A/N: Wow, I really should proofread more. The last chapter was overflowing with typos. I'll go back and fix it. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter. I decided to change the name and focus slightly as I wrote it. Some more Tali-focused stuff is coming up in future chapters. If you are a fan of my other stories, don't worry, I haven't abandoned them.

Chapter Three: Staying Together

When I finally got the the Embassies I was a bit surprised to see Anderson waiting for me as I got off the lift. He stood from his seat on a nearby bench with a very telling expression on his face. Either there was another crisis, or Tali's suspicions about the future of the human seat on the council were true. Though I was hoping that I was just being paranoid and he had that expression only because he was tired or didn't like them calling me away from my vacation.

"Anderson." I greeted simply.

"Shepard. I should have done this a while ago." He saluted me.

I returned salute, "You've been in this fight as long as I have, Sir."

"Nobody's fought harder or sacrificed more than you to defeat the reapers. I was on the front lines of Earth for months and saw more soldiers give their lives than I thought I would ever have to count. Still, nobody gave more than you."

"Thanks, Anderson." I force a smile, "That means a lot."

Anderson cast an appraising glance over me, "Looks like you've recovered. You're even tougher than I thought, which says a lot. Even a shot from a monster that obliterated dreadnoughts couldn't kill you."

"Some things take longer to heal, but I've got a lot of support."

My old friend nodded, "I know where you're coming from. I've been there more than once myself. The First Contact War was bad, and now the reapers." he paused for a moment, gathering his emotions a little, "Sometimes I think going back to peaceful times is as hard as the fighting."

I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I'm with you on that one."

"Looks like you've got a lot to live for though." Anderson remarked, a slight jerk of his gaze gesturing at the ring on my hand.

I smiled and retracted my hand, twisting the ring around a bit in embarrassment, "Yeah. She was with me the whole way, giving all she could to help me along the way. If not for Tali, I don't think I'd be alive right now."

The admiral smiled, "Good for you. I'd wonder if marriage to a quarian could work, but we're talking about you here. I'm damn sure if if doesn't work you'll make it work."

"Ha-ha, I don't think marital problems can be fixed with yelling, calling people out on bullshit, or explosions."

"Clearly you haven't heard about what's been going on with Wrex and Eve lately." he joked.

If that statement had been graver in tone I would have worried, "Krogan debate tactics aside, I'm sure we can handle anything that comes up." I motioned for Anderson to follow me towards the embassy office and we walked that way, "By the way, how are you and Sanders doing?"

"I don't have a ring yet, but the very moment I saw her at the side of my hospital bed I asked her to marry me. I made damn sure they got us a priest right then and there when she said yes."

I grinned, "I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"Wasn't about to take any more chances."

"I hear you." As we neared the office door, I motioned to it and changed topics, "Got any hints as to what I'm walking into here? I can't imagine you being in the dark on this."

"Nothing involving gunfire, I can say that much. Well... depends on you really. You might run into gunfire eventually."

"Not sure I like the sound of that." I sighed, "Part of me wants to say the hell with it and settle down, and here you are making it seem like I'm getting a promotion."

"You'll see soon enough."

We stepped through the door and into the office that had once belonged to Anderson during his time as the councilor and most recently to Udina before he betrayed us. Admiral Hackett was there, along with a hologram of each of the three council members.

The turian was the one to greet me. I was mildly surprised that he wasn't leaving it to the asari representative – who had in every previous meeting been the head of the council and the voice of it. The discovery that they had been hoarding technology and breaking their own public policy on sharing it had probably compromised the credibility of her entire race. The turians had been the first to support the Crucible while the asari were pretty much last. In hindsight, it made a lot of sense that the asari was keeping her mouth shut. She'd lost most of her clout and much of the trust expected of a leader.

The turian continued, "Commander, we called you hear to discuss the future. Not just of the human race but of all races. You've brokered many treaties and made many alliances. Now is the time to solidify them and deal with the aftermath."

Hackett nodded, but I got the feeling he wasn't taking the same stance as the council. I'd been dealing with people and political nonsense so long I could tell when there were opposing ideas and which was which. He was quick to bring his own up, "We could use you in rebuilding Earth and making peace with the other races. However the two aren't necessarily things that go hand in hand on a operational level. We have two offers, but the decision boils down to short term vs long term."

The turian took over, "The council needs a clear head, but one that can get heated when needed and knows when to put the needs of the many ahead of the few. A man that will put an end to the political knots we apparently have a habit of tying ourselves in."

The asari finally chimed in, "That, and humanity needs a representative. Someone to iron out the ties you've built for your race."

The turian continued, "Despite our issues in the past. I think you have proven the ideal candidate for the job."

"You want me to be the human representative on the council." I wasn't at all surprised of course. Tali had been right, "What about Anderson?"

The man himself responded, "I couldn't get the job done before. Plus I'm hardly as qualified as the man who ended not just one ancient blood feud, but two. Three if you count the turian and salarian grudges against the krogan as separate issues."

"And far more if you count the opinions of the entire galaxy towards the geth and the rachni and the animosity between humans and turians." The asari noted, "You have personally brought us closer to total galactic peace than anyone in known history. Nobody else deserves the post more."

The turian spoke up once more, clasping his hands behind his back, "Furthermore, we aren't just offering you a position among us. We want you to lead the council."

"My comments about you being the most qualified count for that too. Though we were doing it for our people's sake, the actions of asari government has proven us to be too selfish to lead the galaxy at this time. We may have the wisdom of living far longer, but it did not serve us as well as the human ability and determination to do what needs to be done quickly, concisely, and efficiently. Nor did it prove greater than your ability to listen to others and pool the resources of the galaxy. Right now the galaxy needs someone like you."

Admiral Hackett seemed lightly crestfallen, and I could tell he had his own offer to make, "I agree that you would do a lot of good as Earth's representative, but I have another offer. If you don't want the burden of leading the entire galaxy, I'd like to keep you in the Alliance military, doing the same work you have always done before, but as an Admiral and emissary to the other races. You would have similar responsibilities either way, but as an Admiral you would be more focused on Earth and you could be more hands-on with less red tape."

"I'm sorry, Admiral Hackett, but I think Earth – not to mention the galaxy as a whole – would benefit more from a Councilor Shepard than an Admiral Shepard."

I looked to the admiral, "I suppose I can't just do both jobs? A hands-on military councilor could work."

The solarian representative answered, "We asked Admiral Anderson to give up his post in the military to prevent conflict of interest when he was selected, the same applied to myself when I left the STG to speak for my people."

"It is for both custom and for function, Commander. You would be stretched too thin trying to do both and both would suffer."

I looked to Anderson, "You've been both, been in every position that applies right now. What do you think I should do?"

"I can't make that call for you, Shepard. You know that." he turned to the council, "I still think we shouldn't ask for an answer right away. Shepard has done so much for us that I think he's earned time off. The galaxy is in shambles, but we can hold it together for a while can't we?"

The asari spoke up, "Shepard made a lot of compromises and made a lot of changes to the landscape of things, the fallout of which will be coming to bear sooner rather than later. I do agree with you however. On a personal level I believe he should rest, but on professional level we need an answer very soon."

I thought about it, but it was a huge decision to make, "Give me some time. I need to think about it. I'll get back to you by tomorrow."

"The galaxy can wait that long I'm sure." Anderson pressed.

The councilors looked to each other to form a consensus in the same way I had seen them do a half dozen times, then the asari nodded, "Very well. We will await your decision. I trust you to make the right one, Commander."

The hologram vanished and Hackett echoed the sentiment before taking his leave, but I was weighted down by my own thoughts. It was barely two weeks since we'd saved all life and suddenly everyone was trying to put the weight of the entire galaxy on my shoulders again. My perspective had changed slightly from before the offer, even though I'd known it was coming. Part of me wanted to take that weight on again, so I could just go back to being defined by my work. Another part of me wanted to just cast it all aside and retire. Honestly though, that part had gotten smaller. The offer had been more tempting than I thought it would be and I knew why. It was disturbing that I had so little of myself left that I could be so easily swayed into putting it aside. In that moment of self-reflection I finally understood at least a small part of what having an addiction was like.

Anderson understood what I was going through, he probably had been through the same thing before and still going through it. I could tell he knew what I was feeling by the expression on his face as he tried to change the subject, "Wow. Councilor Shepard, huh? You've come a long way from the street gangs of Earth, Shepard."

He accidentally stepped on a small emotional landmine though. More disturbing than the 'addiction' was the grim realization of just how far removed I truly was from normal life... I had totally forgotten that I was once a gang member in my youth on Earth. I had spent so long in service that I'd started losing pieces of myself. Thinking about it, the horrors of Torfan were starting to fade as well. That horrid epiphany hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt the weight of everything that had happened all over again, the battle fatigue coming back almost as if I'd never gotten my strength back. My hand went to my face almost on instinct. I couldn't dare show the expression on my face.

Anderson put a hand on my shoulder, apparently I'd wobbled a little, "Shepard! Are you okay? You look like you just got hit by a charging krogan."

Forcing myself to shake it off, I stood up straight, "I'm fine, sir. Just..."

"Tired?" Anderson said, a knowing and sympathetic look on his face.

"Yeah."

"I wish I could say the hurt goes away, but it will only fade." he sighed, "Even now I still have nightmares about people I lost in the First Contact War. Though I think ones about this war will fill more nights."

"How do you keep going?"

"We're both stubborn old souls, Shepard. Now though we've got someone waiting for us, someone to pull us off the floor and dust us off. Or in my case tell me to 'stop being such a baby' then make me pancakes."

The image of Sanders making Anderson breakfast then telling him in a harsh, but loving tone to eat up and man up put a smile on my face. So did the reminder that soon I'd be marrying Tali.

Anderson was visibly relieved at the lift in mood, "Can I give you some advice that will probably get me in trouble?"

"Shoot."

"Tell the whole lot of them to stuff their offers and retire to a nice quiet corner of the universe. Spend the rest of your life enjoying a new life with your wife and make damn sure you keep in touch with your friends. You've earned the right to have the things you've been fighting for. Nobody has the right to take that from you."

"Thanks, Anderson."

"No, after all we've been through," he offered me a handshake, "I want you to call me David."

I smiled very slightly, then took his hand, "Yes, sir."

Next Chapter: The Next Step

A/N: What do you think Shepard should do? If taking any of the jobs won't hamper his being Tali, what choice should Shepard take. I'm not saying the jobs wouldn't present challenges to them being together, but if you think it would stop them then you don't know them very well lol. Tell me what you would like him to do in our review alongside any feedback you want to give. I'll be making the final decision, but I'll keep your thoughts in mind. Thanks a bunch.