AN/ Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and followed along.
Bear with me on the Shepard/Liara reunion, just building up to it, lol. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter ;)
Chapter Seven
Through all the troubling things she'd seen in her life; the attack on Mindoir; the Blitz; the Geth invasion on Eden Prime; the Collector Base; even during the war with the Reapers, Shepard had always considered herself lucky to have kept her sanity.
However, none of those things could have compared to sitting in a hospital bed with absolutely nothing to do for a full week. She'd watched everything the television had to offer and had found nothing but false news reports, bad documentaries on the war and something about putting one person from every species into a house together on the Citadel and seeing if they could live together (once it was rebuilt, that is).
It made her long for life on the Normandy.
So, thanks to boredom, Shepard had taken to writing. Not that she was particularly skilled as a writer, but it felt good to put her story into her own words rather than hearing some bullshit account on the news. Nobody really knew the extent of the things she had seen in her remarkably short life. Who better to tell the story of Commander Shepard than the subject herself?
Of course, she had absolutely no intention of ever showing it anyone; in fact, the thought was slightly terrifying to her. It was just oddly freeing to put her life into words; to know that when she was gone, at least someone would get it right. Even if another person never laid eyes on it, at least Shepard could take comfort that her family was more than memory; that her struggles after their deaths were not in vain; that the secret cloying fear that had lingered over her every moment of the Reaper War was worth every nightmarish moment. Over the course of a very long week, Shepard found herself with a pile of handwritten pages and continued to nag her nurse to bring more. Paper was somewhat scarce in a hospital since everything had gone digital over a century before.
Word traveled fast, and it seemed like her nurse had blabbed that the infamous Commander was scrawling furiously on a legal pad for hours upon hours in her recovery room. Every person who visited asked for a peek, desperate to know the story that the enigmatic savior was trying to tell. For her part, Shepard vehemently refused, unwilling to let the critical eyes of others dissect her writing; her life.
A soft rap at the door drew Shepard's attention away from her writing. Quickly setting her work aside, she turned to see the immovable Admiral Hackett standing in the doorway looking pale, tired and frankly, worn down. She could relate; the war had kicked everyone's asses.
"Admiral." Instinctively, she made to rise so that she could salute her superior, but he gestured for her to stop.
"At ease, Commander." A small smile played at his lips as she reluctantly eased back against the pillows. "I'm just here to check up on you. What with so much going on, there hasn't really been time to make sure you're doing okay."
Shepard grinned, despite herself. At first glance, Hackett was a hard ass, but over time, it had become obvious that he cared about the people under his command; every single one of them. No soldier was a statistic to him; they were people. It was a trait that set him head and shoulders over other military officials; what had made him a great leader.
"I'm fine, sir," She sighed, "A little restless and more than a little bored, but I have to say, waking up every morning knowing I'm not going to be shot at all day is a nice change of pace."
Hackett nodded, pulling up a chair to sit beside the bed, holding his Alliance hat in his hands. "I understand that, Commander. I have a few matters I would like to discuss with you, if you're up for it?"
"Absolutely," Shepard answered with piqued interest, sitting up straighter in the bed.
"The Council is…determined…to throw some kind of massive ceremony in your honor, in honor of your crew and those we lost in the fight. They…" Hackett hesitated, making Shepard nervous. "They wish to construct a memorial in your honor."
"Oh no," Shepard groaned, knowingly, rubbing her temples, "Not a statue…I don't want to stand next to the big Krogan and see people climbing all over me!"
Hackett nodded, the hint of a smirk on his scarred lip. "I figured you would answer that way. That's why I've convinced the Council to erect a monument of the Normandy, and your name will be present on a plaque accompanying the statue, along with everyone that's served on your ship. The galaxy is lining up in droves to with requests to pay tribute to you, Commander. To thank you. I know you don't want the attention, but you did save us all…so there's nothing to be done. The galaxy merely wishes to extend its gratitude."
It still felt strange to comprehend the depth of what had been accomplished over the past four years. To Shepard, that had simply been the norm; clawing their way out of one fight and heading straight into another. Nobody ever boasted about being a hero; they just did what needed to be done. Many of her crew weren't even soldiers; it wasn't their duty to protect the galaxy, but they did so out of honor; out of loyalty.
She had never considered the magnitude of their achievement until now.
"I like it," She nodded approvingly, "The people that served with me deserve to be honored." Shepard wondered if something in her voice gave away her heartfelt concern for her missing crew, because Hackett immediately perked up, rising from his chair with purpose. For a horrifying moment, Shepard thought he might hug her, but he didn't, placing his hands behind his back and turning kind eyes on her.
"I suppose I should have mentioned this first," he began, making her heart race in anticipation as she braced herself for whatever would be on the other end of this statement. "I'm happy to report that the crew of the Normandy is, at this very moment, on their way home. Here, specifically."
Kaitlin felt her heart swell at the news, while a lump formed in her throat, making it difficult to speak as tears burned the corners of her eyes. "They're okay?"
"Yes," Hackett smiled, genuinely. "They should be docking within the next forty-eight hours."
Kate had never been given to tears; not even when she'd been in the midst of the rigors and pain of war, but she had certain shed her share over the course of the past few days. It felt good though, as if the stress was pouring out of her.
"So, Liara—"
"Dr. T'Soni was the one I spoke with first," Hackett confirmed. "To say she was enthusiastic would be a colossal understatement. Everyone was."
Shepard smiled through her tears, unable to convey how completely happy she was; she could never explain how much Liara – and all of them – meant to her. There were so many things that would have to be said when they arrived; so many emotions. Too much had been left unsaid when she'd said her last goodbyes to Liara, right before she'd charged toward what she'd thought was her death.
Her hand itched to write down what she wanted to say to each and every one of them.
"Anyway, Commander, I should get going," Hackett sighed, adjusting the brim of his hat, "there are a lot of fires waiting to be put out."
"Admiral," Shepard called after him when he was halfway to the door. He turned back, glancing at her over his shoulder. "How are the other races doing? The rest of the galaxy." She gave him an apologetic look. "There's only so much I can get out of the vids. My only other source of information is Miranda and she leaves the hospital about as much as I do."
Hackett nodded, letting out a slow exhale, crossing back to her bedside. "The Council is working around the clock to round up the leaders of each race to rebuild some kind of stability within the various governments of the galaxy. They're all working together around the clock. The Citadel is obviously the top priority, being that it's the hub of galactic peace and needs to be fixed so we can start doling out instructions. Humanity is looking for a new Councilor, what with Udina's coup and Anderson—" Hackett stopped abruptly, his expression darkening and causing Kaitlin's stomach to drop. All of her earlier relief dissipated as her mind conjured the image of Anderson drawing his final breath. Until this point, she hadn't allowed herself to acknowledge it; it had been lingering on the outer edges of her consciousness, but she wasn't ready to face it head on quite yet.
"They've offered the position to me," Hackett continued, "I had to diplomatically decline, which, as you know is not an easy feat with the Council."
Shepard buried her grief for her mentor, chuckling at the Admiral's words. "Please," She begged, "Don't offer my name as an alternate."
"Commander, the Councilors are grateful to you, undoubtedly, but if I'm being perfectly honest, you terrify them. " Hackett replied in amusement, patting her shoulder. "You're a credit to your uniform Commander, I mean that. The finest soldier I've ever had the privilege of knowing."
She said nothing in response, nodding and smiling. They exchanged a quick goodbye before the Admiral took his leave. She'd never considered herself anything special; still didn't, really. Yet she could not deny that she was touched by her superior's kind words; humbled even.
Shepard had always wondered whether her parents would have been proud of her. Hackett's words told her all she needed to know.
Quietly, she retrieved the writing she'd set aside and resumed her task.
"Knock knock?"
Joker's nerves tingled at the sound of Samantha's soft voice as she came into the cockpit, where he was prepping the Normandy for its final approach toward Earth.
"Come in," He said, not looking up. "Wasn't sure if I'd actually get to talk to you or just get the sixth grade break up email."
Sam sighed, though she sounded like she was smiling. "My parents never let me use the Extranet when I was in sixth grade." Joker cast his eyes over to her wryly. "Not the point," she winced, "Listen, Joker, I—" She sagged in defeat. "I'm sorry."
"Don't." He waved dismissively. "I figured as much, I mean…I'm not exactly a great catch to straight women. I didn't figure I'd have much of a chance to keep a hot lesbian." Traynor grinned a bit, though her eyes remained contrite.
"It's not you, Joker. It's me." He rolled his eyes, giving her a dubious look. "I'm serious!" Her hands went up in surrender. " You have no idea how messed up my mind is right now!"
"So much so that you bumped uglies with a dude?"
"Yes!" She answered loudly, surprising him. "Look, I've spent my whole life knowing that I was only ever interested in women. I was hit on by footballers at school and every other type of male you could imagine but it never did anything for me. I've had girlfriends and I've spent my entire adult life proud of my sexuality. I don't want you to be a casualty of me trying to figure out what in the bloody hell is going on in my own head."
"You know," He began, turning to humor; his fail safe, "Believe it or not, if you need a man to sexually vent your frustrations with, I'm willing to take that hit."
Sam glowered at him, but he saw her struggling to maintain the fierce look as the corners of her lips threatened to curve upward. "I'm sure," she conceded dryly, "but I couldn't do that to you. Despite the fact that you're a proper asshole—" Joker smirked proudly. "I do care about you."
"So what do you want?" He asked, turning his chair completely around to look her in the eyes. "Do you want to pretend it never happened? Go back to being friends? Have sex right here in the cockpit? I'm kinda leaning towards option C myself."
"Jeff—"
"Traynor," He cut her off, "You're beautiful, and smart and funny and your accent is so hot but…damn it girl, you think too much."
She laughed, tersely. "A curse I've been burdened with my entire life."
"It's your call, and if you want to pretend it didn't happen and go back to being friends then we can do that," he told her, "But, despite the sexy beard, bad ass piloting skills and the fact that I've helmed the ship captained by the greatest war hero of our generation." Growing serious, he added, "Moments like we had the other night don't happen very often for me."
"It doesn't happen for me very often as well. The war makes it…difficult…to find time for…er…release."
Joker groaned in agreement. "Tell me about it. I've been on this ship for three years now. We can't all find a sex partner in the first asari we pop out of a Prothean bubble."
"Liara is gorgeous, isn't she?" Sam mused, more to herself than to Joker.
"See!" He cried pointedly, gesturing wildly with his arm, "Look at how much we have in common!"
"You're a nut." She murmured this with a grin.
Joker shrugged casually, smirking. "Hey, you're the one who said I was attractive."
"I did not!" She cried, laughing and covering her flushing face with her hands.
"Oh, you so did! I remember 'cause you said it in that hot accent." He mimicked her, attempting to imitate her accent and failing. "'You're being attractive, stop being attractive'."
Samantha burst out laughing, nudging his foot gently with hers.
"Whoa, hey now, you could break something!" He teased, feigning hurt as he pulled his foot away.
"I'm quite certain we were bumping together a lot harder than that the other night."
Jeff looked up at her with a smirk, noticing the wicked gleam in her eyes. "That we were," He agreed, glancing at the door and back to Sam who was chewing on her lower lip, lost in thought. "This door locks, you know? And we're about forty-five minutes out from Earth."
Sam glanced longingly at the door before looking back at Joker. "I just told you I'm struggling with an identity crisis, and here you are trying to seduce me!"
"Ha! Seduce you?" He let out a loud chuckle. "Is that what I'm doing? I was just being a smart ass but hey, if it's working then hell yes I'm seducing you."
Sam groaned, sagging against the back of his chair. "Joker, I've never had sex anywhere but on a bed before and certainly never in the cockpit of a sodding warship."
"You'd never had sex with a guy before either and I broke that barrier." He proclaimed proudly, before wincing as he realized what he'd said. "Wait…that was an unintentionally horrible pun." To his utter surprise, he watched in speechless wonder as Sam used her Omni-tool to lock the cockpit. Her eyes were full of mischief as she crossed to the pilot's chair and settled carefully into his lap, removing his hat and placing it on her head. Her fingers combed maddeningly through his overgrown hair, following the strands from root to slightly curling ends.
"What did I tell you?" She scolded in a low voice. "Stop. Being. Attractive."
He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. "It's not really something I can control—"
She kissed him.
