The day of the solar flare was coming.

And yet, Jarred didn't seem to be worried about it at all. He was more worried at the strange suit his mother was holding up for him.

It's been three days since the whole crew took their shore leave, and tomorrow, the kids were going back to the Biotic Relays to stop the solar flare. Jane and the rest of the crew agreed to make a super-special party, and with a different flavor to it. As it turns out, she made it a formal beach party, which excited the women but threw the men into distraught.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't bring any dress blues!" James and Joker whined, but ultimately took the Normandy to the nearby shopping district in Thailand to shop for clothes.

Jarred wasn't able to go with them, mainly because he was too busy walking along the beach and talking with Meiou to notice that they had left to buy clothes. And by the time he found out, Amira announced that she had bought a dress that Meiou had liked, and that Jane bought a suit for him.

"Well, what do you think?" Jane asked as she held up the suit for him, which consisted of black pants, and a dark blue silk jacket with a high collar. He looked at her uncertainly, and Jane rolled her eyes.

"Come on, just put it on! The party is starting!' Jane said as she ushered her son into the bathroom to change.

"But Mooooooom!" Jarred wailed childishly.

"No buts, young man! Now put in on!" Jane said, sounding stern, but the sparkle in her eyes defied her anger, looking amused.

Jarred sighed, but stomped off to the bathroom to put on his clothes. It's really hard to argue with your own mother, especially since she's the Savior of the Galaxy.

A few minutes later, Jarred came out, wearing the pants and suit his mother gave him. He had to admit, it fit him rather well, considering he was more used to wearing dress blues whenever he attended any formal parties back in the Alliance. He gave one last pull on his collar, and saw that his mother was zipping up his father's shirt, which consisted with a turian civilian clothing, but made of silk like his, with two, white stripes running down its front.

"Looking sharp, Dad." Jarred said, looking at his father, and Garrus' mandibles flared as he smiled.

"Actually, I haven't worn one of these in a while."Garrus said, "And back then, it wasn't even human silk."

Jane smiled at her husband, "I think the last time you wore one of these was during our date and covert operation on the Citadel."

Garrus laughed, "Yeah, I remember now."

Jane turned and smiled at Jarred, and he saw that she was wearing a long, asari-made dress, that showed off her slim arms, but still covered her pretty well, unlike the provocative ones the asari normally wears. "You look really pretty, Mom."

Jane smiled, "I'm normally a leather-dress kind of woman, but since I am growing old, I might as well tone it down a bit. Your father liked that phase of mine though."

"She was smokin'." Garrus said, his mandibles flaring as he remembered. "Honestly, I never knew why your mother asked me out then, but I liked it."

Somebody knocked on the door now, and Tali and Amira peeked their heads in. Both of them had their wavy dark hair pulled up to a smooth bun. Tali was wearing a long dress like Jane, but Amira was wearing what looked like a leather dress that fitted her perfectly. Jarred smiled as he stepped out, heading to the living room with Amira, and Tali and Jane started talking.

"You know, Tristan is going to drool if he sees you in that." Jarred smirked as he sat on the couch with Amira.

At this Amira smirked, "I love leather dresses. It feels like my suit."

But Jarred placed a finger on his chin as he looked her over, "But I think… there's something wrong with it."

At this Amira's eyebrow rose, and as quick as a flash, Jarred reached behind her head, and unclipped her bun, her dark hair billowing down her shoulders. "Hey! I spent an hour fixing that!" Amira wailed as she took the clip back from him, and ran to a mirror. But as she stared at her reflection, she stopped. Jarred smirked as he walked and stood behind her.

"Well… this is unexpected." Amira said as she surveyed herself, "I look… hot."

Jarred laughed, "Yep. You look better with your hair down, Amira." He looked around the house, "Where's Meiou…?"

Amira started fluffing up her hair, "She's still upstairs. She was the last one to take a bath, and she had problems with all that hair. She was even starting to think of cutting it, but Thanikah stopped her." She shrugged, "She'll be down when she's ready, don't worry."

Jarred pulled at his collar, "Did you… uh… see what she's wearing?"

"Yeah. The three of us helped each other in getting ready." Amira stopped fixing her hair and smiled at Jarred, "Besides, Meiou said not to tell you anything about what she's wearing. She said it's a surprise."

Jarred blinked, but his parents came down the stairs now, with Tali behind them. Amira, Tali and Garrus stepped out to the front door, where Jane had Wrex, James and Grunt put up tents for their party. Jane smiled as she came forward and straightened Jarred's suit. "Come on, the party is starting, you can wait for Meiou outside."

Reluctantly, Jarred followed and went out front with his mother. The beach had been transformed, so it now had a huge tent to fit all of them, and a smooth metal floor was laid down. A crystal chandelier was hung on the top of the roof, giving of sparkling lights. Tables and chairs were arranged as well, and a huge buffet table was set up. There was some speakers in the tent as well, playing soft, classical music.

Tristan and Edison were the first people he saw, and he grinned when he saw Tristan, whose mouth was open in shock as he looked over to Amira. Wrex and Grunt wore similar suits that looked strangely like armor to him. EDI, Samara, Tali, Liara and his mother were all wearing asari dresses that were cut differently. Jack was wearing what looked like slacks, and a short sleeved shirt, but she wore a tight fitting vest over it, that she looked like a business woman, even with the annoyed look on her face. James, Kaidan, Joker, Edison and Tristan, all wore black suits and white shirts, though James kept his jacket open.

Jarred went over to Tristan and stood beside him, and he smirked, "You know if you keep it hanging like that, you're going to get flies in there."

At this, Tristan closed his mouth, but he nudged Jarred, "How the hell did she do that? She looks… amazing."

At this, Amira looked behind her, and saw the two of them. Jarred gave a little wave, but Tristan kept staring at her. Amira smiled, ever so sweetly, and batted her lashes, looking down, before turning back to Tali. Jarred knew she was trying her best to look flirty, and it worked. Tristan pulled on his collar, his face turning a little red. Jarred looked over Edison, who was staring at Amira as well and he laughed.

"Looks like you got competition, Tristan." Jarred said, pointing at Edison.

Tristan looked at him as well, and his brows furrowed. "Not going to happen.", he seethed.

Jarred laughed and patted his shoulder, "Go get her, tiger."

Tristan drained his drink, exhaled and marched right to Amira. Jarred smiled at his friend's determination, and laughed outright at Edison's disappointed look. Garrus stood beside him, holding a glass of turian brandy, smiling at the sight of Tristan awkwardly talking to Amira, "Glad those two finally took the step. Tali and Kaidan's been trying to get those two together for ages."

Jarred chuckled, "So you knew about this?"

Garrus' mandibles flared as he laughed, "Sort of. Actually, Tali wanted Amira to go out with you, but when Amira noticed that her mother was trying to push her towards you, she got mad and threw a fit. I told her that I think she likes Tristan more, and her attention shifted to him."

Jarred put his arm around his father and patted him before letting go, "Glad you didn't play matchmaker for me, Dad."

"You're getting a match by yourself already." Garrus chuckled, "So… you and Meiou, huh?"

At this, his son's cheeks turned pink, but he smiled gently, "Yeah."

"I guess we both have a thing for amazing women." Garrus said, looking over Jane, who smiled at him, before turning back to her conversation with Kaidan and Wrex.

Jarred nodded in assent, "Yeah. I guess we do. You married the Savior of the Galaxy, and I'm going out with the most powerful biotic in human history… probably even in asari history."

"Soon to be the Savior of Earth, I believe." Garrus said, and he looked over to his son with worry, "Can't help but feel nervous about this whole Solar Flare thing. Are you sure you guys are going to be alright?"

Jarred nodded, "I'm worried too, dad. But Liara and Nicholas did all the calculations, and the Council ensured us that the best engineers built everything perfectly. So, I guess I'm not that worried." His brow plates furrowed, "I'm worried about Meiou, though. I don't know how the whole thing might affect her. She's powerful, I admit, but I just hope her training works."

"I'm sure she'll do fine." Garrus said, "Where is Meiou anyway?"

Jarred shrugged, "I don't know. Amira said she and Thanikah helped her dress, but they haven't come out yet…"

"Holy mother…." He heard Edison whisper in reverence.

Thanikah came out, and even Jarred smiled in surprise. Thanikah was wearing a silk-corseted dress that pushed her chest up, revealing the smooth light-green skin on her cleavage, arms, neck and shoulders. Her skirt was made of some airy material that fluttered at the wind. She was holding on to something behind her, and she turned, revealing the back of her dress, where a ribbon criss-crossed down the bare back of her corset. Thanikah smiled at Jarred and Amira, and at the sight of Edison staring at her, her eyes fluttered, before looking behind her. She pulled someone out from the door gently, who, to Jarred, looked like a goddess.

Except it was Meiou. Jarred's breath got caught in his throat as he looked at her. She wore a white, chiffon Grecian-style dress, which fluttered around her ankles in the night wind. Her hair was pulled up to a bun on top of her head, with a few strands coming down in ringlets. Gold brooches held the dress to her shoulders, and a rope-like golden belt was wrapped around her slim middle to hold the dress together. She still wore Samara's choker, and some gold chain was woven into her hair, giving out an elegant touch to her white tresses. She smiled when she saw him, and immediately went towards the father and son.

She smiled at Garrus before bowing down to a small curtsy, "Good evening, Mr. Vakarian."

Garrus nodded to her, his mandibles flaring. "Good evening, Meiou. You look beautiful today. Doesn't she, Jarred?"

Jarred continued to look at her, staring at her that it caused her to blush, and Garrus poked his son to snap him out of it. "Yeah… uhm…" Jarred said nervously, "You look…" He swallowed, "Beautiful."

The way he said it, like a caressing whisper, made her blush even more. But she smiled shyly and shook her head, "You haven't seen anything yet." And she turned her back to him.

The back of the dress was cut low. So low in fact, that it seemed it was just an inch or two from her buttocks. A chain connected from her choker, and on it was a pendant of a star that swayed when she moved. Her pale skin seemed to glitter, and Jarred knew that it was the reason why she took so long. Seeing the naked skin on her back made him swallow even more, "Oh Spirits…" He whispered.

Garrus chuckled as Meiou turned around and faced them again. "That is quite the dress, Meiou. Where did you find it?"

"Amira looked around the extranet to find a dress for me." She said, "But… this is the dress Mrs. Vakarian… I mean, Jane… picked out for me." She looked at Jarred shyly, "She said… she said Jarred might like it."

At the sound of his mother's name, Jarred looked up to find her nodding appreciatively at Meiou's dress. She saw him looking at her, and she grinned. Behind her, James saw the back of Meiou's dress and his eyes nearly bulged. He saw Jarred, and raised a hand as if to fan himself, mouthing out "damn" at her figure.

Jarred coughed, "I don't like the dress." At this, Meiou's eyes widened in shock, and she looked saddened. He grinned, "I love it."

Meiou's violet eyes rose to meet his, and a blush spread her cheeks again. Jarred offered out his arm, but before Meiou could hold it, Nicholas blocked them. "Meiou." He said, smiling at her, "Believe you promised to assist me in understanding humans. Salarians… or rather, myself, do not understand 'dancing' very well. Would like your assistance in teaching me."

Meiou looked behind Nicholas to look at Jarred, who seemed a little shocked at his friend's intrusion, but she smiled at the salarian and took his hand. "Sure, I'll teach you."

Jarred's mouth opened to object, but Meiou had already taken the salarian's hand, who took her to the dance floor. He watched as Meiou took Nicholas' left hand to her hip, and grasped his right hand. Nicholas watched her as she taught him to waltz, their feet making a square like pattern on the floor. She was laughing, and Nicholas was too busy counting, but soon they got the hang of it, waltzing gracefully on the floor.

James stood beside Jarred and Garrus, "Damn, chico, looks like Nicholas beat you to the first dance."

"There'll be other dances." Jarred said curtly, though he was a little miffed at the way Nicholas was holding on.

But Garrus thumped him on the back, "Don't be too jealous. Remember, that's Nicholas she's dancing with. Your friend who studied way too much that he never found the time to actually learn how to dance."

At this, Jarred blinked as he remembered, "Yeah. I guess you're right, Dad."

Garrus chuckled, before looking over to Jane, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll take your Mom for a spin. I hope she still knows how to dance properly, considering all she knew before was her 'Shepard Shuffle'".

Jarred and James laughed as they remembered the former Commander's 'dance moves' and Garrus went over to his wife for a dance. James handed Jarred a glass of what looked like beer, and raised his glass to his student. Jarred bumped his glass gently against his teacher's, and drank a little, with James doing the same. They stood at the sidelines as they watched everyone, laughing and eating and dancing.

"I have to say, this is a pretty damn good fiesta." James said as he looked around, "It's like the one we had on the Citadel, on Admiral Anderson's apartment."

"Yeah, my dad had a vid about that." Jarred said, "I bet it's like having the old gang again."

James nodded, "Yeah… just… minus some people. Zaeed, for one, never got to talk to him. But I heard he was kick ass. Of course, the guy was pretty old by the time I met him. And then the Prothean, Javik… he… killed himself after the Reaper Wars. He said that the Prothean revenge has been done against the Reapers, and he was ready to join his squad." James shook his head, "And of course, Miranda and Jacob are too busy with the Alliance. Our old shuttle pilot, Esteban… I mean Steve Cortez, he's too busy with his family. Traynor's busy with her family too, but her daughter is helping with the Normandy's retrofits."

Jarred nodded as James drained his glass, as the music changed to something like a tango, "Well, I never got the chance to dance with a Justicar yet. Maybe I should take this opportunity, no? Later, chico."

James waved goodbye as his strode over to the Justicar, and Jarred looked a little to the right, to see that his parents had started dancing the tango, rather slowly, given their old age. He smiled as his mother spun with his father, laughing.

"Whew, I need a drink."

Jarred looked over to his left to see that Meiou had joined him, and was now drinking a glass of juice. She smiled up at him, "Nicholas learned to dance. He said he never had the chance to learn. He's dancing with Thanikah now."

He looked over to where she pointed, and saw that Thanikah was now teaching Nicholas to tango, while Wrex and Grunt ate their steaks. The poor salarian was a bit awkward, but Thanikah was teaching him well. He looked over to Edison, to see the boy watching them intently. He grinned and pointed at him, "Looks like someone's getting jealous of Nicholas."

Meiou looked over to Edison and saw his glare. She giggled before looking up at Jarred, "Poor Nicholas. If all your glares turned into daggers, the poor boy would be dead now."

Jarred raised a brow plate at her, and she smiled, "I saw you staring at us while we danced. You were glaring too. Were you jealous that I danced with Nicholas, Jarred?"

His face flushed again and he let out a huff, "Me? Jealous? Of Nicholas? Nah. Of course not. I've known Nicholas for a while now. I know that he never learned how to dance, unlike me."

"Oh?" Meiou's eyebrow rose, "You took dance class, Jarred?"

Jarred laughed, "Yeah, I did. A little. I saw a vid of my mother dancing with my dad. And I was determined to not learn the 'Shepard Shuffle'. It kinda looked like this…" Meiou laughed at him when he demonstrated his mother's dance moves. "I took a couple of weeks worth of dance class. Not really professional level, but enough to not embarrass myself on the floor."

"Really now?" Meiou said as she lowered her glass of juice and stood in front of Jarred, extending her hand, "Care to dance, Mr. Vancair?"

Jarred looked at her, seeing the mischievous look in her eyes. His mandibles flared a little as he took her hand. He put his left hand at his back and bowed low, planting a kiss on the back of her hand. He heard her gasp a little at the sensation, and he straightened. "Allow me to lead, Ms. Seishiro."

Meiou smiled as Jarred led her to the dance floor, twirling her around before settling his hand on her lower back. Jarred smirked, and started dancing with her, his movements precisely in time with the music, and Meiou found herself following his lead, twirling and stepping in time with him. He even managed to lift her up his arms to a small lift, before settling her down again.

She laughed a bit at their dancing, not realizing that everyone is watching them now, as they moved with the music. As the music slowly came to an end, Jarred spun her a little bit, making her arch, and her leg clung on to his hip for balance.

The crew began clapping as the music stopped, and Meiou was still arched in his arms, gasping for breath a little. Jarred pulled her up so she can stand, and she laughed, her eyes twinkling in mirth.

"That was fun." Meiou said, still a little breathless. And she looked around at everyone, who was still clapping at them. She grinned and curtsied, before urging Jarred to do the same. Jarred laughed and bowed with her, as he guided her to a table.

Meiou sat down, still catching her breath, but she was laughing with her head on her hand. She peered over to Jarred and grinned, "I haven't dance like that in ages."

The music turned to something slower now and Jarred watched as his parents started dancing, and Tristan and Amira took the floor. Edison and Thanikah were talking at another table not far from them. "You haven't eaten dinner yet, Meiou. I should get you a plate." Jarred said, before standing up and heading towards the buffet table.

"I am glad that he is coming to care for you, Meiou."

Meiou looked behind her to see James, looking a little breathless. "So you danced with the Justicar?"

"Whew. Yeah." James said, taking a huge gulp of water, "Samara's got me beat. A thousand years worth of studying dancing… I can't keep up."

Meiou laughed as James took a seat beside her, looking at Jarred as he grabbed a couple of plates and was talking to Nicholas as the salarian helped Jarred in putting in food. "Huh. Jarred's all grown up now. It seems like just yesterday that everybody was picking on him."

"You've taught him since he was a child?" Meiou said, looking at him.

"Yeah. He had it tough, seeing that he was half-human." James said as he places his chin on his fists, looking at Jarred, "My students bullied him. I couldn't protect him when my back is turned. I did the best that I could, but they'd still get to him. He hardly smiled, even at me. He worked so hard to prove the others wrong. But he grew strong because of it. And now he's an Alliance soldier. A LC at that." James chuckled, "I recently found out that one of the kids that used to bully him is still a private until now. Kid can't hit the far side of a barn with a rocket launcher. I showed him a picture of Jarred in his Alliance uniform. Never seen a human turn green with envy, literally."

Meiou smiled as she bowed her head, "I used to be like that too, just differently."

"Oh?"

She nodded, "When I was in high school, because I was an Albino, I was often bullied by my classmates. I had close friends, but they could never protect me all the time, just like my parents. I… had to learn to defend myself in some way. To prove them wrong." She smiled, "I did everything I could to prove to them I was better than them. I learned to sing. I learned to dance. I got top marks in my school. But it got me bullied even more. So I learned… a little martial arts." She grinned, "I beat a boy twice my size once, people shut up after that."

James laughed, "Really? Twice your size? Maybe we should put that to a test before the mission, no?"

Meiou laughed, "I'd rather you don't, Mr. Vega. I'm afraid Jarred would get mad at me if I accidentally broke your bones."

James laughed harder, and pointed at her, "You know, you sound just like him now. Looks like you two got a lot in common."

"I guess we do." She said, and smiled as she watched Jarred laugh with Nicholas.

He smiled at her, "I'm happy he found someone like you, joven. With us getting old as we are, Chico needs someone to take care of him."

Meiou smiled, "I will do my best for him, Mr. Vega."

James stood up and patted her shoulder, "I know you will."

Jarred turned around with a couple of plates of food just as James left his chair, and he watched as his teacher walked away. He laid a plate of food in front of Meiou and sat down beside her with his own plate, "What were you guys talking about?"

Meiou's brows furrowed as she looked down at her plate, "Nothing, really. Uhm… Jarred… I can't finish all this."

Jarred looked down at her plate, only to realize that it was indeed too much. He laughed, "Sorry. Nicholas told me to take care of you, since you're going to need your strength for the mission tomorrow. I guess it is too much."

Meiou looked over to the salarian, who nodded and smiled, "I'll… try to finish as much as I can then. As long as I don't get sick."

Jarred smiled and began eating what looked like lasagna on his plate. Since he was a turian-human hybrid, both kinds of food was available for him. He looked up at her as he chewed, and Meiou stifled a giggle. "What?"

But Meiou shook her head and grabbed her napkin, before leaning to him and wiped a drop of sauce that dribbled down his chin. "I guess you really like lasagna, even your chin is eating it."

"Oh, sorry." Jarred said, grinning, "This is my mom's recipe. It's really good, that's why I'm eating kind of… messy."

Meiou laughed and she stuck her fork into her own serving of lasagna, bringing it up to her lips and ate. Her violet eyes widened, "Oh wow… this is delicious."

Jarred grinned at her, but nearly fell to his food face first as Tristan pushed him a little before settling down beside him with his own food. Nicholas and Edison joined them, and soon Thanikah and Amira sat at Meiou's left side.

"Hey! Watch it!" Jarred exclaimed as he straightened up, and Tristan and Edison laughed.

"Looking smooth there, Jarred." Tristan said as he started eating his own serving of food.

"Food delicious. Surprising that Alliance Navy Officers know how to cook." Nicholas said as he took a bite of food, "Salarian food almost not as flavorful."

"After living on food packets on the Normandy, this is a good break." Amira said as she reached over and wiped a piece of sauce off Tristan's chin, and the man's eyes widened as she smiled, "Everyone's been eating like krogans."

Thanikah smiled as she watched Edison devour his steak, "Some more than others. You sure you're not half-krogan, Edison?"

Edison shrugged, "I wouldn't mind being half-krogan, if it would mean I could head-butt you right now, Thanikah."

She laughed, "I'd like to see you try."

"Well, our mission is going to start tomorrow." Tristan said, "I don't know if we're going to be able to do this. I mean, this is sort of dangerous. I just want to say… good luck to all of us, I guess."

Meiou raised her glass, "To all of us! May we save the fate of the Earth… and this island, tomorrow!"

Amira raised her glass as well, "And for more beach volleyball! Where the girls will win next time!"

All of them laughed as they raised their glasses, even Nicholas, for a toast. Tristan spilled a little of his drink, which caused all of them to laugh and poke fun of him being drunk.

Jane and Garrus watched as the kids laughed and ate, while Jarred and Meiou sat together, holding hands under the table. Garrus put his arms around his wife, "You little minx. You planned all of this, didn't you?"

Jane laughed, "The shore leave, no. The party, yes. They need to celebrate their friendship once in a while, like we did."

Garrus nodded, "Yeah. Every time we had a mission before, I always thought that I wanted to have some drinks with every one before we did." He nodded towards Jarred's group, "This will be a good way for them to bond."

"When I was the Spectre, I was too busy trying to save the galaxy that I didn't have any time for all of you. I talked to everyone, yes, but I never took the time to spend time with you, outside of the Normandy. I was happy when Joker suggested that party. It was the best thing we've ever done." Jane said, "They should have moments like these. With friends."

Garrus nodded again, and he held his wife tighter in his arms, "And now, we're with our friends again… although, with fewer people."

"Yeah. I miss them too." Jane said, "I miss all of them, alive or dead… I miss them. It's good to see everyone again, it's been way too long since they visited."

"Exactly." Garrus said, as he pulled on her hand, "Come on, let's mingle for a while. Let the kids have their time. It's been a while since we talked to everyone right? Let's enjoy the time we have with them now."

"Right behind you." Jane said as they headed to their old crew.