Chapter 60 – The Best
Jack Shepard
Main bedroom
Apartment
The Citadel
I had fought in wars.
I had been on the front lines of battles where I felt the breeze of bullets as they zipped past my face.
I had faced down thresher maws, roaring krogan and dark gods from outer space.
But I had never been as terrified as I was standing in my own bedroom, looking at the two women I thought I knew so well.
"Your mouth's open, babe," Jackie said. She was leaning against the bookcase, looking amused. The door was shut and although I could still hear the sounds of the party, they were muted. We were in our own little world.
"This is some kind of trick, right? I say yes and you kill me for failing the test."
Jackie rolled her eyes. "Not this again."
Miranda was seated in an armchair next to the bed, her legs crossed, her hands folded primly in her lap. I had to admit, she looked amazing.
"Well this was not what I anticipated when I woke up this morning," said Miranda. I never knew she had a talent for understatement.
"Nice to see you again, Miri. How's the hunt?"
"Oh, you know," she said blithely. "Couple of threats, couple of bribes and they all can't stop talking, really. Thanks for those Spectre-approved leads, by the way. I've almost cracked it."
"Are we just gonna catch up? Make small talk all night?" said Jackie, sounding as if she was in utter disbelief.
"What else did you have in mind?" asked Miranda teasingly.
"Look," said Jackie, throwing up her hands. "Jack, like I told you. Do you wanna do this?"
"But I...I never even...we're getting married!"
Jackie left the bookcase and grabbed my hands, looking up at me. "Yes, we are. And you're very sweet for objecting this much. But like I said just now, we've got one night to do something stupid. Do you want to do this?"
"I -" It felt like my brain had short-circuited. I was desperately trying not to look in Miranda's direction. Did I actually want to do this? Was this, despite what Jackie said, still a test of some kind?
"Maybe I should hack this in a different way," Jackie went on. "Jack, are you mad at me for suggesting this?"
"What? No, I'm not – no, I'm not mad."
"Good," said Jackie. "Then you won't get mad if I do this."
She turned away from me and approached Miranda, loping like a stalking wolf. Miranda, Miranda Lawson, the woman who fought a Reaper with me deep in the heart of the Collector base, the operative who told the Illusive Man to go to hell and thrived out in deep space on her own while being hunted by both Cerberus and the Alliance, she actually looked scared. For a moment.
Jackie placed both hands on the arms of the chair and leaned in. She brought her lips to Miranda's, and they kissed. My mind went blank.
"Are you mad I did that?" Jackie asked, not looking at me. Her eyes were fixed on Miranda's.
"No," I said, in a tone of wonder.
"That's good. Because this isn't the first time."
I barely had time to think about what that meant before Jackie did it again. This time, Miranda kissed back, her arms circling around Jackie's back. I watched, hardly daring to believe it, as they found their way to the bed. Jackie reared back and stripped her top off, flinging it to the side. She wasn't wearing a bra, as usual. Then they enthusiastically made out some more, while I watched, jaw open.
"Are you going to just stand there, John?" asked Miranda after a while, smiling lazily. Her eyes were wide and dark. "Maybe play with yourself?" She glanced at Jackie. "May I?"
"Go ahead. Only if he wants to, of course," said Jackie, rolling onto her side and propping up her head with one hand, prepared to enjoy the show.
Miranda shook out her long, dark hair and moved towards me, before turning around and looking back at me over her shoulder.
"I'm afraid it's getting rather warm in here," she said. "Care to unzip my dress, captain?"
Jackie gave me a nod when I looked at her, taking with it the last of my resistance. Hell's bells, let's fuckin' go.
I reached out and slid Miranda's dress off her perfectly sculpted body, inch by inch. She shrugged out of it, and spun around to face me. Unlike Jackie she was wearing a full set of lingerie, lacy, black and thoroughly attractive.
"Nice," I murmured appreciatively. "Uh, you look nice."
"I wasn't ruling out an intimate encounter tonight," said Miranda. "Of course, I never expected this."
She placed her arms on my shoulders and stared deep into my eyes. "I've wanted to do this for a long time," she breathed, leaning in for a kiss. I met her lips with mine and just like that, we were kissing. Miranda, the woman who lied to and manipulated me. Who brought me back from the edge of death and turned her back on her entire life because she knew it wasn't the right thing to continue with Cerberus. She was brave and she was beautiful and suddenly I wanted her, the raw desire awakening in me.
"Well," Miranda said, once she'd pulled away and smacked her lips.
"How was it?" Jackie called from the bed.
"Worth the wait, I'd say. Now John. I've caught you looking at them a million times."
"Oh I never," I lied, before realising it was useless. "I'm sorry."
"You and every other straight man and gay woman," scoffed Miranda, reaching behind her back and undoing the clasp. She peeled her bra off her chest and let it drop to the floor. Jackie gave a low whistle of appreciation.
"But you know," Miranda continued, "When it was you, I never really minded."
We embraced and kissed again, before I ripped off my own t-shirt. Kissing Miranda was different from kissing Jackie. Jackie had a hunger in her that never really went away, not even after we made love. She kissed with the fierce passion of someone who wasn't sure if it was going to be her last. Miranda was appropriately much more subtle. Her kisses lingered even after we broke apart, heavy with the promise of secrets and hints at something hidden. Jackie was speed, and energy, while Miranda loved like she was leading a dance.
I liked Jackie to take the lead now and then, but Miranda moved as though there was no question of any argument to the contrary. She wanted something, and she was going to take it. Subtly, but no less firmly.
Without saying anything, we both moved to the bed where Jackie was waiting. Every last bit of our clothing was on the floor, and we were laid bare, with nothing hidden between us.
I lay down on one side of Miranda while Jackie was on the other. Miranda was facing me, but her eyes closed when I teased her nipple with my mouth, before sucking on it, hard. Jackie leaned over and did the same to her other nipple. Miranda's head was thrown back, her throat white, her hair falling in messy waves. Her eyes were still closed but her mouth was open in a silent sigh of pleasure.
My hand wandered down, my fingers tracing a path down to Miranda's core. She kept herself neatly trimmed, and I toyed with her a little before tracing the outline of her lips. She was very hot, and already very wet.
"John, I..." she breathed, then cried out as I slipped one finger in her, then two. I began to slowly work my fingers in and out of her tight, slick slit, teasing her clit as I did so.
"I think she likes what you're doing," said Jackie.
"I think so too."
"You two are impossible," said Miranda, breathing heavily. "I need, oh, I need -"
"I know what you need," said Jackie. She edged her way down the bed until her head was level with Miranda's hips, her tongue flicking out.
"Oh my god," moaned Miranda, her hands clutching the bedsheets. I watched in fascination. Jackie was clearly good at this. I knew I would be replaying this scene in my head for a long time after this.
"Please don't stop," begged Miranda. "I'm, I'm, ohhhh..."
As her toes curled and her thighs tightened around Jackie's head, she suddenly reached up and drew me into a kiss, crying out her pleasure against my lips and tongue.
"How was it?" asked Jackie, coming up for air.
"Just perfect," said Miranda. She was smiling, a genuine smile with none of her usual arrogance.
"Don't you want to thank my soldier boy here for his help?"
"Marine," I said automatically.
"I don't give a fuck," said Jackie, putting a hand on my chest and pushing me down. "Lie down."
I did as I was told.
"Would you get him ready for me?" she asked.
"With pleasure," Miranda said, in what had to be the first time she'd ever taken an order from Jackie. Miranda brushed her hair out of her eyes and lowered her head to my lap, taking my cock into her mouth. I gasped as her lips formed a seal around my shaft, marking it bright red with her lipstick, and her tongue teased the head.
I tried not to think too hard about it, because if I did, I suspected that I would go mad. I'd be lying if I said that I never imagined having Miranda, the haughty Cerberus operative who once acted as though she couldn't stand to talk to me, suck my cock while I leaned back and enjoyed the view. But my imagination was nothing compared to the reality. Jackie was enjoying the show too, her hand snaking down to her own nethers, pushing her own fingers in and out of her own wet lips.
I had to admit, Miranda was world-class at giving head. Neither too fast nor too slow, with no teeth and just the right amount of tongue play, she played me like an instrument. I had no doubt she could make me come at the precise moment that she wanted – and also, to draw out my pleasurable agony if she so chose.
My breathing grew ragged and Jackie knew what that meant. She laid a hand on Miranda's shoulder, who broke off her gentle assault with a soft noise of dismay.
"You'll get your turn, but I need this now," Jackie said. Miranda sat back with a sigh of disappointment, but with a trace of a smirk on her face.
Jackie climbed on top of me, always eager to take charge. She pushed my cock deep into herself and began to rock her hips gently, back and forth, back and forth, each movement sending a wave of fire through me. I couldn't help myself, and began to thrust upwards into her. Jackie grunted with each sudden, hard jerk, then began to rock her hips faster.
"Jackie," I panted, looking up at her. She was holding on to my shoulders, sweat rolling down her neck and breasts. Her hips refused to stop moving.
She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she was staring straight at me. I thought I knew how intense she could get during sex. But this was another level. She looked as though she wanted to drive me through the bed and the floor too.
"Do you want to come?"
"Yes," I said.
"Not yet," she said, her teeth bared. "Not yet. Fuck me."
I did as I was told, my hands around her waist, holding on to her. I wanted to fuck my incredible woman until I passed out. Having a spectator made it more thrilling, more terrifying, and yet more satisfactory.
"Miranda," said Jackie, between gasps. "Get on him."
"What?"
"Sit on his face," she said, looking almost possessed.
"What?" I asked.
"Can't handle it?" she shot back.
"No," I said.
"Get on there, nice and easy," she said, as Miranda climbed on top of me. "Face me, that's it. Now feel Jack lick you down there like a good boy."
I couldn't see anything, but I knew what to do. I stuck my tongue out, and was rewarded with my first taste of Miranda's slick wetness. Again, it was different. Everything about her was different. But it was no less ravishing. I reached up and cupped her breasts, rolling her nipples with my fingers, and was rewarded with a sharp gasp.
Jackie continued to fuck me. I continued to lap away at Miranda's pussy. And Miranda had her arms around Jack, her huge breasts pressed up against Jackie's more modest chest, their tongues in each other's mouths. If not for my cybernetically-enhanced body, I might have passed out from the sheer sensations that were firing in my brain.
Long minutes passed, and I couldn't hold back any longer. My hips thrust up and my cock fired ropes of come deep into Jackie, who came herself nearly at the same time. Miranda rolled off me and Jackie and I kissed deeply, both tasting Miranda on each other's lips.
When I was done, Jackie slid off me, resting her head on my chest. Miranda was on her other side, her chest rising and falling as she tried to regain her breath.
"You know, I'm glad you had that nap," Jackie said, after a while. I grasped her hand and gave it a squeeze.
"That was mind-blowing," I managed to say. Jackie looked supremely satisfied with herself.
"You did such a good job," she said, bopping me on the nose. "So I'm going to give both of you a present."
She got up from the bed and pulled her trousers on, and her leather top.
"Where are you going?" asked Miranda.
"I'm getting more booze ," she said. "I'll be a while. Take my time. In the meantime, the two of you do whatever you like. I'll be back for another round."
"You can't be serious," Miranda said.
"As a heart attack, cheerleader," said Jackie. "Just don't wear him out too much." She slid open the door and peeked out. Satisfied that no one was hanging around, she left the room.
Miranda and I stared at each other for a moment, before looking away. She groaned and covered her eyes with an arm.
"I still don't know if this is all a trick of some kind. Or a dream. I'll wake up in my shuttle and find out that I'm on my way to an elegant dinner party, and not this crazy, sweaty roll in the hay."
"I swear, I never expected this."
Miranda lifted her arm and turned slightly to look at me, her head still on the pillow.
"John, did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That I wanted you. For myself. I didn't mean to, but somehow during our fight against the Collectors, and all those nights I spent checking up on your corpse while we pieced you back together again, I couldn't help but grow attached to you."
I let out a long, slow breath. I decided to tell her the truth.
"I suspected. Was never sure. But, yeah."
Miranda was silent for a moment. "So why didn't you?" she asked, not looking at me. Her voice trembled, if for a moment. I reached out and gently turned her face back towards mine.
"I'm not the man you think I am, Miranda," I said. "Even before Cerberus got me, you only knew this story of who I was supposed to be. The 'hero' of the Skyllian Blitz. The man who stopped Saren and Sovereign to boot. That's why you wanted to bring me back to life in the first place."
I went on. "I'm more flawed than you've ever known. Than you'll ever see. The mistakes I've made, the weight of my conscience, it drags me down. At the time, I thought you only wanted somebody perfect. I thought that if I went for you, you'd be disappointed to find out that I was just an ordinary man. Maybe not for a while. But in time, because I can't be that Captain Shepard all the time. And I thought we wouldn't be happy together."
"You idiot," said Miranda.
"I wasn't being fair to you," I said. "Now that I know you better, I realise you would have given me a chance. But I didn't know it then. And Jackie came along."
Miranda sighed. "And I missed my shot. I know you love her, John. Nothing will change that."
"Yes," I said simply. I held her hand, and she didn't pull away. "But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the hell out of what we just did."
Miranda chuckled. "I've never done anything like that. Ever."
"Me neither."
"Oh please. You must have, in some Alliance-approved brothel on a distant border planet. Girls lining up to service their great hero."
"Please. Nothing of the sort."
"I take it Miss Williams wasn't into this sort of thing either."
"Uh, you'd be right about that." Ash would have killed me.
"So what shall we do now?" she asked.
"I'm sorry I misjudged you," I said. "You're a wonderful woman, Miri. You're beautiful. You're brave. You're fiercely loyal and when you promise something, you get it done. I don't love you the way I love Jackie, but I do care about you, you know."
"Stop it," she said, blushing.
"Why not you tell me what you want me to do for you," I whispered in her ear. "Anything. You. Want. I'm clay in your hands."
"Do you know what I really want?" she said. "I want you to stop being so meek and mild. I want you to stop being so gentle and kind, if only for a while. I want the Captain Shepard I dreamed of in my head. I want the hero to take me. And fuck me. And claim me for his own."
Oh. Right.
"I'll try."
Miranda hit me. "Do it or don't. There's no trying."
That settled it. "Then get up, Miranda," I said, in a low growl. She did as she was told.
"Get on the bed on your hands and knees."
"What are you going to do to me?" she asked, playing along. I held her cheek, not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to send a message.
"I'm going to fuck you from behind till you come your fucking brains out," I said.
Miranda shuddered. "Before we begin, the safeword is 'meteor'," she said urgently. "Everything else is roleplay."
"Meteor? Sure," I said in my normal voice.
"This is really working for me, by the way. This is exactly what I want you to do," she added quickly. Then the tone of her voice changed. "No, please stop, how could you even think of doing this?" she pleaded, looking over her shoulder at me.
I edged forward and grabbed her hips roughly. "Shut up. You'll do as you're told."
"Nooo," she moaned. "I won't, I shan't."
I swatted her lightly on her enormous rump, half-expecting to hear her say 'meteor'. When she didn't, I ploughed on. I spanked her again, harder, eliciting a hiss of pain.
"You're rude, insubordinate, and insufferable, Miss Lawson," I said. "And I don't like that."
"You absolute bastard," she gasped. "Let go of me now, I insist."
Seeing Miranda on all fours before me had gotten me hard as a steel bar again. I sank my cock deep into her sopping cunt without warning, drawing another sharp gasp and long moan from her.
"But I do like this," I said, ramming my cock into her from behind, in and out. "I like seeing you helpless in front of me. I like that I can do anything I want to you, and you can't do a thing to stop me."
Miranda was moaning continuously now, shaking her head from side to side. I clutched at her hair and pulled back a little, bringing her head up. That seemed to do something, as Miranda groaned louder and deeper than I ever heard her do before, and her pussy gushed all over my cock.
"Meteor," she managed to say. I stopped immediately and withdrew from her.
"Are you alright?" I asked. "Was I hurting you?"
"You were brilliant," she said, rolling over, smiling up at me. "Exactly what I wanted. But now I want you to do one more thing for me."
"Anything," I said, smiling back.
"Make love to me," she said, lying back on the bed and spreading her legs. "Pretend that I'm yours, and that you're mine. Just for this moment."
My smile became a little wistful. "Of course."
I got between her legs and propped myself up on my arms, looking down at her. I leaned down and kissed her softly, sweetly as I thrust into her, more gently this time, her hips eagerly rising up to meet me.
"Tell me you love me," she said softly, barely above a whisper, softer than her cries of passion.
"Miri, I -"
"I know it won't be real. But just tell me. Please."
I felt a pang of sadness wash over me, a strange thing when having sex with someone. But Miranda's plea was deep and heartfelt, and I know she was laying her soul bare before me, not just her body, giving voice to her innermost desire. This was a side of Miranda Lawson that absolutely no one in the entire galaxy knew, a note of vulnerability in her voice that one else ever got to hear.
I looked into Miranda's eyes and told her the lie she wanted to hear. "I love you, Miri."
She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight, her breasts pressed against my chest.
"I love you, John. So much."
"I know. I love you too."
"Love me," she said, making it a request, not a command. So I did. I told her how much I wanted her. How much she meant to me. How she was the only woman for me, and no one else. And I made love to her as tenderly as I could. I heard her breath hitch and I knew she was close. I was almost at my own peak.
"Come in me, John," she said. "Please. I want you to come in me."
I remembered what Miranda told me about her troubles trying to conceive. This might be a long-held fantasy of hers. Or maybe she was just caught up in the heat of the moment. Either way, it was something I wanted to do too.
I stopped trying to hold it back and came hard in Miranda, releasing myself deep inside her. She cried out as though someone was piercing a dagger through her heart. Her entire body tensed up, then grew still.
"You were bloody brilliant," she said, once we had cleaned ourselves up a bit. Her usual faint tone of bemusement had crept back into her voice, and I knew Miranda was feeling more like herself once more.
"So were you," I said.
"Of course. When you're with me, expect nothing but the best," she said jauntily.
There was a knock at the door. "That'd better be room service," said Miranda.
Jackie came in, just about managing to carry three glasses and an open bottle of champagne. "It's your lucky day," she replied. The three of us clinked glasses and had a drink.
"So what did I miss?" inquired Jackie. Miranda laughed.
"I'll never tell."
"We just made small talk," I said, with a straight face. Then it was Jackie's turn to laugh.
"I'll get the real story out of him, you know that right?"
"You'd trust this man?" asked Miranda with utmost seriousness. "I'll have you know that he had sex with a woman other than his fiancee," she said, in a mock whisper.
I had to laugh. The three of us then had even more fun than I ever thought possible. Then it was off to the attached bathroom and shower, which we soon discovered was just about big enough for three people. Then we drank some more, and we actually talked about all the things we'd seen and done since we saw each other last, like friends did.
"You hear that?" asked Jackie, after a while. We stopped and listened.
"It's not as loud as before," observed Miranda.
"Party must be winding down," I said, covering my mouth to suppress a yawn. "About time."
Miranda rose from the bed where she was lounging and gathered up her things. "I'll say goodnight then. Thank you for the wonderful evening, but it's time I made a move."
"Where are you going?"
"You don't have to leave because of us," I said. "You're welcome to stay."
"No, I couldn't," said Miranda.
"Come on, it's late. It's so late it's going to be early in a little while. Get some rest, get some breakfast in a few hours, and say hi to everyone before you have to leave again. They miss you, Miri," I said firmly. "You're not stealing away like a thief in the night."
She relented, and came back to bed. "Well, when you put it like that."
"Get in the middle, Jack," said Jackie sleepily, and pushed me. Miranda slid in on my other side, and laid her head on my shoulder. Jackie laid her head on my chest and snuggled up to me.
"You're a crazy woman, you know that?" I murmured. "I love you."
"Craziest you'll ever meet," she said, and kissed me on the cheek. "Love you too."
I listened to the two ladies drift off to sleep, their breathing getting slower and heavier. Then I raised my eyes to the ceiling, thanked god for my unbelievable luck, and fell asleep myself.
Jack Shepard
Main bedroom
Apartment
The Citadel
Morning
I opened my eyes. Anderson apparently programmed his apartment's lighting system to turn itself on in the morning. However, his definition of a reasonable waking hour was much different from mine.
My head felt a little sore, but despite the amount I drank last night, I didn't feel too bad. Cerberus cybernetics doing their job.
Miranda had already left, if she ever was here. Jackie was sprawled out on the bed, still naked, resting against me and snoring softly. As gingerly as I could, I pulled away without waking her up. I kissed her forehead and went around in search of my pants.
The sight that greeted me outside the door would bring a tear to the eye of a seasoned soldier. My beautiful apartment looked like a bomb had gone off right before an earthquake hit. An unbelievable amount of empty bottles, plates and other assorted detritus were left on the floor. Strangely enough, I didn't see anyone.
I padded down to the kitchen, half-expecting to see Tali snoozing at the counter. Still, no one around. I sighed. It did look like Miranda had left without saying goodbye, once again.
A door opened and Miranda emerged. She was wearing athletic clothes and looking fresh as a daisy.
"Miri!" I said, surprised.
"Good morning John," she said, a little teasingly. "Surprised to see me?"
"Well, yeah."
"I couldn't leave without saying goodbye, after all. It would be terribly rude of me. Coffee?"
"Please," I said, and was treated to the sight of Miranda brewing a pot of coffee and handing me a cup. I took a sip. It was perfect, just like everything else she did.
"I think we need to talk," I said, after a moment had passed.
"Must we really?"
I was undeterred by her feigned disdain. "About last night..."
"What about it?"
"Do you want this to continue? Or was it just a one-time thing?"
"I could ask you the same question. What do you want?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Miri, this is all...very new to me. I'm still trying to a win a war, for god's sake. And I'm getting married and...I guess we'll need to sit down and discuss it with Jackie. I just thought I'd get a sense of how you feel."
"You still haven't answered the question," said Miranda. "What do you want out of this?"
"I'm not saying no if you want to do it again sometime," I said. She chuckled.
"Typical man. Fine, let me ask you a different question. If I did say yes, would you be willing to treat me as an equal partner? Same as Jackie, in all things?"
"Not right away," I said truthfully. "But in time, I could. I know I could, if that's what you want."
"Ah, well then. And would you ever leave her for me? Commit to me and make me the only woman in your life? Turn your sweet lies last night into the truth?"
I looked at her and slowly shook my head. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
"I know you can't," said Miri, her smile tinged with sorrow, and perhaps regret. "I can't accept that. Even if she'd be inclined to share, and I believe she's not, I wouldn't be. You know who I am, John. If I am with you, I want to be the first thing in your life. But you can't do that for me."
"No," I said.
Miranda kissed me on the cheek. "That is why I must regretfully make last night a one-off occasion. I'm not saying it will never happen again, who knows what I might say yes to, after a few gin and tonics. But I believe no strings is best for us both."
"Thank you, Miri," I said. "I did mean what I said about you, though. You are brave and beautiful and I care about you very much."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't make it any harder than it already is, you big lunk."
"That's the Miri I know."
We chatted as more people woke up and joined us in the kitchen. Apparently at the end of the night Wrex and Grunt took it upon themselves to act as bouncers. They had bounced out everyone they didn't recognise from the crews of either the first or second Normandys, quite literally in some cases.
"You should have seen his face," Wrex said, chortling. "I didn't know humans didn't know how to fall properly."
"We're going to have to pay for that man's hospital bills," Liara said. "I'll wire some credits to his account."
Ashley wandered in, yawning. "Hey XO," I called. "Pull up a chair."
"I need this," she said, gripping a mug of hot coffee with both hands. Tali was looking at her.
"What?" she asked.
"Is that Lieutenant Vega's shirt?"
Everyone turned to look as Ashley flushed a deep scarlet. "It's just a shirt."
"Fraternisation in the ranks," sniffed Garrus. "I once knew a Major who got caught up in that sort of thing. Fatal error. Because it turned out all along that the private he was fraternising with had been doing the same thing to a lot of other officers, who were all fraternising with privates of their own. In the end, we had to disband the whole regiment. Morale totally destroyed."
"Guys, really, it's nothing," said Ashley. Vega then appeared, shirtless and with a look of complete satisfaction on his face.
"Hell of a night, huh guys?" He saw Ashley and quickly looked away. "Uh, hey Lieutenant Commander."
Everyone cracked up laughing. "What?" asked Vega, bewildered.
"I'm happy for you both," I said. "Remember what I told you, Vega."
"Sure, loco," he said. "Message received loud and clear."
Ken Donnelly woke up and made eggs, sausages and home fries, singing as he did so while Steve Cortez made a round of Bloody Marys for those of us still suffering from hangovers. The chatter started up again. I felt a swell of pride and love for my teams, plural. They were good people, all of them. And I needed their help if I was going to win this war. I needed to win it for them.
"There you are," called Jackie. She was up at last.
"Look who's here," I said, giving her a hug and a kiss.
"That was nice," she said. "It's good to just relax every once in awhile."
"Relax?" I said, in disbelief. "Are you even the tiniest bit hungover?"
"Nope," she said. "Want me to find some vodka and we can go again?"
"Woman, please. You're insatiable."
I looked at the big couch in the living room, which seemed relatively free of rubbish.
"Hey everyone, come here for a minute," I said. "Let's get a photo of all of us together."
"Visual evidence of my existence? Really, Shep?"
"You too, Kasumi. Come on guys."
With a bit of pushing and shoving and some fake protests, everyone got together. Liara's Glyph went up to take the photo.
"Alright, everyone say Normandy!"
And we all did.
Bay D24
Citadel Docks
It was time to get back into it. Shore leave was over. The Normandy was fully repaired, supplied and outfitted. My crew had all reported back for duty.
I said farewell to the friends who couldn't be with us. Wrex, Samara, Kasumi, Grunt all had their own missions, their own teams to lead and their own battles to fight. But they were all with us in this war. And Miranda.
"I'll see you again," she said to us, before we left the apartment. "Thank you for everything. Don't die out there."
"Take care of yourself, cheerleader," said Jackie. "I'd hate to see you get blown out of the sky."
"I'll try not to give you the pleasure," she said archly.
"You weren't complaining about that last night," muttered Jackie. Miranda laughed, and with a final wave, she was gone.
"She say anything about last night?" Jackie asked. I nodded.
"We had a talk. She wants it to be a one-time thing."
Jackie shrugged. "I figured. You're not too cut up about it, are you?"
"Of course not," I said, lifting Jackie off the ground and twirling her around. "You're the only girl for me."
Now, I looked at my ship as she gleamed in the light of the Citadel. The Normandy. Second version. Alliance-designed and Cerberus-built. Crewed by people from all over the galaxy. Each as different as could be from the other. All of whom were depending on me to see them safely through the fight.
"Break time's over, huh?" said Jackie, joining me at the observation window.
"At least we had one hell of a party. Probably the last one."
"Knock that shit off. We're going to blow the Reapers to hell. And then we're coming back here, and you're going to take me dancing."
More crew members were lining up in the bay. It was almost time to go. Jackie took my hand.
"You know, after everything we've been through, we've had a damn good ride."
"The best."