Chapter Sixteen – Hangover

"He had me on the ground for over ten minutes!"

"Don't exaggerate, it can't have been more than ninety seconds."

"Still long enough for you to have shot him before he nearly killed me!"

"We were using stun rounds."

"Don't get clever with me babe, I never lose an argument."

"I was simply waiting for the opportune moment, I had to line up the correct shot or I might have hit you instead."

"You were waiting for the last second just to piss me off! I know you did it on purpose!"

Jules licked the salty grime from her lips and grimaced under the tight humidity in the air as she listened to the continued bickering between Maia and Kyla behind her. The close heat was still suffocating and she found herself panting as she shifted the deadweight of Egret's unconcoious body in her arms and tried to hoist her into a more comfortable position to carry.

Normally she might have used biotics to help her but the fight with Aria had put a hell of a strain on her implant. She could still feel the heat coursing through it at the back of her neck and she could already hear the lecture Rhys was going to give her when they got back.

Maia had re-joined the group as they made their way through the quarry towards the exit and Kyla had turned on her almost immediately, berating her seemingly just for the fun of it. Jules couldn't help being reminded of Jack and Miranda and found herself smiling grimly.

Among the others the mood was generally light. Lesha and Rhea were teasing Jonan who had apparently fallen over at some point during the battle and had to be rescued by Rhea, something he was strongly denying – apparently it had all been part of his master plan to take down Erecleia. Needless to say, the girls didn't seem convinced.

Jules and Liara had stayed quiet as they led the squad through the thick undergrowth, though Liara kept casting her thoughtful sideways glances. There were several times she sensed Liara was about to offer to carry Egret instead but each time she seemed to think better of it and remained silent.

"You didn't have to carry her," she said at last as she ducked under an overhanging branch and swiped away a swarm of insects, "the medics would have looked after her like they will the others."

"She's my squad member," Jules replied through gritted teeth, "when was the last time I left someone behind if I could help it?"

Liara paused to hold back a mass of fern leaves, allowing Jules to go ahead of her. The tips of the leaves tickled against the sweat on her skin and she shuddered as she resisted the urge to grumble – she really did hate the heat.

As she moved forward, she briefly lost her footing and slid a short distance down a drop she hadn't even seen. There was a heavy splash and she found herself knee-deep in murky, green water; the hum of amphibian life smothered all other sound and flies were dancing across the surface of the still pond. She could feel the water seeping in through the soles of her shoes and supressed a sigh as she continued.

None of the squad seemed to care about getting their feet wet and as they waded clumsily through the water the banter and the squabbling continued. Kyla still wasn't willing to back down from her argument with Maia despite the fact that the matriarch had calm but scathing comebacks for every insult directed at her. Eventually Kyla resorted to a particularly low comment about Maia's age which was followed by a loud splash.

The whole squad stopped and turned to see Kyla sitting neck-high in the water, looking slightly bewildered as she wiped the drops from her eyes and stared at Maia incredulously, "You tripped me up!" she accused indignantly. Maia simply shrugged.

"Paranoid as well as clumsy? Perhaps if you took more care in the future you wouldn't be prone to so many accidents."

Jules watched the rage boiling on Kyla's face and supressed a smile.

"Do you think those two will end up in the same squad?" Liara asked quietly. Jules smirked.

"If they do, I pity their commander."

They waded the rest of the way through water and then through another half-mile of waist high leaves until they finally emerged from the quarry into the heat of the afternoon sun. It had been spring back when they first arrived in Rinoka and by now summer had swept in, bringing with it clear skies and scorching sunlight.

It was hotter out of the shade of the quarry and Jules winced beneath the sun's rays and picked up her pace as she made for the medical station, which was inside a prefab hut by the quarry's entrance. She elbowed her way through the door and found Rhys waiting for her.

The quarian was sitting on a stool by an empty medical bed, chewing absently on the end of some kind of medical instrument as he frowned at something on the interface of his omni-tool. As Jules got closer she saw it was a crossword.

He looked up as she approached, his golden eyes glowing intently as his face split into a wide smile, "Ah!" he greeted her eagerly and his gaze fell on Egret, "First casualty? Excellent! Throw her down, let's have a look at her," he patted the bed and hopped off the stool, closing the crossword and pulling up his medical scanning software instead.

Jules eased Egret gently onto the bed as the others piled in through the door behind her; Rhys looked up to give them a cursory glance, "Anything that needs my immediate attention? No? Take a seat then," he gestured to a line of chairs along the opposite wall, "I'll be with you all in a moment."

Jules stayed by the bed as Rhys began his scans, humming cheerfully to himself as he worked. Jules didn't fail to notice the satisfied smile that had settled on his face and she raised an eyebrow, "I'd almost think you've been looking forward to this, Rhys."

He gave her a smooth, alien smile and his eyes glowed, "I don't enjoy seeing you all get injured," he assured her, "but it is nice to have something to do," he finished his scans and shut off the interface, "she's fine, just stunned. What happened?"

"She let her guard down," Jules replied simply.

"She'll regret that, those stun rounds leave you with a nasty headache. I'm under orders not to offer the stun victims any pain relief, apparently they'll learn their lesson better that way," he shook his head as though he didn't agree, but Jules did. If Egret had hesitated like that in a real battle she would probably be dead; a headache seemed a small price to pay in comparison.

She didn't say anything though as Rhys brought his omni-tool back up and began scanning her instead, "Ah, I see you've been pushing your biotic implant to its limits again," he chided her gently, "haven't we discussed this?"

"Blame Aria," Jules told him, "that woman is a powerhouse, I thought we'd never get her barrier down."

"Did you stun her?" he asked idly.

Jules nodded, "Point blank range."

"Ouch. I look forward to being very far away when she wakes up," Jules smiled as Rhys finished scanning her, "you're fine too, sit and rest for a while and I'll see to the others. Jonan, that arm looks nasty, I'll treat you first."

Rhys ushered the turian towards him and Jules left them to it. She wandered gingerly over to Liara and eased herself down into the chair beside her, breathing out steadily as she settled. Her whole body ached pleasantly from the battle, she had forgotten what coming down off an adrenaline high was like. She remembered why she used to enjoy it.

"Glad to be back in action again?" Liara asked softly and Jules turned to see the asari leaning back in her chair, her eyelids heavy and her eyes sparkling. She looked tired, but a contented kind of tired and there was a notably sly edge to her smile.

"Oh yeah," Jules replied grimly, leaning back and closing her eyes, "I've missed the aches and the pains and the near brushes with death."

"You're trying to sound sarcastic," Liara murmured, "but I know every word is true," she felt Liara lean in closer to her, felt the uncomfortably warm prickle of her breath as she added: "you look good."

Jules frowned and opened her eyes find Liara's face was unexpectedly close to her own, "I'm covered in dirt and sweat," she replied sceptically.

Liara's eyes wandered down her body and then back again, "Yes," she agreed with a smile that made Jules falter.

She was saved from having to reply by the doors to the med station crashing open, swiftly followed by a flurry of noise and activity as the rest of the medical staff swarmed inside, bringing with them the other two squads, all unconcoious and on stretchers.

As they set about loading them onto the beds, Rhys paused and looked up from Jonan's arm to watch, before turning back to Jules with a raised eyebrow, "Heavens, you really have been busy, haven't you?"

Jules shrugged innocently.

The stun rounds were beginning to wear off on some of them, Grunt was already stirring and saying something about never drinking again. Even if his hangover had been caused by alcohol, Jules knew that wasn't a resolution he would ever stick to.

Then her attention was drawn by another voice.

"Shit, what the fuck happened to my head?" Aria was mumbling groggily as three asari medics fussed around her. For a moment she seemed to be half-heartedly fighting off their attempts to help her before she suddenly sat bolt upright and slapped one of them away from her so hard the medic squealed and fell backwards into one of the others.

Aria ignored her completely as she searched the room, her eyes flashing hungrily, "Where is she?" she demanded, glancing around feverishly before she finally spotted Jules and her brow hardened sharply, "SHEPARD!" she yelled, kicking her way off the bed and past the medics before charging at her like a heat-seeking missile, fists clenched, teeth bared and lilac eyes glinting dangerously.

Jules and Liara both stood, Liara had one hand around Jules' arm and Jules could feel her channelling her biotics as she settled into a fighting stance. Aria marched right up to her, stopping only when their faces were an inch apart. The room fell dead silent around them but Jules didn't flinch. The blood was pounding through her veins but she kept her expression as unreadable as possible as she stared into Aria's simmering eyes.

Then, after a moment, Aria's breathing steadied and she smirked, "Nice shot."

All around them their audience exchanged uncertain glances and began murmuring hesitantly to each other. It was clear they were expecting a fight but Jules wasn't in the mood to give them one.

"Thanks," she replied simply.

"You've got some fucking nerve, do you know that?" Aria added but there was no anger behind the statement. She almost seemed impressed.

"Hmm," Jules considered for a moment, "I'll take that as a compliment. How's the headache."

"Hurts like hell, but I've had worse hangovers," she sniffed and then looked about the room as though she had only just realised that everyone in it was watching them. Her face hardened again, "what the fuck are you lot looking at?" she demanded, prompting everyone to hurriedly look away again, "we'll talk later, Shepard," she muttered, turning away and clicking her fingers towards Rhys, "get me some fucking pain killers."

"Oh, actually we're under orders not to-" as Aria glared at him, Rhys quickly trailed off and cleared his throat, "right, pain killers coming right up."

…

Slowly, over the course of the next hour, the stun victims came round one by one. Cuts and scratches were patched up by the medics and before long they were being bundled into air-conditioned transports and were on their way back to the city.

Jules' squad were all in the same car. Rhea, Lesha and Jonan were talking and laughing loudly while the others stayed mostly silent. Maia appeared to be meditating – or possibly dozing – while Kyla sulked quietly and Egret sat with her head in her hands, wincing at every jolt of the car or barked laugh from Jonan.

Jules watched her sympathetically. She was well trained but not all that experienced and despite her skill she seemed conflicted when it came to actually hurting people. Even in the warehouse she had waited until she was completely cornered before she had retaliated against her attackers.

Jules had to remind herself just how young Egret was by asari standards. She hadn't even reached her first century yet and she was already bonded to someone – someone who was likely to live as long as she did.

That was another thing that Jules found herself wondering about.

She and Liara had been together on and off for two centuries and it was only a few decades ago that she had finally realised she would never want to be with anyone else. Considering how much they had lived through together and how much it had damaged them both she didn't suppose either of them ever could be with anyone else anyway.

But Egret seemed to have made that decision about Grunt in only a few years. It wasn't like she was going to outlive Grunt and move on to someone else. A millennium was a very long time, could she really look ahead that far and know she still wanted to be with Grunt when she was a matriarch? If the answer was yes then it either meant that she was incredibly sure of herself or incredibly naïve. She knew which it was in Grunt's case but with Egret she wasn't so sure.

They finally reached the headquarters and stepped out of the car one by one, stretching their newly sore muscles before moving slowly into the building. There were a few journalists hanging around hoping to get some pictures of them but the media attention had lulled since Jules' first arrival. Apparently she was already old news.

They found Tevos waiting for them in reception, smiling welcomingly, "I assume the training session was useful?" she asked as Jules approached, "Did you learn anything?"

"A few things," she replied, "mainly that you need a new supplier for our waterproof boots, they're not as waterproof as advertised," she chucked the soaked boots she was carrying – having changed into dry shoes in the car – at the matriarch and Tevos squealed slightly as she caught them, splattering the front of her dress with mud and water.

She composed herself with a smile and held them out at arm's length until a helpful staff member was kind enough to take them from her, "I'll see to it as soon as possible," she said politely, Jules could hear several of the squad sniggering behind her.

"And we found out who would win in a fight between Shepard and Aria," Grunt added with a chuckle as he lumbering in behind her, "people have been betting on that for decades, can't believe I missed it."

Jules watched Tevos' face drop as she looked between her and Aria, "You fought each other?"

"We were on opposite sides," Jules reminded her, "but don't worry, we love each other really."

"Don't push your luck," Aria muttered, massaging her temples. Apparently Rhys' pain killers had barely taken the edge off.

"Ah, Commander Shepard!" Director Damon's voice cut through their conversation and was met with a mixture of reactions. Tevos turned to smile at him calmly, Grunt grunted and Aria swore just loudly enough for the director to hear her.

However, as Jules turned to see him walking towards her, she noticed he was looking only at her while smiling charmingly as usual.

His visits to the headquarters were becoming a regular thing and Jules had noticed that there seemed to be more of the HTA's security staff wandering the corridors each day, there were at least ten of them standing guard in reception right now and four more outside the entrance.

"I'm glad you're back, Commander," Damon smiled smoothly as he came to stand in front of her, hands clasped behind his back, "I thought perhaps we could catch up over coffee, it's been a few weeks since we last spoke."

Jules openly rolled her eyes. It didn't matter how many times she told him not to call her 'Commander' he never took the hint.

"Is there something particular you wanted to talk about?" she asked expectantly, particularly aware of Liara beside her who had stiffened in annoyance. There was something about Damon that seemed to set the asari's teeth on edge.

"No," he smiled, "I just popped in to update Matriarch Tevos on our progress in tracking down Erika Jensen and-"

"Have you caught her yet?" Jules cut him off.

"Well, no-"

"Then we have nothing to discuss," she replied bluntly. All she wanted to do right now was get back to her room, get out of her grimy armour and jump into a nice cool shower and she really didn't have the patience to deal with politicians.

For a moment Damon's face fell and his dazzling eyes narrowed. Then in a blink he was back and smiling broadly again.

"Of course."

He moved aside and Jules swept past him, taking Liara by the arm before anyone else could waylay them. As they stepped into one of the elevators she turned to see Damon was still watching her, blue eyes piercingly bright before the doors closed and he disappeared from view.

"God he's persistent," she muttered darkly. Over the past few months he had ambushed her several times and their meetings always went the same way: flirting and schmoozing followed by Damon subtly trying to get details about the project out of her before finally trying to recruit her into the HTA. Always she refused.

She may have helped to found the original HTA but she hardly recognised them now. Ironically she actually quite liked Damon, he was good company most of the time. If it wasn't for the fact that she disagreed with most of his principles and he was obviously trying to use her in the HTA's plans – whatever they were – she would probably even want him as a friend.

Liara wasn't as charitable. She had taken an instant disliking to him and had refused to back down from it, often watching him with those cold stares of hers that even Jules was scared of. She wasn't entirely sure what it was that Liara found so offensive about him but she had learned to trust the asari's instincts in the past.

When they reached the right floor and stepped out, they found HTA security guarding the corridor. Jules had been assured they were there for her protection but frankly she just found them a bit creepy. She could feel their eyes on her all the way back to their room and she was almost surprised not to find a guard posted outside their door when they got there.

When they finally entered the familiar, slightly cluttered room, filled with piles of Liara's datapads, Jules' clothes – which she never picked up – Jules slammed the door shut, locked it and breathed a heavy sigh.

"I need a shower," she muttered, the layer of grime between her skin and her clothes was starting to prickle uncomfortably and her hair itched with sweat.

"So do I," Liara agreed, "come on."

Before Jules could question or comment, Liara had breezed past her, snatched her by the hand and dragged her towards the bathroom.

…

Egret had slipped away from reception and found a quiet, empty room away from the others.

Somewhere she could think without Kyla smirking at her or Jonan tutting and shaking his head. Even Grunt had chuckled when he heard that she had hesitated instead of shooting him. Was it really so strange that she didn't want to turn a gun on the man she loved?

Sometimes she thought everyone else on this project must be complete lunatics.

She sighed heavily and then winced as her head thudded painfully from the inside. She was being forced to sit as still as possible with her eyes clamped shut to keep out the light. The slightest tilt of her head seemed to make her entire brain scream in agony and keeping her breathing steady was about the only thing holding back the nausea in her stomach.

Really, the last thing she needed was for someone to burst loudly through the door behind her, yell: "Here you are!" and then waltz over and slap her hard on the shoulder. When this happened she winced sharply and had to cover her mouth as she narrowly avoided throwing up.

"Oh dear," she heard Kyla chuckle. Of course it would be Kyla. After taking a second to recover, she cautiously opened her eyes and squinted at the cocky face that greeted her, "if you feel half as bad as you look babe then you have my sympathy. Those stun rounds give you a worse hangover than a whole bottle of ryncol, don't they?"

Egret grimaced and wondered if she could open her mouth without being sick. She decided to risk it, "I wouldn't know."

"Never drunk ryncol, huh?" Kyla made a face and nodded, "Know what? I believe that of you," she kicked a chair into place opposite Egret, making her wince as the legs scraped noisily against the floor. As she sat she leaned forwards, rested her elbows on her knees and ducked her head to catch Egret's eye, "I won't pretend you don't deserve it. I mean, c'mon babe, he was wide open, you could have taken him down easily."

Egret glared, partly from annoyance and partly because she wasn't actually capable of opening her eyes fully yet, "Grunt is my bondmate," she explained for the hundredth time, "I couldn't just shoot him."

"He was an enemy," Kyla corrected her, "and if you hesitated with him when we were only using stun rounds, I wonder what else you'll get squeamish about. What if you have to kill a child?"

"What?" Egret demanded, then regretted it as her own voice made her head pound, "Why would I have to kill a child?"

"Because they're pointing a gun at you," Kyla shrugged as though the answer were obvious, "if asari space is run by gangs and criminals I doubt the kids growing up there have any fancy schools to go to, what else do you think they're going to get up to?"

For a moment Egret just stared at her. It was always hard to tell whether Kyla was being serious or not, she'd actually never been able to work out if Kyla was ever serious. She was smirking as usual but there was something else glittering in her dark eyes.

"Trust me, babe, if it's a choice between you or them, always save yourself, regardless of who they are. Do you think Shepard wants people who hesitate like that?" Egret didn't know how to respond to that so instead she waited until Kyla's smirk broke into a grin and she stood, "here," she offered her a small bottle of something, "for the hangover," with that she sauntered back towards the door and left.

Egret didn't open the bottle. She had a strong suspicion that whatever it was, it probably wasn't medically approved.

…

Jules started as she was pushed back under the stream of cool water until her bare shoulders hit the wall of the shower. Liara was on her before she could think, fingers grasped into the tangled strands of her hair as the water began to soak through them. She had hungrily stripped them both out of their armour in seconds and now her mouth was at Jules' neck, her teeth grazed the skin as she kissed her urgently, like she wanted to taste the sweat and the water and the grime of the battle.

"Liara, what-"

"Be quiet," Liara pulled away to cut her off before forcing their mouths together, clumsy and desperate. She dug her fingers into Jules' thigh, hooking her leg up around her. As she broke the kiss briefly, Jules opened her mouth to speak again but Liara silenced her with a look.

"Be quiet," she warned again, before delving back in.

…

A while later, they lay together on the bedsheets. Jules' hair was still damp and tousled from the shower and a new sheen of sweat covered her skin, not from the battle this time.

Liara lay across her, her head against her chest and her hand grasping at her waist. The frantic lust that had overcome them had been sated – several times over – and had given way to the fatigue of the battle, leaving them both weary and slightly dazed.

Jules wondered idly how Liara could still surprise her after all this time. She certainly hadn't expected to be pounced on like a cat in heat – not that she was complaining. She gazed down at the woman on top of her and considered her thoughtfully.

"You okay?" she asked quietly, running her fingers gently across Liara's back and watching as the asari shuddered and smiled.

"Yes," she replied, nuzzling herself closer against Jules' body before glancing up at her, almost tentatively, "you?"

"Me?" Jules pretended to look surprised, "Oh never better… might need another shower..."

Liara breathed out a laugh and smiled against Jules' skin, "I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Seriously though," Jules continued, "you are alright? I just wasn't expecting you to be quite so… affectionate."

"I'm always affectionate."

"This felt different," Jules pressed. It had felt like after the war when they had used lust and passion to block out the grim realities of the post-war world. Or after the last of the squad had died and they had been left facing a very different future. Sex was always a good distraction when you were avoiding something you didn't want to think about.

Liara's eyes were on her, glittering thoughtfully as she seemed to consider whether to share her thoughts or not, "We have a new ship," she began, slowly, "a new mission, soon we'll have a new squad. I keep thinking of the old days, the old squad."

"Hard not to," Jules agreed.

"You know I don't like to dwell on it much."

"Unlike me."

"But it almost feels like we're trying to replace them."

"And not quite succeeding."

"It's not good to look back."

"But at the same time, letting go of the past feels too much like forgetting it ever happened."

Liara sighed heavily, "I miss them, Jules."

"Yeah. Me too."

They fell into silence for a time and Jules' thoughts drifted to the training session. As much as it brought about mixed feelings, Jules couldn't deny the excitement she felt at putting a new squad together. She had spent a lot of time over the past few months trying to work out who worked best together. She had watched the friendships and the teamwork that was developing and started wondering about who would make the best team.

"What did you think of the battle today?" she asked absently, tracing patterns lazily across Liara's skin.

"I told you, it was good seeing you back in action."

Jules raised an eyebrow, "Evidently. But when you weren't fantasising about me-"

"Fantasising?" Liara protested, raising her head sharply to give Jules a look that made her chuckle.

"What did you think of the others?"

Liara's eyes narrowed for a moment, like she was going to object at having to talk about work but then she relented. She shifted further up Jules' body, folding her arms across Jules' chest and resting her chin on her forearms so that she was looking Jules in the eye.

"Lesha, Rhea and Jonan make a good team," she started simply and Jules nodded, the three of them did work well together, "Kyla's reckless, and unpredictable. Maia's reliable and she respects you and Egret…" she trailed off and frowned.

"Yeah," Jules agreed, "I can't work her out either. What do you think of her and Grunt?" she found herself asking. Liara frowned.

"They… seem happy together," she said carefully, "why? Don't you approve?"

"Do I have the right to an opinion? They're both adults," Liara replied with a quizzical cocking of her brow in a when-has-that-ever-stopped-you sort of way and Jules cleared her throat, "anyway, it's not that. Isn't she a bit young to be bonded to someone?"

"She's not much younger than I was when we first got together."

"That was different, we'd just lived through the war. Besides, I don't remember us making any lifelong commitments to each other back then."

It was true, in the aftermath of the war she and Liara had needed each other in ways they never had before and the few hours that they had snatched together each day had made life bearable.

Their relationship had taken all sorts of twists and turns through the decades as they tried to work out whether they were more friends or lovers. The truth had turned out to be far more complicated and Jules had given up trying to define it.

"Do you think it's possible to fall in love that easily?" she mused distractedly, "In only a few years?"

"I don't think many relationships are as complicated as ours, Jules," Liara told her. Jules had to agree.

"I suppose we've never really done normal, have we? Have we ever even been on a date?"

"One that hasn't involved running and being shot at, you mean?" Liara made a show of thinking about it, "Not that I can remember. Maybe we should try it sometime."

"Do you have any ideas?"

Jules saw the sly flicker of a plan pass through Liara's eyes and instantly regretted asking, "Actually," she smiled, "now you mention it…"

…

Grunt's head hurt.

Worse than a ryncol hangover.

Worse than after a drinking competition with Wrex.

Worse than that time he head-butted a shuttlecraft because… actually he couldn't remember why he'd done that.

Remembering hurt too.

Noise didn't help. Neither did light. Or colour. Or movement.

Egret pacing up and down in front of him, talking frantically about something he was only half keeping up with certainly wasn't helping. Her head was hurting too, making her wince every time she turned too sharply and pinch the bridge of her nose between sentences, grimacing like the headache annoyed her more than it bothered her.

It certainly wasn't stopping her from talking.

"Do you think I've let her down?" she asked, he knew she didn't want an answer and even if he'd tried, she didn't pause to wait for one, "Do you think it was a test? Does she think I'm weak because I wouldn't shoot you? She didn't even talk to me in the car, I bet she thinks I'm a liability now. Do you think she hates me?"

It was only when Grunt realised the steady thudding in his head was no longer being drowned out that he looked up and saw she had stopped to stare at him, apparently expecting an answer this time.

"Course not!" he told her emphatically, then hesitated, "Wait, who are we talking about?"

"Shepard!" she snapped, rolling her eyes and then flinching sharply and clutching her forehead, "Ow."

He smiled sympathetically, "Shepard doesn't hate you."

"She doesn't think I'm competent."

"Has she said that?"

"No."

"Well then," he shrugged, "Shepard doesn't keep her opinions to herself when it comes to stuff like this."

"Then why hasn't she said anything to me?"

Grunt blinked. Egret's purple eyes were staring at him, desperately seeking answers. She was fretting. He hated it when she fretted. She could get herself worked into such a state – usually over nothing at all – and there was never much he could do about it.

He found himself shrugging again, "If you want to know what Shepard thinks of you, why don't you just go and ask her?"

"Ask her?" Egret repeated, like it was the most unlikely solution he could have given her.

"Yeah," he agreed, "right now, just go and see her."

Egret's eyes narrowed. Grunt liked it when she frowned, the way it creased her brow just between her facial markings was strangely adorable. He'd made the mistake of telling Wrex that once, and then had to endure weeks of ridicule from him along with multiple comments about him going soft.

"I can't," she breathed, and for a second Grunt had to remind himself what they had been talking about.

"Course you can, she won't mind."

"But she's Commander Shepard."

Grunt shorted, "Just make sure you don't call her that, you know how tetchy she's gotten about it," that made Egret look scared and Grunt regretted it, "that was a joke. Seriously, just go and talk to her."

She hesitated, waiting for an excuse or a decent reason why that wasn't a good idea. Apparently none presented themselves.

"What do I say?" she asked at last.

"Whatever you want. The first time I talked to Shepard I threw her up against a wall and told her I was going to kill her," he barked a laugh that made his head sting, forcing him to slam his eyes closed until the pain dulled again. When he opened them, he found Egret chewing at the corner of her mouth, staring uneasily into space.

Grunt sighed, "Look. Shepard likes talking. Back on the Normandy we couldn't stop her from bugging us with questions and advice," he grimaced just thinking about it and Egret smiled slightly. Just slightly, but it was better than nothing.

"I think she's changed since then."

"Not that much," Grunt disagreed, "she's a bit grumpier now… and not as much fun… and her hair used to be better. But she's not so different," as Egret's face grew more sceptical, he sighed, "just go and see her."

"Now?"

"Yeah."

"What if she's… busy?"

"Stop stalling Egret, whatever she's doing, she won't mind you interrupting."

…

It turned out that Liara's idea of 'normal' was the pair of them curled up together on the sofa, watching a film like a 'normal' couple. Jules had to admit that this sounded 'normal' on paper, but for some reason it felt surreal.

It might have been because they had never actually done it before. Or perhaps it was because the film in question was a retelling of their fight against Saren over two hundred years ago with so many embellishments it was almost unrecognisable.

It had been Liara's choice, though Jules couldn't begin to fathom why, of all the films in all the galaxy, she had picked this one.

They were wrapped in thin dressing gowns, Jules' hair still tangled and dishevelled as she rested against Liara's side with her legs tucked beneath her.

She was tired after the training session. Really tired, not bored tired or lack-of-proper-food tired. This was a satisfying kind of tired, the kind you earned after a long day's work, the kind she hadn't known in a long time. She was happy to let it wash over her as she nuzzled against Liara's neck, only half paying attention to what was happening on the screen.

"Strange," Liara mused absently as she traced her fingers through Jules' still-damp hair and squinted at a particularly action-filled fight scene set on the Citadel during the final battle, "I don't remember Saren being twenty feet tall or able to spit venom."

Jules snorted softly, "I don't remember me ever being that young or attractive," she scrutinised the actress who was playing her and shook her head, "what's the point of that armour she's wearing? She's got half her skin on show! And if she's just fought her way through all those geth, how the hell is her hair still perfect? And as for the one playing you… she's not nearly good-looking enough."

Liara said nothing but her hand moved from Jules' hair to squeeze her around the waist. They watched in silence as Saren was defeated through a completely implausible series of attacks and then the on-screen Jules and Liara ran towards each other across the battlefield.

"Urgh," Jules groaned, "they're going to kiss again, aren't they?" she grimaced and turned her face into Liara's shoulder so she didn't have to witness it.

The entire film seemed to have been written around the rumours about their love affair and although nothing had really happened between them until after the war, the writers of the film didn't seem to care.

The love story was – naturally – horrifically overdramatised and filled with nauseating declarations of affection that had Jules gagging every five minutes. If that wasn't bad enough, she had learned the hard way that watching sex scenes featuring a fictional version of herself was just plain creepy.

"They've stopped," Liara stated after a moment and Jules looked back to see that on-screen Jules was now holding her Liara in an embrace while saying something about her eyes being like sapphires.

"Oh for God's sake," Jules muttered, "like I'd ever say anything that cheesy, have I ever told you your eyes are like sapphires?"

"Twice," Liara replied quickly, when Jules looked at her she shrugged, "as I recall, you were drunk."

Jules blinked, "And have I ever grabbed you right after a battle and started spouting romantic drivel when there could still be enemies nearby?" she challenged. When Liara opened her mouth to respond, Jules held up a hand, "Don't answer that."

They were interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. It took them both briefly by surprise; in the months they had been living at the headquarters no one had ever knocked before. Tevos and Aria seemed to be the only ones who had the nerve to disturb them and they had always done it over the comm.

They looked at each other for a second, then Jules shrugged, paused the film and called out: "Come in!"

It was Egret who entered, fidgeting as she did so. In the old days Jules had hardly ever seen an asari fidget, they had the most remarkable ability to sit or stand completely still and every movement they did make was subtle and fluid. But the ones born after the war were far more human in their mannerisms – yet another side effect of losing Thessia.

Egret's eyes flitted nervously about the room, fell on Jules – huddled into Liara's side and not even fully dressed – and then hurriedly looked away again.

"Oh," she stammered, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… I'll just-"

"Wait," Jules called as the young asari turned as though to leave. She could only imagine how long she had spent standing outside while she plucked up the courage to knock. Egret turned back, eyes wide with a mixture of nerves and fear as she lingered uncertainly for a moment, "you wouldn't have knocked if it wasn't important and the film's rubbish anyway," she gestured vaguely to the screen as made sure the dressing gown was well tied and then scrambled to her feet, "so," she stated, smiling as she came to stand in front of Egret, "how's the head?"

Egret winced at the question, answering it in the process, "I know I screwed up," she started hurriedly, "I shouldn't have hesitated, you expected better from me and I-"

"Egret!" Jules held up a hand, halting the rushed apology, "I wasn't trying to catch you out, it was a genuine question. How is the head?"

Egret blinked, then sighed and looked down at the floor, "Sore."

Jules smiled, "Sleep it off. You'll feel better in the morning. Don't bother beating yourself up over what happened just learn from it, that's the whole point of training."

"I didn't come here just to apologise," she paused, wringing her hands in a way that briefly reminded Jules of Tali. She smiled vaguely at the memory of the quarian then shifted her attention back to the young asari in front of her.

"I want to be on your squad," Egret blurted out before quickly closing her eyes and bracing herself, like she thought something heavy was about to fall on her. Jules just blinked and eventually Egret opened her eyes again to watch her intently.

"You do realise Grunt won't be on my ship?" Jules said after a moment, "Wouldn't you rather stay with him?"

She laughed, briefly relaxing a little, "I love Grunt, but… I don't really think I want to take orders off him."

Jules could understand that, it probably wasn't the healthiest dynamic for a relationship, "Still, I'm surprised you don't want to be with him."

Egret frowned and looked down, seeming to form her next words with some difficulty, "I do. But I also want to learn from you. And…" she hesitated, wringing her hands like Tali again, "after today… perhaps it isn't such a good idea to fight alongside the person you love."

Jules couldn't help but throw a smirk back in Liara's direction and found the asari returning the smile with equal amusement. Of course Egret picked up on it at once.

"Oh," she started hurriedly, "I didn't mean… I wasn't-"

"Relax," Jules ordered, silencing her again, "does Grunt know this is what you want?"

"Of course. He knows you're my-" she stopped herself before she could say 'hero' and Jules tried not to sigh, "I mean… I've studied you my whole life – and I realise there's no way of saying that without sounding creepy – but I would love the chance to serve with you. And I know you think I'm a liability-"

"Woah, wait," Jules cut her off, "have I actually said that?"

"Well… no."

"Then don't go around assuming you know my thoughts," that shut the girl up as she flushed a deeper shade of blue and promptly looked down at her shoes, "listen, Egret," Jules took a step forward, "I can't promise you anything. We haven't even talked about who we want on our squads yet and I have to pick a team who I know will work well together," Egret nodded solemnly, seemingly unable to make eye-contact, "but…" she looked up hopefully "you are very talented," Jules admitted, brightening Egret's eyes a little, "and if Grunt knows this is what you want… I suppose…" she gave up and sighed, "I'll see what I can do."

She expected the asari to smile, thank her, maybe stutter out a whole load of stuff about how grateful she was for the opportunity she may or may not be getting. She was completely unprepared when Egret suddenly lurched at her, almost toppling her over as she flung both arms tightly around Jules' neck in a brief but suffocating hug.

"Woah," Jules barked in surprise, "okay," Egret pulled away just as quickly and hesitated for a second, looking between Jules and Liara.

"Sorry," she fumbled, "I mean, thank you, Shepard. I'll just, er… I'll leave you to it."

With that she turned on her heel and bolted out of the door as quickly as she could manage. Jules watched her leave with a small, bewildered frown before turning to see Liara chuckling to herself.

"What's funny?"

The asari shrugged and smiled, "Your face, mostly. I do believe you have a fan."

Just so you know, I have a new job that's eating into all my free time, which is why updates have slowed down a bit. I haven't lost interest in the story or anything like that and I'm working on it every spare second I get but it might take me a bit longer to get chapters out from now on. I have loads planned for when they actually get to the Athena Nebula though so there's plenty more to come if you don't mind waiting for it :)