Rogers was quiet, too quiet for someone his size. Jane liked that because she was also too quiet and hated when her fellow marines blew cover when they couldn't stop fucking stomping.

They continued on Jane's path towards the buildings at the center of the city. She still needed supplies and, knowing how quickly the Alliance worked, Jane knew it would be awhile before the calvary arrived. Rogers' goal was to fix the comms and he seemed very determined on doing so as soon as possible. He crept ahead of her and she lengthened her strides to keep up. Jane picked up a twig and lobbed it at his back, signaling him to slow down when he turned to look at her.

"I'm runnin' on rations here," she panted. "And I'm dehydrated. We need to move slower if I'm going to be any use in a fight."

Rogers nodded. "Alright, Shepard. We can rest here. Five minutes." She sat on a piece of broken cement and he handed her an MRE from his pocket.

"You've been holding out on me, Rogers?"

"Wouldn't want to make things too easy for you." He smirked and turned his back to her to stand guard.

Jane pulled her water bag from the clip on her side and downed the rest of its contents. She wiped the sweat from her brow and looked at Rogers, studying the back of his head. He was larger than most N7s she'd encountered, not that she'd met many. She noted how his blond hair, a rarity, had faint patches of grey at the temples. Jane smirked. In another time and place, Captain Rogers would have been just right for a good shore leave. She shook her head. God, I need to shoot something.

"Better?" Rogers said over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir."

"Let's move out, then."

The pair continued their slow crawl through town, stopping at each building to check for anything of use. Jane appreciated having someone taller than her this time around - she'd missed a few supplies sitting at the back of the top shelves.

"You are a treasure," she said as she packed cans of beans into her pack. "Any way I could carry you in my pocket and bring you out when I need to reach something up high?"

Rogers chuckled, shaking his head. "You know, with as many advances as their have been in the last hundred years… I'm actually shocked that there aren't any commercially available shrink rays."

"Commercially?" Jane raised an eyebrow at him.

He scratched the back of his head and looked around the room. "Yeah, well, if they did exist, then I probably wouldn't be allowed to talk about it."

Jane watched him walk across the abandoned kitchen to check under the sink. "I'm sure you've got a lot of secrets, Rogers. Most N7s do."

"Likely more than most," he said. He frowned. "Hazard of the job, I guess."

"Hope they give you a good benefits package."

"Keeps me from going senile."

"Come on, Rogers, you don't look that old." Jane laughed and the smirk returned to his face.

"I'm flattered." He stared at her for a moment, then moved to the window and looked out onto the street. "All clear, Shepard. Move out."

An hour later found them on the rooftop of a building 300 meters from the town center. Jane's right eye was glued to her scope, counting raiders on the ground and memorizing their routes. Steve studied blueprints on his omni-tool.

"Comm center is on the third floor. I'll give you an option here, Shepard." He glanced at her pack. "You've got civilians back there. If I can get in and get the comms up - "

Jane held up her hand. "Really sorry to interrupt you, sir. Permission to speak very freely?"

Rogers looked wary. "Permission… granted?"

"Thanks and, yeah, hell no," she said, setting the pack on the ground and taking out the last of her explosive rounds. "If those comms aren't up, I'm just sitting here waiting to die or worse. I need to know who else is out here and the Alliance needs ground info. This is the last shot and I'm not gonna march my ass back to the hotel while you go in alone. Sir."

Jane shoved an explosive round into her pistol and tried her best to ignore the shocked look from Rogers.

"Is there a problem, sir," she asked, feeling her cheeks heat up. Jane hated that she got riled up so easily. Adrenaline was already starting to pump through her and biotic energy creeped from her fingertips.

"No. In fact, you're welcome to join me. You're a good marine and I'm glad it's you going in with me."

Now the blush was definitely there and Jane cursed her redheaded ancestors. "Alright - don't need to sit here and get sappy about it." She rubbed her scope with the edge of her sleeve and waited for Rogers to look away. He didn't.

Jane sighed. "What's the plan, sir? Aside from avoiding emotion, I'd also like to avoid getting shot on a rooftop."

"Do you have the routes down?" He pointed toward the patrolling batarians. Jane nodded. "Good. You tell me which ones you can take out and we'll split them. Rendezvous at the western tower, move up to the second floor… and comms are here -," he pointed at a spot on the blueprint. "Should be simple with the two of us."

"Simple, right." Jane nodded towards the raiders. "I'll take the short ones."

Getting to the comm center was, in fact, simple. It was fun. Jane had never felt so in sync with another soldier. Rogers knew what she wanted him to do before she even finished gesturing to him, and vice versa. They complemented each other - she snuck in before him to silently take out whomever she could, and he used brunt force and his size to take down enemies. Rogers was a like a human krogan. But, she noted, he was really good at the stealthy route too and Jane could knock heads around with the best of them.

They were perfect for each other, and Jane was terrified.

Rogers reached the comm console and started using his omni-tool to run diagnostics. Jane sat on the floor by him and wiped sweat from her face.

She tried, albeit not very hard, to not look at Rogers' profile.

"Who are you?" She watched for a change in his face and was rewarded with yet another frown.

"You already know my name," he said, typing on the console again. "Did you hit your head too hard on a batarian skull?"

"I think you know what I mean, sir." Jane leaned back into the console and closed her eyes. "Aside from being named after a superhero, I know nothing about you. We make a pretty good team."

"I work alone," he said quietly. "And the less you know, the better."

Jane kept her eyes closed despite an intense urge to see his face again. Rogers seemed to wear his emotions openly and it was uncomfortable for her. Where she was from, that was the worst kind of weakness and ripe for exploitation.

They were silent while Rogers continued to work for a few more minutes, then the comms came back on and he was rattling off commands to Alliance HQ. When he finished, turned and leaned back against the console.

"I didn't just say you were a good marine to puff you up earlier. You're one of the best I've seen. If you're interested in going for N7, I'll put in a word for you. Don't think you'll need it after this, though."

Jane opened her eyes and Rogers was looking at her, concern etched on his features.

"Thank you, sir. I'd appreciate that." Standing from the floor, Jane wiped the dirt off her hand and held it over for him to shake. "I hope we can work together again soon."

Rogers grabbed her hand and shook it firmly, grinning. "I do too."

"... and the Star of Terra, awarded to Staff Lieutenant Jane Shepard."

The Admiral placed the medal over her head and around her neck - it was heavy and the lights near the podium were hot. Jane had felt the sweat forming on her neck ten minutes ago. She shook the Admiral's hand and smiled for a picture, then walked back to her seat on the stage, praising every god that had ever been praised for the lack of medal recipient speeches. There were four other marines receiving awards today and she watched them smile at the crowd, surely seeing their friends and family out there.

Jane herself surveyed the crowd, looking for a familiar face. She knew a lot of the Alliance personnel in the audience and had seen some of the political figures before, but there were a lot of new faces and too many cameras. The urge to dig a hole straight through the stage needled at her.

She had almost finished her quick sweep when she saw a tall man with cropped blond hair to the side of the stage. Jane turned her face towards him and winked, that side of her face away from the crowd. Rogers stifled a laugh but she saw his small grin.

The ceremony finished a couple of minutes later and Jane spent the next thirty shaking the hands of far too many people and taking an equal number of pictures. She finally managed to sneak away to the service hallway, where she leaned back against the wall and undid the top buttons on her dress uniform. Jane heard footsteps coming around the corner near here and quickly stood up straight. Rogers turned the corner and she relaxed again.

"Never did care for the attention myself, either," he said, patting her shoulder. "Too hot up there and too much pressure to not trip."

Jane let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, was never interested in the 'glory' part of the job. I'd rather just get another shore leave to make up for the last one."

"Well," Rogers said. He pulled an envelope from his pocket and held it out to her. "I think you'll get more autonomy soon anyway. Congratulations."

She took the envelope from him and weighed it in her palm. "ICT?" Jane couldn't help the flush of biotics from her excitement. Rogers took a step back from her. "Sorry. Just a little overwhelmed."

"I understand. Now, I'm on assignment solo most of the time, but I'm sure we'll train together at some point. Good luck, Shepard." He walked back around the corner and was gone. Jane looked at the envelope and turned it over multiple times, expecting it to disappear during one of the revolutions. Thinking back on her childhood and the beginning of her Alliance career, Jane remembered all of the people who told her she wouldn't amount to anything. Once a rat, always a rat. She'd proved them wrong so many times now - what was one more on the pile?

Rogers was just a plus.