As promised. Chapter 2.
Bioware owns all. No money is being made. This is all for Fun.
Author's note is at the end.
Enjoy. PLEASE R&R.
Shepard sighed and looked at her wife, knowing this was going to be the start of a long session...
''Ten years ago, just prior to the battle for the Citadel, I was just starting my investigation into Saren and the Geth. One of my first missions as a spectre was to locate an asari scientist who was said to be an expert on the Protheans. She also happened to be the daughter of Saren's second in command," Shepard paused and shared a sad smile with Liara at the mention of her mother, "Little did I know at the time I was searching for the love of my life. We had tracked Liara to a mine on Therum..."
...The mission on Therum had started rather routinely. Yes some geth got in their way, and Ashley Williams finally learned that the scuttlebutt about the Commander's driving skills was true, but for Shepard nothing really stuck out in her mind until they reached the dig site.
After clearing the P-ways and ladder wells that led to the second elevator, Shepard, Williams and Tali headed down to the next level. The site that greeted them was far from what Shepard had expected. It took all of her will power not to start laughing.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," she thought to herself. "This is the daughter of the all-powerful matriarch? At least she's not half bad looking. But what kind of self-respecting scientist gets themselves stuck in a piece of 50,000 year old technology?''
After a brief discussion the trio moved lower in the mine to attempt to find a way of freeing the young doctor...
"... So we blast through the wall and take the platform lift up, and there's Liara just hanging there in midair, completely helpless, and looking cute as can be."
Looking back towards her mate, a roguish grin on her face Shepard added, "I know I've always said that it was your eyes that first attracted me to you, but looking back, it may have been the view I got stepping of that platform.."
The glare that was present on Liara's face was offset by the gleam in her eyes, "I will admit, I was not at all upset by the view of my hero in her amour racing to my rescue my love."
"Anyway, we pulled her out, killed a few more geth and a Kogan that had all been sent by Saren, out ran the collapsing mine and returned to the Normandy." With a shrug she added, "I guess it was one of the more exciting first dates I've been on."
The doctor made some notes on her and looked towards Liara, "Do you have anything you would like to add to that? What was your first impression of the Commander?"
''To be honest, I was somewhat frightened of her..." Liara said shyly, but added quickly, "I did not think she would harm me in any way, but seeing the Commander for the first time as she battled her way through swarms of geth just to save me was a bit…intimidating."
The dig on Therum had been going well. Although Liara had yet to find any new evidence supporting her claims on the disappearance of the Protheans, she was enjoying being among the ruins of the ancient race. The quiet, almost peaceful nature of the site calmed her and cleared her mind. That was until the geth showed up.
After raising the barrier curtain and accidently trapping herself in the security bubble, all Liara could do was wait. As minutes turned to hours her mind began to wonder. Visions of her mother's estate, memories of running through the gardens, and practicing her biotic skills with her mentors filled her mind.
"Oh mother, how ashamed will you be to hear of my fate?" Liara thought to herself. "To hear that your only daughter trapped herself in an abandoned mine while hiding like a child. You would not have backed away from the threat. You would not have been afraid."
"As you know Doctor, my mother was a very powerful woman, and cowardliness was something that was not tolerated well in our home. By hiding, I was going against everything I had been taught." Liara's refused to meet the gaze of either woman, preferring to stare at the floor in an attempt to hide her shame. She had never admitted how much her actions that day had embarrassed her.
Before the doctor could speak, Shepard was tugging at the small blue hand she had silently been holding. "Hey now, don't think like that. Do you really think your mother would be ashamed of you for out-smarting a hoard of geth and a krogan battle master? Do you think she would have rather lost her only daughter, who you know she loved, in a fire fight that you had no chance of winning?" She waited until her wife's blue eyes were meeting her own before continuing.
"She was proud of you Liara. Just as proud as I have always been of you. She knew the events of Therum when we confronted her on Noveria and one of the last things she said to you was how proud she was. Don't beat yourself up babe."
Shepard was rewarded with a smile before Liara continued her story…
Unsure of how many attempts had been made to break past the barrier, time seem to pass slowly for the trapped asari, she was unaware of how long had truly passed. Hours? Days? And as time passed, her hope began to fade. Eventually she would die of dehydration, or worse, the krogan would find away in and she would be captured. Neither of these out comes were pleasant to dwell on, so Liara attempted to turn her mind's eye inward, reliving happy memories of her childhood.
That was until she heard three distinctly non-krogan voices approaching her from above. Within a matter of moments it seemed, following some rather sporadic gun fire and interesting comments between her three would-be rescuers, Liara found herself face to face with two humans and a quarian.
"Well this is interesting. If I was hallucinating I would assume my imagination would send me a team of asari commandos, not two human women and a quarian that hardly looks old enough to be out of her bubble." Her mind raced as the older of the humans asked her a number of questions that seem to leave her more confused than before.
She started to think they would never release her until finally they told her to hold on while they looked for a way past the barrier...
"Although I never once heard any malice in the Commander's voice, the distrust and accusations were painful." Cutting her partner off before she could apologize, Liara quickly continued, "I know my love, you were just trying to see where my allegiance lay, and you had no reason not to be suspicious of me at the time. I hold no remorse or anger over the actions of that day. You, Tail and Ashley saved my life and from that day on you have treated me with nothing but respect and trust."
"It was one hell of a way to meet, like something out of those cheesy vids you like so much. A dashing hero rushes in to save the damsel in distress. After slaying the mighty krogan she whisks her away to her castle where they live happily ever after." Shepard smiled smugly, "You know, I doubt there was any way you could have stopped yourself from falling hopelessly in love with me babe."
With a playful slap to the arm Liara countered her wife's logic, "If we follow that line of reasoning dear, I could have just as easily fallen in love with Ashley or Tali instead of you..."
The expression on the commander's face as these options played out in her mind got her a chuckle from both women in the room.
"It is obvious you have both retained a sense of humor despite the struggles you have faced these past ten years," Doctor Cooper finally said. She had been observing the way the couple interacted as they told their sides of the story. A gentle squeeze of the hand, or a knowing grin that can only be shared between lovers, was passed completely naturally. Their silent form of communication was as involuntary as breathing for the pair. She had no doubt that the love and bond they had formed in the fire of battle was strong, but she knew there were serious topics that needed to be discussed before the two were ready to start their journey into parenthood.
"I am glad to see you are willing to be open and honest during these sessions. As we are running out of time today I would like to assign you a task before our next meeting. I want you to sit down together and talk about how your lives would be different if the battles against Saren and the Reapers had never taken place. If you had met each other in a bar or restaurant, how would your first reactions to each other been different?"
With that the doctor stood and led them to the door, "I will see you both next week."