They had finished their rounds on the Presidium and were on their way through the access corridor towards the Wards when Shepard put her hand to her ear in the universal gesture indicating an incoming radio message. She signalled for them to slide out of the flow of human and alien traffic, and Kaidan Alenko moved into one of the spaces between the plants along the walls alongside Ashley Williams. Shepard stepped out on the other side of the planter he was nearest to. Kaidan looked sideways through the foliage at her – she seemed to be listening very intently.

He sent a questioning glance at Ashley, who responded with a resigned shrug. Ever since they'd docked at the Citadel to refuel and resupply, it seemed nearly everyone wanted something from Commander Aki Shepard, the newest Council Spectre. They'd been accosted by a journalist the moment they stepped into Citadel Security HQ, asked to resolve a loud dispute between a turian C-Sec officer and a hanar preacher, summoned to the upmarket bar near the embassies by an Asari politician wanting a favour...even the famous consort Sha'ira had a problem that apparently only Shepard could handle.

Kaidan felt his face warm at the memory of that little encounter. He hadn't expected that seeing the consort invade Shepard's personal space would bother him so, even less that he would open his mouth and make a pointed comment about it. The look that the commander had shot him had made him wish he could sink into the floor and disappear. And then of course she had gone on to handle the situation with her usual aplomb, leaving him feeling even more ridiculous.

"...for the past thirteen years? Is she all right?"

Kaidan blinked, his attention dragged back to the present as Shepard finally spoke to whoever was on the other end of the communication. He couldn't hear her clearly over the buzz of talk in the corridor, but she didn't sound happy. Stealing another look through the plant, he saw that she had gone a shade paler than usual and felt a stab of apprehension. He'd seen her cope with zombie-like colonists and collapsing mine shafts with less perturbation. The pause as Shepard listened again was shorter this time, ended by a long drawn-out sigh from her.

"I'm not trained to deal with that...but I'll do what I can."

A few moments later she took her hand down from her ear, caught Kaidan's eye and jerked her head in the direction of the Presidium exit from the corridor, indicating that they should go back the way they had come. He and Ashley followed her back into the stream of people. Shepard walked even more swiftly than usual, deftly cutting through the crowd. Kaidan did his best to keep up, but still barely made it into the elevator before she slapped the call-pad to send it zipping up towards the Presidium level. He narrowed his eyes against the flashes of light coming through the viewports – the last thing he needed right now was a migraine.

"We got a rush on, skipper?" Ashley asked from beside him.

"That was a Lieutenant Girard, up in the docking bay. Apparently there's a woman there that he'd...like me talk to." Shepard's tone was clipped, apart from the odd hesitation near the end.

"Uh huh. Another favour? I vote we get ourselves a secretary to screen calls."

Kaidan winced. He knew Ashley was capable of sensitivity and compassion, but there were times when she completely misread a situation and came out with something wildly inappropriate. He guessed that she was aiming to lighten the mood with her flippant comment, but he didn't think Shepard would appreciate it right now. He was correct – the commander's head whipped around and pinned the chief with a glare that could have frozen Therum's lava.

"When I want smart-ass comebacks from you, Williams, I'll let you know!" she snapped.

Even Kaidan blinked at that. It was extremely rare for the commander to lose her temper with any of her subordinates. Ashley blanched and muttered a subdued "Yes, ma'am". No one spoke until the elevator had deposited them on the Presidium. Shepard set a bruising pace towards the next lift, hustled them in and stood staring rigidly at the door as the compartment hummed its' stately way along towards the Citadel Security offices. Her manner indicated even if the elevator had instantaneously zapped them up to the docking bay, it wouldn't have been soon enough for her. Kaidan couldn't imagine what had driven his usually zen-like commander to this state of distraction, but he was becoming increasingly anxious for her.

They arrived at Citadel Security HQ. The C-Sec officers wisely got out of Shepard's way as she blazed straight across to the final elevator, Kaidan and Ashley following in her wake. The docking bay lift compartment began its' slow outward journey, and after a minute or two Shepard seemed to decide they were due some explanation before they arrived. Her voice was tightly controlled as she spoke, and she kept her face turned away from them.

"She's from Mindoir."

"Ma'am?" Kaidan queried cautiously, although he had a sinking feeling that he was beginning to see where this was headed. He recognised the name of Shepard's former home planet. They'd talked once about her family...her parents and the five younger siblings she'd had before the batarians had attacked the colony. Their conversation had only touched on the good memories, but he was well aware that there had to be nightmarish ones as well.

"The woman in the docking bay. She was taken in the slave raid." Shepard continued, still talking in that flat, too-controlled voice.

"They rescued her a week ago, but she's gone a bit...crazy. She snatched a gun off someone, and now she's threatening to kill herself. This Girard thinks maybe I can get through to her."

As if she doesn't have enough to deal with! The vehemence of his reaction took Kaidan by surprise, and he had to work to keep his expression from reflecting his fierce internal monologue. Off you go, Shepard, and track down this insane turian who seems determined to wipe out every human colony in the galaxy before he kills anyone else. Take a few minutes to bail out the Fifth Fleet and sort out some minor issues on the Citadel. Oh, and by the way, if you could just relive your worst nightmares while you're at it?

The flare of anger and resentment faded, leaving resignation in its wake. He realised that the poor woman that Girard wanted Shepard to talk down had those same nightmares – probably worse, in fact, as she hadn't escaped the slavers like the commander had. And Shepard wasn't a woman to leave anyone suffering if she thought there was something she could do to help, no matter what it might cost her. Her selflessness was one of the many things Kaidan admired about her, even though it simultaneously irritated him that she took so much upon herself. If ever there was someone with a 'white knight' complex...

Ashley was giving him an odd look. Maybe he hadn't masked his feelings as well as he'd thought. A moment later she rolled her eyes impatiently at him and piped up herself.

"We've got your back, ma'am. Anything we can do, just say the word."

Oh. She'd been expecting him to say something supportive. And he'd just stood there. Idiot.

The set of the commander's shoulders seemed to relax slightly, although she still didn't turn around.

"Thanks, Williams." she said, quietly.

Kaidan couldn't think of anything more to add.