Disclaimer: I own none of BioWARE's property, and that includes Mass Effect and all Characters involved. This is simply for my emtertainment, and yours.

"Liara, there's no way. It's not like an Asari can actually make a child, can they?"

Ellanis looked over to her partner, confused and only half awake, a cup of freshly made coffee in her hands and her silver eyes ringed by the deep bags under them. "I mean, you'll need to tell me if that's not the case, love, but.."

Liara sighed and then returned her wifes silver gaze with one of her own. "Conception with the Asari can be as accidental as conception with any other race, especially if the connection with your partner is deep enough." She reached out and took Shepards hand in her own, their fingers interlocking almost naturally now, two hands made to fit the other. "We can choose to concieve, of course, but I have always been ready to go that far with you, my love. You know that."

Shepard sighed, taking a long draw from her mug, enjoying the taste of the imported coffee. "Liara, I just don't know that I'll be ready for children when they come around. Hell, I'm certainly in no shape to be a parent."

Liara looked concerned for a moment, then rested her head on Ellanis' shoulder. "You'll be alright. I know you will, you'll love our daughter as much as you love me. I know that."

The red haired woman sighed, again taking a sip of her coffee. "Damn, Liara. I'm gonna be a dad." The asari giggled at that, then looked up at Ellanis. "Don't know how I'm gonna react to that. My dad was never really there, hope I'm somewhat better for that." Finally she finished her coffee and stood up. "I'm gonna head into town for a bit." She grabbed her blue leather coat and put it on over her longsleeved black shirt and dark blue jeans. "I'll be back in a few, just gonna get some excercise." Using her biotics, she levitated her gym bag from the closet near the front door and grabbed the handle.

Just before she could leave, Liara looked around and caught Shepard's eye for just a moment before calling out "Be safe! Don't get home too late."

Shepard grinned, flashing that gorgeous smile that her wife loved so much. "I know, I know. Don't worry so much." she then closed the door behind her and began her long walk down into the small town that they lived near.

Shepard was soaked in sweat when she finshed her workout. Hours upon hours of hard physical training, trying so hard to keep herself in shape. She stopped for a moment to look in the mirror of the locker room, looking at her hard and developed muscles, every inch a fighter. Every inch a warrior. She frowned at that thought. A warrior without anything to fight.

She shook her head. "Nah, no need to get caught up in that again." But she kept wondering to herself as she got dressed. What was she bothering to keep in shape for, anyway? No more Reapers to fight, Cerberus a long forgotten memory... And her military days were over. Her biotic implant had been overcharged by her cybernetic upgrades, and her strength and vigor showed no signs of waning. But for what reason? She shouldn't need to keep doing this. Maybe it was just a habit. Maybe she was looking for something to justify that habit. As she considered this thought, her walk home had brought her back to the fight club that she had fought in only a few days ago. She stood outside the door, wondering why she had come here, then sighed.

Walking through the door, she was greeted by a few familiar faces. None friendly. She dropped her stuff in the usual place, and it was stored for when she wanted to go. She walked into the ring, and the announcer said her pseudonym, Warbringer. She felt silly for such a childish name, but it still seemed to suit her. She faced off against several different opponents, two of them armed with micro-filiament blades. One of them was a particularly large krogan. She looked up at him, smirking. "Big, ain't ya?" And with that the fight was on.

The first few went down easily, Shepard tossing their broken bodies aside without so much as a second thought. Her silver eyes glowed with an inner fire, her body tingling with the thrill of the fight, the excitement of the kill. The two with blades came in next, taking a slash at Ellanis' hamstrings. She laughed, jumped over their pitifully slow swipes and came down with a biotic shockwave, sending the two sword wielders into the wall, their spines snapping upon impact. She then faced down the krogan, who was the only one who hadn't charged her yet. They stared each other down, one warrior to another. Their eyes, locked, were sending hidden signals back and forth. Things only a soldier could understand. After a long pause, the massive krogan laughed deep in his chest, then spoke. "This will be a good death. Well worth the fight. For honor!" And with those final words, the krogan charged, his speed suprising Ellanis for only a moment, but that moment was long enough for him to slam her into the wall with a bone-shattering impact, creating a spider web of cracks along the wall. His fists then slammed into her stomach, causing her to groan with each impact, his powerful blows smashing into her soft tissue. She came down with a dual fisted blow to the back of his head, behind the bone plates, and was rewared with a roar of pain, and just enough of a release in the pressure holding her against the wall so that she could slip away. She then grabbed the krogan by the ankle, and with a roar of fury, lifted him off the ground and swung him in an arc, flinging him into the far wall with a dull boom. The krogan rose and then glowed with biotics, charging foward with blinding speed. She sidestepped just in time, and then her own biotics flared to life as she lifted the beast from the ground and then jumped up, piledriving him into the ground and shattering the bone plates on his head, allowing her to drive a fist through them. When she stood, the krogan was dead. Panting, she felt fulfilled in a way that no training could accomplish. She cleaned up, retrieved her things, and went home.

Liara heard the front door open in the kitchen, and looked around. "Hello, Ella. You were gone for a while, is everything ok?"

Shepard peeked into the kitched, having just put her back back in the closet, but carefully hiding her bloodstained clothes behind her back. "Yeah, everythings great Li. I'm just gonna throw these workout clothes in the washer, they're a little ripe after my workout today." She then headed towards the laundry room, throwing the clothes into the washer and then setting it to run, after using her practiced methods to ensure the blood would come out in the wash. Walking back towards the kitchen, she smiled when she saw her wife cooking something that smelled amazing while humming a tune to herself. Using her enhanced hearing, she could easily pick up that it was the song she had learned to play on the piano back when she was still an archaeologist. Ellanis snuck up behind her wife and wrapped her arms around her. "What're you cooking up there. Liara?"

After giving Shepard a small smile, she pointed at the pan. "I was feeling lazy, so I just made a stir-fry. That ok? There's actual chicken."

Shepard sniffed and grinned. "And where'd you find that stuff? I thought it went out of style ages ago."

Liara grinned. "When you're the Shadow Broker, you can get pretty much anything you look for."

Ellanis laughed. "Well then, Mrs. Shepard-T'Soni.. I will simply enjoy the fruits of your illicit labors."

Later, after dinner, the pair sat on the couch, cuddled into each other while a favorite movie played on the screen. It was an old movie, a superhero flick from the early 21st century that both Shepard and Liara enjoyed.

Cuddled into Shepard with a glass of Thessia red in her hand, Liara smiled whiled her wife enjoyed the fight going on on the holoscreen. She simply enjoyed the expression of happy reminiscence on Ellanis' face. Shepard, in turn, turned to Liara and pointed to the screen. "I think I did that to a Brute once. That was awesome." She grinned and turned back to the action on the screen, her gaze riveted, the drink in her other hand forgotten, but still half empty from when Shepard was drinking it earlier.

Liara and Shepard relaxed on the couch, enjoying the movie, both content, and they sunk into sleep in each other's arms.

AN: Well, that was nice wasn't it? At least the end was. The middle part was kinda gruesome. But hey, all you guys who persevered through all this, thanks!

This story is on a sort of semi broken schedule, it gets updated when I find the energy to sit down and write out another chapter. My apologies for taking so long, but hey. You all knew that it would be like this going in!

Anyway, no shoutouts for this chapter, but keep the reviews coming in! I love to hear what you guys think of my work. It does me good.

Thanks for tuning in for another chapter of Learning to Be Human. Keep the faith, and Stay Blue!

Signing out,

DalekStorm