Claire's eyes snapped open, and she began to cough heavily. Benezia and Liara both hugged her and sobbed, and Rose let out a deep sigh of relief. The sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the hall, and Rose went to meet them. Katya and Inna peeked into the bedroom, wide awake from all the commotion. Rose placed a finger to her lips and whispered,
"It's alright. Go back and wait for me; this is a family matter." Katya and Inna both nodded and retreated to Rose's room. The Red Asari shut the door and returned to her father's side to find the human getting a harsh slap to the face. Claire caught Liara's hand and kissed her.
"I'm fine," Claire whispered. "I'm fine..." Benezia was clinging to her beloved parent, still in shock at seeing her in such a state. Claire placed an arm around her and Liara cupped Claire's face. She flicked a light on and searched Claire for any changes. She gasped when she found one. Claire asked,
"What?"
"Y-your eyes..." Claire ran to the bathroom and searched herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked like they were being filled with green liquid. The green flooded her irises and slowly replaced the familiar blue. Claire almost smiled. She had her old eyes back. Claire turned and saw her family standing in the bathroom doorway. Rose glared at her father accusingly, while the other two had tears streaming from their eyes.
"Rose..." Claire sighed. "I am alright-"
"How could you do that to us?!" Rose screamed. Claire clenched her jaw and looked down as the guilt settled in. Rose feld the room and slammed the door behind her.
"Was it worth it, Claire?" Liara asked angrily as she wiped her eyes. "Was it worth scaring us half to death just so, what? You could get your old eyes back?" Benezia said nothing as she tried to get air.
"Liara-"
"There is no excuse for that!" Liara snarled. "We could have waited! We could have asked Rangala what the syringe did! Damn you, Shepard!" Claire's face twitched with anger.
"Maybe not, but if it assures me that I can see my daughters grow up, I will do whatever it takes!" Claire retorted. Suddenly blue light filled the bottom of her vision. Claire looked down at her hands and saw herself rippling with biotic energy. Liara and Nezzy stared at her with wide eyes as Claire got a crazy grin.
"My biotics!" Claire laughed. Benezia approached her, and Claire held her arm out for her daughter to see. "Check it out! Liara, I've got my biotics again!" Liara looked at her feet.
"Yes," Liara agreed in a hushed tone, "you do." Claire gulped and lowered her hands. Benezia hugged her father tightly just to make sure Claire was alright. Claire wrapped her arms around her youngest as she looked at Liara. Her wife left the bathroom and walked downstairs. Benezia began to weep and Claire whispered,
"Daddy's alright. Shh... I'm okay, and I'm not going anywhere."
Rose buried her head in her hands. She was seated on the front porch with warm night air blowing lazily around her. Rose felt a presence come out of the house and stand behind her. Mother.
"Come here," Liara whispered. Rose stood slowly and turned to face her goddess-like parent. Liara touched Rose's cheek.
"How could she?" Rose whispered angrily. "After all the time she has already been given, how could Father put the rest of it in jeopardy?"
"She did what she did for us," Liara sighed. Her fear and anger was gone, replaced by her more rational side. She leaned against the door frame.
"How can you defend something like that?" Rose asked.
"Believe me," Liara replied. "I am still scared. I am still furious. But from what I can tell, she is fine."
"Moth-"
"Rose, I never could have imagined a life like this," Liara said seriously. "When I agreed to be Claire's wife, I knew that one day I would have to say goodbye to her. That one day, she would die and I would have to live on. Bonding with someone so short lived would be a challenge. They make fast decisions and forget to think of others. But Rose, she is alive. Claire is going to be with me until I'm a matriarch. I've been given that, and I've been given you and your sister. I don't have a right to be angry."
"I think you do," Rose argued. "Rangala could have poisoned the syringe, she could have-"
"Done what?" Liara shrugged. "Why would she harm Claire? She has no reason to. Claire never makes a decision without being sure of what the consequences could be. She knew the risks back in the Reaper War, and she knows the risks now."
"S-she should have waited!" Rose countered. Her voice had cracked and her fire was slowly dying. Liara drew her into a tight hug and said,
"Your Daddy is alright. She loves us, and she is not going anywhere."
"I-I was s-so scared!" Rose stammered. "I thought she was..." Liara silenced Rose with a soft kiss and a tight embrace. Liara made a mental note to get a blanket. Shepard would get the honor of sleeping on the couch.
"Everything is fine, guys," Rose sighed as she entered her room. "Daddy just gave us a scare is all."
"It didn't sound fine," Katya replied from a leaning position on the wall.
"Is Shepard alright?" Inna asked anxiously.
"She's fine," Rose assured. "Let's... let's just go to sleep."
"Are you sure she's alright?" Katya pressed.
"Yes, Katya," Rose nodded. "She's alright."
"What about you?" Inna asked, touching Roses arm. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, thank you, Inna," Rose replied with a short sigh and wrapped an arm around Inna's waist. "I'm good."
"How's Benezia?" Katya asked. "She looked terrified."
"She's a bit shook up," Rose admitted. She hopped into bed and Inna curled up with her. Katya sat next to them so that Rose was in the middle. The Red Asari wrapped an arm around both friends and pulled them close. She whispered,
"Everyone's okay... Sorry you had to see that."
"As long as everyone okay," Inna replied. She cuddled into Rose's side and placed an arm around her chest. Katya made herself comfortable as well, and Rose almost smiled with closed eyes. This was what she missed. Before Lydia had gone to school, they had had sleepovers all the time.
"Night guys," Rose yawned.
"Night Rose."
"Goodnight Rose."
Liara threw the blanket over the couch and turned to her shameful wife. She glared at her and simply pointed at the couch. Claire dropped her head and shuffled past Liara, tensing a bit as she felt a tirade coming on. She pulled the blanket up and waited.
"What the hell?!" Liara whispered yelled.
"I'm sorry!"
"Damn it, sorry doesn't cut it!" Liara retorted. "You better come up with a good way to make up for this if you want to sleep upstairs at all anymore!"
"I stopped the Reapers, honey!" Claire tried. "I think I deserve a thousand years with you and our girls! Besides, you gave me the syringe in the first place!"
"Don't use that as an excuse!" Liara hissed. She got down to eye level. "I thought... I didn't know what to think! Why didn't you talk to me? Give me a bit of warning?! Maybe you should think," She thumped Claire on the forehead, "before scaring us like that."
"Liara, please, I'm sorry-"
"Shut up!" Liara barked. Claire clammed up tight at that. "I thought you were having a seizure!"
"L-Liara-"
"Get some sleep Claire. Because tomorrow you get to do house cleaning!" Claire swallowed and nodded. One thing she should know by now: you never pissed off Liara. The asari left without another word. Liara went straight to her office and shut the door. Benezia had gone to bed, shaken, but she had fallen asleep. Rose was hopefully asleep now, and Claire knew better than to approach Liara now. The asari needed some alone time.
Liara slumped into her chair with her head buried in her hands. Damn that human! Liara glared at her Broker screens and barked,
"Glyph. Get me Rangala."
"It is three in the morning at her residence. She may be-"
"Glyph!"
"Yes, Shadow Broker." Liara waited impatiently for a few minutes. Finally Rangala picked up.
"Ah, Dr T'soni," Rangala yawned. "You'd think with brains like yours you would have some sense of time."
"Why now?" Liara asked, ignoring the remark. "What was with the syringe you sent?!"
"Oh, did Shepard take it?" Rangala asked. "I figured the return of her biotics would be a welcome gift for your excellent parenting."
"She took it, and scared us all half to death," Liara argued.
"Yes," Rangala thought aloud. "The new variant of the cure had to cleanse Shepard of the older one. That was the seizure you witnessed."
"Goddess, why didn't you call and give me specifics?" Liara groaned.
"You're smart, Liara," Rangala smiled. "You know I would never harm you and Shepard. Rose needs you two." Liara gave her a dry look, and sighed.
"Did you get the pictures?" Liara asked. Rangala's look turned serene.
"I did," Rangala murmured. "Thank you, Liara. She's... she's gorgeous. You and Claire really have done a good job."
"What have you done with the others?"
"I put them in an album," Rangala replied. "From your initial photos to the most recent."
"Hm."
"How is she?"
"Rose is doing fine," Liara yawned. She leaned back in her chair. "She has recently begun an expedition into the world of academia, and she is in a romantic relationship with Lydia Warren."
"The pretty one from the pictures?" Rangala asked excitedly.
"Yes," Liara replied, a small smile creeping onto her face. "They have loved each other for a long, long time but only now have they admitted it to each other."
"Goddess, bless them..."
"Enya?" Liara asked. Rangala blinked.
"Yes, Liara?"
"Would you like to speak to Rose? In person?" Liara asked. This was something she had considered for some time. She felt that it would be a good experience for the both of them. Enya clenched her jaw and glanced about.
"I don't know if she would like that as much as I would," Enya admitted.
"She would meet you if I asked her," Liara countered.
"Maybe one day, Liara," Enya assured. "I... well, thank you. So much." Liara nodded.
"Just call if you change your mind."
"I will..." Enya promised. "Oh, Liara. Do you still have the vials I first gave you?"
"We have one left," Liara replied. "It's in our safe."
"Yes, destroy it," Rangala ordered. "It has an expiration date that I only recently learned of. If anyone took it now, it would kill them in... a most horrific way." Liara paled.
"I will at once," Liara promised.
"Don't worry," Rangala soothed. "I'm sending you three more vials of the new cure. These do not have an expiration date and are not harmful to asari." Liara blinked.
"Oh, Enya you don't have to-"
"It's fine," Enya interrupted. "Just use them wisely and don't let them get stolen."
"I won't." They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Well, I'll talk to you some other time, Liara," Rangala said. "Goodnight."
"Good... Enya could you cure yourself?" Liara asked. "With the new cure?" Rangala considered this, opening and closing her mouth several times before answering,
"Maybe." Liara nodded.
"Goodnight then, Enya. Give Jay my best."
"I will, thank you Liara. Goodnight."
Liara crept into down the hall and peeked into the living room. She could just make out Claire lying on the couch with an arm draped over her forehead. The asari set her head against the wall and watched her for a few minutes.
"Claire?" Liara whispered. After a few moments that felt like ages, the human answered,
"Yes?"
"You can come upstairs." Liara went up and passed the couch without another word. The human shifted and sat up. She watched Liara climb up the stairs and enter the bedroom. Liara climbed into bed and waited. And Waited. And Waited. Finally, Claire crept in and snuggled next to her wife. Liara hugged her tightly and they kissed. Both of their faces came away wet with each other's tears.
"I'm so sorry, Liara-"
"As long as you are alright," Liara breathed. "Just promise me you will never do that again. I thought... I had lost you forever..."
"I would never leave you. I swear it."
"Good," Liara whispered. Claire kissed Liara deeply and placed her hands on the asari's beautiful hips.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Rose, Inna, and Katya waited outside. They were returning to school and were waiting for Claire to come out and give them a ride. Rose was still steaming at her father. Not just for scaring her and Benezia, but for scaring Mamma. That wasn't something Rose just got over. Still, Liara seemed fine today and acted as if nothing had happened. If Mamma was fine, then Rose decided she would too. Benezia was going to join them at school next week and Lydia was waiting for her to return. All in all, today was starting off pretty good.
Finally, Claire walked out of the house. Rose frowned when she saw that Claire was in a bathrobe and had nothing on her feet. She had a coffee mug in one hand and the car keys in the other. Claire a twinkle in her eyes as she sipped her coffee. She held the keys in her free hand and tossed them at Rose, who caught them effortlessly.
"Drive yourself to school," Claire grinned. "And take care of my car." It was Rose's turn to grin. Inna and Katya hopped into the car, and Rose crossed over to the driver's side. She looked up at her father.
"We good?" Claire mouthed. Rose nodded and blew her a quick kiss. Claire caught it and strolled inside. Rose climbed into the driver's seat and looked at Katya next to her. Rose laughed to herself as she started the car and hit the gas.
A/N: Nearing the end of the first part. I will be starting the second part of the Red Asari arc in the next few weeks. It's time for Shepard to take the spotlight for a little bit. Please review!