2189 C.E.
"But I never heard back from you."
Liara tried to keep whatever lingering resentment, anger, and sadness that still stirred in her heart under wraps as she finished filling Samantha in on the details of what had happened since they last saw each other.
"At first I held desperately on to hope. I tried to tell myself you didn't get the message in time. Or that something kept you from responding to me. I built up all these lovely, romantic notions in my mind, of how touched you must have been, and how much it must have tormented you not to be able to send a response back. But before too long, my friend Feron did some digging around, and he was able to confirm that the Ithaca did receive my message before radio silence was declared for the rest of the mission. The window would have been close, but...but you could have sent a response."
Samantha started to interject, but Liara held up her hand, silently begging to let her finish.
"I...sort of lost my way for a while, after that. Swinging back between being furious with you, then falling into self-loathing and pity. It...it really hurt." she said, with a half laugh-half sob. "After a few more months, I threw myself into my work and the lifestyle that came with it, looking for something to dull the pain, looking for ways to think I would be spiteing you, or possibly even punishing myself. I don't..." she paused, rubbing at her hands nervously. "I don't want to talk about that right now. Let's just say that I hit rock bottom about a year after you left. My father, who had been gloriously tolerant of my behavior up to that point finally stepped in.
Liara swallowed through her smile, "I've come a long way. I've got a long way to go still but..." She bit her bottom lip, took a cleansing breath and continued. "I just want to say...I'm sorry. It took me a long time to realize that so much of what you said was true. I drove away the best and truest love I ever had. All because I felt like I had to prove myself, to people who didn't deserve the effort."
She reached over for Samantha's hand, without meaning to. She was pleased to find it taken before she could stop or apologize
"I'm not expecting anything, really. For all I know, you're already with someone else." She bowed her head, and smiled softly. "Still. I'd do it all over again. With less drama and petulance, of course. But...it was a pretty good year, Samantha." She looked up, smile widening. "It was incredible."
Samantha rubbed the back of her neck, clearly uncomfortable, but...Liara could see something was different. Old Samantha would have been stammering, full of bluster and nerves. Whomever was sitting across from her now held a fully realized sense of self-confidence. Someone who truly knew who she was.
Liara could barely begin to imagine what sort of things the other woman had seen, out in the Unknown Regions. The planets she had helped discover. The challenges she had been forced to face and overcome. The times, possibly, where her life was on the line. Without meaning to, her mind had barely brushed across the surface of her former lovers. In a few seconds, she had gotten fractional flashes of what Samantha had experienced during their time apart.
Do I even know her anymore?
The weight of it pressed down on her like an inexorable grinding. What she had almost done to the other woman. How she had kept her from realizing her full potential.
"Samantha, I am so sorry. I didn't mean..."
In that moment, Liara found herself apologizing for so many things with that one statement.
She started to rise up from her seat. It was all too much for her, so overwhelming.
Samantha caught her wrist, stopping her, a desperate, frightened look in her eyes. There were a few more telepathic flashes that passed between them, before Liara finally stopped herself. But it was enough.
"Liara...please!" Samantha breathed out, guiding her back down in her seat. "Please don't go!" Her eyes were pleading now. "Maybe I'm playing it a little too cool, because I was so worried you'd never want to talk to me again. You have no idea how good it is to FINALLY see you right now. And thank you...thank you for...that." Her smile was filled with a quiet, subtle brilliance. "I can tell this is hurting you, but please give me a minute. I owe you an apology as well. And more importantly...I owe you an explanation."
Liara let herself be pulled back down, and listened.
2187 C.E.
You are not throwing away the best thing you ever had in your life, Sam. You get that notion out of your head. And you could try stopping all that pacing for a while. Especially as there's barely any bloody room to move about in.
The SSV Ithaca was surprisingly cramped for such a large ship, packed to the gills with everything the mission planners thought might be needed for an extended voyage of discovery, one with no facilities to depend on other than those the ship itself carried along. It was no great surprise then, given the rushed nature of the launch, that there were more than a few kinks to be worked out of almost every key system; Samantha, however, welcomed the crushing workload. It was a blessed relief from being left alone with her thoughts.
Samantha had been torn down the middle since that terrible night. Half of her demanded that she turn back and throw herself into Liara's arms. That she make this right for the both of them, put aside all these silly notions of being her own, completely independent woman, and settle down properly...
...and the other half viciously stung her pride for having such thoughts in the first place.
You know you need this, Samantha. You know that much. Life at Liara's side would be ever so lovely, but you'd never know what you were truly capable of. Without her support, or her resources propping you up.
And sooner or later, it'll eat away at you. Poison what the two of us have.
Or had.
Initially, she thought that her time on the Normandy should have been enough. Shouldn't that have given her the full measure of her capabilities, proven the strength of her mettel?
No.
That was about life and death. The sort of circumstances that give rise to tunnel vision, something which emerges only because one's continued existence is at stake. The Ithaca mission was about discovery and testing herself against the pure unknown.
Samantha wasn't a lifer, a career military woman. She had planned from the start on leaving the SAAF when the time was right, always assuming she'd retire well before she was eligible for full pension. Not that she needed it; between her natural talents and the various honorariums and stipends a number of the groups in the galaxy had seen fit to bestow on any and all members of the Normandy, she doubted destitution was ever in her cards.
Admittedly, she had gotten wrapped up in the excitement of being sent to Officer Candidate School, of having her abilities and contributions recognized with a full commission. Still, had it not been for this mission, she might easily have gone off with Liara...
...but part of me would still feel like a kept woman. And that would be a waste of a life.
But here she was now, on board the Ithaca as it stood before the massive Reaper-built construct that the Turians had unimaginatively dubbed "Relay 101". It had been untouched by the violence of The Pulse, owing to its current inactive status. But in just a couple of hours it would be activated, long enough for the ship to slip through. She'd be crossing the literal point of no return.
"All hands, report to Hangar Bay Six. The Captain will be addressing the crew in ten minutes. All hands, report to..."
Samantha blinked in confusion, not understanding why the Captain would go to the extraordinary step of addressing the crew in person this close to zero hour. There were a million preparations still to be made.
Oh no...did the mission get cancelled? Did the Turians finally manage to put enough pressure on the Council to pull the plug?
The Hierarchy hated the idea of exploring the Unknown Regions, content to let the stars beyond the deactivated Relays lie forever undisturbed - or at least for a long, long time -, and were only cooperating to the bare minimum extent the Council required.
It spoke well of the ship's crew that in under ten minutes, all hands had gathered as ordered, standing in neat and orderly rows before the elevated dais at the far end of the bay. Rows that quickly came to attention as Captain Benyamin Uhuru, an imposing, muscular African who had made a name for himself fighting in the resistance back on Earth during its occupation strode onto the platform.
"At ease!" he called out, his unamplified voice still carrying out across the cavernous bay. "I will keep this short, as I know we are all busy making preparations for our departure.
Sam tried not to smile at the understatement in the Captain's words. She had been pulling double shifts for days, as she and her team tested, retested and worked out every single bug they could find in the Ithaca's advanced and experimental sensor array. She couldn't help but feel relief; it seemed the mission was still on.
Pausing for a few seconds, the Captain began to slowly pace up and down the dais as he spoke, "First off, I want to say how pleased I am with the effort and dedication that this crew has shown so far. Pulling together a mission of this magnitude in such a short span of time has been, to put it lightly, a tremendous challenge. Especially at a time when so many question the wisdom and need for new exploration, when we're licking our wounds and rebuilding from the war." He paused, looking out over the crowd. "I was skeptical in the beginning as well. But over the past few months, I've come to realize that Humanity is at its best not when simply trying to survive, but by reaching out towards the future, towards the unknown, grasping for new understanding. This mission does not come too soon; exploration can not come soon enough!
Beginning to pace again, Uhuru continued, "But I'm not so naive as to think that we are not undertaking a mission with incredible risk. Despite the readings taken by Geth stealth probes over the past two months, we don't know for sure what we're going to find out there. Friends, enemies? Something like the Rachni, maybe far worse? I want to believe that everyone gathered here understands the risk.
He tilted his head up, raising his voice. "We're going to be completely alone out there. A world unto ourselves. No long range communications. No QEC. No way of coming back home before our mission is complete; we go through that relay today, and if we don't make our rendezvous window in two years time, we may never see home ever again. I am under strict orders to destroy the ship completely if we even suspect there is a strong chance that we will be taken by a hostile force, who could use the data in our computers to trace back our origins."
"This is a volunteer mission. Everyone is here because they specifically asked to be. And before we cross the point of no return, I MUST KNOW that each and every man and woman under my command has no regrets, no second thoughts. It is vital that I can depend on each and every one of you. Without question."
His body language eased slightly, and he took a breath, "I understand that sometimes we become intoxicated with the dream of exploration, but then cold reality begins to set in. And with this in mind, I'm making the following offer: For the next hour, if any one of you is having second thoughts, is beginning to have doubts that what you may be leaving behind forever is too much for you to lose, now is the time to back out." His voice took on a gentler tone, "There will be no black marks on your record. No disciplinary hearings. No recriminations. Only understanding. Only my respect, in that you acknowledged your limitations, and did the right thing in not allowing those limitations to jeopardize the rest of your crewmates, or this mission. There will be no shame in this, not after all of us cheated death barely a year ago."
His eyes narrowed, suddenly turning to steel, "But think long and hard over the next hour. Once we pass through that relay, my understanding for any second-guessing gets jettisoned out the airlock. If you realize your convictions are not as firm as they should be after we make the jump, there WILL be hell to pay."
He held that gaze over the entire crowd, as Samantha blanched. She was rattled, to be sure. As the Captain dismissed them all, she barely took note that she was far from the only crewmember that seemed distracted. At the same time, Samantha was grateful for what the Captain had done: forced her to look deep into her heart and question her motives.
Was this what she really wanted? Was proving herself, was discovering what was out there, in this one of a lifetime opportunity really so terribly important to the likely possibility that she would never see her friends again? Or her parents?
Or Liara?
Constantly being in danger in a war for survival for one thing; putting oneself into constant danger in the name of exploration was another.
But in the span of sixty agonizing minutes, she came out more certain than ever that she was going to do this.
Needed to.
She had to be one of the first to see things no one else ever had. This was about a lot more than simply curing a broken heart. It always had been more than that.
Three minutes later, a datapad was casually thrust into her hand.
"Personal message for you, Lieutenant. High priority from Earth. Someone clearly pulled some strings to get it to you before we left. It was just sent an hour ago."
Samantha nodded distractedly, and gazed down, reading over the words.
Dearest Samantha.
I am sorry.
I am so sorry. I've made a terrible mistake.
Please come home. I promise. I will do whatever it takes to make it right between us.
I need you. I can't stand to lose you.
Liara
Pleased with her ability to keep her hand relatively steady and quickly dashing the tears from her eyes before anyone noticed, she swallowed hard.
No! Oh God, please...no! Why now? Why did this letter have to come now?!
There was nothing to be done. It was too late.
That's not true! It's only been five minutes past the deadline! If you ran to the Captain right this second explained the situation, of course he would understand!
Samantha took five steps towards the elevator, and then stopped.
"No." she whispered to herself.
It was too late. The decision was made. If she was ever going to see Liara again, it was going to be on her own terms. She needed to meet her destiny, and see which Samantha Traynor emerged on the other side.
But all wasn't lost! She could still tell Liara she had gotten the message. Two years? That wasn't anything to an Asari. She would still be there, Samantha just knew it! All she had to do was send out a reply. Just three little words.
Wait for me.
She knew it would be enough. It had to. Once Liara saw, everything would be okay. And she'd have something, someone, absolutely amazing waiting for her.
Her heart gladdened, she turned positively chipper as she finished the rest of her appointed tasks. She was suffused with an almost-giddy joy, at the chance life had given her, to put things in order, make things right with Liara, even if just in some small, chancy way, before they were completely cut off from the rest of interstellar civilization.
It was a joy that came completely crashing down around her three hour later as she checked the event logs, and discovered that a complex fault in the communications array had caused any personal messages being sent out during a particular five minute window to be irretrievably lost.
Samantha sputtered angrily to one of her team members, furiously waving around the data pad in her hand. "What...what the bloody hell is the meaning of this?!"
"S-sorry, Lieutenant!" sputtered one of the subordinate techs.
"I want ANSWERS, Crewman! I want to know how one of the chief systems I'm responsible for...that WE are...how...how did this happen?"
"It...was...I mean...Lieutenant, I'm sorry, I tried to stop her, I really did. I told her it wasn't ready, showed her the warnings you sent out, but she insisted, and...I mean, I couldn't say no..."
Like a fist striking hard into her solar plexus, it hit Samantha. What had happened.
Through gritted teeth, she hissed "Harkness!"
Commander Emily Harkness, the head of the Science Mission for the expedition. She had coded an incredibly complicated diagnostics and data crunching suite, and wanted it fully integrated into the ship's computer core ASAP. Samantha butted heads with her for the past day, insisting the commander needed to wait until all other priority systems checks and optimizations were finished up. Warned her that trying to install the suite ahead of time, in the improper order, could easily result in any number of unpredictable issues.
She had taken an immediate dislike to the diminutive, haughty officer. A dislike that now blazed into a tight ball of rage.
"So the Commander, she went ahead and she completed the integration herself. I...I really tried to make her see reason, Lieutenant, I really did!"
Samantha buried that knot of fury as far down as she could, pleased to see she had only cracked the screen of the datapad in her hand, successfully resisting the urge to throw it against the wall outright.
Liara never got the message.
And there was no way she could send a second one. They were through Relay 101, and cut off. For the next seven-hundred and thirty-two days, the rest of the Universe no longer existed for them.
She has no idea. Worse, probably thinks I've ignored her, blown her words off.
Later, much later, in the laughable privacy of her shower, Samantha sobbed, grateful for the stream of water hiding her tears and moans of grief.
Wait for me, Liara. Please...
...please wait."
Samantha leaned back at her small desk as she sipped her morning coffee. A holographic chronometer hung over a small emitter. Aside from the date and time, it read:
MISSION DAY 366.
It had been a good year. An amazing year. She had never been so scared, nor so proud of herself. The things everyone on board had done. And seen. And the number of times and ways they cheated death. The discoveries made, the rich, habitable worlds discovered. There was even a first contact situation!
There was no doubt in her heart now: she made the right choice in the end. This place, this ship, right here and now, was where she needed to be.
But that didn't mean she wasn't aware of what it might have cost her. Of what she desperately hoped was still waiting for her when he returned.
Her introspection was broken by her friend Anthony Choi, an Ensign in Astrometrics, calling her over the comm. She instinctively fiddled with the red bangs now coloring her hair. Uniform code had gotten perhaps a touch lax over the ensuing months, and it had been Tony egging her on to do something daring with her hair.
"''ey! Sammy! You have GOT to see this. This...THING that we've just found orbiting a G-type star about a parsec away. I don't even know how to describe it!"
Belatedly, she responded, "I'm sure it's not THAT exciting, Tony."
"Ha! That's what you think. You've never seen anything like this before. No one has!"
"Alright! I'll be there in three minutes." she responded with mock exasperation.
She lingered, reaching down into her desk drawer and pulling out a hardcopy picture of Liara. Taking on the beach during their time together on Thessia, she looked positively radiant. Samantha reached out, stroking the picture tenderly, fingertips tracing over that perfect blue face. Staring into those intense eyes.
"I'll bet whatever it is...it's something you'd love. I hope there's still a chance for me to show you someday."
She then placed the picture back into her desk, and went to see what all the fuss was about.
To Tony's credit, his discovery was just as breathtaking and singularly unique as promised.
"Samantha." Liara softly croaked, her face wet, tears softly rolling down her cheeks.
They were holding both of each others hands now, although it was clear from the looks on their faces that neither was sure who initiated it.
"I don't know what to say." she continued. "I was just so...angry. At you, and then myself. I spent a year building up all this hatred, and then another year trying to tear it back down, brick by brick. And all this time, these past two years, you were desperately praying each and every day that I'd still be here when you got back."
Liara looked towards Samantha, fresh tears welling up, as she shook her head. "I can't even imagine what you ever saw in me."
Samantha squeezed back, with a gentleness that contrasted with the fierceness of her expression. "A woman who desperately wanted to make things right, who suffered and needed to keep others from following in those footsteps. The one driven to make people's lives a little brighter. Yes, you lost your way. And yes, there's a dark streak inside you, one I can see you still struggling with. But...oh Liara. Maybe you didn't write the story, but as soon as the Ithaca made it back through Relay 101, I started going through the massive backlog that hit our comm array...hell, the volume nearly crashed the system!" She laughed brightly at this, gently shaking her head.
"Maybe you didn't write me, but you know who did? Your Dad. And your cousins. Even Taevar. They all told me in their own way, contributed the pieces to what you went through over the past two years. How you hit rock bottom, and then pulled yourself back up and crawled out of that damn hole, determined to accept and seek atonement for your mistakes." It was her turn to sniffle now, eyes shining as she held Liara's hand tighter. "Reading it all, from their perspective, and it was like falling in love with you all over again. And I know this is going to sound crazy, but when it was clear that you weren't seeing anyone, that you hadn't moved on, that maybe, just maybe..." She swallowed against the lump forming in her throat.
"I...I was just about to write a letter to you today, actually. Apologizing. Saying I was ready to move on, and that I was sorry for the way I acted..." Liara laughed as she spoke. "I WAS ready to move on..."
There was a deafening silence that passed between them, an eternity that seemed to wrap around the both of them, drawing the entirety of existence into one small point.
"That's a lie, you know. But the truth is that I'm really...glad to see..."
Samantha kissed her. Gripped her face and pulled her close.
Everything seemed to fade to white, and by the time Liara thought to take stock of her surroundings, she was standing in one of the parks in the Presidium, with Samantha's arms wrapped around her tightly, the two of them smiling at each other like lovesick teens.
"How long do you have? I mean, you're still on active duty? Just on leave?" Liara asked.
Samantha nodded once, "About a month. They need at least that much time to put together the return trip to the New Frontier. That's what they're calling it for now, until they can come up with something more creative." She laughed liltingly at this.
Liara contented herself by playing with Samantha's hair, "You're thinking of going back." Not a question posed, but a statement of certainty.
Samantha bit her lip, breathed in deep, before the rush of words finally spilled out, overtaking her. "I am! I'm so sorry, but I am. You must think I'm mad, but Liara! Oh God, Liara. You need to see what's out there. We had to make a quick run of it the first time, you know? Couldn't stop to smell the flowers, unless it was an exceptional situation. There are over a hundred nav buoys my team and I dropped, like little breadcrumbs through the forest. Each time we did, I thought, 'Oh, I wish I could show Liara what we found.' Or 'I wonder what she'd think of this.'
Her bright smile intensified as she continued, "We saw nebulae that would put Widow's to shame. We made first contact with a race called the Fel Toran . They're like...seven foot tall bipedal birds, just coming into their own industrial revolution. They would have been the Reapers next victims, you know, but we saved them, Liara! You, and me, and everyone else who fought in the war. And now we get to help them grow up, and join the rest of the galaxy!
She laughed now, and shook her hair from her face, "And that doesn't even hold a candle to the Heart of the Goddess."
Liara blinked, head swimming at everything Samantha was relaying to her. "The...the what?"
"That's what I ended up calling it, and I suppose the name stuck. My friend Anthony picked it up, managed to isolate it from a ton of background noise and galactic rubbish. There it was, Liara. Just...this diamond. This giant, moon sized diamond, probably the ejected core of an ancient gas giant. And that's not even the most amazing bit: it was carved. A work of art, the last efforts of a race, called themselves the Talaxater. They managed to hold back the Reapers, just long enough during their Cycle, so that they could commit everything they knew to a physical record, carving the most amazing pictures, and structures and statues onto the surface. And laser etching data into the various layers as well. Think of it! To know that your number was up, and to devote yourself, as an entire race, to creating a giant living record, set in orbit around their sun. And somehow the Reapers missed it. Just...completely!"
Liara shivered. She had been able to see momentary glimpses of it, feel Samantha's wonder, in the brief link they had shared earlier.
The next words tumbled out of her mouth, without any conscious thought.
"Can we go? Together, I mean? Could you take me with you? Maybe we can do this ourselves, just you and me..."
Traynor didn't hesitate to gently place her fingers on Liara's lips, smiling wryly.
"I was hoping you'd say that. Desperately hoping. Because the Council is insisting on the next expedition being a multi-species affair; truth be told, I think the Turians and even the Asari are kicking themselves for not having gone out there as well, and don't want to make that mistake again. But honestly, we need someone to head up the exo-archaeology mission. To go through what remains we found of old civilizations. There are some names already being kicked about, but I'm sure if you threw your hat in the ring, you'd win."
Liara grinned with excitement, asking, "Do you happen to know who they're leaning towards at the moment?"
"Some Salarian, I think. A Doctor Shen Juppoxy."
Narrowing her eyes dangerously, Liara intoned, "Shen Juppoxy? That fraud?! He's not worthy to be grading papers as an assistant in one of my classes." She snorted, "I should go with you, just to keep your people from finding out too late how that man has coasted by on nothing but his charm and ability to dissemble.." She grumbled again, repeating the name, "Shen Juppoxy. Really!"
It was all Samantha could do to keep from bursting out into laughter. "So is that a yes then, Doctor T'Soni?"
Liara gave a single emphatic nod.
With a tilt of her head and a teasing tone, Samantha asked, "Is that the only reason you want to join the next mission?"
Liara seized the other woman's face, tangling her fingers possessively through those glorious locks, and kissed her ferociously. It was all she could do from melding with her right then and there. Instead, she had to content herself with coaxing her tongue past those soft and eager lips, and reveal in Samantha's presence for a full minute: her scent, her presence. The hum and resonance of her mind. She never wanted to let go, but the need for air eventually overwhelmed them both.
"That..was an absolutely brilliant way to say no'."
"Well then," Liara murmured, fingertips tracing over Samantha's scalp. "I guess we have some calls to make."
"You're bloody right we do."
It was an incredible year for them both; the weeks and the months seemed to fly by.
They were married four months in, taking advantage of the return trip to the Fel Toran homeworld. In the shade of their tallest and most sacred tree, a quarter mile wide and nearly four times as tall, they professed their love for each other in the presence of nearly ten-thousand of the natives, reveling in the knowledge that theirs was the first marriage of two Council species to take place out in the New Frontier.
When Liara finally stepped foot onto the surface of the Heart of the Goddess, she wandered in silent wonder for hours, in the shadow of a diamond skyscraper a half mile tall. Overwhelmed by everything she saw: a testament to a doomed race. A celebratory tribute to all they had been and done before the cruel end claimed them.
Every day was a joyous discovery, both of the new worlds they encountered and of each other.
When the year's expedition was up, they had already signed up for the next. One year became three. Three became five. By the time they finally called it quits, Tevos herself had publicly presented them with the highest civilian honors that could be bestowed, for all of their work in helping to usher forth a new era of peace and prosperity in the galaxy.
But it was time now for the next phase of their lives. For small houses, picket fences. Two dogs, and later, two daughters. Year after year rolled by, and the worst either could say about any one year in particular is that they were pretty good.
Until suddenly, they weren't anymore.
2320 C.E.
Liara looked down at the now empty parfait dish on the table before her, and then to the full one, on the other side of the table; she smiled wistfully. She had done this every year for the past decade.
Ever since Samantha's passing.
Apollo's Cafe was still around, although it was under new management, and called something different. Literally: Something Different.
"I should have bought the place when I had the chance, Samantha. Kept it the same."
"Oh, dear heart. They can't take away our memories of the place. You can't hold back the tide of change. You of all people should appreciate that."
Her reverie was interrupted as her youngest daughter Delilah suddenly dropped into the other chair. Barely a century old, and still possessed of a rather infuriating whimsy that came with youth. When she spoke actual Terran English, she had a cut glass accent with a London twist; at least that was how Samantha always described it. It made Delilah sound like the mirror image of her father. So of course she insisted on talking in English, today of all days.
After a few seconds, Delilah leaned forward, and quietly, yet impishly inquired, "So is this the year that you let someone else eat that?"
Liara took a deep breath, and attempted to sound stern, "Young lady..."
The younger Asari held up her hands in mock defensiveness, "I'm just saying, Mum, it's an awful waste of perfectly scrumptious yik-ti-kakora. Sitting there. Melting slowly, sadly. Crying out, 'I have one purpose in this short, short life, and..."
Liar groaned inwardly; it was often infuriating, when it wasn't absolutely adorable, how much Delilah was like her father. On any other year, she might have chided her for her breezy treatment of her personal mourning ritual, but this time...
This time it felt different.
She reached down and slowly inched the dish over in her daughter's direction. "ONLY because I think it would have made your father happy." she lied.
Delilah lit up, rubbing her hands together with exaggerated glee, "Oh! Thanks, Mum!" She then glanced up towards the Citadel's artificial sky and saluted, "Cheers, Dad!"
She ate with gusto, and Liara sat quietly for a few minutes, before speaking.
"I didn't realize you were on the Citadel. You should have called."
"Oh, yeah. But that would have ruined the surprise, right?" She smirked. "It's Seasonal Holiday at Serrice Academy, and Cicero is coming by later today. We're going to spend it together here. You know, with you. So...surprise!"
Liara quirked up a brow, smiling, unable to maintain a somber mood despite her best efforts. "I still can't believe you're in a relationship with a Geth platform."
"I still can't believe you act like it's such a strange thing."
"I suppose I'm stuck in my ways."
Delilah made a choked noise, and rolled her eyes. "Please, Mum. You're not even two-fifty yet. Still in the blue of health, the prime of your life." She paused, before giving her mother a more meaningful look. "And on that note...it's been ten years. I understand the need to grieve. It's healthy. But you know Dad would want you to move on, yeah? Anything more past today, and she'd complain about you...I don't know..wallowing." She reached out, squeezing Liara's hand tightly in her own.
"Perhaps." Liara canted her head to one side, and then gave a lazy roll of her shoulders. "Alright. Maybe you have a point. It does...seem like the time has come." She held up a finger and started to waggle it. "Don't get any ideas about me suddenly starting to date now, though."
Delilah leaned back in her chair, putting down her spoon and issuing a satisfied sigh, dessert now completely consumed. "Of course not, Mum. Wouldn't dream of it." A few beats later, she added, "But you know, Auntie Aurora IS stopping through briefly. On her way to be an instructor at John Grissom, you know? Barely seems to have aged at all, either. Guess those nanites worked out better than everyone thought."
"Hmm...I did not know she was going to be on the station...and WAIT. A moment."
"Just saying, Mum. Been almost nine years since Aunt Samara passed..."
Liara rested her face against her hand, "Delilah, Aurora Shepard and I are friends. Just friends. Just old friends. Nothing more."
"You should at least be open to the possibility."
Liara dropped her head for a moment in frustration, then lifted it up. "No."
"But you two would be so good together!" Delilah playfully whined.
"'Sweetie...Rory Shepard and I aren't happening. Stop trying to make it happen."
The young Asari snickered, "Yeah, well. Never say never. At least promise me this: you'll make the next year a good one?"
Liara didn't answer immediately. Instead, she let her thoughts drift backwards over the years. Back to her childhood. Back to the Reaper War. To the day that Samantha Traynor had begun to win her heart, with a simple act of kindness and compassion. To the stupid, stubborn acts that nearly drove her away forever, and to all the years they shared afterwards. She hugged it all tightly within her heart, and then felt it open up, as if allowing a butterfly trapped in her hand to finally fly free.
It is time. Isn't it? Thank you, Samantha, my love. For everything.
"That, Delilah, I can most definitely promise you. A good year."
THE END
A/N: Hakuna Some Vodka! It's finally done! Sorry for the two and a half month gap, I got hit with a lot of heavy shit, including getting the flu, getting a cold, and having some issues with my depression from being so sick, but things are finally starting to turn around at long last!
A million thank yous to Corentin IV, who is hard at work on the next chapter of Sinchi, I promise! She showed me a bunch of it, and it's great, but then again, it always is. She worked her deft editing magick on this chapter in short order, and I'm very grateful. Few know that my friendship with her stretches back years, to the time when she and I both attended American Hogwarts. We were both in House Bearglove, and she did her best to help me thwart the devious machinations of D'Eclair Serpentifax and the dastardly House Wolfthorn!
(Long story)
I also want to thank the ever-supportive RED78910, who has become practically prolific in his writing these days, and you guys should definitely check it out. Many kudos to Keian once more as well; it was she who provided the singular inspiration for this series.
And finally, of course, I want to thank all of you. All the readers. Everyone who favorited, everyone who reviewed, everyone who followed. Even if all you did was read and enjoy, that was enough for me.
Astute readers will note that I have a propensity for reusing my OC's, and a lot of people and places mentioned in OMUTB got brought up this time around. It's nice to know that in another universe, Uhuru and Harkness came to better ends.
Welp. That's it folks. If you live in the US, have a great long holiday weekend! I imagine I'll be writing again eventually. Life Is Strange chapter 3 just came out, and there is more I want to visit in the ME-verse. Might be a while, but we'll meet again, some sunny day.
-HgC