Starting a new story even though I have a couple that are sitting unfinished...I am so weak. =3

As always, comments are always appreciated! ^_^

Bioware owns all.

Chapter 1

Pain.

A dull drumming feeling that was slowly escalating up in intensity. He was all too familiar with what was coming. The pain would soon become like jagged spikes of lightning against his skull, and they would continue until the migraine would tire itself out in the next several hours.

With all the incredible advances in medicine, it was a damned annoying shame that nothing could solve the problem he had with his L2 biotic implants. The most the doctors could do for him was to adjust the implants to keep his senses clear when the migraines hit, which was great for the military since he can keep himself focused during a fight. The bad part was that every single one of his senses was assaulted with the god-awful pain and all he could do was suffer through it.

The timing of this migraine attack couldn't be worse. He was simply lying in bed and chatting with his friends about where they were going to spend the evening. Alliance Command was shipping them off in the Normandy the next morning and they graciously granted the men a night off to relax and enjoy Vancouver. He was in the middle of suggesting that they go to a bar he knew of until the first bolt of white hot pain burned through his head.

He jumped up from his bunk and grabbed a laundry basket, filling it with random pieces of his clothing, dirty or clean. His bunkmate gave him a look. "Uh oh, looks like Kaidan Alenko suddenly has another bout of O.C.D."

"Ha…very funny, Jenkins." He replied, trying not to wince from the pain.

"What's going on, Kaidan?" One of the other soldiers asked.

Jenkins waved off the soldier's concern. "Don't worry about it. He always does this. Just randomly goes through this fit of doing some kind of chore like the world was going to end."

He couldn't tell anybody about his condition. Even though they were friends, they were still Alliance military. They would react by either relentlessly tormenting him or even worse…give him pity. Only a select few of his commanding officers knew about the migraine attacks due to their access to his medical history. Whenever he was assigned to a new squad, he always informed the officers about how this pain would not affect his performance and requested that they keep the condition from his fellow soldiers.

And if this meant that everyone thought he was just an oddball with a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder, so be it. Special treatment was the last thing he wanted.

"Come on, man. Your cleaning can wait tonight. This is our last night on Earth before we head on over to Eden Prime."

Kaidan stuffed his socks into the basket and shook his head. "Sorry guys, not tonight. Just got a lot of preparing to do before we leave."

"You can prepare in the morning. Let's go out and get shit faced tonight. After all, this is your hometown, isn't it? Come on!" Jenkins said.

Kaidan was sorely tempted to do just that. But he knew better. Going out with the guys meant a night of dealing with loud pounding music and bright strobe lights in the bars and clubs. Which meant the pain would be aggravated worse and it would be impossible for him to have a good time.

"I might join you guys later." He said, sincerely hoping it to be true. "But I'm going to have to do this now."

His friends groaned in protest but Kaidan gave them a shrug and quickly left the room with the laundry basket in his arms.

As he hastily headed towards the laundry room, he cursed to himself. Jenkins was right...Vancouver was his hometown. He should be spending it on the streets with his friends, not hiding himself in some random hole to wait out his pain.

He opened the door to the room and flicked on the light switch. The small overhead light flickered on and dimly lit up the area. He closed the door behind him and allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief. He had the room to himself again. No matter where he was stationed, the laundry area was always his best place to wait out a migraine attack. They were always poorly lit, empty of people, and the soft hum of the washing machines was a calming sound.

Kaidan threw his laundry basket to the floor and slammed his back against one of the machines as he felt another sharp spike of pain. He slowly sank to the floor and slowed his breaths.

Relax…deep breaths…it'll be over soon…

A sudden sound from the closet across the room interrupted his meditation. Kaidan scrambled to his feet and instinctively reached for his gun. He realized he didn't have his holster and swore in frustration.

"Who's there?" He demanded as he slowly approached the closet.

The closet door swung open and Kaidan froze at the sight he saw before him. A woman with dark tousled hair was burrowed in the middle of a nest made of clean bed sheets. She was wearing her Alliance uniform, the top unbuttoned revealing a white tank top underneath. In her hand was an open bottle of whiskey. She lifted her sea green eyes to meet his. "Quiet, can't you see I'm trying to get some rest in here?" She gestured to her makeshift cocoon.

"Uh…sorry?" Kaidan was at a loss of words. The woman was an Alliance soldier, but he didn't recall seeing her anywhere around the base in the past several weeks he'd been stationed in Vancouver.

The mystery woman leaned her head back into the pile of linens. "It's fine. Just close the door on your way out."

"Who are-" His sentence was interrupted by the sound of harried voices coming from the hallway.

"Shit." The woman cursed and then gave Kaidan a sharp glare. "Don't you dare tell them where I am." Before he could reply, she closed the closet door on herself.

A base staff commander burst into the laundry room with two of his officers. Kaidan immediately stood up straight in salute. "Soldier! Have you seen Commander Shepard around here?" He barked.

Commander Shepard? The hero from Akuze? The woman in the closet? It couldn't be…

"Uh…no, sir." He shook his head.

"If you find her, inform us immediately!" The commander ordered and briskly stomped out with his men.

After several seconds of silence, the closet door slowly opened again. "Thanks."

"You're Commander Shepard? The Commander Shepard?" Kaidan asked in disbelief.

"That would be me." She replied lazily and pointed the bottle of whiskey in his direction. "And you are…?"

Kaidan stood attention to salute again. "Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko…uh…Commander."

Shepard waved off his formality. "At ease, lieutenant. In this laundry room, there's no need for titles. Okay, Alenko?"

Kaidan relaxed. "Uh, okay…um…ma'am."

Shepard sighed at his polite tone but decided to drop it. She took another sip from the bottle and offered it to Kaidan. "Want some?"

He shook his head. "No thanks…may I ask what you're doing in here?"

"I just needed some time for myself…and my friend, Mr. Royal." She gave the whiskey bottle a slight shake.

"I guess that's an explanat…ah!" Kaidan's face grimaced at the sharp pang of pain that sliced through his brain. He began to lose his footing and had to sink down to the floor. It was intense enough to take his breath away.

Shepard quickly put the bottle down and crawled out of the closet to take hold of Kaidan's arm. "Whoa. Alenko, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute." He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "It's just…ah…I overworked myself during training drills today and…"

"You're an L2 Biotic?" Shepard asked, her voice suddenly sober.

Kaidan was shocked at her observation and looked at her with confusion. "Yeah…I am. How did you-"

"Hold on." Shepard sat back on her feet and reached inside the breast pocket of her shirt. She took out a syringe and deftly uncapped the needle. "Hold still." She ordered. She took hold of his wrist and injected the serum into the vein above his forearm.

"What's this?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sudden surge of euphoric numbness replacing the stabbing pain. "Ah...pain killer."

"Specifically for pain caused by biotic implants." Shepard nodded.

Kaidan sat back against a wall and closed his eyes, relishing in the sudden relief. It was a welcome and familiar feeling that he felt only after his field medic administered medication before an assignment. He opened his eyes and furrowed his eyebrow. "The military doesn't give me this medicine unless I'm on a mission."

"For a good reason." Shepard quickly bent the needle and tossed it into the nearby trash can. "The stuff is narcotic. Obviously brass doesn't want to turn what few human biotics they have into junkies."

"Why did you have this on you?"

Shepard sat down and picked up the bottle of whiskey she had set aside. "I always carry some of this stuff on me. I have special permission because my former squad had a biotic with L2 implants. She didn't get migraines often, but when she did, it was pretty damned awful."

"Was she part of your squad on Akuze?" Kaidan asked.

"Yeah." Shepard took a long swig from her bottle.

After a moment of silence, Kaidan spoke again. "So…why are really you hiding from the staff commander? It can't be just because you needed a drink. He looked pretty desperate."

Shepard swallowed down the whiskey and let out an exasperated breath. "They carted me here so I can give a speech to some new recruits about my valiant exploits. Then they're going to give me another useless plaque or medal. Same song and dance routine for the past several months."

Kaidan was surprised by her statement. Shepard's achievements were well known throughout the military. The Alliance basically uses her as a poster child for recruitment propos ever since the infamous incident on Akuze where she single handedly took down a thresher maw. "But…you're a hero."

"Hero." Shepard snorted. "There's no reason for the Alliance to consider me more than that. I'm just a survivor. Not a hero."

Kaidan mulled over her reply. "To be honest, you just saved me from that killer migraine attack. You're a hero to me." He said depreciatingly.

Shepard looked at him with a raised eyebrow for a moment and then rewarded him with a laugh. Kaidan smiled. He didn't expect Commander Shepard to have such amiable laugh. He liked the sound of it.

"I guess I'm glad I've impressed someone." She gave him a genuine smile. Kaidan noticed she had dimples. He didn't expect that either.

Shepard held out the bottle of whiskey again. "Now that your migraine is gone, are you sure you don't want a drink?"

He hesitated but then reached for the bottle. "What the hell. I'll be leaving Earth for a while." He took a swig of the whiskey and savored the taste before swallowing it down. "Smooth."

Shepard chuckled. "You don't look like the type that appreciates a good drink, Alenko. No offense."

"None taken." Kaidan turned the bottle in his hand to read the label. "Nice. An extra rare series, aged to perfection, brewed on Earth. This must have cost you a fortune."

"It cost Admiral Hackett a fortune." She corrected him and took back the whiskey to take another sip.

"You stole that from Admiral Hackett?"

"Well, he shouldn't have left it just lying around inside his desk drawer if he didn't want someone to snatch it." She said coyly. "Oh, stop looking so guilty. Hackett owes me for coming all the way here to do a special mission for him anyway."

"Talking to the new recruits?" Kaidan said sarcastically.

"After that, smart guy." Shepard passed the bottle back. "Tomorrow I'll be leaving on the Normandy under Captain Anderson's command."

Kaidan took another drink. "No kidding. I'll be leaving on the Normandy too. Is it for the mission to Eden Prime?"

"Something like that. I'm just assigned to escort a council Spectre. Apparently the Normandy is going to help get him over to Eden Prime...for whatever reason."

"Huh. That seems a little…underneath your abilities."

Shepard shrugged. "I can think of a lot of things I'd much rather be doing than giving another speech."

"Like getting drunk on stolen whiskey?" He grinned and swirled the bottle in front of Shepard's face.

She took the bottle from his hand. "More like getting drunk on stolen whiskey with a hot lieutenant."

Kaidan flushed from her comment and let out a cough of embarrassment. Shepard laughed again. "Your ears are turning red. You're getting cuter by the second, Alenko."

"Very funny, Shepard." Kaidan shifted his gaze away.

Shepard leaned close to him. He felt the blood rush from his head as she seductively tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You know…here we are in this empty laundry room, the last night before we ship out. How about you…" She tapped the bottle neck on his chest. "And me…" Then tapped it on her breast. "Make this a memorable night?."

He was speechless. "I…I…" He stammered.

Shepard threw her head back and laughed. She gave him a good-natured slap on the arm and wiped away a tear. "I'm just fucking with you, Alenko. God, you're so adorable."

He let out the breath he was holding in and chuckled nervously. "Good one, Shepard."

"Don't worry. You can go back to Mrs. Alenko with a clean conscience." She smiled.

"Uh, there is no Mrs. Alenko…"

Shepard's look of amusement was replaced by one of skepticism. "Really? What about a girlfriend?"

"None."

"Boyfriend?"

"What? No!"

"Oh…" She laughed uneasily. "Sorry, Alenko. The reason why I assumed was…well, it's my curse."

"Your curse?" He asked, confused.

"Every time I find a hot guy, he's always either married, taken, or plays for the other side." She explained.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm none of those."

Shepard tilted her head and focused on his face. Kaidan couldn't help noticing the green in her eyes had the dreamy color of sea foam.

"Huh. Maybe my offer can be serious, after all." She smiled.

At first he thought she was joking again, but before he could reply, the door to the laundry room swung open. An imposing figure strode in and closed the door behind him. Kaidan scrambled to his feet to salute his superior officer. Shepard remained on the floor, but brought her hand to her forehead in mock salute. "Anderson! Nice of you to join us!"

Captain David Anderson let out an exasperated sigh. "At ease, Lieutenant Alenko. Shepard, do you have any idea how many people are combing the base searching for you?"

Shepard simply shrugged her shoulders and Anderson huffed in frustration again. "The base commander had to interrupt a very important conference I was having with the Alliance ambassadors to inform me that I would have to play hide and seek with my protégé."

"And look how fast you've found me. You know me so well, my Captain." Shepard smiled and held up the bottle of whiskey. "Want a drink?"

Anderson narrowed his eyes. "Is that Admiral Hackett's special bottle of Crown he keeps locked in his desk?"

"We'll tell him we used it for a special toast in his honor."

Anderson rolled his eyes and turned to Kaidan. "She's an amazing soldier but a bad influence, lieutenant. You may want to keep your distance."

"Uh…yes, sir." Kaidan nodded, hoping the Captain didn't notice the smell of whiskey on his breath.

"That hurts my feelings, Anderson." Shepard slowly rose to her feet, brushing the dust off her pants. "Maybe this is just my way of getting your attention because I don't see my mentor enough."

Anderson finally gave a snort of amusement. "Do you need time to sober up or will you be okay in fifteen minutes?"

"If you think this is what it takes to make me drunk, I guess you don't know me very well after all." She handed him the bottle. "I guess I'll change and head on over to accept another certificate or a baked ham for this pointless ceremony."

"If they give you a ham, I expect you to share that with Admiral Hackett to make things even." Anderson opened the door for her.

"Hackett can have my first born child if it means I never have to do another one of these ceremonies ever again. See you later, Anderson." She turned to Kaidan and gave him a wink. "Alenko."

Kaidan tried not to grin like an idiot.

When she left the laundry room, Anderson rubbed the back of his neck. "What am I going to do with her?" He muttered.

"I take it that you know the Commander very well, Captain?" Kaidan asked.

"I do. Do you know where Shepard came from, lieutenant?"

Kaidan knew there were two stories of Shepard's origins. The official Alliance story and the one spread through gossip. The Alliance omitted the gruesome details and liked to push the image of Shepard joining the military out of duty to protect the other colonists from the dangers of the universe. It was a grand and patriotic image that they used in recruitment propos. The story off-the-record was…

"I've heard that Shepard's colony on Mindoir was attacked by batarians…" He began carefully. "Her family was killed and she was captured to be sold as a slave. And she was rescued by an Alliance patrol ship…led by you, captain."

"That's right. It was by coincidence that I was on that ship at the time. We were able to take over a batarian vessel that had over a hundred human slaves hidden in their lower decks. That's where I found her." Anderson slowly smiled at the memory. "Amongst the crying dregs of hysterical people, there she was. Only sixteen and she was playing medic to the injured. When we uncovered the hidden area, she was about to attack us with a pipe she had wrenched off the wall."

"And you helped her join the Alliance and you've been watching out for her ever since." Kaidan finished for him.

"Close. She joined the Alliance on her own." Anderson corrected. He then turned his steely gaze at Kaidan. "Do you know why I'm telling you all this, lieutenant?"

Kaidan shook his head. "No, sir."

Anderson leaned in. "Shepard is like a daughter to me. And I like you, Lieutenant Alenko. So let me tell you something else. I overheard a little of your conversation. If you end up taking this farther and screw up, the biggest thing you're going to worry about isn't going to be a mission against the batarians or the geth, it's going to be my boot up your ass. Is that clear?"

"Y…yes, sir." Kaidan felt a lump in his throat.

"Good." Anderson gave him a hard slap on the back. "Now why don't you go out and have some fun. We're leaving on the Normandy first thing tomorrow morning. Don't want to leave you behind now, do we?" Anderson grinned and left the room while taking a long drink from the stolen whiskey Shepard had handed him.

Alone with the washing machines, Kaidan allowed himself to lean against one to take several deep breaths.

So far, he had a migraine attack, found Commander Shepard hiding inside a closet, drank Admiral Hackett's stolen whiskey, had a confusing flirtatious encounter, and his captain had threatened him with a boot up his ass.

"Have some fun. Right." He murmured, wiping the sweat off his brow.