Liara stared down at the Commander's memorial plaque in her hand. She ran her fingers across the lettering: Jill Shepard. Strange. Liara had never once called her by her first name. None of them had, and now they would never get the chance to. The Normandy Crew, those that had survived the Reaper war and the crash landing on a strange planet, were gathered in the Normandy's hallway, waiting for her to place Shepard's name on the cenotaph, commemorating those who had given their lives to save the galaxy from extinction.

Liara's heart ached as she thought of her bond mate. The last time she saw her, Shepard was running towards a beam to the citadel, dodging a Reaper Destroyer that killed anything that approached. Injured during the fight on Earth, Shepard still managed to contact the Normandy to take Liara and James to safety, continuing the fight without them. Liara could still feel the Commander's gentle hand on her face as caressed her cheek, saying her final goodbye.

"You are everything to me," Shepard said, her green eyes searching Liara's blue ones as the world went to ruin around them. "You always will be."

Her hand fell then and she turned away, running back towards the raging battle, ignoring the heart-wrenching calls after her. It killed Liara to watch her go. She knew she wouldn't be coming back from this fight, and so did Shepard, but nothing, not even the love she held would get in the way of her duty to the galaxy. Shepard was loyal to the end, to her purpose, and Liara, as much as it hurt to know she would never see her love again, as much as she wanted to be by Shepard's side once more, wouldn't have had it any other way. For that was who the Commander was. She always put her duty to others before herself. That's what made her such a great soldier and a treasured friend.

"Liara?"

Tali's voice interrupted Liara's faraway thoughts. Everyone was watching her, seeing her hesitation. She swallowed hard, fighting back her tears that threatened to betray her. Reluctantly, she obliged, placing the Commander's name in the middle of the memorial wall above Admiral Anderson's. As the magnet latched, the Asari's shaking hand dropped limply to her side and her head dropped. Her life spanned out for the next 900 years or so. Where was she going to get the strength to continue without the woman she loved?

A gentle hand placed itself on her shoulder.

"You alright, Li?" James asked in his deep voice.

Liara took a shaky breath, unable to respond. She simply turned and allowed the soldier's giant arms to wrap around her, burying her face in his broad chest as she tried in vain not to fall apart in front of them all.

"Don't worry, I got you," James soothed, holding her tight.

The rest of what remained of Commander Shepard's crew stood still, knowing nothing they could say would make anything better. Each of them missed Shepard in their own way, each of them had fond memories of her, but the bond between Liara and the Commander went deeper than any of theirs. There was no comfort for her. Joker had lost EDI's body, but at least the AI had still survived with most of her core programing built into the Normandy. Liara had nothing of Shepard left. It was so hard to believe that after everything they had been though together, the woman had finally fallen. For good this time. There was no Cerberus to bring her back now.

After several seconds of silence, Liara pulled back from James' embrace and steadied herself. It felt strange to be comforted by someone else other than Shepard. The war had only ended a few days ago, but it already seemed like a lifetime had passed since she was back in Shepard's cabin, spending one last night of intimacy with her before they attacked the Cerberus base. That night was the best night of her existence. Only one hundred and nine years old and she had already met the person she wanted to enter matron-hood with. Those little blue children would be disappointed now.

Unable to look at the memorial wall once more, to see her love's name amongst the dead, Liara walked back towards her cabin, without a word, feeling the eyes of her friends on her as she did so. Although she was surrounded by people, she had never felt so alone. As soon as the door whooshed closed behind her, she barely made it to her bed before she collapsed in grief, tears streaming down her blue face before she could stop them.

Glyph appeared out of nowhere and hovered beside her, glowing silver light. "Is there anything I can help you with, Dr T'Soni?"

"Can you bring Shepard back?" Liara responded hoarsely.

"Negative, Shadow Broker. Commander Shepard's whereabouts are currently unknown."

Liara sighed. "I just want to be alone, Glyph."

With that, the drone disappeared, sending the room into semi-darkness. The screens of numerous nearby monitors were still active, flashing continuously. What was let of her contacts were waiting on instructions from the Shadow Broker. The Reapers were defeated, but the mass effect relays had been destroyed according to their knowledge. Having information points all over the Galaxy would be more important now than ever, but Liara couldn't face it all just yet. Without Shepard, everything that once mattered no longer did. Unable to take it anymore, the Asari closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep, to escape her grief just for a few seconds.

"Did you come to check up on me?"

Liara heard the door to the med bay open and turned in her chair to find Commander Shepard standing behind her. She quickly hid her tears, not wanting to appear weak in front of the fearless woman. The way Shepard looked at her was sincere, with sympathy that said she understood what Liara was going through.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright," Shepard said, more softly than the Asari had ever heard her speak before. "Seeing your mother being killed in front of your eyes like that couldn't have been easy."

Liara sighed, getting to her feet. "I'm alright," she said, trying to be strong. "She brought it upon herself. Whatever Benezia was in the end though, I'll always remember her how she used to be."

Shepard wasn't fooled. "Don't pretend this doesn't bother you," she said, touching the Asari's arm. Liara looked up, seeing the regret in Shepard's expression. "I'm… sorry I had to do that to you. If there was any other way..."

"There wasn't," Liara lamented. "It had to be done. My mother was long gone by the time you killed her. Saren saw to that."

Liara saw her own pain reflect in Shepard's emerald eyes. The Commander let her hand fall. She backed away, staring at the ground. "Do you blame me?"

"No!" Liara blurted out, reaching out towards her as the woman made to distance herself. It felt oddly nice being comforted by her. "Of course not, Shepard! How could I?"

The Commander looked back into her eyes then, as though she had permission to again. They stared at each other, and Liara then realised that Shepard had pain of her own on her mind. She wasn't just being sympathetic.

"Are...you alright, Commander?" Liara asked curiously.

Shepard's gaze fell once more and she shifted uncomfortably. She sighed, walking towards the nearby desk and began browsing through Liara's latest research data on Prothean technology. "Shepard?" Liara had never seen her look so...vulnerable before

It was several seconds before Shepard responded. "Did I ever tell you where I grew up?" she asked, hoarse.

Liara cringed. "No but...I...looked into your history," she apologised.

Shepard froze. "You didn't have to do that. I would have told you whatever you wanted to know."

"I'm sorry, Commander," Liara said, cursing herself. She was never good at speaking to people, least of all humans. It was so much easier for her to search for data on the extranet and sift through Alliance resources rather than extract it personally from the slightly intimidating Commander. It was the archaeologist in her coming to the surface. "I was curious."

"So I can assume you know about what happened on Mindoir?" Shepard asked sounding rather cold now. Liara realised she had offended her. She moved closer to the Commander, who still had her back to her.

"You lost your parents in a slaver attack," Liara stated, remember reading about it in the reports. "You were the only survivor of the entire colony, rescued by Alliance troops."

The events of that appeared to still haunt Shepard. Liara shuddered, wondering what she might have seen. Shepard turned back to her, a tortured grimace etched across her pale features.

"When I saw my parents being massacred that day I wanted every one of those Batarian bastard's heads on a spit. I guess I was just afraid that you would think the same about me for killing your mother."

Liara made a stuttered movement to reach out and take her hand. Embarrassed, she rested her hand on the table beside Shepard's instead, too afraid to be that informal with her.

"Of course not," she said sincerely. "I could never think that about you. I miss Benezia but I know that you did not have a choice. I do not blame you, Shepard."

The Commander smiled. "Good," she said, seemingly relieved. "I know how hard this must be for you. I'm here if you need to talk."

Shepard squeezed Liara's hand before leaving, completing the gesture that the Asari was afraid to. Liara watched her go, realising then that no matter how much of a front the Commander put up, no matter how much of a renegade she could be, she was still vulnerable. It made her seem more...human somehow. In that moment Liara realised she was starting to have feelings for her, which went beyond simple admiration and respect. Ever since they'd met, the Commander had intrigued her, but this was the first time she'd seen her softer side. It was attractive seeing real person underneath all that armour.

"Shepard?" Liara called after her. The Commander turned back. Her piercing eyes caught Liara's breath. "Thank you," she managed, shy under the Commander's gaze.

Shepard smiled. "Anytime."

Liara watched her turn and exit the med bay, the door whooshing closed behind her.

Liara jumped up out of her doze. She had cried herself to sleep, thinking of her lost love. She reached out for her pillow, drawing it close and burying her face in it. It still smelled faintly of the Commander. Shepard's scent clung to the fabric, reminding Liara that she once existed. It was about the only comfort she had left now. Clutching it to her chest, Liara lay on her side, staring at the opposite wall, still lost in memories.

Suddenly the intercom came to life.

"How are you feeling, Dr T'Soni?" came EDI's soothing voice.

Liara sniffed in response, fresh tears falling down her face. She couldn't find the words to reply. Truth be told, she felt numb. This was all too hard to take in. The only person she wanted to talk to was no longer here. No one else would understand.

"I regret having lost my human form," EDI continued. "It would have made it much easier to comfort you."

"Do not worry about me, EDI," Liara answered. "I'll be...fine."

"We are all missing the Commander," EDI replied. "But I understand she meant much more to you, just as Jeff means to me. I am sorry that I could not be of more help."

"I would prefer just to be alone," Liara said. "But thank you, EDI."

"You are welcome," EDI finished. "I will respect your privacy."

With that, the room was plunged into silence. Liara cuddled her pillow, closing her eyes once more, willing her dream to pick up where it left off. If that was the only way she could see Shepard again, then she never wanted to wake up.