A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for sticking with this story so far, I promise there is a plot, just hold on! Just wanted to give a heads up that from this chapter on, I will be switching between Elissa's POV and Joker's POV with either a whole chapter from or just sections. Read and Review!


'This cannot be happening, this cannot be happening,' thought Elissa as she boarded the Normandy just a few short hours after having spoken to Admiral Hackett, he had been about as helpful as the papers she had been handed last night. From what he had told her that morning, he himself had just received the paperwork that discussed her discharge from the Alliance Navy and her call was rather unexpected since he had thought that she would have been getting the orders after he had reviewed the orders. Nothing about this situation was adding up, it was all rather sketchy and seemed so well orchestrated that people who would have normally been aware of the situation were not and that incoming information was being filtered so as to not arouse too much suspicion. These were the thoughts that clouded her mind as she sat at her desk in her cabin alone, Kaidan had gone down to the armory with Garrus to begin recalibration of some cannon on the Normandy that was starting to falter some in its aiming program.

"Commander Shepard," said Joker over the intercom, "please report to the bridge, I repeat, Commander Shepard to the bridge." Elissa looked around her cabin bewildered, Joker had never summoned her to the bridge before, not even when there was trouble going on with the Normandy. She put on her hoodie, and headed down to the bridge to try and figure out why Joker had decided now was the exact time to have her come down there, plowing through a few crew members in the process of walking.

When she arrived, her frustration of being called down to the bridge must have been evident since Joker took one look at her face and said, "I promise this is important."

"It better be," muttered Elissa, as she rubbed her arms trying to warm up, "God, why is it so cold?"

"Heat hasn't turned on yet," said Joker as he began punching in some numbers on the console, "if you're really cold, you could always go down to the engine room or stay here with me, either option will warm you right up."

"Smooth, flyboy," said Elissa smirking as she pressed gently on the back of his head pushing it forward some before sitting in the empty co-pilot's chair.

"Anyway," said Joker, becoming serious, "the reason I've called you up here is I received this message from the docks on the Citadel, our docking privileges have been revoked."

"What do you mean revoked?" asked Elissa looking startled and angry, "Spectres have their own private dock."

"Got me, Ellie," said Joker bringing up the message on his console, "read for yourself."

Elissa got up and leaned over Joker's shoulder as she read the message:

Flight Lieutenant Moreau,

We regret to inform you that due to the extenuating circumstances concerning your commander and crew, the Normandy has been denied access to its usual dock, D-24 until further notice. Please report to docking bay R-17, hangar 4 when you do arrive at the Citadel.

Respectfully yours,

Crew Chief Enders

"What the hell is going on here?" whispered Elissa as she stood back up shaking her head in disbelief, "First the suspension from duty, then the trial, and now I can't even park in my own God damn dock? I swear, the Fates are working against me."

"The Fates?" asked Joker swiveling around in his chair to face Elissa.

"Figure of speech, something I got from one of Ash's poetry books," said Elissa and she quickly dismissed the memories of the Gunnery Chief that were threatening tears.

"Yeah, okay," said Joker uneasily when he saw the look on Elissa's face, "look, if you want to sit up here and talk, I'm all ears."

"Don't sell yourself short, Jeff," said Elissa, her eyes scanning his form, and she could see him blush which made her blush as well, something hung in the air between them, unspoken words and a tension she had felt there often.

"Jeff," started Elissa but her voice faltered and failed, then EDI and Kaidan walked in, silencing her and breaking the moment.

"Hey, sweetie," said Joker and EDI hugged him gently before taking her seat next to him. Elissa could feel something stir within her heart, almost like jealousy, when she saw EDI sitting next to Joker.

"Hi, Ella," said Kaidan and he pecked Elissa's lips, she suddenly felt rather embarrassed of having Joker see them kiss even though they had kissed in front of the crew before.

"Hey, Kaidan," said Elissa, trying to sound happier than she was actually feeling at that moment. "How are the calibrations going?"

"From what I could tell they were just about perfect," said Kaidan, wrapping his arm around her waist, "but Garrus is insisting that there is still some more calibrating to be done."

"Did you do something about the heat, I'm freezing my balls off up here?" asked Joker, as he starting putting in the coordinates for the nearest mass relay.

"We're working on it, Cap," said Kaidan, clapping Joker on the shoulder, then turning to Elissa, "Would you like to join me for lunch later today?"

"Yeah, sure," said Elissa still looking at Kaidan though glancing at Joker as she spoke. He smiled at her and then left the bridge, Elissa felt like she wanted to stay on the bridge and talk with Joker but not with an audience there, which seemed odd since having a presence had not been a problem before.

"I, uh, guess I'll uh, go then," said Elissa and she started moving her hands in random motions trying to indicate she was leaving but looked more like she was directing traffic.

"Good bye, Commander," said EDI coldly, her tone surprised Elissa but she was already out of the door, so she shook it off and decided to go find Tali, she needed to talk about this.

Joker had yet to register that Elissa had left the bridge when he said, "So, Ellie, how have you been?"

"Jeff, the Commander left the bridge one point two seconds ago, when you were facing the console," said EDI and she seemed distant when she spoke.

"Oh, well then," said Joker awkwardly, he was rather disappointed that Elissa had left but he realized why she might have since there was no place for her to sit down and talk with him.

"Jeff?" said EDI.

"Yes, EDI?" asked Joker as he began the liftoff sequence.

"Why do your bio readings always elevate when the Commander is present?" asked EDI, sounding almost upset with him.

"Which readings, EDI?" asked Joker, rapidly punching buttons on the console yet still aware of what EDI was saying to him.

"Your body temperature rises by about zero point two degrees Fahrenheit, testosterone levels rise to a peak associated with early sexual arousal in human males, and your endorphin levels increase to a point that I have only seen when you are playing one of your games, not to mention your rapid heart beat," replied EDI, her fists clenched on her arm rests and voice tight.

"I don't know, EDI, I really don't have any control over my bodily functions," said Joker forcibly as he brought the Normandy out of Earth's atmosphere, he was more interested in getting the ship into space than talking about why his heart beat faster or his testosterone increased whenever Elissa was around.

"Can we talk about this later, EDI?" asked Joker as he turned on the thrusters and started to stabilize the Normandy.

"No, Jeff," said EDI bitterly, "I want to discuss your attraction to the Commander now. I thought you were over this, you swore to me that there was nothing left, why have you betrayed me like this?"

Now Joker was both speechless and furious, he turned away from EDI and focused more on getting the Normandy into the relay, going over the checks to himself, "Stand by for relay transit. Hitting the relay in ten, nine, eight, seven, six . . ." He could feel the power surge through the Normandy as the field encompassed the ship, the rest of the galaxy blurred through the windshields and there was the usual jolt of the ship coming out on the other side, he checked the boards. "Transition complete. The board is greener than a Drell's ass."

"If you are not willing to discuss this problem then I am leaving," huffed EDI and she stood and walked out of the cockpit with her fists still clenched.

"What the hell is her problem?" muttered Joker to himself as he did the final checks of the Normandy's systems just as Garrus entered the bridge.

"I just saw EDI, she seemed pretty upset," said Garrus as he sat in the newly vacant co-pilot's seat, "this wouldn't have anything to do with your secret would it?"

"What secret?" asked Joker innocently as he spun to face Garrus.

"That supposedly "secret" crush you've had on Shepard since she stepped onto the bridge on the SR-1," said Garrus, slightly annoyed that Joker would still not admit that he had feelings for Elissa despite the length of time they had known each other, "EDI was bound to find out, you turn into a rambling idiot when Shepard is around."

"I only told you, Garrus," said Joker bitterly, "and that was more than enough people to know."

"Fine, be some miserable old man that sits in a bar angry about the one who got away as you humans say," snapped Garrus and he stood up. "I was just trying to prod you in the right direction but I guess you just want to fumble around on your own. That's fine with me."

"What good would it do me now, though?" asked Joker in a raised voice. "She has Alenko to be her hero. I'm just her crippled pilot!"

"I don't know what good it would do you, but it sure as hell would make everything easier for the rest of us who have to cringe every time you speak with her!" yelled Garrus.

"Who asked you to listen in anyway?" retorted Joker, he was getting really pissed off at Garrus.

"You know what, you are hopeless, and when you decide to grow a quad and be a man, let me know because right now you are acting like a child!" snapped Garrus and he walked away from Joker, shaking his head, unable to understand why humans insist on playing games when it comes to mating.

Joker sat back down in his seat, seething with rage, he could barely see the console in front of him, nothing about today was going to go right he could tell just by how close he had come to nailing Garrus in the side of the head with a two-by-four. 'Fuck this, I don't need her, she'll never see me as anything but her fucking brother,' thought Joker as he ran a few tests on the core.


Joker was sitting in a chair in the mess with a plate of food in front of him but no appetite to stomach any of it, his mind was swirling with what Garrus had talked about, well yelled about. He might be acting like a complete idiot and a child but this was his own problem and he did not want to complicate things with Elissa and Kaidan, he owed her that much respect. He heard her footsteps approaching, even without being on the bridge he knew what hers sounded like, when he turned around he nearly had to pick his jaw up off of the floor she looked amazing in her dress blues. Her long reddish brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she was wearing some eye make-up but that was all and to him she still looked amazing, this was the Commander Shepard he had fallen in love with.

She sat down next to him at the table, her body so close to his he could see her chest rising and falling as she breathed he could feel the heat resonating from her body from underneath her clothes. Elissa was staring straight ahead, her eyes showed him she was in deep thought, too much in thought to really notice anything or anyone around her.

"Hey, Ellie," said Joker brightly as he nudged her shoulder with his own, "you getting ready for your meeting with the big bad Council?" She looked at him after he had nudged her, her mind receding from thought, coming back to reality where she needed to be right now.

"Like you should be," said Elissa, nudging him back, "everyone's putting their best on, you should be dressed in your blues too, in case you get called to be a character witness."

"What character should I be?" asked Joker in his smart-ass tone, "Maybe a space pirate or should I do an imitation of the Turian Councilor?"

"I think you should be you," said Elissa ruffling his cap, "I like that character most."

"Yeah, but I'm so boring," whined Joker, "plus if I was a space pirate, I could pretend I can piss without breaking a tibia."

"I thought you had those medical procedures that made your legs stronger," commented Elissa, "remember, that was part of your deal with Cerberus, they fix your bones if you be their drone."

"I was never their drone," replied Joker firmly, "I have always been your drone, Ellie, I only joined them when I saw your heart beating on that monitor."

Elissa smiled, he was as loyal to her now as he had been that first day, perhaps even more so now that they had been through hell and lived to tell the tale.

"Ella!" shouted Kaidan from somewhere close by, making Joker and she jump, "Come on, Ella, you need to help get my medals on my dress blues."

"Thirty-six years old and he still needs help getting dressed," muttered Elissa as she stood up and Joker refrained with difficulty from not laughing his ass off.

"Hey, want to have lunch with me?" asked Joker, "We could go to that kabob stand you like so much."

"Sure, Joker," said Elissa smiling, "You, Kaidan, EDI and I can all go there. I'll see you later, Joker."

Joker smiled at her as she walked away but he could not help but feel some kind of disappointment that she had turned this outing into a double date, he was hoping for something like from before, when it was just the two of them. He sighed, there was nothing he could do about that now, instead he needed to focus on patching things up with EDI, he really had no reason to be angry with her she was just reacting to what she perceived as a threat. "Well, guess I need to go get pretty," sighed Joker, "I hope EDI hasn't torched my stuff yet."