A/N: Hey there! This is a little (read: not 'little' in any definition of the word) side project I've come up with for when I have writers block. This story is essentially one shots (maybe two shots) that make up moments in my Commander Shepard's life. I have no idea how long this will end up being, and some of these chapters won't follow chronologically until run out of ideas and sort them properly, but alas this is something I've wanted to do for a while and I hope you all enjoy it :)

-The Birth and an Unexpected Surprise-

Hannah Shepard lay back comfortably on the operating table. She knew that had it not been for the local anaesthetic, she would be in a tremendous amount of pain right now, but this decision was made nearly two weeks ago after a full consultation with her doctor and her husband, Terry.

Hannah remembered the concern that shot through her when she was told that her unborn son was in breach position with the umbilical cord around his neck. She was informed that the coil wasn't tight enough to warrant an emergency caesarean section, as there was every possibility that the baby boy would move into birth position and uncoil the cord himself, but due to the chance that he could remain as he was, the option for a caesarean was open.

Now, Hannah and Terry were awaiting the birth of their baby through a caesarean section, as it turned out he hadn't move much at all, with more excitement than they ever thought they could feel. Any moment now, a new person would be brought into this world, kicking and screaming, with a whole life ahead of them.

"Can you feel anything?" Terry asked his wife, stroking her forehead to keep her calm while he looked far from it himself, being incredibly pale and looking as though he would keel over any second.

"I can't feel a thing, honey," She smiled at him, giving him the best reassuring look she could muster under the current circumstances. Being an Alliance Operations Chief, Hannah had been under her fair share of pressure and had been in enough situations where someone was stressed out to know how to calm them down. That experience came in rather handy in this circumstance.

"Just checking," he returned the smile that Hannah had previously given him before looking to his left to see how the operation was coming along, quickly regretting his decision when he saw the amount of blood. Terry was not in the Alliance, being a simple office worker instead, and he hoped that the birth of their son would be enough to encourage his wife to leave the navy for good, not trusting any of the reports that 'Protheans' were actually extinct and that humans were the only intelligent life in the galaxy.

He didn't want his wife returning to active duty in a year or so' time, only for the reports to be wrong and have her being killed by an alien and leaving him to care for his son alone. Even if she wasn't killed in action, Hannah would still be out of the picture for a potentially great part of her sons' life, missing out important moments and milestones that will never occur again, and essentially making Terry a single father.

"We can see the child, Mr and Mrs Shepard. Should be ready to meet you any minute now," one of the surgeons said, hands deep inside the latter, likely trying to uncoil the umbilical cord and get a supportive hold on the baby so he can be removed and presented to his already loving parents.

Any minute now, Lewis Shepard would be here and the lives of his parents would be changed forever with the birth of their first child. It was an anticipated, yet dreaded moment; a baby causes a lot of change, and while it is often said no one experiences true love until the birth of their child, some people cannot handle the responsibility. Couples who have been together and planned for years are sometimes unable to handle the stress a new-born provides, and the relationship cannot continue any longer. The Shepard's hoped that wouldn't be the case for them.

Suddenly, a screeching sound filled the room, tiny lungs filling with air for the first time after being exposed to a world outside of the mothers' womb. The Shepard's couldn't see much, just a head of black hair that would soon fall out, covered with blood and bits of placenta. They had never felt such a sense of love in their lives before this moment.

The umbilical cord was cut by one of the surgeons, as it had already been decided that Terry was far too squeamish to want to do so himself, and the baby was quickly taken to the other side of the room to be weighed, measured and cleaned up a little bit before being handed over to the new mommy and daddy.

"Congratulations, you have a beautiful baby girl," one of the nurses in charge of checking the baby's measurements said, clearly smiling underneath her sterile mask.

The sex was a shock to Terry and Hannah. They had been informed 4 months ago that the baby was a boy, and had decorated the nursery accordingly with light blue paint and dinosaur motifs', something that had always interested Terry when he was younger. They had even picked out the aforementioned name of Lewis. Knowing now that they had been misinformed and that the child was actually a girl, rapid changes were in order.

A nurse placed the baby girl, now wrapped in a small white towel and considerably cleaner, into her mother's arms. She was soundly asleep already, and Hannah couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that this baby was inevitably going to become a heavy sleeper when she was older.

Tears were rolling down Hannah and Terry's faces, unable to believe how beautiful a child they had created was, and the latter tentatively reached out to stroke his daughters' forehead, noting how her skin was so soft and smooth, evidence that she was only a few minutes old.

"Do you have a name for her?" One of the surgeons asked while his colleague sutured the incision in Hannah's abdomen after previously having removed the placenta.

The couple looked at each other, suddenly very aware that they had failed to pick out a girl's name as the subject of names hadn't arose until they had been told that it would be a boy, prompting Hannah to say, "no, we chose the name Lewis, but it doesn't seem right for a girl."

"How about Hayley?" Terry offered as he continued grinning, half because of his new daughter and half because of the pride he currently felt for his wife. The name belonged to his great-grandmother, who he had never met yet was always eager to hear about the stories detailing how kind natured she was.

"That's…" Hannah hesitated, looking at the sleeping girl as though she was mentally putting the name to her face and seeing if it fit right, "that's a wonderful name, Terry. I was thinking along the lines of Elizabeth or Cristina, but Hayley…that's just her."

Terry let out a small laugh, "Elizabeth and Cristina? I suppose they could be her middle names," Hannah nodded at the suggestion, looking more exhausted and happy that he had ever seen her before.

"It's perfect," the new mother said, feeling her heart swell when Hayley let out a small yawn, "Hayley Elizabeth Cristina Shepard. You're going to do such great things, I can already feel it."