"Mrs. Shepard, I'm so sorry for that" Ash said in an embarrassed tone. Hannah looked at her with calm tender eyes and told her not to be silly. Grief needed to be let out, and in comforting Ash, Hannah said that she had let some of her own out. Craig's dad stood nearby, trying vainly to maintain male dignity, but not succeeding very well. Her poems and The Last Post had cracked his self control, but he didn't appear to mind.
Hannah looked down at Ashley while she blew her nose and made herself look human again. She instantly saw what had drawn her son to this beautiful young lady, why he was so excited in his messages to her about this Ashley. She was everything he had said: smart, beautiful, strong, witty and sensitive. Once again, Hannah cursed the fates for taking Craig away, but she also thanked them for at least letting her get to meet Ashley. They both needed each other now.
Ashley looked up at Mrs. Shepard "Would you like to join myself and the team for a few drinks? We planned to celebrate Craig's life in our own private way. We would be honoured if you could join us" Hannah smiled and said that she was hoping Ash would say that, or she and James would have invited the team to drinks. Ashley gathered then that Craig's father's name was James, though he had never mentioned it before. A lot like the son himself, it seemed most people just called him Shepard. In his case, Shepard Senior.
Ashley stood and waved over to the team, who had been waiting for her. They came over and each introduced themselves to the Commander's parents. Garrus lead the way to the bar for the drinks, where the owner had been waiting. As everyone sat down, he announced that for today, all drinks were free in memory of the Commander. The other patrons in the bar looked over at him and asked; why would he do such a thing? The owner said it was simple: the Commander had once helped him out with a problem and had refused payment. Not only that, he had spent an evening at the bar getting to know the owner. With tears in his eyes, the owner pointed at a framed napkin that was mounted above the bar counter. When he had asked Shepard for an autograph, there had been no paper. Shepard wanted to sign the wall, but the owner was too aghast at the idea that Shepard would favour his small bar that much. He had given Shepard a napkin instead, and he counted it as one of his most valuable possessions. The two of them had become friends, and Shepard would stop by every time he was on the Citadel.
Everyone cheered the owner, who blushed and got down to serving drinks. James Shepard stood up not long afterwards and asked that someone on the team tell him the funniest thing his son had done. It wasn't long before the stories were rolling out from Garrus and Wrex, Shepard's favourite henchmen in his pranks on the ship. Liara ended up blushing a lot, since the three of them had often targeted her for the pranks. Liara and Tali had their revenge though by revealing a story they had all sworn would stay secret, which caused Wrex and Garrus to choke on their drinks. Tali rather sweetly asked if they needed any help, to which both replied that no, the drink was just stronger than usual. Liara grinned so wickedly that everyone burst out laughing again.
Joker chipped in with some of the one cheesy one liners he and Shepard exchanged, and Dr. Chakwas spoke about the nonsense Jenkins, Kaidan and Shepard had once gotten up to. In the end it was decided that there was one winner: the whole team. After that, other stories were told, things that often made Hannah's eyes widen a bit. Just when Ash felt safe, Joker brought her relationship with Shepard out into the open. Everyone then proceeded to tell some or another story about her and Craig that just made her blush furiously. Try and she might, the sass master Ashley Williams just couldn't get one of her slay them dead one liners out. Her most unlikely rescuer was the owner, who had stood up now and proposed that everyone join him in a toast. Unlike everything today, his speech was simple and direct. "In memory of Commander Craig Shepard. May he rest in peace. Semper Fi" After that, things settled down with quiet chat as the Shepards got to know each team member a little better.
Ash felt her eyes closing a little bit; it had been a long tiring and draining day. Combined with her drinks, she was feeling a little light headed, but it was a pleasant buzz. She kicked off her heels and stretched out in her chair. The heels had been well worth it, they had been comfortable, but like any ladies shoe, they can only be worn for so long before it eventually becomes uncomfortable. Ash noticed that the Shepards were done making their rounds with all the crew, and now they were headed her way. Ash rose from her chair to greet them again, but they waved her down, sitting next to her. "Ashley dear, before we leave, there is something we would like you to have. It belonged to Craig, and we could think of no better person to keep this little symbol of him. Please, accept this little gift" said Hannah as she reached into her bag and gave Ash a small wooden box. Ash opened the box with a gasp. It was Craig's Star of Terra medal! The very one he had been awarded with for his heroic role in the Skyllian Blitz. "Hannah, James, I can't accept this, this is too precious!" Hannah looked like she was about to say something, but James spoke up.
"Ashley, with all the chaos and madness of the last few weeks, I've discovered something but I wasn't able to tell Craig in time. When I read his message and saw your name, it rang a bell in my head. My best friend when I was younger was your father." Ashley looked stunned at the news. "But, but" "We lost contact after we finished a mission together years ago. No matter what I tried, I could never get hold of him again. All the messages I sent ended up bouncing back. When I asked people higher up to look for him, I was told that he was to be left alone. I regret not taking it further than that. I know your family history Ash, and I have been trying for years to get people to understand what a hero your grandfather really was."
Ashley looked up at James, even more stunned than a few seconds ago. These weren't the words of someone trying to mock her or show self pity, they were the words of an honest man. "History will never look kindly at the act of surrender, nor does it ever seem to record the real reasons for it. Life is infinitely precious, to waste it all in the name of honour is the worst kind of stupid. There are people alive out there today, whole families in fact, that owe their lives to what your grandfather did. They are the people forgotten by history, the quiet ones. It is even bitterer that your dad suffered as well, something he had no control over."
"This medal is precious, but it is only a piece of metal in the end. The idea it represents though, the things Craig stood for is the real symbol. We believe that you stand for those same things as well, and that is why we wanted you to have it. Craig asked us to keep it safe, now we ask that you do the same. We hope that in some small way, it will help you to remember him."
The lump in Ashley's throat was too big for her to speak. All she could do was hug James and Hannah and whisper her thanks. Looking again at the medal, she nervously ran her finger over the face of it, reading the little inscription on it with Craig's name in it. She would always treasure this, no matter what. She looked up to his parents and saw them smile with love, a feeling Ashley now felt that would always connect them.
The Shepards made their way out the bar. They were due to head off back to their ship the next day, and wanted to get some rest. Hannah had told her that she would be in touch, she wanted to stay in contact with her new daughter. Ash had laughed at that and felt good in a way she couldn't explain. After they had left, her omni-tool had chimed, indicating she had a message. Checking it out, she saw it was from Councillor Anderson. He wanted to meet with her tomorrow afternoon to discuss something, something that would be of interest to her. Ashley sent her reply back in short order that she would be there. Naturally curious, she wanted to know what he wanted, but it would also be good to see him again. He was almost a friend to her now, and she liked to speak with him.
The other team members eventually left as well, after a last drink and goodbye. The team was now to go their own separate ways. Wrex was planning to do some travelling, but had hinted that he had plans for Tuchanka. Garrus was unsure, but was planning to go speak to C-Sec tomorrow about getting a job there. Liara wasn't sure what she was going to do either, but she had mentioned going to Ilium to follow some trails of Prothean ruins. Tali would be staying a few more days, but she had decided to go home to the fleet. Ash suspected that Tali was staying for her, and while the quarian had denied it, Ash had read between the lines. She didn't mind, Tali had become like one of her sisters. Dr. Chakwas and Joker were hoping to be redeployed to another ship. There was certainly a need for good pilots and medical officers, so both were confident they would get a good posting. Joker's pilot skills alone would surely get him a range of offers.
As for herself, Ash had no idea what she was going to do. She would speak to Anderson tomorrow, and perhaps take some of her overdue leave time. She was due to visit her family, and she missed them a lot. The trip would be expensive, but she had plenty of credits. Other options included just staying on the Citadel, or doing a little tourist sightseeing. Time would tell. Tali and Ash were the last to leave the bar. By now, Ash was too tired and tipsy to walk with her heels on, so she simply carried them along. Tali had looked confused and asked a question, but Ash had just giggled. They had managed to hail a transport and got back to their little residence quite quickly, and they tipped the driver quite a large amount.
Inside, Tali had headed straight for her bed, she had said that she had never been this exhausted. Ash walked to her room with a strange sensation in her head. It had started in the transport on the way over here. Somehow, everything seemed hyper real and clear. It was as if the tiredness, pain, stress, fleeting moments of happiness and the drinks had combined to create a strange state of mind. Ash undressed slowly and got prepared for bed. She took extra care hanging up the dress for some reason, she didn't know why. She was exhausted, yet every action just kept her extra moments away from the bed. Taking the small Star of Terra box, Ashley put it on her bed stand. That medal would never be far from hand as long as she could help it. Shaking her head, Ashley climbed in, revelling in the soft feeling under her. The hyper real awareness seemed to snap, and before she could blink thrice, Ash was dead asleep.