Vanilla Sheets

"This is docking bay L42 of Vancouver space-port, the arrival of the saviour of the galaxy will take place in approximately 10 minutes."

Samantha sighed at the announcement with a hand coming up to rub at the nape of her neck because really? A whole month had passed (and all that month she had been sitting in her cousin's Rowan's apartment worrying her ass off) since Shepard and the rest of the galaxy had successfully destroyed the Reapers and still people thought it was a good idea to announce Shepard's arrival like that? Didn't they know that the saviour of the galaxy had almost been in a coma due to the stress and injuries?

'No Traynor, they don't know because unlike you they didn't spend most nights waiting by a terminal for some damn information on how Shepard was doing,' Samantha chastised herself with a weary shake of her head, settling herself down on the nearest bench offered to her with her hands fumbling nervously over the wooden handles, 'now calm down and stop acting so twitchy, no wonder Lawson can't take you seriously.'

Not that she had really talked to the rest of Shepard's old crew when she was with Cerberus, oh they had been there with her when they went to hear the news if Shepard was alive or not but she hadn't really had time to get to know them like Shepard had; the only ones she really knew and genuinely liked was Kasumi Goto, Jack and Jacob Taylor who seemed to be the only ones who didn't immediately mistake her for a Commander Shepard fan-girl like the others had.

At least Wrex had promised he wouldn't eat her, he even said he wouldn't be too far away if Samantha needed someone to talk to about Shepard whilst she was absent – it had surprised the comm specialist so much that she had only been able to nod silently with her mouth open like a fish out of water.

Miranda Lawson had took one look at her, mentally labelled her a serf and had promptly decided to ignore her for the rest of the evening even when it became painfully obvious (Kasumi Goto's urging to go talk to her had been loud enough for the whole room to hear) on who she was to the Normandy crew and to Commander Shepard in particular.

Finding out the former Cerberus operative was also the woman Commander Shepard had been sharing a bed with wasn't something Samantha had been ready for either, although she had heard rumours of it she hadn't known it to be 100% true until the master thief had come over to apologize for Lawson's rudeness.

"Don't feel bad Sammy," she remembered the thief telling her with a grin that had quickly become contagious, "she's still just bitter that she wasn't out there with Shepard on the front lines, it's not your fault she's taking it out on you when she got over Shep a while ago."

Samantha didn't quite believe her to be honest.

"Sandwich Oyente?" And as if to remind herself that she was genuinely in the real world and not her own thoughts a plastic container was shoved into her face, dangling from the tips of the fingers that belonged to none other than James Vega who had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face that Samantha had ever witnessed.

Grinning back at the muscular lieutenant and his antics, Samantha took the container from him and moved up on the bench so he could sit down with his massive arms already wrapped around her shoulders in a hug that actually managed to make Sam feel better than she had before.

When she had been first retro-fitting the Normandy she hadn't had many people to talk to, sure she had some of the guards but they weren't really good company and they didn't do much but grunt, so when Vega had arrived to inspect the ship with Ashley Williams it had been so much better than before because as soon as he had arrived he didn't want to leave and in the end it ended up with both herself, Vega and Lieutenant Cortez lying around in the Normandy's new lounge half-drunk.

It went unsaid that soon after that episode Vega came around much more often and had become a real friend to both Samantha and Steve, bringing them into this group of theirs with laughter, card-games and occasionally chess when Samantha could persuade the two of them.

Remembering she now had a sandwich and was eating it quite contently thanks to none other than Mr Vega, she threw him a grateful smile. "Thanks lug."

"No problem Oyente!" James told her, reaching up to ruffle her hair before patting it back down with a sheepish smile with his eyes glued directly in front of him. "Hey…Isn't that Shepard?"

And as if Vega had suddenly set the bench on fire Samantha was already off it with her eyes scanning the restless crowd that surged towards her, eyes narrowed in scrutiny to try and see if she could see that spiked blonde mess of hair that always made her laugh at how damn unruly it was.

Sure enough after looking for a good minute or so, Sam finally spotted the blonde woman known as Commander Shepard hobbling along on her crutches with her 'VI mobility assistant' EDI holding onto the cloth of her faded N7 hoodie in an attempt to keep Shepard up straight.

All in all it was a sight that sent warmth to Sam's heart, so with a backwards glance at Vega she abandoned her post and rushed towards the shuffling Shepard with her arms outwards to politely push past the oncoming storm of people that either told her to watch where she was going or greeted her with small smiles of understanding; either way not one of them could understand this complete euphoria her body was experiencing right now.

Shepard saw her almost a moment too late because her eyes lit up in recognition and joy before Sam completely enveloped her in the biggest hug she could muster, pressing her face against the blonde Commander's shoulder and letting out the tiniest whimper ever – and not even that was enough to express how damn relieved she felt right now.

"That cause of action is not advisable Ms Traynor, Shepard's injuries are not fully…" EDI's voice drifted in and out of Sam's head, she could both hear and not hear the synthetic speak and so chose to ignore EDI's voice (as much as she could) and cling onto Shepard's heavy breathing like her life depended on hearing that sound.

"It's alright EDI I'm fine," Sam could just about hear Shepard tell the unshackled AI, her own breathing heavy now as she fought back the urge to kiss her Commander senseless, "go find Joker, last I heard he was waiting outside with the rest of the crew that's supposedly here to greet me. Go on, I'll be fine."

Samantha still hadn't found the will to let go of Shepard even when EDI left, sighing in relief at the feel of two hands pressing down at the curve of her hip to pull her back so that her hazelnut eyes connected with the bright, azure hues of Shepard.

"Samantha Traynor," Shepard whispered with a shake of her head, letting go of Samantha's hips to rearrange herself rightly on her crutches again, "I have to say…You're looking as charming as ever."

And really Shepard would have to shut up some more because as soon as those words left the blonde woman's mouth Samantha had pulled the blonde mess of hair down to press her lips to the Commander's head, tilting Shepard's head back to chastely kiss her lips soon after with a coy smile spreading on her lips.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," Sam found herself whispering back, using her thumbs to wipe at the corner of her eyes at the moisture that had all of a sudden gathered there, "hell it was like waiting for the world to end all over again and Christ I have never played chess so much all my life waiting for that message to come through on my terminal telling me when you were coming home or not and…"

"I got you a new toothbrush?" Shepard interrupted with a toothy grin, balancing on one crutch to reach into her pocket to reveal a golden toothbrush canister case, "It only cost 5900 credits though, forgive me?"

Despite the urge to smile Sam forced herself to frown. "And like that, the moment is now and officially ruined."

Shepard couldn't hold in her laughter long enough and pretty much let her head sink gently against Sam's cheek, brushing her lips against the soft skin before pulling away with her devilish smirk still on her face.

"Don't worry Sam," Shepard muttered huskily with a wink, limping forward on her crutches with Sam holding onto her arm gently, "I missed you like crazy too, at the hospital I had nobody to talk to apart from EDI whom may I add I love to pieces but y'know, she's just no you."

Samantha tried her hardest not to blush but when Shepard stared at her like that and said such things it became almost ridiculously hard not to, up to the point that when they finally got around to where James was he was the first to comment.

"Hey Lola, you been whisperin' sweet nothings into Oyente's ear?" Vega catcalled to them both, rushing over until he too was walking the same pace as both Sam and Shepard, "man it's good to see you though Commander, hobbling away like my old uncle Larry."

Shepard gave him a teasing glare in reply, "and I still bet I can kick your ass with these crutches."

"Oh yeah Lola? Bring it!" Vega challenged with his fists up and ready for action already, breaking out in laughter when Shepard actually stopped to try and give Sam hold of her crutches.

Sam pushed both of them forward (albeit a little bit more gently with Shepard) and shook her head. "Children you're both terrible, stop working each other up before you even see the rest of the party."

At that Shepard's head jerked up and her lip curled in excitement. "Who's here? Kasumi? Miranda? Grunt? Jack? Samara? Garrus? Tali? Jacob? Liara? Wrex? Steve? Javik?"
Sam laughed and curled a finger behind the other woman's lobe, softly stroking until the Commander fell back down from her high into a more calmer state than before; a trick Sam had learned back on the Normandy to help Shepard get to sleep.

"By everyone I mean everyone," She told the blonde Commander with a little nudge of her hips, "all here just to make sure you get into one vehicle okay so you can stay at my cousin Rowan's apartment for a while."

Calmer now Shepard breathed out a sigh and leaned over to kiss the comms specialist forehead, mumbling words into her puckered brow: "Thank you Samantha, for bringing them all here."

"Oyente bringing them? You should have tried to stop them from coming pendejo!" Vega laughed with a punch to Shepard's shoulder. "Hey, hey are you still up for that party? Don't tell me your little legs ain't going to be ready for it eh?"

Shepard shot Sam a questioning look under fair lashes, all Sam could do was smile back sheepishly. "It was Kasumi's and Jack's idea, they said you'd need a party with what's happened."

Shepard shrugged sluggishly in response, "suppose their right, though I want a full night's rest before this so called party happens."

Vega clapped Sam on the shoulder again, grinning at them both with a his usual friendly glint in his eyes, "then not to worry Commander, this one here already said you'd need a full night's rest before you can even think about doing that awkward 'Shepard shuffle' you love so much."

Shepard could only poke her tongue out in reply.

"I'm glad that's over," Samantha whispered with a sigh of exhaustion, gently helping Shepard to sit down at the very edge of the bed that they would be sharing for the two nights in Vancouver in her cousin's apartment. "I mean no offence Shepard, but your friend Kasumi can talk for hours!"

"And paired with Jack? Yeah it's a recipe for disaster," Shepard agreed with a yawn, unzipping her N7 hoodie and discarding it to the floor with her free hand coming upwards to rub at her tired eyes. "Don't worry you'll get used to it after a while, besides I heard you and Wrex getting along alright."

Trying hard not to become flustered at that one sentence Samantha distracted herself by kneeling down next to the Commander's legs, smiling coyly up at the other woman whilst letting her fingers unlace the knots that kept Shepard's military boots on her feet.

"Hey, don't do that…" Shepard chastised lightly with a mocking click of her tongue, reaching over to brush two fingers against the curve of Samantha's cheek that no doubt was now heated due to the attention she was receiving. "I can look after myself I promise, James was kidding about the stiff legs thing…"

"Shepard who are you kidding?" Samantha told the blonde commander with a cheeky grin, pecking the sole of the other woman's foot before getting up to pull her own shoes and jeans off, "we both know you can't move well for crap at the moment."

Shepard snorted in response and before Samantha could even begin to remove her shirt she was pulled from her waist into what she considered to be an impenetrable hug by none other than the laughing Commander Shepard, her tanned hands refusing to move from around Samantha's waist even when the comm specialist swatted at them forcefully.

And as if things couldn't get any worse (oh who was she kidding? How could things get any better?) Samantha found herself face down on her cousin's bed with Shepard's half-naked form towering over her; casting her in a shadow that brought out the pearly white of her smile once she looked over her shoulder to see that the older woman was now staring down at her from her position.

"Jerk," Samantha teased in regard to the position they were both in, rolling over onto her back as best as she could to drag a finger up and over Shepard's nose, eyes and mouth; mapping her features with touch alone that brought a shuddered noise from Shepard's lips, "what happened to those stiff legs of yours hm?"

"I love you," Shepard replied with a totally different subject, knocking Samantha off guard in so many ways that she gasped at the feel of Shepard's nose trailing up and down the fabric of her shirt until she could kiss gently at the exposed collarbone with her teeth not so far behind, "on Earth you were all I could think about, I tried so hard to get communications to you on the Normandy but there was next to nothing…I just wanted to hear your voice again."

Samantha stiffened at the Commander's words, unable to truly comprehend what Shepard was confessing for in a tone that sounded as though the woman was blaming herself for not being able to contact her through the Normandy's choppy signal and that because of it she hadn't been the first thing on Shepard's mind.

"You don't need to tell me…" Samantha tried to explain her own feelings on this, because she knew that whatever had happened hadn't been Shepard's fault and she didn't need to be told how much Shepard missed her because she knew damn it, she damn well knew how much because the feeling was mutual.

"No I do, I need to tell you each and every day that no matter what happens I'm coming back," Shepard murmured with her eyes slammed shut and the arms that were keeping her upright shaking with the effort, "because that day? I didn't know if I was or not. And that isn't fair."

Samantha knew Commander Shepard and one of the things she knew about Commander Shepard was that she believed everything had to be fair, so when the Reapers had come and had destroyed everything in sight the Commander had been lost for days before hardening into the warrior that everyone believed the Butcher of Torfan to be.

To be frank at first it had scared her senseless, but there was a woman underneath all that armour and that woman was the woman who Samantha Traynor had found herself falling for.

She met Shepard's eyes again, this time fully open with azure hues that glistened brightly in the night-light next to their bed and really? Did the world insist on not having Samantha breathe in this woman's god-like presence?

"I'm always coming back," Shepard mouthed against Samantha's own lips whilst her long fingers clutched against the back of the dark-skinned woman's head, "so don't ever be afraid if I leave again because I'm always, always going to be back for you."

Unable to hear such words any longer – the pain and love it brought to her heart was next to unbearable – Samantha brought her own lips up to meld against Shepard's, her arms coming upwards to wrap around the biotic's neck and pull her down into the most passionate embrace she could muster.

Samantha didn't quite know how long they kissed for, all she knew was that soon enough those kisses drew away from Shepard's lips and settled on other areas of skin like her cleavage, the hollow of her neck, her earlobe…

"You're beautiful and mine," Samantha took in a deep breath then, curling a hand up and under one of Shepard's thighs to draw her in closer so that they were tangled up in the cream sheets, "everything I want, everything I've ever wanted and every bit of it is all wrapped up in you."

Shepard near enough collapsed on her then, spiky blonde locks that tickled underneath her chin with the sensation that was neither annoying nor comfortable; it was simply comforting enough that it brought the instinct for Sam to tighten her grip around her lover so that the blonde woman was curled around her like a cat.

"You were always trying to look after the rest of us," Samantha uttered sleepily against the biotic's head, allowing her own eyes to drop slightly in weariness, "when was the last time someone looked after you?"

If Shepard answered Samantha didn't hear, too far gone into her dreams thanks to the help of the endless exercise of stroking her hands through Shepard's hair; her own personal lullaby.

Tomorrow would be a new day.

A new day to signify Shepard's return and to uphold her promise: she was always going to come back.