Chapter 14- First Steps Forward

The grey skies seemed to be eternal, with no break, with no sun to penetrate it. The trees looked completely bare, as how they would look when it was those few brief weeks between the final winds of autumn that stripped the last of the leaves away from the branches, and the first snows that would lightly coat those same branches of the trees with a soft covering of white. Shepard was stunned at the sight, not because it was something new to him, but that he had returned to it. It hadn't been since near the end of the war that he had last had this dream, and he thought, with the Reapers gone, he wouldn't come back to this, but here he was. He glanced down at himself, and saw the tattered remains of his old armor, what had been the result of the hit he had gotten from Harbinger, in the final push to the beam to the Citadel. The cuts, gashes, and blood were no longer present, though, and it became the last of Shepard's focus as something else caught his attention.

The echoes of voices came out to him, with faded shadows floating around him, taking vague forms of those who now called out to him. Each one could be heard. Kaidan…Thane…Mordin…Legion…Anderson. Before he could think of some way to respond to this, a feeling of presence came to Shepard, causing him to sharply turn around. As he had assumed, there was a form moving towards him. A small one, one he recognized as well. He narrowed his eyes, not wanting to believe it.

"Not you…"

The small figure stepped towards him, though not in any shape that had defined features. Only the outline of the shadow was there, but the voice was clear and distinct. "You couldn't help me…" Shepard looked at the figure in confusion, hearing the boy's voice. It had been the same as when he heard that boy speak to him when the Reapers first attacked Earth. But before he could even give a response, then the other voices started speaking the same thing, each voice merging with one another, until it sounded like a constant repeated line.

"You couldn't help me, Shepard…Shepard, you couldn't help me…You couldn't help me, Commander…You were unable to assist us, Shepard-Commander…"

He started to cover his ears, as the voices repeated the same sentences over and over again, never letting up, forcing himself to shut his eyes closed, his teeth starting to clench. Just as he did, another voice floated out, one that stood out from the rest of the ones that were lost. "You can't save me, Shepard…" He felt his heart stop at who he heard, with dread growing as he recognized the voice. He needed to open his eyes…

…

Shepard gave a sharp gasp as he woke up, his mind trying to process what he had just dreamed of and also where he was. His breathing settled slowly as everything came into focus. He was safely in bed, in his apartment. It was then that he noticed that Miranda was no longer in bed with him, and as he started to sit up, to try to see where she could be, he noticed, on the pillow next to his, a datapad. His initial concern changed to curiosity as he activated the datapad, reading the message that showed on it.

Shepard,

I had to quickly leave for a couple hours. Ori and her family were stopping at the Citadel briefly before returning to Illium to take care of things, and I wanted to quickly see her. I tried to wake you up, but you were completely unresponsive. I guess you were more worn out then I expected. I should be back fairly soon, I'm sorry if I worried you in any way about my absence.

I love you

A light smile came across Shepard's face as the put the datapad aside and sat up, rereading the message with a light smirk, his heart giving a slight flutter looking at her written words. As much as she was trying to change, Shepard could still see how Miranda was struggling getting used to being in a relationship. She still needed work on writing more romantic messages, he thought to himself comically. He dressed himself in a simple t-shirt and jeans, putting on a pair of boots that he usually wore when not in uniform, then stepped out, glancing outside through the large windows that faced out on the Strip.

There was never such a thing as a day cycle on the Citadel, with the exception of the Presidium. The day and night were blended, with no separation of the two, and the only way those who lived on it were able to operate themselves were by their own personal internal clocks. The Silversun Strip was just off the Presidium, on one of the rotating arms of the Citadel, near the base. As such, it also had no cycles of sunrises and sunsets, and because of this, the Strip, with all its attractions, never seemed to rest. It was always bustling with many people of many races walking through it at all hours.

However, with just over a month since the end of the war with the Reapers, the Strip was mostly silent, with only a few lone individuals passing through and the occasional skycar. Out of everything on the strip, the only place that seemed lit up were the Tiberius Towers, the prominent building that housed both hotel suites and apartments. Like many others on the Citadel, when word came that Cerberus and the Reapers were arriving, with less than an hour's notice, many of the citizens and business owners that lived on the massive space station fled immediately, not risking what had happened when Sovereign had attacked three years ago. Many had already returned, and were now picking up the pieces of what had been left behind. It was taking a lot of work and resources, but the outlook was slowly becoming positive that, in some way, things were starting to return to what they had previously been before, only with the lingering sorrow of the losses that came with the war forever stuck on the minds of many.

It wasn't lost on Shepard, either, as he went slowly down the stairs to the kitchen. Even though it was now his apartment, his new home now that he was no longer going to be the captain of the Normandy, he had been given ownership of it by Anderson. It had been humbling for him even then to be given such a luxurious place to call his own, since he had known nothing but the grimy, run-down alleyways of Vancouver, and then the numerous bases and ships he served on during his early days in the Alliance military. With the exception of the Normandy, both ships that carried the name, he didn't have a home of his own.

There were going to be many new changes and adjustments for him, as well as Miranda. During their time shopping on the Citadel, on the Presidium, they conversed about those new changes for both of them. Even though she tried to put on a face of confidence, Shepard could tell that Miranda was going to have a hard time adjusting to this new life. As bad as he had it, she had no better of a life, at least how she had seen it, and he could understand. Even though she was raised initially in a life of luxury, it was nothing more than, as Miranda put it, a gilded cage. And then, being pretty much molded into being a cold, emotionless, business-only operative by Cerberus. Going into this transition to normalcy was going to be much harder for Miranda than him, though she was happily willing to try and to let him help her in doing so.

As he stepped into the kitchen, Shepard had a slight start as he saw someone already there, but the shock wore off instantly as he gave a grin. Leaning against the island in the kitchen, Garrus nodded to Shepard in greeting, a cup of what Shepard assumed to be, based on the appearance and smell, dextro-amino coffee in his hand. "Good morning, Shepard."

The smile continued on Shepard's face as he nodded back, "You too, Garrus." He walked to the drink machine on the counter, entering in the numbers for his preferred coffee: mostly black, with a touch of sugar. As he placed a mug underneath the spout, he glanced back to the turian that he now considered his closest brother-in-arms, "Is Tali still here?"

Vakarian shook his head, "She had to go meet with the Council. I guess to finalize her title as the official quarian ambassador; something like that." He took a sip of his turian coffee and looked back at Shepard, who was leaning against the counter, waiting patiently. As Shepard started his reply, a beeping sound signaled to Shepard his coffee was done, causing him to turn and grab the full and steaming mug off the machine. He then turned back to Garrus, giving a slyer smile this time as his tone became slightly suggestive.

"So…I'm guessing it's official that you and Tali are…"

An almost awkward sound came out of Garrus, sounding almost like a chuckle as he looked away briefly, "Heh…yeah, it's pretty much confirmed with us now." He then looked back at Shepard, his eyes softening slightly, "I…I never thought I would feel this way about her, but…She…she's become very special to me, Shepard."

Shepard gave a nod of understanding, hiding a smile behind the mug of coffee he was holding as he took a sip, deciding to not let slip the romantic moment Garrus and Tali had the night before that he and Miranda had witnessed. To avoid the possible blurting out of it, he gave a concise reply, "I can see that…"

However, Garrus didn't even seem to notice as his eyes started to look to the side. With just the two of them, close comrades, alone together, he felt the compulsion to let out what he wanted to say, "Just that…every time we're together now, it's…hmm. Who would've thought it would come to this, after having to go save her in the Wards from those hired guns of Fist…She was such a young girl, then. Just a young, naïve and ambitious quarian girl on her Pilgrimage. And now…she's this wonderful, mature lady. An admiral of her fleet, a hero among her people...It's just incredible how much she's changed. And I can't imagine having anyone else to have in my life right now."

The smile on Shepard's face was a calm one of understanding, happy for his friend, hearing his words of reverence about his new girlfriend. He took a sip of his coffee, then gave a bit of a wider smile back to Garrus, "And I'm sure she could say the same for you too, Garrus. You went from being a rebellious C-Sec officer, to now being one of the Primarch's top advisors. You've come a long way yourself."

"Well, I guess we both have you to thank then, Shepard. You believed in both of us when neither of us had any real merit to speak of." He raised his mug to Shepard, the commander doing the same in a gesture of comradeship. After a brief silence, Garrus spoke again, "It's going to be interesting now, though, with everything that will now be going on. We've got planets and colonies to rebuild, populations to recover…It's not going to be easy."

His tone had darkened, which sobered Shepard as he gave pause before asking, "How are things on Palaven?"Even though he didn't want to bring it up, he knew that it was the best time for him to ask. Back during the war, Shepard and Garrus were both able to say their honest opinions and feelings to one another on how things were going for either one of them. Now, with nobody else around, they were satisfied to speak freely to each other again.

"Not the greatest, Shepard. We're still trying to take in all the loses that we've endured over this war. Our fleets are a shell of what they once were, our cities are nothing but smoldering ruins mostly, and our civilians…well, that's another tragedy in itself."

Shepard had a sober frown on his face. He remembered the several times Garrus talked with a tone of grief at the loss for the turians. Like the humans on Earth, they were hit hard very early on in the war, and based on what Garrus told him during the whole duration, the losses for the galaxy's mightiest military were staggering at best. After briefly looking at his mug of coffee, pondering, Shepard glanced up, trying to speak in a more respectful tone, "I can't imagine how hard it must be for Primarch Victus, trying to hold it all together."

Garrus gave a slight shrug, his tone becoming slightly a bit more upbeat, "He's actually one of the few that's being able to keep everything going right now on Palaven. He's done a lot better coordinating and encouraging recovery then I would've expected anyone, other than the previous Primarch. He's taken a very interesting approach towards it as well. The way he sees it, coordinating recovery crews, medical teams, engineers, and the like, it's not that different from moving military units around; only the risks of losing people is greatly reduced. Still, it's going to be a long time before there's going to be even a semblance of the Palaven all of us used to know."

A nod came from Shepard, a subtle gesture that, along with the look of sympathy, made Garrus feel a little better. Even more when he then asked, "And how's your family?"

"They're doing as well as they can right now." Garrus gave some thought, his voice softening, like he had several times before during the war when talking to Shepard about his concern about them. "My sister, she's still recovering, and my father's helping the Primarch out in every way he can." He then looked at Shepard, speaking in a more flat tone, "They want me to come back to Palaven to stay."

A raised eyebrow came from Shepard, more so out of curiosity, "Your family wants you back home?" He remembered his old conversations with Garrus about how he and his father had conflicting viewpoints on many things, most notably how to handle cases back when they both worked at C-Sec. It seemed to ease a bit when Garrus told him about all he knew about the Reapers' inevitable arrival, which seemed to be good progress in Shepard's mind. Shepard could also see how close Garrus had been with his sister, Solana, when he read the messages to her that had been intercepted by the Shadow Broker.

"Well, that too, but the Primarch is also offering me a pretty…prestigious position." Garrus paused, looking away for a moment, then back to Shepard, "He's asked me to become the new commanding officer/trainer of our special ops group. Blackwatch."

Shepard knew of Blackwatch. From what he heard of, they were almost the equivalent of the Alliance's Corsairs or the salarians Special Tasks Group, doing to most dangerous and also the most clandestine operations for turians, protecting Palaven and their colonies. "Wow. That's got to be a pretty prestigious position to have."

"It is. I guess all those missions I did with you, as well as the messes I cleaned up on Omega ended up doing some good for me. Not sure though if I should take his offer, though."

A raised eyebrow came from Shepard as he put his half-empty mug down on the counter, leaning back against the hard surface, "You have doubts about whether or not you can be able to do it?"

Vakarian shook his head, "Oh, no, I'm sure I am more than capable. It's that I'm not sure I have the merit for it. I know I told you this before, Shepard, but I'm not a very good turian. There was no way I could've made it in the military, and C-Sec didn't fare that much better. The only time I was at my best was on Omega…and fighting with you." He paused, trying to gather his words correctly, then spoke again, "I don't do well when there's a lot of rules and regulations involved, you know that. Not even sure why the Primarch chose me anyhow. Usually, it's given to someone who's actually worked in Blackwatch; actual former operatives and such."

"You think he's doing it as a favor?"

Another shake of the head came from Garrus, "It's not like any turian, even Primarch Victus, to do something like that. Every so often, maybe, but not in this case. No, he seriously wants me to run it. It's a pretty prestigious role and all, but…" He drifted off at the end, which had Shepard give Garrus a look. He could tell by his best good friend's tone that there was another factor in play.

"It's about Tali, isn't it?"

Garrus had somewhat hoped that Shepard would get the idea of what he was hinting at, and that was the case. He nodded once more, "This job will require me to be back on Palaven for good. Tali will be spending most of her time on the Citadel, being the quarian ambassador and all. Plus, she's beginning to start building a house on Rannoch. She wants to complete the promise her father had made for her." Shepard immediately knew what he was talking about.

From the many conversations he had with Tali, he knew that her father, Rael'Zorah, had promised her when she was born that he would make sure that somehow, she would one day have a home on Rannoch. And after Rael'Zorah's fatal experiments that ended up costing him his life, which also caused great grief for Tali, not just in losing her father, but also that he had done something that was as forbidden as anything could be; looking back, Shepard was amazed at how well Tali was able to handle all of it, as hard as it was for her, especially at such a young age for her. It was beyond admirable how she was able to deal with so much in such a short space of time, being a young woman still trying to find herself.

With this pause in thought, Shepard looked back to Garrus, "So, what are you thinking, then?" Garrus shrugged back.

"I'm probably going to accept, though we're going to talk it all over, how everything's going to work out. We want to make it work, and…I'm sure we'll find a way."

Shepard nodded, but then tilted his head slightly, "Not thinking of returning to the Normandy?"

"Oh, believe me, I don't want to leave. I just…" Garrus trailed off briefly, gathering everything that was now starting to run through his mind, especially since either he or Shepard were bringing up multiple factors. "I got a lot to think about. And I'll need time to do that." Another nod came from Shepard, which prompted Garrus to now ask a question in reply, "And what about you? You planning to settle down with Miranda now?"

In fact, that was what Shepard was precisely been planning, but he didn't want to indicate that to Garrus just yet. He was actually trying to find a good way to be able to tell all of his closest squad members at once, though he wondered if that was going to be possible, with almost everyone being seemingly busy at the moment. After everything that they had all been through together, he felt he could at least owe this much to them. As he thought over how to give a slight excuse to Garrus, for the purpose of delaying the news, the VI in his apartment announced that Shepard had a new message. Linking his omni-tool to the console in the den, Shepard read the message, raising an eyebrow with a "huh" as he finished reading it.

"Something I should know?"

Inwardly, the timing couldn't have come any better for Shepard as he smiled slightly, looking back up to Garrus, "More like something everyone should know. I'm calling everyone here. Seems there's something coming up that could mean involvement of all of us."

This seemed to pique Garrus' interest, "Oh? How so?"

Shepard typed on his omni-tool, calling for everyone to meet at the apartment. He then looked up with a knowing smirk, "You'll see…"

…

Within not even an hour, everyone had gathered at Shepard's apartment, most of them sitting in the couches in the large room just inside, the shades of the massive floor-to-ceiling windows raised to give everyone a full view of the Strip, which was starting to light up even a bit more than it had been just that morning. On one of the couches sat Liara, sitting back calmly, her hands folded in her lap, with a content smile. Garrus sat next to her, sitting more forward, resting his arms in his knees, with Tali perched on the arm of the couch, sitting as close as she could to him. On the other couch, James was also lounging back, along with Ashley, with Joker standing close by, a light, but energetic conversation coming from the group, discussing their accommodations that they were set up in, as well as talking about the recent events that had been happening.

Miranda stood close by, arms crossed, waiting for Shepard to show up, which he soon did, smiling as he saw his old team reunited as a whole for the first time since near the end of the war, back on Earth. He then spoke up, clearing his throat first, "Attention to everyone." Silence came from the team as everyone looked to Shepard, waiting for the reason as to why he asked everyone to come to the apartment, "Earlier today, I received an invitation. From the new owners of the Silver Coast Casino. They are planning for a big reopening in a few days…and that night, they wish to let us, 'the heroes of the Normandy' as they called us, to be there to commemorate it."

A silence briefly followed before James responded first, "Well, damn, they're already reopening the Strip? Would've thought there would be more crucial things to focus on."

"This kind of reopening would be public, James," Liara replied, "It's meant to help give the people of the Citadel, those who are returning, a sense that life on the Citadel can be somewhat normal again."

Vega still shrugged, "Yeah, I get that, Doc, but also, how is this even possible? Didn't the dude that owned the place, Elijah-what's-his-name, get killed during that whole deal with Shepard's clone?"

"Ugh, like I needed to be reminded of that whole mess," Ashley replied with an air of annoyance.

Liara nodded again, "True, he was murdered, but ownership was passed on to Elijah Khan's secondary investors," She gave emphasis on Khan's last name to remind everyone of it. "Most of them were stuck on Illium during the war, and since those investors survived, they have now assumed ownership, and now they've been working on repairing the casino."

"And they now want the most visible symbols of the galaxy's victory over the Reapers to promote and present it to the public," Shepard finished. Everyone stared at him for a moment before he cleared his throat and finished, "Uh, I was just relaying what they told me."

The rest of the group continued to give Shepard a curious look, the silence growing until Miranda broke it, "Well, I, for one, wouldn't mind having a nice night out." She gave a shrug this time with her arms still crossed, "After all, there's no point to saving the galaxy if we can't enjoy it once in a while." Shepard hid a slight smile, remembering when she said it back during their last date in that casino.

Ashley shrugged and smiled, "Hey, why not? I think it would nice to see all of us cut loose with this war now over."

Slowly, everyone else started to nod, Garrus speaking up as well, "I wouldn't mind having a night of relaxing myself."

A smile and nod came from Shepard. He then looked over to his loyal pilot, who had been silent the whole time, "What about you, Joker? You in?"

Moreau seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head, "Nah, I'll be fine, Commander. Besides, there's nobody for me to go with anyways."

His reply also had a hint of grief in his voice, which told everyone that his mind, and heart, were still dwelling on EDI, which, if the rest of the crew had to admit, they missed as well, since she had become, for all intents and purposes, a crew member of the Normandy as well. Liara turn to Joker with a friendly and also comforting smile, "Actually, Jeff, I don't have anybody to accompany me…"

Her words gave a tone of friendly suggestion, which had Joker give her a look, then a slight grimace, "Eh, I don't know, Liara…"

As much as he almost didn't want to push Joker, Shepard knew it was also necessary for him. "Joker…if EDI could speak to you right now, you know she would say something about how not being able to move on would be 'detrimental to your physical well-being'."

Joker pondered this, looking to everyone, seeing how they were all showing the same smile to him, in support of what Shepard had said to him. A grimace, then more pondering came over Moreau's face before he looked up again, "Actually, yeah, she would probably say something like that…" He thought over it some more, then looked to Liara, "…Sure…yeah, I'll come along."

"I'm glad, Jeff. I think that it will be good for you to come with the rest of us." Liara replied with a dear smile to him. She then stood up and looked around at everyone, stopping as Shepard as she finished what she then said, "With that, if everyone here is going to this, there is one thing left to do…"

A grim smile came to Shepard as he gave a look to Liara, "Let me guess…" Liara smiled back, deciding to finish the sentence, beating Shepard to it.

"…Black tie required."

Two Days Later

It didn't take long for word to spread around the whole Citadel, the areas that were occupied anyways, of the opening gala that was going to be happening at the Silver Coast Casino on the Strip. As a lone Alliance shuttle came hovering in, there were already dozens of people, all different races, coming to see the "heroes of the Normandy" arrive to mark the occasion of the casino's reopening. There were also a couple of news reporters present as well, hoping against hope that they could land a quick interview.

The shuttle settled at the end of the red carpet, with the door sliding open, the public that was flanking the sides of the red carpet straining their necks to see who would step out first. Out first were James Vega and Ashley Williams. Vega stepped off the shuttle first, in a tailored formal suit, followed by Ashley wearing a short blue dress, which seemed to cause her eyes to stand out even more to James. As he offered her his arm, he smiled deeply, "Wow…and I thought you were stunning in uniform…Lola."

Ashley blushed as she took his arm, looking shyly down at her fashionable heels, then back to him, mirroring his smile to her. She actually liked the nickname that he had given her, especially after he explained it to her a couple nights before.

Lola was the name of my best friend's older sister when I was growing up. You remind me of her.

Do I?

Yeah. Hot…tough.

She didn't know why, but she felt herself melt and at the same become giddy at his reason. Giving a light exhale, as if to refocus her mindset to the present, she looked James over as well as they walked and waved to the crowd.

"Well, thanks, James. Nice to see you looking good for me too…hombre," she teased to him, which caused the lieutenant to give her a sly look.

"Yeah, we're going to have to work on your Spanish a little…"

Ashley giggled again, which was something that seemed so unlike her, as the two proceeded down the red carpet. Following them were Garrus and Tali, the pair having their arms already linked as they strolled after James and Ashley. As they started walking, Garrus looked Tali over, giving what he could as a smile as he saw her. The young quarian was dressed in what her most formal suit, which was mostly a white color with a slight tint of teal, made from the finest fabrics that quarians could make back during their three centuries in exile. It contrasted greatly with the black of the rest of her suit, as well as her purple visor on her helmet, but it contrasted in a way that had Garrus' eyes unable to keep his eyes off of her. Though unseen by him, she smiled to her turian boyfriend, looking at him in his "dress blues," as Shepard called them back on the shuttle. They were dress uniforms, and during the shuttle ride, there was a friendly teasing between Garrus and Shepard about how humans beat turians in terms of formal wear. Even so, Tali thought he looked dashing and she was sure her eyes showed her approval to him.

Garrus spoke first, "Wow, you look absolutely amazing, Tali." The way he spoke, with admiration and adoration, made her blush and briefly look away before turning her head back, the pair casually waving to the crowd that was greeting them.

"For what I can manage, I guess. This was the best I could do with the suits I have," she replied, then looking back at him, "Is it really that nice?"

His reply made her feel like she was floating, "Excuse me while I pick my mandibles off the floor. Damn." Tali wasn't sure why she was acting like this, but she felt now like she had an eternal smile on her face, ever since she opened up to Garrus how she felt about him. She gave a light giggle as she walked in sync with him, moving herself a little closer than what may have been appropriate in public. Tali didn't care and Garrus didn't mind.

The next pair that followed was Liara, daintily stepping off the shuttle, wearing her more formal white dress, the same one she wore with Shepard the last time she was at this casino, trying to track down Elijah Khan. It was elegant, yet conservative, with a high-neck collar and long sleeves, but it fit well around her, and it almost seemed to, at least to others, emphasize her blue even more. Even though she was almost 110 years old now, Liara had never been one to be part of the public scene. Much of her mannerisms and behavior among others in a public setting she took from her mother, Benezia, from when she was a young girl. As much as her mother changed, largely, as she concluded, due to Saren's influence and Sovereign's indoctrination, Liara did admire how her mother handled herself around others, and she tried to emulate that whenever she appeared in public.

As she stepped off, Liara looked back, giving a friendly smile as she reached back, helping her escort for the night off the shuttle. Jeff Moreau looked the most awkward and fidgety of the group, as not only was he doing something he never ever did, but he was also dressed in a way that he was not used to. Joker disliked wearing his dress uniform, and wearing this dark suit, which had been bought at the last minute, felt even worse for him, and his heavy limping didn't do anything to, in his mind, make him look more presentable to the public. Already, he was having regrets about accepting Liara's offer. From the moment he stepped out wearing this suit, and stepping onto the shuttle, seeing how everyone else looked and acted, he felt completely out of place. It had initially seemed like a good idea at the time he said he would come with everyone else.

T'Soni saw his body language and immediately knew what was going through his head. She gave him a friendly smile and spoke low to him, "You're going to do fine, Jeff. I'll make sure of it."

Joker's reply didn't share her optimism, "Ah, I don't know, Liara. I just don't think this is going to…" As he was talking, his mouth rambling, his mind racing, Joker didn't feel Liara's arm come to hook around his. As her hand rested on his forearm, he suddenly felt a rush run through his body. He suddenly felt lighter, and he could suddenly stand up straight and he no longer felt the subtle pain of his brittle bones straining. Taken aback by the sudden change, Joker immediately turned his head to Liara, giving her a look of curiosity, "…Did you just…?" Liara just smiled back.

"I thought I could help lighten the load that is on you, Jeff."

At a loss for words, Joker put two and two together in his mind. Liara was giving him a slight charge of her biotics, enough for him to be able to walk normally without risk of injury. As the two started walking, he started to smile, feeling the change was already altering his attitude about how the evening was going to go. "Well, thanks, Liara. As long as it's not too much…"

"It would be the equivalent of carrying an empty cup around in my hand, Jeff. I'll be fine." She smiled assuredly to him as they proceeded down the carpet to meet up with the others who were just inside, waiting. It was the final couple that stepped out of the shuttle that everyone lining the red carpet was waiting for, one individual in particular that everyone wanted to see.

Stepping out first was Commander Shepard, with many lights flashing as people took pictures with their omni-tools, those who had them, and news cameras hovered trying to get enough vid footage of him, plus many calling out his name as well, trying to get his attention. Shepard just gave a polite smile as he looked back behind him, reaching his hand back to just inside the open shuttle door. Miranda took the hand, her other hand holding up part of her long red dress so that the hem wouldn't be damaged or sullied. As soon as she stepped off, her eyes shined, first at seeing the crowd that was gathered there to see this, but also the look on Shepard's face and, more importantly, his own eyes looking at her fondly. As their eyes met, it felt like the briefest of moments that everything else around them no longer existed.

With a smile that wasn't wide, yet dear and loving, Shepard took Miranda's other hand, holding her hands in his as the two looked at one another for the briefest of moments, his eyes briefly looking over her in her dress. It was similar to the ones he saw the assistants of the Consort wore, only it was a complete deep red, almost like a rose. It was, for the most part, formal and elegant, with a high collar that seemed to add to Miranda's natural ambiance, especially when one saw her in profile. The front of the dress was a bit more suggestive, with much more skin exposed, yet had her well covered enough for it to be acceptable in public. It was perfect for her, in his eyes.

Moving almost entirely in sync, Shepard let go of Miranda's hands and raised his right arm, with Miranda immediately linking hers around it, resting her hand on his as they began to walk down the red carpet, Shepard giving a polite and public smile to the crowd that was starting to applaud and call out his name, as he gave casual waves of acknowledgement. Miranda just coyly smiled, not feeling comfortable enough in public, even with Shepard, to do much else, lest she possibly may embarrass herself. To quell the tingling anticipation of such a predicament, she quietly spoke to him.

"So, I'm guessing this is what being in the public eye is going to be like."

Shepard glanced over at her, continuing his smile as he leaned his head in slightly to her, "Are you going to have trouble adjusting?" This caused her to briefly roll her eyes, hearing him say something that had become almost painfully repeated too many times.

Continuing her own public smile, Miranda nodded slightly, looking away, so as to not try to indicate too much, at least in her mind, that she was trying not to hint too much about her relationship with Shepard, even though she knew that being seen like this by so many would not dissuade anyone of the fact that she and Shepard were a true couple. It was only natural to her, like she had indicated to Shepard when it was what seemed so long ago now: I'm not good at attached. She had always been cautious about being seen with others, as she didn't want others to judge her or suggest something that wasn't true. She had always been self-conscious, as much as she tried so hard to not show it. It had always been a part of her since her earliest days with Cerberus.

Giving an exhale to rid herself of her old habits and thoughts, at least for one evening, Miranda gave a brave smile, "I think I could manage this."

"Well, you're going to have to, Ms. Lawson. It's going to be a part of living with Commander Shepard." His comment and smirk, which Miranda could identify as "cheeky", made her blush slightly, as it was with that soft, caring tone that always had made her flush, even back during their mission against the Collectors. It was the one way he could always break through her shell. And as they walked and acknowledged the crowd, standing side-by-side, Miranda was more than happy to comply. As long as it was with Shepard by her side, she wouldn't mind one single bit.

"Of course, Commander…"

…

As the night progressed, it became one that everyone that was present had needed; a night to finally exhale and rid themselves of the relief of the war being over, as well as the new pressures of rebuilding and restoring what had been lost.

It took some time, with having to shake hands and have brief conversations with the new owners of the casino, who wanted to greet Shepard and his team personally and thank each one of them for their efforts in the Reaper War, as well as thank them for their presence on this special night for them. As part of their thanks, the whole group was allowed to have their night out in the upstairs bar and dance room, which would be completely sectioned off for them.

The party quickly became a fun gala for everyone as, after getting a few drinks in them, they started to enjoy the dance floor, which soon became a pleasant surprise for everyone, thanks to an unexpected song suggestion from Joker. While it was a song from almost two centuries prior, the entire group happily danced to it, in a virtual circle on the floor. What came as the surprise were the couples who would come into the middle of the circle, the first of which were James and Ashley. In watching the two of them, virtually spinning around one another with almost reckless abandon. Shepard saw that Ashley was laughing and smiling freely, her own eyes shining to James as they danced. He knew it was because of James and he felt personally satisfied seeing the two of them so happy together. Garrus and Tali became the next couple, and if it hadn't been apparent before with everyone else, they now knew how close the two were together, and their dancing as a pair proved it without much doubt. As they danced in what the humans saw as a modified swing dance, everyone clapped them on, watching the way they danced together. Even Tali and Garrus each never expected to have something like this come out of them. It felt, at least in Tali's mind, as well as her heart, that it meant that there was a deep connection with the two of them, that they could work so well together in so many ways.

It was Shepard and Miranda that caught everyone off guard the most. Given Shepard's reputation as a dancer, everyone was preparing for the worst to come.

"Oh, great. Forgot he was going to have to join in at some point," Joker said in anticipated disappointment. It didn't seem like anyone else would argue his words at the moment, all of them having seen or at least heard of Shepard's poor dancing, which had been the topic of friendly ridicule over the months and years.

As they each smiled secretly to one another, Shepard and Miranda knew better. To the shock of the rest of the group, the couple moved elegantly, with impeccably-timed spins and dips, which soon caused many sounds of exclamation and surprise coming from everyone else.

"Damn, Loco!" James shouted at one point, "Where is this coming from?"

Ashley cheered on with him, whooping out as well, "Keep it moving, Skipper!"

Garrus shook his head in disbelief, "Now this, we need to record. Because there is no way anybody that's not here is going to believe it."

As the dance ended, everyone else applauded, with Shepard and Miranda happily holding hands as they also laughed and then hugged, incredibly pleased that it had worked out. They had been practicing during part of their free time, over almost a week and this had become the result, which had surprised them as much as it did with everyone else who had just witnessed it.

It became a night that nobody was sure to forget, and as the final hours went, the music and mood settled to where everyone was slow-dancing, enjoying each other's company, including Joker and Liara, who danced together as the close friends they were. The rest, Ashley and James, Tali and Garrus, and Shepard and Miranda, were as close as one could be. Ashley's head resting against Vega's as they shared a silence. Tali and Garrus having their foreheads together as well, which was a turian's gesture of deep affection.

At one point, though, Ashley suddenly broke away from James and went to Shepard, gently tapping him on the shoulder, causing him to turn and nod to her when she whispered in his ear. The former couple walked together to the bar, talking quietly. James stood by Miranda, his brow showing curiosity as he spoke, "What's up with them now?"

Miranda just gave a slight smile, her arms crossed again as she was able to read their faces and expressions. It was something she recognized too well as the look of professionalism, of business being shared. She could also read, through her woman's intuition, what James was slightly concerned about. "Don't worry about it. I know what it is…"

Then, Shepard nodded to Ashley, who nodded back, and he then gestured to the bartender who had been supplying the group a virtual endless line of drinks for the night, as well as also altering the different music for the dance floor. At Shepard's signal, the music was dulled down, which caused everyone to pause, then look at Shepard as he waited for all of them to turn to him. He paused himself, thinking up the words that he was planning to now say to his closest comrades.

"Everyone…I'm not sure if this is the best place to say something like this, maybe it actually is, but…" He took a deep breath, "I want to tell all of you something that only a couple of you already know, but only now is it going to be true: I am going to be officially retiring from active duty with the Alliance military." Looking at their facial expressions, Shepard could tell that, as surprising it might've been to hear it at that moment, it was not completely unexpected. "That also means that I will be stepping down as the commanding officer of the Normandy." He gave a gesture to Ashley, "Ash here's going to be taking over in my place. I know, as well as the rest of you, that she's going to do the best job she possibly could, and I know that the rest of you, well, most of you anyway, will give her your best, as you did with me."

His tone could've compared to his old pre-battle speeches that he used to give, but with more emotion and more respectful adoration, "Every single one of you fought gallantly with me, some for as long as over 3 years. We fought for ourselves, our families, our home worlds, our people, but most importantly…we fought for each other. All of us came from various backgrounds. Different ideals, different opinions, different religions…even different races. But, we were able to overcome those differences, to become something greater than any one of us could've ever achieved. We proved, long before the Reapers even arrived, what could be done if we, as a whole galaxy, with a mix of all different races, worked together as one, with nothing separating one another. We trusted one another, respected one another, and, in many ways…we also loved one another. It was that bond that we shared, and we still share, that will always define us, who we were, and what we did. And it was my greatest honor, as it still is, to forever have that bond with all of you…My comrades, my friends…Thank you."

A long pause followed, before Liara spoke, a soft smile coming from her, one a mix of happiness and slight sadness, "No, Shepard. We…we should be thanking you. You believed in us, which made us believe in you, and, in turn…made us believed in one another."

Tali followed, "You have done more for us, each of us here, than any of us could've ever done. We were…almost nothing before you. You helped make us become greater people than any of us could've ever imagined, Shepard. We owe everything to you."

Garrus nodded, "What you did for us, as well as for the rest of the galaxy. There was nobody else that could've done it, Shepard. I'm not sure if it's what some of us would call 'fate', or something similar. But, like I told you on Earth, you were born for this. You were meant to bring us together all of us. And…there could never be a greater honor than to have served alongside you, Shepard."

James gave a nod of his own as well, "Hear, hear."

This had Shepard on the verge of tears, with his closest friends saying what they said to him, he was nearly overwhelmed. He had to look down, quickly giving a wipe of his eyes to steady himself. It was then that Joker, his own voice almost sounding like it could crack, as he couldn't bring himself to speak just moments before.

"Well, with that, then…" He gestured to the bar top, where he had signaled to the bartender while everyone else was talking before, glasses were now placed, each half-full with a drink that suited each individual. Everyone grabbed their glass and held it up as Joker spoke again, his own eyes shimmering slightly, "To you, Commander."

Other voices perked up as well, saying their quick toasts to Shepard. Shepard raised his glass, noticing everyone in a circle around one another. Next to him, Miranda looked to Shepard as well, their eyes meeting, and, though they weren't completely aware of it, they recalled what they said to one another back before the final battle on Earth. What they had said then had become prophetic, though they each had different attitudes about it.

If we both come back from this at all, everything will be different.

Sure, everything will change, but on our terms.

They had both been right. Everything was changing, not just with the galaxy, but with one another. And, it was how they were hoping the change would become. They had made a brand new future for each other, all of them, and it was now going to be theirs to move forward, to make the most of what they had been given.

With a more bright and happy smile, Shepard replied to the toast, with a fitting end that symbolized the camaraderie that had come to define all of them, as a whole, as their glasses went together.

"To all of us…"

FINALLY! I was able to finish this chapter, through all the pains that my computer put me through, I finally got this done! As much as life can be great, it can also annoy, as it kept me from finishing this chapter in the window I was hoping, which was November 18, which was the one-year anniversary of this story's debut.

Looking back, it still boggles me that it has become something so great, and how it continues to grow with each passing chapter. And I owe it all to everyone who continues to read and follow this story!

With that, I'm going to take a month or so break from this story, well, from writing new chapters anyways, to reexamine all the chapters and go through a big editing phase, cleaning up what I've written so far, and also clear my mind and prepare for the final stretch of chapters for this tale, as well as get started on my other planned stories.

So, as you keep reading and rereading this story, you will notice many subtle changes through my edits on the current chapters. I know some of you will be sad, with nothing new to come for a while, but this was something I've been planning for a couple months now, and I'm hoping it will give me the necessary recharge needed to get me pounding out the last 5-6 chapters of this story that so many of you enjoy!

I'm doing this because I want so much to give all of you the best possible writing I can give, because I care so much!

With that, thanks to all of you and KEEP READIN' AND WRITIN'!

(Oh, and what a coincidence; the 14th chapter consists of 14 pages! Ha-ha! .)