Ashley strolled down the hallway, one foot after another, hoping that he attempts to stay calm and confident were working. Inside, she was furious. She wanted to walk into the interrogation room, draw her pistol, and shoot this piece of shit between his eyes. When the call came, during dinner with her family, she had swallowed hard, listening intently, silently, trying hard not to shake with rage. It had not come as a surprise, of course. There was no chance, even on as insignificant a base as the one at Amaterasu, that the mercs had infiltrated the base without inside help. The thought still made Ashley boil with rage, just the idea that someone she knew, someone she trusted with her safety, someone that had vowed to serve the Alliance, would have helped those mercenaries. A hundred different ways to kill this traitor ran through her head, all of them bringing a faint smile to Ashley's lips that she was glad none of her men could see. She needed to rid herself of such anger. It would not serve her right now. Right now was the time to be calm, and figure out everything she could. Anger could come if the son of a bitch resisted.

Private Walter Kirk was sitting in a chair in the middle of an otherwise empty room, wrists handcuffed behind the chair, ankles tied to the chair. Exactly how Ashley had wanted him. Kirk had always been quiet, but loyal. He had been assigned to the base at Amaterasu just short of two years ago, and had fulfilled his duties admirably in that time. There had been a few questionable incidents with the law a couple of years before he joined the Alliance, and some incident of which the record had been expunged, but nothing worrisome. Many soldiers had incidents early in their life that led them to the Alliance, and Ashley had never judged any of her fellow soldiers because of past scrapes with the law. Kirk's involvement had come as a complete surprise.

The restrained soldier did not look up from the ground as Ashley approached. She grabbed his chin with one hand and forced the soldier to look up, and saw the shame and fear in his eyes. At the back of the room, the base's interrogation specialist was waiting calmly, and Ashley nodded towards him. For that brief moment she wished she could have called in one of the Alliance's other "specialists" to do a number on Kirk. Never before now had she acknowledged or supported some of the things she knew happened in Alliance interrogation rooms, but right now she was willing to do such things herself.

The interrogator, Corporal Louis Caballero, strode forward with all the confidence and terrifying calm Ashley had been trying to project. Kirk began to shake in the chair, breathing heavily. "Why?" Caballero asked.

"Why what?" Kirk managed to choke out.

"We have the records of the phone calls, and we saw the footage on the camera you forgot to disable. Don't bother with denials. The only thing that will keep you from dying at the hands of a firing squad is if you cooperate. I'll ask again, why?"

Kirk bowed his head, staring at the ground once again. "I didn't have a choice. They were going to ruin me if I didn't help."

"Who?" Caballero was still remarkably calm.

"I don't know who, they weren't stupid. They didn't shake my hand and introduce themselves. I went home two months ago, two men were waiting inside my apartment, they threatened to expose…" Kirk stopped, retreating within himself.

"It's not important at the moment what they know about you," Ashley said, interjecting herself. "Did you recognize either of the men at your apartment? Was there any hint whatsoever about who they might be working for? Did they mention anything at all that might be remotely important?"

"No. They told me what they knew, told me what they needed me to do, and made it clear that if I did not cooperate they would ruin my life. They were dressed in ordinary clothing that any civilian might wear. I could identify them if I saw them, but what are the chances they are anywhere on this planet, let alone within the colony?"

Ashley pulled Caballero into a corner of the room, behind Kirk so they would be out of sight as well as out of the prisoner's hearing. "Have him go over the entire incident, at least three times. Listen for any inconsistencies, and pressure him if he messes up." The interrogator nodded.

After four times telling his story, Caballero looked Ashley's way. She could only stare back in frustration. The son of a bitch was definitely telling the truth, that or he was incredibly practiced at his story. Not one detail had been inconsistent in any of the four times he told what happened. "Take him back to his cell," she ordered, leaving the room as Kirk's restraints were being removed so he was not restricted to the chair. It was so hard not to beat the traitor until he talked, and then keep beating him until he could never walk, talk, or do anything other than the most necessary bodily functions ever again.

Her home life was the only thing that cheered Ashley up over the past few days, and even then she was constantly reminded of what might have happened. Security had been placed around Shepard and their children at the insistence of the Alliance, a constant present that kept home from truly feeling like home. Maddy came home furious every day at her lack of privacy and inability to simply go somewhere and hang out with her friends. Shepard was highly insulted by the idea that he could not defend himself and his family, and barely managed to be polite towards the poor soldiers tasked with their protection. Ashley didn't like it either, but she understood, and treated the soldiers with respect. She doubted they really wanted to be around her family all hours of the day either.

The house was surprisingly happy when she arrived home late that evening. Shepard, Maddy and Jennifer were playing with Rex, throwing a chew toy around, Anna was focused on something in the corner of the fence, crouched and staring intently. Shepard was the first to notice Ashley, blowing a kiss towards her. Jennifer noticed and ran over to her mother, while Maddy lazily strolled over, both girls hugging her when they arrived. Anna did not notice Ashley's arrival until Jennifer began practically yelling everything that happened to her that day, but she made up for it by running as fast as she could and slamming into her mother in order to hug her. Ashley could not have asked for a better welcome home after the day she had.

Shepard continuously peeked over at the Alliance soldier standing nearby, mouth set in a hard frown as he chewed his food. A hand smacked his arm, bringing his attention to its source, where Ashley stared sternly at him. No words were needed from either, Shepard absolutely hated that protection had been assigned to his family and there was nothing anyone would tell him that would change his mind. He had tried explaining that the kidnappers' goal had not been his death, that the likelihood of anyone coming anywhere near him or his family were no higher than any other time in his life, but the brass had refused to listen. And so here he was at the dinner table in his own home, sneaking angry peeks at the poor soldiers just doing their jobs.

Maddy excused herself after only a few bites, not waiting for permission before leaving the table. Ashley shouted after her, and Maddy rolled her eyes as she turned around. Surprisingly, Ashley ignored that. "You need to eat more, you hardly ever seem to eat these days."

"I'm not hungry. Besides, I've been putting off going to a movie with Carrie and a couple of friends, and I promised I would go tonight."

Shepard exchanged a quick glance with his wife, knowing the argument that was coming and wishing there weren't half a dozen strangers in and around the house that would hear it. "Maddy, you know you can't leave the house at night. You can go to the movies this weekend, catch a showing during the day."

As expected, Maddy narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips angrily, and crossed her arms tightly. "This is bullshit, I want to out with my friends."

"Maddy, watch your language around your sisters," Ashley said, voice calm. "This won't be for much longer, but until the investigation is over and the Alliance brass are satisfied that this incident has been fully resolved, we all have to live with it."

Good, just keep treating her with respect, Shepard thought. "None of us like being told we can't do something, Maddy, but we don't have much choice," he chimed in.

Maddy shook her head, her anger still boiling beneath he surface but somewhat contained. "You know, for the first time I wish I wasn't John Shepard's daughter," she said coldly. The words sunk into Shepard like a knife, slicing under his skin. He averted his eyes from his daughter, catching Ashley's wide eyed shock. Maddy's face became vulnerable, suggesting she regretted her words, but she walked away, the door to her room closing moments later.

Shepard and Ashley both agreed to leave their daughter alone for the rest of the night, though the words never left the former Spectre's mind. It had always been a fear of his, that his fame would be a burden on his children. Maddy had been facing those expectations for years now, hearing them from teachers, students, friends, neighbors, even random people on the street would sometimes stop them and talk about how much an honor it must be to be Shepard's daughter. He couldn't possibly be angry at her for saying what she said, but he couldn't help but feel sorrow.

The next morning, as had been the routine for days now, two soldiers accompanied Maddy to school, one driving and one in the front passenger seat, while Shepard and Maddy sat in the backseats. With the bodyguards there it was kind of pointless for Shepard to go, but it was a routine he had been fulfilling for years, and just because he wasn't personally driving her wasn't going to stop him from accompanying his daughter to school. The ride was quiet, Maddy refusing to make eye contact out of embarrassment and shame. After Maddy had left the car with one of the soldiers in tow, walking into her school building, Shepard was driven home. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir," the soldier driving the car said. "I hope you understand I'm simply doing my job. It is not my intent to make the lives of you or your family any worse."

"I know that, um, Neil, right?" The soldier nodded, a ghost of a smile appearing for a moment. "I know I'm treating you and the others like shit, but I'm sure you can understand how inconvenient and insulting this is. I've gotten along for years without any security assigned to me."

"We will be gone soon enough, Mr. Shepard. With the inside man in custody, it will be a matter of days before we either find whoever set those animals loose, or we can guarantee you're family will be safe moving forward. Either way, we should only be around for four or five more days."

Shepard looked out the window, unbelieving. "We'll see about that."

The media had not been outside the Shepard home when the car left that morning, but they were there when he came back, immediately crowding around the car Shepard arrived in. Two bodyguards left the house to help the one that had driven the car clear the way as Shepard eased out of the car, still with a slight limp from the gunshot he had received to his leg. He didn't need the crutches anymore, but he was still far from normal mobility. He followed the path his security created, ignoring the questions being shouted his way. It did not escape the former Spectre's notice that the overwhelming majority of reporters he saw were not local to Amaterasu. Local reporters had learned very quickly years ago that Shepard and Ashley were never going to give them quotes, and did not appreciate media attention. These reporters obviously did not know or care, the kidnapping was among the biggest news in the galaxy and every human news organization in existence had been fishing for quotes since the day it happened.

When he finally got inside the house, Shepard exhaled loudly. Ashley had already left for the day, taking two of their security with here and leaving four at the house with Shepard. Rex had sprinted from the spot where he had been laying near the couch, nearly jumping up at Shepard before the training he had been receiving kicked in. Another uneventful day at home had begun. It could not make him much angrier at this point, after four days. He limped to the twins' bedroom, both awake and playing with dolls. Ashley had definitely taken the time to pick out their clothing that day and do their hair that day, a duty she liked to perform whenever she could. Both twins were dressed in little Alliance blue dresses, the only difference in their clothing being the different colors of the tight pants they wore under the dress, pink for Anna and white for Jennifer. Anna's hair was loose, while Jennifer's was in a ponytail. The difference between Shepard's twin daughters and his older one still surprised him, somehow the twins had ended up much more like stereotypical girly girls than Maddy had. Not that he was complaining, or that Maddy wasn't girly, but she had also been so mature. Anna and Jennifer were borderline spoiled little brats sometimes. Maybe pre-school would humble them when they began later that year.

They were engrossed deeply in their playtime, not noticing their father until he took a step in the room. "Hi daddy," Jennifer greeted. "Do you wanna play with us?"

Shepard smiled and walked over to his daughters. "What are you doing?"

Anna's smile was ear to ear. "Tea Party!"

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed one of the soldiers walk by, peeking inside the room. "Sure, why not?" The twins both squealed, handing Shepard some empty little plastic tea cup and putting the small table on the ground in front of them, stuffed animals and dolls sitting alongside him.

Shepard had been sitting at the table with his daughters for twenty minutes, doing the best he could not to show his boredom, when one of the soldiers lightly knocked on the door. "Mr. Shepard, your computer console in your room is beeping," the soldier said. Shepard struggled to remember his name.

"Thank you," he said, standing. "Sorry, girls, daddy has to leave." The girls nodded and went back to their pretend tea. Shepard decided he would let them each have one of the cupcakes he had the soldiers buy when they went shopping for him two days ago, something to go with their imaginary tea. Yet another of the trivial, every day tasks he was not allowed to do on his own at the moment. He walked to his room, pressed the appropriate keys, and watched as Garrus's face popped up on the screen. "Hey there, you ugly son of a bitch," Shepard greeted, smiling.

"I wouldn't talk, Shepard. I'm not the one with baggy eyes, limping around my house like a cripple," Garrus teased back.

"And how, pal. It sucks to have people you aren't related to or friends with always in your house, watching everything you do. I probably shouldn't act like such a jerk, but this is driving me crazy. How are you doing?"

"Oh, you know. Dealing with politicians for half my day, training a bunch of younger turians to be just like me for the other half, and coming home to my beautiful mansion with just enough strength left to eat dinner and collapse in bed."

"That busy, huh?"

Garrus nodded grimly. "I'm not that far down the Hierarchy these days, and with the honor and prestige comes the work and responsibility. Of course, you know that as well as anyone."

"Used to, anyway," Shepard joked. "I've been a stay home dad for a long time now."

"Yet you still manage to be important enough to be taken hostage."

Shepard smirked, realizing Garrus had a pretty good point. "I guess you're right. Big difference in me being a stay home dad and anyone else doing the same. Hopefully you'll actually get to be a stay at home dad one day, pal."

"I'll never have a reason to be a stay home dad, Shepard," Garrus said with a laugh. "If I were to ever do so, it would be now, when my boy is only a year and a half old. By the time I'm ready to retire, he'll be a grown man earning his stripes in the military. If I ever actually end up retiring."

"How is Augustus?"

"Fine, I guess," Garrus said, voice unsure. "I'll be honest, I can't pretend I know much about being a father and I'm certainly not around him as much as I would like. I try to make what time I can, but like most Turian boys he will have to grow up knowing that duty comes first for his father." Shepard nodded, holding back any comments he might have on such an attitude. He had spent enough time around Garrus to know that Turian society was not the same, and he knew his friend would try to be the best father he could be. "How did we even end up talking about this?" Garrus asked. "I called for a reason. Has the Alliance investigation turned up anything as far as who was responsible for the incident on Amaterasu?"

Shepard shrugged. "They caught the inside man, who made it possible for them to get anywhere near the Prime Minister and myself. Ashley said the guy is claiming to know nothing and that she believes him. Why?"

Garrus hesitated before speaking. "I may have heard something interesting. One of our scout patrols followed a ship that landed on one of our colonies out to a remote world in a the Minos Wasteland. It was a pirate ship, and the world was home to a decent sized, well armed group of about thirty. Our patrol took them out and found a data pad that mentioned the kidnapping. It mentioned a few names, and while I don't recognize any of them I figured maybe the Alliance would know them. Should I go ahead and forward it to Alliance command?'

"Absolutely," Shepard said happily. "Damn Garrus, thanks a lot. That's great news."

Garrus grinned cockily. "Yeah, no matter how many years pass you still need my help to get you out of these jams. Nothing ever changes, Shepard."

Maddy walked with her head down as she walked out the front door of her school. Just like every other day, she had heard the whispers from people in the hall as she walked by. Some taunted, some sympathized. Everyone, even the teachers, stared at her and the soldier that never left her side. Even Carrie was intimidated around her. The entire situation was beginning to strain her to a breaking point. Every look, every whisper, they were driving her to a point where she wanted to scream at them, tell them to leave her alone. A girl in her English class had whispered that Maddy was an entitled bitch, and only one of her friend's hands on her shoulder had stopped her from punching that girl.

Hearing about her father from strangers was not something new, but the kidnapping was easily the most important event that had happened at the colony since it was founded. The Alliance Prime Minister and the Savior of the Galaxy had been held hostage, and opinions were on everyone's lips. Hearing them now, Maddy was sure they had been doing this for years, but now they weren't bothering to keep quiet around her. Other kids that she had known for years were suddenly treating her differently. Still, as angry as she was, she had spent all day regretting what she had said the previous night to her dad. He had never been anything less than the most loving, caring, loyal father he could be. It was not his fault that others were so insecure and jealous that they had to talk about his daughter behind his and her back. Neither of her parents had said anything to her the rest of that night, or this morning, and she had been too ashamed to apologize. She hadn't meant to hurt her dad, or make him angry, it just came out.

The car was waiting for her, as always, and she got into the backseat, freezing for a moment when she saw her dad sitting there, as always. "Hey, sweetheart, how was your day?" he asked, as if nothing was the least bit wrong.

"Fine," she mumbled, closing the door behind her and watching as her security entered the car as well.

"Just fine? Anything particularly exciting happen today?"

"No," she mumbled, looking at her father out of the corner of her eye. Why was he acting like she never said what she said?

He must have gotten the hint out from her body language, as he didn't say anything else during the ride home. When they got home, having to follow as the Alliance soldiers pushed past the media and cleared a path for them, she began to hurry to her room when her father asked her to wait. She did as told, and then followed when she was told to. They ended up in her room anyway. "I guess we do need to talk about what you said last night, huh?" he said. Maddy immediately looked out the window. "I'm not mad at you. I know you didn't mean it."

Maddy exhaled loudly. "I really didn't, dad, I promise. I was such a bitch to say that to you. I've just been having a rough few days and it has worn on my nerves."

Shepard placed an arm around her shoulders. "I know that. Don't worry about it. Have you really been getting it that bad at school?"

"From everyone," Maddy told him. "Kids, teachers, everyone. It sucks. That's not your fault though, so I shouldn't have said it."

"Kid, you are entitled to saying something stupid every once in a while. Lord knows I'll need the practice for when Anna and Jennifer grow up. Maybe you should act like a brat more often to give me some practice." Maddy laughed. Her younger sisters were definitely annoying little girls sometimes. She loved them to death, but it was the truth. "Glad to hear you laugh. It's been a while. So can we just forget this ever happened, and unite in our dislike for not being able to go anywhere or do anything?"

Maddy hugged her father. "Deal."

"Good," Shepard said. "Besides, Garrus called with a possible lead. Things will hopefully be back to normal in the next couple of days. Come on, let's go save Rex from your sisters."

Reaction last chapter was mixed, but hopefully I made up for it with this chapter. The impact of Shepard's fame on his daughter hasn't been mentioned much, so it's about time I dedicated a chapter to it. And yep, Anna and Jennifer are going to be real brats as they grow up, to make up for Maddy's maturity. Ashley was very dark in that opening part which some of you may not like, but she comes from a family that was blacklisted for being "traitors" and I think because of that she would hold real scorn towards actual traitors.

I'm probably going to end this, or at least take a decent break, after the next few chapters. Maddy will be 18 soon, and ready to begin her adult life, and that was the initial goal of this story, though there are two more daughters now.