Earth, Sol System
December 25, 2186, 3 Months after the Reaper War

For most of their history, Humanity have experienced its fair share of destructive conflicts, during the 20th Century, the Second World War brought near-total destruction to most of mainland Europe, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Tokyo, along with the Philippines' Manila, despite the seemingly hopeless aftermath the world was able to rebuild and enter a long-era of uneasy peace between superpower states.

While the destruction caused by the Reapers gave the same impression that Earth would never be the same again, many believed that they would be able to rise from the ruins of the most devastating conflict, not only in Human history, but of galactic history, stronger than ever.

Most of Earth's nations were able to reestablish their power over their territories after a brief period of anarchy, and most of the wealthiest nations on Earth were able to rebuild major cities within a short period of time. While some of the lesser developed nations, especially in Africa and Latin America, have descended into partial anarchy with separatist factions fighting to establish new governments according to their ideologies.

The Systems Alliance while it lost nearly half of its fleet, remained a formidable force to be reckoned with alongside the Turian Hierarchy and the Asari Republics. While public approval of the organization skyrocketed after the war, there was still resentment by some against the Alliance for supposedly abandoning Earth during the initial invasion however this did not hinder the Alliance Military's massive influx of recruits and financial support.

While the Citadel remained in Earth orbit, there were some concerns from both Earth and the Citadel about the possible political and social issues that would erupt from having the symbol of galactic unity in human space, and the possible massive influx of Human residents in the space station.

Meanwhile, the Citadel's repair was progressing smoothly thanks to the combined efforts of the Council races, the Rachni, and surprisingly the Keepers, while the small yet effective creatures were reverted to Reaper control once they took over the Citadel, the mysterious species returned to their normal duties after the destruction of the Reapers, though the fact that the Keeper tunnels are currently mass graves for human bodies did spark some concern about their 'loyalty'.

Christmas celebrations are still on going, with the majority of Earth's populace taking a brief respite from all the rebuilding to spend some quality time with their friends and families. Meanwhile, religious leaders have taken the opportunity to declare a moment of silence and prayer for the brave souls that perished during the Reaper invasion.

Martial law in the Chinese People's Federation, and the Malayan Confederation was lifted today, with the Systems Alliance continuing their relief efforts in heavily war-torn countries. The Populi Exercitum, a communist human-survivalist group, remains in control of the southern regions in the Latin American Union.

This has been the Alliance News Network.

Normandy SR-2, Unknown System

The frigate's mess hall became a complete mess, with beer bottles scattered around, food stains all over the floor and tables, along with the wasted bodies of drunk crew members, especially Joker, Ashley, and surprisingly Vega. Those who remained sober busied themselves with cleaning up the mess their fellow crewmen left behind, as they knew that tomorrow is another day of repairs.

Liara, whose belly began showing a bulge due to her pregnancy, decided to sit in the Medical Bay and have a conversation with Doctor Chakwas, one of the original members who made her feel welcome in the SR-1. "So since we're talking about our past, why don't I ask the question that most of the crew, especially Garrus, Vega, Adams and Cortez, always wanted to ask: when did you start having feelings for Shepard?" Chakwas asked with a grin.

"A few days after Therum, I started to develop a 'crush' on him. Then after a few missions, I looked into his personal and service history, found a few things that made him seem more... interesting.." Liara confessed, "And really, most of them were that curious about my relationship with him?"

"Well, you should know that Garrus made a bet with Joker and Kaidan back in the day, I think I remember Joker saying something like 'the shy and bookish asari is falling in love with her knight in shining armor', then came the whole Shadow Broker business, Garrus joked about 'you becoming a reclusive stalker who watches Shepard's every move', you two made for a good conversation topic for the crew back then." the doctor chuckled before motioning the asari to continue.

"Then I felt brave enough to ask him if there was something between us, I was extremely happy when he said there was, before Ilos, well we, as you humans say, made love, he even took me to a few dates after that. And I'm pretty sure you know what happened when.. we lost the SR-1." the asari continued as she looked down.

"Of course, I visited you a few times, you were always depressed, you held on to one of his spare N7 chestplates, and I'm pretty sure I saw you one time with a gun and a few beer bottles on the table, thank God you didn't do what most of us feared." Chakwas said, "Well, I think we should continue this conversation tomorrow, you should get some rest, I'll take over the cleaning you were supposed to do, Liara."

Before leaving the Med-bay, Liara turned to the Doctor, "Thank you, Karin" she said as she left the room.

"I never had a family, never had children..", "Ever think about settling down?" the tired admiral asked, "Yeah, I like the sound of that... I'm not sure if I'd be good at it, though" Shepard answered.

"Sure you would.. I think you'd make a great dad.." Anderson told him, "Think how proud your kids would be... Telling everyone that their dad is.. Commander Shepard"

As Shepard experienced a vision of that moment, he then remembered the conversation with Liara after they defeated the Shadow Broker. "Marriage, old age, and a lot of little blue children?" as he heard his own words, he then sees a vision of him cradling a baby, an asari, their daughter...

Geneva, European Union

The city of Geneva, along with the nation of Switzerland, was fortunately spared from most of the destruction brought forth by the Reapers, who focused on starving the city into submission by blocking major routes along the Swiss Alps. It was here where the Alliance began setting up their temporary base of operations on Earth, and the location of the hospital where Shepard was relocated.

Two nurses were administering to Shepard as they heard groaning, they immediately looked at Shepard and were surprised when they saw his eyes slowly open, "Inform Miss Lawson, and the Admiral, hurry!" one of the nurses said as his colleague left the room in a rush. The Commander immediately lost consciousness once again.

When Shepard once again woke up, he was greeted by two familiar faces, the faces of Admiral Hackett and Miranda Lawson, "Welcome back to the land of the living, Commander" Hackett greeted him, as he looked around his surroundings, he noticed that one of the clocks displayed the month of December, "How long was I out?" Shepard asked.

"About 3 months, the Admiral here sent a search team to the Citadel after they got communications reestablished, it's a miracle that you survived a week under a pile of rubble." Miranda answered, "How about the Normandy and her crew? Where are they right now?" he asked, showing concern for the crew that followed him into hell and back.

"Right now, they're in an unknown planet in the Exodus Cluster, I've been able to keep in touch with them, and informed them about you.. Anyways, I'm supposed to debrief you once you're up, but I can always do it later if you'd like.." Hackett told him.

"Now is fine, Admiral.." Shepard answered as he began retelling his story, from their run to the Conduit, his ascent to the Citadel, his journey through a keeper tunnel, his confrontation with the Illusive Man, how he managed to make him see the truth, and how he shot himself like Saren did, and his confrontation with the Catalyst, the choices it gave him, the claims that all synthetics will be wiped out if the destruction of the Reapers was chosen.

"That would make one hell of a story, thank you, Shepard.." Hackett said before looking down, "Unfortunately, I have some bad news... that part were you said that synthetics will be wiped out is.. true.." he added, "Right now we have Geth ships drifting in space, and their ground units deactivated, the Quarians have begun salvage operations."

"So.. I've basically committed genocide?" Shepard said in horror as he realized his actions, "But there is some good news.. the Quarians are finding a way to reactivate them, and someone named, David Archer, is currently assisting them.." Hackett assured him, "Don't beat yourself up over what happened, the Geth would have probably done the same if they were in your position.."

Despite the Admiral's assurance, Shepard couldn't help think about how he wasted Legion's sacrifice, his efforts to make EDI feel like a person, and how he made her and Joker feel complete with one another. But he then remembered one of his conversation with EDI, on how she chose to modify her self-preservation code that she would prefer to sacrifice herself for her friends and loved ones.

"I hope so.." Shepard said, as he silently hoped that EDI and the Geth would understand his decision, that he chose to destroy the Reapers, no matter the cost.

Normandy SR-2, Exodus Cluster
A week later

"So, is anyone prepared to test if this hunk of junk still works?" Joker asked the crew, "Did you just call the Normandy a hunk of junk?" Adams asked, despite knowing that he was only joking, "The thing is, me and Shepard would sometimes insult the Normandy whenever she fails at times.. So is everybody ready?" Joker rebuked, as soon as he heard the crew's confirmation he began pre-flight checks and started the Normandy's drive core.

To those in the Engineering, the sight of the drive core powering up was a magnificent sight, despite the fact it had multiple safety issues. Once the Normandy began ascending, the intercom was filled with the pilot's joyous voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have achieved flight. Our current location is the Exodus Cluster, ETA to the Sol System is estimated to be a week and a few days."

Once the frigate exited the planet's atmosphere, and arrived at the edge of the system, the Normandy began its long FTL voyage back home.

Geneva, European Union
January 8, 2187

Despite being completely healed, the doctors decided not to release Shepard yet, much to his chagrin, then again, it meant another week before meeting with the media, politicians, and a bunch of admirals waiting to dump medals and possibly a desk job at his face. Before he could drift back into his slumber, he was interrupted with the door being opened, his latest visitors were Javik and Cortez.

"Hey, Shepard, glad to see you're alive, and still in one piece" Cortez said as he sat beside the bed, "You too, Steve" Shepard nodded before looking at the Prothean, "Javik, where'd you been for the past few months?" he asked.

"Roaming around this planet, examining the prim- Humans, I have.. learned a few things about the species of this cycle" Javik said, "And what is it you learned?" Shepard asked curiously, half of him hoped that Javik learned an important moral lesson about their cycle and that he changed his mind about taking his own life once he finds the location of his fallen comrades.

"Your species, despite being individualistic and at times, selfish, are a resilient, resourceful people, and when I thought about this cycles willingness to help the weak, I believed that it was a weakness, but then seeing the people here.. cooperate, it seems to have made me contemplate about something" Javik said, "That, like you have said, it is hard to think outside the 'box' I have ever known of.."

"So you've finally seen what peace looks like?" Shepard inquired, "Yes, I have made my decision. I will remain until the end of my life to see what peace is like, and once my end is near, I will go to my people, and die with them" Javik said, his decision to live calmed Shepard's conscience, one less person dying on my watch, he thought.

"So, how long do Protheans usually live, Javik?" a curious Steve asked, "A hundred less than the Commander's new lifespan." Javik said, the words surprised Shepard, as he knew for a fact that he'll live as long like most humans, a hundred and fifty years, "Oh, Miss Lawson didn't tell you?" Steve said as he noticed the Commander's surprise.

"No, they kept me out of the loop about that one.." Shepard said, "Let me guess, Project Lazarus was involved?"

A cool voice echoed through the room with Shepard looking for the source, "Right you are, Commander.." there he saw Miranda Lawson, "One of the few things that the Illusive Man allowed us to do, a few gene modifications to your regenerative abilities which in turn extended your lifespan to about 300 more."

"Heh, I don't know if I should thank you or.." Shepard said with humor in his voice, "You should probably thank us, since you get to live a bit longer with your bondmate.." Miranda replied with a laugh.

"Anyways, the doctors have you cleared and the Admiralty Board wishes to speak with you." Miranda said, "The Admiralty Board?" Shepard asked, he was out of the loop that he didn't even know that the Alliance Military set up a junta. He was immediately helped up by Steve and was escorted to a shuttle that would take them to Alliance HQ.

"I thought I was supposed to be here for another week?" Shepard asked as they boarded the shuttle, "They just told me they needed you, probably want to award you or something." Miranda answered as the shuttle flew off.

Alliance Government Center, Geneva

Once they vacated the shuttle, Shepard took a few moments to enjoy the view that the historical city of Geneva had to offer, unlike most cities in Europe that demolished and replaced most of their historical architecture, Geneva was a mixture of antiquity and modernism. After a few moments of enjoying the view, they were immediately escorted by Alliance guards to the meeting room.

"Lieutenant-Commander Shepard, please have a seat" Admiral Nitesh offered, as Shepard took his seat awaiting for whatever the Admirals would tell him. He watched as the Admirals took their seats, the scene reminded him of his meeting with the Defense Committee, the only difference is that they won't get ambushed by Reapers. However, the fact that they mentioned his full rank, instead of simply Commander, really hints at something.

"Shepard, the Systems Alliance have decided to reward you for your efforts and sacrifices to ensure the survival of the galaxy's species." Admiral Ines said, "We believe this is long overdue, but the Admiralty have finally decided to promote you to Staff Commander" Admiral Hackett finished.

While the thought of being away from a desk job sounded fine for him, he couldn't help but wonder why they didn't decide to promote him to Captain, or Rear Admiral. But then his mother, Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard spoke up.

"Before you ask the question, as your mother and therefore legal guardian, I declined your promotion to Rear Admiral, while you were out in a coma. You always said you hated being stuck in a desk job, and would prefer to be like your father, going on adventures, living on a ship." she explained.

"That and we wouldn't want to have two Admiral Shepard's at the same time, besides we'd be more than happy to promote you to Rear Admiral or Captain if you request it. And we feel that the title 'Commander' befits you." Rear Admiral Mikhailovich humored, "You're a Spectre, so technically you and your ship are no longer bound to Alliance protocols."

"Anyways, back to important matters." Admiral Hackett intervened, "The Alliance is planning to hold an awarding ceremony for you and your crew a few weeks from now, then we'll put you and your crew on shore leave while we dry-dock the Normandy for maintenance. Once that's over, I'll personally inform you of your new orders, either from the Alliance or the Council."

The meeting took a little while longer, once it was over, Shepard was left alone with Admiral Hackett and Rear Admiral Shepard, whom after a while Hackett told them to accompany him to the landing pad on the topmost floor of the building.

"Commander, we received information that the Normandy arrived on Earth a few hours ago, we've ordered them to come here." Admiral Hackett said as he motioned for them to sit down on a waiting bench.

"And I'm eager to meet your crew, son. And I've been waiting to meet your.. what was it again.. 'bondmate'?" Hannah Shepard humored causing John's face to darken to a reddish color.

Hackett decided to cut in the embarrassing conversation that Shepard gotten himself into, "And I've taken the liberty of giving you a temporary apartment here on Geneva, you deserve a rest, a proper rest not like the shore leave you took a few months back.." Hackett said, reminding him of the crazy adventures he had on the Citadel on stopping a rogue clone of his.

While the three of them waited by watching the sun set over Geneva, they saw the shuttle arrived. Shepard stepped forward as the shuttle's doors opened, once it opened, an asari immediately rushed out and gave him a hug, he immediately returned the embrace as he looked on to his crew. The couple immediately released themselves from each other's grasp.

Shepard looked at Liara and noticed a small bump at her stomach, the asari blushed as she looked him at the eyes, "Shepard.. I.. we're going to have a daughter" Liara stammered, "The first of our little blue children?" Shepard said as they both chuckled.

"Liara T'Soni, I'm Hannah Shepard, his mother." the Rear Admiral stepped in as she introduced herself, "While I don't have a high opinion regarding other species, especially the batarians, I can see my son chose well." Hannah joked, "Though, I wasn't expecting that I'd be a grandmother so soon."

As his bondmate and mother had a chat, Shepard immediately went over to meet his crew. Many of them were happy to finally see him once more,

"Garrus, looking good as usual, no extra scars from that day" Shepard greeted his turian best friend, "Well, I could say the same to you.." the turian replied, "So how are things between you and Tali?" the human said before the mentioned quarian stepped in, "Well, I'm happy to tell you that it was not a fling." Tali said.

Then he moved to Joker, while he was expecting that Joker didn't knew why EDI went offline, what happened next pretty much surprised Shepard, "Before you say anything, I hated you for killing EDI, but then I realized that she would have done the same thing if she was in your place" Joker said, "And your comm's were still working when you spoke to that.. thing.. don't worry I didn't show it to everyone else."

As they had their little reunion, Shepard was approached by Admiral Hackett who gave him a pat on the shoulder, "You've picked your crew well, Shepard. If there's one reason why you won this war it's because you had a crew that not only follows orders, but also cares for one another." the Admiral praised him.

"I guess you're right, Admiral." Shepard said as he looked at the sunset over Geneva, thinking about the future that the galaxy holds for him, his bondmate, and their friends.