A/N: About Liara's comment on guys who disrespect women: she wasn't talking about all men, obviously. She was just voicing concern that all parents of daughters have. No parent wants their daughter to fall for a guy who will treat her without respect. She wasn't bashing men in general, just jerkface men. Y'all calm down.
Chapter 48
Shepard awoke with a start, her heart pounding, and her skin felt damp with sweat. She glanced over at the clock and swore under her breath. It was three in the morning. It had been a long time since a nightmare of the Reaper War had startled her awake in the middle of the night. Suddenly the darkness around her felt all-consuming as she stared up at the ceiling. She could still hear Harbinger's voice in her head as though it were there in the room with her.
"Assuming control."
She shuddered. She knew in a couple generations people would stop fearing the Reapers, but right now it felt as though it were all still happening. All she remembered was gunfire, the smell of smoke and burning flesh, the pain and fear. Constant fear of losing everything she held most dear. Liara. Her crew. The Normandy. The cold emptiness of space around her as the air escaped her suit . . .
"Dada . . ." Isis mumbled in her sleep, nuzzling deeper into Shepard's neck and making a few more sleepy baby noises.
And just like that, reality came back into focus. She was home. Isis was asleep on her chest. Naiala and Elaria were snuggled in between herself and Liara in the usual tangle of limbs in their huge goddess-sized bed, ("goddess-sized," because "king" was not a word in the asari language). She was safe. She suddenly became aware of Isis's breathing, slow and steady and just a tad snuffly. She even felt her little daughter's heartbeat, steady and strong.
Shepard bit her lower lip in an attempt to ward off the wave of loving emotion that took hold of her chest. She reached up and began softly stroking Isis's crest, eliciting more happy baby noises from her sleeping daughter. She lowered her head and reverently kissed her daughter's little forehead.
"Oh my sweet little Isis," she whispered tenderly.
Isis let out a soft cry as she began waking, and Shepard carefully slid out of bed with her so as not to wake the rest of her girls. She cradled Isis in her arms and made her way downstairs to the kitchen and began warming a bottle for her.
"Hungry little one?" she crooned, gazing lovingly into her daughter's sleepy eyes. Bright violet eyes stared back up at her, and her face scrunched up as she prepared to let Shepard know all about how hungry she was. Shepard's smile widened. "I know little one. Eight hours really is an unreasonable amount of time to go without food. I'll let you in on a secret. Midnight snacks are the only way I survive the night."
She bounced on her heels to calm Isis's fussing until the bottle was warm, then gently slipped it into her daughter's mouth. Isis latched on and began making contented little noises as she worked the bottle over. Shepard hummed "Ghost Riders" while changing her diaper, then rocked little Isis until she began softly snoring again. Shepard carefully pulled the bottle from her daughter's mouth and headed back upstairs with her precious cargo held snugly in her strong arms.
When she reached her bedroom, she paused in the doorway to gaze upon her sleeping family. Elaria and Naiala were practically tied in knots, their limbs were so entangled, and Liara had an arm resting protectively over them both. A grin tugged at the corners of Shepard's lips. Sometimes she could hardly believe how happy she was.
The next thing Shepard remembered was waking to the usual tangle of limbs and a whole lot of sloppy wet kisses all over her face.
"Gah!" she exclaimed, scrunching up her face under the barrage of kisses. Shepard grabbed Isis and attempted to use her as a shield from the kiss attack. The infant snored on, unaware of the world around her.
"Daddy wake up! Daddydaddydaddydaddy!"
"Daddy can we make pancakes and have a biotic food fight with the batter?"
"Yeah it'll be good practice, Daddy! Can we can we can we can we can we?"
"Hellions the lot of you!" Shepard cried out in mock-despair.
The barrage of kisses continued until Shepard felt thoroughly accosted. Naiala and Elaria fell back on the bed giggling and whooping in triumph. Shepard glanced at Liara and narrowed her eyes. Her wife was laying on her side with her head resting her hand, and a telling mischievous grin was plastered all over her beautiful blue lips.
"And I suppose you're going to claim innocence in this attack?"
"Why Shepard. How could you accuse me of such a thing?"
"Mama told us to!" Naiala exclaimed, planting another sloppy kiss on Shepard's cheek.
"And I told her, I said 'Mama, we should wake Daddy up, she's sleeping,' but she said you wouldn't mind and I said 'Okay but if she mad I going to tell on you,' and she said that she didn't mind and I said, 'Okay but she gonna be mad' and-"
Shepard kissed Elaria's forehead. "Okay okay I give up. I'm not mad, I promise."
"Pinky promise?" Elaria asked with big, hopeful eyes.
Shepard held out her pinky. "Pinky promise."
After Elaria had been reassured with a firm pinky promise, Liara stroked their daughter's crests until they calmed down. "How about you girls head down to the kitchen and get out the ingredients for pancakes? Daddy and I will be down in a minute."
"Yay pancakes!" they cheered as they leapt off the bed and dashed out of the room.
Shepard rolled on her side to face Liara, cradling a still-snoozing Isis in her arms. "How do you always know?" Shepard said with a tender smile.
"I heard you wake last night. Asari become very in tune with their partners and daughters after years of melding. I woke up when you did."
"You didn't say anything." Shepard reached over and slid her hand in Liara's.
"I could tell Isis was waking up. I knew she'd take care of you."
Amusement passed through Shepard's violet eyes. "You're too good to me. And I love you, Liara T'Soni."
Liara lifted the human's hand and ghosted her lips over the back of it; a surprisingly erotic action, considering its simplicity. "And I will always love you, My Commander."
Shepard gently tugged at Liara's hand, encouraging her closer. Making sure not to squish Isis between them, Shepard placed a soft kiss on her wife's lips. When she pulled away, she tenderly stroked Liara's cheek and gazed into the sapphire eyes she loved so very much. "You've made me so happy, Liara. I dreamed of this so often during the war, but I never dared hope we would get here. There's nowhere else in the universe I'd rather be than right here."
Liara sighed happily. "Oh Shepard. Always such a flatterer."
A familiar playful grin tugged at the corners of Shepard's lips. "I try."