A/N: I should probably warn you: I won't update/continue these one-shots until I'm done with "Someplace..." so this is kind of a little glimpse at the future for now... :)

On another note: I decided to name their second daughter (which you'll get to know in a one-shot taking place between "Someplace..." and this series at a later time...) Helena because of Helena Blake from ME1/ME2 (just because I liked her character) but more importantly because I was playing "Borderlands 2" at the time and was simply crushed when I heard Helena Blake had died, so I thought I'd honor her here. Just thought I'd mention that... RIP lady with scars where her face should be, your accent will be missed... :)

Shepard Charm

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"Hey, Ms. Shepard. Is... Emily around?" The girl standing on their veranda nervously evaded Shepard's eyes and instead let her eyes wander over the facade of their house, feigning indifference while they remained on each window for a few seconds as if searching for any movement behind them.

Shepard's eyes softened as she watched the fidgeting girl a moment longer before she spoke. "Cassie, was it?"

"Cacey."

"Cacey, right." She nodded and gave the girl an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid you've just missed her... But if I recall correctly, she said something about visiting the shooting range." Shepard pursed her lips in thought. "Or maybe it was the Cineplex... you never know with kids these days..." Shrugging, she turned back to Cacey. "Should I tell her you came by when she returns?"

The girl waved her hand dismissively, already turning to leave. "No need, thank you. I'll just... I think I'll just see if I can find her..."

"I'll tell her to keep her omni-tool active the next time she leaves the house, she tends to forget that," the former commander shouted after the girl speeding back to her skycar, a slight blush already covering her cheeks that didn't seem to have anything to do with her run...

Shaking her head in amusement, Shepard closed the door and returned to the living room where Miranda was sitting on a comfortable chair, her legs crossed, Cal snoring at her feet.

The formerly tiny varren had grown quite a bit over the past years and had now reached an impressive height, easily reaching Shepard's thigh when she took him for a walk nowadays. His somewhat intimidating size had also forced the varren to give up on his beloved hobby of charging at the front door whenever the door bell rang – due to a few incidents involving screamingly fleeing guests in the past – and had now went on to joyously hunting birds in the forest nearby as an equal outlet of sorts...

Niftu, on the other hand, had grown old rapidly until he'd passed on a few years ago – but to be honest, Shepard hadn't really researched a pyjak's lifespan before she'd bought him... His fur had turned from a shiny grey to a dull white while his sour mood seemed to increase with every passing day. He had spent most of his last years in his hammock in the kitchen and the rest of the household knew better than to disturb him. They simply left him to his solitude – where he'd happily clung to Emily's old plush volus he'd inherited a while back...

"What's with that grin?" Miranda looked up from the datapad she'd been reading, skeptically eyeing Shepard over the edge of her glasses.

Shepard doubted the perfect Ms. Lawson actually needed those glasses – after all, they had been pretty hard to acquire since modern technology had rendered them useless decades ago – but the excited tingling sensation she felt in her stomach every time she saw her wearing them made her decide not to question the former operative's motives... And Miranda's half-smirk right now was a pretty obvious sign that she knew full well about the effect those glasses had on Shepard...

The former commander raised a suggestive eyebrow as she approached the chair and Miranda groaned, knowing that look already... "Another one?"

Shepard shrugged, grinning. "Hey, it's not my fault you combined my charm with your looks..."

"Your charm, huh?" Miranda's eyebrow rose, obviously unimpressed.

Shepard, who had meanwhile reached the chair, leaned forward and rested her hands on either side of it, smiling mischievously. "Well, I remember a certain XO who couldn't keep her hands off of me..." she purred.

Smiling, Miranda put the datapad aside, challengingly leaning backwards in her chair. "Is that so?"

Shepard's lips lightly brushed over Miranda's and she hummed. "M-hm, she just couldn't resist the infamous Shepard charm..." Shrugging, she added, "Can't really blame her though..."

"Oh get a room, you two!"

Shepard slightly pulled back and the two of them knowingly smiled at each other before turning their heads towards the stairs where an annoyed young woman with flaming red hair was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Helena was the living representation of her parents' best traits, both physically and mentally. She had Shepard's athletic physique accentuated by some of Miranda's curves, which were now hidden underneath a loose shirt and jeans. Her short, red hair was pulled up into a ponytail to reveal intelligent blue eyes that were momentarily studying her parents, one of her eyebrows slightly arched – a habit every member of this househould, even the pets, seemed to have picked up rather quickly...

"What was that all about?" She casually nodded towards the closed door.

Miranda sighed. "Your sister just decided to once more avoid one of her admirers..." Her eyes narrowed. "And your mother decided to help her once again..."

Helena rolled her eyes and sighed. "Oh."

Even though her younger daughter had inherited all the necessary physical traits to attract attention wherever she went, she spent most of her time surrounded by data, steering clear of all the trouble her sister seemed to get in every other day, much to Miranda's relief. The former Cerberus operative just wouldn't have been able to handle another Shepard-clone...

Helena turned and headed to the kitchen – having lost interest in her sister's affairs already – when Shepard spoke up. "She's young, let her have her fun," she defended her daughter, looking back and forth between Miranda and Helena, both pursing their lips in disapproval.

Miranda shook her head. "She shouldn't lead that poor girl on... And neither that boy and that turian last week... or that asari the week before..."

"She didn't lead them on, she just wants to enjoy life and its simple pleasures..." Lowering her voice, Shepard whispered, "Do you want me to dig up those old chat protocols? I'm sure Liara still has a copy..."

Miranda's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare!" she hissed.

"She doesn't."

Both Shepard's and Miranda's head whipped back around to stare at Helena who'd emerged from the kitchen again, holding a yogurt in her hand. "I deleted it the last time I was at Liara's base..." The redhead shrugged indifferently.

Both of Shepard's eyebrows rose in surprise. Ever since she was out of school, her daughter had spent quite a lot of time helping Liara organize all the data the asari still gathered as the Shadow Broker. Even though Feron had taken over a lot of her work – accompanied by Glyph – due to Liara's own motherhood, the asari had been more than excited to show the younger Shepard/Lawson daughter her work, and it was no secret that Helena might even take over Liara's place in a few years... In a way, Helena had become the surrogate family Liara missed in all those lonely months she was away from her own, due to her work, and Helena herself was thankful for the familiarity and care she received while she was separated from her family – which she'd never admit to missing, of course...

"You deleted some of Liara's data? Does she know about it?"

Helena shrugged once more, smiling. "I doubt there is anything she doesn't know, but she didn't mention it, so I figured it was okay... Hey, did you know that Jacob and Bryn just recently had relationship counselling?"

Shepard chuckled. "Just make sure not to mention that to Kasumi..."

"I don't think she cares... As far as I know, she's seeing a drell right now..."

"A drell? Is she dating Feron?"

Helena groaned. "It may surprise you to hear that there are, in fact, more drell out there than the ones you know, Mom..."

"Kolyat?"

"I'll just ignore that and leave..."

Miranda smiled warmly while her eyes followed her daughter. "Thank you."

Helena paused and turned back around, returning her mother's smile. "You're welcome."

Shepard's head rose. "Hey, did you delete my files as well?"

"Nope." Her daughter shook her head. "Made a copy for myself in case I ever need leverage..." And with that, she climbed the stairs back to her room.

Shepard's head shot back to Miranda, her eyes narrowed accusingly. "Oh, she's so your daughter!"