*2 Months Later*

The past few months had changed the lives of everybody. The galaxy had seen The Reaper threat come and go. It had also seen the destruction of the relays and The Citadel. It had also seen the loss of all synthetic life, despite its newfound friendship with organics. These losses had left the galaxy isolated from one another. The interstellar economy had completely halted. Only short-ranged colonies had any sort of trade with major cities, but most had been destroyed by The Reapers.

However, there was hope in the post-war galaxy. The various races had all united to reconstruct everything that had been lost. A few of the major relays had already been reconstructed opening up Palaven, Sur'Kesh, and Tuchunka to the fleets. The Citadel's reconstruction had also begun, but took less priority than fixing the home worlds.

Earth had been completely devastated in the wake of The Reapers arrival. The ecosystem was entirely non-existent, posing a problem to the future health of the planet. Humanity would have to clone entire populations of trees, flowers, and wildlife. Entire species, such as Elk and Brown Bears, had completely gone extinct. Even if repopulated, Earth would take hundreds of years to fully recover again.

The crew of The Normandy had also changed, everyone leaving to pursue reconstruction plans.

Liara had left the ship for Thessia. It would still be a few months till Thessia would be accessible to the Asari with the fleets, encouraging The Asari to work faster on the relays to their home. Liara, using her tools as the new shadow broker, helped maintain communication with Thessia. She also assisted in the technological reconstruction of the relays.

Tali had met up again with the Quarian flotilla. She had overseen the compilation of Geth for their memorial. The flotilla had also begun the reconstruction of the relays back to Rannoch. It was expected to be a couple years till their newly reclaimed home world was reachable. Tali had also begun to prepare plans for Rannoch's reconstruction.

Garrus had returned to Palaven. He returned to Palaven, assisting with the cleanup of Reaper corpses. After ensuring the safety of the planet and its reconstruction plans; he, along with several other ships, had left with The Quarian Flotilla to help reconstruct those relays. This gave Garrus a chance to be with Tali, making the two very happy.

Wrex, along with Grunt, had returned to Tuchunka. The newly cured population had greeted them with cheers of victory. The Krogan then began reconstruction of The Relays for both The Asari and Quarian fleets. Wrex remained on Tuchunka with Eve; both were expecting their first child, Mordin. Wrex had also overseen plans to rebuild structures on Tuchunka, despite its nuclear winter. The Krogan population was projected to grow below the predicted numbers, showing Krogan restraint and focus on family ties rather than state warfare.

Javik had gone to The Mars Archives, assisting with the recovery of any Prothean data. While still only a soldier, he had attempted to find any useful data left there to help the humans. However, the majority of the data clusters had been either corrupted or deleted by The Cerberus Agent there a few months ago. As soon as Javik was done; he would continue with his plans he had made on The Normandy for after the war.

James had stayed on Earth to help with reconstruction. He was assisting with the recovery of troops and civilians across of Earth. While Eurasia and Africa had been mainly recovered; the entire western hemisphere needed to be scanned and examined. James was currently in New York City, examining the ruins of buildings for survivors.

Joker, along with the rest of the Normandy's crew, had been running errands to and from Earth. The crew missed Chakwas, who was currently station at a medical hospital on Earth. They had transported materials for Earth's reconstruction and for Relay repair. Joker, right after the initial loss of the squad, had taken EDI's body to The Quarians. He had requested its burial alongside The Geth at their memorial. Afterwards, Joker had test driven through The Sol Relay after its reconstruction.

Ashley had decided to remain on Earth, resigning from command of The Normandy and placing it under Hackett's command. Ashley had remained in London, helping with reconstruction of the city. She had recovered from her wound and went straight to work organizing local forces. The crew had already restored several blocks of the city, along with Parliament and Big Ben. Ashley also was visiting Shepard every day.

For the most part, Shepard had begun to recover from his wounds. His cloned arm, legs, and fingers had been surgically reattached. The scars on his face began to fade, only the glow made them evident to visitors. Shepard's synthetic implants had also taken a surprising turn. While original needed for his survival, they mostly had become obsolete as Shepard's body began to re-heal over his wounds. Shepard was still in a state of comatose, but had some increased brain activity. Shepard's muscles had started to wear away too. The lack of movement, along with his diet of only required nutrients, had resulted in the loss of muscle and fat mass. Shepard's body was simply skin on bones, outlining his fragile skeleton. Shepard's hair had begun to come back in too. However, what was once a neatly trimmed goatee and haircut had become a scraggily beard and long untrimmed hair strands.

Shepard had also been transferred to a better hospital in London. This was an actual hospital, rather than the parking garage that was constructed on the spot for wounded. Shepard was still hooked up to various machines, and a few more to monitor his mind. This hospital room had a view overlooking a reconstruction of London. The room was equipped with running water and a constant power. The room was also equipped with a bathroom, even though it was never used. Shepard had received various cards, relics, and gifts from people thanking him as a savior from The Reapers.


Ashley had entered the hospital again, a book of Tennyson in one hand and some flowers in the other. She walked through the waiting room, which had been emptied out for supplies and charts. She walked down the hallway. The hallway had several computers up and running, along with doctors visiting their patients. The hallway's tan paint had crumbled away during the attack, leaving spots of cement and insolation exposed to her. She reached a crossroad intersecting this hallway and another, turning left towards the elevators.

Ashley stopped to see a doctor and nurse rush a lady into the elevator ahead of her. She was clearly in labor, somehow surviving the attacks during her pregnancy. Ashley was happy to see life still flourishing in these dark times, including Shepards. She reached the elevators, pushing the button to call the elevator down. She got into the elevator and pushed the button marked 4. The elevator doors closed, followed by the gradual feeling of being lifted upward.

The doors opened to a workstation of nurses and doctors. The floor was dedicated to those in critical conditions. She turned left and headed down the hallway. Shepard's room was 3-48, an easy door to spot. The door had been riddled with notes and pictures wishing Shepard well. Some candles were lit outside his door, presumably by someone who wanted to bless him with good luck. She got to the door, took a big breath, and then entered the room.

Shepard was resting in his bed, only the sounds of machines and their beeps were heard in this room. Ashley moved past the gifts Shepard had received and placed the flowers by his bedside, along with the several dozen all there. Ashley pulled a chair up to Shepard and sat down. She still held the book, but was looking at Shepard's face.

"Hey Skipper," quietly said Ashley. "Just thought I'd come and check up on you again, see if there was any news." "The doctors say that you're showing more and more mental activity," said Ashley, looking at the data the machines were displaying. "They say that it might be me talking to you every day, or all those poems I read you, but they really don't know." She then proceeded to tell Shepard her day.

"Today I went up on Big Ben, just to check the roof of the tower," said Ashley. "It was a gorgeous view, even with all the rubble around and no trees." "I could see the sunrise though, and it made me think of you." Deep down, Ashley had hoped for a response from Shepard, but nothing had ever come from it. "Then, I went back down and helped restore and old building a couple of blocks from the tower." "They say that it was built back in 1700's…hard to imagine all the priceless history lost by The Reapers." "I also got a call from Joker around noon."

"Joker had apparently been transporting bees to a lab in Moscow." "Apparently, they're researching the repopulation of flowers, and bees were a key ingredient to their reproductive cycles." "However, Joker didn't know they were bees, and opened the box to see what was inside." "The entire ship had bees flying throughout the vents," Ashley said, laughing at the thought. "The poor guy got stung a few times, unable to fight back since a slap could break his bones." "The entire hive was lost, but they had another hive left so it was okay."

"Anyways, I ate the usual army paste that us grunts get for lunch then went back to work." "Then, as usual, I came here to check on you," Ashley said as she smiled at Shepard. "I suppose you were just lying around all day as usual?" Shepard laid there, still deep in comatose. "Right… anyway, I suppose Chakwas and Cohen will be around to check on you soon, so I don't want to get in their way." She opened up the book to her bookmark. "Where did we leave off… here we are, Crossing The Bar."

"Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar."

She finished reading the poem, and closed the book. She leaned over to Shepard and lightly kissed his cheek. "I miss you so much Shepard," she said, tears forming in her eyes, "Please come home to me, please." She got up and left the room. She stopped and looked at Shepard one last time. She crossed her hands and put her head down.

"God… if you're up there, please guide me again, I am so lost without him. Please look out for him, I don't know what he's going through right now, but it isn't going to be easy." "Please give him strength to recover quickly." "Please bring him back to us: to Garrus and Tali, to Wrex, to Liara, to Joker, and to me." "Amen."

Ashley looked back again, and then turned back to the world she needed to repair.


A/N: The name of the poem was Crossing The Bar, and it was written by Lord Alfred Tennyson. I did not create that poem and do not attempt to profit from it.