PART 4 - SIX MONTHS LATER

The peaceful silence of a lobby in an apartment building on the wards of the Citadel was interrupted when two figures, a redheaded human female and an asari, stumbled inside. As they stumbled, they were singing (or at least attempting to sing) some kind of party song. Every few lines the ladies would take a bottle of alcohol they had in their hands and take a sip. The ladies were practically dragging their feet as they headed for the elevators. Once they stepped on the elevator car, the ladies dropped their bottles and embraced each other in a passionate kiss. The patrons in the lobby shook their heads, some giggling while others let out a disapproving sigh, as they watched the ladies disappear behind the closing elevator doors.

As the elevator ascended, the two ladies continued to kiss until finally the asari broke the kiss for air, "tell me Dr. Chambers is it customary for a psychiatrist to take their patients out dancing and then take them home with them after a session?"

The human female chuckled, "come on Serena, we've been going out long enough that we can skip the formalities. Call me Kelly."

Serena smiled as she and Kelly resumed kissing just when the elevator made the dinging sound to indicate they had reached their floor. When the doors opened, the ladies broke their kiss again and stumbled down the hallway with each person putting an arm around the other's shoulder. They even resumed singing the song they were singing in the lobby. Fortunately for the other tenants living on the floor, the building's rooms were soundproof so nothing in the hallway could disturb anyone. Eventually the ladies reached Kelly's room and stepped inside.

Once inside the room, the ladies resumed kissing. Then Serena jumped up and wrapped her legs around Kelly's waist. Kelly held onto Serena's legs as she carried her to the bedroom. They got to the foot of the bed when Kelly turned so that she was facing away from the bed. She then fell back onto the bed with Serena now lying on top of her. After kissing for another few seconds, Kelly rolled Serena onto her back so now it was Kelly on top. When the next kiss was broken, Kelly rose up and began unbuttoning her shirt. Suddenly Serena reached up and grabbed Kelly's hand stopping her from continuing.

"What's wrong?" Kelly asked. "Things are just starting to get fun."

"I know it's just…," Serena began to say but couldn't continue.

"What is it?"

"Are you sure I'm ready for this?"

Kelly sighed. She knew where these doubts were coming from. She had taken in Serena as a patient five months ago. Serena said that she had come to the Citadel to get a fresh start after the loss of her bondmate Tabitha the month before that. Unfortunately it seemed that Serena was still in a state of severe depression over the loss. Eventually Serena decided to seek help for her depression and that was how she found her way to Kelly's office. With Kelly's counsel, Serena was making excellent progress.

About a month into their sessions, Kelly started to feel a romantic connection with Serena but she wasn't sure how to act on it. A part of her wasn't sure if it was real love or just her loving nature she had for all people regardless of what species or gender they were. But the real problem was it seemed wrong for her to try and pursue a relationship with Serena when she was still grieving over Tabitha. It took another month of bouncing the idea around in her head before she finally got the courage to drop a hint to Serena about her feelings. To her pleasant surprise, Serena admitted that she felt the same way. She just hadn't said anything because she was unsure if it was too soon for her to move on to another relationship. On that day the two ladies became a couple.

Over the next three months, the ladies were rarely apart. They would spend many days going to movies, having dinner at some of the best restaurants on the Citadel, and their personal favorite going to nightclubs and dancing together. More than a few times the couple's dancing was so elegant and spectacular that they would cause everyone else on the dance floor to stop and watch. Now after a night of such dancing, the ladies had decided to take their relationship to the next stage. But it seemed that Serena was having second thoughts.

Kelly climbed off of Serena and lied down on the open space of the bed next to her. She used one of her hand's to take one of Serena's and with her other hand gently stroked Serena's cheek.

"I'm not going to force you to do this if you don't think you're ready," Kelly said, "but I think you are. Tabitha would want you to be happy and I do too."

Serena smiled, "It means a lot to hear you say that. I think you're right. I'm ready. What would I do without you Kelly?"

"I don't want to think about it. You were in pretty bad shape when we first met."

"That is why I want to give you something. Something to say thank you for all you've done for me. I want to join my consciousness to yours."

Kelly was barely able to stop herself from gasping in surprise. She had heard about the asari mating process, or "melding" as it was called. Kelly knew that melding was a really intimate act between an asari and their mate. The fact that Serena was asking to meld with her was flattering. She began to think that this was a sign that she had indeed found "the one". Serena was the one that she would spend the rest of her life with.

"I don't know what to say," Kelly finally replied, "other than yes I would love to."

The smile on Serena's face grew larger as she proceeded to climb on top of Kelly and laid down on her, "just relax love. Take slow deep breaths."

"I love you Serena."

"I love you too Kelly. Embrace eternity."

As she said her last statement, Serena closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they had changed color to black. Immediately afterwards Kelly began to feel a strong feeling of euphoria overtake her, a feeling of which she had never felt before. She let out a pleasurable moan while Serena continued to stare at her with her completely dark eyes. Kelly smiled and brought Serena's head closer for another kiss. The kiss increased the amount of euphoria Kelly was feeling.

Suddenly a new feeling overtook Kelly that caused her to break away from the kiss. Unfortunately this one wasn't a pleasurable one. Her head felt like it was about to explode. She tried to say something to Serena but only a painful groan escaped her mouth. To her horror, the look on Serena's face after she heard the groan didn't show concern but enjoyment. Finally the pressure in Kelly's head proved too much for her to take. She let out one more groan and then she died.

Serena's eyes changed back to their normal color and she inspected Kelly's body to ensure that she was dead. After not detecting a pulse, she stepped off the bed and began to undress Kelly. This was done quickly since Kelly was already in the process of taking off her shirt before she died. Once Kelly was left wearing nothing except her underwear, Serena pulled the bed sheets back and out from under Kelly and then draped them over her. Finally she closed Kelly's eyes. When Serena was done, all appearances looked like Kelly was sleeping peacefully when she died.

When nothing but quiet responded to everything that had happened, Serena was convinced that no one would find Kelly like this until morning. She then pulled up her omni-tool and placed a video call. When the call was answered, Serena was greeted by a silhouetted figure sitting behind a desk. The figure asked Serena for a report in a distorted voice.

"It's done Boss," Serena replied, "the first of our final targets has been taken care of."

"Excellent," said the figure, "that means the final phase has officially begun."

"Yes Boss. I'm kind of glad this part of the phase is done. I was getting tired of having to call myself Serena."

"Yes but the cover identity was necessary. You know what would have happened if Dr. Chambers knew who and what you really are. Before you go I arranged for a package to be left for you in the nightstand. Make sure you leave it somewhere it will easily be seen. I'm sending a shuttle to pick you up outside the lobby."

"Copy that Boss, out."

When the call ended, the asari Kelly knew as Serena went to the nightstand and pulled out a photo that was in one of the drawers. The photo was of a frigate with the word "NORMANDY" written on the hull. On top of the nightstand was a photo of her and Kelly they took together on one of their dates. She swapped the date photo with the frigate photo and put the date photo in her pocket and headed for the door. After giving one final look around the room to make sure that she hadn't left anything she wasn't supposed to, the asari poked her head out of the door that lead into the hallway. With no one in sight, she turned around and gave an air kiss to Kelly before laughing menacingly and walking out of the room.

The buzzing of an alarm clock woke Lieutenant Commander Ashley Shepard from her sleep. Still slightly groggy, she reached over and turned the alarm off. She rolled back over to her other side and her eyes were fully opened just in time to see her husband Captain Shepard still sleeping peacefully. She smiled all the while forcing herself to resist the temptation of waking him. Seeing him sleeping peacefully was a sight that she had rarely seen the last few months.

Ever since their last Spectre mission at Buckingham Palace six months ago, Ashley had noticed a subtle change in Shepard. Shepard had been forcing himself to work harder than ever to try and identify the financial backer who not only funded the terrorists they fought on that mission but two other missions they had been on. He was so committed to the cause that he was able to convince both the Alliance and the Citadel Council to give him some time off so he could fully commit to the investigation. Ashley knew part of Shepard's motivation for chasing the backer was because of the three friends they lost on the missions. She wanted to get justice for their friends too but she couldn't help but worry Shepard was pushing himself too hard.

When their investigation had gone two months with no new leads, the Alliance had decided it was time for them to call off the search and called them back to active service. It didn't stop Shepard from searching though as he would use whatever downtime he had to continue his investigation. Unfortunately this came at a cost as his only downtime was the time he was supposed to be using to sleep. Ashley was finally forced to step in when Shepard's secret investigation had gone on for a month and he was on the brink of exhaustion. She convinced him that if he kept pushing himself as hard as he was, he was going to be dead before he discovered the backer's identity. If Shepard wanted to bring the backer down he needed to keep himself rested so his mind would be cleared and focused. Shortly after their talk was over, Shepard got the first good night's sleep he had in a while.

The past three months saw Shepard and Ashley easing back into the somewhat normal routines they were used to. They would still resume their investigation whenever one of them was off duty but their main focus was commanding the Normandy. Even their sex life, which had been almost absent due to Shepard's intense investigation, had returned to normal. They didn't know if it was out of love or because they needed comfort over how rough the investigation had been but it didn't matter to them. Their time alone allowed them to completely forget everything and just be together, even if it was only temporary.

Now here they were after a night of love making in their apartment on the Citadel on shore leave. Ashley looked at the clock again and realized that she and Shepard had to get up. They had a lunch date in an hour and they were going to be late if they didn't get out of bed soon. So as much as it pained her to do it, she gently shook Shepard until his eyes slowly began to open.

"Good morning hero-man," she said.

"Good morning beautiful," Shepard replied still somewhat groggy, "I'm guessing it's time for us to get ready to leave."

"Just about, we still have just enough time to shower before we need to get dressed and leave."

"You go ahead and get the shower running. I'll join you in a second."

Ashley smiled and she and Shepard kissed before she got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom. Once inside she got the shower running and adjusted the temperature to a comfortable level. She proceeded to undress when she suddenly felt nauseous. She put a hand to her mouth and moved to the sink as she felt like she was going to throw up. To her relief nothing happened but she stayed close to the sink as she finished undressing just in case. Finally the nauseous feeling went away. This wasn't the first time Ashley had felt this way but it was the closest she felt to actually throwing up. She had contemplated telling Shepard but initially felt it wasn't worth mentioning. Now she wasn't so sure.

"You okay?"

Ashley turned to see her naked husband standing behind her looking slightly concerned. After some rapid thinking she decided that she wasn't going to tell Shepard anything just yet. She didn't want to worry Shepard over something that might actually be nothing at all. It was probably best if she waited until they got back to the Normandy and have the ship's doctor Dr. Karin Chakwas give her a physical examination. If there was something wrong with her, she knew Dr. Chakwas would figure it out.

"Yes," she finally replied, "I just thought I saw something on my face. The shower should be ready."

The answer didn't completely satisfy Shepard but he decided to give Ashley the benefit of the doubt, "okay, shall we?"

Shepard held out his hand and Ashley took hold of it. He then led her into the shower.

The restaurant Shepard and Ashley had chosen for their lunch date was Apollo's Café on the Presidium. It had become a favorite of theirs ever since the date they had back during the Reaper War. It was on that day they officially rekindled their relationship after a brief separation due to events beyond their control. Now they were back once again for another date. However unlike their past dates, they weren't eating alone.

Waving them over to one of the tables were their best friends Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Garrus and Tali had been friends of Shepard and Ashley ever since they first joined Shepard's crew to pursue rogue Spectre Saren Arterius. They would remain on Shepard's crew all the way to the end of the Reaper War making them two of the few that fought with Shepard throughout the whole Reaper conflict. After the Reaper War ended, Garrus and Tali both left the Normandy and now lived on the Citadel.

Despite the fact that all four of them lived on the Citadel, this was the first time in a while they were able to have a relaxing get together. Just as Shepard and Ashley were busy with Alliance and Spectre business, Garrus and Tali were busy with their own jobs. Garrus had returned to his old job with Citadel Security (C-SEC) and quickly earned a reputation as one of C-SEC's most successful detectives. Tali became an ambassador for the quarian people and also served as an advisor for the quarian councilor Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib.

After some friendly greetings, the group sat at their table and placed their orders. Once the waiter was gone Ashley was the first to speak.

"So are you two finally going to tell us why you were so desperate to get together?" she asked.

"It can't just simply be because we wanted to see you?" Tali replied with her unmasked face trying to appear innocent.

Ashley chuckled, "of course it could. It's just that you were so insistent that we had to see you before our shore leave ended. It was almost like this couldn't wait until the next time we came back. So come on, spill it."

Garrus and Tali looked at each other anxiously as they seemed to be debating whether or not to say something right then. Finally Garrus took Tali's hand and turned back to Shepard and Ashley who were both anxiously waiting for them to speak.

"We had something we really wanted to tell you in person," he said, "and we were afraid that if we didn't do it now, we wouldn't have the chance to do it before you heard it from someone else. Do you want to tell them, Tali?"

Tali nodded, smiling as she turned to Shepard and Ashley and spoke with a minor squeal in her voice, "we're going to be married!"

Shepard and Ashley's mouths both dropped in shock at the initial surprise of what they heard. When they finally snapped out of it, they stood up from their chairs and began cheering "congratulations" as they hugged Garrus and Tali. All the while Shepard was thinking about how Garrus and Tali's relationship started.

During the Reaper War, Shepard had noticed that Garrus and Tali occasionally flirted with each other. Sometimes they did it in the field but mostly Shepard would walk in on one of them at their station on the Normandy and overhear them flirting with the other over the ship's intercom. A strong feeling in his gut told him that something was starting to bloom between them. His suspicions were confirmed just before the final battle against the Reapers on Earth. Shepard walked in on the two of them kissing in the Normandy's gun battery. They both tried to explain it away but Shepard knew at that point that his two closest friends were in love with each other and offered congratulations to both of them. Tali still tried to explain it away saying it was merely a fling but Shepard didn't buy it. He was proven right after the war ended when he found out that Tali stayed on the Citadel with Garrus rather than return to Rannoch, the quarian homeworld. The two of them had been dating ever since and now they were engaged.

"Congratulations you two," Shepard said once everyone was seated again, "Ashley and I couldn't be happier for you both."

"Well you and Ashley have been such an important part of our lives that Tali and I really wanted to tell you in person," said Garrus, "that's why we insisted on this get together. We also have some important requests we need to ask you."

"Ashley," said Tali, "would you be my matron of honor?"

Ashley smiled as a tear began to fall from her eyes, "Tali you have been like a sister to me. It would be my pleasure to be your matron of honor."

"Now let me guess Garrus," said Shepard, "you want me to be your best man."

"Actually Shepard I was going to have Joker do it," Garrus replied.

"What?" Shepard replied, his smile quickly disappearing.

Shepard didn't know whether Garrus was serious or not but he couldn't understand how he could be. He had Garrus be his best man when he and Ashley got married. Besides, the friendship the two of them had could practically be considered a bromance. How could Garrus pick Joker over him? True Joker was someone who probably knew how to give a bachelor party better than he could but still.

Garrus quickly sensing that Shepard was hurt and that Ashley was probably ready to slug him held up his hand in a "wait a minute" gesture, "the reason I'm not asking you Shepard is because Tali has a different role she wants you to fill."

Shepard's hurt expression quickly turned to confusion. On the one hand it was at least good to know Garrus considered him for best man. On the other hand he couldn't figure out what role Tali could have for him to fill. His confusion grew when he saw Tali beginning to tear up a little. Garrus put a hand on Tali's shoulder for comfort.

"As you know Shepard," she began, "both my mother and father are gone. I also recently found out that my auntie Raan is not going to be able to come to the wedding because she can't get time off from work to leave Rannoch and come to the Citadel."

Shepard understood what Tali meant. Tal's mother had passed away before she and Shepard met and her father was killed when an experiment he conducted on the geth went wrong. As for her "auntie Raan", she was referring to the former Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She and Tali both served on the quarian Admiralty Board during the Reaper War. But neither one of them were Admirals anymore.

Shortly after the end of the Reaper War and with the quarians back on their homeworld, martial law had been lifted and the Admiralty Board was dissolved due to Tali and Zaal'Koris taking positions on the Citadel and Admirals Han'Gerrel vas Neema and Daro'Xen vas Moreh facing criminal charges for some of their more questionable actions during the war. This left the Conclave as the sole government power. To make the adjustment from living on ships to their homeworld, it was decided that each ship would now serve as a district on Rannoch. The people in each district later unanimously elected their former captains to serve as representatives on the Conclave. To head this reformed government body, Shala'Raan was unanimously elected by the members of the Conclave to serve as chairwoman.

Shepard figured that it was because of Shala'Raan's important position in the quarian government that she couldn't make it to the wedding. He waited for Tali to continue.

"Shepard," she said, "you are the only one who can fill this role because I think of you the same way I think of my parents and auntie Raan, as family."

Tali paused and reached across the table to take Shepard's hand, "will you give the bride away?"

Shepard was initially speechless. Not just because of Tali's request but partially because he felt guilty. He was initially upset with Garrus for not asking him to be best man but now he realized it was because he and Tali had a bigger and more important role for him. He silently cursed at himself for his brief moment of selfishness. When he finished silently punishing himself, he looked up at Tali and smiled.

"I would be honored Tali," he said.

Shepard then got up from his chair again and gave Tali one more hug. Garrus and Ashley followed suit and the four of them were now in a group hug. They didn't even notice that the waiter had returned with their food. Sensing that it was better not to disturb them, the waiter placed the food on the table and silently walked away. The group eventually broke up the hug and returned to their seats. Tal, Garrus and Ashley were about to dig in when they noticed Shepard raising his drink.

"To Garrus and Tali," he said, "congratulations on your engagement and may you both have many happy years together."

Everyone else at the table raised their glasses and clanked them together with Shepard's to acknowledge the toast. When the toast was drunk, they began to dig into the food.

"CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN SHEPARD!"

Shepard had barely brought a forkful of food to his mouth when a voice called out to him from across the café. He and the others looked in the direction of the voice to see a woman approaching their table. When the woman got closer, Shepard recognized who it was. It was Dr. Chakwas. A feeling of dread overtook Shepard as he felt that Chakwas was not coming to give him good news. The looks on the others' faces showed they were thinking the same thing.

"Captain," Dr. Chakwas said when she finally reached the table, "you need to come with me right away. Commander Bailey wants to see us."

Shepard recognized the name immediately. He first met C-SEC Commander Armando-Owen Bailey back when Bailey was a captain during his first trip to the Citadel while on his mission against the Collectors. Bailey gave Shepard vital assistance on a few operations he had on the Citadel during that time. During the Reaper War, and after Bailey was promoted to Commander, Bailey would again help Shepard when the pro-human terrorist group Cerberus tried to kill the Council and take control of the Citadel. When the war was over, the Citadel and C-SEC were in disarray. Fortunately with Bailey's leadership and Garrus' assistance, they were able to get C-SEC running smoothly again and they quickly brought order back to the station. Bailey was even asked to become the new Executor of C-SEC but he declined preferring to leave the politics of the job to someone else. Shepard quickly glanced over to Garrus who only shook his head indicating he had no idea why Bailey would be summoning him.

"Why?" Shepard asked.

Dr. Chakwas looked at everyone at the table as if she was trying to decide whether or not she should talk with Shepard in front of them. Shepard picked up on this hesitation and offered to go with Chakwas somewhere private but she finally shook her head and told him to sit back down.

"It's okay Captain," she continued, "it's probably best that the others hear this too. Captain…..Kelly Chambers was found dead this morning."