It was a tense few minutes after the shuttle landed on the Normandy. Shepard was not taking any chances with Dana so he had ordered ship security to meet them in the shuttle bay. When the shuttle doors opened, Shepard, Garrus and Dana were greeted by a line of soldiers that led to the elevator. Each one of them had a rifle pointed right at Dana. The rifles followed Dana as Shepard and Garrus escorted her to the elevator. Once inside the elevator, two soldiers boarded with them and the group rode up to the engineering deck.

The engineering team greeted them when they exited the elevator. While they weren't technically soldiers, the majority of the team could handle weapons when needed and they all had their hands on their side arms ready to draw them at the first sign of trouble. They watched as Dana was led into the portside cargo hold. The room was not visited often by the Normandy crew making it ideal for use as the ship's brig (jail). Shepard helped Dana sit down on a cot that he had asked the crew to put together before they arrived. Garrus and the two soldiers from the elevator kept a careful watch on Dana as Shepard took off her handcuffs. The last thing Shepard did was replace the handcuffs with special wristbands that were specifically designed to keep a prisoner with biotic abilities from being able to use them. Dana let out a huff once the wristbands were on and laid herself down on the cot and rolled on to her side so that she was facing away from Shepard and the others.

"Please excuse us," Shepard said dismissing the others.

When the room was clear, Shepard stared at Dana for a few seconds. He had been chasing this woman for over two years and for the longest time had thought of her as nothing but a monster. But now, looking at her lying on the cot, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of pity for her. There was probably a time where Dana was a kind and generous person. Then one tragic day, she lost her last remaining family. If Julia's death hadn't hurt her enough, Dana had to hear people say that her sister was killed by a Council Spectre because she had supposedly killed the crew of the Worthington. All it took was one really bad day to make Dana obsessed with killing Shepard and willing to kill other people to do it. The small amounts of pity Shepard was feeling for Dana prompted him to talk to her even though he knew she likely didn't care what he had to say.

"Dana," he said, "I know nothing I say is going to make you forgive me but I really am sorry about what happened to Julia. I did everything I could to end the situation peacefully and it really hurts me that I wasn't able to. Whether you believe me or not, I just wanted you to know that."

As Shepard turned to head out of the room, he thought he heard Dana sniffling. Shepard knew it was likely that she was only crying over her sister's death and not his apology. Even so, it meant she had heard what he said and that was all that mattered. He half turned around to get one last glance at Dana. With nothing more to say or do, he exited the hold and closed the door. When Dana had vanished from his view, Shepard felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he let out a relaxing sigh. At long last, the mystery backer had been locked away and couldn't endanger anyone ever again.

The engineering team had returned to their posts while Shepard was in the hold with Dana. The only people left in the hallway when Shepard left the hold were Garrus and the two soldiers who accompanied them from the cargo deck. Shepard made his way back to the elevator while Garrus stayed behind to give orders to one of the soldiers.

"I want two guards manning this door at all times," he said, "she doesn't come out and the only ones who are allowed to go in are Captain Shepard and me. Understood?"

The soldier saluted, "yes sir."

Garrus returned the salute and then rejoined Shepard at the elevator.

"I hope you'll forgive me for listening in," he said when the doors closed, "but I was a little surprised to hear you apologize to Dana."

"Regardless of what Dana's done Garrus," Shepard replied, "she still deserved to hear an apology from me for what happened to Julia. I know it was a justifiable kill but she needed to know that I feel bad about having to do it. I wonder if I had taken the time to find her and tell her that right after it happened, maybe she wouldn't have let her anger for me grow to the point that it made her do what she did."

"Shepard you can't blame yourself for that. You had no way of knowing that investigating the Worthington and killing Julia was going to lead to all this."

"I know Garrus. Still that's one of the reasons I'm always a little nervous about killing people and why I always think hard about the decisions I have to make. I just never know what far-reaching consequences will happen after I make a choice."

"Well if it helps, during the entire time I've known you, I've never doubted that you made the best possible decision in all the choices you've faced. Anyway Tali is waiting for me up on the crew deck. Are you heading up there as well to see Ashley?"

Shepard shook his head, "Not yet. Dr. Chakwas sent me a message while we were on the shuttle. She said that Ashley is resting right now and likely won't wake up for a couple of hours. To ensure Ashley gets the rest she needs, the med bay is temporarily closed to visitors. I'm meeting Dr. Chakwas in my office so that she can patch me up without the risk of disturbing Ashley. From there I'll probably head up to the comm. room to call Hackett for our mission debrief. It's best to get it out of the way now so that when Ashley wakes up I can be with her and not have to worry about needing to be somewhere else."

"Sounds like a plan. Let me or Tali known if there's anything we can do to help."

Shepard smiled, "will do."

It took an hour for Dr. Chakwas to be able treat Shepard's injuries. Medical science had made many significant advances over the past few decades but there were still some wounds that couldn't be healed instantly. Unfortunately for Shepard, fractures fell in that category. His broken left arm was put into a cast to help set it back into place and he was prescribed painkillers for his broken ribs. As long as he took it easy, his wounds were expected to heal completely within six weeks. Normally Dr. Chakwas would have to strap Shepard down to get him to listen to her when she said to take it easy but Shepard didn't think that was going to be necessary this time. The only thing he was going to want to do the next few weeks was take care of Ashley. It was probably going to take a little negotiating but he figured he would get permission from the Alliance and the Council to take some time off to do just that. However he was going to wait until he spoke to Ashley before making that request. While she would appreciate the sweet gesture on his part, she might also feel somewhat guilty about him taking care of her full time when he could be out in the galaxy saving other people. Talking to her beforehand might help alleviate some of that guilt.

In the meantime however, he still had to talk to Hackett to debrief him about what happened on Shanxi. As he made his way to the comm. room, he started wondering how mad Hackett was going to be when he talked to him. Unknown to the rest of the crew, Shepard had to cut a few corners so that they could get to Shanxi quickly. The biggest corner he cut was not letting Hackett know about his plan to storm the Morrison Company headquarters to save Ashley and capture or kill Dana Thompson. It wasn't that Shepard didn't trust Hackett. Hackett had always trusted Shepard's judgment in the past. Sadly with Hackett now being a politician and given the reputation of the Morrison Company and its staff, there was a chance even Hackett might have been a little hesitant to give the green light for the operation right away.

The holographic image of Hackett greeted Shepard in the comm. room when he arrived. Sure enough Hackett wasn't looking too happy with him but at he least didn't seem to be too upset either. Shepard figured it was because Hackett was now seeing his injuries for the first time and they conveyed to Hackett that he had been through enough punishment. Shepard came to attention and saluted to which Hackett saluted back. With the formalities out of the way, the debriefing could begin.

"You look like hell Captain," Hackett said commenting on Shepard's injuries.

"Well I certainly feel like I've been through hell the last few days sir," Shepard replied, "my injuries aside, I'm ready to give my report on the Shanxi operation."

"You mean the operation that you chose not to inform me about. I don't have a problem with you storming the Morrison Company headquarters Shepard. As a Spectre you are authorized to conduct your mission as you see fit. What I wish you would have done was at least tell me what you were doing so that I could have been ready to handle any potential political blowback."

"I'm really sorry about that sir but I wanted to ensure you had deniability if the operation had failed. I know you trust me enough that you would have believed in my reasons for wanting to launch the assault but I knew the same couldn't be said for everyone else at the embassy. You may be one of humanity's highest ranking officials but you still would have had to discuss my plan with the others and they would have done everything in their power to convince you not to approve it thus making us lose time that we couldn't afford."

Hackett sighed, "as much as I hate to say it, you were right not to trust my colleagues. The Morrison Company is a very respectable business in Alliance space and several of our officials own shares in the company. Trying to convince them that the company's CFO had been funding terrorists would have taken forever. In fact, now that word is starting to spread about your operation, some of the people here believe you're insane for thinking that and they're not the only ones. The embassy has already been receiving several calls from advocates who represent the Morrison Company. Apparently they are not happy that their headquarters has been shot up and their CFO has been arrested. According to Ms. Thompson's colleagues, when she was not managing the company's finances, she was actively involved with several charitable causes. They say she was always looking out for the well-being of other people and wouldn't hurt a fly. They just can't believe that she is capable of doing the things that you believe she did, especially the part where you say she had a role in Ms. Morrison's death."

"Whether they believe it or not, it's the truth. I realize we don't have any physical evidence but she fits our profile of the mystery backer, she had motive and opportunity and when Williams recovers she will testify that Dana, posing as Ms. Morrison, killed Dr. T'Soni and tried to kill her."

A look of shock appeared on Hackett's face, "wait, what happened to the commander?"

"Dana kidnapped her and she was stabbed when she tried to escape. Fortunately we were able to get her back to the Normandy in time. She's resting in the med bay now."

Hackett breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. Not just because it gives us a case against Ms. Thompson but because I'm glad to hear the commander's okay. I'm also happy that we can finally put the mystery backer case behind us. I know it hasn't been easy on you but I commend you for your efforts in closing it. Now unfortunately until we can set up a trial date for Ms. Thompson and bring her crimes to light, there are some people who are going to be unhappy with what you've done and will want you to come in and explain your actions."

"I understand sir. We're on our way to the Citadel now. I could be at the embassy first thing tomorrow morning."

"I appreciate your willingness to come in but I didn't say that you had to."

"Sir?"

"You've done so much for the galaxy Shepard and I think you've been through enough the last few days. The last thing you need is to deal with a bunch of politicians with sticks up their asses. Besides there's no way in hell I'm going to let them pull you away from where you're currently needed the most. You and I both know that the commander is not just another member of your crew. She's your wife and she needs you by her side while she recovers. I'll take care of everything here so that you don't need to come in at all. You just focus on taking some time off to be with your wife. You've earned it."

Shepard smiled and saluted, "thank you sir."

Hackett smiled back and saluted as well, "great work today Captain, Hackett out."

With his debrief with Hackett over and nothing else requiring his immediate attention, Shepard spent the next few hours in his office on the crew deck as he waited for word from Dr. Chakwas that Ashley had woken up. He wasn't alone as Garrus, Tali, Traynor, Cortez and Joker were waiting with him. The group waited in silence for the most part with only the occasional small talk occurring once in a while. The current topic of discussion was Shepard explaining to Traynor, Cortez and Joker how he had figured out Dana was the backer.

"Man," said Joker, "and I thought Eden Prime was going to turn out to be bigger than we thought. I never would have guessed all this would have happened when I spotted that ship."

"You still did the right thing looking into it Captain," said Cortez, "that ship might have been floating adrift forever if you hadn't and a lot of families would never have known what happened to their loved ones."

"Thanks Cortez," Shepard replied though it was obvious it still didn't make him feel better about all that happened afterwards.

"It's okay Captain," Traynor said, "once Commander Williams wakes up and you've talked to her, I know you will feel better."

Shepard smiled, "you're right Traynor. Listen, I know I've already said this to Garrus and Tali but I want to thank all of you for your help. Ashley and I couldn't have asked for a better crew or better friends."

Traynor nodded approvingly, "it was our pleasure Captain."

"We're always happy to help," said Cortez.

"Although I probably should stick to just helping you by flying the Normandy," Joker chuckled, "I think I bruised a rib firing the shuttle's mounted turret."

Joker's comment managed to get everyone to laugh. The laughter instantly ceased when the office doors opened and Dr. Chakwas entered. Everyone rose to their feet as they eagerly waited to hear what she had to say.

"The commander is awake now," she said to everyone's relief, "her vitals are stable and her wound is healing nicely. As long as she takes it easy for the next week or so, she should make a full recovery. All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better outcome."

While everyone else was excited by the news, there was only one thing that Shepard wanted to know at that moment.

"Can I see her now?" he asked.

"Of course Captain. She actually asked me to send you in when I told her you were anxiously waiting to see her. The rest of you however will have to wait a while longer I'm afraid. I don't want to overwhelm the commander with too many visitors right now."

"That's alright Doctor," said Garrus, "Shepard's the one who needs to see her the most right now anyway. We're just happy to hear that Ashley's going to be okay."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. As Joker, Traynor and Cortez left to return to their posts, they each asked Shepard to give Ashley their best. Garrus and Tali were the last to leave.

"So I've been meaning to ask you Tali," Shepard said, "did you and Garrus have a wedding date picked out? With everything that's happened, I'd think it would give you incentive to have it as soon as possible."

Tali replied, "we did think about that right after Rannoch but we've ultimately decided not to rush our wedding. Especially because we both still want you and Ashley to be a part of it. We're going to wait until Ashley is all better before we pick a date."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be sure to let Ashley know."

"Well Tali and I are going to head back down to engineering," said Garrus, "I'm going to take a post guarding Dana's cell and Tali will be assisting Adams and his team. Give Ashley our best."

Now that everyone had left the office, Shepard made his way to the med bay. Dr. Chakwas had left the windows in a tinted state so Shepard wasn't able to see inside. It didn't matter though because he would soon see Ashley once the med bay doors opened. After everything that he had been through the last few days, seeing Ashley was just what he needed to lift his spirits.

The med bay doors opened and Shepard instantly saw Ashley on one of the beds. Despite being in a hospital bed, she looked considerably better since the last time Shepard saw her. At least…she looked physically better. To Shepard's confusion, Ashley appeared to be crying. Considering the circumstances, she should have been happy. True no one could ever like being stabbed but she was going to be fine and she no doubt had heard by now that Shepard had arrested Dana. So why was she crying?

Then a thought came to Shepard. It was possible that Ashley was crying because of Liara. Unlike Shepard who had plenty of time to mourn Liara while he was on his way to Shanxi, Ashley hadn't had the chance to process what happened since she was being held captive by Dana. It had to be especially tough for Ashley because she was with Liara when she was killed and she couldn't do anything to save her. Shepard was starting to feel a sense of déjà vu. Just a short time ago, Ashley was helping him cope with Miranda's death and now he was probably going to have to do the same for her. After taking a quick moment to think of some things he could say to help, he slowly approached Ashley's bed. This got Ashley's attention and she turned to face Shepard. Seeing Shepard's injuries made her briefly stop crying and gasp.

"Oh Mark," she said, "what happened to you?"

"I'm alright Ash," Shepard said as he sat down in the chair next to Ashley's bed, "it looks worse than it really is. I kind of let Dana get the better of me during our fight. Fortunately when things started to look hopeless, I was able to end the fight by using her biotic abilities against her."

Ashley chuckled, "no surprise there. You were always good at finding a way to turn an impossible situation in your favor."

"So…are you doing ok? I mean you look fine physically all things considered but when I first came in here you were crying."

"Was I?"

Shepard wiped a tear from Ashley's face and held his now wet finger for her to see, "does this answer your question?"

Seeing the tear caused more of them to appear in Ashley's eyes. Shepard became concerned that something was wrong but before he could do anything, Ashley took his hands.

"I'm fine Mark," she said, "it's just..."

"What?"

"After you left the shuttle to go after Dana, I told Dr. Chakwas about the way I've been feeling lately. She told me she would run additional tests to look into it after I was stabilized. I passed out shortly afterward so she had to run the tests while I was asleep. She gave me the results when I woke up and…and..."

"What is it Ash?"

"I…I'm pregnant."

Initially Shepard didn't react. Then as Ashley's words started to sink in, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He tried to speak but the most he could say was "you…you're…?"

Ashley nodded, "I'm going to have a baby."

Shepard's eyes broke contact with Ashley's and his expression indicated that a lot of thoughts were racing through his mind. The lack of any kind of response was now making Ashley a little nervous.

"I know we never talked about having children but…"

Finally Shepard was able to get some words out, "I…I'm going to be a father? I'm going to be a father!"

To Ashley's surprise, Shepard shot out of his chair and kissed her. He then hugged her while repeating "I love you." Relieved and happy to see Shepard in probably the best mood she'd seen the last few days, Ashley replied "I love you too Mark."

"Ash," Shepard said when they separated, "you have no idea how happy this makes me. Well…I mean, of course you do but we have just been dealing with so much death and sadness the last few months. Now finding out about this new life that we've created, it just…it's the best news I've heard in a long time. So how do you feel about this?"

Ashley sighed, "honestly, I am happy about it but I'm also a little scared. I keep asking myself if I'm ready to be a mom?"

Shepard put a hand on Ashley's shoulder, "Ash you're going to be a great mom. You've said that you had to help your mom raise your sisters while your father was on deployment so you've already got some experience."

The expression on Ashley's face changed and this time Shepard could see real sadness in it.

"There's more to your concern isn't there?" Shepard asked.

Ashley nodded as new tears formed in her eyes, "Mark I've known something was wrong with me for days but I choose to put it off. After I told you, you wanted me to see Dr. Chakwas before you would let me go on the Shanxi mission. I kept saying that I was fine and I talked you into letting me go. If I had just taken the time to see the doctor sooner, we would have found this out and I wouldn't have gone on the mission and end up getting stabbed. Dr. Chakwas said that if the knife had hit me in the right spot…(sniffle)…do you understand Mark? My stubbornness almost killed our baby. How can I be a good mom if I keep making decisions that put me and our baby at risk?"

"Shhhh," Shepard said to calm Ashley down, "you can't beat yourself up over this Ash. Trust me, I know how ineffective it is to beat yourself up over choices you make. The important thing right now is that you're fine and the baby's fine. All you can do now is learn from your mistakes. Also, no one ever knows for sure if they are ready to be a parent, no matter how much planning they put into it beforehand. But that doesn't mean we can't try. The baby's not going to come for several months so we will use that time to talk and prepare as best we can."

Shepard could tell his words were helping when Ashley smiled at him. She then slowly moved herself over and invited Shepard to take the now vacant space on her bed. Shepard smiled back and lied down next to her and used his cast-free hand to take one of Ashley's. For a while the two said nothing. They just enjoyed the peace and quiet as well as the sense of freedom they were feeling for the first time since the end of the Reaper War. The case of the mystery backer was finally behind them and now they could just look ahead to the future.

"Do you think we can do it?" Ashley asked. "I mean, be parents and soldiers at the same time."

Shepard shrugged, "that's probably going to have to be one of the things we talk about. I have gotten a lot out of this job. I've helped save a lot of people, brought a lot of criminals to justice and, of course, I met you. On the other hand, based on the stories you've told me about your father, I can understand how hard it would be to be a solider and raise a family. But like I said, we've got time. We'll figure things out Ash, we always do. Right now, let's just enjoy this moment and then I think we have some calls we'll need to make."

"Sounds good, I love you Mark."

"I love you too Ash."

The couple kissed and they spent the next several minutes relaxing and planning when and how they were going to tell everyone the news of their imminent parenthood.

THE END