A/N: This chapter is totally different than I had planned. Seriously, when I started writing it I had no idea it would turn out this...fluffy. It kind of got away from me. I hope you enjoy it, though. One more thing: I know the SSV Normandy SR-1 doesn't have a galley or a mess sergeant in-game but I figured it made more sense to have both.
Thank you AngstShenko and Vorcha Girl for your reviews! They made my day!
As always, Bioware owns ME.
6. Downtime
As soon as they were aboard the Normandy Kaidan excused himself when Shepard turned to go to the cockpit, intending to go to the medbay. She nodded in approval and he went on his way, followed by Ashley. He felt a another migraine coming on and wanted to head it off as early as possible. He waved at Wrex, Garrus and Tali in the mess as he passed them on his way, noticing that Ashley was no longer behind him. She had stepped onto the elevator instead of going into the mess as he had thought she might. As he walked through the doors into the medbay Dr. Chakwas looked surprised at seeing him.
"Lieutenant, do you have another migraine?"
"It's just starting, doc. And last time you told me off for waiting too long, so I thought I'd stop by before it gets too bad. Can you give me something that won't knock me out?" He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left temple. He rubbed his fingers in circles over his temple. Kaidan felt a little miffed. This was the second migraine within less than a day. He generally didn't get them that frequently.
"It is nice to see someone follow doctor's orders. I will give you your regular medication, only with a lower dose. What triggered the migraine, Kaidan?" Dr. Chakwas kept a close record on his migraines. What triggered them, the intensity and duration. She motioned for him to take place on one of the bunks as she powered up her omnitool for a diagnostics scan.
He was just about to reply when the comm crackled. They both stalled, waiting for the announcement.
"This is Commander Shepard speaking. We have our orders. Find Saren and bring him down." She paused. "This all started with the attack on a human colony on Eden Prime. Our enemy is ruthless, inflicting unknown horrors on his foes. We will not forget the colonists that were...transformed...into husks. We will not forget the marines that died defending them!" Her voice had become more passionate with every word. She paused again and went on in a considerably softer tone. "But not only human lives are on stake here, no. All lives in the galaxy are. If we want a place on the Council humanity must step up and be willing to do its part." She drew in a breath before continuing. "I won't lie to you, crew. This will not be easy. But that is not the point. No matter how difficult this turns out to be I have no intention on losing. He will expect that we are coming, he will be prepared. But so will we! Everybody expects us to stop Saren and I promise you: We will stop him!"
There was the tell-tale click indicating Shepard had hung up the comm. Dr. Chakwas looked at him expectingly.
"You were just about to answer my question before the Commander interrupted. What triggered the migraine?"
"Not quite sure, doc. Possibly Chora's Den. Flashing lights, pounding bass. Using my biotics shorty before. I don't know. Pick one or maybe all."
"Where does it rank on a scale from one to ten?" Dr. Chakwas held an empty syringe in her hand, waiting for Kaidan's response.
"It started as a three-and-a-half. Now it's passed five going hard on six. Yesterday's was a solid ten, by the way." He rolled up his sleeve, waiting for the injection, his mood sullen. The doctor adjusted the amount of medication in the syringe. A moment later she gave him a pat on the back.
"You're good to go, Kaidan. Go get something to eat and then find a quiet place to sit down. And I'm sure I don't have to remind you to stay hydrated." She gave him a stern glare. "The medication might make you feel a little light headed, but it shouldn't put you to sleep. Although you might feel drowsy."
"Thanks, doc."
As he stepped out into the mess he heard Shepard talking to the three aliens aboard. The medicine was starting to work already and the light-headedness was beginning to set in. 'A little light-headed' was definitely an understatement if there ever was one. He had only received the injection a minute ago and already he felt a pleasant buzzing in his head. A short shudder of the ship and the shift in inertia told him they had just passed the mass relay and jumped to FTL.
"There should be plenty of dextro-food aboard. I requested it as soon as possible. Another problem is accommodation. Wrex, there is no way in hell you'll fit into a sleeper pod. And Garrus, you should just barely fit in but it would be more than uncomfortable. Sooo, I had two camp beds set up for both of you down in the cargo hold. Just...don't kill each other, got it?" The two aliens in question nodded. "Good. Tali, you can have my pod or I can also have a cot set up for you. Your choice." She paused and looked passed Tali and Garrus. "Lieutenant, is everything alright?"
"Not yet, but it'll be better soon," Kaidan replied, his voice oddly thick. He felt as though his tongue was sticking to the top of his mouth. She gave him a puzzled look. "Have a migraine coming on and just went to see the doc for my meds. Now I'm happily drugged and will either be knocked out cold within the next ten minutes or...well, a little high. Depends. Asked her not to give me too much."
"Wow. You must get the really good stuff." Shepard tried raising only one eyebrow and failed miserably. She just couldn't do that, no matter how hard she tried. Kaidan on the other hand must have perfected it, judging by the arched eyebrow and the lop-sided grin on his face. I am so in trouble.
"Guess so. But before I start singing O Canada or doing anything else remotely stupid I'm going to grab a bite to eat. Doctors' orders." He walked on towards the galley where the mess sergeant was already piling food on a plate for him. Military chow may not taste like much but Kaidan had quickly learned that being on friendly terms with the personell working in the galley had its advantages. The mess sergeant liked him. He was one of the few people who could just help themselves in the galley. He also always got food that resembled...food. And plenty of it. Sure, being a biotic he got more anyway. But it didn't matter at what time he walked into the mess. He wondered if some poor sod got some truly horrible leftovers because he got this huge portion of almost-real food. Now it was a plate with sandwiches piled on it and a bowl of fruit. Fresh fruit.
"Here ya go, sweetie. If you're still hungry after this there's pie yet, too." The mess sergeant's voice traveled over to Shepard, who was shaking her head in disbelief.
"I don't know how he does it," she turned to Wrex, Tali and Garrus who were still standing there with her. "I swear, we weren't aboard two days and the mess sergeant started having special food for him. And if she's too busy to make him something he can go in there and fix it himself. I tried that once and I got practically kicked out. All I'd wanted was a frigging sandwich!" Shepard sighed. "Huh, maybe I should ask if she needs help with the dextro food."
She got up and walked over to the mess sergeant, giving Kaidan a smile as he passed her on his way to sit at the table. The short smile he flashed in return had her feeling dopey.
"You'll have to wait a minute, Commander. The other sandwiches aren't done yet. The Lieutenant got the first batch." There was less warmth in the sergeant's voice than just a minute ago, Nick was certain. She was almost jealous. Why should she be jealous if the mess sergeant was nicer to the lieutenant than to others? But you are, an inner voice told her. No I'm not, she retorted to herself. Yes, you are. Am not. Are too. This was ridiculous. Now she was arguing with voices in her head. That damn beacon must've scrambled her brain. Shepard cleared her throat.
"Thank you, Sergeant, but that's not why I came over. I was wondering if you needed any help with the dextro food. I honestly don't know what the differences to our chow are, if it has to be prepared differently or so." She shrugged and was surprised she had managed to keep any hint of annoyance out of her voice.
"Not so different, ma'am. Thanks for the offer. You can tell the dextros their sandwiches will be ready in a few minutes. " The sergeant pushed a plate with sandwiches in her hand. Considerably less than had occupied Kaidan's plate, Shepard realized as she walked back to the table. Ashley and Joker were there now as well with Ashley sitting as far away from Garrus and Wrex as possible. She really had to find out the story behind William's dislike of alien species.
Nick sat down next to Garrus and passed on the mess sergeant's message. She pursed her lips as she looked around at the table, apparently trying to decide on something. Shepard threw a glance at Kaidan who was busy tucking away his sandwiches at an alarming rate. With a small shrug she picked up one of her sandwiches as well. She chewed thoughtfully as she looked at her crew members sitting at the table. She cleared her throat again and began speaking.
"Ok, I know this is probably not the place for a debrief but since we are all here I don't see a problem in it. And it's not like I'll be telling you anything confidential. Before I get to our current mission, though, I want you to be aware of the new toys I got us today. Garrus, Wrex, Tali - I am afraid there were no new weapons or armor in it for you yet. For one thing I don't know which equipment you already have or what your preferences are. Kaidan and Ashley on the other hand I know what they have and I have a pretty good notion of their preferences. Next time on the Citadel you guys get to visit Spectre requisitions with me, promise. However I also stocked up on different ammo and mods, so help yourselves. Wrex, I am guessing your equipment is more than up to par. Your shotgun sure packed a punch back at Chora's Den. Garrus, I have no idea which standards C-Sec had. It looked close to military grade to me. And Tali, I noticed you carry a shotgun and a pistol. And probably a top-notch omnitool."
She paused,waiting for a reply. When none came she turned to face Joker.
"Our course for the next jump is set?"
"Yes ma'am. Do you think I'd be here otherwise? The bridge crew has everything under control. Even I've gotta eat sometime." He sounded almost insulted. Shepard gave him an apologetic shrug.
"Sorry. That was a stupid question. Let me rephrase it. What's our ETA?"
Kaidan tried listening to what she was saying although he was having some trouble concentrating. The slight high from his medication had ebbed off somewhat thanks to the food but he was beginning to feel tired. He rolled his shoulders to loosen up and in hope of driving off the drowsiness. It wasn't working. He rubbed his hand across his face. He felt embarrassed as he noticed Shepard looking at him quizzically. He couldn't breathe. Being under the surveillance of those blue-grey eyes made him feel like a fly trapped in a web. The real problem was he rather enjoyed it.
She turned her gaze away from him again and continued speaking. Kaidan was under the sensation of being released from a spotlight. He exhaled slowly and cursed his head again - even if the migraine was gone now - as well as his hormones. He was glad he still had a sandwich he could take a big bite of to conceal his feelings. Or so he hoped. I am in trouble.
"Uh, where was I? Right. Anyway. We are headed for the Argos Rho cluster to look for an asari by name of Liara T'soni. She is an archeologist and expert for protheans. And she just happens to be Matriarch Benezia's daughter. What a coincidence!" Sarcasm dripped from her voice causing sniggering around the table. "Once we reach Argos Rho we will have the fun job of finding a planet with prothean ruins and then hope we find the ruins where this Dr. T'soni is working. You all heard when our ETA is. That's all, folks."
At this everyone continued eating in silence. Wrex was the first to leave the table, followed shortly after by Garrus and Tali, who both said they wanted to get settled in properly.
"Commander, can I ask you something?" Joker asked as soon as they heard the elevator door close.
"You just did."
"Riiight. I meant another question, of course." The pilot rolled his eyes at his grinning CO. "Why do you call Anderson 'Uncle Dave'? Or is that too personal?"
Ashley was just about to steal some fruit from Kaidan but her hand froze at the question and Kaidan pulled the bowl out of her reach. All three looked at Shepard expectingly. She just tilted her head to the side.
"I also call Admiral Hacket 'Uncle Steve', you know. Look, Hackett went through basic with my parents and my dad and Anderson grew up as neighbors together in London when my dad lived there several years as a kid. They were friends already before my dad enlisted, despite my dad being several years older. I guess it's not really surpring that I call both of them Uncle, although I'm not supposed to do it while on duty, of course. Not that I don't do it anyway." She leaned back. "And they are both my godparents."
"You don't have a godmother?" Ashley sounded surprised. She pouted when realized she couldn't reach the fruit bowl anymore and made a rude gesture towards Kaidan.
"Nope. Two godfathers, both Alliance Naval officers. And I saw that, Chief."
"Sorry Skipper, but LT pulled the fruit bowl out of my reach."
"Hey Chief, if you wanted fruit you only had to ask. But if you try stealing it from under my nose I'm not going to share," Kaidan said plainly before taking the last fruit and popping it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. "Or you could always just ask the mess sergeant."
"No, Alenko." Shepard shook her head. "If one of us," she pointed at Joker, Ashley and herself, "go and ask the mess sergeant for more of anything she'll tell us off, saying we already had our share."
Kaidan didn't look convinced. "Commander, I'm sure you can get whatever you want if you work your charm."
Nick put her head back and laughed. "My charm? I don't think she's susceptible for my charm." She looked straight at Kaidan and smiled. "Sorry. But I would bet any amount of creds that if you ask her she'll give you a bowl of fruit big enough for the four of us."
He returned her gaze, a small smile playing on his lips. "You think so, huh?"
He winked at her and stood up. Taking his empty dishes he walked over to the galley, Shepard watching him closely.
"Your staring, Skipper," Ashley smirked.
"Just want to see if my assessment was right," Shepard defended herself. Damn.
"Riiight." She heard both Joker and Ashley say simultaneously.
Obviously her assessment had been more than correct for Kaidan not only returned with a large bowl of fresh fruit but also with a cherry pie.
"If we run out of fruit before we have a chance to restock it's all your fault," Kaidan said as he set both on the table. "And the pie is mine. So, if you want any - ask!"
They sat for a while yet with until Joker returned to the helm and Kaidan and Ashley both went back to their stations.
Shepard remained at the mess table alone for a while after they had taken their leave. Her thoughts circulating around the upcoming mission and the fuzzy feeling she got when thinking about the Lieutenant. It didn't help that she could watch him working at the control panel next to her door. After some time she gave up and went to her cabin. She would deal with her personal problems later. Maybe when there was time she could try talking to her parents about this. You have got to be kidding. You've known him for - what? A week? - and you want to ask you parents what you're supposed to do? Pathetic! The mission had to come first. Always.
"Wonder if he feels just as messed up as I do, dammit," she muttered as she dressed down to her skivvies before putting on the N7 tank top she used as a night shirt. She quickly checked the duty roster for the next day and typed up the remaining reports that had to be sent to the Brass before hitting the rack.
Shepard woke up at three o'clock and was wide awake. She had had a dream about the beacon and sleep now seemed to evade her. After tossing and turning for half an hour she decided to get up. Nick pulled on some fatigues and walked out. She was more than surprised to see Kaidan working at the control panel next to her door, muttering to himself. Had he been working here the whole time? He flashed out his omnitool and scanned the terminal, only to pull off the cover after he had run the diagnostics and starting to rewire the whole thing. Kaidan was so engrossed with the task at hand he remained oblivious of Shepard standing there watching him. She cleared her throat to get his attention, resulting in him smacking the back of his head on the bottom of the terminal. She winced.
"Tell me you haven't been working here all night," Shepard said.
"No, ma...Commander. Only the past half hour or so." he rubbed the back of his head, shooting an annoyed glance at the terminal. "I have to calibrate the settings on that thing every day. And I woke up around three with an idea of how to fix it and wanted to try it out."
Shepard stared at him. She clearly thought he was out of his mind. "And that couldn't wait until later? I happen to know you are not a morning person, Alenko. Having to jump out of your way every morning so you can get coffee first thing is a dead giveaway."
"That's something completely different, Shepard. After all you're up at this ungodly hour as well. But coffee sounds just about right."
"Perfect. Grab a mug and let's sit down." She poured herself a coffee and frowned as she took a swallow of the hot beverage.
"Is something wrong with the coffee, Commander?" Kaidan sat down across from her, his coffee mug hovering just below his lips.
"Apart from the fact that I hate coffee everything is fine." This earned her a perfectly arched eyebrow from the lieutenant.
"Eh, Commander, if you don't like it why do you drink it?"
"I like it with hot chocolate. And only with hot choc. And I have no idea where in the galley to find cocoa for a proper - ." Her voice trailed off as Kaidan stood up and walked over to the galley. A few minutes later he returned with two mugs, one filled with steaming hot chocolate, the other empty. He unceremoniously took her coffee mug, poured half of it into the empty mug, filled it up with hot chocolate and set it on the table in front of her.
"Cheers, Commander." He sat down again with a rather smug expression on his face and an utterly flabbergasted CO sitting across from him. Kaidan took a swallow of his coffee and watched Shepard take a careful sip of hers. To his delight she raised her eyebrows and licked some chocolatey foam off her upper lip.
"Damn, Alenko. This is good! How did you know?" She took another swallow, closing her eyes and humming with glee. When she opened her eyes again she saw a blush spreading across his face.
"My sister likes her coffee like that," he explanation and rubbed the back of his neck again, looking at her sheepishly. Stop flirting with your CO, Alenko!
"Then relay my thanks to your sister for teaching you to make an outstanding hot chocolate. Is there a spice in here?"
"Some chili. Not too much, though."
"Hmmm, seriously, Kaidan. This has to be the best coffee I have ever had. Do you have any other talents I should know about?" she purred. He blushed even darker and murmured something incoherent. It was her turn to blush now, realizing her tone hadn't been quite appropriate. That might've been a little suggestive, ask him something else, quick! "You said you have a sister. Any other siblings?"
"Yeah, a brother. They're twins and almost six years older than I am. You?" Kaidan relaxed a little.
"Nope. Only child. It's probably nice having siblings, though." She sounded wistful.
"Not really. They seemed to get me into trouble more than anything else. If they did something wrong they'd team up and blame it on me. If something broke that I couldn't reach they'd say I used biotics. So, no. Having siblings can be a real pain." He shrugged. She couldn't know that after his biotics had manifested there had been a long time during which he had been the scapegoat for his elder siblings, especially his brother. It still poisoned the relationship to a certain degree. "Practically the only thing my brother and I talk about is hockey. Erin and I are a little closer. She's an engineer, so we can always talk about tech. We get along better now than we did as kids. She helped me after - ," he broke off.
"Right after what?"
"Sorry, Commander. I'd rather talk about that some other time." He didn't want to talk about BAaT right now. He glanced at the clock. It was almost 0430.
"No problem. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, just wanted to get to know you better. I never realized siblings could be so much trouble. Anyway, thanks for the talk, Kaidan."
"Well, you're welcome." He looked at her uncertain. "Do you, uh, do you make a habit of getting this personal with everyone?"
"Only to a certain degree. I like to know my crew but I don't get to know everyone equally well. Maybe we can talk more again later?"
"Later? Yeah, I'd like that." Kaidan got up. "I'm going to get some PT done and take a shower before the big morning rush starts."
She almost felt like saying "Great idea! Maybe we can spar!" but obviously her common sense had kicked in. That might not be the best idea. Shepard brought away her dirty dishes and returned to her cabin to put on a proper uniform. Her heart was throbbing like after a wild dash as it was. She would refresh what she knew about the Artemis Tau cluster. If she remembered correctly it consisted of four systems: Athens, Knossos, Macedon and Sparta. According to Admiral Kahoku his missing marines had been headed for the Sparta system. They would check after finding Dr. T'Soni. She spent almost an hour researching and came to the conclussion the Knossos system was most promising. She checked the time. Her shower would have to wait. They should be hitting the mass relay soon.
After a last glance at the information she had found she made her way to the helm. As she entered the CIC she saw Joker slowly walking in front of her. He obviously wanted to relieve whoever was currently flying the Normandy. She was aware she should know who was at the helm. Kaidan and Pressley probably did.
"Joker, as soon as we've entered the cluster set course for the Knossos system."
Her Chief Helmsman turned around in his seat. "Aye-aye, ma'am. And good morning to you, too."
She waved off. "When will we hit the relay?"
"Five more minutes, Commander."
"Very good. Let me know when we reach the Knossos system." She turned and walked back through the CIC to take a quick look at the galaxy map before grabbing some breakfast.
In the mess she saw Kaidan, Ashley, Garrus and Tali already at the table. Ashley offered her some coffee and looked taken aback when she declined. The gunnery chief apparently belonged to the marines that ran on coffee. Shepard wanted a nice black tea for a change. She hadn't had any tea since before joining the Normandy and she was sure the coffee Kaidan had made in the small hours had spoiled her. She didn't feel like drinking the regular brew just now. Nick got her breakfast and sat down to eat.
She had hardy finished eating when Joker called her over the comm.
"Commander, we've entered the Knossos system. Aparently there are prothean ruins on Therum. ETA ten minutes."
"Thanks Joker. Take us in." She looked at Kaidan and Tali. "Tali, Alenko, you're it. Suit up. You have fifteen minutes to meet me by the Mako."
A/N: As I said earlier, this chapter was planned differently. Originally, they were supposed to find Liara. The first half went as I had intended - up to the part where Nick, Kaidan, Ash and Joker remained at the mess table alone. And then it just snowballed. Nick and Kaidan just wanted that late night/early morning talk. Who am I to deny them that? ;-)