For anyone familiar with my other work, this is NOT the renegade Shepard who appears in "Confessions" or "Surveillance." This is a different Shepard: colonist/war hero/sentinel (with sniper rifle specialization because I CAN). While these two Shepards may share a few traits (all my Shepards share a few key traits) they have completely different psychological make-ups.

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about what this story IS. This is a series of scenes that are either made up, and placed within the time period of ME1, or re-imagined scenes that play pivotal roles in the romance between Liara and Shepard. There should be about nine chapters when it's done. The first two chapters will introduce the characters and establish a friendship. The third chapter will contain the first character arc and lead into the actual romance. I'll change POV as it becomes necessary, but never to characters beyond Shepard and Liara.

As always, thank you to those who are kind enough to review and offer constructive criticism and feedback. I will try my best to answer any questions. I hope you enjoy.

UPDATE: In honor of finishing this entire story (see "Never Again") I have decided to read through the entire thing and make any final edits. I will be updating all the chapters of "All Things Pass" with corrections to grammar and a few minor details. Nothing that changes the story, however.

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Professionalism

The Normandy's drive core pulsed a bright white-blue at the back of the engineering deck. Standing back by the doors, afraid of venturing forward and getting in the way of the crew, Liara stared at the gigantic drive core. She had had no idea that humans were capable of such technological feats; perhaps she should have paid them more attention over the past few years. Only a few decades after first contact and they had already adapted to become major players in the galaxy. It seemed that humans were paving the path towards the future, but Liara could not help having more interest in the past. Still, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to pay a little bit more attention to the future.

"Dr. T'Soni?" came a surprised voice from behind her. Liara spun to see Commander Shepard standing in the doorway, head tilted and an inquisitive look upon her face. The marine's jet black hair was slicked back into a tight, professional bun, though she was dressed in her casual blue, military fatigues. Liara couldn't help feeling slightly intimidated when she looked into the commander's cool, almost violet colored eyes.

"Oh, Commander Shepard," she said, "How are you?" Then, because she felt like her presence down on the engineering deck needed some kind of explanation, she added, "I was just taking a tour of your ship. I hope that was alright?" Fear clutched at her chest as she realized that she might have made a mistake by wandering around the ship. She was still new to the vessel and people seemed to see her as only one thing: the daughter of the enemy. The commander had been gracious thus far, but maybe she would think Liara was spying on the ship and taking notes for Benezia. Maybe Shepard would regret giving Liara any freedom and decide that she couldn't be trusted after all.

But Shepard just smiled and answered, "I'm fine." Then pointing to the drive core she said, "Impressive, isn't it? It's my favorite part of this ship. I'm a bit of a tech geek, so I've been discussing how it works with Tali." Shepard came forward as she said this, looking around Liara to where Tali was usually stationed. "Speaking of which, have you seen her? I came down here to talk to her."

Liara shook her head. "No, I did not see her when I came in. I am sorry."

Shepard was standing next to her now, staring at the drive core with a content grin on her face, hands on her hips. Liara, however, found herself staring at the commander, studying her uncharacteristically relaxed features. All other times she had been around the commander, Shepard was the definition of military discipline and formality.

"Three hours," Shepard said suddenly, approval in her voice.

"Excuse me?" Liara said, quickly averting her eyes from Shepard's face so that she wouldn't be caught staring.

"That's how long the Normandy can run silent without having to vent radiation," Shepard explained. "Three hours. Or it can drift for several days without giving away its position. A real technological marvel." She sounded like a proud parent, praising her child for its talents.

"I did not know that," Liara admitted.

"It's called the IES stealth system, or Internal Emission Sink. The heat generated by the engine is stored in lithium heat sinks which..." As Shepard went on excitedly about the workings of the drive core, Liara found herself once again staring at the commander. Shepard's hands moved about enthusiastically as she explained more and more of the technical jargon. It seemed strange to see the commander so casual and animated about something. It was as if the walls of professionalism that constantly surrounded Shepard were gone and Liara could see the woman beneath the rank, beneath the spectre status, and beneath all her military training. And this different woman, so at ease and who treated Liara like an old friend, was... fascinating. Liara found herself wanting to know more about her.

Meanwhile, Shepard, caught up in her explanation, glanced over to see Liara staring blankly at her. The asari didn't seem to be listening to her ramble about the engine at all. Stopping mid-sentence and smiling she said, "If I'm boring you, you can just say so."

The asari jumped slightly at being called out of her reverie, and touched her forehead in an embarrassed sort of way. Shepard didn't know if asari could blush, but she could have sworn that Liara turned a deeper shade of blue as she looked away from her. "Oh, I am sorry," she said quickly. "You were not boring me. Really. I just..." she trailed off nervously.

The idea that one of the asari, the species that lived for a millennium and had vast influence in the galaxy, could become so flustered by something so small brought an amused grin to Shepard's lips. Laughing, she said, "Don't worry. I understand. I can be really boring when I start talking about tech. Sometimes I forget that other people don't find it as interesting as I do. Usually I'm the one lost when Tali is trying to explain the finer details to me. She's much more knowledgeable about this stuff than I am."

"You sound very knowledgeable," Liara offered, trying to pay the commander a compliment.

Shepard ran a hand along her hair, smoothing it back in its bun. "It's nice of you to say so, but really, I'm no engineer."

"Well, I can understand what it is like to get caught up in something you are avid about. I am afraid I do the same thing when it comes to talking about the protheans. Usually, I end up boring people."

Shepard studied the asari's face thoughtfully. Liara seemed so shy and introverted; the commander wondered what she was like when she let her guard down and opened up to someone. Everyone had their barriers, but Liara's seemed easy enough to take down - she just needed a friend.

"I'd like to hear you talk about the protheans sometime," Shepard said.

Liara touched her forehead nervously again while saying, "Oh, no, really, it is probably quite boring. You have better things to do than listen to me ramble."

Shepard just smiled. "I don't know anything about the protheans, except what I've seen in my visions, but I like hearing people talk about the things they find interesting. I love passionate people."

There was momentary silence and Liara again seemed to turn a darker shade of blue and looked away embarrassed. Shepard blinked in confusion a few times, before what she had said dawned on her. She couldn't help but wonder what the word passionate might have translated to in asari. Possibly the translator had failed to note the none sexual meaning. Laughing, she said, "Not quite what I meant, but that kind of passion is good too, I guess." There was a small beeping noise from her omni-tool and she raised her left arm to look at it. "My break is almost over," she said, frowning. While there was no one above Shepard to tell her what to do with her time, she kept a strict schedule for herself and only allotted an adequate amount of down time. "I'll need to get back to work soon." Lowering her arm again, she said, "It was nice chatting with you, Liara. I'll stop by and see you when I'm off-duty again."

Liara could feel Shepard's tone slowly slipping back into the tight, formal speech that she used the majority of the time. That cool professionalism that kept her slightly isolated from others. Suddenly, Liara realized that she longed to see the more relaxed side of Shepard again. But she couldn't think of anything to say, so she just nodded.

Shepard turned sharply on her heel and headed towards the door, her face the mask of the commanding officer. And then she was gone. Liara looked back at the drive core again and thought about what Shepard had said. It had been nice to see her excited about something; to see past her barriers for a moment to who she might be without the rank and job of a soldier. Not that Liara didn't appreciate the commander's talent for leading and fighting, but it was nice to see a different side of Shepard. Walking back towards the door, Liara vowed that she would try to see what else Shepard was passionate about.