Wrex was waiting for Shepard when she boarded the Normandy.

"Shepard."

"Wrex."

"You owe me, Shepard. Why didn't you tell me the Turians had a giant bomb on Tuchanka? If Garrus knew about that…"

Shepard steadied Wrex with a hand on his arm. "He didn't, Wrex. And I wanted to take care of the problem before telling you about it. I didn't need to find a dead Primarch on my ship. That would have been bad for both of us."

Wrex relaxed a little. "Fine. But you still owe me. When are we going to be able to check on my scouts? I don't like the idea of a squad going silent like that so close to a rachni relay."

"We're heading there first thing, big guy. We'll get to the system in the next day or two. You coming down to the planet with me? You're getting a little soft sitting around just talking all day."

Wrex let loose a hearty guffaw. "Don't I know it. I have to sit this one out, though. Mordin thinks I need to be on hand in case he needs more of my… samples for the cure."

"Your loss." Shepard punched Wrex in the shoulder before moving on to her quarters. Once there, she checked on Space Hamster before changing into her workout gear and grabbing her hand wrap. After taking a moment to send a suggestive note to Ashley, she took the lift down to the shuttle bay. She set a towel and water bottle down next to the heavy bag she'd had installed in a dim corner and wound the wrap around her knuckles.

Squaring up, Shepard soon lost herself in the rhythm of her fists hitting the bag, varying the speed and combinations of her strikes. Only when she could no longer bear the ache of her muscles and the sting of sweat in her eyes did she pause. She leaned against a crate, taking a long pull of water while toweling off her face and hair, sweat dripping off her body onto the floor. Her head snapped to the side at the sound of a low whistle.

"Goddamn, Commander. That was impressive." Vega stepped forward from the shadows.

Shepard merely grunted in response. She'd eventually agreed to allow Vega to remain on board despite his initial demands to return to Earth after the start of the Reaper invasion. She wouldn't deny him the opportunity to fight in this war, but she found it difficult to warm up to the man who had served as her jailer for half a year. His initial outburst when they left Earth didn't improve the situation. Shepard did not tolerate insubordination of that sort well, nor did she forget it easily.

Vega was clearly uncomfortable, but apparently determined to continue the conversation. "I didn't realize you boxed."

"Yeah, well there wasn't a bag available in solitary. But you knew that." Shepard made no attempt to temper her bitterness.

Vega ducked his head briefly before looking back up at Shepard. "Look, Commander. I can't do anything about my previous assignment. I took no joy in it. And I know I was an ass when I first came on board."

"Not disagreeing with you on that last one." Shepard crossed her arms in front of her chest. She had an idea of what was coming, but refused to make it easy on the hulking soldier.

"I can't change anything about those six months, Commander. But maybe we can find a way to get past it." Shepard stayed silent. Vega gestured at the heavy bag with his head. "What say we go mano a mano? Think you can take me?"

Shepard allowed herself a half-smile. "I know I can take you, Lieutenant."

Vega nodded, moving to the middle of the bay. "You pulling rank on me?"

"Damn right. I don't want you forgetting again." Shepard didn't allow Vega to finish raising his fists before punching him square in the nose. Vega took a step back, licking at the blood trickling down towards his lip.

"It's like that, is it?" Vega advanced, but Shepard easily ducked under his left hook, pummeling his side with a one-two combination before dancing away.

"Yeah. It's like that." Shepard faked a jab with her left, connecting with Vega's jaw with her right. "Not a single message in or out for six months. That's on you. Did you even forward my JAG corps requests?"

"No." Vega's fist slammed into Shepard's ribs with a punch she couldn't quite evade.

"Fucker." Shepard leaned back to avoid a hook.

"I had orders."

"I had rights, jackass." Shepard's fist cracked into the bone beneath Vega's right eye, splitting the skin. "Six months. Six months in fucking solitary. Fuck your orders."

Shepard absorbed a jab to the corner of her mouth to allow her to get in close enough to deliver a punishing blow to Vega's midsection, knocking the wind out of him. Vega bent over, wheezing. "I know. I was spineless." It was close to an apology, but it didn't go far enough. Shepard brought both fists down on his back, bringing him to his knees. A kick to his sternum knocked him flat on his ass.

"You can stay on my ship, Lieutenant. You're a good soldier. Be ready when I need you. But don't think we're going to get past this so fast. I'll need time. No guarantees. Got it?"

"Yes." Vega lay helpless on the floor. Shepard stepped forward, raising an angry brow. "Ma'am," he corrected. "Yes, ma'am."

OoOoO

Shepard grabbed her towel and asked EDI to wake Dr. Chakwas and ask her to meet Shepard in the med-bay. She unwrapped her hands on the lift, using the towel to wipe away the blood from her mouth.

Dr. Chakwas clucked in disapproval when Shepard walked through the door. "Commander, dare I ask?"

"Just working out some issues with one of the crew, Doc. Sorry to have to wake you." She hissed as Chakwas applied medi-gel to the cut on her lip. "You might want to wait here for the other guy."

"Is this something that shouldn't be logged, Shepard?" The medical officer lifted Shepard's shirt to look at the bruises already forming on her ribs, reaching for another packet of medi-gel.

"I'd appreciate that, Karin. It was an off the record discussion." Shepard flinched ever so slightly as the doctor pressed her fingers against the bruise. "There's a bottle of Serrice ice brandy in it for your trouble, of course."

Dr. Chakwas smiled. "Of course. Were the issues resolved, Commander?"

"Not yet. But it was a start. Felt damn good to finally express myself a little, though."

"Let's try to just use our words next time, shall we?" Chakwas turned to dispose of the empty packets.

Shepard smirked as she hopped off the table. "That's never as fun, though."

OoOoO

Ashley had watched Shepard walk away, feeling the familiar pain of separation beginning to bloom in her chest. She was still staring after the retreating figure of her lover when she felt the comforting touch of her sister's hand on her arm.

"You really do love her, don't you?"

Ashley smiled broadly. "I really do."

"Let's get you back to the hospital. Your doctor is going to kill you." Sarah turned Ashley around, steering her towards the nearest lift.

"Come sit with me a bit after I check back in?" Ashley hooked her arm through Sarah's as they walked.

"Only if you tell me how a grunt with a disgraced military name managed to snag the Commander Shepard."

Ashley smiled again, thinking about those early days with Shepard. "I guess you could say it was all thanks to Shepard's insomnia…"

The hospital staff kindly ignored the after-hours visitor as the two sisters talked into the night, interrupted only by Dr. Michel or one of the nurses checking on Ashley's vitals and scans. Eventually Ashley fell off into sleep. Sarah scooted her chair close to the bed, laying her head near her big sister and dozing off until morning.

OoOoO

To: Commander S. Shepard

From: Lieutenant Commander A. Williams

Miss you already. Enjoyed your message last night. It was a bit awkward reading it in front of my sister, though. I didn't even try to explain why my face was so flushed. Maybe a little warning next time, so I know to save it for when I'm alone. To answer your question, though - yes, you can do all those things next time you come home. I like that - home. I love you, Sloane. Be safe.

OoOoO

Shepard lay in bed, keenly aware that she was alone. She had slept poorly; each time she closed her eyes, her nightmare returned. She'd long ago discarded her sweat soaked tee, exchanging it for a fresh one from the stack she now kept by her bed. Staring at the ceiling, Shepard wished, as she often had over the last several weeks, that Ashley was with her to keep the nightmares at bay. She always slept better in her marine's arms.

Stretching her arms, Shepard sat up and gathered herself for the day ahead. Verifying via her omni-tool that the Normandy had indeed arrived in the Ninmah Cluster during the night as expected, she grabbed the datapad from her nightstand. She reviewed what she knew about the missing krogan scouts, which wasn't much. She decided to make a last minute change to her ground team, adding Vega to the squad, along with Garrus, EDI and Liara. She thought maybe she owed it to him after knocking him on his ass a couple nights before. Shepard headed for her shower, asking EDI to inform Vega of his inclusion in the ground crew.

It was going to be a long day. She was going to need a very hot shower and a very large pot of coffee.

OoOoO

Shepard bounded off the shuttle, still feeling the effects of the adrenaline from the rush of battle. She was caked in rachni guts and juices, and couldn't stop smiling. This is what she was meant to do. Kill the bad guys. Not coddle whiny diplomats or do favors for self-centered politicians. Standing back to back with Grunt and slaughtering wave after wave of Reaper-controlled rachni and Reaper forces was exhilarating. She found herself again missing Ashley - their post-battle lovemaking was especially mind-blowing. As a poor substitute, she began composing a deliciously inappropriate message in her head to send Ashley once she reached her quarters.

First, though, she needed to clean her armor and weapons. She was standing at one of the workbenches in her compression gear when she heard a familiar voice rumbling behind her.

"Shepard."

"Wrex." She didn't turn around, remaining focused on cleaning entrails out the crevices of her shotgun.

"We did a good job down there."

"We?" Shepard chuckled. "I was the one with bullets flying at me."

"And I gave you the moral support to dodge them." Wrex's huge mouth spread into a wide grin. "I hear Grunt made it out of there with a few scratches."

"You could say that. Our little tank baby kicked some rachni ass. You missed a hell of a fight."

"Yeah. About the rachni, Shepard." Wrex paused. "If they get out of hand again, it's your ass on the line."

Shepard wheeled around. She didn't expect to be second-guessed by Wrex, and if she was honest with herself, it hurt. "Goddammit, Wrex. Give me a fucking break, will you? They didn't get out of hand this time. The Reapers are the enemy here. Let's focus on that. I managed to recruit a powerful ally in this fucking war. So don't give me that bullshit. Not when you sit around on your ass talking all goddamn day long and saddle me with all the real work."

Shepard didn't wait for a response. She kicked aside her still-filthy armor and shoved past Wrex to take the lift to her loft. Wrex could only stand and stare at her back.

Showered and back in uniform, but still seething, Shepard reported to the war room in response to Hackett's comms request. He had some concerns about her report. "I hope you know what you're doing, cutting a deal with the rachni queen."

Shepard's hands tightened into fists at her side as she fought to maintain control. First Wrex, and now the admiral. She was getting tired of being questioned about the tough decisions she had been forced to make. "What would you have had me do, sir? We can definitely use their assistance. Would it have been better to let the Reapers have them? With all due respect, sir, why am I getting so much shit for strengthening our forces? Isn't that what I've been ordered to do?"

Admiral Hackett narrowed his eyes. "Point taken, Commander." He appeared to consider his words, apparently deciding to avoid antagonizing Shepard any further. "Stay safe out there, Shepard. Hackett out."

Shepard growled in frustration. She stalked out of the comms room, ignoring the turian Primarch who was trying to get her attention. She walked by the conference room, stopped and turned back. She grabbed the nearest chair, slamming it into the wall with a primal yell. Private Campbell came rushing in, sidearm at the ready, to investigate the commotion. She quickly holstered her pistol and spun on her heel to beat a hasty retreat when Shepard faced her, curling her lip and baring her teeth.

The brief interruption was enough to stop the momentum of Shepard's tantrum. She sank to the floor, muttering half-hearted obscenities. And for the third time that day, she wished Ashley was there.