Mass Effect and all related characters and places are owned by Bioware - I just make them dance for my own amusement.

~xxx~

Miranda Lawson looked up as the door to her office hiss open. She hadn't been expecting anyone, so was surprised to see Jack marching straight through the doorway and past her desk. Frowning, Miranda turned in her seat and watched as the tattooed woman took a running leap into the bed, rolling over and sitting quite comfortably against the pillows. Miranda turned back to her desk, quickly flicking her computer screen off. She got to her feet, and slowly stepped towards the bed.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Miranda asked, standing at the foot of her bed and raising an eyebrow at the other woman.

"Nothing really," Jack replied with a shrug. "Got bored – tired of those fucking engineers always bothering me."

"And so you came to me?" the Cerberus Agent questioned, her tone still disbelieving.

"Hey, don't act like that," Jack replied hotly. "You didn't seem to care so much last night when you had your fingers up my ass."

"I told you we'd never talk about it," Miranda said sternly, folding her arms. "Ever."

"Aww, is the cheerleader embarrassed that she's been fucking the freak?" Jack cackled, leaning forwards into a sitting position.

"I'm embarrassed for you if you feel the need to shout it about so freely," the raven-haired woman snapped.

"Christ, calm down, babe," Jack replied, leaning back against the pillows. "Though you are kinda hot when you're angry."

"Jack, now is not the time," Miranda said, turning back towards her desk and walking towards it. "You can come by later if you want, but don't pester me while I'm working."

"Why the hell not?" the bald woman snapped. She gestured with her arms, holding them wide. "There's no one else here! No one's going to hear what you and I have been doing."

"Jack, stop."

"No, I think I should go through everything we did," Jack replied, grinning sadistically. "Let's see, there was the time you followed me into the shower, remember? And you fucked me senseless against the wall! Oh, and then when you got back from dealing with your sister, we spent the whole night bumping pussy, remember that?"

"I have nothing to say to you." Miranda said, turning back to face Jack, glaring at her.

"So that's it?" the convict responded, pushing herself off the bed and following the other woman. "I'm just your little plaything? I shouldn't have expected anything different – I've always been your organisation's little toy."

"That wasn't Cerberus – I told you," Miranda replied fiercely.

"I don't give a fuck what you told me!" Jack said, leering in Miranda's face. "It was a Cerberus facility, it was Cerberus people!"

"They had gone rogue, they had nothing to do with us," the dark-haired woman replied hotly, still not resorting to shouting.

"You're just like everyone else that's ever screwed with me – you take what you can, and then act like you never even knew me!"

"Jack, that's not-"

"Shut up!" Jack shouted, her biotics flaring in a haze of light around her. "I don't care!"

"Jack, please..." Miranda reached out, attempting to place a hand upon the other woman's arm. Jack however, slapped it away.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" as she yelled, Jack used her powers to fling the nearest chair at Miranda. It narrowly missed, impacting against the wall and clattering to the floor.

"Enough!" a third voice interrupted. Both women turned to find Commander Freya Shepard standing in the doorway, her eyes blazing. "Stand down, both of you!"

"The cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!" Jack growled, glaring in Miranda's direction.

"It wasn't Cerberus, not really," Miranda replied, forcing her voice to be calm in the presence of Shepard. "But clearly you were a mistake."

For the briefest of moments, Jack's eyes betrayed just how deep those words cut her.

"Screw you!" she snapped, instantly regaining her composure and jabbing a finger in Miranda's direction. "You've got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!"

"You two need to both calm down," Shepard replied sternly, stepping closer. "The mission is too important for you to let your personal feelings get in the way."

"Fuck your feelings," Jack snapped. "I just want her dead."

"You're behaving like children," Shepard said, looking between the two of them. "How are we supposed to fight the Collectors if you're too busy ripping each other to pieces?"

"I can put aside my differences," Miranda said coolly, stepping closer to Jack. She gazed intently into the other woman's eyes, attempting to express her apologies through her expression. "Until the mission's over..."

"Sure, I'll do my part," Jack replied detachedly; clearly Miranda's expression had gone unnoticed. "I'd hate to see her die before I get a chance to filet her myself."

Jack made to leave the room, but Shepard's arm stopped her. "You two going to be okay?" the Spectre asked, glancing between the two of them. Jack just pushed the blonde woman's arm aside and continued out the door.

"It's a good thing you came by when you did," Miranda said, letting out a deep breath and reseating herself behind her desk. "As long as she does her job, we'll be fine. Thanks, Shepard."

"Don't mention it," the commander replied, turning towards the door. "What was she even doing up here?"

"...I don't know," Miranda replied after a small pause. "She's crazy – who knows how her mind works."

Shepard just sighed and nodded, quickly exiting the room. Miranda turned back to her computer, and flicked the screen back on. Instantly, an image of Jack's face filled the screen. Miranda couldn't help but smile at the picture – beside Jack's, her own smiling face was looking up at the camera Jack had been holding. With a sigh, she closed the image file, and continued with her work.