It started not too long after Cerberus resurrected her. With all the system hopping they were doing trying to track down the Collectors and everything else asked of her, Shepard found herself with an absurd amount of downtime. Even she could only clean her guns or spar so many times without pushing herself into exhaustion. The fish were soothing to watch at first, but after a few minutes she'd find herself restless, fidgety. Commander Shepard didn't know how to sit still and do nothing for very long.

The idea came to her after her reunion with Liara, after they'd defeated the Shadow Broker and Liara had stepped into his place. She had every intention of returning to her bondmate after stopping the Collectors, and if she could manage to do this without Liara knowing about it…

"Hey, EDI?" she asked the AI, moving across her quarters to the extranet terminal at her desk.

"Yes, Commander Shepard?" EDI answered promptly.

"Can you find me a good course for learning Thessian?" Shepard could have searched the extranet herself, of course, but she was sure EDI would be able to process the possibilities and select one much faster than she could.

"Of course, Commander." There was silence for a few moments, and then her terminal pinged as EDI pushed the information onto it. "This one also has a module that you can download to your omni-tool," The AI informed her.

"You're the best, EDI," Shepard thanked her, then sat down and got to work.

Learning Thessian had become more of a challenge with Liara on board the Normandy again. Shepard's initial plan to surprise Liara with a few sentences after coming back from her suicide mission had evolved, and she now had a much grander scheme in mind. But knowing that Liara monitored pretty much everything meant Shepard once again had to enlist EDI's help- this time, to obtain an offline version of the language program so that she could continue her studies underneath her bondmate's nose.

If Liara ever wondered what she was doing on the nights they sat together in silence, craving each other's company even though they both had work that needed to be done, she never asked. Likely, Shepard decided, the asari thought that she was working on her mission reports or something similar. She almost spoiled the surprise several times over- I love you was one of the first full phrases she learned how to say, and it was extremely difficult to keep the information hidden away in a corner of her mind when they were melded. But she managed. Barely.

Her heart broke, pushing Liara onto the Normandy's ramp and into Garrus's arms. It broke knowing that she was leaving her bondmate behind again, and that her plan very well may never come to fruition. When Liara begged her not to leave her behind, Shepard made her decision. She closed the distance between them again, cupping the asari's cheek in her palm. Slowly, carefully, she pulled the Thessian words from her mind.

"No matter what happens… You mean everything to me, Liara. You always will."

She wasn't sure if the tears in Liara's eyes were because she was speaking Thessian, or because she was leaving her there, or both. With one final look at the love of her life, Shepard turned and ran once more into the breach.

When she woke up in Huerta Memorial, it was to find a blue hand twined through hers, its owner resting her head on the side of Shepard's bed. Liara was asleep, but as Shepard groaned and tried to force herself to a sitting position the turian on the other side of the room turned and-

Shepard frowned at the hisses and clicks coming from Garrus, and it took a moment for her fuzzy brain to realize that her translator must've gotten fried somehow. Whatever he was saying woke Liara though, and Shepard was delighted to discover that even with the brain fog she could understand what her bondmate was saying.

"Shepard! Thank the goddess you're awake!" Liara rained kisses over her face before burying her own in Shepard's shoulder. Shepard wrapped her arm- the only one she could move, apparently, as she realized the left one was encased in a cast from shoulder to wrist- around Liara before offering Garrus a lopsided grin.

"I can't understand a word you're saying, buddy. I think my translator's fried," she said apologetically before nuzzling Liara's crest ridges lovingly. Garrus nodded and clicked something at Liara before leaving the room.

"Hey, it's all right, I'm here, love," Shepard whispered into Liara's aural, feeling the asari's body tremble with sobs of relief that her bondmate was alive. "Shhhh. I'm here." She rubbed her hand soothingly across the asari's back, kissing her gently on top of her head.

Liara pulled back, sniffling, her hands going to Shepard's face, words flowing out of her in Thessian. "I thought I'd lost you all over again, and when they found you, I couldn't dare hope that-" she cut herself off as if realizing something. "Your translator," she said, switching to English with some effort. "Right. Sorry, you-"

"Could understand you, actually," Shepard interrupted her, trying to keep a straight face.

Liara gaped at her, falling back into Thessian in her shock. "You- how? When?"

Shepard grinned sheepishly at her. "Surprise?" Her eyes roamed over Liara's face, taking in the mostly healed scratches that she'd gained during the last battle. "How long was I out?"

"Three weeks," Liara said softly, moving to sit on the bed next to Shepard. The commander shifted over slightly, grunting with the effort, and tugged on her bondmate's arm. Not needing further encouragement, Liara slid into the bed and curled into Shepard's side, resting her head in the crook of her shoulder. "I've been so worried-" her voice cracked as tears threatened to overwhelm her again.

"I'm so sorry, Liara," Shepard whispered. "I didn't want to put you through that all over again." She kissed Liara tenderly on the forehead and pulled her in a little closer, resting her chin against her head. "But I'm alive, I'm here, and it appears that I am mostly in one piece, though if the pain in my side is any indication I seem to have cracked a few ribs…"

The attempt at levity had its desired effect, and laughter bubbled out of Liara as she reached up to kiss Shepard. "You broke most of your ribs. Seventeen, to be exact. And your left arm. Your leg is intact somehow, though you did tear a few tendons. Your implants seem to be accelerating your healing, though. Dr. Chakwas said you should make a full recovery. Most of the burns are already gone." Liara faltered for a moment, uncertainty crossing her face. "Shepard, there's one more thing I need to tell you…" She ducked her head back into Shepard's shoulder, suddenly shy.

"Hey," Shepard said softly, gently headbutting her bondmate until she looked back up. "You can tell me anything, you know that."

Liara murmured something softly, and Shepard tried in vain to translate the Thessian words, but no answer came. The bewilderment must have shown on her face, because instead of repeating herself, Liara scooted up to rest her forehead against Shepard's and reached out with a light meld.

Shepard welcomed the joining of their minds, feeling as if it were giving her oxygen after suffocating for weeks. For a moment, the two of them drank each other in, reassuring the other that they were both alive and together. Then, shyly, Liara pulled her further in, until Shepard could see the light of her very being. This was somewhere Shepard had been many times. It was familiar. It was home.

What was different was the second, smaller light inside of Liara's.

Shepard's breath caught in her chest. You're… you're pregnant? She asked, hope,awe, and joy filling her mental voice, threatening to overflow. It was her turn to stammer. When- how?

Liara's eyes were once more brimming with tears as she pulled them far enough out of the meld that they were mostly back in reality, but still able to touch each other and the little life growing inside of Liara. "I… May have left out a few facts about the meld before the final battle," she admitted. "I couldn't bear the thought of losing you again and not having anything of you left. I'm sorry, I know I didn't ask-"

Shepard cut her off with a passionate kiss, making sure that all thought of speech was gone before pulling back again. "Don't apologize for this," she whispered joyfully. "Not now, not ever." She crushed Liara to her with her good arm, whispering affectionate nothings and trailing kisses across her face before they both settled back into the bed, basking in each other's presence. Shepard rested her hand on Liara's stomach, marveling at the little wonder they had created together. They lay there in silence for a few minutes before Shepard got a case of the giggles.

Liara pushed herself up onto one elbow, looking down at her bondmate in mock indignation. "And what exactly is so funny, Commander?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Wait until I tell my mom I'm gonna be a dad!"

Carefully, Shepard double checked the paper on the table in front of her, making sure that the Thessian runescript was correct. She'd spent weeks on it. She could barely write legibly in English (no one really did anymore, after all), but she wanted everything tonight to be perfect. Tapping on her omnitool, she sent a message to Liara, asking what time she'd be home.

Ten minutes, my love. Getting in the air car now.

Shepard rubbed her hands together in anticipation before gently taking the paper and fixing it to the front door so Liara would see it when she got home. She moved quickly back inside- she could walk with barely any sign of a limp now- and surveyed the living room of their apartment. Everything was as ready as it could be, she decided.

"Glyph, buddy, you ready?"

The drone flitted down out of nowhere, bowtie flickering into existence. "I am ready, Commander Shepard." He floated over to the piano and Shepard took her place in the center of the room, trembling in anticipation. She took a deep breath and tugged at the unfamiliar collar of her dress, surreptitiously wiped her hands on the back of her legs, and waited.

Liara's eyes narrowed in curiosity as she rounded the corner to their apartment and noticed a piece of paper hanging on the door. Her breath caught in surprise as she drew closer and saw that it was Thessian runescript, and her fingers traced over the characters reverently as she read them.

Turn your translator off.

Wondering what Shepard was up to now, Liara tapped the deactivation command into her omni-tool before she palmed the door control. She gasped as she stepped into their apartment. Candles sat on nearly every surface, providing the only light in the apartment. Flowers decorated the room, seemingly random species of them, though Liara quickly realized there was one from each world that she and Shepard had been to together. There was piano music playing, and she looked over to see Glyph hovering over the piano, playing the song that she'd once played for Shepard.

And then Shepard herself was stepping toward her, and Liara thought her heart had stopped all together. The former Spectre (and former it was, because Shepard had somewhat forcibly resigned from both the Alliance Navy and the Spectres as soon as she'd been released from the hospital) was wearing a traditional asari gown, white with black and red accents throughout. She looked absolutely radiant, Liara thought, and the feeling was compounded knowing that this was something only she would ever get to see.

Shepard greeted her with a kiss and drew her into her arms, gently rocking in time to the music. "I feel rather underdressed, Shepard," Liara teased her bondmate. "What's all this for?"

Shepard smiled down at her, and when she spoke it was slowly, carefully… and in Thessian. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while," she murmured, slowly moving them toward the couch in front of the fireplace, kissing Liara again before motioning her to have a seat.

Liara gave her a puzzled look. "You can ask me anything, my love, you know that. This isn't necessary-"

Shepard silenced her with a finger to her lips, smiling gently as she knelt in front of Liara. She spoke softly in Thessian again. "Liara T'Soni. I love you with every fiber of my being. You are my better half, and I don't know how I'd live without you. It would make me the happiest and luckiest woman alive if you would do me the honor of marrying me." Shepard produced a small velvet box from some hidden spot, and opened it to reveal a ring of platinum, with a sapphire, emerald, and diamond nestled inside of it.

The ring was gorgeous and breathtaking… but Liara only had eyes for her bondmate. She threw herself into Shepard's arms and kissed her, reaching out and falling into their meld.

Yes, Krae, yes, a thousand times over yes!

Their shared joy caused tears to well in both of their eyes, and Liara kissed Shepard like she was drowning and her bondmate was oxygen. When they both needed to gasp for air, Shepard grinned and swept Liara into her arms bridal style. She rested her forehead against Liara's for a moment before whispering softly to her. "I am yours." Then she carried her up the stairs to their bedroom, so they could spend the rest of the night celebrating each other.