Jarred opened his eyes slowly, face down on his bed and his arm dangling on the edge, the light of the window waking him up. He yawned, still plopped down on his bed, and tried to lift his dangling arm, only to realize that someone was hanging on to his hand. He peeked down, only to see Meiou, who was sleeping on the floor in a mattress beside Amira. There was a place between her and Amira, where Thanikah had slept. Her hair spread around her as she curled up in a fetal position. Her fingers were entwined with his, and he felt her warm breath as she slept. He smiled, before extending out a finger and poking the tip of her nose.

Her violet eyes fluttered open and she yawned, looking up at Jarred, before snuggling into her pillow some more, "Five more minutes."

Jarred chuckled and he sat up, grasping her fingers to get her to stand up. She groaned as she playfully went limp as he pulled her up. He laughed, "Come on, get up already. Today's mission day."

Meiou groaned again, and he let her go, and she flopped down on the mattress again. He chuckled and bent down before her, "You'd better get up or else I'd pick you up."

"Make me, idiot." She said, still sleepily snuggling into her pillow.

He shrugged, "Suit yourself." And he bent down, putting his arms under neck and the back of her legs, and she giggled as he lifted her up and headed to the bathroom, which was luckily empty. He made her stand up and gently pushed her towards the shower. "You better be done with your shower in five minutes, or else I'm coming after you."

Meiou laughed as she finally straightened up and grasped the doorframe. But as she turned around, she had flirtatious smile that made Jarred's face blush. "Well, that threat just made me want to take a shower longer." And she closed the door.

Jarred headed down the stairs to get some breakfast, only to see that the kitchen was somewhat empty. Liara and Garrus were sitting on the dining table, drinking coffee, and his mother was cooking pancakes. Tristan, Edison and Nicholas sat on the coffee table by the living room, going over their flight plan. He took a mug of coffee and settled down the kitchen, "Hey, Mom. Where's everybody?"

Jane smiled at her son as she lowered a plate of food in front of him, "They left early this morning. Joker used a different ship to transport them all. Kaidan, Samara and Tali had some Council business to take care of, and Wrex went with them to discuss the krogan settlement here on Earth. Jack and James left as well, they said they had new recruits to train. Which leaves you kids." She pointed to the front door, where Jarred can see a ship. "Your ship is outside. EDI is checking the preparations for the Normandy and had plugged into the AI Core. Grunt and Thanikah is out there clearing up the rest of the tent. The crew has made the preparations."

Jarred nodded and sighed, "Sorry we had to eat and run, Mom."

But Jane Vakarian shook her head, "You are on an important mission. Liara told me it's not that dangerous, but in my experience, there's a certain amount of danger in each mission." She smiled and stroked her son's mandible, "Come back to visit when everything is done, okay? Having everyone here made us very happy."

"Sure, Mom."

Footsteps sounded down the stairs, and Meiou emerged, her hair still wet, but she was wearing her armor again. She was combing her hair with her fingers, with Amira walking down behind her, her head hung low as if she's still sleepy. "Upstairs bathroom is free." Meiou said as she plopped down in the table beside Jarred, "Amira said she'll have some coffee first before taking a bath, so you can go on ahead, Jarred."

Jarred nodded as Amira plopped down on the table, and put her head in her hands, still groggy. Tristan stood up and placed a hot cup of coffee in front of her, and smiled. Amira smiled up at him as she accepted the cup. Jarred and Meiou looked at each other, and he winked before heading up the stairs to take a bath.

By the time Jarred had finished bathing and dressing, Amira had finished her bath on the bathroom downstairs, and everyone was getting ready to leave. He found Meiou in the living room, looking up at the pictures on the wall.

"That is the original Normandy crew… it was taken during a party they had during shore leave." Jarred said as he stood beside her.

"I see." She said, "I do not seem to recognize them all. I see your parents, and Kaidan, Tali, Wrex, Grunt, Samara, EDI, Jack and Joker. But who are the others? Can you tell me about them?"

"I can." And from behind them, Garrus stood and looked at the pictures as well. He started pointing out people, "That man is yellow is Zaeed Massani, he was a mercenary. He died a few years ago from old age. That girl in the hood is Kasumi Goto, we haven't heard from her since the Reaper War, but she's probably still around. These two are Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor, they are your Cerberus allies… they're the ones that give Jarred information about old Cerberus bases." He pointed at the picture again, "That one is Javik the Prothean… he… committed suicide when the Reaper Wars ended. That one is Steve Cortez, he's based in Mexico right now, and Samantha Traynor is in the Citadel as an Engineer."

"Any relation to Leena Traynor?" Meiou asked.

Garrus nodded, "Samantha's adopted daughter. I heard she passed her skills as an engineer to her."

Meiou nodded, and looked down at the smaller pictures below the large picture, "And this is Mordin Solus and… Thanikah's grandfather, Thane Krios?"

"Yes… the allies we have lost during the Reaper Wars." He picked up a picture of a brown-haired woman, "This one is Ashley Williams, we lost her when we were destroying one of Saren's bases in Virmire. And this one is David Anderson, Jane's superior. He led the resistance against the Reapers on Earth during the Reaper Wars. And that one with many people… that's the crew of the Normandy SR-1. They died during a Collector attack. And these ones…" Garrus picked up a picture of a turian couple, "My parents… Jarred's grandparents. They died a few years ago from old age. If it weren't for them, well, me and Jarred wouldn't exist at all."

Meiou nodded and looked at the pictures, "You've kept them all this time?"

Garrus nodded, "Yes. To remind us of all the people we've met, and those we have lost. We may have retired, but we know that every moment of peace we have, we owe to them, and to everyone."

She nodded, and looked at Jarred, "You know… we don't have a picture like this Jarred. Maybe we should have one?"

Jarred blinked, and his eyes softened, "The others aren't here anymore."

She shrugged, "Well, maybe we could still take it. A picture of the new Normandy crew."

"That sounds like a good idea, Jarred." Garrus said, "Arrange yourself in the sofa, I'll go call Grunt and Thanikah."

A few minutes… and a lot of pulling for Thanikah's part, everyone was finally settled on the sofa, except for Engineer Radley, who was still busy with the Normandy's final checks. He had smiled at Meiou when she told him its okay and said that 'he wasn't really a picture person'.

Jarred sat beside Meiou, and beside them sat Tristan and Amira. Grunt, Liara, Edison and Thanikah stood behind them. Jose Cruz and Leena Traynor were shy about getting their picture, but they sat down at the armrest beside Jarred and Amira.

"Alright! Everybody get ready!" Jane said as she held her OmniTool up to take a picture of them.

"Aren't you getting a picture with us?" Meiou asked, but Jane shook her head, "This is the new Normandy crew, Meiou. I've retired, so this picture is for you kids."

She nodded, and Jane raised her OmniTool, "Everybody say 'Normandy!'"

"NORMANDYYYY!"

There was a flash, and Jane synched up her OmniTool with them to share the picture. "Everyone gets a copy."

They all smiled as they looked at the picture, and got up to leave, thanking Jane and Garrus for their hospitality. Jane saw Jarred and Meiou with their heads together, looking at the picture through Meiou's OmniTool, smiling together. She smirked, "HEY!"

Jarred and Meiou looked up, still smiling, and there was a quick flash as Jane took a picture of them. A few seconds later, their faces became surprised, and Meiou blushed when she realized what happened, and Jarred groaned, "Mother!"

Garrus and Jane laughed as the rest of the crew did, and Jane sent the picture to her son, "Don't worry, Jarred. You get a copy, too."

Jarred's OmniTool pinged, and he opened up the picture. It showed him with his arm around her, while she was showing something in her OmniTool. They were both smiling, and he had to admit, they looked rather well. He blushed, "You could've just told us."

Jane laughed and started walking with them to the Normandy, with Garrus and the rest of the crew. Edison ran ahead to get into the bridge. She leaned over to Jarred and whispered, "I actually have a picture of Tristan and Amira, and Edison and Thanikah. You kids look really cute."

He shook his head, "Sheesh." And then he smiled as they reached the Normandy's Cargo Bay Door, "But send me those pictures will you? Maybe I can use it black mail them?"

Jane laughed as she pushed her son towards the Cargo Bay, and she stepped back to stand beside her husband, who put an arm around her shoulders. Meiou came forward and bowed, "Thank you so much for everything, Mrs. Vakarian… Mr. Vakarian."

Jane opened her arms to the girl and embraced her, "You take good care of yourself and my son, Meiou." She said, "Come back here any time. You're always welcome."

Meiou nodded and let go of the woman, running towards the Cargo Bay door as the Normandy started elevating. Jarred raised his arm and waved goodbye to his parents, and Meiou watched the couple as they shrank from view, and Edison closed the doors.

Jarred remained standing in the cargo bay as the rest of the crew headed inside crew deck, a worried look on his face, and Meiou stood beside him, and held his hand. "We'll come back when this mission is finished, Jarred. I promise."

He nodded and grasped her hand, and headed back into the Normandy's bridge as the cargo door closed.