"There's a guard positioned here." Shepard muttered.

"Well no shit, did you really think I'd let anyone just walk in?"

Aria shook her head with annoyance. Afty a lovely chat with Shepard, she decided its better to just help the asshole and get her questions answered than to have the possibility of another failed attempt to kill him. So far, Aria wished she had killed him instead. Her ear buzzed from the sudden silence as she waited for Shepard to respond. She lounged on her sofa as usual but today she was on edge. Aria was taking a risk. A very big one. The last thing she had planned to do was to help Shepard. Its completely idiotic, something that a rookie would do. Aria had just thrown away all commen sense. Now here she sits while he searches for that damn doctor in the quarantine zone. Her ear piece cackled as Shepard reported in.

"This place looks like shit."

"Then I'm sure you'll fit in just fine." Aria sneered.

"Are you always this bitchy? Or is it just me?"

"Both. Now shut it and stop asking stupid questions."

"Remind me to get a less pissy partner next time."

Aria ajusted her earpiece so that it screeched. Shepard let out a string of curse words as the noise pierced his ears. It made her smile, just slightly. Every word out of his mouth just pisses her off even more. It's nice to hear him squirm under Aria's foot. She snapped her fingers at the nearest guard who stumbled towards her.

"Brandy. Now."

The Batarian hobbled away to the nearest bar. If Aria has to deal with Shepard then at least getting drunk will make it easier. Once again her earpiece went off as the Commander ventured further in the quarantine zone. The sound of bullets echoed loudly, then Shepard's voice cut through the commotion.

"You failed to mention that there are mercenaries everywhere."

Aria laughed. "Oh did I? My bad, it completely slipped my mind." Her laugh echoed loudly in the small lounge. "You didn't honestly think it would be that easy did you?"

She could hear the annoyance in his voice. "Any normal person would fill in their partner on possible problems."

"Are you insinuating that I'm not normal?"

"Normal people don't run a business like yours. Too much blood and guts."

She felt her hatred for him boiling. "Keep it up and I'll send in guards to tear you a new asshole."

"Seems like a waste of time considering mine works adequately."

"A few words of advice. Shut. Up." She growled.

He mumbled a few unintelligent words and then silence while Aria waited for the guard to come back. He stumbled into the room just before she lost her temper, Brandy in his hand. Aria sighed and sipped her freshly poured glass. Brandy alays makes her feel better. She wouldn't be surprised if she became an alcoholic.

Shepard had to be pretty far inside the quarantine zone by now. As soon as he's done with the doctor, Aria expects him to be right here to answer her questions. And he better answer them without any bullshit. Seconds became minutes and minutes into hours. The more time that passed by, the more alcohol she gulped down. A wave of dizzyness and nausea began to engulph her mind as a pleasant buzz settled in. By the time Shepard spoke again, Aria was damn close to wasted.

"I found the clinic, but the doctor won't leave without curing the plague." He explained.

"Have fun with that." Aria replied finishing off her Brandy. She frowned while staring absentmindedly at the empty glass.

"Shit!" Shepard's voice was full of surprise with a hint of anger. "Did you know about the Vorcha down here?"

"Speaking of Vorcha, is your mom working right now? I'm out of Brandy."

Silence.

"Uhh, what?"

Aria hiccuped "Maybe I should try Ryncol. I forced a guard to drink it once." she explained, her words slow. "He never got back up."

She bursted into a fit of giggles at the thought. Her guards starred in awe, surprised that Aria could have a sense on humor.

It took a long time for Shepard to speak. When he finally responded, Aria could tell he chose his words carefully.

"Um, I think you might be wasted."

Her responding laugh was too loud, causing her guards to jump.

"Yep. You're definitely wasted."

"And you're funny."

Shepard laughed. "Great. I hope you can still give directions."

"Oh come on," she snickered. "I'm the queen of Omega. I know this place like the back of my hand."

Aria lifted her hands in the air, admiring her perfect blue skin. Tiny scars lined her fingers from previous battles.

"Huh."

Her earpiece buzzed. "What?"

"I just noticed my hands are scarred."

Shepard groaned. "We're fucked."

Aria let her hands fall in her lap, her common sense returning slowly.

"I can't believe I let this happen. There has to be some way."

"Are you actually concerned for my safety?" he questioned, surprise radiating from him.

She snorted. "I'm worried about finding more Brandy, not you."

"Thank you so much for your compassion." sarcasm dripped from his voice.

He sighed when Aria began to laugh again. She stretched her stiff limbs. Its upsetting to think of how much time she spent on this sofa. Shepard was out there kicking Vorcha ass, or whatever they had, and she's still on this damn couch. Not to mention the fact that she was a bit tipsy.

Aria shook her head, releasing the thought. Shepard chose to do this, it's not her fault if he gets his ass killed, in fact, she should be praying he does die. But a small part of her could still feel a longing towards him.

She sighed loudly while tuning out more gunfire from Shepard. There was no point in denying it. She had a thing for him. After admitting it to herself, Aria felt slightly better. She wouldn't be the first person to fall for Shepard. She'd seen the Quarian girl with him before, it wasn't hard to see her affection for him. It made Aria wonder if she was just as transparent. Not that mattered. Her and Shepard were on two different levels. She just needed to know why she felt this way about him.

If he would ever answer some damn questions.

Her earpiece cackled once again. "Done. The doctor is with us now."

Aria covered her ear, clawing at the speaker. Shepard's voice made her head throb in agony. He must have heard her struggle with the earpiece.

"What the hell are you doing?" his voice wavering due to Aria pulling at her ear. " You sound like you just fed a Varren for the first time ever."

"Its you, your voice is making my head hurt."

Shepard snorted. "Your head hurts because you downed a whole bottle of Brandy. It's called a hangover, sweetheart."

"I know what a hangover is." she hissed.

"So does that mean no Twenty Questions today? I'd hate to break our promise."

Aria took a deep breath. "No. I need answers."

"Fine," he replied. "but I honestly don't know what answers your looking for. Why do you even want to question me in the first place?"

"Becau-"

Aria stopped herself. No way in hell was she going to tell him the truth. What's a good reason to interrogate a person?

"Because... Because I need to know if you're an enemy."

"Uh yeah, Im not stupid enough to go against Omega's queen" he chuckled. " I hope you have more questions than that."

"A few more."

Shepard laughed. "Twenty Questions it is."