Shepard woke up and started scavenging, trying his best to ignore his vision of EDI and Legion. After gathering components, Shepard went back to his makeshift base and sat down by the beacon. Shepard was startled by a loud thump and slowly turned around, it was the body of The Illusive Man.
Shepard watched in horror as the body convulsed. Bones snapped back into place and it got up, its blank eyes stared into Shepard's soul as it walked towards him.

TIM: "Shepard…"

Shep:"No… You! You're not real!"

"How would you know, Shepard? You don't even know how long you've been here… You could already be insane."

"Don't say that!"

"Well, Shepard. If I'm not real, why are you yelling at me?"

"Because I-I… I need her. I can't keep this up."

"Your feelings for the Quarian, that is how you've been fighting insanity?"

"She's the only reason I haven't given up..."

"Then find a way out!"

The Illusive Man apparition took a deep breath.
"For both your sakes."

"I will, for her."

Shepard looked up. The Illusive Man, or whatever that thing was, disappeared. He went back to his beacon.

After the Normandy plummeted back to the ground, Tali had been sitting at the bar for two days straight. She couldn't hold it together.
Liara came into the bar, surprising Tali, but she quickly pretended to be drunk.

Tali:"Howzit goinwityou?"

Liara:"Tali, I know you just woke up. you don't have to pretend to be drunk."

"You caught me. Anyway, why did you come down here?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it and after talking to the rest of the crew, I had to ask. Perhaps it would make you feel better if we melded minds?"

"Keelah, Liara, how can you say that?"

"I thought if you had someone with you to experience the pain, it would make you feel better."

"Liara... I don't want anyone else to feel my pain, but if you think it will help, I'll do it."

"I'm not forcing you, Tali, you can refuse."

"No, Garrus and Javik are right, I've lost focus."

"Okay then, take off your glove and look into my eyes."

Tali took off her glove, and then her visor.
"Tali, your visor, you should-"

"No, I want you to see the real me"

"Very well."

She held Liara's hand. The Asari looked deeply into Tali's eyes.
They were so beautiful, yet somehow so much heartbreak lay behind them…

"Embrace Eternity!"

Memories flashed through Tali's head in a whirlwind of emotion.
They slowed down, she was in a dark alley on the Citadel, but before her pilgrimage was completed. This was when she met him.

A Turian walked up to her and began negotiating.
"Did you bring it?"

Tali: "Where's the Shadow Broker, where's Fist?"

The Turian put his hands on her visor and slid them down to her hips.
"They'll be here, where's the evidence?"

Tali slapped his hands away.
"No way, the deal's off."

Mercs surrounded her, but Tali threw a grenade and took cover.
Then she saw Shepard and Garrus swiftly take out the mercs.

Shepard walked towards her and helped her up.
Tali: "Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!"

Shep: "Don't worry about Fist. He got what was coming to him."

"Then I guess there are two things I need to thank you for… Who are you?"

"My name's Shepard. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor."

"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here, we need to go somewhere safe."

Garrus: "We could take her to the human embassy. Your ambassador will want to see this anyway."

The memories blurred and stopped again. Two years had passed, the Normandy was with Cerberus and they had brought Shepard back from the dead.

Tali stood next to the ship's core and turned to Shepard.
"I've been thinking about the last time we talked… I'm sorry. I was unprofessional, and I wasn't thinking rationally. I was being stupid. And selfish"

Shep: "You've never been selfish. If anything you've spent too much time thinking of the Fleet and not enough thinking of yourself"

"That might be true for humans, but quarians are different. We can't just- We have to think of other people. Always. If we don't think about the needs of the whole crew, people could get hurt. Maybe even killed…
You deserve to be happy with someone. I can't do that. No matter how much I- I could get sick, jeopardize the mission."

"I don't want anyone else, I want you. And I'll do whatever I have to to make this work."

Another year passed, The Reapers had invaded, and Shepard was trying to unite the galaxy. Tali was standing on the edge of a cliff after Rannoch was reclaimed and Shepard single handedly took down a Reaper.

Shepard approached Tali.
"Shopping for another house?"

Tali: "Beachfront property."

"Claim it fast, it's a buyer's market"

They sat down on the cliff
"You okay? I know working with the geth will be difficult."

"I'm not staying, I'm coming with you."

"I wasn't going to ask"

"Why not?"

"Because I respect you, damn it! You think I don't want you to come with me?"

"So ask me."

"Tali…"

"I don't know how much time we have left. I don't know if we can beat the Reapers! But whatever happens, I want to be with you."

"I bet you say that to every guy who gets you a homeworld."

"Only the cute ones."

"You know, I'd understand if you needed to stay."

"I know but… I look at all this… this picture of hope and peace. And all I see is everyone I've lost…
My team on Haestrom. My father. Even Legion. I'm mourning a Geth, how crazy is that?"

"It's not crazy at all."

They looked off to the distance.

"It is beautiful though, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

Tali stood up.
"It'll be years before we can live without our suits completely, but right now…"

She removed her visor and took a deep breath.
"Right now, I have this."

Tali found herself back in London, and dread spread throughout her.

"Keelah! No! I don't want to be here! Take me anywhere but here, please!"

Liara:"Tali, It's Liara. Don't be afraid, this is just a memory, I'm here for you.."

Shepard and Garrus were ahead of her, running towards the Citadel beam.

"Shepard, Stop, please!"

Tali ran as fast as she could and caught up with Garrus, but Shepard was still just out of reach.

"Wait for me!"

The Citadel beam was just ahead of them when Harbinger landed and fired a laser, sending a tank flying towards Tali and Garrus.
They dove out of the way, but it exploded as she got up, injuring both of them. Shepard turned around and got them, Tali heard him now, he called for an evac, and she saw the Normandy arrive.

Shepard walked her to the Normandy's bay and handed her to Garrus.

Shep: "Here, take her!"

Tali: "Shepard…"

"You gotta get out of here!"

"I can't stay behind."

"Don't argue with me!"

"Don't leave me behind!"

Shepard walked up the bay, and everything seemed to quiet down.
"I need you to make it out of here alive, Tali. Go home, get back to Rannoch, build yourself a home."

Her voice broke.
"I have a home. Come back to me…"

"GO!"

Tali felt like screaming, but she still couldn't.

She helplessly watched him charge ahead, then she saw Harbinger fire a laser at him.
Everything spun around her and she was back in the Normandy bar

Liara sat on the floor, her eyes watering.
"Goddess… Tali, I- I didn't… Tali?"

Tali ran back to Shepard's cabin. She left her visor at the bar, but she didn't care. The buried her face into a pillow for the rest of the night.

The door to Shepard's cabin opened, Tali walked in and saw him sitting on his bed, reading from a datapad.

Tali: "It's going to take a few more hours for the fleets to mobilize. I hate the waiting. I've been trying to find ways to pass the time."

Tali sat down on the bed.

Shep: "Come up with anything good?"

She grabbed his hand.
"I thought maybe you could use some company tonight."

"Will you stay here with me? Until the call comes?"

"For as long as you want…"

Shepard took her visor off and they both laid down in bed.

Tali woke up from her memory, her visor was on the nightstand. She reluctantly put it back on and was greeted by a message from Garrus.
She went down to Engineering and saw the entire crew at work.
Liara was working on the main console.

Tali: "Liara, what is everyone doing down here?"

Liara: "After we melded our minds in the bar, I sat on the floor for hours before the crew checked in on me. I had to tell them what happened, everything you went through."

James: "After hearing all about you and the commander, we all decided to get off our asses and do something useful."

"How am I supposed to thank you all?"

"Don't, this is the least we could do. So, Senorita, are we gonna get this ship flying or what?"

After a few more hours of maintenance, Tali anxiously stepped back into the cockpit. She sat in the seat beside Joker.

Joker: "Tali, I can't believe what the crew did for you, but we'll need one hell of a miracle to get this bird off the ground again."

Tali: "If this doesn't work… nothing will"

"Then I'll give it my best shot."

The Normandy fired up and got off the ground. Tali grew more nervous, but the ship held steady.

"All systems look green, let's just hope that the relays are repaired."
"They have to be…"

They accelerated off the planet and searched for a relay. They saw it, in the distance, a blue glow.

"Thank you, Ancestors."

Garrus and the rest of the crew stepped into the cockpit

Garrus: "And us, you haven't already forgotten about us have you?"

Tali sighed,
"Take us to the Citadel."

"Aye, heading for the Sol system."

They passed through the relay, and a million feelings passed through Tali