Chapter Seven

EDI comes over the comm, "Commander Shepard, Dr. T'Soni, Admiral Shepard would like to see both of you in the briefing room in fifteen minutes." EDI blue avatar disappears as fast as it appeared. Liara and Shepard are still lying in the bed with the girls curled up next to each other.

"I suppose we should see what my mother wants. I still need to talk to you about what to do with the Normandy." Shepard gets out of bed slowly because her bad is still a little stiff.

"Are you sure you're okay, Leia? You're moving slowly." Liara seems very concerned that Leia isn't okay enough to be out of Chakwas' care. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything last night. Now, I feel Leia isn't well enough to be out of bed. The asari sighs softly to herself. "What about the Normandy, Leia, I know you don't want it. I don't either. What are we going to do with a war frigate?"

Shepard pulls out her Tweety slippers and puts them on. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm still stiff is all. You take a bullet in the back and see how stiff you are," replies the human with a smirk on her face. "You're right, I don't want it. I have no need for a ship this size. I doubt for some reason the Council will give the ownership back to the Alliance. I don't get it, but then I don't get a lot of what the Council had done over the years. Let's go see what my mom wants."

"You're not changing clothes?" inquires Liara as she changes her clothes.

Shepard enters the restroom. A few minutes later she returns with her hair brushed some, "Why should I? And besides these are the clothes you picked out for me to wear."

"Oh Goddess, Shepard. You're worse than the kids sometimes." Liara rubs her forehead then she joins Shepard as they both head towards the elevator to meet with Hannah Shepard in the briefing room.

Shepard and T'Soni walk into the briefing room to see Admiral Shepard talking to the Citadel Council, "...They should be here in any moment, Councilors. Here they are now." Hannah points towards the door as the couple walks in.

The asari Councilor comments, "Commander Shepard, Dr. T'Soni good of you to join us." The asari's tone reeks of annoyance which neither Shepard or Liara appreciated very much. Shepard is standing with her arms folded across her chest waiting to hear what the Council wants.

"The Council appreciates both of you joining us this morning, Commander, doctor. We want to know what happened on Shanxi yesterday," says the turian Councilor. He is being completely respectful, which is something new for Shepard considering the last turian Councilor was anything but respectful.

Liara answers before Shepard does, "We landed on Shanxi yesterday. Lt. James Vega of the System Alliance was there to greet us. Shepard went to grab a dolly to use for our luggage and all hell broke lose. That is what happened, Councilor." Liara is still very pissed off about the whole situation. It was uncalled for and it put their family in unnecessarily in danger.

The human Councilor is someone Shepard has never seen before. Anderson retired the year before and the Alliance didn't want Udina being the Councilor. It's a female named, Claire Maclin. She been a political powerhouse for the Alliance for the past eight years. She asks, "Did Lt. Vega tell you what was going on, Commander?" She completely ignores Dr. T'Soni.

Commander Shepard inhales deeply, shifts her weight, exhales slowly before answering, "Do you think I'm an idiot, Councilor? If I was warned that Shanxi was a hot spot, I would have changed into armor or we would have left Shanxi. Chances are we would have left, Councilor. So, no, Vega didn't warn us of the danger."

The salarian Councilor inquires, "Did Spectre Alenko warn you of the situation?"

Leia and Liara respond in union, "NO!" Shepard continues, "This is bullshit, Councilors and I'm not taking anymore of it. For the last time. No, we were not told a damn thing."

Commander Shepard starts to leave the briefing room when Admiral Shepard grabs her daughter's arm. "Leia, please wait."

Liara is already out the door and headed to the elevator to get the girls ready to leave. Leia stops and turns to her mother, "Why? They already have it in their heads what happened." Shepard points to the table where the Council's projection is located. "Again, the Council doesn't want to believe me. So why bother? This is why I live on Illium and not in Council Space. I'm tired of this type of bullshit, mom."

The only member of the Council that is left on the Council when Shepard tried to warn them about the Reapers is the asari councilor. She has a shocked look on her face at the manner in which Shepard is talking to them and her mother, "We are trying to figure out what happened, Commander. That is all."

"Don't insult me, Councilor. You already have your minds made up before I was even called down here. The actions on Shanxi was uncalled for, but you don't seem to care that our two children were involved in this. They got knocked down from the shock wave from the first shuttle exploding. The youngest one was so scared she couldn't even speak or move when she saw I was bleeding. I saw the horror in her face before I passed out from the bullet I took. I'm fortunate my oldest one held it together to keep the bleeding down until Liara docked on the Normandy. And speaking of the Normandy. You either give ownership back to the Alliance or dry dock this ship on Illium and I'll decided what to do with it after our trip is over!" Leia Shepard is now yelling at the Council. She then leaves the room fuming. Because of her anger, the wound on her back is glowing slightly red from the implant Cerberus used to bring Shepard back to life.

"Admiral Shepard, do you have anything to add to this?" asks the human councilor. She is shocked at the manner in which Commander Shepard spoke to the Council. Maclin feels Shepard was out of line and completely disrespectful. She doesn't understand what happened back in 2183/85 between the Council and the Commander.

Hannah looks at the Council with a calm look in her face. She understands completely Leia's frustration and her anger towards the Council. The elder Shepard knows her daughter tried several times to warn the Council and the Alliance about the Reapers and no one wanted to believe her. Anderson and Hackett did believe, but that wasn't enough to get everyone else to believe. The Admiral answers, "No, I have nothing else to add. You have my report. Which says the same thing Liara and Leia said today. "

"Thank you for your time, Admiral," says the salarian Councilor before the transmission ended.

Liara takes a few deeps breathes before entering the Loft. She doesn't want to get snippy with the girls because she is upset with the Council and their stupidity. Why does the Council always question everything Leia says to them? Why? She always been honest and up front with them and they act like her opinion and views mean nothing. It was that way when the Normandy got grounded and again after she came back. I thought after Shepard saved their lives for a second time things would have changed, but it seems it hasn't. T'Soni puts a faux smile on her face and walks into the living quarters. Gaia is sitting alone playing with a couple of her stuff animals. Kaja is in the bathroom showering. Liara can hear the water running.

"Gaia, I need for you to get ready to leave. Once your father arrives and gets ready, we are leaving," says Liara. She is walking down the steps to gather up her bag along with Leia's. "Have you taken a shower and brushed your teeth?"

"No, mom. Kaja went in first. Where is dad?" asks the younger daughter. She puts her animals back into her bag and grabs her toothbrush.

"She is talking to the Citadel Council about what happened yesterday. I had to walk off. It's something you don't need to worry about." Liara answers her daughter. She then gives her a hug and a peck on the cheek.

Commander Shepard comes storming into the living quarter, she grabs the datapad Kaidan left for them. Shepard then storms back out of the quarter again mumbling obscenities under her breath about the idiots on the Council.

Liara and Gaia watches Shepard come and go. "What was that about, mom?" asks Gaia as her father storms off.

Liara looks at Gaia then to the door as it closes behind Shepard, "I have no idea. It might have to with the Council. No need for you to concern yourself with it. Now please get ready to get into the shower once your sister is done. I will be right back. I'm going to take these trays back down to the kitchen." Liara grabs the two trays then leaves the living quarters.

Commander Shepard walks back into the briefing room to see her mother talking to the human Councilor, Claire Maclin. Maclin is trying to understand the hostility the Commander showed the Council during that meeting. "Please explain Admiral. What happened before has no bearing on what is going on now. You say she wasn't being disrespectful, but that is what I saw from her." Hannah gives Leia a head nod to join her.

"Here Admiral, pass this along to the Council. It's a note Captain Alenko left for Liara and myself. Maybe now they will believe me. I have proof they can't dispute." Commander Shepard hands the datapad to her mother. She then looks towards the Councilor. "If I was being disrespectful, Councilor then what do you say about you completely blowing off Dr. T'Soni and addressing only me? Liara has as much to do with us winning the war with the Reapers and stopping Saren as I did. You and the rest of the Council owe her as well. Or do you have issues that I married her?" Shepard gave that famous glare of hers towards the Councilor.

The Councilor didn't know what to say to the Commander without making the situation worse. "No, Commander, I suppose you are correct. I was being disrespectful towards Dr. T'Soni. My concern is what happened on Shanxi."

Hannah is forwarding the note from the datapad to the Councilor, "Read this Councilor. Alenko clearly knows he how messed this operation ended up. He also knows Lt. Vega messed up as well."

After reading the file Admiral Shepard sent, Maclin says, "I see. I'm sorry Commander Shepard you and your family were put into this situation. I do not know right now what the Council will or can do about it. Is there anything you wish to add?"

Commander Shepard is shocked on how quickly Maclin is changing her tune. Shepard thinks it's a ploy and a typical politician move. "The only thing I can add is I thought I heard their leader, Balak mention my name, but with the ringing in my ears, I may have not heard him correctly. He was the batarian leader I let go on Terra Nova when he tried to destroy the colony with an asteroid. I saved the hostages, but I had to let him go to do it. Maybe I made the wrong call then, but I did save lives."

"What happened to Balak, Commander?" asks the human Councilor.

"I shot him in the head, Councilor." replies the Commander. "Now if you excuse me, I need to get ready. We are wanting to get back to our family vacation." Leia turns on heel and leaves. She is calming down quickly. That last thing she wants to do is be abrupt with her kids because she is frustrated with the Council.

Liara walks back into the living quarters to see Gaia getting into the bathroom to get ready. Kaja is sitting on the couch going through her bag to make sure she packed everything. She doesn't want to leave anything behind. "Hi, mom. Gaia said we are going to leave when dad gets done with a meeting. Does that mean we are going home?"

"No, we are not going home. Your father and I have already spoken about it. We are going to continue with our plans," answers Liara. She looks around the living quarters to see if there is anything the girls didn't pick up. T'Soni goes through her bag to find something else to wear once she showers. She places both her bag and Shepard's on the bed. Shepard is still in a t-shirt and shorts and Liara is almost certain she will want to shower before leaving.

Leia Shepard walks into the living quarters, her former quarters, and sees Liara talking with Kaja. Kaja sees her father and runs over and give Shepard a big hug. Leia kneels down and hugs Kaja tightly back then places a kiss onto her cheek, "You ready to go?" She then looks over to Liara, "I want to shower before leaving. Are we ready to go? I need to get off this ship soon."

"Gaia is in the shower right now and I was going to get in next. I figured you would want a shower also, Leia," Liara smiles at Shepard. She walks over to her bondmate, whispers into her ear, "We can shower together if you're in that big of a hurry to leave. I do want to get off the Normandy and get on with our vacation."

Shepard cocks one eyebrow upward with a grin on her face while whispering back, "Sounds good, but every time we do that, what ends up happening?" The grin on Shepard's face turns mischievous and only Liara noticed it.

Gaia comes out of the shower all dressed and ready to go. She sees Shepard standing there next to her mother, Gaia goes running up to her father giving Shepard a huge hug, "You're here!"

Leia kneels down to hug Gaia back and kiss her on the cheek, "Yes, I'm here. Are you all ready to go?"

"Yes, I am. We're leaving soon?" asks the youngest daughter. Gaia lets go of Shepard and sits next to her sister.

Liara has walked up the steps and into the restroom. Shepard looks over her shoulder with a slight grimace on her face from the stiffness in her back, "Yes, we are leaving as soon as I'm out of the shower." Should I join her? Hmmm.. Every time we shower together we end up melding. Screw it. I want to get the hell out of here. Sooner the better. The Commander decided to join Liara in the shower.

"Leia, you did decided to join me after all." Liara is about to turn the shower on. "Oh crap, I think the girls used up all the hot water allotted to his shower, Leia." Next thing the hot water comes blasting out of the shower head. "No, I guess not. It's good and hot now."

Shepard is slipping out of her slippers and clothes, "Sounds like something is messed up with the water. Not my problem." She then joins Liara in the shower.

Admiral Shepard is still talking to the human Councilor, Claire Maclin, "...What do you mean the Council won't allow the Normandy to be dry docked on Illium? If Commander Shepard is the owner, then she should be able to do what she wants with it, Councilor."

"The Council wants the ship to be seen by the galaxy, not dry docked until the Commander decides what to do with it, Admiral," answers Maclin. "I don't understand myself on why the Council won't transfer the ship over to the Alliance."

"It has to do with the Council paid the Alliance money for a ship the Alliance didn't build. Also, the Alliance won't pay the Council back even part of the money," remarks Hannah. Now I see why Leia gets so upset with the Council. They really don't listen very well or comprehend very well. How in the hell did the Alliance get this woman on the Council? "They also gave it to her as part of her compensation for defeating the Reapers. She did not ask for it. They just did it. Admiral Hackett had a lot to do with that, Councilor."

Claire Maclin is pondering what is being told to her. This is information she was not aware of until yesterday. It was not publicly known that the Normandy was not an Alliance vessel. Even though it has all the Alliance marking on it. When the Normandy was being repaired after the war, Shepard kept the Alliance insignias on it. It's stayed that way when Alenko was the Captain of the ship. "Well, Admiral, for now I think it needs to stay with the Alliance and used by the Alliance. It's assigned to your fleet is it not?"

"Yes, Councilor. The Normandy was always assigned to the 5th fleet. Before Commander Shepard became a Spectre it was originally assigned to the 63rd scout flotilla. Once she became a Spectre, she needed a ship to use as transport and to use as her base. This ship was built by Cerberus," comments Hannah Shepard. She's getting tired of this conversation. Much like Leia was tired before she left the briefing room.

"I want you to tell Commander Shepard the Council is giving the Normandy back to the Alliance. We need that ship, Admiral," says the Councilor in a serious tone that tells Hannah that this woman is not to be trusted.

Admiral Hannah Shepard takes offense to being told to lie to her daughter. "I'm not lying to her, Councilor. I've never lied to my daughter, I'm not starting now because you want her think the Alliance is owning her ship. I won't do it." Hannah is glaring at the Councilor like her daughter does. She didn't even realize she was doing it. "I will compromise with you. I'll take this ship over as my flagship. But I'm not lying to the Commander about it."

"I think that will work Admiral. Thank you for your time," the Councilor cuts transmission abruptly which annoys Hannah even more. Hannah leaves the briefing room and heads up to talk to her daughter about what is going on with the Normandy. She doesn't think Leia is going to like it, but it's the best she can do right now. The Council seems to want to tie her hands on the issue.

Liara and Shepard are busy washing each other in the shower. Liara is washing Leia's back, "You know your wound is glowing slightly red. How is it I've never noticed that before, Leia?"

"It's the implants Cerberus put in me, Liara. Once the skin finishes healing the glow will disappear. Which is why you never noticed it before. Getting upset today is why the implants are glowing. It's something Dr. Chakwas told me back when I first woke up and was on the Normandy. My skin wasn't completely healed at that point. She offered to do a procedure on it, but it healed on it's own. If I stay calm the next few days or so, it should be fine," answers Leia with a ting of regret. She rinses the soap off and turns the water off.

Liara wraps a towel around Shepard and pulls her close with it, she starts kissing Leia on the lips softly, A couple of minutes later, Liara breaks off the kiss, "I guess that makes sense. You've not been wounded since the war was over and I never noticed it before. Did the shower loosen up your back? You seem to be moving better now." She kisses her bondmate on more time, "Are you sure you are good to continue on this trip, Leia. If not then we should head home so you can get the rest you need."

"I'll be fine. We can check in with Chakwas before we head out to ease your mind, if you want. I can't carry Gaia on my shoulders until I'm better. She will need to understand that. I need to take it easy. I think I can manage that, Liara. I promise." She kisses Liara then finishes drying herself off. Leia tosses the towel into the laundry.

T'Soni finishes putting on her dress, "Okay, we can do that. I want to see her one more time before we leave. I was abrupt with Chakwas yesterday and I would like to apologize for it."

Shepard nods her head as she puts on her clothes, "I'm sure Dr. Chakwas understood why you were acting the way you did. She did mention to me before I left the med-bay you where acting distant and she'd never seen you act like that before. Once we leave here, lets not talk about what happened until our vacation is over. All it does is get both of us upset."

"Agreed." Liara takes Shepard's hands with her own, "I love you, Leia Shepard." The couple engage in a passionate kiss.

"I love you too, Liara. I think it's time to leave," replies Leia as she pulls away from the asari in her arms. They leave restroom together to see Hannah sitting by her granddaughters.

Hannah Shepard sees Leia and Liara, "Leia, I need to talk to you before you go." Hannah stands up and goes up the steps before Leia walks down them.

"About what, mom?" asks Commander Shepard wondering what her mother wants to discuss.

Liara walks down the steps, grabs their bags and walks back up the stairs. "I'll meet you in the crew quarters. Kaja, Gaia come with me, please. We're leaving soon."

Both girls follow their mother out of the living quarter with their bags in their hand. Leia tells them, "I'll be down after I talk to your grandmother." Each girl gives Hannah a hug before leaving.

"Those two are so well behaved, Leia. I talked more with Maclin after you stormed off. After talking with her, I now understand why you get so frustrated with the Council. She wanted me to lie to you. I've never lied to you, Leia," Hannah has a somber look and seems tired.

Commander Shepard nods listening to her mother, "I know, mom. What did she want to lie to me about?" She then sighs lightly.

"About the Normandy. They refuse to give it back to the Alliance and yet they won't allow you to dry dock it. So, I compromised with her and said I would use it as my flagship. I don't know if the brass will allow it, Leia," says Hannah as she places her hand on Leia's shoulder.

Leia shakes her head in disbelief at the Maclin's request, "Then take it mom. It's a good ship. Joker is an excellent helmsman. Do me a favor, mom."

"Anything, Leia. Just ask," replies Hannah with a slight smile on her face.

"Next time, I'm in Alliance space and you think there could be something going on, inform me. I don't ever want to walk into something unknowing or unprepared again. I can't protect my family, if I'm ill informed," comments the younger Shepard as she hugs her mother.

Hannah hugs her daughter back, "Of course. I'm sorry I didn't this time, but I expected that to be taken care of too."

"I need to go. I want to see Dr. Chakwas one more time. Liara seems concerned I'm not well enough to continue with our vacation. I think she wants to apologize for yesterday." Shepard smiles softly to her mother. She then turns to leave. Hannah joins her.

Hannah gets off on the CIC level, while Leia goes down to the crew level to meet with Liara and talk to Dr. Chakwas. Liara is already talking to the human doctor in the med-bay when Shepard walks in. Dr. Chakwas is speaking, "... it's ok, Liara. I understand why you were acting like you were yesterday. I should have allowed you to see the Commander."

Command Shepard smirks at the two doctors talking, "Want to give me another look over, Dr. Chakwas?"

"No, Commander. Liara told me you were glowing, but I assured her that would stop once you are completely healed," answers Chakwas.

Liara turns to face Leia, "I'm ready to go if you are. What did your mom want?" Liara looks over to the girls sitting quietly on one of the examining tables. "You two ready to go?"

Both Gaia and Kaja are ready to go, they've been ready since yesterday. Kaja walks over to Dr. Chakwas and gives the human a hug, "Thank you for taking care of my dad, doctor."

Hugging Kaja back, Chakwas replies, "You're welcome, Kaja." She looks over to Gaia, who is getting a little antsy and wants to get going. "You too, Gaia."

Liara says, "Let's go you two. Leia, I'll meet you at the shuttle. I left the doors open on it. It smells like disinfectant." Both children follow their mother out of the medical bay heading towards the elevator.

"Commander, the only thing I want you to do is take it easy. The wound should heal within a week or so if you don't over exert yourself. Liara says you like to put Gaia on your shoulders. Please don't," is the only instruction Chakwas gives to Shepard.

Shepard has a sheepish grin on her face, "I wasn't going to, doc. All I plan on doing is walking some and a lot of nothing else. We're headed to Elysium then Earth. There is a play we are going to. Gaia wanted to see Broadway. Liara rented a private island for a week in the Caribbean and I plan on sitting on a beach watching the kids play in the sand."

"Sounds perfect, Commander," replies Chakwas as she give her former CO a friendly hug. "Enjoy the beach."

"I plan on it, doc." Shepard hugs the doctor back then leaves the med-bay to join Liara and the kids, so they can continue on with their vacation.

A/N:Another week and another chapter. I do hope everyone is enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. As of today, 28 November, I'm still not done. I hope to have it finished by the end of the year, but it keeps growing. That's a good thing, right?

See everyone next week.