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Vega could feel his muscles burning, the slowing of his movements that said he'd overdone it, but he couldn't stop. Every time he thought about stopping, he saw her face again, so pale, so unresponsive, and the jolt of alarmed adrenaline that went through him demanded an outlet.

She was Gina Shepard—she did what needed to be done when it needed to be done. She put herself in harm's way so she could save others. But he had never before seen with such vivid clarity what that meant. Or known so chillingly how possible it was that she could actually die. James had felt his own heart stop in those moments when she lay there in his arms so still and cold.

He redoubled his efforts, grunting with the exertion, barely feeling the pain.

"Mr. Vega. Mr. Vega!"

Opening his eyes, James saw Esteban standing in front of him. It was clear from the exasperated look on his face that he'd called James' name more than a few times. "What?"

"Stop this right now and go the hell up there."

"What?" he said again, dropping down from the bar and standing there panting.

"You heard me. You love her; it nearly killed you seeing her after she came back from finding Leviathan."

"Doesn't matter," James said, refusing to dignify Cortez's words by admitting to the truth of them.

"Then what does?" Cortez demanded. "If love doesn't matter, if letting the people we care about know how we feel doesn't matter, then why don't we just let the Reapers take us out, because what else is there?" He turned away, but not before Vega had seen the shine of tears in his eyes and remembered what Cortez had lost.

"Hey, man. I didn't mean—"

"No, I know you didn't. But, seriously, James, if anyone in the galaxy needs someone to love them, someone to let them know they matter, really matter, to someone, it's Shepard. Because one of these days she's going to take one of these crazy risks and she's not going to come back."

"So, love her now because she's going to die? That's some pretty damn stark advice, Esteban."

Cortez shook his head fiercely. "Love her because it might be your last chance, and you will always regret it if you don't make the most of every minute you could have together."

James swallowed against a suddenly dry throat. "And if she doesn't feel the same?"

That got a laugh. "You're the loco one if you can't see that. What do you think that whole stupid bet was for?"

"Fun?"

Shaking his head, Cortez said, "Nope. She wanted to see if there was anyone else … and she wanted to jumpstart you so you would come to her, because she can't come to you."

"There are regs, you know."

"Hell with the regs. Now, are you going to get your ass up there?"

The way Vega saw it, he didn't have much of a choice. If he didn't at least try, Steve would never let him live it down; and he couldn't get the image of Shepard lying there on that deck half-dead out of his mind. He wanted—maybe he needed—to go up there and make sure she was okay.

"All right, Esteban. I'm going."

"It's about damned time."

Vega grinned, heading for the elevator.

Cortez watched him go, nodding to himself. Then he called the elevator back down, waiting until he was sure Vega wasn't on it, and went up to the starboard lounge, where the usual suspects were just sitting down to cards.

He put his hands on the back of a chair. "So. About this bet."

"Oh. That. What's there to say? They won." Garrus looked sourly across the table at Joker and EDI, both of whom appeared extremely smug. "In hindsight, Jack wasn't the best choice."

"No, no, she was," Traynor assured him. "They should have had a great time. Allers, on the other hand … well, there was no way that was going past the first date."

"Good point." Steve shook his head, marveling at how little they seemed to know about his friend. "And James and Jack did have a great time, just not the way you mean. Same with Daniels."

"Daniels." Tali sighed. "I really hoped she wasn't as stuck on Donnelly as she seemed."

"You were going to say something, Lieutenant?" Liara's eyes were twinkling. He was sure she knew what was happening as well as he did.

"Just that … I won." He grinned broadly. "Pay up."

"What do you mean you won?" Joker protested. "He and Ann Bryson got along super well! You could feel the sparks."

"Yeah, but then she didn't want another date."

"But he did," EDI pointed out.

"Not as much as he wanted the date he's on now."

"What date? With who?" Tali asked.

They all looked around the table, and Cortez could see the realization dawn when they noticed who wasn't there and put one and one together.

"No! Shepard?" Traynor looked a little bit shocked … and a little bit disappointed.

Cortez laughed. "He blew all his dates talking about Shepard. And she just happened to be hovering nearby for each and every one. So, I say again—pay up."

Grumbling, they all pulled up their omni-tools. "They're going to be sickeningly happy, aren't they?" Garrus complained.

"Probably. Now … you seem to have a couple of empty places. Mind if I join?"

"Are you as good at cards as you are at matchmaking?" Tali asked.

"Maybe."

"Sit down, Lieutenant," EDI said. "It will be interesting to have a new player."

"Thank you. And … it's Steve."

As the elevator whisked him up to Shepard's quarters, Vega's heart was pounding harder than it ever had after a workout. She was going to kiill him for this.

Or … what if she didn't?

If possible, that idea was even worse for his breathing and his heartrate. The idea of Gina Shepard in his arms was utterly breathtaking.

He stood in the entryway outside her door for a long time, trying to get his breathing under control, trying to figure out what to say. Maybe he shouldn't do this. What if she was sleeping? Or … otherwise occupied? No. This was estupido.

But even as he turned to go, his finger reaching for the button to call the elevator back up, her door slid open. "Something I can do for you, James?"

Spinning around, he saw her standing there, uniform jacket open over a black tank top that fit her beautifully, hair wild around her face, and—words? What were words? "Um …"

She smiled. "Eloquently put. But it's been a long day, and I am … really tired. Can we do this some other time?"

It was the first time James had ever heard her admit to being tired. "We could … or you could let me take care of you."

"What?" Shepard's eyes were wide.

"Commander … Lola … I … This whole stupid bet thing, I did it for you. Truth is, there's only one woman for me, and when I saw you today on that stupid ship, half-dead, I nearly—I could've …" He was babbling, he knew it, but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

Eyes still wide, mouth parted as if she couldn't quite catch her breath, Shepard was still staring at him. "I thought you didn't fraternize," she said at last.

"I didn't. Until you asked me to."

"I dared you to."

"Kinda the same thing."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "You got that, did you?"

"No, not me. Esteban."

Her face softened. "Cortez has a good heart."

"Yeah. He does."

She grinned suddenly. "He force you to come up here?"

James nodded.

"Remind me to give him a raise."

"I think he wins the bet."

"Oh?" She hesitated, then moved toward him. "Is this a date?"

"Well … there are regs."

"There are. But … you may have noticed, the Normandy's not exactly a normal ship. And I'm a Spectre, so … it's a gray area." Her eyes were wide again, soft and brown, with flecks of green now that he saw them up close. "How about this—we go in there," she jerked her head toward her quarters, "we're James and Gina, and what happens between us is ours. We come out here, we're Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Vega again, with all that that implies."

"You can do that?"

"Can you? Yours is the harder job. If … if you're not comfortable, we don't do it."

He stood there, torn. If he went inside, if he— Dios, he wasn't sure he could even contemplate what might happen in her quarters. But if he became a distraction, put her off her game, did he doom the entire galaxy? On the other hand, Esteban clearly thought she needed a distraction, needed something, someone, to live for. James could be that man. He wanted to be. More than he had imagined possible. The idea of being Gina Shepard's man, of holding her and making her laugh and loving her in every way, made him happier than he'd been in a really long time.

And that decided him. "Yes," he said to her, his voice hoarse. "Hell, yes."

Shepard smiled. A wide, genuine, spontaneous smile. He loved her slow smiles—they were sexy as all get-out—but this one was possibly the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. "Then get in there, James, and show me."

"After you, Lola."