A/N: Here we are! For any newcomers this is the third story in a series so get lost. For the rest of ya, welcome back!

Okay, getting the more serious stuff out of the way, and then we'll let the good times roll.

"I hear you've been making things as difficult as possible for everyone involved."

"People seem to be talking a lot about me these days."

"Well, you are the savior of the galaxy."

"Don't call me that," Shepard responded quickly, "not yet."

Miranda cocked her head to the side, once again swallowing the questions she had been denied answers to for over a month now. The details of what happened on the Citadel were known only to Shepard at this point, and the limited information she had realized felt forced and full of gaping holes. The Alliance would be pushing her for a statement eventually, but while she remained in the hospital healing it appeared as though Shepard would be given some peace at last.

Though it was frustrating, Miranda was starting to realize that she wouldn't be learning much of anything until she had completed the task Shepard had assigned her with. Whatever had happened to EDI and the Geth, Shepard seemed to feel responsible for it personally, and she was loathe to accept any sort of praise from her friends or the public as a result.

Tentatively, Miranda had begun spending her time away from Shepard aboard the Normandy with Tali and Garrus. The ship was docked not an hour away from the Earth hospital, at the request of Shepard only three days after she had awoken. Hackett had personally responded to the appeal without question, and Miranda was soon free to move about it as she wished.

She had never anticipated working so intimately with Garrus and Tali while not under Shepard's direct command, but Miranda found the experience more appealing than she would have initially predicted. They were smart; they could keep up with her. Since they were not calibrating any guns, Garrus was more an extra pair of hands than anything else, but Tali's technological expertise were impressing Miranda at every turn. It wasn't one of the carefully chosen, expert teams she was used to working with from her days with Cerberus, but she was comfortable, and as time went on a certain sort of kinship began to form between the three.

Of course, as the topic of their scientific venture was EDI, Joker was making frequent appearances. He would show up at inopportune moments, hinder their progress, and be quickly shooed away by a not quite as irritated as she should be Miranda. Though she was more guarded around them than she was with Shepard or her sister, Miranda couldn't help but feel somewhat relaxed in their presence. The Normandy was more a home to her than any building she had ever inhabited, and it was good to be working intellectually again. Having theories, proving and disproving them, that was where she thrived.

It was slow work, but they all grew more confident as time wore on. Being part Reaper technology, EDI was a bit difficult to figure out, but not impossible. At times, Miranda would be tempted to hack into Cerberus files and figure out what team had created her in the first place, push them for some information and speed the process along. It would be a pointless effort though, as the Alliance had every bit of Cerberus Intel on lockdown. The most frustrating thing was that it was an assignment she would have been a part of, one she might have even had headed, if not for being literally elbow deep in the Lazarus Project at the time.

With Tali by her side, the work went quickly though, and Miranda felt content with their progress. It went unsaid that their meetings were to be kept a secret, as intentionally creating an AI was still illegal, and Miranda was pleased with how confident she felt in them keeping their project quiet. They moved together as a unit, each agreeing that though it would be the easy way out, resetting the system would never be an option, they needed EDI back exactly as she had been, no matter how long it took.

For now though, they were taking a bit of a break, and as always, Miranda found herself sitting in the chair by Shepard's side. The woman was progressing along nicely, though it could take the better part of a year before she was in top form once more. Much to Miranda's annoyance, Shepard was actually slowing the healing process down for herself. The severity of her burns had left her a veritable mummy for the first half of her stay, and yet despite the obvious pain she was in, Shepard still managed to resist every bandage that was brought within an inch of her skin. With the bandages needing to be redressed twice daily, Miranda had been doing a lot of scolding as of late.

She felt bad, she knew how uncomfortable Shepard must feel, but her health was far more important than her discomfort or pride. As Shepard grew stronger each day, her resistance became more resolute, and the hospital staff became more and more frustrated.

"Well," Miranda responded coolly, "we've deviated from the point. You need to let them do their jobs. I hate sitting idle as much as you do, but you're only dragging out the process."

Shepard groaned in frustration, "By why do they have to touch everything so much? Putting bandages on just to pull them off, these people are nuts, Miranda!"

Miranda resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Shepard, you know why they have to do that."

"Hmm," Shepard responded indignantly, clearly unconvinced, "I'd rather risk the infection thank you."

Eyes narrowing, Miranda shook her head, "And I would rather you didn't."

Shepard wiggled about the bed in frustration, "But it's so…itchy. Everything feels," She searched for the right word, "tight, like I'm all stretched out."

"Just try to relax," Miranda soothed, "It will be over and done with soon enough. You're helping nothing by going on about it all day."

Shooting her a glare, Shepard scoffed, "your sympathy is touching."

With a laugh, Miranda stood up from the chair and stretched her arms up to the ceiling, "It's a natural gift."

"Where are you going?" Shepard questioned earnestly as she watched the woman head towards the door, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Get some sleep, Shepard. I just have some things I want to talk to Tali about; I'll be back later tonight."

Pouting, Shepard fell back onto her pillow, wondering just what on this planet could possibly be more interesting than her.

Tali sighed, "It's not like we have many options, this is the best we can do. We're at the end of the line here, I can't help but feel like we're just stalling now."

Garrus laughed, "Well we are. But I agree with Miranda, it's not like we can just turn her off again if we made a mistake and she doesn't recognize us."

They stood around the AI Core in the Normandy, trying to convince themselves they knew what they were doing.

"Tali," Miranda began slowly, careful to not sound overbearing, "She's an AI. Once we bring her online, she going to be a person. I can't just turn her off until we get her the way we want her."

Leaning against the wall, clearly deep in thought, Garrus began speaking slowly as he formed his idea aloud, "What if, as a sort of safeguard, we have somebody she was close to nearby. The first person she 'sees', I don't know if it will work the same way for her as it does for us organics, but I've heard stories of people regaining their memories as a result of contact with family members or even close friends. Sometimes it's even just a particular object."

Miranda crossed her arms thoughtfully, "It certainly would be worth a try," she hesitated for a moment as Shepard's damned influence flooded her mind, and she knew just what the woman would say, "but we can't do that to Joker. If it fell through and she had no idea who he was…"

"Well why don't we use Shepard?" Tali chimed in.

When Miranda didn't look convinced, Garrus took a step forward, "I know you weren't really around, but EDI was really starting to look up to Shepard in the end. They were quite close; Shepard was taking good care of her."

An affectionate smile graced Miranda's lips, she should have known, "Well, I suppose she will be happy to be free of that room for an hour or two."

Both Tali and Garrus had tried to be polite at first while they were waiting together on the Normandy, but the insistent bickering of the two women approaching quickly had them breaking up into laughter.

Shepard was seated in a wheelchair, feeling foolish and undignified as Miranda wheeled her along briskly. Of course she was making her feelings known, and quite loudly at that.

"Would you just relax," Miranda was scolding in annoyance as they entered the room, "there's no shame in taking precautions."

"I've still got legs, lady," Shepard shot back angrily before smiling up at her two friends, "ahh, it's good to be back."

Garrus laughed, "its only temporary I'm afraid. Are you ready?"

As Tali moved to start EDI up, Miranda's hands tightened their grip on the handles of the chair in anticipation. Her face must have given way to her nerves as she soon noticed Shepard's head tilted back and staring up at her.

"Hey, don't worry about it; you know you do damn fine work."

Miranda shot her an exasperated look, causing the woman to grin. When EDI was present, Tali and Garrus both turned to face their commander, looking for guidence. Shepard was merely grining, she had complete confidence in her team.

"Hey, EDI, have you heard that one about the Salarian and the Krogan?"

There was silence, and then a familiar voice was echoing all around them, "Of course, Shepard, might I suggest you research some more recent material? I can send you some to your private terminal if you desire aid."

A laugh filled with relief bubbled up through Shepard's chest, and that horrible weight that had been dragging her heart into her stomach since she had pulled the trigger on the Reapers had dissolved as though it never even existed.

"Thanks, EDI. I would appreciate that."

"My pleasure, Commander."

Everything was going to be okay.

Shepard's demeanor changed drastically as soon as Joker was called to come over. For the first time in a long time she resembled her former self. Tali and Garrus had stayed behind and were filling the AI in on what she had missed in her time away, and the two women were on their way bak to the hospital. Of course, the triumphant feeling of success that had once flooded through her was short lived for Miranda as she was already being driven up the wall.

"You know you have to get her back in that body now, right?"

"I know, Shepard. One thing at a time. Let's get you back now."

Shepard's eyes widened in horror, "No! Wait, I still have to," She paused, looking around the elevator frantically, "do stuff. Here. Right now."

Miranda rolled her eyes and pushed her out into the CIC when the doors opened, not faltering for a single step.

"This is our chance Miranda, get me up to Joker's chair and let's get out of here. I'll be half way to Tuchanka before they even notice I'm gone."

"Not a chance, Shepard."

"Oh wait! My terminal! I've gotta have some messages."

"I'll take care of them later, Shepard."

"The fish! I have to feed the fish!"

"You set up an automatic system months ago."

"How do you always know everything all the time? It's awful."

"My deepest apologies."

"You could at least run as fast as you can and give me a little fun for once."

"Not on your life."