Hello web! Hope you're having a nice day.

New chapter- hope to make this a regular Friday thing.
I'm skipping over the missions seen in game, cause you all know them.
As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!

"Shepard? Good to see you."

Kaidan had been in hospital for two weeks now. He was nowhere near healed, but he wanted to get back out there.

"Kaidan, how are you?" He noticed that Shepard wasn't looking him in the eye. Emotional detachment, he thought.

"I'm great; doc says I'll be back in a week."

Shepard smiled, "I find that hard to believe."

"I'm trying to get better. I want to fight. Sitting here, feels like I've abandoned you."

"Abandoned me?" Shepard looked at him: wrong words.

"I meant...what I meant was..."

Shepard could watch him stutter forever, but decided to stop him.

"It's ok Kaidan. Here, a present," she handed him a bottle of whiskey.

"Thanks, now I just need to get better and we can drink it to celebrate the end of the Reapers."

Shepard looked away.

"Sounds like a plan," Shepard sounded distant.

Kaidan took her hand. "Look, what I said on Mars, about you being with Cerberus, I know you weren't. I was just caught up in the heat of the moment, jumping to conclusions..."

Shepard pulled her hand away.

"Is that what happened on Horizon?" she stared at him as she spoke. "Heat of the moment?"

"Shepard..."

"Don't you Shepard me! What happened on Mars was just like Horizon. You jump to conclusions, accuse me of things I could never do."

"But you were with Cerberus!"

"I broke all ties with them! Can you not get that through that thick head of yours? You didn't even ask me, just jumped to the worst case scenario. Even James was smarter than you; he was the only one who talked to me while I was locked up."

Even James was smarter than you. That sentence hurt Kaidan. The next sentence came out of his mouth before he could think.

"I think you should leave, Commander."

It was the first time that he had ever pulled rank on her, and it caught both of them by surprise. Shepard stood up, took the whiskey bottle, and stormed out of the room before Kaidan could apologise.

Well done Alenko. You couldn't just explain to her that you did visit her, could you?

She wouldn't have believed me.

Cause that has always stopped you from saying things.

Kaidan shook his head, trying to shake the thought out of his mind. Idiot on Mars he may have been, but what he had just said may have done more damage to his chances with Shepard than Mars and Horizon combined.

Everyone on the ship noticed Shepard's return. She stomped through the halls, not talking to anyone. Everyone stayed out of her way. Once she was in the elevator, Joker activated the intercom.

"Garrus, I think you should talk to Shepard."

"Can it wait? I'm in the middle..."

"Garrus, the calibrations can wait. Something's pissed off Shepard."

"And you want me to find out what?"

"Oh, I know what it is, it's just that I figure you're the only one on the ship who can talk to her about it, without being shot, you know, being her best friend and all."

"Joker, if I get shot, I'll hold you personally responsible."

"The whole ship wishes you luck."

Garrus found the door to Shepard's cabin locked. He buzzed the bell, with no answer.

"EDI?"

"I am under orders not to open this door to anyone."

"Fine," Garrus opened the service panel, and crossed a few wires, forcing the door open.

Shepard was on her bed, face down.

"Go away," she said, muffled by the pillow.

"No," Garrus replied.

"I'll shoot you."

"I have no doubt you would."

A pause followed, as Shepard considered shooting. "You're not leaving, are you?"

"Nope."

Shepard sat up on the end of her bed; Garrus sat on the stairs opposite her.

"Do you know what happened?" Garrus noticed that her eyes were bloodshot, an indication that she had been crying.

"No, but I imagine that it has something to do with the bottle of whiskey I walked through."

Shepard looked at the liquid on the floor. "Sorry. It was a present for Alenko."

"Didn't he want it?"

"He wanted it; I took it back after..."

"After what?

Shepard took a deep breath. "After he pulled rank on me and asked me to leave."

"And why did he do that?" If anyone else had asked that question, they wouldn't be breathing. Luckily for Garrus, Shepard didn't want to kill him.

"I...the conversation got heated. We both said things...When did you get good at asking questions and making me talk?"

"I may have learnt a thing or two from Kelly."

"Of course you did," Shepard smiled.

"So, are you going to let some stupid human stop you from destroying the Reapers?"

Shepard looked at him. "No."

"Good, because Wrex wants to get to Sur'Kesh and you know how he is when he's impatient."

Shepard playfully slapped him, "You didn't come here to check on me; you're just scared of the biotic Krogan!"

"With good reason; I think I still have the scar from when he high-fived me." they both laughed.

"Thankyou Garrus. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd probably have died a long time ago," he said jokingly.

Shepard saw the joke, and smiled, "Probably. Joker! Plot a course for Sur'Kesh!"

"Aye, aye, commander."