ENDING ONE: Jack Lives

Everyone on the ground assumed it was a deliberate tactic. Wars weren't won clean, and everyone thought it was the plan. Send a powerful member on a suicide run right up the middle to break their lines, and hit them with everything else before they could regroup.

It succeeded.

Shepard's shuttle landed where Jack had done the most damage, and was quickly set upon by the surviving Reaper forces. Ashley and Shepard were pinned inside until the Asari commandos came and took enough heat off them that they could escape. A few minutes after, the next shuttle landed with the rest of the Normandy crew.

It was only after the battle that Shepard was informed that Jack had been found by the first Commando Unit on the scene. They had found her and quickly used their abilities to put her into stasis. Being so still, the Reaper forces had ignored her.

She had taken no end of injury from her attack, her Amp burned out from the power she'd turned loose. She'd lost more than a few pints of blood, but she was alive.

Liara carried her biotically, smoother than any ambulance could, and Chakwas was waiting in the Shuttle-Bay. It was a near thing, taking over an hour to stabilize her condition enough to move her to the actual Operating Room, and then the real work to save her life began.

Hours later, Shepard was still outside Medbay, watching through the windows as Chakwas kept working. Those that didn't know the story of Jack and Shepard were told quickly. Nobody dared approach him.

Almost nobody.

Ashley slipped over next to him. He acknowledged her without turning.

"I saw the bloodwork." Ashley commented. "Didn't know she was a user."

Shepard nodded. "Neither did I, but I'm not surprised. Jack was addicted forcibly when she was about a year old."

"Bastards." Ashley commented.

"Tell me about it." Shepard agreed.

"I searched her... I hesitate to call it her 'room'."

"We call it 'The Pit'."

"Right, well I went looking for her stash. Looks like she flushed the whole lot of it down the head."

"Well, that's a problem." Shepard commented. "The Normandy is a closed system, all our water is recycled. She flushed enough pills, she could have got the whole ship high."

Ashelty almost smiled. Shepard never took his eyes off Jack.

"It was a hell of a thing she did." Ashley said softly. "She got us in. Damn near killed herself..."

"One noble act before she said goodbye." Shepard whispered, still not looking away from her.

Ashley studied him. "Well then. I guess that settles that."

Shepard didn't look away from Jack. "What do you mean?"

"John... Someone like Jack... She told me, that she wasn't made for love. Wasn't meant for it. She needs you. And you need... to be needed. I never realised till just now how much you and Jack are alike. But ever since the Blitz, ever since you were scurrying about the slums of Earth... You've been more like her than anyone has ever seen. You just don't let anyone see it like she does. She carries all her sins on the outside. She's inked her pain permanently into her skin so it's the first thing you see when you meet her, but she doesn't let anyone in. You don't do that... You let people in, but you don't let anyone see your pain. You two... are better matched than I thought."

Shepard finally looked at her. "Ash... You have every right to be mad, but I think that I can't lose her again."

Ashley felt gut-checked, but she took it straight. "John, before she made her last stand, she came to me and said she wasn't going to get in the way. She didn't do it out of self-pity. She did it because... she genuinely wanted to be one of the good guys. I can't really... bring myself to do any less in her place. So no, I'm not mad."

Beat.

Ashley almost smiled. "But odds are fifty-fifty that I'm stoned right now, so..."

They both chuckled for a moment.

"John..." Ashley said finally. "You like to fix things. You're a compulsive good guy that way. When we first met... I was a mess. I had just lost my Unit, lost my friends, and you were so... strong for me. And I liked being strong for you in return, but... You need a Jack. The closest I ever came to being messed up was when I thought you were dead. And you're not any more. You like to fix people John... and I'm not broken. "

Shepard smiled a little. "Well... We do have our baggage."

"I told you that about us once. Remember what you said?"

Shepard chuckled. "I said that everyone has baggage. The trick is to find someone with a matching set."

Ashley laughed. Then she leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Timing, John. We have everything we needed except timing."

She stood to leave, and Shepard knew he'd never see her again. "Hey Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"This is usually the part where we promise to be friends but we don't talk again. Assuming we live through this... if you ever need anything, you know how to find me."

Ashley smiled genuinely, appreciating the gesture. "Yeah I do."

"But if you call, and Jack answers? Hang up."

Spectre Ashley Williams laughed long and loud. It was his way, to make things lighter and easier during difficult times. She loved him so. "Be seeing you Skipper."

Jack opened her eyes weakly. "...where?"

"You're on the Normandy you dummy." Shepard whispered, brushing her face with his fingers.

Jack sniffed. "Not dead?"

"Not dead."

"Sorry."

"Yeah, you should be. Forget about what you mean to me, you went and nearly got yourself killed, and could have taken the whole crew with you, and with us the universe. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I'm not fighting to save the galaxy. I'm not burning it all down because it's noble or right. I'm killing everything I can possibly kill because... because that's what I do."

"Aww. You know, a week ago, I might have believed that about you." Shepard glared. "I don't want you to die."

The simple statement was horribly cutting.

"We can't work." Jack rasped. "You and me can't work."

"Of course not." Shepard agreed instantly, though he didn't mean it.

"I take pills." Jack rasped. "I've been taking everything I could lay my hands on, to get up in the morning, to sleep at night... I got more drugs in me than Medbay."

"I know. I saw the bloodwork."

"You did?"

"You had me listed as next of kin."

"Oh." Jack sniffed, closing her eyes. "You should have let me die. Would have been easier for all of us."

"Yes. It would have. But we don't take the easy road, do we Jack?"

"Guess not."

Silence.

"Mmm. I dreamed..." Jack moaned. "I dreamed we were in your room. Was nice. I'm so sorry John. That's... this is where I want to be, and it won't work."

"It'll be a while before you can leave Medbay, but we'll get there."

Jack's eyes opened again. "What? Where's Williams?"

"The War Room. She figured a Spectre would be able to field a few calls while I was here making sure you're okay."

Jack opened her eyes. "What?"

Shepard glared hard at her. "You gonna stick around this time?"

Jack started to cry. "I don't know. I want to. I really want to."

Shepard sighed. "Well. It's a start."

Jack had one hand still working, and she reached out for him. He took her hand between his and kissed her fingertips.

"John?" She whispered weakly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

AN: And with that, the story is done.

Thank you all once again, and I hope you liked it.