Shepard Stories

by Da Foaming Dragon

These stories are just fragments (Blips or One Shots) of Jonathan Shepard through the first three games and his life afterwards. These stories are of Shepard, his family or friend's. What lies ahead for him, his lover and his children? The stories are in chronological order and one will explain another whether it's next or further down the line.

1. Meeting Liara

Chapter 1: Meeting Liara

Shepard, Ashley, and Tali all hopped off the rickety elevator. "Let's hope we can find another way up that doesn't require us to get back on that death trap waiting to happen." Looking around at the busted walkway he said, "Wow the Geth have really torn this place up. We need to find Dr. T'Soni and get out of here." Heading further down the broken walkway, he can see a blue barrier illuminating the floor below. Once he reached the bottom, he heard a lady call out, "Hello, can anybody hear me?" Shepard turned and said, "Well… isn't that a sight?" Looking at an Asari suspended in the air in a blue barrier bubble. He looked over to Tali and asked, "What is that?"

Scanning the barrier bubble, she replied, "I'm not sure, Commander, but I wouldn't touch it. It looks to be some sort of protective bubble."

Ashley said, "Yea, let's not do that Skipper it could shock us or who knows what else."

"Good call, Ash." He said as he walked closer to the blue barrier bubble, he heard her call out, "Can you hear me? I'm trapped; I need help!" He cocked his head, then said: "We hear you are you, Dr. Liara T'Soni?"

"Yes! Thank the goddess I did not think anyone would come looking for me. This thing I'm in is a prothean security device. I cannot move, and I need you to get me out of it." Replied Liara

"Hmm? How long have you been in there? Are you ok?" he asked as he rubbed his chin.

"I accidentally trapped myself in here when some Geth and a Krogan battle master we're chasing me. I honestly don't know how long I've been in here. Possibly a few days. Can you please get me out of here?"

He turned to Tali and Ashley "What do you think? Do you see a way to get her out of there?"

"Skipper we need to ask her some questions first," suggested Ashley

"You're right!" he exclaimed then turned back to Liara. "Your mother Matriarch Benezia has currently taken sides with a rogue Spectre and the Geth, whose side are you on?"

Shocked, she replied, "What? I'm not on anybody's side. I may be Benezia's daughter, but I'm nothing like her! I haven't spoken to her in years. Please just get me out of here!"

"Ok, do you have any ideas on how we shut this thing down?"

"Yes, there's a control panel that can shut it down, but it's behind me, and I'm not sure as to how you get to it. The Battle master and his goons couldn't figure it out, but maybe you can. Be careful they're still in here somewhere."

"Thanks for the heads-up Dr. T'Soni we'll be back as soon as we clear the area and find a way to get you out." He smiled then said, "

"So, don't you go anywhere." He then looked at Ashley with a grin and gave her a quick brow raise.

Ashley shook her head as she smirked, "Nice one, skipper."

He snickered, "What? I couldn't pass that one up. She literally can't go anywhere."

Tali called out. "Commander, come take a look at this. I believe this will do the trick."

Shepard walks up to a large mining laser with a broad grin on his face then pats the laser. "Yes, Tali I believe this will do nicely. We can punch a hole underneath, and that should get us to the other side. Let's clear these Geth and then go get Dr. T'Soni."

Ashley nodded, "Copy that, Skipper."

The mining laser cut a massive hole in the ground. So big that two large makos could have driven through it. "Well that was bigger than I expected, but it did the job. Let's get Dr. T'Soni and get out of here." Said Shepard. They walked through the large opening and rode an elevator shaft up to the floor that Liara was on.

Walking up behind her, she turned to look at them "Wow, how did you get in here? I didn't think there was anyway passed the barrier!" said Liara

"We need to get you out of here before more Geth arrive." Suggested Shepard

"Right, I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime. That button over there should shut down the barrier. Shepard walked over to the terminal and hit the button to release her from the barrier." Liara dropped to the ground, and as she stood, she wiped herself off. She turned as she said, "Thank you, Mister?"

Shepard walks to her, "My apologies, Dr. T'Soni. How rude of me, I am Commander Jonathan Shepard of the Alliance Navy and Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. My crew members here are Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the Alliance Navy and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

Tali said, "Well, now that's out of the way. How do we get out of here?"

The ground starts trembling. "What the hell is that?" mentioned Ashley

Liara looks around, "That mining laser must have triggered some seismic activity. We need to get out of here and fast before the whole place caves in." She said quickly

Hitting the com on his earpiece. "Joker, I need you to lock in on my signal and get the Normandy here on the double!" demanded Shepard

Ashley pointed ahead, "Holy crap Skipper, we have a battle master ahead and some very large Geth."

He quickly turned to Liara and suggested, "Find some cover. Everyone else let's kill them and get out of here before we all die."

-/

Shepard threw his head back "Ha! Ash! That has to be a new record. I seriously think we took them all down in about two minutes flat."

"Well Sir, your crash and bash are pretty damn brutal. It's not every day you see a vanguard charge a Krogan battle master head on."

With the room falling down around them be quickly said, "Ok, enough talk, let's get the hell out and on the double!" As they ran up the long ramp and toward the exit, Shepard looked back to see Liara trailing behind. He stopped and ran back to her. "Dr. T'Soni we need to move, are you ok?"

Resting her forearms on her thighs as she took in deep breaths, "I'm trying, I'm just so exhausted." She rose her hand to her head. "I… I…"

"Ok… Well, there's no time, and I hope you don't mind." He picked her up in a fireman's carry and swiftly ran her out the rest of the way. When he exits the cave, he quickly said: "Ash, call up Dr. Chakwas to prep the med bay for Dr. T'Soni." He carefully carried her into the med bay and laid her down on the closest available bed. "Karin, I have Dr. Liara T'Soni here. We found her trapped in some prothean security device and she didn't know how long she was trapped in there."

Karin walked over to her and took a quick glance at her "From what I can see, she looks extremely dehydrated. Thank you, Commander. She should be fine for several hours."

"Thank you, Karin. I'll let her rest and check in on her tomorrow."

-/

Liara's eyes slowly blinked open. She stirred quietly as she looked around the dimly lit room to see a woman typing softly away at her computer. The older woman stopped typing and said: "You're awake."

"Yes, I am. Where am I?" she asked

She stood from her desk and walked over. "I'm Dr. Karin Chakwas, the medical doctor and surgeon on the SSV Normandy, and you're in my med bay."

Liara blinked several times then pinched her brow markings "How did I get here?"

"Commander Shepard carried you in here. He said you fainted down in the cave. You were extremely dehydrated, extremely fatigued, and a bit malnourished. Let me just do a quick scan. You seem to be much better now. I sent your clothes off to get cleaned; they should be done in the next hour or so. If you like, there's a small bathroom with a shower right on the other side of this room. I've placed a set of toiletries in there for you and a spare outfit. I know you Asari are accustomed to open nudity but being that this is an Alliance human ship we tend to have rules when it comes to that. Besides, humans and nudity we're just not that comfortable with it around strangers. So, just a mental note. When you're done washing up, you can just toss the gown in the clothing bin there. Then we can head out and have breakfast if you like." Replied Dr. Chakwas

Liara smiled "Thank you! Breakfast, you say? I am absolutely famished. How long was I out? I also must speak with the captain of the ship."

Dr. Chakwas looked down at her Omni tool, "About fifteen hours dear. It's currently 0800, and you've already spoken to him. The captain of the ship is Commander Shepard. Why don't you go ahead and shower? He'll be by here shortly to check on you."

-/

Liara walked out to see Commander Shepard talking to Dr. Chakwas. He turned to her as he smiled then said, "Hello, Dr. T'Soni I hope you're feeling much better today?"

She walked over and smiled, "Yes, I am. Thank you for asking Commander."

He nodded, "That's great news. Would you care to grab some chow?" His question fell on deaf auxiliary cavities when she became lost in his beautiful crystal blue eyes. Shepard cleared his throat, "Dr. T'Soni?"

She snapped herself out of her, daze, "Hmm? I'm so sorry, what was the question?"

He smiled at her. "Breakfast? Would you care to join us for breakfast?"

Blushing slightly, she replied, "Oh, yes! Please, I'm starving." Goddess how embarrassing

-/

They walked into the chow hall, grabbed their trays, some available prepared food then Liara nervously followed Shepard to a table. Goddess, there are so many people here. I'm never going to fit in here. I can't do this.

He glanced at her and noticed she's was nervous "You ok? We don't have to eat with the others today. Would you like to eat alone?"

Shifting on her feet "Commander, I'm a bit of a recluse. This crowd is making—"

"No, it's fine doctor. How about we sit in my office and talk while we eat?"

She looked at him and smiled "That is very kind of you Commander. Thank you."

Sitting at a small table in his office, he looked her way and said: "So, Dr. T'Soni tell me about you."

Taking a careful bite of her yellow looking curds, she replied, "Well, Commander, I spend most of my days on remote dig sites alone, researching Prothean artifacts. The other days are spent analyzing the data and writing papers."

The commander nodded his head and smiled as he took a sip of his coffee. "Sounds…. interesting."

Not catching on to his tone, she smiled and continued, "Well, it can be quite interesting at times…" She continued to ramble on until she looked up to see him digging around at his tray then said: "and…. I'm boring you, aren't I?"

He looked up at her "Oh, I'm sorry. No no, I just have a lot running through my mind at the moment. You're not boring, and I was listening." He smiled at her then said, "Please continue about the prothean artifact cluster you found."

She raised her eyebrow markings in surprise that he was actually paying attention. "Oh, well I wrote a thesis on it and submitted it to the Galaxy's Archeological Team, but I have yet to hear back from them about it."

He interlocked his hands and placed them on the table, "How have you not? You're the number one prothean archeologist in the galaxy? I mean that's why Saren and your mother are after you. It's also why we came looking for you."

"It's because I'm only a hundred and six a child by most Asari standards and they see my work as non-reputable." She replied

Rubbing his chin "I see, well how would you like a job in the Alliance Navy as our civilian prothean advisor?"

Blinking at him, "Sounds probable. What's the pay?"

Leaning his hand on his thigh, he smiled then said in a playful tone "Ehhh you're only a hundred and six I mean the Galactic Archeological Team doesn't even look at your work. So, I'm thinking low."

Scrunching her face as she pinched her eyebrow markings and huffed.

He noticed she didn't catch his playful tone, "Dr. T'Soni, I was joking."

She softly bumped her head with the palm of her hand "Oh, by the goddess, how could I be so dense. I'm not used to that type of banter."

He gave a soft chuckle "Well, Dr. T'Soni if you're going to work on this ship you'll definitely need to get used to it. The best I can probably offer you is 7000 a month plus food, a roof over your head and our company."

She stared at him for a moment. He has a wonderfully kind face and a lovely smile. Extending her hand. "Commander, you have yourself a deal."

He smiled as he shook her hand. "Great! Welcome aboard the SSV Normandy" He stands from his seat and walks over to his desk. Her eyes follow him all the way there in amazement as she looked him up and down. Wow, he is so very mmm… she shook her head and looked back down at her trey. What is wrong with you?

He sat back down across from her, then cleared the trays from the table. He tapped the small stack of papers together then slide them over to her "If you could read over these documents and sign them."

She slid them closer to her and leaned down somewhat to get a closer look "What are these?"

He cleared his throat "The regular military mumbo jumbo affidavits and you agreeing to the amount of pay we discussed." He placed a palm down on the pages in front of her face. She jerked her head back as he twisted them back to him. He flipped through a few pages and held his finger on one then turned them back to her. "This is the one you need to worry about. Just make sure you definitely sign this one or you don't get paid."

Liara scooped up the pages this time and looked them over. Shepard chuckled as he got up from the table. "I'm going to drop these trays off as you analyze those pages."

Looking at him over the pages in confusion, "Am I not supposed to read important documents such as these?"

He smiled at her "People such as you do yes, but most just sign their life away."

Furrowing her brow markings as she spoke, "Sign my life away? What exactly am I going to be doing?" She paused for a brief moment, "I'm thinking, I need to re-evaluate my pay before I sign."

Shepard rumbled in laughter "Dr. T'Soni; you honestly take every meaning literally? Signing your life away is just a saying…." Then he paused and thought for a moment. "Well… actually, it's normally just a saying, but in my line of work, it's literal. So, maybe we DO need to discuss what you will be doing. Give me a minute to drop off these trays. I'll be right back." He left and when he returned he was right back in motion "So, as you know this is a military ship and well… there are some dangerous situations going on. If you're going to take this job, there could come a time where you could be in danger. So yes, in other words, you're signing your life away, if that is what you choose. I really… I mean we, could really use your expertise with these prothean artifacts."

She smiled at him, "I see. I should inform you that I've trained with commandos and I can take care of myself. I developed into my biotics at an extreme rate when I was younger, and I know how to use a pistol."

Impressed with what she said "Very nice doctor. I was honestly afraid you didn't have any combat skills."

Leaning back in her chair and speaking with excitement, "Tell me more about this prothean artifact. Can I see it?"

Scratching the back of his neck "No, the prothean beacon exploded when I accidentally used it on Eden Prime."

Looking at him with wide eyes and utter amazement. "Wait, you found an actual working prothean beacon, and you used it? Amazing." She replied as she looked him over.

Wincing slightly "Yes and I can't make heads or tails of the visions. To be quite honest with you, they're giving me terrible nightmares and headaches…. and…. I have no idea why I told you that last part." Looking at her, looking him over, he smiled "Ease up there Doctor. It almost seems as if you want to whisk me away to some lab and dissect me."

In shock, she quickly replied, "What? No, I would… oh you're doing it again, aren't you? Joking with me."

He chuckled then said, "Yes, I am."

She stood slowly and walked up to him and hesitantly said "May… I… do a meld with you."

Blinking rapidly and tripping over his words, "I umm. Well… I... " She suddenly realized what he probably thought; she rapidly responded "Oh, not that kind of meld Commander. This would be just a light melding to gather information to help with the visions. Besides, I've never done one of those types of melds."

He chuckled as he pointed to her, "Nice one Doctor. I see your catching on."

She looked at him in confusion, "I'm sorry I don't understand. Catching on to what?"

His brows lifted as he studied her face "Nothing, I umm miss understood you for a moment." Clearing his throat and changing the subject "Dr. T'Soni, if you decided to become part of this team, I'll need to find you some sleeping quarters. I believe there's a space behind the med bay. I'll send a message over to Dr. Chakwas about it. Also, if you don't mind, I'd like you to join me in training."

Stepping away from him and toward the documents, "Right the documents. I almost forgot. I'll take a look and get them back to you as soon as possible. Whenever you can find a place for me, I will be grateful. When's your next training day."

"I'll let you know about training days the day before if that's ok? You're more than welcome to go down to the gym area and workout at any time. It's down on the bottom floor."

"Thank you, Commander. I should head to the med bay and talk with Dr. Chakwas about those quarters. Thank you for talking with me."

"It was my pleasure Doctor, and please call me Shepard or Jon if you wish, but there's no need for formalities unless we're on a mission."

She gave a small smile toward him. "Thank you, Shepard. Please call me Liara."

"Well, I'll see you around Liara."

-/

Liara rose early the next morning. "Well, if I'm going to be training with Shepard, then I need to get back on my workout regimen." She said as she began to stretch in front of her cot. "Ok, he said the gym was on the bottom floor." She didn't think many people would be there, but when she walked down, she could hear whirring and clanking of machines. As she walked through she could hear people chatting and laughing as they worked out. Ok, T'Soni don't embarrass yourself just a light workout today. Yoga maybe and cardio. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Shepard lifting weights. Goddess, he has no shirt on! As she did yoga, she glanced over at him time and again. Watching him pull his chiseled body up above the bars. Mmm, look at him work those muscles. His body… She shook her head, Liara it's just a human man working out just concentrate on your yoga. After her yoga, she stepped on the treadmill for a run. Five minutes into her run, Shepard walked over to her and hopped on a treadmill next to her. "Good morning, Liara."

"Good morning Shepard" replied Liara

"I see you did some yoga there. Nice for calisthenics."

I see he was watching me as well. "Yes, it good to be limber."

Chuckling as he ran, "Yes, I suppose so."

She glanced over at him as he laughed Goddess Liara limber... really? Look at all that sweat dripping down his bare chest. Her inner desire sparked then she closed her eyes and took a breathed mmm I can smell him. What he could do to me, with that body. Mmm Her heart was beginning to race, not from running but from thinking of Shepard sexually. He called out her name, and her first response was with a sexual tone, "Yes?" Liara quickly cleared her voice and responded again but in a normal tone, "Yes, Shepard?"

Smiling at her, "I said, how many miles do you normally run?"

"I just run until I'm tired. Maybe five? I'm not sure."

He gave a slight nod, "Good to see you have endurance."

"Well, yes, you have to have it to maintain your biotics."

"Very true Liara."

She glanced over his way again to see he was chatting with Ashley. Her brow furrowed, then faded quickly. Liara, you barely know him. Did you just show a hint of jealousy? Ugh, I just want to touch his body.

After her run, she stepped down and began to walk out when he called out to her. "Hey Liara, wait up a minute" She turned to him and waited. He walked over to her and said, "How about tomorrow morning we do some training? Say 0630?"

"Yes, that would be fine." She turned and smiled as she walked out, thinking it would just be the two of them training. Her smiled faded when she heard him say "Hey Ash, Kaiden training tomorrow at 0630. I'll let Tali and Garrus know."

She rose early the next morning at 0545 to make sure she made it to training on time. Walking into the gym at 0628 she saw that everyone was already there waiting on her. She rechecked her Omni-tool to make sure that she wasn't late. "My apologies, Am I late?"

"When you're early, you're on time. When you're on time, you're late. When you're late, well…that's unacceptable," Ashley said in a harsh tone.

Shepard nodded at Ashley, "That's right Ash." He glanced at Liara. "Thank you for joining us Liara."

Turning a darker shade of blue. "I'm sorry for being late. It won't happen again."

Liara, you and Tali will be going first. He handed Tali and Liara a thin chest guard. "Here, put this on" She looked at it in confusion as Tali mumbled in irritation.

Ok crew, what are our main two rules? Kaiden spoke, "Maintain your surroundings and your cover at all times."

That's correct Lieutenant. He looked at Ashley, Garrus, and Kaiden and smiled. "Ladies, your objective is to reach from this corner here to that corner over there, unscathed." Looking at Liara "No harsh biotic moves." He handed them two weapons. "Here are your weapons. I'll do a countdown of three then you go. Let's see what you got."

Liara looked at Shepard with wide eyes. "Are we shooting live rounds in here?" Before he could speak, Tali said, "Of course not. Now get over here and get ready."

In a loud voice, he barked out, "Hit the lights!" The defending team scrambled into place while the opposing team waited. Liara's heart was jumping out of her chest. She whispered to Tali, "Goddess, this is scary."

"It is but you have an advantage, your face isn't glowing…" mumbled Tali

After several minutes in the dark, they heard Shepard say "Ladies on my mark. Lights on my mark. 3 – 2 – 1 – mark!"

Liara's eyes took a second or two to adjust to the lights. Nervously she scanned the area but couldn't see any of her attackers.

Tali looked over at Liara. "We go on two. Ready?"

Liara nodded at her. "And 1..2 break" They broke from cover and ran toward the next set of cover. Liara felt a hit on her body. She looked down to see a little paint splattered on her protective vest. Looking at Tali "Goddess, I got hit"

Tali looked at her than herself. "Ugh me too. Did you see where they are?"

She shook her head then looked over her cover quickly. "No…"

Tali sighed, "Ok, let's try to move again. Ready?" Liara nodded in agreement. Before they could move, Shepard called out. "Hold it right there you two! Everyone else stay where you are!" He waved his hand down as he said, "Take a look at yourselves. You're both dead." They looked up to see two sniper red dots on their center chest."

He walked over to the side table and grabbed a wet towel and walked back over to Liara and Tali. He wiped the paint off their vests. "Ok, Ladies let's try it again, but this time I'll walk you through it." He crouched down behind a crate. "Ladies, listen, look, find your target then move quickly. Try not to speak because they can hear you and use hand movements. If you don't know them, then I suggest you learn them. Now, follow my lead."

Liara and Tali's second time through the task they made it to the end with Shepard leading them. After continuous variations with different people, it was over. "Ok everyone, bring it in" Looking at Liara and Tali, "Much better towards the end, ladies." Liara looked at him. "Why not just lead us every time?"

"The first time I wanted to see what you could do, and it looks like you need some improvements. I won't always be leading, and at times you'll be in different groups." Replied Shepard

She blushed slightly, "I didn't know what to expect."

"No one ever knows what to expect in battle Liara. Each time will be different, and you must be prepared at all times. Can I touch you?"

Taken back by what his last words and somewhat confused, "I'm sorry?"

He put up his hands as he spoke, "My hands, can I put them on you?"

Goddess, please do… She looked around the room then back at Shepard nervously. "Yes, I suppose so."

He walked around her as he talked and waited for her to respond. When she did, he grabbed her quickly from behind. Wrapping his arm around her in an abrasive bear hug and clamping on with his other hand. "Now, Liara what would you do in this situation?"

Frightened that he just did that to her. She nervously said. "I umm well…" After a moment of her unable to comply, he withdrew from her. "You ok? I didn't mean to scare you."

She cleared her throat as she brought her hand up to her throat "I'm fine."

"Ash front and center!"

"Aye-aye Skipper." Replied Ashley

He grabbed her in the same manner. "What would you do in this situation, Williams? Walk them through it."

"Yes, Sir!" she replied as she looked at Liara then Tali. "Depending on the grab and situation. There are different versions of how to get out of this hold. You drop down, bend at the knees. The next moves, you do at full force. Bring your foot down hard on their instep that should break their hold slightly. Then you turn and move out slightly after impact, hard elbow blow to the side or sternum then elbow to the throat right in the windpipe. Or you can go for the nose with the elbow or the palm of your hand, then you retreat or just shoot them in the face."

Shepard released Ashley then said, "Nice job, Williams."

He walked back up to Liara, "You ready this time?" He grabbed her again and pulled her in. "Walk me through it T'Soni."

She swallowed hard then proceeded to explain, "Bend, foot stomp, turn, elbow, elbow, and retreat."

He nodded as he smiled at her. "Good." He stood back then looked at them "The number one thing to remember here ladies is to not put yourself in that situation. Know your surroundings at all times. We will cover other moves the next time we meet up." He pointed at Liara, "What are your biotic skills?

She responded quickly, "Warp, stasis, throw, and barrier."

Shepard nodded, "What are your weapon skills?"

"Pistol pretty much."

"Ok, Show me." He placed a target on a crate then pointed at it "Hit it."

She pulled her very real looking combat training paint gun. She readied her stance and right before she finished pulling the trigger. Ashley made a loud noise behind her, and Liara jumped as she shot. She narrowed her eyes at Ashley.

Shepard looked at Liara. "Try again Liara; not every moment is going to be perfect. You have to be prepared for everything. Look, aim, and shoot. Focus but not so much that you lose your background. Try again." She looked, she aimed and right before she was about to shoot. He gently eased up behind her and blew on her neck, distracting her. She tensed up and missed her target again.

He chuckled, "T'Soni, so tell me again about these commandos you trained with?"

She dropped her head, then shook it. "They would be disappointed. I know that much."

He touched her shoulder, "Rusty, huh?"

She nodded, "Yes, you could say that."

"Would you like to work on it?" he replied

She smiled, then said, "Yes, that would be fantastic."

He turned toward Williams. "Hey…"

Liara touched his arm "With you if you don't mind." He looked at her, "Alright, T'Soni." He called back to Williams, "Ash, get Liara set for a sparring match."

"Aye-Aye Skip. Is she sparring me?" asked Ashley

"Nah Chief, she wants to fight me." He said as a grin crept across his face.

Ashley set up Liara in a pair of gloves as she spoke to her, "He's not going to go easy on you. Well, he never has with anyone else."

Liara blinked for a moment "Wait, are we really sparring? I thought we were just going to cover moves?"

William's laughed "Good luck" She put the headgear on her and placed a mouth guard in her mouth.

Shepard removed his shirt then pulled on a set of gloves. He turned toward Liara. "Alright, T'Soni. Let's see what you got" He waved her on. Ok, Liara let's see what it takes to put pressure on you.

She looked at him. Goddess, why does he have to fight with his shirt off! They dance around the mat for a bit as she threw a few punches and he tapped her back gently. He grimaced at her, "I'm not impressed T'Soni you're making this too easy for me." He pushed her hard and with a stern voice, "Don't be scared. You some kind of, little weak princess's. Come at me. Let's go!" With Fire in her eyes, she came at him like a raging bull. Swinging at him quick and fast, making contact with his chest. Then she moved toward his face, and he swiftly blocked her jabs. Taunting her again, he waved her on "Come on T'Soni what else you got? Is that it? It's weak!" She growled and came at him harder. Shepard purposely missed but he swung at her. She stepped back to retreat. Taunting her more "You scared or are you going to lay more on me, huh princess? Come on, weakling!" Pinching her brow markings as she threw a low kicking sweep to his leg. He went down but recovered quickly. "Oooh, you want to use legs, huh? Alright, let's go" He growled as he biotically charged her but ever so gently rammed into her. Caught by surprise, she fell down on her butt. Scalding her "What's a matter T'Soni? Do you need a break?"

She spit out her mouthpiece as she stood and came back harsh "I don't know Shepard weren't you just laying down on the job?"

Shepard rumbled in laughter. "Oooh, now that was a quip T'Soni! I like it." She came at him as he was talking, jabbing at him quickly. As quickly as she made the jabs, he blocked or dodged them. He continued his taunts toward her. "Is this all your capable of? If so, it's weak." He saw the anger in her eyes. There it is. He continued to taunt her, "Come on, weakling! Let's go!"

In anger, she bit her glove and ripped it off. In a blind rage, she grabbed him in a is a stasis field and threw him into a stack of crates and yelled: "I am not weak!"

Ashley ran over to him. "Skipper are you ok?" She turned to Liara in anger "Damn it Liara; this is a fucking training session, not a damn battle! Kaiden help me get him out of there."

Kaiden called up to Joker "Joker, can you get Dr. Chakwas down to the gym ASAP!"

Joker's voice came overhead, "Copy that LT."

Instant horror came over Liara's face. She ran over to them and attempted to help. "Goddess, I am so sorry!"

Ashley glared at her "Liara, I think you've done enough."

They heard Shepard groan after several moments and a few attempts to move him from the busted crates. He sat up and blinked his eyes hard "Damn Liara" He was about to stand up when he heard an older woman, "You wait right there young man. What happened here?"

Ashley spoke up, "Well, during our training session, Blue here decided to biotically throw our Commander with force, into these damn crates!"

Dr. Chakwas furrowed her forehead as she looked at Liara, "I see, I'm sure he's fine Chief. Let's just take a quick look." She said as she scanned him

Kaiden walked up to the doctor and spoke in her ear "He was out for a few moments."

She nodded as she finished her scan of the Commander. "Alright, Commander let's get you up and into the med bay."

"I'm fine, Karin. There's no need for the med bay." Shepard said as he stood up.

With a stern voice, "I'll let you know what's ok and not ok when it comes to medical care Commander. Now get to the med bay!"

Shepard groaned "Yes, ma'am. Everyone else hit the showers then get some chow."

Liara walked through the med bay with her head lowered as she quickly walked to her room as Dr. Chakwas tended to Shepard. When she emerged thirty minutes later, he was already gone. Karin spoke as she heard Liara walking up to her. "He's fine dear — nothing he hasn't experienced before. Just a few minor bruises, a couple of scrapes, and a minor head knock. Nothing major. He'll be fine in a few hours. He'll be down for breakfast shortly to speak with you."

Liara nodded then walked out into the mess hall to see the majority of the Normandy crew glaring at her and talking harshly about what happened. She lowered her head and stood in line to quickly grab her food and to retreat back to her room. Shepard came down to the mess hall to see Liara not down there. He heard people talking ugly about her and what happened. Shepard whistled loudly to catch everyone's attention, then spoke in a commanding voice, "Listen up! What happened down in the training area today was what I wanted to happen. I needed to see what Liara was capable of before I took her on any mission. None of you will scorn her about this or continue to speak of this negatively. If you have a problem with her or my training lessons, then you come speak to me directly. Am I understood?"

They all acknowledge, "Yes, Sir!"

"Good now get back to what you were doing." He grabbed his tray of food and made his way to Liara's room. He knocked on her door and waited for her to answer. When she didn't, he spoke to her through the door. "Liara, it's Shepard. May I come in?" He heard her soft voice. "Come in."

He entered and set his tray off to the side on a crate. "Are you ok?"

She wiped the last of her tears away and cleared her voice. "Yes, I'll be fine."

He pointed to a crate near her desk. "May I?"

She nodded, "Please."

Speaking in a gentle voice, "My crew members can be children at times. I'm sorry if they hurt you with their rude and ugly behavior. I've already spoken to them about it, and everyone is at an understanding."

Liara lowered her head and clasped her hands together in her lap. "Shepard, I could have seriously injured you. What if I threw you into a wall?"

He gently placed a hand on hers. "But you didn't Liara."

Taking a deep breath, "Ashley told me you don't go easy on anyone, but you did on me. Why?"

He smirked at her "I didn't go easy on you. I wasn't there to physically harm you. I wanted to see what you were capable of. I noticed my taunting irritated you. So, I continued to lay it on, and you showed me exactly what I wanted to see. You're not afraid to give it your all when the time calls for it. You came at me with fierce intensity. When you've had enough, you ended the situation. This is what I want from you in battle. Everything you have and never be afraid to dig deep within you, I knew it was there. I just had to draw it out of you."

She laughed slightly "It's been a long time since I've done anything like that."

He patted her hand. "And…. How do you feel?"

She looked up at him "For a brief moment, I felt enlightened. Right up until I noticed I injured you."

He chuckled. "Well, Liara, you did a damn fine job today. Do you mind if I eat in here with you?"

She smiled at him "I would like that and thank you. Can you tell me something about you?"

He finished his bite of food. "Let's see, where do I begin? I'm a military brat. My parents were in the military all of my life; it's a part of my upbringing and my life. It's what I know. My mother is an Admiral in the Alliance Navy, she's a very stern woman and can be very scary if you make her angry. She tends to rule with an iron fist when it comes to discipline. She follows a three strikes you are out rule. Meaning that, if she tells you to do something, then you do it right then, and you do it to her standards the first time. The point is, you don't let her tell you a second time, and you definitely don't ever get to three."

Cocking her head to the side, "What happens if she gets to three?"

Raising his eyebrows quickly and letting them fall "Well, she tears into your hide is what and you don't want that. My siblings and I have had our fair share of testing her capabilities on that subject. So much, that now she can put the fear in us with just a look, but she can do that with anyone I'm sure. Don't get me wrong; normally my mother is a very playful and kind woman when it comes to non-work life. Her at work, well that's a different story."

"She sounds somewhat similar to my mother in a way. My mother expected a lot from me. We are of high society of living, so there's a standard you're supposed to portray. I'm a lady of house T'Soni. I grew up as an only child on a huge estate with my mother, her acolytes, and commandos. It was a very interesting upbringing. She, on the other hand, is a matriarch, a spiritual and philosophical leader, and I was not to be an embarrassment to her. As I grew older, I rebelled against her when my love for the past became my interest. I didn't want to be a leader or follow in her footsteps. I wanted to follow my passion to become an archeologist instead. She was very disappointed in me and I haven't spoken to her since I left home many decades ago."

"I see, so you know nothing of her involvement with this rogue Spectre." He asked

She shook her head as she replied "No, I don't. To be honest, this involvement you speak of is not like her, and I don't understand it. I see her involving herself, in the beginning, to diffuse the situation but not to enhance it. My mother is a very strong-minded person, has always been a leader, not a follower. Something is very wrong for her to change like this."

He sat there for a moment in thought and nodding his head. He stood slowly and patted her shoulder. "I should get going. Thank you for the chat Liara."

"It was my pleasure, Shepard."

Gathering up their trays. "We should do it again."

Smiling at him, "Of course."

"I'll see you around."

-/

Liara became accustomed to their everyday chats in the evening. She waited for them eagerly every day around 2100 hours. They would talk for about thirty minutes to an hour then he would return to his quarters. When he was injured, and in the med bay she knew he wouldn't show. On the days he wasn't she expected them. She looked down at her Omni tool time. 2120 and he hasn't shown. She stared at the door as she fiddled with her hands. Her eyebrows pinched as her heart dropped in sadness. Closing her eyes as she shook her head lightly Oh, Liara you've fallen for him, haven't you? She couldn't stand it anymore as she left her room to seek him out. When she reached his quarters, she saw the light on his door was still green. Knocking gently. He answered, "Come in." She walked in, expecting it to be just him, but she saw Ashley leaning on his desk, laughing as they were conversing. She noticed her body language toward him. It was the same body language she gave toward him. Great, competing with Ashley is not something I really want to do. "I'm sorry." She turned to leave, but he stopped her. "We're just finishing up Liara."

Ashley walked by her "Liara…"

She nodded her head, "Ashley…"

He got up from his chair and walked over to his small kitchen table. "Want to join me over here?" She smiled and followed him over. As they sat, he said, "What can I do for you, Liara?"

She wrung her hands together under the table; she had no reason to be there but to be near him. Think quickly Liara… As she thought he looked down at his Omni-tool time. He smiled and made a quick chuckle. "Ah, I see, it's 2145. I guess I'm late for our chat?"

She turned a darker shade of blue, "I'm sorry, Shepard." Extremely embarrassed she got up from the chair to leave, but he grabbed her hand "Hey, don't be sorry. I enjoy the time we spend together."

She sat back down and let out a breath as she wrung her hands together on the table, "I need to discuss something with you, but I'm not sure how to begin." He saw how nervous she was, and he had a feeling what she was going to say. Throughout the last month, she accepted his flirting and playful banter toward her. She was comfortable around him. "How about I begin?" he said

Relieved of her having to proceed, she responded quickly, "Ok, please go ahead."

He sat in confidence as he looked at her. "I have feelings for you too, Liara. I have for a while now. It's why I come by every day. I feel the need to see you. It's why I'm so protective over you when we go on our missions together."

A wave of emotions flowed through her. "I thought maybe you did but wasn't sure. I've never had feelings like this before." Thinking of Ashley, she blurted out. "What of Ashley?"

Frowning at her question. "What about Ashley?"

She hesitantly replied, "I thought maybe..."

He scrunched his brows as he shook his head "No, Ashley and I are just friends. Nothing is going on there."

Raising her eyebrows markings, "Maybe you should let her know that."

"You're right. I should."

"I'm sorry, Shepard. I just don't know what's come over me, I've never felt like this before. I don't understand this. How can this happen in such a short amount of time?"

He smiled at her then said, "Things like this just happened at the oddest of times. There doesn't have to be a reason behind it. We have a physical attraction toward each other, and we enjoy each other's company. That's all it takes. If we can maintain a professional relationship during duty and around the crew, then I would like to continue this"

She looked at him and smiled, "I can do that, Shepard. Can we finish where we left off last time?"

He nodded, "Of course, I was telling you about my brother, I think."

"Yes, I'm intrigued that you are a twin. Is he exactly like you?"

"That's the odd thing. See with humans; there are two ways to have multiple births in a womb. Let's just focus on twins here. There are fraternal twins that are fertilized by two eggs and two sperms at the same time. So, they are different. They can be two boys or two girls or one of each. Now with identical twins, we come from the same egg and sperm. When we were in the womb, my mother came in contact with a substantial amount of eezo. The doctors were amazed that we didn't die from it, or that my mother didn't get some form of cancer. She became ill for a short time frame, and that was all that happened to her. What did happen to the embryos were that they became mutated somewhat. The eezo gave us both biotic abilities and changed our appearance slightly."

She squinted her eyes at him as she leaned on the table and responded: "How so?"

"Well, my brother Alexander James Shepard has blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He's very much like my mother at times, playful but very hardcore. His patience if very short and his temper comes on quick like a snake ready to attack. He acts before he thinks. I, on the other hand, brown hair and crystal blue eyes. Unlike my brother, I'm more like my father. Also, playful but I have a lot more patience toward others. I'm compassionate, understanding; I try to do the right thing, I like to think before I act. We're almost polar opposites. I wouldn't say he's a complete renegade, but he lingers in the middle. He would rather punch someone in the face to get his point across than to talk his way through it. Myself, on the other hand, I'm almost a full paragon with several hints of a renegade. We all had similar interests when it came to certain things, such as music and athletics. We loved sports, especially football." He smirked, "Man, did we kick ass at that game. All through our childhood, I was always the one to keep him in check. I always had to calm him down. Then a bombshell hit us when we were seventeen. My dad died suddenly, and it crushed us. We all changed slightly after that. Death can do that to a person. We put a hold on what we were doing at the time, and we joined the military. At the time we felt that the Alliance would provide us the answers we were so desperately seeking. I believe more than anything it was a distraction, you know to keep our minds busy. My brother and I went into the same fields and accomplished the same goals. He was damn good at what he did, but his anger was a problem, and with me not around, there was no one to control him. One day he flew off the hinges and hit a superior officer in the face repeatedly. He was court marshaled and only did six months in jail, thanks to my mother." He ran his hand over his mouth "That had to have been ummm eight years ago. I talk to him every now and again. He lives a very different life that we don't approve of, but it's his life."

Liara raised her brow markings quickly "Wow, he sounds like a handful. What of your sister?"

He let out a breath, "My sister Kathleen Gwyndolyn Shepard; she is five years younger than us. About your same height, build, beauty, and very athletic: light brown wavy hair and hazel eyes. Her personality is much like mine, but her passion now is science. She's a scientific research analyst in the intelligence department of the Alliance. When we were younger, her athletics were volleyball and softball. She always enjoyed science, but her love was music."

Liara furrowed her brow markings "Does she not love it anymore?"

Rubbing his chin as he replied, "Music was something my dad really enjoyed, and he shared it with us all; his knowledge of it and his passion for it. It was something that we did together as a group. We all did very well with it, and we could have possibly gone further than we did. She had the most beautiful voice when she sang."

Liara lowered her eyes and sympathetically said: "Then your dad died…"

Staring at the ground and in a sad voice, "Yes, that's right. He died, and the music died with him." He paused for a moment then cleared his voice. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed. Thank you for the conversation as always."

She nodded as she smiled "Of course, Shepard."