A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to update again. What with Fallout New Vegas coming out, hanging out with friends and piles of Film Studies coursework I have kind of been tied up. Thanks again for those of you who are reading this, it is really appreciated.

I do not own Mass Effect or Kill Bill.

The worst was over.

Jacob laid curled up with Kasumi on the bed exhausted from the little episode earlier.

All the pain and adrenaline had now washed away leaving Shepard motionless. She headed towards an armchair in the corner of the room with the small ounces of energy she had left and was welcomed with a thud of her legs no longer holding her weight.

It had been a long day, and it wasn't even over yet.

"Shall I just leave her here?" Joker asked awkwardly as he sat on the floor next to the unconscious girl.

Shepard groaned refusing to open her eyes which were tightly closed. "Tie her up to a chair or something, just give me a minute to…a minute to..."

Joker grinned as his commander slowly drifted into a light sleep before him. He quickly came to the conclusion that it would be in his best interests to not to wake her up.

He didn't want to admit it but Jacob was right about how Shepard should see a doctor. Fatigue was bound to try and set in on her no matter what.

Joker tore his gaze off of his sleepy commander to see Kasumi curled up with Jacob on the bed. It looked like Joker was on his own with this one.

Struggling to stand up Joker clutched a nearby wall already worn out. What he would of gave to have had a nice hot coffee drenching his throat.

He skilfully knelt down beside the pink-haired girl trying to get a decent grip on her as he pulled her along the floor and into the living room where there were chairs available.

On numerous occasions Joker's hands found their way to her breasts while he struggled to get her ass onto a chair.

He kept mumbling apologies whenever it happened unable to gain control of the awkward situation. It was moments like these that Joker silently thanked whatever force was keeping her unconscious so that the girl couldn't kick his ass for the unintended groping.

Moments later Joker had managed to find some duct tape which he used much to his delight to tie the girl up. He left her mouth bare. The way he saw it even if she was to scream, this was Omega. Nobody would come to help her.

Returning from the kitchen which was just opposite the living room, Joker had prepared a flannel that was soaking wet to try and clean the blood off of the girl's face.

He liked to think he was doing it because it was grossing him out, however a part of him felt a bit bad and used the excuse of cleaning her wounds to make him feel better.

Joker began his work in silence tracing the flannel over the girl's cut eyebrow that was mangled with her hair due to the dried up blood. He pushed the once pink, now crimson hair behind her ears and gently rubbed over the swollen area. Joker lost track of how many times he had to rinse the flannel in the bowel of water he had retrieved also. The amount of blood was ridiculous.

Pleased with his efforts Joker moved on to her busted lip. Joker knew how pathetic the scenario was but he just wasn't the kind of person for violence. Maybe it was the fact that he was the one who knocked her out cold. He knew that he had no choice and had to do it for Shepard's sake, but it didn't stop him from feeling guilty about it.

The girl winced slightly when the flannel made contact with her lip causing Joker to jump back in surprise. He was certain there was no way she was going to wake up and yet there she taking in her surroundings and trying to figure out why she was tied up.

Joker hesitated and wondered whether or not to call Shepard for help. But from what he could see the girl was not going anywhere. He decided to stay put.

"Erm…are you okay?" Joker asked slowly approaching the dazed out girl.

She lifted her head as if it weighed a ton pinning her sight on the source of the sound.

She managed to groan "Fuck!" before letting her head drop back down.

"I'll take that as a yes," Joker murmured mostly to himself. It's funny how somebody can go from being a killing machine to being completely helpless.

"You are so fucked when Massani gets here, So fucked!" the girl screamed as she started to try and break herself free.

Joker sat in front of her calmly and held up a finger.

"Okay now, one: You're probably right. Two: You might as well give up the whole struggling thing going on right now because I made sure I tied you up tight. And three: What's your name?"

"Go fuck yourself!" she spat still trying to loosen the grey tape that bound her.

Joker looked up at the girl who was too busy avoiding his gaze. "Look i'm really trying here." Joker sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He suddenly sat up-straight and coughed. "Okay i'll go first, i'm Joker."

The girl raised her un-swollen eyebrow. "Funny," she said sarcastically.

"No, i'm serious that's what everyone calls me," Joker defended.

"And I bet there's a story behind that," she mocked in an overdone happy manner. By now she had given up struggling and began boring her silver yet blue eyes into Jokers. It was beginning to make him feel very uncomfortable.

Joker decided to return the stare back. "You know you shouldn't be sarcastic, it doesn't suit you."

"Neither does your nickname," the girl replied.

Joker couldn't help but laugh at that. If it wasn't for the fact the girl had tried to kill his friends he would have liked her.

"What do you want from me?" Joker smiled and raised his arms in defeat.

"Your actual name," the girl said curtly.

Joker was able to tell that her whole tough exterior was all a show. Surely she wasn't really this mean? He concluded that her venomous attitude must have had something to do with the fact she had been beaten up and strapped to a chair.

"Jeff," Joker whispered in and barely audible tone. "Jeff Moreau."

"See? That wasn't so hard now was it?" The girl smiled mischievously but her busted lip prevented her from looking cute. She was able to tell by the way Joker spoke that he wasn't a fan of his real name. She figured that he must have be so used to being called Joker all the time that anything else was unfamiliar and alien to him.

Joker frowned. "Come on then, your turn," he urged leaning back into his chair.

The girl laughed. "Hey, I never agreed to anything."

"Aww come on," Joker teased. "You don't believe in a question for a question, an answer for an answer?"

The pink-haired girl sat there for second as if contemplating the consequences of telling him her name while Joker waited eagerly in front of her. As she was about to utter it her expression changed. Her forehead creased while she drifted into a recent memory.

She held her breath, "Are you the one that smashed that ashtray over my head?"

Joker swallowed hard. "Maybe."

"You fucking dick! You just wait till I get out of this chair!" she screeched getting more aggressive by the minute as she remembered the singeing pain he had caused.

Joker felt bad, he really did. He wasn't comfortable about hitting a woman. "Look i'm sorry-"

"Take your apology and shove it up your arse!" the girl shot back.

Joker grabbed the girl's chin forcefully and inched his face a few centimetres from hers. How he got up that fast with his shattered legs he had no idea.

"Listen, that woman you was in a scrap with earlier is asleep in there and she is a lot meaner than me. Please, give up on the screaming and don't let me regret not taping your mouth."

The girl didn't pull away from his grip and lowered her voice. "Why haven't you killed me?"

Joker loosened his grip on her chin and lightly held her head in his hand. "We all make mistakes, just because you've messed up doesn't mean you deserve to die."

On that note Joker turned away and sat on the couch. The girl didn't look at him and just stared at the opposite wall in silence.

Joker rubbed his temples frequently trying to get a hold of the situation and rested his head back on a pillow. It's funny, he could still be on Earth right now, serving drinks, chatting up girls... Instead he was here, on Omega, with a crazy tied-up girl for company.

"Marla," the girl whispered suddenly.

Joker lifted up his head to see the girl looking down at the floor, she looked a mess. He felt guilty again for how beaten and weak she looked.

"Marla Massani," she finished.

Joker smiled at the sudden trust she had placed in him, it showed him that all the effort he put into her was worth it.

He remained silent within his thoughts, she actually looked like a Marla. Joker liked it when people suited their names and as for the Massani part…wait.

"Did you say Massani?" Joker questioned slightly distressed.

"Yeah..." Marla answered confused at Joker's reaction.

"So…wait. You're related to Zaeed?"

"Of course, why else did you think I was in his apartment?" Marla chuckled weakly in response.

"You're his wife?" Joker asked. Startled by the situation he began pacing around the chair.

"Daughter," answered someone in a husky colonial voice.

Joker paused in his steps, that definitely didn't sound like Marla.

Slowly turning around Joker could see a shadowy figure in the doorway smoking a cigar.

Shit.

The shadowed man stepped into the apartment locking the door behind him. The unavoidable scar on his face gleamed under the low lighting, making him look even more intimidating.

"Hey…Zaeed…I promise you this isn't how it looks," Joker tried explaining.

Marla was quiet but from what Joker could see she wasn't taking any enjoyment out of the situation before her. In fact she looked worried. Worried of what Zaeed was about to do.

Pulling a pistol from his hip, Zaeed slowly walked forward to Joker and pinned it on his forehead.

"Listen carefully Joker," Zaeed whispered in his heavy accent and a psycho look in his eyes. "You have five seconds to explain to me why my girl is beaten to a pulp and tied-up."