After

by N.Q. Wilder

Set post-ME3 and sequel to "All Things Pass," "Sub Specie Aeternitatis" and "Never Again." A story of the possible future for Commander Shepard and Liara T'soni.

3. Planting the Seeds

Planting the Seeds

One year later...

"The purpose of this meeting," Councilor Tevos said in her usual, formal tone, "is to discuss the proposal submitted to this council by Commander Shepard. I hope you all have had a chance to familiarize yourself with the proposal beforehand." She glanced around the circular table before focusing on the human woman seated at the opposite end from her. A human dressed in formal military attire, looking the picture of professionalism. "Commander Shepard has been kind enough to join us for an informal interview. If you have any questions about the proposal, now is the time to ask."

Ten faces all turned to stare at the woman, each containing vastly different expressions. All the councilors were new, save for the asari, turian, and salarian. Shepard had gotten her all-inclusive council after a bit more fighting with the old council, but she doubted many knew the role she had played. Not all the species had gained a seat either. Only races that chose to consider themselves council races had been offered a seat, but some of the new additions had still shocked the media. The krogan councilor stared at Shepard with almost solid green eyes, looking ready for a fight despite the location; not necessarily with her, but with anyone who looked at him the wrong way. The quarian councilor's face was obscured behind her blue mask while the hanar next to her was equally as unreadable. The volus and elcor councilors seemed the most comfortable with their new positions, their struggle to be included a long time in the making, but they still shot occasional glances at the original councilors as if trying to gauge their approval. With the council being so fragmented and new, Shepard figured now was the time to hit them with her vision for the future. She needed to strike the iron while it was hot so that the sword she envisioned would be fully formed by the time everything cooled.

For her part, Shepard tried to ignore the two familiar and friendly faces on the new council. Miranda also did her best to show no particular interest in Shepard, although everyone knew of their history. It was the obstacle they both knew would be their greatest challenge: to make everyone forget that they were allies. They had gone so far as to plan a few arguments that they could stage to make the other councilors believe that they were not as friendly as everyone thought. Miranda was the human councilor and her job would not be any easier if all the other councilors thought that she was in Shepard's pocket.

The other friendly face was also the oddest member. A geth's presence put all the other councilors, besides Miranda, on edge. That had been the hardest won battle, convincing the original council to offer a seat to the geth. Legion's time aboard the Normandy had given the rest of the geth a better understanding of organics, but old grudges died hard. Hopefully in time they would accept the geth as a part of their coalition, but for now Shepard could use their concerns about the geth to her advantage. They had been more than understanding when Shepard approached them with her idea and had been easily won over to her side. Part of her suspected that the geth were also honoring the memory of Legion by helping his human friend. The geth, Miranda, and Shepard had planned their moves carefully for this meeting, aiming to manipulate the council in support of Shepard's proposal.

At this point, Shepard considered herself an expert at maneuvering the council. As long as she stuck to the plan and pushed where she needed to, she should be able to win this argument and begin to set the future in place. Unfortunately, she found her mind divided today; and no matter how much she tried to bring her full attention to the present, she caught herself slipping back to her other thoughts every few seconds. She wondered if Liara was still asleep - it was about mid-morning - or if her wife had already begun going about her day. Garrus and Tali were staying with them in their apartment on the Citadel, and Shepard trusted them to take care of Liara, but she still felt the familiar knot of worry in her stomach. She felt guilty for agreeing to speak to the council today, but Liara had insisted that Shepard go forward with her plan, protesting that she didn't need constant supervision. The commander's hand itched towards her omni-tool, the desire to check her messages suddenly surging while she thought about her wife, but she wrestled her emotions down and focused her attention back on the task at hand.

"Shepard, what you have suggested is recklessly dangerous," the turian councilor said, as cheerful as always. "A united Citadel military will not be supported by the public. They will think we are trying to exert too much control."

Calmly, Shepard replied, "A united military would have been indispensable during the Reaper War, Councilor. It could have been mobilized faster and would have been larger than all the other militaries combined. The purpose of this military would be to protect the public from various threats, not police them. It will never engage in any kind of policing activities."

"But do we even need it?" the salarain councilor piped in. "Reaper threat is gone. Independent militaries are sufficient for protecting the interests of the species."

"Yes, it is needed. The Reapers might not be the only threat the galaxy ever sees. I hope that the galaxy never faces anything so dire again, but none of us can be sure. Also, not every race has a military. This united military would protect everyone's interests, not just those of a select few races." The hanar, volus, and elcor visibly reacted to that, each shifting at the words. They knew she meant the words for them, and the idea of being equally protected no doubt resonated with them. The three original councilors also shot uneasy looks at the newer members, no doubt realizing that they had lost some ground there.

"How would we keep such a military from possibly going rogue?" the turian countered. "Who would even be in charge of such a force?"

"The military would be led by a cabinet of admirals, much like the system the individual militaries already employ. The military would work in conjunction with this council, in the same way that spectres do. They military would take orders from the council, but it would be up to the admirals how to fulfill those orders. As for keeping the military from going rogue, it would be nearly impossible for a military comprised of every council race to target any single race. So for example, the military would never target the krogans for war because the krogan soldiers would obviously rebel. Plus, soldiers will build a bond with each other, regardless of race, and they will not appreciate attacking their friends. That is the goal of this military: to break down the barriers that separate the races." She watched the krogan councilor out of the corner of her eye, noting the narrowing of his eyes as he remembered the krogan rebellions and being targeted by the council once before in the past. Since her gaze was fixed on the turian councilor she clearly saw his struggle not to look at the krogan.

Surprisingly, it was the hanar who spoke next. "This one humbly notes that the esteemed commander repeatedly says that all races will be included in the proposed military. Yet, this one wonders how certain races will fare as soldiers."

Inclining her head towards the hanar, trying to show an appropriate level of courtesy, Shepard answered, "You're right, Councilor, that not all races will be expected to have soldiers in the field. But a military has use for all kinds of talents and personnel. As I understand, the hanar have some experience training elite operatives and that knowledge could be very valuable. No doubt there are other talents that the hanar could supply. I firmly believe that everyone has something to contribute to this effort."

Hanar were nearly impossible to read, at least for Shepard, and she had no idea if her words had made an impact with him. He didn't argue with her though, so she decided to take that as a good sign. Liara probably could have deduced what the hanar was thinking, she had become surprisingly good at analyzing all kinds of reactions, but Shepard would have to settle for guessing. She should have had the foresight to ask Liara to give her some pointers on what to look for when dealing with the other races. Shepard knew humans, turians, asari, salarians, quarians, krogans, and even geth after having worked closely with them all, but she didn't have as much experience with the other races. She felt sure that elcor couldn't lie at least, since they would preface the lie by admitting it, but volus could be quite cunning and hanar were a complete mystery. Liara had worked with nearly every race during her work as an information broker, however, and she probably knew more about them in a negotiation setting.

Thinking of the past brought Shepard's thoughts to the Shadow Broker base and an idle curiosity as to what Feron was up to. Shortly after their engagement and before their marriage, Shepard and Liara had had to discuss what they would do about the broker base and Liara's role as the Shadow Broker. With folded arms and a stern frown, Shepard had stubbornly stood by her strong feelings that Liara should give up being the Shadow Broker. She hated to think of Liara doing that kind of work and she urged Liara to go back to what she really loved doing: studying protheans. She had also suggested torching the base - or what was left of it after the Reaper War - and saying good riddance to the Broker altogether. The galaxy would be better off without someone like that around. While Liara showed only a little reluctance to quit being the Broker, she did argue against destroying the base, insisting that Feron should be the new Shadow Broker. She pointed out that if they destroyed the Shadow Broker, eventually a new Broker would arise from the void created, and it would be someone whose intentions were unclear. Better to ensure the Broker was someone they could trust and who would not use the information for a nefarious end. Grudgingly, Shepard had admitted that Liara was right and had agreed not to blow up the base, but she was extremely relieved when Liara applied for a grant to study protheans and handed the reigns over to Feron.

Of course, thinking of Liara immediately turned her thoughts to the main focus of her life at the moment. Her mind seized on her memory of the night before.

Shepard walked out of the kitchen into the living room, drying her hands on her long, black pants. She had just finished cleaning the kitchen after a welcome dinner for Garrus and Tali who were staying with them for the next few days. Both tired, her friends had already gone to bed and Shepard would probably retire soon so that she got enough rest before her showdown with the council.

Liara sat on the couch watching the news with a mug of tea in her hands. A little more than a year after the Reaper War and Shepard found herself in the news less and less, which was a great relief. The story running at the moment was about the new council and the various reactions to such a drastic change in Citadel politics. Since so few people knew the role Shepard had played in bullying the old council into opening their doors, her name was absent from the news coverage. Plopping down next to her wife, Shepard kissed Liara's cheek while laying a hand on her swollen belly affectionately. Like usual, Liara placed her hand on top of Shepard's so that both of their hands rested above their child.

Glancing at the television, Shepard said, "I hope I did the right thing forcing the council to make that decision. The media seems shocked by the whole thing."

"I think you did a wonderful thing, Shepard," Liara answered, sincere warmth in her voice. "You made sure everyone is treated fairly. I think the galaxy will be a better place once you're done."

Turning her gaze to their child, Shepard frowned slightly and asked, "Liara, are you sure that you want me to-"

But Liara quickly cut her off, saying, "We've talked about this a thousand times, Shepard. You should go to your meeting with the council tomorrow. If the baby does come tomorrow, Garrus and Tali will make sure I get to the hospital and they will call you. Waiting around the house with me for something that may or may not happen is a waste of time. You need to convince the council of your plan while they're still fragmented. I believe in your vision."

Sighing, Shepard shrugged. "I know, I know. I just feel so guilty not being here when you need me. I know Garrus and Tali will take care of you, but that's my job. I don't like giving it to someone else to do."

Resting her head on Shepard's shoulder, Liara said, "I know, my love. But I know you'll be there when she's born."

Pressing her cheek against the top of Liara's head, Shepard concentrated her attention on her hand resting over her wife's belly. Like most of the times she thought about their daughter her stomach knotted in anxiety, excitement, and uncertainty. The idea of parenthood, wondering if she was ready for something so life changing, scared her half to death, but she also felt eager to lay eyes on their baby girl. After so long she would have a family once again - something she had not realized until recently she wanted so desperately.

"... lead this new endeavor?" The asari councilor's voice suddenly pierced Shepard's thoughts, bringing her abruptly back to the present. The commander wanted to kick herself for letting her concentration slip like that. She had no idea what the councilor had asked, and she knew that she couldn't give them the impression that she didn't care enough about this not to pay attention. Shooting a glance at Miranda, Shepard lightly tapped her forefinger on the table, a signal to her friend that she needed help.

Without a moment's pause the dark haired woman put in, "I would nominate the commander herself for such a task. I think we could all rest easy knowing that the Savoir of the Galaxy was leading this united military in its early years. I don't think any of us can argue against the fact that Shepard has proven her commitment to galactic stability."

Shepard had to restrain herself from flashing an appreciative smile at her friend - it would look too much like they had conspired on that answer if she did - but she was grateful that Miranda had slipped the relevant information into her response. Tevos must have asked who would lead the military.

The turian immediately shot back, "So a human would be in charge of the most powerful military in the galaxy? That hardly seems equal."

The krogan surprised everyone by speaking for the first time during the meeting. His voice was a low rumble that carried a sharp edge of sarcasm. "It's only equal when the right race is in charge, right, turian?"

The two councilors locked eyes, each daring the other to say the wrong thing. The krogan looked almost hopeful. The electricity in the air was nearly palpable.

Luckily, the geth cut in as planned. "The geth have concluded that it would be logical for Shepard Commander to lead. We would entrust forces to her leadership."

The councilors besides the krogan, turian, and Miranda all shifted uncomfortably. Though the geth's words had been innocuous enough, the threat still hung in the air. It appeared as if the geth had pledged forces to Commander Shepard and whoever wasn't a part of that alliance was by default an enemy. No one wanted to be on the opposite side of that army.

Keeping her voice cool and collected, Shepard said, "As I said before, there would be a cabinet of admirals that would lead the army. I would like to see this vision through all the way and would not decline the opportunity to help shape something I believe is so important. But I would by no means have full control over the military. My goal is to integrate this army and ensure that it functions in the correct way."

"While we are discussing leadership, Commander," Miranda said right on cue, "I have to wonder how you intend to prevent nationalists from disrupting the unity of this military."

The dark haired woman already knew the answer, but they wanted to give the appearance that Miranda was still considering whether to support Shepard. Folding her hands on the table, Shepard said, "We will have a screening process to make sure that soldiers are joining for the purpose of maintaining galactic stability. Then close monitoring on new recruits to watch for any radicals that might try to disrupt cooperation between races. Intolerance will be strictly prohibited. Everyone will need to work together, just like in any military."

Silence engulfed the table as all the councilors studied Shepard with carefully guarded expressions. Sometimes they looked at one another, wondering what the others thought. Shepard hoped that the newer races would jump at the chance to be included in a collective military and the old council would support her simply because they feared becoming a target if all the other races joined Shepard. It pained her somewhat to use their distrust and suspicion of one another to create something that aimed to unite them. The irony nearly made her want to laugh bitterly.

"If there are no more questions at this time, we will take a thirty minute break and then reconvene for any final questions for the commander," Tevos announced. When no one objected she stood and the salarian and turian followed her out of the room. The other councilors watched them warily, but one by one stood and filed out of the room. Eventually only Shepard remained with Miranda and the geth representative. She wondered if the councilors were discussing the proposal with one another, trying to gauge where everyone else stood.

Miranda calmly pushed back her chair and came over to Shepard, who rose to greet her. As they shook hands, Miranda said, "I think that went well, Shepard."

Smiling, Shepard answered, "Thanks for saving my ass. I got distracted for a minute and almost ruined the whole thing."

Shrugging, her friend said, "It's understandable. How is Liara, by the way? When we last talked, you sounded a little concerned about the timing of this meeting."

The geth had also stood and came to stand by them, watching the exchange quietly.

"She's alright, I think," Shepard said. "She's due soon. Today or tomorrow the doctors said." She raised her right arm and immediately turned on her omni-tool. "I need to check my messages to make sure everything is still fine."

Before she could even access her messages though, the geth put in, "You have received no new messages Shepard Commander."

The fact that the geth monitored just about every communication on the Citadel no longer surprised Shepard. She just nodded and said, "Thanks. Hopefully it'll stay that way and we can focus on getting this done." Looking at the door she added, "We should probably separate and go out into the hall so that we don't look like we're plotting. You two should see if you can get a sense of where anyone else is at."

Both nodded and the three left the room at different times. Shepard knew the councilors were unlikely to just tell her where they stood, so she decided to grab a drink of water. On her way, however, she was stopped by the krogan councilor. He walked up to her with the typical krogan self-confidence and stared down at her with his vibrant green eyes. "You spoke well, Commander."

If Shepard wasn't so familiar with krogans and so comfortable with them, she might have been surprised by his kind words. But she knew that krogans valued strength, and building an army was something they could appreciate.

"Thank you, Councilor," she said. "Do you think you will support the proposal?" Krogans also appreciated directness.

The krogan tossed his head as if he thought the answer was obvious. "I've been ordered by the Clan Leader to support you. You have been a good ally to the krogans, Shepard. The Clan Leader trusts you and so do I."

That did surprise Shepard. She had not talked about the proposal at any length with Wrex, and she was surprised he had decided to seal his people's support. It was certainly a relief to know she had the krogans on her side though.

"How is Urdnot Wrex?" she asked. "I am curious to hear how the krogans are doing."

The krogan's lips curled in what might have been a smile. He was surprisingly well tempered for a krogan - probably the reason he had been chosen to represent them in a diplomatic setting. "You can ask him yourself when you see him."

Blinking, Shepard replied, "He's here? Why? He didn't tell me he was coming."

The green eyed krogan shrugged in response. "His official reason is to ensure that I don't start a war with the other races my first week on the council. But I'm not stupid enough to believe that the Clan Leader would waste his time watching me. He is probably here to see you. For what reason, you probably know better."

Could Wrex have come because her daughter was about to be born? Had he come to see her child? She would need to call him and ask. As if that thought was a trigger, her omni-tool beeped to signal an incoming call. Glancing at the name displayed on the screen, she saw it was Tali and her heart nearly leapt into her throat.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Councilor, but I need to take this call. Perhaps we could talk some other time..." Her voice trailed off as she made an abrupt turn and walked away, simultaneously selecting to accept the call. Tali's helmeted face leapt onto the screen, though she was looking at something over her shoulder. "What's going on Tali?" Shepard asked anxiously.

Realizing that Shepard was on the other end of the line, Tali whipped back around, her body language clearly excited and nervous at the same time. "Oh! Shepard! We're on our way to the hospital. Liara is having the baby!"

Shepard could hear muffled sounds in the background, but nothing loud enough to make out clearly. Her instincts screamed at her that Liara needed her and her feet itched to just sprint down the hall and keep running until she reached the hospital. It took considerable self control to remain calm and cool headed. Rash decisions led to disaster.

"I'll meet you there, Tali," she said, her words only a little hurried. "Take care of Liara for me." Without waiting, she ended the call and sprinted down the hallway to where Miranda stood chatting with the quarian and elcor councilors. Grabbing her friend by the arm and pulling her aside without a care for what the other two thought, she whispered, "Liara is having the baby! I have to get to the hospital!"

Eyes widening, Miranda replied, "What? Now?!"

Lowering her voice even further so that no one could overhear, she said, "The krogan councilor is on our side. I need you to take over, Miranda. You know how important this is to me, but I have to be there for Liara. Please, I'm counting on you."

Jaw tight and determined, Miranda gave a sharp nod. "I understand, Shepard." As Shepard turned to go, Miranda laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I'll win and then come see your daughter."

Smiling in return, Shepard nodded and then took off running down the hall. She didn't care what the councilors thought, though with any luck they would just assume it was urgent and worth Shepard's time. There were certain advantages to having a reputation for handling the impossible. She didn't even bother to take the elevator down from the Citadel Tower, she practically leapt down the stairs instead. When she reached the plaza below, she spotted a group of reporters all gathered by the elevator and directly blocking her path to the transportation terminal. Shepard had never been rough with a reporter before - and the light knew that some had deserved it - because she knew better than to show them anything other than her most professional face. Even so, the thought of shoving them all out of the way certainly came to mind now.

But Shepard was no fool. She knew that if the media saw her in a hurry, saw her as anything other than a calm professional, they would follow her to the hospital and possibly ruin everything. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't lead them right to Liara and her daughter.

With carefully practiced composure and an air of professionalism, Shepard strode out into the plaza. The reporters jumped into action when they saw her, immediately swarming her and asking questions about her meeting with the council. They didn't know about the proposal, but they knew that she had been summoned by the new council. "I'm afraid that information is classified," she said over and over. When pressed where she was going, she claimed to be going to do paper work for an assignment from the council. That was a boring enough notion to make the reporters instantly drop that line of questioning. There were the other typical questions about her feelings on current issues or even about her relationship with Liara, but she deflected those as best she could. They continued to hound her with questions as she stood at the terminal and summoned a taxi. She continued to exercise her patience while answering their questions, until the taxi finally arrived and she was able to shut them out.

Knowing that they would immediately try to hack the terminal to see where she had actually gone, she set the destination for her apartment on the Citadel. Hopefully the reporters would see that she was not going anywhere special and would lose interest in her. She waited until she was well out of sight to change the destination to the hospital. Glancing at the time on her omni-tool and trying not to fret over how much time she had already lost due to the media, Shepard tapped her foot impatiently as she willed the taxi to move faster. Liara must already be there by now.

When the taxi finally pulled up to its destination Shepard quickly swiped her credit chit and leapt out of the door before the vehicle had even stopped. She hit the ground running, dodging the pedestrians in her way, and skidding to a stop once she was inside the front door. Her head whipped around as she blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting from the brightness outside to the sudden darkness inside.

"Shepard!" Tali's voice called from somewhere to her left and she headed towards the voice before her eyes had even completely focused. Tali stood by a row of chairs in the waiting room, wringing her hands nervously, but she was not alone. Ashley stood with her, dressed in her Alliance uniform, with Joker fiddling with his cap beside her, and Wrex looming over all three.

Violet eyes shifting from one to the next, Shepard said, "You all came?"

Shrugging, Ashley answered, "Isn't that what friends do?"

Joker grinned and added, "I mostly just wanted to watch you struggle trying to figure out how to deal with a kid."

Wrex just gave a small nod.

She smiled at each of them, but her lips turned down into a frown when she realized that someone was obviously missing. "Where's Garrus?" she asked. "Wasn't he with you and Liara, Tali?"

"Ah, right," Tali answered. "He's with Liara actually. They thought he was the father and kind of dragged him along before he could correct them. I'm sure he's hoping you'll come rescue him soon."

Shepard couldn't help chuckling at the idea of Garrus flustered and trying to figure out how he was supposed to respond to the situation. The idea was less funny when she realized that her friends probably laughed when they thought about her in the same condition. Still, she felt slightly better knowing that Garrus was with Liara for now. There was no one else she could trust more.

"I should probably go rescue him, then," she said, trying to sound at ease, but unsure if she succeeded.

Breaking away from the group and heading towards the receptionists' desk, Ashley said, "Allow me, Skipper." Then raising her voice she called out, "Hey, I have a momma here who needs to see her baby! Who is gonna help us out?" Ash continued her jovial tirade until a nurse agreed to show Shepard to the right room if Ashley would stop shouting in the lobby. Saying goodbye to her friends, Shepard followed after the slender asari, all the while trying to regulate her breathing and quell her nervousness. The nurse seemed too distracted to recognize her and didn't say even two words to her as they walked down the white halls. Shepard considered it a blessing since that was one less person who might notify the press. She certainly didn't try to draw any attention to herself as she passed others in the corridor, just stared down at her feet with her hands shoved into her pockets.

"This is the room," the asari said suddenly. She didn't wait for a reply before heading off without so much as a backward glance at Shepard. Staring at the closed door, Shepard wondered whether she was supposed to knock before entering, or just waltz on in and explain that Liara was her wife. She raised a fist to rap on the door, but then decided that her knock might not be heard, and opened the door instead. As she slipped into the room she felt like she had entered into the pandemonium of a battlefield. A doctor and three nurses were gathered around the bed where Liara seemed extremely distraught. Sweat poured down her face and her face was twisted up in pain. Standing by her side, Garrus grasped one of her hands in his talons, but he looked just as panicked and everything about his body language screamed that he wanted to be elsewhere. The room filled with shouting, some from Liara, and some from the doctor and nurses.

A nurse immediately rushed towards Shepard, trying to shoo her away as the commander simultaneously tried to explain who she was. Garrus turned at the same moment and exclaimed, "Shepard!"

At her name, Liara sought her out and a look of relief blossomed on her face. Pushing past the nurse, Shepard rushed over to her wife's side, taking the hand that Garrus had been holding, kissing the back of her blue hand and saying, "I'm here, Liara. I'm here."

After Shepard flashed a smile of gratitude at Garrus, the turian inclined his head and made his hasty retreat from the room. Noticing that Shepard's presence had calmed Liara down, the nurse decided not to press the issue and went back to the doctor's side. Looking down into Liara's sapphire blue eyes, Shepard saw weariness and fear, but also the love she always found there too. Childbirth had become much simpler and less painful over the years thanks to medical advances, but it was still no walk in the park. And seeing Liara in any state of distress was enough to wrench Shepard's heart in two.

Holding Liara's gaze and letting her love shine through her and into a smile, Shepard squeezed Liara's hand while she whispered comforting things. Sometimes her words were as simple as saying how much she loved Liara and sometimes she talked about their daughter, about their hopes for their little girl. And the whole time she remained by her wife's side, refusing to let go of her hand and doing her best to protect the woman she loved.

~.~.~.~.~

Later, the pair sat on the hospital bed, staring down at the bundle in Liara's arms. The asari looked exhausted, yet still radiant, alternating her looks between the child and the human at her side. Shepard's arm was wrapped around Liara's shoulders protectively and she occasionally kissed her wife's temple affectionately. Except for the child they were the only people in the room at the moment. Their first time together as a family.

"I can hardly believe she has your eyes," Liara whispered, her expression a mixture of awe and satisfaction. It truly was remarkable, given the complexities of asari reproduction that their child would have eyes so similar to Shepard's. The babe stared up at her parents with violet eyes perhaps a shade or two darker than the human's, and she neither cried nor seemed upset by her surroundings. She stared back at the world with an intense curiosity and fearless courage.

Brushing the child's cheek lightly with the pad of her thumb, Shepard was careful to speak in equally hushed tones. "I'm thrilled she has your freckles, Liara."

Resting her head against Shepard's shoulder, Liara let out a content hum. "I suppose we should think of a name."

Letting the babe wrap her tiny fist around her finger, Shepard said, "I've thought about it some, and since the Reaper War was such an important part of our lives... I thought it might be appropriate to name her for someone we lost along the way."

Tilting her head to look Shepard in the eye, Liara gave a quizzical expression. Shepard could almost see the list of names flashing through her wife's brain, and she wondered if the person she meant was even on that list. She hesitated to say the name because of the sudden fear that it might hurt Liara to hear.

Clearing her throat and switching her gaze to the babe instead, Shepard said, "It's traditional for humans to name their children after family members. I think our little girl would be proud to be named after her grandmother." Then addressing the child she added, "Isn't that right, Benezia?"

Shepard felt her wife's shock before she even saw it on her face. Liara's eyes were wide and her bottom lip quivered, though Shepard couldn't quite read the emotions present in her eyes. It was a while before Liara focused on Shepard again and sputtered, "Are you sure about this, Shepard? You only knew Benezia as an enemy and even I was estranged from her for some time."

Smiling warmly, Shepard said, "And I wish I had had the chance to know her as your mother, Liara. And I know you didn't always see eye to eye with her, but she was your mother, and she did love you. And I know you loved her. Her last true act was to help us stop Saren. She helped us win. She helped us survive."

"Oh, Shepard," Liara whispered, raising a hand to wipe away the water welling up in her eyes. "Thank you. I never realized how much it would mean to me, but for some reason it makes me really happy to honor my mother this way. I know you are doing this for me. I cannot tell you how much this means to me."

Cupping Liara's face with her free hand, Shepard answered, "No tears. We have so much to be thankful for today. I want to see you happy more than anything else."

Placing a chaste kiss on her wife's lips, Liara said, "I am happy, Shepard. I am unbelievably happy."

~.~.~.~.~

Emerging into the lobby with Benezia cradled in her arms, held protectively against her chest, Shepard sought out her friends, who sat huddled together where she had seen them last. Miranda had also arrived and added herself to the group. Tali spotted her first and rose excitedly to her feet, triggering the others to scramble out of their chairs as well. The quarian was at her side the second she reached them, tugging at Shepard's shoulder eagerly.

"Oh, Shepard! She's so cute!" Tali exclaimed.

The commander had been fearful that Benezia might be frightened by so many strange faces all peering at her, but she just stared at them all wide-eyed. Her gaze lingered on each of them in turn and she almost looked as if she were studying them; a thought that nearly made Shepard chuckle because it reminded her of Liara.

"Liara's alright?" Garrus asked.

Smiling, Shepard answered, "Yup. She's exhausted though. Sleeping now. The nurses said it was ok for me to bring Benezia out here for a little while."

"Benezia?" Ashley asked, surprised. "You named her for Liara's mother?"

"It seemed the right thing to do. She won't have one grandmother because of me. I think we can at least honor her memory."

Nodding her understanding as she stepped forward, Ashley reached out a hand to stroke the little asari's head. She smiled warmly and Benezia just stared at her with those piercing violet eyes. "Well, I think she's going to find that she was born into an interesting family. Of course, she'll have the benefit of her favorite Aunt Ashley."

"What?" Tali shot back. "It's her Auntie Tali that she'll be wanting to visit all the time!"

Miranda didn't enter into the playful argument, but she did smirk and Shepard knew by the look on her face that she was planning how she could achieve the title of favorite aunt for herself.

Joker cast a grin at Garrus and said, "So, are we supposed to fight over who gets to be the favorite uncle?"

Sharing a conspiratorial glance with Shepard, Garrus answered, "If Shepard is smart, she won't let you around her kid. You'd turn Benezia into a wise-cracking delinquent."

"Ouch," Joker laughed, laying a hand over his heart as if wounded. "Touché, turian. Touché."

Practically bouncing with anticipation, Tali asked, "Can I hold her, Shepard?"

"Sure," Shepard answered, carefully placing Benezia into Tali's arms.

"Whoa! I call next turn then!" Ashley said.

As Ashley, Garrus, and Joker gathered around Tali, Shepard sidled over to Wrex and Miranda. From someone inexperienced with dealing with krogans, it might have seemed as if Wrex was completely uninterested in the situation, but Shepard knew by the way he looked from Benezia and back to her that he was quite happy for her. Looking up at the krogan, Shepard said, "I wanted to thank you for your help, Wrex. With the proposal that I put before the council, I mean. Your ambassador told me that you supported me."

Shrugging, Wrex answered, "You're my friend, Shepard. Part of my krant. Besides, I know how hard it is to unite a bunch of idiots too stupid to see it's for their own good. And let's face it, you're not as good at bringing people together as I am." He gave that crooked sort of krogan grin and Shepard laughed loudly.

"Good thing you're looking out for me then," she said mirthfully.

He glanced again towards the mob around Benezia and nodded his head approvingly. "She looks strong, Shepard. Fearless. And probably cunning too. A dangerous combination. You should be proud."

Grinning from ear to ear, Shepard genuinely appreciated the compliment. For a krogan to say that they thought someone was or would be dangerous was a great sign of respect. Any strength the child displayed was also a positive reflection on the parents. "Thanks, Wrex," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Then turning her attention to Miranda she made her face serious and asked, "How did the meeting go?"

Miranda answered smoothly, obviously expecting the question. "The council wasn't pleased that you had to leave, but they didn't press me when I told them that it was an emergency of the utmost importance. They knew better than to question any mission that you deemed important. The krogan ambassador revealed that he fully supported your proposal." She shot a quick glance at Wrex before continuing. "Then the geth used that opportunity to reinforce geth support and that certainly scared the others enough to make them hesitant about opposing. The possibility of a geth, krogan, and human alliance was a nice touch. While they were worrying over that, I also reinforced to the less... privileged members of the council that this was an opportunity for them to be equals. I think I managed to convince the volus, hanar, and quarian. The elcor was hard to read, and he didn't say much unfortunately. But I think the old council also thought they were in the minority and hopefully that will be enough to convince them to jump on board as well."

Sighing in relief, Shepard let herself relax a little. It sounded as if the meeting had gone as well as she could hope. All that was left to do was wait for the council's decision. If she didn't succeed there... well, she could think of something else. She always did. Her family's well-being depended on it.

"Thanks for all your help," she told her friends. "I really appreciate it."

She spent a few more minutes chatting with her companions and letting them hold her daughter before she needed to take Benezia back. Bidding her friends goodbye for the night, Shepard carried Benezia back to Liara's hospital room and sat by the bed, the baby's head cradled in the crook of her arm. Liara was still asleep and Benezia looked ready to nod off as well. For the first time that day Shepard acknowledged that she felt weary too. It had been a long day, but a happy one.

As her daughter's eyelids began to droop, Shepard smiled down and began to recite: "Ah, could I lay me down in this long grass and close my eyes, and let the quiet wind blow over me - I am so tired, so tired of passing pleasant places..."

~.~.~.~.~

Long chapter, eh? Wanna guess what the final total was? 14 pages. 14 freaking pages. That's like a small research paper. Though this brings me to an announcement I'd like to make. I've been asked a good bit when future chapters can be expected and how frequently I update; and I certainly understand the frustration of wondering if an author has abandoned a story or not (especially since I seem to only follow authors who don't update haha). I hope that I have been consistent enough in updating that none of my readers fear me leaving a story unfinished, but I still sympathize. Therefore, I plan to use my profile as a place to update my progress on the story. So, if you find yourself itching to know how long you have to wait, taking a look at my profile will hopefully give you a better idea.

As for this chapter, I have to admit that my time in Japan has made me even more fervent about the idea of an all-inclusive council and united military. Ursula K. Le Guin once said "Science fiction is not predictive. It's descriptive." And it is true. I would love to see a more united world. Forming friendships across the globe leads to empathy, and for every country I have a friend in, I feel more passionate about America's relationship with that country. I would love to see a world where everyone had friends spread across the globe. I think people would be hesitant to mistreat or fight their friends. We would understand each other so much better.

My diatribe aside, I hope you liked this chapter. I wanted to steer as far as possible away from making it campy or sappy, but not ignore the meaningfulness. Hopefully I succeeded. Feel free to let me know. Wish you all the best.

~N.Q. Wilder

EDIT: Major edits made to this chapter. In addition to fixing formatting issues, removed Legion in light of events of ME3. Replaced him with a geth representative.