The repairs were finished and the Normandy was clean, shiny and perfectly functioning again. They'd spent two weeks on the Citadel for that and several crew members had left by the end of that time. Jack, Zaeed, Mordin and Jacob said their goodbyes soon after Kasumi and Samara to pursue their own business. Grunt was spending a lot of time on the Citadel, meeting other krogans here and there, but at the end of the day he always returned back home. Back to mama. Jo promised to take him to Tuchanka after the Normandy was fixed to let Wrex make a real krogan out of him. Grunt already knew from all the times Jo spoke of Wrex and especially from their brief visit to the krogan homeworld that she considered Wrex one of her best friends and an extraordinary man. If her baby had to choose a father figure, there wouldn't ever be anyone better than Wrex.

Legion stayed and Jo couldn't really say why. She had a feeling that there was something in the geth's programming that confused the AI and it didn't know what to do with it. After all it still wore a piece of her old armour. Jo had a suspicion that Legion was becoming an individual with personal preferences, an entirely new concept to geth. She had a feeling that Legion didn't want to leave because it… felt good on the Normandy. It was studying organics, like EDI, but often Jo found it easier to interact with Legion because it didn't try to imitate humans. Legion was always exactly what it was and Jo refused to assign it a gender, even in her own mind. She did promise to take Legion to the nearest hub when she sent her people on a long vacation, and Legion seemed content.

Thane didn't have anywhere to go other than the hospital, so he stayed as long as he could in the company he clearly had gotten to like over the months. Especially in these last two weeks, when nobody had any missions for them, when they took the time to recover from imminent doom, Jo and Thane spent a lot of time talking. His philosophy and spirituality touched her in places she thought forgotten, numbed or dried out. The way he saw the world gave her the peace of mind she'd had once in her life, years ago, when she went to China to learn kung fu, but then lost again. The certainty of his fast approaching death made her want to cry, but she couldn't really be sad. He'd made his peace with his fate, he prayed for his soul and prepared for his passage to another world. She couldn't be selfish about this and she knew how rare it was for people in their profession to have time to make peace with their own demise. He was the lucky one and she was happy she'd ever gotten a chance to know someone so extraordinary.

Through Thane she also rekindled with Kolyat. The kid – he wasn't really a kid, though, he was nineteen and growing taller than his father – somehow made his way into her heart. Jo had no concept of what it was like to actually have family by blood relation, but Thane's kid was like her own kid. She would always care about him like he was her own. Like Grunt.

Tali and Garrus remained on the Normandy because they, just like Jo, were reluctant to break up their original team. Sending them on vacation just didn't seem right, especially taking them to different places. Garrus wanted to go to Palaven and Tali needed to be with the Migrant Fleet, and Jo knew like nobody else how much duty meant to both of her best friends. Duty stood above anything. And yet… Jo knew they were in love with each other, but they didn't know it yet. Even if they did, they wouldn't know what to do with it. Jo was so much older than them, emotionally. She'd arrived at the stage in her life when she knew that love was the most important thing, worth breaking rules and changing the world for. Garrus and Tali were still young at heart and thought they had a lot of time for love in the future, even if intellectually they both knew the whole galaxy was running out of time. Still they were not ready to pursue love just yet and Jo was not going to make them. They had to arrive at that stage in their lives on their own, and hopefully not in the same way she did.

Jo had a sickening feeling in her guts that sending them off for a vacation would mean saying goodbye forever. And they were the two people in the galaxy she couldn't say goodbye to. It would break her heart. But thinking this way only meant inviting trouble, so Jo made plans to deliver them to their chosen destinations. Garrus, ever the gentleman, said he'd get on a transporter instead of taking up the Normandy's time, so that Tali would be able to make it to a quarian holiday in a few days. He said to them both that one day he'd love to show them Palaven, though. Jo nodded, adding that she'd love to show them Earth, too.

Karin Chakwas requested to go to one of the human colonies and the techies decided to either go home to Earth or stay on Illium, so Jo decided to take them all to Illium and let them decide what to do next, as long as she knew where to find them in a month.

It felt like saying goodbye forever and Jo didn't like that, but she let it happen, telling herself that nothing could keep her away from her family if she wanted them back. It was only for a month, right? And Joker was still there. He was the only one who made no requests for leave. He made her understand that he wasn't going anywhere without her, so her plans would be his plans, too.

Kelly lingered around like a ghost, a sleepless, haunted shell of her formerly flippant self. She didn't even dare to leave the ship and was about to stay forever when Jo finally remembered her and told her to go and start a new life somewhere because she wouldn't be needing her services in the future.

"I'll stay right here, thank you, Commander," Kelly said, her voice strained, tortured, even. That was when Jo remembered what she had told the red-haired girl after her little stunt with the airlock.

"Chambers, get off my ship. I'm not going to kill you in a dark alley, seriously! You're not worthy of my time and my knife. Just leave, I couldn't care less about you. I'm done playing with you, I swear."

The ghost regained some liveliness right before her eyes and Jo almost rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Kelly had truly believed that Jo would kill her if she left the ship. Well, she was right to believe Jo, it hadn't been an empty threat, but Kelly's idea that she was important enough to get killed by Johanna Shepard in person was laughable.

It felt strange to give the order to leave the Citadel, since they weren't embarking on any missions, but the day came and Jo gave that order. The ship was almost empty now, after many had left on the Citadel already. It felt strange, not being on a mission, too. Jo couldn't even remember the last time she was on vacation. Not in this lifetime for sure.

Four days later they undocked from the Rayya and Jo shivered a little, looking around the empty CIC. It was a little creepy.

"Hey, Jo, look!" Joker spun his chair around to greet her with a grin. "It's you and me and our baby. Again." They were the only ones left on the ship and EDI was running all the navigation and tech support. Jo was taking a risk, flying the frigate through open space so horribly undermanned, of course. Any kind of attack would kill all four of them: the ship, EDI, Jo and Joker. But Jo figured that while using the Normandy as her private cab with EDI's competent help there was no need for a full crew. They would manage.

"Where to now?" Joker asked her. She never actually asked him what they would do in that month of vacation, so now he was asking her.

"Didn't you want to go to that casino station with flight simulators? Razor?" Jo asked, sitting down in her usual chair next to him.

"Yes, but where would you like to go? You said something about getting on a planet's surface, with real windows and sunrises, if I recall correctly."

"Yes, I did. Truth is, going to some city and staying in a hotel isn't really an option. I am Shepard, We'll be surrounded by fans and enemies within seconds. And I don't have any friends who live in normal homes. I simply have nowhere to go. How sad is that, right?"

"So what are we going to do?"

"Mind if I tag along with you to Razor?"

"Hmmm, let me think about that…" He grinned and she gave his chair a nudge with her boot:

"Hey!"

"Kidding," he laughed. "Maybe you find something fun to do on Razor, too."

"Hey, Jeff," Jo said quieter, deeper, huskier. "We're the only ones on the ship."

"I'm still here, Commander," EDI spoke up.

"EDI, you can't actually leave, so it doesn't really count."

"Yes, I did notice that. Why?" Joker tilted his head with interest.

"That means we have two options."

"Like?"

"One: fulfilling my dream. Making love in every room, starting with this cockpit. It's ridiculously long overdue."

"All right, my interest is piqued," he licked his lips. "What's the other option?"

"Fulfilling your dream. Taking the Normandy on a joyride without regards or consequences."

Joker opened his mouth and closed it again, staring at her.

"What do you say?" She insisted.

"Do I have to pick just one?"

"No, my lover. You have to pick what we do first."

His hands reached for the console before he even turned his glance towards it. Jo knew it. She leaned back in her own seat and buckled the safety belts.

"Show me," she whispered to him.

It was like she'd opened some hidden door in the man of her dreams. She couldn't even see his hands moving. Instead she felt the power core roar through the entire ship. Objects danced and fell off tables and shelves everywhere. Jo hoped the fish tank in her rooms could withstand. If not, she would have Joker buy her new fish.

"Oh yeah, baby," Joker whispered lovingly, leaning towards the controls. One touch and the ship sped up to maximum, and then there was a rollercoaster feeling.

"Yehaaaw!" Joker whooped, as the image of stars in the windows became a swirl. "Dance, baby, dance!"

"Commander, this isn't safe," EDI spoke.

"Not safe was landing on the Collector base," Jo laughed out loudly. "This is fun!"

"Damn straight it is!" Joker echoed her, eyes glued to the monitors with a somewhat maniacal expression of fascination. Jo felt the ship's every movement, for he wasn't gentle. Oh, sweet Lord, he wasn't gentle. He shook the Normandy through to the core, he actually took her dancing, just like he promised her once he could. Jo never had a doubt. She held tight to her seat and prayed that it would stand the strain. At some point she had to close her eyes and simply hold on for all she was worth. She had been trained for a lot, but not his kind of flying. The entire open space didn't seem enough to him. He made her dizzy and a little scared. Concerned. Not for her life, not for the ship's safety, no. She trusted him with those things completely. She was concerned a little bit about the physical probability of what he was doing to the ship. It shouldn't have been possible at all, it was probably against all the laws of physics, he was in all likelihood bending the time and space continuum as he flew.

Apparently, there were a lot of repressed feelings inside her man, because the joyride lasted over two and a half hours, in which he took the ship through every possible stunt and loop he knew and could imagine, and Jo suspected quite a few that nobody had done before. The power core seemed to sing in reply to his commands, and even though its power wasn't limitless, he'd given her a whole new perspective about what this ship was capable of, an idea of what he could do, given freedom to act. Jo found herself fascinated more and more. She had known about his passion for flight, but this time he took her with him all the way. They danced through several systems on top speed, before they ended up in front of a relay Jo couldn't even name at the moment. Only now did Joker lean back a little and turned to see her.

"I never dreamed it would be so… like this," he said, a blissful grin from one ear to another.

"Was this everything you imagined?" She couldn't help but grin in the same way. She loved the way he smiled.

"What I imagined – yes, definitely. But it wasn't completely everything I ever wanted."

"Oh, are there other dreams you have that I can fulfil?"

"I'm… Get over here," he commanded and Jo bit her lip. Now it was her turn to get all excited and maybe level out all the adrenalin in her blood. She unbuckled the safety belts, while he did the same, and got up from the seat. That was about as far as she got, because he caught her around her waist and pushed her against his console, before he slammed his body into hers, taking complete possession of her. Somewhere in the back of her mind Jo thought that EDI must have switched off the console, allowing them to have raw and passionate sex right on top of it without pushing any buttons.

A while later they sank to the floor between their seats and Jo finally kicked off the one boot she still had on.

"Wow," she gasped against his chest, breathless as much as he was.

"I'll never be able to look at that console in the same way," he gasped in return, finally tossing his hat aside. It was the one piece of clothing he never lost, no matter how high the passion ran.

The floor was hard, the air chilly against their bare skin, but they couldn't care less. For a long while they lay in a heap of limbs, panting and smiling at each other.

"I want to teach you how to fly," Joker suddenly said.

"You'd give me your controls?" Jo raised her head. "You'd seriously give them up?"

"Well, not yet. How about we use the simulators on Razor for the basics before I give you the Normandy?"

"Joker," Jo laughed. "I can fly."

That got his attention. He lifted himself up to his elbows to look down at her with a frown.

"You can fly a frigate class warship?"

"Yes. Not as well as you can, of course, but I had training in all kinds of cockpits."

"N5? N6?"

"Around N2, actually."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You never asked," she shrugged.

"How many things are there that you can do but didn't tell me because I didn't ask?" He sounded fascinated, suspicious and a little hurt at the same time.

"Tons."

He eyed her, knowing that she would not continue or elaborate. Getting intel out of her was easier for him than for anyone else, but even he had to fight for every bit she'd give up, knowing it would never be the whole truth or the whole story about anything she said.

He also knew that he couldn't be hurt by this. He loved her mysterious ways, loved the secrecy, the discovery, the exclusive knowledge he was privy to. Intellectually he realised that she was manipulating him this way, but he was hooked and it was the best feeling in the world.

"One day you'll tell me everything," he warned her.

"Probably. You only have twenty nine years of my life to uncover. You know everything there is to know about me from the moment we met. There are only so many secrets I keep."

"Razor?" He suggested.

"Yes. Take me."

"Right," he grinned at the innuendo. "We're actually only half a day away from the station. I already took us in its general direction."

Half a day alone on the ship meant that they had to cook for themselves. Thus Jo discovered that Joker knew his way around the kitchen.

"A woman shouldn't be dealing with meat," he said with a know-it-all face while he was making steaks from a fresh food supply and Jo offered to help.

"Why not?"

"My dad always said so. Because a woman would only ruin it."

Jo forgave him the little sexist remark because it hit her where she didn't know she was vulnerable. Joker had a family, real parents, a sister, a lifetime of memories of them. The knowledge finally drove home. She wasn't really Commander Shepard now, not while they were on vacation and there was nobody around to salute her, which made her a simple human woman, and that woman suddenly remembered with new, sharpened pain in her chest who she was and where she came from. An orphan from the streets. Her dad never said anything to her, her mother never made her lunch. Not that Jo could remember, anyway. For all intents and purposes her boyfriend's family was the only family she'd ever get to know. She would have to save the galaxy from the Reapers for them, too.

They were back in the cockpit on approach to Razor and Jo couldn't help a groan:

"Wow, talk about clichés," she shook her head, looking out of the window. "Two words. Space Casino."

"That's kind of the whole point," Joker laughed at her as he requested docking space. The station was not very big, but it compensated with bling. Neon lights and gigantic vid screens covered the surface, making it glow like a disco ball. It was like Omega in a way, only without the feeling of doom and dilapidation. The Normandy was one of the biggest ships docked. Most visitors came in smaller shuttles, private ships or transporters. Joker chuckled at the dispatcher's tense voice:

"They don't get state of the art warships here often, especially those with only two organic life forms on board."

"EDI, you have licence to kill anything and anyone who might try to compromise my ship while we're off it, understood?" Jo made her voice sound very serious.

"Understood, Commander," EDI said and Jo could swear the AI sounded smug.

"Welcome to the geek's paradise," Joker said to Jo as the airlock opened. They were greeted by a turian escort of five guards who seemed a little unsettled by the small number of visitors from such a big ship.

"Commander Shepard," the security officer at the checkpoint said. It was a young salarian who spoke even faster than Mordin, even though Jo had firmly believed such a feat would be impossible.

"In the flesh," she said to him. "Might want to shut down anything you have here that exploits my name, you know, like sex simulators or whatnot."

Salarians didn't pale, but this one managed. Jo took a note: apparently there wasn't only a simulator of sex with Cleopatra or Marilyn Monroe, there was also one with Commander Shepard. She decided not to be bothered right now.

The station was a prime example of how people didn't care. The hotel was stuffed, casinos and shopping areas were filled with people who cared only about throwing away their money. Once again Jo reigned in her own emotions. They didn't know about the Reapers. Ignorance was bliss.

Joker showed her around a bit before they ended up in a flight simulator. He didn't say so, but Jo suspected that he hadn't believed her when she said she could fly a ship. He sat in the seat and motioned her to sit between his legs and to take controls of the simulation. He was very strict in judging her performance at undocking and docking again. Jo did what he asked of her. After all she would be sceptical, too, if he told her he was good with a sniper rifle.

"Why are all those guys staring at us?" She whispered to him eventually, once he was convinced that she could, indeed, operate a ship's console. He didn't actually say 'fly', she hadn't earned that verdict yet.

The hall was filled with similar capsules. Their occupants were throwing them odd glances, as Jo noticed.

"They're geeks like me," he whispered into her ear and slid his hands from her belly to her thighs. "They'd all give an eye or an ear to have a tough gorgeous blond with legs like yours to sit in their laps."

Jo leaned her back against his chest and laid her head backwards on his shoulder, allowing him free access to her throat. He took the bait and ran his tongue over her white skin, as his hands travelled to the insides of her thighs.

"You make me completely crazy with your geeky hands running all over me…"

"If you fly through an asteroid field, you'll get some more of my geeky hands," he whispered, his breath hot against her ear.

"You certainly know how to motivate a girl. And how to give two dozen other geeks an erection of envy."

"You're right," he turned his head to look out of the capsule. "They look rather… not happy. So, are you going to fly now or should I come back tomorrow?"

"Flying already." Jo leaned forwards again and began pushing the buttons.

"Well, well, you definitely have training in this," Joker admitted grudgingly with his lips against the back of her neck. He didn't say she had talent, of course. She didn't. She'd been trained just enough to be able to get herself out of trouble in any kind of vehicle. Talent not required. That was why she was the CO and he was the gifted pilot. "I think it's enough for today. How about we grab something to eat?"

"How about we check out those restaurants on the shopping level?"

"Perfect."

It felt different, losing themselves in the crowd of people, becoming just another couple in love browsing the stores and spending some money. On the Citadel and in other ports they were known too well and stopped by business too often. On Razor people didn't care who they were. Jo bought two more models for her model ship collection before they stopped to eat at a small restaurant. Jo found that she was enjoying this immensely: being normal, ordinary, spending time with the man she loved, basking in his presence, stealing touches and caresses here and there, having no one to answer to and no one to take care of. This vacation thing had potential.

When they were down to dessert, Joker reached inside his jacket and produced a datapad, which he handed to her.

"What is it?" Jo asked when she saw a picture of a house on the screen.

"A house on a planet's surface. It stands on the edge of a forest in a little town just outside a huge spaceship wharf. It's is made in large parts of wood, old style, it has huge windows and a guest room with a nice view. It's not perfect, of course: at this time of year it's deep winter there, which means snowfalls almost all the time, but no hazards, just snow, like on Earth. Hunting would probably be difficult in the forest with so much snow, but it's the best I can offer."

Jo studied the picture, which was taken during the summer months. It was a lovely one storey house with walls of light wood and a flat roof. The house leaned against a hill and looked dreamy, surrounded by huge trees.

"All right. Why am I holding this?"

"You wanted to go to a house on a surface, right? This is your chance."

"I see. How come you're offering?"

"It's my mother's house."

Jo gulped.

"Your mother?"

"Yeah, I thought, why not? She hasn't seen me since, well, your death, and she's living all alone in it. I mean, if you don't want to…"

"I'm… Jeff, I'm just not entirely sure your mother would like me."

"Why not? You're Commander Shepard."

"Exactly. If she knows who I am, she knows about the dangers I put her son in. I'd kill me, if I were her."

"Bullshit. She'll adore you. So, should I give her a call about us coming to visit?"

"If you're sure you want to introduce me to your mum…"

"I'm sure."

"Then I'd be honoured. And very, very grateful."

"All-rightee." He opened his omnitool. After pushing a few buttons he spoke into it: "Hi, mum. Hope you're doing okay. I'll drop by the day after tomorrow and stay for a couple of weeks. Hope that's okay with you and you don't have that guest room rented out yet, heh. Anyway, I'll be bringing a girl with me. A very special girl. Bye, and see you soon!" He pushed more buttons, sending the message away. "All set and done."

"Great, now I'm nervous."

"Relax, Johanna. My mother already knows a lot about you. She does call me now and then, and I do tell her stories. She respects you."

In the evening of the same day, when they gathered their clothes from the engineering room floor to use as pillows while they lay naked and sweaty on the floor, gasping for breath, Joker received a message.

"Jeff, hello. It's good to hear that you're finally coming. The room is waiting for you, and I'll make your favourite omelette with champignons, bacon and cheese. See you soon, honey."

"Awww, honey," Jo teased him. He pinched her in her arm for it.