"Mom? I'm home!"

Jarred pushed open the door, dragging his bag with Tristan behind him. It has been years since he had been back to his house in Surin Island, where the previous Admiral, Hackett, had hidden his parents thirty years ago, after fabricating a story about their deaths.

A red-headed woman came barging out of the kitchen, her apron still caked in flour, but she rushed to Jarred with her arms wide open. "Jarred! It's so good to see you home!"

Jarred smiled as he hugged his mother back, "Yeah, I'm back. Kaidan gave us a month of shore leave." He pushed her off and Jane Vakarian opened her arms to Tristan, "It's good to see you too, Tristan. You've grown so much!"

"Good to see you, Mrs. Vakarian." Tristan said as he hugged the woman, and when she untangled herself from his arms, she laughed and patted the boy's pants.

"Sorry about that, I was baking something when you two came in. Come inside and make yourself at home, Tristan. James and your father are at the backyard, Jarred. I'll take your bags, Garrus has been looking forward to you boys." Jane said as she hauled the two bags, her age defying the strength she still possessed even after retiring from the Normandy.

Jarred and Tristan headed for the door at the back near the kitchen, and immediately saw two lounge chairs. A muscled man sat in one, his shirt filling up his physique, sipping a beer, while the other chair had a turian sitting on it. He was wearing a black and blue turian shirt and pants, and was drinking what looked like a green colored drink in his hand.

"Hey dad! Hello, Instructor Vega." Jarred said as he and Tristan stepped out. Garrus Vakarian stood up and walked towards his son, before hugging the boy and patting him on his back.

"Hey, Jarred. Welcome home." Garrus said as he let go of his son, extending a hand at Tristan who shook it. "Good to see you again, Tristan. It's been so long."

"Yeah, Father's been a little busy at the Citadel. Sorry he couldn't make it." Tristan said, as he took James Vega's hand next.

Garrus chuckled, his mandibles flaring a bit, "Well, tell him he's welcome to spend whatever vacation time he has here. I'm sure Jane would love it if the others visited once in a while." He pulled up a couple of more lounge chairs and handed the two boys some beer. "Have a seat. James and I was just talking about you boys."

The four of them sat again, and James leaned towards Tristan, "So I've heard about your mission. Is it true that there will be an intense solar flare?"

Tristan nodded as Jarred opened up his can of beer, taking a small sip, "Yes. Our friends are working on Biotic Relays to try and contain the flare. We've found a powerful biotic who could do it. She can encase the whole Citadel with a biotic shield."

James whistled, "Holy shit, that's amazing. The whole Citadel?"

Jarred nodded, "Yeah, we saw it ourselves."

"Was that the girl who was with you, Jarred? That Meiou?" Garrus asked.

Jarred nodded again, "Yeah. She was a Cerberus experiment. Turns out she was a very powerful biotic."

At this, James raised a hand. "Wait a minute, I'm having a hard time grasping this. Can anyone tell me the full story?"

Jarred and Tristan told the story to the two men, starting from when they fetched Councilor Samara up to the time they had left Meiou at Grissom Academy. By the time they had finished, the sun had set, and Jane had finished laying out a table of food for them in the garden. The aromatic smells of his mother's cooking made Jarred's mouth water. And he was happy when Garrus made them sit down at the table.

Jarred and Tristan started filling their plates with piles of food, and Garrus and Jane couldn't help but smirk. "Slow down, boys. You'll be here for a month. You'll have plenty to eat."

But Jarred was already chewing on a fried chicken leg, "Yeah, well, you should know how it feels like to eat protein packets everyday on the Normandy, Mom."

Jane laughed, "Actually, yeah. I guess I do. Eat up, boys."

Garrus chuckled as he watched his son devour everything on his plate, "Imagine what it was like for me and Tali back on the Normandy. Dextro food packets everyday. I was about to revolt once because of that."

Jane smirked at her husband, "I changed the food supply after you brought that bottle of wine though."

Garrus chuckled again, "I guess you did."

The Vakarian family, Tristan and James talked throughout dinner, and when they were done, Tristan, Garrus and James headed to the garage to look over what Garrus did to the family car. Jarred helped his mother clear up the dishes.

He placed a pile of plates on the sink beside his mother, and he looked over to her to see her peacefully soaping the dishes. She looked over to him and smiled, before looking down at the plate again. Jarred smiled back before taking a rag and wiping down the dinner table. "Why do you look so happy, Mom?"

"Well, of course I'd be happy. My son is home for a month. What mother wouldn't be happy to have her little boy home again?" Jane said, rinsing the plates.

Jarred scoffed, "I'm not little anymore, Mom."

She sighed, "I know. You've grown so well." She finished cleaning out the plates, before turning to her son, who was now sitting on the table again, drinking a glass of water. "Something in your mind, Jarred?"

Jarred looked into his glass, watching the ice cubes swirl in the water. "I'm fine, mom… just thinking."

"Is it about that girl, Meiou?" Jane said as she finished shelving up the dishes in her kitchen.

Jarred blinked, "No… ah… well, sort of." He looked down at his glass again. And Jane took a glass of red wine and sat down beside her son. "Mom… why did you fall in love with dad…?"

Jane looked at her son, intending to joke around with him, but seeing the serious look on his face, decided to change her mind. "Your father… has been through a lot with me. We chased Saren through the galaxy, stopped the Collectors and destroyed the Reapers. I learned to love your father when we were on the suicide mission to kill the Collectors."

"But… you were going out with Tristan's dad, weren't you?" Jarred said.

"Yes. We did. Back during the time we fought against Saren and the Geth." Jane said, "But… when Cerberus rebuilt me, Kaidan… Kaidan didn't like the fact that I joined up with Cerberus. He thought that I had betrayed him… betrayed the Alliance. But your father saw through me… the real me. He understood everything. The reason why I joined up, and why I was still fighting when I could've stayed dead. He understood me, and defended me against Kaidan. And after that, I… realized that maybe… your father was the right one for me… even though we started out really awkward." She smiled, "I have never regretted anything in my life. I love Garrus. And that love gave us you, Jarred."

Jarred smiled at his mom and put his hand on hers, "I know, Mom. I'm just… confused."

Jane leaned over to Jarred, lowering her drink, and waited for him. He recognized it from every time something bothered him. It was her sign to talk to her.

"Meiou is… beautiful to me." Jarred started, "And… when we rescued her from that Cerberus facility, so many things started running through my mind. Like… what did Cerberus do to her? To the others? What were they trying to gain by doing all those weird experiments? How much has she suffered? How much more should she suffer? I don't know…" He shrugged, "Tristan told me that Meiou could be a way to 'find my own direction'… whatever the hell that is."

Jane looked at her son, before asking, "Then tell me, why do you fight, Jarred? Why do you remain in the Alliance Military?"

"Because I want the peace to stay. I want a world where everyone could co-exist, and all this 'racism' would end. Cerberus hates other species, and I want to end them because of that. Everyone should have a right to exist." Jarred said.

"And… is that all?" Jane asked her son.

Jarred looked at his mother, "What do you mean?"

Jane sighed, "Sometimes, Jarred, we need something to protect… something to defend… to find out what our real purpose is." She shrugged, "I defended the galaxy for as long as I could. I was tough, I fought so hard, almost to the point of death. But as I activated… or rather destroyed, the Crucible, I realized something else." Jane looked over to the garage window, where Garrus was laughing along with James and Tristan, "I fought… because I wanted them to live. Everyone I ever met… the Normandy crew and all the others I've helped… I wanted them to have a future. I wanted to have my own future… with Garrus. And I did. I still am."

Jane Shepard smiled down at her son, and Jarred smiled back, "Maybe Meiou is… the something worth protecting for you, Jarred. Maybe… just maybe… the reason you fight now, is because of her. Because you want her to have a future."

At this Jarred became quiet and pensive, looking down at his glass. Finally, he smiled and grasped his mother's hand lovingly, "I'm glad I came home, Mom."

Jane Shepard smiled, and stood up, leaning forward so that their foreheads touched. It was a turian way to show love and affection, which Jane often did it to him and her husband. She smiled as she touched her son's mandible, "Me too, Jarred."