Hi, all. For those that have followed any of my previous stories, you know I'm not the best at keeping to an update schedule. And unfortunately I've made the silly decision to start a new fic about a month before the end of my first year of university, when I have heaps of work to do. But hey, I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment, haha. Hope you all enjoy this latest work of mine. It was inspired by my most recent playthrough of the trilogy as well as a particular rom-com I watched recently.

As always, please leave a review if you decide to read, I always appreciate feedback.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or places mentioned, it all belongs to Bioware.

The Price of Happiness

Chapter One

A gentle breeze blew its way around the Presidium, catching in her shoulder-length ruby red locks as she sat quietly on a bench, admiring the beautiful views ahead of her and drowning out the sound of those around her with the depth of her own thoughts.

Three years ago, Jorja Shepard didn't even think she would still be alive to see this place again, let alone see it repaired, completely intact and restored to its former glory. It certainly took a special kind of strength to block out the cruel memories that still taunted her occasionally in the dead of night: the piles of corpses, the eerie droning sounds of the Reapers overhead, the immense physical pain tearing her to shreds as she struggled to stay alive just long enough to see the Reapers lose their war. Some days, it seemed like the entire thing had been a million years ago. Other days, Shepard struggled to remind herself that it was all over.

A small smile crept across her features as she thought of her second time returning from the dead, and what had brought her back from the inner darkness that threatened to consume her. Not so much a what, but a who. Even three years on, it made a knot in her stomach to think back to what she was sure would be their final encounter together, in London, as they declared their love for each other and she stepped off the Normandy to go and save the galaxy. Another three years prior to that and he had been just a turian, a frustrated C-Sec Officer who wanted to contribute more to bringing down the enemies of the galaxy. Their first meeting seemed to have been written in the stars; their relationship had slowly evolved from that of a commander and her crew mate, to that of close friends who watched each others' backs, to that of lovers and soul mates. When she had been recovered from that wreck following the end of the war, it was him who was her constant, never leaving her side as she lay in a coma for seven months. He had been her light at the end of that long tunnel, that wonderful reward that made her want to keep fighting when she didn't think she could continue the battle any longer.

She wasn't sure if she would ever completely get used to wearing the gold band on her ring finger, or the foreign feeling of blue paint on her face. It still made her emotional to look back on that day. That particular day when he painted those clan markings on her face for the first time, as he recited vows that he had promised her he would write for the special day, describing how beautiful she was to him, inside and out, and how he would love and cherish her until the end of time. That particular day had been a little over a year ago, but she still remembered it like it was yesterday.

The sound of a cough jolted her from her thoughts, and she glanced up to see a smartly-dressed human male standing in front of her, clutching a datapad in one hand.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Madam Councillor Shepard, but I have been instructed to bring you a brief on what topics will be brought up at this afternoon's Council meeting."

Shepard took the datapad with a nod. "Thank you. Is the meeting still scheduled for 1500 hours?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Great. Thanks, John." As the assistant gave a curt nod and turned to walk away, Shepard stood up. "Oh, and John?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"It's Madam Councillor Shepard-Vakarian now, remember?"

"V-Vakarian? As in, Primarch Vakarian of Palaven?"

"Yes."

The assistant gasped, raising his hands out in front of him apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry for the mistake Ma'am, I did not mean to offend."

Shepard shook her head forgivingly with a grin. "No offence taken, John. Thanks again."

As he walked away, she considered how amusing it was to spectate different people's reactions to the news that she was now married, and to a Turian nonetheless. Well, there had been those that had always judged her, and she didn't think that would ever change.

Shepard made her way down the steps to Apollo's Café, scanning the crowds quickly with her eyes as she looked for her lunch date. Reaching with one hand to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, she smiled as she caught sight of the individual she had been looking for, sitting at a table in the far corner clutching a menu.

"Hello, Shepard. I'm glad you could make it."

"Hey, Liara."

Shepard greeted her Asari friend with a quick hug before pulling out the chair on the opposite side of the table and taking a seat. "It's busy here today," she noted, glancing at the long queue of people at the bar. She shuffled in her chair slightly, turning her attention to her friend across the small silver table. "How have you been?"

Liara smiled a genuine smile, one that squeezed her eyes shut briefly. "I have been... very well," she responded, "Feron and I moved to Thessia just recently. The views from our apartment are quite beautiful, it feels really good to be back home."

"That's great, Liara," replied Shepard, "I'm really happy for you."

"And how are things with Earth's newest Council representative?"

To that question, Shepard snorted. "Definitely beats retirement, but still unquestionably frustrating. Constant meetings keep me busy, and unfortunately the same goes for Garrus since he was sworn in as Primarch. I like to hope that he's not as miserable in this position as he was at C-Sec, but like I always say, politicians are the weeds of the galaxy. He's probably working with more criminals now than he ever has before."

A chuckle escaped Liara's lips, though her eyes were fixed on the menu in front of her. "Poor Garrus. I really must see him sometime. It's been a while since I came for dinner."

"I know. We really should schedule something. Remind me before we're done with lunch, we'll sync up our omni-tools and try to find some dates that work. We'll do an evening when I'm not buried in datapads and Garrus isn't having four hour vid conversations with irritating colony ambassadors."

"Definitely." The two friends caught eyes over their menus, both smiling gratefully at each other.

As they spent the next hour eating lunch and catching up on the small things, such as Feron and Liara's petty arguments over wall colours in their new home and Shepard's battle to make friends with her stubborn anti-human father-in-law, Shepard noticed that Liara seemed... oddly distracted, and not quite herself. She couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but she had known the asari long enough to know there was something wrong.

"So how long are we going to sit here and talk about the battle of Elcor grey versus Earth blue before you tell me what's eating at you?" Shepard asked, as she took a small sip of her drink.

Liara shot a look at Shepard, opening her mouth promptly to speak but then shutting it just as quickly, which only made Shepard more suspicious. "Come on Liara, what's going on? You know you can tell me."

There was an awkward silence across the table as Shepard sat there, eyebrows raised at her asari friend, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Alright Shepard, well, there was a reason I asked you to lunch," Liara spoke hesitantly, knitting her fingers and thumbs together nervously in front of her on the table. Another awkward silence.

"And that reason is...?"

Suddenly, Liara caught Shepard's eye and beamed a massive smile at her, which almost caught Shepard off guard. "I'm pregnant, Shepard," she whispered excitedly.

Shepard's jaw dropped, only to be replaced in a second with a smile to equal Liara's. "Oh, my... Liara, congratulations!" She latched onto Liara's hands with her own, giving them a quick squeeze. "I thought last time we spoke about the subject you were unsure about whether you wanted kids?"

"I was, and in all honesty Shepard, this wasn't a planned situation. But Feron and I discussed it, and last week we went to my first doctor's appointment, and it was all just so surreal. We're really happy, Shepard. I'm really happy."

"Well, if you're happy, then so am I. You know, this baby is going to come into the world with a lot of crazy aunts and uncles around him," Shepard joked. Suddenly she was faced with a very strange image in her mind of a little blue baby running around with Grunt, shouting about sharks and battlemasters. As if sharing the mental image, Liara flashed Shepard a look of both mock horror and amusement, and the two friends laughed at each other.

"So, what are you going to do about your, er... job?" Shepard asked, mutely referring to Liara's position as the Shadow Broker.

"It isn't a position I can simply step down from, Shepard. It won't be easy, but I have Feron's support. I know what I'm doing, trust me."

It was strange in a way that Shepard was worrying so much for Liara, given the fact that the asari was about seventy or so years older than her. But her position as the Shadow Broker put her in a constantly dangerous position, and Shepard reasoned that she wouldn't be a very good friend if she didn't worry about Liara, especially now that it wasn't just about Liara anymore, it was now about her little baby too.

Noting the unsure expression on Shepard's face, Liara spoke again. "I also have a small battalion of asari commandos, don't forget."

At that, Shepard couldn't help but laugh. Liara always had an answer to everything.