The First Day
James couldn't believe it. Commander Shepard was here at his duty station, and she was under his guard. What the hell? She was a Spectre, how did she end up getting arrested by the Alliance?
He and the other guards waited, exchanging looks with one another on what it would be like to meet the famed Commander. They were going to escort her from the Alliance Tribunal court to her quarters where she was going to be under mandatory house arrest.
Man, I really should pay more attention to the news. James thought before the massive doors to the courtroom opened and there she was, flanked by two officers, in her dress blues, and followed up by Admiral Hackett, Admiral Anderson, and scores of media.
"Ten, huh!" Vega cried, as all four of the guards under his command snapped to attention, saluted the Admirals, and proceeded to take position around the commander. James was at the rear right of Commander Shepard and he saw her tense up as they prepared to move her. Her hands were bound in front of her and that didn't seem right.
James turned to his right and saw Admiral Anderson.
"Sir, do you have her hand cuff keys, I don't think she needs to be restrained for her transport, her quarters are in the same building we're in now." The Admiral looked at Vega with respect and turned to the bailiff and held out his hand for the key.
The bailiff handed Anderson the key and he in turn handed the James. "There you go Lt. Vega. Keep an eye on her for me will you? She'll need friends in coming days, and thank you for giving her the dignity that she deserves. I'll be by later to debrief you and the commander as soon as Hackett and I smooth things over with the Batarians.
James saluted. "Yes sir. Will do, sir." Anderson clapped him on the shoulder and he turned to Admiral Hackett and the Defense council that was filing out of the room as well.
Vega turned to the commander with the key outstretched as he called him men to a parade rest. "Commander Shepard, it's an honor meeting you. If you'd like, I'd like to take those restraints off so you're a bit more comfortable. Permission to approach ma'am?"
"Granted Lieutenant." Her voice was husky, and low, matching the exotic almond shaped, green eyes and dark chocolate colored hair. She held her head up but he could tell that the trial had taken its toll on her. She looked tired and beaten, but still proud. How she managed to pull off both looks, he'd never know.
He approached her and removed her restraints, noticing that she had soft skin on the backs of her hands, while her palms were rough and calloused. Another dichotomy that intrigued him. He pocketed the cuffs and key and moved back into position, looking around the hallway. He noticed an alliance Navy officer watching the commander. Vega glanced at Shepard and noticed a pained look on her face and watched the officer.
"Someone you know commander? He spoke next to her ear, he needed to be sure of who he was dealing with.
"I know him, though I can very plainly see, he no longer wishes to know me. Let's go Lieutenant. And it's just Shepard now. I've been "dismissed" from the navy." He could hear the bitterness in her tone and couldn't really blame her. From what he understood, the reason she was here was because she and ruffled Batarian feathers while saving the galaxy again.
"Yes ma'am." He gave the order to march to the guards and they all proceeded to her quarters where she would remain supervised until further notice.
James dismissed the other guards and helped the commander get settled in. The officer that was watching them, followed them all the way to her quarters, looking like someone stabbing him in the chest the entire time. Before Shepard walked into the room, she looked back at him, almost like she sensed he was there, and lifted her chin proudly. Then turned and walked into the room.
Damn, I hope I'm never on the receiving end of that scowl. That shit is harsh. Wonder what he did? Vega thought to himself.
"Did you need anything Commander?" He asked as he handed her a set of off duty uniforms, and a hygiene kit.
"Just to stop calling me Commander. I no longer hold rank in the Navy, or any military for that matter. Just plain old Shepard now. I may need to get a set of PT clothes though and some shoes. What was your name too? If we're gonna be spending a lot of time together, I'll need to know what to call you." She turned and faced him and he was struck again by how beautiful she was.
"It'll be a hard habit to break ma'am, but I'll do my best. Your PTs and shoes are in the bureau." He walked over to the window and pull the drawer open for her to see that she had PT gear. "My name is Vega, James. I go by either, but sometimes more colorful names around my squad." He grinned at her and winked. She actually smiled a little bit and it lit him up to see that he could help in that way.
He made a mental note to go over the Tribunal that the defense council held against her. He wanted to know what made her so sad.
"Aw hell, you're a flirt. Well, this should be interesting for the time being. There is just one more thing that I'd like to ask, and if you can't do it, I totally, understand." She walked close enough to him while talking that he could smell the citrusy scent of her and it made him think of white sand and tropical drinks.
"Shoot ma'am. It never hurts to ask."
"Well, it's a couple of things really. I know that I can't contact my old crew, but can you at least get word to as many of them as you can to let them know I am all right, Garrus, Tali, and Joker at the very least?" She looked adorably uncomfortable asking him.
"I can sure try ma'am, what was the other thing?" He looked at her and saw her face harden.
"The alliance officer that followed us here, Kaidan Alenko, I don't really want to see him and he may or may not request to have visitation. Can you please make sure that I can't receive communications or visitation request from him?" She ground the words out like she didn't want to say them, but they had to come out anyway.
"Sure Shepard. Aside from the individuals that were outlined in your case that you can't speak to, you control who sees you and who doesn't so we can put him on the no fly list for you." I reassured her and watched the air leave her lungs and she looked surprised, like she didn't know that she was holding her breath.
"Thanks Lieutenant. Sorry, not something that I like to talk about, and you just took a bigger load off my shoulders than I thought I was carrying. I should be good if you want to take off. I'm sure you have better things to do that hang around with me." She looked red faced and it was so damn cute, but I couldn't say anything about that.
"See that's where this post gets great. I have nothing better to do than hang out with you all day. It's my job." He smiled and shifted his eyes upward and put his hands in a prayer like position in front of him. "Gracias Dios".
He heard her laugh and it made his grin broaden and look at her. It was a beautiful sound, husky and low. The smile on her face made him suck in his breathe a little bit. She was gorgeous. His heart ached as he looked at her laughing, but he continued to grin.
"Jesus, Vega. I needed that. I can tell that my time here with you will not be as I expected. Thank you." Her speech tapered off as she laughed and then her face grew more serious. "Really, thanks Lieutenant. It's been a long time since I've laughed the hard. When should we expect Anderson for the debrief?" She turned to him with the face that he realized was the mask of her position. She's a lot deeper than people think she is. She not a robot, and this has been hard on her.
He flicked his arm up to check his omni-tool and noticed that Admiral Anderson wouldn't be coming, but rather Admiral Hackett in his place. I struck him as odd that Shepard used Admiral Anderson surname rather than his rank. It made sense though. When he read through her biography that Emily Wong published just after the commander went MIA and the SR1 went down, the admiral was more like a father figure to her, rather than just a higher ranking officer. It was Anderson that put Shepard's name forward for the N7 program, and then lobbied for her to become a Spectre after Nihlus notminated her for the job. Shit, even the turians knew that she was amazing.
"It looks like Admiral Anderson was called away, but Admiral Hackett will be here momentarily. Would you rather I wait outside while he debriefs you or would you like me to stay?" He left the decision up to her, getting the feeling that she had been very out of control of her life lately.
"Um, if you could, would you mind staying. As much as I like Admiral Hackett, I'm a little wary of top brass right now. Even if it was him who got me into this mess in the first place." It was weird to hear her sound unsure of herself. He'd always pictured her as this unwavering, stoic woman who never doubted herself. It was humbling to see.
"I don't mind at all. I'm here to make sure that you're taken care of Shepard. One more question, would you like to go change out of your uniform or did you want to see him in your blues?" He made a pointed effort to look at her without glancing down. Damn does she know how to wear a dress uniform.
"Yeah I guess you're right, I'll just head into the bathroom and change. Thanks again James." She walked passed him, with her clothes in her hand, placing a hand on his should and he could feel the heat of her hand burning through his dress uniform.
He heard the soft swish of the bathroom door opening and closing behind him and then he scrubbed his face with his hands. He was flirting with Commander Shepard. What. The. Hell. Ugh. He brought his omni-tool up and scrolled through the list of alien crew members that Shepard worked with. T'Soni, Samara, Grunt, Wrex, some dude named Thayne. Mordin, a geth! Named Legion, and there was Vakarian and Vas Normandy. He decided to send a message to all of the names on the list, just in case he got the wrong ones.
Just as he hit send, he heard the sound of the door again, and she walked out, not looking like a commander, or any type of military for that matter. She didn't change into the uniform he brought her. She was in pair of black pants that clung to her legs until about halfway down her calves and then flared out around her feet, the material looked soft. She had paired that with a tank top with skinny straps, and a zip up blue Alliance hoodie. She looked about 10 years younger, and about 10 times more vulnerable.
He resisted the urge to scoop her up and tell her that everything will be all right and watched as she hung her blues up so they wouldn't wrinkle and place her shoes in her closet. As she rose back up from putting them away and walked over to him.
"They couldn't remove this during the trial because it was too public to take out, but here." She shrugged the shoulder of her hoodie off, revealing a soft patch of skin her shoulder and on the back of her shoulder. It was the implant for her omni-tool and amp. "I know I'm not supposed to have these while I'm in lock down, and I don't want you to get in trouble for not taking them. I just ask that you be ready with the tranquilizers when the headaches get too bad from not having the implant." She looked like she was scared of not having the it and was trying to crack a joke.
"Okay, just hold still. I'll be as gentle as I can. Do you want to brace yourself on the chair?" Vega gestured to chair by the desk.
"No, just do it quick please." She said quickly, as though anticipating the pain.
"Okay, I'll be fast I promise." Vega moved her long brown hair over to her other shoulder and stopped himself from marveling at its silkiness. Her touched her shoulder and then waved his omni-tool over the scar where the implant was placed. He saw the spot glow under her skin, and then pressed lightly, she made no movement showing discomfort, so he proceeded with removing the implant and amp that strengthened her biotics. He saw a slight sheen of sweat on her face and saw that she was paled out.
"Shepard, sit down. You're gonna pass out on me, and that's not gonna look so great when Admiral Hackett gets here." He helped her over to her chair.
"Thanks again Vega. I seem to be causing a lot of problems today, but I promise, I won't be this much of a pain all the time." She gave him a half smile as he ran to her bathroom to get her a glass of water. "Preciate everything you've done for me Lieutenant." She told him after she downed her water.
"It's my pleasure ma'am. It's not every day that I get to help a legend." James looked down at her and she scoffed at him. He raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask what she meant, he heard the swoosh of her quarters door opening and turned to face Admiral Steven Hackett. He and Shepard snapped to attention and pulled a salute up. The Admiral saluted them both, but raised an eyebrow at Shepard.
"Lieutenant, Shepard." After he acknowledged them, they dropped their salute but James remained at attention while Shepard relaxed. "At ease Vega. You're dismissed." James dropped into parade rest. The admiral eyed him, wondering why the lieutenant was ignoring an order.
"Permission to speak freely Admiral?" James requested. He saw the Admiral nod with a smile in his eye. "Commander Shepard requested that I stay with her during her debriefing, if you'd allow it, I'd like to stay." He didn't want to let Shepard down on his first day.
"Request granted Lieutenant. Thanks for taking care of her. She's been through the wringer." He caught the respect in his voice for the commander and for what he was trying to do in staying with her. He instantly likely the Admiral better, but Shepard was his charge.
They continued with the debrief for Shepard, and then when it came time for James' turn, he had to leave Shepard's quarters. She wasn't allowed to hear the guard rotation and threat level that she was at. He looked over at her before he left and winked at her. He pointed to her terminal and his omni-tool.
She understood the message and then turned to the terminal. This was going to be her lifeline for the next while. She wasn't allowed to leave the room without permission and escort. She couldn't do any PT without James there, she couldn't talk to Garrus or Tali or any of her friends and crew to make the time go by faster. All of her calls and visitors were monitored, she was stuck.
She couldn't believe Kaidan testified against her in the trial, but only giving information on what he knew from Horizon. That was the only information that he had access to, and it was only what he saw while he was frozen from the seeker swarms. Hackett and Anderson had made it a point to make all of her mission reports that she filed to them from her time from with Cerberus was classified at the highest level. It stung that he hated her that much for working with Cerberus.
It stung a lot, more so because she had always wanted a shot with Kaidan, but she didn't take advantage of that because of regs. She knew he felt the same way and understood her position as his commanding officer. Then he named himself judge and jury when he saw her on Horizon, even after she pulled his ass out of the fire there, and the reports that he'd received about Cerberus were wrong. It was the Collectors and not Cerberus abducting colonies, but apparently evidence wasn't enough for him.
Watching that whole thing go down in the courtroom, and then to have her rank and title stripped in front of the media, put under house arrest, and then being chastised by the defense council. She only could be strong for so long before she couldn't take it anymore.
Vega had been very gentle when he removed her amp and implant. Her arm felt weird without her omni-tool, and she could feel her biotics reaching past the control point that her amp helped with. He'd made her laugh on a day when she didn't think it would be possible to do so. He took her restraints off and let her keep her dignity during transport. He trusted her. That felt good.
She didn't realize how long she had been sitting here thinking about the day, until her door opened and a young sergeant walked in with her evening meal. It surprised her, because she looked out her window and saw that Earth's landscape had gone dark, and Vancouver's metropolis was lit up. She tapped the switch on her desk to turn the windows opaque and thanked the guy for her meal. She saw steam still rising off the plate and instructed him to leave the meal on the table beside the bed. She dismissed the man, thanking him again. He left the room and then she was left with her food and her thoughts, though her stomach was in no mood to play.
She was sinking deeper into thought when her console beeped at her, indicating a call. She tapped the screen, and Vega's face filled her vision.
"Hey there Shepard. How are you doing? Bored yet." He gave her a look like he knew a thing or two about being bored and not being able to go anywhere.
"Just been thinking. Probably too much, given that I didn't even notice that it had gotten dark. How's the rest of your day been? Working hard?" She was glad she had at least one friend to talk to through this whole thing.
"Yeah, just taking care of the mountain of things that Hackett and Anderson threw at me after I left today. Did you get your meal? I had them order it special for you. Your biography said it was your favorite." He threw her a cheeky grin, and she instantly smile and felt bad at the same time. Now she felt like a shit because she hadn't eaten it.
"Yeah, it is my favorite. It's a meal my mom used to make me. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and honey glazed carrots. I appreciate that you sent it, but I haven't eaten it yet. My stomach wasn't up for the trip down digestion lane."
"I figured as much, but I wanted to make sure that you had something when you thought you could eat. It's been an absolute shit day for you. I'm just sorry that there isn't more that I can do for you." He nodded in understanding, but he had a look on his face that said he also understood the feeling of being stuck and locked down.
"I did get those calls sent out for you today. I just notified the entire Normandy crew with the message that you were all right and that you were under house arrest. Your friends sent back some colorful messages as to where I could stick the Alliance policy. It was kinda funny. Oh! I also got your no fly list updated, so you'll no longer have to worry about getting unexpected visitors. The only way that he will be allowed to see you without your permission, is if he goes to the President. Admiral Anderson personally made sure of it. I can also sense that Lt. Commander is about as high of a rank as he's going to get now."
The bit that James said about her friends leaving colorful messages about the Alliance made her laugh but she sobered quickly when Vega mentioned Kaidan. She was glad that she didn't have to see him, but she was still disappointed and bitter about him.
"Hey, now, don't think too much about it Shepard. You'll drive yourself nuts. I sent you a message that has some books and vids that can help keep you busy. Plus, if you ask, we can get PT time and some yard time for you." Her ears perked at PT.
"PT? Really? Can we go tomorrow? I've been cooped in quarters since I got back from the Omega 4 Relay." She was almost bouncing in her seat; she was so excited at the thought of getting some exercise in daily. "Can we do PT daily?"
"I'll put the request in now. It should only take a few minutes to get it approved. I'm sorry I wasn't able to come back after being briefed." He looked like her really regretted that he couldn't come back.
"Now worries Vega. You have a job to do." They were talking when she heard hi omni-tool ping and he grinned when he answered it.
"Good news Shepard. Daily PT was approved. We'll go tomorrow. 0900?"
"Yes! I'll see you here Vega. Thank you for being so level headed and helpful. You aren't seeing me at my best right now." Shepard told James. She felt lost while she was speaking to him.
"Commande-, Shepard, you don't need to thank me. Yes, this is my job to protect and guard you, but it seems like you need a friend right now, rather than another person telling you how great you are and how much you've accomplished. Since I get the privilege of seeing you every day for the next while, I'll do whatever I can to make sure that you are safe and if not happy, then slightly less miserable than you thought you would be under house arrest." He looked so earnest and endearing while he was speaking that she felt her eyes get misty.
"You read the report didn't you? The report I gave for Arahtot and the Bahak system. You know why they incarcerated me now huh?" Shepard asked him wryly.
"I do, I know that you turned yourself in, when you didn't have to. I know that you tried to warn the colonies after Hensen went bat shit crazy. I know that Admiral Hackett sent you out to that Batarian prison to get Dr. Hensen, as a personal favor. I know you got a shit deal for doing favors and saving the galaxy and you aren't even allowed to contact friends to get any sort of comfort. I don't feel sorry for you Brinn, I'm proud of you for keeping your head up throughout the whole fucking thing and it makes me respect you even more." He looked in her eyes when he spoke, and she knew that he wasn't just blowing smoke. He genuinely understood.
She could feel the tears that had misted her eyes earlier begin to fall down her face. He used her given name. No one did that except Anderson. "No llores pequena, vamos a salir de esto juntos(Don't cry little one, we'll get through this together.)" She heard Vega whisper to her. It made her cry a little bit more, because she knew he wouldn't leave her alone. She had known him for less than a day, but her gut told her that she could trust him, and her gut hadn't let her down yet.
She heard the swoosh of the door open and her head shot up to look and see who it was. "I can't bear to see a woman cry ma'am so please forgive the insubordination." James came to her and picked her up easily from the chair into his arms and then he sat down in it with her in his lap like a child. She broke down even further while she clung to his neck and sobbed. She cried for the Batarians, her crew, but mostly she cried for herself. She could only be strong for so long before she shattered.
As James held her in his arms, whispering Spanish endearments to her as she cried, he couldn't help but wonder at how he ended up here. One minute he was in his quarters, which were right next to hers, and then the next he was here. Because the dam on her emotions finally broke and he didn't want her to b alone when it happened.
He'd read her after action report on the Batarian colony and the Mass Relay that was destroyed in the process. To this point he'd only heard stories of how bad ass this woman was, but he'd never read the reports. She went into that prison alone, at Admiral Hackett's request because she wasn't part of the Alliance, and then they hung her out to dry because she was with Cerberus when shit went sideways. She had gotten the shit end of the deal, but she stayed her course, got her job done and then voluntarily came back to face trial when she didn't have to.
He held her close and petted her hair and rocked her until she wasn't moving. He glanced down at her, and saw that she had cried herself into a deep sleep. He smiled and lifted her up again with little effort and laid her down on the bed. He covered her with the small throw blanket and then smoothed her hair out of her face. He turned and went to her desk to set an alarm for her at 0800 so she could be ready to get to PT in the morning.
He left her room and coded in the lock and was turning back to his room when he ran into a shorter male that was just outside her door. The alliance officer from this morning. Alenko. He backed up, apologized and saluted because he did outrank him. That didn't mean that he had to like him.
"At ease lieutenant. Is this Commander Shepard's quarters?" He asked in an authoritative manor. It sounded like he was trying to rank his way into an answer. Little did he know, that Vega had a conversation with Admiral Anderson that afternoon to prohibit this kind of situation.
"Sorry sir, I'm not at liberty to say whose quarters these are. Under strict need to know basis."
"Lieutenant, I have class 4 security clearance, I'm pretty sure that I can know." He smirked at what he thought was a poor, dumb marine. Idiota.
"Sir, I would love to help, but the prisoner's status is under class 10 security restriction, on Admiral Anderson's orders. I can't divulge any information at all." He looked down at the man and gave him an apologetic look. He must be a good person if Shepard considered him once, but it sounds like it was his own fault that he fell out of favor with her.
Kaidan's face fell from the disgruntled officer look into the that of a heartbroken man. "That's all right Lieutenant. Can you at least tell me that she's okay?" He wasn't asking as an officer anymore. He was asking as a man.
"She's doing about as well as any one person can when the one thing in her life that made sense, turned its back on her and left her to fend for herself. I think people tend to forget that she's a person and not some robot that just says 'yes sir' and 'no sir'. But that's just my opinion, I'm just a grunt who follows orders."
"Carry on Lieutenant. Thanks for the information. Have a good night." Kaidan wandered off in a daze towards the officer's lounge. James shook his head as he went to his own room that was next to Shepard's. He went to his own desk and grabbed the data pad that he had been reading when he called Shepard.
The amount of crap she did was unbelievable sure, but thinking about what he said to Alenko, he also thought that people did forget that she was a person. He also began to think that he might be getting too attached to her. He'd been around her for less than a full day, and she was consuming his thoughts. Sure, he admired her, but it was more than that. Even while he was working on the information that Hackett and Anderson had given him that didn't involve her directly, he was thinking about if she'd eaten, how was she settling in, if her guards were treating her well, did she have a headache from the lack of an implant? Those kinds of thoughts were more than hero worship for the famous commander.
Since he'd joined the military at 18, James had stayed away from relationships. Not because he didn't want one, but because they just didn't work well in the military. He'd had offers from other officers in the Marines, but he didn't feel like risking his career for a few fleeting moments. Shepard wasn't in the military though, and she already knew what would be required of him I anything happened. And if the things that Hackett and Anderson had him start preparing for actually show up, then she would know that it's hi duty first.
I can't even believe that I'm entertaining these thoughts. Get your cabesa on straight Vega, you don't even know if she's feeling it too. All of this could be stress on her part.
James shook his head to clear his thoughts and then put data pad down that contained the entire Collector mission report and went into his en suite bathroom. Stripping down, he turned on his shower and started washing the day's stress off of him when his omni-tool beeped. He brought his arm up and checked the alarm. What he saw made his blood run cold.
Shepard's vitals were off the chart weird, but it showed that she was in REM sleep. She was having a nightmare and it was whacking her biotics out.
James slammed the knob on his shower to turn it off and grabbed the pair of sweats on his sink. He yanked them on and shot out of his bathroom and booked it out of his room over to hers. The guards were trying to get in to help her but they weren't fast enough. James waved his omni-tool in front of the panel and it turned green and the door opened.
"Get a tranq ready! Her biotics are out of control. Do not come in here unless you're told to by me, I don't want anyone to get hurt!" He shouted at Simmons and Franks as he hustled inside and slammed the door shut.
The entire apartment glowed bright blue and Shepard's body was elevated about 2 feet off of her bed. Her biotics had lifted pretty much everything that wasn't nailed down and had thrown it across the room while she cried in her sleep. It was breaking his heart.
"Shepard! Mami! Wake up!" James approached the bed and her floating form, and as he did, the biotic barrier that her mind had erected punched at him. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward. He got within about a foot of her, and her biotics must have sensed him, because a super huge push forced him back about 4 feet. It also knocked more of the furnishings and art off of her walls.
"Shepard, wake up! You gotta wake up, and fight the dream! You're okay and you're safe here! You're safe with me!" He yelled past the noise and biotic warp that was tearing at him. Debris pelted him with hurricane force and he erected his fortification shield to protect himself.
He finally got to her and wrapped his arms around her again, feeling the power of her body and her biotics. Dammit she was strong, a complete force of nature. He reached up and touched her face and as soon as his fingers came in contact with her skin, the biotic field dropped, and left glowing traces of itself. She also fell into his arms, and he tumbled onto the bed with her, making sure that she was cushioned from his big ass falling on top of him.
"Shepard! Are you okay?" He watched as she slowly became awake, tears streaming down her cheeks and her eyes swollen.
"James? Wha- what are you doing here? What happened?" She looked around, confused. Her body was drenched in sweat and tears. "Oh my god! Did I hurt you? You're okay right?" She grasped at his face with her hands and probed for injuries.
"Easy mami, I'm fine. Are you okay? Does your head hurt?" He lifted off of her and went about checking her for contusions or abrasions. She was soft everywhere, but he could still feel her muscle tone. She was powerful, and she kept in shape, which explained her love of PT.
"No, I'm fine. I'm not hurt, but you're bleeding James. I'm so sorry. I haven't had a nightmare like that since after the SR1 went down." She moved to sit up and then started checking on James. She grabbed the edge of the blanket and pressed it to his temple where a flying piece of glass had hit him.
"Brinn, you don't have to do that. I'll be fine. Little application of medi-gel and I'll be good as new. Are you sure you're okay? That stuff was flying around in here like a hurrica-." As he was talking, Shepard removed her hoodie because it was soaked, and was sitting there in her black tank that clung to her like a second skin because it too was wet.
He was close enough that he could feel the heat of her skin and smell her scent again. He breathed in deep as he tried to get his mind under control, and just sucked in another nose full of her citrus and vanilla smell. His body started to respond until he started threatening the bits that had a mind of their own. That got things under control quickly.
"Are you sure everything is okay James? You look a little red." She smirked at him when she noticed the squirming he was doing.
"I'm good Shepard, but I do need to go tell the guards outside that you and I are okay, so wait here a minute for me?" When she nodded, he got up and walked over to the door. He could feel her eyes following him and he became increasingly aware that he didn't have a shirt on. Her turned back to her and her gaze snapped up. "Busted Shepard." He winked at her and walked through the now open door to brief the guards outside.
Shepard scrubbed her face with her hands as she tried to collect herself for when James came back in. She could tell he was a big bastard, but without his shirt on he was a behemoth. Tattoos crawled up his neck and over his shoulder and she knew each and every one of them meant something.
Noticing that she was getting chilled because of her soaking wet tank top and pants, she walked over to her bureau and grabbed a new pair of sweats to sleep in. She walked into the bathroom and started the shower, just wanting to rinse the smell and sweat off of her body. She discarded her dirty clothes in her hamper and walked underneath the shower. She rinsed quickly, and then turned the shower off and dried herself. Getting dressed in another pair of black pants and a tank with the N7 logo on the front, she walked out to get socks and was taken by surprise again by James' massive size.
"Come here commander, I have a present for you." He told her in a low tone. She walked over, and without saying anything, she took her by the shoulders and turned her so her back was to him. He was going to see her tattoos.
"Wow! Didn't take you for the tattoo type Commander. These are amazing. Are they done in the old style? Needles instead of lasers?" He touched her should with his hand and she jumped a little. Not even her crew knew about those tattoos.
"Yeah. I uh, I wanted them done in the old style because you can be more free with the shading. Lasers its basically just point and click." She knew the black and grey shaded tattoos backwards and forwards. She had drawn them herself. She may not have been able to dance, but she had other talents.
"These faces, they're your crew right? From Torfan?" He didn't sound like he was judging, he sounded like he was connecting with them, and she could feel his fingertips on the faces that marked her skin, stroking them like her was trying to absorb the pain. It also made her breathing shorten and her skin pebble.
"Yes, they're the faces of the men and women that served under me at Torfan. I figured if the names were going to be burned in my mind for the rest of my life, then I might as well make sure I don't forget their faces as well. Not that I ever would anyway." She told him, bitterness dripping and regret lacing themselves into her tone.
"These aren't standard Alliance photos either. These were done by hand. Did you draw these?" His voice was quiet, as if he didn't want to disrespect her by asking.