A big, big thank you to all of you who read/reviewed. I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much lately. Primarily, it's because I'm in the process of moving to a different city, but I've also been taking some time for more original pursuits. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my fics! :)

Chapter Three: The Skins We Wear

Hey,

I almost didn't believe it until I saw the DNA scan you included. Shepard kept more secrets than I thought. Guess it makes sense though, her having a kid somewhere. She always did like playing mother hen, getting all up in my business when I was part of her crew.

We talked this one time (about what isn't your damn business, Shepard's kid or not) and after I asked, how come you keep asking me all these fucking questions? She said, you remind me of this girl I knew back on Earth – this girl who was really fucked up but once she had a reason to fight, she turned out okay. I called her a pussy – referring to both the girl in the story, and Shepard – and that was that.

It wasn't until a long time later, during the war I think, maybe later, that I figured out she'd been talking about herself.

But what the hell do I know? We weren't best friends. We didn't paint each other's toe nails or talk about boys or shit. If you want the real dirty details, go talk to James Vega. I hear he might have a story or two.

Jack

o-o-o

On Sur'Kesh, James asked that krogan, Wrex, if they could spar sometime – you know, just to see how a human held up. The big guy laughed at that, asking if Shepard had never let fly the story about her confrontation with Wrex. Honestly, James was getting a little dazed by the amount of stories coming out about his new CO. Every time they turned around, there was another new acquaintance of hers. He'd looked at her, but she'd been too busy studying the salarians, mouth thin, to pay too much attention.

He enquired further when Wrex came down to the cargo bay later on. "So what was that about you and Shepard?"

Wrex snorted, and if ever a krogan was nostalgic, it would've been wearing that expression. Mind you, it was pretty much the same as every other expression James had seen on Wrex's face. "It was during our hunt for Saren. That bastard started cloning krogan immune to the genophage. I wanted them saved, and I was prepared to kill anyone who stood in my way. Even ones I considered friends."

James let that idea settle for a minute. "Let me guess – Shepard got up in your face."

With a guffaw, Wrex said, "Of course she did. Have you met Shepard? She can't spend five minutes without getting her nose into somebody's business." He crossed his arms. "Said that these krogan weren't true krogan, that they'd just be puppets for Saren's plans. I didn't want to listen to her, but she told me she'd put me down if I stepped out of line. Any other human, I'd have blown their head off. Shepard, though... I trusted Shepard."

"She does seem to have that effect on people," agreed James.

"Yeah, but she didn't win me over with nice words or compliments," said Wrex. "She's got the biggest quad I've ever seen on a human. She'd have made a hell of a krogan. Mind you, if she had been born krogan, she would likely never have left Tuchanka and then we might've all ended up dead." He waved that thought away like it was an annoying bug.

James said, "I think I like her better human, thanks." The thought of Shepard as a krogan woman was almost too disturbing. What did the women even look like anyways? The one in the medbay – Eve – she always wore that hood thing, but even as impressive as she was, she didn't do anything for James. Shepard, on the other hand...

"You got a thing for her?" asked Wrex with such candour that James nearly choked.

"I, what? No. That's – nah," he managed, his voice several shades too deep to be casual. He cursed himself, and glanced over to make sure Estaban wasn't around, but the both the procurement console and the kodiak were free and clear.

"Shouldn't be ashamed if you do," said Wrex, and James realized with amazement he might just be getting love advice from a fucking krogan of all things. "You're not the first, and you could do plenty worse than Shepard, trust me."

These were all things James knew but didn't let himself think about. Since his decision to play it cool, to stuff down this shitty schoolyard crush like ugly clothes into the back of the closet, he'd been on edge all the time. Even while on Sur'Kesh, he'd told himself not to pay attention to Shepard as a woman but as his goddamned Commander, because she had the best tactical mind he'd ever seen. He could respect her for that, could admire her mind, but that didn't stop his eyes from drifting to her hips or his mind from imagining what it would be like to put his hands on them.

And because he was a fucking moron, he'd brought it up to her too. Shepard had come down to discuss god knows what, but the conversation had degenerated to EDI. Not only was there an AI on board, but now that AI had planted herself directly into a body more at home in some sort of science fiction wet dream. You take her with us on missions, James had said, and I'm going to be a little distracted. Then, like this was some hot chick at the club instead of his CO, he'd raked his eyes over Shepard's own body. Well, more distracted.

Who the fuck did that? Of course, he'd given himself a mental fistbump when Shepard had only smirked, eyebrows raised, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting all her weight to one leg. Careful LT, she said, or people might get the wrong idea.

And if it had been just some hot chick at some nameless bar, he probably would've gotten closer and said, And what idea is that? There would've been some throwing off of clothes, followed by a wild romp with her pushed up against the procurement console, her lithe legs wrapped around him, his face buried in the crook of her neck as he...

He cleared his throat to dislodge that truly dangerous line of thought, focusing instead on a very specific part of Wrex's speech. "There were others?" Then realizing what he said, he stammered a few incoherent words before giving up in defeat, pulling a hand down his face.

The knowing smirk on Wrex's was almost too much, but he didn't comment on James' blunder. "Yeah. A few. Some asari. This one krogan on Tuchanka filled out a breeding request for her after she completed the rite with her krogan crew member. Oh, and Alenko."

"The Major?" said James. "No shit?"

"Made these big eyes at her every time she walked past on the SR1," confirmed Wrex. "From what I saw, he never had the balls to approach her head on." Then he shook his head. "But I don't want to talk about Shepard's love life anymore. I came down here to see what you've got, human."

James cracked his knuckles. "Then bring it."

They went at it, and Wrex didn't hold anything back. That was just fine with James, who needed to work off some steam. It was clear from the beginning that the match was heavily skewed in favour of Wrex, who was able to shrug off punches that would've left any other human marine down for the count and who could deliver a hit of his own like a mack truck. After one such hit, the skin under James' cheek tingled in a way that made it clear he'd have quite the shiner for the next few days. The fight effectively ended when Wrex charged at him, picking up up like he was made of tissue paper and slamming him down on the ground. All James' breath left his lungs in one gasp.

"Just like I figured," gloated Wrex. "You're all talk, human."

There really was nothing to say to that, and James didn't think he could manage it anyways.

"You killing my crew, Wrex?" James managed to turn his head enough to see Shepard stroll out of the elevator, her gait strong and assured.

"Just seeing how you marines fare against a krogan warlord." Those red eyes swung downwards. "Not great."

Shepard approached and held her hand out to James, who shook his head. "You know what? I think I'm going to stay down for a minute, Lola. Wait until I can feel my spine."

"You going to be okay for active duty?" asked Shepard.

"Oh yeah, no problem," said James, trying to keep the wheeze out of his voice.

"Like I said – not great," interjected Wrex, crossing his arms again.

"Well, going toe to toe with a krogan is never a great idea," commented Shepard, with a small shrug of sympathy in James' direction.

"You've done it." Was that a note of pride in Wrex's voice?

"Yeah, but I'm a terrible role model," said Shepard, with a smile in Wrex's direction. She laid her hand on his arm. "You're supposed to head up to the medbay. Mordin wants a tissue sample."

"Another one?" groused Wrex, shifting his weight back and forth and looking uncomfortable. "Damned scientists." But he turned and walked away without saying anything more, leaving James to stare up at Shepard.

"You look like shit," she said, squatting down next to him. She ran one finger down his cheek and he flinched, though it only half because of the pain. Her omni-tool flared up, and she brought it to his face. It secreted medigel, and the throbbing of his face eased. This time when she offered her hand, he took it, both of them standing up. "That should help, but you're going to be a little less pretty for a few days."

His ears burned and he a smile stretched across his face. "That mean you think I'm pretty, Lola?"

Shepard rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I mean." She gestured to him and walked over to his workbench, leaning one hip against it and placing something carefully on top. "I brought you something."

"For me?" he said, still smiling stupidly. "It's not my birthday."

"It's a new grenade," said Shepard, pointing down.

James frowned. "We haven't stopped anywhere. Where did it come from?"

She stared at him, the corners of her mouth twitching. Those blue eyes scanned over his face, and she rubbed at her chin. "I made it, James," she said, and seeing his mouth fall open, continued, "I noticed that your grenades weren't always detonating on impact, so I added a sensor to the small electrical package at the tip of each." She tapped the grenade very lightly with one finger. "You should be able to get more damage from a single throw, now."

James lumbered forward and picked up the grenade. It didn't look any different. Shepard said nothing. He shook his head at her, his heart thudding in his ears. "You cannot be real."

Frowning, she said, "What are you talking about?"

"You make blades, you fix grenades, you shoot better than most everyone I've ever seen, according to Wrex you can take on krogan, and you run headlong into danger without a thought," he said. He placed both his hands on the bench and placed all his weight onto his palms, leaning closer to her.

Shepard stood up tall then, shoulders squared. Her tone was defensive when she said, "I always think before I leap into danger. Sometimes, I even give it thirty seconds."

"A whole thirty, huh?"

She shrugged, but her eyes were sparkling. Damn, but if she wasn't every straight, red-blooded marine's secret fantasy, he didn't know what was. "You can take these with us when we go on the next mission. Hope you're excited to see sunny, sunny Tuchanka."

"Never seen the krogan homeworld," James said.

"It's," said Shepard, chewing her lip. "It's, uh, memorable. Was even before the giant Reaper parked its ass up there." She chuckled then. "But you better be careful."

Blinking, James frowned. "I know how to handle grenades, Shepard."

She looked like she was about to laugh, but swallowed it down. "I didn't mean about the grenades. I meant about krogan women. They like facial scars." One of her fingers traced just above the scar that crossed his face, not quite touching, but close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating off her. He did his best to remain completely still. "And since you're practically built like a krogan anyways, I wouldn't pull out that flirtatious nature of yours while we're there. You could end up with a few hundred krogan-human babies."

Well, that was a mental image he hadn't needed. It must've shown on his face, because Shepard burst out laughing, shoulders back. James struggled to look grumpy, but the moment was ruined when that Specialist Traynor came over the comm.

"Commander – we have a message from Grissom Academy. They're requesting assistance."

Shepard's face collapsed on itself, and whatever personality she had disappeared behind that veneer of perfect military control. She nodded, even though Traynor couldn't see it. "Tell them that help is on the way."

"Aye aye, ma'am."

"Did you get that Joker?" asked Shepard.

"Loud and clear," said the pilot. "ETA is an hour and a half."

Shepard took a deep breath. She studied James' face and he did his best not to fidget under the weight of her gaze. "You're going to be sitting this one out, James. I'll take Garrus and EDI. Let that face heal up."

"I'm good to go. You don't need to coddle me," said James. What, did she think he was weak or something? He'd shrugged off injuries ten times this bad. So what if he'd gotten into an ill-advised fist fight with Wrex? He was good to go. He could still see, still run, shoot.

"Who said anything about coddling?" but it wasn't teasing, not any more. Her brows twitched firmly together and she pushed passed him, leaving him to wonder what the hell just happened.

Maybe she was fucking bi-polar. He waited until she was gone before running both hands roughly over his hair, clasping them behind his head. It was like they were circling each other in this really strange middle ground between being only crew and only friends. Of course, the fact that he was having decidedly unfriendly thoughts regarding Shepard was entirely beside the point.

Really though, if he were being honest, he knew exactly what she was doing. He did it too, whenever someone asked him about his mission on Fehl. Stonewall and change the subject. It wasn't that he was offended, he just wanted to break down that barrier and he didn't know how because he couldn't peek out his own.

He ducked behind the workbench, pushing a few crates aside. There was his bottle of tequila and shot glass. He poured one for himself and swallowed it in one. Then he did another. He could've kept going, could've finished the whole bottle because it didn't seem likely that he'd get any damned action today, but getting both punched in the face and winding up face down drunk in the cargo bay didn't seem like a great way to impress Shep – anyone.

It was because she wasn't perfect that he'd started to like her in the first place. She was screwed up, but who wasn't? James dealt with his issues by going out and getting drunk. Shepard seemed to deal with hers by pushing everybody away. The only problem with that scenario was that she was pushing him away, and he didn't want to go, damnit. When they'd been on Earth, she'd been forced to deal with his company so they'd gotten past her reservations. Now? She didn't have to deal with shit.

Not that it mattered, because he was just a marine. Just her subordinate. Yeah, keep fucking telling yourself that, pendejo.

He worked on guns for the rest of the afternoon, offering a new pistol to EDI when she stopped by. She looked at it in her weird robotic way with an acceptable and then trudged off into the shuttle. Shepard marched past with Scars shortly after, eyes dead ahead, face blank. She hopped on the shuttle and off they went.

When they returned, it was with a gaggle of teenagers led by a very attractive instructor. Damn, if he'd had teachers like that in school, he might've paid more attention. She glanced over at him, caught him looking and smirked at him as the kids filed past her towards the elevator. "Hey Shepard," she called, "who's the meathead? You always bring man candy onto your ship? First Taylor, now..." She gestured at him. James couldn't help but smirk back, even as his brain rapidly tried to figure out who the hell this Taylor guy was.

Shepard got off the shuttle with a sigh. Something had grazed her right cheek and she was clearly tired. "Jack, meet Lieutenant James Vega. He was my jailer back on Earth." She gestured to the woman. "James, this is Jack."

"Kinky," said Jack, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Nice to meet you." James held out his hand to Jack, but she just crossed her arms and rocked back and forth.

"You could do worse, Shep," said Jack, with a laugh.

"Yeah, yeah," said Shepard, with the long suffering tone of an older sister. "Move it along." Jack followed the kids up the elevator, but Shepard didn't follow, watching the other woman leave the cargo bay. "Jack's... like that," she added.

"You friends?"

"She went with me through the Omega-4 relay," said Shepard, and James couldn't quite keep his face blank. Shepard saw it right away. "I know. Trust me, I know – and this is her mellowed. She can deal damage, though, no question about that. A damn powerful biotic."

"She's kind of hot," said James, then under the weight of Shepard's scrutiny, added, "Uh, if you like that kind of thing."

"You want me to set you up?" asked Shepard lightly.

James couldn't shake the feeling that this was some sort of test. He'd never been one for them, didn't like having to prove shit to anybody, but he found himself determined not to fail this one. "No thanks, Lola. I've got enough on my plate right now." He let that hang there, just in case.

Did the corner of her mouth just twitch, or was he imagining things? She took a step towards him. "Listen, James -"

"Commander?"

Shepard spun around. James bent to see past her and saw a teenage boy stepping out of the shuttle, eyes lingering too long on the curves of the cargo bay.

"David," she said, "you okay?"

The kid began rambling off mathematical equations or something. Shepard left James to go crouch in front of the kid, speaking calmly. She convinced him, in the softest tone James had ever heard her use, to go upstairs and get some food with her. David nodded, and off they went. James couldn't help but remember how nervous she'd been about meeting her biological daughter for the first time, how sure she'd been that she would be a terrible parent in general. Seeing her with that kid who, it was obvious, had some sort of disability, well, James just wished she could see what he saw. Shepard the soldier was hot as hell, but this woman? She made James' skin tingle.

He'd known, even back on Earth, that he was in serious trouble. Seeing her hold up after being stripped of her rank, he'd been aware that he was starting to fall for her. Up until this moment, though, he'd classified it as a crush (at best) or unresolved sexual tension (at worst). What he now realized was that it wasn't either of those things. He was in danger of loving her, and the worst part was, it might already be way too late.

Next Chapter: James and Shepard meet up in the bar, and Shepard gets some hard news.