To Each Their Clone Pt. 02

It had been just over 45 hours since the breakfast where Oriana had been given the news of Shepard's visit. Miranda stood alone in a dim room, lit only by the screens surrounding her. Each one displayed something different; a leg here, a hinge there. Some were circuit diagrams, others a collection of wires or other pathways. They all had one thing in common tough: the massive, squid-like creature of metal that dominated one of the screens entirely, as well as rotating gently in hologram form on a console in the center of the room. As she brought up two images of the same Reaper leg side-by-side, albeit with different layers of depth, a door to Miranda's left hissed open.

"She's here!" Oriana said excitedly, poking halfway into the room.

"Just a minute," Miranda answered casually.

"What do you mean 'just a minute?'" Oriana answered in disbelief. "She's not here in a minute, she's here now!"

"Is she standing with you there right now?" Miranda asked, not even turning to face her sister and leaning forward to manipulate the haptic interface before her. A series of lines appeared running through one of the two images before her.

"Well... no," Oriana admitted. "She's just been dropped off outside, and is probably coming up the-"

"Then an extra..." Miranda turned her head towards a holographic clock on her console "...forty seven seconds won't make that much of a difference. I think I'm onto something here."

"Fine then," Oriana huffed. "I'll go and be the polite host and take her bags then." She turned around and mumbled, "I may as well, I did pretty much everything else f-"

The clarity of Oriana's voice was cut off as the door closed, turning it into an ever-fading incomprehensible rumble before all was silent. Miranda ignored it as she made some notes, then did a double-take.

"Wait, bags?" she uttered to nobody, and began turning her head. "How many ba-"

Oriana wasn't there of course. Miranda made an irritated sound. "Bloody marvelous," she grumbled, placing the datapad down on the console. Switching off all the screens, holograms and consoles, she headed for the door her sister had disappeared behind just moments ago.

Miranda heard Shepard before she saw her. Jane was objecting to something as she came up the stairs from the research lab to the main entrance. Oriana flashed by carrying something fairly large in each hand, calling back about it being "no trouble."

"Ah, there she is," Jane said with a warm smile as soon as they came into view of each other. "I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

Miranda couldn't help but smile broadly at the sight of Jane. Even when off-duty, she was wearing her Alliance fatigues. But then, Jane never seemed to be off-duty. Miranda wanted to make just two quick strides towards Shepard, take her in her arms and press her lips into Jane's, and remain that way forever. But she couldn't do that. Not with Oriana standing right there, watching Jane with a huge grin on her face. Especially not after what she'd picked up on the morning she'd told Oriana about Shepard's visit. She and Jane definitely needed to have a talk, and soon. And a talk while alone at that. Thankfully Shepard had remained pretty reserved as well, and Miranda hoped that she'd keep it that way until they could have this little chat. Looking at Shepard right now told Miranda one thing at least: she'd been spending too much time just standing there staring at the woman rather than answering her question.

"No, nothing important," Miranda finally answered after shaking herself out of the brief daze. "Just more, well... cleaning up the mess you left us."

Shepard laughed in response and turned to Oriana. "This is the thanks I get from your sister for saving the galaxy is it?"

"Oh, she's just sore that there weren't more Reapers intact is all," Oriana quipped with a wink to Miranda. "She says we're helping humanity, but I just think deep down she'd like to be sitting atop a working one wearing a crown and make the world bow to Queen Miranda as the creature does her bidding."

Shepard laughed while Miranda just shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Y'know, if you'd told me that when I first met Miranda, I'd have believed you," Shepard joked. "No question."

Miranda gasped, then reached for a throw pillow from a nearby chair. "You bitch!" she said, half-laughing as she threw it at Shepard. The Spectre took the pillow to the face and fell to the floor deliberately in a manner that would win her no acting awards.

"Oh no!" Jane laughed. "The great Commander Shepard has finally been defeated by a soft cushion." She made feigned dying noises. "When I die, make sure I'm buried in a coffin made entirely of living, naked asari." She paused. "Actually, just bury me in naked asari instead of the ground." Another pause. "And, there's no need to make sure I'm dead first."

"No way," Miranda said with a defiant smirk, crossing her arms and thrusting out one hip. "That would be cruel and unusual punishment for the asari. Putting up with your ego and all."

"This from Miss Perfect," Shepard quipped back.

Miranda narrowed her glance at Shepard, then in an uncharacteristically childish manner poked her tongue out at the Spectre for a split second. Laughter coming from off to the side drew the attention of both Shepard and Miranda.

"My God!" Oriana got out as she realized both women were looking at her. "I had no idea that Shepard was so funny! And so much fun!" She laughed a little more. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"She usually isn't," Miranda said with a smirk. "I think one of those Reapers hit her in the head a little too hard or something."

Shepard laughed and got to her feet, casually tossing the cushion to Miranda. "It's just been a long, loooooong last few months of being down-to-business, deadpan serious," Shepard explained with a shake of the head. "It was good to finally let my hair down and just joke around a little."

"Well, that's what you're here for, isn't it?" Oriana said with a wide grin. "Have you visited any of the others yet?"

"You mean like Garrus, Tali, Wrex, et cetera?" Shepard asked. Oriana nodded. "No. This was the first port of call."

"Oh," Miranda said, and she winked at her sister. "Hear that, sis? You're Shepard's favorite."

Miranda tried not to blush, and tried to make sure Shepard didn't say too much. She noticed the two suitcases at Oriana's side and used them to change the subject, as well as answer a nagging question.

"Two bags? How long were you planning on staying?" Miranda queried.

"If it's okay by you, I was thinking about a week. Maybe a week and a half."

"Oh, wow!" Miranda said. "I didn't realize it'd be that long. I figured, just three or four days."

"Thankfully, one of us planned ahead," Oriana answered proudly. "I brought enough food to last at least ten days. After that, we can always get more. Or perhaps we could eat out a few times at some nice restaurant."

"One thing at a time, Ori," Miranda said, noticing her sister was starting to get excited. If she didn't put an end to this, Oriana would have Shepard's whole visit planned out in the next half an hour. "Shepard's probably tired and just wants to relax for now. We can work out places to go and things to do later."

"You're right, Sis. Sorry Shepard," Oriana apologized. "I'll show you to your room. It's got a great view of the lake."

"My room?" Shepard queried with confusion, then she saw the look on Miranda's face. "Oh, yes! Lead the way, Oriana."

As soon as Jane and Oriana disappeared upstairs and through a door, Miranda slumped against the wall behind her and sighed to the ceiling above.

"I was looking forward to this," she told herself. "Now I'm not sure this is going to end in anything less than some kind of disaster."

Miranda had to take Shepard aside and talk with her, but she needed a way to distract Oriana and keep her distracted for at least a few minutes, preferably closer to half an hour. Oriana had already planned pretty much everything though, so she couldn't exactly send her out of the house for something. She didn't have any boyfriends she could convince to keep her busy with. Or girlfriends for that matter. On top of it all, Oriana was already rather taken by Shepard, and Miranda could see it would be hard to separate them. In fact, why was Oriana interested in Shepard at all when she only asked her about boys and getting their attention? Was she merely bisexual, or was Oriana also trying to hide that side of herself because she thought it was expected of her to like boys? Or did Shepard simply have that same affect on Oriana as she'd had on her two years ago. Unfortunately, while Miranda was usually pretty good at digging for answers, these were questions she could really only find out from the source.

Thankfully for Miranda, Oriana provided an opportunity for her to have some brief alone time with Jane after the two women returned from upstairs. "It'll be time for dinner in an hour or two," Oriana said. "So why don't I go to the kitchen and get it ready while you two catch up on old times, okay?"

"Sounds good," Miranda smiled. She turned to Shepard. "Shall we retire to the living room?"

"Sure," Jane agreed. "Lead the way."

Shepard followed Miranda and the two sat together on the same couch. As soon as Miranda turned to face Shepard, she felt the redheaded Spectre's lips press forcefully against hers and pull her close. Miranda melted into the kiss without thought for a few seconds, but pulled away as reason entered her head just before Jane's tongue followed it.

"Shepard!" Miranda chided in sharp whisper. "Not so careless. Oriana's only one room away!"

"Oh, she won't hear us," Shepard said with a hungry look. Some pots and pans clattered loudly in the distance as Shepard leaned in again. "Case in point," Jane added as her lips mashed into Miranda's once more.

Miranda found herself reciprocating again, returning the kiss almost as much as Shepard was giving it. Shepard pulled away with a slurping smack, pressing her forehead against Miranda's. When Jane next spoke Miranda wasn't sure if it was Shepard's voice or her own thoughts, because they were exactly the same.

"I've been waiting sooooo long for this," the voice said with satisfaction. They kissed again for a few seconds more before Miranda managed to pull herself together, as well as apart from Shepard.

"Jane, wait," Miranda said, gasping in some air. "We need to talk first."

"About Oriana I take it?"

"Yes. About her," Miranda nodded.

"You made it pretty clear before that you haven't told her," Shepard said with a smirk. "But, realistically Miri... she's not stupid."

"Of course she's not stupid," Miranda said proudly. "She's my sister."

"Yes. And I'm pretty sure she already knows about us," Jane said.

"Oh... I'm pretty sure she doesn't," Miranda said with wide eyes and a shake of the head.

"Oh, come on. She must!" Shepard scoffed. "I mean, when we were upstairs she was showing me the view of the lake. She gave me this sly sideways glance and commented on how 'romantic' it looked when the moon reflected in it on a clear night or during sunset." Jane laughed. "She was clearly hinting at something."

Miranda frowned a little at that, shaking her head. "Oh. She really was, that much I agree with you on."

Shepard's brow twisted and she glanced at Miranda sideways. "Meaning?"

Despite being a tad miffed at what Shepard had just told her, Miranda couldn't help but chuckle.

"God, you really are quite thick sometimes, Shepard," she said as she poked her in the chest. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Uhhh..." Shepard began, squeezing her eyes tightly. "No."

"Oriana has a crush on you, you idiot," Miranda said with a roll of her eyes. "She was flirting with you, not making some sort of veiled indication that she knew you and I would get up to some hanky panky while you're here."

"Seriously? Oriana?" Shepard asked, eyes wide. Miranda just nodded. Shepard made an interested noise after a few seconds, and then a smirk came to her face.

"Interesting," she said slyly. Miranda frowned.

"No!"

"What?" Shepard asked.

"Don't you get any ideas about stringing her on, or even just joking about it," Miranda ordered. "You're to discourage this at every turn. In fact, you're to not acknowledge it at all."

"I wasn't going to, I was just going to make a joke," Shepard defended.

"Keep it to yourself," Miranda said. "I don't want to know!"

"How long have you known about this?" Jane asked more seriously.

"Since I told her two mornings ago," Miranda answered.

"Did she just up and say it, or..."

"No, but it was so damn obvious," Miranda said. "Actually, she kind of let it slip. She was going on about you being her own personal hero after everything you've done for her, and how she not only thought a lot of you, but also thought about you a lot."

"She thinks about me a lot, huh?" Shepard said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Apparently," Miranda said with a shrug.

"Even late at night when she's alone in bed and she-" Jane began to make a gesture with her fingers but was cut off.

"You pervert!" Miranda interrupted, walloping Jane with one of the couches throw pillows. "If you keep going on like that, I'll find a way to make one of these things kill you for real."

"Okay, I was kidding!" Jane defended with a laugh.

"It's not funny," Miranda said, hitting Shepard again, but as serious as she tried to make it sound there was mirth in her voice. "It's sad and unfair. And it could tear us apart. That's why we need to be careful, and wait for the right time to tell her."

"I'm sorry, Miri," Jane said, putting a hand on Miranda's knee. "I should have been more tactful."

"Yes, you should have," Miranda answered sharply, but then she smiled. "Boy, is this the reverse of personalities or what?"

"I'll say!" Jane said with a chuckle. "You're usually the one with no tact."

"Bitch," Miranda said, slapping Shepard with the cushion again. "I've warned you. I'll infuse these things with Reaper tech and then we'll see whose so lippy."

"I'll be good," Jane said with a half-hearted salute.

"You'd better be!" Miranda ordered, shaking her finger like a stern teacher. "Especially around Ori. Or else."

"I get it!" Shepard said in feigned fear. "Or you'll kill me with pillows."

"Damn right, I will," Miranda said. "If all else fails, I'll smother you with them in your sleep."

"With the couch ones, or those ones," Shepard said, a pointed finger darting back and forth between Miranda's breasts. Miranda scowled.

"I warned you," she said, pushing Shepard down and hitting her repeatedly. Shepard just laughed loudly as she intentionally defended herself poorly. Eventually she found her own cushion and began fighting back. This lasted a couple of minutes before they heard somebody clearing their throat from across the room. Both looked towards the source, blushing as they saw Oriana standing there with a bowl of potato chips in one hand and one of peanuts in the other. The younger Lawson sister was shaking her head, but had a big grin on her face.

"Honestly! You two are like a couple of children," she chided, followed by a giggle. "I'm the one whose only just stopped being a teenager, and you guys are the ones having a silly pillow fight. Two grown women and all... what do you two have to say for yourselves?"

Miranda checked Oriana's expression at this and it seemed completely oblivious, like she and Shepard were just having a childish pillow fight for the hell of it. It was Shepard who answered, her arm extending towards Miranda. "She started it."

Miranda looked across and scowled, but it quickly grew into a huge grin. "I can't believe you saved the whole galaxy. You."

"I brought you two some snacks," Oriana said. "So be careful with those pillows, or you'll make a mess."

"Yes, Mom," Shepard mocked. Oriana laughed.

"Well, since we're in this sort of mood, maybe we should all have a slumber party tonight," the younger Lawson suggested.

"What?" Miranda asked, the tone of her voice suddenly serious.

"Yeah, y'know... we all just spend the night down here, eating food that's bad for us and watching vids while we chat about girly stuff. It'd be great!"

"Well, I guess that's Shepard's decision," Miranda started, looking across at Jane. Shepard already had her hand up.

"It's a nice thought, Oriana, but... I'm pretty tired right now," she declined. "I'd probably fall asleep before the first movie was even over. Perhaps another night, but I think after dinner and maybe a drink or two, I might call it a night. If you two don't mind that is?"

"Not at all, Shepard," Miranda nodded, relieved that Shepard had turned down the suggestion.

"Yes, of course," Oriana said. "I should have realized." She placed the bowls on the coffee table. "Here are your snacks for now. Dinner's still at least an hour and a half away. I'll give you guys a yell when it's ready."

Oriana disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving Shepard with Miranda again. They cleaned up the room, spending the next hour and a half simply filling each other in on the last few months of their lives, catching up on lost times and reminiscing about old ones. As the night went on, Miranda was becoming more comfortable and confident of things, especially when the three of them talked and mingled during the meal that followed, then had a few drinks in the living room, where Shepard told Oriana stories about Miranda, and Miranda tried to one-up the Spectre each time. When they had each retired to their own rooms at the end of the evening, Miranda felt a lot better than she had upon Shepard's first arrival.

"This is going to work," she told herself as she lay in bed. "I have a good feeling about this."

Jane Shepard was in a good mood the next morning. She got to sleep in for the first time in as long as she could remember, so ended up coming downstairs for breakfast while the other two were already considering what to have for lunch. Shepard just ended up having a light snack while Miranda and Oriana downed their midday meal, then Oriana suggested they take Shepard shopping. Miranda wasn't sure Shepard would enjoy such a humdrum (and somewhat feminine, given the shops they were going to) activity, and in some ways she was right in the end. Shepard seemed a bit at a loss, not really into looking at anything much. Miranda fumed a little whenever Oriana suggested Shepard try on anything that was even remotely revealing, figure-hugging or showed off her curves.

Not that Shepard really had curves like the two Lawson sisters did. Jane was very fit and physically attractive, but she was more muscular and her figure was not quite as smooth or graceful as either Miranda or Oriana. Quite often Shepard's response to Oriana's clothing suggestions was that it would suit either Miranda or Oriana more. Oriana would sometimes blush at this and run off and try it on for Shepard, which also made Miranda silently fume. Whenever Oriana was in a stall getting changed she'd even lean in to Shepard and whisper things like, "be nice, but not too nice" when it came to her opinion on how Oriana would look. Even then, Shepard was a little too complimentary in Miranda's eyes. Jane was at least not wearing her Alliance fatigues on the trip, opting for a pair of dark gray jeans and a tight black t-shirt with the N7 logo on the right breast and the famous red and white stripe down the same sleeve.

Stopping off at a cafe now and then seemed more in line with Shepard's idea of a relaxing afternoon on the town, until she came to a weapons stall and the Lawson sisters had to almost pry the redheaded Spectre away with a crowbar. The same thing happened again when Jane saw a shop that sold model ships, hoping to add more to the collection she had in her quarters on the SR2. After leaving the model shop, Miranda asked Shepard about the famous ship she had once served on and Jane revealed that it was currently getting a refit. After a few more stop-offs at some clothing stores, the trio headed home.