Tying the Knot

It was the third time Lionel called her. First of all, he had managed to convince Miranda to host a Normandy Crew reunion at their house. Not that Miranda wasn't happy to see their friends again, only that considering the conditions of Anderson's house after their last party, she wasn't too sure about repeating that at their house… but she gave up in the end, after having Lionel swear that it was going to remain intact.
Second, Lionel had managed to call all of their friends. The only one he didn't manage to get in contact with was Samara. Miranda didn't take too long to realize how bummed out he was when he told her Samara wasn't coming because he couldn't reach her. The thing didn't irritate her one bit. Since the Asari first set foot on the Normandy, Miranda had realized that there had been an immediate connection between the Justicar and Lionel, but far from a romantic one. Samara's way of life had fascinated Lionel immediately, but it was more like the fascination of a son towards the glorious past of his mother. There was a deep admiration between them and Samara had soon become like a mother to Shepard and he had become a son to her. Just like Doctor Chakwas... who was the 'mom' of the Normandy crew.
Although Lionel had resigned to the fact that Samara wasn't coming, there was one person that needed to be there. The one person that Miranda would want more than anyone to be there…even though she had no idea what his actual plan was.
Finally she picked up.

"Hey, Lionel! Sorry, I didn't answer immediately. I was in class" she said.

"Oriana! Hey! No problem. How are you?" Lionel replied.

"I'm great, thanks. How about you?"

"Everything's perfect"

"That's nice to hear. So… two missed calls. What's up?" Oriana asked.

"Would you like to meet the Normandy team?" he asked.

"Are you serious? When? Where?" she said getting all excited.

"My place, Friday night. Around 8:30p.m."

"Friday? Damn it… I can't"

"What?! Why?" he panicked.

"Because my professor hates me and he gave me a huge and difficult research to do and he wants me to turn it in Saturday morning in his office… even if there are no classes on Saturdays"

"So? You're smart. You can do it in three days" Lionel said.

"Which part of 'huge and difficult' did you not understand?"

"What if I helped you out?" Silence.

"You would?"

"Of course! Miri told me you'd love to meet the team and considering how things are, I'm not sure I'd be able to reunite them all again soon. The only missing one is Samara. I can't get in contact with her"

"That's a shame… well… since you said you'd help… Absolutely! Count me in!" she said.

"Great! Miri is going to be happy to see you" Lionel said.

"Wait. She doesn't know I'm coming?" Oriana asked surprised.

"No. I'd like it to be a surprise" he replied.

"Lionel, are you up to something?" she asked inquisitively.

"Dang it, Ori. You're worse than your sister!" he teased with laugh.

"I don't want to say, but this sounds kind of suspicious to me" she said jokingly.

"I'll see you on Friday. Send me your research and what you would like to do and you'll be done in no time"

"Thank you so much, you're the best! If I had an older brother I would have wanted him to be just like you"

"That can be arranged" Oriana's laugh came to an immediate halt.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Bye Oriana"

"Lionel!" and he hung up, leaving the girl speechless, mouth agape and wondering if she had guessed right. On the other hand, Lionel smiled to himself with pure satisfaction. Everything was going exactly as planned.
When Friday finally came, for Miranda's joy, they had decided to have a calm dinner, just to relax among friends. Everyone was there, even Grunt. Only one person was still missing and Lionel smiled to himself when he heard the doorbell again and went to get it. Just as expected, Oriana had just arrived. When Miranda saw her sister, her eyes widen in surprise and immediately went to hug her tightly. Lionel just responded with a small 'surprise!' when asked . Miranda and Shepard lost no time to introduce the younger Lawson to the team. The girl was starstruck. She remembered Kaidan and Liara, since they helped saving her on Sanctuary, but knowing the whole team was a dream come true. The weirdest thing had been seeing Grunt melting like ice-cream in a sunny day, not too long after speaking with Oriana. What had not been surprising was that soon enough the junior Lawson had already become besties with Tali and Kasumi, but –surprise, surprise- she even got along with Jack. Miranda confessed that was one of the things she didn't share with, but loved about her baby sister: Oriana managed to make everyone like her.
Suddenly the door rang once again. Lionel looked at Miranda, having no idea who that could be. The Australian preceded him and got immediately to the door and before the last guest could speak, Miranda motioned to be quiet and follow her. When the ex-Cerberus went back inside the room, she spoke up.

"Lionel" she called getting her boyfriend's attention "Look who's here" and his grey eyes widen in surprised an joy when the guest revealed herself.

"Samara! You're here!" Lionel exclaimed like a boy seeing his mother the first time after a long time and as such he went to hug her tightly.

"Hello, Lionel. It's so good to see you!" she said hugging him back, happily, but calmly and posed as usual "I wouldn't miss seeing all of you again" Immediately the others followed to greet her happy to see her. Lionel immediately introduced Oriana, who, just like him, was immediately fascinated by the Asari Justicar.

"How are you here?! I tried to contact you but it's been no…" he trailed off, glancing at Miranda who was casually looking at her nails feign vagueness. Lionel pointed towards her, looking at Samara for confirmation. The Asari nodded her head with a confirming smile.

"You found yourself a very resourceful partner" Samara said.

"I found myself an amazing partner" Lionel said smiling gratefully at Miranda.

"I try" the brunette replied "So, how have things been for you so far?" she asked the Asari, as they all went back to take a seat once more. Lionel tried hard not to smile to himself. Miranda had no idea she had just made the evening perfect as he had planned. The crew was having a good time, they were all there and thanks to Miranda both most important people in their lives were there now. There was one thing left to do. Lionel had to act: now. Unknowingly to them, James Vega had shifted the conversation to a topic that could have helped Lionel fulfill the promise he had done to himself, as soon as he confessed having his sights set on someone… only to be busted immediately by Cortez.

"Oh, shut up! We all know you're talking about Liara!" Steve shouted platonically, making everyone laugh. That caused the Asari to smile to herself flattered and James to turn flaming red and trying to shift the attention onto someone else asking Garrus and Tali how they were. 'Happy' was their reply. It was then that Lionel wanted to speak up, but he was preceded by Kaidan.

"I have a question for our Rear Admiral" he said giving Lionel a look "Don't get me wrong guys, seeing you all again was great and I hope we can do it another time soon… but I don't know if you noticed, but this is the only time Shepard had us all in the same place without there being the risk of us all dying soon or an emergency coming right up"

"Well, I have" Samantha said.

"Hmm… Haven't thought about it" Grunt muttered "Not to mention our unexpected guest" he added motioning to Oriana.

"Major's right. That's a first" Jack commented.

"You sure there's not something you need to tell us, Lionel?" Kaidan asked raising an eyebrow

"Should we worry, Leo?" Miranda added, glancing at him, playfully. Kaidan had no idea he had just given Lionel the perfect situation to do what he had in mind all along.

"Actually, I do have something to share with you guys" he said taking Miranda's hand and making her get up from her seat beside Oriana and leading her to the pouf in the middle of the living room, where they were all sitting and chatting, most of them with a glass of wine in hand. Miranda looked around trying to see if any of them had any idea of what Lionel was talking about, but even Kaidan, who had started it as a joke was taking a guess as good as she was. She sat on the pouf and stared up at Lionel, inquisitively.

"Okay, I'm not sure if I have to worry or not" Miranda said with a tiny smirk.

"Don't worry, everyone! I'm not going to announce an upcoming invasion" Lionel joked looking at his friends, who chuckled at his comment, but then he turned to Miranda. His heart was pounding hard. He had never been more nervous or felt such an adrenaline rush while speaking to someone, but he was never going to back out of this.

"There is something I have to say, though and I couldn't think of a better moment than one when our family is all together" he started, before pausing to take a breath and turning to Miranda "When we said our goodbyes before the final battle, I promised myself that when it was all over I was going to do something that for my whole life I thought I would have never done… but I love you, Miri and we all do things we never thought we would do when we're in love" the small box in his pocket was becoming scorching hot and heavy "I love you for many reasons but mostly I love you because you allow me to be simply Lionel and… no matter what this freaking world has thrown at us, we always managed to make it through because what we have is stronger and it's worth fighting for" he paused as the look on Miranda's face started to change, her cheeks were slightly red, but her timid smile not many people in that room had seen before, made everyone see that the feeling was mutual.

"You know I'm not a man of many words" he continued "Except for when I need to motivate my team or defend one of them, but basically every time something bad is happening and since this is pretty much the most positive moment and thing I've ever done in my life, I want to keep it simple" it was then that he reached to his pocket and took out the small blue velvet box. Everyone's jaw went on the floor, the moment they saw that. Grunt smirked admiringly, Kaidan, Vega and Cortez were smiling from ear to ear. Miranda's smile vanished and her face morphed into shock.

"Miranda Lawson" Lionel started, getting down on his knee, smiling awkwardly and opening the box, revealing a simple silver band with a small diamond in the middle "Will you marry me?"

There. He had popped the question and the other's couldn't help but feel happy that Lionel had decided to share it with them. Tali, Kasumi and Samantha were fighting hard not to squeal in excitement as they waited for Miranda's reply. Jacob and Garrus glanced at each other and fist bumped as they had seen that coming soon enough. Jack glanced at Oriana with an approving smirk directed to the couple. The younger Lawson had covered her mouth with her hands waiting anxiously for her big sister to reply. Joker tightened his arm around EDI's shoulder's smiling excitedly, as the AI was about to analyze what was going on, but decided it was best not to as she realized what was going on. Dr. Chakwas grinned like a proud mom seeing her baby boy growing up.
It was just a few seconds that seemed to stop the world as Lionel and the other's waited for Miranda's reply, who was just as shocked as they were.

"Oh my God…" she mumbled looking away, trying to hide her face with her hand as her eyes started to water. Only Lionel and Oriana knew how much this meant to her. Those few moment were killing him, but Lionel knew that she was still trying to take in what he had just asked her and tried to keep up his smile although he was panicking inside. Then Miranda wiped her watery eyes and turned back to him.

"Yes…" she replied softly "Yes, I'll marry you" she repeated smiling widely, standing up and hugging him tightly as he got up himself to embrace her. The other's cheered for them, clapping their hands, Tali, Kasumi and Samantha shouting a cheerful 'Yes!', the guys giving each other pats and congratulating the couple, Oriana cheering happily, finally realizing what Lionel had meant on the phone.

"I love you" Miranda told him pulling slightly away from their hug.

"I love you too" Lionel replied and gently taking her hand he placed the engagement ring on her ring-finger. Miranda smiled at him and taking his face in her hands she kissed him tenderly.
Samara watched as her boy held tightly in his arms the love of his life, feeling a joy she never thought she could feel since realizing she was the mother of the only living Ardat-Yakshi. To her, it wasn't just her friend proposing and sharing this moment with them all, it was her son. It was just then that she noticed there was just one person who was trying to feel the happiness and was clapping her hands for the happy couple, but her eyes showed heartbreak: that person was Liara.
It wasn't maliciousness or anything like that, only that 'mating' was different for the Asari: once you choose your mate, it was him/her or no one else. It was a bond that could hardly be broken by rejection, although it was clear that Lionel never actually realized that Liara had feelings for him.
The young Asari watched and cheered for them. If on one side she was happy for her friend and leader on the other she was heartbroken. She knew that Lionel only had eyes for Miranda, she was everything to him, she was his everything and what hurt Liara the most was that she couldn't even say that the ex-Cerberus was using him because even a stranger could tell that she was deeply in love with him as well. Heck- even Jack said she had seen that!
Suddenly Liara felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Samara who was sitting beside her with an understanding motherly smile on her face. The Justicar soon slid her arm around Liara's shoulders and held her gently, comfortingly, rubbing her upper arm with the other hand, masking it as a way to cheer for the couple. But the young Asari gratefully smiled as she realized she was there to comfort her like a daughter.

Lionel and Miranda got married a few months later. They did something small inviting only their friends and family. During the preparations, things had been hectic. Lionel was being dragged everywhere by the guys to enjoy his last days as a bachelor and doing his part in the wedding planning, he was ecstatic. Miranda on the other hand, no matter how happy she was, she was in serious need for the girls to help her. Getting teased to no end for the fact that the great ex-Cerberus XO knew how to hack into alien systems, fight Reapers, break in into a Cerberus fortress while chased by an assassin and outsmart the Illusive Man, but had no idea how to handle wedding preparations. With a little help from Kasumi, Tali and Samantha, fortunately she managed to do her part well.
Miranda had asked Oriana to walk her down the aisle and be her Maid of Honor and Samantha, Tali and Kasumi to be her bridesmaids. Lionel on the other hand asked Garrus to be his best-man and Kaidan, Jacob and Vega to be his groomsmen. When it came to the dress and tux, Miranda had no problem at all. She and the girls went looking for it and she had found the perfect dress that magnificently brought out her beauty. The groom was having problems with the tux, though. He wanted his friends' help but apparently none of the tuxes he tried were the right one, they did not feel 'Lionel Shepard'. It was Miranda who accidentally solved the problem, when they found a picture of Lionel's promotion day, while he was standing in his official Rear Admiral uniform glory. It had been Miranda's appreciating comment about him in a uniform that made him realized he had his tux in his wardrobe for the whole time.

Of all the wedding preparations, only two things got a little out of hand: the bachelor and bachelorette party. The bachelor party got a little wild especially since Garrus and Joker got a little too drunk and while Joker started piloting the booth they were sitting at, Garrus had started flirting with Grunt, who luckily did not punch him in the face, but shooed him to Kaidan who tried to get him to sit down and calm down, failing miserably, as the moment the boys got out of the bar Garrus started flirting with a salarian cop, calling him 'Tali' and asking him to marry him. Shepard managed to get him out of trouble.
As for Miranda's bachelorette party… the organization had been a problem. The first idea (Jack's) had been to get a couple of male models, have them lay on a table, completely naked, so that they could eat sushi on them… Oriana made sure the idea was flushed down the toilet and never reached Miranda's ears, especially since the bride had said she didn't want a bachelorette party. But the girls insisted and were trying to surprise her. The second idea (Kasumi's) was to take her to a club with male strippers… Miranda made them "subtly" understand that she wasn't going into such club even if they killed her. Then there had been a third idea: Tali's.
After deciding what they were going to do, while the girls were at Samantha's hotel room to chill, at the end of the evening Tali was sitting on an armchair surrounded by books, whose content she was trying to hide from Miranda's view. They were just relaxing and chatting, until it was time for the bride to go home, before she left though, she turned back to Samantha, right in front of the door.

"Hey, Sam" she started "Do you know the difference between curry and curcuma?" Samantha looked puzzled.

"No" she replied

"Well, up until today, neither did I" Miranda replied "And I don't like curcuma and I don't even like curry. Night, girls!" and with that she went out of the door. Samantha, Jack, Kasumi and Liara turned to an exasperated Tali.

"And there goes the idea of the bachelorette party at the Indian restaurant!" she exclaimed, closing the book on the Indian kitchen chapter and gently tossing it on the table with a huff "It's not so hard to eat Indian… even I can!"
The last crazy attempt had been Samantha's crazy idea to throw her the ultimate party at a super VIP place with a DJ and catering services. Oriana, Liara were informed when they joined Samantha at a diner on Ilium as they were waiting for Miranda to join them when her shift was over.

"Really, Sam?… a famous DJ for VIP parties?" Oriana commented when Samantha told her about the idea. "How did you even get one?"

"A few friends of mine owed me a favor" Samantha replied calmly.

"What about the 'just us' thing?" Liara asked.

"I know, I know. But look at it this way: Miri has probably never been to a real party before, so… what is better than a bachelorette party to let her taste a crazy, wild celebration still as a 'free' woman?" she said taking her phone out starting to dial a number "Jack, Tali, EDI and Kasumi have already agreed! I'm calling the caterer right now and-"

"-Sh! There's Miranda!" Liara shut her up as the oblivious brunette entered the diner, clearly needing to relax.

"Hey, Randa!- Hey, girl!- Hi!" the girls saluted.

"Hey girls" Miranda greeted back "Sorry I'm late, a colleague of mine found out I was getting married and she just had to tell me the whole tale of her wedding and it's preparations. I swear, the next person who talks to me about crazy wild parties is dead!" she paused shortly, taking a breath "I'll go wash my hands. Be right back" and she left for the restroom. Oriana and Liara looked at Samantha who still had her phone in hand.

"I am not calling the caterer…" she said sheepishly, deleting the number and closing her phone. In the end they had their bachelorette party at the beach. Talking with her big sister, Oriana found out that Miranda had never gone to the beach… it was time to fix that. With Lionel's help in packing her stuff, the girls soon had everything ready: food for a picnic on the beach, sun-cream, bikini, alcoholic drinks and the boys out of the way. It took them a while, but in the end they realized that to Miranda it didn't matter having a party, to her it was more important having her friends around her and enjoying their time together on that day as a way of telling one another that they'll always be friends, even if one of them gets married. When they first brought her to the place they had set up, the moment Miranda had realized that they had organized that all together for her she had found herself at loss of words and feeling the waterworks dangerously tickling her eyes. She scolded herself for letting them see how much of a softie she was deep down. Luckily for her, Jack managed to distract her in her fashion.

"Ey, Cheerleader! If you start crying, I'm gonna kick your ass!" she said failing to hide her smile. Miranda laughed at her and thanking her friends and not resisting to the group hug Tali suggested, the girls settled down for their beach day.

When the wedding day arrived no one could tell who was more nervous if Lionel or Miranda. Everything went according to plan: the music, the decorations, the ceremony, the heartfelt vows full of love, everything. Shepard even surprised everyone during their first dance as a married couple, when he proved that he could dance… everyone saw Garrus's satisfied and cocky grin, clearly bragging about being the one who taught him how to do so.
Lionel had showed up in his ceremonial Rear Admiral uniform glory, as the other Alliance members who were invited. When Miranda made her entrance and walked down the aisle, accompanied by her sister, with confidence and elegance, the best man and groomsmen were already set to go grab the groom in case he fainted. Lionel had been completely captivated by her the moment his angel walked towards him. Neither of them could hardly believe it, they were moments away from becoming husband and wife. Putting the rings on their finger and hearing the vows was nothing compared to hearing the other say 'I do' and their smiles couldn't get any wider as Kolyat, Thane's son, pronounced them husband and wife. When they were finally allowed to kiss, before she could do anything, Lionel had cupped Miranda's cheek with his hand and kissed her lovingly. She was slightly caught off-guard but kissed back right away, wrapping her arms around his neck as the guests erupted in cheer for the happy couple.
That had been one of the most beautiful days of their lives. The day they became Mr. and Mrs. Shepard.

Sooo... sorry for the long wait... but how did you like this chapter? Don't worry, it's not the end yet. Review and let me know what you think about this!
Sorry for the long wait, once again, thank you for reading a reviewing and a late HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Until next time!

The Princess of Stars