Author's note: So this chapter has seen a bunch of changes. First of all I took the last part of this chapter and moved it into chapter 3. Furthermore some of the plot is different and obviously the quality has been improved. One of the biggest changes however is how I portrayed melding. I was doing a scene that involved melding in my current story at the moment, What the Gods Fear, and I was looking back at this story and I didn't like how I portrayed two consciousnesses merging. So, I changed it into this current form which in my opinion is more what I think it would be like. I hope you enjoy the changes!

"Wow, you never see this place empty." Liara muttered.

The couple stood in the council chamber; never once was it empty. But things have changed. Not only were there no people, the chamber was dark. The citadel was on emergency power since it was falling apart.

They walked up the stairs to the top, the place where Shepard had stood when he had received his Spectre status. Now here he was, a triumphant victor, having completed his full mission.

"You know, the only time I was in this area was when we were fighting Saren. And back then I was too busy to think about admiring my surroundings." Liara thought out loud. "And now here I am, caring even less about my surroundings, because I am here with you." She put her arm through his and pressed herself close.

They cuddled a little and let the silence come back. Liara sighed, and wiped a tear that had begun to form in her eyes. "Shepard, I… I don't know where I would be without you, and I don't deserve it. I don't know what I could do to-"

Shepard interrupted her with a kiss. "You don't need to do anything except be yourself. I wouldn't be anywhere without you too." He brought her to face him and held her close. "Let me show you." He whispered in her ear. "Meld with me."

Liara did as she was told.

A wave of loving emotion hit her, followed by a certain memory that Shepard wanted her to see. It was in his viewpoint.Liara stood looking out of the massive window in her office on Illium. From her perspective, she watched herself from a seat on the other side of the desk."Did Cerberus ever tell you how they recovered your body?" Liara had asked. She paused for only a short moment, not letting Shepard answer the question. "I gave it to them. I gave you to them. Because they said that they could rebuild you." She turned to face Shepard. "And to do that, I had to take it from the Shadow Broker who was going to sell your corpse to the Collectors."Shepard was surprised. "Why didn't you tell me this before now?" He asked."Because I screwed it up, Shepard. I barely escaped with my own life." She sat back down. "And when I gave you to Cerberus, I told myself I was doing it for you, for a chance to bring you back. But I knew Cerberus would use you for their own business. And I let it happen. Because I couldn't let you go. I'm sorry."Then the memory disappeared. She experienced a flash of little asari babies and the loving couple standing over them. Although it was not a memory, it was clearly something that Shepard had thought about and wanted her to see. Suddenly a wave of loneliness and yearning hit her as the next memory came to her.Again in Shepard's perspective Liara saw that she was in the Normandy captain's cabin. Cerberus symbols were all over the place, so this was the first rendition of the SR2. Liara could feel an overwhelming sense of fear. Shepard moved to his desk and swatted some things to the side until he got to a picture frame of Liara. Placing his hands on the desk space he merely stared at the picture. Liara could feel a tear go down Shepard's cheek and he banged the desk with all his might in fear. He began to cry, but managed to regain composure. He ran his right hand along the picture frame, as if it were her real face. "I'm scared Liara." He muttered. "I'm scared I won't ever see you again." His arm dropped to his side and he took a deep breath. The fear too back stage as Shepard mentally prepared for the suicide mission. Soon he got up and went to the armor locker to get things ready.

Liara felt herself back in reality as the meld finished. They were still in an embrace.

"Never leave me again." Shepard whispered in her ear.

"I… I never knew." Liara realized. "I should have gone with you on your mission. I could have been there for you!" She dug her head into his chest. "Chasing after the Shadow Broker was stupid when I could have been with you again."

"Well now you know."

"Oh Shepard." Liara put her hand on his cheek and stared into his eyes. "I'll always be there for you now. Always. We will never be alone I promise."

"I don't plan on it." Shepard teased.

"Us and our little blue babies…" Liara daydreamed. "We will finally get to have them after all."

"That we will." Shepard replied. Hand in hand, they walked onto the presentation area that was on the same level as the council seats. They sat down on it, both resting their heads on the other. The passage of time was all but lost to them.

And so were their surroundings.

"Aww looks like the two love birds were busy with their time together!"

Both jumped to hear another voice behind them. They turned around to see Garrus, smiling, behind them.

"Garrus!" Shepard got up and hugged his best friend.

"In the flesh, Shepard."

"How did you get here?" Liara asked as she gave a hug as well.

"We located you on the center part of the citadel, so we brought the shuttle there and fanned out. The others should find us soon." Garrus explained. "Can you believe we did it? WE ARE ALIVE!" He shouted!

"KEELAH SE'LAI!" Tali sprinted up the stairs to the group. "WE DID IT!" She leapt into Shepard's arms in pure excitement. She hugged Liara and calmed herself down. Liara couldn't help but notice that the other two were holding hands.

Garrus caught Liara's gaze. "You two aren't the only ones that get the romance." He joked, lifting up their joined hands as proof.

Liara laughed and brought her hand into Shepard's. "I just didn't know."

"Well no one was supposed to know until I walked in on you two." Shepard laughed. The others laughed as well.

"Well it's just for… his body." Tali tried to speak in the most seductive manner as she could possibly manage. Garrus laughed a little nervously.

"You keep coming back though, what about the rest of me?" He teased in reply.

"You got me." Tali pulled him close.

"SHEPARD!"

Grunt bounded up the stiars, followed by Ashley, James, Javik, Grunt, Wrex, and even Dr. Chakwas. Hugs and congratulations were given all around and the group talked for some time. No story was ever upbeat, Ashley witnessed Jack go down protecting her students, Grunt saw Jacob take a hit, Garrus almost got hit with another missile, but instead was wounded in his right leg because of it, and Dr. Chakwas talked about how Miranda was in critical condition. Admiral Anderson did not survive the blast from Harbinger's beam like Shepard had done. Things were not good, but this is what everyone expected; with victory here, their deaths were not in vain.

Dr. Chakwas ran some medical scans on the two, proscribing some more medigel until they could get to a medical facility.

The group began to walk back to the shuttle to get back to the Normandy. Reports were circulating that the citadel was going to fall apart and they didn't have that much time to get out. They boarded the shuttle and it took off.

The excitement of being alive had died down as they rode in the shuttle. It turned out that they were being diverted to Earth so Shepard and Liara could be properly taken care of medically.

The view screens displayed the scenery outside. Reaper forms floated amongst the wreckage of many different ships of all shapes and sizes, helpless and without direction.

"They're only deactivated." Tali pointed out. "The wave emitted from the crucible acted as an EMP wave, shorting out all technology including the Reapers. It spread to the mass relay, and our reports tell us that the wave was transferred and fired from the relay to other relays all across the galaxy. Every single relay in the galaxy has been shorted out."

"But now we are able to study them right?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, but we can't do that until we actually have labs up and running again." Tali answered.

The shuttle rocked as it hit the atmosphere in its descent to the planet's surface. Soon the rocking stopped, and the view screen began displaying the landscape of a ravaged Earth. They were going to stop in London. In the streets the corpses of reaper minions were everywhere. The view screen shut off as they got to their destination. The shuttle touched down.

Everyone looked like they had a one up on Shepard, and he got suspicious. Near the door he could hear rumblings outside, however he couldn't figure out what they were.

The shuttle doors opened and Shepard was the first to step out. He was on a platform, looking out onto a sea of soldiers saluting him. There was no division by race; all races stood intermingled in straight rows standing at attention. Hackett stood to the left of a podium with microphones hooked up to it. He also was saluting Shepard.

Shepard turned to his friends in the shuttle, and they too were saluting him. He was overwhelmed, and before he could show it, Hackett stepped forward to the podium.

"I present to you Commander John Shepard, the Alpha and Omega. Through destroying the Reapers, you have given us all a new life. We thank you and will remember you forever for your actions and sacrifice." The crowd went up in cheers, and Shepard stood taking it all in. Hackett motioned for Shepard to take the podium. A small biotic nudge from a loving Liara set Shepard on his way to the podium.

It seemed like an eternity for him to get to that podium. He wondered what he would talk about. The only kind of speeches he gave were to inspire, not to debrief. Shepard had reached the podium by now. He cleared his throat, and let the words flow freely from his heart, like he always did before a big battle.

"We did it, we won." He paused, and he could tell everyone expected a real show of a speech. Shepard grasped at tiny strands of ideas to have a speech. "We are the conquerers of the seemingly invincible reapers! The cycles have been broken, and we stand over the wreckage debating what will be next. The Reapers have gone down a path that will doom us if we follow them. The Mass Relays held us back; it is time we broke free. Those that were 'omnipotent' were scared that we would find some other way that would have broken their system of destruction. We are now free to choose our own destinies, WE HAVE A FUTURE AGAIN!"

His audience erupted in cheering. It reminded Shepard of a new year's celebration he had attended on Earth many years ago. Shepard wanted to continue, but Hackett came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. He started to lead the commander away.

"That was a damn good speech you put out there."

"Thank you sir. But I wasn't finished."

"I think that it's best just to keep it simple. The soldiers have had a long day." Hackett sighed and looked to Shepard. "And when have you taken a break? I'm sure that hasn't been since a long time."

Shepard nodded and thought about all the sleep that he had missed. Once he started thinking about it, a wave of tiredness swept over him. "Yeah… it's finally over."

"There is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about before I let you go. I've done some talking with Alliance command, and they've agreed to give you the Normandy, complete with a new long range FTL drive."

"What?!"

"You're getting the Normandy, Commander, for life. We feel that you've earned no less." Hackett was smiling, apparently very pleased with Shepard's reaction.

"It's an honor sir." Shepard replied.

Hackett laughed. "Don't give me that crap; it's an honor for me, Commander." He saluted Shepard as if he was a superior officer. "Just don't let it go to your head." He added, tongue in cheek.

Shepard couldn't hold back a smile as he realized that things could only get better from here. He began to walk away from Hackett.

"Just one more thing Shepard." Hackett stated. Shepard glanced back. "Have fun partying."