Chapter Text
“I….I don’t understand.”
Liara’s not entirely sure how she’s even managing to speak right now, because everything’s just happening so fast in her head, even if it’s all slowed down right now between her and Shepard.
Shepard says something, but Liara can’t quite catch it, brow furrowing as she leans forward. Shepard’s face falls at that, and she visibly swallows, nodding her head over to the screen beside her.
“Oh,” Liara gets out, and she hates herself for saying that a second later, because it makes Shepard look even sadder. “I want to keep holding your hand, but I think we can make this work,” Liara teases, getting a small smile from Shepard for her efforts.
She can’t go over to the other side of the bed, because she doesn’t want to hurt Shepard’s right arm, so instead Liara gets up and grabs a chair that’s against the wall, bringing it over and sitting around where Shepard’s knee is. She’s still close enough so that, when she plops down in it, she can hold Shepard’s hand and see the screen, and she just gives her bondmate another soft smile.
“I said that I don’t understand either,” Shepard says, Liara watching the screen for a second before going back to Shepard’s face.
It’s hard, because she wants to watch Shepard - she always wants to watch Shepard - but she actually needs to know what she’s saying, and it all just hits Liara’s heart so hard.
“What happened?” Liara asks, because this whole time - ever since they learned that Shepard was alive - she’s been trying to figure it out, and she just doesn’t understand in the slightest.
Shepard was up there on the Citadel. Somehow she landed back on Earth, and the fall alone would obviously kill you. Shepard looks worse for wear, but it should be far worse, and it’s more than a little confusing.
“I….” Shepard stops herself, and Liara feels even worse for how pained Shepard looks at the question. “Can we talk about something else? I don’t really want to….not yet.”
“Of course, Shepard,” Liara smiles, nodding her head. It’ll probably be something that they need to talk about at some point, sure, but for now, the important thing is that Shepard’s here, and that she’s alive. “Traynor’s been taking care of your hamster.”
Goddess , is that really the thing that she chooses to say next?
It makes Shepard smile though, so it apparently wasn’t the worst decision.
“Hamsterus Vakarian is okay?” Shepard teases, and Liara giggles at that, remembering the naming process for the aforementioned hamster, as well as Garrus’ reaction.
“I still refuse to call him that,” she grins, and Shepard chuckles - or she tries to chuckle, but it’s mostly just her chest heaving - it only making Liara smile brighter. “Traynor’s…..it helped her, I think. She’s made sure that he’s very well fed.”
“I assume the fish aren’t….”
“The tank didn’t survive the crash,” Liara explains, and Shepard frowns, Liara smoothing her thumb over Shepard’s hand to relax her a little. “Traynor cleaned them up. She buried them, I think.”
“So just the fish and….and EDI,” Shepard explains, and even if Liara’s brow furrows at that, because she’s not sure how Shepard could have known, she also doesn’t want Shepard to feel bad about something that she probably couldn’t have controlled.
“There’s nothing you could have done, Shepard,” she smiles, but judging by the pain that she sees on Shepard’s face, it wasn’t the right thing to say.
“There was,” Shepard states, and that confuses Liara even more. Shepard didn’t want to talk about the Catalyst though, so she doesn’t press any further.
“You already saw Garrus, but Kaidan is here too. And Doctor Chakwas, but she’s probably talking with your doctor,” Liara reasons, Shepard nodding her head. “Tali really wanted to come and see you, but we didn’t have space. She’s trying to reach Miranda, to see if she can help.”
“She’ll have to deal with me being here the whole time though,” Liara smiles, and Shepard just returns it, looking more than a little relieved.
“Thank you, Liara,” Shepard offers, even if there’s something else clearly on her mind, and Liara plans to give her time to voice that.
“Can we….I know that it might not be fun for you because there’s a lot of stuff in my head right now, but could we….”
Liara’s not used to Shepard sounding so defeated, and it breaks her heart even more.
The idea that this might not just be physical, and is probably more than a little mental.
She obviously knew that it would have some impact on Shepard, but it’s still jarring to see her confidence shaken like it so clearly is.
“Of course, Shepard. You never need to ask for that.”
With that, Liara closes her eyes.
“Embrace Eternity”.
The first thing that Liara notices is that Shepard looks how she used to.
Part of it is probably practical, sure. She might not be able to stand in her current state, or maybe she hasn’t seen herself in the mirror. Regardless, this is probably just how Shepard’s mind remembers Shepard, and for that reason, she looks as if nothing ever happened.
“ Shepard ,” Liara says, and she sees Shepard turn to her, a smile on her face as she takes a step forward.
“ Liara ,” her bondmate says in return, looking over at her right hand for a second before her gaze turns back to Liara. “I haven’t been able to speak in months. Or walk. Or see clearly.”
“ Oh Shepard ,” Liara sighs, heart hurting even more. She can tell that Shepard feels that though, because she winces, and Liara quickly pushes all her love for Shepard to the forefront of her mind. “ I should have been there with you .”
“You’re okay, Liara. That’s all I wanted ,” Shepard smiles, and Liara feels the truthfulness and conviction behind that statement. “ What happened happened . I’m just happy that you’re okay, and that you’re here.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily ,” Liara teases, and Shepard laughs, that feeling of happiness bubbling up again from her.
“ I wouldn’t dream of it, Shadow Broker,” Shepard teases, Liara giggling and pushing as much of that giddiness that she’s feeling towards Shepard.
Shepard deserves to feel good things right now, and if Liara can help with that, just a little bit, she’s more than happy to.
Shepard deserves all that, and more.
“ That’s good. I don’t have any of my agents to send after you, so I’d just have to track you down myself.”
“Well that just sounds like a good time ,” Shepard teases, and there’s some of that hidden humour bubbling up. “ Liara, I…..I know you’re busy, and you probably have to re-establish your network, so if you have stuff to do, I don’t expect you to….”
“I’m staying with you, Shepard ,” Liara stops her, because she can feel Shepard’s fear and anxiety about her potentially leaving, and that’s not what she wants right now, not at all. “ You’re more important than any of that. I’m not leaving you, ever again.”
“ I almost left you ,” Shepard responds, and all Liara can feel is the shame and guilt that Shepard has over that.
There’s a lot of it, and Liara tries to counter it with love, pushing forward everything that she feels for Shepard.
It’s a lot, and she can see Shepard visibly stagger, eyes wide as she looks back at Liara.
“ That…..that’s a lot,” Shepard gets out, and Liara can’t do anything but smile softly at that, nodding her head.
Shepard sighs as she looks over at Liara, the two of them still hand in hand.
Liara hasn’t left in the three hours since she got here, and Shepard’s bondmate is now asleep in her chair, curled up into an adorable blue ball. She hasn’t removed her hand from Shepard’s yet - hasn’t since the second she sat down in that chair - and Shepard can’t help the smile that comes to her face.
She’s smiled more in the past three hours than she has in two months.
Even if they’ve only just been connected, Liara’s been….she’s been incredible.
Not that that’s a big surprise or anything, because Liara’s always been incredible.
The benefit of the melding though, is that neither of them can hide. They can’t mask their feelings before the other person experiences them, nor can they hide the strength of their positive emotions. Plus, as long as it doesn’t hurt Liara, it’s just more practical right now so that they can talk.
But, the feelings that Liara shared.....
That was love.
Liara T’Soni is in love with her, and that makes everything a hell of a lot better.
They were in the meld for a long time though, longer than they ever have been before, and it obviously took a lot out of Liara, considering she’s been sound asleep for an hour now. Shepard wouldn’t have asked to stay in it as long as they did if she had known what it would do to Liara, but her bondmate obviously didn’t say anything, because she’s selfless like that.
Shepard wanted to join her in falling asleep - Liara had asked her to try - but she just couldn't. Even with Liara’s hand in hers, the nightmares are still there, and she doesn’t want to wake Liara up, so she just watches her sleep instead.
She watches how peaceful Liara looks. How satisfied the little smile on her face is, hand loosely in Shepard’s one good one. She has bags under her eyes that Shepard didn’t notice until now, and although the chair can’t be comfortable, she hopes that Liara manages to get the sleep that she deserves.
Lord knows that Liara deserves all that she wants, and then some.
She’s pulled from her thoughts by a light knock at the door, Chakwas standing there with a folder in hand.
“Shepard,” she states with a nod, Shepard doing her best to return it. She’s tired though - both mentally and physically - and she doesn't want to jostle Liara too much with any movement, so it’s just a weak little thing.
“I was talking to your Doctor….she’s adequate. Did the best she could with what they had here,” Chakwas notes, eyes flitting over to where Liara and Shepard are hand in hand. “Liara needs you as much as you need her, I imagine.”
“Is she okay?” Shepard gets out, because she’s imagined what happened to Liara more times than she could help while she’s been holed up here, but it’s a completely different thing to actually know what she was going through.
“As well as can be expected, considering she thought that she’d lost you,” Chakwas reasons, coming over to the opposite side of the bed. “She’s strong, Commander. But that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t need you.”
Shepard just nods at that, eyes flitting over to Liara again.
“So what’s the damage?” She asks, gaze flitting back to Chakwas.
“What isn’t, is the better question,” Chakwas muses as she opens up the folder in her hand. “They’ve done good work on your bullet wound and the infection, it looks like. You’re not experiencing any fever or any similar illness?”
“No. No, nothing like that,” Shepard reassures, and Chakwas hums, writing something down on the paper that she’s looking at.
“The ribs are….oh, it appears that you’ve joined the land of the living, Doctor,” Chakwas shifts, and Shephard’s gaze flits over to where Liara is stirring a bit, still hand in hand.
“What’s….what’s going on?” Liara asks, sitting up a little bit straighter as she uses her free hand to rub her eyes. “Is everything okay?”
“We’re just going over the Commander’s current status,” Chakwas reaffirms, eyes flitting to Shepard a second later. She’s obviously asking if it’s okay that Liara’s here, because it is about Shepard’s health, but the two of them are so far beyond that, so Shepard just shrugs her shoulders.
“Well, we had already discussed Shepard’s recovery from her bullet wound,” Chakwas starts, and Shepard can feel the visible sigh of relief that comes from Liara through their hand holding. “Likewise, your ribs should heal similarly to how they have in the past. I know that you’re no stranger to broken ribs.”
“Timeline on it?” Shepard asks, and she can see Liara scoot over a bit so that she can better see the screen while still holding hands, which makes Shepard feel that twinge of shame all over again.
“Well, broken ribs typically take between one to two months, and you’ve already been here for approximately two,” Chakwas explains, Shepard seeing Liara nodding along with Chakwas’ evaluation. “I had expected with Cerberus’ enhancements, you’d heal faster, although with the trauma you’ve experienced, and the fact that you were in a coma….I’m a little out of my element regarding the Cerberus technology, but you should be healed soon.”
“Did Tali reach Miranda?” Shepard asks, because she’s really the only person that knows now, with Cerberus gone.
“I believe Garrus said that she was able to, and that she was on Earth. He or Tali can confirm that with you though,” Chakwas continues. “Right now is about you, Commander. As will the foreseeable future.”
“Regardless of how much you want to help,” Liara comments, earning her a sly little grin from Shepard. “I know you’ll want to, but the galaxy can wait for once, Shepard.”
“Liara…” Shepard starts, but she gets cut off with a firm shake of the head.
“Do it for me?” Liara counters, and that’s always been Shepard’s undoing.
“Cheating,” she grumbles, giving Liara one last smile before she turns back to Chakwas, who’s just watching them with a bemused expression on her face.
“I’ll let you two work out the logistics,” Chakwas deadpans, and Liara flushes that pretty purple that she always does. “Your vocal chords should likely recover on their own, considering the work that’s already been done. Although I imagine Miranda will have further input.”
“Your eyes are...a different matter,” Chakwas states, and Shepard can feel Liara tense again. “The procedures that they performed were archaic, frankly, but given their resources, they had very little choice, it seems.”
“My sight has been getting better,” Shepard explains, Liara frowning out of the corner of her eye. “I wouldn’t have been able to clearly see Liara where she’s sitting a couple of weeks ago.”
“Can you see Doctor Chakwas?” Liara asks, that adorable furrow in her brow being there as she thinks things over.
“More or less,” Shepard shrugs, and that definitely doesn’t help Liara’s forehead crease. “I can make out most of your features, but it’s just not as clear as it used to be.”
“I see,” Chakwas scribbles more down, clearly just adding her own notes. “Well, I’ll need to take a more thorough look at them soon. And I’m sure Miranda will want to. With the work she did over your eyes already, combined with the procedures already done here…..it’s tentative, if they’ll ever truly be the same.”
“Would I pass the Alliance visual test?” Shepard asks, and she can see Chakwas about to respond before Liara steps in.
“Shepard…” She says as she strokes the back of Shepard’s hand, in a way that she knows calms Shepard down. “That can wait, can’t it?”
“Yeah...yeah I guess,” Shepard sighs, even if the idea of not being able to get back to active duty is more than a little frightening.
“We can discuss that further once Miranda arrives,” Chakwas explains, Liara giving her a small smile of thanks. “Your left ankle is in a similar state. We can discuss the specifics later, but the work could have been done better. There’s the potential for chronic pain and it may affect your gait. But again, I’m not well-versed in the Cerberus tech that Miranda used, but I know the healing process, and it’s not at the state that we’d want it to be in, right now.”
Shepard can see that Liara wants to meld with her right now, to push all her love and support to her bondmate. She wants to accept it too, because this is so fucking hard, learning about how she might no longer be able to be the thing that she’s been all her life.
Chakwas still hasn’t talked about the big one yet though, and Shepard figures they should at least discuss it a little bit now, since it’ll only get worse.
“Your arm is…..frankly, Commander, I don’t even think Miranda can save it. There’s nothing to save, at this point.”
“Are we….are we talking about amputation then?” Shepard asks, and she can feel the tears stinging at her eyes now. Liara must sense that too, because she gets out of the chair and moves to sit on the edge of Shepard’s bed, pressing lightly into her side, so as to not hurt her ribs.
“Shepard….” Liara starts, but, as much as Shepard loves Liara, she can’t deal with platitudes right now.
“Doc.”
“We are, most likely, looking at amputation and a prosthetic if you want the arm to function properly, Commander. From what I can tell, there was very little chance to save it from the start. It’s best to...it’s best to amputate sooner rather than later, to prevent any potential complications.”
“Yeah….yeah, I get it,” Shepard sighs, looking down at her arm. It hasn’t gotten better since she’s been here, she knows that much, and even if she’s been dreading Chakwas’ decision, it’s the one that makes sense. “When would we do it?”
“Shepard….”
Shepard ignores Liara again, for just a second, because she can’t deal with the sympathy that she knows she’ll find in those eyes.
“Karin, please.”
“The sooner the better, Commander. I’ll leave the prosthetic itself to Miranda or Tali, but the actual amputation itself should be done as quickly as possible.”
“Can you do it?” Shepard asks, taking another shaky breath. “They’ve done right by me here, but can you do it?”
“Of course, Commander,” Chakwas says, Shepard feeling Liara’s eyes on her the entire time.
Liara takes a breath as she closes the door behind her, Shepard as asleep as she’s going to get right now.
She doesn’t like leaving her alone like this, she really really doesn’t, but she needs to eat, and hopefully Shepard won’t even know that she’s gone.
Shepard’s been…..she’s been quiet.
Ever since Doctor Chakwas talked to her about amputation, she’s been quiet. Liara understands why, and she can’t even fathom what must be going through Shepard’s mind when she thinks about it, but she just wishes that Shepard would talk to her more.
Shepard’s not closed off in her personal life, necessarily. She’s as open with Liara as she probably is with anyone, but it's when they’re alone that Shepard really lets her guard down and shows all her fears and worries.
Right now though, even if they’re in the hospital, the crew is around, and Liara thinks that Shepard’s trying to keep at least some modicum of the hierarchy in place.
She’s still trying to be the Commander.
Liara figures that a meld will help her voice her thoughts - or show her thoughts, rather - but Shepard needs to sleep first and Liara needs a bit more energy before they do that again.
So, she finds herself outside Shepard’s room, taking a breath as she makes her way to find the crew, knowing that Tali and Vega brought some food with them when they came to the hospital on another shuttle.
It’s not hard to find them, since even if they’re being quiet and the people excited to see them have gone away momentarily, they’re still such a presence that it only takes Liara a couple minutes to find the big room that they’re all stuffed into.
Tali sees her first and stands up, wringing her hands nervously in front of herself.
“How is she?” She asks, and Liara shudders, eyes flitting to Garrus for a second.
“I mentioned the voice-to-text screen, but nothing else,” Garrus explains, and Liara sighs, nodding her head.
“She’s….is Miranda coming?” Liara asks Tali, who clearly blinks for a second before she nods.
“Yes….yes, we were able to get in contact with her,” Tali explains, and Liara breathes a sigh of relief. “She’s on her way and should be here in a couple days. She’s in London, so it won’t take long.”
“Why do we need Miri?” Vega asks, and his nickname for Miranda would generally make Liara chuckle, but not today.
“She rebuilt Shepard last time,” Garrus supplies, jogging Vega’s memory enough that he nods. “She probably knows Shepard’s body better than anyone.”
“Almost better than anyone,” Liara mutters, just barely able to crack a smile at Vega’s chuckle.
“Shepard…..her arm is….they’re amputating,” Liara states, Tali’s loud gasp and Vega’s ‘shit’ taking up all the air in the room.
“Keelah…..” Tali gets out, wringing her hands even more nervously as she looks down. “And we need Miranda…..we need her for the prosthetic,” she finishes, although Liara can tell that she’s holding back tears.
“Shepard asked Doctor Chakwas to perform the surgery. She’ll want to talk to you and Miranda about prosthetics after,” Liara continues, Tali taking a breath as she nods. “For Shepard’s sake….the less time that she’s without it, the better.”
Garrus nods at that, and Liara knows that he’s thinking the same thing that she is.
Shepard’s body is in ruins right now, and they don’t need her mind to join it. Having her prosthetic arm attached as quickly as possible following the amputation will help quell that, and will help reinforce that she hasn’t changed.
That she’s still Shepard.
“Fucking fuck!” Vega grumbles to himself, pacing a little bit behind them. “Is she okay?”
Liara’s surprised that Vega’s the one who asks that, and she can’t help her soft smile at his concern. “Doctor Chakwas seems to think that they did as good of a job as they could have, helping her. Although I suspect Miranda will have some less than charitable comments.”
“When do you...when do you think Shepard….will she want company?” Tali asks, and Liara takes another breath, because she’s not entirely sure.
“I….I’ll ask Shepard, but I think that she might like it. She needs….” Liara stumbles, trying to figure out how to word that she’s not sure that Shepard would want her crew to see her like this, while also understanding that Shepard loves her crew and would never keep them locked out of her room intentionally.
“She’s a soldier,” Garrus finishes and Liara sighs, nodding her head. “And a leader.”
“Yes….yes she is,” she mutters, accepting the hug that Tali offers her a second later.
“They won’t judge you Shepard, you know that.”
It’s been a day since they last melded, and even if Shepard was still nervous about tiring Liara out, Liara had fought her tooth and nail on it, so in the end, here they are.
“I know,” Shepard sighs, unable to fight the wave of shame that she accidentally sends to Liara. “ I’m the Commander though. They shouldn’t have to see me like this.”
“You’re their Commander, but you’re also their friend. And they care about you,” Liara counters, there not really being any good argument for that. “ I know you don’t think of Garrus, Tali, or Joker as ‘crewmate’. And you better not think of me as that either.”
Shepard can’t help her laugh at that, the feeling of love bubbling up again.
She knows Liara can feel it, judging by the blush that blossoms on her cheeks.
“ I think we’d have a real HR problem on our hands if I did,” Shepard smirks, Liara giggling softly. “ It’s just hard to divorce the two is all, Liara.”
“I understand Shepard. Just like I understand that you want to see them too.”
“The meld really isn’t fair sometimes,” Shepard sighs, because Liara’s right. She does want to see Tali, and Garrus, and her whole crew. She wants them to see that she’s alive, and she wants to see that they’re alive.
All except for EDI.
“ EDI wasn’t your fault, Shepard,” Liara counters, but, in the meld, Shepard can’t help the wave of even stronger guilt that shoots through her at that comment. “ What was that?”
“Liara, I…..” Shepard stumbles, because even if she doesn’t want to talk about it, Joker is coming here, and at the very least, she shouldn’t blindside Liara. “There was a choice. Three choices. Four choices, really.”
Liara’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t say anything, and even if Shepard can feel the confusion coming from her bondmate, she carries on, because she needs to get it out.
She hasn’t told anyone about it yet, the choice that she had to make, and now is as good of a time as any.
“ I...I can’t really explain the Catalyst right now. You’d probably be able to understand it better than I can, big brain that you are,” Shepard smiles, and even if she can feel Liara’s concern at her masking it with humour, she can feel her bondmate’s slight embarrassment at the compliment too.
“It gave me three explicit choices, and one that was...I could have done nothing. Let us fight the Reapers without the Catalyst, which would have….”
“We wouldn’t have won ,” Liara finishes, and even if Shepard can’t voice that herself, with the meld, she doesn’t think that she has to.
Liara can feel all that doubt that she had and the fact that Shepard agrees with the sentiment.
“There were three other decisions though. I chose to destroy the Reapers, but I knew that it would kill all the Artificial Intelligence in the galaxy. All the Geth and EDI….and I did it anyway.”
“You did what you thought was right,” Liara finishes, obviously able to feel Shepard’s complete and absolute guilt at the action, even if it resulted in them beating the Reapers in the end. “ You always do, Shepard. It’s the decision that you thought was best, and I’ll always support you.”
“That’s a big promise, T’Soni. You don’t even know the other options,” Shepard smiles, Liara reciprocating it. “The um….the other decision was to control the Reapers. I would have become part of them. One of them.”
“You would have been like the Illusive Man,” Liara narrows her eyes, clearly not agreeing with that option . “You wouldn’t have been Shepard if you made that decision. And you wouldn’t have been Shepard ever again.”
“I know,” Shepard sighs, taking a breath. “ I didn’t really consider that one. I would have taken them away and made sure they wouldn’t have hurt anyone, but with that kind of power…..I don’t know how long I would have been who I am. If I would have even had a choice.”
“That sounds…..that sounds horrifying,” Liara shudders, Shepard feeling a confusing mix of pride and sadness from Liara. Shepard doesn’t want to push anymore on that though, figuring that she’ll just press on.
“The third option was synthesis. I would have combined artificial and organic life, now and forever. Completely altered our DNA. Everyone would have survived, but that’s not my decision to make.”
“It….wow,” Liara says, clearly more than a little taken aback by that option.
“ No one would have died. EDI wouldn’t be dead, and the Geth wouldn’t be dead. I just…...I don’t get to make that decision,” Shepard reiterates, it being so far above her pay grade that she can’t even really comprehend it.
“You made the right decision, Shepard,” Liara reiterates, and Shepard wouldn’t believe her if it weren’t for the meld.
She can feel the sincerity there, and she breathes a sigh of relief.
“Tell that to Joker,” She sighs, Liara frowning at that.
“ He’s sad, and he might be hurt, but I’m sure he’ll understand, Shepard. You made the right decision.”
They leave the meld not too long after that, and Shepard tells Liara that she’s good for guests now.
Only a select few obviously - the people that mean the most to Shepard - but it’s still a big step, and Liara’s immensely proud of her bondmate.
Shepard can’t get up yet though, so Liara is the one who lets them in.
Garrus is in front, and Liara gives him a smile, earning a nod in return as she steps aside. Garrus also knows about the voice-to-text screen, and Shepard gives him a smile from her position on the bed.
“I’ve never known you to lay around,” Garrus smirks, and Shepard laughs at that, as best she’s able.
“Already making me rethink this whole visitor thing,” Shepard gets out, and Liara can tell that she’s doing her best to talk loud enough to not need the screen. “And making me question Liara’s decision making skills.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want to question the great Shadow Broker, now would we,” Garrus teases, and Liara lets out a sound of indignation, even if she’s beyond happy that Garrus and Shepard are falling into their rapport.
There’s so much love there, and it’s so easy for both of them, and Liara can see just how much Shepard needs this.
Tali’s right behind Garrus, and she steps out so that Shepard can see her, nervously clicking her six fingers together. “Hi Shepard,” she says nervously, and Shepard sits up just a little bit more.
“Hi Tali,” Shepard smiles, and even if they can’t see her eyes, Liara can tell that Tali’s eyes flit from the Commander to the screen, and then back again. “I’m sorry for making you work so soon after the war,” she continues, nodding down at her bad arm.
Liara narrows her eyes at that, because she was hoping that this would be light, but it’s still so Shepard , that she can’t help but laugh lightly.
“And you’re so against work,” Tali teases, even if there’s still nervous energy around her. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.”
“You might want to rethink that when you have to start working with Miranda,” Joker says, making his way in as well.
Liara can see the way that Shepard deflates just a little bit at the sight of him, due to her guilt about EDI, but she obviously is still happy to see her friend, so she so visibly pushes it down as she smiles at Joker.
Or she visibly pushes it down to Liara, at least.
“They managed to pull you away from the Normandy? For little ol’ me?” Shepard teases, earning a laugh from Joker for her efforts.
“You’re one of the only ones that can get me away from the old girl, Commander,” Joker retorts, Shepard giving him one of her crooked grins at that. “Old girl being the Normandy, not you.”
“Oh, that’s a low blow,” Garrus teases, and Liara hears Shepard laugh for the first time in months.
It’s ten days later that Shepard has the surgery.
Chakwas operates, as Shepard asked, with support from the doctors and nurses already at the hospital. Liara thinks it goes well, but she’s obviously not in the room, sitting nervously outside the operating room with Garrus and Tali.
Miranda arrived a couple days ago, and her and Tali have been working pretty much day and night on a replacement arm for Shepard. They haven’t started crafting it yet, unfortunately, but they need to understand what they’re working with in order to physically create it.
They have the schematics pretty much all made, according to Tali, and they either have all the materials they need, or they’re en route to the Normandy. It’s surprisingly efficient work, and Liara would have helped out if she could reach all of her Shadow Broker contracts, but Miranda’s been so on top of it, that there really wasn’t much for her to do.
So she’s just been with Shepard the past ten days, making sure that she’s okay.
The Commander’s been putting on a brave front, as best she can, but she lets it down around Liara. She’s terrified, worried that she’ll never be who she once was.
Worried that she won’t be good enough for Liara.
The thought is laughable to Liara, frankly. She knows not to diminish Shepard’s worries, but the very idea that Jane Shepard might be inadequate in any way, especially from Liara’s point of view is, quite frankly, ridiculous.
Even if Jane has questioned herself lately, she’s usually so confident in herself and her abilities - it was one of the very first things that drew Liara to her - that it threw Liara for a loop before she quickly reassured her that her commitment to Shepard will never be in question.
They’re bondmates .
Liara’s thrown from her thoughts when the door to the operating room opens though, sitting up just a bit straighter when Miranda comes through it.
“How is she?” She asks, Miranda taking a breath before putting her hands on her hips.
Liara had initially thought her rather haughty, and at times she can be, but she also genuinely cares about Shepard and wants to help. Shepard means a lot to her, and has done more for Miranda than anyone else has, just like Shepard does for everyone.
“She’s stable,” Miranda says, and the three crewmates that are sitting across from her take sighs of relief. “I want to do more work - on her eyes, her vocal cords, her ankle, you name it - but I can’t do that here. Their equipment is….I won’t even start,” Miranda scoffs, and Liara can’t help her soft smile, because she knows where this is going.
“I want to move her to the Normandy. Chakwas agrees that she’s stable enough to do so, and I’ve requisitioned a far superior voice-to-text screen. With a little support from our resident Quarian, and Shepard’s bondmate, I think we can make that happen.”
“Have you talked to Shepard?” Garrus questions, because even if Liara thinks she’s on board, Garrus probably doesn’t want to do anything against Shepard’s wishes.
“She’s under heavy anaesthesia right now, and she likely won’t be fully cognizant for the rest of the day, but I don’t see why she’d have any arguments against it,” Miranda finishes, although she looks to Liara at the end.
“I think she’d be very happy to be back on the Normandy,” Liara smiles, because even if Shepard doesn’t have a home in the true sense of the word, the Normandy is as close as she has right now. “Would she be able to go back to the Captain’s Cabin, or would she be in the Medbay?”
“Until Tali and I finish her prosthetic, I’d prefer if she stays in the Medbay while she’s resting. To ensure that there’s no complications,” Miranda continues, Liara making note of everything as she nods her head.
“I’ll radio Joker to make sure he can prepare the Captain’s Cabin. Or to make sure that he has Traynor and Vega clear the Captain’s Cabin,” Tali clarifies, Garrus patting her on the shoulder before she gets up and goes to the communications room.
“Will she be comfortable with people seeing her like this?” Garrus questions, and Liara frowns at that, her excitement about Shepard being back on the Normandy having caused her to gloss over that.
“I think she’s getting better each visit. Will she be able to move around the ship?”
“I wouldn’t be comfortable with her doing that on her own, but I suspect that you’re able to convince her of a great many things, Doctor,” Miranda teases - or as much as Liara thinks Miranda can actually tease - and she just shrugs her shoulders with a little smirk on her face.
“Nothing that I’ll reveal without ryncol,” Liara retorts, and Miranda actually laughs .
“We can call it off if you aren’t sure,” Liara reassures her, and Shepard just takes a breath as she shakes her head.
“I’m already in the wheelchair,” she sighs, because even if it would be easy for Liara to use her biotics to put Shepard back in bed, it’s an easy excuse to make sure that she goes through with it. “Besides, you’re here with me. Means it can’t be too bad.”
“Flatterer,” Liara teases, and Shepard’s sure that if she looked back, she’d find a pretty purple blush on her bondmate’s cheeks.
Liara rests her hand on Shepard’s left shoulder, and Shepard moves to put her hand over it in a gesture of faith.
The problem is that she tries to do that with her right hand, and she lets out a sigh as she remembers what isn’t there.
“Shepard…..”
“Let’s just get to the Normandy,” Shepard sighs, sitting up a bit straighter in the wheelchair.
She’s sure that she looks like a wreck. The obvious is that she’s missing her right arm from the shoulder down, it having been decided that that was the best way to go about it opposed to just amputating from the elbow.
Shepard trusts Miranda, and she and Chakwas did good work, Shepard not doubting that the prosthetic that Miranda and Tali are working on will be top of the line either.
The arm is coupled with her eyes, which are still slowly returning to normal, but aren’t quite what they used to be. Miranda did some basic work on her vocal cords as well, so that she can talk softly without the screen now, even if it’ll be hooked up to her when she’s in the Medbay just to be safe.
Her ankle is heavily wrapped, Miranda having done what she could here, but there'll probably be some more additional work on the Normandy. She agrees with Chakwas’ assertion of there being the chance for chronic pain, but she should be able to remedy any long-term damage to Shepard’s walk.
The crew is all stationed back at the Normandy, preparing it for her arrival. Shepard’s requested that they not make a big deal out of it, that it just be business as usual, but knowing Joker and Vega, that probably won’t happen.
Shepard suspects that Liara might have had a hand in a little bit of party planning too, just judging by little images from their last meld, but she didn’t question her on it.
It’s a quick shuttle ride to the Normandy, all things considered. Shepard hasn’t been outside the hospital in months, and even if the sun is blinding, it’s a nice change of pace. Everyone's been good to her there, but she’s ready to be back with her crew.
Among her people.
There’s still fear about what they’ll think of her, seeing her like this. She’s not sure if she can be the same Commander Shepard that she was if they see her broken, but she also doesn’t think they’ll be a better time than the present.
Miranda needing her there to perform her work is the perfect excuse for Shepard to be where she currently is though, in her wheelchair and being led up the Normandy’s ramp by Doctor Liara T’Soni.
Kaidan’s there to meet them in the cargo bay, leaning against the side of the Kodiak. Shepard picks up on the fact that no one - not even Cortez or James - is down here, so she strongly suspects that there’s something waiting for her up in the CIC.
“Did you conspire against me then?” She asks up at Liara, who just gives that sly little smile, Shepard chuckling to herself as she shakes her head.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Liara teases, and Shepard just playfully scoffs.
“Commander,” Kaidan nods, standing firmly at attention and giving her the formal salute, Shepard just rolling her eyes.
“I’m pretty sure you outrank me, Major,” Shepard teases, and it’s just a little bit adorable, the way that Kaidan blushes at that. “And I’m pretty sure it’s your and Liara’s ship now. Treating her right?”
“It’ll always be your ship, Shepard,” Kaidan states, and Shepard can feel Liara nod head behind her, given her hands on the wheelchair. “And I just wasn’t going to bring up the rank thing. Didn’t want to make you feel bad.”
“How considerate,” Shepard teases, Kaidan chuckling lightly as the three of them start their way up the ramp. “So what’s waiting for me up there? This one wouldn’t tell me anything.”
She can hear Liara scoff at the nod back at her - Shepard almost tried to point with her right hand again - and Kaidan looks at Liara for a second before answering.
Shepard’s pretty sure Liara gave her patented narrowing of the eyes, but she doesn’t say anything.
“I have no idea what you're talking about, Commander,” Kaidan states formally, and Shepard just chuckles to herself, because they’re all being so obvious. “And if there were, I wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of the Shadow Broker by telling you.”
“I’m sure the Shadow Broker would appreciate that,” Liara says, and Shepard laughs lightly to herself, a sound that’s become more than a little foreign the past couple months.
Or had been foreign, because Liara’s been finding ways to make her laugh, even now.
They make their way into the elevator, and Shepard can’t help her smile as Liara moves to put her hand on Shepard’s right shoulder, so that she can reach across her body and place her hand over top.
It’s the little things that Liara picks up on about her that mean a lot.
She also can’t help her smile at how visibly nervous Kaidan looks under Liara’s glare and threat of Shadow Broker resources being used against him if he spills the obvious secret.
The elevator ride doesn’t take long though, and just as Shepard thought they would, they pass the medbay and head right up to CIC. It prompts a look back at Liara, who winks at her and…..has Liara ever winked once in her life, ever?
“That’s a good look for you,” Shepard teases, and Liara flushes that pretty purple, it being distracting enough that Shepard misses the elevator door opening and the sound of applause from the crew standing outside it.
It’s not a ‘Surprise!’ yelled at her, but it’s definitely far better, even if she’s still unsure how she feels regarding everyone seeing her with her injuries. Everyone’s standing and applauding her though, and that means more than she can put into words.
“Welcome home, Shepard,” Liara leans down to whisper, and Shepard just smiles as best she can, all while fighting the tears that are threatening to spill out.
Liara thinks that they did a good job with this.
There was a lot of delicate planning and thinking about Shepard’s psyche.
Realistically, they couldn’t not do something. Not only is she Commander Shepard, now the literal Saviour of the Galaxy, but she’s their Commander , and it just seemed wrong to put her in the MedBay with little fanfare.
She also knows that Shepard wouldn’t want anything too crazy either. She’s ashamed about how she looks - Liara cannot even begin to describe how incorrect she thinks that thought process is - so a party was out of the question.
So, they decided on something straddling the line between those two.
It’s not a massive event or anything, and instead it’s fairly casual. Just the crew, along with Bailey, having a couple drinks and just being around each other. There’s also a bit of catching up, since they managed to get a couple of their friends who weren’t part of the actual crew here, and Liara is very thankful to Tali for being able to do that.
Like right now, as she watches Grunt sit cross-legged in front of Shepard.
Shepard had told him that he could stay standing, even if she can’t, but he had refused. Even if she isn’t his battlemaster anymore, she’s….almost his mother, Liara thinks.
It’s adorable, if a little bit hard to wrap her head around at times, the fact that her bondmate is the adoptive mother of a Krogan.
“A krogan arm?” Liara hears Shepard say, because even if Shepard said that Liara didn’t need to stay close, she hasn’t gone far. Miranda’s done enough work to Shepard’s vocal cords that Grunt can hear her from where he’s sitting in front of her on the floor, and Liara can hear from a couple feet behind her while talking with Miranda about Shepard’s recovery.
“You’re a warrior!” Grunt argues, and Shepard laughs, Liara smiling at the sound. “A warrior should have a warrior’s arm! Not your human…..things.”
“Well, I think you’ll need to talk to Miranda about that….and Liara, probably,” Shepard teases, taking a swig of her ryncol - they’d confirmed with Miranda first, but Shepard’s allowed to drink a little bit - even if she’s still getting used to her left hand being her dominant one.
“Hee hee hee hee,” Grunt laughs at that before looking around, spotting Miranda and Liara behind Shepard. “What does the tattoo one call her……Cheerleader!” Grunt calls, Shepard almost choking on her drink in the process.
“Excuse me?” Miranda deadpans, and Grunt just laughs again, all while Liara pats Shepard on the back. “I’m going to have to talk to her about that,” Miranda mutters to herself, and Liara and Shepard exchange a look, because Miranda and Jack just need to get it over with already and make their moves.
“Shepard needs a warrior’s arm! A krogan arm!” Grunt argues, taking a swig of his own drink and getting a comically confused look from Miranda in the process.
“Uh huh,” Miranda says, eyebrow raised, turning to Shepard. “And what does the Commander think about this?”
“The Commander thinks that it’s up to her bondmate to decide on that.”
Liara flushes again at that, because Shepard calling herself Liara’s bondmate is its own separate kind of thrill.
“I think it could have its uses,” Liara teases, giggling at the way that Shepard’s eyebrows practically shoot up to her hairline. “There are….many things I wouldn’t mind considering.”
Liara knows that it hurts Shepard to talk about her arm, but she thinks that between her and Grunt, as well as the ryncol, they can make Shepard feel a little bit better.
“I’m not designing Shepard’s new arm to accommodate Liara’s sexual urges,” Miranda scoffs, Grunt just chuckling again as he sits there.
“Krogan are very good mates,” Wrex cuts in, apparently having heard the tail end of that conversation, exchanging a nod with Shepard. “And we could officially welcome Shepard into clan Urdnot if she’s part Krogan.”
“I like the sound of that,” Shepard teases, and Miranda just scoffs again, even if she can’t hide the small smile on her face.
“Sounds like there’s no downsides, Miranda,” Shepard continues, and Miranda actually laughs this time, it sounding just as foreign to Liara as the first time that she heard it. “I get to be part of Clan Urdnot with Wrex and Grunt, Liara gets a little extra something-something, and you and Tali get to have some fun designing it. No downsides.”
“There’s a great many downsides, all of which it’s clear you’re not in the mood to entertain,” Miranda teases back, and Shepard just rolls her eyes, taking another swig of her drink.
“Are you able to make the fingers vibrate?” Liara teases, usually not so brazen, but she’s had a little bit to drink, and she wants to see Shepard happy.
It’s clearly the right thing to say, because Shepard almost spits up her drink, Miranda turning bright red as Grunt and Wrex laugh.
Shepard’s not sure about the last time that she was this happy.
It might have been the party at Anderson’s place, truthfully, because even if she was really happy to see Liara that day in the hospital, that’s combined with the fact that there were tears in Liara’s eyes and she was confined to her bed.
This though…..this is really nice.
Everyone’s treating her the way that they always did, and those that are bringing up her injuries are doing it in a way that’s almost….normal.
Or as normal as it can get, anyway.
Between razzing Miranda about the sexual benefits of a new arm, to Garrus teasing her about how it’s clear who’s the better shot now, to Tali also becoming a bit too interested in the potential for…..pleasurable enhancements to her arm, it’s just a good time.
There’s far more people there than she had expected, and she suspects that she owes a lot of that to Liara and Tali. The majority of the still alive crew from the SR-2 Collector Base mission is there, along with Wrex and Bailey.
Samara, Zaeed and Kasumi couldn’t make it unfortunately, but it’s still an impressive feat that does not go unnoticed.
Besides a particularly heavy talk with Joker about EDI - she didn’t tell him explicitly about the decision that she made, because she’s not ready for that yet, but just how sorry she is - in which there may have been a couple hugs (or at least what constitutes as a hug with a one-armed person in a wheelchair and someone with brittle bones disease), it’s been a pretty fun and relaxing night.
The night has to come to an end though, everyone filtering out one after the other. It ends up with Shepard taking the final sips of her ryncol with Liara sitting beside her - she had hoped Liara could sit in her lap, but Miranda had gently dissuaded that - with Jack leaning against the wall in front of her and Traynor (surprisingly) nursing her beer alongside them.
Tali would probably have stayed if she could, but she was a bit too excited about Shepard being back, and Garrus had to take her to her room a little bit ago before she collapsed.
“All I’m saying is that chicks dig scars, Shep. Why do you think the Cheerleader’s obsessed with me?”
Shepard rolls her eyes at that, because Jack’s just as interested in Miranda as Miranda is in Jack, and it’s just that the two of them won’t admit it.
“It’s true!” Traynor slurs slightly, and Shepard snorts out a bit of laughter at that, because Jack and Samantha Traynor is not a pairing that she had ever expected to see agreeing on something.
“I bet Aria’s pretty big into scars,” Jack teases, knowing exactly what that will do.
It does just what she intended, because Liara bristles a bit, sitting up just a little bit straighter.
Shepard’s not entirely sure why Liara is jealous of Aria of all people - well actually, she knows it’s because of the Omega mission, because Liara was not happy about that - but she must know that there’s no one else for Shepard, and hasn’t been since they met.
“I already have a bondmate,” Shepard teases, and Liara visibly relaxes. She looks like she wants to reach out for Shepard’s hand, but she realizes that she’s on the wrong side before pulling back, so as not to hurt her feelings.
It’s thoughtful, but it also stings Shepard for a second, at least until Traynor picks up the conversation.
“I really like that word. Bondmate,” She slurs slightly, Liara chuckling as she finishes off her own ryncol. “It’s like…..it’s really sexy, like you’re gonna be bonded in a….in a sexy way, but it’s also really sweet. Like you’re bonded for life.”
“Don’t get all sentimental on me now, hot stuff,” Jack teases, kicking lightly at Traynor’s foot with her own. “I heard some of the stuff that you said at the last party about Cheerleader’s tits. You’ve got some fucked up fantasies in there,” she smirks, physically poking Traynor in the forehead.
“Still thinking about Miranda, huh?” Shepard teases, and Jack’s about to speak up before Liara cuts in, probably for the better.
“ I think that someone should take Sam to bed,” Liara says, staring at Jack the whole time. “And no matter how much Aria T’Loak likes scars, she’s never touching my bondmate. Even if she is….. Omega.”
When she says Omega, Liara does something with her hands and voice that Shepard can’t even begin to understand, but it’s just so fucking adorable that she can’t keep it in.
“You’re so fucking cute,” she teases, and Liara blushes purple when she smiles…..at least until Traynor starts cooing at them.
“Yeah, you’re done,” Jack sighs, swigging back the rest of her ryncol before she comes over. “I’ll deal with little miss fantasy here. You two go invade Doc’s Medbay with your bondmate shit.”
“Gladly,” Shepard smirks, Traynor only cooing even more as they say goodbye, Liara bringing Shepard to the elevator.
“Thank you for this,” she smiles, and Liara can’t keep the secret of her involvement any longer, just shrugging her shoulders.
“They all love you, Jane. I wanted you to see that.”
“I got really lucky, didn’t I? Present company included, obviously.”
“You….no matter what Garrus says, you can be clever when you want to be,” Liara teases, Shepard’s mouth falling open in time with the elevator as they head down to the Medbay.
“Wait, what does Garrus say about me?!”
“Just let me know if there’s any pinching, Shepard.”
“It should fit precisely, but since you’ve been eating more and recovering….” Tali reasons, hand framing her chin as she watches closely.
“You saying I’m getting fat, Tali?” Shepard teases, and Liara imagines that Tali rolls her eyes at that.
“I’m saying you’re getting healthier, Shepard,” Tali reassures, even if there’s mirth to her voice. “And the arm may add a few pounds…..”
“I think that Shepard looks lovely,” Liara counters, sitting at Shepard’s side as she watches on, heart beating out of her chest.
It’s been a couple weeks since Shepard’s been on board, the Normandy having been back in action for just one. They still need to take Tali, Javik and Garrus where they need to go, and Shepard didn’t want to keep them any longer.
Even now, Shepard’s thinking about other people.
It’s a long trip though without fully functional Mass Relays, so they were able to start their flight while Tali kept working on the arm. She’ll have a couple weeks to watch Shepard as she gets accustomed to it too, so it should work out, time-wise.
Miranda will be here anyway though, and they’ll keep Tali in the loop as best they can with semi-functional comm buoys, so Liara thinks it should be alright.
“Shepard’s body is ready to accept the arm,” Chakwas says from her terminal, Miranda nodding as she gives Shepard one last look.
“Do it,” Shepard says firmly, in her Commander-voice, all the while she grips Liara’s hand tighter.
The arm looks good, from Liara’s point of view. There were all kinds of aesthetic options, but in the end, Shepard just wanted it to be the same colour as her skin, freckles and all.
Liara understands why.
Even if it won’t be her real arm, and she’ll know that it isn’t her real arm, if it looks like it is, she’ll be able to play make believe, at least a little bit.
Not at night she won’t though, because Miranda says that it should come off every night so that there’s no issues regarding Shepard’s previous enhancements accepting this newer model. She knows that Shepard was saddened by that news, that it would be painfully obvious to her every night that she wasn’t whole.
Liara tries her hardest to reassure Shepard every night that she doesn’t care about any of that. That she loves Shepard no matter what.
She’s been staying in the Medbay with Shepard as many nights as she can, snuggled into the bed together, but it still hasn’t been as many nights as she hoped it would. She knows Shepard feels bad when Liara wakes up sore - she has to sleep on her side in the bed because Shepard needs to be on her back - so she’s been in her room every other night, all alone with Glyph.
She doesn’t like it, but Shepard needs to know that she’s physically okay, so Liara grants her that.
Shepard’s been getting better, bit by bit. She can walk now, albeit slowly and with stops. It’s not just because of her ankle, but just from months of laying in bed. Her body is weak, but Shepard’s mind has always been strong, so even if it’s hard work, Liara knows that she’s going to be okay.
She doesn’t need the voice-to-text screen anymore either. She’s not capable of screaming or yelling yet, but she can talk at a normal volume without too much trouble, as long as it’s not a long uninterrupted speech.
Her eyes are….Miranda doesn’t think that they’re going to get any better than they already are.
They didn’t do it formally yet, but Garrus was able to get a black market version of the Alliance Navy visual test before they left Earth and Shepard passed….barely.
Liara thinks the only other time that she’s seen Shepard that crestfallen was after Thessia.
Miranda doesn’t want to risk surgery though, at least not with the equipment that she has on hand right now. That means Shepard’s left with her greyish-green eyes, still having trouble seeing things too far away.
That just leaves her arm.
Chakwas and Miranda performed surgery a couple days ago, preparing the stump to accept the prosthetic. There’s a metal ring on the stump now, and small holes within it so that the prosthetic can connect through to Shepard’s other tech.
There’s no reason it shouldn’t work, but Miranda says that the first time connecting a prosthetic like this might be slightly painful, so Chakwas is ready with an anesthetic in case things get too bad.
“Beginning connection,” Miranda says, Tali moving just a little bit closer so that she can see better.
It’s slow, and Liara squeezes Shepard’s hand when she can see the discomfort on her face.
It’s a split second decision, but she closes her eyes, pushing at Shepard’s mind with her own.
They’ve melded so many times now, that even without truly being in it, she can sense Shepard’s nervousness at giving Liara that pain. Liara just pushes harder though, and Shepard relents, Liara’s eyes turning black as Miranda works to connect the arm.
“It’ll be okay, Shepard,” Liara says in the meld, and even if she can feel Shepard’s doubt, she can feel that twinge of hope too, and she focuses on emphasizing her own, similar feelings.
Her hope that Shepard will be okay.
Her hope that she’ll be able to become a soldier, or whatever she wants to be, again.
Her hope for the future and for little blue children.
“You’re incredible,” Shepard says, her pain starting to show more and more. Liara takes it though, as much as Shepard will allow her to.
“ I believe Vega would say ‘takes one to know one’,” Liara comments, Shepard chuckling softly, even through the pain. “We’ll be okay, Jane. We’ll be okay.”
Shepard takes a breath as she and Liara stand in the elevator.
She flexes the fingers of her new arm, still somewhat shocked that she can actually feel the way that her fingers graze her palm.
She knows that it’s not her arm, and it does feel a little different than her left one, but…..
She knows that Miranda’s a genius, and she did bring Shepard back from the dead, but it still blows her mind.
“You don’t need to stay here if you don’t want to, Liara,” Shepard reassures her bondmate, looking at her on the other side of her elevator.
Liara just rolls her eyes though, and Shepard’s sure that Liara would smack her shoulder if she didn’t have her arms full of stuff from her own cabin.
“Miranda needs that room,” Liara comments, even if they both know that isn’t the main reason. “And I don’t want to spend another night without you. Especially not by choice.”
Shepard blushes at that, ducking her head as she scratches at her cheek with her new hand.
“Commander Jane Shepard, blushing,” Liara teases, earning her a mock-glare which she counters with a laugh of her own.
“Don’t make me regret letting you stay up here with me,” Shepard retorts, Liara scoffing as she raises her chin.
“ Letting me stay up here with you?” She smirks, and Shepard just shrugs a shoulder with a smirk of her own, knowing what that look does to her bondmate.
Just as Shepard thought, Liara flushes at that, stammering out whatever she was about to say. “Shepard…” she just ends up muttering under her breath, the Commander taking that as a win.
The elevator stops at the Captain’s Cabin a second later, Shepard’s eyes widening as she takes in the cabin itself.
“I’ve been cleaning it for you,” Liara explains, and Shepard can feel her bondmates eyes on her. “Samantha helped. So did Steve.”
It almost looks like nothing’s changed.
Well, not entirely. Her models are gone - Liara had mentioned that they were destroyed in the crash - and the fish tank is empty and missing the glass, but besides that, you’d never think that the War had happened.
“I convinced Traynor to return him to you,” Liara says, and Shepard’s gaze follows hers to the hamster cage, her hamster secure inside.
“I knew Hamsterus Vakarian could survive anything,” Shepard comments, letting her prosthetic hand lightly run over the glass of the cage. “You better stay in there tonight though. I don’t think Liara would like it if you escaped.”
“Don’t use me as an excuse for your laziness if he gets out, Shepard,” Liara teases as she sets down her box of things on the desk, Shepard scoffing at that.
“I’m gonna need to start a whole new model collection,” Shepard sighs, and she can practically hear Liara’s eye roll. “Miranda says that my new arm should still be able to build the models, but I think I’ll start with a cheap one anyway.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Jane,” Liara sighs, and she used her first name, so Shepard knows that it’s serious. “You’ll be fine.”
“Now that you’re here, yeah,” Shepard smiles as she sits on the bed - the freshly made bed, she notes - waiting for Liara to sit beside her.
It takes a second, since Liara’s busy and focused on her box of Shadow Broker things, but eventually she picks up on Shepard’s gaze, and she joins her on the edge of the bed.
“Can you do that tomorrow?” She asks, because right now she just wants to curl up in bed with Liara and sleep.
They haven’t had sex in months at this point, and Shepard’s not entirely sure when she’ll be ready to do that outside of the meld - her body is still somewhat in pain a lot of the time, and her arm is a whole separate matter - but she does know that she wants to be in bed with Liara right now.
“I can,” Liara smiles softly, leaning in and giving Shepard’s forehead a light peck.
“Can you help with my arm?”
Shepard asks it quietly, just barely above a whisper. It sounds just like she did all those months ago when she was having her chats with Bailey, not sure where the Normandy was. So much has changed since then though, and Shepard can’t help her soft smile as Liara nods.
“Of course,” she says softly, and they go through the motions, it not being the first time that Liara’s been the one to do this. Shepard had to learn how to do it herself, and Miranda did it the first couple times, but it’s routine now, and before long they hear the light click and the release of air as Liara detaches the prosthetic.
“You’re beautiful, Jane,” Liara continues, the affirmation being needed after that. Shepard just smiles though before they make their way under the sheets, laying on her back as Liara snuggles against her side.
They’re both still wearing their casual clothes, but it’s cool in the Captain’s Cabin, and neither particularly cares.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Liara says softly, snuggled up against Shepard’s side, and the Commander can’t help her smile.
“I’m here, Liara.”
“I’m here.”