Life was a funny thing, Shepard decided. Things never worked out the way she had thought they would.
She had woken up in pain. The last thing she remembered was firing her pistol and the glowing red cylinder, before everything went dark, the faces of everyone she had lost- Anderson, Thane, Mordin, Kaidan, Legion, even EDI- floating in her mind.
When she awoke, despite her conviction that she would perish in order to save the world, she had been relieved. At first. When she looked up, seeing the blue seas of Earth- now tainted gray with the fires of a thousand burning cities and millions of destroyed ships- she had looked down again, at her broken body. Her leg was mangled, her arm was missing, and the lack of feeling below her waist had been quite a concern- especially since a large section of wall had crushed her leg.
And she had simply stayed there, for what felt like hours. At one point, a keeper crawled over her, regarding her blankly with its beady black optics, before moving on almost noncommittally, perhaps recognizing that a doomed being was before it.
Eventually, when her vision had dimmed and the pool of blood had appeared too large to offer any hope of salvation, the blinding light of a flashlight had offered her a moment of hope.
Alliance recon teams, sent directly from hundreds of forward operating bases on Earth, eventually discovered the half-dead form of Commander Sarah Shepard pinned beneath a large section of wall, laughing to herself. The sight of humanity's greatest hero broken and seemingly insane would be an image that many of those first recon troopers would carry to their graves.
Her recovery would be a long and arduous journey. The Catalyst's signal had indeed shut down several vital implants given to her by Cerberus, but Alliance doctors managed to reactivate them with extensive surgery. As she lay in a private hospital wing, broken and tortured, she had asked one question of the elderly doctor:
"Kill me."
The damage had been done. Even after the doctors had told her that they could rebuild most of her body using bionics and synthetic implants, she had remained silent. Some of the younger doctors, the ones who were new to hospitals, war, and everything else, had been dismayed to see their hero so silent and miserable. Some were even disappointed. The older doctors, however, the ones who had looked into the hellish visage of war and survived, knew that the Commander was forever changed by whatever it was she had seen on the Citadel.
As humanity began rebuilding around her, the carcasses of the Reapers serving as motivation for restoration, the Commander lingered.
The first time she had shown any life was when her crew had come to visit her. She had greeted each one silently, trading grim jokes and sarcastic replies with each one. When the Asari- the famous Dr. Liara T'Soni had gazed at her lovingly, the Commander came to life briefly, trading a wordless and passionate kiss before sinking back into her bed.
The surgeries came and went. The Commander, now more synthetic in many areas, remained inert. When asked by one younger doctor why she was silent, she replied that she had sacrificed too much to kill the Reapers. When asked if she was referring to the simultaneous deactivation of most synthetic platforms, like the geth, she had simply murmured the name 'EDI' and returned to sleep.
At one point her mother, Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard, had entered her room, and despite offers by the medical staff, had adamantly stayed by her daughter's side for nearly a week.
On her last day in the hospital, she had received a special visitor: Admiral Steven Hackett, provisional leader of the Systems Alliance. The two had a lengthy discussion- an hour, by most sources. Hackett, without much fanfare, presented her with a Medal of Valor and a promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral. As he left, the Admiral, who had visibly aged more in the space of half a year than a lifetime of service, had simply looked at the now-Rear Admiral with a sympathetic expression.
"Hang in there, kid."
The corridors were empty. Shepard's wheelchair began rolling towards the elevator. She had stated it wasn't necessary for an aide to accompany her, but the hospital staff had insisted. As the doors slid open, she smiled tightly for the first time in months to see Liara standing there.
"Shepard."
"Liara. It's… good to see you."
"Do you want us to stay with you, Admiral?" asked one of the doctors accompanying her.
Shepard looked at them kindly.
"No. Thanks for the help. I want to do this on my own."
With a grunt of effort, she wobbled to her feet. Her left leg was largely the same as it had been, but the right had been amputated below the knee, replaced by a state-of-the art synthetic leg. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. She took a step, determined to succeed, and tripped. Liara caught her in the nick of time, and Shepard's face burned with shame.
She looked at Liara. Liara's face was kind, and Shepard was thankful to find no pity in her eyes.
"Thanks."
Steadying her, they entered the elevator. Shepard nodded towards the doctor and his aide as the doors closed, and then slumped against the cold walls of the lift, massaging her new leg in frustration.
"Damn it."
"Shepard-"
"I'm okay, Liara. I'll… I'll be… okay."
Liara touched her forehead to Shepard's. As the elevator ground towards the bottom level, Shepard found herself wanting to stay like that forever.
"Shepard. I'm glad… i'm glad you're here. Back on Earth-"
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't want to lose you- not again."
"That works both ways, Sarah. When I saw what happened to the Citadel… we all thought-"
She trailed off as the doors opened again. The sounds of cheering filtered into the steel box, and Shepard took a deep breath.
"Welcoming committee?"
Liara looked infuriated.
"I was told they'd be kept away."
"I'll be fine."
Liara looked uncertain, but Shepard kissed her on the mouth quickly, and steadied herself, holding herself up in an attempt to look normal. They walked out into the front entrance of the damaged hospital. Shepard winced slightly as the crowd cheered even louder. Signs singing the praises of Shepard and cries of adoration seemed to physically impact her.
To her credit, she made the walk. At one point, an overzealous journalist attempted to jump the cordon, but to Shepard's surprise, the familiar visage of Khalisah al-Jilani stepped in, speaking silently to the zealous kid and discouraging him. Wordlessly, Shepard nodded in a rare show of respect to the reporter that had once implied she was a puppet for the Council, and made it to their car without further incidents.
As soon as the sky-car lifted off the ground, Shepard slumped in her seat. Liara looked on in concern, and grasped her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. As the car glided towards its destination, Shepard's carefully maintained barrier began to strip away, and she cried silently. Liara looked at her lovingly and touched her head to Shepard's, stroking her hair gently. She hadn't truly believed that Shepard could be dead, even after witnessing the destruction of the Citadel. Somehow, she knew that Shepard would come back to her, and that they could try living that life of peace they had talked about on the Normandy.
The view was nice, she supposed. Or, more accurately, as nice as views got on Earth. The unimaginable slaughter had left a lot of living space for those who had survived.
Leeds, while hit hard by the Reapers, hadn't exactly been a stronghold for the Reapers like London. The resistance had actually made Leeds one of their rendezvous points, and become something of a supply depot after the war. Citadel reconstruction was being coordinated from London, of course, but Leeds had become a hotspot of Alliance activity, and a large amount of the ships damaged in what was being called the Battle of Earth had landed here to refit and repair.
In many ways, Leeds felt like a small town. Some of the larger skyscrapers had been demolished by Reaper beams, but most of the small, brick buildings had remained. As Shepard stared out the window, her mind wandered back to Vancouver, and the young boy who had died in the shuttle crash.
Of course, this took her back to the Citadel. The Illusive man. Her finger tightening on the trigger despite her attempts not to, her desperate pleas, and then her fear as the gun kicked in her hand, sending the bullet into Anderson's gut.
She had seen him… well, her real father had been absent most of her life. On one tour of duty or another. When he had passed, right after she had gotten her N7 commendation, she had mourned. Yet in a strange way, when she and the Normandy had been assigned to Anderson, well…
"You did good, child."
She snapped back to reality as the door opened. Liara walked in, smiling.
"How are you, Shepard?"
"Better."
Liara sat next to her, settling her head in the crook of Shepard's neck.
"I ran into James at the docks. He asked about you. He said that he's getting ready to finish N7 training- he's currently at N5."
Shepard smiled, remembering Vega's enthusiasm. She missed him. She missed them all, really, but she hadn't been able to face all of them- especially Joker. She had seen EDI's body- or her platform, as she would have called it, and she knew she wouldn't be able to look Joker in the face after taking his love from him.
It was funny, really. She had hated the sight of EDI's new form for so long- after all, it was the synthetic that had nearly killed Ashley. Yet after a while, Eva Core had faded, and Shepard had only associated it with EDI.
"The Crucible will not discriminate. All synthetics will be targeted."
She had known then, of course, that destroying the Reapers would be spelling death for EDI and the Geth. Despite her history with them, she had come to respect the Geth after her experiences helping Legion and learning their history. What she had said when trying to unite the Geth and the Quarians had been earnest.
And EDI and her newfound intelligence…
She simply hadn't seen another way. Controlling the Reapers was everything she had fought against. Everything she had sacrificed to defy, and the reason Anderson, Thane, and so many others were dead. Synthesizing the galaxy's races seemed… unethical to her. Who was she to force such a drastic evolution on every race in the galaxy?
Destruction was the only choice she had seen, and it was the one she had been forced to take. Yet she still agonized, still regretted it.
When Shepard came back to the present, she found Liara looking at her in concern.
"What?"
"It's not your fault."
"What isn't?"
"EDI."
"How did you-"
"We've melded several times, Shepard. That kind of connection doesn't just fade. We can both feel what the other is thinking or feeling at any time. That is the beauty of melding; it lingers."
Shepard sighed.
"Then you know that no matter what, I'll always consider it my fault."
"Shepard-"
"She had just begun to understand, Liara. She had become… human, at that moment. She had finally understood what it meant to be one of our flawed, dejected species. And I… ended that."
"You had no choice."
"That's the problem," she said, quietly.
"I did."
Shepard sat in silence, contemplating. The hospital waiting room reminded her of Huerta Memorial, back on the Citadel. Each time she had visited, she had been confronted more and more by the debris of the war, so to speak; the dead, the dying, and the desperate.
She remembered her conversations with Thane. His contentment with his situation, his complacency with his death. He didn't deserve to be killed by Kai Leng. Of all the lives she had taken, Kai Leng was one she had not regretted. In fact, she had enjoyed it- something that worried her immensely.
The door to the waiting room slid open. The Asari doctor entered the waiting room, prompting Shepard to stand up anxiously.
"What happened?"
"You can relax, Admiral. The process went just fine. Dr. T'Soni is ready for you now, if you'd care to follow me."
"Of course."
As Shepard followed, she could hardly hear the faint whirring of her synthetic leg or arm. Her excitement and anxiety was too much to think about anything else.
While at first reluctant, Shepard had come to terms with their move to Thessia. Liara had brought the idea up after their wedding, and Shepard had agreed, albeit with trepidation, to move away from the home she had just retaken. Yet as soon as Earth's smoky form had receded in the viewports of the liner they were on, Shepard had felt something of a weight lift from her shoulders. There had been a lot of baggage she had associated with Earth, she realized. Anderson. The Illusive Man. The Catalyst.
While Thessia still provoked guilt in her after her failure against Cerberus, she had come to appreciate its beauty. Hell, the Asari had rebuilt their homes almost ten times faster than Earth, which was still in the process of figuring out which parliamentary sub-committee should handle which sector of rebuilding.
The doctor paused by a room, gesturing Shepard in with a smile.
"Thank you, doctor."
Shepard was greeted by the sight of Liara cradling two small, bluish forms swathed in blankets. Shepard tried to enter quietly, so as not to bother Liara, but the faint sound of her leg's servos engaging caught Liara's attention. The Shadow Broker looked tired, but happy to see Shepard, who had spent the previous eight hours by Liara's bed.
"Liara…"
"Shepard. Come see."
Shepard sat by the seat directly next to Liara, looking at her two daughters in jubilant adoration. Gingerly, Liara handed them over. They were squirming slightly, but were both fast asleep. One of them had strange, intricate red markings that framed her face, while the other had the freckles that Liara had. As she looked at them, Shepard could feel a warmth move through her body, and knew almost immediately that she loved both of them more than anything in the world.
"Liara… you did it."
Liara smiled, kissing Shepard on the mouth, tears falling from her eyes.
"We did it."
Shepard gently handed the kids back to Liara, touching her forehead to Liara's. A nurse entered, smiling broadly, gently setting the two girls into cradles by Liara's bed.
"Have you… have you settled on a name?"
"Yes. Shari and… and Kaida."
"Kaida…?"
"Yes. For Kaidan."
"Liara… I can't… I can't tell you how much that means to me…"
Liara chuckled softly, grasping Shepard's hand and intertwining her fingers.
"How about it, Admiral? Once more unto the breach?"
Shepard laughed lightly. For the first time in several years, she wasn't painfully conscious of her replacement limbs, nor of the deep emotional pain she had been carrying around since Akuze, even. She was happy.
"Liara… thank you. For everything."
Liara smiled again, and they kissed.
The stage was large. It had to be, given the size of the ship sitting on its landing pad behind them. A small podium, one that was dwarfed by the size of everything else, had been set up near the front, adorned with the sigil of the Systems Alliance. Behind it, the eighty or so chairs left for the remaining crew of the Normandy SR-2 were filled.
Shepard knew them all. Some, she had come to know better than others. Other than the core crew that had become her closest friends in peacetime, there were so many others she had seeked out and talked with. Her second resurrection had made her realize how much she took for granted- those unsung heroes who worked tirelessly at diagnostic stations or weapons interfaces.
She looked to her right. In a line sat those people she had trusted her life to so many times. Many of them had moved up in the world, as she knew they would.
For instance, despite her jokes during the Reaper War, her friend Garrus Vakarian had taken on much more responsibility in the wake of the war. Primarch Vakarian, honored war hero, had indeed laid down his sniper rifle to rebuild Palaven. She had, of course, poked fun at his hypocrisy, but was prouder of her friend than ever before.
And he wasn't the only one. Tali had taken to her position on the Admiralty board with gusto, leading the effort to rebuild Rannoch and even, despite protests from her more… radical peers, had begun the process of restoring the Geth Consensus.
Captain James Vega had, as he had once said in passing, taken command of his own ship, the SSV Fehl Prime, so named after the colony he had mourned and agonized for so long. He had, according to Fleet Admiral Hackett, conducted himself with valor and bravery.
Joker had left active service, taking a job as a flight school instructor. Despite her trepidation, Shepard had contacted Joker several times, each time expressing her regret for killing EDI. Finally, Joker had retorted that 'if EDI were here, she would have agreed with your decision and had an entire discussion about it with me.'
She recognized others as well. Traynor had aso left the military to teach tactics and strategy at the Arcturus II Station. Pressly, Donnelly, and Daniels had all made it as well, proudly wearing their Alliance dress uniforms.
Two seats were empty, however. Dr. Chakwas had passed several years earlier- an event that had been attended by hundreds of mourners, including the surviving crew of the Normandy SR1, as well as the SR2- from both its Cerberus days and its return to the Alliance.
The other missing was Javik. While it had pained her, Shepard at least took heart in the fact that Javik had most likely left to fulfill the promise he made on Earth, and she hoped that he had finally found peace alongside the souls of his crew.
Garrus nudged her with a sardonic grin.
"You're up, Shepard."
Shepard grinned.
"Ass."
Composing herself, Shepard stood, walking stiffly towards the podium. The dress uniform she had been sent had, surprisingly, fit perfectly. She was glad they hadn't tacked on all of the medals she had gotten from all of the races after the War. She would have preferred that she didn't have any medals, of course, but she supposed that the brass wanted her to look all pretty for the vids.
She smiled warmly at Hackett. At the age of 63, Fleet Admiral Hackett had lost none of the honesty and intensity that had made him one of humanity's best leaders. He had even gotten nominated for the role of Alliance Prime Minister, but he had declined, confiding in Shepard that 'Politics scared him more than the damn Reapers'.
Hackett returned the smile, saluting stiffly, before gesturing towards the podium.
Shepard stepped towards the podium, looking out upon the thousands of Alliance officers and civilians that had turned out for the christening of the Normandy SR-3.
"The Normandy is a special ship," she said, listening to her voice echo throughout the brisk London air.
"Some may say that the Normandy is special because it's Commander Shepard's ship. Well that's just not true- I'm an Admiral now, or something."
There was laughter throughout the crowd, and Shepard had to resist sharing a sarcastic glance with Joker, who had suggested she make that joke.
"Yet what made the Normandy special wasn't it's role in the war, or its technological capabilities. What makes the Normandy special is it's crew. In my time, the Normandy was the home to the best and brightest scientists, soldiers, pilots, and engineers in the entire galaxy. And from what I hear, it will continue fulfilling that role far into the future."
She paused, glancing at the other side of the stage, which was occupied by the hundred or so crew assigned to the new Normandy.
"The Normandy is, of course, an Alliance ship first and foremost. Yet look at her new crew- you'll notice that amongst its human crew are Asari, Turians, Salarians, Volus, and others. Some may say that this is a dangerous proposition or a foolish decision. Well, I'll say what I told a dissatisfied admiral during my hunt for Saren; the Normandy, while impressive in its own right, can only be enhanced when utilized by a multiracial and multilateral crew."
Shepard nodded towards the form of Normandy's new commander, a person she had known for more years than she cared to count. They had become friends, enemies, and then friends again- a bond that had lasted and endured for the last few decades.
"As much as it may pain me to admit, Major Ashley Williams is probably the best qualified person for this job. Though many of her actions are top-secret, her service as a Spectre is unrivaled. Well, maybe only by my service, but she has been a Spectre much longer than I was- a fact that the good Major never lets me forget when we meet in the bar for drinks."
More laughs. Shepard shot a wry grin towards Williams, who rolled her eyes, smiling
"Major Williams has been a part of the Normandy since its first mission on Eden Prime all those years ago. Despite the hardships she has seen, she has endured and survived, and I can think of noone better to take command of the SR3 than her. Major, I wish you and your crew luck in your missions."
Shepard ended the speech with a salute, and was accompanied off the podium with thunderous applause. She found her seat again, smiling at Liara, and let out a deep breath. It surprised a lot of people- especially Liara- to find out the Shepard actually disliked public speaking. She had been uncomfortable with oration since her childhood. Of course, she would never tell someone like, say, Jack, as she'd never let Shepard hear the end of it, but it was true.
"Pretty good speech, Shepard. Of course, it is probably one of the more cheesy speeches I've heard in your illustrious career, but I can cut you some slack. This isn't the Collector base or anything. Maybe I should have taken some potshots at you, just to improve your speech's quality," Garrus said dryly.
"I'd be surprised if you could hit anything at this point, Garrus. What was that you said all those years ago about not knowing how to use a hammer?" Shepard retorted.
"Touché, Shepard. Touché."
The banquet hall they had rented out was impressive, really. The Royal Air Force, eager to draw in recruits, no doubt, had offered the large hall to the old crew of the Normandy for the post-ceremony celebration. Having picked up the somewhat expensive hobby of model collecting during the Cerberus days, she had become something of an airplane enthusiasts and had, according to her daughters, 'geeked out' over ancient Spitfire planes and the first jet to utilize mass effect fields, the F-52 Cronus.
It wasn't as bad as seeing Garrus drool over a rifle attachment, Shepard decided, but she kept that to herself.
The hubbub of the hall eventually subsided into the background, and Shepard noticed Kaida sitting alone at her table. Shari, of course, was chattering happily with some of the older deck marines and Vega, while Liara was catching up with Tali and Garrus. Shepard crossed the room, shaking hands, sharing jokes, and greetings until she reached her daughter.
Kaida looked up impassively.
"Hey, dad."
Shepard had to admit, the Asari custom of calling the non-Asari partner 'Dad' still sounded strange to her ear, but she figured that she might as well do her best to adapt to different customs.
"How's it going?"
"Alright. I was just… thinking."
Shepard couldn't help but smile. Even at the age of 21, her daughter was still an introvert at heart, despite the vivid red markings on her face. She knew that Kaida hated the markings, as they tended to attract attention more than dispel it. Like her mother when Shepard had first met her, Kaida was withdrawn and almost aloof at times, and preferred the path of the intellectual, as opposed to her twin, who loved action and movement.
"About what?"
"I had a conversation with Major Williams earlier. She's a very interesting person."
"What did you talk about?"
"My namesake."
A pang of guilt ran through Shepard. She knew she would have had to have this conversation with her daughter sooner rather than later, but that didn't make it any easier. Despite how long it had been, Kaidan's death still weighed on her as much as Thane, Legion, Mordin, Anderson, and EDI. If anything, almost more so, as she had been forced to make the conscious decision to leave him behind.
"What did you want to know?"
"What was he like? When I asked Major Williams, she got rather uncomfortable, and talked instead about his service record and his sacrifice on Virmire. Yet I have always been interested about what he was like as a person."
Shepard sighed, crossing her arms. They sat like that in silence for several minutes, watching the crew mingle, laugh, and eat.
"You're a lot like him, actually. He was often quiet around people he didn't know well. Whereas Major Williams was often blunt and direct in her career, Kaidan was more cautious. It took a lot of talking to know him with any sort of intimacy, and even then, his history made it difficult for him to talk freely about himself. Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training was hard on him, and he was forced to do things that forever damaged his psyche. Even his implants- the faulty L2 ones- caused him almost constant pain."
Shepard looked at the old crew- Engineer Adams, Tali, Joker, Liara, Garrus, Ashley. She remembered their downtime on the SR1, the hour-long discussions about a myriad of topics. They would often gather around the mess hall, trading jokes or stories about past battles and experiences. Wrex would often brag about his Krogan resilience and get into an argument with Garrus about the Krogan Rebellions. Williams would tell stories about getting into trouble during her less than savory postings, and Tali would talk about the flotilla. Yet Shepard and Kaidan would often simply listen to their crewmates, and take heart in simply absorbing their stories.
"In battle, he was as brave and talented of a soldier as you could find. He cared deeply for his teammates, and he would always voice his opinion if you asked. Ultimately, he insisted that we leave him behind. He said that he was at peace with his fate when… when we…"
Shepard trailed off, her voice breaking. Kaida looked at her in surprise; she hadn't seen her mother cry very much. Tentatively, Kaida embraced her 'father'.
"Sorry. I didn't mean-"
Shepard smiled.
"No, it's fine. You deserve to know."
Shepard kissed her on the forehead lovingly.
"I love you, Kaida."
"I love you too, Dad."
The room was quiet. The faint beeping of the monitors, and the muted conversations of doctors and patients in other rooms were the only sound in the hospital ward.
Despite being the age of eighty-three, Shepard looked remarkably young. While her hair had faded to white and her face had become lined with age, she appeared to be no more than fifty. According to the doctors, this was due to her cybernetic implants, courtesy of Cerberus.
They had known this was coming for a long time. Liara and Shepard had spent sleepless nights discussing arrangements, and ultimately, Shepard's mortality. Liara knew she had told Shepard all those years ago that losing a bondmate tended to be a philosophical aspect of Asari life, but she now had no idea how she could bear to live without Shepard. Fifty years, while a lifetime by human standards, had almost flown by in the blink of an eye for Liara.
She was 160 now. By most Asari standards, she was still in her Maiden stage, though her marriage to Shepard had technically made her a Matron. Her daughters were 49, but it was all fleeting and temporary.
Shepard opened her eyes, smiling at Liara sweetly.
"Hey, Liara."
"Shepard," she replied, sadly.
Shepard glanced over behind Liara, where Shari and Kaida were both sitting.
"Shari… I hadn't realized…"
"The Matriarch decided to give me emergency furlough. She said it was the least she could do to repay you."
Shepard smiled at both.
"I'm glad you're here. All of you."
She coughed again, a harsh, violent cough, before settling back in her pillow. Despite all of her augmentations and her survival through the years, she was, according to the doctors, simply dying of natural causes. Heart troubles, lung problems, and all of the debris remaining from years of psychological stress and constant warfare, had finally taken their toll.
The doctor had beckoned them in several minutes ago, and had informed Liara of Shepard's condition, cautioning them to say their farewells and to prepare for the end.
This had hit Liara harder than any injury she had sustained in her many years.
Shepard's hand grasped the air weakly, and Liara clutched it tightly. Shari and Kaida held on as well, barely holding back their tears.
"Shepard, I-"
"It's okay, Liara. I'm… I'm ready."
"Shepard… Sarah…" Liara said, pleadingly.
Shepard smiled again, and kissed Liara passionately on the lips before kissing the girls on their foreheads.
"I'll always love you, Liara. I'll watch over you from wherever I am, and…"
She smirked a little.
"I'll tell Kaidan, Thane, and the others that you all said hello."
She coughed again, her eyelids fluttering, and Liara's heart dropped in fear. Then, almost impulsively, Liara touched her forehead's to Shepard's and closed her eyes.
When she opened them, they were surrounded once more by darkness, a dim light slowly approaching in the infinite distance. Liara looked at Shepard. The age and damage had worn away, and she was as she was during the Battle for Earth. Her vibrant red hair and deep purple eyes shouted defiance, and she smiled knowingly at Liara, kissing her again.
"We knew this day would come, Liara. I'm just sorry I couldn't stay with you until the end."
"I… I don't know what I'll do. I love you, Shepard. You were everything."
"You're everything to me Liara, but you're strong. Never forget that. You've been strong since Therum, Hagalaz, Noveria, and everywhere else. The girls need a mother, and I can't think of anyone else who could be there for them than you."
Liara nodded tearfully, sensing the wisdom in Shepard's words.
"I've lived a full life, Liara. You have time left. You've given me a normal life, and that's everything I could have asked for."
"Don't… leave…"
"I'm sorry. It's my time. I'll talk to some old friends in the next life, try to put in a good word for everyone. And someday, when you've lived a full life… we can be together again."
Shepard smiled sadly, backing away while grasping Liara's hands tightly.
She muttered something indistinctly as the light began to overtake her. Her grasp loosened, and Liara fought the urge to chase after her. She was at peace after a lifetime of war, and as much Liara didn't want to lose her, she knew that this was how things had to be.
Liara opened her eyes, and Shepard's voice seemed to echo in her mind, uttering words that resonated with age.
Guide this one to where the traveller never tires, the lover never leaves, and the hungry never starve.
Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me.
Liara looked down at the only woman she had ever loved in her life. Shepard's face was quiet and still, with a faint smile playing across her lips as if she were sleeping fitfully.
Liara looked at her daughters, who were crying silently, and remembered Shepard's words. She crossed the room, embracing them both and joining them in their misery.
Yet strangely, perhaps impossibly, she felt a strange sense of hope. She knew that she had a purpose in her life, and she knew that she would try her best to live her life.
If not for her sake, then for Shepard.
She kissed Shepard's forehead once more.
"Thank you, Shepard."
She paused, her voice trembling.
"For everything."
So, as you can no doubt tell, I had some angst and major Shiara feelings to get out, so here it is. Enjoy! Also, usual disclaimer, I don't own the cover image, that's all BioWare.