "No way."

"Yeah," she answered quietly. "I had to waitress in a strip club to pay for them."

Joker slid his hat up and rubbed his head. "I guess I can see why you didn't say anything before, but… damn, Mara."

"Travis, um… he got me through withdrawal and everything. He got me into the Alliance and, ah… he asked me to marry him later on."

"Wait. Le-lemme get this straight." Joker slouched forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "So… a guy has to get you off drugs to ask you out?"

Mara's shoulders slowly relaxed. "Are you… this doesn't bother you at all?"

"You're not on 'em now." He shrugged and leaned back. "I just wanna know what it takes to get you out for dinner again."

"I won't go out with just anybody, you know," Mara said. "They have to be at least reasonably attractive."

"What's that?" he cupped his hand behind his ear. "I couldn't hear you over my reasonable attractiveness."

Mara laughed and spun her chair. "So what do you want to do?"

"Well…" Joker grinned and rubbed his hands together. "I happen to know that Garrus wants to pay a visit to the Citadel, and there's a pretty good place in one of the Wards. I'm feelin' like a burger the size of my face, so I'll probably need somebody to help me finish my fries."

Mara smiled and stood up. "I might be persuaded to share your fries, Joker. Give me the heads-up when you're ready to go."

A.N.: I want to thank the people who have reviewed this story on almost every chapter I write. They have supported me for such a long time now, and it's really wonderful. It spurs me onward to make this weekly upload and work harder on my writing. However, I only got one review on the last chapter. That's not really encouraging, especially when it was a chapter I really wanted feedback on. I don't write for reviews – I write because I love it. But I post my writing online because I want that feedback, and when I don't get it, it really has an effect on me. As a fellow reader of fanfiction, I completely understand it when you just don't have anything to say. But as a writer, I really need your thoughts. Criticism? I can take it. Even if it it's something as simple as "I really liked this part of the chapter," that helps me and builds up my confidence. If you're a guest reviewer, I can't thank you through a message, but I am still thanking you from the bottom of my heart. If you've been following this story and my notes, you know that I don't do this often. But please, please review this story if you're enjoying it. Sometimes, all it takes is a review to make my whole day.

Love and thanks,

- Gairi