So, here's chapter 2 in Shepard and Ash's story. Thanks everyone for the feedback on chapter 1, I hope I can deliver with this one!

As always, all feedback/comments are welcome! Even if you hate it, I can't fix it or get better if you don't tell me!

Bioware owns the characters, but I own an imagination... so... take that!

"I'm out of ammo!"

Grunt's call came over the din of rifle fire. Shepard grimaced; since they had landed on Ilos, they had been in a constant firefight, and that was over an hour ago. He figured the liberally firing Grunt would be the first to run out of ammo, now he was counting the minutes until the rest of his squad started running out.

They were pinned down just outside of the spillway where Shepard had found Vigil years before; or rather where Vigil hand found Shepard. Joker had been able to get the Mako to the open areas past the tunnel, but as soon as the Mako landed, a huge heretic Gath force had attacked. They had made their way closer to the tunnel, but they were still under heavy fire, and running dangerously low on ammo.

Shepard saw Jack toss an SMG over to Grunt, with a few clips strapped to the sides. The area was still too hot for Ash's squad to land the Kodiak shuttle there, but they had managed to land the hammerhead hovercraft with Jacob and Thane inside a few kilometers away during the initial landing, and they were making their way as quickly as they could, although they were running into opposition of their own. Doing a few quick calculations, Shepard figured they'd probably get overrun thirty seconds before the hammerhead arrived, of course, as long as the hammerhead was able to clear its way to them soon.

Almost on cue, the comm unit in Shepard's ear crackled to life. "Normandy to team one, we got a present for you. Hope you don't mind, it looks like the Geth are gonna get to play with them first."

Shepard looked up to see the Normandy coming in, incredibly low. The smaller turrets on the ship were shooting down to the enemy on the ground, and Shepard saw the Kodiak just under the Normandy, making its way through the trench towards Shepard's location. Anti-aircraft fire bounced off of the Normandy's shields, and Shepard noticed that the Kodiak was so close to the Normandy that it was still within its shield radius, staying protected on its approach. Just as they reached Shepard's position, the Kodiak made an impossible dive, and landed in the small clearing that the entrenched Team One had found themselves in. The doors slid opened, and Ash's team started to pour from the shuttle, with Shepard's team providing cover fire.

"Buddy up people, and share the wealth!" Ash shouted the instructions to her team over the sound of gunfire. Her team made their way to the spots where Shepard's team had bunkered down. Shepard saw they each had extra ammo strapped to their armor, and as each of Ash's team got to cover, they took the extra packs and gave them to Shepard's team. A sudden sound off to Shepard's left pulled his attention back, as he looked up he saw Ash come over the small dirt mound that Shepard was behind.

"Way to check your six, Skipper. Good thing I'm checking it for you" She said as she handed Shepard some extra ammo clips for his rifle.

"We're in the middle of a firefight and you're checking my 'six?'" He smiled as he reloaded.

"And a mighty fine 'six' it is." The two teams quickly started working to clear the valley of the remaining geth. Garrus and Legion were using their considerable sniper skills to whittle down the enemy numbers, while Grunt and Zaeed were barreling towards the front lines, their grenades quickly reducing the enemy's cover to dust.

Samara and Jack, meanwhile, were tearing the geth from their positions, and flinging them into the air, making them target practice for the rest of the team. Soon, the valley was clear of hostiles, and the Spectres could take full stock of their situation. While the rest of the team restocked their ammo from the Kodiak, Shepard took a moment to call the Normandy.

"Shepard to Normandy, thanks for the help, and nice flying there, Joker."

"Aww, thanks Commander. And all this time, I thought my talents were going unnoticed."

Sheaprd glanced over at Ash, who was on the channel with him. He smiled as she rolled her eyes. "Joker, I don't think we could ever NOT notice you, no matter how hard we tried."

"Hey, easy now, Ash. Even though I'm still single, you're engaged now."

This time it was Shepard's turn to roll his eyes. "Status report, are we clear for the time being?"

Shepard was almost thankful that it was Miranda's voice that came over the comm. "Yes, the only other geth encampments are on the far side of the continent, so unless anyone wanders off, you'll be in the clear for awhile. We'll keep you posted if we notice any activity."

"Thanks, Miranda. We'll secure ourselves down here and get to work. Shepard out." Shepard looked over to Ash. "Have you heard anything from Jacob?"

Ash nodded. "Just raised him, he's thirty seconds out, coming down the main spillway behind us. I told him to hold that end of the tunnel while we try to get to Vigil."

Shepard nodded. "Good. Let's post some people down here to hold this end, and load up the Mako to go in."

As Ash communicated the plans to Jacob and Thane in the Hammerhead, Shepard went over to the Kodiak and replenished his own ammo supplies. "Ok, everyone, listen up. We have Jacob and Thane in the Hammerhead down at the other end of the spillway. We're going to setup a team to cover this end, and then the rest of us will move in to try to secure the prothean VI. As soon as we can get whatever we can, we're out of here."

At this point, Ash joined him at the shuttle. "Legion, Tali," she nodded to each of their tech specialists, "we don't have a lot of time here. We need to get what we can, and get out. We're clear of geth for now, but there might be more on their way, so everyone stay on your toes."

Shepard took a quick appraisal of the team. Everyone was ready to work. ". Garrus, Zaeed, Samara, you cover this end of the tunnel. Everyone else, to the Mako."

The groups started moving to their respective assignments. At the Mako, Shepard climbed in behind the pilot's station, with Ash next to him. Kasumi and Tali joined them inside, while the rest grabbed onto the foot and hand rails that had been added to the outside.

"Um… Skipper?"

Shepard turned to look at Ash. "Yeah, Chief?"

"Want me to drive?"

Shepard tilted his head slightly. "What, you don't have faith in my driving abilities, Chief?"

Ash swallowed. "It's not that. It's just… well, I remember a few moments on Noveria when we almost went over the side of a cliff…"

"We were under fire from dozens of geth armatures!"

"… and Virmire, and Ferros, and Luna, and..."

"Ok, I get your point. But I do this under duress, got it Chief?"

"Duly noted, Skipper."

Ash and Shepard tried to switch seats as quickly as they could, but in the cramped confines of the Mako, it proved to be rather awkward, especially in full armor. It ended up with Shepard having to slide under Ash, while she slid over him. After they had gotten themselves into their new seats, Shepard heard Tali and Kasumi both giggle. "If either of you recorded that, I'll kill you."

"Shepard," replied Tali, "I would never dream of such a thing. Though some would find it an interesting example of human mating practices."

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Grunt called in from the outside. Before anyone else could respond, Kasumi yelled out the open hatch "Shepard and Ash decided now would be a good time to demonstrate human mating habits for Tali!"

"Ha, good for you, Shepard, there's always time to…"

"Stow it, Grunt!" Shepard couldn't believe this. He looked over to Ash, who was just grinning at the absurdity of it all. "This wouldn't have happened if you had let me drive."

Ash flashed him a quick wink. "Oh come on, we both know our mating practices are a whole lot more interesting than that."

She gunned the engine and sent the Mako roaring down the spillway as Tali and Kasumi both completely lost control and broke down in hysterical laughter.

Six hours later, everyone was back on board the Normandy. They had lucked out that they were left alone for quite some time while down on Ilos, so they had plenty of time to try to access Vigil, the prothean VI. While Legion and Tali hadn't been able to get the VI operational again, they had been able to get massive amounts of data downloaded. They had also been able to get the main hardware back to the Normandy where they were working on patching it into some computer terminals to see if they could access the main operating system as well.

Of course, after awhile, the remaining geth had launched an assault and had nearly trapped the team in the spillway. With Joker's precision flying, though, and weapons support from EDI, they had been able to get off the surface before being overrun. Now, everyone was engaging in their own post-mission habits while the Normandy made its way to Omeron to follow up on a request from Miranda and Jack.

Up in their quarters, Ash and Shepard were in the shower, trying to get the grease and dirt from the successful operation off of themselves, and each other.

"I never thought we'd go back to Ilos, skipper. Much less of our own free will."

"Tell me about it, Chief. That place was creepy enough when we were just hunting Saren and geth, but after finding out what happened to the protheans, it's a damn sight creepier."

"Do you really think all of the protheans were turned into Collectors?"

"Probably just the ones that submitted to the Reapers. I would have to assume that the ones that fought against them were wiped out."

"Great, that makes me feel so much better about the position we're in."

Shepard looked her right in the eye, which was a testament to his self-restraint, as his eye had a tendency to wander over other parts of her, especially when they were in the shower together. "Ash, we'll get through this. We'll find away to stop them."

Ash smiled up at him. "I know. I know we'll get them. Now turn around so I can get your back."

He smilled as he complied. He felt her hands on his back, and, between the sensation of her touching him, and the hot water pouring over him, felt most of his stress and tension melt away. Showering together had become one of their rituals back on the original Normandy, which usually ended up with Ash having to leave Shepard's quarters with one of his SRV caps that no one ever saw him wear himself in order to hide her wet hair. Now that they didn't have to hide their relationship, they were able to relax a little more.

Shepard tilted his head to each side, cracking it. He then turned around and motioned to Ash that it was his turn to get her back. The slight moans she made as he rubbed the knots out of her back made him smile. "So, Chief, what do you say to seeing what Gardner's rustled up for us for dinner, see if Legion and Tali have made any headway with the prothean data, then reconvene back up here?"

"Mmm… sounds good, Skipper. After that op, I'm famished… in more ways than one." Shepard smiled. Ash was usually frisky after missions, especially the high-tension ones. She slowly turned around to face him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. "Of course, I'm sure Gardner will still have some dinner left over for us later." Any protest Shepard may have attempted was stifled as she pressed her lips to his.

"Command Shepard, Lieutenant Williams…" EDI's voice came through the cabin's PA. Groaning, Shepard and Ash broke away from each other. "Yes EDI?" Shepard replied as Ash turned off the shower, knowing that they were going to be called away from their private moment.

"There is a message from Liara T'soni for the two of you. It is regarding Ilos."

Shepard smiled. "Well, we just left Ilos, so she's a little late, but we'll get to it. Thanks, EDI."

"You're welcome." Ash shook her head as Shepard grabbed towels for the two of them. "You'd think that Liara would've been able to get a message to us before we hit the planet, right?"

Shepard nodded his agreement as they both finished toweling off. They walked into the cabin and pulled up the message on the terminal. "Let's see what we may have missed out on." Shepard and Ash both smiled at the handle that Liara had sent the message under.

From: Blueberry

To: My favourite Spectres

I would be offended to know that the two of you went to Ilos without me if I didn't know that you had just gotten hammered by the geth that were remaining there. Sorry I couldn't give you a heads up about them, they had been dormant until you arrived, so my contact says. I'll have to double check that, but I'm glad to know everyone got out ok.

I hear you have some hardware and files on hand from the surface. I might be able to have some extra translation programs sent over to you, based off of the cipher Shiala gave to Shepard. You should be getting it within a day or two, depending on when it's ready.

I'm making some headway in getting some possible targets for you. Give me a few days, and I'll be able to give you some coordinates. I've also heard some rumors about some smuggling ops that you would be interested in, but I need more info on that.

In the meantime, I hear you're hitting some Cerberus facilities. Let me know if I can help with that at all, since you know I have nothing better to do.

Until then, congratulations on the engagement. We'll all have to get together and catch up some time and share a drink. On me, unless you Spectres can afford the good stuff.

Talk to you soon.

Be safe.

Ash's mouth was hanging open, while Shepard was quietly laughing to himself. "How can she know this already? It was only a few hours ago that we landed, and less time than that since we got back to the Normandy!"

Shepard smiled. "The Shadow Broker has her resources. I guess we should feel lucky that she isn't watching us when we sleep."

Ash was silent for a moment. "Now that's a thought that's going to fester until it explodes into full-blown paranoia."

Shepard chuckled as he closed down the terminal. "Better Lirara than the old Shadow Broker, though. At least she won't sell our dirty secrets to that Al-Jilani woman."

Ash tried to hide her disgust at the mention of the reporter from the Citadel. "Ugh. She tried to interview me after the Normandy went down, saying that she had proof we were engaged in an 'inappropriate relationship' and that you had been distracted by it, resulting in the Normandy's destruction."

Shepard turned to look at Ash. She hadn't brought this up before, and he knew how sensitive she still was when it concerned his death. "What happened?" He was almost afraid of the answer.

Ash smirked as she recalled the event. "I made it very clear to her that there was nothing inappropriate with our relationship, the attack came when you were off duty, asleep in your bunk per you normal schedule. Then I shot out her camera, punched her in the face, and told her to go space herself."

Shepard laughed. "You know, I always wanted to do that, but I never thought to shoot the camera first. And that just goes to show why I never want to get on your bad side."

"Damn right you don't! But come on, let's go get some grub, then see what Tali and Legion may have found."

"Right behind you, Chief. We should probably also look over the intel Miranda has on this facility on Omeron we're going to. Sounds like it might bring up some ghosts for Jack, and I want to make sure we're ready for whatever may be down there."

Ash sighed as she dropped her towel, and purposely walked naked over to her dresser. "I almost forgot about that. Sounds like we're going to be pretty busy. And here I was, thinking we could get some alone time," she said, as she looked over her shoulder, making sure Shepard was watching her.

Shepard stood from their desk, dropping his own towel as he walked over to Ash. He stopped right behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her to him. His mouth was next to her ear, and she could feel his warm breath on her neck, which sent shivers up and down her spine. They stood like that for a long moment, each relishing the feel of the other's skin against their own before Shepard spoke. "Sometimes, having to wait for what you want only makes getting it that much better. Don't you agree?"

The reference to their relationship and the time between his death and their reconciliation was lost on her as she could only focus on the feel of Shepard pressed against her. She reached behind her to touch Shepard's cheek, but he quickly moved from behind her, and gave her a playful smack on her behind. "Hey!"

She turned to see Shepard smiling at her as he walked over to his dresser. "Come on, Marine. We'll have plenty of alone time, but we have some work to do first."

Ash shot him a dirty look as she reached for her clothes. "You realize that I'm going to have to make you pay for that. I might develop a headache later, or just get very, very tired."

Shepard smiled as he finished dressing. "You can drill an enemy from a hundred yards away in the middle of the night, in driving rain, reciting Whitman while having a rabid varren chew on your leg, and you're threatening to be out of commission because of a headache? Who are you, and where is the tough marine that I met on Eden Prime?"

Ash smiled back at him. "In case you haven't noticed, in addition to shotguns and sniper rifles, us women also have our feminine wiles at our disposal."

As she finished dressing, she started for the door, with Shepard close behind her. "You have a point, Chief. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

Ash reached the elevator, and opened the door. She entered, and leaned against the wall as Shepard came in behind her. He hit the button to send it to the crew deck, then stood in front of her. She grabbed him by the belt, and pulled him close. "I can think of a few ways… like you get a plate for me while I get the data from Miranda, and grab us some seats in the mess so we can go over everything." She playfully shoved Shepard backwards. "After that, I'll think of something else for you to do."

"Yes ma'am," Shepard said, while snapping of a quick, perfect salute. They both laughed as the doors opened to the crew deck, and Shepard made his way to the kitchen to get their dinner while Ash went over to Miranda's office.

The door to Miranda's office opened as Ash approached. After their talk a few days ago, Ash was beginning to warm up to the former Cerberus agent, but was still a little wary of her. Miranda looked up. "Ash, is there something I can do for you?"

"Shepard and I were wondering if we could get a copy of the intel on the base on Omeron that we're hitting tomorrow."

Miranda raised one of her eyebrows. "I can assure you, I have everything covered. It's the same setup as the Teltin facility, so Jack, Shepard and I already are familiar with the layout."

Ash nodded. She hadn't meant her request to come off as a vote of no confidence in Miranda's abilities, and wanted to put out that fire quickly. "I understand that, and we have complete faith in you. We actually are a little concerned with Jack. We're going to another facility like the one on Pragia, and who knows what demons that might stir up in her. We'd rather cover our bases by knowing as much as possible about the building and environment as possible, just in case."

Miranda nodded once. "Right. Sorry, I shouldn't have gotten defensive about that. The whole mission just… doesn't sit right with me."

Ash sat down in one of the seats. "Oh? Do you want to do this?"

Miranda looked down. "It's not that I don't want to. I do. I want to look into this. But, I can't believe that the Teltin facility went rogue along with several others. But in looking over the data that Jack had, that seems to be exactly what happened."

Ash nodded. She didn't want to say it, but she had to. "Miranda, have you given any thought to the possibility that… maybe the facilities weren't rogue, but that that's how the whole project was being run?"

Miranda shook her head. "That's impossible. There's no way The Illusive Man would allow that."

"Look, there's a lot that's been done by Cerberus people, either with or without consent, that reflects on the whole group."

Miranda took a moment to let that sink in. "I understand that. The misdeeds of the few always reflect on the whole. Anways, here's the data on Omeron. Thank you, to both of you, for the help on this."

Miranda offered an OSD to Ash, who stood as she took it from Miranda's hand. "It's not a problem at all. But, I do have to say something else."

Miranda looked up at Ash, not knowing what to expect.

"You're a very smart woman. You and I have both heard the reports: the thresher maws, the husks, the assassinations, the genetic experiments… tell me, what are the odds that every single operation that anyone hears about is a rogue cell, and what are the odds that they're doing what they're told, and then being cut loose as soon as they're discovered?"

Ash saw that Miranda didn't have a response for her. So that she could think about what she had said, Ash didn't want to give her the chance to think of one.

"Good Night, Miranda," she said as she walked out the door and turned to the mess. Before the door close, Ash caught Miranda, out of the corner of her eye, close her computer terminals and rest her head in her hands, obviously upset.

There we go, the latest installment. That last line Ash tells Miranda is something I've been waiting for someone to say for a long time. Guess it was up to me to make it happen. :-)

Coming up: doubts, mercs, and Jacob and Ash compare... weaponry.