Author notes: Hello everyone, a new story! Hope you enjoy this Tali and Shepard love story. please take the time to review it, just so I can know if you like it, and even give me ideas! Keelah se'lai"

...

"John! John, wake up, please! I need you! Ahh! SHEPARD!"

...

A single thumb, clad in calloused tough white skin softly smoothed over the black reflective visor of an N7 helmet. The dented grey skin of the metal felt cold against his palms that cupped the helmet's cheeks. Soon the sensation passed as the warm pressure resumed in each hand, turning and rotating the helmet in his huge paws. Wrinkles and dry cuts stained the back of the hands. On the left hand's index finger, a white fabric bandage coiled tightly around the tip, slightly darkened in color by dirt smudges.

The huge hands that hold this helmet in place belonged to none other than Commander John Shepard, savior of the Galaxy. His elbows pressed into his thighs as he sat idle on the sofa of his Cabin, the table before him polished and empty of all trinkets. He was clad head to toe in his Alliance dress blues. Golden trims and shoulder pad outlines made the ultramarine blue sparkle. Gold and silver dabs on his left pectoral were tapered in place by ribbons of different vibrant colors, a Rainbow square on his chest. These medals were only a small token of thanks for all he had done to make the galaxy devoid of all Reapers, and bring the rays of happiness and life sparking back into the system. Shepard had ignited the sparks of hope upon the Galaxy's kindling, a huge fire of Alliances rising to destroy the monstrous machines. And even now, after all is said and done, those Alliances are still burning bright and strong.

Shepard looked upon the distorted reflection in the eyes of the N7 helmet, peering back at him. His bottom lip was scarred with scabby blood where it had split, his left eye still red and a purple bruise shading under the eye, a scar emanating above the socket on his brow. Small nicks and cuts travel down his body and hidden burns itched and scratched beneath his dress blues. Within the woven right leg of fabric was a cast up to his knee, keeping the bending bone in shape. Chakwas had cleared him for walking with the use of a cane, but physiotherapy with Miranda Lawson and herself was tedious at best. Shepard was getting better after four months of heart failings, broken bones, skin grafts, and learning to walk and write all over again. Though he was never ever in it alone, and had someone very special helping him along the way to recovery.

"Ready to go?" was the soft accented voice that gently reverberated around the quiet empty Cabin. Shepard stole himself from the helmet's stare and peered up at his loving Quarian Girlfriend, the woman who had been with him through it all. Whether it was rogue Spectres, monstrous Collectors or genocide Reapers, she was the constant in his life. She was his rock, his buoyancy devise in the sea of life.

Tali stood on the steps along the equator of the Cabin, peering down at him on the sofa. At her feet was a wheeled suitcase, her hands held together at her groin as she held onto the handle of the case. She looked phenomenal. The Zorah goddess was clad in her usual Enviro-suit of snug black fabric, textured with hexagonal patterns. The purple cloth wraps that coiled around her tight waist and wide hips trickled its way down her thighs and wrapped around the taught legs. Her lower legs and feet were snugly sealed in the silver shin armor and steel boots that melded around her six toes. The purple mask within the hood peered lopsided slightly, her silver eyes within smiling to him.

"You okay?" She asked very softly, her voice like accented silk. Shepard groaned as he set his old helmet down on the table, and growled as he pressed his right palm into the cane as he stood, his knees threatening to buckle without it, even standing up, a simple task, sent pools of lactic acid boiling at the joints. She felt a nervous twitch, ready to leap to him if he went over like before. He begged her not to help him, but she was having none of his pride.

The Dress Blue clad man paced around the table, dragging his cast right leg behind him as his cane pattered on the metal floor. His right hand gripped his thigh as he tried to keep the burning leg straight.

"Mmm, yeah I'm fine sweetheart." He grimaced before putting on a smile that threatened to split the cut on his lip again. She tilted her head and he could see the raised brow beneath the purpled haze.

"Sweetheart?" she asked with a faint chuckle.

"Have I not called you that yet?" He cocked a brow. Tali gently shook her head.

"Nuh-uh"

"Oh, well it...It's what humans say to someone they love, that they cherish" he peered over at the neatly tucked in bed, not a single crease to the crisp white sheets. "To the person who he christened those sheets with" He smirked at the memory, tangled sheets around soft firm curves. Her silky grey skin contrast to raven black hair ruffled on the pillow. A playful tut and slap to his arm awoke him from the memory, Tali shaking her head at him.

"Bosh'tet." She chuckled, rolling her eyes. Shepard smirked at her, peering up and around at the empty Cabin. The cabinet of glass was devoid of all model ships, and the blue haze that danced on the ceiling like the Aurora Borealis was no more, since the fish tank was empty and cleaned out, now a dull grey glass square in the wall. This was truly it; Time to leave, to have a life outside of the Normandy and the war.

He panned his head around the room. The closet by his bed was empty, only a few unused coat hangers clutching to the chrome rail. The armor console that once shone bright amber light around the room was deactivated and so was the Holo-clock. The bed was made as if no one had ever slept in it. It felt like they were ready to leave a hotel room after a fantastic holiday.

"Sweetheart." He heard Tali giggle under her breath. She was so cute and it made his heart flutter. After all that had happened to him: Akuze, Ashley's death on Virmire, Mordin's sacrifice and Legion's heroism, all it took was a giggle from Tali to thaw his cold heart.

"I'm your sweetheart." she repeated with a hidden smile. Shepard chuckled till the dry skin around his lips threatened to crack.

"Yeah, you are."

"Are you my sweetheart?" She asked with sincerity. Shepard smiled to her, his scarred cheeks pushing up under his tired eyes, left one still heavily bruised, the torn sclera still a bloodshot red with a hint of purple.

"If you want me to be." He smirked.

"I do." She smiled to him, walking down the steps and wrapping her slender arms around him, her sudden body warmth heating through his dress blues and even soothing his itchy skin. Tali was his cure. "I love you." She whispered as she buried her masked face into his neck. The gold trims on the right shoulder pad hidden beneath her head as she hugged him tightly, but not too much to avoid his burns and sores. Shepard cooed and wrapped his hands around the small of her back, rubbing it softly, his cane lent against the sofa. They stood like that by the bed of his Cabin, embraced for over five minutes.

"Hey..." Shepard whispered as he rubbed her back.

"Mmm?" Tali replied, happy in his arms. She had truly thought him gone after seeing him run towards the conduit beam, only for Harbinger to intervene with a carnivorous blast of energy. But days later, found under the Citadel rubble was the broken man himself, rubbing the only working limb on his body over a photo clutched to his gouged torso. His thumb massaged the burned photo of Tali. He had it all along. She awoke from her memories when Shepard continued speaking, no longer amongst rubble but back in his arms within the Cabin.

"This is oddly familiar."

"How so?" She asked, not moving from his hug, gently swaying with him. Both of them had their eyes closed as they held each other so tight and close, fitting together like a puzzle piece.

"Well, when we fought the Collectors, and you came up to...see me..." He cleared his throat and they both blushed slightly.

"Mmm?" She beckoned.

"Well we stood here, right here and held onto each other for a while. Here we are again..." Shepard gently held her upper arms and pushed her up to a standing position before him. He looked deep into her silver eyes. "...holding each other."

"But this time, there's no suicide mission clouding our minds, no Reapers to fear. We're free." She smiled, bouncing on her toes slightly. Oh how hard they had fought to get to this moment.

"Yeah, we are." Shepard panned his vision around the room. "This place has been my home for so long. Seems weird to just...leave." Shepard scoffed, feeling ridiculous. "I know it's silly." He scratched the back of his collar.

"No, not at all. This is your home."

"Was my home. You remember what you said when we said goodbye at the beam?" Shepard choked over the lump now expanding in his throat. He had never felt so much pain as when Tali choked out the words. "I have a home. Come back to me." It killed him; it hurt him, far worse than anything Harbinger could inflict.

"All the time." She responded, taking his hands and playing with them, looping her three finger hands around his five finger hands. Her eyes darted down as she massaged his aching hands.

"Well it works both ways." Shepard smiled, Tali snapping her eyes up at his. He gently pressed his finger on her suited collar bone, indicating who he was referring to. "I have a home Tali." Shepard scoffed over the water pockets beneath his eyes. They stung something fierce, but he ignored it as he smiled at her till his face screamed for him to stop.

"We do."

"We just need beat the Reap...oh no wait, we did that didn't we?" He rhetorically smirked playfully, Tali gently shoving him and giggling.

"Come on lover boy, we best hurry if we're going to say goodbye to the others." Tali sighed, stepping back up the stairs and grasping the erected handle of the suitcase, dragging it behind her. Shepard swallowed hard over the lump in his throat, like trying to swallow a whole apple.

"Yeah. Right behind you." He whispered, eyes darting over his home. He grasped the handle of his cane and as he brushed up the steps, his left hand slid along the smooth metal of the wall, taking in the feel of the Normandy. Tali was stood in the doorway, peering back at him. She understood how hard it was for him. The Normandy was his home, he had nowhere else. But now? Now he had her, and Rannoch, a future to bestow upon each other.

He stepped over to the table where his computer used to be. His shelf no longer housed the Hamster cage and the plastic sheets thrown over the empty glass cabinets were proof enough that this was it. He ran his calloused hand over the smooth metal desk and sighed, peering down through the glass cabinet at the bed and table, his N7 helmet still in place.

"You're not going to take your helmet?" she asked him. He shook his head with a soft smile.

"It belongs here." He sighed. This was truly it. Shepard pressed off the desk, devoid of stacks of paperwork and data pads, no longer used for Reaper war intel. The area that once held his recovered dog tags was empty and Shepard patted his collar bone to feel the chain of the tags.

Check. He thought.

"You got everything Tal?" He asked, not taking his eyes off the room.

"Yeah. You?" she spoke softly from behind.

"Everything I'll ever need." He smiled. Tali felt a swell of pride and love hit her chest. "Let's go sweetheart." he smiled as he nodded to the room. Tali turned after taking one last look at the room before entering the elevator. Shepard stopped in the doorway, peering over his shoulder at the Captain's cabin of the SR2. His eyes watered over such a small thing as a room, but it was the memories this room housed that hit him hard.

"Thanks old girl. For everything." Shepard sniffed, nodding with a heavy emotional smile, and let his eyes leave the room, stepping into the elevator. The door to the Cabin across the landing that was bathed in red light automatically shut. The green holographic door lock buffered and sealed. Tali grabbed his hand gently and gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Let's go see the others." She spoke softly, resting her head on his shoulder. Shepard nodded as the door to the elevator shut and they began their last ever descent from the Cabin deck.

...

Garrus Vakarian massaged the broken scarred plate of his right mandible as he peered around the Main Battery for the very last time. He smiled to himself and shut down the console that he used to perform his sensitive calibrations. He flicked the switch and the lights shut off one by one in a wave of ascending darkness. The Turian sighed and grabbed his duffel bag, slinging the heavy kit over his left shoulder, left hand tightly gripping the strap. He turned and walked away as the door shut behind, sealing off the battery.

He paced down the long narrow stretch passed all of the sleeper pods that were folded away on their mechanical arms. He stopped in front of his pod and depressed the button with his right thumb. A hiss sounded and the glass door lifted up out of the way. He reached inside and retrieved his visor that seated over his left eye. The curved metal plate and blue holographic display rolled around in his palm, teetering like a seesaw. On the inside was the carved names of his squad on Omega and even Shepard's name. He'd etched that in after the Collectors claimed Shepard's life, though they never counted on the man not staying dead. Garrus scoffed and lifted it up, seating it over his left eye, feeling naked without it.

He once again massaged his aching mandible and closed the lid of the pod. As he turned to the wide expanse known as the Mess Hall, he smiled broadly at Shepard and Tali pacing hand in hand from behind the wall that hid the elevator. Garrus adjusted his shoulder and strap of the duffel bag before walking towards them.

"Just like...huh, I was going to say old times, but I remember saying something about that being the last time I'd get to say it." Garrus chuckled.

"Yeah, but we did it, didn't we. We defeated the Reapers." Shepard shook his head at how unbelievable it was to defeat the unstoppable, infinite, never aging machines.

"We did. Now we just need to live off the royalties of the vids and we're set." Garrus smiled. He looked at Tali. "Good to see you Tali."

"You too Garrus; Said goodbye to your nest?" She smirked, though it was only evident in her tone. Garrus scoffed, turning his gaze to the sealed door down the hall.

"Yeah, hard to leave that room, it was downright cosy." He chuckled, shrugging as well. Shepard and Tali shared a laugh with their best friend.

"Team Dextro make it again." Shepard chuckled as Tali and Garrus raised brows at him.

"Hey come on, you two are the only constant in my life, you are not only my best friend and loved one, your my family. You stuck by me when no one else would. I...I love you two." Shepard smiled warmly.

"I appreciate it Shepard I do, but I think Tali might get jealous to hear you call me your loved one. I guess if she could cope with being your best friend, we could run off together." Garrus shrugged. Tali shook her head and grumbled as Shepard laughed till his sides ached, wiping a stray tear from his eye.

"Tali and Garrus: The two people who stayed with me through absolutely everything, even working with a pro human organisation." Shepard recalled Cerberus.

"This is umm, getting a bit soft for me." Garrus chuckled. "As long as we don't have a group hug, I should be able to manage."

"I like seeing this side of you John, it's nice." Tali cooed. Garrus gagged.

"You two can be so...what was that word? Lovey-Dovey." Garrus swirled his free hand in the air to recite the wording. Shepard coiled his arm around Tali's waist and pulled her into his chest with a startled yelp. She pressed her palms against his torso and steadied her fluttering heart.

"We can be worse, isn't that right my wittle bwaby girwl? Oh oh" Shepard pouted to Tali and pressed his forehead to hers, her soft giggles sounding as she massaged the back of his neck. Garrus rolled his eyes.

"I stand corrected. We should have recorded that and broadcast it to the Reapers. I'm sure that would have killed them faster than the Crucible." He smirked with his plates and mandibles.

"Lighten up Vakarian." Tali snarled, pointing at him as Shepard released her. Garrus chuckled weakly at the pair, and then peered over at the med bay. Shepard and Tali followed his gaze, seeing Chakwas through the window. She was stood by her usual desk, entering a few keys into the computer and finally with a swallowed breath pressing the shut down button. The old doctor batted her silver locks out of her eye-line and sighed, standing up straight and tucking her chair under her desk.

"Any idea what she's going to do now?" Garrus asked.

"Hopefully retire. Hell knows she deserves a break." Shepard responded, both keeping their eyes on her. Tali was quick to act, elbowing them both, Shepard softer than Garrus. Both of them flinched away and snapped their eyes down as Chakwas left the Med bay, wiping her eyes clean with her free hand and dragging a wheeled suitcase behind her. She walked over to the trio.

"Hello Commander." she smiled in her wonderful tone of voice.

"You don't have to call me that anymore Karin." Shepard chuckled. Chakwas scoffed and rolled a tumbling lock behind her ear.

"I told you, I never use your first name."

"And I told you that makes no sense." He chuckled to her, leaning onto his cane. It was obvious to Tali that standing was making him uncomfortable, but knew he'd refuse to appear weak and sit down. Instead she walked over to his side and gave him some support, looping a hand around his. He smiled and squeezed her hand gently.

"So, what now Doc? Where you off to?" Shepard asked.

"Back to the Alliance, help as much as I can. A lot of people still need medical aid, and I can give it." She shrugged.

"No retirement plan?" He smirked.

"Me? Retire? I think not Commander." She chuckled. Garrus took a step closer to the conversation.

"Knew you wouldn't give up just yet."

"No, not yet Garrus, and since you both won't let me help with your scars, I guess the only person here I can help is Jeff. That's not enough to warrant my staying." Chakwas shook her head at both Shepard and Garrus. Tali could only agree with her, they were both very fond of their scars.

Suddenly they were brought from their thoughts and conversation by the loud voice of Liara T'soni, her soft tone somehow angry at the same time. They all peered around at the other side of the Mess hall, Liara walking out of her office as two Alliance volunteers hauled the old computer screens out of her office. She had a solemn look on her face and sighed heavily as she ticked off her datapad.

Shepard knew by her face that she was upset, the slight shimmer in her large blue eyes, the tremble of a bottom lip, the clear of her throat to disrupt the lump within it. Tali gave Shepard a slight squeeze on his hand.

"We should talk to her" Garrus sighed, setting his duffel bag down on the ground with a soft thump. Shepard lifted his cane and set it across Garrus's chest to stop his stride.

"I'll do it." Shepard winced, stepping forward with a limp as he tapped the ground with his cane. Tali released his hand and smiled warmly beneath her mask at Shepard as he went to see to his friend's discomfort.

"More proof that he didn't just use us to get the job done." Garrus spoke boldly, earning an eyebrow raise and confused glare from both Tali and Chakwas. "What I mean is, well look at him. Going out of his way to help her, help all of us, even after the war is over. He sees us as friend's not just combatants." Garrus smiled as Shepard stood before Liara, their lips moving in conversation.

"You're just realizing it now?" Tali asked.

"No, just...only now am I appreciating it." Garrus nodded.

Shepard stood before the pale blue Asari. She was beautiful, but he never saw her that way, only as a dear friend who helped him defeat Saren and the Reapers. She tapped at her datapad and huffed, turning and peering inside her office, once Miranda's.

The bed was made, white fabric pressed of all creases. The wall of many monitors was no long there, removed from their hinges. Glyph's terminal was shut down and covered with plastic drapes. Her computer laptops were shut down and folded into her suitcase.

"Ready to go?" Shepard asked over her shoulder, standing beside her as she let her eyes roam over the cabin. All of her personal belongs were devoid of the room and it no longer felt like hers. The steel shade of the room was darker without the blue hum of her V.I assistant Glyph or the many glints of rainbow light on her Shadow Broker monitors. The tinge of cleaned metal filled the air and singes the nostrils. Shepard saw the stinging tears beneath her eyes.

"It's really over isn't it? W-we did it."

"Yeah, we did." Shepard smiled to her as she scoffed a faint chuckle.

"I can't believe we actually defeated the Reapers, seems a little crazy." Liara smiled faintly.

"Yeah, only feels like yesterday that we stopped Sovereign."

"When you found me on Therum, found Tali, Garrus and Wrex on the Citadel, we've come a long way haven't we?" She smiled to him, Shepard nodding as he chewed on the scar upon his lip.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked her softly. Liara nodded as she shut the door to the empty Cabin. The green hologram lock cycling as it turned red. She sighed heavily and reached down as she grabbed the handle to her suitcase.

"Yes, I will be." She smiled warmly, wiping her eyes clean.

"This isn't the end Liara. Just...the end of all the war and fighting." He shrugged, turning and walking with her back to the group in the middle of the mess hall. She chuckled softly as they neared the group, the once solemn look in her eyes replaced with glee as she saw her friends.

"Yes, you're right. Thank you Shepard."

"No problem Liara." He growled over the pain in his leg. She winced for him and gave a reassuring smile as her shoulder nudged him towards the female Quarian that he came to love with all his heart. The vital pump in his chest beat faster and hotter every time he laid eyes on her, or lay with her. He mentally slapped himself for the devolution of his sweet thought.

"Hello Liara." Tali smiled through her opaque mask. Liara couldn't see it, but she was intellectual enough to know by her tone of voice that Tali was beaming.

"Hello Tali, how are you?" The kind Broker asked. Tali reached for Shepard's hand, claiming it and giving it a squeeze. Shepard winced slightly but smiled warmly at her.

"I'm perfect. The Reapers are dead, the Geth are helping us on Rannoch and Shepard is here with me, alive and...erm...well." she squinted and her head shrunk down into her shoulders as she studied the state of him. Even now, after four months of intensive care and hard work, he was still frail and in agony if some kind of pain killer wasn't swimming in his bloodstream.

Keelah, why did I have to bring his condition up?

Shepard laughed with a throat crack as he looked at the obviously blushing Quarian. "I'm fine Tali, on the mend."

"Better to feel pain huh Shepard? It means..." Garrus swirled his three fingered hand and eyed Shepard for him to finish the line.

"Means you're alive." Shepard mumbled, shaking his head at the Turian.

"Sorry? Couldn't hear that." Garrus faked his deafness, cupping a palm to the side of his head.

"It means you're alive." Shepard said more enthusiastically, smirking. Garrus, happy with the response stood up straight beside Chakwas. The old doctor shook her head at them. Liara peered around at the empty mess hall. It was just them. She sighed through pursed lips, running a white gloved palm across her tendril scalp.

"We...we did it" She chuckled dryly. Garrus nodded, hefting his duffel bag up and the strap over his shoulder.

"Yeah, we did. Still feels a bit raw though, doesn't it? Like we might wake up to find we've only just arrived at Earth, to see the sky still swarming with those monsters." He shuddered. Everyone silently, solemnly nodded.

"But...here we are. Emptying out our ship and getting ready to go home...live our lives." Garrus flexed his mandibles into a Turian smile.

"God knows how I'm gonna cope. I have no idea how to live a normal life." Shepard scoffed, shrugging. He leaned onto his cane and Tali stood beside him.

"Me neither. I've never had a home firmly planted on the ground, one that doesn't need constant attention to keep us alive. Keelah, I still can't believe it's over." Tali exclaimed. Liara smiled warmly at the pairing before her.

"You'll manage." The Asari chuckled, Tali feeling her cheeks heat up at being the center of everyone's gaze. Shepard shifted in his stance, and looked over his shoulder at the wall, two paths on either side. He turned and began slowly limping that way. Tali dragged the wheeled suitcase as did Liara and Chakwas to theirs. Garrus simply grasped the strap on his left shoulder, walking with it.

Shepard turned the corner and laid his eyes on the memorial wall. Everyone soon understood why he walked off immediately. They all gave a voiceless "oh"

He sighed, walking up to it. His bruised sclera scanned in unison with the clean white other one.

Admiral David Anderson. The name was cast in a rectangular block of silver metal. He exhaled a trembling sigh through pursed lips, the dry skin chipping. His left palm that held the cane passed it over to his right and then pressed against the plaque. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, running his fingers along the horizontal board, feeling each grooved letter. He reached the end of the plaque and his hand drooped to his dress blues side. Tali and the others simply stood beside him. Shepard felt his tear ducts sting and the acid like tears burn his irises.

He pat the memorial and smiled warmly as he stood up straight. His spine clicked and popped as he contorted the muscles. His left hand jerked up and he saluted the board.

"Rest easy sir, you were like a father to me. I couldn't have asked for a better role model." He sighed a shaky breath and peered to his right seeing Tali there for support, her hand massaging his back and warming his soul. Whenever times were hard and his heart felt like exploding like a volcano of emotion, she was there to stifle those flames and keep him going.

He lowered his salute and scoffed a faint smile. "Keelah se'lai" He whispered to the board, his hand flying back up to smudge away the tears under his eyes. Tali smiled warmly and proudly at his use of Quarian dialect.

He stepped back from the wall, seeing all the names that marked its face: Legion, Mordin, Thane, all good men who died to save the galaxy from the Reapers.

His wish was for you...

Does this unit have a soul?

Had to be me...someone else might have gotten it wrong...

You did good son...you did...good. I'm...proud...of you...

The voices that spoke in his mind proved too much and Shepard suddenly burst into tears, his brow scrunching, his eyes slamming shut. His lips contorted and he quivered into his palm. The group simply stood behind him, Tali being the only one to physically support him by rubbing his back. Their presence was hopefully enough of a mental support, and better for him than a barrage of people asking him if he was "All right"

"I'm so soh-soh-Sorry" Shepard managed to speak through ragged breaths as tears fell down his scarred cheeks. Hearing their Commander like this made even Garrus's eyes water, Liara and Chakwas quick to wipe theirs.

"I failed you." He mumbled, closing his red puffy eyes. Shepard felt a voice speak in the back of his mind, similar to Harbingers, but this one didn't claw its way up his cerebrum, but instead soothed it.

No. You never failed them. You want to know why? Because you are here now, able to think like that; you won Shepard, and that is why we are so very proud of you. Anderson echoed inside his mind. The voice was so real, so like him, that Shepard knew it wasn't his mind trying to make itself better by lying, it was truly how Anderson was. His last words to Shepard were...

I'm proud of you.

It was only when he swiveled his head to the side did he see Tali's audio port glimmering. She was speaking. He quickly shook off the shell shock, like a whine from a flash bang and heard her voice.

"...We've backed you for so long, and we are so very proud of the man you have become, the man you are, and I'm certain Anderson feels exactly the same." She soothed him. It was only then did it dawn on him that what he had just heard Anderson say in his mind actually came from Tali's voice, he just chose to hear it in Anderson's tone, a cruel reminder he guessed.

"Thanks Tali. All of you." she nodded as did the others with a smile of their own. Liara's soft warming smile, Chakwas proud and motherly beaming, Garrus's bold smirk, and just by seeing Tali's silver eyes behind the mask did he know she was holding the smile that meant the most to him: Love and support.

Shepard took a sharp inhale of cool air, shaking his hands of all numbness. "Whew, that felt good to let out. Sometimes you just need to let it all out, right?" He chuckled through sniffles, rubbing his eyes, wincing at the touch of his left eye. Everyone nodded, Garrus patting his shoulder. Suddenly the silence shattered as a door cycled and soon buzzed open. Everyone peered over to the starboard.

The door to the observation lounge was open and out strolled the Virmire survivor, Kaidan Alenko. He was bold in his stride as soon as he saw the group, the corners of his lips twitching up. He raked a hand up and through his slicked up and smoothed black hair. He was also wearing his Dress Blues, though it lacked as many medals as the Commander.

"Hey Shepard." Kaidan greeted in his soft tone, almost like a whisper no matter the volume, walking to stand beside Liara as he set his duffel bag down. Shepard smiled at him, his eyes still raw from his brief meltdown.

"Spectre." The Commander smirked. Kaidan chuckled, but only briefly before seeing Shepard's eyes.

"You okay? I know it must be hell to go through all of this." Kaidan looked around at the emptying ship they called a home for so long. Shepard nodded and scoffed.

"I'm used to this being my home. It wasn't a home away from home, I had nothing else. This ship is my life." He peered at Tali. "...Was my life." She softened into his arm at his voice. Kaidan chuckled gently.

"Yeah, must be hard to see it end." Kaidan spoke again. Shepard chuckled.

"Honestly? No. I mean, yeah it's sad to see the Normandy empty of all my, our stuff, but it's just a ship- an amazingly advanced one, I know Tali." He cut her off before she could inject her two cents on the amazing technology the ship harbored. "It was all of you that made it special." Shepard scoffed a laugh as he looked around at the group he stood with.

"Huh." He spoke, shaking his head with a smirk. The group was confused.

"Commander?" Chakwas asked.

"I just realized something. Besides Wrex, you were all with me in stopping Saren. And yeah even though we had some fallings out and time apart during the fight against the Collectors, you were still there, even briefly." Shepard smiled to Kaidan and Liara, who both lowered their gaze. It was the one regret they harbored. Revenge was a priority to the Broker Liara and it hurt Shepard, and Kaidan had shut him down on Horizon for 'working' with Cerberus.

"Goddess, my greatest regret was not helping you with that fight."

"Yeah, I wish I was there for that." Kaidan sighed, rubbing his neck.

"Keelah, trust me, you don't."

"It's true, the Collector mission was hardly a walk in the park." Garrus injected.

"Yeah, but still, it feels like an inside joke that Liara and I just don't get the references to, you know?" Kaidan shrugged.

"Liara, Kaidan, we put all this behind us, remember? We talked it out, buried it, and moved on. You helped me when it truly mattered: Stopping the Reapers." Shepard beamed at them, the tight skin on his face burning.

"Thanks Shepard. That...means a lot." Kaidan smiled. Liara nodded.

"Looking around at you all, you're closer than family, I mean that, I truly do." Shepard smiled to the people stood beside the memorial wall.

"Family reunion." Liara chuckled.

"Yeah, thanks guys, for everything." Shepard smiled.

"The savior of the Galaxy, is thanking us? Quick, record this for proof before he takes all the credit" Garrus smirked.

"Thank you all of you, besides Garrus." Shepard chuckled, making the Turian scoff a laugh. Chakwas smiled as she looked upon the memorial wall.

"There are still quite a few empty slots on that board. Glad to see it not full of names. Obviously we did something right." She shrugged, tugging a lock of silver behind her ear. Shepard nodded.

"Yeah, it's done. The Reapers can't hurt us anymore." He said, except for in his nightmares that kept him awake for days on end. "Well, no point in stalling. Everyone got everything?" Shepard asked the group, receiving the team having glances down at their belongings along with some mumbling.

"Yeah."

"Got it all."

"Check."

"Ready as ever."

Shepard nodded to the group, and then to the elevator behind them. The door split open and hesitantly the group stepped in one by one. The sound of suitcase plastic wheels trundling along the grated floor filled the air. Shepard stood as tall as he could despite the pain, but having his loyal friends around him in the elevator helped. He peered straight ahead at the memorial wall, taking one last stabbing gaze to sear it into his cerebrum.

Lest we forget.

The doors slowly veered across his view and the names on the board disappeared behind the wall of metal. It gave a small pang of closure to see those names at rest on the board, and as he glanced over at Tali, he knew that after all of this; he could afford to be a little selfish, to think of his happiness for a change...for her. He held his weak hand out to her and she took it almost immediately, looping her three fingers around his hand. She gave a light squeeze and Shepard smiled warmly at her. Their stomachs dropped to the pit of their bodies as the lift moved, onward and upwards.

...

Shepard and the squad stood by the airlock as the pilot's seat slowly swiveled around, the view of the dry dock in London filling the windscreen, rain pattering the Normandy's skin. Joker smiled to them as he stood up.

"Hey Commander!"

"Joker, how's EDI doing?"

"Ask her yourself, Gabby and Donnelly were able to reactivate her speech program." Joker looked up at the ceiling and as if on cue-

Jeff is correct Shepard, I was able to shield myself from the EMP blast the Crucible emitted by locking my main data load within the black box in the AI core. The only issue was trying to get out again.

The cool voice the AI emitted filled the air, and Shepard had to smile a sigh of relief. At first he had thought that the beam the Crucible emitted would destroy all Synthetics like the Catalyst promised it would, but it turned out to be one of Harbingers lies, an attempt to play on Shepard's good heart and to stop him destroying the Reapers. He wanted to make Shepard feel guilt and be what he expected him to be: To be human. Once he declined the maddening offers the Catalyst held, the shroud of Indoctrination lifted, and he was able to make a sensible, realistic choice, to target the heart of the Reapers. Though the Crucible did shut down all Synthetics across the galaxy, it did not kill them. As the Geth bodies fell, their minds and souls transferred back to their consensuses, just as EDI went to the AI core as her body shut down, though V.I's did not fair as well.

Tali remembered seeing Joker's heartbroken face as he attempted to wake her body, with no avail. It was only Shepard's desperate plea to Tali, months after the death of the Reapers, to check the AI core for any life, did she manage to re power and reactivate it and coincidentally EDI. Shepard kissed her passionately and thanked her for that. The guilt of wiping out the Geth and her would have been too great. He'd already done enough horrors to get to this point.

Tali sent word to the Migrant fleet and The Quarians were able to unlock all the consensuses and allow the Geth freedom to return to their bodies. Thought not all the Quarians like that idea, mostly-

"Shepard? Hey, you in there?" Joker waved his hand in front of Shepard's distant gaze, bringing the Commander out of his thoughts. A few clicks of his fingers and Shepard was back in the present.

"Err yeah, sorry just thinking." He chuckled weakly. "Good to have you back EDI, god knows we missed you."

I have missed you all too, although I haven't been able to vocalize, I have been able to watch you...when you sleep.

Everyone's eyes bolstered wide and peered up at the ceiling, except Shepard, who shook his head with a smirk.

That was a joke. She said, Shepard miming the words at the same time, knowing the AI too well. He pressed his palms on the cane in front of him and turned over his shoulder to see the expanse of oval hallway clad in red light, giving way to huge expanse of room, a galaxy swirling at the end by a set of steps. Traynor's terminal was covered with plastic dust sheets and all the crates and computers were removed, making the room not only seem bigger, but a damn sight emptier. Shepard allowed his eyes to scan the room, his torn and bloodshot left eye aching all the way to the back of his skull. He smiled warmly at the Normandy CIC. The door that led to the war room was jarred open and the scanning device was being dismantled by two Alliance men. An array of metal and tools by their feet as the blue door of light deactivated.

Should have got rid of that damn thing ages ago, most of my time was spent being scanned by the bloody thing.

Shepard huffed a final intake of the metallic tinge that he came to know as the Normandy aroma. He gulped over the lump and tore his eyes from the CIC, facing his awaiting friends.

"So Joker, you staying with the Alliance? I'm sure Tali and I can persuade you to move to Rannoch." Shepard groaned as he limped forward, his cane clanking. Joker scoffed a laugh.

"What, and give up this ship? Commander, EDI is the Normandy, so am I, I'd be lost without it...her." He looked at the empty ship as it was being prepared for the major retrofit after the Reaper war. "Nah, this is where I belong." The pilot smiled, tilting his cap up.

"Keep in touch Joker. That's an order." Shepard smiled as he gently hugged the brittle boned pilot, suddenly understanding how he felt to feel so delicate given his wounded state.

"Aye aye." Joker smiled as he pulled away from the hug, saluting his Commander one last time.

"Thank you for everything...Jeff."

"Yeah, you too...John." Joker warmly smiled, looking over Shepard's shoulder at the others.

"Take care of yourself Joker." Garrus nodded, Joker simply nodding back. It was all that needed to be said between them. Tali walked up and wrapped her arms around Joker's back.

"Bye Joker. Thank you for everything. Keelah se'lai." She said softly in his ear as she reeled back. Joker chuckled.

"Yeah. Kebab dalai-err-you know." He shrugged, rubbing his neck. Tali chuckled faintly, nodding as she stepped back. Liara stepped forward, smiling at him. Joker looked around at her tendril crest upon her scalp.

"They don't flop around Joker." She chuckled, shaking her head. He smirked.

"Just checking; see ya Liara." He hugged her, Liara patting his back softly. She pulled back, hands on his upper arms as she smiled at him warmly, before taking a step back. Kaidan stepped up, offering a hand.

"Who would have thought when we signed up to stop Saren, we'd end up here." He smiled as Joker accepted the hand, shaking it. Joker's eyes popped wide.

"Wait, sign up? W-we had a choice? Ah shit!" Joker chuckled sarcastically.

Kaidan laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah. Been a hell of a ride, hasn't it?" Joker nodded, releasing Kaidan's hand. The group all looked at one another.

"It sure has." Garrus chuckled. Chakwas darted forward, face to face with Joker, making him recoil slightly.

"Now you make sure to take those pain killers and pills every day, five a day remember. And-"

"Do exercises to relax the muscles and strengthen the bones. I'll drink plenty of milk too, okay?" Joker shook his head at her. She softened and sighed, propping a hand on Joker's shoulder.

"Goodbye Jeff. Best of luck."

"You too." Joker nodded as she stepped back. "We'll bump each other again I'm sure." Joker called to her. She nodded back.

"Certainly." She gulped over the emotions clogging her throat.

"EDI, take good care of him." Shepard called out, waiting for the omnipotent response.

Of course Shepard.

"Thanks for everything EDI. Sincerely." Shepard smiled. "Any questions before I go?"

No. Thank you Shepard, for making me feel...alive.

"You're welcome EDI." He whispered, stepping away into the airlock as Joker saluted them.

"Oh Commander?" Joker called, making Shepard turn as the rest walked out of the open lock. "She'll err get her body back won't she? I mean I love and everything, but...I mean...well come on, you saw that body!" Joker smirked.

It will be functional Jeff. EDI spat, obvious anger in her tone.

Shepard smiled at their bickering, a welling tear under his eyes. "Goodbye." He whispered, limping out of the Normandy for the last time, stepping off the airlock onto the dock. Soon after the rain turned to a light drizzle, the clouds above beginning to part, letting rays of white light shine down and glimmer off the wet hull of the Normandy.

He turned and scanned his eyesight along her long arched white hull. Scaffolding curled around the ships damaged hull, like a rib cage around a vital organ, which the Normandy certainly was. Without it, they'd have failed a long time ago.

The etched black font of NORMANDY slid effortlessly along her smooth curves. The sounds of hammers bashing and drills whirring filled the air, the occasional spray of sparks coming from either a circular saw or welder.

Shepard turned away and walked over to Tali, his cane being the only thing keeping him up. His legs felt weak, light as a feather and his blood fizzed, skin pin-pricked with the sensation of needles. He finally reached the railing and leaned against it, wrists resting upon the cold wet metal. His blue sleeves darkened as the water sunk into them. He didn't care though. He felt a hand snaking it's way around his, running a gloved thumb across his battered knuckles. He lent the cane against the railing and sighed with content as Tali rested her hooded head on his shoulder, sighing.

"This...seems familiar" she hummed, settling against him, her fingers meshing with his. He raised an eyebrow.

"It does?"

She lifted her head, tilted it to him. "The Citadel? After the party, when we had to head back into the fight?"

"Mmm, yeah. We held hands and watched the Normandy for ages, didn't we." He remembered, Tali happily setting against him again.

"We did."

"Except this time, there's no Reapers, no war, just...a future worth living, right?" He looked at her, his bruised left eye making her wince for him.

"Right." She smiled behind the mask.

Author's note: Well, this is a story I've been planning and working on for a long time. It'll be a mix of fluff, tragedy and action, all in a plot I hope you find interesting. I haven't gone off of Search for Shepard, or Inferno of the past, but I just don't have the urge to write about them for now. I'm sure you've all experienced writers block! I will take them up again very soon, within the next week or two.

In the meantime, enjoy this Tali and Shepard story, and remember to review it please, it helps me greatly to know what you think, and also boosts my morale. Love you guys!

-Dave.