When Rann returned from her trip from the Capital, she was welcomed home by a house full of loving family members. Tali's aunt came very late at night and went straight to bed. The following morning, I decided to make pancakes. It was hard for Tali and I to act like nothing was happening, but Rael could pick up something was off, though he wouldn't say anything. At the dining table is my wife, still love calling her that, with her dad and auntie, and Keenah shamelessly begging for food. I just finished making pancakes for everyone and with the remaining batter inside the bowl I normally wash off, I made tiny pancakes the size of a quarter. First, I gave Rael and Rann their plates. Rael loves spreading butter and Rann adds a heaping amount of syrup, I return to the cooling down griddle to get two more plates to bring to Tali. Quickly I throw a mini pancake to distract Keenah, providing me an opportunity to get close to Tali and provide her with breakfast for two.

"Here are your pancakes sweetheart and fetus serving sized ones. You'll need the extra calories." Then I plant a kiss before syrup ruins the taste of my wife.

Rael and Rann stop eating, quickly exchanging looks. Rael sits his fork down, asking is daughter "Tali? Is there something you wish to tell us?"

Rann is sitting on the edge of her seat, tilting the chair forwards, eager to hear what is about to come.

Tali's composure breaks on the spot "we're going to be parents!"

Rann is over the moon "Ancestors! Congr whoa!" Tali's aunt in her excitement tried standing up, and instead ended up falling backwards. Keenah pouches over, licking Rann's face. She attempts to hide herself from the rough feline tongue. Rael pulls her off the ground.

I ask if she is ok. Rann rubs the back of her neck. I might have to give her a massager.

Rann asks "did I hit my head? I imagined Tali saying she is pregnant. Or did I hear correctly?"

Tali nods "I am! We're going to have a baby!"

Rael runs around the dinner table to hug his daughter. Rann congratulates her. "Your mother would be so proud of you."

Rael asks "how long have you known?"

Tali says "not long. I told ********* the day after I took the test. I thought of so many different ways to tell him but remembered how long he's waited for this and told him as soon as a I built up the nerve."

I say "every year our marriage gets better and better. I can't wait to finally see our baby but will enjoy pregnant Tali. I promise to help out. If you need a foot massage or if you get cravings, I'll do whatever you want. You deserve it."

Tali says "I apologize in advance if pregnancy brain makes me act crazy. You know how much I love you."

"I love you."

No one told me the hardest part about being a Dad is the waiting. Every morning when I wake up early in the morning to enjoy our daily snuggles, I hold my palm over Tali's belly, feeling it expand slightly each day and getting warmer, and waiting to feel when a soul enters our growing baby. It can happen at any time. Moment of conception or until the baby takes its first breath. There is no way of knowing, but I pray to the Source to send me a soul willing to be a part of our family forever. One of my fears is after we all die (from old age it better be) my son's or daughter's souls will reincarnate leaving us forever. Thankfully the other ascended soul's I've asked told me souls tend to form groups and rarely break unless something terrible happens which I won't allow. I promise to be the best Dad I can and actually raise my child. Teach them right from wrong, the skills needed to handle themselves, and most importantly, help them live their best life possible.

The Rannochians are family oriented. It was no problem for Tali to take time off work. If she wants to, she can leave for 4 months and retain full pay, but I honestly doubt Tali will be able to keep herself away for that long. Rael was politely asked to leave the position of Admiral and retired after the migrants official formed their constitutional republic, and since I don't have to work, I get to stay home and be with my child. I waited so very long for this and will enjoy every second of it. Dreaming about fatherhood for so long has given me so many ideas, and with the complaints I've had from my sister, I feel well prepared.

It's funny how things that work in out ways you don't expect end up making you happier, like when your favorite Christmas present is the one you didn't ask for. Things played out much different than I imagined it would. Despite Tali's initial adorable shy persona, she is a real go getter. She asked me out, she's bringing home the bacon, I'm took her family name, its like the roles fli- AOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHH!

Holy Christ!

Their indoctrination worked. The tenth wave feminists broke me... I'm actually really happy with how things are. Ok, here is the thing, I am doing what makes me happy, not what I was told would make me happy. It does not mean the tenth wave feminisit were right. There is a venn diagram they are lucky their section overlapped with mine. They shall never learn of this. Their egos are already big enough! Push the negative thoughts out of your minds. Think about how to prepare for raising our baby. Happy loving wholesome thoughts.

Stores sell reusable fabric diapers and when I didn't realize I could create anything as long as I scanned the structure first, the plan wash to buy a mini washer designed for apartments and use that to erase the poo. To avoid the smell of poo, I'll place a fan right next to the changing station to blow the smelly particulates out the window. I had to get used to sleep deprivation before so my tolerance will come in handy when I need to get up in the middle of the night and attend to our baby. I won't do all of the work. The baby is half Tali and needs a connection with mommy.

Tali grew more and more beautiful with each passing day and her aura was divine. Glorious white everywhere and so full of love. Thank Source the pregnancy was easy on her. While she did have days where her feet were sore and I had to massage them, Tali had very little cravings, but I did make the mistake once of forgetting to replace Tali's ice cream, I could count the number of times on my quarian hand she had morning sickness. I wonder if it is because the food here isn't grown with pesticides or other chemicals. The farmers spread insects that will eat the plant pests and grafting techniques to boost resilience. Plus I fertilize our garden with tree pollen to make it rich with nutrients.

When we were past the time miscarriages could occur, we announced over the extranet Tali's pregnancy and was inundated with messages from our former crew, Tali's friends from the fleet, Kara and Roan, and the friends we made on Rannoch. We've had tons of support and care packages. Liara send us baby toys with element zero gimmicks that made me want to play with them. Mordin, who's showing signs of aging, sent over a protocol on quarian development and child psychology which we read religiously. Javik sends us a baby blanket made from threads of pure gold and welcomes us to his village for playdates. I appreciate the thought, but don't want our child exposed to those vibes.

For quarians, the mother's start producing milk around a week before the baby will be delivered and serving a signal the day we've been waiting for has arrived. Tali and I discussed it and we are doing a home birth. Amazingly quarians rarely experience difficulties with labor and just in case, Rann and Kara will be waiting outside our bedroom door with Roan sitting in a skycar to take us to the hospital.

Keenah really wanted to be in the same room with us but I have to focus on helping Tali anyway I can. We laid down blankets we don't care about on the floor, near the edge of the bed, in case Tali wants to hold herself up on the mattress. How it works for quarians is Tali will be on her knees and it is my job to hold her upright while she contracts. Tali knows for sure our baby is coming. Everyone takes their position. While I'd like to sit on the bed and have Tali rest her arms and head in my lap, it didn't feel fair so I too got on my knees. Tali wrapped her arms around my shoulders and I positions my forearm to prop her ribs up. I told her whatever she needs me to do, I'll do it. I would hate it if Tali would be in excruciating pain and pray that our baby isn't born blue like I was.

Labor should be finished in under an hour. It feels nice having Tali rest her chin on my right shoulder as she gives birth. Every so often Tali's arm will squeeze around my upper back and moan. I ask if she is in pain and offer to help block the nerve signals to her brain. Tali claims she isn't hurting, instead a very strange discomfort. Understandable as she is pushing a living thing out of her for the first time. I know Tali would never lie to me, but her heavy breathing and beads of sweat falling down roar my feelings of anxiety and paranoia back to life. Throughout the labor, I brush and twist Tali's hairs, and kiss her when she has a strong contraction. I'd tell her how beautiful she is, how I fell so madly in love with her. What moments on our first date hypnotized me. How I'm so grateful I am to have met her and for her to give me this opportunity to be a Dad. This helps Tali with her growing discomfort, until she winches from a sharp pain and my abs feel her belly deflate. Tali takes several deep breathes in and out. We pause to look into each other's eyes for a split second, questioning if it is really over, then we hear someone crying.

Tali widens her stance. My eyes follow the umbilical cord down to an infant with two large toes, and covered in a cheesy coating I think is called vernix. Tali reaches down under her, and picks up our baby. She grabs a towel, gently wiping away the amniotic fluid. Tali smiles with the love of a mother looking at her first born. The vibes are indescribable. She looks down then back up, kissing the forehead.

"It's a girl. Hello baby. Your name is Aelita Zorah and I'm your mommy. We've just met and I already love you so so so much. I want you to meet your daddy. He's been waiting a long time to see you."

Tali lowers one of her arms to support our daughter's chubby little bum. My daughter's face takes my breath away. My heart completely stops. Tali scoots closer to bring Aelita to my chest. Instinctively. I look down, trying to convince myself this isn't a dream. Aelita opens her eyes she inherited from Tali and we stare at each other for an eternity, until she laughs.

I break into tears and hug my dear daughter into my arms. Hearing that one sound from her was worth all of the suffering I've been through. My eyes release a bucket of tears which Tali wipes away. Tali starts to cry too. We feel an overwhelming amount of love. Aelita tries to take a nap in my arms. No don't get to sleep, papa wants to see you.

Tali takes a spare blanket and wraps it around Aelita. We forget the cord hasn't been cut. Tali asks me to cut and with one switch movement, I create a pair of scissors and sever the physical link between mother and daughter. In my impatience, I realize my mistake and ask Tali if I had hurt her. She said no. Cutting the cord doesn't cause the mother or baby pain. I trim the cord close to Aelita's future belly button and tuck the rest under the blanket. Tali takes Aelita to feed her milk while I carefully follow the instructions to remove the placenta with telekinesis.

Tali rests her back on our bed while she nurses Aelita. I sit down next to the two most special ladies in my life and watch with amazement. I stroke Tali's hair, telling her how amazing she was and how much I love her and our daughter. I promise to protect them and be there for them no matter what. Tali kisses my lips then our daughter's head, careful to avoid the fontanelle.

We'll wash Aelita afterwards. I wrap my left arm around Tali's back and she rests her head on my shoulder. I carefully play with our daughter's little fingers. Aelita is too focused on drinking to play back with me. It's ok. We'll play lots as you grow. I might even let you paint my nails. A soft couple of knocks come from our door. Rann quietly asks "Is the delivery over?"

Tali and I have a conversation with our eyes, wondering if we should wait a few more minutes or introduce Aelita to the rest of her family. Aelita takes a break from drinking. I ask Tali if she feels she can stand up. She doesn't think so. I gently lift her up onto our bed, and clear away the bloody blankets. I ask Kara through the door to hold Keenah back and then to welcome Rael and Rann inside.

Rael is the first to enter the room, and he is blown away by the sight of his granddaughter. He asks if he can sit next to Tali and she nods. Aelita's grandfather is careful not to make a noise with his giant feet on our hardwood floors. Rael takes a seat next to Tali and instantly falls in love with Aelita. Then he starts to cry "I wish your mother could be here to see this."

Tali starts to cry "I know. She should have been able to see this."

I tell them "souls on the other side can share memories if they choose. Rael when you meet your bondmate again, you can share everything you are experiencing right now with her and to her, it will be like she lived it."

Rann enters the room next. She first holds her hands above her heart, then takes a picture of the three of us. Rael asks if she can hold her. Tali carefully hands him his granddaughter, telling him "Her name is Aelita."

Rael says "that is a beautiful name."

Kara pokes her head through the doorframe "I hate to intrude, but it's getting hard to hold back Keenah."

Tali looks to me, asking "what do you think?"

"He is going to meet his little sister eventually. Why not know?" I get up from the bed, and take hold of Keenah's collar. He really wants to see what the fuss is about and I have a hard time holding him back. His claws scratch the floor as I direct him on the bed, to the empty spot I was just in. Keenah sits next to Tali, staring deeply at Tali's. I pay close attention just in case Keenah tries something I won't like. Tali takes Aelita back from her dad, holding Aelita against her chest, slightly facing away from Keenah. Tali pulls the blanket away from Aelita's face and Keenah's eyes dilate. He makes all of us laugh by instantly dropping his head on Tali's leg. He wants to see his little sister. Tali slowly brings Aelita closer to Keenah's face. Aelita manages to free one of her arms and touches Keenah's eyebrow. He licked her hand, making Aelita laugh and pulling her hand back into the blanket. I have nothing to fear from Keenah. He's going to protect his little sister at all costs. Kara calls Roan to come inside and meet their goddaughter.

After introductions have been made, Tali rests for a while before we show Aelita her home. I don't want Tali to exert herself, she claims she is ok, but I hold Aelita just in case. Rael and Rann help Tali get up and she is able to keep her balance. Just in case, they help her down the stairs. As I walk down the steps, I see the empty picture frames and think about all the empty spots that will soon be filled with my little angel. Rael and Rann take so many pictures for us, there must be over a hundred. They create a folder of all the baby photos and send them to our friends. Everyone messages us about how beautiful our daughter is and want to meet her as soon as possible. It's way too soon for any visitors but one day Aelita will meet all her alien uncles and aunts.

Time flew by way too fast. Aelita grew like a weed. I bet she will be taller than the both of us. While the first couple of years are waiting for her to be more aware and alert, so we can have. I've gotten so many blessings out of watching Aelita grow into a toddler. We are definitely going to have to give her a sibling, Tali and I actually fought over who gets to see her. Aelita is the cutest baby in the whole galaxy. I felt so happy when Aelita would take a nap on my chest. It was a blessing having Rael and Rann babysit when Tali and I needed a break and time to ourselves.

I'm grateful to have been blessed with a healthy baby girl. I know going into this it wasn't going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time, there would be discomforts, but those felt minor in comparison to the hell I went through, yet my favorite memories of her were so worth it. Keenah was Aelita's guardian, never taking an eye off her, and permitting Aelita to crawl over her, pulling his whiskers. He was such a good brother to her. Tali and I took turns when Aelita would wake up during the night needing to be fed, or changed, or wanting our attention. Honestly for me it was easy. On nights it was my turn and Aelita cried out, I could reset my body into a previous version where I am wide awake and when Aelita needs were taken care off, rest into a version where I am so sleepy. Best super power ever! Tali once asked me to see Aelita when it was her night. I said "I could but what will happen if she ends up loving me more?" Tali rocketed out of bed "I'M UP!" She walked over to Aelita's crib, carefully taking our daughter and seeing what she wanted. That night, Aelita wanted love. Tali rocked her up and down and singed her a lullaby. Her voice was mesmerizing. I stayed up to listen. It was the second-best memory.

The first one requires a bit of back story. As my quarian body loves watching sports, there was a championship tournament one night that went into overtime. Tali watched Aelita that night in exchange for a week of one hour foot massages. Anyways the game went into overtime and if an overtime had an overtime, this was the time. It was past midnight when the game finished. I cursed myself for getting distracted and when I went upstairs, there I saw Tali lying peacefully in our bed with Aelita in her arms. My heart melted and I stood there forever watching the most important women in my life sharing dreams. Tali wasn't asleep. She asked me to be quiet as Aelita finally fell asleep and Tali wasn't too far behind. My wife's eyes were closed and I took a picture of them. It is my all-time favorite picture. I printed it out and kept a copy on me at all times.

While I'd love nothing more than to be able to fall asleep with Aelita in my arms, I think that is dangerous to babies. I heard stories of mothers accidentally rolling onto them in their sleep. I told Tali this when I tried to take Aelita away to her crib. Tali refuses to let go. I whispered why this is a bad idea. Tali said

"Please let me fall asleep with our cherished daughter in my arms."

The experiences in my life forced me to develop an indomitable will. I conquer the strongest urges my body would produce. I overcame painful workouts, insatiable hunger, the need for sleep, even depriving myself of water for my fasts all because I wanted to test the limits of my willpower after I had to fight and won against the literal signaling my body to die, but what I am feeling now, I'm helpless.

I stroked Tali's hair until she was deep into sleep. Slowly and gently unfolding my beautiful wife's arms apart to transfer Aelita to her crib. I whispered to Aelita "you are very lucky to have a mom who loves you so much. Almost as lucky as I am to have you as my daughter." I laid Aelita down and watched her for the longest time.

Tali and I planned to have another as I really want a boy. Life blew by as we were so focused on raising Aelita, it was put on hold. It didn't matter as we had so much fun playing with her, taking her to the park, and playing dates with other quarian rugrats. When Aelita was four, she entered school. Then we decided to have another. The labor was harder this time Tali despite her body having learned what it was like to give birth. We welcomed another girl we named Slyvie, then pleasantly surprised by another. A baby boy. YES! We named him Jason. We've been blessed with the greatest kids ever. It was so cute watching them play together. They'd chase each other around the table when we took them to restaurants. The other diners would laugh at our kids' antics. Our children grow up happy and healthy, the schools taught them valuable lessons instead of pushing agendas and made sure they were not bullied. Life here is what it was supposed to be. It wasn't utopia. Bad things still happened, but it was rare. Our family is happy, our community good, and the world spinning right.

Tali and I loved being parents to our little rascals. When Jason turned six, we threw him a birthday party. He blew out the candles on his cupcake and Rann asked what he wished for. Jason said "a little brother." Tali and I discussed it after the kids were put to bed. I told Tali I have everything I want but you know what the answer would be if she wants another. I expressed my concern how her age might complicate things. Tali and I considered adoption, but that quickly went away when we found out she was pregnant again. It wasn't intentional, but a welcomed surprise.

This would be our last child. This time, odd things happened. Tali throughout her pregnancy kept telling me something felt familiar. I told her she had been pregnant before, but Tali insisted it was something else. I didn't understand it until much later. Jason got his wish and had a special boy we named Leo. He was such a goofball. Always happy and smiling, but there were a few oddities. Leo would run around and around until he collapsed from too much fun. It's like he couldn't regulate his batteries and dropped when he depleted. Against my judgment, we took him to the doctor in case and was told nothing was wrong with him. Our worries went away as he grew older. Leo was the sweetest kid, loved his brother and sisters, although he favored me over Tali. That made me feel guilty. Leo would never tell a lie. It wasn't in his nature and it's like he was straight from the Source. Curious on everything and everything. Wanting to experience whatever came our way. But I have a strong hunch he wasn't from the Source as with every question, he'd tilt is head to the side.

Tali and grew old with each other and had an amazing life with family and friends. I wanted to give our kids a normal life, the life they deserved, and they had that. Tali and I never spoke a word about my special talents. We told them about our pasts. How she and their grandpa and great Aunt lived on starships away from their home until we killed the Reapers and that I was raised on Earth by humans until I was pulled into the war which is how I met their mother, and we fell in love. When they came of age, which we decided should be when Leo turned 18, we decided to tell them the truth of what I am. There were never any plans to keep this from them forever and if they were interested and capable, I would teach them.

Our children stayed close to home and was easy to arrange a time for all of us. Tali and I sat them down on the couch and told them I would reveal a family secret which is not to be shared with anyone. I made each of them promise. When they did, I told them start to finish everything I went through, how I was hurt, what was done to me, what happened to my world, how I fought dying for the dream I would have our wonderful family, how my world went bonkers and learned how to manipulate my very atoms to escape. I showed them my light body and they understandably freaked out. Once the settled down, they asked me so many questions about what I could do and why we kept this from us.

I explained "it's a father's duty to give their kids what they never had. I did not have a normal life, and I was alienated for a very long time. Cutt off from my own people. (guilt trip activating) Sniffs sniffs I'm sorry if I wasn't the best dad. I only wanted you guys to grow up happy and healthy, to have friends and enjoy life."

Aelita thinks she is calming me down "Hey hey you were a great father to us all."

Jason says "there were times you were a little hard on us, and how you made us excercise, but we know how lucky we are to have you as our dad, especially hearing what some of our friends grew up with."

I said "Believe me, I hated disciplining you, but I refused to live in another world governed by adults with the mentality of toddlers and I would be damned if I let you become like that."

Leo says "I love having you as my parents."

Slyvie says "We never doubted you've had our best interests at heart. You were there for us no matter what as long as we made good choices which I didn't always make. Wait, does this mean we'll get powers?"

My children gawked at me.

I explained "this isn't inheritable by genetics, but how your atoms wave, I'll explain later, but we gave you a loving home and a good life. This gives you a boost so it won't be as hard as it was for me, but you would still have to learn to manipulate your density by the methods I've learned."

Ah my kids got so excited when they learned they too could ascend, and their fascinated smiles slowly turned upside down when I explained to them what they would have to do and the mechanisms for how it worked.

Jason asks "is there any other way?"

I reply "I wished."

Aelita asked "how did you manage to do that?"

I answer "I was really pissed. What do you say? Want to try it?"

Blanks stare at all my kids. Jason is the one to break the silence "I'm going to pass. I enjoy my life."

Slyvie says "I have things I want to do first. Maybe afterwards."

Aelita says "I think that will be hard to do with my husband and kids around. I'll pass."

Leo says "I like Rannoch. There are so many fun things here. I don't want to leave."

I said "That's fine. It's not for everyone and you should have normal lives. That is what I and your mother fought for."

Jason asks "who else knows?"

"Your uncles, Roan, Shepard, Kaiden, Jacob, Joker, Wrex, Grunt, and Garrus. Thane and Mordin did before they passed away. I checked and they are doing ok. Your aunts Kara, Liara, Ashley, Miranda, Edi, Jack, and Kelly. Of Course, Grandpa Rael and Auntie Rann."

Aelita says "why didn't anyone tell us?"

Tali says "we asked them not to and would you even have believed them?"

Slyvie asks her mom "did you know before you started dating him?"

Tali says "I fell in love with him before we dated and by then I knew."

I reply "damn right you did. Your mother had the hots for me."

Jason asks "what now?"

I said "I don't want things to change. I will be there whenever you need me. I'm still your dad and love you all so much. You've made my life worth living and I had the greatest time of my life raising you. I'm so lucky I'm able to be your dad and watch you guys grow up. I still want to be a part of your lives. Keeping things normal will make me happy." My children are the best I could have asked for. They swarmed and hugged me, giving me love, not retreating from fear, and to think I'll have many more decades surrounded by the greatest joy in the omniverse. I couldn't ask for more.