Disclaimer: Bioware owns all, Celia Shepard is mine, enjoy!

This is a one-shot prequel/spin off of sorts to my other story, Living. The dastardly plot bunnies sunk their teeth into me and wouldn't let go until I pounded this out. :) Enjoy!

Edited for poor grammar.

"Alenko, suit up, you're coming with me." Shepard barked out as she pulled her armor on. "We're going to attempt to deal peacefully with some biotic extremists, and if it's just you and me, we'll stand a better chance of success."

Kaidan looked up at her, "And if not, our biotics are more than a match for them." His chocolate brown eyes caught her bright blue ones as she gave him a perfunctory nod. She slipped her helmet over her regulation bun of rich brown hair, and clipped her shotgun to her belt. While they may be attempting a peaceful outcome, Shepard's philosophy was generally to go nowhere without being armed to the teeth. She checked her pistol and clipped that to her belt as well.

They let Garrus and Wrex know where they were going, with instructions to follow them if they hadn't heard from them in 24 hours. They climbed into the Mako and made themselves comfortable for the drop. "Shepard, are you sure you don't want me to drive?" Kaidan asked before she signaled for Joker to drop them. "You just have this tendency…"

"Afraid you're going to puke in your helmet again?" Shepard snickered, and strapped her harness and reached across to check on Kaidan's. She tried diligently to ignore his sudden hiss of breath when her hand brushed his thigh. The layer of armor did nothing to dull the sensation.

"I have never puked in my helmet, and I don't get car sick, but we would definitely have a smoother ride if you'd let me drive."

"Who ever said I was after a smooth ride, Kaidan?" She could only imagine the blush gracing his cheeks at that particular piece of innuendo. "Thrusters on, brace for landing," Shepard intoned automatically. She flipped the visor of her helmet up and glanced at Kaidan as the Mako came to a stop. She tilted her head and said, "Which direction do I need to head in?"

"Southwest, Commander," Kaidan replied, after flipping up the visor on his own helmet and consulting his omni-tool. He glanced over at the display of the terrain around them and stifled a groan. It was a nightmare of jagged ridges and rugged peaks, and he knew he was in for a rough ride.

Shepard made a faint "Whoop!" and mashed the accelerator to the floor, and laughed with wicked abandon and Kaidan was snapped back into his seat and she grinned at the naked terror she saw on his face. "Cheer up, Kaidan! It's like an amusement park ride, only free!"

Kaidan groan audibly and clutched at his seat. They made it to the compound without incident, and talked Major Kyle down and convinced him to give himself up. "Back to the ship, Commander?" Kaidan asked.

Shepard considered it, but thought that it had been nice to be planet side with Kaidan without another squad mate around. Plus, they weren't really able to spend much time together alone without raising suspicions. "Not just yet, there were a few mineral deposits I want to take a look at, plus, I'd like to take a look at these anomalies on the map."

Kaidan groaned inwardly, but nodded anyway. He had enjoyed having some time alone with Shepard, even if they were on duty right now. She took off to the northeast, dodging in and out of peaks and valleys, and it wasn't long until they found themselves well and truly in a rut. "Uh, Commander, I think we're stuck." He studied the readout of the status of the Mako, "And you broke the front axle."

"Damn," Shepard swore and then sighed. Her fun was over. "Joker, come in Joker," and the reply was nothing but static. "Damn!" Shepard swore again, and punched the dash of the Mako with a fist. "Kaidan, can you do anything to boo…" She glanced over, but Kaidan had already climbed out of the Mako to take a look at the damage to the front axle.

"You did a good job on this, Shepard. There's no way I can fix it, and even if we weren't stuck, we wouldn't be able to drive without it." Kaidan glanced up and her, and saw the storm brewing over her face. "What is it?"

"I can't raise Joker, all I get is static. Can you boost the signal some how?" Kaidan shook his head, and attempted to get Joker himself. He sighed.

"Come on, let's hike up to the top of the rise, and see if we can get him that way." Shepard nodded her assent, and they began to climb. "Next time, I'm driving." Kaidan stated, "I think I can make the ride wild enough to suit your tastes without getting us stuck."

"But Alenko, getting stuck is kind of the point," Shepard purred, as she reached a hand down to help pull Kaidan to the ledge she was standing on.

Kaidan smirked, and made a step with his hands for Shepard to hoist her self up to the next ledge. She stepped in his hands, and while she was looking for purchase with her hands, she felt one of Kaidan's hands run up her inner leg and stop at her thigh. She drew in a sharp breath, and pulled herself up, a little sad to see that they had reached the top of the ridge. She turned to pull Kaidan up, and found herself pulled flush to his chest, his arms wrapped firmly around her. "Careful Shepard. You don't want us to fall," he murmured.

Shepard took a step back, a very hesitant step back, and tried Joker on her radio. She managed to get through to him, but was told it would be a few hours until they were picked up. Something was interfering with the radio signal, and they didn't have a lock on the Mako's position.

"Stay warm, Commander, it gets pretty cold at night on this particular planet." Joker advised, "Joker out."

Shepard could already see that Joker was correct, she could see her breath in little puffs, and weren't wearing winter gear. "Kaidan, how much fuel does the Mako have? I don't want to freeze to death."

"If we're conservative with it, and only use it during the coldest part of the night, we should be ok. Maybe a little cold, but we won't freeze." Kaidan looked at Shepard's pale skin, and the smattering of freckles over her nose. "Ready to head back down?"

They made their way back down to the Mako, and debated about removing their armor for the night. In the end, they stripped down to their thin layer of under armor after Kaidan came up with some thick thermal blankets stored under the back seat. Shepard pulled out the MRE's she insisted they keep in the Mako for just such an occasion, and they polished off three between the two of them.

"That was disgusting," Kaidan said as they stored the empty containers in a sealed bag. "Who ever comes up with these things should be shot," he contemplated opening a fourth one, but decided against it.

Shepard agreed, and grabbed her blanket and crawled over Kaidan to stretch out in the back seat. Kaidan made a noise of protest, after all, why should she get the only comfortable spot to lay down, and grabbed her by her slim waist as she tried to move towards the back. Shepard laughed, and attempted to wiggle away. The movement only served to bring her flush against his chest, separated only by a thin layer of cloth. She heard him suck in a breath, and with a sudden, unexpected movement found her self deposited in the drivers seat, and Kaidan was lounging on the back seat. She raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Is there room for me back there?"

"I'm not sure, depends on if you're going to behave or not." Kaidan returned, and he watched in fascination as the tip of her pink tongue flicked out to moisten her lips.

"Lieutenant, I never seem to behave where you're involved."

"Well in that case," Kaidan leaned forward through the front seats, grabbed Shepard by her waist, and dragged her to the back with him. She ended up sprawled across his chest, and was surprised to find that he had somehow managed to arrange both of their blankets atop them.

Kaidan could barely breathe. He could feel the curves of her pressed into him, and could feel her wandering hands as they skimmed over his shoulders, one behind his neck, into his hair, the other down his chest to rest on his hip, kneading gently. He sucked in a breath, and brought his own hands to rest on her waist, and gently stroked up and down her back and over her backside. He heard the small noise of pleasure she made, and took that as a sign to continue. He gently grasped one tight globe, and massaged it gently, and nearly grinned as she ground her hips into his.

With his other hand, he stroked up and down her side, letting his thumb brush against the side of her breast, and she shuddered at the contact. He glanced down to meet Shepard's heavy-lidded gaze, and brought her face up to his, and gently claimed her lips.

First it was a tentative meeting of lips, until she caught his bottom lip between her teeth and laved at the insult with her tongue. The kiss evolved into a bruising duel of lips, teeth, and tongue; each determined to win, before they broke apart, panting.

"I, uh, don't usually do this sort of thing, Commander," Kaidan grunted against the column of her throat, his hands skimming over her back.

"I know, me either. This is a really, really bad, delicious, sexy idea," she replied, her hands busy relieving him of his shirt. "The Mako was built to be a sex cave. Lieutenant, I didn't realize how…built…you are." She licked her lips at the expanse of muscled chest, and swallowed hard as he watched her with an eyebrow raised.

Kaidan blushed, and looked away, squirmed beneath his superior officer. He took a deep breath, then another one, "Shepard, we're getting a little carried away."

She sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right." She shifted to the side, and pressed her back into the back of bench seat. "Try to get some sleep."

They both managed to drift off to sleep, albeit, a restless one. Shepard woke a few hours later to the sensation of a firm hand massaging her breast. "Ah, Lieutenant?" she asked softly, and bit back a moan as he pressed a line of kisses to her jaw line, moving down her throat to her collarbone. His other hand slipped into her pants, and without a thought, she parted her thighs to grant him access. She writhed against him as clever fingers found sensitive flesh, and worked her to frenzy with soft strokes, and firm thrusts of fingers.

Her hand flew to his shoulder, and her nails bit into his skin. Her head fell back, lost in the wave of ecstasy she was currently riding. She peered out from beneath her lashes, and pulled him closer for a kiss. He's still asleep? she thought, I knew he was talented, but this? She moaned long and low as his fingers continued to play her, determined to wake the sleeping Lieutenant.

"Kaidan," she groaned, as his talented hands moved to push her pants over her hips, while she did the same to him. She was panting in anticipation as he moved to join them, his erection pressing against her slick entrance. In a smooth motion, he rolled so she lay beneath him, and with a sure thrust, buried himself to the hilt within her.

She cried out, more determined than ever to wake him, her nails scraping over her back. He was true to his word; he was making the ride wild enough for her. She was fully conscious of the moment he came to full awareness as he growled her name sleepily, and clearly surprised, stopped what he was doing.

"Don't you dare stop what you started!" she gasped, and clamped down hard with her inner muscles. He shuddered, and fisted a hand in her hair, hair pins scattering as he knocked her bun loose. She bucked her hips, and it was all the encouragement he needed to keep going.

"Shepard," he moaned, thrusting deep within her, felt the orgasm roll through her as she gasped out his name. He shuddered, unprepared for the excitement his name falling from her lips would bring, and sealed his lips to hers as he came.

After several moments, they pulled apart, and Kaidan studied her obviously sex-ravished form. "What…what happened? To be clear, not complaining."

"You quite thoroughly debauched me, Lieutenant," she said with a saucy wink. "Did you have sweet dreams?" she purred, and rubbed her breasts against him.

He gave a breathless laugh, and captured her lips, swept in to probe her hot cavity with his tongue. "I'll say," he replied when they broke apart. "It would seem I'm not done with you, yet," he murmured, as he felt himself stiffen again.

"Oh?"

"Oh," he pressed her back into the seat. "It's going to be a wild ride, Commander."

They were rescued the following afternoon, and though the crew made no comments, it didn't escape their notice that their Lieutenant's greaves were on the Commander, and that her chest guard was fastened wrong. They made no comment about her hair that was half up in a bun, but mostly down, or that his hair was spiking up in wild tufts. They both hit the elevator at the same time, and after sharing a heated glance, headed off to their respective showers.

Meanwhile, in the cargo bay, Garrus was inspecting the damage to his baby. "What the hell is that smell?" he ground out, disgusted.

"That would be the smell of two humans mating, Garrus." Wrex wandered over from his hidey-hole across the room. "You wouldn't know anything about mating though, would you, whelp." He laughed as Garrus muttered something about reach and flexibility, and ambled back over to his station, chuckling the whole way.