Author's Notes: First of all, I'd like to thank CyanB for her catch on my misspelled words (dang x and c are so freaking close together)!

Next, I'd like to thank everyone who commented, favorited and followed! That makes me so happy!

Pre- Mission

Shepard made her way down to the cargo bay. There was still about half an hour before Javik and EDI were to report and she didn't have anything overly pressing. In fact, she was hoping to go a round or two with James before the mission.

James was in his normal spot, doing chin ups. "Hey, James, you wanna dance?"

He dropped down and rolled his neck before he let his eyes linger in all the inappropriate spots. She was wearing a sports bra and a pair of workout pants- leaving very little to the imagination. "You think dressing like that is gonna distract me, Lola?"

She rolled her eyes and led him out into the middle of the cargo bay. "Remember that I have a mission in about an hour, so we've got to keep this somewhat light," she warned him.

James gave her a cocky smile and nodded. "You got it, Lola."

The doors to the elevator opened and Kaidan walked out, muttering something as he read the datapad in his hand. The data on the pad didn't compute with what he knew.

"Damn!" James grunted after a loud thump echoed through the entire room.

Kaidan looked up and saw Hope straddling the Lieutenant with his hands resting carelessly on her hips and her hands on his chest. It seemed like the entire room disappeared as he stared at the two of them.

The moment was just so…intimate. It was like, for them, there was nothing else happening. James said something that only Hope could hear and she gave a low chuckle- one that Kaidan knew James could feel throughout his entire body (loins and all). It was Kaidan's favorite chuckle. She leaned down and whispered something in his ear and he nodded and laughed- her body vibrating in time with his.

It was unbearable to see. He wanted to lash out biotically- maybe tear the Lieutenant apart limb by limb for even touching her.

James' hands ran slowly up her sides and back down and she just smiled down at him- not fighting the touch…accepting it.

It took every ounce of willpower that Kaidan had to turn around and get back into the elevator. His entire body was shaking in fury- needing to kill something.

"You want me to interrupt?" Joker asked him.

That would be very satisfying. After all the times that Joker had cock-blocked him on the SR-1, the least he could do was help him out with this situation.

"You have something in mind?" Kaidan asked, not caring that it was petty.

Post Mission

"Shepard," Kaidan snapped at her harshly as soon as she stepped from the shuttle.

Apparently he had watched the helm-vid of the mission and was unimpressed- bordering on livid. Of course, she, herself, was relatively unimpressed with how her squad had worked together.

Squaring her shoulders, she faced him with an indulgent look upon her face. "Good afternoon, Kaidan. What can I do for you?"

She set all her guns on an empty work bench before stripping from her armor, then she began carefully taking each gun, making sure they were empty, and cleaned them- just as she did after each mission.

It was her way to unwind.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded loudly enough that everyone in the cargo bay glanced their way.

"Excuse me?" she demanded more quietly, but still sounding just as angry as him, and sat down her Mattock that she had been working on.

He glared down at her. Still not lowering his voice, he repeated, "I said, what the hell was that?"

Shepard felt her eyes widen and her mouth begin to open in shock. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "This is not the place to behave like a FNG, Major," she snapped.

"Seems like the only time I can talk to you is when there're a lot of people around us, Commander," he snapped right back.

She glared up at him for a minute before looking behind him. "Steve," she said, and he looked at her with panic clearly in his eyes. "Can you finish cleaning my guns while I have a meeting with Major Alenko?"

"Aye-aye, ma'am."

She gritted her teeth. "My cabin. Now."

They went into the elevator in silent anger. "EDI," she snapped once inside.

"Yes, Shepard?"

"No stops. I don't care if Admiral Hackett is aboard and wants to take the elevator- or even if the whole goddamned Reaper fleet appears in the system-, this makes no stops until it reaches my cabin."

"Understood."

They stood in the elevator, side-by-side, silently, but the tension was practically rolling off of them. They kept their eyes forward...except for the occasional peek from the corner of their eyes.

When they reached the loft, Shepard marched from the elevator and opened her door, not glancing back to see if Kaidan was following, she could practically feel his biotics pulsing- something she had grown accustomed to on the SR-1.

After her door had shut, she turned around and began, "Who the hell do you-" Kaidan grabbed her by her arms and pushed her against the wall next to her aquarium. She felt her breath leave her as she practically slammed into the wall. Again, she said, "Who the hell do you-"

"Shut up," he ordered, using a tone that she had never heard from him before and, decidedly, named it his Major Voice.

"Why the hell-"

"Shut. Up." His voice took on a dangerous tone and he towered over her, leaning his arms on the wall on either side of her, effectively trapping her.

Crossing her arms defiantly, she snapped. "No." At least he didn't interrupt that time.

...of course, it had only been one word.

"I'm a Major now, Commander."

She raised her chin. "You're currently aboard my ship, Major."

He leaned down, putting his face close to hers, but, unlike all her fantasies of being in this exact position, his expression was not one of desire or lust...it was one of rage. "Why am I here, Commander."

"Because you asked to be."

His expression hardened fractionally. "Why am I here?"

She raised an eyebrow and, since he was being an ass, she decided to be a bitch. "Isn't that a question that humanity has asked for centuries?"

Shepard could see that twitch at the corner of his eye that indicated that, had she been anyone else- especially a man-, he would have hauled her up by her collar and smacked the snot out of her. "That's not what I meant. Why am I here when you don't take me on missions with you? All I'm doing is taking up space."

The look of cool professionalism took over, clearing away all expressions of defiance and anger...Kaidan also knew that her next words were going to be a lie. "I haven't felt as though any mission we have currently undertaken would require your skills."

"Bullshit," he spat and she turned her head away from him, crossing her arms under her chest. "What about having your squad work as a team? What the hell were you thinking taking EDI and Javik on a mission together?"

Okay, yeah, he had her on that one. It hadn't been her brightest idea. An AI...and an AI hater...

...then again, she had...eventually...gotten Tali and Legion to work together reasonably well.

"Well..."

He smacked the wall behind her head, causing her eyebrows to jump up in surprise. "I should have gone on that mission. I could have covered for both of them and you could have taken Garrus or...or James too."

It seemed like even saying the Lieutenant's name was distasteful and difficult for him.

That was interesting.

"Your biotics aren't nearly as good as Javik's and your tech abilities aren't as advanced as EDI's."

He got in her face again. "You're avoiding me. You won't put me on a squad because...hell if I know. What is it, Shepard?" he demanded.

"You need to step back, Kaidan," she warned.

"Commander," his tone was his Major Voice again and she fought with conflicting emotions.

One part of her wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and drag his lips down to her own. His temper and self-confidence was new. Him challenging her was something he never did all those years ago (at least to him, it still didn't feel that long ago to her) on the SR-1, but, she found that she liked this new Kaidan. He pushed her, forced her to think fast and react even quicker. She felt desire begin to well in her stomach.

Then again, another part of her wanted to strangle him. He had no right to challenge her authority on her ship. He may outrank her, but she was in charge of the damn mission and of the ship.

It just irked a nerve that he was right.

Shepard put her hands on his chest (it was a hard fought battle not to run them along his nicely sculpted chest and stomach- and, Maker, he was better built than he had been on the SR-1 and she had had no complaints back then) and shoved. Kaidan stumbled back a step and took her upper-arms in his hands again and pushed her back into the wall.

This Kaidan was rougher. He was battle-hardened and forceful. He let himself toe the line of control and took command. He wasn't above using his newly acquired muscles to help him gain attention.

Again, Shepard fought with conflicting emotions.

"Get your hands off of me!" she ordered...warned.

Kaidan glared down at her and shook his head. "No. Not until you tell me what the problem is. Tell me why I'm here."

Shepard brought her foot down hard on top of his own and dodged away from him when he lost his grip momentarily. "Listen up, Major," she snapped, her eyes hard. "I am your commanding officer- rank or not- and I will not be questioned by you in front of my squad or my damn crew. If you have a problem, you bring it to my attention privately- whether you ask to speak to me privately or send me a damn message, I don't much give a damn.

"I brought you aboard this ship because you asked to be here and because we have served together before and you're damn good- better than you were a few years ago."

"Then why not take me on missions?" he demanded, taking a step towards her.

She took a step back and hit the opposite wall. Damn, trapped again.

She struggled for a moment to find a reasonable excuse. "I do not have to tell you the reason behind my decisions."

Kaidan place an arm on either side of Shepard and said, "C'mon, Shepard, give me a bone."

He was too close- in her personal space. He wouldn't stop invading her personal space and she was hard pressed to keep control. "You've just gotten back from a long stint in the hospital," she reminded him after a few moments of confusing thoughts. "I'd rather be absolutely positive that you were recovered before throwing you back onto the front lines."

"Then what's your reason for avoiding me?" he wondered, lowering his face closer to hers.

"I'm not avoiding anyone, I'm busy- saving the Galaxy is a pretty time consuming job." She paused and raised an eyebrow. "I keep an open door policy, Kaidan, you could've came up anytime." She found her anger again, and snapped, "Not act like a complete ass in the cargo hold in front of my squad and the crew."

"Not one of my finer moments," he admitted with a crooked smile.

"You have better moments?" she sneered.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Hope," he murmured.

"For what?" Then the entirety of his words hit her. "Wait. What'd you just call me?"

"I'm sorry for not doing this as soon as I saw you on Horizon," he answered, ignoring her second question.

"Not doing wha-"

Kaidan cut her off by pressing his lips hard against hers, effectively ending the argument.