At first, the Clone tries to sleep, but she can't get her conversation with Hope out of her head. Giving up on sleep for the moment, she pads into the dining room, and seeks out her datapad. Her eyes skim the her own file directories first, but none catch her eye, until she comes across those on Commander Shepard. Anything would be better than staring at the ceiling in bed, and so she opens the directory. She scrolls past the files she's examined before, and the Clone comes across one that catches her attention. It's a security recording from one of the hospitals on the Citadel. The recording shows Shepard wounded in a waiting room, with a broken arm and medi-gel smeared on her face and chest. That is nothing unusual for Shepard, it's the biotic marine she's using for a pillow.

"Hope! I found something." The clone calls her over, forgetting that her…partner? Flat mate? Keeper? Is probably still asleep. Hope's yawn comes out before she can stop it. "What is it?"

The Clone files away the sound for later, sitting up straighter. "Come look."

Hope gets out of bed and comes to watch over the clone's shoulder. She snorts. "Old news. Cerberus knew she was fucking Kaidan Alenko a long time ago."

"How?" She had been studying Shepard for weeks now. The commander had never come close to anyone except to help them up for punch them in the face.

"Commander Shepard is nothing but discreet; I'll give her that." She leans closer, whispering against the Clone's ear. "But you can't keep secrets in an autopsy."

The clone's eyes narrow as she processes the information. "What?" She says automatically, needing more input.

Hope's hand squeezes her shoulder. "Foreign DNA on her body."

Then the implants finally kick in. "Oh." Her face flushes. "Oh."

Quirking her head, Hope watches her reaction. "Do you fancy Kaidan Alenko?"

The Clone hates that look. She hates, hates being studied—not just studied—compared to Jane Shepard as if her every decision would be mapped out by her DNA. It's her turn to snort. "No." Alenko's record proved even more spotless than Shepard's. He came from an upper class military family on Earth, and thus had his career handed to him on a silver platter, despite murdering a Turian back in BAaT. His association with Shepard made him even more obnoxious. All the pop news site speculated on his relationship status, because Alenko was always too busy saving the galaxy for an interview. "I'm better off killing him," she finally says out loud, "he'd know me from the real thing right away."

"Not necessarily. They only served together for a year at most." Hope reaches past the Clone to pull up Alenko's service records on the interface. The clone swallows, blissfully overwhelmed by the smell of Hope's shampoo. Amber and spice. Sometimes after Hope falls asleep, the Clone rolls just a little bit closer so she can smell it.

She realizes then that Hope waits for her response, and she blushes. "But she chose him over Ashely Williams on Virmire. They had to have been close."

Hope shrugs. "Or it could have been because Alenko manned the bomb." Hope licks her lips. "What about men in general? Do you fancy them at all?"

Shrugging, the Clone answers. "We're living in an Asari colony. I haven't met that many." Hope seems dissatisfied with her answer, and she doesn't want to disappoint her. "Does it matter? I'll do whatever needs to be done."

Hope nods and moves to grab her datapad. The Clone desperately wants to say what she really feels for Hope, how she only really cares what Hope thinks, but she knows Hope won't want to hear it. "Good answer."Setting the datapad back down on the kitchen table, Hope takes her hand. "Let's get some sleep." Hope's touch burns through the Clone's skin, and her body is warm all over.

She won't be able to sleep at all tonight.