A/N: Apologies for the delay. I was hoping to make sure FF had its stuff together before I updated. I decided I'll take my chances. Feedback welcome!


The Citadel was in shambles, the hospitals and medical clinics overrun with the injured and dying. So Shepard returned to the Normandy to allow Dr. Chakwas to treat her injuries.

The first words out of Chakwas' mouth were to chide Shepard for not wearing her helmet. The laceration on her scalp was fairly deep and she'd suffered a concussion. Of greater concern was the injury on her hip. Her armor and compression gear were soaked with blood from a deep wound above her pelvic bone, and Shepard had experienced significant blood loss (although fortunately no internal damage). Her left arm was broken in two places, but was expected to heal without complication. Chakwas made the obvious decision to keep Shepard in the med-bay.

Liara was exhausted from overuse of her biotics, but otherwise had no serious injuries. She was allowed to retire to her room for much needed rest.

Ashley re-aggravated her left knee injury, and had several scrapes and bruises to go with a couple of mild burns. She was cleared to leave the med-bay although she would be limited to light duty for a few days. But she refused to leave Shepard's side. Chakwas had wanted Ashley to get some rack time, but relented and allowed her to remain in the med-bay, preparing an additional bed in hopes she'd sleep. She didn't.

Shepard was heavily sedated to permit her body the rest it required. Ashley stayed by her side, sitting uncomfortably in a chair pulled up next to the bed. Tali brought her food, which Ashley ate mechanically, tasting nothing. She did her best to wipe the blood and sweat from Shepard's copper tresses, searching for any signs of consciousness. Dr. Chakwas kept her distance as much as she was able, allowing Ashley at least the semblance of privacy.

Hours later, Shepard began to stir, pawing and kicking at the blanket covering her. Ashley took hold of her hands. "Shepard, it's okay. You're okay." Shepard's eyes opened, trying to focus on the face above her. "Ash," she sighed, relaxing. "You look like hell."

Ashley snorted. "You're not looking so good yourself, Skipper. You don't smell much better, either."

"You love it."

"I do."

Ignoring Chakwas' warning glare, Ashley squeezed herself onto the right edge of the bed, lying alongside Shepard and molding her body to fit her commander's. She placed a gentle arm around Shepard's waist, kissing her on the back of her neck. Shepard placed her hand over Ashley's, twining their fingers together and pulling her arm tighter around her as they both drifted off to sleep. Chakwas had to admit that although she didn't necessarily approve of a shared bed in her med-bay, she was glad that Williams was finally resting comfortably.

OoOoO

The next day, after sleeping for a majority of the previous 18 hours, Shepard donned her dress blues and accompanied Anderson to meet with the Council. She was shocked when Councillor Tevos offered humanity a seat on the Council, and Shepard surprised even herself by successfully installing Captain Anderson as the human representative. With Anderson's blessing, she announced to the Council that she was taking the Normandy back out to patrol for the rest of the Reaper fleet that she knew was still coming, despite their victory against Sovereign.

She soon discovered that she wasn't quite ready for even such a minimal level of exertion, and was relieved when Williams appeared suddenly and discreetly at her side to escort her back to the ship. She hated to show any physical weakness, so she was pleased that Williams offered her assistance in a very unobtrusive way as they traversed the Citadel.

Back on board the Normandy, Shepard intended to head straight for her quarters but found she was unable to stay on her feet. Nearly all of the crew was on well-deserved shore leave, so nobody was there to witness as she was half-carried by Williams across the CIC and down the stairs to the crew deck.

Ashley helped Shepard sit down gently on her bed. "Should I get Chakwas?"

Shepard waved her hand weakly. "No, I'm good. Or I will be. No worries." Ashley sat on the bed next to her, carefully helping her remove her dress uniform.

"Seriously, Shepard? You went commando when you met with the Council?"

Shepard chuckled. "You should know better than to expect anything else, Ash."

That earned an exaggerated eye roll from the chief. "Shit. Your hip looks awful. I thought Chakwas had this taken care of."

Shepard looked at the wound. "It'll be fine. I just need to take it easy for a day or two." She flashed Ashley a mischievous grin. "I guess that means you'll have to do all the work tonight."

"That's the first place your mind goes?"

"To be fair, with you that's the ONLY place my mind goes."

Ashley found a tank top and some loose shorts. "Just to be on the safe side - you probably shouldn't sit around naked." She helped ease the pants on over Shepard's injured hip, handing Shepard the shirt. Satisfied that the commander was settled in and relatively comfortable, she got up to leave.

"You look like you could use some rest, Shepard. I'll come back and check on you later."

"Don't go. Just lay down with me?"

Ashley looked at her warily. "You're not getting any, if that's what you're aiming for. I don't think you're up for it."

Shepard waggled her eyebrows. "Not yet. That's what the resting is for. But really - stay?"

Ashley knew she couldn't deny her. Stripping off her fatigues, she went over to the bed. Pausing for a moment to toss a suspicious glance Shepard's way, Ashley located one of Shepard's t-shirts to put on before laying down next to her. "I don't want to give you any ideas. Sleep, and then we'll see." Positioning herself on her back, she held her arm out for Shepard to place her head on her chest. She stroked her back gently until Shepard's breathing slowed. Soon, she drifted off to sleep as well.

OoOoO

Some hours later, Ashley woke to the delightful sensation of lips pressed against the nape of her neck. She was aware of fingers tracing up and down her thigh. Rolling over onto her back, she looked up into those emerald green eyes she loved so much and couldn't help but smile. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"

"It may have been mentioned before, yes." Shepard's eyes danced and one side of her mouth lifted into a half smile as her hand made its way under the t-shirt Ashley had borrowed, making lazy circles across her muscular abdomen. "Dr. Chakwas told me you sat by my bed for hours yesterday. You didn't need to do that - you should have been resting. You pushed yourself harder than I'd ever seen, and looking at you I can see I wasn't the only one injured."

Ashley propped herself up on an elbow, angling herself to face the commander. "Shepard, I thought you'd been. . . For one long, horrible moment I'd thought I'd lost you. I had to be with you after that, and make sure you were okay."

"I am okay." Shepard held Ashley's hand. "But I'm glad you were there."

Ashley leaned in to kiss Shepard, tugging on the bottom of her shirt. She had a sudden need to feel Shepard under her hands, to affirm that she was, in fact, okay and really there with her. Shepard pulled back with a smirk. "Now who's incorrigible?"

"Just stop talking and get naked," was Ashley's growled reply as she began lifting Shepard's shirt over her head.

"Fine. But you still might have to do all the work," Shepard teased.

Ashley pulled her own shirt off, throwing it on the floor. She turned to Shepard with a smile that bordered on the predatory. "Oh, Love. It's not work if I do it right. And I will do it right."

Shepard blinked twice and swallowed hard, then leaned back against the pillows in eager anticipation.

OoOoO

"That was. . . wow." Shepard breathed. Ashley lay pressed up against her, her face nuzzling Shepard's hair. Her body cooled as the sheen of sweat began evaporating off of her exposed skin.

"I hope you're none the worse for wear - is the hip okay? I tried to be as gentle as I could, considering." Shepard could feel Ashley's smile against her shoulder.

"You were just gentle enough. Both times." It was Shepard's turn to smile. She then leaned her head to the side to catch Ashley's eye. "But there is one more thing you can do for me."

"Anything. Just let me catch my breath," was Ashley's eager response.

Damn, I do love that enthusiasm. Shepard shook her head. "No, not like that. I just need a little bit of cooperation so I can do something for you."

"Sorry, Shepard. I'm not going to let you aggravate your injury and then have to explain it to Chakwas. I've only just started to be able to carry on a conversation with the doc without her staring at the floor the whole time. When it's better. . ."

Shepard's hands roamed along Ashley's body. "Please. Let me. I want to please you. I want to taste you. I can lay here just like this, without putting any pressure on the hip. You just have to put your knees on either side of my head, then I can. . ." She didn't even get the chance to finish her sentence before Ashley enthusiastically popped up to comply with her request.