A.N. - Movin' right along! Thanks as always to those of you who have read/faved/followed, with special thanks to my reviewers: littlechiqui, CainVulsore, Will4ever, Aeowyn99, Razorfist, JestaAOK11, KalenCaelli & trekker1982!

Grunt was a popular request, and a krogan invasion is indeed on the list, but I've got a few others who wanted in first.

Monday

After Shepard left, Liara wandered aimlessly through the flat. She'd been there alone before often enough, but she had never felt so alone as she did at that moment. Four days … assuming Beth did not decide to extend her sojourn, rather than return to an ungrateful basket case of a best friend.

No. Beth always kept her word. Four days, then. Four days to brood about what would happen when Shepard returned, if she would still want Liara, if they could still remain friends if she didn't or if Liara's histrionics had shattered the bonds that had once seemed unbreakable. And if Beth did still want her, would Liara be able to... Goddess, she would go mad if she did nothing but stay in and think!

Damn Feron! Damn him for what he had done to her, what he was still doing to her. Damn him for the fear that gripped her at the thought of going out alone. She gritted her teeth; she would not be ruled by her fear. She would go out, and if he was fool enough to think her vulnerable because she was alone, she'd -

The chime at the front door distracted her from her grimly determined plans, and she sighed. Beth would have told Aethyta she was leaving, of course. Resigned, she went to the door, checked the monitor, blinked in surprise and opened it.

"Good morning, Dr. T'soni."

"Good morning, Glyph," she murmured as the drone zipped by into the flat. "Good morning, Samantha."

"Good morning, Doctor," the communications specialist replied cheerfully. "Don't close it yet."

Because it was Traynor and Glyph, Liara wasn't feeling particularly apprehensive, but she still jumped a bit when Kasumi shimmered into view just inside the door.

"Exterior equipment functioning properly!" the thief announced. "You can close the door now."

Liara did so, then turned, staring bemusedly at her unexpected guests. "Did Beth tell you to come over?"

"She said she was going out of town for a few days, asked us to tweak the security system," Kasumi replied as Traynor and Glyph converged on the control panel. "Didn't mean to startle you, but I didn't want to advertise where everything out there is located."

"Feron knows how to get through security systems," Liara told her. Beth hadn't gone into detail, but what Liara would always think of as the Normandy crew all knew that the drell was not to be allowed near her. She'd been grateful that none of them had pressed for more information, but she cringed inwardly at times when she let herself wonder what they thought. But could any of their imaginings be worse than the truth?

"Not this system, he doesn't," Samantha proclaimed, frowning in concentration as she manipulated the haptic interface. "We've got overlapping zones of surveillance in concentric circles out to a hundred meters. Sensors monitoring sensors from ground level up to twenty meters high. Motion detection and infrared tied into state-of-the-art biometric identification software algorithms and genetic scanning, all of it keyed to his unique parameters. Kasumi helped me set it up."

"Kasumi Goto approved," the thief put in, "which means that I know both people who could beat it … and I'm one of them."

Samantha looked up, her frown deepening to a scowl. "Who is the other?"

"Can't tell … unless you reconsider my invitation to a life of crime," Kasumi replied blithely. "I may not be stealing for a living any more, but I still have my scruples. Besides, they wouldn't be interested."

"Wouldn't matter if they were," Sam sniffed. "Glyph just helped me boost the sensitivity of the genetic sensors. If Feron sends someone else, even if he just closes the deal with a handshake, they'll have enough of his DNA on them to trip the alert."

"And then the incinerators kick in!" Kasumi said enthusiastically.

Liara felt her eyes widen. "Incinerators?" Beth hadn't mentioned those.

"Just kidding," Kasumi told her with a grin. "Not that Shep didn't think about it, but we decided that would be too messy. If you're here, it'll just put the flat into lockdown mode. A stray thought couldn't get in without permission from you or Shep. Then it sends signals to the response team."

"I did incorporate the neural feedback programs from the Kepesh-Yakshi game, though," Sam added, looking pleased with herself. "It won't incinerate him, but if he touches the physical structure of this flat, it'll zap the snot out of him, should keep him nicely immobilized until the response team arrives."

"Who is on the response team?" Liara asked. Beth had been a bit vague about that.

"Pretty much … everybody," Traynor said, peering at a scrolling list. "Miranda, EDI, Cortez, Jack, Lieutenant Vega and the missus -"

"Ashley is pregnant!" Liara exclaimed.

"Yes, I mentioned that to her." Sam grimaced. "I don't recommend even seeming to suggest that her condition might compromise her combat capability. It was … awkward." She studied the list on the screen, made a couple of adjustments. "Garrus and Tali are off planet, but they asked to be kept on the list," she murmured. "They could probably help with disposing of the body."

"That's not funny, Samantha," Liara protested.

Brown eyes regarded her, suddenly serious, and she felt a wash of longing for Lisbeth that was almost painful. "It wasn't a joke, Liara," Traynor replied quietly. "You're our crewmate and our friend. The Commander gave Feron the opportunity to walk away. If he tries to get to you and the baby again, he doesn't get a third chance."

After seeing Sam and Kasumi (and Glyph) out, Liara examined the security console, assuring herself that there really were no incinerators involved. She had known about the system's existence, but she had not realized the scope and complexity of it. Her own technical skills were far from paltry, but looking at the interface, Traynor's virtuosity was plain. She wasn't sure whether to be touched or embarrassed that such trouble had been undertaken for her sake, and for a threat that was surely nonexistent. Feron had nothing to gain by approaching her again, and everything to lose. He was no fool.

Her stomach gurgled, reminding her that she had eaten very little the previous day. Wandering into the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and stared. Shepard had done more than wander the flat last night. The shelves were filled with neatly stacked and labeled containers of the foods that Liara liked best: lasagna, lobster macaroni and cheese, jambalaya, Thessian shellfish stew, chicken and dumplings. More food than she could eat in a week.

She let the door swing closed and stepped away, tears brimming in her eyes again at the caring evidenced in the gesture, feeling that she had certainly done nothing to deserve it and missing her best friend more than ever. Hannah was beginning to stir; she needed to get control of her runaway emotions. She returned to the refrigerator, and opened it, deciding on the mac and cheese. She had just put it in the oven to heat when the chime at the door signaled another visitor. Aethyta this time, she thought, hastily wiping her eyes, but when she checked the monitor, she realized that she had forgotten an appointment.

"Hello, Doctor," she said as she stepped aside to let Dr. Chakwas in.

"Hello, Liara." Karin's greeting was friendly, and she made no mention of Liara's red and swollen eyes. "Sorry I'm a bit late. The skycab decided to take the scenic route."

"I'd actually forgotten you were coming today," Liara apologized. "Beth won't be here. She … had to go out of town."

"Yes, she sent me a message," Chakwas confirmed, moving into the living room and settling down her bag. "Lie down, and let's have a look at the two of you."

Liara complied, feeling miserable. It was the first of these checkups that Beth had missed. "We … we had an argument," she admitted.

"I guessed as much," the doctor replied calmly, "and if her expression on the vid hadn't been enough to tip me off, your stress levels certainly would have." She frowned at the readout on the scanner.

Liara felt her stomach twist in anxiety. "Is Hannah all right?" she asked, sitting up suddenly. "I didn't eat lunch or dinner last night, and -"

"She's fine, Liara," Karin assured her. "Infants are considerably more resilient than most new parents think. I'm much more worried about you."

The human physician was barely half Liara's age in years, but there was an undeniably motherly air about her that had only grown more pronounced since her retirement, and it had never appealed more to Liara then now.

"Beth … told me she loved me," she said falteringly.

"About time," Karin snorted, then looked at Liara closely before adding in a gentler tone, "Or too late?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know." She shook her head. "You knew how I feel about her." It wasn't a question.

Chakwas nodded. "I think that everyone except Lisbeth has had that figured out for some time now," she said gently. "Our intrepid Commander is unfortunately not as quick to grasp emotions as she is enemy tactics, but I've always felt that she'd open her eyes sooner or later. The two of you have had a special bond since we were chasing Saren, but with the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders, romance never seemed to cross her mind."

"I thought I'd accepted just being friends," Liara went on, "but with Hannah … I'm just afraid that she only thinks she feels that way because of the baby, and I'm even more afraid that she'll believe that's why I did this. It's not!"

"No one who knows you would ever believe that, my dear," Karin told her, "and Lisbeth knows you better than anyone. And the baby might have made her understand what you mean to her, but it's not the basis of her feelings. I'd bet my pension on that, and never worry about the bills."

Liara bit her lip, wanting to believe. "Feron said -"

"Feron wanted you dependent upon him," Karin cut her off, her words measured and deliberate. "And to accomplish that, he had to separate you from any other support. He lied to you, plain and simple."

"How – how much do you know?" Liara found the courage to ask.

"I know that when Beth called me over that night, I found an intelligent, courageous and capable young woman whose confidence had been beaten down to nothing." The doctor's expression was harsher than Liara had ever seen, green eyes cold with anger. "Shepard let him off too easily."

"I made her stop," Liara admitted. "I felt responsible for him. I still do sometimes. He was captured while helping me, tortured for helping me. It's what made him this way -"

"Bullshit." The unexpected vulgarity from the usually gently-spoken physician startled Liara. "You knew him for a matter of days before he was captured; hardly any time to judge with any surety what his personality was or was not like at its core. And he was able to control himself around everyone but you, and do it quite convincingly, which tells me that he was not in the grip of some irresistible compulsion. He chose to do what he did to you, and he concealed it because he knew that it was wrong. That is my definition of evil. You deserve far, far better than that."

"Part of me still doesn't believe that," Liara sighed. "I don't know if I'll ever believe it completely, and I may have driven Beth away."

Karin chuckled, the sound as unexpected as the vulgarity moments before. "Lisbeth Eleanor Shepard give up on anything? If she were that type, the galaxy would have fallen to the Reapers long ago. I've known her for most of her thirty-three years, and I have never seen her look so content as she has these last few months with you. The two of you were made for each other. It may have taken her a ridiculous amount of time to figure it out, but now that she has, I can promise you she won't walk away from it."