Chapter 44
Shepard lay in bed propped on her elbow, softly humming "Ghost Riders" as she looked upon her dozing daughters. Liara was currently in the shower, and Shepard had taken the opportunity to read them to sleep. Instead of staying in a hotel in Armali, they had decided to come straight home to help relax after their ordeal. Since their day was filled with so much excitement, her daughters had almost immediately nodded off, snuggled tightly in each other's arms. A loving smile teased the corners of her lips. Their house was certainly big enough to accommodate them having separate rooms, but their girls had insisted upon sharing a room. Shepard ran her hand tenderly along their cheeks, shoulders, arms, anywhere she could touch to reassure herself that they were here, and that they were okay. Naiala, who was laying closest to her, made a contented little noise and snuggled closer to her daddy.
Shepard glanced up when she saw the vision of her wife standing in the bathroom doorway and her heart skipped several beats at the sight. Liara was giving her a look of such tender adoration, it made Shepard's entire body tingle and shiver. Liara slipped into her white silk nightgown then crawled into bed next to her with their daughters snuggled between them.
"Did they have any trouble falling asleep?" Liara asked quietly.
Shepard leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on Liara's lips. "None at all. They most certainly inherited the krogan spirit of fearlessness, didn't they?" she replied with a soft chuckle.
"And Wrex will never let us forget it," Liara said with a grin.
Shepard was content to simply smile at Liara for sometime before it faded into a complexity of emotions she couldn't begin to describe. "Thank you for keeping them safe. For bringing them back to me. For protecting them."
"Oh, my sweet Nicole. I'm their mother. I would die before letting anything happen to them," Liara replied, tenderly running the backs of her fingers along Shepard's cheek.
"I know," Shepard whispered, kissing Liara's fingers. "But don't do that. The whole dying part. I . . . I couldn't take it."
"I am not going anywhere, my Commander."
Shepard smiled softly at the sentimental title. She hadn't been a commander in five years, and yet every time Liara called her by that title, it did unspeakably wonderful things to her body. "I love you, Liara T'Soni."
Liara leaned in again for another sweet kiss. "And I you, my love."
With a smile on her lips and an abundance of love in her heart, Shepard snuggled into the arms of her family and drifted off into a warm, peaceful sleep.
O=O=O=O=O
Shepard woke to find herself trapped in a tangle of limbs. Naiala was sprawled on the human's chest with her little arms wrapped around Shepard's chest, and Liara was pressed up next to her with Elaria sandwiched between them. One of her little arms was wrapped tightly around her mother's waist, and the other was mashed somewhere beneath them. Even in her sleepy state, Shepard couldn't stop the huge grin from permeating her lips. She sprinkled a slew of soft kisses on Naiala's little crest, eventually causing her little one to let out a sleepy giggle in response.
"G'monin' Daddy," Naiala mumbled then stretched and yawned cavernously.
Shepard's smile widened until her face ached. "Good morning, little one," she replied. "Give Daddy a kiss?"
Naiala's face lit up and she scooted up Shepard's body and planted a somewhat sloppy, wet kiss on the human's cheek. It was just too damn cute. Shepard suddenly flipped her daughter over, lifted her nightshirt, and blew a loud raspberry on her stomach. She screeched and giggled, causing Liara and Elaria to sleepily open their eyes and see what the fuss was about. Shepard promptly woke Elaria up by doing the same to her. She squealed even louder than her sister and giggled so hard tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh no, I feel another one comin' on. Oh wait . . . okay I think it passed. Just kidding!" Shepard exclaimed, burying her face in Naiala's stomach again and blowing an even louder raspberry. Then she proceeded to be a "Nom Dragon" (as they'd so decided to name it) and "gobbled them up" until both of them could barely breathe around all their giggling.
Shepard glanced at Liara who, although she hadn't participated in such silliness (as the "Nom Dragon" was officially Shepard's thing), was giving the human an extremely adoring smile. Liara rolled over on her back, taking Elaria with her and softly patting her on the back to ease her poor daughter down from her fit of giggles. Shepard followed her example with Naiala, kissing her little crest every so often. She scooted close to Liara and there they lay for sometime, content to just rest and hold their precious daughters.
"So should Daddy make waffles for breakfast?" Liara said, glancing over at Shepard with a playful smile.
"Only as long as I can have all my girls with me in the kitchen. Deal?"
"Deal!" her twins said in unison, suddenly finding their energy again.
Ten minutes later after potty breaks and the "Nom Dragon" flying them around the kitchen, Naiala and Elaria sat perched atop the kitchen counter, both stirring a bowl full of batter.
"Wanna know the secret ingredient to the best waffles in all the world?" Shepard said, dipping her finger in the batter and licking it clean.
"What?" her twins both asked, their eyes bright and curious.
Shepard leaned forward and kissed both their noses. "Love."
Both of them stared at her with wide-eyed wonder. "Izzat twue Mama?" Elaria demanded.
"I am hurt that you don't believe me," Shepard said, jutting out her lower lip dramatically.
Liara came over and dipped her finger in the batter, then wiped a dollop on all three of their noses, causing their twins to burst into yet another fit of giggles. Shepard crossed her eyes in attempt to see the mess of batter on her nose. When she attempted to lick it off by screwing up her face and sticking out her tongue, their twins giggled even harder.
"You canna lick you nose, Daddy!" Naiala proclaimed.
"I can't?! What's the world coming to!" Shepard said, placing the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically and pretended to swoon.
"Sometimes I wonder if I have three children," Liara commented as one might comment on a passing cloud.
"Where are my little angels?!" a voice suddenly bellowed from the front door.
"Gwanpa!" both of them exclaimed, holding out their little arms for their parents to help them off the counter. Once Liara and Shepard helped them to the floor, they were off and running, and a few seconds after they disappeared, they heard the twins squeal happily when they found Aethyta.
Shepard turned to Liara and pulled her in for a kiss since they had found a few moments of alone time.
"Just like my father to be in time for breakfast," Liara said with a wry smile.
"But we now have a babysitter," Shepard said, giving her wife a suggestive smile.
Liara's eyebrow shot up in response. "Indeed we do. Have anything in particular in mind, wife of mine?"
"Well . . ." Shepard said, leaning in to nibble Liara's neck. "I did have this one thing in mind. A craving you had a while ago. I believe I have yet to return the favor."
Liara pulled her head back and her brow markings shot up in surprise. "Really?"
Shepard gave her another soft kiss to the lips. "Let's just say, I'd like to thank you for saving my daughters. Something tells me you'll like it."
A wicked smile slowly spread across Liara's lovely blue lips. "Oh how well you know me, my love."
A/N: Hey all! So if I didn't make it clear in the end of the scene, Shepard is referring to anal. I've had quite a few readers expressing interest in Shepard returning the favor and letting Liara experience anal. The only reason I'm hesitating is because I've established myself as a bit of a vanilla writer. I don't want to write something the majority of my readers wouldn't like. However, I"m all about equality in relationships (because Shep's done it to Liara and it's time for Liara to have a turn), as well as pleasing my readers. X3 Would all y'all be on board for just one more anal scene? Or should we just leave it as implied and move on to more Shepard family fluff?