Chapter 26

Meet Amara and David

My Comments :

New things! I put the title under the chapter name. Whoa! ^.^ And I'm trying to get inspiration by watching Mass Effect videos. Not too great, but still pretty nice as inspiration. Anyway, I wrote this chapter a few times before deciding that this was how I wanted it. (Author is lying. It took nine tries.) Hope that it at least meets with your expectations a little bit!

I made this one a little shorter since I didn't want to make you wait too much longer. It ends on a sort of Cliffhanger, so I hope you enjoy it!

The song in the previous chapter was "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts.

The Story :

With a gasp, the galaxy's hero sat up. She lowered her hand to her stomach, noting how hard it was. The pain spread throughout her abdomen. As Shepard breathed deeply, the pain subsided. Her gaze shot to the left, glancing at her still sleeping fiance. She lowered herself back down onto her pillow, snuggling into the before mentioned fiance. As the minutes went by, the pain started to return. Shepard growled a little in annoyance, waking up Garrus.

"Hm?" he mumbled tiredly, "Shepard? Is something wrong?"

With a sigh, Shepard sat up. "I don't know. My stomach really hurts. Well, it hurts in intervals."

The Turian studied her worriedly. "I'm calling Dr. Chakwas."

"Garrus," the Commander scolded, using her commanding voice. "I'm fine. Really." She winced a little, feeling the pain return again. "I'll just sleep it off."

After giving his fiance a disbelieving look, Garrus got out of bed and headed over to her private terminal. He pressed a few buttons and waited for the image of Dr. Chakwas to appear. And when it did, he noted how tired and angry she looked.

"What is it Vakarian?" she grumbled a little, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"It's Shepard," he said quickly, not wanting her to chew him out.

The doctor's eyes shot open, flicking to the screen. "What about her?"

"She says her abdomen's bothering her."

Tapping her chin thoughtfully for a few moments, Karin stood. "I'm on my way up."

Garrus watched, in slight surprise, as the screen went dark. After blinking for a few seconds, he backed away from the terminal and went back towards the bed. At this point, Shepard had moved to the edge of the bed. She stared at her feet, her hands clutching her stomach.

"Feeling any better?"

The galaxy's hero shot her head to the side quickly, snapping, "no!" She paused. "Sorry. That came out meaner than I meant it to."

Garrus rubbed her shoulder with his talon before standing. "I'm going to put something on before Karin gets here."

Shepard snickered. "Now why would you do that?" She watched him roll his eyes before walking into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Since she imagined that it would take Karin a few minutes anyway, Shepard grabbed her clothes and quickly changed into her black t-shirt, sweatshirt, and jeans. Usual off-duty outfit.

Knock knock. "Shepard? Garrus? Can you unlock the door?"

The Commander walked towards the door. "Coming, Karin." She unlocked the door before moving to sit in the chair next to her private terminal. "I told Garrus that I would just sleep it off, but he insisted on calling you."

Karin rolled her eyes. "It might be a good thing he did too. Does the pain start at the top and work its way down?"

"Yes?" Shepard said, confusion making it come out as a question.

The doctor bit her bottom lip before turning to stare at the ceiling. "EDI? How close is the nearest hospital?"

"W are approximately one hour away from Palaven," EDI said calmly. "Shall I set a course for Palaven?"

"That would be best, EDI. Thank you."

Shepard sat up. "W-wait! What's going on, Karin?"

"I-I believe you're going into labor, Shepard. And with your pain tolerance, I have no way of telling how far along you might be."

Garrus froze as the door open. "Shep's in labor?" he questioned, his eyes wide.

"Why do I always miss things when I sleep?" Joker complained, though his voice held the rare sliver of seriousness. "EDI's platform is already down with Cortez prepping the shuttle. Tali and Legion are working to see if the ship can go any faster without blowing anything up. Liara's on her way to go with you to the hospital. She's contacting your family, Garrus."

The group of three just stared at the ceiling. "You're very prepared," Shepard muttered.

"What kind of pilot would I be if I didn't take care of my Commander?" Joker said jokingly with a chuckle. "Don't worry about a thing, Commander. I'll get you there in half the time."

Shepard smiled. "Thanks Joker."

~ Break ~

"I told you to back the fuck away," Shepard growled, giving an angry gaze to her fiance.

The fiance in question backed away until he was on the other side of the shuttle, suddenly seeming very small in his blue armor. Looking slightly dejected, he turned back to Vega. James was still talking about how great of a job he would go guarding her room. That was, of course, the only reason he had risked sneaking onto the shuttle in the first place. Rolling his eyes, Garrus took note of where everyone else in the shuttle were. Cortez was mumbling something about 'bad traffic' from his spot in the pilot's seat. Liara and Tali were on either side of Shepard, each holding a hand and muttering encouragements. Chakwas was taking notes in a small notebook, constantly asking Shepard 'how long', though he had no idea what that meant. Joker's voice was coming in over the Comms, asking for updates.

"How much longer?" Shepard growled for the fifth time, breaking the Turian's concentration.

"Two minutes, Commander," Cortez responded, sounding slightly like he was going off of adrenaline, not even glancing away from his controls. "Joker says that a team of doctors and nurses are already waiting on the roof. And Garrus? Your dad and Solana are in the maternity ward waiting room. They'll meet you there."

"Hm," Garrus hummed, glancing at his fiance. She was writhing a little, clenching her teeth. She had been shot too many times to count and died twice. He couldn't imagine how much she was hurting.

~ Break ~

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing," Solana said, sounding very much like a smart ass. "I don't think the staff would appreciate it."

Garrus froze mid-step. "I can't help it," he growled. "She's been in there for an hour and a half."

Vakarian rolled his eyes. "I take it back. You're worse than your mother."

"What?" Garrus asked in confusion.

"Forget it," Solana said, holding in a chuckle. "The point is that you are way too worried. Would Tali really keep you in the dark? I know I've only met her once, but she seemed to care about your feelings. I did talk to her for a while."

The former mercenary slumped down in his chair. "I know, Sol, but I'm really worried about her. No one really knows how our children are even going to be, or what they'll be like!"

"Duh. A Human-Turian baby is literally unheard of, Garrus. Why don't you try to relax for once?" Solana leaned back in her chair.

"Really, big guy. You think that you'd listen to your sister."

Garrus jumped up in surprise, spotting the biggest smart ass he knew, Joker. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a ship to pilot?"

Joker fixed his own armor a little. "EDI can pilot the ship." He shrugged. "Even if she's not on it." As if on command, the Normandy's AI walked through the waiting room door to join the pilot. "The Normandy is fine. We just need to make sure its Commander is okay."

Solana just stared at them. "How can a VI pilot a ship if she's not on it?"

"I am also inside of the ship," EDI said calmly, glancing at the female Turian.

Garrus shook his head. "What about the rest of the crew?"

"This ship is docked nearby, actually." Joker smirked. "They have no idea why we're docked, but they're dealing with it."

EDI nodded in agreement. "An order that I sent from the Commander's email tells them to stay on board the ship."

"You can access the crew's email?" Vakarian questioned, beginning to get suspicious.

A familiar voice interrupted the former C-Sec officer's inquires. "Garrus."

The former mercenary jumped slightly, turning towards the door that led to the rooms. A very tired-looking Liara leaned against the door frame. She had small bruises on one of her wrists, likely where Shepard had grabbed it. Small bags were under her eyes, and it looked like she could pass out at any minute.

"The doctors said you can go in."

The Turian wasted no time in barreling down the hallway.

~ Break ~

Upon opening the door, Garrus saw Shepard holding two blanket bundles and ignoring a nurse that was listing off facts about Turian babies. Upon seeing Garrus, the nurse seemed to give up and just stomped out of the room in exasperation. Shepard glanced up a little, a light smile on her face.

"Come here," she said quietly, turning back to the bundles.

Garrus did as his fiance asked, walking to her side with the biggest steps he could manage. As he neared, he noticed the heads poking out from the bundles. Both were sleeping soundly, their eyes closed.

"Here," the Commander said, handing the blue bundle to him. "I think we should each name one of them."

Garrus nodded, studying the baby before him. It seemed to have human skin, but underneath was a silver-ish coloring that he immediately recognized as being from his side. He had a fringe, but reddish hair was already dotting his scalp.

"David," Garrus said softly.

Shepard smiled lightly. "I like that." Ignoring the tears forming in her eyes, she looked at the baby girl in her arms. "Amara."

Garrus froze. "W-where did you get that name?" he asked, his voice tight.

"Liara."

The former mercenary looked away, feeling tears starting to well in his eyes. Memories of his mother, Amara Vakarian, suddenly flooded his memory. Amara, the woman he hadn't been able to see before she died because he was off saving the galaxy.

"I," the Turian took a deep breath, "I think that's a great name." He turned back to her, his mandibles widening in a sad smile.

Shepard nodded, her eyes fluttering a little. "I thought you might," she said softly, falling asleep.

Garrus sat by her bedside all night, growling at anyone who tried to interrupt the sleeping woman.

~ Break ~

"Garrus." No response. "Garrus?" No response. "Get your ass out of that chair or I will seriously leave you here."

Shepard sighed loudly. She would have smacked his head if David and Amara weren't taking up all of her arm space. It wasn't like she could just carry them both in one arm; they were big enough as it was. Rolling her eyes, she carefully balanced herself on one leg, using the other to push her fiance to the ground.

The Turian shook quickly, jumping up. His armor clanked together loudly. Despite the lack of one, he reached for one of his weapons.

"S-Shepard! Get down!"

The Commander started laughing, leaning her back against a wall. "If enemies really were attacking, do you think they'd only push you out a chair?"

If Turians could blush, Shepard was sure he would be blushing. "Did you do that?"

"Yeah. I want to get out of here. The sooner the better."

Sighing audibly, Garrus stood up. "You could have just woken me up."

The Commander shrugged lightly, trying not to move the newborns too much. "I tried." She started towards the door. "Now hurry up. Cortez is waiting for us."

~ Break ~

"Can't we just go back to the ship?"

"Can you stop complaining?" Garrus countered, taking David so Shepard could get out of the skycar.

"Don't you dare use that tone of voice with me," she growled, a slight smile betraying her own tone. "I just gave birth. I'm tired."

"I'm sure dad and Solana have a room for us." The Turian rolled his eyes at his fiance, leading her towards the door.

Cortez smiled lightly, opening the door for them. The was completely dark, not even the smallest light came in through the windows.

"Garrus? I thought you said that they'd be hom-"

The lights suddenly turned on, revealing not only Solana and Vakarian, but a small portion of the Normandy crew.

"Welcome home!"

"Damn. I don't get to sleep now, huh?" the Commander sighed loudly, but managed a smile anyway.

Liara, Tali, and Solana rushed forward, dragging the couple further into the house.

"So?" Tali asked in excitement.

"So what?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What are their names?" Solana finished for the Quarian, her own excitement displayed in her bright eyes.

Rolling his eyes, Garrus replied, "we each named one of them." He raised the baby in his arms a little. "This is David."

The Normandy crew went silent, recognition flickering in their eyes. A few of them bit their lips.

Somehow managing a smile, Shepard raised the baby girl she was holding so she could look in the little one's face. "And this is Amara."

Solana and Vakarian gasped audibly, taking a few steps back. Vakarian had to sit down, his eyes widened in complete surprise.

"Y-you named her Amara?" Solana asked, looking at Garrus.

"No," the Turian replied calmly, "Shepard did."

After a few more seconds of absolute silence, Liara cleared her throat. "So we got you a few things to make taking care of them easier!"

Shepard rolled her eyes again, but turned to Tali. "Before we do that, I have to apologize. For, you know, accidentally tossing you across the room with my biotics while we were in the hospital."

Tali laughed, putting a gloved hand on Shepard's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Shepard. The suit rupture got fixed and I'm fine."

The night continued with the opening of gifts, laughs, and the occasional 'ooo' or 'aww' over something the twins did.

~ Break ~

Shepard collapsed onto the bed. "Am I glad to be back. I can't believe how long we were down there!" Sighing, she looked up at her fiance, who had sat down next to her, a baby in each arm. "I mean, I'm grateful and all, but I'm exhausted. And hosptial food sucks. Just saying."

Garrus shook his head, chuckling. "Well, you were at a Turian hospital. And you still need to talk to the rest of the crew."

Groaning, the woman sat up. He had a point. The only crew members that had been down there had been Liara, Tali, Joker, EDI, James, and Cortez. According to EDI, the crew had no idea why they had stopped on Palaven.

"At least I should count my blessings." Garrus eyed her curiously. "Javik wasn't there." The Turian burst out laughing, shaking his head at her. "Okay," she added with a small sigh. "I'm gonna go see the crew." Before leaving, she plucked David from her fiance's arms.

~ Break ~

Shepard leaned against the elevator, yawning. She already had a strategy, spend as little time with each person as possible and work her way top to bottom. In her arms, David wiggled, trying to cuddle closer to his mother. He opened his golden eyes, the ones he had gotten from Shepard. He smiled, waving his arms in the air.

As the elevator opened and she stepped out, a familiar voice called out, "oi! Annabeth! Welcome back!"

Klarc stepped out of one of the side areas, Valiante and Larenus following. They froze upon seeing what was in her arms.

"Miss Annabeth?" Larenus questioned, curiosity covering his eyes. "Is that a child?"

Shepard smiled. "Aren't you observant." She lifted the child up so they could see him. "This is David."

The group of three moved forward so they could see him.

"Where's his muscle?"

"He's a baby, Valiante."

Klarc took a step back. "That baby isn't human, Annabeth. Look at its veins and skin!"

Larenus nodded. "I have to agree. I mean, he has a fringe."

"Again, you all are so observant. And stating the obvious. David is Human and Turian."