"Hold your fingers still," said Gabby harshly to Elissa, who was flinching, "Shepard, I can't solder these wires if you keep moving your fingers."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," said Elissa, her fingers trembling as she pressed the wires back in place, "Okay, try it again."
Gabby was much faster this time, pressing the solder gun against the two wires before Elissa could even blink, sealing them together in a strong bond.
Elissa removed her hands from inside EDI's torso and wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead.
"Are you alright, Shepard?" asked Gabby smirking as she examined her work, "I've never seen you so jumpy around a simple beam before."
"Yeah, it's just something about my hands being in close contact with fire," said Elissa passing a small screwdriver to Gabby, "How much longer until she's operational?"
"Let's see," said Gabby, her head lowered as she screwed in some loose bolts, "We've been working on her for nearly four days and still aren't any closer, so probably another week."
"Tali said it'd only be a few days, if there was constant work," mumbled Elissa as she started piecing together shards of metal that would re-cover EDI's exposed wires and circuitry.
"And we haven't been able to do that," snapped Gabby, "we might have been able to if the medbay hadn't gotten blown up and if the FTL drive didn't need a tune up."
"I'm sorry, Gabby, I didn't realize this was taking such a toll on you," said Elissa apologetically, she passed her a wrench, they were silent for a few minutes before Gabby spoke again.
"It's not that it's taking a toll on me," said Gabby, lifting her head and resting her arms on the metal surface of the work bench, "there's just so much to be done, and no one's in the mood to get any of it done. I had to drag Ken away from the poker table just so he could help me with the FTL drive, when before he was always there to lend a hand. There's something off with the crew, like their bodies are here but their minds are elsewhere."
Elissa sighed, leaning against the table, "I know, everyone's looking forward to when we go to Rannoch, their families are there."
"I heard," said Gabby, smiling sadly at Elissa, "Can I ask you a question, Shepard?"
"Of course," said Elissa, tossing her the grease rag.
Gabby caught the rag and wiped her hands of the excess grease and oil, "What's going on here, Shepard?"
Elissa blinked, "What do you mean?"
"This. All of this. Why are we out here in the Terminus when we could be somewhere else? What's going on that makes us unable to go home? What are we hunting this time?" asked Gabby, her lips pursed so tight they nearly disappeared.
"I'm wondering that myself," sighed Elissa, putting her head in her hands, "So far, we're running away from Cerberus agents, Kaidan, and Councilor Sparatus. Where we're running to and why we're running in the first place is still a mystery."
"Is Miss Lawson still trying to decode that message?" asked Gabby her voice tight, she threw down the grease rag angrily.
"As far as I can tell, yeah that's the situation," said Elissa raising an eyebrow, "Why are you so angry towards her?"
"That perfect bitch likes to lord her position over my head," spat Gabby, "I went to ask her a question and she made it sound like I had to go through four different people in order for her to even consider my question."
"What was your question?" asked Elissa, reconnecting a few wires, prepping them for soldering later on.
"Whether or not I could switch my shift to a later time," sighed Gabby, "like that matters now anyway, I'm doing the work of three people and I'm lucky to go to bed before my next shift starts."
"I know the feeling," said Elissa, "I spend my days going around from crew member to crew member trying to do all that I can to help but sometimes I feel like what would really help the crew out would be either less work or more people to help out."
"The work load's not going to change," chuckled Gabby, "but it is nice having Hackett's people work on some of the projects, maybe you could hire them on full time."
"I wish," laughed Elissa, "but we make do as best we can with what we have. You should try and get along with Miranda, I know she's not exactly the warmest person in the galaxy, but we can't have too many internal conflicts. I'm already expecting a mutiny from those who have family hiding out on Rannoch."
"Did Hackett come by and answer questions?" asked Gabby as she pulled out a burned out circuit board, scowling at the damage.
"He did a couple of days ago, and it did nothing but make everyone want to leave Omega," sighed Elissa, rubbing her temples against the headache that seemed to want to be a chronic problem.
"Who all is there?" asked Gabby, taking a small break from soldering, "Other than mine and Ken's family of course."
"Brynn and Nick," said Elissa, counting the people off on her fingers, "Garrus's father Sicarius and sister Solana, Tali's aunt is already there so she's safe, Samantha's parents Gwen and Walter, Chakwas's husband, her children, and their children, James's uncle Emilio and his kids, Feron's still on the Shadow Broker's base but Aethyta is on Rannoch, and Joker's sister Hilary, along with several others."
"Joker found Hilary?" asked Gabby, her eyes wide in astonishment, "I thought she died."
"So did I," admitted Elissa, her eyes cast down, "but Liara was persistent in her search and finally tracked her down on Sur'Kesh."
"What was she doing there?" asked Gabby.
"From what I know, all colonists from the colonies close to the edge of Council space were evacuated during the war and relocated to safer areas, Sur'Kesh was one of them," replied Elissa, picking up a piece of metal turning it over in her hands a few times.
"Has he spoken to her since Liara found her?" asked Gabby.
"I'm not really sure," sighed Elissa, putting the piece down, "I should've asked him before now, damn it, he must think I'm a horrible girlfriend." She rested her head in her hands again, pressing her palms against her eyes.
Gabby smiled gently, "Shepard, I don't think for a moment that Joker believes you to be a horrible girlfriend, I mean after all you've been through I'm surprised you've made it this far."
"Thanks, Gabby," said Elissa wryly, "Glad to know you think I'm stable."
Gabby smiled and rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean, Shepard, now hand me that socket wrench."
"Easy does it, Joker," coached James, "we don't need your muscles seizing up before we even get started."
"That can happen?" asked Joker as he slowly stretched his fingers towards his toes, following James's example.
"Yeah, if it's been a while since you last worked out," said James, "well it's happened to me anyway."
"Feels good to stretch like this," said Joker, lowering his head towards his knees, "Okay, what's first on the list?"
"After stretching comes cardio," said James, standing up and then helping Joker up off of the mats next, "How do you feel about walking?"
"I guess I can do that," said Joker smiling as he adjusted his braces, despite the fact Cerberus had given him a few upgrades regarding his disease, he still needed braces on his legs if he was going to do anything strenuous.
"Alright, a brisk walk around the crew deck and then shuttle bay," instructed James, going into drill sergeant mode, "after that, we'll work on sit-ups, push-ups, and then some light weight training."
"Geez, James, are you trying to train me or kill me?" asked Joker as they walked over to the elevator.
"Hey, Chakwas approved of the exercises," said James sternly, "if you have a problem, take it up with her, though I doubt it'd do you much good."
"Wish I could swim instead," muttered Joker as they entered the elevator.
"I thought about that," said James thoughtfully, "but then I remembered that the Normandy isn't equipped with a lap pool or anything like that. Maybe on Rannoch you can swim in the ocean or something similar."
The thought of going to Rannoch made him grin, "I can't wait to see my sister again."
"I'm glad she's alright," said James softly, "Any news from her?"
Joker looked down at his feet, "Yeah, she messaged me a few days ago, she told me my dad died on Tiptree, protecting an evacuation shuttle from a group of indoctrinated Asari commandos."
"Damn," whistled James, "at least he died a hero. What about your mom?"
"Died in the initial attack," said Joker, his voice becoming strained as he tried not to let a sob escape his throat, "she was an electrical engineer on Arcturus."
James reached over and put his hand on Joker's shoulder, "I know you've had it rough, and I'm not telling you that I know how you feel because I don't know exactly, but you have to look at it this way: you have Lola and Hilary, you have a ship full of people who would back you in an instant, and you fly this magnificent ship everyday. Not many people are as blessed as you are, amigo, don't dwell too much on the past or you'll miss the present."
Joker smirked, "Since when did you get so damn philosophical?"
"Natural talent," said James, "comes along with my ability to roll my tongue."
They shared a grin before exiting the elevator and immediately had to duck as a chair was biotically sent flying across the hallway, barely missing the top of James's head.
"Dios!" shouted James as he helped Joker stand again.
"Get off my fucking back, Jack!" shouted Jacob, his biotic aura seemingly consuming his entire body.
"All I did was ask why you hadn't been talking to the mother of your child!" shouted Jack, who had also activated her biotics, she and Jacob were standing in a face-off position both ready to take the other down.
"I already told you why!" snarled Jacob and he spat at her.
"You son of a bitch!" shouted Jack and she prepared a singularity shot just as Elissa rounded the corner.
"Jack! Jacob!" commanded Elissa, her hands on her hips and her face screwed into a scowl, "Stand down now!"
Jack and Jacob remained rooted to the spot, their eyes never leaving the other, both looked ready to tear the other apart the moment Elissa left the hall.
"That's a direct order," said Elissa darkly.
"I'd listen to her if I were you," said one of the mechanics who was working on the medbay, he and several others seemed to be squirming under Elissa's fierce gaze though it was directed at Jack and Jacob.
"Back off, junior, you have no idea who you're fucking with," growled Jack.
"I'm not going to repeat myself," said Elissa, striding up and standing between the two of them, "Either you stand down or I put you down."
Joker watched in amazement as Jack and Jacob stood down, he had been sure there would have been more damage done than just a flying chair.
"Shepard, I—" started Jacob but Elissa cut him off, her tone indicating that she was in no mood for dealing with this at the moment.
"Listen to me and listen to me good," said Elissa, "I have enough to deal with without breaking up fights between my crew members, either you play nice with everyone or we'll have a problem, am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Jacob through gritted teeth, saluting her.
"Whatever," snorted Jack and she walked away towards the server room, not even looking back at the group.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to," sighed Elissa and she walked away from the medbay, heading towards the main battery hoping to catch Garrus there.
"Uh, should we continue our training session?" asked James, glancing at Joker who was looking down the empty hallway.
"Yeah, okay," said Joker, "How many laps around the deck before we go down to the shuttle bay?"
"We'll start with five and see how you're feeling from there," said James clapping him on the back, "Alright, let's get started, just let me know if you need to rest Chakwas was adamant that you get rest when necessary."
"I'll let you know," said Joker smiling, and he started walking down the hall, following James's lead.
Elissa entered the main battery, glad to see Garrus had resumed his post at the Thanix cannon, and she sat down quietly on the crate he still kept in there despite requests that it be moved somewhere more practical.
"Hey, Shepard," said Garrus after a few minutes, turning around to face her, "something I can help with?"
"No, just needed some quiet," sighed Elissa, resting her head on the wall behind her, "how's your day going?"
"I'm hiding from my girlfriend and pretending to calibrate," said Garrus, "that should tell you how well my day's been going."
"Why're you hiding from Tali?" asked Elissa, surprised that Garrus would do something like that.
"Because if I hear her sing that damn song one more time, I swear by the spirits I'll throw myself on Aria's mercy," growled Garrus.
Elissa raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that a little extreme, Garrus?"
"To you maybe, but you don't have to hear 'I'm as free as dust on the solar wind' in four different keys in the same hour," sighed Garrus, "I love Tali, but the singing is getting on my last already frayed nerve."
"Sounds like you're in need of a stress reliever," said Elissa, taking her bun down to relieve some of the pain she felt building in her head, "How about we go shoot bottles off of the roof of the Normandy?"
"Enticing offer," said Garrus, sitting down beside her, "but I think that would attract the type of attention Hackett doesn't want, how about something a little more low key?"
"Uh, shoot bottles off the top of James's head?" suggested Elissa.
Garrus chuckled, "Why do I get the feeling you really want to shoot something?"
"Cause you want to do the same thing," laughed Elissa, "God, I just want to do anything that gets me off this ship."
"I feel the same way," said Garrus, "You know, we haven't gotten much of a chance to talk one-on-one since you and Joker broke out of prison, how are you holding up, Shepard?"
Elissa looked at the Turian, giving him a sad smile, "Not so great, to be honest, I feel like I'm slipping."
"Elaborate," said Garrus, getting comfortable on the crate, "we have all of the time in the galaxy right now."
"Don't remind me," moaned Elissa eliciting a laugh from Garrus before she continued speaking, "Anyway, it just feels like no matter what I do, I can't keep the family safe. Before, I knew what to do to keep everyone safe and sound, at least for the most part since we knew the enemy. Now, I can't even trust the people that shelter us, I know the second a bounty is put on my head we're all dead if we stay here. I wish I could be who I was during the war, the Commander Shepard that kept everyone together and knew we could win the fight." She buried her head in her hands, unable to face him after expressing her doubts.
Garrus looked at his best friend, he knew that as much as the crew needed her for support she also needed the crew to support her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a brotherly fashion, "Shepard, listen to your old friend, you're exactly the same commander now as you were in the war right now you're just adapting to a new situation. It's like when we first started hunting Saren, yes we knew the enemy but we didn't know what to expect or who was working for him."
"But now I don't know the enemy," sighed Elissa, resting her hands on her knees.
"Sure we do, it's Cerberus and the Council, just like the old days," said Garrus glancing down at her, glad to see she was smiling at last.
"Yeah," said Elissa, "wonder what I did to deserve their wrath."
"Do you really want to go down that road, Shepard?" asked Garrus, flexing his mandibles in amusement.
Elissa burst out laughing, "No, I guess not, that'd probably be a very bad idea."
"Don't worry, Shepard," said Garrus kindly, "you'll figure out a way to win, you always have and this time isn't any better."
"Thanks, Garrus, I really appreciate that," said Elissa, touching his cheek gently.
"Now that I've singlehandedly brought the legendary Commander Shepard back from the edge of the abyss," said Garrus smugly, "I'd like to bring up an observation."
"Sure, Garrus," said Elissa.
"Everyone on this ship is about to kill each other," said Garrus, "I'm not sure if you've noticed how everyone snaps at each other or the nasty fights that break out during meal time."
"I have," sighed Elissa, "and I've been thinking of ways to make the situation better."
"Anything concrete yet?" asked Garrus.
"I have one idea," said Elissa, giving him a wicked grin, "we could sneak out of the Normandy and go clubbing at Afterlife."
"You'd actually disobey Hackett's orders to stay put on the Normandy?" asked Garrus, feigning surprise, "Shepard, I'm shocked and want in."
Elissa laughed, "Good, now I just need to make the announcement without the news reaching Hackett."
"That won't be difficult as long as we don't tell Joker, you know what a big mouth he has," said Garrus and he laughed when he saw the red creeping into Elissa's cheeks.
"I'm just going to pretend that you didn't say what you just said," said Elissa, slightly embarrassed, "Will you spread the word that the crew will get twenty four hours shore leave?"
"Leave it to me, Shepard," said Garrus confidently, "I know how to get a party started."
"Great," said Elissa, "promise me though you won't make fun of my dancing again."
Garrus let out a great laugh just thinking of her dancing, "Now that I can't promise, Shepard, it's too easy of a target."
Elissa groaned, "Fine, just make it a few quick jabs and then leave it be."
"If you insist," said Garrus, still laughing, "but I can't promise the same for the rest of the crew."
"I was afraid you were going to say that," sighed Elissa smiling at Garrus as he clapped her on the back.
Joker groaned as he eased himself into his seat, although the exercises had not been difficult, the physical exertions were not something he or his muscles were used to yet, "I think I'm regretting asking James for those extra labs in the shuttle bay."
"Are you alright, Jeff?" asked EDI, appearing beside him.
"Yeah, just sore," groaned Joker, wincing as he stretched his arms over his head, "Give me the rundown, how bad are things?"
"What specific things are you asking about?" asked EDI.
Joker rolled his eyes, for all she was capable of doing, EDI still needed specifics when it came to commands, "How's the core? How's the FTL drive? Is the medbay almost complete? Has Gabby fixed your mobile platform yet?"
"The core appears to be in proper working order," reported EDI, "The FTL drive will still need an extra day or two before tests can be done to examine its capabilities, the medbay is still weeks from being in working condition. As for my mobile platform, I overheard Engineer Daniels-Donnelly say that it would take another week before it is operational, and then I heard Shepard mutter something about giving me a breast reduction to which Engineer Daniels-Donnelly giggled in response."
Joker had to stifle the chuckles that had risen in his throat, "Oh she did?"
"Yes, and I am unsure of why Shepard would recommend that type of procedure," said EDI, her tone suggesting she was confused, "The mobile platform I reside in does not possess any actual breast tissue that could be reduced."
"Yeah, I can see where that'd be confusing," said Joker, wiping the tears that had formed from laughing inwardly.
"Did something I say upset you, Jeff?" asked EDI, "Your tears suggest sadness but you are not displaying the readings that would suggest such."
"I'm fine, EDI, might be allergies or something," said Joker, opening up his private terminal.
"Your medical record does not have any allergies recorded," said EDI, "Did you neglect to mention these allergies to Chakwas? Perhaps you should."
Joker rolled his eyes, refraining with difficulty from sighing, "EDI, my medical record could be a medical textbook there's so much information in there, if allergies aren't mentioned then I don't have any."
"Then why would you say you do when the situation is to the contrary?" asked EDI.
"It's a figure of speech, whenever humans are caught crying when they would rather not be, they will say either they have allergies or have something caught in their eye," replied Joker, wading through the junk mail that often filled his inbox.
"Then might I suggest you refrain from using the one referring to allergies," said EDI, "that phrase might mislead others into believing you have unknown allergies."
"Noted, EDI," sighed Joker, shaking his head in amusement as he continued scanning his messages, his heart leaping when he saw one addressed to him from Hilary.
He was about to open the message when EDI piped up again.
"Jeff, I have a request," said EDI.
"What do you need, EDI?" asked Joker, turning his chair to face the blue orb.
"I have been working on my surprise for Shepard and have run into an obstacle," said EDI.
"Do you need me to get someone to help?" asked Joker, a little confused since EDI had promised not to tell him the surprise she was working on.
"No, this aspect of the surprise requires your assistance," said EDI, "I would like to know what your favorite memory of Shepard is, it can be during the war or before then, but nothing too recent."
"Okay," said Joker still puzzled but he decided it would be best to comply with EDI's request, he thought for a few minutes before speaking finding the perfect memory, "I've got it, my favorite memory of Elissa is when we met back up after Miranda and Jacob brought her to Minutemen Station. I still remember waiting outside the communications room for her to finish up her debriefing with the Illusive Man, planning my dramatic entrance and my first witty comment, when I heard my cue I entered the room and froze. There she was, standing in front of me again a huge smile on her face as if I had been the one gone instead of her, everything I had planned on doing or saying went right out the window. I remember thinking, 'I've got her back, she's alive,' and making up my mind then and there that I would make her transition back into the world as smooth and painless as possible. Then she hugged me, tight too, I thought she might crack a rib but it felt good. We left the comm room and started talking, I told her about how everything we had worked for during the battle against Saren and the Geth had gone sideways, such as the crew's disbandment and my being grounded. I also remember telling her how the Alliance had taken away the one thing that had ever meant anything to me, I knew she thought I was talking about flying the Normandy, but actually I was talking about her."
He blinked back the tears in his eyes before continuing. "If they hadn't agreed with the Council to send her out there to Geth space, the Normandy wouldn't have gotten attacked and she would've lived. So in their own indirect way, the Alliance took her away from me, and I lost my motivation to fly hence my grounding. She's been my reason for keeping up the fight even when the odds were bleak, and without her, I had no reason to fight anymore which is also why that memory is also my favorite: I felt the urge to fight again thanks to her."
"Thank you, Jeff," said EDI, her voice lowered as if to whisper, "I know that was incredibly personal and I appreciate you sharing that with me. I will let you know how the surprise goes." And with that, she disappeared.
Joker sat back in his seat and wiped a stray tear that had managed to escape, it had been a very long time since he had thought about the day she had woken up, and even now he could still hear the happy cry she had uttered when she saw him and feel the exact spots where her armor had dug in when they had embraced. He felt himself smiling, the moment when they were reunited made him feel alive again for the first time in two years, filling him with joy, relief, and a slew of other emotions he had never felt towards one person all at once. What he had neglected to tell EDI was that was the moment he knew he loved her, and that he would love no one else but her even if they both moved onto different relationships. He heard her familiar footsteps felt the fluttering in his chest that he always associated with that sound, turning around he saw her striding up the bridge.
"Hey babe," said Elissa, leaning down and kissing his cheek when she entered, "how are you doing?"
"Sore from my physical therapy and still a little shaken up from almost getting to know a magically flying chair intimately," said Joker as she sat down in the co-pilot's chair.
"Have you heard from Hilary lately?" asked Elissa, closing her eyes, Joker saw the tightness around her eyes and knew her headache was still crippling her with a vengeance.
"I got a message from her this morning actually," said Joker as he moved to open the message, "I haven't read it yet, I was just about to when you walked in."
"Then maybe I should go," said Elissa swinging her legs to the floor.
"What? Why?" asked Joker, spinning his chair so he could face her, "Ellie, it doesn't bother me if you read over my shoulder, hell I'll end up telling you the message eventually."
"True," said Elissa, sitting back down, "James told me about her last message, I'm really sorry about your dad, I know how that hurts."
Joker gave her a sad smile, the pain of his dad's death was still raw, "Thanks, Ellie, your support really helps."
Elissa smiled, "Okay, open the message."
Joker nodded and happily obliged, clicking on the message, eager to read what his sister had written him and he read aloud:
"Jeff,
I'm glad to hear that you and Shepard will be coming to Rannoch, I can't wait to meet her! To answer your question, life here on Rannoch is similar to that on the farm in Tiptree; I get up with everyone, get ready, help Brynn and some others with breakfast and then we all go out and work, I've been working with Kolyat and Solana recently our job is to help build houses for those who already have plots on Rannoch. I really like the work, I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile when I see how many new homes have been built and all of the families living in them. No, I haven't been going to school per say but Quaes has been tutoring me during meals and before bed, so I'm not that far behind whenever I do end up going back to school.
I did as you requested and asked Admiral Gerrel for coordinates to a secluded area to land the Normandy, I've enclosed them at the bottom of message. News of your impending arrival has created quite a stir in our ragtag group, everyone's been hounding Admiral Hackett for updates and contact information, Brynn can't stop crying whenever she gets a message from Jacob and Aethyta's been going around telling anyone who'll listen about her new grandchild (I've grown to love them all dearly, but sometimes I just want to sedate them all). Before I forget, I'm no longer living with Quaes, instead I'm staying with Dr. Chakwas's daughter Rosemary and her family but I still spend most of my day with him. Okay, have to go, Gwen and Brynn are demanding my help with dinner.
Love you to the moon and back,
Hilary a.k.a. Gunny"
Joker looked over at Elissa and saw she had a smile on her face, "My sister's really something, huh?"
"She sounds just like you," chuckled Elissa, "Remind me again, who's Quaes?"
"Mordin's nephew," replied Joker, "he took her in after she arrived on Sur'Kesh, glad to know she was with someone reliable."
"Same here," said Elissa, resting her forehead in her hand, remembering something from the letter that struck her as odd, "Has she mentioned why Kolyat's on Rannoch? Last I heard he was still on the Citadel."
"I think Hackett's the best person to ask that question, Ellie," said Joker, spinning his chair around, "or you can just wait until we get to Rannoch and ask him yourself."
"Yeah, I could do that," said Elissa, they were silent for a few minutes, both lost in thought about what was to come.
"Repairs aren't going as well as we'd hoped," said Joker quietly, he was trying to think of what to talk to Hilary about without running out of topics for when he saw her again.
"Shit," muttered Elissa, "Gabby hinted that no one's been pulling their weight lately, all of them are still hung up on not being on Rannoch this fucking second."
"Can you blame them?" asked Joker defensively.
Elissa looked up and frowned, "I'm sorry, Jeff, I didn't mean to imply that there was anything wrong with wanting to be there. I just wish everyone would get it through their heads that in order to get there we need the repairs done, not wait around until everything magically gets done."
Joker beckoned for her to sit with him and she obliged, easing herself beside him, and he held her close kissing her forehead in the process.
"God, I hate this," sighed Elissa, nuzzling closer, "Absolutely nothing seems to be going our way, sure we won on Lilonani but several hundred lives were lost along with Falere. Then we find out our families were targets for the Council and are in hiding, I was shot during our escape, and we still have no clue who's behind all of this. Now, my crew's slacking off to the ridiculous and everyone seems ready to tear each other apart."
"There's a cure for that last bit," said Joker brightly, "Why don't we all go and party at Afterlife? I mean, Aria might not be happy to see Garrus but she hasn't given the signal to kill us yet either so it might be safe to venture off the ship."
"Great minds think alike," said Elissa, "I was already thinking of giving everyone twenty four hours shore leave and taking them all to Afterlife as a way to show them how appreciated they are and to make them feel like we aren't trapped on this ship."
"Good idea, Ellie belly," whispered Joker, sniggering when she glared at him, "Is Samara doing okay, you know after . . ?"
Elissa looked up at him with sad eyes, she and Samara had released Falere's body to the empty void of space a few days ago with only Joker and Garrus in attendance, no one had spoken that night at the request of Samara. She had told them that although the body they had released was in the form of Falere, her soul and true being had left her body long before now, and she did not want words wasted on a husk.
"From what I could tell she's doing well," replied Elissa, "She and my mom have become really good friends, I guess losing a loved one at some point or another brings people together."
"Yeah," said Joker quietly, "It's the one thing everyone on this ship has in common, we've all lost someone close to us in one way or another."
Elissa swallowed hard, the memories of everyone she had ever lost rushing at her in a blur, "I don't know which is worse, losing someone from your family or losing a friend."
"In our case, we've lost family," said Joker, stroking her hair, staring at the console but not really seeing anything, "I'm just glad we all got a second chance at life."
"Do you ever think about that battle?" asked Elissa quietly, "About me activating the Crucible and destroying the Reapers."
"I try not to, Ellie," admitted Joker, his grip on her tightening, "That was the second worst day of my life."
"Why only the second?" asked Elissa, caressing his cheek.
"Because the worst day of my life was when I lost you," said Joker, his voice thick with emotion, "the day you activated the Crucible is second because you lived through that, but you still managed to scare the shit out of me with that near death experience."
Elissa laughed, "That's what I live for, scaring the shit out of you with risky stunts."
Now it was Joker's turn to laugh, "And you do a damn fine job at it, Commander."
They smiled at each other before Elissa leaned up and kissed him, their lips molding together as their tongues began their familiar dance, sending chills through both of them. They both felt the tension and stress that had been festering within them release, both secure in the knowledge that no matter what life might throw at them they would still have each other.
