Hello again, everyone! Sorry for the shorter chapter this week, I've been dreadfully sick most of the week and couldn't spend much time on it. Anyway, hope you enjoy it and thank you all for reading/following/favoriting and/or reviewing!

Chapter 65

"Shepard, welcome to our little hangout," Jack said, lounging on the couch next to Kasumi. "Care to join us in a drink?"

"I would love to, Jack, but I have to head planet-side in a few hours," Jane smiled as she crossed her arms.

"I heard that hasn't stopped you before," Jack smiled. "Rumor is that you have knocked back a few shots while on a mission."

"Really, Shepard? Do tell," Kasumi joined in.

Jane shook her head, "Not really a whole lot to say, I was a bit angry and stressed out after waking up and once I did get a drink or two when we were in a bar."

"Gotta be careful with emotion fueled drinking," Kasumi swirled her glass, watching the liquid. "Might wake up on the bathroom floor if you're not careful." She motioned for the woman to take a seat.

"I'm aware," Jane chuckled and took Kasumi up on her offer, sitting on the end of the couch. "Not that I've woken up on the floor sick like that, but I've come close."

"Oh, we've heard about that, too," Jack teased. "You certainly can hold your own against a krogan."

"Nah, Wrex went easy on me. He definitely could drink me under the table. It was more of an excuse to get blasted," she paused before looking at the two quizzically. "Who told you about that?"

Kasumi and Jack shared a look before Jack grinned and turned back to Shepard, "Get a few drinks in them and Joker and Tali like to share."

Jane nodded, "Not surprised," she gave a short laugh. "How about if I find the time for us, we'll make a pit-stop and have a few days to let loose?"

"Now that sounds like an idea!" Jack pointed a finger at Jane, "Besides, we missed you last time we went out. We told Joker to invite you but he said you were busy."

"Really? I don't rem – ," she cut herself off, realizing the timeline of events and what had coincided with their outing. "Yes, I was busy."

Jack let out a raucous laugh, throwing her head back. "I knew it! I fucking knew it!"

Jane could tell what was coming and tried to hide her face as she blushed. She groaned internally at hearing the door open to another guest.

"Woah, what is going on here?" Tali asked.

Kasumi, through her laughter, gestured at her bar, "Help yourself, Tali."

Tali took in the sight of the two humans laughing as Jane covered her face. She noticed the edges of Jane's face flush with red and was familiar enough with human emotions to know embarrassment. "You okay, Shepard?"

Jack roared louder with her laughter at Tali's question and gasped for breath. She took a couple deep breaths and held her ribs, trying to calm herself enough to speak. "Oh god, I'm dying, it's just too funny."

Tali looked to Jane for explanation as Kasumi and Jack seemed too incapacitated to form full sentences. Shepard waved her hand, "You don't want to know."

"She might want to know!" Jack threw her arm to point at Shepard again and almost threw herself off the couch.

Kasumi cleared her throat and attempted to explain to Tali, "Last time we tried to have a hangout, all the crew, we were told that Shepard here was a little busy at that moment. In bringing it up, we have now gotten confirmation from Shepard what she was busy doing… or should we say who?"

"Oh!" Tali exclaimed, her own chuckle breaking through, "So, it was back then, huh?"

Jane could feel her face burning in embarrassment. She kept her face down and her hands tenting her face in an attempt to hide her expression. Joker knowing the exact timing of her and Garrus getting together was bad enough but now the others had a rough idea as well. She didn't even know what to say. Standing, she fanned herself slightly hoping to calm her rush, "On that, I should probably head out."

"No, come on," Jack said, "We're only teasing. You know it's a little funny. And, hey, at least we hadn't started the betting yet! We almost did that evening. Boy, the egg would have been on all our faces if we were making bets after the deed had been done."

Tali shot Jack a look, "Jack! She wasn't supposed to know!"

"It's fine, Tali," Jane waved, "Joker already filled me in on what that was."

Kasumi and Jack were consumed by another round of laughter.

"I'm still sorry, Shepard. I hope you don't feel insulted."

Jane laughed, "It's really okay. I just didn't realize we had that many people pulling for us to get together. It's a little funny to be honest."

"There's more than you know, I bet," Kasumi said. "You should see some of the chat forums Chambers likes to hang out on."

"I'm a little scared to ask," Jane glanced around the room.

"Really? What kind of stuff?" Jack raised her eyebrows.

"Oh it's raunchy. So many speculations and pairings. Tali you're in there too."

Tali reeled back in surprise, "What? Why?"

"You know why, sweetie," Kasumi winked under her hood.

"Alright, before this conversation degrades any more," Jane chuckled, "I'm going to head out. Any of you need anything? Concerns?"

"Nah," Jack waved her off, "just set up that night out on the Cerberus chit and we'll be good."

"I am good, Shepard," Tali said. "Where are we heading anyway?"

"I've got something to handle for Admiral Hackett. After that we'll see."

"Who's going planet-side with you?" Kasumi asked with a slight lilt to her voice, hoping to tease the commander further.

"No one, actually. I've got to go solo. Anyway, let me know if anything comes up. I'll be on low radio contact but bring anything you need to me when I get back."

They waved farewell to their commander and waited for the door to close. Secluded to their group, Jack glanced over at Kasumi, "So since she isn't taking anyone that makes our bet null, right?"

"Are you two still betting on who she takes with her on missions?" Tali planted a hand on her hip.

"What?" Jack shrugged, "We've invited you to play. Besides, we know you aren't above betting on Shepard." She winked at her friend in playful banter.

"Yeah, we take turns for who gets to guess," Kasumi explained then looked back to Jack. "And no. Our bet still stands."

"Come on! That's not fair. It's unprecedented for her to take NO ONE."

"Not my fault you're wrong."

"Ugh! Fine!"

Garrus paused his work as he heard the door to the main battery hiss open. He turned off the console and faced his guest, knowing it was Jane on her rounds. Before she had a chance to speak, he scooped her up and sat her down on the console, standing between her legs as he held her in place with his hands on her hips.

"You know. This is supposed to be a professional visit."

He shrugged as he played with the edge of her shirt in his talons, "As your boyfriend, I try to keep 'professional' off the table. Besides, I have to try and get my time with you while I can."

She smiled at him and stroked the back of his neck with her fingernails. "Are you trying to say that if we resided in the same area that you would be more professional because you wouldn't be starved for attention?" she teased.

"Huh, what an interesting idea. You know I stretched out on my bed down here earlier, it gave me such a pain in the carapace," he smirked at her.

She glared at him with a small smile, "Just hamming it up, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you mean, Shepard," his mandibles flared in a grin as his subharmonics flirted.

"You are not allowed to pressure me into asking."

"I'm not trying to pressure you, just tease you. Besides, it's your fault for bringing it up in the first place."

"Somehow I feel like you set me up."

"That's your fault for falling for my trap. And, you can't avoid the topic forever."

She laughed before giving him a deep kiss, "Don't worry, I don't plan to."

He smiled at her before resting his head on her shoulder. "Are you sure you can't bring anyone else down there with you? It doesn't have to be a full team. Just one other person."

She gently stroked his fringe, "I have to go by what Hackett told me. It can only be me down there."

"I don't like it."

"I know."

He lifted his head to look at her again. His subharmonics hummed his nervous feeling, prompting her to lightly touch the side of his face in a comforting gesture. "Please be safe down there."

"I'll do my best."

John entered the engineering section and tiptoed towards his target. Despite the sound of the door, Tali didn't seem to notice his arrival. Closing in on her, he reached out and grabbed her sides causing her to jump in surprise. "Gotcha!" he laughed.

Tali spun towards him and smacked his shoulder, "I've told you I don't like it when you sneak up on me." She turned around and continued her work.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." He noticed how she seemed to ignore him, "Everything okay?"

She hesitated. Her fingers paused over the console. She hadn't planned on telling anyone until Shepard got back from her mission but she could trust John. "I just received a message from the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason." Since reading that message, she had barely acknowledged the thought and now that she said it out loud, her voice trembled, and she knew how much was at stake. "I'm scared, John."

"What? That's crazy talk from them! They should know that you would never betray your people."

"I don't know. They don't lay charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute." She took his hand in hers, "But thanks. I appreciate your faith in me."

John rubbed her hand, "It's not because you're working with Cerberus, is it?"

"I'm not working with Cerberus. I'm working with Shepard. And I got to leave to serve on the Normandy again. I have no idea what they're accusing me of. You'd think I would remember if I'd betrayed the Fleet!"

"I know, babe. So, what happens when a quarian is accused of treason?"

Tali hung her head, "There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges. My father is an admiral on the board. He'll have to recuse himself from judgment. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now." She looked up at him and leaned against the console, "The punishment for treason is exile. If they convict me, I can never go back."

John shook his head, "And you have no idea why they're accusing you?"

"None. The specifics of charges like this are rarely discussed on open channels. I won't know any more until I get to the flotilla."

John nodded, "Bring this up to Jane. I'm sure she'd be willing to take you there and we will help defend you."

"Of course, I was going to tell her, but I was thinking I may need to book passage on another ship. I didn't think there would be any time for her to help."

"Nonsense. Of course we'll help. We can go find her now."

"Is she even back? I never heard anything about her arrival.

John paused, now that Tali mentioned it, he hadn't either. "Nah, it's been a day, she's got to be back by now," his words were empty as realization sunk into him. How had he not noticed? What happened down there? How was Garrus holding up? "I'm going to check in with Joker."

"I'm going with you."

They were quiet on their way to the cockpit. There was an air of uneasiness throughout the ship as people stayed quiet, monitoring the systems before them. As they approached their destination, they saw Joker with EDI's orb illuminating him and Garrus sitting on the copilot's chair.

"What do you mean you can't find anything? There's got to be something in this system," Joker said.

EDI's light flickered back with her response, "I have scanned the entire system, and I am finding no trace of Shepard. Wherever she is, there are systems in place to cloak her location."

"She's been out of contact since she left. Something is wrong!" Garrus snapped. "We need to find her."

"Let's stick close to the relay," Joker said, "If anyone decides to go through, we'll stop them and make sure they aren't running off with our Commander. Who knows, maybe we can use some of the mass effect field to boost the scanners."

"What's going on?" John asked though he already knew the answer.

Joker paused in his work before turning to face the newcomers. "We've been out of contact with Shepard, and we can't seem to find her location. Last we have is her leaving the prison but then there's just nothing. Someone's gotta be cloaking her location on purpose. Man, I thought she was supposed to be helping someone Hackett trusted."

"Clearly he didn't know the doctor or whatever she was doing well enough," Garrus muttered.

John shared a look with Tali, despite her mask, he could tell her face was filled with worry. "Garrus, how are you holding up?"

For a long moment, Garrus didn't answer him. Eventually, he let out a huff of air before saying, "I'll be able to breathe when I know where she is and that she's okay."

Garrus paced at the main battery. She has been gone for two days. TWO DAYS! What happened to her? Is she okay? …Could she still be okay? He felt sick. Emotions from when he first lost her began to creep in on him. Sure, sometimes missions went bad, but you usually had backup or a team with you; she was alone. If she were captured, she would have to find a way out on her own, they had no means of rescuing her.

"Garrus! Get up here!" Joker's voice broke through Garrus's spiraling and spurred him to move.

He sprinted towards the elevator, thankful it was already waiting for him. As quickly as he could, he made his way to the cockpit and skidded to a stop. "What do you have?"

"Shepard made contact. She's not responding now but I got just enough to get her location."

"Where is she?"

"Well… heading towards the relay… and so is a big ass asteroid."

"What?"

"Yeah, my thought exactly."

Garrus heard one of the crew behind him speak, "Commander Shepard. Normandy inbound for pick-up." He breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard the response.

"Roger that." Jane's voice said over the communication channel.

EDI brought up an exterior camera and Garrus watched with singular focus. He saw Jane running across the platform heading for the ship. Studying her gait, he sighed in relief, she didn't seem too worse for wear. He could hear the decontamination protocol running as it was clearing her for entry. He stood to the side as she sprinted out of the doors and into the cockpit. Their eyes met through her helmet and he could almost feel her say 'I'm okay'.

"Get us out of here, Joker!" she said in a panic.

In a flurry of movements, Joker input the coordinates and connected to the relay, launching the ship away from danger. "On our way to Local Cluster."

Jane nodded and moved back towards the galaxy map, her helmet still on. She watched the map begin to update. A red pulsing emanated from the relay they had just departed from before it blinked off the map. She grabbed the railing in front of her and braced herself as she took a deep breath before snapping the releases on her helmet. Sighing, she held her helmet in her hand for a moment before turning around and meeting the turian's gaze.

He held out a hand to her which she accepted as she stepped down the stairs. Without saying a word, they entered the elevator and rode to the level below. The silence drove him crazy, he wanted to ask a million questions and hold her in his arms but he could tell she was battling with what just happened. Whatever occurred on that mission had seriously affected her. So, he opted to wait and see when she was ready to speak.

They entered the med-bay and were met by Chakwas standing by her desk. She nodded to them as Jane removed her armor and sat on one of the beds.

Chakwas began to scan Shepard, "Anything I should be looking for?"

"Tox screen for starters, I guess. I was kept under heavy sedation for two days."

Garrus grumbled to himself, his anger rising. The only consolation he had was that all those responsible were now dead.

Chakwas nodded solemnly, "Even after I've checked you out, I want you to stay down here for the time being. I want to observe you for at least a day to confirm there are no underlying effects."

Jane watched as the Admiral spoke with Chakwas for a moment before the doctor stepped out of the med-bay. He approached her and gave a short nod, "Looks like you've recovered."

"Admiral Hackett," Jane said as greeting.

"Sounds like you went through hell down there. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. No more visions, if that's what you mean. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"You went out there as a favor to me. I decided to debrief you in person. That was before the mass relay exploded and destroyed an entire batarian system." His expression grew more serious than before. "What the hell happened out there, Commander?"

"Have you received any intel about what happened?"

"All I know is that I sent you out there to break Amanda Kenson out of prison, and now an entire system is destroyed. I hope you could fill in the leap of logic between those two events."

Jane grabbed the datapad she had been working on before his arrival, she handed it to him as she said, "I confirmed Doctor Kenson's proof. The Reapers were coming, and destroying that relay was the only way to stop them. Kenson sedated me for almost two days. I started the engines with little more than an hour left. I tried to warn the batarian colony, but… time ran out."

Hackett looked over the datapad she had handed him, "The batarians report no survivors from Aratoht. At least you tried." He turned and took a few steps, mulling over the information. "And you believe the Reaper invasion really was a threat?"

"No doubt about it. We literally had minutes to spare."

He turned back to face her and gave a nod. "I'm sure all the details are in your report. I won't lie to you, Shepard: the batarians will want blood, and there's just enough evidence for a witch hunt. And we don't want a war with the batarians. Not with the Collectors out there taking our colonists."

Jane felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. "What are you saying?"

"You did what you did for the best of reasons, but… There were more than three hundred thousand batarians in that system. All dead."

"They died to save trillions of lives. If I could have saved them, you bet your ass I would have."

A small smirk crossed his face, he always enjoyed how passionate she could be. "You're preaching to the choir, Commander. If it were up to me, I'd give you a damn medal. Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way."

Jane nodded and paced for a bit before turning her attention back to the Admiral. "So what do you suggest?"

"Evidence against you is shoddy, at best. But at some point, you'll have to go to Earth and face the music. I can't stop it… but I can and will make them fight for it."

"I'll gladly stand trial once this mission is done."

"Glad to see working with Cerberus hasn't stripped away your sense of honor. Do whatever you have to do out here. But when Earth calls, you make sure you're there with your dress blues on, ready to take the hit. In the meantime," he held the datapad out to her, "you keep this. I don't need to see your report to know you did the right thing."

"Yes, sir."

"You've done a hell of a thing, Commander."