An hour or so after the ceremony, Shepard, now out of her wedding dress and wearing her far more comfortable jeans and t-shirt, was standing on the first floor deck with a beer watching the sun set and absent mindedly turning the gold wedding band on her finger round and round.

"Hey," Kaidan murmured in her ear as he walked out onto the deck and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What're you doing hiding out here?"

"Just taking sometime out to think," Shepard said with a small smile as she turned her head and gave Kaidan a quick kiss. "Now we're married, there's a lot we need to think and talk about."

"I don't like the sound of that," Kaidan joked. "What's on your mind?"

"Would . . . you be mad if I kept my last name as Shepard?" she asked. "It's just that its one of the last things that still connects me to my family."

"That's fine. I understand that," Kaidan smiled. "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"Well, there is one other problem," Shepard said as she took a sip of her beer. "The Alliance isn't going to be happy about us getting married."

"Yeah no kidding," Kaidan replied thoughtfully. "We've gone way beyond fraternizing now."

"I'm being serious," Shepard said with a laugh as she turned to face Kaidan. "They might try and re-assign you."

"You think they'd go that far?" Kaidan asked as he fixed Shepard's hair behind her ear.

"I think so," Shepard frowned. "I know Captain Anderson would be on our side but . . ."

"But even his support wouldn't be enough," Kaidan finished.

"The Alliance would automatically assume I'd put your well being ahead of everything, including the completion of my mission," Shepard replied.

"Would you?" Kaidan asked. "If it came down to choice between saving my life and completing your mission, what would you do?"

Shepard remained silent, a small frown appearing on her face as she remembered the events on Virmire. She'd been forced to make a similar decision then, and her feelings for Kaidan had compelled her to save him.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "No matter what the situation, I don't think I could ever let you die."

"Same here," Kaidan smiled as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Do you think there's any chance the Alliance won't find out about us?"

"Well, not unless any of us tell them," Shepard thoughtfully. "So as long as we keep the news to ourselves until the Reapers are dealt with, we should be able to stay together."

The two of them were sharing a long, comforting hug when someone cleared their throat behind them and they turned to see Joker standing there, an unhappy expression on his face.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to cut the celebrations short love birds," the pilot said crossing his arms. "I just got a message from Captain Anderson. Apparently there's some task the Council can't assign to anyone but the great Commander Shepard, so we need to get back to the Citadel."

"Oh well, I guess saving the galaxy does take precedent over me enjoying a slice of my own wedding cake," Shepard sighed into Kaidan's chest, her arms still around his waist. "Is he sending a shuttle to pick us up?"

"Yeah. He said ETA's about two hours," Joker replied, leaning against the door frame. "There's something else. When I said I'd pass the message on to the both of you, Anderson asked me what I was doing in Vancouver."

"What did you tell him?" Kaidan asked, worry clearly present in his voice.

"I told him we just happened to be taking our shore leave in the same place and that we'd met up for a few drinks," Joker said with a smirk. "Being able to cover our asses is just one of my many talents."

"Thanks Joker," Shepard said with a genuine smile before looking up at her new husband. "I guess we knew our perfect moment couldn't last forever."

"We did," Kaidan said softly, fixing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I can do the packing if you want to grab a slice o cake."

"You're so good to me," Shepard teased, giving him a playful kiss on the lips. "I'll get us both a slice and bring it up."

After Kaidan kissed her on the cheek and then headed inside, the Commander looked out at the ocean for a few moments before turning to Joker who's next words perfectly articulated how she was feeling.

"The universe really seems to hate you," the pilot joker as he walked out onto the deck to stand beside her. "Talk about not having a moment to scratch yourself."

"That's what I get for being a nice person," Shepard muttered, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Maybe if I crack some skulls people won't be as inclined to ask for my help."

"I dunno," Joker smirked. "Titles like 'Hero of Humanity' and 'Saviour of the Citadel' tend to stick."

"Oh god," Shepard groaned. "Saviour of the Citadel? When did they start calling me that?"

"After Emily Wong found out it was you who defeated Saren and saved the Council, that's what she started calling you," Joker replied, obviously enjoying seeing his Commanding Officer so uncomfortable.

"Well," Shepard said, placing her hands on her hips and giving the beautiful view a final, wistful look. "I guess its cake and then back to normality."

"I miss the good old days," Joker grinned as they headed back inside. "When a normal day didn't consist of homicidal aliens, learning about our impending extinction and nearly getting blown up."

"Some day when we're old we'll look back on these days and think how great they were," Shepard replied, slinging her arm around the pilot's shoulders and grinning back at him. "Until then, we have a job to do."

"That's assuming we live to grow old," Joker replied, raising an eyebrow. "You're overly fond of putting us tight in the middle of trouble."

"That's because you come up with some of your best witty remarks when you're under pressure," Shepard laughed as she let go of her friend and walked over to what was left of the wedding cake on the bench. "You know I can't save the galaxy without your cutting wit."

The two of them were laughing in the kitchen when Kaelyn walked in, Shepard noticing the slight pinkness that coloured her cheeks as Joker smiled at her.

"My brother said you've been called back to the Citadel," the youngest Alenko said as she sat on the seat closest to the pilot. "If you're being sent out on a mission, does that mean the repairs to your ship are finished?"

"Seems like it," Joker replied. "Then again, the Council may just be saying there's a mission to lure us all back to the Citadel so they can arrest us."

"They wouldn't really do that would they?" Kaelyn asked with a slight frown as she turned to look at Shepard.

"The Council doesn't hate me that much," the Commander said with a smile. "They wouldn't lie to us like that."

"Hmph," Joker huffed sceptically. "Remember what happened the last time we returned to the Citadel, when the Council decided to 'help' us against Sovereign."

"Joker," Shepard warned. "You're getting into . . . "

"Classified territory. I know, I know," the pilot replied, rolling his eyes.

"Sovereign?" Kaelyn asked. "Is that the name of that big ship that attacked the Citadel?"

"Yeah. We found out what was going to happen and when we told the Council, they said they were massing an army to deal with Saren, Sovereign and the Geth," Joker explained, choosing his words carefully so Shepard, who was currently wielding a knife and cutting the cake, wouldn't snap at him. "When we got there though, they kicked Shepard off the mission and locked down the Normandy."

"That's so unfair after all you'd done," Kaelyn replied, clearly outraged. "What did you do?"

"Let's just say there was conspiring, an assault, mutiny, theft and treason," Shepard grinned, picking up two small plates. "Anyway, I'm going up to help Kaidan pack. Joker, don't give away anymore military secrets. I'm sure you've already impressed Kaelyn enough."

With a satisfied smirk, the Commander left the kitchen. However, Shepard knew that the victory was short lived and that once they were all back aboard the Normandy, Joker would've thought of a way to pay her back.