And we've come to the end! Thank you so much for reading, all of you - this has been such a fun story to do!

Garrus stretched out on the couch in the office, sighing as he did so. He picked up his book, adjusting his eyepiece to see better, and found his place again. The screen on the far wall burbled away to itself, Diana Allers with an update on galactic news that he glanced at occasionally when it was relevant to him. Allers had risen in the ranks since her time on the Normandy and was the most sought-after reporter on the Citadel now. She and Kaidan had made a match of it, and when Spectre Alenko was home from the most recent secret assignment Garrus didn't want to know about the four of them often had dinner together. Garrus and Zia weren't all that fond of Allers, but she made Kaidan happy, so that was all they needed to know.

Unsurprisingly, the exploits of Spectre Alenko made the news fairly often. He was commanding the Normandy now, with Joker still flying her and Dr. Chakwas still in medbay. Joker and EDI seemed very happy together, and EDI's exploration of humor was expanding. She even knew a few good turian jokes now, which Garrus may have taught her.

"Dad! Dad? We're back!"

Garrus grimaced. Much as he enjoyed their brood of adopted children, he had been hoping for a few more minutes peace and quiet before the boys came home from school. "In here," he called, and the inevitable thundering occurred as they raced each other to the office. "Stop right there." Obediently, they did, and he looked at them sternly. "You behaved yourselves today?" Two solemn nods. "No notes from your teachers, no awkward emails?"

"No, Dad."

He hadn't expected anything else—they were mostly good boys, if high-spirited. "Good. Go get yourselves something to eat, get started on your homework, I'll be there in a minute."

They resumed their usual stream of argument and wrestling as they left the room, and he chuckled, returning to his book. Both boys were around ten years old. Carlos had been on an evac shuttle from an outlying colony. The shuttle had never made it back in time to get the adults, and Carlos had been left with no family. Actius and his little sister Davana had fled Palaven with their grandmother on the same shuttle with Garrus's father and sister. But the grandmother had been injured, and hadn't lived long once she got to the Citadel. Garrus's father and Solana had brought the children to the apartment when they came to stay, and once Garrus and Zia had been able to come back from Earth, the children had become part of their family. Davana was in daycare now; Zia would bring her home later. Their oldest girl, Tara, had recently returned to Earth. She had never given up on the idea that her parents were still alive, so she had chosen to go to university back home so she could keep looking. Both Zia and Liara, back up to speed as the Shadow Broker, were helping in the hunt. Neither of them discouraged Tara from hoping, although Garrus wasn't aware that they had any solid leads. They missed Tara, but she had always been biding her time until she could go home. They were considering adopting another little girl around Davana's age to round out their family.

He closed his book with a sigh, hearing the rising volume from the kitchen. While they did a fairly good job keeping levo and dextro foods separated, the boys weren't above daring each other, and that was always messy and unpleasant.

"You two better not be doing what I think you're doing," he called, carrying the book with him as he went.

"You still reading that calibrating book?" Carlos asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Calibrations are very relaxing."

"If you say so."

"That's what Uncle Jimmy said last time he was here," Actius put in.

Garrus chuckled. "Calisthenics. Whole different thing. The only thing Jimmy Vega calibrates are his muscles."

"He's good at it, though."

"That he is."

Vega and Cortez had both returned to active duty with the Alliance. Cortez hit the Citadel—specifically Purgatory—fairly regularly, Vega somewhat less often. Kasumi popped in long enough to teach the boys things Garrus and Zia would far rather they didn't learn and then disappeared again. They assumed she was up to her old tricks, but frankly neither of them really wanted to know.

They had strongly considered that tropical retirement, but with all their family scattered across the galaxy, they had wanted to remain at the Citadel, as the most central place they could think of. Zia's mother was still on her ship, and Garrus's father and sister had gone home to Palaven. Solana was proving to be excellent at organizing the clean-up and Garrus often heard the name Tactus come up when he called to check in—it seemed like there might be another wedding in the family before too long.

Tali was back on Rannoch, working to make it a place her people could call home again, and Wrex and Bakara were doing the same with Tuchanka, rebuilding it and finding peace in the wasteland. Their first child had been named Urdnot Shepard. Grunt had been sent as one of the leaders to the first krogan colony world, and apparently was quite sought after by the females.

Javik had disappeared. He had commandeered a small ship, flown off, and was gone. Shepard hadn't seemed surprised by this, and Garrus hadn't pressed her for details. It was enough that the last of the Protheans had seen the Reapers destroyed; he believed that Javik felt his job was complete. Everyone deserved a chance to know when they were done.

He oversaw the boys as they got started on their homework, helping with math problems and offering encouragement. By the time they were finished, Zia was home, holding Davana by the hand. The little girl came running to him. "Dada!"

"There she is. What did you make me today?" Davana was their artist, coming home every day with a drawing or a sculpture. They were taking over the bookshelves upstairs, but Garrus didn't have the heart to get rid of a single one. Today it was what looked like a paper rose, somewhat mangled by a small set of talons. "Very nice." He looked over her shoulder at Zia, loving to see her so happy and relaxed. "And what did you bring me today?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out." She grinned wickedly. "Another hard day of retirement?"

"I could say the same to you."

"I was very busy. Anderson wanted to consult on the plans for the new Alliance building in London."

"You'd think he could retire. He's more than earned it."

"I don't think he knows how. Kahlee's trying to convince him, but I think he really wants to see London restored before he really gets any rest. Hackett, too—he's busy shoring up the fleet. 'The next Reapers aren't going to catch us with our pants down,'" she quoted, dropping her voice into Hackett's raspy register.

"Well, we wouldn't want that." Garrus said it lightly, pretending that he didn't feel a chill at the idea that there might be another threat out there like the Reapers.

Of course, Zia saw it anyway. "Hey," she said softly, coming toward him as he put Davana down to go put her rose away. "That's all done with now. The galaxy's as safe as it's ever been. Safer. And I'm all yours, now and forever. Nothing's going to change that."

"You promise?"

"I already did, remember." She put her hand over his, tapping their wedding rings together. "But if you like, I'll promise again later. Very thoroughly."

"Oh, I like."

"Incorrigible," she said to him, flashing him a smile before she disentangled herself to check on the boys.

Garrus stood in the kitchen, listening to the sounds of his busy, happy household, thinking that he hadn't come all that far from where he started—his first beat in C-Sec had been right around the corner—but there had been so many changes along the way. No question about it, leaving C-Sec to join Zia Shepard's ship had been the best decision he'd ever made.