Location: Garzo's shopping district—Citadel Waterfront

The rest of shore leave was spent around as much family and friends as he could get to. Liam was still mad about the revelation, but considering how cooperative Dillon was with the Alliance and supportive he was of Sasha, Liam learned to bite his anger. The year was almost over and they lost some good people, but their deaths were not in vain as Fiona informed him of the new thermal weapons that were going into production.

Now as he walked the expanse of the citadel's interconnected bridges, he wondered what it would all mean for the new year.

"The Citadel is just spectacular," Sam remarked as she walked beside Shepard, trying her best to distract him from his thoughts.

"It doesn't feel right," James said absently, before revising his statement under Sam's glare. "Uh...you know...it's good for tourism I guess."

"I think what James is trying to say is that we're glad to be here," Traynor added, quickly, much to Liam's amusement.

Shepard didn't really feel like talking, but it was good to see his friends at least try to make the effort. After Hunter's death most of shore leave became a muted grieving ground for the Dublin crew. Ellie barely left the cockpit, running sims all day long under the guise of keeping her skills sharp. Casey and Glen seemingly disappeared, with him spending every waking moment with his family and her only resurfacing after long bouts at the clubs. Even Preston's usually stoic demeanor was showing some wear, he didn't seem to bark orders with the same fervor as he used to. Liam counted himself lucky that his two friends were at least trying to cheer him up. But between worrying about Dana and trying to decide what would happen when she learned of the fully decrypted matrix contents, he didn't have much room for joy outside of spending time with Michael. The sessions with Karin continued, but as she started packing for her transfer to another ship, he was starting to wonder how useful further counseling would be.

"What about the games workshop there?" Vega pointed to the fancy party house on the top level.

Liam could see Traynor light up, but somehow managed to contain her excitement as she gave him a sideways glance. "That's a start...I suppose."

Liam stopped and laughed, drawing confused looks from both of them. "Go, have some fun you two," he said, looking to each of them. "I mean it. Thanks for trying to cheer me up these past couple of days, now it's your turn."

Vega shifted on his feet and massaged the back of his neck. "You sure, Loco?"

Liam turned to Traynor and smiled. "Kick his ass for me in battle droids, that's an order."

"Yes, Sir," Traynor replied with barely contained enthusiasm before she took off for the game shack, followed by a curious Vega who looked over his shoulder in concern.

Liam waved and watched as they disappeared. The lone figure at the edge of the bridge caught his eye, or at least her flowing red bangs did.

He walked over to their pilot, amazed to see her out and about, let alone in the company of a crew member he hadn't seen in forever.

Ellie stood away from the railing as he came closer and gave him a tired smile. "Shepard, how's it going?"

"It's going," he replied, watching her friend carefully. The big guy snapped a sharp salute but didn't say a word, his dark eyes studying Shepard carefully. "Whose your friend?"

Ellie waved a dismissive hand to the Flight Sargent beside her, "this is Grinkov. First time he's left the cockpit in forever. Preston was ready to kick him through the windshield if he didn't take shore leave."

"At ease," Shepard ordered, not sure why his internal sensor was going crazy around the guy.

"Hey, I'll see you back at the ship, okay?" Ellie said to Grinkov. The big guy only turned on his heel and walked away without a second thought.

"He seems...nice," Shepard said, watching the powerful giant prowl through the crowd.

"He's got the personality of a brick but he's a damn good pilot," she replied, hugging herself as they both started a slow walk, passing Barla Von's skimping shack on the way.

"How're you holding up?" Liam asked, glad to speak with someone who wasn't trying to put on a happy facade.

Ellie opened her mouth then closed it again without a sound. After a few more moments of miming a fish, she spoke, "Sometimes I'm in the lunch room or the gym and I just expect him to walk in you know?"

"I know." He nodded. In fact, he was starting to avoid the armory all together now that Hunter was no longer around. Instead he and James spent most of their time in the rec room or a bar. Staying as far away from the ship as possible.

"How about you? Worried about, Dana?" she asked, tentatively, as if unsure if this was something he could talk about. This wasn't like Ellie, normally she would just say what she felt without care for repercussions.

"No," he lied, knowing Dana would kill him if he made her sound weak, "she can handle herself."

Ellie was smart enough not to buy that and gave him a knowing smile. "I was going to fly her, but she wouldn't let me."

"Some things are better done alone," he said, without really considering the words until they were out of his mouth. "It's something my dad always said."

Her eyes scrutinized him like he was crazy. "No offense but it sounds like your dad didn't know what was good for him."

"You'll get no argument from me," Liam said. "I think it's that very philosophy that killed him."

Ellie face-palmed and stopped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He put an arm around her shoulders and kept them walking. "I used to envy him. He could fight an entire campaign by himself. His entire squad could be lying dead at his feet and I'd be jealous of the fact that he could move onto the next mission without so much as blinking. I see now how stupid it was to admire that."

Ellie stopped and sniffled, moving out from under his arm and shaking her head as she smiled despite the tears. "Bless your heart for that, Shepard...I need to go. I'll see you back at the ship."

"Ellie—" he called but she was already walking away.

"Tell Dana I said hi and it's damn good to have her back," she said over her shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

A few citizens spared him a glance, but Shepard didn't look to any of them. Tonight was the New Year, the start of something great and the end of something else.

o~O~o

Location: Shepard Family Estate—Presidium Lane

Later that night the entire family mixed with the crew of the Dublin and the newly unveiled Normandy. While Anderson was answering questions left and right, John was doing his best to give Emily Wong all the interview scoops. Michael Shepard and his friends occupied a sizable balcony, no doubt recounting his tale of racing up to third place in the junior galactic racing league. He felt a pang of guilt at being hospital ridden that day, but that disappeared as Michael waved to him and he waved back.

"Full house," Fiona remarked next to him, amazed that so many people could fit into the Shepard family three story estate. Crew members were taking snap shots while family mingled and tried to drink as much alcohol as possible.

"It's nice to finally see some cheer," Shepard said as he watched his mother talk to Dana at the balcony's edge.

Fiona followed his line of sight and snorted. "Geez, you'd think she'd give it a rest already. You better go save your girlfriend."

He gave her a 'how did you know' look, to which she answered with a 'how could I not' expression. Liam took a sip of his whiskey. "You know mom's the only parent we have left."

Fiona nearly choked on her drink, wheezing it back before it went down the right tube. "Jesus, what the fuck brought that on?"

"It's a new year, Fi. Maybe you should consider being nicer to her," Liam said, walking down the steps and leaving his sister to think on his words.

He understood her anger, a lot of it stemmed from their grueling up-bringing, but no one could argue that the rigorous standards produced results. They were three fully trained, competent officers thanks to their dad. Yet despite his methods, they couldn't blame their mom's inaction forever.

As everyone prepared for the fireworks, Liam strode to the terrace and rescued Dana from his mother.

"I think that's enough embarrassing stories about me, mom," Liam said, coming up behind them.

Hannah Shepard laughed and cupped her son's cheek. "We were just getting to the good part."

"Yes, I never took you for a tree climber, Shepard," Dana added with a mischievous wink while Hannah wasn't looking.

"Oh he was, there is another time I remember when—"

"Mom!" Shepard cut her off before any further damage to his ego could occur.

Hannah only smiled but quickly rushed away when someone called her inside. Liam sighed and Dana smiled at his discomfort. Everyone was in uniform tonight as per Preston's order. He was glad for that since Dana didn't have time to change on the flight back and arrived in Captain's blues still managing to turn heads.

"She's sweet," Dana remarked as Shepard leaned over the railing and contemplated leaping off to spare himself any re-telling.

"She knows too much," he replied coyly and took another gulp of his drink. "How did Hunter's mom take it?"

"She was devastated. But she'll be alright," Dana said, neutrally. "I think she's just happy he didn't get the death penalty and died a hero instead."

Something at the back of his head remembered what Vega told him. "Can you tell me the unabridged version?"

Dana nodded. "My old arms master was taking advantage of the female support staff, forcing them to stay quiet while he did so. If they spoke out, it would be his word against privates and corporals. The last thing those women wanted was a media storm, it would limit recruitment and wouldn't help us in the long run. So they endured." She took a sip from her own glass before continuing with a reflective smile. "Hunter took care of the problem when one of my corporals disclosed it to him. He was so angry he shot the bastard's dead."

"Why didn't they come to you?" Liam asked, wanting badly to reach out and touch her but knowing that some of the biggest high-ranking officers were just behind them.

"They were afraid of me." She smirked. "When I pulled Hunter from the court Marshall's office, he went off on me in a way no one had ever done before. It made me realize how important this crew was. It wasn't just enough to stand tall at the helm; I had to take care of everyone under my command, not just the officers and jarheads. I will thank him for that lesson for the rest of my career."

They stood in comfortable silence, just watching one another as the sounds of the party mixed with the fireworks display off in the distance. He could see the pain of losing a squad-mate deep within her, but she was doing a commendable job of keeping it together.

"He was a good kid," Liam said, feeling inadequate as he watched her play with the silver necklace around her neck. "I wish things turned out differently."

"Me too," she said, eying him from the rim of her glass, "but I'm glad they weren't worse."

"What did you tell his mom?" He asked, content to just keep her talking. He knew from experience that silence was worse than torture in situations like this.

"I don't want to talk about that right now," she said honestly.

Liam pushed the envelope by leaning in closer but not enough to suggest anything more than two people trying to hear eachother over the noise. "I don't want you to hurt tonight," he whispered, drawing her gaze downward. "So just tell me what you need."

"You," she replied. It took him a moment to process that, but when he did they both smiled. He snuck a glance to their oblivious friends and family. "You grew up here, you must know a hiding place or two?" When the mischievous glint in her eye reflected his own, Liam was a goner.