#rushed?

OOH JJ WOULD SO BE A LITTLE SHIT ABOUT IT

it happens about three months after he proposed to you and honestly that ring is the thing you cherish the most for obvious reasons

you lose it in the morning and jj is still a little sleepy when you wake him up to ask if he’d seen it

and obvs he knows where you put it (spoiler alert: you were showing it off to some random girls and dropped it but jj noticed it and saved it)

he doesn’t say anything bc you’re usually so well-put together and it’s funny seeing you losing it a little, but it’s also payback for scaring the shit out of him when you kept freaking out about the ring the whole night and forgetting that he had it no matter how many times he told you

he’d be sprawled across the bed and you’d be yelling at him for help but, in jj’s words, “i never help out anyway”

“jj, i can’t lose that ring”

“it’s just a ring, i’ll get you a new one”

and you’d get FURIOUS because how does he not understand??? and you’re a mess, your hair is a mess, and you don’t understand why he’s grinning at you and yes, okay, you’re pissed off

and that’s when you’d lose it and sit down on the bed, facing jj, on the verge of actually bursting into tears

“it’s not just a ring,” you’d tell him. “to me, it represents our whole relationship, what we’ve been through, and how many times we had to fight our way to get to where we are now, and when you proposed i didn’t think you agreed with me that we were ready, and i could tell how difficult it was for you to put yourself in that position, and it’s not just a fucking ring you dick it matters to me almost as much as you do--”

and he’d grab your face and kiss you and say “i’m sorry”

and you’re like “what” but then he fumbles with the drawer next to the bed and takes out the ring and you think no fucking way

jj places it on your palm and grins at you and goes “please don’t hate me. i love you.”

and then you’d ask “what.” and he’d explain what happened the night before and by the time he’s finished you’re both laughing your asses off

“does it really matter that much to you?” he asks, and you just kiss him because yes, it does

and that’s when jj finally realises how lucky he got with you, and he never forgets it 

She activated her omni-tool and scanned the door panel and worked quickly. When Shepard ran with the Tenth Street Reds, this was what she did... though obviously for more nefarious purposes. It wasn’t why they’d wanted her, but it turned out she had a knack for understanding tech when given the chance -- she’d been invaluable, and it’d saved her ass on more than one occasion.

A telltale beep and she was in. The door swooshed open, and Shepard found herself on the receiving end of an M3 Predator pistol.

“O-oh my God, I’m s-sorry. We heard the voices and we just assumed…” the woman babbled. The weapon clattered to the floor as she backed away slowly, only halting when she hit the wall behind. Donned in lab coats, the woman and her male companion must have been members of the research team that had managed to hide away in time. The man huddled away in the corner, seemingly unfazed by the events -- however, both their faces looked exhausted, dark circles lining the eyes. Shepard could see the woman’s hands trembling.

“We swept the area. You should be safe,” Shepard told them. Alenko caught up first, possibly having heard the small commotion. His brows furrowed in concern.

“Are either of you injured?”

“N-no. We managed to hide; the ship didn’t find us…” Her shoulders seemed to sag. She scrubbed roughly at her eyes with the back of her hand, then edged closer to the other doctor almost protectively. The man glanced up at her, but that was the extent of his reaction to any of them. Shepard had seen odd reactions to trauma. The mind coped however it could. If it could. Sometimes horror could just simply break a person.

“The ship,” Shepard repeated. Williams had mentioned the same thing. “Can you tell me anything about it?”

The woman shook her head faintly. “It… it happened so fast,” she said. “We didn’t see it so much as felt it. We just heard gunfire.” She only seemed to look more drained as the conversation continued. She exhaled deeply and added with a small whisper, “and screams.”

“It’s alright,” Alenko soothed.

Shepard heard footsteps and, knowing it would be Williams -- or at least organic -- glanced over her shoulder. “Anything, Chief?”

“Nada, Commander,” she reported. The woman doctor’s eyes seemed to flash with recognition just as Ash greeted her gently with “Doctor Warren.”

“I know you. You were with the patrols,” Warren breathed. “They gave their lives to save us. Gave us a chance.”

Shepard could see Williams’ demeanor change, faint but there. After what that sacrifice had been turned into… a biological weapon against their own. The Chief swallowed thickly, bobbed her head. “I’m glad you’re safe,” she said sincerely. “Do you know what happened with the beacon, ma’am? You were in charge of the excavation.”

“It was moved to the spaceport this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to pack up before-” she cut off, wrapping her arms about herself. “That’s what they’re here for.”

“Gotta be,” Shepard murmured. She gestured to the two soldiers, ready to move on. They had to move on. “Stay low, alright? Keep that pistol. We’ll be back for you.”

Warren bobbed her head. “Thank you.”

“Move,” Shepard ordered. She punched open the door, readying her gun. “We’ll catch up to Nihlus.”

“A turian would stand out,” Williams said dryly, cocking a faint, half-hearted smirk.

“The Prophet.” Shepard barely caught Dr. Manuel’s hushed whisper. It was the first time he’d spoken at all, and his gaze seemed to pass right through her. A thousand yard stare, they called it. “I saw him.”

The Commander pushed past the other doctor, crouching at his side. She reached up to pull off her helmet and set it carefully aside. Enough distance between them not to be threatening and a friendly face. Shepard’s eyes flickered to Warren as she mouthed ‘stay’ -- a familiar face. “Dr. Manuel?” she prompted gently.

“I saw the turian. He was here,” he repeated. He clutched his knees further to his chest, almost burying his head. Hiding. “Before the attack.”

“That’s impossible,” Alenko said with a frown. “Nihlus was with us on the Normandy.”

“I’m sorry. Manuel has always been a bit… unstable,” Warren told them, considering the word carefully but seeming to wince at it regardless. She mirrored Shepard on his other side, slowly reaching out to touch the man’s arm and give it a small squeeze. “Genius and madness are often two sides of the same coin, I’m afraid,” she murmured downcast. “We’ve been in here since the attack. He -- we haven’t seen your turian. Any turian.”

Shepard furrowed her brows, then slowly nodded and pushed herself back up. It was becoming increasingly clear they would get little more information. Manuel had curled in on himself, nested further into the corner.

He’d began chanting again as they reached the door. Once shut, it cut off any noise, but the Commander could feel the hairs on her neck stand on end.

“You can’t stop it. Nobody can stop it. The darkness has been unleashed upon us,” Manuel almost laughed before it dissolved into frantic mutterings. “No hope. No hope. No hope…”

Shepard sealed the entrance behind them with a few taps of her omni-tool. It wouldn’t be a safe haven, though it was a shot. They’d stay low until the Normandy was able to send a shuttle, have them checked over by Doctor Chakwas. Shepard hated leaving, but was little else that could be done with the mission as a priority.

“Do you think Manuel was right?” Kaidan asked, trailing behind at point. Jenkins’ pistol was tight in his grip