And here I go again with another chapter. I was quite happy with the response to the first one. In response to a review, I have decided to not change Sheps name to John. I don't know, I just have difficulty writing him out that way. That being said, he is going to look like the default male, so I hope you have no problems seeing him as it were.
So, to my amazement and personal awe, another chapter for all to read.
Chapter 2: Silence
Ashley woke up to a breath taking view. Sunlight sparkled off the water of the harbour, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge a defying insult to the period of horror that had overcome the galaxy during the war. The Alliance had somehow, managed to keep the Reapers from destroying the bridge, which had been a key component in supplying supplies to Melbourne and Brisbane, cities with active resistance bases. Sydney had also been the processing point for millions of refugees from Adelaide. The city had been destroyed entirely from orbit by the Reapers, after the Underground News Network had leaked that Admiral David Anderson had been sighted.
One day later, the city was gone.
But the Australian's had been instrumental in the restoration and recovery of Earth, with huge scale agriculture harvesting extending over the country. Due to the genetically engineered soil and crops, Australia could provide enough food, fast enough, to sustain the world.
This was one of the reasons that Shepard had wanted to move here. The centre of commerce that Australia now was, he didn't have to go far if he was needed at a meeting or a conference. Also, Shepard found that Australian's didn't have the same affinity to famous people that the rest of the galaxy did, and this allowed him to be easily accepted into most crowds.
The weather wasn't bad either.
Ashley liked Sydney. Having grown up on a patchwork of colonies, it was nice to have some sort of normalcy for a home. Although it didn't really feel like home after the chilling argument last night.
Remembering this, Ashley walked out of the bedroom, to make a quick scan of the apartment. As she thought, Shepard didn't come back last night.
What a bastard.
What the hell had happened last night? She could never remember Shepard behaving like that. Scratch that, Shepard didn't behave like that.
It was like he was a different person.
And he didn't come home last night.
Ashley became worried, very fast. She had no doubt that Shepard could handle himself on the streets. From what little he had told her about his childhood, he was capable enough to know how things worked in the cities. But Shepard was the forgiving sort. Whenever they had a fight he was always the first to cave, especially so since she was pregnant.
She sat down at the table and looked over the plates that had been left on the table since last night. Uneaten and cold. Ashley felt a chill go down her spine, and suddenly felt a stab of panic.
What the hell did I do that would make him not want to come home she thought.
He was paranoid about leaving Ashley alone. Something to do with the third trimester being a crucial time, in which stress could cause early delivery, and he didn't want Ashley to be alone if she went into labour. So the fact she was here, alone, meant that he was seriously pissed.
Ashley's guilt was quickly replaced annoyance. What right did he have to be angry, he should be begging her forgiveness, not the other way around. She was determined to make him realise just how wrong he was.
In the middle of her vindication shower, another wave of guilt hit her. Why was she so bloody stupid! Sarah was right, stupid men tried to play the tough male. She knew Shepard, she knew he was hurt, but she couldn't figure out what she had said that had made him become so crazy.
Ashley heard a knock at the door. Rushing out of the bathroom with a towel barely covering her belly, she walked as fast as she could to the door. An unusual fear entered her heart, what if something had happened to Shepard?
'SUPRISE!' Abby and Lynn yelled when she opened the door. Noticing her rather unkempt state, their smiles fell.
'Oh. My. God.' Lynn exclaimed.
'What the hell happened' Abby was always more direct than Lynn.
Ashley suddenly found herself in tears at the door, and was immediately swarmed by her two clucking sisters. Thirty minutes later, clad in a tightly wrapped blanket with a cup of tea and her sisters on either side of her, Ashley was recounting the tale of what had occurred the night before.
After she finished, Abby and Lynn didn't say anything. Ash looked up from her mug, to find the two sisters engaged in a glare war.
'What?' she demanded. She always knew when something was being hidden from her.
Abby shook her head violently at Lynn and almost lunged herself across Ashley's stomach at Lynn when she replied.
'Ash, the reason we are here... Shepard called us'
Ash stared at her for a few seconds.
'What?' she finally managed to choke out.
'He didn't say you had a fight' Abby quickly interjected. 'But he did say he was going to be away for a few days, and he wanted to make sure that you weren't left alone while he was gone.'
Ashley snarled. 'He said WHAT!'
Ashley stood up aggressively, tea mug forgotten as it spilled over the floor.
'That self-conceited jackass! He can't go and take a day off! What did he think he was doing, using one of his sick days or something!' Ashley exclaimed arms angrily pointed at Abby, who was now trying to sink into the couch to avoid being hit.
Lynn had no such fears, and was instead trying to calm Ashley down.
'Come on Ash, he was doing the right thing' she stated.
'DOING THE RIGHT THING! ARE YOU JOKING!' Ashley yelled. 'First he behaves like a complete arse, and treats me like a three year old, when I was only trying to help him. AND THEN HE GOES FOR A HOLIDAY WHILE I'M STUCK HERE LEFT TO FELL GUILTY!'
She heaved breaths in and out while, clutching her belly. She was so angry a wave seemed to pass through her.
Abby, ever the peacemaker, also attempted to calm her sister down.
'Come on Ash, he called us didn't he? That must mean that he cares right?' she probed
This statement, appeared to have the opposite effect on Ashley than what was intended.
'AND THEN HE HAS TO GO AND BE SO PERFECT!' she screeched
She continued to yell. 'As far as I am concerned, he can take his ring and put it somewhere dark. I don't want to see him, I don't want to hear from him. He can move to the Citadel as far as I care-.'
'ASH!' Abby and Lynn yelled.
'What?' she huffed back at them, but they didn't answer her and were instead staring at her feet. Annoyed at their weird behaviour, she looked down to.
Oh shit. Either the tea had spread all the way to the window, or...
She looked up at her sisters, both of whom were gaping like fish.
'Are you-' Abby questioned before floundering.
For the first time in her life, Ashley had no idea what to do.
Lynn quickly resumed control.
'Abby, call a hospital. Now. Tell them Ashley Shepard's water has broken, and we are coming in right now unless they want Galactic Hero Jr. to be a homebirth.'
After Abby rushed to the phone and set about dialing the hospital whose number had been on the front page of a thick book entitled 'Birthing Plan. Version 14' Lynn came to Ashley side.
'Ash?' she asked. She had never seen her sister in shock before.
Ashley met her gaze. A tinge of fear was in her eyes. This startled Lynn, Ashley wasn't scared of anything.
'Call Shepard' she said simply and started walking to the door of her bedroom to get her overnight bag. Lynn's concerned expression changed to one of amusement and she said in a teasing tone.
'What happened to never seeing him again?' she queried loudly.
She was lucky Ashley's attention was otherwise occupied.
They were standing guard. It was a quiet job, simple and easy. The money was pretty good too. His brother was playing with knife he had been given on by Erik, the head of the Red's. Jarryd didn't like it that his brother had to be here. Normally he was given to worst jobs, with the worst payoff. But they needed the money that tonight would bring in for them. His brother looked haggard and drawn, he had never recovered from the Factory Incident, and had soon been drawn to the darker side of the streets and Jarryd wasn't there to keep an eye on him. He was pretty sure that Isaac had been using red sand. It broke him when he saw him stumble back into their abandoned apartment at three in the morning. He recognized the signs; their mother had died of an overdose after all. But he wanted to believe so desperately that Isaac wasn't using. That he had done the right thing. That he was a good brother.
A noise echoed from the other side of the door and Isaac clenched his knife and jumped.
'Relax' Jarryd said. 'Nothing is going to come through there to get you.'
Isaac bristled at his brother. 'I'm not scared of anything Jarryd, especially you.'
Jarryd was ready to reply when the door suddenly opened and a body was thrown out.
The boys raised their knives at the dark figure in the doorway, but were only greeted by a dark chuckle.
'Chill out baby boys.' Erik drawled. 'You did your job fine. Just clean up this mess, and you'll get your creds tomorrow.'
'Are you kidding?' Isaac exclaimed. 'Were not going to dump a fucking dead body!'
Jarryd tried to shut him up, but it was too late. Erik grabbed Isaac and slammed him against the building.
'You'll do what I say rat, if you don't want to end up as body number two' he stated maliciously.
'Don't worry boss' Jarryd said trying to placate him. 'We got this.'
Erik grunted, still staring at Isaac's face before dropping him on the ground where he landed in a heap.
Looking down at him, he turned his eyes to Jarryd.
'Get it done Jarryd' he said before turning and walking into the darkness.
Jarryd stared after him for a few seconds before turning to try and helped his brother from the ground. Isaac pushed his hand away before clambering to his feet and walking towards the body. He knelt down at the head and grabbed its arms. He paused and stared at Jarryd's prone figure.
'I will have never hated you more than now' he said dully.
His eyes were as dead as the body he began to drag into the dark.
The alarm was what woke Shepard today. The familiar beeping from his omnitool, caused him to drag his body out of the bed and turn off the gadget.
He didn't really feel like talking to anyone today.
He had called Abby last night, and asked her to stay with Ashley for a couple of days. He didn't think he could face her without either getting angry.
Or revealing far too much.
Brooding, he stood up observed the room. It was cheap, and simple. It didn't feel friendly, but he wasn't in a friendly mood after yet another nightmare. He didn't know why, but he was reliving his childhood every night and every morning he woke up chilled to his core.
Why the hell did this have to come back to him now? The war was ended and he was finally with Ashley. They were having a baby for Gods sake! And just when peace was finally within his grasp, his past had to come back to hurt him.
To hurt Ashley.
Guilty, Shepard left the room as empty as he felt.
Breakfast at the Henderson Hotel was worse than food in the navy. Shepard raised his fork and watched the gloop on the end of it, drip onto the plate. In the corner of the dingy dining hall, the vid screen was playing the morning news.
'Thanks Trevor for that interesting report. And now we have a rather disturbing story of a turian man, who has been hospitalised after attempting to box a kangaroo. The ex-marine was out with friends when, after an extensive drinking session, his friends apparently convinced him that they should break into Taronga Zoo and the marine was to 'talk to the pretty pet.' The marine was apparently convinced by his friend's reassurances that kangaroos were common household pets on earth. And that it would be safe to enter the males enclosure. Janet Anderfield reports.'
Shepard snorted in his gloop. He had to remember to use that one when he next saw Garrus, he wondered if he could convince him that tigers were friendly. At the thought of Garrus, Shepard's thoughts turned reflective. Tali and Garrus were still together, much to Ashley's surprise. She was convinced that they wouldn't last, but Shepard knew his friends better than Ash. He wasn't surprised when they got married. He was, though, when Tali opted to live on Palaven with Garrus. Shepard was sure that Tali would never leave her homeworld after struggling so hard to win it back for her people, but the desicion had been remarkably easy for her. She would always view Rannoch as the home of her people, but her heart was always with Garrus.
He was willing to live on Rannoch, but Tali wanted him to be close to his sister and father. After all, they had only just reconciled before the war, and there was no way that Tali wanted to deny Garrus the chance to have a good relationship with his father.
After all, she would have wished for the same.
She also felt that she could assist with the rebuild of Palaven. With her vast knowledge of tech, she was playing a vital role in the development.
Garrus had still bought her a house on Rannoch just in case. He blamed it on the buyer's market when teased about his romantic tendencies.
Distracted, Shepard didn't immediately notice a group of still drunk men walk into the hotel lobby. There were four of them, all human and all very loud. They looked like they were arguing with the receptionist. One of them made a lunge for the poor girl's shirt. The doorman and the concierge walked over and tried to usher the men out, but the leader of the group punched the doorman out.
He didn't get a chance to hit the concierge before Shepard knocked him out.
'Right gentleman' Shepard said politely to the conscious members of the group. 'Don't you think now is the time to vacate the premises?'
The men wobbled unsteadily on their feet, before one of the sharper looking ones said to him 'I don't know you... I think. But you seem to be a bit of aaaannnn asshoooolee. Come on guys. We are not gonna put up witthhhh dis guy... are we?' They all turned back to make an unsteady lean towards Shepard with their fists raised.
Shepard sighed. Why couldn't his life be boring for just one day. But then again, he had married Ashley, so maybe he didn't want dull.
After giving his statement to the police, Shepard walked out into the sunshine of the street. He didn't know what he was going to do for the next few days. He would probably spend it stressed out of his mind about how to talk to her ever again without getting killed. He was an idiot.
Frowning at the sun, he turned on his omnitool to check the time. It was later than he thought. He also had thirty missed calls.
What the hell?
Opening up the last message Lynn's face appeared.
'Look Shepard, I don't know where you are, but I am just calling again to inform you that YOUR WIFE IS IN LABOUR! If you don't want to miss your kid getting born, I would suggest fast movement to Waterbreak Hospital' she said before her voice cut out.
'Oh shit' Shepard said. He checked the time stamp of the last message.
15 minutes ago.
Shepard waved down a skytaxi. He had to get there fast, if he missed the birth... well, at least he knew he would have one kid.
Past be damned. He wasn't going to miss his future.
What do we think? Okay, not okay? Please review or I can not improve. I have made improvements to my overall plot thanks to someone's advice, so if you have an idea, PM or write a review. I always listen to good advice :)