Thanks for the review and new follow :)
Beta: pixelatrix (I dunno if this chapter ever would have been posted without her)
Bioware owns all.

Kate could feel her fingers slipping from the meager ledge she was trying to cling to; she was barely hanging on now, just four fingers of one hand stood between life and a very painful death at the bottom of a rocky crater. She knew Zaeed and Liara were somewhere up in the temple, trying to get out from under a column that Kai Leng's ship had blasted. And the slippery bastard was probably well on his way back to whatever hole he'd slithered out of. So now she was going to die, again, and as with the Collectors, it wasn't going to be on her fucking terms.

As her fingertips slipped off of the ledge and she started to fall, she felt a hand strongly gripping her wrist.

"Grab my arm, goddamn it," Zaeed growled as he tried to pull her up. She complied, grabbing his arm with her other hand, and he slowly pulled her out of the crater and into his arms. "Christ. Don't scare me like that, kitten," he murmured into her hair as he crushed her against his chest.

"Not my choice, Z," she said. "Where's Kai Leng? Fuck that. Where's-" Her words cut off when she saw Liara. The asari was leaning against a wall at the entrance to the temple, staring out at the destruction of Thessia. Kate extracted herself from Zaeed's arms and went to stand beside Liara. She touched her arm. "Liara?"

When she didn't react at all, with a look or words, Kate put her arm around Liara's shoulders and pulled her into a hug as she called for Cortez to pick them up. When the shuttle landed, Kate stood on one side of Liara, Zaeed on the other, and they guided her into the Kodiak. Kate sent a message to the Normandy, asking Garrus and Kaidan to meet them in the shuttle bay.

The moment the doors on the Kodiak opened in the shuttle bay, Garrus and Kaidan were inside.

"Go," Kate said quietly. "Take Liara to the med-bay. And I don't give a shit what Dr. Chakwas says, stay with her. Please. I think she's in shock."

The two men nodded and gently guided Liara from the shuttle.

"And what about you, Kate?" Zaeed asked. "Are you..."

She shook her head. "I dunno. But I can't afford to fall to pieces right now. I need to talk to Tevos."

Zaeed nodded and left the shuttle. Kate stayed where she was.

"Commander?" Kate looked up to see Cortez looking at her with concern. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have saved them. That wasn't your job today."

"And yet, I failed at the job I was supposed to do," she said bitterly.

"You'll get him, Commander," Cortez said as he knelt in front of her. "Kai Leng can't run forever."

She nodded. "I know. He's just so damn arrogant. Pisses me off."

Cortez smiled. "And one day, that will bite him in the ass."

"One day soon, you mean," Kate said with a weak smile.

He stood and pulled her to her feet. "Very soon, if you have anything to say about it."

Kate leaned against the wall in the comm room, watching the flashing light. She knew it was Tevos. She knew she had to talk to her. But she didn't know how the hell she was supposed to tell her that the asari homeworld had been completely over-run, even more so than Palaven and Earth.

Finally, she stood straight, squared her shoulders and hit the button to answer the hail.

"Commander? Commander Shepard? Are you there?" Tevos asked as her image flickered in and out of focus.

"I'm here, Councilor. I... I'm sorry," Kate said. "Thessia has fallen to the Reapers. There was nothing we could... they had already nearly overwhelmed the commandos who were fighting by the time we got there.

Tevos was silent for a moment. "Did you find what you were looking for at the temple?"

"Yes and no. We found it, but Cerberus found us. Kai Leng took the information. We're in the process of tracking him down now."

"I see," Tevos said quietly. "Thank you, Commander for telling me. If you'll excuse me, there are... end of civilization preparations that need to be made. Good-bye and Goddess be with you in your search."

The connection ended.

Kate felt as if someone had just stabbed her in the heart. End of civilization? she thought. Damn it all. Does the Illusive Man realize what the fuck he's just done?

"You look somewhat happier than you did earlier," Zaeed observed when Kate walked into the Loft.
"I was happy... ish. Until I talked to Tevos," she said as she took the beer he offered and curled up against him on the couch.
He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry, kitten. That couldn't have been an easy conversation to have."

She shook her head. "One of the hardest conversations I've ever had. Including the ones with my dad after Omega."

He tucked a curl of hair behind her ear. "So what was it that made you happy before that?"

"I talked to Cortez after you left the shuttle."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
She nodded. "He's a good friend."
"That he is. And as long as it wasn't Vega or Alenko, then we have no problem."

At the mention of James, Kate sat up and put her beer on the coffee table. She sighed and said, "Zaeed there's something I have to tell you."

His beer came to rest next to hers and he looked sideways at her. "What's wrong?"

"I... OK first of all, you have to understand that I was extremely upset after Tuchanka, specifically after Mordin died."

"So I heard, or read," Zaeed said quietly. "Vakarian sent me a message; said something about you getting plastered on ryncol and then passing out."

"Fuck. But he didn't say anything else?"

"No. Why?"

"I don't remember it, at all. Honestly, I remember getting off the shuttle, going into the lounge and then basically the next thing I remember, barely, is Garrus sitting on my bed the next morning trying to wake me up."

"And?"

"He told me what happened. He and James found me in the lounge, and they brought me up here."

"Vega was with you?"

Kate nodded slowly. "Apparently, I was very chatty before I passed out, very flirty chatty. With James."

"I see."

"That's all he told me."

Zaeed suddenly remembered something. "So that's what Vega was talking about," he muttered. "I wondered what that son of a bitch had to feel guilty about."

He suddenly got up and headed for the door. Kate quickly followed him.

"Where are you going?" she asked anxiously.

"To talk to Vega."

"What? No! Please, Zaeed," she begged and caught his arm, pulling him to face her. "He didn't... it was all me."

"How do you know that, kitten?" he said. "You said you don't remember anything."

"I don't... I..." Kate sighed. "You don't trust James. You made that abundantly clear from the first second you laid eyes on him. But do you trust Garrus?"

"With you? Yes. More than Vega or Alenko anyway."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, I get it. Point is, Garrus is just as over-protective as you are."

Zaeed growled.

"Therefore, there's not a chance in hell he would have let anything happen between me and James."

"I-"

"Also, I asked him and he told me I didn't sleep with anyone."

Zaeed banged his head against the wall. "Why the hell didn't you lead off with that little tidbit?"

Kate leaned up and gently pressed her lips against his temple. "Because I didn't remember it 'til just now."

He chuckled. "Convenient. You didn't just say that to keep me from killing Vega, did you?"

She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "Possibly."

"Is it true?"

She raised her head and looked him in the eye. "Have I ever lied to you?"

"Withheld the truth, for what you decided were good reasons, but no I don't think you've ever lied to me."

"Then you just answered your own damn question."

"Fair enough. Does anyone else know besides Vakarian?"

"I don't... dammit... Joker."

"How?"

"You know how bored he gets. I'll bet you anything he was watching the security feeds."

Zaeed turned towards the door again.

"Now where are you going? You're not going to kill my pilot for being a snoop are you?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, I'm going to talk to him. See if your theory is right."

Kate sighed. "Fine. I'll go with you. I need to check on Liara."

She found Garrus sitting in his usual spot in the mess hall. "How's Liara?" she asked as she sat across from him.

"Dr. Chakwas gave her a sedative. Kaidan and I took her back to her quarters and he's staying with her."

"Good. I'll try to talk to her when she wakes up." Kate looked down at her hands. "I told him."

"You told who what?" When she didn't respond, he put his hand over both of hers. "Kate?"

"I told Zaeed about what happened with James."

"Oh. And?"

"I barely convinced him not to kill him. He's talking to Joker."

"Why?"

"Remember how you said no one saw except you? I think you forgot just how nosy Joker can be."

"Damn security cameras everywhere," Garrus muttered.

Kate's omni-tool beeped. No more ryncol for you. Ever. -Z

A second message came in. Or at least until the war is over. -Z