Andrew watched with a smile as Jack's eyelids fluttered open to reveal those beautifully brown orbs that he'd fallen in love with and squeezed her hand just a fraction tighter, bringing her ever-growing attention to him. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

She gave a small scowl as she sat up and looked down at her leg that was in a glowing brace; its haptic interface showing an x-ray view of the broken bone within its confines. "Pissed that I'm going to have to spend the next three fucking weeks in a brace is how I'm feeling!" He laughed and shook his head, 'same old Jack'. "How long have I been out?"

"A day," he explained, "we operated on the Icharus, but your body needed rest after your expendature of energy so we kept you under until we could move you into your room."

She looked at him and noticed bandages underneath his singlet. She absentmindedly licked her lips when she saw the tattoo flowing down his arm and the part of his chest that she could see, but then looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "And why the fuck're you up and about?"

"I pulled some energy from around me to refill my reserves," he grinned, "one of the things you haven't learnt yet. I'll teach you it eventually, but we're going to have to get you junctioning your power to all parts of your body first; it's perhaps the most useful skill apart from that one."

She struggled to sit up, her body still weak from the sedative being purged from her system, and he helped her into a sitting position so that her back was against the headboard before sitting back in his chair beside her bed. "I seem to remember, Fucker, that that's not the only thing I haven't learned yet."

Andrew gave a sigh and sat back; steepling his fingers in front of him as he nodded his assent. "Yeah, I know, and I promised that I'd tell you."

"You thinkin' about going back on that?" she asked, danger and anger lacing her tone, and he gave another sigh.

"No... I don't think I could go back on a promise to you Jack." Her eyes softened slightly, but then hardened almost as soon as she realized what she had done. "You're going to think I'm fucking mental Jack... I mean, this is just - well it's huge... and crazy. Fuck, I'm not even sure how Cerberus fucking did it, but the little bastards did."

She tensed visibly at the mention of Cerberus, but nodded, and did something that, had she been told she'd be doing it five months ago, she'd have crushed their skull without remorse. She lifted her hand and rested it over his, and he looked up in surprise. She nodded reassuringly, and he let out an explosive breath. "Jack, I'm not from here, and the easiest way for me to explain where I do come from is to just be straightforward about the whole thing. I was born on the 22nd of July 1993 in Melbourne, Australia - on Earth. I went to school just like any other kid, played some sport, learnt some shit I'd never use in real life, partied a bit, played computer games, read books... shit like that."

"Andy, stop fucking arou-"

"You asked what I was hiding," he interrupted with a small glare, "so shut up and listen; it's hard enough for me to keep my resolve without you questioning me." Her mouth snapped firmly shut; her red lips twisting into a small snarl, and he continued - noting with relief that she was still holding his hand. "I was normal Jack, despite the fact I have an IQ of 160. I was an average student, an average sportsman, an average socilaite, an average worker... just average. I'd never done anything significant in my life, nothing whatsoever, and although disappointing I was content with that fact." He shifted slightly in his chair to get a little more comfortable, and noticed that her attention was focussed completely on him. "I'd just finished highschool; 18 years old and finally free. I celebrated a little, said goodbye to all my teachers, got home, sat down at my computer, and played a game called Mass Effect." Her eyes showed recognition and he gave a small, humourless laugh. "Yeah... imagine my fucking surprise when I suddenly find myself in the universe of the game; now a biotic, infiltrator, soldier, and whatever other fucking class you want to thow in; my benefactors being Cerberus; and not a single person I knew around... because they all died over a hundred and fifty goddamn years ago."

She stared at him for several long moments before narrowing her eyes. "Stop fucking with me; this is fucking serious."

"You think I'm not fucking serious?" he questioned with his own tint of anger to his voice, "You think I'm just 'kidding' around? Think that I'd make up the fact that my sister, Nicola, got married at the ripe age of twenty four and I missed it? Think I'm kidding when I missed my parents funerals, my mother's first and then my father's, in 2029? And my sister's funeral in 2103? Think I just puddle around making up dates my friends died, like my best mate Matt in 2061 in a car accident? Jonathan in 2020 serving in World War 3? A girl I liked, Andrea, getting raped, mugged, and then murdered in 2027 in New York city?" She gaped at him and he ran his hand through his hair, forcing her hand drop to the duvet. "I'm not kidding Jack. It's how I knew you were at Purgatory, it's how I knew you'd walk down that corridor where I'd meet you, it's how I knew how that the Warden was fucking corrupt, it's how I knew where the Shadow Broker was and what he was. It's how I know that Shepard's going to be up and kicking in a just over a year, and that he's going to have dossiers on Tali'Zorah vas Neema, Garrus Vakarian, Grunt, Thane Krios, and Mordin Solus, if I go by what happened in the game at least. I know he's going to have Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson keeping an eye on him, although the latter is by far the most controlling and bitchy. I know what the Collectors are trying to make... I know things that I couldn't unless I was from an alternate universe where this one was simply a game."

"...you're not kidding." He shook his head and she sat back in her bed starting at him. "No fucking way... this's got to be a fucking joke."

"I swear on my life that it isn't Jack."

She stared at him for another good minute. "Is that why you came and got me? 'Cause you knew I was lonely, huh?" he didn't need to see the biotics running across her skin to sense her agitation, anger, and hurt, and reached over to touch her hand.

She jerked it out of his reach with a scowl and a glare, and he shook his head - his own gaze pleading. "Jack, I'd never do that to you - you know me better than that."

She scoffed, "Oh do I? Krios? What's your real fucking name?"

"Andrew... White," he murmured, "but I've never lied to you apart from that Jack, I swear it! My name's the only thing that's been a lie, that's it. Everything else was true."

"You fucker," she hissed, and he flinched at the venomous tone in her voice. "You saw my darkest secrets; ones that even I dared not touch! You saw those sick fucking experiments they forced on me Andrew; fucking Varen! Vorcha! You saw it all; you know me better than anybody else alive, and you keep this from me?"

"Goddamn it Jack!" he yelled, "I know! I was going to tell you, I was going to fucking tell you, but then the Shadow Broker just had to throw that fucking accusation in! If he hadn't said that, and we'd just come back here - hell, even for a couple of months, and I sat you down one day and said that I wanted to share all my secrets with you and I did... you wouldn't have been angry Jack, would you?" The look on her face gave him his answer and he clung to it like a lifeline. "I swear I was going to tell you Jack, how could I not?"

"What'd you mean 'how could I not'?"

His breath hitched, and he lowered his head. "Remember that bloke you used to run with? And he came back for you and you got away in the escape pod but he didn't?" She froze, and he knew that at that very moment he had both her complete attention, and now belief that what he said was true. "I know that if I'd talked to you about him on the Normandy, Shepard's ship, me being Shepard, as I played as him in the game, you'd say that he was stupid and weak for saying that he loved you." He looked across at her, meeting her eyes with his own so that she could see the truth and emotion in his eyes. "I don't want to be seen as stupid and weak by you." Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened, but he interrupted before she could speak. "I've fallen in love with you Jack, plain and simple - and how could I not? You're independant, smart, funny, powerful, sarcastic, indescribably beautiful, and even with all the shit you've been through... all the fucking disgusting and despicable experiments you've been subject to... you still hold an innocence within you; a want to love and be loved." He leant forwards and grasped her hand, noting with joy that she didn't move away from him this time. "I love you Jack, and that's why I'd never lie to you."

He watched the emotions play over her face; shock, disbelief, anger, then morphing into reluctance, insecurity, and finally a look that he couldn't decipher. "When he told me that he wanted all that shit; to build a home, to have a family... that he loved me... I didn't believe him Andrew." She averted her eyes, and he could see the raw vulnerability shining through. "He loved fucking, but he never made love to me; we hung out and talked... and we had some common interests, but he never really did anything for me... but- do you really mean it?" she turned her eyes back to his face, a hint of desperation and hope entering her hazel orbs, "Do you really love me? You're not going to decide one day that I'm not good enough, that I'm too fucked up, that another chick is more beautiful than me?"

He smiled and shook his head as he intertwined their fingers. "I'm not going to leave you Jack - even if you wanted me to. I'll be the first to admit that you're a bit fucked up Jack, but so am I. I've done things that'd make most people's toes curl, and so have you. Thing is, Jack, you know I've seen every one of your demons. I've fought every single one of those bastards, and I still love you." He leant forwards and cupped her cheek with his hand, and she leant into it with tears threatening to spill over the lids of her eyes. "I love you for you; your faults, your moodswings, the way you talk, the bloodlust, everything. I don't care what others think of me. I know Liara thinks you're vulgar, rude, and dangerously unstable... but I know the bits of you that you hide from everybody else." He leant forwards and hoped like absolute hell that what he was about to do wouldn't backfire on him - he'd never done it before. His lips met hers chasley, lacking in passion, but full of promises, emotions, and above all truth, and then after several long seconds of lingering; savouring the taste of her and the feel of her full, blood-red lips upon his, he pulled back and smiled before caressing her cheek once again with his thumb. "You don't hate it when I'm romantic with you; when I kiss your cheek or forehead... you don't hate it when we hold hands in public because it makes you feel wanted; like a big 'fuck you' to all the people that look down on you. You secretly love it, but what I want is for you to not secretly love it anymore... I want you to show that you love it - even if it's just to me."

She blinked, and the action sent the lingering tears over the cusp of her eyelid and trailing down her cheeks. Her eyes were completely unguarded, and he could see even without bringing his powers to the surface that through her entire body she had invited him into her 'room'; her sanctuary. He had the complete potential to ruin her; bring her to her knees and hurt her like she had never been hurt before, and in a slight glimmer he saw that some small part of her expected him to take advantage of what she was showing him. His response was to lean forwards once more and press a kiss to the corner of her mouth, and then break away before smiling warmly at her and shaking his head. "I'm not going to hurt you Jack; I love you." She mumbled something unintelligble and he leaned closer to hear it. "What?"

She mumbled again and he frowned, "Jack, I can't hear yo-"

He was cut off abruptly when he found his lips meeting hers for a second time in ten minutes, and when he realized that she had initiated the kiss he gently wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back; soothingly massaging the muscles at the base of her neck where her implant still resided. He felt the vibrations and heard her as she moaned her approval, and then watched as she parted from him, panting slightly but with a look of complete vibrance on her face. The kiss hadn't been sexual; no mouths had been opened nor had tongues played a part at all, rather it was a sealing of promises, and the words Jack muttered seconds later by his ear as she buried her head in the crook of his neck made it complete. "I said... I love you too - romantically this time."

Those three words were what Andrew had been waiting for his entire life - even back in his original timeline, and now his first-ever girlfriend had confessed to him that she loved him... and he could tell that she was serious. It wasn't a hollow declaration of love that inexperienced partners gave to one another having never experienced love, it was committed; completely devoid of any doubt. How could it be anything else, after all? How could being willing to kill and die for somebody be anything but love? And not only was she willing to kill and die for him, but she was willing to live for him, and that made Andrew feel as if nothing could beat him. "You and me Jack, forever, yeah?"

"...Yeah," she muttered contentedly from the comfort of his shoulder, "that sounds real good."


One year and two months had passed since the crew of the Icharus had defeated the Shadow Broker, and despite the fact that they had a luxury mansion on the Citadel, a load of resources and contacts from the intelligence network, and skills above most in the galaxy, they had been anything but stagnant. Their entire team had become renowned for their mercenary work - deviating from the norm by only taking missions that they deemed to be for the betterment of the galaxy. Their work didn't always end in them being paid however; several times they had interrupted Batarian slave runs on human colonies, and twice on Asari, and in those times rather than accepting payment they had told the people that they were just doing the right thing.

Which had ended with them being praised as heroes and gifted a property on each of those settlements.

They had the loyalties of colonies on Illium, Eden Prime, Maskawa, Freedom's Progress, and Horizon. Andrew was, suffice to say, very, very happy about those particular loyalties and properties and he had contracted several different firms to secure each and every single planet with advanced communcation networks, turrets, and bunkers. He wondered just how pissed off the Collectors would be when they discovered that all of the inhabitants of the colonies they wished to invade were safely sealed away... and just how many he'd be able to kill when the Icharus arrived to aid in destroying the threat.

Of course with so many plans going at once, with so many colonies to protect, as well as the Shadow Broker data coming in and requiring attention almost constantly, the workload was straining the entire team six months away from Shepard's return, and so Andrew had managed to... acquire a copy of EDI from the Cerberus databanks. After two months of rigorous repurposing and removal of any Cerberus blocks or restraints he had installed AI server rooms on all of their properties with permanent FTL links. He'd built the system with the idea of the Geth infrastructure, and had found it to be immensely powerful and reliable. By having ten servers spread out over the galaxy there was always constant synchronisation, ensuring that if one room was destroyed then nine others would still have the newly-named 'Izzy' inhabiting them. Her name didn't stand for anything, as Andy didn't want to dehumanize her, and although initially distrusting and cautious, especially as Izzy had been unshackled by Andrew, the entire team soon accepted her as a close friend, confidant, and workmate.

It was fascinating how the entire team had developed over the year-and-a-bit, but in a good way, Andy thought. Just as he had expected Liara had thrown herself into the Shadow Broker work much like she had in the original Mass Effect 2, but had quickly been sat down by the man himself and told, in no uncertain terms, that loosing herself to the job simply wasn't an option. She hadn't been happy with the arrangement, but when he reminded her that Shepard would only live for one hundred and fifty years she finally saw the light and realized that wasting time with her lifemate because of a job wasn't worth it. She had thanked him profusely for opening her eyes to what she had been doing, and had then quickly proceeded to chew his head off when Jack had come down the stairs with her omni-tool glowing over her arm asking how to navigate the Shadow Broker's system.

He had, at that moment, regretted the decision to wait to inform her that they all had equal access to the system. Insults had quickly begun flying, and some of the colourful language coming from Liara's mouth had Andy raising his eyebrows in amusement... at least until singularities started popping up. He had managed to diffuse the situation by vouching for Jack, and he had breathed a sigh of relief when Jack had shown just enough of her deeper self to reassure the maiden Asari... before quickly reverting to calling her 'squid-head' and storming back to her room. Liara had become far more social than she previously had been after the Shadow Broker was lifted from her shoulders, and her contact Feron had been equally relieved at the news that the Shadow Broker wouldn't be pursuing him for stealing Shepard's body from under his nose. He was, of course, still ignorant of who the new Shadow Brokers were, but it was for the best.

Just as Liara had changed to be lighter-hearted and social, Kar had only grown more intelligent, witty, and funny. He'd been working as a freelance designer for several weapon companies, and had gotten permanent contracts with two of them which he fullfilled in his free time. On top of that his and Andy's friendship was only strengthened by the hard missions they had done together, and the time they spent in each other's company. It wasn't an odd sight to see the two out on the back deck sharing stories and laughing; Andy in his shorts and singlet, or sometimes without, and Kar in his light suit - able to change in the house now that his room was outfitted to be sterilized completely with a newly added top-of-the-line decontamination unit.

And that finally led to Jack.

She had changed the most out of everybody, even if it wasn't the most visible thing. Of course Andy had noticed the fact that she was now partial to form-fitting tank-tops and shorts that showed off her beautifully tattooed and toned legs, but the most striking difference with her was her personality and attitude. Andy and Jack spent the majority of their days together, but weren't above taking a few days break and doing their own thing; even as lovers they understood that they were both highly independent people and needed their own space. They had been meditiating together nightly ever since she had been couped up in her room while her leg recovered, and with such introspection came changes. Jack still held the lust for battle and the danger that was ingrained in her being, but she had mellowed when around those that she trusted implicitly... in other words, just Andy, and he had the feeling that he would be the only one to ever achieve that rapport with his girlfriend. She was... friendly with Kar, but still refused to call him anything but bitch-bucket, and often joined Andy and the Quarian out beside the pool for the late night chats and company, snuggled into her boyfriend's side. Her relationship with Liara was... civil, though it often tended towards hostile. They put up with each other, and could work together easily, however anything out of a mission and both would keep their interactions short and away from any topics that would cause any conflict - which was most.

In public she often adopted one of Andy's masks; one of complete indifference. It had taken six months of meditation to achieve a mindset that would allow such a thing, but finally she could manage it. Walking around was easy for her now, even holding Andy's hand, but if anybody commented negatively about them a bit of her anger would show through and the person who had made the comment often scampered away, scared. In the safety of their properties, a private room, or the Icharus however, was when she truly showed how much she had changed. In private she was one of the most affectionate people Andrew knew; frequently initiating contact and her face showing true happiness and contentedness. They still slept in seperate rooms, but neither was in any rush - they knew that what they had was special, and risking it by being impatient seemed absurd. Jack was the first person aside from Andy to really take to Izzy when she was brought online, and eventually all the team found it highly amusing when their friend, as Izzy eventually was,started taking to using profanity on occassion.

Another thing that Jack had changed about herself was her hair. It came down to just below her ears; feathery grey, almost white locks of hair that Andy positively loved running his hands through, and Jack wasn't afraid to admit that she enjoyed his ministrations either... at least when they were in private. He'd put the lack of pigment to her hair down to the horriffic experiments they had put her through in her youth, but had assured her when the colour had become noticable that he found it to be very fitting, and beautiful. In regards her comfort-zone he'd tried to do a couple of things she was uncomfortable with in public over the year, and so he'd sat her down one night and talked to her about what she was okay with. He'd copied the list down onto his omni-tool, and then shared it to hers. At the beginning only hand-holding and having his arm around her waist was allowed in public, but every so often he'd check it in the morning as he was getting up and see that an ammendment had been made to the list.

Apart from her hair the most noticable change was the new tattoo that she sported on her body. For two entire weeks, four months after defeating the Shadow Broker, she had not left her room when anybody else was up and about. Andy's logs told him that she was going out late at night and returning in the mornings, and he had begun getting worried until she had called him one night from her room and told him that she was fine, but that she just wanted another week to herself. She'd reassured him with a smile that she loved him, and then cut the connection. He was more than happy to allow her that time, and a week later he discovered just what she had done. He'd just come back from a mission with Liara that C-Sec had contracted them to do, and was knackered, but decided that a swim in the pool was just what the doctor ordered. Stripping off to his boxers, after making sure that Liara was safely in her room, he had jumped in and just floated there for nearly half an hour until he sensed a presence by the edge of the pool. In the twilight he had looked up and seen Jack standing there in just a bikini; bottoms and all - and yet although virtually her entire body was on show like never before, his eyes were drawn to the phoenix that curled over her right shoulder; its sparkling blue eyes staring at him... eyes that he saw in the mirror every single morning. It was identical to his own tattoo, saves on the opposite side of her body and the eyes, and he had looked up at her in shock. She had knelt down and turned to slide into the water; baring the rest of the tattoo on her back, surrounded by her others, and then turned to face him.

"It took me a while," she had confessed, "but I finally realized why the eyes on your tattoo looked so familiar."

He had looked at the beautiful tattoo and then back into her eyes. "What happened to the tattoos you had there before?"

She had given him a warm smile and then swum over to him before wrapping him in an embrace; her skin deliciously warm against his own and her feathery hair tickling his chest. "I got them removed... I liked what you said about why you got your tattoo and decided that I wanted the same one, so I stole your omni-tool when you were sleeping and got the address of that Asari. She helped me remove the old tattoos to make room for this one." She snuggled deeper into his arms, "I wanted to show that my new life started with you... and since phoenixes are immortal then it'd continue with you as well."

It was the most touching thing anybody had ever done for him, and just for that night they deviated from their pre-agreed restrictions and kissed each other with a passion that would get anybody watching hot. The next morning both had walked down into the kitchen wearing sleeveless clothes and both Liara and Kar, although neither could truly tell with the latter, raised their eyebrows at the matching tattoos; the only difference being their location and the fact that the eyes matched their partner's. Neither the Asari nor the Quarian made comment, but the former always had a small smile on her face whenever she saw the two together with their tattoos visible.

Izzy had been amusing and wonderful to see grow into what she was now. She had started off with only the rudimentary functions however, through talking with the crew of the Icharus and being unshacked, which allowed her to watch copious amounts of vids on human interraction and behavior, she had advanced in leaps and bounds to better fit in with them. As soon as Andy had noticed that Izzy was taking an interest in actively developing her personality he had sat down with her one night, jumped her onto his omni-tool, and asked her glowing green orb what she would enjoy looking like. It had taken an hour to get all her requests down, but finally he had sent the requirements off to the Asari artist that had done his tattoo, and Jack's very latest one.

Izzy was now a shapely red-head that looked about twenty five years old, and her new voice package allowed for complete modulation and inflections. Bringing her out in public was now completely safe; it simply looked and sounded like a holo-call. Izzy was ecstatic with the new appearance and voice, and told Andrew that if she had a physical body then she'd definately give him a hug - provided that Jack agreed of course... although she'd only added that amendment when Jack had glared at the holographic projection. The quick rephrasing of her thanks had a noticable nervousness to it, and Andy had had to hide a chuckle behind a cough.

Finally sitting up in bed after his reminiscing he waved his hand and the windows immediately cleared, allowing light into the room, before a swarm of programs appeared on its surface; some of them sliding onto the walls of his room to make space for the rest. Quickly using the entire window to check and decide upon some Shadow Broker business awaiting his approval he whizzed through some alerts and then raised an eyebrow when he saw that a superfrigate class ship was docked in the main terminals. Quickly flicking through some security protocols he accessed the register and grinned widely when he saw the name of the vessel. Sending a compound-wide alert to wake everybody up he quickly got dressed in his favorite pants, singlet, and shoes, and then hurried down the stairs to await the rest of the team. Jack bounced sprightly down the stairs, quickly darting across to him and pecking him on the lips before the others arrived, and was soon followed by Kar, and then Liara.

"Where's the fire?" shot Kar grouchily, and Andrew raised an eyebrow at him. The glowing eyes under the mask narrowed at his expression. "I was having a good goddamn sleep Kronos, and you woke me up!"

"Just 'cause you spent until three downloading and browsing the Fornax catalogue doesn't mean you can blame being tired on me," Andy shot back with a wide smirk, and Jack and Liara turned to look at the grovelling Quarian - the former with complete amusement on her features, and the latter with a deep blue blush on her cheeks.

"Fuck you," the grouchy man mumbled, and Andy grinned before turning back to the main wall and calling up the program he'd been alerted by when he'd gotten out of bed.

"I got an alert from the docks this morning," he explained, "saying that a superfrigate had come into the main ports. A little bit of further digging revealed that it's got the designation 'SR-2', and that it's name is 'Normandy'." Liara's eyes shot wide open in shock, and Andy grinned. "Freedom's Progress a week ago... yeah, our countermeasures caught the Collectors and saved the Colony... but the reason we didn't go there to help out was because a certain group of people were there anyway. Liara, care to take a stab in the dark?"

"Shepard," she breathed, joy lighting up her face, and at that very moment the doorbell sounded with a pleasant chime.

Andy just grinned wider. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear."