Author's Note: I would sincerely like to thank Kima20142 for following and favoriting, Annunbalien for following, and riehull for following and favoriting. I understand that while this story will follow the events of the game, that it will not have much of the actual game other than what happens on the Normandy. If you would like this to change, please send me a message. And as always, I'm more than willing to take requests for plot bunnies, so long as they fit in the timeline.

This chapter picked up right after part on from Shepard's perspective. Enjoy!

Catherine walked towards the elevator, curious to know why Ashley had been bothering Kaidan. She was pretty sure the other woman was just talking with him, and she didn't want to give off the wrong message. Well maybe a little. She was interested in Kaidan, and she'd put up a fight to make sure she was the only one he was paying attention to. Having gone through being 'the other woman' in the past... It never ended well for anyone.

"This elevator is too fucking slow." she huffed, standing inside and watching as the walls moved her closer and closer to the cargo bay. When the door finally opened, she sighed with relief, and walked over towards Ashley who was going through her terminal, instead of cleaning the guns. But then again, it looked like that was already taken care of. As she got closer, she could hear a woman's voice from the terminal. Ashley let out quiet laughter until Shepard was close enough that she noticed someone behind her.

"Hey Commander."

"Have you got a minute?"

"Sure. I was just checking up on some vid mail from home-"

"Oh, and I saw Kaidan. He's cute! Later sis!"

"Oh boy." Ashley sighed, smiling as she put a hand to her head, her face turning red.

"Who was that?" she smiled.

"My younger sister, Sarah." Ashley smiled, and then straightened up, clearing her throat. "So, what'd you need, Skipper?"

"I was just coming by to talk with you. I was also curious what you and the Lieutenant were talking about. He seemed a little uncomfortable."

"I didn't mean to make him uncomfortable. I was just going to chat with him, get to know him a little bit. I mean... If that's okay." Ashley added on as Shepard crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have no problem with you getting to know the rest of the crew. I think forming bonds is what separates a good crew from a great crew." she tried to remain neutral, not sure what Ashley's intentions were.

"He seems like a good guy. A little stiff, but that's how my dad was sometimes. Guess it's just part of being a marine." Ashley leaned back against the bench. Catherine had a feeling that there was something else she wanted to say.

"I hope you know this is all off the record." she decided to say, moving to lean against some of the crates the guns were stored in. That seemed to do it because Ashley smiled.

"I was gonna ask about your date with him."

"Excuse me?" she struggled not to gawk at what she'd just said. How much did she know? How much could she know?

"Word got around... A few crew members overheard you two went out for dinner on the Citadel last we were there. And you two were gone for nearly three hours." Ashley shrugged with a bit of a smirk. "It's not like it's hard to tell what's going on from the way you two look at each other, either."

Slowly, her hand raised to her temple in a similar manner that Ashley had just moments ago. She then closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"I really hope it's not that obvious that I like him." she muttered. She had to talk to someone about this, and Ashley seemed like she was pretty quiet about personal matters.

"Other than the fact you bring him along every time you leave the ship, it's not that obvious." there was a pause, "Listen. With what I know about what's going on, you're going to need someone to lean on. Not just a friend, but someone who's going to stand up for you when you can't. I'm not really good at that sort of thing and Liara's too interested in the Protheans, Tali is way too talkative, Garrus has a stick up his ass, and Wrex is... Well, you know."

"What are you trying to get at?" Shepard sighed, having a hard time following the line of thought.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes you need someone to blow off steam with. However that gets done." Ashley shrugged and looked down at her feet. "We're just getting started with this mission. I can tell it's going to be a long journey, and there might even be a few who won't make it. As far as groundside goes, everyone's got your back. But up here..." Ashley looked back up, into Shepard's eyes, "You really need to make sure someone has your back up here, too. Alenko seems like he fits that job description pretty nicely for you." she cracked a smile. "My sister would agree with me on that one."

Catherine smirked and shook her head as she laughed. When she looked back at Ashley, she was amazed that this woman was so wise already.

"Thanks for the talk, Ash. I should probably go see some of the others, now." she pushed back off the crates. "Can you do me a favor-"

"My lips are sealed. At least unless a certain biotic asks." Ashley smirked and Shepard tried not to think about it, clearing her throat.

"Thanks." she started walking.

"Oh, Skipper?" Shepard paused, and looked back. "Might want to add a little eye shadow next time you go to the Citadel."

"Noted." Catherine smirked, going towards Wrex, who greeted her with about as much friendliness as teenager waking up at 8 A.M. on a Saturday.

He was interesting, even if he didn't have much to say. The words he did say told much more about him than she'd initially thought. Former mercenary or not, Wrex seemed like he was meant for bigger, better things. Feros had shown her that more than anything. Maybe it was the nature of Krogan that made him such a good killer, but Wrex didn't storm in like she'd seen many of his kind do. He kept back from the heart of the battle, making sure that Shepard had been protected from all sides. He was loyal, and she hoped she could return the favor some day. Wrex was showing Catherine with each little talk that he was worth her time outside of battle.

Next, she went to Garrus. It was a little boring that he'd talk about C-Sec so much. But since it'd been part of his life for as long as he could remember, she supposed it was much like when she talked about the Alliance. She'd grown up with it and so she talked about it frequently. So, she could see the reason why he brought it up with every conversation, until you mentioned the Mako. He seemed like he loved that thing more than Joker loved the Normandy. And that spoke volumes. But, he was good at his job, always thorough in the maintenance and actively seeking to make improvements to it. She offered to help a few times, but he insisted that based on the way she drove she wouldn't be of much help. No offense, of course.

She was starting to feel hungry, and decided that Tali and Liara could wait to be talked to until tomorrow. She went back up, and was glad no one was around to hear her stomach growl. That's what she got for being a biotic, even if she rarely ever used her gift. The mess was empty, and after getting her meal and peeking around the corner, she was mildly disappointed Kaidan wasn't anywhere to be found.

Probably a migraine. She thought to herself as she sat down. Maybe she'd go look for him and make sure he'd be okay. Every once in a while she would get migraines, though she was sure they weren't nearly as bad as the ones he got. Still, knowing how bad it could hurt made her that much more empathetic. A few of the other crew members filed in and sat around, keeping a respectful distance from the Commander. Shepard sparked up a little conversation that lasted until she was done eating about ten minutes later. Standing up, she walked over to put her tray in the machine to wash it before she walked towards the med bay.

Sure enough when she walked in, there were hardly any lights on except for the glow of Chakwas' terminal. Quietly walking over towards Kaidan, she saw he was on his back with his left arm thrown over his eyes. The way his mouth was turned told her that he was enduring the worst of it right now. She felt bad about disturbing him, but she wanted to know. She tapped on his shoulder twice.

"Hey Kaidan." she whispered.

"Everything okay?" he said through his teeth.

"Just checking up on you. Did you get anything to eat yet?"

"No."

"Do you want me to bring you anything?" she waited for nearly a minute before he pulled his arm away. She could see the light bouncing off of his eyes that looked more than tired.

"That'd be great."

"Just lay down, I'll be back in a minute." she smiled. She hadn't realized she'd sat down next to him until she hopped off, feeling a cold spot on her hip. She must have been touching him. She shrugged it off as she went back to the mess. The crew that was there had vanished, and been replaced by the crew in the cargo bay and engineering.

"Hey Shepard." Tali chirped happily. "Going to eat with us?" She walked over a little bit with the tray, a sad smile on her face.

"I already ate, sorry. This is for the Lieutenant, he has a migraine. Just wanted to make sure he got something good to eat instead of those stupid nutrition bars."

"I hope he feels better." Tali nodded as she squeezed a little more paste out of the tube into a compartment in her helmet. Catherine noted that she'd have to ask about that next time, as she turned back towards the med bay.

Kaidan was still laying down, but his hands were folded on his chest. Chakwas was just walking back in from the other room and nodded quietly as a greeting. Catherine went over by Kaidan and sat down again, holding the tray in her lap.

"Hey... Can you sit up?" she said, a little bit louder than a whisper.

"Yeah." he grunted as he sat up, turning on a light on the far side of the room so he could see without being blinded. She tried not to comment about how shitty he looked, but he probably knew.

"Here. I tried to get you the things that had more flavor." she handed the tray over.

"Thanks. I owe you." he said, already reaching for the sandwich. She smiled and nudged him.

"Come see me in my quarters when you're feeling better." she hopped back off, unaware if he'd heard what she said or not. He was making a mess of the food but she was glad he was eating. She left with a little smile on her face that everyone in the mess saw as she walked back up the stairs.

"Told you." she could hear Wrex rumbling as she walked off.