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Shepard woke refreshed the next morning, the whole day before her with nothing planned. She could hear Kaidan in the kitchen downstairs, and smell the aroma of something heavenly being cooked for breakfast, and she stretched luxuriantly. Shore leave couldn't last forever, but it wasn't over yet, and she intended to enjoy what remained of it.
As she dressed, her comm link buzzed, Cortez calling to ask her to come hang out later in the morning. She called down to Kaidan, who had his own plans for the day, and told Cortez she'd meet him outside her apartment building just after breakfast.
Kaidan had made fresh cinnamon rolls, and they dug in with gusto. Drips of icing led to licking said drips off each other, which led to dripping icing on one another on purpose to be licked off, which led to Shepard being late to meet Cortez, but very satisfied.
Cortez was waiting for her in the Normandy's shuttle, which Shepard didn't find surprising in the slightest. Climbing aboard, she said as much.
He grinned. "Guilty as charged, Commander. What can I say, I love to fly. Besides, I don't think I've ever had the chance to show you what this baby can do." He glanced over as she buckled herself in. "You ready?"
She nodded. "Show me."
Cortez turned off the inertial dampeners, gravity reasserting itself, and took off through the Citadel, taking the shuttle through a complex series of rolls and dips. The resulting ride was thrilling, and had Shepard whooping with delight.
She climbed rather unsteadily out of her seat when Cortez pulled up in front of her building again. "Thanks, Steve. That's the most fun I've had since the last time I drove the Mako."
"Anytime, Commander."
He took off, and she headed for the casino bar for a quick drink. Joker was there, trying to wheedle a free drink out of the asari bartender. He wove an intricate story for her of stealing an Atlas and taking down two squads of Cerberus guys single-handedly. Shepard hung back, listening, hearing the wistfulness in his voice, wishing that she could give him a body that could fight. Of course, she had given him one in the Normandy. Behind her controls, Joker was a more formidable weapon than any other soldier the Alliance could offer.
As the asari shook her head, not believing Joker's extravagant lies, Shepard approached the bar, standing next to her pilot, and threw her weight behind his elaborate story. The bartender paled, apologized, and hurried to get his free drink.
"Uh, thanks, Commander."
"Thank you, Joker. I think a free drink is the least I owe you after all the times you've saved my ass." She smiled. "And all the times I expect you'll be saving it again before this is over."
"Good point." He accepted his free drink, toasting first the bartender and then Shepard, before downing half of it. "To the Normandy."
Shepard ordered a drink of her own, and they chatted a bit about the Normandy's refit.
While they stood there, Tali called to suggest a movie night at Shepard's apartment, Jack called to ask Shepard to come play the combat sim with her, and Emily Wong called to ask about a late lunch, to all of which Shepard was happy to agree. It was nice to know that in her criss-crossing of the galaxy trying to save the day, she had made friends, and to think that when someday she was able to stop and rest, she would have things to do with them.
"There's something to be said for this shore leave stuff," she told Joker, who raised a second free drink in toast to that concept. "We should do it more often."
"If the galaxy would let us," he pointed out.
"Well, someday maybe it will."
"I like your optimism, Commander."
After her second drink, feeling good, Shepard strolled down to the combat sim, where Jack was waiting for her. "You ready to kick the crap out of something, Shepard?"
"I am, actually. It's been too long."
"Hell, yeah!"
Jack had already set up their sim, so they geared up and headed out onto the arena floor. It was great to let loose, to have Jack's awesome biotic power at her back again. Shepard felt a brief twinge of loss, used to having Thane's precision marksmanship backing up her headlong rush into combat and Jack's aggressive biotics, but it was quickly lost in the adrenaline rush.
She and Jack ended the session flushed and laughing, high-fiving each other over some particularly tricky shots. They hadn't broken any records, but they'd had a great time, and they promised to do it again as soon as they had a chance.
On her way to meet Emily, Shepard checked in with Kaidan, letting him know Tali was coming over later to watch a movie, and he promised to make dinner.
Emily was waiting for her outside the restaurant. "Right on time! If I'd placed a bet, I'd have lost—I was sure someone would catch you on your way here and give you something crucial to do."
"I'm trying to avoid that on this shore leave," Shepard told her. "This is about relaxing, spending time with friends, and getting ready to finish the mission."
"You think we can?"
"I think we have to."
The maitre'd showed them to their table, and Shepard picked up her menu with a flourish. "Now," she said, "no more shop talk. Tell me what you've been up to since we got back to the Citadel."
Emily sighed and smiled ruefully. "Mostly filing stories, to be honest. I haven't done much relaxing yet. But that's okay, because I spend a lot of time on the Normandy waiting for the rest of you to make the news I report. I don't think I need the break as much as you do."
"I don't really know how to take a break," Shepard admitted. "I'm trying to learn, but … I'm an old dog to be picking up these new tricks."
"Never too late." Emily picked up her water glass, and they toasted each other. "To new tricks."
"And relaxing."
"Hear, hear."