Innocent Smiles IV

Shepard decided that Karin may have had a point when she said this job was exhausting. So far there were fourteen kids in the Daycare, Pasca, Opus, and Jex included.

So far, there were two humans, twin boys named Felix and Farrow; four more turians, one girl, Lorene; and three boys, Julios, Gyan, and Kato; a female Drell, Vela; and three salarian boys, Gars, Hewitt, and Queli.

Shepard was rushed off her feet trying to get the right snacks to the right children. It was hard to tell the difference between amino, dextro, and any other food types. So far there weren't too many issues, but Shepard would admit there were some kids she favored over others.

Shepard really liked Pasca, the little turian girl she'd met early in the morning. She was quiet and sweet.

Felix and Farrow were rowdy, like most human boys, but they also seemed to have a sort of 'playground crush' on Pasca and Delia respectively. Delia was not here today, but when she asked Oliver who she was he laughed and said she was an asari.

Julios and Kato were brothers. While Julios was bossy Kato was rather peaceful and was a fan of everyone. He was quick to offer a hug to anyone who was upset. And since the salarian boy, Hewitt, was scared of his own shadow Kato was often next to him. Apparently the children just didn't care about dextro and amino whatsoever.

Lorene was the first person Shepard was skeptical of. It was obvious the turian girl had a superiority complex and was often found bossing around Gyan, the last of the boy turians to arrive that day. Shepard often saw Gyan trying to go and play with Vela, the Drell, when Lorene wasn't watching. It was obvious that Gyan desperately wanted Vela as a friend but was too scared of Lorene to go and say anything beyond hello.

Gars and Queli weren't brothers but they were close. Both were troublemakers and had already doused Shepard with bowls filled with water from the fountain…twice…

Not only that but they also seemed to be close with Jex.

However the two salarians were just so loveable to scold for more than a few seconds.

Thank god it was snack time, so all the kids were eating…

All except for one apparently…

"So he didn't join the others again…" Karin murmured.

"Who?" Carina asked.

"Sian…" Karin sighed and a small frown flickered on her lips.

"Sian, I don't think I've met him." Shepard replied.

"I'm not surprised…Sian is a Vorcha…" Karin whispered.

Carina was shocked and now a little uncomfortable. Sure she had shot turians during her time on the Normandy, but she knew it was their choice and not all were like that. Garrus was a fine example of such. But Vorcha, Shepard would admit she never thought twice when shooting a Vorcha.

She wasn't aware that they weren't all bloodthirsty.

"Sian isn't…he's not very good around other people. The other children won't give him a chance. They think he's too scary. Some kids even bully him or run away. He hides from everyone…" Karin shared softly.

"He never comes out?" Shepard asked.

"Well, right about now he'd be with Opus." Karin said thoughtfully.

"Opus, why him?" she asked.

"Opus is usually restricted to a tank as he can't be out of water for too long. Sian believes he's safe to be around." Karin told her.

"Can't we do something to help him?" Shepard asked.

Karin shook her head. "I don't think so; Sian isn't too keen on meeting new people." Karin replied.

"Oh, can I try?" Shepard asked anyway.

Karin gave Carina a strange look. "Why are you so adamant about this?" Karin asked suspiciously.

Reaching into her back pocket, Shepard produced a photo of her, Thane, and Kolyat. They were all in a desert and laughing at Carina. The wind had been causing problems for her all day that time.

"See the blue Drell in the middle? That's my son Kolyat." Carina smiled, "Before Thane and I got together the boy didn't get to see much of his father. Then his mother died and he had to stay with relatives. He didn't have a lot of friends…" Carina pocketed the photo, "I want to prevent that if the opportunity arises."

Karin smiled at the woman. She wasn't so bad.

"Well, I'll see what I can do." Karin replied.

~o~ After Work ~o~

By the time Shepard made it to the couch she was ready to curl up in a fetal position and conk out for a good nine hours. Kids were so exhausting.

"Hey Shepard, thanks for leaving breakfast out this morning!" Kolyat called out loudly as he walked in the door.

Shepard moaned from the volume of her step-son's voice. Kolyat walked into the living room after getting a snack and gaped at the sight of his step-mother. "Jeeze Shepard, you look like s-I mean…you don't look so good." He corrected his slip up.

Shepard glared at Kolyat. "I didn't need to know that after today." She growled.

Kolyat shrugged and plopped down on the couch near Shepard and turned on the Galactic News. Shepard growled in annoyance.

"You have a vid-screen in your room. Must you use the one out here?" she griped.

Kolyat gave a shrug. "I thought you'd want to see this." He muttered.

"What?" she asked.

The wide vid-screen was panning in on the Daycare. A woman appeared in front of the camera and began to talk and gesture to the building.

"Turn up the sound Kolyat."

"Sure thing," he nodded.

*All of us Citadel Citizens know of the reliable Daycare we all send our children to, right? However, just how reliable is this 'special care-giving facility'. You may be shocked by what we reveal to you in this Breaking Galactic News Report!*

"I hate that woman." Carina muttered.

"Dad said you've punched her before." Kolyat commented.

"Twice, I punched her twice." She corrected.

"Why?"

"I don't like her. She's a bold-faced liar."

*In light of new evidence, we've heard rumor of a VORCHA CHILD attending the Daycare! A VORCHA among our civilized children! WILL WE STAND FOR THIS?! Oh-.*

"I don't like her." Kolyat said simply.

"Yeah, I don't doubt that." Shepard sighed.

*Well, um, this just in…it seems that Carina Shepard herself is now working at the Daycare…*

She paused and cleared her throat.

*What that means for the Daycare, I am not sure…But, here's the weather.*

"Huh, wonder what her rush is…" Shepard mused aloud.

Kolyat shrugged and leaned back on the couch. "Did you visit your father today?" she asked.

"No…" he sighed and sat up straight again.

"You need to Kolyat," Shepard scolded, "If you can't visit him at least call him…"

"I know…I just…" he sighed. "The fact that there is a cure is great and all but…sometimes it still feels like dad still has the sickness. It was hard enough to see him before that and he doesn't look any better; even though he's supposed to be recovering."

"Kolyat…" Shepard whispered and put a hand on his shoulder.

Kolyat shrugged her hand off and she gripped his sides. "Kolyat," she said sternly before softening a bit, "Let's go see him together okay?"

"…Okay." He nodded a faint smile on his lips.

~o~

Oh I just want to hug all of you! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'll address you all here.

Guest: Okay then, you're really adamant about her being all rich aren't you? Well, aside from that, she doesn't have time. She has to work to pay the bills. She doesn't have the time to go scanning for resources and selling them. And if all else, I just don't want Shepard to be rich. To me that doesn't seem logical to the storyline. So, author's preference…? Thanks for the review.

Embrium: Thank you so much! That really made my day! I'm glad I succeeded in putting some cute moments out there. I like to humor people and make them smile if I can. Thank you for taking the time to review!

Orchidellia: I'm glad you think so! Depressing stories huh…yeah I can see hoe that's happened. But I like to write about good things instead of sad. Making someone smile is something I like to do. I'll make sure to get more chapters out; thanks for taking the time to review!

A Person: That username made me smile. You separate yourself from the other guests at least! Glad you love it, I'll post more soon! Thanks for the review!

Ciao for now,

Songbird 0.o