"Gin!" shouted Elissa throwing her cards down as Joker groaned, angrily putting his own down on the table.

"Remind me again why this game is fun," said Joker as he put a tally mark under Elissa's name on their score sheet, so far she was beating him twenty three to seventeen and on some kind of streak, she had won the last six games in less than twenty minutes.

"Because you're cute when you lose," said Elissa as she shuffled the cards, smiling at him.

"That's not why we used to play," said Joker, smirking at her.

"Remind me then why we used to play cards," said Elissa as she dealt them their cards, then took a sip of the coffee Rupert had poured for her just a few minutes ago, watching as Joker's face fell for a brief second when he saw his cards.

"We used to play as a form of stress management," said Joker, quickly regaining his composure, hoping she had not seen his face a few seconds ago.

"Now we have a different form of stress management," said Elissa in a quiet tone, watching him smile.

"I still like playing cards though," said Joker and he laughed when Elissa scowled though he knew it was in jest.

"Have you two stopped playing yet?" asked Garrus, who was walking off the elevator with Tali's hand in his.

"Just getting started," called Elissa, laughing when Garrus shook his head.

"Why don't you join us?" asked Joker, handing in two of his cards for another two.

"He has calibrations to do!" said Tali, giggling when she saw Elissa and Joker roll their eyes, "I'll join you two though, if anything to just talk."

"I'll be back before dinner," said Garrus as he kissed Tali's helmet, Elissa was touched by this display of affection from Garrus, normally he was so uptight. Tali walked towards the table they were sitting at and sat down next to Elissa, humming a tune she recognized was from the musical The Fleet and the Flotilla, Tali's absolute favorite vid in the galaxy.

"What's it like dating a Turian?" asked Elissa, checking out her cards, "Is it just like your favorite vid?"

"Better, I have it for real, " said Tali in a dreamy tone, Joker sniggered until Elissa shot him a look that shut him up, "Garrus and I have always been friends and now that we're more, everything just feels so natural, as if it was always meant to be a romantic relationship."

"I know what you mean," said Joker smiling at Elissa who was also smiling at him.

"What ever happened to Aria T'Loak? I thought Garrus was with her for a while?" asked Elissa, hoping Tali would not get offended by the subject of Omega's queen.

"Oh that," sighed Tali, obviously she was not happy talking about her but Elissa knew she was going to anyway, "she flipped out when she found out Garrus was Archangel."

"You mean he hadn't told her!" laughed Joker, forgetting his cards completely, "Talk about some serious trust issues."

"From what he told me, he was just working her so he could have access to all shady deals and things like that," said Tali, "I'd rather not think about it, instead I'm going to ask Elissa what she plans on doing now that she is free and we're are never going to bring the sorted subject up again, am I clear?"

"Crystal," said Joker trying to be serious abou the situation while Elissa nodded, using her cards to cover up her grin.

"So, Lisa," said Tali turning to Elissa, "What are your plans now that you're free?"

"Other than stopping an Ardat-Yakshi army and finding out what Cerberus is up to?" asked Elissa, trading in four of her cards.

"Obviously," said Tali, who was now doodling on the score sheet.

"I have a few personal matters to attend to," replied Elissa shifting in her seat, trying to stop the tears that threatened to spill over.

"Such as?" asked Joker, this was the first he had heard of these personal matters.

"I want to go back to Alchera," said Elissa quietly, watching Joker's reaction, wishing she had not said a word about her plans now.

"Anything else?" asked Joker, "Anyone you want to see?"

"I was thinking of going to Tuchanka and holding a memorial for Mordin," said Elissa, "We'll have to stop off at Sur'Kesh first though, find Mordin's nephew and bring him with us, and get in touch with Dr. Ingleside, he wants to be there."

"Speaking of memorials," said Tali, drawing what looked like a cat, "have you been in touch with Kolyat since Thane's?"

"He sends me a message every once in a while," said Elissa, adjusting her cards, "so far he's been keeping his nose clean and is getting a job at Huerta as security, I think Thane would approve of his son's choices."

"It's strange but I still miss Thane," said Joker sadly, "He was a great guy and had the best outlook on life, despite the fact he was dying, he acted like he wasn't."

"That's what was so great about him," whispered Elissa, "I learned so much from him, mostly how to cope with the idea of death and still carry on the fight, I wish he had made it through."

"We all do, Lisa," said Tali, putting her hand on Elissa's shoulder and Joker reached across, placing his hand on her's as best he could without disturbing her cards.

"Hey!" shouted James emerging from the elevator, Miranda behind him, "What's with the love fest here?"

"Nothing you can get it on, James," said Elissa laughing with everyone else.

"Damn, and here I was going to offer over my personal vid recorder," said James as he sat next to Joker, Miranda on his lap, "Anyway, who's winning?"

"I am," said Elissa, putting her cards on the table, "Gin!"

"Goddamn it!" groaned Joker as everyone laughed around him, "You win, Ellie, I'm quitting for good."

"Come on, Joker," said Miranda, reaching for the deck of cards, "You might quit gin but don't quit cards, just play a different game, and the name of that your new game is poker."

"Another card game I suck at," sighed Joker but he was smiling.

"Good, then maybe I stand a chance," said Tali watching as Miranda passed out cards to everyone.

"We don't have any chips," said James, kissing Miranda's cheek.

"We can play for chores and favors," said Elissa, "favors of a nonsexual nature, I might add." James and Joker groaned, the women laughed.

"Sounds good to me," said Miranda, "EDI, keep track of who owes whom a favor or who is in charge of what chore."

"Of course, Miss Lawson," said EDI.

"Alright," said Elissa, "lets get this started."

"Bring it!" exclaimed Joker, satisfied with his hand already.

"Keelah, I have a bad feeling about this," said Tali.

"Don't give yourself away there, Sparky," said James and they started playing.


"Okay, EDI," said Miranda, slightly deflated, "read back the favors and chore reassignments, I think we're done playing for the night." Everyone around the table nodded.

"Yes, Miss Lawson," said EDI, "Favors: Lieutenant Vega owes Mr. Moreau two months of personal training but Mr. Moreau owes Lieutenant Vega a piloting lesson and his dessert at dinner for the next three weeks, Mr. Moreau owes Miss vas Normandy a helmet cleaning and she has to balance Lieutenant Vega's checkbook both personal and for his business, Shepard has permitted Miss Lawson access to her books in return Miss Lawson will clean the fish tank once a week and Lieutenant Vega owes Shepard a tattoo of her choosing free of charge. Chores: Mr. Moreau is responsible for cleaning the crew's various firearms instead of Lieutenant Vega for the next week along with Shepard, Miss vas Normandy has been charged with checking Shepard's personal terminal for two weeks and Lieutenant Vega is responsible for being Miss Lawson's biotics training partner for an unspecified duration."

"I do not envy you there, James," chuckled Joker, reluctantly passing his slice of pie to James, "You need this food more than I do if you're going to be training with her."

"He'll be fine," said Tali, hiccuping slightly, "Miranda will go easy on him, she doesn't want to break her boy toy."

"Not yet anyway," said Miranda and everyone laughed when James turned bright red.

"Oh my god, way too much information," laughed Joker, reaching for his beer.

"It's good to see you loosen up some, Mira," said Elissa, sipping her Kahlua and cream Rupert had made from his secret stash of good liquor.

"It's strange but it feels good to relax," said Miranda, shifting herself on James' lap, "As much as I've enjoyed my missionary work, I feel much more at ease being back on the Normandy, it makes me feel like all is right with the galaxy despite all we've been through. With all of the enemies we've faced, you'd think we wouldn't know what it means to relax."

"Yeah, but right now there are no gigantic mechanical squids to shoot at," said Joker, smiling.

"Or Collectors to battle," said Tali stifling a hiccup.

"Still was fun though," said James, "I still wish I had been on the SR-2 from the start, sounds like it was an amazing ride."

"The best," said everyone else and then they all laughed, even though they had stayed in contact over the last few months it felt much better being around everyone again in this setting.

"Still glad you came with us when you did, James," said Elissa, remembering her house arrest and first meeting James when he had been assigned as her personal guard.

"So am I, Lola," said James, hugging Miranda closer, "there's no place I'd rather be, and I'm not looking forward to this mission being over, it might be the end of all this."

"You can never keep the Normandy's crew apart," scoffed Joker, "I think we've proven that time and time again, no matter where you scatter us, we always get back together."

"You got that right, amigo," said James, clapping Joker on the back, "I mean, even Wrex came back every now and then and he's the father to most of Tuchanka now."

"I hope Tuchanka has a large supply of ice," muttered Elissa, remembering her conversation with Wrex at the bar a few months ago, and how he had needed five bags of ice to just make it back to the Normandy without wincing too much.

"Wrex as a father," giggled Tali, "I can just see him playing tea party with his daughters, in a pink hat and holding a tiny tea cup."

"I don't think Krogans know what a tea party is, Tali," chuckled Miranda, "but it would be amusing to watch Wrex be a father, I bet a lot of headbutting is involved."

"Not on the children I hope," said Elissa sternly.

"Don't be silly, I meant he probably would butt heads with their mothers," said Miranda, "All of those women demanding his attention for their children."

"I don't envy him at all," said Joker, laughing.

"You don't want your own personal harem, Joker?" teased James, getting a glare from Elissa, which he chose to ignore.

"Nah, I'm a one woman kind of guy," said Joker, looking over at Elissa who beamed at him sweetly.

"Glad you two are finally together," said James, absentmindedly playing with a strand of Miranda's dark hair, "By the way, it's about freaking time!"

"I agree," called Garrus as he stepped out of the main battery, "Sorry I'm late, just now got done with the calibrations, still have some to do tomorrow."

"Never mind those silly calibrations," said Tali, slurring a few words, "Why don't you try and find my omni-tattoo?"

"Who let Tali drink?" asked Garrus, shaking his head.

"We can't stop her, Scars," said James, chuckling as Tali tried to stand, she was shaky on her legs, "She's her own woman."

"I didn't mean to say it like that," sighed Garrus as he held onto Tali who had stumbled into his arms in an attempt to walk, "It's just you all know how she gets when she drinks."

"She's a helluva lot more fun than you are," sniggered Joker, as Garrus picked up Tali who was now giggling uncontrollably, "You just get a larger stick up your ass when you're drunk, though I still think you'd try to kill some one with it if you could."

"I'm glad I amuse you, Joker," said Garrus, pulling Tali to her feet as she tried to lay down on the floor, "But I also meant what I said before, I'm glad you finally grew a quad and started dating Shepard, it took you long enough."

"Thanks for that, Garrus," sighed Joker, pulling his cap over his eyes while everyone laughed, though no one seemed to hold his reluctance against him.

"Don't feel bad," said Garrus, "I'm about to give Shepard crap for the long wait too. Shepard, you should have walked away from Alenko on Horizon and kissed this man the second you walked back on the ship."

Elissa turned red and hid herself behind her hands as everyone now laughed at her, but she knew the fact they were laughing meant they cared, they just wanted her happy like she had always wanted for them.

"Same could be said for you and Tali," said Kasumi from behind him, making everyone jump, "I knew you two were flirting long before now, just glad you finally grew a quad as you so eloquently put it, and asked her out." She disappeared again and everyone shook their heads, nothing had really changed since the last time they were all on board together.

"On that note, I'm taking her back bed so she can sober up," said Garrus heading towards the elevator, "See you in the morning."

"Good luck finding that omni-tattoo!" shouted Joker as Garrus and Tali got into the elevator.

"I think Garrus has the right idea," said Miranda, yawning to emphasize her point, "Ready for bed, love?"

"I think so," said James stretching overhead, flexing his muscles for show, "I'm glad you're cabin is just over there, Rosa, otherwise I might not make it. Good night, Lola, Joker." Miranda climbed off James' lap and they held hands as they walked over to Miranda's old quarters, Elissa and Joker shaking their heads.

"Do you want to head to bed or would you rather play a few more hands of gin?" asked Elissa, shuffling the cards, laughing when Joker groaned.

"I think I might just head off to bed," said Joker standing up, "See you in the morning, Ellie."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" asked Elissa trying to sound like she was giving an order.

"To the cockpit," said Joker, pointing to the general area of where it was located in relation to where he was currently standing, "I usually sleep there."

"Not anymore," said Elissa, standing up and taking his hand in her own, "from now on, you sleep in my cabin, in my bed, with me."

Joker blinked a few times in shock, "That was fast."

"I told you I don't do anything half-assed," said Elissa smirking as they got into the elevator, "That includes being in a relationship."

"I like your style, Commander," said Joker and they laughed, before disappearing into Elissa's cabin, both were glad they could be together at last.


Joker woke up to a ceiling of stars and for a split second he thought he was laying in his chair until he felt Elissa stir next to him and he remembered that he was in her cabin, in her bed, with her instead of being alone. He leaned over slightly and kissed her forehead, glad to be there laying next to her, it really was his dream come true.

"Damn, I'm lucky," whispered Joker, hugging her closer to his chest.

"Not as lucky as I am," said Elissa though her eyes were still closed.

"Sleep well?" asked Joker, kissing the top of her head, smelling her rose shampoo.

"Obviously," yawned Elissa as she stretched, then she put her arms back around Joker's torso, smiling up at him, "What about you?"

"I always sleep better with you next to me," said Joker, smiling back at her, "How much longer until our medical leave is up?"

"Chakwas has to clear us first," said Elissa, propping herself on her pillow with her elbow, "but I suspect we only have a few more hours, then it's back to the fight."

"Sometimes I wish there wasn't a battle to fight," sighed Joker, "but you and I would both go absolutely stir crazy if there was nothing for us to do, hell that almost happened when we were in Vancouver, thank God for that delivery job."

"Delivery job?" said Elissa, surprised that Joker had taken up a delivery job during their extended shore leave.

"Yeah, did a few shuttle runs for Arcturus and occasionally made deliveries to various towns in British Columbia," said Joker, brushing some strands of hair out of her face.

"I never heard that," said Elissa her breath hitching at his touch, "everyone made it sound like all you did while on leave was watch the extranet and play gin with me."

"I didn't want you jealous that your pilot was outsourcing to other companies," said Joker grinning as she pretended to glare at him.

"As long as you don't ask to be reassigned to another ship, I'm fine with you outsourcing your skills," said Elissa, kissing him softly.

"I'd never leave you or the Normandy," said Joker, turning serious while he spoke.

"Good," said Elissa, stroking his beard, "because I'd never let you."

"Elissa, I love you," said Joker and he meant it, with all of his heart.

"I love you, too, Jeff," said Elissa and he brought her in for a passionate kiss, she knew he had meant it when he said it and she meant it too, for the first time in a very long time she actually meant those three words.