"I was going to tell you Shepard… I was just a bit… nervous about it." Tali said, shifting her weight around nervously, hands rubbing.
"I'm not mad at you Tali. I was simply trying to show you that I was in here longer than you thought I was." Shepard said, taking a step towards Tali.
"I-I… Shepard…" Tali hugged Shepard, burying her head in his chest.
Shepard held her tight and rubbed the gentle curves of her sloping back. Tali continued to shift legs uncomfortably, but they slowly became more relaxed the longer she was held. She pulled her head slightly back from his body and looked up at him. She took his hand and placed it on her stomach and rubbed it with his hand. Shepard could feel Tali's breathing strain as she fought back the tears of relief.
"It's ours Shepard… A family…" Tali buried her head back into his chest and cried softly.
Shepard could even feel the tears of happiness mist his eyes and cloud his vision. The thought of this child to come, his child, Tali's child, was relieving. It made him forget about the Reapers, the Shadow Broker, Liara, Krog, Garrus, and the Illusive Man. No one existed except them two standing in the fields of Rannoch.
Garrus looked at the touching discovery, but he decided to investigate the room for some sign of the Shadow Broker. He searched around Liara's bed, the patio, the vents, and the couch, but nothing was there. If the Shadow Broker was there, whatever it is didn't even leave a trace. Garrus angrily searched the room, but there was simply nothing in that room.
"I can't find anything Shepard… If anyone was here, they clean up good." Garrus said, scanning a shoe for any trace amounts of energy or whatever the Shadow Broker leaves, but nothing came up in that room.
"It was almost like he stopped time…" Shepard said, finally releasing Tali, but their hands were still laced together, their bonds together in each other's hands.
"That's impossible Shepard. That technology doesn't exist!" Garrus protested.
"Garrus… You seem like your in a bad mood. What's wrong?" Shepard asked.
"Nothing Commander… Nothing. I'm just tired of all this. Mercenaries, life-death situations, Shadow Brokers, marriage, and pregnancy, it's just a bit much without a whole lot of downtime in-between. I knew that serving with you would be rough, but this is just exhausting." Garrus said.
"You could have stayed at the ship and rested, Garrus. I wouldn't mind if you refused." Shepard said,
"One day isn't enough, I need a full length vacation…" Garrus said, chuckling slightly.
Shepard smiled and walked over and patted Garrus on the back.
"Don't worry… The mercenaries are taken care of and the Shadow Broker is being… reasonable, for the most part. Eventually you will get that three week shore leave to whichever planet you want." Shepard promised, with a wink.
"I would like that Shepard… Suicide missions are getting kind of old." Garrus said rubbing his head.
"Back Shepard?" came Krog's voice.
"Yes… Krog. I'm back." Shepard said turning around to see the mummy wrapped Krogan.
"And your wife…" Krog said, lifting Tali's hand and kissing it.
Tali didn't know if she should be disgusted, offended, humbled or all three at the Krogan. She decided to stay quiet.
"So you talk to your mercenary friend… what's his name? Zada? Zeeda?" Krog asked.
"Zaeed…" Shepard corrected.
"That's the guy!" Krog laughed. "I like him! I might have to join the Blue Suns just to serve under him." Krog laughed again.
"The Shadow Broker was here…" Shepard said.
Krog's face instantly fell into what Shepard could best describe as afraid. For once in his life he appeared truly afraid of the situation and at a loss for words.
"Sh-Shadow Broker? Here?" Krog asked, looking around the room like he was still in the room.
Shepard nodded. Krog ran over to Liara and sat on her bed and put his hands on her cheeks. She softly woke up and looked at him.
"Krog? What are you doing?" Liara asked looking into the scarred Krogan's eyes.
"Just making sure you're okay…" Krog said.
Shepard and Tali stood in what best could be described as a total awe at the pure shock of Krog being sentimental and worried. Maybe they didn't understand how powerful the Shadow Broker really is. Garrus leaned in to them as they watched Krog rub Liara's cheeks softly.
"I think this would be the best time to go…" Garrus said. They were gone before Krog even realized it.
The Normandy felt like the only safe haven from the Shadow Broker, now that he had apparently taken interest in Shepard. Shepard sat in his room and stared at his personal computer. Tali sat on the couch and poked at the prothean jelly ball; it always made her feel at ease. Shepard wanted to communicate to the Shadow Broker, but the idea of talking to someone that people didn't even think existed seemed impossible, but he decided to try something. He wrote a simple message labeled to the Shadow Broker and sent it out to no where.
He walked away from his computer and walked over and sat on the couch next to Tali. She slid herself onto his lap and rubbed her hand up is arm.
"I always love playing with this thing!" Tali said, happily.
"It is very interesting…" Shepard said staring at her and not the ball.
"Interesting…" Tali said.
"You know I love it when you say that word like that…" Shepard said, rubbing his hand up Tali's stomach. Tali giggled at Shepard and looked at him rub her stomach.
"Interesting…" Tali said again.
Shepard grabbed her sides causing her to squeal with laughter as he tickled her through her suit.
"That's not fair Shepard!" Tali squeezed through the laughs.
The tickling caused Tali to slump further down into the couch. Shepard slowly moved his way up her and almost had his hands around her visor, but the beep of his personal computer broke the mood. Shepard sighed as he rose from Tali who miserably buckled the bottom of her suit up again.
Shepard looked at the computer to find an anonymous message:
Shepard, Hello. Amazingly you Deciphered my message, And We are happy to do Business with you. Respectfully, Other issues arise and Knowledge is Everything.
Respectfully…
Shepard felt relieved and at ease with this new message. He had found a way to communicate to the Shadow Broker and it appeared the Shadow Broker was friendly, for the most part though Shepard has seen what he was capable of doing. He thought about typing another message, but the change in the music made him look over at his bed.
Tali was laying under the covers, suit on the floor. The smile on her face was a warm welcoming call for him to join her, and if that wasn't enough, she patted the side of the bed. Shepard smiled at her and walked across the length of the room. In that small walk he managed to take off his shirt and his shoes. The rest of the clothes fell apart in Tali's capable hands.
Pip groggily came out of the dark room that he had woke up in. He couldn't remember anything, but he could have sworn that he had seen something important. He looked up at the sky and around the alleyways. For once in his life, his brain seemed to piece everything together. He felt an overwhelming large knowledge in his head now as he walked from the dark room. He instantly walked past the police official that always gave him hell.
"Top of the morning Officer…" Pip heard himself say.
"Good day to you too Pip…" the officer said, taken aback at the civility that Pip was now exhibiting.
Pip almost cried at his luck. He didn't know who to thank. He never did figure out who was in that room with him, but whoever it was cured him. Pip felt the spring in his step as he walked through the alleyways that didn't seem as dark before. He was free. He felt the pressure of an always watching entity had left him. If he could sing, he would break out in song at that very moment.
Garrus walked over to Miranda who was combing her hair. He stretched his old back and looked at her and smiled.
"So did you hear? Tali's pregnant…" Garrus said.
Miranda stopped brushing her hair and looked up at him.
"I guess they are going to go through with it…" Miranda said.
Garrus stared at her. Miranda quickly picked up on the meaning of his stare and looked at him with sad eyes.
"I don't want to start anything… Not now Garrus… We still have each other, and that is what matters."
Garrus sighed and walked over to the closet and unclipped his heavy armor. His rugged scarred skin and rough armored turian skin were almost muscles on his body from how Miranda looked at it. She stood up and walked over and placed her hands around his neck and rubbed them. Garrus quickly became relaxed and sighed with approval.
"You need to relax! You know that Miranda said, giving him her disarming smile. He wrapped his arms around her and they fell onto the bed.
Joker sat at the helm staring out at the vastness of space.
"Hey EDI?" Joker asked.
"Yes Jeff?" EDI asked.
"Do you know and good jokes?" Joker asked.
"What do you call parachuting Council members?" EDI asked.
"Skeet… I've heard that one… I've got a classic! Okay! So two peanuts are walking down the street. One is a salted… … … peanut…" Joker laughed.
"A simple play of words Jeff?" EDI asked.
"Hey it's a classic!" Joker yelled.
"You mean it's old…" EDI said.
"Haha… That one was almost funny…" Joker said sarcastically.
"That was a joke…" EDI said.
"I know. I know." Joker said.
The dark shadow of the Shadow Broker moved through the fog of the planet. It moved without stepping like it didn't have legs. It walked to an area of the small courtyard, and simply vanished into the fog.
He stood over Tali and Shepard's bed staring down at the sleeping couple at the same time that he was looking down at Garrus and Miranda. He could see all of them. He was everywhere. He was also watching Pip and Liara back on Illium. His eyes were everywhere and his power was unmatched. He turned around in Shepard's room and typed on his computer before he vanished from existence. His plan was going according to the predictability of Shepard, and soon, Shepard would be his.
Mordin sat in his lab processing the last run of tissue samples from quarians and humans. The water of Pragia only ceased to amaze him at its unique quality of DNA neutralization. He continued to wait for any long term effects that could arise from the paring of such tissues while he tinkered with his newest side experiment, Salarian Life Extension. Mordin was already older than most Salarians, and he knew that he was old, but he was not going to let old age drag him down. He took the Salarian tissue sample from its container and injected it with the serum. The cells became rejuvenated. Mordin smiled.
He wanted to immediately inject himself with the next extension to his life, but he wanted to run further tests on it… just in case. If he did not plan this perfectly, he could easily shave off the rest of his time that he had left to live which he wasn't overly fond of doing. He wanted to bring up his problem to Shepard, but Mordin felt that he had to keep this secret to himself. Shepard would understand.
Ken and Gabby sat in the crew's quarters watching a romantic tale of drell and a hanar princess. Kenneth laughed through most of the movie. Gabby laughed almost as hard as Ken. She didn't even realize that she had placed her hand on his before it was too late. Her face turned bright red as she felt his hand. She looked over at Kenneth who smiled happily at her.
"Why, hello there Gabby!" Kenneth said.
Gabby pulled her hand away from him and broke the stare between them. She decided to focus completely on the movie.
"…the Enkindlers are here for us both, my love."
"This One finds the situation most disagreeable… Hold this One…" the Hanar princess said.
Kenneth began to roll on the ground with laughter. Gabby held back her laughs at the ridiculousness of Kenneth on the floor. She wondered why she hid her laughs. She wondered why diverted from his gaze. She hated Love, but she loved Kenneth.
Krog opened a small data pad and clicked on the 32-digit pass code. Shepard's position was quickly revealed as what appeared to be a satellite following him. Krog smiled to himself as he looked at Shepard and Tali's pictures that were clearly labeled 'For the Hunt' and 'to the death'. Krog wanted nothing more than to either kill or be killed by Shepard. He obsessed with both feelings. He could feel the warm blood from Shepard's neck drip on his hands as the blade cut into him at the same time he could feel the sharp pain of an incendiary bullet smash into his chest and burn his organs.
Krog looked at the time that the nurses had estimated the time for his recovery. Three more days remained for the broken leg. Everything else he could deal with. Shepard's head was to be his. Krog even promised himself that if the time came to it, He would kill a Reaper by himself to get to Shepard. He laughed at how determined he was.
"You will be mine Shepard…" Krog said with a smile.
Krog's smile faded as he brought up another entry.
"Shadow Broker had better not get in my way either."
