A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I will be writing each chapter out with the toddler being in the care of a different crew member, though some of the others will be present at some point along in the chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter (Jack is one of my favorites), and I hope you enjoy reading it. :)
"Well kid, where should we go first?" Jack stood in the elevator with the toddler in her arms. The child's eyes wandered curiously around Jack's exposed tattooed shoulders as she sucked on a pacifier. "Like my ink, huh? Hey I know! Let's go check out your mama's personal cabin... Never seen it before."
Jack pressed the button to the top deck and they arrived a few moments later in Shepard's cabin. She walked through the small space and gave a low surprised whistle at the view before her. The fish tank caught Rheia's attention and as she pointed excitedly at it Jack brought her closer to watch the various fish swim around. She set the child down, fixing her lavender colored shirt that had an imprint of a cartoon-like animal on the front of it. Jack hadn't payed much attention to the child's clothing until now; the shirt was trimmed at the bottom as if to look like a small dress and she had on a pair of pants with the same animal imprint on the pocket corner as her shirt. Her socks were lavender too, and she had on a pair of little white shoes. She sure was a cute kid, Jack had to admit. With the toddler's attention on the fish tank, Jack ventured into the office area examining the contents of Shepard's belongings. The rack of displayed model ships made her laugh, what a nerd Shepard was to have such toys. On the desk there was her terminal, case of various medals, stack of scattered data pads, and a picture of a happy looking Liara. Jack glanced at Rheia who's hands gently poked at the fish tank, and then back at the picture of her mother. Poor kid's got Shepard's nose, she thought with another laugh. Not that there was anything wrong with it of coarse. It was long and slightly wide having traits of various human race's distinctive nose patterns. What the hell was Shepard anyway?Jack pondered for a moment until she felt a tug on her pant leg. She looked down and picked up Rheia, sitting her on the desk with her legs dangling over the edge. Now that she was closer the woman got a good look of the child's features. Baby faced just like Liara, and yes, she definitely had Shepard's nose. Rheia picked the picture up in her hands and examined it. After a second she hugged it and as the pacifier fell from her mouth she said, "Mommy."
"Yep." Jack replied as she bent down to pick up the pacifier. "Your a lucky kid, y'know? Having someone like Shepard for a parent..." She gazed at Shepard's medals and thought of all the great things the commander had accomplished. She had heard stories of Shepard's past, her childhood growing up on Mindior, being on Elysium during the skyllian blitz and coming out of it as a war hero, and her victory over Saren and Sovreign. Jack was there to witness her triumph over the collectors, and most recently Shepard had tucked the title of hero of the galaxy under her belt by defeating the reapers. Jack became slightly jealous of the little girl before her. She'd surely grow up with the love of two very caring parents, and a famous one at that. She leaned back against the desk and stared at the floor with a frown as she crossed her arms. Remembering her own childhood she felt the fire of hatred begin to burn within her soul until she was cooled by a soft arm wrapping around her own. Rheia looked up at her with her big blue innocent eyes. Jack glanced away and quickly wiped a tiny tear away. "Shit kid, I ain't one for all this mushy stuff. Let's get out of here."
Jack picked her up, and the child noticed the space hamster in it's cage setting on the shelf. "Oooh, look!" Rheia pointed at the hamster while it pressed it's tiny paws against the glass peeking through curiously. Jack stared at it for a moment, god damn, Shepard. Fish, toy ships, and now rats?
"Oh, you want to hold it? Okay." Jack set the girl on the desk again and brought the glass tank down from the shelf. Rheia giggled excitedly as she watched the woman pry off the lid. Looking up at her, the poor creature shook and it's whiskers twitched at the sight of the biotic as it made a dash for the tiny wooden home. "Aw, come on! Not even the kid's afraid of me..." Jack furrowed her brows together as she picked up the house and shook it, the hamster plopping out and landing in the child's lap. Rheia picked it up gently knowing it was a live creature and she struggled to keep the rodent within her tiny hands as it was eager to move and explore the space outside of the cage. She giggled and petted the soft fur, "Cute!"
Jack smiled gently at the toddler's fun. She realized smiling like this was something she hadn't done in a while. Of coarse she did laugh when she was poking fun at the cheerleader or others, but this sense of happiness came from something very different. Being around the child brought out her only soft side that usually lay hidden deep beneath her cold heart. Jack shook her head, brushing away her smile and mushy feelings. Dammit, kid...
After letting the toddler have a few minutes to play with and hold the hamster, Jack decided it was really time to get out of there. "Alright, time to put mister chubby cheeks away." Rheia didn't fuss, she handed the hamster over to Jack who gripped the poor creature as if it were a stuffed toy. Being trapped between Jack's fingers, the hamster sunk its teeth into her skin in a panic. Jack flailed her arm as the rodent flew out of her grip and across the room, "Ouch! You little bastard!'
Rheia laughed at Jack who was holding onto her bitten hand looking around for the hamster. It was no where to be found. "Um...crap. Kid, come on we gotta go." Jack pressed the lid back down on the tank and placed it back on the shelf in a hurry, picking up the toddler and rushing to the elevator. Pressing the button for the engineering deck, Jack glanced at Rheia as the doors shut. "We were never up here, got it?"
Jack sat on what she called her bed as she and Rheia stared at each other. The child's eyes were full of curiosity as she sat there on the metal floor just staring at the biotic almost expectantly. "What?" Jack murmured as she scratched the back of her head, shifting nervously. She didn't know what else to do now that the "tour" was over. She suddenly wrinkled her nose, "What the hell?" Jack covered her nose then, "Awww kid you did not just shit yourself!" The girl only looked up at her innocently. She got up and picked the child up and the smell definitely came from the diaper. "Fuck..."
She laid Rheia down on her bed and removed the child's pants, staring with a grimace at the diaper. She went to undo the hinges until she remembered she was missing something; a clean diaper and wipes. Fuck! Looking around her room frantically she realized the only source of baby products were in the diaper bag Liara had provided, which was left in Miranda's office. Glowering at the thought of having to deal with the cheerleader, she held her hands up at the toddler. "Stay right here. I'll be back in a second, okay?"
Tali, Ken, and Gabby were all used to hearing thumping beneath them where Jack had made her home and usually ignored it even though it annoyed them. This time though, the thumping of a pair of hurrying feet up the metallic stairs had thrown them off guard. Jack was never in a hurry to leave her secluded spot... They turned their attention to the doors behind them as they swooshed open as the biotic sprinted past and made her way into the elevator.
"What's gotten into her?" Gabby asked her fellow engineers curiously.
"Maybe she's really gotta use the bog." the Scottish man said.
Tali stopped her work instantly. "Jack had the baby last..."
"She didn't have the little bugger with her." Ken said. The quarian's heart dropped to her stomach as she rushed out of the engineering room.
Jack burst into Miranda's office, startling the XO. "Jack? What's going on? Where's Rheia?" she got up from her desk quickly.
"I need the diaper bag. Kid's gotta stinky, now where is it?" Jack demanded. Miranda's eyes grew wide.
"And you just left her where exactly? Alone?" she flailed her arms furiously at the tattooed woman in disbelief.
"Aw shit!" Jack tried her best to ignore the woman and suddenly spotted the diaper bag next to the playpen and grabbed it, making a dash out the door. Miranda chased after the shaven headed woman. Jack had made it to the elevator first, frantically clicking the button to avoid a ride down with Miranda. If there was anything she hated most it would to be stuck in a cramped space with that woman. The dark haired woman slid through just in time before the doors shut.
"What were you thinking?" Miranda huffed, catching her breath. "Wait, that's right, you don't think at all!"
Jack glowered at her, "I been doing fine with the kid so far. Just keep your bitching to yourself and lets get down there without any shit!"
Miranda felt like kicking herself for even letting Jack take the toddler in the first place. She should have known better. But for once she agreed with the tattooed woman, right now she had to worry about the toddler. The elevator came to a halt on the engineering deck and Jack ran down the stairs to her dark hiding hole, Miranda hot on her heels. Both women stopped when they saw Tali holding Rheia safely in her arms. Miranda sighed in relief and brought a hand up to her forehead, while Jack only huffed in annoyance. Tali faced her, and oh yes, she was definitely glaring through that mask.
"Okay so I fucked up again." Jack admitted as she was met with yet another smack to the back of the head, this time by Miranda. Gripping the sore spot she shot the XO a dirty look, "The fuck, cheerleader!" Another bold smack. If it wasn't for Rheia's presence Jack probably would have blasted her genetically designed perfect ass through a wall or two.
"Langauge!" Miranda snapped as she now crossed her arms.
"I think it's my turn to watch her now." Tali said seriously. Rheia giggled at Tali as she tickled her belly. "Isn't that right little one?"
"Well can I at least say goodbye to the kid?" Jack clenched her jaws and stared the two women down before her. Miranda and Tali exchanged glances, then both smiled mischievously.
"Sure, change her while your at it." Tali handed the child over to a reluctant looking Jack.
"Once your finished bring her up immediately to Tali." Miranda ordered as she began to walk off with a grin. Tali followed behind her and the two women disappeared unto the upper deck.
"Fine." Jack huffed as she again laid the toddler down. She winced, catching a sniff of the smelly diaper that was her fate. She opened the diaper bag and dug through it's contents, grabbing a fresh diaper and the box of wipes. She prepared herself for the reveal, and without looking unclasped the dirty diaper. Shit shit shit..."SHIT!"
Jack pranced around reciting an unbelievable amount of obscenities in total disgust as she frantically wiped the smear off her hand.