A/N: Just a quick note to thank all of you who are still reading this. I appreciate all the views. Please feel free to leave a review on what's working and what's not working. And on what punctuation I continually abuse. Cheers!
Shepard pulled away from the kiss, eyes still closed. She took a moment to steel herself, then released Ashley. She had her orders. She needed to follow them.
"We've got a lot of catching up to do, Ash, but first let's get this ship headed for the Citadel."
"Aye aye, Commander. Right after we take care of your hands." Shepard looked down at her raw bloody knuckles, signaling her agreement with a quick nod.
As they headed for the lift, Shepard spotted Vega lurking in the corner. He approached her, demanding, "Now what, Commander?"
Shepard fought the instinct to tell him not to call her that. I guess it's accurate now. "We're leaving. Anderson ordered us to go to the Citadel and get help for the fight."
"Bullshit! He wouldn't order us to leave! Fuck this. Drop me off somewhere." Vega stood over Shepard, the over-developed muscles in his neck tensing.
Shepard stepped up to him. "Enough, Lieutenant. You may have spent six months as my jailer, but here on this ship I am your commanding officer. You will follow my orders and show me the respect due a superior officer, or you'll find your ass sitting in the brig. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am."
"We are heading to the Citadel. You can catch a ride back from there if you want. I don't give a fuck. Dismissed." Shepard glared at the massive Marine, daring him to make a move. Vega stood down, saluting as he left. Ashley fought a smirk. Very few people could stand up to Shepard and Vega obviously was not one of them.
A voice came over the ship's comms. "Commander."
A grin tugged at the corners of Shepard's lips. "Joker? Is that you?" Her smile quickly faded when she saw the murderous expression on Ashley's face. She made a mental note to address the enmity between the two as soon as possible.
"Alive and kicking, ma'am. I have an emergency transmission from Admiral Hackett for you."
Shepard had Joker patch it through to the terminal in the shuttle bay. The transmission quality was poor, but Shepard was able to glean that the situation for the fleet was dire, and she was to detour to the outpost on Mars before going to the Citadel. Apparently Liara was there researching a way to defeat the Reapers and Hackett wanted whatever information she might have found.
"Ash, come with me." Shepard reached for Ashley's hand, wincing when she tried to bend her battered knuckles.
"Med-bay first, Shepard. You're no good with those hands."
OoOoO
Shepard's breath hissed in sharply as Ashley spread medi-gel across the backs of her hands. "You're lucky you didn't break anything, Shepard. We don't have any medical personnel on board."
Shepard gave Ashley an appreciative nod. "Thanks, Chief." Ashley looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Fine. Thanks, LC. It's going to take some getting used to. Congratulations, by the way." Being this close to Ashley, Shepard needed to marshall all her self-restraint to not wrap her up in her arms. Later. Duty first. Speaking of which… Shepard hopped off the table. "With me, Williams," she directed as she lead them up to the cockpit.
As they neared the pilot's chair, Ashley hung back behind Shepard. Shepard turned to her with a look of warning. "We need to resolve this." Joker was pressed back against his seat, trying to make himself as small as possible.
Shepard addressed them both, in full commander mode. "Okay, you two. We've all got bigger things to worry about right now than being pissed off at each other. I don't care if you like each other. But you do need to get along and you have to be able to work together. So cut the shit. Williams, I want you to be my XO, but I can't do that if you aren't able to be in the same space as our pilot. What happened before wasn't really Joker's fault. Joker didn't kill me," Shepard winced; she wasn't sure she'd ever get used to talking about herself like that. "The Collectors did. With that being said, Joker if you ever fail to follow an order again, I will have you court-martialed and you'll live out your days flying cattle barges out in the far reaches of the Terminus system. Do you both understand me?"
"Aye aye, Commander."
"Ma'am, yes ma'am."
"Good. Joker, how long would it take us to get to Mars? We need to get in there as stealthy as possible."
"At less than FTL, it could take us up to an hour." Joker added a belated, "Ma'am."
"Then we'd better get going. EDI, let me know when we're ten minutes out."
Ashley looked puzzled at the last, then nearly jumped out of her skin when a disembodied voice responded, "Of course, Commander. And welcome back."
"Thanks, EDI." Shepard grinned at Ashley. "EDI is the Normandy's AI. I'll explain later." Addressing the comms system, Shepard continued, "Vega, I want you to find me some armor, a pistol and a shotgun. Have them down in the shuttle bay in thirty. See what you can find for yourself. You'll be joining me on Mars."
There was the briefest delay before he responded. "Yes ma'am." Shepard allowed herself a self-satisfied smile before she turned on her heel and headed for the elevator, gesturing with her head at Ashley to follow. Ashley's heart skipped a beat as she fell in step beside Shepard, as she realized they might have a few moments to themselves.
OoOoO
Although the Normandy had been docked near Alliance HQ for months, Ashley hadn't seen the inside of the new and improved ship. The Alliance had spent the previous half year retrofitting the Cerberus ship, adding in the military touches that would make it the most powerful warship in the fleet.
Fortunately for Shepard, they had left her loft more or less untouched. With the exception of her model ships and Space Hamster. She would miss those. As Shepard lead Ashley into her quarters, Ashley couldn't hide her amazement at its size. And the fact that it had an aquarium spanning almost an entire wall. "Shit, Shepard. I'm surprised you didn't go soft with a cabin like this."
Shepard chuckled as she rummaged through the closet, looking to find some Alliance fatigues that might fit her. No matter how good she looked in her dress blues, they weren't comfortable to wear for long. Finding a suitably sized uniform, she tossed it on the bed and started opening drawers, hoping her old compression gear might still be lurking somewhere in a corner. She found a set, holding it up in triumph. Dropping them on the bed next to the fatigues, she began unbuttoning her dress jacket. Her breath caught in her chest when strong hands reached around from behind her and took over.
"Let me." Ashley's throaty voice vibrated against Shepard's ear, sending sparks down her spine. Ashley's long, sure fingers made quick work of the buttons, sliding the uniform jacket down Shepard's shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. Shepard shivered involuntarily and leaned back against Ashley. Ashley wrapped her arms around Shepard's waist, nuzzling Shepard's neck.
"Ash, we can't - "
Ashley shushed her as she removed Shepard's bra. "Yes. We can." As she cupped Shepard's breasts with both hands, Ashley sprinkled kisses along Shepard's neck and shoulders. "I've missed you, Sloane." A hand went to the front of Shepard's pants, lowering the zipper. "I've missed touching you, feeling you, tasting you." The hand moved down further, stroking Shepard's already wet center. Shepard moaned and threw her head back against Ashley's shoulder. "I need to hear you call my name, Sloane. I need to feel you tightening around me while you come." Ashley slipped two fingers into Shepard, her other hand continuing to caress Shepard's breasts. Applying just the right amount of friction with the heel of her hand, Ashley pumped her fingers in and out at a deliberate pace. Her voice was a low purr. "I want to hold you up when you have no strength left to stand. Then I want to make you come again."
Shepard did call Ashley's name as white lights exploded behind her eyelids, her hips bucking forward. Ashley used one strong arm around her waist to support Shepard against her body, withdrawing the other from inside Shepard and moving it to rub circles around Shepard's hardened clit. As Ashley increased the pressure gently, Shepard felt her pleasure building again. Raising one arm behind her to wrap her fingers in Ashley's hair, she quickly crested a second time.
Once the strength returned to her legs, Shepard turned to Ashley and kissed her hungrily while trying to simultaneously strip her bare. Ashley laughed softly, pulling away just long enough to quickly abandon her clothing while Shepard stripped off her uniform pants. Their bodies crashed together again. The friction of Shepard's skin against her own only increased the throbbing heat between Ashley's thighs.
"Sloane, I need you - "
"Way ahead of you, Love." Shepard cut her off as she picked Ashley up and laid her on the bed. She wasted little time settling between Ashley's legs, tracing a finger between her slick folds before flicking her tongue against Ashley's clit. Ashley moaned and canted her hips upward, one hand grabbing Shepard's hair. Shepard dipped her tongue into Ashley's wet opening, followed by long strokes up and down the length of her slit. Ashley began cursing quietly, bucking up against Shepard's mouth. Shepard slipped a finger into Ashley while she sucked on her clit, soon adding a second and then a third. Curling them upward, she thrust into Ashley, increasing the speed of her hand and the pressure of her mouth until Ashley's thighs tightened against her ears, muffling Ashley's wordless cries of ecstasy.
Sliding her sweat-slicked body along Ashley's, Shepard moved up to kiss her fiercely before propping herself up above her lover. One corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "I'll be damned. You were right. Turns out we can." With a sigh, she rolled off of Ashley and sat on the edge of the bed, noting the time. "We'll have to catch up some more after we finish up on Mars. Care to join me in a quick shower?"
"Shepard, you know if I join you it will be anything but quick."
"I meant a shower shower. Not a fooling around shower. Although if you're offering…"
Ashley swatted Shepard's bare backside playfully. "Fuck, Shepard. You're insatiable."
Shepard leaned back in for a kiss. "For you? Yes I am."
With that she got up and headed for the shower, swaying her hips a bit more than usual, mindful that Ashley was watching her walk away.
Enjoying the view a little too much, Ashley cursed out loud. "Shit. That's not fair, Shepard," she muttered as she quickly followed Shepard into the bathroom.
OoOoO
Shepard was sitting on the couch with a stupid smile on her face, watching Ashley braid her damp hair, when EDI announced that they would arrive at Mars in ten minutes.
Shepard stood. "Let's go, Chief." That earned a raised eyebrow from Ashley in friendly warning. "Oh hell. Sorry. Let's go, LC. Better?"
"Much." Ashley fell in step alongside Shepard as she headed for the lift.
"I'm proud of you, you know. You've done well."
"Funny, your mom said the same thing."
Shepard stopped short. "Oh shit. I have to find out if she's okay. Remind me when we get back from the archives."
Ashley wouldn't get the chance to remind her.
