As Hannah got dressed in her new BDUs, Michael lay stretched out on the bed, watching her. She suppressed a smile at his appreciative grunt and dressed a little slower. When she turned around, however, melancholy had darkened those eyes that had been so bright.

"I thought I'd never get to do this again—just, watch you move," he said quietly. He held out a hand and she took it, sitting on the bed beside him. "The thought of having to learn to love someone else . . . I don't think I could do it, Han."

She placed her palm against his neck and stroked his jaw with her thumb. "I know the feeling."

"No," he said, shaking his head slightly. "I don't think you do." He paused, hesitating over his next words. "We were tuned into your squadron's channel when you went down." Hannah's breath caught in her chest. She hadn't known that. "I heard it when your line went dead. It froze me up inside. I knew there was nothing we could do from where we were. All I could do was sit there and listen to the silence where your voice used to be." He huffed. "No one even looked at me. Bautista was the only one. She yelled at me to get my ass moving when I was the only one who hadn't jumped yet. She said it was hunting season on E.T., and I had an unlimited license. She said she'd even let me take the first shot, but I had to jump first." He paused before continuing, running his fingers slowly and deliberately across the smooth plain of her hair. "I lost count of how many I killed."

Hannah didn't know what to say. Instead, she slowly stroked the inside of his wrist with her thumb. She wanted to reach out to him, to wipe away the memory. He was done talking. She could tell. It was her turn to say something, but her mind was blank. All she knew how to do was hold his hand and try to will his breathing into an even rhythm.

Maybe one day he wouldn't look so much like he was drowning. Maybe one day, he'd be able to look at her again like he wasn't waiting for her to disappear. Maybe one day, he'd be able to make love to her without that edge of desperation that he'd had. Maybe one day, he'd be Michael again.

Before she was able to figure out what to say next, he pulled away, sitting up and swinging his legs to the other side of the bed. He scooped up his clothes and made his way into the bathroom. Once he was sorted, he picked up her bag and nodded toward the door.

Time to go. Hannah allowed herself to wonder briefly if anything would ever be like it was before Shanxi. Then she followed Michael through the door.

#

Once they were in the hallway, she stopped him. She thumbed over her shoulder and explained, "I want to say goodbye."

He nodded and followed her down the hall. When she reached Dess's room, the door stood open, so she peeked inside. She stood in the middle of the room exchanging a salute with General Vittoro, who quickly turned around to exit the room. The general spared her a glance that was almost amused, but she didn't stop to exchange pleasantries. Hannah turned back toward Dess and smiled.

She walked into the room, Michael trailing behind her. "My captain wants me to report to the Feynman, so I don't have long."

Dess seemed dazed and looked at Hannah as if she'd never seen her before. "They," she started and stopped. "I'm being offered a voluntary discharge with a recommendation from Octavus and a sponsorship from Tevos to C-Sec," she said, her mandibles drooping in disbelief. "It's Internal Affairs, which I think is supposed to be an insult, but I'll take it. No indictment. No charges. What did you do?"

Hannah smirked. "You can't be accessory to a prisoner's escape when there's no record of that prisoner ever being apprehended. I'll be surprised if Vyrnnus doesn't get his own discharge papers soon too, courtesy of the general."

"So, as far as anyone not directly involved is concerned, nothing happened?" She still seemed unable to believe any of it.

Hannah nodded, still smirking. "That's about the size of it. I never knew I'd grow up to be a state secret. You've made my life very exciting, Dess."

Behind her, Michael coughed and Hannah remembered herself. She turned toward him and took his hand to pull him forward. "Michael, this is Major Odessus Ravaka. She's saved my life more than once."

Michael hesitated a moment but stuck out his hand. When Dess took it, he shook it once. "Thank you for bringing her back to me."

Dess nodded. "She talked about you a lot. She never gave up hope that she'd see you again."

He nodded and turned back toward Hannah. "We need to go, Han. Captain Tran is waiting for us."

He was right. It was past time for them to go. She put out her arm and shook Dess's hand. "We might not be on the run anymore, but that doesn't mean you don't have to talk to me. I expect regular status reports."

Dess flicked out her mandible in a silent laugh. "Wilco," she said and released Hannah's hand.

Hannah turned toward Michael again, and they left the room before she could do something silly and sentimental like hug a turian.

They weren't a dozen paces down the hall before her omni-tool pinged.

OR: Current status is elated and more-than-slightly baffled. Will report again when status changes.

Hannah chuckled and gripped Michael's hand.

#

Hannah half-expected Colonel Octavus to be waiting for her outside the councilor's residence. The image of him holding a pair of handcuffs—obscure civil citation at the ready—almost made her laugh. But it was Tevos and Sana who stood waiting for her, not the distant villain that had plagued her last weeks. As Hannah approached, the councilor looked up from her data pad and nodded toward her.

"Lieutenant Commander," she greeted her. Hannah kept the correction to herself, sure that it would be unbearably rude after everything Tevos had done. Instead, she nodded her acknowledgement. Tevos smiled warmly. "Your admiral is a worthy officer. It was a pleasure to negotiate the armistice with her."

Hannah nodded again. "She's a credit to the Alliance."

Tevos stepped closer to Hannah, glancing momentarily at Michael, and placed a hand on her arm. "Humanity has potential, Hannah, but I think it is only fair to warn you that your race will be under scrutiny by the Council after the incident at Relay 314."

Michael huffed. "Hundreds dead, an occupation by an alien force, and she calls it an incident."

Hannah pushed down the feeling of being mortified and looked grimly at Michael. "Councilor, I apologize that I haven't introduced my husband. This is Major Michael Shepard. Michael, this is Councilor Tevos of the Citadel Council. She granted me asylum and negotiated the armistice between the Alliance and the Hierarchy."

Tevos nodded toward Michael. "I understand your bondmate's reservation, Lieutenant Commander. Nevertheless, I will tell you what I told the admiral: Humanity must tread carefully if you want to wield any influence on the galactic stage. Steer your peers and comrades toward cooperation, rather than confrontation, whenever you can."

Hannah could already feel Michael bristling beside her, and she knew she had to bring this conversation to an end. She put out her hand, and the asari took it. "Of course, Councilor. We will make sure humanity is the paragon of diplomacy and collaboration." Michael's bristling turned almost immediately into suppressed laughter. Hannah smiled, hoping the councilor didn't notice her husband's lack of decorum. "Thank you, ma'am. For everything. You helped to save a lot of lives today."

Tevos smiled one more time and nodded before leaving.

Sana stood with her arms crossed and quirked a brow at her. "With as much trouble as you get yourself into, I feel like I should trail after you with forceps and packets of medi-gel."

Michael looked briefly alarmed, but Hannah put a hand on his arm to let him know Sana was teasing. "I'll miss you too, Doc."

Faster than Hannah thought possible, Sana put her arms around her and held her tight. "Take care of yourself, Hannah." She stepped away from Hannah, smiling sadly.

She squeezed the asari's hand. "I wouldn't be here without you, Sana. Thank you. I'll send you pictures of Alli when I get back to Arcturus."

Her laugh was watery, and Hannah knew she didn't have much time. "Take care of Dess. She'll get into enough trouble for the both of us."

Sana nodded and turned away, heading back toward the stairs. Hannah felt Michael's hand tug at hers, and she finally let him lead her away.

As they stepped out onto the Presidium, Michael asked, "So what are those blue things?"

Hannah sighed, not sure if he was serious or trying to get a rise out of her. "Those people, are asari. They found this place when the Greeks were still puzzling out geometry."

He cocked his head toward her. "They found it? Who built it?"

Hannah shrugged. "All signs point to the protheans. Do you know where we're going?"

He smirked and pulled her more urgently toward an elevator. "I do," he said, "and I think you're going to like the view."

As the door slid shut, Michael dropped her hand and put his hands on her shoulders. When she wrapped her arms around his middle, he pressed his forehead to hers. They stayed like that—breathing in each other's scent, feeling each other's hearts beat together, warming against the other's skin—for what could have been a moment or an hour. Hannah felt suspended—both weightless and timeless—and she never wanted let him go again.

Then the doors slid open. Michael stepped away first, but not without a small grunt of disappointment.

When she stepped onto the docking bay and saw the profile of the Feynman bathed in that same amethyst glow she'd seen as they approached the Citadel, her heart began to race. It was a sight she'd almost dared not to hope to see. She held her breath until she was dizzy to make sure it was real and not a dream. Michael was at her back and placed his warm palms on her shoulders, grounding her.

He seemed to know the course of her thoughts and placed a comforting kiss against her temple. His voice was low and soothing in her ear. "Come on, Han. Let's go home."

End

And that's a wrap! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed Hannah's adventure! The Shepard family saga will continue in the next fic, Family Resemblance, which picks up about a year after the events of this story. We'll follow Hannah, Michael, and young Allistair as they learn to navigate the galactic community, and Dess and Sana will be around to help them, along with a few other familiar faces. Expect the first chapter tomorrow :D

A quick note about the title, for anyone interested: Hawks and Doves is a game in which there are two teams, one hawk and many doves. At the beginning of the game, the doves are given time to strategize how to engage the hawk, who is also the scorekeeper; the hawk has only one strategy, but the doves don't know what it is. Both teams begin the game with the same amount of points and have the same moves available: attack or ignore. Attacking costs the other team one point; ignoring affects no one's points. The doves have the first move. The objective is to reach the end with as many points as possible, and the end can be either when one side has reached zero points or when both sides agree to it.

The one strategy the hawk is allowed to use is reciprocation. If the doves attack, the hawk attacks; if the doves ignore, the hawk ignores. The ideal outcome is for the doves not to attack in the first place. Technically, the doves can win by continuing with a strategy of attack from the first move, but they will end the game with only one point, rather than however many they started with.