Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect

A/N – I came up with the idea for this fic halfway through writing Burn, because James Vega is just far too sexy for his own good and he needed a story of his own. I planned the story of this fic while listening to the song 'Lights in the Sky' by NIN, thus the title. The lyrics fit nicely too.

I update one or twice a week depending on how busy I am with work and life. I'm staying mostly canon with ME3 events, however I'm throwing a few twists into this fic with my Shepard's background with the Reds! I hope you enjoy it – reviews/comments/feedback is always loved!

Cover art is by DStPierre on DA! An amazing comic book artist!

James' stomach clenched as Shepard looked up at him with a simmering violet gaze, her heavy lidded eyes pleading. Her body moved beneath his and her slender hand gripped his wrist with more strength that he would have guessed she possessed, especially with her slim build. Dios, she was stunning! Her glossy black hair pooled around her face like a spill of ink, and those shockingly bright indigo eyes were straight out of his dreams.

How on earth had they wound up like this? James wondered as he stared down into her eyes, his huge frame covering hers. Her red lips, only inches from his, were slightly parted and their bodies were tangled together on the floor next to the couch. It was exhilarating and dangerous all at the same time. He'd never allowed himself this close to her before and adrenaline surged madly through his body as she tightened her grip on him.

"James, please!" She pleaded softly, her voice a low whisper as she wriggled beneath him and focused the weight of her personality into her gaze. "Give it to me."

"I can't, Commander." James forced himself to look away from those almost inhuman eyes and glanced around the room, his dark eyes scanning for any sign of company. Their current position was precarious at best and if someone did stumble across them they'd be in a shitload of trouble, that was for sure. It didn't help matters that he was having trouble concentrating with her under him. He wanted to give her what she wanted, wanted to do it more than she probably imagined he did, but there were regulations to follow and the risk of getting in trouble was too high.

Besides, he could handle this without her help.

He raised himself up on his forearms, intending to get up, and Shepard hissed in pain as he inadvertently let some of his weight fall on her. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she caught her lower lip between her teeth as she swallowed a groan. A thick wet warmth spread between them and James felt her body tremble as she wiggled a hand between them. He'd hurt her! Guiltily, he looked away and hoped that she wasn't going to hold it against him. Shepard was always acting tough but she was made of flesh and blood like him.

Well ... she was mostly made of flesh and blood.

"Jesus, that hurts." Shepard muttered and narrowed her eyes to glare at him angrily, her nails digging into his wrist with enough force that she drew blood. "Now get the fuck off me and give me a goddamned gun, Lieutenant!"

"I already told you; I can't." James growled at her, cursing in Spanish as gunfire started up and he covered Shepard's body with his own.

He could hear Batarian mercenaries calling out to each other in the compound and though he and Shepard had taken cover behind a couch, it wasn't going to offer much protection from direct shots. The gunfire grew louder and bullets hammered into the room, deafening James as someone fired directly above their heads. The windows behind them shattered, showering him in slivers of razor sharp glass. Shepard swore loudly enough under him that he heard her over the shots, and he caught a glimpse of her face, twisted in pain, as she tried to stem the bleeding of the gunshot wound on her chest.

He glanced down at her in concern and blinked in surprise; fury radiated from her in waves, and her biotics flared up around them as she lost control of her famous temper. His skin attempted to crawl off his body as her power flowed over him, and with a sinking heart he realised that Rennah had no intention of following his orders and lying there quietly while he saved them. She met his eyes, burning azure blue searing into chocolate brown, he had a moment of understanding; Shepard was a soldier, like him, and intended to fight her way free.

"If you're not going to give me a gun, then get off me and fire back!" She growled as she pushed at him with her free hand. "One of the bastards is crouched by the door."

"How do you know?" He carefully took his weight off her and glanced at the broken windows behind them, idly wondering if he should be more worried about someone coming through it.

Shepard coughed blood and James' attention immediately zipped back to her in concern as several ruby droplets splattered on her chin. "Line of fire," she grated. "Look, just shoot them, Vega! I'll stay down!"

Like hell you will!

They were out of options though and James carefully crawled off Shepard, his heart thumping hard in his chest as he saw the blood splattered on and around her body. The red stood out in stark contrast against her alabaster skin, momentarily shocking him. I didn't know she'd lost so much, he thought guiltily as he hunkered down behind the couch with his gun at the ready.

It was no one's fault that Rennah had been shot, but with no armour or weapons she'd been a sitting duck when the batarians blasted their way into the compound. She was fortunate that she hadn't been killed outright and he was lucky that he'd been close by to drag her to safety when the fighting started up, although Shepard had tried to stay and fight. That hadn't surprised him; Rennah Shepard did not back down from anything.

She determinedly sat up and glared at him, her biotic flare growing unbearably bright as she focused her power and pressed herself into the couch. If James didn't know she'd been shot, he might have been fooled by her show of power, but when he looked closely she was trembling slightly and her breathing was wet and slightly wheezy. The bullet must have hit one of her lungs, James decided as he tore his gaze off her and tried to focus on the task at hand, which was easier said than done when he didn't believe for a moment that she would actually stay in cover.

He peered over the top of the couch and saw a Batarian crouched by the door, his assault rifle up and ready as he scanned the room for movement. James fired off a few rounds, compensating for the familiar the kickback from his sidearm, and ducked back behind the couch. The mercenary roared in pain as the shots found their target and he fired wildly at the couch, bullets ripping through the fabric and whizzing past James' head.

Shepard caught his eye, winked at him and rolled out from cover before he could stop her, throwing a brilliant burst of biotic energy at the batarian. The blast slammed him into the wall but with a strangled cry of pain he scrambled to his feet, his attention on Shepard. Oh no you don't! James thought as he emptied his thermal clip into the mercs four-eyed head, determined to protect his wayward prisoner. The batarian's head exploded in a spray of blood, bone and brains, and he toppled heavily to the floor.

"James … ." Shepard murmured his name softly as she slumped against a wall and crumpled to the floor with a small sound, an ugly smear of blood trailing across the white paint as she fell.

She leaned forward and gasped for breath, her long dark hair falling like a curtain in front of her face. Using her biotics when she was injured had cost her dearly and James hoped she had the good sense to stay down until he cleared the compound. He flicked his eyes from her to the door way as he edged closer. He could hear something in the hallway, but he wasn't sure if it was friend or foe.

He checked the dead batarian then cautiously made his way over to Rennah. There were sounds in the hall; the creak of armour and metallic pop of thermal clips being loaded. Enemies drawn by gunfire? He sure hell hoped not. The back of his neck prickled as he moved closer and he looked up to see Shepard watching him. She pushed her hair out of her face with a trembling hand and and blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth, bright as cherries against her pale skin ...

"Freeze, human!"

James' stomach sank and he cursed himself for letting Shepard distract him as one of the batarians appeared in door with his gun raised. The merc was breathing hard, his armour was shattered and he was so focused on him that he didn't see Shepard lying on the floor. He did see his dead comrade splattered on the other side of the room and he growled as he popped a thermal clip, his face twisting in fury as he glared at James.

There wasn't time to be afraid the batarian squeezed the trigger and a loud shot rang out, nor time for James to brace him himself for the inevitable pain. Instead he found himself enveloped in a blue aura as Shepard slammed into him with crushing force, her charge knocking them both to the ground. He wrapped an arm around her waist as they rolled to the floor and fired a round at the merc; the shot hitting him squarely in the face.

The batarian fell to the ground with half his face missing and James gently moved Shepard off him and sat up. That had been close. Too close. One more second and the frustration of having to guard Commander Shepard would have been the least of his problems!

"Thanks, Shepard …" His voice dried up as she slumped bonelessly on the carpet, the way only the dead or unconscious did. "Commander? Oh shit, no!"

Her face was a mask of blood and as James brushed her hair to the side, he saw that she'd taken a shot to the temple. There was so much blood that he couldn't tell if the bullet had grazed her or actually penetrated her skull. Frantically, he felt for a pulse with trembling hands and sagged in relief when a weak rhythm throbbed feebly against his fingers. She was still alive! He whipped his shirt off and used it to stem the bleeding, his brown eyes desperate as he pressed it to her head.

"Please let it be a flesh wound."

"What the hell happened, Lieutenant Vega?" Admiral Anderson looked angrier than Vega had ever seen him, and he'd seen him really angry on plenty of occasions lately. Each time he came from a Defence Committee meeting with Shepard he seemed angrier than the time before.

James shifted slightly but remained standing to attention, his eyes trained firmly on the wall opposite as he kept his arms rigidly by his sides. How much did Anderson already knew about the situation that had occurred today? Did he want a blow by blow account or did he just want to know how it had happened? The truth was that the batarian raid had taken them all by surprise and none of their scenarios had anticipated a well armed group of batarian mercs with a gunship.

Besides, the only reason things had gone so pear shaped was because Rennah Shepard was too stubborn for her own good!

"The Batarian mercenaries used an unmarked gunship to blast in the rear wall of the compound. They came in fast and hard and took out Hooper and Kayley before we knew they were even there." James kept his voice emotionless as he recounted the facts, trying not to dwell on the deaths of men who he had come to regard as friends over the last few months. "I got Shepard and tried to get her to the safe room while Rhykar and Sila held them off. A few got past them and Shepard got hit in the chest and went down. I dragged her in to the nearest room and we took cover …"

"Really? So how is it that I have Shepard in a military hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest and head?" Anderson's voice thundered through the room, and James fought not to flinch. He'd been chewed out plenty of times before, but Anderson took it to a whole new level.

"She wanted a gun to help fight. I refused and told her to stay down because she was hurt. When I fired at one of the batarians who followed us, Shepard rolled out from cover to use some sort of biotic-blast thing ..."

"Biotic-blast thing?" Anderson shook his head as the rage left his voice and he chuckled drily at James' ignorance.

"I'm not really familiar with biotic terms, Sir." James began to sweat as he wondered if the Admiral thought he was an idiot. "I took out the batarian and Shepard went down again. I thought she was out for good. Another merc came through the door and fired at me, but Shepard charged and knocked me out of the way. That's how she took the bullet."

For a moment there was silence.

Horrible, horrible silence.

"Are you telling me, Lieutenant Vega," Anderson came to a stop in front of him and met his eyes, "that the woman you were assigned to guard and keep safe from harm, is in the hospital because she was protecting you?"

An awkward silence fell and Vega swallowed hard as his face blushed red. "Yes, Sir."

Abruptly, the older man chuckled and waved his hand for James to sit. "At ease, Lieutenant Vega, take a seat."

He sat behind his desk and dragged a hand down his weary face, as though wiping away his exhaustion. He seemed older now that he wasn't yelling, tired too, as though his concern for Shepard had drained his energy. James could sympathise; guarding Shepard was chaotic at best.

Memories of the first time Anderson brought him to this office flicked through his mind in a flash of embarrassment, awe and pride. He'd been uncomfortable about meeting Shepard. Yes, she was his hero, but she was also the reason for a lot of his self-doubt. All those colonists that he'd sacrificed on Fehl Prime had died for nothing because of her. Dios, he knew it wasn't actually her fault and and that her actions had stopped the Collector attacks, but it made everything he did in vain.

His job was simple; protect Commander Shepard from all threats. A price had been placed on her head, so large that it was attracting mercs and assassins alike. Shepard should have been safe on Earth, but the bounty on her life was too big for some people to pass up.

Officially he was there as a guard to stop her escaping, but after a few minutes in Shepard's company James knew that she had no intention of going anywhere. She'd come to the Alliance of her own free will and had handed her ship over to them; she planned to face the music.

After a few meetings with Anderson, Hackett and Shepard, James knew that most of the upper brass and Defense Committee members not only believed Shepard's claims that the Reapers were coming, but that her trial was mostly for show; a gesture to appease the batarians. The consequences of the hearing would be real enough, but it was unlikely that Shepard would actually be incarcerated or deported to batarian space as the media was claiming.

He also learned the truth of Shepard's whereabouts over the past two years, although he still felt sick when he thought about it; she'd been dead. Clinically dead. Somehow the terrorist organisation Cerberus managed to bring her back and enlist her help in fighting the Collectors. The amount of money poured into bringing the Commander back from the dead was frightening, but it had paid off in the end for humanity; she'd stopped the Collectors.

Cerberus hadn't taken her defection lightly and they tried on several occasions to seize the Normandy and hijack the transport Shepard was on. The attempts failed, but by the time she was brought back to Earth, Hackett decided that she needed round the clock protection. Shepard had to be protected at all costs, even if that meant sacrificing lives. There weren't many people who had spoken to a Reaper, let alone faced one down, but Shepard had and the Alliance needed her.

His chest still tightened in embarrassment when he remembered the moment he'd come face to face with Shepard for the first time. He'd made a complete idiot out of himself as he floundered to say something remotely intelligent, all because the only thing going through his head was that she was insanely beautiful and the recruitment posters hadn't done her justice. Calling him a fan of Shepard's was putting it mildly. In truth, she was everything he wanted to be and it didn't hurt that she was very easy on the eyes.

Okay, maybe he had the tiniest of crushes on her.

It wasn't just that Shepard was gorgeous, it was the force of personality in her gaze that seemed to reach into his head and shake him to his core. When she turned those violet eyes on him, it was like being studied by a jungle cat who couldn't decide whether or not she wanted to eat him. Shepard was like no one he'd ever met and he realised that although he'd followed her career closely, he knew nothing of the woman behind the name. In the end she'd looked at him hard and then nodded at Anderson, and that was that.

She'd accepted him.

Unfortunately, despite the innocuousness of their first meeting, things hadn't gone smoothly and they'd started arguing almost immediately. Shepard was furious to discover a camera in her bedroom and had railed against it angrily, as though he a pervert who she thought planned to start peeping at her. To make matters worse she resented not being able to have her weapon or omni-tool and seemed to hold James responsible. From that day on, she'd taken an almost malicious pleasure in outfoxing him at the oddest of moments.

Like the time all hell had broken loose when the camera in her room went down and she vanished. He could still remember the fear that had gripped him when he found her room empty and assumed someone had slipped in and taken her. The camera in the hallway showed no one leaving her room, yet somehow she turned up in the lounge room a few minutes later, sitting on the couch and looking far too pleased with herself. When he demanded to know what she'd done to camera, his anger and embarrassment barely contained, she'd feigned innocence and smirked at him.

That had been the start.

Shepard's unexplained disappearances and mysterious camera outages became a frustratingly regular occurrence in the compound. It drove him mad and he'd come close on more than one occasion to catching her in his arms and shaking some sense into her. She managed to procure omni-tools almost at will and, when he confiscated them, she seemed to have no trouble getting more. But what got to him the most, what made him ache with frustration and rage, was that Shepard got on fine with her other guards; it was only him that she went out of her way to irritate.

He glowered at the memory and jumped when Admiral Anderson cleared his throat, "Lieutenant Vega, I gave you this job for two reasons. Because you proved on Fehl that you can make tough decisions and because I trust you to put Shepard first." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Unfortunately, both Sila and Rhykar have reported that you and Shepard are struggling to get along. So I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to give it some serious thought; do you want to be transferred to a new assignment? I can't risk Shepard's safety if you're not one hundred percent committed to protecting her."

Leave Shepard?

The idea of waking up and not seeing her each day bothered him more than it should have, and he shook his head without hesitation. "I don't want to be transferred, sir. I'm fully committed to keeping Shepard safe."

"Good to know." Anderson looked pleased and turned his attention to the computer in front of him. "You'll be pleased to know that Shepard's out of the operating theatre and in recovery. The bullet in her chest nicked a lung but the damage wasn't as bad as the doctors first thought, and the bullet to her head only grazed her. She's lost a lot of blood, but it looks like she lucked out."

And so did you. Vega.

What Anderson didn't say hovered unspoken in the air between them and James nodded as he replied, "Good to hear. Should I report to the hospital?"

"No. Go back to the compound and get Shepard's gear. We're going to move her to a room at Alliance HQ where it's safer." The Admiral tapped a few buttons on his omni-tool and it beeped obligingly. "Dismissed."

"Yes sir." James glanced down at his Alliance shirt, stiff with Shepard's dried blood, and saluted before he pivoted and left the office, glad to be away from the brass.

It was a miracle that he and Rennah had both walked away from the attack today. If she hadn't knocked him out of the way he would have died in that room, he knew it as surely as he knew the sun would rise the next day. Shepard had saved his life even though she didn't like him. And even though she was frustrating and stubborn as a mule, he was glad he was staying on with her.

James let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he walked out of the Alliance HQ and closed his eyes, rubbing the heels of his palms against his eyes. Why had Shepard done it? Why risk her own life to knock him out of the way when she didn't even like him? Or did she? A warm tingle spread through James' body as he considered Shepard's antagonistic behaviour to him as something more than idle dislike.

He mulled over the idea like a fine wine as he stepped into the sunshine and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension of the day. It probably wasn't a great idea to think about Shepard as anything other than his prisoner, but she meant a lot to him. If he'd been transferred he would have missed her smirking face and carried the memory strange violet eyes with him for the rest of his life.

A/N – Slow start, I'm sorry, but I'm letting this one build up to a nice simmer before I turn up the heat. Let me know what you think - I'd love some feedback on my first Vega/Shep fic!