AN: Sorry about missing sunday, my computer committed sodoku.

Chapter 42

Amelia
August 19th, 2192

I groan when I wake up, a sore feeling in my core pulling me back to reality. It takes me a moment to blink the sleepiness out of my eyes and remember what happened last night. When I do, a smile appears on my lips.

The soreness was from getting well and truly fucked, and I still feel full, as if my husband's thick, ridged cock was still stroking into me, making me scream in pleasure all night long. I truly love his stamina, his ability to both derive and give me the most carnal pleasures I've ever enjoyed in my thirty-eight years.

Oh, he certainly provided last night, tying me up tight enough that I can still feel the rope marks on my arms, ankles, and neck, edging me over and over again for hours before finally letting me cum on his cock in the most earth-shattering orgasm I've ever experienced. And after that, he forced me to have many, many more… I lost count at eight.

Overall, a pretty good way to spend the first night in our new house.

Happy with the memory and very sated sexually, I drag myself off the mattress and into the bathroom, turning on the tub and getting myself into the steaming bath; what little stress I still had melting away in the water.

Areas on my chest and back sting when I get into the soapy water, little reminders of Garrus's conquests that I am happy to leave on me, despite him constantly trying to baby me and apply medigel. I like being claimed by him. It makes me feel wanted… whole.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Garrus's chocolatey voice calls from the bedroom, and I hear his quiet footsteps heading towards the bathroom. When he appears in the doorway, he's carrying two mugs, sipping from one every few seconds, and he's wearing only a pair of loose sweatpants. As soon as he eyes me in the tub, a tent forms in the pants, followed by an accompanying growl. "This feels very familiar…." His tone sends shivers through my spine, and his smirk sends me over the moon.

"I'm afraid I can't do all that again, but if you give me that coffee, I'll suck your dick," I say, letting out a happy sigh when he complies. I could get used to this.

Amelia
September 1st, 2192

"Gimme a kiss, you rascals!" I demand as Gaius and Octavia slide out of the car with a bit of hesitation. We're parked just outside their new school, which started in thirty minutes, and I'm feeling just as nervous as they are, but I hide it better.

Gaius tackle-hugs my legs, "I don't wanna go, Mada!"

I lean down and kiss him, not having to travel too far, as he was already up to my waist. Damn Garrus for being so tall; the kids would be taller than me before they were eight! "It'll be okay, Gai. You'll make a bunch of new friends, and you'll learn a lot. Be the big brave boy I know you are. I love you."

"Love you too…," He says, muffling his face against the leg of my jeans.

Octavia hugs me next, much gentler than Gaius, and she puts on a brave face. "I love you, Avi. Who's gonna be my brave girl and go make new friends today?"

"Me," She replies, looking as if she was contemplating hiding.

When we reach the office, I give each of them another hug, "You guys are gonna have so much fun… I'll see you in a few hours." It takes effort not to tear up when they walk down the hall with one of the staff… shit, give me a Reaper right now; I'll handle that instead.

Amelia
March 3rd, 2193

"Don't you wish you could feel this kind of happiness when you're our age?" Miranda asks, coming to me and watching as Garrus runs around the living room with Alia and Serenity sitting on either shoulder, making puttering noises. The girls were having the time of their lives, sitting on Pada's shoulders and flying around the room, giggling but holding onto his fringe for dear life.

"I don't need to wish for that; I have it," I mean it. I have everything I ever wanted, a loving husband who dotes upon my every need, four wonderful kids who adore me like the sun and stars, and an extended family of amazing people surrounding us. I only want to have my Mindoir family as a part of it.

"I envy you, then. But, if anyone in the galaxy deserves a perfect life, it's you."

"What's wrong, Miri?"

"Work stress… It's nothing, really. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Tell me," My voice is soft, but I put on my Commander face, compelling her to spill it.

"The election is coming up, and I've been helping Prime Minister Stone, but… The person running against him...something feels wrong about him. I can't put my finger on it."

"Wrong how?"

"He's running on a platform of isolationism. He wants the Alliance to break all its alliances with aliens and fend for itself. He screams Cerberus, but I've never seen him."

"I -"

"The cake is ready!" Mom calls over the room, emerging from the kitchen with Gaius and Octavia, who somehow both have frosting on their fringes. Garrus and I wanted Gaius and Octavia involved in the party somehow, so we let them bake Alia and Serenity's cake. Their frosting-annihilated cake would be perfect for the one-year-olds to smash and destroy, and Mom was more than willing to supervise.

I ought to teach those kids how to bake a proper cake…

Amelia
June 19th, 2193

"Listen up, kiddos. I'm gonna let you in on the Shepard family secret on how to make a proper birthday cake." Gaius and Octavia's playful bickering falls silent quickly, and the twins focus on me. "The secret to making the perfect birthday cake is…. Use the boxed cake mix."

"Is that it?" Gaius asks, looking a bit deflated and disappointed with how simple it was.

"Yep, it's that simple. It's your birthday tomorrow, so what flavor do you guys want? We can do chocolate, vanilla, lemon," I stand on my tiptoes and stretch, reaching for a box on the very top shelf of the pantry, but I'm far too short to grab it. I sigh, "Avi, sweetie, can you get Pada for me?"

She nods and runs off, returning a few minutes later, riding on Garrus's shoulders. He deposits her next to Gaius, pausing and staring at me for a moment before closing the distance and kissing me.

I melt under him, my bondmate, my husband, my whole universe, kissing him back just as passionately.

"Ew!"

"Gross!"

The kids shout, and neither one of us can resist laughing. We speak without talking, confirming we were chuckling over the same thing. If the kids thought this was gross, how would they feel about everything else we've done on this counter… or that counter… or the dining table…

When Garrus said he planned on taking me at every square meter of this house, he really meant it.

"What was that for?" I ask, my mood soaring to new heights.

"Just following orders," He replies, pointing at my chest. I look down to realize that I am wearing an apron with "Kiss the Chef" embossed across it.

I can't help but crack a smile, "Dork."

His pleasant hum washes over me, "What can I do for you, my love?" I point into the pantry at the cake mix, and he chuckles again, "Short."

"You're so mean to me," I complain, no bite in my voice whatsoever, turning him to kiss me again, much to the kids' chagrin.

Amelia
July 17th, 2193

I'm sitting at the dining table when the doorbell rings, gluing on the hull plating of an SSV Kilimanjaro model I had recently purchased. It was still one of my favorite hobbies, starting as something small and mundane that I could do with my hands to distract me in the downtime between the adrenaline highs of a soldier's life, and it carried on to become a passion.

Standing, I walk to the door and yank it open. A young turian stood on the step, holding a large, thin box nearly as tall as I was. "Delivery for Amelia Vakarian."

"That's me… who's the sender?" I have a prickling of paranoia running through my spine, one of the soldier's instincts that never goes away, no matter how long I've been a civilian.

The turian looks at the tag, "K. Goto."

At Kasumi's name, I relax, accept the package, and bid the young man farewell, closing the door behind me. "Hey, Gar?" I call, but before I can wait for a response, there's another chime from the door. "Who…?"

When I open it, Mom stands on the step, "Mom? What are you doing here?" I hug her, ushering her inside, very confused at the events of the past few minutes.

"Hey, Kahlee," Garrus says, padding down the last few stairs before hugging my stepmom.

I turn back and forth between them, "Garrus, what is she… What are you doing here, Mom?" I'm so confused, happy because it's been a year since I've seen her, but I'm thoroughly lost.

Garrus starts to rub the back of his fringe, one of his tells, and Mom turns to me, "Did Garrus not tell you?"

"Tell me what?!" I'm still happy but a tad frustrated; I don't like being left out of things.

"Come upstairs, and I'll explain everything. Bring that too," He gestures at the box, which I leaned against the wall before letting Mom in, "Make yourself at home, Kahlee. Gaius and Octavia are watching cartoons in the living room, and I just laid Alia and Serenity down for a nap. We'll be back in a few minutes."

I want to protest, to demand that Garrus explains what's going on here and now, but I trust him implicitly. Nothing has gone wrong, at least so far, so I nod and walk up the stairs behind him. When we get into the bedroom, I set the huge box on the bed and turn to him, putting my hands on my hips, "Okay, what's going on?"

"I've been a bad husband…," He starts, staring at the floor.

The words defuse me instantly, and I rush over to him, holding his arms but not quite embracing him, "No! You've been the perfect husband. What did I do to make you think otherwise?"

"Turians don't really celebrate marriage like humans do. It's just a contract; the day itself doesn't have any special merit or…. When we were on Earth, I saw a lot of couples taking each other out on dates to commemorate the day, and I realized we never have. I missed a big part of your culture and-"

"Garrus," I cut him off softly, moving my hands up to his face and pulling his head down for a soft kiss on his lips, "A day doesn't matter to me either. You make me feel like the luckiest woman in the universe every damn day, and I couldn't be happier."

I let silence fall for a few minutes, just holding him and looking into his impossibly blue eyes, channeling every ounce of love I have for him into them. "You… you aren't mad?" He sounds unsure, doubtful, and unlike my sexy, confidant husband.

"Yes, I'm sure. I love every day with you; no day needs to be special. But that still doesn't explain what's going on today."

"It does. Today is July 17th, our sixth anniversary. I started all of this as a surprise and an apology for missing all the others, but it blew up in my face. Your mother is moving here, and she's volunteered to babysit tonight. I made reservations at Rose de Marseille for tonight, and I even tracked down Kasumi to procure you a dress."

By the end, I'm jumping on the balls of my feet, letting out an excited squeak and assaulting his face with kisses. I smack him playfully across the chest, "Garrus! You did all of this because you thought I was mad at you? All you've done was prove my point! You're the best!"

He flashes a brilliant smile, his normal ego returning with it, "Kasumi said that dress would make me cancel the reservation and rip it off of you, but she also sent me a suit that would, and I quote, 'Knock Shep's panties right off.'"

I can feel my core lighting up with arousal, so I yank him down by his carapace, determined to level the playing field. "Who said anything about wearing panties?"

I leave the room a minute later, carrying the box with me, "No peeking."

(- - - -)

I spend a few hours with Mom before I retrieve the hidden dress and go up to my bedroom to get ready. In my effort to hide it from Garrus, I haven't even looked at the thing myself, so I have no idea what to expect, though, knowing Kasumi, it'd be revealing but not too revealing, body-accentuating, and stupid sexy. That girl knew her fashion.

I'm surprised when I open the box and find not only a dress but also a pair of black, thigh-high fabric boots with high heels and a long cardigan. The dress was black as the night, skin tight, and when I held it up to my body, I see that it would barely terminate below my waist. Oh lord, Garrus will not be able to keep his hands off me. Not that I'd complain.

Garrus

I'm chatting with Kahlee, watching my stepmother play with my younger daughters while waiting for Amelia to be ready. I had already dressed in the suit Kasumi gave me. A stark white shirt surrounded by a midnight black jacket, held together by a bowtie at my neck, the sharp, fitted lines of the human-style suit tailored to fit my body perfectly. I don't know how or why Kasumi has the measurements to fit clothes this well, and I don't want to. It's better as a secret.

Kahlee complimented me on the suit when I sat down, saying that it looked very handsome on me, and she was sure Amelia would agree. Our small talk continued for a few minutes until Amelia came down the stairs, and I felt my heart stop.

She's wearing the most gorgeous black dress, the fabric hugging her waist exquisitely and the color making her natural paleness stand out substantially more. The dress ends just after her waist, leaving the smooth skin of her upper thigh visible for about half a foot, followed by boots that make her endless legs even more endless. She's also wearing a very thin, sweater-like garment that matched her complexion perfectly, the long, knitted fabric flowing behind her as she walked toward us. Her hair cascades over her shoulders, its natural waviness and vibrance making for a nice contrast to the muted black of the dress.

When my eyes meet hers, I can see her drinking in my body, the smirk on her red-stained lips telling me Kahlee was correct, and the red blush creeping up her neck telling me Kasumi was also. Kasumi may have been right, but Amelia's mother was in the room, and we both have hard limits.

"You look beautiful, Ame," Kahlee says, smiling at her surrogate daughter, "Doesn't she, Garrus?"

"Always," I stand, offering my arm to escort her to the car. "Ready, my love?"

"I am. Bye, Mom. See you in a few hours." Kahlee waves, going back to cooing at Serenity and Alia as we leave the room.

I push her lightly against the car door, taking a moment to steady myself and act rationally, something that dress and her body, in general, don't help with. I feel her breathing get heavier and her heart rate increase.

"Spirits, you are so beautiful…," I kiss her hard, the contact distracting me from the thoughts racing through my head, my iron control being strained. "Remind me to send Kasumi a thank you message later."

"You are beautiful, too," She says between kisses, "Send that thank you… for sure… tell her she was right, but the dress is too short to not put my panties back on." She giggles at herself, a pink hue appearing on her cheeks as she tugs the dress down, attracting my eyes down to the boots again. Spirits, I need those boots over my shoulders.

I force myself to break contact as another second would spell certain doom for her dress, opening the door for her. Oh, it's going to be a long night.

Amelia
October 21st, 2193

"Bye, my love," Garrus wraps his arms around me and gives me a quick kiss. I pull him back and make him kiss me for real, wanting to leave less and less with each passing second. "Down, girl…," He teases with a wide smile.

I don't want to leave, but there is a friend who needs help, and I couldn't live with myself if I ignored a call for aid. Miranda had mentioned the election back in March and had been on Earth helping Jason for a month now. Jace had called me a week ago and asked me to come, so things must be getting dire.

"I love you," I tell him, at a loss for what else to say.

Garrus smiles at me, "I love you too. I'll see you in a week." We hug one more time before I make myself step into the transit line, if I don't leave now, I won't leave at all.

AN: That's all for Book 2 folks. Thank you to everyone that read this fic, I do it because I enjoy it, but it means a lot that people enjoy what I've written.
As for future plans, I will be working on the rewrite of Books 1 and 2 to make them all the same POV before releasing any of Book 3. Expect the first chapter of that around Mid-August