Ashley's heart was pounding. Her eyes followed Shepard out of the mess, the man casting a final look over his shoulder at her before retreating up the stairs. That… She bit her lower lip, trying to remember the feeling. His lips had only brushed hers before Joker interrupted them with a message from Anderson, but the feeling was… Well, pretty damn spectacular. Feeling him pull her against him again, that hard plane of his body against hers, her hand moving over the stubble on his jaw. This whole almost-but-not-quite thing was getting a little old. And seeing him laugh, smile genuinely for the first time since Virmire… Oh, God. You're in for it now, Williams.

"Chief, may I have a moment?"

Ashley took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves and turned towards the unwelcome voice. Liara watched her nervously. The soldier quirked a brow at the asari. She had no clue what the blue woman would need from her – they had never been particularly friendly, especially since she seemed to probe Shepard's mind at every opportunity. Even when she had seemed to be spending more time with Kaidan, her eyes followed the Spectre wherever he went.

The asari apparently took her silence as a yes.

"I'm not sure how to say this…" Liara shifted uneasily. "I saw you. Just now, with the Commander."

Ashley's brows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"I know you have… feelings for him. And he may for you. But I am concerned about your intent."

"My what?" The soldier's jaw clenched. "Why is this any of your business?"

Liara frowned. "I am simply concerned about the Commander."

"Hold on for just a minute, Blue." The soldier pinned the asari with an icy glare, a hand planting itself on her hip. "You're concerned about him? Because you saw us, what, almost kiss?" Liara, to Ashley's surprise, didn't break her gaze. She had no idea where this was coming from now. "What kind of person do you think I am? Some kind of predator?"

"I mean no offense, Chief. You are simply a bold woman, and from what information I have gathered, you are very eager to prove yourself within the Alliance." Liara's eyes narrowed slightly. Suddenly, the innocent, naïve archaeologist appeared to be a lot more cunning than she let on. "I am only concerned about your motives for pursuing Shepard."

The soldier took a furious step forward. "Oh, hell no. You do not get to accuse me of using him to climb ranks. You have no idea what you're talking about." Her heart pounded with rage. Her finger jabbed at the asari's chest to emphasize her words. "I have never gotten a promotion I didn't deserve, and I've been passed over for quite a few that I did. I'm damn sure I'd never reduce myself to sleeping with a superior officer for commendations." Liara took a half step back as she moved in closer. "And I'm really surprised you think so lowly of Shepard. You can't seriously believe he'd try to bribe me into bed with a promotion."

"He is a great man, but a flawed man, and he is under great amounts of stress. More than you can comprehend." Liara said after a short pause. Her blue eyes lifted from the floor to look back at the soldier in challenge. Ashley prickled. "We have all heard about his… promiscuity, before this mission. It fits with his character. Especially after such a trying time. He may simply need some… comfort."

Ashley's eyes widened at her insinuations. It hit home, having someone else hint that Shepard might only want to use her as some kind of vice. But she sure as hell wasn't going to back down. "Where did you hear about that? How do you know so much about him?"

"Kaidan told me a little of Shepard's past. The rest I researched."

"So he's using me, and I'm using him? Like you apparently used Kaidan to weasel out info on Shepard? That man thought the sun shined out of your damn ass, and you used him to get to Shepard?!" Ashley spat her words out, rage flooding her at the thought of the asari using her friend to get to another man. "You can't even consider we might actually want this? That I am interested in more than his damn rank?" The soldier glared at the asari, her ears loud with the beat of her enraged heart. What the hell is this woman's problem? "And since when can you 'comprehend' his feelings better than anyone else? The man barely talks to you! I don't know what your deal is, but he's not interested!"

"Kaidan and I were friends. He told me everything without any 'weaseling.'" Liara shook her head. "And I have spoken with Shepard plenty of times. He visits me often after missions." The asari gloated, looking entirely too self-satisfied for Ashley's liking.

"He 'visits' everyone after missions. It's called being an involved Commander. Shepard is only doing his job - it doesn't mean he's in love with you." The soldier rolled her eyes again. Idiot. She wasn't about to let some alien woman drive her off.

"I do not believe he's in love with me, but I do believe we share a bond after melding that you cannot understand. I have seen who he truly is, down to his very soul. It was beautiful. I am truly sorry you are not able to experience it."

Ashley gaped at the asari. "Sorry my ass. Listen, hon, just because you brain probed a man doesn't mean you two are destined to be together. And I can assure you that he never comes out of that looking all that pleased. Whatever 'bond' you two have, you have no idea what I'm able to experience. I don't need any of your weird asari voodoo to care about him." Liara frowned, her posture still irritatingly composed. Damn asari and their superiority complexes. "I'll tell you again – Shepard talking to you about missions does not mean he's interested. At all. And he won't be. Ever."

"I have read that this hostility is a common side effect you humans have when feeling jealous. I hope we can discuss this without making things too unpleasant."

Liara held Ashley's gaze as the soldier snarled. "Jealous? Of you?!"

"And for the sake of transparency, you should know that Shepard talks to me about far more than simply the mission. He was particularly interested in asari culture and physiology." The last word left the blue woman's lips and Ashley felt her nose wrinkle in disgust.

"Oh, you bitch –" The words screamed from her mouth, but another shout cut her off.

"Hey!" Shepard rounded the corner, his long legs striding quickly towards them. Ashley glared at Liara as she turned to face him, an all too innocent look on her face. "I thought Joker was kidding about a catfight. What the fuck is going on?"

"Chief Williams and I were simply discussing your wellbeing." Liara said quickly. "I understand you are… close to her."

Ashley let her eyes flick to Shepard. He gaped at the asari. "You what?" His hand came up, as usual, to pull back his messy hair. "My wellbeing is not up for discussion. I told you before, Liara, I'm not some research project. And whatever may or may not be going on between Ash and I is none of your business."

"I simply did not wish for this to become awkward. I understand human relationships are generally monogamous, with a few exceptions. I did not believe the Chief would look too kindly on our relationship if you were pursuing her."

"Damn right, I wouldn't. And you don't have a relationship!" The soldier hissed.

"I am sorry, but that is not for you to decide."

"Okay, what?" Shepard's brow furrowed in confusion, but then he shook his head. "Liara, we have no 'relationship'."

"But you told me you felt the connection between us…" Liara murmured, and Ashley felt herself prickle. She turned her glare to Shepard.

The commander tugged at his hair again. "Liara, I said I felt it when we connected. When we did the whole 'embrace eternity' thing. It was pretty hard to miss. " Shepard growled, his eyes closing in frustration. "I'm sorry if it came across in a different way than I meant it, but I do not have feelings for you. You're a… friend." The asari looked to the ground. Ashley couldn't help but feel a little smug. "Now is definitely not the time for any of this bullshit. So, if you two are done, we have a fucking galaxy to save. Can I expect that you two will put this behind you and work together?"

"Yes, Commander. I… apologize. This will not affect our mission."

Ashley simply nodded, her stance still fairly territorial. Shepard's green eyes narrowed towards her, probably assessing the threat level. She rolled her eyes and held up her hands in surrender.

"Good. Ash, we're meeting Anderson. Liara, you're staying back with Tali and Garrus to watch the ship. You're on call to back us up if this goes wrong, so be ready to suit up." The asari nodded, the action subtle and reserved. Hell hath no fury. She turned from the two of them and retreated. Shepard sighed looked back to the soldier. "Go get Wrex and tell him to suit up. He's coming with. I'll meet you in the airlock in ten. Side arms only, we're going to Flux." Ashley nodded, her eyes trailing the downtrodden asari as she disappeared into the medbay. "Ash, leave her be."

She bristled. "Me? She started it. And you encouraged it. What were you doing talking to her about 'asari physiology'?"

"Uh…" Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "She told me asari reproduce through that whole mind bond thing." Ashley rolled her eyes as he cleared his throat. "I was curious. And a little nervous."

"Perv." Ashley folded her arms in front of her, settling her disgruntled gaze on the commander. He smirked.

"What? I thought I was being taken advantage of. It's not like I've ever been particularly nice to her. I didn't realize she'd interpret my curiosity as…interest." The soldier frowned at him. "I've told you before, Ash, I'm not looking at anyone else. I'm sure as hell not interested in a 'relationship' with anyone else." Ashley's brows shot up. Relationship?! Shepard's grin broadened. "You know, I'm a little curious about your physiology as well."

"God, you're impossible." The soldier punched his arm, but she couldn't help grinning back at him. His happiness was rare and infectious. And it reminded her why she bothered. She had never been a jealous person before, had never really cared that much. She hadn't found a man worth chasing before. They were generally all idiots. But Shepard… He was an idiot, but he was definitely worth it. She'd fight off anyone who got in her way. And maybe, with him, there could be… something more? He had hinted that he wanted… Woah, slow it down there, Williams. "So, I take it this news from Anderson is what has you so chipper?"

"Yeah, he think he has a way to get us going." Shepard took a few steps towards his locker, kicked it a few times, and retrieved his armor once it opened. He really needs to fix that. "Besides, it's not every day two women fight over me. It does wonders for the ego."

"Uh huh. Don't push it, Skipper." Ashley rolled her eyes, then smirked. "Guess I can't blame her, though. With an ass like that, I'm surprised you don't have women fawning over you more often." Shepard's eyes widened in shock. She laughed and turned to head towards the elevator. "I'll go grab Wrex. See you in ten."

xxxxxxxxx

"Shepard."

"Wrex?" The commander stopped in front of the Flux's entrance, stepping aside for a scantily clad asari.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable going here with you." The krogan's lips spread in a toothy grin. Shepard arched a brow. "People might start to question our 'relationship'."

"God damn it, Joker. Did he tell everyone already?" Shepard groaned as Wrex laughed his deep, thundering laugh. The commander glanced towards Ashley, who shrugged. She didn't seem to be all that phased by the pilot's antics.

"I don't think so, but it's a small ship. They'll find out." The Spectre groaned again. Liara is going to be mortified. The whole situation was fucking ridiculous. "He said he was doing a public service. Letting the women of the Normandy know that there are more fish in the sea." Shepard watched as the woman tried to suppress a grin.

"Oh, yeah. Laugh it up, smartasses." He walked through the door. The clubs music boomed and washed over him.

"You should be glad, Shepard. Getting more mating requests means you are a strong warrior. On Tuchanka, only the best are fought over by the female clans." The commander choked. Wrex chuckled again. "Don't worry, I won't challenge you in front of your women. Wouldn't want to embarrass you." Ashley laughed, and Shepard grinned with her.

"Thanks, Wrex. That's very considerate of you." He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and saw Anderson waving him over. He waved back in acknowledgement. "Alright, you two try to blend in. This shouldn't take long. I'll find out what the plan is and we'll head out."

"Shepard." Anderson called and stood from a table in the back of the club as he approached. "I'm glad you made it. You seem to be in good spirits, despite everything. How's it going?" He clapped the Spectre on the back and the men sat down, the others trying to do their best to slink back and blend in. It wasn't working.

"Good, now that you say you have a way to get us out of here." Shepard grinned. The expression seemed to take his old captain by surprise.

Anderson's eyes narrowed speculatively. "You know, after hearing what happened, I was assuming I'd find you hear already, pissed and drunk off your ass. But you actually seem happy." His voice was dubious. Shepard frowned. "Glad to see you're starting to keep control. Even if Chief Williams had to pull you off Udina."

"He would have deserved it. I still think she should have just let me have him."

"I know. I wanted to warn you about that SOB's plans, but there was no way to get a message to you before you docked. Still, I'm proud, Owen. Not too long ago you would have just given up, or done something incredibly stupid to get your way."

"I can't give up, Anderson. There's too much at stake." Shepard's eyes drifted over the crowd towards Ashley, standing next to Wrex and looking irritated as the krogan let out a rumbling chuckle. "And they wouldn't let me blow the locks off."

Anderson shook his head and let out a small chuckle. "I see your crew's been a good influence, then. It's good to see you getting close to people again. You always were too damn surly for your own good." The captain leaned forward, his eyes growing serious. "I'm sorry to hear about Lieutenant Alenko. He was a damn good marine. That must have been a tough call."

Not as tough as it should have been. A familiar guilt shot through Shepard, but he pushed it down with the bile that rose in his throat. He simply grunted. Now wasn't the time to get into that again. "So, how are we getting the Normandy off the ground? She's the only ship that will get me into the Terminus Systems undetected. I need to get to Ilos."

"Agreed. Citadel control has the Normandy on lockdown – but if we override Udina's orders directly we can get them to bring her back on line. You'll be in the Terminus Systems before anyone knows you're gone."

"Yeah, we thought of that. But how can we override his orders? I won't be able to make it into Citadel control alone, then make it out in time to get back on the Normandy before they realize what's up." Shepard shook his head. "I'm not leaving any of my crew behind, so without a third party infiltrating, we're stuck." Anderson nodded, and Shepard stopped, his eyes widening as he realized the man's intentions. "Oh, fuck no. I'm not stealing the Normandy and leaving you to hold the bag. You're not doing it."

"Sorry, kid, but you still don't give me orders." Anderson shook his head, his brow furrowing. "I'm not worried about the consequences of this, Owen, because the consequences of Saren getting to the Conduit will be much worse. We both know that." Shepard frowned. "You're the only one that can stop him. I'm sure as hell going to do everything I can to get you on the Normandy and off this station."

"I can't just leave you behind to take the fall. It's not right."

"You can and you will. That's an order, Commander." Anderson's voice was even, his brown eyes pinning Shepard with an authoritative glare. The Spectre sighed.

"Yes, sir." He murmured, shaking his head.

"Good. Now, I can unlock the Normandy from one of the Citadel control consoles directly. You'll only have a few minutes, so you'll have to be ready."

"You're going to get yourself killed going in alone, Anderson. There's no fucking way. You're helping no one if you die before making it to the controls."

Anderson arched a brow. "Have a little faith, Shepard. I've been doing this a little longer than you have."

"I know. But that place is flooded with guards." The commander shook his head. "There has to be another way. One that's not going to get your ass shot off."

Anderson rubbed his chin as he considered. "It's a long shot, but the Ambassador issued the order from his office. If I'm able to get at his computer, I may be able to hack it and override the lockdown."

"And if he's there? He's not going to just stand there and offer you a drink while you use it."

"I think I'm more than capable of taking care of one politician, Owen." His captain deadpanned.

Shepard sighed. Sending his mentor to do his dirty work left a bad taste in his mouth. "And when he charges you with treason?"

"Shepard, there will be no one left alive to sentence me if you don't make it to Ilos. I'll take my chances doing what's right."

"Fine. Do it, you'll have a better chance with his computer than at Citadel control." Shepard sighed, and stood. Anderson followed him. "And if you happen to run in to him, I still owe him a black eye."

"Oh, don't worry about that. That asshole has made this personal." Anderson smirked back at the commander. "Ready, Shepard?"

Shepard nodded. Finally. He was finally going after Saren. All of the waiting, the inaction, the backtracking and chasing him across the galaxy, it was coming to an end. "Damn right. Thank you for doing this, Anderson. I owe you."

"You owe me for a lot more than this." The man chuckled. "But I'm glad to do it. I know you'll get this done." His hand rested on the commander's shoulder. "Good luck, Owen. I'll see you on the other side." With a final pat, his old captain was off. Shepard watched him go, his throat constricting and cutting off a response. Anderson was always there, always waiting for him at the finish line. He would never understand where the man found so much faith in him. He couldn't let him down. He couldn't let any of them down.

"What's the plan, Skipper?" Ashley strolled to his side, following his gaze as Anderson exited the club. Her voice pulled him back to the present.

"We're stealing the Normandy."