Shepard and Ashley exchanged nervous glances as they approached the vice principal's office. They had been told nothing except that their daughter had gotten into trouble, and was facing serious disciplinary action. Shepard had asked continuously over the phone about what had happened, but the only thing the vice principal would tell him was that he needed to come down to his office to discuss the incident. So there both parents were, dressed in their Alliance uniforms, no idea what to think. Ashley took a deep breath, nodded at Shepard, and he opened the door.
Maddy was sitting in a chair near the wall, head down and dark brown hair covering her face so neither of her parents could see her. Shepard did not look her way a second time, sitting in one of the two empty chairs in front of him. Ashley's gaze never left their daughter. The vice principal was a young guy, no older than his mid thirties if Shepard had to guess, very thin. He greeted them cordially, standing and shaking both parents' hands before retaking his seat. "Thank you for coming," he said, his voice gratingly high pitched. "I'm sorry I had to call you in today. Madeline got in a fight today with a boy in her class. Not that fights between children are uncommon, but the boy received a bloody nose and a black eye."
Shepard looked over at Maddy, stunned. She had never shown any violent tendencies before. What could have pushed her to do hurt someone else? "What started the fight?" Ashley asked.
"That's why I decided to call both of you before I handed down a punishment. Madeline will not tell me, and the boy is claiming she attacked him for no reason. I know that's not true, and I'm hoping your daughter will tell you why she and this boy fought."
Shepard stood and walked over to Maddy. When he placed a hand on her shoulder she only tried hard to hide her face. "Can we have a moment alone with her?" The vice principal nodded, and left the office. Ashley joined Shepard over near Maddy, who let out a lone sniffle. "If you don't say anything you will get in serious trouble," Ashley said sternly. "What did this boy say to you?"
Maddy stayed silent. Shepard could see the anger building in Ashley's eyes, and even though he knew it was not because of their daughter, that was who it would end up directed towards. "Maddy, we will have no choice but to believe that you did this for no reason if you don't tell us the truth. This is serious. Please tell us."
"I don't want to. It just makes me sad," she said quietly. "He was so mean to me."
"Tell us, Maddy," Ashley said angrily. "Tell us now what this boy said." When Maddy shook her head again, Ashley forced her head up. Maddy's eyes were red from crying, and her lip was quivering. "Maddy, tell us what he said."
"Ash, calm down," Shepard said, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Look at her. I'll tell you what, Maddy, we'll take you home for the day, and make sure your vice principal doesn't make a decision on what to do until tomorrow. You'll have all night to decided whether to tell us what happened or not. If you still haven't told us by then, we can't help you. Okay?" Maddy nodded, and Shepard left to tell the vice principal the situation.
After a very silent dinner, where Shepard had sat nervously at the dinner table watching his depressed daughter and angry wife eat in silence, Maddy retreated back to her room. She had rarely left since the moment she got home. Ashley angrily threw her dish in the sink, pacing back and forth in the kitchen. "I'm going to force her to tell me if she doesn't say anything by the morning," she hissed. "I am not letting my daughter get in trouble for hitting some kid that probably started it. Why won't she say anything? I'm going to find out who this boy is and talk to his parents."
"Ash, calm down."
"No, John! I want to know what happened!" Ashley's face was turning completely red now, and her hands were balled into fists. "That's it, I'm going to ask her again."
Shepard grabbed Ash's arm and held tight when she tried to yank it from his grasp. "Ash, you're scaring the hell out of her, stop it! I completely agree with you, I am not letting Maddy get in serious trouble if this was not her fault. But scaring her into telling us isn't going to work. We'll politely ask her again before her bedtime, if she hasn't told us by then. Whatever is bothering her, it's serious and we need to give her time to herself. It's always worked for her before, she'll decided when she's ready to tell us."
"And if she hasn't by tomorrow?" Ashley asked, slightly calmer but still fuming.
"Then we take her to school and let her face her punishment. Maybe that will scare her into saying something."
The next morning, much to Shepard's surprise, Maddy had still refused to talk. With nothing else to do, he and Ashley brought her to school to face her punishment. The vice principal agreed to meet them early in the morning, fifteen minutes before classes started. When the three of them walked into his office, a boy Maddy's age was there as well, with a woman that was presumably his mother. She was older than either Shepard or Ashley by at least a decade, and had one hand on her son's hand. When she heard the door open, she turned towards them, giving the coldest, meanest glare she could. Maddy completely avoided looking at the boy or his mother.
"Well, has Madeline given her account of what happened?" the vice principal asked.
Shepard did not miss the way the other boy tensed and looked Maddy's way. "No. I guess she's decided to accept her punishment." A brief, blink and you miss it smirk passed over the other boy's face. Shepard had to hold back the urge to yell.
The vice principal nodded. "I see. I'm sorry Madeline, but I'm forced to suspend you for two days. You will need to see your teachers and find out what lessons you will miss, and what homework you must complete. Are you sure you have nothing to say?"
Ashley could take no more. Shepard grabbed her arm gently as she stood, but she yanked it away. "You cannot possibly suspend her when something is clearly being withheld about what happened. One party is lying, and the other isn't talking. How can you punish my daughter and only my daughter for that!?"
"Because your daughter is a cruel, angry little girl," the boy's mother said. "It figures, being the daughter of two soldiers. She probably learned such behavior from you and thinks violence is okay."
Ashley turned to stare, and for a brief moment the boy's mother cowered. "Maddy, tell us what happened, now. I don't care if it's your fault, I need to know what this boy said to make you punch him."
Maddy began sniffling, staring at the ground. "I do not want to suspend her," the vice principal said. "I have no choice if she does not say anything. Lucas has given his side of the story, and if she isn't arguing it then I have no choice but to believe it."
"Maddy, tell us, now!" Ashley said as forcefully as she could manage.
"Maddy, please, say something," Shepard pleaded, rubbing his daughter's back.
"I got a C on a test and he said I was stupid. He said I don't deserve to have you two as parents, that you would be ashamed and hate me when you saw my test. When I told him to shut up, he pushed me and said I can't even defend myself even though my mom and dad were great soldiers." It all came out in one long breath, and when Maddy was done she slinked down in her chair, a few more sniffles the only sound she made.
Ashley's smirk was venomous as she turned her gaze towards the boy's mother. Shepard could not help the anger he felt either. "Is this true, Lucas?" the vice principal asked.
"I never pushed her!" the boy said. "She's lying about me pushing her!"
Shepard and Ashley both shook their heads. "Now that we know what really happened, let's decide on what the punishment should actually be," Ashley said.
"How do you know your daughter isn't lying," Lucas's mother interrupted. "You were so certain my boy was lying, I'm sure she is, too."
"We know our daughter isn't lying because we know our daughter," Shepard said. Lucas's mother stared in outrage, mouth agape.
"Madeline will still be suspended for a day," the vice principal said before the parents could recreate the fight their children had already participated in. "No matter the reason, violence cannot be tolerated. Lucas, you will have in school suspension tomorrow, and if I hear that you said such things to Madeline again I will seriously consider suspending you as well. Do both of you understand?" Both kids nodded. "Okay. Lucas, get to class. Madeline, you are suspended for the day, and I suggest you take the day to think over what you did wrong."
The car ride home was far less tense on Ashley and Shepard's part than the car ride to school had been, but Maddy was even more depressed. She was back to refusing to talk, and stared out the window. When they arrived home, she immediately made for her room, but Shepard called out to her, telling Maddy to take a seat on the couch. The two parents watched as their daughter reluctantly did as told, and joined her, sitting to either side of her. "Were you not telling us about what he said because you think that boy might be right?" Shepard asked.
Maddy's silence and body language said it all. Ashley hugged her daughter tight, furious not just with that boy but also with herself, that she had not made it clear how much she loved Maddy to the point that Maddy would never believe something like that boy told her. "Don't you ever doubt how much we love you, Maddy. Don't ever doubt it. The only disappointment I've ever felt about you is that I have not made that clear already."
"Maddy, why would you think that we are disappointed in you, or would hate you because of a C grade on a test?"
"Whenever I get a good grade on a test, my teachers say how the daughter of Commander Shepard would be so smart. I won a race during P.E., and a kid told me that it wasn't fair because of who my parents are. No one even knows my name, they call me Commander Shepard's daughter. I just want to be myself, but if I am I may not be good enough."
Ashley stood and began pacing. "This isn't right, John. We need to go talk to all of her teachers. Christ, Maddy, you are 8 years old, and adults are talking to you like this? This is outrageous!"
"What if I don't want to be a soldier, mommy? What if I don't be what you want me to be? Would you and daddy be disappointed?"
"Absolutely not, sweetheart," Shepard assured, with all the conviction he used to talk down politicians and inspire his troops. "You be whatever you want, as long as you are living a good life and you are happy. If anyone has a problem with that, ignore them. We will be talking to your teachers tomorrow and telling them to stop saying such things to you."
A small twist of the mouth upward told Maddy's parents that she was beginning to feel better. "You mean it? You are proud of me, and will be proud of me even if I get some bad grades sometimes or be what you and daddy were?"
"To hell with anyone that tells you otherwise, Maddy," Ashley said, causing the little girl to giggle at her mother's bad language. "You just keep being you. Your dad and I would have to be the worst parents in the world to not be happy with you."
Maddy smiled widely, all the depression in her face gone. "Thank you, mommy, thank you daddy," she said, stretching her arms wide to hug both at the same time. "I'll apologize to Lucas when I go back to school tomorrow. I shouldn't have hit him."
"That's my girl," Ashley said. Maddy left for her room again, but this time with a skip in her step. When she was gone, Ashley turned to Shepard and said, "I wish I could tell her not to apologize. That little brat deserved to be punched. Not sure who she learned that it is wrong from."
Shepard chuckled lowly, pulling Ashley onto his lap. "Our little girl is pretty great. We have to watch her a little more from now on though. That stubborn, fiery streak is starting to show itself."
"Thanks for coming, Shepard," Hackett said. "You too, Ashley." Despite a lifetime of almost never using the first names of anyone that was a fellow Alliance soldier, the Admiral had been forced to adjust and do so with the Ashley and Shepard. Besides having the same last name, they were also the same rank now, so he couldn't separate them that way either.
"Of course, sir," both Shepards said.
"I do not know if you have heard, but this year Councilor Xavier will be resigning from his position due to health reasons," Hackett began. Shepard had heard the rumors of Xavier's declining health over the past few months, but was not sure of their truth. "There are multiple candidates that the Alliance government have in mind, but one in particular that has the most support. I'm sure you can guess who that is."
Ashley stood up, defiance in her glare. "Absolutely not." She turned her fiery glare towards Shepard. "Skipper, you know he's about to offer the job to you, and you can't do it."
"Commander, the Alliance is trying their best to leave him no choice," Hackett said. "They are considering using the press to pressure Shepard into taking the position, and if he does not will likely give him an honorable discharge from service. Basically, if he does not become the new human representative on the Council, he is going to have to retire."
Shepard felt the blood that heated his neck and face in anger, but it was Ashley again that spoke. "That is bullshit, sir!" she shouted. "John's given you everything, given the Alliance everything! How can they even think about doing something like that?"
Shepard grabbed his wife's arm gently, giving her a look that asked her to calm down. Even two or three years ago that look would not have worked, but Ashley took a deep breath and sat down. Her breathing was heavy, loud, furious. Her eyes were smoldering. "They would really try to force me out?" Shepard asked. "Have I lost all my influence and respect so quickly?"
"It has been nearly a decade since we defeated the Reapers, Shepard. Politicians have short memories, and they are only grateful for as long as it is politically useful." Hacket leaned back. "It is bullshit, I can't disagree. But it's reality. If you have no interest in the position, you can fight it when they try to force you out. You'll have my backing, along with most the soldiers who do the Alliance's fighting. I can't guarantee we will be successful, but if you want to fight, you will not be alone. My ship will be docked here until tomorrow evening, you have until then to think this over."
Both Shepards stood and saluted, walking out silently.
Ashley shook with rage the entire ride home, Shepard merely had the same thoughtful, betrayed expression that had come on his face when Hackett first told him the Alliance government's plan. Not even the sight of their daughter running around the front yard of their home with her Aunt Lynn, and Lynn's son and daughter. Nicholas and Trudy were Maddy's best friends, as Lynn lived a block away, and brought her children over often. Despite the unhappy feelings dominating their moods, both Ashley and Shepard forced smiles as they exited the car and Lynn walked over to welcome them home.
"You can't do it, John," Ashley said later that night, when they finally decided to discuss what Hackett had told them. "If we have to fight, we have to fight. They won't get away with this."
"Ash, I'm sick of fighting." Shepard buried his head in his hands. "I don't want to fight anymore. Damn it, I've given them everything a man could reasonably give, and its still not enough. I cannot believe this is happening."
"If your choices are fighting or taking the Council position, then you are fighting," Ashley insisted. "What else are you going to do? Don't tell me you are actually considering becoming a Councilor?"
Shepard looked up at his wife, and grabbed her hand so he could pull her to sit on the bed with him. "I'm thinking of just retiring. I've done enough for a lifetime, and I'm done being a soldier. I just want to be a father and husband."
Ashley cupped his face with both hands, studying him. "John, you better be sure about this. I can't imagine you giving up and letting them win."
"I'm not. They want me to be a Councilor. They think I care more about being out in the galaxy making a difference than I do about my family. Screw them all. Little do they know, Wrex will still refuse to talk to any of them. The quarians and geth will still want my input. You will still be getting ideas from me to tell others. They can force me out, but they will never make everyone that cares about me forget who I am."
Ashley squeezed Shepard's hand, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "If you are really ready to do this, I will support you all the way. But do me a favor and sleep on it. If you still feel this way tomorrow, then no complaints here. Okay?"
Shepard nodded, and the two shared a kiss. "Time for dinner. I'm sure Maddy is hungry. I won't have time to grill, how about ordering out?"
Hackett was stunned by what Shepard had just said, much as he tried to hide it. "Shepard, this is what they want. If you go down without a fight, they will win."
Shepard smiled faintly. "They can believe they won all they want. I know I have won. I won nine years ago after the Crucible fired. I won when Ashley married me. I won when my daughter Madeline was born. I'm done fighting, Admiral. I'm just done."
Hackett opened his mouth, but for the first time, Shepard saw the Admiral rendered speechless. "You are a great, great soldier John. The best I ever had the privilege of seeing. If this is really your choice, then I will respect it." Hackett stood, and offered his hand. "It's been one of the great honors of my life to have served as your commanding officer, Shepard."
Shepard grasped the Admiral's hand, and the two exchanged a firm, respectful handshake. "The honor was mine, Admiral."
