Author's Note – Another chapter up and one more to go for the finish!
Hugs as always to GenjutsuDragon for the beta!
"Whoa! Madre de dios!" James Vega recoiled, a green tinge to his complexion and a revolted expression on his face. "How can something that small make … that?"
Hannah Benezia gurgled happily at up him, kicking her feet and quite plainly enjoying being free of her diaper for a bit without the slightest concern for the admittedly large and quite smelly deposit that was expanding past the edges of said diaper and onto the changing table (which was fortunately protected by a disposable pad that Liara had put down).
"It's a baby superpower," Ashley informed her husband, exchanging an amused glance with Shepard and Liara. The three of them had positioned themselves around the nursery: partly to watch the show, and partly to be close enough to step in if the newly-promoted N7 got into trouble on his current mission. "And I can guarantee that any kid with your genes is gonna have it, so you might as well get acclimated now." She crossed her arms smugly over the swell of her belly which, less than a month from her due date, had finally reached the ungainly stage that Liara had felt trapped in from the end of her first trimester.
"Surely it's no worse than anything you've encountered in your ICT training, James?" Liara teased him gently.
"Yeah, but I had a gas mask then," James countered, plucking a baby wipe from the box and looking dubiously from the scrap of white to the mess it was meant to remedy. Then, "Aww, man! She's not done yet!"
It took considerably longer than usual before the biohazard was consigned to the disposal unit and a fresh diaper was in place. "There!" James announced triumphantly, sweeping Hannah up and holding her high for a moment before lowering her to the crook of one burly arm and cradling her with a tenderness that left no doubt about his readiness for fatherhood.
"Here you go," he said, presenting her to Shepard and watching expectantly while she inspected his handiwork.
"Can't bounce a quarter off of it, but not bad for a first attempt, Lieutenant," Lisbeth proclaimed at length before moving to get Hannah dressed in a "Future N7" onesie that Garrus and Tali had given them.
They left the flat, bound for a local pizzaria for lunch, then a stroll through the park. Spring had come again: almost a year since Liara had first approached Shepard with the matriarchs' proposal. Never had she thought that it would turn out this way. "Why don't we eat in the park?" she suggested. Sitting beneath their tree for lunch felt like an appropriate way to celebrate the not-quite anniversary of the moment that had forever changed her life for the better.
"Sounds good," Ash agreed readily. "You want us to stand in line while you stake out a spot?" She exchanged a glance with her husband. "Or we could take Hannah and get the spot, give you two a little time alone?"
There was the briefest pang of reluctance. Since Hannah had been born, Liara and Beth had each left singly to run brief errands, but they had never both been away from her at once. She looked questioningly to Shepard; her bondmate didn't seem overly concerned, but the understanding warmth in the brown eyes made it plain that the final choice would be Liara's. Another brief moment of hesitation, and then the decision was made: Liara passed Hannah to Ash while Lisbeth handed off the diaper bag to James. The couple had held and played with her often enough that the infant accepted them readily, but Liara sent a wave of tender reassurance to her daughter.
"No mushrooms!" James called as the couple turned away, already reaching over his wife's shoulder to tickle the baby under her chin. "C'mon, Baby Blue, let's go do some recon while mommy gets chow!"
Shepard snorted, slipping an arm around Liara's waist and drawing her gently in the direction of the restaurant. "It's just a few minutes, love," she murmured, kissing the Asari's temple.
"I know," Liara replied, "and I trust Ashley and James. It's just … everyone has been offering to babysit, to give us a break, but I haven't felt that I needed one yet." She looked up at Shepard, feeling guilty. "Have you?" The comfort of the maternal bond made asari babies less prone to fussing in general, but Hannah Benezia was easygoing even by those standards. She had quickly settled into a sleep schedule, seldom cried, and was usually easy to soothe, but even though Liara had felt no hint of discontent from her bondmate, there was no denying that they had not been away from Hannah for any significant time since her birth, and her pulse had kicked up a notch when her mental bond with her daughter grew weaker as the distance between them increased, even though there was no hint of discomfort in the infant's thoughts.
"Not at all," Beth replied, shaking her head, "but Ash and James are more than ready for their little one to be here. I figured letting them babysit for a little while might help, but I'm definitely not interested in anything longer just yet. Actually -" she gave Liara a sidelong glance, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, "I was thinking about another week or two back at the island … just the three of us?"
"That sounds absolutely wonderful," Liara said with a dreamy sigh, thinking of playing with Hannah in the surf and making love on the beach while she slept.
The other residents in their neighborhood had long since grown accustomed to the presence of the galaxy's savior in their midst, and, combined with the fact that Lisbeth's casual style now made her look markedly different from her Alliance days, except for the occasional die-hard fan, they could largely wander in peace. The pizzeria was crowded, but nobody gave them a second look as they got into line, placed their order, and sat down at a table to wait with drinks in hand.
"So, Ash and James still don't know if they are having a boy or a girl?" Liara asked.
Beth shook her head with a fond smile. "The only one that knows is Karin, and she's not telling."
Liara studied her bondmate. "If you'd had the choice, would you have wanted to know Hannah's gender before she was born, or would you have wanted to be surprised?"
Shepard considered the question briefly. "No," she said length, adding with a wry smile, "I think I've had enough surprises for one lifetime."
Two lifetimes, even, Liara thought, but before she could say the words aloud, a sudden flare of alarm and fear flooded her mind, and she spilled her drink on the table as she came to her feet.
Shepard was immediately on alert. "What is -" Her words were cut off by the blare of an alarm emanating from both of their omni-tools: an alert that had been programmed in for nearly a year. Liara had almost forgotten about its existence, and fear exploded in her chest as she recognized it now. She saw Beth's face go grey, and then the Spectre launched herself at the door, Liara half a step behind.
"Ash!" Lisbeth roared into the comm as they raced toward the park.
Ashley's response blistered the air with profanity before resolving into coherent words that turned Liara's blood to ice. "He took her!" Ash's voice was choked with fury and fear. "The bastard has her, Shepard!"
No need to ask who 'he' was, no time to surrender to the urge to scream and smash things; it was all Liara could do to keep pace with Lisbeth as she bulled her way past, around, and occasionally through anyone and everything between her and the park.
Ashley was curled on the ground beneath the tree, and a new fear stabbed at Liara like a knife. The diaper bag lay in the grass a few feet away beside the rumpled picnic blanket; there was no sign of James.
"Ash?" Shepard knelt beside the other woman, eyes searching the park. "What happened?"
"He got the jump on me!" Ash groaned, clutching at her left leg. "Shit! Sonofabitch! I'm gonna kill him! James was laying out the blanket … twisted my ankle when he pulled her away from me and – uunnhh!" Her groan changed pitch; her hands left her ankle and flew to her stomach. "Shit, not now!"
"Which way?" If Beth felt any of the gibbering terror that was trying to overwhelm Liara, she gave no sign; her brown eyes blazed with tightly controlled fury, and her body was all coiled energy waiting to be given direction.
"That way!" Ashley pointed just as James appeared on the run … and empty handed. "Lost him, goddamn it!" he panted as he charged up, eyes widening as he looked at his wife. "Babe, are you -"
"Having the baby," Ashley confirmed through gritted teeth. "Shepard, I'm sorry -"
Beth cut her off with an upraised hand, eyes intent on the readout on her omni-tool. "Not your fault. Sam?"
"Tapping into video feeds within a five klick radius," Traynor reported over the comm. "Applying biometric filters … got him!" she announced triumphantly. "He still has Hannah, and she seems unharmed. Sending you his coordinates and continuing to track; I'll try to extrapolate his destination from his course."
"Send them to us, too," Jack's voice cut in.
"Keep the kids clear of him," Beth ordered, but the collective protest on the other end was immediate, vehement, and colorful enough to make it plain that Jack's students had learned more than biotics from their instructor.
"Fuck that," Jack summarized scornfully. "My guys faced down reapers and Cerberus goons; you really think they can't handle some pussy drell?"
"Fine," Shepard replied tersely, "but if you get to him first, do not engage until we get there. Maintain visual contact and relay coordinates." She looked to James. "Get her to the hospital … that's an order!" she barked when Ashley started to protest. "C'mon." This to Liara, a split second before she launched back into a sprint, followed by the asari. Three years of combat had greatly increased Liara's endurance from her days of fieldwork in prothean ruins, and she had exercised throughout her pregnancy, but even at her best, she'd never been a match for Lisbeth's speed.
"Go!" she called when her bondmate looked back and began to slow, but Lisbeth shook her head.
"We're not getting separated," she declared firmly, letting Liara catch up and continuing forward at a slightly less headlong pace. "He could be planning on doubling back."
"Let him!" Liara snarled. The terror twisting like a live thing in her chest was not for herself at all, and it was entwined with a fury hotter than anything she had ever known. She had let Feron abuse and degrade her for two years without resisting, but if Hannah Benezia had so much as a scratch from him -
"Can you feel her?" Beth's question pulled her attention away from thoughts of violence.
"Barely. She's not hurt." Liara clung to that fact to keep the terror at bay. "But she's afraid … and very angry."
Beth gave a breathless laugh. "That's my girl! Sam, what have you got?"
"He's headed toward a park along the Thames!" Traynor reported. "I've identified a skycar reported as stolen this morning that's parked there, with surveillance vids showing him leaving it an hour ago. Kasumi's already hacked into its systems remotely; he won't be taking it anywhere. Updating coordinates."
"Got it," Shepard confirmed, Checking her omni-tool. "Anybody else local?"
"Steve's inbound, ETA 7 minutes, 32 seconds; everyone else is either off planet or too far -"
"What am I? Chopped varren spleen?"
"M-matron Aethyta?" Traynor stammered. "How did you get on this channel?"
"Ask me again in a hundred years or so, puppy, and you might have the chops to pull it off. In the meantime, send your flyboy to my coordinates."
"Yes, ma'am. Steve -"
"Got 'em," Cortez announced crisply. "Should add less than a minute."
"Steve, stay airborne at half a klick from the vehicle," Liara instructed him. The panic was still there, and the fury, but beneath that, the feeling of pulling together an op on the fly – something they had done countless times over the years – was putting her back on familiar footing. "He'll have a backup plan if he can't use the skycar."
Aye-aye!
As they ran, Liara's thoughts were bifurcated: most of her mind was consumed with fear for her daughter and rage at Feron, but many of the streets that they raced through were the same as those they had traversed during the Battle of London, and the memories of the destruction superimposed themselves over the ongoing reconstruction. Some of the centuries-old buildings were being painstakingly restored, while others had been demolished to allow for more rapid building of modern structures. The broken bodies of the dead had long since been cleared away, but her memories superimposed them anew, along with the stench of seared flesh and the piteous cries of the wounded.
So much death and pain over so many years, and she had thought it was finally over. What if Hannah -
No. It would not happen. She would not permit it.
Jack, bring your team in along the coordinates I'm sending you, Samantha's voice rang out. He's still headed for the skycar, and I want you coming in along his most likely escape route.
Save some for us! Wrex bellowed. Gettin' in a skycab now!
Is Hannah all right? Tali'Zorah piped up anxiously. Can you see her?
D'you need the Normandy? Joker demanded. I can get her airborne in -
ANYONE NOT WITHIN TWO CLICKS OF THAT DAMNED SKYCAR WILL IMMEDIATELY LEAVE THIS CHANNEL CLEAR! Sam roared. Dead silence fell, broken only by a grunted Sorry from Wrex.
One hundred meters and closing. Traynor's volume had dropped, but tension sang through her tone. Seventy-five … sixty … fifty … forty …
Even knowing that Kasumi had disabled the skycar, hearing that Feron was closing in on his escape vehicle caused Liara's fear to surge still higher, and though her heart was thundering, breath ragged in her chest, and muscles burning from the extended sprint, she found the reserves for a final burst of speed, Lisbeth matching her stride for stride.
She saw Jack and her students first, spreading in a tight semicircle, hands blazing with biotic energy ready to be unleashed. Then Feron, Hannah Benezia clutched to his chest, slamming a frustrated fist onto the unresponsive skycar and spinning like a wild animal brought to bay, starting to run back the way he had come only to pull up when he saw Shepard and Liara.
"No closer!" he shouted, teeth bared in a snarl, backing up to the skycar.
"Feron, we can work this out!" Beth called to him, hands extended to him. "You haven't done anything yet that can't be taken back."
"Give me my daughter, Feron!" Liara had to force the pleading note into her voice. She wanted to kill him, but he was holding Hannah too closely, too tightly in the circle of one arm, his other hand out of sight at his side. Hannah was squirming in discomfort, face screwed up as she squalled her displeasure. "Please, she's just a baby!"
"She's a mistake!" he shot back, his features contorted with rage. "You should have had my child! You were mine!"
"Chickenshit asshole!" Jack sneered. "Put the kid down, and let's see how tough you are!" Her students threw in their own taunts and jeers, blending with Hannah's cries, and Liara could see Feron's agitation rising. He looked awful: shockingly thin, dark eyes sunken, his skin patchy and scaling, but what frightened her most was the hate that burned in those eyes, like a fire that had consumed him from within. There was not a trace of sanity, compassion, or anything else that could be reasoned with.
"Feron, I'll go with you!" she cried out. "Just give Hannah to Lisbeth, and we can go wherever you want!" He likely still believed her to be the cringing, weak creature that he had turned her into; once Hannah was safe, he would find out otherwise, she told herself fiercely, ignoring the whisper of doubt that tried to tell her that she would collapse back into that wretched creature the moment she was alone with him. Hannah was all that mattered.
"Lia, no!" Shepard shouted.
"Just take Hannah, Beth!" Liara countered.
The dark eyes slid back to her, a mocking smile playing at the corners of the drell's mouth. "The beauty of maternal love," he drawled, his gaze shifting to Lisbeth. "What'll it be, Commander Shepard?" he taunted her. "Your daughter or your wife?"
Lisbeth didn't look at Liara as she stepped forward, and Feron shot her a coldly triumphant sneer. Liara simply held her breath, waiting -
Everything happened almost too quickly to follow: as Beth stepped close, Feron twisted, pulling Hannah back and revealing the device that was secured to his chest. Liara felt her heart drop as she recognized enough explosive power to kill Feron, Hannah and Beth outright, and severely injure anyone within a tight radius that included Jack and most of the students. His free hand came up, thumb flicking the cap over the button of the detonator that he held -
"NO!" Liara screamed, knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop him from pressing the button, killing himself and the two that she loved the most. This was his backup plan, his ultimate revenge: to leave Liara alone and unable to even take vengeance for their deaths.
Feron's expression changed from malevolent victory to bafflement at the muted whoomp, and he looked down at the biotic field that had enclosed the device, confining the explosion, then up as Kiley Rodriguez collapsed to the grass, her face ashen. The field dissipated, pulverized fragments of the device tumbling to the ground.
Shepard reacted as though she had been waiting for the distraction. Her right hand opened, the biotic field pulling Hannah from his grasp while her left flowed out to release a precisely controlled shockwave that sent him staggering back as the infant floated into the protective crook of Lisbeth's arm.
Feron landed heavily on the ground, staring up at Shepard and Hannah in disbelief, then slumped, his face twisted in defeat. Beth regarded him with cool dispassion. "Traynor, call Ter-Sec and tell them to come and pick up the trash." She glanced over her shoulder to where Jack and several of the other students were crouched over Kiley. "She all right?" Beth asked, her forehead creased with concern.
"She'll be fine," Jack replied, releasing the wrist where she had been checking the girl's pulse with a stark look of relief that would bury her reputation as a badass if anyone outside of their circle had seen it. "She probably cooked her amps, but I can kick her ass for that lat- SHIT!"
Fool. Shepard and the others could be excused for believing that Feron had accepted defeat; they had only known him as the broken man they had rescued from the Shadow Broker. Liara had worked with the canny information broker who always had a backup plan, lived with the abuser who had been cunning enough to keep that side of him hidden from the rest of the world. She should have known, been on her guard, but she had allowed herself to be distracted by Kiley's collapse, giving Feron the chance to reach the concealed pistol that he was leveling at Lisbeth.
Liara didn't hesitate, and with Hannah now out of the line of fire, she did not hold back. The singularity that she released encompassed both Feron and the projectile that the pistol had fired just as Shepard twisted to shield their daughter. He'd barely gotten airborne before Jack's shockwave hit, slamming him into the side of the skycar with bonecrushing force; his strangled cry was cut off by a smash from above that hit hard enough to drive him several inches into the turf with a squelching noise that would have turned Liara's stomach any other time. All she felt now was a satisfaction so savage that it was almost painful, quickly swept aside as she rushed to her wife and daughter.
"Well, that's that," Aethyta announced briskly as she descended from the skycar on a cushion of biotic power. She stepped past the crumpled corpse without a downward glance to peer intently at Hannah, whose indignant tears had dried as soon as Liara had swept her back into the three-way bond.
"No harm done," she declared, then fixed Lisbeth with a gimlet stare. "But this is your only free pass. You may be retired from saving the galaxy, but you let your guard down that far again when it comes to protecting my daughter and granddaughter and I'll kick your ass all the way to the Attican Traverse, no relays needed."
"I'll kick my own ass," Lisbeth promised somberly, her protective embrace encircling both Hannah and Liara.
A.N. - NGL, that was incredibly satisfying.