Chapter 14

The lights in the room slowly rose to simulate morning. Hawke ignored them as best he could, but he could never resist the morning's beckoning. Groaning, he slowly, reluctantly, woke up. Shepard was lying in his arms, still sleeping. Hawke stopped moving, not wanting to wake her.

Shepard shifted slightly, but remained asleep. Hawke was content to stay in bed, so he did. He gently brushed aside Shepard's hair, looking at her sleeping face. He hadn't felt this good since before the Blight. He decided to try and sleep some more, so he closed his eyes, and surprisingly drifted back off.

"Commander," EDI called on the room's speakers. "Commander, are you awake?"

Roused from her sleep, Shepard groaned. She started to lean up, but felt Hawke's muscular arm on her shoulder. He groaned as he was waking up as well.

"What is it, EDI?" Shepard said.

"Tali and Legion wish to speak to you. They say they have found a way to get back home."

"Tell them I'll be down in a bit."

"Of course."

"She didn't know I'm here, did she?" Hawke asked, getting up.

"No, EDI doesn't have any sensors, er, eyes in this room," Shepard said.

"Good to know you've still got your privacy." Shepard watched as Hawke got up. She saw his scars last night, but in the morning, they looked different.

"How did you survive all that?" She asked.

"What, the scars?" Hawke said. "Honestly, I have no clue. Maybe I'm built tougher than I think I am."

Shepard gently ran her hand along the massive scar that the Arishok gave him.

"It looks worse than it was," Hawke insisted. "It's not like he buried his ax all the way up to my spine. I thought I side-stepped his ax, but he pulled it back. Cut through my armor as he pulled it back."

"And it just kind of cut around you?" Shepard asked.

"But it felt like I was being cut in half. Scared the shit out of me, thinking I was dying. That's when I rallied, and won the fight." Hawke pointed to a deep scar on Shepard's left arm. "Where did you get this?"

"That's from my trip to Akuze. The Thresher Maw knocked me aside, breaking my shields and shattering my arm," Shepard said. "It was an open fracture, too. Somehow the bone didn't poke through the suit, or I'd have been a dead girl."

"How in the Maker's name did you fix that without a healer?"

"I got a nice, quick drunk going with some contraband booze, then pushed the bone back in place and wrapped it up. I passed out for a day after that."

"I don't blame you."

"What about all these tiny scars?" Shepard asked, running her hand along Hawke's chest.

"Mostly archers. That was before I got good armor. Never go cheap on armor."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shepard laughed.

"You know, I thought with your armor, you'd never get hurt," Hawke said.

"Which one? The real armor or my tech armor?"

"Is that the glowly thing you have?"

"Yep, that's the one," Shepard said. "All armor has its weaknesses. Just because we're from space doesn't mean we can make invincible armor, although the Sentinel tech armor sure helps. I'd imagine your shield is a great help."

"Don't even want to know how many times its saved my life."

The two fell quiet, just looking at each other.

"Did they really find a way to get you home?" Hawke said.

"If anyone can find a way home, it'll be Tali and Legion," Shepard said.

"Do you really have to go back to your home?" Hawke quietly asked.

"Yes, I do," Shepard sighed. "There's still a threat to the galaxy."

"Those Reapers."

"Yep, just as I told you last night. I'm sorry, but this can't last."

"I know it won't," Hawke said. "Still, I had to ask. I can't just let a beautiful woman slip away from me."

"And I can't let a handsome man be by himself."

"If it turns out that you can't go back home, you could stay with me," Hawke said. "The entire world probably wants me dead for the whole mage thing, but we can find a way to make this work."

"Just the two of us against the world," Shepard sighed. "This is just the mushy stuff that I wanted from Jonathan."

"It's what I wanted to tell Suzanne. Her father didn't exactly approve of me."

"Didn't approve of you? Why not?"

"He thought I was some smooth-talking kid. First time I met him, he was sharpening his sword, giving me a hard glare."

"We have a stereotype just like that," she laughed. "The father cleaning his gun welcomes his daughter's boyfriend."

Shepard leaned forward to kiss Hawke. He returned the kiss, then held her close.

"We still have to face the world, you know," Shepard said.

"I know," Hawke said. "But I can wish for this, can't I?"

"I sure am," Shepard said.

"Did you find anything?" Shepard asked, walking outside to Tali, Legion and Anders, who were sitting at a small table away from the dining area. Garrus, Varric and Jacob were standing with them.

"Yes, Shepard-Commander," Legion said. "Creator-Tali claims that she found an Element Zero-like reading from Healer-Anders' spell. It is identical to the reading that the mass relay gave off when we were transported here."

"It's really, really big magic," Anders said. "I used it to blow up the Chantry."

"And it apparently tore a hole in the fabric of reality, either by itself or with help from a mass effect field," Tali said. "Shepard, we found a way home! All Anders has to do is put this magic on a boulder, we blow it up, and we can go home!"

"But I need to see it in order to activate the magic," Anders said. "Otherwise, you'll need a massive spell to activate the explosion."

"We have the Thanix Cannon. Think that might work?" Garrus said.

"It'll certainly blow it up real good," Jacob grinned.

"Then it looks like the space people got themselves a ride home," Varric said. "Wish I could tell this story without being called mad."

Shepard looked at Hawke as he was getting his breakfast.

"Alright," she said. "Anders, can you put this spell on a boulder? The biggest one you can find?"

"Just give me a few minutes to cast it."

"Legion, what's the status of the Normandy?"

"During your recovery, the crew has been repairing the Normandy. It is currently operating at eighty-six percent efficiency, but is space worthy."

"Great," Shepard mouthed. "Start packing things up. I want us ready for take-off at night."

The crew worked fast, tearing down the impromptu kitchen and bringing it back into the Normandy. The hull patches were checked and double checked. Kasumi and Tali took down the holographic barrier, and Grunt pushed Anders' magicked boulder into the hanger.

"You're really going, aren't you?" Hawke asked Shepard as they hid behind one of the Normandy's wings.

"Yea, we really are," she replied.

"If it turns out this doesn't work, my offer still stands," Hawke said.

"I wish I could take it up," Shepard said. "But we have a galaxy to save."

"And I'm sure I have a world to right," he smiled sadly. "I'm going to miss you."

"Don't. Please don't make this harder than it is," Shepard said. "I'm sure Isabella or Merrill really care about you."

"Isabella might not admit it, but I'm sure she has some feelings somewhere, but I'm not seeing Merrill. She's always so quiet and shy around me," Hawke said.

"That's a sign that she's into you."

"Really? I always thought she was shy and awkward with everyone. You sure about that?"

"Trust me, it's a girl thing," Shepard said.

"Guess I'll have to trust you. So what about you? Is there anyone who you can see as a special someone? You have enough men on the ship for it to happen."

"God, that's what Isabella asked me," Shepard groaned. "Of course, her idea of 'intimacy' must mean shoving her thumb up someone's butt."

"Don't tell me that was your personal experience when you were younger."

"Alright, I won't tell you," Shepard grinned.

Hawke kissed her, and she returned it.

"If this really doesn't work out, we'll stay in the clearing for the night," Hawke said as the kiss ended.

"If it doesn't work, I'll be back here faster than you can blink."

"How are the engines, EDI?"

"Engines are running at optimal output, Jeff."

"And the mass effect field generator?"

"It's fine."

"Reading green across the board, Commander."

"Miranda, is everyone buckled up?" Shepard asked.

"All good to go, Shepard."

"Take her up, Joker."

The Normandy's engines flicked to life, and the ship slowly rose from the ground. Gaining speed, it took off from the planet.

"Well, there she goes," Hawke said.

"That was a damn beautiful ship," Isabella agreed. "I'm going to miss it."

"Miss the ship, or miss the men?" Aveline asked.

"Both, I guess," Isabella replied. "Jack's tattoos were amazing up close. And Tali was so cute, but she didn't bite. Turns out that Garrus really knows what he was doing, though. Nice to see that aliens can romance just as well as dwarfs can."

"Should I be scared that he's threatening my 'Paragon of Manliness' title?" Varric asked.

"Of course not, Varric. But I have to give credit where credit is due. Only bad thing is that I got a little sick this morning. Think I did something Mordin told me not to do, something about 'ingesting.'"

"Can I ask that we don't hear what you did?" Merrill asked.

"I second that request," Aveline said.

"We have broken planet's gravity well. Arriving at optimal distance for detonation," EDI said.

"Ready for some target practice, Garrus?" Shepard asked.

"Thanix Cannon is powered up. Ready and waiting," he replied. "Never thought I'd be shooting rocks, though."

"Waiting for order to release boulder," EDI said.

Shepard looked back at the planet. At this distance, it was just a small blue ball, no bigger than the palm of her hand. She wondered what Hawke would say if he saw how beautiful the planet was. It was something truly worth protecting. But she had her own planet to protect.

"Release it," Shepard said.

"Opening hanger bay door," EDI said. "Decompression detected. Boulder is away."

"Got it on targeting," Garrus said. "Three, two, one, firing."

The Normandy rocked as its main gun fired. From the helm, Shepard saw the beams of energy lance out at an invisible rock. Suddenly, a bright red ball of magic bloomed in front of the Normandy.

"Massive spike in the mass effect generator," Tali said. "The fields are inverting, just like the first time."

"We're being pulled towards the explosion's epicenter," EDI announced. "Twenty seconds until arrival."

"This is Commander Shepard to all hands," Shepard said over the ship-wide channel. "Hold onto something tight, we're going home."

"I hate this part," Joker said. "I fucking hate this part. Next thing you'll know, I won't have a ribcage anymore, just a bunch of broken baby back ribs.

"Don't worry, Jeff. The vacuum suit you're wearing should protect you," EDI said.

"Famous last words," Joker muttered.

The Normandy flew forwards, and disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Do you think they made it back alright?" Merrill asked as she cleaned up the pot of porridge.

"If anyone can make it back, it'll be Shepard," Hawke said, looking at the rising sun.

"They said if nothing happened, they'd be back by morning," Varric said. "Well, it's morning, and they're not here. They must've made it back."

"It's certainly been a wild ride with them here," Isabella said, stretching.

"It sure had," Hawke whispered. He turned to his friends. "Well, does anyone have anywhere they're dying to go to? Preferably somewhere that doesn't have Templars?"

"We still have to get to Orlais," Bodahn said.

"Sounds like a good enough place," Hawke said.