Made of Love or the toughest question

"Where did I come from mummy?" Liara T'soni's daughter asked as she wandered into the study into the study.

"Presumably from the kitchen," Liara replied noticing the cookie in her child's hands.

"That's not what I meant," the little asari said with a frown.

"I know Mira," Liara said. "I was trying to distract you until your dame gets home."

"Why?"

"Because we promised when you were old enough to ask we'd tell you together," Liara told her daughter.

"But I want to know now," little Mira whined.

"I swear by the Protheans that built the conduit that we will give you a good explanation this afternoon."

Mira nodded acceptingly as she understood either of her parents saying that was as good as anyone else swearing by the goddess. Liara hoped her wife, Xandi Shepard had come up with something that wouldn't give their daughter nightmares or get their daughter asking more difficult questions.

"Where did I come from?!" Mira asked as she ran and leapt into her other parents arms.

"From bugging Mommy in her study?" Xandi Shepard guessed.

"That's not what I mean," Mira said once again with a frown.

Liara wandered out to check on the two most important people in her life. After giving Xandi a welcome home kiss she simply said, "She's been asking all day and I told her we'd giver her an answer when you got home."

"Okay." Xandi said knowing she shouldn't and couldn't put it off. "I think I know how to explain it without freaking her out."

"Then tell me already Dame," Mira whined.

"Well it's kind of hard little one," Xandi explained. "Hard to know where to begin because its all complicated and simple at the same time."

"That doesn't make sense Dame," the little girl retorted.

"Actually it is a fairly accurate description," Liara said. "You'll understand when your older."

"The simple part is that you came from the love Mom and I have for each other," Xandi said.

Liara sighed happily and rested her head on her wife's shoulder. Xandi responded by drawing her girls in for a closer hug.

"But how can I come from that?" Mira protested.

"You know how asari can join minds?" Liara asked.

"Uh uh."

"Well when you do it with some one you love you can take a drop of that combined love and put it in a special place in your tummy where a baby can be made and then she grows until she is ready to meet the world."

"That's where I come from?" Mira asked.

"That's right squirt," Xandi said. "Of course as an asari you're lucky, you can decide to make a baby from shared love, shared friendship, mutual respect or just because you think a child made with the person's contribution would be interesting. Of course your babies will always be asari."

"Thank you for not being human centric while explaining this," Liara whispered in Xandi's ear.

"Anything to stop your Dad from coming back to haunt me," Xandi whispered back.

"I really wish you would use the proper asari word," Liara frowned.

"I'll try," Xandi whispered back.

Little Mira was deep in thought ignoring her parents' mushy displays of affection.

"Where do the other kind of babies come from?" she asked after some time

"Well most other species have two biological genders," Liara explained. "They do a special thing that gets the two necessary cells together in whatever special place they have to make a baby or fertilised egg."

"What's the special thing?"

"It is called sex," Xandi said deciding to be honest. "You're too young to know the details but it does involve a lot of kissing and cuddling and sharing your inner most feelings.

"Yucky mushy stuff," Mira said.

"You liked the mushy stuff in that story I told you about the krogan poet and the asari store keeper," Liara said with a raised brow.

"That's because they fought bad guys a lot," Mira explained. "Just like mummy and dame."

"Of course asari often have sex as well," Xandi continued. "It can make the whole act of conceiving a child that much more..."

"Magical," Liara finished for her spouse.

"No matter what happens later in your life squirt remember to always cuddle after," Xandi commanded her young child.

"I promise by the protheans who built the conduit," Mira said with the most serious look her little face could muster. "But what about Ms. Traynor? She just had a baby and she's married to a human lady. I thought only asari could do that."

"Well there are ways that two people of the same gender can have children together, for humans anyway," Xandi explained. "It's complicated and Sciencey."

"In fact your aunty Miranda and Oriana where made using one of the various techniques," Liara added.

"Miranda is the one in the old pictures I'm named after right?"

"That's right," both parents said.

"What about the rachni?"

"We're unsure," Liara said. "Understandably they like to keep their distance from the rest of galactic society after they helped us defeat the reapers."

And before you ask," Xandi added. "We'll tell you about synthesis babies as soon as your uncle Jeff and Aunt Edi figure out if its possible."

"Okay," Mira said satisfied with the answers, for now.