Shepard's Apartment

One hour later

Brotherhood Assassin Abigail Williams tried her best to shower off her Arena encounter as painlessly as possible, but being thrown across a room multiple times by a giant metal machine had its way of creating injuries. And there were many of them all over her body. Thanks to the augmentations performed during her initiation, Abby's bones were quite difficult to break, but that didn't mean she was immune.

In the guest bathroom, hot water poured over her, dulling the pain she felt. Her hands, feet, chest, back, and everywhere in between ached, as if she had lost a nine round boxing match. Fortunately, the medics at the Armax clinic had given her some surprisingly powerful painkillers. Things still hurt, but it wasn't overwhelming.

Finally feeling well enough to get out, Abby turned off the water and reached out of the shower window for a towel. She gently patted herself dry before wrapping herself up and heading to the bedroom she had been sharing with her sister. In a moment of surprise, she found some clothes neatly laid out for her on the bed. A pair of loosely fitting, yet very comfortable sweatpants from her own wardrobe, which made her suspect Traynor being behind the gesture. The shirt, however, told a different story.

The t-shirt was navy blue, and a size or two too large, with the emblem of the Systems Alliance Marine Corps 2nd Frontier Division on it.

"Ashley. Of course."

Slowly and painfully dressing herself, and struggling a bit with the wrist brace, Abby padded down the hallway and towards the stairs to the living room. When she reached the bottom, she found Shepard telling Liara, Ashley, James, Cortez, Joker and EDI about everything that had happened in the Arena, with Traynor offering clarifications wherever needed.

"In spite of things, she put on one helluva show." Shepard said to the friends around her. "I mean, the way she moves around is something else."

James turned around at the sound of footsteps and stood up from the lounge chair. "Ey! Speak of the devil!"

"Hi, everyone." Abby replied tiredly, feeling wobbly from the pain meds.

"Hey, Abby." Steve greeted her with a wave from his spot on one of the couch arms.

"Abigail." Liara said politely. "I'm glad to see you are well."

"Eh. More or less." She nodded in thanks at James' offer for his seat, dropping into the lounge chair with a loud sigh.

"So how do you feel?" Joker asked from across the table.

"Like I was run over by a Mako...then shot out of its cannon." The Assassin said, rubbing her face with her better hand as Traynor moved to her side.

"Yeah. You don't look much better." Joker's comment was met by a hard slap on the shoulder from the woman standing behind him. "Ow! Hey! Brittle bones, Ash. Ever heard of 'em?"

"In your legs, Moreau." Ashley shot back. "Everywhere else is fair game."

"Shepard, seriously." Abby said, looking at the Commander. "Thanks a million. I owe you big time." Jane waved her off modestly. "You've saved someone's life today. How's it feel?"

"Well...I save lives every day." Shepard began.

"Nice to see we mean so much to you, Commander." Joker grinned.

"Let me finish! I save lives every day, but that doesn't at all dilute how good it feels."

Abby nodded. "Good save, Boss."

The Commander shrugged. "It's a gift. But in all seriousness, you're welcome. You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad I'm talking to you about it now, and not hearing about the mess later."

"Speaking of...where is Kasumi?" Liara asked.

"She thought it best to avoid the group for a bit." Shepard explained. "She'll be here tomorrow night, though."

"What's tomorrow night?" Abby asked sluggishly.

"The party, love?" Traynor reminded her.

"...oh yeah. Well, you can't blame me for forgetting. I did almost die today."

"From a robot, of all things." Ash said with a smug grin. The Assassin looked at Shepard and Samantha.

"I thought we said we wouldn't tell her!"

"You said you wouldn't tell her." Shepard smiled. Abby shook her head as Shepard and Ash bumped fists, and Traynor grinned at both of them.

"In that case, Sam told me about EDI kicking your ass, Ash."

"Hey!" Traynor said. "How could you betray me?"

The group shared a laugh at the bickering women before a calm silence fell over the room.

"Well, Abby. Care to show us?" James asked.

"Show you...what?"

Vega made a gesture of pulling up his shirt.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Steve said, shaking his head. "Please ignore my pendejo friend, Abby."

Abby arched a brow and was about to ask for clarification before he elaborated.

"Traynor told us about the hard hits you took, particularly one right about here."

"Oh...OH. Yeah…" Abby sat up and lifted her shirt, showing off a mech claw-shaped bruise on her stomach, much to everyone's shock.

"Woah…"

"Ouch…"

"Yikes."

"...Goddess."

"Carajo."

"Nothing's broken, but I'll be very sore for a while." Abby said, dropping the shirt. "There's plenty more, too. I got a better look in the mirror upstairs. My legs, my back, my ass...everywhere hurts."

"How about your wrist?" Ashley asked.

"Oh this? The brace is temporary. Should be better by tomorrow. Everywhere else...I can't say...So…" Abby said. "With the heroics and awesome fighting moves out of the way, what's on the agenda?"

"Well, we were all planning on shopping for the party…" Liara said hesitantly. "But if you aren't feeling well enough…" Abby waved her blue friend off.

"Don't let me keep you. Go on, have some fun. What was everyone planning on getting?"

Liara considered the Assassin's words before speaking. "I was going to look into more furnishings for the apartment with Steve." She looked around. "I mean, this place is a bit...what's the Human phrase?...'Bare bones'?" The Assassin nodded.

"I just hope you plan on keeping this chair." Abby sank further into the leather cushions. "Feels like I'm on a mountain of feathers."

"I'm meeting with Miranda at one of the local liquor stores." Shepard spoke next. "The bar over there isn't stocked with much. Anderson barely used this place, anyway."

"While you're doing that, Ashley and I will go hunt down some chow." James announced, catching his fellow Marine off guard. "Watcha think, Ash? Catering? Takeout? Something homemade?"

Ashley glanced between him and her sister for a moment, before nodding, a slight blush growing on her face. "I...I'm sure we'll figure something out. How about you two?" She looked at Joker and EDI, hoping to push the attention away from herself.

"Jeff and I will be heading to the docking bays to check on the ongoing work to the Normandy." Edi explained. "He wishes to see if things are…'Up to Snuff'...I believe was the phrase."

"Couldn't you just tell him in, like, a few seconds?" Abby questioned, finding herself mesmerized by the orange visor over EDI's eyes.

"Correct. However, Jeff wishes to see for himself."

"I'm more of a 'show, don't tell' type." Joker threw in, causing EDI to nod.

"I am becoming one as well, having worked so closely with Jeff for so long. Plus, while one of my primary functions is ensuring the safety of the crew, your injuries are not life threatening, Miss Williams. I also believe that Specialist Traynor exhibited interest in helping you through your healing process."

Abby nodded and looked up at a red faced Traynor. "Well, unless you had plans, you're stuck with me, Sam."

Samantha shook her head. "Not at all. I-I'm glad to keep you company."

"Speaking of." The Assassin sluggishly turned her attention to the commander. "Shepard, would you mind if I borrowed your hot tub for a while? One of the clinic docs said hot water helps heal the damage...or something like that."

"Go right ahead." Shepard answered as she stood. "For the next few hours, my home is yours. Want a hand out of that chair?"

"Hey, I just had an accident. I'm not a cripple."

"I wouldn't mind some help." Joker said. "I'm a cripple."

"Isn't that what your Mobility Assistance Mech is for?" Liara snickered.

"You wound me, T'Soni." Joker put a hand on his chest in mock pain as EDI helped him stand.

"Don't have too much fun, Kitana." James said over his shoulder. "Remember what happened last time."

"Later, guys. Don't let Ash get too carried away!" Abby waved as the group left, dropping her hand as soon as the door closed. "Right. In all seriousness, I do need help standing up."

"Allow me."

Traynor gingerly helped Abby to her feet, as well as assisted her in climbing the stairs. Williams herself felt too exhausted and sore to protest with the latter, and the pair finally found themselves in Shepard's bathroom. The hot tub bubbled invitingly, and Abby could picture herself simply falling asleep as soon as she sat down.

The battered Assassin tried to pull off her shirt, but was unsuccessful thanks to her body's protests and general weakness.

"A little help, please?"

"Well...I suppose it's not the first time." Traynor gladly helped, only to be taken aback by what she found.

"Abby...you…" She stuttered.

"What? Oh yeah. The back is almost worse than the front, huh?" She started to turn around, but Traynor stopped her.

"Nono!...well yes...but...I thought you were...wearing something under this."

Abby's cheeks reddened. "Oh. Right. Then...you're not going to like this next part."

Traynor simply watched, unsure of what to do, as Abby began pulling off her pants. Sure enough, her words rang true, as she was completely bare underneath. Samantha was snapped out of her trance by Abby nearly losing her balance. The Specialist caught her, before helping her remove her pants, all the while catching more than an eyeful of the Assassin's completely nude self.

"Uhm…" Traynor tried to break the incredibly awkward atmosphere. "I'll tell you this, Abby...you definitely don't need to shave."

Williams was caught off guard by the comment and wasn't sure how to react.

"Er...thanks...I think."

"It's a compliment, in case you're wondering." Samantha quickly explained.

"Oh. Alright...then, yeah. And thanks for the help, too."

"D-d-don't mention it." Her friend said with a nervous chuckle. Traynor gave Abby support as she lowered herself into the water, recoiling at times from the temperature. The Specialist offered to lower it, but Abby declined, saying that it was "Almost perfect."

"Wow…" The Assassin said with a loud groan. "So...this is how the one percent lives, huh?" She fiddled with her wrist brace, pulling it off after a moment. "High on painkillers, lounging in someone else's hot tub...I think I can dig it."

Samantha giggled as she looked up from setting her friend's clothes aside. "I have to say, the humidity here is working wonders for my allergies."

"Allergies?"

"I have a sensitivity to dust and pollen, one of which covers every surface on the Normandy. EDI claims that the air quality on board is, 'More than sufficient.', but I don't believe a word of it."

"Well, if it helps that much...y-you don't have to stay out there." Abby says with a slight stammer.

"I wanted to give you privacy."

"Sam, I grew up in a house the size of Shepard's bedroom with my mother and three sisters. Then I spent five years on Arcturus Station, and now I'm on a ship that might as well be a flying shoebox...alongside one of those sisters. Privacy isn't in the Williams vocabulary."

"Well...alright then."

As Abby sat against one of the walls, immersed up to her shoulders in the rumbling water, Samantha sheepishly entered and sat on the counter opposite her. The pair welcomed the silence for a time, with the Specialist allowing the steam from the tub to work its magic on her sinuses, while also eyeing Abby every now and then. The Assassin looked as if she was on Cloud Nine, so Traynor felt a bit guilty when she finally broke the silence a few minutes later.

"You know something?" Her words stirred Abby from her nearly half-asleep state. "This is what Shepard said at the Arena earlier." She looked down at the floor and smiled. "She invited me there...so that she could help you - Well, both of us. But mostly you. - because she knows how...short lived Assassins tend to be."

Abby busied herself by flexing her foot under the water. "Really?"

"Yeah. She said that your life will be short and quite violent, and she wanted to help you slow down and make some friends."

"Is that right? Hmm…" The Assassin pondered Samantha's words. They sounded true enough, but she felt there was more to it. "So, how does it help you?"

Traynor froze. "M-me?"

"You said she wanted to help 'Us'. What does that mean?"

Samantha fiddled with her fingers awkwardly. "Well...Shepard seems to think that...the two of us have a...thing going on. I believe her exact words were, 'I see how you look at each other.'."

A sudden wave of nervousness crashed over Abby. "Shepard knows? How much does she know? Does Sam actually like me?"

Abby decided to chance a question, unspeakably nervous about the answer for reasons she didn't know. "Are her words... her observations...true at all?"

Samantha looked up at her friend for a long time. "How am I supposed to answer that? What will her reaction be? All the things I say and do, and she hardly seems to notice."

She took a breath.

"Should we go for broke? Fuck it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"...y-yes. They are."

At first, Abby didn't seem to react, which prompted Traynor to continue.

"I think you'd call it love at first sight. From the minute we first spoke, I felt like there was something. You're just...you're so easy to talk to, Abby. You're so easy going, you're so different from the rest of the Normandy crew. There's no military bravado with you like there is with James, or Garrus...hell, even Shepard sometimes. Ashley is great to talk to, but it always feels like she speaks from a position of authority...no offense. And everyone else...well… with you it just feels...different. Do you...know what I mean?"

"Y-yeah...yeah I know what you mean." Abby answered. "You seem...different, too. Like you said, nothing gung ho, no standing over people...just...compassion and honesty." The Assassin nodded with a soft smile. "I like it… I… I like you."

Traynor's face became beet red as she opened her mouth. "I...I like you too, Abby."

A silence fell over the pair again as they absorbed each other's words. Privately, Samantha was over the moon. This beautiful, charming girl she had been crushing on for over a month had just admitted she felt the same way about her. In spite of making herself seem a little loose, Traynor had dropped hints and flirted with many other members of the crew. Allers, Westmoreland, Campbell, Daniels, quite embarrassingly EDI, and even Shepard, though it was strictly casual in that regard. However, she had never felt about any of them the way she did about Abby. There was something about the Assassin that made the Specialist feel comfortable when she spoke to her. Not pressured from authority, like with Ashley or Shepard, despite how lax the latter tended to be. No military bravado like everybody else.

Then again, that attachment to Abby came at a price. She had a very dangerous job. Sure, everyone else did, too. But her's was different. Abby would often go up against mercenary groups, militias, entire armies all by herself.

"You okay, Sam?" The Assassin's question made Traynor nearly fall off of the counter.

"Wha….what?" She asked, holding a hand over her heart.

"I said, 'are you okay?'." Abby repeated. "You've been...staring at the water...and at me...for a while now."

"I was? Oh...Oh I'm sorry I was...lost in thought...I-"

"You want to get in, don't you?"

At this rate, Traynor was going to give herself whiplash. "I...I don't...get in? In where?"

"As in joining me." Abby clarified, suddenly feeling completely fearless. Then again, it could be her painkiller cocktail talking. "I mean...how you are, I'm surprised you haven't already."

Samantha only became more flustered with every word. "I...I didn't...well...I'd be lying if I…"

"What am I gonna do? Say no?" The Assassin grinned cheekily. "I'm not exactly in any state to kill a bug, let alone stop you. Hey, you don't have to if you don't want to...but I won't stop you either way."

Traynor, feeling empowered herself, dropped down from the counter top. She let her undone uniform blouse fall to the floor and kicked off her boots. Her t-shirt clung tightly to her body from the humidity, setting her cheeks ablaze, which Abby didn't fail to notice.

"You're beautiful when you blush. You know that?"

"I-I'm not blushing! It's just….very warm in here…"

"Mmm...keep telling yourself that."

Samantha ignored the comment, but feeling so devastatingly nervous, she decided on a compromise. She bent down and rolled her NWU trousers up to just below her knees, slowly stepping into the hot tub and sitting down on the rim. Williams didn't try encouraging her to go further, simply happy with how far they had already gone. Feeling satisfied with herself, Traynor decided to speak her mind.

"You terrify me, you know that?"

This took Abby by surprise. "What? What did I do this time?"

"At the Arena. On Thessia. When you left me at the Strip to help Shepard. You really know how to make a girl worry."

"Hey…" Abby took a moment to process what she was about to say. "One of those three...I was in complete control. The other two...I had back up. In all three everything was fine. You worry too much."

"Well, I care about you, Abby. People worry about people they care about. And the Arena? Thessia? They did not go 'fine'. In both you almost died!"

"I almost die all the time. It kinda comes with the territory."

"I…" Traynor composed herself. "I'm not trying to argue with you, so don't take it that way. I'm just...voicing my concerns."

The Assassin studied her companion for a moment. "I...appreciate...your concern." She said slowly. "Huh...you know I've never said that before."

"What?"

"I've never had someone...genuinely concerned for my safety before. At least, not that I can recall. Most of the time it's a half-assed 'Good luck', or 'Try not to die.'...'The target is surrounded by an entire fleet, and a groundside garrison consisting of half of the Alliance Marine Corps...don't fuck it up.' Ya'know?"

Samantha blushed again. "Well...there's a first time for everything, I suppose."

The two sat in silence for a moment, before Abby spoke again.

"Did we...just have our first fight?"

After a few seconds, Traynor began to laugh.

"You know...I think we did."

"Wow. Ten seconds in. I think we're going to be together forever, Sam."


A/N So...that happened.

Hurrah for having no upload schedule whatsoever!

Abby and Samantha finally confess their attraction for one another, in their usual awkward fashion. Requiring one of them (Abby) to nearly die in order for a conversation like this to happen.

Who knows? Maybe it'll become a running theme with them.

Questions? Comments? Critiques? All feedback is welcome!

Thank you for reading, and see you in the next one