Chapter 17

The Normandy docked on the Citadel successfully, Anderson making a few announcements over the comms from his room as Joker and the engineering crew powered down the ship. "Rules are simple, crew. Keep your comms on at all times, check for messages regularly, if you get the call drop what ever you're doing and report back immediately." Anderson's voice boomed over the systems. "Otherwise enjoy yourselves. You've earned a couple days off." Anderson said before the intercom went dead.

Shepard faced her crew, everyone gathered, Liara included by the cargo bay elevators. "Well you heard the man." Shepard said with a smile. "Try not to wander too far into the Citadel, and please guys, stay out of trouble." Shepard said with a grin as everyone gave her mock groans and sounds of disappointment. "Alright, lets go, you guys can do whatever, just try not to get too drunk." She said, mostly eyeing Wrex as he grunted.

"No promises." was his simple response as Shepard smirked and shook her head.

Shepard looked to Liara who seemed to be rather exhausted looking. She had more nightmares from that beacon earlier in the morning. She had not complained, but Shepard had heard her yelling in her sleep again.

When Shepard had just checked on Liara, she had claimed it was nothing and rolled over again. Shepard frowned as Liara yawned, her eyes showing she was anywhere but here. "Alright guys, lets go. Have some fun." Shepard said as they all piled onto the elevator.

As her crew made it through the CIC of the Normandy, Kaidan seemed to slow down. "Hey, Shepard, could I get a moment alone with you?" He asked as Shepard perked a brow. Kaidan normally didn't ask for a private one on one so she had wondered if something was bothering him.

The rest of the crew had already filed out of the ship aside from Liara, who stood with a small duffle bag that had a change of clothes for their trip to the shooting range. "Hey, Liara, why don't you meet me by the docking bay elevator, I'll be right there." She said. Liara simply nodded and yawned again, turning to head out of the air lock.

Shepard motioned for Kaidan to follow her out of the Normandy and into the docking bay, standing away from the ship as more of the Alliance crew made their way off the ship as well. "What's up, everything ok?" Shepard asked as Kaidan nodded his head, but fidgeted a bit.

He cleared his throat some as he watched the woman before him. "So I was actually wondering if you had plans for the night? I don't know, thought maybe we could go get dinner?" He asked, looking nervous. At first Shepard just looked at him with confusion. But as his cheeks began to turn a light shade of red, it dawned on her.

Shepard's eyes widened for a moment. "Wait, like a date?" She asked. Honestly it had surprised her, she never really thought Kaidan was... well crushing on her or anything. He was always so quiet and reserved she didn't think he noticed her from a hole in the ground. But then as she thought on it he was always jumping at the chance to do little things for her over the last year. Things she either asked of him, or sometimes on his own accord. Small things, but now she realized maybe they weren't so small if he had hoped for something with her.

Kaidan shrugged his shoulders, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Well, I was kind of hoping." He said, perhaps sounding a little anxious. Shepard suddenly felt like a jerk in that moment as she looked over her shoulder, seeing Liara by the elevator, patiently waiting for her, and watching them curiously.

"Kaidan..." She said and trailed off before blowing out air from her lungs. He was a nice guy, sure but she had never really seen him that way. She could see that he could tell he was about to get rejected. She felt even more like a jerk now. "Look, you're a nice guy, and I'm sure any girl would feel lucky to have you..." He just chuckled, his smile sort of forced. But he put a hand up as if saying she didn't have to go any further.

"Shepard, it's alright." He said as he fussed with his duffle bag. He had probably planned to stay anywhere but the Normandy so had packed for the occasion. "It's Liara, isn't it?" He asked curiously, looking over Shepard's shoulder seeing Liara himself. Shepard sighed as she shrugged her shoulders unsure how to respond to the situation.

She had honestly figured he knew already. The rest of her crew had picked up on her... well fondness for the asari years ago. "Sort of... I mean yes, we've talked about it a little, but..." Shepard said, trailing off. She then wondered what her relationship with Liara really meant at the moment. They had agreed to take things slow, maybe wait for this whole mess with Saren and Benezia to be over before they talked. But they never really made it official either. Something she might have to talk to Liara about eventually. "I'm sorry, Kaidan." she then said.

"Hey, she's lucky you know." Kaidan said with a shrug. Shepard chuckled some. "Sorry this is kind of awkward now." he then said with an honest chuckle himself. Shepard kind of laughed at that and nodded herself.

"Yeah, just a bit." She responded, but trying to be joking about it. He then pointed towards Liara as if saying he wouldn't take up any more of Shepard's time.

He cleared his throat. "She's waiting, I won't hold you up any more." He said as Shepard nodded and kind of patted the man once on the shoulder before turning, to make her way to the asari.

"Hey, Shepard." He then said, stopping the woman in her tracks. She turned to face him, a curious brow perked. "I know how you are. Don't let her slip you by." He said with a nod. In a way he felt like perhaps that was his mistake. He had waited too long.

Shepard gave him a nod and a wave before trotting off. Kaidan sighed as he slung his duffle bag over his shoulders watching the two disappear into the elevator.

"Is he ok?" Liara asked, snapping Shepard out of her thoughts.

She blinked her eyes before shaking her head a little. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Just tried to ask me on a date." She said still sort of unbelieving on the matter. Liara perked a curious brow herself. Shepard laughed at the weird look on Liara's face. "Jealous, T'Soni?" She asked, her smirk lopsided and tone teasing. Liara frowned and shoved Shepard, but lightly.

"Do not tease." Liara said with a light blush on her cheeks. Shepard's smirk only grew a little devious now, while Liara's blush grew darker as she tried to break eye contact. Liara could feel a fluttering sensation in her stomach with how Shepard was looking at her.

Shepard leaned in a bit closer, the human's tone taking on a lower pitch. "Why haven't you asked me out on a date yet, huh T'soni?" Shepard questioned, still teasing as Liara's cheeks were now hurting from how furiously she was blushing.

"Goddess, Nicole. You are impossible." She said but couldn't help but giggle at the same time, lightly shoving at the mercenary once more. Shepard laughed as she gave Liara her space again, but gave the asari an honest smile.


Shepard had watched Liara at their little stall at the shooting range. Liara had looked so focused on what she was doing that it was almost amusing. They had only been there for about thirty minutes. At first Shepard had just let Liara test things out. Once she was fitted with some borrowed armor from the shooting Shepard had turned her loose to wreak havoc on the paper targets on the other side of their stall.

"You've got the idea, but let me help you out here." Shepard said as Liara nodded. Shepard stepped up behind Liara, flushing to herself as she place her hands on the asari's waist. "I'm not trying to get fresh." She assured the asari, who was also blushing wildly. Shepard cleared her throat as she proceed to gently push at Liara's feet with her own, getting her into the proper stance.

Liara looked over her shoulder, seeing Shepard was looking down at their feet as she held her in place by her waist. The asari blushed even more as she made sure the SMG she was holding was facing away from them both. "Ok feet should be like this if you're not moving around." Shepard said, double checking her work before looking up, the two face to face, both blushing. Honestly Shepard was starting to feel a sense of frustration with herself with all this shyness she felt.

Liara simply nodded, looking forward again. Shepard pushed down gently on Liara's waist. "Bend your knees a little." Shepard said, almost directly into Liara's ear. Shepard was having a hard time focusing now honestly. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. She could smell Liara's scent and it was oddly driving her wild. But Liara complied, which helped Shepard resist doing something stupid.

"Alright now bare with me." Shepard said, reaching out, lifting Liara's arms up, making sure Liara had some slack in her arms so that the recoil didn't hurt her. She also grabbed Liara's hands placing them on the SMG for a proper grip.

Shepard finally stepped away, looking Liara over once, making sure everything looked right. "Ok, now try aiming for your targets and see how that feels." Shepard said as Liara nodded, allowing herself to fire the weapon. She felt like she had better control like this and smiled some. "Better?" Shepard asked.

Liara practiced getting into the position Shepard had taught her, then fired the weapon once more, feeling like she also had much better aim now. "Much." She responded. Shepard smiled and nodded moving next to Liara, taking the SMG and setting it down on the stall's ledge.

"Good. Here try this one, see which one you like better." Shepard said passing Liara an easier to handle gun. Less recoil, but also a little less accuracy. Liara looked over the gun before taking up the stance shown to her before as she gave this firearm a try. She definitely liked the less recoil, but she wasn't sure on it's accuracy. She sat it down to try the first weapon again, as a way to compare the two.

She then sat the first weapon down as she faced Shepard. "I like the first one better." She said as Shepard smiled some, bringing up her omni-tool to take note. She was trying to keep notes on Liara's armor size and preferred weapons so that she could give Tevos the rest of her list, Tevos knowing she had a little bit more she needed.

Shepard then looked down the range at the targets. "Not bad, Li. Honestly you're doing better than I first did." Shepard admitted with a bit of a grin. Liara almost beamed with pride at the compliment. Shepard grinned some as she then pulled a pistol case out of the duffle bag the two had brought. "Alright... This is the pistol I generally use if my assault rifle is overheated or otherwise unavailable. It's called the Carnifex." Shepard said as she passed it along to Liara.

Liara turned the pistol over in her hand as Shepard had the back up pistol amongst her gear. "This is a heavy pistol, and quite favored by mercs like me. It's a slow fire rate, but can do some pretty massive damage to your enemies. It's going to have a kick, more than the SMG's you just tried, so be careful." Shepard warned as she motioned for Liara to give it a few shots.

Liara gripped the pistol as Shepard had once taught her years ago, squeezing off a shot. It had more recoil than the SMG did. And more than the pistol Shepard had originally showed her how to use. "Honestly, it's a good gun, but if you don't like the kick it has I can find you something lighter." Shepard said.

Liara nodded her head some. "Perhaps something lighter would be better for now." Liara admitted as Shepard smirked, accepting her pistol back, putting it in the case before shoving it back in their bag.

Shepard checked the time on her omni-tool. She then looked back at Liara who studied the SMG's as if they were ancient artifacts. "This is kind of boring." Shepard suddenly stated as Liara looked to Shepard in confusion. Shepard quickly messed with her omni-tool, scrolling through whatever was showing on the small screen. "I got an idea. It'll be fun, and a safe way to practice some gun play." Shepard said.

She then brought up a group message box, typing something out real quick. She then thought twice as she sent a separate message to someone else before gathering the duffle bag motioning for Liara to grab the two firearms. "Where are we going?" Liara asked sounding confused, safely gathering the two SMGs before following Shepard.

"Do you trust me?" Shepard asked with a grin, looking over her shoulder. Liara, still feeling confused, but nodded.

"Yes." She said as Shepard took the weapons, returning them to the turian behind the rental counter.

Shepard then ushered Liara into the locker room to get out of the armor she was in. "This will be fun, I promise." She said as she helped Liara figure out how to get out of her armor.


Liara and Shepard stood outside of a business, big bright flashing lights made the lettering which read "Lazor Blast!" Liara perked a brow as Shepard was typing away at her omni-tool before joining Liara at her side looking up at the sign as well. "It's called laser tag." Shepard said, sounding a bit excited, her grin almost permanently glued to her face since they had pulled up to this part of the Citadel in a sky car. "It's an old Earth game from like two-hundred years ago. It's still popular in some places." Shepard started to explain.

Liara looked at Shepard with interest as Shepard went on, "You wear these vests that have all these little sensors on them and you basically run around a mock combat area with friends or whoever. You get these special little toy guns that have infrared beams and if your opponent aims it at you your vest starts going off and flashing, meaning you've been tagged and you can either be out for the rest of the game or for a short time." Shepard said, almost getting as wrapped up in her explanation of the game and how it worked as Liara would about her artifacts.

Liara smiled some at the mercenary as Shepard looked back at her, the grin now gone, replaced by a smile of her own. Shepard's green eyes shimmered with an almost child like excitement. "I take it you have played this game a lot?" Liara asked.

Shepard nodded as she now looked around. "Oh yeah, my sister and I used to play it a lot when I was a kid." Shepard said, not even thinking about it until the words left her mouth. She had never explained her family to Liara, and she almost faltered on the subject. No one on the crew knew much about Shepard's child hood either and it was honestly the first time Shepard had slipped up in years.

Liara looked confused suddenly, tilting her head. "You have a sister?" She questioned as Shepard frowned a little, looking almost anywhere but at Liara. She wasn't sure if she could get into the details in public. Even after so many years, the subject was still sore for Nicole.

Shepard shrugged some as she finally stopped avoiding eye contact and looked to Liara. "Had a sister." Shepard said as she tried to think of something to say. "I was the youngest." Shepard continued as she sighed some. Liara looked at Shepard with concern as Nicole tried to put on a smile, however small it may have been. "Later... I'll explain it later." Shepard said before she heard their names being called out.

Liara never had a chance to say anything as Shepard grew excited once more, waving down Ashley. "We're still waiting on the others!" Shepard called out over the crowd as Ashley trotted over, all smiles as she greeted Liara as well, who smiled and nodded at Ashley in return.


Shepard had invited everybody from her crew plus Ashley. She had honestly kind of liked the other woman, they worked well together on Feros at least. And she had to admit, she liked that Ashley never held back anything she had to say. Even Wrex had decided to show up to see what the fuss was about.

They had all been playing for the better part of an hour. Everyone showed up, wanting to see what this laser tag was like. With a group of seven they could not make even teams. So one team had three and the other had four.

Ashley, Shepard and Liara were on one team. Garrus, Tali, Wrex and Kaidan were on the other. Honestly it was probably some of the most fun any of them had in a long while.

Shepard and Liara were huddled behind a fake rock in the actually pretty decently sized laser tag arena. You could have easily stuffed twenty people in the room. "Get your ass out here Shepard!" Wrex called out, who had oddly been having the most fun. Even despite Shepard's rules for him not to use biotics, and not to go getting physical with any of the props or people.

Shepard laughed as Liara smiled and giggled next to the human. "Not a chance, Old Man!" Shepard then said popping out from her cover, trying to take aim and the bulky krogan. He was quicker though as he fired the nearly puny infrared gun in his hands. Shepard's vest began flashing and making noises. "Oh shit, you got me!" She called out as she collapsed to the ground, making fake death noises.

Ashley quickly joined her two team mates as she eyeballed Shepard writhing on the floor. "Oh god, I'm hit!" Shepard over dramatically acted out, clutching at the vest around her chest. Even Liara looked down at her like she was insane.

"Shepard, what are you doing...?" Liara asked as Shepard opened one eye, looking at Liara with a goofy grin. She suddenly reached out, grabbing at Liara's vest, tugging her down before making noises as though she were in pain, writhing on the floor again.

Ashley shook her head as they could hear Wrex laughing victoriously from somewhere further into the room, calling out how he killed the mighty Shepard. "You must go on without me!" Shepard hollered out, her acting horrid. Liara raised a brow as she looked to Ashley who shrugged at her, looking amused and shaking her head once more.

"I... I will try?" Liara said sounding lost and confused. Shepard laughed as she never let go of Liara's vest.

She smirked at the asari, "Come on, play along." Shepard said, her smirk never fading. Shepard was having way too much fun to care about looking foolish.

Ashley laughed a little as she could hear the other team going on about how Liara and Ashley were now doomed without Shepard. "Good lord, Shepard." Ashley said.

Shepard tugged Liara down a bit harder who yelped and caught herself on her hands, having already been dragged down to her knees. "You should yell you'll avenge my death." Shepard said quietly for only Liara to hear. Shepard finally released Liara's vest as she writhed in mock pain one last time before going limp on the floor, pretending to be dead.

Liara just looked at Shepard in confusion. Ashley looked at the asari expecting something to happen. "I will avenge Shepard's death?!" Liara shouted out as Ashley laughed her fool head off, as did everyone else who heard Liara's confused and questioning tone ring through out the arena. Shepard also couldn't hold character as she erupted with laughter, which caused Liara to finally lose the confused look as she too began to laugh at the silliness of it all.

Ashley finally started to regain some control of herself. "You really are crazy, Shepard." Ashley quipped. Shepard gave her a toothy grin, still laying on the floor.


The day really had been fun. Shepard hadn't remembered a time she and her crew could just act silly and have such a blast. Everyone was into it, even Liara loosened up and began to play along. After a few hours of that everyone had decided they would split ways and go do their own things. Shepard and Liara had probably wandered endlessly until they came to what looked like a little park.

"So I owe you an explanation." Shepard finally said, looking more serious and yet more solemn than before. Shepard pointed towards a park bench as she and Liara made way for it, taking a seat. Liara looked to Shepard in curiosity as Shepard sighed, leaning back on the bench, running her hands over her face once. "I haven't really spoken about my family in years." Shepard started as Liara nodded, ready to hear what Shepard had to say.

Shepard let her arms rest along the back of the bench as she looked over the small park. "I had a mom and dad, I even had an older sister." Shepard began. Liara sat quietly, being patient for Shepard's sake as the human tried to think. "I grew up on Mindoir, out in the Traverse. I've never been to Earth. My family were just farmers." Shepard went on slowly, feeling like this was harder to explain than telling Liara she had shared romantic feelings with the asari.

Liara frowned some as she recalled hearing about what happened on Mindoir in 2170. "When the batarians came they slaughtered so many. Including my parents and sister. Everyone I knew and loved died during the raid." Shepard said, the words heavy in her mouth. "I was only sixteen. My sister was eighteen, she was just barely an adult by human standards." Shepard said.

Liara couldn't help herself as she scooted closer to Shepard, feeling the need to comfort the mercenary. When Shepard felt Liara leaning against her, head on her shoulder like the night before she felt her heart sink. "We tried to call for help, but the Alliance took their sweet ass time to get there." Shepard said, a sense of anger present in her tone. "I managed to escape, and I was so full of anger and hate that the first thing I did was join some small merc band. Been doing it ever since." Shepard said as she felt Liara reach up, her fingers slipping between Shepards.

"I am sorry to hear that, Nicole. I know it must have been hard for you to tell me." She said gently, looking up at Shepard. Shepard nodded some.

Shepard then shrugged lightly. "It's part of why I don't like many Alliance people. I guess I still blame them for what happened." Shepard admitted. She then fell silent for a moment, thinking to herself. "It's part of why I'm afraid to pursue us." She went on. It dawned on Liara that she had never really thought about why Shepard was so hesitant.

Liara sat up, looking at Shepard who only avoided eye contact. "I did not realize..." Liara said, but trailing off. She was not sure how to respond to this now. But Shepard shook her head, trying to give Liara an assuring smile.

Shepard didn't mean to come off cold in that moment. She didn't mean to sound harsh even. She never wanted to make Liara feel badly. "It's not your fault, Liara. I'm just afraid I'll lose you like I lost everyone else." Shepard said with a shrug. Liara fell silent, thinking for a moment. She wanted to make Shepard feel better, she just had to know the right words to say.

Finally Liara looked back at Shepard. "You have not lost everyone, Nicole." She started. Shepard looked to Liara, waiting to hear what she meant. "You have your crew. Wrex, Garrus, Kaidan and Tali. You seem to have made friends with Ashley as well." Liara explained. Shepard gave Liara a smile. Liara wasn't wrong, Shepard figured. "They are like your family, Shepard. You are fond of them, and care for them. I know you do." She said.

Shepard chuckled some as she nodded in her agreement. "I never really thought about it, but you're right." Shepard said. No one could ever replace what she had once lost, but Shepard now realized she could still make room to call others her family as well.

Liara then looked a little more hesitant. "And you have me." Liara finally added. Shepard's cheeks flushed as she looked to Liara. Liara looked a little anxious having said that, Shepard could see it. Liara looked as though she was treading on dangerous grounds in a way. Nicole let out a pent up breath as she suddenly put her arm around Liara's shoulders, drawing the asari back into her side, leaving her arm hanging loosely over her shoulders.

Liara smiled feeling a little more relaxed with Shepard's reaction. She even once more reached up as she grabbed the human's hand again. This time Shepard initiated lacing their fingers together. "Perhaps you're right, T'Soni." Shepard teased a little.

Liara rested her head on Shepard's shoulder again feeling content in the moment. "Thank you, for today Nicole. It really was fun." Liara said as they both looked out at the park.

Shepard grinned some as she gave a light hug with her arm that was draped over Liara's shoulders. "I told you it would be fun." Shepard quipped as Liara chuckled lightly.


Oofta. I got off earlier than I had been today. Yay for 8 hours instead of 10 lol. This meant I was, obviously, excited to make this chapter. A little bit of background finally for Nicole Shepard.

Hope you're all enjoying this so far, let me know! =3

Tootles.