A/N: Hello everybodyyyyy!

I'd like to give a shout-out to Centaurus, who gave this fic its very first review. Thanks again.

(Just in case you're wondering, guys, I REALLY love reviews, they keep me motivated even more than faves and follows do, so if you can think of something to say about it, even if it's just two or three words, PLEASE say it. But be polite please. Flamers never prosper!)

Anyway, I don't own Mass Effect or Tali or Shepard or anything else related to this awesome video game series, blah blah blah, you probably already know this anyway so you get the point…

Tali is lonely.

The first thing that she feels when Joker arrives planetside alone is shock. In all of the time that they have worked together, never once has it crossed the quarian's mind that Shepard might not come back. Yet, as Joker crawls out of the final escape pod, clutching his arm to his chest as tears streak his sweat-soaked face, she immediately knows what happened.

Her heart drops down into her toes. Tali falls to her knees in the dirt, crying silently behind the protection of her enviro-suit. She barely hears Kaidan begin to scream at Joker, doesn't even see Liara bury her face in her hands or Lucas stare blankly at the empty interior of the shuttle. Overcome, she loses herself in her grief and begins to shake violently.

The next thing she knows, Garrus is kneeling down beside her and squeezing her shoulder, offering her silent support while simultaneously seeking comfort for his own grief. Tali takes small comfort in the fact that his eyes appear slightly misted.

She passes through the funeral in a fog, staring blankly up at the speakers as they give their speeches, but not fully aware of them. Her reverie is temporarily broken when first Lucas, then Kaidan, and at last Ashley go up to say their pieces. The haunted look in the other Shepard's eyes as he says his last words about his sister brands itself into her brain. And when Kaidan's voice breaks halfway through his own speech, Tali feels her heart give a painful wrench in her chest.

Returning to the flotilla later does nothing to lift the shroud of grief from her shoulders. Even among her own people, on a ship that Shepard never set foot on, reminders of her are everywhere. She can no longer sleep well to the hum of the ship's engines, instead craving the sweet silence of the Normandy's drive core. Standing in front of her own ship's drive core, she half expects to look up and see blue eyes and a bright smile there to greet her. And when the ship's captain barks orders, Tali can almost hear a saucy retort or a terse agreement to his declaration in her friend's all-too-familiar voice.

For the first time in her life, Tali feels completely alone on the flotilla. It's strange, being surrounded by people - her people - a yet feeling so completely isolated from all of them. Everything is different now; everything she does feels hollow in the wake of her time working with Shepard. Even analyzing the geth data that she received on her Pilgrimage is painful - she was the one who gave it to her, after all.

About a year after the Normandy's destruction finds her sitting alone in the ship Commons, nursing a hot drink while staring moodily at the far wall. It's the anniversary of the Battle of the Citadel today. Elsewhere, members of the Galactic community are celebrating the destruction of Sovereign and the preservation of the Citadel; but inside the steel walls of the flotilla, not a sound can be heard.

Tali is missing Shepard more than ever now. The days immediately following the Commander's death had been hard enough, but at least back then the rest of the crew had been there with her. Now it's just her. All alone, trapped in her thoughts and memories with no relief.

Behind her helmet, the quarian feels her eyes starting to mist up.

"She would not wish you to be miserable like this, you know."

Startled, the girl looks up sharply to discover the identity of the intruder. She relaxes upon seeing a familiar dark grey enviro-suit.

Admiral Raan takes a seat across from her and folds her hands on the table in front of her. Tali looks away, unable to meet her elder's gaze. The woman doesn't react to it, instead reaching over to cover one of Tali's hands with her own.

"Losing a dear friend is an agony," she says gently. "But Shepard would wish for you to be happy, Tali."

Tali swishes her drink around absently in her hand. "I know," she whispers, feeling a little ashamed, despite herself. "I just…"

Her friend squeezes her hand reassuringly. "I understand."

"They sit in silence for awhile, Tali quietly sucking up the remains of her drink with a straw and Raan keeping a solid grip on her hand - and for the first time since Shepard's death, Tali doesn't feel alone.

For future reference, the profiles of both Shepards are as follows;

Alena Shepard: Colonist, Sole Survivor, Paragon, Vanguard

Lucas Shepard: Colonist, Ruthless, Paragade, Infiltrator