A/N: Hi, hi! This is my latest fic: one I was dragged through the mud pits of insomnia by my muse in order to complete. I don't write Liara often for various reasons, so I'm very curious what everyone thinks of my characterization of her (and Shepard's actions toward her)! So, how'd I do, Liara fans? Please leave reviews and feedback. I read every single review (sometimes repeatedly) and try to learn from every bit of constructive criticism!

This is in two parts, and it's the exact same scene: the conversation Liara and female Shepard have on the Normandy after Lair of the Shadow Broker. In my world, Shepard came back after a few missions and then invited her up. I yoinked most of the dialogue from the game itself, but then I went and embellished it. The tiny glimpse into Shepard actually sharing her feelings (especially if you choose the "I'm tired" option) really struck a chord with me and I thought there needed to be more...so I wrote more! I decided to write the conversation twice, once from each perspective. The first chapter is from Liara's point of view, the second chapter an insight into Shepard's mind. Again, any and all constructive reviews are so very welcome. Either way, I hope you enjoy! =3

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Liara fidgeted and tugged her left sleeve down as the elevator silently glided upward. It was wonderful to be off the Shadow Broker's - no, wait, her ship. Shepard had to head off and do a few emergency things, as always, so it had been a few weeks since she'd seen her human friend last. The moment she was invited up, Liara took it. Anything to get off that ship, see some old friends, and drink some good wine. Shepard always did have good taste in wine.

The door slid open and Liara couldn't help a small smile as she saw some deep red liquid cascading into a glass. The stream was abruptly ended and Shepard turned around with that muted smile. It didn't really occur to her before, but Liara suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Shepard's trademark dazzling, borderline insane grin since the resurrection. That concerned her a bit. Shepard clomped over and wove the bottle in her hand with a slightly more genuine smile.

"Enjoy the tour?"

Liara nodded. "Yes. It's a beautiful ship." Quick, think of something funny. "I ran into Joker, he seemed happy to see me; although... he did ask if I'd 'embraced eternity' lately."

Shepard looked borderline embarrassed, borderline amused. "...Of course he did."

"I think he means well, in his own way. What wine did you choose tonight?"

A short chuckle echoed in the rather bare quarters. "Yeah, he does. The wine? Ah, I managed to convince Chakwas to part with a pretty good one. I owe her another bottle of Serrice Ice now, though. C'mon, sit down." Shepard put on a good face and trudged to sit on the couch in front of the small table. "She says it's from 2165, apparently a good year for asari wines." She sat as she filled the second glass.

"That seems a bit young for an asari wine, but the Doctor does know her drink." Liara primly sat down - she didn't really know any other way to sit when in a dress - and grasped the glass stem. After a polite swirl and sniff, the asari had to admit...it did smell remarkably delicious for a wine only 20 years in the aging. "It smells wonderful. I also spoke with Doctor Chakwas. I'm glad she's doing well."

The human sighed and sat back, glass between her hands. "Yeah, she keeps on kicking...and helps keep the rest of us kicking, too. So how have things been going on the ship? Find any good juicy bits?"

Juicy bits? Hmm. Liara tilted her head and took an experimental sip as she filtered through everything. There was just so much information she learned every day...it was exhilarating. "Well, I discovered that Hackett ordered the Alliance to not take you in for questioning."

Shepard sat up with a start before settling down again."He did what?"

"Yes, permission was requested to take you in and question you as to your motives with Cerberus. Anderson sent a message assuring him that he trusted you, and so both men kept you from being detained." Liara was a bit surprised Shepard hadn't been told this already; that seemed like the kind of thing they could trust her with, Cerberus or no.

Her friend took a deep drink of the wine, grimacing as there was no doubt a trail of fire burning down her throat. She never did remember to not treat wine like water or tea. Liara patted her back. "Well, guess it shouldn't surprise me that much. Those two are practically the only people I can trust in the Alliance these days. I'll have to thank them." Shepard paused. "Actually, they'd probably question how I got that information. Maybe I'll just...pretend to thank them."

That one managed to tease out a small laugh from her; Shepard was so good at making Liara laugh. The woman the galaxy knew as Commander Shepard was just as awkward and human as any other person she had ever met, once you got her alone. "So how are you doing, Shepard? I mean, really: not what you tell your squad to keep morale up."

Liara half expected a BS'd answer, but it was gratifying to see her friend actually consider the question before answering. A small bit of frustration wove through her voice, eyes glued to the glass she held. "Honestly, I'm tired. Tired of dealing with Cerberus, tired of the Council ignoring me, tired of..." Her voice caught on whatever she was about to say before recovering with, "...my closest friends not believing me."

A raw, honest answer. Liara immediately knew who she was talking about, too. "Yes, I heard about what Kaidan said on Horizon. I'm sorry...but their short-sightedness doesn't diminish what you've accomplished. There wouldn't be a man, woman or child left on Horizon, if not for you."

"You know the worst part about it?" Shepard took a deep gulp of wine again, wincing. Liara faintly hoped she wouldn't become an alcoholic. "Cerberus planted intel to lure the Collectors there. Horizon was bait. Kaidan...was bait."

Bitterness, nearly unchecked anger, laced through Shepard's voice at that. Liara didn't know they specifically planted him there for that! The nerve of the Illusive Man! The best she could muster was a soothing, but still indignant, "Those bastards..."

She shrugged quietly, tracing the top of her wine glass with a finger. "They would've hit another world if we hadn't lured them there, but..." A deep sigh of regret. "I don't like it when people I care about get put in harm's way because of me. The Collectors almost abducted him, too." Her green eyes flicked back up, watching Liara. "...Aren't you going to tell me not to work with them?"

Guilt flooded through Liara's body. This was partially her fault. Sure, the Collectors and Cerberus still would have done all the horrible things they were doing, but she is the one who brought Shepard to them and dragged her friend into the fray because she couldn't let go. "I gave them your body, remember? What...can I say? I trust you. I know you'll stick to your beliefs, no matter what Cerberus wants."

Shepard nodded and gave her that muted smile again before actually sipping the wine this time. A quick glance to the glass - yep, already almost empty - and Liara decided now was a good a time as any to bring out her gift. "I brought you something."

Vibrant green eyes flickered up and the wine glass was quickly abandoned to the short table. Every time Shepard looked at someone - really looked at them - it was disconcerting. Her eyes had always been intense in color, to the point that Liara was sure the woman had had gene modifications. She didn't seem like the type to spend money on frivolous stuff like that, however; perhaps her parents did it. Either way, even a small glance like this one could take someone by surprise. Those same eyes narrowed in concern when she didn't respond right away. "Is everything okay?"

Goddess! She was staring at Shepard again, wasn't she? It was made very clear to her over two years ago that the woman had no interest in her and yet here Liara was. She shook her head and diverted her eyes to the bottle of wine on the table. "Everything's fine, I'm sorry. I was just reminded of something. Anyway, here you go." Her hand dug into the pouch on her hip and eventually met light, sharp metal. When it withdrew, a scorched, nearly destroyed set of dog tags hung from a new chain. Silence stilled the air. Liara's eyes shot over in concern...her friend hadn't said anything or moved in a few moments; very unlike her.

What she saw shook her to the core. Shepard's expression was completely unmasked: bright green eyes were filling with - no, spilling over with tears...her face was a heartbreaking mixture of shock, hurt, worry, longing, devastation. What did Liara do? She never should have brought these back, it was too much. Oh, Goddess! "Shepard, I..."

The voice of another person brought her back to the present, Shepard's eyes snapping shut as her hand shakily reached for them. Liara gladly placed the tags in her hand and then sat back. The Commander had certainly shown emotion before; for instance, after Ashley had died, she was very clearly upset, in mourning. But this... Liara didn't know what to do as she watched Shepard tightly wrap her hands around the tags and bring them to her chest. Hug her, for goodness' sake!

Of course! Liara pushed over and awkwardly wrapped her arms around the woman. Bright red hair rested against her blue face and a few small shudders rippled against her arms - probably silent sobs. What was causing Shepard to be this upset? Was it a bad reminder of when she died? "I'm sorry, Shepard. I didn't mean to..."

"I thought..." Emotion made her friend's voice a bit raw, thick. That was not a sound Liara was going to forget any time soon. The troubled tone that was layered underneath would probably haunt her. "I thought I'd never...see these again. I'm..." Her throat cleared as she gently pushed against Liara's arms; the asari relented and sat back. "I'm sorry. I just...how?"

Okay, this can be fixed. Explain. That will help distract her. Maybe. "They changed hands more than once. Do you remember Admiral Hackett? He gave them to me so I could return them to you. He sends his best and hopes you're okay." A slow nod and wiping of tears was her response. "...Was it a bad gift?"

Her head shook quickly. "No. I just didn't expect it. They're...exactly what I needed right now. Thank you, Liara." Shepard's hands slowly unclenched themselves from around the tags and instead pressed them against her chest with a flat palm.

"I didn't know that soldiers held their tags so dear." That reaction was most surprising. It must be a human thing.

A few moments passed before Shepard spoke. Eventually she peeled her hands away and held the tags up to the light. "They don't. These are special."

Liara waited a few moments for more extrapolation; when none came, she very gently pressed, "How so, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't. You of all people might understand." Green eyes never left the tags as she separated one from the other and rested it in her pale palm for Liara to inspect. "Look carefully at this one."

She keenly inspected it, but it was so damaged. After a while, she finally was able to read a few things, namely 'Kae,' 'rd' and '5923-A.' This was Shepard's tag, Liara didn't understand. "It looks like your identification tag to me..."

Hands silently switched tags to cradle the other in her hand. "And this one." The fact that Shepard never stopped touching at least one of them wasn't lost on her. Liara peered down again. This one was was even worse, with a few metal chunks missing. All she could make out was 'len' and 'C-759.'

After a few moments of contemplation, she had nothing. Shadow Broker or not, sometimes people just spoke too vaguely. "I don't understand, Shepard. They are different how? That is the last three digits of y-" Realization dawned like a bright light. That wasn't the last three digits of Shepard's service number. She squinted and moved closer. Upon further inspection, 'len' looked like it could've started with a capital 'A,' making that... Alen. Alen? Alenko. Of course! Another moment of thought brought the now-Staff Commander's service number to mind. It did end with C-759. This was Kaidan's tag! Her eyes swiveled over as she sat straight. "Shepard, I am...so sorry. I didn't know."

Tears welled up again, but the human was already compartmentalizing it all. They did not drop. "Don't be. They're...a reminder. A very important one."

"Is it normal to exchange tags between...with each other?" Liara had no idea what to call the relationship; lovers, bond mates, a couple?

A loud sniff was followed by the first actual smile she'd seen from Shepard in...well, years. "No." Her hands lifted to pull the chain over her head, immediately tucking them under her shirt and against skin. The smile slowly faded as she looked around the room. "It isn't. We were...dorks."

Blue eyes blinked slowly. "Dorks? I don't think my translator worked there."

"Oh. Uh...it's a human word for when you're being silly, or...or in this case, overly sentimental." Her hand raised to touch the tags through her shirt.

If she hadn't seen the sudden crack in Shepard's composure only minutes ago, Liara would have probably laughed at the thought of Commander Shepard being 'overly sentimental.' Clearly the relationship wasn't one-sided like many suspected; after Shepard's death, Kaidan's desolate reaction was surprising, all the more because he tried to hide it...now she felt like she understood them both a little better. A quote from a famous human poetess floated to Liara's mind: There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. This whole thing was tragic, just tragic. She frowned and rested a hand on Shepard's shoulder. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to turn a nice evening between friends into...this."

Shepard looked up to Liara with a lopsided, wry smile as she wiped away one final tear. "Actually, I think this is exactly what I needed. I can't really trust anyone on this ship to see the real me. It's like they don't care." She reached and poured herself a second glass before sitting back with a sigh. "Not one person, well, other than the Doc, has even asked how I've been doing. I died, Liara. I was dead. And now everyone's had two years to move on without me." Another one of her too-deep sips of wine caused a grimace. She never would learn. "Everything, everyone, I loved was just...taken away. I lost two years of my life." The hurt and pain in her voice was slowly bleeding away into anger. "Two years. We could've-" She cut herself off and quickly shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. Getting angry isn't going to solve anything. I need to shut these Collectors down, then I can worry about...everything else."

There she went again: Liara watched as Shepard's shoulders straightened and she compartmentalized everything behind closed eyes. Her psychology report wasn't lying...it was remarkable how well she could shut everything out with enough willpower. It couldn't have been healthy, but everything this woman had gone through in the past few years would have utterly broken most sentients. That ability was probably the only thing keeping her sane at this point. The asari decided to let her finish in peace and concentrated on her own nearly forgotten glass of wine. It really was good wine; she would have to remember its name.

Long moments, even minutes, passed in quiet companionship before Shepard spoke again. Her voice and face were already schooled back to the restrained calm Liara first was greeted when she arrived. "Have you done any anything ridiculous with your information yet?"

Ridiculous? The odd question made Liara quirk her brow and look over. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know." Shepard's hand dismissively wove through the air before taking another sip with the other. "Pulling a prank or something."

You never would have known that not even half an hour ago that same woman was weeping openly. Liara straightened her back and took a deep sip of wine. "A prank? Of course not! It is a serious position, Shepard; as I said before, give me five minutes and I could start a war. I cannot treat it or my information lightly."

Shepard actually looked admonished at that. Truly admonished. She nodded quietly and set her now-empty glass down on the table. "Fair enough, I'm sorry. Do you have any new info on the Collectors or Reapers?"

"Unfortunately, no. I know as much as you. I'll do what I can, but I need to keep all my informants moving on their active assignments...it's much too hard to divert current resources. I need to recruit a few more people to place on that exclusively. I'm sorry I don't have anything yet."

A jaunty, fake-brave shrug brushed against the couch. "You do what you can with what you've got. It's not like you're holding out on me or anything, so I'll make do." Shepard sighed and rested her head against the top of the couch, the tip of her crown reaching the wall behind it. "I just can't wait until this is all over."

Liara politely finished her glass of wine and set it down before shifting to face her tired human friend. "I can only imagine how much you want rest. Ever since you rescued me, I've seen you do nothing but fight, fight, fight. Some day the fighting will end."

"It better." A wry, almost amused smile quirked the left corner of Shepard's mouth up. "I can only fight so long before I decide to just quit and find the best spot to hide out."

That was just silly talk. Shepard could never give up, it was hard coded into who she was. Liara said as much. "You'd never give up. You don't know how."

Another shrug as she sat back up. "Yeah, I know. But it's nice to threaten once in a while. It's...not like I'd have anything to hide out for, anyway. No family, nothing."

"If you don't have anything to hide out for, then what are you fighting for?"

Shepard chewed over her answer for a long time, green eyes darting from Liara to the wine bottle, the ceiling to her hands. She seemed to finally settle with a simple, "I guess I'm fighting for us." She paused, then added, "All of us."

A curious answer. "That's...a lot of responsibility." Very like her.

"People are messy, awkward; sometimes selfish or cruel, but they're trying...and I'm going to make sure they have a chance." Her friend's voice grew more thoughtful as she spoke. The words were carefully chosen, but still heartfelt and a little sad. She really was a remarkable woman.

One that deserved all the respect that swelled in Liara's heart. The best Liara could summon in response was simple, even for her. "I hope the galaxy proves itself worthy of the effort you're putting in to saving it." She was rewarded with the trademark snort of a laugh.

"Me, too."

Liara's omnitool chimed a few times, eliciting a rare and annoyed sigh. "Already? Excuse me." She stood up and tapped a few codes to read her urgent mail. It looked like one of her agents deep in the hegemony may have been compromised; that wasn't good. She looked over to her still-thoughtful friend with regret. "Shepard, I...I should get back to my base. I have a situation to take care of."

"That I understand all too well, Liara. Thanks for coming up." Bright red hair popped up as she stood and walked over to give a big hug. Liara wrapped her arms around her and sighed inwardly. To be a normal friend again, unbound by responsibility! "You helped a lot."

Liara nodded and stepped back with a wide smile, one that was faintly reciprocated. She'd take it. "I'm glad to hear that. Take care, Shepard. Don't fight too hard." A quick squeeze on the shoulder later, she turned and made her way back to her ship.