Have uploaded two chapters so make sure you read chapter 7 before this one.

I think this chapter's a bit clichéd but I like it nonetheless. Things are beginning to look up for Jane and Liara so a lot less angst for them for a while! I don't want you drowning in floods of tears JrB'! Thanks for the reviews guys, they really brighten up my work day, even when I've made someone cry! (mwahaha)

EIGHT

Shepard and T'Soni lay curled into each other in the centre of the Commander's double bed, enjoying a period of much needed sleep, when the tranquillity was broken by an insistent banging on the door.

After spending some time discussing their plans for the future the Commander had begun to get ready to host their celebratory barbecue, but a few choice words from her partner had convinced her that she would be better off recharging her batteries for a couple of hours. Opening one eye Jane was greeted by her sleepy looking partner, whose grumpy expression immediately put a smile on Shepard's face.

When the banging came again Shepard sighed in defeat and rolled off the bed. A quick glance at the chronometer told her that she'd been asleep for just under two hours; not enough to feel really rested, but just enough to get her through the evening without collapsing.

"Alright! Alright!" She called out to the persistent person behind the door. Looking back at Liara she could see the asari had moved to sit on the edge of the bed and was rubbing her eyes to wake up. When she looked up they exchanged a brief affectionate smile before Shepard finally opened the door. "Aethyta," she announced, mildly surprised at the identity of their visitor. For an uncomfortable moment she thought the older asari was going to make good on the threat she saw in the matriarch's eyes on her way back up to speak to her lover, but then Aethyta smirked and the tension quickly disappeared.

"Everyone figured you were probably up here riding the blue wave, so guess who gets to drag you both out to join the party!"

Shepard blushed and Liara let out an exasperated, "Dad!"

"Well you've been up here for hours; haven't you had enough yet?" Aethyta winked at Shepard as she watched her daughter turn a darker shade of blue.

Shepard recovered quickly and shot her lover an appraising look. "Is there such a thing as having enough?"

The matriarch guffawed and slapped the Commander on the back. "Guess you must be doing something right then kid," Aethyta wiggled her brow at her daughter and continued to laugh at the embarrassment on Liara's face.

Having overcome her discomfort, Shepard was having a hard time keeping a lid on her own amusement; she was sure she wouldn't win any prizes with her lover for joining in with the good natured ribbing.

Liara shook her head and decided that a quick retreat was in order and marched past the two women towards the shower. "Don't think I can't see you trying not to laugh," she added as an aside to Jane as she made her way into the bathroom and closed the door.

The matriarch continued to chuckle as she turned back towards the elevator, leaving the Commander looking shame-faced. "I'm glad you two made up; I'd hate to have to kill you," she added with a smile.

Jane smiled back though she wasn't without feeling discomfort. Of all the people in the galaxy, Aethyta was the only one who could make her worry about her day-to-day safety. It was just a good job that she intended to dedicate her life to making the matriarch's daughter sublimely happy.


Normandy's med-bay was back to being its usual quiet self since all the children had been released and the flow of visitors was mostly just engineer Donnelly. Jack preferred to sneak in during the dead of night and the Commander's visits were little more than five minute updates, when she had the time to drop by.

Dr. Chakwas was looking over culture samples from a spongy looking moss, which she suspected was the cause of a mild skin irritation seen in a few of her recent patients. Fortunately the plant only appeared to grow in very dark and damp places, so it had been easy enough to simply advise the crew to steer clear of the caves.

Her nerves were so finely tuned to the steady rhythm of the machines that the slightest inconsistency caught her attention. The sound of a quickening heartbeat from Miranda's side of the room was subtle at first, but within minutes the doctor was confident that the woman was at last beginning to wake up.

"It's about time," Karin muttered to herself, inwardly relieved that she was finally seeing some improvement; she had not been looking forward to telling Jack that their XO may never wake up if they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.

By the time the doctor had checked the monitors and run a scan over the slowly waking woman, Miranda was blinking and beginning to take in her surroundings.

"Miss. Lawson?... Miranda, can you focus on me?"

Miranda turned to the sound of the voice. "Doctor?" she asked in confusion. "What am I doing here?" She slowly moved into a sitting position, ignoring the doctor's protests.

Chakwas sighed in resignation knowing that Shepard's second in command was going to be just as difficult as Jane normally was. "What's the last thing you remember?" She asked while taking a small step backwards.

Miranda closed her eyes and tried to focus on the broken images that flashed across her vision. She saw a flare of biotics and remembered the impact of her body hitting the ground. The surroundings were fuzzy and she searched for an image to pin the event down. Jack's face quickly came into focus and Miranda suddenly remembered the anger in her eyes, the crazy biotic bearing down on her, shouting accusations and demanding answers. She remembered a chair being thrown into a wall and the Commander's presence. She couldn't quite figure out when she'd been hit, but had a distinct memory of Jack's arm outstretched towards her and then the feeling of flying through the air.

"She hit me," Miranda muttered, the surprise and outrage becoming clear in her voice. "The psychotic bitch actually hit me."

Doctor Chakwas frowned at the venom in her patient's voice; clearly Jack would have some grovelling to do. "She's been quite concerned for your well-being since she brought you in. I had to throw her out because she wouldn't leave you," Karin mentioned, trying to console the ex-operative.

Miranda frowned, not being able to connect this description of Jack to her memory of the woman. She quickly dismissed the doctor's words and continued with her own train of thought. "She's a bloody liability. Shepard should leave her on the nearest marginally habitable planet; we have enough problems with the Collectors."

Karin continued to frown all through the brunette's tirade until that last word. "Wait, what date do you think it is?" she blurted, kicking herself immediately for being so unprofessional. "I'm sorry," she added, seeing the brief panic in her patient's blue eyes. "You're telling me you remember an altercation with Jack. Can you remember the events that led up to it?"

Miranda's eyes narrowed. "You asked me what date it is." Karin lowered her eyes regretfully but nodded. "How much time have I lost?" she asked knowingly.

"If the last thing you remember is fighting the Collectors?" Miranda nodded mutely. "Almost a year," the doctor admitted.

The young woman was silent for a minute, her exceptional brain beginning to extrapolate events to what their current situation could be. They were still together on the Normandy; surely they weren't still fighting the Collectors? Chakwas had been surprised to hear her suggest it so she guessed not. She couldn't feel the slight hum of the engines so assumed they were docked somewhere. She needed to have words with the Commander and get to her computer to read over her logs; that would quickly tell her what was going on.

Miranda began to climb out of bed, much to the doctor's consternation, but she hadn't been on her feet more than a few seconds before she felt the dizziness hit her.

"You've been unconscious for almost two days and with this memory loss I really can't recommend you leaving any time soon," the doctor chastised, hoping that simply making her tone harder she would convince her patient to behave.

Miranda allowed herself to be pushed back into bed and lay down willingly while the dizziness receded. "I need to get to my computer, and I want to speak to Shepard."

Doctor Chakwas nodded a little while letting out a breath of relief. "I'll contact the Commander," she assured her.

Not wanting to leave the room, the doctor resigned herself to calling the Commander with the XO listening in. Karin just hoped that Jane was nowhere near Jack, and didn't ask too many questions. She used the Normandy's com-system to page Shepard's omni-tool and got a response almost immediately.

"Shepard here," the Commander's voice came into the room clearly, the sounds of many people chatting and children laughing in the distance.

"Commander, it's Dr. Chakwas. If you have a moment could I speak to you in the med-bay? You don't need to bring anyone with you," she added, hoping that the Commander took the hint to keep the request to herself. There was a short pause on the other end and Karin was sure she could hear Dr. T'Soni's voice.

Miranda attempted to quiz the doctor while they waited for Shepard to arrive, but Chakwas remained annoyingly tight-lipped. The Cerberus operative fidgeted non-stop, while the silence seemed to stretch on forever. So many questions flew around her mind. What had happened with the Collectors? What was happening with the Reapers? Where were they? What was the Illusive Man's plan to win the war? Had they already won? What was the state of the galaxy? On and on they went, but one thing she refused to think about was why on Earth would Jack of all people be worried about her?


Commander Shepard sat on a wide log, her hands wrapped around the waist and chin resting on the shoulder of her lover. After being ordered to join the crew by Liara's father the pair had quickly showered, dressed and walked to the fire pit hand-in-hand. They mingled, mostly with the children, for around an hour before retreating to a quiet area to cuddle up together and watch the flames begin to climb higher as the night drew in.

Liara talked some more about her childhood growing up in Armali and the first time she ventured off world on her own on a dig for her university studies. Shepard in turn described how it felt growing up on a military ship, never settling down in one place and always being a second priority to duty and the Alliance.

"There were so many times when I resented the Alliance, but they were my extended family too. For a long time it was a love/hate relationship." She felt Liara squeeze her hands in a comforting gesture and smiled in response. "Especially when my dad died; mom buried herself into one mission after another."

"Is that why you feel so guilty for choosing duty over me?"

Shepard felt the sting of those words as she often felt when they passed through her thoughts. Her head moved against the asari's shoulder as she nodded.

Liara turned to look her partner in the eye. "Shepard," she said seriously. "You are not your mother, any more than I am mine. I am not a child either; I understood the responsibility you held while fighting the Reapers and I don't resent you for taking your duty seriously." She lifted a hand to caress Jane's cheek and shared a sorrowful smile with her. "Jane, you have had to put your hopes on hold just as much as I have. So many times you have gone into battle knowing that the odds were stacked against you, but you did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. As much as I hated waiting for you to return, I was hugely proud of you… I still am."

Shepard sighed deeply and smiled into Liara's crest. "Thank you love." Her arms squeezed a bit tighter around her partner's waist and the asari tilted her head to meet Jane in a long slow kiss that left them both shaking minutes later. The Commander continued to lay kisses along Liara's jaw to the base of her neck. The asari's head lowered to give her lover better access, but before the couple could get any more carried away Shepard's omni-tool began to beep. "Damn," she cursed and took a breath before activating the communication device.

The brief dialogue with the doctor brought a frown to the Commander's features. She shot Liara an apologetic smile and shared a brief kiss with her before unravelling their arms and rising from the log.

"Do you think it's Miranda?" T'Soni enquired softly as Shepard stood up.

The Commander glanced across the field to where Jack was talking to the two biotic teens. "I don't know, but if it is and the doc is trying to keep Jack away I can't imagine the news will be good." She squeezed Liara's hand then let their fingertips glide apart. "I'll be as quick as I can," she promised, hating the fact that duty was pulling them apart yet again.

"Take as long as you need," T'Soni reassured her lover. The young asari watched Shepard's confident gait as she made her way towards the Normandy and sighed deeply. If only Jane could be that confident with their relationship; the Commander spent far too much time berating herself for one thing or another. She could only hope that when the doctor gave her the all clear that they could grasp some semblance of normal.

As the Commander walked through the CIC on her way to the elevator her mind wandered ahead to what she might find waiting for her.

As more and more tragic possibilities entered her thoughts the commander's pace increased. When she finally walked through the med-bay doors relief hit her hard.

Miranda was sat up in bed, scowling and interrogating the doctor. She had one foot hanging over the side of the bed, as if she was going to jump up the moment she felt strong enough and kept scanning the room, her eyes often landing on Engineer Daniels's prone form as if she would provide all the answers.

Shepard coughed to gain their attention and strode to Miranda's side to dissuade her from leaping into action.

"Nice to see Sleeping Beauty awake at last," the commander teased, hoping to break the tension. She took little notice of the deepening scowl that marred her XO's features. "How's she doing doc'?"

"I'm fine. It's normal for my body to 'power down' when I'm seriously injured. That way I heal quicker and can be back in action sooner. I might experience some dizziness, but I'm perfectly capable of returning to work. There's a lot of information I need to catch up with," Miranda insisted while unconsciously scooting closer to the edge of the bed.

"Catch up with?" Shepard queried suspiciously.

Miranda opened her mouth but ended up rolling her eyes instead when the doctor interrupted her. "XO Lawson has a moderate memory loss. Her MRI shows a gradual increase of synaptic re-growth. Thus, based on the speed of her recovery so far it's likely that she'll regain her memory in time. For now though we've estimated that she's lost all memory of the last year."

Shepard whistled and shot Miranda a sympathetic glance. "A lot has happened," she said unhelpfully.

Jane had to do some fast thinking. Miranda would have written reports on all their missions over the last year or so; that's just the way she was. She would have documented all her dealings with Cerberus and her father; rescuing Oriana; Shepard's progress at uniting the galaxy's space faring species… and in there somewhere amongst her personal files she might even have a few notes about Jack.

One look at the determination in Miranda's eyes told her she wouldn't be dissuaded.

With a sigh Shepard looked toward the doctor. "Other than the memory loss, is she fit to leave?"

Chakwas frowned, reluctant to let her patient out of her watchful care. "Can you stand?" she asked the recently comatose biotic. Miranda eased her body off the bed with a little more caution and took a few tentative steps. When the dizziness didn't return she raised a confident eyebrow at the doctor. A few seconds passed before Chakwas nodded slowly. "So long as you promise to rest periodically. I expect you back here for a check-up within the next 24 hours. Commander, I trust you won't overload her with the mission files?"

"You got it Doc." She motioned to Miranda to precede her out the door. As soon as she was out of earshot she added in an aside, "I think we both know it's not the official logs that she'll struggle with."

Karin nodded solemnly. "Where is Jack?"

"Outside, with the kids."

"I'll keep an eye out for her. You'd better get going."

With a quick glance towards the door, Jane shook herself into action. "Right. I'll keep you updated," she promised as she disappeared round the door frame.

Miranda took several long strides, putting as much distance as possible between her and the doctor. It was several seconds before she really began to take in her surroundings. The thing that first grabbed her attention was not the newly repaired elevator or the obvious military redesign of the corridor she stood in, but the huge plaque on the wall with the names of the dead. Anderson was up there, a few spaces down from Lt. Alenko. She felt a light ripple of anxiety run the length of her back; how many casualties was she soon to discover? Would Oriana be among them?

Feeling the Commander's approach she quickly forced the feeling to the back of her mind.

"We nearly had you up there," Shepard commented dryly. "We were beginning to worry that you would never wake up."

"We?"

"Chakwas, Liara, myself… Jack, Tali, Garrus; plenty of people on this crew had their fingers crossed for you."

"Oh please," Miranda said dismissively. It was bad enough that the doctor had tried to persuade her that Jack had worried about her; the idea that so many people were concerned for her welfare was frankly quite alarming. Miranda turned her back on the dearly departed and took several rapid steps towards where her office had once stood, ignoring the Commander as she called out to stop her.

As the door whooshed open the relief she should have felt at being back in her own space immediately disappeared. "What the hell is this!?"

Shepard waited until the door closed behind her, wanting to give her confused friend some privacy. "This is where the Shadow Broker is currently keeping all her equipment."

Miranda's eyebrow shot up then her expression quickly changed to one of confusion. "I thought the Shadow broker was male," she voiced the first thought that popped into her mind.

Shepard leaned as casually as she could by the doorway. "He was. Most of the operatives still believe that. We forced in some changes in the chain of command," she added with a smirk.

Lawson rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine, so where do I work now?"

Jane rubbed her neck awkwardly, she really didn't want to continue their conversation on the lower decks, but neither did she want to antagonise her friend any further. "Look Miranda, there've been a lot of changes since the period you remember. Anything you logged during your time on the Normandy will be accessible from my quarters, where we can go through all your questions at our leisure." She took in the stubborn set to the XO's shoulders and the steel in her eyes and decided to pull out her trump card. "I imagine you must be fairly desperate to find out how your sister's doing."

The ex-Cerberus operative scowled at the commander, causing Jane to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing; it was hard to take Miranda's ire seriously when she knew that under that perfect exterior beat a heart of gold. Still, it would not do to make fun of the woman who clearly was having a difficult time adjusting to not being in control.

"Are you prepared to face all the broken hearts you've left behind if we stay here?" Shepard teased, her expression softened.

Miranda paled slightly before regaining her composure. "You're bluffing, but I see your point. Lead the way," she conceded imperiously.


Liara stared into the fire, her thoughts light years away after Shepard was summoned to the medbay.

The effects of the toxins had almost worn off; this had been the first day where she'd woken from her nap without lethargic limbs, after a sleep empty of the terrifying nightmares that had been plaguing her. Though possibly the reason for the last had more to do with the understanding she and Jane had come to.

A sad smile turned her mouth up at the corners; her thoughts returning to her lover's fervent promise to revisit their discussion about children once Dr. Chakwas was happy that she was fully recovered. Physically at least. With her mind being a little clearer she was beginning to feel the guilt set in as she reflected on her behaviour of the last few days. Her lover had made every effort to keep the peace while the asari had yelled, cried and given her the cold shoulder in an attempt to force the Commander into conceding to her wishes. Liara recalled the irrational terror she felt every time Jane had tried to persuade her to wait; fear that as soon as they returned to Earth she would lose the woman she loved forever. It was a fear that lingered still, but with more command of her emotions she was better able to hide it; to control it.

Barely fifteen minutes passed after Shepard left before she was joined by a certain Quarian and her Turian boyfriend; she guessed she must have begun to look rather pathetic sitting on her own.

"Hey T'Soni, how is it that you're sat out here on your own? Where's our favourite Commander?" Garrus looked around as if he couldn't believe that Shepard would just wander off.

Liara smiled at the pair, their presence brining much needed distraction. "She was here; she was summoned away by the doctor."

Tali put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she gingerly sat down. "She can't ever count on being uninterrupted can she?"

"It is hard on her, but she's always thrived on it," Liara replied, hesitating as she remembered Jane's confession.

"Still?" Garrus asked. He eyed his friend knowingly, trying to communicate with her that she didn't have to worry about betraying the Commander's confidence by confiding in them. "After all she's been through I wouldn't blame her for wanting to slow down."

"You both deserve a break." Tali agreed. "Has she mentioned anything about taking time off now the war's over?"

"Just between us," Dr. T'Soni began in a softer tone. "She did talk about wanting to leave the Alliance, but she doesn't know what else she would do if she's not a soldier anymore."

"She mentioned wanting to start a family," the Turian confessed, eliciting a short squeal of delight from the young Admiral.

"She did?" Liara asked in surprise. It wasn't that she hadn't believed Jane when she said she wanted children too, but hearing it from an outside source somehow made it more concrete.

"Keelah, it would be wonderful to see you and Shepard with your arms full of babies." Tali crooned, giving Garrus cause to wonder if he shouldn't be watching out for the 'what we'll do now the war is over' talk. "You'll have to come to Rannoch once the Relays are functioning again."

"Tali, I think we'll have to spend some time on Earth and Thessia first. We don't even have anywhere to live yet, and we're just going to start with one for now." Liara breathed, her skin taking on a pale tinge at the thought of her arms full of children.

"You are trying then?" the Quarian persisted.

"Erm Tali, maybe we shouldn't pester her so much with this. I'm sure we'll be the first to know, when there is something to know." He could sense her pouting behind her mask and was relieved when her body relaxed slightly, indicating her surrender.

"I'll make sure you're the first to know," Liara assured her suited friend and then added with a sigh, "Not that it'll happen any time soon I'm sure; there's going to be so much to clean up to get our home worlds habitable again. The Council and the Alliance will want their hero leading the way, telling everyone to support one another and stay strong."

Garrus nodded but attempted to console his friend, "They can't force her to stay; they know she's earned her retirement."

Liara's expression was conflicted. "Do you really think Shepard will leave, once she sees all the lost and grieving people who'll be looking to her to give them hope?" She shook her head as both Garrus and Tali's silence confirmed her point. "How can I ask her to abandon the billions of people who need her? How can I be that selfish?" She added in a whisper.

"She'll be needed to coordinate the Reapers too," Tali added. "Though it does seem that simply leaving them with instructions is enough to get the best out of them. The Cornucopia received the latest reports from Sol this morning; the Relay is almost ready to test already. You might see Thessia sooner than you think. Palaven is a short relay jump away from there, and with the rate things are going it might only be a couple of months before we're back at the Far Rim." Tali wriggled then in excitement as a thought occurred to her. She ploughed on, her mouth trying to keep up with her brain. "We'll have Geth with us as we travel through the Relays towards Rannoch. They made such a difference to the Quarian re-colonisation efforts; I'm sure if Shepard asked them, they'd be happy to help Earth, Thessia and Palaven too!"

Liara simply looked at her friend thoughtfully, wondering if things could really be that simple. Would Shepard be happy to help just by directing the ancient machines to do her bidding? Would the Council and Alliance condescend to operate without their shining star in active duty so long as she was still around as the poster child for determination and compassion? She'd always known that theirs would never be the quiet life, but her hope was being renewed that they would still be able to have their dream.