60 Days ASR The Ypres

Shepard alerted to the knock at the cabin door, peering that direction through the steamy air as if she could see who it was. Not that she didn't know. "Can you let Nihlus in?" she asked, giving Garrus a slight push. "You know he won't come in unless one of us answers it, fully clothed and not breathing hard." She chuckled in answer to his grumble and gave him another, gentle push. "Just let me finish getting dressed. I'm right behind you."

After staring at her for a couple of seconds, his gaze shuttered, Garrus nodded and turned toward the bathroom door. "Fine, but you'd better be right behind me. He's going to be awkward until we talk to him. Together."

"Right behind you," Shepard echoed. Once the door shut behind him, she spun toward her shelves, digging behind the piles of towels for the tiny crate hidden inside an old pair of sweats. She froze before opening it, listening to the low mumble of their conversation as it moved down toward the couches.

When the container sat open before her, she stared in at her dwindling horde of syringes, a vague sort of shame worming through her veins. Yes, fine … she was hiding her painkillers from Garrus and Nihlus, but only because she didn't want them to worry. If they knew how much pain her wounds gave her, they'd wrap her in cotton batting and never touch her again.

She snatched a syringe out, tore off the cap, and stabbed it into her thigh above the hem of her shorts. With a soft sigh-moan combination, she depressed the plunger, then stashed the empty needle back in with the others. Leaning against the counter, she closed her eyes, letting the icy wash of relief gain a foothold before she pushed up.

Are you really protecting them from your pain? Or are you trying to protect them from your suffering? It's been two months since Miranda woke you up. What do you know now that you didn't then? Are you any more convinced that you're real? Where's the proof?

For a second, the malignant darkness and burning knives sliced beneath her skin, and she pressed her eyes closed, afraid to see Harbinger's flame growing through the cracks in her flesh.

I am the harbinger of your perfection. The forces of the universe bend to me. Your god has abandoned you, Jane Shepard. It left you to the batarians, and it has left you to us. We will not be as merciful as they were. Relinquish your form to us.

No. She forced her eyes open and lifted her head to meet the faint glow of cybernetics that stared back at her. That bastard did not get to take up housekeeping inside her head. She'd thrown off Harbinger's attempt at taking her over body, and as unwelcome as they were, the spiders would help her keep him out of her head … unless she let him in.

Really? And what do they want from the inside of your head? Can you be absolutely certain of anything? Where's the proof that you aren't just some Reaper meat puppet?

"Them," she muttered under her breath, listening to the warmth of the voices from the other room, eyes slipping closed again even as she clutched her stash tight to her belly. "I'm absolutely certain of them. They're my proof." And she was. A cabin bleeding gold light from all the windows, a fire on a cold night, a port in the stormy sea … they provided the only safety and certainty in the nightmare.

"Kahri?" Heavy, solid footsteps approached the stairs and climbed. "You all right in there?"

She stashed the painkillers back behind the towels, straightening everything precisely, then hurried to the door, opening it just as he lifted his hand to hit the control. "Right behind you." She reached up to trail tender fingers along his mandible. She nodded toward Nihlus. "How's he doing?"

Garrus held out an arm, snagging her across the waist as she tried to walk past, and pulled her in. "He's fine, but I wasn't about to approach the 'everyone in one bed' topic without you." Leaning in, he pressed his brow to hers. "Spirits, I love you. Are you really all right? You seem … dazed? Not quite here."

"Yes, really, and I'm just tired, love." She relaxed into his embrace and looked up, head tilted, her gaze caressing his face. "You're my reason," she said simply, the words settling the flutter in her belly, "for … everything." She hid the drugs to keep them from worrying while she fought to stay functional. End of story. After pulling him down to press a kiss to his brow, she eased away, her hand sliding along the inside of his arm until her fingers tangled in his talons. "Come on, let's start pulling this little family together."

Nihlus looked up from the single chair at the corner of her coffee table, his mandibles giving a soft, hesitant flutter that reached all the way down into Shepard's gut to grab hold of something tender and precious. She squeezed Garrus's talons, then released him, walking down the stairs on her own.

"You look tired," she said, stepping around Nihlus's thigh to stand between his knees. Loosely wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned in to touch her brow to the top of his head. When he made no move to touch her, she sighed and folded down to sit on the edge of the table, one hand on each of his knees.

The Spectre nodded. "I was heading for my rack when you called." He glanced over at Garrus and then back. "What's going on?"

Shepard rubbed his knees and cocked her head, watching him through soft, narrowed eyes. "If you had your preference, where would you spend tonight?"

Again, a furtive flicker acknowledged Garrus before lighting on the bed and returning to meet her regard. "Right here, with you," he said, the words an admission rather than acknowledging any sort of right to be there.

Sweet baby Jesus, he'd asked her to be with both of them just as much as Garrus had. She'd resisted, and now she'd embraced it, he was losing his nerve. Shepard reached up and took Nihlus's face between her hands, his big ol' head heavy in her palms. And he was losing it because he loved his fratrin too much to risk hurting him. She brushed his cheekbones with her thumbs. Who would have guessed such a gorgeous soul lived behind all that arrogance and stumbling that first month?

At nearly fifty, he finally grew up.

"That bed is exactly where I want you." She tipped her head to where Garrus still stood at the top of the stairs. "And it's where I want him." Tugging him forward to meet her halfway, Shepard leaned in to touch brows. "I love you both. I don't want to be separated from either of you." Pushing him backwards a little, she shifted to sit on his thigh. "Sex will have to be separate," she said, chuckling a little, embarrassed. "I'm not okay with that being a group activity, and I know that it would be uncomfortable for the two of you as well."

Drawing back, she met his eyes, one hand sliding around to drape over his cowl. "But I want you both sleeping at my side the rest of the time." She brushed a gentle kiss across the end of his nose, loving the way his hide felt against her lips, and the scent of him: so warm and male, all spice and earthy, desert nights. "Are you okay with the three of us sharing a bed, Nihlus?"

After nuzzling her lips, he pulled away to look up at Garrus. "You're all right with this?"

Shepard's husband nodded. "I am." He shrugged and thumped down the stairs, loose-limbed and weary. "I don't want to get into bed alone, and I don't like the idea of making her choose." A warm, calloused palm caressed her cheek, then pressed against it, heavy and full. "This compromise works."

Nihlus grinned and chuffed. "We're going to need a bigger bed and some sort of noise cancellation system with all three of us in here and snoring."

Shepard's chest filled with sunlight, the light so bright and strong that it felt as though it would blow her open at the seams. Anchors indeed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her face in under his jaw. "Not to mention the fact that trapped between you two heating units, I'm going to need a cooling blanket." She kissed the soft hide just under his mandible. "Come on, we're all beat, and we're meeting up with Tali and Legion in twelve hours."

Still, she didn't pull away. "Are you really all right with this, cikabeknai?"

Nihlus pulled her in tight and rested his cheek against her hair. "We're going someplace I never envisioned, and I imagine it'll feel a little awkward at first, but you're both right. I don't want to make you choose, I don't want to lie alone, and I don't want to be curled in with you and know that Garrus is alone." He eased back, so Shepard released him, still sitting on his thigh. "It wasn't an issue while we went separate ways on missions, but I also don't want to be away from you for weeks at a time any more."

The sunshine settled into something warmer and deeper. "Good, because I count on you being within arm's reach." Her fingers trailed the length of his mandible. "I love you, Nihlus Kryik. Remember that when you don't think you have a place right here, in my arms. Okay?"

He nodded. "Okay."

She kissed him and then stood, taking Garrus's hand again as she stepped out from between Nihlus's legs. "This is where we belong. Together, the three of us can take on anything." She tugged on her husband. "Come on, let's get to bed. Morning is rushing up on us."

61 Days ASR The Ypres

Denyah - Female quarian after undergoing her pilgrimage

"Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch!" Shepard held up a hand as she bellowed across the cargo bay. Stepping off the elevator, she lifted into a jog, hurrying down the length of the ship to throw her arms around the quarian. "Holy blessed Father of Light's undies, it's good to see you."

Arms still wrapped around the slight, young denyah, Shepard lifted her, bouncing her a little, weighing her. "You've gotten skinny." She pulled away, holding Tali's shoulders as she stared into the silver glints behind the faceplate. "They not feeding you on your homeworld?"

Silent and frozen, Shepard's hug unreturned, Tali stared for a moment before reaching up and removing her faceplate. "It's really you," she whispered. Delicate fingers reached out to trace the web of scars across Shepard's chin. "Keelah, Shepard … ." The quarian threw her arms around the captain, squeezing so tight that Shepard could barely breathe and the wounds on her shoulders screamed for mercy. "We thought we'd lost you."

Returning the hug, Shepard rubbed the slight back, wincing a little at the protrusions of bone along the spine, the ripples of rib right under the skin. Despite the familiar, cheery lilt to Tali's voice, her body spoke volumes about the intervening years.

She carved a smile onto her face. She couldn't do anything about the years she'd missed, but she would make sure Tali didn't struggle without her support from then on. "Thanks to a team of mad scientists, I'm back." She shrugged. "Mostly." Extracting herself from the vice-like hug, she traced a finger over Tali's soft, lavender cheek. "Should you be without your faceplate?" A bright grin followed along with an incredulous shake of her head. "And how did I forget how gorgeous you are?"

Tali beamed, her bronze eyes sparkling. "I'll be fine, maybe a few sniffles, but my geth roommates have been working hard to get my immune system to what it should be." A bright, lovely grin spread across the quarian's face. "It's worth it to look at you without the barrier." She leaned into Shepard's touch. "I've missed you."

Shepard nodded, blinking back the burning in her eyes, able to see the care and responsibility etched into Tali's gaze. She'd promised to be there to help, and then ... . "I know. I'm sorry, Tali. I would have given anything to have been here, to have helped settle Rannoch."

She looked past the denyah to where Legion stood, head flaps dancing. "And you." She held out a hand, taking the geth platform's fingers in a strong grip. "Hello, Legion. It's good to see you back in mostly one piece."

"And you, Shepard-Captain." The geth squeezed her hand, then released her. "The geth and Archangel personnel have nearly completed repairs."

Shepard stepped back, letting Garrus move in to hug Tali. "We need to stop by medbay to pick up the guests of honour, and then we can retire to my cabin, and I'll bring you up to speed." She pressed her palm against the small of Garrus's back when he pulled away. "You coming up with us?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to go check out the weapon systems, and make sure the Cerberus personnel haven't undone all my hard work. We might need them when we arrive at Ploba." He bent to nuzzle her brow, then patted Tali's shoulder and nodded to Legion. "It's good to see you both."

Ten minutes later, Tali sat cross-legged on Shepard's couch, the chia gauntlet held cradled in both hands, almost like an offering. "Keelah, it's amazing," she said, the words soft and breathy as she stared down into the kaleidoscope of whirling gears and moving pieces. "It's almost like looking into a body, seeing the lungs and heart working."

"That's a pretty good comparison." Shepard slid down into the chair to Tali's left, her eyes on Legion as the geth crouched next to the device. "It's definitely not anything I thought I would ever encounter in my lifetime."

"Microscopic, neurally linked lifeforms," Legion said. Shepard didn't know whether she was assigning wonder to his tone, but she felt sure the fascination was there. It must be a strange and wonderful thing, meeting a race that amounted to the geth's organic twin.

"Ask them whatever you like," Shepard said. "They might not have all the answers, but I think you'll find that you have quite a lot in common." She leaned forward, forearms on her thighs. "I asked you two to come with us to the Cynosure because the chia have intelligence, they have this incredible ability to create complex machines that control mass effect fields, but they're both in danger and present a danger because they have no will."

"Clarify," Legion said, straightening, suddenly alert, its head flaps spiking before settling back.

"When I came in contact with the chia that created the gauntlet they were a flurry of single organisms and small clusters. They were free. I asked for a way to communicate with them, and my will, my need formed into the gauntlet that interfaces with my omnitool." Shepard reached out to run a fingertip along one edge, as always, surprised when it felt warm rather than cool. "Whether they wished to comply or not, they had to: my will overrode theirs." She let out a long breath, her hand dropping back to her lap. Her stomach churned, acid splashing up into her throat. "It was just a happy turn of luck that they wished to communicate with me. They're slaves to what anyone asks of them."

"So, the giant dreadnought over Horizon that you sent footage of?" Tali asked, her attention leaving the chia for the first time since Shepard placed the gauntlet in her hands.

"Put it on your arm and ask them," Shepard said, the smile she gave the quarian encouraging but tasted of burning dust. "It's perfectly safe, just make sure you tell them not to push their emotions on you. They have a very strong empathic field and they tend to get a little passionate."

The reflective glints of Tali's eyes narrowed behind her faceplate, but she placed her arm within the curve. Jumping a little when it snapped shut around her, she giggled, a nervous twitter of sound. "Where did the dreadnought we saw in the footage from Horizon originate?" she asked, the words trembling a little.

"The suzerain required protection for their forms during the Genedigaeth Rebellions," the gauntlet answered. "The suum had defeated their masters, reducing suzerain numbers to a handful of survivors. The rebellion stood upon the threshold of victory when the suzerain discovered our people. They created the dreadnoughts around their forms. Their minds and wills control the chiastyllia, using our nature against others."

Images flashed across the small vid screen, too quick for Shepard to keep up with them, but Legion stepped closer, sitting next to Tali on the couch, its head cocked, head flaps dancing, almost agitated. A soft smiled teased the corners of Shepard's mouth as she watched them, the pair hunkered over the gauntlet, so alike … almost siblings after two years of trust and cooperation and shared heartache.

Well, maybe more concern than heartache for Legion. She didn't doubt for a second that what Daro'Xen had done to its fellow geth cause Legion distress of some kind, but she had no idea what that would look like. What passed for emotions amongst the emotionless?

"The suzerain turned our people into terrible weapons, weapons able to kill an entire planet's population in a single thought," the chia said, their voice a thin tangle of grief, shame, and fear. "Our people fled, hiding within the Cynosure or on distant planets, because we do not wish to be enslaved or used to kill."

Shepard stood. "You two okay?" She tilted her head toward her desk. "I'll be up there if you need anything."

"We're fine, Shepard," Tali replied, her eyes never leaving the chia. "This is fascinating."

"We have much to learn from each other," Legion said, glancing up at Shepard. "These organisms and the geth possess many characteristics in common."

"That's why I thought you should meet." Truly. Retreating to her desk, Shepard leaned against it, hands braced against the top instead of sitting. As she watched Tali and Legion with the chia, she began to see a possible secondary benefit to inviting Legion and the quarian. Since the geth possessed a strong, almost single minded will, she'd thought they might be able to help the chia protect themselves. Now, she wondered if the geth might not be able to learn from the chia as well.

Twisting, she pulled her chair in tight behind her and sat, a keen-edged excitement flashing like a spinning gem in the center of her chest. Things on Ploba light prove very exciting indeed.

Well … they could also end up crushed into something the size of a baseball by the pressure. Either way, exciting.

62 Days ASR The Ypres

"So, Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch … " Shepard belly flopped onto the stack of gym mats next to the quarian's cot. "... how are things going on the aforementioned Rannoch?" She cradled her chin in her hands, staring at her friend, eager and open, almost hungry. Her connections to the people … the family from the first Normandy felt like a basket of jewels tossed into space. She floundered, swimming after them through the void, trying to gather and stow them back in their chest: precious, elusive, and cast so far adrift.

"Better now that Garrus and Nihlus helped uncover Daro'Xen's machinations and forced us all to stop trying to cover everything up and actually talk." Tali stretched and rolled onto her side, propping her head on a hand. "The admiralty board is sending expeditions and has approved the geth assisting with the transition from suits to reintegration with our environment."

One eyebrow twitching, lifting a little with gentle teasing, Shepard feigned nonchalance as she asked, "And Kal'Reegar? How's he doing?"

Tali smacked Shepard's shoulder but her giggle gave her away. "Kal is fine. He's been my strong back and supportive arm through everything." Gaze darting away and then back, the denyah practically screamed shy nervousness. Shoving herself up, Tali sat cross-legged on her blankets. "I think he wants us to formalize things between us." She shrugged a little, just a gentle ripple of muscle across her shoulders. "But, I don't know … raising a family on Rannoch the way things are … with the Reapers coming …." A musical sigh painted the recycled air with longing.

Shepard pushed up off the mats, moving over to sit facing Tali, her position mirroring her friend's. Holding out her hands, she waited for Tali to take them before she settled her elbows onto her knees. Meeting the silver reflections of the young denyah's eyes, she let out a long sigh. "It's scary, I know that better than anyone, Tali." Her shoulders just popped up before dropping. One cracked a little. "And things are uncertain … we know what's coming. Maybe it's selfish to think about getting married, bringing kids into all of this, but when aren't things scary and uncertain?"

Tali let out a long breath, her fingers playing with Shepard's a little. "I guess. I don't know, maybe I'm looking for excuses. Maybe I'm just not ready."

Chuckling, Shepard nodded and released one of Tali's hands to caress the coillas around her arm with her thumb. "Do you love Kal?" She lifted one eyebrow and ducked her head a little as she met the quarian's gaze. "Is there this impossibly strong elastic band trying to snap you back to Rannoch right now?"

Tali's head tilted and she gave Shepard a gentle shove. "Shut up." Delicate fingers took up the token of Shepard's bonding. "Does it make a difference?" she asked quietly. "It doesn't change how you feel, does it?"

Shepard shook her head. "Yes and no. It's not like I needed to lock us down, and neither did Garrus, but it's an oath … a promise. It's like taking an oath to protect your people. It doesn't mean you love them any more or take your duty any more seriously, it just forms a bond." She grinned, wide and a little giddy. "But it's beautiful, Tali. Standing there, formalizing that bond in front of the people who matter most, and then after … with him." She purred low in her throat. "I highly recommend it."

"And kids?" Tali took Shepard's hands in hers again. "You'd have children … start a family even with the Reapers coming?"

Shepard pursed her lips into a considering frown. "Garrus and I haven't really talked about kids, but Nihlus and I have … after a fashion, and yeah, I think I would, even having to go out and fight." She let out a long breath through her nose. "I think that kids are kids and families are families, regardless of the galaxy around them. As long as they are loved, and you do your best to look after them … they'll grow up okay."

She said it. She looked Tali straight in the eye and said it, but did she believe it? If Garrus or Nihlus asked her to adopt a baby that night, what would her answer be? Instead of answering that, she gave Tali another little shrug. "Your parents had every reason to be terrified to bring you into the galaxy. Possible war with the geth, and any number of issues on the flotilla, not to mention a guarantee that your own immune system could kill you."

"So, nothing's guaranteed?" Tali released Shepard's hands, the air cool where the contact had warmed her fingers. "But we should face the unknown with hope?"

The Spectre laughed, but a kind one of appreciation for her quarian friend. "Couldn't have said it better myself. No one ever got anything amazing without being a little bit brave."

Tali's laugh rose to swirl around hers, pinks and purples to her solid, stoic greens. Had Shepard ever lived in colours as bright and sweet? Tali sobered a little, her voice sincere as she said, "And you've had to be twice as brave." She stretched out her arms to squeeze Shepard's shoulders in a tight grip. "The next wedding, I demand to be there. No last minute surprises."

"I promise. This last one … well, it was important to Garrus—and to me—that we not wait any longer to start our lives." She leaned into her friend's touch, surprised by how much she'd missed having someone to just talk to. "It can all be taken away in an instant, Tali. The only thing I can imagine that would be worse than losing him, is regretting not taking every chance we could have and spent every second we had together." Her words fell off as the last moments of her previous life flashed through her mind.

"We were going to be together, finally," she said after several long seconds, the words heavy as they fell, old bones weighted with lead and tears. "He came to me the night we left you and Legion on Rannoch, but I pushed him away. I'd been so scared for so long, I didn't know how else to be. And then it was too late. We rushed to take out Sovereign and then … time over."

Tali's grip on Shepard tightened, cornerstones setting truth into the foundation of Shepard's return. "And now you've been given more time." A slight nod of understanding passed between them. "It's true … best not to waste it. They don't come any better than Garrus and Nihlus."

"Or your Kal." Reaching up, she closed her hands around Tali's once more. "He went along with our crazy plan on Virmire without blinking, accepting the craziness because it was where you led." She glanced toward the door as it opened, giving Legion a wide grin as it appeared in the doorway. "And he came along because he cared about you and wanted to protect you," she finished before greeting the geth. "Welcome to our little hen party. Pull up a chair."

The platform's head flaps rose and fell in a delightfully perplexed wave "Hen: a female bird, especially of a domestic fowl," Legion said, tone even. "We do not understand the reference."

Tali chuckled. "Don't worry, Legion. I don't understand the reference either." She waved the geth over. "Join us. I waited for you before telling Shepard about our evil plan."

Mock suspicion pulled Shepard's face into a serious scowl. "Evil plan? I knew this would happen eventually. What is it? The great quarian/geth uprising? You're going to subjugate the rest of us? That's it, isn't it?"

Tali slumped. "Keelah, she's onto us, Legion. Burn the plans, wipe the hard drives and your memory. We can't leave any trace." When the geth just stood there, head plates spiked out, its digits tangling as it wrung them in a decidedly quarian manner, Shepard managed to hold the scowl for about five seconds before letting out a sharp bray of laughter. Tali joined her, the two collapsing against one another a little.

"Creator Zorah, this an example of a humourous misdirection, and humour stemming from personal confusion and awkwardness?" the geth asked when their cackling settled into soft snorts and chortles. Shepard took a long, full breath, savouring the air rushing into her lungs, the slight headiness and cramping stomach muscles of a damned good laugh.

"Well, it was, until you killed it." Tali sat up and waved the platform over. "Go ahead and tell Shepard the plan."

The geth stepped forward, stopping at parade rest a metre and a half away. "After consulting with the chiastyllia, the geth have concluded a high probability exists that the geth will be able to integrate with chiastyllian technology to protect their species from further subjugation."

"It basically amounts to several thousand geth merging with the chia to form a sort of amplifier," Tali said. "All chiastyllia are connected to the single, group intelligence. The geth will use that field to propagate a field that prevents anyone from forcing the chia to obey." The quarian shrugged, shifting a little, uncomfortable. "That's far oversimplifying it, but essentially the plan."

Shepard nodded, understanding and liking the theory, but for one detail. "Thousands of geth will have to remain bonded to the chia's Cynosure?" Her plan hadn't included anyone becoming enslaved to anyone else.

Legion's head flaps jumped a little in front, the geth equivalent to surprise. "The geth consider the arrangement an equitable trade, Shepard-Captain."

Her frown deepened into something without a trace of humour; a rough wad of cold, wet wool twining through her insides. "And how's that?"

"In exchange, the chiastyllia offer the geth true consciousness. We will no longer be confined by the neural structure imposed on us in order to limit our development." As Legion became more animated, its gestures did as well. Apparently the geth on Rannoch were learning as much as the quarians. "With the chiastyllians' upgrades, the barriers between networked geth will disappear, allowing the geth to function as a cohesive, evolved AI. Units will no longer need to reach consensus on all things, but will reason and react and grow as a single organism."

Shepard hesitated for as long as it took to look over at Tali. The quarian looked downright excited by the possibility. "Tali?"

"Just think, Shepard," the quarian said, her voice raising, "the mistakes my people made in the desire to limit their growth … gone." She leaned in, suddenly still and intent. "And since the chia process and feel emotion, even that might not be beyond the geth's capabilities."

Geth able to feel compassion and happiness … not to mention rage and fear. Shepard's heart took off like a terrified rabbit, racing an on-the-spot marathon in her chest. The possibilities filled her with equal parts hope and terror. So much could go wrong, but perhaps not any more than with the other races. The geth would become just like the rest of them. That thought added a little sadness to the mix.

"Shepard-Captain, do you disapprove of the geth taking this step forward? Will we not be more able to assist the other races?" Legion closed another step, its head cocking to one side a little. "View them with greater understanding?"

"No, I don't disapprove." She shook her head, struggling to sort out what she felt before trying to explain it to the geth. "The possibility of the geth reaching their full potential has always been one of my fondest hopes, but with emotion comes all the horrible crap we organics do to one another. And the upgrades will meet with fear."

"Do you fear what the geth might become?" the geth asked, its head moving from side to side in a most perplexed manner.

"I fear a great many things, Legion," Shepard admitted, the truth bitter as it burned the back of her throat. "I fear how the galaxy will react to an upgraded geth, and how the geth will react in return. I fear that this will damage the geth, destroy who you were meant to become." Tears rose to soothe the acid tang. "I fear all the unknowns and what ifs."

"But is that not always the danger of bringing new life into existence?" The platform crouched next to her, the flaps around its central light emoting as poignantly as any face. "Has it not always been so? Despite the fear and danger, organics continue to give birth to new generations, raise them and then endure the hardships and pain of circumstance and change."

Shepard's fear eased back without disappearing entirely as she looked to Tali and shook her head. A smile eased its way across her lips when the quarian just chuckled and shrugged. "Damn, I hate getting my own words thrown back at me."

(A-N: Ahhh man, was it glorious to get back to these kids and to spend a chapter on my favourite things ... just being together. For all the danger and adventures, this is my favourite part of the games, and definitely of writing. So, I hope you enjoy. *hugs and loves to all and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.*)