"Hell, its about time." - Inmate/Soldier from StarCraft 2 Trailer

To save you the trouble, changes have been made at/by the half-way point of this chapter for the good of 'in-character' senses.. That is all.

Iya's case never ceased to bother Shepard. He thought of many solutions for her predicament, heavily on the solutions that would be the fastest and most effective to stop her from doing anything rash. A quick solution did present itself, but the consequences as well as its meaning was well against his morals. He could have, by all means, crossed it out entirely, but he left it an option. A very unsure, very unstable option.

Taking his mind off the subject entirely, Shepard leaned back in his seat and sighed, glancing at the ceiling in hopes it would assist in his search for solutions. He took a few deep breaths as he attempted to calm his thoughts, trying to ease it as to try and make clearer solutions.

Taking several minutes to think to himself, he took his eyes off the ceiling and grabbed the drink lying on the table before him. He sipped its contents, a smooth alcohol that helped clear his head. It was Asari-made, but even the most soothing of alcohol can become the most intoxicating if taken in large quantities. He rationed himself to momentary sips and nothing more.

Placing the still-cold drink back on the table, Shepard leaned back on the sofa once more, experimentally stretching his arms out on the top of the comfortable seat. It could help him think, then again it may not. Anything was better than going back to thinking of how to deal with Iya. His mind couldn't help it. Fruitlessly attempting to analyze the situation, he eventually sighed and shook his head.
Like all of his recent decisions, this one was both challenging and morally suspect.

His eyes went to the holographic clock that lay by the counter beside the bed. It was nearly time for Tali's shift to end. As he had decided, he'd explain everything to her tonight. He'd have to.

Taking one last gaze at the clock, he decided to take at least one last shower; Tali would be back by then and it would give him further uninterrupted time to think for himself. Tali knew long ago not to barge into a bathroom, particularly when she heard water running.

Moving from the seat, gathering a select assortment of clothes, he stripped in the bathroom and proceeded to lose himself in the heated shower. As expected, the heat and feel of the water cleared his mind, as did the steam. Maybe he should include a tub in a private residence, to prolong such feelings… Like most minor things he thought of in the shower, he forgot it over time.

Turning the shower off and drying himself with a spare towel nearby, he donned the garments he had brought, slipping them over his chiselled frame. It was sleepwear, so it was of no surprise that the shirt was loose, if slightly. The pants, which came with shorts of the same style, were made of a soft fabric. Only after a warm shower did he take notice of the little things. It occurred to him, however, that he was busying himself with details he never thought important; simply passing time.

He exited the bathroom with a mostly-wiped face, beads of water still being present on some parts of his forehead and neck. As always after a shower, the vented air of his quarters made him feel cold. It would go away. Scanning the room quickly, he found Tali standing by his desk, holding a picture frame, the same from the desk by his ship collection.

He stepped down and approached her. Eventually, he stood nearly flat against her back and peered over her shoulder. She looked at an old picture of the old Normandy. It made him give a minor smile, as well as making himself unconsciously wrap his arms around Tali's lower waist. She replied by leaning back against his chest and keeping her head leaned against his.

She sighed. "I miss the old Normandy…"

Leaving the statement in the air, he tightened his grip around her and she replied with a loving nudge of her head against his. "It was simpler back then, wasn't it…? If there was no Sovereign, no Reapers, no Collectors… what do you think could have happened?"

A hand moved from the frame, grasping the hand around her waist. "This…" she replied, "Us."

"If you'd have told me, I would have accepted you, you know."

"It seems obvious now…" She replied. "But I was too nervous back then. I had too much to do and my responsibility to the fleet made me feel determined that 'this' was impossible…"

"Is that really how you felt?" He asked softly. He knew the answer.

"… no." She replied, leaning back entirely, using him to support herself. Her hand on his gained a gentle and firm grip. "Even with my father and the fleet in mind, I wanted to be with you…"

"And you are." He replied with a gentle squeeze.

"Yes…" she replied silently, eying the picture. Eventually, she moved from her lean against him and placed the picture on the desk beside the bed. Once that was done though, she leaned against him again. "A little more, and I'll be living my dream…"

"Your dream?" Shepard inquired.

"Yes…" She replied. She turned around easily and gave him a hug, something that became more and more natural between them. "You… me… a home…" She stalled there. She wanted to say something, and she eventually said it. "…children…"

Like many times before, telling her of his project with Mordin began to tempt him. It would make her happy, knowing he was doing something to ensure a future for them, a future by blood. Adoption was probably a nice choice also, but it was far more comforting, far more loving and far more soothing to continue your line through a genetic descendant. He knew it. She knew it. Neither of them voiced it. With the silence following the statement came the silencing of the nagging in his mind.

He'd tell her… not now, not tomorrow or the day after, but he'd tell her. Her reaction would be more than worth it. A realization hit him however. It brought the weight on his heart once more. As he intended, though it was not planned or prepared, he would tell her of…Iya.

"Tali…there's something I have to tell you…"

She leaned back and looked at him directly. She noticed the change in emotion in his voice.
"What's wrong?" She asked, giving him a noticeable quizzical expression.

Keeping himself within her embrace, he led her to the bed, eventually sitting and having her sit beside him. She kept the concerned/quizzical expression on her face, from what he could make out. Tali could tell from the way he spoke that something was wrong. His stalls told her it was something big. This change of emotion intensely soured the love they showed only seconds ago.

"Tali…something happened onboard Xen's ship." He explained. Looking at her, he could tell she was waiting for the actual news. His slow interpretation of the events that unfolded wasn't helping at all. He immediately debated whether to tell her straight-out or to stall it as much as possible, giving her the news at his own, comfortable pace. His throat felt increasingly dry.

"When I was on the ship, I met Xen's second in command, Iya." He left it at that, looking for a response from Tali. She kept her unchanging gaze on him, prompting him to continue. He sighed. "She gave me a tour around the ship, showed me around while Xen disassembled that geth we brought in." He looked at her squarely in the eyes, already lowering his voice. "We eventually headed…She showed me around and eventually she…drugged me." Tali's gaze remained the same, though slightly widened.

"I woke up in her quarters… stripped of my armor." Her eyes began widening ever so slowly. "She undid her own suit…" More widening. "And she forced herself onto me." Now her look told him everything. She was shocked. Her wide eyes remained on his until breaking off and looking at his face, then darting back and forth between placed. She was taking in what he told her, trying to process. It didn't surprise him.

"She… she what…?" She eventually asked, her voice low and heavy with disbelief.

"She… forced me to have sex with her, Tali."

Her reaction was the same as before, but instead of processing what he told her, she was thinking of a response. "You… you didn't do anything about it afterwards…?" She seemed to want to know what his response was.

"I went to her, yes… but what I found was nothing like what I expected…" Here comes the other part… "She was sick. Heavily. She knew what she did and she was punishing herself for it. I talked her out of it and took her to the infirmary."

"You… helped her?" Her response surprised him. Not because of the way she said it, but by how fast she gathered herself up and managed to response as swiftly as she had. Still, it didn't please him in any way that her voice had hints of anger behind it. "She… 'rapes' you and you respond by helping her?"

"I chose to help her." He replied, keeping his tone as level as he could. He faced her. "What she did was wrong, but she had a reason behind it, an urge that built up and took over, Tali."

"But it doesn't make it right!" Tali replied, her hands already moving around, making gestures as she spoke. "She forced you into something you didn't want to do, Shepard! And you reply by helping her?" As much as he would have liked to stay calm, her accusations, as well as something she may be insisting, caused his voice to raise, if restrained by an amount.

"She knew it was wrong, Tali. She apologized for it and was willing to suffer consequences she prepared for herself."

"And why didn't you let her?" She managed to move from the bed, standing before him and backing away barely noticeably. At least it appeared as though she was backing away. Her gestures continued. "She did something wrong, it makes sense that she goes through punishment, especially if its something like rape."

"Tali, listen to yourself." He replied in a near shout. He stood up as well. "You really want her to suffer? To go through a long period of constant misery that could be fatal for her?"

"She 'raped' you, Shepard! Of course she deserves to suffer something! Some kind of punishment!"

"And she admitted that it was all a mistake, Tali!" his voice rose, but, keeping himself back if by the least, his voice was lower than hers, if not be a small amount. "She's heard things, developed feelings, found them building up inside as she suppressed them longer and longer. She lost it when I was there!"

"You're forgetting the point, Shepard! If it can happen once it will happen again!"

Shepard was certain that, if she had her way at this time, him being unable to stop her, she would have marched off and taken matters in her own hands, perhaps in a particularly violent way. He fought with himself to keep from replying angrily or shouting. It would only serve to make this already unpleasant conversation go into very dangerous territory.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. In a short span of five seconds, he took deep breath and let it out slowly, though quite audibly. He shook his head and look over to Tali. "And suppose I did leave her there, alone and going through the punishment she prepared for herself…?"

"She'd either be very 'very' sick, or die." She replied. He caught something short of a whisper, one that sounded like, "Something she deserves." As rash as it sounded, he understood where Tali's anger lay. He tried a different approach.

"And suppose she did." He replied. She looked at him. He added, "Die." Before she could accurately reply, he continued. "She would be examined, Tali. There was no reason she should die, she was healthy throughout the week." He crossed his arms. "They would find more than simply her DNA. They would find mine." He looked at her carefully. She was trying to respond in a way, but no response would come out the way she'd want it. The reality was that, in any case, "It would link me to her death."

She still didn't respond, though she certainly gave the impression she was trying to fathom one. He tried a question. "What would happen if they find me linked to the death of an admirals second-in-command, Tali?"

He knew the answer, as did she, so it didn't take long for her to respond, "A trial." Shepard nodded slowly. Both of them knew what was next, but Tali, figuring he may have forgotten what she'd told him long ago, added to her sentence. "There'd be a trial with the ships captain."

"Xen." Shepard muttered. Taking a short while to collect his thoughts, Shepard eventually spoke. "Even if I explain what happened, the odds of me 'winning' the trial would seem slim. Not all quarians view humans as friends, even if we recently joined the galaxy's many race's. Combine that with how much authority the Council has entrusted me and what I've done for the alliance, you basically have an icon of a majority of most races committing a crime." He paused a moment. "And there's the possibility that they'd pin the rape on me, not Iya."

As much as she'd like to, Tali could hardly respond to his statements. Her mind was too busy thinking of what he'd just said and expanding them, knowing all too well what can happen during a trial. She was unconsciously shaking her head. She could only mutter, "Keelah."

"I have to be careful with what I do, Tali, all the time. I represent my species as much as I represent the council races." He replied after giving her a moment. He made sure to say it slowly and calmly to, perhaps, give her a more pleasant, slow intake of the information. "If a trial is called, it is more than likely they will pin my behavior to that of humanity as a whole. I need to promote my species, not make them hated."

"You're exaggerating this, Shepard." she replied, managing to take a step forward. "My people are not like that."

"Not all of them, no, but there are some, Tali." He replied. "It'll be like back on the Citadel and how opposed humans are for joining C-Sec by the hundreds, even using anti-human campaigns as political platforms." Again, he let a moment of silence happen to increase the effect and make her understand. As a whole, if there was a trial, it would do more than simply effect 'them', and they'd need all the help they could in the inevitable fight for their lives against the Reapers. Causing a scene that would create distrust, especially now, was something they couldn't afford to make. Tali shook her head. This was bad.

She wanted to keep shouting at him, to remind him how bad it was, to show him how she felt about it all, but what he was saying was getting to her, as much as she hated it. Were it personal, Tali would have been gone by now, driven by an anger she knew would be hard to assuage. But this… this was a problem that would affect the relations of her species and the council, humanity included. Shepard sighed again, leaving her in her thoughtful silence. He didn't dare disrupt it.

The silence, however, was slowly becoming too much for the commander, whose mind rambled on as to what she could possibly be thinking. He simply sighed in the end, bringing her attention to him for once. He leaned downward and grasped his head with a hand, asking in a low tone, "What would you have me to do…?"

Her answer would have been immediate and straight to the point, but the beforehand silence made her realize things she wouldn't have realized before in her emotional fallout. This was as difficult for her to grasp as it was for him. With the realization coupled with what could happen with Iya as well as what 'did' happen, she was left in a position, as well as with an option, she had little choice but to go into. A choice that she knew she would hate entirely but would maintain stability and support for the incoming Reaper threat.

"Shepard… I… I have an idea."

…

She felt horrible. Well, her body and senses did, actually. It was expected but nothing could really determine just how bad her system was.

Much thanks to the medical officers who saw to her immediately, it could have been worse. Much, much worse. For now, in the empty room that was silent, save for her sneezes and the occasional cough, she was fairly content. At least visibly.

The quarian thought to herself, of where she was and how she had gotten there. Looking back on things, she saw it more… pleasant, than bad. She had, as her mind had told her, experienced something her race found more than simply pleasure in, and, in a ways, it did mean 'something'. The more she thought back, she questioned whether it was truly a force that caused her to act the way she had, or if it was truly 'her'.

Much was unclear to her, but she decided to ignore it, place it to the side for the moment, perhaps forever, but she knew that for the next week, or month or 'months', she would think of 'this'. Giving a cough, which caused her head to pulse and ache on cue, she groaned to herself miserably. 'Was it worth it?' she found herself asking. Thinking back, she couldn't stop the reaction in her stomach from happening, a strange, uncommon, but very pleasant flutter. Yes. It was…

A knock drew her thoughts to a close, much to her displeasure. With the room specifically made for patients to communicate with the medical officers at the volume they wished with no problems what so ever, she replied to the knocking from the bed she lay.

"What is it?" Though she was weak, she had an image to maintain, a form of control to keep.

"Ma'am, we have visitors for you." Came a males response. It was her assigned medical officer. Still, it didn't do anything to change her tone, though the question of 'who' was something she found herself wondering. As expected, she voiced it.

"Who…?"

"A Tali'Zorah and one Commander Shepard."

Suffice to say, this new directive will make future chapters... interesting.

Apologies for the 'MIA'/'AFK'