A/N: I will be working Mondays through Fridays, in the mornings, 20 hours a week. I will also be attending college for 12 hours a week. That being said, I will be busy but will not fall too terribly behind on my updates. However, my net still isn't working so I will most likely be transferring my service – in the meantime, I'll be using the net at Starbucks when I get my coffee~
Sidenote: November marks NaNoWriMo; National Novel Writing Month. I had signed up to participate this year, so that may eat up a bit of time each night throughout November. Updates might end up being weekly during that time.
Thank for your reviews, alerts, and favorites!
Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect.
After Our Darkest Hour
Chapter Ten – Nine Months
Having been elected onto the Galactic Council, Shepard found that she didn't leave SS very often. Most of her duties often kept her aboard the great space station, but both she and Kaidan found that to be an agreeable thing. Especially given her condition. She couldn't very traipse about the galaxy pregnant with twins, not if she wanted to protect them. Her usual missions proved to be daily trials against life and death, something she could not allow during the pregnancy. Being on the Council proved to be the much better alternative, considering what had happened on their last mission on Mindoir.
Her days proved to be long and arduous, and some days even tedious. Some nights she was required to stay in her office, much to Kaidan's disappointment, to finish paperwork for some problem or another, and there was always a problem somewhere. In truth she was a little biased, wanting to help with humanity's issues considering how the Council had treated her race prior to the Reaper invasion. Eve was the same about the krogan, wanting to prove that her people had changed and weren't the same krogans that had to be quelled during the rebellions.
The Normandy, still cutting edge technology and the best ship in the Alliance fleet, or at least what remained of it, was now under the command of James Vega. In the months that had passed since defeating the Reapers, her and her Alliance squad members had undergone promotions; Shepard to Admiral, Kaidan to General, and Vega to Major. Major Vega answered primarily to the Alliance, at least until Shepard petitioned to have him made into a Spectre; he was an outstanding soldier, as he had proved both on Ferris Fields and during the Reaper War, and he was an N7 recruit, one of the Alliances most prestigious programs(though the program had been put on hold for the rebuilding efforts).
He was stunned to say the least, but did not turn her down and, after little persuasion, the other Councilors were on board, trusting her judgment considering none of them would be here if she had not stopped the Reapers, as well as Eve's who had witnessed Vega in person when they had cured the Genophage. The ceremony took place in the Council chambers, with news crews ever present; humanity had very few of themselves within the Spectre ranks – thus far only Shepard and Kaidan – so Vega becoming the third human to become a Spectre was still big galactic news.
Their surviving crew mates had attended – Liara T'soni, Garrus Vakarian, Javik, Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy, Joker, and even EDI. Hackett had been in attendance as well, even with how busy he must have been on Earth coordinating the Alliance. By the end of it, she could have sworn she saw James tearing up but she hadn't had much time to contemplate it as Fate – the unpredictable mistress that she was – chose this time to send her into labor.
Shepard had faced down sentient machines that could stomp her into the ground like a bug – and some nearly had. She had come face to face with a Reaper's destructive eye – beam ready to fire and disintegrate her. She had been thrown into space and suffered a slow, painful death as she fell through Alchera's atmosphere. She had survived Akuze, running and fighting, barely surviving Thresher Maws as they chased her down like prime prey. Mindoir – she had watched her home burn and fall to pieces as Batarians invaded.
She was never more frightened than she was in this moment. It nearly made her want to dissolve into laughter, had she not been so utterly terrified.
What was it about child birth that struck fear into a woman's soul? The pain it would bring, the anxiety and worry of the baby's health, the worry of her own health – there were so many reasons, and she couldn't settle on one, so she accepted them all as why she was nearly hysterical.
Kaidan was at her side, for which she could be grateful. Feet up in the stir-ups with the doctor between her legs, urging her to push as another wave of excruciating pain washed over her. She couldn't hear them, not Kaidan's reassuring words, or the doctor's urging; her heart was pounding louder than an army's feet, deafening her even to her own cries. Maybe it was the soldier in her that told her she could do this without pain meds, or maybe it was her will alone; something told her, almost in a primal way, that she could do this without medicine. She was strong, damn it, and she would show her children how strong she was from the moment they were born.
There was a wail and she fell back against the bed, her chest heaving. Kaidan's hand ghosted over her hair and he spoke words she couldn't make out. She gave him a weak smile, her gut already rippling with another wave of pain that came with contractions. The doctor quickly passed off baby one to a nurse and was back, kneeling between her legs and urging her to push. Shepard tried to bite back the pitiful noises coming from her lips as she sat up with Kaidan's help, doing as the doctor bade her. It was so hard to breathe, to concentrate, her mind reeling and every nerve in her body screaming in pain.
Finally, it was over and she fell back against the bed, sweaty and breathing erratic. The pounding in her ears subsided and she could hear the babies as the doctor and the nurses cleaned them up, checked over them. And even Kaidan, she could hear him now. Her eyes found his and she wanted to kick herself for it, but she immediately started bawling. He only miled, and kissed her sweaty forehead, holding her to him.
"Two very healthy baby girls," The doctor announced as she and a nurse brought the swaddled babies toward them. Both her arms outstretched, Shepard trembled as the babies were laid in her embrace. She brought them against her chest in awe.
Her weeping eyes dropped to stare into two perfect, nearly angelic faces. Her own eyes were looking up at her, wide, from both faces, but those black curls they sported were all Kaidan. Pale, chubby cheeked, perfect little beings she had given life to.
"Congratulations you two. I will give you a moment alone." Shepard nodded, but couldn't tear her eyes away from the babies she held. The door hissed and she knew they were alone with their children. Their children. It was a mind-numbing, surreal realization, even though she had been carrying them inside her for months. What had felt like a dream, and sometimes a nightmare, was now reality.
"They're so…cute," Kaidan admitted with a chuckle, touching the tip of his finger to one nose, then the other. Both babies nearly went cross-eyed and she laughed.
"Don't torture the poor things." She sighed as they situated, making room for him on the bed beside her and she laid her head against his shoulder. "We never did decide on names, did we?"
"No, not really; I believe each argument led to…other things." Her hormones had nearly made it impossible for them to debate anything; every argument ended with her pinning him to the bed and having her wicked, wanton way with him. Not that he had minded, it just seemed like they had never been able to get much done.
"What did you suggest? I forgot." She chuckled and turned her head to kiss his lips as the babies cooed.
"I do believe I said Rhiannon, and Katherine." He returned her kiss, even dared to deepen it, before pulling back with a play tug on her lower lip. "I think that's when you snapped back at me that they were too girly and names like that would make them soft."
Shepard groaned. "Was I really that bad?"
"I am afraid so." They fell into an amused silence, looking down into their child's faces. Their eyes seemed to be taking in every feature of her and Kaidan's face and she wanted to laugh at how concentrated they seemed to be. There was little to no difference in their faces and she dreaded identical twins; what if she mixed them up all the time? What kind of mother would she be then?
"There, a little birthmark there, on her jaw just under her ear."
Shepard blinked and looked at him strangely. "What are you on about?"
He met her eyes and laughed softly. "You were wondering how to tell them apart."
"I was no- okay, I was." She sighed dramatically. "How did you know?"
He grinned, almost sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was wondering the same myself."
She couldn't help the fit of laughter that came then, in the form of rumbling chuckles that had the babies looking at her strangely. One seemed to be drifting, lashes fluttering as blinks stretched out until her eyes remained shut. "Well, at least there is something." She watched then as the other seemed to give up and follow her sister, asleep in a matter of moments; poor things must have been exhausted. Birth had to be a traumatizing experience.
"Rhiannon, and…Riley." He said then. When she looked at his face curiously, he pointed to the one with the birthmark. "Riley." Then he pointed to the other. "Rhiannon."
"I suppose that's a decent compromise." She chuckled and leaned against him, Kaidan sliding his arm behind her head and holding her and their daughters against his side. "Rhiannon and Riley Alenko."
"Alenko?" His brows raised at the one.
"Not so much pressure that way. Sure, it will be known that they're children of Shepard, but at least the name won't be weighing them down." She chuckled. "Or whatever. Personally, I think Shepard is something that should stay with me. A rather unusual name. I think Alenko is better anyway. And we'll be married soon – so it's only right they have your name."
He chuckled. "Even if you won't."
"Hey now – I compromised. Anvi Alenko Shepard. Don't push your luck."
He leaned his head against hers and touched a hand to Riley's hair, stroking it gently. "Shall we let the others in now?"
"I did pick the most inopportune time to go into labor, didn't I?" She chuckled.
Kaidan laughed softly and nodded. "No doubt it will be all over the vids," he pointed out which made Shepard grumble in mortification. "I wonder if it will take precedence over Vega becoming a Spectre. That would be amusing."
"I would certainly hope not. If so, they seriously have their priorities confused."
"Which is different from normal how?"
"Good point." She grinned. "Alright, go get the others. They are probably going nuts out there. I can imagine Tali wringing her hands raw and pacing a hole into the floor."
"Better that than Garrus threatening someone for information."
"Liara could be doing that too," Shepard groaned. "James is probably doing push ups. At least Javik is capable of waiting patiently."
"Better go get them then. Don't need to cause a panic."
"Get a move on soldier," she teased.
He grinned, "aye-aye ma'am."
