A/N: I'm sorry everyone that I'm not updating as often as I should but I have a bad case of writer's block. However I was able to get this chapter up so yay.

Joseph's POV

I sat at the elevators entrance by myself for a few minutes before I heard the elevator make its way down. I stood and turned as I watched it arrive with Shepard, Liara, and Jesse on it. The moment the door opened Liara ran out and hugged me, I wrapped my arms around returning the embrace. I looked past her and saw Jesse staring at me his eyes seeking answers.

I released my hold from Liara and approached Jesse as he left the elevator. "Did you find him?" Jesse asked me

"We found him and he's fine." I say smiling as I shake his hand and nod my head to comfort him. I looked behind me and saw that Liara and Shepard both were relieved by my news.

"Where is Brent right now?" I heard Shepard ask, clearly wanting an update on the situation

"Oh, he's walking around somewhere." I say as I look around and waving a finger in the air.

"Wait he's walking!" everyone proclaimed at the same time as they gave me a very odd look

"Ah, right I forgot to update you on his status. Well we found him and..." I went on to explain about meeting up with the Red Hounds who attacked the Cerberus agents, the fight with Nathanial, and I finished with details about the data pad and the information I found on it. The only thing I left out was Tali's conversation and the information about the whole Asari DNA thing. I felt that those two were best kept secret. By the time I finished I thought Liara was going to kick my ass for putting myself in so much danger without help, and Jesse I, well I just knew he was laughing on the inside.

"Remind me to teach you hand-to-hand combat one day." Jesse said smirking

"There it is" I thought confirming that he hasn't changed since I last saw him

"Oh haha" I responded to Jesse before turning towards Shepard "Anyway, Brent is off somewhere, and Tali left too, but I don't know where she is either. I was the only one that stayed behind to wait for you. So where are you off to?" I ask even though I know the answer

"We are going to talk to the Council they said that they will give us our reinforcements and Udina wanted us back here. They are amassing a joint species fleet to deal with Saren and his Geth."

"Alright well good luck with that" I strain to say without laughing at how this will turn out… like Udina taking a punch to the face *chuckle*. "I'm going to find Brent we will meet you back at the Normandy." I say as we all walk towards the elevator on the other side of C-Sec until they broke off to the transit terminal.

I got in the elevator and began my assent.

Upon my arrival to the embassies I started walking around looking for Brent but was unsuccessful. I departed toward the other areas of the Presidium but I couldn't find him. I was walking around when I thought of the one place Brent would have gone. I made for an elevator and went to the wards. I exited and started walking towards the markets. Sure enough as I made my way to the lower markets I found Brent talking to a Salarian salesman. As I approached Brent he must have taken notice of me somehow because he said my name before I reached him.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked

He turned to me and tapped his nose "I could smell you."

I gave him a very disturbed look "You could smell?" I say

"Well yea, you haven't showered in over a week you'll kind of have an odd odor emitting off you."

I smacked my face from his response, he was right I haven't taken a shower since I left to look for him. At least Brent's container had a sterilizer unit to keep him clean. And here I was wondering why people were giving me odd looks. "You need to take a shower when you get to the Normandy." Brent said snapping me from my thoughts

"First tell me what are you doing down here" I asked as the Salarian handed him a box

"Getting new armor" he said with a straight face

"Oh that's right your other armor is…" but I was interrupted "filled with bullet holes" Brent finished

"Right" I say rubbing the back of my head "So what armor did you get?" I say as I look at the box

A smile crossed Brent's face "Colossus armor, with shield interfaces added in"

"Are you serious" I say in disbelief

"Yep, it cost me a small fortune but I got it" he said as he began to walk away before stopping and turning "You coming?" I snapped to attention and ran to catch up with him.

Along our way Brent got tired of carrying the box and lifted it with his biotics. That really got some strange looks from people surprisingly, but then again it could have been because of the way I smelled.

Finally we made it to the Normandy and I headed straight for the showers as I left Brent to do his own thing.

Brent's POV

I approached my locker and placed the armor in it. My locker wasn't down in engineering like everyone else's. Rather it was near the mess, and on the other side of Shepard's locker. As I sat down I felt my hair hit my face. "Well even in a crate you can't help but grow now can you." I say as I tug the hair down to my eye "I'll have to get you cut soon, and wow have I gone crazy. I'm talking to my hair now and saying this all aloud."

As I was finishing up putting my armor in storage I heard frustrated footsteps and a loud sigh. I turned and saw Shepard standing before me. Her hair had grown a lot since I last saw her; it has grown past her shoulders now. "Shepard" I proclaim while seated "…Brent" she responded after some hesitation.

"How did meeting the Council go." I asked even though I know how it went

She released a heavy sigh as she sat next to me "They grounded us and they aren't taking this threat seriously."

"You're Commander Shepard, war hero, leader, and soldier; you'll get us through this. I know you will." I say putting my hand on her shoulder to reassure her as I stand up

She watched me get up and head to a refrigerator in the other side of the room as I grabbed whatever I could to eat. I don't know why but I felt like I was starving. I sat down at the mess hall table only a few feet from her. I looked at what I grabbed and I found what looked like meat and in a bag near it looked like gravy, I also seemed to have grabbed a vegetable like food that I was clueless to what it was. I got up and grabbed a plate and set it on the table. As I started to put the foods on the plate I heard a chuckle. I looked up and saw Shepard walk over to me and sit next to me.
"That biotic metabolism must be a bitch sometimes huh?" she commented

Apparently I forgot that biotics require a certain amount of calories because of their metabolism, this explains why I'm hungry so often. "Yea it can be a nuisance sometimes." I say finally replying to Shepard.

"So how do you feel?" Shepard asked clearly concerned

"Pretty good considering what has happened, I assume Joseph told about the whole… thing" I say dodging using the words "my rescue"

"Yea, he did. I'm glad to see that you are doing better."

"Well you know, nothing can keep me down. By the way I like what you did with your hair. You look beautiful with long hair." I say as I smile at her

The moment I said that I caught it and I felt like an idiot. An awkward silence befell the mess hall. At that moment I was so glad that everyone else was somewhere else. I began to eat my food in silence up till the point I finished. "Look I didn't mean… well I… what I meant was… I'm going to shut up now." As I slammed my head down on the table and didn't lift it up. I felt like the biggest idiot ever.

"It's ok" I heard Shepard say, I turned my head and saw a shy smile on Shepard's face. I never thought I would see the day that Commander Shepard would be bashful or shy.

"Are you sure, because I can go back to feeling like an idiot?" I proclaim as I felt a blush come across my face,

"I think it's cute" she replied. When she said that my heart stopped

"What's cute, my stupidity or my bashfulness?" I ask as I sit up

There was a small hesitation then she said something that I probably won't forget she said "I think that you are cute."

If I didn't know better I would have thought my eyes popped out of their sockets, there was nothing preparing me for that. "You… you…you…you think… I'm…cute" I stuttered to say as I was overcome with embarrassment.

"Well yea, when I look at you I see a determined and handsome young man, willing to protect those near him, a man who is a powerful biotic that controls himself so he doesn't harm those near him. I see a man who took a bullet for me in order to insure my safety." She said as she neared me "I see a man that fights to protect those he loves. I see a man who has been through so much and remains sane." She finished

Before I knew it she was so close I could feel her breathe. It felt like time had stopped, and I had no idea how to react. I leaned in to meet her when a noise broke out interrupting us. We both drew back as the noise turned out to be Joker over the intercom "Commander, Anderson wants to see you at a club called Flux." I leaned back and took in a deep breathe "That's right I forgot that Anderson wanted to talk to you." I said to confirm what Joker said

Shepard stood and up and turned to leave "Joker were you spying on us?" she asked before she left. There was silence for a brief second before Joker answered with a no.

I watched Shepard leave the mess as she walked up the stairs to the CIC, when she disappeared I hit my head multiple times on the table. I hit my head on the table one more time and left it there. The mess hall was silent for a second when I heard Joker came over the Intercom again this time asking for me to get my stuff on because Shepard wanted me and Jesse to go to Flux with her. I jumped up, threw my plate in the sink and ran to my locker.

I threw my armor on pretty quickly, even though I haven't equipped any armor in a long time I still got it. Soon I had the new armor on and was heading up the stairs, where I found Shepard and Jesse waiting for me.

We left the Normandy and went to a transit where we arrived at Flux. As we made our way to the club the noise could be felt pulsing from it. We walked into it and you could see people dancing all over on the sides. We continued to walk when I saw Anderson sitting at a table.

I pointed to Anderson and we walked over to him. As we walked over he greeted us wholeheartedly.

"How are you holding up Anderson?" Jesse asked

"Been better but you're not here to talk about my wellbeing." He responded taking in Jesse's kind remark but redirecting it to the real situation "We need you to get the Normandy out of here." He said as he looked at Shepard "Shepard I'm sorry that you got grounded. I wanted to let you know but they wouldn't permit me to communicate with you."

"It's ok Anderson; I knew you would have warned me if you could." She said reassuring him

"Thanks Shepard, now down to business. We need you to stop Saren and the only way to do that is to get to Ilos and stop Saren from getting to the Conduit." Anderson comments

"How the only ship that get us there is grounded." Jesse proclaimed

"Well I thought about that and I can either, sneak into C-Sec and deactivate the grounding command, or I can hack into Udina's computer and release you."

"I'd go with Udina's office, that way you're not in any danger. I mean C-Sec has armed guards you most you have to worry from Udina is a stern lecture." I say

"I agree that would be the best, and if Udina is in there I'll think if something, besides he made this personal. Now since that is settled, are you ready Commander?" Anderson replied

"Let's get going." Shepard said in her commanding tone as we rushed out of the club towards the Normandy.

Upon arrival of the Normandy we waited next to Joker as we watched an orange colored icon on the dash. We waited and waited for a few minutes when it finally turned green Shepard told Joker to punch it. Joker acknowledged and we soon departed the Citadel.

Within the minute of leaving the docks we were on our way to Ilos. With us departed I left for my locker and threw my gear back in.

Joker acknowledged that we had some time till we arrived at Ilos so I left to get this hair of mine cut. I looked for Jesse who I couldn't find. I looked for him in the engineering level and I was unable to find him. As I searched I saw Tali walk up to me. "If you are looking for Jesse he went into Chief Williams's room." She said as she turned and returned to the core.

I stood there for a second thinking how that was impossible. I walked to Williams's room and I pressed my ear to the door, which I wished I hadn't done, and I could the sounds of moaning. I turned and began to walk fast "Why god, why didn't I listen to Tali." I shouted in my head. I was going to look for Joseph but that would not happen because his relationship was more obvious. So I could assume what he and Liara were doing right now.

I sighed as I could find no one and there was no way in hell I was going to cut my own hair. Finally I decided to go to Shepard since she was the only person that I could think of.

I was walking around unable to find Shepard so I went to her cabin. I entered and found her at her desk. She looked at me for a second before going back to a data pad. "Can I help you Brent?" She asked nicely

"Yea, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to cut my hair." I asked

Shepard set the pad down and looked at me with a look of confusion "You need me… to cut your hair." She said making me feel stupid.

"Yea, when my hair gets long it tends to either go crazy because it's curly or it will get in my eyes. That's why I keep it short. However I haven't got it cut in some time. I wouldn't ask you if it could be helped because it is a waste of your time, but Jesse and Joseph both are um… busy." I say rubbing the back of my head

"Sure" she said as she smiled at me.

"Thanks I appreciate it." I say as I blush from embarrassment.

I walked further into her room and sat at the desk she was previously at but she since moved and grabbed some scissors. I watched her threw a mirror that she placed so I could watch her work.

After a few minutes I watched her continue working and doing a pretty good job. "Have you done this before?" I ask breaking minutes of silence.

"I've watched people do this before, that's how I know." She said cutting some more of my hair

With my question answered more minutes of silence followed until she finished. I stood up and examined her handy work. I do have to say she did a pretty good job at this. I turned at her and hugged her thanks. "I appreciate the cut Shepard" I say as I release her from my hug.

I looked at Shepard and saw that seemed slightly depressed "What's wrong?" I asked

"When will you quit being so formal with me?" she asked catching me by surprise

"What do you mean?" I asked, since I was really lost

"You don't have to call me Shepard, call me by my first name." She said as she looked into my eyes, still in my arms

I looked into her eyes "Ok… Sarah" I said, it was here that I made a move that I knew I was going to either get killed for or get the feeling back. I leaned forward and kissed her. I could see the shock in her eyes but those same eyes turned into an embrace. Soon the simple kiss turned to each of us exploring each other's mouth. We began to move to the bed where I embraced her every movement. As we continued to kiss I felt a hand rest on my face and push me away. I looked and saw Shepard looking away from my face. "What's wrong?" I asked her clearly confused, that seems to be a pattern with me

"It's not you, it's just… I don't know, I feel like we are rushing into this a little. Maybe when this is over, and there is more time." She said as she continued to look away

I looked at her and stood up. She looked at me like she hurt me and was worried. I looked at her for a second "It's ok" I say giving her a smile "I understand I figured, I mean I haven't known you as long as Kaiden and most of the time I was injured. Our time together has been strained." I finish looking at the ground

I heard Shepard walk over to me "In the time I've known you I've learned so much about the person you are. With you it's like you don't have to know that person for years but rather weeks to learn who he is. You don't hide who you are." She said as she placed her hand on my face and raised it to look into her eyes

I looked at her and I understood that there will be time that we can spend together "Another time, deal" she said looking at me.

I looked at her and smiled "Deal" I said as we released each other "I'll see you later Shepa… Sarah" I say as I smiled at her and left her room.

After that colossal fail I sat in the mess hall for some time. I was sitting down when I heard my stomach growl. "How can you be hungry" I hear a voice say. I looked up and saw Joseph standing in front of me with a plate filled with food.

"I know, I guess this is the down side to being a biotic huh?" I say as I grab some of the food on his plate

"Yea, so how did things go with Shepard?" he asked as he stuffed a piece of fruit into his mouth

"Well, let me say this, it could have gone better." I say as I ate a piece of cut meat.

"Man, I'm sorry." He said

"It's ok, she said that we will continue at another time." I say as I finish as I grabbed more meat and placed between two loafs of bread. "So how did you do with Liara?" I asked

Joseph started to choke on his food when I raised the question "So it went that well aye." I say as I chuckled "Good to see that you are having a good time." I finish as I stood up "Well I got to take care of something; I'll talk to you later."

That's the end of Chapter 10. I'm ending this one short so I can continue with chapter 11 being Ilos and the Citadel. I hope that I didn't mess up this chapter with the whole Shepard/Brent thing. Also there may be a deleted scenes chapter similar to what JuneFiction909 did with Nobel Revival, I recommend you check out her story as well, so because of the deleted scenes idea I'm dropping the rating from M to T. Anyway I'll work on finishing chapter 11 and hopefully it will be up before the weekend is over.