They had managed to get in contact with Ada before leaving Palaven. She had definitely been shaken up. She had admitted to Kaidan that she didn't think she could be on a military ship anymore, as much as she had enjoyed spending time with Hannah. There was a reason she hadn't followed her husband into war while he had been serving, and she had been ever so unpleasantly reminded of that fact as their ship had been under attack. She had stated how grateful she was that Hannah was good at her job, because without her organization and command, Ada wasn't sure if she would have been able to make it out alive.
Kaidan had already talked to Chakwas to see about helping her get a job at Huerta. That way she could still be close to them when they got back to the Citadel, and she'd be able to keep being a nurse. That was something that Ada had found enjoyment in again, and Kaidan didn't want her to have to stop just because she wasn't going to be on an Alliance ship anymore.
Chakwas had reminded them that the Citadel would be open to the public by the time they got back, in which case, she was sure there would be a high demand for someone of Ada's qualifications. Karin had already put in the order to her higher ups, and wasn't surprised to see the transfer accepted within the day.
It made Kaidan and Jane really happy to know that she could be close to them on the Citadel. Kaidan knew that his mother could hold her own, but he still worried about her.
Hackett had also been keeping them updated about Hannah's condition. A day after their initial phone call, he had given them the progress report from her surgery. They had managed to start repairing the damage, and completely stop the bleeding. Her condition had already moved from critical to stable, though she had still been unconscious.
After a week, Hackett had managed to get in contact with them again via the QEC to say that Hannah had been conscious for a while and even moving around. Jane was upset that they would constantly be at FTL speeds until reaching Terra Nova because that meant she wouldn't be able to contact her mother to hear her voice for herself, thanks to the hospital there not readily having their own QEC for her to use easily. At least it meant that she would get to see her as soon as possible, which was the only reason it was bearable.
And now was finally that time. Kaidan and Jane had met up with Ada first, and caught up briefly. Ada had already seemed to have been in much higher spirits than their last conversation, having had three weeks to calm down from the events, and especially now that she was able to see how much Jane had changed in the last 12 weeks since they had seen each other.
Kaidan had decided to stay behind with Ada to give Jane some time alone with her mother. She was currently standing outside of Hannah's hospital room, almost having a hard time believing that she was actually there. She knew Hackett and even Ada had confirmed her mother's status, but with their last interaction being so despairing, she had needed some real validation for herself. Seeing her mother now had provided the solace that she had desperately needed.
She quietly walked into Hannah's room, trying not to disturb her. It was shocking how well she looked. With how they had talked about her condition she had been expecting her to need more time to recover, but she almost looked unchanged since the last time she had seen her.
She knew that her mother was trying to get rest, but Jane felt the overwhelming need to be held by her. It was an odd thing to feel like the little girl she barely remembered being when in the presence of her mother in times of need.
Jane knew that sharing beds with patients was usually something that would earn you a yelling at by the well-meaning nurses. Usually for good reason, especially remembering that one time she was caught when she had tried to sneak into Kaidan's bed after they had talked some things through while he was at Huerta. But this was different. Jane had almost been sure that she had lost her mother, and she needed that contact.
She gently climbed into the bed and huddled up against Hannah's back, for now just appreciating the breaths that she was taking, and the warmth that she was giving off. She didn't plan on waking her, though it seemed that Jane had been crying without realising it, which had roused Hannah from her sleep anyway.
Hannah turned over slowly to see who had invaded her bed.
"Jane?," she said as she was greeted by quiet sobbing. "Oh, Jane. Come here," she said completely turning over now, bringing Jane into as much of a hug as she possibly could in the bed. Her range of motion was clearly worse than someone under normal conditions, but not as bad as Jane would have guessed for it to be.
"I'm so sorry, mom."
Hannah just held Jane's head to her chest, shushing her, while gently pulling the hair from her face.
"Steven told me about your little theory, you know. Even if you're right, this wasn't your fault, Jane," Hannah said, still holding her daughter, waiting for her to calm down.
As her sobs began to quiet, Hannah released her hold a bit to examine how Jane's body had begun to alter, as she had noticed the growth getting in the way of their hug.
"My goodness, look how much you've changed."
Jane let out a watery laugh, as she looked down at herself too. "Well it has almost been 3 months since we've seen each other," she said, while taking her mother's hand and placing it on her stomach. "Here. You should meet your grandchild."
Hannah's features softened as she felt the life beneath her hand.
"Now I feel kind of silly for calling you so emotionally like that during the attack," Hannah said, understanding that Jane was doing this now thanks to the last thing that she had said during that conversation.
"Don't be," Jane said seriously. "If the worst really had come to pass, I would have appreciated having that last conversation with you. You were lucky to have had the chance. I wish I would have had as much opportunity when it was the Normandy."
"Don't remind me."
"Sorry. I love you, mom."
"I love you too, sweetie," she said, caressing her daughter's face with her free hand. "My goodness, you certainly have a lively little one in there, don't you?"
"So everyone keeps saying."
"How do you manage to get any sleep?"
"It tends to be easy when she's sucking all of the energy out of me."
"She?," Hannah asked, intrigued.
"Oh, no, we still don't know. I've just been saying she. You could say, I have a feeling."
"Already developing that mother's intuition I see."
Jane just hummed in amusement.
"I think it's a girl too. Maybe I just feel that way because I had a girl though, so who knows."
Jane just smiled at the thought.
"You know… sometimes I can still feel you," Hannah said.
Jane looked at her questioningly.
"Well, obviously not literally. Phantom movements after pregnancy. 33 years later, and I still get them sometimes."
"Phantom movements?"
"That's what they call it at least. From my understanding it's not really that simple. There are a lot of possible explanations. Muscle memory, or just being more aware of what's going on inside of your body after pregnancy. I don't really care about the scientific explanations though or what it really is. It feels just like how it did when you would move. It's been my way of carrying you with me wherever I go in life. Through whatever's separated us."
They shared a comfortable moment of silence as Hannah relinquished her hand and moved to lie on her back.
"Ah, you're in the best part now. You're probably not sick anymore. You're not big enough yet to be in agonizing discomfort and peeing yourself with every little sneeze or cough. You're at the part where you're finally feeling that proof of how your life is about to change. I still remember it so clearly. And if you're anything like I was, you probably have Kaidan at your beck and call these days."
"Gods mom, why does it always go back to sex with you?"
"What? Am I wrong?," Hannah asked, amused.
Jane cleared her throat as she looked up at the ceiling, with a big shit-eating grin on her face. "You're not wrong."
"See. Besides, I can't pass up an opportunity to tease my daughter," She said, patting Jane's hand as a form of apology. "Take advantage of it while you can, though. Just like sleep, your time alone with him will be harder to come by with a small child around."
"Ugh," Jane groaned.
"Oh, it won't be so bad. You'll find the time for it. It will just come with a lot more interruptions, and the potential to have your child walk in on you."
"Oh my god. You are not insinuating that I did that."
"Oh, I most certainly am. You were three years old and we learned pretty damn quickly to lock the doors after that. I'm glad it seems like you don't remember."
"I'm upset that you made me relive it anyway."
"Just trying to let you learn from my mistakes, dear."
"Mhmm," Jane said, with snark tainting her voice.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah," Jane said. She really was. Just knowing that her mother was okay was everything.
"So, does that mean we can get out of here already? I've been going stir-crazy."
"Hackett said we can take you whenever you're cleared to leave."
"Great, let's go then."
"Are you serious? You can't be fully recovered yet."
"No, but they've had me on a regimen to help me heal faster. My shoulder's almost better. Not quite 100%, and I'll need physical therapy. Nothing like what you had to go through, but just a few exercises until I get full range of motion back. Aside from that, they said that as long as I can be monitored by a doctor, I'm free to leave. Hackett already informed me that you have 2 on board, not to mention Ada will be there. I think that's more than sufficient."
"Wow. I can't believe you're actually practically fine after all that."
"Something for which I'm grateful."
"No doubt. Okay, well we can find a doctor to get you discharged, but Liara said we're docked here for a few days at least. She wasn't expecting you to be ready this quickly. The team's trying to do their own investigation before moving out."
"Ah. Well that's good. I'm not sure how much you've managed to stay in contact with Steven, but there's been another attack resembling the one on the Orizaba already."
"I hadn't heard. Was this one recent?"
"Yes. Just yesterday."
"I guess that would be why. There probably wasn't enough details about it yet."
"No, I suppose not. This one was on a small portion of the Charon Relay repair fleet."
"Hmm. Does that really fit though? What does that have in common with the Orizaba?"
"That, I don't know. Not yet at least. All I know is that the characteristics of the attack were the same. Sloppy, with no care for loss of life of their own units."
"No information about who attacked? Ships? Any known markers? Anything?"
"I'm not sure, sweetie. Steven's only been giving me the basic intel for now. He wanted me to focus on getting better. He said he'd come up to the Citadel for an official debrief once we return. If he knew anything that would affect our safety, I'm sure he wouldn't have waited."
"Okay. I guess that'll just have to do for now."
That's when Hannah decided she had had enough of the hospital bed, and got up to pack her bag.
"So just how much have you been talking to Hackett?"
Hannah just gave her a raised eyebrow as a warning for going down that line of questioning.
"What? It sounds like it's getting kind of serious. Am I wrong?"
This time, it was Hannah's turn to huff at her daughter's incessant questioning about her personal life. "What gave it away?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you've only referred to him by his first name since I've seen you now. Plus, I saw the way you two acted around each other before you left the Citadel last time. It looked like he made you happy."
Hannah stopped what she was doing then, to look her daughter in the eye. She was surprised that her daughter had been paying that much attention, though she probably shouldn't have been.
"He does make me happy," Hannah said seriously.
"Good. I'm glad you listened to me and gave him a chance," Jane said, teasing her mother now.
"Uh huh," Hannah scoffed.
"So, just how good are you feeling exactly?"
"Why?"
"I need some new clothes. I'm glad I ended up bringing at least some maternity clothes, because this kid is growing like crazy now, but we've already been out longer than expected, and I just don't have enough pants that fit me anymore."
Hannah laughed at her daughter's misery. Not unkindly, just easily able to sympathise. "Well, we can't have that now can we. Honestly, I'm practically fine other than a little soreness, which I can manage easily. I have to try to refrain from using my arm, but I have a sling I can keep it in if we'll be out walking around."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. I think the doctor's are all being extra cautious thanks to Steven's special orders. I'm fine, really."
"Oh boy, he's got it bad, huh?"
"Well, I am quite the prize," Hannah joked.
Jane laughed at her mother's lack of modesty. "Alright. Just promise me if you're not feeling good to let me know so we can go back to the Normandy. We have a few days here so there's no rush."
"I promise. But I don't expect it to be an issue."
"Okay," Jane paused in thought as a realisation hit her. "Can you even remember the last time that we got to do something like this for fun? Where we were able to just be mother and daughter like this?"
Hannah stopped to think too. "Come to think of it, no. Outings like this certainly weren't common with how busy I was. Almost all of your clothes were requisitioned."
"Hmm. Well, it's a nice change."
"It certainly is," Hannah agreed with a smile.
"Would you maybe be okay if it wasn't just mother and daughter though?"
"Whatever you want, sweetie. Who else were you thinking?"
"Well, I would imagine Ada would be thrilled to be included, but let's just say, I'm not the only pregnant person on the Normandy."
"Oh, really? Who else then?"
"Gabby. Do you remember her?"
"Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do. She managed to get us some data for the Crucible that was invaluable. When I was bringing your crew back home from Sur'Kesh, I took quite a liking to her actually."
"I'm glad to hear it, she's become a good friend."
"Good. She's such a sweet girl. It's a shame what happened to her family."
"I'm surprised she told you about that. It took her a lot longer to confide that with me."
"It took time for me to work it out of her too. It was easy for me to see that she needed someone to confide in, but she was so adamant about not wanting to waste anyone's time. Especially mine. That girl hates to be a burden, that's for sure."
"Yeah, that's definitely Gabby. I've had my own talk with her about that."
"Good. Honestly, I think I just reminded her of her own mother. She wanted some relationship advice about Kenneth, and said that Tali couldn't be impartial. It certainly felt like she had been in need of parental guidance at the time. I have to say, it was almost a bit therapeutic for me at the time as well, with not knowing about your status yet either."
"Well I'm glad you were there for each other. I'm willing to share as long as you are," Jane laughed.
"Only for the good ones, which no doubt, Gabby is."
"Good. Well, I have it on pretty good authority that she may be running out of clothes too. In fact, I think it's worse for her. She really wasn't expecting to be out here this long either and I don't think she had anything. I've been sharing what I can."
"Alright, well now you've made it sound dire. Let's get out of here, shall we. If that doctor's not here, I'm sure we can get their attention at the front desk."
"Okay, jees. I can see where I get my impatience from."
"Oh, don't be silly, Jane. I'm perfectly capable of being patient, as long as it's not something that's wasting everyone's time."
"Right," Jane said, as she followed her mother out the door.
Hannah managed to get herself discharged rather quickly and efficiently now that there was reason for her to leave. They went to go meet up with Kaidan and Ada, because Hannah was admittedly excited to see him as well. After Jane told him their plans for the afternoon, he excused himself so he could go help with the investigation. It would never hurt having a Spectre looking into it either, and the council had already granted him permission to be included in the investigation.
Jane had quickly called Gabby for her to come join them. Gabby had been more than a little thrilled to see how well Hannah had been doing, as they greeted each other with a hug, Gabby being careful to not hurt Hannah's injured shoulder.
The four women enjoyed a day out exploring how well Terra Nova had been able to pick itself up since the end of the war. If Jane had to venture a guess, she would think that it was slightly better than Earth, though even Earth had been starting to look good the last time she was there.
The city they were in was entirely functional and you could barely see the scars left from the war. There were plenty of shops and restaurants open already, making their day easy and fun. She was glad that she was able to include Gabby in their outing. Jane had quickly realised that she had almost been in the same shoes Gabby was in now, making her all that much more grateful for still having her mother with her. Jane knew there was no possible way for this experience to be the same for Gabby without it being her real family, but it didn't mean Jane and Hannah couldn't be here for her in their absence.