[Book Three] Chapter 25: Confessions and doubts

Chapter 25: Confessions and doubts

Jane and Rick’s return to the Citadel has been a calm one. For his part Rick wasn’t sexually assaulted by her everytime she could and for hers she was allowed to focus all day every day on her training. Spinning her barrier was an exercise that went well as she finally could rotate it flawlessly. The speed of the rotation was what she needed to work on. Her training in sword movements went better as she was physically doing something. Sparing with Rick helped a lot, to get a feel on what she could and couldn’t do to avoid hurting herself.
In the end, liberating Omega was an even better deal that it had actually been presented as. Not only Aria kept her words and gave its every resources to her and by extension the coalition, but she also won a high ranking Cerberus officer knowing plenty of the terrorist organization’s secret and finally their resources deployed on Omega and beyond the Omega-4 Relay. However the last one was still being considered since apparently there were still adjutants there.

When they arrived on the Citadel the first thing they did was to go to the Normandy's dock but the ship wasn’t there. Unhappy with that, Jane asked for the ship log and saw that after some fine tuning it departed a bit more than a week ago. She swore to tear Kaidan a new one and was only calmed down by Rick’s chill attitude.

“We’re staying in a hotel, so what? Not the end of the world.”
“It means that now we have to do our reports to Hackett from somewhere else.” she answered with a frown.
“We?”
“It’s about Omega and you know better than me about it, so yes, we.”
“Okay but why the frown?”
“Because the only place that has the means and the security to do such a report is…”
“No.”
“Yes. And for the record, I don’t like it either. Don’t think for a second that you’re getting out of this and no there is no buts there. It will only be for a few minutes.”

Cutting off any of the replies he could say before saying it, Rick resigned himself at his fate.

____________________________________________________________


“Jane, Rick! Nice to see you!” said a chirpy Hannah Shepard from her councilor seat.
“My gun. Now.” the youngest in the room said.
“Honestly, I’m tempted. That’s creepy.”
“What do you mean, Jane?” Shepard senior asked and she rose to her feet and went to hug her daughter. When she looked at her son and turned her body his way, his biotic flared as a defense mechanism. However, she was Hannah fucking Shepard and she didn’t care one bit.
“Take one more step and your every bit will smear every surface of this room.” he threatened, making the older woman smile. She respected his choice and didn’t walk toward him; however she raised her hand to touch the side of his helmet. Sadly for her, her hand was caught in an iron grip.
“Mom, while I’m… glad to see you, can you stop antagonizing him? Please.”
“How so? I didn’t take a step just like he wanted.” their mother replied not turning away her eyes from her son and with a cheeky grin on her face.
“Ugh… you know what? I have a report to make, so go ahead and get yourself killed. At least you won’t behave like you’re high anymore.” Jane said, making her way towards the long distant transmission console.
“I’m not high, I’m happy to see both my children.” Hannah replied with a frown.
“As if and it’s child, singular.” Rick gave his two credits and powered down his biotics before releasing her hand. Something he failed to do as Hannah simply held his back and wasn’t ready to let go.

“LET. GO.”
“Not yet.”
“NOW.” he ordered, powering up.
“No.” she simply answered nonsensically and dragged him towards Jane.

Rick didn’t take that well nor lying down and grabbed her collar tightly with his free hand. In response Hanna looked at him with defiance, challenging him to go through with what he wanted to do and a staring contest began.
On the side of them, Hackett’s hologram appeared. He was about to greet Jane when he saw the stand off between mother and son happening.

“Wald, I would appreciate it if you didn’t kill my subordinate, at least not during the war. I have a need for her.”
“...”
“...”
“Hannah, let him go.”

Reluctantly, she obeyed her order, still looking at her son, who put as much distance as he could with her and used Jane as a buffer.

“Commander, I assume you’re reporting about your mission on Omega.”
“I am, sir. It was a success.”
“It was more than that.” Rick commented.
“Meaning?”
“We not only got what Aria promised but also Cerberus’ resources.”
“That’s good news. What are we talking about here?”
“Ships, weapons, and intel from one of the highest members of the organization. Oleg Petrovsky has been apprehended and Aria has him interrogated. There is also their base beyond the Omega-4 Relay.” listed the youngest redhead in the room.
“They built a base there?” Hannah asked, surprised.
“Yes. However I’d advise to simply destroy it. They studied Collector and Reaper technology there and the results were terrifying.”
“I agree with Gingerbread. Adjutants are something the galaxy doesn’t need, not now, not ever and I’m sure that some mad scientist would love to study them. That simply cannot happen.” Rick said as he flared his omnitool and sent the file he had on the abominations through the transmission. Hackett received the file on his side and began to read the resume quickly at the beginning of it. That resume alone made the old Admiral react.
“Good lord, this is terrifying indeed.”
“Sir?” Hannah asked, wanting an explanation and not liking being out of the loop.
“Imagine a super husk with strong biotic capabilities, a pack hunter mindset and which can create more of himself in a matter of minutes if it injects his own genetic material into any organic.” Jane explained.
“That’s…”
“A nightmare.”
“Despite the danger their reproduction method presents, CQC is the best way to take care of them. At least for me. I just took down their barriers and sliced them up. The key, whether you’re fighting close or at distance, is to always be mobile. Those fuckers are quite agile and fast. Explosives work too if they are powerful enough.” Rick added to Jane’s explanation.
“I’ll send a dreadnought equipped with a GR-Canon, to dispose of the base. No traces of those things must be left.”
“Speaking of, was the ship that took down a reaper a dreadnought? Because the output should have killed it in one shot if it was well placed.”
“No, it was a small frigate as it was faster to equip one.”
“Good. I was worried something went wrong in the construction.”
“The construction followed the blueprints to the letter, my engineers were very thorough. By the way, the area shield’s prototype is working perfectly. It does use a lot of energy as you expected, however they did not understand your advice.”
“Ugh… Seriously?” he muttered before giving an example for his explanation. “Have you ever seen what happens when you throw a small object at a working fan?”
“The blades are spinning so fast that the object is pushed back.”
“Exactly, because of the velocity and the kinetic energy generated by the blades. Since it’s stronger than the force the flying object is submitted to, the object bounced back or rather is redirected. The principle is the same for the shield. Solid energy like that can be manipulated, they just need to find a way to make it spin so fast the kinetic energy it creates is strong enough that the amount of energy necessary when the barrier takes a hit is compensated by the kinetic energy or rather replaced partly.”
“That’s clever.”
“Energy is energy. It’s not created or destroyed, it just changed shape or state. Manipulating it is not the hardest thing to do depending on what you want to achieve.”
“I’ll give them your explanation. Any new tech to share?”
“Not right now.” Rick replied before walking away outside.
“This is progress, he stayed in the same room as you for more than five minutes.” Jane commented to her mother.
“Commander?”
“I invited myself to their breakfast the day I began my new job.” Hannah explained instead.
“And he shot her less than two seconds after she sat down.”
“Fortunately for me Jane put the safety on his gun, on. We talked for five minutes before he left. I’m surprised he stayed so long today.” added Hannah.
“As long as he’s fit for the war and you don’t get yourself killed, Hannah.”
“Easier said than done.” Jane muttered but low enough that only her mother heard. “I… have to report a new development between Aria and him.”
“Something changed? Is it detrimental to the war effort?”
“Not development in that way, sir. I meant… I found out what their relationship is.”

She didn’t like to say what she was about to say with her mother present but it was too important to not share. She didn’t like exposing her brother's private life like that but she had too as it could avoid some complication down the line. Besides, she was pretty sure Rick wouldn’t care one bit.

“Jane?”
“They see themselves as mother and son.” the commander finally let out. “As we thought she trained him to fight and with his biotics but she also raised him.”
“That’s… unexpected of what we know of her.”
“I heard the story from Aria’s own mouth. Apparently she wasn’t left with much of a choice from him. She also knows who he is… Has been for years. It was suspected but wasn’t a sure thing.”

She turned her head to look at her mother. The older woman’s face was impassable and she knew that once Hackett was out the conversation would not be pleasant.

____________________________________________________________

The talk didn’t last long but has been a difficult one. If her mother had been affected by the revelation she had not shown it though Jane knew she had been. Any parent would when they learned they had been replaced. Especially her mother who was clinging to perhaps a vain hope to be back in her brother’s life properly. Hugging the older woman tightly she told her goodbye and left her office in search of Rick. Instead of doing it by herself she just went to an office down in the corridor and asked Bailey for some help. In less than five minutes she got her answer. Her baby brother was still on the presidium sitting on the exact same bench they sat during their date. Making her way in ten minutes, she sat silently next to him at close distance.

“...”
“...”
“I’m proud of you.”
“...”
“She’s a bitch but she’s still my mother and I love her. Thank you for not hurting her despite how much she deserves it.”
“...”
“...”
“She… makes my skin crawl.”
“I can imagine.”
“Worse than you on the SSV.”
“That’s… good news for me, I guess?”
“You look just like her. I forgot that.”
“We’re mother and daughter so no surprise there.”
“I meant… I forgot what she was like. I saw her during my business deal.”
“You were ten and it was sixteen years ago, that’s normal.”
“...I do remember how she acted though…”
“...”
“...”
“And?”
“She’s…not acting like I remember.”
“That’s because she changed. Your disappearance was the cause of that along with Elysium and Torfan. I only saw how much when I saw her again when we were chasing Saren. I mean, sure, she wasn’t the most attentive with me either but before we found out you were a biotic she was different. She was more like….”
“You don’t get it.” he replied, shaking his head.
“Then explain to me.”
“In my mind… She always was… this emotionless, ruthless, self serving and selfish cunt. Not caring one bit if you didn’t fit her mold. If you were not what she expected you to be, you were discarded. If you were not what she needed or wanted you were discarded.”
“But she isn’t like that at all.”
“No. She’s…”
“...”
“...”
“Yes?”
“Like me.” he replied bitterly. “She looks like you but the personality is almost all like me. I… dealt with the fact that I got things from her but that much? It’s… infuriating. And that makes me wonder what kind of father I would have been.”
“A good one. One who would never do what she did to you. One that would accept their child the way they are and support them any way they could.” Jane replied, taking his hand in hers in comfort.
“I’m not so sure.”
“I am. Ashley is too.”
“...”
“...”
“What’s the most disturbing is that you have the same face.”
“So? Wanted to fuck her on her desk imagining it was me?” she joked trying to lift up his mood.
“Or I could see her when you do things to me.”
“Please don’t! It’s been hell to get to that point, I’m not letting her cockblock me because we have the same face.” she answered in mocked panic.
“...”
“...”
“She’s twenty years too late.”
“I know. She knows.”
“Then why?”
“Because she realized that we’re all that really matter. The titles, the ranks, the medals… Meaningless when there is a whole race of ancient machines trying to wipe us all. She has to try.”
“...”
“...”
“She can’t... She can’t neglect me and come back into my life as if nothing happened.” he said with a bit of a bite.
“She doesn’t deny what happened, she’s fully aware of what she did and even though she doesn’t show it the guilt is crushing her.”
“That’s the thing. Even if one day I’m drunk enough for… I’ll never know if it’s genuine or to appease her guilt.”
“What about me, then? How do you know if I’m genuine or if it’s to make me feel better.”
“Because you cared. Because you were there.”
“She did and was too for the first five years of your life. You were just too young to remember. Besides, just because she may want to appease her guilt, doesn’t make her love for you any less. I won’t begrudge you if you don’t accept her back, you have every right to do so. However, I’m still hoping that we could be back to being the family we were for that small window of time.”
“...”
“...”
“Can’t I just kill her? It’s way simpler.” he said, making Jane snort.
“No.”
“She’s like me, she’s never going to stop. I either kill her or she’s bothering me until one of us dies.”
“You can always forgive her. I know it’s a stretch…” she quickly said as his head turned to look at her faster than a speeding bullet. “But would it be so bad?”
“Then what? Our personalities may be close but we have nothing else in common. We have no past to share, no good times to bond from. Honestly, she’s a stranger that I fucking hate. It’s a waste of time.”
“Is it a waste of time with me?”

Rick had no answer to that so kept silent. The truth was that he had an answer, he just wasn’t ready to admit it. That’s why he stood up and started to walk. Jane didn’t say anything but knew she got him. Raising up she caught up to him and simply held his hand.

“What are you doing?” he asked as he kept walking.
“Holding your hand. Isn’t it obvious?”
“We’re in public.”
“I told you I didn’t care. Let the whole galaxy know that Jane Shepard is dating Rick Wald.”
“That’s not going to end well.”
“It’s not like your identity can’t be covered up. I mean with Hackett at the top and mom as the councilor we can pretty much create you one from scratch. You could also take your father’s name. Or Kahlee’s or… There are plenty of ways to make us possible. Hell, you could hack the alliance database yourself.”
“There is no us.”
“For now.” she answered as she intertwined her fingers with his.

Rick may have complained but he never removed his hand from hers.

____________________________________________________________

After walking for a while without any destination in mind, they went back to the steakhouse for lunch. This time they tried different kinds of meat instead of multiple dishes of the same one. Once again they weren’t disappointed. The dynamic was amusing from an outside perspective. Jane looked like an enamored girlfriend dragging around her stoic boyfriend. Their free roaming time was short lived however when she got a message from c-sec warning her that the Normandy had arrived and would dock soon.
That lit a fire in Jane who immediately made her way to the ship, all thoughts of pulling Rick to a back alley for a heavy and hot make out session gone. When the pair got to the dock the Normandy was about to dock. Once the bridge giving access to the sass was connected she didn’t waste time to get inside and find Kaidan in the cockpit with Joker.

“You had…”
“It was just a test run, commander.” the spectre quickly defended himself.
“EDI?” Jane asked to the synthetic on the co-pilot seat.
“Major Alenko is telling the truth. Jeff took me for a fly to test the new GR-Canon installed.”
“What?”
“EDI told me that you wanted one but because installing took too much time you didn’t go for it. Since the ship was docked for a month without you I thought it was the right time. Joker took us to Asari space to scan some planets, we shot one or twice the cannon so Garrus could calibrate it properly and we came back.”
“You still were not there when I was back.”
“She’s just messing with you, we arrived at the Citadel less than six hours ago.” Rick said, saving Kaidan.
“Rick!”
“What? Give the man a break he did the right thing.”
“I already have you and EDI to act like this. I don't need one more.”
“She’s just pissed because she was enjoying herself on the presidium and wants to keep up appearances.” her brother said to the others earning him a glare. “Now that everyone’s here we can start planning our next move.”

Jane relented because Rick was right. About planning their next move not about the rest, she would never admit to that.

“EDI, any news?”
“Special com officer Traynor caught a distress signal from Cerberus. Scientists that defected and want to get away from the Illusive Man. Liara also received a message from the Asari matriarchs requesting your help.”
“What for?”
“I do not know.”

Jane nodded and went to see Liara while Rick went with her to see Ashley. He found her at her usual hang out and alone, half laying down cross way on the couch while reading a book. He took it from her hand, being careful not to close it, and laid his back against her, his head resting next to hers against her shoulder. Taking her arms he put them around himself and put back the book in her hands.

“That’s the cutest way you ever showed that you missed me.” she said softly and got a shrug in response. “Was it that difficult?” she asked, referring to his mission on Omega.
“Hmmm… No? Yes? Depends on the moment. Dealing with Carrot top alone for a total of four weeks was a bit difficult. Wiping out alone a new type of reapers engineered by Cerberus was hard. The rest was easy. I didn’t even have to fight much.”
“A new type of reaper?”
“Meh, it’s in the report. Not in the mood for that, right now.”
“Oh? And what are you in the mood for?” she asked with a smile.
“Relaxing in my lover’s arm while she reads some Tennyson.”
“Good choice.”
“You’re not talking about the book, right?”
“Who knows.” she replied with a knowing grin.
“... Because I’m ego centric when it concerns you I considered you were referring to me. Anyway, want to laze around in my room? I can remove my helmet there. It would be more comfortable for the both of us.”
“No, I’m good. I have a better view here.”
“Okay.” he simply replied and took her free hand in his, caressing it gently with his thumb.
“You really did miss me.”
“Yes. Emotional problems everywhere. The last one was with Gingey’s mom a few hours ago.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Nope. already talked once with, Red. ‘twas enough. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Is Sarah, alright?”
“She’s devastated as expected. Her husband  was KIA after all. They didn’t even finish their honeymoon.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. She’s hanging there though. She’s a Williams, we’re tough.”
“The others? Did you get to see them?”
“Yes. Mom is fine, looking over everyone. Abby is shaken up a bit but helps her with everything. Lyn is her usual tomboy self.”
“I’m sorry I missed them.”
“There’s still here so don’t think you’ll get out of this Mister.”
“Why would I want that? I know I’m not the best with strangers but they’re your family. Can’t wait to share plenty of embarrassing Ashley moments. The real question here is, will you be alright? You know how I am. Shameless is my middle name and Blunt my third.”
“Oh, I’m aware but it’s fine.”
“With a bit of luck we’re not leaving until tomorrow… Maybe we could meet with them? That is if you think Sarah would be alright with us being together.”
“You want to see them now?!” Ashley asked in so much shock that she dropped her book.
“I don’t mean now, but maybe for dinner? I can show you that steakhouse while we’re at it.”
“I… Hell why not? We’ll need to check with Skipper first. And Sarah will be fine. Told you she’s a Williams.”

Rick nodded and got up. Leaning down to give Ash a searing kiss, she picked her book from the ground, handed it to her and went to see Liara as Jane was probably still there. He was right on the money as his sister was just exiting his girlfriend's quarters.

“When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow morning. The crew deserved one last night on the Citadel before we go.”
“Where and to do what?”
“Lasuss. The matriarchs passed us along a distress signal. Apparently multiple asari commandos went dark after going there to investigate.”
“Cerberus or Reapers?” he asked himself aloud.
“I don’t know but if it can take care of asari commandos it’s nothing good.”
“What about the Cerberus scientists?”
“They’re on Noveria. It’s too far for us to reach them in time so I’ll speak with Hackett to see if he can’t send a team that’s near, they may have useful information on Cerberus.”
“Okay.” he replied as he entered Liara’s room and greeted her. “Hey!”
“Hello.” Liara greeted back, not lifting her head from the terminal screen she was looking at.
“Busy?”
“Yes. I've got plenty of work piled up.”
“Don’t forget to take a break.” Rick said and went to kiss her on her temple.
“You, of all people, have no right to say that to me.” she retorted with a cute snort.
“True but I’m saying it nonetheless. See you later, baby.”
“Bye!”

Exiting the room he went back to see Ashley and confirmed to her the time of their departure. Immediately she contacted her mother to arrange a meeting.

“Should I wear something particular?”
“It’s a steakhouse, no need for a suit. Do you even have one?”
“No but I could find one. What I meant was, do you have a preference for what to wear?”
“Not really. You know that my favorite wear for you is your birthday suit.” she declared with a knowing smile.
“Careful, Miss Williams. Don’t start something that would make us miss dinner.”
“Dinner with my family. Because as far as I know, there is plenty of sausage to go around right here.” she said with a sultry tone, putting her hand on his crotch and began to massage it. It was effective and Rick quickly slapped her hand away.

“...I’m going to fuck your ass so hard for that, tonight. It will gap forever.”

“Promises, promises~”

____________________________________________________________

The couple arrived at the presidium with a bit of time to spare. Ashley decided to wait for her family inside the steakhouse when she was surprised to see everyone there waiting.

“Ash!” shouted a young brunette from a table where she was seated with three other women. She was waving her hand wildly.
“I thought you said you only had three sisters.” Rick whispered to his lover, making her snort. “Now I have to find who is who.” he said in a questioning tone.
“Pretty much.” Ashley replied with an annoying smirk and made their way to the table holding hands.
“Hey! This is…”
“The Slayer!” said a redhead.
“The what now?” Rick asked aloud.
“The slayer! You’re the guy that punched a reaper to the face after killing a horde of brutes! That was awesome!”
“Stevie is so going to get it.” he said, looking at Ashley who chuckled before turning back to the other ladies at the table. Extending his hand towards the short redhead he introduced himself. “I’m just Rick Wald, nice to meet you Lyn.”
“Oh! Come on! How did you know?!” Ashley whined.
“Because I’m me and I’m awesome.”
“Wait Rick? As in The Rick?” asked Ashley’s second sister; a brunette too.
“Ashley, I think you kept us in the dark about a lot of things.” said a redhead who Rick was almost certain was her mother in a cold tone.
“What exactly did you say?” Rick asked.
“That I was bringing my man to meet them.” Ashley said cheekily.
“At least we won’t have nothing to talk about.” he replied with a shrug and sat next to Lyn in the booth and signaled Ashley to sit too. Next to him of course. Not like there was any empty seat left.
“Rude of you to sit without being invited to.”
“Rude of you to unjustly reprimand the person who made the reservation for this table, invited you and your daughters and is paying without introducing yourself.” he shot back.
“Wow.” the brunette let out, shocked that he would talk back to her stern mother like that.
“And you’ve seen nothing yet, Abby.”
“Okay, how?!” Ashley shouted as she plopped her delicious ass on the seat next to Rick.
“Ashley?” asked the third redhead who hadn’t talked yet.
“I never showed him any pictures of you!
“Really?!” Lyn exclaimed.
“Yes.” Rick simply replied using the opportunity to let things go with the mother.
“Then how indeed.” the elder matriarch asked.
“Come on, do your thing.” Ash ordered, bumping his shoulders with his.
“All I know about Lyn was her distaste for guns but that she likes to fight. So it’s either martial arts or weapon wielding. The fact that she referred specifically to the many brutes I fought with a plasma sword on Tunchanka instead of any other fight or just being general about the mission makes me think she was impressed. The tone of her voice and the particular subject of conversation confirmed it and clearly indicated that she was a fan.”
“I’m not a fan!”
“Sure.”
“I’m not.” the redhead defended vehemently.
“What about me?” Abby inquired.
“Process of elimination. This is clearly your mother…” Rick said, pointing at the said woman without looking away from Abby. “Harsh and cold tone. Demanding and matronizing. The few words spoken were from someone clearly used to be in charge. Sarah was the easiest from experience. That left only you.” he explained leaving all the ladies at the table impressed, even their mother. “Now what about that The Rick thing?” he asked Abby.
“Ash talked a lot about you when she was stationed on Eden Prime.”
“Clearly madly in love.” Lyn added with a grin
“Oh, really?” he said coyly, looking at his lover who just shrugged.
“Why are you hiding your face?” Williams senior inquired.
“To not be recognized.”
“Why?” the woman pressed on.
“Classified.” was his simple answer which made her tick and looked at her daughter to see her nod in agreement.
“Where are you from?” it was Lyn turned to ask a question.
“Ah! I see the interrogation has begun. Very well, bring it on ladies! And I’m a spacer so I’m not really from anywhere.”
“How old are you?” Abby asked.
“Classified.”
“No way!” she exclaimed.
“You’re right, I’m just messing with you. I’m twenty six.” he joked, making his lover snort cutely.
“Ashley, I’m not sure I like this one. He’s bad.” Abby said in a fake pout.
“Well get used to him because he’s staying.”
“What do you…” began her mother but was cut off by Sarah, surprisingly.
“Ash said you were a tech expert. How did you end up fighting with her in Commander Shepard’s team?”
“Among many things I’m a genius. Admiral Anderson saw my potential and my particular set of skills and asked me to join Gingerbread to take down Saren. I was out for the turian’s blood so I accepted his offer.”
“Gingerbread?” the youngest asked.
“He means the commander.” clarified Ashley.
“You call your superior officer by an insult?” Mommy Williams asked, displeased and prompting Rick to laugh.
“I also call her Red, Carrot top and plenty of other redhead related nicknames. It’s not like she can do anything about it.”
“What do you mean?” questioned the second youngest.
“I’m not her subordinate. I work with her, not for or under her and she can’t get rid of me.”
“Why?”
“I’m that useful.”
“How so?”
“Classified.”
“Convenient.” the mother stated.
“But true, mom. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t be in the crew in the first place.”
“Considering how good you are at fighting I’m not surprised.” Lyn conceded.
“Oh, my prowess in battle is not why I’m on the team.”
“Nope.” his brunette confirmed.
“Since you can’t answer that, in what section of the military were you in to learn how to fight like that? And that plasma sword, why isn’t it used by everyone and where do I get one?”
“I’ve never been in the military, it was my mother who taught me how to fight and the rest, notably the biotics are self-taught. As for my lightsaber, I made it myself. If you have six hundred thousand credits to spare then I can make you one.”
“600K ?!”
“That’s the price of its main component, an eezo crystal. Very rare and naturally made only.”
“How did you get one in the first place?”
“I bought it, obviously.”
“So you’re loaded.” Abby said to Ash’s outrage.
“ABBY!”
“What?”
“It’s fine, Ash. I mean, my name is on several patents.”
“Patents? What did you make?” Sarah asked.
“Hmmm…”
“Let me guess, classified?” their mother asked.
“Not really since the patents are public, I was just thinking about which one I’d begin with. I mean, there is the fast reload system for shotguns and sniper rifles, the thermal clips, the TR model including the anti-recoil system, the Aegis and lastly the GR-Cannon and other bunch of stuff that I haven’t named yet.” he said counting on his fingers leaving the ladies gobsmacked at each iteration.
With perfect timing a waitress came to take their order and recognizing Rick’s helmet, greeted him.

“Good evening, and welcome back, sir. I’m glad to see you back so soon.” she said with a smile.

Rick greeted her back and each ordered what they wanted to eat. Ashley asked him what was good, prompting Lyn then Abby to ask his advice in turn. They were shocked at the amount of food he ordered.

“You’re going to eat all that?!” the second eldest asked.
“Yes. I’m an active biotic, I need lots of calories otherwise I’d just shrivel.”
“Won’t you get fat?”
“Biotics don’t get fat.”
“That’s so not fair.” she replied with a real pout this time.
“The other side of it is the heavy discrimination against biotics, so I think you’re good the way you are.”
“People are idiots.” Sarah said out loud to herself.
“On that we agree but again, I’m not really a point of reference when it’s about intelligence.”
“Which university did you go to since you weren’t in the military?” she asked.
“I never went to university. I didn’t even graduate elementary school, so university…”
“You could at least make up a believable lie.” Williams senior said, snorting.
“It’s the truth.” confirmed Ashley.
“I’m self-taught because I’m that smart, mom Williams.” he replied putting an emphasis on the word mom, pointing out that she still didn’t introduce herself. “I don’t need a paper from someone less smart than I am to know that I’m an expert.”
“Mom’s name is Maria.” Ashley said caughting on to her mom’s behavior.
“Ashley, really? Not graduating from elementary school? That’s impossible.”
“Well… I left school when I was ten so yes it is.”
“If you’re every bit the genius you say you are and seem to be, maybe it’s possible.” pondered out loud Sarah.
“Nonsense.”
“It’s a free Galaxy, Maria. Believe what you want to believe, the truth won’t change regardless.”
“Enough about school, it’s boring. Now how the two of you got together, that is interesting.” Abby said and got a nod of approval from her younger sisters.
“You really didn’t say anything?” Rick asked his lover by his side.
“Beyond the fact that I was in a serious relationship, not really.”
“She didn’t even tell us your name. Just that she was happy and that sometimes you were a handful and a bit of an idiot.” Abby chimed in.
“Is that so?” Rick asked playfully.
“Damn yes it is. Proof is your stunt on Tunchanka.” she retorted with a proud grin.
“I’m never going to live it down, am I?”
“You punched a Reaper in the face! People are more likely to forget that you can walk on water and turn water to wine than that.”
“Ugh.”
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” was the final touch of her argument.
“Now, now. I see what the both of you are doing.” Abby spoke up. “You’re gaslighting us! So fed up! How did you get together?”

Rick looked at Ashley who looked back. The answer to that question was not pretty. It started with Ashley, offering herself to Rick so he could vent everything he was feeling due to his family’s death at his own hand. As always Rick went with the truth bluntly.

“It all started when she put my hand on her chest and ass, making me realize that she was also a woman and not just a non-gendered entity who was my friend. On our first R&R she got drunk and I tried to bring her back on the ship when she decided that she’d be the one I’d have sex with instead of some random prostitute in a high class brothel to deal with my grief, pain and anger at the recent murder of my pregnant wife without allowing me to decline. Since we were already close our relationship evolved from friends to lovers naturally and we’ve been together since. Not much to fuss about really.”

Ashley put her head in her hands and groaned. She now deeply regretted not having briefed him on that particular subject despite knowing deep down that this would have been his answer. The other Williams ladies had their jaws hanging low, even Maria, and were all frozen in shock. That was the moment the waitress came back with their food.

“Did I say something wrong?” he whispered loudly to Ash.
“You did that on purpose!” his lover complained.
“I reminded you I was shameless and I don’t lie. Lying is a sure way to build disastrous relationships.”
“True.” Abby agreed, having recovered from her shock. “Though a bit of tact doesn’t hurt.”
“Tact is for the weak that can’t handle things, I thought Williams were tough.”

To everyone’s surprise, Sarah laughed at that.

“Sarah?” inquired Maria but was ignored.
“You’re right about that! Williams are tough and Williams ladies are tougher.” she said with a smile.
“I admit that was bold.” Lyn gave her two credits.
“You know what they said about the bold ones?” asked Rick.
“That fortune favors them.”
“Yes. Ash was bold and now she has me. I can’t do any less, even if you set the bar high.” he said as his helmet's lower part opened and kissed her right on the mouth to her surprise but quickly kissed back.
“Disgusting.” Maria commented.
“That I just kissed your daughter or that I intended to visit a brothel for the first time?”
“The latter and that you would have sex with my daughter, your wife’s best friend when she was barely buried. I’m disappointed in you, Ashley. This is not how your father and I raised you.”
“Everyone deals with grief differently. For some it’s alcohol, for others, violence or many other ways. Some can’t even deal with it and just shrivel up in a corner letting themselves die or simply take their own life.” he replied in a neutral tone that Ashley was very familiar with. In response she took his hand in hers and squeezed to offer her support. “Ashley chose love to deal with Analysse’s death, I chose sex then love. There is nothing wrong with that. We overcame it for the most part and became stronger from it with a new relationship that we’re both happy with. You should be proud of her and not disappointed just because she survived and made her own way in life, not in the way that you expected her to do. Because I don’t see how she’s not a testament of the way you raised her. She’s loyal, attentionate, caring, loving, friendly and kicks ass all the way around. That’s for all of that, that she’s in the team spearheading the war, saving species from extinction and giving them a future, brokering alliance between thousand year old enemies. She was chosen out of hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the alliance to make sure we win the war. If the way she found love and happiness is enough to disappoint you when there is so much to be proud of, then you don’t deserve her. Your loss, my gain.” He replied putting a piece of steak he cut while talking into his mouth.

Everyone at the table had a different reaction. Maria was stunned to be put in her place so harshly in such a dismissive way. Abby had a smile on her face, happy that her big sister had found someone with balls. Lyn had stars in her eyes and if she wasn’t already a fan, which she still denied, she certainly would have been now which she would still deny. Sarah felt a pang of sadness, remembering her late husband but also happy to know that her sister had someone devoted to supporting her no matter what happens on the front, especially when she was in even more danger than most people fighting.
Ashley simply looked at him dumbfounded. Hearing her mother said that she was a disappointment hurt but the unwavering strong support that the man she loved put forward, made her fall in love all over again. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach as if they were on ecstasy, cocaine and all other drugs that made people hyper active.

“What?” he said, seeing Ashley looking at him.

The brunette grabbed his head in a flash with both hands and brought it down to meet her lips. She didn’t waste any time to invade his mouth with her tongue and gave him the kiss of his life. The kind that curled toes. She wanted nothing more than to strip naked and ride his cock for all he and she was worth, milking every drop of baby making batter he could produce until he was completely dry. Her core was burning hot with hunger, lust, desire and screamed at her that it needed to be filled to the brim to make a child.

“Way to go, sis!” Lyn shouted in approval and amusement, bringing back Ashley to the living world and breaking the kiss.
“That’s the most passionate declaration of love I’ve ever witnessed.” Abby stated, clearly pleased by what she saw.
“I love you.” Ashley said looking straight at his eyes as if his helmet wasn’t there and in the most vulnerable state that Rick had ever seen her in. Smiling at her he answered in kind.
“I love you too.”

Ashley let go of his head and turned her body to face the table again. When she saw the knowing grin of her sisters she blushed furiously and Rick took her hand in his to support her embarrassment.

“And that’s how she claimed me that fateful night. No way I could get away after that, I was doomed.” he joked, making everyone but Maria laugh heartily.

After that everyone began to eat their food, exchanging stories about Ashley from her childhood or from her time in service on Eden Prime or the Normandy. The group had a good time, talking and laughing not watching time fly. When it was time to leave, Ashley let Rick get up to pay the bill.

"I don't approve of him but he was right. One aspect of your life should not define who you are and diminish your accomplishments. I apologize for my words." Maria said to her eldest daughter.

"It's fine mom but I'm not the only one you should apologize to. However you're lucky he doesn't care so you won't have to."

"In any case, I'm happy for you, sis. He's nice, funny and smart…"

"I'm surprised you didn't say…" Lyn began.

"And rich."

"And here we go. For my part, Ash… He makes you happy and can protect you. That's enough for me."

"Thank you." Ashley replied with a smile.

On the other side of the steakhouse Rick had just paid the bill and turning around was confronted with Sarah. The difference in height was around a foot yet to him the short girl in front of her had an air of authority making her taller than she actually was.

"Does it get easier?" She asked him.

"It's different for each person. The pain never really goes away but you get used to it."

"I'm still thinking about him every day."

"It's not been long."

"Do you still think about her after all this time?"

"Almost everyday too. Every time I wake up, my first thought is about her.  And if I didn't distract myself with work or with my friends…"

"You tried, didn't you?"

"Yes and I thanked any God out there that listened for your sister. She literally put my ass out of the fire. She is one of the main reasons I keep going, that I keep fighting. She was there in my darkest moment and never gave up on me so I can't really give up on her. Not my style."

"You're lucky to have her.

"I am but I'm not the only one, you have her too and your other sisters and your mother. You're not alone."

"I feel like I am."

"Then find something to do. Finding a purpose is fine too. Why not try for a job?"

"I'm nineteen with just a year into nursing school, I won't go very far. Not with the school being on Earth."

"Nursing school? Then I may help, perhaps. On the upper wards, there is a clinic belonging to an acquaintance. She's taking care of members of the alliance that needs to heal away from prying eyes. She may be interested in hiring an assistant. Make her a deal, you work for free but she teaches you as payment."

"I… I don't know." She said looking down.

"It's better than being lost and letting your mind wander. Anyway the choice is yours. Now let's go back, your mother already thinks I perverted Ash, let's not give her a reason to think I'm perverting another one of her daughters." He joked, making her smile a little and walked back to their table side by side.

"Sarah!"

"So that's where you went. I hope she didn't bother you much." Ashley asked.

"More than bothersome, she was scary. Sarah may be vertically challenged…"

"Hey!"

"But she made me spill some beans like no tomorrow. Turned out she's in fact just all very compacted toughness." He teased and the young redhead played the game 

"And don't you forget it, mister!"

"Believe me, I won't."

____________________________________________________________

The couple said their goodbyes to the rest of the Williams and walked back to the ship hand in hand taking their times.

"Thank you, lover."

"What for?"

"For a nice evening and for helping my baby sister. Don't think that I don't know what the two of you talked about."

"It was all them, I was just lucky to be present. And Sarah… I just shared my experience. She's very perceptive by the way, she found out about what I did on Eden Prime."

"She doesn't think of…" Ashley asked, afraid.

"No. She's not there yet and I don't think she ever will. Unlike me, she has no guilt, she's just lost and feels alone, so I directed her to work at a clinic on the upper wards. You know that one where we met Garrus."

"Oh I remember the cute doctor. Very nice with a sexy french accent."

"Dr. Michel. That makes me think that I have to send her a message to warn her."
“Still, thank you. It’s the first time she really smiled since Thomas’s death. She even laughed! All thanks to you!”

"..."

"..."

"I still can't believe you told my mom exactly how we got together."

"She asked for it. At least I didn't say that most of the time you were hurting for days each time we had sex."

"She would have killed you."

"Damn. Then I did well not challenging her to a mother-daughter fivesome. I dread what she would have done to me."  He joked and got a punch in his shoulder.

"She would have castrated you with a rusty knife."

"You know… I don't hear a no."

"Of course not, we're all hot."

"No wonder you got along so well with Analysse, you're a degenerate just like her."

"And you love it."

"That I do, my bombshell. That I do."

They walked back to the ship and went straight to his bedroom. EDI had the good idea to take Ashley's bed knowing that the probability was high for the couple to come back late and have sex. She has been right. The moment they reached the bedroom, Ashley jumped on Rick and kissed him deeply.

“I’m going to ride you until you can’t get it up anymore.”
“Challenge. Accepted.”

____________________________________________________________

Aria was back on her corner of the Purgatory having come back with Jane and Rick to the Citadel not wanting to deal with the clean up on omega and wanting to be at the heart of the information on the war. While the place was a hell for her, it still was the best option the station offered.
Just as she was drinking a mildly tolerable Serrice brandy, she saw someone making her way to her. Someone who she never thought would come willingly for a talk.

“Aria T’Loak.”
“That’s correct. What do you want?”
“I want to talk.”
“About?”
“My son.”
“...”
“...”

Aria eyed the woman in front of her carefully before making a decision.

“Take a seat, Councilor.”

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