AN: I know I'm not the only one to find the ending of ME3 to be completely disappointing. I was really bummed by the whole thing and feel that BioWare committed a huge epic fail. I understand that it's nearly impossible to make every fan happy but would it have been so damned difficult to have at least one happy ending? Just one? So they wanted it to be as final as it could be. Fine. Let Shepard survive to retire with his love interest and live happily ever after in a peaceful galaxy. Would that have been so f'ing hard? sigh. So, since the creators apparently hate me I decided to write my own short little happy ending to Shepard's epic tale. Just be aware that this was written in about an hour and a half and it's only been skimmed for errors. If you see anything glaringly bad please let me know.

Please enjoy!

(disclaimer: I make no profit from this. All characters are property of their respective owners.)

Ever After

a Mass Effect fanfiction

Shepard was not a stranger to pain. It was a feeling that he'd become more than accustomed to in the years he'd been a soldier but taking a few bullets held no comparison to the burning fire that surged through his body now. The reaper's blast had knocked him clear off of his feet and had practically disintegrated his armor. Somehow, even after that, he had managed to climb to his feet and limp into the beam. Failure was not an option. Humanity was depending on him. Hell, the galaxy was depending on him and he refused to fail.

He'd felt the power of the beam suck him into the air and the next thing he knew he'd been laying on the floor in an unknown section of the Citadel. Anderson's voice over his comm had been more than welcome and he'd hurried, as fast as his wounded body would allow, to the older man's location.

The Illusive Man, that sorry son of a bitch, had been an unwelcome surprise waiting for them and Shepard had felt his patience snap. He'd heard enough of that man's ramblings when he'd been fighting the collectors and enough was enough. With as much strength as he could muster Shepard lifted his arm and fired the pistol he held. Something in the back of his mind twinged, his conscience maybe, telling him that he'd more or less murdered the man but Shepard ignored it.

It wasn't murder.

The Illusive Man and Cerberus had been a thorn in the Alliance's side…no, in the galaxy's side, for too long and if nothing else Shepard would cure the infection they'd started to spread. Without the Illusive Man the human-centric organization wouldn't exist and even if he died before the day was over Shepard was content that he could go to his grave knowing he'd done something right.

That's when things got even weirder.

The boy he'd watched die…the boy he'd dreamt about ever since escaping the initial attack on Earth was standing in front of him. No, it was a digital representation of that boy but Shepard's mind was having a hard time differentiating it. The boy was telling him things that he didn't want to hear. Things he refused to believe. The reapers had been designed to do this? They'd been created to wipe out advanced life? To cull and harvest the most advanced species so that the lesser forms of life could grow? Shepard's mind was spinning with the knowledge.

None of it made sense.

He'd spent years fighting the reaper threat and now it was over? His time and effort…the blood he and his friends had spilt meant nothing? No. He refused to believe that. He didn't shed blood for nothing and he refused to lose.

For a moment he thought of his friends. Of his loved ones that were either still down on Earth or on the Normandy or on some far away planet fighting the war. He thought of Liara and Garrus and of Kaidan and Joker and the rest of his crew onboard the Normandy. If things went FUBAR now he'd never see them again and it made his heart clench inside his chest. They were his family and he loved all of them with everything he had. Failure was not an option.

The Catalyst continued speaking to him, continued telling him why humanity and all of its allies had to be stopped. Why the reapers were destined to wipe them all out. "You're wrong," he finally spoke; his voice cracking with untold emotion. "Maybe you were right…once. Maybe a millennia ago you were right but now you're wrong. We've all come together to fight this war. A war you started. There is peace between species that have been warring for centuries and you're content to tell me that we all deserve to die? You're wrong. We've grown past all that. There will be peace in this galaxy because I made peace. I refuse to let you do this," he said with finality. "I refuse to let you destroy everything we've worked so hard for. We deserve to live. We've earned the right to live. We deserve to continue our lives and I won't let you take that away from us."

Shepard turned away from the digital boy and moved towards the console at the end of the room. He knew what he had to do. He'd known it all along. Even if it killed him he would save his planet and all of his friends and everyone else in the galaxy. He wouldn't let them all die for nothing.

His wounded body shuffled to the console and his hands were poised over the keypad, ready to key in the sequence to start the Crucible. Once more the images of his friends flashed through his mind and he silently said his goodbyes to each one. He knew they would mourn him once more and he, in his own way, wherever he was going after this, would mourn them too. He'd grown up on the streets of Earth as an orphan and now he considered himself blessed with the best family anyone could ever hope to have.

"Wait."

Shepard paused and turned back to the boy.

"I have reassessed and conclude you are correct."

Shepard blinked.

"The cycle has continued uninterrupted for millennia because war is unending. Species battle to be the strongest because it is in your nature. However, after running a query I have determined that you are correct. Humanity will survive."

Shepard blinked again and opened his mouth to speak. "Only humanity?"

"Life will continue."

Before Shepard could do anything but open his mouth again the boy's image flickered then disappeared and a blinding light erupted from where it had once stood. There was a rushing in Shepard's ears just moments before a hurricane force threw him off his feet. Pain erupted through his body and blackness enveloped his consciousness. His eyes closed and he saw no more.

Joker was not a stranger to fear. He'd experienced it many times in his life. The constant threat of falling and shattering every bone in his body was something he'd grown accustomed to but none of it compared to the fear he felt as the blast of white energy shot out from the Citadel and headed straight for them. Actually, it pulsated out in every direction so no matter where he directed the ship they'd end up caught in it. As it came closer and closer he closed his eyes, resigning himself to the fate they'd all known was coming. Death. It had been a good ride, he thought to himself. He'd been the best damned helmsman in the Alliance navy and he'd piloted the best ship in the fleet. He'd even managed to get the girl, so-to-speak... Shepard had helped with that. He'd managed to convince both Joker and EDI that what they shared was more than friendship, more than camaraderie and Joker would be eternally grateful to his commanding officer. His brother in arms. His friend.

Shepard. The man's face flashed through Joker's mind and the pilot had just enough time to whisper 'thank you, Commander,' before the energy blast struck the ship.

Seconds Joker opened his eyes. The Normandy was floating in Earth space with all systems green. The remnants of the fleets around him seemed to be doing the same. Shock and surprise blasted through him as Joker read the display in front of him. All reaper forces had been halted. All reaper forces appeared to have been deactivated.

"EDI?" he asked softly, half afraid that he'd never get to hear her voice again.

"I am here, Jeff," she answered.

"What the happened?"

"It appears the reaper invasion fleet has been stopped, Jeff. My readings show the energy released by the Citadel was a deactivation signal."

Joker gaped in surprise. "Deactivation? So they've been turned off?"

"That is correct, Jeff. Scans show the entire reaper invasion on the surface of Earth has been stopped."

"Holy shit," he whispered.

"Holy shit indeed, Jeff."

He'd never been a religious man. Even in the old days back on the SR1 he remembered having a religious conversation with Ash down in the cargo bay. She'd been devout in her beliefs and he remembered telling her that he'd never found much faith in any religion but that he was comfortable with everyone else having theirs. Now though, he wondered if maybe he'd been wrong.

Something was extraordinarily bright on the other side of his eyelids and he didn't want to open them to find out what it was. Chances were good that the energy blast on the Citadel had vaporized him and he was now floating around as a noncorporeal entity. Maybe he could visit his friends then?

No, that wasn't right, he decided. He was still flesh and blood and he knew it because he could feel the semi-hard bed underneath him.

Hospital.

The knowledge clicked in his brain as soon as his ears picked up the sound of machines beeping in the background. He was alive and in the hospital.

Shepard's eyes flew open and he gasped, sitting straight up.

His body seemed to have a will of its own because as it tried to scurry off the bed he felt hands trying to hold him back down. Panicking slightly he lashed out, shoving someone away from him. It wasn't until he heard his name on her lips that he stopped.

"Shepard! You're okay. Everything is okay but you need to calm down. Ryan! Stop struggling, please!"

Instantly he calmed down and his body sagged with relief. "Li-liara," he managed to choke out before collapsing back on the bed.

"It's me," she whispered, stepping back to the side of the bed and grasping one of his hands with both of her own. "I'm here," she said.

"We're alive," he responded and it came out as a statement rather than a question.

"Yes," she answered, leaning forward and brushing her lips against his forehead. "We're alive thanks to you. The war is over."

His hand tightened around hers and tugged her closer. "Where am I?"

"Huerta Memorial on the Citadel. You've been here for a couple of weeks now. You were injured pretty badly."

He grinned at her. "I remember. Thought I was going to die."

"We all thought we were going to die but you saved us. You saved the galaxy, Ry."

"Good," he mumbled as his eyes drifted shut again. "Now I can get some sleep."

Liara wasn't in the room when he woke again hours later but Kaidan was. Shepard opened his eyes to see the Major sitting in the chair nearest the bed with his neck bent at an awkward angle as he slept. The two men had been through a lot together but Shepard held no ill-will. Kaidan was one of his closest friends and while Shepard still found it a little hard to understand why Kaidan would have believed that he was a traitor to the Alliance, he was more than willing to forgive the human biotic. They'd talked a little in the short time that they'd been reunited and Shepard was happy to have his friend back.

One of the machines he was hooked up to started beeping louder as he shifted in bed, trying to find a more comfortable spot and the noise must have woke Alenko because his dark eyes shot open and he sat up with a grunt, hands immediately going to his neck to massage the ache. Kaidan's brown eyes met Shepard's blue and he immediately relaxed. "Shepard, you're awake," he said with a grateful tone of voice.

"How long have I been out?"

"The war has been over for almost two weeks, Shepard. You've been in and out of consciousness since then. Liara's been staying here most of the time but she had some things to do and I offered to stay. Everyone else has been here off and on. The hospital had to put restrictions on how many people could visit because there was a line forming for a while."

Shepard smiled and rubbed a hand over his face, feeling for the first time the tubes wired to his arms and the bandages that had been placed here and there. There was a small one taped near his temple and several smaller ones scattered across his cheeks.

"Comman…Shepard…how are you feeling?"

"Like I was steamrolled by a reaper."

Kaidan chuckled. "Well, you kinda were, Shepard. It's a miracle you survived, you know."

Shepard met the dark gaze again but stayed silent.

"Miracle we all survived, I guess," Kaidan whispered as an afterthought.

"Did everyone make it?"

Kaidan nodded. "Mostly. The Normandy crew is all ok. Garrus and Tali and Liara…they're all fine. Anderson owes you his life, or so he says."

Shepard chuckled. "Yeah, I guess he does. I put a bullet between the Illusive Man's eyes before he could shoot Anderson in the back."

Both men stayed silent for several minutes, each retreating into their own mind, and going over the events of the past. Shepard had come to terms with his fate after he'd been beamed up to the Citadel. After talking to the Catalyst he'd known that he wasn't going to survive so his only goal had to been to save everyone else. Never in his wildest dreams would he have ever thought he would be lying there now, alive and healing. He felt tears burn at the edges of his eyes and he blinked them away quickly, unwilling to let Kaidan see him become overly emotional.

"That blast nearly ripped you apart," Kaidan finally continued. "Doctors say that if it wasn't for all of those Cerberus cybernetics you would have been killed…again. You should get some sleep while you can. Come daytime the docs will be in here poking and prodding at you again."

Shepard nodded and yawned. "You don't have to stay, Kaidan," he said gently. "I'll be alright."

Kaidan stared at him before answering. "I…I want to," he whispered. "If that's alright?"

Shepard met the stare with one of his own before nodding. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

It had taken longer than expected to get the Mass Relays working again but they'd done it. A team of the galaxy's best engineers had jumped onto the task with all hands on deck and eventually they'd gotten them working again. After that everything seemed to fall back into place. Miraculously, the Keepers had survived the energy blast as well and they'd done their part to fix the new damage done to the Citadel. After the fleets had managed to get it back to the Serpent Nebula the council, what was left of it anyway, had started doing their part to insure peace would be everlasting. Each and every species helped the others to overcome the damage and destruction that had been wrought by the Reaper War.

Palaven, Thessia and Earth lay in ruin but within months the rubble had been cleared away and new buildings were under construction. Each civilization had lost millions but regardless there was currently a feeling of relief, freedom and overall happiness. They'd won. The Reapers had been deactivated and all was good.

After the synthetic war machines had been stopped a galaxy wide communication had gone out to destroy the shells of the great beasts. Every fleet still in existence had done what they'd been ordered and they'd blown the machines apart. Soldiers everywhere, on ground or in space, had cheered as the cannons had fired.

Shepard was sort of sorry that he'd missed it. He would have liked to have been there for that. But he'd been unconscious on the Citadel at the time, sleeping while his body healed. Now, months later, he was sitting in the officer's quarters that had been assigned to him inside Alliance HQ, staring out the window to the city beyond.

Earth would never be the same. Humanity would never be the same but that was okay because they'd fought and they'd won and they'd done their part to insure that any future civilizations would be safe from reaper harvest.

A beeping behind him pulled him from his reverie and he stood to answer the door. The man standing on the other side of the threshold was a welcome sight and Shepard smiled. "Kaidan," he greeted.

"Hey, Shepard. I was nearby and thought I'd stop to see how you were doing."

Shepard stepped back and motioned the other man inside. "I'm good, Kaidan. Leg still bothers me sometimes but it's nothing that won't get better over time."

Kaidan glanced down as Shepard moved away from the door, watching the taller man's slight limp. Shepard was the strongest person he'd ever had the privilege to know and Kaidan knew that he had to be hurting more than he let on. "Any word on when you're going to be back on active duty?"

Shepard shrugged and sat back down. "Doctors check up on me almost every day. They said it's getting better but no guarantees that I'll ever be active again."

Kaidan took the offered seat next to his former Commander. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Don't be," Shepard said, smiling. "I'd already decided that if I survived the war I was done saving the galaxy. If this is as bad as it gets then I'm okay with it. So I might limp a little…it could be worse."

"Yeah."

Shepard turned and stared at his friend. He knew Kaidan had something he wanted to say. It was written all over the man's face. "What is it, Kaidan?"

Brown eyes met blue and Kaidan grinned. "You know me too well."

"You're pretty transparent sometimes, Alenko. Out with it."

Kaidan had been contemplating telling Shepard for days. Weeks even. It didn't feel right to keep it inside anymore but he was terrified of what Shepard's reaction would be. It wasn't until after he'd been released from the hospital and set up at HQ that Kaidan decided he needed to be honest. "I…I have a question first."

Shepard stared at him questioningly. "Okay."

Taking a deep breath and trying to swallow the knot of unease in his throat Kaidan stood up and started pacing. "I want to know…no, I need to know…Shepard, you and Liara….are you…"

Shepard was confused. "Are we what?"

Kaidan took another breath. "Are you together?"

"Together? I…why do you ask?"

"Just answer the question, Shepard."

The commander was a little taken aback by the Major's tone but he answered anyway. "No, we're not together. We were, in the beginning but after everything…well, we decided we were better as friends."

Kaidan stopped pacing and turned to face the other man. "Friends," he said.

Shepard nodded then frowned. It had to be the pain meds they had him on. It was the only explanation for the feeling he was getting. Kaidan couldn't possibly be interested in Liara. No, he was certain that Li would have picked up on it and mentioned it to him. She'd never said anything so that must mean… Shepard's eyes snapped up to Kaidan's and his mouth dropped open. "Friends," he said. "Liara and I are only friends."

That seemed to relax Alenko's shoulders and he eventually sat back down.

"Kaidan, why do you ask? Be honest with me, please."

It took the human biotic several minutes before he could answer but Shepard didn't push and for that he was grateful. Finally, he took another deep breath and launched into the speech he'd been practicing since the war had ended. "I don't know where the feelings came from, Shepard but seeing you lying there; in that hospital bed…it just kinda hit me. You could have died and I wouldn't have ever been able to tell you how I feel. I called you a traitor back on Horizon all that time ago and I've always regretted it. I knew you weren't a traitor, Shepard but I couldn't stop myself from being so angry with you. You were alive and you didn't try to contact me."

Shepard thought about interrupting but the look on Kaidan's face told him not to.

"I know now that you didn't have any other choice but it wasn't that easy back then. When I saw you there on the colony I felt abandoned and it made me angry. I mean, there you were, looking exactly the same and there was Garrus standing behind you, as always and I wasn't there. I wasn't on your crew. I wasn't backing you up like I should have been and I was pissed. Then the truth came out about what Cerberus had done to you and you destroyed that collector base and then you were relieved of duty and the Normandy impounded…it was like a never-ending storm of bullshit. When I saw you again here at HQ just before Earth was hit I knew…I knew and there was no time to tell you. Then I thought you'd died again and I was heartbroken. I…shit. Somehow I developed feelings for you, Shepard. Romantic feelings and I…I didn't know…fuck; I didn't know how to tell you without scaring you off. I've only ever seen you with women so I didn't know if you even swung that way."

Shepard was pretty much frozen in shock. Kaidan had just opened up his heart and told him that he…that he what, wanted to have sex? Wanted to date? Wanted to be together? Shepard didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry if I've scared you off, Shepard," Kaidan continued. "I just couldn't go through another day without telling you. So now you know and I'm going to run away before you kill me."

Kaidan was already standing and moving towards the door when Shepard reached out and grabbed his arm, hand encircling the biotic's wrist and tugging him back. "Kaidan, wait," he said, slowly standing and stepping closer. "I have to be honest here," he started. "I've never really given it much thought. I mean, I didn't know you….I didn't know that you liked guys. That story you told me back on the original Normandy, about the girl…"

Kaidan stared wide-eyed at Shepard's hand wrapped around his wrist. "I'm pretty open minded, Commander," he said softly.

Shepard, always the brave one, decided to take a chance. "So am I, Major."

Once again brown eyes met blue and realization slowly dawned on Kaidan's face. "So you…you're not going to kill me?"

Shepard laughed. "No, Kaidan, I'm not going to kill you."

The shorter man smiled and pulled his arm free of Shepard's grasp so he could hold the other man's hand properly. Both looked down at their intertwined fingers. "Shepard…"

"I have one requirement if we're going to do this, Kaidan."

"What's that?"

"No more 'Commander' or 'Shepard', okay? Please, call me by my first name."

Kaidan smiled softly and looked up into a pair of the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. "Okay…Ryan."

Shepard smiled back and pulled the man closer; feeling the warmth of the biotic's body against his own. Slowly they embraced, arms encircling the other and they stood there for a long time, simply enjoying the newfound happiness as the galaxy lived on around them.

The End.