The shuttle slowly approached The Alliance base in Paris, docking itself at the medical wing of the facility. A crew of medical doctors popped out of the building and rushed to the shuttle. They were all dressed in white, pushing a medical bed and carrying several different devices with them.

The door opened, revealing a beaten Abby Williams carried by Ashley Williams, a gash in Ashley's forehead was bleeding a little, but she worried mostly about her sister. The doctors, grabbed Abby, hooking her up to an IV feed as they laid her in the bed. Ashley, stayed by her sister's side, tightly holding her hand as the doctors prepared to treat Abby.

"She's OD'ed on Benzoylmethylecgonine Trisulfide, she also appears to be dehydrated, malnourished, and suffering from organic rejection of these synthetic machines," one of the doctors said to the others as he read some things off of a data pad, "Get her to a recovery unit, quick, we are going to need to contract the drug with 500 CC of both Sildenafil citrate and Tadalafil, ASAP!"

The doctors rushed away from the shuttle, Ashley following close by them as they headed into the building. Shepard and the rest of the crew had stepped out of the shuttle, watching as the doctors went away.

"Shepard," Liara said, "You should follow Ashley, make sure that she's okay."

"What about you guys?" asked Shepard.

"We'll be fine," Garrus said, "We can talk to Hackett, you just go find Ashley."

"Thanks," said Shepard. Shepard hurried off as the crew went back into the shuttle, taking off to a new landing pad. Shepard walked down the rest of the pathway, entering the air conditioned hospital. The light of bright sun turned into the white, bland light of a hospital entrance.

The room was white, clearly a back entrance to a hospital. Several doctors were busy at work at terminals on both sides of the room, typing up information sheets and reviewing charts. Shepard looked around, seeing a only one other exit to the room. A sign was next to it, signifying it was the way to surgery, x-ray, and the main part of the hospital wing. Shepard walked down the hallway at a quick pace. He looked into every window as he looked for Ashley.

Finally, he turned a corner and saw Ashley. She was standing outside the window of a surgery room, watching the doctors remove machinery from her sister. Shepard approached her, smiling as she turned towards him.

"Hey," Shepard said, "Is she going to be okay?"

Ashley cried and hugged Shepard, "I don't know."

Shepard held her, Ashley crying into his arms. He felt bad, Ashley had felt nothing but pain these past few months, but it seemed to finally all be over.

"Shepard," Ashley exclaimed, "Your Shoulder." Shepard looked to his left, seeing blood still pouring from his shoulder from the fresh wound. He had forgotten about it, only focusing on Abby as she was in the shuttle. "You need help."

"I'm fine," he said to her as he held her hands, "I want to make sure you are fine, along with your sister."

Ashley hugged Shepard again, "I love you."

"I love you too," Shepard said as he held her.

Ashley pulled away again, turning back towards her sister, "Seriously though, the blood from the cut is pouring out of your body, go get help," Ashley said, "I'll be fine, it's just tough."

"Okay Ash," Shepard began to walk away, "I'll be right back." Shepard quickly paced down the hallway, looking for someone to help him.

"Captain Shepard," a voice said from behind him. He turned to see a familiar face, Doctor Chakwas.

"Chakwas," Shepard said as he clenched his shoulder, "Good to see you again."

"That's a deep cut," Chakwas said as she pulled his arm from his Shoulder, "Come with me." Shepard followed Chakwas back into the room she had came out of. It was a small examination room, a bed with a paper sheet on top of it was in the corner. A laptop sat on a desk with a cabinet above it, the cabinet was filled with many clear jars, filled with various things like cotton balls and tongue compressors.

Chakwas opened one of the cabinets, taking out a needle along with some stitches. "Take your armor off," Chakwas said. Shepard peeled the top of his armor off, it fell to the ground with a clunk as he unhooked the last part. Shepard's shirt was soaked in blood, the blood dripping down still from the wound.

"God Shepard!" said Chakwas, "How long did you have this for?"

"A few hours," said Shepard.

"Were going to need some more bandages and blood for you," said Chakwas. She went over to the laptop, typing something into it. "Okay, I've requested some stuff for you," she said as she approached Shepard as he had took his shirt off, dried blood all over himself as he cringed in pain.

Chakwas looked at the cut, examining if there was any damage done to it. "You're rotator tendon looks fine, and the cut appears to be shallower than it looks. You'll need some stitches and cleaning up, but your synthetic implants will make recovery very easy.

Just then, another familiar face entered the room, Doctor Cohen. She had a packet of blood ready for Shepard along with an injection.

"Doctor Cohen," Shepard smiled, "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise Captain," she said as she handed the needle to Chakwas, "This is morphine Shepard, so you'll be a little out of it for a bit." Shepard cringed again as the shot of Morphine was drained into his left arm. Chakwas then began to clean Shepard's wound, Shepard wasn't in any pain, he felt nothing but bliss as he watched Chakwas stitch up his wound.

"Shepard," Doctor Cohen interjected, "What happened to you?"

"I was in a... Cerberus Base," Shepard said as he began to feel light headed, "I got stabbed in the arm by Ashley's sister, the one that went missing," Shepard said as he motioned to Chakwas.

"Ashley's sister was found," Chakwas said, "Great, I remember how depressed Ashley got when she went missing." "Is she gonna be all right?"

"Yeah," Shepard said as he watched Chakwas wash the blood off of his body. "Am I gonna be okay, I feel weird."

"It's the morphine Shepard," Chakwas said, "It'll wear off pretty quick, drugs like that wear off due to your synthetic implants."

"Good," Shepard said as he got up, stumbling on his feet, "I gotta get back to Ash." He slowly gained his balance back, shaking his head as he came down off of his high.

"Wow," said Shepard, "That was... interesting." "Thank you Chakwas, Cohen, it was nice seeing you again." Shepard began to walk away.

"Also, before you go," said Chakwas as Shepard turned back, "First, you probably need a new shirt, especially since yours is soaked in blood."

"It's fine," said Shepard.

"Also, you should know that we already had a discussion with some people about rebuilding The Normandy."

"Really," Shepard said, "Anything new about it?"

"The Salarians, Asari, and Quarian have signed on with both Humanity and The Turians on building The SR3." "Also, It's going to have some state of the art technology, along with more room thanks to reduced space needed for the engine."

"As much as I'd like to continue this conversation, I really need to get back to Ashley," Shepard said.

"Okay Captain," said Cohen, "Take care." Shepard nodded as he headed off towards where he last saw Ashley. He reached the spot again, however, neither Ashley or Abby was anywhere in sight. Shepard looked down at his shirt, blood still soaked all over it. He headed into a nearby restroom, taking his shirt off as he began splashing water from the nearby sink onto his chest. He washed the blood off, but knew that if he put his shirt back on blood would begin to re-stain his body, so he decided to go without one for the time being.

Shepard headed out, looking around for both Ash and something to wear. He went into the surgery room, looking for some clue of where they went. In there, he noticed disregarded armor on the table next to the surgery table, noticing that it was Abby's. He also noticed a large bloody bin filled with synthetic parts. He picked a couple out, they were very fragile and had been inside Abby. He noticed a bracer, clearly designed to reinforce the wrists, or at least part of the arm.

"Excuse me sir," a female voice came from behind Shepard, "I don't know what you're doing here, but this is a restricted area to non-medical personnel, also you do need to follow the dress code."

"I'm sorry," said Shepard, "Captain Shepard, Human Spectre," he said to her

"Oh," said the doctor, "Sorry Captain, I didn't recognize you..." "Do you want me to find you a shirt or something?" She said as she stared at Shepard's abs, as if she'd never seen muscles before.

"Sure," he said, "That'd be nice, also if you could tell where Abby was taken.

"She was taken to the recovery wing, it is just down the hall," the doctor said as she approached a locker near the door, she opened it tossing a shirt to Shepard, "It's a basic Alliance uniform top, but it'll do."

"Thanks," said Shepard as he left the room. He went back down the hall he came from, passing the room that Chakwas was in. He reached a four way, turning left as he followed the sign to the recovery wing. He reached the room labeled as RECOVERY, entering to see a series of beds separated by cloth walls. He eventually saw Ashley, who was sitting next to her Sister. She was unconscious, heavily bandaged as she was monitored by several computers.

Ashley was next to her sister, still watching her every move, she looked up and smiled as Shepard sat down next to her.

"Is she going to be okay?" asked Shepard.

"Yeah," said Ashley, "She's going to make a full recovery, it'll just be an issue of psychological damage and time." "What about you?"

"I got patched up," said Shepard, "But I'm fine." "Ash, you should go get out of your armor, get relaxed, Abby's fine," Shepard said.

"Your still wearing your armor bottoms," said Ashley, "Besides, I'm not leaving her side."

"Stubborn as usual," muttered Shepard. Ashley rolled her eyes as the two watched the charts go by and Abby rest. The minutes turned to hours as Shepard and Ashley sat, waiting for Abby to wake up. Until, Abby began to groan, Ashley jumping to attention as Abby woke up.

"Ashley, is that you?" Abby asked in a daze.

"Yes it is," said Ashley as she held her sister's hand, "It's okay, we are all okay." Abby cried as Ashley comforted her, Shepard sat back and let the two reunite.

"Sis, it was awful," Abby cried, "They gave me drugs and ridiculed me and made me kill people!" "That guy, Mikhail, he wanted to make me kill you, he made me eat red sand infected food and deprived me of sleep and food!" "He told me that he was going to make me kill my entire family, and chop your bodies up with my bare hands!'

"My god," Ashley gasped, "Shepard, this guy has gone too far."

"Shepard?" Abby asked, "Nice to finally meet you," she said to him. "Are you two..."

"We are together," Ashley said, "In fact, we are getting married." Abby smiled as she heard the news

"That's great," said Abby, "When's the wedding?"

"Next few months, we still have to finish up some details, but I know that I want you as the maid of honor," Ashley said.

"Really?" asked Abby.

"Yes, I thought you were gone, but somehow, people keep coming back to me," Ashley said to her. "And I promise that, no matter what, I will always be with you."

Abby cried again, knowing that she was truly home, then jerked up as she remembered, "Where's mom, Lynn, and Sarah?"

"I messaged them a little while ago," said Shepard, "They'll be here soon."

"So you've already met the family?" asked Abby.

"I met them over lunch, plus I met Sarah after she lost her husband," said Shepard, "We've spent a few days together."

Just then, a couple of figures appeared in front of the bed, glee appearing in both of the girls eyes. It was their mom, along with her other two sisters. They ran to her side, crying that Abby was still alive and well.

"Abby, we've missed you so much," Mrs. Williams said to Abby as she kissed her on the forehead.

"I missed you too mom," said Abby, "I wish I'd never volunteered for that stupid team," Abby said, "At least I'm okay and you are okay."

Shepard sat back from the women, knowing that their reunion wasn't something he felt to interfere in. Shepard looked up at his Omni-tool, realizing a message was in his inbox. He pulled it up, it read:

Subject: Meeting

From: Admiral Hackett

Shepard, we need to talk about something. Meet me by the small Cafe above the lobby.

Shepard looked up, "Ash," he said to her as she turned to him, "I gotta go, Hackett wants to talk to me about the mission."

"Okay, Skipper," said Ashley, "See you again... I love you."

"I love you too," he said as he turned away and headed out the door. He slightly overheard the giggles of Ash's sisters as they still couldn't get over "The Great Commander, now Captain," was going to be part of their family.

Shepard reached the end of the hospital, exiting to a corridor that held several elevators. He entered one of the open ones along with several other people. He pressed the button for the floor above the lobby, wondering what Hackett wanted to talk to him about.

The door finally opened to his floor, stepping out as the door shut behind him. He walked out of the small into the large lobby of the military center. The sun was coming back down to the horizon, signifying that the day was coming to a close, and what a day it had been. He looked down, seeing a storm of media figures and cameras focusing on a man who was standing near the middle of the lobby. He looked across the balcony which surrounded the lobby, seeing Hackett leaning on the waist-high glass wall across the room. Shepard hurried around and approached Hackett, seeing Hackett looking up at him.

"Captain," said Hackett as Shepard looked down at the man.

"Admiral," Shepard said. He noticed that the man was Admiral Price, he was wearing a dress suit that had a silver alliance logo pinned on it. He was talking to several reporters, answering the questions they threw at him.

"So I take it he's running," said Shepard.

"Yeah," Hackett replied, "He enjoys the attention, plus he feels like a hero who's going to forge a new golden era of humanity."

"You doubt it?" asked Shepard.

"No, but he just has to realize that ideology generally doesn't end well in politics, or maybe it does, I don't know," Hackett said, "Either way, he's happy to run and I really don't have to deal with politics that much."

"And neither do I," said Shepard, "At least for now."

"Anyway," Hackett said, "That's not why I asked you down here."

"What did you want to ask me?" said Shepard.

"I wanted to ask you about the mission, in particular why you felt that a civilian was more important than killing Mikhail," said Hackett.

"It was Ashley's sister, I felt that her safety was more important than catching the bad guy," said Shepard, "I didn't think you would disapprove."

"I don't, but the other Admirals question your judgment," said Shepard, "They don't really understand why she was more important that Mikhail." "Also, in case you were wondering, I do know about you and William's relationship."

"You do?" asked Shepard.

"I know that you violated many rules over the past few years," Hackett said, "And I've kept the other Admirals in the dark."

"Really?" asked Shepard, "Thank you, I didn't know you wouldn't have a problem with it."

"I know you, you are good soldier who has saved the galaxy time and time again," Hackett said, "I don't really care who you want to be with, or why, but I know you're not just here for a chance to hook up with women."

"So, what do you want me to do?" asked Shepard.

"The political system is going to dig everything up about us as fast as they can," said Hackett, "They want to make sure we are good, perfect people, but nobody is." "Shepard, you better get ready to take the hit for you and Williams relationship."

"I think the media can accept that the two of us are happy together," said Shepard.

"Shepard, these people doubted you after you saved The Citadel and after you came back from the dead, the really do not care, whatever get's them viewers, it will happen." "They will make your relationship look like a dirty love affair between humanities two most elite agents, which doesn't bode well for any of us."

"I'm going to stop you right there Hackett," said Shepard, "Ashley and I are happy, we love each other, in fact we plan on getting married." "I honestly don't care if every media outlet in the universe disapproves of our relationship, but I will stand by it until the end of time."

Hackett looked at Shepard, getting up and reaching to shake Shepard's hand. "Congratulations Shepard," said Hackett, "I personally hope the two of you are happy together, and I know that you'll get through it, you always do." Hackett walked away, Shepard looking down to hear Admiral Price speaking again.

"The path in front of us is hard," said Price to a reporter, "But the end of the journey is more rewarding than anything else..."

Shepard had heard enough, he hated politics and really didn't care either way. He walked away, passing the cafe and stopped after hearing another familiar voice.

"Shepard," Joker said to him. He was sitting at a table, a sandwich in front of him. Shepard smiled and walked towards him. He pulled the chair out, sitting next to Joker and saying, "Joker, how've you been!"

"Good," said Joker, "Besides the fact that my ship blew up... again, I've been talking with Hackett about The new Normandy." "By the way, what were you talking to Hackett about over there?"

"We went on mission earlier," said Shepard, "We managed to save Ash's sister and destroy a Cerberus base," said Shepard.

"Great!" said Joker, "Ashley really missed her sister, I'm glad she's back, also did you get Mikhail?"

"No, the choice came down to either Mikhail or Abby, and Hackett was talking about my how my ethics conflicted with some of The Admirals," said Shepard.

"Well that's why you're a Spectre," said Joker, "Because rules suck and you know it, you've saved trillions of lives, I think they can give you a break."

"Yeah," Shepard groaned, "Now he's telling me about how my relationship with Ashley is going to get slammed."

"I wouldn't doubt it," said Joker as he brought his hands up, "A hot affair between humanities' heroes, plus their love child the fish-man," he said in deep reporter-like voice.

Shepard laughed, "You really do lighten the mood." Shepard changed the subject, "How's the new Normandy coming?"

"Great," said Joker, "They are totally listening to me now, giving me a ton of control over the designs!"

"I hope you are respecting the power," Shepard said.

"Five words: Hot Tub Strip Poker Party," Joker bragged, "We are also getting a gym and, my favorite, state-of-the-art stealth cloaking and thrusters that enable easy movement in a three-dimensional range of space."

"You're getting a hot tub and your more excited about the ship itself?" asked Shepard.

"Well, the person I love is dead," Joker said, "Besides, I've already seen her naked... in a way."

"Glad to see your taking her death well," said Shepard.

"I mourned and moved on, it's what she want," said Joker, "I've asked Tali, and there's no way of restoring her, we'd need to take EDI and pretty much make her entire life again in order to get her back."

Shepard felt guilty, because he knew something Joker didn't. He killed EDI, he killed The Geth. Their deaths still on his conscious, twisting his stomach into so many knots. He wanted to tell the truth, he wanted to look at Joker, tell him about The Catalyst and what he learned from The Leviathans and The Catalyst itself, but he knew it would break Joker's heart. It would ruin the state of the galaxy, he would go from a hero to a monster in an instant, so he remained quiet.

"It's getting late Joker," said Shepard, "I'm gonna go to bed."

"Well goodnight," Joker said, "I'll see you later."

Shepard walked away from the table, approaching the elevator again and pressed the button to the top floor. He stood in the elevator, his shoulder wasn't in anymore pain, but he felt tired. He had gone under so much pain the past year, and wanted nothing more than rest. The door to the top floor opened, revealing a series of guest rooms, he exited the elevator and left towards the final door at the end of the hallway.

Shepard approached his room; his room door displaying the title: The Presidential Suite. He typed his password into the holographic keypad. The light turned green, allowing the door to open for him. It slide open from the center, revealing a neatly tidy room for Shepard to relax in.

The room was not unlike a hotel suite, somewhat similar to the one he stayed in after The Battle of The Citadel. The room had blue carpet, a couple of couches with a large monitor in front of it, mainly used for the extranet and television. Further ahead, was a small observation deck overlooking the city. There was a small kitchen nook off to the left of the entrance, a fridge and several appliances available for his use. just next to the little nook was a staircase that lead to a small level above the main floor that held a king sized bed, another monitor and several cabinets. To Shepard's right, was the bathroom which he headed towards. Shepard reached down, unhooking his armor bottoms and tossing them aside by the door.

Shepard walked into the large bathroom, the lights were dim compared the rest of the room. There was a standard mirror and a couple of sinks. There was the usual bathroom appliances, two showers with one in the main part of the bathroom with a connecting one in a smaller bathroom chamber accessible to others from the rest of the suite. However, what was the shining part of the bathroom was a large Jacuzzi-bath that graced itself in the corner. It was large, able to fit up two four or five people, but was meant for a single person. It had several notches for jet streams, each devoted to individual therapeutic messages and circulation. It had a dark blue, plastic look to it, but was surprisingly soft to the person's back.

Shepard went to a small, holographic control panel on the wall. Shepard pressed a few buttons, setting the temperature and speed of the bath. The hot, steamy water began to flow into the bath, the air of the room heating up from the warm water. liquid soap was added and circulated through the tub, allowing the formation of a layer of bubbles and suds on the top. Steam gradually rose from off the tub, landing on the cooler surfaces of the bathroom.

Shepard grabbed his shirt, pulling it gradually off of his chest and over his head. He tossed it aside and began to kick his boots off. He reached down, pulling his socks off one at a time as he threw them in the pile. He then began to unbuckle his belt, pulling it off of his waist in a smooth fashion. He unbuckled his pants as well, pulling them down and taking them off one foot at a time. Finally he removed his boxer briefs, tossing them aside as he began to put one foot in the water. He slowly lowered himself into the water, groaning in pleasure as he felt the warm and calming waters overlap every inch of his body.

He sat back, allowing the several currents to relax the muscles of his body. He reached over to a small container built into the floor by the tub, which was also built into the floor. He opened the small hatch, revealing a small cooler that held a few beers. Shepard grabbed one, opening the cap with his other soapy hand and took a swig of the beer. The beer was cool, flowing down his throat as he relaxed in the soapy warm water.

A few minutes passed extremely quickly in the comfort of the Jacuzzi-tub. Shepard had finished off about half of his beer, the alcohol calming down his mood. Then, Shepard heard a knock at the door of his apartment.

"Who is it," Shepard yelled from the bath.

"It's Ash," he heard from across the room.

"Come in, you know the code," said Shepard. He heard the door open to the apartment, followed by the whooshing as it closed. Shepard looked as he saw Ashley walk into the bathroom.

"Well Skipper, nice to see you've taken a laxed attitude to my presence," Ashley said as she crossed her arms.

"Well, we are getting married in a few months," Shepard replied, "Besides, it's not like you haven't seen me naked before, and you can't see anything past all these suds."

"I guess," Ashley chuckled.

"Where's your armor?" asked Shepard.

"I took it off at the armory," said Ashley, "Then I figured I'd check up on you, I'm worried about you."

"I thought you'd be with your family," said Shepard.

"The left a little while ago," said Ashley, "Abby is doing a lot better than expected, but it's such a relief to see her again." "We all caught up, talked about stuff..."

"Stuff?" Shepard asked.

"You know, wedding stuff," Ashley said as she leaned onto the sink. "We gotta pick out my dress still and get flowers and the catering ready," she listed with her fingers. "By the way, I hope you plan on helping," she sarcastically said to Shepard as he took a swig of beer.

"I do!" Shepard replied, "Besides, we got months to plan this thing."

Ashley laughed, "A wedding is a big thing, plus we still have to figure out who to invite."

"We'll figure it out," he said, "Anyway, since your here with me..." he suggested with a smile.

"Let me guess? You want me to get in the tub with you," she said to Shepard in a serious tone, "And why do you think that I'm gonna do that?"

"Because I love you," Shepard said.

Ashley sighed, putting her hand to her face in disbelief. "Fine," She said as she took her gloves off and tossed them in the pile with Shepard's clothes. She unzipped her jacket, beginning to take it off.

"Oh baby," Shepard said as she took the jacket off, revealing her black tank top.

"My god," Ashley laughed under her breath.

"You love it," he said to her in a smile, "Now take it off!"

She threw off her tank top, revealing her tight, black bra with her luscious, semi-dark skin. She reached down to her pants, slowly unbuckling it for Shepard.

"Do a little dance for me?" he suggested to her in a smooth tone.

She giggled, swaying her hips as she kicked off her boots. She swayed over to Shepard, her pants falling down to the floor as she stepped out of them. She was down to her underwear, gazing at Shepard who had a stupid grin all over his face.

"Wait," said Ashley, "Let me guess? Your gonna tell me what I should take off next."

"No," said Shepard, "But I'd suggest you take off your socks."

Ashley looked down, a pair of white socks still on her feet. She quickly took them off, throwing them with the rest of the pile. She then reached behind her back, unhooking the clamps of her bra as it rested from its tight state. She took it off, revealing her bosom to Shepard. She then reached down, pulling her panties down as she stepped out of them for Shepard.

"Oh my god," Shepard said in an amazed tone with no breath.

Ashley laughed, "Didn't your parents teach you not to stare?"

"Yeah, but my naked fiancée was an exception I thought," he said to her. They laughed as she stepped into the tub with him, moving up next to him. She sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Holy crap is this amazing," she said as she closed her eyes, "Why couldn't The Normandy have one of these."

"I'll talk to Joker if you really want me to," he said.

"No," Ashley demanded, "I'm pretty sure he'd plant cameras in it, besides, I'm almost entirely sure he taped us having sex on the first Normandy."

"I get that feeling too," he said, "He had unlimited access to the cameras as the pilot... this is killing the romantic-mood."

"Yeah," she said as she reached over a grabbed a beer from the container next to Shepard, sitting up as she opened it and took a drink. "You think The Alliance is going to be okay with us?"

"I don't know," said Shepard, "On one hand, they realize I'm human and have emotional desires like everyone else; however, on the other, the really want to retain their professional integrity and don't like it when people violate their fraternization rules."

"But we've already violated it," Ashley said, "And if they think they can keep me from you, then they might as well discharge both of their only Spectres."

Shepard smiled, "Have I told you lately that I love, you?"

"You might have mentioned it," she said as Shepard leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around Shepard's back, leaning onto him as the kissed. "You know, we probably shouldn't do this here," Ashley said as she backed away. She pulled herself out of the tub, water slowly dripping off of her body. "I'll meet you in bed..." she seductively purred as she wrapped a towel around herself.

Shepard was in a daze, watching his fiancée as she left the room in nothing but a towel. Shepard sat back, giving her a few moments to further the sexual tension, or at least he thought. He finally got up, grabbing a towel himself, drying himself off and tossed it aside as he walked out of the bathroom and headed to the bed.

He climbed the stairs, the cool air of the room flowing across his body. He saw Ashley, who had climbed under the covers and was leaning back on the head of the bed. She perked up, blushing as she watched Shepard approach her.

"So much for modesty," she said as he climbed under the covers.

"I don't here you complaining," said Shepard as he moved closer to Ashley.

"Shepard," she gasped as he slowly kissed her neck and moved on top of her.


"Okay," Ashley said in an exhausted voice as she rolled herself off of Shepard's sweaty body, "That was amazing."

"Agreed," Shepard said as he put his head onto the back off the pillow. Ashley curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder as she pushed herself onto Shepard's thigh. "Especially that last part," he said to her.

"Well, I can't let you do all the work," she giggled, "Besides, you did a lot of work... and let me just say, your mouth has totally benefited from the past months of political navigation." Shepard laughed as he slowly began to close his eyes.

"Hey Skipper?" Ashley softly said to Shepard.

"Yeah," he managed to mutter out.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," Shepard said as the two of them fell asleep together.