The Standard Disclaimer: Mass Effect belongs to Bioware...although I would love to own some of those characters for myself =D

Chapter 1
Now or Never

"The Normandy will be arriving in the Citadel within the hour, Commander." Joker's voice announced over the communication link.

"Thanks, Joker." Shepard replied, taking a sip from her morning coffee. She was sitting in the mess area with several members of the Normandy staff. Everyone was cheerfully chattering amongst themselves, excited for the few days of shore leave that the Commander had recently announced.

Shepard smiled to herself as she gazed upon all their excited faces. Her friends and staff had all earned a well-deserved break considering that they had all survived an impossible mission that had been deemed as suicidal.

Even though the Illusive Man had been furious at her decision to blow up the Collector's vessel, she knew very well that even he would not deny the heroic crew of the Normandy of a few days of rest and relaxation…on his tab, of course.

"Hi, Shepard." A voice broke her out of her reverie. "Mind if I sit here with you?"

Shepard glanced up and noticed her friend pull up a chair beside hers on the mess table. "Don't mind at all, Garrus."

"Do you have any plans for the next few days of shore leave, Shepard?" Garrus asked amicably, leaning back into his chair.

Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "Well…to be honest with you, I haven't planned on anything in particular. I've been so used to working for the past several weeks that I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Do you have any plans?"

The turian tapped his talons on the counter. "Minor plans, yes. I wanted to get to the weapons specialist on the Citadel to re-align the scope on my sniper rifle."

"Always the wild child, I see." Shepard teased.

Garrus tilted his head and observed his commander. When Shepard first returned back from the dead a few months ago, her entire body was marred with unsightly scars. Doctor Chakwas had done a flawless job of clearing the disfigurements on Shepard's face. Her hair was a lustrous golden brown, which she continued to keep the length to her chin at the Alliance military standard. Her eyes were still the same sharp green, only now her pupils were always slightly glowing due to the reconstructive implants.

Garrus couldn't help thinking that even though Shepard was an excellent soldier and a brilliant commander, some things did not change. Even now, she still appeared to be completely lost when it came to doing things for her own leisure.

"Shepard…If you're not doing anything, would you like to come with me?" Garrus offered.

Shepard looked surprised. "Huh? Oh…uh, no. I'm fine. I'm pretty sure I'll find something to do."

Garrus nodded and stood up. "If you say so, Shepard. But all of us would really like you to actually…you know…take a break. We don't want you to spend your vacation pacing around the Normandy, looking for something to polish."

Shepard chuckled. "I appreciate your concern. Thanks, Garrus."

Garrus strolled off and Shepard continued to sip from her coffee as she gazed off into the distance. She mulled over his words. Even though the Normandy was almost fully repaired after their mission through the Omega 4 relay, she had been planning on fixing up several of the vanity items that haven't been finished due to low priority.

Shepard sighed to herself as she swirled the coffee in her mug. Even before she had gotten herself killed two years ago, she was always bad whenever it came to taking shore leave. Her thoughts drifted towards Ashley, who always talked about taking some time off to spend a night on the Citadel. She had always insisted that Shepard was too uptight for her own good and needed to loosen up. Of course, that was before Ashley had died back on Virmire.

Shepard pushed her mug away and slowly stood up. In a few minutes, they would be docked in the Citadel and her staff would eagerly rush out of the ship to start their vacations. She decided to go up to her cabin and feed her fish…perhaps she would think of something to do with herself after she was done with her daily personal chores.

Several people watched Shepard disappear into the elevator and began to murmur amongst themselves. Kasumi contemplated the situation for several moments and met the eyes of her female comrades. They all gave a small nod in acknowledgement to each other and slipped into Miranda's office, one by one.

Miranda glanced up from her work and a quizzical expression came across her face. "Well, hello ladies…what can I do for you today?"

"We just wanted to talk to you about our Commander." Kasumi gestured to the rest of the female team.

"What about Shepard? Is something wrong with the Commander?" Miranda looked concerned as she switched off her computer display.

"No, ice queen." Jack stretched out on Miranda's cushioned bench. "It's about Shepard getting laid."

Miranda turned questionably to the other girls. "Wait…what's going on here?"

Kasumi gracefully sat herself on Miranda's desk. "Normally I try to stay out of everyone's business, but I'm pretty sure Shep needs some special…company."

"Special…company." Miranda repeated.

Samara stood motionless in the center of her office. "I myself prefer to keep personal interests separate from business. However, I consider Shepard a friend and I also agree with the others that something must be done about her current state."

Tali nodded in agreement and sat in the chair across from Miranda. "Shepard has been pushed hard in the past several weeks. She's been pushed hard since she started in the Military. Shepard needs some special attention."

"Are you saying…" Miranda said slowly. "That Shepard needs a man?"

"And then the dim bulb brightens." Jack quipped, laying back with her arms crossed behind her head.

"Miranda, even you have to agree that Shepard's been pretty lonesome lately." Tali crossed her arms.

Miranda tapped her finger against her chin. "I do admit, I have been a bit worried about her plans for shore leave. It seems that she doesn't know what she wants to do during downtime. Still, that doesn't warrant that she needs a…companion…because she doesn't know what to do when she's free."

"And that is exactly why we give a lending hand." Kasumi grinned. "After all, what sort of girlfriends would we be to Shepard if we couldn't encourage her with the basic necessity of sexual gratification?"

Miranda tried not to look too uncomfortable at Kasumi's casual attitude towards sex. "Well…Tali'Zorah. You know the Commander longest out of all of us. Do we need to intercede and find a…suitor?"

Tali fidgeted. "To be honest, when I traveled with Shepard on the first Normandy…there was a friend who was interested in Shepard in the romantic sense. It was sad because Shepard died before he ever got a chance to confess his feelings."

"Are you speaking about Kaidan Alenko?" Miranda scoffed. "The man who spurned the Commander on Horizon?"

"Kaidan is a good person…he just reacted poorly to Shepard's reappearance. I know for a fact he still cares for her." Tali insisted.

"Wait, you want to recommend the bastard that refused Shepard?" Jack angrily sat up. "If anyone should have a shot with Shepard I think it should be the turian!"

"Garrus?" Tali was caught off guard at Jack's suggestion.

"Oh come on!" Jack rolled her eyes. "I always see him giving her the googly eyes. The only other guy I've seen giving Shepard that look is Taylor…"

"I think Garrus and Shep would make a good couple." Kasumi stated firmly, trying to get the topic off Jacob. "Amongst everyone on the team, he's been with the Commander the longest. There's no one else she can trust more than him."

Tali was suddenly feeling torn…she was positive that Kaidan would have been a good couple with Shepard because they seemed to match each other so well in the past. She never considered Garrus as potential interest to their Commander…it was the feeling of having a brother date a close friend.

Miranda tapped her finger against her chin. "Do you all really think that the Commander would even consider the turian?"

"Why not?" Kasumi encouraged. "Garrus has been a bit too high strung lately as well. Both of them are well suited for each other…better than that Alenko character."

Tali stiffened at the comment. Even though Kaidan's response back on Horizon was despicable to the eyes of others, she understood his bitterness of his reaction better than anyone. After all, didn't she also reject Shepard in the beginning when she saw that she was affiliated with Cerberus?

"I believe…" Samara finally spoke, silencing the rest of the girls. "Shepard should be given the option to choose her partner for herself. The only interceding we should be doing is to show her that she is a woman and she has options available."

"Well said, Samara." Tali nodded in agreement to the Justicar.

Miranda also approved of Samara's statement. "I agree as well. I guess if we're all so concerned over Shepard's romantic escapades, shall we all try to nudge her into the right direction?"

"The right direction is up to Shepard." Kasumi firmly added, which Jack followed up with a nod.

"Very well." Miranda smiled and leaned forward on her desk. "There's no harm in encouraging two good friends to spend more time with each other. Does anyone have any ideas on how to convince Shepard and Garrus to leave the Normandy together?"

Kaidan was in the office overlooking the presidium, inputting his latest report into the Alliance systems via Councilor Anderson's computer terminal. His brows were furrowed in focus as he re-read his documentation before submitting it to his superiors.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that if you continue to make a face like that, it may get stuck that way?"

The voice jarred Kaidan from his concentration and he glanced up to see a cup of coffee held before his face.

Kaidan let out a small chuckle and gratefully accepted the coffee. "Thank you, Councilor Anderson. Sorry that I didn't hear you come in. This is the last report I get to submit for the month and I'm itching to get it off my hands. Thanks again for allowing me to use your terminal…the one in my apartment is still being installed."

"Don't worry about it. Ever since I became Councilor there has been more talking and less reporting…which is a good thing I suppose, but my terminal hasn't been getting as much attention as it should be." Anderson relaxed in the chair across from his desk, taking a sip from his own mug.

"I envy you, Sir." Kaidan replied truthfully as he scanned the screen in front of him. "I'm not very good when it comes to paper pushing myself. I'll be enjoying the next few days of freedom after I send this in."

Anderson chuckled and reached for the remote on his desk. "And may I add it is a well-deserved vacation. Relax and take a breather…from all the reports I've heard back from our field agents, it seems that Shepard has successfully returned back from her mission with the Collectors and hasn't handed over a thing over to Cerberus. Feels like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

Kaidan tensed at Anderson's casual comment. Of course he had heard the same news about Shepard as well…and even though he was just as relieved that Shepard had come back successfully from her fight with the Collectors, the guilt he felt doubled on his conscience.

He felt terrible for refusing to listen to Shepard when they met on Horizon. He had simply unleashed two years worth of survivor's guilt onto his old Commander. What made it worse is that Shepard didn't even flinch or react to his words. She had taken his accusations in stride and had wished him the best of luck.

Hell of a way to be treated by the dead woman he had loved for two years. Kaidan almost would have preferred it if his old Commander gave him a punch to the face. It would have been less painful.

Anderson didn't notice Kaidan's sudden silence and used the remote to switch on the display panel on the far side of the wall. Emily Wong's Citadel News program had just begun.

"…breaking news today, Commander Jane Shepard will be arriving at the Citadel today after returning from a crucial mission in the Terminus systems…"

Kaidan jolted at the sound of Shepard's name. Anderson leaned back on his chair and watched the broadcast intently with an unreadable expression.

Emily Wong continued her story. "Commander Shepard, Spectre to the Council, has been rumored to have been dead for the past few years but has recently resurfaced, actively continuing her mission to save the galaxy from various threats of danger. A source has confirmed that the famous heroine will be spending a few days at the Citadel with her crew. C-Sec Captain Owen Bailey has come out with a statement that he welcomes the Spectre and requests the civilians of the Citadel to respectfully keep their distance from Comma-"

Anderson switched off the news and turned to Kaidan. "It could be just a rumor, Commander…don't overly concern yourself with it."

"Right." Kaidan cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the terminal. Several small pangs of pain from an upcoming migraine began to thud dully at the back of his skull.

"If it's true, I'm sure Shepard will stop by my offices for a visit. Would you like to stay for a while and see if she arrives?" Anderson offered.

"I'll be fine, Councilor." Kaidan replied and submit his final report. The terminal panel flickered as the system confirmed his upload and quickly powered down. "Thanks again for letting me use your terminal. If you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my apartment. It's been a long day."

"Very well, Commander. You're dismissed." Anderson nodded.

"Sir." Kaidan gave his standard military salute and left the office. As soon as the door swished shut behind him, he leaned against the wall and rubbed at his forehead. The migraine had become a dull throbbing pain but it was tolerable.

Shepard was returning to the Citadel. Perhaps this was the chance he was waiting for to redeem himself with his former Commander.

Kaidan straightened and took slow deliberate steps towards the elevator. It wouldn't hurt to stop by the civilian wards to see if Shepard had returned.