Dust Off Your Highest Hopes

Chapter 2

As soon as the lock clicked Shepard let out a deep sigh of relief. She sagged against the door briefly and let her head fall into her hands. Her legs were still shaking from the intensity of the meld and her thoughts were spinning in a thousand directions at once.

It has been awhile.

Shepard shook her head to try and lose the sound of Liara's voice but it didn't do much good. Liara's voice was never hard to conjure up anyway and what she had said…

It has been awhile.

"Fuckin…" Shepard trailed off. She sighed again and stood up straight, her legs solid again. She had to start the shower before Liara started to worry.

Melding always made her a little dizzy and weak in the knees. The later she attributed to the bone deep pleasure, and the former…well she was pretty sure the human brain wasn't designed to hold more than one mind at a time.

Once she was under the hot water it was harder to avoid thinking, the shower had always been her thinking place. It was one of the few places she could be truly alone with her thoughts. Unfortunately, she couldn't just stop thinking once she started. She considered it one of her more unattractive personality traits.

It has been awhile.

She stuck her head under the stream of water to wet her hair, briefly allowing her thoughts to shift to how long it was getting. When she reached up to grab her shampoo she cursed at how light the bottle was. She had just been on Earth two days ago and had neglected to pick up any more. It was incredibly irritating to have human hair care products shipped to Thessia, and incredibly expensive. Sure, she had spent tens of thousands of credits on weapons and armor before, but a thousand credits for two bottles of shampoo was just highway robbery.

It has been awhile.

The meld had still been active at the time she had said them, though it had weakened. Shepard had been able to feel that Liara was content, sated. She had felt the background buzz of nervousness that was tied to what would happen later that night, but most of Liara's attention had been focused on her. Liara hadn't meant anything but exactly what she'd said. It was a statement of fact.

It has been awhile.

Shepard didn't want to admit it, but when she actually took the time to think about it, she realized that it had been over two months since the last time she had allowed Liara to meld with her. As soon as that realization stole over her, her hands stopped moving in her hair. Her unfocused gaze was stuck on the shower wall as she thought about it carefully to make sure she hadn't simply forgotten something. She hadn't.

And then suds dripped down over her forehead into her eyes.

She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes against the pain. She deserved it though, she thought, even as she franticly tried to wash the sting out of her eyes. For the past five years she had been incredibly selfish. She masturbated fairly regularly, nine days out of ten she would have at least one orgasm. But Liara couldn't do that. She required a meld in order to release any sexual frustration since she was physically incapable of doing so otherwise.

It was difficult for Shepard to even comprehend how a person could have an orgasm that wasn't physical, but asari were a little complicated. On one hand the species as a whole reproduced asexually, in a way. In order to introduce genetic diversity a second set of genes was needed in order to create a map so it wasn't exactly asexual reproduction. Currently, the only other known sentient, sapient, species that did not reproduce sexually was the salarians. All the other species required penetrative sex in order to reproduce. Therefore, all of those species had evolved "perks" that encouraged penetrative sex. Males had sensitive penises or fronds, females had not only various structures that could be stimulated by penetrative sex, but many species had also developed highly sensitive organs or structures that seemed to exist for the sole purpose of bringing sexual pleasure. Asari had nothing like that. They did have birth canals, of course. Asari babies didn't just burst into existence fully formed. They could receive penetrative sex, and according to the extranet searches Shepard had done before she became involved with Liara, it wasn't entirely unpleasant for them, but only a meld could do for an asari what physical sex could do for other species.

I'm a complete fucking asshole.

Suds completely washed out of her eyes and hair, Shepard leaned against the back wall of the shower and allowed the hot water to wash over her while she continued her self-flagellation.

She didn't usually mind melding like she did physical sex. It was incredibly intimate and opened her up completely to another person, more than any act of physical intercourse ever could. Sex didn't usually expose every single one of your deepest desires and memories like a movie reel for another person to see. It didn't allow another person to feel every emotion that you were experiencing just as you experienced them. However, melding was also much less uncomfortable for her. It required only a single point of skin to skin contact, and that contact could be anywhere. She didn't have to endure another person touching her, looking at her, trying to arouse her. It was almost like it wasn't even sex. She knew, of course, that her thinking of it as not really being sex was entirely dependent on her socialization as a human. If she had been raised by asari, she doubted that she would even identify as asexual.

What she wasn't sure of, though, was if the sort of restraint that she preferred was enough for Liara. She wished that she could do some research without Liara finding out about it. Unfortunately, all the extranet activity in the estate and tied to her omni-tool was automatically reported to Liara's broker network. Shepard saw the necessity in it. If she were ever captured all it would take would be a single activation for the omni-tool to transmit its location and any data being pursued to Liara. Liara's own omni-tool had the same safety. The only difference was that Shepard had no clue what Liara did on the extranet.

Another option would be to talk to another asari, but the only other asari she knew well were Aethyta and Samara. Samara was hard to contact at the best of times, and there was no way she would ever ask Aethyta any questions relating to sex. Not only would she be teased mercilessly, but Liara would still hear about it because Aethyta would tell her.

She really needed more asari friends.

Of course, she could just talk to Liara about it, but that idea made her uncomfortable. Another human quirk, she supposed. She didn't mind talking about sex in a scientific or social sense, but as soon as it became personal she sealed up tighter than a Turian's asshole.

Shepard had had sex with both men and women in an attempt to understand herself better before she had figured out that there wasn't anything wrong with her. It had rarely been pleasant. Once she realized that she was asexual, some things became much easier. Understanding that it wasn't just that she was just with the wrong people, but that she didn't want anyone at all, it was freeing. Even more so, understanding that sexual people didn't just have sex because they felt it was what they should do, like she had been doing her whole life. Of course, nothing in Shepard's life could be too easy. She didn't really ever want to have sex, but she still got horny. Often. Masturbating was the solution that she turned to.

It's been two months since Liara and I melded, but she hadn't asked to meld either.

"She shouldn't have to ask," Shepard said out loud. She reached up and turned the shower off.

She knew, knew, that Liara was happy with their relationship. You couldn't hide anything in a meld without it being extremely obvious. But still, the fact remained that she had been a selfish lover, especially considering the fact that melding didn't make her want to shrink away in distaste like the thought of physical sex did. She could do more for Liara. She could make her even happier.

I will.

Shepard found Liara waiting in the kitchen at the center counter, with a cup of tea and a handful of peanut butter cups sitting on the smooth marble surface in front of her. She was staring at her tea, her eyes unfocused and her thoughts, no doubt, light-years away.

She knew that Liara had been distracted for the past week with plans for the dinner, and the meld had told her Liara was feeling nervous, but she still didn't know why. Liara would avoid talking about it if at all possible, so Shepard knew she had to worm the information out of her subtly.

Shepard was the queen of subtle. It should be easy. But first, candy.

She reached over Liara's shoulder and picked up several pieces, startling Liara out of her thoughtful expression. "Where's the rest of it?"

The flirtatious smile Liara gave her made Shepard's heart beat faster. "I will never tell."

"I'm a skilled interrogator."

Liara tilted her head up so that their lips were barely separated. "Do your worst."

Shepard smiled sweetly and then moved in for the kill, mercilessly tickling her bondmate. Liara shrieked with laughter and fought against Shepard's hands. After several minutes, when Liara had still not given in even with tears streaming down her cheeks, Shepard gave up her mission as a lost cause. If Liara intended to break it would have happened quickly. "You're mean."

"You are not the one crying," Liara retorted in-between laughs.

Shepard used the bottom of her shirt to help wipe the tears from Liara's cheeks. When she finished, she took Liara's face in both of her hands and stared at her adoringly. Looking at Liara was one of her favorite pastimes. Under her hands, Liara's cheeks started to feel warmer and Shepard knew that if asari skin (scales?) was translucent she would be able to see her blush. "I love you even when you hide my candy." Liara averted her eyes bashfully, but she was smiling when Shepard released her.

"I love you," Liara retorted, "enough to hide your candy. I do not want you to get that human sugar disease."

Shepard pouted and rolled her eyes. One indulgence wasn't going to give her diabetes. "I thought for sure that one would work."

"I know you did."

That was when the cat decided to show up. Growling like some sort of beast, Bandit, the Normandy's old ship cat, leapt between them and landed hard on the counter top. She skidded along the smooth surface, knocking Liara's tea to the ground with a clatter, and snatched up one of the peanut butter cups before leaping away in an impressive display of feline acrobatics.

Shepard watched with startled amazement until Bandit's dark tail flashed around the corner. Then when she realized that the cat had stolen her candy she bolted after her. "Oh hell no!"

Once Shepard had chased Bandit down and wrestled the candy away from the yowling creature she returned to the kitchen and got to work with Liara watching over her shoulder and asking questions. The dinner was to be a casual affair with a mix of human and asari dishes. Shepard was preparing a brisket to be the center piece and she was confident that it would be something unique for all of their guests.

Asari usually ate a lot of fish and aquatic mammals. Thessia boasted more types of aquatic life than any other planet other than the hanar homeworld, and even then, they were only bested by a thousand species. Fishing was the number one profession on Thessia, with many asari specializing in only certain species. Liara told her that her grandmother had specialized in one breed of soft shelled yersi, which somewhat resembled Earth squid, only they typically tended to be a pale green color.

Though asari had long ago abandoned living in the oceans and seas, there was no true escape from the water. The largest land masses on Thessia could still be crossed on foot in less than a Galactic Standard Week. There were no large land animals, though there were several species of rodents, and many more birds; reptiles were not entirely uncommon either. Only a few species were considered either unfit to eat or as domestic animals to be kept as pets.

Red meat wasn't something that asari ate often, especially if they had never been off world, which included most of their guests. Shepard was hoping that they would find it exotic and interesting.

"This meat is from the cow, yes?" Liara asked, tilting the heavy slab of meat with both hands to get a better look at it.

"Yes, it's from the breast section. It will take about five hours to cook and it is going to be delicious." Shepard took the beef away from Liara and used a small knife to cut away the plastic it was wrapped in. "The nice thing about this is it doesn't need a lot of seasoning, and it doesn't need to be watched that closely. I'll need to check on it every half hour or so, but it's mostly fine on its own."

"And what is the juice for?" Shepard had requested that Liara buy several bottles of juice made from a popular Thessian fruit, the loua. It had a lightly tangy flavor and was a very popular juice to give to small children. Shepard refused to be embarrassed that it was her favorite alien juice.

"It'll give it some extra flavor and it'll keep the meat from drying out and getting tough."

Shepard enjoyed cooking, though she hadn't wanted to learn at first. Her maternal grandmother had insisted on it, though, and it had turned out to be every bit as useful as the old woman had promised. Liara certainly wouldn't be able to cook a cohesive dinner for a dozen guests.

Other than the brisket, there would also be a salad made from Thessian greens and vegetables, Shepard was also planning to add cherry tomatoes, because she couldn't view a salad as complete without tomatoes; mashed potatoes; a type of Thessian squash which was very delicious when fried; and dinner rolls made from a Thessian grain that produced a grey-ish dough. She had also made an apple pie the night before for dessert.

With Liara helping to chop vegetables it only took half an hour to finish everything. The salad would keep just fine in the refrigerator, but everything else had to be kept in what Shepard affectionately called the Food Safe. It was a handy device for keeping food fresh and warm as if it had just popped out of the oven. She didn't even realize that Liara had left the kitchen until she turned away from the Food Safe and found herself alone.

She frowned. Liara had been very adept at avoiding any discussion about her family while they were working. Any time the conversation would stray in that direction she would derail it by asking a question about what they were making, or how much of each vegetable to chop, or why so much butter was necessary for potatoes. Shepard had fallen for it every time to. The subtle approach hadn't worked after all.

When Liara was stressed and unable to obsessively work, she would mentally pace. There was no actual pacing involved, thankfully, or she would have worn through the floor in several rooms already. Instead, she would stand in the middle of a room, one hand on her forehead and the other on her hip, and not move for up to half an hour at a time, just staring at nothing while she mentally flagellated. She was doing exactly that when Shepard found her in the living room.

Since subtle hadn't worked the first time, Shepard decided to go in for the kill. That usually worked. At least on the battlefield. Confronting Liara about things she didn't want to talk about was only half as dangerous as getting shot at on a good day, so Shepard liked her odds.

She walked up behind Liara and took the hand that was on Liara's forehead between both of hers, not holding tight enough to be uncomfortable, but not allowing much slack either. Liara was sometimes slippery. When her touch startled Liara out of her brooding and drew her gaze Shepard threw on her best Commander Face®.

"We're going to talk about what's bothering you and we're going to do it right now." She started to pull Liara along toward the couch but jerked to a stop when Liara dug her heels in.

"Shepard," Liara protested weakly in the wake of the Commander Face®, pulling at the grip Shepard had on her arm, "I do not have time to talk about this. I have to check my feeds." Lies. Shepard knew, or at least had a very strong suspicion that Liara had set up Glyph to monitor her feeds and tell her about any emergencies.

Shepard drew Liara closer and pulled her down so she was sitting on the couch next to her. "No, come sit with me a while." Despite what her words implied Shepard lay down and tugged Liara along with her, until they were arranged comfortably with Liara's back to her front.

"This is not sitting," Liara said, settling in to pout. She didn't resist Shepard's arms wrapping around her though.

Shepard took a moment to simply enjoy the feeling of her bondmate in her arms. They fit together so nicely, and Liara was soft and warm, even if her shoulders were far too tense. She shifted so that she was resting her weight on her elbow and Liara twisted her head slightly to look up at her. Shepard smiled at the pronounced pout that Liara was nursing and darted down to lay a quick kiss on Liara's bottom lip. "I love you."

Liara was frowning, but Shepard could see the corners of her lips quirk up every few seconds until she just couldn't keep from smiling, especially under the continued assault that Shepard peppered over her cheeks, chin, and forehead.

"Tell me about what's bothering you?"

Liara sighed and rolled back onto her side, facing away from Shepard. She started to pick at loose thread on her sleeve. When no explanation was forthcoming Shepard pressed the issue.

"Is it some crazy asari thing I'll have no hope of understanding?" Shepard grinned when she asked it, but she was well aware that Liara's issue could be something that she would just never be able to understand. Asari sometimes seemed much more complicated than necessary and understanding their cultural quirks often gave her a headache. She took comfort in the knowledge that Liara often had to look up information about humans on the extranet.

"It is not complicated but I do not know if you would understand."

"Try me."

"They are not really my sisters, they are not of my house," Liara paused and pursed her lips in frustration. Shepard had to stop herself from speaking too soon and risk redirecting the entire conversation. She reached up and ran her thumb over the furrow that had appeared between Liara's brows. Liara sighed again and turned her head, tugging at Shepard's shirt collar until she could press her cheek against bare skin. "I am sometimes made very aware of what little time we have together, Shepard. It weighs on me more when I also realize that you are my only family. I am the only T'Soni left. It is my job to lead the house and I am only a maiden. It is a lot of responsibility." Shepard's heart clinched in her chest, but she said nothing. "It would just be a comfort to know that they care for me and would help me, should I need it."

"So what? You're worried they won't love you or something?" Liara nodded and Shepard tightened her hold. She couldn't imagine anyone not loving Liara. "That's crazy, everyone loves you and if they don't then they're wrong."

She felt Liara laugh quietly and it made her smile. "The people I have killed would most likely disagree with you."

"Yeah well, they were all assholes anyway," Shepard said dismissively.

Liara's laugh was much louder that time. Shepard considered it a job well done.

She allowed the comfortable silence between them to carry on for several minutes before she added, "And honestly, if they don't just love you to bits then they're missing out."

"Your confidence in me is sweet."

Shepard chuckled. "When are you going to learn that I'm always right?"

"What about that time at the market when you-"

Shepard pressed her hand over Liara's mouth. "Shh, we swore to never speak of that again." Liara licked her palm and Shepard pulled away and wiped it over Liara's hip to dry it. "You need to relax. Worrying about it won't make it any better anyway."

"I cannot exactly just stop thinking about it," Liara protested.

Shepard supposed that was true. It was always difficult to try not thinking about something. Liara would need a distraction then.

She was the queen of distractions.

Shepard ghosted her lips over Liara's neck folds softly at first, just to tease, but it wasn't until her tongue snuck out that Liara gasped quietly and shivered.

"What are you doing?" Liara demanded even as she leaned into Shepard's touch.

"What does it feel like?"

Liara jerked in her arms when Shepard increased her efforts, sucking the skin between her lips and lightly scraping her teeth over the ridges. She could taste the lightly nutty oil that Liara rubbed into her skin after every bath to keep it from drying out. She slowly explored as much of Liara's neck and crest as she could in her position with Liara's needy whimpers fueling her, and then she moved her attention to Liara's jaw. When she was near Liara's ear, she reached over with her free hand and weaved their fingers together.

"Are you ever going to meld with me?" She teased.

The words were barely out of her mouth before Liara's mind slammed into her own, almost as powerfully as their earlier meld. If it had been a physical force, Shepard thought it might have just toppled over the couch. Once their minds joined there wasn't much room for distinguished thoughts, all she knew was that they felt wonderful. Her own orgasm was small, since she hadn't been aroused, but Liara was a rolling wave of pleasure that Shepard got to experience as a sort of echo.

The meld ended slower this time since Shepard didn't pull away from the skin contact, and they both luxuriated in each other's warmth until Liara's mind slowly slipped away, separating them into two people again. For several moments afterwards there was silence between them, Shepard was glad for it, as it gave her more time to get over the meld dizziness.

Eventually, Liara hummed happily, settling boneless against Shepard again. "That was nice, if a little unexpected. Thank you, Love."

"Anytime." Shepard tried to put as much sincerity in one word as she could. She wished the meld was still active so Liara would be able to feel it instead, but she would make do.

"You have been very affectionate today. Is there something that you would like to talk about?"

Shepard chuckled, because of course Liara would beat her to talking about it. "Yes, but it'll keep."

"If you are sure."

Shepard kissed Liara's temple in lieu of words and they fell back into comfortable silence. Shepard enjoyed it while it lasted. While neither of them were people that laid around often, she did occasionally like to just hold Liara for no other reason than because she could. They were busy people, and their sleep schedules were usually at odds, but whenever a chance arose Shepard took it.

Liara was the one to break the quiet. "At least Aethyta will not ask if we have been melding regularly this time. My scent mark is all over you now." She was quiet for a moment before adding, "Please do not allow her comments to embarrass you."

Shepard frowned. "Does she comment on that often?" She might have accepted that she needed to be more aware of Liara's needs, but she didn't like the idea of Aethyta knowing about how she was lacking.

"You know how she is, everything is about sex." Liara turned mocking, "Am I getting enough? Are you considerate? Have you bent me over the nearest surface and had me from behind yet?"

Shepard flinched at the visual and Liara laughed. "She asks you that kind of stuff?"

Liara, still giggling, nodded. "Oh yes, usually in public. I have explained some of your uniqueness to her, and though she finds you to be very boring, she is happy so long as I am."

"And you're very happy," Shepard stated with confidence, kissing Liara's shoulder.

"Could not be happier," Liara agreed.

Shepard grinned. "Good, then you won't mind watching Dexter with me." Dexter was an old show back on Earth, but it had recently been remade with an interspecies cast, with the titular character played by a hanar. Shepard didn't exactly like the show, she viewed it with a disturbed fascination, kind of like a sky car wreck, but she couldn't stop watching it. Liara absolutely hated the show and usually refused to join her.

Predictably, Liara groaned unhappily. "No, please," she whined.

Shepard grinned and reached over her head for the remote sitting on the end table. "Just one episode."

The hours until their first guest showed up moved quickly, and they eventually had to abandon Dexter for a later time in order to get dressed. Liara made a point of telling Shepard she didn't find it at all charming when she wheedled more episodes out of her.

Since the dinner was casual, Shepard had gone with a red button up and a pair of her nice jeans that didn't have any holes in them. Liara went with a pale yellow summer dress.

It was twenty minutes until dinner time before their first guests arrived. When the doorbell chimed, Shepard raced Liara to answer it and won soundly. She stuck her tongue out at Liara's unhappy expression and threw the door open.

"Aethyta! How absolutely corking to see you again!" Shepard opened her arms wide as if she expected a hug.

Aethyta cracked a lecherous smile. "You're absolutely covered in Liara. Did you just finish fucking?"

Shepard saw Liara's jaw clench out of the corner of her eye, but she just smirked and lowered her arms. "Yeah, like three hours ago, you perv."

That actually got Aethyta to laugh loudly and the other two asari with her just winced in sympathy. Shepard waved them all inside.

"Shepard has been making me watch this awful show called Dexter," Liara cut in before Aethyta could make any more comments on their sex life.

"Oh, the one about the hanar serial killer? I love that show."

"Anyway!" Liara said loudly. She gestured to the asari standing behind Aethyta, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Aethyta rolled her eyes. "Like you don't already know who they are. This is my granddaughter, Valik," she gestured to the lighter blue asari with no markings, "and her bondmate, Jora." Jora was closer to Aethyta's dark blue coloring and had lighter blue stripes along her crest.

Jora stepped forward first to greet Liara with her palms up in the standard way, but when she turned to Shepard she bowed deeply. Shepard was pretty used to being greeted by strange asari in that manner, and she appreciated the gesture, but Jora was family.

She touched Jora's shoulder lightly and the matron twitched under her hand. "Hey, none of that now. We're family."

Jora shook her head even as she stood up. "I-I am only an accountant, and I don't know anything about fighting. I was not involved in the war, but Valik was. You personally pulled her out of a horde of husks in the fighting here on Thessia, and so for my bondmate and for my daughter, I am very grateful to you."

Touched, and a little in awe of how small the galaxy could be, Shepard pulled Jora into a friendly hug. "Well, you're welcome." She looked up at Valik. "I'm sorry to say I don't actually remember you though, you'd be surprised how many times that sort of situation occurred."

Valik laughed pleasantly. "I saw it often enough to know that you're right." She greeted Liara the same way Jora had and whispered something to her that had Liara shyly looking down at her feet after. When she turned to greet Shepard, she shifted her right arm and it pulled back a part in her garment. Shepard saw the back of a tiny blue head. Valik was wearing the traditional asari garments of a nursing mother, which were similar to saris in that they were one continuous piece of cloth that was wrapped around the body artfully. When done properly, they could be wrapped to include a very sturdy sling to carry the child, which Valik had done, obviously.

"I'm very happy I could help you," Shepard said honestly, but her attention had shifted to getting a better look at the baby that she could now see was nestled in the sling of the garment. Noticing this, Valik smiled and drew the baby out into her arms. "And who do we have here?" Shepard asked, her voice automatically rising in pitch a little. The baby blinked at her and stuck her fist in her mouth. She was about the size of a four month old baby and only a couple inches of her crest had grown out.

Valik bounced the baby gently. "This is Hures. She's ten months old today."

"She's absolutely precious!" Shepard could feel her carefully crafted military persona slipping away instantly, but when faced with adorable children she didn't really care much for seeming aloof and untouchable.

"Would you like to hold her?"

"Of course," Shepard enthused. She absolutely adored children and babies. One of her favorite things about her fame was the way children would flock to her and demand pictures and hugs, they would give her little trinkets or flowers and tell her stories about how she and the rest of the Normandy's crew had helped them throughout the war, even if the Normandy had never been in their specific area. She loved knowing that she had been part of something that could save just a little innocence and purity in the galaxy, and every child that smiled at her or baby that tugged at her hair made all the pain and effort more than worth it. The fact that this particular child wouldn't have existed without her was an even more powerful boon.

Valik passed Hures over carefully. Shepard settled the baby into the cradle of her arms, supporting her head the same way she would a human baby's. That was apparently satisfactory to Valik. "Do asari babies have soft spots like human babies?" She asked.

"Our skulls are a little soft at the crown until we're about a year old, but this area right here," Valik pointed at the space just above Hures's forehead where the nubs of her crest were growing, "is especially sensitive. Her melon is just under there and until her crest hardens it will be a very delicate area. If she were to be struck in that area, by anything really, it could damage her ability to meld properly."

"How long will it be until her crest hardens?" Shepard asked. She shifted Hures closer to her body to offer her more support after Valik's warnings. She had never really been one for studying more than was necessary, but after she got involved with Liara she had set out to learn all she could about asari physiology. The melon was the organ that allowed the asari to meld. It sat just under the front of the crest in a divot formed by the skull. It was not considered part of the asari brain despite the fact that it was connected to the brain by heavily nerved connective tissues. Because an asari could have their melon removed and still live, it was deemed a separate organ. However, its removal would effectively neuter any asari and would bring about a life-long struggle with hormone imbalance and severely hamper any biotics. An injury to the area could cause similar problems, though to varying degrees, which was part of the reason that all asari sports and many occupations required the use of helmets. In asari culture, not wearing a helmet was a sign that the asari viewed herself as especially skilled or powerful, so much so that she didn't feel the need to protect her melon. Shepard, however, considered any asari she fought that didn't wear helmets to be particularly stupid, which was why she nagged Liara about it at every turn.

"It takes about two years to be completely set, but the melon is usually completely safe by thirteen months. Hures is almost there."

"Hey," Aethyta interrupted, "show them that holo you showed me. The one with the bathtub."

Valik turned away, already pulling up the holo on her omni-tool. Shepard didn't pay it any mind, she was completely focused on the bundle in her arms. Hures's wide blue eyes were tracking over Shepard's face but she didn't seem distressed about being held by a new person. Shepard wondered if asari babies had terrible eyesight like human babies did.

Hures yawed as wide as her mouth would let her and flailed one tiny fist through the air briefly before she caught hold of the edge of her blanket. Her tiny fingers closed around the border tightly and Shepard had to control her natural urge to coo.

"Oh no," Shepard whispered, looking lovingly at the little Asari in her arms, "Liara, we're going to have a problem."

From the corner of her eye, Shepard saw Liara, Valik, and Aethyta all look up from the holo at the same time, but she didn't look away from Hures's angelic little face. She started to rock her gently out of instinct.

"Is something wrong?" Valik asked, taking a step away from her aunt and grandmother. "Does she need to be changed?"

"No, she's perfect." Shepard ran her thumb over Hures's brow and Hures smacked her lips sleepily, pale blue lids fluttering over equally blue eyes.

"Then what's the problem?" Valik was hovering near Shepard's elbow, like any young mother might, but she could see that Hures was perfectly content where she was.

"I'm in love."

"What? Shepard, what are you talking about?"

Shepard looked up, her eyes swimming with unexpressed emotion. Her heart felt too full to contain all the feelings that holding one little baby had suddenly thrust upon her. "I want one."

Aethyta gave a bark of laughter and slapped Liara on the back hard enough to make her stumble. "Well kid, you're in for it. Once a person gets baby fever there's no going back."

Shepard ignored Aethyta's comment, though she silently agreed. She had always wanted children in a vague way. It was always something she planned for the future, but apparently she had finally reached that future she had always been planning for. On one hand, it was intimidating to think of having a child not so different than the one she was currently holding and being responsible for caring for it. The thought that she could help make another person was simultaneously daunting and exciting. When she thought about making that new life with Liara…

Her breath caught at just the idea of it.

"I wonder where those useless daughters of mine are," Aethyta said suddenly, drawing Shepard out of her musings.

As if she had summoned them with her words, the door chime rang again and this time Shepard didn't race Liara to the door.

A/N: Thanks for all your comments on the first chapter. I hope the first scene in this chapter (which was not originally in the plan for this fic) helped explain Shep's preferences a little more.

Please review and tell me what you thought!