A/N: You people are all truly glorious human beings. I just want to thank you for all the feedback—this story wouldn't have been half as good as it is otherwise.
And this chapter took a long time, I know. I've suffered a terrible bout of writer's block, and Life seems to have made it impossible for me to find a quiet space to work for an hour or so.
This story is also nearing the end, with only a few chapters left after it. My impatience had gotten the better of me and I actually began writing up the first chapter of my new story. Super excited!
Anyway, I'll stop talking. I hope you enjoy this labor of love, as they say, and tell me what you think.
**Chapter 18: A Place to Rest Our Heads**
He watched Tali travel slowly down the hallway, fingers gliding against the newly-painted walls.
The house was complete, finally. Fortunately he hadn't suffered any other injuries, and he took pride in knowing that a great deal of the construction was a result of his work.
She hadn't said a word since they'd walked through the front door. Her eyes had flicked around with an almost unbelieving awe, as if she had thought she were in a dream.
Tali wandered into the kitchen and he followed her, watching as she opened dark wooden cupboards and slid her hands across the polished marble counter tops.
"You like it?" he asked quietly.
She looked over at him, nodding. He could practically see her smile and watering eyes.
"I love it."
She walked over and wrapped her arms around him, face buried in his chest. "Thank you." she whispered.
He laughed, arms going around her. "You might want to hold off on thanking me until we make sure nothing falls apart."
She laughed, sniffling. "It's beautiful, John."
He smiled down at her. "Why don't we see the rest of the house?"
Everything seemed surreal to her.
Each room was filled with homey furniture, the walls painted warm colors. Soft lights gave the whole house a pleasant, warm glow and was furnished with inviting décor.
It really was a beautiful house. Everything was comfortable and open, perfect for both friendly company and a quiet day at home.
They were on the second floor now, and as she pushed the door open to their bedroom her eyes widened.
A massive bed dominated the floor space, the mattress covered in earthy-toned bed sheets and fluffy pillows. A floor-to-ceiling window covered one wall, sun shining into the room and giving a break-taking view of the ocean.
On another wall was a door that opened up into a huge closet, one that Tali couldn't ever hope to fill with clothing. She walked over to it, stepping inside.
"Keelah, this is bigger than my bedroom back on the Rayya." she commented, looking around at the multitude of racks and drawers, the cream carpet soft under her feet.
She heard Shepard laugh behind her. "The closet was Kasumi's idea. I have no clue how we're going to fill it, but at least we've got a lot of storage."
She walked back out, looking around to see if she'd missed anything.
She had. Beside the bed was a door that lead into a bathroom. As she walked in, she felt her jaw drop.
Dark marble counter tops lined an entire wall, with individual sinks for both her and Shepard. An elegantly framed mirror hung above it, its reflective surface making the room look even larger.
A toilet sat in one corner, white and polished. But what amazed her the most was the shower.
It took up about half of the wall opposite the counters, dark tiles and a glass door. Shower jets lined the walls, interfaces showing a dozen different settings. It was so big that she could likely fit four or five people inside.
"Shower was also Kasumi's idea, but I agree a lot more with this decision." Shepard said, grinning.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the corner farthest away from the door, in which sat an odd contraption.
"It's a bathtub. A damn big bathtub, but a bathtub no less."
She looked at him, slightly confused. She'd heard the word before but never really knew what it was.
He saw her confused expression and explained. "It's like a shower, but you can lie down in it. Plus it looks like there's jets, so it's almost like a hot tub."
"It looks like it can fit two people." she said, smiling.
His grin widened. "I wonder why that is?"
She stepped closer to him, hands sliding up his arms to wrap around his neck. "Why don't we find out?"
He laughed, tugging her closer. Then his eyes alighted and he grinned down at her. "I have to show you one more thing."
He tugged on her hand, guiding her back into the bedroom. He walked over to the door, coming to stand just beside it. In front of him was a small panel, and when he pressed a button on it a calm voice came out of it.
"Decontamination in progress."
He looked over at her, smiling at her surprised expression. "You don't think we'd have this lavish bedroom without being able to properly use it, would you?"
She unlatched her mask, setting it onto the small table next to her. The scent of sawdust and fresh paint filled her nose, but all her concentration was set on Shepard.
He grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed, hoping to God no one else came into the house.
"This is so comfy." she said, spreading her arms across the mattress.
Shepard laughed. "It'll be difficult to get out of." he agreed.
She rolled over to him, curling up beside him. "Maybe we should just stay here all day."
He thought that that was a grand idea. The house had been finished late last night, and Tali had woken up almost before dawn wanting to see it. Staying in bed, alternately sleeping and having sex, seemed like a great plan—almost like an early honeymoon. Maybe later they'd go downstairs and cook something in their new kitchen and explore the rest of the house, as Tali had seen little of it.
As the completion of the structure had drawn near, Shepard had made sure that Tali stayed away, not wanting her to see it until it was finished. He'd burned through most of the money Hackett had given them, but had been saved from complete bankruptcy by Kasumi, whose thieving days had racked up a lot of credits.
He heard an incredulous laugh beside him and looked over to see Tali looking about the room with a faint smile.
"What is it?"
"I just can't believe that we've got a real home now. And on Rannoch, too." she shook her head, smile growing wider. "I always dreamed of having a big house on the homeworld when I was a kid, but I never thought that it would actually happen." she looked over at him, a playful grin on her face. "Or a handsome Commander to sleep with."
He allowed a smug look to cross his features. "Seems I've made all your dreams come true, hm?"
She snorted. "Please, Shepard. You wouldn't have lived through half the things you did without me. If anything, I was the one that did all the work."
"Really now?"
She giggled. "It's more like I
made sure you kept living all these years so that I could bring you here and let you build me a house."
He burst out laughing and pulled her close. "If you say so."
They lay there for a while, content with the simple sound of each other's breathing and the distant crashing waves of the ocean.
"Keelah, I'm so comfortable. I don't want to get up." Tali said, breaking the silence. Her words were followed closely by a growling stomach and she laughed. "But I'm also really hungry."
He grinned down at her. "Maybe we should go explore the kitchen and see what we find."
"There's already food in it?"
He nodded. "My mother and Kasumi took care of that as well." he hefted himself off the bed, grabbing his clothes and beginning to pull them on. "Come on. Let's go see what we can find."
"Can we come in? You guys aren't naked or doing anything weird, right?"
Kasumi heard a distant laugh from Shepard in the kitchen. "What do you count as weird?" he called back.
She snickered and opened the front door wide, walking down the hallway and into the kitchen, which was illuminated by Tikkun's bright rays.
Shepard sat at the tiny island in the middle of the room, devouring a massive sandwich, which looked to be loaded with an assortment of meats and fresh vegetables, all supplied by her luxurious bank accounts. Shep had at first refused any financial aid whatsoever, but had caved when she'd asked him if he wanted his wife to do without just because he was too stubborn to ask for help?
Said wife was leaning on the other side of the island, spinning around an empty nutrient tube on the counter.
"Well, you two look like you've already gotten yourselves settled in." Garrus said behind her.
Shepard grinned, looking up from his sandwich. "Hard not to. Furniture's damn comfortable."
"I have a feeling that you're not talking about the couches." the turian commented, walking over to the fridge and helping himself to food.
"I seem to be learning a lot more about my son's sexual habits than I should be." Hannah said, a slight smile on her face. "The house really is lovely, though." she walked over to the small sitting room that opened up from the kitchen, running her hand along the soft material of the couch cushions.
Shepard stood up from his seat at the counter, grinning. "You haven't even seen The basement yet."
The thief raised a brow. "What did you do down there?"
He jerked his head towards the direction of the door. "Come see."
This comment piqued the interest of the others, and they followed him to the basement door, all traveling down the wooden stairs and coming to stand on hard flooring. The room was pitch dark.
Shepard disappeared for a moment, walking over to the glowing control panel on the wall beside them, turning on the lights. They were all a little speechless at what appeared before them.
The room was massive, walls and floor made up of bare concrete. In one corner was a firing range, racks of guns placed on the wall for easy access. Another corner sported full work-out equipment, stocked with punching bags, sparring mats, and a plethora of weights and other gear. These were both illuminated by long stretches of light fixtures above, with not one nook hidden in shadow.
The third corner housed a bar, with three fridges behind the counter, stocked with what Kasumi assumed were water, booze, and energy drinks.
"This has to be the biggest man-cave I've ever seen."
Shepard laughed. "Figured this would be useful to stay sharp now that we won't be going on suicide missions every other day."
"Better not show James this," Garrus commented. "He won't ever leave."
Tali laughed. "Well, we'll have to keep the door locked this week."
Shepard raised a brow. "And why would we do that?"
She smiled. "Everyone's coming for the wedding."
Kasumi suppressed her laughter at the sight of Shepard's surprised expression. "This week? Jesus, when were you going to tell me?"
"Right now."
Kasumi giggled. "Don't worry, Shep. You don't have to do much. Just show up in your 007 tux and you've done your part."
"Do you know how to cook?"
Tali looked up from the view of the ocean to see Hannah standing next to her.
"Er, not really. The only quarians that really know how to cook are the ones who lived in the agriculture ships and handled the food."
Hannah nodded. "Would you like to learn how? Admittedly, I'm not a chef or anything, but I've cooked a fair amount of John's meals when he was a boy; he never really liked the cooks on any of the ships we lived on."
Tali laughed. "Sure. Once I'm able to eat whole food, it would be a good idea to learn how to cook."
They wandered over to the counter, Hannah heading to the fridge and rifling through the "dextro" side of the steel appliance. She came out of its depths holding a couple of fruits, closing the door with her foot.
"We should start with making something easy, like a salad."
Tali watched her as she prepared the meal, cutting thin slices of the fruits. Most of the time she stayed quiet, only asking the occasional question. Like her son, Hannah was a good teacher. She was patient and would go over things multiple times to show you what to do.
"What was Shepard like?"
Hannah looked up from the cutting board. "What do you mean?"
"As a child. He knows all about me, but he never really talked about his personal life. Keelah, I had to sleep with him for him to tell me his first name." her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her audio port. "I-I don't... I didn't mean—"
Hannah laughed. "It's alright, honey. And as a child? He was a lunatic."
Tali giggled, feeling the heat slowly begin to fade from her cheeks. "I'm not surprised."
"He was always on the go, and I don't think I ever saw him without some sort of cut or scratch on his face." Hannah shook her head, meal forgotten. "The amount of times John hurt himself doing things he wasn't supposed to..." she laughed. "I remember once when he was twelve, I got a call from the school he was going to that he'd climbed up into the rafters of the ship in the play yard. I went over and found him telling all of the kids in the school yard that he was king of the world." she laughed. "Then I yelled at him to get down, and about halfway to the ground he slipped and fell. Clumsy bastard broke his arm."
Tali bit the inside of her cheek to keep from bursting into laughter. "And then?"
"We got him over to the ship's nurse and had him all fixed up. He took some time off school, and when he went back, he told me all the kids called him a badass."
They laughed for a small time, and then Hannah's expression sobered. "So many stories like that. I think he did some of the things he did because he was lonely. His father and I were away a lot on military duties." she shook her head. "We moved around so often. He'd make friends, then a week later we'd fly to another system. Broke his heart every time." Hannah's eyes looked suspiciously bright, and she played with the cutting knife she still held in her hand. "I hated doing it to him. Sometimes I thought about quitting the Alliance and buying a home on earth or a human colony." she sighed. "But I never did. I was too selfish—loved my job too much. But maybe him losing so many friends was a good thing." she looked up at Tali. "He seems to have lost a great deal of them during the war. It's good that he's able to cope, at least to some degree."
Tali smiled at her. "He seems to have had an eventful childhood."
Hannah laughed. "That he did. He was a good kid; he respected other people and was fiercely idealistic." she smiled. "He'd gotten into a fair number of fights standing up for people. He hated bullies and cowards. Though I'm sure you know that."
Tali laughed, eyes watering a little. Just hearing his mother talk about him made him seem all the more real. More human and flawed, just like everybody else. He wasn't some perfect Commander that saved the galaxy; at the end of the day, he went to sleep with the same choices and regrets that other people did. Just on a more larger scale.
She heard boots on the hardwood and Shepard appeared in the kitchen. He looked over at them, his gaze turning instantly cautious at the sight of them sniffling at the kitchen counter.
She could see him struggling to form words, and Tali laughed, extending a hand out to him. "Come here."
He did so warily, eyes flicking between the two women crying. "Is there a problem?"
Hannah smiled, wiping her eyes. "Of course not. Just talking."
She heard him mutter something about women, walking over to the cutting board and peering at its contents.
"Making lunch, I see?"
"Yes, but it isn't for you." Hannah batted him away. "You'll get sick if you eat that."
He grunted, moving over to the fridge and looking around for food. The man always seemed to be hungry. "When's everyone getting here?" he asked, coming out with fixings for another sandwich. "For the wedding, I mean?"
"Well," Hannah began. "The invitations have been sent out, so everyone should get here in the next couple days or so."
He raised a brow. "You can set up a wedding in that short a time?"
His mother grinned at him. "Of course. It's the food that will be the biggest issue. We'll have to do some serious baking. Calling a catering service wouldn't do well if you don't want anyone finding out about the wedding."
He nodded, looking like he was trying to keep a smile off of his face. "That why you're teaching Tali how to cook? Be a good housewife and all that?"
"I'm going to smack you. Now get out of the kitchen." he laughed, picking up his now complete sandwich.
"I'll leave you women to your work!" he called from the safety of the hallway.
Tali picked up one of the fruits and hurled it at him, hearing him laugh and jump away from the projectile.
Hannah sighed. "Did I mention that he's the biggest smart-ass I've ever met?"
Shepard sat down beside her on the blanket, pulling her close.
It was evening now, and everyone had gone back to the Normandy to allow them some privacy.
They sat in front of the fireplace in the small seating area and opened up from the kitchen, sitting on one of the soft throws from the couch.
"This is nice. Like a campfire, but without any wind." she said, leaning against him.
Shepard made a sound of agreement, arm tightening around her. "Are you happy?" he asked quietly.
She smiled up at him. "Really happy, John. The house is beautiful. Thank you."
"You built half of it." he said, smiling at her. "But it wasn't a problem, Tali. You deserve this after all the shit we've been through."
"What about you? How are you doing?"
"I'm happy." he said honestly. "I've got a roof over my head, good food, warm bed," he grinned at her. "And a beautiful wife who I'm medically instructed to have sex with in order to bolster her immune system. I'd say I've got it pretty good."
She laughed. "I'm glad you're so appreciative."
He pulled her down onto the blanket with him, pulling her close and wrapping themselves in the soft throw. "And I'm glad you're so eager to follow the doctor's orders."
She blushed but said nothing, instead snuggling against him. "I love you, Shepard."
"And I you."
They slowly drifted off to sleep, the last sound heard by either of them being the other's soft breathing.
Mega cheesy, I know. But, I'm afraid it'll get even cheesier with the wedding, which will take place in the next two chapters. Woohoo!