Garrus sighed. "You sort of interrupted my day off with Shepard, Liara. Why'd you call me over?"

"I just wanted to know how Shepard's doing," she murmured, stepping towards the couch.

He narrowed his eyes, "Well then why didn't you call her and invite her over and ask her yourself?"

Liara scoffed, "The last time I was alone with Shepard, she punched me in the face."

He crossed his arms as she sat down.

"Shepard's better. The medicine is working."

She nodded, "That's great. It's nice knowing the treatment is working."

Garrus shifted his weight onto his left leg and sighed, "There's another reason I'm here, Liara. What is it? You don't call me up on a Sunday at eight in the morning just to chat."

Liara sighed, "I'm worried about you, Garrus. But my concern really lies with Shepard. I can imagine that being unable to work is killing her."

"Being documented as unstable unless on medication can really put a dent in your career options, Liara," he spoke with an languid tongue.

She stiffened and spoke cautiously, "I'm aware. I was just thinking that perhaps she could help young biotic children train or help children with parents that suffer from PTSD."

He nodded, "That might work. I don't know about children though. I don't think she could handle that right now. What she really needs to do is beg the Alliance for a pardon and get back into action. It's the only way she'd be fully cured."

Liara sighed, "Honestly, I just want her to get better. I know this is such a burden on you."

His mandibles twitched, "Burden?"

She placed her hands on his talons, "As the Primarch of Palaven, I can imagine it's incredibly stressful. It's a huge weight on your shoulders just on its own, but with a million eyes watching your relationship; testing, waiting for an explosion..."

He moved his talons away and narrowed his eyes, "What those million eyes need to realize is that they owe her their very existence. We could have lost Palaven, lost the Heirarchy. You could have completely lost Thessia, but the asari are rebuilding. Shepard didn't lose Earth or the Council. Nobody has any place to judge my wife when she almost died saving them."

Liara shifted an inch away from him, "They don't, but you know how entitled these people are. Everyone deserves something, everyone deserves what other people have and when things go wrong, they have to blame someone else."

She pulled her laptop up and showed him an news article.

"The batarians still want blood for what happened with the Alpha Relay, Garrus. They still want answers."

"Shepard served her time, Liara. She explained in court. She paid for her crimes. The batarians need to fuck off." His voice was cold.

"Hundreds of thousands of batarians died, Garrus. They think they're entitled to answers, just like the rest of this rebuilding galaxy. The Alliance doesn't want another war, Garrus."

Garrus growled, "If the batarians keep this shit up, we're being forced into one regardless."

She sighed, "Wrex says the krogan will stand by us."

"You've spoken to him?"

Liara nodded, "I spoke to him earlier this morning."

Garrus huffed, "Hmm. He didn't come to the wedding. I thought he forgot about us."

She smirked, "He's been busy with all those little krogan."

"I guess he has."

"Well I guess there will be a bunch of little krogan running around."

He sighed and stood, "I have to go make a few calls, Liara. Thanks for the information."

She nodded, "I still have a few sources, Garrus. If you need anything, let me know."

A nod and he was out the front door.

Liara sighed, walked to the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of wine.


Shepard walked through the aisles of the supermarket, basket in her hand. She was like a housewife. Going food shopping for herself and her husband. Soon she'd be going shopping and chatting with the other housewives about what was best for stain removal, the best cheap hair products, the best version of omni-gel.

The market had mainly dextro versions, for obvious reasons, but she was able to find a few things for herself; shampoo and conditioner, body wash, feminine toiletries and toilet paper.

She walked to the produce section and blinked at the odd looking fruit.

She picked a piece up. It almost looked like dragon-fruit...but it smelled odd. She shrugged and placed it in her cart and grabbed a few more.

A blonde woman approached her.

"Are you Commander Shepard?"

Those big blue eyes...she'd seen them before.

Shepard paused and nodded.

"My name is Margret Coats. My son was on Earth when the Reapers attacked."
Every nerve froze. Those eyes.

That little boy.

Shepard swallowed, her hands shaking as she gripped the basket. Her throat was dry.

"I know you saved everyone you could. You did as much as possible, Commander."

She already heard the woman's next phrase in her head, "But why didn't you save my boy?"

"My husband...he was an Major on Earth. I believe you met him."

Shepard nodded, unable to speak.

The woman grabbed Shepard's hand and squeezed it, "He died on Earth, on the way to the Crucible. I just...needed to see you're okay, to cope, to deal."

Shepard couldn't breathe, "Mrs. Coats...I.."

Margret smiled through her tears, "Thank you, Commander."

"I don't understand," Shepard spoke breathlessly, "Why are you thanking me?"

The blonde woman pulled her into a brief embrace. Shepard froze, tentative arms wrapping around her.

"You saved my life, Commander. You saved my sister's life, my parent's lives. If I had nobody...I'd be a complete mess, especially since another war is brewing."

Shepard pulled away, "War? What are you talking about?"

"The batarians, Commander."

Shepard nodded, "I need to get back to my husband, Mrs. Coats. Thank you."

The woman smiled and walked away. Shepard shook her head and walked to the check out line.

Fuck.

It was going to be a long day.


A/N: I think this is on it's way to completion, my lovely fans. I'd say...two chapters left.

Thank you so much for all your support! :D

BrokenEmber