Liara T'Soni screamed as she felt the baby stir inside her. "Shepard!" She screamed as Jack helped her out of her seat.

"Fuck! Miranda, what do we do?" Jack cried.

Miranda look to Rahna who was standing rigid with her eyes wide in shock. "Rahna!" Miranda snapped and caught the dark skinned woman's attention.

"Y-Yes?!"

"You have to go find Shepard! You know who she is I trust." Miranda shouted and wrapped her arm around Liara's shoulders.

"Of course. Right away!" Rahna said and turned to run off into the crowd.

"I can't do this without her." Liara said.

"You won't. She'll be there." Miranda promised and saw that Jack was still in shock. "Jack!" her lover snapped to.

"What?"

"We have to get her to the car. There's not enough time to wait for paramedics."

Liara winced in pain. "Oh Goddess! Ahhh!" the crowd of the ball had fanned out into a circle around the three women and stared in silence at the scene.

Jack and Miranda started to move the asari. "Get the hell out of the way!" Jack screamed and the frightened guests created a path to the exit. "This baby has some crap timing."

"Why?" Liara huffed.

"We don't need to worry her with that, Jack!"

Liara lurched forward and Miranda caught her. "Worry me with what? Tell me."

"A pair of assassins were hired kill someone at this ball." Miranda admitted.

"One less now." Jack chuckled.

"Who would-AH!" Liara screamed.

"Hire them?" Miranda finished her sentence with a guess. "I don't know. Shaw maybe."

Another flood of liquid came from between Liara's legs and Jack averted her eyes as the asari screamed. "Your contractions are starting." Miranda said clinically.

"Is that good?" Jack asked.

"It means the baby is coming. But it also means we're not going to have enough time to get you to a hospital."

"What?" Liara cried as another contraction struck.

"Shit." Jack said. "Can we get her to our place? That's close enough right?"

"I suppose."

Panic hit Liara. "Not without Shepard!"

Jack was growing increasingly uncomfortable with the situation as they finally stepped outside into the cold october night. "Maybe I should go help find her." The convict offered desperate to get away.

"No Jack, I'm going to need your help." Miranda said.

"You, AH! Know how to deliver a baby?" Liara asked Lawson.

"Of course. It isn't too complicated. Besides I've already brought one Shepard into this world. I can bring in another."

A hard slap made Admiral Charles Shaw's eyes groggily pry open. He found himself propped up against a wall in the closet next to the hole in the wall Jack had sent him through. Bent over him with a pissed off expression plastered on her blue tattooed face was Ereyla. "Get off your ass human." she barked.

Shaw groaned as he struggled to move his sore body. He ached from head to toe and his ears were still ringing. His initial attempt at getting to his feet seemed to confirm what he feared. He had suffered several broken ribs in the crash. "Give me a second." He muttered.

"Now!" She screamed.

Shaw stumbled on his hands and knees for a bit before the asari grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to his feet. "You're..." He struggled to form a coherent sentence. "What happened?"

"That's what you better start telling me."

He buried his aching head in his hands. "I don't remember much."

Ereyla sighed and crossed her muscular arms. "Start with the last thing you remember."

"I...I sent the data to Aqu-" Ereyla slapped him hard across the face.

"Don't say her name." She reminded him.

Shaw rubbed his red cheek. "I sent the data to the Matriarch right after you came in on me and those two assassins. Then...I don't know. There was a woman I think, she was pretty. But that's all I remember about her."

"What else?" Ereyla barked.

"A name."

"What name?"

Shaw locked eyes with the asari. "Jack. That mean something to you?"

"Other than it being a human name. No." Ereyla glanced at the whole in the wall. "Must have been a biotic. Did you tell them anything?"

"No!"

"We'll see about that." Ereyla's eyes swirled black and before Shaw could protest she seized him by the wrists and pinned him against the wall before she initiated the meld.

Shaw put up a pathetic struggle but before long Ereyla had complete access to his mind and to his memories. A series of random scenes began to play for her. She saw Shaw and two young boys, the humans were laughing and she quickly discarded the useless memory before trying to move on to something more recent. She saw Shaw again only this time he was alone with a drink in one hand and a gun in the other as the man sobbed uncontrollably and pressed the barrel of the gun against his head. She tossed that one away too before she found what she was looking for. Shaw was indeed sending the data from his Omni-Tool to the Matriarch as he had promised to do. After that it was all black. She withdrew from his mind and released him.

"You didn't lie to me. Good, I don't have to kill you then. You're lucky the Matriarch has too much invested in you to lose."

Shaw's headache was doubled by the asari's forced meld but it seemed to have calmed the angry asari some. He was grateful for that at least. "What now? If someone attacked me they might know."

Ereyla shrugged. "It doesn't matter much. Once Hackett is dead the only person you'll be answering to is her. And we can silence anyone who tries to come forward once that happens."

"What if the assassins can't follow through?"

"Then we'll find someone else to kill him. I will never understand why you hired such fools for the job. I suppose you get what you pay for when you hire a human. Come along, Now that your business is through here we should leave this place in case your assassins actually do the job they're being paid for."

"Why so eager to leave?"

Ereyla groaned. "I was spotted by...an old friend. I can't afford to be seen by her again and I can't leave you alone. So you're coming with me. You have no choice in this." She said as she grabbed the Admiral by the arm.

A few minutes earlier...

Shepard watched as the tall dark haired stranger made his way to the poker table and sat down across from both Hackett and Jane. His chin was covered in stubble and he had a scar that stretched across the bridge of his nose. His muscular body awkwardly fit in his Alliance uniform and something about the man didn't sit right with Jane.

"It's an honor." He said.

"What?" Shepard asked.

"To meet you, Commander. It's truly an honor."

"Pleasure is all mine Corporal..." she glanced at the name printed on his uniform. "Simmons." That name. It sounded familiar. It only took a second for it to click that Simmons was the name of the impostor Jack had followed. One thing was certain, this man was not here to play poker.

"I suppose we should get started." Hackett offered and the holographic cards were dealt to all three players. Shepard didn't even look at her cards and neither did Victor but she noticed both of his hands were below the table.

"Been in the Alliance long, Corporal?" Shepard asked as she slowly inched her hand towards Shaw's pistol which she still had stuffed in her pants.

"Ever since I was 18, Doll." Victor lied

"Where were you during the war?" Hackett asked as he looked at his cards.

"New Mexico."

Shepard stealthy drew her gun and pointed it at the man under the table. "See a lot of action there?"

"More than my fair share."

Shepard turned to Hackett. "Sir, can I see you outside?"

The Admiral narrowed his eyes. "Something wrong, Commander?"

"The cards have already been dealt." Victor said with a sly grin. "Let's play the hand shall we?"

Hackett seemed to agree as he turned back to his cards. "You said you had something to show me, Shepard." He reminded her.

"We can talk about it later, sir."

Victor chuckled. "Oh don't worry about me, sweetheart. I can keep a secret." They sat in tense silence as they continued their game. Finally Victor spoke up. "It was impressive."

"What was?" Shepard asked.

"The way you pulled your gun under the table. I almost didn't notice. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to drop it, Shepard."

"That's not going to happen." Shepard growled as she kept her weapon pointed at the man under the table.

"What's going on?" Hackett asked.

"Short version, somebody wants you gone, Hoss." Victor said. "I'm just here to help you along."

"An assassin." Jane hissed.

Victor frowned. "I prefer Hitman. Always sounded sexier to me."

"Who would hire you to kill me?" Hackett demanded to know.

"I make a habit out of not giving out client names. It's bad for business."

Shepard eased her finger towards her trigger. "So is a bullet."

"I agree. Which is why I must ask you again to drop that gun you have pointed at me." Victor shifted his own gun's aim from Hackett to Shepard under the table.

"Son, I'd do what the woman says." The Admiral said.

"Believe me when I say I don't want to hurt you, Commander." Victor said sincerely. "If I did I would have shot you both when I walked into this room. But I'd rather avoid having to kill the savior of the galaxy. So do me a favor and make this easy on me."

"Not a chance. Give this up and maybe you get to walk away from this."

Victor smiled. "Oh baby, I've walked away from much worse. However it is pretty cool to have Commander Shepard pointing a gun at me."

"Why are you doing this?" Shepard asked.

"If you'd asked me that last week I would have said for credits. But there's been a few developments since then. Now the old man is the only thing standing between me and protecting the woman I love."

"You're very open for an assassin."

Victor shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a people person."

Hackett leaned forward. "There's no way out of this."

Victor winked at the old man. "There's always a way out."

Miranda opened the skycar door and Jack helped Liara into the back seat. The asari was breathing heavily and crying out in pain. Lawson opened her omni-tool while Jack sat in the back with Liara. "Jack, I need you to check to see if the baby is crowning." Miranda ordered while she dialed her comm.

"What the hell does that mean?!" Jack cried and winced when Liara squeezed her hand tightly.

"Look and see if you can see the baby's head." Lawson clarified.

Liara huffed in air as she pulled up her dress. "Um...can you do that?!" Jack asked with her eyes shut.

Miranda looked into the backseat. "Just check, Jack!"

Jack opened one eye and checked before shutting her eyes again. "Fuck! No I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" Liara asked.

"Check again!" Miranda cried.

Jack opened both eyes and forced herself to look. "Oh shit! Yeah it is! I can see the head!"

"That's not ideal. Liara, we're going to have to leave without Shepard." Miranda said

"No!" Tears brimmed in Liara's eyes.

"It's okay, stay calm. Listen it's very important that we get you somewhere comfortable and I have a few medical supplies back at the house. I'm gonna have Kaidan bring Shepard with him and she'll meet us there." Miranda said as her call to Kaidan rang.

"By the Goddess, Ahhh!" Liara screamed as she contracted again and squeezed Jack's hand tightly.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. The cheerleader knows what she's doing and Shepard won't miss this. I'll kick her ass if she does." Jack assured her. "She's fucking Commander Shepard! She can do anything."

"You're right." Liara nodded her head. "She'll be there. She has to be."

Kaidan Alenko moved through the crowd with his head on a swivel as he searched for his old Commander. He grabbed everyone he could and asked if they had seen her but he was having no luck.

Suddenly someone bumped into him. "Kaidan!" Rahna cried.

"Rahna, have you found Shepard?" He asked.

"No I can't find her anywhere." Rahna said.

Alenko's omni-tool buzzed and he answered the call from Lawson. "Miranda, what's going on?!"

"We're taking Liara back to the house. You have to find Shepard and bring her." He heard Liara cry out loudly. "And you have to do it fast!"

"Okay I will!" He promised and hung up.

"So how you want to play this, sweet thing?" Victor asked.

"What would this woman of yours say if she could see you now?" Shepard challenged.

Victor laughed loudly. "Hell, she would have killed you both by now. You're lucky I respect you, Shepard."

"I didn't save the galaxy any more than Hackett."

"Yeah well I wasn't paid to kill you."

"Then do it already." Hackett said.

"Sir!" Jane cried.

"Shepard, you've got a daughter who needs you. I'm not letting you get killed over an old man like me."

Victor turned to Jane. "A daughter?"

"Any day now." Shepard hissed through clenched teeth.

"Congratulations." Victor said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Me and Ms. were thinking about trying for a baby. She's always wanted a son but I've never been much a kid person. How about you?"

Shepard was thrown by the man's chattiness. But she could use it to stall until someone found them and she could get some help. "No I wasn't either."

"And now you are?"

"People change."

"People like us? I'm not so sure. Look at Hackett here. What are you like 80? And here you are still a military man."

Hackett narrowed his eyes. "I'm 54."

Victor chuckled. "The years haven't been kind."

"Enough. Drop the gun."

"How'd you change your mind?" Victor asked.

Shepard arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"About kids."

"You change for the people you love." Jane said.

That made Victor smile. "Yeah I guess so. You know this is actually my last job, after I've sent Hackett on his way I'm gonna start my own little happy ending."

Hackett crossed his arms. "Then pull the trigger already or drop the gun."

"Don't do that!" Shepard cried out. "I don't want to kill you but I will if you pull that trigger."

Suddenly Jane's omni-tool buzzed with an incoming call Shepard glanced at it and saw it was Miranda calling. "You gonna get that?" Victor asked. "I'll wait. But don't go inviting any more guests to our party."

Shepard answered the call. "Miranda. I'm a little busy."

"Shepard!" Miranda cried. In the background Jane could hear Liara crying out in pain. "Liara is going into labor now!"

"What?!" Jane shouted.

"We're going to have to leave without you. There's not enough time to get to a hospital so we're taking her home. You're just going to have to get there quickly."

"She'll be there soon." Victor said loud enough for Miranda to hear.

"Victor?" Miranda said back.

"Hey Miranda! We can catch up some other time." Victor said before Shepard hung up. "You know Miranda Lawson. What a funny coincidence."

"Alright Victor, I'm sure this woman of yours wouldn't want me shooting you."

"Probably not." Victor agreed.

"And I clearly don't have time to do this now. So i'm begging you, please just drop it."

Victor looked conflicted. "I...I can't do that, Commander. Just get out of here you have more important places to be."

"Leave, Shepard." Hackett agreed.

Shepard sighed and took a risk she really didn't want to have to take, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Jane gripped the side of the poker table and using her biotics flipped it towards the assassin. Victor fired his gun without thought as he was propelled against the wall and sandwiched between it and the poker table. Jane turned and found Hackett on the ground beside his overturned chair but she couldn't worry about the fallen Admiral yet. Jane aimed her pistol as Victor fumbled out from behind the wreckage of the table, a bone sticking out of his left leg as he aimed at the Commander. "Godammit, Shepard." He huffed as he balanced on his uninjured leg. "You're gonna make me shoot you aren't you?"

Shepard started to squeeze her trigger. She'd just have to hope the man's reaction time wasn't good enough for him to return fire before she put him down for good. Before any bullet could be fired Victor was tackled to the floor and knocked out with a hard punch to the face.

"Hackett!" Shepard cried with a smile on her face.

The old Admiral returned her smile. "The bullet just grazed me. I guess my luck held out again."

"We need to get you help."

"Doctor T'Soni needs you now not me. Go on, I'll live." Hackett insisted.

"Okay but before I do." Shepard reached into her pocket and handed the OSD to the Admiral. "You have to look at the data on that."

"I will. Now go!"

Jane sprinted out of the back room and down the hallways and back into the main floor which was still crowded with guests. Shepard spun around trying to figure out how to get to her wife panic creeping into the galactic hero. Suddenly a voice called out from the crowd. "Shepard!" Kaidan Alenko pawed through the dense group of people with Rahna Berk close behind. "Follow us!"

Miranda and Jack helped the screaming asari into their bed. "Okay Liara, you have to start pushing!" Miranda said while she moved to the base of the bed. Jack stayed by Liara's side and held her hand.

Liara screamed as she started to push. "Good! Just keep pushing!" Miranda said.

"Shepard!" Liara cried.

Suddenly Jane came barreling inside the bedroom and ran to her wife's side and took her hand. "I'm here, Liara!" she kissed her forehead.

Tears fell from Liara's eyes. "You made it."

"Of course I made it. I could never miss this."

"I love you." Liara smiled and then cried out again as she kept pushing.

"I love you too."

"Almost there! Keep going, Liara." Miranda said.

After one final push and cry of effort the sound of a baby crying echoed throughout the room. Miranda caught the asari child in her hands and quickly cut the cord with her supplies. She wasted no time bringing the child to Liara's arms. "Meet your daughter." Miranda said with a smile on her face.

Tears of joy fell from both Shepard and Liara's eyes. When Jane looked at her baby in Liara's arms Shepard knew it was the happiest moment of her life. And all her lingering apprehension turned to hope. "She's beautiful." Liara said tearfully.

"She's the most beautiful thing i've ever seen." Shepard agreed.

Notes- Phew, this one took a while. Okay so Hackett is saved, Victor and Jill are defeated and the baby has been born! Everything's coming up Shepard! Believe it or not there is still some VERY big things left in the final chapter. Tell me what you thought in the reviews and prepare for the final chapter to come very soon.