Mother Base…

Shepard kicked off her boots as she collapsed into her bedroom chair. Between the interrogation, sneaking into the Capital Wasteland, and the shoot off, Shepard had a long day and was just glad it was now coming to an end. Personally, she never enjoyed going into the Capital Wasteland. It was too much of a grim reminder of her own version of Earth, and its ambient radiation always made her feel warm and tingly in all the wrong ways.

Finishing drying up her hair, Shepard once again had to thank whatever deity formed this realm that they had showers with hot water. Jane now lazed in her room, wearing her signature N7 hoodie, getting ready for a long evening of relaxation.

Knock knock knock…

Shepard sighed, covering her eyes with her arm. "Who is it?"

"Commander Shepard? It's Wynne. I just wanted to know if you were free for a talk." Wynne called out from the other side of the wooden door.

"That depends, do you need me to help you deal with deeply rooted psychological trauma brought on by your untimely demise?" Shepard called out, unmoving from her position.

Wynne laughed. "Ha sorry dear, I have not brought such baggage with me. What I do have however, is a vintage bottle of Orlesian wine and a need for a drinking partner."

That caused Shepard to shoot up out of her chair to open up the door. "Well why didn't you start with that."

Opening her wooden door, Shepard greeted with the sight of Wynne cradling a bottle of wine in her left hand, and two metallic goblets in her right. Shepard stepped out of the way, and gestured Wynne in. The magi nodded and entered the room, taking a seat at a small round table Shepard had set up in her room.

As Wynne prepared the wine, Shepard took her own seat and gave a smirk. "So Wynne, not that I mind the company, nor the free booze, but any specific reason you decide to visit my room late at night? Alcohol notwithstanding, I have the feeling you're not trying to drunkenly hook up with me." Shepard joked. Despite what she said, Shepard did take a half second to briefly admire Wynne's form. The consensus? Damn, she hoped she'd look half that good if she ever hit that age.

Wynne frowned as she looked up from pouring the wine. "No, Commander, I did not come up here looking for that kind of… companionship. I am here for a more serious conversation." Wynne saw Shepard's eyes dart to the wine then back to her. "The alcohol was a gesture of hospitality. One that I could easily take away, young lady."

Shepard put her hands up, defeated. "Okay, okay, no sarcastic sex jokes or innuendos, got it." Wynne's smile returned to her face as she offered a goblet to Shepard who eagerly grasped it. "So, what is your reason for coming up here then?" Shepard took a sip of the wine. Shepard was surprised it was so strong despite its fruity aroma.

"I've simply come to check up on you, Commander. You've been running around a lot recently and I wanted to see how you've been doing. As well as how well you've adjusted to this new life of ours." Wynne said as she sipped on her own glass.

Shepard cocked an eyebrow and chuckled. "That's funny, typically I'm the one who goes around asking people that question."

"I know, I've noticed you spending quite a lot of time with our fellow companions, galavanting across the battlefields to help them deal with their issues." Wynne nodded her head. "You've taken to your role well. The people here have been through much, and they need someone stable and grounded to look to, especially for when times become troubled. A port in the storm if you will."

Shepard took another sip, considering Wynne's words. The mage talked as if Shepard was doing something extraordinary, but Jane only did what she always did, help her men. Shepard knew the burden of command, she led far too many crews to not know how to lead. Yes, she expected the best from her men and women, but in return she would give them her best in order to raise them up. But in the end, she wasn't supposed to be the leader here.

"What about Snake?" Shepard asked, unsure of what Wynne's opinion of the man was.

"Oh yes, Snake is a good leader, but… different. He somehow naturally stands apart from us, I would even say above us." Wynne mused. "Now don't take this the wrong way, I don't believe Snake will ever lead us astray, but even for the superhumans in our merry little band, none of us can just knock on Snake's door and ask him to share a glass of wine. Not to mention he isn't exactly a social butterfly."

Shepard nodded her head at that, but then something clicked when she heard Wynne talk about Snake.

So Shepard leaned in closer with a smirk, "Hm. So if you're not looking to me for companionship, what about Snake?" Wynne's eyes immediately glared at the Commander once again. "I mean, he's a good guy, you're both similarly… matured, and you know he doesn't look half bad for someone his age. Should've had the nickname Silver Fox instead Venom Snake."

Wynne deadpanned the Commander. "No Shepard, I am not trying to bed the Boss either. I have long since lost the need to go prowling the night looking for men."

Shepard leaned back groaning. "Ugh come on Wynne, you gotta give me something. I haven't had any good scuttlebutt since I've got here."

Wynne casually reached for her staff. "What I can give you is an hour of your life as a toad if you keep acting so childish."

For the second time tonight, Shepard put her hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, yeah yeah yeah no more sex jokes, I know." Wynne gave a satisfied nod as she put her staff down. "Ok, so if Snake isn't the best drinking buddy for the team, what about you? You're empathetic to the members of the Legion, caring not only about their physical health but their mental well being as well."

Wynne chuckled with her glass of wine in front of her. "I may be able to give sage advice when asked for, but I can't exactly go punching Galen in the face or hunting super mutants for sport anymore."

Shepard laughed at this as well. "Please, I'm sure there's some life in those old bones yet."

The two let the laughter die down as they shared another sip of wine.

"Back to my original point, however," Wynne started up first. "You are important to the morale of this team. And while it's all well and good that you are helping the others work through their issues, you need to make sure you take care of yourself as well. Remember, you can always come to me for advice, or merely an ear to listen, should you require it."

Thinking about these words, Shepard realized that she hasn't really taken the time to unwind, or think about what she's been through. Ever since she got to the Final Destination it's been mostly non-stop action.

"I suppose every person that is here is just a little bit broken in their own way, and they need help getting fixed up, me included. I'm still processing the fact that I'll never see Liara again, or my Mom, or any of my crew. And that's on top of everything I saw during the Reaper Invasion. But during a war, you can't have your leader break down, so until this whole mess is sorted out, I'll keep it together." Shepard quietly mumbled out. "I have to."

Wynne frowned. "You've been through a lot, haven't you Shepard?"

Shepard froze, staring at Wynne. She… she didn't know how to respond to that. That one line caused a flash of repressed memories to flood into Shepard. Memories she forced down to she could focus on the missions at hand.

She saw the Citadel burning, smelt the smoke and burnt flesh, the remains of civilians scattered about as Cerberus launched their attack. She saw Legion on Rannoch, giving his life so that the Geth could have sentience. She saw the little boy on Earth that she watched die as she fled on the Normandy. Shepard glanced down and noticed her hand was clenched into a tight fist, nails digging into her palm. She unfurled it and stretched her fingers as she then glanced at Wynne. If the older woman noticed, she didn't comment on it.

"Yeah… yeah I suppose I have." Shepard whispered as she took another drink. "We all have."

The two were silent for a few beats, lost in the contemplations of their own minds. Surprisingly, Shepard broke the silence first.

"You know, Wynne, you remind me of a good friend of mine, Karin Chakwas, the doctor and chief medical officer on my ship. Not only would she patch us up after every mission, but she also was more than happy to give advice when I needed it." Shepard smiled at the memories of the doctor.

Wynne nodded her head and gave a small toast. "I'll take the comparison to one of your friends as the highest compliment." She took a sip of her drink. "You remind me of a companion of mine as well, Commander. The leader of my old adventuring party, a Grey Warden and Mage named Amell.

"Like you, was the immovable center of our group that we all looked to. Of course he was young and foolish, sometimes far too juvenile and thirsty for adventure. But he always did what he thought was right, not letting anyone or anything stop him." Wynne chuckled. "When people depended on him, he was ready to fight tooth and nail to save lives."

Shepard gave her own toast to that. "And I'll that comparison as the highest compliment. This Grey Warden sounds like quite the hero."

"Indeed he was. I just hope he doesn't get into too much trouble. He was far too smitten with this witch that we traveled with. She had the poor boy wrapped around her finger the whole time we were together." Wynne let out an annoyed grumble.

Shepard laughed as she thought back to the romances and flings she had during her adventures, eventually focusing on Liara's face. "Yeah quests to save the world and romantic drama seem to go hand in hand."

"Saving the world is a young people's game. And where there is youth, there are hormones and awful attempts at courtship. Case and point." Wynne pointed to Shepard, who laughed it off.

"Hey I'll have you know I was quite successful with my attempts at… courtship." Shepard indignantly cried out.

"Yes dear and I'm sure the hordes of women that threw themselves at your feet are all currently lamenting your passing as we speak." Wynne dryly responded. "They'll cry out, 'Oh Maker, why would you take Shepard away, the destroyer of Reapers and slayer of quims. Who else will make our knees weak by simply passing by?'" Wynne pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, pretending to faint.

Shepard's jaw dropped at the suddenness of Wynne's own salacious humor. A beat passed, and both women burst out laughing. Shepard doubled over clutching her stomach as she felt a tear drop down her face.

It took several seconds for the two women to compose themselves as the chuckling ceased. Shepard let out a long breath and refilled their wine glasses. The alcohol replenished, the duo took another sip as Shepard reclined in her chair.

Staring into her goblet, Shepard once again called out to Wynne. "Hey Wynne, mind if I ask you something personal. And no, it's not about sex."

"Then I'm all ears." Wynne simply replied.

"How did you die?" Shepard asked plainly. It was a hard question to pose, so there was no point in being subtle about it.

Wynne gave a wry smile. "Do you mean the first time, or the second time?"

Raising an eyebrow, Shepard let out a small laugh in disbelief. "Wait, you died twice as well?"

The two looked at each other in similar states of disbelief, before descending into laughter once again. They could only laugh at the absurdity of their situation, two women currently on their 3rd lives currently sharing a drink.

Wynne was the first to reign herself in. "Ok, I shall go first. Let's see, the first time I died I was protecting the Circle tower, which was the home of all of the sanctioned mages in Ferelden. The tower had come under attack by rogue mages that were tired of living underneath the Chantry's thumb. They summoned a host of demons to attack the tower, and it was during that initial battle that I died."

Wynne took another sip before continuing. "When I did pass, it was not the end however. I was brought back to life by a spirit of the Fade to protect the Circle. In essence, I had become an abomination, a mage possessed by a demon or spirit, living on borrowed time. The spirit kept me alive, and I joined with the Warden to both save the tower and to save Ferelden from the Blight. Some time later, I decided to give the spirit up to another, saving their life in exchange for my own."

Wynne's explanation wasn't filled with anger, regret, or sadness like some of the other stories Shepard had heard. While it wasn't particularly happy, Shepard would say it seemed, accepting. Wynne knew Death was coming, and was more than willing to welcome it when it came to collect, especially if it meant saving someone else.

"A lot of people would've spent borrowed time like that in a much worse or more selfish way. Running to battle and saving others when you know you're on the clock is very noble of you." Shepard surmised.

"I no longer had the fiery rambunctiousness and youthful exuberance to act in such a way, even before I died. I did not need to cry out against the sky, feeling scorned and forsaken by fate." Wynne shrugged. "What about you Commander? If I recall correctly, your world didn't have magic, how did you get brought back to life?"

"Indeed we did not have magic, but we did have very advanced technology, and lots and lots of resources. My first death was pretty much right after I stopped a rogue Spectre named Saren. Spectres, by the way, are a form of intergalactic special forces that serve the Council directly. Anyway, stopping Saren put me on the hit list of the Reapers, so they sent another one of their pawns, a mysterious race known as the Collectors to take me out. While my ship was on a patrol looking for Geth, we were ambushed. A Collector cruiser came out of nowhere, took out my ship, and sent me adrift in space with a broken suit." Shepard shuddered at the memory. "I lost some good people that day."

"I am sorry to hear that." Wynne nodded. "I have never seen what lay in the void among the stars. But from what you say, it does not sound like a pleasant experience."

Shepard's mind flashed back to her first death. Her body flailing in vain as oxygen leaked from her neck. Her vision going black as she slowly suffocated to death.

"Yeah, that death wasn't fun, that's for sure. I would go as far to say it was terrifying even." Shepard shook off the memory. "But regardless, my body eventually made planetfall, crashing onto the planet below and getting turned to a bunch of meaty chunks. Eventually, my body was recovered by an organization called Cerberus, and they spent the next two years bringing me back to life. Through cloning, cybernetics, a dozen other illegal sciences, and billions of credits, they brought me back to stop the Collectors.

"Second death was a lot more complicated. Essentially, to stop the Reapers, who were giant, sentient, synthetic squids hellbent on destroying all organic life, I had to sacrifice myself to rewrite all life to be partially organic and synthetic. That way, at least hopefully, synthetic life and organic life won't come in conflicts of genocide anymore." Shepard finished off her glass as she finished her explanation.

"I will admit that sounds rather unbelievable." Wynne added on, killing her own glass.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Any more unbelievable than us living our third lives fighting against the pawns of a God of Chaos?"

Wynne paused for a moment to think, before shrugging. "Fair point." She then moved to refill both their glasses once again. Wynne lifted her drink into the air to give a toast. "To the endless struggle I suppose."

Shepard raised her own glass with a chuckle. "Ain't no rest for the wicked." And the two continued to drink throughout the night.

A/N:

Another shorter chapter. I was inspired to write this one after I saw the similarities between Wynne and Dr. Chakwas, and remembered Shepard's and Chakwas' drinking conversation in the game. Thought it was a fun chapter to write.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!