A/N: This is the sequel to A Soldier's Weakness. There are characters/situations that will not make any sense if you have not read that one first.

A/N2: This one is for Jhosephine of KAST. Your images always make me want to put in words the story I see them tell.

"How many?" His words were raw, the voice hoarse.

"Six female, six male." By sharp contrast, the woman's tone was firm and confident, the accent so slight as to be almost missed in such brief words. "Do we tell her?"

Scrubbing his hands over his face, he closed his eyes. "This will hurt her. You know my policy on hurting her."

A surprisingly genuine smile lit the woman's face. "Hurt others first, I believe."

"We can't keep it from her. That would be worse." The voice was more confident now. "But I think…not just yet. Where are the others?"

"Most are dead. One you've had contact with yourself." On high heels, the generously curved woman circled her desk, picking up a datapad as she did. "The control group was specifically built to define what class would be the most versatile, most worthy of an army. Soldier, Sentinel, Vanguard, Adept, Engineer and, of course, Infiltrator. A male and female of each class were engineered in the first generation. All males genetically similar, as were all females. Variation came from the necessity of specializations. More strength for the Soldier, more Biotics for the Sentinel, etc. Of all the first gen crèche, only one male remains and two females."

"I would have thought they'd clean up their project better than that." The words were wry.

A low laugh filled the room. "Oh, they tried. They haven't been able to find the male…they called him John, of all things. And the females…one was considered a success and the program was allowed to progress through her. The other…it's less clear why she was allowed to survive."

Anger sparked a blue flare across brown eyes. "So they're still studying her? Still running their damn experiment?"

"No, Kaidan. You misunderstand." Miranda's voice was low, her expression intense. "Shepard was the failure. Her file lists her as terminated at age twelve. A later addendum shows her alive adding such a revival after a medical death unusual and worthy of further study, but further experimentation would continue through the successful subject, Samantha Rivers."

Kaidan Alenko blinked, his expression confused. "You're telling me Shepard's been officially declared dead twice?"

Miranda tilted her head. "Were I you, I'd be very careful about a third time, Kaidan. They do say it's the charm."

Kaidan Alenko paused as he stepped out of Miranda's office, his gaze on the woman leaning oh, so casually against the wall, her expression a blank wall that revealed nothing of what her sharp eyes were thinking.

"I keep telling myself that the thought of you and Miranda having an affair right on board the Normandy is ridiculous because, one, neither of you is that stupid and two, neither of you acts like the other cranks your wheel." Shepard's voice was mild for the most part, the snapping edge heard only in the ring of the words.

He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to stare at her. "Both your points are valid." He agreed.

She pushed off the wall with her shoulders, sauntering next to him in that sexy little strut she unconsciously used around him. Her fingers started on his bicep and felt their way up his arm, her eyes following the path before skipping to his lips. They lingered there for a moment.

"The other reason you would spend so much time willingly with an ex-Cerberus agent actually has me more annoyed than the thought of an affair between the two of you." Her gaze finally reached his eyes and deep in their depths he found what he had hoped he wouldn't.

Hurt.

"Shepard." He sighed rubbed the back of his neck, trying to decide.

She licked her lips and stepped back, physically shutting him out, rebuilding the walls between them he'd spent months trying to destroy. "It's okay. Couples who share everything are just bored, right? Keep some secrets, keep some mystery." She managed a careless shrug. "I just wanted to let you know I have an appointment with a reporter in the Presidium because Udina hates me and likes to piss me off with PR moments. I might be awhile."

"Shepard." His put hands on her waist trying to establish the physical connection that was so necessary in getting past her defenses. "Two things…one, I will let you know what's going on as soon as I have a clear handle on what it is and what we need to do about it. I promise. Right now…I like it when you sleep at night and this matter is not a crisis."

She frowned, studying him. "You do know you just sent my curiosity and panic orbit high, right?"

"Will you trust me?" He asked softly.

"Yes." She answered without hesitation. "That doesn't mean I don't reserve the right to kick your ass if you piss me off."

A slow, sexy smile lifted a corner of his mouth. "That is a threat I never worry about with you, Shepard. You'd never deprive yourself of one of your favorite parts of my anatomy."

She blinked wide, too innocent eyes. "I could always kiss it and make it feel better."

"Okay, what was our deal about you saying stuff like that when I'm in BDUs and can't hide my reaction?" Kaidan complained pulling her hard against him.

"That you'll make me pay for it later?" She purred before pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Shepard." The name was a drawn out plea for patience.

She laughed and stopped teasing him. "What's two?" She asked and then chuckled at the blank expression on his face. "You said you had two things to say to me. One was that when you had a handle on it, you'd tell me what I need to know. What was two?"

"Oh, yeah." He cupped his hands on her rear and bent his head giving her a long, slow kiss. "Number two…please at least think twice before you punch the reporter. As a favor to me?"

Her nose wrinkled in irritation. "Fine. Just twice, though, and this counts as one."

"Hang on, I want to get some more fish." Shepard called to the two women at her back before heading into the store.

There it was again. The shadow at the corner of her eye. The blur that was there and then gone but had been dancing up and down her spine since she'd left the Normandy earlier that day. Oh, he was good, whoever he was. She'd only had a brief glimpse of his military style buzz head over a crowd at the Presidium and a faint reflection in the water as they'd passed the lake. His eyes were what had set off her alarms. The steely look of determination that had her fingers dropping to her gun before he'd deliberately looked away and moved on casually, as if to convince her that her instincts were wrong.

"What is it with you and fish?" Jack demanded. "You've killed more than a Krogan at a Rite of Parentage feast."

Shepard glanced at Kasumi. The Master Thief's hooded gaze dropped to the commands being issued silently by hand before taking two steps into a crowd and simply disappearing.

"You don't like fish?" Shepard questioned, her eyes on the kiosk but her attention on her peripheral vision.

Jack gave a shrug. "Okay, I guess. I can't understand why you hate them so much that you're slowly murdering your way through them. That kind of sadism is more my beat than yours."

"I don't hate fish!" Shepard responded, momentarily distracted, her voice affronted. "They're gorgeous. Very restful."

Jack tilted her bald head, studying the woman next to her. "Right. Which is why you forget about them and they starve to death."

"Actually, Kaidan thinks I may be over feeding them." A puzzled look entered her eyes. "Can you do that? Over feed something?"

Jack stared at her. "How would I know? I'm better at killing things than keeping them alive, Shepard."

Shepard's eyes flickered to the convict. "So am I, Jack. That's why I keep trying." She punched a button and authorized the deduction from her cred account. "To prove causing death isn't all I can do."

Frowning, Jack thought about it. "You're doing a crappy job so far."

"But I am trying." Shepard caught the commotion from the corner of her eye and quickly turned.

A large male figure was darting down the stairs while Kasumi picked herself up from the crowd she'd been tossed into. Before the snarling could start, the thief's figure blurred and she disappeared.

Shepard moved away from the kiosk and found a quiet spot where she could stand and not be run into by the crowd. Kasumi flashed into vision moments later.

"He's a strong one, that one." The latter said, wiping at a trickle of blood on her mouth. "And he's definitely interested in you."

"You get anything off him?" Shepard asked, her gaze moving about the crowd, searching for someone who had better sense than to continue his surveillance after he'd been spotted.

"Pouch of credit chits. No personal info. He wasn't carrying any that I could find before he sensed me." Kasumi tossed the rather weighty bag up and down in her hand that she had picked from the stalker's pocket. "How do you feel about ramen for lunch? I'll buy."

Shepard laughed and then blinked as the third member of their party joined them. "Jack, you have fish." The words were confused.

The convict gave a shrug meant to convey how little she cared about the fish she was carrying in a small enviro-bag, but it was belied by the unconscious smile playing about her lips. "Yeah. No big deal. I bet I can keep them alive longer than you do yours."

"Not if you don't feed them and I don't see any fish food in your hands. And you'll need to put them in something other than that bag." Shepard pointed out feeling slightly superior that she knew that much at this point in her fish killing career.

Jack frowned at the bag, her eyes narrowing as if the lack of food and a home were the fault of the fish.

"Come on. I'll help you find something stable for the deck you live on." Shepard finally sighed as Kasumi simply smiled. "I can give you some advice on how to take care of them, too."

Jack's expression lightened. "That would be good. Then I'll know what not to do to keep them alive."

Dammit. Did the bitch go nowhere alone?

Furious, the tall fugitive slammed his fist into the wall of the apartment in the lower wards he was squatting in and swore low under his breath.

They were running out of time and the real irony of it was that she didn't even know it. His contact had said they were getting ready to scrub the project and that meant disposal of all the failed experiments.

No. He was wrong. The real irony was that not only did she not know they were running out of time, she was the reason for it.

He didn't need this delay. There were too many other things that needed to be done.

Sucking in a deep breath he calmed himself. Fine. She wanted to play hardball, they'd do this the hard way.

"The image is not so good." Kasumi held her omni-tool up showing the profile of a tall rugged man with a buzzed top and strong jaw line. He was turning away from the omni-tool, already trying to outrun the thief when she'd captured the image.

"It matches what little I've seen of him." Shepard frowned studying the profile.

There was something almost familiar about him though she could swear she'd never met him before. Or maybe he was one of the throng of fans she'd met with since Saren's death. No way would she remember the details on all of them.

"He is a fighter, I'll give him that." Kasumi continued. "When he realized I was there he hit first and then ran."

"He's easily twice your size, too, Kasumi." Shepard murmured, her eyes narrowing. "Any resulting fight would not have been to your advantage, but he ran anyway."

"That's what a thief does when she doesn't want to be caught." Kasumi pointed out.

Shepard nodded her agreement and lifted her eyes to the slender woman. "The question is…what was he trying to steal?"

"He was watching you." Kasumi added. "I didn't like the look on his face. Too angry. I think you better be careful of this one."

"Maybe the next time we go on the Citadel, I'll go by myself and let you follow behind. Stealthy like." Shepard murmured before motioning that Kasumi could turn her omni-tool off.

"Except now he's aware of me. He'll be expecting something if you suddenly break habit like that." Kasumi countered. "Better to continue as normal."

Shepard nodded slowly, but her expression was unhappy. "I'll ask Joker and EDI to run the image through Alliance and C-Sec databases. You're right, it's not a good image, but maybe we'll get lucky. Thanks, Kasumi. Why don't you have Chakwas check your jaw out?"

A slow smile touched the slender woman's lips. "Perhaps I will convince her to share her brandy with me and tell stories of you."

"She hasn't served with me long enough to have any good stories to tell." Shepard responded with a confident smile.

"Yes, but she will have known of others who did and she will have asked." Kasumi laughed and silently slipped down the hall while Shepard entered the elevator.

She wouldn't know the best story, Shepard mused with a faint, bittersweet smile as the elevator took her straight up to her cabin. Of the five that had been part of it, four had died on Akuze and the Alliance Military still had no clue who had done it or how they'd managed to get the entire thing pink without anyone noticing before inspection.

"I see we have new fish." Kaidan was standing in front of the tanks, shirt in hand as he looked at the little swimmers. "I thought we discussed taking a break from fish for a little while."

"We did. This morning. I didn't get them until after lunch. By my count that was a break of seven hours. Much too long." Shepard agreed with a smile as she joined him, her palm sliding over the scar tissue on his left hip to the coarse hairs beneath his belly button. "You know, if women ran the universe, you wouldn't be allowed to wear a shirt at all in public. Maybe not pants, either."

He pulled her strong against his side, his mouth finding hers. "I take it I'm forgiven for not telling you what my little sessions with Miranda are about." He nipped at the corner of her mouth and then sucked in a deep breath as her hand followed the trail of hair to her goal.

"Sure you don't want to tell me?" She asked in over bright tones, stroking him.

He closed his eyes, his spine shuddering slightly in pleasure. "You do not play fair, Shepard."

"I play to win, Alenko." There was warning as well as humor in her voice as her nails scraped sensitive flesh before pulling away. "But I understand if you don't want to talk about it. I can be patient. It's not like I haven't got better things to do." The tone was careless as she pulled her hand from his pants and moved toward her desk.

"Oh, you do now." Kaidan had her by the back of the shirt, pulling her back against him, his mouth hot on hers as his hands found soft, warm flesh.

"Oh, you want to talk about it now?" She laughed a bit breathlessly until he cut off her words with a kiss.

"No and you're wearing your bra too tight again." Kaidan scowled pulling her shirt off over her head and then plucking at the tight weave holding back her breasts.

Shepard gave a shrug that interfered as he peeled the elastic back, setting her free to a gentle bounce. "Less interference when I aim my Widow or my Cain. Easier fit into my armor. Less pain from bouncing if I have to sprint anywhere. Plus, you usually kiss it all better." The last was purred as his fingers rubbed at the red marks left by the bra.

He kissed her, a long, slow savor as she rubbed against his naked chest, her fingers deep in his thick hair.

There were times when his sweetness surprised her. When his large hands, calloused from daily weapons practice, could be so gentle with her, cherish her as if she were the finest of porcelain figurines and he was afraid she would break.

Then there were times like now. Those same hands would grip and squeeze and tease and bruise all in his private quest to make her scream his name at the top of her lungs knowing full well that Commander Shepard did not scream. Ever. He would demand it of her, devise small, delicious punishments for her failure to bend to his will and he would push them both to the edge…and then send them crashing over, her name panting from his lips, her only sound a soft, utterly feminine groan.

"Someday, Shepard." He muttered, nipping her jaw as he pulled her to the shower.

She gave him the wicked, sexy smile she reserved just for him, not resisting. "I double dog dare you to try, Kaidan."

"I have a meeting on the Citadel I have to be to." Kaidan informed her as she sat crossed legged on the floor in front of the fish tank cleaning her Widow.

"Gee, I hope I didn't make you late for it." She blinked too wide, too innocent eyes at him and had him laughing.

"Please. Do you know how often I tell you I have a meeting with Udina just so you'll try and delay me thinking you're pissing him off?" He crouched in front of her and loved the flash of temper that sparked her eyes. "The only reason I'm telling you now is because Anderson is starting to question why I like meeting with Udina so much."

Shepard tilted her head at him, temper banked in favor of a more pressing concern. "You're wearing armor to this meeting. You don't when you're with Anderson or Udina."

"It's a contact. Information I need has come in." He agreed with a nod. "I'll be in the lower Wards and no. You can't come with me."

Her mouth closed on the unspoken question.

"As much as I would love it…"

"I am about a subtle as a Krogan in a mating ritual." Shepard paraphrased with a roll of her eyes.

"I think I said it more politely." Kaidan leaned forward and kissed her. "I'm hoping that the information I get tonight will bring you into what Miranda and I have been up to. It could be the final part of the problem."

She studied him, her light blue eyes serious. "I hope so. I know you don't want me losing sleep over it, Kaidan, but I don't like the fact that you are. And I really don't like the fact you are sharing this with Miranda but not me."

"Innocence lost can never be regained, Kaet." He whispered softly. "You will know and it will hurt you. It will change you. Whatever I can do to blunt that, I will do."

"The only reason I'm allowing this is because we both know I'd act the exact same way if positions were reversed." Shepard said in sour tones.

"You're allowing it because you trust me." Kaidan corrected, but there was a note of wonder in his voice. "You know I would never hurt you. Not on purpose. You trust me…my judgment…that when the time is right I'll tell you."

Uncomfortable, she gave a small shrug.

"Shepard…you don't trust many people. You demand their loyalty and give your own…to an extent. But they are never allowed in your walls. They are never allowed to know what you think about certain matters. How you feel or what hurts you." He pushed a hand through her hair, cupping her head and forcing her to look at him when her inclination was to look anywhere else if it meant discussing emotions. "You let me in and I will never abuse that trust." She opened her mouth but he cut her off with a kiss and a laugh. "Yes, Shepard. I know. You'll shoot me in the ass if I ever do."

She frowned. "Great. I'm becoming predictable."

He laughed and stood. "I'll be back late, not sure when. Don't wait up."

She snorted in derision and went back to cleaning her gun.

Kaidan laughed and left their room.