Usually, when Liara was anxious while waiting for Shepard, it was because she was afraid that her lover might not come back alive. Not this time. This time, it's the news she has to give Ashara that weighs on her, her anticipation of her wife's return spoiled by what she now knows.

One eye is on the clock as she feeds Moira and rather than put her daughter to bed afterwards as she normally would, she just sits in her nursery for a time, cradling the little asari in her arms. The peaceful sound of her daughter's breath as she falls asleep against her chest provides comfort to the worried information broker, but Liara finds that it is also a subtle reminder of her troubles. When Moira was born, Liara and Shepard had hoped she would never know war the way that they had. It seemed that all of the dark forces arrayed against them had at last been defeated. Now, though…

Downstairs, Liara hears the door open and she sets Moira gently down in her crib before going to greet Ashara. As nervous as she is, when she sees her bondmate stride into the living room, she can feel her tension lessen. Even at the worst moments of the Reaper War, Liara had been able to draw comfort from their relationship. Though Earth fell and Thessia burned, with Shepard by her side, she had felt that they could make it, and she has to believe that they will again, one more time.

She falls into Shepard's arms, kissing her wife intently. She feels so good, so solid, and Liara feels the familiar sense of reassurance fill her. The former Specter can sense the anxiety in her embrace and she caresses her affectionately, her voice gentle. "I'm okay, Liara. I know you were worried, but the fighting wasn't that bad on Illium."

If only that was her concern. "I'm glad that you are all right, but… that is not the problem."

"What then? Is it the leak? You told me it was the detective investigating my attack the bugged our house. Did you figure out why she did it?"

"In a way." She doesn't want to tell Ashara what she found. What she wants to say is that Belaya was just a crooked cop, bribed by the cult to spy on Shepard. She wants to tell her bondmate that it's over now, that all that remains is for them to go upstairs to their bedroom and celebrate the end of this brief interruption to their new life. But that would not be the truth. "When I confronted her, she attempted suicide."

Shepard doesn't seem surprised by this. "That fits with the cultists on Illium as well as the original assassin. Every time, they fought to the death rather than surrender. It could just be fanaticism, but they almost seemed to want me to kill them."

"Fortunately," Liara continues, trying to stay clinical, to not succumb to her fear of what she has to tell Shepard, "I was able to incapacitate Detective Belaya before she could succeed, but her attempts appeared unnatural. I suspected that she was under some form of mind control, and scans on her brain confirmed it."

"What is it? What did you find?" She can hear the concern in Shepard's voice, and Liara knows that she has to stop dancing around the truth.

"Ashara, I, I triple-checked the results. There is only one thing we have encountered that is consistent with what the tests found." She hesitates, but she forces herself to say the word. "Leviathan."

One reason that Shepard is still alive is that when she gets bad news, when she finds out that pirates have landed on Elysium or that the Reapers have made it to Earth, she doesn't panic. Instead, she becomes calmer, her mind shutting out her worries and focusing on the problem at hand.

"The leviathans." She takes a breath, keeping herself steady. The beings who once ruled the galaxy, who created the Catalyst eons ago. This is going to be difficult, but she reminds herself of all that she and Liara have overcome before. "That's bad, but it does explain a great deal." The fanatical cultists, the previously inexplicable collaboration of the detective…

Her wife shakes her head. "It does not explain this: why would the leviathans want you dead? Shouldn't they appreciate your role in destroying the Reapers?"

"I don't think they want to kill me. I think they want to capture me. The flimsy assassination attempt here on Thessia was meant to lure me to Illium, and there the cultists were talking about taking me alive."

"Did they think that those attacks would succeed?"

"I'm not sure. The ambush there was more credible than the hit on Thessia, but there may still be another stage to the plan. Three of the cultists I killed were part of an ExoGeni survey team that went missing on Ondren, an uncharted world near the far rim. I think their masters intended for me to figure that out and go there."

"Then Ondren will be a trap. The leviathans will be waiting."

"That would be my guess."

"So what will you do?"

Ashara smiles her boldest smile, trying to reassure Liara that they can handle it. "Spring it. But I'll have a few surprises for them when I do."

Liara nods, but Shepard can tell that her mood is still grim. "I imagine so." The asari waits a moment before continuing. "Ashara, whatever the plan is, I need to be by your side when we execute it."

"I want you there, Liara. I really do. There's no one I'd rather have watching my back, but, what about Moira? Shouldn't someone stay with her?"

There's fear in Liara's voice when she replies, the fear of repeating the agonizing patterns of the past: Ilos, the Collector Base, the final push to the beam; her bondmate has had to wait for her too many times. "No. I cannot stay behind. Not again."

Shepard looks away. She doesn't want to keep arguing. She knows what this means to Liara, as well as how strong her wife is. She accepted long ago that Liara could hold her own against whatever the galaxy can throw at her, but she also knows too well the pain of losing both of her parents and she doesn't want to put Moira through that. "If something happens to us though…"

Liara cuts her off, her anger evident. "Could you do what you are asking of me? Could you leave me to face this alone? I worry about Moira too, but if we die, there are others that will raise her, people that love her. But I will not lose you and then have to tell our daughter that I abandoned her father."

Her wife is right. Aethyta, Garrus, Ashley… there are plenty of people that she would trust her daughter with if the unthinkable happens and Shepard couldn't let Liara walk into something like this without her. It's not fair to ask it of her wife. "All right." She hugs Liara tightly, assuring her that they will not have to be parted. "Together. But we're going to need some help."

Liara relaxes a little bit. "Thank you for understanding." She plants a small kiss on Ashara's neck. "I will contact the Normandy and let Ashley know we will be taking her up on her offer."

"Okay. I'll talk to Miranda as well. But if we're going toe to toe with the leviathans, we'll need more than one ship."

"Indeed." Liara is calmer now, the frightened bondmate giving way to the methodical information broker. "But we will need to get them quietly. Our edge right now is that the leviathans do not know we are aware of their involvement and we cannot say how extensive their spy network may be."

It's true. They're going to need someone who can assemble a large force quickly, and do so without having to explain to too many people what its for. That only leaves one option. "Well, then," she informs Liara, "I guess it's time to cash in a favor from an old friend."

Not the longest chapter, but I thought that scene deserved to stand on its own. I've been waiting a long time for the reveal. What did people think? Did you guess it?