Chapter VII

Two weeks later

Elysium

Jimmy Nichols stares up at the Shepard statue at Shepard Memorial Plaza. He plays with a few strands of hair from his beard. He's been walking around downtown Illyria for the past few hours. Things have changed so much since he was here last, but then everything else in the galaxy has changed too. Including Jimmy. All the documents Corressa created for him have worked without question. He's been to several colonies doing things for Jax, not one question asked when they scan his ID.

He can't go to places like the Citadel and he has no plans on going there or Earth. Being in Alliance space is risky enough. He doesn't need to increase the risk factor anymore than necessary. Once he's done with T'Soni, he's headed back to Omega to work for Corressa. She's promised him a job if he returns. She gave him enough credits to do what he needs to do then return to Omega. Which is his plan. He plans on staying away from Council or Alliance space once he leaves Elysium. If he leaves. Deep down, he knows he may never leave Elysium alive. If he takes T'Soni out with him, he will have fulfilled his mission. Twenty years later.

A satisfying grin appears on Jimmy's face as he walks away from the statue. He is still trying to formulate the perfect plan to get at T'Soni. Walking up to her and shooting her will do in a pinch, but he wants to inflict some personal pain. With her having a family, it makes inflicting that pain easier. But who to use? All he wanted was to kill T'Soni and go back to Omega to tell Sederis the job is done and hopefully receive a bonus. No, things didn't work out that way.

This time, he's working solo. His biggest mistake was allowing his cousin and her lover to dictate terms when it came to their friend, Dr. Mitchell. No one is going to dictate to him any terms on how he deals with the couple. After talking about why he still wants to kill Kaja T'Soni, he realized part of why he got caught was because of Dr. Mitchell. 'No harm to Cass.' That is what they both said. Well, this time, he isn't making any promises to not harm anyone related to T'Soni. The kids are easy targets, but they're kids and he really doesn't want to deal with them. The asari daughter is older, but again, she's a kid. Because she is in her forties, he might use her too.

Jimmy walks back to the dank room he is renting in the low rent area. He picks up a few things to eat and a six-pack at a corner market two building down from the room his is renting. He sets the food on the counter, puts five beers in the small refrigerator, then opens and sips on the sixth. Grabbing the tuna sandwich, Jimmy sits at the small square table next to the wall. The two chairs are attached to the floor, but they do swivel. Or one chair does, the other is stuck in an awkward angle and is nearly impossible to use. He doesn't plan on having anyone over and only needs the one chair. The room is cheap and has what he needs. Bed, toilet, shower, and a refrigerator to store his beer and some food.

While at the market he also picked up a GUI map of Illyria. Jimmy's been in the colony for about thrity-six hours and already knows which schools T'Soni's kids attend. The asari daughter attends a private asari school, which is located closer to the history museum then their neighborhood. Which is where the boy's school is located. Jimmy highlights each building, including the T'Soni/Mitchell house. He also highlights Dr. T'Soni's house. That house is off-limits.

He grumbles when he realizes how close mother and daughter live to each other. That puts a minor kink in his plans. Sederis told him twenty years ago to give Dr. T'Soni a wide berth and he'll continue to do so. Looking at the map, he thinks his best place to nab either Dr. Mitchell or the asari daughter is when the daughter is either being picked up or dropped off at school. Jimmy drinks his beer while studying the map. He clicks on the asari school and a small pop-up window appears with basic details about the school. Drinking more from his beer, Jimmy wipes his face and thinks maybe he should see who picks the daughter up from school or does she drive herself.

Jimmy notices at the bottom of the info section, the school term ends on Thursday next week. If he's going to use the school as bait, he has to set his plan into motion next week. He looks at the info again looking at times. He looks at the clock on his omni-tool. Jimmy has thirty minutes before the school day is over. He downs the last of his beer, tosses the empty bottle in the trash, then gets in his rented skycar. Heading towards the school, Jimmy notices an abandoned building a few blocks from the room he is renting. He makes a mental note to look at it later.

The fugitive parks his car across the street and a few blocks away from the school. He puts on a fedora hat and sunglasses. Jimmy does his best to look like a tourist out for a walk. A block from the school is a small park and next to the park is Illyria's biggest cathedral. Jimmy walks through the park, looking up at the bell tower on the cathedral's highest peak. Too bad he doesn't have access to a sniper rifle, he could pick off several people from atop that bell tower. He shakes his head at the thought. As fun as that sounds, he's not there to do something irrational like Charles Whitman did back in the 20th Century.

There is a bench next to a flower bed which faces the street with a perfect view of the school. Jimmy sits on the bench, watching casually the school's front entrance. There is one thing he notices as observes the school, security guards. Crap! Of course it has security. It's a private school. The museum has security too. Think, Jimmy, think. It's possible. You broke out of prison, you can do this. He gets off the bench, walks across the street then heads towards the school.

One guard has Jimmy's build and he wants to take a closer look to see if he can pass for the guard. He stops to tie his shoe or pretend to when he see who he thinks is Karrera Tradere. He fiddles with his lace long enough for the youth to notice him, he follows her. Jimmy accidentally on purpose trips into the guard who has his build when he sees a human who looks like an older Dr. Mitchell talking to the asari he was following. The guard is older like Jimmy which makes taking his place a little easier. Jimmy swipes his omni-tool over the guard's ID to get the information from it. It takes Jimmy less than ten seconds to get what he needs and the guard never noticed the glow from Jimmy's omni-tool.

The escaped convict continues to walk away from the school. He leaves his car parked for the time being and walks around the corner, so he can watch the school. As Cass and Karrera get into Cass' skycar, Jimmy makes a note of the make and model of the car. Once, Dr. Mitchell drives away, Jimmy crosses the street and gets into his own car and heads back to his room to make more plans on how to proceed forward. Does he want to deal with Dr. Mitchell and the asari or just Dr. Mitchell. Less is more. Or so Jimmy thinks. Fewer people involved makes it easier for Jimmy to come out ahead.

He turns the skycar around and heads to the museum instead. He wants to see what the security looks like in the parking lot. Now he knows what car Cass drives, he is sure he can pick it out in the museum's parking lot. The car does have a dent on the rear bumper. Jimmy parks his car in the visitor area and walks around the building to the side where the employee lot is located. He sees two, no three cameras, but no guards outside. He hopes they are only located inside the building and don't patrol the parking lot. He is sure that is what the cameras are for and only one person inside watching the monitors. If they are actually paying close attention to everything.

It's been in Jimmy's experience, not every security guard takes their job serious enough to pay attention every second they are working. The guards at the prison did, but underpaid private security guards do not. Nichols hopes this is still the case. Galactic views and technology may change over time, but people's behaviors usually don't changed that much. He's hedging his bets this is the case with the museum security.

He decides to look around the museum. He is a tourist after all. Jimmy stops to look at the pictures of the museum's board of directors and the curator, Dr. Mitchell. A grin appears on his face as he walks to the cashier to pay the fee and walk around the museum. Cass' picture on the wall confirms what Jimmy thought. The asari was T'Soni's daughter and the human with graying hair who picked the asari up was Dr. Mitchell. He spends about two hours in the museum, long enough for him to see Cass return from picking Karrera up from school. He wonders if she does that every day or just today. Time will tell and he has plenty of it. As long as he doesn't cause problems or gets either finger printed or retinal scanned.

Dr. Mitchell exits the employee area talking to the volus, Dr. Fawe, about the newest artifacts she wants to go over and the shipment is expected first thing in the morning. Jimmy grins at the exhibit he is looking at or he hopes that is what others around him to think he is smiling at the exhibit, but he is really grinning because tomorrow is a golden opportunity to see how tight the security is. He might have to try the diner across the street to have breakfast tomorrow morning. He has heard the diner has excellent food and is open early and stays open late.

Jimmy leaves the museum, heading to check out the abandoned building he saw earlier. He is looking for a place to set-up an ambush for T'Soni. Abandoned buildings work great for that. Especially factories or warehouses. They usually have lots of space and plenty of places to hide or lay down traps. He parks his car around the corner from the building. The windows are either boarded up or broken and some are both. A side door is slightly ajar, so Jimmy pushes the door open enough for him to squeeze through. Turning on the light from his omni-tool, Nichols shines it in the corners. A few rodents scatter when the light shines on them. There is rodent droppings everywhere and the building stinks like dead animals.

Walking around the building, he pushes on the floor with the heel of his boot to make sure they're solid. Last thing he needs is for the floor to give way under him. The building works in a pinch, but he hears too much foot traffic outside for this to be an ideal location to set-up any type of ambush. He hears a few kids outside daring each other to enter the building. Jimmy smiles when he hears them. It's something he would have done as a kid and it doesn't surprise him any, kids today still do dumb stuff. Like go into abandoned buildings.

He thinks as he heads back to his rented skycar, maybe he should start looking outside the city limits for a hideout. The neighborhood the T'Soni's live in is barely within the city limits. Maybe a trek through the mountains is in order, after he watches the museum in the morning. The more he looks around and thinks about how is wants to do things, the more he thinks his best place to grab Cass is at her work. Trying to take the asari daughter at her school poses a risk. Doing anything near their neighborhood poses a bigger risk.

Risks are something Jimmy wants to keep to a minimum. The escaped convict does try to learn from his mistakes. He enters his room, turns on the lone light, grabs a beer and the beef jerky imported from Earth. He sits at the table, turns the GUI map back on, and spends his night studying the map and making his plans for kidnapping Cass and how he will lure her asari wife out into the open. She's a member of the local PD, so she will have backup with her. He takes that into account when he starts making his final plans. This weekend he will spend time doing more recon and locating a secure place to stash Dr. Mitchell.

Citadel

Dr. Olivia T'Soni leaves work early to try and surprise Tracy at her apartment. Liv is trying her hardest to do what Kaja advised her to do, work less. It's been easier to leave work at a normal hour since a salvage vessel turned over Derk and Ian's body almost two weeks ago. Some of the stolen equipment has also turned up on the black market. Too bad all SecureTech equipment is encrypted and unusable with other devices or software. Anyone getting anything with the ST logo gets unusable equipment. That was something Breia thought of shortly after SecureTech got more than three contracts. It has worked to perfection over the past century.

Liv stops by a florist to pick up a mixed-bouquet of lilies and tulips. The salmon/green tulips are ugly in Liv's eyes, but Tracy finds them attractive. That is what matters, what Tracy thinks. The computer tech never fully understood exactly how selfish she's been with Tracy or anyone else until she started putting Tracy's needs before her own. She's done a lot of soul-searching since Kaja and Cass came for their surprise visit. She doesn't like what she sees in herself, but she is determined to change. She's doing it for Tracy, but she's doing it mostly for herself. So she can stand to look at herself in the mirror.

As she walks up to Tracy's building, Tracy is standing near the entrance, talking to a human male. Liv has never seen him before, but that doesn't surprise the asari any. She is sure there are many people Tracy knows that she does not. Tracy doesn't look happy and neither does the guy Tracy is talking to. Her arms are animated as is her body language. Liv stops a few meters from the two arguing and just listens. So far, neither has noticed her presence.

"Look, Ray, I told you this the last time you showed up. I'm not going out with you. And I'm not sleeping with you," says Tracy with major annoyance in her tone.

Liv doesn't like what she is hearing, but remains silent. She takes a few steps backwards and puts more distance between her and Tracy.

Ray gives Tracy a hurt look, "Oh, come on, Tracy. You always enjoyed my company before. What changed?"

Tracy shakes her head at Ray. She looks to her left and sees Liv standing there with a bouquet of her favorite flowers and makes eye contact with Liv. "I enjoyed your company a year ago, Ray. Then you cheated on me with your ex. I told you back then to take a hike. I'm not going to be used like that. I told you this a few months ago too. Get the hell away from me, Ray. I don't have time for the likes of you." She puts her finger in his face, but doesn't touch him.

He slaps her hand away from his face. "You don't have time for me, but I bet you have time for that asari over there." Ray points to Liv. "Don't ya?"

Seeing Ray raise his hand to knock Tracy's hand away from his face, Liv moves several steps closer, positions her body in a defensive position, flares her biotics, but doesn't say anything. She just keeps her eyes on Ray.

Tracy doesn't respond to Ray's question, but she did notice Liv's reaction to him slapping her hand away. She turns her back to him and walks into her apartment building. Ray glares at Olivia, mumbling something about how the asari always get the good ones then he walks away. Liv waits until Ray leaves the area before the blue aura around her dies down then she enters the building. Tracy stands at the entrance watching Ray to see if he does or says something to Olivia. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Liv."

Handing the bouquet to Tracy, Liv stammers, "Ah...hmm...I got these for you. If I remember correctly, these are your favorite flowers." Liv stands there with an uneasy look on her face. She feels like she should have left and not listened to Tracy and Ray's chat. She feels worse knowing Tracy's been used by others too.

"Thank you, Liv. Are you coming up or are you just going to stand there? Ray is an ass and I can't believe he just showed up like that when I've told him repeatedly, I don't want to see him," says Tracy as she sniffs a tulip.

Liv follows Tracy to her apartment. "Tracy, let me ask you this. Why is it okay for you to wait for me outside my office, but it's not okay for Ray to show up at your apartment? What's the difference?"

Tracy puts the flowers into a vase and puts water in it then sets the vase on the coffee table. "The difference is, you never told me to stop contacting you. You just stopped returning my calls, so I stopped calling. He knows I don't want to see him and he still shows up. See the difference?"

"I suppose. Tracy, do you feel like going out and doing something tonight?" asks Liv.

"No, Liv, I don't feeling like going out." Tracy smiles at Liv. "I would love for you to stay though. I'll cook us dinner."

Liv's mind processes the events slowly. She's unsure what to do next. Unsure what to feel. After hearing Tracy tell Ray off, Liv is more confused to why Tracy still cares about her. She's treated Tracy no better than Ray has. "Ah, okay, maybe I should go home. Suddenly, I'm getting very confused and I need time to figure out why."

Tracy covers her mouth when it dawns on her why Liv is confused. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry." She moves closer to the asari, hugs her tight, them cups Liv's cheeks with her hands. "I love you, Olivia. I've already forgiven you. Plus, you're trying to make amends. I can't ask for more." She places a soft kiss on Liv's cheek then whispers, "You never cheated on me."

A faint smile appears on the asari's face. "No, I've never cheated on anyone. I wouldn't do that, but I did use you for my own desires. I don't see how I'm any better than Ray."

Liv has a point and Tracy knows it. Tracy needs to phrase her response in a positive way because she senses she's about to lose Liv to the asari's own guilt. If that happens, she may never get Liv back again. "Okay, answer me this." Tracy hopes this doesn't cause Liv to panic and leave, but she's going to ask her question anyway. "Did you come over to just have sex with me? I know that is all Ray wanted."

Shaking her head, Liv answers, "No. I wanted to surprise you by leaving work early and seeing if you wanted to go out and do something. I'm trying to be a better girlfriend."

"I know you are, Liv, and that is why you're better than Ray. Plus you brought me flowers." Tracy places a soft kiss on Liv's lips. "Liv, you've been great these past few weeks. I can't ask for more." She runs her fingers over Liv's cheek then pulls the asari close.

Olivia wraps her arms around Tracy's neck. "I'm sorry." She buries her face in Tracy's shoulder and starts crying.

Tracy holds Liv tighter, but doesn't say anything. She wishes Liv hadn't heard what she said to Ray. Ray needed to hear it, but Liv didn't. Her left hand rubs on Liv's back, trying to comfort the asari. "You didn't need to hear what I said to him. For that, I'm sorry."

Liv pushes back from the embrace, she looks into Tracy's eyes. She's unsure what to say, unsure what her feelings are anymore. All Olivia's feelings are mixing, intertwining together, and slowly turning into something too big for her to handle on her own. The bad press caused by the prison break is calming down. SecureTech isn't in the news as much, but Liv is still worried when it comes to losing the contracts she wants to keep. A few contracts they are going to let expire and not renew, but SecureTech's major clients are the different Council agencies. Liv doesn't want to lose those contracts.

The asari is still worried for her sister, Kaja and her family. There hasn't been any sign of the escaped convict and the longer he's on the loose, the harder it is on the authorities to find him. She still feels she made a mistake when keeping Ian as an employee, but hindsight is always twenty/twenty. Liv gives Tracy grin, still unsure what to say. It is bothering her that Tracy's been used by someone else and is confused on why. She wants to continue to try to fix things between them and at the same time, she wants to run away and dive back into work.

For the first time in Olivia's young asari life, she is facing adversity and she's realizing, she isn't handling it very well. Liv sits in a chair, leans forward with her elbows on her thighs and her hands clasped together. She looks at Tracy, who sits close to Liv on the couch. "There's no need for you to be sorry. I feel like I'm going to explode emotionally, Tracy." She reaches out and puts her hand on Tracy's. "I'm still worried about my company. I'm very worried about my sister and her family. Until they find him, I'm going to worry about them. I thought everything was going good in my life. Then in an instant, everything changed. I'm not handling things very well."

Tracy squeezes her hand to let Liv know she's listening and everything is okay. A slight smile appears on the computer expert's face. "I shouldn't ask, but I'm going to anyway. I want to head back to my apartment, so I can contact someone I can talk to about things. I feel the sooner I do this, the better. Let me make us dinner and you stop by my apartment in a couple of hours? That will give me time to pick something up for me to make."

"Only if I can watch you actually cook and not pick up take out food," jokes Tracy.

"Hey, now, I only did that once. You've seen me cook before," remarks Liv with a little jest in her tone. This is why she likes Tracy so much. Tracy has a quirky way to lighten things at times and this is one of those times.

"I've seen you boil a pot full of water dry," jokes Tracy. She leans closer to caress Liv's cheek.

Liv rolls her eyes at Tracy's comment. "Yea and why was I distracted when I let the pot boil dry?

The human puts a finger to her lips to think about the question posed to her. "Oh, I remember now. Yea, yea. I distracted you. It's all my fault," says Tracy as she gestures with her right hand. "Are you okay, Liv?" asks Tracy in a serious tone.

Liv stand up then pulls Tracy close for a tight hug. "I hope so. I'm trying the best I can, but I need more help. Do you want anything in particular?"

Shaking her head, Tracy answers, "Nope. What ever you feel like cooking, Liv, is fine with me."

Liv gives Tracy a soft kiss on the cheek then leaves for the market to pick up a few items to make a simple dinner for her and Tracy before heading back to her apartment. She thinks as she leaves the building how much she cares about Tracy and what that all means. Computers and math logic are easy for the youngest T'Soni. Figuring out her feelings for the human is becoming more complicated. She really does want to continue to try to salvage things with Tracy, but at the same time she wants to run away. Running away isn't something they do in Liv's family and she knows it. They face their problems head-on and deal with them.

Elysium

Kaja cleans up the kitchen after dinner. Eric sits on the counter next to his momma, putting away the plates and glasses after she dries them off. Helping with the dishes is a chore the boys rotate with Karrera. They also have other chores like dusting and cleaning their bedroom on the weekends. They usually do the not-fun family things on Sunday as the boys call it. Dusting and cleaning their room are not fun. Derek doesn't see the point to putting their toys in a big box once a week to make their room look neat when all he and his brother are going to do is get the toys from the box and play with them again.

They're not allowed to keep toys lying around the house. When they're done playing with them, they have to return the toys to their bedroom. That way no one is stepping on something in the middle of the night. The toys don't always get picked up like their suppose to and either Kaja or Cass kick something early in the morning before the kids are awake. They usually pick the toy up and put it the boy's room and never say anything to them about it. The boys do try to keep the toys in their room and not in the living room.

Derek sits at the kitchen table, drawing a picture of his momma in her police uniform. "Momma, you're not catching the bad guys anymore, are you?" asks the older twin. He stops drawing to look at Kaja.

"No, I'm not. I'm teaching others to catch the bad guys. Is that good enough, Derek?" asks Kaja as she hands Eric the last plate for him to put in the cabinet. She gives her son a kiss before he jumps down.

Eric walks past Derek, smacks his arm, and says, "You're it." He quickly leaves the kitchen, heading to their bedroom.

Derek moves his jaw to the right, giving him a weird look on his face. One that looks like he is deep in thought. "I guess so, but don't you want to catch the bad guys?"

Questions, the kids are always asking them. Why this? Why that? More times than not, Kaja or Cass have the answers they are looking for. Some questions have no clear answers and those are what being part of the galaxy is all about. Or what Kaja tries to tell the boys if she doesn't have the answer to curb their curiosity. The vague answers don't always work when they are wanting a cut and dry type answer. Kaja sits at the table across from Derek. "That's a very good picture, Derek. To answer your question. Yes, I want to catch the bad guys, but I also want to be home more. So, I can spend more time with your mom, your sister, your brother, and oh yea." She playfully pokes Derek in the stomach, "You."

Derek giggles when he gets poked. "I like you being home, momma." He leaves the finished picture on the table, hugs his momma, then heads to his bedroom to play with Eric.

Kaja picks up Derek's drawing for a closer look. It says 'Momma' across the top and poorly drawn asari with a cop uniform on. A bright yellow badge on the left side and he even has the three stripes on the upper sleeves just like Kaja's uniform. The only thing missing is her pistol on her hip. She gets up to put the drawing with Derek's other drawings on the refrigerator.

Cass walks in the kitchen to see her bondmate with the new drawing. "Derek draw another picture?"

"Yes, he did," replies Kaja. She hands the drawing to Cass.

Looking at Derek's drawing, Cass smiles then places it on the refrigerator. "He does like to draw and most of his drawing are of you." She kisses Kaja's cheek then hugs her wife.

Kaja returns Cass' hugs then leaves her arm around Cass' waist. "I know he loves drawing me and I think that's neat. He asked me if I don't want to catch the bad guys. I think me teaching instead of being on the streets is a little disappointing to Derek."

"He likes you being home more. I know that much and so do I," replies Cass before she kisses Kaja. "I called your mom about watching the kids tomorrow. She suggests we drop them off tonight, so we don't have to deal with them in the morning."

"I like her suggestion." Kaja kisses Cass. "It will give us a little alone time," a cheesy grin appears on the asari's face.

Cass playfully slaps Kaja's upper arm, "You have a dirty mind and I love you for it. I'm going to get the boys ready to take them to your mom's house and you can tell Karrera."

"Sounds like a plan." Kaja playfully slaps Cass' ass before she goes to find Karrera, so she can let her know she is spending the night at her grandmother's house.

Karrera sits at her desk, studying for her finals next week. Kaja knocks on the door before entering her daughter's room. "Hey, what are you working on?"

"I'm studying for my finals next week. Need something, dad?" inquires Karrera as she turns her attention away from her studies to give her father her full attention.

Kaja sits on Karrera's bed. "Yes, I do. You and your brothers are spending the night at your grandmother's house because Cass and I both have to work tomorrow."

Karrera gets up to shut her bedroom door then sits back at her desk. She moves her chair so she can face her father, "If I'm old enough to stay home by myself, why do I have to spend so much time with grandma these past few weeks. Don't you trust me, dad?"

Kaja leans forward and puts her hand on Karrera's thigh. "Yes, Karrera, I trust you, but this has nothing to do with trust. I trust you to watch your brothers like you did until a few weeks ago, but you know the situation has changed and Cass and I both need to know you and your brothers are safe. I trust you, Karrera, please don't think I don't."

"If you trust me then please explain to me what happened twenty years ago. I've asked and all I get is vague answers. I need to know. Why is Cass so afraid? She's calmer now than she was two weeks ago, but she's still afraid, dad. I can sense it."

Sighing softly, Kaja thinks about how does Karrera need to know. Her daughter is smart, observant, and the vague answers are no longer working. The Jimmy situation has forced Kaja to do the one thing she never wanted to do. Hide things from her children, like her parents did at times when she was growing up. "I'm not sure where to begin. I came home on shore leave. I went to the amusement par and that is where I met Cass. I rented a small apartment down the street from Cass' apartment instead of staying at your grandmother's house for the two months I was on leave. One night, I was walking Cass back to her apartment from mine when we got ambushed."

Kaja stops talking to see Karrera's reaction. The youth is listening carefully, so Kaja continues, "One was Cass' friend. She's the one who shot me. Cass' friend was helping her cousin to kill me." Kaja pauses again so she can watch her daughter's reaction.

Karrera shows a little shock, but doesn't seem unsettled by it. "I don't understand. Why would Cass' friend want to hurt you? And what did you do that made him want to kill you?" She is not surprised if some criminal wants to hurt her father. After all she is a police officer and puts the criminals behind bars.

Kaja rubs the dimple between her lower lip and chin, thinking how to explain why Cass' friends tried to kidnap her. "Well, the one who shot me, did it so she could join Eclipse. The reason Jimmy wanted me dead is because Jimmy's boss was someone I got kicked out of the asari military, so she held a grudge. I also interrupted a meeting that caused him some grief. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but I must have pissed his boss off again. Jimmy Nichols is dangerous, Karrera. I got shot because Jimmy was trying to kidnap Cass. I put him in a stasis field then his cousin shot me. The only reason I'm still here is because another friend of Cass' shot the other friend. She was in on it too, but had a change of heart when she saw us together. I don't know why she took part in the first place. That is why Cass has been terrified and that is why you've been spending more time with your grandmother than before." Kaja pats Karrera's thigh.

Karrera hugs her father. "I'm sorry you and Cass went through that, dad. Thanks for explaining it to me. I thought something bad had happened. Grandma said as much, but I didn't know what it was. I'll pack a few things. Can I at least walk there without you or Cass coming with me?"

Hugging Karrera back, Kaja answers, "Yes, but don't be surprised if Cass watches you the two whole minutes it takes for you to get there." She kisses her daughter's forehead. "You can take your brothers with you. Deal?"

"Deal. I love you, dad," replies Karrera. She moves her chair back to its normal spot next to her desk. She gathers a few items to take with her.

"I love you too, Karrera." Kaja leaves the room to find Cass. She is helping the boys pack a bag. Since it's only for one night, Cass is having them put everything they want to take with them into one bag.

Eric asks, "Can we take our new game with us? Grandma hasn't play it."

"Yes, Eric, you can take your new game. I'm sure your grandmother will have fun playing it with you," answers Cass.

Kaja motions for Cass to follow her, which the human does. Kaja smirks at Cass. "I told Karrera what happened in a little more detail." Cass gives her a disappointed look. Kaja talks with a soft voice, so the kids don't overhear. "I know, we didn't want to tell them, but Karrera knows you're still scared, Cass. She asked about it and I'm tired of hiding it, so I told her."

"What did she say?" asks Cass. Her voice is barely a whisper.

"That she was sorry that happened and thanked me for telling her. Let her walk the boys to my mom's. We've stopped letting her watch them. If Jimmy wasn't loose, she would be watching them tomorrow. We need to continue to give her our trust. She has earned it. It's a Friday night and she was studying for her finals next week." Kaja caresses Cass' cheek.

Cass moves closer to kiss Kaja. "Okay, but I'm watching from the front porch."

Chuckling, Kaja says, "I told her as much."

Derek and Eric are ready to go to grandma's house. Eric has their new game, Pyjak Trap, and Derek has the bag with more toys and some clothes. Derek says, "We're ready to go, mom."

Cass smiles at her sons then to Karrera when she appears in the hallway. "Karrera, are you ready?"

"Yes, ma'am," replies the young asari maiden.

Kaja hugs both boys then her daughter before they leave for Liara's. Cass hugs Karrera then her sons before she watches Karrera lead them to their grandmother's house. Once they enter the house, Cass goes hunting for her wife. She finds Kaja lounging on their bed, lying on her right side with her hand propping up her head. Cass flops on top of Kaja and ravages her with kisses as she hastily undresses the asari. They finally have some quality time alone without any worries about one of their children needing them for something and Cass isn't going to waste even a second of it.

Neither is Kaja, before their clothes hit the floor, she starts their meld. She feels Cass' fears and Cass feels Kaja's fortitude. After a few seconds, all their feelings intertwine with each other and turns into a wondrous feeling of contentment. Kaja's strength and love overpowers all the negative feelings Cass had before their meld began. As per the norm, Kaja and Cass lose themselves in each other and their meld lasts longer than expected. Both have to get up early and go to work in the morning, but getting several hours of sleep isn't in the cards tonight. Tonight, the couple melds the night away.

Citadel

Tracy Andrews stands at Olivia's apartment door, wondering if Liv is actually going to cook dinner or get take out. Inhaling to relax her racing mind, Tracy knocks on the door. She puts her ear near the door because she thinks she hears muffled voices. One is Liv's, but Tracy isn't sure who the other voice is. It's sounds female, that much is certain or Tracy thinks it's female. The apartment door opens and Sha'ira, the asari Consort, exits the apartment. The human's mouth opens wide in utter shock. The last person she ever imagine Liv talking to is the Consort and in her own apartment.

"Olivia, stop by my chambers on Monday, and we'll talk more." Sha'ira give Liv a friendly hug then leaves the apartment, heading home for the evening.

Hugging the Consort back, Liv says, "Thank you again, Sha'ira, for stopping by. You've been very helpful." A smile appears on Liv's face when she sees Tracy in the hallway. "Hi." Liv waves the human into her apartment.

Tracy nods and enters the apartment. "You are full of surprises, Liv. I didn't know you knew the Consort. Let alone well enough for her to come by your apartment," says Tracy.

"Yea, well, Sha'ira is a family friend." Liv rubs her neck like her father always did. "Well, she's more like an acquaintance, but she respects my parents. When I contacted her, she stopped by on her way home. She lives not that far from here, I think," shrugs Liv with a lopsided grin.

"So, what are we having?" asks Tracy. She hugs Liv then sits on the couch.

Liv sits on the arm of the couch, "Salmon patties with those funky looking little cabbages you like so much. Brussels sprouts I think is the name of them. They're simple enough to make. I need to start dinner. I didn't expect Sha'ira to come over and talk to me for over an hour." She gets up to head to the kitchen to start dinner.

Tracy follows the asari to the kitchen and sits at the kitchen table. "Liv, I wish you hadn't seen or heard my interaction with Ray. I saw your reaction to him slapping my hand. He sent me a text message saying he gets the message, I'm with you."

Liv turns her head to look at the human sitting at the table a few meters from her. "I thought maybe he was going to do something else and I wanted to make sure I could react to it. I'm not trained like Kaja is, but I do work my biotics out regularly. Because you never know when you may need to defend yourself or someone else." Liv's face glows when she mentions defending someone else.

"I didn't send him a reply. I have nothing more to say to him. Are you okay, Liv? I'm concerned," says Tracy. She's never sat and watched Liv cook before. It's interesting because Liv focuses on one thing and she seems content getting her hands dirty mixing the salmon meat with the rest of the ingredients. A snicker is heard when Tracy watches Liv smash the balls into little patties.

"What's so funny? I hear you over there, snickering at my cooking technique," teases Liv with a grin.

Tracy's face grows flush, "Well, you looked like you were smashing Ray's face in when you made your patties."

Liv sighs to herself thinking, it's her own face. Sha'ira words are making Liv realize how much she needs to grow as an asari. She starts putting the patties in the hot oil then starts steaming the brussels sprouts. Liv remains quiet until she is done cooking their dinner. She has a few things she needs to say to Tracy, but is nervous about saying them. She grabs a bottle of 2402 Thessia white wine then pours two glasses before she prepares each plate with two salmon patties and the brussels sprouts and brings them to the table.

"Wow, Liv, this smells great. Been cooking more lately?" asks Tracy before she take her first bite of the salmon. The patty melts in her mouth. "Oh wow, this is awesome." Tracy waves her hand holding the fork as she chews another bite of her salmon.

Liv remains silent so she can enjoy watching Tracy's reaction to her cooking. She doesn't cook much, but when she does. It's usually something involving fish. Salmon is a favorite. Making salmon patties are simple and quick to make. A quirky grin appears on Liv's face when she asks, "Surprised, Tracy?"

Nodding her answer, Tracy is too busy enjoying her dinner to verbally answer. She eats one patty along with half the brussels sprouts before she verbally answers Liv's question, "In a way yes. You are full of surprises today."

"Good surprises, I hope," responds Liv before she sips on her white wine.

A goofy look appears on Tracy's face, which causes Liv to smile. "Oh, I don't know. Flowers were a nice surprise. So, one in the yes column. Ready to deal with Ray if needed, another for the yes column. Wonderful dinner, another yes. You knowing the Consort, that's an I don't know what to think type surprise. Overall, yes, Liv, they're good surprises."

"I'm glad you like the flowers." Liv's smile turns a little somber after she finishes her wine. "I know I've not talked much about things. You being around has helped me get through this, but it's not enough. I'm the one with the problem. Until I can get over my guilt, I'm going to start seeing a professional to help me. Sha'ira did say a few things to me that did help. It was mostly things I needed to hear. She did say one thing that was hard for me to hear." Liv reaches out with her hand to take Tracy's. "At times, I feel like running away and hiding from the world. Which is how I felt a few hours ago. Well, I did run away, but I also was being truthful about calling someone and making dinner. Tracy, I feel the same level of shame when I run as I feel when I think about how I've treated you."

Tracy gives Liv a subtle nod as she places her hand over Liv's. Olivia continues, "I don't know what the future holds for us, Tracy. I don't know if I can give you what you need to be happy. If you really do care about me, then please, have some patience with me. I want to try to make you happy and I'll continue to do my best to be a better girlfriend."

A few happy tears run down Tracy's face when she hears Liv's words. She also thinks her coming around has been the root to Liv's problems and that bothers the human. "What I said two weeks ago is how I still feel. I don't want to cause you any grief or problems and I've done that."

"No, that's just it, Tracy. You haven't caused me any problems or caused me any grief. I've caused these things." Liv points to herself. "Not you. All you did was force me to face them." She pats her chest. "It's better I face them now than later," Liv moves her chair closer to Tracy then holds her hand. "I can't and won't promise you anything, but I will continue to try. If that is what you want."

"It's all I can ask for, Liv. I never once thought you were using me. I always thought you had commitment issues and that is why we only went out a few weekends here or there. Plus you're a workaholic." Tracy moves her hand from Liv's grasp, puts her arm around the asari, and holds her close. "Liv, I've been in love with you for about fifteen years. Ever since we spent that wonderful weekend with Cass and Kaja at your family's private island on Earth. Even though we've been together and apart many times since, I never stopped loving you. I always gave you the space I thought you needed. Maybe I should have taken the job I was offered six months ago and moved to New York. Maybe then we both could have moved on, but I didn't. Because I couldn't leave you even though we weren't seeing each other. I love you, Olivia and I'm not going anywhere. Unless you want me to go then I'll go."

Liv feels a single tear rolling down her cheek. This tear isn't from her anguish, it's a happy tear. She's happy because Tracy is still with her and still wants to try to work on their relationship. Hopefully, this is the beginning of their rekindled relationship. All the advice Liv has received the past few weeks is starting to help. Sha'ira has promised to give Liv a list of a few therapists who she feels can help the young T'Soni. There are times when being the 'great' Commander Shepard's daughter has it advantages. Seeing Sha'ira on short notice is one of those advantages.

"No, that's the last thing I want is for you to leave. I have feelings for you, Tracy, but they're all jumbled up and I'm not sure which feeling is what. I do know I care about you and I've been a fool for how I've treated you." Liv sits up to look at Tracy. "I was lucky growing up. Many asari only have one parent raising them. I had both my entire childhood and into adulthood. I witnessed two people who made being in a relationship look simple. Hell, even Kaja and Cass make it look simple. I've learned it's not so simple or for me it's not. I look at my sister and she amazes me. She went down a rough path to find Cass and their relationship reminds me so much of our parents. Kaja is mom and dad all rolled into one, but don't tell her I said that. She'd disagree. She gives those boys the same looks we got from dad. Derek takes things the same way Kaja did too. She hated getting 'the look' from dad. I didn't get it as much as Kaja or Gaia, but I didn't like it either."

Liv pauses long enough to lean against Tracy again. The human places her arm around the asari's shoulder and just listens. "I've always wanted what Kaja has, what my parents had, to be in a caring loving relationship. We started getting to that point then I ran away because I got scared. So, I went back to what was comfortable, which is a few sex filled weekends here and there and lots of work in between. I need to face my relationship fears and follow the example set by those I admire the most. My parents and Kaja and finally do the right thing and stop running away."

Liv pauses again to think about what Sha'ira asked her, what would things be like if your parents had run from their big problems? Being in a relationship isn't a problem unless you, yourself make it a problem. Liv knows exactly what the galaxy would be like if her parents had run away instead of fighting. Sha'ira's follow-up comment did something to Liv's brain because something clicked and she sees what she has been doing for the past century. Liv moves enough so she can kiss Tracy's lips. "Thanks for not giving up on me. I care, Tracy, I really do. I hope I can prove it to you how much you mean to me."

Tracy wipes the moisture from her eyes. They've been working on things for the past two weeks. Liv hasn't opened up much about her feelings since the night she confessed her guilt and got slapped for it. She starts thinking maybe Liv hearing what she said to Ray wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time. Maybe, just maybe, they can have more than they had in the past. Tracy hopes Liv can change and will give her more. It's what she has wanted for over a decade. She also knows talking about changing and actually doing it are two different things. Liv has already made a few small changes which gives Tracy hope the asari actually wants their relationship to work.

They have a long road ahead of them and they both know it. No relationship is easy, but some couples do make it look simple. Liv is finding out that maybe the hard road is the right road to go down. It forces a person to make choices and do something about it. Where the easy road is just that, easy. You may get things, but you might not have earned those things by hard work. Liv's mind deals with complex logic problems which she knows are hard problems to solve, but she solves them with ease and without much effort. The simple things in life are hard for the young asari. Maybe some day, she'll know what it's like to have the simple things and for them to actually be simple.