Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect, or any of the characters related to it. Such things are property of Bioware.
"You don't know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life; to turn it toward happiness or despair." Benezia turned her head slightly, to stare at the intruders. "Her children were to be ours, to raise to hunt and slay Saren's enemies." There was a momentary pause on the asari matriarch's part; then, she turned and took a few steps towards the three that had stepped inside, one of whom was her very daughter, Liara T'Soni. "I won't be moved by sympathy…" She told Shepard, but her eyes were trained on her daughter, who was struggling to keep a straight face. "No matter who you bring into this confrontation." Shepard narrowed her eyes, and objected, "Liara's here because she's part of my crew!" At this, Doctor T'Soni stood up straighter, her hands folded behind her back. She had to admit, she was glad that Shepard had finally accepted her into the crew… Or rather, she would be glad, if the circumstances had been a bit less… dangerous.
For a moment, Benezia's eyes tracked Shepard; then, they slowly transitioned over to her daughter once again. "Indeed…" Benezia scoffed. The matriarch narrowed her eyes, and Liara found herself cringing slightly underneath her mother's harsh gaze. "What have you told them about me, Liara?" For a moment, Liara was silent, before replying, "That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you?" She was near tears now. "What could I say?" Matriarch Benezia regarded her daughter with harsh, critical eyes, and Liara let out a soft whimper as her mother took another step forward. "Have you faced an asari commando unit before?" She asked Shepard, ignoring her daughter's vocalizations. "Few humans have." Garrus, stationed on the far right of the group, blinked and immediately pulled out his weapon. Asari commando units meant trouble, he knew that much. Shepard glanced over her shoulder at Liara, trying to give her the most supporting look she could muster. "I can't believe you'd kill your own daughter!" She exclaimed in disbelief. Benezia gestured towards Liara with a wave of her hand. "I now realize I should have been stricter with her…" And with that, Benezia pushed her hand forward, and the battle that would change Liara's life began.
The memory of the incident on Noveria echoed in Liara's troubled mind, like an annoying insect that just would not go away. It had nagged at her constantly ever since they had left the Peak 15 facility. The ride in the Mako back to Port Hanshan had been especially quiet. Liara had not let any tears fall from her eyes; rather, she stared at her feet with a blank gaze, introverting herself as she normally did to deal with such traumatic experiences. Shepard had tried to talk to the asari as soon as they had gotten back on the Normandy, but it was no use, as the asari merely insisted that she was fine and would grieve in her own fashion—which typically meant holing herself up in her room, only allowing Dr. Chakwas to enter when she insisted that the asari doctor needed food.
However, today was different, as Liara had gathered the courage to shuffle out of her room and into the cafeteria—in reality, a mere table split off from the rest of the ship by two walls. It was, as usual, nearly empty… and Liara had to admit, it felt very lonely, sitting here all by herself. She stared down at her food, a strange human concoction that she could not pronounce the name of properly. "Tuh-Koo-Ee-Toes…" She muttered, pushing the things around her plate. Whatever they were, they did not look appetizing at all. Just the sight of them made her queasy, and she pushed the dish away quickly, looking away from it.
Meanwhile, Garrus and Tali stepped out of what could best be described as the ship's galley. Since both turians and quarians were dextro-amino based races, their food was radically different from that of the humans or the asari. So, the turian and the quarian typically got their food at the same time—though Tali, of course, had to go eat in the sterile environment that Dr. Chakwas provided for her in the medical bay. "I still don't trust this synthetic food…" Tali muttered, poking at it cautiously, as if she was afraid it would leap out and latch onto her visor. At this, Garrus smirked (well, the best a turian could smirk) and replied, "It can't be any worse than what they serve on the Flotilla." Tali's head turned sharply, and he could sense the glare from behind her visor. "Enough, enough, I'm kidding!" Garrus chuckled.
However, the two of them froze and went quiet at the sight of Liara. It was quite a rare thing to see the asari outside of her room, especially after the incident on Noveria. And from what they could see, Benezia's daughter was obviously upset, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "Do you…" Garrus muttered, pausing a moment, "…Think I should try to talk to her?" Tali stared at Garrus; her body language indicated that she was somewhat shocked. The turian was not really the kind of person you went to in a time of emotional turmoil. "… If you think you can help her, go ahead," She replied softly. Garrus took a step forward, but paused as he felt Tali's hand grab onto his forearm. "Wait!" He turned, and for a moment, the quarian was quiet. Then, she whispered, "Women can be… difficult, no matter what species they are. Try not to get frustrated with her." Garrus blinked, then nodded.
Tali gave Liara one last glance as she walked into the medical bay with her food, while Garrus made his way towards the table. It seemed like every step took an eternity, but the turian finally pulled up a seat alongside the asari, who apparently hadn't even noticed his presence yet. "… Dr. T'Soni?" The ex-Citadel Security officer purred quietly, reaching out to lightly shake the Doctor's shoulder. Liara twitched and let out a surprised gasp. "Huh?"
Garrus immediately pulled his hand away, as if it had been burnt. "Sorry, Dr. T'Soni. I hope I didn't startle you…" He quickly apologized. Liara stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head. "No, Garrus, it's fine. I was just… as Shepard says, out of it." Garrus nodded, understanding the meaning of the human expression. You didn't spend weeks on an Alliance ship without picking up some human slang.
"I see. And… What were you thinking about, Liara?" The asari's eyes widened slightly at the turian's use of her name. He typically referred to her as "Doctor T'Soni", or simply "Doctor". And while his voice was usually strong and confident, now it was soft and reassuring. Looking over at Garrus with her full attention now, she truthfully replied, "I've been… thinking about my mother, really." "How close were you two?" At this question, Liara paused, trying to think of a way to phrase her answer.
"My mother and I… When I was young, Benezia was very close to me, and I was close to her. We could not bear to be apart for any longer than a few hours. But… as I got older, we became more and more distant. Soon enough, we stopped talking to one another altogether." Liara buried her face in her hands, and let out a sigh. "The incident on Noveria was the first time I had seen my mother in over a year." She felt a taloned hand gently squeeze her shoulder, and lifted her head from her hands to stare at Garrus.
His mandibles twitched as he asked, "When you saw Benezia under the effects of the indoctrination… it hurt you, didn't it?" For a moment, Liara's lower lip trembled as she attempted to contain her emotions. However, the flood of feeling was too much, and she buried her face in Garrus's shoulder. "Oh, Goddess… I-I miss her so much, Garrus…" He was somewhat surprised by the sudden outburst of emotion, and his mandibles were drooping as his mouth hung open. After a moment, he regained his senses, and wrapped his arms around the crying asari.
"Shh… It's okay now, Liara. I'm… I know she loved you very much," Garrus assured her. In between her soft sobbing, Liara replied, "I kn-know, I just regret—I just w-wished I had t-told her I f-f-felt the same way." The turian shook his head, and ran his hands up and down Liara's back. "No, no, Liara, I'm sure she knew that without you having to tell her." Matriarch Benezia's daughter did not reply; instead, she buried her face further into Garrus's neck, her breath coming out in short, choked sobs.
Garrus was not quite sure how much time he spent there, holding Liara as the asari cried until she no longer could. He estimated it was about half-an-hour, but he was probably wrong. Turians always had a terrible sense of time. "Liara?" He asked quietly, after he realized that the archaeologist had gone quiet. "Liara?" Garrus repeated, pushing the asari away from his shoulder to get a glimpse of what she was doing.
Doctor T'Soni had fallen asleep in his arms.
Garrus chuckled quietly, and then slightly adjusted Liara so she was leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'll see you later, Dr. T'Soni," He muttered, getting up to leave.
However, looking at the asari's peaceful face, something made him pause. The turian glanced around to make sure nobody—especially Wrex or Tali—was watching, before leaning down and softly nuzzling the asari.
"Just remember, Little Wing," Garrus whispered, using the name Benezia had addressed Liara by back on Noveria, "There are people on this ship who care about you." He was about to depart, but felt Liara's hand find its way down to his own, and felt her warm breath run across the side of his head. "Thank you, Garrus Vakarian."
Author's Note: Cute, no? That wasn't really the ending I had in mind, but it works. :3 Read and review, plox. Also, Liara eating taquitos. Om nom nom, they are deeleeshush.