Chapter 35

The Day to Decide

My Comments :

Don't you all love my vague titles? Sorry this one took a little longer to get to everyone, I was working on a possible ending for this story. If you all like this one, you should check out 'Sleeper Agent'. Needless to say, I decided to not put that as the ending. Hence why it was posted separately. Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter thirty-five!

The Story :

Shepard stretched upward, the nervousness that had been rooting itself deep inside of her growing. Before, it had been a seed. Now however, the feeling had grown into a full sized tree, branches itching at her sides. For the sake of the spirits, she hadn't even felt this way before the final attack against the Reapers! And now, despite all of the planning Liara had done, she was still nervous as hell!

"Keelah Se'lai, Shepard! Calm down! Your veins are going to pop out of your neck," Tali warned, putting her hands on her hips. Her new mask, which she had gotten just for the sake of the wedding, was clear, showing her bright smile. "If you don't calm down we'll never get you in your dress," she joked, continuing to block Shepard's view of the mirror.

The Commander sighed. What was she doing again? Oh yeah. Getting married. On Palaven. In a few damn hours. Her hair was apparently being put into some sort of fancy braid design that Liara and Samara were putting together. With their biotics. Something about 'not wanting it to fall out'. From what she could tell from all the pulling, they'd made three braids and were now braiding those into one. Of course, she wouldn't tell them that she knew. That would ruin their excitement. Besides, she was positive they would make it turn out beautiful, so there wasn't any need to concern.

To her left, the dresses for the crew were handing on hangers, each in a black bag with a name tag. Her wedding gown was on a mannequin hidden behind a curtain. The wedding gown. When they had gone shopping for her dress, she expected them to pick out a nice, generic one. Of course the crew couldn't do that. No. They had to pick out the most complex dress there! She tried not to complain, but in all honesty the whole process of putting it on was slightly daunting. When they'd put it on after all the fixes the tailor had made, it had taken a full forty-five minutes. Just to put the damn thing on and make sure it was on correctly. Of course, considering everyone that had come to shop, it was no surprise. And much to her dismay, Joker had sided with them all on the complex wedding dress thing. It was ridiculous. Though, she blamed EDI. The Commander was almost positive he was just siding with EDI.

"All done," Liara announced, pride ringing in her voice. "Why don't you take a look?"

Shepard snapped out of her thoughts, looking towards the mirror that Tali had been blocking before. She actually gasped. The two Asari had not only done the three small braids that went into one, but each of the three braids had been entwined with a different colored ribbon. There was a dark blue that matched Garrus' colony markings, a gold that matched her eyes, and a pure white that would compliment her dress. All three colors flowed down her braids, weaving in and out of her hair before ending in a multicolored bow at the bottom. A silver crown covered in what appeared to be diamonds from Earth adorned her head. The glimmer of the stones in the light made her eyes positively sparkle.

Even Samara's reflection seemed pleased. "It appears we have done quite well."

"It's beautiful," Shepard murmured. "Are you sure we're looking at me and not through a window?"

The other girls laughed, and the cheerful sound made her join them. Within a few moments, they all snapped into attention around her.

"Okay, Shepard," Tali said with a slightly sinister smile. "Time for the dress."

The woman visibly cringed, her eyes narrowing. "You're kidding right? Like this is some kind of sick joke?"

Liara giggled. The Shadow Broker actually giggled. "Not at all, Shepard. We don't know how long it'll take. Especially since we have to be careful with your hair and make up."

She groaned in response. "Don't you all have dresses to get into?"

Samara nodded. "That is true. But ours will take considerably less time."

Shepard groaned again, standing. "Fine. Let's get this over with. The sooner I can get out of that thing the better." That earned a couple of chuckles and mischievous glances from the others. "Oh, get your minds out of the gutter!"

Tali frowned. "Gutter? Our minds are in gutters?"

"It's a phrase that means stop thinking dirty!"

The Quarian and two Asari laughed again, leading her behind a screen to get her dressed. In all honesty, Shepard couldn't say she hated the dress. In fact, she loved it. It was absolutely beautiful, and everyone, except Joker who didn't want to get hit and break a bone, told her that it complimented her figure. Who was she to argue with all of them? Still, the dress was gorgeous, fit just right, and made her look like she had curves she didn't. It wasn't like her at all. That was the problem. Shepard was a Commander. She was a military woman who was controlling a huge sentient race of machines. The Reapers. Did she really belong here in this wonderful dress surrounded by all of her friends? There were so many she couldn't save, Thane and Ashley being the two that haunted her most, and here she was spending a ridiculous amount of credits on a single day. She knew the day was special and all, but those credits could have gone toward something important, like rebuilding or a automatic feeder for Cinders II.

"Okay, Shepard. We're going to start tightening the straps."

The Commander nodded lightly to Tali, trying to keep from frowning because of her prior thoughts. Focus on the dress, she thought to herself. It really was gorgeous. The bottom easily reached the ground, gliding just above it when she wasn't slouching. The left side of the bottom part had to be laced up for some ridiculous reason that Shepard was unaware of. The slightly off-white did compliment the pure white of the dress though. Similar lacing ran up her back, if she recalled correctly. A single slit that ran up to her knee was on the bottom right side, opposite the lace. You couldn't actually see anything unless she walked, and the fact that she was going to be showing anything at all bothered her. Too late to back out now. Besides, the top was strapless and didn't really cover up much of her chest, so she was already 'showing' something. Of course, you also had to factor in the damned fact that she was wearing a corset under the dress. Who even wore those things anymore?

"We're tightening the straps on your back," Liara informed her.

"You're already killing me with the corset. Will I honestly feel the dress being so tight?" Shepard complained, frowning.

Tali chuckled, shaking her head. "Do you feel it now?" the Quarian asked from behind her.

"No," she replied cautiously, drawing the word out.

"Then I don't think you'll feel it."

The four women laughed heartily, the sounds echoing throughout the room. Shepard realized with a start that lacing up the back was the last thing that needed to be done. A glance at the clock on a nearby wall informed her that forty-five minutes had passed indeed. What she really needed to do was stop letting her mind wander and focus on the task at hand. In half an hour, she'd be getting ready to walk down the aisle with Joker at her side. Garrus would be standing there, dressed up in his fancy tuxedo. The ceremony would be surprisingly human-like until the end, where her almost husband would bite her in front of everyone, officially marking her as his in the Turian way. Then he would paint his colony markings on her face. After that, the ceremony would be finished and they'd head to a different part of the garden for the party. Still. She was getting married. Shepard had been a single woman, regardless of being in love, fighting a rogue Spectre, the Collectors, and eventually the Reapers. And she didn't have kids at the time. Now she was a mother of twins, and she was about to be married. A married mother of twins living on one of the most renowned space ships in the galaxy. If she wasn't going to be on the Normandy, she'd probably go crazy from the normality of the situation.

"Alright," Liara started, backing up. "We're going to go bring the dresses and tuxedos to the others who are setting up. You stay here."

"I wasn't really planning on going anywhere," Shepard replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Just make sure you stay behind the screen," Tali warned with mock severity.

Samara folded her arms behind her back. "Why?"

"It is a human tradition," Liara informed the other Asari as she started dragging the dress rack away. "The groom cannot see the bride before she is walked down the aisle."

The Justicar nodded. "I see," she replied, opening the door and giving one rare smile to Shepard before following the others.

The last woman in the room sighed, putting her head in her hands. Slowly, she stepped down from the small pedestal she had been forced to stand on while they fixed her dress. Staying behind the slim red screen, Shepard slowly walked towards her heels she was also being forced to wear. They were probably three or four inches tall, and what Shepard believed to be real crystals lined the straps. Her feet fit snugly inside, just enough so the straps wouldn't dig into her skin and leave bright red raw skin to be found later. From her bag hidden under the pedestal, the hero grabbed a leg holster, her favorite hand gun, a small combat knife, and its sheath. On her right thigh, she strapped the gun. On her left calf, she strapped the knife. Better safe then sorry.

A slight creaking of the door caused her to jump, ready to draw the gun.

"Shep?"

And of course it had to be Garrus. It had to the one who wasn't allowed to see her in her dress. Why couldn't it have been Joker? All he would do is make fun of her for how uncomfortable she looked until all the tension faded away. But no. It had to be the only one who could possibly make her even more tense.

"Are you in here?"

"I'm over here," she called out, moving back to the pedestal. A dark shadow moved into view on the other side of the screen.

"What are you doing over there?" he questioned, his shadow scratching his head in thought.

"Human tradition," Shepard replied calmly. "You aren't allowed to see me in my dress until I'm coming down the aisle."

"Ridiculous," she heard him mutter under his breath.

"So what's up? I thought you were supposed to be working with Joker to make sure everyone got in their tuxedos."

The shadow froze before he began to shift from one foot to the other nervously. "We need to talk."

Shit. In the older vids, that line always meant something bad was going to happen. Is that why he wasn't helping? Could he not go through with it? Was he going to be the one to back out? It would be a lie if Shepard had said she'd never entertained the idea of him not being able to go through with it a few times. Usually it ended in laughter. He was Archangel. The hero of Omega. A former mercenary that had been with her through everything. There was no way he'd back out. But now, Shepard wasn't so sure. What if he really didn't want to marry her and this had all been a mistake?

At this point, Shepard had visibly paled. If Garrus could have seen her, he probably would've been worried that she'd just died. But, "Oh? About what?" was all she managed, her voice containing only the smallest of tremors.

"We need to clear the air. Get a few things discussed over before we go through with this."

Shepard bit her lip. She wasn't sure if this was getting better or worse. "Like what?"

"What about the biggest thing?" he growled, suddenly seeming annoyed. Shepard couldn't tell. "The last journal entry? You wanting to leave the ship?!"

Anger is apparently contagious, because Shepard was suddenly near the screen, fuming and pointing at his shadow accusingly. "First of all, you weren't even supposed to read that. Secondly, I wasn't sure at the time. If you were worried that you were causing everyone around you physical and emotional pain, wouldn't you want to stop it any way you could?!" Her fists clenched and she looked down, trying to stop the flow of tears that had appeared out of nowhere. The tears dropped onto the carpet below, a small wet spot forming. "I didn't want any of you to be in danger, Garrus! I wanted all of you to be safe! I realize my mistake now! Isn't that enough?!"

"No!" Garrus practically shouted. "It's not!" His shadow started to pace. "You've done so many dangerous and reckless things since you've been back! Remember Soraleigh? Wasn't that right after you almost got killed because of those Cerberus troopers? What about when you were kidnapped by that Quarian you helped? And you fought your way out, only being saved when Legion showed up with Kasumi? Why don't we go more recent. You went down onto that planet with only two small weapons, no one to back you up! And you were willing to meet Holly and Espie by yourself! You could have been killed! Or taken again! And you went without a second damn thought!"

The anger had subsided to sadness long ago, and a sob escaped her lips. She noticed the shadow freeze.

"Shep?" Garrus' voice had quieted down considerably.

With strength she wasn't aware she had at the moment, Shepard pushed the screen aside, listening to it crash into a wall. When Garrus saw her, his mandibles went slack, eyes widening. He stumbled for words, unable to form a coherent syllable.

"Don't talk," Shepard growled, sniffling. "I was trying my hardest," she finally said, another sob escaping. "There were so many things at stake, Garrus!" Tears continued to run down her face and she was secretly glad the make up that was chosen wouldn't be affected. "I'll admit, I've made plenty of mistakes. Who the hell hasn't?! Going with Soraleigh was way off. Going down to Mindoir to save all of those colonists was not. They wouldn't have survived if I hadn't gone down there. Garrus you should know me! I can't let others suffer like that!" Another sob escaped her lips and her eyes moved downward. "I thought you knew me," she muttered, biting her lips.

As Garrus slowly moved forward, still in shock from seeing her in the wonderful dress and hearing her speech, Shepard ran past him. He shook his head, clearing it, as he turned and saw her take off through the door. "Shep!" He took off after her, mind reeling. As he followed her, he noticed just the areas they were running through and who was there. They'd run through the main area, where the actual wedding was taking place. Most of the guests were there, including the crew. Their faces were blank, comprehending what exactly had happened.

Garrus slowed as the door leading out of the garden slammed shut, Shepard taking off with speed he didn't even know she had. His own steps halted, the arm that had been extended to try and grab her lowering slowly.

"Dad? Where did mom go?" asked a small, male voice behind him.

A much older, and extremely pissed off, male voice asked, "What the hell have you done, Garrus?"

The Turian visibly flinched. Joker never called him by his real name anymore. Never.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Shepard could practically feel the radiation seeping into her skin. She couldn't stay out much longer without causing some permanent damage. It was the testing done on her as a child that had kept her safe this long already. Sometimes, the non-human organs and blood in her veins was pretty helpful. Her arms were starting to get tired from holding up her damn dress too. Not like it mattered. She probably wouldn't be using it anymore. Not after what happened.

"Excuse me?"

Shepard jumped, using one arm to hold up the hem of her dress and the other to grab her knife. She pointed the knife at the owner of the voice, a young Turian woman with pale, sand colored skin. Her brown eyes studied the bride carefully, unfazed by the knife.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the gardens?" she questioned.

Shepard kept the knife raised defensively. "Why do you ask?"

"My brother sent me an invite to a party at the gardens that was supposed to happen today."

"Brother?" the Human questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The Turian's mandibles flared in a smile. "If you really are supposed to be the one who's getting married, then you might know him. Sarasi?"

A clink sounded as the knife fell to the ground. "Sarasi has a sister?!"

She laughed. "Yes, he does. My name is Aurora. He never mentioned exactly who took him away to find some, ah, nice guys." Aurora laughed again. It was so contagious, Shepard joined her. "So who are you?"

Shepard smiled lightly. "I'm Spectre Commander Shepard of the Normandy."

Aurora nodded. "It's nice to meet the woman who stole my brother." Her brown eyes shined brightly. "You're starting to look a little pale though. Come on. My house is nearby."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Aurora came back into the living area, a mug in each claw. "Here," she said calmly, placing one on the table in front of her Human guest. "It's Levo, so it's okay to drink it. I think you'd call it hot chocolate. My mom said it helps calm the nerves."

"Your mother?" Shepard questioned, graciously taking a sip of the cocoa.

The Turian nodded, sitting next to her. "Adoptive mother. She was really nice." Her mandibles flared into a smile. "We have some time to kill. Why don't I tell you a little bit about myself and Sarasi? Besides, if you don't calm down before we head back, everyone will see your puffy eyes."

Shepard blinked a few times. "Oh. Alright. I guess they're going to be busy with finishing setting up anyway. And Joker will probably be chewing out Garrus."

"Garrus?" Aurora frowned, her mandibles sticking close to her face. "Vakarian?" She took a sip of her own drink. "I know his sister, Solana. She comes over every once in a while. You're marrying a Turian?"

"Yeah," she said quietly, her face heating up slightly.

Aurora laughed her infectious laugh again, mandibles flared in a huge smile. "That would make my mom so happy. You see, my mom was a human." She noted the surprise on the human's face. "She adopted my brother and I when we were young."

~0~0~0~0~0~

The bell on the door clanged as yet another perspective parent walked through the door. The children in their respective areas rushed to take on their persona's that they thought would get them adopted. The young Asari who worked at the desk, Jillian, stood quickly, walking to meet the human who had come in. The woman had long blonde hair and ice blue eyes. She seemed pleasant enough, greeting Jillian with a smile as they exchanged pleasantries.

Aurora put her arm around Sarasi's shoulders as they stood near the fence that separated the area for Turian children from the rest of the facilities. The rest of the Turian children didn't even bother watching. It was a Human, so she wouldn't adopt them. Most of them went through the doors into the back to lay down and wait for her to leave. The Asari and Human children were rushing to make themselves look presentable. A few Salarian children were busying themselves with some sort of puzzle, trying to look extra smart for the perspective parent. They were all trying so hard.

Aurora and Sarasi didn't get their hopes up. Sure, the planet they lived on was a mix of so many species, even having a few Volus, but never had a Human come and adopted a Turian. Even then, siblings were never bought together. Aurora had heard stories of one sibling running away from their new family because they wanted to be with their brother or sister. She knew she would be like that. A long time ago, she had promised Sarasi that she would never leave him. He couldn't really take care of himself, and the other children picked on him a lot. He needed her just as much as she needed him.

Sarasi tightened under her, breaking her out of her thoughts. Jillian was leading the Human to where the Human kids were. All of them were trying so hard to be what they weren't. She tightened her talon on her brother's shoulder. It hurt, but they liked to see the faces of happy children as they left.

"Would you like to speak with any of these children?" Jillian asked, her too sweet smile almost sickening.

The Human glanced towards the two Turians who were watching. "I don't think so."

"Okay," the Asari said calmly. "Not a problem." She lead the way to where the Asari children were. "How about these children?"

She glanced at the two siblings again, trying to look nonchalant. "No."

Jillian seemed confused. "Well, we do have some nice Salarian children over here," she said, the too sweet voice fading. She walked right past the Turian area. Figures.

The Human paused as she walked by. "I know who I want to adopt," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Aurora tightened her grip again. She could almost hear the smirk in the Human's voice.

"Oh?" Jillian turned around. "Who is that?"

The Human turned, raising her arm and pointing. "Those two."

Aurora and Sarasi stopped breathing. It looked like she was pointing at them. Humans never adopted Turians. Too much animosity from the war.

Jillian visibly frowned. "Are you sure? They are Turian you know."

The duo watched as the smirk faded from the Human's face. Her voice was laced with venom. "I am aware, MissJillian. But they are the only children here who aren't trying to impress me."

"And you want both?"

"They look like siblings. It doesn't seem right to separate them."

Jillian continued to frown as she opened the gate and let Aurora and Sarasi out. At this point, every child was at the fences, watching with wide eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk with them? Make sure that-?"

"I am sure, Jillian." She smiled, her eyes narrowed. "May I please sign their paperwork?"

The Asari's face went blank, and her voice was strained, "Yes, ma'am."

~0~0~0~0~0~

"That's what happened," Aurora said contentedly, taking another sip of her drink. "She raised us like we were Turians too. Sarasi and I were five at the time, but she taught us English and hired someone to teach us how to speak Turian a little better. We'd only had the older kids to teach us, so we didn't know much at the time. She gave us adjoining rooms and paid for us to move to Palaven when we were old enough and she had to go back to work at her academy." Her eyes glittered happily. "She and her students were saved during the war. Her academy was attacked. I don't get to see her much, but she keeps in touch."

"Her work was attacked?" Shepard questioned, her eyes studying the swirls of chocolate in her drink.

"Yes. By Cerberus. She mentioned that a three person team came in and saved so many. Just the three of them and a ship waiting. It was something she thought was so amazing."

Shepard blinked a few times. Cerberus? Three person team? It couldn't be. "Hey, Aurora? Did you take your adoptive mother's last name?"

"Yes. Sarasi and I didn't have one." Aurora lifted her head, studying the Human suspiciously. "Why?"

"Is your last name Sanders?"

The Turian's mandibles widened in surprise, her brown eyes shining with the same feeling. "H-how did you know?"

Shepard leaned back after setting her empty mug on the table. "She worked at Grissom Academy with Jack, right? Kahlee Sanders. I was the leader of that three person team who saved the students and Sanders."

Aurora shakily set her own cup down. "You saved my mother?" She didn't wait for a response before adding, "Thank you."

The Commander shook her head. "No need to thank me. I've got enough of those damn thanks. I'm no hero." She smiled. "Anderson never told me she had kids. He talked about her a lot though."

"Anderson? You knew the man my mom was in love with?"

Shepard burst out laughing. "In love with, huh?" She shook her hand, smiling. "Yeah. Of course I knew him. He adopted me."

Aurora stood up in surprise. "Mom never mentioned Anderson had a daughter! Did you know she wanted to marry him after the war?" Her eyes were glowing happily. "That means we might as well be siblings! I have a sister!"

The Human tilted her head, a light smile on her face. "I guess that means I have siblings, huh?"

"Oh my gosh!" Aurora jumped up, excited. "If I'm your sister, then I have to do my job! I need to get you back to that wedding! You have a Turian to marry! C'mon! My skycar can keep out the radiation!" She grabbed Shepard's hand, dragging her out the side door and practically throwing her into the passenger's seat.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"And you thought now was a good time to bring that up?!" Joker growled, glaring at Garrus.

The Turian squirmed uneasily in his seat, rubbing both claws together nervously. "I wanted to clear the air," he muttered quietly.

"Right before the wedding?!" Tali snarled, her eyes practically glowing red with rage. "You idiotic bosh'tet! How could you possibly think that was a good idea?"

Amara put her hands on her hips. "Even I know that was stupid. And now mom is who knows where."

A thought finally occurred to the unhappy Turian. "Does anyone know where she is?"

"No," Liara spat back at him, typing away at her Omni-tool. She paused, nervously smoothing out her skin-tight purple dress. "I can't even get a hold of Omen and Portent!"

"And she's on Palaven," he continued.

"She did not leave the planet," EDI confirmed, anger in her own voice.

"Without protection," he finished.

This caught the group off guard as the thought fully sunk in. The anger disappeared as worry replaced it. How long had she been out there? Where was she? What if she was dying?

A single ping interrupted the silence and everyone's heads shot towards the offender, Sarasi.

"What?" he questioned. "I was going to turn it off before the ceremony." The Turian read the message his mandibles flaring in surprise. "My sister says she's bringing her new found sister," he muttered, eyes glittering with confusion.

"Is that really important right now?" Solana snapped, stepping towards him.

"I only have one sister," he replied calmly. "And the message has quite a few mistakes, which means she was driving. And probably very quickly."

"Did someone request a bride to be returned?" a loud, feminine voice shouted out.

The group spun towards the entrance to the parking area. Aurora stood in the doorway, eyes glittering happily. As she stepped forward, she dragged a very familiar human with her. Shepard. Her hair was mostly okay, a few strand sticking up here and there. The crown as askew. But her make up and dress were remarkably fine.

"Shepard?" someone finally blurted out.

"See, sis?" Aurora said happily. "They're happy to see you come back!"

"Sis?" Sarasi questioned. "Did you adopt a sister while I was away, Aurora?"

"Nope! Remember how mom was going to marry the man of her dreams after the war? Well, that man was her dad! That makes Shepard our sister! Practically."

"Everyone stop!" Jack stood there, looking incredibly annoyed, with Miranda at her side. "What the fuck is going on here?"

Shepard stepped forward calmly. "Everyone, this is Aurora Sanders, Sarasi's sister. She brought me to her house a little while ago."

Aurora nodded. "My idiot sister was going to die of radiation poisoning if she stayed out too much longer. But she's safe!" The Turian laughed happily, easing the tension in the room.

Garrus finally got over his own shock, standing up. "Shepard, I'm-"

He got cut off as the Commander surged forward, slapping him across the face, using her red biotics as a boost. "Don't even start," she growled, eyes full of anger. "I don't want to hear a single fucking word out of you." Shepard spun on her heels, walking towards the hallway that led to the room Liara had re-purposed to serve as her dressing room.

The door slammed shut behind her, silencing everyone. Solana was the first to speak;

"I think this day just got a lot more interesting."