Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, or any of its characters, though I wish I could. They belong to Bioware and EA. Any other characters are mine unless stated otherwise. All songs and quotes are credited to their respected owners. I make no money with this Fanfiction. It's just my imagination gone crazy.

Special Note: This didn't come out the way I really wanted it to, but I'm rather happy. I know it's somewhat a filler, but I just couldn't let this go. It was jumbling in my head so violently I couldn't let it go until I wrote it out.

Word Count: 1,736

Normandy SSR2

Med-Bay; Deck 3

When Zaeed had woken up, at first his vision was blurry and he could not tell the difference between one shadow in front of his face from another. He thought he had drank way too much for his own liking, which was a lot because of his high tolerance. Yet when he heard the beeping of a heart monitor, the hissing of a respirator, the throbbing of his broken jaw, the tube stuck down his throat to help him breath and the fluids that where being pumped into his body, he knew he had done something stupid. His skin felt raw, and his head was pounding with a migraine. He needed pain meds and soon. Blinking his eyes a bit to better his vision, he tried to move his head but found it impossible so he stopped before it came back with a vengeance. He coughed roughly to alert the doctor of his awareness and when he caught her in his periphery a minute later he sighed in relief. It took a moment to remove the breathing tube from his throat, and when he did he found he still couldn't speak. His hearing was murky, when EDI's holoframe popped up and spoke to the doctor. All he heard was the word 'Commander' and that was when a fragment of memory burst in his already pulsing head. He had attacked her. Stupid mistake. That little minx was a powerful little bitch with her biotics and hand to hand. He even got lucky to keep his life after what he did on the mission she included him in. He needed information, though! Couldn't she see? The mission was practically over! They had time now.

Hearing the swish of the doors as they opened and allowed the Commander entry, he moved his eyes in her direction. The Commander's face was grim and her eyes looked hollow but she didn't let it show. She wouldn't let her mask falter. She took tentative steps to the cot he laid in and stopped by his side, her fist where clenching and unclenching. She had something to say, but she could not find the words. Swallowing roughly, her throat burning from the strain, she sighed heavily and rubbed at her face angrily at herself.

"Zaeed, I'm sorry…" Her voice was almost too quiet to pick out even in the already quiet and dark room. His eyes roamed over her. Her lip was cut, and her right cheek had a purple bruise. When she walked in, it was with a slight limp, but she had gotten that when going into the merc base and those sons of bitches snuck up on them and put a bullet in her leg so he didn't pay attention to that. Other than that, she looked basically untouched. He did, however, wonder why she was apologizing to him when even though his pride would be marred; he knew it was him who should be the one to apologize to her.

"I understand you want to find Vido, but you have to take into consideration what I'm going through on a mission. I'm a commander, I lead a group and they depend on me to keep them alive. I've lost Marines in the line of duty but this is bigger than you think. I'm wiser now, older. Here we can't make mistakes. Billions of lives are in our hands. We are still finding evidence from the Reapers and Collectors for god sakes." She spoke louder this time, her voice although strong was breaking a bit but not enough for him to tell. She began to wring the blanket that covered him, the only indication other than her voice that gave away her nervousness.

"I don't want anyone else to die. When you left, I got scared. It was Kaidan all over again. I felt like if I didn't rush to you, I wouldn't save you in time. I know you can take care of yourself, but that doesn't mean shit to me. We work as a group, Massani. Mercs are paid to kill you, especially the Blue Suns. You know you have a hit on you, which I'm sure you know. If we didn't cover your ass, you might have had more than another bullet scar on your head. You'd have a matching set and then some." She scoffed, earning a raspy chuckle from the bed prone man. He understood. He did, but it still did not settle the anxiousness he felt in his stomach trying to find his sworn enemy. Finally finding the energy to turn his head he fully looked at her and nodded once.

"Look. I contacted some people. They owed me favors and I ended up owing them a few in return. We'll find Vido, just give me some time. You know I didn't forget. It was just not the time with everything going on." He snorted roughly indicating his disbelief but let it go. His revenge on Vido poisoned his heart and reasoning sometimes. It had been twenty years for the veteran, but he didn't deserve the shit he got for all his years building the Blue Suns. They betrayed him. He was their leader, their founder and they did this? Hearing her cough a bit, he turned his attention back to her and saw her smile slightly. In the end, he really couldn't blame her for kicking his old wrinkled ass. The hand closest to her reached for her's. Rough rubbing smooth. As she continued to speak and apologize while he listen to her old war stories for once and with a raspy voice returned the apology they finally sat in silence as the doctor, who had left without them realizing, returned and came to his side to give him much needed medication. They'd get through it somehow. They just needed time.

It had taken him a few days in the med-bay to get back to light duty. The information that the Commander's informants had gathered was enough to locate him on six major planets. With the Shadow Broker on their side, it was a matter of time before they pin pointed him. Shepard, which she had made him call her, came down often to speak with him. Grunt, aggressively reminded him that if he ever tried that on his Battlemaster again he would be a small stain under his massive foot, which Jack agreed wholeheartedly. The first day he almost groaned in frustration. Garrus had come with her to keep them 'company' but he knew better. The next day it was the two Drells. Why both of them he did not know, but he was sure they were sizing each other up and it made him laugh a hardy laugh. It had finally taken a week, along with orders to the crew that kept accompanying her to stay away from his room, for them to be alone. He knew that it would take a while for them to go back to being what she called 'friends' but thinking on it more, he liked the idea of the term. It'd take him time to get used to it, though. Sighing he looked at the data pads piled up high on his cot and rubbed at the old scar that stretched on his face. It was only a matter of time before he returned the favor he was given all those years ago. Only a matter of time.

On deck 3 of the Normandy, Shepard rubbed her face aggressively. She had been hearing both Drells and the sole Turian in her group of friends protesting heavily about the veteran all damn week since she had ordered them to stay away from Zaeed's room. She could not take it anymore. The vein on her forehead was throbbing and she was about to flare her biotics and toss them to the wall.

"Enough! You all sound like bickering hens! You're giving me a damn migraine!" She yelled angrily towards them, but when they tilted their heads in confusion and squinted at her, she deflated and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She let her head fall onto the table in the mess hall with a loud thump, her forehead already feeling the sting from it. The clicking of Garrus' mandibles fluttered in her ear making it itch a bit, and the rumbling purrs of the two Drells making cold chills go up and down her spine.

"Please guys just trust my judgment. Next time he tries anything, I'll be sure to kill him myself. I don't need a babysitter. I'm a fucking adult!" She mumbled exasperated. Rising from the table, her forehead red from her blunder, she smiled sweetly at them.

"Thanks though…I know you guys care." She said before retreating to her loft, all three aliens smiling their own personal smile for reasons only known to them but they all came to the conclusion that she would okay. When Feron and Thane caught each other's milky black eyes they scoffed and looked away from her retreating ass and the sway of her hips. Both embarrassed that the other had caught them in the act. Garrus' smile was out of brotherly love for the human. Garrus turned his vision to the two at the table with him and chuckled. The normally stoic Drell of an assassin looked flustered, the mentally scarred Drell matching his look as they looked away from each other. Shepard was in too deep. He was just lucky he was not in the middle of it. Sure he had once thought of pursing her in that sense. Hey! He was a bad Turian, after all. He still felt a longing to do so, but they were more like siblings and he did not wish to lose her. Not again, not like that. He couldn't bare it. It would probably be too awkward afterwards, anyways. Shuddering he let the topic go. He knew it wasn't going to come back anytime soon. Standing up, he bid both his comrades a good night and retreated to the cot in the Main Battery. He had more Calibrations to do before going to bed. In fact it seemed like he would never be done with those damn algorithms. Maybe he did need to pop a heat sink or two before he went crazy in the cramped room. Shore leave was looking good; he just hoped they get to it soon.