So what I did here for this chapter is go to the others who weren't on h Normandy at the time. So it goes back a bit then into the present.
Chey
It had been only a couple of weeks since Shea left, yet it felt like so much longer. Since Miri brought her back to life a year ago, we had barely spent anytime apart. I was contemplating sending her a message when in a flurry of movement Miri ran past me to the bathroom, immediately afterwards were the distinct sounds of retching. I went to the bathroom and tried to turn the handle, and found it unsurprisingly locked. "Go away! I don't want you to see me like this." She says. "Please babe. When has that ever stopped me." I tell her as I use my old school lock picking skills. I open the door and I see her glow blue. "That won't work either love." I said. "Your incorrigible." She said. "No. I am a woman who is worried about her wife." I said as I kneel next to her and hold her hair away for her.
"I'm fine." She says stubbornly. I sigh. "Baby. You are not fine. This is the third day you've paid homage to the porcelain goddess. Speak to me honey, what's wrong?" I ask her gently as I rub her lower back. "I don't know. I don't feel sore, I don't have a fever. I just feel nauseous. Maybe it is something I ate this morning. " she said. "I ate the same thing as you and I feel fine." I reply. "Maybe it's just stress and lack of sleep, and a lot of worry. I think I'll try to lay down get a nap in." she said. "Okay." I helped her up and to our bed. I lay with her until she falls asleep. I don't think she quite realizes but out of the two of us she gets more sleep then me. She naps at least twice in a day. I grab a snack from the fridge, and as I'm standing there eating an apple, my eyes are drawn to the calendar. "Maybe her period is coming." I think and I check through the calendar. Miri keeps tabs on that meticulously. I was thankful that I didn't have a period. It made life so much easier.
My eyes widen as I focus on the date, memories of Liana in the same situation as Miri. How could o be so stupid. The answer was right there this whole time. Miranda could be pregnant. I head back to the room. She's been sleeping like the dead lately and that just wasn't her. I shake her awake. "We need to go to Huerta Miri." I tell her. "Why. I will be fine." She stubbornly says. "Miranda. We need to find out what's wrong with you. You can't help Ori if you are sick." I logically state. She sighs in resignation. "Alright. Fine." She agrees. I was glad at least I wouldn't have to bodily drag her there. She gets in the shower. I keep trying to not let my excitement show at what the possibility could be. For both me and her. A baby though, that'd just be.. I didn't know. I understood that during a galactic war time was not the best time to have a baby. But if that's what this was, I couldn't regret it.
Then I started to worry. Miranda would probably think the same thing, would she terminate the pregnancy. It was her body, her choice. If she did could I forgive her. I didn't think I would be ok with that decision. Where I was at first excited about the possibility of fatherhood, now I was beginning to feel anything else but that. At first I had hoped she was pregnant, now I hope she isn't. I said very little on the way there. She did notice, but she also knew when I had this particular broody face to leave well enough alone until I was ready to talk about it. Our hands clasped we approached Dr. Michel. She was the only other Doctor besides Karin I truly trusted with everything. She knew about my penis so it made sense to go to her. Less to explain and I wouldn't feel like I was being scrutinized. I wouldn't have to answer all the questions that would most certainly come. This visit was about Miri, not about my intriguing anatomy. I found myself confused, stuck between wanting her to be preggers and not. Nothing is ever easy.
Miranda
I could tell there was a lot going through Chey's head at the moment. I just wish she'd tell me. This silence was unnerving and not at all like my Chey. I did not like it, but there was nothing I could do but except it for what it was. She would tell me when she was ready and not before, if we were alone in our hotel room, I may have been able to convince her to open up. But we weren't and I would need to just deal with it. "Good morning Dr. Michel." Chey said politely. "Ah Major what can I do for you?" she asks. "It's just Chey right now. This is a personal and private visit. Dr. Michel this is my wife Miranda, we are here for her today. Do you have time to see us today?" She asks. "Of course Chey. Right this way." She leads us to a private room, and follows us in shutting and locking the door behind her and faces me. "So Mrs. Shepard. What brings you here today?" She asks me. "Miranda is fine. I have been feeling really nauseous the past couple of days and vomited a couple times. I also feel very tired all the time." I tell her.
"Alright, well sit on the table here, we'll take your blood pressure and preliminary scans." She said. "Hmm blood pressure is fine. Any drug use?" I shake my head. "When was the date of your last period?" I honestly didn't know. "Two months ago it began on the 10th and ended on the 15th." Chey answers for me. "I checked your calendar while you were sleeping." She answers my unasked question. "Miranda is there any chance you could be pregnant?" Dr. Michel asks. "No, I got checked. All my gene modifications rendered me sterile." I answered. "The medical diagnostic said, probably impossible Miri." Chey reminds me. "Probably generally means an affirmative." I pointed out. "Regardless of what the medical report said, I'd still like to test you if nothing else but to rule it out." Dr. Michel says. I could not allow myself to hope. Lest I be undone by the disappointment, nor would I start thinking of what to do about it.
As we waited for her to draw my blood and send it through testing spectrum, Chey remained her stoic self, and it was irritating me to no end. "Chey, speak to me. I'm not a mind reader. What's going on with you?" I ask her. "Not right now Miri, I'm still trying to organize my thoughts. Later honey, I promise we'll talk." She said. I wanted to argue, but that would do nothing but irritate me further because she would not budge on it. So I just looked out the window and took in the sight of the Presidium. It took only minutes but it might as well have been days for me. "Alright, so you are definitely pregnant, but otherwise in completely good health." Dr. Michel said. After the pronunciation Chey got up and kissed my head then left the room. This act confused me, I thought she would be happy. "You're 8 weeks along." In my head I counted back to the conception date. It was that first time we had made love since we had been separated. "Thank you Dr. Michel. I should probably find Chey and talk about it with her." I said.
I left the room, and found her in the lobby staring out across the Presidium as I had done not too long ago. I touched her arm. "Chey." She turned to me her eyes shimmered with just let out tears. "Aren't you happy?" I ask her. She hugged me to her. "Of course I am, but we're in the middle of a war, and we still have to find Ori." She said, and it dawned on me she was waiting on me to decide what we were going to do. It wasn't the safest time for us to be expecting. Ideally, one would wait till the war was over, but even then our lives had a tendency to never stay quiet for long. "True. I guess that means you'll just have to protect us more. I am not giving up our baby." I said to her firmly her smile was immediate and she grabs me up in her arms and hugs me tightly. "There that's the reaction I was hoping for." I tell her. "I'm sorry Miri. I just thought that with this war, Cerberus and finding Ori, you wouldn't." she said. "I hadn't even considered termination Chey." I said.
Ashley
I found Chey and Miranda in the lobby, they seemed to be having a very private and happy moment. I thought about just passing them by, I could speak to them later. Chey caught sight of me and waved me over. "Hey Ash. How are you doing?" She asks. I hug her. "I'm okay just got back from physical therapy. Therapist says I'm doing well, and I am progressing faster then expected. He said I seemed really driven. I explained to him that my wife was out there fighting and I aim to get out there and fight by her side." They both smiled. "That's one hell of a motivator." Chey said. "It is. Anyways how are you two?" I ask Chey looks at Miranda and smiles pleadingly, Miranda nods. "Miri is pregnant. We are having a baby!" she said excitedly. "We just found out literally twenty minutes ago. Other then Dr. Michel you were the first to know." Miranda says.
"We'll tell Shea the next time we can call her, but until then please keep it to yourself." Chey said. "I will." We all look out the window. "So a kid huh. At least Liara won't be alone in her nine month hell." I said teasingly. "Thankfully, I have been through that time period, well at least three months of it, so I pretty confident I can handle it." Chey says confidently. I laugh. "Famous last words Major. I've had to deal with three pregnancies with my mom, and not one was the same as the other." I said. Before she can reply Thane approaches us. "Cerberus is here we need to get out of here." He says calmly. "I need to protect the council." I tell him. "And we need to leave here, they can't know I'm here for Ori's sake and our baby's." Miranda says. Chey is clearly not happy that she will have to run instead of tearing these Cerberus bastards apart. "Go. We'll take out a few for you. Try to get a message to Shea." I tell Chey and they leave out the emergency stair access.
"Thane get on the emergency channels. Keep alerting everyone you can." I tell him he nods and runs on another direction. I racked my brain for where the council would be. "Udina's office. I was supposed to meet them there after my physical therapy. I hoped I wasn't too late. That would be a terrible notation on my record. Lt. Commander Williams Spectre for a month and the council is killed." I could almost see it. I shook my head and channeled my inner Shea. I would do everything I could. Only when I give up will I truly fail. I race to the embassy. Opposition seems minimal but I get in a few kills and find the council. I rush through the Presidium. Other then the Salarian councilor the rest are accounted for. It really bugs me that we don't have time to find him. Hopefully once I get the others clear I can go back and look for him.
As soon as we got to the elevator I got a message from Chey. "We made it off the Citadel safely. Are you safe?" she asks. "For the moment." As soon as I sent it I heard a crash above us. "Did you feel that?" Tevos says. "Gunmen. Get down." I order them and shoot a few shots into the ceiling above us. The elevator stops. "Go!" I order keeping an eye above us. We rush out to the shuttle. My heart drops a bit the shuttle we were supposed to use to escape was on fire. "Damn it! Cerberus hit the shuttle! Everyone back to the elevator!" I shout. My heart stops when I see who followed us out. I lower my gun slightly. "Shea?" I hear Udina's voice behind me. Shepard's blocking our escape! She's with Cerberus!" I lift my gun again and step in front of the council. "Udina, let me handle this. Shea? Gun's down." She lowers her phalanx pistol a bit. "I've come for Udina. You don't have to get involved." She says. "Yes I do I'm all that's left." I said she holds out her arm signaling Garrus and Vega to lower their weapons. She steps forward a bit. "We don't have time to negotiate. You've all been fooled. Udina's behind this attack. The Salarian councilor confirmed it." She says out of the corner of my eye I see Udina get closer. "Please. You have no proof. You never do." He says coming to stand closer to me.
Shea
I never thought I'd ever have to hold a gun at the ready on the woman I loved, and yet because of this fucking war now I was. Tevos steps forward. "What Shepard says is possible. Unlikely but possible." She says. Udina heads towards a console. "We don't have time to debate this! We're dead if we stay out here. I'm overriding the lock. My weapon raise and points at Udina. "Just stand down, Shea. I don't want to do this, but I will." She says strain in her voice. "Ash, you know the stakes. You've got to trust me please my love. I'm on your side, but I need you to believe in me. Like you used to." I plead. Her hand moves. "Maybe it's not time to give up on you yet. Her gun lowers and she looks towards Udina. "All right, Skipper. Udina step away from the console." Her gun is trained on Udina. "To hell with this." He says. Now both of our guns are on him Tevos approaches him and grabs his arm to turn him. He pushes her down hard, anger surges in me. Now he is pointing a pistol at her. "Gun!" less then a minute later she shoots Udina. The Turian councilor helps Tevos up, I approach them all and her Ash say shakily. "Son of a Bitch." I long to comfort her but there is no time as the Turian councilor says. "The door!" we both whip around standing in front of the councilors, in my case I stand mostly in front of Ash.
We watch as the doors are cut open. Guns pointing waiting for the inevitable. The doors open to Commander Bailey. "Bailey?" I ask. We holster our guns. "Made it as fast as we could Shepard. Looks like you uh.. took care of things." He said to me. "Then it's true. We were in danger. But I don't understand… you said Cerberus was right here." Tevos says. Bailey steps forward. "Cerberus was right here, but they beat feet into the keeper tunnels when they figured out we were coming. Sorry councilor I'll say it plain. Shepard just saved the lot of you." Bailey confirms what I said. The Turian councilor approaches me. "Then I owe you Shepard. For our lives twice now and everything you did for the Turians." I look him in the eyes. "You don't owe me anything, Councilor. In times like this we all need to stand together." I reply though secretly I really do want to rub it in his face, but I look to my inner Chey and decide to go the high road.
"Shepard, do you have any idea why Cerberus would do this?" he asks me. "Honestly, no." I reply. He looks down. "But I plan to find out." I said. He nods. "Alright principals are evacuated, we got tunnels and a million other places to secure Move it!" Bailey says. He informs me that Thane is in Huerta and the it is safe enough for me to see him. Ash follows the Councilors and I head back to Huerta where I say good bye to Thane as he embraces the sea. I check in with people around the Citadel seeing if help was needed, but I know I can't linger here for long. There is still much to do before the Reapers are defeated. I couldn't find Ash anywhere so reluctantly after checking and seeing that Kelly is fine I head back to where the Normandy is docked. I couldn't find my sister or Miranda either but I hoped they were ok.
When the docking bay doors open there is Ash stealing my breathe away from me again. Her eyes meet mine and my heart races, then drops. "Commander.. we need to talk before you ship out. Things got pretty crazy." Those words I always hated. She stops leaning on the rail her arms still crossed in front of her chest, then lowers them. "I'm trying to go over everything in my head. Make sense of it." She says. "Your bandages were still fresh.. how did you end up working with Udina?" I ask. "You saw me in the hospital, I was going crazy even more so after our wedding. I felt like I was letting everyone down. I took the Spectre position because I thought it'd be a good way to do some good." She said. "I get that I couldn't just sit back either." I said. "Yeah then it turned into a damn mess." She said. "Ash you followed your instincts and kept a clear head." I said. "It doesn't feel to clear headed now." She walks away and looks out the observation window at the docked Normandy. I followed her with my eyes.
Ashley
"We stopped Udina and got to walk away. That's the important part." She says to me. "I can't believe he was responsible for all of it. Was he indoctrinated?" I ask, again we are dancing around the real thing we needed to discuss. I pointed a gun at not only my commanding officer, but my wife too. She shrugs. 'It's hard to say." She replied. "How do we fight something that can worm it's way into your head?" I ask. She sighs. "I don't know, but we don't have a choice really." She said. "I also wanted to tell you that Hackett offered me a position on his team." I wanted her to beg me not to go, but I knew she would want this to be my decision. "Would you consider riding this out on the Normandy?" she asks a little nervous. "You're Serious?" I had to ask, I mean I pointed a gun at her. "We need the best Williams, but on a personal note I need you, you make me want to fight, want to survive." She admits. I act like I am thinking about it. "Okay. Commander I'm in." I said. "Good, grab your gear and drop it off in our room. But love, please keep your guns pointed at the Reapers." She teases me I smile salute, then grab and kiss her "Will do Mrs." I reply she smiles. "I love you." She says. "I love you too." I kiss her again.
"Hey Ash, do you know if Chey and Miranda are ok?" she asks. "Yeah they escaped safely, much to Chey's disgruntlement. I don't know where they are now though." I said. "That's something at least. I need to pick up some more supplies, more food and ammo. You need anything?" she asks. I grin wickedly and whisper in her ear. "I wouldn't mind a nice toy, for our nocturnal activity. A nice strap-on perhaps." I kiss her ear lobe then nip it gently. I feel her shiver and see her face is beat red. "See you later love." I pat her behind and push her forward. She walks away a little wobbly. I love how I can make her feel like that all wobbly and shaky and weak in the knees with desire.
I was happy to see the familiar face of Traynor again. "Hey Sam." I said to her. "Welcome back Ash. Need help with your stuff?" she asks. "I could, thank you." I said. We head up to the loft and the Captains quarters. "Shea made sure to make some room for your clothes and books if you can't tell." She says I look around and see several bookshelves some have books already on the shelves. "She's been collecting books for you since this ship was in the hands of Cerberus. She was pretty pissed when the Alliance tried to get rid of them. Stating books had no place on a war ship." Sam tells me. I saw a cage with a space hamster and her fish tank now full with fish all alive and I see she had purchased an aquarium VI. "Yet they are ok with her pets?" I asked. "No not really, but once Shea has made up her mind.." she says. "Then there is no convincing her otherwise, not even I could talk her out of them." I said smiling. The fish were something she liked, it brought her some tranquility. The hamster I knew was mostly for me, she knew I liked fluffy animals. Her whole room was the perfect blend of both of us and it was touching. I didn't quite get a good look of the cabin other then the bed, the shower, and the couches the last time I was here.
"Any idea where we are headed next?" I ask. "Yes, Shea has agreed to investigate an Asari colony for their Hierarchy. Then I believe we are going to Gellix to rescue some ex- Cerberus scientists." She informs me. The Cerberus thing takes me aback, but I need to start showing her I trust her again. "The scientists would probably be very helpful with the Crucible." She said. "I can see that. Thanks for the help Sam, but I'm going to go ahead and get settled in." I tell her. "Sure thing Ashley. I'll see you later." She says and leaves the room. "Lt. Commander Williams. Dr. T'Soni is approaching the door." The AI says EDI I believe she is called. Something else I will have to learn to get comfortable with. "Umm.. Thank you EDI. She can come in." I tell her. Liara comes in moments later and my eyes widen at how much she is showing. "How far along?" I ask. "Five months today. I know I'm huge." She says. I hug her. "You look beautiful Liara." she deepens the hug. "Thank you and welcome home Ash." she says. "Thanks it's good to be home." I reply.