Author's Note: This chapter is inspired by 17986's feedback.

Chapter Fourteen: Eyes

"Hannah, perhaps you should sit for this," Steven told her while gesturing towards a seat in front of his desk.

"Can I get a notepad? I should probably be writing this down," Hannah gushed. She leaned her elbows on the back of the offered chair. Her electric green eyes stared excitedly at him. In fact, her gaze was soul-destroyingly expectant. She had no idea.

"I don't think you'll need a notepad for this," Steven murmured.

"What's that supposed mean?" she asked, still oblivious to the situation in which she was currently in. The Shepard clan would not be remembered for their great luck.

"I have some…sad news about your family. I really think you should sit down," Hackett said. He tried to think of a delicate way to explain things, but he was drawing a blank. The admiral had planned out a speech earlier, but that had left his mind as soon as Hannah had stepped into his office. "There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. My records are showing that in twenty one sixty nine, your husband, Rowan," Hackett took in a deep breath, "burned to death in a house fire."

The room was eerily silent. Hackett watched as all the emotion drained out of her pretty face, replacing her features with a porcelain shell. Steven had never, ever wanted Rowan to be alive more than he did now.

Hackett scrolled through his datapad for information on her house. He started, "Your house on Monument Avenue was condemned after the fire. They demolished it in twenty one seventy." He had known about the deaths, but the house was unexpected.

"Wh-what about my boys?" Hannah asked. Her voice was thick with emotion, which contrasted sharply with her expression.

"Alexander Shepard was killed in twenty one seventy six on the colony Elysium. Actually, that's not quite true. He is currently listed as a missing person. But it was a Batarian attack, so most experts agree that those kidnapped are now deceased," Hackett told the Captain. Years of having to do this sort of thing made his voice strong and unwavering. Sometimes his job was awful.

"Colt?" She whispered.

"Three days ago, his ship, the SSV Normandy, was attacked by an unknown enemy. He went down with her," Hackett explained, finding it difficult to keep the sorrow out of his voice. Colt was his friend too. "He's a hero, Hannah. And what's more, he was a good person. He was someone, is someone, to be proud of. For example, he saved the whole damn Citadel 'bout a month ago. And for the record, I don't think I've met anyone who was more loved than your boy." He expected this to be the final straw, but she didn't waver. She didn't make eye contact, nor did she cry. The whole thing was astoundingly emotionless.

"Colt's in the Alliance?" The Captain managed.

"Yes, he is...was Commander Shepard, Savior of the Citadel. He was the first human Spectre, and one of the best soldiers the Alliance has ever seen," Hackett tried his very best to make her loss better.

"The funeral?" She choked out. Hackett felt better once her carefully constructed walls started to give into sorrow. There was something wrong about an emotionless reaction to news such as this.

"The memorial is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. It's going to take place on the Citadel," he said. Hackett would be in attendance to give a heart-felt farewell to one of humanity's greatest treasures.

"Where do I go?" Hannah asked. It was a fair question considering she was now homeless.

"Look, you're going to be compensated for Colt's death by the Alliance. I don't handle that, so I'm not sure how much, but at least a few hundred thousand creds," Hackett explained, "I imagine that you will probably be compensated for Rowan's death. I'm not sure about Alexander's kidnapping, but at the end of it you'll have some money, as in enough to buy another house. If you don't, contact me and I'll take care of it."

"Thank you, sir," she mumbled, still looking very dazed.

"The Alliance takes care of its own, but if you're wondering where to go right now, I can give you a few suggestions," he answered. Steven grabbed a pad from his desk and started jotting down an address and a name. "I would go to the Citadel and I would go to this address. This," he tapped the notepad, "is the apartment of Doctor Karin Chakwas and Doctor Liara T'Soni, they were close to your son and I'm sure they'll get you situated."

She nodded and took the paper from him. They were well rehearsed movements.

"Do you need transportation to the Citadel, Captain?" He said gently. Colt had given too much to not have his relatives taken care of.

"Yes."

…

Liara hadn't left her apartment in days, maybe weeks. She tried once, but within two minutes she'd seen a picture of Shepard and had to go back.

The main vid screen in the apartment was rarely on. Once or twice The Fleet Life of Jack and Koby played, but nothing else. The news was too dangerous, too unpredictable. They liked to talk about him too much. Kid's shows were safe.

Doctor Chakwas was sent from the goddesses themselves. She made food, and reminded the asari to take a shower. Neither said much, just being together was enough. In more ways than one, the good doctor was the reason Liara was still alive.

Colt's memorial was coming up.

An internal war over the merits of attending such a ceremony filled most hours of the day. Sometimes she was determined to honor him and other days she didn't think she would be able to make it through. She was probably supposed to make a speech about him, but all of her agreed that was out of the question.

Outside a couple windows, posters featuring the Commander were strung-up. They were recruitment posters with him doing everything from shooting at an unknown enemy to talking to his crew; she thought she saw her hands in one. The wording was different on each ad, but it was essentially the same thing: Join the Alliance and become a hero like Commander Shepard! Liara found them cruel.

"Liara! What do you want for dinner?" Chakwas called from some other room in the apartment.

"I don't kn-," Liara called back before being interrupted by someone buzzing the apartment. "I'll get it!" she yelled into the house, hoping Karin could hear her. She opened the door without checking the peep hole.

Liara found herself staring into the eyes of Commander Shepard.