Author's Note:

Yo, peeps! I'm back with part two. It's quite short this time around. My original plan was to mash it up with the next part, but that would have made the next part way too long (it's long enough as it is) and I couldn't seem to make it fit together well enough. So, I had to cut it short. My apologies.

Either way, I hope you enjoy it, despite how short it is.

Also, a big THANK YOU goes out to those of you who reviewed and added this story to faves and/or alerts. When I got the notification emails to my phone, I nearly shook with glee :) I'm so happy people are liking the story so far.

And so, with that out of the way, enjoy partie deux. (lame attempt at appearing bilingual. I IZ CLEVUR. /shot)

- i.I

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All is credited to BioWare, sadly.

Temporary Serenity

Part Two: R&R

Shepard had downed her third glass of ... whatever that was, by the time she settled back in her chair, feeling the familiar flush of alcohol rising to her cheeks, letting her eyes drift over those gathered at their tables. Garrus was leaning across the table to her left, delivering the punch-line of some joke that she must have missed, which sent the rest of them into wild peals of laughter. She let out a chuckle nonetheless.

Miranda was directly across from her, with Jacob to the woman's left, chatting with Joker, and Kelly gossiping about something or another. Grunt was on the far end of the table to her right, with Thane sitting across from him, unsurprisingly quiet and sober, despite the atmosphere, though he did seem to be enjoying the company of a certain female engineer, much to Donnelly's (poorly veiled) chagrin. Dana let a knowing smile part her lips.

Shepard had no idea where Jack was, and frankly, she didn't really want to know. With her reputation, she was utterly unpredictable, and could have been up to her ears in trouble. But, no one was dead yet, so that was a good sign.

There were smiles all around, though, and she was decidedly content that her crew was having a good time. They all deserved to let loose a little before the storm hit.

It was when Kelly jumped up on the table in a drunken stupor and started dancing, that Shepard decided she needed a moment's break for some (relatively) fresh air. So, she rose up and walked by Joker, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the show, and clapped him on the shoulder when she passed him, heading for the entrance to the club to take a break in the nook between the two groups of doors leading out to the entertainment district. She walked through the first set of doors, stepped to the left and slumped against the wall, letting out a sigh and a small chuckle. There was certainly going to be a lag in the workload tomorrow.

Good thing we're staying docked here at the Citadel tomorrow.

She allowed her eyes to slide shut, and took a few calming breaths while the door to the hall opened. She ignored it and just waited for the person to pass and continue into the club. But the door beside her didn't open, and the footsteps she heard stopped altogether. Her heart quickened and her hand itched to reach for her sidearm, until a rough voice she immediately recognized caused her to sober, and freeze before she ever got that far.

"Shepard?"

Her eyes snapped open and she looked up to have them focus on a face she remembered down to the smallest detail, "Kaidan."

"What are you doing here?" He asked after the moment of stunned, awkward silence passed.

"I—" Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, "I could ask you the same question."

The sight of him caused memories she'd fought desperately to push to the back of her mind over the last several months, to bubble to the surface. With those memories, came a surge of anger that she pushed down, forcing herself to remain calm. All this time, she'd wanted to explain. And the fact that he hadn't given her a chance to do so on Horizon was enough to make her furious, but she wasn't about to ruin her chance to make a second attempt by exploding at him now. So, she collected herself and allowed him to continue.

"After what happened on Horizon, I tried to stay in order to help the few remaining colonists, but they forced me off the planet once the turret defence was online. They still don't trust the Alliance and blamed me for much of what happened. Since then the Alliance has sent me to a number of different places. I'm stationed here on the Citadel for the next few days."

Guilt washed over her like a tidal wave, and the thought that they found the ship that abducted those very colonists, but were unable to rescue them in time still gnawed at her and haunted her dreams. So many people, dead, all to build that ... thing. Her stomach tied in a knot, and she forced her thoughts elsewhere. She was too hampered by alcohol to entertain such thoughts at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Kaidan." She muttered, "I wish we had gotten there sooner. We may have been able to do more to help them."

"You can't blame yourself, Shepard. You did more for those colonists than they ever gave you credit for."

She cocked an eyebrow, "Kaidan, I'm more than a little under the influence, so I could be mistaken, but that almost sounded like a compliment."

"Da—Shepard, you're a legend."

She wasn't certain, and it might have been because of the alcohol, but she may have smiled at his almost-slip. He was the only one she ever allowed to call her by her given name, when they were in private, even when he was still her subordinate. She guessed it must have become a habit. Now, they were of equal rank, and it would have been fine if he called her Dana, but he still refused. Was he still mad at her? Well, that was fine, because she was still mad at him, though she refused to show it.

"You defeated Saren and saved the Citadel from Sovereign. There aren't enough good things said about you." He continued, and she fought the urge to let her anger abate somewhat with his words, "The Council really didn't do much to rectify your good name after you left. They dismissed all of your claims about the Reapers, trying to get people to think you were crazy, when all of us, your crew, Anderson. We all knew the truth, and yet our word wasn't good enough."

Dana knew she should be thanking him for his kind words, and if she hadn't been hampered by alcohol, she probably would have. But she couldn't get past the fact that he'd said she left, and she felt anger surge again. Her eyes flashed and she glared at him, "I didn't leave, Kaidan."

He just stared at her.

Calm. Calm down. She paused, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, running her hands through her hair, "Do you... want to talk? About... what happened on Horizon, and about ... everything?"

He was quiet for a long moment, his warm brown eyes searching her face. At least, they used to be warm. Now they were distant, calculating, "Yeah." He replied finally, "Yeah, I do."

He gestured for her to follow him inside the club, but she took his arm (his firm, muscled arm—Wait, what?) and turned him around, pulling her hand away as if she'd been burned, "Not in there. It's a little noisy. I gave the crew the night off, and, well they're enjoying it."

He smirked (and oh, how she missed that smirk, even if it did last for merely an instant—Pull yourself together, Dana. You're supposed to be mad at him, remember?) and gave her a nod, "Then let's go somewhere quieter."

"We could go to the Normandy. It's empty right now." She suggested carefully. When he didn't respond right away, she quickly added that it was probably the quietest place they would find on the Citadel at the moment, so he wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Normandy it is, then." He said finally, and they started on their way in silence.

Author's Note:

I struggled a bit with Kaidan's responses in this part, so if they seem out of character for him, please don't hesitate to tell me. Thanks for reading, you little darling, you. :P