Shepard couldn't believe what was happening. Tears blurred her vision again before falling over and spilling down her cheeks. After everything she had sacrificed for him, after everything he had sacrificed for her… the life they had built was over. She swiped at her face as she diligently worked on packing her half of their life. Her body moved of its own accord without much thought. She folded and packed, folded and packed, folded and packed.

Fluid began to leak from her nose and she wiped it with the back of her hand. The small stone on the ring scraped the tip and she looked down at it. It wasn't luxurious, but perfect all the same; gold with a half a carat round diamond. A symbol of where their future was supposed to progress to. Shepard stood from the mound of clothes around her and walked to their dresser. She twisted off the ring and looked at it again.

Did he even understand what this meant to me? Did he only vaguely research human customs and give this to me without any real thought behind it? The ring clattered down on the wooden surface. How could he do this to her? They'd been through so much together. He had stood by her side through Saren, the Collectors, and the war with the Reapers… even when she awoke in a hospital with scars covering ninety percent of her body from third degree burns, he had loved her.

A couple years later, after extensive cosmetic surgeries that made her look like the woman she was before (thanks again to Miranda), she had a life on Palaven with the man of her dreams. Shepard felt as if she had everything she could ever wish for. Coming out of her thoughts, she took a staggering step back and fell to floor, body-racking sobs seizing her body and stealing her breath.

She groaned her pain out loud and swayed back and forth, hugging herself trying to pacify the ache within her. All she wanted was to be happy with him. Love him and share their love with another life. Even if it was just one life she would be satisfied. She just wanted to be a mother whether the child was his with a donor and surrogate or hers… even adoption was an option. The war had left so many broken homes and orphans they could have adopted and she would have loved that child as if he or she had come from her flesh.

For the first time in their long history he had denied her. He had been her rock and shield for so long she couldn't believe he would allow this to happen. That this was enough to effectively end their years long relationship. He couldn't be a parent now…wouldn't be a parent now when his people needed him. He needed to remain in the military, how could he devote more time to her and a child? It wasn't his time to be a father; couldn't she just enjoy what they shared?

"Shepard?" she heard her name called from another room in the house but she couldn't bring herself to answer. She just continued to sway and cry. Shepard had a family once. A mother, father, and an older brother. For as long as she could remember, she wanted to be a mother like her own. She wanted to build a family in love the way her parents had, she needed to have a family… it was what she dreamed of since hers were brutally taken away from her when she was sixteen. This dream was something she couldn't sacrifice, would not compromise on, so she had to leave.

The realization of how different their love for one another was is what broke her heart the most. Had he ever loved her the same way she had loved him? Was it their differences in culture, coming from different species? Why didn't he want to father her children? All these questions raced through her head. She didn't hear the approaching footsteps or see the person enter the bedroom she shared with him.

"Oh, Shepard," a tortured and strained voice came from the door. Suddenly a body was sinking down to the floor next to her and arms were drawing her into an embrace. Her head was cradled against a chest, hands smoothed away wet hair from her eyes, warmth surrounded her and a soft familiar fragrance filled her senses. For the first time in days she didn't feel so alone anymore.

Liara.


I took some advice from a friend and decided to write different stories outside of my canon Shep (a story I haven't uploaded yet). As I was cruising around on the Mass Effect kink website looking for a prompt I saw one I thought I'd try. The prompt: Shepard didn't romance anyone in ME1, but romanced Garrus in ME2. She's always been friends with Liara, but nothing romantic ever came up between them. After ME3, Garrus and Shepard begin having problems and split up. Liara is always there for Shep, a shoulder to cry on, her outlet when she needs to vent. All of a sudden Shep discovers she's fallen in love with her best friend.