I'll try my best to update this often, but I have this and another story going, so I'm not sure how often I will be. I'll try my best not to go more than a week. I figured, just like with the Shepley story I have going, that this is a unique type of story involving Shepard and Tali that I wanted to write. Tali rules all, hope you enjoy.

John Shepard had rarely been so nervous in his entire life. His breaths were uneven, his hands constantly closed into fists and reopened, and he had to force himself not to pace outside the airlock. A hand on his shoulder made him shudder and turn, but he relaxed when that same hand gripped his left, three fingers interlaced with his own five. Shepard knew Tali was every bit as nervous as he was, but she had a helmet to hide it. Reminder, he thought to himself, don't ever say something like that to her in any way that was not a joke. Tali would not think it was very funny. Hell, she would not think it was very funny even if he told it as a joke. The contact with his recently reunited love calmed him slightly, and he offered the best smile he could in her direction. She responded by grabbing joining her other hand to the one she was already holding and playing with his hand, a tender gesture Shepard had grown to enjoy. "I'm supposed to be the nervous one, Shepard," Tali said, a fake scolding tone to her words. "It isn't fair if you are more nervous than I am."

"Too bad, I can't calm down now," Shepard told her as she continued to play with his hand and trace irregular patterns on his palm with her fingers. "This never goes well. No matter what the reason for the visit is, things end up heated and we're both struggling not to fight in front of the kid. Considering the reason for this particular visit, I can't see any other outcome."

"The kid?" Tali teased. "You do not even remember your son's name."

Shepard's smile dissipated, and Tali immediately felt regret for the joke. Martin Shepard was not a subject that John Shepard had discussed with her often, and making a joke about his parenting would not help him open up. She was not even sure how old Martin was. Keelah, her she was trying to calm down Shepard when she was the one that woke up this morning covered in a cold sweat. Every one of the five days since Shepard had told Tali that Martin's mother would be coming on the Normandy to discuss their son, and bringing him with her. All she could think of was that this woman was one that at some point Shepard had loved enough to have a child with, and the possibility that any small spark could lead to the two of them rediscovering what it was that they loved about each other before. No amount of reassurances otherwise made her feel much better. "I'm sorry, Shepard, I did not mean to say you were a bad parent, I'm sure you are wonderful and loving and caring and your son loves you, because why wouldn't someone love…"

"Tali, calm down," Shepard interrupted, the grin back on his face. "There, see? Now we are back to normal, with you rambling nervously and me stopping you." Tali laughed, squeezing his hand, and Shepard knew things were okay, at least for right now. He had no idea how things would go once Louisa was onboard, and the jealous reactions both women were prone to began.

"Shepard, your guests have entered the airlock and are going through decontamination," the robotic yet feminine voice of EDI announced from her spot in the cockpit.

"Thank you, EDI," Shepard said. He gently pulled his hand from Tali's grip, turning to face the airlock and taking a deep, shuddering breath. When the doors opened, there was no time to react before a small body full of energy slammed into him, gripping hard around his legs.

"Dad!" Martin Shepard exclaimed, looking up at his father with a huge smile on his face while strengthening his hold around his father's legs.

"Big man!" Shepard greeted back, somehow managing to break the grip his son had and lifting him in his arms to give him a hug. He almost did a double take at his son. Every day Martin looked more and more like him. The same brown hair, the same eyes, the same face, only younger and without any scars. It was astonishing.

"Hey, John," a tentative voice said from near the door leading to the airlock. Shepard looked up to where Louisa stood, keeping her distance and smiling meekly. His initial thoughts of how attractive she was looking were quickly driven away, remembering Tali standing nearby. He couldn't deny it though, the attraction between Shepard and Louisa had never been a problem. Her rich black hair was tied into a ponytail, the way Shepard had liked it. The clothes she wore hug to her curves, especially her hips. Oh shit, he realized. She looks a lot like Tali. Did I do that intentionally?

"How are you, Louisa?" he asked cordially, putting Martin down. "I guess we should get this over with?"

"Does it really make you so angry to be around me that we can't be friendly to each other in front of our son?" Louisa asked angrily.

"You wanted to talk as soon as possible, I thought you'd want to get this over with quickly."

"Yes but I still want to know how you are doing, it's important that we be friendly in front of our son because…"

"Louisa, you're rambling," Shepard interrupted, and Louisa stopped talking, nervously looking away and biting her lip.

Tali had not believed Shepard when he told her the immediate hostility the two would likely have, but he had not lied at all. The nervous quarian also noticed the similarities between herself and Shepard's ex, and began wringing her hands near her waist. Similar build, similar features, apparently the same nervous demeanor. Would Shepard be this hostile towards her someday? Would he really love her forever the way he promised he would?

"I'm sorry, John, let's go ahead to your quarters and talk about this," Louisa said, making to walk past Shepard and towards the CIC. She stopped when she noticed Tali standing nearby.

Shepard rubbed the back of his head with one hand, while the other was holding Martin's. "Um, I have some introductions to make here. This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya vas Normandy." Louisa politely shook Tali's hand as Shepard watched nervously. Afterwards, Martin stepped forward and shook Tali's hand as well, looking up at the quarian with a polite smile and curious eyes. That's my boy, Shepard thought, not scared at all.

After the introductions were over, Shepard whispered to Tali, "I'll come see you down in Engineering afterwards. Wish me luck." Tali nodded, and watched as the three of them walked away, Shepard with his arm around his son while Louisa walked alongside them, smiling at the sight. Tali's fears only grew seeing them, Shepard with a woman he had once loved, who he had helped form another living being with. They were a perfect human family, with a connection between them she could never give Shepard. Tali turned her gaze towards the ground, fighting off the doubts entering her mind.

"You don't have anything to worry about Tali," a voice said from behind, startling the quarian woman. She quickly turned, bouncing on her toes in surprise. Joker was smiling sympathetically at her from his seat. "Shepard told me once why he and Louisa ended up separating, after I made a smartass comment about her looks of course." Tali couldn't help but smile, though Joker could not see. "Apparently they had a huge falling out when Martin was five, because Louisa wanted him to leave the Alliance so they could raise Martin as a normal family. Shepard of course would never do that, and things between them went south quickly. They've never been able to settle that difference, and it only grows worse with time. So as hot as she is, don't worry about walking in on the two of them naked and sweaty."

Thanks for the mental picture, bosh'tet, Tali thought bitterly. Still, Joker had alleviated her fears somewhat. "Since when do you offer encouraging words of wisdom?" Tali asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm not sure," Joker said, turning the chair so that he was facing away from Tali again. "Maybe I should stick to dirty jokes?" Tali laughed, walking away and towards the elevator. She needed some work to distract her right now.

"You don't understand, this can't work!" Shepard said, incredulous. They had been arguing for ten minutes now. "I can't keep him on the Normandy, I'd have to be a complete idiot to even consider it. I don't have any family he can stay with either."

"He'd be safer with you on the Normandy than on any of the colonies I'll be forced to move to," Louisa argued back.

"That's extremely arguable, and not even worth considering. I'm in the middle of this fucking war Louisa, at any moment this ship could be blown to smithereens and I will not have my son onboard if that happens!" Louisa's eyes shone over with tears, and Shepard immediately regretted his words. Whatever differences they may have, Shepard knew that Louisa cared for him, and talking about the possibility of dying would only hurt her. "I'm sorry, that was out of line. Look, I want to be with my son. You should never doubt that. It's just too dangerous."

"John, please, I do not want Martin to be with me if the colony I'm on gets attacked. What can I do to protect him from the Reapers?" Louisa looked down, wringing her hands in front of her. Crap, something else to remind me of Tali, Shepard thought. "Please, I know our son will always be safe with you, that you will do everything that is even remotely possible to keep him alive. I just want Martin to be okay, and you can make sure of that better than I ever could."

Shepard opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. He knew she was right. He could figure out something. Maybe he could pull some strings to get him on the Citadel? No, that would be too dangerous. The Normandy would be too dangerous as well. Shepard again opened his mouth to protest, but the pleading look in Louisa's eyes was too much. "I'll figure something out. I'll find somewhere safe. In return, you need to make sure you stay alive so Martin will always have a mother."

"I will," Louisa promised. Shepard knew it was an empty promise, more than anyone he knew how sudden one could lose their life, but the words would have to be enough. "Ready to tell him?" she asked.

Shepard nodded, and walked to the entrance to his cabin. The door opened, and Martin quickly sprung away from it. Shepard nodded, knowing his son had been trying to eavesdrop as always. "Come on in, pal, your mother and I have something to tell you." Martin did as told, taking a seat on the couch next to his mother. "You're getting older, and I'm sure you realize what's happening right now around the galaxy. There are some very dangerous things out there, that my crew and I are doing our best to fight. Your mother and I have decided that it would be best if you come with me on the Normandy, at least for right now. Hopefully I can find somewhere safe for you to stay later."

Ever the smart kid, Martin asked, "So I'm not going to be with you or Mom?"

"We will always be with you, honey," Louisa said, hugging Martin tightly. "It hurts both of us to do this, but believe me when I say this is only temporary, and once the war is over we will both come to get you, and you will never have to be separate from us ever again."

Shepard nearly shot a cold stare at Louisa, knowing that even if he survived the war, he would not be able to see Martin whenever he wanted. He had voluntarily given up custody, knowing it was not possible to raise his son while embarking on such dangerous missions, but it did not make the pain of missing large portions of his son's life any easier. The two years he had been dead, and the reaction from Martin and Louisa upon his return immediately sprang to mind, their anger and confusion as fresh in his thoughts now as if it had just happened yesterday. In what felt like a week to him, his eight year old son had grown by three inches, and aged two years, all while he lay on an operating table.

"Why can't I stay with you, Mom? Why can't I stay on the ship with Dad?"

"I wish you could, honey, I really do, but this is the best way to keep you safe. I will be traveling to a lot of dangerous colonies for my job, and your dad is front and center fighting this war," Louisa rubbed a stray tear from their son's face.

"I promise, Martin, this is for the best. Besides, you'll get to spend some time with your dad. Maybe I can show you the special Spectre shooting range on the Citadel" Martin lit up, but Louisa glared at him. "Okay, maybe not."

Tali could not concentrate on her work, no matter how hard she tried. The poor console in front of her was paying the price for her mistakes, as usual. She did not have a fever to blame this time. The sound of a cleared throat behind her tore her attention away from the console, and she was startled to see Shepard, Martin, and Louisa standing there. She jumped slightly. "Oh, hello Shepard, everyone, um, how did your talk go, did you figure out everything you needed to?"

Shepard smiled at her, and Louisa regarded her with curiosity and a grin. "A little tense, are we Tali?" Tali glared at him, knowing he would be able to tell what look she was giving him. As she hoped, he shrunk somewhat, and Tali took slight pleasure in knowing she was capable of having that effect on the great Commander Shepard. "I'm going to see Louisa off the ship, could you watch Martin for a few minutes until I get back?"

Tali did not understand why Martin was not going with his mother, but assumed they had come to an agreement to let Shepard spend some time with his son. "Of course, Shepard." The Commander smiled, making her melt just a little, and walked off with Louisa by his side. Now left alone with the son of the man she loved, Tali found she did not know what to say.

"Tali? Are you the same Tali'Zorah that was on the Normandy with my dad before, when he fought against Sovereign on the Citadel?" Martin asked.

"Yes, that's right," Tali answered.

"Wow! Dad always talks about how he brought you on missions and how important you were!" Martin's eyes seemed to glow with glee. "Is it true that you hacked a Geth Prime on Virmire just before it shot you all, and almost took down Saren's shields while you and Dad were fighting him?"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, I did hack a Geth Prime but it was not so dramatic as your father says, I mean it was about to…" Tali stopped when she noticed Martin smiling, holding in a laugh. "Did I say something humorous?"

"You ramble like my mom," the boy said, unable to hold his laughter anymore. Tali began laughing with him, amazed at how she suddenly felt so much more at ease around Martin. These Shepard men have a real talent for making people feel comfortable, she thought with a smirk.

The two continued to talk about basic things, Tali's job on the ship, missions she had been on, things of that nature until Shepard came back, smiling at the two of them. "Just how much have you tricked Tali into telling you, Martin?" he asked.

"I didn't trick her into anything," he said defensively.

"Now I know that's not true," Shepard chided. "You are too much like me."

Tali felt like she needed to come to the boy's defense. "He's telling the truth, Shepard, We were only talking about…" She stopped when Shepard and Martin began laughing. "Now what did I say?"

"You are so easy to tease," Shepard said.

Tali brought a hand to her mask before slugging Shepard in the shoulder, making him wince and grab his shoulder. "Bosh'tet."

"What does that mean?" Martin asked. "Ooh, that's some type of quarian curse word! Awesome!" Tali blushed fiercely, while Shepard laughed loudly.

When Shepard informed Tali of the new developments regarding his son, she had immediately sat up straight in surprise, wringing her hands, unsure of what to say. Martin sat nearby, looking as if he was not paying any attention, but Shepard knew better. His son was a very smart, curious boy who always paid attention to what was happening around him. "Can I talk to you alone Shepard? I mean if that's okay, I won't make your son leave, not that I want him to I just want to talk to you alone because…" Tali stopped rambling by herself. "Please, Shepard."

"You heard the lady, Martin, go wait outside the cabin." Martin was at the door when Shepard added, "And this room is soundproof, so if you didn't figure it out already you won't hear anything listening outside."

Once he was gone, Tali came over and grabbed his left hand with both of hers. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"To be honest, I'm a little scared, but I'm also happy that he's here. With everything that is happening, being in the middle of this war, I worried that something would happen to me before I got to see Martin again. I will get him off the Normandy and somewhere safe as soon as possible, but until then I'll be glad to spend as much time with my son as I can."

Tali was still incredibly nervous about what she wanted to ask, but she had taken the time Shepard spent talking building her courage. Here goes nothing, she told herself. "Shepard, are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked. "We are in such danger, what if the Reapers catch us while we are in a system they control? What if the Normandy is under fire during a mission? How long can your son be safe on this ship?"

Shepard cast his gaze towards the ground, and Tali regretted her questions. "I asked those exact same questions when Louisa told me what she wanted to do," he said. Of course he did, Tali should have known. "Louisa has medical training, and has volunteered to help survivors in Alliance colonies that were attacked or still under attack. It would be just as dangerous for Martin to be with her as it is her on the Normandy, more dangerous in fact. And she does not have the connections I do to find somewhere safe for him. It's not a good plan, but if Louisa can't do it then I have to."

"Of course, Shepard, I'm sorry. I promise I will do whatever I can to help." Tali smiled at Shepard, not caring if he knew it or not.

Over the course of the next two days, Shepard exhausted every option he had to find a safe place for Martin to stay, none of them working out. When he wasn't locked away in the war room doing that, he was spending every waking moment with Martin. On the third day, Shepard could not put off fighting the war, and had no choice but to leave Martin on the Normandy while he traveled to the planet Cyone in the Silean Nebula. A vital fuel depot had been shut down, and Shepard's help was needed to help a team already waiting for him on the planet while they restarted the facility. He nearly had someone else lead a squad in his stead, until Tali and Ashley convinced him that he needed to be seen out on these missions, to keep the morale of those fighting high. He reluctantly agreed, eventually.

Tali almost always went on missions with Shepard, since the day she had been rescued on Haestrom during the mission to stop the Collectors, there had been maybe one or two missions she had not accompanied the Commander on. She was gearing up for this mission as well when she heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see Shepard staring at her with a hesitance she was not used to. "Yes, Shepard?"

"I have a favor to ask you." Shepard took a deep breath, and Tali began growing nervous. It was not like Shepard to be nervous about much. "I'd like it if you stayed on the ship for this mission, so Martin has someone he likes to keep him company."

"Why?" Tali asked. There had to be someone better suited to watch Martin. Ashley, Traynor, or Garrus, even Joker or EDI. She knew nothing about watching over a child. Did Shepard not want her to go in this mission for some reason?

"I don't know, I…" Shepard shrugged, gazing into her eyes. "I just want you two to get along, and I trust you to make sure my son is safe if anything happens. If you don't want to do this, I get it. I just thought it was a good idea, for my son to spend some time with you without me around."

Tali placed her hands behind her back, bouncing in place as she thought. "What do you mean you get it? Get what?"

"I get why you would feel uncomfortable around my son right now," Shepard said. "He's from another life, a life you probably don't want to be reminded about."

"Shepard, that's not true," Tali said, gazing at the ground. "I, I know you love me, and if we are going to continue in our relationship then it is important to me that someone as important to you as your son likes me. I may be a little young for children and motherhood, but, I mean I want Martin to like me." Tali looked up to see Shepard smiling at her. "Why are you smiling?"

"Look at you, talking about being a mother. I was just talking about you being a babysitter."

Tali glared at him fiercely. "If you spent as much time fighting the Reapers as you did teasing me, this war would be over already."

Shepard moved forward and grasped her hand. "Maybe. Tali, it's important to me too, you and Martin getting along. I want him to like you, maybe he can never feel the same way about you that he does about his mother, but I hope that eventually he can at least come close. So what do you say, will you stay behind for this mission and watch him for me?"

Tali's smile was beaming behind her faceplate. "Of course, Shepard. So what exactly are you going to do as far as finding somewhere safe for Martin?"

Shepard's smile disappeared, replaced by a glum, thoughtful stare. "I don't know Tali. I just don't know."