A/N: Two quick things.

1) I have no beta on this at the moment, so it might be rougher than it could be. Everybody is busy and we've moved on to different projects since I started this fic.

2) Now that everyone is in the same location, it doesn't really work to do the switching back and forth each chapter that I was doing. So no more name labels at the beginning of each chapter. This will still be exclusively told from Sam and Ash's perspective, though.

Okay. Onward!

Samantha Traynor had been a consummate professional. She'd stayed quiet during the mission, providing Shepard with communications intel while trying to undo whatever jam Cerberus had introduced to take down both the extranet and internal communications on the Citadel. She had kept from panicking when she could not raise Tim or Ashley or Ashley's family. She had provided Shepard with information she needed and nothing more, even providing guidance to Halanz as the woman helped the other ground team – comprised of James, Javik, and EDI – fight with C-Sec.

Watching Ashley point a gun at Shepard – and therefore her – was painful, however. She had been so tempted to try to talk her fiancée down. But she knew not to interfere. She knew Shepard would not shoot if she did not have to. And then Ashley lowered her weapon at mention of Thane, and Sam almost passed out with relief.

She remained a professional through all of it. Until, that was, Ashley mentioned Udina having her family.

"Commander," Sam said, trying not to let her hesitance through in her voice.

{I heard,} said Shepard. {Gimme a minute to sort this out. You take a minute, too. Get Halanz on with me.} Shepard's omnitooled hand extended in the view of her helmet camera, and then Sam saw a new ID pop up for her to connect to their network.

Samantha grabbed it immediately. "Ashley?"

{God, your voice is fucking angelic, Sam.}

"Halanz, I'm giving you Shepard for a minute," Samantha said, swiping control of Shepard's communications and taking two minutes to have a personal conversation with her fiancée. Unprofessional, but it had basically been an order and she wasn't going to look that particular gift horse in the mouth.

{Baby, Udina sent guards to protect my family. They're probably Cerberus spies. I didn't know...}

"I know, Ashley. I'm proud of you. You sifted through all your doubts and made the right call. But you need to focus. We both do. What's the priority?"

Ashley didn't hesitate. {I'm a Spectre, even if it was offered as a bribe. The Council has to be my priority.}

Sam nodded. "Right. Good. I'll help you and Shepard get them. Then family. One step at a time."

{Right. Okay. You do your thing, baby.}

"Just. Ashley?"

{Yeah?}

"Don't you ever – and I mean this – scare me like that again. I didn't like seeing you pointing your gun at me. You're terrifying."

There was a pause. Sam heard Ashley breathe in and out a few times. She glanced at Shepard's screen and saw the commander was looking in Ashley's direction. Ashley had her hand to her forehead and if Sam didn't know any better, she'd swear there were tears on Ashley's cheeks.

When Ashley finally spoke, her voice was shaky. {I'm so sorry, Sam. You're not supposed to have to watch me-}

"Stop that right now, Ashley Williams," Sam said. "You are a marine and a Spectre; it's what you do. I am safe on the ship. We can do this, but only if we both agree not to worry about what the other does or sees. Just don't point a gun at me again. All right?"

A deep breath, followed by a steadier voice. {Yeah. Okay. I can promise that.}

"Good. Now. Let's figure out where the Council is."

"Specialist Traynor," said EDI, her holographic sphere popping up in place of the galaxy map. "Communications are back up."

"Thank you, EDI."

{I'll go. You get back to Shepard,} Ashley said.

"All right. I'll be in touch with the team. Back to professionals."

{Back to professionals.}

Samantha took back Shepard's comms, and was immediately intrigued by a communications request blinking up at her.

"Um, Commander?"

Shepard sounded amused. {Unlike you to start with an "um," Specialist. What's going on?}

"You have a rendezvous request from Aria T'Loak."

Ashley walked a pace behind Shepard. Up ahead she could see a batarian – hopefully, that was Bray, the one who was supposed to take them to Aria T'Loak. Ashley didn't know what Aria's message held, but Shepard said it was about the Council.

They were a strange pair right now, Ashley knew. Shepard was still in her armor, though she'd taken off her helmet and stowed all her weapons tight. It was conspicuous, but what was she going to do? She'd just fought a ground war through the Citadel half an hour ago. It wasn't like she had a uniform handy, and the space-safe compression suit under the armor was even weirder to be walking around in.

So Ashley just walked next to her hulking commander in her own uniform, the cut on her shoulder slathered in medigel and bandaged and feeling better already. Liara had always been good at these field dressings.

They reached the batarian and Shepard cut to the chase. "Where's Aria?"

He merely nodded behind them, and they turned to see a private car hovering where a moment before there had been nothing. The door opened to reveal Aria facing two empty seats.

Shepard nodded and stepped in, somehow managing to fit the bulk of her armor into a normal-sized seat.

"Aria," she said as Ashley took her own seat, next to Shepard and facing Aria. "How dramatic."

"You're the one looking far too conspicuous," Aria said flatly. "There are too many eyes and ears in Purgatory. Plus I hate that place."

Shepard just inclined her head. The car began moving before the door was even fully closed.

Aria gave Ashley a once-over. She could feel Aria judging her. "Why did you bring the other human Spectre with you?"

"She's my Executive Officer and the only other Spectre on the station. You said it was about the Council." Shepard offered no other explanation.

Ashley, meanwhile, was stunned. XO? They hadn't even talked about it! She'd just had a gun on Shepard and now Shepard was sure Ashley should be her XO?!

Aria narrowed her eyes, but settled into her seat. "So you would've told her about our conversation anyway. Fine."

"So what's this about?"

Aria raised a tattooed eyebrow. "I know where the Council is."

Ashley sat straight up with this information. "Wh-"

Shepard put her hand out across Ashley's chest. Ashley turned to see Shepard shaking her head. She settled back. Shepard was the one with a rapport with the crime lord in front of her. Ashley was just here to have Shepard's back.

Shepard spoke next. "How do you know the Council is missing?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is Udina is dead and Valern is on the station but he's a useless shit without the other two. You need the asari and turian councilors for this war. They're on Omega."

"And you want to get Omega back." Shepard nodded. "All right. Where should the Normandy meet you?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. I have my own small army to get onto the station. I need you because once we're actually on the station, it's a ground war. I have no experience in that. I don't trust anyone I've hired to lead something like that. I want you. We can help each other, Shepard. It's mutually beneficial."

Shepard considered Aria with narrowed eyes for a moment. "I could call in the Alliance, take the station that way."

Aria just sighed. "You can't spare the ships," she said. "And nobody knows Omega like I do."

Shepard took a deep breath, considering Aria for a moment. "What's the catch?"

Aria looked directly at Ashley. "I have... objections to the company you keep. You'll need to leave the Normandy and her crew behind."

Ashley almost burst out again. No way Shepard would agree to that! No way could she!

"I want one of my own with me. Someone I can trust."

Ashley turned wide eyes on Shepard. "What?"

Aria and Shepard both ignored her.

"Not her," Aria said after a moment, inclining her chin at Ashley.

"No," Shepard agreed. "I want my communications officer with us."

Aria lifted a tattooed brow. "Your comms officer?"

"Yes. She's the best."

Aria shrugged. "All right. What do I care about a desk jockey? Bray will give you the coordinates. Meet us there in a shuttle. If the Normandy shows up, the deal's off and I'll take Omega on my own. No guarantee the Council will survive."

Shepard nodded. "Deal."

Ashley opened her mouth. "I-"

"Stow it, Williams," Shepard said. Ashley literally bit back what she was going to say and settled in her seat again, frowning and glaring at Aria. She felt like a scolded child.

The car came to a halt a moment later, the door opened, and Shepard was only a little awkward getting out in all her armor. Ashley followed, waiting for the car to leave before laying into Shepard.

"Miriam, what the fuck?! You asked for Sam?! Why not Garrus or Liara or, I don't know, anyone with combat experience?!"

Shepard pursed her lips and looked around. "Lower your voice, Ashley."

That only pissed Ashley off more, but she obeyed. Shepard was right. "What. The. Fuck. Miriam!" she hissed.

Shepard just sighed. "What do you want me to do, Ash? Not take any help? Aria wouldn't allow Liara or Garrus. They've got history with her. Anyone else I could put on the ground with us would be a no-go. She'll only interact with me. You saw her in there. She didn't even talk to you directly. But she didn't give a shit about a non-com."

Ashley was quiet for a minute. Shepard was right. She needed help, but Aria wouldn't have accepted anyone she had to interact with. She barely tolerated Ashley's cut-off retorts.

Ashley sighed. "Okay. I get it. But I wish you'd talked to me before picking my fiancée."

"This isn't about you, Ash."

Ashley furrowed her brows. "What do you mean? I don't get to have feelings about this?"

"Traynor's the best and I want the best. She is the reason my team does well. She gets me intel and reroutes me when I need it. She can program and hack into communications, monitor code, fight viruses, and keeps an eye on the area map for additional comms tags for me. She even found me a way out of some tunnels using my fucking drone when we were on Tuchanka. Have you met a communications officer who can do all that shit? That's easily a team of three people's jobs, right there. It's not about you and your permission, Ash. She's not here for you to permit to do anything. It's about her being the best at the job that I need her to do for me."

Ashley opened her mouth, then closed it. "Damn. Fuck. Okay. I get it. It's not about me. It's about the mission." She sighed, then smirked. "Sounds like you need to promote that girl."

Shepard deflated from her defensive posture."You're not wrong." She sighed. "Come on. Let's get back on the ship and tell her. You want me to do it?"

Ashley shook her head. "Let me."

"All right." A beat, then, "Sorry you don't get to have any private time before I whisk her away."

Ashley sighed dramatically. "Cock blocker."

"Whatever. I'll get you two a private room on the ship somehow when we're back."

Ashley genuinely perked up at that. "Fucking deal."

Samantha paced.

"You're not fooling anyone, Sam," Joker said from the cockpit.

Sam sighed. "I know. But what else am I supposed to do? Shepard and Ashley are in a secret meeting and I'm worried."

"Well, it looks like Shepard has a message. Why don't you come check it here?"

Sam look to where he pointed and nodded. It was a good idea, something to ease the tension building inside of her. She moved to the spot EDI often parked her mobile platform and entered her credentials. Hers and Shepard's messages popped up, and there at the top, she could see Admiral Hackett's ID tag. The subject read, "LC Williams assigned to the Normandy."

"Well, that's a relief," Sam breathed to herself.

She then heard the hatch to the dock open, and she was on her feet the next moment, practically flying to the door. The inner door opened after a few moments of decom, revealing an armored Shepard and a very dirty and haggard-looking Ashley Williams.

"Ashley!"

"Sam!"

Sam was in Ashley's arms as soon as Shepard cleared out of the way. They got a hug and a rough kiss in before Shepard was coughing behind them.

"Come on," Ashley said, an unapologetic smile on her face. "Don't want to gather a crowd."

Sam's face flushed, but she did not let go of Ashley's hand as they moved away from the hatch.

"Baby, we need to talk," Ashley said quietly, the smile evening out. "Privately. Got anywhere we can go?"

"Yes," Sam nodded, and she pulled Ashley to the lift so they could hop on with Shepard, who was heading down to the armory to finally get her armor and weapons in order.

They got off on the engineering deck, and Sam led Ashley to the under-deck with the cot.

She pulled Ashley into a hug immediately. "I cannot express how good you feel," Sam said. She didn't even mind the smell of singed fabric and sweat.

I have never once minded anything about this woman's sweat...

Ashley hummed in agreement. "God, I wanna just..."

"Tear my clothes off and ravish me where I stand?" Sam offered, pulling back with a brow raised in suggestion.

Ashley chuckled, looking down at her with a smile. "Despite everything that's happened, yeah."

Sam wasn't fooled, however. "Your brows are furrowed, Ashley. What's going on? We're going to find your family and you'll get them back."

"That's the thing, baby. I'm not doing shit. But you just got volunteered to help Miriam and Aria T'Loak take back Omega from Cerberus."

Samantha worked her jaw for a moment, unable to quite process what on earth Ashley was saying. "I- what?!"

Ashley let go and wandered over to the cot, sitting on it's edge and groaning, her hand on her shoulder. Only now did Sam notice the thin bandages through the long tear in Ashley's shirt.

I didn't realize she'd been shot. Like, really, truly shot. I'm a terrible girlfriend. Fiancée. Whatever.

There was kind of a lot going on, Sammy. Still is. You're helping take back Omega, whatever the hell that means.

"Will your shoulder be all right?" Sam said, going to Ashley's side and brushing her fingers over the spot.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'll be fine. I've had much worse. Honestly, the shield blowing out hurt more than the bullet grazing me." She took a deep breath, held it a moment, then blew it out. She met Sam's eyes. "So Omega."

"Omega." Sam leaned against the work table behind her, crossing her arms. "Mind explaining what you're going on about?"

Ashley sighed, scrubbing a hand through her mussed hair. "Mir took me with her to meet with Aria. I didn't really participate in the meeting – she doesn't 'like the company' Miriam keeps – but I heard everything. Cerberus has Omega, their foothold in the Terminus System. That makes it the closest, most defensible place they could retreat to with the Council on short notice. Aria wants Omega back, and we need the Council back. Mutually beneficial."

"That all makes sense," Samantha said, "but how am I involved?"

"Aria only wanted Shepard. Miriam wanted someone with her, but she couldn't have me." Ashley's hands curled into fists. "Or anyone else who usually accompanies her on the ground. But she did allow Shepard one request: you. Says you're the best."

Sam frowned. "I suppose I ought to be flattered..."

"Sam, it's dangerous. But you protected us from the Collectors. You're not entirely without experience. She just wants you on the flagship, organizing her comms and keeping her safe like you do from the Normandy."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "And how are you okay with this?"

"I'm not, really." Ashley sighed, turning sad eyes up on Sam. "But I need to trust Miriam. And I do. If nothing else, I learned that today."

Sam moved to sit next to Ashley. "Well. I suppose I can organize her communications there just as well as I can here. It's just a different ship, right?"

Ashley nodded. "Um. One more thing. The info Aria gave Miriam says some civvie and C-Sec prisoners were taken, too. There's a good chance our family is with that group."

Sam inhaled sharply. "Our family," she echoed.

Ashley smiled. "Yeah. Soon to be." She picked up Sam's hand, fingering the ring there.

Sam smiled back, but shook her head. "Tim was on-duty during the attack. He survived. I spoke with him, and while he's injured, he's okay." She felt a bit guilty about this but she continued. "So it really is your family."

"Our family," Ashley insisted. Then she blew out her breath, her escaped hair rising with it. "I'm so glad Tim is okay. But fuck Cerberus."

Sam nodded. "How long until I need to meet with Shepard?"

"Me and Miriam are agreed you go in armor, not your uniform. You've got about a half hour before James'll have something ready for you," Ashley said.

"All right. Well." Sam turned, straddling Ashley's lap in one smooth movement. "Let's not waste it, then, shall we?"

Ashley raised an eyebrow, but settled her hands on Samantha's hips. "Reaffirming life and all that?"

Sam leaned closer. "Something like that."

Then her lips were on Ashley's and she stopped thinking for the first time in hours.