Past: Hourglass

Ashley glanced at the clock, feeling like a coward. She'd looked up the local time for Avilion a few hours ago, and knew that Shepard would probably be asleep right now. It wasn't like his insomnia was still as bad as it had been back when—

Turning back to the computer, she took a deep breath and hit the 'Call' button. After a few moments, Shepard's face appeared on the screen in front of her. It took all of her willpower not to hang up before he started speaking.

"You've reached Shepard at—" Pre-recorded away message. Right. Calm down, Williams. How many times had she rehearsed what she was going to say? Even with all her practice, Ashley was unprepared when the screen went blank for her to record her message.

"Hello, uh, hey." She coughed and started again. "Hi, Skip—Shepard. Just calling to check in." That was a lie.

"Sorry, that's not totally true. Look, I just got told by the local brass that they sent you a notice a few weeks back when our shuttle got shot down. Guess you're still on my notification list. Anyway, I don't think anyone ever told you that we weren't actually shot down; it was some kind of tech failure. Still, it took us a couple days to make it back to an Alliance outpost. I let my family know I was okay right away, but I didn't even think—" Ashley looked away.

"I was a little banged up in the crash," she continued after a moment, glancing down at the crutch she was still saddled with, "but I'm better now. Not as good as I was yet, but I'm better. Be back to normal in no time. Thought that I should let you know, anyway. Don't worry, I asked them to take you off the list. I—uh—" She stared directly into the camera. "I'm sorry… about the mix-up. Um. Bye."

She hit 'Disconnect,' and cradled her head in her forearms, wondering what exactly she'd been talking about in that last bit.

For some reason he couldn't put a name to—laziness, maybe—Shepard decided not to go for a run that morning. After taking care of the pitifully few cows in the barn, he came back to the house, planning to make a real breakfast for a change.

Walking through the front hallway of the small house, he noticed a blinking glow coming from the living room. A missed call? Who in their right mind calls people at this hour? He made his way to the computer and played the message. Ashley's face flickered into focus on the antiquated call screen and Shepard immediately paused the playback, taking a moment to catch his breath.

Guiltily, he tossed a glance in the general direction of the bedroom, hoping Red was still asleep. It wasn't likely she was up—she couldn't get herself to keep a farmer's hours. Still, he struggled to think of an explanation for his getting a faster-than-light call from Ash at this hour that would appease Red.

Despite the risk, he didn't delete the message. Instead he played it twice, just glad to hear her voice, glad to see her face, and ashamed that he still felt that way. Finally, the dial tone replaced Ash's most recent goodbye, making Shepard feel strangely alone.

I don't remember getting any message from the Alliance, he thought. I would've remembered someone calling to tell me that Ash was… that she was…. Well, it doesn't matter now. I can't believe I'm still on her notification list. After all this time. I wonder if she still—

He shook his head to clear it and yanked his hand back as it stretched towards the 'Return Call?' button. Move on, he ordered himself, finally hitting 'Yes,' when the 'Erase Message?' query appeared on the screen.

When Red made her barefoot, slightly bedraggled way into the kitchen, she stopped in the doorway a moment, staring at Shepard as he placed two plates piled high with bacon, eggs and slightly scorched pancakes on the table. "Who are you, and what have you done with Kiss?" she demanded teasingly. "The real Kiss is out running a hundred miles through beautiful spring meadows so that he can come back here all sweaty and healthy, decline my offer of toast, and make me feel lazy and inferior." She sat at the table and examined the food. "I like the way you operate though, stranger. Would you be interested in making out with me before my boyfriend gets back?"

Shepard smiled and kissed the top of her head before he sat down. "Want to get married?"

Author's Note: Once again, a substantial and heartfelt thank you to my betas Telemachus78 and Tryvozhna. If your eyes aren't bleeding, it's because they beta'd the pants off of this story and made it readable.

If you want to know who Red is and why she calls Shepard 'Kiss,' see Massive Epic, Chapter 47.