A/N: Just a fluffy ending for this couple. I thought they deserved it. SparklyQuarians, I hope I have done this couple justice, and I'm so glad you have loved this story so far. Thank the Maker I finally finished it! Enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen: Epilogue

The blue ocean went as far as the eye could see, the waves lapped up against the sandy shore leaving small trails of sea foam behind when they retreated away. The roar of the waves could be heard from miles away though there was hardly anybody left to hear them, save for one woman. Shepard drew a breath deep into her lungs savoring the salty smell and clean ocean breeze that filled her body once again. There was something about the sea that had always completed her, given her a sense of calm, and made her feel like she was not alone in the world.

"Look, Abby," she whispered to the small child in her arms. "Isn't it pretty?"

The little girl turned her head, focusing her crystal blue eyes on the wide expanse of water before her and smiled, even at barely a year old she was more intuitive than most adults and knew what she was looking at was special. She looked expectantly up at her mother, patting a small hand against the woman's chest before nestling herself on Shepard's shoulder. The little girl giggled as her mother gently tickled her sides, the sound making the older woman smile and laugh.

"When you're bigger, Abigail, I'll teach you how to swim," said Shepard as she held the girl tighter against her chest, afraid that she might leap from her arms and into the ocean.

"Me too, Mummy!" said her young son Gregory as he approached his mother and sister from atop his father's shoulders. "I'm going to swim all the way home!"

His parents smiled at each other and shook their heads, their son was constantly getting ideas into his head that seemed improbable and ridiculous, but then again his parents were known for that kind of thinking. Gregory tapped his father's hand and Nathaniel took that as a sign that he wanted down, so he knelt into the sand and helped him down.

"Don't go into the surf!" called Shepard as Gregory went straight for the ocean, stopping just short of the water. Shepard was curious as to what he was doing and watched as he leaned down and picked up a seashell, from her position she could tell that it was white and flat; he turned back around to them with a huge smile on his face before he came charging up.

"Mummy, Daddy, look!" he said happily, showing them his treasure. "It looks just like Mummy's!"

Shepard immediately recognized the seashell as a sand dollar, an uncommon but extremely valuable find in this world. "That's called a sand dollar," she said before Gregory could ask. "They're very rare, even when I was your age, it's said if you find one you'll be blessed."

"Wow," whispered Gregory, turning the shell over in his hands. "Do you think I could turn this one into a necklace like yours, Mummy?"

Instinctively Shepard's fingers brushed against the small silver dollar that hung from her throat, a small token from her old life from before she was Commander Shepard, Savior of the Galaxy. The shell was not real, just a pressed piece of metal her mother had made her for a birthday present before she died, but she did not want to hurt her son's feelings.

"We'll see," said Nathaniel before she had the chance. "I believe sand dollars are very fragile and this one's a little bit too big for a necklace, though I'm sure we could make it into something else."

Gregory's grey eyes lit up at the thought, and without another word he handed his treasure to his father and went running back to the water, his black hair shining brightly in the sun. Shepard smiled as she watched her son kick the water and sand, the way he behaved any one would have assumed this was his first time being at a beach when in fact he had been several times before back home. He was such a curious and capable child she almost always had to remind herself that he still needed her.

"This place is beautiful, Nat," said Nathaniel softly as he gazed out at the shimmering waters. "I can see why you missed it so much."

"Well, there aren't any white cliffs," she said with a laugh as she shifted Abigail in her arms to her other side. "I think Greg really likes it here."

"You think?" asked Nathaniel derisively. "He's like you in that way I guess, I used to hate going to the beach and being in the water. Our kids are like you, they take to water like fish and seem to love being covered in sand."

Shepard had to keep from laughing, Nathaniel might be a tough Marine but he still had a few unexpected hang-ups that made him all the more endearing. "You might have a point there," she said gently as she took his hand in hers, feeling the metal band on his ring finger press into her palm. "It's hard to believe that we're actually here."

Nathaniel moved his hand so he was holding hers, gently squeezing it before he spoke. "I know, it seems like an impossible dream after all we've been through. It makes me glad though that you were able to keep your promise after so many years, I thought for a while I'd end up visiting Florida for an entirely different reason."

"I know," she said without looking at him, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "So, now that we've been to each other's past hometowns, where else do you think we should go? Explore the galaxy and all its wonders?"

"I'm not sure actually," said Nathaniel as he brought her and their daughter against his chest, his arms wrapped securely around them as he watched his son play in the waves. "Just promise me that we'll go together."

"Deal," she said with a smile, her gaze fixed on the horizon as she thought about what life might bring them next.