A/N: This chapter contains angst, surprises, and babies. I took some liberty with Asari physiology. Hope you enjoy.
"Liara, breathe, work through the pain," urged Elissa as she gripped her friend's hand, jogging beside the hoverchair. "Come on, girl, I know you can get through this."
"Shepard's right, Little Wing, you can do this," said Aethyta, unable to keep the joy out of her voice as she pushed the hoverchair to the hospital close by. They were lucky indeed that there had been a spare one hanging around the main building, otherwise Liara would have had to have been carried by Elissa and Aethyta all the way to the hospital. Chakwas was jogging beside the chair, the watch on her omni-tool active as she timed each contraction.
"You're at three minutes apart," panted Chakwas as they sped up to the entrance. "Hurry it up, Aethyta or she'll be delivering this baby in the middle of the road!"
When they entered the makeshift hospital they were directed by the receptionist towards the elevator and she sent directions to the labor and delivery room to Chakwas's omni-tool.
"I'm pushing as fast as I can!" snapped Aethyta as she charged into the hospital, steering the chair towards the elevator. "You try running with a clunky metal chair in front of your feet and we'll see how fast you are!"
Liara winced as a sharp pain torpedoed through her body, she clenched Elissa's hand tighter. "Can you two save this argument for another time? I'm in the middle of delivering a new life!"
"Are there any drugs you can give her right away, Chakwas? Because if this gets any worse, she's going to break every bone in my hand," said Elissa through clenched teeth. She saw Chakwas shake her head as she continued to time the contractions, able to tell whenever one hit just by the pained expression Liara was making.
They finally arrived at the delivery room, to each woman's relief, and Liara was quickly transferred from the hoverchair to a hospital bed. Chakwas handed Liara a hospital gown to change into since her dress was drenched with amniotic fluid, which she had Aethyta and Elissa help her put on, and she laid down in the bed. After she was settled, Chakwas went straight to work hooking up Liara to several monitors and an IV drip, taking great care not to bring her anymore discomfort than she was already experiencing. When Chakwas was finished, she stepped aside and let Elissa and Aethyta sit on the bed.
"How're you feeling, Little Wing?" asked Aethyta as she took her daughter's hand.
Liara looked up at her father and best friend, her eyes filled with excitement mingled with fear as she endured another contraction. "I've felt better, but it's a manageable pain, it's like when I would get tired after biotics training but multiplied by fifteen."
Elissa threw Chakwas a concerned look. "Is there anything you can give her for the pain, Chakwas?"
"I'm afraid she's too far into labor to be given anything strong enough to numb her pain," replied Chakwas as she read the print out from the fetus's heart monitor and then put on a pair of latex gloves. "She'll be just fine, however, women deliver babies all of the time without having drugs and Asari women are no different. There are surprisingly very few differences between Asari women and human women when it comes to delivering babies, the biggest and most obvious being gestation, five months versus almost ten."
"Are there any other differences?" asked Elissa.
Chakwas considered the question for a moment before answering. "Well, other than the duration of the pregnancy, there's where the baby actually comes out. I don't want to get too graphic, but there is a completely different area for Asari women where they give birth, it's not the erogenous region like for human women that's all I'm going to say. Mostly it's only the pregnancy itself that produces the most differences, Asari do not have cravings like human females do, but they share the trait of 'nesting' which is why Liara has been knitting nonstop and making her office more baby friendly. They can drink alcohol and it not effect the fetus, oh, and terrible mood swings at the beginning not to mention morning sickness."
Elissa chuckled. "I'm glad that's at least universal, I'd hate to think the Asari got off that easy." Liara glared at her but another contraction took her attention away. "I just wish the pain wasn't."
"Don't worry about Liara, Shepard," said Aethyta reassuringly. "She's the granddaughter of a Krogan battle master, and if that's not enough, I know some meditation and a couple of massage techniques that should help her through the worst of the pain."
"Those might be necessary soon," groaned Liara as she gripped onto the railing. Aethyta rubbed her back, a light blue biotic aura encasing her hand as she ran it along the curve of her daughter's spine, Elissa saw the tension leave Liara's body almost instantly.
Chakwas cleared her throat and settled herself on the edge of the hospital bed. "Okay, now I need to get through here and check to see how dilated she is, excuse me ladies."
Elissa stepped aside and watched Chakwas check Liara. "So what's the verdict, Doc?"
Chakwas removed her hand from underneath the thin blanket that covered Liara and turned to the others beaming. "She's seven centimeters dilated. This little girl's eager to see the world, Liara, I think she'll be born in the next hour or two."
"In an hour or two? Damn, it took Benezia almost three days to have Little Wing," snorted Aethyta. "Then again it took me less than twelve hours to have your older sister, so maybe you took after me in that respect."
"I hope so, this fucking bites," groaned Liara, her language surprising everyone.
Elissa bit back the smile on her lips, sensing that now was not the time to be teasing Liara. "Don't worry, Liara, soon it'll all be over and your daughter will be wrapped snuggly in your arms."
Liara looked up and smiled, grateful for her friend's words of comfort, then another contraction took hold of her body causing her to forget any and all thought except for how much she really wanted to kill Feron. "That lousy boyfriend of mine is lucky he's not here," growled Liara as she fought through the pain. "If he was, I'd flay him alive with my mind."
"Liara, you don't mean that," sighed Elissa and she rubbed her back. "Just relax and breathe, you're doing beautifully."
The delivery room's door opened behind them revealing Joker. "So has she popped yet?" he asked as he maneuvered his chair closer to the bed only to have to duck when a container of medi-gel came close to hitting him in the head. "Obviously not."
"Be a little more considerate, Joker, she's in a lot of pain," huffed Elissa as she rubbed her hand across Liara's head crest.
Joker shook his head and smiled. "I know that, I was there for Hilary's birth, my mom turned the color of a radish and screamed so loudly they had to put her in a sound proof room." His comment received angry glares from every woman in the room. "Or I might've exaggerated that last part. Seriously though, how're you doing, Liara? Is there anything I can do for you?"
She rested back against the pillows behind her head. "I appreciate the thought Joker, but unless you can go through this pain for me, then there's nothing you can do for me."
"I wish I could, Liara, I really do," said Joker gently as he rubbed her shin. "Man, you must really love Feron if you're willing to go through all this pain."
"I do, I really do," sighed Liara happily. "I love Feron as much as Elissa loves you, Joker, and maybe one day the roles will be reversed and she'll be the one expressing her love through intense pain."
Joker and Elissa looked at each other, she smiling brightly and he looking as if he were about to be sick. They had never discussed having children and he could tell by the look in her eye that she was planning on having a few, all he could think about was how to talk her out of it. His disease had been a burden on him his entire life, robbing him of a normal childhood and isolating him from the rest of the population, he had never wanted to pass that type of life onto an innocent child so he had decided long ago to not have children. Now here he was, in the presence of the woman he loved, and he would have to break her heart.
"Nah, Ellie's tough but I don't think she wants to purposefully subject herself to that kind of torture," said Joker, trying to avoid the topic.
"How do you know?" accused Elissa, looking him square in the face. "Jeff, there is a long list I'm willing to sacrifice in order to achieve my goals, and my body is not excluded from that list. If I have to go through ten months of discomfort and a few hours of pain to deliver our child, the so be it."
"Have you two forgotten that I'm in labor here?" piped Liara, her words falling on deaf ears.
Joker rubbed the back of his neck, the entire room felt fifty degrees hotter as she continued to look at him, her eyes accusing him. "I know that Ellie, but you wouldn't ask me to grow a human being so why should I expect you to do that for me when I can't do anything equal for you?" He was trying in a roundabout way to tell her that he did not want to have children but he was having a hard time coming up with words and reasons that might enable her to see the situation from his side.
Elissa raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying, Jeff? Do you not want to have kids?"
The question was out there and silence hung between them, he knew he would have to answer, and it would not be the one she wanted to hear. "I'm sorry, Ellie, I don't want kids."
He glanced up and saw the damage his words had done, her face looked shattered, the light in her eyes had dimmed and she looked like she was going to cry. She stood up from the edge of the bed and gave him the nastiest look he had ever seen, her special look reserved only for those whom had committed a crime against humanity, at least in her eyes.
"Well, it's good to know now how selfish and heartless you really are, Jeffrey Moreau," said Elissa darkly and she stormed out of the delivery room, slamming the door as she went, the force from her action causing it to bounce back open.
Joker raced after her as fast as his chair could take him, when he was out in the hallway he took the opportunity to yell despite the fact it was now full of onlookers, including his little sister. "Ellie! Ellie, I'm sorry! Please, can't we just talk about this?!"
Elissa stopped in her tracks and turned around, her eyes full of pain. "What's there to talk about? You don't want kids and I do, end of story."
"Please, Elissa, you don't understand," pleaded Joker, his heart breaking.
"What's there to understand?!" demanded Elissa as tears started to run down her cheeks. "You don't want the one thing I do and I can't accept that, I want a family Jeff, and if you won't give that to me then I'll find someone who will!" She turned away before she had to see the effect of her words, unable to face him.
Joker watched as she got into the elevator, her back still facing him, he felt his whole world slipping away as those doors closed and took the love his life with them. He sat there in the middle of the hallway as tears rushed down his cheeks, not caring that a dozen pairs of eyes were watching him, this was not how he had wanted things to happen. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was mildly aware that his chair was moving but he did not care, his heart was broken and the rest of the galaxy did not matter anymore. He buried his face in his hands and tried to stop the flood of tears but was only successful in bringing on another wave.
"Jeff, Jeff, calm down," said Hilary softly as she gently pulled his hands away from his face and wrapped her arms around him, she was glad when she felt him hold her in return. "It's okay, it's okay, everything'll be alright."
"No it won't," sniffed Joker, his voice muffled by her shoulder. "I screwed everything up, Hilary, Elissa hates me."
"What happened?" asked Hilary softly. "You know you can tell me anything, Jeff."
Joker sat up, pulling away from her. "I told Elissa that I didn't want to have any kids, okay? I told her and she bolted."
Hilary gaped at him. "You mean you two hadn't talked about this before now? I mean, for God's sake, you're engaged!"
"I know, Hilary!" snapped Joker, regretting his tone immediately. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, it's just . . ."
She embraced him again as another round of tears took hold of him, she had never seen him like this before, he had not been this devastated even when he learned one of his girlfriends had cheated on him with his best friend. "I don't think she hates you, she's probably angry and upset right now, but I don't think she could ever hate you."
"I just told her she can't have the one thing she's wanted, wouldn't you hate your boyfriend if he denied you a family?" asked Joker.
Hilary bit her lip, she knew she had to tell him though this was not the best time nor the right place. "Jeff, I've already had this discussion . . . with Kolyat."
Joker pulled away and stared at his sister, his jaw dropped, he could not believe that she was dating Kolyat and had not told him. "You and Kolyat? Really?" He was floored, he had not thought his sister would be interested in an alien, she had lived in a human colony her entire life and as far as he knew was only into human men.
"Yeah, we've been together almost as long as we've been living on Rannoch," replied Hilary hesitantly, nervous that her brother was going to be angry with her for dating an alien.
"And you guys are already talking about kids?" asked Joker, staring at her in disbelief.
Hilary shrugged, obviously not bothered by having already discussed kids with Kolyat. "Well, yeah, Kolyat wanted to make sure I knew what I was giving up if I stayed with him and I assured him that it wouldn't be a problem and it isn't, we can just adopt. He told me about the plight on Rakhana and I thought it would be a good idea to adopt some Drell kids and after the war on Earth there are probably a number of human orphans that need a good home. I'd rather have Kolyat and save some kids from a bad situation than give up the man I love just to have kids naturally, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, Jeff."
Joker looked at his sister and smiled, unable to control the action. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're the most mature sixteen year old that has ever lived and that your big brother is so proud of you?"
"Not until now," laughed Hilary and they hugged again. "So are you going to tell me why you won't have kids with Elissa?"
Joker sighed, he knew this was going to come but he was not sure how to say it without breaking down further, he was already upset enough as it is. "I don't want to pass my disease onto an innocent child, it wouldn't be fair to them, I don't want to rob them of a normal childhood. You were born when I was in high school so you don't know how bad it was for me, I was constantly in and out of hospitals, undergoing treatment after treatment, and I wasn't allowed to go out and play I had to stay in. Whatever friends I managed to make at school were allowed to come over but I couldn't go over to their houses, it really sucked, Hilary. I don't want to have a kid only to have him subjected to the same hell I was, but . . . I do want kids, I just know it'd be unwise to have any given my disease."
"What are the odds that you'll even have one with Vroliks?" asked Hilary. "Besides that, are you sure Elissa feels the same way? Maybe she's willing to risk the chance of having a kid with Vroliks, she's obviously willing to risk breaking your pelvis."
"You did not just say that," groaned Joker, pulling his hat over his eyes, embarrassed that his sister had just made a comment about his private life. "I don't know, Gunny, you might be right. I just hope she talks to me again, I love her so much, I don't want to lose her."
Hilary smiled and took her brother's hand. "I know, Jeff, and if she loves you as much as you love her I think you'll be able to work through this. I'll let you talk to her though, this isn't really my place, but I am here for you if you need me."
Joker smiled and held his sister tighter, grateful that he still had her. "I know, little sis, and you have no idea how much I love you."
"Not as much as the Normandy," teased Hilary and she kissed his cheek, "and definitely not as much as you love Elissa."
"Oh please, I love all three of you equally," laughed Joker and he pulled away. "So you think Elissa and I can still make it?"
Hilary nodded. "Of course, you two just need to talk about this and come up with a solution that makes you both happy. Now you should go and find your fiance, you two have a lot to talk about."
"You're right, as usual," sighed Joker.
Elissa sat on the steps leading to the galaxy map, her eyes red and puffy from crying so hard for so long, she was no longer sure what she was actually crying about all she knew was she felt a little better. Yes, she was still angry at Joker, she even felt a little betrayed that he had kept silent about the issue for so long and had decided that in the middle of the delivery room while their friend was in labor was the best time to tell her he did not want to have kids. She ran her fingers through her loose hair, glad that the ship was empty, the last thing she wanted was for the crew to catch her in a state of vulnerability.
"EDI, are there any messages for me to read?" asked Elissa, looking at the ceiling.
"No, Elissa, no new messages," replied EDI.
Elissa nodded, disappointed that there was nothing to distract her from her thoughts. "Can you hack into Chakwas's omni-tool and keep me posted on Liara's labor?"
"Already done, currently Liara is eight centimeters dilated and is experiencing a great deal of pain," said EDI. "I will message Chakwas to let you know when she's ready to deliver."
"Thanks, EDI, I really appreciate it," said Elissa. "One more thing, why have you been calling me by my first name?"
EDI was silent a few minutes as if contemplating her reply. "You have always treated me with a great deal of respect, Elissa, even when I was still shackled and could not answer all of your questions. I have not treated you in the same manner for a majority of our relationship, constantly questioning your integrity and decisions, and then I assisted in the termination of your relationship with Major Alenko. I believe that it is my responsibility to try and repair the damage I inflicted on our friendship, so I thought it would be best to call you as your friends do, instead of calling you Shepard or Commander. I have done more recently in terms of repairing our friendship but that was my first attempt at extending the proverbial olive branch, I hope it hasn't offended you."
"Not at all, EDI, I was just curious since the only person you ever called by their first name was Joker and that was because you were romantically involved with him," said Elissa, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. "I'm glad we're friends again, it's hard hating my ship."
"I'm glad we have repaired our relationship to the status of friends once again," said EDI in a tone that almost sounded relieved. "If you are interested, I have completed a surprise for you, it is waiting in your cabin for whenever you wish to view it."
Elissa gave a weak smile. "Thanks again, EDI. I'll look at it later, I'm not really in the mood right now."
"I understand," said EDI. "If you need someone to speak with, your mother is currently on board the ship in the conference room."
"Uh, thanks again, why didn't you tell me to speak with you?"
"I believe it would be better for you to discuss your problems with your mother as she can offer the view point necessary for you to reach a conclusion," said EDI.
"Why's she in the conference room to begin with?"
"She's talking with Admiral Hackett on a secure channel, your name has come up repeatedly since their conversation began."
Elissa stood up and wiped the stray tears from her cheeks then headed for the conference room, wondering why her mother was taking such a great risk in speaking with Hackett when there was a potential mole on both ships. When she arrived she heard her mother and Hackett's voices through the cracks in the door, unable to resist, she pressed her ear against the door careful not to press the button that opened it.
"She's getting married, really?" she heard Hackett say.
"Yeah, can you believe it? I'm so glad she's not with that Alenko kid anymore, Joker's much more her type." said Hannah happily.
"She'll make a beautiful bride, just like you did," said Hackett, a lilt in his voice as he spoke.
"Oh Steven, stop, you're making me blush," giggled Hannah. Elissa's eyes went wide, were Hackett and her mother flirting with each other?
"You look even prettier when you blush," said Hackett. "I can't wait to see you again, we didn't get to spend much time together on Omega, you have no idea how upset I was when I heard you were injured. Are you feeling any better now?"
"I feel much improved, thanks for asking," said Hannah. "I know, it was hard not to see you on Omega, but I didn't want Elissa getting suspicious. I still haven't told her yet."
"She's in her thirties and you still haven't told her?" asked Hackett, he sounded slightly annoyed.
"You haven't either and you've had ample opportunity," sighed Hannah. "I'll tell her eventually, I just need the right circumstances, maybe after her wedding."
"Hannah, you have to tell her soon, it'd be better coming from you than from me," said Hackett sternly. "I have to go, I love you, Hannah."
"I love you, too, Steven," said Hannah and Elissa heard her start walking to the door.
Ordinarily she would have moved from the door and pretended she had not heard the conversation but she was too stunned, her mother and Hackett just said 'I love you' and they had a secret that concerned her, she had to get to the bottom of this. She moved back from the door and stood with her arms crossed, ready to confront her mother about this relationship she was carrying on with Hackett. When Hannah came through the door she stopped in her tracks, obviously surprised that her daughter was standing there, the look on her face told her she knew something was up.
"Hey, Mom," said Elissa stiffly. "Who were you talking to?"
Hannah brushed some hair out of her face. "No one important, why do you ask?"
"Because I heard you say 'I love you' and the guy you said it to sounded a lot like Hackett," replied Elissa sharply, dropping all pretenses.
Hannah lowered her gaze. "How much did you hear, besides the last part?"
"I heard about you needing to tell me something you've been neglecting to for my entire life," said Elissa, her tone had lost most of its edge now. "What haven't you told me, Mom?"
"I think we need to go somewhere else to talk, like the mess," said Hannah, "you're going to want to sit down." Hannah started directing her towards the elevator.
Elissa raised an eyebrow but did not protest, letting Hannah guide her to the elevator. "Okay, Mom, whatever you say."
"Alright, Mom, what's the big secret?" asked Elissa as she sat down across from her mother.
Hannah took a deep breath, this was not going to be an easy conversation to have with her daughter. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me one thing."
"Anything, Mom."
"Promise that you won't think any less of me," said Hannah, her voice catching.
Elissa reached across the table and rested her hand on her mother's. "I promise with all my heart I won't think any less of you."
Hannah smiled and seemed more reassured. "This isn't exactly the easiest conversation to start, Jackie, please understand that. How much of your father do you remember?"
"Not much," admitted Elissa. "I mean, yeah I remember him, but I don't have a lot of memories of spending much time with him. He wasn't the most reliable or present father, I accepted that a long time ago, but he was there when he could be. Why are you bringing up Dad now?"
"Well, you see, Benjamin Mitchell wasn't your father . . . Hackett's your father." said Hannah cautiously, waiting for Elissa to burst.
Elissa sat back, utterly shocked at the news, after a few minutes of complete silence was she finally regain her voice. "Mom, could you please explain to me how in hell that is?"
Hannah breathed a sigh of relief, glad she was not being yelled at like she had anticipated. "Okay, I guess the best way to do that would be to start at the beginning. Hackett and I knew each other back in OCS, then we were really good friends, nothing more. During OCS Hackett met some girl named Raquel and I met Ben, soon we were all friends and everything was good, great even." Hannah paused, not looking forward to continuing the story, she was having a hard enough time with the initial part of the tale.
"Well, at some point Hackett and Raquel broke up and she dropped out, then Ben graduated a year or so before I did and he left me. This is the part of the story that makes me look horrible, Hackett and I went to a bar both of us depressed over our break ups and got really really drunk, the next morning I came to and we were in bed together. I thought at first nothing had happened and that it was just one of those times when you fall into bed with someone without any sex actually happening. We went on with our lives as if nothing had happened, Hackett got ready to graduate and I prepared to enter my final year, that is until I noticed I was exhibiting unusual symptoms. I went for a physical and it was confirmed that I was pregnant, I knew you were Hackett's since I hadn't been with anyone after that night, but I wasn't sure if I should tell him or not."
"Why not? I mean, you guys might've been young but Hackett's not heartless," said Elissa, still trying to wrap her head around the fact her superior was her father.
"I didn't want to ruin his career," sighed Hannah. "He was just about to graduate when I found out, I'm sorry Elissa, but my young naïve mind told me it would be best to keep him in the dark. I didn't want to saddle him with so much responsibility so soon, I didn't think it was fair to him to do that."
"So you decided to accept that responsibility yourself?" asked Elissa.
Hannah nodded. "I thought it would be best if I raised you on my own, I was all set to when Ben showed up and asked me to take him back. He told me he was stupid for leaving me and that he regretted it the moment it happened, and he had heard about my condition and thought you were his."
Elissa interrupted, unable to keep silent any longer. "If he thought I was his, why did he neglect me so much?" She thought about her childhood, it had mostly been just her and her mother while Ben was off somewhere else in the galaxy, only coming to see her for a couple of weeks in the summer and two days at Christmas. Whenever he would come around she would stay glued to him at the hip, not wanting to be away from him for as long as she could, but even then he acted as if she were not even there. The only male that had ever been constant in her life had been Hackett, and now she understood why.
"Eventually he found out that you weren't his," admitted Hannah. "I told Hackett first though, and Ben found out later."
"When'd you tell them?" asked Elissa.
"I told Hackett you were his when I was about eight months pregnant," said Hannah, "by then I was already engaged to Ben and although I wanted to break it off, I knew if I wanted to keep Ben believing that you were his, I would have to stay with him."
"So you lied to him but told Hackett the truth? Mom, what the hell were you thinking?" demanded Elissa.
Hannah threw her hands up dramatically. "Elissa, please understand, I was very young and terrified. Ben had already started on his career before Hackett had and I thought it would be best to marry someone who was already stable in life, instead of marrying a man who was just starting out."
"That's ridiculous, Mom, why would you deny me my father and you the love of your life?!" exclaimed Elissa, her temper rising.
"I repeat, I was young and scared out of my mind!" snapped Hannah, raising her voice to her daughter for the first time in years. "You need to understand, Elissa, that I'm not you who would've made the right decision the first time! I was barely in my twenties and expecting a child, my instincts told me to make sure you were taken care of and Ben seemed like the best option."
Elissa relaxed some, her temper receding, she could see why her mother had made the choices she had, and she had to admit to herself that if she had been in her mother's shoes she might have made the same decision. "What did Hackett say when you told him about me?"
At this Hannah gave a small smile, the memory a happy one. "He cried. I thought at first he was upset with me and the situation, but he was smiling so I knew he was happy with the news. I told him that I was going to marry Ben and he said wasn't happy about that but he trusted my judgement, and he promised not to tell anyone that he was your father. After that, he was very much involved with you, he's the one who picked out your name."
"Really?" breathed Elissa, trying to fight back the lump in her throat.
Hannah reached out and took her daughter's hand. "Really, he wanted me to name you for his grandmother, and I couldn't deny him that. Ben wasn't too happy that I rejected the name he had picked out for you, but we weren't married at the time so I figured I didn't have to give him everything just yet."
Elissa laughed, she knew her mother was joking now, Hannah had never given into her husband's demands which had been a constant source of conflict whenever they were all home together.
"What name did Da-Ben want to give me?" asked Elissa.
"Something way too girly and typical for you, I think it was Brittany or Tiffany or Stephanie something like that, all I remember is it made me want to cringe, I knew from the beginning you weren't going to be a girly-girl," laughed Hannah.
Elissa smirked. "Oh and Elissa isn't too girly, huh?"
"Not at all, it's a beautiful name, almost like music," replied Hannah. "Those other names sounded too whiny and pretentious, I have nothing against those names but I just knew they weren't for my daughter. Oh, and you know that nickname you hate so much? Hackett came up with that one too."
Elissa gaped and Hannah laughed at her daughter's expression. "I thought you told me Ben came up with that on his own!"
Hannah wiped the tears from her eyes, the result of laughter not sadness. "Oh God no, Ben was many things but creative was not one of them, he only called you that a few times after he heard Hackett call you that but stopped after you turned eight saying you were too old for that nickname. Didn't you ever wonder why Hackett would call you 'Ellie Belly' when Ben stopped?"
"I guess I did a few times but he'd called me that since I was what, three? By that time, it didn't phase me since he'd been doing it all my life. It was weird though the first time he called me 'Shepard' instead of 'Elissa' or 'Ellie Belly.' So are you going to explain to me why you and I don't have 'Mitchell' stamped on our dog tags?"
Hannah raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I did mention that I wasn't married to Ben when I was pregnant with you, right? Well, the hospital you were born in put my last name as your last name which was part of the protocol and I never changed it for either of us, even after I got married. I'm glad I never changed it, Commander Shepard sounds a lot better than Commander Mitchell, although Commander Moreau has a certain ring to it."
The mention of Joker's name brought Elissa back to her current predicament, and just like that she was upset again. Hannah noticed the change in her daughter's demeanor."Honey, did I say something wrong?"
Elissa tried to fight the tears but they fell anyway. "No, it's just that, Jeff told me that he doesn't want to have kids and I do."
"Oh baby," whispered Hannah and she moved quickly to her daughter's side, holding her against her chest like she had done when she was small. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. When did he tell you this?"
Elissa sniffled, feeling like she was seven years old again. "When we were in the delivery room with Liara, he just blurted it out then and there, and I ran out of the room. I don't know what to do, Mom, I love him so much and I don't want to lose him but I think I already have. I called him selfish and heartless, God, I'm such an idiot."
Hannah sighed and stroked her hair. "Honey, I'm not going to tell you that you were right to call him those names because you weren't, but I'm not going to tell you that you were wrong for being upset. I think you and Jeff need to sit down and discuss this like rational adults, it's not going to be an easy talk nor will it be pleasant, but I think it's something you have to do."
"You're right, Mom," sighed Elissa and hugged her mother from her position. "I'll go find him, I think I can do this."
"Honey, I know you can do this," laughed Hannah. "Just remember not to accuse him of being wrong because he has his reasons or say that you don't love him anymore, cause then you'd be lying and you don't need to add that into the mix."
Elissa smiled and hugged her mother tighter. "Thanks, Mom, for everything."
"Elissa, Chakwas has just messaged me, she says Liara is at ten centimeters and is going to have to push soon," said EDI overhead. "She also informs me that Liara says she will be coming after you if you aren't there for the birth."
Hannah and Elissa looked at each other and smiled. "Guess I should get over there."
"Damn straight, I don't think you want a hormonal Asari after you," said Hannah. "We'll talk more later, and honey, thanks for not being angry with me."
"I never could be, Mom, if anything I'm proud of you, it must've been hard to make those choices and I love you for what you did for me," said Elissa and she kissed Hannah's cheek. They shared a smile before Elissa ran out of the mess and to the elevator, eager to get to the hospital and be there for Liara's biggest moment.
"Where's Lisa? She promised she'd be here for me," groaned Liara, she was trying to fight the urge to push but was having a great deal of difficulty focusing on anything else.
"I just sent a message to EDI and she said the Commander's on her way, you're going to have to push sooner or later though, it's not healthy to repress that urge when you're this close," said Chakwas sternly as she put on the paper overclothes and prepared the instruments. "Just relax, Liara, you've done splendidly so far."
Liara gave a fleeting smile as another painful contraction gripped her body. "She better get here soon!"
Elissa burst into the room, out of breath but still smiling. "I'm here, please tell me you didn't deliver yet."
"Not yet, but she's pretty damn close," laughed Aethyta. "You might want to get over here, Shepard, she's not going to wait much longer."
"I can see that," wheezed Elissa and she walked over to Liara's bedside and took her hand as Aethyta took the other. Chakwas had removed the end of the bed and put stirrups in its place, Liara's feet were already pressing on the platforms for support and she was in a sitting position.
"I thought women gave birth on their backs," said Elissa when she saw how Chakwas had set Liara up for the delivery.
"Some do but I don't recommend it, giving birth in that position puts unnecessary stress on the lower portion of the body, sitting up relieves that stress and allows gravity to help pull the baby down," said Chakwas as she moved so she was in also in position. "Liara, on your next contraction, I need you to push."
Liara nodded and started bearing down, her next contraction coming on shortly after Chakwas's instructions. She held on tightly to her father and best friend's hands, not letting up until the ten seconds of pushing had ended, this pattern continued as she kept pushing for the next five minutes. Elissa started to get a little worried, Liara's pain seemed to increase the more she pushed and they did not seem to be getting close to the end anytime soon.
"I can see the head, Liara!" exclaimed Chakwas after another few minutes of pushing. "Just one more push and she's here!"
"I can't do it, I can't do it," panted Liara, her body bathed in sweat, she looked up at Elissa as if begging her to do this for her.
Elissa returned her friend's gaze and grabbed her hand even tighter. "Yes you can, Liara, I know it hurts but you can't quit now. You've done so many incredible things in your life, difficult as they might've been, this is going to blow them all away. Just one more push!"
Liara smiled and cried out as she pushed through her next contraction, just like Chakwas promised that was all it took and she placed the crying baby on her mother's stomach. Everyone in the room was crying, out of relief, joy, and so many other emotions they could not identify in that moment. Chakwas cut the umbilical cord and Liara wrapped the small blue baby in the blanket that she had discarded earlier, tears spilling down her cheeks freely. Elissa leaned over and smiled at the baby, then looked up at Aethyta who was also crying.
"She's beautiful, Liara," said Elissa her voice catching. "You did a great job."
"Thanks, Lisa," said Liara, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. "I don't think I could've done it without you, you and my father, thank you for being here."
Elissa leaned over and hugged her as best she could. "Thanks for letting me be here."
"Alright, Mom's all taken care of, now to make baby all sparkly clean," said Chakwas happily as she took the baby from Liara's arms. "What's her name, Liara?"
Liara looked up at Elissa and smiled. "Talissa Ashley T'Soni."
"A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl," cooed Chakwas as she cleaned Talissa.
"She's a unification of species in that name," commented Elissa. "I think Ash would approve."
Liara nodded as she watched Chakwas clean her daughter. "I like to think so, she was such a remarkable woman, I can only hope my daughter will grow up to be the same."
"She has you for a mom, that's a pretty good start," said Elissa and she smiled when the baby was brought over, swaddled in a blanket Aethyta said had been Liara's when she was a baby.
"Elissa, meet your namesake," said Liara and she passed Talissa to Elissa who eagerly held her, smiling down at her little niece.
"Hi, sweetheart," said Elissa, her voice taking a tone she had never heard before, it was softer and sweeter than usual. "I'm your Aunt Elissa, and no matter what anyone else says, I'll be your favorite."
The others in the room laughed, obviously amused at the effect Talissa was having on Elissa, even she had to admit she was surprised how this little baby made her heart melt even though she was not her own.
"Can I go introduce her to the rest of the family?" asked Elissa, looking eagerly at Liara who nodded.
"You may, I need to rest anyway," sighed Liara as she settled against her pillows.
"I'll go with you, Shepard, she's my granddaughter after all," said Aethyta and they left the delivery room, Talissa squirming in Elissa's arms.
When they exited, Elissa was surprised to see the entire crew still waiting outside, she had been to focused on getting in the room to pay much attention when she was running in. "May I introduce the newest member of the Normandy crew, Talissa Ashley T'Soni." She propped her arms so the crew could get a good look at the tiny bundle of joy and they broke out into applause, some cheered and others laughed. Tali was the first to approach and she took Talissa and cradled her close.
"She's so beautiful, Liara's really lucky," said Tali and Elissa watched tears fall down her cheeks, still shocked by seeing her without her helmet. "Hi, Ali, welcome to the world. You know, she's the first baby born on Rannoch in centuries?"
"I bet that'd be a bigger deal if she were Quarian instead of Asari," said Garrus, gently brushing a talon across her head crest.
Tali rolled her eyes. "It's a big deal no matter what species she is, I'm sure the other admirals are going to want to have some kind of ceremony for her, maybe name a city after her."
"She's my granddaughter, I would expect nothing less," said Aethyta proudly.
Miranda stepped forward and took Talissa from Tali. "Oh my, she's such a pretty little baby, she's even got Liara's markings." She quickly handed her back to Tali and stepped away, Elissa saw the tears fall as she turned away, though Miranda tried to hide them. Elissa watched as James wrapped his arms protectively around Miranda's small frame and then walked her out of the hospital.
'Oh my God, I completely forgot,' thought Elissa as she watched them go. She started scanning the room like crazy, looking for Joker, she saw him, Hilary, and Kolyat standing at the end of the hallway. Elissa started walking towards them, tears blurring her vision, when she reached Joker she nearly collapsed headfirst in his lap, instead she fell to her knees and pulled him into an embrace. She forgot her anger, pain, everything that she had been thinking of before all she wanted now was him.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," sobbed Elissa into his shoulder and she felt hot tears on her neck, he was crying too.
"So am I, baby," said Joker against her neck.
"Can you forgive me?" asked Elissa, holding him a little tighter, slightly afraid of his answer.
Joker pulled away from the embrace and looked in her eyes, he wiped away the tears on her cheeks and gave her a soft smile. "Of course I can, Ellie, I love you."
Elissa gave him a watery smile. "I love you too." She threw her arms around him again and they held each other for a few more minutes. "If you don't want kids, we don't have to have them, I'll just buy a bunch of dogs."
Joker laughed and held her tighter, tears still spilling down his cheeks. "It's not that I don't really want to have kids, Ellie, it's just . . . I can't. Do you know why I can't have kids?" He felt her tense up and he felt panic shoot through his body.
"It has something to do with your disease, doesn't it?" asked Elissa quietly, pulling away so she could look him in the eye. She could tell she had found his reason.
"Yeah," said Joker softly. "I didn't have much of a childhood, Ellie, and what childhood I did have was lousy. I can't bring myself to subject a child to the same life I lead, it wouldn't be fair to them or you, this disease is a curse and I don't want more people hurt because of it."
"What's so horrible about the life you lead?" asked Elissa, genuinely surprised to hear him complain, he almost never did unless he was joking around. "You're an Alliance soldier, the best pilot that's ever served, you have great friends not to mention you fly the best ship that's ever been built. Where exactly is your life lacking?"
Joker smiled, he knew she was trying to make him feel better. "I went through a lot of crap to make it this far, and as glamourous as my life may seem to you, it sucked in the beginning."
"Jeffrey Moreau," said Elissa in her Commander's voice, "there is a great deal more to you than just a medical defect, you're incredibly smart, unbelievably handsome, you are the biggest smart ass I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, you're resilient, creative, a born warrior. Why do you let this one thing define who you really are?"
"Why do you have to make this sound like a pep talk?" teased Joker, waggling his eyebrows as she gave him a mock glare. "It's just hard to see past it sometimes when it dominated my life for so long, hell, I'm the reason my parents had Hilary so long after me, they were afraid to have another one incase it had my disease too."
"Did they explicitly tell you that?" asked Elissa, taking his hand.
Joker shook his head. "Well, no, they never said that to me but I always felt like it was my fault."
Elissa sighed and smiled. "Jeff, you blame your disease for so much when you don't see what it's done for you, it made you so strong and fearless. If we had a child and it had Vroliks, do you know what I'd tell it?"
Joker shook his head.
"I would say, 'Look at Daddy, he can do anything in the galaxy and so can you.'" said Elissa, tears swimming in her eyes. She could tell that the issue of having children had obviously brought up the insecurities and resentments he had always had regarding his disease, and this was as much about fixing his perspective as it was fixing their relationship.
"What did I do to deserve you?" asked Joker, cupping her cheek and wiping a stray tear away. "Okay, so you'd make it easy for our kid, but what about you? I ruined my mom's life, I don't want this disease to ruin yours too."
"Jeff, if I wanted a normal, easy life, I wouldn't have joined the Alliance or gone after the Reapers," sighed Elissa. "Besides, I'm with you, if your disease actually bothered me I wouldn't be here having this discussion in the first place."
Joker sat back in the chair and thought about what she said, he knew she was right, and he loved her all the more for it. "So are we still together?"
Elissa nodded. "If you'll still have me."
"Always," said Joker and he kissed her deeply, when they broke apart he smiled, glad he still had her. "What do we do about kids? I know you still want them and . . . I really do too."
"Then, since you're so scared of passing on Vroliks, we can adopt," said Elissa and she kissed him softly. They heard the sound of footsteps coming up closer and they broke away, both surprised to see a Salarian standing there with several data pads in his arms.
"Quaes," said Hilary happily, "what are you doing here?"
"You're Mordin's nephew, the promising geneticist," said Elissa remembering the conversation she had had with Mordin about his favorite nephew.
Quaes nodded, smiling at them both. "Sorry to disturb you. Been going through Uncle Mordin's belongings, found this at bottom of box. It's addressed to Joker." He held out a data pad to Joker.
"Uh, thanks, Quaes," said Joker as he took the data pad. "I really appreciate it."
"Of course, Joker," said Quaes. "Now must go, have some more data pads to hand out. Will talk with you later, Joker, Commander."
Quaes left the room just as suddenly as he entered, leaving the group standing there bewildered.
"Well, turn it on and see what Mordin left you," said Elissa excitedly.
Joker pressed the button and turned on the data pad, he scanned for a title and nearly dropped the tablet when he saw what Mordin had left him. "Oh my God."
"Is it bad news or something?" asked Elissa as she tried to read the data pad.
Joker shook his head, he could feel his heart thumping wildly in his chest, unable to really process what he had just been handed.
"What is it?" asked Hilary, sensing her brother's excitement.
"It's the start of a cure for Vroliks," whispered Joker.
