Note: The final chapter. Just FYI this one will get pretty explicit at the very end, but I'm sure that won't surprise anyone. Thanks again for all of the support. I might go back and make a few changes here and there. I am also actively considering a post-Mass Effect 3 ending story wherein I may make some pretty liberal changes to like the last five minutes of the game if you know what I mean. Possibly involving elements of indoctrination theory. Who knows? Anyway, here's this.
_
Shepard awoke to much less of a hangover and more lucid memories than he would have expected. Sometimes he wondered if Cerberus had given him a Krogan liver while they were reassembling him. He also had a feeling that Tali may not be sharing in his good spirits when she woke up. Turning to her, she still appeared to be comfortably unconscious, sprawled out on the bed with one arm dangling over the edge.
The commander smiled and shook his head, then stood from the bed. He could see a light flashing on his private terminal from the other side of his collection of various model ships and so headed toward it. He had one unread message, from Liara.
To: Commander Shepard
From: Liara T'Soni
Subject: Birthday Wishes
Shepard,
My sources indicate that you and the crew have stopped at the Citadel for some brief shore leave. I had some matters to attend to personally aboard the Citadel as well and I was hoping we could get together just the two of us for a meal while we're both in the area. My treat, it is your birthday after all. Respond quickly and let me know when we can meet.
Sincerely,
Liara.
The notion of seeing Liara did excite Shepard to some degree, he hadn't seen her since before the suicide mission when he helped her take down and then assume the role of the Shadow Broker. At the same time however he wasn't sure how Tali might feel about him going off to meet the woman with whom he previously shared his bed. Although it was such a long time ago and she really had nothing to worry about, Tali could be a bit of the jealous type. He decided to go ahead and reply.
To: Liara T'Soni
From: Commander Shepard
Subject: RE Birthday Wishes
Liara,
I'd love to meet up with you, we haven't had a chance to talk for a while. It looks like your putting your sources to good use. Meet me at The Zakera Café in two hours.
-Shepard.
Two hours should give him plenty of time to get things ready as well as smooth things over with Tali if necessary. Shepard left his desk and returned to his lady in the bed. He sat next to her on the edge of the bed and gently ran his fingers through her dark strands of hair. She began to stir slightly. Her hand which had once been dangling off the edge of the bed moved to position on the commander's thigh and gripped it tightly. She made a soft painful moaning sound while she did this. Shepard smiled and kissed her gently on the head.
"Looks like someone had a good night." He commented quietly.
"Shh… I'm right here." She replied weakly. "You don't need to be so loud."
"So what do Quarians do in the event of a hang over?"
"Hydrate, then pray that it stops soon. My suit will help me regulate once I put it back on. After I sleep for another hour or six."
Shepard laughed at that. "Well I wanted to know I just got a message from Liara, I'm going to meet her for lunch on the Citadel in a couple of hours."
Tali hesitated to answer for a while. "Is she taking you out for your birthday?" She asked.
"I think that was her plan. That's not going to bother you is it?"
"I trust you." She replied rather quickly. "And at the very least I trust that Liara knows about my shotgun."
"Well that's good to know." The commander replied with a grin. "And to be honest now that I've seen a Quarian out of the suit and subsequently made love to her, I don't think I could ever go back to an Asari."
"You really have a way with words don't you?"
Shepard arrived to the Zakera Café a little earlier than Liara. He found a table and ordered a drink, then watch dozens of people walking to and from the various stores and restaurants on the Zakera ward. It wasn't often he got to sit and just watch like this, so he relished it while he could. It wasn't long before he saw a familiar Asari face walking toward him among the crowd.
Liara's eyes similarly found the commander and she increased her pace to the Café. She extended her arms slightly when she reached him
"Shepard," She said as they embraced, "Happy birthday, it's good to see."
"Thanks," He replied, "It's good to see you too. I guess the life of a Shadow Broker isn't being too hard on you."
"No, I've been able to manage. And I can always make time for my friends. Shadow Broker or not."
The sat down at the table Shepard had gotten for them. "It's good to know you'll always remember the people you care about."
"How has the R and R been treating you so far?"
"There's been an unsurprising amount of alcohol so far. I imagine tonight will be much the same."
"I can see you're really putting that body to the test."
"There's only one way to find the limits."
"I also saw you had an appointment for two scheduled at Nos Astral Projections."
"Is it good that the Shadow Broker is so interested in my personal life."
"Sorry Shepard, it's hard not looking at anything I come across with your name on it. Did you have a nice time with Tali?"
The commander smiled while he reminisced briefly. "It was great actually. She really loved it."
"Good, I'm glad to hear things are going well. It's also nice to see you don't appear to be too bothered by the anniversary tomorrow. I've read to just about all there is on the incident at Akuze. I could imagine this would be a difficult time for you."
"Well I've had a couple friends help me with that too. I don't think it will be causing me anymore problems."
"Good." Liara replied.
Shepard and Liara continued to catch up over the course of two hours. They talked until their food came, they talked while they ate, and they continued to talk once their dishes had been taken.
"I think it's about time I head back to the Normandy." Shepard said. "Do you want to come with? You can see some more of the crew."
"I'd like that actually." Liara replied.
They stood from the table and headed to the nearest transit terminal. The cab arrived and quickly took them back to the docks. The Normandy's airlock opened up to a quiet and soulless CIC.
"Everyone is probably on the crew deck, if not they might have already started drinking."
"Or perhaps it's a little of both?" Liara commented.
"If they are we just might have to join them."
The two headed down the long hallway to the elevator and Shepard selected level three. Then they shared a quiet ride down one level.
"You know I keep thinking we should get some elevator music." Shepard said as they stepped out onto the crew deck. They turned the corner into the mess hall and they were greeted by a wall of people.
"SURPRISE!" The entire Normandy crew shouted at once.
"Holy hell!" Shepard said in reaction. He quickly scanned the area. There was a cake, finger foods, and several bottles of booze all around the table and counters. He turned to Liara. "Did you have something to do with this?"
Liara smiled as she replied. "Not really, it was all Tali's idea. She sent me a message yesterday asking me to get you off of the ship and keep you occupied for a couple hours while she got this all ready for you."
Shepard stepped toward his crew and began exchanging hugs and handshakes with all the men and women he had been serving with these last few months. A few stopped to hand him gifts but most continued on to pour themselves drinks. The commander was a little shocked when Legion handed him some kind of rolled up cloth with a ribbon around it.
"Legion, you got me a birthday present?"
"We do not see the need to celebrate the day of a platform's creation. However we understand organics' desires to celebrate the trivial. We were instructed by Joker to present you with this gift."
Shepard took off the ribbon and unrolled the cloth to see that it was actually a t-shirt. On the front of the shirt in big letters it read: "Quarian butts drive me nuts."
"Nice one Joker." The commander laughed.
"You know me commander, always keeping it classy."
"There's something else waiting for you in the lounge." Dr. Chakwas said.
"I don't know what could top a Quarian butts drive me nuts t-shirt."
"You'll just have to see." She replied.
"Will I need a gun?"
"I would hope not."
The commander headed to the lounge alone while the rest of the party goers made themselves drinks and comfortable around the mess hall. When the door opened he saw a male figure standing at the window with his back to the door. The man was wearing dark green combat armor and had a military haircut. The sound of the door opening caught his attention and he turned toward the commander.
"Toombs…" Shepard said quietly.
"Shepard, it's good to see you again."
"Well those are the last words I was expecting to hear from you. The last message you sent me said you'd kill me if you ever saw me again."
"A man can change in a month's time."
"If they really want to I guess. So what changed?"
"For one thing I heard you left Cerberus, heard you gave them a swift kick to the balls on your way out too."
The commander cracked a smile. "Yeah you could say that, although in my defense I'll still say I never really worked for them."
"No I get it. It was circumstantial. We're just on opposite ends of the spectrum you and I. We both made it out of Akuze somehow. You became a military hero and I got experimented on for several years. But if it had been the other way around, if Cerberus had given me a shiny new ship and a second chance at life like they did for you. God knows I would have done the same."
"I'm glad you came around to see it that way."
"Well a friend of yours actually convinced me. A girl named Tali I think it was? She sent me a pretty long message a couple days ago about your birthday and Akuze coming up. Said it might be good for both of us to get together. She also explained away Cerberus, it sounded like she had a pretty fair grudge against them too."
"Yeah you could say that. Well whatever the case I'm glad she did. It's good to see you Toombs."
"Glad I was in the area. Now it's my understanding there's a party going on out there and the guest of honor is in here. Let's go have a drink for old time's sake."
"You won't get any arguments from me."
Shepard and Toombs returned to the mess hall to join in the festivities. The crew listened eagerly to stories of a young Shepard long before he had ever taken command of the Normandy. His early days as a marine alongside Toombs provided more laughs and entertainment than any of them would have imagined. This was one of the rare times Shepard ever spoke of his past, but now he did so with a smile on his face.
With new warmth brewing in his heart, the commander simply wanted to thank the woman who had put this all together for him, but as he scanned the crowd he noticed for the first time that she was oddly absent. He turned to Garrus who had been sitting to his right for most of the reminiscence.
"Garrus, have you seen Tali? I just realized I haven't seen her for most of this party."
"It seemed like she was feeling a little under the weather." Garrus replied. "I think she may have headed off to your cabin."
"I think I'll go check on her then."
"Go easy on her commander." Garrus commented with a smirk.
The commander was a little confused by that last remark as he headed to the elevator to take him to his cabin. On the ride up his head was still buzzing over Toombs returning in his life and in a less violent way than he would have originally expected. All he wanted now was to thank Tali for the opportunity.
The door to his cabin opened and he was stopped dead in his tracks by what he saw and suddenly everything else that had happened today left his mind. Tali was lying on the bed facing him, expecting him, wearing next to nothing. A small black see through nightgown ran with her curves down just to the top of her thighs. Besides that there was nothing to cover her breasts. A small amount of black lace in the form of lingerie wrapped around her waistline, and was connected by small black straps to similarly colored stockings that covered her long curving legs.
"Is it hot in here?" The commander finally managed to mutter.
"Happy birthday." Tali replied with a toothy grin as she stood from the bed and walked toward him.
"You're spoiling me today."
"Shut up and unwrap your present."
Tali lunged for a kiss, wrapping both of her arms around the commander's neck. He returned with the same amount of passion, his hands already starting to cover her body. Tali yanked at his shirt until it was off over his head. He kicked off his shoes and then twisted Tali around in his arms and started kissing and biting at her neck while his hands maneuvered beneath the her small gown. Both were feeling the effects of the energy building between them as their heart rates accelerated and blood flowed to relevant areas.
Shepard earned a surprised gasp from Tali when he pushed her down onto the bed. He was quick to remove his remaining layers of clothing as he approached her from behind. His hands were ravenous across her body but soon they were pulling off the lace that kept him separated from her. He was forceful now, determined to have his way with her.
There was no build up this time as Shepard entered her. She released a loud moan and for a moment found it difficult to support her own body weight. The commander placed a firmly gripped hand at her shoulder and the other held strong on her thigh as he began to go to work. This was nothing like the delicate experience of their first time. Instead he came into her repeatedly with long hard thrusts and enjoyed watching the slight ripples in her back side as he did. The loud throaty reactions he garnered from her only pushed him harder.
After several long minutes of this the commander could see that Tali was having trouble keeping up this position at such a pace and in one swift motion he flipped her onto her back. He came in close and hard and their tongues flicked inside wide open mouths. He grabbed her legs and flung them over his shoulders as they came together again. Tali dug her hands deep into the commander's back as pleasure blossomed and exploded from within her.
He was relentless now. For him time seemed to slow as adrenaline burned through his veins and he took advantage of this, adjusting each pelvic movement to gain the most response from the woman beneath him. Tali cried out loudly, shouting his name intermingled with Quarian curse words. Now she wanted to show him what he was doing to her.
Without separating, Tali was able to use the strength of her legs to roll the commander over to his back so that she could be on top. Without losing that pace that he had set she rocked and bounced on top of him. He had moved one had to a tight grip on her butt while the other hand pulled her in for long passionate exchanges between her exhausted gasps and moans.
The commander pulled his legs up toward himself and now used the extra moment from his bent knees to thrust up from beneath. Tali threw her head back and Shepard's hands moved to her breasts and began forcibly massaging them. He could feel himself coming to an end soon and for another few brief moments time all but stopped for the both of them. With one more shout from Tali they climaxed together and Tali's body collapsed across the commander's.
They exchanged no words for a while, just panted against each other's sweat soaked bodies. Shepard was first to adequately catch his breath.
"You know, I just came up here to say thank you for the party and talking to Toombs like that. You didn't have to do all this too."
"Who says I did this for you?" Tali replied.
"Does that mean you'll be doing things like this for yourself more often?"
"Well I don't know why I would get rid of the outfit now."
"You definitely can't return it anymore."
Tali laughed. "You know it's not that late, we could probably still return to the party. You are the guest of honor after all."
"Garrus and Joker are going to have a field day when we show up together."
"Let them talk."
"Alright then," Shepard said as he moved from under Tali and stood from the bed. "Meet me in the shower in ten minutes."
"Is that an order?"
Shepard replied with a grin and headed to the bathroom. He stopped just outside the door when he noticed something sitting next to the terminal on his desk. It was a framed picture of their date on the Citadel. Shepard was bearing his regular, dignified, closed mouth grin but Tali's smile was beaming. At the bottom was an inscription that read:
After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will remain at your side.
