Originally posted on the Mass Effect Kink Meme
Prompt:

Shepard's parents divorced when she was young so she took Hannah's last name and spent her years moving between them. Shepard loved her father dearly and to her, he was just a normal business man who would always take good care of her whenever she lived with him. Image her surprise after her resurrection that her loving father was in fact The Illusive Man, the leader of Cerberus.

Would love to see

- A lot of conflict between father and daughter, and how it change her relationship with other Cerberus-related characters (like Miranda could be jealous of Shepard since TIM dotted on Shepard and while her own father just saw her as a tool, etc...)
- Shepard romanced Garrus, which didn't help at all. Maybe Garrus could share with his girlfriend about his own conflict with his father.
- TIM would often send gifts and other things that he know Shepard would love (maybe food that he cooked with his own hands). Not because he wanted to manipulate but simply because she was still his little girl.
- When he did try to control her, he called her nicknames like "Janie", but he also made it clear that even if she wasn't commander Shepard, he would still use Cerberus to bring her back.
- Prefer red-headed, Paragon Shepard.
- A scene about TIM's reaction to Shepard's death at the beginning of ME2.

He had been called 'The Illusive Man' for so long that it had become part of his self-identity. It was rare that he ever thought of himself as 'Jack Harper', like that was an old nickname he'd grown out of instead of the name he'd left behind for Cerberus.

But at that moment, watching the broadcast from Commander Jane Shepard's funeral, he felt like just plain old Jack Harper, mourning his beloved daughter.

He barely heard the commentary that was playing over the footage, barely registered the praise they were heaping on her. Daughter of a respected high-ranking Alliance official, a war hero, the first human Spectre, 'Savior of the Citadel'. He wasn't mentioned anywhere in there - but he hadn't expected to be. The paper trail on his involvement with his little girl was almost nonexistent, especially since she had enlisted at 18. He'd wanted it that way. It was safer for her if his enemies didn't know their relationship.

He was surprised to see how old Hannah looked. But then again, no parent should outlive their child. He watched as Udina presented Hannah with a flag, following the pre-space flight tradition. He watched as that motley group of aliens filed past her coffin and tried not to feel angry at how many of them there were. It was wrong that she'd needed their help. There should have been more humans that rallied to her. If he had it to do over again...

Well. There were a lot of things he'd have done differently.

His marriage to Hannah had been brief, the split an amicable one - two people who had married over an unexpected pregnancy recognizing that they weren't suited for one another in the long run. At least, that's what he'd framed it as. Some days, that's what he believed. Other days he wondered if Cerberus wasn't to blame - if he hadn't founded and been so deeply involved in that organization, could he have made things work with Hannah? Would he ever have been content being the dutiful military husband who held down the fort while his wife was off serving the Alliance?

Probably not, if he was being completely honest with himself.

That might have been why he'd never fought Hannah over custody. Never complained when schedules had to be shifted because of her work. The marriage hadn't been much of anything, but what it had produced - was something else entirely. His Janie had been a gift from the day she was born, and it had taken no time at all for him to make her the center of his world. How could he not have loved someone who shared his quick mind and interest in knowing more, doing more, always pushing boundaries? Sometimes he felt like he was looking into a mirror when he looked at Janie, making an effort to catch all of their similarities and take pride in them. His little girl had never let anyone tell her what she could and could not do, an attitude he often found himself taking - especially these days.

On the screen, the dignitaries were filing out, and the Illusive Man found himself filled with rage all of a sudden. How many of those people had actually known her? How many had any idea of who she was beyond all those puffed up descriptions they kept assigning her?

"I should be there," he said aloud, the words seeming to echo in his large, empty room. "I deserve it. I raised her."

But he'd chosen to keep his work with Cerberus hidden from Jane and Hannah, and this was the price he paid. No matter how much he wished otherwise, he couldn't be there. That didn't blunt the pain he was feeling.

What good was all of the work he'd done, all of the advances he'd tried to make for humanity, if it couldn't save the person he loved most in this world?

Unable to contain his grief any longer, the Illusive Man bowed his head over his desk and wept for his daughter.