Author's note: Writer's block is a bitch. So is real life. My apologies to you all & I hope this makes up for it a little bit.

As much as she wanted to protest, Liara knew that the notion was a sensible one, so after a final kiss - or three - she released Beth to complete her breakfast preparation, a task that Shepard accomplished in near-record time, though not without frequent pauses for brief kisses and caresses that kept desire simmering close to the boiling point. The act of eating turned into foreplay, with Lisbeth feeding her sliced strawberries and melon with her fingers, dark eyes watching her lips wrap around each morsel with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

As soon as the meal was done, the normally fastidiously neat soldier left the breakfast dishes on the table, taking Liara's hand and leading her to the bedroom. Liara followed eagerly, anticipation and trepidation fluttering together in her belly, joined by confusion when Lisbeth's hands covered her own, stopping her as she reached up to unzip the hoodie.

"Not yet," Beth told her, leaving her own nightclothes on as well and guiding her onto the bed. They lay facing each other, not quite touching until Shepard reached out, her fingers brushing with exquisite gentleness over Liara's cheek.

"Four years," she murmured, regarding the asari with a mixture of wonder and regret. "How could I not have realized ..." She trailed off, shaking her head.

"You were a little busy," Liara told her, bold enough to bring her own hand to Beth's face, tracing its lines. Shepard tilted her head into the touch, closing her eyes briefly.

"I was," she agreed. "The Alliance was all I knew, all I knew how to be. That was my life." Brown eyes opened, staring into Liara's with a tender intensity that had the asari reminding herself to breathe. "You're my life now," she went on, her thumb tracing the curve of Liara's lower lip. "You're all I think about, all I want. Making you come last night … feeling it ..." She drew an unsteady breath, and Liara felt the tremor in her hand. "I've never been that turned on by anyone in my life. I want -" A groan rumbled in her chest, and she closed the distance between them, the kiss hot and hungry. Liara met it eagerly, moaning into her mouth, her fingers tangling in Shepard's hair. After a fiery moment that felt frustratingly short, the human drew back, breathing hard. "I love you, and I want you, but -" she whispered, the brush of her fingers tender, her eyes worried. "You're afraid."

"Not of you," Liara answered truthfully. The naked desire in the Shepard's gaze felt like it might set her ablaze. She wanted Beth as urgently as she was wanted, in a way that she had never wanted Feron, but the memory of the drell's dark needs refused to be banished. "It's just … when we meld ..."

"Not until you're ready," Beth assured her, "and if you want me to stop -"

"Stop?" Liara gave a shaky laugh. "Beth, if you don't start soon, I will not be responsible for the consequences!"

The sweet worry in Shepard's face melted into amusement, desire smoldering in dark eyes. "That sounds rather tempting," she teased, but she drew close again, the kiss slow and tender. Liara readily parted her lips, her tongue meeting Beth's in a sensual dance, their hands finding each other, caressing through clothing, mirroring the makeout sessions on the couch as Shepard took her time, building the fire slowly but surely. Deft hands slipped over Liara's shoulders, down her back, over her hips, fingers brushing over the bare skin of her thigh, and the asari tipped her head back, panting as Lisbeth sucked and licked at the flesh of her throat. Clinging to the strong shoulders, she squirmed closer, frustrated by the ungainly swell of her belly, hooking a leg over Shepard's.

"Beth -" Her whimper was answered by lips claiming hers again, a tongue flickering against her teeth, stroking slow and deep as the soldier's thigh nudged between her legs, pressing up against the throbbing need at her center.

Goddess! A keening cry wrenched from her lips, and Shepard drew back slightly, breathing hard.

"May I?" she asked softly, her hands moving to the zipper of the hoodie, brown eyes watching Liara's face.

"Please?" The press of the muscled leg was something she had never experienced with Feron; she rocked her hips experimentally, and goddess, the friction!

Shepard smiled tenderly at the whimper that escaped her, then dipped her head to nuzzle at Liara's skin as she tugged the zipper down. Bit by bit, she drew the cloth aside, claiming every revealed inch of skin with lips, tongue, teeth, fingers, but when Liara tried to tug at the tank top, she shook her head.

"Not yet," she whispered again. "I want to make you come first." The dark eyes burned with a determination that Liara knew well: Commander Shepard was on a mission. "I want to make you come so hard," she growled, her breath hot against Liara's skin as she pressed open-mouthed kisses over a bare shoulder and lower. "I want to feel it." Her fingers tugged the zipper below the curve of the asari's belly, pushing the jacket fully open, and Liara gasped as her hand swept inside, over the bare skin and up, cupping her breast for the first time with nothing between them, lips trailing fire down the slope until -

"Beth!" Her lover's name escaped her in a joyful gasp as Shepard covered the taut nipple with her mouth and sucked hungrily, teeth teasing at the sensitive peak, tongue laving the pebbled flesh. Liara squirmed frantically, trying to match the movement of the thigh that was pressing between her legs, feeling clumsy and inexperienced, but Shepard dropped her hands to the asari's hips.

"Like this," she whispered breathlessly, guiding her into a rhythm. "Like this, baby ... that's it ... God, that's it!"

So easy, no need to force or feign, and she quickly matched the cadence, need flaring brighter with each roll of her hips, Beth's name and cries of joyous affirmation all that she could give voice to as she gave herself over to passion, Shepard's husky encouragements filling her ears. It was another dream, it had to be; nothing real could feel this glorious, but she wasn't waking up as she rode Shepard's leg with ever more urgency, struggling out of the hoodie so that she could cling tightly to her lover, Beth's lips on her throat, her breasts, hands caressing her fervently, every touch, every movement feeding into a pleasure that built relentlessly toward critical mass.

The briefest flash of memory tried to intrude, but even as Liara saw Beth recognizing it and starting to draw back, she was lunging forward, kissing Shepard fiercely and grinding hard against her leg, forcing herself past the memory, back into the blissful present and over the edge, her shrill cry caught by Beth's lips, her lover's arms holding her safe as she came undone.

"Too much?" No, it hadn't been a dream, because when she opened her eyes, she was naked in Lisbeth's embrace, the aftershocks of her climax still trilling deliciously along her nerves and Shepard regarding her with worried eyes.

"No," she replied immediately, leaning in to kiss her gently. "It was nothing like what -" She stopped, shaking her head. Bad enough that he had intruded, however briefly, made Beth doubt; she would not sully the sweetness of this moment further by speaking his name. "It was wonderful, perfect." Passionate and tender, her lover again focused completely on giving her pleasure. "Did you even -"

Beth shook her head, seemingly untroubled. "Close though," she admitted with a smile. "Closer than I've ever gotten without actually trying. Don't." A gentle finger to her lips stilled the apology that Liara tried to voice. "Watching you come, feeling you holding on to me ... It was incredible. We've got all the time in the world now."

She shook her head. "I'm done waiting," she declared fiercely, trying to press Beth onto her back but finding herself hampered. "Goddess, I'm as big as a whale!" she groaned, frustrated and embarrassed by the clumsiness of her changed body. "How can you think I'm -"

"Don't." Beth's finger to her lips silenced her again, followed by a tender kiss. "Don't ever think that. This -" Both hands shifted to rest on the swell of the asari's belly. "This is us. We made this beautiful little angel together, and if we hadn't, I might never have known. You're beautiful, Lia. You always have been, but now ..." She shook her head slowly, the look in those dark eyes renewing the throb of arousal between the asari's legs. "I've never wanted anyone like this. I want to taste every inch of you, hear you call out my name. I want you. All of you, always. I wasn't joking when I said I didn't know when I'd let you out of this bed; I haven't gotten anywhere close to having enough of you yet."

Reassured, Liara pressed forward again, curling her fingers into the soft fabric of the tank top and drawing it upward. Shepard obliged, stretching her arms over her head and squirming out of the garment, then guided the asari's hands to the waistband of her shorts. She drew them down the long legs and off, then paused, letting her gaze sweep over her prize. Human hair had always fascinated her from a scientific standpoint as a phenotypic mammalian trait that had outlived its evolutionary purpose, but the research she'd done more recently suggested a secondary function, and the sharp intake of breath in response to her fingers brushing over the soft curls at the apex of Lisbeth's thighs indicated that her research had been accurate.

"That didn't hurt, did it?" Her tone was playful, but there was at least a bit of genuine worry behind the question.

"Nope." Shepherd's voice was husky, her breath quickened. "Not a bit."

Bolder now, Liara continued her exploration, clinical fascination quickly giving way to something else. Feeling Lisbeth responding to her touches: every shudder, every gasp and throaty cry, was a power that she had never had over another, and she lost herself in the heady feeling as she sought to find just what would bring her lover the greatest pleasure, almost surprised when Beth surged against her, gasping out her name and rocking hard into the press of her fingers.

"God, woman, I think you killed me," Shepard murmured when her breathing had slowed to normal, drawing Liara close, arms and legs twining together in a tender intimacy that was at least as wonderful as the lovemaking.

"It was all right, then?" Liara asked shyly, running her fingers over the slight sheen of sweat on the trim belly. Perspiration was another unique aspect of humanity; asari crests served to dissipate most excess heat, but while she had certainly seen Lisbeth sweating before, she had never tasted it until now, and she bent her head, the tip of her tongue tracing the path of a drop along Shepard's shoulder, savoring the salty tang, the knowledge that she had been the one to cause it.

A gentle hand beneath her chin lifted her eyes to Beth's. "All right doesn't even come close," Shepard said softly, leaning in until their foreheads touched, "but … you didn't want to meld?" There was no accusation in her face or voice, but Liara still felt guilty.

"Not yet," she managed. "I just … wanted to try it that way first. I just -" She faltered, because even now, she feared that once Beth truly saw her, she would turn away, and she had wanted this one time of unsullied sweetness to hold on to if that happened.

Brown eyes regarded her tenderly, knowing what she could not speak. "It's all right, love," Beth whispered, brushing the gentlest of kisses over her face. "When you're ready."

The words, and the patience and love behind them, gave Liara the courage to dare. "Now," she murmured, catching Beth's face in her hands, looking into her eyes, waiting for the nod that she knew was coming before whispering, "Embrace eternity."

Oh!

Smooth, smoother than any meld she had ever initiated, they glided into each other, swirling together in a dance of minds, emotion replacing sensation: love, elation, wonder. Beth's presence as soft as silk, around her, within her, yearning for the fullness of union but waiting just outside the barriers that Liara could not help but hold up.

Let me see, love, the thought caressed her, borne on a swell of tender promise. Nothing will change the way I feel.

Nothing in Liara's century of life had been harder than dropping the walls that hid her most shameful secrets, but Shepard slipped in like a warm summer breeze, giving the memories only the barest attention, her own mind totally unguarded, and the asari realized that Beth had already known what Feron had done to her, guessed it from hearing her nightmares, and had only been waiting for Liara to trust her enough to show her.

It's done now, Beth's mind promised, wrapping the thought around her, warm and comforting. He'll never touch you again. The faintest frisson of anger, quickly dissipating. And I will never hurt you. They were just dreams.

No anger. No disgust. No judgment. Just her lover's mind, open and waiting for her, and Liara surged forward, the last separation dissolving until it was just them: a soaring union of mind and soul that she had never come close to before, and for a blissful eternity, they were content to just be, soaking in the bond like a prisoner kept in darkness basking in the sun's warmth.

There was no conscious decision to resume their lovemaking. As instinctive as breathing, hands moved in experimental caresses, sending sparks of physical pleasure through the shared bond, and they quickly lost themselves in this new wonder that made their earlier passion seem pale in comparison. Every touch swirled through both of them, every emotion and thought found its perfect mirror in the other, drawing them both up together in a tightening spiral of joyous desire, culminating in a release that felt like a fusion of souls.

They lay together in silence, again content to simply be as hearts slowed, sweat cooled and the link between them faded, until Lisbeth dropped her hand to the swell of Liara's belly.

"We didn't disturb her, I hope?" she asked, looking a little sheepish.

Liara shook her head. "Maternal neurophysiology creates a barrier that blocks all but the core bond with the fetus during sexual activity."

"Good to know." Liara had thought her passion thoroughly sated, but the look that accompanied the words had her heart quickening, but then Shepard bit at her lip, her expression hesitant. "Could we … bond with her again?"

"Of course," Liara responded without hesitation. They had not repeated the miraculous, three-way meld of that day; Shepard had not asked, and Liara had not suggested it, partly because of the painful memories that had followed it and partly out of the same fears that had always held her back. Nothing held her back now, and she drew Lisbeth's mind back into the meld without effort, opening the channels to Hannah and smiling at their daughter's curiosity at Lisbeth's presence.

She's grown so much. Shepard's tone was wistful, and Liara felt a surge of guilt that was quickly answered. Don't. It's done and past. I've got you both now, and that's all I need. The surge of love that she directed at Hannah was quickly answered by a swell of wordless happiness from the developing babe that mirrored the bliss in Liara's heart as strong arms wrapped them both in a tender embrace.

I want this always, Shepard told her. The asari felt her intention and gave a joyous assent as Lisbeth uttered the question aloud:

"Liara T'soni, will you marry me?"