Fucking cold. Fucking lying, corrupt administrator. Fucking rachni. Fucking geth. Fucking brainwashed asari matriarch.

Lauren glared at her datapad at what she had written for her report on Noveria. This whole mission was turning into a big convoluted mess. The only thing she knew was they had to find the Mu Relay, wherever the hell that was.

She rubbed her eyes as her thoughts turned to Liara. Bringing her along to witness the death of her mother by the hand of her so-called friends wasn't such a great idea. Lauren's rational brain knew that Benezia herself said she was too far gone to be saved, but it didn't make the emotional part feel any better about killing her. If the roles had been reversed, Lauren probably would have turned on anyone who laid a finger on either of her parents. Liara just seemed...quiet. Asari must really lose contact with their parents. I guess long lives will let you do that without too much distress, she reasoned.

The door to her quarters opened, and Kaidan entered. Lauren sighed, not really ready to debrief just yet. "Hey Kaidan," she said dully.

"Hey..." His eyes squinted in concern. "You ok?"

"Not really, if you want the honest truth."

Kaidan sat on the couch. "Lay it on me."

"You were there, Kaidan. We killed the poor girl's mother!" Lauren's eyes had suddenly filled with tears and she hated them.

His face betrayed no sign of emotion. "You're right. I was there, and first of all, she's older than both of us put together. But you did the right thing, Lauren. Benezia herself said she couldn't stop the voices inside. It was her or us...including Liara. I think Liara knew what could happen down there."

"Yeah, we all did. This is a bloody business. It always has been. I don't know why this is bothering me so much," Lauren confessed.

"I think you care...about your crew," Kaidan said, adding the last phrase quickly. "It's not a bad quality for a commander to have. Might be a little more painful though."

Lauren blew a hard breath out between her lips, while Kaidan continued. "Now do you have your report ready for the Council?"

"Yeah, here." She shoved the datapad at Kaidan. His brows drew together as he read the few words Lauren had written.

"This isn't quite proper formatting for the report," he said dryly. "You need to at least have full sentences. There were lots of fucking geth, fucking rachni, and one brainwashed asari matriarch. It was very fucking cold and Anoleis was a fucking corrupt administrator, but he was taken into custody by Agent Gianna Parasini." By the end of his corrections, both of them were smiling.

"Thanks Kaidan," Lauren chuckled. "I guess I'm worrying about the wrong things here. We need to find out where this Mu Relay is and find the Conduit before Saren does. But I do feel badly for Liara..."

"So go talk to her," Kaidan offered. As the words came out of his mouth, a surge of jealousy rose inside him.

"You're right...maybe she is ready to talk now."

Kaidan held up the datapad. "I guess I'll just fix this for you and send it off. I'm sure the Council will want to talk with you soon after, so be ready."

"Thanks again, Kaidan. You are unbelievably great." She laid an impulsive, but chaste, kiss on his cheek as she walked out of the quarters to head to the back medbay room where Liara had taken up residence.

Sighing, Kaidan walked out and prepared himself a cup of coffee in the mess then slumped down into one of the chairs at the large table. He had a job in front of him, essentially writing the entire report himself and make it not sound exactly the same as his own report that he had already written.

So much for not getting your emotions involved while on duty, Kaidan.

"Hey there...you look happy," Ashley said as she approached with her own mug. "You know, I've always had groundside assignments, and I dreamed of working on a ship, but this isn't quite how I pictured it. Thought there'd be more partying."

Kaidan smiled. "Never had much time for that on the ship assignments I've been on. Too much shit going down."

"Oh, it couldn't be that bad," scoffed Ashley. "But I imagine that you and baby Skipper got into all kinds of shenanigans, and you promised to tell me about it. I want to know how all this 'just friends' thing got started, and I've got time now." She raised her eyebrow expectantly.

"I've got to get this report done," protested Kaidan.

Ashley grabbed the pad from his hands and read Lauren's yet-unedited report. Her face crinkled into laughter. "This sounds about right! I think you should leave it like it is. It's only the Council anyway. I mean, she's a Spectre, for God's sake. She can write and send what she damn well pleases." Placing the pad on the table, she looked back at Kaidan. "Now you have time too."

"Have you ever heard of Conatix?" started Kaidan.

"I think so, but didn't they go out of business years ago?" answered Ashley.

"Well, now you can know why..."

x-X-x

Lauren walked past Dr. Chakwas as she made her way through the medbay. "Can I help you, Commander?" the doctor said.

"Oh, no. I'm going to check on Liara. I'm sure you heard about what happened down on Noveria."

"Yes, tragic really. Asari matriarchs are so respected in the galaxy," said Chakwas sympathetically. "Go on, Commander, but I wouldn't linger. Grief is different for different species."

Lauren nodded as the door opened to the back room. Liara sat quietly facing a console, her face hidden from view.

"Liara?" Lauren said quietly.

"Oh, Lauren," the asari said just as quietly, but with a smile on her face. "Is there something you need?"

"Uh, n-no," Lauren stuttered. "I was here to see if you were ok...after everything...your mother."

Liara stood and her smile was strong. "I'll be fine. I hadn't spoken to my mother in years, which is not unusual for asari. We have a strong bond, but it isn't always through communication. It's hard to explain, but you needn't worry for me. I know the person we saw on Noveria was very little of the mother that I knew. Saren's influence was too great and swallowed her being. I'm choosing to remember the mother that I know from my younger years."

Lauren looked down sheepishly. "You don't hold any grudges, I hope?"

"For killing my mother?" Liara said plainly. "Not at all. I threw a few warp fields at her myself. It could have been any of us."

Scratching her brow, Lauren couldn't hide her mild look of shock at Liara's casual demeanor. "Well, I never got to say I'm sorry...indulge a human who doesn't know much about asari." Lauren let her face turn up in a slight smile.

Liara giggled. "I've never really spent much time with your kind, and I must admit, that's what I was studying just now...human interactions. It's fascinating!"

"I guess so. Are we really that different?"

"Oh my, yes...and after joining with your mind...well, you are particularly interesting."

Lauren suddenly felt awkward. "Thanks, I guess?"

"I mean it as a compliment. If this isn't too forward, I'd like to get to know you better. I know you said we were heading back to the Citadel for a few days. Maybe we could have dinner?"

Liara's proposition caught Lauren more off guard than her attitude about her mother's death had. "Um, sure..."

"Great!" said Liara, taking Lauren's hand into her own. "This will be wonderful. Now, if you'll excuse me...I have a lot more reading to do."

Walking back out of the medbay, Lauren had the look of someone caught in the crosshairs of a sniper. In the mess, she saw Kaidan and Ashley deep in a private conversation. A small pang of jealousy hit her heart. She walked past the pair without saying a word and entered her quarters.

"It's ok for him to have other interests," she said to her console as she started it up. "There's no way that any of that should ever happen between us. I'm his commanding officer." She turned and looked at the closed door to her quarters and imagined the conversing pair just outside. "But I'm a commander who cares..."