Beta: None

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Zaeed woke to find Kate's side of the bed cold and empty except a data pad on her pillow with a note:

A friend called in a favor. I'll be back in a few days.
I love you!
Jessie

The hidden meaning in the note hit him suddenly and he shot out of bed. "Bloody hell. EDI?" he called to the AI as he began searching the room for his clothes.

"Yes, Mr. Massani?"

"Where is Commander Shepard?"

"I do not know."

Zaeed stood up so fast, he cracked his head on the shelf where Sam lived. He swore loudly as he rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell do you mean you don't know?"

"All I can tell you is where she is not," EDI said patiently. "She is not currently aboard the Normandy nor anywhere on the Citadel. I cannot speculate where she may have gone once she left the station. But from your agitated muttering I have concluded you already knew that."

"Yes, that's what I was afraid of. Please inform me the moment she returns to the Citadel."

"Very well," EDI said. "Logging you out."

"I'm going to kill that goddamn asari," Zaeed growled as he stepped into the elevator and punched the button for the crew deck.

He found Joker, James, Garrus and Kaidan sitting together at a table in the mess. "We have a problem," the mercenary said, sitting next to Garrus.

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it," Kaidan and James said simultaneously.

Zaeed raised an eyebrow as he looked at James. "I know why he would say that," he said, jerking his head towards Kaidan, "but what are you on about?"

James and Garrus exchanged a look, the turian shaking his head slightly before the lieutenant looked at Zaeed and said, "It's nothing. Never mind."

Joker tried to cover a snort of laughter by clearing his throat. He knew exactly why James was nervous, having witnessed Kate's drunken flirting via the security feed. "So, what stupid thing did the boss do now?" the pilot asked.

"Read." Zaeed tossed the data pad across the table to Joker. The others moved to read over his shoulder.

"Why did she-" Joker seemed to come to the same realization Zaeed had. "She went to Omega?"

Zaeed nodded.

"She did what?" Garrus exclaimed.

"How did you two come to that conclusion?" Kaidan asked, looking from Joker to Zaeed.

"I thought Jessie was Massani's rifle," James said.

"'Tis. I found her on Omega," Zaeed said quietly.

"Jessie or Kate?"

This time it was Joker and Zaeed who exchanged looks. While all at the table had heard some version of how Zaeed and Kate had met, only Joker knew that the mercenary had named his rifle after her, or even that her first name was Jessica.

"Both," Zaeed said after a moment. It wasn't a lie in any case. He had bought the rifle on Omega, just before he had taken Kate home to Arcturus.

"So why, after all the crap she went through all those years ago, and then everything we all went through a year and a half ago, would Kate voluntarily go back to Omega?" Garrus asked.

"Aria intends to retake the station from Cerberus," Zaeed said. "And for some idiotic reason, Kate agreed to help her do it."

"What, she didn't get enough catharsis in saving the Citadel from Cerberus, she has to save the one place she despises as well?" Joker said.

Zaeed sighed. "Apparently."

"So what's the plan?" James asked. "Are we going after them?"

"No way. That'd be suicide," Garrus said. "And not even against Cerberus. You know how fucking paranoid Aria is, Vega. She'd blast the Normandy out of the sky before we got anywhere near the station."

"Much as I hate sitting around doing nothing, Vakarian is right," Zaeed said. "It won't help Kate if she comes back from Omega knowing that Aria blew up not only her ship but all of her friends, and yes, I grudgingly include you in that statement, Alenko."

Kaidan smiled weakly. "Thanks. I think."

James huffed impatiently. "So what the hell was the point in telling us all that if we're just gonna sit on our asses and do nothing?"

"Oh shit. I'm in trouble now," Kate muttered as she limped off the elevator into the docking bay on the Citadel two days later. Zaeed was leaning against a stack of crates, his arms folded across his chest, a scowl on his face. The scowl only deepened when he spotted Bray, Aria's batarian lieutenant, coming in behind Kate.

"Really? Bad enough you sneak off to Omega but now you're traveling with batarians?" Zaeed snarled, his voice low and dangerous. Bray saw the look in the mercenary's eye and immediately turned back to the door with a muttered "Thanks for the help. Good luck!" to Kate.

She took a step towards Zaeed. "What are you getting all bent out of shape for? I told you exactly where I was going and you must have known the reason for the trip or you would have followed me."

"Do you have any idea how many warning bells were going off in my head when I read that note?" Zaeed asked quietly. "Seriously, are you trying to kill yourself? Because if you are, I am not going to stand by and watch it happen. I love you too much to watch you slip away from me again."

Kate stopped dead in her tracks. "Am I what? Why the hell would you think I was trying to kill myself?"

"Diving through a second-story window directly at an assassin, playing chicken with an armed Spectre, and going off to retake a station by yourself aren't exactly the actions of someone who is doing everything they can to survive this war."

Kate sighed. "First, I wasn't alone on Omega. I was with Aria."

Zaeed rolled his eyes. "Yes, that makes me feel so much better. She's just as crazy as you are."

"Second," she said, ignoring him, "in both of your other examples, I was doing my job as a Spectre."

"In the first, maybe. But there was absolutely no reason for you to stand there while Alenko pointed a gun at your heart."

"It was either that or shoot him," Kate said. "I figured I'd try non-violence first."

"And we saw how well that worked," Zaeed growled. "Look, you're not the only one who has nightmares, Kate. And I'm not just talking about me. You are mine, and I don't share. Period. But your friends do love you, in their own ways. So it's not just me saying this; it's also Moreau, Vakarian, Vega and Alenko."

"Oh good. You guys didn't kill him while I was gone," Kate said with a smile.

"Nothing to kill him for without you being here, kitten," he said with a smirk. "Plus, we were all too busy being pissed off at you and Aria. Why didn't you tell us before-hand that you were going?"

"Aria's rule. She said something about having a problem with some of the company I keep. I think she was talking about you."

"Bloody asari," Zaeed muttered.

"And really, you're one to talk when it comes to taking risks. How long did you think you'd survive working for her?"

"No more or less than working for you, kitten. But we're not talking about me and my risks. We're talking about you. Just please promise me you won't do anything so stupid and reckless again."

There it is," Kate said triumphantly. "I knew those words would be said by someone!"

Zaeed narrowed his eyes. "I'm serious, Kate."

She stepped closer and brushed her lips against his. "I know you are. And I promise, as long as you promise to stick around this time. Apparently I don't do well on my own."

"Obviously," he said with a chuckle. He pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her. "I promise. I'm not going anywhere unless you are beside me."