"You are NOT going out dressed like that young lady!"

"Daaad! When'd you get so stereotypical?" Thomas had to hold back a chuckle at that, if only she knew.

"It took you this long to get a date, I'm not having you strike out on the first innings. There's casual and there's casual. Now go upstairs and find something else to wear."

"I ain't wearing a dress Dad, don't even think it."

"Honey, unless your mother kept the one your Great Aunt Hilda got you for your third birthday I doubt you even own a dress! Now go try again."

This time when his daughter came back down she was dressed in her best pair of jeans and a shirt with just the right ratio of smart to casual. It was certainly an improvement but the nerves rolling off her as she paced the room were practically tangible.

"Nikki... Nicola!" That got her attention. "She asked you right?"

A nod.

"Then stop worrying. You already know she's interested in you, so just be yourself." Any other potential words of wisdom were cut short by the sound of a car coming up the drive, Thomas forcing himself to stay in the house as his little girl went outside.

He was immensely glad he'd had a practice run at this with the boys, but despite all the equality progress in the galaxy over the centuries some instincts were just hardwired into the brain and he was suddenly discovering a new level of respect for his Father-in-Law all those years ago.

...

"They like someone who's not afraid to take charge." The B-movie protagonist explained to his lovestruck sidekick up on the big screen. "Plan a date, take some hostages, overthrow a government and burn down their ex's house. Maybe buy them a puppy."

"So, Uhh... You remember saying I could get tips from the vids..." Trish glanced over out the corner of her eye, copying when Nikki twisted in her seat to find a better angle to try and see both screen and date.

"Honestly? Does that actually work?" The partner asked onscreen, Nicola raising an eyebrow as if the question was her own.

"Well I know I wouldn't say no to a puppy."

"Awesome, where's the nearest government building? Let's go!"

They descended into laughter, Trish throwing a playful punch at her arm. Nikki caught the fist as it tried to retreat and gently uncurled the fingers, Trish smiling indulgently as she watched the youngster play with their hands. She felt the abrupt tension the moment the other girl realised what she had been doing and prepared to pull away, only then taking control as she gave a reassuring squeeze, interlocking their digits.

Nikki turned her attention back to the screen but allowed her hand to remain wrapped up, they sat silent a moment before Nick asked with forced casualness: "So... you got any houses needing burning?"

"Two exes, no burning required. Probably not a great idea anyway, one of their mother's a firefighter the other's got a cop for a dad."

"So, uh... why'd you settle for a farmer's daughter?"

Trish laughed before realising it wasn't a joke but a question asked in earnest. Seriously, settled? Have you looked in a mirror lately gorgeous?

"I don't pick my dates based on their parents!" Actually she hadn't picked anyone before, both her previous partners had been the ones to ask and while the attraction had certainly been mutual, neither of them had made her feel quite the way Nikki managed with a simple smile.

There was something adorable about how shy the teenager got when her nerves overcame her and yet at the same time Trish kept getting glimpses of the witty, almost cocky, personality hiding underneath and she found that Nikki positively intriguing.

To have such an enthralling personality wrapped up in sun-kissed skin, held together with well defined, toned muscles and topped off with such a beautiful face… the only truly worthy question was how come nobody had snapped her up before.

"Oh that's a good one!" Nikki suddenly opined about something happening in the vid, tilting her neck at an awkward angle to face Trish but with her eyes scrunched shut as she parroted: "What colour are my eyes?"

"Brown." Trish shot back without hesitation, while the character on the screen in front of them failed the test.

"You sure?"

"Yep. Lovely, warm, chocolaty brown." There was a snort.

"Miss Mills must love you."

"Actually, no. Apparently my stories are... How did she word it? Ah, yes: 'technically detailed to pinpoint accuracy, but closer to an instruction manual than descriptive prose. On the rare occasion an adjective makes its way onto the page it is often lacking in inspiration, resulting in cliche after cliche'."

"No imagination eh? Terrible." Nikki shook her head despairingly, her eyes narrowing in concentration before holding a finger up to recite her own end of term report: "Nicola may not have as much natural proficiency for literature as in some of her other subjects, but if she put as much effort into her written work as she does her excuses, there could be a significant improvement in her grades."

The laughter this caused was only in part for her words and partly for the impression of the prim and proper teacher.

...

"Ok... Strangest non human food you've ever eaten?"

The vid's end credits were still rolling as they walked over to the food courts, a couple coming the other way clutching a tray of something a luminous green colour prompting Trish's question not long after they left the car.

"Hmm... Asari gumbo. It was alright, texture was a little rubbery." Trish made a face of revulsion. "My brother got hold of some hanar mindfish last year, but Dad burst in before anyone else got to try it. Think it's the only time I've ever seen him properly angry, he snatched the bowl away and just started yelling. John shrunk back with this look of pure terror, apparently he thought Dad was a two-headed, fire-breathing krogan! It was three days before he stopped tripping. My parents would take turns to check up on him every couple of hours and each time, as soon as they knew he was ok, they'd try to do something to freak him out."

They shared a chuckle, Nick at the memory and Trish at what her imagination conjured up from the words.

"What about you?" The ravenhead returned the question.

"Ok, I'll admit... I'm a bit of a coward, but I have a good reason. When I was nine I visited my dad on Arcturus station and helped myself to chocolate from his desk... Turned out it was dextro. I was sick for a week, really put me off trying alien food."

"Your dad's in the Alliance?"

"Was. He died when I was 12."

"Oh... I'm sorry. I can't even imagine..."

"Yeah it was hard for awhile, never really stop missing him but- Oh stop looking so scared! I'm not going to break down crying, it was years ago, I can talk about him."

"Oh good. I have no idea what to do if you suddenly started crying." Trish tilted her head, trying to decide whether now was a perfect opportunity to segue into the concept of hugging or if that would just scare the other girl off. Before she could make up her mind Shepard asked another question: "What's your favourite memory of him?"

It caught her by surprise and she must have paused too long before answering as Nikki started to apologise.

"No, it's ok, I'm just thinking. It's a good question." She smiled as a particular recollection entered her head. "When we were winning at paintball but he got thrown out for 'improper conduct'."

"What? You can't just leave it like that. Details!"

"He got a stick, covered it in paint and then kept creeping up behind people to 'slit' their throats." Her fingers made the appropriate air quotes. "People kept moaning that it wasn't fair. They didn't seem to appreciate that it should have been harder than simply shooting them from a distance. Whhiiiich is what he did after being kicked out... Converted a sniper rifle to fire paint, found a high point outside the grounds and shot anyone who tried to flank me."

"Nice!" They were nearly at the building now and Nikki lengthened her stride, subtly at first then increasingly noticeably as Trish kept matching the pace.

The older girl glanced bemusedly out the corner of her eye, trying to work out what the sophomore was up to, Nikki practically darting the last couple of steps to hold the door open triumphantly. Trish shook her head with a smile as she realised that, without having made any specific conscious decision, she'd been the one holding open the few doors they'd encountered that evening.

Inside was packed and they took a moment to look around and decide what they wanted to eat. Although still a relatively small colony, the drive-thru was a popular location and contained probably the second largest food court on Mindoir with a mixture of local businesses and bigger, galactic level restaurant chains present.

Glancing over to ask Nikki's opinion, Trish noticed she was biting her lip, finger tapping away nervously.

"What is it?" Shepard turned with a devilish glint in her eye, gaze briefly locking on before darting away again, tapping increasing in speed. The brunette arched an eyebrow inquiringly: "Come on, what?"

Nikki turned her shoulder slightly, almost protectively, her face somehow managing to seemingly flinch and smirk at the same time as she stated:

"There's no queue at Dextro Dave's!"

...

Author's note:

Sorry for the delay on this one, I blame Trish for deciding on a drive-thru movie date set only a couple of days after the last chapter when I had zero ideas for that scenario. It did set up Nikki's closing line of the last chapter perfectly though so I'll let her off.

It was only when I saw a picture on FB with the 'take charge' quote I used for the film (originally 'guys like girls who' but I rewrote it without any gender pronouns) that I finally got some inspiration. I would credit it but there wasn't any credit on the post I saw.

Just in case there's any doubt, Nikki is NOT the same Shepard as in my other story, despite them both being colonists, and I intend to drag Nikki through the games, muse willing.