Notes:

Mo luaidh - my darling (Scots Gaelic)

The Wee Littles

Medical Office, Edinburgh, Earth – 6 Feb 2194

For Gabriella Creath, this was her fourth prenatal visit to her doctor; since her prior appointment in early January, her previously trim figure had blossomed ever so slightly, to the point of announcing for all the world to see that she was most likely carrying a child.

"So, how are you doing, Gabriella?" Doctor MacKinnon, sitting on her low stool, waved her activated omnitool down from approximately Gabby's navel to the bottom of her crotch while adding, "More importantly, how's your wee bairn progressing?"

Gabby responded with, "Still experiencing intermittent bouts of nausea during the day, although the frequency of really severe episodes has decreased substantially the past week to week-and-a-half." With a slight chuckle, she added, "I've had to dig some of my old maternity clothes outta storage, as I can no longer fit comfortably in most of my pants." She pulled the lower edge of her sweatshirt up to just under her bosom so MacKinnon could see for herself.

The doctor used a gloved hand to palpate Gabby's lower abdomen before observing, "Everything appears to be progressing normally, Gabriella." She paused briefly before adding, "And you'll be chuffed to ken you're carrying only a single baby… not twins this time."

Gabby's sense of relief at the news brought on instant tears that quickly escaped containment behind her lower eyelids. With moisture sliding down both cheeks, she shakily replied, "That is good news, Doctor… very good news indeed." Wiping her eyes with a tissue handed her by Deidre, she added, "Not that I wouldn't love having a pair of children by Harley… I'd just prefer to carry and birth them one at a time."

Doctor MacKinnon chuckled at Gabby's admission. "You'll git na argument from me, Gabriella. Carrying multiple babies to term increases th' likelihood of health problems for both the mom and her babies, so it really is better to produce them one at a time." She paused before concluding, "Everything looks fine, Gabriella. I can give you a prescription for an anti-nausea medication if you like – it's something that'll have no effects on your bairn. Other than that, I believe we're all done."

Gabby was over the moon happy that her worst fears concerning this pregnancy had been laid to rest. "I don't think I'll need it, Doctor… thanks, just the same." Standing from her chair, she added, "See you in March."

Daniels-Creath Home, Edinburgh, Earth – 7 Feb 2194

Gabby and Violet were swept up in a whirlwind of activity right after breakfast; several members of Harley's Spec Ops unit had volunteered to give up a part of their weekend in order to help the couple pack up and move most of their personal belongings – along with those belonging to the twins and Violet Sweeney – to the modest cottage Gabby had rented for the spring and summer. As soon as Gabby's pregnancy was confirmed, she and Harley had begun planning for the modifications their home would need to accommodate additional children.

Of some surprise, Senior Chief Petty Officer Tamiko Miyazaki had arrived just before lunch from the CGC to lend a hand to her 'sister'; Asari Comms Specialist Carli Ferria and Systems Support Technician Clarissa Sheris – having arrived from Thessia in the middle of the afternoon – began disconnecting and packing up the design computer and associated paraphernalia in Gabby's 'office', along with the modest bank of database servers and the powerful transceiver in the basement. It was here that a room would be constructed in which she could do her design work for T'Sere Shipwrights, with the database servers and transceiver installed in a separate, compartment with sound-deadening insulation and independent climate control.

"Having this work done now is rather fortuitous, Gabby," Clarissa had told her. "We'll actually be replacing the database servers with new, state of the art units that will possess greater possessing power and greatly increased storage capacity. The upgrade will carry you… carry us, well into the future."

Gabby was quite happy about relocating her design office into the basement, as well as having Violet's bedroom relocated into her old office space next to the kitchen. Additionally, a full bathroom would be constructed, utilizing a portion of the mudroom and some additional space gained by bumping out the home's outside wall. The mudroom would be downsized to a simple hallway, running past the new bathroom to the back door, thus retaining their access to the backyard.

Additionally, Harley had insisted the remodel include a sloped 'shed' roof attached to the leeward side of the house, with enough coverage to keep the pair of X3M's gifted them by Shepard and T'Soni out of most of the liquid weather. This would require a slightly elevated walking path to be installed beside the house, so trips between the speeders and the back door could be accomplished without tracking dirt and mud everywhere.

The construction company chosen to do the work was the same one that originally modified her home to T'Sere's requirements for security against corporate espionage; since that time, they had begun employing SILC units for construction and – of greater importance to Harley and Gabby – site security.

Daniels-Creath Temporary Residence, Edinburgh, Earth – 28 Feb 2194

Harley had arrived at their temporary residence from Rio de Janeiro a few minutes past 0800 local, the time in the morning he felt assured that everyone would be awake and mostly done eating breakfast. He'd taken the time during the previous weekend to sit down with Gabby in order to discuss plans for this day. There had been many tears from the woman he loved beyond measure… tears she had blamed on the hormones coursing through her body… hormones she claimed would be mostly absent if he hadn't managed to get her pregnant the previous October.

Not wishing to spend time waiting for flowers in town, he had purchased and brought a flower arrangement from a shop in Rio before his departure – he had placed it in a secure corner inside the nearly new, Elkoss Combine Sapphire model skycar gifted them three years ago by Liara T'Soni and Samantha Shepard. He was going to make use of the vehicle's six-passenger capacity today, on a short excursion that was guaranteed to produce more tears from his pregnant wife.

Fortunately, the weather outlook for today was mostly sunny, with a few clouds, and a forecast high of 9 degrees – after an overnight low of 2 degrees. The children, especially, would be bundled up against the chill, but he had a nice winter jacket for days like this. He had noticed a bit of fog in the low-lying portions of the city, which the sun would undoubtedly have burned off by the time he wanted to leave.

With everyone outfitted in warm outerwear, they'd set off for their visit to Kenneth's resting place, among a grove of trees in the annex of Portobello Cemetery. The trip of less than half-an-hour didn't seem to Harley like it would be long enough for Gabby to steel herself to once again seeing the cold reality of her late husband's fate.

Portobello Cemetery Annex, Edinburgh, Earth – Friday, 28 Feb 2194

After inputting the coordinates for the patch of roadway closest to Kenneth's grave, Harley sat back and allowed the onboard VI to drive the Sapphire to the cemetery. Within twenty minutes, Harley, having recognized their location, sat forward to watch the air car slowly fly through the arched gateway marking the entrance to the annex.

Retaking manual control of the speeder, he drove slowly through the seeming maze of narrow, paved pathways; taking the final turn, he drove another few meters before parking the speeder at the edge of the paved pathway – in nearly the same spot as he had done during his impromptu side trip here just over three years ago.

Securing the craft's small powerplant, he raised the dual canopies, exited his seat and quickly moved to assist Gabby, Violet and the children out and onto the still damp grass. Lastly, he retrieved the flower arrangement he had brought to leave at the headstone. Of some surprise, Gabby had opened the small cargo compartment; reaching in, she looked to her husband and asked, "Mind giving me a hand, mo luaidh?" She held up two of the three folding chairs she had retrieved from the boot, which he took with his free hand. "Since we're probably going to spend more than a few minutes here, I thought sitting in these would be so much better than either standing or sitting in the grass."

Harley chuckled in reply. "I never even thought about being able to sit down. It'd be nice if there were more stone benches among the graves, but I sincerely doubt the cemetery has the credits to spare. There's a collection box at the main gate – it's attached to a sign soliciting donations from the public." He looked around as they began walking towards Kenneth's final resting place. "The grounds here are nicely maintained… that's not something that can be done at no cost."

As they strolled along the row of headstones towards their goal, Gabby observed, "Nice flower arrangement, Captain. I expect the local field voles and red deer will be thankful for your generosity… maybe a few squirrels and rabbits as well."

Harley looked ruefully at the arrangement he was carrying, then answered, "At least it won't go completely to waste. I hope the wildlife can enjoy the blossoms before they fade away." Upon catching up to Violet and the twins – who were running along the rows of headstones – he unfolded and set the chairs down, facing the grave marker and on either side of where he presumed the edges of Donnelly's grave were, then stood beside the marker.

Gabby, having set the chair she was carrying down, above Kenneth's marker and facing the other chairs, stood on the other side of the headstone. She reached across the short distance to grasp his hand, then slowly dropped to her knees; freeing her hand, she used a steady finger to once again reverently trace the raised, polished letters before her – KENNETH DONNELLY • CHIEF PETTY OFFICER, SYSTEMS ALLIANCE NAVY • B. 29 FEBRUARY 2156, D. 3 JANUARY 2189. A caring pair of hands landed gently on her shoulders. She turned her head to look up and behind her. Seeing Violet standing there, offering her own support, she quietly acknowledged, "Thank you for joining us, Missus Sweeney. It means a lot to have you here."

Looking back at the gravestone, she whispered, "Still doesn't seem possible, Kenneth. It's been five long years since I lost you." Returning her gaze to Harley, her soft brown eyes became molten as she added, "I'm so glad you were there when that cowardly little Quarian bitch met her end! And I'm beyond glad you weren't injured when she blew herself to Hell." Moving past the headstone, she embraced her husband – held him close, as if by so doing she could prevent him from emulating Kenneth's demise. His arms around her were reassuring… comforting.

After several minutes, she released him; backing away slightly, she planted a passionate kiss on his lips, then turned and hugged Violet. "Your friendship and support during the past four-plus years means so much to me, and my children. I…" she corrected herself while glancing at Harley, "… we… could not do this without you, Violet Sweeney."

The thoroughly embarrassed woman returned Gabby's hug while thanking her. "You honor me, Missus, truly; Ah see it a privilege tae be employed by ye 'n' th' Captain, 'n' I'm looking forward tae th' neist five years… 'n' beyond." She moved to the chair Gabby had set down and took a seat, all while unobtrusively monitoring the twins as they ran about. After a bit, she called them to her, and gently admonished them. Indicating the grave markers with a wave of her hand, she explained, "This is a steid o' honored repose fur they that gave thair lives during th' war." Indicating Kenneth's head stone with another wave of her hand, she added, "That includes Kenneth, yer father." She grinned at the pair, while concluding, "Try tae be a bawherr quieter, 'n' a bawherr mair respectful. Noo, aff wi' ye."

Malcolm, being a bit more emotionally sensitive than Belle, looked at his dad's headstone, then up at Harley. Puzzlement plain in his expression, he queried, "Papa Kennedh?" He looked at the large man standing with an arm wrapped around his mother. "Papa Hawley? I have dwo pappas?" Attempting to puzzle his way through this contradiction, he asked, "Where is Papa Kennedh?"

Malcolm's question had caught the attention of both his sister and his mom. Thinking, How do I explain death to a five year old? Gabby crouched beside her little boy and said, "Your father – Kenneth – was killed in action during the Quarian rebellion, Malcolm. His body was brought here for burial." Reaching for Belle, she tightly hugged both children to her and continued, "Harley came into my life while I was still carrying both of you inside my belly. He married me just over two years ago, at his base in Rio – do you remember? We went to the beach afterwards. You and Belle were picking up seashells from the water's edge."

Malcolm grinned at that. "Sheshells," he said.

"That's correct," she agreed. "Harley became my second husband, as Kenneth was no longer able to be with me… with us." That sounded lame, even to me! She looked up at the man that had gained a major part of her heart, even though Kenneth would always possess a piece of it. He shook his head ever so slightly, wordlessly indicating she shouldn't attempt to explain about the life currently growing within her womb, even though the kids had been present when she told Harley and Violet she was pregnant. With a smirk, she thought, I did such a great job explaining death; my explanation of creating a new life couldn't be any worse! She kissed a pair of warm cheeks and released them both. With a heavy sigh, she stood, then plopped down in the chair closest to her, while Harley sat in the other.

Gabby pulled a bottle of Lagavulin Distillers Edition from her shoulder bag, along with three shot glasses. With a bit of assistance from Harley, she opened the bottle and poured a measure into each of the 60-ml. glasses. The three people, facing each other in a triangle, with Violet seated at the 'top' and holding onto Belle while Gabby held onto her little boy, raised their glasses towards each other. Gabby solemnly intoned, "A toast to Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Donnelly… happy birthday, my first love." She looked at Harley as she continued, "I miss you every day, and I want you to know you have not been forgotten." She looked to Harley to continue.

Directing his gaze down to the grave marker, he intoned, "Here's to you, Chief. I am really sorry we were never able to meet… never able to have a drink together." With that, he pulled his glass back, an action mirrored by the two women. Saying, "Salute," he took a couple of small sips of the deep amber liquid, smiling at his wife as she tasted the liquid in her own glass.

"You both know I'm not supposed to have any alcohol, don't you?" With a smirk, she downed the contents of her glass. After refilling it, her smirk became a full-blown, teeth-baring grin as she upended the glass over the grave and poured the contents into the grass. "For you, Kenneth." Looking up to see expressions of astonishment on Violet's and Harley's faces prompted a puzzled "What?" from the woman.

Violet was the first to speak. "Pardon mah asking, Missus, but…" at this point the woman's face took on a pinkish hue, "… shouldn't that foremaist hae bin strained thro' yer kidneys?"

"Violet! Really!?" Gabby broke out in honest laughter at Missus Sweeney's pure, Scottish thriftiness. Once able to speak again, she wiped the tears of joy from her face as she admitted, "That's not something I'd expect you to say, Violet… rather, it sounds like something I'd expect to hear from Kenneth, or some old man wearing tartan." She giggled at the mental picture in her mind. "I expect rules of conduct for visiting here prohibit relieving oneself on the graves."

Violet and Harley were laughing as well, with Harley finally stating, "You just used some terribly expensive hooch to feed the grass, darling. In future, I'd expect to see either a circle of darker green, or a patch of dead grass where you poured it."

"Kenneth deserves to have a wee dram of whisky, don't you think. No harm done, and anyway, I'm taking the rest of the bottle home with me." With another giggle, she concluded, "Certainly not gonna pour the rest of it out. Kenneth's had enough excitement for his birthday."

Harley held his glass out to Gabby. "Hit me again, so I can drink his health on his birthday."

Medical Office, Edinburgh, Earth – 7 Mar 2194

Gabby sat on the end of the exam table, nervously eying the stainless stirrups attached to the table on either side of her thighs. She hadn't needed to disrobe for any of her previous exams, and fervently hoped she wouldn't need to do so today.

A soft double-tap of knuckles on the door was preceded by Doctor MacKinnon's entering with her usual cheerful greeting. "Good afternoon, Gabriella." Standing in front of her nervous patient, she added, "Looks like all your stats – heart rate, blood pressure, weight – are well within acceptable ranges. For your visit today I would like for you to lower your pants to the top of your pubes, and pull the bottom of your shirt up to right under your bosom; I need bare skin in order to obtain a good ultrasound image of your wee bairn… maybe learn if you're carrying a wee lassie or laddie."

MacKinnon assisted her with her clothes, then helped her lie down on the exam bed, with her lower legs resting on a pull-out shelf.

After positioning a large video monitor on her right side, the doctor sat on a stool beside Gabby's left hip, squirted some sterile gel on the center of her belly below her belly button, then slid a wand-like device in the gel to spread it around. "Okay then, here's the first pictures of your wee bairn." As she moved the wand around on Gabby's tummy, the sound waves produced a real time image of a baby, floating in the fluid filled amniotic sac inside her uterus. The doctor whispered to herself as she moved the wand slightly up and down, and from side to side, "Come, bairn – caw towards me."

Seeing this live image of the baby she and Harley had created brought tears to her eyes; more tears came at MacKinnon's next few words. "There you are, Gabriella… looks like ye hae a bonnie wee lassie taking a nap in there."

Gabby had a hand across her nose and mouth in an effort to stifle the sobs welling up from deep within. She managed to murmur in a squeaky voice, "Are you sure, Doctor?" When MacKinnon pointed to the space between the baby's legs in the image – there being no signs of external genitalia – Gabby cried, "Oh, my God! She's beautiful, Doctor."

Doctor MacKinnon sent several screen-grabs to Gabby's omnitool. Pulling the wand away, she wiped the gel from Gabby's skin, then assisted her back up to a sitting position. As Gabby stood to rearrange her clothing, she said, "Looks like you only need to look for names on the female side of the lists, Gabriella. You and your wee bairn seem to be progressing normally. I'll see you back in April."

T'Soni Country Estate, Thessia, Athena Nebula – 17 Mar 2194

The Saint Patrick's Day party was more festive than normal, with all the regular holidays happening plus the additional news that Liara would be finishing up her second year as a professor. With the successful completion of what was considered her 'trial professorship,' she would no longer be expected to teach the entire year – meaning she would now get every summer semester off, with more junior teachers picking up the basic 'catch-up' classes during the summer. This did, however, mean Liara's class sizes during the three standard terms would increase significantly, with the limit of sixty students increasing to eighty. She would also potentially pick up an additional student or two as their doctoral advisor, just as she had done with Sal and Rix.

She was very much looking forward to having the entire summer off; there were so many events that occurred during that time frame, particularly her and Shepard's anniversary. Not having to work around the school schedule would make their annual vacation much easier to plan. Liara's ruminations were interrupted when Shepard tapped her on her shoulder, making her jump out of her seat in surprise.

"Wow. You were seriously focused on something! I tried calling you twice... on your omni and through the link... and was ignored both times." Laughing, Shepard stepped to the side and continued, "I was trying to let you know Mom was here!"

Liara's eyes flew open wide, and she rushed forward to draw the newest arrival into a loving hug. "I am so sorry, Mom! Welcome!"

Hannah happily hugged the embarrassed Asari as she responded, "Don't worry about it, Liara. I understand you have a lot of news to share about all the changes going on with your career!"

Liara stepped back, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Yes! Of course, you know that Sal will graduate with full honors..."

"Yes," Hannah nodded. "And immediately after she is confirmed as Doctor Kessori, you will be hiring her on to take over the research site on Ilos." She gave a quick wink at her daughter-in-law and chuckled happily.

"Absolutely... but, it gets better!" Liara flashed a grin and continued, her voice low and conspiratorial as she added, "I have also completed my two-year instructor evaluation period, so will now get the entire summer term off!"

"Like, forever?" Hannah's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Combining those two things means you will be enjoying more home time with Sam and Michael. I think that's positively wonderful!"

"I know! I actually get a full summer vacation, which begins immediately after I turn in my final grades for the spring semester and lasts until the staff readiness week begins for fall. For this year, that's not until the day following Alban Elfed!"

"Goodness!" Hannah exclaimed before adding, "I think I'm jealous!"

Sam grinned, replying, "It's not like you couldn't retire tomorrow and have... well... forever off, Mom. So, you're not allowed to be jealous over something as short as a summer break!"

"You've got me there, I suppose." Hannah smiled and gave her daughter a quick hug. "Now. I need to make the rounds and say my hellos. I suppose my first stop is the bar, for Aethyta and Mozia?"

"Yes." Liara rolled her eyes as she responded. "So predictable, those two... only you might also find Ines there, along with Sharon and Adrien."

"Oh, that's excellent!" Hannah actually clapped. "And also means the two of you should come with me, and we can all sit down and have dinner together! Get caught up and all that!"

Shepard looked at Liara with a grin and a shrug. "Sounds pretty good to me... and you can tell me about what had you so distracted."

"There's nothing to tell." Liara stood and grinned. "I was simply thinking about everything that we all just talked about, and how fun it will be to have the entire summer off with you... particularly the opportunity to have an extended anniversary trip." She dipped her head as she quietly added, "And it feels like I've known you for a lifetime, Sam. It is so hard to believe this will be only our sixth anniversary, with so many more to come."

"I know what you mean." Shepard's eyes twinkled mischievously as she added, "Along with a few little blues," making Liara's resultant blush amazingly deep blue.

Edi had, of course, passed Aethyta the recipe she had come up with for 'Green Beer,' which Hannah was positively thrilled to see. She laughed as Aethyta handed over her first mug. "By the Gods, it's wonderful to be back here again!" She turned and raised her glass, adding, "To everyone in the T'Soni family, may our futures continue to be bright and may we never stop celebrating simply being alive!"

Aethyta grinned. "You have that right! If the Reapers taught us anything, it is to live life to the fullest, because we never know when our time is up. We need to appreciate all those who surround us with their love, every single day we still draw breath!"

Mozia raised her glass and chuckled. "Goddess, Thyta. Never thought I'd see the day you became a philosopher!"

Everyone had a good laugh and the banter continued, with the various guests coming and going to and from the bar for refills... all except for the very pregnant Captain Nayla Axoni. When she and her bondmate, Lyana T'Geya, arrived, everyone welcomed them warmly with a combination of heartfelt congratulations and condolences. Nayla was not due until early June, so still had another seventy-five days or so to go. Liara stood and gave her a gentle hug, saying, "It is so good to see you, Nayla! I thought you weren't planning to come this year."

Nayla groaned and sat down, blowing out a heavy breath of relief as she did so. Once seated, she did manage a chuckle. "I didn't think so either but woke up feeling pretty good this morning and simply didn't want to miss everything! The little one will keep us busy enough once she comes... and..." She paused, looking at Lyana, who gave her an encouraging nod.

With a hesitant smile, Nayla's gaze returned to Liara. "... we need to ask you something that is very important to us."

"Of course!" Liara answered promptly. "You know you can always ask me anything."

"We have decided on a name... and want to make sure it is okay with you." Nayla paused only a moment before adding, "We want to call her Nezia, in honor of your mother, but don't want to do so without your permission... obviously, in case you want to reserve the name for her direct descendants. We will understand completely if you decline our request."

Tears immediately sprang to Liara's eyes as she dropped her head and stared at the table as she gathered her thoughts. Once over the initial surprise, she reached over to take Shepard's hand and, after a moment, looked again at Nayla and said, "Shepard and I have spoken of our eventual children and are planning to name our first child Benezia... Zia for short." She glanced at Samantha, who nodded after receiving Liara's question via the link, then returned her gaze to Nayla. "Neither of us have any reservations regarding your choice."

It was Nayla's turn to cry as she and Lyana hugged. Lyana looked to Liara, tears in both of their eyes and whispered, "Thank you, Liara. You have no idea how much this means to us.

Liara smiled softly, squeezing Shepard's hand as she replied softly, "Oh, I think I do."