AN: Hey guys. New chapter time!

So, third last chapter. That means that this fic will actually be finished next week. The next chapter will be up on Monday and then the final chapter and the epilogue will be up around Thursday/Friday. Depending on how long I can be bothered to wait. ^^

I also uploaded some sketches of Riina to my DA page. Username Gohokekitty for anyone who is bothered enough to go see.

Thanks to everyone who reads, with special thanks to everyone who follows/favs.

And super special thanks to 2kinds from DA for betaing for me!

Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Five - Unexpected

The Citadel - C-Sec Executor's Apartment

2253 - 57 Years After the End of the Reaper War

The Old Man paused his story as he realised that Riina had zoned out a little, paying more attention to her omni-tool than to what he was saying.

"Am I boring you?" he asked, feeling much like that time he had been harangued into teaching the first year students at the Academy.

"Oh?" Riina asked, snapping her head up. "Sorry…"

"What is holding your interest so much?"

"Nothing," she replied quickly before realising that he wasn't buying it. "Just… these photos you sent me…"

"What about them?"

She looked sheepish at that. "Just… it really looks as if they were in love…"

He shrugged, realising that she was talking about Sarah and Tiberius. "That's because they were. I don't know if it was just a bondmate thing or what but… no one could argue that they weren't head over heels for each other."

"I… I've been so focused on Sarah…"

"Well, she is the one you're hunting," the Old Man reasoned.

"No, I just mean… I…"

"He was a good man. A good friend," the Old Man said simply.

"That's more praise than I've heard you speak of Sarah."

He shrugged. "Sarah was… complicated. She was determined but that meant that, when she put her mind to something, she didn't have room for much else. Often, to the detriment of her friendships. She was a good friend but Tiberius was easily my best friend."

Riina frowned a little, her gaze far off. "I…" She trailed off, sighing, as she shook her head. "Never mind…"

"You know, I'm sure that I've got another video on here somewhere…"

Riina simply shook her head as he started searching through this omni-tool files. "Just… continue on with the story."

"I can multi-task."

The Normandy

2225 - 29 Years After the End of the Reaper War

Sarah left the medbay, only to sigh as she saw Rael across the room. As soon as he saw her, he made a hasty retreat back to the lift. She knew that he had realised exactly what had gone on before she had left and, ever since she had returned, he had gone back to avoiding her.

Which was probably for the best, she figured. She didn't want Tiberius to be set off again. While she figured that it had just been because they had both been on edge at that point… she couldn't deny that he had been acting strangely over the past couple of months. The change in behaviour wasn't necessarily bad, it was just odd and unexplained. He was more prone towards displays of affection and he was definitely acting more protective towards her during missions.

She had no idea how he would react to another confrontation with Rael right now, so she didn't try to press the quarian about his return to avoiding her.

"What's his problem?" Philip asked, drawing Sarah from her thoughts.

"Why aren't you in the medbay?" she responded, avoiding his question.

"Why would I be?"

"Because you were shot."

"Yeah, two months ago. I'm all healed up now."

"Weren't you supposed to have an appointment with Alice to confirm that? Say, about five minutes ago?"

"Ah… Crap…" He hurried off back towards the medbay at that, leaving Sarah alone with Tia.

"How come you didn't remember?" Sarah asked the asari.

Tia shrugged. "He didn't tell me."

"Haven't you two been joined at the hip since he got hurt?"

Tia rolled her eyes. "We haven't been that bad."

"Yeah, you have." Sarah moved over to the cupboards, finding a box of biscuits and immediately opening them.

"Wait, have you been the one eating all of those?"

Sarah shrugged, sheepishly. "More like inhaling, actually. I guess I must be using my biotics more often or something…"

"Sarah, they're mine. I keep on buying them every time we dock somewhere and then they disappear before I have a chance to eat them."

"Well, I guess that would explain the asari label…"

"Yeah, no shit. They're meant for when you're doing a lot of biotic training. Since my biotics have always been weak, I've been training more with the Grissom students. I don't imagine eating a lot in one go can be good for you."

Sarah ran her gaze over the label, finding no warnings. "It seems all good to me. Look, it even says that they're recommended for children and pregnant asari."

"Yeah, to help develop biotic potential. You know how difficult it can be to work the correct nutrients into a normal diet."

"Meh. It's easier when the dextro/levo barrier has no effect on you."

"Regardless, weren't you just complaining about gaining weight the other day?"

"Look, if you want your biscuits back, just say. You don't have to resort to low blows…" Sarah handed the packet back, a little reluctantly. She couldn't deny that they were the perfect snacking food.

"So… Are you ever going to explain why you and Rael are back to being awkward around each other?"

Sarah sighed, lowering her gaze a little. "I… I may have overheard something I shouldn't have. My telepathy was acting up and I… He might have been thinking about… things long past…"

"So, basically, he still carries a torch for you and you found out?"

"Yep."

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

"They broke up. Apparently the long distance thing was too much for her."

"And, in the wake of that break up, he's hanging around you - his childhood crush?"

"Basically. I guess it shouldn't have been so much of a shock, it was just… surprising. God, I really need a distraction right now. Have we heard word from Feron yet on this Cerberus lead?"

"Not much. But, what we have heard is… promising. We might just be closing in on the head of this thing."

"Thankfully. Let's just hope that, when we cut it off, two more don't grow back."

"I think that's a hydra…"

"Since when did you become such an expert on Greek mythology?"

"Since I married a human."

"Touché. Speaking of that human, do we have any idea of who hurt him yet?"

Tia shook her head. "Nope." She hadn't told anyone of her encounter with the member of her former gang. She didn't want to face the implications.

"I mean… If it was Cerberus, it seems strange that they would target him, given that I was on the Citadel at the same time."

"I don't think it was Cerberus." As much as she didn't want to admit that it was her fault, she didn't want Sarah blaming herself either.

"Well, regardless, I think I'll be happier once we have the truth of the matter."

Tia tried not to look guilty at that. "So… Are you going to try and patch things up with Rael?" She knew that the change of topic to one Sarah was uncomfortable with was a little mean but the last thing she wanted was to have to face what had happened.

Sarah sighed, looking away. "I should, I just… I don't know how this is going to go. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to say? He can't control how he feels about me and it's not as if he tried to act on it or anything."

"Yeah, why do I get the feeling that there's another reason?"

Sarah sighed once more. Tia was right, the main reason was Tiberius. She knew that, usually, she wouldn't give a crap. She would be angry at him for being so ridiculous and would just tell him to get over it. But… she wasn't sure that it was entirely his fault. The change in mood… any of it. He was linked to her and it would make sense that any upset in her would also affect him. But facing that would mean facing… things Sarah really didn't have time to deal with right now.

"Look, it's just… complicated," Sarah eventually said.

"Yeah, it sounds it," Tia replied before sighing. "I guess I should go and make sure Philip's okay."

Sarah nodded. "Probably wise."

Tia entered the medbay, leaving Sarah on her own as she tried to resist the urge to start eating the biscuits again. Maybe Tia was right, she was developing something of an overeating problem. Though, it was only for certain foods...

She left the box alone, deciding to head to the gym instead. If she was overeating thanks to stress, a workout might be just as good. Though, if it wasn't just stress… She tried to shake off the thoughts, not wanting to give them any more credence.

Being so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't initially realise that she wasn't alone when she entered the gym.

"Sarah!" Rael exclaimed as soon as he spotted her.

"Oh. Hey, Rael. I… I, erm… I thought you would be in engineering."

The quarian shrugged. "I guess I have been spending more time locked down there than usual, huh?"

"A little. But… I guess it's understandable…"

"Yeah… About that… Sarah, I've been meaning to apologise."

She shook her head. "You don't need to do that. You can't control what you think about."

"No, but I should still… make an effort to… get over you, I guess."

Sarah looked away at that and Rael was shocked to see that there were tears in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," he assured her, moving closer. "There's no need to be so upset."

"Yes there is," she replied, the tears now flowing freely. "Rael, I hate that I'm hurting you so just by being around you. You deserve better than that."

"Sarah, none of this is your fault."

"Really? Rael, if we hadn't… I should never have…"

"No. Don't start doing that. Don't start apologising for us being together."

She shook her head. "Rael…"

"No. Listen to me, Sarah. I knew exactly what was going on. I chose to believe what I did because it made things easier. I hurt myself as much as you did."

"No, no, no. Don't do that. Don't blame yourself for something I did."

"Sarah… what's wrong? Why are you so upset over things long past?"

Sarah sighed, sitting down on a nearby bench. Rael sat next to her as she ran her fingers through her hair. She hadn't spoken of her fears to anyone yet but… maybe it was time.

"Rael… remember when I was… Spirits, I must have been eleven. When I began to show signs of destabilisation for the first time since I was a toddler…"

"Yeah. You were kind of… all over the place."

She nodded. "Not all my hormonal systems were properly rigged up. As soon as I hit puberty… it all just kind of exploded. I kept on having hormonal imbalances which would mess with my emotional state…"

"Wait, do you think that's what's happening now?"

Sarah nodded. "It feels exactly the same. In fact… I've felt this way since Red and I went to his home colony. It got better temporarily when we got back but… it's been getting worse and worse over the past two months."

"Maybe you're just stressed?"

She shook her head. "I would agree if it wasn't also for the overtiredness, the weight gain, the aching and the vomiting…"

"You think that you're destabilising again?"

Hearing it said like that, so plainly, was like a shot through the heart. She thought that she was past this - that she would never have to face that fear again - but it seemed that she had been wrong. "I can't think of another explanation."

"Have you seen Chakwas about it?"

She shook her head once more. "No. I… I guess I've been too afraid. I don't want to go through that again."

"But surely waiting will only make it worse?"

"Yeah. I know. And you're right. I… I'll go and see her."

"Do you want me to come with?"

Sarah paused as she got up, sorely tempted by his offer. She couldn't deny that she didn't want to go alone but… "No. I should do this on my own."

"What about Tiberius?"

"I… I don't want to worry him."

Rael just nodded as Sarah made her way out of the gym and back towards the medbay. She was more than thankful that she didn't encounter anyone on her way. Especially since her makeup had run thanks to her tears.

"Sarah. Anything you need?" Chakwas asked as she entered the medbay. Thankfully, Tia and Philip appeared to be long gone.

"I… erm… I haven't been feeling too well for a while now. I just thought that I should… check that everything was okay."

"Everything was fine during your last checkup. There's no reason to believe the cure has stopped working," Chakwas reasoned, realising what was bothering Sarah right away. "But I can take a look just to be sure."

"Thank you," Sarah replied as she got up on one of the medbay's beds, allowing the doctor to run over her with the scanner.

After a few moments, Chakwas frowned at the display in front of her, before turning back to the hybrid. "Well, your genetic code is exactly as it should be. Every last chromosome is within acceptable variations for a hybrid."

Sarah let out a sigh of relief at that, before frowning. "You mean, all of the important ones, right?"

"I mean all of them. Why? Were you under the impression that Nat's cure hadn't fixed all of your genes?"

"Well, we were on a time limit and some were just... superfluous. I wasn't even sure if it was possible, I mean… It would have taken a whole extra level of work that we weren't prepared for and didn't have time for."

"It seems as if Nat thought otherwise."

Sarah's frown deepened as she processed what she was being told. "But… even if she corrected the genes, it doesn't mean that those systems would work properly. I still didn't go through a normal puberty."

"Tell that to your second heartbeat."

Sarah bolted upright at that. "Wait, but… I mean… I can't… I'm… What?!"

"I swear, it's always the same with you Shepards. You're pregnant, Sarah."

"Wha- bu- When?"

"By my estimates… about eight weeks ago."

Sarah frowned as she thought back, her hands hovering subconsciously over her lower abdomen. "I… That would actually explain… some things…"

Chakwas sighed. "Is this the point at which you reveal that you went into heat and didn't even realise?"

"Okay, well, in my defense, sex ed was never all that necessary for me in the past… But… Is everything… okay?"

Chakwas nodded. "You're fine. Both of you. I'd like to run some more tests, just to be sure, but everything looks fine for now."

"I… okay. I'm really… wow…"

"Sarah… I said 'for now'. Between the fact that this will be the first second generation hybrid born and the fact that you're a biotic…"

"I know, I know… Things could very easily go wrong here. I just… didn't even think this was remotely possible."

Sarah entered the armoury, surprised to find not Tiberius, but Tia, waiting for her.

"Wait, I thought Tiberius was here."

"He popped back to your quarters to get something. He said he'd be back in a little while. Though, I am kind of glad I ran into you."

"Need something?" Sarah asked as she walked over to sit down by the work bench.

"Not really. Just… wanted your advice on something. Though, you seem preoccupied yourself."

"Oh? I… I was just… I was tallying up every hit I've taken in the field in the last two months."

"Three," Tia told her after a moment to think it over. "All minor scrapes. Nothing serious. Why?"

Sarah shrugged. "Just wondering…"

"Seriously, Sarah, you seem… distant. Is something wrong?"

"No… Not wrong. At least, I hope not… Not yet, anyway…"

"You can start making sense at any point now, you know?"

"I… At C-Sec, before I showed up, did Tiberius ever talk about wanting kids? He has never really talked with me about it because… well, you know."

Tia frowned at her friend, trying to piece together what was bothering her. "Sarah, you know that it doesn't bother him."

"Oh, I know that he was okay with us not having children. That's just… not the issue right now…"

"Why would… wait… Sarah, are you…"

"Pregnant? Apparently…"

"But… Cerberus is still after you."

Sarah nodded, sighing. "Yeah, I know. Spirits, we really just have the worst timing…"

Tia just gave her a disbelieving look. "What is wrong with you?" she demanded.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sarah replied, her friend's harsh tone causing her eyes to prick with tears once more.

"Sarah, you are being hunted. Do you think that Cerberus is ever going to just give up? And, even if you do defeat them, someone else will just take their place. You will never be safe and, by extension, neither will your family. This is reckless and irresponsible, even for you. You can barely protect your husband right now, never mind anyone else…"

Sarah began to cry once more at her friends words, unable to stop herself. "Don't you think I know that? But I can't continue to live in fear, Tia. Tiberius and I are both confident fighters and I am choosing to believe that, between us, we can handle whatever the future may hold." She took a moment, thinking over what Tia had said once more as the pieces finally fell into place. "But this isn't about me, is it?"

Tia looked away at that, ashamedly. "I… Perhaps not. I… may have been wrestling with something for a while now."

Sarah sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Well, it had better be good. You just made a pregnant woman cry…"

"Shit… I'm sorry, I just… My anger at myself got the best of me. Are you okay?"

Sarah nodded. "I'm fine. Like I said, I have faith that Tiberius and I can keep ourselves and this child safe. I… I have been wrestling with the possibility of us stepping back from the fight. Especially now that the Council have started to take more direct action. Maybe this is just the sign we needed. So, what exactly has been bothering you?"

Tia looked away once more, folding her arms as she leaned back on the workbench. "I… The attack on the Citadel… I know who was behind it."

"Wait, you know who shot Philip? Why haven't you said anything?"

"Because they were after me. When your mother took me me captive… most of the rest of the gang weren't so lucky. Not that they didn't deserve it but… it's not surprising that they think I should have gone down with the ship, as it were. I chose to lay down my arms and they want me dead for it. Of course, they still remember me as their ruthless leader. Going directly after me would have been suicide."

"So they went after Philip," Sarah finished for her, realising why her friend had been so rattled lately.

"Yes. I killed the assassin but… I know them. They'll probably take it as a challenge. Sarah, if they can come after me after so long… I will never be free of them. And neither will Philip. My best bet would be to vanish, on my own. To disappear into the Shadow Broker's network."

"Without Philip?"

"It would be for the best. For his safety."

"Weren't you the one who told me that we can't make decisions for our loved ones? Have you tried talking to Philip about this?"

"I… He'll either want me to stay or he'll want to come with me. He'll put himself into danger without a second thought."

"Which should be his decision, Tia. Not yours."

"I… Goddess, I hate when you're right…"

"Then it's probably a good thing that it doesn't happen too often, then."

Tia laughed a little at that, finally smiling, before regarding her friend carefully. "You really don't seem scared by all of this…"

Sarah shook her head. "Oh, I am terrified. I just… I've gotten good at hiding it."

"Are you going to be okay if I leave to talk to Philip?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, just… if you see Tiberius on the way, tell him to hurry down here."

"Will do."

Tia was gone not more than a minute before the door opened once more. But, again, it wasn't Tiberius, as she expected. This time, it was Rael who entered.

"Hey," he said, moving over to sit next to her. "I've been looking for you. I was worried. What did Chakwas say?"

"I'm not destabilising."

He grinned, nudging her arm a little. "See, I told you. Just stress."

She couldn't help but smile back. "Well, maybe not exactly. But, still, nothing too dire. Thank you. For making me go to Chakwas, I mean."

"What are friends for?"

Her smile widened at that, just as the door opened.

"Hey, Blue. Tia told me to…" Tiberius' words dissolved into a growl as he noted how close Sarah and Rael were sitting to each other.

Sarah jumped up at that, finally able to figure out what lay behind Tiberius' weird attitude. He didn't realise it but he was subconsciously reacting to his pregnant bondmate's pheromones. She stepped between him and Rael, placing her hands on his chest. "Red, take a moment to think, please. You aren't yourself right now."

His growl deepened but he made no attempt to shake her off. This was all coming from a need to defend her and she knew that she could exploit that to keep the situation civil.

"Nothing was happening between us," Rael assured him. "Seriously, if you even begin to think that Sarah would ever-"

"That's just the problem," Sarah told him. "He can't think past his need to protect me." She turned back to focus on her bondmate once more, trilling tones of reassurance at him through her subharmonics. "It's okay. I'm okay. He's no threat."

Tiberius calmed a little at that, confirming her theory. He wasn't acting out of jealousy. He knew that being around Rael had been difficult for her lately and he wanted to protect her from that.

"Care to tell me what's going on?" Rael asked, earning another slight growl from Tiberius.

"Nothing," Sarah told him. "At least, nothing that isn't expected from a turian in his situation."

"Which would be what, exactly?" Tiberius asked her, finally seeming to regain his speech. "You seem to know what's been going on, Blue. I… I think we've both noticed… certain irregularities that can no longer be put down to stress."

"You're just reacting to my pheromones," she told him.

"Are you okay? Why would they be causing me to act like this?"

"They're doing exactly what they're designed to do, ani. They're making sure you protect your bondmate and child."

Tiberius frowned at her for a few moments before realising what she was saying. "Wait, you're…"

She nodded, biting her lip a little as she tried to gauge his reaction. "Yep."

"I, erm, I'll leave you two alone," Rael said before leaving the room.

"But… I thought you couldn't… that we couldn't…"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, me too. Turns out, I may have overestimated just how impossible it was."

"But, I mean… surely we would have noticed if you'd gone into heat."

"Well, I skipped that part of sex ed, since I was sure I would never need it. Plus, have you ever been around a female in heat before?"

"Well… not exactly… But, you'd think I would notice, all the same. Or, at least, someone else would…"

"I think they did. It would have been when we were away."

"That would… explain some things…"

Sarah laughed a little. "Yeah, that's what I said. It would also explain quite a bit of the advice your grandparents gave us. They probably figured that we knew."

"So… You're really…"

"Yep. Is that… I know we weren't expecting this. Are you… okay with it?"

He answered her question by lowering his browplates to hers, his subharmonics trilling with joy. "Blue, I am so much more than 'okay' with this…"