Jane gave a sigh of relief when Udina stormed in and took over the meeting with the Councilors. She should have been upset that Udina, slimy as always, was undermining Anderson's authority.

But she desperately needed to talk to her old CO out of his assistant's hearing.

She caught Anderson's eye and walked over to the balcony, with him following. She rested her arms on the ledge and leaned over, taking a moment to drink in the view of the Presidium. It looked pretty much the same as it had two years ago. Hard to believe that any time had elapsed at all, which wasn't helping her ongoing cognitive dissonance about having been dead for two years.

"Something on your mind, Shepard?"

Jane turned to look at Anderson. "I need to talk to my mother," she said.

Anderson sighed. "I can't do that."

She'd known he was going to say that, and it still made her angry. "Sir. With all due respect—" She had to pause, remembering Ashley saying those words on Virmire. She fought back the tears that seemed to be starting far too often these days and continued. "This isn't like me asking to see Kaidan. He's a good friend, but I get that he's on some top secret mission that you can't share because I'm not Alliance anymore. This is my mother."

"Jay," Anderson said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. It was a nickname that some of her mother's friends in the military used, because to them, Hannah was Shepard. Jane preferred her full name, but didn't make a fuss about it.

Most of the time.

"It's Commander Shepard. Or Jane Shepard if you feel the need to distinguish me from my mother, who is not here." Jane tried to put a bit of backbone in her voice — a characteristic that she usually had no trouble summoning. She hated that it seemed to be harder these days. Since coming back from the dead.

Since finding out that her beloved father was actually a ruthless terrorist.

Jane banished those emotions, taking a step back and staring at Anderson. "It is critical that I talk to my mother. The matters that we have to discuss are about family." She paused. "If there is anything that she deems pertinent, I am sure that as a loyal Alliance officer, she will ensure that it is passed on."

Anderson raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at, Commander?"

"Like I said, sir, I need to talk to my mother about family issues." She gave him her best smile. "I know that you can't necessarily ask an Alliance officer to meet with someone who's officially persona non grata. No matter if that person might be unofficially still in Alliance good graces. So why don't you just tell me how long it would take my mother to get to Omega. And if I happen to be there when she is, you're not responsible for any meetings that might take place."

"Well." Anderson sighed. "Seeing as how I'm pretty sure Hannah would skin me alive if I actively kept you two apart, I don't see that I really have a choice." He straightened himself up and looked like an actual Councilor for the first time since Udina entered the room. "Two weeks. If you're on Omega in two weeks, there's a decent chance that you'll run into your mother."

"Decent chance?"

"You two are too damn much alike," Anderson grumbled. "You know perfectly well that as soon as I drop this news on her she'll head straight for Omega."

"I couldn't possibly speak to what Alliance personnel will do."

"Get out of my office, Jay."

Jane grinned. They were back on familiar ground. Best thing to happen to her all day. "I don't take orders from you. Sir."

"Out."

She saluted him as she left.

Jane waited in one of the small side areas of Afterlife, watching the door. Grizz had dropped by a few minutes earlier to let her know that the Orizaba had docked. A few weapons 'confiscated' from mercenary groups and modified by Mordin had served as a sufficient bribe for Aria's cooperation. Jane had been skeptical about Aria at first, but the slow exchange of favors had built a relationship of mutual respect and trust. Maybe Jane owed Aria one from this; maybe Aria was still paying off the debt that she had built up to Jane. They'd work it out eventually.

She drummed her fingers on the table and tried to find something else to distract herself with while she waited.

Then, a familiar shock of strawberry blonde hair walked through the door, and Jane was on her feet and running to pull her mother into a tight hug. She rested her head on Hannah's shoulder and started to cry. Again. Dammit, she was stronger than —

Jane realized that Hannah was crying too.

She stopped worrying about being strong and found what comfort she could in her mother's embrace.

It was a long time before either of them was willing to let go, but eventually, Jane straightened herself up and guided them over to the table she'd been sitting at before Hannah entered.

"You don't get to do that again," Hannah said, her voice firm. "You're grounded, young lady."

Jane had to laugh, which had likely been Hannah's intent. "What's the extent of my grounding?" she asked.

"No leaving the Milky Way," Hannah told her sternly.

"Yes, Mom."

"That's my girl."

They both grinned at each other for a few long moments. "Thank you for making this happen," Hannah said. "Omega's a good neutral place, but you know we're probably being spied on."

Jane looked at the door and saw Grizz standing there. His mandibles flared in a smile, and he exited, pulling the door shut behind him.

"Nope," she said brightly. "Aria T'Loak and I have an … understanding."

"Oh, Jay," Hannah said, shaking her head. "I remember when you were just out of Basic, so bright-eyed, so determined to follow all the rules and be the best little soldier that you could be. Now you have an 'understanding' with the Pirate Queen of Omega." She hesitated. "And you're working for Cerberus."

Jane's good mood vanished. But they had to talk about this. It was the whole reason she'd arranged this meeting. "Mom … about Cerberus."

"It's okay," Hannah said quickly. "You don't have to apologize. I'm sure that you have your reasons for doing it. I still believe in you, kiddo."

"Mom," Jane breathed, feeling the tears start up again. "I love you." She took a deep breath. "But that's not it, okay? The Illusive Man, the guy who leads Cerberus … it's Daddy."

Hannah stared at her, the color draining from her face. "Your father? Are you serious?"

Jane nodded, feeling the return of the tight knot in her stomach that came whenever she thought about her father, Jack Harper, being a ruthless terrorist.

"That's what he's been up to." Hannah's voice was flat, her eyes burning with a cold fury. Jane had never seen her mother like this before. "That's what he's been doing with himself all these years. Building up a damn pro-human terrorist organization. That bastard." She shook her head. "I knew Admiral Kahoku. He was a damn fine officer. I swore that if I ever had the chance, I'd gut the man responsible for his death. And now I come to find out it's Jack." Her fury seemed to break in an instant and she put her head on the table. "Damn him. Damn him to hell for doing this to us. For making me fucking complicit in this."

"Mom, no," Jane protested. "You had no idea. I had no idea. I've looked into his timeline." When they'd been on the Citadel, and her extranet use couldn't be tracked by anyone with Cerberus ties. Her reinstated Spectre credentials had given her the access she needed. "He didn't form Cerberus until after the divorce was finalized. After the First Contact War."

She saw Hannah let out a long breath before lifting her head back up. There were tear tracks on her mother's face, again. Jane knew that the divorce had been mutual and as painless as it was possible for these things to be. They hadn't been in love for years, but it was obvious that Hannah still cared about him.

"You're right." Hannah let out another long breath, seeming to pull herself together some. "I still feel complicit, but hopefully that will pass. I'll have to tell the Alliance about this, you know."

"I was counting on it," Jane said grimly.

"That's my girl." Hannah smiled, some of the tension leaving her body. "I just … I wish it didn't make quite so much sense. I remember some of the things he was saying in the run-up to the war. How determined he was to show that humanity couldn't be taken lightly." She sighed. "I was furious with him for getting involved with a mercenary group and bailing on you. He was supposed to be taking care of you while I was on active duty. I couldn't believe he'd abandon you, when up until that point he'd been completely devoted to you." She reached across the table and took her daughter's hands. "You were the center of his world, Jay. From the moment you were born, he wanted nothing but to protect and care for you."

Jane smiled. "I know." Her smile faded. "Which is why this … this is so hard for me to accept, Mom. He was such a good father. He always had time for me. He went out of his way to do the little things to make me feel better and show me how much he loved me. And now I find out…" She trailed off, unable to finish.

Hannah squeezed her hand and didn't let go. Eventually, Jane was able to take a deep breath, straightening herself up and looking at her mother. "What do I do, Mom?" she asked. "I have to work with him until the mission is over. I think he's right about the Collectors. I'm under no illusions that his motivations are pure, and I hate that this might be seen as giving Cerberus legitimacy, but …"

"You keep going," Hannah said gently. "It would kill both of you if you tried to back out now. You hold your ground and stick to your principles. He might try to persuade you to his way of thinking, but he won't push too hard for fear of losing you again." She straightened up and Jane saw her determination and strength returning. Jane loved her mother for that. She might have been dealt a blow by this news, but she wasn't going to let her pain consume her. Jane hoped she could be half as strong as her mother, one day. "And you push back. You're the only one that might be able to reach him. Jane, if you can show him that what he's doing is wrong…"

"I hadn't thought of that," Jane whispered. "Mom, do you really think I could?"

"Honey, if anyone could, it would be you."

Jane nodded slowly. "You … might be right. He's compromising his humans-only principles to recruit aliens to the team, and it's probably because he wants to keep me safe."

"Hm." Hannah seemed thoughtful. "Are any of your friends from two years ago among them?"

"Uh… yeah," Jane said, feeling her cheeks start to heat up.

Hannah tilted her head to the side. "What am I missing here? I just asked if your friends were back." A wicked grin crept onto her face. "Oh, I see. One of them's more than a friend, huh? Which one?"

"Mom!" The blush had spread throughout her entire body. Jane wanted to sink into the seat, maybe even let the floor swallow her up…

"Honey, I'm not your father. I'm not upset that you're involved with an alien. I just want to know who managed to capture your heart."

"So you can threaten him within an inch of his life?"

"Him. Hmm, well, that narrows it down to either the turian or the krogan."

"They have names, Mom."

"I hope it's the turian. I try to keep an open mind about these things, but …"

"Mom!"

"It's the age difference, honey. I mean, it would have been one thing if you'd been involved with that asari maiden; she's basically the same age as you, relatively speaking. But that Wrex, he's much too old for you."

"Mom!"

Hannah grinned, and Jane finally caught on to what she'd been doing. Distracting the pair of them from the awful fact that the man they both loved, in different ways, was also a terrorist. "I hate you," she mumbled.

"Took your mind off of things, didn't it?" Hannah asked, still grinning unrepentantly and confirming Jane's thoughts. "So, you finally made a move on Garrus."

"Actually, he made —" Jane stopped and stared at her mother, wide-eyed. "Wait, you knew?!"

"Well, I guessed," Hannah admitted. "You talked about him much more than the others."

"It's nice to know that I'm so transparent," Jane commented dryly.

"Only to your mother." Hannah let go of her daughter's hands so that she could lean forward on the table. "So. Am I going to get to meet him properly? The last time was under … less than ideal circumstances."

Jane winced, knowing that what her mother was referring to. The funeral, two years ago. She didn't like to think of the effect her death had had on the people she loved. "Will you ever leave me alone if you don't?"

Hannah wagged a finger at her. "You're making some very mean assumptions about your own mother."

"Some very accurate assumptions."

"Touché."

The two Shepard women grinned at each other for a few moments. "Yeah," Jane said finally. "You can meet Garrus today before you leave."