Just a few blocks before the cab reached her place, a quick word with the taxi driver had her rerouted to the front door of Liara's office building in the wee hours of the morning. The brief drive over had given her a little time to sober up; any drunken sense of bittersweet bliss had evaporated, leaving her heart empty. At the same time, her mind was racing. The first person she had thought of talking to was Liara, and despite the unlikelihood of her being in her temporary office, Shepard decided to give it a go. After all, Liara had been there for her all of those nights after leaving Mars, when Shepard would wake up drenched in sweat, the nightmare of the boy replaying through her mind.

She made her way into the building, pleased to find the door unlocked and in no need of hacking, and rapped her fist against Liara's door. Not hearing a response, Shepard paused, but to her surprise, Liara opened the door and appeared before her, looking ready to attack.

"Goddess! Shepard, what are you doing here?" Liara gave her a quick glance over, letting the biotic flare in her palm die. "I thought-"

"Hi, Liara," Shepard interrupted her, going in for a hug. Liara stiffened and held Shepard loosely in her arms. Shepard wasn't one for friendly displays of affection, but the drink in her made her warmer. After an awkward silence, Liara pulled away.

"Are you okay, Shepard?" Liara frowned, her hands still on Shepard's arms.

"Yeah, yeah." She shrugged. "I was out with James, getting in quick hangout session before he leaves for Rio. And then I didn't want to go home."

"Alright, well, I am pleased to see you." Liara gestured for Shepard to enter her minimalist office space, and the two walked in.

"Didn't know if you'd be here so late," Shepard remarked, playing with some of the archaeological tchotchkes on Liara's desk. Shepard definitely had a penchant for nervously fidgeting with things, and Liara swooped in to firmly press her hand on Shepard's, stopping her from potentially damaging priceless artifacts.

"No rest for the Shadow Broker."

"I thought you were going to give that up?"

"My work here is not done," Liara exhaled, replying as she took a seat at her desk. Shepard sighed and threw herself across the small, stiff couch. Even though the war was over, she was still extremely busy, either with her continuing Shadow Broker activities, her fascination with Earth archaeology, or trying to help Thessia from afar.

"So have you looked into it?" Shepard asked after a moment.

"Have I looked into what?" Liara appeared confused.

"Into the attack."

"Oh, of course, I apologize." Liara smiled, but her smile quickly turned into a frown. "I haven't found much."

"Nothing? Nothing at all?"

"There are some leads. The problem is, Shepard, that many people want to harm you. It's proven difficult to narrow down the suspects."

"Okay, then. Let's do this." Shepard stood up as fast as she could with her still adjusting bionic legs and picked up a white marker from Liara's desk. She made her way to the transparent glass wall in the office. Shepard wrote and underlined BAD GUYS.

"Give them to me, Liara."

"First, there is Cerberus to contend with. Although the Illusive Man is no more, there remain pro-human, anti-alien extremists and ex-Cerberus members. Obviously, their reasoning would be that you united aliens and humans, and you fought against Cerberus. And the relays are still not operating properly, leaving many aliens on a planet formerly occupied solely by humans."

"Ugh, Cerberus. I don't miss running into them." Shepard wrote EX-CEREBERUS underneath the title of the little list she was making. "Next."

"Second, there are the batarians. Many remain upset about your role in destruction of the Bahak system."

"Can't blame them completely, but I had to do it." BATARIANS was scribbled on the wall.

"The defeat of the Reapers also corresponded with the relays ceasing to operate and the shutdown of the geth and advanced artificial intelligence. The firing of the Crucible is believed to have caused this as a sort of side effect from disabling the Reapers. Naturally, as you are the one who activated the device, some hold you responsible for these technological setbacks and elimination of the geth."

"I'm sure a few quarians are actually happy about that," Shepard muttered. "What am I supposed to write for that?"

"Conspiracy theorists… Crucible conspiracy theorists?" Liara proposed.

"Conspiracy theorists, eh?" Shepard sighed.

"Because it is an unlikely theory, correct? Correlation does not necessarily mean causation."

"Right." Shepard hadn't shared her final moments of the war with anyone yet, afraid of the repercussions. She could finally break down and spill it out to Liara, God knows it was a constant weight that she was ready to free herself from… but the words wouldn't come out. CONSPIRACY THEORISTS went up.

Liara went on and on, listing the names of the many enemies who might hold a grudge against Shepard. Eventually, a hand cramp seized her, and she groaned audibly, slamming her fist against the glass in frustration.

"We're never going to figure this out, are we?" Shepard whispered to herself.

Liara moved closer to her and placed her hand gently on Shepard's arm. "Perhaps you need reminding… we have faced much greater obstacles before. I will help you in whatever way I can until we identify the culprit."

"You will? You'll stay?"

Liara frowned slightly. "Why would I not?"

Shepard gave a bitter laugh. "Everyone else is taking off these days. Figured you'd be heading out on one of the transports to Thessia one of these days."

"No. I do want to go to Thessia, but there is unfinished business remaining, like yours."

Shepard nodded. "Thank you. It means a lot." She took in a deep breath. "It's just… I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I really don't. Back then, I had one mission. Sure, it wasn't a straight path, but I knew the goal. Now, I guess finding these people after me is my objective."

"Do you always need a greater objective?" Liara asked softly.

Shepard's face twisted, remembering her discussions with Kaidan. "No. Yes. I don't know."

"Well, perhaps, when this latest objective is over, things will be different."

"I hope so," Shepard whispered to herself as she aggressively rubbed her eyes, subconsciously trying to wipe away her problems."I want to move on sometimes, but I can't."

"I'm sorry to see many of the Normandy members go, and I know the transition out of the military into civilian life has been difficult, let alone your injuries... obviously, time is needed."

Shepard nodded. "I know. Nights when I'm alone though, I think about what happened on the Citadel. In London."

"You remember?" Liara asked, with no tone of surprise in her voice.

Shepard rolled her eyes. "I know you probably know something. You always piece together things. That's who you are."

Liara smiled shyly, seemingly pleased by Shepard's complimentary words about her sleuthing skills. "I have guesses. But only you know the truth, I suppose. Do you want to tell me?"

"No, I don't want to tell anybody. I haven't. But I suppose I better. Might not want to include this in my biography, though."

And Shepard had told her. Not every single detail, of course, but the main events that had transpired. Some of the weight lifted off her chest - not all of it - but enough to give her some peace of mind. As Shepard leaned against the desk, Liara came over and wrapped Shepard in her arms, her eyes wet with unshed tears. She was also a bit awkward when it came to social interactions, but Shepard's confession had apparently moved her.

"Thank you for telling me, Shepard." Liara whispered.

"You're welcome - you get to share the secret of a mass murderer!" Shepard joked, bitterness seeping into her voice.

Liara's face hardened like nothing she had ever seen before, her hands grasping Shepard's upper arms firmly. Her eyes were full of intensity. "You did the only thing you could do. You made the right choice. Do no doubt that."

Shepard was slightly taken aback by Liara's upfront demeanor, but still expressed her doubts. "But-"

"Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good. No one wants to believe that. I didn't want to believe that. But age brings wisdom... what we've seen... you saved all of us. The losses were great, and we will never forget them. But I can't think of another person we'd rather have to make that call. I am proud. I am proud of you." Liara gave her a fast hug once again. "Okay?"

"Okay." Shepard gave a weak smile. Liara had strolled away and was now pacing the room, giving an occasional glance out the window.

"Have you spoken to him? Have you spoken to Joker?" she asked quietly.

Shepard could feel her face turn red with guilt. "No."

"Perhaps it would alleviate some of your tension if you talked to him. I know he has been bereft with grief since EDI's… shutdown."

"What am I supposed to say to him? Oh, I'm sorry for your loss! By the way, I'm the one who killed your robot girlfriend?"

Liara's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you could tell him part of the truth. Obviously, you haven't spoken to him for a reason. In order to move on, as you say, you might need to confront your fear of reaching out to Jeff."

Shepard squeezed her eyes shut. "He's going to hate me."

"I'm not certain about that. Maybe he will blame you, maybe not. Kaidan seemed to get along with him fine on the Normandy after everyone was back. Though I do believe he was upset with him at the funeral… but we were all not our usual selves then." Liara's eyes cast down on the floor.

"I suppose I'll give him a visit tomorrow. Get it done with."

"That is brave of you."

Several moments passed, and Liara didn't speak again.

"Can I stay here?" Shepard asked suddenly.

"In my office?" It seemed Liara thought she was kidding.

Shepard nodded shyly. She hobbled over to the couch and spread out.

"I suppose so," Liara sighed. "I'll see if I can find a blanket somewhere around here, the air conditioning system tends to be overzealous…"

"Thank you," Shepard whispered. Her eyelids were already becoming heavy. The thought of visiting Joker in the morning made her gut twist in knots, but with the sky already lightening outside and a busy night behind her, sleep fell upon her.

I apologize for the massive delay in getting this chapter out and how talky it is... but things are going somewhere, I promise ;) That's all I'll say about that. New chapter should be up in a matter of days. Thank you so much for your reviews - they encourage me to get my butt in gear and write!