She straightened her back when she saw him. "Shepard!"
He turned from James and turned to her, confusion on his face. "Ashley?" His tone was cautious, concerned.
Why is she here? Why isn't she with her sister? And the child?
Anderson sense the tension and spoke loudly. "Lieutenant-Commander, how did it go in there?"
"Hard to say. I can never tell, but I'm just waiting for orders now."
"Lieutenant-Commander?" Shepard wanted to laugh.
"You hadn't heard?" Anderson asked softly.
"Nope, I'm a bit out of the loop these days."
"Sorry, sir. Didn't mean to keep you out of the loop."
"It's not like you learned the Reapers were coming and didn't tell me."
He glanced down at her stomach and stared hard. No bump. Like it never happened. His brow raised in confusion and she shifted under his gaze.
She absent-mindedly touched her stomach and her face contorted with the deepest sorrow. He turned away and gently touched her shoulder, then moved forward with Anderson.
James approached her and delicately touched her back. She turned towards him and sighed.
"So you and the Commander have some history, huh…"
"I used to know him." She touched her stomach again, remembering the day she saw him on Horizon.
How beautiful he was then. How much she missed him, then, and now.
Too much had changed.
She turned from the meeting room and sat on the closest bench, James by her side.
There was no way she could turn back now. There was no way she would be forgiven. She still hadn't come to terms with the fact he was a traitor, working with terrorists.
What good had Cerberus ever done? The Illusive Man was crooked and it only made sense that Shepard destroyed the Collector base…so maybe he wasn't that far gone. Maybe he could come back.
He served his time. Maybe…just maybe, there would be a future with them. She still loved him. He was her first true love. She lost her virginity to him that night before Ilos…he would always have that part of her.
She smiled and looked at James, leaning in to kiss him.
Then suddenly there was an explosion.