Who: Jane Shepard and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy (Open to Liara too) What: Part of Shepard's crew has arrived, and she's going to meet them. Where: Tali and Liara's room. When: Just after Jane finds out they're here. Rating: PG for feels. Notes:
Jane had been lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep was being elusive again, and Jane had found it difficult to get comfortable. She tossed, she turned, she stared at her dog tags in the dull glow of her PDA. She sat up, she got water, she laid back down again. The bed was still too stationary and the room was still too quiet. Jane sighed in frustration, and pushed herself into a sitting position before snapping up her PDA.
She'd made herself ignore it at night, most of the time, if only because it still made it harder to sleep and Jane knew the exhaustion was going to become a serious problem if she didn't start sleeping for more than one or two hours. The few nights she'd gone out drinking had helped, at least a little bit, but the resulting headache hardly seemed to make it worth the nap. Jane had set the PDA down on the vanity in their bathroom to splash some water on her face and had picked it up after drying her face.
Jane almost dropped the device on the floor with what she saw. Tali'Zorah was here. One of her crew was actually here. Selfishly, Jane felt a swell in her chest and she felt an immediate conflict as to how she felt about it. She didn't particularly like the idea of her crew being split up, especially with Jane gone and the ship on its way to Earth, but having no one here for her?
Jane tried her best to put the thoughts aside as she began talking to Tali, only to discover the strange fact that, somehow, her Quarian friend had become human while going through the portal. Jane figured, and had the fact subsequently confirmed, that this would have likely complicated things for her friend, especially if she was having trouble synchronizing her omni-tool. She immediately began to dress herself in her uniform and get ready to head out the door. Tali'Zorah might have been incredibly self-reliant and independent, but Jane figured these were extenuating circumstances.
Jane's fingers fumbled with the blue fabric and brass buttons, her heart thundered in her chest. Even though she had grown to know several people since her arrival here, most notably her room mate, Zoe, and Danny from California, Jane had found herself longing for the company of her crew. Sure, it had been a relatively short stretch of time, but these were the people who'd been the better part of her life for three, solid, years. These were people who's bonds had been forged through hardship, who were always there for one another, until one day a portal had whisked her away and they were gone.
She had just finished dressing herself when she checked the PDA again and saw the news that not only was Tali here, but she had evidently arrived with Liara. This time, Jane did indeed drop the PDA and found herself fortunate it landed in a pile of blankets.
She didn't have time to think about that now. She just needed to deal with one thing at a time. No one was shooting at her. The world wasn't ending. Jane needed to breathe. She had time to process. That, however, did not make her any more patient. If they were here, there was a lot she'd need to bring them up to speed on. She needed to make sure they were all right, that they had everything they needed. She needed to let them know that, even without The Normandy, she was still there for them with everything she had.
Jane was out the door to her apartment no sooner than her conversation with Tali had wrapped up on the network and bounding up the stairs toward the sixth floor just as fast as her legs could carry her. There was even a moment, as she rounded the landing from floor five to six, that she actually found herself rather thankful for the last three years of sprinting, jumping, and taking cover. It made her remarkably light on her feet.
As she broke the final stair and pushed through the door that would open her up to Tali's floor, Jane slowed her pace to a rather militaristic stride. She kept her hands folded behind her and her spine straight. She knew that the posture wasn't really something she needed but, to Jane Shepard, as she raised her hand up to knock on the door, it was just a way to keep herself collected. If she didn't there was a very good chance she would hug who-ever opened that door so tightly that she'd likely knock them both over.