Mass Effect 3: Thank You, Shepard

A/N: Like many fans, I was not particularly happy about how things ended in Mass Effect 3. So I've decided to write a fanfiction encompassing the end, something which provides closure and makes more sense.

For those of you wondering, this is a story about my complete Paragon FemShep whose love interest is Liara (and has been for all the games). My Shepard was a colonist, war hero and soldier. Appearance-wise, my Shepard has dark brown hair (which looks almost black) and hazel coloured eyes. And on my first play through, I chose the Synthesis ending.

On a random note, FFnet is being glitchy and deleting the spaces between words for some lines. I've fixed that now, but who knows if it will actually stay that way. =\

Warning: This contains spoilers for Mass Effect 3 and the Synthesis Ending. You have been warned!

Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.

Summary: She knew the risks. She knew the cost. She knew what would happen if she failed. Yet even after the universe tried to kill her for the umpteenth time, she still charged forward like she always did. And Liara followed her without hesitation, without complaint. Shepard was their leader. She was a survivor. And she was the best damn thing the universe had in defeating this Reaper threat. The Commander would survive, no matter what. She had to. If not for her own sake, she had to, for Liara's...

Liara groaned, consciousness slowly returning to the asari in waves of pain, muffled sounds and the feeling of cold. As her eyelids fluttered but did not open, the strong scent of burnt metal mixed with other things overwhelmed her. Liara coughed, the repulsion of the thick, putrid smell making her choke. While her battered body shuddered, Liara herself gasping for air, it was then the blue skinned alien realized she was pinned underneath something. Whatever it was wasn't heavy enough to crush her completely, yet at the same time, it was heavy enough to keep her from moving much at the moment, due to her weakened state.

Flexing her fingers and toes, Liara was relieved to know all of her digits were accounted for. Same for her limbs. Though, judging from the sharp, blinding pain she felt when she bent her left knee, it seemed something in her left leg could possibly be broken. That and she most definitely had a dislocated left shoulder. Thankfully, her head was a bit clearer now than it had been upon waking, allowing the asari scientist to examine her current condition better.

Ignoring her pounding head, the first thing Liara noticed when her eyes finally focused was the smoking remains of a Mako just a few feet to her right. She vaguely remembered seeing a few of them as they all did a kamikaze charge through the broken streets of London for the Conduit. Leading the charge was Admiral Anderson, with Commander Shepard following right behind him in second. Liara herself had been just a few feet behind the soldier, all the while Harbinger's red laser of doom rained death upon their heads. Speaking of which, judging by the lack of buzzing which accompanied the Reaper's destructive beam, Liara could only assume Harbinger had moved on to another part of the near dead city to annihilate whatever it came across there. She could no longer hear the Reaper's creepy mechanized cry.

The sounds of battle continued its ghostly echo in the distance, the flashes of explosions occasionally flickering in the horizon. In the immediate area surrounding the Conduit however, it was deathly silent. There wasn't even comm chatter, at least none that Liara could hear. Either she had gone deaf (which was unlikely, though possible), or her comm was fried. Liara leaned towards the latter. The asari didn't know what to make of her current situation, only that she was probably one of the few survivors from Harbinger's fatal blast. That thought alone made it hard to swallow, Liara blinking back tears and blood, the blue liquid leaking into her right eye from the gash above her eyebrow.

Feeling a bit stronger, now that she had some time to recover, Liara decided it was time to get up and have a look around. While she really had no urge to know what the rest of the area looked like, she moved to get up anyhow. She had to know if Shepard made it. If anyone made it. If no one did, it would be up to her.

Pushing up slowly to get to her hands and knees, whatever was on Liara 's back shifted, part of the thing sliding into her line of vision on her right. Biting her lip, the asari did her best to ignore all the pain and strain which came with movement, slowly turning her head to the side. Liara's gaze locked onto the thing which held her down, a gasp escaping her parched lips. Her resolve to get up suddenly wavered. That thing was the partially melted armored arm of an alliance shoulder.

"Goddess!"

A bar of red ran parallel down the soldier's armor in line with their arm, this particular armor sporting the alliance's N7 program colours. Liara knew of only one soldier who wore that armor amongst their charge.

"Shepard!"

Pain was forgotten. Hesitation was forgotten. Now, there was only fear. Fear and horror. With a fresh burst of adrenaline travelling through her veins, Liara managed a complete turnaround, ending up in sitting position with the limp body of Commander Shepard cradled in her battered arms. Liara didn't even notice the state of her own armor, parts of it scorched and torn, parts of her skin blistered and bleeding.

Shepard's helmet was completely gone, all of the armor from the woman's left shoulder down also missing. The soldier's right gauntlet had been completely burned away as well, deep, bloody scratches covering her face. Blood trickled from the Commander's nose. Liara almost lost it right there, tears already rolling down her cheeks as she fought to hold back a sob.

"Shepard!" she called again, gently shaking her bondmate. With frazzled nerves, she waited for a sign, any sign that would indicate the woman she held was still alive. To her relief, Liara was barely able to hear the soft, rasping breaths of the soldier. But the fragility of them left her on edge, the asari wondering just when exactly they would cease comp-

Liara shook her head. No, she shouldn't be thinking like that. Shepard was strong. Shepard was a survivor. Time and time again, the soldier defied the odds, she defied death, proving exactly why she was humanity's and the galaxy's best hope in destroying this Reaper threat once and for all. The slaver raid on Mindoir, the batarian attack on Elysium, and every single time she faced the Reapers - may it be through Saren, the Collectors, or otherwise - Shepard lived through them all. Shepard was a freaking legend for crying out loud! Yet... Liara swallowed thickly. Yet here Commander Shepard was, hanging onto life by a thread.

"Do you feel ready, Shepard?" Liara ran a finger over the N7 helmet in her hand, tracing invisible patterns on the casing. She stared at the reflection in the helmet's visor before looking up at the one in question.

Commander Shepard was silent for a moment, sitting at the edge of her bed, looking down at the floor. Then her eyes metLiara's, and she smirked slightly. "You first."

Liara chuckled. "Huh. Very fair." The asari scientist gazed at the helmet in her hands again, memories of a burning Thessia flashing to the forefront of her mind. "What I want most..." she began. "... is for this war to end. While there's still a galaxy left to save."

Blue eyes rose from the helmet once more, expecting to meet the hazel gaze of a certain brunette, but they did not. Shepard was staring at the floor again. "And everyone is counting on you to do that for us."

No response.

Liara frowned. She knew that look. She knew that face. Shepard only went silent like that when she was thinking of the past, more specifically of those she had lost. "It must be overwhelming."

Commander Shepard made a fist, her knuckles white. Uncertain brown eyes looked at Liara. "How do you get ready for something like this?"

"This is Liara T'Soni! Can any read me!" Liara gripped at her bondmate, the never ending stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. Fragments of memory came back to her flashes, everything from their charge down to the Conduit until up until now.

"It would be easy for a single ship to get lost up there. Wouldn't it?" Liara smiled, relishing in the comfort she felt with Shepard next to her. Both of them stared up at the window in the ceiling above the bed, where the stars rushed by and a shimmer of blue from Normandy's shields washed over the reinforced glass, giving the scene an ethereal look.

"Yeah," Shepard said wistfully. "It would."

Liara felt the hand intertwined with her own squeeze gently. "To find some place, very far away, where you can spend the rest of your life in peace, and happiness."

Their first moments on London's streets ended up being an uphill battle to take out the Reaper defense turret, giving the Hammer Teams a chance land. After that, it was off to the temporary base camp, then speeding through the rubble that was London to kill the Reaper Destroyer, before finally making a mad dash towards the Conduit in the hopes of beaming up to the Citadel to open its arms in order to receive the Crucible.

A walk in the park.

Yeah, right.

After their transportation gave out less than a hundred meters from the Conduit, as if things weren't bad enough, Harbinger decided to land nearby, overlooking the teleportation beam. In spite of that, in spite of their dwindling numbers, they still were going to run it. They had to. There was no other choice. Liara remembered clenching the butt of her pistol at that moment, in both anxiety and fear. The anxiety of what they were about to do, and the fear of losing all that she held precious in a split second. Shepard looked over her shoulder at her then, and despite having her helmet on, Liara knew she was smiling. Now reassured, she nodded back and the soldier looked forward again, waiting for the signal. Somehow, they were going to make it.

At Admiral Anderson's shout, Commander Shepard, her crew, and every remaining soldier left in Hammer Team (including Anderson himself) made a mad dash for the Conduit, vehicles, soldiers and all. Harbinger was quick to fire its laser at anything that moved. People. Makos. Them. But everyone still charged, even as comrades died and loosened debris lashed them in the face. Following Shepard's lead, Liara dodged her fair share of red beams and exploding Makos. Gunships flew overhead, doing their best to provide covering fire, but Harbinger took them down faster than Liara could blink. And just as they were within thirty feet of the Conduit, Commander Shepard pulled a 180 degree turn to tackle Liara to the ground. She had barely enough time to put up a Barrier before red completely filled her vision.

"This is it, isn't it?" Liara stared at the wall, hugging herself in the makeshift command centre. Just in front of her lay a wounded soldier on a gurney. He was one of the ones who wouldn't make it through the night. Shepard stood off to her left, slightly behind her.

"Yeah. This is it."

Liara's gaze lowered to the floor momentarily ,the asari taking a ste pbackwards as she contemplated her response. "I don't know what to say," she said, swallowing down the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. She felt hesitant, for whatever reason, to face the soldier. "All those little blue children will be disappointed I didn't have a speech." Liara could feel tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.

Shepard smiled wistfully, the corners of her lips curving upwards. Understanding her bondmate's struggle, she reached out and put a hand on Liara's shoulder. Shepard squeezed gently."We'll make up a good story for them."

"Garrus! Ashley! Does anyone read me!" Liara's voice was starting to go hoarse, partly due to the sheer amount of emotions running through her right now, and in part due to her desperate pleas for help.

"Commander Shepard is in need of medical attention! I repeat! Commander Shepard is in need of medical attention! Can anyone hear me!"

"Can't sleep?"

Shepard took a deep breath, her back to Liara as she looked down at the floor. "We're almost there."

"Already?" There was a mix of sadness and fear in Liara's voice, one of which she couldn't hide, especially from Shepard. She half sat up, half remained lying down as she sought out the commander's gaze.

"I hope everyone is ready," Shepard said in a tired, exhausted voice. The soldier made a fist on the bed next to her, her knuckles white.

Liara saw this and rested her hand on top of it. "You don't need to worry about that."

Shepard shook her head as if disagreeing. The Commander still would not meet Liara's gaze.

"You rallied who you could. The Reapers won't get anymore chances to divide us."

The brunette moved to stand but Liara held her back, squeezing the soldier's clenched fist gently. Brown eyes met her own blue.

"This time, the galaxy follows our lead."

Liara sat there, helpless and weeping, Commander Shepard barely alive in her arms. After all of those years of hardening herself, all of those years of being the Shadow Broker, Liara thought she had better control over her emotions than this. She had better restraint than this. She knew the risks, she knew the costs, because of her line of work. People died so easily nowadays, especially in war, especially against the Reapers. So what made her think Commander Shepard would be any different? What made her think, when this time came (and she knew it would), that it would be any different?

They were no more than twenty feet away from the Conduit now, and with Harbinger gone, it was a clear path to the teleportation beam. But she couldn't do it. Liara couldn't do it. That would involve leaving Shepard here, the human most likely mortally wounded, just to save... what? What was there left to save after this? Thessia was gone. Earth would soon follow. And the woman she loved...

She couldn't do it.

And so Liara sat there, her back against a wrecked Mako, watching as her bondmate faded away in her arms.

The sound of a light cough, and a shudder running through her hands snapped Liara out of her despair, the asari immediately seeking out Shepard's face. The Commander's eyes were still closed, but her lips moved.

"Shepard?"

"Li... ara..." came a weak voice.

Liara hugged the soldier a bit closer to her. "I'm here, Shepard. Just hang on. I'll get help." Her tears were renewed, more of them rolling down her cheeks. Liara tried her comm again.

"This is Liara T'Soni! Is anyone out there!"

Shepard's hand twitched, blue eyes catching sight of the movement. Liara immediately forgot about the comm and intertwined her fingers with that of Shepard's.

"I'm... sorry..." the brunette said quietly. Commander Shepard went silent.

"S-Shepard?" Liara whispered in disbelief. Her gaze darted back and forth between her the soldier's fingers intertwined with hers and Shepard's face. The woman in her arms did not move.

"How do you get ready for something like this?"

Liara smiled, slowly wandering over to Shepard, step by step, from the couch. "You cajole, and threaten, and make tremendous sacrifices," she said, before sitting down next to the soldier on the bed. "Until the galaxy realizes, it has someone worth following."

Liara set down the N7 helmet on the side table, before looking back to Shepard, the Commander now resting back on her elbows looking up at the ceiling. Hazel coloured eyes locked onto the blue skinned alien, a moment of uncertainty flickering through them.

"You think so?" Shepard asked so earnestly, it tugged at Liara's heart.

"There's no doubt in my mind," Liara told her bondmate, also lying back in bed on her elbows.

For a few silent seconds, they enjoyed each other's company, watching the stars rush by through the ceiling window. Soon enough, the need to hold Shepard overwhelmed her, and Liara reached out, flipped the brunette's palm upwards before intertwining her finger's with the Commander's. Shepard smiled at her then, the brilliant smile which always made Liara's heart flutter every time she saw it. How she never wanted this moment to end...

"No..."

More tears fell.

"No," Liara sobbed. Her breaths came out in choked rasps, the asari clutching Shepard's head tightly to her chest as her entire body shook. "No... Shepard!"

"You mean so much to me." With their foreheads pressed together, the space between their lips almost nonexistent. Liara was so happy.

"I love you Liara T'Soni."

"I..." Liara found herself momentarily speechless. No matter how many times her bondmate said it, those three words always left her feeling faint. "I love you too."

A neon glow embraced London, a shockwave of green washing over the entire remains of Earth. All fighting, no matter where it was, no matter who it was between, stopped for a brief moment as the green wave of energy enveloped them. So caught up in her grieving, Liara hadn't noticed any of it, not until she felt the warm touch of a hand on her shoulder. Blue eyes snapped open in surprise, Liara's eyes widening as she stared in front of her.

It was like time had stopped, or perhaps she had been suddenly teleported to another dimension. The body of Commander Shepard still lay in her arms, yet at the same time, so too the woman stood in front of her, a green sheen to her form. Liara wanted to say this apparition of her bondmate was similar to that of the Prothean VI which was uncovered on Thessia. Swirls of green energy made up the ghostly Commander Shepard, the details so exact, it was like she was staring at the soldier as if they were back on the Normandy before any of this had happened. But unlike the Prothean VI, this ghostly woman was warm and solid to the touch. And Liara knew of no VI which could do that.

Ghostly Shepard smiled, warming Liara to her very soul. The soldier reached out a hand and cupped her cheek. Naturally, Liara leaned into the touch, a smile forming on her lips. The asari didn't remember closing her eyes, but the moment she felt lips on her forehead, they shot open again in surprise. Ghostly Shepard was now kneeling in front of her, looking at Liara with such warmth and love, it almost hurt to look back. Then, ever so slowly, Ghostly Shepard reached forward and rested a hand on Liara's stomach.

Liara looked down at the warm hand, her jaw going slack. She hadn't felt it before, but now she did. Life within. Ghostly Shepard smiled again, before standing up and turning to leave.

"Shepard!" Liara called out in desperation. She vainly reached out to the fleeting green form of the Commander, hoping to grasp her hand or something else to keep her here. Ghostly Commander Shepard stopped in her tracks, understanding Liara's distress and reached back to intertwine her fingers with the Liara's. While nothing was said, everything was understood between them. And then that moment ended, and the wave of green continued its way past Liara, the green ghostly form of Commander Shepard fading into nothingness.

Now everything was different.

"This war has brought us pain, and suffering..." Shepard looked down at her hands before raising her gaze to her comrades in arms. "...and loss."

Liara glanced at the others with her, each and every single one of them friends, all of them having lost something or someone to the Reapers.

"But it's also brought us together," Commander Shepard continued. "As soldiers, allies, friends. This bond that ties us together is something the Reapers will never understand. It's more powerful than any weapon, stronger than any ship. It can't be taken or destroyed."

The sounds of fighting had stopped, as had the explosions and even the movement of the Reapers. Soldiers peered out from the rubble that was their cover, watching in awe as a something akin to a whale song sounded before the very Reapers themselves took to the sky again and retreated. It was then that Liara's comm crackled back to life, the channel she was currently listening to filling with laughter and shouts of joy.

"They're leaving! The Reapers are leaving!" someone exclaimed over the comm. "We've won!"

"The next few hours will decide the fate of everyone in the galaxy," Shepard said, continuing her slow pacing in front of them. "Every mother. Every son. Every unborn child."

Liara swallowed, finding herself on the receiving end of her bondmate's loving gaze.

"They're trusting you... depending on you to win them their future. A future free from the threat of the Reapers."

Liara looked down at the one in her grasp, her now neon green eyes noting a smile on Shepard's face. Once again hugging her the soldier's face to her chest, she closed her eyes, the tears finally stopping.

It was finally over. All of it, was finally over. Shepard could now rest in peace.

"But take heart," Shepard said, looking over them all. "Look around you. You're not in this fight alone. We face our enemy together, and together we will defeat them."

Pressing their foreheads together, Liara suppressed another sob. "Thank you, Shepard," she said, softly. "For everything."

Liara looked up at the sound of engines in the distance. With the Reapers now gone and the war over, recovery efforts had begun. She hadn't moved from her spot since awaking however many hours it was ago. The body of her bondmate still rested in her arms, as if asleep, Liara staring up at the clearing sky. She didn't know how long she sat here, thinking about all of the good memories of the past. She supposed that didn't matter any more. Nevertheless, it was nice to see the smoky sky finally clearing, rays of sunshine lighting up everything.

A touch.

Liara startled when something touched her face, her eyes widening in shock when her gaze was met with another pair of neon green eyes.

"Hey," Shepard said weakly, her throat dry.

Liara immediately grabbed Shepard's outstretched hand, kissing the back of it. "Shepard," she said, tears fresh in her eyes again. "I thought you... that you..." Liara's voice shook uncontrollably.

Shepard smiled softly, squeezing Liara's hand gently. "I love you too, Liara."

A/N:Yeah, so I hinted at the whole ending thing to be a hallucination (as it is one of the many theories out there), but at the same time ,I didn't. Lol. While this is not my best piece of writing, I hope you enjoyed the read nevertheless.

Just to clarify, the blocks of text in italics are flashbacks to conversations in game. And for those of you who are wondering, yes, Liara is pregnant with Shepard's baby. XD

And on one final random note, my exact thoughts when playing the game and running towards the synthesis beam was exactly what Shepard said. "Liara, I'm sorry."

Long live Commander Shepard!