While Liara makes her way to the diner, Ashley is just leaving it after eating her way to satisfaction with her doubts about whether she should tell Shepard about the baby. She finds her way to a bench in front of the Presidium and decides to just relax for a few and observe her surroundings. Unbeknownst to her, her stomach had forced her shirt to become untucked in the front from it's slight expansion during her recent meal on the Citadel.
"You know, if I keep up at this pace, he won't notice I'm pregnant until I go into labor he'll just think that I'm gaining weight." Ashley told herself as she poked her stomach a couple times and pulled down her shirt in vain because it slides back up after she gives up. "That'd be a laugh…" she continued,
"If I keep gaining like this I won't be able to fit into the Normandy before I'm due." she thought to herself which caused her to laugh a bit.
"Well, all my life I've lived for the military… I think I owe it to myself for a little relaxing for awhile. Although I still have to tell Shepard and find out what he thinks about being a dad. The higher-ups won't like this… Hero of the Galaxy has relations with crew member! Baby is born!" she continued, then starts to worry. "What if they strip him of all his military credentials because of this?" she wonders then glances down to her midsection.
"I have to find out before I tell anyone, I already told Doctor Chakwas but I know she won't tell anyone." she decides before getting up from her rest then heading toward Ambassador Udina's office in the Presidium District.
"I can't let this damage Shepard's credibility and reputation… If it will, then I'll keep it to myself as long as I can…" she decides as she reaches the Ambassador's office, she stops at the door as if thinking if she really wanted to find out or not. After a few minutes she walks to the door and walks through it after it opens and stands in the doorway.
"Ambassador, can I ask you something?" she started which caused Udina to look up to her.
"Gunnery Chief Williams? From the Normandy?" he asked her, not really recognizing her at first before leaning back in his chair to get a better view. "At least it's safe to say that you haven't been wasting away while on duty." he told her with a smirk on his face."…I'd appreciate it if you try and act like a human being for at least a small amount of time."
She responded with a scathing look on her face. "I'm here to ask you a question and that's it…" she continued.
"Fine fine, what is it?""Has there ever been a high-ranking commander to be stripped of his rank due to breach in protocol?" she asked trying not to draw attention to her figure.
"All the time, Why, just yesterday a Commander was caught fraternizing with his navigator. He was immediately relieved of his duties and stripped of his rank." he responded without skipping a beat. "Why is it you ask this, Williams?" he asked not drawing his eyes away from the paperwork on his desk.
"Well, I heard rumors of a Captain on another vessel has taken a liking to his second-in-command." she told him trying to keep her voice steady during the lie.
"Really, and just how did you come across the information?" he asked her.
"A friend of mine serves on that alliance vessel, but she didn't want me telling you her name or the vessel because she fears that she will get into trouble with her shipmates." Ashley explained.
"I see. Well I'll get someone to look into this on the double, I must say I wouldn't expect you to be the type to tell on someone…" Udina replied but nods slowly. "But, I appreciate the information Williams. I'll get right on it." he tells her then asks her to leave the room which she does.
Outside the room, she leans against the wall next to it and just takes deep breaths. Inside she knew that that could've been hazardous, Udina could have easily put two and two together when it comes to her bigger size.
"Luckily for me he isn't that bright…" she whispered to herself then decides to head out to Flux, the casino here on the Citadel.
While on her way there she passes by the diner again and notices Liara inside with a good amount of food and empty trays in front of her."Geez, what is she trying to do?" she wondered but doesn't stop to ask.
"Whatever it is, I'm not getting in the middle of it." she told herself and kept on her way to the Normandy while subconsciously pulling her shirt down.
In the diner, Liara has just finished up her meal and is relaxing in her booth before getting up to head to her next destination, back to the Normandy to sleep off the amount of food she ate which hasn't done much except make her slightly uncomfortable and puff her stomach out slightly which was hardly noticeable at all through the uniform.
"I don't really know if I can keep doing this until I'm as large as Gunnery Chief Williams is. There has to be an easier way to go about this…" Liara told herself while relaxing.
After a few more minutes of relaxing, a human asks for permission to sit with her. Before he sits down she recognizes his outfit to be from C-Sec (Citadel Security). After light conversation, she finds out his name is Adam Larue and that he's a detective in C-Sec like Garrus was before joining the Normandy.
A few minutes later, she told him what she was doing since she figures that it wouldn't hurt due to him seeming like a really nice person.
"Wow, you're doing all of this for some guy on you ship that you really like?" he asked her.
"Yes, you see. It's just something about him that I'm just drawn to and can't stay away from." she told him as her eyes drift from him and to the ceiling as she starts to absent-mindedly daydream about her Commander.
"Wow, you really care about this guy huh?" he asked while he folds his arms.
"Yes, I do. As I said, I don't know what it really is about him but I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame. I just really hope that I do not end up how the moth does when it finally becomes one with it's flame." she told him as a waitress brought her bill and sets it on the table with a smile.
"Don't worry about the bill, I'll pay." he told her before taking out the correct amount of credits.
"No, I can't trouble you with this." she replied with almost a hint of embarrassment from realizing how much she ate and what might be said about it.
"No no, I insist. It's the least I can do for you letting me sit here and talk with you." he replied and sets the money on the table for the bill with a smile.
"Th-thank you very much." she tells him blushing slightly.
"Don't mention it, so have you figured out exactly what you will do about your situation Liara?"
"Well, no not exactly…" she responded trying not to draw attention to her slightly puffed out abdomen.
"Why don't you just hire someone to take her off his hands for a bit so you can, you know, move in on him?" he suggested in an innocent tone of voice."What do you mean?"
"Well, I know there are some people that would do anything for credits. So why don't you just ask some guys that I know down at C-Sec to ask permission to bring Chief Williams aboard their ship for a light mission to give them an assessment? Kinda like a shakedown run."
"Do you really think that would work? Our crew is docked here for the next five days and I doubt that our Commander would leave without her… So maybe it would work, as long as she doesn't get hurt… I'd feel so horrible if she got hurt because of an idea of mine…" Liara responded.
"I can get right on it and have it all set up to where she would get contacted later tonight and the ship and crew, with Chief Williams would ship out tomorrow morning, then be back three days later." he told her with a smile.
"Wow, you would do all of that just for me?" she asked not really believing all of this.
"Yeah, besides, I always like doing things for beautiful ladies such as yourself" he replies as he gets up and starts to leave. "Nice meeting you, Liara. I'll be in touch." he called out as he walked to the door.
"Bye and thank you so much!" she called back to him then leaned back in her seat again unable to remove the smile that had seemed to have become cemented to her. On the other side of the closed door to the diner however, Adam has an evil sneer on his face after his conversation with Liara.
"So the almighty Normandy crew with it's heralded leader, Commander John Shepard is docked here at the Citadel for the next five days… And one of the crew happens to have a thing for him and wants one of the others out of the way? I guess I can make her dream come true… As well as our own." he thought to himself.
"Holding a love interest of the great Commander Shepard hostage is a perfect plan to grab the attention of every Alliance Fleet vessel out there. And if I have everyone's attention on me and the girl, then nobody will any the wiser about what's really going on…"