Author's Notes: Apologies for the delay on this chapter. Life continues to show no consideration for what I want to be doing with my time.
Thanks as always to those who read/fave/follow, with shout-outs to my reviewers: sassy-russian, devildoc35, Will4ever, GriffinResult, ValeriNeria, Acfcrystal & pbj6895.
Tuesday
"Yo, Blue! The old ball and chain – OW! - my wife wants to go check out baby furniture at the store we were at this weekend."
As excuses went, it was rather transparent, but Liara was ready to get out of the flat, and uncertain where to go. Solitude had always before been a time for study, research, perhaps a bit of light reading, but staying in right now felt like hiding. Simply wandering alone had no appeal, however, and seeing Ashley was always welcome.
"That sounds good," she told James. "When shall I meet you?"
"Already got transportation arranged," he replied. "Pick you up in thirty?"
"All right," she agreed, knowing that protesting that she was perfectly capable of calling her own cab would be unheeded. Undoubtedly, Shepard had asked Vega to look out for her, and the young Lieutenant took orders from Lisbeth 'as if they came out of a burning bush', according to his wife. She'd had to do a bit of research on the extranet before she understood the reference.
She dressed, grimacing a bit at the loose-fitting tunic that covered her belly and the elastic-band pants that she had once sworn never to wear. Why couldn't she have been one of those lucky few who kept their shape until late in the pregnancy? Ash, she was glumly certain, would be one of those.
Once she was ready, she settled on the couch and let herself slip into wordless communion with her daughter. Hannah grew more aware by the day, responding readily to her mother's presence in a mental equivalent of cuddling that Liara simply couldn't get enough of. Even there, though, she missed Beth. Maybe even more than other times; though Shepard had only participated in the maternal meld once, it had felt so right, so complete, that the bond felt lessened without her presence.
The doorbell chimed, and Liara allowed the meld to dwindle down to the delicate thread of awareness that always remained between them as she rose to answer it.
"Your chariot awaits, milady," Steve Cortez announced with a bow and a smile.
"Steve!" she exclaimed, surprised and genuinely glad to see the pilot, then added, "Please tell me Shepard didn't rope you into this, too."
"Nope," Cortez replied easily. "She just mentioned that she'd be gone, and you might not mind having the best pilot in the Alliance as a personal chauffeur."
"The best pilot?" She gave him a sideways glance as he accompanied her to the skycar. "What would Joker say about that?"
"He'd agree," Steve said without hesitation. "He's the best helmsman without doubt, but when it comes to light craft, you're flying with the master." His grin belied the seeming arrogance of the statement, but there was definitely a swagger added to his calm confidence that hadn't been there before. It suited him.
"You look good, Steve," she told him warmly as he settled in beside her and fired the engine.
"Thanks. I feel good," he told her, engaging the mass effect generator. "I … met someone." The swagger gone, he looked suddenly as shy as a schoolboy admitting to a crush.
"That's wonderful, Steve! What's his name?" She had a brief flutter of anxiety at having assumed gender, but it was quickly put to rest.
"Eric. Eric Connolly." Steve's smile spoke volumes. "He's a mechanic. Civilian. I met him at the skycar races this spring. We've been dating about a month. Guess I need to bring him to meet the family soon."
"Your parents?" Liara guessed, but he shook his head.
"Nah, they've both been dead for several years," he said with a gently bittersweet smile that spoke of ones fondly remembered and well missed. "I meant Shepard and you, James and Ash, the rest of the crew. They're my family now."
The crew. Though most of them no longer served together, to each other, they would always be 'the crew', even those who had served on different Normandies, at different times. They had been bound together by the long fight against the Reapers, and by the Commander that they all respected and loved.
"You're looking good yourself, Liara," Cortez observed.
"That's kind of you to say, Steve, but I feel like a beached whale," she replied ruefully.
He chuckled. "That feeling will pass," he predicted, "and you'll forget all about it when you're holding that baby."
"Yes," she agreed, putting a hand on her belly and smiling as she felt Hannah kick. Foolish vanity could not long hold against the wonder of the life growing within her.
"Esteban!" Vega greeted the pilot as he held the seat forward to allow Ashley to climb into the rear seat, then squeezed his bulk in beside her. "Good to see you, man!"
"Mister Vega. Missus Vega," Steve replied in turn, settling in and closing the hatch. "Where to?"
Vega gave him the address and leaned back, draping an arm across Ashley's shoulders. "You and Shepard decide which furniture you're gonna get?" he asked.
Liara shook her head. "We didn't have the chance to discuss it before she had to leave," she told him, hoping she didn't sound as awkward as she felt. "We'll talk it over when she gets back." I hope.
James nodded. "Figured with me shipping out to finish my training in a coupla weeks, we'd go ahead and get some ideas."
"You're going to complete your N7 training?" Liara asked him.
"Hell, yeah," he responded. "Made it to N4; it'd be loco not to go all the way. They were nice enough to give me extended time for a honeymoon, but they're startin' to drop hints that I need to get my ass back in gear."
"That whole 'saving the galaxy' thing does get you some nice perks," Cortez agreed. "Ash, I've heard rumors that they'll be offering you the Normandy, now that her repairs are done. Care to confirm?"
Ashley shifted around, looking uncomfortable. "They have, and they told me to take as much time as I needed after the baby comes. They'll put her under an interim CO. She is an ideal support vessel for a Spectre, but ..." She trailed off, shaking her head slowly. "It just doesn't feel right for anybody but Shepard to be commanding her, that's all."
"Beth would be the first to tell you to take it, Ash," Liara told her.
"She already has," Ashley said with a wry smile. "I need to think about it. They haven't given me a deadline yet, so I've got time."
Vega insisted upon Steve accompanying them into the mall, and once they arrived at the furniture store, 'remembered' that there was a shop that specialized in armor upgrades on the next level and dragged the pilot off with him.
"He lost interest in baby furniture rather quickly," Liara observed as she entered the store with Ash.
Ashley chuckled, shaking her head with an affectionately resigned expression. "He's a little short on subtlety, but his heart's in the right place," she said, before her brown eyes turned to Liara, gently inquisitive. "How are you doing?"
I'm fine. The words rose instinctively to her lips, but this was Ashley, one of her oldest and dearest friends. "I've been better," she admitted quietly.
Ashley nodded. "Shepard hasn't told us too much," she said, "but I still kinda want to break his legs."
"That's … sweet of you, Ashley," Liara said with a faint smile, "but not really necessary. I think I could handle Feron now; it seems unreal now that for so long, I let him -" She dropped her eyes. She'd never let him touch her again, but she still wasn't able to speak aloud about what he'd done. What she'd allowed him to do.
Ashley gave her her silence for a long moment, then said, "Someone tells you often enough that what you're getting is what you deserve, you start believing them, even if part of you knows it's not true."
Liara lifted her eyes to her friend. "Sounds like the voice of experience talking?"
Ash nodded. "Not as bad as what you probably went through, but yeah. I enlisted in the Alliance straight out of high school and spent the next nine years with people treating me like a pariah because of who my grandfather was. Some of them came right out and said it, some didn't, but the message was loud and clear. Crap details in colonial garrisons; no matter how good my ratings were, it wasn't enough." Her face hardened. "I even had one lieutenant tell me that if I wanted to get the Williams name out of the mud, I'd have to do my part to raise morale." She kept her tone light, but the lingering bitterness still bled through.
Liara stared at her, appalled. "Did you report him?"
"Her," Ash corrected her with a sardonic smile. "And no. Would have been my word against hers. I just kept my head down and did my job until they found an excuse to pass me off to someone else. Shepard was the first CO I'd ever had who didn't write me off because of my name. I wouldn't be where I am now if not for her." She paused, snorted. "I'd have been dead on Eden Prime if not for her and Kaidan." Her eyes softened a bit as she added, "If it's a boy, we're going to name him Kaidan."
"It's a lovely way to honor his memory," Liara told her. Too many of those who had fallen in the long war against the Reapers had been forgotten by all but those who had known them best. Kaidan Alenko's death on Virmire had been one of the earliest casualties. "What if it's a girl?"
"Don't know yet," Ashley replied. "We thought about naming her after Shepard, but it seems like half the galaxy is doing that." She glanced at Liara, her eyes dancing with mirth. "You heard what Wrex named his three?"
"Yes," Liara said with a laugh. The two boys were named Lisbeth and Eleanor, while the girl had been named Mordin. Unsurprisingly, none of the krogan had pointed out the incongruity to their leader. Or maybe it simply didn't matter to them. "It would make play dates difficult if they all share the same name."
"Wouldn't it, though?" Ash chuckled, then shook her head bemusedly. "Seems strange, doesn't it? A couple of years ago, we weren't even figuring on living through it all, and now our kids will be playing together. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, make sure I'm not dreaming."
"It is hard to believe at times," Liara agreed. Both the good and the bad seemed almost equally surreal. The months with Feron. Carrying Shepard's baby. Lisbeth telling her –
Ash was watching her closely. "I think we've all earned a few happy endings," she offered gently.
"I … don't know," Liara floundered, feeling the familiar sting of tears. "Ash, I said some horrible things to Beth before she left."
"She forgave me for almost shooting her," Ash reminded her. "And pregnant women are allowed to be a little crazy sometimes. You and Shepard belong together. Now that she's finally figured that out, she's not gonna just walk away. She loves you, Liara, and I know that you love her."
"Have I been that obvious?" Liara asked, feeling a blush heating her cheeks, even as her friend's words settled the worst of her anxiety. Ash knew Beth better than anyone, except perhaps Liara.
"Probably not to someone who doesn't have three younger sisters," Ashley told her with a smile. "I've seen everything from puppy love on up, and what's happening between you and the Skipper? It's the real thing."
"Thank you." Liara wondered what dogs had to do with it, but the gist of Ashley's meaning was clear. "So, did you really want to look at furniture, or was this all just a ploy to get me to talk?"
"Might as well look while we're here," Ash replied amiably, not bothering to deny anything. "But since it's likely that the kid's going to take after Daddy, my primary criteria is gonna be 'sturdy'."
They spent a pleasant half hour wandering among the displays, ending with Ash placing a down payment on the brightly colored polymer set, declaring that the combination of strength and easy cleaning made it perfect.
James and Steve were waiting just outside the store, their postures intended to be casual, but Liara didn't miss the fact that their position gave them a clear view of anybody entering or leaving the store.
"Personal chauffeur and bodyguard?" she teased Cortez.
He shrugged with that easy smile of his. "A little caution never hurts."
"Yeah," Vega agreed. "If that pendejo is stupid enough to still be around, won't hurt to remind him that there's people besides Shepard who'll twist off his head and shit down his neck." He popped one massive fist into the other palm with a sound like a rifle shot, turning heads of passers-by.
"Down, honey," Ash told him affectionately, looping her arm through his and tugging him toward the exit. "Don't know about you, Liara, but this pregnant lady could use some food. Lunch?"
"That sounds wonderful." It had been over two hours since breakfast, after all, and while a few weeks earlier, the mention of Feron would have robbed her of her appetite, she wasn't sure what was currently more heartening: the growing confidence that she could handle the drell on her own, or the awareness that she didn't have to.