AN: Sorry for the wait. I know I'm terrible at the updates and I won't give you any excuses, I'll just write the chapter. Now I'm not sure when the next one will be up (hopefully soon), but I wont promise anything. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

By the way, I forgot to mention before that this little symbol * indicates a dream. Hopefully that didn't confuse anyone before. I apologize if it did.

*"Claire, don't come out of this cubby hole. Understand?" Mama asked urgently, fear evident in her voice. I nodded my conformation and hid under two black blankets that Grandmother had made for us.

"I love you baby girl. Don't you ever forget that." She said before closing the trap door. Tears welled in my eyes.

"I love you too mommy." I whispered.

A loud crash came from the room above me, making me jump and slap my hand against my mouth before I screamed.

"It doesn't have to be this way Tanya!" a man yelled from a distance. My heart started to beat erratically when Mama didn't replay. I began to panic, thinking the worst, before I heard her sigh and load a gun.

"No, it doesn't." She agreed.

"She's in here!" a woman shouted, kicking the bedroom door open where Mama and I were. I covered my mouth once again so I wouldn't scream as several shots were fired. There was a short pause before even more were fired, this time with a loud thud at the end.

"Such a shame." The man's voice from earlier said, laughing. "Looks like I win."

My heart sank. I was only five, but realistically, I knew what had happened. Only, I wasn't going to admit it to myself right now. The sound of footsteps came closer to my hiding spot. My body froze in utter fear.

"I know you're in here Claire. Just make things easier for the both of us and come out." The man stated.

I whimpered, too scared to come out, yet terrified of what would happen if I didn't. The footsteps sounded even closer this time and suddenly stopped. There was a long silence before the trap door was ripped open and I was pulled out. I began to scream, kick, throw punches, anything to get the man to let go. It didn't do any good. He was much stronger.

"Such a cute little girl you are." He said. I looked away from him, quickly regretting it as I saw my mama. She had several bullet holes in her body. One at her shoulder, one at her right hip, and two in her left leg. Her body was covered in blood, yet she was still alive, I could see her breathing.

"Mommy!" I screamed, tears running down my face. "Mommy, please! Don't leave me!"

She opened her eyes, taking in a deep breath, and looked at me.

"Baby girl, I'm going to come for you, I promise." She said, her voice wavering as she tried to hold her arm out to me. The man began to carry me away.

"I love you mommy! Please don't leave me!" I pleaded. A male soldier walked towards my mom.

"What about her, Sir?" he asked. The man carrying me looked at him, thinking for a moment.

"Finish her." He said, and left the room. The last thing I heard was the sound of a gun and me screaming.

"Mommy, no!"*

My eyes shot open and my body jumped forward into warm, soft arms.

"Aria?" I croaked, as the comforting arms pulled my closer.

"Shh. Someone heard you scream and informed me." She said

I relaxed into her amazing embrace even more confused about my feelings than ever before.

"Why do you keep coming to my aid?" I asked, slightly afraid of her answer. There was a pause, before she sighed.

"Because for some unknown reason, Elle, I care about you… and that is weird for me because, well, I'm Aria. I don't do these things." She became quiet for a moment. "There is just something about you that makes me want to care though." She says, looking into my eyes. "And if you tell anyone I said that, I'll deny everything."

I smile at her, my heart beating irregularly.

"Besides, you're an infuriatingly beautiful specimen, so." Aria quotes me, making us both laugh.

My nerves were about to make me explode. After the moment between Aria and I this morning, I had decided that I would take a chance to try to be with her. The thing I didn't know was how to start. Do I just go for it or drag it out? Why were relationships hard for me? Oh yeah, probably because I've never been in one.

I began to pace.

"Ugh… this is so frustrating!" I yelled, throwing my hands up.

"What's so frustrating?" the familiar voice of the purple asari asked, making me jump.

"How do you do that?" I asked exasperated. "You do it all the time!" I know I was avoiding the question but I was just so nervous. Aria smiled.

"Do what?" She asked innocently.

"Appear out of nowhere." I grumbled. Aria laughed.

"I'm a ninja. Now quit avoiding the question, Elle." I looked away from her, blushing madly. Of course she would know that I was avoiding the question. She's Aria T'loak.

"Well…um…I, uh..." I stumble over my words. Goddess this is going terribly.

"Spit it out. I won't bite…much." She stated smirking.

"IwasgoingtotellyouthatIlikeyouand-" Aria stopped me.

"Whoa, breathe Elle, slow down a little" She said as she gently place her hand under my chin to make me look at her. I took a deep breath.

"I like you Aria… quite a bit actually." I stated, my heart feeling like it was about to beat its way out of my chest.

There was a short silence. I began to panic, regretting that I ever said anything. Why would Aria T'loak, the queen of Omega, ever return my feelings. Just as I was about to apologize and go to my room, she smiled.

"That's good Elle… because I like you too." She says, then guides my lips to hers, kissing me gently and taking my breath away.