The datapad lay discarded on the warm metal desk, seemingly forgotten amongst a small hill of others that looked just like it. Next to them sat a few spare OSDs for good measure, just as forgotten as their counterparts. On the terminal monitor, an image of a female quarian was displayed, she was tall and lithe - much like a certain Tali. Her black and gray realk wrapped around her form, hugging her envirosuit as tightly as any other quarian's would. Her shoulders slumped a little in the photo, and her glowing eyes managed to betray a quiet sadness - a secret sadness - held within her. Two older quarians flanked her on either side in similarly colored realks, the taller male wearing his in the standard male way - subdued hood trailing behind his helmet with the clan colors present on the suit sleeves. Their eyes conveyed happiness and pride. Their daughter was home.

Daro'Xen nar Chayym was home from Pilgrimage.

And when she'd finally settled into her new life as an adult amongst her people, she'd found that the only thing that she could focus on was making sure that what haunted her would not happen again - to any of her people. She hadn't cared how ruthless she had to be to do this, she only cared that it was done. She was to bring strength back to her people. If it meant a few distasteful deaths and a bad reputation by way of an acerbic personality, well it was a fair tradeoff. Besides, her aloofness was not for show: she'd always had her eyes on the larger, more important prize. A few hurt feelings was a small price, and it was one so insignificant that she'd not even considered it.

That had been Daro'Xen vas Moreh's mandate. And she'd executed it with a ruthless zeal, forsaking everything else in favor of the singular goal. What need had she had for "friends" when the only objective that mattered was one of quarian survival?

Daro'Xen vas Rannoch, on the other hand, was to be found sitting on the warm ground outside her home, as had become customary on evenings these days. Her boots sat beside her, toppled over on their sides where she had dropped them. Her long toes curled into the softer dirt that was found near the river. Her hands pressed into the ground behind her, supporting her weight as required as she watched orange light flicker and dance off the water. A few seabirds glided above the surface of the river, undoubtedly hunting for an evening meal. She watched them fly across her field of vision, only returning to watch the sunset when the birds grew too small for her eyes to track.

She had suffered through the little ceremony, only present because it would have been bad form to not be there. But watching Tali and the human be brought together in that manner had been an unpleasant experience, and it had little to do with the company that she had found herself with. The humans were so indirect, she thought. Their speech and mannerisms, the little jokes and innuendos did little to impress her. Even still, those little details she could move past. It was just their way, she presumed. To his credit, Shepard did not seem to deal in those, at least during the ceremony. He had kept his words and actions relatively simple - he followed the quarian way. In either case, watching the whole thing occur had twisted her stomach in a most unexpected way. She was not repulsed by the idea of Tali'Zor - Tali'Shepard, she corrected herself - being with the human. Instead, she felt a nagging, whispering discomfort at something else entirely.

It would not have mattered whom Tali had bonded with. It would not have mattered that it was Tali herself.

The discomfort, she reasoned, might have gone by the name of "Jealousy".

Jealousy was followed quite swiftly by loathing. It was aimed directly at herself, and Daro rarely missed.

Jealousy and loathing for her inability to…what? Be "complete"?

Why had she been so utterly incapable of doing something that, for everyone else - even her parents - had been so natural?

She had a suspicion, but she was either unable or unwilling to make the logical leap in deduction that was required.

At least consciously.

It was these little moments of introspection…these quiet times when she would argue with herself…debating and trying to rationalize the folly that worried her. The moments were so new to her, and this relatively idle time gave her opportunity to drown in them. She'd been hard at work on adapting some of the weapon designs that had been recovered, but even these did not satisfy her. After all, the pressing matters of reclaiming the homeworld and avoiding extinction were now taken care of in a reasonably satisfying way. Instead, she had to focus on something more. Because while there was peace, there was not yet security, at least on a grander scale.

Her thoughts, once again, traced their way back - coming full circle now - to her pilgrimage.

She had been so weak when it had happened, a symptom of her people, the defining trait of her entire race.

But what about now, all these years later? Were they any stronger? Was she any stronger?

Daro arched her back, feeling the satisfying trail of "pops" that occurred. Behind her, light laughter was heard. She liked to think that she and her race were stronger, but what facts did she have to back up such an assertion? The war with the Geth had been heading for disaster and possible extinction before Shepard's intervention, they were only now getting to grips with their home planet, their new "government" was in its infancy, and it was widely speculated that the galaxy as a whole - even in its weakened state - still wanted very little to do with them past the old "what can you do for me" trope. Whether or not this was entirely true was a cause for debate, after all, they were assisting in some of the rebuild around the galaxy. Surely that would be good for something, right? Or maybe it was because the other species had enough problems of their own, but in either case the situation remained the same. Added to that was their sheer lack of numbers, even when compared to the other decimated Milky Way species, their population was still dangerously low. Granted, relatively-speaking they'd made out quite well in the war, but in terms of raw numbers?

A laughably paltry sum.

Indeed, her people were still weak, just as she had been, and the thought of it tasted disgusting, repulsive. But what could she do about either? Certainly nothing about the latter, but the former? Well, that hinged on a lot of things; humans might have called them dominoes.

And domino number one was dependent upon Tali'Shepard vas Rannoch.

They had walked back into the city and to the building that housed their temporary living quarters after this very long but satisfying day. For John, who had been happy to have Tali weave her arm through the crook of his as they'd walked during what was another beautiful sunset on Rannoch, it was the culmination of a very long set of years. He smiled as they walked, with her head resting on his shoulder as they did so.

While waiting for the decon cycle to complete, unthinkably, he yawned.

He felt her helmet shift as she turned her face toward him. He could tell that she was giving him a somewhat incredulous look. Before she could comment, he went first.

"It's been a long day, Tal."

Then she couldn't help herself, joining him via the contagion that was this outward sign of fatigue. Laughing a little at her own yawn, she cuddled her body closer to him. "But worth it, right?"

Smiling at her, he squeezed her shoulder. "Every damn minute of it. Has been ever since I laid eyes on you. I've never been so happy to hear another person's voice, to see her face."

Still waiting for the decontamination cycle to complete, Tali gently prodded his side. "You couldn't see my face."

"Maybe not at first. But now?" He tapped his temple. "I always see your face. I keep it right here, and every time I remember it, you're always so beautiful."

She slapped his chest affectionately. "Flatterer."

"Nonsense. It's only flattery if it's not true."

Before she could reply, the process stopped, and the doors opened to reveal their bedroom.

It was still a relatively simple room, Tali and John hadn't bothered to unpack anything except the essentials, including clothing and two photos. One was the photo that John had taken of themselves on the Citadel - Tali had her legs wrapped around his waist and they gazed longingly into each other's eyes, and the second was Tali's "self-portrait" that was taken after the victory over the Reaper on Rannoch. It was his favorite - it was simple with no pretense. It was just Tali's beautiful face with her glowing eyes, the two vertical markings that reached into her hairline, her full lips…but mostly it was the confidence that was found there. It was the woman that she most wanted to be. It was the woman that she told him that he helped create.

Tali grabbed his hands in hers, and led him into the bedroom. After taking a few steps in, she let go of his hands and made like she was going to remove her mask, but then stopped halfway there. Tali checked her omnitool.

"Everything all right?" He asked with a hint of uncertainty.

"Y-yes. I'm just, um, double checking the room. You know, as a precaution. I want to make sure that the, uh…you know…works correctly." Her hands were shaking. John's hands around them forced them to hold still.

"Tali? What are you nervous about? It's just us."

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "I know. It's just that…you know. Now we're…"

"Bonded, my love. I know. But honestly? I'm pretty sure we have been for a while." Still holding her hands, he laughed lightly. "Tal, you remember our first night together?"

She giggled, finally looking a little more at ease. "Keelah, of course I do! I was so…so nervous. I hadn't shown you my face, and -"

"That's not the 'first night' I meant." She gave him a confused head tilt. "I meant the first night we spent together after we told each other how we felt." He considered. "Well, after you told me how you felt, and I told you that I felt the same way. You were so brave."

She bowed her head, a little embarrassed. "Oh, that night. And I wasn't all that brave when I…said all that, you bosh'tet. As I recall, you were in a hospital bed. Keelah, I thought you were still unconscious."

He huffed a small laugh. "It didn't matter, love. You spoke up. You said what needed to be said. But I meant that other night, silly. You came to the cabin and had to ask me if I'd meant what I said. If I'd meant that I loved you. And you remember what I told you?" She nodded. "I thanked you for your bravery, and told you that you were standing in the middle of our quarters." He held her hands. "And that's what you're doing right now. This is ours, I am yours, and we're going to have a home here, Tali."

"I know. I don't mean to be like this…this nervous little…whatever. It's just, sometimes it's overwhelming, you know? Sometimes I still think this is all a dream," she finally murmured. If anything, she still felt a little pathetic that she still acted this way; that she still thought this way with him.

He flashed her a sympathetic smile, bringing her fingers to his mouth. He kissed each one with such care, such love.

"Tali, you have nothing to be embarrassed about, okay? I'm not going to pretend and say that I don't…" It was his turn to sigh. "That I don't sometimes wonder how I got this lucky. I mean, seriously. Have you seen this place?" He turned around in a full circle, clearly exaggerating. Tali rolled her eyes. "But, um, seriously. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being quite so lucky. And it's all because of you." He planted a kiss on her visor, right between her eyes.

"Now you're just making fun of me," she pouted. "And on our…our 'wedding' day, no less. You're so mean to me."

John's expression was one of seriousness. "I am not exaggerating, Tali. At all."

Their eyes locked, and they both realized how extraordinarily fortunate they both were - the odds had been stacked against them from the start and had only grown exponentially longer as time had gone on.

And yet…here they were.

John looked for and found her eyes, they were wide and shimmered. He heard Tali's somewhat unsteady breathing that betrayed the emotion held within her. Without another word, he reached for the little buttons that would release her visor. Hearing the satisfying click, he tugged it away from her.

His breath hitched for a moment - he would never grow tired of seeing this face. He planted a kiss in the center of her forehead, mimicking the one placed on her visor before. "You're so beautiful, my dear."

That's when her expression changed from one of uncertainty, to a single determined hunger. She pounced. Hands pressed hard into his shoulders as, in a flash, her legs pushed her up and toward him. The force easily sent him onto his back, with Tali straddling his waist with her hungry mouth attached to his.

Now, he'd bared witness to the strength of those tremendous quarian legs of hers before. Usually on the battlefield, he'd watched her outrun either himself or any of the rest of his team multiple times. He'd marveled as she'd dropkicked a Geth trooper once, knocking it back off of him before she administered the killing blast with her shotgun. And then there was that one time on the SR-2 when he'd been teasing her exquisitely all day with a well-placed biotic field just under her suit, and she'd had an interesting reaction when they'd gotten back to their cabin. He thought then that she could have easily played rugby; she was a natural tackler.

Presently, it was obvious that she was ravenous and eager for this. The force of her mouth against his and the powerful movement of her hips on his betrayed that hunger.

Who was he to complain? Because he was here for all of it. This was happening eerily similarly to the night before they defeated the Collectors. Tali was all energy and passion, taking control in a way that he'd seen her do but once before - except now there was the added sweetness of the officialness of it all. There was no hint of a need for secrecy now - he was hers and she was his, and there was no need for hiding from it or running from it. If anything, they pitched headlong into each other. Their desire for each other was overshadowed only by their need for each other.

As they kissed repeatedly, their hands traveled everywhere they could reach. John reached behind her, one hand forcefully rubbed into her lower back, pressing her even closer against him while the other found her backside. She unconsciously moaned, then growled into his mouth. At that response, it was her mate who pressed his hips into hers, making it abundantly clear how she was affecting him.

After another flurry of forceful and quick kisses, John gently pushed her back, her weight settling into those damn hips. She gave him a look of disappointment, as if to say "how dare you?" He smirked in response.

"Tal, do you think we could maybe, I don't know, undress a little? While I love that suit of yours, I love your skin infinitely more. Do you think that you're the only one that needs to feel your skin on mine?" He looked down between them, letting his eyes lead her to where the softness of her body met the hardness of his own.

Her bright eyes widened. "Keelah!" She hopped off of him in one dexterous movement with her hands holding station near where the fabric of her newly-minted realk crossed her chest. An idea struck her. "John," she cooed seductively, "come up here with me, and help me get out of this thing." She ran her hands up and down her taut abdomen and along her sides.

She knew what she was doing, and John was in no position to resist her. As if he'd even want to.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed himself into her body. "So, Tali'Shepard, where should I start?" he asked with a wicked grin.

John's eyes lazily opened, and he felt the soothing presence of his wife (for lack of a better term), encasing him. Indeed, Tali's head rested on his chest, with both arms nestled at his sides. Her legs, too, were on either side of him. In short, she was straddling him. He had no recollection of them crashing to sleep in sheer exhaustion in this way, but he was not going to complain about waking up in this most pleasing manner. He closed his eyes again, and took stock while he enjoyed the feel of her soft breaths against his chest.

Wow. Just…wow. Yesterday really happened. The last few weeks really happened. I live on Rannoch, with my…wife? Bondmate? I suppose at some point that will be just as natural an expression of what we are as any human expression. Besides, the only term that matters to me is saera. For a quarian concept, it's the only one that makes sense to me. This feeling of fulfillment could only come from me finding her. He ran his fingers down Tali's spine, lightly pressing his fingernails along her exquisitely smooth and soft skin. Tali moaned in unconscious pleasure. And as soon as we come back from this array, then the real fun begins. By then, they'll have their own teams of their own people to move forward wit whatever we find there. But if there's trouble…A small frown darkened his face. Then we'll face that together, too. He allowed those thoughts to leave him like an outgoing tide, trying to focus instead on the present. He smirked as he leaned forward, pressing his lips gently against her head. But we'll come back, and then I need to find someone to build this house for us, I'll need to find a way to…garden, I guess? Ash said that she had a stock of seeds for Earth vegetables. I'll have to learn how to plant them and hopefully they won't mind this climate too much. He chuckled silently. Imagine that: me, a gardener. But what, exactly, am I going to do with myself?

A quiet little laugh escaped him as Tali released a tired, yet satisfying moan, nuzzling her face even closer to him, in the crook of his neck. Her hot breaths tickled him a little until he got used to the sensation.

What am I going to do? Whatever the fuck I want to, I suppose. After a moment of consideration, he amended his initial assessment. Well, until I get bored of that, anyway. But, I imagine I'll have plenty to do. Garrus was right - I'll need to train to get my marksmanship back. Doubt it'll be anything with a lot of kick though. I still don't think my shoulder is ready for that. But pistols and eventually submachine guns would be a good starting point. And I'll need to take advantage of Liara while she's here; my biggest asset is biotics. I've gotten a lot better, but I'm still not really close to what I was. I can explore the area with Geru's little guide. After all, I need to get as familiar with Rannoch as I was with Earth, and I doubt the quarians have any grade school level textbooks just hanging around for some interloping hairless ape to try to grasp. But maybe…

With a soft groan, his sleeping wife slowly entered the land of conscious awareness. Probably still half-asleep, she angled her face and kissed his neck.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Mmmm…hi."

"Sleep well?"

It was at that question when Tali noticed that she wasn't actually laying on the bed.

"Keelah! John, I'm sor -"

As she had begun apologizing, she tried to launch herself off of him. He placed a hand on her rump and pulled her back on top of him.

"Nope, not yet, Miss vas Rannoch."

Tali closed her eye, humming in satisfaction. "If that's an order -"

"It is."

"I don't want to be reprimanded for insubordination."

"Definitely not. Terrible idea."

She crawled up a little further, her lips now centimeters from his.

"And then you'd have to punish me."

"Most definitely."

John traced his fingers along her sides, keeping them along the little markings that ran along her body. She giggled when he reached a spot just above her hips - he knew she was ticklish there, the bosh'tet - until he finally reached his destination, where he cupped each of her butt cheeks in his hands, squeezing a little more forcefully than "gently" required.

Another satisfied moan, and then Tali erased the distance from her lips to his. A hand moved steadily up her back, tracing circles on either side of her spine.

Smirking, Tali felt the telltale sign that her lover might be ready for more…intimacy.

"Mmm…John. Again?"

He replied with his own daring smile. "What? You knowI can't help it. Besides," he gave her a quick kiss, "you were a bit…adventurous last night, too."

Tali again laid her head on his chest with a little sigh. "I know…but I'm, uh," she looked away in a fit of embarrassment, "a little sore from…you know."

Smiling in understanding, Shepard kissed her again. "No worries. I could use a break, too." One more quick kiss. "Besides, we have the rest of our lives for this." Her smile only grew as he held her in his arms. He scooted forward until he was able to stand up, with Tali's strong legs around his waist locking her in place. Tali giggled as he then flipped her onto her back before giving her another deep kiss - which Tali forced her tongue into - and then he stood up completely. "We've got a day ahead of us."

"Keelah, I know." Tali looked away in apparent introspection. "I'm going to miss them."

"Yeah, so will I. But they're needed, and we have our own things to attend to as well."

The shine was brilliant, reflecting off of her blue and silver exterior. Regal, sleek, and powerful, she was everything John remembered about the Normandy. He had just completed his final walkthrough on the old girl. It was one last chance to remember - in some cases, try to forget - everything that had happened aboard this iconic vessel. For John, it was so much of his life and career wrapped up inside its hull. Friendships, hardships, love. Victories, defeats, and daring escapes.

He had stopped and said his goodbyes to Adams (who was heading back to Earth now), Ken and Gabby ("Congratulations, you two lovebirds"), to Cortez…but then he paused standing before the bridge. Joker was in his customary seat, going through his preflight checks and muttering to himself.

Shepard stood motionless at the entrance, unsure what to do; what to say. It was one thing to have talked to the man about EDI, it was another thing entirely to have words to say to him after such a thing.

Hi, Joker. Sorry I murdered the love of your fucking life. It's been great knowing and working with you. I'm going to miss you, I hope you don't mind while I stay here with the woman I love and would do anything for. See ya, buddy!

He sighed. Not a great plan.

Standing motionless, he felt the not-unpleasant sensation of three soft fingers press into his lower back, kneading him gently. "Saera, are you okay? You don't have to -"

He shook his head. Fuck this. He was going to do this, he would not be the one leaving things on these terms. If Joker wanted to, then…well, at least he'd tried.

"We're ready to go, sir." Joker had spoken first, but had not turned around.

Shepard plowed through the deflection. "Joker, I'm glad that we got to serve together."

Jesus Christ, John. That was your lead-in?

The pilot cleared his throat, still not turning to face the man. The tears were forming already. "Yeah, well…same, sir."

"Jo…Jeff. You're the best damn pilot there is." Convinced that Joker would not turn to face him, Shepard began his own turn to walk away. He added one more thought. "And you're an even better man." He took a few more steps, reaching for Tali's freely offered hand. There was some strained shuffling from behind him.

"Sir?"

When he turned he saw Jeff Moreau - the best damn pilot in the fucking galaxy and victim of Vrolik's Syndrome and a broken fucking hear -, saluting him while standing at full attention.

Shepard released Tali's hand, reciprocating the salute in kind. They stood that way for at least three seconds.

"At ease, lieutenant."

Chuckling a little, he replied. "It's about damn time, sir. My shoulders were really starting to hurt."

"Yeah…sorry about that."

A quick nod, then the pilot simply returned to his seat, facing away from him and resuming his preparations.

John figured if that's the best he would get from the man, then it was enough. It was more than enough.

"You okay, John?"

"Yeah. I'm…as far as 'goodbyes' go, I can live with that."

As they exited, hand-in-hand, it dawned on Tali that she was never going to hear the hum of the Tantalus drive core, never bullshit with Ken, Gabby, and Adams again - at least not in the predictable way that she'd grown accustomed to. She'd never give Garrus any more shit about having to calibrate every damn thing on the ship. Never get wasted at the little bar.

And never cry myself into a stupor, convinced that death was going to be my only escape.

Shaking her head, she remembered that not all of her memories from her time on the Normandy were pleasant ones.

At any rate, she had a whole new life to look forward to. And truth be told, she was very much looking forward to it. If the bittersweet taste of not having her wartime friends around was the price to pay, well, she thought that she could deal with that. Hell, she could more than deal with it.

She would happily pay that price with interest. They both would.

But now they stood outside the ship with Tikkun as close to overhead as it tended to get. They were gathered outside the Normandy now, waiting on Ashley to finish the formalities with the other admirals and this early version of the Conclave.

Doctor Chakwas was outside as well, wanting to see her friends and those that she had come to care for as her own, one final time.

It was time to say goodbye.

Chakwas stepped forward first. She quickly gave a hug to Kasumi. She naturally spent more time with Liara and Garrus, thanking them each for caring so much for each other and for Tali and John. John was pretty sure he heard her mutter something like "And take care of your damn face, Garrus" before she finished. With that done, she finally stood in front of Tali, warmth and pride in her smile.

"Oh Tali, I'm going to miss you."

The quarian looked down for a moment in bashfulness. "I'm going to miss you too, doc-"

Chakwas shook her head. "Oh no. No, you don't, Tali'Zorah." A little smirk touched the corners of her mouth. "That's not right, is it? Tali'Shepard. I do like the sound of that. And you call me 'Karin' now, my dear," she ended with a little wink.

Still a little embarrassed, she looked away. "Okay, Karin," she murmured.

Abruptly, the doctor pulled her into a hug. "There. See? That wasn't so hard."Then holding the quarian at arms' length, she continued. "I am so proud of you, Tali. I've had the honor of watching you grow up and become a fine young woman." She cast a quick glance over to Shepard. "Now you take care of that…bosh'tet," Tali's giggle interrupted her. "Did I say it right?" She smirked at the quarian.

"Keelah, doc-…Karin! That was really good."

Another bout of giggles from both of them. "Good. Now you be well, take care of yourself and don't get too…eager. Remember to stay healthy, okay? Oh, and keep an eye on him." The doctor leaned in, grabbing Tali's hands tightly. "And love him with everything that you are, Tali. You both deserve it."

Squeezing back, she grinned at the doctor. "Don't worry, Karin, I will. You can count on it."

"Good. I would expect nothing less from you." She gave Tali a soft pat on her shoulder before turning her attention to her would-be son.

Chakwas looked the man up and down, head-to-toe. She wore a satisfied smile. "Mister John Shepard. You are all grown up."

"Hiya, doc." He was blushing already.

She scoffed. "Oh, don't give me that shit, John."

He chuckled. "Doctor's orders?"

Chakwas shook her head. "No, John. Not 'doctor's orders'. Your…'mother's orders', if you'll forgive the presumption."

He offered an understanding smile of his own. "You know that's always how I've seen you."

"Oh, I know that, John. It was just…never spoken. Now, I'm going to tell you what I told your wife: John, I am so proud of you. And grateful. You saved us." The doctor cracked a small smile - tinged with a bit of melancholy. "More than once, and you did it in a way that would have made any parent proud." For a moment, he had to suppress the throat clench that was often the precursor for his tears. For a man that had lost his parents at such a young age and had grown up in a world of violence, Karin Chakwas was easily the closest thing to a mother that he'd ever had. The feeling was mutual. The doctor dropped the pretense then and simply embraced him, shaking a little with what was the start of a quiet crying fit. Sniffling, she pulled away, cheeks red and eyes moist. "Damn it, that's embarrassing. I told myself that I wouldn't do that."

He shrugged; his own eyes were the same. "Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"John, I…" she squeezed his hand. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. And try to stop by from time to time, okay?"

"Oh, I will try. But I can't make any promises. You know how this girl likes to be in space."

"Yeah. I do." He brought her in for one more hug. "And let me know if…if Joker comes around, will you? I mean, we spoke, but…" He sighed after trailing off. What words were there?

"Of course I will, John." She backed away, looking into his eyes. "Now, you be good to her. Spoil her. Give her anything she wants, you understand?"

He laughed - this time with mirth and warmth restored. "Oh, you won't have to worry about that. I fully intend to spoil her rotten."

"Good." It was a simple reply.

One more hug, and the doctor turned and headed back up the ramp. She turned back around and looked at them - John and her adopted alien family - and then shuffled back into the ship.

By this time, Ashley had made her way through the quarians that were here to see them off. She headed back toward the ship as John led the line to her. They ended up standing in something resembling a circle.

"Guys, it's been…"

Liara started first. "Ashley, it has been an honor to know you."

"Same, Ashley," came the reply from Garrus.

Tali was about to reply when the Spectre raised her hand. "Listen, all of you. I know that we didn't…I was an ass, to all of you. I just wanted to say 'I'm sorry' to you guys."

Tali stepped forward. "Ashley, you're right - you were an ass. I remember when you only called me 'the quarian,' but you grew, just as much as the rest of us. I'm proud to have known you and fought alongside you, even if you were a bosh'tet on Horizon." Tali immediately chided herself for that last little dig. She'd meant it more as a joke, but it hadn't come off that way.

Ashley appeared to have taken the remark more personally than Tali had intended, and the Spectre visibly grimaced at the mention of how she had acted toward Shepard during the fight against the Collectors. "Yeah, about that…and during the Cerberus attack…Shepard, I'm -"

He cut her off with a stern look. "Ash, that's over with now. I'm past it, it's time you did the same."

She replied with uncertainty. "Okay, but Tali's right. I was -"

Shepard raised a finger, indicating his impatience, forcing a smirk from the current Spectre. "Is that an order, skipper?"

"Yeah, Ash. It is." He approached her for a hug. "And listen, you've made us all proud, you've made me proud."

She hugged him a little more tightly. "Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me."

Shepard broke the hug, and they stood at arm's length. "Good. Keep in touch, commander." He gave her one more satisfied smile. "All right, Ash. Get out of here, do some good and keep making us proud."

With that, she stood at attention, and snapped him a smart salute from one commander to a former one, to a mentor; to someone whom she dared not disappoint again.

"Yes, sir."

Like Chakwas had, she stopped just before the entrance and simply regarded them all. It had been such a wild ride for her and this group of individuals - these fighters - that had not only put up with her, but had in many instances been her friends.

"The honor has been mine, my friends." A small, sad smile touched her lips. "I'll be around." And with one more widened smile and a wave, Commander Ashley Williams of the Systems Alliance, Spectre, and sometimes (though not so much recently) bosh'tet entered the Normandy, and was gone.

As the legendary Alliance frigate gracefully rose into the atmosphere, the five friends that remained stood together with arms draped over each other's shoulders. At each end, Kasumi and John waved goodbye to the ship one last time.

And then there were five, thought John with more than a touch of melancholy.