"It's rumored you two know each other very well." Diana Allers asked, leaning in to move the microphone close to Jack. "So, tell us, what drives Jane Shepard?"

"Uh, not... dying?" Jack asked, trying not to focus on the camera. She shifted in her formalwear, feeling hot and watched in the small interview room with the dark skinned news reporter. "She just wants to kill Reapers, I've never really asked." Every second she was surrounded, the closer she got to swearing.

"Oh come on, you're saying that there's no drive to save you from the Reapers?"

"Never asked."

"Then what do you two talk about?"

"Dumb shit, but I'm not telling you anything."

Diana nodded and signalled to cut the feed. It wasn't live, but at the same time Jack felt like she'd let down the Alliance or something. Being a part of it... gave Jack conflicting feelings on letting them down.

"Okay, but how did you two ever manage to end up together if all you did back then was cuss and kill?" Diana asked, her words a light jab, but they still set Jack on the defensive.

"I thought you fucking reported only about the goddamn war. Why do you care about a couple of grown-ass women being together?" Jack had to admit that it felt good to be away from the kids and be able to swear again.

"Call it curiosity."

"That killed the cat, you know." Jack muttered bitterly as she stood to leave.

"But satisfaction brought it back," Diana replied knowingly. "Ah, well I should leave you to... whatever it is you do on shore leave."

"You fucking do that, bitch."

The interview had largely gone well, with Jack mostly talking about the biotic program she was involved with, and some of the strides they'd made in teamwork and understanding limits of others. Then Diana asked about Shepard -it kind of made sense, since she was based out of the Normandy- and Jack didn't want to talk about it.

At least every now and then, Jack would run into Jane on an errand or just trying to enjoy herself in the bar. But now, it was different. Jack wanted to talk on the Presidium -the perks of working with Shepard and saving people from the Collectors- and think about Jane. The question got under Jack's skin.

She honestly didn't know what it was that Jane Shepard fought for. The easy answer was survival of the galaxy. The hard answer was probably that Jane fought for Jack. Jack didn't like it, the idea of someone else putting her first. The last few times it had happened hadn't ended well, and the galaxy needed Jane Shepard far more than Jack, or Jacqueline Nought.

The Convict. That was Jack what had been listed as in Shepard's folders.

Two words that boiled down to what she had been. A convict. Jack tried to think if there was anything more than that, but...

The lake stretched in front of Jack, the calm making a reflecting pool. It didn't have an answer for Jack, which was irritating. Instead, Jack thought about what she was now. The Teacher, The Parent, The Loved, and The Convict.

Underneath it all, she was still herself at the core. The Convict. She wanted that simpler life, full of murder and the ability to do whatever she wanted.

"Jack?" a familiar voice asked.

"Huh? Oh you're that um, Liaran?" Jack said, not really wanting to talk. She tried to give off an icy demeanor, but it didn't stop the Asari.

"Apologies. I'm Liara, I served with Shepard when she stopped Saren. We met briefly when Shepard helped me become the Shadow Broker." Liara settled in next to Jack, watching the Presidium as a whole as opposed to Jack's lake watching. "I came out here when I served with Shepard and asked a question about Shepard I couldn't answer."

"Yeah, what was that tentacle-head?" Jack asked, still on guard but just curious enough to want the answer.

"Why does Shepard never smile?"

"What? She smiles all the time-"

"Did you ever watch the interview with her when she stopped Saren?" Liara interrupted. "It was formal, stiff. I thought that was how she was. If I wondered why she never smiled I never received the same answer per crewmate. The closest I got was when I asked Anderson after the fight against Sovereign." Jack tried to glare, but it was hard when she also wanted to know more about Jane from before Jack had known her. Liara continued, undaunted. "He said it was because she knew how to shut herself off. The soldier first and foremost."

"How does this relate, Madame Shadow Broker," Jack asked, dripping with sarcasm and some unease.

"Because you're out here looking for an answer that doesn't exist, too. It's pretty common. Kaiden came out here after Shepard..." Liara stopped, as if the memory was hard. "Shepard was announced MIA."

"She was dead. I'm not dancing around it."

"This place was where we ran around doing all sorts of errands. Then... imagine the first day I see her back and she has this photo... of you. It was on her omnitool, but she pulled it up before she went to attack the Shadow Broker. According to my data, she's opened it one hundred times."

"Bullshit."

"As Shepard can attest, my data is accurate." JAck started to leave, and Liara added, "I... hope that this helps you find the answer."

It did, but Jack sure as hell wasn't going to let the Asari know that. "Whatever, Shadow Broker. Hope that you don't end up like the last one."

Shepard's drive was Jack, and Jack would try to go forward for Jane and Jack's class. If Shepard could do all those amazing feats for Jack, then surely Jack could attain the impossible if she did the same.

Liara smiled, and turned to look out across the Presidium, her own answers still out in the air, somewhere.

A/N: Hello! Sorry about the late upload, I've been sick the last few days. I wish it was just puking a fevers, to be honest. But we roll on.