As much as I would like to own them, all the characters and the main plot belong to BIOWARE - I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended. This is purely for entertainment purposes. All writing is my own.
Ok, so I had this idea and I had to get it out. To celebrate getting the demo for ME3 a few days early (God bless the people over at FemShep 'dot' com !) I made sure to finish this one shot for all of you femshep x Liara fans out there.
This is sent in the same universe as all of my other femshep and Liara pieces. You don't really have to read them to know what this one is about, but it might be a good idea to if you want the full picture and many more family moments/fluff like this. Also, you know I can't resist a bit of fluff here and there, so enjoy! :D
Shepard screamed in pain. She had been pinned down for the last hour waiting for help, but it never came. She looked over to her squadmate, Ashley, who was next to her and watched as she shot another oncoming husk. The marine looked down at her commander.
"Don't worry skipper. We'll get out of this soon enough."
"No...no! Go Ash! Save yourself and make sure Liara's ok!" Shepard panted as she gasped in pain, her hands immediately going to her injured and broken leg.
"No, you are going to do as I say for once! Your my commander and my friend and I won't let you die. Not now. You have to make it. For Liara, for your unborn daughter Shepard! You can't leave them damn it!" Ashley yelled before looking back at the burning battlefield in front of them.
But, she didn't see it coming. Neither did Shepard. Next thing they knew, they were being crawled upon and ripped apart. Shepard screamed at the top of her lungs the only thing in her whole entire life that was ever important to her.
"Liara!" Shepard bolted upright in her bed, screaming her lover's name.
"Shepard?" Liara sat up in the bed next to her.
"Oh my God!" Tears were streaming down Shepard's sweaty face. "Alena!" She yelled her daughters name as she sprung out of bed and ran out of the bedroom and down the hallway to where her daughters bedroom was located. She peered in the door, finding her three year old daughter fast asleep in her crib. She heard footsteps running up behind her.
"Shepard!" Liara immediately wrapped her arms around the human, who collapsed, crying into the asari's shoulder. The asari lovingly held her tightly as they both collapsed onto the floor. She held her even tighter and kissed her on the top of her head. "Let it all out" She said as Shepard wrapped her arms around her wife.
"I'm sorry" She said as she burst into even more tears.
"Beth, be calm. Your are safe. There is nothing to harm you here." It broke Liara's heart to see her strong lover break down like this, but she knew she was the only one who Shepard would ever show this side to. The human clamed down a little, just enough so that Liara could lead her back into their bedroom. When they were back in the room, Liara sat in front of Shepard with her legs crossed on the bed. She got comfortable and faced her lover so that they were mirroring each other. She took Shepard's hands into her own and kissed each one before getting her wife to tell her what was wrong. "Shepard? What's wrong?"
"I- I had a nightmare Liara. A really bad one, and I don't know what to do about it."
Ever since Liara had known Shepard, the human had nightmares. They would come up at random times, and some would be up to a year apart, but they haunted Shepard and her consciousness. Even after the war with the Reapers was over, Shepard still had them. They would be of gruesome and much darker times and moments that no soul should ever see, except Shepard. As much as Liara hated them for haunting her wife, she knew that they would never completely leave her, that they were a part of who she was. So, whenever she did have them, Liara did her best to calm Shepard down. She thought she was prepared for it, but Liara hadn't been prepared for this one. It was the first time Shepard had actually gotten out of bed and screamed their daughter's name in fear. The tone and fear in Shepard's voice scared Liara, as if something was harming Alena in Shepard's dreams. She hadn't heard that voice since the war. It was the voice Shepard used when she feared Liara and her friends were in danger.
"What was it about?"
"Ashley and me were pinned down. I had a broken leg and it was wounded badly, so I couldn't move. We were waiting for help, but it never came. Never. Ashley just kept shooting husks until-until..." Shepard couldn't bring herself to say it. It hurt too much.
Liara placed one of her hands on Shepard's face lovingly "Love, what happened?"
Shepard steeled herself to continue. "I told her to go on, but she said no. She said that I had to make it. For you and for our unborn daughter, and that I couldn't leave them. That was when we got attacked. We should have been more focused, but we let our focus slip for five seconds and we got jumped. Husks flooded in from everywhere and we couldn't hold them off. I couldn't move. I couldn't get up to get back to you because of my damned leg. I had no choice but to sit there and let it happen. I got ripped apart, I was totally helpless. I knew that there was a chance of dying in that war, but I never wanted it to happen like that. Maybe being shot, but ripped apart? I can still see it, Li. All the gruesom images, in all their gory details. Blood, and everything that comes along with it."
Liara let go of Shepard's hand and now held her face with both of her delicate azure ones, directing the human to look at her. "Shepard, it's ok. That never really happened and you know that I wasn't pregnant with our daughter until after the war was over. You never broke your leg in action, just your arm. It wasn't real. I'm here, our daughter is here, and we are all safe because of you and what you did. You survived that war, and you came out a hero. Ashley is alive and is a hero just like you. There is nothing to be scared about." She sealed her declaration with a kiss and looked deeply into Shepard's eyes, waiting for a reaction.
A tear rolled down Shepard's face, and Liara wiped it away with one of her slender fingers. Shepard leant forward and wrapped her arms around her wife, seeking warmth and comfort. The kind that only Liara could give.
"It was so real, Li. So real"
"I know"
"I love you" Shepard sniffled as she buried her nose into her wife's shoulder a little further.
"I love you too"
"Li?"
"Yes?" Liara replied, stroking Shepard's head soothingly.
"Can I go see our daughter? I really need to see her ok for myself."
"Whatever you need, love. Go."
"But I want you there Li. I need you there."
"Ok. I will go too. Lead the way Shepard"
With that, Shepard got up off the bed and pulled Liara with her. They held hands as they made their way towards their daughter's room. Shepard hesitated at the door, not really knowing what to do. Liara saw this and decided her wife needed some gentle encouragement.
"Go, I am right here with you." Liara whispered into Shepard's ear. The human turned and softly kissed her before entering the room.
The bonded couple padded over to toddler Alena's crib and stood side by side as they watched their daughter's sleeping form. Liara wrapped her arm around Shepard as they stood in a blissful silence.
"She is ok Shepard. Me and our daughter are both here, alive and unharmed. You made sure of that a long time ago."
"Thanks, Li. Godess I love you." Shepard turned and kissed the asari on the bridge of her nose and hugged her tightly in a loving embrace. That was, until they heard a whimper come from beside them. Still embracing, the couple craned their necks to see tears running down Alena's face. Knowing that Shepard wanted to make sure that Alena was safe, Liara nodded and let Shepard pick up their daughter.
With help from Liara, Shepard wrapped up her daughter in a soft blanket and held her tightly. "She always knows when your upset Shepard. It hurts her just as much as it hurts me and she can always sense it. That's how strong her bond is between you and her." Liara whispered as she wrapped her arms around Shepard's shoulders.
"I know." They were interrupted once more by an even louder whimper coming from Shepard's arms. The couple looked down to see their daughter crying a little more in her sleep. Shepard looked at Liara and they both decided it was a good idea to wake her up, seeing as they didn't want her to have a nightmare. Shepard kissed the bridge of her nose but it didn't wake her. So, she looked at her wife and carefully handed her the sleeping toddler.
"Alena, little one. Wake up." Liara whispered to the toddler now in her arms. She felt support envelope her as Shepard embraced her tightly, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind and letting her warmth comfort Liara and their daughter.
The little asari gave one last whimper and slowly opened her eyes, with the first thing she saw being Liara, who was lovingly smiling down at her. "Momma?" She asked in a quiet, sleepy toddler voice as she looked up at Liara's rounded face.
"Hello, little one."
"Where's mama?" Alena started to panic, not knowing where her other parent was.
"I'm right here kiddo." Shepard made sure that Alena could see her by resting her head in the crook of Liara's neck.
"Mama!"
Shepard smiled, holding on to her wife tightly. "Hey" She reached out one of her hands whilst still holding onto Liara and let Alena hold her hand.
"Are you ok?" She asked innocently as she played with Shepard's fingers.
"Yes kiddo. I'm ok."
Neither Liara nor Shepard were prepared for what happened next. Before either one of them could react, Alena sat up in Liara's arms and wrapped her own little ones around both Shepard and Liara's necks, pulling both of them in for a family hug. When Shepard heard a sniffle, she looked at Liara next to her whilst they were still in their family hug.
"Baby, what's wrong?" She whispered to where Liara's would be.
"Nothing. I'm just overwhelmed by the love and bonds of our family" Liara let another tear fall down her face. In that moment, she and Shepard felt untouchable. It was moments like these that they felt as if nothing could break them and their daughter apart.
"Come on, I've had a hell of a night. Let's go back to bed. That means you too kiddo. Be a big girl for momma and I and go back to bed"
"Ok!" The little asari beamed. The thought of being called a big girl if she went to back to bed didn't go unnoticed by the toddler, so she gave her mothers one last squeeze, a small kiss on each of their cheeks and was put down by Liara.
Standing in the doorway, Shepard wrapped her arm around Liara's waist while the other closed the door. "Night kiddo."
"Goodnight little one"
"Night mama, night momma." Not soon after, the little girl was asleep once again. Happy with her asleep once more, Shepard and Liara made their way back to the own bedroom.
Shepard lay in their bed and watched Liara walk around to her side of the bed. She observed how the asari gracefully slid into the bed and on instinct snuggled into Shepard's side. The human wrapped her arms around her wife and felt her fingers playing with the edge of her shirt. Shepard leant over and kissed Liara's temple, letting her know to go ahead with what she wanted to do, the thing that she did to calm herself. She would silently beg for acess by playing with her shirt before being allowed to continue. Usually being told yes with a kiss. As she got the go ahead, she slid her delicate blue hand underneath Shepard's shirt and traced her perfectly toned, athletic abs.
After a few moments of silence, Shepard kissed the asari's temple once more. "I'm sorry Li."
"Don't be. It's ok. I know you have these nightmares, but I am here for you."
"Thank you."
"No problem my love. Now, please close your eyes and have a peaceful sleep. I am not going anywhere."
And she did, slipping into dreams of happier and more brighter times.
Fin