Blackwork

James stood at the end of the aisle making every effort not to scratch his balls. But they itched. He still couldn't comprehend why he'd let Steve and Kaidan talk him into getting them waxed the day before his wedding. "Oh, Shepard will love it, you just have to do it." Bastards. He was convinced it was some evil plot on their part to make him as uncomfortable as possible on his wedding day. He'd have to come up with payback when the two men finally tied the knot themselves in a few months.

He was standing beneath an elaborately constructed arch at the end of a red carpet on the only intact landing dock of London's sky port, and the Normandy was parked behind him. He had to admit the setting was pretty spectacular. Nothing was behind them but the Normandy nestled gently in her docking clamps and the vast landscape of the outlying English countryside behind her, all rolling green hills and farmland. And the sun was actually shining.

The sudden realization hit him that he was standing up here waiting to marry a woman who easily had to be the most famous individual in existence at the moment. He suddenly felt entirely inadequate. He never questioned his own feelings for her, but why the hell had she chosen him? How had he gotten so damn lucky?

The thoughts drifted through his mind and he just let them. He wasn't fool enough to run away at this stage, or ever, for that matter. Whatever her reasons were, and whatever happened, he was bound and determined to see this through. He loved her, and he wanted this. But he knew her attentions were going to be divided. She'd tossed around the idea of retiring, but they both knew that wasn't in the cards for her yet. He just hoped that somewhere in between getting married and helping out Alliance brass she'd have time to let him to pay a little attention to her.

He glanced beside him at Black who looked almost as uncomfortable as he did in his own dress blues. He had to wonder how long it had been since the old soldier had worn them. He'd actually been surprised when he found out the man hadn't officially been discharged from the Alliance. He'd technically been MIA and somehow had managed to stay that way all these years. Until now, anyway. The most surprising thing was that the man had actually been an officer, the small gold bars of Lieutenant Commander rank were clearly marked on his epaulets. How did he go from a ranked officer to a mercenary? James supposed he could imagine stranger things happening. He'd very nearly gone the same route himself before Anderson had appeared and dragged him away from Omega and he'd first met her.

Oh shit, the music's starting. He felt a bead of sweat trail down between his ass cheeks. He swallowed and stared down the aisle between all the attendees, most of whom he didn't even know, and he didn't think Shepard did, either. But he knew this was a huge media event, so they would have made sure to fill the seats. Not that they would have had much trouble. Shepard may not have known all of them, but everyone knew her. He was sure every single guest there was either part of her crew or a member of the troops that were stationed in London or on the fleets still orbiting Earth. There were certainly a lot of blue uniforms and the ones in the front rows were sparkling with the gold decorations of higher ranking officers. There was so much shining gold in the front row he was nearly blinded.

He caught the eye of Hannah Shepard for a second and she seemed to give him a small, reassuring smile. She'd been along for the ride when the Crucible had made its trek to the Sol system and now stood in the front row awaiting the moment when her daughter would walk down the aisle.

He'd been surprised at how reserved the woman had been upon meeting her just the day before, but she had a comforting demeanor that set him at ease. She glowed with fierce pride at seeing Shepard again. The two women were nothing alike, aside from family resemblance - Hannah was as strikingly beautiful as her daughter, with bright, piercing blue eyes and dark hair that was now closer to grey than black. She was several inches shorter, and much more soft-spoken than her daughter, however. How a Rear Admiral could actually seem maternal was beyond him, but she did.

James decided that Shepard must have taken after her father in personality. When he'd mentioned the thought to her, Shepard had scoffed at it and said, "Don't let her fool you. Mom is much tougher than she looks. She was the disciplinarian when I was growing up - Dad was the softie."

"So you were a daddy's girl?" he'd asked.

She'd grown sad for a second and then shrugged, "I suppose you could say that. At least until I reached my rebellious teenage years. And then he died. Mom and I barely spoke in the few years between losing him and me enlisting. Funny thing, it wasn't until after I died that we actually started to have some kind of relationship."

James caught movement at the end of the aisle and directed his attention to the far end of the dock. A series of men and women came into view, walking arm-in-arm. At least he knew all of them. As they approached the dais and began to line up near him he relaxed a little bit. All the men were familiar members of the Normandy's crew and were wearing dress blues, even the ones who hadn't been 'official' members of the Alliance crew. Garrus and Javik's suits seemed to be matched but missing a few crucial details that would identify them as Alliance. Subtle, but effective for general public consumption. Some of the men gave him encouraging looks.

All the women were in slinky floor-length gold-colored gowns and filed in on the opposite side, leaving a space for the bride. There was one delicately beautiful woman he didn't recognize at all and was suddenly stunned when her glowing eyes twinkled at him and he realized that it was Tali. She was completely out of her suit for the occasion thanks to the immune system boost the Geth had given her people, and was stunning in the gold-colored gown she wore. She looked almost human, except for her eyes and a series of unique tattoos that adorned her fair, almost translucent skin. She seemed to blush slightly and smile when she looked across the aisle at someone else, and James glanced to see Garrus smiling back at her in the odd way he had, his mandibles quivering slightly and his eyes lighting up with joy. Huh, wonders never cease, James thought.

The music changed and he tensed as hundreds of heads turned in unison to watch the other end of the dock. This is it, he thought, his eyes steadily watching the red-carpeted pathway down the dock. He held stock still as the music continued.

A moment later he saw her and his heart skipped a beat. His mouth grew dry and his vision seemed to narrow to focus solely on her. Her eyes met his immediately and held them the entire time it took her to walk down the carpeted aisle towards him. Her arm was solidly in Admiral Anderson's strong grasp. She looked fucking amazing.

Her hair was bound up in some complicated configuration with small bits of gold flecks in it here and there that caught the sunlight and sparkled like droplets of dew. She was wearing a gown cut in an Asari style in deep Alliance-blue silk. It had elaborate gold embroidery that decorated the bodice and long sleeves and trailed down the length of the flowing skirt. It fit her snugly around her torso and had a high collar, but left little to the imagination between her chest and her navel, with only the briefest sections of embroidered blue and gold silk crossing her skin to hold the dress together in strategic locations.

He instantly forgot how much his balls itched. Of course now he was suddenly concerned he wouldn't be able to hide his erection from the rest of the galaxy. He hoped the long jacket of his dress uniform was enough to hide it.

When he saw the slightly shell-shocked look in her eyes change to amusement he knew she'd been in his head. He returned the favor briefly and found the same knot of emotions he'd been struggling with all morning, and was instantly relieved that he wasn't the only one dealing with stage fright today.

When she finally reached him and Anderson let go of her arm he heard her whisper, "We can do this now. We have forever to do the rest."

He gripped her hand tightly and they turned as one to the officiant.

It wasn't until they were finally kissing at the end of the ceremony when his hand slid up from her waist that he realized the dress was entirely backless. He pulled her harder against him and slipped his hand up higher, his large palm gliding against her soft skin, his fingertips feeling the subtle outlines of her tattoo and the ticklish pulse of biotic energy that emanated from its delicate pattern.

She murmured against his lips, "Mmm, that feels good."

"It'll feel better when I can get you out of that dress," he whispered.

ooOoo

This is Diana Allers reporting from the Port of London where Commander Zoe Shepard has just wed Lieutenant James Vega, an N7 Alliance marine who was part of Shepard's team in the effort to defeat the Reapers.

Theirs is a true love story that began over a year ago when Admiral David Anderson recruited Lieutenant Vega to be Shepard's bodyguard while she was in Alliance custody after surrendering the Cerberus-built successor to the Normandy SR-1.

Their love blossomed over the course of the war, but they were forced to resist their feelings for the sake of defeating the Reapers. Now the two of them are finally finding the ending they deserve. Two heroes united in victory, and clearly in love.

The camera panned around to catch the wedding party as they paused before entering the Normandy.

"That's our cue, James," Shepard said.

James met her gaze with a smile before dipping his head to capture her lips in his. He made this one last, teasing at her tongue a little with his own at first and holding her tightly against him for a long moment. He wanted to touch her more, but resisted. They were on camera now. He had to keep this tame. But he could do things with his lips that would leave her breathless, he knew. And he did. When he changed the pressure of his kiss and slipped his tongue between her lips more forcefully he felt her body instantly respond and she moaned against him. He drifted his hand down to her lower back and gripped her tightly at the hip. Her lips were moving hotly against his in response and he nearly lost touch with his original intention as his arousal suddenly grew between them.

He was finally drawn back to reality when loud cheers erupted from around them and he released her from the embrace and gazed at her in nearly stunned wonder as she beamed back at him. This amazing woman was his now. For the rest of their lives.

ooOoo

Escondido, California. Six months later.

"That looks like an antique. Does it even run?" Shepard said, waving dust out of her face as James pulled the cover back.

"It's not an antique... yet. My tio bought it new the year I was born. It's just a replica commemorating the bicentennial of the original coming off the line in Detroit. She's a beauty though, isn't she? And she's ours now."

He pulled the cover the rest of the way off, revealing the shiny cherry-red paint job of a convertible 2158 Thunderbird; an exact replica in appearance to the original that had been designed over two hundred years earlier.

He moved back around to the front of the car, admiring it with eager eyes. "Of course, the engine's been equipped with fuel cells and an eezo core. But the chassis and suspension are authentic. This baby rides sooo fine. I still remember the first time my tio took me out for a drive. I was six and he set me on his lap and let me hold the wheel. The fucking power was incredible."

"You have a hard-on right now, don't you?" she asked frankly.

He glanced at her in surprise and she smiled back at him knowingly.

"Yeah, actually..." he said with a smirk. "Wanna do something about it?"

She grinned at him and moved around to the front of the car, sliding her body between him and the grille and resting her backside on the hood. She reached one hand down and pressed it against the bulge at the front of his pants while her other hand trailed up his chest to rest against the tattooed side of his neck.

"How long until your uncle gets back?" she whispered huskily. She pulled him towards her slightly and continued to stroke his hard length through his pants.

"Long enough," he growled, leaning in to kiss her while he slid his hands down her sides until he reached the hem of her sundress halfway down her smooth thighs.

She was infinitely grateful for her decision to switch to dresses a few months earlier. She'd always found them impractical before, but now that she was pregnant she had a newfound appreciation for many things she hadn't previously given much thought to. It was just easier to wear a dress than to try to fit into a pair of pants anymore. And James certainly seemed to appreciate the change in her wardrobe.

She moaned against his mouth when his fingertips slid up her bare thigh beneath her dress and teased at the bottom edge of her panties, then slipped beneath the sheer fabric briefly, bestowing a soft caress against her warm, slick flesh. He slid his hands up a little higher to find the waistband of her panties and tugged them down over her hips. She shimmied her thighs until the garment fell down to the concrete floor of the garage beneath her bare feet.

His hands were immediately gripping her bare bottom beneath her dress and lifting her up to set her on the hood of the car as he continued to kiss her. He began to trail kisses down her neck and raised one hand, pulling the strap of her dress across her shoulder and down her upper arm until one full, creamy breast was exposed.

He bent his head to tease and suck at her nipple with his tongue while his fingertips drifted back between her spread thighs, finding her slick center and stroking gently. Her contact with reality faltered as his deft touch teased her nearly to climax.

"Slow down," she said with a gasp.

He lifted his head and gave her a wolfish grin in response and said, "What if I don't want to?"

He lowered himself to his knees and pushed her dress up over her thighs. Her heels were resting on the bumper of the car and he gripped both her ankles, urging her feet onto his shoulders as he descended on her. She lay back with a sigh, letting him have his way.

"Oh fuck," she said breathily as his tongue began its nimble dance over her eager flesh. Her fingers grasped his head and threaded through his thick hair that he'd let grow out more than usual over the last few months.

True to form, he had her at the edge of ecstasy within moments. She was staggered by the pleasure she felt building abruptly in her core and cried out his name when her orgasm hit, her hips bucking roughly against his tongue.

Her eyes were closed and she was still drifting on the waves of the aftermath when she felt his thick length slip into her and the surge began to build again. The feel of his hard flesh filling her was so overwhelming she couldn't even begin to describe it, but it felt incredible. It seemed like everything felt incredible now. She assumed it was just hormonal, but it very well could have been the elation of them being alive and the war finally being over.

She gasped and opened her eyes to look at him. He was gazing back at her intently, the look of utter tenderness in his eyes so strong she found it impossible to look away.

"Take off your shirt," she whispered, needing to see more of him. She wanted to touch him, but the logistics of their lovemaking had gradually become more complicated lately, so she had to take what she could get. The sight and feel of him moving inside her was certainly enough to keep her primed.

He paused his thrusting and stripped his shirt off over his head, tossing it over the windshield into the front seat of the car, leaving his silver dog tags to jangle against his bare, tanned chest.

He had her legs draped over each of his arms and was slowly thrusting into her as she lay back on the hood of the car, her swollen belly prominent between them.

"James," she said, and it came out almost as a plea. He just smiled at her in response and slipped his hand down her thigh between them as though anticipating her needs.

"Yes," she sighed when he began to stroke her again. "But go slow. I just want to feel you inside me for awhile. You feel so good."

"Anything you want, Lola," he said, and he closed his eyes and began moving his hips against hers again, thrusting more slowly and teasing at her velvety bud gently with his fingertips.

She watched his sculpted muscles flex as he undulated his hips against hers. Her eyes drifted over the hard, smooth lines of his body and settled on his face, watching his parted lips as he panted slowly with each steady, deep thrust. His brow furrowed and she felt his movements increase in tempo. She gasped and arched her back at the more intense attention he began giving her throbbing bud.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I love you, Lola," he whispered. She gasped out a frantic cry as her climax seized her suddenly for the second time. Her legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him against her tightly and she heard his own rough cry and felt his thick sex pulsing inside her as he was carried over the edge of his own orgasm.

He stood breathing heavily for a moment before pulling out of her and fastening up his pants. He found a clean towel from a nearby basket of laundry and handed it to her.

"You're not thinking of driving to Vancouver are you?" she asked as she cleaned up and adjusted her clothing, then retrieved her panties and put them back on.

James looked at her with a hurt expression. "Babe..."

"Not that I'd object, but we are kindof on a deadline?" she gestured at her swollen belly.

"Don't worry, we'll get there in time. But I do plan to go for a drive. The nearest port that's anything close to functional is in San Francisco. We just have to get her there, and get her on a ship to Vancouver."

"Are the highways even clear between here and there?" she asked.

"Clear enough," he said. "Most of the Coast Highway north of LA was untouched, and the highways outside San Francisco are passable now, at least. But we could go anywhere, youknow. We don't have to go to Vancouver."

They'd been over this. It had been their first true argument as a married couple - where to settle down. He'd made the idle suggestion for to retire completely after they were finally able to leave London, to stay home and raise their child when it came. She'd looked at him like he had two heads and he'd instantly realized his mistake and backpedaled.

"We do have to go to Vancouver. We're soldiers, James," she said. "It's in our blood... you know this. And now more than ever I need to be available. The best I can do is take a position that will allow us to at least stay in one place."

He gave her a resigned look when he said, "But a Councilor is hardly a soldier. You hate bureaucracy."

"It will give me the flexibility I need right now. The flexibility we need. I can do this job from anywhere. Once the baby is old enough of course I'll have to travel more, but now that the war is over I have to do what I can to help. And we'll be close enough to the base for you to work, too."

"Where is this cabin of your parents' anyway? Sounds like it's out in the boonies somewhere..." he asked, skeptical.

"Well, it's ours now, thanks to Mom. It's only about half an hour from Vancouver by shuttle. A hundred miles, give or take. It's... peaceful there, and was outside the zone of Reaper destruction."

"I thought you said you'd never been there."

"I haven't, but I've seen pictures. There's an aspen grove and a lake, and no neighbors for miles. It looks peaceful."

He chuckled at her, but didn't argue.

"Hop in," he said, opening the car door for her. "Let's take this baby for a spin."

When she settled herself in the front seat and he closed the door he leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss, then trotted around to the driver's side and punched the button to raise the garage door.

When he started the engine and revved it, it made a low, rumbling purr.

"That's what I'm talkin' about," he said and looked at her with child-like enthusiasm before pulling out into the sunny California afternoon.

ooOoo

100 miles east of Vancouver, Six Years Later.

Hope Shepard was the daughter of a legend, but she didn't know it yet. All she knew was that today was a big day and her sister and best friend would be here soon.

"Mama! When is Zia and Robbie getting here?" she asked exitedly, peaking her face up over the kitchen counter where her mother was busy with preparations for their guests.

"When are Zia and Robbie getting here," her mother corrected her.

Hope made a face and sighed.

"Okay, when are Zia and Robbie getting here?"

"Soon," her mother said cryptically.

She heard the familiar whine of a shuttle descending outside and her big blue eyes lit up.

"They're here!" she gasped and ran towards the back of the house, her little black curl of a ponytail trailing behind her. She stampeded out the back door that opened onto the huge landing pad behind the house, her mother following close behind.

It was a 'reunion', her mother had told her, and that meant all their old friends were going to be here drinking and talking about boring grown up stuff, but it also meant she got to see her friends and she was eager to show them the new things she'd found in the grove.

Her dad was already standing out on the landing pad directing the pilot where to land. When she ran up to him, he immediately lifted her up and set her on his broad shoulders.

"Hey, mi'ja. Remember the signals I taught you?" he asked.

"Yep!" she said enthusiastically and began mimicking his earlier motions with her own small arms, indicating where the shuttle should position to avoid the trees that bordered the landing pad on three sides.

A few moments later the shuttle powered down and the doors opened up.

Several people exited and she tapped her dad on the head insistently. "Let me down!"

He laughed and agilely reached up to grip her beneath her arms and set her on the ground again. She ran at once to the little Asari girl who had stepped out of the shuttle next to a small, dark-haired human boy. She spoke urgently to them both and within moments the three were running off among the slender white trunks of the sunlit aspen grove behind the house.

ooOoo

"She's been bouncing off the walls all morning," Shepard said as she sidled up next to James and they watched their daughter run off into the woods with her sister. Little Robbie Alenko trailed closely behind the two girls.

"Well, hopefully she'll burn off all that energy over the next couple days," he said, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her forward to greet their guests.

Liara was the first to step forward and embrace Shepard and James in turn. Javik was beside her with a small bundle in a sling across his torso that Shepard realized suddenly was a baby.

"Liara! I didn't even know you were pregnant!"

Her friend looked a little embarrassed. "It was a spur of the moment thing. Zia misses her sister so much during the year, we decided we would have another one sooner rather than later, and I had to time it so she'd arrive before our trip."

"This is Janiri," Javik said, his deep voice infused with reverence. He offered the small blue bundle to Shepard, who took her gingerly.

"We call her Janie," Liara explained. Shepard gazed into the small Asari's deep blue eyes. She was exquisite and made a bubbling coo as she looked up at Shepard.

"Congratulations to both of you," she said, looking at both Liara and Javik in turn. She gently handed the child back to her father.

"How are you two settling in on Thessia?"

"As well as can be expected," Liara said. "There is still so much to do to rebuild, but things have come a long way. Of course you already know what's happening in the rest of the galaxy, with your connections. Oh! Here's something you probably don't know: Javik and I are writing a book. It's called 'Journeys with the Prothean.' I think it's a love story but he thinks its an exploration of Prothean history. I'll send you a copy when it's finished."

"What about your other side project?" Shepard asked, being deliberately vague.

Liara smiled mysteriously. "I'm sure you know how that's going as well, but your idea to decentralize was a good one. The new network is in place. Harper's former organization is being re-branded under Miranda's leadership and will serve as our primary revenue stream. But most information sharing will continue to follow the same procedures as before. No need to alert the assets that things have changed."

"That's good to hear, Liara," Shepard said. Her friend's resourcefulness never ceased to amaze her.

"Well, I'm happy that you reconsidered our partnership. It will be nice to work with you again, Zoe, even if it is only sporadically," she said warmly.

Liara and Javik moved away and Shepard watched for a second as her friends headed into the large, sprawling 'cabin' that had become home for her little family over the past six years. Before she and James had arrived, she'd only seen pictures of the house and none of the angles of the shots had prepared her for the size of it. It had taken her almost a year to get accustomed to having so much space to move around in for a change, after living her entire life on ships. She'd knocked around it almost aimlessly for the last few months of her pregnancy, preferring to stay outside where she could see the sky as opposed to indoors in its massive rooms.

James had finally taken the initiative on prepping the nursery, showing up one day after N7 training with furniture and cans of paint. "We're about to have a kid, you know. It wouldn't kill us to be prepared."

Their attempt at preparation had resulted in him finger-painting silly things on her massively swollen belly after making love amidst the dropcloths on the floor of the room they had chosen to be Hope's.

When Hope was three, James had suggested more kids and Shepard had immediately shot him down. "One little bundle of energy is enough, I think." But his other suggestion had made sense: Have a get-together once a year and invite her old crew to stay with them for an extended visit. This was their third annual reunion so far, and each one had served as a reminder of how far they had come and how much they truly had to be thankful for.

Steve and Kaidan stepped towards her and greeted her with warm embraces.

"How's my ship, Commander?" Shepard said teasingly.

Kaidan laughed. "She's doing well Councilor," he shot back, then his tone grew wistful. "It isn't the same without you. Or EDI. We did finally talk Joker into joining us this year, at least." Kaidan gestured with his chin to a tall, bearded man in a baseball cap. He was standing across the landing pad chatting animatedly with James who had left her side to greet the other guests while she talked with Liara.

Shepard laughed out loud when she saw her old pilot. "That's fantastic! What did you have to do to get him away from the Citadel for leave?"

"Well, I had a little help from Tali and EDI, actually. He said he wasn't going anywhere on leave where EDI couldn't go with him, so Tali engineered a little QEC Holo-Comm. He'll have to show it to you."

As they were looking at Joker, the pilot lifted his arm and tapped on his omni-tool. A second later a life-sized holographic image of EDI coalesced into existence beside him and waved hello to James. Shepard laughed when she saw James' reaction; she could clearly see him mouth the words: "Holy shit! That's awesome! Hi EDI!"

"Well, there you go," Kaidan said with a laugh.

"She changed her hair... among other things," Shepard commented as she looked at the image of Normandy's former AI, who was dressed in a flowing ankle-length summer dress, with straight, long hair drifting down her back. She saw Joker's hand rise up and hover at her insubstantial waist for a second before dropping again abruptly. Shepard thought she caught a slight look of chagrin pass across his face. He was still clearly adjusting to being away from EDI for extended periods.

"I'm glad you convinced him to keep piloting the Normandy. She's still his ship, too, even if she's 'lost her soul', as he puts it."

At that point the entire crowd seemed to start gravitating towards the house and they followed. They'd set up a wet bar on their huge deck overlooking the lake and Joker immediately took residence behind it and started mixing and serving, while EDI's image provided him constant company.

She took a moment to reach out to Hope with her mind and laughed when she saw the three kids stripped down to their underwear and playing in a sunny patch of mud on the shore of the lake not far from the house. She'd have to remember to get a bath ready for them before sunset.

She grabbed a beer and saw Kaidan leaning on the deck railing and began making her way to him to continue their conversation. She was distracted halfway by a lilting, accented voice calling her name.

"Shepard!"

She turned and saw Tali's slight, curvy figure dressed in a halter top and a pair of low-cut pants that hugged her full hips. Her waist-length brown hair drifted softly in the light breeze coming off the lake. Garrus wasn't far behind her.

She hugged both of them and they moved to find seats nearby. As they were sitting, Shepard's nostrils caught a subtle smell of something burning and she saw Garrus perk up.

"Smells like Jimmy might be lighting things on fire... I'd better go supervise," he said, standing with determination and leaving her sitting with Tali.

Tali laughed, "I guess he couldn't stomach girl talk."

"Nah, I suppose he thinks he needs to calibrate the grills," Shepard laughed.

Tali said, "He is very conscientious about our diets since we've been here. It's not easy to find dextro food on Earth without importing it. We've actually started growing our own on Rannoch."

Tali laughed softly and said almost incredulously, "Shepard, I think we're becoming farmers. He wants to start mass production of dextro produce. I tried to tell him the Liveships could handle it, but he wouldn't hear it. It turns out the climate on Rannoch is ideal. Lots of sun. Although I suppose I understand his urgency considering the state Palaven is in. They're still having a rough time with recovery and rebuilding. I never thought it would be easier for the Quarians, but starting from scratch is certainly less stressful than trying to pick up the pieces."

Tali looked at Shepard almost beseechingly.

"Maybe the council can do something," Shepard said. They had to, she thought.

The new council had been far more effective than the old one, which she was thankful for, but she couldn't help but feel like she was the senior member. The previous council members had all been in the Embassies on the Citadel the day the Reapers had taken it, and had all been killed before she had gotten there. The new members were still green, but had been tempered by the war. They weren't fools and they didn't hesitate to act when something needed doing, but she still got the sense they looked to her far too often for an indication of the proper course of action. She would have to take advantage of her position and put Palaven on the table at the next meeting.

"How's the new house coming along?" Shepard asked, taking a swig from her beer.

Tali sighed and her eyes grew dreamy. "Only another month or two and we can move in. Hopefully Garrus' farming plans will be on their feet by then and we can take some time off. He has someone good in charge at least... Zen'Vael. He was the assistant to our lead botanist on the Liveships. He has a team of Geth helping, too." She laughed softly, "It still feels so strange to say that."

Tali took a sip of her Quarian cocktail and gazed out over the clear surface of the lake that stretched beyond the railing of the deck. Shepard propped her bare feet up on the empty seat Garrus had vacated and enjoyed the scenery. Having all her old friends around her again just felt right.

A while later a deep, rumbling voice spoke from behind her. "Mind if I join you for a bit, sweetness?"

Shepard turned her head up in surprise to see Black, clad in a leather jumpsuit and carrying a sleek-looking helmet.

"Black! When did you get here?" she jumped up and he embraced her in a huge bear hug.

"I had some business in Vancouver yesterday, so I decided I'd take advantage of the nice weather and ride out this morning. It's amazing countryside; the world actually looks normal the farther you get from the cities."

He began unzipping his leathers and pulling them off, leaving him in casual attire. He wore a snug black t-shirt and denim jeans above a pair of sturdy black boots. The shirt accented his broad, muscular chest and revealed the intricate black tattoos that adorned both his arms down to the wrists.

"So, how does it feel to be officially retired now?" she smirked at him. She pulled an empty chair around for him to sit in, then grabbed two fresh beers and handed him one.

Black laughed softly. "It's not like I was hiding from the Alliance before. They just didn't put much effort into finding me, and I didn't bother making it easy for them. Funny thing is they actually owed me a shitload of back pay. So I bought myself a toy..." he gestured at the riding gear resting on the railing beside him. "And I thought while I was in the neighborhood I'd drop in on some old friends. So here I am." He grinned at her and settled back in his seat, taking a long swig as he gazed around at the scenery.

"Well, I wasn't sure you'd actually make it, but I'm glad you did," she said.

"This is some place you've got here, Shepard. How'd you pull this off?"

She shrugged. "It's been in the family for awhile. Mom deeded it to us as a wedding gift. She and dad never lived here though. I think it must have been a couple generations since any Shepard actually stepped foot in it before we moved in. But it feels good to have the place full of people once in awhile."

Black just nodded and looked around for a few minutes, silently enjoying his cold beer and the view. Shepard noticed his eyes lingering on a solitary female figure leaning on the deck railing several yards away.

"You remember Karin from the wedding, don't you?" Shepard asked out of the blue.

Black looked at her, blinking in confusion. "Karin who?"

Shepard smiled knowingly and nodded in the direction he'd been looking. "Karin Chakwas. She's the Normandy's resident doctor, and a good friend. I can introduce you again if you want."

"Ah, that's Karin," he said and chuckled. "I admit I don't remember much from your wedding day. That whole week was a blur for me, what with getting sucked back into the Alliance and all. Besides, that was six years ago. A lot has happened since then."

Shepard nodded in understanding. A lot had happened in the last six years. Most of it had been an improvement over the previous few years, but there had been far too many deaths to mourn as well. She and James had resolved to keep looking to the future and that had gotten them through the worst of it. Having each other didn't hurt, either.

"Anyway," Black said with a shrug, "I'm a grown man. I can introduce myself."

Shepard studied him for a moment in amusement as he continued to sit, watching the other woman from afar.

"She doesn't bite, you know. And I'm sure she'd like the company," Shepard said teasingly, nudging him slightly with one bare foot. She wondered how long it had been since he'd actually had a conversation with a grown woman as intelligent and together as Karin was. Black glared at her and grumbled something under his breath before abruptly standing and striding with purpose across the deck.

She and Tali laughed out loud as they watched him go.

ooOoo

Hope was engrossed in building a mini mud fortress with her sister and Robbie when she paused and tilted her head to one side.

"My dad's coming," she said. The other two children both turned their heads to look into the empty woods behind them.

"How d'you know?" Robbie asked, his eyes wide.

"The trees said so. Your dad's coming, too, Robbie. That must mean it's suppertime, mmm. Ew, and bathtime, too."

"That's silly," Zia said. "Trees can't talk."

"Can, too. They talk to me all the time."

"Can not," Zia said sticking her little blue tongue out at her sister.

"Which dad?" Robbie said. "I have two dads."

"Well I have three dads," Zia said sticking her tongue out at Robbie. "Besides, yours aren't real dads because you're adopted."

"They are, too! They showed me the piece of paper that says it," the little boy objected with indignation.

A second later the little Asari's eyes grew big when the two grown-ups in question appeared as her sister had predicted from between the pale, uniform trunks of the aspen trees that surrounded them.

"What are you little monkeys getting into?" Hope's dad asked. He swooped down and Hope felt herself being flipped upside down. She giggled uncontrollably when he started tickling her.

"S-stop it!" she cried through her laughter.

"I gotta get the mud off you, mi'ja. I figure tickling is the best way to do it. Unless you want a bath, of course."

"I'll take a bath! I promise!" she giggled.

Zia let out a yelp of excitement and wrapped herself around James' lower leg while Robbie got similar tickle treatment from Steve, who then set the boy up onto his shoulders and stooped to gather up their still mostly clean pile of discarded clothing.

There was a barrage of childish chatter as the three all started asking questions at once.

Steve laughed and said, "Hold on, one at a time or we can't hear you."

Zia spoke up first from her spot atop James' large foot. "Papa James, tell Hope trees can't talk."

James was thoughtful for a second while he navigated the path back to the house under the burden of several small limbs gripping his head and his right leg.

"What were the trees saying, mi'ja?" he asked, tilting his head to look up at Hope where she sat upon his shoulders.

She shrugged. "They don't say words. Just pictures in my head. Sometimes sounds. I could see you and Uncle Steve walking down the path is all."

"Well, sometimes they talk to me, too," James said, looking down at the little blue child attached to his leg. "And maybe someday they'll talk to you, too, cariño."

Robbie interjected, eager to get his own words in, "Tell Zia she doesn't have three dads!"

Steve laughed out loud and looked at James through the small fingers that were almost covering his eyes. "You'd better answer that one, man."

James' brow furrowed as he tried to figure out how to deal with the question. "Well, technically she does, I guess. She has me, and Hope's mama, and Javik. But Javik is kindof like her adopted dad."

James laughed when he saw the little boy wrinkle his forehead as he tried to grasp the complexity of what he'd just proposed.

"You'll understand it better when you're older, chiquito."

ooOoo

Several hours later Shepard made her way through the nearly quiet house turning off lights and closing doors and windows as she went. The kids were thoroughly bathed and tucked in, exhausted, in the pair of bunk beds in Hope's room. Most of the guests were retired or in the process of retiring as well.

Javik and Liara and the baby were in the guest house behind the garage, the others in their own respective rooms they'd claimed over the past few years of visits. Steve and Kaidan stayed near the kids at the same end of the sprawling upper floor as James and Shepard's room. Tali and Garrus were in a room at the far end. Karin had always preferred the finished attic room on the third floor; "It has the best morning light, and a fantastic view of the sunrise over the lake. Plus, that little porch up there is to die for," she'd said the first time she'd visited.

This would be the first year that all the rooms were occupied, Shepard realized after showing Black and Joker to their own rooms. It felt good to have a full crew again. She laughed a little to herself at the thought. Always the Commander. I suppose I'll never get that out of my blood.

She was coming around the landing of the large staircase when she saw Black a flight ahead of her, heading up to the next floor with a bottle in one hand and two glasses in another.

"Black?" she asked as she came up the last few steps to the second floor. "Your room is down the hall here..."

"Um... yeah... I know," he said gruffly. He paused and looked down at her, fidgeted slightly, then glanced back up the stairs. When Shepard saw his ears flush brightly his intentions finally dawned on her. She looked more closely at the bottle to confirm her suspicion, then up the stairs to the next landing. A grin spread slowly across her face.

"Good move with the brandy... she'll like that," she said, nodding towards the bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy in his fist.

He gave her a crooked smile and said, "Thanks, sweetness."

She responded with a small salute and headed down the hall to meet James in their room.