This story is the continuation of "I won't leave you behind". Here, in the prelude, you can find the decisions made in Mass Effect which are used for this story, and two summaries (short and long version) of the previous one.
Also, you can access to additional material of this story if you look for it in Reddit, just type "Eszadro" in search and click on "Design of a Cerberus starship". There you will find the images of a ship with a major role in the story and a link to a page where I have other versions for several romances in pdf.
Relevant decisions of Mass Effect trilogy
Shepard's profile:
-Male.
General:
-Shepard chooses paragon decisions.
-Shepard has a romance with Liara along the trilogy, and he remains faithful to her. He has romantic relationships with nobody else.
Mass Effect 1:
-All team members recruited.
-Kaidan dies at Virmire.
Mass Effect 2:
-All team members recruited.
-At least the loyalty missions of Tali and Garrus successfully completed.
-Shepard accepts reinstatement as a Spectre.
-Tali wasn't exiled.
-Normandy fully upgraded.
-At least Shepard, Tali and Garrus survive the Suicide Mission.
Mass Effect 3:
-"Extended Cut" installed.
-DLC "From Ashes" completed.
-Shepard encourages Joker in his relationship with EDI.
-Ashley joins the team.
-At Thessia, Javik goes with Shepard and Liara. Back in the Normandy, Shepard calms Liara in the argument she had with Javik.
-Shepard convinces Javik to use his prothean echo shard.
-Shepard helps EDI understand organics.
-Minimum effective military strength: 3100.
-On Earth, Liara is part of Shepard's squad in the final push towards the Conduit.
-Destroy ending is chosen. Shepard's team survivors: all Normandy's crew and at least Ashley, Garrus, James, Javik, Liara and Tali.
Summary (short version)
After the victory over the reapers the Normandy returns to Earth to rescue Commander Shepard, and among all who have been part of the team and a group of soldiers of the Alliance they find him and take him back to the ship.
With the hero on board the Normandy leaves for Thessia, rendezvous point of the fleet, and there Shepard proposes marriage to Liara. In the wedding Liara surprises everyone by having recovered EDI, and also tells Shepard that she is not going to be the Broker anymore, having already begun to disband the organization with EDI's help. As for the future, Shepard does not know what he will do, but he knows Liara will always be there to support him.
Summary (long version)
When Shepard's squad is evacuated from Earth Liara, who has been the most injured in the battle, is sedated and healed in the medical bay. After waking up in an unknown planet where the Normandy has crashed and the others inform her they left Shepard behind she wants to come back for him, and with the unanimous support of the team they contact Hackett. This one, from Earth orbit, confirms the victory over the reapers. However, there was a rescue operation, and the only thing they recovered was Anderson's body before they had to abandon the search due to the danger of collapses in the Citadel remains. As the Commander was already badly injured the last time he could contact him and there has been two days since the final battle, the Admiral, much to his regret, knows it's unlikely that he is still alive and decides there's not going to be other search.
During the tribute to the fallen in the Normandy, before placing Shepard's plaque on the memorial wall, Liara feels a hunch: she knows the Commander is alive. Although initially the rest of the team doesn't believe her, considering everything Shepard has gone through perhaps he hasn't died yet, and hope doesn't take a long time to prevail. The Normandy leaves for Earth.
Once they have the Citadel at sight they meet a support team gathered by Hackett, finally convinced by Joker, to look for the Commander: a group of Alliance soldiers and all the former members of Shepard's squad (from Mass Effect 1 and 2). To cover more ground they divide into three teams: Alliance reinforcements and the former members of the squad look for in the districts; Liara, Garrus and Tali go to one zone of the Presidium; and the rest to the other part of the Presidium. Liara's group finds the Commander, still alive, but his severe injuries prevent his transfer to the Normandy. However, Liara generates a stasis field to keep him alive while they take him back to the frigate. Even though Shepard arrives unconscious, he survives.
Twenty days later, after a long journey at conventional FTL speed up to Arcturus Stream to reach the relays network (as the Sun's had been destroyed), they arrive to Thessia, rendezvous point of the fleet. There the Commander wakes up and reunites with his companions. The next day there's a commemorative ceremony to celebrate the victory and remember the fallen during which Shepard speaks to Hackett. He explains that all synthetics have perished and the remains of the reapers are disintegrating, preventing the possibility of recovering their technology. When the Commander comes back to the Normandy he speaks to Liara about what happened in the Citadel, and at the end of the conversation Shepard proposes marriage. She says yes.
The wedding is held days later. On it Joker gets a great surprise: Liara, with her Broker's resources, has managed to bring EDI back, because when the Crucible fired EDI, as a preventive measure, began to fragment herself in many packages of simple data and left instructions about how those data could be linked again to reconstruct her. Moreover, Javik reflects and decides not to join his ancestors as he still has many things to see, and also he has to help Liara to write her book. Finally, doctor T'Soni tells the Commander she won't be the Broker anymore and that with EDI helping her she has already begun to disband the organization. From now she will collaborate with Hackett to coordinate the reconstruction of the galaxy, but her new job won't prevent her from going with the Commander in his next missions.
After the wedding, in the last night aboard the Normandy before going on honeymoon, Shepard and Liara talk about the future. The Commander doesn't know what he's going to do, if he will stay in the Normandy or not, but she states that she will support his decision and will come with him anywhere he goes.
