Chapter 20

Garrus
April 13th, 2191

Garrus walked into the house, panting from his morning run, an excited Bailey running in behind him. Ever since they'd adopted the dog, he'd taken her on his morning runs, with Amelia tagging along most mornings.

Moving into the pantry, he grabbed a treat and motioned for Bailey to sit. "Good girl… Now don't tell your mother. She'd kill me." Content with the bone, Bailey sprawled out on the cool tile floor. "Okay, shower." He walked up the stairs, heading towards the bathroom when his omnitool pinged. A message from Ame wasn't a bad way to start his morning.

Opening the message, he saw an attached image with the caption 'Aren't they just adorable?'. In the picture, Gaius and Octavia were lying next to each other on the king-sized bed they shared with their mother, still asleep, each taking up about as much space as their tiny bodies could. Gaius's tongue hung out of his open mouth, and Octavia's hand rested across his chest.

He quickly typed out a reply, 'Yes, and I'm adding it to the frame on my desk. What are you doing up so early?'

Her reply came back equally as fast, 'What do you mean? I'm usually up this time. I only sleep in when you turn off my alarm….' Followed by another, 'And Gaius kicked me about three-hundred times.'

'Kick him back. Establish dominance.'

'GARRUS!' He chuckled to himself, pleased with his joke. Another message came through a few seconds later. 'I gotta go, though. I'm going to wake them up so we can get breakfast. Love you ❤.'

'Love you too, Amatra. Call me when you get to Earth.'

Amelia
April 14, 2191

"Aunt Kahlee?" Amelia asked the older woman wearing Alliance Dress Blues, waiting at the dock for them.

"Hey, Ames," Kahlee smiled at her, just as radiant as she remembered, still using her teenage nickname.

"I didn't know… When did you move back to Earth?"

"Not too long after you left for Palaven. David wanted to rebuild London when the war ended, so I came to do it for him, but the city reminded me of him too much, so I moved to Vancouver."

Behind her smile, Amelia could see the sadness in her surrogate mother's eyes. Moving forward, Amelia wrapped her arms fiercely around her. "I miss him, too." She released the embrace, "Kids, come meet your grandmother."

Octavia and Gaius, who were previously hiding behind her leg, not knowing what to make of all the hustle and bustle in the spaceport, emerged. Kahlee bent over and scooped them up in a big hug, "Oh, I've wanted to meet you two for a long time!" She assaulted the twins with kisses, "C'mon, Ame."

-o-

It took a while for the kids to emerge from their shells, but once they did, their shrieks and laughs filled Kahlee's house with their sound as they ran around. Amelia and Kahlee settled into chairs in the living room. "So, what brings you back to Earth, my dear?"

"Wait…?" Amelia asked, confused, "You knew I was coming, but you don't know why?"

"Honey, you are the most high-profile human outside of Earth. If you pick up a pen, it's on the six-o'-clock news."

Amelia rolled her eyes, "Great…. Well, I came because two of my crewmates are getting married on Saturday in San Diego, and I decided to make it a mini-vacation for the kids and me."

Kahlee sipped from her cup, "Oh, that's nice. So, is everything between you and Garrus okay?"

"What? Yea, it's more than okay. It's perfect, actually. What makes you ask that?" Amelia laughed.

"Well, you're here. He isn't," Kahlee trailed off with a shrug.

"Oh, no! He's just busy, and the kids were only here once before. I'm actually having lunch with my doctor while we're here. We want to have more kids." She couldn't keep the beaming smile off her face.

Kahlee's face softened, and her smile returned, "I'm glad. You deserve some peace." She took a sip of her tea, "I see you decided to grow your hair out."

Amelia reached up, brushing the unruly mop that her hair had become, "Not too many hair salons on Palaven yet, I need to get it done before the wedding…," She trailed off, tapping her chin in thought, "Although, Garrus seems to like it longer."

"I always thought you looked better with long hair. I think you just get it trimmed. Tell you what, I can watch the kids while you get it done. I can call my hairdresser and get you a slot today."

"Are you sure? I don't want to trouble you…."

"Ames, those are my grandchildren, or close enough anyway. It's no trouble at all to corral them for an afternoon. Go. Take care of yourself."

-o-

Amelia looked out over the gorgeous view of English Bay from the rooftop restaurant. Tiny white dots of sailboats were scattered across the massive body of water. People milled around on the surrounding beaches, simply enjoying the beautiful, albeit cold, weather. It was a far sight from five years prior, when Harbinger stood in the center of the bay, destroying the Kilimanjaro.

A gust blew through the patio, chilling her to the bone, even though she was wearing three layers. Shivering, she rubbed her hands on her arms, falling deeper into thought. This is so beautiful. I wish Garrus were here. He could enjoy this view with me while he held me, warm me up.… Fuck, when did I turn into a desperate teenager? I've been gone for three days….

Lost in her reverie, she didn't hear the soft footfalls approach from behind her. "Amelia?"

She jumped a little at the question. Damn, I must be losing my touch. She thought. Turning towards the singsong soft British voice, she happily hugged the woman, "Karin!"

"How have you been, dear?"

"I've been great. How have you been?"

"I'm glad to hear it. I've been doing well, busy, but nothing compared to working on the Normandy." The doctor laughed, "You kept me very busy."

Amelia cracked a smile, "More fun that way."

They kept up the small talk until Karin asked, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

"I didn't want to ask you at the wedding, 'cause it's James's and Ash's day, but… Garrus and I want to have more kids."

The rest of her request went unspoken, but Chakwas knew, based on her nodding. The older doctor finished her bite of food before speaking, "I'd be happy to help, and you'll be happy to hear the process has gotten a lot less… difficult."

"What do you mean?" She wanted to hear details before getting too excited. She wanted more kids, but the process… she wasn't looking forward to it.

"Well, the Solus hybridization template has been refined through other human-turian couples using it. Since you, there have been over five hundred others throughout the galaxy. Firstly, the immunosuppressant will be much less severe. You still shouldn't leave Palaven, but you won't have to be stuck at home. Secondly, you won't need a live-in doctor. I can do the procedure and then give the charts to another doctor of your choice. Finally, there is no delay before the implant. The procedure can be done once we verify the egg is fertilized, and the embryo is stable,"

Amelia allowed her excitement to shine through now, "Wow…. That would be amazing. You have put a lot of work into this."

"Me? No. It was mostly Padok. That man is a bloody genius…," Chakwas laughed, stifling it with another bite.