24th November 2186 – Crucible pulse + 2 months

"What about this one?"

"No John, that won't suit you," Miranda sighed as she shook her head, flicking through yet more suits on the rack in front of her. She loved spending all of her time with Shepard, but he was a nightmare for some things – especially shopping. On the next rack up another Tuxedo caught her eye, Miranda pulling it off the rack and studying it. "Try this one on."

"Aye ma'am ." He gave her a cheeky wink, taking the suit from her and heading over to the changing rooms. She rolled her eyes as he disappeared from view, a content smile settling on her face as she slowly wandered along the aisle she was currently in.

The condition of the Citadel was unsurprising to Miranda, it was relatively untouched during the war. Now the majority of the station was in full working order with only a few areas still with damage left. Shops and cafés were fully open for business, though some did not contain their full stock as production facilities on the majority of planets were not yet functioning. Many of the shops in the Presidium, such as the one they were currently in, manufactured on the Citadel and so were already back to their pre war state.

Miranda walked to the end of the aisle, heading around to the right and into the next. There were a few other people in the shop, including a group of off duty marines in fatigues in the shoe area. She noticed the stares of some of the marines, one in particular that was eyeing her up shamelessly. Though Miranda was not in her catsuit she was in the skin tight jeans that had become her norm, and they still grabbed a lot of attention. The marines seemed to move on from her as she moved away, Miranda walking in the opposite direction.

She moved slowly down the aisle, inspecting the shirts in front. As she did so Miranda heard footsteps behind her, turning her head slightly to see the interested marine from earlier. The marine was very youthful, looking no more than twenty to her. He had plastered a cocky smile across his face and walked as if he was an A list celebrity. His group were visible a few aisles away, all of them with highly amused grins on their faces. Years ago she would have merely sneered and walked off, but she couldn't be that mean to the kid now. Shepard would merely raise an eyebrow and see where the conversation leads, and that was what she decided to try.

"Excuse me ma'am," Miranda swallowed the laughter that came to her immediately, he attempted to sound suave and manly but failed epically. She composed her features, raising an eyebrow and placing a neutral expression on her face. The marine didn't continue straight away, he had to tear his eyes from her breasts before he did. "I couldn't help but notice a beautiful lady all on her own here."

That was a rather stupid line to use on her, ut was hardly likely that Miranda was there on her own, and if she was she was likely to be buying for a partner. She didn't say anything in return, willing to let the young man make a fool of himself. Her silence prompted him.

"Well, I think it's ridiculous," He leaned against the shelf behind it, attempting to look smooth and at ease. In fact it made him look like pretty ridiculous. "I think you need a capable man in your life."

"Oh really?" Miranda raised an eyebrow again, she was sure she was looking at a boy not a man. And how could you be more of a capable man than John Shepard? And wasn't he being a bit risky by reckoning she was single? In the corner of her eye she saw his companions, now attracting attention with their prominent laughing.

"What a beautiful South African accent you have there," Miranda held back a huge guffaw of laughter, clearly this soldier wasn't much of a scholar. "And I think you might be interested in the fact that I am a veteran of the Reaper war – I've killed Reapers you know."

She crossed her arms under her breasts, cocking her head slightly with a grin. He was pretending that he had killed a Reaper, something only a certain John Shepard had actually done. It amazed Miranda that this guy thought that he could make her believe a rank and file marine killed an actual Reaper, everyone knew how hard. There was very little else he could say to dig himself into a deeper hole, and when Shepard came back it would be particularly amusing for her. "And?"

"And..." His eyes darted around as he thought for something to say, and then he preceded to successfully dig himself into a bigger hole. "And I was stationed on the Normandy, as part of commander Shepard's ground team."

"Miri, what do you..." Miranda began howling with laughter internally, Shepard's timing was impeccable as ever. John trailed off as he saw the marine snap bolt upright off the rail in surprise, a surprised expression on his own face. The comrades of the young marine were pretty much rolling on the floor, howls of laughter filling the shop and drawing bemused expressions from other customers and staff.

"Hey baby," Miranda sauntered over to Shepard, really overdoing the sweetness in her voice and the swing of her hips. She plastered a passionate kiss onto his lips, throwing an arm around his waist dramatically. Afterwards she leaned backwards, stroking the lapel of the suit. "It looks perfect."

"Thanks," He gave her a quizzical look, not really understanding what was going on and why she was acting so strangely. "Whose your friend?"

"Oh, you tell me." She gave him a grin before turning to face the marine who was now a very bright shade of red. He looked down, staring at his feet as he replied quietly.

"He wouldn't know me."

She gave the marine a challenging look. "I know that."

"I'll be going now." He was about to turn around when Shepard began to chuckle, clearly the penny had dropped.

"Were you trying to chat up my girlfriend marine?"

"Erm..." The soldier rubbed the back of his neck, actually in a way that reminded Miranda of John when he was nervous, and looked away from Shepard. His face grew an even pinker shade, surprising Miranda that it was possible for that to happen.

"He was on your ground team," Miranda leaned into Shepard a bit more, drawling slightly. "Apparently."

"Really?" Another grin broke out on Shepard's face, with genuine amusement. "Nice try soldier! But try not to tell that to someone who worked with me on the Normandy."

"I'm sorry sir," The marine gave a salute, albeit a half hearted one, giving an apologetic nod towards Miranda. She just gave him a smirk in reply as he spoke. "I'll be going now."

With that the marine turned and left, heading straight out of the shop rather quickly. The group with him was still in fits of laughter, giving enthusiastic waves over to Miranda and Shepard at the same time. The young marine completely ignored the torrent of jests from his friends, giving them a scowl on the way out. Miranda looked to Shepard, seeing a bit of a smirk on his face.

"I hope you weren't too mean to him, he was only a kid."

"I was only toying," She gave him a kiss on the cheek, whispering into his ears with a bit of a purr. "I could eat guys like that for breakfast and still have room for you."

"You cruel, cruel woman."

"Anyway, I was serious about the suit. It's great," She gave him another kiss. "Now I'll try not to get hooked up by anyone else whilst you change."

"Good!"

She smiled as he walked back to the changing rooms, heading after him to a couple of seats just outside of them. Shepard was only gone a few minutes before he returned, the suit across his arms. They headed over to the pay station, Shepard having to stop to give an autograph to the shop assistant by the stand, before leaving and heading out into the shopping area outside.

Outside in the Presidium they walked along hand in hand, taking in the sights around them. But Miranda noticed the sight of the pair of them was being taken in by many others around them, something she was still uncomfortable with. Being watched by a group of randy marines was irritating for her, but being scrutinised by the general public to see if you were a suitable partner for the galaxies greatest man was almost terrifying for someone as private as Miranda.

Shepard clearly noticed her discomfort, giving her hand a light squeeze and speaking reassuringly. "Just smile and ignore them Miri, they'll stop watching soon enough."

"I'm trying."

"At least people have some respect these days," He chuckled lightly. "Well except for marines of course."

"I suppose there are far fewer hostile stares."

That statement was indeed true, whilst she was being examined it seemed to be out of genuine curiosity and respect rather than outright enmity.

"I suppose we can thank the Alliance PR department for that."

Shepard nodded. "Most definitely."

They were referring to recent events in the media, especially from reporters such as Emily Wong. Now that the initial shock of both the Reaper war and it's end had worn off people were asking questions and the political pressure on both the Council and the Alliance had mounted quickly. In a move to regain public trust the Alliance had released all of the information about the entire journey of the Normandy, from the SR-1 on Eden Prime to the very end of the war. Clearly the Alliance Brass had hoped that a policy of honesty and responsibility would regain public trust but instead it had only enraged the public further. People were shocked that members of Cerberus, professional assassins, and psychopathic mass murderous were prepared to put their lives on the line to defend the galaxy from the Reapers whilst the Alliance sat back and did almost nothing.

Now everyone knew the story of the Normandy and her crew members, and public support for Shepard and his crew had rocketed. People were willing to forget that Miranda had been the second in command for a terrorist group and that Shepard had worked with the organisation because of how far they had all gone for the galaxies inhabitants. Now they were respected and reputable.

In fact the only reason Miranda received any glares was from various females who wanted Shepard for themselves or wanted to ensure he had a woman who treated him as he deserved. And Miranda had no intention of letting go of her man, nor treating him in anyway other than what he deserved.

She came out of her revere to notice Shepard had cunningly directed them to a pet store. His eyes were on the exotic fish swimming in the window, though soon his playful gaze turned to Miranda. He gave her a lopsided grin, clearly pleased with himself.

"You could have had the fish tank removed."

"Hmm, I suppose so," Miranda linked her arm within his, cocking her head as she studied a particularly striking Thessian Dartfish. "But you did like the fish on the Normandy, and to be honest I thought they were quite nice as well."

"Well then, lets get the newest additions to our family."

Miranda rolled her eyes again, only John Shepard would consider a fish a family member.

XXXXXXXX

"So, I believe that you could continue the hormone treatment and then remove the tumour," Doctor Walters clasped his hands, resting his elbows on the desk in front of him. "Though how we go about minimising the damage from the removal is something we would need to work towards."

"Yes." Miranda nodded her head, studying a data-pad with a set on scans on it. They had been at Huerta for several hours now, much longer than she had anticipated. Initially she was only going to have a preliminary discussion with the specialist, but the hospital was not so busy. They had been able to use the advanced scanning equipment and so had much more to work over, meaning their meeting had continued well into the evening. She was pleased with the headway they had made together, Walters did know what he was talking about and had achieved an impressive portfolio of success in his thirty year career.

"That is something we can both work on in our own labs," Walters lowered his bald head, bright green eyes flickering across the desk and settling back on Miranda. "Though you are welcome to return here if we require more scans."

"OK," She gave the doctor a genuine smile, turning off the data-pad and turning her head around to look for Shepard. He was sat on a couch at the back of the office, thoroughly engrossed in a large medical book. Miranda smiled as she noticed the title of the book – 'Pregnancy: A complete guide from conception to birth'. It was a title written by Walters himself and Miranda had concluded that it was a very accurate and informative read in her research. He didn't notice her stare, something that often happened if he was so absorbed in a piece of literature. "John, you ready?"

The book slowly lowered revealing his face with a rather concerned expression. He looked slightly pale in fact, causing Miranda to become a little worried herself.

"Are you OK?"

"You definitely want to go through with this?" Miranda's eyes widened in shock at his quiet question, was he really having second thoughts about their future? And if he was, then why hadn't he mentioned anything before now?

"What are you talking about John?" She kept her voice even, trying to gauge the situation for herself and not overreact.

"It's just..." He turned the book around, presenting a page to her entitled 'Birth complications'. "I know that the majority of women are fine, but you have these additional problems and I don't want anything bad to happen."

"Oh, John," Miranda stood up, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder lightly. She understood his worries immediately, he couldn't really follow all of the scientific jargon or the work Miranda and Walters were doing. And that was before looking in a book with some rather horrific pictures and information. "You don't need to worry about these things, honestly."

"But..."

"Mr Shepard," They both turned their attention to the interrupting doctor. "I can see how you have reasoned but you really don't have to worry. The complications in the book are impediments with labour, Miss Lawson only has complications with conception."

Miranda nodded to the doctor's words, adding to his explanation. "The risks I will face in labour, if we can cure my problems, are the same as any other woman. In fact they are probably lowered because of my genetic tailoring. I have a stronger body than other women."

He sighed, lowering his head. "Sorry."

"Your worries are understandable," Walters walked around his desk, handing a set of data-pads to Miranda as he passed by. "And if you need any clarification then all you need to do is contact me, though Miss Lawson knows most of the answers herself."

Shepard nodded, standing up and shaking the doctors hand. He still looked a bit out of sorts, but maybe he was slightly reassured. Miranda shook the doctors hand as well, thanking him for the considerable amount of work he had done for them. Then they left Huerta, heading out through an entrance on the upper levels into the Presidium once more.

XXXXXXXX

Miranda was very comfortable. She was happily nestled in Shepard's arms on the sofa of the Citadel apartment, resting across his chest with his arms encircling her stomach. They were both looking at the holo-screen in front of them, but Miranda wasn't really watching it and she suspected that Shepard wasn't either.

"You know you really don't have to worry John."

"But I do," She felt his arms tighten around her slightly, almost in a possessive nature. "I can't have anything go wrong, not after everything we've been through."

"And nothing will go wrong," Miranda rolled out of his arms, grabbing the remote for the holo-screen to switch it off and straddling Shepard in one swift move. He stared straight up into her eyes, Miranda staring straight back. His eyes were remarkable to her, ever since Project Lazarus had begun they had intrigued her. They were always full of character, whether that be of his insatiable curiosity or cheeky playfulness, but often there was a darker expression that could only be seen if you knew just where to look. It was a look of hollowness, of one who had seen too much. She laid a hand on his cheek, rubbing lightly with her thumb. "Trust me."

"I do." He sighed lightly, moving his arms to rest on Miranda's thighs. He still looked unsure so she gave him a reassuring kiss on the lips before speaking again.

"Stop thinking of the worst case scenarios all of the time."

"I do want this Miri, honestly."

"I know you do, and imagine the child of our own at the end of this. A perfect little baby of our own," Miranda smiled as she thought about that, picturing a family scene of their own. She yearned for it, and she knew Shepard did too despite his worries. "What little risk there is is worth it."

He nodded, studying her again. Miranda gave him a cocky smile, remembering something she had read in a book.

"And my sex drive will most likely go up."

"Really? I'm not sure I could survive that," She laughed at his reaction, pleased that he was smiling and giving him another kiss. "But won't it be weird?"

She raised an eyebrow, pouting comically. "What, you think you won't be attracted to me when I'm pregnant?"

"Not that, but I wouldn't want to do any damage to the baby. I wouldn't want to poke it."

Miranda stayed silent for about a second before bursting out in uncontrollable laughter. She collapsed onto his chest whilst continuing to laugh rather uncharacteristically, unable to contain herelf. The funniest part was that he actually appeared rather serious, though his scientific knowledge was completely dire he was still an intelligent man – could he really believe that? A minute past before Miranda could speak, lifting herself back up to grin at him.

"That can't physically happen John."

"Well..."

"I know you think you're a manly guy, but you're not that long," She paused at the view of his mock hurt face, rolling her eyes at him. "What I mean is no one could physically do that, regardless of how well...endowed...they are."

"Challenge accepted."

"Hilarious John," Miranda replied dead panned, rolling her eyes before rolling off Shepard. "Now come to bed, it's getting late at you're going to be grumpy enough at this service tomorrow as it is."

He sat up and swung his legs off the couch, shaking his head as he replied. "There's a difference between being dubious and being grumpy Miri."

"I know," She walked up to him, holding out an arm and pulling him to his feet. "But don't be such a cynic just yet, it may surprise you."

"And Conrad Verner might become a SPECTRE."

A/N Well I was expecting this to be out a lot quicker, but stuff came up, and be a lot longer but actually this kinda works as a set-up to the next chapter pretty well.

Also a question for those of you that write on this site - does it matter if posted documents run out of time on the system? Don't really want the first few chapters of my last fic just disappearing! Many thanks if you can let me know on that.

Thanks again for all your comments guys on this, keep them coming!